Author: Consortiumnews.com

Misdefined ‘Terrorism’ Hurts US POW

By definition, “terrorism” applies to attacks on civilians for political ends. But the U.S. government has revised the term to cover any attack on Americans, including soldiers fighting anywhere in the world, a misuse of the concept that is hampering…

Mitt Romney, the Bully

As a privileged preppy, Mitt Romney enjoyed humiliating suspected gays and other vulnerable people. But his bullying didn’t stop when he grew older. Instead, he applied similar tactics to make a fortune as a corporate raider, writes Marjorie Cohn.

Reflecting on Mother’s Day and War

The original idea of Mother’s Day was to promote peace so mothers would not have to suffer the grief that many American moms faced after the slaughter of the Civil War. But some of today’s most powerful women, including moms,…

Adding Hurdles for Iran to Clear

The current head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, who was essentially installed by Western powers, is adding new hurdles for Iran to clear before an agreement can be reached on its nuclear program, a standoff addressed by Gareth Porter…

Honoring a ‘Terror War’ Architect

Exclusive: In this season of graduations and the rush to bestow honorary degrees on the “great and powerful” one ironic moment will play out at Fordham University, where Jesuits are giving top billing among its honorees to White House counterterrorism…

Setting the Stage for More Wars

U.S. news correspondents often compete to cover Americans wars with an eye to making a name or building a career. But when the wars drag on or when problems are just festering the news media quickly loses interest, ironically setting…

Bin Laden Files Dispel Iran-Qaeda Link

To build support for “regime change” in Iran, neocon operatives and U.S. officials have tried to link al-Qaeda to Iran by exaggerating intelligence and ignoring evidence of mutual hostility, including new data in Osama bin Laden’s captured files, writes Gareth…

To Save the Republic, Tax the Rich?

From the Archive: The urgent question facing the advanced capitalistic societies of Europe and the United States is: can “free markets” still meet the people’s needs or will those needs be sacrificed to the market’s demand for “austerity” — and…

A ‘Treason’ Trial for Barack Obama?

Exclusive: Right-wing propagandists have gulled many of their followers into accepting a false narrative of America’s Founding, a made-up history that now has become the basis for some extremists to call for President Obama’s trial for “treason,” an idea that…

Democracy Fights Austerity

Much of Europe has swallowed the bitter medicine of austerity on orders from conservative economic theorists, only to find that the supposed cure has made matters worse. Now, elections in France and Greece indicate that Europeans want a new approach that…