In a pre-Super Bowl interview, President Obama urged Iranian leaders to renounce nuclear weapons, which Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei did, labeling them a “grave sin.” But Khamenei’s fatwa against nukes was not new, just widely ignored by Official Washington, as Gareth…
Misguided Scheme from NYT’s Friedman
Exclusive: New York Times columnist Thomas L. Friedman, who once dubbed himself a “Tony Blair Democrat,” is now a “Mike Bloomberg Independent,” as he seeks a “centrist” challenge to the two parties, even if it might lead to consolidated Republican…
Emptying the Book Warehouse
From Robert Parry: Some readers have urged me to write a new book, expanding on our investigative journalism over the past five years. But before I can start, I need to reduce the stockpile of my last two books Secrecy & Privilege…
Who Commits Terrorism?
From the Archive: On Monday, Nordic/Christian terrorist Anders Behring Breivik admitted killing 77 people last summer but claimed “self-defense,” protecting Christian culture from Muslims and “multiculturalists.” His writings show he was inspired by anti-Muslim bigotry spread by U.S. “experts,” Robert Parry explained…
Iran’s Phantom Menace
Exclusive: For years, a propaganda drumbeat has been rising to justify a war to stop Iran from building a nuclear bomb, though U.S. intelligence agencies say Iran isn’t building one and Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei has decried nukes as a “great sin.”…
What’s Wrong with Florida?
In recent years, Florida has been the scene of high-profile political and legal scandals, from Election 2000 to the delayed justice in the Trayvon Martin slaying. But it’s also known as a place intolerant of dissent, especially if someone praises…
Biased Reporting on Iran Dispute
For months, major U.S. news outlets failed to note the consensus among intelligence agencies that Iran was NOT building a nuclear bomb. Now, Big Media is misleading the public about why previous talks failed and the value of Iran’s promises,…
Help Us Get to the Halfway Point
From Editor Robert Parry: We’d like to end our spring fund drive, but we’re still less than halfway to our modest goal of $25,000. If you want to see Consortiumnews continue producing its unique brand of investigative journalism, please donate…
The 1%’s Hand in the Afghan Murders
Exclusive: Army Sgt. Robert Bales stands accused of murdering 17 Afghan civilians, a crime that some trace to the financial pressures his family faced back home. However, to the rich financial swindlers, the ruining of Bales’s family and many others…
America’s Founding Pragmatism
Exclusive: America’s Founders were not marble statues, but rather real people facing tough challenges. To make ends meet, the esteemed Abigail Adams dabbled in black-market goods, and that kind of tough-minded pragmatism not starry-eyed idealism imbued the Constitution and guided…
Romney’s Upside-Down Constitution
Exclusive: Presumptive Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney wowed a convention of gun enthusiasts with a flowery talk about the Constitution and his fears about what a re-elected President Obama would do to it. But Romney’s speech reflected an American history…
When Religion Dominates Politics
Religion in politics is a touchy topic in the United States, but Americans have a legitimate right to know how a candidate’s religious views may affect public policy on issues like population growth, anti-gay discrimination and Christian supremacy says Rev.…
Is Occupy’s ‘Purity’ Under Assault?
Hardliners in the Occupy movement have begun equating police infiltrators and other enemies with Occupy supporters who favor some practical electoral and legislative goals. There is alarmist talk about the need to protect Occupy’s revolutionary purity from these reformers, as Danny Schechter…
US Politics Threaten Iran Nuke Talks
The rigidity of Official Washington more than intransigence from Iran is threatening negotiations beginning in Istanbul this weekend. President Obama’s flexibility to ease sanctions on Iran in exchange for Iranian safeguards against building a nuclear weapon is limited by political pressures,…
Some Ultra-Rich Abandon Obama
Some of the ultra-rich who backed Barack Obama in 2008 are switching to Mitt Romney in 2012 because the President has called for closing tax loopholes that allow hedge-fund and private-equity billionaires to pay lower tax rates than working stiffs,…
Iran Talks Hinge on Israeli Demand
As international talks begin over Iran’s nuclear program, President Obama has put forward an Israeli demand for the dismantling of a well-protected uranium processing plant, but it’s less clear whether Obama will press the point if it means killing hopes…
How Neocons Sank Iran Nuke Deal
Exclusive: Iran is resuming talks over its nuclear program with leading international powers the United States, Britain, Russia, China, France and Germany with the prospect of an agreement to swap some enriched uranium for research isotopes. But a similar plan…
US Signals a Hard Line in Iran Talks
With negotiations set to begin with Iran over its nuclear program, the Obama administration is signaling a hard line toward closing Iran’s newest and best protected site built into a mountain. But such a demand could torpedo a peaceful settlement…
Demonizing Gunter Grass
Exclusive: German poet Gunter Grass is under withering attack for writing a poem that urges Germany to stop supplying nuclear submarines to Israel, objects to Israel’s threat of war against Iran and suggests both countries accept nuclear inspectors. That last…
Who Pays for Journalism?
From Editor Robert Parry: Many people who read the original journalism from Consortiumnews by Ray McGovern, Mark Ames, Lisa Pease, James diEugenio, me and other of our featured writers see our articles at “aggregator sites,” i.e. Web sites that cull stories…