By Edward S. Herman and David Peterson, medialens, 28 July 2009

There are many problems with the Campaign for Peace and Democracy’s “Question & Answer on the Iran Crisis,” issued by the CPD on July 7 (http://www.cpdweb.org/news/20090707.shtml), and widely circulated since then.

The CPD adopted this format, it tells us, because “some on the left, and others as well, have questioned the legitimacy of and the need for solidarity with the anti-Ahmadinejad movement,” and the CPD believes “those questions need to be squarely addressed.”

We believe, on the contrary, that the CPD’s 13 questions-and-answers do little to clarify issues related to Iran’s June 12 presidential election and its tumultuous aftermath, and even less to help leftists and “American progressives” decide how they should respond to them.

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The hearing has concluded. Parole board recommendation expected within 24-48 hours. The commission has 21 days to make its final decision.

Vigils and other information

A pro-coup faction in the Obama administration
by Justin Raimondo, Antiwar.com, 27 July 2009

If you’re a Honduran general and you’re chafing at the bit to depose the duly elected president – as your predecessors have done repeatedly over the years – you don’t just go for it. That would be impolitic and eminently impractical: after all, the United States is not only your country’s number one trading partner, it is also the chief source of funding that keeps the Honduran military flush with so much cash that it is the fifth largest economic power in the nation. A cutoff of that all-important lifeline, not to mention trade sanctions, could put the squeeze on your finances.

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Inquiries into the 954 deaths in police custody since 1990 have all proved fruitless — and then this historic case comes along

Malalai Joya
The Guardian, Saturday 25 July 2009

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“My country hasn’t been liberated: it’s still under the warlords’ control, and Nato occupation only reinforces their power.”
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In 2005, I was the youngest person elected to the new Afghan parliament. Women like me, running for office, were held up as an example of how the war in Afghanistan had liberated women. But this democracy was a facade, and the so-called liberation a big lie.

On behalf of the long-suffering people of my country, I offer my heartfelt condolences to all in the UK who have lost their loved ones on the soil of Afghanistan. We share the grief of the mothers, fathers, wives, sons and daughters of the fallen. It is my view that these British casualties, like the many thousands of Afghan civilian dead, are victims of the unjust policies that the Nato countries have pursued under the leadership of the US government.

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