documented Iraqi civilian deaths (courtesy Iraq body count)

In one of the most cynical moments of recent political history General David Patraeus - the current Chief Operations Officer of the enterprise called: Occupation Iraq - in his recent testimony before the US Congress referred to the civil war in Iraq as ethno-sectarian competition.

For all of you who know your George Orwell, here is a fascinating look at the Patraeus testimony ...   more »

Hedges takes on both the Christian Right and The New Atheists, Dawkins, Hitchens, Harris et al. and finds some striking neo-conservative similarities between the two. He also has some interesting things to say about the progressive utopian idealism the new atheists inherit from the Enlightenment tradition rc...

I write in the book that not believing in God is not dangerous. Not believing in sin is very dangerous. I think both the Christian right and the New Atheists in essence don't believe in their own sin, because they externalize evil. Evil is always something out there that can be eradicated. For the New Atheists, it's the irrational religious hordes. I mean, Sam Harris, at the end of his first book, asks us to consider a nuclear first strike on the Arab world. Both Hitchens and Harris defend the use of torture. Of course, they're great supporters of preemptive war, and I don't think this is accidental that their political agendas coalesce completely with the Christian right...   more »