Two news stories — an “exclusive” in The Guardian (“Revealed: Pentagon’s link to Iraqi torture centres”) and a front-pager in The New York Times (“C.I.A.’s History Poses Hurdles for an Obama Nominee”) — are reminders that more than seven years ago Straight Up’s staff of thousands was onto the story about the American strategy to (democratize) Salvadorize Iraq with death squads and torture chambers. Have a look at our blogpost “Hidden in Plain Sight” of Dec. 20, 2005. Today’s tie-in to the top U.S. military brass, particularly to retired Gen. David Petraeus and former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld — which The Guardian makes plainer than ever with no little help from Wikileaks — is stunning. And don’t miss the 51-minute The Guardian/BBC Arabic video posted with the British paper’s news story. It is about mystery man James Steele, the counterinsurgency operative at the center of the allegations.


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Jan Herman on Unbuttoned: Samuel Beckett Meets William Osborne
Done. Thanks for the catch.George Butler on Unbuttoned: Samuel Beckett Meets William Osborne
One more typo to clean up: In the caption under the video link above--to Abbie performing as "Winnie"--her last...william osborne on Unbuttoned: Samuel Beckett Meets William Osborne
Thank you for this, Jan. You are too kind. The "Samuel Beckett Meets William Osborne" is hilarious.Jan Herman on An Absurd Debate About the Last Word
I disagree, Bill. If your reminiscence about Beckett is any measure, I think you should always write blog comments...william osborne on An Absurd Debate About the Last Word
Actually, I wasn’t referring to Gerard’s comment. In fact, I’m embarrassed to say I didn’t do the additional scroll...Jan Herman on An Absurd Debate About the Last Word
Dear Bill -- Now at last the full story! Danke. Merci. I knew you and Beckett had met and...william osborne on An Absurd Debate About the Last Word
One other little thing I forgot. In return for my gift, Beckett wanted to give me tickets to a...william osborne on An Absurd Debate About the Last Word
An interesting topic for me, since I spent seven years doing nothing else but setting the works of Beckett to...Jan Herman onAn Epitaph for Our Golden Era
Thanks, Bill. It puts more light on things. Less irony.william osborne onAn Epitaph for Our Golden Era
“That’s what I find so wonderful, that not a day goes by, to speak in the old style, hardly a...