The Remarkable Model
of the Commonwealth Bank of Australia

August 10, 2010 | No Comments

Today there is renewed interest in reviving a publicly-owned bank in Australia on the Commonwealth Bank model. The United States and other countries would do well to consider that option too. Any proposed legislation should contain careful checks for accountability. The Commonwealth Bank served Australia brilliantly well for its first 11 years under the stewardship of one honest man, Denison Miller. When he passed away in 1923, the bank was delivered into the hands of a board of businessmen more interested in serving their own interests than the nation’s. Legislation would need to be drafted that prevented that from happening again.

Posted in Opinion, Politics

Bradley Manning: An American Hero

August 10, 2010 | 1 Comment

Defense Secretary Robert Gates called the leak “potentially dramatic and grievously harmful….The battlefield consequences of the release of these documents are potentially severe and dangerous for our troops, our allies and Afghan partners, and may well damage our relationships and reputation in that part of the world. Intelligence sources and methods, as well as military tactics, techniques and procedures, will become known to our adversaries.”

Posted in News

The Burka: A Taliban Imposed Canvas Prison

August 08, 2010 | 10 Comments

Why do Iran and other Muslim countries require a woman to hide her hair or her entire body?

Rwanda’s Savior Has Become a Monster

Rwanda’s Savior Has Become a Monster

August 05, 2010 | 1 Comment

In truth, the Rwandan leader presides over nothing more than hollow democracy. He has attacked and exiled any and all viable political opponents. The local press, as well as international journalists, have been bludgeoned and harassed. The regime uses the Stalinist crime of “divisionism” as a pretext to silence and prosecute any critic who dares question its policies or the state sanctioned version of the 1994 conflict.

Posted in Opinion, Politics

Antony Loewenstein: Isolating Iran
is Part of the ‘Great Energy Game’

August 05, 2010 | 2 Comments

The Middle East is witness to continuous developments these days, such as Iran’s active diplomacy to attract the indispensable 118-member bloc of non-aligned countries to support its nuclear program, the growing isolation of Israel in European countries and within academic circles in the U.S., Arabs’ fears of losing the power game in the Persian Gulf region, and the expansion of illegal settlements of Israel in the West Bank and its unremitting disobedience to United Nations Security Council resolutions.

Posted in Opinion, Politics

Federal Judge Rules Ban on Same-Sex Marriage Unconstitutional

August 05, 2010 | 1 Comment

Today was an important day in the history of the nation, in the pages of democracy, and in the long battle for recognition by gay and lesbian couples.

Posted in News, Politics

Adachi to Debate Pension, Healthcare Reform Measure

August 04, 2010 | 3 Comments

The debate, sponsored by San Francisco for Democracy, will be held tonight at 7 pm at Schroeder’s German Restaurant, 240 Front Street.

Posted in News, Politics