In the real world outside the U.S. Naval Base at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, Barack Obama’s pledge to close Guantánamo and scrap the military commissions (the system of trials for “terror suspects” that was established in the wake of the 9/11 attacks) has provoked a rare outburst of frenzied media coverage.

Barack Obama should act from the moment of his inauguration to restore a U.S. image battered by allegations of torturing terrorism suspects, said a group of retired military leaders planning to press their case with the president-elect's transition team on Wednesday.

2008 marks the 20th anniversary of Multinational Monitor's annual list of the 10 Worst Corporations of the year.

In the 20 years that we've published our annual list, we've covered corporate villains, scoundrels, criminals and miscreants.

During the 1960s and 1970s British governments, Labour and Tory, tricked and expelled the entire population of the Chagos Archipelago, more than 2,000 British citizens, so that Diego Garcia could be given to the United States as the site for a military base. It was an act of mass kidnapping carried out in high secrecy.

"It is particularly disappointing to see the Opposition engaging in a persistent pattern of vicious personal attacks on the key regulators in Australia's financial architecture.

Several weeks ago we had the attack on the Reserve Bank governor [Glenn Stevens], clearly suggesting the bank's decisions were driven by political bias. [Then] we had the Secretary of the Treasury [Ken Henry] accused by the Leader of the Opposition of lying, then the following day accused in the Senate of lying.

from Crikey ….. 

Why is Hicks any less dangerous now?

Greg Barns writes:

Last year's election campaign was all about Kevin Rudd convincing us that he could more or less reproduce John Howard's government, only without John Howard at the helm. 

And it worked. 

But good Lord, they're similar sometimes. 

Monsanto’s high-profile advertisements in Britain and the US depict the corporation as a visionary, world-historical force, working to bring state-of-the-art science and an environmentally responsible outlook to the solution of humanity’s pressing problems. 

But just who is Monsanto?  

Israel is collectively punishing innocent civilians by withholding and controlling food and medicine to Gaza, says Christian Aid. 

One of Britain's most authoritative judicial figures last night delivered a blistering attack on the invasion of Iraq, describing it as a serious violation of international law, and accusing Britain and the US of acting like a "world vigilante". 

from Crikey ….. 

The Howard Years: history told by the players 

from Crikey ….. 

Ul-Haque case gives ASIO licence to play rough 

Greg Barns writes: