Firaq Gorakhpuri - Asif Farrukhi, CIA, Lou Dobbs' thinly veiled racism, Homeland Security,

Some writers seem entwined with their age. One reads the profile ofan entire period in them. Their work displays the best and the worstof an entire epoch. Firaq Gorakhpuri too was such a poet. He belongedso completely to the twentieth century - with all its splendours andmiseries. In the opening years of the new millenium, wondering whatshape and form of literature will emanate from this great unknown, wereflect on the age which has just concluded.If for this purpose somebody wants to de-code the twentieth century,then Firaq could well be a natural choice for a figure to start from.He seems so much at home in his time and age. He symbolizes itsstrengths and embodies its deficiencies and contradictions, not somuch characterizing as characteristic of the age which gave letter andspirit to his work and was in turn reflected in it. AUTHOR: Firaq Gorakhpuri: Man of his age By Asif Farrukhi

The dark history behind the explosive revelations of Blackwater's role in the CIA's assassination program. Former CIA Agent: "What the Agency Was Doing With Blackwater Scares the Hell Out of Me" By Jeremy Scahill, The Nation

By continuing to sanction Dobbs' thinly veiled racism, the network is jeopardizing its status as America's "most trusted" news source. Condemn CNN for Its Lou Dobbs "Birther" Fiasco By Byard Duncan

Department of Homeland Security Secretary Napolitano recently highlighted her department’s efforts to reach out to build "stronger relationships with Arab and Muslim Americans, as well as South Asian communities across the country,” seemingly reflecting an awareness of how the war on terror has stigmatized and cast irrational suspicion on these groups. Despite the best of intentions, however, Napolitano’s self-assurance is premature. DHS’s engagement of vulnerable communities emphasizes form over substance and, historically, has amounted to mere public relations. Outreach efforts conducted by the Office of Civil Rights and Civil Liberties (CRCL), for instance, have long fallen short of repeated requests from vulnerable communities. Just last month, a coalition of over a dozen civil rights organizations issued a letter (PDF) to Secretary Napolitano reiterating a series of substantive and structural concerns, while proposing concrete solutions to fulfill the new administration’s promise to pay greater respect to the Constitution and civil liberties. DHS Engagement of Muslim communities: Smoke and mirrors

We Afghans know this election will change nothing. It is merely a show of democracy put on by and for the West, to legitimize its future puppet in Afghanistan. Afghanistan's Election Day: Don't Be Fooled By This Facade of Democracy By Malalai Joya

Burrowing inside the radical right's gathering of astroturfers and mouthpieces, AlterNet Reporter Adele Stan discovers what makes the anti-health reform machine tick. Utilizing Public Airwaves, Media Mogul Murdoch Is Big Muscle Behind Fraudulent Astro Turfer By Adele M. Stan

"Rethink Afghanistan, Part Six: Security" includes CIA officers, regional experts, and Afghan leaders who explain how U.S. war policies in Afghanistan undermine American security.
Rethink Afghanistan (Part 6): Security By Derrick Crowe

Now Christian media have started digging into the story. MSNBC's Maddow Show Propels Growing Scandal Over Washington's "Christian Mafia" By Bruce Wilson

The little blue pill was supposed to transform our attitudes towards aging and sexuality. It merely reinforced bad cultural stereotypes about older men. How Viagra Promised a Sexual Revolution But Delivered a Bad Joke By Meika Loe, National Sexuality Resource Center