President Obama described it as "this sad chapter in American history," while campaigning in 2008, and 176 detainees languish at Guantánamo while the world watches. Nearly 9 years since the attacks on 9/11, the "Abu Ghraib" in America's back yard remains a visible black eye on Lady Justice....

Unilateralism is the wrong approach for American Diplomacy. There is nothing to suggest its efficacy since 9/11. There is nothing to suggest its usefulness for future conflict. In allowing the US to go it alone, America's partners and allies risk the havoc and catastrophic consequences that will accompany "Imperial Overstretch."...

In the aftermath of the tragedy at Fort Hood last week, too many people are focusing on the religious affiliation of the alleged perpetrator, rather than on a more important and pressing issue: the lack of adequate psychosocial care for women and men in uniform. It matters not that the...

Maybe mainstream media's penchant for superficial and divisive reporting, combined with the Department of Defense and State's culture of secrecy, have created a popular vocabulary that reduces wide-scale human suffering to a necessary and insignificant cost, the equivalent of a few broken eggs. Maybe there are too many reporters telling...

Vote Merril for Mayor
of the Great City of Binghamton:

Commonsense Leadership for Tough Times!

Binghamton was always a beautiful hybrid offering the best of all worlds: a metropolitan...

According to the Treasury Department, 64 million Americans received "...one-time Economic Recovery Payments of $250" in June and July," thereby creating "...an economic impact of more than $16 billion."

As part of The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, "...all VA service-connected veterans receiving disability...

Under cover of international distraction with the 2003 U.S. invasion of Iraq, Cuban authorities violated their own Constitution by arresting and charging 75 prominent dissidents with being agents of "Yankee Imperialism."

Many were associated with the Varela Project, a peaceful human rights initiative developed by Oswaldo Paya...

"THE Revolution has abandoned its principles, if it ever had them, of building a more just society, and has condemned Cubans to a fierce fight for their lives at the most primitive level -- obtaining...

Havana, Cuba - July 15, 2009

On Sunday, July 12, Las Damas de Blanco (The Ladies in White), celebrated Mass at La Iglesia de Santa Rita as they have done every Sunday since the Spring of 2003.

The Ladies in White began demonstrating when the Cuban government arrested, tried and...

"It is a common mistake in going to war to begin at the wrong end, to act first, and wait for disasters to discuss the matter."- Thucydides

On July 4th, 1863, President Abraham Lincoln undoubtedly enjoyed one of the most sublime days of his presidency. He would have...

Today is World Refugee Day. The United Nations designated June 20 as the annual day "...to recognize and celebrate the contributions of refugees throughout the world."


But for millions of Iraqis, today is hardly a day to celebrate.

"The country [Iraq] is dealing with one of the largest humanitarian...

As if to pour salt on the physical and psychological wounds of millions of America's veterans, a recent trend has emerged in both public pronouncements and privately held attitudes that suggests that veterans returning from the "long wars" in Iraq and Afghanistan pose a security risk to potential employers, fellow...

Most Americans know little, if anything, about the Iran-Iraq War, which is troubling given how deeply involved we were in it. Well over a million Iraqi and Iranian soldiers, as well as civilians, perished during the war, with many more injured and wounded.

Iranian public animosity toward the US in...

Bloomberg 3? NYC Veterans 0
by Joe Bello & Luis Carlos Montalván

Every Memorial and Veterans' Day, elected officials praise veterans and the sacrifices they have made while in uniform. However, that sacrifice does not end when they return home to their families and communities.

...

Benefactors of "The Tower of Hope" watch as Tuesday, a service dog, retrieves disabled veteran Luis Carlos Montalvan's cane. The event was recently hosted by The Animazing Gallery located in SoHo. Photo courtesy of Tamara Lund

Recently, I learned that the...

The War Comes Home: Washington's Battle Against America's Veterans
by Aaron Glantz. 254 pages. UC Press $24.95 Book Review by Luis Carlos Montalván

In January 2009 alone, 24 veterans of our wars in Iraq and Afghanistan committed suicide. The following month,...

Even before the founding of our United States, New York has been a place where the wealthy elite were not inclined to support our troops.

In fact, the British and the Tories retained control of New York from 1776 to 1783 -- nearly the entire length of the Revolutionary...

Senator John McCain will be speaking a lot about the "Success of the Surge" in the debate tonight, but don't believe the hype. Here's why:

1. There was a reduced level of violence in Baghdad prior to "The Surge" due to sectarian cleansing.

Satellite imagery recently collected and...

To gain the sympathy and cooperation of the American people come election day, the robust presidential candidate McCain machine is working hard to quiet the anti-McCain fervor among "new veterans" that until recently has lurked just beneath the surface of America's watchful eyes.

Trumped only by the looming Bush/McCain-caused...