An effort will kick off on October 2nd with a march in Washington, DC demanding that Congress and the Obama Administration adopt a peoples’ agenda for jobs and economic renewal. The mobilization is intended to be the beginning of an ongoing progressive coalition

Today the combat phase of the United States military’s role in Iraq officially ends. Today also marks a new beginning in our nation’s relationship with Iraq and its people. Tonight President Obama will mark the occasion with his third Presidential address to the nation. EPIC welcomes the end of U.S. combat operations in Iraq and [...]

A dispatch from Joe Volk, at FCNL: At the Friends Committee on National Legislation, we’ve been sick at heart and concerned at the hate speech, confusion, and misinformation about American Muslims that has spread across the country in the last month. We expect another outpouring of bigotry and misplaced anger at the proposal to build [...]

Seven years after the US invasion of Iraq toppled Saddam Hussein’s government and pulverized the Iraqi state, voters will go to the polls on March 7 in an election that most Iraqis hope will continue their country’s uneven progress toward political stability. But a new crisis, provoked by an anti-Baathist purge in mid-January by Tehran’s [...]

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) – Five U.S. troops were killed by roadside bombs and insurgent fire in southern and eastern Afghanistan on Tuesday, the latest casualties in a particularly bloody spell that has left 19 service members dead since Saturday. Meanwhile, on the southern outskirts of the capital, Kabul, a gunman opened fire on a busload [...]

WASHINGTON – A newly discovered type of oil-eating microbe is suddenly flourishing in the Gulf of Mexico. Scientists discovered the new microbe while studying the underwater dispersion of millions of gallons of oil spilled into the Gulf following the explosion of BP’s Deepwater Horizon drilling rig. And the microbe works without significantly depleting oxygen in [...]

The Sept. 1 ceremony also marks the start of the so-called “Operation New Dawn” – symbolizing the beginning of the end of the American military’s mission in Iraq since invading in March 2003. Just under 50,000 U.S. troops remain in Iraq – down from a peak of nearly 170,000 at the height of the 2007 [...]

Even now, as the U.S. military anticipates withdrawal from Iraq and transferring of vital functions to civilian businesses, foreign subcontractors are playing an enormous role in war zones. Often operating through larger big-name U.S. contractors, they ferry supplies such as ammo and weapons through dangerous terrain. They provide translators and food for troops, help build [...]

In a rare interview, zen buddhist master Thich Nhat Hahn warns of the threat to civilisation from climate change and the spiritual revival that is needed to avert catastrophe. via Zen and the art of protecting the planet | Sustainability | guardian.co.uk.

WASHINGTON — President Obama will begin his one-year effort to achieve Middle East peace on Wednesday, joining a long list of his predecessors who have tried to achieve a comprehensive peace between Israelis and Palestinians. But unlike the presidents before him, Mr. Obama will know within three weeks whether the two sides are serious this [...]