he did/is doing in Iraq, so it's not too surprising he's atacking american
infrastrusture now -
forests to energy companies
http://www.wsws.org/articles/2006/jul2006/land-j20.shtml
of eight of its citizens
http://www.wsws.org/articles/2006/jul2006/cana-j20.shtml
Kennedy Jr. | Democracy in Crisis
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/072006A.shtml
In an interview with Brad Friedman (of BradBlog),
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. explains that "the Republican Party, the Republican
National Committee, has been using old-fashioned, Jim Crow, apartheid-type
maneuvers to steal the last two national elections."
Bush's Vision, and
the Region, Near Collapse
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/072006B.shtml
The Bush administration's notion that toppling
Saddam Hussein would stabilize a turbulent region is among the casualties of
this week's Middle East carnage. Bush must now battle the perception, certainly
throughout the Arab world, that he has embarked on a policy of
failure.
The Boston Globe | Bush Pulls Plug on Eavesdropping
Probe
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/072006C.shtml
"Now it turns out that President Bush himself
blocked an internal Justice Department inquiry into the administration's
decision to eavesdrop on domestic phone calls without a warrant from a judge, as
required by a 1978 law. The short-circuiting of that investigation makes it all
the more important that Congress mandate full judicial review of the program's
legality," writes the Boston Globe.
my finger on it though -
Bid to Make 7/11 India's 9/11
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/072006H.shtml
"After the United States' 9/11 and Britain's 7/7
comes India's 7/11," writes J. Sri Raman. "That is how powerful sections of
opinion-makers are trying to project the two series of bomb blasts that shook
India on July 11, claiming a combined toll of about 210 human
lives."
VIDEO | Operation House Call
A Report by Geoffrey Millard and Scott
Galindez
http://www.truthout.org/multimedia.htm
On June 15, Congress voted to stay the course in
Iraq. Members of Military Families Speak Out - an organization of relatives of
those serving in Iraq - were outraged and decided to make a "house call." They
will stay in Washington, DC, until Congress goes into recess. Truthout's
Geoffrey Millard reports from Washington.
'Catastrophic Loss of Species'
http://www.truthout.org/issues_06/072006EB.shtml
Life on earth is facing a major crisis with
thousands of species threatened with imminent extinction - a global emergency
demanding urgent action.
William Rivers Pitt | Meanwhile, in Iraq ...
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/071906J.shtml
"It has become something of a challenge to stay
abreast of the continuing carnage in Iraq," writes William Rivers Pitt. "We
still have tens of thousands of soldiers there. Nineteen of them have died since
the beginning of July, and 2,553 have died since the whole thing started. 150
Iraqi civilians have been killed in the last three days, adding to the 6,000
civilians who have been killed in the last two months, adding to the tens of
thousands who have been killed over the last three years."
Bush Issues
First Veto, Nixes Stem Cell Bill
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/071906Y.shtml
President Bush vetoed a bill for the first time
today, using his Constitutional power to reject legislation passed by Congress
that would expand federal research on embryonic stem cells, a step he said would
be crossing a "moral line." Representative Nancy Pelosi of California, the House
minority leader, said that the veto amounted to "saying 'no' to hope." It is up
to members of Congress, she said, to "represent their constituents" and vote to
override the veto.
In Iraq, Civil War All but Declared
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/071906A.shtml
Retaliatory massacres by gunmen and bombers linked
to rival Muslim sects have left more than 130 people dead across Iraq over the
last two days, the latest casualties of what some politicians now are calling an
undeclared civil war.
Humanitarian Crisis Looms for Lebanon's
Displaced
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/071906B.shtml
Nonstop battles between Israel and Hezbollah have
wreaked a massive humanitarian crisis in Lebanon, driving as many as 500,000
people from their homes, according to United Nations
estimates.
Conservative Anger Grows Over Bush's Foreign
Policy
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/071906C.shtml
Conservative intellectuals and commentators who
once lauded Bush for what they saw as a willingness to aggressively confront
threats and advance US interests said in interviews that they perceive timidity
and confusion about long-standing problems including Iran and North Korea, as
well as urgent new ones such as the latest crisis between Israel and
Hezbollah.
Immigration Enforcement Benefits Prison Firms
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/071906D.shtml
As the Bush administration plans to increase
imprisonment of illegal immigrants by 6,700 by the year 2007, as well as
spending on enforcement, some of the biggest beneficiaries will be companies
building and running private prisons around the country.
Audit of
Department of Homeland Security Shows Fraud, Abuse
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/071906E.shtml
In a five-month period both before and after
Katrina, the Department of Homeland Security wasted hundreds of thousands of
dollars on iPods, dog booties, beer-making equipment and designer jackets,
Congressional investigators have concluded. More than 100 laptop computers and a
dozen boats also bought by Homeland Security employees are
missing.
Maureen Lane | The GOP Fights to Keep Women in
Poverty
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/071906F.shtml
"Under a mandate from Congress's Deficit Reduction
Act - passed last year - the US Department of Health and Human Services has
acted to further restrict educational opportunity," writes Maureen Lane. "The
objective of TANF should be to stabilize families and help them move from
poverty to self-determining economic security.... It is a crushing blow to read
these regulations and know they translate into American dreams
denied."
Turkey Considers Invading Iraqi Kurdistan
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/071906G.shtml
Turkish officials signaled Tuesday they are
prepared to send the army into northern Iraq if US and Iraqi forces do not take
steps to combat Turkish Kurdish guerrillas there - a move that could put Turkey
on a collision course with the United States.
Suit to Block Diebold
Touch-Screen Voting Machines Remanded to State Court
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/071906H.shtml
A US District Court judge has sent the lawsuit
Holder v. McPherson back to state court. This is a victory for the voters of the
state of California and is a first step in stopping the use of Diebold
touch-screen voting machines in the state.
Ralph Reed Loses GOP Primary,
Ties to Abramoff Blamed
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/071906K.shtml
Ralph Reed, the former director of the Christian
Coalition and a former Republican lobbyist involved in the Jack Abramoff
scandal, suffered an embarrassing defeat in his effort to win the Republican
nomination for lieutenant governor on Tuesday. Mr. Reed's candidacy was viewed
as a test of the effects of the Washington lobbying scandal on core Republican
voters.
Bush Gave Israel "Green Light" for Limited Attack
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/071906L.shtml
The US is giving Israel a window of a week to
inflict maximum damage on Hezbollah before weighing in behind international
calls for a ceasefire in Lebanon, according to British, European and Israeli
sources.
Robert Scheer | What Bush's Open Mike Revealed
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/071906M.shtml
"Bombs were exploding and innocents dying, from
Beirut to Haifa to Baghdad, and yet George Bush managed to pose for yet another
photo op, smiling as he gave the thumbs up at the close of the G8 summit. Thanks
to an unsuspected open mic, however, we could also glimpse the mindset of a
leader unaccountably pleased with his ignorance of the world," writes Robert
Scheer.
Sectarian Violence Continues in Iraq
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/071906N.shtml
An average of more than 100 civilians a day were
killed in Iraq last month, the United Nations reported Tuesday, registering what
appears to be the highest official monthly tally of violent deaths since the
fall of Baghdad.
Study Highlights "Ghetto Tax," Falls Short With
Remedies
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/071906O.shtml
"The NYT had a good article this morning
highlighting a new Brookings report that details how people living in inner city
areas often pay far more for goods and services than people living in more
affluent areas. The report is worth reading and the NYT gets credit for calling
attention to it," writes Dean Baker. "Unfortunately, the report suffers from a
serious lack of imagination in its proposed remedies, highlighting greater
public-private cooperation in bringing lower cost services to the
poor."
Who Is Hoekstra's Secret Source?
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/071906P.shtml
Congressman Peter Hoekstra (R-Mich.) must be
enjoying himself. Since the New York Times released his May 18 letter to
President Bush in which Hoekstra, chairman of the House Permanent Select
Committee on Intelligence, condemned the intelligence community for keeping
secrets from Congress, he has been feted as a Republican who is willing to stand
up to the administration. But for more than six months, the congressman has been
keeping his own secrets - and someone else's.
Scrutiny of Executive
Windfalls Intensifies
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/071906Q.shtml
A widening federal investigation of stock-option
trickery is part of a larger story: an unfinished effort to transform the
governance of American corporations.
Propaganda/Noise
Machine
O'Reilly
smeared Media Matters, Democracy Alliance as "left-wing Mafia" that
"intimidates good people"
Fox News host Bill O'Reilly renewed his
false attacks on Media Matters, claiming that we, along with the
Democracy Alliance, an organization of donors formed to support progressive
groups, and other recipients of funding from Alliance donors, represent a
"left-wing Mafia" dedicated to "nefarious purposes." O'Reilly leveled specific
attacks at Media Matters -- making the blatantly false suggestion that
we "give directions to" the homes of O'Reilly and others in order to
"intimidate[] good people who may want to come into the public arena as
politicians or commentators" and calling us "character assassins" and a "smear
website" that "lie[s]." Read
more
Limbaugh
distorted news reports to falsely suggest they didn't identify Hezbollah as a
terrorist organization
Rush Limbaugh deceptively cropped a series of
news reports on the recent violence in the Middle East to falsely suggest the
reports didn't identify Hezbollah as a terrorist organization. In fact, each of
the news reports Limbaugh cited mentioned that Hezbollah is an organization
devoted to destroying the state of Israel and either called it a terrorist
organization or noted that the United States and Israel describe the group as
such. Read
more
Olbermann
handed Savage "Worst Person" runner-up for saying the "American left" are "the
Nazis of our time"
On the July 18 edition of MSNBC's
Countdown, host Keith Olbermann named nationally syndicated radio host Michael
Savage runner-up for his nightly "Worst Person in the World" award for
claiming, as Media Matters for America noted, that the
"American left" are "the Nazis of our time." On July 14, Savage responded on his
radio program to the recent escalation of violence between Israel and Hezbollah
by declaring that Hezbollah leader Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah is a "good friend of
the liberal left wing, the [filmmaker] Michael Moore wing, the [Sen.] Barbara
Boxer [D-CA] wing, the [Sen.] Ted Kennedy [D-MA] wing, the anti-American wing of
the Democrat Party." While discussing reports that noted Israeli casualties,
Savage claimed that "Barbara Boxer should be real happy today." Savage added
that "the American left is cheering today. They'll probably break open the jug
wine and cheer that Jews are dying, and that they're living and cowering in bomb
shelters. One day, the 'Deutschland über alles' may be played in Jerusalem, and
the American left can tear off their masks once and for all and show themselves
to be what they really are -- which is the Nazis of our time." Read
more
On
Today, Lauer provided open forum for Gingrich's politically motivated
"World War III" rhetoric
On NBC's Today, host Matt Lauer let
Newt Gingrich repeat and promote his claim that current fighting between Israel
and Hezbollah, with what Gingrich reported as a fear of Hezbollah attacks
elsewhere, amounts to World War III. Despite media reports that Gingrich intends
to promote the World War III rhetoric to give Republicans an edge in the 2006
congressional elections -- and that he is also urging President Bush and
congressional Republicans to use war rhetoric for political gain -- Lauer failed
to question the validity or motivation of Gingrich's characterization. Read
more
Ingraham:
"[W]hy is O'Reilly afraid of George Soros?"
Laura Ingraham replayed
audio clips of her appearance on Fox News' The O'Reilly Factor, during
which Bill O'Reilly attacked Media Matters for America and the
Democracy Alliance, an organization of donors formed to support progressive
groups, as a "left-wing Mafia" dedicated to "nefarious purposes." Ingraham
referred to the Democracy Alliance and progressive financier George Soros as "a
bunch of old cranks" with "warmed-over old socialist ideas." Ingraham also
asked: "But why is Bill O'Reilly afraid of George Soros?" Read
more
2008
Elections
On
The Tonight Show, Matthews again predicted Giuliani victory in
'08
On NBC's The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, MSNBC host
Chris Matthews again predicted that "the next president of the United States
will be Rudy Giuliani." Read
more
LGBT
Issues
Cameron
falsely suggested that polls show most Americans support amending U.S.
Constitution to ban same-sex marriage
On Fox News' Special Report
with Brit Hume, Carl Cameron falsely suggested that public opinion polls
show that most Americans support amending the U.S. Constitution to ban same-sex
marriage. While some recent polls indicate that a majority of Americans believe
same-sex marriage should be illegal, most polls that directly addressed a
federal constitutional amendment show that a plurality or even a majority of
Americans oppose it. Read
more
Detainees/Abu
Ghraib/Guantanamo Bay
NY
Times profile of Sen. Graham ignored efforts to strip detainees of habeas
corpus rights
In a July 18 article, New York Times staff
writer Kate Zernike reported that Sen. Lindsey Graham is trying "to resist the
White House when it comes to defining the treatment of people accused of being
terrorists." But Zernike ignored Graham's controversial efforts to strip habeas
corpus rights from the detainees held at Guantánamo Bay -- efforts that included
an act of legislative deception that was specifically noted by the Supreme Court
majority opinion in the case of Hamdan v. Rumsfeld. Read
more
Institute for Public Accuracy
915 National Press Building, Washington,
D.C. 20045
(202) 347-0020 * http://www.accuracy.org * ipa@accuracy.org
PM Thursday, July 20,
2006
Prominent Lebanese-Americans Respond to
Crisis
Interviews Available
RALPH NADER, (202) 387-8030, jrichard@essential.org,
http://www.commondreams.org/views06/0718-33.htm
Consumer advocate Ralph Nader recently published a letter urging
President
Bush to take action on the Israel-Lebanon conflict. An excerpt
from this
letter follows:
"With systematic efficiency, the Israeli
government has already
destroyed innocent homes and basic public facilities
-- ports, airports,
highways, bridges, power stations -- which are critical
to the delivery of
food, medicines, health care, ambulances, water, and
other essentials for a
civilian population. This bombardment, by U.S.-made
bombers, military
vehicles, ships, and missiles with American taxpayer
subsidies, places an
inescapable responsibility upon your shoulders which
does not mix with your
usual vacuous messianic rigidity. As the leading
player in official
Washington's puppet show, it is time for you to assert
the interests of the
American people and those of the broad Israeli and
Palestinian peace
movements, by standing up to the puppeteers. For without
this conflict,
Hezbollah would not be in today's news."
JAMES
ABOUREZK, (605) 334-8402, georgepatton@qwest.net
A former U.S. Senator from South Dakota and a Lebanese-American,
Abourezk
said today: "I can understand the concern about soldiers being
captured, but
why is there no concern about the Lebanese civilians who have
been kidnapped
by the Israeli army in southern Lebanon and held in Israeli
prisons? If
Israel is so bent on retaliating, why do they not confront
Hezbollah
directly, instead of destroying grain silos in Tripoli [Lebanon],
ambulances
coming from the United Arab Emirates, fuel supplies and power
plants that
provide electricity and water to the citizens of Lebanon?
"When Israel bombed the power plant in Gaza, I believe they did so in
order
to once again attempt to sell power to the Palestinians, which they
did
until Palestine built its own power plant. This is an effort to hold
both
Lebanon and the Palestinians hostage. And if you're an American
taxpayer,
you're paying for the destruction of Lebanon.
"Where are
the members of Congress? Why aren't they showing their
displeasure at the
wanton destruction of Lebanon by the Israeli Army? Why
aren't they demanding
that Bush insist on a cease fire? All President Bush
has to do is to pick up
the phone and call Israel's government, and they
will stop this cruel
destruction of a small, helpless country."
JOHN ZOGBY, (315) 624-0200
ext. 236, john@zogby.com
President
and CEO of the independent polling firm Zogby International
and a
Lebanese-American, Zogby said today of the U.S. response to the
Middle East
conflict: "It's pitiful and embarrassing. The U.S. has
considerable leverage
with Israel and needs to use that leverage to stop
this barbarism.
Meanwhile, Hezbollah was looking for trouble in
retaliation, but Israel's
level of retaliation is way beyond the pale and
is counterproductive. I'd
like to see the United States become involved at
its highest levels.
Secretary Rice or someone respected in the region with
the president's ear
should have been there already conducting shuttle
diplomacy, not unlike what
the United Nations and the European Union are
doing."
