Thursday, August 03, 2006
Misc. Articles on how stupid and blind american nationalism is at this point.
Military Unit Accused of "Racism" and "Kill Counts"
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/080306Z.shtml
Military prosecutors and investigators probing the killing of three Iraqi detainees by US troops in May believe the unit's commanders created an atmosphere of excessive violence by encouraging "kill counts" and possibly issuing an illegal order to shoot Iraqi men. At a military hearing Wednesday on the killing of the detainees near Samarra, witnesses painted a picture of a brigade that operated under loose rules allowing wanton killing and tolerating violent, anti-Arab racism.
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/080306Z.shtml
Military prosecutors and investigators probing the killing of three Iraqi detainees by US troops in May believe the unit's commanders created an atmosphere of excessive violence by encouraging "kill counts" and possibly issuing an illegal order to shoot Iraqi men. At a military hearing Wednesday on the killing of the detainees near Samarra, witnesses painted a picture of a brigade that operated under loose rules allowing wanton killing and tolerating violent, anti-Arab racism.
Seeking to deflect criticism of Mel Gibson, Prager revived discredited accusations that Sen. Clinton made anti-Semitic remarks 30 years ago
While defending actor Mel Gibson from criticism Gibson has received for making anti-Semitic remarks during a July 28 drunken-driving arrest, right-wing columnist and radio host Dennis Prager revived the discredited allegation that Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton made "private remarks that were anti-Semitic" more than three decades ago. Read more
While defending actor Mel Gibson from criticism Gibson has received for making anti-Semitic remarks during a July 28 drunken-driving arrest, right-wing columnist and radio host Dennis Prager revived the discredited allegation that Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton made "private remarks that were anti-Semitic" more than three decades ago. Read more
Days after claiming Reagan brought "historic pause" to Islamic terrorism against U.S., Coulter suggested Reagan's actions in Beirut helped bring about 9-11
Days after crediting former President Ronald Reagan for achieving "an amazing, historic pause in Muslim extremists' relentless war on America," Ann Coulter suggested that the Reagan administration's decision to withdraw U.S. troops from Beirut, Lebanon, in 1984, helped bring about the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. Read more
Days after crediting former President Ronald Reagan for achieving "an amazing, historic pause in Muslim extremists' relentless war on America," Ann Coulter suggested that the Reagan administration's decision to withdraw U.S. troops from Beirut, Lebanon, in 1984, helped bring about the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. Read more
Conservative media figures jumping to Mel Gibson's defense
Conservative media figures have jumped to the defense of Mel Gibson after he made a series of anti-Semitic remarks when he was arrested for driving under the influence. Read more
Conservative media figures have jumped to the defense of Mel Gibson after he made a series of anti-Semitic remarks when he was arrested for driving under the influence. Read more
Your World teaser suggested Democrats want to "Cut & Run"
On the August 1 edition of Fox News' Your World, host Neil Cavuto previewed an interview with Sen. Richard Durbin (D-IL) about a letter from House and Senate Democratic leaders urging President Bush to begin withdrawing U.S. troops from Iraq by the end of the year. As Cavuto spoke, the on-screen text read: "Cut & Run?" Read more
On the August 1 edition of Fox News' Your World, host Neil Cavuto previewed an interview with Sen. Richard Durbin (D-IL) about a letter from House and Senate Democratic leaders urging President Bush to begin withdrawing U.S. troops from Iraq by the end of the year. As Cavuto spoke, the on-screen text read: "Cut & Run?" Read more
Manoeuvres and appeasement: Europe's response to the US-Israeli war against Lebanon
http://www.wsws.org/articles/2006/aug2006/euro-a03.shtml
http://www.wsws.org/articles/2006/aug2006/euro-a03.shtml
US steps up provocations against Cuba amid speculation on Castro's health
http://www.wsws.org/articles/2006/aug2006/cuba-a03.shtml
http://www.wsws.org/articles/2006/aug2006/cuba-a03.shtml
Democratic Party leaders rally behind pro-war Senator Lieberman
http://www.wsws.org/articles/2006/aug2006/lieb-a03.shtml
http://www.wsws.org/articles/2006/aug2006/lieb-a03.shtml
Rules of Engagement: "Kill All Military-Age Males"
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/080206R.shtml
After two internal inquiries evaluating a mission that had taken place in northern Iraq on May 9, Pfc. Corey Clagett and three other soldiers from the 3rd Battalion of the 101st Airborne Division expected to return to their duties without a stain on their characters. Three of the four have since been arrested, accused of premeditated murder, and placed in a US military jail in Kuwait. In their sworn affidavits, the three accused soldiers, along with others in the unit, say they received unusual but unequivocal rules of engagement for the task ahead. They say that they were given repeated and explicit orders to "kill all military-age males."
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/080206R.shtml
After two internal inquiries evaluating a mission that had taken place in northern Iraq on May 9, Pfc. Corey Clagett and three other soldiers from the 3rd Battalion of the 101st Airborne Division expected to return to their duties without a stain on their characters. Three of the four have since been arrested, accused of premeditated murder, and placed in a US military jail in Kuwait. In their sworn affidavits, the three accused soldiers, along with others in the unit, say they received unusual but unequivocal rules of engagement for the task ahead. They say that they were given repeated and explicit orders to "kill all military-age males."
Cindy Sheehan | Won't You Please Come to Camp Casey
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/080206S.shtml
"Camp Casey in Crawford is more important than ever, now. Not only has this administration, with the eager approval of Congress, committed genocide on a massive scale, they are taking away our civil rights and our right to be heard and counted. We cannot allow these same leaders who accuse the peace movement of a political agenda to use our soldiers and the babies of Iraq as political game pieces in the folly of elections when there is so much overwhelming evidence that our elections have been compromised, and while election after election is stolen, no one does anything about it. It is up to us all, nobody else," urges Cindy Sheehan.
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/080206S.shtml
"Camp Casey in Crawford is more important than ever, now. Not only has this administration, with the eager approval of Congress, committed genocide on a massive scale, they are taking away our civil rights and our right to be heard and counted. We cannot allow these same leaders who accuse the peace movement of a political agenda to use our soldiers and the babies of Iraq as political game pieces in the folly of elections when there is so much overwhelming evidence that our elections have been compromised, and while election after election is stolen, no one does anything about it. It is up to us all, nobody else," urges Cindy Sheehan.
Unions Say EPA Bends to Political Pressure
http://www.truthout.org/issues_06/080206EA.shtml
Unions representing thousands of staff scientists at the Environmental Protection Agency say the agency is bending to political pressure and ignoring sound science by allowing a group of toxic chemicals to be used in agricultural pesticides.
http://www.truthout.org/issues_06/080206EA.shtml
Unions representing thousands of staff scientists at the Environmental Protection Agency say the agency is bending to political pressure and ignoring sound science by allowing a group of toxic chemicals to be used in agricultural pesticides.
World's Water Resources Face Mounting Pressure
http://www.truthout.org/issues_06/080206EB.shtml
Global fresh water use tripled during the second half of the twentieth century as the population more than doubled and as technological advances let farmers and other water users pump groundwater from greater depths and harness river water with more and larger dams. As global demand soars, pressures on the world's water resources are straining aquatic systems worldwide.
http://www.truthout.org/issues_06/080206EB.shtml
Global fresh water use tripled during the second half of the twentieth century as the population more than doubled and as technological advances let farmers and other water users pump groundwater from greater depths and harness river water with more and larger dams. As global demand soars, pressures on the world's water resources are straining aquatic systems worldwide.
Clinton, Mayors Form Alliance on Climate
http://www.truthout.org/issues_06/080206EC.shtml
Former President Clinton and mayors of some of the world's largest cities announced an initiative Tuesday to combat climate change and increase energy efficiency in everything from street lights to building materials.
http://www.truthout.org/issues_06/080206EC.shtml
Former President Clinton and mayors of some of the world's largest cities announced an initiative Tuesday to combat climate change and increase energy efficiency in everything from street lights to building materials.
States Push Health Care Reform While Activists Demand Overhaul
http://www.truthout.org/issues_06/080206HA.shtml
Across the nation, states have made headlines this year for innovative approaches to expanding residents' access to health insurance. But when the publicity has cleared and the reality sets in, the uninsured are finding these plans fall short of the fanfare that surrounded their announcement.
http://www.truthout.org/issues_06/080206HA.shtml
Across the nation, states have made headlines this year for innovative approaches to expanding residents' access to health insurance. But when the publicity has cleared and the reality sets in, the uninsured are finding these plans fall short of the fanfare that surrounded their announcement.
Russell Mokhiber and Robert Weissman | Dr. Gottlieb Is Not Happy
http://www.truthout.org/issues_06/080206HB.shtml
While discussing on NPR whether government science panels are fair and balanced, Russell Mokhiber and Robert Weissman described the exchange between Dr. Nissen, chair of the Department of Cardiovascular Medicine at the Cleveland Clinic Foundation, and Dr. Gottlieb, deputy commissioner for Medical and Scientific Affairs at the Food and Drug Administration. Dr. Nissen blasted Dr. Gottlieb on the "imbalance of power between the FDA and industry."
http://www.truthout.org/issues_06/080206HB.shtml
While discussing on NPR whether government science panels are fair and balanced, Russell Mokhiber and Robert Weissman described the exchange between Dr. Nissen, chair of the Department of Cardiovascular Medicine at the Cleveland Clinic Foundation, and Dr. Gottlieb, deputy commissioner for Medical and Scientific Affairs at the Food and Drug Administration. Dr. Nissen blasted Dr. Gottlieb on the "imbalance of power between the FDA and industry."
Linda Basch | Tax Cut Makes Women Pay
http://www.truthout.org/issues_06/080206WA.shtml
"House congressional candidates are ready to hit the campaign trail touting their vote in favor of the minimum wage. It's an appealing political strategy: 66 percent of minimum wage earners are women, the voting block that every candidate wants to sway. But this long overdue increase in the minimum wage comes at an unacceptably high price to women and families," writes Linda Basch.
http://www.truthout.org/issues_06/080206WA.shtml
"House congressional candidates are ready to hit the campaign trail touting their vote in favor of the minimum wage. It's an appealing political strategy: 66 percent of minimum wage earners are women, the voting block that every candidate wants to sway. But this long overdue increase in the minimum wage comes at an unacceptably high price to women and families," writes Linda Basch.
Fox News Agrees to Settlement of Sex Discrimination Suit
http://www.truthout.org/issues_06/080206WB.shtml
Fox News Network, a unit of Rupert Murdoch's News Corp., has agreed to pay $225,000 to settle a US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission sex discrimination suit. The resolution of the suit claiming harassment at Fox News headquarters in New York is before US District Judge William H. Pauley III for approval, the EEOC said yesterday in a statement.
http://www.truthout.org/issues_06/080206WB.shtml
Fox News Network, a unit of Rupert Murdoch's News Corp., has agreed to pay $225,000 to settle a US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission sex discrimination suit. The resolution of the suit claiming harassment at Fox News headquarters in New York is before US District Judge William H. Pauley III for approval, the EEOC said yesterday in a statement.
More Violence in Iraq, US Troops Flood Into Baghdad
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/080206A.shtml
Bombings and shootings killed more than 70 people in Iraq yesterday in a surge of bloodshed, as US forces prepared to try to take Baghdad's streets back from gunmen.
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/080206A.shtml
Bombings and shootings killed more than 70 people in Iraq yesterday in a surge of bloodshed, as US forces prepared to try to take Baghdad's streets back from gunmen.
Bill Quigley | Weapons of Mass Destruction in US
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/080206B.shtml
Bill Quigley quotes three jailed US protesters: "US leaders speak about the dangers of other nations acquiring nuclear weapons, but they fail to act in accordance with the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty which commits the US to take steps to disarm its weapons of mass destruction."
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/080206B.shtml
Bill Quigley quotes three jailed US protesters: "US leaders speak about the dangers of other nations acquiring nuclear weapons, but they fail to act in accordance with the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty which commits the US to take steps to disarm its weapons of mass destruction."
Lebanon Children: In the Line of Fire
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/080206C.shtml
What is obvious to everyone covering this conflict is that children are bearing the brunt of it. The few official figures collated so far seem to support this. UNICEF says that 37 of the 60 dead in Qana on Sunday were children, and everywhere you go, it seems that it is the children who are being killed, injured and displaced.
Bush Asks Federal Court to Stop Domestic Spying Lawsuit
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/080206D.shtml
The US government has asked a San Francisco court to quash a lawsuit charging that the Bush administration illegally spied on Americans' phone calls, legal filings showed.
David Swanson | The Shame of Not Being Mexican
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/080206E.shtml
"In the United States, our two big political parties never nominate a candidate of, by, or for poor people. Nonetheless, we have now established a pattern of stolen elections, and we have NOT taken over our nation's capital to demand justice. This fact alone would make me ashamed right now not to be a Mexican," laments David Swanson.
J. Sri Raman | South Asia's Strange Partnership Against Peace
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/080206F.shtml
"This strange South Asian partnership against peace is closely connected to the 'coalition of the willing' that the US President commands," writes J. Sri Raman. "It is the India-US nuclear deal, an initiative of George W. Bush aimed at consolidating the 'coalition,' which has led directly to the current India-Pakistan nuclear compact of a covert kind ... It is clear that the India-US nuclear deal has only strengthened their determination to persist with their perilous nuclear course."
Maimed Soldier Now Questions the War
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/080206G.shtml
President Bush came and sat by the side of Sergeant Brian Fountaine, a 24-year-old tank commander from Dorchester, a gung-ho soldier who had lobbied to be deployed a second time. The president chatted about the sergeant's beloved Red Sox, but made no reference to the war, the soldier said. If the topic had come up, the president might not have liked what Fountaine had on his mind.
9/11 Live: The NORAD Tapes
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/080206Q.shtml
How did the US Air Force respond on 9/11? Could it have shot down United 93, as conspiracy theorists claim? Obtaining 30 hours of never-before-released tapes from the control room of NORAD's Northeast headquarters, Michael Bronner reconstructs the chaotic military history of that day - and the Pentagon's apparent attempt to cover it up.
Pentagon Suspected of Lying About 9/11
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/080206J.shtml
Some staff members and commissioners of the September 11 panel concluded that the Pentagon's initial story of how it reacted to the 2001 terrorist attacks may have been part of a deliberate effort to mislead the commission and the public rather than a reflection of the fog of events on that day, according to sources involved in the debate.
Government Wins Access to Reporter Phone Records
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/080206L.shtml
A federal prosecutor may inspect the telephone records of two New York Times reporters in an effort to identify their confidential sources, a federal appeals court in New York ruled yesterday.
Army Guard Units Said Not Combat-Ready
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/080206M.shtml
More than two-thirds of the Army National Guard's 34 brigades are not combat-ready, mostly because of equipment shortages that will cost up to $21 billion to correct, the top National Guard general said Tuesday.
Evidence of Election Fraud Grows in Mexico
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/080206N.shtml
It appears that the US media has become so enamored with the construct of the "anti-democratic" left in Latin America that they are incapable of fulfilling their basic mandate to inform their readers when it comes to the political landscape south of the border. But back in the real world, a growing body of credible evidence from mainstream Mexican journalists, independent election observers, and respected scholars indicates that an attempt was made to deliver the presidency to Calder-n. It includes a pattern of irregularities at the polls, interference by the ruling party, and some very suspicious statistical patterns in the "official" results.
Robert Scheer | Israel's Dependency on the Drug of Militarism
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/080206O.shtml
"Those who mindlessly support Israel, right or wrong, from President Bush on through the cheerleaders in Congress and the media, betray the security of the Jewish state. They are enablers who have encouraged Israel's dependency on the drug of militarism as a false escape from the difficult accommodations needed to bring peace to the Middle East," writes Robert Scheer.
Harold Meyerson | Minimum Wage, Maximum Gall
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/080206P.shtml
"The one thing that should engender more fear than the current Congress's doing nothing is the current Congress's doing something," writes Harold Meyerson. "Every time Congressional Republicans are compelled by public pressure to address a serious issue, they retreat to their laboratory and emerge with Frankenstein-monster legislation designed primarily to reward their campaign donors and stick it to the Democrats, and only secondarily to fix the problem."
FOCUS | William Rivers Pitt: Banking on War
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/080206Z.shtml
William Rivers Pitt writes: "It is, at bottom, all about profit. We sell the weapons, which create warfare, which justifies our incredibly expensive war-making capabilities when we have to go in and fight against the people who bought our weapons or procured them from a third party. This does not make the world safer, but only reinforces the permanent state of peril we find ourselves in."
VIDEO | Murtha on Patriotism and the Cost of the War
An Interview by Geoffrey Millard and Scott Galindez
http://www.truthout.org/multimedia.htm
In Part 2 of our interview with Congressman John Murtha, we ask him about the attacks on his patriotism, the cost of the war, and his opposition to permanent bases in Iraq.
Gonzales Fears War Crimes Charges
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/080106B.shtml
A law approved by a Republican-controlled Congress a decade ago has made the Bush administration nervous that officials and troops involved in handling detainee matters can be accused of committing war crimes, and prosecuted in US courts.
Troops Home Fast to End; Fasters Meeting With Iraqi Leaders
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/080106C.shtml
After 28 days of fasting, anti-war hunger strikers received a breakthrough victory for their sacrifice: Leading members of the Iraqi Parliament invited fasters to join them to discuss their plans for peace in Iraq. On Wednesday, August 2, hunger strikers will travel to Amman, Jordan to meet with these Iraqi MPs and break their fast.
Report Alleges Bush Has Violated 26 Statutes
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/080106D.shtml
The Bush administration may have broken over two dozen federal laws and regulations - some of them multiple times - according to an unreleased report from House Judiciary Committee Democrats.
Worst Ever Security Flaw Found in Diebold TS Voting Machine
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/080106E.shtml
"Diebold has made the testing and certification process practically irrelevant. If you have access to these machines and you want to rig an election, anything is possible with the Diebold TS - and it could be done without leaving a trace. All you need is a screwdriver," says Open Voting Foundation president, Alan Dechert.
House GOP Ties Min. Wage Hike to Estate Tax Cut
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/080106F.shtml
Having tried numerous other avenues to repeal a tax that affects only America's wealthiest heirs, the Republican leadership last week tied its long-sought estate-tax cut to the minimum-wage hike hungrily sought by America's poorest workers.
Bush seeks to extend Guantánamo procedures to American citizens
http://www.wsws.org/articles/2006/aug2006/trib-a01.shtml
US professor arrested and held in Israel
http://www.wsws.org/articles/2006/aug2006/fala-a01.shtml
FOCUS | Bush Bids for Sweeping Detention Power
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/072906X.shtml
US citizens suspected of terror ties might be detained indefinitely and barred from access to civilian courts under legislation proposed by the Bush administration, say legal experts reviewing an early version of the bill. A 32-page draft measure is intended to authorize the Pentagon's tribunal system, established shortly after the 2001 terrorist attacks to detain and prosecute detainees captured in the war on terror.
Republican Says We Need a Democrat Majority in Congress
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/072806A.shtml
Former Republican congressman and presidential candidate Pete McCloskey writes in a letter, "Republican House leadership has been so unalterably corrupted by power and money that reasonable Republicans should support Democrats against DeLay-type Republican incumbents in 2006."
John Dean Knocks "Imperial Presidency"
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/072806B.shtml
In his new book, "Conservatives Without Conscience," John Dean says the country has returned to an "imperial presidency" that is putting the United States and the world at risk.
Joshua Holland | "Free Market" Ideology Has Killed Thousands in Iraq
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/072806D.shtml
Joshua Holland writes, "Iraqis have been brutalized not only by bombs and bullets; they've also been the victims of economic violence in the form of the free market 'shock therapy' cooked up by a firm in Virginia on a $250 million no-bid contract before the US invasion."
David Swanson | Where Were You When They Took Your Rights Away?
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/072806E.shtml
David Swanson asks, "Can you name the one country on earth where the government can steal elections, strip away basic rights, spy on citizens, and launch wars based on lies, but where the people do not take over the nation's capital in protest?"
Pierre Rousselin | Iran at the Heart of the Crisis
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/072806H.shtml
"Not recognizing Iran leads to an accumulation of crises ever more costly, one after another, for Western interests. The longer we wait, the higher the price to pay will be," Pierre Rousselin warns.
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/080206C.shtml
What is obvious to everyone covering this conflict is that children are bearing the brunt of it. The few official figures collated so far seem to support this. UNICEF says that 37 of the 60 dead in Qana on Sunday were children, and everywhere you go, it seems that it is the children who are being killed, injured and displaced.
Bush Asks Federal Court to Stop Domestic Spying Lawsuit
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/080206D.shtml
The US government has asked a San Francisco court to quash a lawsuit charging that the Bush administration illegally spied on Americans' phone calls, legal filings showed.
David Swanson | The Shame of Not Being Mexican
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/080206E.shtml
"In the United States, our two big political parties never nominate a candidate of, by, or for poor people. Nonetheless, we have now established a pattern of stolen elections, and we have NOT taken over our nation's capital to demand justice. This fact alone would make me ashamed right now not to be a Mexican," laments David Swanson.
J. Sri Raman | South Asia's Strange Partnership Against Peace
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/080206F.shtml
"This strange South Asian partnership against peace is closely connected to the 'coalition of the willing' that the US President commands," writes J. Sri Raman. "It is the India-US nuclear deal, an initiative of George W. Bush aimed at consolidating the 'coalition,' which has led directly to the current India-Pakistan nuclear compact of a covert kind ... It is clear that the India-US nuclear deal has only strengthened their determination to persist with their perilous nuclear course."
Maimed Soldier Now Questions the War
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/080206G.shtml
President Bush came and sat by the side of Sergeant Brian Fountaine, a 24-year-old tank commander from Dorchester, a gung-ho soldier who had lobbied to be deployed a second time. The president chatted about the sergeant's beloved Red Sox, but made no reference to the war, the soldier said. If the topic had come up, the president might not have liked what Fountaine had on his mind.
9/11 Live: The NORAD Tapes
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/080206Q.shtml
How did the US Air Force respond on 9/11? Could it have shot down United 93, as conspiracy theorists claim? Obtaining 30 hours of never-before-released tapes from the control room of NORAD's Northeast headquarters, Michael Bronner reconstructs the chaotic military history of that day - and the Pentagon's apparent attempt to cover it up.
Pentagon Suspected of Lying About 9/11
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/080206J.shtml
Some staff members and commissioners of the September 11 panel concluded that the Pentagon's initial story of how it reacted to the 2001 terrorist attacks may have been part of a deliberate effort to mislead the commission and the public rather than a reflection of the fog of events on that day, according to sources involved in the debate.
Government Wins Access to Reporter Phone Records
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/080206L.shtml
A federal prosecutor may inspect the telephone records of two New York Times reporters in an effort to identify their confidential sources, a federal appeals court in New York ruled yesterday.
Army Guard Units Said Not Combat-Ready
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/080206M.shtml
More than two-thirds of the Army National Guard's 34 brigades are not combat-ready, mostly because of equipment shortages that will cost up to $21 billion to correct, the top National Guard general said Tuesday.
Evidence of Election Fraud Grows in Mexico
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/080206N.shtml
It appears that the US media has become so enamored with the construct of the "anti-democratic" left in Latin America that they are incapable of fulfilling their basic mandate to inform their readers when it comes to the political landscape south of the border. But back in the real world, a growing body of credible evidence from mainstream Mexican journalists, independent election observers, and respected scholars indicates that an attempt was made to deliver the presidency to Calder-n. It includes a pattern of irregularities at the polls, interference by the ruling party, and some very suspicious statistical patterns in the "official" results.
Robert Scheer | Israel's Dependency on the Drug of Militarism
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/080206O.shtml
"Those who mindlessly support Israel, right or wrong, from President Bush on through the cheerleaders in Congress and the media, betray the security of the Jewish state. They are enablers who have encouraged Israel's dependency on the drug of militarism as a false escape from the difficult accommodations needed to bring peace to the Middle East," writes Robert Scheer.
Harold Meyerson | Minimum Wage, Maximum Gall
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/080206P.shtml
"The one thing that should engender more fear than the current Congress's doing nothing is the current Congress's doing something," writes Harold Meyerson. "Every time Congressional Republicans are compelled by public pressure to address a serious issue, they retreat to their laboratory and emerge with Frankenstein-monster legislation designed primarily to reward their campaign donors and stick it to the Democrats, and only secondarily to fix the problem."
FOCUS | William Rivers Pitt: Banking on War
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/080206Z.shtml
William Rivers Pitt writes: "It is, at bottom, all about profit. We sell the weapons, which create warfare, which justifies our incredibly expensive war-making capabilities when we have to go in and fight against the people who bought our weapons or procured them from a third party. This does not make the world safer, but only reinforces the permanent state of peril we find ourselves in."
VIDEO | Murtha on Patriotism and the Cost of the War
An Interview by Geoffrey Millard and Scott Galindez
http://www.truthout.org/multimedia.htm
In Part 2 of our interview with Congressman John Murtha, we ask him about the attacks on his patriotism, the cost of the war, and his opposition to permanent bases in Iraq.
Gonzales Fears War Crimes Charges
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/080106B.shtml
A law approved by a Republican-controlled Congress a decade ago has made the Bush administration nervous that officials and troops involved in handling detainee matters can be accused of committing war crimes, and prosecuted in US courts.
Troops Home Fast to End; Fasters Meeting With Iraqi Leaders
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/080106C.shtml
After 28 days of fasting, anti-war hunger strikers received a breakthrough victory for their sacrifice: Leading members of the Iraqi Parliament invited fasters to join them to discuss their plans for peace in Iraq. On Wednesday, August 2, hunger strikers will travel to Amman, Jordan to meet with these Iraqi MPs and break their fast.
Report Alleges Bush Has Violated 26 Statutes
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/080106D.shtml
The Bush administration may have broken over two dozen federal laws and regulations - some of them multiple times - according to an unreleased report from House Judiciary Committee Democrats.
Worst Ever Security Flaw Found in Diebold TS Voting Machine
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/080106E.shtml
"Diebold has made the testing and certification process practically irrelevant. If you have access to these machines and you want to rig an election, anything is possible with the Diebold TS - and it could be done without leaving a trace. All you need is a screwdriver," says Open Voting Foundation president, Alan Dechert.
House GOP Ties Min. Wage Hike to Estate Tax Cut
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/080106F.shtml
Having tried numerous other avenues to repeal a tax that affects only America's wealthiest heirs, the Republican leadership last week tied its long-sought estate-tax cut to the minimum-wage hike hungrily sought by America's poorest workers.
Bush seeks to extend Guantánamo procedures to American citizens
http://www.wsws.org/articles/2006/aug2006/trib-a01.shtml
US professor arrested and held in Israel
http://www.wsws.org/articles/2006/aug2006/fala-a01.shtml
FOCUS | Bush Bids for Sweeping Detention Power
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/072906X.shtml
US citizens suspected of terror ties might be detained indefinitely and barred from access to civilian courts under legislation proposed by the Bush administration, say legal experts reviewing an early version of the bill. A 32-page draft measure is intended to authorize the Pentagon's tribunal system, established shortly after the 2001 terrorist attacks to detain and prosecute detainees captured in the war on terror.
Republican Says We Need a Democrat Majority in Congress
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/072806A.shtml
Former Republican congressman and presidential candidate Pete McCloskey writes in a letter, "Republican House leadership has been so unalterably corrupted by power and money that reasonable Republicans should support Democrats against DeLay-type Republican incumbents in 2006."
John Dean Knocks "Imperial Presidency"
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/072806B.shtml
In his new book, "Conservatives Without Conscience," John Dean says the country has returned to an "imperial presidency" that is putting the United States and the world at risk.
Joshua Holland | "Free Market" Ideology Has Killed Thousands in Iraq
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/072806D.shtml
Joshua Holland writes, "Iraqis have been brutalized not only by bombs and bullets; they've also been the victims of economic violence in the form of the free market 'shock therapy' cooked up by a firm in Virginia on a $250 million no-bid contract before the US invasion."
David Swanson | Where Were You When They Took Your Rights Away?
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/072806E.shtml
David Swanson asks, "Can you name the one country on earth where the government can steal elections, strip away basic rights, spy on citizens, and launch wars based on lies, but where the people do not take over the nation's capital in protest?"
Pierre Rousselin | Iran at the Heart of the Crisis
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/072806H.shtml
"Not recognizing Iran leads to an accumulation of crises ever more costly, one after another, for Western interests. The longer we wait, the higher the price to pay will be," Pierre Rousselin warns.
VIDEO | Congressman Murtha Speaks to Truthout
An Interview by Geoffrey Millard and Scott Galindez
http://www.truthout.org/multimedia.htm
United States congressman John Murtha recently sat down with Geoffrey Millard to discuss his plan for bringing the troops home from Iraq. The congressman explained what he meant by "redeployment" and addressed concerns that many people have about his plan. In the coming days, we will bring you more of the interview.
¶ 9:19 AM An Interview by Geoffrey Millard and Scott Galindez
http://www.truthout.org/multimedia.htm
United States congressman John Murtha recently sat down with Geoffrey Millard to discuss his plan for bringing the troops home from Iraq. The congressman explained what he meant by "redeployment" and addressed concerns that many people have about his plan. In the coming days, we will bring you more of the interview.
