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t r u t h o u t | 8/9/07
Naomi Klein writes about “the most extreme capitalist makeover ever attempted anywhere”; Republican Senator Hagel to announce retirement; Nightline investigates what really happened in Ashcroft’s hospital room; consequences of ice cap melt will kill most polar bears by mid-century; former Enron CEO calls for new trial; John Edwards proposes “international organization to fight terrorism”; Congress postpones voting bill; and more … Browse our continually updating front page at www.truthout.org
Naomi Klein | The Shock Doctrine
www.truthout.org/docs_2006/090807A.shtml
In The Guardian UK, Naomi Klein says, “What [is] happening in Iraq and New Orleans was not a post-September 11 invention. Rather, these bold experiments in crisis exploitation were the culmination of three decades of strict adherence to the shock doctrine.”
Hagel to Retire at End of Term
www.truthout.org/docs_2006/090807B.shtml
David M. Herszenhorn of The New York Times reports: “Senator Chuck Hagel, the Nebraska Republican and outspoken critic of the Iraq war who had been mulling a run for president, will retire at the end of his term in early 2009 and drop his bid for the White House, aides said today.”
Mrs. Ashcroft and the Hospital “Tongue” Lashing
www.truthout.org/docs_2006/090807C.shtml
Brian Ross and Maddy Sauer reported in a segment aired on ABC News Nightline Thursday evening that former Justice Department official Jack Goldsmith “says he found the legal basis for the country’s most important counterterrorism policies, including those for the CIA’s interrogation techniques, to be deeply flawed and sloppily reasoned” when he started his job as head of the DOJ’s Office of Legal Counsel in the fall of 2003.
Artic Ice Melt Killing Polar Bears
www.truthout.org/docs_2006/090807D.shtml
According to The Associated Press, “Two-thirds of the world’s polar bears will be killed off by 2050 – and the entire population gone from Alaska – because of thinning sea ice from global warming in the Arctic, government scientists forecast Friday.”
Skilling Appeals Enron Conviction, Asks for a New Trial
www.truthout.org/docs_2006/090807E.shtml
Carrie Johnson, The Washington Post, writes: “Former Enron chief executive Jeffrey K. Skilling yesterday urged an appeals court to throw out his fraud and conspiracy convictions and order a new trial over his role in a scandal that rocked investor confidence and transformed US business practices.”
Edwards Proposing Anti-Terrorism Agency
www.truthout.org/docs_2006/090807F.shtml
Beth Fouhy of The Associated Press reports: “Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards said he would create an international organization to fight terrorism through shared intelligence, cooperation he says would combat the dangers facing the United States where President Bush has failed.”
House Puts Off Voting Bill, Most Other Business Next Week
www.truthout.org/docs_2006/090807G.shtml
Writing for the Congressional Quarterly, Kathleen Hunter and Alan K. Otaf say, “House leaders have scrapped plans to bring to the floor next week legislation requiring a paper record for every vote cast nationwide, beginning in 2008.”
FOCUS | As a Report Draws Near, Democrats Ready a Stance
www.truthout.org/docs_2006/090807Y.shtml
David M. Herszenhorn reports in Saturday’s edition of The New York Times that “leading Democrats in the House and the Senate maneuvered Friday to portray” a report about the status of the Iraq war General David Petraeus is scheduled to discuss before Congress Monday as wholly unreliable because the Bush administration has cherry-picked the data to support its “political objectives.”
FOCUS | Seven US Soldiers Killed in Iraq Combat
www.truthout.org/docs_2006/090807Z.shtml
The Associated Press’s Robert H. Reid reported late Friday that seven US soldiers were killed in two separate attacks in Sunni populated areas of Iraq, raising the number of American troops killed to “at least” 3,760 since the US-led invasion of Iraq began in March 2003, according to figures maintained by the AP.
Ray McGovern says there will be lots of spin in Washington as General Petraeus’s report on Iraq approaches; Homeland Security developed an office to track US borders using satellites; US economy lost 4,000 jobs between July and August; Richard Black offers an analysis of the recent spate of climate change meetings; Western water law trumps plan to build nuclear waste dump in Nevada; Congressional investigative report says federal government needs to do a better job addressing climate change impacts on public lands; Bhairavi Desai leads New York Taxi Workers Alliance in strike; Congress passes a bill that overturns destructive policies on family planning and HIV/AIDS; Courtney E. Martin on why men should be part of the abortion debate; Dr. John Gofman’s work warns of the dangers of nuclear power; and more … Browse our continually updating front page at www.truthout.org
t r u t h o u t | 09.07
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Ray McGovern | Are Petraeus and Westmoreland Birds of a Feather?
www.truthout.org/docs_2006/090707R.shtml
Ray McGovern writes for Truthout, “Indeed, over the past several weeks, the president has been punctuating virtually every other public sentence with ‘General Petraeus’ or ‘David.’ It is as though Bush is expecting what might be called a ‘Petraeus ex machina’ to extricate himself from the deep hole Cheney and he have dug together.”
Spy Satellites Turned on the US
www.truthout.org/docs_2006/090707S.shtml
Jason Ryan for ABC News reports that “the Department of Homeland Security has developed a new office to use satellites to secure US borders and protect the country from natural disasters.” Ryan reports that some lawmakers expressed concern because this would violate the law that says the military cannot serve as law enforcement within the US.
Recession Fear Rises As Jobs Growth Ends
www.truthout.org/docs_2006/090707T.shtml
David Leonhardt and Jeremy W. Peters write in The New York Times: “The economy shed 4,000 jobs between July and August… It was the first employment decline since 2003, when the job market was still struggling to emerge from a long slump in the wake of the 2001 recession.”
APEC “Muddies the Climate Waters”
www.truthout.org/issues_06/090707EA.shtml
Richard Black for BBC News gives an analysis of the recent spate of climate meetings, including the most recent one in Sydney of APEC.
No Nevada Water for Nuclear Dump
www.truthout.org/issues_06/090707EB.shtml
Ralph Vartabedian for The Los Angeles Times reports that “the Energy Department’s controversial plan to build a nuclear waste dump in Nevada was trumped by Western water law Tuesday, when a federal judge rejected the agency’s demand for eight million gallons of water that state officials have refused to release.”
Global Warming Threatens Nation’s Public Lands
www.truthout.org/issues_06/090707EC.shtml
Juliet Eilperin for The Washington Post reports that a Congressional investigative report to be released this week says the federal government needs to do a better job addressing how climate change is transforming the hundreds of millions of acres under its watch.
New York City Taxi Strike Has an Unlikely Leader
www.truthout.org/issues_06/090707LA.shtml
Larry McShane for The Associated Press reports on Bhairavi Desai, the woman who is leading the New York Taxi Workers Alliance.
Congress Votes to Repeal Global Gag Rule
www.truthout.org/issues_06/090707WA.shtml
Tod Preston for RH Reality Check says that “last night, despite President Bush’s veto threat, the Senate passed the FY 2008 State-Foreign Operations Appropriations bill (by a vote of 81-12) that includes significant provisions overturning destructive policies on family planning and HIV/AIDS.”
Why Men Should Be Included in Abortion Discussion
www.truthout.org/issues_06/090707WB.shtml
Courtney E. Martin writes for AlterNet: “The pro-choice movement, and feminists in general, seem to have historically shied away from the difficult but imperative task of involving men in conversations about abortion… There must be a way to talk about men’s perspectives and experiences without compromising women’s bodies.”
The Genius Doctor Who Diagnosed Nuke Power’s Deadly Disease
www.truthout.org/issues_06/090707HA.shtml
Harvey Wasserman for The Free Press reports that “the nuke power industry now wants $50 billion and more in loan guarantees to build new atomic reactors. As it strong-arms Congress, the warnings of the great Dr. John Gofman, who passed away last week at 88, loom ever larger.”
VIDEO | Military Sexual Violence: Command Rape
www.truthout.org/docs_2006/090707A.shtml
Sara Rich, the mother of Suzanne Swift, sat down with Truthout’s Geoffrey Millard to discuss the command rape her daughter experienced while stationed in Iraq during 2004-2005. Sara is joined by retired Army Colonel Ann Wright, who provides contextual insight into the military.
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t r u t h o u t | 7/9/07
Truthout’s Geoffrey Millard interviews Sara Rich about the ‘command rape’ of her daughter while she was serving in Iraq; two more New York cops die of 9/11-related lung cancer; Paul Krugman urges Democrats in Congress to take a stand; Scott Ritter on Democrats’ reaction to Petraeus and Katie Couric’s visit to Baghdad; Ruth Rosen on the importance of the Freedom of Information Act; report says US is boosting military aid to reward cooperative nations, despite human rights concerns and political turmoil; a fake interview with Obama in the French press; doctors from around the world decry Guantanamo treatment; and more … Browse our continually updating front page at www.truthout.org
VIDEO | Military Sexual Violence: Command Rape
www.truthout.org/docs_2006/090707A.shtml
Sara Rich, the mother of Suzanne Swift, sat down with Truthout’s Geoffrey Millard to discuss the command rape her daughter experienced while stationed in Iraq during 2004-2005. Sara is joined by retired Army Colonel Ann Wright, who provides contextual insight into the military.
Two More NY Cops Die of 9/11-Related Cancer
www.truthout.org/docs_2006/090707B.shtml
Larry Celona, of the New York Post, reports, “Two more cops have died of 9/11-related lung cancer, according to their families.”
Paul Krugman | Time to Take a Stand
www.truthout.org/docs_2006/090707C.shtml
Paul Krugman reports for The New York Times: “Here’s what will definitely happen when Gen. David Petraeus testifies before Congress next week: he’ll assert that the surge has reduced violence in Iraq – as long as you don’t count Sunnis killed by Sunnis, Shiites killed by Shiites, Iraqis killed by car bombs and people shot in the front of the head. Here’s what I’m afraid will happen: Democrats will look at Gen. Petraeus’s uniform and medals and fall into their usual cringe.”
Scott Ritter | Reporting From Baghdad
www.truthout.org/docs_2006/090707D.shtml
Scott Ritter writes for Truthdig: “Iraq has become a prestige destination for every aspiring journalist or struggling anchor, determined to get ‘the big story.’ The most recent manifestation of this syndrome is CBS News anchor Katie Couric, who earlier this week traveled to Iraq.”
Ruth Rosen | Soft Crimes Against Democracy
www.truthout.org/docs_2006/090707E.shtml
Ruth Rosen writes for TomDispatch.com, “I’d like to remind you how quickly democratic transparency vanished after 9/11 and why this most recent contorted rejection of our premier sunshine law is more than a passing matter; why it is, in fact, an essential aspect of this administration’s continuing violation of our civil rights and liberties, the checks and balances of our system of government, and, yes, even our Constitution.”
US Boosting Military Aid in Terrorism Fight: Study
www.truthout.org/docs_2006/090707F.shtml
David Morgan reports for Reuters, “The Bush administration is sharply increasing its use of military aid as a reward for countries that cooperate with its war on terrorism, despite concerns about human rights and political instability, researchers said on Thursday.”
A Fake Interview With Obama in “Politique Internationale”
www.truthout.org/docs_2006/090707G.shtml
Pascal Riche, reporting for Rue89, reveals that an interview with Barack Obama published in France’s extremely prestigious “Politique Internationale” never took place. Riche’s investigation of the shady background of that interview’s “author” – a noted conservative talking head in the US – suggests the institutional problem of fabricated “news” has not gone away with Stephen Glass and Jason Blair …
Doctors Decry Guantanamo Treatment
www.truthout.org/docs_2006/090707H.shtml
The Associated Press reports, “The US medical establishment appears to have turned a blind eye to the abuse of military medicine at the Guantanamo Bay prison in Cuba, doctors from around the world said in a letter published Friday in a prestigious British medical journal.”
VIDEO: Military Sexual Violence: Command Rape
www.truthout.org/docs_2006/090707A.shtml
Sara Rich, the mother of Suzanne Swift, sat down with Truthout’s Geoffrey Millard to discuss the command rape her daughter experienced while stationed in Iraq during 2004-2005. Sara is joined by retired Army Colonel Ann Wright, who provides contextual insight into the military.
t r u t h o u t | 6/9/07
Judge declares parts of Patriot Act are unconstitutional; former judge and chairman of the North Carolina Republican Party is going to jail; student loan lender tries to buy preferred status at university; critics say BBC canceled global warming program because of political pressure; deadlock at APEC summit on global warming; Australia’s wheat crop severely damaged; the Register-Guard says mining threatens national parks; United Auto Workers members oppose a health care plan that shifts costs to union; and more … Browse our continually updating front page at www.truthout.org
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Judge Strikes Down Parts of Patriot Act
www.truthout.org/docs_2006/090607R.shtml
CBS News and The Associated Press report that “a federal judge struck down parts of the revised USA Patriot Act as unconstitutional Thursday, saying courts must be allowed to supervise cases where the government orders Internet providers to turn over records without telling customers.”
Former GOP Power Currin Going to Prison
www.truthout.org/docs_2006/090607S.shtml
Titan Barksdale, The News & Observer, reports: “As a federal prosecutor, Sam Currin spent six years prosecuting drug dealers, pornographers and other criminals. Now, he will spend nearly the same amount of time in prison himself.”
Student Loan Company Tried to Buy Preferred Status at University of Maryland
www.truthout.org/docs_2006/090607T.shtml
Rob Tricchinelli for the Capital News Service reports that Nelnet, a leading student loan company based in Lincoln, Nebraska, attempted to obtain special placement on the University of Maryland’s preferred lender list last year.
Bill Moyers Journal | Christians and the Environment
www.truthout.org/docs_2006/090607U.shtml
As proposed new rules may allow coal companies to expand mountaintop removal mining, Bill Moyers Journal takes viewers to the mountains of West Virginia, which are being stripped for their coal with often disastrous environmental consequences for surrounding communities, to report on local evangelical Christians who are turning to their faith to help save the earth.
Global Warming: Too Hot to Handle for the BBC
www.truthout.org/issues_06/090607EA.shtml
Michael McCarthy for The Independent UK reports that the BBC has scrapped a TV special on global warming planned for early next year. Environmentalists and politicians criticized the corporation’s decision, which they say implies that there is no scientific consensus on the reality of climate change and its human causes.
Jeremy Leggett | Kings of the Coal Habit
www.truthout.org/issues_06/090607EB.shtml
Jeremy Leggett for The Guardian UK writes about the meeting in Sydney this week at the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit: “Everyone who cares about the greenhouse threat should train a microscope on their [John Howard’s and George Bush’s] actions. The fate of human civilization will probably hinge on the fossil-fuel decisions of just six nations, and five of them are members of APEC.”
Hot Winds Severely Damage Australian Wheat
www.truthout.org/issues_06/090607EC.shtml
Sambit Mohanty for Reuters reports that Australia’s wheat crop, which makes up the bulk of Australia’s exports and is the world’s second-largest wheat exporter after the United States, could be two million tons lower than even the most pessimistic forecasts.
The Register-Guard | Mining Threatens National Parks
www.truthout.org/issues_06/090607ED.shtml
The Register-Guard writes that “among the many reasons to overhaul the nation’s 135-year-old mining law, one of the most compelling is the threat to national parks throughout the West.”
UAW Wary of Health Care Changes
www.truthout.org/issues_06/090607LA.shtml
Sharon Silke Carty, USA Today: “A growing number of United Auto Workers union members oppose a health care plan that has been hailed as the solution to many of the auto industry’s woes.”
Planned Parenthood Launches PR Campaign for Clinic
www.truthout.org/issues_06/090607WA.shtml
Amy Boerema for The Daily Herald reports on Planned Parenthood’s campaign to open a clinic on Chicago’s east side.
The New York Times | Consumers Left in the Cold
www.truthout.org/issues_06/090607HA.shtml
The New York Times writes: “The Bush administration apparently considers regulatory weakness a virtue. But in this summer of recalls, Mattel’s cavalier approach is a chilling reminder of the dangers of coddling industry and starving regulators.”
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t r u t h o u t | 5/9/07
Eight US soldiers, 13 civilians killed in Iraq attacks; Senator Johnson back after stroke; Robyn Blumner says mine safety issue illustrates difference between parties; NOW investigates military sexual assault; Senator Smith is the “new go-to guy” for Northwest timber lobbyists; scientists “stunned” by rapid collapse of Arctic ice cap; “liberation ecology” movement picking up speed in Latin America; more American farmers moving to Mexico; bipolar disorder diagnoses in US youth skyrocket; Mattel announces third major recall of potentially harmful toys; and more … Browse our continually updating front page at www.truthout.org
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Attacks Kill Eight US Troops, 13 Civilians in Baghdad
www.truthout.org/docs_2006/090507R.shtml
The Associated Press reports: “A car bomb killed at least 13 people Wednesday in a Shiite part of Baghdad, and the US command announced the deaths of eight more American soldiers – some victims of a weapon the American command believes comes from Iran.”
Recovering From Stroke, Senator Tim Johnson Returns to Hill
www.truthout.org/docs_2006/090507S.shtml
Mary Clare Jalonick, The Associated Press, reports: “South Dakota Senator Tim Johnson returned to the Senate on Wednesday physically weaker but saying he anticipates running for re-election next year.”
Robyn Blumner | The Difference Between Parties Is As Deep As a Coal Mine
www.truthout.org/docs_2006/090507T.shtml
Writing for The Baltimore Sun, Robyn Blumner says: “A lot of people tell me that they are sick of both political parties. They claim the parties are essentially the same and it doesn’t matter who is in power, because the Democrats and the Republicans are in the pocket of special interests and equally disengaged from the concerns and needs of average people. To that, I proffer this example about mine safety.”
NOW | Women in the US Military Assaulted and Raped by Fellow Soldiers
www.truthout.org/docs_2006/090507U.shtml
NOW reports on the shocking phenomenon that is military sexual trauma, saying that “Roughly one in seven of America’s active-duty military soldiers is a woman, but a NOW investigation found that sexual assault and rape are widespread. One study of National Guard and Reserve forces found that almost one in four women had been assaulted or raped. Last year alone, almost 3,000 soldiers reported sexual assault and rape by other soldiers. On Friday, September 7, in one of the only national television broadcasts of the issue, NOW features women who speak out for the first time.”
With Craig Disgraced, Timber Lobbyists Turn to Smith
www.truthout.org/issues_06/090507EA.shtml
Jeff Mapes of The Oregonian reports: “In the wake of Senator Larry Craig’s swift downfall, Senator Gordon Smith says he is ready to be the new go-to guy in the US Senate for timber and other Northwest natural-resource industries.”
Loss of Arctic Ice Leaves Experts Stunned
www.truthout.org/issues_06/090507EB.shtml
The Guardian UK’s David Adam writes: “The Arctic ice cap has collapsed at an unprecedented rate this summer and levels of sea ice in the region now stand at record lows, scientists have announced.”
Latin America’s Surprising New Eco-Warriors
www.truthout.org/issues_06/090507EC.shtml
In Sierra Magazine, Marilyn Berlin Snell says, “Although few North Americans seem to have noticed it yet, in the past few years a ‘liberation ecology’ movement, with the church at its spiritual heart, has been taking shape from Chile to Mexico. Will the Vatican, I wonder, encourage or stifle it? Latin American Catholics have, after all, taken on what they saw as forces of injustice before.”
Short on Labor, Farmers in US Shift to Mexico
www.truthout.org/issues_06/090507LA.shtml
Julia Preston, The New York Times, reports: “A sense of crisis prevails among American farmers who rely on immigrant laborers, more so since immigration legislation in the United States Senate failed in June and the authorities announced a crackdown on employers of illegal immigrants. An increasing number of farmers have been testing the alternative of raising crops across the border where there is a stable labor supply, growers and lawmakers in the United States and Mexico said.”
Rape, Pillage, and Ignore
www.truthout.org/issues_06/090507WA.shtml
Suemedha Sood, reporting for WireTap, writes: “One in three Indian women will be raped or sexually assaulted in her lifetime – a rate 3.5 times higher than any other racial groups. Many women who are raped do not have access to basic health resources in Indian country. They travel long distances to Indian Health Service hospitals, expecting to receive physical and mental health services, only to find that there is no staff trained to treat sexual assault victims. Many can’t even get rape kits, the exams used to collect evidence after a rape. With no forensic evidence, rapists are free to rape again.”
Bipolar Illness Soars as a Diagnosis for the Young
www.truthout.org/issues_06/090507HA.shtml
The New York Times’s Benedict Carey reports: “The number of American children and adolescents treated for bipolar disorder increased fortyfold from 1994 to 2003, researchers reported in the most comprehensive study of the controversial diagnosis.”
Mattel Recalls 800,000 Lead-Tainted Toys
www.truthout.org/issues_06/090507HB.shtml
Anne D’Innocenzio, The Associated Press, writes: “Mattel Inc.’s reputation took another hit after the world’s largest toy maker announced a third major recall of Chinese-made toys in little more than a month because of excessive amounts of lead paint.”
VIDEO | Keith Olbermann: Bush Playing Us With “Withdrawal”
www.truthout.org/docs_2006/090507A.shtml
Keith Olbermann comments for MSNBC’s Countdown: “President Bush told troops in Iraq some of them may be able to come home. To a country dying of thirst, the president seemed to vaguely promise a drink from a full canteen – a promise predicated on the assumption that he is not lying. Yet you are lying, Mr. Bush. Again. But now, we know why.”
Keith Olbermann on Bush’s talk of troop withdrawal; Ohio GOP Representative Gillmor found dead in his apartment; GAO reports troop surge hasn’t slowed violence against Iraqi civilians; new book details efforts by Cheney’s top lawyer to expand executive power; Jesse Jackson on investing in the US instead of sacrificing in Iraq; J. Sri Raman on Musharraf and the role of the military in Pakistan; former civil rights lawyers lament the state of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division on its 50th anniversary; Corine Lesnes interviews former Clinton speechwriter and adviser for European affairs Antony Blinken; Robert Parry on how VIPs get “brainwashed” during trips to Iraq; and more … Browse our continually updating front page at www.truthout.org
t r u t h o u t | 09.05
Keith Olbermann | Bush Playing Us With “Withdrawal”
www.truthout.org/docs_2006/090507A.shtml
Keith Olbermann comments for MSNBC’s Countdown: “President Bush told troops in Iraq some of them may be able to come home. To a country dying of thirst, the president seemed to vaguely promise a drink from a full canteen — a promise predicated on the assumption that he is not lying. Yet you are lying, Mr. Bush. Again. But now, we know why.”
Ohio GOP Rep. Gillmor Found Dead
www.truthout.org/docs_2006/090507I.shtml
The Associated Press reports that Ohio GOP Representative Gillmor was found dead in his apartment today.
Report: Surge Hasn’t Cut Attacks on Iraqi Civilians
www.truthout.org/docs_2006/090507B.shtml
Renee Schoof and Warren P. Strobel report for McClatchy Newspapers, “The surge of additional US troops in Iraq has failed to curtail violence against Iraqi civilians, an independent government agency reported Tuesday.”
New Book Details Cheney’s Lawyer’s Efforts to Expand Executive Power
www.truthout.org/docs_2006/090507C.shtml
Dan Eggen and Peter Baker report for The Washington Post, “Vice President Cheney’s top lawyer pushed relentlessly to expand the powers of the executive branch and repeatedly derailed efforts to obtain congressional approval for aggressive anti-terrorism policies for fear that even a Republican majority might say no, according to a new book written by a former senior Justice Department official.”
Jesse Jackson | Invest in US Instead of Sacrificing in Iraq
www.truthout.org/docs_2006/090507D.shtml
Jesse Jackson writes for The Chicago Sun Times: “This nation faces a clear choice this September. President Bush will insist that Congress continue the war in Iraq and demand another $50 billion for the occupation. That is on top of the $147 billion already pending for Iraq and Afghanistan this year, and that’s on top of the $460 billion annual military budget.”
J. Sri Raman | The President’s New Clothes
www.truthout.org/docs_2006/090507E.shtml
J. Sri Raman writes for Truthout: “Hans Christian Andersen was not thinking of Pakistan some 200 years hence, when he wrote his immortal ‘The Emperor’s New Clothes.’ But the Danish master’s fairy tale may be enacted in a different way in the far-off land of General Pervez Musharraf.”
Fifty Years Later, Lamenting State of Civil Rights Division
www.truthout.org/docs_2006/090507F.shtml
Greg Gordon reports for McClatchy Newspapers: “Several … former civil rights lawyers expressed fears that the Bush administration has tainted the division’s legacy by rolling back voting rights enforcement, bringing few employment discrimination lawsuits on behalf of African-Americans and diverting appellate lawyers to immigration cases. The Senate Judiciary Committee will conduct a hearing Wednesday to observe the 50th anniversary and hear concerns from civil rights leaders that the division has become partisan, allegedly trampling on minorities’ rights rather than protecting them.”
“We Must Reduce Our Forces in Iraq by Spring 2008"
www.truthout.org/docs_2006/090507G.shtml
Corine Lesnes’s interview in Le Monde of former Clinton speechwriter and adviser for European affairs, Antony Blinken, provides insight into the Democratic Party’s thinking on Iraq.
Robert Parry | How VIPs Get “Brainwashed” on Iraq
www.truthout.org/docs_2006/090507H.shtml
Robert Parry writes for Consortium News, “having been on several of these war-zone congressional trips (as a pool reporter for the Associated Press in the 1980s), I can vouch for how effective the propaganda exercises can be.”
VIDEO: Keith Olbermann | Bush Playing Us With “Withdrawal”
www.truthout.org/docs_2006/090507A.shtml
Keith Olbermann comments for MSNBC’s Countdown: “President Bush told troops in Iraq some of them may be able to come home. To a country dying of thirst, the president seemed to vaguely promise a drink from a full canteen — a promise predicated on the assumption that he is not lying. Yet you are lying, Mr. Bush. Again. But now, we know why.”
VIDEO | Phyllis Bennis: Turning Public Opinion Into Policy
www.truthout.org/docs_2006/080607T.shtml
Phyllis Bennis, a fellow at the Washington, DC think tank the Institute for Policy Studies, sat down recently with Truthout’s Geoffrey Millard to discuss politics, policies and the war in Iraq.
Thomas D. Williams reports on neglected illnesses generated by wars; two top aides of Representative John Doolittle subpoenaed in Abramoff case; William Fisher reports on problems for American Muslims when giving during Ramadan; Bush’s troop cuts will only be symbolic; ACLU files lawsuit against US military; Craig reconsiders his decision to resign; Gore will endorse a candidate before primaries; and more … Browse our continually updating front page at www.truthout.org
t r u t h o u t | 09.05
Thomas D. Williams | War Illnesses Fester
www.truthout.org/docs_2006/090507J.shtml
Thomas D. Williams writes for Truthout: “The environmental hazards foreign civilians and US and allied service members have been exposed to and sickened by are largely generated by US and allied bombings, munitions and even medicines aimed at protecting service members. They include: radioactive dust from depleted uranium munitions, deadly chemical warfare gases released by US bombings of Iraqi bunkers, oil well fires during the first Gulf War, pollution of European and Middle Eastern foreign air and water supplies from wartime explosions and fires, pesticides, fumes from specialized military vehicle paint, and disease carrying insects.”
Top Aides for GOP Congressman Subpoenaed in Abramoff Case
www.truthout.org/docs_2006/090507K.shtml
David Whitney reports for McClatchy Newspapers, “Two top aides of Representative John Doolittle, R-Calif., have been subpoenaed by a federal grand jury in connection with the ongoing investigation into the congressman’s relationship with jailed lobbyist Jack Abramoff.”
William Fisher | Ramadan Giving Presents Dilemma for American Muslims
www.truthout.org/docs_2006/090507L.shtml
William Fisher writes for Truthout, “As the mid-September Ramadan fast approaches, many American Muslims are in a quandary about how to fulfill their Quranic obligation to contribute to charity – since the US government has closed down and frozen the assets of many of the leading philanthropies that have traditionally championed Muslim causes, for providing ‘material support’ to terrorist organizations.”
Bush’s Troop Cuts Would Be Symbolic
www.truthout.org/docs_2006/090507M.shtml
Matthew Lee and Anne Gearan of the Associated Press report, “Bush’s senior advisers on Iraq have recommended he stand by his current war strategy, and he is unlikely to order more than a symbolic cut in troops before the end of the year.”
Lawsuit Demands US Reveal Civilian Deaths in Iraq, Afghanistan
www.truthout.org/docs_2006/090507N.shtml
Agence France-Presse reports that the ACLU has filed a lawsuit demanding the American military release documents about civilians killed by US forces in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Senator Craig Reconsiders Choice to Resign
www.truthout.org/docs_2006/090507O.shtml
John Miller reports for The Associated Press, “Senator Larry Craig is reconsidering his decision to resign after his arrest in a Minnesota airport sex sting and may still fight for his Senate seat.”
Gore Likely to Endorse Before Primaries
www.truthout.org/docs_2006/090507P.shtml
The Associated Press reports, “Democrat Al Gore says he will probably endorse one of his party’s 2008 presidential candidates. And it won’t necessarily be Hillary Rodham Clinton, the wife of his former boss.”
VIDEO | Phyllis Bennis: Turning Public Opinion Into Policy
www.truthout.org/docs_2006/080607T.shtml
Phyllis Bennis, a fellow at the Washington, DC think tank the Institute for Policy Studies, sat down recently with Truthout’s Geoffrey Millard to discuss politics, policies and the war in Iraq.
Go directly to our issues page: www.truthout.org/issues.shtml
t r u t h o u t | 4/9/07
Report says Iraq achieved less than half of the political and security goals; Tom Engelhardt writes about Bush’s “Empire of Stupidity”; California’s presidential electoral process coming under fire; “bad environmental practices” killing river dolphins around the world; Julio Godoy on the new utopia; endangered mountain gorillas caught in Congo crossfire; Mexican truckers can cross the border after labor loses bid to block entry; James Carroll writes about where labor went wrong; “Are women’s magazines obsolete?”; outsourcing makes food recalls trickier; and more … Browse our continually updating front page at www.truthout.org
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GAO: Iraq Hasn’t Met 11 of 18 Benchmarks
www.truthout.org/docs_2006/090407R.shtml
Anne Flaherty of The Associated Press reports: “Baghdad has not met 11 of its 18 political and security goals, according to a new independent report on Iraq that challenges President Bush’s assessment on the war.”
Tom Engelhardt | Empire of Stupidity: Seven Years in Hell
www.truthout.org/docs_2006/090407S.shtml
Writing on TomDispatch, Tom Engelhardt says, “On August 22, breaking into his Crawford vacation, the president addressed the national convention of the Veterans of Foreign Wars, giving what is already known as his “Vietnam speech.” That day, George W. Bush, who, as early as 2003, had sworn that his war on Iraq would “decidedly not be Vietnam,” took the full-frontal plunge into the still-flowing current of the Big Muddy, fervently embracing Vietnam analogy-land. You could almost feel his relief (and that of his neocon speechwriters).”
Race for ‘08: Presidential Selection Process Is Under Siege
www.truthout.org/docs_2006/090407T.shtml
Peter Hecht, The Sacramento Bee, writes: “A proposed ballot initiative being circulated to change how California awards its presidential electoral votes is so irksome to Senator Dianne Feinstein that she is vowing to change the US Constitution.”
River Dolphin Population “Dying”
www.truthout.org/issues_06/090407EA.shtml
The Australian Associated Press reports: “The world’s river dolphin population is dying out, thanks to bad environmental practices that also threaten the health of their human neighbors, an international environmental conference has been told.”
Julio Godoy | The New Utopia, Keeping the World As It Is
www.truthout.org/issues_06/090407EB.shtml
Writing for Inter Press Service, Julio Godoy says, “A new utopia is a conservative, apparently modest one – a titanic, nonetheless: keep the world as it is, environmentally speaking. This utopia’s deceptively modest demands have been made clear again in Vienna this week at the new UN conference on global warming.”
Congo’s Rare Mountain Gorillas Caught in Fighting
www.truthout.org/issues_06/090407EC.shtml
Reuters reports: “Rebels in eastern Congo have occupied part of a reserve protecting rare mountain gorillas, putting the endangered primates in the crossfire of an escalating political and ethnic conflict, conservationists say.”
Mexican Trucks to Roll on US Highways
www.truthout.org/issues_06/090407LA.shtml
John Crawley of Reuters writes: “The Bush administration can proceed with a plan to open the US border to long-haul Mexican trucks as early as next week after an appeals court rejected a bid by labor, consumer and environmental interests to block the initiative.”
James Carroll | Labor’s Failure
www.truthout.org/issues_06/090407LB.shtml
James Carroll, The Boston Globe, says: “In the United States, the most revealing failure of the labor movement to live up to its foundational ideal involves labor’s role as a pillar of the military-industrial complex.”
Have Women’s Magazines Gone Out of Vogue?
www.truthout.org/issues_06/090407WA.shtml
Rachel Leibrock, The Sacramento Bee, says: “See Jane die. It was hardly a storybook ending, but after 10 years and countless tongue-in-cheek articles and snarky celebrity interviews, Jane magazine is done.”
Outsourcing Complicates Food Recalls
www.truthout.org/issues_06/090407HA.shtml
The Associated Press’s Andrew Bridges says: “Try searching for a culprit in the 90 brands caught up in the recent recall of canned chili, stew and other products, and you weave back to a single manufacturer.”
VIDEO | Phyllis Bennis: Turning Public Opinion Into Policy
www.truthout.org/docs_2006/080607T.shtml
Phyllis Bennis, a fellow at the Washington, DC think tank the Institute for Policy Studies, sat down recently with Truthout’s Geoffrey Millard to discuss politics, policies and the war in Iraq.
Elizabeth de la Vega on the politicization of the Department of Justice under Bush and Cheney; Truthout’s Geoffrey Millard interviews Phyllis Bennis on politics, policies and the war in Iraq; Ted Glick reflects on a history of fasting; lawyers behind California ballot proposal have ties to Swift Boat group funder; Jeffrey Rosen on Jack L. Goldsmith and his fight against an expansive view of executive power from inside the DOJ; Dean Baker on holding the Fed accountable; Maurice Lemoine on the international arms trade; documents reveal pattern in civilian deaths caused by US soldiers; troop buildup fails to reconcile Iraq; and more … Browse our continually updating front page at www.truthout.org
t r u t h o u t | 09.04
Elizabeth de la Vega | The Politicization of the Department of Justice
www.truthout.org/docs_2006/090407A.shtml
Elizabeth de la Vega writes for Truthout: “The truth is, the high-level decay and politicization of the DOJ that has been so starkly exposed in the past months did not begin with the arrival of Alberto Gonzales in 2005. It began with the arrival of Bush and Cheney in January of 2001. From the moment they moved into the White House, they set about to pervert the functions of the office of the attorney general to advance not only their own personal and political agendas, but also those of the Republican National Committee.”
Phyllis Bennis: Turning Public Opinion Into Policy
www.truthout.org/docs_2006/080607T.shtml
Phyllis Bennis, a fellow at the Washington, DC think tank the Institute for Policy Studies, sat down recently with Truthout’s Geoffrey Millard to discuss politics, policies and the war in Iraq.
Ted Glick | Thoughts on Fasting
www.truthout.org/docs_2006/090407C.shtml
Ted Glick writes for Truthout, “As I prepare myself mentally and spiritually for the long fast I will be undertaking on September 4 as part of the Climate Emergency Fast, I find myself thinking back to the first time I consciously and deliberately went without food because of an issue about which I felt strongly.”
California Ballot Proposal’s GOP Ties
www.truthout.org/docs_2006/090407D.shtml
The Associated Press reports, “Lawyers behind a California ballot proposal that could benefit the 2008 Republican presidential nominee have ties to a Texas homebuilder who financed attacks on Democrat John Kerry’s Vietnam War record in the 2004 presidential campaign.”
Jeffrey Rosen | Conscience of a Conservative
www.truthout.org/docs_2006/090407E.shtml
Jeffrey Rosen writes for The New York Times Magazine: “In the fall of 2003, Jack L. Goldsmith was widely considered one of the brightest stars in the conservative legal firmament… No one was surprised when he was hired in October 2003 to head the Office of Legal Counsel, the division of the Justice Department that advises the president on the limits of executive power… Nine months later, in June 2004, Goldsmith resigned. Although he refused to discuss his resignation at the time, he had led a small group of administration lawyers in a behind-the-scenes revolt against what he considered the constitutional excesses of the legal policies embraced by his White House superiors in the war on terror.”
Dean Baker | The Dirty Toilet Principle
www.truthout.org/docs_2006/090407F.shtml
Dean Baker writes for Truthout: “Fortunately for them, central bankers are not like custodians: To a very large extent, they get to assign their own grades. As a result, the Fed folks are likely to suffer few consequences even as millions of people lose their homes, tens of millions lose most of their life’s savings and the economy stumbles into a recession. Being a central banker is good work, if you can get it.”
Maurice Lemoine | To Arms!
www.truthout.org/docs_2006/090407G.shtml
Le Monde diplomatique’s Maurice Lemoine contrasts the UN’s and the EU’s stated goals of controlling the international arms trade with the flourishing condition of that business.
Pattern Cited in Killings of Civilians by US Troops
www.truthout.org/docs_2006/090407H.shtml
The Associated Press reports, “New documents released Tuesday regarding crimes committed by U.S. soldiers against civilians in Iraq and Afghanistan detail a troubling pattern of troops failing to understand and follow the rules that govern interrogations and deadly actions.”
Troop Buildup Fails to Reconcile Iraq
www.truthout.org/docs_2006/090407I.shtml
Tina Susman of the Los Angeles Times reports, “The US military buildup that was supposed to calm Baghdad and other trouble spots has failed to usher in national reconciliation, as the capital’s neighborhoods rupture even further along sectarian lines, violence shifts elsewhere and Iraq’s government remains mired in political infighting.”
VIDEO | Phyllis Bennis: Turning Public Opinion Into Policy
www.truthout.org/docs_2006/080607T.shtml
Phyllis Bennis, a fellow at the Washington, DC think tank the Institute for Policy Studies, sat down recently with Truthout’s Geoffrey Millard to discuss politics, policies and the war in Iraq.
Mario M. Cuomo argues that “Congress and the courts must recommit to the legislative branch’s sole authority to declare war”; Chinese military hacked into Pentagon computer network in June; Steven Levy on steps that must be taken in every state to secure votes in 2008 election; 9/11 lawsuit claims Bin Laden family, banks, charities and individuals financed al-Qaida; top Iraq envoy refutes Bush’s claim that American policy had been to keep Iraqi army intact; Edwards is backed by unions; film on trauma of soldiers home from Iraq tells story that journalists have failed to tell; and more … Browse our continually updating front page at www.truthout.org
t r u t h o u t | 09.04
Mario M. Cuomo | What the Constitution Says About Iraq
www.truthout.org/docs_2006/090407J.shtml
Mario M. Cuomo writes for The Los Angeles Times: “Most Americans want the war in Iraq ended, but it continues and Americans are killed, mutilated or wounded every day, as the Democratic majorities in Congress struggle to produce legislation that will take our forces out of harm’s way. Meanwhile, President Bush continues to insist that as commander in chief, he has the constitutional power to go to war and decide when to end it, unilaterally. At the same time, another possible disaster emerges from the shadows: Bush appears to be considering a military assault on Iran, again apparently without Congress declaring war first.”
Chinese Military Hacked Into Pentagon
www.truthout.org/docs_2006/090407K.shtml
Demetri Sevastopulo and Richard McGregor report for The Financial Times, “The Chinese military hacked into a Pentagon computer network in June in the most successful cyber attack on the US defense department, say American officials.”
Steven Levy | Securing (Or Not) Your Right to Vote
www.truthout.org/docs_2006/090407L.shtml
Steven Levy writes for Newsweek: “Vulnerabilities in election machines are so severe that voters have no way of knowing for sure that the choices they enter into the touchscreens and ballots will actually be counted. ‘The studies show that these machines are basically poison,’ says Avi Rubin, a Johns Hopkins computer-science professor and voting-security expert.”
A 9/11 Lawsuit Against Bin Laden Family
www.truthout.org/docs_2006/090407M.shtml
The Associated Press reports: “The Saudi Binladin Group is not liable for the September 11 attacks, attorneys for the multinational engineering firm claim, because it made Osama bin Laden surrender his stake in the company 14 years ago… The plaintiffs contend Bakr bin Laden – Osama bin Laden’s brother, the senior member of the bin Laden family and chairman of Saudi Binladin Group – was one of al-Qaida’s principal financiers.”
Bremer’s Letters Counter Bush on Dismantling Iraq Army
www.truthout.org/docs_2006/090407N.shtml
Edmund L. Andrews of The New York Times reports, “A previously undisclosed exchange of letters shows that President Bush was told in advance by his top Iraq envoy in May 2003 of a plan to ‘dissolve Saddam’s military and intelligence structures,’ a plan that the envoy, L. Paul Bremer, said referred to dismantling the Iraqi Army.”
Edwards Gets Fresh Union Backing for White House Bid
www.truthout.org/docs_2006/090407O.shtml
Jim Wolf reports for Reuters, “Democratic presidential hopeful John Edwards won trade union backing on Monday from steelworkers and mineworkers, putting him ahead of rivals in declared union support.”
Film on Trauma of Troops Back From Iraq Hits Venice
www.truthout.org/docs_2006/090407P.shtml
Mike Collett-White reports for Reuters: “The scars from the Iraq war do not heal when US soldiers return home, says a powerful new film starring Tommy Lee Jones that keeps the conflict at the heart of the Venice film festival this year. After Brian De Palma’s ‘Redacted’ stunned audiences with its reconstruction of horrific events in Iraq, Paul Haggis’ ‘In the Valley of Elah’ brings a more nuanced, yet moving account of the brutality some soldiers bring back to the United States.”
Go directly to our issues page: www.truthout.org/issues.shtml
t r u t h o u t | 3/9/07
Stephen Lendman writes on Labor Day about how the state of organized labor has declined in the US; Chris Hedges on being governed and informed by moral and intellectual trolls; Paul Krugman on the Bush administration’s new snow job – this time selling war with Iran; Leahy says senators need to know what advice Gonzales gave Bush, to determine if the next AG will be different; Congress returns from summer break to critical hearings and reports, and Democrats will push to bring troops home; a second retired British general slams the US over its “fatally flawed” Iraq policy; Barbara Ehrenreich writes on the poor little ultra-rich CEOs; and more … Browse our continually updating front page at www.truthout.org
Stephen Lendman | Labor Day Hypocrisy
www.truthout.org/docs_2006/090307A.shtml
Stephen Lendman writes for Truthout: “Labor Day has been commemorated on the first Monday in September each year since the first one was celebrated in New York in 1882. Around the world outside the US, socialist and labor movements are observed on May 1 to recognize organized labor’s social and economic achievements and the workers in them. This day gets scant attention in the US, but where it’s prominent it’s common to remember the Haymarket Riot of May 4, 1886, in Chicago. It followed the city’s May 1 general strike for an eight-hour day that led to violence breaking out on the Fourth.”
Chris Hedges | The Next Quagmire
www.truthout.org/docs_2006/090307B.shtml
Chris Hedges writes for Truthdig: “We live in an age where dialogue is dismissed and empathy is suspect. We prefer the illusion that we can dictate events through force. It hasn’t worked well in Iraq. It hasn’t worked well in Afghanistan. And it won’t work in Iran. But those who once tried to reach out and understand, who developed expertise to explain the world to us and ourselves to the world, no longer have a voice in the new imperial project. We are instead governed and informed by moral and intellectual trolls.”
Paul Krugman | Snow Job in the Desert
www.truthout.org/docs_2006/090307C.shtml
Paul Krugman writes for The New York Times: “Until recently I assumed that the failure to find W.M.D., followed by years of false claims of progress in Iraq, would make a repeat of the snow job that sold the war impossible. But I was wrong. The administration, this time relying on Gen. David Petraeus to play the Colin Powell role, has had remarkable success creating the perception that the ‘surge’ is succeeding, even though there’s not a shred of verifiable evidence to suggest that it is.”
Leahy Links Gonzales Answers to Next AG Confirmation
www.truthout.org/docs_2006/090307D.shtml
The Associated Press reports: “Senate Judiciary Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-Vermont) said Sunday that finding out whether Attorney General Alberto Gonzales lied or otherwise misled Congress will help senators pick a worthy successor. Leahy has asked Justice Department Inspector General Glenn A. Fine to look into whether Gonzales gave inaccurate testimony about the firings of several US attorneys last year.”
Battle Lines Drawn for Bush, Congress on Iraq
www.truthout.org/docs_2006/090307E.shtml
Agence France-Presse reports: “Bush and his Democratic foes in Congress this week fire the opening shots in a long-brewing clash likely to seal the fate of US war strategy in Iraq. Lawmakers return from their summer break for a week of hearings and political theater to set the stage for Bush’s critical progress report on the war, due by September 15.”
Retired British Generals Slam US Over Iraq
www.truthout.org/docs_2006/090307F.shtml
Tariq Panja reports for The Associated Press: “A second retired British general slammed the United States over its Iraq policy, saying in a newspaper interview published Sunday that it had been ‘fatally flawed.’ Major General Tim Cross, the most senior British officer involved in the postwar planning, said he had raised serious concerns about the possibility of Iraq falling into chaos, but said former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld dismissed the warnings.”
Barbara Ehrenreich | Travails of the Super-Rich
www.truthout.org/docs_2006/090307G.shtml
Barbara Ehrenreich writes for the Nation: “On Labor Day we customarily give a nod to America’s underpaid and overworked blue- and pink-collar workers – janitors, flight attendants, forklift operators and the like. But this year let’s go a step further and salute the most reviled and despised of the people who make our economy happen – the mere mention of whom causes the average forklift operator to spit on the floor. You are thinking, perhaps, of telemarketers, human traffickers and the fiends who answer the phone when you to try to make a claim on your health insurance. But I’m talking about our CEOs.”
FOCUS | British Troops Leave Last Basra Base in Iraq
www.truthout.org/docs_2006/090307Y.shtml
The Associated Press reports that: “British soldiers began withdrawing Sunday from their last base in the southern Iraqi city of Basra, paving the way for fresh troop cuts and fueling worries about the security of the country’s second-largest city and the surrounding region.”
FOCUS | As Sunnis Flee, Shiites Now Dominate Baghdad
www.truthout.org/docs_2006/090307Z.shtml
Shiites now dominate the once mixed capital, and there is little chance of reversing the process.
t r u t h o u t | 1/9/07
Robert Parry writes about neocons’ continuous “false hopes” for Iraq; military brass tell Bush about growing concerns over extended troop deployments, toll on families; papers reveal top aide’s role in Abramoff trial; Bob Herbert tells why we should be nervous about the future; Bush wants legal immunity for spying telecoms; judge overturns ban on sonar, which harms whales; Governor Schwarzenegger revives health care reform in California; and more … Browse our continually updating front page at www.truthout.org
Robert Parry | Iraq’s Endless “False Hopes”
www.truthout.org/docs_2006/090107A.shtml
Writing for Consortium News, Robert Parry says, “Two-and-a-half years ago at another ‘turning point’ in the Iraq War, columnists at the Washington Post and other leading American newspapers were ecstatic over how the Iraqi national election was finally fulfilling the neoconservative dream of remaking the Muslim world. Now, however, some of the same columnists who praised the January 30, 2005, election are denouncing it as a failure that must be undone so George W. Bush’s newest ‘turning point’ – the American troop ‘surge’ – can achieve its fullest potential.”
Bush Hears About Strain on Troops
www.truthout.org/docs_2006/090107B.shtml
Robert Burns of The Associated Press reports: “At a key juncture in the Iraq war, the military chiefs conveyed to President Bush on Friday their concern about a growing strain on troops and their families from long and repeated combat tours.”
Document Details Ney Aide’s Cooperation in Abramoff Case
www.truthout.org/docs_2006/090107C.shtml
The Hill’s Susan Crabtree says, “A new court document details the extent to which Neil Volz, who at one point was the top aide of former Representative Bob Ney (R-Ohio) before going to work for lobbyist Jack Abramoff, assisted federal authorities in building a case against the lawmaker that resulted in a guilty plea on charges of bribery and public corruption last year.”
Bob Herbert | Anxious About Tomorrow
www.truthout.org/docs_2006/090107D.shtml
In The New York Times, Bob Herbert writes: “You know you’ve stepped into a different universe when you hear a major American labor leader saying matter-of-factly that employer-based health insurance and employer-based pensions are relics of a bygone industrial economy.”
Bush Seeks Legal Immunity for Telecoms
www.truthout.org/docs_2006/090107E.shtml
The Associated Press reports: “The Bush administration wants the power to grant legal immunity to telecommunications companies that are slapped with privacy suits for cooperating with the White House’s controversial warrantless eavesdropping program.”
US Appeals Court Overturns Whale-Protecting Ban on Sonar
www.truthout.org/docs_2006/090107F.shtml
According to Agence France-Presse, “An appeals court overturned Friday a ban on the US navy’s use of sonar in upcoming training exercises off California that was aimed at protecting whales disturbed by the subsea emissions.”
The Push for Health Care Reform
www.truthout.org/docs_2006/090107G.shtml
Bill Ainsworth, The Union-Tribune, writes: “Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger is scheduled to appear in San Diego today to promote a universal health care proposal whose faint prospects seemed to improve yesterday.”
FOCUS | Civilian Death Toll in Iraq Climbs
www.truthout.org/docs_2006/090107Y.shtml
Reuters reports that “civilian deaths from violence in Iraq rose in August, with 1,773 people killed, government data showed on Saturday, just days before the US Congress gets a slew of reports on President George W. Bush’s war strategy. The civilian death toll was up seven percent from 1,653 people killed in July, according to figures from various ministries.”
FOCUS | Senator Craig Expected to Resign Today
www.truthout.org/docs_2006/090107Z.shtml
Carl Hulse of The New York Times reports that “Senator Larry E. Craig, Republican of Idaho, under intense pressure from party leaders to step down in the aftermath of an undercover sex sting, plans to resign his seat on Saturday, Republican Party officials said Friday. Through intermediaries and unusually harsh public statements and actions, party officials made it clear they wanted Mr. Craig to quit before Congress returned from its summer recess next week, hoping quickly to conclude an embarrassing episode that threatened to complicate an already difficult election cycle for Senate Republicans.” |