t r u t h o u t | 27/8/05

Bolton Brings US into Conflict with UK
www.truthout.org/docs_2005/082705A.shtml
Although John Bolton failed to win congressional approval, Mr. Bush’s recess appointee to the UN has launched headlong into a confrontation with the member states that threatens to alienate even America’s staunchest ally, Great Britain.

Iraq Talks Appear to Reach ‘End of Road’
www.truthout.org/docs_2005/082705B.shtml
An Iraqi government spokesman said early Saturday that talks on a draft constitution were hopelessly deadlocked and that “this is the end of the road.”

John W. Dean | Did Pat Robertson Commit a Crime?
www.truthout.org/docs_2005/082705C.shtml
John Dean writes: “From the moment I heard Robertson’s remark, on the radio, I thought of the federal criminal statutes prohibiting such threats. Do they apply? For me, the answer is yes.”

The New York Times | The Lobbying-Industrial Complex
www.truthout.org/docs_2005/082705D.shtml
The New York Times comments on state of corporate lobbying in Washington: “There are now so many legions of lobbyists working the rich federal turf that sponsors can hire a different firm to lobby each key member of the major Congressional committees.”

Jules Siegel Reviews Norman Solomon’s New Book
www.truthout.org/docs_2005/082705E.shtml
Jules Siegel takes a look Norman Solomon’s new book, “War Made Easy.” Siegel writes: “Norman Solomon demolishes the myth of an independent American press zealously guarding sacred values of free expression.”

Hamas Leader Calls for Renewed Violence
www.truthout.org/docs_2005/082705F.shtml
One of Israel’s most wanted men, the Palestinian militant Mohammed Deif, has resurfaced in an Internet video in which he promises “hell” for Israel after its pullout from the Gaza Strip.

Maureen Dowd | Bike-Deep in the Big Muddy
www.truthout.org/docs_2005/082705G.shtml
In this piece, Maureen Dowd quotes Gary Hart quoting an anti-Vietnam War song, “Waist-deep in the Big Muddy, and the big fool said to push on,” to illustrate the futility of Mr. Bush’s occupation of Iraq.

Rosa Brooks | Not Your Daddy’s Creationists
www.truthout.org/docs_2005/082705H.shtml
Rosa Brooks is clearly not comfortable with what she sees as “the new moral relativism of the right,” in its pursuit of creationism in the classroom.

Sheehan to Visit DeLay Next
www.truthout.org/docs_2005/082705X.shtml
When Mr. Bush heads back to Washington, Cindy Sheehan plans to broaden the scope of her anti-war action. Her next stop will be the offices of Tom DeLay. From all indications, the embattled Texas Congressman will be happier to see her than Mr. Bush was.

Bush-Sheehan Confrontation Escalates
www.truthout.org/docs_2005/082705Y.shtml
With Anti-War protesters and Bush-War supporters alike descending on Bush’s Crawford compound, Sheehan’s grass fire is spreading fast.

In Silence a Challenge to Patriot Act
www.truthout.org/docs_2005/082705Z.shtml
Highlighting concerns of civil rights groups, a lawsuit challenging the FBI’s use of the USA Patriot Act filed by a member of the American Library Association is largely under wraps, the US public forbidden to know its details.

t r u t h o u t | 26/8/05

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Report: Military Women Devalued
www.truthout.org/issues_05/082605WA.shtml
A culture that devalues women in uniform tolerates rape and sexual harassment at the Army and Navy academies, according to a Pentagon task force report. “When women are devalued, the likelihood of harassing and even abusive behavior increases,” said the panel of military officers and civilian experts.

Study Predicts World’s Population Will Grow
www.truthout.org/issues_05/082605EA.shtml
World population growth will continue, reaching 6.5 billion in 2005 and going to 7 billion in about seven years. Of that growth, 99 percent will be in developing countries. The use of modern contraceptives is more common among wealthy women than poor women in nearly all countries.

Washington to Be Sued over Global Warming
www.truthout.org/issues_05/082605EB.shtml
In a landmark judgment, a court in California has allowed a coalition of environmental groups to sue the US government over global warming – the first time a court has recognized the potentially disastrous impact of climate change.

Environmentalist Finds His Voice
www.truthout.org/issues_05/082605EC.shtml
When John Francis stopped using motorized transportation in 1972 after witnessing an environmental disaster, many in his West Marin community thought the young man to be going through a phase. A year later, when he gave up talking for his 27th birthday, some, including Francis himself, wondered whether he had gone crazy.

Health Agency Tightens Rules Governing Federal Scientists
www.truthout.org/issues_05/082605HA.shtml
After accusations that some government scientists used their official positions for private gain, the National Institutes of Health announced rules on Thursday that ban its scientists from consulting for drug companies.

CA Attorney General Accuses Drug Companies of Fraud
www.truthout.org/issues_05/082605HB.shtml
California accused GlaxoSmithKline, Abbott Laboratories and 37 other pharmaceutical companies of defrauding the state’s $34-billion Medi-Cal health program for the poor by inflating prescription drug prices.

David Bacon | Uniting African-Americans and Immigrants
www.truthout.org/issues_05/082605LA.shtml
The Congressional Black Caucus is beginning to champion immigrant rights and bring lessons from the civil rights movement to help immigrants gain equal status in America.

Shi Yinhong: “Oil, First Test of Strength”
www.truthout.org/docs_2005/082605Q.shtml
China’s rapid development and especially its speed constitute the most significant historic event since the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. It was at the moment when China was feeling its greatest confidence in its future that the United States chose to display its demands and its suspicions, Chinese IR Professor Shi Yinhong believes.

Will Base Closings Sap Support for Military?
www.truthout.org/docs_2005/082605R.shtml
Some wonder whether the military, by leaving so many places where it has long been a part of the community, is setting itself up to become too remote from the very people it is charged with protecting. This changes the calculus on everything from defense budgets to recruiting and retention.

Leahy Reacts to Bolton’s Bid to Strike “Respect for Nature”
www.truthout.org/docs_2005/082605S.shtml
Senator Patrick Leahy: “It didn’t take long for Ambassador Bolton to find ways to further erode our leadership in the world and our standing as a moral authority. In his tantrum over this straightforward reference to the environment, Ambassador Bolton does not speak for most Americans, and I count myself among them.”

Radioactive Wounds of War
www.truthout.org/docs_2005/082605A.shtml
Tests on returning troops suggest serious health consequences of depleted uranium use in Iraq. In the current wars in Afghanistan and, especially, Iraq, DU has become the weapon of choice, even though studies in the mid-90's concluded there was no safe way to use DU as weapons.

Army Recruiters’ Sly Tactics: Who’s Next?
www.truthout.org/docs_2005/082605B.shtml
The US Army Recruiting Command has a motto: “First to contact, first to contract.” In the school recruiting handbook the Army gives to the 7,500 recruiters it has trawling the nation these days, the motto crops up so often it serves as a stuttering paean to aggressive new tactics – tactics that target increasingly younger students.

US, Insurgents Locked in Stalemate
www.truthout.org/docs_2005/082605C.shtml
Insurgents in Anbar province, the center of guerrilla resistance in Iraq, have fought the US military to a stalemate. It’s the strategic center of the country, and failure to secure it could thwart the Bush administration’s hopes of helping to create a functioning Iraqi democracy.

Larry C. Johnson | Why We Must Leave Iraq
www.truthout.org/docs_2005/082605D.shtml
Larry Johnson takes a hard, clear-eyed look at the current situation in Iraq and our possible options. He concludes that we have no alternative but to pull our forces out of Iraq. The time has come, he remarks, to minimize further unnecessary loss of life by our troops and re-craft a new foreign and security policy for the Middle East.

The New York Times | States to the Rescue
www.truthout.org/docs_2005/082605E.shtml
The New York Times asks, what are states to do when the federal government does so little? It’s been obvious for some time that state governments are taking the problems of global warming and oil dependency much more seriously than the Bush administration.

Paul Krugman | Summer of Our Discontent
www.truthout.org/docs_2005/082605F.shtml
Krugman insists that most Americans have good reason to feel unhappy about the economy, whatever Washington’s favorite statistics may say. This is an economic expansion that hasn’t trickled down; many people are worse off than they were a year ago. And it will take more than a revamped administration sales pitch to make people feel better.

Israel Kills 5 in West Bank Raid; Abbas Says It Undermines Peace
www.truthout.org/docs_2005/082605G.shtml
The Palestinian leader, Mahmoud Abbas, accused Israel on Thursday of undermining peace efforts with an undercover military raid in the West Bank city of Tulkarm in which five Palestinians were killed.

Americans Recruiting Colombian Mercenaries for Iraq
www.truthout.org/docs_2005/082605H.shtml
In Colombia, some fear that with the ongoing demobilization of death squads, an abundant workforce of unemployed torturers is being recycled through the Iraqi deserts.

Charter Talks in Iraq Reach Breaking Point
www.truthout.org/docs_2005/082605I.shtml
Talks over the Iraqi constitution reached a breaking point on Thursday, with a parliamentary session to present the document being canceled.

What the JAG Memos Tell Us about Torture
www.truthout.org/docs_2005/082605J.shtml
The JAG criticism is not so much moral as strategic. What the JAG lawyers suggest – and it is a position no less significant today than when it was shaped in 2003 – is that a policy of torture is sure to constitute a fatal flaw in any war against jihadi terror.

Juan Cole | The Iraqi Constitution: DOA?
www.truthout.org/docs_2005/082605K.shtml
Angry and marginalized, Sunnis are threatening to torpedo Iraq’s constitution. Disaster looms, and the Bush administration’s blunders are largely to blame.

Lame-Duck Bolton Takes On UN
www.truthout.org/docs_2005/082605L.shtml
The new American approach recommends scrapping more than 400 passages in the 38-page draft prepared under the General Assembly president, Jean Ping of Gabon, that was being readied for a summit conference next month after nearly a year of intensive negotiations.

Phillip Robertson | The Death of al Mutanabbi Street
www.truthout.org/docs_2005/082605M.shtml
Iraqi culture was reborn when Saddam fell, only to die again. Phillip Robertson reports from Baghdad’s fear-haunted literary cafes.

Robert Scheer | Judith Miller: Embedded over Her Head
www.truthout.org/docs_2005/082605N.shtml
What Judith Miller’s avowedly principled defense of journalistic sources may turn out to be, claims Robert Scheer, is a window into the practice of official corruption of journalistic integrity in times of war.

Protesters at Bush Ranch Plan Road Trip to Washington
www.truthout.org/docs_2005/082605O.shtml
Iraq war protester Cindy Sheehan, whose vigil near President George W. Bush’s Texas ranch has become a symbol for the anti-war movement, said on Thursday she planned to take her cause on the road next month and shadow Bush back to Washington.

Leonard Pitts Jr. | Sheehan’s Question Deserves Answer
www.truthout.org/docs_2005/082605Y.shtml
Even though Cindy Sheehan will never get her wish to meet with President Bush, Pitts concludes that her demand for a meeting has embarrassed a president who badly needed embarrassing. In which case, Sheehan’s demand has already been a smashing success. She has one quality most protesters lack: moral authority. And she is asking the right question.

Mfume Stresses Anti-War Stand in Maryland Senate Race
www.truthout.org/docs_2005/082605Z.shtml
Kweisi Mfume, a former congressman and NAACP leader, called the fighting in Iraq “a war without justification and apparently without end” and compared it to the Vietnam War. “It’s time to get out,” Mfume wrote, urging a timeframe for withdrawal.

t r u t h o u t | 08.25

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Government Must Pay $72 Million to Maxxam
www.truthout.org/docs_2005/082505Q.shtml
A judge in Houston has ordered the federal government to pay $72 million to a company controlled by financier Charles Hurwitz, after concluding that federal banking officials had filed baseless legal actions against Hurwitz at the behest of California environmentalists.

A Pivotal Moment for ‘Axis of Evil’
www.truthout.org/docs_2005/082505R.shtml
US relations with North Korea and Iran – the remaining members of President Bush’s “axis of evil” – may be fast approaching crucial times. Talks with North Korea are going better while negotiations with Iran have hit a rough spot. Although Iran and North Korea are not allies, they have learned from each other as the struggle to contain their nuclear ambitions evolves.

Al-Sadr Calls for End to Shiite-on-Shiite Violence
www.truthout.org/docs_2005/082505S.shtml
Shiite Muslim cleric Muqtada al-Sadr on Thursday called for an end to violence between his supporters and those loyal to a rival Shiite leader. Al-Sadr and his backers are among a minority of Shiites who oppose an Iraqi constitution that would include a decentralized Iraqi government with autonomous regions. Sunni Arabs also oppose this plan.

Wave of Marine Species Extinctions Feared
www.truthout.org/issues_05/082505EA.shtml
Dozens of biologists believe the seas have reached a tipping point, with scores of species of ocean-dwelling fish, birds and mammals edging toward extinction. Despite scientists’ warnings, only one US saltwater fish has been added to the list of protected species.

Forest Service Admits ‘Serious’ Mistake in Logging Rare Tree Preserve
www.truthout.org/issues_05/082505EB.shtml
The Forest Service admitted to making a “serious” mistake that allowed 17 acres inside a rare tree reserve to be logged as part of the salvage logging of timber burned by the Biscuit Fire in Oregon in 2002.

Car Owners in the Driver’s Seat
www.truthout.org/issues_05/082505EC.shtml
Alternative car activist Felix Kramer explains how an Internet campaign spearheaded by consumers may finally convince the automotive industry to start manufacturing Plug-In Hybrid Electric Vehicles and other innovative designs.

Painkillers Can Cause Fatal Stomach Bleeding
www.truthout.org/issues_05/082505HA.shtml
Approximately one third of all hospitalizations and deaths related to gastrointestinal bleeding can be attributed to the use of aspirin or nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory agents (NSAIDs) painkillers like ibuprofen, a study in Spain suggests.

Daydreaming Activity Linked to Alzheimer’s
www.truthout.org/issues_05/082505HB.shtml
The parts of the brain that young, healthy people use when daydreaming are the same areas that fail in people who have Alzheimer’s disease, researchers reported on Wednesday in a study that may someday help in preventing or diagnosing the disease.

A Maverick Union Chief Now in Search of Unity
www.truthout.org/issues_05/082505LA.shtml
Mechanics on strike against Northwest Airlines are not getting the support from other unions that they would like. Critics say it is because the anti-solidarity practices of their union, the Aircraft Mechanics Fraternal Association, are coming back to haunt them.

Unions Go Abroad in Fight with Wal-Mart
www.truthout.org/issues_05/082505LB.shtml
Union leaders are meeting in Chicago this week to plan a campaign to stop Wal-Mart from exporting its low-wage jobs across the globe. In Canada, Germany and Japan, unions are using protests, the courts and political pressure to thwart the giant retailer’s expansion.

USAID Sued over Anti-Prostitution Policy
www.truthout.org/issues_05/082505WA.shtml
A US-based family-planning charity is challenging Washington’s “anti-prostitution” policy, calling it an unconstitutional infringement of speech that is undermining efforts to stem the spread of HIV/AIDS. The charity’s president said that the policy “represents posturing by American politicians who are increasingly seen around the world as patronizing, bullying, and obsessed with sex.”

Iraqi Leaders Again Put Off Meeting on New Constitution
www.truthout.org/docs_2005/082505A.shtml
The National Assembly today called off a meeting that was scheduled to decide on the draft constitution, and no new date for the meeting was immediately announced. The announcement that Parliament would miss the second extended deadline places the current government on uncertain legal authority.

Norman Solomon | Will News Media Help Bush Exploit the 9/11 Anniversary Again?
www.truthout.org/docs_2005/082505B.shtml
President Bush’s ultimate demagogic weapon is to exploit the memory of September 11, 2001 for its “war on terror.” And so the media siege has gone, to this day. With the White House now desperate to shore up its sinking political fortunes, Solomon suspects a vast amount of more propaganda is on the horizon.

Nominee’s Role in Tribunal Case Draws Democrats’ Interest
www.truthout.org/docs_2005/082505C.shtml
Continuing the preliminary sparring over the nomination of Judge John G. Roberts Jr. to the Supreme Court, Democrats posed questions Wednesday on a potential conflict of interest in a decision in a recent case involving the Bush administration while liberal groups, including Naral Pro-Choice America, prepared new campaigns against him.

Bob Herbert | Truth-Telling on Race? Not in Bush’s Fantasyland
www.truthout.org/docs_2005/082505D.shtml
The Bush administration has punished a Justice Department official who dared to tell even a mild truth about racial profiling by law enforcement officers in this country. Herbert remarks that Mr. Greenfeld obviously failed to understand that the preferred methods of dealing with uncomfortable facts in the fantasyland of the Bush administration are to ignore them, or simply wish them away.

Israel Confirms Plan to Seize West Bank Land for Barrier
www.truthout.org/docs_2005/082505E.shtml
Israeli officials confirmed Wednesday that the government had issued orders to seize West Bank land needed to extend the separation barrier around the largest Jewish settlement, Maale Adumim, and link it to Jerusalem.

Kevin Drum | It’s All About-Face for the Democrats
www.truthout.org/docs_2005/082505F.shtml
In the face of faltering support, the conventional wisdom predicts disaster at the polls for Republicans in the 2006 midterm elections. What’s a mainstream Democrat to do? Drum suggests having the courage to break ranks and advocate the course that’s probably the most sensible anyway: a gradual, phased withdrawal based on specified interim goals and a hard end-date two years from now. For any Democrat who has been on the record for the last two years as supporting the war in Iraq, advocating withdrawal will take guts Drum warns. But is will also carry rewards.

‘Peace Mom’ Returns to Texas War Protest
www.truthout.org/docs_2005/082505G.shtml
On Wednesday, Sheehan returned to “Camp Casey,” named after her 24-year-old son, Army Spc. Casey Sheehan, who was killed last year in Iraq. Even when she was in California taking care of her mother, Cindy Sheehan said part of her remained at the protest campsite she had set up outside President Bush’s ranch.

Jacques Amalric | Iraq: Bush’s Disquieting Optimism
www.truthout.org/docs_2005/082505H.shtml
Jacques Amalric writes that experience has taught us that George W. Bush’s statements concerning Iraq are an excellent barometer to get an idea of the situation’s development: the more optimistic the President of the United States declares himself to be, the stronger basis we have to expect the worst.

Pentagon to Close Walter Reed Military Hospital
www.truthout.org/docs_2005/082505I.shtml
A federal commission signed off Thursday on the Pentagon’s plan to close the crown jewel of the Army hospital system as part of an effort to streamline medical services across the armed forces.

American Legion Declares War on Protestors – Media Next?
www.truthout.org/docs_2005/082505J.shtml
Speaking at its national convention in Honolulu, the American Legion’s national commander called for an end to all “public protests” and “media events” against the war, even though they are protected by the Bill of Rights.

Sidney Blumenthal | Questioning the President
www.truthout.org/docs_2005/082505K.shtml
A servile Congress, according to Sidney Blumenthal, has let Bush go on permanent vacation. But with US security hanging in the balance, it’s time to ask the hard-hitting questions.

US Wants Changes in UN Agreement
www.truthout.org/docs_2005/082505L.shtml
Less than a month before world leaders arrive in New York for a world summit on poverty and UN reform, the Bush administration has thrown the proceedings in turmoil with a call for drastic renegotiation of a draft agreement to be signed by presidents and prime ministers attending the event.

Reuters Demands US Release Detained Journalist
www.truthout.org/docs_2005/082505M.shtml
Reuters news agency called on the US military on Wednesday to explain the detention of an Iraqi journalist working for the agency, who has been held incommunicado for two weeks, or release him immediately.

J. Sri Raman | Bangladesh Blasts Sound a Loud Warning to South Asia
www.truthout.org/docs_2005/082505N.shtml
Bangladesh, according to one expert estimate, harbored 48 camps of such fundamentalist groups. J. Sri Raman says that particularly notorious has been the Harkat-ul Jehad al-Islami (HuJI). The shadowy outfit’s history may be sketchy, but many believe it was set up in the early ‘90s at the behest of none less than Osama bin Laden.

Anti-Iraq War Parents to Take Protests across Nation
www.truthout.org/docs_2005/082505O.shtml
Parents of soldiers killed in Iraq plan to follow President George W. Bush around the country in the coming months, hoping to generate nationwide anti-war sentiment after camping out at his Texas ranch.

NOW | The Real Estate Bubble
www.truthout.org/docs_2005/082505P.shtml
NOW reports on the real estate bubble and asks, is it about to burst?

A CIA Cover Blown, a White House Exposed
www.truthout.org/docs_2005/082505Y.shtml
What motivated President Bush’s political strategist, Karl Rove; Vice President Cheney’s top aide, I. Lewis “Scooter” Libby; and others to counter Wilson so aggressively? How did their roles remain secret until after the president was reelected? A close examination of events inside the White House two summers ago, and interviews with administration officials, offer new insights into the White House response, the people who shaped it, the deep disdain Cheney and other administration officials felt for the CIA, and the far-reaching consequences of the effort to manage the crisis.

Democrats Seek Roberts’ Iran-Contra Papers
www.truthout.org/docs_2005/082505Z.shtml
After the release of about 60,000 documents detailing the work of Supreme Court nominee John G. Roberts Jr., Democratic senators are setting their sights on more than 2,100 memos and letters that have been withheld by government archivists working in concert with the Bush White House.

t r u t h o u t | 08.24

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VIPS | Memo for the President
www.truthout.org/docs_2005/082405Q.shtml
Veteran Intelligence Professionals for Sanity (VIPS) calls on President Bush to spurn his ever-shrinking circle of advisors, the “amateur architects of the Iraq war,” and listen to the circle of “wise women” gathered outside of his Crawford ranch.

UK Lists Grounds for Deporting Hate Preachers
www.truthout.org/docs_2005/082405R.shtml
The UK published criteria for deporting or excluding foreigners considered to be encouraging terrorism, stepping up a crackdown on people who preach hate after last month’s bombings in London.

Annan Meets Aid Officials in Niger
www.truthout.org/docs_2005/082405S.shtml
UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan talked with aid officials in Niger’s capital, days after an aid group said the UN response to the hunger crisis here has been inadequate. An estimated 3.6 million people are going hungry in Niger.

Administration Announces Weak New Mileage Standards
www.truthout.org/issues_05/082405EA.shtml
Amidst rising oil and gas prices, the Bush Administration yesterday announced its new Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standards for light trucks. Environmentalists say the proposed rule changes will do nothing to help American motorists at the pump, nor will they reduce America’s dependence on imported oil.

Feds Cut Land for California Tiger Salamander
www.truthout.org/issues_05/082405EB.shtml
Federal wildlife officials said Tuesday that they would cut by nearly half the amount of land set aside for the California tiger salamander, saying it would be too costly to restrict development in those areas to protect the threatened amphibian.

Renewal through Renewable Energies
www.truthout.org/issues_05/082405EC.shtml
Giving just due to the essential role of renewable energies in our societies that are so very dependent on fossil energies, is long overdue.

Obesity in America Continues to Expand
www.truthout.org/issues_05/082405HA.shtml
More than 25 percent of adults in 10 states are obese. “Across the board, we have every state failing to meet the national goal of 15 percent or less of the population being obese,” said Shelley Hearne, director of the Trust for America’s Health.

Julia Olmstead | Our Reckless Chemical Dependence
www.truthout.org/issues_05/082405HB.shtml
New studies show that the widely used pesticide Roundup (glyphosate) has a real but unknown potential to harm wildlife and human health. Rather than risk disastrous consequences we should change farming practices to organic methods.

David Solnit | Taco Bell Boycott Victory
www.truthout.org/issues_05/082405LA.shtml
Direct action organizer David Solnit interviews members of the Coalition of Immokalee Workers who recently won a landmark victory getting Taco Bell to meet all their demands to improve wages and working conditions for Florida tomato pickers in its supply chain.

Morgan Stanley Settlement of $40 Million Goes to 67 Women
www.truthout.org/issues_05/082405WA.shtml
The $54 million settlement of a sex discrimination case against Morgan Stanley last year includes $40 million that will go to 67 current and former female employees who filed successful claims. Plaintiffs hope the suit will change the male-dominated culture of Wall Street.

Senator Dianne Feinstein | The Significant Impact for All Americans
www.truthout.org/docs_2005/082405A.shtml
Senator Dianne Feinstein speaks on the United States Supreme Court.

The New York Times | President Bush’s Loss of Faith
www.truthout.org/docs_2005/082405B.shtml
The president’s strange declaration yesterday that the draft constitution would protect the rights of women and minorities, and his continuing attempts to clog the debate with misleading explanations, suggest his own lack of commitment to the only rationale for keeping American troops in Iraq – or, perhaps, New York Times suggests, his lack of faith in the likely outcome.

CIA Sends Finished 9/11 Report to Panels
www.truthout.org/docs_2005/082405C.shtml
CIA Director Porter Goss personally delivered to Congress the findings of the agency’s inspector general report on the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, opening a debate about how much of the highly classified and critical document should be made public.

Maureen Dowd | My Private Idaho
www.truthout.org/docs_2005/082405D.shtml
Gas is guzzling toward $3 a gallon. US troop casualties in Iraq are at their highest levels since the invasion. Afghanistan’s getting more dangerous, too. The defense secretary says he’s raising troop levels in both places for coming elections. So our overextended troops must prepare for more forced rotations, while the president hangs loose, Dowd asks.

Anti-War Center in Crawford Aided by Link to Grieving Mother
www.truthout.org/docs_2005/082405E.shtml
With only $3 in the bank, things looked pretty grim for the Crawford Peace House two weeks ago. Then came Cindy Sheehan. The grieving California mother’s quest to talk to President Bush about the war that claimed her 24-year-old son’s life inspired thousands of war opponents. More than $150,000 has been donated to the Crawford Peace House since Sheehan’s arrival.

Specter Hints at What Roberts Can Expect
www.truthout.org/docs_2005/082405F.shtml
The Senate Judiciary Committee chairman warned Supreme Court nominee John G. Roberts Jr. yesterday to expect tough questions about the court’s “judicial activism” and lack of respect for Congress.

Ex-Halliburton Worker Pleads Guilty to Bribes
www.truthout.org/docs_2005/082405G.shtml
A former Halliburton Co. worker pleaded guilty late last week to taking more than $110,000 in bribes from an Iraqi company in 2004 and defrauding the United States, court documents showed.

China and Russia Complete Unprecedented Military Maneuvers
www.truthout.org/docs_2005/082405H.shtml
According to Alexander Duguin, the “pope” of the Eurasian movement in Russia, it’s the “different colored revolutions of 2003 and 2004 in the post-Soviet territories” that push Moscow and Beijing to reinforce their military partnership.

US to Send More Troops to Iraq
www.truthout.org/docs_2005/082405I.shtml
The United States plans to send more troops to Iraq in advance of an Oct. 15 referendum on a new Iraqi constitution, which is considered unlikely to halt the country’s violence, Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld said today.

9 Northeastern States in Pact to Cut Power Plant Emissions
www.truthout.org/docs_2005/082405J.shtml
New York and eight other Northeastern states have come to a preliminary agreement to freeze power plant emissions at current levels and then reduce them by 10 percent by 2020.

Gary Hart | Who Will Say ‘No More?’
www.truthout.org/docs_2005/082405K.shtml
Former Senator Gary Hart says he wants a leader who is willing now to say: “I made a mistake, and for my mistake I am going to Iraq and accompanying the next planeload of flag-draped coffins back to Dover Air Force Base. And I am going to ask forgiveness for my mistake from every parent who will talk to me.”

Christian Appy | Military Families May Once Again Lead Us out of War
www.truthout.org/docs_2005/082405L.shtml
In Vietnam itself, the mostly working-class American military of that era made its opposition to the war increasingly clear as the fighting dragged on. By 1972, the military was in shambles.

Chavez Calls Robertson Threat “Terrorism”
www.truthout.org/docs_2005/082405M.shtml
At least 3.5 million Americans tune in to Rev. D. James Kennedy’s sermons, broadcast from Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. Since 1995, the unabashedly political televangelist has also reached out to the Beltway elite with his Center for Christian Statesmanship in Washington.

Fetuses May Not Feel Pain in Early Months
www.truthout.org/docs_2005/082405N.shtml
A review of medical evidence has found that fetuses likely don’t feel pain until the final months of pregnancy, a powerful challenge to abortion opponents who hope that discussions about fetal pain will make women think twice about ending pregnancies.

David J. Becker | Reviving Jim Crow?
www.truthout.org/docs_2005/082405O.shtml
Any day now the Justice Department will render judgment on one of the single most discriminatory pieces of voting legislation of recent years: a Georgia state law requiring voters to present one of only six forms of photo identification before they can exercise their right to vote. One thing is certain Becker concludes. If this law is approved, it will be more difficult for minorities to vote in Georgia – the home of John Lewis and Martin Luther King Jr. – than in any other state.

Street Battles Besiege Baghdad as Constitution Is Debated
www.truthout.org/docs_2005/082405Y.shtml
As Iraqi officials inched toward an agreement on a new constitution, dozens of heavily armed insurgents attacked Baghdad police checkpoints Wednesday with rocket-propelled grenades and assault rifles. It was some of the heaviest street fighting in the capital in months.

Marjorie Cohn | Abu Ghraib General Lambastes Bush Administration
www.truthout.org/docs_2005/082405Z.shtml
For the first time since she was made the scapegoat for the torture scandal at Abu Ghraib, Maj. Gen. Janis Karpinski lambastes the Bush administration for its entire Iraq policy. In Marjorie Cohn’s exclusive interview with her, Karpinski implicates the White House in setting the torture policy. She describes the cover-up by the administration after the photographs came out, and says that Rumsfeld knowingly prosecuted the Iraq war with less than half the troops he needed.

t r u t h o u t | 08.23

Go directly to our issues page: www.truthout.org/issues.shtml

The Climax of Humanity
www.truthout.org/issues_05/082305EA.shtml
Demographically and economically, our era is unique in human history. Depending on how we manage the next few decades, we could usher in environmental sustainability – or collapse.

“Justice Sunday II”: Political Lies and Ecological Disasters
www.truthout.org/issues_05/082305EB.shtml
Mel Seesholtz reports on Justice Sunday II: “It seems the leaders of the Christian Right and their political minions are not content with destroying America’s promise of equality and justice for all citizens. Their jaundiced biblical worldview demands the Earth and its inhabitants be destroyed as well.

Dutch Lock Up Free-Range Chickens to Halt Bird Flu
www.truthout.org/issues_05/082305HA.shtml
More than 5 million free-range chickens were shut indoors yesterday as the Dutch government imposed the most stringent measures in the EU to try to prevent the spread of bird flu.

A New China for Organized Labor
www.truthout.org/issues_05/082305LA.shtml
BusinessWeek interviews Li Jianming, division chief of the All-China Federation of Trade Unions (ACFTU), the 80-year-old official union that has 137 million worker members spread across China.

Debbie Nathan | Oversexed
www.truthout.org/issues_05/082305WA.shtml
Debbie Nathan reports that other forms of forced work and near-slavery overshadow the much publicized problem of sexual trafficking.

Swazi Girls Celebrate as King Lifts Ban on Sex
www.truthout.org/issues_05/082305WB.shtml
In 2001, King Mswati III, Africa’s last absolute monarch, reinstated for five years the umchwasho rite, banning sex for girls under 18, as a way to combat HIV. The move was ridiculed as old-fashioned and unfairly focused on girls, and the king himself was accused of ignoring it.

A Perilous Journey from Delivery Room to Bedroom
www.truthout.org/issues_05/082305WC.shtml
A psychiatrist reports a little-known syndrome: men who witness their wives giving birth may experience symptoms of post-traumatic stress.

Tim Padgett | Why Pat Robertson’s Statements Help Hugo Chavez
www.truthout.org/docs_2005/082305R.shtml
Pat Robertson’s call to assassinate Hugo Chavez is likely to revive bitter memories in Latin America of past US interventions and cement the Venezuelan leader’s growing popularity throughout the hemisphere.

Ecuador Protesters Are Optimistic over Oil Deal
www.truthout.org/docs_2005/082305S.shtml
Protesters whose attacks have choked off Ecuador’s oil exports held out hopes on Tuesday for reaching a deal under which energy companies would invest more in the poor Amazon communities where they drill.

Connecticut Challenges No Child Left Behind Law
www.truthout.org/docs_2005/082305T.shtml
Connecticut became the first state to file suit against the federal government over the No Child Left Behind Act, claiming the Bush administration has not provided enough money to pay for new testing and programs.

Bush: “Hanging Loose” Again Rejects Sheehan
www.truthout.org/docs_2005/082305A.shtml
President Bush said Tuesday that anti-war protester Cindy Sheehan, who wants US troops to be immediately withdrawn from Iraq, was advocating a policy that would “weaken the United States” and was not representative of the views of most US military families.

Blair Expected to Join Carlyle Group
www.truthout.org/docs_2005/082305B.shtml
Tony Blair is expected to join one of the most exclusive groups of businessmen in the world after he leaves Downing Street. The PM is being lined up for a highly lucrative position with the Carlyle Group – an American-based investment giant with strong links to the White House and the defense industry.

Frankie Lake | Dirty Tricksters
www.truthout.org/docs_2005/082305C.shtml
There is a good reason why the White House is trying so hard to dissociate John Roberts from his Federalist Society affiliation. The Federalist Society has its roots in the College Republicans and derives its membership from them. Frankie Lake discusses how the Federalist Society and Young College Republicans operate using “dirty tricks.”

Peter Maass | The Breaking Point
www.truthout.org/docs_2005/082305D.shtml
In the past several years, the gap between demand and supply, once considerable, has steadily narrowed, and today is almost negligible. The consequences of an actual shortfall of supply would be immense. Will such a situation really come to pass? Maass explains why that answer depends on Saudi Arabia, the sole oil superpower. In the political and corporate realms of the oil world, there are few incentives to be forthright. When a crisis comes – whether in a year or 2 or 10 – it will be all the more painful because we will have done little or nothing to prepare for it.

Jordan Arrests Key Suspect in Rocket Attack
www.truthout.org/docs_2005/082305E.shtml
The Jordanian government said Monday that it had arrested a prime suspect in the rocket attack on two American warships last week in Aqaba, and for the first time it directly tied the attack to Iraqi insurgents.

Court Affirms Gay Couples’ Parental Status
www.truthout.org/docs_2005/082305F.shtml
The California Supreme Court on Monday became the first in the nation to grant full parenting rights and obligations to gays and lesbians who have children. In three closely watched cases, the justices set rules in an area where changes in family structure and advances in technology have outpaced the evolution of legal principles.

Gary Milhollin | Don’t Underestimate the Mullahs
www.truthout.org/docs_2005/082305G.shtml
Earlier this month, Bush administration officials leaked to the press what they said was a new official estimate of when Iran might be able to build a nuclear weapon. Speaking anonymously, they told reporters that American intelligence agencies now believe it would take at least 6 and maybe as many as 10 years before that fateful day arrives. Milhollin argues we should be alarmed rather than comforted by this latest prediction.

Patrick Sabatier | New Market
www.truthout.org/docs_2005/082305H.shtml
“What are journalists good for?” Sabatier asks, when everyone and anyone can be a reporter.

Thousands Protest Bush, Iraq War in Salt Lake City
www.truthout.org/docs_2005/082305I.shtml
2,000 gathered to protest Bush administration policies and the war in Iraq while three blocks away, Bush spoke to the annual convention of the Veterans of Foreign Wars.

Iraqis Postpone Voting on Constitution
www.truthout.org/docs_2005/082305J.shtml
People who have viewed the document said it includes vague language weakening Iraq’s strong central government, enshrining a federalist system, and addressing how oil revenue is to be split between Baghdad and the provinces.

John Pilger | The Rise of the Democratic Police State
www.truthout.org/docs_2005/082305K.shtml
Friedman’s latest bark is about free speech, which his country’s constitution is said to safeguard. According to John Pilger, Friedman wants the State Department to draw up a blacklist of those who make “wrong” political statements. He is referring not only to those who advocate violence, but those who believe American actions are the root cause of the current terrorism. The latter group, which he describes as “just one notch less despicable than the terrorists,” includes most Americans and Britons, according to the latest polls.

James J. Zogby | Needed: Arab Leadership and Vision
www.truthout.org/docs_2005/082305L.shtml
The Arab world is facing critical challenges in Iraq and Palestine. James Zogby states that passivity will not do, nor will merely blaming others, even if they justly deserve blame for having created these crises in the first place. It is past time for demonstrations of leadership and vision.

Thomas Pauken | Could It Be Bush’s Watergate?
www.truthout.org/docs_2005/082305M.shtml
Karl Rove’s favorite president is Richard Nixon. Thomas Pauken wonders what a twist of fate it would be if Rove were driven from power as Nixon was over what both men would consider trivial matters – the leaking of a CIA employee’s name to reporters by Rove in 2004, and the Watergate break-in of the Democratic headquarters at the instigation of Nixon campaign officials in 1972.

No Proof Found of Iran Arms Program
www.truthout.org/docs_2005/082305N.shtml
Traces of bomb-grade uranium found two years ago in Iran came from contaminated Pakistani equipment and are not evidence of a clandestine nuclear weapons program, a group of US government experts and other international scientists has determined.

Iraq: The Unseen War
www.truthout.org/docs_2005/082305O.shtml
This is a war the Bush administration does not want Americans to see. From the beginning, the US government has attempted to censor information about the Iraq war, prohibiting photographs of the coffins of US troops returning home and refusing as a matter of policy to keep track of the number of Iraqis who have been killed. President Bush has yet to attend a single funeral of a soldier killed in Iraq.

Robertson Urges the Assassination of Venezuela’s President
www.truthout.org/docs_2005/082305P.shtml
Pat Robertson, host of Christian Broadcasting Network’s The 700 Club and founder of the Christian Coalition of America, called for the assassination of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez.

Israel Completes Planned Settlement Pullout
www.truthout.org/docs_2005/082305Q.shtml
Israel completed a withdrawal of 9,000 Jewish settlers from occupied territory on Tuesday after police ejected ultranationalist protesters making emotional last stands in two West Bank enclaves.

London Police Facing Pressure over Killing of Brazilian
www.truthout.org/docs_2005/082305Y.shtml
Despite high-level political support, London’s police chief, Sir Ian Blair, faced sustained pressure on Monday to offer a fuller explanation of why his officers fatally shot a 27-year-old Brazilian man they apparently mistook for a suicide bomber after the second group of attacks here last month.

New Abu Ghraib Images Far Worse than Originals
www.truthout.org/docs_2005/082305Z.shtml
There’s a new batch of photos from Iraq’s Abu Ghraib prison, and these are reportedly far worse than the sickening originals. Naturally, the Pentagon is trying to block their release.

t r u t h o u t | 08.22

Go directly to our issues page: www.truthout.org/issues.shtml

Norman Solomon | Bush’s Option to Escalate the War in Iraq
www.truthout.org/docs_2005/082205Q.shtml
Norman Soloman warns that opposition to the War in Iraq must keep returning to the war’s false premises. Mainstream opposition to the war is more about the fact that we are losing, leaving an opening for Bush to mount an escalation in order to “win.”

China, India to Square Off for PetroKazakhstan
www.truthout.org/docs_2005/082205R.shtml
China and India on Monday began the next major battle over Asian energy assets, as Chinese state oil firm CNPC launched a $4.18 billion bid for PetroKazakhstan and Indian state-run company ONGC immediately said it was preparing a counter-bid.

Christian Terrorist Faces Victims
www.truthout.org/docs_2005/082205S.shtml
At a sentencing hearing, Eric Rudolph faced victims of the nail bomb he planted at the Atlanta Olympics in 1996, as well as those injured in his attacks on women’s health clinics and a gay bar.

Expensive Oil: Curse or Cure for Producing Countries?
www.truthout.org/issues_05/082205EA.shtml
Central to impoverished populations for at least the last two decades, given the combined impact of the price drop and the demographic boom, the question returns, gnawing: what do you do with oil money?

Western States to Create Clean Car Corridor
www.truthout.org/issues_05/082205EB.shtml
Despite an effort by auto industry lobbyists to kill the move, two Pacific Northwest States – Oregon and Washington – are getting ready to adopt California’s new vehicle emission standards to reduce greenhouse gases.

Environmentalists Declare Victory over Wolf Decision
www.truthout.org/issues_05/082205EC.shtml
A federal judge Friday ordered the Bush administration to step up efforts to restore the gray wolf to four northeastern states. “The wolves are howlin’” in celebration, said Patrick Parenteau, director of the environmental law clinic at Vermont Law School.

Healthcare Is Migrating South of the Border
www.truthout.org/issues_05/082205HA.shtml
Thousands of Latinos who live near the border are taking advantage of a benefit increasingly offered by their US employers: cheaper healthcare in Mexico. In Mexico, healthcare costs are about 40% to 50% lower than in California.

Forcing a Look at Hospitals’ Mission
www.truthout.org/issues_05/082205HB.shtml
In the past year, lawyers for the poor have filed federal lawsuits in 22 states accusing nonprofit hospitals of failing to meet their tax-exempt obligations to provide indigent care. Advocates are focusing on what they call the un-Christian behavior of religiously affiliated hospitals.

US Trade Pact Divides the Central Americans
www.truthout.org/issues_05/082205LA.shtml
Central Americans question the benefit of CAFTA. “Where is the evidence that this is going to develop us?” said Otton Solis, an economist who is running for president of Costa Rica. “This is going to create more poverty and Central America will expel more people toward the USA.”

Dozens Hurt after China Factory Protest
www.truthout.org/issues_05/082205LB.shtml
Protesters demanding the closure of an eastern China battery factory they say is spewing lead into the environment clashed with police. After the initial melee with police, thousands of demonstrators torched police cars and broke into government offices.

Protesters Will Follow Bush War Tour
www.truthout.org/docs_2005/082205A.shtml
President Bush, trying to counter the message of anti-war vigils outside his ranch and growing public discontent with Iraq, leaves Texas on Monday for the first of two speeches on the war and the September 11 attacks, but more protesters await him.

Rep. Lynn Woolsey Announces Hearings on Exit Strategy
www.truthout.org/docs_2005/082205B.shtml
The war in Iraq, now entering its 30th month, seemingly brings a new atrocity or source of shame every day. Having received no satisfactory response from Bush, Rep. Lynn Woolsey takes matters into her own hands by convening a hearing where several experts will discuss strategies to achieve military disengagement while still playing a constructive role in the rebuilding of Iraqi society.

Can Democrats Get Smart?
www.truthout.org/docs_2005/082205C.shtml
Iraq’s Constitutional debate is a symptom of a country with an equally profound identity problem. Levine explores this conundrum.

Mark Levine | Echoes of Oslo
www.truthout.org/docs_2005/082205D.shtml
Rich liberals, fed up with losing, are spending big bucks to create think tanks and training programs. Their goal isn’t just to beat Bush, but to remake the American political landscape.

Paul Krugman | Don’t Prettify Our History
www.truthout.org/docs_2005/082205E.shtml
Election 2000 may be receding into the past, Krugman remarks, but the Iraq war isn’t. As the truth about the origins of that war comes out, there may be a temptation, once again, to prettify the story. The American people deserve better.

Politicized Scholars Put Evolution on the Defensive
www.truthout.org/docs_2005/082205F.shtml
After toiling in obscurity for nearly a decade, the institute’s Center for Science and Culture has emerged in recent months as the ideological and strategic backbone behind the eruption of skirmishes over science in school districts and state capitals across the country. Pushing a “teach the controversy” approach to evolution, the institute has in many ways transformed the debate into an issue of academic freedom rather than a confrontation between biology and religion.

Elisabeth Badinter: “The Shipwreck of American Feminism”
www.truthout.org/docs_2005/082205G.shtml
“The battle for equality of the sexes: that’s feminism,” argues Elisabeth Badinter.

Cindy Tips the Balance against Bush
www.truthout.org/docs_2005/082205I.shtml
Candles were lit all across America last week in one of the largest single anti-war protests in recent US history. At more than 1,600 vigils, tens of thousands of protesters gathered in solidarity with the woman who has been the catalyst for the rebirth of the anti-war movement: Cindy Sheehan.

Missy Comley Beattie | An Honorable Marine Killed in a Dishonorable War
www.truthout.org/docs_2005/082205J.shtml
He is number 1,828, 1,829 or 1,830. We don’t know for sure, because so many died last week.

Bulldozers Smash First Gaza Strip Settler Homes
www.truthout.org/docs_2005/082205K.shtml
Bulldozers and mechanical diggers yesterday destroyed settler homes in parts of the Gaza Strip before the handover of evacuated Jewish settlements to the Palestinian Authority.

US Probes Killing of Iraqi by Marines
www.truthout.org/docs_2005/082205L.shtml
The US military said on Sunday it had opened a criminal investigation into the killing by US Marines of a relative of Iraq’s ambassador to the United Nations.

Hagel: ‘Iraq Looking like Vietnam’
www.truthout.org/docs_2005/082205M.shtml
A leading Republican senator and prospective presidential candidate said Sunday that the war in Iraq has destabilized the Middle East and is looking more like the Vietnam conflict from a generation ago.

Ohio Democrats Mull Governor Impeachment
www.truthout.org/docs_2005/082205N.shtml
Ohio’s House Democrats are considering impeachment proceedings against Republican Gov. Bob Taft, who pleaded no contest last week to four ethics violations.

Bob Herbert | Truth in Recruiting
www.truthout.org/docs_2005/082205O.shtml
Most Americans will tell you that they believe in honest, truthful, straightforward, ethical behavior. So here’s a question: Should people who are being recruited into the armed forces be told the truth about the risks they are likely to face if they agree to sign up and put on a uniform?

Iraq’s Sunnis Warn of Civil War
www.truthout.org/docs_2005/082205Y.shtml
Iraq’s ruling Shi’ite Islamists prepared to force a constitution through parliament before a Monday midnight deadline but minority Sunnis vowed to vote it down in a referendum and warned of civil war if it were passed.

Afghanistan Growing Deadlier for US Troops
www.truthout.org/docs_2005/082205Z.shtml
This year is already the deadliest for American soldiers in Afghanistan since the war of 2001, and the violence is likely to intensify before the nation’s legislative elections on Sept. 18.

t r u t h o u t | 08.21

Stirling Newberry | The Black Gold Window
www.truthout.org/docs_2005/082105A.shtml
The economic numbers are like a speedometer – they tell you how fast you are going, but not whether you are lost. The economic numbers aren’t cooked, they are telling us that the economy is doing what it is supposed to do given the policy levers that are being pulled. The problem, according to Stirling Newberry, is that this economy is no longer the economy people want to live in. That is the real source of the disconnect.

Frank Rich | The Swift Boating of Cindy Sheehan
www.truthout.org/docs_2005/082105B.shtml
Frank Rich says that Cindy Sheehan couldn’t have picked a more apt date to begin the vigil that ambushed a president: Aug. 6 was the fourth anniversary of that fateful 2001 Crawford vacation day when George W. Bush responded to an intelligence briefing titled “Bin Laden Determined to Attack Inside the United States” by going fishing.

Fitzgerald Has Reputation for Pursuing the Man at the Top
www.truthout.org/docs_2005/082105C.shtml
Fitzgerald has prosecuted mobsters, terrorists and even journalists. He has investigated and charged state and city officials in this notoriously crooked state with pit bull tenacity. … And always, he has methodically, inexorably pursued his investigations to target the man at the top of the organizational pyramid.

Linda Bilmes | The Trillion-Dollar War
www.truthout.org/docs_2005/082105D.shtml
The human cost of the more than 2,000 American military personnel killed and 14,500 wounded so far in Iraq and Afghanistan is all too apparent. But the financial toll is still largely hidden from public view and, like the suffering of those who have lost loved ones, will persist long after the fighting is over.

US Conceding to Iraqi Islamists, Negotiators Say
www.truthout.org/docs_2005/082105E.shtml
Islam will be “the main source” of Iraq’s law and parliament will observe religious principles, negotiators said on Saturday after what some called a major turn in talks on the constitution and a shift in the US position.

Sunnis Say They’ve Been Left out of Talks
www.truthout.org/docs_2005/082105F.shtml
Sunni Arabs complained Saturday they were being sidelined in talks on the new constitution only two days before the deadline and warned that their community will reject the document if it is submitted to parliament without Sunni consent.

Thousands Rush to Bankruptcy as Law Change Nears
www.truthout.org/docs_2005/082105G.shtml
The rise, which lawyers and bankruptcy experts say is driven in large part by people who say they fear that it will become much more difficult to escape debt and seek a clean slate under the new law, appears to have caught some bankers and lawyers by surprise.

Minutemen Will Be Armed While Patrolling Houston
www.truthout.org/docs_2005/082105H.shtml
Leaders of the Minuteman Civil Defense Corps of Texas say those involved in the operations targeting local illegal immigrants will be allowed to carry arms as long as they comply with all federal and state laws. In fact, those who have a concealed-weapons permit are being offered a discount on joining the Minuteman Civil Defense Corps.

The New York Times | Walking the Wrong Way
www.truthout.org/docs_2005/082105X.shtml
The event is an ill-considered attempt to link the Iraq war to the terrorist attacks of 2001, and misguided in almost every conceivable way. It also badly misreads the public’s mood. The American people are becoming increasingly skeptical about the war. They want answers to hard questions, not pageantry.

Shiite and Kurdish Militias on the Rise across Iraq
www.truthout.org/docs_2005/082105Y.shtml
Shiite and Kurdish militias, often operating as part of Iraqi government security forces, have carried out a wave of abductions, assassinations and other acts of intimidation, consolidating their control over territory across northern and southern Iraq and deepening the country’s divide along ethnic and sectarian lines, according to political leaders, families of the victims, human rights activists and Iraqi officials.

Army Planning Iraq Force through 2009
www.truthout.org/docs_2005/082105Z.shtml
The Army is planning for the possibility of keeping the current number of soldiers in Iraq – well over 100,000 – for four more years, the Army’s top general said today.

t r u t h o u t | 08.20

First Sergeant Jefferies | You Mowed Down His Cross
www.truthout.org/docs_2005/082005A.shtml
Mr. Northern – I know little about Cindy Sheehan except that she is a grieving mother, a gentle soul, and wants to bring harm to no one. I know little about you except that you found your way to Crawford on Monday night in August with chains and a pipe attached to your truck for the sole purpose of dishonoring a memorial erected for my friends and lost Soldiers and hundreds of others that served this nation when they were called.

Senator Reid Suffers Brief Mini-Stroke
www.truthout.org/docs_2005/082005B.shtml
The Senate Democratic leader, Harry Reid of Nevada, suffered a brief mini-stroke Tuesday, but doctors found no complications and he feels fine, aides said Friday.

Roberts Scoffed at Promotion for O’Connor
www.truthout.org/docs_2005/082005C.shtml
As a lawyer in the Reagan White House, John Roberts scoffed at the notion of elevating Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor to chief justice as a way to close a political gender gap, calling it a “crass political consideration.”

3 Sunni Voting Activists Killed In Iraq
www.truthout.org/docs_2005/082005D.shtml
Gunmen in this northern city Friday abducted and publicly executed three Sunni Arab activists who had been working to draw the disgruntled Sunni minority into Iraq’s political mainstream, and then draped their bodies in a get-out-the-vote banner, officials and witnesses said.

Specter Cautions Rumsfeld on Venezuela
www.truthout.org/docs_2005/082005E.shtml
A Republican senator asked Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld on Friday to lower his rhetoric against Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez to help win Venezuela’s support for combating illegal narcotics.

Unions Gather in Chicago to Craft Strategy
www.truthout.org/docs_2005/082005F.shtml
Union leaders from around the globe gather in Chicago next week to craft a joint strategy to boost unionization in the developing world, and especially to target the US-based retail giant Wal-Mart Stores Inc.

Federal Government Sues to Seize Congressman’s Home
www.truthout.org/docs_2005/082005G.shtml
The federal government is seeking to take away the home of a California congressman, alleging the estate listed for $3.5 million was purchased with ill-gotten gains.

Hagel | ‘Let’s Talk to Iran’
www.truthout.org/docs_2005/082005H.shtml
Republican Party foreign policy expert Sen. Chuck Hagel is calling for the United States to open talks with Iran’s new president and has dismissed President George W. Bush’s talk of a military option against Tehran as an empty and foolish threat.

Cindy Sheehan | Hypocrites and Liars
www.truthout.org/docs_2005/082005X.shtml
Cindy Sheehan, in her own words, why plain talk works best and why everyone sitting on the fence needs to get off it.

David Morse | Oil War of the Future
www.truthout.org/docs_2005/082005Y.shtml
A war of the future is being waged right now in the sprawling desert region of northeastern Africa known as Sudan.

Ray McGovern | There Is Such a Thing as “Too Late”
www.truthout.org/docs_2005/082005Z.shtml
President Bush still refuses to meet with Cindy Sheehan, the Rosa Parks of Crawford, Texas, but there is some good news. While Crawford’s Camp Casey (named after Cindy’s son killed in Iraq on April 4, 2004) continues to be short on amenities, a sympathetic neighbor has given the hundred or so friends I left there on Wednesday a field in which they can pitch their tents.