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Tue, 19 Aug 2008 05:00:00 GMT

In his 'Anatomy of A(nother) Fiasco,' Billmon finds that "Even after the fiasco in Iraq, the bloody failure in Lebanon, the downward spiral in Afghanistan and, now, the futile posturing in Georgia, there's absolutely no evidence the U.S. foreign policy elite is inclined to moderate its ambition to re-organize the world along American lines."

Tue, 19 Aug 2008 05:00:00 GMT

Rude Awakening (Councils) The Iraqi government moves against some U.S.-backed Sunni fighters, 'Kurdish control of Kirkuk creates a powder keg in Iraq,' and USA Today reports that "Iraq is fast becoming one of the United States' top customers for military sales," in a region said to be 'experiencing the largest and fastest arms race in the world.'

Tue, 19 Aug 2008 05:00:00 GMT

As Peter Bergen asks of 'Al-Qaeda At 20... Dead or Alive?,' an 'Algeria bombing kills 43,' and CounterPunch publishes an interview with suspended Afghan parliamentarian, Malalai Joya, dubbed the country's "bravest woman," while an Independent reporter visits an Afghan jail where 'the majority of female prisoners are serving 20-year sentences for being forced to have sex.'

Tue, 19 Aug 2008 05:00:00 GMT

Although it's argued that 'Musharraf's exit will not end Pakistan's woe,' Juan Cole sees it as "Pakistan's first chance for a decent political future since 1977," and Tariq Ali, who has a new book on Pakistan and the U.S., writes of Musharraf: "We can only speculate whether he would have lasted nine years had it not been for 9/11 and the 'war on terror.'"

Tue, 19 Aug 2008 05:00:00 GMT

U.S. journalist Nicholas Schmidle, who was kicked out of Pakistan, returns to gauge Pakistani reaction to Musharraf's resignation, and goes 'Searching for Pakistan's future at Benazir Bhutto's house,' following "one of the first fall-outs of the resignation."

Tue, 19 Aug 2008 05:00:00 GMT

A "News Hour" segment includes speculation that Musharraf will end up in New Mexico, and as Sen. McCain's embrace of Musharraf is recalled, McCain's embrace of Rep. John Lewis is rebuffed, while his continued questioning of Sen. Obama's patriotism, as well as his campaign's railing against NBC, provide fodder for a "Special Comment."

Tue, 19 Aug 2008 05:00:00 GMT

Arianna Huffington sees 'a Three-Man Race: Obama vs The Two McCains,' Cindy McCain's half-sister surfaces, saying that she's "angry" about Cindy claiming to be an "only child," the McCains get McMansioned, and Rick Warren invokes the Secret Service to defend his "cone of silence." Plus: Warren now chatting up Georgian President Saakashvili?

Tue, 19 Aug 2008 05:00:00 GMT

'McCain hires a Hollywood agent in hunt for convention glamour,' and as anti-RNC graffiti starts appearing in the Twin Cities, Sen. Norm Coleman, whose lead over Al Franken is shrinking, according to one poll, tries to distance himself from the RNC by claiming that "If the convention wasn't in St. Paul, I wouldn't be at the convention."

Tue, 19 Aug 2008 05:00:00 GMT

As 'Lobbyist parties for lawmakers bend rules,' the Democratic Party's platform calls for 'More diversity in media,' but one newshound explains 'Why I won't be politically high In the Mile High City,' while another describes having survived Netroots Nation without a laptop, iPhone or Blackberry!

Tue, 19 Aug 2008 05:00:00 GMT

With George Clooney's purchase of the film rights for "The Challenge," Jonathan Mahler's book on Hamdan v. Rumsfeld, Variety reports on efforts by conservatives to portray Clooney as a 'secret Obama adviser.'

Tue, 19 Aug 2008 05:00:00 GMT

Although Bill Moyers' interview with Andrew Bacevich garnered little notice from mainstream commentators, it was a different story with bloggers and book buyers, and on the heels of her 'Why-haven't-you impeached-the-president tour,' it's revealed that House Speaker Pelosi is banking on T. Boone Pickens.

Tue, 19 Aug 2008 05:00:00 GMT

As Tom Engelhardt poses 'Six questions about the anthrax case, ' Merck faces another round of criticism,' this time over a 1999 Vioxx study that "was designed as a marketing tool, not a scientific investigation," according to a paper, with accompanying editorial, published in the Annals of Internal Medicine.

Tue, 19 Aug 2008 05:00:00 GMT

Editor & Publisher interviews Rory Kennedy about her documentary on Helen Thomas, and Greg Mitchell points out that a review by Tom Shales "offers no evidence" to support his claim of Thomas's "stridency in criticizing Israel and defending its enemies," and Dan Froomkin asks Thomas what she 'would be asking if she could.'

Tue, 19 Aug 2008 05:00:00 GMT

As one reporter steps 'Outside the Beijing bubble,' the city's protest parks are said to be "strictly for the birds," with the Chinese government going 0 for 77 in approving permits, and a U.S. statue bars the NBA from contract discussions with an Iranian Olympics star.

Tue, 19 Aug 2008 05:00:00 GMT

Michael Phelps is racking up even more sponsors than gold medals, and with the host country's athletes 'Burdened by China's gold standard,' Psychology Today examines the 'Plight of the Little Emperors.'

Mon, 18 Aug 2008 05:00:00 GMT

Opting for a Nixonesque exit, President Musharraf gives up on "saving" Pakistan and resigns in a speech laying out what he has accomplished for the country, while the Independent offers a peek at what might serve as his 'luxury retirement pad.'

Mon, 18 Aug 2008 05:00:00 GMT

Response to the resignation announcement was "electric and instantaneous" according to a Los Angeles Times report, and lawyers were dancing in the streets.

Mon, 18 Aug 2008 05:00:00 GMT

After 'checkmate' in Georgia, the "message for America," writes Tony Karon, is that "Russia has stopped retreating," as David Remnick sizes up the new 'boundary issues,' and the Arab world highlights the hypocrisy of Bush condemning Russia.

Mon, 18 Aug 2008 05:00:00 GMT

Laying out "hard truths" about America's "empire of consumption" on "Bill Moyers Journal," Andrew Bacevich wins high praise from both left and right, and prompts an illuminating recollection from his own past.

Mon, 18 Aug 2008 05:00:00 GMT

With suicide bombings continuing, a report back from Iraq highlights concerns that Prime Minister Maliki has become "overconfident," and "dark clouds" are discerned on the election horizon, where a dispute over the fate of Kirkuk has remained a key impediment.

Mon, 18 Aug 2008 05:00:00 GMT

Although 'security contractors in Iraq remain outside the law,' the U.S. Department of Justice has sent "target letters" to Blackwater guards accused in the Nisour Square massacre, and Iraq too insists on the right to prosecute them.

Mon, 18 Aug 2008 05:00:00 GMT

Faced with continuing outbreaks of violence and friendly fire, Afghanistan celebrates its Independence Day at an undisclosed location in a capital surrounded by thousands of police.

Mon, 18 Aug 2008 05:00:00 GMT

The Bush administration proposes a "new domestic spying measure that would make it easier for state and local police to collect intelligence about Americans," and Walter Pincus notes that a new unit of the DIA will for the first time be authorized to carry out "strategic offensive counterintelligence operations" at home and abroad.

Mon, 18 Aug 2008 05:00:00 GMT

As a 'Gitmo psychologist pleads the fifth on torture,' protesters condemn participation in abusive interrogation at the annual meeting of the APA, where what's described as "a fight for the soul of the profession" is taking place. Plus: 'Even the kangaroos were offended.'

Mon, 18 Aug 2008 05:00:00 GMT

'The Candidate We Still Don't Know' Addressing the ubiquitous concerns about why Obama isn't winning by a landslide, Frank Rich notes that given the way the press has been grading on a curve, "that public doesn't know who on earth John McCain is."

Mon, 18 Aug 2008 05:00:00 GMT

As the candidates line up for question time at a megachurch, McCain pulls out the anecdotes, including one well-worn tale with a suspiciously literary ring, cites as an example of pure evil a newspaper story long since debunked, and dodges the definition of "rich."

Mon, 18 Aug 2008 05:00:00 GMT

Following the forum, a McCain spokesman attempts to fend off a "cone of silence" controversy with the notion that such questions somehow impugn his integrity as a former POW.

Mon, 18 Aug 2008 05:00:00 GMT

With the most recent Gallup poll indicating that 'McCain continues strong in the South, but nowhere else,' Facing South looks at the trend lines and finds that the only state in which McCain's lead is actually growing is South Carolina.

Mon, 18 Aug 2008 05:00:00 GMT

A new Pew survey on the political affiliations of cable news watchers finds that CNN's audience has become even more heavily Democratic, but the play it gave to 'Obama the Antichrist?' belies its liberal reputation, while even at "the coolest pit stop on television" John McCain remains the favored celebrity.

Mon, 18 Aug 2008 05:00:00 GMT

New furniture for the Oregon Legislature initially provides fuel for expense-minded attack ads in the state's Senate race, but then turns the spotlight on the prison labor that was used to construct it.

Mon, 18 Aug 2008 05:00:00 GMT

Under the headline 'Dr. Doom,' the New York Times profiles Nouriel Roubini, whose gloomy prognosis for the economy has recently gained greater currency and who, surveying the depths of the country's indebtedness, suspects that we are seeing "the beginning of the end of the American empire."

Mon, 18 Aug 2008 05:00:00 GMT

Salon runs a pair of columns busting "myths about cheap and unlimited oil" being bandied about on the right, and noting that as far as energy is concerned both candidates are fronting a "sacrifice-free election strategy," while Dollars & Sense offers a case study of how 'climate reality eludes the business press.'

Fri, 15 Aug 2008 05:00:00 GMT

Despite U.S. assurances that a new missile deal with Poland was not meant as a provocation, it sparks an angry response, heightening tensions with Russia, as the 'Georgian president checks in with Glenn Beck, Katie Couric.'

Fri, 15 Aug 2008 05:00:00 GMT

In an essay for Foreign Policy in Focus and in a discussion on "Democracy Now!," Michael Klare argues that the Russian-Georgian conflict is largely an "energy war" over access to the region's vast oil and natural gas reserves, while Real News goes in depth with a series of reports on 'the geopolitics of Georgia.'

Fri, 15 Aug 2008 05:00:00 GMT

With McCain apparently discovering that "It's wrong for nations to invade other nations," and warning of a 'dramatically different relationship with Russia,' questions are raised about the propriety and the sense of his focus on Georgia.

Fri, 15 Aug 2008 05:00:00 GMT

In an article in Slate, a curious volunteer in the Georgia-Russia cyberwar -- which may have preceded the hot war by weeks -- sheds light on "why the recent cyberwar has been so hard to pin down and why no group in particular has claimed responsibility."

Fri, 15 Aug 2008 05:00:00 GMT

Despite rescue efforts by western diplomats and official denials, Pakistan's President Pervez Musharraf is expected to resign before Monday, and perhaps travel abroad, but Tariq Ali suggests keeping democratic expectations low, in view of the continuing importance of U.S. ties with the Pakistani army.

Fri, 15 Aug 2008 05:00:00 GMT

Although reports find the Taliban and Al Qaeda busy executing suspected U.S. informants in the tribal area along the Pakistan border, and the Taliban closing in on the doorstep of Kabul, the city's security is scheduled to be handed over to the Afghan army on August 28.

Fri, 15 Aug 2008 05:00:00 GMT

Tallying up the cost of private contractors in Iraq, the CBO projects $100 billion by the end of the year, but an IPS analysis points to signs that President Bush is "preparing to throw security contractors such as Blackwater under the political bus."

Fri, 15 Aug 2008 05:00:00 GMT

As the U.S. army solicits PR for reconciliation in Iraq, a suicide bomber strikes pilgrims near Baghdad, and six U.S. sailors working as prison guards face courts-martial for allegedly sealing detainees into a pepper spray filled cell and other abuse at Camp Bucca in Southern Iraq.

Fri, 15 Aug 2008 05:00:00 GMT

In a pair of articles adapted from his new book and posted at Tomdispatch, Andrew Bacevich reviews the collapse of overblown expectations about America's ability to reinvent war, and considers what lessons should be drawn from this failure. More on Bacevich on Friday's Bill Moyers Journal.

Fri, 15 Aug 2008 05:00:00 GMT

Amy Goodman critiques plans to 'cage dissent' some distance away from the Democratic convention, which include holding pens for mass arrests that protesters have termed 'Gitmo on the Platte.' And if that is not real enough, Amnesty International plans to offer convention-goers its own simulation.

Fri, 15 Aug 2008 05:00:00 GMT

As CNN reveals that its coverage of both conventions will be sponsored by Exxon-Mobil, and drilling advocates try for a total shut out of renewable energy, Media Matters attempts to counter growing support for offshore drilling with a fact sheet exposing 'myths and falsehoods about oil policies.' Plus: 'Touring Hanford.'

Fri, 15 Aug 2008 05:00:00 GMT

As the real estate recession deepens with no bottom in sight, the Labor Department reports that "the cost of living ... is rising at the fastest rate since the recession of the early 1990s, and EPI tackles the big picture in preview chapters from its report on 'The State of Working America.'

Fri, 15 Aug 2008 05:00:00 GMT

A GAO report concludes that two-thirds of U.S. corporations are paying no income tax with a little help from "transfer pricing," suggesting that high-end tax rate both Obama and McCain have pledged to lower, is largely mythical, while an analysis of new IRS data finds 'two tax systems, separate and unequal.'

Fri, 15 Aug 2008 05:00:00 GMT

Media Matters' Paul Waldman squares off with Jerome Corsi over his new anti-Obama book, which recycles "secret Muslim" charges, and various other dubious allegations that the New York Times hesitates to label outright lies.

Fri, 15 Aug 2008 05:00:00 GMT

SPLC notes that Corsi is scheduled to appear on a white supremacist radio show again this Sunday, Bag News Notes covers the book's 'swiftboating of a facial expression,' and a New York Times blog examines his conspiracy credentials.

Fri, 15 Aug 2008 05:00:00 GMT

Confronted over double standards on infidelity, Sean Hannity deploys a POW ordeal excuse for McCain (and ignores Giuliani), while the candidate floats back to the top of the news buoyed by negative advertising, but beset by renewed questions about ties to lobbyists.

Fri, 15 Aug 2008 05:00:00 GMT

With conservative groups attempting to refocus the election with hot button initiatives, the Colorado Independent takes a detailed look at how 'anonymous dough flows into Colorado initiative campaigns.'

Fri, 15 Aug 2008 05:00:00 GMT

The Fifth Circuit court rules that the consultation of the Bible by a jury does not invalidate a death sentence, another jury finds a positive-thinking pastor accused of going postal on a flight attendant not guilty, and 'a teacher's branding case opens a religious divide.'

Mon, 11 Aug 2008 05:00:00 GMT

Cursor will be dark from Tuesday through Thursday of this week, but no exotic or elitist vacation for us. We need to work on trying to raise some money so that we can put food on our families, and, get a little break so we don't end up here. We'll be back at high noon on Friday.

Mon, 11 Aug 2008 05:00:00 GMT

As the fighting in Georgia spreads, Jonathan Steele notes that part of what is at stake is the sphere of "Russian influence," Helena Cobban draws out some broader implications for world politics, and the first lesson a BBC analysis formulates is "Do not punch a bear on the nose unless it is tied down."

Mon, 11 Aug 2008 05:00:00 GMT

While the current fighting is only the latest flare up in an old conflict, it's argued that 'Georgia's volatile risk-taker has gone over the brink,' and Chris Floyd forecasts "death and ruin for multitudes who have nothing to do with the violent aggression of corrupt elites on every side." Plus: Dan Froomkin on 'Bush's Georgian Betrayal.'

Mon, 11 Aug 2008 05:00:00 GMT

With war in the North Caucasus termed a "3 a.m. moment," Sen. McCain, who has some campaign ties to the region, issues what the editor of the eXile describes as "a stark raving statement" calling for Nato intervention, while after some baiting, Sen. Obama edges closer to his opponent's position.

Mon, 11 Aug 2008 05:00:00 GMT

The U.S. gives Georgian troops a lift home from Iraq, a mission that may, the New York Times suggests, have helped embolden "boisterously pro-American" Georgia "to enter a fight it could not win." But "getting back to Edwards ..."

Mon, 11 Aug 2008 05:00:00 GMT

As walls continue to spring up in Sadr City, and Iraqi politicians worry the U.S. with talk of "ironclad agreements" for troop withdrawal, Muqtada al Sadr's demilitarization moves are variously interpreted as the product of 'a secret deal' with the U.S., 'a bid for power,' or the result of an internal crisis in the Mahdi Army.

Mon, 11 Aug 2008 05:00:00 GMT

While Iraq's 'private sector falters', U.S. soldiers dole out cash under the guidelines of a field manual titled "Money as a Weapon System," and Al Jazeera investigates the 'appalling conditions' in which Iraq's lepers have been abandoned.

Mon, 11 Aug 2008 05:00:00 GMT

In Beijing, President Bush talks up church and engages in some "sporting" activities, but when asked about "America's own problems," blandly replies "I don't see America having problems."

Mon, 11 Aug 2008 05:00:00 GMT

The Olympics opens to a dazzling spectacle annotated by Kissinger Associates, as an article in the Nation points to the stories missed by too exclusive a focus on Beijing, and John Ross considers how from Mexico 1968 to Beijing 2008 "cutthroat capitalism" has set the stage.

Mon, 11 Aug 2008 05:00:00 GMT

Olympic politics go backstage and protests go on line, but official protest pens go largely unused, as Mark Leonard discusses new directions and divisions in how intellectuals in China envision the country's future.

Mon, 11 Aug 2008 05:00:00 GMT

Putting aside some journalistic reservations, Ron Suskind posts a transcript of his discussion with a former CIA agent about the Habbush forgery, with the aim of corroborating his account, and pointing the finger both at former CIA director George Tenet and "downtown."

Mon, 11 Aug 2008 05:00:00 GMT

While earlier anthrax questions to ABC News are still not getting answers to satisfy all critics, Glenn Greenwald highlights an apparent contradiction in the official time line, and talks to "On the Media" about the media's failure to cover the story skeptically.

Mon, 11 Aug 2008 05:00:00 GMT

The AP reports that the DHS 'disregarded experts' in ranking potential sites for a national lab (pdf) to study virulent biological threats in "the latest example of what critics assert is the Bush administration's politicizing of government decisions.'

Mon, 11 Aug 2008 05:00:00 GMT

If, as Tim Rutten contends, the Edwards confessional has left 'old media dethroned' as the arbiter of "the limits of acceptable journalism," questions about McCain's divorce and alleged infidelity have nonetheless failed to spark significant media interest so far.

Mon, 11 Aug 2008 05:00:00 GMT

In Bolivia, Evo Morales wins a recall referendum by an even larger margin than the vote that put him in office, with the issue of 'lopsided control over land and natural gas' looming large, and the country's president serving as an "an ink blot" upon which both Bolivians and the media projected "their deepest hopes and fears."

Mon, 11 Aug 2008 05:00:00 GMT

As 'Mexico's drug traffickers set their sights on top officials' with the aid of an "iron river of guns" smuggled in from the U.S., a Mexican army general who put out a public appeal to bypass the police and call the army for help is ousted.

Mon, 11 Aug 2008 05:00:00 GMT

Palestinians plan a state funeral for Mahmoud Darwish, a 'poet of exile' who was credited with helping to 'forge a Palestinian consciousness after the six-day war in 1967,' and who gave his final recital in Ramallah just a few weeks ago. More on his legacy from "Democracy Now!"

Mon, 11 Aug 2008 05:00:00 GMT

With credit cards raking in debt from students, and tightening their grip abroad, Bill Moyers looks into the boom in the "poverty business," and Danny Schechter warns that the credit card bubble may soon go pop.

Fri, 08 Aug 2008 05:00:00 GMT

Regional politics heat up in Iraq, with disputes over Kirkuk reportedly exposing weaknesses in the ruling coalition along fault lines dividing "the powers that be" from "the powers that aren't," and trying the patience of the Awakening movement.

Fri, 08 Aug 2008 05:00:00 GMT

Although the U.S. and Iraq are reportedly near negotiating a withdrawal date for U.S. forces, there are competing accounts of what "withdrawal" means, while Moqtada al-Sadr is conditioning complete demilitarization of his forces on the implementation of a timetable.

Fri, 08 Aug 2008 05:00:00 GMT

Andrew Bacevich proposes taking the "war" out of the war on terror, Spencer Ackerman offers "a guide to some of the most pronounced, and pernicious, euphemisms of the Iraq War," and Lawrence Lessig warns of an "iPatriot Act" waiting in the wings.

Fri, 08 Aug 2008 05:00:00 GMT

Looking "past the vanilla headlines," Eric Umansky finds that the FBI has not yet proved its case against the alleged anthrax killer, and as congressional representatives propose investigating the investigators, questions are raised about why he wasn't declared an "enemy combatant," and Robert Scheer concludes that ultimately 'the enemy was us.'

Fri, 08 Aug 2008 05:00:00 GMT

Ron Suskind agrees to release transcripts of interviews with a top CIA official confirming his story of a White House ordered forgery linking Iraq to 9/11, although another source now claims that it was Doug Feith's Office of Special Plans, and not the CIA that forged the letter. Plus: The "Armageddon Test."

Fri, 08 Aug 2008 05:00:00 GMT

Murray Waas reports that the 'DOJ probe has expanded to the White House,' over allegations that Bush administration officials made false or misleading statements to Congress about Karl Rove's role in the replacement of a fired U.S. attorney.

Fri, 08 Aug 2008 05:00:00 GMT

Both the U.S. and Britain talk about doubling their troop commitments, as tours of duty are extended to deal with a conflict in Afghanistan described by one top general as "generational," while Greg Mitchell questions whether the U.S. is really ready for a long war.

Fri, 08 Aug 2008 05:00:00 GMT

The Pakistani legislature reaches a deal to impeach the country's president on a set of charges likely to include "high treason," sparking "jubilation as well as fears across the country," and predictions of increased political instability at least in the short term.

Fri, 08 Aug 2008 05:00:00 GMT

As the number of foreign journalists in Israel declines, human rights groups express outrage over the minor penalties faced by a senior Israeli officer over the videotaped "shooting of a bound and blindfolded Palestinian prisoner by a soldier under his command."

Fri, 08 Aug 2008 05:00:00 GMT

In a cordial end to a trial still open to legal challenge, a military jury hands down a relatively light sentence to Salim Hamdan that leaves him eligible for release just in time for the next president to take a stand, while Robert Parry draws out the implications of 'The Hamdan Principle and You.'

Fri, 08 Aug 2008 05:00:00 GMT

As the Washington Independent puts 'ends and means in war crimes trials' in comparative perspective, President Bush's moral authority for singling out China for human rights criticism is questioned.

Fri, 08 Aug 2008 05:00:00 GMT

The Beijing Olympics open amid symbolism and pageantry, but "the grandest prize" contends Dave Zirzin, "is not a gold medal but a glittering entree to China's seemingly endless army of potential consumers," at the "coming out party" for a potential new export that Naomi Klein terms "McCommunism."

Fri, 08 Aug 2008 05:00:00 GMT

As the attack ad wars heat up, the Obama campaign moves swiftly to counter some selective and vintage endorsements, and with McCain offering 'a surge for all seasons,' Paul Krugman suggests that the GOP's de facto slogan has become "Real men don't think things through."

Fri, 08 Aug 2008 05:00:00 GMT

Although Sen. Bob Casey may get a speaking slot at the Democratic convention in spite of his opposition to abortion rights, an attempt to insert an "abortion reduction" plank into the draft Democratic platform is rejected.

Fri, 08 Aug 2008 05:00:00 GMT

With Obama still struggling with the evangelical math, critics charge that a recent McCain ad is dropping coded hints that his opponent is the Anti-Christ, a theme apparently taken seriously by some on the religious right.

Fri, 08 Aug 2008 05:00:00 GMT

Random House cancels publication of a novel about Mohammed's first wife on the heels of a bad blurb and apparently fearing violence of some sort. Read the prologue of the novel on line here.

Thu, 07 Aug 2008 05:00:00 GMT

'What are the "war crimes" for which Hamdan was convicted?,' asks Balkanization, and a Newsweek article wonders, "Is driving a car a war crime? The appeals court may decide not - in which case even this meager verdict could be thrown out." Plus: Hamdan sentenced to 66 months.

Thu, 07 Aug 2008 05:00:00 GMT

'It don't Gitmo better!' Visitors to a Coney Island sideshow can witness a "Waterboard Thrill Ride," one artist's contribution to a "Democracy In America" campaign.

Thu, 07 Aug 2008 05:00:00 GMT

Newsweek's Mark Hosenball, and Gerald Posner, analyze the evidence in the anthrax case, and Glenn Greenwald points out 'The FBI's selective release of documents.'

Thu, 07 Aug 2008 05:00:00 GMT

"It may well be that, absent a trial, it will fall to reporters to aggressively test the solidity of the case against Ivins," writes "Nation of Secrets" author Ted Gup, who previously detailed his chance encounter with George Tenet.

Thu, 07 Aug 2008 05:00:00 GMT

Dan Froomkin catalogs 'The White House's weak denials' of Ron Suskind's allegation that it ordered the CIA to forge evidence of a link between Iraq and al Qaeda, and Suskind speaks of the "enormous pressure" on former CIA officials John Maguire and Rob Richer to change their stories.

Thu, 07 Aug 2008 05:00:00 GMT

Juan Cole speculates that former Iraqi intelligence chief Habbush created the forgery, and in an appearance on C-SPAN, during which he fielded calls, Suskind cited a quote in his book attributed to Donald Rumsfeld, that "we will bend Iraq to our reality. They will succumb to our view of how things should be." Plus: What Bush said.

Thu, 07 Aug 2008 05:00:00 GMT

Although 'Iraqis fail to agree on provincial election law,' there is talk of a possible breakthrough on a status of forces agreement with the U.S., and as KBR unplugs in Iraq, KFC in Fallujah comes undone.

Thu, 07 Aug 2008 05:00:00 GMT

A former Rocky Mountain News reporter 'Tells untold stories of war,' in a book based on his Pulitzer Prize-winning feature, with the author said to have taken a cue from a famous 1963 column by Jimmy Breslin.

Thu, 07 Aug 2008 05:00:00 GMT

As a GAO report finds that 'U.S. counterterrorism efforts flounder in North Africa,' the 'Pakistan coalition cranks up pressure on Musharraf,' with the Independent quoting a senior member of the late Benazir Bhutto's party as saying, "It is the unanimous decision of the two parties to go for President Musharraf's impeachment."

Thu, 07 Aug 2008 05:00:00 GMT

The 'Mystery deepens around McCain bundler,' Jason Leopold points out that McCain has all but adopted 'Cheney's Energy Plan,' and following McCain's tour of a nuclear plant, Greg Palast reviews the extent of each candidate's support for nuclear energy, likening McCain's plan to 'Homer Simpson without the Donut.'

Thu, 07 Aug 2008 05:00:00 GMT

As a question is raised about what GOP stands for, conservatives set about 'Defining Obama 24/7,' and with one 'Tool' identified in the debate over tire gauges, another conveniently waited until the Republican attacks were deflated to ridicule the notion.

Thu, 07 Aug 2008 05:00:00 GMT

With the NRA said to have "had no intention of abiding by any sort of logic" for a mailer claiming that Obama is the most anti-gun candidate the group has ever faced, the AP picks up on Mother Jones' report on a gun lobby mole, about which David Corn has this to say, 'Why so silent, NRA?'

Thu, 07 Aug 2008 05:00:00 GMT

For a Washington Post online chat with Rep. Nancy Pelosi, someone erased the words "with Amy Hill Hearth" from the cover of Pelosi's 192-page, double-spaced book, which currently sits at about 1,500 in Amazon.com's sales rank, despite all the publicity.

Thu, 07 Aug 2008 05:00:00 GMT

As it's observed that the National Enquirer's "Spy Photo" purporting to show John Edwards, "looks like something, possibly human, wearing a blue t-shirt and holding, what appears to be, a Cabbage Patch doll," CJR asks: 'The Edwards story's next step?'

Thu, 07 Aug 2008 05:00:00 GMT

Ishmael Reed's "Mixing It Up," is described as "a rant, but mostly an informed one ... and his core concern of blacks not getting a fair shake in mass media is unimpeachable." Read Reed's Counterpunch articles, and an interview, parts one, two and three.

Wed, 06 Aug 2008 05:00:00 GMT

Ron Suskind begins a "Countdown" interview by parsing the statements of CIA officials who are now distancing themselves from his book, and Tim Rutten looks at the media firestorm that accompanies books like Suskind's, which, "reveals no he said/she said dispute over the letter," written on "creamy White House stationery."

Wed, 06 Aug 2008 05:00:00 GMT

In responding to Suskind's book, which gets a mixed review from Salon, John Dean says that "It looks like Cheney's been very effective in setting up his deniability and being the fail-safe for Bush," while agreeing that Suskind's Iraq war allegations alone are worse than Watergate.

Wed, 06 Aug 2008 05:00:00 GMT

The explosive charges from a Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter didn't merit a mention on the signature news shows of either PBS, or, CNN, whose "bulldog reporter" did manage "to rip the Lohan family to shreds" earlier in the day.

Wed, 06 Aug 2008 05:00:00 GMT

As an 'Anthrax Timeline' is laid out, CJR poses "Three more questions for ABC News," concerning the anonymous sources who fed it the bogus benonite-anthrax claim, and it's now reported that 'Ivins told ethics officer about anthrax clean-up.'

Wed, 06 Aug 2008 05:00:00 GMT

A GAO report finds 'Iraq's oil profits huge as U.S. bears reconstruction load.'

Wed, 06 Aug 2008 05:00:00 GMT

With Iraq seeking investors for a 'six billion dollar Baghdad masterplan,' Dutch novelist Arnon Grunberg writes of 'Fear and loafing in the Green Zone,' and an Iraq war vet recalls that after "kicking doors down and taking weapons from people and getting shot at all day ... all of a sudden you're in a low-end construction job ... It's not an ego booster, I'll tell you that."

Wed, 06 Aug 2008 05:00:00 GMT

A report that the 'Iraqi army is willing, but not ready, to fight,' is coupled with one on 'A ragtag pursuit of the Taliban' in Afghanistan, about which there seems to be some dispute within the Pentagon over whether or not the situation is 'urgent.' Plus: 'Afghan war edges out Iraq as most important for U.S.'

Wed, 06 Aug 2008 05:00:00 GMT

The Washington Post reports on a McCain bundler who 'Collects from unlikely donors,' and McClatchy picks up on the story of the office manager at Hess. Corp, and her Amtrak foreman husband, who have written $61,600 in checks to McCain's presidential campaign and the RNC, $57,000 worth "within days of McCain's decision to endorse offshore oil drilling."

Wed, 06 Aug 2008 05:00:00 GMT

As David Brooks again tests his "meme-making abilities," John McCain, in prepared remarks, puts Sturgis on the political map, after which one is asked to "imagine if Obama had said something like that about Michelle."

Wed, 06 Aug 2008 05:00:00 GMT

St. Paul will see an 'array of demonstrators,' and a possible 'prostitution spike,' and with the current 'Cheney not expected to attend GOP convention,' the DNC targets "the next Cheney."

Wed, 06 Aug 2008 05:00:00 GMT

As 'Obama links energy troubles to unpopular Cheney,' a man posing as a news photographer 'heckles Obama' over the Pledge of Allegiance, and in ridiculing the tire gauge gambit, Obama declares that "It's like these guys take pride in being ignorant," but Thomas Frank explains 'Why misgovernment was no accident in George W. Bush's Washington.'

Wed, 06 Aug 2008 05:00:00 GMT

As 'Yet another Republican pushes China-Cuba oil myth,' the New Republic interviews the candidate it describes as 'The House GOP's desperate choice for desperate times,' who recently received a raft of publicity for what he later admitted was a joke about Al-Jazeera trying to kidnap him.

Wed, 06 Aug 2008 05:00:00 GMT

After the campaign manager for Colorado GOP Senate candidate Bob Schaffer engaged in some 'political proctology,' saying of their opponent that "We're going to shove a bunch of 30-second ads up his ass" on energy issues, Schaffer's son apologized for his 'obnoxious Facebook page.'

Wed, 06 Aug 2008 05:00:00 GMT

The New Yorker reports on the 'Purpose-driven hype' attending Rick Warren's August 16th 'Compassion & Leadership' forum with Sens. McCain and Obama, and Bill Berkowitz asks: 'But what about the separation between Mega-church and state?' More Berkowitz, on 'Marketing Obama to Evangelicals.'

Wed, 06 Aug 2008 05:00:00 GMT

'Texas executes Mexican killer amid international protests,' in a case that was framed as a 'sovereignty threat' for viewers of "Lou Dobbs Tonight."

Wed, 06 Aug 2008 05:00:00 GMT

A Tyson plant in Tennessee dropping Labor Day for the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Fitr, is seen as something that "isn't going to end well," while a review of Mark Levine's "Heavy Metal Islam," finds "something truly heartening about the Moroccan thrash girls Mystik Moods striving to break through centuries-old sexist taboos."

Tue, 05 Aug 2008 05:00:00 GMT

"It would have to come from the very top," says Ron Suskind, interviewed about the bombshell claim in his new book that "the White House ordered the CIA to forge a back-dated, handwritten letter from the head of Iraqi intelligence to Saddam ... designed to portray a false link between Hussein's regime and al Qaeda as a justification for the Iraq war." Plus: 'Tenet statement on Suskind.'

Tue, 05 Aug 2008 05:00:00 GMT

The release of Suskind's book coincides with a Daily News report that the 'FBI was told to blame anthrax scare on al Qaeda by White House officials,' and as it's reminded that "Colin Powell used the anthrax case in his UN presentation," Gerald Posner, in a "Countdown" segment, discusses the Daily News article and the evidence against Bruce Ivins, a registered Democrat.

Tue, 05 Aug 2008 05:00:00 GMT

Former UNSCOM inspector Richard Spertzel, who said in an October 2001 "NewsHour" interview that "Iraq is certainly capable of producing ... weapons grade anthrax," and that he personally believed Iraq had a connection to Osama bin Laden, comes to the defense of Ivins in a Wall Street Journal op-ed.

Tue, 05 Aug 2008 05:00:00 GMT

The Journal also reports that Muqtada al-Sadr "intends to disarm his once-dominant Mahdi Army militia and remake it as a social-services organization," and if it's looking for a cause: 'Squatters in Iraqi buildings fear they'll soon be on the street.'

Tue, 05 Aug 2008 05:00:00 GMT

A report that "There were strenuous efforts within the Army over the last year to censor" a book on war surgery "and keep it out of civilian hands," notes that "Paradoxically, the book is being issued as news photographers complain that they are being ejected from combat areas for depicting dead and wounded Americans."

Tue, 05 Aug 2008 05:00:00 GMT

With a 'Pakistani mum extradited to U.S. on terror charges,' the Washington Post reports that the 'U.S. may have taped visits to detainees' at Guantanamo, where the 'Jury is out for Hamdan -- and the tribunal process.'

Tue, 05 Aug 2008 05:00:00 GMT

The NRDC depicts President Bush as a snake oil salesman in a full-page ad that ran in the Post on Tuesday, Rolling Stone reports on 'Big coal's campaign of lies,' and Sen. Obama is criticized for toying with "a coal-friendly ticket."

Tue, 05 Aug 2008 05:00:00 GMT

As Obama outlines his 'new "New Energy" plan,' that includes a "use it or lose it" approach to oil leases, a "drill anywhere" proposal is advanced.

Tue, 05 Aug 2008 05:00:00 GMT

While a senior McCain aide is described as "practically giddy" over tire gauges, an AP fact check finds that "McCain is wrong when he says inflating tires is the only thing Obama is proposing to address America's energy challenges."

Tue, 05 Aug 2008 05:00:00 GMT

Jonathan Alter speaks of a "smear gap" between Democrats and Republicans, Glenn Greenwald interviews Digby about campaign coverage, and the Daily Howler argues that "It was amazingly foolish to start yelling 'race' about that silly blip of Spears ... Instead of laughing at the ad and saying it showed that McCain is a fly-weight."

Tue, 05 Aug 2008 05:00:00 GMT

Two anti-Obama books, one by Jerome Corsi and the other by David Freddoso, attain "Hot New Releases" status on Amazon, but Media Matters finds the former 'filled with falsehoods,' and the latter 'marked by false and misleading assertions about Obama, accompanied by dubious citations."

Tue, 05 Aug 2008 05:00:00 GMT

As the Green Bay Packers draft Ari Fleischer to spin the Brett Favre circus, a survey of U.S. chief marketing officers finds that nearly one in five "say their organizations have bought advertising in return for a news story."

Tue, 05 Aug 2008 05:00:00 GMT

An Independent article outlines 'China's Olympic challenge,' McClatchy reports that "Chinese officials have not lived up to key promises they made to win the right to host the Olympics," and an argument is made that if you want 'To change the Olympics, change the channel.' Plus: 'Fortress Beijing.'

Tue, 05 Aug 2008 05:00:00 GMT

A review of the book "Iron Fists," by former New York Times senior art director Steven Heller, describes how "Heller, by means of unsettling images and shrewd analysis, amply restores the vileness to branding." And in an illustrated article adapted from the book, Heller looks at 'Branding Youth in the Totalitarian State.'

Tue, 05 Aug 2008 05:00:00 GMT

The passing of Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn prompts an examination of "Solzhenitsyn and the right," and, an observation from the editor of Novy Mir, which published "One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich," that in Russia, "There is no demand for great people."

Tue, 05 Aug 2008 05:00:00 GMT

A new book, "The Forsaken," tells the story of American citizens who emigrated to the U.S.S.R., beginning in the 1930s, for economic or ideological reasons, with most having their U.S. passports confiscated, and many arrested as spies and shipped off to the Gulag. Earlier: 'Stalin's political pilgrims.'

Mon, 04 Aug 2008 05:00:00 GMT

As Glenn Greenwald reviews some unresolved issues in the anthrax investigation on "Democracy Now!" and highlights some 'additional key facts,' Jay Rosen boils it all down into 'three vital questions for ABC News about its anthrax reporting in 2001.'

Mon, 04 Aug 2008 05:00:00 GMT

Although reports suggest that anthrax scientist Bruce Ivins 'stood to benefit from a panic,' had aired some hard right views, and was in a position to spread disinformation, the FBI evidence against him, according to a New York Times source, is "largely circumstantial." Plus: What does this say about our conspiracy theorists?

Mon, 04 Aug 2008 05:00:00 GMT

"Has the unprecedented boom in biodefense research made the country less secure by multiplying the places and people with access to dangerous germs?," asks the New York Times, as a Stratfor analysis downgrades the bioterror threat.

Mon, 04 Aug 2008 05:00:00 GMT

As NPR covers the Guantanamo tribunal with a touch of 'tortured humor,' a Los Angeles Times analysis of some of the legal peculiarities of the trial notes that Salim Hamdan will remain incarcerated no matter the verdict.

Mon, 04 Aug 2008 05:00:00 GMT

Andy Worthington sums up what is now known about the secret CIA-run prison on Diego Garcia, as questions are raised about 'the real torture timeline,' and Mark Benjamin notes that Obama's 'brain trust' wants to "form a commission on torture ... but put off prosecutions -- if any -- till a second term."

Mon, 04 Aug 2008 05:00:00 GMT

Prepping for an envisioned "long war" heavy on the counterinsurgency, the Air Force begins deploying a new armed drone, but Pentagon efforts to militarize the social sciences are running into resistance.

Mon, 04 Aug 2008 05:00:00 GMT

An analysis of the 'Bio-politics of Baghdad' emphasizes the role of ethnic cleansing in making the sectarian divide appear less prominent, as questions are raised about 'what to do with the Sons of Iraq,' and the apportionment of blame in a new IGC report on the refugee crisis is challenged.

Mon, 04 Aug 2008 05:00:00 GMT

A territorial dispute over oil-rich Kirkuk, to which Kurdish officials have laid claim, stalls attempts to hold key provincial elections in Iraq, while Al Jazeera examines what's involved in guarding a pair of the country's most valuable off-shore oil rigs.

Mon, 04 Aug 2008 05:00:00 GMT

'Holidays in the Garden of Eden' Under the slogan "tourism not terrorism," the Iraqi government -- along with some foreign investors -- is mounting a concerted effort overcome its dangerous image and draw travelers to an array of attractions both old and new. Plus: Touring Honecker's bunker.

Mon, 04 Aug 2008 05:00:00 GMT

Haaretz calls attention to a recent "upturn in the number of reports of violent incidents against Palestinians by West Bank settlers," and a report by an Israeli human rights group charges that Palestinians are being pressured to cooperate with Israeli intelligence as a condition of access to medical care.

Mon, 04 Aug 2008 05:00:00 GMT

Despite a recent study downplaying the consequences of an attack on Iran, signed off on by some key Obama advisers, Washington insiders suggest that bombing remains unlikely, while Chris Hedges sketches out some worst case scenarios to underline just how dangerous an attack could be.

Mon, 04 Aug 2008 05:00:00 GMT

Commenting on the new direction taken by the McCain campaign in recent weeks, a piece in the New Yorker finds that "he's opted out of truth," and David Gergen calls out the coded racial signals, while it's argued that McCain's real 'problem isn't his tactics. It's his GOP ideas.'

Mon, 04 Aug 2008 05:00:00 GMT

With McCain's early promotion of an anthrax-Iraq connection (scroll down) underlining doubts about his political and strategic judgment, the candidate looks to some Iraq war tactics as a model for dealing with urban crime in the U.S.

Mon, 04 Aug 2008 05:00:00 GMT

"The largest field operation in the history of American politics" is seen as giving Obama the potential to turn the Democratic party upside down, while a prominent media narrative appears to boil down to the peculiar complaint that Obama is 'acting too presidential.'