Bush loses authority to close trade accords

Washington- President Bush loses his power today to seal "fast track" trade agreements without intervention from Congress - the type of deals that Democrats blame for sending U.S. jobs abroad.
Since 1975, only one other president, Bill Clinton, has been stripped of that trade promotion authority, designed to speed the reduction of trade barriers and open new markets with other countries. Bush won't get it back again, and the next president might not either.
House Democratic leaders, including Speaker Nancy Pelosi of California and Rep. Charles Rangel of New York, whose Ways and Means Committee handles trade policy, said in a written statement Friday that their legislative priorities "do not include the renewal of fast track authority."
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The Age of Atlantica: As Goes Mexico, so Goes the US and Canada
The End of Sovereignty and Democracy Tolls for Upstate New York, Northern New England, Quebec and the Maritime Provinces, and, Soon, for Boston and NYC Too

By Al Giordano
Special to The Narco News Bulletin
June 6, 2007
Workers and farmers in the United States and Canada have been largely kept in the dark about the tragedy unleashed on their counterparts in Mexico with the 1994 entrance of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). But the same all-out screwing is about to happen to them.
An alliance of big business owners is openly plotting the economic Mexicanization of an important region of the Northeast US and Eastern Canada. They call their new world “Atlantica,” and have imposed their borders around it as if drawing a new “country” on a Risk game board. Here’s the map of “their” new country, not one founded upon democratic decisions, but with orders barked from an unelected elite of corporate flunkies whose only law is to maximize profits for the owners. Maybe you can see your house or job, or that of family members and friends, on their map:
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Ah, yes, but he's still got 570 days to go

NYU Professor Paul Light at the end of the week in which George W. Bush has seen the collapse of the immigration deal he wanted, increased Republican opposition to the war in Iraq, new subpoenas from Congress, the beginning of a legal fight over existing subpoenas from Congress, the assignment of Scooter Libby's inmate number, new revelations about Dick Cheney and a sign that the Supreme Court might be reversing course on Guantánamo Bay:
"It's the incredible shrinking presidency. He's lost battles in the courts. He's lost battles in Iraq. He's lost battles on Capitol Hill. His bank account is empty and there's nowhere to go for more. I think his presidency is essentially over."
-- Tim Grieve

Leahy, Conyers: We'll decide if the White House is in contempt

Democrats Plan to Press GOP on Iraq

With the immigration bill dead, troop-withdrawal deadlines vetoed and other high-profile initiatives stalled, Democratic leaders closed six months in control of Congress mired in low approval ratings and plotting a legislative blitz on an issue they once tried to escape: Iraq.
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Now isn't that the truth, you just have to look at the Supreme Courts judgements for the last 7 years

Judges Behaving Badly

"A $54 million lawsuit over a pair of pinstriped trousers that went missing from a Washington, DC, cleaners was thrown out by a judge this week. It had attracted worldwide ridicule. The fact that the case was brought, not by a random loony, but by a former judge has added to the sense that something is wrong not just with America's litigation laws, but with the kind of men and women Americans choose to sit in judgment over them," opines the Economist.

Dick Cheney's Dangerous Influence

Eleanor Clift writes:

"Under the guise of national security, Cheney has gotten away with curbing civil liberties, condoning torture and launching an unnecessary war. He's also chipped away at environmental regulations and done myriad favors for his friends in the business world. He shapes tax policy and energy policy and whatever else strikes his fancy, installing himself as president of Corporate America. Cheney's above-the-law arrogance finally met its match this week."

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You Decide

Mass grave found near Iraqi city of Falluja, U.S. military said

BAGHDAD (CNN) -- A mass grave with 35 to 40 bodies was found south of the Anbar city of Falluja, the U.S. military said Saturday.
The find was made late Friday, outside Ferris -- more than 20 miles south of Falluja.
"The remains were bound and had gunshot wounds," the military said.
The military has said that Anbar, predominantly Sunni, has been a battleground lately between al Qaeda in Iraq militants and Sunnis tribal fighters who oppose al Qaeda. (Posted 12:27 p.m.)

Seventh official quits Justice Department

Fri Jun 29, 2007 7:29pm ET
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - An assistant attorney general at the Justice Department announced her resignation on Friday, becoming the seventh official to quit the department since the Democratic-led Congress launched an investigation in March into the firing of nine federal prosecutors.
Rachel Brand, assistant attorney general for legal policy, said she would step down on July 9. No reason was given.
Brand was nominated to her position on March 29, 2005, and confirmed by the Senate four months later.
She was responsible for preparing Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Samuel Alito for their confirmation hearings and helped in the reauthorization in 2006 of the USA Patriot Act, an anti-terrorism law that Congress approved after the September 11 attacks.
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Times: The Supreme Court 'moved right' NY

New Law Requires New Mexico To Grow Own Pot »

AP News DEBORAH BAKER June 30, 2007 08:56 AM
New Mexico has a new medical marijuana law with a twist: It requires the state to grow its own. The law, effective Sunday, not only protects medical marijuana users from prosecution -- as 11 other states do -- but requires New Mexico to oversee a production and distribution system for the drug.

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Blazing Jeep Slams Into Glasgow Airport

Police Chief: "We Believe The Incident At Glasgow Airport Is Linked To The Events In London Yesterday...This Is Being Treated As A Terrorist Incident."

AP IAN STEWART June 30, 2007 03:04 PM
Two men rammed a flaming Jeep Cherokee into the main terminal of Glasgow airport Saturday, crashing into the glass doors at the entrance in what appeared to be the third attempted terror attack on Britain in two days, witnesses said.
Police wrestled the two men to the ground -- one of them engulfed in flames -- arresting both and taking one to the hospital.

Small bomb explodes at Spain's Ibiza airport after it had been evacuated, agencies report.

MADRID (CNN) - The airport on Spain's Ibiza island in the Mediterranean was evacuated Saturday after an anonymous bomb threat was called into a newspaper office that often receives such calls from the Basque separatist group ETA, but police later determined that a suspicious package was empty, CNN partner station CNN Plus reported.
The caller to the newspaper office reportedly did not mention ETA in this instance.
There was confusion as to whether there had been a police controlled explosion of the suspicious package or not. Some people outside the airport said they had heard what sounded like an explosion, but Interior Ministry sources told CNN Plus that there was no explosion.
There were no immediate reports of injuries. (Posted 12:27 p.m.)

Reid: "Republican Obstruction Has Gotten So Bad That Now They're Blocking Bills That They Actually Support"

AP News NATASHA T. METZLER June 30, 2007 02:15 PM
While some Republicans are "saying the right things on Iraq," they need to back up their words with votes, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said Saturday.
"Voting against a bill on a matter of principle is one thing," the Nevada senator said during the weekly Democratic radio address. "To go forward, we will need far more Republicans to put partisan politics aside and work with us for the American people."

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"...The President's Mojo Is Completely Gone"

For President Bush, a Reversal of Fortune on His Political Capital

The New York Times SHERYL GAY STOLBERG June 30, 2007 08:18 AM
After a string of Republican defections this week -- on Iraq, immigration and domestic eavesdropping -- President Bush enters the final 18 months of his presidency in danger of losing control over a party that once marched in lockstep with him.
First, two prominent Republican senators broke with the president on Iraq. Then, Mr. Bush's party abandoned him in droves on the immigration bill, sending the measure to its death in the Senate, despite the president's fervent lobbying for it.

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Bush loses 'fast track' powers

Can anyone tell me why, they would welcome us with flowers?

Iraqi girls clean up their home after a U.S. raid in the Shiite enclave of Sadr City Saturday, June 30, 2007. U.S. soldiers killed 26 suspected insurgents before dawn Saturday in Baghdad's Sadr City neighborhood, the military said. Iraqi police and hospital officials said the victims were civilians killed in their homes. (AP Photo/Karim Kadim)

Two US Soldiers Charged With Murder Of Iraqis

AP HAMID AHMED June 30, 2007 08:42 AM
American soldiers rolled into Baghdad's Sadr City slum on Saturday in search of Iranian-linked militants and as many as 26 Iraqis were killed in what a U.S. officer described as "an intense firefight."
But residents, police and hospital officials said eight people were killed -- all civilians in their homes, and angrily accused U.S. forces of firing blindly on the innocent. Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki condemned the raids and demanded an explanation for the assault into a district where he has...LinkHere

US Soldiers "Firing Blindly" on Civilians

"American soldiers rolled into Baghdad's Shiite Sadr City slum on Saturday in search of Iranian-linked militants and as many as 26 Iraqis were killed in what a US officer described as 'an intense firefight,'" writes Hamid Ahmed of the Associated Press.

New Twist

Not fake ... this image of "spacecraft" is the real deal, but the Air Force claim it's their experiment /

The Air Force PR officer that handled media reports of the Roswell alien incident 60 years ago died last week, allowing an affadavit holding the "true story" to be read - with amazing results / AP More

Secret Iraq pull-out plan for 2008

PRIME Minister John Howard has a secret plan to ambush Opposition Leader Kevin Rudd at this year's election by withdrawing Australian troops from Iraq by February, a senior military source has revealed.

Scott Ritter: Calling Out Idiot America

A pop quiz, consisting of one question in two parts. Most readers might complain that it is not realistic to expect mainstream America to possess the knowledge necessary to achieve the level of comprehension required to pass this quiz. I agree. However, since the mission of the United States in Iraq has shifted from disarming Saddam to installing democracy to creating stability, I think it only fair that the American people be asked about those elements that are most relevant to the issue, namely the Shiite and Sunni faithful and how they interact with one another.
It is sadly misguided to believe that surging an additional 20,000 U.S. troops into Baghdad and western Iraq will even come close to redressing the issues raised in this article. And if you concur that the reality of Iraq is far too complicated to be understood by the average American, yet alone cured by the dispatch of additional troops, then we have a collective responsibility to ask what the hell we are doing in that country to begin with. If this doesn’t represent a clarion call for bringing our men and women home, nothing does.

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It hailed him for shunning the "politics of fear.'' Maybe Georgie could learn a thing or two?

'Brown fares well in terror test'

Massive manhunt for London car bombers

More lawsuits over racing crash

4:21pm: THE father of two girls killed at a charity "burnout" event today filed lawsuits against Australian driver Troy Critchley and the Tennessee city of Selmer.

Friking Wanker

President Bush's "Bring Them On" Picture Album
Bush's Most Inflammatory Gaffe Since "Bring it on!"

Yesterday Bush's Rhode Island speech on Iraq included an inflammatory surprise, where Bush said that the U.S. occupation of Iraq should emulate Israel's "success" in it's occupation of the Palestinians.

Killing Without Conscience : Iraq - The Hidden War

How our news is sanatized to prevent the destruction and suffering created by the U.S. occupation of Iraq from entering our reality.
Channel 4 Investigates

This video contains images that should only be viewed by a mature audience
Iraq: The Hidden Story shows the footage used by TV news broadcasts, and compares it with the devastatingly powerful uncensored footage of the aftermath of the carnage that is becoming a part of the fabric of life in Iraq.

Video - Click to play

Memo to Wolf Blitzer: Americans Really Are as Smart as Brits

by Sandy Sand Page 1 of 1 page(s)
http://www.opednews.com/
Thanks, Wolf. You managed to insult all of your audience and most of America with one question posed in a few teaser words.

Ending the 4:27 p.m. EDT break on Friday with -- and I paraphrase -- British citizens alerted police to the suspicious cars that were loaded with bombs. Are Americans smart enough to do the same? We'll be back after the break.
If he thought this up on his own, he's not too savvy. If it was his writers, he should get some new ones.
Dumb question, Wolf. Wrong question, too, asked of the wrong people. It's not the American public and their acuity to things amiss that you have to worry about, it's the cement heads in the government.
You know, Wolf, the ones who didn't heed Bill Clinton's warnings. The ones who went on vacation and didn't take the national security report with them for a bit of light summer reading. The same ones who paid no attention after being told that suspicious foreigners were taking take-off and fly lessons, but didn't give a rat's ass about learning how to land. It was one of our "dumbest" citizens who alerted authorities to that, and they in turn, ignored the warning.
Those are the ones you should be worried about, Wolf, and address your question to.
How about asking that of the one who got on Thee TV and said in the wildest of wild dreams, who would have thought terrorists would fly planes into building?
Hmmmmmm. Let me see. Author Tom Clancy thought of it. Even put it in one of his novels. Years before, the scripters of "The Medusa Touch" staring Richard Burton and Lee Remick put it in their movie.
Before that, a few hundred Japanese thought to dive planes "down" into ships, so it's only logical that one or more people might think of driving them "up" into buildings.
Perhaps the best example of someone to ask that of is the man who went into a classroom after learning that a plane flew into a building, and sat there and continued to read something about a goat for seven infamous minutes after learning a second plane had crashed into a building.
Unless the conspiracy theorists are right, and he knew about the attacks in advance, who has the lack of curiousity, or imagination, or sense to know when something is wrong? Him or us?

Linkhere

Fox Poll: More Americans Trust Dems to Handle World War III Against Islamofascists!

By Eric Kleefeld bio
This has to be a first. In its new poll, Fox News asked what may well be the ultimate in jingoistic, rally-around-the-flag questions — and the Democrats came out on top.
If there is an all-out war between the United States and various radical Muslim groups worldwide, who would you rather have in charge — Democrats or Republicans?
Democrats
41%
Republicans
38%
Both the same(not listed)
9%
Don't know(not listed)
12%

Granted, the result is within the poll's three-point margin of error, so we can't say with certainty that the Dems have a lead here. But really, this bespeaks truly terrible times for the GOP.

The question of which party the people would trust more to lead World War III against a global coalition of Islamofascists should have been a gimme for the Republicans. But they couldn't even manage to get a plurality. Pathetic.

LinkHEre

The Bush/Cheney Holocaust in Iraq, Part Two: Incompetence

(Note: Part One of "The Bush/Cheney Holocaust in Iraq: Criminality, Immorality, Incompetence and Desperation" examined the criminality and immorality underlying the Bush/Cheney regime's invasion of Iraq (see http://www.walter-c-uhler.com/Reviews/criminal.html ). Part Two, below, examines the disasters that could have been avoided, except for the gross incompetence with which the invasion was conducted. Part Three, next week, will examine the desperation, which now compels various political actors to contemplate drastic action before the Bush/Cheney regime leaves office.)

Blair won't have power to mediate on peace

By David Blair in New York
Last Updated: 3:28am BST 30/06/2007
Tony Blair with Palestinian Authority president Mahmoud Abbas
Tony Blair's ambitions for his new role as a Middle East envoy were brought down to earth yesterday after America made it clear that he will have no power to mediate peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians.
Instead, the State Department said that Mr Blair will be confined to improving the institutions of the Palestinian Authority.
One former US adviser predicted swift "frustration" for Mr Blair and likened his role to carrying a "tin cup" around the world, raising funds for the Palestinians. >>>cont

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60pc oppose hosting US missile defence base

WARSAW, Poland: Sixty per cent of Poles oppose hosting a US missile defence base in their country, according to a poll released on Friday, opposition that has inched up in past weeks as Washington and Warsaw have intensified talks and Russia has warned of a new arms race.
The survey, conducted by CBOS, a publicly-funded institute based in Warsaw, also showed that 26 per cent of those questioned support US placement of a missile defence on Polish territory, up one point from a similar poll from April.
The CBOS said it has tracked a rise in opposition to missile defence since 2005, when 32 per cent supported it. The previous survey, in April, showed opposition of 57 per cent.
The poll, conducted June 1-4, questioned 903 adults and gave a margin of error of plus or minus 3 percentage points. The US is in talks with Warsaw to place 10 interceptors in Poland, and wants a related radar base in the neighbouring Czech Republic. Washington says the system would protect most of Europe from future missile attacks from Iran. But Russia has warned it could provoke a new arms race.
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Scientists find way to separate HIV virus from cells

Agence France-PressePublished: Friday June 29, 2007
In a breakthrough that could potentially lead to a cure for HIV infection, scientists have discovered a way to remove the virus from infected cells, a study released Thursday said.
The scientists engineered an enzyme which attacks the DNA of the HIV virus and cuts it out of the infected cell, according to the study published in Science magazine.
The enzyme is still far from being ready to use as a treatment, the authors warned, but it offers a glimmer of hope for the more than 40 million people infected worldwide.
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The New Bush-Blair Vanity Play

The choice of ex-British Prime Minister Tony Blair as a new envoy to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict has officials on all sides scratching their heads. One former top Israeli intelligence official confided a two-word assessment in English: "It's nuts." The reaction of Arabs -- still furious over Blair's role in the invasion and occupation of Iraq -- is certain to be even harsher. A question being asked across the Middle East is whether there's a method to this apparent madness, or is it just a vanity play by President George W. Bush and his pal, Blair? June 30, 2007

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Court allows student's anti-Bush T-shirt

A seventh-grader from Vermont was suspended for wearing a shirt that bore images of cocaine and a martini glass - but also had messages calling President Bush a lying drunk driver who abused cocaine and marijuana, and the "chicken-hawk-in-chief" who was engaged in a "world domination tour."
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UN shuts down Iraqi WMD probe

Husband Guilty of Killing Nev. Official

MARTIN GRIFFITH June 29, 2007 08:39 PM EST
RENO, Nev. — The husband of the late state Controller Kathy Augustine was convicted Friday of killing her by injecting her with a paralyzing drug that FBI experts detected in her system months after her death.
Chaz Higgs, a critical care nurse, was convicted of first-degree murder two days after attempting suicide for the second time since Augustine's death last July. He was sentenced later Friday to life in prison with the possibility of parole after serving a minimum of 20 years.
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Part Of US Border Fence Built On Mexican Soil »

Associated Press ALICIA A. CALDWELL June 29, 2007 06:48 PM
The 1.5-mile barrier along the U.S.-Mexico border was designed to keep cars from illegally crossing into the United States. There's just one problem: It was accidentally built on Mexican soil.
Now embarrassed border officials say the mistake could cost the federal government more than $3 million to fix.

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I wouldn't be holding my breath waiting, while they use the "Full Force Of The Law"

Congress: We Will Use "Full Force Of Law" If Subpoenas Are Ignored

Saudi king snubs Abbas :

Abbas was reportedly kept waiting at a palace room for a telephone call that never came. Al Jazeera said the move appeared "deliberate".

UNHCR calls for seriously ill Palestinian children in Iraq to be medevaced:

The UN refugee agency on Friday issued an urgent plea for the immediate evacuation of at least a dozen seriously ill Palestinians – mostly young children – stuck in Baghdad or in a makeshift camp on the Iraqi side of the desert border with Syria.

Shocked that Iraqi's may want to protect their famalies from occupatrion forces?:

U.S. officer calls insurgents 'ruthless':

"This is a skilled and determined enemy. He's ruthless. He's got a thirst for blood like I've never seen anywhere in my life," said Army Maj. Gen. Joseph F. Fil Jr., the 1st Cavalry Division commander who has been in charge of military operations throughout the capital since late last year.

Mcmansions, SUVs, Mega-Churches and the Baghdad Embassy:

Life Among Dim and Brutal Giants

By Phil Rockstroh

A massive emblem of the arrogance of power, the embassy is a testament to how the noxious vapors of cultural self-deception can be made manifest in reenforced concrete, armed watchtowers and razor wire. .

Continue

Thanks for Dick Cheney

By Joel S. Hirschhorn
06/29/07 "ICH " --- - When someone in high elected office shows the nation how vulnerable our Constitution is, we should be thankful for the wakeup call. Like many ruthless dictators, evil kings, and monster generals, Dick Cheney is the leading practitioner of the ends-justify-the-means mentality, where only his vision of the desired ends counts. And if this means disregarding and disobeying the Constitution, torturing prisoners, killing thousands of American soldiers, disrespecting Congress, destroying our environment, embracing the invasion of illegal immigrants, increasing out national debt, and disregarding the will of the vast majority of Americans, so be it. Serving corporate interests rather than serving the people is Cheney’s brand of patriotism.
Cheney’s self-righteous ego is bigger than George W. Bush’s, and what makes Cheney more striking is that he is enormously smarter and more competent than Bush, his token boss. He is so dangerous and frightening that no impeachment of Bush effort ever stood a chance. Not as long as “President Cheney” enters your consciousness. Cheney became Bush’s shield.
When reality hits the fan we use the-lessons-learned approach to stay sane. With his finger-in-the-eye disdain for what anybody else (or history) thinks of him, Cheney offers a far better lesson learned benefit than the stumbles and fumbles of Bush-the-smirker. Bush is a joke. Cheney is a monster.
Take Cheney’s current view that he is a part of the legislative branch, not the executive, so he does not have to comply with an Executive Order on reporting use of secret materials. It is wildly inconsistent with his prior claims of executive privilege. But Cheney has no use for logical consistency. Only what Cheney wants matters. (The only law that Cheney regularly obeys is gravity.) >>>cont

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Homepage Bush plays al Qaida card to bolster support for Iraq policy

By Jonathan S. Landay McClatchy Newspapers
Posted on Thu, June 28, 2007
WASHINGTON — Facing eroding support for his Iraq policy, even among Republicans, President Bush on Thursday called al Qaida "the main enemy" in Iraq, an assertion rejected by his administration's senior intelligence analysts.
The reference, in a major speech at the Naval War College that referred to al Qaida at least 27 times, seemed calculated to use lingering outrage over the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, to bolster support for the current buildup of U.S. troops in Iraq, despite evidence that sending more troops hasn't reduced the violence or sped Iraqi government action on key issues.
Bush called al Qaida in Iraq the perpetrator of the worst violence racking that country and said it was the same group that had carried out the Sept. 11 attacks in New York and Washington.
"Al Qaida is the main enemy for Shia, Sunni and Kurds alike," Bush asserted. "Al Qaida's responsible for the most sensational killings in Iraq. They're responsible for the sensational killings on U.S. soil."
U.S. military and intelligence officials, however, say that Iraqis with ties to al Qaida are only a small fraction of the threat to American troops. The group known as al Qaida in Iraq didn't exist before the U.S.-led invasion in 2003, didn't pledge its loyalty to al Qaida leader Osama bin Laden until October 2004 and isn't controlled by bin Laden or his top aides.
Bush's references to al Qaida came just days after Republican Sens. Richard Lugar of Indiana, the top Republican on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and George Voinovich of Ohio broke with Bush over his Iraq strategy and joined calls to begin an American withdrawal.
"The only way they think they can rally people is by blaming al Qaida," said Vincent Cannistraro, a former chief of the CIA's Counter-Terrorism Center who's critical of the administration's strategy.
LinkHere

In Iraq, $22.5bn can't buy security

29jun07
THE US has sunk more than $US19 billion ($22.5 billion) into training Iraqi forces, but new army and police units still cannot enforce security, a congressional report released yesterday warns.
Four years after the US invasion, 346,500 Iraqi military and police have been trained, but readiness is not evenly spread and there is strong evidence some newly trained troops are committing sectarian violence, the report says.
The study, by a subcommittee of the House of Representatives Armed Services panel, is the latest unflattering assessment of US operations in Iraq, and comes as support ebbs for the White House's Iraq policy among Senate Republicans.
The hugely expensive and complicated US mission to train Iraqi forces has had mixed results, the report says. Iraqi police are particularly problematic.
Though some units are operational, "the Iraqi Security Forces have not yet developed as fast as the coalition planned and ... are not yet ready to take full responsibility for their country's security," the bipartisan report says.
It is also unclear how many of the 346,500 forces trained are still operational, the committee says, warning that the US Defence Department "must focus on personnel and equipment accountability systems".
Oversight and Investigations committee chairman Martin Meehan said: "This bipartisan report shows clearly that the President's plan to stand down our troops as the Iraqis stand up has been a failure to this point."
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Gaza: from economic to humanitarian disaster

by Sonja Karkar writing for Women for Palestine and Australians for Palestine

...Since Hamas re-took power in Gaza after routing Fatah forces, the Palestinians there have been living under a state of siege. Israel has adamantly refused to let through some 104 boxes of basic food stuffs being provided by UNRWA to more than half of Gaza’s population, despite saying that aid through UNRWA would be given passage. Israel cites "security considerations" as the reason. The only opening is through the Karm Abu Salem Crossing in the southern Gaza Strip and its 15 truck per day capacity cannot serve a 1.4 million population in desperate need. According to the UN, at least 100 trucks a day need to be going into Gaza. The shortages of food, water supplies, fuel and medicine are so alarming that organizations like UNRWA and OXFAM are calling for an immediate re-opening of Gaza’s border...

continua / continued

Taking the Piss Envoy

Gilad Atzmon, Peacepalestine

What a great day for peace enthusiasts! A new envoy to the Middle East has been appointed for the Quartet, and it’s no other than the former British PM, Tony Blair. Blair, the man who gave the Israelis the green light to flatten Beirut. Blair, the man who started an illegal war in Iraq. Blair, a man who, according to the Geneva Conventions, is to be held personally responsible for more than 700,000 dead in Iraq for failing to 'protect civilian populations against certain consequences of war’. A man who is supposed to be charged for genocide at The Hague. That’s right, a man who should end his life behind bars is now becoming a peace envoy...

continua / continued

Blair unfit for peace-making

Khalid Amayreh, thepeoplesvoice.org

There is no doubt that Tony Blair, who has just been appointed by the Quartet (US, EU, Russia and UN) as Peace Envoy to the Middle East is utterly unfit for the job. The man is simply too deceitful and too dishonest and too unethical to be a genuine peacemaker. Last week, renowned British Journalist Robert Fisk wrote the following about Blair: "I remain overwhelmed that this vain, deceitful man, this proven liar, a trumped-up lawyer who has the blood of thousands of Arab men, women and children on his hands is really contemplating being 'our’ Middle East envoy."...

continua / continued

KEBAB PHILOSOPHY~~ TONY OF ARABIA

Desert Peace

Just days after stepping down as Prime Minister of Britain, Tony Blair finds himself in a new position of Special Envoy to the Middle East. Already an 'expert' in the area, personally trained by George Dubya Bush himself, we have some interesting days to look forward to as he maps out his strategy to destroy Palestine the way he helped to destroy Iraq. Read the following AP Report taken from today's Jerusalem Post....

continua / continued

Tony Blair: A true friend of Israel

Arjan El Fassed, The Electronic Intifada

"A true friend of the State of Israel," said Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert of his outgoing British counterpart Tony Blair. He was appointed this week as special envoy for the Middle East Quartet with a portfolio focused on Palestinian economic and political reform. "Tony Blair is a very well-appreciated figure in Israel," said Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni. According to an Israeli government statement, Israel "will provide [him] with all necessary assistance in order for him to carry out his duties." It should not come as a surprise that Israeli government officials welcome Blair to his new job. Although he has long claimed to be interested in supporting justice for the Palestinians, Blair has an unremitting record of bias towards Israel. After George W. Bush, Blair is probably the most disliked and distrusted individual, among Palestinians as well as in the Arab world in general...

continua / continued

International probe as London police avert car bomb carnage

TARGET LONDON? Police find car with nails, gasoline outside busy nightclub.

What's new, they did that with Iraq, so why won't they do it with Iran

Hersh: White House's 'wet dream' is Iran hit

Renowned journalist says Bush, Cheney 'ignoring actual inteligence on Iran.'

Supreme Court Reverses Course, Agrees To Review Guantanamo Habeas Corpus Issue

AP PETE YOST June 29, 2007 11:58 AM
Rejecting Bush administration arguments, the Supreme Court reversed course and agreed Friday to review whether Guantanamo Bay detainees can use the civilian court system to challenge their indefinite confinement.
The administration argues that a new law strips courts of their jurisdiction to hear detainee cases. The justices took the action without comment along with other end-of-term orders.

LinkHere

Roberts, Alito and The Rule of Law

Geoffrey R. Stone, 06.28.2007
For the Supreme Court of the United States, this will be remembered as the year of intellectual dishonesty. The tactic, in short, is to purport to respect a precedent while in fact interpreting it into oblivion.
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Bill Moyers Takes on Murdoch

Bill Moyers has put into words the anguish many feel over the pending takeover of the Wall Street Journal by Murdoch Inc.
"When it comes to Money and power [Murdoch] is carnivorous -- all appetite and no taste. He'll eat anything in his path," Moyers says in a video commentary posted on YouTube earlier today. "He hires lobbyists the way Imelda Marcos bought shoes. He stacks them in his cavernous closet along with his conscience."
Moyers on Murdoch
Click here to watchThe commentary will air on PBS tonight as the closing segment of Bill Moyers Journal. (Check local listings).
"Rupert Murdoch has told the Bancrofts he'll not meddle with reporting. But he's accustomed to using journalism as a personal spittoon," Moyers says. "His worst offense with Fox News is not even its baldly partisan agenda. Far worse is the travesty he's made of its journalism. Fox News huffs and puffs, pontificates and proclaims, but does little serious original reporting."
Now Murdoch is vying to bring under his wing one of the best national newspapers we have left. With so much of the national news agenda being filtered through the lenses of a few companies, it's time we thought twice about the ways we allow these massive conglomerates to gobble up local outlets and dominate local airwaves for private gain.
"The problem isn't just Rupert Murdoch," Moyers concludes. "His pursuit of the Wall Street Journal is the latest in a cascading series of mergers, buyouts and other financial legerdemain that is making a shipwreck of journalism. ... Instead of checking the excesses of private and public power, these 21st-century barons of the First Amendment revel in them. The public be damned."
Watch the video.

Surge Results: Deadliest Three Months For Troops Since War Began

U.S. toll to 329 for the past 3 months

5 U.S. Soldiers Killed in Iraq Attack

AP LAUREN FRAYER June 29, 2007 11:58 AM
Insurgents launched a deadly coordinated attack on an American combat patrol, detonating a roadside bomb, then firing guns and rocket-propelled grenades at the soldiers, the U.S. military said Friday. Five troops were killed.
Seven soldiers were wounded in the attack on Thursday in southern Baghdad and were evacuated to a military hospital; one has since returned to duty, the military said.

LinkHere

Five U.S. troops killed in Iraq, June toll now 100

Alister Bull, Reuters

A roadside bomb killed five U.S. soldiers on patrol in Baghdad, the U.S. military said on Friday, bringing this month's death toll for American forces in Iraq to 100. The deaths on Thursday in an apparently coordinated ambush that included small arms fire and rocket-propelled grenade attacks underscore the cost to soldiers fighting a war that is increasingly unpopular in the United States. Seven other U.S. soldiers were wounded, the military said. U.S. President George W. Bush pleaded for patience for his Iraq strategy on Thursday as he scrambled to prevent further defections by fellow Republicans sceptical of his war strategy...

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Iraqi court hands down 22 death sentences in four weeks

James Cogan, WSWS
Over the four weeks from May 6 to June 2, the Central Criminal Court in Iraq (CCCI) sentenced 22 people to death, 21 to life imprisonment and dozens more to terms of between 10 and 30 years. At this rate, the US-backed Iraqi regime will order the judicial murder of well over 250 people by the end of the year and condemn another 2,000 to lengthy prison terms. In numerous cases, the "crimes" for which Iraqis have been convicted were acts of war against US occupation forces. The CCCI was created in April 2004 by the US-controlled Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA) for the specific purpose of processing Iraqi insurgents as criminals rather than prisoners-of-war. It was kept in place by the subsequent Iraqi "interim" and "transitional" governments, as well as the current regime of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki. But neither the US-supervised polls nor the various puppet regimes can in any way de-legitimise armed resistance to what was an illegal US invasion and occupation...
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Ex-Reagan official: Impeach Cheney for 'multiple crimes'

Josh CatonePublished: Thursday June 28, 2007
Bruce Fein, who served as the Associate Deputy Attorney General under Ronald Reagan, in a scathing editorial today called for the impeachment of Vice President Dick Cheney.
"Cheney has dulled political accountability and concocted theories for evading the law and Constitution that would have embarrassed King George III," he writes.
This is not the first time that Fein has taken on the Bush administration. In March 2006, Fein appeared before the Senate Judiciary Committee to testify on Senate Resolution 398, which called for the censure of George Bush over the warrantless wiretap program.
Fein said in his 2006 testimony that by authorizing the domestic spying program, President Bush sought to "cripple the Constitution’s checks and balances and political accountability."

Top US judge pushes secret terror trials

David Nason, Chicago
June 29, 2007
A TOP-RANKING US judge has stunned a conference of Australian judges and barristers in Chicago by advocating secret trials for terrorists, more surveillance of Muslim populations across North America and an end to counter-terrorism efforts being "hog-tied" by the US constitution.
Judge Richard Posner, a supposedly liberal-leaning jurist regarded by many as a future US Supreme Court candidate, said traditional concepts of criminal justice were inadequate to deal with the terrorist threat and the US had "over-invested" in them.
His proposed "big brother" solutions flabbergasted delegates at the Australian Bar Association's biennial conference, where David Hicks's lawyer, Major Michael Mori, is to be awarded honorary life membership. >>>cont

Debate Host To Sen Dodd "Were You Paris Hilton You Could Have An Hour, But You're Not"

I'd add Ann coulter, to that list

PBS June 28, 2007 10:01 PM
At the Democratic debate at Howard University, time for answers was short and host Tavis Smiley had his own way of keeping the candidates' answers short. When Senator Dodd ran over his allotted time, Smiley noted, "Senator Dodd, I was going to say, were you Paris Hilton you could have an hour, but you're not, so..."
See the clip from PBS here:

Grand Theft Country: How George W. Bush Looted Iraq

Right On

George W. Bush invaded Iraq because Saddam Hussein would have lowered the price of oil and would have insisted upon payment in Euros. It had nothing to do with fighting "terrorism" in Iraq where, in fact, there had been none. It had nothing to do with WMD in Iraq where, in fact, there had been none. It had nothing to do with bringing Democracy to Iraq where, in fact, there is none still.

It would be done to maintain higher prices and increased dependency upon oil. For this, the lesser Bush would commit war crimes and atrocities against the Iraqi people. He would lie to and betray the American people (treason). He would endanger the lives of US military personnel. He would outsource the very sovereignty of the United States.

There is a term for this. High Treason.

LinkHere

Pakistan to help as the US's jailer

Juun 29, 2007
By Syed Saleem Shahzad
Asia Times Online has learned that the Bush administration is considering a plan under which inmates would be returned to special facilities in their countries of origin, where they would be treated on a case-by-case basis. There are an estimated 65 or so Pakistanis in Guantanamo, including Khalid Sheik Mohammed, the mastermind of the September 11, 2001, attacks on the US.
These special jails would be administered jointly by American and local security staff. At the same time, the new jails in allied countries would also house new suspects netted in the "war on terror".
A top Pakistani official told Asia Times Online that a special facility has already been built in the city of Faisalabad, adjacent to Faisalabad Central Prison. Another such facility is under construction in Multan and is expected to be completed within the next few months. Work on a detention center adjacent to Adyala Jail in Rawalpindi, the capital Islamabad's twin city, has just started.
These facilities are being funded by the US and will fall under the jurisdiction of Pakistan's Ministry of Interior. Special staff will be deputed to the centers to work in conjunction with US officials.
The Asia Times Online contact said similar facilities will be established in Afghanistan, Egypt and other countries sympathetic to the "war on terror". Last week, the Associated Press reported that the US is helping to expand a prison in Afghanistan to take some detainees from Guantanamo. The report said a high-security wing is being built at the Pul-e-Charki prison complex near the capital Kabul. It will be capable of holding up to 660 people, Afghan officials were reported as saying.
more at:

$2 Million No-Bid Contract Balloons to $124 Million

Costs Skyrocket As DHS Runs Up No-Bid Contracts

Attack that killed kids likely missed target

Officials: Military knew children were present but considered risk worth it

Gen Taguba Unveils Abu Ghraib, US Gulag - "The abused are only Iraqis!"

K Gajendra Singh
Seymour Hersh , the well known US investigative journalist has done it again –methodically chipping away at United State administration's blatant lies and spins to further unveil the torture and abuse of Iraqis at US created 'Gulag' at Abu Ghraib and US Administrations effort to muzzle an honest US voice . In an interview with Hersh in New Yorker , Major General Antonio Taguba who led the first military investigation in 2004 into human rights abuses at Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq has bluntly questioned the integrity of former US Secretary of Defence, Donald Rumsfeld, suggesting he misled the US Congress by downplaying his own prior knowledge of what had happened. Gen Taguba also claimed in the interview that President George Bush also "had to be aware" of the atrocities despite saying at the time of the scandal that he had been out of the loop until he saw images in the US media. As usual the White House denied it and –"the President said over three years ago that he first saw the pictures of the abuse on the television," added Scott Stanzel, a spokesman. There has been little reaction in US main line media ie corporate controlled ' be the first ' purveyors of spins and lies. Or among honourable members of the US Congress who had sanctioned the illegal invasion of Iraq opening up the gates of hell on hapless Iraqis...
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Slandering the Dead: The American Massacre at al-Khalis

Chris Floyd, Empire Burlesque

As Glenn Greenwald, among others, has pointed out, the new Bushist line is that everyone killed by American forces in Iraq is "al Qaeda" – a transparent falsehood belied by the Pentagon's own assessments but now mindlessly adopted by almost every corporate media venue, with the honorable exception (as always) of McClatchy Newspapers. Of course, the Invader-in-Chief and his multitude of bootlickers in traditional media and the blogosphere have always vastly inflated the numbers and importance of those elements in Iraq that are associated with al Qaeda in some way, however tenuous. Indeed, we know, again from the Pentagon itself, that the exaggeration of al Qaeda's influence in Iraq has been part of a deliberate, well-funded "psy-ops" scheme. (See "Hubub in Hibhib: The Timely Death of al-Zarqawi.") But now they have decided to dispense with the subtleties of psy-ops and simply repeat "al Qaeda" with every breath, in an effort to demonize all resistance (both in Iraq and at home, both violent and non-violent) to Bush's murderous boondoggle...

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