Monday, April 2, 2007

During a 'shopping' trip to Baghdad, where he was "accompanied by a small army," Sen. John McCain attacked negative media coverage of the security situation there.

"The media spectacle that John McCain made of himself in Baghdad" reminds Norman Solomon of a similar foray into Vietnam by Robert McNamara, insofar as "the real lives of people are noted only as shorthand for American agendas."

The Drudge Report tried to make a spectacle of CNN's Michael Ware, claiming that he "heckled" McCain. But Ware said on CNN: "I did not heckle the senator. Indeed, I didn't say a word.... In fact, when I raised my hand to ask a question the press conference abruptly ended."

With the U.S. death toll in March "nearly twice that of the Iraqi army,' and even Henry Kissinger admitting that "a military victory ... is not possible," a former commander of the U.S. Army War College and Rumsfeld advisor concludes that "the army is broken." Plus: Recruiting like 'Mad.'

During a 'closed-door strategy meeting' with Gen. Petraeus, members of the Senate Republican caucus set an August deadline, and "some moderate Republican senators" reportedly confess "that they didn't believe the escalation would work but voted for it anyway."

As Bush is 'caught hyping false Iraqi spending deadline' to force Congress to abandon an Iraq withdrawal timeline, Democrats reportedly seek to 'widen conflict with Bush.'

Sen. Barack Obama already concedes that 'Congress will fund Iraq war' after Bush's expected veto, but Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid announced that he's now co-sponsoring a bill by Sen. Russ Feingold that would force the Bush administration to stop funding military operations in Iraq on March 31, 2008.

Naomi Klein talks to "Democracy Now!" about the connection between privatization and profiteering in the Iraq war, amid concerns that the government is "outsourcing its brain."

The Fox and the Chicken Coop The same contractor who established a billion-dollar a year federal reading program found to be "rife with conflicts of interest," is hired to evaluate it, while third-party scientific reviews for the Department of the Interior are farmed out to 'online roleplaying pals.'

As the Bush administration 'steps up campaign against the Syrian government,' House Speaker Pelosi's planned visit to Syria with a bipartisan delegation, under attack by the White House and Bill Kristol despite a similar GOP-led trip, draws praise from Israel's acting president.

David Hicks' plea bargain includes a gag order stipulating that "he has never been mistreated at Guantanamo," and another detainee says 'he confessed to stop torture,' but for one UK resident, whose family fled torture in Iraq, the "nightmare is finally at an end" after nearly 5 years of incarceration.

Robert Fisk looks at how the media drama of the captured British sailors has fed into a "war of humiliation," but Terry Jones notes that it is a far cry from the private humiliations of Guantanamo, and Robert Parry takes the media to task for ignoring the irony of Bush's "selective outrage."

An early Democratic defector to Bush, who urged him to focus on "'base' motivation," and played "hardball" with Kerry's record, now confesses that he has "lost faith" in his former boss due to differences over the Iraq war, but the White House puts it all down to "personal turmoil."

In Elizabeth Edwards' decision to stay in politics despite her cancer, Frank Rich finds a healthy insistence that "we not compartmentalize the harsh reality of death and the imperatives of public policy."

Mitt Romney and Rudy Giuliani say that they are open to the idea that the President can imprison Americans without review, 'Big (Box) Brother' follows suspicious employees across the globe, and 1984 finally arrives at George Orwell's house. Plus: 'Follicle Firm Surveilled Ex-Clients.'

Growing public recognition of rising inequality has led the Republican party to resort to "a combination of distraction and disenfranchisement" to stay in power, argues Paul Krugman, while Chip Ward explains the new role of the 'public library as an asylum for the homeless.'

As the Washington Post finds that about one-third of the U.S. attorneys' jobs filled in President Bush's second term have gone to "loyal Bushies," McClatchy examines how Democratic investigations highlight the scandals of 'The Rovian Era.'

Fox News is accused of using push polling to frame the debate about debate coverage, and perhaps even to "pressure the Congressional Black Caucus Institute into agreeing to cooperate in a 2008 presidential debate." Plus: 'Profiles In Loaded Questions.'

An Iraqi singer wins the pan-Arab equivalent of "American Idol" for her "war-ravaged homeland," and a 'Romanian jazz rebel drops a bomb on Paris.'

March 30-April 1

Tuesday, April 3, 2007

Merchants at Baghdad's central market are said to be "incredulous" about security claims made during a heavily-guarded visit by Sen. John McCain, who has reportedly given exclusive rights to the video of his trip to "60 Minutes." Plus: "21 Shia market workers ambushed, bound and shot dead north of the capital."

Senate Majority Leader Reid, who now 'Backs Iraq War-Funds Cutoff' introduced by Sen. Russ Feingold, is said to have "officially converted after visiting wounded soldiers last week at Walter Reed Army Medical Center."

The New York Times reports that "Many prominent critics of the war have never been to Iraq," and Brian Downing wonders, "Where were the Citizen Generals" on 'The Army's Road to Iraq.'

TPM Muckraker spotlights "the funny thing" about a Washington Post report on 'How Bogus Letter Became a Case for War' in Iraq, as it's argued that "the only thing worse than getting another Bush would be getting someone Bush outsmarted."

A Los Angeles Times report on 'Cracks in Sadr's army,' reminds that Sadr's movement, while in danger of splintering, is "part of the U.S.-backed government," where Needlenose detects 'A Sistani firewall for the Baathist wedge.'

As House Republicans pledged to sustain a presidential veto, Vice President Cheney told a fund-raiser audience in Alabama that Democratic efforts to impose a timeline are "pointless."

Analysts tell the Los Angeles Times that the 'U.S. strategy on Iran may have backfired,' and President Bush declines to comment on an ABC News report that "Iran will be capable of building a nuclear bomb within two years."

Britain and Iran reportedly soften the tone of their rhetoric in a diplomatic standoff over 15 British marines and sailors, who were seized, argues Juan Cole, to provide Iranian leaders with a "diversion." Plus: 'Why Blair can't get no 'Falklands Factor.'

With 'Tough words from U.S.' reportedly 'hurting British bid to free crew,' an Iranian diplomat is freed in Iraq, and Patrick Cockburn reports on 'The botched U.S. raid that led to the hostage crisis.'

A 'Racist and Insulting' "propaganda film," reflecting "a culture slowly and painfully going mad," is "seen as a tool to work up anti-Iran sentiment," by portraying 'The Magnificent Persians' as "an army of beasts, monsters and demons," as perhaps imagined by "Ann Coulter on a meth binge."

Salon interviews "Fox-friendly Democrats," regular commentators who are "either scary liberals, losers or enablers," and an appearance by NBC's David Gregory with Charlie Rose, leads to the conclusion that both are "comfortable, immensely self-satisfied guys who have learned the great secret of American journalism in the present age."

Democrats are accused of a 'cave-in on White House testimony,' Time gives the U.S. attorney scandal short shrift in relation to Newsweek, and CREW's Melanie Sloan tells "On the Media" that "if you are not using a White House [e-mail] account ... then you are, in fact, in violation of the Presidential Records Act."

A 'New Target in Abramoff Case' is the former head of the Council of Republicans for Environmental Advocacy, which was co-founded by Grover Norquist and Gale Norton before she became Secretary of the Interior, and one of five non-profit groups that 'Sold Clout to Abramoff.'

A Supreme Court ruling on global-warming emissions is called "the latest sign that greenhouse gases are about to affect U.S. industry and the economy in a big way."

A bankruptcy filing by a 'Huge Mortgage Lender' is said to mean 'the fall of the industry's biggest player to date,' after it's learned that "even Harley Davidson's motor hogs are being financed with subprime loans."

As the U.S. and South Korea agree to a 'landmark trade deal' that also 'disappoints labor, rights activists,' a German rabbit breeder suspects that the 12 giant rabbits he sold to North Korea to help alleviate food shortages there, "have been eaten by top officials rather than used to set up a bunny farm."

NPR reports on a Wake-Up Wal-Mart ad that invokes 9/11 in attacking the company for opposing a House measure mandating that all port containers be scanned, and The New Yorker offers a preview of Don DeLillo's forthcoming 9/11 novel, "Falling Man." Earlier 'The Man in the Window.'

A Washington Post article is criticized for having downplayed "the real reasons" behind President Bush's decision to forego throwing out the first pitch on baseball's opening day, which the WSWS attributes to "the fact that he is widely despised by the American public -- and he despises it back."

After Marvin Gaye sang his soulful version of "The Star Spangled Banner" at an NBA all-star game, Thomas Dolby reports that, according to Stevie Wonder, the artist who asked "What's Going On?" "never got on TV again until the day he died."

April 2

Wednesday, April 4, 2007

While scolding Democrats for engaging in 'Political Theater' on Iraq, the White House "staged its usual elaborate production," in which Vice President Cheney 'Lurks Behind Shrub' and his "fact-defying remarks."

Despite Bush's determination to stick to his "only talking point," a Washington Post analysis found the president "confronted with another narrative, this one about friends and voters losing faith in his leadership." Plus: GWOT RIP?

As Bush complained that Speaker Pelosi's "going to Syria sends mixed signals," Pelosi was accused of "donning the garb of America's enemies" by appearing in a head scarf.

The Los Angeles Times editorializes that, in criticizing Pelosi's trip, Bush "only succeeded in showing his own lack of imagination," while last Sunday's meeting between Syrian President Assad and three GOP Congressmen was said to have been done "in cooperation with the administration."

Since 2004 the human smuggling business has reporedtly "flourished above all expectations" in Iraq, thanks to "the biggest refugee crisis in the Middle East since the 1948 crisis of Palestinian refugees."

As the U.S. continues to complain about 'Iran's meddling in Iraq,' with one official claiming that "It's growing," ABC News reports, in text and on video, that the U.S. has "secretly encouraged and advised" a Pakistani tribal militant group that has conducted "a series of deadly guerrilla raids inside Iran."

The release of British sailors held by Iran prompts an observation that "Maybe bombing first and asking questions later isn't the way to go," and the brother of one of the sailors is quoted as saying, "I've just told my mum and she's really chuffed."

Secretary of State Rice fields questions from editorial writers and an editorial shouter, and the editorial page editor of the San Jose Mercury News follows up on his column about seeing his son 'leave home to fight the wrong war.' Plus: 'You're never too old.'

As a "fundamental scorn for government" is seen in the Bush Administration's "fox-guarding-the-henhouse personnel plan," Wade Horn, a "go-to guy for the Religious Right," tenders his resignation. Horn's Health and Human Services department had doled out a $1 million grant to an organization that he founded, the National Fatherhood Initiative.

After the Supreme Court was said to have urged the U.S. government to 'Do something about global warming,' the Environmental Protection Agency reiterated its claim that "the Bush administration has an unparalleled ... commitment to reducing greenhouse gas emissions."

As 'Obama Rivals Clinton in Fundraising,' it's noted that Sen. Obama's "eye-popping" totals were contributed by over 100,000 donors, but does Sen. Clinton have a 'Secret Ally' to help with her "Obama problem"?

After the Congressional Black Caucus announced plans to give Fox News a "new deal" on staging two presidential debates, Black Agenda Report asked, "How much does it really cost to rent the CBC?"

The sight of a "Southern-fried Reagan" working a conservative crowd is compared to "what it was like to watch Rembrandt paint," but while "more people will watch Fred Thompson on Law & Order next week than will vote in both parties' [super] primaries on Feb. 5 next year," it's found that "58% of adults know nothing about him."

While 'Immigrants have given Music City USA a new sound,' a visit to Vanderbilt by Harold Ford Jr., Newt Gingrich and CNN's Lou Dobbs was said to be "too watered down to provoke or inspire anything."

As President Bush tells reporters that he "will not be rendering judgment about individual orientation," Out magazine publishes its "Power 50," which includes Anderson Cooper, Tim Gill and John Aravosis.

During his speech to the National Conference for Media Reform, Bill Moyers announced the return of "Bill Moyers Journal." Watch a clip from the initial installment, "Buying the War," which, along with "Capitol Crimes," illustrates the need for "Preventive Journalism."

Although Josh Wolf is freed from prison and free to show his footage, 'the debate over his role as a journalist continues.' Plus: Blogging's challenge to the punditocracy.

A rare television appearance by Alexander Cockburn, on C-Span, is said to underscore the fact that "when the networks invite you to 'Meet the Press,' they don't mean the radical press."

April 3

Thursday, April 5, 2007

In recess appointments, President Bush named a Swift Boat funder to be ambassador to Belgium, a "triple threat" as White House regulatory czar, and an advocate of privatizing Social Security to serve as deputy commissioner of the Social Security Administration.

'Does FDA spell FEMA?' It's argued that "our dead and dying pets may very well have saved thousands of human lives," and PETA calls on the FDA's commissioner -- a longtime Bush family friend -- to 'step down in wake of pet-food scandal.'

After the U.S. Army reveals that 'Friendly Fire may Have Killed 2' in February, Editor & Publisher's Greg Mitchell reports that "one of the soldiers died just hours after arriving in Iraq -- and was one of those troops rushed to the country in the 'surge' who did not receive full training."

Following his disregarded victory in a poll, a Fox News affiliate's "most foolish American" goes on IED patrol -- in California.

White House-led condemnation of Speaker Pelosi's 'Syrian adventure' leads to a charge that CNN has "hit bottom" in "doing the White House's bidding," and a Washington Post editorial accuses Pelosi of attempting to establish "a shadow presidency." Plus: Rep. Darrell Issa for her VP?

He says in an interview that he's had "a great career," and the New York Sun doesn't want it to end, editorializing that of all the potential presidential candidates sitting on the sidelines, "the one that who would bring the most to the race is Vice President Cheney."

Introducing his interview with 'Cheney's Nemesis,' Matt Taibbi writes that "As amazing as it is that Cheney is still walking among us, a living link to our dark Nixonian past, it's even more amazing that Hersh is still the biggest pain in his ass..."

High Anxiety A new study on Americans' confidence in U.S. foreign policy places the "anxiety indicator" at 137 on a 200-point scale, edging toward the 150 point mark that the authors "would consider a crisis of confidence in government policy."

'Docked for Duty?' Newsweek reports that U.S. attorney David Iglesias, fired for "spending too much time away from the office," was actually away performing "military service in support of what the Pentagon likes to call the Global War on Terror."

As attorneys for his senior aide bandy charges of Democratic McCarthyism, Attorney General Gonzales has reportedly "retreated from public view ... in an intensive effort to save his job."

GOP presidential candidates are collectively 'Swamped in Money Hunt,' with first quarter results showing what is described as a 'Clear Blue Tint.' Plus: Is Mitt Romney still in the hunt?

Sen. John McCain, who is 'not seen as a winner in 2008,' is also said to have "lost his maverick magic," and is recommended for an "honorable discharge."

Conservative blogs seize on a report that someone "giggled" during McCain's Baghdad press conference to again level accusations against CNN's Michael Ware, and Jon Swift sets about identifying the parties responsible for "smearing Drudge's good name."

Newt Gingrich concedes, in Spanish, that 'my word choice was poor' -- but stops short of an apology -- after characterizing Spanish as "the language of living in a ghetto." Plus: Sen. John Kerry and Gingrich set to debate climate change and the environment.

After a fired employee takes the Wall Street Journal 'Inside Wal-Mart's "Threat Research" Operation,' the company 'defends its monitoring,' but reportedly apologizes for a "shareholder relations gaffe."

An "Anatomy of a Feeding Frenzy" over the death of Anna Nicole Smith, finds that from February 8 to March 2, Fox News "devoted almost one-third of its airtime to the Smith story in all its permutations." But a defender of the 'feeding frenzy' says that "I learned a thing or two in the 30 minutes I watched."

April 4

Friday, April 6, 2007

The New York Times calls on Congress to put an end to the "show trials" at Guantanamo, as a new report from Amnesty International depicts the worsening conditions there, including "permanent conditions of extreme isolation and sensory deprivation."

Time looks at how 'America's Broken Down Army' makes do with "less training, shorter breaks and disintegrating equipment," as a surge of 12,000 more National Guard troops is planned for Iraq and Afghanistan 'to lessen surge's strain on stretched thin Army.'

As the Iranian hostage crisis ends, the 'backbiting begins' with the freed Britons facing 'questions about their capture and behavior,' and a "mixed" reaction in the Iranian press, but amid denials of a prisoner swap, The War in Context's Paul Woodward considers the implications for "jock diplomacy."

To put the debate over Iranian interference in Iraq in context, Noam Chomsky asks 'What If Iran Had Invaded Mexico?,' and David Edwards notes echoes of pre-war media commentary on Iraq by Western journalists for whom "Iranian history began with the 1979 hostage crisis." Plus: 'Chalabi: The Iranian Sequel?'

A newly declassified Pentagon report that finds the pre-war link drawn between Saddam Hussein and Al Qaeda by the Office of Special Plans "inappropriate," includes the briefing slides used to sell the link in the White House.

In an interview with Rush Limbaugh, Vice President Cheney plays the Al Qaeda card again, with "three distortions rolled into one big lie," and calls Democrats "Stalinist."

Defending the use of anonymous sources in a story by ABC's Brian Ross, a network vice president urges "trust" in its "very reliable reporters," even though Ross was a "journalistic leader" in tying Saddam Hussein to anthrax and 9/11.

CBS News correspondent Allen Pizzey, who last week gave a skeptical assessment of progress in Iraq, says Sen. McCain's upbeat remarks on the subject were "disgraceful for a man seeking highest office ... utter rubbish."

The ongoing "outburst of flaming hysteria" from the White House and neoconservatives over House Speaker Pelosi's trip to Syria, are not so much about what she did or said, Joe Conason contends, "but how she exposed the exhaustion of neoconservative policy."

Jimmy Carter calls Pelosi's trip "overdue," and reveals that he was "ordered" not to go to Syria, at a news conference in which he is said to have had "little mercy" for "his beleaguered successor."

At the U.S. Attorney's office in Minnesota, four attorneys "voluntarily demoted themselves" rather than continue to work for a "Federalist Society Princess" with a "reputation for quoting Bible verses and dressing down underlings," despite an "eleventh hour" Bush administration plea for them to stay.

Joe Klein now finds it "increasingly difficult to imagine yet another two years of slow bleed with a leader so clearly unfit to lead," apparently concluding that "being authentic isn't everything," but in any case not flirting with what he calls the "nutso" idea of impeachment.

Mitt Romney provides the latest illustration of the Republicans' Pinocchio problem, John Dean finds a "textbook example of an authoritarian personality" in Tom DeLay's autobiography, and support for the imperial presidency is read as a symptom of cultural trends that will likely outlast the Bush administration.

"Subsidized competition" is what's really at stake, argues Paul Krugman, in the Bush administration's defense of the "marketplace" against a proposed expansion of health care coverage for children.

In his 'Next Crusade' as head of the World Bank, Paul Wolfowitz is accused of favoritism toward a subordinate with whom he has been romantically linked. She received a $60,000 raise, "more than double the amount allowed" under bank rules.

Part two of a UN sponsored report on climate change finds that emissions are already affecting climate and predicts that the most severe impact will be on the world's poorest countries.

A new study in Science warns of a 'permanent drought' in the Southwest in which "the infamous 'dust bowl' conditions of the 1930s will be the norm," as an anti-environmental lobby finds ways to adapt to the new political environment and logging is rebranded as conservation.

The New Yorker covers Prince in Las Vegas, who covers Joni Mitchell on a new tribute album. Speaking last December about "Green Flag Song," Mitchell told an interviewer: "The theme of this show is 'war, revolution and torture.' I was in such despair about the world's current state of affairs that I didn't even know where to start."

April 5

Monday, April 9, 2007

On the fourth anniversary of the capture of Baghdad, flags fly as Shiites demonstrate in Najaf against U.S. occupation, Muqtada al-Sadr tries to re-position himself as "a leader of all Iraqis," and the Los Angeles Times reports that Iraq rebels are finding a "captive audience" in U.S.-run jails.

Riverbend concludes that "the only Iraqis tasting democracy after four years of America's catastrophe are the ones who had the insight to leave Iraq behind," and USA Today attempts to get beyond the statistics with a portrait of how sectarian kidnapping affects an Iraqi family. Plus: 'Whining Imperialists.'

The New York Times finds little evidence that the buildup of U.S. forces in Baghdad is creating an "island of stability," eyewitnesses contradict claims of progress, and Juan Cole argues that continued U.S. military occupation cannot forestall further warfare.

Trying to recover from a week in which he went "from Republican presidential front-runner to political death watch," Sen. John McCain expresses "regret" that he "misspoke" about Baghdad security in an interview with "60 Minutes," but pens an editorial claiming that "every sensible observer" would give escalation a chance.

Frank Rich argues that by squandering his political credibility "on an embarrassing propaganda stunt," McCain "inflicted collateral damage" on others who support the surge and may inadvertently have "hastened America's disengagement from Iraq."

Rep. Mike Pence's "just like Indiana" comment about his Baghdad market visit inspires visions of 'Baghdad in the Midwest cornfields,' and concerns about IEDs hiding in unattended zucchini.

The Americans' "insipid retelling of 'success' stories" merely hid "the huge black hole that lay underneath," writes an Iraqi government insider and cousin of Ayad Allawi, in an acclaimed new book that explains how victory was allowed to "give way to anarchy" in Iraq.

Behind the right wing noise machine's "wild swings at Pelosi," Paul Krugman sees the a return to the pre-9/11 media strategy of the "Little Lie," and the Washington Post's Eugene Robinson accuses his own paper's "hawkish" editorial board of ignoring substance in its "foolish" attacks on Pelosi.

The kidnapping of BBC reporter Alan Johnston in Gaza last month, suspected to be the work of "a powerful unchecked clan," is said to be drawing even more criticism from journalists in Palestine, than it is in the Western media.

An Afghan reporter abducted last month with a subsequently freed Italian journalist, is killed by the Taliban, amid reports that worsening conditions in Kandahar have led ordinary Afghans to want the Taliban back, a sentiment echoed by others in neighboring Helmand province.

'Another Enemy of the People?' En route to a symposium focusing on his book "Constitutional Democracy," a distinguished scholar of public law, who had been critical of Bush while supporting the Alito nomination, finds himself denied boarding and harassed because he is on a terrorist watch list.

As "America's Mayor" blames Iran for 9/11, and Sen. Joseph Lieberman points his finger at Syria, McClatchy finds little truth in the president's mantra that "the enemy would follow us here."

Glenn Greenwald tracks the spread of an "untermenchen" narrative on the right, and a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist discusses how a series he wrote about the hidden history of racial cleansing in America, which he has now published as a book, was rejected for publication by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

Reconstructing the vetting of Bernie Kerik, whom federal prosecutors are likely to be charging with "several felonies," the Washington Post finds Alberto Gonzales in charge as "red flags" are ignored and the normal investigation process is "short-circuited."

Max Blumenthal thanks the other Monica for helping the press finally discover the deep footprint Pat Robertson's Regent University has made in Bush's Washington, while Chris Hedges diagnoses 'Praying for the Apocalypse.'

As bloggers rally against theocracy, warnings against the "pigpen of secularism" help recruit for a 'Teenage Holy War,' and 'The Anti-Secularist' calls for the re-Christianizing of Europe, but laments that "nothing positive" is happening in Iraq.

As the National Abstinence Education Association hires "Swift Boat" PR firm, six states stage a "moral revolt against abstinence-only sex education," turning down millions of dollars in federal grants.

April 6-8

Tuesday, April 10, 2007

Gary Kamiya asks, "Why did the media fail so disastrously in its response to the biggest issue of a generation?," and Glenn Greenwald calls out ABC News for having "never retracted, corrected or even explained their false reports" from the fall of 2001, "strongly suggesting that Iraq and Saddam Hussein were responsible for the anthrax attacks on the U.S."

Pat Buchanan surveys 'What a Lack of Courage Cost' in October 2002, when leading Democrats voted "to give George Bush his blank check for war," and in 2007 it's the Democrats, not Bush, who are prepared to make 'The Imminent Compromise.'

Slate's Fred Kaplan ponders 'Two Ways Out' of Iraq, but Tom Engelhardt can find no exit from the 'Theater of the Imperially Absurd.'

Although "public approval for Congress is at its highest level in a year," an AP-Ipsos poll finds evidence that "the public wants Congress to push for an end" to the war in Iraq, where 'We've Been Surging For Years.'

An Iranian-American reporter 'recalls the layers of truth told in Iraq,' from the time when journalists "gave credence to the narrative described by American officials in the Green Zone," where media eyewitnesses have an increasingly 'Obstructed View.'

The Savannah Morning News 'Sparks Newsroom Controversy' with a "story" touting "progress in Iraq," written by Maj. Gen. Rick Lynch, who reportedly said in January that "war-weary Americans should 'quit complaining' and prepare themselves for the conflict to continue several more years."

Gwen Ifill of "The NewsHour" pens "a word about the girls" from Rutgers, who announced during a press conference that they would meet with Don Imus, as "frequent on-air guests" scramble to "salvage their outlet," with corporate silence as the "ultimate trump card."

'Misogyny in the Morning' AJR editor Rem Rieder wonders why top media pundits, Sen. John McCain "and the rest of the A-list" haven't been 'Shunning the I-Man,' rather than providing him with "a protective cover of legitimacy," and being "complicit in ... bigotry."

Asking 'Why Stop with Don Imus?,' one commentator notes that what Imus said "doesn't qualify as 'indecency' according to the current FCC."

As a 'House panel subpoenas Gonzales documents,' and 'Favored U.S. attorneys pull double duty,' it's argued that if the 'battle over executive privilege' ends up in a constitutional showdown, "there is no question about which side should prevail."

With Republican party-issued laptops reported to be a 'White House headache,' and Congress on the 'Email Trail,' the story's "potential to pull back the curtain ... and possibly unveil other scandals," is said to be what "really has the GOP's teeth chattering."

Rudy Giuliani opens up a 22 point lead over his nearest GOP rival, with Gallup finding the "lowest level of support to date" for Sen. John McCain, following his Baghdad market stroll, but Charlie Cook argues that "it probably isn't prudent to write McCain off yet."

As McCain bags four endorsements, Sen. Clinton and Obama join John Edwards in deciding to skip a 'Fox Debate.'

It's noted that John Edwards 'beats all Republicans in latest Rasmussen polls,' but an op-ed writer asks, 'What if John Edwards worked at Wal-Mart?' See how Target's CEO, who raked in an estimated 18 to 36 million dollars last year, is putting his money to work.

"In this age of transparency, one sometimes wishes for a little opacity," writes a New Yorker reviewer about the TV version of "This American Life," which has posted video clips from the first month's worth of shows, and an edited version of the first episode.

With iPods passing the 100 million milestone, 'The lost art of record shopping' is said to have been replaced by "all the music you could ever want ... in a lifeless digital format."

April 9

Wednesday, April 11, 2007

Three four-star generals have reportedly turned down a job feeler from the White House "to oversee the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan," with one of them explaining that "the very fundamental issue is, they don't know where the hell they're going."

Defense Secretary Gates confirms an earlier report of 'Extended Tours for All Soldiers,' and a look at "The Hollow Army" is said to "cut through the glossy veneer that's been painted on the term 'military readiness' by the Bush administration."

Leader Ship In his latest book, former Bush backer Lee Iacocca reportedly writes: "Stay the course? You've got to be kidding. This is America, not the damned Titanic."

Maureen Dowd observes that "even cable news showed little interest in President Bush's big speech on Iraq yesterday," while a "GOP negotiating team" is reportedly seeking a 'White House Deal on Iraq.'

As it's reminded that Democrats 'repeatedly invited Bush to work with them on Iraq,' an L.A. Times/Bloomberg poll finds that a plurality of respondents want Democrats to withhold funds if Bush vetoes the Iraq funding bill, and a majority say Attorney General Gonzales should resign.

Patrick Cockburn debunks 'The Myth of Tal Afar,' Robert Fisk reveals 'America's plan for Baghdad,' and a Middle East expert discussing 'How to Get Out of Iraq' argues that "we need to stop envisioning battlefield scenarios and start imagining ceasefire scenarios."

Eric Boehlert revisits the story of how "two factually challenged camps joined forces last week in an [ongoing] effort to slime CNN's Iraq reporter Michael Ware," who recently reported that the U.S. is protecting an Iraqi-based Iranian opposition group that it considers to be a terrorist organization.

'Reviving John McCain' As "the imagery of the military" is deployed yet again to serve the senator's campaign, his Baghdad market mission is called "simply not credible" by Sen. Barack Obama, during MoveOn.org's 'Virtual Town Hall Meeting on Iraq.'

A new book by Washington Post editor Peter Eisner and Knut Royce, prompts ABC News to ask, 'Could a Google Search Have Helped Prevent the War in Iraq?'

As the 'U.S. Sends (Another) Warning on Darfur,' Google unveils an initiative that maps the crisis there.

A subpoena in the U.S. attorney firings scandal reportedly "marks the first time that Congress has demanded rather than asked for information about the issue," as Democrats also focus on "what sitting U.S. attorneys may have done to keep their job."

The New York Times reports that the Election Assistance Commission "watered down the findings of experts who concluded last year that there was little voter fraud around the nation," instead, "issuing a report that said the pervasiveness of fraud was open to debate."

Celebrating 'The Return of Evil Campaign Journalism,' Matt Taibbi finds a "classic example" in the Times of "The Sweet n' Blow ... a gossip column masquerading as political reportage."

After Dick Morris casts Newt Gingrich and Fred Thompson in the role of 'The men who aren't there' for the GOP presidential primaries, it's reported that 'Thompson says he has cancer.'

A 'Franchise' reels as Don Imus loses some advertisers, but one media analyst is quoted as saying that, as a matter of principle, "you can't let third parties decide corporate policy," and an MSNBC executive cites the potential cost of replacing the show "with three hours of regular news coverage."

"I would appear on his program again, sure," said Rudy Giuliani, campaigning in Alabama, which he compared to New York City, and where he reportedly "had trouble with a reporter's question" regarding the price of bread and milk.

An Imus defender decries "people walking around anxious to be offended," and it's feared that frequent guests will have 'No One to Talk To.'

Majority Retort What appears to be an unpopular decision prompts a longtime Air America observer to comment that "not even I could have predicted that the Green brothers' first order of business would be to Miltonize Sam Seder."

April 10

Thursday, April 12, 2007

Insurgents bomb the Iraqi Parliament cafeteria, killing 3 MPs in the heart of the Green Zone.

A New York Times editorial sees "no possible triumph in Iraq," Robert Novak reports that "U.S. troop deaths are skyrocketing, with very little attention being paid to this fact at home," and "not even the guy who helped invent the 'surge' wants the job."

In 'The Global War on Words,' Chris Lehman finds the Bush Administration giving no ground, and a "morally dubious man" leading the rhetorical surge.

Despite GOP claims of 'Military Near Desperation' over funding, it's argued that President Bush "has the ability to provide the funds to the troops immediately, regardless of the language" in the Iraq Supplemental, and asked: 'When Will the War Money Really Run Out?'

The 'Toll of War' can be seen in hundreds of files that the ACLU pried loose from the Defense Department, of claims submitted by surviving Iraqi and Afghan family members of civilians said to have been killed or injured or to have suffered property damages due to actions by coalition forces.

Political opponents greet Rep. Tom Lantos' statement that "I'm ready to go" to Iran, "And knowing the speaker, I think she might be," with reactions ranging from "troubling" to "treason," but an aide to Speaker Pelosi said that she "has no intention of going to Iran."

Norman Solomon charges three Democratic contenders with making "horrific statements" on Iran, while a "propaganda fiasco" in the U.K. is said to reveal Western public opinion as 'Iran's secret weapon.'

As the White House claims that e-mails from Republican Party-sponsored accounts "have potentially been lost," and that some may involve messages from Karl Rove, it's reported that the Justice Department has been unable to find "evidence of any organized effort to skew federal elections," despite a five-year crackdown on voter fraud.

Sen. Patrick Leahy breaks 'the "L word" barrier,' saying that 'Bush Aides Lied About E-Mails,' and a White House spokesman tells reporters, "We live in a new time." Plus: 'White House lost over five million e-mails in two year period.'

A 'Churchillian' Sen. John McCain slips into third in a new poll, after reportedly "trimming the fat" in his campaign staff, while Rep. Duncan Hunter spells out his aspirations, and David Sirota catches a '2008 Myth' in the act of creation.

With presidential campaigns reportedly eyeing Super Bowl ads, Amy Goodman explains precisely why the networks love to "gab about the tens of millions of dollars raised" by candidates.

Bob Herbert sees "the roof ... caving in on Mr. Imus," following an "internal mutiny" at MSNBC, but pundits are still 'Rallying Around Their Racist Friend,' and "treating Don Imus like the victim here."

Despite a "slam dunk" at Rutgers, 'A Bright Future On America's Toxic Airwaves' is forecast for Imus, and questions are raised regarding 'what CBS Radio is waiting for.' Update: CBS fires Imus.

'First Dissed, Now Disappeared,' Jill Nelson can "appreciate the concern for Black women on the part of Al Sharpton, Jesse Jackson and other Black men, but I'd feel a lot better if they gave up some of the face time and didn't suck up all the air in the green room."

A sports writer's claim that 'Imus isn't the real bad guy,' complete with a complaint about the "nationally televised recruiting celebration" at Rutgers, leads to a break down of 'The Rapper Defense.'

NPR interviews violin virtuoso Joshua Bell about his incognito performance at a Washington D.C. subway station which prompted one busker commenting on Bell's take to remind "that it's not about the money. It's about the music."

Kurt Vonnegut died Wednesday night at the age of 84. It was his year. He spoke of the end in an interview with Rolling Stone, and wrote about his "Blues for America" in "A Man Without a Country," which included many of his articles for In These Times.

April 11

Friday, April 13, 2007

In an instant the floor became "a junkyard of humanity," observes the Washington Post's Sudarsan Raghavan in his eyewitness account of the Green Zone bombing, which raised questions about the government's ability to fully protect itself, much less its citizens.

In the 'Baghdad Gulag,' Pepe Escobar finds "a post-mod, Arab condo version of Jeremy Bentham's Panopticon, where the eye of the system is ubiquitous," facing "unruly slums" suffused with "waves of anger." More Escobar, on the 'Night bus from Baghdad.'

A FOIA request unearths details of nearly 500 "condolence payments" for civilians killed by U.S. military personnel in Iraq and Afghanistan, as the Iraqi government offers an $800 bounty to displaced families willing to return to their original homes in Baghdad, where overall security remains uneven.

Amid warnings of a 'military meltdown,' the Washington Post sums up the reaction of soldiers and their families to extended tours as "akin to a collective groan," but Fox News finds 'troops' looking for 'the bright side.'

The U.S. Army steps up efforts to tap into the online gaming community, but the Japan Maritime Self Defense Force opts for a more glamorous approach to recruiting.

Laura Rozen illuminates 'Kurdistan's Covert Back-Channels' with an investigation of how "an ex-Mossad chief, a German uberspy, and a gaggle of top-dollar GOP lobbyists helped Kurdistan snag 15 tons of $100 bills."

Against the drumbeat of familiar rhetoric blaming Iran, John Pilger urges an end to "looking from the side," as Bush and Blair lead the world toward crisis over Iran.

After the World Bank Staff Association calls for his resignation, Paul Wolfowitz admits it was a "mistake" to secure his girlfriend a huge unauthorized raise, but misses the real scandal, and is reportedly still flogging "the connection between Saddam Hussein and al Qaeda," as his fate hangs in the balance.

The White House confesses that some of the missing e-mails may relate to the firing of U.S. attorneys, and that among the missing are at least "four years' worth" of e-mails from Karl Rove -- all of which appears to amount to 'The dog ate our e-mail.'

Although the "Bush administration's implosion" has proved a setback for the "Christian right's strategy of infiltration," Paul Krugman argues that the extent of the movement's influence and the extremism of its agenda goes underreported, and it "will surely find new champions."

As Rudy Giuliani uses John Bolton to burnish his foreign policy credentials, and 'stumps for Confederate flag supporters,' it's argued that his mantra of "leadership" is an attempt to paper over a history of poor judgment, and "the only -ism" he believes in is "sadism."

A scene from the documentary "Taxi to the Dark Side" suggests that Guantanamo is providing 'A Taste of Texas Justice,' and the ordeal of a former Guantanamo detainee inspires Patti Smith to compose "Without Chains."

Stephen Soldz discusses the 'Aid and Comfort for Torturers' given by psychologists and psychiatrists in Behavioral Science Consultation Teams, as concerns are raised about the 'militarization of neuroscience.'

A failure of medical schools to provide training in performing abortions, according to Medical Students for Choice, is slowly chipping away at "abortion rights and access," while a bill is introduced to mandate inclusion of bible training in the Texas public school curriculum.

Although the "TIDE has turned" against Don Imus, Hullabaloo's Digby points out that "raw hypocrisy" among the "Imus Elite" has long been noticed, and Al Franken takes note of the wider problem and 'calls on CNN to fire Glenn Beck.'

The DNC is accused of appointing a shill for "the most hated company in America," to run Public Affairs for the Democratic National Convention in Denver, as the Guardian looks into efforts to use "stuck torrents" to frustrate pirates.

"Democracy Now!" interviews Bill McKibben about Step it Up's upcoming National Day of Climate Action, but Joshua Frank argues that the movement hasn't stepped it up enough to deal with the real scope of the crisis.

In its second annual green issue, Vanity Fair sends global warming skeptics to hell, James Wolcott passes judgment on the man who "inscribed the term 'environmental wackos' into the political lexicon" and Robert Kennedy Jr. details how 'Texas Chainsaw Management' has handed "top environmental posts to representatives of polluting industries."

April 12

Monday, April 16, 2007

Following a weekend of intense violence in Iraq, Sadrist ministers quit the Iraqi government to protest the lack of a timetable for U.S. troop withdrawal, amid concerns about Sadr's possible role in a 'nightmare scenario' for the Bush administration.

In the first of what's anticipated to be a series of 'hard-hitting articles on contractor abuse' in Iraq, the Washington Post's Steve Fainaru tries to reconcile divergent accounts of "a shooting rampage" on Baghdad's airport road that is the subject of an ongoing lawsuit.

With the U.S. now holding some 18,000 detainees as "enemy combatants" in Iraq, up from 10,000 a year ago, an article by Dr. Steven Miles in the American Journal of Bioethics, considers the ethical implications of medical and psychological collaboration in the 'Interrogation of Guantanamo 063.'

On issues from the war to health care, Paul Krugman finds that "Democratic politicians are being dragged by their base into taking highly popular positions."

Confronted in a Town Hall Meeting, Hillary Clinton won't say that she read a 2002 intelligence report on Iraq, but does say "she believed she was giving the President the authority to send U.N. inspectors to Iraq." Plus: Report claims 'France told U.S. before September 11 of Al-Qaeda plans.'

It'll "make people's hair curl," predicts David Ignatius, who appears to have gotten an advance peak at the much anticipated but embargoed memoir from former CIA director George Tenet, which is expected to take on Cheney and his people on WMD, and on what was supposed to happen after the invasion.

His hopes of victory undimmed, the vice president explains on "Face the Nation" how "last throes" was misunderstood, and bets that the Democrats will cave on timetables for Iraq, but doesn't face the toughest questions, as Juan Cole warns that the 21st century won't all be television.

The smear campaign the vice president is suspected of orchestrating against the House Speaker appears to be having trouble gaining traction at home, as Pelosi's diplomacy wins over the overseas press.

In a joint interview on "Democracy Now!," Noam Chomsky and Howard Zinn discuss Iraq, Vietnam, Activism and History, while Gore Vidal contemplates how the 'end of the American empire' is being hastened by a plague of incompetents.

Rebuked but not resigned, Paul Wolfowitz soldiers on, as it's reported that he gave top appointments to Iraq war backers, and the corporate media is accused of focusing on "his girlfriend, not his world-class war crimes."

As the World Bank and the IMF meet, Mark Weisbrot looks at how the 'IMF's Fall from Power' is illustrated by the organization's failures of prescription and prediction in Argentina, and by the weakening grip of the IMF's international creditors cartel over middle income countries.

The New York Times reports that for years banks and lenders have successfully lobbied against less costly student loans provided directly by the government, and with IRS audits targeting the middle class "more often, more quickly," Art Threat follows the trail of tax dollars.

An op-ed by the Attorney General proclaiming 'Nothing Improper,' is dismissed as "pablum" by the top Republican on the Judiciary Committee, as it's argued that Gonzales' real role in the removal of U.S. attorneys was as the "