Friday, July 25, 2008

Among the key memos authorizing CIA torture obtained by the ACLU this week is a heavily redacted document outlining a "good faith" exemption for interrogators, legal advice that one law professor terms "out and out fraud." Plus: Jane Mayer talks to David Letterman about "special lawyers with special answers."

One Guantanamo detainee turns 30 amid debate about whether he was tortured, the trial of another prompts the revelation that 'U.S. let bin Laden's top bodyguard go,' and the U.S. rejects an outside probe of a Canadian subjected to extraordinary rendition.

Talk of "very effective collateral damage mitigation procedures" notwithstanding, recent Western airstikes in Afghanistan have left so many civilians dead that U.S. and Nato officials have launched an investigation. Meanwhile, the 'Taliban tightens grip near northern Pakistan border,' and begins to 'encroach on Karzai's turf.'

The relative reduction in violence is seen by many Iraqis, McClatchy's Nancy Youssef notes, as "a complex equation with the U.S. troop surge as just one factor," while War New Radio talks to Bruce Ackerman and Patrick Cockburn about the difficulties faced in reaching a bridge agreement on the status of U.S. forces.

The surge only gets 'mixed reviews' in a new GAO report, and at a House hearing attended by only four representatives, Iraq's former prime minister Ayad Allawi ticks off a list of its shortcomings.

In response to an FOIA request, the Memory Hole gets a first look at the wood "prisoner boxes" used to hold some detainees in Iraq, while the National reports on how Najaf -- now being promoted as a tourist attraction -- has long been a 'corpse smuggler's haven.'

Despite an announcement by the U.S. embassy in Baghdad that it will expand its visa program for Iraqis who have been endangered by working with Americans, it may not be enough to keep up with the demand,

The European press gushes with "Obamamania," as the senator addresses a sea of people (but no State Department officials) in Berlin, and Spiegel concludes that 'No. 44 has spoken.'

Regional press reviews of Obama's visit to the Middle East were less glowing, and a Iraqi who blogs for McClatchy expresses great disappointment that "he wasn't there for us," as an Electronic Intifada post goes over 'what Obama missed' on a tour that was less balanced than advertised.

Struggling to respond to Obama in Germany and to recover from a long week on the campaign trail, McCain stages a problematic photo op at a German restaurant, while the media picks up a "presumptuous" tag and Ben Stein pushes it over the edge.

The McCain campaign insinuates that Obama is soft on genocide and sweet on Castro, as Fox News scares up the Muslim connection in another push poll.

Questioning all the soft money flooding in through the convention loophole, Amy Goodman notes that "the corporations funding the conventions have spent more than $1.1 billion lobbying the federal government." But at least DNC protesters won't be facing any "slime or goo."

As "Democracy Now!" interviews Tim Shorrock about "Main Core," Comcast reaches out to touch those who complain, and a Kansas ISP admits to snooping on its customers, but 'every major Senate Democratic challenger announces support for network neutrality.'

The U.S. Senate introduces an IP bill designed to bolster enforcement of intellectual property rights, and 'Yahoo! Music throws away the DRM keys,' while a new scheme to go after music downloaders in Britain remains, Billy Bragg contends, "clueless" about the nature of the internet.

ProPublica gets its hands on a complete draft of a Bush administration proposal that would make it harder for its successors to regulate workplace toxins and chemicals, as Sen. Barbara Boxer releases "choice excerpts" of an EPA climate "endangerment finding" whose full release is being blocked by her GOP colleagues.

As conservative talkers write off environmental concerns in Alaska's "barren wasteland," a USGS survey indicates that 20% of the world's undiscovered oil and gas reserves may lie further north in what might someday be "the next Houston." Plus: Salmon depletion prompts dietary adjustment.

McCain stands firm on offshore drilling despite encounters with a hurricane and a massive oil slick, while a congressional colleague scraps a planned Wildebeest hunt for charity in Wildebeest-free Chad.

As Bush drops another notch, Glenn Greenwald reviews the parade of "shrill, unserious extremists" set to testify on the abuse of executive powers before the House Judiciary Committee today, and Slate offers an interactive guide to who in his administration broke the law and who could be prosecuted.

July 24

Thursday, July 24, 2008

As 'McCain doubles down on humiliating surge error,' by trying to expand the definition of "surge," he also repeats, for the second day in a row, the charge that "Obama would rather lose a war in order to win a campaign."

VoteVets.org spends 30 seconds accusing McCain of wanting to occupy Iraq indefinitely, McClatchy reports that 'Iraqi forces aren't quite ready to take charge,' despite being "unabashedly cocky," and Iraq's ambassador to the U.S. claims that al-Qaeda's foreign fighters are 'leaving Iraq for Afghanistan.'

With 'Antiwar activists split over Obama's Afghan buildup plans,' the New York Times magazine posts next Sunday's cover story, which asks: 'Is Afghanistan a Narco-State?'

Senior Pentagon officials cited in a Times' article say that "more stringent rules" in Afghanistan "required a significantly lower risk of civilian casualties than was acceptable in Iraq," and a Human Rights Watch "military analyst" claims that "the Air Force has all but eliminated civilian casualties in Afghanistan."

'Bin Laden's driver walks out on terror trial,' and an article about him leads a Nieman Watchdog blogger to suggest that media outlets 'Assign a police reporter to the White House.'

As 'Pressure builds to send Karl Rove to jail,' he does "an end-around against Democratic leaders," with written responses to questions from the ranking Republican on the House Judiciary Committee.

Don Siegelman responds to Rove's responses on MSNBC, Scott Horton interviews former U.S. attorney, David Iglesias, who wrote that "all roads lead to Karl Rove," and the Justice Department is accused of "stonewalling efforts to make sure this year's presidential voting operates fairly."

In an interview with "Democracy Now!," former Arlington National Cemetery public affairs director, Gina Gray, who says that she was fired for refusing to limit coverage of funerals, reiterates her claim that "from 2001 until April 30th of 2008 ... 63 percent of the families had said, yes, they did want media coverage."

As it's argued that the "America's Army" video game is not a game, but a recruitment and training tool that violates international law, the "NewsHour" reports on the "Operation Purple" summer camps for children of deployed parents, which have surged to 62 in 37 states. Plus: a report from 'Putin's summer camp,' which sounds 'extreme.'

Both McCain's and Obama's tax plans "would add trillions of dollars to the national debt," reports McClatchy, according to a study by the Tax Policy Center, the release of which featured a debate between the candidates' senior economic policy advisers, that did not include Phil Gramm.

Before the Obama machine moved on to Berlin, "Peace with the Palestinians became something of an afterthought" during Obama's stop in Israel, and 'In Ramallah, candidate's visit leaves them unfazed."

A New York Times reporter is interviewed about his "off-the-trail" coverage of Obama, and Jeffrey Toobin is among those not feeling the "Obama Love," which includes a Business Week correspondent, who asks of McCain: "Whose Brand Is It Anyway?"

As 'Obama bets $5 million on Olympic viewers,' global advertisers 'cheerlead for China' and 'Coke paints Beijing red,' for an event that is expected to attract as many CEOs as the World Ecomomic Forum in Davos, traveling to a country that has a 'testosterone problem.'

Bush's "Wall Street Got Drunk" video also revealed that he's moving off the ranch, but as the Los Angeles Times reports, "It has long been known that Crawford was Bush's thing, not his family's."

A Slate debate centers on whether or not the traditional media should pursue the National Enquirer's widely-circulated allegations about John Edwards.

July 23

Wednesday, July 23, 2008

As Glenn Greenwald debates informal Obama legal adviser Cass Sunstein on "Democracy Now!," responding to comments made by Sunstein as reported by the Nation, Jonathan Turley expresses his concern that "the Bush crimes will remain buried for all time."

But Salon reports that "a movement is stirring in Washington for a sweeping new inquiry into White House malfeasance," modeled after the Church Committee, in an article that "provides names and dates that seem to corroborate the earlier Radar story on Main Core." Plus: 'The exaggeration of terror.'

Iraq's parliament passes legislation on provincial elections, but, reports McClatchy, "the secret ballot alienated Iraqi Kurds and very likely will lead to the postponement of the process until next year." And according to one analysis of the legislation, "the formal 'Lebanonisation' of Iraq has reached an unprecedented magnitude."

After Sen. McCain exhibited 'a fundamental misunderstanding of Iraq,' by falsely stating in an interview with CBS that the surge "began the Anbar awakening," CBS edited it out of what aired on its evening newscast. And Newsday points out that McCain also "tips a GOP attack line" in the interview.

CBS did air McCain's charge, also made earlier in the day, that Sen. Obama "would rather lose a war than lose a campaign," which, said Time's Joe Klein on CNN, "is the most scurrilous thing that I have heard a presidential candidate say in the nine elections I have covered."

The charge was test-driven last week by McCain's top foreign policy adviser, who reportedly lobbied for three firms owned by Bush library fixer, Stephen Payne. And as 'Opponents keep up fight against Bush library at SMU,' a Dallas Morning News editorial calls on President Bush to name his donors.

A unit of the Justice Department is offering counseling for protesters in advance of the GOP convention, which may be underpoliced, and as Rep. Ron Paul upsizes his shadow event, it's predicted that for Sen. Norm Coleman, the convention "is likely to be more of a liability ... than anything else." Plus: Alexander Zaitchik on Franken vs. Coleman.

Switft Boat financier T. Boone Pickens takes his energy plan to Capitol Hill, and Elizabeth de la Vega points out that energy isn't the only resource that lacks a national policy.

Sen. McCain parrots the predictions of oil companies on offshore drilling, and Howell Raines goes on Air America to discuss his column on 'Crude Reporting.'

As photographers photograph a photograph of Radovan Karadzic, Serbia is 'pressed to capture Mladic,' and while 'Court advocates hope Bashir gets message from Karadzic arrest,' Sudan's ambassador to the U.N. says of the International Criminal Court: "We have full right to be part of it or not. And we choose not to be part of it, like the United States."

Lenin's Tomb examines 'Crime and punishment in the neoliberal twilight,' Mother Jones introduces a series of articles on "The coming prison meltdown," and the Boston Review publishes a special "After prison" issue.

While CNN's "Black in America" does have its supporters, Variety rips it for being "about as vanilla as documentaries get," and for failing to "make the seemingly obvious leap of contemplating what Barack Obama's candidacy may say about the here and now." Plus: 'After 60 years, black officers rare.'

What Jonathan Yardley finds "especially welcome" about the book, "Now the Hell Will Start,' subtitled "One soldier's flight from the greatest manhunt of World War II," is that it fills a void in "literature, factual or fictional, about the daily lives of black soldiers," a notable exception being, "And Then We Heard the Thunder."

As Sen. Obama declares during his press conference in Jordan that "reality is reasserting itself" in U.S. foreign policy, Obama love fans out to Berlin, McCain's joking is complemented by an Obama joke, and FactCheck.org shows that it is not in the tank for McCain.

Robert Novak and the chattering class are forced to entertain the possibility that they were duped by the McCain campaign, but it's noted that Novak's "not outing his sources."

July 22

Tuesday, July 22, 2008

"The Iraqi government sees that the end of 2010 is an appropriate date for the withdrawal of the forces," said the spokesman for Prime Minister al-Maliki, whose 'Iraq pullout line keeps White House scrambling.'

After getting 'Knee-capped by al-Maliki,' Sen. McCain 'indicates U.S. troops could withdraw in 2 years,' and as a New York Times' reporter claims that McCain has "become perhaps the chamber's most influential member," he takes a wide stance on international borders.

With Obama still refusing to endorse the surge, it's observed that "we've quickly reached the point at which every McCain sentence includes a noun, a verb, and 'Obama was wrong about the surge,'" which is seen as being "part of a rather desperate media strategy."

As PoliFact debunks a McCain ad blaming Obama for high gas prices, the AP reports that the money big oil companies "spend on exploration is nothing compared with what they spend on stock buybacks and dividends," and, 'Another GOP oil-drilling myth is born!'

With a report that the "Mideast sees more of the same if Obama is elected,' he's set to go 'Hunting for votes in the Holy Land,' after a news article announced his arrival in Jordan.

Defense Secretary Gates 'questions use of contractors for training,' and an "Army IT professional" tells Wired that "blogging by senior Army personnel is a Stephen King novel waiting to happen." Plus: 'How the other half flies.'

As the 'White House threatens veto over expanded intelligence-sharing with Congress,' Attorney General Mukasey 'stays on White House path,' urging legislation to bar federal judges from releasing Guantanamo detainees, which Sen. Russ Feingold calls "an attempt to create an election-year security issue where there isn't one."

Scott Horton warns of "The Misdirection" being employed by Republicans during torture testimony, and the Canadian government is accused of being 'slow to defend' the "brown-skinned" Omar Khadr.

As selection of the all-military jury begins in the trial of Salim Hamdan, the judge excludes most interrogations of Hamdan in Afghanistan, "because of the highly coercive environment and conditions under which they were made."Plus: 'I got a Taliban, bro.'

Bosnian Muslims celebrate the arrest of 'poet turned war criminal,' Radovan Karadzic, and John Burns recalls how, at a converted ski hotel that Karadzic used as his headquarters, "he liked to hold court ... and make a show of his grasp of culture, politics and history. It was a Lilliputian scene, at once absurd and menacing."

The arrest, which is said to have given "badly needed credibility to international war crimes tribunals," coincided with Monday's meeting between President Bush and the prime minister of Kosovo, where the "most startling features" are reportedly, "the poverty of the province ... and the pitiful economy that keeps it locked in."

A review of "Dubai: The Vulnerability of Success," notes that with no more than five percent of its GDP coming from oil-related revenue, Dubai "has turned itself into a rising and nimble economic power that actually depends on everything but oil."

The above review appeared before the Los Angeles Times announced plans to terminate its standalone book review, which was called "a philistine blunder " by one former Times' book editor, who has been a vocal critic of book review cutbacks. Plus: 'Newspaper publishers knew the end was nigh - and they milked it.'

As a Fox affiliate in Las Vegas opens a news desk to product placement, LiveScience reports on 'The many ways retailers can trick you,' and a Slate article asks: 'Have corporate-sponsored Internet pranks gone too far?'

The editor of the Austin American Statesman apologizes for a now-scrubbed article about "Netroots Nation," while the conference's "schwag bag," confirms that "with over 75 pieces of paper and some natty condoms, clearly the blogosphere has arrived." And, strange Netfellows: Huffington Post and GQ!

July 21

Monday, July 21, 2008

Opening his foreign policy tour in Afghanistan, with an eye to the battleground states back home, Sen. Obama promises to send more troops, a position a recent gathering of Afghan policy experts suggested was "clueless."

With Air Force and allied warplanes "dropping a record number of bombs on Afghanistan targets," coalition forces "kill 13 Afghans in strikes said to be mistakes," and Ron Jacobs contends that 'Afghanistan is not the good war' and cannot be won.

Despite a lot of counter-spin, Spiegel stands by its account of an interview with Iraq's prime minister Nouri al-Maliki in which he endorses the Obama plan for withdrawal by name, providing a propitious set up for the senator's visit to the country. The McCain campaign was not so thrilled.

Word of a "time horizon" for withdrawing U.S. troops gives rise to multiple interpretations, as Rand Beers considers the possibility that from a "legacy perspective" Bush might want to just 'declare victory and go home.' Plus: 'Moving out of U.S. control?'

Although the main Sunni Arab political bloc has returned to the Iraqi cabinet, McClatchy reports that Sadr City is "seething with unrest, which backers of firebrand cleric Muqtada al Sadr are managing to control, but only just," and IPS takes note of growing fears in Fallujah that another assault is in the offing.

While the military debates whether it should go symmetrical or asymmetrical, Real News conducts an inquiry into what a rational American foreign policy might look like, including fundamental questions about nuclear weapons policy, and whether the U.S. really has to be number one in military might.

Concerns about the "militarization of U.S. aid to Africa" have AFRICOM going out of its way to "calm fears that it represents a new imperial push," as a regional expert looks beneath the surface of the candidates' views on Africa.

Facing growing criticism over the shortcomings of globalization, the WTO prescribes "more globalization," as substantive concerns are deflected into a question of propriety.

The launch of a war crimes trial at Guantanamo raises questions about the relative value of 'Fig Newtons and fundamental rights' and about who really is on trial, as a report from the House of Commons concludes that "the UK can no longer rely on U.S. assurances that it does not use torture."

Speaking at a Netroots panel discussion about what can be done to restore the rule of law (video), Jeremy Scahill punctuated warnings about "the most radical privatization agenda in history" with the reminder "that Blackwater and Dyncorp were at the moment guarding Senator Obama."

While DLC Chair Harold Ford makes the case against holding Bush administration officials accountable for violations of the law, Charlie Savage reports that felons are already lining up to seek a pardon from Bush, and it's argued that there are a whole spectrum of reasons to investigate war crimes now.

The ACLU makes public documents showing Maryland state police spied on and infiltrated peace and anti-death penalty groups although "In their reports, undercover officers repeatedly stressed that no crimes were in the making." Plus: 'The AT&T convention in Denver.'

Merchants of Debt As the New York Times launches a series on debt in America, some are 'calling on gospel to call off debt,' a new study links "credit card debt, access to bankruptcy, and mortgage foreclosures," and it's predicted that housing prices will continue to fall for two years or longer.

As Speaker Pelosi assigns the blame for high oil prices to "two oil men in the White House," Naomi Klein explains to Fox Business News how Bush's offshore drilling plan perfectly illustrates her thesis about disaster capitalism, and the Bush administration flouts restrictions on Grand Canyon uranium mining.

With Karl Rove away in the Ukraine attending a bigwig conference that the local press terms "nauseating," a campaign is launched to send him to jail which, even Nancy Pelosi agrees, is "where he belongs."

Despite what appears to be some "special treatment" from the military, the New York Times finds a whole spectrum of right wing intellectuals turning inward in "a kind of political EST seminar aimed at self-transformation, while John Bolton keeps repeating "intellectual collapse."

McCain's 'Viagra moment' becomes campaign fodder, as South Dakota doctors are forced to stick to the script on abortion.

As Pastor John Hagee scrambles to recover mainstream legitimacy, Jews on First puts together a video documenting his factually challenged 'preoccupation with the Jews,' and the two presidential candidates settle on a megachurch run by Rick Warren as the site of their first joint event.

July 18-20

Friday, July 18, 2008

Perceptions of a newfound willingness to engage with Iran are reinforced by a Guardian report that the 'U.S. will seek green light to open base in Tehran,' raising hopes for an overall "cooling political atmosphere" in regard to U.S. policy in the Middle East.

Nick Turse explores the Pentagon's underreported role as a driving force in the hunt for oil, a 'GOP Senate candidate fesses up to pursuing oil deal over U.S. objections,' and Iraq's government slaps a '1-year limit on no-bid contracts.'

With the two parties serving up 'dueling Iraq videos' on line, it's argued that attempts to spin "the new reality in Iraq" are ignoring the 'facts on the ground,' and the call for a timetable by Iraq's prime minister is said to mark 'a falling away of the fig-leaf rationales' for the occupation.

Media reports appear to tap dance around "U.S. plans to escalate war in Afghanistan," while reviews of McCain's record note that he was 0-for-6 in committee hearings on the war, and had earlier suggested that this war was something the country could just "muddle through."

John Judis concludes that McCain remains entrapped in a cold war mentality, while Gareth Porter recounts that he couldn't get any of the Obama foreign policy advisers he talked to to commit to "a change of policy with regard to the whole idea of occupying Muslim countries." Plus: 'The American Idoling of Empire?'

Setting aside questions of constitutionality, a judge clears the way for the first Guantanamo military tribunal to begin on Monday, while evidence emerges in another case suggesting that the "entire military commissions system has been corrupted."

Although torture is little more than a joke for some at a House Judiciary committee hearing, more details about how the Bush administration shopped around for legal advice come to light, and the 'House votes to prohibit contractors from interrogating detainees.'

In "Kafka Comes to America" -- excerpted here -- a lawyer for an Oregon man falsely accused of involvement in the Madrid bombings gives what one reviewer describes as "an insider's view of some of the most hideous practices our country has allowed since the 9/11 attacks."

In an apparent attempt to fend off demands for an impeachment hearing, House Judiciary Chair John Conyers announces that his committee will hear testimony about Bush's 'imperial presidency.' Meanwhile, plans for a Bush memorial advance to the ballot in San Francisco,

Amid the jockeying for advantage over solutions to the energy crisis, Sen. Larry Craig opts for an aggressive stance on foreign oil, while Al Gore in a major energy address attempts to add some "oomph" to Democrats' attempts to find a "compelling narrative" on high gas prices.

With the Census Bureau set to disappear gay marriages, and South Carolina no longer quite so out of the closet, an Oklahoma politician tries to jump start his campaign with an anti-gay comic book, but in a new California poll 51% say gay is okay.

After mixed messages about gay adoption draw fire from social conservatives, McCain goes "out of his way" to speak against abortion at a pair of campaign stops, while his fumbling over why health insurance covers Viagra but not birth control has Jack Cafferty venturing a medical opinion.

With the nation beset by a host of distress signals, including a widening life expectancy gap, Congress revisits the definition of poverty for the first time in decades, and scaled down economic expectations fuel the perception that "flat is the new up."

At a Senate hearing that had "all the trappings of a Mafia investigation," one witness testifies in silhouette about tricks his former bank had used to help wealthy clients dodge tax collectors, while another admits that his firm helped 19,000 Americans hide $18 billion.

One pair of GAO investigations concludes that lax enforcement under the Bush administration has let "wage theft" by employers go largely unchecked, while another report looks into how the SBA allowed a program designed to help small businesses in poor areas to become "riddled with fraud."

In its escalating war against drugs, the Mexican government is now confronting submarines and car bombs, while on the other side of the border, the FBI finds increasing police corruption.

"I'm not dead yet." Talk of a lavish state funeral for Margaret Thatcher -- an honor "routinely accorded only to monarchs" -- draws the observation 'some will throw a party, others a brick,' amid concerns that 'there might not be enough troops to line streets of London.'

July 17

Thursday, July 17, 2008

With the U.S. reportedly planning 'to station diplomats in Iran for first time since 1979,' the Bush administration's decision to send an envoy to nuclear talks is seen as 'another win' for the realists and further evidence of 'Why John Bolton is Right on Iran.'

As the Los Angeles Times reports on the increasing clout of oil-rich countries, 'Iran pours cash into Afghanistan,' Reuters analyzes how 'Civilian casualties fuel Afghan conflict,' and the U.S. military confirms that eight Afghan civilians were killed in an air strike on Tuesday.

Israel grieves and Hezbollah celebrates, one week after Patti Smith performed in Beirut and sang "Qana."

While an 'Iraq Sunni Arab dispute may delay Anbar handover,' it's reported that 'Unrest surfaces in Fallujah again,' where "Authorities may have controlled the media better than the violence." And, U.S. 'media stars' find a reason to visit Iraq.

As Mitt Romney credits Sen. McCain with being "the person who authored ... the philosophy that said a surge would work in Iraq," the New York Times editorializes that McCain "has not matched Mr. Obama's seriousness on Iraq. Mr. McCain is still tied in knots, largely adopting Mr. Bush's blind defense of an unending conflict."

Romney also claimed that McCain supports drilling in ANWR, and Think Progress compiles a highlight reel of Republicans claiming that there were no major oil spills caused by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, one of the 'three biggest myths' about offshore drilling.

As the 'Energy debate excludes conservation,' an energy sector investor tells NPR that "the worldwide capacity to build rigs now has a backlog going out until about 2013," in a feature on the candidates' offshore drilling positions, which includes, 'How one McCain proposal could cut fuel costs.' Plus: Howell Raines on 'Crude Reporting.'

Both the "Misery Index" and inflation hit highs not seen since the early '90s, and the U.S. is also lagging in the "American Human Development Index."

As 'Ashcroft defends waterboarding before House panel,' the first chapter of Jane Mayer's "The Dark Side" goes online, and a consultant for Human Rights First is blogging from Guantanamo, where on Wednesday, Salim Hamdan was cast "as a bit player in al Qaeda, an insider turned snitch."

President Bush 'claims privilege to withhold CIA leak records,' in what Newsweek describes as "a set of novel and controversial legal arguments," and with Attorney General Mukasey "treating the White House as off the constitutional grid," according to Jonathan Turley, Emptywheel looks at "what Waxman was after."

A Black Agenda Report commentary looks at 'Where Obamaism seems to be going,' and New York Times reporter Adam Nagourney responds to criticism from the Obama campaign over an article that prompted a Time pollster to write: "I've rarely seen a story so wildly off from the actual data on which it is based."

The Washington Post reports that 'Figures in both campaigns have deep ties to mortgage giants,' and the CEO of the mortgage company named HTFC, explains what the acronym stands for, in a lawsuit deposition.

Reporters for a Fox affiliate spar with McCain press aides over a camera angle, including one aide who McCain "uses to get him online," and another who flacked for the White House and the 2004 Bush/Cheney campaign. Plus: video shows how the sausage is (not) made at Fox News.

As Slate looks at 'The weird science of stock photography,' the New York Post appears to be trying to gin up an advertising controversy over the New Yorker's Obama cover, and the Houston Press reveals 'What mainstream publishers don't want you to know about door-to-door magazine sales.'

The award-winning Florida artist behind the 9/11-themed billboards that say "Please Don't Vote for a Democrat," won't be voting in the November election.

July 16

Wednesday, July 16, 2008

In an article and blog posts, the Washington Independent covers congressional testimony by Douglas Feith and Philippe Sands, as Dahlia Lithwick likens the former to "one of those cans that erupt with an exploding snake. No matter who the questioner or what the question, Feith responds with a jolt of explosive, affronted outrage."

A federal appeals court issues a split decision on the "only accused 'enemy combatant' apprehended and held on U.S. soil," and Tuesday's pre-trial testimony by Salim Hamdan, "was the first time the Yemeni who challenged President Bush to the U.S. Supreme Court testified in four years of war court proceedings."

As it's alleged that British intelligence outsourced the torture of British citizens to Pakistani security agencies, the 2003 video of Omar Khadr being interrogated at Guantanamo, 'polarizes Canadian opinion between sympathy, outright contempt.'

Jane Mayer goes online and on video to discuss "The Dark Side," and tells ProPublica that "it's frequently not the president who's making many of these calls; it's the vice president .... I asked a lot of questions about [Bush] when I was doing interviews, and he keeps disappearing from the frame of the picture."

As a 'Kazakh politician claims luring Cheney to Central Asia in 2006 cost $2 Million,' Bush library fundraiser Stephen Payne is forced to resign from a DHS advisory post, and Ken Silverstein points out the friendly op-eds on Azerbaijan coordinated by Payne's firm.

With 'Iraq's Anbar province growing tense,' Tuesday's suicide bombings in Diyala province, prompts an observation that "For all the statistics showing improved security in Iraq, "many parts of the country remain astoundingly violent." Plus: 'Lieberman's oversight activities have watchdogs howling.'

As 'U.S. shifts policy to send envoy to Iran talks,' Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, warns that "Iran would 'cut off the hand' of any aggressor against the Islamic Republic over its disputed nuclear program."

'Obama takes offensive in foreign policy speech,' and follows it up with appearances on PBS and CNN, where he said, "You know what, it's a cartoon Larry."

With McCain declaring that "I know how to win wars," he and Obama are seen as having found 'Some accord on Afghanistan,' but after McCain one-upped Obama by proposing to send three additional brigades to Afghanistan, he "modified his assertion."

As the 'McCain campaign uses online spider to ambush Obama' on surge criticism scrub. FAIR takes issue with how the Washington Post concluded that "Poll finds voters split on candidates' Iraq-pullout positions.' Plus: McCain still Czeched out?

As new polls give Obama leads of six, eight and nine points, Eric Boehlert examines the disparity in coverage of Jesse Jackson's "nuts" to McCain's Social Security "disgrace."

Naomi Klein reexamines "The Shock Doctrine" on "Democracy Now!," McClatchy reports that it was 'A gloomy day for the economy, except at the White House,' and an NPR article details how with lobbying clout and massive political contributions, 'Fannie, Freddie Became Kings Of The Hill.'

As conservatives amplify a dubious claim by Lawrence Kudlow that a sharp drop in oil prices was the result of President Bush saying 'Drill, Drill, Drill,' Tom Engelhardt notes that a similar two-day plunge last week was short-lived, in outlining 'The Energy Reality We Face.'

With reporters accused of 'Shallow coverage of candidates' energy policies,' Dean Baker asks: "If McCain could look good proposing a policy that jeopardizes the environment for no visible economic benefit, why not push an economic policy that is a proven failure as though the past eight years never happened?"

As a Florida 'Voter law threatens to cloud elections,' David Rieff reports on the possibility of Little Havana going blue, and T. J. English discusses his book "Havana Nocturne: How the Mob Owned Cuba -- and Then Lost It to the Revolution."

"There hasn't been a better book about America in years," writes one reviewer about the British publication of "Divine Magnetic Lands," excerpted here, a travelogue by a U.S. expat novelist, that is said to be part of "a tradition that mixes travel, history, fiction and introspection into the literary equivalent of a new world."

July 15

Tuesday, July 15, 2008

As interrogation video of a Guantanamo prisoner is released, the judge in the trial of bin Laden driver Salim Hamdan, allows testimony by the '9/11 braintrust,' and Hamdan's lawyers claim that he was in "Operation Sandman" for 50 days, and that "Sleep deprivation of that nature for 50 days would constitute torture."

Tim Rutten recommends that "if you intend to vote in November and read only one book between now and then, this should be it," as the author answers six questions posed by Scott Horton, including one relating to 'The ethics of a psychologist.'

With a report that 'What to do about Guantanamo vexes both Obama, McCain,' the International Criminal Court's decision to seek an arrest warrant for the president of one country at war is defended, while a proposal that the president of another 'should give those accused of "war crimes" a pass,' is ridiculed.

As Sen. McCain gets fact-Czeched, one of "about a thousand" polls between now and election day, 'Finds voters split on candidates' Iraq-pullout positions,' with 51 percent also saying that the U.S. is not making significant progress toward restoring civil order in Iraq, and that U.S. military action in Afghanistan has not been successful.

Although it's argued that 'U.S. candidates need a Marshall Plan for Iraq,' that's "financed by Iraq's windfall profits from oil sales," oil deals are reportedly being delayed by "political infighting," and oil privatization is described as a "red line for the unions," all as 'Iraq's electricity- starved capital goes solar.'

With 'Shoddy standards blamed for electrocutions in Iraq,' it's also reported that 'Two suicide bombers kill 28 at Iraq army base.'

As the Afghan government calls Pakistan the "biggest exporter of terrorism and extremism to the world," a "NewsHour" segment on the "deteriorating situation in Afghanistan," includes a writer who has reported from Kunar province, where nine U.S. troops were killed Sunday, including a two-part series last fall.

What was described as "a near universal lack of recall" by Bush administration officials, hampered a House Oversight committee investigation into 'The Tillman and Lynch Episodes.'

The investigation did reveal that Karl Rove was told to "Keep up the fight," in an e-mail from the AP's new Washington bureau chief, Ron Fournier, who now says that "I regret the breezy nature of the correspondence."

The committee also announced that it "has opened an investigation into allegations that an individual solicited funds for the George W. Bush Presidential Library in return for access to senior U.S. foreign policy officials."

California's Democratic leaders criticize President Bush for lifting the ban on offshore oil drilling, as it's reported that compensation for CEOs of major oil companies is "reaching new heights."

"We are witnessing a momentous event -- the great deflation of Wall Street -- and it is far from over," writes William Greider, while Rep. Barney Frank argues that "the problems of Fannie and Freddie do not stem from decisions they made," and Bloomberg reports on 'Citigroup's $1.1 trillion of mysterious assets."

Interviewed about "This Land is Their Land," which a reviewer describes as "a crescendoing howl against American injustice early in the second millennium," Barbara Ehrenreich is told that "This book is surprisingly funny."

Jesse Ventura tells Larry King that "I'm not going to run at this moment," but if "God comes and speaks to me like he did the president, and tells me I should run ... well, then maybe at 5:00 tomorrow."

Covering Obama The Huffington Post is at 18 posts and counting on the controversial New Yorker cover, which has now been revised.

And in a 13-part series, the Washington Post revisits what has been described as "the summer of Chandra."

July 14

Monday, July 14, 2008

Facing some ongoing public relations problems, U.S. and Iraqi negotiators have for the time being, according to the Washington Post, abandoned the pursuit of a SOFA in favor of a "bridge agreement." But an Arab media report adds that a "withdrawal schedule" is still on the table.

With the U.S. reportedly 'pleased, worried, by newfound Iraqi confidence,' one senior Iraqi government official even floats the idea of ousting the U.S. from the Green Zone.

As the Iraqi government hands out cash hoping to prevent the return of the militias, Patrick Cockburn talks to leaders in Sadr City about the possibility of a Mehdi Army comeback, and War News Radio hears mixed reviews of the impact of Awakening councils on personal security.

Given the New York Times' acknowledgment that one factor in a possible drawdown in Iraq is "the pressing need for additional American troops in Afghanistan," questions are raised about why such stories continue to be spun as 'naturally good news for McCain.'

'The Wedding Crashers' Tom Engelhardt considers the implications of a series of four -- perhaps five -- weddings that were interrupted by American bombs during the course of Bush's wars, as it's noted that nine American soldiers in Afghanistan were killed near where 15 civilians were recently killed by U.S. bombing.

With the U.S. in Afghanistan facing increasing resistance from Pakistani militants and even former CIA-backed warlords, Joint Chiefs Chair Mike Mullen delivers a warning to the Pakistani government, but Pakistan's foreign minister insists that no foreign troops are allowed in -- even to hunt Bin Laden. Plus: 'The real crisis in Pakistan.'

Now that he has determined who's on board for his trip to Iraq, Sen. Obama, talks foreign policy with Fareed Zakaria and, in a New York Times editorial, welcomes a timetable for withdrawal, acknowledging that "Iraq is not the central front in the war on terrorism," but still advocating a "residual force."

As the 'collateral damage' of the global war on terror is assessed, a 23 year CIA veteran argues against 'overstating our fears' by conjuring up "the image of terrorists behind every bush, the bushes themselves burning and an angry god inciting its faithful to religious war."

What Jane Mayer documents in "The Dark Side" is the genesis of 'an American gulag' (Andrew Bacevich), that "This time the crime is worse than the cover up" (Frank Rich), and "what a country becomes when it decides that it will not live under the rule of law" (Glenn Greenwald).

On "Countdown," Jonathan Turley discusses the specter of war crimes, about which the Red Cross explicitly warned the Bush administration, according to Mayer. Other revelations in her account include the complicity of a former APA president and that a one-legged detainee was 'forced to stand for hours without prosthesis.'

A yearlong investigation by the Sacramento Bee probes connections between lowered recruiting standards and "controversial or criminal incidents in Iraq," as a new accusation of abuse by British soldiers is linked to an 'empire of sadism.' Plus: What the t-shirt says.

As John McCain's latest wisecrack about killing Iranians 'smolders in Tehran,' and caps off a week full of potential hits, Juan Cole wonders whether his 'sick sense of humor' should disqualify him for president.

Although the 'McCain campaign pulls plug on Gramm,' commentators on the right from Amity Shlaes to Sean Hannity take up the whine, while George Will pushes the envelope, asserting that Americans are "the cry babies of the western world."

The Accidental Luddite "I am learning to get online myself ... I am becoming computer literate," says Sen. John McCain, whose 'knowledge gap' in a variety of areas, Mark Weisbrot suggests, really should be a campaign issue.

An Obama caricature on the cover of the New Yorker encapsulating a host of right wing smears is said to be a bit rich for an "irony-challenged nation," as the artist who penned the drawing, no stranger to provocation, defends his work, and one observer wonders: 'White people: not ready for democracy?'

The interpreter who spoke out against the assembly-line treatment of meatpacking workers arrested during the largest immigration raid in U.S. history talks to "Democracy Now!" about what he describes as "the saddest procession I have ever witnessed."

With the Fed stepping in to shore up beleaguered mortgage giants, and questions raised about just how many banks might fail, Danny Schechter dials 911 for the economy, and pawnshops rake it in.

Contemplating the food crisis facing the third world, a Dollars & Sense post offers advice on how to get the most out of mud cookies, while Corp Watch exposes the dark side of the tourist boom as "cruise ship controversies cross borders."

July 11-13

Friday, July 11, 2008

On a tape played during a preliminary hearing on allegations of misconduct in Iraq, U.S. Marines are heard discussing how they murdered four handcuffed prisoners after being ordered to raid a house during the 2004 battle of Fallujah, claiming to have interpreted a platoon leader asking "Are they dead yet?" as an order to kill.

Britain agrees to pay compensation in the case of an Iraqi man who was beaten to death by its soldiers in Basra, and John Pilger contends that this incident remains a key exhibit for understanding 'how Britain wages war.'

Newly released documents indicate that, repeated denials notwithstanding, the Canadian government knew about the abuse of Canadian citizen Omar Khadr at Guantanamo, and a preview of Jane Mayer's "