“The Surge” has worked in a major way to reduce the appearance of “Iraq News” on television to a minimum. It has also worked to achieve a major tamping down of political opposition to the War, especially in the Congress. Since there are no widely disseminated facts on what is really happening in Iraq, the White House has been able to pretend that the country is one almost totally at peace.
The Surge is Working — for Bush and Cheney
Rights group: Shin Bet coerces ill Palestinians to become informants
The Shin Bet security service has been trying to coerce ill Palestinians to become informants in exchange for medical treatment, according to an 80-page report released recently by the Israel branch of Physicians for Human Rights.
"I would say it's self-explanatory and clear that you shouldn't extort patients," said Miri Weingarten of the group.
Media Censorship at Olympics in China Mirrors FDA Censorship of Health Product Claims in America
Perhaps these reporters have never actually opened their eyes in their own country. While China's censorship of news websites is deplorable, the U.S. is engaged in a far more restrictive, freedom-crush brand of censorship in the health industry: The censorship of truthful descriptions of health products by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
Washington Post Scrubs Friday Article That Cast Doubt on Reported 'Anthrax Killer' Case
No retraction or correction notice --- unethically, in our opinion --- was given for WaPo's odd swaperoo. The Friday WaPo story we linked to that day --- which was dated "Friday, August 1, 2008; 5:46 PM" and reported that that the purported "Anthrax Killer", Bruce E. Ivins "had no access to dry, powdered anthrax" at his U.S. Army bioweapons lab in Fort Detrick, MD --- was simply swapped out with a completely different story in its place on the matter, dated Saturday, August 2, 2008. The same URL was used for both stories, but the Saturday story didn't have the bulk of the reporting which quoted named experts and colleagues questioning Ivins' ability to even carry out such an attack.
Rent-back schemes 'rob thousands of homes'
Tens of thousands of vulnerable people are being forced to sell their homes at rock-bottom prices through controversial 'sale-and-rent-back' schemes to avoid repossession, according to a study by Shelter, the homeless charity.
The schemes are part of an unregulated industry worth £2.5bn a year. Homeowners are typically offered a lump sum for their properties - usually between 70 and 90 per cent of its value - and told they can stay in their homes providing they keep up payments. But Shelter said most firms only allowed tenants to remain for a matter of months before insisting on selling.
Speaker Pelosi’s Latest Justification for Barring Impeachment: Bush Would Never Cooperate With His Own Impeachment
I guess Nixon worked tirelessly for his own impeachment and resigned only out of a sense of self-loathing. What is particularly striking about this latest rationale is that it is so circular — as was Pelosi’s first explanation. First, we could not start an investigation for impeachment without clear evidence of crimes, but we can only confirm evidence of crimes by investigating.
Now, it appears the House cannot start impeachment proceedings unless a president and his party would agree to turn over incriminating evidence. Of course, the use of a president’s authority to conceal or destroy evidence in such an investigation is itself a potentially impeachable offense. Pelosi prevented a John Dean from coming forward by barring the hearing. In past hearings, we have seen former Bush officials implicate the Administration in investigations such a the firing of the US Attorneys. Indeed, if this is Pelosi’s rationale for barring impeachment, why is the House pursuing contempt on these other investigations? It appears that a lack of cooperation does not end matters that the House wants to address.
Ron Fournier named chief of AP's Washington bureau
Ron Fournier, a former White House correspondent, national political writer and online political editor for The Associated Press, has been named chief of the AP's Washington bureau.
TVNL Comment: Why is the image on the AP press release that of military personnel?
US 'held suspects on British territory in 2006'
The government has repeatedly accepted US assurances that Diego Garcia has not been used to hold high-ranking members of al-Qaeda who have been flown to secret interrogation centres around the world in 'ghost' planes hired by the CIA. Interrogation techniques used on suspects are said to include 'waterboarding', a simulated drowning that Amnesty International claims is a form of torture. But now the government's denials over Diego Garcia's role in extraordinary rendition are crumbling. Senior American intelligence sources have claimed that the US has been holding terrorist suspects on the British territory as recently as two years ago.
Candidate who wants Olmert's job once 'sought deaths of 70 Palestinians a day'
A leading candidate to be Israel's next premier called for a death toll of 70 Palestinians a day when he was head of the military during the second intifada, according to a best-selling book by two Israeli journalists.
The account of a briefing given in May 2001 to senior West Bank army commanders reinforces the image of hawkishness enjoyed by Shaul Mofaz.
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