contributions

By ANDREW KRAMER
FORT LEWIS — About a dozen Oregon National Guard soldiers say they languished for months at Fort Lewis because the Army lacked a protocol to allow them to return to Oregon to convalesce.
The wounded soldiers also waited hours for doctor appointments, were forced to fill out confusing paperwork and faced months of delays regarding their benefits, they told Brig. Gen. Raymond Byrne, acting adjutant general of the Oregon National Guard, yesterday.
"I feel that the system (…)

By Marjorie Cohn
When George W. Bush’s weapons-of-mass-destruction rationale for invading Iraq evaporated, his excuse morphed into bringing democracy to the Iraqi people. But the way Bush has eviscerated our democracy in the United States is proof positive that his democratic credentials are phony.
We have seen our government assault First Amendment rights in the past - during the McCarthy era, and when the FBI instituted COINTELPRO to spy on and discredit civil rights activists. (…)

President Has Denied Family Ties Got Him Into Guard
AUSTIN, Texas (CBS) In a video posted on the Internet, former Texas Lt. Gov. Ben Barnes, a Democrat, says he is ashamed that he helped President Bush and the sons of other wealthy families get into the Texas Air National Guard in 1968 so they could avoid serving in Vietnam.
"I got a young man named George W. Bush into the National Guard when I was lieutenant governor of Texas, and I’m not necessarily proud of that, but I did it," Barnes (…)

by David Johnston and Eric Schmitt
Officials say U.S. is preparing arrests WASHINGTON FBI agents have met in recent days with two high-level Pentagon officials to discuss the case of a Defense Department analyst who is suspected of turning over a classified policy document to Israel, according to a senior defense official.
The two officials, Paul Wolfowitz, the deputy defense secretary, and Douglas Feith, the undersecretary for policy, were briefed on the case of the analyst, Lawrence (…)

There were perhaps 78 people arrested Sunday, August 29, 5:30 p.m. at the “Kiss In”, not all of whom were Queer Fist. The action was satire highlighting the hypocrisy of the mainstream gay agenda.
Vince: “Did you think you’d be arrested?”
I had no idea that I would be arrested. I went down to meet in occasion to not to get arrested. I wasn’t planning on doing civil disobedience or direct action or anything to do with the police.
Vince: “Why were you arrested? Did the police tell you (…)

When Dr Thomas Butler noticed vials of plague bacteria were missing from his Texas university lab, he did the right thing and informed the FBI - only to find himself the prime suspect in a bio-terrorism investigation. Now he’s in jail, but his fate was sealed by paranoia and prejudice.
Rose George investigates
It was a January weekend in 2003. Dr Thomas Butler, a world-renowned expert on bubonic plague, had called in at his laboratory at Texas Tech University. The 62-year-old (…)

By Pepe Escobar
"This battle will take time and resolve. But make no mistake about it: we will win." George W Bush, September 12, 2001
"Can we win the war on terror? I don’t think you can win it." Bush, August 31, 2004
The war in Iraq is part of the "war on terra". You’re either with us, Republicans, or with the terrorists. Be afraid. Be very afraid. And count on us to deliver you from fear - somewhat. Fear not what you can do to support us, fear for the world if you don’t.
This, in (…)

By Beth Gardiner
LONDON (AP) - One of Britain’s iconic names is back, in bizarre circumstances tailor-made for the country’s boisterous tabloids.
Sir Mark Thatcher - son of British political legend Margaret Thatcher, titled by inheritance, and wealthy through connections and marriage - is in trouble in a far-off land for allegedly bankrolling a bungled African coup attempt.
The story features oil interests, a dictator reported to harbor cannibalistic tendencies, mercenaries from elite (…)

By B Raman
Act 1: March 2002. Abu Zubaidah, a Palestinian member of al-Qaeda, was arrested in Faislabad in Pakistani Punjab by the Pakistani authorities and handed over to the US’s Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). He was the operational chief of al-Qaeda; his arrest was a major breakthrough, we were told. This is hardly supported by the report of the 9-11 Commission.
Act 2: September 2002. Ramzi Binalshibh was arrested in Karachi and handed over to the FBI. He was the man, we were (…)

By William Rivers Pitt
"One of the interesting things people ask me, now that we are asking questions, is, ’Can you ever win the war on terror?’ Of course you can." George W. Bush, April 13 2004
You just can’t make this stuff up.
George W. Bush, in an interview broadcast Monday by the ‘Today’ show, told host Matt Lauer that he doesn’t think his ‘War on Terror’ is winnable. "I don’t think you can win it," said Bush. "But I think you can create conditions so that those who use terror (…)