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The Illinois 14th district challenger to Republican Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert has released the following campaign notes:
[zamoraforcongress] Notes from Ruben.
Dear Friends and Supporters,
Tales from Boston
Two weeks ago at this time I was in Boston at the DNC with some of you. We had a great time and met a lot of people, both big names and ordinary people. Though being in the midst of celebrities, well-known politicians, and tenured social activists was inspiring, I really (…)

Thailand has started to withdraw its military unit from Iraq just short of its one-year commitment, a spokesman said on Tuesday. The last of the 443 Thai soldiers, originally scheduled to return to Thailand by Sept. 20, will be out of Iraq by the end of August, Gen. Pisanu Urailert said.
But military spokesman Maj. Gen. Palangoon Klaharn said the move did not amount to an early pull-out. "This is not regarded as moving out early, but a step-by-step process," he said, adding that the Thai (…)

Pakistan and Britain are accusing the Bush administration of undermining its fight against al Qaeda by revealing the name of computer expert Mohammad Naeem Noor Khan while he was still working as an undercover double agent. We speak with Middle East expert and online blogger Juan Cole. [includes rush transcript] New York senator Chuck Schumer is asking the White House to explain how and why the name of an al-Qaeda informant arrested in Pakistan last month was leaked to the press.
The name (…)

By MATTHEW PENNINGTON
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan - President Gen. Pervez Musharraf says Pakistan has been "90 percent" successful in arresting suspects behind a series of high-profile terror attacks, including against key government leaders.
Yet senior officials said Tuesday that some al-Qaida fugitives escaped after news reports revealed the arrest of a computer expert for Osama bin Laden’s network who was cooperating with investigators.
Muhammad Naeem Noor Khan, a 25-year-old Pakistani, was (…)

The first criminal trial involving former Enron Corp. executives has been delayed to allow defense attorneys to prepare for the government’s intention to seek enhanced prison sentences.
U.S. District Judge Ewing Werlein on Tuesday postponed the Aug. 18 conspiracy trial of four former Merrill Lynch & Co. executives and two former midlevel Enron executives to Sept. 20 to allow more time for trial preparations, defense attorneys said.
The six defendants are accused of helping push (…)

The Danish contingent in Iraq has suspended handing over prisoners to British forces following the reinstatement of capital punishment by the Iraqi government.
Danish soldiers, who operate under British command in Iraq, had previously handed over captured insurgents and suspected criminals to the custody of British forces, but have a preliminary agreement that the British will not hand them over to others without Danish consent.
"Until that loose agreement becomes more explicit, we’re (…)

US helicopter gunships opened fire on Shiite militants hiding in Najaf’s massive cemetery today as US patrols armed with speakers warned the militants to leave the city immediately or face death.
US tanks drove into the cemetery, explosions shook the streets and black smoke rose over parts of the city, but the fighting with militant Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr’s Mahdi Army militia appeared more sporadic than in recent days.
A large fire broke out at a hotel about 300 metres from the (…)

By TERENCE HUNT
WASHINGTON - Facing pressure to withdraw his troops, Poland’s prime minister told President Bush on Monday that "no one wants to stay in Iraq forever." Polish-led forces turned over control of two provinces to Marines because of the worsening violence in Najaf.
President Bush said Poles "have been great allies" in Iraq and their troops have performed "brilliantly."
Bush met in the Oval Office with Prime Minister Marek Belka, who came to Washington to talk with the (…)

Fla. Congressman Heads House Intelligence Committee
By Mike Allen, Fred Barbash and Walter Pincus
President Bush today nominated a Republican congressman, Rep. Porter J. Goss of Florida, to head the Central Intelligence Agency, describing him as a "reformer" who "knows the agency and knows what’s needed to strengthen it."
Goss, a former officer in the CIA’s clandestine service, has long been mentioned as a leading candidate to replace George J. Tenet, who resigned as CIA director in (…)

I mean really. How much longer are we going to let this go on? John Kerry is a horrible horrible candidate. Every day it seems to get worse. It was an embarrassment to our country when Bush stood naked in front of the American people at his press conference explaining that ’knowing what he knows now, he still would have gone into Iraq.’ We have come to accept that Bush is insane, but it makes no sense why John Kerry is following his path of being unable to accept responsibility or admit (…)