contributions

by Matt Daily
A U.S. grand jury issued a subpoena to Halliburton Co. seeking information about its Cayman Islands unit’s work in Iran, where it is illegal for U.S. companies to operate, Halliburton said on Monday.
The oilfield services company, formerly headed by Vice President Dick Cheney, said it understood that the investigation of its subsidiary’s work in Iran had been transferred to the U.S. Department of Justice from the Treasury Department, which first initiated an inquiry in (…)

by MATTHEW B. STANNARD
Sgt. 1st Class Alec Giess clenched his eyes shut as he struggled to recall how his fellow Oregon National Guardsmen found him after a truck, swerving to avoid a suspected land mine, ejected him onto an Iraqi roadway — then rolled on top of him.
"If my boots weren’t sticking out from under the truck, they probably wouldn’t have found me. It was like the Wicked Witch of the East in ... " He paused, his face a mask of concentration. "What is that? Oh, yeah, ’The (…)

by Danny Schechter
In July of 2004, much of what was left of the pretexts and rationalizations for the US invasion of Iraq had unraveled.
•Richard Clarke, President’s Bush’s own Terrorism coordinator went public with a view of the war as evidence of a FAILURE of policy. It was, he charged based on insider knowledge, not only NOT part of the war on terror but undermining of it.
•Experienced Military leaders like General Zinni and others condemned it as military FAILURE.
•A Senate (…)

By John Diamond
U.S. military commanders in Iraq authorized the use of dogs for interrogations at the Abu Ghraib prison five months after Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld barred the practice for terrorism suspects at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, according to classified military documents.
Lt. Gen. Ricardo Sanchez, then the U.S. commander in Iraq, allowed dogs to be present during interrogations beginning Sept. 14, 2003. In an update of his order a month later, Sanchez allowed dogs to be used (…)

Don’t We Wish
Anyone concerned about the direction America is headed, should be concerned by the proposed schedule of the Democratic Convention. In the old days, conventions were a place for delegates from across the country to gather and debate the issues and create a platform for the party. Nowadays, the Democratic Leaderhship Council (the corporate controllers of the party) have decided that debating the issues is not really necessary- we already know all we need to know thanks to the (…)

by Robert Fisk
This is how they like it. An American helicopter fires four missiles at a house in Fallujah. Fourteen people are killed, including women and children. Or so say the hospital authorities.
But no Western journalist dares to go to Fallujah. Video footage taken by local civilians shows only a hole in the ground, body parts under a grey blanket and an unnamed man shouting that young children were killed.
The US authorities say they know nothing about the air strike; indeed, (…)

By Jenifer Johnston
PRESIDENT George Bush has promised that if re-elected in November he will make regime change in Iran his new target.
Bush named Iran as part of the Axis of Evil along with North Korea and Iraq almost three years ago. A US government official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said that military action would not be overt in changing Iran, but rather that the US would work to stir revolts in the country and hope to topple the current conservative religious leadership. (…)

By Brian Faler
The Michigan Republican Party submitted more than 40,000 signatures last week in a bid to get independent presidential candidate Ralph Nader on the state’s November ballot.
Of course, this is not really about helping Nader. It is all about helping President Bush and hurting Democratic presidential candidate John F. Kerry’s campaign in a closely contested state.
The Michigan GOP denies that, of course. Matt Davis, a spokesman for the group, said it was merely concerned (…)

By JOHN M. BRODER
LOS ANGELES, July 18 - With his frustration mounting this weekend over his inability to muscle a budget through the Legislature, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger called his Democratic opponents "girlie men" and vowed to work to unseat them in November.
At an appearance on Saturday in Ontario, Calif., Mr. Schwarzenegger, a Republican, criticized the leaders of the Democratic-dominated Legislature, saying they were part of a political system that was "out of shape, that is out (…)

By Don Hazen, AlterNet.
It’s time the Fox News Channel stopped using its ridiculously inaccurate "Fair and Balanced" slogan. AlterNet has filed a legal challenge to that trademark and joined a campaign against Rupert Murdoch’s partisan network.
As Robert Greenwald’s film "Outfoxed" generates controversy and acclaim, AlterNet joins MoveOn.org in a major campaign to challenge Fox as a partisan news channel - a 24/7 commercial for a political party, and an insult to America’s media (…)