NY appeals court: Whitman not liable in Sept. 11 air case

Former EPA chief Christine Todd Whitman cannot be held liable for telling residents near the World Trade Center site that the air was safe to breathe after the 2001 terrorist attacks, a federal appeals court said Tuesday.

Scientists urge cutbacks in U.S. nuclear arsenal

The group, mostly physicists at major U.S. universities who have collectively won 23 Nobel Prizes, said that the existing U.S. weapons program was undermining the nation's security.

CIA to describe North Korea-Syria nuclear ties

CIA officials will tell Congress on Thursday that North Korea had been helping Syria build a plutonium-based nuclear reactor, a U.S. official said, a disclosure that could touch off new resistance to the administration's plan to ease sanctions on Pyongyang.

The CIA officials will tell lawmakers that they believe the reactor would have been capable of producing plutonium for nuclear weapons but was destroyed before it could do so, the U.S. official said, apparently referring to a suspicious installation in Syria that was bombed last year by Israeli warplanes.

G.O.P. Set to Block Bill Easing Limits on Pay Discrimination Suits

Senate Republicans said on Tuesday that they were confident they would be able to block legislation intended to reverse a Supreme Court ruling last year that established tight time restrictions on lawsuits over pay discrimination.

But Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky and other Republicans said the bill, which is opposed by the business community and the Bush administration, could create a flood of lawsuits.

Inmate Count in U.S. Dwarfs Other Nations’

The United States has less than 5 percent of the world’s population. But it has almost a quarter of the world’s prisoners.

Indeed, the United States leads the world in producing prisoners, a reflection of a relatively recent and now entirely distinctive American approach to crime and punishment. Americans are locked up for crimes — from writing bad checks to using drugs — that would rarely produce prison sentences in other countries. And in particular they are kept incarcerated far longer than prisoners in other nations.

No Comprehensive U.S Plan for al-Qaeda in Pakistan

The Bush administration has not drafted a comprehensive plan to destroy a resurgent Al Qaeda or other militant groups in the tribal areas of Pakistan and has not adequately monitored the billions in U.S. taxpayer dollars sent to the Pakistani government to combat the groups, according to a sharply critical report by an independent government watchdog agency issued Thursday.

Meanwhile, the tribal region, which borders Afghanistan, has become such a haven for Al Qaeda and other Islamic extremist groups that it now poses what may be the greatest terrorist threat to Americans both at home and abroad, the GAO report says, citing recent testimony from top U.S. officials.

DOD data: More forced to stay in Army

The Army has accelerated its policy of involuntary extensions of duty to bolster its troop levels, despite Defense Secretary Robert Gates' order last year to limit it, Pentagon records show.

The policy shows the Army is "unraveling a bit" while "under tremendous strain," said Rep. Joe Sestak, a Pennsylvania Democrat and retired vice admiral. Sestak, a member of the House Armed Services Committee, said relying on stop loss could be masking problems the Army is having with recruiting.

Double number of ex-cons join the US army

The US army doubled its use of "moral waivers" for enlisted soldiers last year to cope with the demands of the Iraq war, allowing sex offenders, people convicted of making terrorist threats, and child abusers into the military, new records released yesterday showed.

Hamas ready to accept Gaza truce

Starvation is apparently a very effective bargaining chip.

Hamas said today it is prepared to accept a partial truce that would cover only the Gaza Strip, in an apparent softening of the Islamist group's position.

Israeli sources credit the turnabout in Hamas's position to the economic and military pressure on Gaza, the Israeli newspaper Ha'aretz reported. It said senior Israeli officials had noted a change in Hamas positions in recent days, at least in seeking a lull in fighting in Gaza. But Israel has yet to commit itself officially to a ceasefire and is waiting for a detailed proposal to be delivered via Egypt.

Bank bail-out to total £100bn before credit crisis ends

Britain's biggest banks believe the Bank of England's emergency lending scheme will eventually have to pay out at least £100bn, or double the £50bn aid package initially proposed, sources said last night.

UN food chief urges crisis action

"We're seeing about 100 million people... who maybe didn't need assistance six months ago but today simply can't afford enough food for their family."

Ms Sheeran said the price of rice in Asia had soared from $460 a ton on 3 March to more than $1,000 seven weeks later. The global prices of wheat, rice and maize have nearly doubled in the past year.

"We can purchase less food than we could in June - in fact, 40% less," she said.

Al-Qaeda Accuses Iran of 9/11 Conspiracy

You mean Iran and al-Qaeda aren't part of the same giant "Enemy"?

In an audio tape posted on the internet, Zawahiri insisted al-Qaeda had carried out the attacks on the US. He accused Iran, and its Hezbollah allies, of trying to discredit Osama Bin Laden's network.

Correspondents say the comments underline al-Qaeda's increasing public hostility towards Iran.

HRW Report: Saudi women 'kept in childhood'

The report says that Saudi women are denied the legal right to make even trivial decisions for their children - women cannot open bank accounts for children, enroll them in school, obtain school files or travel with their children without written permission from the child's father.



The full report is here.

US Navy Engineer Arrested on Spying for Israel

Courtesy of our special 'friend' and ally.

According to the complaint filed in Manhattan federal court, Mr Kadish borrowed several classified documents related to national defence from the army's research centre between 1980 and 1985 and took them to his home in New Jersey.

Mr Kadish would then hand over the documents at his home to the Israeli consular official, who would photograph them in the basement, it added.

Iran and Syria to Join US talks in Kuwait

From Bahrain Ms Rice will travel on to Kuwait for talks with countries that neighbor Iraq.

Officials from Iran and Syria are expected at the discussions in Kuwait although there are no plans for the secretary of state to meet them.

U.S. to Expand Collection Of Crime Suspects' DNA

The U.S. government will soon begin collecting DNA samples from all citizens arrested in connection with any federal crime and from many immigrants detained by federal authorities, adding genetic identifiers from more than 1 million individuals a year to the swiftly growing federal law enforcement DNA database.

The policy will substantially expand the current practice of routinely collecting DNA samples from only those convicted of federal crimes, and it will build on a growing policy among states to collect DNA from many people who are arrested. Thirteen states do so now and turn their data over to the federal government.

Amid Housing Crisis, Bush Appoints HUD Novice

Heckuva job version 2.0?

President Bush yesterday named Steven C. Preston as his new secretary of Housing and Urban Development, installing a well-regarded corporate and government administrator -- yet one with little experience in housing issues -- as his point person in dealing with the consequences of the subprime mortgage meltdown.

For the past 18 months, Preston has headed the Small Business Administration, where he upgraded an agency that had been criticized for its response to Hurricane Katrina.

Bush Meets North Korean President

Saturday's meeting between Lee Myung-bak and George Bush was the first ever by a South Korean president with a US president at the secluded retreat of Camp David, northwest of Washington.

If Pyongyang makes the statement, the US is expected to ease some sanctions imposed under the US "state sponsors of terrorism" list and the US Trading With the Enemy Act.

Hamas Willing to Accept Peace Settlement

Carter said Hamas leaders had told him they would accept a peace agreement negotiated by Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian president whose Fatah faction controls the West Bank, if Palestinians approved the deal in a vote.

"It means that Hamas will not undermine Abbas' efforts to negotiate an agreement and Hamas will accept an agreement if the Palestinians support it in a free vote."

Israel and Syria in Third Party Talks

Syria's president has confirmed exchanging messages with Israel through an unnamed third party, saying that both sides are exploring the possibility of resuming peace negotiations.

Last week an Israeli newspaper, Yediot Ahronot, quoted Ehud Olmert, the Israeli prime minister, as saying that Israel and Syria have been exchanging messages to clarify expectations for any future peace treaty.

Retired Generals Used to Spread Propaganda to News Outlets

But, but, but the liberal Media.......

Again and again, records show, the administration has enlisted analysts as a rapid reaction force to rebut what it viewed as critical news coverage, some of it by the networks’ own Pentagon correspondents. For example, when news articles revealed that troops in Iraq were dying because of inadequate body armor, a senior Pentagon official wrote to his colleagues: “I think our analysts — properly armed — can push back in that arena.”

U.S. Military Seeks to Widen Pakistan Raids

But didn't Obama show his naivety by suggesting American forces pursue Bin Laden in Pakistan?

American commanders in Afghanistan have in recent months urged a widening of the war that could include American attacks on indigenous Pakistani militants in the tribal areas inside Pakistan, according to United States officials.

One administration official said the internal discussions in Washington involved President Bush’s top national security aides, and took place earlier this year.

WHO: 151,000 Civilian Deaths in Iraq

The World Health Organization said its study, based on interviews with families, indicated with a 95 percent degree of statistical certainty that between 104,000 and 223,000 civilians had died. It based its estimate of 151,000 deaths on that range.

The New Pakistan Army Chief

Looks like the US has already selected the next dictator of Pakistan.

As he has risen through the military, General Kayani has impressed American military and intelligence officials as a professional, pro-Western moderate with few political ambitions. But the elevation to army chief has been known to change Pakistani officers.

Foiling U.S. Plan, Prison Expands in Afghanistan

In a confidential memorandum last summer, the Red Cross said dozens of prisoners had been held incommunicado for weeks or even months in a previously undisclosed warren of isolation cells at Bagram, two American officials said. The Red Cross said the prisoners were kept from its inspectors and sometimes subjected to cruel treatment in violation of the Geneva Conventions, one of the officials said.

Israeli intransigence to greet Bush

Even before George Bush, the US president, arrives in the Middle East, Israel has its red lines all drawn up: It will continue its control of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip and expansion of Jewish settlements despite the ongoing talks with the Palestinians.

UN warns of threat to world economy

There is a “clear and present danger” of the global economy slowing to near standstill in 2008 because of a looming recession in the US, the United Nations said on Wednesday.

UAE reflects Bush's new realism

Mr Bush will no doubt speak about democratisation but the freedom agenda promoted four years ago has dropped down the list of concerns as elections in the region have turned out to favour Islamists rather than secular friends of the US. Like its predecessors, the administration has reverted to preferring stability with known allies, however autocratic they might be.

Lack of Democracy Threatens Pakistan Unity

And yet Bush continues to stifle democracy in Pakistan.

Meanwhile, some here in Karachi, capital of Sindh province, are threatening to wage war against the Pakistani army unless Sindhis win more power in elections scheduled for next month. Punjabis have long been overrepresented in the army, which is widely blamed here for Bhutto's death, despite the government's insistence that Islamic extremists were responsible.

Old Enemies are New Friends in Iraq

The United States is empowering a new group of Sunni leaders, including onetime members of former president Saddam Hussein's Baath Party, intelligence services and army, who are challenging established Sunni politicians for their community's leadership. The phenomenon marks a sharp turnaround in U.S. policy and the fortunes of Iraq's Sunni minority.

West Point Study on Foreign Fighers in Iraq

Although it remains unclear the degree to which Shiite-dominant Iran is influencing the violence in Iraq, the analysis indicates that most of the foreign intervention is Sunni-based, which includes Al Qaeda.

America's Stolen Nuclear Secrets

One of the CIA sources confirmed that the Turks had acquired nuclear secrets from the United States and shared the information with Pakistan and Israel. “We have no indication that Turkey has its own nuclear ambitions. But the Turks are traders. To my knowledge they became big players in the late 1990s,” the source said.

Israel to Brief Bush on Iran Strike Options

Ehud Barak, the defence minister, is said to want to convince him that an Israeli military strike against uranium enrichment facilities in Iran would be feasible if diplomatic efforts failed to halt nuclear operations. A range of military options has been prepared.

Most Pakistan Democracy Funds Go to Musharif

The entire U.S. budget for democracy programs in Pakistan in 2006 amounted to about $22 million, according to State Department documents, much of it reserved for aiding the Election Commission -- an entity largely controlled by Musharraf.

Crisis in Pakistan Tribal Areas

Several of the participants in the meeting argued that the threat to the government of President Pervez Musharraf was now so grave that both Mr. Musharraf and Pakistan’s new military leadership were likely to give the United States more latitude, officials said.

Libya Foreign Minister Holds Talks with Rice

So Libya is now on the side of the good guys?

A Human Rights Watch report yesterday charged Libya with serious human rights abuses, including disappearances of three political prisoners over the past 18 months. "We welcome improved relations between Libya and the U.S., but not at the expense of political prisoners, torture victims and other Libyans who suffer abuse," HRW Mideast director Sarah Leah Whitson said in a statement.

Bush Curtails Children Covered by Medicaid

That's some good compassionate conservatism there, George.

Federal officials challenged Louisiana to explain why it did not want to enforce the one-year waiting period for children who had lost private health insurance because of a parent’s death or the failure of a business where a parent was employed.

International Crisis Group: Drop Musharaf

The regime’s international backers, particularly the U.S., continue to give signs of wanting to retain Musharraf in the presidency in the belief that he and the military (his sole support base) are the only guarantors of stability in a crucial country. But after Bhutto’s murder, and with the extent of popular anger now evident, elections that are not seen as free and fair would have disastrous consequences. The person of Musharraf has become so unpopular that his continuation in a position of power guarantees increasing domestic turmoil. By continuing to back him, Western governments might not just lose the battle for Pakistani hearts and minds, but could also be faced with the nightmare prospect of a nuclear-armed, Muslim-majority country of 165 million descending into violent internal conflict from which only extremist forces would stand to gain.

Mexican farmers protest NAFTA

Corn and beans are staples of the Mexican diet and subsistence crops for millions of farmers. Opponents of NAFTA said the free entry of relatively cheap U.S. corn would devastate rural Mexico and help spur more immigration.

Israel Put Bases in Arab Areas to Deter Hezbollah

"Arab towns and villages that suffered the most intensive attacks during the war were ones that were surrounded by military installations, either on a permanent basis or temporarily during the course of the war."

The findings seem to support widespread complaints earlier voiced by Israel’s Arab legislators that their communities were used to deter the Lebanese Shia militia, Hezbollah, from targeting Israeli military positions.

The Sunni Divide in Iraq

As violence has faded, an argument has been raging over who really speaks for Iraq's Sunni Arab minority: the province's largely secular and fiercely independent tribal leaders, who resisted the U.S. invasion, or the main Sunni political party, an Islamist group led by former exiles who cooperated with the Americans from the start.

Bush Negotiates with Terrorists

The US on Thursday signalled its support for holding secret talks with the Taliban in Afghanistan despite a long-held publicly stated policy of never negotiating with the Islamic militant group.

Britain to Arm Afgan Tribes

He said he had come under strong pressure from one of the foreign missions in Kabul to agree to non-uniformed “loose militias”.

“I did not agree to that, we do not want to create mujahedeen groups when we have worked so hard on national disarmament.”

Bush Issues Signing Statment on Sudan Divestment

Mr. Bush’s signature was accompanied by a proviso known as a signing statement, in which he said he was reserving the authority to overrule state and local divestment decisions if they conflicted with foreign policy. The statement said the measure “risks being interpreted as insulating” state and local divestment actions from federal oversight.

Fed ‘caught off guard’ by rate of US slowdown

“Participants agreed that the housing correction was likely to be both deeper and more prolonged than they had anticipated in October,”

Good Timeline of the CIA Tapes

The investigations over the tapes frustrate some C.I.A. veterans, who say they believe that the agency is being unfairly blamed for policies of coercive interrogation approved at the top of the Bush administration and by some Congressional leaders

Musharif Welcomes Scottland Yard Inquiry

Well sort of....

But Mr. Musharraf said the investigators would not be permitted to interview any of the four government officials that Ms. Bhutto said in a letter before her return to Pakistan in October she would consider responsible if anything happened to her.

Lobbyists Finding Loopholes in New Regulations

“Congress wants to take credit for passing reforms but then go into the back rooms and gut the reforms at the level of interpretation, implementation and enforcement.”

Election power of the Israel lobby

As US presidential candidates battle it out to become the leader of the world's only superpower there is one subject on which they all, in public at least, agree - the US relationship with Israel.

The Shia Divide in Iraq

So the US wants a united Iraq, but backs the Shia who want independence?

A referendum on creating an autonomous Shiite region of nine provinces is scheduled for April, mandated by Iraq's constitution, although political deadlines in Iraq are seldom met. The Supreme Council wants a mini-Shiite state, but opponents such as Sadr, who views himself as an Iraqi nationalist, fear it will lead to a breakup of the country.

Bush Vetos Military Bill

Why does George Bush hate our military?

For months President Bush harangued Democrats in Congress for not moving quickly enough to support the troops and for bogging down military bills with unrelated issues.

US Wary of Pakistan's Explanation of Bhutto Killing

“As far as I know, the Pakistanis are saying this is it, this is the proof,” said a senior State Department official, who, like other officials contacted for this article, spoke on condition of anonymity because of the continuing investigation. “Before our guys say yes or no, they need a hell of a lot more than one thing, even if it is a substantial piece of evidence.”

Sad but True

"The people of Darfur simply don't matter enough: They're poor, they're black, they're Muslim, and they don't sit on any natural resource," he said. "You can't get any lower than that on the geopolitical pecking order."

US Rigging Pakistan Election?

The report names a recently retired ISI officer who has allegedly been running the rigging unit and claims he worked in tandem with another named senior intelligence officer. It also claims that US aid funds were being used for the projects.

Highway Apartheid Revisited

But for the Association of Civil Rights in Israel the prohibition on Palestinian use of the road is "an extreme and grave example" of what it calls "the State of Israel's publicly declared policy of separation and [illegal] discrimination on the basis of ethnic origin in territories under its control."

Bhutto: Assassinated by Pakistan or al-Qaeda?

Any evidence that a lone suicide bomber carried out the attack would support the government's assertion that al-Qaeda was responsible; proof that shots were fired would fuel the suspicion of many within Bhutto's Pakistan People's Party (PPP) that elements within the Pakistani state were to blame.

Iraq Anglican Leader: Country Better Under Saddam

Life was “better” for Christians in Iraq under the regime of Saddam Hussein than it is today, according to the only Anglican vicar working in Baghdad.

Justice Department to Investigate CIA Tapes

The Bush administration has so far refused to co-operate with the congressional investigation.

Budget Includes $300m for Pakistan

Tythes for Tyrants

The rift between the administration and Congress on the way forward in Pakistan was substantive, and that the legislation was meant to send a stern message -- not only to the State Department, but to Pakistan's military brass.

Quid Pro Quo on Emission Standards

Bush tightens them federally, but loosens them at the state level.

Industry analysts and environmental groups said the E.P.A. decision had the appearance of a reward to the industry, in return for dropping its opposition to the energy legislation. Auto industry leaders issued statements supporting the new energy law, which gives them more time to improve fuel economy than California would have.

Turkish troops cross Iraqi border

Some 300 Turkish soldiers crossed into northern Iraq in pursuit of Kurdish guerrillas yesterday in the wake of the heaviest air raids for years by the Turkish airforce on the mountain hideouts of the rebels.

American Healthcare

The US now spends 17 per cent of its gross domestic product on healthcare – roughly double the average for wealthy countries. Much of this burden falls on employers, who are pointing with increasing frenzy to the disadvantage of competing with countries that fund their healthcare through tax revenues.

Ex-Treasury Secretary on Mortgage Crisis

He dismissed suggestions by Republican lawmakers that an extension of President George W. Bush’s tax cuts would provide an effective fiscal remedy. “Fiscal stimulus is critical but could be counterproductive if it is not timely, targeted and temporary,”

US weighs Iraq post-surge troop levels

You mean the surge isn't the end of the war?

General George Casey, the army chief of staff who preceded Gen Petraeus in Iraq, has repeatedly warned that the US is deploying in Iraq at an unsustainable pace.

DOD Nominee Gives Maliki Government An 'F'

"At this time, I would give the Maliki government an 'F'," Mary Beth Long told the Senate Armed Services Committee during her confirmation hearing today. The nascent government has not performed in an "exemplary manner" to pass needed legislation, Long said.

I don't believe in God, Lib Dem leader reveals

In America they would have him drawn and quartered.

Nick Clegg, the new Liberal Democrat leader, fulfilled his promise to take risks yesterday by revealing that he does not believe in God.

British Colonel Speaks Out on Iraq

“I think the whole enterprise has been characterised by muddled thinking and lack of planning and over-optimism.”

Pakistan's System of Secret Arrests and Prisons

Was the coup just a cover up on behalf of the US?

In some cases, detainees recounted that they had been interrogated in the presence of English-speaking foreigners, who human rights officials and lawyers suspect are Americans.

Fed Approves Plan to Curb Risky Lending

The Bush administration has pushed for voluntary agreements aimed at avoiding some, but far from all, of the foreclosures expected next year.

Voluntary emission standards, voluntary lending laws.

Bush Lawyers Discussed Fate of C.I.A.Tapes

The accounts indicate that the involvement of White House officials in the discussions before the destruction of the tapes in November 2005 was more extensive than Bush administration officials have acknowledged.

Pentagon Says Services in Iraq Are Stagnant

More progress in Iraq.

There have been only “minimal advances in the delivery of essential services to the people of Iraq, mainly due to sectarian bias in targeting and execution of remedial programs.”

Abu Zubaida May Have Confabulated Under Torture

FBI officials, including agents who questioned him after his capture or reviewed documents seized from his home, have concluded that even though he knew some al-Qaeda players, he provided interrogators with increasingly dubious information as the CIA's harsh treatment intensified in late 2002.

Iraq Parliament Condems Turkish Bombings

Someone forgot to tell them who the real leaders of Iraq are.

"We strongly condemn this cruel attack on Iraqi sovereignty and on the principle of friendly neighbourhood," the Iraqi parliament said in a statement that spoke of "several innocent civilian casualties"

Turkey Gets US Permission for Iraq Bombings

The United States is now the official owner of all Iraq.

Massoud Barzani, president of the Kurdish regional government, which administers three northern Iraqi provinces, called the attack "a violation of Iraq's sovereignty." He blamed the U.S. military, which controls Iraqi airspace, for allowing Turkish warplanes to cross the border. The Iraqi parliament also condemned the attacks yesterday.

Republicans Fight to Privatize the Court System

Sick.

"The fact of the matter is that the little guy is, by and large, better off in arbitration than trying to get to court."

UK Guantanamo Detainee Near Suicide

Not even rapists and murders are treated like this.

Dr Daniel Creson, a respected psychiatrist from Texas who has extensive experience in the treatment of the victims of torture, warns that the deterioration in Mr Mohamed's health suggests that he "is reaching the end of his psychological tether".

Musharraf’s "Restoration of Constitution" a Sham

Being a dictator is okay as long as you're a "friend" of the United States.

Since November 3, Musharraf has repeatedly and arbitrarily amended the constitution to enshrine the legality of various laws and provide himself and the military blanket immunity for all actions taken during emergency rule. The executive order to amend the constitution includes a number of amendments that would normally require a two-thirds majority in parliament to become law.

UK has left behind murder and chaos, says Basra police chief

Link includes 6 min video.

"I don't think the British meant for this mess to happen. When they disbanded the Iraqi police and military after Saddam fell the people they put in their place were not loyal to the Iraqi government. The British trained and armed these people in the extremist groups and now we are faced with a situation where these police are loyal to their parties not their country."

Turkey Bombs Northern Iraq

What if Iran had done this?

The early morning attack, confirmed by Turkey, renewed concerns of a major new front opening in the Iraq war.

House Judiciary Committe Members Demand Impeachment

It's about time.

"For an administration that has consistently skirted the Constitution and asserted that it is above the law, it is imperative for Congress to make clear that we do not accept this dangerous precedent. Our Founding Fathers provided Congress the power of impeachment for just this reason, and we must now at least consider using it.

US Makes Minor Concessions at Bali

Which country is the rogue state now?

But nothing else matched the point on Saturday, in the final tumultuous plenary, when the American team was booed for trying to block a proposal by India.

Intensified Spying Began in Early 2001

No wonder Bush doesn't want these lawsuits to go forward.

“What he saw,” said Bruce Afran, a New Jersey lawyer representing the plaintiffs along with Carl Mayer, “was decisive evidence that within two weeks of taking office, the Bush administration was planning a comprehensive effort of spying on Americans’ phone usage.”

A Beacon of Democracy in the Middle East?

“Victory” in George Bush's wars will at most mean preventing catastrophe.

Afganistan on Shakey Ground

Bush will probably just blame it all on Iran...

“I have a real concern that given our preoccupation in Iraq, we’ve not devoted sufficient troops and funding to Afghanistan to ensure success in that mission,” Mr. Skelton said. “Afghanistan has been the forgotten war.”

US Helps Ethiopia Create "Mini-Darfur"

The Bush administration considers Ethiopia its No. 1 ally in combating terrorism in the Horn of Africa.

Human Rights Watch says it has documented dozens of cases of severe abuse by Ethiopian troops in the Ogaden, including gang rapes, burned villages and what it calls “demonstration killings,” like hangings and beheadings, meant to terrorize the population.

US: Returning Refugees May Destabilize Iraq

For the military, the prospect of refugees returning to reclaim houses long since occupied by others, particularly in Baghdad, threatened to destroy fragile security improvements.

"There is an element of the violence being down because segregation has already happened," said Col. William E. Rapp, a senior aide to Gen. David H. Petraeus, the top U.S. commander in Iraq. "The violence is still at the fault lines, and we're sitting on those fault lines."

Britain Cedes Control of Basra

Another "Coalition of the Killing" member cuts and runs.

Whatever mistakes have been made," Mr Blair was saying in mid-2004, "... let us be pleased that Iraq is liberated."

Collective Punishment in Gaza

Hey, that's what you deserve for voting the wrong way in a free electon.

"They have turned Gaza into an animal farm -- we only are allowed to get what keeps us alive"

You Mean we can't just bomb the hate out of them?

"There is one important point Bush forgot: That is, terrorists operate relying on beliefs; they brainwash young people and turn them into sheep ready to commit suicide."

Gitmo Trials Denied to keep Torture Methods Concealed

A UN investigator strongly suspects the CIA of using torture on inmates at Guantanamo Bay - suggesting many were not being prosecuted to keep the abuse from emerging at trial.

"Bringing them to court would bring to the court's attention the method through which the evidence, including the confessions, were obtained."

American Geophysical Union: Artic Melting Faster than Ever Predicted

But it is has become apparent in recent years that the real, observed rate of summer ice melting is now starting to run well ahead of the models.

England Now In Talks With the Taliban Too

Senior British officers currently involved with the Afghan mission have confirmed to The Independent that direct contact with the Taliban has led to insurgents changing sides as well as bringing intelligence which has led to their leaders being killed or captured

And yet the US still refuses to talk to Iran....

Ethiopia denies Somalia bombing

Because when they're on our side, it doesn't count as terrorism.

Ethiopia and government troops have been accused of shelling residential areas on numerous occasions in the past year.

Bush warns against Syrian interference in Lebanon

"Clearly Syria has been interfering in Lebanon for far too long," said White House spokeswoman Dana Perino.

Because we all know that as sole proprietors of the world, only America is allowed to use terrorism to manipulate Lebanon.

NATO-led nations meet to tackle Afghan insurgency

Didn't Bush once say something about "finishing the job?"

Insurgent violence is at its highest level in Afghanistan since U.S.-led forces ousted the Taliban after the September 11, 2001 attacks against the United States.

U.S. Debating Shift of Support in Somali Conflict

U.S. military officials say Somalia is the greatest source of instability in the Horn of Africa, leading them to seek new ways to contain the violence there.

Now whose fault is that????

Rove and Bolten Held in Contempt of Congress

By 12 to 7, the committee voted citations against Joshua B. Bolten, the White House chief of staff, and Karl Rove, the president’s former chief political adviser, for refusing to comply with subpoenas in a Congressional inquiry into the firings of nine federal prosecutors.

Top Gitmo Judge: "Even a good military tribunal is a bad idea”

Prior terrorism and organized crime cases, he wrote, showed that “the existing United States criminal justice system does not have to be put aside simply because the potential defendants have scary friends.”

Whitehouse Pushed for Lower Reporting of Toxic Chemicals

The GAO auditors determined that the change would allow more than 3,500 facilities to no longer disclose detailed information about released toxic chemicals. It said 22,000 fewer TRI reports would be available to the public, a 25 percent decline.