HEADLINES

U.S. escalates its pursuit of bin Laden: The Central Intelligence Agency has moved at least two unmanned aerial vehicles, both armed with Hellfire missiles, from Iraq to Afghanistan, and that the military's Central Command is moving an unspecified number of special forces soldiers from Iraq to Afghanistan.

Eric Margolis: Campaign checklist - first, find Osama ... : Bush must find al-Qaida leader before November election

Maureen Dowd: Sorry, Right Number: After trying to kill the commission and then trying to put Dr. Strangelove-Kissinger in charge, President Bush and Dick Cheney have done their best to hamper the panel that's the best hope of the 9/11 widows, widowers and orphans to get justice.

Giuliani: Bush's dream ticket : US PRESIDENT George Bush is ready to pull off the biggest shock of this year’s election campaign by naming Rudy Giuliani as his running mate at the Republican convention in Manhattan in September.

Serving Two Flags: Neo-Cons, Israel and the Bush Administration: Appointees should be rejected who have demonstrated, in their previous government service, a willingness to sacrifice U.S. national security interests for those of another country, or an inability to distinguish one from the other.

Three Palestinians killed in Israeli strike: An Israeli aircraft hit a car in Gaza, killing three people and wounding at least 15 others, medical workers said.

U.S. has lost its moral right to preach: Look who's preaching to Israel: Last Wednesday, the U.S. State Department released its annual report on the state of human rights around the world. The chapter devoted to Israel makes the usual detailed and gloomy reading.

Why Israel boycotted the International Court hearing on West Bank wall: Israel’s refusal to appear before the International Court of Justice (ICJ) hearing on the West Bank security wall demonstrates its longstanding contempt for the United Nations and flouting of international law.

Chavez Supporters Protest U.S. Meddling, Reject Vote: Tens of thousands of supporters of President Hugo Chavez marched on Sunday to protest what they criticized as U.S. meddling and rally support for the leftist leader as he battles an opposition referendum challenge.

Kiss your taxless Net goodbye: An effort by states to collect sales taxes on cyber purchases is likely to unleash a tax onslaught.

02/28/04: Three killed in northern Iraq violence: An Iraqi policeman has been shot dead and two Iraqis killed overnight in fresh violence in the north of the country.

Losing our humanity: Rarely a day passes without American forces being killed in Iraq. Yet, as the steady stream of tragic news seeps out of that country, we appear to be growing less concerned - not more - in the face of a rising death toll for Americans, Iraqis and others.

Wrangling holds up Iraq basic law: So far, officials have failed to reach accord on contentious issues that divide religious and ethnic groups.

Putin Says War in Iraq Encouraged Terror: President Vladimir Putin said Friday the U.S. war in Iraq was a mistake that had encouraged terrorist actions there, adding that Russia would help bolster the U.N. role in the country.

U.S., Pakistan Deny Bin Laden Was Captured : Pentagon and Pakistani officials on Saturday denied an Iranian state radio report that Osama bin Laden was captured in Pakistan's border region with Afghanistan "a long time ago."

I quit because the war against Iraq was illegal, says former government lawyer: Tony Blair's insistence that the war on Iraq was legal suffered a blow yesterday when a former senior government lawyer broke her silence to challenge the assertion.

British intelligence gave Blair 'snippets of Chirac's private conversations': Tony Blair will be challenged next week over allegations that he received British intelligence reports about the private conversations of Jacques Chirac in the approach to the Iraq war.

Blix: I was a target too : The United Nations spying row widened yesterday when its former weapons inspector, Hans Blix, told the Guardian he suspected both his UN office and his home in New York were bugged in the run-up to the Iraq war.

'Britain and US shared transcripts after bugging Blix's mobile phone': The controversy over alleged British and American "dirty tricks" at the United Nations deepened yesterday with claims that two chiefs of Iraq arms inspection missions had been victims of spying.

U.S. Pushes Plan to Go After Suspected WMDs : The United States is pressing the U.N. Security Council to endorse a draft resolution that would allow the use of force against "entities and individuals" suspected of trying to develop, possess or transfer weapons of mass destruction (WMD), diplomats and observers here say.

Israel: U.N. staff see boy shot in back: An Israeli army officer has been suspended after an unarmed Palestinian youth was shot in the back at close range as he waved goodbye to a delegation of visiting United Nations aid workers, the Star has learned.

Chaos rocks Haiti: Crazed gunmen swarm Gazette reporter's convoy: Attack on capital feared within hours. As rebels loot stores and burn buildings, chimères block roads, terrorize journalists

Haiti: Rebel Leaders’ History of Abuses Raises Fears: Among the leaders of the insurgency are such notorious figures as Louis Jodel Chamblain, a former paramilitary responsible for countless atrocities under the military government that ruled Haiti from 1991 to 1994. The reemergence of such violent and lawless men is a worrying portent for Haiti’s future.

Bush accused of supporting Haitian rebels : "The Bush administration is again engaged in regime change by armed aggression," former U.S. attorney general Ramsey Clark said. "This time, the armed aggression is against the administration of the democratically elected president of Haiti."

The Free-Lunch Bunch: The Bush Team's Secret Plan To "Reform" Social Security: According to documents unearthed yesterday from the trove of 19,000 files given to me by former Treasury Secretary Paul O'Neill, and a bit of additional probing, candidate Bush and later President Bush believed in the "Lindsey Plan.

Extended Unemployment Benefits Lose in Senate: A Senate measure to extend federal unemployment benefits failed by two votes Thursday despite the election year support of 12 Republicans from states hit hard by layoffs.

Two shot dead in Mid-East ambush: Two Israelis have been shot dead by suspected Palestinian gunmen on the edge of the West Bank, reports say.

Haitian Capital Descends Into Anarchy : Chaos increasingly engulfed the capital city. Armed thugs hijacked cars at will. Looters hit the capital's seaport, stealing almost everything thing in sight and setting ablaze a freight terminal. Crowds jammed into the airport, only to find most flights canceled.

Bush Believes Aristide Should Resign : The Bush administration believes the best way to avoid an armed rebel takeover in Haiti is for President Jean-Bertrand Aristide to resign and transfer power to his constitutional successor, a senior U.S. official said Friday.

What a difference 14 days make: U.S. Warns Haiti Opposition Against Aristide Ouster: Secretary of State Colin Powell warned Haiti's opposition on Friday against ousting President Jean-Bertrand Aristide, who was restored to power a decade ago by a U.S. invasion and now faces an armed revolt. "We will accept no outcome that is not consistent with the constitution. We will accept no outcome that in any way illegally attempts to remove the elected president of Haiti,"

Hastert u-turns on 9/11 Commission: Speaker J. Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.) has dropped his opposition to a 60-day extension requested by a national commission to write a report analyzing the causes of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

In case you missed it: A War in the Planning for Four Years : The U.S. government had foreknowledge of the World Trade Center attacks and chose not to stop them because it needed to secure public approval for a war that is now in progress. It is a war, as described by Vice President Dick Cheney, “that may not end in our lifetimes.” What that means is that it will not end until all armed groups, anywhere in the world, which possess the political, economic or military ability to resist the imposition of this dictatorship, have been destroyed.

The Rumsfeld-Bush Legal Black Hole: Powers Formerly Reserved Only for Kings: "Pick your favorite constitutional amendment or right: its survival during the war on terror cannot be assumed if the legitimacy of these indefinite detentions is sustained." —Thomas H. Moreland, chair of the Federal Courts Committee of the Association of the Bar of the City of New York, February 6, 2004

Mother Nature, The Hate Crime : What do you get when more than 60 of the world's top scientists, 20 Nobel Laureates among them, get together and write one of the most scathing, damning reports in the history of modern science, aimed squarely at BushCo's thoroughly atrocious record of cover-ups and obfuscations and outright lies regarding the health of the planet?

02/27/04: U.S. forces to pull out from Baghdad: A senior U.S. army commander in Iraq said U.S. forces will be pulled out from Baghdad gradually as of the beginning of April.

Shiite cleric calls for Iraq elections by year's end: In a statement from his office in Najaf, Grand Ayatollah Ali al Husseini al Sistani said he would accept the assumption of power by an unelected administration when the United States returns sovereignty to Iraqis on June 30, but he called for a U.N. Security Council resolution to guarantee that elections would be held soon afterward.

Bush to Limit Interview with 9/11 Panel to an Hour: The panel investigating the Sept. 11 attacks on the United States will get one hour to ask President Bush what he knew about events leading up to the suicide airline hijackings, the White House said on Friday.

Senate Panel Presses Bush On War's Plan: Faced with a refusal by the Bush administration to provide certain documents related to prewar intelligence on Iraq, the Senate intelligence committee voted in a closed session on Thursday to move toward a possible subpoena

Uncle Sugar: George W. Bush, his family and their silky ilk -- the higher hustlers, in search of easy money -- have used bloodshed, hatred and deceit to turn public policy, and public treasuries, into engines of private gain. War profiteering is inevitable, inescapable -- even laudable -- in the waking nightmare of corruption and death they've helped foist upon the world.

In case you missed it: Exposed: The Carlyle Group: Shocking documentary uncovers the subversion of Americas democracy. I defy you to watch this 48 minute documentary and not be outraged about the depth of corruption and deceit within the highest ranks of our government and the first family.

A lesson in 'disappearing the dead' : Since casualties are inevitable, special pains must be taken to explain them away. But how to do so? The Bush administration has taken spin to a new level.

Report: Disappearing the Dead: Iraq, Afghanistan, and the Idea of a "New Warfare": War and Perception: the battle to enable American power.

Audio: Scott Ritter Press Conference: In the wide ranging and hard hitting press conference, Ritter described and denounced major media's role in deceiving the American people into war.

Baghdad Burning: Angry Arabs and American Media...:. I wish everyone could see Al-Hurra- the new 'unbiased' news network started by the Pentagon. The news and reports are so completely biased, they only lack George Bush and Condi Rice as anchors.

When the Punch Line is War: If you take George W. Bush at his word - a dubious and risky prospect, at best - in the space of twenty-four hours he made it clear he has more respect for the sanctity of marriage than for the sanctity of human life.

Who'll spend $18.6 billion?: Charles A. Krohn, the U.S. Army's top civilian public affairs officer, is back at the Pentagon after three months in Baghdad. Krohn now provides the details of a nearly successful money-grab by Washington-based agencies.

US 'may hold cleared detainees': Pentagon officials have confirmed that Guantanamo detainees may still be kept in detention, even if they are found not guilty by a military tribunal.

UN chief stood in way of war plans : In the last few weeks before the invasion of Iraq it became clear that President George Bush, with Tony Blair in tow, was bent on war - and one of the key people standing in his way was the UN secretary general, Kofi Annan.

Duplicity, evasions - but no answers : The revelations of Katharine Gun should not have come as too big a surprise. After all, we have come to expect the worst of our security services when they are guided by men and women of little principle. Yet when we bug our allies to undermine them at the UN, we are plumbing new depths.

Spying On UN Sec General Part Of Larger Campaign To Undermine UN Missions In Iraq

Blix's phone tapped: sources: The British or US intelligence services monitored former United Nations chief weapons inspector Hans Blix's mobile phone whenever he was in Iraq, sources have told the ABC.

How Britain and the US keep watch on the world: Nothing politically or militarily significant, whether mentioned in a telephone call, in a conversation in the office of the secretary general of the United Nations, Kofi Annan, or in a company fax or e-mail, escapes its attention.

Britain's spying shame: Fury at claims Britain spied on UN: There was speculation at Westminster last night that the bugging was carried out by American security services but that Mr Blair did not wish to say so for fear of upsetting the Bush administration.

Australian spy circle tied to UN bugging: Australia was privy to the phone-tapping operation on the United Nations figures Kofi Annan and Hans Blix before the Iraq war, receiving transcripts under the intelligence-sharing arrangement with the US and Britain.

Powell Questions Aristide Tenure in Haiti : Secretary of State Colin Powell on Thursday openly questioned whether President Jean-Bertrand Aristide can continue to serve effectively as Haiti's leader.

Kerry says U.S. fueled conflict in Haiti: John Kerry is pointing to the worsening crisis in Haiti as an example of failed Bush administration foreign policy.

Bush, Call Off Your Dogs!: In willful ignorance and with every bad intention, the U.S. corporate media ask the ridiculous question, Should the US intervene in Haiti, or not? The bloody answer screams back from the Haitian mountains and cities: Washington has already intervened militarily in Haiti, through its surrogates’ armed invasion from the Dominican Republic.

Haiti: Different Coup, Same Paramilitary Leaders: For a closer look at what is happening right now on the ground in Haiti, we look back at the involvement of the U.S. in the 1991-1994 coup period with veteran investigative journalist Allan Nairn who broke a number of stories that proved the direct links between US intelligence agencies and Haitian paramilitary death squads in the early 1990s.

Washington's Hand Against Democracy in Haiti: Who will come to the support of the Haitian people under siege, in this, Haiti's 200th anniversary from European enslavement? Where are the voices for human rights and Haitian democracy in the U.S?

Truth and the cold warrior: We can only hope that there is power in truth, and that the American people will take off their blinders, escape their apathy and demand that this administration be held responsible for its lies. We then need to uncover the lies that have become part of our national story and to rewrite our textbooks to reveal the truth

Video: "The Panama Deception" : This film shows how the U.S. attacked Panama and killed 3 or 4 thousand people in an invasion that the rest of the world was against. (Sound familiar?) It won the Academy Award for best documentary.

Bush Tightens Rules on Travel to Cuba : President Bush tightened U.S. travel restrictions against Cuba on Thursday, a move likely to strengthen his election-year standing in politically important Florida and heighten tensions with Fidel Castro's communist regime.

In case you missed it: The Bush dynasty and the Cuban criminals : The brother of President George Bush, the Florida governor, Jeb Bush, has been instrumental in securing the release from prison of militant Cuban exiles convicted of terrorist offences, according to a new book. The Bush family has also accommodated the demands of Cuban exile hardliners in exchange for electoral and financial support, the book suggests.

In case you missed it: Operation Northwoods: acts of terrorism that never happened: In the early 1960s, America's top military leaders reportedly drafted plans to kill innocent people and commit acts of terrorism in U.S. cities to create public support for a war against Cuba.

In case you missed it: The U.S. Iran-Contra Secret Government Rears its Ugly Head in Today’s Bush Administration: The repercussions of Iran-Contra did not stop in the 1980s. American taxpayers are still paying for all of the banks and S&Ls that failed due to the fraud. Americans are still financing the illegal and immoral adventures in the Middle East and Latin America of this "secret government,"

The Oliver North File: His Diaries, E-Mail, and Memos on the Kerry Report, Contras and Drugs

Jakarta accuses US over human rights report: The Indonesian Government says a US State Department report critical of its human rights record last year is "totally without credibility".

State Department Report on Human Rights "Missing an Entry on the US," According to over 100 US Human Rights Groups

In case you missed it: Video: Take No Prisoners: Another proud moment in U.S. Military History. U.S. Marines execute an Iraqi to the cheers of fellow marines

U.S. Won't Sign Anti-Land Mine Treaty:: The Bush administration will not join the 150 nations that have signed an anti-land mine treaty.

Two Russian Agents Charged With Killing Chechen Leader Zelimkhan Yanderbiyev: Yanderbiyev, whose extradition from Qatar had been demanded by Moscow, was killed in a bomb attack on his car in Doha Friday, February 13.

Russia demands release of agents from Qatar: Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov said on Thursday that three Russian intelligence agents had been arrested in Qatar on suspicion of involvement in the killing of former separatist Chechen president Zelimkhan Yandarbiyev, and he flatly rejected the allegation.

Moscow's terminators retain their deadly skills : The killers of the former KGB have not been idle since the Cold War when they and their Eastern bloc allies strolled the streets of European capitals meting out summary justice.

Reagan approved sabotage to wreck Soviet economy: In 1982, US president Ronald Reagan approved a CIA plan to sabotage the Soviet Union's economy through covert transfers of technology that contained hidden malfunctions, including software that later triggered a huge explosion in a gas pipeline, according to a former White House official.

U.S. Grand Strategy In East Asia : It doesn't have any oil. Its economy has practically bottomed out. The population is a mere 22 million, a significant portion of whom are malnourished. Why on earth is the United States so fixated on regime change in North Korea?

New Dominionist Bill Limits the Supreme Court's Jurisdiction: We wrote about it before it happened, we called them by their own name, Dominionists, and we told you that Dominionists in Congress were about to fire their first guns for reformation of the American government.

The New Messiahs: This is not a “conspiracy theory”; it is the recording of the actual conspiracy—the actual plans of how a group of ambitious religious leaders became purveyors of a new and secular fundamentalism whose political beliefs are now being enacted to the detriment of all Americans.

The end of the world: When David got home from school, the third grader looked everywhere for his mom and sisters. They couldn't be found in the house or the yard. Suddenly the youngster panicked. What he'd been taught in church must have happened - they'd disappeared in the "rapture," and he'd been "left behind."

Germany In 1933: The Easy Slide Into Fascism : If my email is any indication, a goodly number of folks wonder if they're living in America in 2003 or Germany in 1933. All this emphasis on nationalism, the militarization of society, identifying The Leader as the nation, a constant state of fear and anxiety heightened by the authorities, repressive laws that shred constitutional guarantees of due process, wars of aggression launched on weaker nations, etc. etc.

Video: Despotism & Democracy : Measures how a society ranks on a spectrum stretching from democracy to despotism. Explains how societies and nations can be measured by the degree that power is concentrated and respect for the individual is restricted. Where does your community, state and nation stand on these scales?

Investigation Zeroes in on DeLay's PAC : Prosecutors want to know whether $152,000 in payments amounted to influence-buying, and whether DeLay's PAC, Texans for a Republican Majority, was used to violate campaign finance law in other ways as well.

Mass layoffs set record in January: There were more mass layoffs in January in the United States than in any previous January for the nine-years that such records have been kept.

Congress abandons millions of jobless: Over 8 million workers are unemployed. In December, 1.9 million workers had been unemployed for 26 weeks or more. Two million unemployed stand to exhaust their benefits by June, the largest number in history

'Alan Greenspan, class warrior': Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan told lawmakers on Wednesday that Congress should extend the cuts indefinitely – at a cost of $1.5 trillion over the next ten years – and pay for it by slashing Social Security.

Billionaires bounce back: Economy, euro fatten net worths: "After two years of significantly falling fortunes, we really saw an uptick for just about everybody on the list," said Luisa Kroll, an associate editor who oversaw the project.

The Untold Story Of The Great Land Grab: Israel is once again mixing apples and oranges when it declares that the deplorable suicide attack in Jerusalem this week is the reason for building the separation, or more aptly, the apartheid wall and the Palestinian case against the wall. This is a cover-up for a major land grab.

Robin Hood, meet Mr. Sharon: Call it Operation Robin Hood. On Wednesday, Israeli troops invaded the Palestinian city of Ramallah. Aided by two computer experts they had detained the night before, the Israelis entered two branches of the Arab Bank and a branch of the Cairo Amman bank and emptied their vaults.

02/26/04: White House's limits upset 9/11 panel : President Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney have placed strict limits on the private interviews they will grant to the federal commission investigating the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks

Rice refuses panel's request to testify publicly about 9/11: The federal commission reviewing the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks expressed disappointment Wednesday with national security adviser Condoleezza Rice's refusal to testify in public.

9/11 panelist may quit over Bush secrecy : Frustrated by Bush administration restrictions, a former senator said yesterday he might quit the special commission investigating the Sept. 11 terror attacks.

Bush misused Iraq WMD report to justify war: Kay : "Politicians don't go around picking their weakest arguments," Kay said.

U.K. spied on UN chief: Report: British intelligence agents spied on United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan in the run up to the Iraq war, a former member of Prime Minister Tony Blair's cabinet said today

UK: Spy case casts fresh doubt on war legality : Dramatic new evidence pointing to serious doubts in the government about the legality of the war in Iraq was passed to government lawyers shortly before they abandoned the prosecution of the GCHQ whistleblower Katharine Gun.

UN calls British spying on Annan illegal: The United Nations has termed as illegal Britain's spying on its chief Kofi Annan in the run-up to the invasion of Iraq.

UK: How a US bugging operation was exposed by one lone whistleblower : Katharine Gun's, arrest for disclosing an unethical - and potentially illegal - US-British bugging operation against friendly countries raises new questions about the events running up to the Iraq war, the behaviour of the intelligence services, and the validity of the legal advice given by the attorney general, Lord Goldsmith, to the government.

The spy who wouldn't keep a secret : The email, was marked "top secret". As much of the world now knows, it requested British help with what amounted to a dirty tricks campaign: a plan for the bugging of offices and homes in New York belonging to UN diplomats

In case you missed it: US plan to bug Security Council: The text: Online document: The text of the memorandum detailing the US plan to bug the phones and emails of key Security Council members

Spying and Evasions of American Journalism By Norman Solomon : Tony Blair and George W. Bush want the issue of spying at the United Nations to go away. That’s one of the reasons the Blair government ended its prosecution of whistleblower Katharine Gun on Wednesday.

An Unholy Alliance of Spooks: A dark underside to the ongoing cooperation between British and American spy agencies – an alliance that could subvert the constitutional protections of citizens.

Ukraine Stops Man With Uranium: Ukrainian border guards stopped a man trying to take nuclear bomb-making materials into Hungary on Tuesday, an official said.

Haiti's terrorists got a free pass: Bush's moral indignation and crusading zeal were nowhere in evidence as Haiti fell prey to terror. Until yesterday, when Bush belatedly mused about despatching an international "security presence," Aristide's foes had a free pass to wreak mayhem.

'HAITI: Rhetoric versus reality: In the scheme of things you wouldn't think a place as poor and as small as Haiti would be worth bothering with – the poorest country in the Western hemisphere and now pretty well 'officially' a 'failed state'.

More attacks in Iraq : Iraqi police say a bomb planted in a police car parked outside a restaurant killed a police officer and injured eight other people.

UN says Iraqi security is worsening: The United Nations' special representative for Iraq says security has worsened since his previous visit to the country last July and this would keep the UN away.

Dutch troops 'may not use guns in Iraq' : The simmering controversy over the death of an Iraqi at the hands of a Dutch soldier grew on Wednesday as MPs demanded answers about a prosecution letter declaring that troops may not fire even warning shots in Iraq.

U.N. Joins Debate Over Iraq Government : Rather than breaking the impasse over how to form a new government, a much-awaited U.N. report has simply told the Iraqis it's up to them to determine how to form an administration to take power from the Americans on June 30.

Demonstrations in southern Iraq over U-S selection of local leaders: Along with violence, there's been a new wave of civil unrest in Iraq -- as coalition leaders and Iraqi officials work to create a successful formula for establishing a new government.

Mid-East conflict is fuelling support for terrorists: Jakarta: Indonesian intelligence has warned of a threat posed by a "new Jemaah Islamiah", which it says is building support because of conflict in the Middle East.

Five Afghan civilians killed in ambush: Five Afghan aid workers have been killed and two wounded in an ambush on a road north-east of Kabul. Another aid worker is still missing after Wednesday night's attack, said Interior Minister Ali Ahmad Jalali.

Taliban Capture 15 Afghan Soldiers : The Taliban have captured 15 Afghan soldiers along with two military vehicles in Zabol. The captured soldiers are considered prisoners of war.

Rat Leaves Sinking Ship: Perle Resigns: "We are now approaching a long presidential election campaign, in the course of which issues on which I have strong views will be widely discussed and debated," Perle wrote. "I would not wish those views to be attributed to you or the President at any time, and especially not during a presidential campaign."

Female GIs report rapes, assaults by fellow troops : The U.S. military is facing the gravest accusations of sexual misconduct in years, with dozens of servicewomen in the Persian Gulf region and elsewhere saying they were sexually assaulted or raped by fellow service members

New torture claim shows Arar's case isn't unique: A Canadian citizen — apparently innocent of any crime — had been deported to Syria from the U.S. and tortured for 10 months. Yesterday, another Canadian citizen — this one of Iraqi descent — met reporters to tell his story of torture at the hands of the Syrians.

Second Canadian Details Torture in Syrian Prison: "A Syrian official told me that I would not see the sun again," traumatized Canadian tells press conference.

Israeli army blocks entrance to Arafat HQ: Israeli army jeeps have blocked entry to Palestinian President Yasser Arafat's headquarters in the West Bank city of Ramallah for the first time in a year, witnesses say.

Two Palestinians killed by IDF during anti-fence protest: At least five of the injured Palestinians, including a 75-year-old man and a ten-year-old, were wounded by bullets. Dozens were hurt by teargas or were beaten by security forces. Three Border Police troops were lightly wounded in the clashes. Two were reportedly beaten by Palestinians and one was hit by a rock.

Israeli nuclear arsenal a mystery to UN: The extent of Israel's atomic weapons program is a mystery to the United Nations nuclear watchdog, the agency's chief said in an interview broadcast yesterday.

The Hole in the Doughnut : It isn't that they hate our freedom, quite the contrary. It isn't that Islam is entering a clash of civilization with the West, that is nonsense. It isn't even that they think we're just seeking control of the world's number one petroleum source. That's a secondary factor at best. They see us as accomplices to a crime, and as lying in our teeth in our attempts to prove otherwise.

Russia Tests New Wonder Weapon : Russia has successfully tested a hypersonic anti-Star Wars weapon capable of penetrating any prospective missile shield, a senior general said.

Canada seeking new treaty on space weapons: Canada is trying to get the United States and other countries to agree to a treaty banning weapons in outer space.

Fight for Canadian drugs heats up: Criminal inquiry urged in the U.S. : A growing coalition of U.S. governors, congressional leaders and local officials have upped the ante in their battle to win the right to import Canadian prescription drugs, calling for a criminal investigation into drug companies choking supplies to the Canadian market.

Illinois Couple Sues Over U.S. Drug Import Ban : An elderly Illinois couple, saying they are unable to pay as much as $1,000 each month for prescriptions, plans to venture into the war over drug imports today by filing a lawsuit against the government, arguing it is unconstitutional to prevent them from purchasing life-saving drugs at a lower price in Canada.

Drug Price Fight Heats Up: A top priority for Democrats - and some Republicans - is repeal of the section of the measure that bars the Secretary of Health and Human Services (news - web sites) from directly negotiating with drugmakers for lower prices.

Greenspan Urges Social Security Cuts: Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan urged Congress on Wednesday to deal with the country's escalating budget deficit by cutting benefits for future Social Security retirees. Without action, he warned, long-term interest rates would rise, seriously harming the economy.

AARP Statement in Response to Greenspan's Proposal to Cut Future Social Security Benefits: "Americans are not saving enough for retirement and half of Americans working today have no pension coverage. "

Slamming Entitlement: Franklin Delano Roosevelt must be turning in his grave. Entitlement programs, hogwash. Medicare, phooey. Medicaid, who the hell cares? After-school programs, let them take care of themselves. Social Security, let ‘em cake. The New Deal is a dead deal

n case you missed it: Greenspan supports permanent tax cuts: Federal Reserve chairman Alan Greenspan said - that Congress should make President Bush's tax cuts permanent and cover the $1 trillion price by trimming future benefits in Social Security and other entitlement programs.

In case you missed it: Paul Krugman: Stating the Obvious: The Financial Times suggests that "more extreme Republicans" actually want a fiscal train wreck: "Proposing to slash federal spending, particularly on social programs, is a tricky electoral proposition, but a fiscal crisis offers the tantalizing prospect of forcing such cuts through the back door."

In case you missed it: A Form Of Looting": Der Spiegel, Interviews George A. Akerlof, co-winner of the Nobel Prize in economic sciences. "Future generations and even people in ten years are going to face massive public deficits and huge government debt. Then we have a choice. We can be like a very poor country with problems of threatening bankruptcy. Or we're going to have to cut back seriously on Medicare and Social Security."

In case you missed it: Bush Wants To Bankrupt America: The plan is very simple, but not obvious on first blush. Make sure that all the money is gone from the U.S. treasury, make sure the deficits are so great that all social and educational programs are cut, increase the military and security budgets to "protect our nation" with all these monies going to corporations and security firms

How Americans Are Short-Changed as the Cronies Cash In: How the Bush Administration shortchanges most Americans while benefiting major corporations:. President Bush and his Republican allies have taken at least $74 million in hard and soft money contributions from the drug industry since 2000. That's about $48,000 per day or $2,033 per hour, 24 hours a day and 7 days a week to President Bush since 2000 - a hefty salary

Make Work: Politicians contribute nothing. They provide no value to either work or money. They connive, extort, swindle and steal. When one immediately assumes these truths about politicians, the problems we as a society are experiencing are quickly understood. Let’s look at how politicians sabotage the invisible hand of the free market

Trickle Down Outsourcing - A Brave New World: Trickle-Down economics just isn't what it used to be. That $ trillion Bush pumped into the economy last year is trickling overseas. With cheap foreign labor, a new US tax code, trade policies and modern technology all encouraging US companies to expand overseas, why would US companies create jobs in the US?

Where America's white-collar jobs go: It's not just India: In 2003, US firms struck $119 billion worth of million-dollar-plus outsourcing deals - up 44 percent from 2002, according to Gartner, a research firm based in Stamford, Conn. In 2004, Gartner projects there will be 30 percent more US firms doing outsourcing than last year.

Loss of good jobs hits Montanans hard : Bush's trade and economic policy is creating jobs, but it's creating them in Shanghai, not in Forsyth or Miles City, Colstrip, or Glendive. Bush's trade agreements encourage U.S. companies to move overseas in search of cheaper labor.

India: Strike hits banking, insurance sectors : An estimated 50 million people — including Government employees — observed a nationwide general strike today, demanding a review of the Supreme Court judgment on the right to strike and reversal of the Government's economic policies.

Gas Prices Could Soar to $3 Per Gallon: Experts predict prices will spike to record levels in a few months.

The Impending World Oil Shortage: Global oil production will probably reach a peak sometime during this decade. After the peak, the world's production of crude oil will fall, never to rise again. The slowdown in oil production may already be beginning; the current price fluctuations for crude oil and natural gas may be the preamble to a major crisis.

Fire at Texas Mosque 'Intentionally Set': The Council on American-Islamic Relations today thanked federal law enforcement authorities for their quick action in investigating a fire at a Texas mosque that is believed to have been "intentionally set."

U.S. Muslim Runs For Congress: He will vie in the March 2nd Primary against fellow Democrats Tom Lantos and Rohit Khanna.

Spreading Western Values By The Sword: Old European fables of Muslims spreading Islam by the sword are reinvented to convey the impression that Muslims are extremely dangerous, highly irresponsible and pay scant regard to human life. Hence the mantra of disarming Muslim countries of WMD has become the rallying cry of the West directed against the Muslim world.

Rome and Jerusalem revisited : A crucial goal of Zionism since its inception was to transform European (and later other) Jews into European Christians culturally, while continuing to call them Jews.

George Soros: Correcting The Misuse Of American Power": You probably know George Soros as the wealthy financier that the Bush Cartel has targeted. In the eyes of the Bush oligarchy, Soros is a dangerous traitor. What are Soros' sins?

In case you missed it: George Soros: Prophet of an "Open Society" Let’s take a closer look to see what is motivating Soros. - What of the NGOs Soros established and finances? Who are the other leaders of these groups? - Who are Soros’s business partners at the Carlyle Group---one of the world’s largest private equity funds, which makes most of this profit from defense contracts?

02/25/04: CIA chief predicts war with no end: He offered the Senate intelligence committee a bleak vision of a war on terrorism without end, in which even the destruction of al-Qa'eda would not make America safe.

Text: CIA's Tenet Remarks On Qaeda: The Worldwide Threat 2004: Challenges in a Changing Global Context Testimony of Director of Central Intelligence George J. Tenet before the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence

US helicopter 'downed by missile': A US military helicopter crashed today into a river west of Baghdad, police said, and a witness reported seeing a missile hit the aircraft.

U.S. helicopter crashes in western Iraq, two killed

Deputy police chief assassinated in Iraq : Gunmen assassinated the deputy police chief in the northern city of Mosul on Wednesday, and militants warned of further attacks on Iraqi security forces and Kurdish militiamen, accusing them of protecting "infidel" Americans.

Kurds demand vote on independence: Kurdish activists have collected 1.7 million signatures on a petition demanding a referendum on the future of northern Iraq's Kurdish region.

Insurgent and soldier: two views on Iraq fight: Ahmad says the motivation underpinning his cell of insurgents is a blend of devout religious belief coupled with a strong sense of patriotism.

Insurgency Growing? Soldier injured in Kuwait: A South Dakota National Guard soldier was injured Friday when the truck in which he was riding hit an explosive device in Kuwait, the state Guard said Monday.

Dangerous illusions of a democratic Shi'ite Iraq: Only a constituent assembly selected separately by the ethnically/religiously separate components of the Iraqi population jointly working out a federalist constitution with far-reaching autonomy provisions has any chance of maintaining a unified Iraq.

The missing people-shredder : The horror of one of Saddam's execution methods made a powerful pro-war rallying cry - but the evidence suggests it never existed

Controlling Iraq's Skies: The Secret Sell-Off of Iraq's Air Industry: Despite CPA claims that it intends to return control of the country's air industry to the Iraqi people, a document obtained by OSI shows that a backroom deal has already sold off 75 percent of the country’s air sector to a single family.

Iraq to get only 500 million dollars before power handover: World Bank: Iraq will only receive some 500 million dollars out of the 33 billion pledged by donors up to the June 30 deadline for the handover of power, a senior World Bank official said.

R.P. team for Iraq stranded; U.S. funds withheld`: The deployment of 43 Filipino replacement personnel for the humanitarian mission in Iraq was deferred after US officials failed to release funds for the augmentation force.

Aristide backers build fiery barricades as Port-au-Prince braces for rebel attack: Opposition leaders rejected a U.S.-backed peace plan for Haiti, offering a counterproposal to install a Supreme Court justice as an interim president and appoint a new prime minister along with the ``orderly departure'' of Aristide.

Aristide's Lawyer: U.S. Arming Anti-Aristide Paramilitaries in Haiti: There are very real fears that the democratically-elected Aristide could be overthrown in a violent coup d'etat. Many of the leaders of these paramilitary gangs have had direct ties to the CIA, the Defense Intelligence Agency and other US government agencies.

Media Coverage of Haiti Flawed: Analysts: Almost universally missing from media coverage of Haiti, some critics say, is information about US Government support for the "opposition", a collection of political parties extremely hostile to the government of Haitian President Jean Bertrand Aristide.

Haiti - Insurrection in the Making: What is the Political Backdrop to the Conflict? Haiti's opposition represents only a small minority (8 percent of the population according to a 2000 poll). With no chance of winning through democratic elections, they rely instead on armed violence to foment a political crisis that will lead to the fall of the government.

Taliban attacks at their highest since collapse of regime: Attacks by a resurgent Taliban and fighters loyal to one of Afghanistan's most powerful warlords have reached "their highest levels since the collapse of the Taliban government," the head of the Pentagon's intelligence agency said Tuesday.

Osama bin Laden 'surrounded?': Reports say bin Laden cornered in northwest Pakistan, but US denies it.

U.S. says time running out for Osama: Time is running out for Osama bin Laden, the U.S. military says, as American and Pakistani forces ratchet up operations against al Qaeda and Taliban militants along the Afghan-Pakistan frontier.

Bring me the head of Osama bin Laden : The war in eastern Afghanistan and the tribal areas in Pakistan is barely on, but the Pentagon's spinning machine is in high gear. Who will prevail: al-Qaeda's number two, Ayman "The Surgeon" al-Zawahiri, or Commando 121?

Faithful spurn US-built mosque: On November 16, 2001, during the heat of the US-led war against the Taliban regime, at least 34 people lost their lives here. : The building has since been reconstructed almost identically with the financial support of the United States army.

Sampson joins lawsuit against Saudis: After failing to get the Saudi government to admit he was tortured, Canadian William Sampson has joined six Britons in a lawsuit aimed at proving they were repeatedly beaten during two and a half years in a Saudi jail.

U.S. High-Tech Spy Agency Has Low Profile: The Advanced Research and Development Activity is not a secret federal office, but it might as well be. It isn't listed in the U.S. Government Manual, the 684-page official compilation of federal departments, agencies and offices. It isn't listed in major commercial directories of government agencies.

Whistleblower cleared : GCHQ whistleblower Katharine Gun demanded an explanation today after the case against her of disclosing information and breaking the Official Secrets Act collapsed after the prosecution offered no evidence.

Coroner to Hold New Hearing on Kelly Death Inquest : A coroner is to hold a preliminary hearing to establish whether the inquest into the death of Government weapons expert Dr David Kelly should be resumed.

Soldiers 'given 5 bullets for Iraq war': A serving solider has risked his career by speaking out over equipment shortages in the Gulf conflict. Just five bullets each were issued to him and his men, who were serving along frontlines in southern Iraq.

Could You Be MI5 Spy? : IN their bid to find 1,000 new spies, MI5 have set a bizarre internet quiz. Called Should You Apply To Be A Surveillance Officer?, there are seven questions to answer:

Is Britain Under Blair Suffering From Paranoia? : While M15 is scouring the land searching for up to 1,000 Arabic speakers to spy on their compatriots in mosques — or rather “infiltrate overseas-sponsored terror networks” — Blunkett does his bit by drafting new government powers between fending off criticisms of Belmarsh, his very own version of Guantanamo.

UK: Blunkett gets tough over terror: The home secretary is preparing to unveil new anti-terror measures, thought to include the use of secretly-taped phone calls as evidence.

Oxfam accuses UK of hidden arms trade : They accuse the government of double standards by exploiting loopholes enabling it to get round international embargoes and its own human rights guidelines.

Israel: Court releases settlers who shot Palestinian shepherds: The three Israeli settlers admitted during a police interrogation on Tuesday to shooting five Palestinian shepherds last week near the Palestinian village of Tekoa.

Charley Reese: A Cynical Manipulation: U.S. policy toward the most destabilizing factor in the Middle East — the Israeli-Palestinian conflict — is to support Israel and to never offend the Israeli lobby. U.S. politicians use a number of rhetorical devices to disguise this policy

Israeli Troops Stage Palestinian Bank Raids : During the raids, dozens of Palestinians threw stones at soldiers who clamped a curfew on Ramallah during the raids. Seventeen Palestinians were injured by rubber bullets and live rounds, three of them in critical condition, doctors said.

Freed Vanunu will be under supervision : Security sources said Israel would ban the former atomic reactor technician from travelling abroad, tap his telephone and monitor his movements.

U.S. Military Shows Interest in Africa: Top U.S. generals are touching down across Africa in unusual back-to-back trips, U.S. European Command confirmed Tuesday, part of a change in military planning as U.S. interest grows in African terror links and African oil.

Report: Slavery Alive and Well in Florida: Modern-day slavery is alive and well in Florida, the head of a human rights center said Tuesday as it released a report on people forced to work as prostitutes, farmworkers and maids across the state.

Can a City Require Surveillance Cameras in Cybercafes Without Violating the First Amendment?: A California Court Rules on the Issue

Publishers Face Prison For Editing Articles from Iran, Iraq, Sudan, Libya or Cuba: The U.S. Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control recently declared that American publishers cannot edit works authored in nations under trade embargoes which include Iran, Iraq, Sudan, Libya and Cuba.

Poll: Free trade loses backers: High-income Americans have lost much of their enthusiasm for free trade as they perceive their own jobs threatened by white-collar workers in China, India and other countries, according to data from a survey of views on trade.

If Pharmaceuticals Produced Outside the U.S. are Unsafe, Why Isn't The Rest of The World Dead?: The pharmaceutical industry manages to produce much of the world’s supply of prescription and over the counter drugs in many countries and sell them to people the world over, including U.S.

FDA Blasted On Drug Discounts: U.S. regulators should support imports of cheaper prescription medicines from Canada and investigate attempts by the drug industry to limit supplies north of the border, a Capitol Hill summit on the issue was told Tuesday.

Senators' Stocks Beat the Market by 12 Percent: "The results suggest that senators knew when to buy their common stocks and when to sell."

Putin's 'Act of Generosity,' The Russian Army's Sorry State, And Finding the Answer in Riga: "Another sign of the Kremlin playing fast and loose with the niceties of electoral democracy."

A Trick to Avoid News Website Registration: People who vehemently object to providing registration information to gain access to otherwise-free websites have alternatives

02/24/04: U.S. Charges Two Guantanamo Prisoners : The Defense Department said Ali Hamza Ahmed Sulayman al Bahlul of Yemen and Ibrahim Ahmed Mahmoud al Qosi of Sudan were charged with a single count each of conspiracy to commit war crimes and will be brought to trial before a military tribunal.

Amnesty International Background: Guantanamo Prisoners & Military Tribunal. "The military commissions will not provide a full and fair trial. The commission process has been created and controlled by those with a vested interest only in convictions."

Guerrillas Kill 3 Iraqis Working with U.S. Military : Three Iraqis working for the U.S. military were killed by guerrillas who opened fire on their car, hospital officials said Tuesday, in the latest deadly attack on Iraqis cooperating with occupying forces.

C.I.A. Was Given Data on Hijacker Long Before 9/11: American investigators were given the first name and telephone number of one of the Sept. 11 hijackers two and a half years before the attacks on New York and Washington, but the United States appears to have failed to pursue the lead aggressively, American and German officials say.

Bush 'wanted war in 2002' : George Bush set the US on the path to war in Iraq with a formal order signed in February 2002, more than a year before the invasion

Hans Blix: US 'created' weapons facts: "During a meeting at the White House at the end of October 2002, six months before the beginning of the war, Cheney told us he would not hesitate to discredit the inspections"

CIA accused of lying about WMDs: Senator Carl Levin of Michigan said Tenet presented false information to the UN during public hearings about all the top suspected weapons of mass destruction sites in Iraq before the war

The Iraq war is the Suez of our time: Tony Blair is unable to grasp why his deceit will never be accepted

UN Report: Iraq 'needs more time to prepare for poll' : But warned that in the meantime the country's political class was becoming fragmented, sectarianism entrenched and intercommunal politics increasingly polarised.

Shiite Leader Sistani Threatens Intifada Against U.S. : Iraqi Shiite Leader Seyyid Ali Al-Sistani yesterday warned that he would call for an intifada (uprising) if American soldiers stayed in Iraq after the handover of power on June 30, 2004.

Rumsfeld warns Iran, Syria about helping militants: "Syria and Iran have not been helpful to the people of Iraq", he told journalists during a visit to Baghdad. "Indeed they have been unhelpful.

US suspends 17 troops in detainee abuse probe: U.S. forces investigating allegations of mistreatment of Iraqi detainees at a prison west of Baghdad have suspended 17 soldiers including a battalion commander and a company commander.

Forecast of Rising Oil Demand Challenges Tired Saudi Fields: An internal Saudi Aramco plan, the experts said, estimates total production capacity in 2011 at 10.15 million barrels a day, about the current capacity. But to meet expected world demand, the United States Department of Energy's research arm says Saudi Arabia will need to produce 13.6 million barrels a day by 2010 and 19.5 million barrels a day by 2020.

Al-Qaida leader warns of new attacks: Usama bin Ladin's top aide, Ayman al-Zawahri has warned the US of fresh attacks in a new audio tape aired by Aljazeera.

CIA chief in secret visit to Pakistan: "There's a major effort under way to locate al-Qaeda leaders," the official said. "The importance of George Tenet's visit in this connection cannot be underestimated."

Bush Lies Uncovered: For those still puzzling over the why the Bush administration decided to invade Iraq, two key players offered important, but curiously unnoticed, clues this week by two central players.

The Coming Implosion of the American Empire: The implosion of the American empire is about to begin – not just the military one but also the commercial one.

Libyan PM denies Lockerbie guilt: Libyan Prime Minister Shokri Ghanem has denied his country's guilt in the 1988 Lockerbie bombing which killed 270 people and said Tripoli had only agreed to pay damages to victims in order to "buy peace".

In case you missed it: Lockerbie: CIA witness gagged by US government" A FORMER CIA agent who claims Libya is not responsible for the Lockerbie bombing is being gagged by the US government under state secrecy laws and faces 10 years in prison if herevealsanyinformation about the terrorist attack.

Haiti rebels head for capital: The rebels, led by former members of the disbanded army and the national police, were also reported to be rounding up supporters of President Jean-Bertrand Aristide in Haiti's second largest city, Cap Haitien

Haiti: Five facts and One Appeal: Haiti is in crisis, and an entire society stands on the brink of economic and humanitarian disaster. This disaster is not the product of some unfortunate circumstance, but the direct result of policies carried out by our governments.

Pentagon Opens Halliburton Criminal Probe : The Pentagon said on Monday it opened a criminal investigation of fraud allegations against a unit of Vice President Dick Cheney's old company Halliburton Co. involving potential overpricing of fuel delivered to Iraq

Big Oil Companies Granted $66 Million by Homeland Security: As New York City scrambles to cover security costs to protect against another terror attack, Eyewitness News has found millions in taxpayer dollars going to protect some of the nation's wealthiest companies.

UK: Father fears whitewash over Iraq deaths: THE father of one of six military policemen, killed by an Iraqi mob, fears a cover-up will prevent him ever knowing how his son died.

Amnesty barred from Guantanamo trials: Amnesty International and two other leading human rights organisations protest to Pentagon about its decision not to let them attend planned trials of al-Qaida suspects held at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

Military justice system a self-inflicted casualty in terror war: Last week, for the fifth time in three months, Captain Yee's military court preliminary hearing was postponed to give the Army more time to review classified documents it alleges Yee took from Guantanamo Bay. - The delay is unfortunate, and suggests the government's case is weak.

Israel's Sharon Denounces World Court Proceedings: Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon says his country will not give in to what he calls the hypocrisy being perpetrated against Israel at the World Court in The Hague.

Another Nuclear Program Found in Iran : Iran reportedly acknowledged the experiments but offered an explanation involving another of polonium's possible uses, which include power generation.

Administration favors nuclear free-for-all: Numerous international arms-control treaties, including the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty, the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty and the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, have been abandoned or ignored by the United States.

Chalmers Johnson: Improve the CIA? Better to abolish it : Why don't we abolish the CIA and make public, as the Constitution requires, the billions spent by the intelligence agencies under the control of the Department of Defense so that Congress might have a fighting chance in doing oversight?

Kerry, Edwards Care More About Polls Than Character : Edwards and Kerry, the two front-runners for the Democratic Party presidential candidacy, may go to church on Sunday, but in real life they worship at the altar of Gallup, Roper and Zogby.

Afghanistan: Now it's all-out war: Pakistan has allowed the US to use some of its air bases for surveillance purposes, including Kohat and Bannu. Residents of North West Frontier Province are already witnessing flights of US "spy" planes over the region.

Afghan kids 'killed' for organs : The Afghan Independent Human Rights Commission (AIHRC) is currently investigating some 85 kidnapping cases in which the children have allegedly been killed for their body parts.

In health, Canada tops U.S: Want a health tip? Move to Canada. Canadians live longer, healthier lives than we do. What's more, they pay roughly half as much per capita as we do ($2,163 versus $4,887 in 2001) for the privilege.

Paying for prescriptions is problematic in U.S.: Almost a third of Americans say paying for prescription drugs is a problem in their families, and many are cutting dosages to deal with the crunch, according to a poll by The Associated Press.

Aids drugs giants are accused of genocide: Drugs manufacturers were accused yesterday of "genocidal action" in Africa by charging unaffordable prices for drugs to fight HIV/Aids.

Vatican condemns Aids drug firms: The Vatican has spoken out against pharmaceutical companies which make huge profits from anti-Aids drugs.

Virus closes US army bases in Germany : A mysterious viral infection has forced military authorities in Germany to close four bases, ordering nearly 4,000 personnel and their dependents to stay home, authorities said Friday.

02/23/04: Fifty combat-ready U.S. Marines flying to Haiti to secure embassy: and diplomats after rebels overran Haiti's second-largest city and began detaining supporters of President Jean-Bertrand Aristide.

Throttled by history : Haiti's political class has failed it, but the first black republic has also been squeezed dry by a vengeful west.

HAITI: How Washington set the stage for uprising: The media have a standard story line to explain the uprising in Haiti —  In reality, the anti-Aristide opposition that is behind the uprising shaking Haiti today is a Washington-connected collection of Haitian businessmen and a scattering of former leftists.

Rumsfeld Assesses Iraq Security; Bomb Kills 13: A morgue official said a suicide car bomber killed 10 people and wounded 42 in an attack on a police station in Kirkuk, the latest in a relentless campaign against Iraqis seen cooperating with U.S. occupation troops.

Iraqis Say Deal on U.S. Troops Must Be Put Off: The delay could put the Americans in the position of negotiating an agreement with leaders they did not appoint on such sensitive issues as when the use of force would be allowed.

Robert Fisk: Gunned down with abandon: Iraqis who fail to see US military checkpoints, who overtake convoys under attack--or who merely pass the scene of an American raid--are being gunned down with abandon.

Soldiers accused of another fatal beating: The family of an Iraqi headmaster who was seen being beaten with a rifle butt by British soldiers before they took him away, was told he had died in custody of a "sudden heart attack".

Oil pipeline attacked in southern Iraq: An oil pipeline was sabotaged in southern Iraq while deadly violence flared in the north, as the war-torn country awaited the release Monday of the UN's findings on the best way forward.

Pakistan denies al-Qaeda chief trapped: PAKISTAN has denied any knowledge of al-Qaeda terror network leader Osama bin Laden being cornered by US and British special forces in a mountainous area in the northwest of the country.

Bin Laden is alive and planning more attacks: Osama bin Laden is still in Afghanistan and is planning further attacks on United States interests, a spokesperson from Afghanistan's ousted Taliban regime said on Monday.

Paul Findley: A Republican's case against George W. Bush : Today, for the first time, I worry deeply about America's future. We are in a deep hole. I believe President George W. Bush's decision to initiate war in Iraq will be the greatest and most costly blunder in American history. He has set America on the wrong course.

Republicans Who Support "Anybody But Bush": George Meagher of Charleston, South Carolina, is a veteran and lifelong Republican who, by his own admission, put his "heart and soul" into working for George W. Bush in 2000. No more. Meagher may vote Democratic this fall because he's fed up with what he sees as lies and deceit by President Bush and the Republican leadership in Washingt

Iraq in 'civil war' risk: Iraq is facing a real risk of civil war because of discontent among the country's Sunni Muslim minority, the Archbishop of Canterbury's envoy to the country warned today.

Fort Bragg soldiers wounded in Iraq cope with permanent changes : Staff Sgt. Maurice Craft woke up in a hospital bed in Iraq after a roadside bomb attack and asked why he could not feel his left leg. He pulled back the blanket to find that his leg was gone.

Daniel Ellsberg: Where are Iraq's Pentagon papers?: I urge patriotic and conscientious Americans who have access to these documents, and who know it is wrong for their bosses to lie to the public about why we are in this war, to consider doing what I wish I had done in 1964 or early 1965, years earlier than I did: Go to Congress and the press; tell the truth, with documents.

The British-US axis no longer makes any sense : Why Blair dressed up war realpolitik in dodgy moralistic rhetoric

WHO ‘suppressed’ scientific study into depleted uranium cancer fears in Iraq : Radiation experts warn in unpublished report that DU weapons used by Allies in Gulf war pose long-term health risk

Effects Of War And The Use Of Depleted Uranium On Iraq: According to a report from the Guardian newspaper 1000-2000 tons were delivered on 51 local areas in different Iraqi cities. I witnessed the A-10 planes for three days delivering the depleted uranium rounds against the tanks and armor vehicles near Basrah airport and at the southern parts of Basrah city.

Depleted Uranium: The War Crime That Has No End: “Depleted uranium is a crime against God and humanity.” Dr. Doug Rokke, U.S. Army health physicist

All in the (profiteering, first) family : Controversy may obscure President Bush's reasons for embarking on the war in Iraq, but the record is clear that it profits his family.

Hidden defense costs add up to double trouble: To measure actual spending by the United States on defense, take the federal budget number for the Pentagon and double it. That's the "rule of thumb" advocated by economic historian Robert Higgs.

Daily Brief with Ray McGovern : When I ask Ray McGovern if the findings of President Bush’s commission on intelligence failures in Iraq will give us answers—even if it doesn’t get them to us until well after the November election—he has a one-word answer: "No."

In case you missed it: Disarm Saddam Hussein : U.S. intelligence sources have known for some time that Saddam Hussein has materials to produce chemical and biological weapons. Almost 30,000 munitions capable of delivering chemical agents - 26,000 liters of anthrax—enough to kill several million people. 38,000 liters of botulinum toxin. 500 tons of sarin, mustard and VX nerve agents

Stunned Kuwait demands clarification from Iraq over new land claims: It was Kuwait’s first official reaction to the council’s president who said on Saturday that Baghdad could consider territorial claims over neighbouring Jordan and Kuwait in the future.

Risking Death, 2 Afghan Women Collected and Detonated U.S. Cluster Bombs: Two women in this poor farming village have emerged as heroines after they witnessed the horror of two small boys being killed as they played with little cluster bombs from an American jet. The two cleared dozens of the bombs with their bare hands and detonated them, protecting the village.

Reports at odds on jailed Muslim: Elsherief's relatives in Cairo have been told Egyptian state security is "asking him a couple questions for a foreign government," according to his daughter Heba, 30 "They're being told they're holding him because of some foreign government, as a favour,"

Iran admits purchasing black market nuclear parts: "It happens that some of those [dealers] were from some sub-continent countries," Asefi added, stressing that Tehran had informed the UN's nuclear watchdog - the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) - about the purchases.

US intelligence operatives should be expelled and assets confiscated: The departure of a US military mission to Haiti underscores the serious nature of the crisis in that country and raises the likelihood ... not the possibility ... of military intervention.

Israeli barrier awaits world court's jurisdiction : Massive demonstrations were held all over the Palestinian territories on Monday to denounce the construction of the Israeli separation wall, which has made the daily life of the Palestinians more difficult.

Noam Chomsky: A Wall as a Weapon: It is a virtual reflex for governments to plead security concerns when they undertake any controversial action, often as a pretext for something else. Careful scrutiny is always in order. Israel's so-called security fence, which is the subject of hearings starting today at the International Court of Justice in The Hague, is a case in point.

In the shadow of Sharon's wall : My town and its people are slowly suffocating. The government of the Israeli prime minister, Ariel Sharon, is building a grotesque wall. He is building it on land that belongs to Palestinians: land occupied by Israel and held in violation of international law. He is building it, like a tightening noose, around my town, Qalqilya

Israel to seek U.S. `compensation' for evacuation : Jerusalem is interested in reaching an agreement with Bush, and then putting the plan's execution off until after the U.S. elections.

Bush administration begins embracing Sharon’s proposals: The Bush administration is on board with the West Bank security barrier, officials who could once barely contain their impatience with Israel have shut out the Palestinians.

Kerry known for soliciting many views, but who has his ear on Jewish issues?: “He has made statements that have been disturbing and indicate a lack of real understanding of some of the issues relating to Israel,” said Cohen of Agudath Israel. Nonetheless, he calls Kerry’s record of support for Israel “exemplary.”

In 2004, U.S. Jewish fund raising shifts to supporting — not unseating — incumbents: Jewish activists had hoped to target Rep. James Moran (D-Va.), a seven-term incumbent who made headlines last year by suggesting Jewish support was a catalyst for U.S. war plans against Iraq.

Is Presidential Candidate Nader an egomaniac, a Fool, a Funded-by-Republicans-Sell-out... or Could He Actually Help Beat Bush?

In case you missed it: GOP Group To Air Pro-Nader TV Ads : Hoping to boost Ralph Nader in states where he is threatening to hurt Al Gore, a Republican group is launching TV ads featuring Nader attacking the vice president.

FEMA: The Secret Government: It is not an elected body, it does not involve itself in publi