Vice President for Torture:
VICE PRESIDENT Cheney is aggressively pursuing an initiative that may be unprecedented for an elected official of the executive branch: He is proposing that Congress legally authorize human rights abuses by Americans.
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article10774.htm
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Charge Him or Release Him
"Under a government which imprisons unjustly, the true place for a just man is also a prison." : Henry David Thoreau
Jose Padilla : U.S. Citizen Imprisoned Without Trial or Charges for 3 Years and 171 Days
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What Reagan Started, Bush Is Finishing
By David Martin
After eight years of the Gipper, four years of Bush I, eight years of Republican Lite under Clinton, and five years of Shrub, we see the truth of the Reagan Revolution. The gradual withering away of the welfare and regulatory state has not unleashed the American entrepreneurial spirit. Rather, it has set loose the predatory greed of the 19th century robber barons, the class cannibalism of Social Darwinism, and the winner-take-all rapacity of laissez faire capitalism.
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article10779.htm
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We Burn Corpses, Don't We?
War Crimes in Afghanistan
By Erid Ruder
For the people of Afghanistan, fed up with U.S. atrocities and support for regional warlords, there's growing talk of ejecting U.S. troops--just as the former USSR's military was kicked out in 1989 after a decade of occupation. "Their future will be like the Russians," said Zahidullah, a resident of Kabul.
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article10778.htm
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Vice President for Torture:
VICE PRESIDENT Cheney is aggressively pursuing an initiative that may be unprecedented for an elected official of the executive branch: He is proposing that Congress legally authorize human rights abuses by Americans.
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article10774.htm
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At least 12 killed in continuing violence:
Gunmen killed six Iraqi soldiers and one civilian in two separate incidents Wednesday, according to police and hospital sources.
http://tinyurl.com/8djho
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As Toll Hits 2,001, Some Iraqis Sympathize :
Some Iraqis sympathized with U.S. forces on Wednesday after hearing the American death toll in the Iraq war had reached 2,000. But others noted that many more Iraqis had died in the conflict and said they hope the U.S. ``occupiers'' will soon go home.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/worldlatest/story/0,1280,-5370924,00.html
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Demand The Truth:
A must watch flash presentation
http://www.peacetakescourage.com/someones.html
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Bitter Fruit: A photo essay on the soldiers killed in Iraq:
A war without casualties? A war where only the evil get hurt?
http://www.magnuminmotion.com/bitterfruit/player.html
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Cartoon of the week:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/cartoons/stevebell/0,7371,1600879,00.html
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Cindy Sheehan plans arrest to protest Iraq war:
Cindy Sheehan, said that she planned to be arrested outside the White House on Wednesday to protest against US troops presence in Iraq as US military deaths hit 2,000.
http://www.metimes.com/articles/normal.php?StoryID=20051026-061230-7132r
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Civil war is a U.S. option in Iraq:
The U.S. is now in fact feeding violence in Iraq by using the country’s disparate sectarian, ethnic and religious factions in a way that will eventually help it realize some of its aims of coming to Iraq.
http://www.azzaman.com/english/index.asp?fname=opinion\2005-10-23\567.htm
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U.S. Rep. Jim McGovern To Introduce Bill Ending Funding For Iraq War:
As the number of U.S. military deaths in Iraq reaches 2,000, U.S. Rep. Jim McGovern (D-MA) this week will introduce legislation to prohibit the use of taxpayer funds to deploy United States Armed Forces to Iraq.
http://www.afterdowningstreet.org/?q=node/4032
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Improve security or we quit: Saddam's lawyers:
Lawyers representing Saddam Hussein announced on Wednesday that they would boycott the special tribunal trying the ousted Iraqi president until they are given better security.
http://www.hindustantimes.com/news/181_1530141,001300180001.htm
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Saddam's defense team wants to put Bush on trial:
"We shall contact international and Arab lawyer associations and will put forward the proof allowing for a trial of the criminal Bush at the same time as the fake trial takes place in Iraq," Saleh Armouti told a meeting of the Amman-based Saddam defense committee.
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=10&categ_id=2&article_id=19589
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Detainee says he wishes to die:
A detainee on a hunger strike at the U.S. prison for terrorism suspects at Guantánamo Bay wants a judge to order the removal of his feeding tube so he can be allowed to die, one of his lawyers said Tuesday.
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article10770.htm
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Vice President for Torture:
VICE PRESIDENT Cheney is aggressively pursuing an initiative that may be unprecedented for an elected official of the executive branch: He is proposing that Congress legally authorize human rights abuses by Americans.
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article10774.htm
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Legalized Torture, Reloaded :
Cheney's proposal - Would give the president the power to allow government agencies outside the Defense Department (the administration has in mind the C.I.A.) to mistreat and torture prisoners as long as that behavior was part of "counterterrorism operations conducted abroad" and they were not American citizens.
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article10775.htm
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Prosecutor in leak case seeks indictments against Rove, Libby, lawyers close to case say:
Special Prosecutor Patrick J. Fitzgerald has asked the grand jury investigating the outing of CIA operative Valerie Plame Wilson to indict Vice President Dick Cheney’s chief of staff I. Lewis “Scooter” Libby and Bush’s Deputy Chief of Staff Karl Rove on charges of perjury and obstruction of justice, lawyers close to the investigation tell RAW STORY.
http://rawstory.com/news/2005/Prosecutor_in_leak_case_seeks_indictments_1026.html
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Grand Jury in CIA Leak Case Adjourns:
The federal grand jury investigating the leak of a CIA officer's identity met for three hours Wednesday with Special Counsel Patrick Fitzgerald and his deputies, adjourning for the day without announcing any action.
http://tinyurl.com/7lw3z
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Leak grand jury meets prosecutor:
The federal grand jury investigating the leak of a covert CIA operative's identity met on Wednesday with special counsel Patrick Fitzgerald amid signs the prosecutor was preparing to seek criminal charges.
http://tinyurl.com/8fsnn
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Indictments in CIA leak ‘about to be handed down’:
On Tuesday night, news reports, supported by a source close to the lawyers involved in the case, said that target letters to those facing indictment were being issued, with sealed indictments to be filed today and released by the end of the week.
http://news.ft.com/cms/s/cefd360c-4598-11da-981b-00000e2511c8.html
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CIA leak illustrates selective use of intelligence on Iraq:
The grand jury probe into the leak of a covert CIA officer's name has opened a new window into how the Bush administration used intelligence from dubious sources to make a case for a pre-emptive war and discarded information that undercut its rationale for attacking Iraq.
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article10772.htm
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In case you missed it:
The new Pentagon papers:
A high-ranking military officer reveals how Defense Department extremists suppressed information and twisted the truth to drive the country to war.
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article5829.htm
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Italian faces pre-war intelligence probe:
The head of Italy's military secret services will be questioned by a parliamentary commission next week over allegations that his organization gave the United States and Britain disputed documents suggesting that Saddam Hussein had been seeking uranium in Africa, officials said Tuesday.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/1103AP_Italy_Iraq_Uranium.html
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Michael Ledeen’s Fingers in the Niger Yellowcake :
Some of us, those who pay attention, have suspected for some time the fraudulent Niger yellowcake documents—so crudely slapped together as to be laughable—are tied to Michael Ledeen, the neocon’s neocon, who is connected to the neofascist Italian military intelligence agency, SISMI.
http://kurtnimmo.com/?p=84
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In case you missed it:
Israel strives to import America's war on terror :
The Israeli political-security establishment is coming to the conclusion that the terror attacks on September 11 granted Israel and advantage; at a time when Israel was under increasing international pressure because of the ongoing conflict with the Palestinians.
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article10777.htm
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Dialectics of the Plame Affair:
The neocon-dominated Bush administration opted for generalized Southwest Asian war after 9-11. "S.H. and U.B.L.; things related and unrelated," penned Rumsfeld the day after. The meaning of this shorthand is clear in retrospect: the administration would use the opportunity to link unrelated phenomena, most notably Iraq (S.H. = Saddam Hussein) and al-Qaeda (U.B.L. = Usama bin Laden), but also 9-11 with a whole range of unfriendly forces that could be targeted in the new situation.
http://www.counterpunch.com/leupp10262005.html
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Ted Rall : Why Bush Is Unimpeachable: :
Impeachment is a political process, not a legal one. Nixon and Clinton faced Congresses controlled by the other party. Because Bush belongs to the same party as the majorities in the House and Senate, nothing he does can get him impeached.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ucru/20051026/cm_ucru/whybushisunimpeachable
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Iran opposition group seeks US legitimacy:
Even by the standards of Washington politics it was an unusual spectacle - the veiled leader of a Middle East group banned in the US as a terrorist organisation delivering a speech by live video-link to applauding members of Congress inside the Capitol itself.
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article10773.htm
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Five Killed in Bombing at Israeli Market:
Islamic Jihad militant group claimed responsibility, saying it was to avenge the killing of Luay Saadi, leader of the group's military wing in the West Bank.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/news/archive/2005/10/26/international/i080606D60.DTL
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Islamic Jihad Leader Buried Amid Violence:
Thousands of Palestinian mourners buried one of Islamic Jihad's top leaders Tuesday, a day after he was killed during a shootout with Israeli troops, sparking a new round of violence.
http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory?id=1250200
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Setting up Abbas:
The Israeli Prime Minister has finally fulfilled the task with which he was charged 38 years ago by Menachem Begin: ensure permanent Israel control over the entire Land of Israel while foreclosing the emergence of a viable Palestinian state.
http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article4269.shtml
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Amira Hass : It's no wonder envoy is frustrated :
Will James Wolfensohn succeed where others have failed and cause Israel to release its grip on Palestinian freedom of movement?
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/637763.html
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Iran: Ahmadinejad: Wipe Israel off map:
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has openly called for Israel to be wiped off the map.
http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/15E6BF77-6F91-46EE-A4B5-A3CE0E9957EA.htm
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Israel warns of Tehran 'danger' :
Israel regards Iran as "a clear and present danger", Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom has said.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/4378948.stm
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If Israel has nukes, why can’t the rest?
The U.S. adopts a biased stance towards countries who possess or seek nuclear technology or weapons, allowing states like Israel, India to proceed without any interference, although they failed to fulfill their commitments under the Nuclear non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), while it piles the pressure on and fights others like Iran, Iraq (before toppling Saddam Hussein) and North Korea for them not to have nukes.
http://www.aljazeera.com/cgi-bin/review/article_full_story.asp?service_ID=9926
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Russia, Iran agree to solve nuclear issue within IAEA :
Russia and Iran agreed a solution to the dispute over Iran's nuclear program should be sought within the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the two countries' foreign ministers said Monday.
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2005-10/24/content_3678869.htm
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China, Russia Oppose U.S. Threat to Punish Syria Over Hariri :
China and Russia oppose the U.S. proposal to threaten Syria's government with economic punishment for refusing to cooperate with a United Nations probe of the murder of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri.
http://tinyurl.com/bbpv3
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Russia opposes UN action on Syria :
Russia, a long-term ally of Syria and a permanent Security Council member, has the power to veto any draft resolution.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/4377148.stm
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Syria in the Imperialist Crosshairs:
The Israel News Agency report made clear that it was a region-wide program for toppling governments; this was shockingly revealed by the title, “UN Gives Green Light for Israel, Syria, Iran War.”
http://www.dissidentvoice.org/Oct05/Petersen1026.htm
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Israel worried about possible new Russia-Syria arms deals :
Israel has expressed concern over Russia's intention to sign new arms deals with Syria, following the already completed deal to provide Syria with SA-18 anti-aircraft missiles.
http://www.haaretzdaily.com/hasen/spages/637727.html
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Mike Whitney: Assassinations in Lebanon; Pipelines in Haifa :
Syria poses no threat to America's national security. We have no dog in this fight. The real threat is those who now operate freely within the foreign policy establishment, using the US military to further their own self-serving objectives of controlling Middle East oil and securing an imaginary Israeli empire.
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article10776.htm
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Old whine, new bottle:
The UN ‘report’ on the assassination of Rafik Hariri, the former Lebanese PM, bears all the hallmarks of yet another set-up, no doubt ‘inspired’ by US pressure as part of the build-up to yet another Middle Eastern ‘adventure’.
http://www.williambowles.info/ini/ini-0371.html
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Lebanese encircle Palestinian bases :
Lebanese troops and tanks have encircled military bases run by pro-Syrian Palestinian fighters near the border with Syria.
http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/47B145FB-9C26-438D-9647-E6C3095897A1.htm
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Six"Taliban" fighters killed as US jets pound hideouts:
The US military Wednesday said they had killed six Taliban fighters during air raids on their positions in southern Afghanistan.
http://www.kuna.net.kw/Home/Story.aspx?Language=en&DSNO=782219
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The bullet holes and bloodstains are gone, but for Uzbeks life is even worse :
Repression on a huge scale follows massacre of at least 500 protesters
http://www.guardian.co.uk/international/story/0,3604,1600516,00.html
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Able Danger warned of attack on USS Cole :
Senior Pentagon officials were warned not to let the USS Cole dock in Yemen two days before terrorists attacked the ship five years ago killing 17 sailors, according to Congressman Curt Weldon, who said the crucial intelligence was gleaned from the former secret defense operation, "Able Danger."
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article10771.htm
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MI5 'blunders let Tube bomber slip away':
A report said that a succession of intelligence failures had allowed Mohammad Sidique Khan, who detonated a device on a train at Edgware Road station on July 7, to "slip away'' after briefly coming under scrutiny.
http://tinyurl.com/bggyl
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Bush Admin. Drops Plan for Nuclear Bunker Buster :
The Bush administration has abandoned research into a nuclea