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Thomas Paine

To argue with a person who has renounced the use of reason is like administering medicine to the dead.

Saturday, September 12, 2009

History is Written by the Winners

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EPA Finds Hydraulic Fracturing Contaminates Drinking Water Wells
The EPA reports that drinking water wells near oil and gas developments using hydraulic fracturing have been found to be contaminated by toxic compounds used in the process.

“Our families and neighbors are experiencing everything from miscarriages and rare cancers to central nervous system disorders, seizures, and liver disease.” – John Fenton, Pavillion Area Concerned Citizens

The EPA began sampling drinking water wells in the Pavillion, Wyoming, area in March 2009 as part of a Superfund investigation. The investigation was in response to concerns from landowners about changing water quality and quantity after the company EnCana increased the development of gas production in the area.

According to both EnCana and the Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality, there was no evidence of toxic chemicals in the wells, but the EPA is finding differently. The agency informed a local citizens group last month that 11 out of 39 wells tested were indeed contaminated, and contained toxics used in oil and gas production.

The EPA confirmed the presence of 2-butoxyethanol (2-BE) in three wells. This chemical is a known constituent in hydraulic fracturing fluids, and is the same chemical documented in the drinking water well of a Colorado landowner, Laura Amos, after wells nearby were hydraulically fractured by EnCana. Other water contamination found by the EPA in the Pavillion wells included methane, adamantanes (a form of hydrocarbon), and six other chemical compounds of concern.

Residents in the Pavillion area are now calling for a stop to EnCana’s hydraulic fracturing as a result of the EPA findings. The EPA said they will continue to sample water wells in the area and work with EnCana to find the source and extent of the toxic contamination.

“It’s very concerning that we are finding known fracturing products and hydrocarbons in our citizens’ water wells. We’ll await EPA’s determination as to what is the cause of this contamination. However, in the mean time, we are asking EnCana to ensure no more fracturing occurs in the area.” – Fenton

The Fracturing Responsibility and Awareness of Chemicals Act (S. 1215/HR 2766) was introduced in June to require the disclosure of fracturing chemicals to public agencies and remove the exemption for hydraulic fracturing under the Safe Drinking Water Act.

“This shows why federal regulation of fracturing and drilling operations is so important. We have been seeking answers from EnCana and the State of Wyoming for years. We are very pleased that EPA is now getting results. All citizens deserve clean water.” – Deb Thomas, organizer, Power River Basin Resource Council and Pavillion Area of Concerned Citizens

[As a westerner myself, I hope that the health of U.S. citizens heavily outweighs the right of corporations to do as they wish when pursuing a profit, regardless of our country's energy needs.]

Obama Administration Moves to Keep Terror Watch-List Data Strictly Hush-Hush
During his 2008 run for the presidency, Senator Barack Obama promised to reverse the Bush regime's pathological penchant for secrecy and the illegal programs that flourished in darkness like so many poisonous mushrooms.

Administration backpedaling on promises to end the more onerous features of the Bush years betray, not so much Obama's duplicity but rather, the naïve and misplaced hope by his supporters that a centrist Democrat beholden to the corporate pirates and militarists who rule the roost, would actually do things any differently.

In areas of critical importance to civil libertarians, the Democratic regime continues to beef up Bushist programs and heighten government secrecy while limiting public accountability, particularly where the intelligence and security apparatus is concerned.

How else explain Obama's plan, buried within the 2010 budget, to provide the Department of Homeland Security an additional $260 million to hire thousands more state and regional intelligence analysts to staff already bloated and controversial fusion centers?

In this context, The Washington Post reported September 6 that the administration "wants to maintain the secrecy of terrorist watch-list information it routinely shares with federal, state and local agencies, a move that rights groups say would make it difficult for people who have been improperly included on such lists to challenge the government."

According to the ACLU's "Watch List Counter," as of September 8 some 1.27 million names appear on the U.S. government's terror list!

Post reporter Ellen Nakashima writes that "intelligence officials are pressing for legislation that would exempt 'terrorist identity information' from disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act."

Meanwhile, the right-wing Washington Times reported September 9 that the anti-secrecy group, OpenThe Government.org issued a new report challenging the administration to end the abusive practices of the Bush regime.

Patrice McDermott, the executive director of the group told the Washington Times, "This administration is continuing to use the enlarged executive powers of the Bush-Cheney administration." In all areas where government transparency is essential for restoring democratic processes and the rule of law, the Obama administration has failed to deliver.

In essence the new Executive Branch initiative, spearheaded by the Democratic-controlled House and Senate Intelligence Committees would absolve "law enforcement agencies and intelligence 'fusion centers,' which combine state and federal counterterrorism resources" from even minimal levels of accountability for individuals damaged by an improper listing on the government's national security index.

Claiming that disclosure would risk "alerting terrorism suspects" that they're on the secret state's radar and "may help them evade surveillance," Michael G. Birmingham, a spokesman for the spooky Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI), told the Post that the "intelligence community" is seeking "adequate protection from disclosing terrorist identity information" to the public because "no [such] exemption currently exists under FOIA."

Circular logic such as this of course, means in practice that intelligence operatives--both federal and private--are aiming to increase their reach into our lives by exempting their agents, or well-paid private contractors manning a growth-rich "terrorism industry," from minimal standards of disclosure.

"The goal," according to Birmingham, is to "keep sensitive unclassified information from unintended recipients, including terrorism suspects." And if someone has been improperly classified a "terrorism suspect" and prevented from boarding a plane or obtaining employment? Well, tough luck!

And with criteria for watch-listing that is vague at best, the prospects of ever having yourself removed from one is an exercise in Kafkaesque futility. According to the FBI's Terrorist Screening Center (TSC), an individual lands on a watch-list if he or she is "known or appropriately suspected to be or have been engaged in conduct constituting, in preparation for, in aid of, or related to terrorism."

Ponder the phrase "in aid of, or related to terrorism." What does that mean?

As I reported in October, citing a document published by the intelligence web site Cryptome, the FBI's Counterterrorism Analytical Lexicon reveals the following:

US-Radicalized: A "US-radicalized" individual's primary social influence has been the cultural values and beliefs of the United States and whose radicalization and indoctrination began or occurred primarily in the United States.

Ideologue or propagandist: An "ideologue" or "propagandist" establishes, promotes, or disseminates justifications for violent extremism, often through manipulation of primary text materials such as religious texts or historical accounts that establish grievances. He or she may not have strong links to any terrorist organization or be integrated into an organization's command structure. Unless he or she directly advocates specific acts of violence, much of such an individual's activity might be constitutionally protected. (Federal Bureau of Investigation, Counterterrorism Analytical Lexicon," Washington, D.C., no date, pp. 4-5)

This covers a lot of ground. Would an anarchist, socialist or environmental critic of current U.S. policies, such as the escalation of America's imperialist intervention in Afghanistan or West Virginia mountaintop removal for quick extraction of coal for example, fall into the category of an "ideologue" since his or her "activity might be constitutionally protected"?

And what about the equally suspect term "propagandist"? Would an historian or journalist for example, who cites primary source materials published by the CIA or the oxymoronic National Endowment for Democracy, and then builds a case that the United States attempted the 2002 overthrow of the Chávez government in Venezuela, thereby stand accused of "manipulating historical accounts" and fall under the FBI's spotlight? And what if that person were subsequently watch-listed? What recourse would he or she have at discovering who their accusers were?

If the Executive Branch's legislative proposal passes muster in the House and Senate, they'll probably never know.

An Insatiable Surveillance Beast: Fusion Centers

Feeding the monstrosity known as the Terrorist Screening Center is the National Counterterrorism Center's (NCTC) Terrorist Identities Datamart Environment (TIDE), a vast database of names powering the surveillance state.

"Every evening" according to an NCTC Fact Sheet, "TIDE analysts export a sensitive but unclassified subset of the data containing the terrorist identifiers to the FBI's Terrorist Screening Center" as well as to the Transportation Security Administration for inclusion on TSA's "No Fly" list and the Department of State's visa database of individuals to be denied entry into the U.S.

Information on "domestic terrorists" and "violent extremists" are provided to TSC and TIDE by the FBI, CIA, NSA, U.S. Northern Command and some 70 fusion centers scattered across the country. The Post article specifically states that state and local police agencies and fusion centers would be exempt from reporting "terrorist identity information" currently available under the Freedom of Information Act.

As the American Civil Liberties Union revealed in a series of troubling reports, fusion centers are "state, local and regional institutions [that] were originally created to improve the sharing of anti-terrorism intelligence among different state, local and federal law enforcement agencies."

However, ACLU researchers Michael German and Jay Stanley revealed "the scope of their mission quickly expanded--with the support and encouragement of the federal government--to cover 'all crimes and all hazards.'"

Ominously for privacy and individual rights, "the types of information they seek for analysis has also broadened over time to include not just criminal intelligence, but public and private sector data, and participation in these centers has grown to include not just law enforcement, but other government entities, the military and even select members of the private sector."

German and Stanley identified serious problems with these largely unaccountable intelligence-gathering bureaucracies:

• Ambiguous Lines of Authority. The participation of agencies from multiple jurisdictions in fusion centers allows the authorities to manipulate differences in federal, state and local laws to maximize information collection while evading accountability and oversight through the practice of "policy shopping."

• Private Sector Participation. Fusion centers are incorporating private-sector corporations into the intelligence process, breaking down the arm's length relationship that protects the privacy of innocent Americans who are employees or customers of these companies, and increasing the risk of a data breach.

• Military Participation. Fusion centers are involving military personnel in law enforcement activities in troubling ways.

• Data Fusion = Data Mining. Federal fusion center guidelines encourage wholesale data collection and manipulation processes that threaten privacy.

• Excessive Secrecy. Fusion centers are hobbled by excessive secrecy, which limits public oversight, impairs their ability to acquire essential information and impedes their ability to fulfill their stated mission, bringing their ultimate value into doubt. (Michael German and Jay Stanley, What's Wrong With Fusion Centers?, American Civil Liberties Union, December 2007)

In their 2008 follow-up report, German and Stanley wrote that "it is becoming increasingly clear that fusion centers are part of a new domestic intelligence apparatus." They revealed that "elements of this nascent domestic surveillance system" include:

• Watching and recording the everyday activities of an ever-growing list of individuals
• Channeling the flow of the resulting reports into a centralized security agency
• Sifting through ("data mining") these reports and databases with computers to identify individuals for closer scrutiny

Such a system, if allowed to permeate our society, would be nothing less than the creation of a total surveillance society. (Michael German and Jay Stanley, Fusion Center Update, American Civil Liberties Union, July 2008)

Driving home the point that pervasive surveillance has real-world consequences, not least of all in terms of limiting public accountability, the Center for Investigative Reporting (CIR) disclosed during their investigation into police state tactics during last year's Democratic and Republican National Conventions in Denver and St. Paul, that local authorities, federal agencies and private corporations, sought to suppress information on their activities.

Investigative journalist G.W. Schulz revealed that Denver officials "refused a public-records request sent by CIR." The close proximity of USNORTHCOM's headquarters at Peterson Air Force Base in nearby Colorado Springs, and their alleged participation in illegal intelligence gathering, may be one reason why Denver officials were less than forthcoming. In an echo of the current debate in Washington, Schulz reported:

The Colorado Information Analysis Center is run by the state's Department of Public Safety. In a response letter, Spokesman Lance Clem said that releasing the records would be contrary to the public interest and "not only would compromise [the] security and investigative practices of numerous law enforcement agencies but would also violate confidentiality agreements that have been made with private partner organizations and federal, state and local law enforcement agencies." (G.W. Schulz, "Are Things Any Different in Denver?," Center for Investigative Reporting, September 1, 2009)

With a long-standing and well-documented history of illegal spying and infiltration of antiwar and other dissident groups by Denver police, it is clear that law enforcement repressors have much to hide.

CIR also revealed that Minnesota's Joint Analysis Center (MJAC) and that state's "ICEFISHX communications network, which collects reports about suspicious activity," closely coordinated activist surveillance with both the FBI and "authorities in the neighboring states of North Dakota and South Dakota." An additional layer of unaccountability and secrecy was added to the mix when CIR disclosed that corporate spies also contribute information to fusion centers.

Private corporations even contribute "intelligence" to ICEFISHX. Douglas Reynolds, security director for the Mall of America, the largest retail complex in the United States based in Bloomington, described his office to Congress in July of 2008 as the "number one source of actionable intelligence in the state," having handed more information regarding suspicious activities to the fusion center than anyone else. Several attempts to reach Reynolds for elaboration failed. (G.W. Schulz, "Fighting Crime with Computers in Minnesota," Center for Investigative Reporting, September 1, 2009)

The nexus among state spies and capitalist grifters point to an ongoing process whereby public, democratic institutions are systematically hollowed-out in favor of a perverse subversion of the public's right to know into yet another proprietary commercial secret.

Encompassing all relationships in a social order mediated by a zero sum game where profit is king and the devil take the hindmost, the only meaningful exchange recognized by the system is the sterile transfer of cash from one palm to another.

Is it any wonder then that the Obama administration, like their Bushist predecessors seek to conceal these illegal surveillance programs from the American people by exempting their most egregious features, the neo-McCarthyite watch-list, from disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act?

Federal Prosecutors Say Blackwater 'Specifically Intended to Kill' Civilians
The US government’s allegations back-up the explosive testimony of two former Blackwater employees. Gov’t says Blackwater shot Iraqis as “payback for 9/11”

A month ago, most major, corporate media outlets ignored the sworn statements of two former Blackwater employees, one of whom—identified in court papers as John Doe #2— alleged that the company’s owner Erik Prince “views himself as a Christian crusader tasked with eliminating Muslims and the Islamic faith from the globe,” and that Prince’s companies “encouraged and rewarded the destruction of Iraqi life.” Most media outlets ignored the numerous, specific allegations contained in the sworn affidavit of John Doe #1 about Blackwater operatives shooting at defenseless civilians—most of them based on John Doe #1’s personal experience working in Iraq for Blackwater.

Now, it is not just former employees making these allegations.

On September 7, federal prosecutors in Washington DC submitted papers in the criminal case against five Blackwater operatives for their alleged role in the 2007 Nisour Square shooting in Baghdad that killed 17 Iraqi civilians and wounded more than 20 others. Blackwater forces “fired at innocent Iraqis not because they actually believed that they were in imminent danger of serious bodily injury and actually believed that they had no alternative to the use of deadly force, but rather that they fired at innocent Iraqi civilians because of their hostility toward Iraqis and their grave indifference to the harm that their actions would cause,” the acting US Attorney in DC, Channing Phillips, alleges in court papers submitted by Kenneth C. Kohl, the lead prosecutor on this case. “[T]he defendants specifically intended to kill or seriously injure the Iraqi civilians that they fired upon at Nisur Square.”

The allegation that stands out most in the court filing, as Mother Jones noted, is this one against one of the Nisour Square defendants:
During the twelve months proceeding the events charged in the indictment, while assigned to the Raven 23 convoy operating at various locations in the Red Zone in Baghdad, Iraq, defendant Nicholas Slatten made statements that he wanted to kill as many Iraqis as he could as “payback for 9/11,” and he repeatedly boasted about the number of Iraqis he had shot… [During these 12 months,] Slatten deliberately fired his weapon to draw out return fire and instigate gun battles in a manner that was inconsistent with the use of force and escalation of force policies that governed Blackwater personnel in Iraq.

Here are some other key excerpts from the court document:
[T]he United States will seek to introduce evidence that in the year leading up to the events of September 16, 2007, several of the defendants had harbored a deep hostility toward Iraqi civilians which they demonstrated in words and deeds. The defendants’ demonstrated hostility toward Iraqi civilians bears directly on the defendants’ respective states of mind when they fired rounds at innocent civilians at Nisur Square on September 16, 2007. In addition to verbal expressions of hatred towards Iraqi civilians, the defendants engaged in unprovoked and aggressive behavior toward unarmed Iraqi civilians in Baghdad. In so doing, the defendants routinely acted in disregard of the use of force policies that they were required to follow as a condition of their employment as Blackwater guards.
During the twelve months proceeding the events charged in the indictment, while assigned to a turret gun position on the Raven 23 convoy operating at various locations in the Red Zone in Baghdad, Iraq, defendants Paul Slough, Nicholas Slatten and Evan Liberty routinely threw water bottles and other items at unarmed civilians, vehicles, wagons, and bicycles without justification in an attempt to break automobile windows, injure and harass people, and for sport, and in a manner that was inconsistent with the use of force and escalation of force policies that governed Blackwater personnel in Iraq. Among the items thrown were frozen oranges and frozen water bottles.
On or about May 23, 2007, in the vicinity of Amanat City Hall in Baghdad, Iraq, near an intersection of the city known to Blackwater personnel as “Grey 55,” defendant Evan Liberty discharged an automatic weapon from the turret of a Blackwater armored vehicle without aiming the weapon, and without regard for who might be struck by the rounds, and in a manner that was inconsistent with the use of force and escalation of force policies that governed all Blackwater personnel in Iraq.
On or about September 9, 2007, in the vicinity of Amanat City Hall in Baghdad, Iraq, near an intersection of the city known to Blackwater personnel as “Grey 55,” defendant Evan Liberty discharged an automatic weapon from a port hole of a Blackwater armored vehicle, while driving that vehicle, without aiming the weapon, and without regard for who might be struck by the rounds, and in a manner that was inconsistent with the use of force and escalation of force policies that governed all Blackwater personnel in Iraq.

It is also significant that federal prosecutors reject any suggestion by Blackwater or the defendants in this case that the men at Nisour Square acted in self-defense in response to an attack by “insurgent,” as Blackwater alleged from day one. “None of these victims was an insurgent, and many were shot while inside of civilian vehicles that were attempting to flee” Blackwater’s operatives, prosecutors allege.

Will corporate news outlets pick up this story now?

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What you must know...

Consortium News
Independent Investigative Journalism Since 1995
September 12, 2009

Bush's Interrogators Stressed Nudity
George W. Bush's interrogators humiliated "war on terror" captives by keeping them nude, reports Robert Parry. September 12, 2009

Obama Faces Hard Afghan Choice
With the Afghan War nearly eight years old, President Obama must make a fateful choice on troop levels, says Michael Winship. September 12, 2009

Gaps in Obama's Health Proposal
President Obama signaled that significant health reform might be delayed for years, reports TheRealNews. September 11, 2009

Old Hands Picked for CIA Oversight
Congressional Republicans and the CIA opt for "trusted old hands" for intelligence oversight jobs, says Melvin A. Goodman. September 11, 2009

The Real Lessons of 9/11
The 9/11 attacks and their aftermath show that competence and rational behavior matter, writes Robert Parry. September 11, 2009


US Workers Get Short Shrift on Jobs
Since the 1970s, U.S. workers have seen little gain from surging productivity, reports TheRealNews. September 10, 2009

The Speech that Obama Should Give
President Obama hopes a speech to Congress will revive health reform, but Ray McGovern says some strong medicine is needed. September 8, 2009

Ronald Reagan's Torture
The CIA report on George W. Bush's torture policies also offers clues on Ronald Reagan's "dark side," reports Robert Parry. September 8, 2009

Careerists Pull Obama to Afghan Mess
Media and political careerists want President Obama to plunge deeper into the Afghan morass, says Melvin A. Goodman. September 8, 2009

At Glenn Beck's Call
Fox News' Glenn Beck pressured the White House to oust Van Jones over a "9/11 truth" petition, David Swanson notes. September 7, 2009

Obama Must Respect Afghan Humanity
President Obama needs new thinking to reverse the poisonous violence of Afghanistan, argues Sherwood Ross. September 7, 2009

Anti-Hillary Movie Tests Legal Limits
A movie attacking Hillary Clinton may prompt a Supreme Court standard for corporate money in politics, writes Michael Winship. September 6, 2009

Colin Powell and Lessons of My Lai
William Calley voices remorse about the My Lai massacre, but Colin Powell has never been called to account, says Robert Parry. September 4, 2009

Broder Is Latest Torture Apologist
David Broder has joined the list of Washington Post columnists finding excuses for torture, writes Melvin A. Goodman. September 4, 2009

Mercenaries Hide Costs of War
Washington's use of mercenaries shields the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan from their full political costs, writes Sherwood Ross. September 3, 2009

The War on CIA's Inspector General
Stung by the critical torture report, CIA brass undercuts an independent inspector general, writes Melvin A. Goodman. September 3, 2009

Ignoring the Truth about Lockerbie
The furor over the release of a Libyan convicted of the Lockerbie bombing ignores evidence of his innocence, says William Blum. September 3, 2009

PanAm 103 Verdict: Justice or Politics?
From the Archive: The Obama administration won't question the weak evidence in the PanAm 103 bombing conviction. By William Blum

Afghanistan for Dummies
President Obama's envoy on Afghanistan is muddled in explaining how to measure the war's success, says Ray McGovern. September 2, 2009

WPost Misses Real Problem at CIA
Lamenting poor CIA morale, the Washington Post misses the years of mismanagement, writes Melvin A. Goodman. September 1, 2009

Cheney May Balk at Torture Probe
Ex-Vice President Dick Cheney says he might not cooperate with a federal probe into torture, reports Jason Leopold. August 31, 2009

WPost Helps CIA Defend Torture
The Washington Post is back rationalizing the Bush administration's anything-goes "war on terror," writes Ray McGovern. August 30, 2009

WPost Takes the Pro-Torture Side
Ex-CIA analyst Melvin A. Goodman says the Washington Post's distorted article on torture shows need for a truth commission. August 30, 2009

Health Care for Camelot
The goal of universal health care was always a prime political cause for the Kennedy clan, recalls Michael Winship. August 29, 2009

What Would Jesus Really Do?
Translating the Bible's ancient words can be tricky, but Jesus's lessons in the modern world are clear, says Rev. Howard Bess. August 29, 2009

Closing In on the Torturers
Attorney General Eric Holder's decision to probe Bush-era torture is an important step, ex-CIA analyst Ray McGovern says. August 26, 2009

WPost Again Plays Torture Apologist
The Washington Post resumes its long defense of Bush administration abuses, writes ex-CIA analyst Melvin A. Goodman. August 26, 2009

US Interrogators Back Torture Probe
Veteran interrogators for U.S. intelligence say a probe of torture abuses would help avoid future mistakes, writes Jason Leopold. August 23, 2009

CIA: Osama Helped Bush in '04
From the Archive: Osama bin Laden's pre-election video in 2004 was viewed at the CIA as a bid to boost George W. Bush. By Robert Parry

Lockerbie Doubts
Lost in U.S. outrage over release of a Libyan convicted of the PanAm 103 bombing is the doubt about his guilt, Lisa Pease notes. August 21, 2009

Blackwater's Unwritten Death Contract
President Bush's CIA farmed out assassination work to Blackwater mercs without regard to legal constraints, says Ray McGovern. August 20, 2009

Tom DeLay Stomps Woodstock Nation
Peaceful dreams of Woodstock lost out to the likes of GOP leader (and dance contestant) Tom DeLay, writes Michael Winship. August 20, 2009

The Republican Ayatollahs
Nine GOP senators protest an investigation of CIA torture with arguments like those of Iran's ayatollahs, says David Swanson. August 20, 2009

In Case You Missed These Stories
Once a month, we look back at some of the previous month's special stories. Here's a selection from July.

Why the Right's Propaganda Works
The Right's success in selling lies about President Obama's health reform derives from its media clout, writes Robert Parry. August 19, 2009

Robert Novak Was a Liar
Washington pundits are eulogizing right-wing columnist Robert Novak, but are leaving out that he was a liar, says Robert Parry. August 19, 2009

Afghans Hope Talks Follow Election
Afghans are cynical about Thursday's presidential election but hope it could jump-start peace, reports TheRealNews. August 19, 2009

Fromme-Peltier: Inequality of Mercy
Does Indian leader Leonard Peltier deserve mercy like "Squeaky" Fromme, ask Dennis Bernstein and Miguel Gavilan Molina. August 18, 2009

A Power Equal to a Thousand Words
Filmmaker David Kasper reflects on President Obama's troubling decision to conceal photographic evidence of war crimes. August 18, 2009

WTimes' Hypocritical Obama-Nazi Slur
The right-wing Washington Times linked Barack Obama to Hitler, but the Times' founder has the real Nazi ties, says Robert Parry. August 17, 2009

Israel Evicts Palestinians from Homes
Israeli police ousted two Palestinian families from homes in East Jerusalem, drawing rare U.S. criticism, reports TheRealNews. August 17, 2009

Iraq War's Winners and Losers
The Iraq War's losers now include a battered U.S. economy, but military contractors were big winners, says Sherwood Ross. August 17, 2009

A Gorilla Dust-up Over Health Care
The clash over health care has become an excuse to refight unresolved U.S. political battles, writes Michael Winship. August 15, 2009

Cheney's New Gambit
Dick Cheney's anger at George Bush for not using his pardoning power may reflect personal self-interest, says Ray McGovern. August 14, 2009

The Truth Will Not Out, on Its Own
The hysterias over the Iraq War and now health-care reform suggest truth is a fragile U.S. commodity, writes Robert Parry. August 13, 2009

Rove Implicated in Prosecutor Firings
Political adviser Karl Rove pressed for the firing of a key U.S. Attorney who balked at prosecuting Democrats, reports Jason Leopold. August 12, 2009

Palin's 'Death Panel' and GOP Lying
Sarah Palin's rant about Barack Obama's "death panel" fits with a 30-year-old Republican strategy to deceive, says Robert Parry. August 11, 2009

McGovern on 'Downing Street Minutes'
Ex-CIA analyst Ray McGovern revisits the curious case of the "Downing Street Minutes" and the Iraq War, reports TheRealNews. August 10, 2009

McGovern on 'Downing Street' (Part 2)
Ex-CIA analyst Ray McGovern describes how the Washington Post 'dissed' the "Downing Street Minutes," via TheRealNews. August 10, 2009

Holder's Torture-Probe Plan Faulted
Attorney General Eric Holder's intent to okay only a limited torture probe is called too narrow, reports Jason Leopold. August 10, 2009

Al Jazeera Dissects Health-Care Battle
Arab network Al Jazeera says special-interest money has put President Obama's health-care plan on the defensive. August 8, 2009

Al Jazeera Examines US Health Crisis
Arab network Al Jazeera looks at the human suffering behind the American health-care battle, via TheRealNews. (Part 1) August 7, 2009

Olbermann-O'Reilly 'Truce' Frays
The "truce" between MSNBC's Keith Olbermann and Fox News' Bill O'Reilly unravels after its exposure, writes Robert Parry. August 7, 2009

Keeping an Eye Out for Planet Earth
The Obama administration is freeing up evidence about global warming but political challenges block progress, says Michael Winship. August 7, 2009

Ex-CIA Analyst Criticizes State Secrets
Former CIA analyst Melvin A. Goodman says the "state secret privilege" is mostly used to cover up embarrassments. August 7, 2009

Ellsberg's Hiroshima Remembrance
Pentagon Papers whistleblower Daniel Ellsberg recalls Hiroshima and his family's ties to the early days of the atomic era. August 6, 2009

GE Muzzles Olbermann about Fox
As Fox News eggs on health-care disruptions, MSNBC's Keith Olbermann respects a GE-brokered truce with Fox, says Robert Parry. August 5, 2009

Assessing Rumsfeld's Military Strategy
Ex-Defense Secretary Rumsfeld is faulted for his "small-footprint" strategy, but other options could be worse, writes Ivan Eland. August 4, 2009

US Confronts the Russia-Iran Alliance
Iran's warmer relations with Russia and others outside the U.S. orbit complicate President Obama's plans, reports TheRealNews. August 4, 2009

Battling for Single-Payer Healthcare
Right-wing media rallies Republican activists against healthcare bills, as reformers struggle to be heard, reports Siobhan Kolar. August 4, 2009

Bush's Conspiracy to Riot
From the Archive: Today's right-wing disruptions of health-care "town halls" harken back to George W. Bush's riot in 2000. By Robert Parry

Bashing Obama on Taxes
Washington pundits jump to a conclusion that President Obama is breaking his word on middle-class taxes, says Robert Parry. August 3, 2009

Panetta Pleads for No CIA Punishment
CIA Director Leon Panetta pens an op-ed that urges no "retribution" for Bush-era CIA crimes, notes Melvin A. Goodman. August 2, 2009

How Pay-to-Play Corrupts Washington
From Washington Post "salons" to a conservative group's for-sale sign, it's all about pay-to-play in DC, writes Michael Winship. August 2, 2009

Why Obama's Health Plan Falters
The American Left failed to fight for "single-payer" and ended up pushing for an inadequate "public option," says Jeff Cohen. August 2, 2009

The Left's Media Miscalculation
From the Archive: A lookback at that how the American Left squandered its media advantage and aided the Right's ascendancy. By Robert Parry

GOP & KAL007: 'The Key Is to Lie First'
From the Archive: A case study of how Ronald Reagan and the Republicans mastered the Big Lie a quarter century ago. By Robert Parry

The Wedding
From the Archive: An explanation of why Dick Cheney would be so audacious to hide a covert action from Congress. By Robert Parry

America's Matrix
From the Archive: A look-back at how we exposed George W. Bush's deceptions at the start of the Iraq War. By Robert Parry

Rev. Moon, North Korea & the Bushes
From the Archive: A look-back on the Rev. Sun Myung Moon's secret financial ties to North Korean and U.S. leaders. By Robert Parry

SHERRY SHRINER
FALSE PROPHET OF SERPENT SEED

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