News aggregator

In his new documentary, Errol Morris revisits Abu Ghraib, asking tough questions about what was and wasn't revealed in those famous photographs.

Picture yourself on a new bike? How about a bike loan?(Photo © J. Maus) Portland-based Unitus Community Credit Union has announced the creation of a bike loan program. According to Tracy Streebel, business development officer with Unitus, the new Bicycle Loan will allow any member of the credit union to borrow money to put toward the [...]

Veterans' Group Seeks to Deliver 10,000 Impeachment Signatures To House Judiciary Committee Chair, Rep. John Conyers

WASHINGTON, DC - May 16 - A national veterans' organization today sent a letter to Representative John Conyers, head of the House Judiciary Committee, requesting a meeting with him to deliver over 10,000 signatures on a petition to impeach George W. Bush. Impeachment hearings would have to be convened by the Michigan Democrat.

The president of Veterans For Peace, Elliott Adams, wrote Conyers requesting a meeting in early June to deliver their petitions. In it, he pointed out that by invading and occupying Iraq, the Bush administration has violated the U.S. Constitution, domestic laws and international treaties.

read more

By Michelle York, New York Times

CENTRAL SQUARE, N.Y. - On Wednesday, Charlie Price was smoking a cigarette and sitting outside his restaurant, Charlie’s Place, on a two-lane stretch of highway on the outskirts of town.0516 02 1

He watched as a small group protesting the war in Iraq marched toward him, carrying peace signs and waving at the cars and tractor-trailers whizzing by. “I don’t think it’s going to do any good,” Mr. Price said of their efforts. “I want to get out of there, too, but I don’t think this is the way.”

Yet once the protesters, headed for Fort Drum, more than 50 miles away, reached him, Mr. Price eagerly offered them water and a place to rest - a more pleasant welcome than they had received from many others along the way.

Carmen Viviano-Crafts, 23, of Syracuse, who was carrying a small cardboard sign that read, “Bring home my boyfriend,” said that some people “gave us the finger and stuff like that.”

read more

Jeremy Scahill writes a review for Truthout of John Cusack's new film, "War, Inc.": "Back in 1989, in his smash hit, 'Say Anything,' John Cusack famously stood with a boom box above his head outside the home of the woman he loved blasting Peter Gabriel's 'In Your Eyes.' With his latest films on the Iraq war, Cusack is standing outside Hollywood with a TV above his head broadcasting his political movies calling on the public to wake up and 'Do Something.'"

The Associated Press reports: "Senator Barack Obama on Friday criticized Senator John McCain, his potential rival for the presidency, and President George W. Bush for what he called 'dishonest and divisive' attacks in hinting that he would appease terrorists."

Dave Montgomery for McClatchy Newspapers writes, "A coalition of Texas community leaders on Friday sued the Department of Homeland Security over the construction of a controversial fence on the Southwest border, saying the DHS trampled the rights of property owners in acquiring land for the project."

Marc Gunther writes in Fortune Magazine: "A climate-change bill that has widespread support as it heads to the Senate floor will create an estimated $150 billion of new assets in the first year it takes effect. Between now and 2050, regulating greenhouse gases could easily generate $3 trillion worth of value in the United States."

William Petroski reports for The Des Moines Register: "A union trying to organize Postville meatpacking workers had asked federal immigration authorities earlier this month not to raid the Agriprocessors Inc. plant while a government investigation of possible labor law violations was under way."

Kelsey Abbruzzese, Brittany Peats and Jordan Zappala report for The Boston Globe: "Men who are civilly committed in Massachusetts are sent to a treatment facility on the grounds of MCI Bridgewater that is large enough to house 250 men and has not resulted in space issues. However, a chronic shortage of beds for women in the same circumstances means that some civilly committed women are sent to MCI Framingham, the state's only women's prison."

Laura MacInnis writes for Reuters: "Health ministers from around the world will try next week to bridge differences over how to overhaul drug patent rules that developing countries say make life-saving medicines costly and inaccessible."

Truthout's Christopher Kuttruff reports: "On Thursday night, the US Senate initiated the process of overturning an FCC ruling made in December to allow for greater media consolidation."

J. Sri Raman writes for Truthout: "A 12-hour encounter between a group of militants and security forces left eight persons dead in the Samba sector of the India-administered State of Jammu and Kashmir on May 11. Earlier, heavy firing across the India-Pakistan Line of Control had been reported from the same area, fortunately without any casualty figures."

Cain Burdeau reports for The Associated Press: "A former Army Corps of Engineers consultant and a dirt subcontractor were indicted Thursday on bribery charges stemming from an investigation into levee work after Hurricane Katrina."

The Associated Press reports: "The millions of dollars in assets reported by Vice President Dick Cheney and his wife, Lynn, nearly triple those held by President Bush and the first lady, Laura Bush, according to newly released financial disclosure forms."

Sara Daniel reports from Beirut for Le Nouvel Observateur: "'We would never have imagined that Hezbollah would dare attack Beirut.' After the Shiite party's violent coup, who can still keep the Land of Cedars from a new descent into hell? Lebanese politicians tear each other apart; the army threatens to implode; the Arab states and international community are more divided than ever."

Maya Schenwar, of Truthout: "At first glance, it seems like a shocking triumph for the antiwar movement: After five years of war, the House of Representatives finally voted down a war funding bill on Thursday afternoon, while simultaneously passing a provision to set a timeline for withdrawal from Iraq. The catch? The 'triumph' was engineered by House Republicans, most of whom voted 'present' on the funding bill, which would have provided $168.4 billion for operations for Iraq and Afghanistan. If the Republicans had voted for the funding, as they usually do, the 85 Democrats who voted 'yea' would've easily tipped the boat in the war funds' favor."

Gene Johnson, of The Associated Press: "A Justice Department team has traveled to Iraq to investigate the fatal shooting of an Iraqi guard by a security contractor, hastening the resolution of questions about whether US attorneys can prosecute him, an official said Thursday. The contractor, Andrew Moonen of Seattle, was fired by Blackwater USA but never prosecuted and eventually given an overseas job by another contractor. The shooting outraged Iraqis, who questioned how an American could go free under such circumstances."

The Associated Press: "Burma's junta warned today that legal action would be taken against people who trade or hoard international aid as the cyclone's death toll soared above 43,000. It was the first acknowledgment by the military government, albeit indirectly, of problems with relief operations in the aftermath of Cyclone Nargis. The warning came amid reports that foreign aid was being sold openly in markets, and that the military was pilfering and diverting aid for its own use."

Reuters: "The United States and Israel agree on the need for 'tangible action' to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's spokesman said after a visit by US President George W. Bush. 'We are on the same page. We both see the threat ... And we both understand that tangible action is required to prevent the Iranians from moving forward on a nuclear weapon,' Olmert spokesman Mark Regev said on Friday."