‘Here is the first paragraph from today's New York Times article on our latest offensive, based exclusively on the claims of our military commanders:

The operational commander of troops battling to drive fighters with Al Qaeda from Baquba said Friday that 80 percent of the top Qaeda leaders in the city fled before the American-led offensive began earlier this week. He compared their flight with the escape of Qaeda leaders from Falluja ahead of an American offensive that recaptured that city in 2004.

‘An Army officer with a key role in the U.S. military hearings at Guantanamo Bay says they relied on vague and incomplete intelligence and were pressured to declare detainees "enemy combatants," often without any specific evidence.

His affidavit, released Friday, is the first criticism by a member of the military panels that determine whether detainees will continue to be held.

General's Report on Iraq Progress Has Competition

By DAVID E. SANGER and THOM SHANKER

Published: June 24, 2007

Bushit’s maladministration is laying the groundwork for an announcement that “aussie tony” is to be appointed as a special Middle East envoy for Palestinian governance & economic issues, after he steps down as Britain's prime minister, following two months of behind-the-scenes negotiations, according to U.S. officials.

Academy Award-winning filmmaker Michael Moore sat down with Amy Goodman ahead of the release of his new film SiCKO.

The film is a seething indictment of the US healthcare system.

It focuses not on the more than 40 million people who don't have healthcare but on the 250 million who do - many of who are abandoned by the very health insurance industry they paid into for decades.

"They are getting away with murder," Moore said of the health insurance companies.

‘The first ever Australian field trials of genetically modified wheat will take place in Victoria this year, as the government aims to fight possible food shortages caused by drought.

The trials were approved by the federal gene technology regulator, who granted "the limited and controlled release of GM wheat lines containing introduced genes for drought tolerance," according to a government report.

Government by grandstanding

Graham Ring from The National Indigenous Times writes from Alice Springs

The Prime Minister has today announced a raft of clumsy and heavy handed policies in respect to Indigenous communities in the Northern Territory, without any apparent consultation with Indigenous communities or with the NT Government.

Cheney in Dispute on Oversight of His Office

By SCOTT SHANE

Published: June 22, 2007

For four years, Vice President Dick Cheney has resisted routine oversight of his office's handling of classified information, and when the office in charge of overseeing classification in the executive branch objected, the vice president's office suggested that the oversight office be shut down, according to documents released today by a Democratic congressman.

MPs defend 6.7% pay rise, but Greens condemn it

Surprise, surprise!!

Government & Opposition MPs are defending their 6.7% wage rise, but Greens Senator Bob Brown called on the Party leaders to refuse to accept it.

After the wage rise MPs will get an extra $150 a week, Prime Minister John Howard's salary will increase by about $21,000 to $330,000 a year, while Opposition Leader Kevin Rudd will get an extra $15,000.

Cross yourself before driving' Vatican tells motorists

By Barbara Miller

The Vatican is urging motorists not to use their vehicles as an expression of power.

The Vatican has taken a break from matters purely theological to issue a list of Ten Commandments on driving.

The document urges motorists to be charitable, not to use their vehicles as an expression of power and to cross themselves before setting off on their journey.

‘The sprawling $43 billion homeland security department (HSD) is known chiefly for being the agency in charge of America's color-coded terrorist-threat alarm system ("Good morning, Americans. Today is Yellow. Be vigilant. Report all suspicious people.")

Apparently in defence procurement there's no such thing as a fait accompli. It looked like the AWD deal was going to be the usual stich-up... then a minor Spanish Inquisition seems to have upset the apple-cart.

Here's how the US State Department perceives the whole thing:

from Crikey …..

Coonan's policy lacks byte (and other nerd jokes)

Crikey’s resident nerd and lapsed tech journalist Marcus Westbury writes…

Cuba's 'first lady' dies

Vilma Espin, one of the most powerful women in the Cuban revolution that brought her brother-in-law Fidel Castro to power, has died aged 77.

A key figure in advancing women's equality in communist Cuba, Espin was married to Fidel Castro's younger brother Raul, who took over as acting president in July 2006 after the Fidel underwent surgery.

Espin became Cuba's unofficial first lady because Fidel Castro's wife, Dalia Soto del Valle, never played an official role.

A trained chemical engineer, she became a senior figure in the communist regime, where she championed women's rights as president of the Federation of Cuban Women (FMC).

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