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Still no Oversight or Accountability for Contractors in Iraq

Still no Oversight or Accountability for Contractors in Iraq

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Another must-read, by Jeremy Scahill from today’s U.K. Guardian, “A very private war.” Four years into the occupation, there is absolutely no effective system of oversight or accountability governing contractors and their operations. They have not been subjected to military justice, and only two cases have ever reached US civilian courts, under the Military Extraterritorial Jurisdiction Act, which covers some contractors working abroad. (One man was charged with stabbing a fellow contractor, in a case that has yet to go…

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Your Lost Liberties

Your Lost Liberties

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A must-read. This sums it up. Five Ways Bush’s Era of Repression Has Stolen Your Liberties Since 9/11 By Matthew Rothschild, The New Press. Posted July 24, 2007 at AlterNet. From the new book You Have No Rights: Stories of America in an Age of Repression. Chilling stories of ordinary Americans whose everyday liberties have been violated since September 11. One small bit: The 1976 Levi guidelines prohibited the FBI from investigating the First Amendment activities of individuals and groups…

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YouTube Al Jazeera English Channel

YouTube Al Jazeera English Channel

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In an interesting move, the Al Jazeera English channel put a video on YouTube asking for feedback videos on the YouTube channel. What are people’s perceptions, views, and suggestions? (An aside – wow, is that anchorwoman Ghida Fakhry ever pretty!) [youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YVFrryFNfEA[/youtube] As you might expect, the video responses were of varying quality. Many respondents disguised themselves. One hid a pretty nasty message in pig latin. Others used it to interview for a job, or to express various opinions of their…

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Halliburton and KBR in the News

Halliburton and KBR in the News

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Halliburton and KBR have broken up – and breaking up is hard to do. But no sad faces, y’hear? Everything’s A-OK for the billionaire war and oil profit set. They are diggin’ the new headquarters in Dubai – way better than Houston. Texas is so over. Everything’s bigger in the United Arab Emirates. Halliburton’s second quarter profits more than doubled. Halliburton Co.’s profit more than doubled in the second quarter, getting a $933-million lift from the separation of former subsidiary…

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National Anthem PSA

National Anthem PSA

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A new VirusHead tradition begins here. Now. Every Saturday I will post another of Laurie Anderson’s public service announcements. She actually calls them personal service announcements. Just a few little tidbits for you to ruminate upon. (Please make more, Laurie.) The first PSA that I’ve chosen is called “National Anthem.” [youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9cE6Pg2q3lI[/youtube] The words are great though..just a lot of questions, written during a fire…. things like: Hey, do you see anything over there? I don’t know, there’s a lot of…

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Executive Order Overrides War Dissent?

Executive Order Overrides War Dissent?

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One interpretation of the Executive Order “Blocking Property of Certain Persons Who Threaten Stabilization Efforts in Iraq” is that is actually provides the President with the authority to confiscate the assets of whoever opposes the US-led war. A presidential Executive Order issued on July 17th, repeals with the stroke of a pen the right to dissent and to oppose the Pentagon’s military agenda in Iraq. … In substance, under this executive order, opposing the war becomes an illegal act. The…

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