Courtesy of discourse.net, GQ have a must-read article on the persecution of the Abu Ghraib whistle blower which illuminates how little the public has been informed about the wilfulness of the torture - particularly that several of the soldiers in the pictures should not have even been in the cellblock. The extent of the cover up of this scandal implicates all U.S.

Going out on a limb, could there be any correlation between Chavez winning the referendum in Venezuela, with the U.S. backed opposition vowing to contest the result and Bush beginning the return of 70,000 troops from Germany and South Korea, many to the U.S?

Courtesy of Michael Moore, Porter Goss, the proposed director of the CIA, replacing George Tenet describes just how qualified he is for the job.

The Atlantic has a report by Alan Cullison describing the contents of a computer stolen from Al-Qaeda's office in Kabul, including emails by Bin Laden. It provides an insight into the daily operations of the organisation.

Courtesy of War in Context, the Center for Public Integrity has a very detailed report on those corporations most benefiting from post-war contracts. Interesting to note the second highest earning contractor, Parson's Corporation, well behind Kellogg Brown and Root, who "just happen" to be the subsidiary of Halliburton, VP Cheney's company (who still pays him).

President of Venezuela Hugo Chavez is facing a referendum on his presidency on August 15th. Chavez has already fought off one coup attempt (see the documentary The Revolution Will Not Be Televised) by the corporatist opposition who bought the referendum, using falsified signatures on the petition.

Sibel Edmonds tells it like it is to the 9/11 whitewash commission. Her charges are detailed and specific, naming names and referring to significant claims that she testified to the 9/11 commission that are not reported in the commissions findings. This is purposeful suppression, her claims should have at least been reported and addressed in the 9/11 report.

Wired has an interesting article on an architectural design competition for a women's soccer stadium in South Africa as part of a health care project to combat AIDS.

Reading the U.S. Senate Congressional Record of the U.S. Senate approval of the Australian free trade agreement (H.R. 4759), reveals some of the positions of the U.S.

My next car (if I ever have to buy one again, one of the joys of living in New York city) is going to run on vegetable oil. Greasel has more how-to information. Wired has an article on the appearance of advocates for biodiesel at the Democratic National Convention.