Truthout roundup 6/2

Truthout's Maya Schenwar interviews Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky; McClellan thinks Rove should have been fired; US accused of holding terror suspects on prison ships; Tom Engelhardt on General Ricardo Sanchez's book; McCain's ties to Phil Gramm are hurting his campaign; and more ... Browse our continually updating front page at http://www.truthout.org

Interview With Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky
http://www.truthout.org/article/interview-with-congresswoman-jan-schakowsky Maya Schenwar, of Truthout: "Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky has had enough of the war in Iraq, and she's had enough of the military contractors that are making it possible. 'These are the guys who carry guns - I would call them mercenaries - who are engaged in inherently governmental activities,' she told me in a recent interview, noting that while contractors carry out many of the same functions as the military, they are held to much less stringent standards. 'One has to ask, 'Is it the policy of the United States of America that contractors can get away with murder?' And frankly, so far, it seems like the answer is 'yes.'"

McClellan: Bush Should Have Fired Rove
http://www.truthout.org/article/mcclellan-bush-should-have-fired-rove The Associated Press: "President Bush broke his promise to the country by refusing to fire aide Karl Rove for leaking a CIA agent's identity, said Scott McClellan, the president's chief spokesman for almost three years. 'I think the president should have stood by his word and that meant Karl should have left,' McClellan said Sunday in a broadcast interview about his new tell-all book, a scathing rebuke of the White House under Bush's leadership."

US Accused of Holding Terror Suspects on Prison Ships
http://www.truthout.org/article/us-accused-holding-terror-suspects-prison-ships Duncan Campbell and Richard Norton-Taylor, of The Guardian UK: "The United States is operating 'floating prisons' to house those arrested in its war on terror, according to human rights lawyers, who claim there has been an attempt to conceal the numbers and whereabouts of detainees. Details of ships where detainees have been held and sites allegedly being used in countries across the world have been compiled as the debate over detention without trial intensifies on both sides of the Atlantic. The US government was yesterday urged to list the names and whereabouts of all those detained."

Tom Engelhardt Presidential Bloodlust
http://www.truthout.org/article/presidential-bloodlust Tom Engelhardt, of TomDispatch: "I was brought back with a start to just such evil-doers of my American screen childhood last week by a memoir from a once-upon-a-time insider of the Bush presidency. No, not former White House press secretary Scott McClellan, who swept into the headlines by accusing the President of using 'propaganda' and the 'complicit enablers' of the media to take the US to war in 2002-2003. I'm thinking of another insider, former commander of US forces in Iraq, Lieutenant General Ricardo Sanchez."

Gramm-UBS Lobbyist Questions Dog McCain Campaign
http://www.truthout.org/article/gramm-ubs-lobbyist-questions-dog-mccain-campaign Mark Hosenball, of Newsweek: "For weeks now, John McCain's presidential campaign has faced awkward questions about the outside activities of several top advisers. Add one more name to the list: former Texas senator Phil Gramm, McCain's longtime friend and one of his five campaign co-chairs. According to McCain spokeswoman Jill Hazelbaker, the co-chair position affords Gramm 'broad input into the structure, financing and conduct of the campaign.'"