more Truthout 7/28

Audit Find Millions Wasted in Iraq Reconstruction Contract
http://www.truthout.org/article/audit-finds-millions-wasted-iraq-reconstruction-contract
Agence France-Presse: "Millions of dollars were likely wasted on a $900 million army contract to build courthouses, prisons, police and other security facilities in Iraq, an audit released Monday has found."

Rights Group Wants US Officials Probed for Ordering Torture
http://www.truthout.org/article/rights-group-wants-us-officials-probed-ordering-torture
Agence France-Press: "A Nobel-prize-winning rights group said US officials committed war crimes by ordering what the group says was torture of detainees, and called for them to be probed and prosecuted."

Special-Interest Lobbies Pour Cash Into Judicial Races
http://www.truthout.org/article/special-interest-lobbies-pour-cash-into-judicial-races
Tim Jones, The Chicago Tribune: "Sixty-six percent of Americans can name at least one judge on the popular TV show 'American Idol,' while only 15 percent can identify John Roberts as chief justice of the Supreme Court. That's according to a poll showing Americans are largely clueless when it comes to knowledge of the nation's judicial system."

US Deficit to Reach Record $490 Billion in 2009
http://www.truthout.org/article/us-deficit-reach-record-490-billion-2009
Roger Runningen, Bloomberg: "The U.S. budget deficit will widen to a record of about $490 billion next year, an administration official said, leaving a deep budget hole that will constrain the next president's tax and spending plans."

EPA to White House: Greenhouse Gases Endanger Health
http://www.truthout.org/article/epa-white-house-greenhouse-gases-endanger-health
Juliet Eilperin, The Washington Post: "Under a subpoena threat from Senator Barbara Boxer (D-California), who chairs the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, the Environmental Protection Agency late Wednesday sent the panel a copy of its December 5 proposal to regulate greenhouse gases under the Clean Air Act - as a brief loan."

Hundreds Protest Immigration Raid in Small-Town America
http://www.truthout.org/article/hundreds-protest-immigration-raid-in-small-town-america
Agence France-Presse: "Led by 43 women with electronic tracking bracelets on their ankles, hundreds of people from around the country marched down main street in Postville Sunday to protest the biggest immigration raid in US history, at a kosher meat plant, that has split this tiny Iowa town asunder."

Incidentally Single, Intentionally Mothers
http://www.truthout.org/article/incidentally-single-intentionally-mothers
Michele St. Martin of Minnesota Women's Press, "Women in their 30's and 40's are increasingly choosing to become parents without partners, challenging stereotypes and conventions. Who are they, why are they choosing single motherhood, and what do they have to say about it?"

Drug Ad Rules Are Hazy, Enforcement Often Slow, GAO Reports
http://www.truthout.org/article/drug-ad-rules-are-hazy-enforcement-often-slow-gao-reports
The Associated Press: "When federal regulators catch a drug company peddling prescription medications for an unapproved use, it takes them an average of seven months to issue a warning, according to a draft report by Congressional investigators. It typically takes four more months for the company to fix the problem. During that time, a lot of prescriptions can be written."

Pamela Smith A Step Backward for Voting System Transparency
http://www.truthout.org/article/a-step-backward-voting-system-transparency
Pamela Smith for The Verified Voting Foundation: "On June 26, 2008, Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-California) and Senator Robert Bennett (R-Utah) introduced the Bipartisan Electronic Voting Reform Act (S. 3212). The press release accompanying the introduction of S. 3212 observes, 'the ability to ensure there is an accurate, reliable and transparent method for Americans to cast and count votes is fundamental to our democratic process.' Unfortunately, S.3212 falls far short of ensuring accuracy, reliability, and transparency in our elections and is likely to do more harm than good."

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