Truthout roundup 7/28

Truthout contributor Dean Baker writes on what Congress can do to help families facing foreclosure; Chalmers Johnson examines the influence of the military-industrial complex; the US military admits to more civilian killings; bombs kill 17 in Istanbul; as food prices rise, college students become regulars at food banks - on the receiving end; and more ... Browse our continually updating front page at http://www.truthout.org

t r u t h o u t 07.28

Dean Baker Time to Address Foreclosures
http://www.truthout.org/article/after-housing-bill-time-address-foreclosures
Truthout contributor Dean Baker writes: "Last week Congress finally passed its long-debated housing bill. In addition to securing the multimillion-dollar salaries of the top executives of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, and protecting their shareholders from facing the full consequences of their bad stock picks, the bill also provided funds for guaranteeing new mortgages for homeowners facing foreclosure. The bill allows lenders to bring failing mortgages to the Federal Housing Authority (FHA), which will guarantee a new mortgage at 85 percent of the current appraised value of the home. The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimates that lenders will bring 400,000 mortgages to the FHA over the next three years. CBO expects that 140,000 of these mortgages will go into foreclosure a second time, leaving a net of 260,000 homeowners who will hang onto their homes as a result of this program. By contrast, there are likely to be 2.5 million to 3 million foreclosures in both 2008 and 2009. This means that the housing bill will likely help less than five percent of the families facing foreclosure over the next two years, leaving 95 percent of this group out of luck."

Chalmers Johnson The Military-Industrial Complex: It's Much Later Than You Think
http://www.truthout.org/article/the-military-industrial-complex-its-much-later-than-you-think
For TomDispatch.com, Chalmers Johnson writes: "Most Americans have a rough idea what the term 'military-industrial complex' means when they come across it in a newspaper or hear a politician mention it. President Dwight D. Eisenhower introduced the idea to the public in his farewell address of January 17, 1961. 'Our military organization today bears little relation to that known by any of my predecessors in peacetime,' he said, 'or indeed by the fighting men of World War II and Korea ... We have been compelled to create a permanent armaments industry of vast proportions ... We must not fail to comprehend its grave implications ... We must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the military-industrial complex.' Although Eisenhower's reference to the military-industrial complex is, by now, well-known, his warning against its 'unwarranted influence' has, I believe, largely been ignored."

US Concedes Iraq Victims Were Law-Abiding, Not Insurgents
http://www.truthout.org/article/us-concedes-iraq-victims-were-law-abiding-not-insurgents
Leila Fadel, of McClatchy Newspapers, reports: "The U.S. military said Sunday that the three people killed last month after U.S. soldiers shot at their car in one of the most secured areas of Iraq were civilians, not criminals as the military initially reported. The correction came more than a month after a bank manager at a branch inside the airport, Hafeth Aboud Mahdi, and two female bank employees were shot at by U.S. soldiers as they sped to work on a road within the secured airport compound."

Bombs Strike Istanbul Neighborhood, Killing 17
http://www.truthout.org/article/bombs-strike-istanbul-neighborhood-killing-17
For Reuters, Daren Butler and Humeyra Pamuk report: "The death toll in two bomb blasts in Istanbul rose to 17 on Monday in an attack that increased tension hours before a top court was to begin deliberating on whether to ban the governing party. State news agency Anatolian, citing officials, said the toll rose after one person died from wounds sustained in the Sunday evening blasts in a working class neighborhood on the European side of Istanbul. More than 150 people were wounded in the attacks which officials said left 115 people being treated in hospital, including seven in a serious condition."

Struggling College Students Turn to Food Banks
http://www.truthout.org/article/struggling-college-students-turn-food-banks
Whitney Malkin, of The Associated Press, reports: "Just blocks from the University of Washington, a line of people shuffle toward a food pantry, awaiting handouts such as milk and bread. For years, the small University District pantry has offered help to the working poor and single parents in this neighborhood of campus rentals. Now rising food prices are bringing another group: Struggling college students. 'Right now, with things the way they are, a lot of students just can't afford to eat,' said Terry Capleton, who started a Facebook group called 'I Ain't Afraid to be on Food Stamps' when he was a student at Benedict College in South Carolina."