Truthout roundup 7/30

Sam Ferguson profiles a woman whose life is forever bound to the tragedies of Argentina's Dirty War; Obama's political persona contrasts with his former law-professor image; Admiral Fallon shares views on Iraq and Iran; negotiations between Zimbabwe's Mugabe and Tsvangirai may have collapsed; harsh immigration policies fuel the prison business; and more ... Browse our continually updating front page at http://www.truthout.org

t r u t h o u t 07.30

Sam Ferguson The Fatima Massacre
http://www.truthout.org/article/the-fatima-massacre
Truthout contributor Sam Ferguson writes: "'No me basta,' says Haydee Gastelu. Often. Literally, it translates from Spanish to mean 'it's not enough for me.' But the dicho could also be interpreted as 'it never ends.' For Mrs. Gastelu, both are true. During the last 32 years, Mrs. Gastelu has relentlessly pursued the suspected murderers of her son Horacio, who was 'disappeared' by the repressive intelligence services of Argentina's last military government in 1976. On August 7 of that year, he and his girlfriend, Ada Victoria Porta, were dragged from Porta's house by a small unit of plain-clothed men in the middle of the night. Porta's family reported seeing the couple forced into a Ford Falcon, hogtied and hooded, as they were driven away. Two weeks later, a predawn blast rocked the small town of Fatima, on the outskirts of Buenos Aires. When the sun rose, workers found the remains of 30 bodies, scattered as far as 60 feet in diameter, incinerated by dynamite. Horacio was amongst the victims of the blast, though Mrs. Gastelu did not know it at the time."

Teaching Law, Testing Ideas, Obama Stood Apart
http://www.truthout.org/article/teaching-law-testing-ideas-obama-stood-apart
The New York Times's Jodi Kantor reports: "The young law professor stood apart in too many ways to count. At a school where economic analysis was all the rage, he taught rights, race and gender. Other faculty members dreamed of tenured positions; he turned them down. While most colleagues published by the pound, he never completed a single work of legal scholarship. At a formal institution, Barack Obama was a loose presence, joking with students about their romantic prospects, using first names, referring to case law one moment and 'The Godfather' the next. He was also an enigmatic one, often leaving fellow faculty members guessing about his precise views. Mr. Obama, now the junior senator from Illinois and the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, spent 12 years at the University of Chicago Law School. Most aspiring politicians do not dwell in the halls of academia, and few promising young legal thinkers toil in state legislatures. Mr. Obama planted a foot in each, splitting his weeks between an elite law school and the far less rarefied atmosphere of the Illinois Senate."

Fallon Reemerges to Speak Out on Iran
http://www.truthout.org/article/fallon-reemerges-speak-out-iran
In The Washington Independent, Spencer Ackerman reports: "In a roundtable Tuesday, Adm. William 'Fox' Fallon, the former commander of U.S. forces in the Middle East ousted for dissenting from the Bush administration's bellicose posture toward Iran, gave a rare public elaboration of his view of multilateral cooperation for security in the region. In one of his first public appearances after his abrupt departure as head of U.S. Central Command, Fallon said at the National Press Club that Gulf countries 'clearly recognize that the U.S. plays a strong leadership role,' and desire that to continue. Further, they ask the U.S. 'to be active' in the region -- though part of being active, he said, included the advice 'don't start a war' with Iran."

Zimbabwe Crisis Talks Adjourn Amid Rumors of a Breakdown
http://www.truthout.org/article/zimbabwe-crisis-talks-adjourn-amid-rumors-a-breakdown
The Christian Science Monitor reports: "It's been a little more than one week since President Robert Mugabe shook the hand of his bitter rival, Morgan Tsvangirai, in what was billed as a historic first step toward a power-sharing government for Zimbabwe. But negotiations - which are closed to the media - were adjourned on Tuesday amid reports that the two teams could not agree who would sit at the top of a unity government. Lead mediator and South African President Thabo Mbeki insisted that the talks had not broken down, but the antagonism between Mr. Mugabe's ZANU-PF party and Mr. Tsvangirai's Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) is so strong on such a wide array of issues that negotiators should prepare for a protracted struggle, experts say."

Why Texas Still Holds 'Em
http://www.truthout.org/article/why-texas-still-holds-em
Stephanie Mencimer of Mother Jones reports: "In 1997, with the private prison business booming, the Corrections Corporation of America picked a 64-acre plot near Austin, Texas, for its newest lockup. A medium-security prison, it was named after the company's cofounder and designed for some 500 federal inmates. But the anticipated stream of prisoners never arrived: By the time the T. Don Hutto Correctional Center opened, a glut of private prison beds, along with CCA's own poor track record, had left the company nearly bankrupt. Its stock, which once traded at around $45 a share, bottomed out at 18 cents. Several of its facilities were shuttered or sat empty for years, including the Hutto prison, which CCA moved to close in 2004. But Hutto, like CCA itself, has risen from the ashes thanks to a sudden source of new business: the Bush administration's crackdown on immigrants."

BREAKING House Panel Votes to Cite Rove for Contempt
http://www.truthout.org/article/house-panel-votes-cite-rove-for-contempt
Laurie Kellman, of The Associated Press: "A House panel Wednesday voted to cite former top White House aide Karl Rove for contempt of Congress as its Senate counterpart publicly pursued possible punishments for an array of alleged past and present Bush administration misdeeds. Voting along party lines, the House Judiciary Committee said that Rove had broke the law by failing to appear at a July 10 hearing on allegations of White House influence over the Justice Department, including whether Rove encouraged prosecutions against Democrats."