DON'T FORGET WHO IS OUT THERE DOING THE DIRTY WORK

UNION CALLS FOR IRAQ PULLOUT
Nearly 4000 delegates of Service Employees International Union (SEIU), the nation's largest with 1.6 million members, voted unanimously at the union's national convention in San Francisco today to end U.S. occupation of Iraq and to bring U.S. troops stationed there home.
(ANTI-IMPERIALIST LEAGUE, Suggested by Cuba News Digest)
For Common Dreams story on other voices calling for pullout Click Here

REVEREND MOON CROWNED MESSIAH IN CONGRESS
"As a shining symbol of democracy, the United States capital is not ordinarily a place where coronations occur. So news that the Rev. Sun Myung Moon, the eccentric and exceedingly wealthy Korean-born businessman, donned a crown in a Senate office building and declared himself the Messiah while members of Congress watched is causing a bit of a stir."
(NYT)

UNDERSTANDING SECT FIRST STEP TOWARDS PEACE
"Shiites stick together. Their formidable official religious establishment, or Hawza, acts as one entity, even though its members may be in Najaf, in Qom in Iran (the other major center of learning), or any other place with substantial numbers of Shiites. Unlike, say, the Vatican, the Hawza is not an organized theocracy with clear hierarchies and chains of authority. Rather, it is bound by fervor, consensus and the utter devotion of its leaders and followers. This makes it a tricky institution to predict. "
(NYT)
For an excellent piece on Saudi Arabia and the problems of terrorism there see the latest Newsweek or click here.

THERE. HE SAID IT AGAIN!
"Vice President Dick Cheney said Saddam Hussein had 'long-established ties' with al Qaida, an assertion that has been repeatedly challenged by some policy experts and lawmakers. The vice president on Monday offered no details backing up his claim of a link between Saddam and al Qaida."
(FINDLAW)

FORMER DIPLOMATS BOO BUSH
"A group of 26 retired U.S. diplomats and military officers said Wednesday that President Bush should be voted out of office in November for damaging U.S. national security interests and America's standing in the international community."
Prominent members include retired Marine Gen. Joseph P. Hoar, commander of U.S. forces in the Middle East during the administration of Bush's father; retired Adm. William J. Crowe Jr., ambassador to Britain under President Bill Clinton and chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff under President Ronald Reagan; and retired Adm. Stansfield Turner, former head of the Central Intelligence Agency.
(FINDLAW)