HEADLINE IN THE INDEPENDENT, LONDON

“Britain becomes ‘never, never land’ as personal debt runs out of control”

Britain’s “buy now, pay later” consumer culture has led to unprecedented levels of personal debt. A precarious situation - especially if house prices crash. Hamish McRae: Till debt us do part? Rate rises will test our ability to live with credit”

BUSH STRATEGY FOR 2006: BASH DEMS ON TERRORISM
PRO-TORTURE BILL PASSES SENATE
WHAT THE WARS COST

The 2006 election campaign is underway. The Bush Administration is already recycling its 2002 and 2004 attack the Democrats strategy. The message point is simple and of course simplistic: “Democrats are SOFT on terrorists.” Heeere’s W:

”Bush Calls Democrats ‘Party of Cut-and-Run’

They know that the best defense is a good offense. Here’s the headline in the LA TIMES:

”Bush Lashes Out at the Democratic Party

The President defended the wars in Iraq and on terrorism while denouncing the Democrats.

Here is a comment on the war being defended by the big Man from his former Coalition mate and toady, friend Tony’s former Foreign Secretary, on BBC:

”Mistakes made in Iraq, says Straw

Former Foreign Secretary Jack Straw has described the current situation in Iraq as “dire”.

THE WORLD’S MOST SELF-IMPORTANT NETWORK

Here’s CNN reporting last night on the Situation Room:

l. Bob Woodward says Iraq War is worse than we think.

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/09/28/60minutes/main2047607.shtml

RELATED—NY TIMES

A new book by Bob Woodward, the Washington Post reporter and author, describes a White House driven by dysfunction and division over the war.

2. Analyst William Schneider says that the Republicans are losing support from people who believe the war is a key issue because they are losing confidence in the White House.

3. CNN runs another bang bang battle story from embedded reporter Michael Ware who glorifies marines fighting bad guys, Marine says we will fight as long as it takes. Wolf Blitzer praises the journalists and the Marines in its aftermath in another outbreak of CNN style neutrality.

4. CNN quotes the man on top: “I will not withdraw even if Laura and Barney are the only ones supporting me.” Barney is the Presidential Dog.

5. For balance, there is an interview with Al Franken who blasts not the war but corruption in Iraq. Blitzer says Franken may be running. Wolf: Franken is running. He moved back to Minneapolis and moved his Air America show there. He has made no secret of his Senatorial ambitions.

“May be running?” Please.

TRAINING THE IRAQI POLICE

This program been offered up repeatedly as an example of “progress,” a “good story” that goes untold. The Washington Post took a close look. Their conclusion:

”The hallmarks of this administration continue to be incompetence, corruption, fraud, dishonesty, denial, coverup….add stupidity of the media….and gullibility of a lot of American voters.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/09/27/
AR2006092702134.html

WHAT DOES THE IRAQ FIASCO COST?

The Boston Globe reports (via Undernews)

BRYAN BENDER, BOSTON GLOBE A new congressional analysis shows the Iraq war is now costing taxpayers almost $2 billion a week - nearly twice as much as in the first year of the conflict three years ago and 20 percent more than last year - as the Pentagon spends more on establishing regional bases to support the extended deployment and scrambles to fix or replace equipment damaged in combat. The upsurge occurs as the total cost of military operations at home and abroad since 2001, including the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, will top half a trillion dollars, according to an internal assessment by the nonpartisan Congressional Research Service completed last week.

The spike in operating costs — including a 20 percent increase over last year in Afghanistan, where the mission now costs about $370 million a week — comes even though troop levels in both countries have remained stable. The reports attribute the rising costs in part to a higher pace of fighting in both countries, where insurgents and terrorists have increased their attacks on US and coalition troops and civilians.

Another major factor, however, is “the building of more extensive infrastructure to support troops and equipment in and around Iraq and Afghanistan,” according to the report. Based on Defense Department data, the report suggests that the construction of so-called semi-permanent support bases has picked up in recent months, making it increasingly clear that the US military will have a presence in both countries for years to come.

http://www.boston.com/news/world/articles/2006/09/28/cost_of_iraq_war_nearly_2b_a_week/

NATO IN DEEPER

WP–NATO Agrees to Lead Allies in All Afghanistan -
http://letters.washingtonpost.com/W8RT03A59B69D1484F27F3388AC3D0

SENATE PASSES BUSH TERROR BILL: How did we sink so low in just 6 years?

Mike Whitney proposes an answer:

In a 253 to 168 “party-line” vote, the congress repealed habeas corpus and approved the torturing of prisoners in American custody. It is breathtaking assault on human rights and personal liberty and puts the United States well-outside the community of civilized nations.

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article15143.htm

COMMENT BY RABBI ARTHUR WASKOW:

”The vote to strip out the anti-Habeas provision lost 48-51. It would have taken only 41 Senators to filibuster the bill to death - and what bill in the entire history of the Senate more deserved a filibuster?

Years from now, after more people have been tortured, the Supreme Court may follow the clear statement of the Constitution that Habeas Corpus may be suspended only during invasion or insurrection - but judging from previous votes of the present Justices, they may uphold this law by a 5-4 vote.

This law is second in despicability only to the protection explicitly given slavery in the original Constitution of the United States. I am ashamed that to my grandchildren I am bequeathing an America so defiled.

This coming Monday, Jews who are observing Yom Kippur in traditional form will read the stories of ten great rabbis who were tortured to death by the Roman Empire. It is a cautionary tale about all Empires.

IRAN: THE NEXT CRISIS - PAUL ROGERS

A beleaguered Bush administration could engineer pre-election tensions with Tehran
http://venus.opendemocracy.net/t/3459/38637/2296/0/

TURMOIL IN SOUTH AFRICA

Martin Plaut writes: “South Africa has entered the most difficult political period since the end of apartheid in 1994. At the heart of the crisis is the question of the future direction of the country.

President Thabo Mbeki will be stepping down in 2009, but the battle for succession has already begun. The political coalition that has supported him is on the verge of fracture. South Africa’s political turmoil is a concern not only for South Africans. The country plays a pivotal role on the continent, and Mbeki has carved out a position as a regional peacemaker and global player. Pretoria also figures prominently in U.S. plans for Africa. How South Africa handles this watershed crisis, in other words, will have serious regional and global implications.

http://fpif.org/fpiftxt/3552

NEW UN SECRETARY GENERAL?

The Mail and Guardian reports:

”Doubts surround frontrunner for top UN post Ban Ki-Moon, the frontrunner in the race to become the next United Nations secretary general, defended himself on Thursday against accusations that he was too weak to hold the post. The South Korean foreign minister was top in the first two straw polls but there was unease among diplomats that he might not be forceful enough to restore the organisation’s battered reputation.