More stuff

* The NY Times reports on concerns about the long-term mental health of soldiers fighting in Iraq.

* According to Scripps Howard News Service, nearly 900 U.S. children have had a parent killed in the Iraq war.

* The LA Times reports that "Marines in Iraq conducted mock executions of juvenile prisoners last year, burned and tortured other detainees with electrical shocks, and warned a Navy corpsman they would kill him if he treated any injured Iraqis, according to military documents made public Tuesday."

* Eric Leaver offers five steps to lessen the violence and insecurity in Iraq.

* David Edwards and David Cromwell, the editors of Medialens, argue in a Guardian piece that the "media's failure on Iraq was not really a failure at all, but rather a classic product of 'balanced' professional journalism." Amazingly, they seem to be on the same page as Howie Kurtz, of all people.

* Mike Whitney says a revival of the military draft is well in the works. All that's needed is a "trigger mechanism," like another "massive casualty-producing event" on US soil.

* Jim Lobe asks, Are They Serious About Syria?

* Guns vs. Butter.

* George Monbiot: "On Sunday the civil war in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), already responsible for 3.8 million deaths, started again. If you missed it, you’re in good company." The Washington Post has a report on what's happened since then.

* Tom Regan of the CS Monitor has a round up of where the FBI's Israeli spy/AIPAC probe stands.

* Josh Marshall has some good advice for any Democrats with enough of a spine to stand up to the GOP on Social Security privatization.

* Go over to Mousemusings for some...err...musings about Peak Oil.