For perusal

* While Robert Dreyfuss picks apart the seemingly "good news" about Maliki's reconciliation and amnesty plan for Iraq, Dahr Jamail expresses deep skepticism. The plan, Jamail contends, "was clearly a political move orchestrated from within Pentagon and State Department circles in preparation for the upcoming November mid-term elections in the US and has effectively changed, on the ground in Iraq, approximately nothing."

* A number of Sunni insurgent groups/militias are reportedly offering a ceasefire with occupation forces if the US agrees to withdraw all troops from Iraq in two years.

* US casualties are back up again in Iraq after a brief lull, with 24 killed in a little over a week.

* "The occupation has been one vast extended crime against the Iraqi people," Nir Rosen observes in a powerful essay, "and most of it has occurred unnoticed by the American people and the media." Also see this Buzzflash interview with Rosen about his new book and experiences.

* Gosh, Israel sure isn't bashful about committing war crimes in front of the world. Attacking civilian infrastructure, kidnapping politicians, engaging in blatant acts of collective punishment, deliberately stoking conflict with Syria, et al. I'm sure the IDF will be adding to this tally in coming days/weeks. Whether anyone in the international community will be impolite enough to stand up to the ongoing outrage in Gaza is the only question standing. I wouldn't bet on it.

* In The Nation, Andrew Bacevich deftly shoots down Peter Beinart and the undoubted number of CMLs and "muscular interventionists" The New Republic editor speaks for.

* The assault by nascent fascists on the NY Times for printing its SWIFT story has been one of the most loathsome displays of political maneuvering in recent memory. We've seen stuff like this before, yes, but the coordination and scope of the outrage campaign -- seemingly led from the White House -- has been startling to witness. See also: "When The FBI Raids The Times."

* The Supreme Court speaks: after some delay, it is resolved that Gitmo detainees are actually human and deserving of the protections accorded by the Geneva Conventions.

* Bravo, MSM. You're waking up to the very real possibility that American elections can be -- and have been -- stolen. It must have been hard avoiding the evidence for so long.

* It's rather noble of American workers to sacrifice their pensions so that the big shots can have a more-than-ample share of the pie.