Helpings for today

* Dahr Jamail and Ali Fadhil tell the inside story of the Fallujahization of Ramadi, yet another war crime that's naked in front of the world, for all who choose to look.

* Thom Hartmann sends a memo: the war in Iraq is over! It ended in May 2003. Democrats, especially, should take note.

* While Noam Chomsky assesses the potential for a "negotiated solution" to the Iranian crisis, Gareth Porter examines the habitual tendency of the US to reject diplomacy when it comes to Iranian issues in the American Prospect.

* Tom Regan of the CS Monitor rounds up stories that show how the US is trying to squeeze Latin American countries in order to get them to oppose Venezuela's appointment to a two-year term on the UN Security Council. A major reason for this initiative is to prevent Chavez's potential interference with the forthcoming attempt to punish Iran for its nuclear activities.

* USA Today rings in with a story about the resurrection of the Taliban, which is now fighting a "full-blown insurgency."

* Nigel Parry asks, "Does Israel have a policy of killing Palestinian civilians?" Also see, from earlier: Does Israel target children?

* Defense Tech has a run down on the North Korean missile story. The discussion is a bit wonkish, but nonetheless useful.

* Things have been moving quickly in the Horn of Africa following the recent ascension of Islamist militias in Mogadishu. BBC News provides the most convenient running coverage here, if you're interested.

* Kevin Drum has the latest on the Truthout/Rove indictment story. Truthout is still standing by Jason Leopold's claim that Rove was indicted, but says that Fitzgerald is sitting on the indictment as long as Rove serves up Cheney's head on a plate.

* The NY Times sheds some light on the "parallel employment universe" navigated by illegal immigrants in the US, which is "structured in many ways like the legal job market but with its own rules and procedures."

* The Nation published its periodic issue on media concentration last week. Check out the assortment of articles.