Weekend blurbs

* Sibel Edmonds is back in the news, spilling some more of her pesky beans again. A detailed rundown of what her secrets point to is available here. Mind you, it's a convoluted tale.

* Michael Massing has been gleaning some insight into what everyday life is like in occupied Iraq via this blog.

* An oft-heard refrain these days: the "surge" is working! Not quite, retort Ashley Smith, Michael Schwartz, and Gareth Porter.

* Iraqis resort to selling children. Lovely.

* Shucks. Iraq is no longer summer camp for young conservatives.

* Do welcome the next "Washington Consensus." On Pakistan.

* Jonathan Cook sheds some light on Israel's "cowardly blending" during the Summer '06 war on Lebanon.

* Rest be assured: change is comin' to DC in November '08! No matter that varying war criminals will be pulling strings behind the curtain.

* Chalmers Johnson on Charlie Wilson's War: "Simply put, it is imperialist propaganda and the tragedy is that four-and-a-half years after we invaded Iraq and destroyed it, such dangerously misleading nonsense is still being offered to a gullible public."

* Can You Count on Voting Machines? The NYT Magazine arrives to a story about 5 years late. Kudos.

* The National Academy of Sciences is trying to bolster evolution amidst all the creationist hysteria. Best of luck.

* Kristol at the NYT. Unfortunately, the appointment is hardly a surprise.