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Voter Caging . NOW | PBS : "Was there a White House plot to illegally suppress votes in 2004? Is there a similar plan for the upcoming elections? This week NOW examines documents and evidence that points to a Republican Party plan designed to keep Democrats from voting, allegedly by targeting people based on their race and ethnicity with key battleground states like Ohio and Florida of particular interest. 'It was a partisan, discriminatory attempt to challenge voters of color,' Eddie Hailes, a senior attorney for The Advancement Project, a civil rights group, told NOW."

Camilo Mejia on Atrocities in Iraq | NOW on the News - PBS : "'There comes a point where, regardless of what other people may say or think about you, regardless of the consequences, regardless of jail, and being called a coward and a traitor, we have to follow what our conscience tells us to do.' 'We killed civilians and we were put in situations where we knew that our actions would lead to a high number of civilian casualties, and I did pretty much nothing.' About Camilo Mejía"

Moyers on America . Capitol Crimes | PBS Just after the mid-term elections the newly empowered Democrats came out with promises of reform. Incoming Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi put forward a proposal to greatly restrict privately paid travel from lobbyists and groups that hire lobbyists. A variety of interest groups have come out in opposition to a total ban - tracing the impetus behind the move to the abuses rampant in the Abramoff scandal.

Asia Times Online :: South Asia news, business and economy from India and Pakistan : "But one can understand Washington's determination to force the pace when one of the more notorious architects of the Taliban's military offensive, Libyan Abu Laith al-Libby, is sitting in North Waziristan. The hardened al-Qaeda operator is believed to have come up with the idea of stepping up the number of abductions of foreigners in Afghanistan. The seizure of more than 20 South Korean aid workers is the latest example of this. The reasoning is that it will force coalition troops deeper into the civilian population to protect them, thereby exposing them to improvised explosive devices, rocket attacks and suicide bombers. From the perspective of the al-Qaeda hardliners taking control in the tribal areas, they relish a confrontation with foreign troops in Pakistan as they see it as a chance to boost their broader aims in the region. "

Asia Times Online :: Middle East News - A new crisis in Russia-Iran relations "The fact that Bushehr is now more than seven years behind schedule translates into serious worries about the future of Iran's power industry. Iran is in dire need of nuclear-generated electricity and the crisis over Bushehr directly translates into a crisis of economic planning in Iran. [1] The Russian leadership must realize the extent of damage to Iran, both short-term and long-term, caused by their toying with Bushehr for the sake of their US policy."

Al Jazeera English - News - Russia Accused Of Chechen Killings

globeandmail.com: Afghan clashes leave 50 Taliban, 28 civilians dead

David Miliband in Taliban policy split with US - Telegraph : "David Miliband, the newly-appointed Foreign Secretary, emphasised that a purely military solution to violence in Pakistan’s tribal areas would not alone quash the insurgency. "

Japan's changing demography | Cloud, or silver linings? | Economist.com : "Japan's population is ageing fast and shrinking. That has implications for every institution, and may even decide the fate of governments"

U.S. Officials Voice Frustrations With Saudis’ Role in Iraq - New York Times

"Exit" Amendment Would Leave Troops in Iraq Indefinitely : "What Harry Reid Doesn't Know About His Own Bill 'Exit' Amendment Would Leave Troops in Iraq Indefinitely By Tina Richards 07/26/07 'Counterpunch' -- - I attended the MoveOn.org rally on Tuesday night where Speaker Pelosi and Leader Reid discussed how they were going to 'end the war' and 'bring our troops home' with the Levin-Reed Amendment. When I asked if they meant all the troops, I was quickly told to, 'shut up' and muscled aside by security. A fellow Marine Mom was treated in much the same manner and we couldn't get over how much like the Republicans the 'Anti-Escalation' folks were acting. (Video link below.)"

U.S. drops Baghdad electricity reports - Los Angeles Times By Noam N. Levey and Alexandra Zavis, Times Staff Writers July 27, 2007 WASHINGTON — washington — As the Bush administration struggles to convince lawmakers that its Iraq war strategy is working, it has stopped reporting to Congress a key quality-of-life indicator in Baghdad: how long the power stays on. Ryan Crocker, the U.S. ambassador to Iraq, told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee last week that Baghdad residents could count on only "an hour or two a day" of electricity. That's down from an average of five to six hours a day earlier this year. But that piece of data has not been sent to lawmakers for months because the State Department, which prepares a weekly "status report" for Congress on conditions in Iraq, stopped estimating in May how many hours of electricity Baghdad residents typically receive each day.