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NPR : Mark Schapiro, Exposing a Toxic U.S. Policy : "Investigative reporter Mark Schapiro explains in a new book that toxic chemicals exist in many of the products we handle every day — agents that can cause cancer, genetic damage and birth defects, lacing everything from our gadgets to our toys to our beauty products. And unlike the European Union, the U.S. doesn't require businesses to minimize them — or even to list them, so consumers can evaluate the risks. Schapiro argues that that policy isn't just bad for public health: In an increasingly green economy, he says, American businesses stand to get shut out of a huge market. Schapiro, editorial director of the nonprofit Center for Investigative Reporting, has written for Harper's, The Nation, Mother Jones and The Atlantic Monthly. His book is called Exposed: The Toxic Chemistry of Everyday Products, and What's at Stake for American Power."

Reuters AlertNet - FACTBOX-Security developments in Iraq, Nov 27 : "BAGHDAD - U.S. soldiers opened fire on a minibus which failed to stop at a roadblock in the Shaab district of northern Baghdad, killing two people and wounding four, the U.S. military said. A police source said the bus was carrying finance ministry employees. Another police source said four people were killed, including three women."

How to Control the Story, Pentagon-Style - by Dahr Jamail and Tom Engelhardt : "Name them. Maim them. Kill them. From the beginning of the American occupation in Iraq, air strikes and attacks by the U.S. military have only killed 'militants,' 'criminals,' 'suspected insurgents,' 'IED [Improvised Explosive Device] emplacers,' 'anti-American fighters,' 'terrorists,' 'military-age males,' 'armed men,' 'extremists,' or 'al-Qaeda.'"

Foreign Policy: Seven Questions: The Price of Fear : "Something funny has happened to the price of oil: It no longer reflects reality. The reason, according to Fadel Gheit, one of Wall Street's top energy analysts, is that “financial players have seized control of the oil markets”. Find out how they did it in this week’s Seven Questions."

ei: The Gaza Strip: Disengagement two years on : "Two years ago, Israel completed its unilateral withdrawal from the Gaza Strip. We all remember the intense media campaign shamelessly portraying the settlers as dispossessed victims of a bold move for peace. Among others, Harvard economist Sara Roy argued that Israel's version of disengagement would bring disaster to an already desperate Gaza. Today, we are witnessing emergence of an unparalleled economic catastrophe in the Gaza Strip and with it, the evaporation of the last remaining hopes for a Palestinian state."

ei: Palestinian police boost presence in Nablus : "NABLUS, WEST BANK, 25 November 2007 (IRIN) - Palestinian militants in the Nablus area of the West Bank are in the middle of what seems to be a pincer movement -- chased not only by the Israeli military but also by the Palestinian Authority (PA), which, under Acting Prime Minister Salam Fayyad, has taken it upon itself to crack down on the fighters."

Free Press : Bringing Diversity to the Nation's Media America is a diverse society saddled with a bland, monolithic press. This woeful imbalance between who Americans are and who owns the press must be part of any discussion about media ownership. Sadly, the agency charged with addressing such issues has shirked its duty. The chairman of the Federal Communications Commission recently suggested new rules for media ownership. The proposal would allow for cross-ownership of a newspaper and a broadcast station in the same media market. The problems with the proposed changes are many, and have been aired on this page in detail.