Guardian Unlimited | Columnists | Why is war-torn Iraq giving $190,000 to Toys R Us?: "Here is a small sample of who has been getting 'reparation' awards from Iraq: Halliburton ($18m), Bechtel ($7m), Mobil ($2.3m), Shell ($1.6m), Nestl� ($2.6m), Pepsi ($3.8m), Philip Morris ($1.3m), Sheraton ($11m), Kentucky Fried Chicken ($321,000) and Toys R Us ($189,449). In the vast majority of cases, these corporations did not claim that Saddam's forces damaged their property in Kuwait - only that they 'lost profits' or, in the case of American Express, experienced a 'decline in business' because of the invasion and occupation of Kuwait."

The Unofficial Paul Krugman Web Page: "The important point to realize is that these abuses aren't aberrations"

toledoblade.com: "They didn't take the box of petty cash or other computers. They bypassed portable radios, a television, and a microwave.
And a pop machine, illuminating an otherwise dark room in what would seem to be a beacon to any ordinary burglar, remained untouched.
Instead, what overnight thieves took from Lucas County Democratic Headquarters were financial data, volunteer rolls, Election Day strategy, and other sensitive information just three weeks before voters head to the polls"

Halliburton's Interests Assisted by White House "[A]n environmental engineer and 30-year EPA veteran in Denver, last week sought whistle-blower protection in an 18-page statement sent to the agency's inspector general and members of Congress. The statement alleges that the study's findings were premature, may endanger public health and were approved by an industry-dominated review panel that included a current Halliburton employee."

BBC NEWS Business BBC lifts the lid on secret BAE slush fund £60m slush fund used by the UK's leading arms maker, BAE Systems, to grease the wheels of the biggest arms deals in British history

New investigation uncovers more racism, voter intimidation and faulty poll machines - [Sunday Herald]

Capitol Hill Blue: Politically-Timed Terror Alerts: The Real Terror Threat: Some believe the most potent weapon in the Bush campaign arsenal isn't an advertising nest egg the size of a Third World nation's gross national product, but the fear card. If the race tightens between now and Nov. 2, they say, another "high" alert might be forthcoming.

News: "The Republicans, naturally, deny the investigations are politically motivated. But even they acknowledge that a chill has spread through Orlando's overwhelmingly Democratic black voting community after a flurry of unannounced visits by armed state police to at least 52 homes whose mostly elderly residents had signed up for an absentee ballot with Mr Thomas's help.
The Republicans have been hard put to explain what exactly the two men have done wrong. The media has aired official allegations ranging from vote fraud to campaign finance irregularities to racketeering, but no charges have been brought, despite exhaustive investigations. A grand jury examining allegations concerning the firefighters' union concluded that no laws had been broken, which has not deterred the FDLE from pursuing the case."

Insiders Worked Both Sides of Gaming Issue (washingtonpost.com): "Washington lobbyist Jack Abramoff and public relations consultant Michael Scanlon quietly worked with conservative religious activist Ralph Reed to help the state of Texas shut down an Indian tribe's casino in 2002, then the two quickly persuaded the tribe to pay $4.2 million to try to get Congress to reopen it."
...then exploit the financial crisis they were helping to create for the tribe by securing both the multimillion-dollar fee and $300,000 in federal political contributions, which the tribe paid.

KR Washington Bureau | 09/25/2004 | Iraqi civilian casualties mounting

Bush acceptance speech marked by anticipation:This one from the RNC slipped under the radar: Senator George Voinovich said that we were now "engaged in the fourth world war."
Is he admitting that the US's dozens of proxy wars against socialist and populist nations and movements in the '60s, '70s and '80s were, in fact, a unified World War III? Or what?

Followed by a goon shadow

White House Guide to Understanding the Terror Alert Colors

Close race means more voters registering - zanesvilletimesrecorder.com: "The number of new voters has spiked significantly in Perry County, too, said Janie Dailey, director of the board of elections there. 'We've registered 1,500 new voters since the beginning of the year.'"

As of the 2000 census, the population of Perry County aged 18 and over was 24,494.

Demonstration of 5 voting system hacks using real software Black Box Voting Will a chimp steal the election? (Includes video of chimp)

MSNBC - Political Humor

MSNBC - The Story That Didn't Run: CBS plays for the Bush team.
"In its rush to air its now discredited story about President George W. Bush's National Guard service, CBS bumped another sensitive piece slated for the same "60 Minutes" broadcast: a half-hour segment about how the U.S. government was snookered by forged documents purporting to show Iraqi efforts to purchase uranium from Niger."

Peer News: "EPA ISSUES PRE-ELECTION GAG ORDER TO STAFF"

Why Americans Back the War: "To the mounting horror of the world, the United States of America is relentlessly bringing about the systematic destruction of a small, unthreatening nation for no good reason. Why has this not gripped the conscience of this country?
The answer goes beyond Bush to the 60-year history of an accidental readiness to destroy the earth, a legacy with which we Americans have yet to reckon. The punitive terror bombing that marked the end of World War II hardly registered with us. Then we passively accepted our government's mad embrace of thermonuclear weapons. While we demonized our Soviet enemy, we hardly noticed that almost every major escalation of the arms race was initiated by our side "

Pentagon Restricts Overseas Voters