Venezuela has launched an advertising campaign "pitching itself as an egalitarian nirvana where petro-dollars are funneled straight to the poor," reports the New York Times. "The idea, say Venezuelan officials, is to show American business executives and policy makers that a happy country is a stable one, even if many in Venezuela would disagree." The ads were created by Underground Advertising, a small San Francisco firm that does work for non-profit and progressive organizations.

The Washington Post reports on an "unusual public-relations effort by the Pentagon and the U.S. Agency for International Development ...

"An Army Reserve staff sergeant who last week wrote a critical analysis of the United States' prospects in Iraq now faces possible disciplinary action for disloyalty and insubordination," reports Eric Boehlert. "If charges are bought and the officer is found guilty, he could face 20 years in prison. It would be the first such disloyalty prosecution since the Vietnam War. The essay that sparked the military investigation is titled "Why We Cannot Win" and was posted Sept.