As a top engineering and construction contractor, the Bechtel Group has had a leading role in a number of controversial public works projects, including Boston's "Big Dig," the failed privatization of Bolivia's water system, and the rebuilding of Iraq. "The bad public relations from just one these projects could sink a lesser firm, but somehow the well-connected, privately held corporation always seems to emerge unscathed and ready to score more big-ticket public works jobs," A.C. Thompson writes.

The photos of Iraqi prisoner abuse at Abu Ghraib are bad enough, considering that possibly 25 prisoners have died while in American custody. However, some faked photos are also circulating, including pictures of an alleged rape by soldiers that were actually taken from a porno site. Independent journalist Chris Albritton debunks the fakes and criticizes a cavalier attitude toward the truth that "seems to have taken hold in anti-war journalism as well.

A grand jury report on groundwater contamination in Escambia County, Florida, has been released charging that local, state and federal agencies responsible for protecting the environment and public health all failed to inform the public about industrial contamination of the county's water supply, with the Conoco oil company among the area's leading polluters.