U.S. Government

Dozens of cases - including that of the chief Medicare actuary, who was threatened with dismissal "if he provided data to Congress showing the cost of the new Medicare law" - have motivated Congress "to increase protections for federal employees who expose fraud, waste and wrongdoing." But the U.S.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has directed staff to "refrain from answering" media calls in order to "prevent EPA management from being surprised by news coverage," according to an agency memo obtained by Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility.

A new video from the Media Education Foundation examines how the Bush administration uses the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks to manipulate Americans. Hijacking Catastrophe: 9/11, Fear & the Selling of American Empire places the last three years of White House deceptions in a global context, asking questions seldom posed by mainstream corporate media. The hour-long documentary features nearly twenty political observers, including Lt.

George W. Bush's re-election campaign has been accused of appropriating the Olympics for political means. A recent Bush/Cheney advertisement that links Iraq's and Afghanistan's participation in the Olympic games with the White House's "war on terror" is drawing criticism. "To the embarrassment of their media handlers in Athens, members of the Iraqi football team have reacted furiously to the news that their efforts are being used to aid Mr Bush's efforts to win a second term in the White House," The Guardian reports.