U.S. Government

Scientist Resigns Over EPA's 'Wetlands Pollute' Study

"A U.S. Environmental Protection Agency biologist has resigned in protest of his agency's acceptance of a developer-financed study concluding that wetlands discharge more pollutants than they absorb, according to a statement released today by Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER). EPA's approval of the study gives developers credit for improving water quality by replacing natural wetlands with golf courses and other developments. ...

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Reporters Without Borders Blasts U.S., Israel

The media watchdog Reporters Without Borders (RSF) has published its second annual world press freedom ranking, criticizing Israel and the United States for unacceptable behavior toward journalists in the occupied Palestinian territories and in Iraq. RSF also criticized Arab countries for cracking down on media freedoms, but said standards were worst in Asia. Its worst ranking went to North Korea, followed by Cuba, which it said is "today the world's biggest prison for journalists."

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50 Lies To Tell the Public

Retired U.S. Air Force Colonel Sam Gardiner, a war gamer who has taught strategy and military operations at the National War College, has produced an analysis which suggests that the White House and Pentagon made up or distorted more than 50 news stories related to the war in Iraq. "It was not bad intelligence," Gardiner says. "It was much more. It was an orchestrated effort. It began before the war, was a major effort during the war and continues as post-conflict distortions. ... It was not just the Pentagon.

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Painting a Smiley Face on Iraq

"The U.S. government has launched a 'good news' offensive in Iraq, and a couple of Baghdad street kids, peddlers of soda pop, have been recruited for the first wave of attack," reports Charles J. Hanley. "On a two-day visit, U.S. Commerce Secretary Don Evans said thousands of new businesses have sprung up here since the war, and gave an example of new entrepreneurship: two boys he spotted by the road selling soft drinks to Baghdad's parched drivers." As in past wars, "the government has unleashed a flood of news releases promoting the U.S.

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Leaky Leak-Plugging

"Concerned about the appearance of disarray and feuding within his administration as well as growing resistance to his policies in Iraq, President Bush - living up to his recent declaration that he's in charge - told his top officials to 'stop the leaks' to the media, or else," report Joseph L. Galloway and James Kuhnhenn. "News of Bush's order leaked almost immediately.

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Bush Goes 'Over the Heads' of National Media

"The Bush administration, displeased with the news coverage of the war in Iraq, has accelerated efforts to bypass the national media by telling the administration's story directly to the American public," the Washington Post's Dana Milbank writes. In an "unprecedented effort to reach news organizations that do not regularly cover the White House," Bush did five eight-minute interviews with regional broadcasters yesterday.

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Mind Games and Word Games

The NATO Review has published an essay by Lieutenant-Colonel Steven Collins, the chief of PSYOPS (psychological operations) in NATO's Operations Division at Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe. Titled "Mind Games," the essay examines the use of "perception-management operations before, during and after Operation Iraqi Freedom.

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White House Buffs Image (Again)

Faced with falling poll numbers and domestic unease with the Iraq situation, the White House is again attempting to polish its image. "The Bush administration is undertaking a campaign to regenerate public support for its policies in Iraq, dispatching officials across the country to promote White House strategy and build momentum for its $87 billion proposal to rebuild the war-torn nation," Capitol Hill Blue reports.

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Bending Facts Until They Break

"The most obvious proof that Bush officials hyped and distorted evidence about Iraqi weapons of mass destruction in the past is that they continue to hype and distort that evidence today, with a shamelessness that is stunning," writes Jay Bookman. "If you believe their version of the story, the fact that we have found no WMD in Iraq - and no WMD programs - is of little or no importance. ...

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