October 18, 2003
1.  Who is profiting from the Iraq war and reconstruction?

2.  Two interesting items from today's Daily Misleader posting.
3.  Keep your eye on Syria......
4.  US soldiers bulldoze farmers' trees in Iraq - war crime?
5.  This guy is sure to make relations better with the Muslim world - Not.
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 1.  This report covers a number of the major companies who have been awarded lucrative contracts by the Bush Admin, and also shows how these companies are linked to various officials.  Quite disgusting.  Look for the link to the report at the bottom of the page - it's in PDF so you'll have to download it to read, 23 pages long.
http://www.misleader.com/special_reports/
 
2.  Today's (10-16) Daily Misleader has two interesting items.  Item one says that the military already has enough money to cover operations in Iraq through next May, so they don't need the additional $67 billion that Bush says is so urgently required.  Item two tells us that US subcontractors are using Asian migrant workers to rebuild Iraq, rather than hiring some of the 7 million unemployed Iraqis. If you can't get to this website today, there are archives on the site where you will find these items, as well as past Misleader messages.
http://www.misleader.com/daily_mislead/Read.asp?fn=df10162003.html
 
3.  Somehow we missed this vote on sanctions against Syria, passed the House easily - perhaps some of you knew about it.  Lots of tough talk from Tom DeLay.  It's expected to pass in the Senate as well.
 http://www.voanews.com/article.cfm?objectID=CD7623E5-5B04-4402-BA803923BA880744
 
4.  A very distressing piece about the treatment of some Iraqi farmers - a page out of Israel's book
 http://www.counterpunch.com/cockburn10142003.html
 
5.  This Lt. Gen, in charge of the hunt for Osama, Saddam, and other high officials, frames his mission in religious terms that surely will not sit well with Muslims. Another foreign policy blunder by the Bush admin.
 http://www.commondreams.org/headlines03/1016-01.htm