Al Qaeda and Guantanamo files

Jason Burke discusses three myths on Al Qaeda based on the Guantanamo files.

Iraq Media

The Iraqi government of Maliki, backed by the US, is cracking down on press freedom. The article also has links to NSA documents that say that the US attempted to control the media in collaboration with the Maliki governement in the wake of the removal of Saddam, and there's also a link to a recent report on the media in post-Saddam Iraq.

Oil companies Iraq

New memos from before the Iraq War (2002) reveal that British oil companies and the UK government lobbied for a share of Iraq's oil in the wake of the war.

Libya

Good Q&A on Libya from Zmag.

Drug money laundering by US banks

Excellent article telling the story of how a US bank, Wachovia, laundered billions of dollars of drug money from Mexico. There are among other things some good paragraphs at the end on the failure and disinterest to tackle banks' money laundering activities on the part of the regulatory community.

15,000 deaths from nuclear testing

Nuclear testing has led to cancers and deaths, at least 15,000.

CIA in Libya

The CIA and MI6 are in Libya helping the rebels.