Excerpt from David Corn, Mother Jones:

When it comes to the Bush White House's decision to withhold from the public Dick Cheney's interview with FBI agents investigating the CIA leak case, the Obama administration says its predecessor did the right thing. And it's fighting hard to do the same. . . .

Which raises the question again: Is Obama withholding the memos Cheney demands released in order to protect Cheney's lies about what's in them?

WASHINGTON, DC (July 2, 2009) – Two of the = nation’s leading critics of alleged “selective prosecutions” by the Bush = Department of Justice to prevent the election of Democrats will appear on today’s = edition of My Technology Lawyer Radio to discuss recent legal developments -- = and last Friday’s unprecedented conference on the topic here at the = National Press Club. 

Is Charlie Savage asking to be Dan Froomkined? I don't know, but read his latest.

Reflections on this Fourth of July

Daphne Eviatar has this shameful story. There are those who would like to establish the precedent that a president can decree such an unconstitutional law into being, rather than risk allowing Congress to legislate the same thing (they might come up with something worse). Hmm. Are those the only two possible courses of action here?

Washington Post sells access, $25,000+
By Mike Allen, Politico

For $25,000 to $250,000, The Washington Post is offering lobbyists and association executives off-the-record, nonconfrontational access to "those powerful few" — Obama administration officials, members of Congress, and the paper’s own reporters and editors.

The astonishing offer is detailed in a flier circulated Wednesday to a health care lobbyist, who provided it to a reporter because the lobbyist said he feels it’s a conflict for the paper to charge for access to, as the flier says, its “health care reporting and editorial staff."

The offer — which essentially turns a news organization into a facilitator for private lobbyist-official encounters — is a new sign of the lengths to which news organizations will go to find revenue at a time when most newspapers are struggling for survival.

One of Cynthia's friend received a phone call from Ramle prison. The incarcerated prisoners are calling themselves "Free Gaza 21" even though Huwaida and Lubna have been released. Below is Cynthia's statement:

We were in international waters on a boat delivering humanitarian aid to people in Gaza when the Israeli Navy ships surrounded us and illegally threatened us, dismantled our navigation equipment, boarded and confiscated the ship.

All of us on board were then taken off the ship and into custody, and brought into Israel and imprisoned. Immigration officials in Israel said they did not want to keep us, but we remain imprisoned. State Department and White House officials have not effected our release or taken a strong public stance to condemn the illegal actions of the Israeli Navy of enforcing a blockade of humanitarian assistance to the Palestinians of Gaza, a blockade that has been condemned by President Obama.

By Maya Schenwar, TRUTHOUT

As US combat troops retreated from Iraqi urban centers on Tuesday, signs of an incomplete withdrawal abounded. Some soldiers remained in cities, their labels changed from "combat troops" to "trainers" or "advisers," while others relocated to bases close outside city borders. However, the US-Iraq security pact approved last December requires that every single US troop withdraw from the country by December 31, 2011, and an upcoming referendum vote in Iraq may demand an even quicker deadline.

In less than a month, the Iraqi people may vote on the validity of the security pact, which permits the continuing US presence in Iraq. If Iraqis reject the pact, the US would be required to withdraw from the country within a year, speeding the deadline to July 30, 2010, unless a new deal is negotiated before then. And according to Kate Gould, legislative program assistant for foreign policy at the Friends Committee on National Legislation (FCNL), the negotiation of a new bilateral agreement seems unlikely.

READ THE REST AT TRUTHOUT.ORG.

By Mark Knoller, CBS News

In advance of Pres. Obama’s first trip to Russia next week, the White House is serving notice on the Kremlin that he won’t be making any concessions to win its approval of a U.S. missile shield in Europe or membership in NATO for Russian neighbors Ukraine and Georgia.

“We don’t need the Russians,” says Michael McFaul, special assistant to the president and senior director for Russian affairs on the National Security Council staff.
In a conference call with reporters, McFaul responded with unusually tough talk when asked what reassurances Pres. Obama is prepared to give in his talks starting Monday with his Russian counterpart Dmitry Medvedev.

Amnesty details Gaza 'war crimes' | BBC

Israel committed war crimes and carried out reckless attacks and acts of wanton destruction in its Gaza offensive, an independent human rights report says.

Hundreds of Palestinian civilians were killed using high-precision weapons, while others were shot at close range, the group Amnesty International says.

Its report also calls rocket attacks by Palestinian militants war crimes and accuses Hamas of endangering civilians.

The Israeli military says its conduct was in line with international law.

Israel has attributed some civilian deaths to "professional mistakes", but has dismissed wider criticism that its attacks were indiscriminate and disproportionate.

Amnesty says some 1,400 Palestinians were killed in the 22-day Israeli offensive between 27 December 2008 and 17 January 2009, which agrees broadly with Palestinian figures. Read more.

By Kent Harris, Stars and Stripes

VICENZA, Italy — Tens of thousands of Italians traditionally gather in Vicenza to celebrate the United States’ Independence Day with members of the American military community. But the only large gathering planned for this Saturday at Caserma Ederle is a protest against the American military presence in the country.

Base officials have moved this year’s festivities to Thursday and will not be opening the gates to the Italian community as has been the practice in years past.

However, the annual celebration wasn’t altered because of the protest, according to Jon Fleshman, public affairs officer for U.S. Army Garrison-Vicenza. A number of factors — including construction, a four-day weekend and a lack of parking on base — contributed to the base shifting the festival two days forward.