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Dozens of protesters have gathered outside Downing Street to demand an end to fighting in Najaf and the withdrawal of coalition troops from Iraq.
Members of the Stop the War Coalition, the Muslim Association of Britain and the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament gathered to wave banners and chant, "George Bush out of Najaf".
Former Labour MP George Galloway attended the protest against what he called the "massacre" in the city of Najaf and the wider war in Iraq.
"Our young men, three of (…)

By R.W. Bradford
The membership of the Democratic Party is overwhelmingly opposed to the Iraq war. So why has the party nominated a man who supports the war even more enthusiastically than George Bush does?
In an interview with The Wall Street Journal on July 16, well after he had secured the nomination, John Kerry said he hoped that by "the end of my first term," the U.S. will have "reduced the number [of troops in Iraq] significantly." (Earlier this week, he said he might aim for some (…)

By Sara Kehaulani Goo
WASHINGTON - Sen. Edward "Ted" Kennedy said yesterday that he was stopped and questioned at East Coast airports five times in March because his name appeared on the government’s secret "no-fly" list.
Federal air security officials said the initial error that led to scrutiny of the Massachusetts Democrat should not have happened even though they recognize that the no-fly list is imperfect. Privately, they acknowledged being embarrassed that it took the senator and (…)

by Paul Waldman, Editor-in-Chief
Warning: some of the material in this article is not suitable for small children.
Last night I appeared on Fox News’ O’Reilly Factor, debating Brent Bozell of the Media Research Center (he’s the one with red hair and a beard; you may have seen him). If you’re not familiar with the MRC, they’re one of a number of well-funded conservative groups established to complain about liberal media bias. If tomorrow’s lead story in the New York Times were headlined, (…)

by Henry Siegman
PARIS Many observers of the Middle East believe "something good is stirring," as an editorial in The Economist put it on July 31. Prime Minister Ariel Sharon of Israel seems to have emerged as the champion of a new pragmatism that challenges the rightist dogmatism of the Likud and the settlers as he seeks to disengage from Gaza. And a newly assertive Palestinian young guard is challenging not only a corrupt entourage around Yasser Arafat but also the leader of the (…)

Elections are due soon in the United States, Afghanistan, Iraq and Indonesia. Democracy, the creation of the Greeks, remains the least bad political system. But it has to work properly: it must remain accountable to ordinary people and not suborn power.
by José Saramago
So while the rich may legitimately participate in the democratic government of the polis, the unchallengeable principle of proportionality means they will always be in the minority. Aris totle was right in one respect: (…)

by Lisa Taraki
Calls for the boycott of Israeli academic institutions have generated a great deal of controversy in some quarters, notably among Israeli academics and their supporters in Europe and the United States. The Palestinian voice, the voice of the Palestinian academy and of Palestinian public intellectuals, has not been heard in the raging debates about the boycott. I hope to be able to address some of the frequently raised objections to the boycott, and in so doing, to clarify (…)

By Maxine Gentle
Here is a copy of the letter sent to the Prime Minister by Maxine Gentle, the sister of soldier Gordon who died in Iraq.
To Prime Minister Tony Blair,
My name is Maxine Gentle and I am 14 years old. I am the sister of Fusilier Gordon Gentle who died in the war in Iraq on the 28th June 2004. I want my thoughts and feelings to be heard and known.
My feelings are that I think you are rubbish at your job. You don’t care about the British public, armed forces or anyone in (…)

by Linda Moulton Howe Amendment I
"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances."
Yesterday in the nation’s capitol, U. S. District Judge Thomas Penfield Jackson, held five reporters in contempt and fined each $500 a day until they reveal their sources for (…)

The FBI has begun interrogating activists in Colorado, Kansas and other states about their plans to protest at the convention. Meanwhile the NYPD has put 56 activists around the country under 24 hours surveillance. Reports indicate the NYPD has assigned one supervisor and six police officers to track each of the 56 activists. [includes rush transcript] The Federal Bureau of Investigation has visited political activists in at least six states to question them about their involvement in (…)