Not Ready for Primetime Weekend News

• What Comes After The U.S. Empire? By Johan Galtung:

  "Empires come and go, it's been like that all the time. No empire lasts forever. However, this one happens to be so brutal, so killing, so intervening, doing so much damage that you would expect it to be more short-lived than many of the others."

• WorldNetDaily: How empires end | Patrick J. Buchanan:

  "...It is a near certainty the U.S.-backed government will fall and those we leave behind will suffer the fate of our Vietnamese and Cambodian friends in 1975. As U.S. combat brigades move out, contractors, aid workers and diplomats left behind will be more vulnerable to assassination and kidnapping. There could be a stampede for the exit and a Saigon ending in the Green Zone...."

• Rising from the Phoenix's Flames By Emily Spence:

  "...All considered, we will have to become more aware that whatever everyone does (or doesn't do) can effect the social whole in monumental ways. Therefore, we can no longer afford to take advantage of others to fill our own coffers. We can no longer be caviler about the widespread demise of other species. We can no longer tolerate escalating consumption of resources as if there is no end of them in sight...."

• Iran and Beyond: Total War is Still on the Horizon By Glen Ford:

  "...An invasion of Iran is imminent, because that is the only solution the Bush gang and the corporate mafia it serves can conjure to rally the American people behind their quest for global dominance...."

• Pentagon extends Iraq tours for 2,200 Marines:

  "The Pentagon has extended the combat tours of 2,200 Marines in Iraq for 30 days...."

• Sea levels may rise by 9 inches this century, scientists warn - The Independent:

  "The melting of mountain glaciers and ice caps as a result of global warming over the next century is likely to cause bigger than expected increases in sea levels...."

• Ms. Magazine | Paid Family Leave -- It's About Time:

  "Senators Christopher Dodd (D-CT) and Ted Stevens (R-AK) have introduced a bill to provide paid family leave for birth or adoption of a newborn, care of an elderly parent, or serious illness of the employee.� It's about time.� The U.S. lags far behind most industrialized countries in granting this benefit to its workforce.� According to researchers at Harvard and McGill Universities, 163 other countries guarantee paid maternal leave and 45 countries provide paid paternal leave.� Additionally, 37 countries already ensure paid leave for the care of an ill child.� By contrast, our present system grants only unpaid leave, and only to employees of large companies. Most can't afford to take it. This legislation would help close that gap, and begin to bring the United States up to par with other industrialized nations...."

• Liberals Vow to Block Continued Iraq Funding

  "Seventy House members, nearly all liberal Democrats, vowed today that they would not support any more funding for Iraq military operations unless tied to a complete withdrawal of combat troops. This is a big development. Earlier this year, liberals grudgingly voted for Iraq funding bills because they didn't want to give Nancy Pelosi a defeat. Now it seems that their patience has run out.
  
  The next Iraq funding bill won't come up until the fall, so this showdown won't happen for a few months, but it appears to be shaping up as an epic battle between liberals in Congress and President Bush. This may be the beginning of the end for the Iraq War...."

• TheHill.com - Watchdog group: Government awards contracts despite firms' misconduct:

  "A watchdog organization is calling attention to what it deems the government's failure to properly vet the companies to which it awards hundreds of billions of dollars in contracts. The Project on Government Oversight (POGO) yesterday released a revamped database detailing misconduct by the top 50 government contractors, including some of the world's largest military hardware, information technology, construction and energy companies. The database is stirring up criticism from industry members concerned that minor or even irrelevant issues are given too much attention.
  
  POGO, which for years has criticized government waste in defense-related and other programs, said it set up the database due to the lack of centralized federal tracking of misconduct. The new database includes instances of misconduct from 1995 to the present. POGO found that in fiscal 2005, the top 50 federal contractors received $178 billion in contracts out of a total of $384 billion in federal awards. Since 1995, the top 50 contractors paid $12 billion in fines, penalties, restitution or civil settlements for what POGO identified as more than 370 instances of misconduct...."

• WAPO | Bush Proclaims Unlimited Executive Privilege Powers:

  "Bush administration officials unveiled a bold new assertion of executive authority yesterday in the dispute over the firing of nine U.S. attorneys, saying that the Justice Department will never be allowed to pursue contempt charges initiated by Congress against White House officials once the president has invoked executive privilege.The position presents serious legal and political obstacles for congressional Democrats, who have begun laying the groundwork for contempt proceedings against current and former White House officials in order to pry loose information about the dismissals...."

• Subpoena Watch: Will the White House Answer Congress' Demands?