[DUCHESS NOTE ... Not one, but two new updates at "Friends of Friday Forum" are now online. Check it out at ... http://friendsoffridayforum.blogspot.com ... Hope to have a new update of "personal news" online within the week. Stay tuned.]

"WHAT I HEARD ABOUT IRAQ"
[Duchess Note ... A must read for all. Don't miss it. [click on below link] Written by Eliot Weinberger, whose '9/12' is published by Prickly Paradigm. Many thanks to Jude at Iddybud Blog and Matthew Gross for shedding light. Rawk on Progressives!
http://www.lrb.co.uk/v27/n03/wein01_html

MESSAGE FROM THE FOLK AT TRUEMAJORITY ... Alberto Gonzales Supported Torture and Won't Answer Senators' Questions ... Tell Your Senator That America Can Find a Better Attorney General
Alberto Gonzales duly renounced torture during his Senate confirmation hearings. But, excuse me, this does not erase his frightening record of supporting torture! As the top White House attorney, he opined that our country should not be bound by laws or agreements such as the Geneva Conventions that prohibit torture. This opened the door to the Abu Ghraib disaster. As if this weren't enough, Gonzales refused under intense questioning to explain his role in the development of the Bush administration's policies on interrogation and torture. That is why recently, even under immense pressure from the president and Senate leadership, eight members of the Senate Judiciary Committee voted against recommending Gonzales to the full Senate, just two votes shy of an outright rejection. Our country can surely find an attorney general whose record is not fundamentally at odds with our values of decency and compassion-and who's willing to answer basic questions about his record. If you'd like to send a message to your senators urging them to oppose the Gonzales nomination. Click here: http://truemajority.kintera.org/gonzales-no

Click here for more information on the Gonzales nomination:
http://www.humanrightsfirst.org/

LATEST NEWS FROM COMMON DREAMS WEBSITE

WORLD SKEPTICAL OF DELUSIONAL BUSH REIGN
Molly Ivins, Boulder Daily Camera
http://www.commondreams.org/views05/0127-33.htm

BOXER'S SPINE GETS HER CUT OFF AT THE KNEES
Margaret Carlson, Los Angeles Times
http://www.commondreams.org/views05/0127-32.htm

THIS POLLYANNA ARMY ... Bush Will Not Admit That His Troops Are Too Exhausted To Sustain His Vengeful Global Missions
Sidney Blumenthal, UK Guardian
http://www.commondreams.org/views05/0127-30.htm