PROPGANDA WATCH

Businessweek: FAKE OP/EDS: THINK TANKS AND PIGGY BANKS

Two opinion columnists and fellows at conservative think tanks have
admitted to taking money from indicted lobbyist Jack Abramoff to
write favorable columns about his clients. The Cato Institute's Doug
Bandow, who had a syndicated column with Copley News Service,
"accepted money from Abramoff for writing between 12 and 24 articles
over a period of years, beginning in the mid '90s." Bandow resigned
from Cato, and his column has been suspended. The Institute for
Policy Innovation's Peter Ferrara also wrote "pay for play" columns
for Abramoff, but, unlike Bandow, he isn't remorseful. "I've done it
in the past, and I'll do it in the future," Ferrara said. Ferrara's
boss also says the arrangement isn't "wrong or unethical." None of
the columns contained any disclosure. BusinessWeek noted that the
columns "provided a seemingly independent validation of the
arguments the Abramoff team were using to try to sway Congressional
action."

PROPAGANDA WATCH

LA Times: CUTOUTS SPEAK OUT

"U.S. military officials in Iraq were fully aware that a Pentagon
contractor regularly paid Iraqi newspapers to publish positive
stories about the war, and made it clear that none of the stories
should be traced to the United States, according to several current
and former employees of Lincoln Group," report Mark Mazzetti and
Kevin Sack. Military officials have claimed that they didn't know
what the Lincoln Group was up to, but leaked documents and company
employees say otherwise. "In clandestine parlance, Lincoln Group was
a 'cutout' - a third party - that would provide the military with
plausible deniability," said a former Lincoln Group employee. "To
attribute products to [the military] would defeat the entire
purpose. Hence, no product by Lincoln Group ever said 'Made in the
U.S.A.'" Another employee said that Lincoln's $20 million, two-month
contract in Iraq had them doing work that was largely ineffective.
"It's a total waste of money," said another former Lincoln employee.
"Every Iraqi can read right through it."

IRAQ: ELECTION FRAUD?

Guardian: Rise in poll complaints troubles Iraq vote monitors

Suspected polling violations on voting day last week far exceeded the number in Iraq's first election in January, local and international monitors said yesterday.

On the deadline for filing complaints, the number of alleged violations which could swing results in the 275-seat parliament was "well into double figures", an accredited international election observer, who wished to remain anonymous, said.

In January there were only five of these "red" complaints, the observer added. Red complaints are alleged breaches serious enough to potentially hand a seat to a party or election bloc unfairly. The election commission has declined to say how many such complaints it has received, but several parties handed in dossiers listing breaches allegedly seen by their monitors.

ISRAEL

Reuters: Sharon recovering after minor stroke

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's condition improved on Monday after he was hospitalised overnight for a minor stroke that raised questions about how long he could dominate Israeli politics.

The hefty 77-year-old former general, battling for re-election after pulling Jewish settlers from the Gaza Strip and remaking Israel's political landscape, was rushed to hospital on Sunday and stayed overnight for tests.

"I am fine. I guess I should have taken a few days off," Sharon told Israeli media overnight after his stroke. "There are people who are already interested in a replacement? Well, maybe it's too soon. I'm still here, no?"