Excerpt: Although the reported violence was light today, a number of politically interesting events were in the headlines: Controversy continues to rage over security forces in Kurdish regions of Diyala province. Elsewhere, Shi'ite cleric al-Sadr has extended a ceasefire. Meanwhile, U.S. forces detained a senior Iraqi official. Also, the head of the U.S.-Iraqi security pact negotiating team was replaced. Overall, at least five Iraqis were killed and 14 more were wounded. No Coalition deaths were reported.

Excerpt: Crisis in the Caucasus took an unexpected twist this week. As Russian troops pulled out of Georgia, their demolition of American-built military bases nearly complete, the government in Moscow recognized Abkhazia and South Ossetia as independent states. Until now, Moscow's official policy of support to the breakaway regions stopped short of recognition -- even in the wake of the U.S.-EU severing of Kosovo from Serbia earlier this year.

Excerpt: JERUSALEM -- Israel has published tenders for the construction of 1,761 illegal housing units for Israeli settlers in occupied east Jerusalem alone, according to the Israeli rights group Peace Now.

Excerpt: For 16 days I had hoped the world would stand still so I could watch the spectacle and history of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, China, on my widescreen HDTV.

Excerpt: As part of its alleged "desire not to hold detainees any longer than necessary," the Pentagon announced on Tuesday that two Guantanamo prisoners had been transferred to Algeria. This follows the repatriation of two other Algerians -- Mustafa Hamlili and Abdul Raham Houari -- at the start of July, who were the first Algerians to be released from the prison in its six-and-a-half year history.

Excerpt: Iran could emerge as a big winner, at least in the short term, from the rapidly escalating tensions between the United States and Russia over Moscow's intervention in Georgia, according to analysts.

Excerpt: Updated at 7:12 p.m. EDT, Aug. 27, 2008 At least 14 Iraqis were killed and 47 were wounded in the latest incidents. Baghdad was the scene of a spate of bombings, while tribal warfare in Hay left a small number of casualties. Meanwhile, a U.S. soldier was killed in a roadside bombing yesterday in Baghdad. Also, U.S. authorities are saying that they will hand over security in Anbar province next week.

Excerpt: Meron Benvenisti in an excellent article mentions the "success of the propaganda campaign known as 'negotiations with the Palestinians,' which convinces many that the status quo is temporary."

Excerpt: Why do politicians make disastrous decisions with the consistency of iron filings obeying a magnet?

Excerpt: Note for TomDispatch Readers: This is the second post in a pre-Labor Day "best of TomDispatch" series.

Excerpt: BAQUBA -- A military operation said to target al-Qaeda has ended up targeting Sunni Muslims instead, creating new sectarian tensions.

Excerpt: "Politics stops at the water's edge" is an old aphorism that aptly describes the history and current trend of American politics.

Excerpt: Updated at 7:01 p.m. EDT, Aug. 26, 2008 Diyala province continues to be the focus of violence and politics today as a large bombing killed or wounded dozens in Jalawla. Overall, at least 47 Iraqis were killed and 79 more were wounded in the latest attacks across Iraq. Iraqi forces also withdrew from a Diyala city after complaints over their emplacement there. No Coalition deaths were reported, but another significant clash took place between PKK rebels and Turkish troops in Turkey.

Excerpt: Two years and two months after three prisoners at Guantanamo died, apparently as the result of a coordinated suicide pact, the Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS), which has been investigating the deaths ever since the long-term hunger strikers were found dead in their cells on June 10, 2006, issued a 934-word statement on Friday that purported to draw a line under the whole sordid affair.

Excerpt: Yehudit Genud hardly feels she is on the frontier of Israel's settlement project, although the huddle of mobile homes on a wind-swept West Bank hilltop she calls home is controversial even by Israeli standards.

Excerpt: In George Orwell's 1984 there is a memorable scene when the speaker from Oceania's Ministry of Truth is addressing a rally, the culmination of Hate Week against the enemy, Eurasia.

Excerpt: Note for TomDispatch readers: This is the first of a "best of TomDispatch" series I'll be posting in the week leading up to Labor Day, each with a new introduction by the author.

Excerpt: Presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama's selection of Joseph Biden as his running mate constitutes a stunning betrayal of the antiwar constituency who made possible his hard-fought victory in the Democratic primaries and caucuses.

Excerpt: Updated at 11:08 p.m. EDT, Aug. 25, 2007 At least 16 Iraqis were killed and 14 more were wounded in the latest round of violence. One U.S. soldier was killed in a small arms attack in Baghdad. Meanwhile, conflicting reports over a U.S.-Iraqi security pact are streaming out of Iraq, along with an alarming video of a failed teenage suicide bomber.

Excerpt: There's not much point denying it, even though many people who have long opposed this stupid war might want to do so.