POLITICS-US: Vets Mull Wins and Losses in Benefits Fight Aaron Glantz* SAN FRANCISCO, 4 Jul (IPS) - You could hear the joy in Patrick Campbell's voice as he reflected on U.S. President George W. Bush's signing Monday of a new GI Bill of Rights for veterans returning home from Iraq and Afghanistan. more...   RIGHTS-US: 'State Secrets' Privilege Derails Rendition Suit William Fisher NEW YORK, 3 Jul (IPS) - Maher Arar, whose 'rendition' to Syria is widely viewed as an egregious example of mistaken identity, has again been denied the right to appear in court, and Congressional efforts to rein in the George W. Bush administration's widespread use of national security as a defence appear to be foundering. more...   RIGHTS-US: Critics See Vendetta in Al-Arian's Legal Limbo Ali Gharib WASHINGTON, 2 Jul (IPS) - Palestinian activist and former university professor Sami Al-Arian was arraigned Monday in U.S. federal court on two counts of criminal contempt for his refusal to testify in a grand jury investigation of a Northern Virginia Muslim think-tank. more...   US/IRAQ: 'Enough is Enough, It's Time to Get Out' Dahr Jamail SEATTLE, 2 Jun (IPS) - Dozens of veterans from the U.S. occupation of Iraq converged in this west coast city over the weekend to share stories of atrocities being committed daily in Iraq, in a continuation of the 'Winter Soldier' hearings held in Silver Spring, Maryland in March. more...   POLITICS-US: Global Image Buoyed by Prospect of Change Jim Lobe WASHINGTON, 12 Jun (IPS) - After a virtually relentless fall during the seven-year reign of President George W. Bush, Washington's image abroad rebounded modestly in 2007, according to the latest edition of the annual Pew Global Attitudes Project survey of 24 countries released here Thursday. more...   DEATH PENALTY-US: Exonerations Speed Change of Mind Adrianne Appel BOSTON, 8 Jun (IPS) - After more than a decade of DNA tests, appeals and waiting on death row, Texas prisoner Michael Blair is likely to be exonerated soon, further undermining public confidence in the infallibility of the U.S. death penalty system. more...   POLITICS: Rice Midwifes Lebanon's Latest 'Birth Pangs' Khody Akhavi WASHINGTON, 17 Jun (IPS) - U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice paid a surprise visit to Beirut Monday to pledge her support for an agreement giving greater political power to Hezbollah, the militant Shiite group that Washington still considers a terrorist organisation. more...   POLITICS-US: Republicans Fear Democratic Rout in November Ali Gharib and Jim Lobe WASHINGTON, 20 May (IPS) - The deeply unpopular legacy of U.S. Pres. George W. Bush hangs like a cloud over the election prospects of the Republican Party, raising fears of sweeping Democratic victories in the fall. more...   POLITICS: UN Body Tightens Leash on Rights Investigators Thalif Deen UNITED NATIONS, 17 Jun (IPS) - The Human Rights Council (HRC) in Geneva is seeking the right to implicitly retaliate against human rights investigators -- officially known as special rapporteurs -- who are critical of abuses by member states. more...   POLITICS: Report Challenges Orthodoxy on Global Terror Katie Vandever NEW YORK, 22 May (IPS) - A comprehensive new study from the Canadian research team that produced the Human Security Report in 2005 challenges the expert consensus that global terrorism is increasing. more...