Here is another of our occasional book round-ups consisting of short notices of works we have not been able to fully review. These are essentially meta-reviews (reviews of reviews). If any of our readers are inspired to read one of these books and wishes to write a full review please contact pabooks@politicalaffairs.net.

The U.S. military used white phosphorus as a weapon in Fallujah, and the U.S. military says such use is illegal.  That's one heck of a fog fact (Larry Beinhart's term for a fact that is neither secret nor known).  This fact has appeared in an article in the Guardian (UK) and been circulated on the internet, but has just not interested the corporate media in the United States.

...the leaders of the country in the months prior to 9/11 adamantly refused to focus on Al Qaeda, Osama bin Laden and potential terrorist attacks on the United States. When information was put in front of them, they ignored it, brushed it off, or rebuffed it. They were adamantly focused on finding an opportunity to invade Iraq.

Like Herod, Pilate and their soldiers, we have rejected the angels' call for "peace on earth". When Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld and their war-making supporters celebrate Christmas, they mock Christ and his steadfast nonviolence, and carry on the massacre of the innocents.

It is dishonest to blame budget problems on programs that serve all Americans when their greatest source is tax cuts that benefit relatively few. It is fundamentally wrong to balance the federal budget on the backs of children, retirees, the poor and people with disabilities in order to save tax breaks for millionaires.