In the sixth year of the war in Iraq, U.S. planes at week's end bombed insurgent targets in the southern port city of Basra. Iraqis, acting alone, began their attempted show of strength on Wednesday in what had been billed by President Bush as an important test of whether the government and military could succeed on their own. In the more critical war on global warming, Al Gore, interviewed for Sunday's 60 Minutes, likened those who deny climate change to people who clung to a belief that the earth was flat. In South Royalton, Vt., Sanders told a Vermont Law School symposium that meeting the challenge of climate change merits a commitment like the program that put men on the moon. And from Copenhagen to Burlington, the ambassador to the United States from Finland accepted the senator's invitation to a town meeting in City Hall on Monday.

The War in Iraq -- The overall U.S. death toll in Iraq rose to 4,000 after four soldiers were killed Sunday in a roadside bombing in Baghdad, a grim milestone as the war entered its sixth year. "This war has, in so many ways, been an unmitigated disaster," Sanders said. "It has distracted us from our real enemies, the radical militant movement personified by Osama bin Laden, who remains alive and well - plotting attacks against us and our allies. It has stolen our focus away from Afghanistan, where the once-defeated Taliban is now resurgent. It has stretched our active military and National Guard to the breaking point, with exhausted soldiers being deployed time and time again. It has severely undermined our position in the international community, and damaged our relations not only with our allies in the West, but with millions in the Muslim world."

Global Warming -- "We can strengthen our economy, create millions of good-paying jobs, protect our environment for future generations, and reduce threats to public health by addressing global warming," Sanders said in the keynote address last weekend to the annual conference of the National Association of Environmental Law Societies at the Vermont Law School. To reverse climate change, Sanders called for a commitment commensurate to the space program that put men on the moon. To read Sanders' speech, click here. To read The Burlington Free Press coverage of the speech, click here.

Fair Trade -- "Sanders believes the country is ready to join his fight to overhaul American trade policy," the Chicago Tribune reported on Tuesday. The front-page article called the Vermont independent "a leader in the growing group of lawmakers who blame expanded trade for lost manufacturing jobs and stagnant wages for American workers." It doesn't take a PhD in economics to see when you go shopping the only products you can afford are made in China," Sanders told the Trib. "The American people know it." Decades of bipartisan consensus on free trade are "under pressure" in Washington, according to Peter Orszag, the Congressional Budget Office director who was quoted in the story. "My experience suggests when perceptions shift, policy proposals are not far behind," he said. To read the Chicago Tribune article, click here.

Credit Card Ripoffs -- Middle-class Americans all across the country are being exploited by credit card companies. "What has happened over the years is that we have deregulated the banking industry, so now you can have bankers and lenders ripping people off," Senator Bernie Sanders said on the Air America Radio program Brunch with Bernie. "In terms of deregulation, credit card companies are now charging people an interest rate of over 30 percent even when they always pay their bills on time." To read more, click here.

Those Phenomenal Finns -- Sanders invited the public to join him at 7:30 p.m. Monday at Burlington City Hall to hear Ambassador Pekka Lintu speak about the notable social progress his country has made. "The Finns have virtually eliminated childhood poverty and, according to international reports, have the best educational system in the world. They provide comprehensive health care for all and quality childcare is available at almost no cost," Sanders said. To read a Seven Days article on the Finnish ambassador's visit to Vermont, click here.

St. Peter -- Veteran Vermont newsman Peter Freyne wrote his last "Inside Track" column on politics and the media for Burlington's alternative weekly newspaper Seven Days. On Freyne's decision to sheath his pen, for now, Sanders told The Associated Press: "I didn't cross swords with him. He crossed swords with me. He's the one with the sword." To read the story, click here.