20090108
Corporate
- 
Government
- 
Regulations
- 
Workers
- 
Safety
-
Medical
- 
Science
-
Environment
- 
History
- 
Earth
- 
Oil
- 
Auto
- 
St.
Paul - 
Minnesota
- 
Wyoming
- 
Utah
- 
Obama
- 
US
- 
Netherlands
- 
World
"Bush
Pushes ‘Midnight Rules’ to Support Companies as Term Ends."
... "[Republican President] George W. Bush is using the waning days of
his presidency to implement a raft of pro-business regulations, triggering
vows by the incoming [Democratic President Elect] Obama administration
and congressional Democrats to gut the measures." ... "Bush is proposing
changes to federal rules that critics say make it more difficult to protect
U.S. [United States] workers from exposure to toxic chemicals, reduce the
use of employee medical leave and open more land to oil and gas exploration.
The effort is supported by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and trade groups
representing companies including [Netherlands-based] Royal Dutch Shell
Plc [Public limited company] and Dow Chemical Co. [Company.]" ... "The
Interior Department today is publishing a rule that would lift a 79-year-old
executive order prohibiting oil shale development in Wyoming and Utah.
Yesterday, the Bush administration postponed regulations requiring cars
and light trucks to be more fuel efficient by 2011." ... "Bush’s regulation
on toxins, which isn’t final yet, would change the way workplace exposure
to poisonous substances is measured, and is supported by associations representing
companies such as Dow, the biggest U.S. chemical company, Exxon Mobil,
the world’s largest oil company, and 3M Co., the St. Paul [Minnesota's
capital], Minnesota-based maker of 55,000 products." ... "The change is
opposed by the United Mineworkers and other unions. They argue it would
delay new health protections for workers by requiring a lengthy regulatory
process before new standards could be issued. " -By
Holly Rosenkrantz and Mark Drajem -Bloomberg
20081224
Karl
Rove - Federal
- 
Christmas
- Trade
- 
Texas
"Top
Bush Aides to Linger on High-Profile Boards." ...
"The Christmas Eve appointments will allow them to serve far beyond [2009,
January] Jan. 20, the end of [Republican President] Mr. Bush’s term in
office." ... "Ms. [Secretary of State Condoleezza] Rice got a spot on the
John
F. Kennedy Center’s board of trustees until September 2014." ... "Mr.
Bush’s gift to Mr. [Commerce Secretary Carlos M.] Gutierrez: membership
on the board
of trustees of the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars,
a research institute in Washington. Joining Mr. Gutierrez as a trustee
is Barry Jackson, a former deputy to Karl Rove, who serves as assistant
to the president for strategic initiatives and external affairs." ... "Maria
Cino, a longtime ally of the president who was deputy secretary of the
Department of Transportation and helped run the 2008 Republican National
Convention, received a four-year term on the Advisory Committee for Trade
Policy and Negotiations. President Bush also extended the same courtesy
to Israel Hernandez, who was once
a personal aide to Mr. Bush in Texas and now serves as an assistant
secretary of commerce and director general of the United States Commercial
Service." ... "And the first lady, Laura Bush, appears to be taking care
of her own, too. The president appointed her chief of staff, Anita B. McBride,
to a three-year term on the J. William Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board."
-By Michael
Falcone with contributions by Sheryl Stolberg
-NYTimes
20081223
Health
- 
Military
- Lawsuit
- KBR
-Corporate
- 
Politics
- Unsafe
- 
Ice
- 
IN
- US
- 
Iraq
"Soldiers
Accuse KBR Of Knowingly Exposing Troops To Deadly Toxin In Iraq."
... "Controversial military contractor KBR has racked up quite a record
of endangering the lives of U.S. [United States] soldiers serving in Iraq.
Over the years, the former Halliburton subsidiary has been accused of everything
from giving troops ice tainted with “traces
of body fluids and putrefied remains” to ignoring warnings of unsafe
wiring that led
to troop deaths." ... "Earlier this month, attorneys for 16 members
of the Indiana National Guard filed a lawsuit against the company, alleging
that they “knowingly
exposed the soldiers to a cancer-causing toxic chemical.” In a special
report last night, CBS News revealed that KBR knew of the toxic exposure
to hexavalent chromium long
before it informed the guardsmen:"
"Now
CBS News has obtained information that indicates KBR knew about the danger
months before the soldiers were ever informed." ... "Depositions from
KBR employees detailed concerns about the toxin in one part of the plant
as early as May of 2003. And KBR minutes, from a later meeting state “that
60 percent of the people … exhibit symptoms of exposure,” including bloody
noses and rashes." ... "Gentry says it wasn’t until the last day of
August in 2003 - after four long months at the facility - that he was told
the plant was contaminated."
WATCH:
"KBR Accused In Toxic Scandal" via -CBSNews
"After
receiving a briefing on the case on Monday, [Indiana Democratic Senator]
Sen. Evan Bayh (D-IN [Democratic-Indiana]) told CBS that “KBR
has a lot to answer for“:"
"“Look,
I think the burden of proof at this point is on the company,” Bayh said.
“To come forward and very forthrightly explain what happened, why we should
trust them, and why the health and well-being of our soldiers should continue
to be in their hands.”"
"In
a statement to CBS, the company denied all charges, saying, “We deny the
assertion that KBR harmed troops and was responsible for an unsafe condition.”
According to CNN, “an
estimated 275 American soldiers may have been exposed to the chemical”
at the KBR water plant, “over a period of months through mid- to late-2003.”"
-By Matt
Corley -ThinkProgress.org
20081222
Military
- KBR
- Corporate
- Politics
- Indiana
- US
- Iraq
"Did
Contractor Expose Troops To Toxin? CBS Evening News
Exclusive: American Soldiers Are Dying Of Lung Cancer - And May Have Been
Knowingly Exposed." ... "The military contractor Kellogg Brown and Root,
known as KBR, has won more than $28 billion in U.S. military contracts
since the beginning of the Iraq war. KBR may be facing a new scandal. First,
accusations its then-parent company Halliburton was given the lucrative
contract. And later, allegations of shoddy construction oversight that
resulted in Americans getting electrocuted. Now, some other American soldiers
say the company knowingly put their lives at risk, CBS News chief investigative
correspondent Armen Keteyian and investigative producer Laura Strickler
exclusively report." ... "In April of 2003, James Gentry of the Indiana
National Guard arrived in Southern Iraq to take command of more than 600
other guardsmen. Their job: protect KBR contractors working at a local
water plant." ... ""We didn't question what we were doing, we just knew
we had to provide a security service for the KBR," said Battalion Cmdr.
[Commander] Gentry." ... "Today James Gentry is dying from rare form of
lung cancer. The result, he believes, of months of inhaling hexavalent
chromium - an orange dust that's part of a toxic chemical found
all over the plant." ... "At least one other Indiana guardsman has already
died from lung cancer, and others are said to be suffering from tumors
and rashes consistent with exposure to the deadly toxin." ... "Now CBS
News has obtained information that indicates KBR knew about the danger
months before the soldiers were ever informed." -By
Armen Keteyian -CBSNews
WATCH:
"KBR Accused In Toxic Scandal" -CBSNews
20081221
Corporate
- Government
- 
Accounting
- Politics
- 
New
York
"AP
study finds $1.6B went to bailed-out bank execs."
... "Banks that are getting taxpayer bailouts awarded their top executives
nearly $1.6 billion in salaries, bonuses, and other benefits last year,
an Associated Press analysis reveals." ... "The rewards came even at banks
where poor results last year foretold the economic crisis that sent them
to Washington for a government rescue. Some trimmed their executive compensation
due to lagging bank performance, but still forked over multimillion-dollar
executive pay packages." ... "Benefits included cash bonuses, stock options,
personal use of company jets and chauffeurs, home security, country club
memberships and professional money management, the AP review of federal
securities documents found." ... "_The average paid to each of the banks'
top executives was $2.6 million in salary, bonuses and benefits." ... "_Lloyd
Blankfein, president and chief executive officer of Goldman Sachs, took
home nearly $54 million in compensation last year. The company's top five
executives received a total of $242 million." ... "The New York-based company
on Dec. 16 reported its first quarterly loss since it went public in 1999.
It received $10 billion in taxpayer money on Oct. 28." ... "_John A. Thain,
chief executive officer of Merrill Lynch, topped all corporate bank bosses
with $83 million in earnings last year." ... "Like Goldman, Merrill got
$10 billion from taxpayers on Oct. 28." -By Frank
Bass and Rita Beamish -AP
via -Yahoo
20081219
Chris
Cox - Corporate
- Government
- Accounting
- Law
- 
Enforcement
- Politics
- 
California
- New
York
"Cox
"Worked to Dismantle The SEC," Says Commission Vet."
... "In recent years, particularly under [Republican President Bush's Securities
and Exchange Commission Chairman Chris] Cox, a former California GOP [GOP=Grand
Old Party=Republican] congressman, the SEC has pursued a policy of de-emphasizing
enforcement, part of the broader anti-regulatory philosophy of the Bush
years -- helping to make Madoff, and perhaps others like him, possible."
... ""[Cox] in many ways worked to dismantle the SEC," Ed Nordlinger, a
former longtime enforcement director in the commission's New York office,
told TPMmuckraker. "He slowed everything down. I don't think he believed
in heavy regulation."" ... "That view has been echoed by several others
in a position to know. Ross Albert told TPMmuckraker for a post
published yesterday: "Under Cox, SEC had de-emphasized the enforcement
program. Cox worshipped at the same altar of de-regulation that the rest
of the Bush administration worshipped at."" ... "And a former enforcement
division supervisor told Portfolio for a lengthy
October story about the SEC under Cox: "It was like someone poured
molasses on the enforcement division."" ... "The commission also appears
to have passed over for promotion staff members who were too aggressive
in their approach to enforcement. Veteran S.E.C. lawyer James Coffman told
Portfolio
that he was told he didn't get a promotion because he was "too tough."
He left the SEC soon after." -By Zachary Roth
-TPMMuckracker
.TalkingPointsMemo
20081218
Dick
Cheney - Criminal
- Torture
- War
Crimes - Prisons
- Law
- Military
- 
Intelligence
- Politics
- Corporate
- 
Media
- US
- Iraq
"If
Bush and Cheney Commit War Crimes and Everyone Knows It, But Does Nothing,
Are They Still Crimes?" ... "As Jon Ponder noted
here on Tuesday, a bi-partisan U.S. [United States] Senate panel has
found
[PDF] that [Republican President] George W. Bush was responsible for
approving War Crimes (torture and abuse) at the Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq,
[Republican Vice President] Dick Cheney admitted
in a recent interview to helping to approve War Crimes (torture and abuse)
in interrogations, and the corporate media --- with the lone exception
of MSNBC --- have been virtually as silent on what may be the most offensive
crimes ever committed by an Executive Branch in the U.S. as they were during
the lead-up to and follow-through on the War on Iraq, when those same officials
sent
our nation into war on the basis of demonstrable lies." ... "George Washington
University's highly-respected constitutional law professor Jonathon Turley,
noting the War Crimes now known and admitted to by Bush and Cheney, asked
Keith Olbermann Tuesday night, "If someone commits a crime and everyone's
around to see it and does nothing, is it still a crime?"" ... "During the
discussion, Turley mentioned --- no less than three different times ---
that it'll be up to the citizens whether or not any action is actually
taken to prosecute those who committed these crimes." ... ""It will ultimately
depend on citizens, and whether they will remain silent in the face of
a crime that's been committed in plain view," Turley suggested. "It is
equally immoral to stand silent in the face of a war crime and do nothing,
and that is what the citizens are doing."" ... "He went on to argue: "There's
this gigantic yawn as we hear about a war crime on national television
being discussed matter-of-factly by the Vice President."" -By
Brad
Friedman -BradBlog.com
WATCH
"Countdown: Jonathan Turley and Bush Admin War Crimes."
-Keith Olbermann via -FireDogLake'sYouTube
20081216
Jim
DeMint - 
Bob
Corker - 
Richard
Shelby
- 
Mitch
McConnell - Foreign
- Money
- Politics
- 
Construction
- Auto
- 
Makers
- Government
- Emergency
- Legislation
- Labor
- 
Michigan
- California
- 
South
Carolina - 
Alabama
- 
Tennessee
- 
Kentucky
- 
German
- 
Japanese
- 
South
Korean
"Foreign
Auto Makers Won Billions in Government Subsidies:
Southern States Gave [Foreign] Auto Companies Tax-breaks and Cash for Training."
... "To hear Southern Republicans tell the story, the financial burdens
facing Detroit’s automakers are self-made troubles to be settled by the
laws of Adam-Smith capitalism." ... "“We don’t think it is the role of
government to intervene,” [South Carolina Republican Senator] Sen. Jim
DeMint (R-S.C. [Republican-South Carolina]) told the Fox Business Network
last week. “We need to let the market and the laws work the way they are
already in place.”" ... "Yet this argument — that the government has no
business interfering in free markets — ignores an increasingly frequent
tradition among Southern states, which have fronted billions in local taxpayer
dollars in the past two decades to attract foreign auto plants. Those incentives,
arriving in the form of tax breaks, training for new employees and even
land, have enticed [German automaker Bayerische Motoren Werke] BMW to South
Carolina, [German automaker] Mercedes to Alabama and [Japanese automaker]
Nissan to Tennessee. The result of the government subsidies has been the
steady emergence of the South as an auto-manufacturing powerhouse. Some
are dubbing it the “New Detroit” – a region where real estate is
cheap and the labor’s not unionized." ... "Not coincidentally, these Southern
states are represented by the same coalition of GOP [GOP=Grand Old Party=Republican]
senators who led the fight against the recent Detroit [Michigan] bailout
proposal. That legislation would have provided $14 billion in emergency
bridge loans to General Motors and Chrysler, both of which say they lack
the finances to survive the month. Rallying behind the animated opposition
of GOP [Republican Senators] Sens. Bob Corker (Tenn.[Tennessee]), Richard
Shelby (Ala.[Alabama]), Mitch McConnell (Ky.[Kentucky) and South Carolina’s
DeMint, Senate Republicans killed the legislation." ... "On Friday, the
day following the Senate vote, Shelby told CNBC that if the Big Three had
only managed their business operations as well as the foreign companies,
known as transplants, they wouldn’t be scrambling now for a taxpayer-funded
bailout." ... "“You look at the South,” Shelby said. “You take — not just
Mercedes in my hometown — but BMW, Honda and all of them. These companies
are flourishing with American workers made in America.”" ... "But the flourishing
of the transplants didn’t come without significant taxpayer help. Shelby’s
Alabama, for example, secured construction of a [German automaker] Mercedes-Benz
plant in 1993 by
offering $253 million in state and local tax breaks, worker training
and land improvement. For [Japanese automaker] Honda, the state’s sweetener
surrounding a 1999 deal to build a mini-van plant was $158 million in similar
perks, adding
$90 million in enticements when the company expanded the plant
three years later. A 2001 deal with [Japanese automaker] Toyota left the
company with $29 million in taxpayer gifts." ... "Alabama is hardly alone.
Corker’s Tennessee recently lured [German automaker] Volkswagen to build
a manufacturing plant in Chattanooga [Tennessee], offering the German automaker
tax breaks, training and land preparation that could total
$577 million. In 2005, the state inspired Nissan to relocate its
headquarters from southern California by offering $197
million in incentives, including $20 million in utility savings."
... "In 1992, South Carolina snagged a BMW plant for $150
million in giveaways. In Mississippi in 2003, Nissan was lured
with $363
million. In Georgia, a still-under-construction [South Korean automaker]
Kia plant received breaks estimated to be $415
million. The list goes on." -By Mike
Lillis -WashingtonIndependent.com
20081213
Bob
Corker - Richard
Shelby
- Jim
DeMint - Mitch
McConnell - Foreign
- Money
- Politicians
- Auto
- Makers
- Michigan
- US
- Workers
- Emergency
- Law
- Tennessee
- Alabama
- Kentucky
- South
Carolina - 
Georgia
- Japanese
- German
- South
Korean
"Meet
the GOP's [Republican's] wrecking crew: Why did a
small group of Southern Republicans turn the auto bailout into a demolition
derby? Introducing the senators who hate unions and love foreign cars."
... "On July 15, [Tennessee Republican Senator] Bob Corker was a happy
man." ... ""I cannot think of a more exciting day, even more so than Election
Night, for me," the Republican senator from Tennessee said in a conference
call that day. The reason for his elation was the announcement that
[German automaker] Volkswagen, lured by up to $500 million worth of incentives
from the state government, had agreed to build a $1 billion plant near
Chattanooga, Tenn. [Tennessee.] That is, not just in his home state, but
in the suburbs of the city he once served as mayor." ... "Add VW [Volkwagen]
to [Japan automaker] Nissan, which already has two plants and its North
American headquarters in Tennessee, and you begin to see why Corker was
so aggressive this month about trying to block -- or at least dramatically
rewrite -- a proposal to float billions of dollars in
emergency
loans to domestic automakers. Most of the focus during this debate
has been on lawmakers who represent Michigan, the home of the Big Three
-- Ford, General Motors and Chrysler. But Corker represents the other side
of the coin: Tennessee and other Southern states have recently come to
depend on foreign automakers and their non-union factories. If you're from
those parts, what's good for American car companies may no longer be what's
good for the country -- because your economy now depends on their foreign
competitors instead." ... "Expect to hear more not just from the very vocal
Bob Corker, but from the rest of a core group of Southern senators whose
bread is buttered by the Japanese, Germans and Koreans. Here's a guide
to the major players."
"[Alabama
Republican Senator] Richard Shelby, R-Ala. [Republican-Alabama]"
"Foreign
auto plants: [German automaker] Mercedes-Benz, [South Korean automaker]
Hyundai, [Japanese automaker] Honda"
"[South
Carolina Republican Senator] Jim DeMint, R-S.C. [Republican-South Carolina]"
"Foreign
auto plants: [German automaker] BMW [Bayerische Motoren Werke]"
"[Kentucky
Republican Senator] Mitch McConnell, R-Ky. [Republican-Kentucky]"
"Foreign
auto plants: [Japanese automaker] Toyota"
"[Tennessee
Republican Senator] Bob Corker, R-Tenn. [Republican-Tennessee]"
"Foreign
auto plants: Two [Japanese automaker] Nissan plants, as well as the
company's U.S. [United States] headquarters; [German automaker] Volkswagen
will open near Chattanooga [Tennessee] in 2011"
"As
mayor of Chattanooga, he [Corker] reportedly conceived the idea for the
site that will soon become home to the [German automaker] Volkswagen plant,
and was instrumental in its development. He organized efforts to lure [Japanese
automaker] Toyota to the area, and when that failed, he had VW execs [executives]
and other top state politicians over to his house for dinner." ... "Georgia's
two Republican senators, Saxby Chambliss and Johnny Isaakson, both voted
against the plan as well. Their state has a big [South Korean automaker]
Kia factory coming in soon." (1, 2)
-By Alex Koppelman and Mike Madden with contributions
by Vincent Rossmeier and Gabriel Winant -Salon
20081212
Auto
- Makers
- Legislation
- Workers
- Emergency
- Government
- Politics
- Economy
- History
- Cheney
- Michigan
"Senate
Republicans kill auto bailout bill." ... "Republican
opposition killed a $14-billion auto industry bailout plan in the Senate
on Thursday night, putting the future of [United States] U.S. automakers
in doubt and threatening to deliver another blow to the economy." ... "The
measure died after a last-ditch effort by Senate Democratic leaders to
strike a compromise that would have lured enough support to save the legislation,
which was crafted in consultation with the [Republican President Bush]
White House." ... "The bill's failure raises the possibility of bankruptcy
by one or more of [Michigan state's] Detroit's Big Three and puts new pressure
on [Republican] President Bush to authorize emergency loans for the automakers
from the $700-billion Wall Street rescue fund, a step he has adamantly
refused to take." ... "The collapse of General Motors, Chrysler or Ford
-- along with many of their suppliers and dealers -- could throw hundreds
of thousands more workers onto the growing unemployment rolls and further
cloud the closing days of the [Republican President] Bush administration."
... ""If we don't do this, we will be known as the party of [Republican
President] Herbert Hoover forever," [Republican Vice President] Cheney
told them, according to a Senate Republican aide, evoking the president
whose inaction is widely blamed for helping trigger the Great Depression
in the early 1930s." (1, 2)
-By Jim Puzzanghera with contributions by Ken Bensinger
-LAtimes
20081211
Torture
- Prisons
- War
Crimes - Secret
- Military
- Government
- Intelligence
- Law
- Investigation
- Human
Rights - Politics
- History
-
McCain
- 
Ariz
- Mich
- US
- Guantanamo
- 
Cuba
- Iraq
- 
Afghanistan
- 
China
- 
Korea
"Bipartisan
Report: Rumsfeld Responsible for Detainee Abuse:
Senate Committee Finds Officials Made Decisions That Led to Offenses Against
Prisoners." ... "A bipartisan panel of senators has concluded that [Republican
President Bush's] former defense secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld and other
top Bush administration officials bear direct responsibility for the harsh
treatment of detainees at Guantanamo Bay [Cuba], and that their decisions
led to more serious abuses in Iraq and elsewhere." ... "In the most comprehensive
critique by Congress of the military's interrogation practices, the Senate
Armed Services Committee issued a report yesterday that accuses Rumsfeld
and his deputies of being the authors and chief promoters of harsh interrogation
policies that disgraced the nation and undermined U.S. security. The report,
released by Sens. [ Senators] Carl M. Levin (D-Mich.[ Democratic-Michigan])
and John McCain (R-Ariz.[ Republican Arizona]), contends that Pentagon
officials later tried to create a false impression that the policies were
unrelated to acts of detainee abuse committed by members of the military."
... ""The abuse of detainees in U.S. [United States] custody cannot simply
be attributed to the actions of 'a few bad apples' acting on their own,"
the report states. "The fact is that senior officials in the United States
government solicited information on how to use aggressive techniques, redefined
the law to create the appearance of their legality, and authorized their
use against detainees."" ... "The report is the most direct refutation
to date of the administration's rationale for using aggressive interrogation
tactics -- that inflicting humiliation and pain on detainees was legal
and effective, and helped protect the country. The 25-member panel, without
one dissent among the 12 Republican members, declared the opposite to be
true." ... "The [Republican President Bush's] administration's policies
and the resulting controversies, the panel concluded, "damaged our ability
to collect accurate intelligence that could save lives, strengthened the
hand of our enemies, and compromised our moral authority."" ... "A Defense
Department spokesman noted that the Pentagon cooperated extensively with
the Senate investigation and has taken numerous steps in recent years to
ensure the humane treatment of detainees." ... "The panel's investigation
focused on the Defense Department's employment of controversial interrogation
practices, including forced nudity, painful stress positions, sleep deprivation,
extreme temperatures and the use of dogs. The practices, some of which
had already been adopted by the CIA [Central Intelligence Agency] at its
secret prisons, were adapted for interrogations at the detention center
at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and later migrated to U.S. detention camps in
Afghanistan and Iraq, including the infamous Abu Ghraib prison." ... "The
true genesis of the decision to use coercive techniques, the report said,
was a memo signed by [Republican] President Bush on [February] Feb. 7,
2002, declaring that the Geneva Convention's standards for humane treatment
did not apply to captured al-Qaeda and Taliban fighters. As early as that
spring, the panel said, top administration officials, including National
Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice, participated in meetings in which the
use of coercive measures was discussed. The panel drew on a written statement
by Rice, released earlier this year, to support that conclusion." ... "In
July 2002, Rumseld's senior staff began compiling information about techniques
used in military survival schools to simulate conditions that U.S. airmen
might face if captured by an enemy that did not follow the Geneva conditions.
Those techniques -- borrowed from a training program known as Survival,
Evasion, Resistance and Escape, or SERE -- included waterboarding, or simulated
drowning, and were loosely based on methods adopted by Chinese communists
to coerce propaganda confessions from captured U.S. soldiers during the
Korean war." ... "The SERE program became the template for interrogation
methods that were ultimately approved by Rumsfeld himself, the report says."
-By Joby Warrick and Karen DeYoung -WashingtonPost
[PDF]
"Senate
Armed Services Committee Inquiry Into The Treatment of Detainees In U.S.
Custody." ... “What sets us apart from our enemies
in this fight… is how we behave. In everything we do, we must observe the
standards and values that dictate that we treat noncombatants and detainees
with dignity and respect. While we are warriors, we are also all human
beings” -- General David Petraeus via -WashingtonPost
20081210
China
- Free
Speech - Human
Rights - Law
- Politics
- 
United
Nations - History
"China
arrests a signer of a freedom charter: Literary critic
Liu Xiaobo had joined more than 300 in endorsing the 'Charter 08' document."
... "China has arrested at least one prominent dissident and has questioned
and possibly detained others who were among more than 300 signatories to
a declaration demanding more freedoms." ... "Liu Xiaobo, a prolific literary
critic who spent 20 months in prison for joining students in the 1989 Tiananmen
Square protests, was arrested Monday night at his home in Beijing [China's
capital]. Human rights organizations said the 53-year-old Liu was being
detained on suspicion of "inciting subversion of state power," a charge
often used against government critics." ... "The arrest came in the run-up
to today's 60th anniversary of the United Nations' adoption of the Universal
Declaration of Human Rights, a landmark document credited with inspiring
the modern human rights movement." ... "The Chinese activists are using
the anniversary as a peg to release what they are calling "Charter 08,"
a petition with recommendations for constitutional reforms that would make
the ruling Communist Party more accountable." -By
Barbara Demick -LAtimes
20081209
Kevin
Martin - Corporate
- Government
- Politics
- 
Telecommunications
- Accounting
- Investigation
- Consumers
- 
Video
- Media
"Congressional
report: FCC chair abused power." ... "[Republican
President Bush's] Federal Communications Commission Chairman Kevin Martin
ignored his responsibilities as head of the regulatory body and abused
his power, according to a congressional report released Tuesday." ... "Over
the course of his tenure, Martin manipulated and withheld information from
the other FCC [Federal Communications Commission] commissioners and from
Congress, neglected his statutory responsibilities to produce certain information
to Congress, and ignored evidence that certain national communications
programs were being grossly mismanaged, according to the report issued
by the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, titled "Deception
and Distrust: The Federal Communications Commission Under Chairman Kevin
J. Martin." (PDF)" ... "The committee launched a bipartisan investigation
in January after hearing allegations of mismanagement from current and
former FCC employees, telecommunications industry representatives, and
other FCC commissioners." ... "Typically, a congressional committee would
hold hearings to investigate such matters, but the report was issued in
lieu of hearings because, the report says, "due to the climate of fear
that pervades the FCC...we found that key witnesses were unwilling to testify
or even to have their names become known."" ... "The chairman's office,
the report says, ignored evidence consumers were overcharged and providers
were overcompensated by as much as $100 million a year. The neglect of
that information led to a windfall of millions of dollars for the largest
TRS [Telecommunications Relay Service] provider, Sorenson, which covers
about 80 percent of the video relay services market." ... "The report also
recommends the Government Accountability Office audit the entire TRS program,
including the FCC's efforts to protect the integrity of the fund." ...
"The report also says Martin manipulated information given to his fellow
commissioners and Congress. For instance, upon becoming chair in 2005,
the report says, Martin ordered FCC staff to reverse the findings of a
study, which initially said that "a la carte" cable programming would not
benefit consumers. He also demoted the Media Bureau chief, who had been
in charge of the study." ... "The reversal led to suspicion inside and
out of the FCC that the study sent to Congress was not based on objective
analysis, the committee report says." -By Stephanie
Condon -CNET
/News
20081208
John
McCain - Corporate
- Politics
- Arizona
"Merrill
Chief Wants $10-Million Bonus For Presiding Over $11-Billion Loss."
... "Merrill has lost almost $12 billion this year, and is about to be
taken over by Bank of America. Its shares have fallen fom $50 when Thain
took over late last year to $13.04 at close of trading Friday." ... "It
looks like Thain -- who was a major fundraiser for [2008 Election Republican
Presidential Candidate and Arizona Senator] John McCain's campaign
and was described
by USA Today as a member of McCain's "team" -- is a practitioner
of the bargaining strategy in which you begin with a maximalist offer as
a starting point for negotiation:"
"A
few months ago, when the board began seriously considering 2008 bonuses,
a proposal was presented to the compensation committee by Merrill that
Mr. Thain should be paid in excess of $30 million, according to people
familiar with the matter. That number has since come down in recent talks
with various board members and Mr. Thain has recently indicated to committee
members that $5 million to $10 million is more reasonable." [-WSJ]
"
-By Zachary Roth -TPMMuckracker
.TalkingPointsMemo
20081205
Employment
- Market
- 
Housing
- Rebuilding
- 
Roads
- 
Schools
- Energy
- Obama
- Politics
"Employers
cut 533K jobs in Nov., most in 34 years." ... "Skittish
employers slashed 533,000 jobs in November, the most in 34 years, catapulting
the unemployment rate to 6.7 percent, dramatic proof the country is careening
deeper into recession." ... "The new figures, released by the Labor Department
Friday, showed the crucial employment market deteriorating at an alarmingly
rapid clip, and handed Americans some more grim news right before the holidays.
The net loss of more than a half-million jobs was far worse than analysts
expected." ... "The U.S. [United States] tipped into recession last December
[2007], a panel of experts declared earlier this week, confirming what
many Americans already thought." ... "[Republican] President George W.
Bush, who used the word "recession" for the first time to describe the
economy's state, pledged Friday to explore more efforts to ease housing,
credit and financial stresses." ... "[Democratic] President-elect Barack
Obama said the dismal job news underscored the need for forceful action,
even as he warned that the pain could not be quickly relieved." ... ""There
are no quick or easy fixes to this crisis ... and it's likely to get worse
before it gets better," Obama said. "At the same time, this ... provides
us with an opportunity to transform our economy to improve the lives of
ordinary people by rebuilding roads and modernizing schools for our children,
investing in clean energy solutions to break our dependence on imported
oil, and making an early down payment on the long-term reforms that will
grow and strengthen our economy for all Americans for years to come.""
-By Jeannine Aversa -AP
via -Yahoo
20081204
John
McCain - 
Sarah
Palin - 
Fashion
- Politics
- 2008
Election - 
Alaska
"McCain
Campaign Spent $110,000 on Palin’s Stylists." ...
"[2008 Election Republican Vice Presidential Candidate and Alaska Republican
Governor] Gov. Sarah Palin’s traveling makeup artist was paid $68,400 and
her hair stylist received more than $42,000 for roughly two months of work,
according to a new campaign finance report filed with the Federal Election
Commission." ... "Much attention has been paid to the $150,000 the Republican
National Committee spent on outfitting Ms. Palin in September at high-end
department stores like Saks Fifth Avenue and Neiman Marcus, as well as
on makeup
services." ... "Republican officials said this week that additional
clothing charges would appear on the Republican National Committee’s
campaign finance report totaling less than $30,000." -By
Michael
Luo -NYTimes
20081202
Barack
Obama - 
Stephen
Johnson - Water
- Earth
- Coal
- Companies
- Government
- Law
- Enforcement
- Politics
- Kentucky
- Tennessee
"EPA
to gut mountaintop mining rule that protects streams."
... "The Environmental Protection Agency on Tuesday approved a last-minute
rule change by the [Republican President] Bush administration that will
allow coal companies to bury streams under the rocks leftover from mining."
... "The 1983 rule prohibited dumping the fill from mountaintop removal
mining within 100 feet of streams. In practice, the government hadn't been
enforcing the rule. Government figures show that 535 miles of streams were
buried or diverted from 2001 to 2005, more than half of them in the mountains
of Appalachia. Along with the loss of the streams has been an increase
of erosion and flooding." ... "The 11th hour change before President George
W. Bush leaves office would eliminate a tool that citizens groups have
used in lawsuits to keep mining waste out of streams. Mining companies
had been pushing for the change for years." ... "It also means that [Democratic]
President-elect Barack Obama's administration will have to decide whether
to try to restore and enforce the rule, a process that could take many
months of new rulemaking. Obama's transition team declined to comment on
its plans on Tuesday." ... "Another option would be for opponents to go
through the courts. Opponents have argued that the rule change is illegal."
... "For now, however, the EPA's approval means there are no further obstacles
to the Office of Surface Mining's plans to change the rule. The White House's
Office of Management and Budget approved it on Monday. The Department of
Interior, which includes the mining office, plans to make the rule final
in December after briefing members of Congress, and it will go into effect
30 days after that, said spokesman Peter Mali." ... "The timing means the
rule is expected to be in effect when Obama takes office in January." ...
"In approving the change in writing as required by law, [Republican President
Bush's Environmental Protection Agency] EPA Administrator Stephen Johnson
rejected the appeals of environmentalists and some coal-country officials,
including Kentucky [Democratic Governor] Gov. Steve Beshear and Tennessee
[Democratic Governor] Gov. Phil Bredesen, both Democrats." ... "In a letter
in November to Johnson, Beshear said his state had to protect its water
and that while coal was important to the economy, it should be mined in
environmentally responsible ways." -By Renee Schoof
and Bill Estep -Herald-Leader
-McClatchyDC.com
20081119
Jeff
Sessions - Auto
- Makers
- Workers
- Health
Care - 
Pension
- Politics
- Federal
- Economy
- 
2010
Election - Michigan
- 
Ohio
- US
- Foreign
- Alabama
- Georgia
- Kentucky
- Japan
- South
Korea
"It's
North vs. South in Big Three bailout fight." ...
"Should taxpayers in Alabama be required to bail out [American] automakers
whose plants are concentrated in Northern states like Michigan and Ohio?"
... "Alabama is home to three Honda [Japan automaker] and Hyundai [South
Korea automaker] plants. And just across the state line in Georgia, a new
Kia [Hyundai] plant is set to open and will likely employ many Alabamans."
... "[Alabama Republican Senator] Sen. Jeff Sessions, R- Ala. [Republican-Alabama],
told reporters Wednesday, “I can not imagine a real justification for a
worker in Alabama who does not have any health insurance at his company
to be taxed to maintain a Cadillac health care plan for somebody in Detroit
[Michigan].”" ... "The struggle over whether Congress should make the loan
is a classic regional battle: North vs. South, unionized states like Michigan
vs. mostly non-union ones like Alabama." ... "“There are some states that
might think there’s a competitive advantage for them if the Big Three don’t
make it,” [Michigan Democratic Senator] Sen. Carl Levin, D- Mich. [Democratic-Michigan],
a Big Three ally, told reporters Tuesday." ... "[Kentucky Republican Senator]
Sen. Jim Bunning, R- Ky. [Republican-Kentucky], who is up for re-election
in 2010, said Wednesday, “It’s not a balancing act. It’s whether the federal
government should intervene in the private-sector economy. And I believe
it should not. I am very concerned that people as hard-headed as the three
people who spoke to us yesterday would not have a plan in place and not
have any concession to make, but they would just want the money so they
can burn through it. That’s unacceptable.”" ... "And if Chrysler and General
Motors go into bankruptcy or liquidation?" ... "“I think that’s probably
the best thing that can happen,” [Kentucky Republican Senator] Bunning
replied. “Then there will be a reorganization and they’ll be able to jettison
things they couldn’t ordinarily jettison, like health care benefits, like
pension benefits and there will be someone to pick those up like the Pension
Benefit Guaranty Corp. And then they will be able to restructure their
salaries to get more in line with foreign producers and they may come out
of bankruptcy a heck of a lot better off than they go into it.”" (1, 2)
-By Tom Curry -MSNBC
20081117
Children
- 
Food
- Poverty
- Health
- Safety
- Government
- Language
- Politics
- Economics
- Accounting
"50
percent more US children went hungry in 2007." ...
"Some 691,000 children went hungry in America sometime in 2007, while close
to one in eight Americans struggled to feed themselves adequately even
before this year's sharp economic downtown, the Agriculture Department
reported Monday." ... "The department's annual report on food security
showed that during 2007 the number of children who suffered a substantial
disruption in the amount of food they typically eat was more than 50 percent
above the 430,000 in 2006 and the largest figure since 716,000 in 1998."
... "Overall, the 36.2 million adults and children who struggled with hunger
during the year was up slightly from 35.5 million in 2006. That was 12.2
percent of Americans who didn't have the money or assistance to get enough
food to maintain active, healthy lives." ... "Almost a third of those,
11.9 million adults and children, went hungry at some point. That figure
has grown by more than 40 percent since 2000. The government says these
people suffered a substantial disruption in their food supply at some point
and classifies them as having "very low food security." Until the government
rewrote its definitions two years ago, this group was described as having
"food insecurity with hunger."" -By Michael J. Sniffen
-AP via -Yahoo
PDF:
USDA.gov Report: "Household Food Security in the United States, 2007."
20081115
Gay
- Religion
- Politics
- 
People
- San
Francisco - California
- Salt
Lake City - Utah
"Mormons
Tipped Scale in Ban on Gay Marriage." ... "Less than
two weeks before [2008] Election Day, [Frank Schubert] the chief strategist
behind a ballot measure outlawing same-sex marriage in California called
an emergency meeting here." ... "The campaign issued an urgent appeal,
and in a matter of days, it raised more than $5 million, including a $1
million donation from Alan C. Ashton, the grandson of a former president
[David McKay] of the Mormon Church." ... "The California measure, Proposition
8, was to many Mormons a kind of firewall to be held at all costs." ...
"First approached by the Roman Catholic archbishop of San Francisco [California]
a few weeks after the California Supreme Court legalized same-sex marriage
in May, the Mormons were the last major religious group to join the campaign,
and the final spice in an unusual stew that included Catholics, evangelical
Christians, conservative black and Latino pastors, and myriad smaller ethnic
groups with strong religious ties." ... "Shortly after receiving the invitation
from the San Francisco Archdiocese, the Mormon leadership in Salt Lake
City [Utah's capital] issued a four-paragraph decree to be read to congregations,
saying “the formation of families is central to the Creator’s plan,” and
urging members to become involved with the cause." ... "“And they sure
did,” Mr. Schubert said." ... "Jeff Flint, another strategist with Protect
Marriage, estimated that Mormons made up 80 percent to 90 percent of the
early volunteers who walked door-to-door in election precincts." ... "In
the end, Protect Marriage estimates, as much as half of the nearly $40
million raised on behalf of the measure was contributed by Mormons." (1,
2)
-By Jesse
McKinley and Kirk
Johnson -NYTimes
20081113
Labor
- Market
"Jobless
claims hit 25-year high, imports plunge." ... "The
number of U.S. workers drawing jobless benefits hit a 25-year high this
month and imports suffered a record fall in September, according to reports
on Thursday that underscored a rapid drop-off in the U.S. economy." ...
"The number of workers filing new claims for jobless benefits rose by an
unexpectedly steep 32,000 last week to 516,000, the highest since the weeks
following the September 11, 2001 attacks on the United States, the Labor
Department said." ... "The number of workers still on the benefit rolls
after drawing an initial week of aid hit 3.9 million in the week to November
1, the highest since January 1983." ... ""This is obviously very, very
serious deterioration in the labor market, more than a lot of people had
expected even a couple of months ago," said Scott Brown, chief economist
with Raymond James & Associates in St. Petersburg, Fla." ... ""We are
looking at the biggest financial crisis since the Great Depression and
the biggest economic crisis we have had in the United States since the
early 1980s."" (1, 2)
-By Doug
20081110
Child
- Labor
- Safety
- Enforcement
- Employers
- Politics
- Food
- 
Agriculture
- Plants
- Construction
- People
- Federal
- Immigration
- 
North
Carolina - South
Carolina - 
Iowa
"Child
labor going largely unchecked." ... "Nery Castañeda
tackled a job that was never intended for kids his age." ... "One afternoon
last fall, the 17-year-old Guatemala native ran a machine to grind damaged
pallets into mulch. When a co-worker at the Greensboro [North Carolina]
plant returned from another task, he didn't see Nery – until he looked
inside the shredder." ... "“A person shouldn't die like this,” said older
brother Luis. “…He came with a dream and found death.”" ... "Decades after
the enactment of regulations designed to prevent such tragedies, thousands
of youths still get hurt on American jobs deemed unsafe for young workers.
On a typical day, more than 400 juvenile workers are injured on the job.
Once every 10 days, on average, a worker under the age of 18 is killed,
federal statistics show." ... "Enforcement has waned, despite new evidence
that many employers are ignoring child labor laws. U.S. [United States]
Department of Labor investigations have dropped by nearly half since fiscal
year 2000." ... "“There are lots of kids being asked to do work that's
been prohibited for them – and it's been prohibited because it's dangerous,”
said Carol Runyan, who heads UNC's Injury Prevention Research Center. “…Our
system is failing them.”" ... "More than 3 million youths under age 18
have jobs. Regulations prohibit them from doing a variety of hazardous
jobs, including most meat-processing work." ... "But last month, at an
immigration raid at a House of Raeford Farms poultry plant in Greenville,
S.C. [South Carolina], six juveniles were among the workers detained. Three
young workers told the Observer they were under 18 when they held jobs
at House of Raeford plants requiring them to make thousands of cuts a day
with sharp knives. The company says it requires job applicants to present
identification showing their age, but not all the documentation is accurate."
... "At Agriprocessors, a large meatpacking plant in Postville, Iowa, authorities
recently charged owners with thousands of child-labor violations after
finding that teenage employees were asked to use circular saws, clean floors
with powerful chemicals and perform other dangerous tasks." ... "“The raids
in Postville and Greenville show that 15- and 16-year-old kids are doing
some of the most dangerous jobs in America,” says Reid Maki of the National
Consumers League. “ … It's time for the U.S. Department of Labor to investigate
slaughterhouses and poultry plants.”" ... "A study of 16- and 17-year-old
construction workers in North Carolina, published in 2006, found that more
than 80 percent did tasks that were clearly prohibited. A national survey
of young retail and service workers, published in 2007, found that more
than half of males and more than 40 percent of females performed prohibited
tasks." ... "Runyan, who co-authored both studies, says much of the blame
lies with employers." ... "“I suspect there are employers who flagrantly
disregard the law,” she said. “And I suspect there are others who are clueless.”"
... "Total federal penalties for child labor violations dropped 29 percent
from 2000 to 2007." -By Ames Alexander and Franco
Ordonez -Observer
20081108
Sarah
Palin - Barack
Obama - 2008
Election - Rhetoric
- Politics
- Racist
- Federal
- Investigation
- Intelligence
"Sarah
Palin blamed by the US Secret Service over death threats against Barack
Obama: [2008 Election Republican Vice Presidential
Candidate] Sarah Palin's attacks on [2008 Election Democratic President-Elect]
Barack Obama's patriotism provoked a spike in death threats against the
future president, Secret Service agents revealed during the final weeks
of the campaign." ... "The Republican vice presidential candidate attracted
criticism for accusing Mr Obama of "palling around with terrorists", citing
his association with the sixties radical William Ayers." ... "The attacks
provoked a near lynch mob atmosphere at her rallies, with supporters yelling
"terrorist" and "kill him" until the McCain campaign ordered her to tone
down the rhetoric." ... "But it has now emerged that her demagogic tone
may have unintentionally encouraged white supremacists to go even further."
... "The Secret Service warned the Obama family in mid October that they
had seen a dramatic increase in the number of threats against the Democratic
candidate, coinciding with Mrs Palin's attacks." ... "Michelle Obama, the
future First Lady, was so upset that she turned to her friend and campaign
adviser Valerie Jarrett and said: "Why would they try to make people hate
us?"" ... "Details of the spike in threats to Mr Obama come as a report
last week by security and intelligence analysts Stratfor, warned that he
is a high risk target for racist gunmen. It concluded: "Two plots to assassinate
Obama were broken up during the campaign season, and several more remain
under investigation. We would expect federal authorities to uncover many
more plots to attack the president that have been hatched by white supremacist
ideologues."" -By Tim Shipman
-Telegraph.co.uk
20081105
Barack
Obama - John
McCain - 2008
Election - Historical
- Race
-Politics
"Barack
Obama Wins Presidency: [2008 Election Republican
Presidential Candidate] John McCain Concedes As Democrat [2008 Election
Democratic Presidential Candidate Barack Obama] Earns Historic Victory;
"A New Dawn Of American Leadership Is At Hand," Says President Elect."
... "In an extraordinary moment in America's history, Democratic presidential
nominee Barack Obama has won the 2008 presidential election and will become
the 44th president of the United States and the country's first African-American
leader." ... ""Because of what we did on this day, in this election, in
this defining moment, change has come to America," Obama told 125,000 supporters
gathered in Chicago's Grant Park to celebrate his victory." ... ""If there
is anyone out there who still doubts that America is a place where all
things are possible, who still wonders if the dream of our founders is
alive in our time, who still questions the power of our democracy, tonight
is your answer," he added." ... ""A new dawn of American leadership is
at hand," Obama said." ... "[McCain:] "We have come to the end of a long
journey," McCain said in a concession speech late Tuesday night. "The American
people have spoken, and they have spoken clearly."" ... ""Let there be
no reason now for any American not to cherish their citizenship in this,
the greatest nation on earth," he added, lauding the historic nature of
Obama's victory for African-Americans." ... "Democrats increased their
majorities in both chambers of Congress on Tuesday, assuring that their
party will control Congress and the White House just two years after the
Republican Party controlled both." ... ""The road ahead will be long,"
Obama said in his remarks. "Our climb will be steep. We may not get there
in one year or even one term, but America - I have never been more hopeful
than I am tonight that we will get there. I promise you - we as a people
will get there.""-CBSNews
20080603
Brazil
- 
Satellite
- Photographs
- Global
-
Climate
- 
Gases
- Food
- 
Animals
- Farming
- Illegal
- Business
- "New
satellite photos show Amazon deforestation exploding."
... "New satellite photographs show that the destruction of Brazil's fragile
Amazon rainforest has exploded this year, fueling fears that the government's
efforts to stop deforestation have been fruitless." ... "Brazil's DETER
real-time monitoring system found that more than 430 square miles of forest,
an area a bit smaller than the city of Los Angeles, vanished in the month
of April, while about 2,300 square miles, larger than the state of Delaware,
were destroyed between last August and April." ... "That nine-month total
surpassed the entire acreage in the Amazon that was destroyed over the
previous 12 months, according to DETER data. What's worse, the satellites
couldn't see about half of the forest in April due to cloud cover, suggesting
that actual deforestation likely was much greater." ... "That's raised
red flags among environmentalists, who say that soybean farming, cattle
production and illegal logging are destroying the world's largest rainforest
despite the government's attempts to halt the deforestation." ... "Chopping
down and burning the rainforest releases tons of carbon dioxide and other
greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, contributing to global climate change.
Brazil is the world's fourth-largest emitter of greenhouse gases, largely
because of deforestation, according to the U.S.-based World Resources Institute."
... "Worse is yet to come, environmentalists said." ... "The Amazon's dry
season, when farmers do most of their burning and clearing, starts this
month." -By Jack
Chang -McClatchyDC.com
20080602
John
Hagee - John
McCain - 
Joseph
Lieberman - Racist
- Homosexual
- Religious
- Military
- Politics
- Arizona
- 
Connecticut
- New
York - Indiana
- History
- Germany
- 
Israel
- Iraq
- US
- 2008
Election
"Pastor
Hagee: The Antichrist Is Gay, "Partially Jewish, As Was Adolph Hitler"
(Paging Joe Lieberman!)." ... "On March 16, 2003,
on the eve of the United States' invasion of Iraq, [Republican Televangelist]
Pastor John Hagee took to the pulpit to warn of the coming Antichrist.
In his sermon, "The
Final Dictator," Hagee described the Antichrist as a seductive figure
with "fierce features." He will be "a blasphemer and a homosexual," the
pastor announced. Then, Hagee boomed, "There's a phrase in Scripture used
solely to identify the Jewish people. It suggests that this man [the Antichrist]
is at least going to be partially Jewish, as was Adolph Hitler, as was
Karl Marx."" ... "This "fierce" gay Jew, according to Hagee, would "slaughter
one-third of the Earth's population" and "make Adolph Hitler look like
a choirboy."" ... "Exposed here for the first time, Hagee's comments identifying
the Antichrist as a partly Jewish homosexual arrive in the wake of a furor
the pastor provoked by describing the Holocaust as an act of God. Hagee's
chilling sermon
about the Holocaust prompted [2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidate
and Arizona Senator] Sen. John McCain to reject the preacher's support,
an unexpected turnabout after McCain spent over a year soliciting his endorsement."
... "Days after McCain's rejection, I reported
that a key McCain ally, [Connecticut Independent Senator] Sen. Joseph Lieberman,
planned to deliver the keynote speech at Hagee's upcoming Christians United
For Israel (CUFI) summit. As the story exploded
into the mainstream press, pressure mounted on Lieberman to withdraw."
... "[New York Democratic Representative Eliot] Engel is slated to speak
on CUFI's "Middle East Briefing" panel this July. He will be joined on
the panel by Republican [Indiana Representative] Rep. Mike Pence, Weekly
Standard editor and New York Times columnist [and Fox contributor] Bill
Kristol, and Christian right activist Gary Bauer." -By
Max
Blumenthal -HuffingtonPost.com
LISTEN
to McCAIN endorser John HAGEE claim the Antichrist will be a Jewish homosexual.
WATCH
McCAIN endorser John HAGEE relate a story of how Florida Jews "mysteriously"
voted for Republican George W Bush and subsequently explain, "And I believe
it is because that this nation is doing what God intended us to do from
the day that Christopher Columbus discovered this nation."
20080601
Politics
- 
Networking
- 
Entertainment
"Every
Thursday Night, Liberal Politics and Pints." ...
"Mr. [Justin] Krebs was one of the founders of the progressive social networking
group called Drinking Liberally that has been meeting at Rudy’s [New York
City, New York's Bar and Grill] every Thursday night for the past five
years." ... "“We knew our friends wanted to talk about politics and the
state of the country, but it felt like that was a taboo thing to do in
a social setting,” Mr. Krebs said. “We wanted to create an environment
where people would be told that politics is not off the table — that in
fact, it’s what we’re here for,” said Mr. Krebs, a founder of The Tank,
a nonprofit space for performance and public-affairs events in Midtown
[New York City]." ... "In the beginning, Mr. Krebs and his partner in starting
the club, Matthew O’Neill, 30, would show up on Thursday, with just the
two of them sharing a pitcher of beer. Since then, online social networking
has helped the group grow into a national organization with 250 chapters
across the country, at least one in each state. " -By
J. Courtney Sullivan -NYTimes
DrinkingLiberally.org
/ STATE/City Locations:AK
- AL - AR
- AZ - CA
- CO - CT
- DE - FL
- GA - HI
- IA - ID
- IL - IN
- KS - KY
- LA - MA
- MD - ME
- MI - MN
- MO - MS
- MT - NC
-
ND -
NE
- NH - NJ
- NM - NV
- NY - OH
- OK - OR
- PA - RI
- SC-
SD
- TN - TX
- UT - VA
- VT - WA
- WI - WV
- WY, also:DC,
Australia:
Melbourne
- Canada:
Calgary, Alberta; Vancouver, British Columbia - Japan:
Osaka - New
Zealand: Wellington
20080530
Barack
Obama - John
McCain - Accounting
- People
- Families
- US
- Iraq
- Military
- 
Book
- 
MT
- Arizona
- 
Wisconsin
- 2008
Election
"Obama
slams McCain on Iraq facts." ... "[2008 Election
Democratic Presidential Candidate Barack] Obama isn't expected to
speak until 7:45 pm ET at a rally in Great Falls, MT [Montana]. But his
campaign has released excerpts of his remarks, which go right after [2008
Election Republican Presidential Candidate John] McCain's "pre-surge
levels" misstatement yesterday. They also invoke Scott McClellan's
new book." ... "[Barack Obama:] "There are honest differences about how
to move forward in Iraq, just like there were honest differences about
whether or not we should go to war," Obama is supposed to say. "John McCain
was for the invasion of Iraq; I opposed it. John McCain wants to continue
George
Bush’s war in Iraq indefinitely; I want to end it. So there’s going
to be a clear choice for the American people this November."" ... ""But
that’s not what John McCain’s been talking about the last few days. He’s
been proposing a joint trip to Iraq that’s nothing more than a political
stunt. He’s even been using it to raise a few dollars for his campaign.
But it seems like [Arizona Senator] Sen. McCain’s a lot more interested
in my travel plans than the facts, because yesterday – in his continued
effort to put the best light on a failed policy – he stood up in Wisconsin
and said, 'We have drawn down to pre-surge levels' in Iraq."" ... ""That’s
not true, and anyone running for commander-in-chief should know better.
As the saying goes, you’re entitled to your own view, but not your own
facts. We’ve got around 150,000 troops in Iraq -- 20,000 more than we had
before the surge. We have plans to get down to around 140,000 later this
summer -- that’s still more troops than we had in Iraq before the surge.
And today, Sen. McCain refused to correct his mistake. Just like George
Bush, when he was presented with the truth, he just dug in and refused
to admit his mistake. His campaign said it amounts to 'nitpicking.'"" ...
""Well, I don’t think tens of thousands of American troops amounts to nitpicking.
Tell that to the young men and women who are serving bravely and brilliantly
under our flag. Tell that to the families who have seen their loved ones
fight tour after tour after tour of duty in a war that should’ve never
been authorized and never been waged."" ... ""It’s time for a debate that’s
based on the truth, and I can’t think of anything more important than how
many Americans are in harm’s way. It’s time for a debate that’s based on
how we’re going to end this war -- not a debate that’s based on raising
a few dollars for John McCain’s campaign."" ... ""The American people have
had enough spin. Just this week, we were reminded by President Bush’s own
former spokesman of how it was deception -- not straight talk -- that misled
the American people into war. It’s time to cut through the tough talk so
that we can be straight with the American people about a war that’s cost
us thousands of lives and hundreds of billions of dollars without making
us safer. It’s time to end the political game-playing so that we can finally
end this war. That’s what I’ll do in this campaign. And that’s what I’ll
do when I’m President of the United States."" -From
Mark Murray and Athena Jones -MSNBC
20080529
John
McCain - 2008
Election - Wisconsin
- Arizona
- US
- Iraq
- Military
- 
Terrorism
"McCain
Declares Mosul "Quiet" On Same Day As Three Suicide Attacks (Video)."
... "Speaking about Iraq at a townhall event on Thursday evening in Greensdale,
Wisconsin, [2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidate and Arizona
Senator] Sen. John McCain declared, "I can tell you that it is succeeding.
I can look you in the eye and tell you it's succeeding. We have drawn down
to pre-surge levels. Basra, Mosul and now Sadr city are quiet and it's
long and it's hard and it's tough and there will be setbacks..."" ... "McCain
was wrong on two points. First, U.S. [United States] forces have not returned
to pre-surge levels. Before the surge, there were 130,000
troops in Iraq; even if the scheduled troop reductions are carried
out as planned, there will still be 140,000
troops in Iraq in August." ... "Moreover, McCain's claim that Mosul
[Iraq] is "quiet" was disproved earlier today in grim fashion. Three suicide
bombings -- two in Mosul and another in a surrounding town -- left 30 Iraqis
dead and more than two dozen injured, according to press_reports.
" -By Nico
Pitney -HuffingtonPost.com
20080528
Scott
McClellan - Book
- Noteworthy
- US
- Iraq
- Corporate
- Media
- Military
- Government
- Politics
- Marketing
- Television
- History
- 
Gore
- Obama
- McCain
- 
Russert
- 
Cheney
"Scott
McClellan on the "liberal media"." ... "In a minimally
rational world, this extraordinary passage, from the new book by Scott
McClellan, would forever slay the single most ludicrous myth in our political
culture: The "Liberal Media":"
"If
anything, the national press corps was probably too deferential to the
[Republican President Bush] White House and to the administration in
regard to the most important decision facing the nation during my years
in Washington, the choice over whether to go to war in Iraq."
"The
collapse of the administration's rationales for war, which became apparent
months after our invasion, should never have come as such a surprise. .
. . In this case, the "liberal media" didn't live up to its reputation.
If it had, the country would have been better served."
"Just
consider how remarkable that is. [Republican President] George Bush's own
Press Secretary criticizes the American media for being "too deferential"
to the Government. He lays the blame for Bush's ability to propagandize
the nation on the media's uncritical dissemination of the Republican administration's
falsehoods. And most notably of all, McClellan actually uses cynical scare
quotes when invoking the phrase which, in conventional political discourse,
is deemed the most unassailable truth of all: The Liberal Media." ... "How
much longer can this preposterous myth be sustained when even the White
House Spokesman not only mocks the phrase but derides the media for being
"too deferential" to the right-wing Government "in regard to the most important
decision facing the nation during [his] years in Washington"? If one were
to set about with the goal of debunking the "Liberal Media" myth -- as
Eric
Alterman specifically did four years ago and other
media critics have more generally done before that -- one couldn't
dream up evidence more conclusive than McClellan's admissions." ... "Blindingly
conclusive evidence which would -- for any rational person -- forever negate
the "Liberal Media" myth has been piling up for years. The extraordinary
(though woefully incomplete) 2004 mea
culpa from The New York Times acknowledged that not just
Judy Miller, but the paper as a whole, re-printed pro-war government claims
that were "allowed to stand unchallenged." The Washington Post's
own media critic, Howard Kurtz, documented
that anti-war views were systematically buried at that paper. The NYTrecently
exposed that network and cable news shows for years continuously allowed
Pentagon-controlled operatives to masquerade as "independent analysts"
spouting the pro-government line with virtually no challenge. And the media's
pathological fixation on the Clinton sex scandals -- which led to his impeachment
-- stood in stark contrast to the widespread indifference among the citizenry."
... "Beyond all that, are there any reporters left who deny that the campaign-covering
media in 2000 was gushingly
enamored of [Republican] George Bush and oozing
with contempt for [Democratic] Al Gore? Identically, their intense
affection for [2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidate] John McCain
is something they openly proclaim; as they
shamelessly acknowledge, they're his "base." And while some journalists
undoubtedly harbor admiration for [2008 Election Democratic Presidential
Candidate] Barack Obama, the non-stop coverage of one anti-Obama narrative
after the next -- Jeremiah Wright, lapel pins, patriotism "questions,"
"Bittergate," "problems" with Jewish and white voters -- simply has no
parallel in any coverage of McCain." ... "Beyond that objective evidence,
just look at the claims which "Liberal Media" complainers make to support
their grievance. As examples of "liberal" journalists, they'll cite people
like Chris Matthews -- who voted
for [Republican] George Bush, and did
more than anyone to prop up his image as our Great War Leader and demonize
Bush critics. One of the leading examples of a biased "liberal" journalist
is therefore someone who actually went on television in late 2005 and said
this:"
"I
like [Bush]. Everybody sort of likes the president, except for the real
whack-jobs, maybe on the left -- I mean -- like him personally."
"Or
they'll point to "liberal" Tim Russert -- Tim Russert -- about whom
[Republican Vice President] Cheney press aide Cathy Martin said:
"I suggested we put the vice president on 'Meet the Press,' which was a
tactic we often used. It's our best format, as it allows us to control
the message." That's the same "liberal" Tim Russert who confessed that
he operates by the defining
law of the Government propagandist: "When I talk to senior government
officials on the phone, it's my own policy -- our conversations are confidential.
If I want to use anything from that conversation, then I will ask permission.""
... "Or look at the recent "controversy" reported
by the Associated Press over whether NBC News' reputation as an objective
news outlet is being tainted by virtue of the "liberal" commentators MSNBC
features. Nobody questioned whether CNN's objectivity was imperiled by
featuring the likes of [right-wing commentators] Glenn Beck and Lou Dobbs,
nor, for that matter, did anyone raise these questions about NBC when,
for years, MSNBC shows were hosted by the likes of Tucker Carlson, Joe
Scarborough and Michael Savage." ... "But a single unapologetic Bush critic
appears on the TV -- Keith Olbermann -- and this rarest of occurrence suddenly
leads to controversy over whether the "respectability" of television news
can survive while allowing a single "liberal" voice to be heard."
-By Glenn Greenwald -Salon
20080527
John
McCain - 
Rick
Renzi - 
Jon
Kyl - Money
- Politics
- Federal
- Investigation
- Phoenix
- Arizona
- Real
Estate -Land
- Legislation
- 
Nevada
"FBI
interviews Arizona staffers." ... "Federal agents
interviewed staffers for likely [2008 Election] Republican presidential
nominee [and Arizona Senator] Sen. John McCain (Ariz. [Arizona]) as part
of their corruption case against [Arizona Republican
Representative] Rep. Rick Renzi (R-Ariz.[Republican-Arizona])."
... "[United States] U.S. Attorney for the District
of Arizona Diane J. Humetewa and fellow prosecutors disclosed the interviews
with aides for McCain and fellow Arizona Republican [Senator] Sen. Jon
Kyl in a written response to Renzi’s attorneys, who asked for the contents
of the interview to help prepare for Renzi’s upcoming trial, which is scheduled
for October [2008]." ... "The aides
were interviewed about land exchanges, according to an April letter from
Humetewa filed with the U.S. District Court of Arizona late last week."
... "A federal land swap critical to developing a $3 billion copper mine
southeast of Phoenix [Arizona] is at the heart of the case against Renzi,
who is facing 35 public corruption charges, including conspiracy, money-laundering,
extortion and insurance fraud." ... "Renzi is alleged to have told executives
for Resolution Copper Mining that he would not support a land deal the
mining company was interested in unless they bought his former business
partner’s property as part of the deal, according to the [February] Feb.
22 federal indictment." ... "Under the deal, 5,000 acres of non-federal
land owned by Resolution Copper were to be exchanged for 3,025 acres of
federal land. The federal land sits on a large copper deposit, and the
exchange would have allowed mining on land for the first time since a 1954
executive order by [Republican] then-President Dwight D. Eisenhower." ...
"Renzi allegedly wanted land owned by a business partner who owed Renzi
money to be included in the deal. If the land had been included, prosecutors
charge, it would have allowed the business partner to pay a debt to Renzi."
... "Resolution Copper refused to cooperate, but another company, Preserved
Petrified Forest Land Investors LLC [Limited Liability Company] of Las
Vegas [Nevada], agreed to buy the land. Prosecutors allege this netted
Renzi more than $700,000." ... "Renzi twice introduced a land swap bill,
in 2005 and 2006, before taking his name off of the measure after the FBI
[Federal Bureau of Investigation] raided his family business in April 2007.
[Arizona Democratic Representiave] Rep. Ed Pastor (D-Ariz.[Democratic-Arizona])
then introduced the legislation on [August] Aug. 1, 2007, along with Arizona
[Republican Representatives] Reps. Jeff Flake and John Shadegg, both Republicans,
and Democrat[ic Representative] Harry Mitchell (D[Democratic])." ... "Sens.
McCain and Kyl introduced companion legislation in the Senate, most recently
in July 2007. " (1, 2)
-By Susan Crabtree -TheHill.com
20080525
John
McCain - 
Rick
Davis - Criminal
- Government
- Money
- Politics
- Foreign
- Military
- Satellite
- Imagery
- Technology
- Israel
- 
Ukraine
- 
Russia
- 
Switzerland
- Arizona
- US
- 2008
Election
"Lobbying
labyrinth in McCain camp." ... "Rick Davis, the manager
of [Arizona Republican] Senator John McCain's [2008 Election] presidential
campaign, is a typical Washington insider in many ways, having long worked
as both a lobbyist and a political operative along the intersection of
politics, policy and money." ... "Take Davis's involvement with one of
his lesser-known lobbying clients, an Israeli company, Imagesat, which
sells satellite imagery. Along with lobbying for it, Davis became a consultant
to a private investment firm that had a financial
stake in it. That connection opened the door for him to get in on the ground
floor of other investments made by the firm, Pegasus Capital Advisors."
... "... Davis's business partner, Paul Manafort
[of the Davis Manafort lobbying firm], has met with the United States ambassador
in Ukrain e, a time when he was advising Viktor Yanukovich,
that country's onetime prime minister, a State Department official said.
Yanukovich's party was opposed by both the [Republican President] Bush
administration and McCain because it was closely tied to Vladimir Putin
[Russia's former President]." ... "Davis Manafort
received $120,000 from late 2004 to mid-2005 to lobby for Imagesat on both
defense and domestic security issues. Davis and Christian Ferry,
now McCain's deputy campaign manager, were the two lobbyists on the project,
the records show." ... "Along with his work as a lobbyist, Davis at the
time was also drawing a salary as the part-time president of the Reform
Institute, a Washington group that McCain helped found to reduce "the influence
of special interests" in politics and government." ... "In November 2005,
Pegasus bought a stake in a company called Traxys, which trades in industrial
metals." ... "In January 2006, just two months later, the subject of metals
trading came up in association with a social meeting Davis helped arrange
near Davos, Switzerland. At that meeting, first reported by The Washington
Post, McCain met the Russian aluminum magnate, Oleg Deripaska, who has
been barred from entering the United States apparently because of alleged
criminal ties." (1, 2)
-By Barry Meier with contributions by Kate Zernike
and Andrew E. Kramer -NYTimes
via -IHT.com
20080524
John
McCain - Barack
Obama - Joseph
Lieberman - 
Lindsey
Graham - Finance
-Laws
- 2008
Election - Ad
- Iraq
- War
- US
- Connecticut
- South
Carolina - Arizona
"McCain
advisers on '527' attacking Obama." ... "Both [2008
Election Presidential Candidates] John McCain and Barack Obama say they
want to rein in the power of the so-called "527s," the independent political
committees that skirt the campaign finance laws with unlimited financing
and unregulated campaign attacks." ... "But two of [Republican] McCain's
own campaign chairmen are serving on the board of an independent organization
behind a new attack ad against [Democratic] Obama, "an apparent violation
of the Arizona Republican's new conflict of interest policy,'' the Huffington
Post notes." ... ""Sens. [Connecticut Independent Senator] Joseph Lieberman
and [South Carolina Republican Senator] Lindsey Graham both hold chairs
for the McCain camp as well as positions on the board of advisers of Vets
for Freedom, an advocacy group that supports the Iraq war,'' the HuffPost
reports. "A week ago these titles may not have been a political issue.
But under McCain's newly-implemented ethics policy, Lieberman and Graham's
role with Vets for Freedom is now proving problematic." -By
Mark Silva -Sun-Sentinel.com
20080523
John
McCain - US_Debt
- Money
- Politics
- Legislator
- Military
- Families
- Housing
- Construction
- Iraq
- Israel
- 
Egypt
- 
Jordan
- Arizona
- US
- 2008
Election - Noteworthy
"McCain's
Fantasy War on Earmarks." ... "[2008 Election Republican
Presidential Candidate] John McCain boasts that he can save $100 billion
a year "immediately" by eliminating the so-called earmarks that legislators
attach to spending bills to finance pet projects, usually in their home
state. But he has refused to say exactly which projects he would cut, and
his estimates of the amount of money that is being spent on earmarks have
been challenged by independent experts." ... "The Facts:" ... "The
Arizona senator is promising to balance the budget by the end of his first
term, while simultaneously extending the [Republican] George W. Bush tax
cuts, introducing billions of dollars of new tax cuts of his own, and remaining
in Iraq as long as is necessary to stabilize that country. Asked how this
miracle will be accomplished, McCain told George Stephanopoulos of ABC
News This Week on April 20 that he could come up with $100 billion
"tomorrow" by vetoing pork-barrel spending bills." ... "There are a number
of problems with this magical budgetary balancing act. First of all, the
suspiciously round $100 billion figure is largely a figment of the McCain
campaign's imagination. I have not been able to find a single independent
budget expert to vouch for it. McCain's economics adviser, Doug Holtz-Eakin,
will not say how the campaign arrived at the figure, other than that it
is an extrapolation from various studies, including a 2006 study by the
Congressional Research Service available
here [PDF]." ... "However, much of this money is tied to items such
as foreign aid to countries like Israel, Egypt, and Jordan, that McCain
says he will not touch." ... "By most definitions of the term, the amount
of money spent on earmarks is much lower than the CRS study. The Office
for Management and the Budget came up with a figure for $16.9 billion
in the 2008 appropriation bills. Taxpayers
for Commonsense, an independent watchdog group that focuses on wasteful
spending, identified $18.3 billion worth of earmarks in the 2008 bills,
a 23 per cent cut from a record $23.6 billion set in 2005 [when Republicans
controlled Congress]." ... "The figure includes such items as $4 billion
for the [United States] U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which could not be
eliminated without halting hundreds of construction projects around the
country. Another big chunk goes to military construction, including housing
for servicemen and their families, which McCain has also promised not to
touch." ... "McCain's talk about eliminating $100 billion a year in earmarks
is largely fantasy." ... "To use a phrase coined by [Republican] George
H.W. Bush, this is "voodoo economics," based more on wishful thinking than
on hard data or carefully considered policy proposals." [The Washington
Post gives McCain's accounting numbers four Pinochio's out of a possible
four, calling the statements by Candidate McCain "Whoppers."]
-WashingtonPost
20080522
John
McCain - 
Randy
Scheunemann - Money
- Politics
- Foreign
- 
Republic
of Georgia - 
Latvia
- 
Macedonia
- 
Romania
- Ky
- Arizona
- US
- 2008
Election
"Former
Outside NRA Lobbyist Gives A Boost To McCain." ...
"When he went to woo the National Rifle Association convention in Louisville,
Ky. [Kentucky], on Friday, it did not hurt that presumptive Republican
presidential nominee, [2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidate
and Senator] Sen. John McCain of Arizona, was accompanied by a former
outside NRA [National Rifle Association] lobbyist turned campaign adviser,
Randy
Scheunemann." ... "Officially the top foreign policy and national security
adviser to McCain’s campaign, Scheunemann told National Journal in March
he has weighed in with advice on Second Amendment and firearms issues.
He said he had stopped lobbying for all his clients early this year, and
his lobbying registration forms show that the NRA work ended at the end
of 2007." ... "But during that year while he was helping the [McCain] campaign,
Scheunemann & Associates, one of two boutique firms he runs, received
$40,000 in fees from the NRA. The NRA, one of his oldest clients, paid
him the same amount for several prior years. Scheunemann, who started working
for the campaign as a volunteer in early 2007, did not return four calls
seeking comment for this story." ... "According to one NRA lobbyist who
was at the convention, Scheunemann arrived and departed with McCain. Scheunemann
spent most of his time at the event backstage -- where McCain had a brief
meeting with NRA leaders, according to a lobbyist." ... "Scheunemann’s
other lobbying firm, Orion Strategies, has worked for several foreign governments,
including [the Republic of] Georgia, Latvia, Macedonia and Romania, who
have joined or are seeking to join NATO." -By Peter
Stone -NationalJournal
20080521
John
McCain - John
Hagee - Terrorism
- Racism
- Politician
- Military
- Religion
- History
- Germany
- Israel
- Palestine
- Book
- Arizona
- US
- 2008
Election
"McCain
Backer Hagee Said Hitler Was Fulfilling God's Will (AUDIO)."
... "[Republican televangelist] John Hagee, the controversial evangelical
leader and endorser of [2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidate
and Arizona Senator] Sen. John McCain, argued in a late 1990s sermon that
the Nazis [Germany] had operated on God's behalf to chase the Jews from
Europe and shepherd them to Palestine. According to the Reverend, Adolph
Hitler was a "hunter," sent by God, who was tasked with expediting God's
will of having the Jews re-establish a state of Israel." ... "Going in
and out of biblical verse, Hagee preached: "'And they the hunters should
hunt them,' that will be the Jews. 'From every mountain and from
every hill and from out of the holes of the rocks.' If that doesn't
describe what Hitler did in the holocaust you can't see that."" ... "He
goes on: "Theodore Herzl is the father of Zionism. He was a Jew who at
the turn of the 19th century said, this land is our land, God wants us
to live there. So he went to the Jews of Europe and said 'I want you to
come and join me in the land of Israel.' So few went that Hertzel went
into depression. Those who came founded Israel; those who did not went
through the hell of the holocaust." ... ""Then god sent a hunter. A hunter
is someone with a gun and he forces you. Hitler was a hunter. And the Bible
says -- Jeremiah writing -- 'They shall hunt them from every mountain
and from every hill and from the holes of the rocks,' meaning there's
no place to hide. And that might be offensive to some people but don't
let your heart be offended. I didn't write it, Jeremiah wrote it. It was
the truth and it is the truth. How did it happen? Because God allowed it
to happen. Why did it happen? Because God said my top priority for the
Jewish people is to get them to come back to the land of Israel." (Listen
to the audio below.)" ... "The sermon, which was first
posted by Bruce Wilson on his site, Talk To Action, adds another element
to Hagee's controversial stance on the state and history of Israel." ...
"Since McCain secured the endorsement, both his campaign and Hagee have
been pressed to explain a series of derogatory remarks the Reverend made
about the Catholic Church, including his reference to the institution as
"the Great Whore."" ... "As Wilson notes, in his 2006 book "Jerusalem Countdown",
Hagee proposed the theory that "anti-Semitism, and thus the Holocaust,
was the fault of Jews themselves -- the result of an age old divine curse
incurred by the ancient Hebrews through worshiping idols and passed, down
the ages, to all Jews now alive." He also wrote that "Most readers will
be shocked by the clear record of history linking Adolf Hitler and the
Roman Catholic Church in a conspiracy to exterminate the Jews.""
-By
Sam
Stein -HuffingtonPost.com
(Audio)
"McCain Endorser Hagee: God Sent Hitler, Jews Have Dead Souls"
McCain Hagee:
McCain's endorser Hagee, "They [Jews]
are physically alive but they're not spiritually alive."
20080520
Kyle
Dustin "Dusty" Foggo - 
Brent
Wilkes - 
Randy
"Duke" Cunningham - Money
- Politics
- 
Vacations
- Intelligence
- Federal
- 
Va
- Calif
"Former
CIA official indicted anew in bribery case." ...
"A new indictment of a former top CIA [Central Intelligence Agency] official
alleges that he received bribes in the form of "sexual companionship" in
exchange for helping a friend get an edge in landing multimillion-dollar
contracts from the agency." ... "Federal prosecutors in Alexandria, Va.
[Virginia], on Tuesday obtained a superseding indictment against Kyle "Dusty"
Foggo, who as executive director held the CIA's No. 3 rank before leaving
in 2006." ... "The indictment accuses Foggo of accepting tens of thousands
of dollars in meals, vacations and other perks in exchange for helping
friend Brent Wilkes obtain various contracts with the CIA." ... "Wilkes
has already pleaded guilty to paying bribes to then-[California Republican
Representative] Rep. Randy "Duke" Cunningham, R-Calif. [Republican-California],
some of which came in the form of prostitutes." -By
Matthew Barakat -AP
via -SFGate.com
20080519
Entertainment
- Political
- 
Humor
- Corporate
- Government
- Military
- Halliburton
- 
Blackwater
- Foreign
- Law
- Noteworthy
- 
Women
- Journalists
- Writers
- US
- Iraq
"John
Cusack: Outsourced Warfare Represents a "Radical, Dangerous, Disgusting
Ideology": An interview with Cusack about his latest
film, War Inc., which takes the outsourcing of military operations
to the absurd." ...
"Joshua
Holland: Tell me a little bit about your new project." ... "John
Cusack: Well, we thought of it as an incendiary political cartoon that
would hopefully put America's current imperial adventures in Iraq into
a kind of a larger context. And maybe put a different lens on what privatization
means; what this plan has been and what it's been like when people try
to privatize the very core things it means to be a state. And what it means
to spread an ideology like that across the globe." ... "There are 180,000
contractors in Iraq and about 160,000 troops, right? And if one just takes
that trend to its logical conclusion, well that's where "War, Inc." is
set. It takes place at a time in the near future when warfare us an entirely
corporate affair." ... "Holland: As a political nerd, it struck
me as a highly referential film. I felt like your character, to some extent,
was loosely patterned maybe on John Perkins, who wrote Confessions of
an Economic Hit Man." ... "Cusack: You know, that book came
out when we were already making the film, I believe. And I know we were
writing it when Naomi Klein's groundbreaking piece called "Baghdad Year
Zero" came out in Harper's. She's a journalist I've always greatly
admired and respected. And then as we were making the movie, she was writing
the Shock Doctrine. I remember being aware of it while we were writing
it. And I remember talking about it. But you know, this character was also
based on [former U.S. Envoy to Iraq] Paul Bremer flying in while Baghdad
[Iraq's capital] was still burning and literally ruling by Fiat. Sitting
down in Saddam's old palace and banging out 50 or 60 new laws that would
allow 100 percent foreign ownership of previously state-owned industry
by these outside corporations. And he was running around in those Brooks
Brothers suits and the military boots when he did it." ... "Holland:
I thought that I saw a lot of Naomi Klein in Marisa Tomei's character."
... "Cusack: Yeah, I think it wasn't Naomi straight up, but I think
it was Katrina Vanden Huevel. It was Lara Logan and it was Naomi. It was,
you know, any of the great journalists out there who are women ... Christiane
Amanpour." ... "Holland: Now, the film presents kind of a dystopian
vision of where we're at or where we're heading -- tell me a little bit
more about this central theme, this idea of outsourcing warfare to this
kind of Halliburton-like mega corporation." ... "Cusack: Well, it
was an ideological viral disaster -- that's what this war was. It wasn't
Paul Bremer, although a lot of people would like to paint him as the fall
guy. It's the entire system of thinking that is insane. The Shock doctrine
does a great job chronicling what's essentially been a 35-year campaign
to destroy the New Deal and privatize everything, and the use of disasters
and wars to justify "shock therapy" -- to pass legislation that would never
get passed in any country that wasn't reeling from trying to bury their
dead or stop from being tortured or killed or trying to get water or food."
... "So I think it's really about the entire system and that entire ideology.
There seems to be these companies that helped create a new market by creating
a
war, and then they bar the competitors from entering into the clean up.
In the meantime, they've privatized the entire country, which is basically
strip mining it. Basically, it's a land-grab. So not only are we looking
at a murder scene, but it's the scene of an armed robbery." ... "And that's
the version of democracy ... the version of a free market that we're not
only supposed to worship, but into which we're also supposed to keep feeding
bodies. We have to kill to feed this kind of twisted version of their free
market. And [American political leaders] seem entirely unconcerned that
Halliburton and Bechtel -- and Parsons and KPMG and Blackwater and the
rest -- are kind of madly gorging off of this protectionist racket." ...
"If you really think about outsourcing all the essential things it means
to be a state, like armies, disaster relief, interrogation, border patrol
-- all of these functions -- then I don't really know what's left in terms
of the sovereignty of a country. I don't really know what's left." ...
"So it's not even about free markets. I mean, if these [corporations] want
to just go invade a country and take it over, and take their chances on
the open market, that's one thing. But to use the U.S. military and our
Treasury Department as their ATM to do it -- that's ... that's cause for
revolt." (1, 2,
3,
4)
-By Joshua Holland -AlterNet.org
WATCH
Movie Trailer: "WAR, INC."
20080518
Alphonso
Jackson
- Criminal
- Corporate
- Government
- Housing
- Politics
- Texas
- 
Florida
"HUD
Repeatedly Dismissed Staff Concerns About Contracts."
... "The small Texas property-management company had no experience overseeing
hundreds of defaulted homes across the country. It did have two former
[Republican President] Reagan administration officials at the helm and
warm relations with senior Republican appointees at the federal housing
agency." ... "During a few weeks in 2004, the three-employee company, Harrington,
Moran and Barksdale Inc. [Incorporated] (HMBI), went from no government
work to landing $71 million in contracts with the U.S. [United States]
Department of Housing and Urban Development to oversee the upkeep and sale
of defaulted homes. It had previously managed a handful of apartment buildings
and development projects." ... "The company's meteoric rise -- and HUD's
willingness to bend the rules to accommodate it -- surprised veteran agency
contracting specialist Gloria Freeman." ... ""After you've been in the
business awhile, you get to know the signs -- 'This is a friend; let's
help him out,' " she said in an interview. Not long after Freeman complained
to her supervisors, she was asked to return to her previous policy job."
... "Federal investigators are still sorting through HUD contract awards
to friends of [Republican President Bush's Housing & Urban Development]
Secretary Alphonso Jackson, who resigned last month amid a criminal probe.
But some career staff members and agency observers say problems in the
agency's contracting process run much deeper than Jackson and involve officials
who promoted certain companies while rebuffing concerns about their performance
and qualifications." ... "A Washington Post examination of HUD's contracts
shows that HMBI and two other companies won hundreds of millions of dollars
in contracts under Jackson while career contracting staff repeatedly raised
questions." ... "A Miami [Florida] property-management company, National
Housing Group, which contributed to President Bush's reelection and other
Republican campaigns, won $50 million in contracts from 2003 to 2007. Now,
its second in command [Wynee Joyner] has been indicted for allegedly falsifying
reimbursement requests to HUD. Regional staff members at the agency had
expressed concern about the company's small size and inexperience." ...
"Jackson faced criticism in 2006 after acknowledging that he took note
of political loyalties. He bragged in a Dallas [Texas] speech that he had
canceled a contract with a business owner who said he didn't like [Republican
President] Bush. "Why should I reward someone who doesn't like the president,
so they can use funds to try to campaign against the president?" Jackson
said. "Logic says they don't get the contract."" ... "Federal procurement
laws forbid basing decisions on political views." (1, 2,
3)
-By Carol D. Leonnig with contributions by Alice Crites
and Julie Tate -WashingtonPost
20080517
John
McCain - 
Thomas
Loeffler - Foreign
- Politics- 
Saudi
Arabia - 
French
- 
Aerospace
- Military
- Manufacturing
- Texas
- US
- 2008
Election
"Mccain
vs. Lobbyists." ... "Stung by the news that two aides
once lobbied for the Burmese junta, [2008 Election Republican Presidential
Candidate] John McCain last week rolled out a sweeping new conflict-of-interest
policy for his campaign, requiring all staffers to fill out questionnaires
identifying past or current clients that "could be embarrassing for the
senator."" ... "One top campaign official affected by the new policy is
national finance co-chair Tom
Loeffler, a former Texas congressman whose lobbying firm has collected
nearly $15 million from Saudi Arabia since 2002 and millions more from
other foreign and corporate interests, including a French aerospace firm
[EADS] seeking Pentagon contracts. Loeffler last month told a reporter
"at no time have I discussed my clients with John McCain." But lobbying
disclosure records reviewed by NEWSWEEK show that on May 17, 2006, Loeffler
listed meeting McCain along with the Saudi ambassador to "discuss US-Kingdom
of Saudi Arabia relations."" ... "Another potential problem: Loeffler's
firm started paying $15,000 a month last summer to one of its lobbyists,
Susan Nelson, after she left to become McCain's full-time finance director,
said a source familiar with the arrangement (who asked not to be identified
talking about sensitive matters)." -By Michael Isikoff
-Newsweek
20080516
John
McCain - Money
- Politics
- Real
Estate - Arizona
- Law
- Federal
- Military
- Land
- 2008
Election
"McCain
Hit Again on Arizona Land Deals." ... "[2008 Election
Republican Presidential Candidate and Arizona] Sen. John McCain's ties
to the real estate development arm of his home state's power company continued
to prove nettlesome today, as a newspaper reported that McCain secured
millions in federal funds for a land acquisition program that benefited
the firm." ... "Earlier this month, The
Washington Post reported that McCain had championed a deal to trade
valuable federal land in northern Arizona to a rancher who then enlisted
Tempe[Arizona]-based SunCor Development to build as many as 12,000 homes
on the property." ... "SunCor's president, Steve Betts, is a longtime McCain
supporter who has raised more than $100,000 for the senator's presidential
bid." ... "Today's report, in
USA Today, revealed that McCain inserted $14.3 million into a 2003
defense bill to buy land around Luke Air Force Base [Arizona]. SunCor sought
the provision as the largest of about 50 landowners near the base. SunCor
representatives, upset with a state law that restricted development around
Luke, met with McCain's staff to lobby for funding, John Ogden, SunCor's
president at the time, told the paper." ... "The Air Force later paid SunCor
$3 million for 122 acres near the base, according to the report. It was
the highest single land transaction of the private lots purchased by the
government -- three times the county's assessed value and twice the military's
estimated value." -By Matthew Mosk
-WashingtonPost
20080515
John
McCain - Terrorism
- Politics
- Palestine
- US
- 2008
Election - Barack
Obama - 
Illinois
- Arizona
"Exclusive
Video: McCain Was For Talking To Hamas Before He Was Against It...."
... "Two years ago, in an interview with James Rubin for Sky News, [2008
Election Republican Presidential Candidate and Arizona Senator] Sen. John
McCain expressed a willingness to negotiate with the terrorist group Hamas
[Palestine] -- the very group that McCain has been relentlessly_using
to smear [2008 Election Democratic Presidential Candidate and Illinois
Senator] Sen. Barack Obama over the last several weeks." ... "Rubin has
written an op-ed
in Friday's Washington Post about his exchange with McCain, and The Huffington
Post has obtained exclusive video. Here's the key excerpt:"
"RUBIN:
"Do you think that American diplomats should be operating the way they
have in the past, working with the Palestinian government if Hamas is now
in charge?""
"McCAIN:
"They're the government; sooner or later we are going to have to deal with
them, one way or another, and I understand why this administration and
previous administrations had such antipathy towards Hamas because of their
dedication to violence and the things that they not only espouse but practice,
so . . . but it's a new reality in the Middle East. I think the lesson
is people want security and a decent life and decent future, that they
want democracy. Fatah was not giving them that.""
WATCH
"McCain on Hamas in 2006: Going to Have to Deal With Them"
"
-HuffingtonPost.com
20080514
John
McCain - 
Hillary
Clinton - Barack
Obama - US
- Iraq
- Afghanistan
- Military
- People
- Money
- Legislation
- Politics
- 2008
Election - Ariz
- Ill
- NY
"McCain,
Military Oppose Expanding GI Bill." ... "[2008 Election
Republican Presidential Candidate and Arizona Senator] Sen. John McCain,
R-Ariz. [Republican-Arizona], the presumptive Republican presidential nominee,
seemed to give a thumbs down to bipartisan legislation that would greatly
expand educational benefits for members of the military returning from
Iraq and Afghanistan under the GI Bill." ... "Both [2008 Election] Democratic
presidential candidates — Sens. Barack Obama, D-Ill. [Democratic-Illinois],
and Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y. [Democratic-New York], — have signed on as
co-sponsors, and the bill has gained bipartisan support from 54 senators
on Capitol Hill in addition to [Virginia Democratic Senator Jim] Webb.
A vote on the proposal is expected before the summer." ... "But the bill,
which would dramatically increase educational compensation for American
troops, has run into some unexpected resistance, both at the Pentagon and
now from McCain, who has remained silent on the issue, saying he had not
studied the bill close enough." ... "Pressure had mounted on McCain to
support the bill — a veterans group, which backs the legislation, delivered
a petition to McCain's Senate office, signed by 30,000 veterans." ... "[Matt]
Flavin joined the military out of patriotism shortly after 9/11, went to
Officer Candidate School and, over the next five years, served tours in
Bosnia, Afghanistan and with Naval special forces in Iraq." ... "While
he did not join the military specifically to get benefits from the GI Bill
and does not think most troops do, Flavin supports the legislation." ...
""We owe them something," Flavin said of his comrades. "They've given life,
limb, everything there is to give. The people who bore the most pain and
suffering are the people who could use these benefits."" (1, 2,
3)
-By Z. Byron Wolf with contributions by Bret Hovell
-ABCNEWS.com
20080513
Corporate
- Environmental
- Health
- Politics
- Investigation
- Manufacturing
- Water
-Michigan
- Illinois
-Indiana
- Minnesota
- Ohio
- Wisconsin
"U.S.
Senators Probe Departure of EPA Midwest Administrator."
... "The circumstances surrounding the resignation of Mary Gade, formerly
the U.S. [United States] EPA's [Environmental Protection Agency's]
regional administrator for the Midwest, are under investigation by an environmental
committee of the U.S. Senate." ... "On May 2, the "Chicago Tribune" reported
that two top aides to Johnson demanded that Gade resign or be fired by
June 1, 2008. She has since submitted her resignation and is currently
on administrative leave." ... "According to the Tribune's story, Gade believed
her forced resignation was due to her efforts to push Dow Chemical Company
to clean up dioxin contamination in Saginaw Bay and Lake Huron stemming
from its Midland, Michigan chemical manufacturing plant. Dioxin is a known
carcinogen." ... "The paper also reported that officials from Dow Chemical
had met with EPA officials in Washington in January 2008 because they were
unhappy with Gade's approach, and that Gade's handling of this issue became
the subject of criticism from her superiors in Washington." ... "On January
4, 2008, Gade terminated negotiations with Dow Chemical aimed at a settlement
to conduct a study and interim cleanup actions for dioxin contamination
along the Tittabawassee River system, the Saginaw River and the Saginaw
Bay. The negotiations under the Superfund Act began in October 2007 with
the participation of the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality."
... ""I am extremely disappointed with this outcome," said Gade on January
4. "EPA approached negotiations with high hopes and realistic expectations.
Our team put in many long hours of good faith efforts that came to an unfortunate
end today. EPA is now reviewing its options for ensuring that dioxin contamination
in the river system and the Midland area can be fully addressed."" ...
"An environmental attorney, Gade was appointed regional administrator of
EPA Region 5 in October 2006 to oversee federal environmental programs
in Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio and Wisconsin."
-ENS
20080512
John
McCain -Barack
Obama - Hillary
Clinton - Environmental
- History
- 2008
Election
"Environmental
Stances Are Balancing Act For McCain." ... "[2008
Election Republican Presidential Candidate John] McCain's lifetime League
of Conservation Voters score is 24 percent, compared with 86 for [2008
Election Democratic Presidential Candidates Barack] Obama and 86 for [Hillary]
Clinton; Defenders of Wildlife Action Fund's conservation report card gave
him 38 percent in the 108th Congress and 40 in the 109th. (McCain has missed
every major environmental vote this Congress, giving him a zero rating.)"
... "When [League of Conservation Voters President Gene] Karpinski tells
audiences about McCain's environmental scorecard rating, he said, "jaws
drop. . . . I tell them, 'He's not as green as you think he is.'"" (1,
2)
-By Juliet Eilperin -WashingtonPost
20080511
John
McCain - Rick
Davis - 
Myanmar
[Burma] - Military
- Money
- Politics
- DCI
Group - US
- 2008
Election
"A
Second McCain Aide Resigns." ... "Doug Davenport,
the [2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidate John McCain's] regional
campaign manager for the mid-Atlantic states, founded the DCI Group's lobbying
practice and oversaw the contract with Myanmar [Burma] in 2002." ... ""Doug
has tendered his resignation and we have accepted it," Jill Hazelbaker,
McCain's communications director, wrote in a e-mail." ... "He joins former
DCI Group CEO Doug Goodyear, who resigned yesterday from the post of convention
CEO after Newsweek reported that DCI was paid more than $300,000 to represent
Myanmar's ruling junta." ... "Goodyear and Davenport were recruited by
McCain's campaign manager, Rick Davis, who has been accused by some current
and former McCain advisers of take insufficient care of McCain's reformer
brand by appointing lobbyists to key positions. Ironically, as Newsweek
reported, Goodyear was asked to become convention CEO after Davis's lobbying
firm partner, Paul Manafort, was nixed because of his own close ties to
foreign governments and controversial companies."
-Marc Ambinder -TheAtlantic.com
20080510
Barack
Obama - John
McCain - 2008
Election - 
Oregon
- Energy
- Technology
- US
- Iraq
- Military
- Health
Care
"Obama
eager to campaign with McCain." ... "Acting even
more like he has clinched the Democratic presidential nomination, [2008
Election Democratic Presidential Candidate] Barack Obama said on Saturday
he would be willing to campaign jointly with Republican [2008 Election
Presidential Candidate] John McCain and acknowledged he needed to better
introduce himself to Americans." ... "After a stop at a solar technology
company in this central Oregon town [Bend, Oregon], Obama was asked if
he supported a suggestion that he campaign with McCain and hold joint town
hall meetings in the run-up to the November [2008] general election." ...
""I think that's a great idea. Obviously we'd have to think through the
logistics on this," Obama said. "Should I be the nominee, if I have the
opportunity to debate substantive issues before the voters with John McCain,
that's something I'm going to welcome."" ... "Obama, who took a commanding
lead in the Democratic race last week, said he looked forward to pointing
out his differences with McCain, including views on the energy crisis,
the Iraq war and health care." ... ""We haven't finished this primary yet
so it's premature to start projecting how the general election's going
to play out," he said at the news conference." (1, 2,
3)
-By Deborah Charles wtih contributions by by Chris
Baltimore and Todd Eastham -Reuters
20080509
John
McCain -Money
- Politics
- 2008
Election - Environment- History
- Arizona
- Nevada
- Federal
- Real
Estate - Land
"McCain
Pushed Land Swap That Benefits Backer." ... "[2008
Election Republican Presidential Candidate and Arizona Senator] Sen. John
McCain championed legislation that will let an Arizona rancher trade remote
grassland and ponderosa pine forest here for acres of valuable federally
owned property that is ready for development, a land swap that now stands
to directly benefit one of his top presidential campaign fundraisers]."
... "Initially reluctant to support the swap, the Arizona Republican became
a key figure in pushing the deal through Congress after the rancher and
his partners hired lobbyists that included McCain's 1992 Senate campaign
manager, two of his former Senate staff members (one of whom has returned
as his chief of staff), and an Arizona insider who was a major McCain donor
and is now bundling campaign checks." ... "When McCain's legislation passed
in November 2005, the ranch owner gave the job of building as many as 12,000
homes to SunCor Development, a firm in Tempe, Ariz. [Arizona], run by Steven
A. Betts, a longtime McCain supporter who has raised more than $100,000
for the presumptive Republican nominee. Betts said he and McCain never
discussed the deal." ... "The Audubon Society described the exchange as
the largest in Arizona history. The swap involved more than 55,000 acres
of land in all, including rare expanses of desert woodland and pronghorn
antelope habitat. The deal had support from many local officials and the
Arizona Republic newspaper for its expansion of the Prescott National Forest.
But it brought an outcry from some Arizona environmentalists when it was
proposed in 2002, partly because it went through Congress rather than a
process that allowed more citizen input." ... "Although the bill called
for the two parcels to be of equal value, a federal forestry official told
a congressional committee that he was concerned that "the public would
not receive fair value" for its land. A formal appraisal has not yet begun.
A town official opposed to the swap said other Yavapai Ranch land sold
nine years ago for about $2,000 per acre, while some of the prime commercial
land near a parcel that the developers will get has brought as much as
$120,000 per acre." ... "In an interview, Betts said there is "absolutely
no" connection between his contributions to McCain's presidential bids
and the deal involving rancher Fred Ruskin and the Yavapai Ranch Limited
Partnership." ... "Betts is among a string of donors who have benefited
from McCain-engineered land swaps. In 1994, the senator helped a lobbyist
for land developer Del Webb Corp. pursue an exchange in the Las Vegas [Nevada]
area, according to the Center for Public Integrity. McCain sponsored two
bills, in 1991 and 1994, sought by donor Donald R. Diamond that yielded
the developer thousands of acres in trade for national parkland." ... "In
the late 1990s, McCain promoted a deal in Arizona's Tonto National Forest
involving property part-owned by Great American Life Insurance, a company
run by billionaire Carl H. Lindner Jr., a prolific contributor to national
political parties and presidential candidates." ... "In Arizona, SunCor
is a subsidiary of Pinnacle West, the state's largest power company. Betts,
as Ruskin described him, "politically is a very powerful guy in the state.""
... "Officials from the company and its subsidiaries have accounted for
$100,000 in contributions to McCain's political campaigns over the years,
records show." (1, 2)
-By Matthew Mosk with contributions by Alice Crites
-WashingtonPost
20080508
Barack
Obama - John
McCain - 2008
Election - Military
- Terrorism
- Israel
- Palestine
-Iraq
- 
Pakistan
- US
- Indiana
- North
Carolina
"Obama:
McCain is 'losing his bearings'." ... "[2008 Election
Democratic Presidential Candidate] Barack Obama chastised [2008 Election
Republican Presidential Candidate] John McCain Thursday for engaging in
“smear” politics, and defended himself from critics who question whether
he is capable of being commander-in-chief, during a wide-ranging interview
with CNN’s Wolf Blitzer — his first sit-down since the Indiana and North
Carolina primaries." ... "“This is offensive, and I think it's disappointing,”
Obama told Blitzer, when asked his thoughts about McCain’s comments that
the terrorist organization Hamas wants Obama to be president. “Because
John McCain always says ‘I am not going to run that kind of politics,’
and to engage in that kind of smear is unfortunate, particularly because
my policy toward Hamas has been no different than his." ... "“I’ve said
it’s a terrorist organization and we should not negotiate with them unless
they recognize Israel, renounce violence, and unless they are willing to
abide by previous accords between the Palestinians and the Israelis. So
for him to toss out comments like that I think is an example of him losing
his bearings as he pursues this nomination. We don’t need name calling
in this debate.”" ... "(Related: Obama:
World wants to see U.S. lead)" ... "On the topic of national security,
Obama said that the American people are looking for a leader with “good
judgment” — a trait the Democratic presidential hopeful said he possessed."
... "“Whether it’s my judgment on Iraq and recognizing that that was going
to be a strategic blunder, to my insistence that we need to talk not just
to countries we like, but countries we don’t, to my assessment in terms
of how we had over-invested in the Musharraf government in Pakistan and
that was going to be setting us up for failure later on,” Obama said. “I
think I’ve consistently displayed the kind of judgment that the American
people are looking for in the next president.”" -By
Mark Preston and Alexander Mooney -CNN
20080507
Secret
- Government
- Intelligence
- Terrorism
- Politics
- Illegal
- 
Surveillance
- Investigation
- Internet
- Archive
- 
Library
- 
Electronic
- Civil
Liberties - Brewster_Kahle
- Censorship
- San
Francisco - California
- Student
- Health
- Consumer
- Telephone
- Electronic
- Data
- National
Security Letter
"FBI
Targets Internet Archive With Secret 'National Security Letter', Loses."
... "The Internet Archive, a project to create a digital library of the
web for posterity, successfully fought a secret government Patriot Act
order for records about one of its patrons and won the right to make the
order public, civil liberties groups announced Wednesday morning." ...
"On November 26, 2007, the FBI [Federal Bureau of Investigation] served
a controversial National
Security Letter (.pdf) on the Internet
Archive's founder Brewster Kahle, asking for records about one of the
library's registered users, asking for the user's name, address and activity
on the site." ... "The Electronic Frontier Foundation, the Internet Archive's
lawyers, fought the NSL [National Security Letter], challenging its constitutionality
in a December 14 complaint
(.pdf) to a federal court in San Francisco [California]. The FBI agreed
on April 21 to withdraw the letter and unseal the court case, making some
of the documents available to the public." ... "The Patriot Act greatly
expanded the reach of NSLs, which are subpoenas for documents such as billing
records and telephone records that the FBI can issue in terrorism investigations
without a judge's approval. Nearly all NSLs come with gag orders forbidding
the recipient from ever speaking of the subpoena, except to a lawyer."
... "Brewster Kahle called the gag order "horrendous," saying he couldn't
talk about the case with his board members, wife or staff, but said that
his stand was part of a time-honored tradition of librarians protecting
the rights of their patrons." ... ""This is an unqualified success that
will help other recipients understand that you can push back on these,"
Kahle said in a conference call with reporters Wednesday morning." ...
"Though FBI guidelines on using NSLs warned of overusing them, two Congressionally
ordered audits revealed that the FBI had issued hundreds of illegal requests
for student health records, telephone records and credit reports. The reports
also found that the FBI had issued hundreds of thousands of NSLs since
2001, but failed to track their use. In a letter to Congress last week,
the FBI admitted it can only estimate how many NSLs it has issued." -By
Ryan Singel -Wired
20080505
Mental
- Health
- PTSD
- Science
- 
Maryland
- US
- Iraq
- Afghanistan
- Veterans
- Government
- Financial
- Politics
"Post-War
Suicides May Exceed Combat Deaths, U.S. Says (Update1)."
... "The number of suicides among veterans of wars in Iraq and Afghanistan
may exceed the combat death toll because of inadequate mental health care,
the U.S. [United States] government's top psychiatric researcher said."
... "Community mental health centers, hobbled by financial limits, haven't
provided enough scientifically sound care, especially in rural areas, said
Thomas Insel, director of the National Institute of Mental Health in Bethesda,
Maryland. He briefed reporters today at the American Psychiatric Association's
annual meeting in Washington." ... "Insel echoed a Rand Corporation study
published last month that found about 20 percent of returning U.S. soldiers
have post-traumatic stress disorder or depression, and only half of them
receive treatment. About 1.6 million U.S. troops have fought in the two
wars since October 2001, the report said. About 4,560 soldiers had died
in the conflicts as of today, the Defense Department reported on its Web
site." ... "Based on those figures and established suicide rates for similar
patients who commonly develop substance abuse and other complications of
post-traumatic stress disorder, ``it's quite possible that the suicides
and psychiatric mortality of this war could trump the combat deaths,''
Insel said. " -By Avram Goldstein
-Bloomberg
20080503
People
- Health
- Environment
- 
Trees
- Global
- Earth
- Science
- Politics
- Book
- North
Carolina
"Caring
for planet increasingly tied to faith groups." ...
"Abraham sits at the oaks. Deborah holds court under a palm tree. Moses
speaks to a bush." ... ""I would say connecting this to the Bible is important
for some people," said Dr. Matthew Sleeth, a former hospital chief of staff
who couldn't shake the faces of patients with seemingly increasing environment-related
illnesses. So he quit his job, gave away half his belongings and began
spreading the word on the urgency of people paying more attention to the
environment." ... "Pointing out the symbolism of trees in Scripture has
helped Sleeth link faith with personal responsibility. His book, "Serve
God and Save the Planet: A Christian Call to Action," is in its seventh
printing. Sleeth also has a prominent role in the publication of an upcoming
"green Bible."" ... ""The change has come when people who are strong in
their faith, who might be against it," Sleeth says of the deterioration
of the Earth, "then go look at the Bible with this in mind and they see
a different story."" ... "The statewide faith and environment conference
that Sleeth will co-headline at Catawba College in Salisbury [North Carolina]
this month grew out of a meeting among Greensboro [North Carolina] houses
of worship at Holy Trinity Episcopal Church. Participants tried to broaden
the conversation between the scientific and faith-based communities." ...
""When people realize that there is this direct tie between our own faith
and being good stewards of this Earth," said John Wear, founding director
of Catawba's Center for the Environment, "then it gives them a purpose
that didn't exist before."" -By Nancy McLaughlin
-News-Record.com
CenterForTheEnvironment.org
20080502
John
McCain - Corporate
- Oil
- Politics
- Foreign
- US
- Iraq
- Military
- 2008
Election - Denver
- 
Colorado
"McCain
Suggests Iraq War Is About Oil." ... "At the conclusion
of a town hall held this morning outside in Devner [sic, correction: Denver,
Colorado], [2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidate] John McCain
decided to toss in a plug for his upcoming energy policy rollout. But as
McCain decried the dangers of Americans reliance on foreign oil, he also
seemed to suggest that this reliance caused the current struggle in Iraq."
... ""My friends, I will have an energy policy that we will be talking
about, which will eliminate our dependence on oil from the Middle East
that will - that will then prevent us - that will prevent us from having
ever to send our young men and women into conflict again in the Middle
East," McCain said." ... "This comment was initially prompted by a compliment
from a military veteran who stated that he hoped a group called "Swift
Boats for McCain come out and help" the GOP [GOP=Grand Old Party=Republican]
nominee. " ... "Of note -- McCain didn't object to the audience member's
suggestion that a so-called 'swift boat' group help him win the presidency.
Instead, he thanked the man for his good wishes and his military service."
-By Adam Aigner-Treworgy
-NationalJournal
WATCH:
"McCain Implies Iraq War Is For Oil."
20080501
US
- Iraq
-
- Cameras
- Media- Politics
- San
Diego -California
""Mission
Accomplished," 5 Years Later: Since [Republican President]
Bush Announced Major Combat Operations In Iraq Ended, Another 3,924 Troops
Have Been Killed." ... "It was a picture-perfect moment, made for the TV
cameras, in which a military leader stood before heroes and heroines to
declare a victory which seemed to come easier than anyone dared hope, in
a conflict which was opposed by many friends and foes alike." ... "May
1 marks the fifth anniversary of President George W. Bush's "Mission Accomplished"
speech aboard the deck of the USS Abraham Lincoln." ... "After being landed
on the deck of the carrier in an S-3B Viking 30 miles off the coast San
Diego [California] (Ari Fleischer said the president "could have helicoptered,"
but "he wanted to see a landing the way aviators see a landing"), Mr. Bush
appeared in a flight suit to the cheers of the ship's personnel and the
glare of television lights." ... "Later, he stood at a podium against a
backdrop of an enormous banner reading "Mission Accomplished."" ... "To
the assembled audience and the world, Mr. Bush said, "Admiral Kelly, Captain
Card, officers and sailors of the USS Abraham Lincoln, my fellow Americans:
Major
combat operations in Iraq have ended. In the Battle of Iraq, the United
States and our allies have prevailed. And now our coalition is engaged
in securing and reconstructing that country." ... ""In this battle, we
have fought for the cause of liberty, and for the peace of the world. Our
nation and our coalition are proud of this accomplishment - yet it is you,
the members of the United States military, who achieved it. Your courage
- your willingness to face danger for your country and for each other -
made this day possible. Because of you, our nation is more secure. Because
of you, the tyrant has fallen, and Iraq is free." ... ""Tonight, I have
a special word for Secretary Rumsfeld, for General Franks, and for all
the men and women who wear the uniform of the United States: America is
grateful for a job well done."" ... "Now in its sixth year, the war in
Iraq has claimed the lives of at least 4,058 members of the U.S. military
- 3,924 of whom have died since Mr. Bush landed on the deck of the USS
Abraham Lincoln." ... "And there are currently more U.S. troops in Iraq
than there were when the U.S. invaded with a contingent of other coalition
forces." -APvia
-CBSNews
20080430
Chinese
- Child
- Labor
- Human
Rights - Politics
"Chinese
children sold "like cabbages" into slavery." ...
"Thousands of children in southwest China have been sold into slavery like
"cabbages", to work as labourers in more prosperous areas such as the booming
southern province of Guangdong [China], a newspaper said on Tuesday." ...
"China announced a nationwide crackdown on slavery and child labor last
year after reports that hundreds of poor farmers, children and mentally
disabled were forced to work in kilns and mines in Shanxi province and
neighboring Henan." (1, 2)
-Contributed to by Nick Macfie and Valerie Lee
-Reuters
20080429
Military
- NC
- US
- Afghanistan
- Worldwide
"Army
widens probe after finding bad conditions at Fort Bragg."
... "Army officials said Tuesday they are inspecting every barracks building
worldwide to see whether plumbing and other problems revealed at Fort Bragg,
N.C. [North Carolina], last week are widespread." ... "[Brigadier General]
Brig. Gen. Dennis Rogers, who is responsible for maintaining barracks throughout
the Army, told reporters at the Pentagon that most inspections were done
last weekend but he had not seen final results." ... "Rogers said it was
too soon to know whether the Fort Bragg problem was an isolated incident.
He acknowledged the revelations from a video shot by the father of an 82nd
Airborne Division soldier showing poor conditions such as mold inside the
barracks, peeling interior paint and a bathroom drain plugged with sewage."
... "The soldier's father, Ed Frawley, said he was disgusted by the conditions
that greeted his son and the rest of his 82nd Airborne unit that returned
on April 7-8 after a 15-month tour of duty in Afghanistan." -By
Robert Burns -AP
via -SeattleTimes
20080428
Ron
Paul - John
McCain - Nev
- 2008
Election
"Nev.
GOP recesses state convention, angering Paul supporters."
... "Outmaneuvered by raucous [2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidate]
Ron Paul supporters, Nevada Republican Party leaders abruptly shut down
their state convention and now must resume the event to complete a list
of 31 delegates to the GOP [GOP=Grand Old Party=Republican] national convention."
... "Outnumbered supporters of expected [2008 Election] Republican presidential
nominee John McCain faced off Saturday against well-organized Paul supporters."
... ""I've seen factions walk out. I've never seen a party walk out," said
Jeff Greenspan, regional coordinator for the Paul campaign."
-AP via -SeattleTimes
20080424
US
- Iraq
- Military
- Family
- Photographs
- People
- Media
- Politics
- Virginia
"What
the Family Would Let You See, the Pentagon Obstructs."
... "[Lieutenant
Colonel] Lt. Col. Billy Hall, one of the most senior officers to be
killed in the Iraq war, was laid to rest yesterday at Arlington National
Cemetery [Arlington, Virginia]. It's hard to escape the conclusion that
the Pentagon doesn't want you to know that." ... "The family of 38-year-old
Hall, who leaves behind two young daughters and two stepsons, gave their
permission for the media to cover his Arlington burial -- a decision many
grieving families make so that the nation will learn about their loved
ones' sacrifice. But the military had other ideas, and they arranged the
Marine's burial yesterday so that no sound, and few images, would make
it into the public domain." ... "That's a shame, because Hall's story is
a moving reminder that the war in Iraq, forgotten by much of the nation,
remains real and present for some. Among those unlikely to forget the war:
6-year-old Gladys and 3-year-old Tatianna. The rest of the nation, if it
remembers Hall at all, will remember him as the 4,011th American service
member to die in Iraq, give or take, and the 419th to be buried at Arlington.
Gladys and Tatianna will remember him as Dad." ... "Journalists were held
50 yards from the service, separated from the mourning party by six or
seven rows of graves, and staring into the sun and penned in by a yellow
rope." ... "It had the feel of a throwback to Donald Rumsfeld's Pentagon,
when the military cracked down on photographs of flag-draped caskets returning
home from the war. Rumsfeld himself was exposed for failing to sign by
hand the condolence letters he sent to the next of kin." -By
Dana Milbank -WashingtonPost
20080423
Noteworthy
- Government
- EPA
- Opinion
- Science
- Politics
- Food
- 
Drug
- Oceanic
- Atmospheric
- Climate
- Health
- California
- Investigation
"Hundreds
of EPA Scientists Report Political Interference Over Last Five Years:
UCS [Union of Concerned Scientists] calls for strengthened protections
for federal scientists." ... "An investigation of the Environmental Protection
Agency released today found that 889 of nearly 1,600 staff scientists reported
that they experienced political interference in their work over the last
five years. The study, by the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS), follows
previous UCS investigations of the Food and Drug Administration, Fish and
Wildlife Service, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and
climate scientists at seven federal agencies, which also found significant
administration manipulation of federal science." ... ""Our investigation
found an agency in crisis," said Francesca Grifo, director of UCS's Scientific
Integrity Program. "Nearly 900 EPA scientists reported political interference
in their scientific work. That's 900 too many. Distorting science to accommodate
a narrow political agenda threatens our environment, our health, and our
democracy itself."" ... "The UCS report comes amidst a flurry of controversial
activity swirling around the EPA. Congress is currently investigating administration
interference in a new chemical toxicity review process as well as California's
request to regulate tailpipe emissions. And in early May, the House Oversight
and Government Reform Committee is expected to hold a hearing on political
interference in the new EPA ground-level ozone pollution standard." ...
"UCS's investigation revealed political interference is most pronounced
in offices where scientists write regulations and at the National Center
for Environmental Assessment, where scientists conduct risk assessments
that could lead to strengthened regulations." ... ""The investigation shows
researchers are generally continuing to do their work," said Dr. Grifo.
"But their scientific findings are tossed aside when it comes time to write
regulations."" ... "Nearly 100 scientists identified the [Republican President
Bush's] White House's Office of Management and Budget (OMB) as the primary
culprit." -UCSUSA.org
20080422
Corporate
- Editorial
- Politics
- New
York - US
- Foreign
"Resignation
tightens Murdoch's grip on the Journal." ... "Marcus
Brauchli has resigned as managing editor of the Wall Street Journal, according
to people familiar with the matter." ... "Mr Brauchli's departure comes
just four months after the US financial newspaper and its parent company,
Dow Jones, were taken over by Rupert Murdoch's News Corp in a $5bn deal."
... "Mr Brauchli, who joined the Journal in 1984 as a copy editor and served
as a foreign correspondent in Asia, was appointed to the paper's top editorial
job a year ago to replace Paul Steiger." ... "His resignation is expected
to revive the debate about Mr Murdoch's stewardship of one of the world's
most respected newspapers." ... "Many Journal reporters vehemently opposed
Mr Murdoch's approach last year, arguing that the media mogul would tarnish
the paper's reputation for journalistic integrity. Some even sent petitions
to Dow Jones shareholders urging them to reject his $60-per-share offer."
... "Mr Murdoch, who long coveted the Journal, has also become a regular
feature at the paper's lower Manhattan [New York] offices, according to
people familiar with the matter, working diligently to put his stamp on
the paper." ... "Some of his changes became apparent this week, including
an expansion of the Journal's editorial page. Under Mr Murdoch, the paper
also has been broadening its focus on political and lifestyle reporting."
... "That shift appears to be part of an effort to compete more directly
with the New York Times for both readers and advertisers." ... "However,
some critics have argued that those moves could also water down the paper's
reputation for business and financial coverage and alienate its core readers."
(1, 2)
-By Joshua
Chaffin -FT.com
20080421
Corporate
- Hackers
- Manufacture
- Electronics
- Technology
- California
- Texas
- US
- Global
- TV
- Telecom
- Media
- 
Copyright
- Enforcement
- German
- 
Canada
- 
UK
- Israeli
- Intelligence
- Spying
"Rupert
Murdoch Firm Goes on Trial for Alleged Tech Sabotage."
... "Did a Rupert Murdoch company go too far and hire hackers to sabotage
rivals and gain the top spot in the global pay-TV war?" ... "This is the
question a jury will be facing in a spectacular five-year-old civil lawsuit
that is finally being tried this month in California but which has, oddly,
received little notice from U.S. [United States] media." ... "The case
involves a colorful cast of characters that includes former intelligence
agents, Canadian TV pirates, Bulgarian and German hackers, stolen e-mails
and the mysterious suicide of a Berlin [Germany's capital] hacker who had
been courted by the Murdoch company not long before his death." ... "On
the hot spot is NDS Group, a UK-Israeli firm that makes smartcards for
pay-TV systems like DirecTV. The company is a majority-owned subsidiary
of Murdoch's News Corporation. The charges stem from 1997 when NDS is accused
of cracking the encryption of rival NagraStar, which makes access cards
and systems for EchoStar's Dish Network and other pay-TV services. Further,
it’s alleged NDS then hired hackers to manufacture and distribute counterfeit
NagraStar cards to pirates to steal Dish Network's programming for free."
... "NagraStar and one of its parent companies, EchoStar, are seeking about
$101 million for damages for piracy, copyright infringement, misconduct
and unfair competition. The list of witnesses in the case includes EchoStar's
founder and CEO Charlie Ergen; several hackers and pirates; and Reuven
Hazak, an Israeli who heads security for NDS and is a former deputy head
of Shabak, or Shin Bet, Israel's domestic security agency (the equivalent
of Britain's MI5)." ... "According to court documents, the scheme began
to unravel in 2000 when law-enforcement agents in Texas seized suspicious
packages containing CD and DVD players stuffed with more than $40,000 in
cash. Parcels similar to this were being sent almost daily from Canada,
via Texas, to a hacker in California named Christopher Tarnovsky, who was
working for NDS as an engineer. The money was allegedly part of the conspiracy
between Tarnovsky and NDS Group to sabotage NagraStar's cards." -By
Kim Zetter -Wired
20080420
Corporate
- Government
- Psychological
- Military
- Intelligence
- Television
- 
Radio
- Media
- Politics
- Classified
- US
- History
- Guantánamo
- Prison
- Cuba
- Human
Rights - Justice
-
- Iraq
- Terrorism
- Cheney
- 
Gonzales
"Behind
TV Analysts, Pentagon’s Hidden Hand." ... "In the
summer of 2005, the [Republican President] Bush administration confronted
a fresh wave of criticism over Guantánamo Bay [US military prison
in Cuba]. The detention center had just been branded “the gulag of our
times” by Amnesty International, there were new allegations of abuse from
United Nations human rights experts and calls were mounting for its closure."
... "The administration’s communications experts responded swiftly. Early
one Friday morning, they put a group of retired military officers on one
of the jets normally used by [Republican] Vice President Dick Cheney and
flew them to Cuba for a carefully orchestrated tour of Guantánamo."
... "To the public, these men are members of a familiar fraternity, presented
tens of thousands of times on television and radio as “military analysts”
whose long service has equipped them to give authoritative and unfettered
judgments about the most pressing issues of the post-[September]Sept. 11
world." ... "Hidden behind that appearance of objectivity, though, is a
Pentagon information apparatus that has used those analysts in a campaign
to generate favorable news coverage of the administration’s wartime performance,
an examination by The New York Times has found." ... "The effort, which
began with the buildup to the Iraq war and continues to this day, has sought
to exploit ideological and military allegiances, and also a powerful financial
dynamic: Most of the analysts have ties to military contractors vested
in the very war policies they are asked to assess on air." ... "Those business
relationships are hardly ever disclosed to the viewers, and sometimes not
even to the networks themselves. But collectively, the men on the plane
and several dozen other military analysts represent more than 150 military
contractors either as lobbyists, senior executives, board members or consultants.
The companies include defense heavyweights, but also scores of smaller
companies, all part of a vast assemblage of contractors scrambling for
hundreds of billions in military business generated by the administration’s
war on terror. It is a furious competition, one in which inside information
and easy access to senior officials are highly prized." ... "Records and
interviews show how the Bush administration has used its control over access
and information in an effort to transform the analysts into a kind of media
Trojan horse — an instrument intended to shape terrorism coverage from
inside the major TV and radio networks." ... "Analysts have been wooed
in hundreds of private briefings with senior military leaders, including
officials with significant influence over contracting and budget matters,
records show. They have been taken on tours of Iraq and given access to
classified intelligence. They have been briefed by officials from the White
House, State Department and Justice Department, including Mr. Cheney, Alberto
R. Gonzales and Stephen J. Hadley." ... "In turn, members of this group
have echoed administration talking points, sometimes even when they suspected
the information was false or inflated. Some analysts acknowledge they suppressed
doubts because they feared jeopardizing their access." ... "A few expressed
regret for participating in what they regarded as an effort to dupe the
American public with propaganda dressed as independent military analysis."
... "Many also shared with Mr. Bush’s national security team a belief that
pessimistic war coverage broke the nation’s will to win in Vietnam, and
there was a mutual resolve not to let that happen with this war." ... "This
was a major theme, for example, with Paul E. Vallely, a Fox News analyst
from 2001 to 2007. A retired Army general who had specialized in psychological
warfare, Mr. Vallely co-authored a paper in 1980 that accused American
news organizations of failing to defend the nation from “enemy” propaganda
during Vietnam." ... "“We lost the war — not because we were outfought,
but because we were out Psyoped,” he wrote. He urged a radically new approach
to psychological operations in future wars — taking aim at not just foreign
adversaries but domestic audiences, too. He called his approach “MindWar”
— using network TV and radio to “strengthen our national will to victory.”"
(1, 2,
3,
4,
5,
6,
7,
8,
9,
10,
11,
DOCUMENTS)
-By David
Barstow -NYTimes
WATCH
- "How
the Pentagon Spread Its Message." ... "David Barstow,
an investigative reporter for The Times, examines primary source documents
detailing the Pentagon’s response to criticism of then-Secretary of Defense
Donald H. Rumsfeld by a group of prominent retired generals." -By
David
Barstow -NYTimes
20080419
Barack
Obama - 2008
Election - Politics
- Illinois
- 
Pennsylvania
- US
- Military
- Economy
- Global
- Planet
"Obama
Draws Record Crowd in Philadelphia." ... "[2008 Election
Democratic Presidential Candidate and Illinois] Senator Barack Obama drew
what may be his biggest crowd yet here [in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania]
Friday. His campaign, quoting Frank Friel, director of security at the
Independence Visitor Center, pegged the number at 35,000." ... "And Mr.
Obama took the opportunity to declare his “independence” from the politics
of the past — and from “the say-anything, do-anything politics that’s all
about how to win and not about why we should.”" ... "Here are some excerpts
from his speech, as prepared for delivery:"
"This
is a defining moment in our history. Our nation is at war. Our planet is
in peril. Our economy is in recession…. [M]ost of all, we’ve lost faith
that our leaders can or will do anything about this; we don’t believe that
anyone in Washington is listening to us, or standing up for us, or fighting
for us." ... "That’s why this election is our chance to declare our independence
from the broken politics of Washington, the cynical politics that puts
spin ahead of solutions and the special interests ahead of our interests;
the politics that’s all about tearing each other down when what we need
is to lift this country up."
"
-By Katharine
Q. Seelye -NYTimes
20080418
John
McCain - Money
- Accounting
- Politics
-
- Arizona
- Illinois
- New
York - Obama
- Clinton
- 2008
Election
"CNN
chart purporting to compare candidates' "wealth" omitted Cindy McCain,
who is reportedly worth $100 million." ... "Summary:
On [TIME WARNER/CNN TV show] The Situation Room, an on-screen chart
showed [2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidate and Arizona Senator]
Sen. John McCain's income to be significantly lower than that of [2008
Election Democratic Presidential Candidates and Senators from Illinois
and New York] Sens. Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton when combined with
the income of their spouses. However, the chart did not include any income
earned by McCain's wife, Cindy. As Dana Bash reported moments earlier of
Cindy McCain, "Some estimates actually put her worth at about $100 million.""
... "Earlier in the program, Bash compared the portion of McCain's income
that he gave to charity with the portion given by the Clintons and Obamas
-- without noting that McCain presumably benefits from his wife's wealth
and from her income from her separate property, a figure that she has not
released." -MediaMatters.org
20080417
US
- Iraq
- 
Iran
- Military
- Intelligence
- Terrorism
- Politics
"Pentagon
institute calls Iraq war 'a major debacle' with outcome 'in doubt'."
... "The war in Iraq has become "a major debacle" and the outcome "is in
doubt" despite improvements in security from the buildup in U.S. [United
States] forces, according to a highly critical study published Thursday
by the Pentagon's premier military educational institute." ... "The report
released by the National Defense University raises fresh doubts about [Republican]
President Bush's projections of a U.S. victory in Iraq just a week after
Bush announced that he was suspending U.S. troop reductions." ... "The
report carries considerable weight because it was written by Joseph Collins,
a former senior Pentagon official, and was based in part on interviews
with other former senior defense and intelligence officials who played
roles in prewar preparations." ... "It was published by the university's
National Institute for Strategic Studies, a Defense Department research
center." ... ""Measured in blood and treasure, the war in Iraq has achieved
the status of a major war and a major debacle," says the report's opening
line." ... "The report said that the United States has suffered serious
political costs, with its standing in the world seriously diminished. Moreover,
operations in Iraq have diverted "manpower, materiel and the attention
of decision-makers" from "all other efforts in the war on terror" and severely
strained the U.S. armed forces." ... ""Compounding all of these problems,
our efforts there (in Iraq) were designed to enhance U.S. national security,
but they have become, at least temporarily, an incubator for terrorism
and have emboldened Iran to expand its influence throughout the Middle
East," the report continued." -By Jonathan
S. Landay and John Walcott
-McClatchyDC.com
[PDF
REPORT] "Choosing
War: The Decision to Invade Iraq and Its Aftermath."
... "Errors in Decisionmaking and Execution: Problems in planning
on the ground and in Washington contributed to serious shortcomings in
U.S. performance in Operation Iraqi Freedom. With 4½ years
of hindsight, it is clear that these shortcomings included:"
-
"underestimation
of the problems of occupying a fractious Muslim country the size of California"
-
"ineffective
civil and military plans for stability operations and reconstruction"
-
"inadequate
on-scene manpower and poor military reaction to rioting and looting in
the immediate postconflict environment, which further encouraged lawlessness
and insurgency"
-
"provision
of inadequate forces to occupy and secure Iraq, which encouraged the initiation
and continuation of an insurgency"
-
"slow
civil and military reaction to the growing insurgency
-
"problematic
funding and contracting mechanisms that slowed services and basic reconstruction,
both of which were a partial antidote to insurgency"
-
"failure
to make effective use of former Iraqi military forces, which, when coupled
with de-Ba ’athification, alienated the Sunni minority"
-
"slow
and often ineffective development of new Iraqi security forces"
-
"continuing
inability to provide enough trained civilian officials, diplomats, and
aid workers to conduct effective stabilization and reconstruction activities"
-
"slow
creation of an interim Iraqi authority that could have minimized the perception
of occupation and enhanced the perception of liberation."
"Of
all of these mistakes, a series of faulty assumptions was one of the most
significant factors in our postwar policy. These initial assumptions were
a thread that ran through many missteps, and thus it is important to ask
where assumptions come from. In every case, assumptions are affected by
wishful thinking, stress, predispositions of the key actors, uncertainty,
and the process used to arrive at decisions. For example, the policy preference
of key players for no or very short postwar occupations or peace operations
is just the sort of predisposition that can affect planning priorities.
In complex national security operations, intelligence estimates also play
a vital role. In the case of Iraq, intelligence was faulty on WMD, the
state of Iraqi infrastructure, and the usefulness of Iraqi police and military.
This incorrect or dated intelligence contributed in large measure to the
“rosy scenario” assumptions that infected Iraq planning." [p.16, 17] "Choosing
War: The Decision to Invade Iraq and Its Aftermath."
-By Joseph J. Collins -Institute for
National Strategic Studies -National Defense
University
20080416
John
McCain -Osama
bin Laden
- Terrorism
- 2008
Election - Arizona
- US
- Iraq
- Afghanistan
- Military
- Politics
"McCain
reveals confusion over Petraeus role." ... "[2008
Election] Republican presidential candidate [Senator] Sen. John McCain
of Arizona may not have been paying the closest of attention last week
during hearings on the [Republican President] Bush administration’s Iraq
policy." ... "Speaking Monday at the annual meeting of the Associated Press,
McCain was asked whether he, if elected, would shift combat troops from
Iraq to Afghanistan to intensify the search for al-Qaida leader Osama bin
Laden." ... "“I would not do that unless Gen. [David] Petraeus said that
he felt that the situation called for that,” McCain said, referring to
the top U.S. [United States] commander in Iraq." ... "Petraeus, however,
made clear last week that he has nothing to do with the decision. Testifying
last week before four congressional committees, including the Senate Armed
Services Committee on which McCain is the ranking Republican, Petraeus
said the decision about whether troops could be shifted from Iraq to Afghanistan
was not his responsibility because his portfolio is limited to the multi-national
force in Iraq." ... "Decisions about Afghanistan would be made by others,
he said." ... "“I’ve been sort of focused on another task,” Petraeus said
when pressed about whether more troops should be diverted to Afghanistan
rather than Iraq." -By Rick Maze
-ArmyTimes.com
20080415
Consumer
- Economy
- Nevada
- California
- Florida
"Foreclosures
jump 57 percent in last 12 months." ... "Home foreclosure
filings surged 57 percent in the 12 month-period ended in March and bank
repossessions soared 129 percent from a year ago, as homeowners struggled
to make mortgage payments, real estate data firm RealtyTrac said on Tuesday."
... "For the month of March, foreclosure filings, default notices, auction
sale notices and bank repossessions rose 5 percent, led by Nevada, California
and Florida, RealtyTrac said." ... "The rise in March to filings on a total
of 234,685 properties followed a 4 percent decline in February, RealtyTrac
reported." ... "RealtyTrac said the peak has yet to be reached." (1, 2,
3)
-By Lynn Adler with contributions by Leslie Adler
-Reuters
20080414
China
- Military
- Police
- Terrorism
- Religious
- Censorship
- Oil
- Sports
- Human
Rights
"As
world watches Tibet, China's Muslim Uighurs face growing repression."
... "Almost unnoticed amid the wide-scale protests by Tibetans over the
past month is the social unrest among the 8 million or so Muslim Uighurs
in China's resource-rich far western territory." ... "Recently, hundreds
of Muslim women in black veils gathered outside the market in this oasis
city [Khotan, China] in an impromptu protest. Some carried signs demanding
an independent state." ... ""I saw the demonstration myself. There were
500 to 700 women in black, waving placards for East Turkestan," said Wu
Jiangliang, a hydroelectric company employee." ... "China handled the unrest
forcefully, ensuring the stability of a region rich in oil, coal and minerals.
Police moved quickly to quell the March 23 protest, arresting numerous
women and shooing others away. It drew only minor notice." ... "China also
has broken up what it said were two terrorist rings that intended to disrupt
the Beijing [China's capital] Summer Olympic Games and thwarted what it
said was a terrorist attempt last month on a commercial airliner." ...
"But as state officials employed a firm hand against restive Uighurs, pronounced
WEE-gers, they also publicly demonized those behind the social unrest.
Critics now say that while the state has stabilized ethnic areas, the harsh
language may exacerbate tensions." ... ""The problem is that China's policies
are alienating," said Nicholas Bequelin, a Hong Kong-based researcher for
Human Rights Watch, an advocacy group. "They are efficient in that political
repression works. But they increase ethnic tensions."" -By
Tim
Johnson -McClatchyDC.com
20080413
Alphonso
Jackson
- Money
- Politics
- Government
- Law
- Enforcement
- New
Orleans - 
Louisiana
- 
Virgin
Islands
"Housing
chief ignored looming crisis." ... "In late 2006,
as economists warned of an imminent housing-market collapse, [Republican
President Bush's] housing Secretary Alphonso Jackson repeatedly insisted
that the mounting wave of mortgage failures was a short-term "correction.""
... "He pushed for legislation that would make it easier for federally
backed lenders to make loans to risky borrowers. He issued a rule that
was criticized by law enforcement because it could increase the difficulty
of detecting and proving mortgage fraud." ... "As Jackson leaves office
this week, much of the attention on his tenure has been focused on investigations
into whether his agency directed housing contracts to friends and political
allies. But critics say an equally significant legacy of his four years
as the top housing officer was gross inattention to the looming housing
crisis." ... "They contend that Jackson ignored warnings from within his
agency, the Department of Housing and Urban Development, whose inspector
general told Congress that some of the secretary's efforts were "ill-advised
policy" and likely to put more families at risk." ... "During Jackson's
tenure, foreclosures for loans insured by HUD's Federal Housing Administration
(FHA) have risen and default rates have hit a record high." ... "A federal
grand jury is investigating whether he lied to Congress about his involvement
in contracts and whether he steered millions of dollars in government work
at the Virgin Islands and New Orleans [Louisiana] housing authorities to
friends." -By Carol D. Leonnig contributed to by Julie
Tate -WashingtonPost
via -SeattleTimes
20080412
Secret
-
Jack
Abramoff - 
Bob
Schaffer - Money
- Politician
- Travel
- Garment
- Factories
- Lawmaker
- History
- Colo
- California
- American
- 
Northern
Mariana Islands
- Labor
- Investigations
"Schaffer,
lobbyist strategies meshed: The Coloradan's acts
align with an Abramoff plot; he denies any link." ... "In early 1998, now-jailed
[Republican] lobbyist Jack Abramoff sent a secret memo to a textile tycoon
on the Northern Mariana Islands, an American protectorate whose garment
factories had been heavily criticized for squalid working conditions and
abusive labor practices." ... "The lobbying plan focused on using congressional
oversight hearings to change the subject from factory conditions to political
shenanigans by the [Democratic President] Clinton administration. Abramoff's
lobbying team would prepare questions and "factual backup" for friendly
lawmakers. Trips to the island for congressmen and staff would be a key
tool to "build permanent friends," the memo said." ... "The linchpin would
be an attack on the Interior Department's Office of Insular Affairs (OIA),
which was the lead agency pushing for reform." ... "Twenty months later,
Republicans on the House Resources Committee, including [Colorado Republican
Representative] Rep. Bob Schaffer, R-Colo., turned what was supposed to
be an oversight hearing into an attack on OIA officials, suggesting that
federal employees were paying workers to protest and providing them signs,
cars and other resources." ... "Schaffer was one of the key players in
the hearing, grilling a young worker who had been called before the committee
to talk about the desperate conditions faced by some laborers, suggesting
instead that he was agitating in exchange for money and came to Washington
to seek political asylum." ... "The hearing provides a key context for
a trip to the islands that Schaffer had taken a month before, partly arranged
by Abramoff's lobbying firm and now an issue in Schaffer's campaign for
the U.S. [United States] Senate." ... "By the time Schaffer had flown to
the islands with his wife the month before, the protectorate's textile
industry had been the subject of dozens of government and journalistic
investigations, which documented abuses including debt servitude, coerced
abortions and squalid living conditions." ... "Preston-Gates, Abramoff's
firm, made the travel arrangements for Schaffer's August 1999 trip, according
to a memo to Schaffer from his staff. The $13,000 trip was paid for by
the Orange County[California]-based Traditional Values Coalition, which
later investigations showed was often used by Abramoff in his lobbying
operations." -By Michael Riley
-DenverPost.com
20080411
Dick
Cheney - 
John
Ashcroft - Torture
- Government
- Military
- Intelligence
- Terrorism
- Politics
- US
- International
- Law
- War
Crimes
"Bush
Aware of Advisers' Interrogation Talks: President
Says He Knew His Senior Advisers Discussed Tough Interrogation Methods."
... "[Republican] President Bush says he knew his top national security
advisers discussed and approved specific details about how high-value al
Qaeda suspects would be interrogated by the Central Intelligence Agency,
according to an exclusive interview with ABC News Friday." ... ""Well,
we started to connect the dots in order to protect the American people."
Bush told ABC News White House correspondent Martha Raddatz. "And yes,
I'm aware our national security team met on this issue. And I approved.""
... "These top advisers signed off on how the CIA would interrogate top
al Qaeda suspects -- whether they would be slapped, pushed, deprived of
sleep or subjected to simulated drowning, called waterboarding, sources
told ABC news." ... "At the time, the [National Security Council's] Principals
Committee included Vice President Dick Cheney, former National Security
Adviser Condoleezza Rice, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and Secretary
of State Colin Powell, as well as CIA Director George Tenet and Attorney
General John Ashcroft." ... "The so-called Principals who participated
in the meetings also approved the use of "combined" interrogation techniques
-- using different techniques during interrogations instead of using one
method at a time -- on terrorist suspects who proved difficult to break,
sources said." ... "Critics at home and abroad have harshly criticized
the interrogation program, which pushed the limits of international law
and, they say, condoned torture." (1, 2,
3,
4)
-By Jan Crawford Greenburg, Howard L. Rosenberg and
Ariane de Vogue -ABCNEWS.com
20080410
American
- Women
- KBR
- Corporate
- Government
- Criminal
- Politics
- Military
- Iraq
- Afghanistan
- Florida
- Ohio
- Texas
"U.S.
fails to move on Iraq sexual assault complaints."
... "While working in Iraq as a ''morale coordinator'' for a U.S. [United
States] government contractor, a Tampa [Florida] woman says, she was raped
by a drunken colleague who secured a key to her apartment from an unlocked
storage box." ... "That was in December 2005, and her attorney said he's
unaware of any criminal charges in the case." ... "The U.S. Justice Department
has the authority to prosecute, but she and at least three other women
who say they were assaulted complain of being trapped in legal limbo between
a military system that doesn't oversee the private contractors and a justice
system that appears unwilling to do so." ... "''American women are vulnerable
not only to assault, but to achieving justice,'' said [Florida Democratic
Senator] Sen. Bill Nelson, a Florida Democrat who since December has been
pressing the [Republican President] Bush administration for answers over
the treatment of U.S. citizens sexually assaulted by contractors in Iraq
and Afghanistan." ... "''I'm in a war zone, and I have to worry about my
co-workers,'' said Mary Beth Kineston, an Ohio woman who drove a truck
in Iraq for Houston[Texas]-based military contractor KBR and said she was
raped by another driver." -By Lesley
Clark-MiamiHerald
via -McClatchyDC.com
20080409
Families
- Jobs
-Consumer
- Economic
- History
- Accounting
"For
Many, a Boom That Wasn’t." ... "The bigger problem
is that the now-finished boom was, for most Americans, nothing of the sort.
In 2000, at the end of the previous economic expansion, the median American
family made about $61,000, according to the Census Bureau’s inflation-adjusted
numbers. In 2007, in what looks to have been the final year of the most
recent expansion, the median family, amazingly, seems to have made less
— about $60,500." ... "This has never happened before, at least not for
as long as the government has been keeping records. In every other expansion
since World War II, the buying power of most American families grew while
the economy did. You can think of this as the most basic test of an economy’s
health: does it produce ever-rising living standards for its citizens?"
... "“We have had expansions before where the bottom end didn’t do well,”
said Lawrence F. Katz, a Harvard economist who studies the job market.
“But we’ve never had an expansion in which the middle of income distribution
had no wage growth.”" ... "But the larger point is still crucial: the modern
American economy distributes the fruits of its growth to a relatively narrow
slice of the population." -By David
Leonhardt -NYTimes
20080408
US
- Iraq
- Politics
-Lawmakers
-Michigan
"Petraeus
Says Iraq Too `Fragile' for Removing Troops (Update3)."
... "Army General David Petraeus told lawmakers today that progress in
Iraq is too ``fragile and reversible'' to allow U.S. troop levels to fall
below about 140,000 earlier than September." ... "Petraeus, testifying
before the Senate Armed Services Committee in Washington, recommended a
45-day evaluation after the final brigade from last year's ``surge'' of
troop reinforcements into Iraq is withdrawn in July. Only after that period
can officials begin to consider further withdrawals, he said." ... "[Michigan
Democratic Senator] Democrat Carl Levin, the Armed Services Committee's
chairman, immediately criticized Petraeus's proposal, calling it a ``a
plan which has no end.'' Levin, a senator from Michigan, said Iraqis had
failed to use the drop in violence attributed to the surge to push toward
political unity and away from dependence on American forces and on U.S.
reconstruction funding." ... "The U.S. [United States] currently has more
than 150,000 troops in Iraq. As of today, 4,017 U.S. personnel have died
in Iraq since the conflict began in March 2003, and 29,676 Americans have
been wounded, according to the Defense Department." -By
Nicholas Johnston and Ken Fireman -Bloomberg
20080407
Barack
Obama - Hillary
Clinton - American
- Soldiers
- Opinion
- 2008
Election - Iraq
- Ill
"Surprising
Political Endorsements By U.S. Troops: American Soldiers
Speak Out About Their Presidential Endorsements." ... "ABC's Martha Raddatz
asked American soldiers in Iraq what issues are most important to them
when looking at the presidential candidates." ... "Though the military
is not supposed to engage in partisan political activity, these soldiers
spoke out about their personal endorsements, and their opinions are likely
to matter. In 2004, 73 percent of the U.S. [United States] military voted
for a presidential candidate, and officials believe it may be even higher
this time around." ... "[Private First Class] PFC Jeremy Slate said he
supported [2008 Election Democratic Presidential Candidate and Illinois
Senator] Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill. [Democratic-Illinois], because of his
stated intention to pull out of Iraq right away." ... "[Sergeant First
Class] SFC Patricia Keller also expressed support for Obama, citing his
representation for change." ... "[Specialist] Spc. Imus Loto said he supported
Obama. "It will be something different. But he's out there and he'll probably
support us a lot more."" ... "[Sergeant] 1st Sgt. David Logan said, "I
am leaning toward Hillary. I think that we should have a gradual drawdown.""
(1, 2) -By
Martha Raddatz with contributions by Jung Hwa Song
-ABCNEWS.com
20080405
Noteworthy
- Media
- 
John
Yoo - 
Mike
Mukasey
- Torture
- Lawbreaking
- Surveillance
- Military
- Intelligence
- Terrorism
-Political
- Enforcement
- Barack
Obama - Pennsylvania
- US
- Iraq
"The
U.S. establishment media in a nutshell." ... "In
the past two weeks, the following events transpired. A Department of Justice
memo, authored by John Yoo, was released which authorized torture and presidential
lawbreaking. It was revealed that the [Republican President Bush] Bush
administration declared the Fourth Amendment of the Bill of Rights to be
inapplicable to "domestic military operations" within the U.S. [United
States] The U.S. Attorney General [Michael Mukasey] appears to have fabricated
a key event leading to the 9/11 attacks and made patently false statements
about surveillance laws and related lawsuits. Barack Obama went bowling
in Pennsylvania and had a low score." ... "Here are the number of times,
according to NEXIS, that various topics have been mentioned in the media
over the past thirty days:" ... ""Yoo and torture" - 102" ... ""Mukasey
and 9/11" -- 73" ... ""Yoo and Fourth Amendment" -- 16" ...
""Obama and bowling" -- 1,043" ... ""Obama and Wright" --
More than 3,000 (too many to be counted)" ... ""Obama and patriotism"
- 1,607" ... ""Clinton and Lewinsky" -- 1,079" ... "And as Eric
Boehlert documents,
even Iraq -- that little five-year U.S. occupation with no end in sight
-- has been virtually written out of the media narrative in favor of mindless,
stupid, vapid chatter of the type referenced above." ... "Think about it
this way: if you were a high government official and watched as -- all
in a couple of weeks time -- it is revealed, right out in the open, that
you suspended the Fourth Amendment, authorized torture, proclaimed yourself
empowered to break the law, and sent the nation's top law enforcement officer
to lie blatantly about how and why the 9/11 attacks happened so that you
could acquire still more unchecked spying power and get rid of lawsuits
that would expose what you did, and the political press in this country
basically ignored all of that and blathered on about Obama's bowling score
and how he eats chocolate, wouldn't you also conclude that you could do
anything you want, without limits, and know there will be no consequences?
What would be the incentive to stop doing all of that?" -By
Glenn
Greenwald -Salon
20080404
Blackwater
- Investigation
-Iraq
- US
- Military
- Government
- Politics
"Despite
Investigations, Blackwater to Keep Working in Iraq:
Sources Tell ABC News the Extension, Worth About $240 Million, Was Requested
by U.S. [United States] Embassy Officials in Baghdad [Iraq's capital]."
... "Although it has been accused of tax fraud, improper use of force,
arms trafficking and overbilling, the Blackwater firm will have its $1.2
billion contract for private security in Iraq renewed by the State Department,
a spokesman confirmed Friday." ... "The grand jury is reportedly investigating
whether Blackwater security guards used excessive force in killing 13 Iraqi
civilians in a violent incident in central Baghdad last September." ...
"Federal prosecutors are probing allegations that Blackwater personnel
smuggled weapons, night-vision scopes and other sensitive material into
Iraq." ... "A congressional panel is investigating whether the company
illegally dodged millions in taxes by misclassifying its employees as "independent
contractors."" ... "And a State Department investigation in 2005 found
Blackwater sometimes double-billed employees' time, resulting in "duplication
of profit."" -By Brian Ross
-ABCNEWS.com
20080403
John
Yoo - Alberto
Gonzales - Surveillance
- Military
- Government
- Terrorism
- Intelligence
- Politics
- Secret
- Law
- History
- Liberties
"Memo
Justified Warrantless Surveillance." ... "For at
least 16 months after the Sept. [September] 11 terror attacks in 2001,
the [Republican President] Bush administration believed that the Constitution's
protection against unreasonable searches and seizures on U.S. [United States]
soil didn't apply to its efforts to protect against terrorism." ... "That
view was expressed in a Justice Department legal memo dated Oct. [October]
23, 2001. The administration on Wednesday stressed that it now disavows
that view." ... "The October 2001 memo was written at the request of the
[Republican President Bush] White House by John Yoo, then the deputy assistant
attorney general, and addressed to Alberto Gonzales, the White House counsel
at the time. The administration had asked the department for an opinion
on the legality of potential responses to terrorist activity." ... "The
37-page memo has not been released. Its existence was disclosed Tuesday
in a footnote of a separate secret memo, dated March 14, 2003, released
by the Pentagon in response to a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit by
the American Civil Liberties Union." ... ""Our office recently concluded
that the Fourth Amendment had no application to domestic military operations,"
the footnote states, referring to a document titled "Authority for Use
of Military Force to Combat Terrorist Activities Within the United States.""
... "Exactly what domestic military action was covered by the October memo
is unclear. But federal documents indicate that the memo relates to the
National Security Agency's Terrorist Surveillance Program, or TSP." -By
Pamela Hess and Lara Jakes Jordan -AP
via -SFGate.com
20080402
John
Hagee -John
McCain - Politics
- 2008
Election - Texas
- US
- Israel
"Jewish
Leader Calls Hagee 'Extremist'." ... "The leader
of the largest branch of American Judaism said Wednesday that synagogues
in the movement shouldn't work with the [Reverend] Rev. John Hagee [who
Republican President Presidential Candidate John McCain sought and accepted
an endorsement from], a Christian Zionist, calling him an "extremist" on
Israeli policy who disparages other faiths." ... "[Rabbi Eric] Yoffie also
condemned Hagee's views on Roman Catholicism and Islam. The San Antonio
[Texas] pastor has suggested that Catholic anti-Semitism shaped Adolf Hitler,
among other comments." -AP
via -SFGate.com
20080401
John
McCain - Race
- History
- Civil
Rights - Arizona
- Tennessee
"McCain's
Memphis Visit Raises Past Opposition To MLK Day."
... "This Friday, [2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidate and
Arizona Senator] Sen. John McCain will head to Memphis, Tennessee to commemorate
the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr." ... "The stop, which
is part of the senator's extended biography tour, is a complimentary gesture
both to the African American community and to King's legacy. But is also
threatens to resurrect an inconsistency McCain has had on one of the more
symbolically important civil rights issues: whether or not to create a
holiday commemorating Martin Luther King." ... "In 1983, McCain voted against
passing a bill to designate the third Monday of every January as a federal
holiday in honor of King. Four years later, then-Arizona Governor Evan
Mecham rescinded Martin Luther King Day as a state holiday, saying it had
been established through an illegal executive order by his Democratic predecessor."
... "McCain said he thought Mecham was correct in his decision." ... "Two
years after that, McCain's viewpoint began to change, but only gradually.
In 1989, he urged lawmakers to make Martin Luther King Jr. day a state
holiday, but said he was "still opposed to another federal holiday."
-By
Sam
Stein -HuffingtonPost.com
20080331
Corporate
- Government
- Legislation
- Politics
- Homeowners- US
- Global
- '08
Election
"8
reasons no Wall Street reforms in '08." ... "Reform
American banking? I'll bet you fell for Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson's
clever PR [Public Relations] move at the U.S. [United States] Chamber of
Commerce last week. And now his "blueprint" for a "sweeping overhaul.""
... "Yes, lots of rhetoric, window dressing to make it look politically
correct. Hearings yes. But no new legislation. Wall Street dodges the re-regulation
bullet, goes on its merry way, gambling with your money at the "shadow
banking" casino." ... "1. Paulson's a wolf in sheep's clothing."
... "Remember, just two years ago Paulson was CEO [Chief Executive Officer]
of Goldman Sachs, one of the world's biggest derivatives traders. Traders
would suffer from re-regulation. Last week's speech before the conservative
Chamber was a masterpiece of spin, based on the "blueprint" he was about
to release." ... "You can be certain that whatever Paulson said about reforms,
he has three motivations: Delay action till the heat's off, say whatever's
politically correct to placate the public and critics, then do nothing
to hinder future "shadow banking system" games being played by Goldman
and other Wall Street mega-players in the $516 trillion global derivatives
casino." ... "And what about helping individual homeowners? DOA [Dead On
Arrival]. Blame Congress. More spin: Paulson rejected the need for a "systemwide
solution" to help homeowners, arguing that Democrats' ideas weren't even
"yet ready for the starting gate."" ... "3. President's already signaled
opposition to major reforms." ... "No reforms, not on his watch. [Republican]
President Bush's free-market deregulation credentials are clear. Even if
the marginalized Democrats were to pass sweeping reforms (unlikely in an
election year [2008 Election]), they'd get vetoed." ... "So with the exception
of tinkering with Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and the FHA [Federal Housing
Administration], which he's already endorsed because that helps big business
and Wall Street, Congress will hold hearings, then recess for summer campaigning.
The president will have gotten his PR boost, then blame Congress for inaction."
... "4. Washington's 35,000 lobbyists will kill any substantial reforms."
... "The public wants re-regulation. But not the high-rollers bankrolling
35,000 lobbyists who tell Washington's 537 elected officials how to regulate
and spend the federal budget. Taxpayers need to stop kidding ourselves
that we're a democracy. The birth of the lobbying industry three decades
ago killed America's democracy" -By Paul B. Farrell
-MarketWatch
20080330
Iraq
- US
- Military
- Politics
- History
- Money
- Accounting
- Investigators
"After
years of effort, Iraqi army still can't 'stand up'."
... "Iraq's new army is "developing steadily," with "strong Iraqi leaders
out front," the chief U.S. [United States] trainer said." ... "That was
three-plus years ago, and the trainer was David H. Petraeus, now the top
American commander in Iraq. Some of those Iraqi officials at the time were
busy embezzling more than $1 billion allotted for the new army's weapons,
according to investigators." ... "The 2004-05 Defense Ministry scandal
was just one in a long series of setbacks in the five-year struggle to
"stand up" an Iraqi military as [Republican] President Bush has promised
and allow hard-pressed U.S. forces to "stand down." The latest discouraging
episode was unfolding this weekend in bloody Basra, the southern city where
Iraqi government forces -- in their toughest test yet -- were struggling
to gain the upper hand in a battle with Shiite Muslim militias." ... "Year
by year, the goal of deploying a capable, free-standing Iraqi army has
seemed to always slip further into the future." ... "How not to build
an army:" ... "Early 2003: The first reversal came even before
the March U.S. invasion, when the Pentagon discarded prewar plans that
called for restructuring the 400,000-man Saddam Hussein-era army into a
postwar force of 150,000 to 200,000." ... "Mid-2003: U.S. occupation
chief L. Paul Bremer III unilaterally ordered Saddam's army disbanded,
and the Bush administration opted for a token military force to guard Iraq's
borders. Bremer said the army had already fallen apart after Saddam's fall.
The controversial move helped prompt many Sunni officers to eventually
join the insurgency." ... "Iraqi view: [Lt. Gen. [Lieutenant General]
James] Dubik says Iraqi defense officials don't expect to take over internal
security until as late as 2012 and won't be able to defend Iraq's borders
until 2018." -By Charles J. Hanley
-AP via -Star-Telegram.com
20080329
Don
Siegelman - 
Karl
Rove - 
Leura
Garrett Canary
- Alabama
- US
Attorney - Politics
- Investigation
- 2002
Election - La
- Federal
- Prison
"Freed
Ex-Governor of Alabama Talks of Abuse of Power."
... "Former [Democratic Governor] Gov. Don Siegelman of Alabama, released
from prison Friday on bond in a bribery and corruption case, said he was
as convinced as ever that politics had played a leading role in his prosecution."
... "Speaking by telephone in his first post-prison interview, shortly
after he had left the federal penitentiary at Oakdale, La. [Louisiana],
Mr. Siegelman said there had been “abuse of power” in his case, and repeatedly
cited Karl Rove, the former [Republican President Bush] White House political
director." ... "“His fingerprints are smeared all over the case,” Mr. Siegelman
said, a day after a federal appeals court ordered him released on bond
and said there were legitimate questions about his case. He was sentenced
to serve seven years last June after a guilty verdict on bribery and corruption
charges a year earlier." ... "The investigation, trial and conviction of
Mr. Siegelman, a veteran politician, has become a flash point for broader
Democratic contentions that politics has influenced decisions by the Justice
Department under [Republican] President Bush, including the firings of
several United States attorneys, and other federal prosecutions besides
Mr. Siegelman’s." ... "In a sworn statement, a Republican lawyer and political
operative, Jill Simpson, told of hearing one of Mr. Rove’s allies here,
William Canary, discussing Mr. Siegelman during the 2002 governor’s race,
and saying “that he had already gotten it worked out with Karl and Karl
had spoken with the Department of Justice and the Department of Justice
was already pursuing Don Siegelman.” The United States attorney here, Leura
G. Canary, is married to Mr. Canary." -By Adam
Nossiter -NYTimes
20080328
Barack
Obama - Hillary
Clinton - John
McCain - Homeowners
- Financial
- Law
- Government
- Energy
- Telecommunications
- Illinois
- North
Carolina - 2008
Election
"Obama
Casts Wide Blame for Financial Crisis and Proposes Homeowner Aid."
... "[2008 Election Democratic Presidential Candidate and Illinois] Senator
Barack Obama called Thursday for tighter regulation of mortgage lenders,
banks and financial houses, even as he spoke of pumping $30 billion into
the economy to shield homeowners and local governments from the worst effects
of the collapse of the housing bubble." ... "Mr. Obama laid much of the
blame for the crisis on lobbyists and politicians who dismantled the regulatory
framework governing the energy, telecommunications and financial services
sectors." ... "“Under Republican and Democratic administrations, we failed
to guard against practices that all too often rewarded financial manipulation
instead of productivity and sound business practices,” Mr. Obama said.
“The result has been a distorted market that creates bubbles instead of
steady sustainable growth, a market that favors Wall Street over Main Street
but ends up hurting both.”" ... "“Instead of establishing a 21st-century
regulatory framework, we simply dismantled the old one,” he said, “aided
by a legal but corrupt bargain in which campaign money all too often shaped
policy and watered down oversight.”" ... "[2008 Election Democratic Presidential
Candidate Hillary Clinton:] “We’ve had enough of a president who didn’t
know enough about economics and didn’t do enough for the American middle
class,” Mrs. Clinton said in Raleigh [North Carolina's capital]. Referring
to [2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidate John] Mr. McCain, she
added, “I don’t think we can afford four more years of that kind of inaction.”"
... "Mr. McCain “recently admitted, ‘The issue of economics is not something
I’ve understood as well as I should,’ ” Mrs. Clinton said. “And it turns
out he’d rather ignore the credit crisis and mortgage crisis — or blame
middle-class families instead of offering solutions on their behalf.”"
-By Michael
Powell and Jeff
Zeleny -NYTimes
20080327
Hillary
Clinton - John
McCain - 2008
Election - North
Carolina
"Clinton
tells Democrats: Don't vote for McCain." ... "[2008
Election Democratic Presidential Candidate] Hillary Clinton pleaded for
partisan unity on Thursday, urging Democrats not to abandon their party
to vote for [2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidate] John McCain
if their preferred candidate fails to secure the nomination." ... "Clinton
was asked by a questioner in the audience here [Fayetteville, North Carolina]
what she would tell frustrated Democrats who might consider voting for
McCain in the general election out of spite." ... "“Please think through
this decision,” Clinton said, laughing and emphasizing the word “please.”"
... "“It is not a wise decision for yourself or your country.”" -By
Peter Hamby -CNN
20080326
United
States - Iraqi
- Politics
"Clashes
spread as U.S., Iraqi forces attack Shiite militia."
... "With the United States providing air cover and embedded advisers,
the Iraqi government on Wednesday expanded its offensive against Shiite
Muslim militias from the port city of Basra to the capital of Baghdad —
and many of the provinces in between." ... "The day saw street battles
in Baghdad and Basra, mortar attacks by Shiite rebels against Baghdad's
Green Zone, bombing by U.S. aircraft and encounters that left government
tanks in flames. More than 97 people were reported killed and hundreds
were wounded since the operation began early Tuesday." ... "In Baghdad,
at least nine Iraqi civilians were killed and 42 were wounded in mortar
attacks, police said. The Mahdi Army, loyal to firebrand Shiite cleric
Muqtada al Sadr, opened fire on civilians in downtown Baghdad and clashed
with Iraqi security forces in Kadhemiya in north Baghdad." ... "There were
growing signs that Sadr's cease-fire, which he declared in August and renewed
in February, was unraveling. The cease-fire is one of the principal reasons
for the downturn in violence and U.S. troop deaths this year."
-By Leila Fadel with contributions
by Laith Hammoudi and Hussein Kadhim -McClatchyDC.com
20080325
American
- Workers
- Health
- Safety
- Lawsuit
- KBR
Halliburton - Corporation
-
