March 2008 News History Archives

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March 31, 2008 News URL: #March-31-2008-News
20080331 Monday

- Government - Food - People - Families - Poverty - Disasters - Fuel - Prices - Politics - History
"As Jobs Vanish and Prices Rise, Food Stamp Use Nears Record." ... "Driven by a painful mix of layoffs and rising food and fuel prices, the number of Americans receiving food stamps is projected to reach 28 million in the coming year, the highest level since the aid program began in the 1960s." ... "The number of recipients, who must have near-poverty incomes to qualify for benefits averaging $100 a month per family member, has fluctuated over the years along with economic conditions, eligibility rules, enlistment drives and natural disasters like Hurricane Katrina, which led to a spike in the South." ... "But recent rises in many states appear to be resulting mainly from the economic slowdown, officials and experts say, as well as inflation in prices of basic goods that leave more families feeling pinched. Citing expected growth in unemployment, the Congressional Budget Office this month projected a continued increase in the monthly number of recipients in the next fiscal year, starting Oct. 1 — to 28 million, up from 27.8 million in 2008, and 26.5 million in 2007." ... "The percentage of Americans receiving food stamps was higher after a recession in the 1990s, but actual numbers are expected to be higher this year." -By Erik Eckholm -NYTimes

- Food - Agriculture - Plant - Land - History - Ethanol - Companies - Animal - Consumers
"Corn forecast suggests rise in food prices is ahead." ... "U.S. [United States] farmers plan to cut back corn planting and boost soybean production, a shift that could send ripples from the farm belt to your grocery bills." ... "The U.S. Department of Agriculture on Monday released its prospective plantings report. The report, which came amid surging grain prices, bore news that affects grain farmers, livestock producers, ethanol companies, food processors and, ultimately, consumers." ... "Corn plantings are expected to fall 8 percent this year, to 86 million acres, according to the Department of Agriculture. Last year farmers planted a post-World War II record of nearly 94 million acres of corn to meet burgeoning demand for ethanol, which is expected to soon absorb about 30 percent of domestic corn production." ... "“Last year many soybean growers switched from soybeans to corn as ethanol expansion strongly increased the demand for corn,” the Department of Agriculture said." ... "This year, though, many of the 86,000 farmers surveyed for the report said they were shifting production back toward soybeans, which had surged in price. Soybean planting is expected to increase 18 percent this year, to almost 75 million acres." ... "Corn is trading near its record-high price of $5.70 a bushel, more than double the price of two years ago. Soybeans are hovering around $12 a bushel, nearly double last year’s level." (1, 2) -By Victoria Sizemore Long -KansasCity.com

- Oil - Politics - Government - US - Calif - Global - Climate - Environmental - Emissions - Memorial Day - Driving
"Gas prices put oil executives on the hot seat." ... "Oil executives return to the hot seat Tuesday as a House panel examines rising gasoline prices and the industry’s opposition to efforts to repeal $18 billion in tax breaks. The new money would be used to pay for the development of renewable energy." ... "For the industry’s critics, the House Select Committee for Energy Independence and Global Warming hearing Tuesday is another indication of the industry’s waning clout on Capitol Hill, as was the House vote earlier this year that repealed tax breaks the industry now receives." ... "But the army of lobbyists who represent the oil and gas industry has so far successfully fought back in the Senate, which has yet to pass a similar tax bill, forcing renewable energy advocates to lower their own expectations." ... "Executives from ExxonMobil, BP, Shell, Chevron and ConocoPhillips were expected to testify before the House panel, which was created by [California Democratic Representative] Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.[Democratic-California]) to highlight her caucus’s efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and the nation’s dependence on foreign oil." ... "Some oil lobbyists worried the hearing could turn raucous since prices at the pump have reached a new record — weeks before the traditional start of driving season on Memorial Day." ... "By coincidence or not, the hearing is being held the same day as “Fossil Fools’ Day,” a campaign by some environmental groups. They question the wisdom of continuing to use fossil fuels, which emit carbon dioxide when burned, as the mainstay for energy production when global temperatures are rising because of increasing greenhouse gas emissions." -By Jim Snyder -TheHill.com

- Barack Obama - John McCain - Hillary Clinton - Iraq - US - Military - Arizona - Illinois - Pennsylvania - New York - Housing - Economy - 2008 Election
"Obama takes aim at McCain on Iraq." ... "[2008 Election Democratic Presidential Candidate] Democrat Barack Obama took aim on Monday at potential White House opponent [2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidate] John McCain on Iraq, saying the Republican senator could not offer a clear definition of success in the conflict and could leave U.S. [United States] combat troops there for decades." ... "Obama said the Arizona senator shared a vision of Iraq with [Republican] President George W. Bush and had not spelled out how the United States would be able to end its military involvement there." ... ""The problem that we've had, both with John McCain and George Bush, is there's no clear definition of success. There never was. And that's why this has been such a profound strategic error," Obama, an Illinois senator, told reporters while campaigning in Pennsylvania." ... "[2008 Election Democratic Presidential Candidate Hillary] Clinton criticized McCain's recent speech on the economy for failing to lay out a clear plan to end turmoil in U.S. housing markets." ... ""Senator McCain recently gave a speech on the economy, and best I could determine his plan was not to have a plan," Clinton, a New York senator, said during an economic round-table in Harrisburg [Pennsylvania]." (1, 2, 3) -By Caren Bohan with contributions by Ellen Wulfhorst, Steve Holland, John Whitesides and Mohammad Zargham -Reuters

- John McCain - Military - Intelligence - US - Iraq - 2008 Election - Mississippi - Arizona
"McCain ‘Surprised’ by Iraq Developments." ... "As he launched a tour here [in Mississippi] designed to highlight his family’s long tradition of military service, [2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidate and Arizona] Senator John McCain said Monday that he was surprised by the latest turn of events in America’s current war in Iraq." ... "Mr. McCain said he had not expected [Iraq] Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki to try to oust Shiite militias from Basra [Iraq] without consulting the Americans, and that he was troubled by some of the demands that were made by the Shiite cleric Moktada al-Sadr as part of his offer of a ceasefire after the militias held off the American-supported assault. And he tied some of the current problems to the [Republican President] Bush administration’s old strategy there." ... "“Maliki decided to take on this operation without consulting the Americans,’’ Mr. McCain said on his campaign bus as it rolled through downtown Meridian [Mississippi], saying that the move showed independence but that he had expected the military to focus on Mosul [Iraq]." ... "“I just am surprised that he would take it on himself to go down and take charge of a military offensive,’’ he said. “I had not anticipated that he would do that.’’ " -By Michael Cooper -NYTimes

-Food - Crisis - World - People - Farmers - Land - Fuel - Money - Politics - History - Weather - Drought - China - UN
"Tensions rise as world faces short rations." ... "Food prices are soaring, a wealthier Asia is demanding better food and farmers can't keep up. In short, the world faces a food crisis and in some places it's already boiling over." ... "Around the globe, people are protesting and governments are responding with often counterproductive controls on prices and exports -- a new politics of scarcity in which ensuring food supplies is becoming a major challenge for the 21st century." ... "Plundered by severe weather in producing countries and by a boom in demand from fast-developing nations, the world's wheat stocks are at 30-year lows. Grain prices have been on the rise for five years, ending decades of cheap food." ... "Drought, a declining dollar, a shift of investment money into commodities and use of farm land to grow fuel have all contributed to food woes. But population growth and the growing wealth of China and other emerging countries are likely to be more enduring factors." ... "World population is set to hit 9 billion by 2050, and most of the extra 2.5 billion people will live in the developing world. It is in these countries that the population is demanding dairy and meat, which require more land to produce." ... "In 2007 alone, according to the U.N. [United Nations] Food and Agriculture Organization's world food index, dairy prices rose nearly 80 percent and grain 42 percent." [see also: Agflation] (1, 2, 3, 4, 5) -By Russell Blinch and Brian Love with contributions by Ayesha Rascoe, Missy Ryan, Alistair Thomson, Ho Binh Minh and Eddie Evans -Reuters

- 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

- William J Jefferson - Louisiana - Government - FBI Investigation - Politics
"Supreme Court Won't Intervene in Jefferson Raid Case." ... "The Supreme Court today turned down a government request to reverse a lower court finding that an FBI [Federal Bureau of Investigation] raid on [Louisiana Democratic Representative] Rep. William J. Jefferson's congressional office violated the Constitution." ... "A panel of the U.S. [United States] Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit ruled in August that the seizure of printed materials and computer records violated the "speech or debate" clause of the Constitution, which protects members of Congress from questioning by members of the executive branch about their legislative work." ... "The disputed records in Jefferson's case do not figure prominently in his indictment, and prosecutors have said they can proceed without them." -By Robert Barnes -WashingtonPost

- John McCain - Edwards - Consumer - Laws - Politics - Arizona - Women - 2008 Election
"McCain's health plan fails her test: Neither Elizabeth Edwards, whose cancer is incurable, nor the presumptive Republican presidential nominee would be covered by his policy, she asserts." ... "Elizabeth Edwards, the wife of former [2008 Election] Democratic presidential contender John Edwards, said she and [2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidate] John McCain have one thing in common: "Neither one of us would be covered by his health policy."" ... "Edwards lodged her criticism of the presumptive Republican presidential nominee's proposal Saturday at the annual meeting of the Assn. [Association] of Health Care Journalists." ... "Under McCain's plan, insurance companies "wouldn't have to cover preexisting conditions like melanoma and breast cancer," she said." ... "McCain has been treated for melanoma, the most serious type of skin malignancy. Edwards in 2004 was diagnosed with breast cancer, and announced a year ago that it had returned and spread into her bones, meaning it no longer could be cured." ... "His [McCain's health] plan would make it difficult for people with preexisting conditions, but who aren't covered by a government- or job-sponsored plan, to buy individual coverage, Edwards said." ... "Cancer survivors are routinely denied insurance when they try to purchase it as individuals, health experts say." ... "Edwards also criticized McCain's proposal because it would allow companies to sell health insurance across state lines." ... ""... Edwards said the plan would allow insurers to move their headquarters to states in which consumer protection laws are weak." -By Rong-Gong Lin II -LAtimes

- 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

- 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

- Barack Obama - Hillary Clinton - Financial - Law - Housing - New York - Fed - US - Global - 2008 Election
"Obama Moves Past Clinton in Calling for Wall Street Oversight." ... "[2008 Election Democratic Presidential Candidate] Barack Obama, who has been a step behind rival [2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidate] Hillary Clinton in proposing remedies to the housing and financial crises, jumped ahead of her this week by advocating broader regulation of Wall Street." ... "Obama called for the Federal Reserve to be given greater supervisory power when it acts as lender of last resort. He also urged stronger capital requirements for financial companies and a consolidation of regulatory agencies." ... "``The regulatory framework hasn't caught up with the global financial system,'' he said yesterday in an interview on Bloomberg Television's ``Political Capital with Al Hunt.'' ``It's something I intend to do as president.''" ... "Clinton, 60, has yet to propose a sweeping set of new laws, focusing instead on the slumping economy and on alleviating the effects of the crisis among homeowners. ``We do need to try to make up for the lax regulation and absence of oversight,'' she said in a separate interview yesterday." ... "Obama, 46, offered his proposals in the wake of convulsions in the subprime-lending market and the Fed-engineered buyout of Bear Stearns Cos. by JPMorgan Chase & Co." ... "``Our free market was never meant to be a free license to take whatever you can get, however you can get it,'' Obama said in his March 27 address in New York. ``The American economy does not stand still, and neither should the rules that govern it.''" -By Lorraine Woellert and Matthew Benjamin -Bloomberg

- Financial - Law - Politics - Massachusetts
"Paulson to Propose New U.S. Financial Regulators (Update1)." ... "Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson is likely to call for the creation of new regulatory agencies with broad powers over lending, the securities industry and business conduct, according to the draft of a study he commissioned." ... "[Massachusetts Democratic Representative and] House Financial Services Committee Chairman Barney Frank, a Massachusetts Democrat, said in a statement today the plan goes too far in reducing the role of the states and not far enough in giving new powers to the Federal Reserve over non-bank lenders." -By Jesse Westbrook and John Brinsley -Bloomberg

- Gordon England - Secret - Military - Law - Terrorism - Politics - 2008 Election - 2006 Election - Osama bin Laden - War Crimes - US - Guantánamo - Cuba - Intelligence - Torture - Prison - Michael V Hayden
"Navy Lawyer: Gitmo trials pegged to political campaign." ... "The Navy lawyer for Osama bin Laden's driver argues in a Guantánamo [Guantánamo Bay, Cuba] military commissions motion that senior Pentagon officials are orchestrating war crimes prosecutions for the 2008 [Election] campaign." ... "The brief filed Thursday by Navy [Lieutenant Commander] Lt. Cmdr. Brian Mizer directly challenged the integrity of [Republican] President Bush's war court." ... "Notably, it describes a [September] Sept. 29, 2006, meeting at the Pentagon in which Deputy Defense Secretary Gordon England, a veteran [Republican President Bush] White House appointee, asked lawyers to consider Sept. 11, 2001, prosecutions in light of the campaign [2006 Election ]." ... "''We need to think about charging some of the high-value detainees because there could be strategic political value to charging some of these detainees before the election,'' England is quoted as saying." ... "The brief quotes England as a stipulation of fact and cites other examples of alleged political interference, which Mizer argues makes it impossible for Salim Hamdan, 37, to have a fair trial." ... "It asks the judge, Navy [Captain] Capt. Keith Allred, to dismiss the case against Hamdan as an alleged 9/11 co-conspirator on the grounds that Bush administration leadership exercises ``unlawful command influence.''" ... "As described the Hamdan brief, the England meeting came three weeks after President Bush disclosed in a live address that he had ordered the CIA [Central Intelligence Agency] to transfer ''high-value detainees'' from years of secret custody to Guantánamo for trial." ... "Bush also disclosed that the CIA used ''an alternative set of procedures'' to interrogate the men into confessing -- since revealed by the CIA director, Air Force [General] Gen. Michael V. Hayden, to include waterboarding." -By Carol Rosenberg -MiamiHerald

- Barack Obama - Professor - Law - Illinois - 2008 Election
"University of Chicago: Obama was a 'professor'." ... "The University of Chicago [Chicago, Illinois] said Friday [2008 Election Democratic Presidential Candidate] Barack Obama accurately described himself as a onetime law professor at the school, despite the fact his formal title was "Senior Lecturer."" ... ""From 1992 until his election to the U.S. Senate in 2004, Barack Obama served as a professor in the Law School," the statement said." ... ""He was a Lecturer from 1992 to 1996. He was a Senior Lecturer from 1996 to 2004, during which time he taught three courses per year. Senior Lecturers are considered to be members of the Law School faculty and are regarded as professors, although not full-time or tenure-track," it also said." -By Alexander Mooney and Peter Hamby -CNN

- John Edwards - Barack Obama - Hillary Clinton - Poverty - Health Care - Economics - Politics - North Carolina - 2008 Election
"Who’ll Stop the Pain?" ... "In the days after [former 2008 Election Democratic Presidential Candidate] John Edwards’s withdrawal from the Democratic race, the political world expected his endorsement of [2008 Election Democratic Presidential Candidate] Barack Obama would be forthcoming tout de suite." ... "But now two months have passed since Edwards dropped out—tempus fugit!—and still no endorsement. Why? According to a Democratic strategist unaligned with any campaign but with knowledge of the situation gleaned from all three camps, the answer is simple: Obama blew it. Speaking to Edwards on the day he exited the race, Obama came across as glib and aloof. His response to Edwards’s imprecations that he make poverty a central part of his agenda was shallow, perfunctory, pat. [2008 Election Democratic Presidential Candidate Hillary] Clinton, by contrast, engaged Edwards in a lengthy policy discussion. Her affect was solicitous and respectful. When Clinton met Edwards face-to-face in North Carolina ten days later, her approach continued to impress; she even made headway with Elizabeth [Edwards, John Edwards's wife]. Whereas in his Edwards sit-down, Obama dug himself in deeper, getting into a fight with Elizabeth about health care, insisting that his plan is universal (a position she considers a crock), high-handedly criticizing Clinton’s plan (and by extension Edwards’s) for its insurance mandate." -By John Heilemann -NYMag.com

- 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

- Financial - Law - Politics - New York - Minnesota - Virginia
"Fed May Rethink Greenspan's Hands-Off Approach Towards Bubbles." ... "Federal Reserve officials may be rethinking their aversion to acting against asset-price bubbles, an article of faith during former Chairman Alan Greenspan's 18 years at the helm." ... "After this month's near-collapse of Bear Stearns Cos., Minneapolis [Minnesota] Fed Bank President Gary Stern -- the longest-serving policy maker -- said in a speech yesterday that it's possible ``to build support'' for practices ``designed to prevent excesses.'' New York Fed President Timothy Geithner, whose district bank took on almost $30 billion of Bear Stearns assets to rescue the firm, argued two years ago for a larger role for asset prices in decision-making, and there's no indication his views have changed." ... "For Fed policy makers, ``the consequences of their permissiveness have become so disastrous that they simply can't keep singing the same old tune in public,'' said Tom Schlesinger, executive director at the Financial Markets Center in Howardsville, Virginia." ... "The collapse of the U.S. subprime-mortgage market has led to $208 billion in writedowns and credit losses since the start of 2007, pushing Bear to the brink of bankruptcy before its purchase by JPMorgan." -By Craig Torres and Vivien Lou Chen -Bloomberg

- US - Iraq - Politics - Ohio
"U.S. Armor Forces Join Offensive In Baghdad Against Sadr Militia: Americans Appear To Take the Lead As Iraqi Units Wait." ... "U.S. [United States] forces in armored vehicles battled Mahdi Army fighters Thursday in Sadr City, the vast Shiite stronghold in eastern Baghdad [Iraq's capital], as an offensive to quell party-backed militias entered its third day. Iraqi army and police units appeared to be largely holding to the outskirts of the area as American troops took the lead in the fighting." ... "Four U.S. Stryker armored vehicles were seen in Sadr City by a Washington Post correspondent, one of them engaging Mahdi Army militiamen with heavy fire. The din of American weapons, along with the Mahdi Army's AK-47s and rocket-propelled grenades, was heard through much of the day. U.S. helicopters and drones buzzed overhead." ... "The clashes suggested that American forces were being drawn more deeply into a broad offensive that Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, a Shiite, launched in the southern city of Basra on Tuesday, saying death squads, criminal gangs and rogue militias were the targets. The Mahdi Army of cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, a Shiite rival of Maliki, appeared to have taken the brunt of the attacks; fighting spread to many southern cities and parts of Baghdad." ... "As [Republican] President Bush told an Ohio audience that Iraq was returning to "normalcy," administration officials in Washington held meetings to assess what appeared to be a rapidly deteriorating security situation in many parts of the country." ... "Maliki decided to launch the offensive without consulting his U.S. allies, according to administration officials." (1, 2) -By Sudarsan Raghavan and Sholnn Freeman wtih contributions by Karen DeYoung, Naseer Nouri, Zaid Sabah, K.I. Ibrahim and Dalya Hassan -WashingtonPost

- Barack Obama - John McCain - Housing - Financial - Law - Government - Families - Arizona - 2008 Election
"Obama Urges Regulation in Wake of Housing Slump." ... "[2008 Election Democratic Presidential Candidate Barack] Mr. Obama proposed to rebuild the government’s regulatory structure and promised not to clamp a too-tight hand on economic innovation. But he was unsparing in his view that industry lobbyists and weak legislators produced a misshapen deregulation of the economy." ... "Mr. Obama criticized [Republican] President Bush, describing his proposals for dealing with this crisis as “completely divorced from reality.” And Mr. Obama took on [2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidate and Arizona] Senator John McCain, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, who argued this week against vigorous government intervention in the housing market, saying Washington should not be bailing out banks and homeowners who in his view had knowingly plunged into risky mortgages." ... "Mr. Obama argued Mr. McCain’s approach offers far too little to rescue the deteriorating economy." ... "“While this is consistent with Senator McCain’s determination to run for George Bush’s third term, it won’t help families who are suffering,” Mr. Obama said." -By Michael Powell -NYTimes

- 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

- Barack Obama - Illinois - Police - Videotape - Death Penalty - Law - 2008 Election
"Police interrogation law showed Obama's skill in Illinois senate." ... "Facing the challenge of overhauling the death-penalty law in a state rocked by revelations of botched prosecutions, Illinois state [Senator] Sen. John Cullerton made a tactical decision." ... "The chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee decided to separate one controversial proposal from the broader package, one that would require videotaping interrogations in murder cases. Police and prosecutors opposed it so much that keeping it in the broader package threatened to sink the whole effort." ... "The state senator who later took on the task of pushing the proposal to videotape interrogations was [2008 Election Democratic Presidential Candidate] Barack Obama." ... "Obama worked with Democrats, Republicans and especially with police and prosecutors to fashion a bill that all of them could support. By the time it reached the Senate floor, everyone was on board. It passed in a unanimous vote, and is now Illinois law." ... "How Obama did it reveals a lot about his political style, which is at the core of his appeal. It defines an approach to political problem solving that he vows can change how Washington does business." -By Steven Thomma -McClatchyDC.com

- Iraqi - US - Ohio - Politics
"Iraqi leader threatens fight 'to the end'." ... "As gun battles raged in the southern port city of Basra, parts of Baghdad [Iraq's capital] and neighboring provinces, Prime Minister Nouri al Maliki in effect declared war on Shiite cleric Muqtada al Sadr's Mahdi Army, saying he'd fight the militia "to the end" and never negotiate." ... "In Dayton, Ohio, on Thursday, [Republican] President Bush praised Maliki's "bold decision" to confront Shiite militias and said it was evidence that the Iraqi military is increasingly confident and able to act on its own. In fact, the U.S. [United States] military is providing air cover, embedded advisers and ground reinforcements for the Iraqi offensive." ... "Three days into a U.S.-backed government offensive, however, the Mahdi Army retained control of key neighborhoods of the southern port city of Basra and was able to prevent Iraqi soldiers and police from penetrating its strongholds." ... "At least 189 people have been killed in the Basra offensive, neighboring provinces and Baghdad since early Tuesday morning, government health and security officials reported." -By Leila Fadel with contributions by Qassim Zein and Ali al Basri -McClatchyDC.com

- Antarctic - Ice - History - Global - Climate - Science - Space - Cameras
"Chunk of Antarctic ice shelf collapses, putting larger area at risk: Rapid melting on Wilkins Shelf is attributed to global warming." ... "A chunk of Antarctic ice about seven times the size of Manhattan [island borough of New York City, New York] has collapsed, scientists said Tuesday, putting an even greater portion of glacial ice at risk." ... "Satellite images show the runaway disintegration of a 160-square-mile chunk in western Antarctica that started Feb. 28. It was the edge of the Wilkins Ice Shelf and had been there for perhaps 1,500 years." ... "British Antarctic Survey scientist David Vaughan attributed the melting to rising sea temperature due to global warming." ... "Because scientists noticed satellite images of the event within hours of its start, they diverted satellite cameras and flew an airplane over the ongoing collapse to capture rare photos and video." -AP via -LAtimes

- 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

- Home-Prices - History - Seattle - Washington - Portland - Ore - Nevada - Florida - Phoenix - Arizona - San Diego - California - Michigan - NC
"U.S. home prices fall 10.7% in January, Seattle's drop 1.3%." ... "U.S. [United States] home prices fell 10.7 percent in January from the same month last year, according to the Standard & Poor's/Case-Shiller home-price index of 20 cities, which saw the steepest decline in the two-decade history of the index." ... "Seattle[Washington]-area home prices were among the decliners, although the annual drop was a slight 1.3 percent. Only Portland, Ore. [Oregon], posted a smaller annual decline, 0.5 percent." ... "Worst hit were Las Vegas [Nevada] and Miami [Florida], both reporting 19.3 percent drops, as the regions are still paying the price for rampant speculation and overbuilding during the boom years. Those cities and 14 others — including Phoenix [Arizona], San Diego [California] and Detroit [Michigan] — posted record lows." ... "Only Charlotte, N.C. [North Carolina], squeaked by as a gainer in the Case-Shiller index, with a 1.8 percent increase in January compared with a year earlier." -By Vinnee Tong with contributions by Dan Caterinicchia -AP via -SeattleTimes

- WalMart - Employee - Health - Money
"Brain-damaged woman at center of Wal-Mart suit." ... "[Debbie]  Shank suffered severe brain damage after a traffic accident nearly eight years ago that robbed her of much of her short-term memory and left her in a wheelchair and living in a nursing home." ... "It was the beginning of a series of battles -- both personal and legal -- that loomed for Shank and her family. One of their biggest was with Wal-Mart's health plan." ... "Eight years ago, Shank was stocking shelves for the retail giant and signed up for Wal-Mart's health and benefits plan." ... "Two years after the accident, Shank and her husband, Jim, were awarded about $1 million in a lawsuit against the trucking company involved in the crash. After legal fees were paid, $417,000 was placed in a trust to pay for Debbie Shank's long-term care." ... "Wal-Mart had paid out about $470,000 for Shank's medical expenses and later sued for the same amount. However, the court ruled it can only recoup what is left in the family's trust." ... "The Shanks didn't notice in the fine print of Wal-Mart's health plan policy that the company has the right to recoup medical expenses if an employee collects damages in a lawsuit." ... "In 2007, the retail giant reported net sales in the third quarter of $90 billion." -CNN

- Iraq - British - Police - Oil - Politics
"Iraqi forces battle Mahdi militia in southern Iraq, Baghdad." ... "With Iraq's top leaders directing the battle, Iraq's army and national police pressed a major operation Tuesday to wrest control of the southern port city of Basra from the Shiite Mahdi Army militia. Fighting between government forces and the militia quickly spread through Iraq's south and into Baghdad [Iraq's capital]." ... "Prime Minister Nouri al Maliki and his defense and interior ministers took charge of the 15,000 Iraqi army troops and police units, which were deployed for what aides said was to be a three-day operation against militias in the city." ... "The battle at the oil-rich port began before dawn Tuesday and lasted into the early evening before subsiding slightly as the Mahdi Army, headed by firebrand cleric Muqtada al Sadr, defended positions in several neighborhoods." ... "Maliki is taking a major political risk in attempting to recover Basra, which was virtually handed over to militias when the British military withdrew late last year." ... "Formally, Sadr is still observing a cease-fire he announced last August and renewed in February. But in fact his Mahdi Army has dominated several critical parts of Iraq, including in Basra, the heart of a major oil-producing region." ... "But a lawmaker close to Maliki said Sadr's cease-fire and freeze on operations were something of a fiction. "If you talk to Muqtada, they say we are freezing Jaysh al Mahdi (the Mahdi Army), but the bombing and the kidnapping and even hitting the Green Zone continues," said Sami al Askari, the lawmaker. "How can we believe the cease-fire when we continue to see this?"" -By Leila Fadel and Ali al Basri with contributions by Mohammed al Dulaimy -McClatchyDC.com

- American - Workers - Health -Safety - Lawsuit - KBR Halliburton - Corporation - Government - History - Texas - Oil - Construction - Science - Iraq - Cayman Islands - Politics
"Iraq contractor fights suit over toxic exposure: Tax loophole may subject construction firm to damages." ... "When the American team arrived in Iraq in the summer of 2003 to repair the Qarmat Ali water injection plant, supervisors told them the orange, sand-like substance strewn around the looted facility was just a "mild irritant," workers recall." ... "The workers got it on their hands and clothing every day while racing for 2 1/2 months to meet a deadline to get the plant, a crucial part of Iraq's oil infrastructure, up and running." ... "But the chemical turned out to be sodium dichromate, a substance so dangerous that even limited exposure greatly increases the risk of cancer. Soon, many of the 22 Americans and 100-plus Iraqis began to complain of nosebleeds, ulcers, and shortness of breath. Within weeks, nearly 60 percent exhibited symptoms of exposure, according to the minutes of a meeting of project managers from KBR, the Houston[Texas]-based construction company in charge of the repairs." ... "Now, nine Americans are accusing KBR, then a subsidiary of the oil conglomerate Halliburton, of knowingly exposing them to the deadly substance and failing to provide them with the protective equipment needed to keep them safe." ... "But the workers, like all employees injured in Iraq, face an uphill struggle in their quest for damages. Under a World War II-era federal workers compensation law, employers are generally protected from employee lawsuits, except in rare cases in which it can be proven that the company intentionally harmed its employees or committed outright fraud." ... "KBR is citing the law, called the Defense Base Act, as grounds to reject the workers' request for damages." ... "But the company's own actions have undermined its case: To avoid payroll taxes for its American employees, KBR hired the workers through two subsidiaries registered in the Cayman Islands, part of a strategy that has allowed KBR to dodge hundreds of millions of dollars in Social Security and Medicare taxes." ... "That gives the workers' lawyer, Mike Doyle of Houston, a chance to argue to an arbitration board that KBR is not an employer protected by federal law, but a third-party that can be sued." -By Farah Stockman -Boston/Globe

- Corporate - Government - Intelligence - Politics - Military - 2008 Election - Data - US - Iraq
"Passport Case Raises Outsourcing Concern." ... "Struggling with a deluge in passport applications, the State Department did what much of the government does to deal with a manpower crunch: It hired more private contractors." ... "But the practice of outsourcing allowed hired hands to snoop around in [2008 Election] presidential candidates' files. And now it's pointing to questions about whether outside contractors should have access to such sensitive information about any citizen." ... "The government routinely relies on private firms to do sensitive work _ from managing weapons systems to protecting traveling diplomats to helping maintain records that contain private information on U.S. citizens. The [Republican President] Bush administration in particular has embraced the practice of outsourcing as a way to save money and improve efficiency, particularly in Iraq where there are just as many defense contractors as there are service members." ... "With the influx of contractors come increasing questions about lack of control." ... "The State Department's Office of Passport Services employs about 2,600 contractors nationwide." ... "There are about 180 million to 200 million records in the passport system." -By Anne Flaherty -AP via -SeattleTimes

- John McCain - Foreign - Military - Intelligence - Economic - Religious - Torture - Media - Politician - Mitt Romney - John Hagee - US - 2008 Election

- US - Iraq - Chile -  - Military - History - Book
"U.S. Pushed Allies on Iraq, Diplomat Writes: Chilean Envoy to U.N. [United Nations] Recounts Threats of Retaliation in Run-Up to Invasion." ... "In the months leading up to the U.S.[United States]-led invasion of Iraq, the [Republican President] Bush administration threatened trade reprisals against friendly countries who withheld their support, spied on its allies, and pressed for the recall of U.N. envoys that resisted U.S. pressure to endorse the war, according to an upcoming book by a top Chilean diplomat." ... "The rough-and-tumble diplomatic strategy has generated lasting "bitterness" and "deep mistrust" in Washington's relations with allies in Europe, Latin America and elsewhere, Heraldo Muñoz, Chile's ambassador to the United Nations, writes in his book "A Solitary War: A Diplomat's Chronicle of the Iraq War and Its Lessons," set for publication next month." ... ""In the aftermath of the invasion, allies loyal to the United States were rejected, mocked and even punished" for their refusal to back a U.N. resolution authorizing military action against Saddam Hussein's government, Muñoz writes. " -By Colum Lynch -WashingtonPost

- 2008 Election - Florida - Michigan - Colorado
"Choice of Democratic nominee may rest with panel: Convention's Credentials Commitee could have to decide on Fla., Mich. delegates." ... "There are 186 people in this country who ultimately could select the Democratic presidential nominee." ... "Most of them do not know they'll soon wield such power. They will be picked by their state parties or by the party's national chairman to be on the Credentials Committee to the Democratic National Convention. It's normally a political reward, but this year the job could seem more like punishment." ... "If the dispute over what to do about Florida and Michigan — whose Democratic primary results have not been recognized by the party — is not settled by the time Democrats gather in August in Denver [Colorado], the Credentials Committee will probably make the call on what to do about delegates from the rogue states, which defied the party by moving up their primary dates." ... "The committee could decide whether those delegates are seated at the convention, and to which candidate they are pledged." ... "The ultimate winner of the nomination could ride on the outcome." ... "The 186 Democrats that will form the committee will be chosen during the next several months. DNC Chairman Howard Dean appoints 25 of them, which he has already done." ... "The others are elected by the state parties, based on population." -By Aaron Gould Sheinin -AJC

- 

- John McCain - Rod Parsley - Racist - Politics - Government - Abortion - Law - Women - Parents - Health - Arizona - Ohio - 2008 Election
"McCain Spiritual Guide Accused Gov't Of Enabling 'Black Genocide'." ... "Reverend Rod Parsley of the World Harvest Church of Columbus, Ohio -- whom [2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidate and Arizona Senator] Sen. John McCain hails as a spiritual adviser -- has suggested on several occasions that the U.S. [United States] government was complicit in facilitating black genocide." ... "In speeches that have gone largely unnoticed, Parsley (who is white) compares Planned Parenthood, the reproductive care and family planning group, to the Klu Klux Klan and Nazis, and describes the American government as enablers of murder for supporting the organization." ... ""If I were call for the sterilization or the elimination of an entire segment of society, I'd be labeled a racists or a murderer, or at very best a Nazi," says Parsley. "That every single year, millions of our tax dollars are funding a national organization built upon that very goal -- their target: African Americans. That's right, the death toll: nearly fifteen hundred African Americans a day. The shocking truth of black genocide."" ... "He goes on." ... ""Right now our own government is allowing organizations like Planned Parenthood to legally take the innocent lives of precious baby girls and baby boys and even footing the bill for it all with our tax dollars, turning every single one of us into accessories to murder," he says. "You know who their biggest fans must be, that must be the Klu Klux Klan, because the woman who founded this organization detested black people.... African Americans were number one on Margaret Sanger's list. So this 'Lady MacDeath,' as I like to call her, studied the works of Englishman Thomas Robert Malthus, and embraced his plan of eugenics."" ... "However, there are issues with Parsley's stats. While black populations in America do have higher abortion rates than white populations, there are far more abortions among white mothers than among blacks." -By Sam Stein -HuffingtonPost.com

- Government - E-Mail - Computer -Data - Archives - History - Presidential Records Act - Law - Politics - Secrets
"White House: Computer hard drives tossed." ... "Older [Republican President Bush] White House computer hard drives have been destroyed, the White House disclosed to a federal court Friday in a controversy over millions of possibly missing e-mails from 2003 to 2005." ... "The White House revealed new information about how it handles its computers in an effort to persuade a federal magistrate it would be fruitless to undertake an e-mail recovery plan that the court proposed." ... ""When workstations are at the end of their lifecycle and retired ... the hard drives are generally sent offsite to another government entity for physical destruction," the White House said in a sworn declaration filed with U.S. [United States] Magistrate Judge John Facciola." ... "At a House committee hearing last month, a computer expert who previously worked at the White House called the e-mail system "primitive" and said it was set up in a way that created a high risk that data would be lost from White House servers where it was being archived." -By Pete Yost -AP via -Yahoo

- Barack Obama - Hillary Clinton - John McCain - Debt - US - Iraq - Military - Illinois - West Virginia - Indiana - Car - Oil - Household - 2008 Election
"Obama Links Effects of War Costs to Fragility in the Economy." ... "[2008 Election Democratic Presidential Candidate and Illinois] Senator Barack Obama on Thursday blamed the fragile economy on “careless and incompetent execution” of the Iraq war, imploring voters in this swing state [of West Virginia] to consider the trickle-down economic consequences of the war as they choose a successor to [Republican] President Bush." ... "“When you’re spending over $50 to fill up your car because the price of oil is four times what it was before Iraq, you’re paying a price for this war,” Mr. Obama said to an audience at the University of Charleston [in West Virginia]. “When Iraq is costing each household about $100 a month, you’re paying a price for this war.”" ... "“No matter what the costs, no matter what the consequences, [2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidate] John McCain seems determined to carry out a third Bush term,” Mr. Obama said. “That’s an outcome America can’t afford. Because of the Bush-McCain policies, our debt has ballooned.”" ... "[2008 Election Democratic Presidential Candidate Hillary Clinton in Indiana:] “We spend $12 billion a month in Iraq, and that does affect the economy,” Mrs. Clinton said. “That’s one of the reasons we’ve gone into more and more debt. We’ve got to begin not only to withdraw our troops, but bring that money back home. We need to put that money to work here in Indiana.”" -By Jeff Zeleny and Michael Cooper with contributions by Patrick Healy -NYTimes

- Barack Obama - Religion - Poll - Illinois - 2008 Election
"CBS Poll: Good Reviews For Obama Speech." ... "[2008 Election Democratic Presidential Candidate and Illinois Senator] Sen. Barack Obama's speech on race this week, in which he discussed his relationship with [Reverend] Rev. Jeremiah Wright, his controversial longtime minister, has received largely positive reviews, according to a new CBS News poll." ... "But the percentage of voters who think Obama would unite the country as president has dropped since late February." ... "Sixty-nine percent of voters who have heard or read about Obama’s speech say he did a good job addressing the issue of race relations, and 63 percent of voters following the events say they agree with Obama's views on race relations. Seventy-one percent say he did a good job explaining his relationship with Wright." ... "[PDF] Read The Complete Poll Results" ... "When registered voters were asked if Obama would unite the country, however, 52 percent said yes - down from 67 percent last month." -CBSNews

- Barack Obama - Bill Richardson - New Mexico - Illinois - Portland - Ore - US - International - 2008 Election
"Obama wins Bill Richardson's endorsement." ... "New Mexico [Governor] Gov. Bill Richardson, the nation's only Latino governor, is endorsing [2008 Election Democratic Presidential Candidate and Illinois Senator] Sen. Barack Obama for president, calling him a "once-in-a-lifetime leader" who can unite the nation and restore America's international leadership." ... "Richardson, who dropped out of the Democratic race in January, is to appear with Obama today at a campaign event in Portland, Ore. [Oregon], the Associated Press has learned." -By Jim Cole -AP via -LAtimes

- Barack Obama - John McCain - US - Iraq - Afghanistan - Pakistan - Military - Terrorism - Intelligence - Osama bin Laden - North Carolina - Illinois - Arizona - 2008 Election
"Obama says Iraq war has hurt U.S. security." ... "[2008 Election Democratic] Presidential hopeful Barack Obama traveled Wednesday to a community college near Ft. Bragg [North Carolina], home of the 82nd Airborne Division and the Army Special Operations Command, to argue that the Iraq war had opened a "security gap" for the United States." ... "Speaking on the fifth anniversary of the start of the Iraq war, the Illinois senator said it had emboldened enemies such as Iran and Al Qaeda while weakening U.S. support in the Middle East." ... "And Obama teased [2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidate] John McCain, a supporter of the war and the presumptive Republican nominee for president, for a mix-up Tuesday during a visit to the Middle East." ... ""Just yesterday, we heard [Arizona Senator] Sen. McCain confuse Sunni and Shia, Iran and Al Qaeda," Obama said. "Maybe that is why he voted to go to war with a country that had no Al Qaeda ties. Maybe that is why he completely fails to understand that the war in Iraq has done more to embolden America's enemies than any strategic choice that we have made in decades."" ... "Likewise, Obama targeted McCain's frequent vow that as president he would pursue Osama bin Laden "to the gates of hell." Obama argued that the promise was meaningless given McCain's focus on the conflict in Iraq rather than devoting greater military resources to Afghanistan and the Pakistani border regions, where Bin Laden is believed to be hiding." ... ""We have a security gap when candidates say they will follow Osama bin Laden to the gates of hell but refuse to follow him where he actually goes," Obama said." -By Mike Dorning -ChicagoTribune via -LAtimes

- John McCain - John Hagee - Religion - 2008 Election
"Hagee, in 'NYT' This Sunday, Says McCain Sought His Endorsement." ... "In an interview that will appear in this Sunday's New York Times Magazine, controversial televangelist [Reverend] Rev. John Hagee declares, "It's true that [2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidate John] McCain's campaign sought my endorsement."" ... "He also said that charges that he had bashed the Catholic Church ("false cult system," etc.) have been "grossly mischaracterized....I was referring to those Christians who ignore the Gospels." " -By Greg Mitchell -EditorAndPublisher.com

- Barack Obama - John McCain - Hillary Clinton - Intelligence - Military - Terrorism - History - US - Iraq - Jordan - New York - 2008 Election
"Obama, McCain in crossfire over Iraq." ... "[2008 Election] Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama criticized [2008 Election] Republican John McCain on Wednesday for misidentifying Iraqi extremists, saying he fails to understand the war has emboldened U.S. [United States] enemies." ... "On the fifth anniversary of the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq, the war took center stage on the U.S. campaign trail." ... "Obama attacked both McCain and his Democratic opponent, New York Sen. [Senator] Hillary Clinton, as representing conventional thinking in Washington that needs to be changed in the November election. McCain and Clinton backed a 2002 resolution supporting U.S. military action against Iraq." ... "On a Middle East and Europe swing intended to bolster his national security credentials, McCain got tangled up in stating which Islamic extremist group in Iraq that neighboring Iran is accused of supporting." ... "At a news conference in Amman [Jordan's capital], McCain said Iran supported the Sunni group al Qaeda in Iraq, until he was corrected by a colleague." (1, 2, 3) -By Caren Bohan -Reuters

- Dick Cheney - I Lewis "Scooter" Libby - Intelligence - Politics - Crime
"Cheney's former chief of staff disbarred." ... "I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby was disbarred from practicing law in the nation's capital on Thursday." ... "The former chief of staff to [Republican] Vice President Dick Cheney was convicted last year of lying to a grand jury and federal agents probing the leak of the identity of a CIA [Central Intelligence Agency] operative, Valerie Plame Wilson." ... ""When a member of the Bar is convicted of an offense involving moral turpitude, disbarment is mandatory," the District of Columbia Court of Appeals wrote in its opinion, which is posted on its Web site." ... ""When convictions on more than one count are involved, disbarment is mandated if any one of them involves moral turpitude," the court added." ... "Last July, a court sentenced Libby to a 30-month prison term. [Republican] President Bush later commuted Libby's sentence, calling it "excessive."" ... "He is still considered guilty of the crime he was convicted." -Contributed to by Paul Courson -CNN

- John McCain - Intelligence - Military - Terrorism - Politics - History - US - Iraq - Iran - Israel - Arizona - 2008 Election
"McCain Repeats Iran-Al Qaeda Gaffe Yet Again." ... "[2008 Election Democratic Presidential Candidate and Arizona Senator] Sen. John McCain has done it again." ... "For the third time in two days, the Arizona Republican has pushed the definitively false statement that the terrorist group Al-Qaeda was getting assistance from Iran, even though he was publicly ridiculed for the same false assertion on Tuesday." ... "This time, in a statement from his campaign honoring the fifth year anniversary of the war, McCain wrote:" ... ""Today in Iraq, America and our allies stand on the precipice of winning a major victory against radical Islamic extremism. The security gains over the past year have been dramatic and undeniable. Al Qaeda and Shia extremists -- with support from external powers such as Iran -- are on the run but not defeated."" ... "On Tuesday, the senator, appearing in Israel, made a nearly identical assertion that al-Qaeda was leaving Iraq to retool and regroup in Iran." -By Sam Stein -HuffingtonPost.com

- John McCain - Foreign - Intelligence - Military -Terrorism - Politics - History - Radio - 2008 Election - US -Iraq
"McCain stumbles in Amman." ... "[2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidate and Arizona Senator] Sen. John McCain has long presented himself as a seasoned statesman and foreign policy expert, someone with the wisdom and experience to guide the U.S. [United States] through troubled times." ... "That's why the media and his rivals pounced on him when he got a fundamental question regarding the violence in Iraq wrong." ... "Karen Finney, a spokeswoman for the Democratic National Committee, issued a press release:"

"After eight years of the [Republican President] Bush administration’s incompetence in Iraq, McCain’s comments don’t give the American people a reason to believe that he can be trusted to offer a clear way forward. Not only is Senator McCain wrong on Iraq once again, but he showed he either doesn’t understand the challenges facing Iraq and the region or is willing to ignore the facts on the ground."

- US - Iraq -Government - Military - Politics - Poll
"Poll: 71 percent think Iraq spending hurts economy." ... "More than 7 out of 10 Americans think government spending on the war in Iraq is partly responsible for the economic troubles in the United States, according to results of a recent poll." ... "Fewer than one in three respondents — 32 percent — said they support the war, while 66 percent said they oppose it." -CNN

- Presidential Records Act - Government - E-Mail - Archives - Computer - Technology - Politics - US - Iraq -Military - History
"White House E-Mail Battle Heats Up: Judge: [Republican President Bush's] White House Has Three Days to Explain Why It Shouldn't Have to Copy Its Computer Hard Drives." ... "The White House has three days to explain why it shouldn't be required to copy its computer hard drives to ensure no further e-mails are lost, a federal judge ordered Tuesday." ... "Already, e-mails between March and October 2003 appear to have been lost, Judge John M. Facciola noted, because they were improperly archived and no backup copies exist. That period includes the U.S. [United States] invasion of Iraq." ... "E-mails by White House staff are considered part of the nation's historical record, and federal law [the Presidential Records Act] requires they be preserved. The White House has admitted that potentially millions of e-mails from the past eight years have been erased, although it has provided conflicting accounts on how many may still exist on backup tapes." -By Justin Rood -ABCNEWS.com

- Barack Obama - Christian - American - Race - Politics - History - 2008 Election - Israel - Military - Terrorism - Economy - Health-Care - Climate - Housing - Poor - People - Scholarships - Family
"A More Perfect Union." ... [Partial text of Barack Obama's speech "A More Perfect Union". Read full text of speech or Watch speech.] "[Barack Obama:] I have already condemned, in unequivocal terms, the statements of Reverend Wright that have caused such controversy. For some, nagging questions remain. Did I know him to be an occasionally fierce critic of American domestic and foreign policy? Of course. Did I ever hear him make remarks that could be considered controversial while I sat in church? Yes. Did I strongly disagree with many of his political views? Absolutely - just as I'm sure many of you have heard remarks from your pastors, priests, or rabbis with which you strongly disagreed." ... "But the remarks that have caused this recent firestorm weren't simply controversial. They weren't simply a religious leader's effort to speak out against perceived injustice. Instead, they expressed a profoundly distorted view of this country - a view that sees white racism as endemic, and that elevates what is wrong with America above all that we know is right with America; a view that sees the conflicts in the Middle East as rooted primarily in the actions of stalwart allies like Israel, instead of emanating from the perverse and hateful ideologies of radical Islam." ... "As such, Reverend Wright's comments were not only wrong but divisive, divisive at a time when we need unity; racially charged at a time when we need to come together to solve a set of monumental problems - two wars, a terrorist threat, a falling economy, a chronic health care crisis and potentially devastating climate change; problems that are neither black or white or Latino or Asian, but rather problems that confront us all." ... "Given my background, my politics, and my professed values and ideals, there will no doubt be those for whom my statements of condemnation are not enough. Why associate myself with Reverend Wright in the first place, they may ask? Why not join another church? And I confess that if all that I knew of Reverend Wright were the snippets of those sermons that have run in an endless loop on the television and You Tube, or if Trinity United Church of Christ conformed to the caricatures being peddled by some commentators, there is no doubt that I would react in much the same way[.]" ... "But the truth is, that isn't all that I know of the man. The man I met more than twenty years ago is a man who helped introduce me to my Christian faith, a man who spoke to me about our obligations to love one another; to care for the sick and lift up the poor. He is a man who served his country as a U.S. Marine; who has studied and lectured at some of the finest universities and seminaries in the country, and who for over thirty years led a church that serves the community by doing God's work here on Earth - by housing the homeless, ministering to the needy, providing day care services and scholarships and prison ministries, and reaching out to those suffering from HIV/AIDS." ... "In my first book, Dreams From My Father, I described the experience of my first service at Trinity:" ... ""People began to shout, to rise from their seats and clap and cry out, a forceful wind carrying the reverend's voice up into the rafters....And in that single note - hope! - I heard something else; at the foot of that cross, inside the thousands of churches across the city, I imagined the stories of ordinary black people merging with the stories of David and Goliath, Moses and Pharaoh, the Christians in the lion's den, Ezekiel's field of dry bones. Those stories - of survival, and freedom, and hope - became our story, my story; the blood that had spilled was our blood, the tears our tears; until this black church, on this bright day, seemed once more a vessel carrying the story of a people into future generations and into a larger world. Our trials and triumphs became at once unique and universal, black and more than black; in chronicling our journey, the stories and songs gave us a means to reclaim memories that we didn't need to feel shame about...memories that all people might study and cherish - and with which we could start to rebuild."" ... "That has been my experience at Trinity. Like other predominantly black churches across the country, Trinity embodies the black community in its entirety - the doctor and the welfare mom, the model student and the former gang-banger. Like other black churches, Trinity's services are full of raucous laughter and sometimes bawdy humor. They are full of dancing, clapping, screaming and shouting that may seem jarring to the untrained ear. The church contains in full the kindness and cruelty, the fierce intelligence and the shocking ignorance, the struggles and successes, the love and yes, the bitterness and bias that make up the black experience in America." ... "And this helps explain, perhaps, my relationship with Reverend Wright. As imperfect as he may be, he has been like family to me. He strengthened my faith, officiated my wedding, and baptized my children. Not once in my conversations with him have I heard him talk about any ethnic group in derogatory terms, or treat whites with whom he interacted with anything but courtesy and respect. He contains within him the contradictions - the good and the bad - of the community that he has served diligently for so many years." -By BarackObama.com -read full text of Barack Obama's speech "A More Perfect Union" via HavenWorks.com

- John McCain - Intelligence - Military - Terrorism - Politics - 2008 Election - US - Iraq - Iran - Jordan - Arizona
"A McCain Gaffe in Jordan." ... "[2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidate and Arizona] Sen. John McCain, traveling in the Middle East to promote his foreign policy expertise, misidentified in remarks Tuesday which broad category of Iraqi extremists are allegedly receiving support from Iran." ... "He said several times that Iran, a predominately Shiite country, was supplying the mostly Sunni militant group, al-Qaeda. In fact, officials have said they believe Iran is helping Shiite extremists in Iraq." ... "Speaking to reporters in Amman, the Jordanian capital, McCain said he and two Senate colleagues traveling with him continue to be concerned about Iranian operatives "taking al-Qaeda into Iran, training them and sending them back."" ... "Pressed to elaborate, McCain said it was "common knowledge and has been reported in the media that al-Qaeda is going back into Iran and receiving training and are coming back into Iraq from Iran, that's well known. And it's unfortunate." ... "The mistake threatened to undermine McCain's argument that his decades of foreign policy experience make him the natural choice to lead a country at war with terrorists." -By Cameron W. Barr and Michael D. Shear -WashingtonPost

- John McCain - John Hagee - Rod Parsley - Rudy Giuliani - Pat Robertson - Terrorism - Politics - Military - Religion - Race - Obama - 2008 Election - Hurricane Katrina - New Orleans - Louisiana - Oklahoma - US - Israel
"The difference between Jeremiah Wright and radical, white evangelical ministers." ... "Ross Douthat and Ezra Klein are arguing about whether Jeremiah Wright's statements are comparable to those of Jerry Falwell, Pat Robertson and John Hagee's." ... "The statement of Wright's which seems to be causing the most upset -- and it's one of two singled out by Douthat -- is his suggestion that there is a causal link between (a) America's constant bombings of and other interference with Middle Eastern countries and (b) the willingness of some Middle Eastern fanatics to attack the U.S. [United States] Ever since the 9/11 attacks, we've been told that positing any such causal connection is a sign of vicious anti-Americanism and that all decent people find such questions despicable. This week we learned that no respectable person would subject his children to a pastor who espouses such hateful ideas." ... "But the idea that America deserves terrorist attacks and other horrendous disasters has long been a frequently expressed view among the faction of white evangelical ministers to whom the Republican Party is most inextricably linked. Neither Jerry Falwell nor Pat Robertson ever retracted or denounced their view that America provoked the 9/11 attacks by doing things to anger God. John Hagee continues to believe that the City of New Orleans [Louisiana] got what it deserved when Katrina drowned its residents and devastated the lives of thousands of Americans. And [Oklahoma Republican Senator] James Inhofe -- who happens to still be a Republican U.S. Senator -- blamed America for the 9/11 attacks by arguing in a 2002 Senate floor speech that "the spiritual door was opened for an attack against the United States of America" because we pressured Israel to give away parts of the West Bank." ... "John Hagee privately visits with the highest level Middle East officials in the [Republican President Bush] White House and afterwards pronounces that they're in agreement. [2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidate] John McCain shares a stage with Hagee and lavishes him with praise, as Rudy Giuliani did with Pat Robertson. James Inhofe remains a member in good standing in the GOP [GOP=Grand Old Party=Republican] Senate Caucus. The Republican Party has tied itself at the hip to a whole slew of "anti-American extremists" -- people who believe that the U.S. provoked the 9/11 attacks because God wants to punish us for the evil, wicked nation we've become -- and yet there is virtual silence about these associations." ... "Nor have the views of televangelist Rod Parsley, one of McCain's self-proclaimed "spiritual advisers," received a fraction of the attention generated by Wright. As both David Corn and Alan Colmes, among others, have documented, Parsley espouses views at least as extreme and radical as Wright, including his proclamation that "America was founded, in part, with the intention of seeing this false religion [Islam] destroyed." Unlike Wright and Obama -- for whom the former's controversial views are found nowhere near the latter's public or private conduct -- both George Bush and John McCain's Middle Eastern militarism are perfectly consonant with the most maniacal and crazed views of Christian Rapture enthusiasts such as Hagee, Parsley, Inhofe, and Robertson. Yet the controversy created over their close ties is virtually non-existent." ... "The Republican Party long ago adopted as a central strategy aligning itself with, and granting great influence to, the most radical, "America-hating" white evangelical Christian ministers in the country." -By Glenn Greenwald -Salon

- Barack Obama - Hillary Clinton -John McCain - Financial - History - American - Working - Folks - Homes - Overseas - Ariz - Pennsylvania - Ill - 2008 Election
"Presidential Candidates Address Economic Woes: [2008 Election Democratic Presidential Candidates and Senators] Sens. [Barack] Obama, [Hillary] Clinton Blast [Republican President] Bush for Not Doing Enough to Avert Economic Meltdown." ... "Both Democratic candidates veered off their scheduled speeches Monday to address the jittery U.S. economy and slammed [Republican] President Bush for not doing enough to stop the [home] mortgage lending crisis from spilling over into the wider economy." ... "Clinton's communications director contrasted her economic platform with that of presumed Republican candidate [Arizona Republican Senator] Sen. John McCain', R-Ariz [Republican-Arizona]." ... ""In the fall there will be a major debate over what we do to get this economy back on track, and John McCain is welcome to defend seven years of the Bush economic policies, but we believe that we need to go in a different direction and will do so," Clinton communications director Howard Wolfson said Monday, referring to McCain's support of making Bush's tax cuts permanent." ... "Campaigning in Pennsylvania Monday ahead of the April 22 primary, [Illinois Democratic Senator] Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill. [Democratic-Illinois], said that the economy wasn't working for average Americans, even before the recent crisis in the financial industry." ... ""Wages, incomes, they haven't gone up over the last seven years. Corporate profits were great, Wall Street was doing fine, but ordinary folks were struggling. And so if you're really ready for change, we can't just tinker around the edges. We've got to bring around a fundamental change to our economy," Obama said." ... ""We are going to stop giving tax breaks to companies that ship jobs overseas and start giving tax breaks to companies that invest right here in Pennsylvania and all across America. We're gonna roll back tax cuts to the wealthiest Americans who don't need 'em, and we're [weren't] even asking for them, and give those tax breaks to hardworking ordinary Americans who deserve them right now," Obama said." (1, 2, 3) -By Jennifer Parker with contributions by Kate Snow, Peyton Craighill, Sunlen Miller, Eloise Harper, Bret Hovell and David Chalian -ABCNEWS.com

- Hillary Clinton - John McCain - Barack Obama - US - Iraq - Military - New York - 2008 Election
"Clinton Says Iraq Surge Hasn't Accomplished Goals." ... "[2008 Election Democratic Presidential Candidate and New York Senator] Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton said that the increase in U.S. troops in Iraq over the last year has "not accomplished its goals" in a speech this morning touting her plans to end the war in Iraq and criticizing the war positions of [Republican] President Bush, [2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidate] John McCain and [2008 Election Democratic Presidential Candidate] Barack Obama." ... ""By the middle of this summer, when the additional surge forces have been sent home, we'll be right back at square one: 130,000 or more troops on the ground in Iraq," Clinton said in the speech, given at George Washington University on the fifth anniversary of the U.S. invasion of Iraq." ... "Zeroing in on her potential opponent in general election, McCain, Clinton described the "Bush-McCain Iraq philosophy" as "stay the course keeping troops in Iraq for up to 100 years if necessary." ... ""Withdrawal is not defeat, defeat is keeping troops in Iraq for 100 years," Clinton said. " -By Perry Bacon Jr. -WashingtonPost

- Hillary Clinton - John McCain - Money - Politics - Drugs - History - 2008 Election
"Only Good for the Goose?" ... "Given the vast sums or money [former Democratic President] Bill Clinton has raised and made since 2001 and the fact that the couple loaned $5 million to [2008 Election Democratic Presidential Candidate] Hillary's campaign, I don't think there's any question that Hillary [Clinton, 2008 Election Democratic Presidential Candidate,] should release the couple's tax returns. But how is it exactly that this very reasonable point has become a staple of the political conversation while no one has even raised the point that [2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidate] John McCain hasn't released his either?" ... "Remember, McCain's the one running as John Q. Ethics. And not to put too fine a point on it but his substantial wealth comes from his heiress wife who only a few years ago was revealed to have been skimming pills from her own charity to feed her drug addiction. " -By Josh Marshall -TalkingPointsMemo.com

- Government -History
"Fed Acts to Rescue Financial Markets." ... "Hoping to avoid a systemic meltdown in financial markets, the Federal Reserve on Sunday approved a $30 billion credit line to engineer the takeover of Bear Stearns and announced an open-ended lending program for the biggest investment firms on Wall Street." ... "In a third move aimed at helping banks and thrifts, the Fed also lowered the rate for borrowing from its so-called discount window by a quarter of a percentage point, to 3.25 percent." ... "The moves amounted to a sweeping and apparently unprecedented attempt by the Federal Reserve to rescue the nation's financial markets from what officials feared could be a chain reaction of defaults." ... "Last Tuesday, the central bank announced a $200 billion loan program that would allow the nation's biggest banks to borrow Treasury securities and post mortgage-backed securities as collateral. The financing gave 20 top investment banks 28-day loans at what amounted to wholesale rates — at or slightly below the Fed's benchmark rate on overnight loans between banks." -By Edmund L. Andrews -NYTimes

- World - US dollar - Japan yen - Swiss franc - EU Euro - Oil - History
"Stocks Tumble Around World, Dollar Declines After Fed Cuts Rate." ... "Stocks fell around the world and the dollar tumbled after the Federal Reserve cut its discount interest rate at an emergency meeting and JPMorgan Chase & Co. agreed to buy Bear Stearns Cos. for $2 a share. Bonds, gold and crude oil climbed." ... "Global stock markets lost $2.4 trillion in market value from a peak in October as of March 14. That partly reflects the slump in the U.S. dollar." ... "The dollar weakened to as low as 95.76 yen, a level not seen since August 1995, from 99.09 on March 14. It dropped to a record low of $1.5903 per euro and an all-time low of 0.9658 Swiss francs." ... "Gold for immediate delivery climbed as much as 3 percent to a record $1,032 an ounce as investors sought a haven against the weakening dollar. Crude oil gained as much as 1.4 percent to a high of $111.80 a barrel." ... "Bear Stearns plunged 90 percent to $2.88 after JPMorgan agreed to buy the bank." ... "Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc., the fourth-largest U.S. securities firm, lost 27 percent to $28.60." -By Patrick Rial -Bloomberg

- John McCain - US - Iraq - Military - Politics -History - AZ - CT - SC
"One Year Later, Market Where McCain Strolled ‘Freely’ Is Controlled By Sadr, Too Unsafe For Americans To Visit." ... "On April 1, 2007, [2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidate and Arizona Senator] Sen. John McCain (R-AZ [Republican-Arizona]) strolled through the open-air Shorja market in Baghdad [Iraq's capital] in an effort to prove that Americans are “not getting the full picture” of what’s going on in Iraq. In a press conference after his Baghdad tour, McCain told a reporter that his visit to the market was proof that people could “walk freely” in parts of Baghdad." ... "What McCain failed to mention was that he was accompanied by “100 American soldiers, with three Blackhawk helicopters, and two Apache gunships overhead.” He also appeared to be wearing a bulletproof vest during his visit." ... "Since that trip, McCain has claimed that the situation in Iraq has improved even more. A few months ago, McCain claimed that “we’ve succeeded militarily” in Iraq. Things, of course, are going so well, that he wants to keep U.S. troops there for at least 100 years." ... "McCain is now back in Iraq for a “surprise visit with Iraqi and American diplomatic and military leaders.” He is joined by fellow Iraq war defenders Sens. Joe Lieberman (I-CT [Independent Democrat-Connecticut]) and Lindsey Graham (R-SC [Republican-South Carolina]). But it’s unlikely they will be visiting the Shorja market again. Today, CNN reported that they tried to visit the Shorja market, but it was too unsafe and they were unable to go:"

WATCH - [CNN:] "We got close to that marketplace today, Jim, but our own security advisers here in Iraq did not want us to go there. They didn’t believe it was safe for an American to be in that area. We were in a thriving marketplace nearby." ... "But when you show up, the local Iraqis, while it is clear security is better on the street — it is clear there are more markets open, just the traffic jams alone tell you that things are better on the streets of Baghdad — it’s also a very sensitive potential neighborhoods." ... "That one marketplace, as a matter of fact, you do see Iraqi police, you do see the Iraqi army, but in truth, that area is controlled by the radical cleric Moqtada al Sadr’s Mahdi army." -CNN via

- Secret - Prisoner - Military - Terrorism - Torture - Legislation - Politics - US - Guantánamo Bay - Cuba - "C.I.A. Secretly Held Qaeda Suspect, Officials Say." ... "The Central Intelligence Agency secretly detained a suspected member of Al Qaeda for at least six months beginning last summer as part of a program in which C.I.A. officers have been authorized by [Republican] President Bush to use harsh interrogation techniques, American officials said Friday." ... "The suspect, Muhammad Rahim, is the first Qaeda prisoner in nearly a year who intelligence officials have acknowledged has been in C.I.A. [Central Intelligence Agency] detention. The C.I.A. emptied its secret prisons in the fall of 2006, when it moved 14 prisoners to Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, but made clear that the facilities could be used in the future to house high-level terrorism suspects." ... "Mr. Bush has defended the use of the secret prisons as a vital tool in American counterterrorism efforts, and last July he signed an executive order that formally reiterated the C.I.A.’s authority to use interrogation techniques more coercive than those permitted by the Pentagon." ... "Mr. Bush used his veto power last weekend to block legislation that would have prohibited the agency from using the techniques, and this week the House of Representatives failed to override the veto." ... "Military and intelligence officials said that Mr. Rahim was transferred earlier this week to the military prison at Guantánamo Bay." -By Mark Mazzetti with contributions by Scott Shane -NYTimes

- Dick Cheney - Illegal - Spying - Criminal Investigations - Military - Government - Intelligence - Politics -History - Data - Secret - Torture - Executions
"President weakens espionage oversight." ... "Almost 32 years to the day after [Republican] President Ford created an independent Intelligence Oversight Board made up of private citizens with top-level clearances to ferret out illegal spying activities, [Republican] President Bush issued an executive order that stripped the board of much of its authority." ... "Ford created the board following a 1975-76 investigation by Congress into domestic spying, assassination operations, and other abuses by intelligence agencies. The probe prompted fierce battles between Congress and the Ford administration, whose top officials included Dick Cheney, Donald Rumsfeld, and the current president's father, George H. W. Bush." ... "To blunt proposals for new laws imposing greater congressional oversight of intelligence matters, Ford enacted his own reforms with an executive order that went into effect on March 1, 1976. Among them, he created the Intelligence Oversight Board to serve as a watchdog over spying agencies." ... "The board's investigations and reports have been mostly kept secret. But the [Democratic President] Clinton administration provided a rare window into the panel's capabilities in 1996 by publishing a board report faulting the CIA for not adequately informing Congress about putting known torturers and killers in Guatemala on its payroll." ... "But Bush downsized the board's mandate to be an aggressive watchdog against such problems in an executive order issued on Feb. 29 [2008], the eve of the anniversary of the day Ford's order took effect." ... "Under the old rules, whenever the oversight board learned of intelligence activity that it believed might be "unlawful or contrary to executive order," it had a duty to notify both the president and the attorney general. But Bush's order deleted the board's authority to refer matters to the Justice Department for a criminal investigation, and the new order said the board should notify the president only if other officials are not already "adequately" addressing the problem." ... "Bush's order also terminated the board's authority to oversee each intelligence agency's general counsel and inspector general, and it erased a requirement that each inspector general file a report with the board every three months. Now only the agency directors will decide whether to report any potential lawbreaking to the panel, and they have no schedule for checking in." ... "Some analysts said the order is just the latest example of actions the administration has taken since the 2001 terrorist attacks that have scaled back intelligence reforms enacted in the 1970s." ... "In his 1976 executive order, for example, Ford also banned foreign intelligence agencies, such as the National Security Agency, from collecting information about Americans. The Bush administration bypassed that rule by having domestic agencies collect information about Americans and then hand the data to the NSA, The Wall Street Journal reported this week." -By Charlie Savage -Boston/Globe

- Political - Government - Environmental - Air - Science - Health - People - Farm - Land - Animals - Clean Air Act - Law - Industry - Motor Vehicles
"Ozone Rules Weakened at Bush's Behest: EPA Scrambles To Justify Action." ... "The Environmental Protection Agency weakened one part of its new limits on smog-forming ozone after an unusual last-minute intervention by [Republican] President Bush, according to documents released by the EPA." ... "EPA officials initially tried to set a lower seasonal limit on ozone to protect wildlife, parks and farmland, as required under the law. While their proposal was less restrictive than what the EPA's scientific advisers had proposed, Bush overruled EPA officials and on Tuesday ordered the agency to increase the limit [of allowable air pollution], according to the documents." ... ""It is unprecedented and an unlawful act of political interference for the president personally to override a decision that the Clean Air Act leaves exclusively to EPA's expert scientific judgment," said John Walke, clean-air director for the Natural Resources Defense Council." ... "The president's order prompted a scramble by administration officials to rewrite the regulations to avoid a conflict with past EPA statements on the harm caused by ozone." ... "Solicitor General Paul D. Clement warned administration officials late Tuesday night that the rules contradicted the EPA's past submissions to the Supreme Court, according to sources familiar with the conversation. As a consequence, administration lawyers hustled to craft new legal justifications for the weakened standard." ... "Ozone, which is formed when pollutants such as nitrogen oxides and other chemical compounds released by industry and motor vehicles are exposed to sunlight, is linked to an array of heart and respiratory illnesses." (1, 2) -By Juliet Eilperin -WashingtonPost

- John McCain - France - Israel - Britain - US - Arizona - 2008 Election - Politics
"McCain Invites Fundraisers to London." ... "[2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidate and Arizona Senator] Sen. John McCain and his staff have been adamant for days that his upcoming overseas trip to Britain, France and Israel is not political." ... "Apparently, though, there will still be room for fundraising." ... "McCain's campaign has sent out an invitation for a March 20 luncheon at Spencer House -- the neo-classical home built for an ancestor of Diana, the late Princess of Wales -- "by kind permission of Lord Rothschild OM GBE and the [Honorable] Hon. Nathaniel Rothschild."" ... "The price to attend is $1000 to $2,300. And the dress code for the event? "Lounge suits" -- British for business attire." -By Matthew Mosk -WashingtonPost

- Barack Obama - Religious - Justice -Homeless - Poor - Health - Illinois - Politics - 2008 Election
"On My Faith and My Church." [By Barack Obama, 2008 Election Democratic Presidential Candidate:] ... "The pastor of my church, [Reverend] Rev. Jeremiah Wright, who recently preached his last sermon and is in the process of retiring, has touched off a firestorm over the last few days. He's drawn attention as the result of some inflammatory and appalling remarks he made about our country, our politics, and my political opponents." ... "Let me say at the outset that I vehemently disagree and strongly condemn the statements that have been the subject of this controversy. I categorically denounce any statement that disparages our great country or serves to divide us from our allies. I also believe that words that degrade individuals have no place in our public dialogue, whether it's on the campaign stump or in the pulpit. In sum, I reject outright the statements by Rev. Wright that are at issue." ... "Because these particular statements by Rev. Wright are so contrary to my own life and beliefs, a number of people have legitimately raised questions about the nature of my relationship with Rev. Wright and my membership in the church. Let me therefore provide some context." ... "As I have written about in my books, I first joined Trinity United Church of Christ nearly twenty years ago. I knew Rev. Wright as someone who served this nation with honor as a United States Marine, as a respected biblical scholar, and as someone who taught or lectured at seminaries across the country, from Union Theological Seminary to the University of Chicago [Chicago, Illinois]. He also led a diverse congregation that was and still is a pillar of the South Side and the entire city of Chicago. It's a congregation that does not merely preach social justice but acts it out each day, through ministries ranging from housing the homeless to reaching out to those with HIV/AIDS." ... "Most importantly, Rev. Wright preached the gospel of Jesus, a gospel on which I base my life. In other words, he has never been my political advisor; he's been my pastor. And the sermons I heard him preach always related to our obligation to love God and one another, to work on behalf of the poor, and to seek justice at every turn." ... "The statements that Rev. Wright made that are the cause of this controversy were not statements I personally heard him preach while I sat in the pews of Trinity or heard him utter in private conversation. When these statements first came to my attention, it was at the beginning of my presidential campaign. I made it clear at the time that I strongly condemned his comments. But because Rev. Wright was on the verge of retirement, and because of my strong links to the Trinity faith community, where I married my wife and where my daughters were baptized, I did not think it appropriate to leave the church." ... "Let me repeat what I've said earlier. All of the statements that have been the subject of controversy are ones that I vehemently condemn. They in no way reflect my attitudes and directly contradict my profound love for this country." -By Barack Obama -HuffingtonPost.com

- Barack Obama - John McCain - John Hagee - Gay - 2008 Election - Religious - Politics
"Hagee, Wright, Parsley, Fallwell, Obama and McCain." ... "And, in truth, some associations are more meaningful than others. [2008 Election Democratic Presidential Candidate] Barack Obama's close friendship with, his intellectual debt to, and the spiritual advice he's gotten from [Reverend] Rev. Jeremiah Wright almost pre-books that 60 Minutes interview you know he'll do in the fall explaining it." ... "But [2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidate] John McCain needs be careful." ... "As J-Mart notes this morning, McCain's campaign included Ron Kessler's WSJ op-ed in its clips, which implies that they believe reporters should make a note of it." ... "Well, now McCain is part of that discussion. And it's a dangerous place for him to be, what with [Reverend] Rev. John Hagee's anti-gay remarks (curiously unremarked upon by anyone in the McCain campaign -- is the McCain campaign afraid to repudiate anti-gay remarks?), his anti-Catholic remarks (once condemned by McCain, but now McCain wants to give Hagee the benefit of the doubt)?, his millennialism (which means, as some honest McCain adviser must have explained to the candidate by now, the death of millions of innocent Muslims)... also: Jerry Falwell, and his casual association of 9/11 with the sins of homosexuality, and Rod Parsley, a man who McCain has called a "spiritual guide," a man who has also called Islam a "false religion" and has advocated war against it and various other bad things." ... "Why are these folks entitled to these opinions and Wright isn't entitled to his?" -Marc Ambinder -TheAtlantic.com

- Barack Obama - Religion - 2008 Election - PA
"Obama addresses Pa.'s importance, pastor's remarks." ... "Q [David Brown]: I don't know if you've seen it, but it's all over the wire today (from an ABC News story), a statement that your pastor (the Rev. Jeremiah Wright of Trinity United Church of Christ on Chicago's South Side) made in a sermon in 2003 that instead of singing "God Bless America," black people should sing a song essentially saying "God Damn America."" ... "A [2008 Election Democratic Presidential Candidate Barack Obama]: I haven't seen the line. This is a pastor who is on the brink of retirement who in the past has made some controversial statements. I profoundly disagree with some of these statements." ... "Q [David Brown]: What about this particular statement?" ... "A [Obama]: Obviously, I disagree with that. Here is what happens when you just cherry-pick statements from a guy who had a 40-year career as a pastor. There are times when people say things that are just wrong. But I think it's important to judge me on what I've said in the past and what I believe." -By David Brown -PittsburghLive.com

- Hillary Clinton - Children - Healthcare - Legislation - History - 2008 Election - Mothers - Iowa - Massachusetts - Utah
"Clinton role in health program disputed." ... "[2008 Election Democratic Presidential Candidate] Hillary Clinton, who has frequently described herself on the campaign trail as playing a pivotal role in forging a children's health insurance plan, had little to do with crafting the landmark legislation or ushering it through Congress, according to several lawmakers, staffers, and healthcare advocates involved in the issue." ... "In campaign speeches, Clinton describes the State Children's Health Insurance Program, or SCHIP, as an initiative "I helped to start." Addressing Iowa voters in November, Clinton said, "in 1997, I joined forces with members of Congress and we passed the State Children's Health Insurance Program." Clinton regularly cites the number of children in each state who are covered by the program, and mothers of sick children have appeared at Clinton campaign rallies to thank her." ... "But the Clinton White House, while supportive of the idea of expanding children's health, fought the first SCHIP effort, spearheaded by Senators Edward M. Kennedy, Democrat of Massachusetts, and Orrin G. Hatch, Republican of Utah, because of fears that it would derail a bigger budget bill. And several current and former lawmakers and staff said Hillary Clinton had no role in helping to write the congressional legislation, which grew out of a similar program approved in Massachusetts in 1996." ... ""The White House wasn't for it. We really roughed them up" in trying to get it approved over the Clinton administration's objections, Hatch said in an interview. "She may have done some advocacy [privately] over at the White House, but I'm not aware of it."" ... ""I do like her," Hatch said of Hillary Clinton. "We all care about children. But does she deserve credit for SCHIP? No - Teddy does, but she doesn't."" -By Susan Milligan -BostonGlobe

- Hillary Clinton - Barack Obama - Race - 2008 Election - New York - Illinois - South Carolina
"Clinton apologizes to black voters." ... "[2008 Election Democratic Presidential Candidate and New York Senator] Sen. Hillary Clinton apologized to a gathering of black newspaper publishers Wednesday for a top fundraiser's controversial comments that [2008 Election Democratic Presidential Candidate and Illinois Senator] Sen. Barack Obama's race has helped his candidacy." ... "The New York senator found herself in the hot seat after the remarks by Geraldine Ferraro -- a former New York congresswoman, Democratic vice presidential candidate and Clinton supporter." ... ""I rejected what she said and I certainly do repudiate it," Clinton said at the National Newspaper Publishers Association meeting in Washington." ... "Clinton was asked about remarks her husband, former [Democratic] President Bill Clinton, made while on the trail for his wife in South Carolina last month in which he seemed to imply that Obama's success in South Carolina would largely be based on his race." ... ""I'm sorry if anyone was offended. It certainly was not meant in anyway to be offensive," she said." -CNN

- Noteworthy - Consumer - Finances - Law - Politics
"'Muscle' Silences Credit Card Adversaries." ... "Christy Mylar Smith and her husband paid their Citibank card bill on time for years -- but when they paid late twice in one year, their interest rate increased from 12.9 percent to 31.4 percent overnight." ... "Steven Strachan has a FICO score in the high 700s, has always paid on time, has never gone over the limit, yet Chase increased his rate from 10.99 percent to 24.99 percent." ... "Steve Autry accepted a fixed rate for life of 9.9 percent from Capital One. Now Capital One tells him that the cost of business and rising interest rates will cause his rates to increase, even though he has been a customer in good standing for many years." ... "Marvin Weatherspoon took advantage of a low introductory rate from Bank of America, but because he was a few days late in paying one month, his interest rate has been increased from 4.25 percent to almost 25 percent. Only $108 of his $347 monthly payment goes to the principal. He has tried to work with the bank, but felt "he had no voice."" ... "At the 11th hour, the credit companies found a way to stop those that had traveled to Washington today to tell their story to the congressional panel on consumer credit." ... "The banks whose practices were about to be discussed on Capitol Hill demanded that those testifying before Congress about credit card practices sign a waiver that allowed their personal financial information be revealed to the public." ... "The Republicans on the subcommittee backed the banks' requests and a procedural battle would have ensued." (1, 2) -By Vija Udenans -ABCNEWS.com

- Stephen L Johnson - Corporate - Government - Politics - Environmental - Air - Health - Science - Clean Air Act - Law - History - Vehicles - Manufacturing - Power Plants - Children
"EPA Tightens Pollution Standards: But Agency Ignored Advisers' Guidance." ... "The Environmental Protection Agency yesterday limited the allowable amount of pollution-forming ozone in the air to 75 parts per billion, a level significantly higher [meaning more polluting] than what the agency's scientific advisers had urged for this key component of unhealthy air pollution." ... "[Republican President Bush's Environmental Protection Agency] Administrator Stephen L. Johnson also said he would push Congress to rewrite the nearly 37-year-old Clean Air Act to allow regulators to take into consideration the cost and feasibility of controlling pollution when making decisions about air quality, something that is currently prohibited by the law. In 2001, the Supreme Court ruled that the government needed to base the ozone standard strictly on protecting public health, with no regard to cost." ... "The new pollution rules -- one of the most important environmental decisions facing the Bush administration in the president's final year in office -- will be a major factor in determining the quality of the air Americans will breathe for at least a decade. The standards, which are aimed at protecting both public health and welfare, are designed to limit the amount of nitrogen oxides and other chemical compounds released into the air by vehicles, manufacturing facilities and power plants. In sunlight, the pollutants form ozone." ... "Johnson said he did "what was required by the law and the recent scientific evidence," but his decision to set a lower but still less-restrictive limit than what the EPA's advisory committees had recommended sparked a backlash from Democratic lawmakers, public health advocates and his own independent advisers." ... "Nearly a year ago, EPA's Clean Air Scientific Advisory Committee reiterated in writing that its members were "unanimous in recommending" that the agency set the standard no higher than 70 parts per billion (ppb) and to consider a limit as low as 60 ppb. EPA's Children's Health Protection Advisory Committee and public health advocates lobbied for the 60-ppb limit because children are more vulnerable to air pollution." ... "EPA and other scientists have shown that ozone has a direct impact on rates of heart and respiratory disease and resulting premature deaths. The agency calculates that the new standard of 75 ppb would prevent 1,300 to 3,500 premature deaths a year, whereas 65 ppb would avoid 3,000 to 9,200 deaths annually. " -By Juliet Eilperin -WashingtonPost

- Barack Obama -John McCain - Politics - Illinois - Arizona - 2008 Election
"Obama: McCain changed views on tax cuts." ... "Democratic [2008 Election Presidential Candidate and Illinois] Sen. Barack Obama said Thursday that [2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidate and Arizona Senator] Sen. John McCain reversed his position on [Republican] President Bush's deep tax cuts in order to win the Republican presidential nomination, one of his sharpest criticisms yet of the Arizona senator he hopes to face this fall." ... "Criticizing GOP efforts to extend major tax cuts from Bush's first term and to eliminate the estate tax, Obama said: "These are all steps that John McCain rightly said were irresponsible when they first came up."" ... ""He made a decision to reverse himself on that," Obama told reporters as he flew from Chicago [Illinois] to Washington for a series of Senate votes on budget issues." ... ""That was how, I guess, you got your ticket punched to be the Republican nominee," he said of McCain. "But he was right then, and he's wrong now."" -By Charles Babington -AP via -Yahoo

- Federal - Food - Safety - History - Agriculture - Animal - Corporation - Politics - California
"House grills meat packing chief: 'Downer' cow beef may have been consumed." ... "The president of the company that was the subject of the largest meat recall in U.S. history admitted Wednesday that "downer" cattle -- cows that cannot stand because of sickness or injury -- were slaughtered by his company and could have made it into the food supply." ... "Steve Mendell of California-based Westland/Hallmark Meat Packing Co. made the concession to the House Oversight and Investigations subcommittee after he was shown a video provided by the Humane Society of the United States that featured a downer cow being slaughtered in a kill box." ... "Under pressure from federal agriculture officials, the company recalled 143 million pounds of ground beef last month and laid off 220 workers." ... "Ailing cows are at greater risk of carrying E. coli, salmonella bacteria and the fatal neurological disorder known as mad cow disease." -By Whitney Blair Wyckoff -LAtimes  -ChicagoTribune

- John McCain - Rod Parsley - Terrorism - Language - Military - Religious - Politician - Arizona - Ohio - Arkansas - Huckabee - 2008 Election
"McCain's Spiritual Guide: Destroy Islam." ... "[2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidate and Arizona] Senator John McCain hailed as a spiritual adviser an Ohio megachurch pastor who has called upon Christians to wage a "war" against the "false religion" of Islam with the aim of destroying it." ... "On February 26, McCain appeared at a campaign rally in Cincinnati [Ohio] with the Reverend Rod Parsley of the World Harvest Church of Columbus [Ohio], a supersize Pentecostal institution that features a 5,200-seat sanctuary, a television studio (where Parsley tapes a weekly show), and a 122,000-square-foot Ministry Activity Center. That day, a week before the Ohio primary, Parsley praised the Republican presidential front-runner as a "strong, true, consistent conservative." The endorsement was important for McCain, who at the time was trying to put an end to the lingering challenge from [2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidate] former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee, a favorite among Christian evangelicals. A politically influential figure in Ohio, Parsley could also play a key role in McCain's effort to win this bellwether state in the general election. McCain, with Parsley by his side at the Cincinnati rally, called the evangelical minister a "spiritual guide."" ... "In a chapter titled "Islam: The Deception of Allah," Parsley warns there is a "war between Islam and Christian civilization." He continues:"

    "I cannot tell you how important it is that we understand the true nature of Islam, that we see it for what it really is. In fact, I will tell you this: I do not believe our country can truly fulfill its divine purpose until we understand our historical conflict with Islam. I know that this statement sounds extreme, but I do not shrink from its implications. The fact is that America was founded, in part, with the intention of seeing this false religion destroyed, and I believe September 11, 2001, was a generational call to arms that we can no longer ignore."

    "There are some, of course, who will say that the violence I cite is the exception and not the rule. I beg to differ. I will counter, respectfully, that what some call "extremists" are instead mainstream believers who are drawing from the well at the very heart of Islam."

- Barack Obama - Hillary Clinton - 2008 Election - Lawmakers - Illinois - New York - South Carolina - Mississippi - Georgia -Virginia - North Carolina - Tennessee - Alabama - North Dakota - South Dakota -Kentucky - West Virginia
"Eyeing Obama coattails." ... "Democratic lawmakers are becoming persuaded that [2008 Election Democratic Presidential Candidate and Illinois Senator] Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.[Democratic-Illinois]) would have a more positive impact on other Democrats on the November ballot than [2008 Election Democratic Presidential Candidate and New York Senator] Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.[Democratic-New York])." ... "Obama’s advantage over Clinton would be most pronounced in the Southern and Western states President Bush carried in 2000 and 2004, say lawmakers interviewed by The Hill. In total, 32 members of Congress from these “red states” have endorsed Obama. Twenty-two lawmakers from those states have backed Clinton." ... "Obama will “bring new people into the process in Southern states, there’s no question about it,” said Rep. James Clyburn, the House Democratic whip from South Carolina. “In these Southern states he’s bringing out more people, young people, African-Americans. They’re being energized by him.”" ... "Clyburn, who has stayed neutral in the primary, said Obama at the top of the ticket would “certainly” do more to help other Democratic candidates, citing South Carolina and Mississippi specifically." ... "Obama has picked up congressional endorsements from Georgia, Virginia, North Carolina, Tennessee, Alabama, North and South Dakota, Mississippi, Kentucky, and West Virginia. Clinton has not collected congressional endorsements from any of these states, according to a tally kept by The Hill." -By Alexander Bolton with contributions by Sam Youngman -TheHill.com

- US - Iraq - Terrorism - Military - Government - Intelligence - Politics
"Pentagon Report on Saddam's Iraq Censored?" ... "ABC News' Jonathan Karl Reports: The [Republican President] Bush Administration apparently does not want a U.S. military study that found no direct connection between Saddam Hussein and al Qaeda to get any attention.  This morning, the Pentagon cancelled plans to send out a press release announcing the report's release and will no longer make the report available online." ... "The report was to be posted on the Joint Forces Command website this afternoon, followed by a background briefing with the authors.  No more." ... "ABC News obtained the comprehensive military study of Saddam Hussein's links to terrorism on Tuesday." ... "The study, which was due to be released Wednesday, found no "smoking gun" or any evidence of a direct connection between Saddam's Iraq and the al Qaeda terrorist organization." ... "The report is based on the analysis of some 600,000 official Iraqi documents seized by US forces after the invasion.  It is also based on thousands of hours of interrogations of former top officials in Saddam's government who are now in U.S. custody." ... "Others have reached the same conclusion, but no previous study has had access to so much information.  Further, this is the first official acknowledgement from the U.S. military that there is no evidence Saddam had ties to Al Qaeda." -ABCNEWS.com

- Hillary Clinton - Barack Obama - Nevada - New York - Illinois- Wyoming - 2008 Election
"Reid defends Nevada caucus." ... "[Nevada Democratic Senator] Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) on Wednesday defended his state’s January caucus, saying it created a “tremendous sea change on how politics are looked at in Nevada.”" ... "His comments came as the campaign for [2008 Election Democratic Presidential Candidate and New York Senator] Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.[Democratic-New York]) has increasingly criticized the caucus system, which has favored [2008 Election Democratic Presidential Candidate and Illinois Senator] Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.[Democratic-Illinois]) in the two senators’ quest for their party’s presidential nomination. Clinton won the popular vote in the Nevada caucus, but she has fallen short on a number of other caucuses, including Saturday’s in Wyoming." ... "“In a period of an hour, we had 30,000 new Democrats in Nevada,” Reid said in defending the Nevada caucus on Wednesday. “We had tremendous new participation we’ve never had before.”" -By Manu Raju -TheHill.com

- John McCain - Corporate - Politics - European - Built - Planes - US - Military - Government - Space - Arizona - Los Angeles - California - Texas - 2008 Election
"McCain Advisers Lobbied for Europeans to Win Air Force Tanker Deal." ... "A co-chairman of [2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidate and Arizona] Senator John McCain’s presidential campaign and other top campaign advisers and supporters were lobbyists for the European Aeronautic Defense and Space Company, part of a group that beat out Boeing for a $35 billion contract to build aerial refueling tankers for the Air Force." ... "Boeing, which has filed an appeal with the Government Accountability Office, is expected to focus at least in part on Mr. McCain’s role in the deal, including letters that he sent urging the Defense Department, in evaluating the tanker bids, not to consider the potential effects of a separate United States-Airbus trade dispute." ... "That contract was won by the European Aeronautic Defense and Space Company, known as EADS, the corporate parent of Airbus, and Northrop Grumman, the military contractor based in Los Angeles [California]." ... "Mr. McCain’s campaign co-chairman, former Representative Thomas Loeffler, a Texas Republican, also runs a lobbying firm, the Loeffler Group, which earned $220,000 working for EADS in 2007. Mr. Loeffler was the McCain campaign national finance chairman when his firm was hired to lobby for EADS." ... "Two other Loeffler executives who were registered to lobby for EADS are now top campaign advisers for Mr. McCain: Susan Nelson, the finance director, and William L. Ball III, the former Navy secretary. Ms. Nelson and Mr. Ball left the lobbying firm to join the campaign." ... "Another major money raiser for Mr. McCain, Wayne Berman, who was named vice chairman of the campaign last year, also worked for EADS through another lobbying firm, Ogilvy Government Relations, where he is a partner. Ogilvy earned $240,000 from EADS in 2007." ... "Also supporting Mr. McCain and lobbying on behalf of EADS was Kirk Blalock, a national chairman of Young Professionals for McCain and a former aide to [Republican] President Bush. Mr. Blalock’s lobbying firm, Fierce, Isakowitz & Blalock, earned $320,000 from EADS in 2007, according to disclosure forms required by Congress. " -By David M. Herszenhorn with contributions by Michael Cooper and Steven R. Weisman -NYTimes

- John McCain - European - Planes - Manufacturing Plant - Jobs - US - Military - Lawmaker - Politics - Arizona - Washington - Kansas - 2008 Election
"McCain's Role in Plane Pact Spotlights Ties to Lobbyists." ... "To show that he's a crusader against wasteful spending and congressional corruption, [2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidate and Arizona Senator] Sen. John McCain repeatedly brags about his leading role in stopping a scandal-plagued air tanker contract between the Air Force and Boeing in 2004." ... "Four years later, a $35 billion contract has been awarded to Europe's Airbus consortium to build the latest generation of tanker planes. The decision has sparked anger from Boeing's congressional supporters and critics of outsourcing. It has also focused attention on McCain's reliance on lobbyists in his campaign for president because his finance chairman and several other top advisers lobbied for Airbus last year when it was in fierce competition with Boeing for the Air Force contract." ... "McCain has spoken out for years against the influence of special interests in Washington, but his campaign includes a number of prominent Washington lobbyists, including campaign manager Rick Davis, who founded a lobbying firm, and top political adviser, Charles R. Black Jr., chief executive of a well-known Washington firm. Neither of them lobbied for Airbus." ... "McCain finance chairman Thomas G. Loeffler and Susan E. Nelson, who left Loeffler's lobbying firm to be McCain's finance director, both began lobbying for Airbus's parent company in 2007, Senate records show. William L. Ball III, a former secretary of the Navy and frequent McCain surrogate on the trail, also lobbied for Airbus, as did John Green, who recently took a leave from Ogilvy Public Relations to serve as McCain's legislative liaison." ... "Democratic and Republican lawmakers in Washington state, where Boeing has long had a significant presence, have lambasted McCain for laying the groundwork for a decision that will cost their economy thousands of aerospace jobs. Lawmakers in Kansas, where Boeing has a plant, have also been critical." (1, 2) -By Michael D. Shear and Matthew Mosk with contributions by Jeffrey H. Birnbaum -WashingtonPost

- John McCain -European - Aircraft - US - Military - Politics - California - 2008 Election
"McCain under fire over aides' role in air tanker deal." ... "[2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidate] John McCain faced fresh scrutiny of his role in the award of a $35bn (£17bn) Pentagon contract to EADS [European Aeronautic Defense and Space Company] yesterday after it emerged that some of his top advisers lobbied for the European aerospace group to win the deal." ... "Mr McCain, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, has portrayed himself as a neutral watchdog in the long battle between EADS and Boeing to supply a new generation of refuelling tanker aircraft to the US air force. But the revelation that three of his aides lobbied for EADS threatened to deepen the perception that Mr McCain helped steer one of the biggest military procurement contracts in recent years into foreign hands." ... "EADS recruited the Loeffler Group, run by Tom Loeffler, the national finance co-chair of the McCain campaign, last year to help it lobby for the contract. Susan Nelson, a former Loeffler lobbyist who represented EADS, also later joined the McCain campaign as finance director. John Green, a lobbyist for Ogilvy Government Relations, worked for EADS before joining the McCain campaign on a volunteer basis recently." ... "Critics, including [California Democratic Representative and House Speaker] Nancy Pelosi, the Democratic House speaker, have accused Mr McCain of complicity in "outsourcing" the contract to Europe." -By Andrew Ward -FT.com

- Lawmakers - Politics - California
"House votes to create independent ethics office." ... "The House [of Representatives, currently controlled by the Democratic Party,] voted Tuesday to create an outside ethics office with the authority to investigate perceived ethical misconduct by its members." ... "The committee will police only the House, not the Senate." ... "The office will have the ability to initiate its own reviews of conduct by members of Congress. It will then forward the results to the House ethics committee, which will review the recommendations and, in most cases, issue a public statement on its ruling." ... "[California Democratic Representative and House Speaker Nancy] Pelosi said the new office will improve the transparency and timeliness of the ethics enforcement process." ... "Most Republicans voted against the plan." -CNN

- Barack Obama - Hillary Clinton - Racist - Politics - 2008 Election - Illinois - New York
"Ferraro defends controversial comments on Barack Obama." ... "Former [Democratic] vice presidential candidate Geraldine Ferraro today defended a remark she made to the Daily Breeze last week, in which she suggested that [2008 Election Democratic Presidential Candidate and Illinois Senator] Sen. Barack Obama would not be where he is if he were white." ... "In an interview with the Breeze, Ferraro said, "If Obama was a white man, he would not be in this position. And if he was a woman (of any color), he would not be in this position. He happens to be very lucky to be who he is. And the country is caught up in the concept."" ... "The comment was picked up by political blogs and cable news shows across the country. The Obama campaign held a conference call today to denounce the remark, and Obama surrogates urged [2008 Election Democratic Presidential Candidate and New York Senator] Sen. Hillary Clinton to repudiate it." ... "In a follow-up interview today, Ferraro said her company had been deluged with vicious e-mail messages accusing her of racism." ... "But far from backing off from her initial remark, Ferraro defended it and elaborated on it." ... ""Any time anybody does anything that in any way pulls this campaign down and says let's address reality and the problems we're facing in this world, you're accused of being racist, so you have to shut up," Ferraro said. "Racism works in two different directions. I really think they're attacking me because I'm white. How's that?"" ... "Obama campaign manager David Axelrod called Ferraro's comments part of an "insidious pattern" of remarks from Clinton supporters that have drawn attention to Obama's race." ... ""When you wink and nod at offensive statements, you're really sending a signal to your supporters that anything goes," Axelrod said, according to ABC News." -By Gene Maddaus with contributions by Jim Farber -DailyBreeze.com

-John McCain - Bob Riley - European - Plane - Maker - Politics - US - Military - Arizona - Alabama - 2008 Election
"McCain Received Defense Firm Cash After Backing Its Contract." ... "Critics on Tuesday questioned whether [2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidate and Arizona Senator] Sen. John McCain catered to special interests when he aggressively threw his support behind a $35 billion Pentagon contract for a European plane maker." ... "McCain, the presumptive GOP [GOP=Grand Old Party=Republican] presidential nominee, played a crucial role in blocking the deal to build air tankers from going to U.S.[United States]-based Boeing, instead paving the path for EADS [European Aeronautic Defense and Space Company] to score the loot. He framed his decision as an example of political integrity; Boeing has previously been exposed of contract abuse. But a review of campaign finance donations and lobbying records suggests that money and personal lobbying may have also been in play." ... "On January 15, 2007, McCain appeared at Alabama [Republican Governor] Gov. Bob Riley's gubernatorial swearing in ceremony and formally called for multiple bidders in the tanker deal. The push for an open process had only one true beneficiary, however, and that was the Northrop Grumman/EADS consortium, which was poised to be Boeing's sole competitor." ... "A day after McCain made his proclamation, the contributions began to flow. John Green, a lobbyist for EADS donated $2,100 to the senator's presidential campaign. Ten days after that, Michelle Lammers, the "Chief of Staff" for EADS North America, gave $250 to the McCain campaign. It was her first political contribution ever. Less than a month later, the long-time head of EADS' government affairs program, Samuel Adcock, made a $2,100 donation to McCain. And eleven days later, Ralph Crosby, the head of EADS North America, donated $2,300 himself." ... "All told, as documented earlier by CQ PoliticalMoneyline, McCain received more than $15,000 from EADS and its subsidiary, Airbus North America. Not only was this the highest amount received by any federal candidate, but prior to 2006, not a single employee from EADS had ever contributed to McCain. Two Airbus employees did donate nearly $4,000 for his 2000 run at the White House." -By Sam Stein -HuffingtonPost.com

- Corporate - Government - Wiretapping - Amnesty - Phone - Customers - Classified - Intelligence - Terrorism - Politics
"House Steers Its Own Path on Wiretaps." ... "In continued defiance of the [Republican President Bush] White House, House Democratic leaders are readying a proposal that would reject giving legal protection to the phone companies that helped in the National Security Agency’s program of wiretapping without warrants after the Sept. 11 attacks, Congressional officials said Monday." ... "Instead of blanket immunity, the tentative proposal would give the federal courts special authorization to hear classified evidence and decide whether the phone companies should be held liable." ... "President Bush has been insisting for months that Congress give retroactive immunity to the phone companies, calling it a vital matter of national security." ... "Democrats have accused Mr. Bush of fear-mongering." ... "The flash point in the debate has been the question of whether to protect AT&T and other major phone companies from some 40 lawsuits pending in federal courts, which charge that the companies’ participation in the eavesdropping program violated federal privacy laws and their responsibilities to their customers." ... "With some conservative Democrats in the House favoring immunity for the phone companies, Democratic leaders conceded that the proposal would face opposition even within their own party. And they said that even if it were approved by the House, it was certain to face strong opposition from the White House and probable defeat in the Senate." -By Eric Lichtblau -NYTimes

- John McCain - Torture - Politics - Military - Intelligence - Prisoners - Human Rights - Maryland - Arizona - US - International - 2008 Election
"Republicans uphold Bush veto of anti-torture bill." ... "[Republican] President George W. Bush's fellow Republicans in Congress on Tuesday upheld his veto of a bill to ban the CIA [Central Intelligence Agency] from subjecting enemy detainees to interrogation methods denounced by critics as torture." ... "Waterboarding has been condemned by many U.S. lawmakers, human rights groups and foreign countries as a form of torture." ... "House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, a Maryland Democrat, said Bush's veto had degraded the country's moral standing, undermined its international credibility and could expose U.S. military and intelligence personnel to the treatment." ... "[2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidate and Arizona Senator] Sen. John McCain, an Arizona Republican who was tortured while a prisoner in the Vietnam war and is now his party's presumptive presidential nominee, opposed the bill [that would have outlawed torture]." (1, 2) -By Thomas Ferraro with contributions by Jeremy Pelofsky and Alan Elsner -Reuters

- John McCain - Dick Cheney - US - Iraq - Military - Media - Politicians - History - Book - Arizona - 2008 Election
"The Iraq Follies: Eighteen things you've already forgotten about the media's flawed coverage of Iraq." ... "In putting together my [Greg Mitchell] new book, So Wrong for So Long, on Iraq and the media, I revisited the good, the bad, and the ugly in war coverage from the run-up to the invasion through the five years of controversy that followed. Even though I monitored the coverage closely all along, I was continually surprised to come across once-prominent names, quotes, and incidents that had faded to obscurity. Here is a list of 18 of those nearly forgotten episodes, in roughly chronological order." ... "1) The day before the invasion, Bill O'Reilly said, "If the Americans go in and overthrow Saddam Hussein and it's clean, he has nothing, I will apologize to the nation; I will not trust the Bush administration again, all right?"" ... "3) After the fall of Baghdad [Iraq's capital], MSNBC's Chris Matthews declared, "We're all neocons now."" ... "4) The same day, Joe Scarborough, also on MSNBC, said, "I'm waiting to hear the words 'I was wrong' from some of the world's most elite journalists, politicians, and Hollywood types."" ... "5) The New York Times' Thomas Friedman wrote, "As far as I am concerned, we do not need to find any weapons of mass destruction to justify this war.... Mr. Bush doesn't owe the world any explanation for missing chemical weapons."" ... "14) On March 27, 2007, [2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidate] John McCain, referring to the supposed calm settling on Baghdad, said, "General Petraeus goes out there almost every day in an unarmed Humvee." This turned out to be pure bunk, but McCain quickly visited Iraq to try to prove his overall point. There, the Arizona senator went from the ridiculous to the maligned, touring a Baghdad market and claiming all was safe—while troops surrounded him and helicopters twirled overhead." ... "18) Also in July 2007, an old clip of a C-SPAN interview with [Republican] Vice President Cheney from 1994 surfaced, in which he defended the decision not to depose Saddam Hussein during Gulf War I: "Once you got to Iraq and took it over…then what are you going to put in its place?…It's a quagmire if you go that far and try to take over Iraq." He explained, "And the question for the president…was how many additional dead Americans is Saddam worth? Our judgment was, not very many, and I think we got it right."" -By Greg Mitchell -MotherJones.com

- US - Iran- Iraq - Afghanistan - Politics - Nevada
"Fallon resigns as chief of U.S. forces in Middle East." ... "[Admiral] Adm. William Fallon has resigned as chief of U.S. [United States] forces in the Middle East and Central Asia after more than a year in the post, citing what he called an inaccurate perception that he is at odds with the [Republican President] Bush administration over Iran." ... "Fallon, the head of U.S. Central Command, was the subject of a recent Esquire magazine profile ["The Man Between War and Peace"] that portrayed him as resisting pressure for military action against Iran, which the Bush administration accuses of trying to develop nuclear weapons." ... "[President Bush said of Admiral Fallon:] "He deserves considerable credit for progress that has been made there, especially in Iraq and Afghanistan."" ... "[Defense Secretary Robert] Gates said he will be replaced by [Lieutenant General] Lt. Gen. Martin Dempsey, his deputy, who commanded an Army division in Iraq in the early days of the war and led efforts to train the Iraqi military." ... "On Tuesday, Gates said, "We have tried between us to put this misperception behind us over a period of months and, frankly, just have not been successful in doing so."" ... "But [Nevada Democratic Senator] Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said Fallon's resignation showed that independent views "are not welcomed in this administration."" ... ""It is also a sign that the administration is blind to the growing costs and consequences of the Iraq war, which has so damaged America's security interests in the Middle East and beyond," said Reid, D-Nevada." -CNN

- John McCain - US -European - Military - Plane - Manufacturing - Politics - 2008 Election - Arizona - Texas - Illinois
"McCain Advisers Lobbied for Airbus." ... "Top current advisers to [2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidate and Arizona Senator] Sen. John McCain's presidential campaign last year lobbied for a European plane maker that beat Boeing to a $35 billion Air Force tanker contract, taking sides in a bidding fight that McCain has tried to referee for more than five years." ... "Two of the advisers gave up their lobbying work when they joined McCain's campaign. A third, former Texas [Republican Representative] Rep. Tom Loeffler, lobbied for the European Aeronautic Defence and Space Co. while serving as McCain's national finance chairman." ... "EADS is the parent company of Airbus, which teamed up with U.S.-based Northrop Grumman Corp. to win the lucrative aerial refueling contract on Feb. 29. Boeing Co. Chairman and CEO Jim McNerney said in a statement Monday that the Chicago[Illinois]-based aerospace company "found serious flaws in the process that we believe warrant appeal."" ... "EADS retained Ogilvy Government Relations and The Loeffler Group to lobby for the tanker deal last year, months after McCain sent two letters urging the Defense Department to make sure the bidding proposals guaranteed competition." ... "According to lobbying records filed with the Senate, Loeffler Group lobbyists on the project included Loeffler; Susan Nelson, who left the firm and is now the campaign's finance director and former Secretary of the Navy William Ball III, who has campaigned for McCain. Ogilvy lobbyist John Green, who was assigned the EADS work, recently took a leave of absence to volunteer for McCain as the campaign's congressional liaison." ... "So far this election cycle, [EADS] company employees have donated $120,350 [in political contributions]. Of that, McCain's presidential campaign has received $14,000, the most of any other member of Congress this election cycle." -By Jim Kuhnhenn and Matthew Daly with contributions by Glen Johnson and Libby Quaid -AP via -SeattleTimes

- Joshua B Bolten - Harriet E Miers - Michael B Mukasey -US Attorneys - Politics - Investigation - Lawsuit - Federal - Texas - Mich - Calif
"House Panel Sues to Force Bush Aides to Table: Bolten and Miers Ignored Subpoenas In Prosecutor Probe." ... "The House Judiciary Committee filed a lawsuit yesterday to enforce subpoenas against [Republican] President Bush's chief of staff and his former counsel in a probe of suspected White House involvement in the 2006 firings of nine federal prosecutors." ... "The panel filed the federal court suit against Joshua B. Bolten, White House chief of staff since April 2006, and Harriet E. Miers, a close associate of Bush's from Texas who resigned as White House counsel in January 2007 after a little more than two years on the job." ... "The lawsuit charges that Bolten and Miers, who were cited by the House for contempt of Congress last month, defied committee subpoenas by refusing to testify or provide documents demanded by the panel." ... "But Attorney General Michael B. Mukasey said White House aides involved in the case cannot be prosecuted because they were following legal advice from the Justice Department. He refused to refer the contempt citation to a grand jury." ... "The refusal of Bolten and Miers to comply with the subpoenas "did not constitute a crime," Mukasey said in a Feb. 29 letter to [California Democratic Representative and] House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.)." ... "[Michigan Democratic Representative] Rep. John Conyers Jr. (D-Mich.), the Judiciary Committee chairman, described Mukasey's refusal as "contrary to federal law" and said the panel filed the civil lawsuit to enforce the subpoenas." ... "According to the lawsuit, the committee launched its investigation in part to "examine allegations of malfeasance, abuse of authority and violations of existing laws by Executive Branch personnel."" ... "It says the year-long investigation "has uncovered substantial evidence" that the Bush administration and Justice Department "injected partisan considerations into the forced resignations or retention of U.S. attorneys."" ... "It cites "credible evidence" that U.S. attorneys who "failed to return desired indictments or failed to bring voter fraud prosecutions that were considered politically useful to the administration were forced to resign," as were those who "prosecuted officeholders allied with the administration."" -By William Branigin -WashingtonPost

- Water - Drugs - Human - Health - Environmental - Science - Investigation - Industry - Consumer - Safety - Federal - Law - Earth - Wildlife - California - New Jersey - Michigan - Ky
"Sex Hormones, Mood Stabilizers Found In Drinking Water Of 41 M Americans." ... "A vast array of pharmaceuticals _ including antibiotics, anti-convulsants, mood stabilizers and sex hormones _ have been found in the drinking water supplies of at least 41 million Americans, an Associated Press investigation shows." ... "To be sure, the concentrations of these pharmaceuticals are tiny, measured in quantities of parts per billion or trillion, far below the levels of a medical dose. Also, utilities insist their water is safe." ... "But the presence of so many prescription drugs _ and over-the-counter medicines like acetaminophen and ibuprofen _ in so much of our drinking water is heightening worries among scientists of long-term consequences to human health." ... "In the course of a five-month inquiry, the AP discovered that drugs have been detected in the drinking water supplies of 24 major metropolitan areas _ from Southern California to Northern New Jersey, from Detroit [Michigan] to Louisville, Ky. [Kentucky.]" ... "How do the drugs get into the water?" ... "People take pills. Their bodies absorb some of the medication, but the rest of it passes through and is flushed down the toilet. The wastewater is treated before it is discharged into reservoirs, rivers or lakes. Then, some of the water is cleansed again at drinking water treatment plants and piped to consumers. But most treatments do not remove all drug residue." ... "And while researchers do not yet understand the exact risks from decades of persistent exposure to random combinations of low levels of pharmaceuticals, recent studies _ which have gone virtually unnoticed by the general public _ have found alarming effects on human cells and wildlife." ... "The federal government doesn't require any testing and hasn't set safety limits for drugs in water." ... "The AP's investigation also indicates that watersheds, the natural sources of most of the nation's water supply, also are contaminated." ... "Even users of bottled water and home filtration systems don't necessarily avoid exposure. Bottlers, some of which simply repackage tap water, do not typically treat or test for pharmaceuticals, according to the industry's main trade group. The same goes for the makers of home filtration systems." ... "Pharmaceuticals also permeate aquifers deep underground, source of 40 percent of the nation's water supply." -By Jeff Donn, Martha Mendoza, and Justin Pritchard -AssociatedPress via -HuffingtonPost.com

-Science - Military - Pills - History - San Diego - California - US - Iraq - Kuwait
"Gulf War Illness Strongly Linked to Chemical Exposure." ... "A new scientific review finds a strong association between exposure to certain chemicals and the Gulf War illness suffered by many veterans." ... "The class of chemicals, known as acetylcholinesterase inhibitors (AChEIs), are found in pesticides, nerve agents and in pills given to soldiers to protect against nerve agents. The review, which was conducted by researchers at the University of California, San Diego, looked at 115 papers on the topic." ... "Veterans of the 1990-1991 Persian Gulf War have a higher rate of "chronic multi-symptom health problems" than either non-deployed military personnel or those deployed in other regions. In fact, 26 percent to 32 percent of personnel deployed to the Persian Gulf during this period have chronic health problems, a range that may actually understate the magnitude of the problem, according to the study, published in this week's issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences." ... "Although the exact causes remain unknown, evidence is mounting to suggest that exposure to organophosphate and carbamate acetylcholinesterase inhibitors (AChEIs), including pyridostigmine bromide (PB), pesticides and nerve agents, may be responsible." ... "SOURCES: Joy Ray Miller, Pharm.D., assistant professor, pharmacy practice, Irma Lerma Rangel College of Pharmacy, Texas A&M Health Science Center, Kingsville; March 10-14, 2008, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences" -By Amanda Gardner -HealthDay.com via -WashingtonPost

- US - Iraq - Military - Osama bin Laden - Terrorism - Intelligence - Archives - History - Declassification- 
"Exhaustive review finds no link between Saddam and al Qaida." ... "An exhaustive review of more than 600,000 Iraqi documents that were captured after the 2003 U.S. invasion has found no evidence that Saddam Hussein's regime had any operational links with Osama bin Laden's al Qaida terrorist network." ... "The Pentagon-sponsored study, scheduled for release later this week, did confirm that Saddam's regime provided some support to other terrorist groups, particularly in the Middle East, U.S. officials told McClatchy. However, his security services were directed primarily against Iraqi exiles, Shiite Muslims, Kurds and others he considered enemies of his regime." ... "The new study of the Iraqi regime's archives found no documents indicating a "direct operational link" between Hussein's Iraq and al Qaida before the invasion, according to a U.S. official familiar with the report." ... "[Republican] President Bush and his aides used Saddam's alleged relationship with al Qaida, along with Iraq's supposed weapons of mass destruction, as arguments for invading Iraq after the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks." ... "Then-Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld claimed in September 2002 that the United States had "bulletproof" evidence of cooperation between the radical Islamist terror group and Saddam's secular dictatorship." ... "Then-Secretary of State Colin Powell cited multiple linkages between Saddam and al Qaida in a watershed February 2003 speech to the United Nations Security Council to build international support for the invasion. Almost every one of the examples Powell cited turned out to be based on bogus or misinterpreted intelligence." ... "As recently as last July, Bush tried to tie al Qaida to the ongoing violence in Iraq. "The same people that attacked us on September the 11th is a crowd that is now bombing people, killing innocent men, women and children, many of whom are Muslims," he said." ... "The new study, entitled "Saddam and Terrorism: Emerging Insights from Captured Iraqi Documents", was essentially completed last year and has been undergoing what one U.S. intelligence official described as a "painful" declassification review." -By Warren P. Strobel -McClatchyDC.com

- Secretive - Government - Domestic Spying - American - Peoples - Communications - Travel - Finances - Electronic - EMails - Internet - Searches - Databases - Civil-Liberties - Law - Terrorism - Politics - Investigation - International - Military - Intelligence - TIA
"NSA's Domestic Spying Grows As Agency Sweeps Up Data." ... "Five years ago, Congress killed an experimental Pentagon antiterrorism program meant to vacuum up electronic data about people in the U.S. to search for suspicious patterns [the TIA program: the Total Information Awareness program]. Opponents called it too broad an intrusion on Americans' privacy, even after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks." ... "But the data-sifting effort didn't disappear. The National Security Agency, once confined to foreign surveillance, has been building essentially the same system." ... "The central role the NSA has come to occupy in domestic intelligence gathering has never been publicly disclosed. But an inquiry reveals that its efforts have evolved to reach more broadly into data about people's communications, travel and finances in the U.S. than the domestic surveillance programs brought to light since the 2001 terrorist attacks." ... "Congress now is hotly debating domestic spying powers under the main law governing U.S. surveillance aimed at foreign threats. An expansion of those powers expired last month and awaits renewal, which could be voted on in the House of Representatives this week. The biggest point of contention over the law, the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, is whether telecommunications and other companies should be made immune from liability for assisting government surveillance." ... "Largely missing from the public discussion is the role of the highly secretive NSA in analyzing that data, collected through little-known arrangements that can blur the lines between domestic and foreign intelligence gathering." ... "According to current and former intelligence officials, the spy agency now monitors huge volumes of records of domestic emails and Internet searches as well as bank transfers, credit-card transactions, travel and telephone records. The NSA receives this so-called "transactional" data from other agencies or private companies, and its sophisticated software programs analyze the various transactions for suspicious patterns. Then they spit out leads to be explored by counterterrorism programs across the U.S. government, such as the NSA's own Terrorist Surveillance Program, formed to intercept phone calls and emails between the U.S. and overseas without a judge's approval when a link to al Qaeda is suspected." ... "The NSA's enterprise involves a cluster of powerful intelligence-gathering programs, all of which sparked civil-liberties complaints when they came to light. They include a Federal Bureau of Investigation program to track telecommunications data once known as Carnivore, now called the Digital Collection System, and a U.S. arrangement with the world's main international banking clearinghouse to track money movements." ... "The effort also ties into data from an ad-hoc collection of so-called "black programs" whose existence is undisclosed, the current and former officials say." ... "Two current officials also said the NSA's current combination of programs now largely mirrors the former TIA [Total Information Awareness] project. But the NSA offers less privacy protection." -By Siobhan Gorman -WSJ.com

- Dick Cheney's - Halliburton KBR - Corporation - US - Iraq - Military - Water -Safety - Inpector
"AP Exclusive: US troops may have become sick in Iraq from contaminated water." ... "Dozens of U.S. [United States] troops in Iraq fell sick at bases using "unmonitored and potentially unsafe" water supplied by the military and a contractor once owned by [Republican] Vice President Dick Cheney's former company [Halliburton Co.], the Pentagon's internal watchdog says." ... "A report obtained by The Associated Press said soldiers experienced skin abscesses, cellulitis, skin infections, diarrhea and other illnesses after using discolored, smelly water for personal hygiene and laundry at five U.S. military sites in Iraq." ... "The Defense Department's inspector general's report, which could be released as early as Monday, found water quality problems between March 2004 and February 2006 at three sites run by contractor KBR Inc.[Incorporated], and between January 2004 and December 2006 at two military-operated locations." (1, 2) -AP via -IHT.com

- US - Iraq - Afghanistan - Military - Technology - San Diego - CA
"Combat Troops Are Losing Hearing." ... "Soldiers and Marines caught in roadside bombings and firefights in Iraq and Afghanistan are coming home in epidemic numbers with permanent hearing loss and ringing in their ears, prompting the military to redouble its efforts to protect the troops from noise." ... "Hearing damage is the No. 1 disability in the war on terror, according to the Department of Veterans Affairs, and some experts say the true toll could take decades to become clear. Nearly 70,000 of the more than 1.3 million troops who have served in the two war zones are collecting disability for tinnitus, a potentially debilitating ringing in the ears, and more than 58,000 are on disability for hearing loss, the VA said." ... "One major explanation given is the insurgency's use of a fearsome weapon the Pentagon did not fully anticipate: powerful roadside bombs. Their blasts cause violent changes in air pressure that can rupture the eardrum and break bones inside the ear." ... "While damage can occur at 80 to 85 decibels - the noise level of a moving tank - the best protection cuts that by only 20 to 25 decibels. That is not enough to protect the ears against an explosion or a firefight, which can range upwards of 183 decibels, said Dr. Ben Balough, a Navy captain and chairman of otolaryngology at the Balboa Navy Medical Center in San Diego [California]." ... "The Navy and Marines have begun buying and distributing state-of-the-art earplugs, known as QuietPro, that contain digital processors that block out damaging sound waves from gunshots and explosions and still allow users to hear everyday noises. They cost about $600 a pair. " -AP via -Military.com

- Gordon Smith - Abramoff - John Roberts - Ore - Ariz - Nev - Georgia - US - UK Scotland - Sports - History - Politics
"Gordon Smith says he is missing the links." ... "He [Oregon Republican Senator Gordon Smith] once paid $1.25 million for four really vintage golf clubs - including a putter owned by King James IV in 1504 - and can speak at passionate length about golfing in Scotland [UK], having done so several times." ... "Golf Digest says it ran into a lot of this reticence in [Washington Top 200 golf list] its survey this year."

"In the wake of the [Jack] Abramoff scandal, there's a greater-than-ever hesitancy among golfers to admit they play. [Republican lobbyist Jack] Abramoff is the former high-powered lobbyist who pleaded guilty in 2006 to charges involving fraud, tax evasion and conspiracy to bribe public officials. Luxury golf junkets to Scotland were among the things that got him in trouble." ... "For now, mum's the word among many D.C. golfers. Even Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts, a longtime player whose 14.5 Index hasn't been updated since 2000, declined to approximate his handicap, saying he hasn't been playing enough to have one. Same for [Oregon Republican Senator] Sen. Gordon Smith (R-Ore. [Republican-Oregon]) and [Arizona Democratic Representative] Rep. Ed Pastor (D-Ariz. [Democratic-Arizona]). Freshman [Nevada Republican Representative] Rep. Dean Heller (R-Nev. [Republican-Nevada]), a member of the Republican "Ryder Cup" team, also declined to reveal a handicap. [former Georgia Republican Representative] Newt Gingrich, a proud 47-handicapper as a new golfer in 2005, doesn't admit to playing, either."

- John McCain - France - European Union -US - Military - Aircraft - Manufacturers - Money - Jobs - 2008 Election - Arizona - Los Angeles - California - Seattle - Washington - Illinois
"Boeing backers blame McCain for losing deal." ... "Supporters of The Boeing Co. blame [2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidate and Arizona Senator] Sen. John McCain, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, for the company's failure to win the lucrative $35 billion contract to build new Air Force aerial refueling tankers." ... "The Air Force last week awarded the contract to a team of Airbus parent EADS and Northrop Grumman Corp., triggering a firestorm from Boeing advocates who said the victory by the European-led consortium ignored American national security interests and would cost U.S. jobs." ... "Boeing advocates say McCain was a major force behind the Air Force decision to ignore the issue of government subsidies to Airbus when the tanker contract was put up for competitive bidding last year." ... "The issue of European government subsidies for Airbus has been raised for years by Boeing supporters who claim that those financial breaks have allowed the Toulouse, France-based company to undercut Boeing's prices and thus gain market share in the global competition between the two aircraft manufacturers. (Both the U.S. and the European Union, which claims Boeing also receives subsidies, have filed cases with the World Trade Organization.)" ... "Boeing advocates assert that those same subsidies helped European Aeronautic Defense and Space Co. and Los-Angeles[California]-based Northrop Grumman win the Air Force tanker project, with a value that could eventually top $100 billion." ... ""The only reason that (Airbus) could even bid a low price is because they receive a subsidy," said [Washington Democratic Representative] Rep. Norm Dicks, D-Wash., whose Seattle-area district includes thousands of Boeing workers. "Senator McCain jumped into this and said that they (the Air Force) could not look at the subsidy issue, which I think is a big mistake," he told PBS." ... "McCain himself has received support from the EADS North America executive suite. He has received more than $12,000 in campaign donations from some of the company's top U.S. officials, support that continued even as his presidential campaign was foundering in mid- to late 2007." ... "McCain's donors include EADS North America Chief Executive Officer Ralph Crosby and Senior Vice President of Government Relations Samuel Adcock." ... ""The person that stopped (the tanker) from going to a U.S. company was Senator McCain," said [Illinois Democratic Represenative Rahm] Emanuel, "and now we are going to send major high-paying jobs overseas."" -By Eric Rosenberg with contributions by Daniel Lathrop -SeattlePI

- Secretive - John McCain - John Hagee - Pat Robertson - Religious -