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Secretive
- 
Iraqi
- Religious
- 
Law
- 
Terrorism
- 
Women
- Torture
- Executions
- 
- Human
Rights - 
Police
- 
Politics
- "Violations
of 'Islamic teachings' take deadly toll on Iraqi women."
... "The images in the Basra [Iraq] police file are nauseating: Page after
page of women killed in brutal fashion -- some strangled to death, their
faces disfigured; others beheaded. All bear signs of torture." ... "The
women are killed, police say, because they failed to wear a headscarf or
because they ignored other "rules" that secretive fundamentalist groups
want to enforce." ... ""Fear, fear is always there," says 30-year-old Safana,
an artist and university professor. "We don't know who to be afraid of.
Maybe it's a friend or a student you teach. There is no break, no security.
I don't know who to be afraid of."" ... "Her fear is justified. Iraq's
second-largest city, Basra, is a stronghold of conservative Shia groups.
As many as 133 women were killed in Basra last year -- 79 for violation
of "Islamic teachings" and 47 for so-called honor killings, according to
IRIN [Integrated Regional Information Networks], the news branch of the
U.N.'s [United Nation's] Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs."
... "Amnesty International has raised concern about the increasing violence
toward women in Iraq, saying abductions, rapes and "honor killings" are
on the rise." ... ""Politically active women, those who did not follow
a strict dress code, and women [who are] human rights defenders were increasingly
at risk of abuses, including by armed groups and religious extremists,"
Amnesty said in a 2007 report." -By Arwa Damon
-CNN
Kids- 
Health
- Safety
- 
Corporate
- 
Government
- Animals
- Agriculture
- Law
- Enforcement
- Politics
- 
California
- 
Human
- Undercover
- 
Video
- "USDA's
oversight of meat safety criticized." ... "The USDA
[United States Department of Agriculture] announced this week that it was
shutting down operations at a Chino[California]-based meat producer, after
hidden camera video showed workers there using various inhumane methods
to force "downer" -- or non-ambulatory -- cattle to their feet and into
the slaughter box." ... "Now, in the wake of the video's release and the
agency's response, food industry insiders are questioning just how reliable
the USDA's inspection process is. The incidents recorded at Hallmark Meat
Packing occurred under the noses of eight on-site USDA inspectors." ...
""We rely on a system, and the system dropped the ball," said Dean Cliver,
a food safety expert who has served in advisory roles with the Food and
Drug Administration and the Department of Agriculture. "Somebody ought
to be asking some questions."" ... "Cattle that are unable to walk are
banned from use as human food because they show a higher occurrence of
bovine spongiform encephalopathy, commonly known as mad cow disease." ...
"Westland Meat Co.[Company], Hallmark's distributor and a ground beef supplier
for the National School Lunch Program, has voluntarily halted operations,
and school district officials around the country pulled suspect beef from
lunch menus." -By Victoria Kim
-LAtimes
Secrecy
- 
US
- 
Overseas
- Torture
- 
Flights
- Prisoners
- Transport
- Trip
- Corporate
- Government
- Law
- 
Intelligence
- Politics
- California
- "Secrecy
plea ties up torture flights case." ... "A lawsuit
accusing a San Jose [California] flight-planning company of helping the
CIA [Central Intelligence Agency] transport prisoners to overseas torture
chambers must be dismissed because it would risk exposing state secrets,
a [Republican President] Bush administration lawyer argued Tuesday to a
federal judge, who seemed to reluctantly agree." ... "The five plaintiffs
can't prove that Jeppesen International Trip Planning subjected them to
wrongful imprisonment and torture without first showing that the company
aided the CIA, that foreign governments collaborated, and that the so-called
extraordinary rendition program subjected them to brutal treatment, Justice
Department attorney Michael Abate said at a hearing in San Jose. Each one
of those assertions depends on classified information that can't be aired
in court, he said." ... ""Without the information in question, this case
cannot be litigated," Abate told U.S. [United States] District Judge James
Ware. The result of allowing the government to keep its secrets out of
court "can be harsh," he said, but under the state-secrets doctrine recognized
by the U.S. Supreme Court since 1953, "private parties bear that burden
on behalf of society."" ... "Ware did not issue a ruling after the 70-minute
hearing, and made it clear that he considered some aspects of the government's
position to be extreme. He questioned Abate's argument that the imprisonment
and interrogation of each plaintiff remained an official secret, even though
the men knew how they were treated." ... ""If they're in the program, the
secret's disclosed, at least to them," the judge said. When Abate insisted
that legal precedents require official government confirmation to remove
the veil of secrecy, Ware said the doctrine known as the state-secrets
privilege "should be called a state privilege to do whatever it wants.""
-Bob Egelko -SFGate.com
Secretive
- Corporate
- Government
- Enforcement- Woman
- 
Employee
- Safety
- Iraq
- US
- 
Texas
- "Sex
Assault Suit Vs. Halliburton Killed: Alleged Sexual
Assault Victim's Case Forced Into Secretive Arbitration." ... "A mother
of five who says she was sexually harassed and assaulted while working
for Halliburton/KBR in Iraq is headed for a secretive arbitration process
rather than being able to present her case in open court." ... "A judge
in Texas [District Judge Gray Miller] has ruled
that Tracy Barker's case will be heard in arbitration, according to the
terms of her initial employment contract." ... "Barker says that while
in Iraq she was constantly propositioned by her superior, threatened and
isolated after she reported an incident of sexual assault." ... ""When
I arrived in Basra [Iraq], there were about five men that worked on the
camp for the company I worked for and they were waiting for me," Barker
told ABC News in an exclusive
interview that aired last December." ... ""I was told they wanted
to see what I look like," she said, "to make sure I was decent looking
before they approved my transfer."" ... "Tracy says her KBR boss in Basra
repeatedly propositioned her and threatened her." ... ""The manager of
the camp kept making gestures of how if I wanted my safety to exist on
the camp, that I needed to sleep with him, and that's all he kept saying
to me," said Barker." ... "In arbitration, there is no public record or
transcript of the proceedings, meaning that Tracy's claims will not be
heard before a judge and jury." (1, 2,
3)
-By Maddy Sauer and Justin Rood
-ABCNEWS.com
Secretive
- Criminal
- Government
- 
Telephone
- 
Surveillance
- Intelligence
- Law
- 
Accounting
- US
- Foreign
- Terrorism
- Politics
- "FBI
Wiretaps Dropped Due to Unpaid Bills." ... "Telephone
companies have cut off FBI [Federal Bureau of Investigation] wiretaps used
to eavesdrop on suspected criminals because of the bureau's repeated failures
to pay phone bills on time." ... "A Justice Department audit released Thursday
blamed the lost connections on the FBI's lax oversight of money used in
undercover investigations. Poor supervision of the program also allowed
one agent to steal $25,000, the audit said." ... "In at least one case,
a wiretap used in a Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act investigation
"was halted due to untimely payment," the audit found. FISA [Foreign Intelligence
Surveillance Act] wiretaps are used in the government's most sensitive
and secretive criminal investigations, and allow eavesdropping on suspected
terrorists or spies." ... ""We also found that late payments have resulted
in telecommunications carriers actually disconnecting phone lines established
to deliver surveillance results to the FBI, resulting in lost evidence,"
according to the audit by Inspector General Glenn A. Fine." -By
Lara Jakes Jordan -SFGate.com
John
McCain
- Law
- Investigation
- 
Ralph
Reed
- 
Jack
Abramoff
- 
Grover
Norquist
- 
Tom
DeLay
- Secret
- Corporate
- Religion
- 
History
- 
Georgia
- 
New
Hampshire - 2008
Election - Television
- Politics
- Opinion
- "Ralph
Reed's New Role." ... "Eighteen months ago, the political
career of Christian right golden boy [Republican] Ralph Reed came crashing
down, a casualty of his role in the [Republican] Jack Abramoff lobbying
scandal. This week, Reed has found a new calling. He appeared on CNN during
its New Hampshire primary coverage and again last night, labeled as a "GOP
[Grand Old Party=Republican] political analyst."" ... "Reed sounded none
too bullish about [2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidate] John
McCain's prospects going forward despite his big New Hampshire win. That's
perhaps not surprising, given the long history between the two." ... "McCain,
as chairman of the Senate Indian Affairs Committee, launched an investigation
of Abramoff's tribal lobbying that turned up a mountain of e-mails, including
some between Reed and Abramoff." ... "The e-mails revealed Abramoff's corrupt
dealings with politicians, as well as conservative religious and advocacy
groups. Reed often participated in Abramoff's business schemes, telling
him in a 1998 e-mail after stepping down as head of the Christian Coalition:
"I need to start humping in corporate accounts!"" ... "E-mails and testimony
before McCain's panel showed that Reed, who once branded gambling a "cancer"
on society, reaped millions of dollars in tribal casino proceeds that Abramoff
secretly routed to him through various non-profit front groups. Abramoff,
a lobbyist for the tribes, paid Reed to whip up "grassroots" Christian
opposition to prevent rival tribes from opening casinos." ... "Abramoff
sometimes routed his money to Reed through a group called Americans for
Tax Reform, run by conservative anti-tax crusader Grover Norquist. Norquist
lately has been attacking McCain's record on taxes, placing robo calls
to voters in New Hampshire." ... "Reed's much-publicized role in the Abramoff
scandal cost him the 2006 Republican primary for Georgia lieutenant governor--the
first rung on what was widely expected to be a climb into national politics."
... "Former House majority leader [Republican] Tom DeLay, who left Congress
and is still under investigation by the Justice Department in connection
with the Abramoff probe, predicted to MSNBC's Chris Matthews that McCain
won't fare well with conservatives in the South." -By
Susan Schmidt -WashingtonPost
Declassified
- US
- Government
- 
Vietnam
- 
Military
- Intelligence
- Wireless
- 
Radio
- 
Electronic
- Communications
- "Declassified
study puts Vietnam events in new light: US [United
States] signals intelligence [SIGINT] during the war came up short in major
turning points, according to an NSA [National Security Agency] history."
... "US signals intelligence – the much-vaunted ability of American military
and spy units to eavesdrop on the radio calls and other electronic communications
of an adversary – failed at crucial moments during the Vietnam War, according
to a just-declassified National Security Agency history of the effort."
... "The 10,000 cryptographers and other signals personnel in Southeast
Asia at the time did not predict the start of the Tet offensive on Jan.
31, 1968. Prior to that, signals intelligence may have actually misled
[Democratic] President Johnson and other top policymakers about the nature
of the 1964 Gulf of Tonkin incident, in which a supposed North Vietnamese
attack on US forces triggered a major escalation in the war." ... "US eavesdroppers
had many successes during the war, according to the lengthy document, particularly
in picking up the tactical communications of North Vietnamese and Viet
Cong fighters in the field." ... "But when it comes to major events, signals
intelligence is not magic, as the history makes clear. That is a point
current policymakers would do well to remember as they struggle to interpret
intelligence dealing with the complex modern problems of nuclear proliferation
and Islamist extremism." ... "In both the Tet and Gulf of Tonkin cases,
"critical information was mishandled, misinterpreted, lost, or ignored,"
writes NSA historian Robert Hanyok in the agency history. " -By
Peter Grier -CSMonitor