HavenWorks.com/us/archive/2006

Search

A-Z

News by Date

NewsStand

Iowa News

CALENDAR

Top

A-B-C-D-E-F-G-H-I-J-K-L-M-N-O-P-Q-R-S-T-U-V-W-X-Y-Z

2006 US NEWS HISTORY ARCHIVE

US AMERICAN NEWS _US ARCHIVES _HISTORY _ARCHIVES

`2007 US NEWS < 2006 US NEWS HISTORY ARCHIVE > 2005 US NEWS`

Use "Ctrl F" [control F] to FIND what you're looking for.
"Right Click" - "Open in New Window." to avoid reloading this page.

2006 US News:

20061225

US - Iraq-Christmas

"In Baghdad, a Christmas patrol." ... "The sun was just beginning to rise, bringing a dim glow on a cold and clear Christmas morning in Baghdad, but the U.S. Army mission was late." ... "The Stryker armored vehicles were supposed to have rolled from Forward Operating Base Loyalty 11 minutes ago, at 6:30 a.m., yet soldiers were still milling about outside the green machines, shivering in bulletproof jackets and Kevlar helmets." ... "Christmas was another working day for many in the battalion, heading out to cordon off a dangerous section of eastern Baghdad and go house to house searching for insurgents, weapons and bomb-making materials." ... "But the holiday - and thoughts of friends and family back home - never left their minds." -By Will Weissert -AP via -SeattlePI.NWsource

Military - Money -Law - Politics

"Interior, Pentagon Faulted In Audits: Effort to Speed Defense Contracts Wasted Millions." ... "The Defense Department paid two procurement operations at the Department of the Interior to arrange for Pentagon purchases totaling $1.7 billion that resulted in excessive fees and tens of millions of dollars in waste, documents show." ... "Defense turned to Interior, which manages federal lands and resources, in an effort to speed up its contracting. Interior is one of several government agencies allowed to manage contracts for other agencies in exchange for a fee." ... "But the arrangement between Interior and Defense "routinely violated rules designed to protect U.S. Government interests," according to draft audit documents obtained by The Washington Post." ... "More than half of the contracts examined were awarded without competition or without checks to determine that the prices were reasonable, according to the audits by the inspectors general for Defense (DOD) and Interior (DOI). Ninety-two percent of the work reviewed was awarded without verifying that the contractors' cost estimates were accurate; 96 percent was inadequately monitored." ... "They examined 49 deals and concluded that 61 percent had evidence of "illegal contracts, ill advised contracts, and various failings of contract administration procedures."" ... "The Interior inspector general said Defense "could have used these monies to purchase as many as 50,000 sets of body armor to protect our soldiers."" (1, 2, 3) -By Robert O'Harrow Jr. and Scott Higham -WashingtonPost

US -Iran - Iraq - Military

"U.S. arrest of Iranians reportedly upsets Iraqi president." ... "Iraqi and Iranian authorities slammed the United States on Monday for having arrested several Iranians who were visiting Iraq." ... "A U.S. official said the Iranians were suspected of involvement in attacks against Iraqi security forces." ... "A spokesman for Iraqi President Jalal Talabani said Talabani had invited the Iranians to the country, and the president was "unhappy" about the arrests." ... "The U.S. National Security Council confirmed that the American military arrested at least four Iranians in raids during the past week in Iraq, including two diplomats." ... "NSC spokesman Gordon Johndroe said the two diplomats were questioned, turned over to the Iraqi government and released." ... "At least two others, who are members of the Iranian military, remain in U.S. military custody while an investigation is conducted on whether they were involved in attacks on security forces in Iraq, Johndroe said." -Contributions by Shirzad Bozorgmehr, Sam Dagher, Jomana Karadsheh and Suzanne Malveaux -CNN

Iran - UN - Military - Technology - Business - Politics

"Iran Is Defiant, Vowing to U.N. It Will Continue Nuclear Efforts." ... "Iran on Sunday reacted defiantly to the United Nations Security Council resolution imposing sanctions because of the country's nuclear program. Iranian officials vowed to continue efforts to enrich uranium and warned that the Security Council action would change Iran's relationship with the United Nations nuclear monitoring agency." ... "The Security Council voted unanimously on Saturday to impose sanctions on Iran banning the import and export of materials and technology used in uranium enrichment, reprocessing and ballistic missiles." ... "The Security Council on Saturday requested that Mohamed ElBaradei, director of the United Nations' nuclear monitoring agency, report to the Council within 60 days on whether Iran had complied and suspended its enrichment program." -By Nazila Fathi -NYTimes

20061224

US - Iraq - People -Police - Military - Politics

"12,000 Iraqi policemen killed since '03; 6 U.S. soldiers killed." ... "Some 12,000 Iraqi policemen have been killed since the ouster of Saddam Hussein, the country's interior minister said Sunday, as clashes, a suicide bomber and weekend explosions killed more than a dozen Iraqi officers and six American soldiers." ... "Police and police recruits have been frequent targets of insurgent attacks. In one of the worst single attacks, a suicide car bomber detonated his explosives near a line of national guard and police recruits waiting to take physicals in February 2005. The blast in Hillah, about 60 miles south of Baghdad, killed 125." ... "Police have also been blamed for violence. Gunmen in Iraqi army and police uniforms have been responsible for recent bank robberies in Baghdad and the kidnapping of more than 40 workers and volunteers at the Iraqi Red Crescent." ... "The Iraqi Ministry of Health estimated in November that 150,000 Iraqi civilians been killed in the war that began in 2003. Other estimates put the figure as low as 51,000 or as high as 600,000." -AP via -USATODAY

20061222

Opinion - Politics

"Most outrageous comments of 2006." ... "How extreme were conservative commentators in their remarks this year? How about calls to nuke the Middle East and an allegation that a "gay ... mafia" used the congressional page program as its own "personal preserve." Right-wing rhetoric documented by Media Matters for America included the nonsensical (including Rush Limbaugh's claim that America's "obesity crisis" is caused by, among other things, our failure to "teach [the poor] how to butcher a -- slaughter a cow to get the butter, we gave them the butter"), the offensive (such as right-wing pundit Debbie Schlussel's question about "Barack Hussein Obama": is he "a man we want as President when we are fighting the war of our lives against Islam? Where will his loyalties be?"), and the simply bizarre (such as William A. Donohue's claim that some Hollywood stars would "sodomize their own mother in a movie"). Since there were so many outrageous statements, we included a list of honorable mentions along with the top 11, which, if not for Ann Coulter, we might have limited to 10." -MediaMatters.org

Noteworthy - Japan - US - World - Auto - Technology - Workers -Politics -History - Fuel

"Toyota’s Sales Projections Show It Surpassing G.M.." ... "Toyota Motor said today it plans to sell 9.34 million vehicles next year, a figure that analysts said would put it ahead of troubled General Motors as the world’s largest auto company." ... "Toyota reported global group sales this year of 8.8 million cars and trucks, below G.M.’s 2006 sales forecast of 9.2 million vehicles. But the figures released today showed the two rival car giants on starkly different trajectories, with Toyota expecting to add a half million vehicle sales next year, at a time when G.M. is shuttering plants and laying off workers." ... "Surpassing G.M. would be a crowning achievement for Toyota, a company that got its start in the 1930s by reverse-engineering G.M. and Ford cars, and that spent decades catching up with Detroit. It would also end G.M.’s 81-year reign over the global auto industry, and mark another step in the rise of Asian carmakers." ... "Analysts also said reaching the top would not exhaust Toyota’s opportunities for growth. They said Toyota will continue to gain in the American market, where higher gas prices have increased the popularity of smaller, more fuel-efficient vehicles." ... "Toyota’s rise would also prove a victory of sorts for its unique corporate culture, the so-called Toyota Way, which is rooted in an obsession with craftsmanship and constant improvement, or “kaizen.”" -By Martin Fackler -NYTimes

20061221

Religious - Books - People - Virginia - Minnesota - Michigan - US Immigration - Virgil H Goode Jr

"Va. Lawmaker's Remarks on Muslims Criticized: Republican Had Decried the Use of the Koran for Congressman's Oath of Office." ... "[Virginia Republican] Rep. Virgil H. Goode Jr. (R-Va.) is coming under sharp criticism for lashing out against the decision by [Minnesota Democrat] Keith Ellison (D-Minn.), who will become the first Muslim member of Congress next month, to use the Koran during a swearing-in ceremony." ... "In a recent letter to constituents, Goode, a five-term congressman from Rocky Mount, wrote that he does "not subscribe to using the Koran in any way" and added: "The Muslim Representative from Minnesota was elected by the voters of that district and if American citizens don't wake up and adopt the Virgil Goode position on immigration, there will likely be many more Muslims elected to office and demanding the use of the Koran."" ... "When members of Congress are sworn in, they simply raise their right hand. In a ceremony afterward, they may take the oath of office on a Christian Bible, another religious book or no book at all." ... "Ellison, who was born in Detroit [Michigan], could not be reached to comment." -By Zachary A. Goldfarb -WashingtonPost

20061211

US - Iraq - Afghanistan

"Pentagon abandons active-duty time limit." ... "Pentagon has abandoned its limit on the time a citizen-soldier can be required to serve on active duty, officials said Thursday, a major change that reflects an Army stretched thin by longer-than-expected combat in Iraq." ... "Until now, the Pentagon's policy on the Guard or Reserve was that members' cumulative time on active duty for the Iraq or Afghan wars could not exceed 24 months. That cumulative limit is now lifted; the remaining limit is on the length of any single mobilization, which may not exceed 24 consecutive months, Pace said." ... "In other words, a citizen-soldier could be mobilized for a 24-month stretch in Iraq or Afghanistan, then demobilized and allowed to return to civilian life, only to be mobilized a second time for as much as an additional 24 months." -By Robert Burns -AP via -Yahoo

US -Iraq - Military -Police - Terrorism -Religion - Intelligence - Politics - Analysis

"Intensified Combat on Streets Likely." ... "President Bush's plan to send tens of thousands of U.S. and Iraqi reinforcements to Baghdad to jointly confront Sunni insurgents and Shiite militias is likely to touch off a more dangerous phase of the war, featuring months of fighting in the streets of the Iraqi capital, current and former military officials warned." ... "The prospect of a more intense battle in the Iraqi capital could put U.S. military commanders in exactly the sort of tough urban fight that war planners strove to avoid during the spring 2003 invasion of the country. The plan to partner U.S. and Iraqi units may compel American soldiers to rely on questionable Iraqi army and police forces as never before. And while the president insisted there is no timetable associated with the troop increase, military officials said sustaining it for more than a few months would place a major new strain on U.S. forces that already are feeling burdened by an unexpectedly long and difficult war." ... "Most of all, the White House's insistence on confronting all insurgents and militias, both Sunni and Shiite, may mean that the U.S. military will wind up fighting the Mahdi Army of radical cleric Moqtada al-Sadr. That militia is estimated by some U.S. intelligence officials to have grown over the past year to about 60,000 fighters, and some in the Pentagon consider it more militarily effective than the Iraqi army." -By Thomas E. Ricks and Ann Scott Tyson -WashingtonPost

US - Israel - Palestine - Book - Media

"Carter says criticism has led to more attention Israeli policy." ... "Former President Jimmy Carter says the criticism aimed at his latest book is a sign that its take on Israeli policy is generating more interest in the plight of the Palestinians." ... "Carter said Monday he expected the backlash against his top-selling book, "Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid."" ... ""The premise of this country concerning what's going on in Palestine is so deeply ingrained, so deeply rooted that it's not surprising to me that any contradiction of that has aroused a strong reaction," he told The Associated Press in a telephone interview." ... "Part of the reason, he said, is that Americans often see no counterbalance to pro-Israeli viewpoints in the news media." ... ""All they really read or hear is really one-sided, where the Israeli point of view is put forward," he said. "Very rarely do you see any expression or concern of the horrible plight of the Palestinians in their own land."" -AP via -IHT.com

Food - Business - Law - GOV - Science - Consumer- Politics

"Outbreaks Reveal Food Safety Net's Holes: Produce Growers Balk At Calls for Regulation." ... "First it was spinach. Then tomatoes. Now possibly green onions." ... "Over the past three months, fresh produce has been the culprit in one episode of food-borne illness after another, the latest an E. coli outbreak that appears to be linked to green onions served at Taco Bell restaurants in the Northeast. More than 60 people have been sickened in that outbreak." ... "The patchwork of federal and state regulations that is supposed to ensure food safety has become less effective as the nation's produce supply has grown increasingly industrial. Three months after the spinach scare, there is no agreement on what should be done to reduce health risks from the nation's fruits and vegetables even as each episode of illness has heightened a sense of urgency." ... "The number of produce-related outbreaks of food-borne illness has increased from about 40 in 1999 to 86 in 2004, according to the Center for Science in the Public Interest. Americans are now more likely to get sick from eating contaminated produce than from any other food item, the center said." (1, 2, 3) -By Annys Shin -WashingtonPost

20061209

Tom Anderson

Alaska

Texas

Prison

Money

Politician

"Anderson indicted on seven counts: Federal bribery case centers on link to prison firm lobbyist." ... "[Alaska Republican] State Rep. Tom Anderson pleaded not guilty Friday to a series of federal charges accusing him of selling his legislative office for $12,828 in bribes from a lobbyist representing private prison interests." ... "Anderson, a 39-year-old Republican who has represented Muldoon's District 19 since he was elected in 2002, was ordered freed Friday by U.S. Magistrate Judge John Roberts on an unsecured $10,000 bond after his arrest Thursday by FBI agents. Roberts said Anderson could travel to Mexico on a previously scheduled vacation next week with his wife, Republican state Rep. Lesil McGuire, who was elected to the state Senate in November, and their infant son." ... "The 18-page indictment against Anderson said the lobbyist was secretly recorded July 21, 2004, boasting that for a price, Anderson would be "our boy in Juneau [Alaska's capital]."" ... "A week later, the same lobbyist was recorded telling a confidential informant, "If I was a Soviet spy and I was looking for a legislator to recruit, (Anderson) would be the one I'd get." Anderson "needs the money," the lobbyist said." ... "The government didn't charge the lobbyist. He is identified only by the letter "A," but the facts in the case point to Bill Bobrick of Anchorage, who represented Cornell Companies [Inc. of Houston, Texas], a private prison firm Outside." -By Richard Mauer, Lisa Demer, and Tom Kizzia

-ADN.com

20061207

Gay - Parent- Dick Cheney

"A pregnant pause in right wing: Social conservatives remain silent or temper their criticism about news that Cheney's gay daughter is expecting." ... "No Republican in Washington is more beloved by social conservatives than Vice President Dick Cheney, who with his wife, Lynne, has backed and breathed every issue dear to them for six tumultuous years." ... "News that Cheney's lesbian daughter, Mary, is pregnant has therefore touched a nerve, as advocates for conservative values struggle to reconcile their loyalty to the Cheneys with their visceral opposition to same-sex relationships — and particularly to raising a child without a father." ... "The vice president's office confirmed Wednesday that Mary Cheney, 37, an executive at AOL, was expecting her first child with her partner of 15 years, Heather Poe." -By Johanna Neuman -LAtimes

20061206

Government -Legislative - Money - Military - Health - Food -Elderly - Calif

"Some Republicans Take a Scorched-Hill Tack: Leaving Budget Decisions To Democrats Could Disrupt New Leadership's Agenda." ... "Like a retreating army, Republicans are tearing up railroad track and planting legislative land mines to make it harder for Democrats to govern when they take power in Congress next month." ... "Already, the Republican leadership has moved to saddle the new Democratic majority with responsibility for resolving $463 billion in spending bills for the fiscal year that began Oct. 1. And the departing chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, Rep. Bill Thomas (R., Calif.), has been demanding that the Democrat-crafted 2008 budget absorb most of the $13 billion in costs incurred from a decision now to protect physician reimbursements under Medicare, the federal health-care program for the elderly and disabled." ... "The unstated goal is to disrupt the Democratic agenda and make it harder for the new majority to meet its promise to reinstitute "pay-as-you-go" budget rules, under which new costs or tax cuts must be offset to protect the deficit from growing." ... "The collapse of the appropriations process will be felt soon in the Justice and Commerce departments, food-safety agencies and veterans' health care." ... ""It's a demonstration of the irresponsibility of Republicans that they would leave this country with this mess," said the next House speaker, Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D., Calif.). "But we won, we will deal with it."" -By David Rogers -WSJ.com

Global - Climate - Ocean - Animal - Food - Environment - Science - People - Business- Politics

"Some happy that a family film flaunts dire facts." ... "Michael Hirshfield has long struggled to get across his earnest but wonky message: that global warming and overfishing are killing off the oceans' food supply." ... "Then, along came the animated movie "Happy Feet" and, voila, tens of millions of youngsters -- and their parents -- across the country are suddenly aware that man-made problems are threatening the penguins near the South Pole, and almost everything else in the South Seas." ... "The blockbuster film, the top box-office hit for the past three weekends, is about emperor penguins struggling to survive with a depleted food supply, and one tap-dancing penguin's epic search to learn what is causing the colony's fish to disappear." ... "A study published recently in the journal Science predicted that if overfishing of depleted seafood populations continued at current rates, the world would run out of commercial stocks by 2048." -By John Donnelly -Boston/Globe

Gay - Dick Cheney - Law - Politics

"Groups mixed on Cheney pregnancy." ... "Conservative leaders voiced dismay Wednesday at news that Mary Cheney, the lesbian daughter of Dick Cheney, is pregnant, while a gay-rights group said the vice president faces "a lifetime of sleepless nights" for serving in an administration that has opposed recognition of same-sex couples." ... "Mary Cheney, 37, and her partner of 15 years, Heather Poe, 45, are expecting a baby in late spring, said Lea Anne McBride, a spokeswoman for the vice president." ... "Family Pride, which advocates on behalf of gay and lesbian families, noted that Virginia last month became one of 27 states with a constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage." ... ""Unless they move to a handful of less restrictive states, Heather will never be able to have a legal relationship with her child," said Family Pride executive director Jennifer Chrisler." -APvia -USATODAY

20061205

US - Afghanistan

"Troops needed to fight Taliban." ... "The outgoing U.S. commander in Afghanistan warned that the fight against the Taliban is in danger of being undermined by a shortage of NATO troops and by restrictions that keep some alliance forces out of combat." ... "U.S. Army Lt. Gen. Karl Eikenberry said in an interview that NATO countries need to contribute more troops and that some of them must drop "caveats" that prevent their forces from fighting freely." ... "The United States this year handed over military responsibility for all of Afghanistan to a 32,000-strong NATO force, which previously had operated in the country's relatively secure north and western regions." ... "Afghanistan is the alliance's first deployment outside Europe." -By Paul Wiseman -USATODAY

US -Iraq - Afghanistan - Government - Military- Technology - Money - Politics- People -Flying - Vehicles - Alabama

"U.S. Army Battling To Save Equipment: Gear Piles Up at Depots, Awaiting Repair." ... "Field upon field of more than 1,000 battered M1 tanks, howitzers and other armored vehicles sit amid weeds here at the 15,000-acre Anniston Army Depot [Alabama] -- the idle, hulking formations symbolic of an Army that is wearing out faster than it is being rebuilt." ... "The Army and Marine Corps have sunk more than 40 percent of their ground combat equipment into the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, according to government data. An estimated $17 billion-plus worth of military equipment is destroyed or worn out each year, blasted by bombs, ground down by desert sand and used up to nine times the rate in times of peace. The gear is piling up at depots such as Anniston, waiting to be repaired." ... "The depletion of major equipment such as tanks, Bradley Fighting Vehicles, and especially helicopters and armored Humvees has left many military units in the United States without adequate training gear, officials say. Partly as a result of the shortages, many U.S. units are rated "unready" to deploy, officials say, raising alarm in Congress and concern among military leaders at a time when Iraq strategy is under review by the White House and the bipartisan Iraq Study Group." ... "Gen. Peter J. Schoomaker, the Army's chief of staff, is lobbying hard for more money to repair what he calls the "holes" in his force, saying current war funding is inadequate to make the Army "well." Asked in a congressional hearing this past summer whether he was comfortable with the readiness levels of non-deployed Army units, Schoomaker replied: "No."" ... "Despite the work piling up, the Army's depots have been operating at about half their capacity because of a lack of funding for repairs." -By Ann Scott Tyson -WashingtonPost

20061110

US- Government - Iraq -Military -Intelligence - Privacy - Environment - Health - Seniors - Drugs - Oil - Industry - Legal - History - Missouri

"Democrats are set to subpoena: The new majority is expected to hold hearings on military spending and the Iraq war -- just for starters." ... "[Missouri Democrat] Rep. Ike Skelton knows what he will do in one of his first acts as chairman of the Armed Services Committee in the Democratic-led House: resurrect the subcommittee on oversight and investigations." ... "The panel was disbanded by the Republicans after they won control of Congress in 1994. Now, Skelton (D-Mo.) intends to use it as a forum to probe Pentagon spending and the Bush administration's conduct of the Iraq war." ... "With control of every committee in Congress starting in January, the new majority will inherit broad powers to subpoena and investigate. And that is expected to translate into wide-ranging and contentious hearings." ... "The agenda is likely to be dominated by the Iraq war, but could include probes into the Bush administration's warrantless surveillance, environmental policies and new prescription-drug program for seniors. Industries, such as oil companies, could also come under closer scrutiny." ... ""This could be remembered as a historically unique period in which an administration got immunity from Congress to engage in errors with impunity," said Charles Tiefer, a University of Baltimore law professor and a former House counsel." ... "Democrats are expected to bore into the Iraq war, including review of no-bid contracts for reconstruction, intelligence failures and decisions to ignore the advice of military commanders about troop levels." (1, 2) -By Richard B. Schmitt and Richard Simon -LAtimes

20061109

2006 Election - Virginia -Allen -Montana - Burns

"Allen concedes defeat, sealing transfer of Senate." ... "Virginia [Republican] Sen. George Allen (R-Va.) conceded today, putting the Senate in Democratic hands for the first time since 2003 and giving the Democrats a sweep of both houses — a seismic shift in the Washington political climate." ... "Montana Republican Sen. Conrad Burns conceded earlier today in his reelection bid after his Democratic challenger, Jon Tester, claimed victory Wednesday." ... "Coupled with Allen's defeat, those Senate victories give the party a 51-49 Senate majority, counting two independents who are expected to caucus with the Democrats." -By Johanna Neuman with contributions by Janet Hook -LAtimes

US - Afghanistan -Military - People - Law -Investigation - Journalism

"AP: Startling findings in Tillman probe." ... "The latest inquiry into Tillman's death by friendly fire should end next month; authorities have said they intend to release to the public only a synopsis of their report. But The Associated Press has combed through the results of 2 1/4 years of investigations — reviewed thousands of pages of internal Army documents, interviewed dozens of people familiar with the case — and uncovered some startling findings." ... "Investigators are looking at who pulled the triggers and fired at Tillman; they are also looking at the officers who pressured the platoon to move through a region with a history of ambushes; the soldiers who burned Tillman's uniform and body armor afterward; and at everyone in the chain of command who deliberately kept the circumstances of Tillman's death from the family for more than a month." ... "Military investigators under Gimble's direction this year visited the rugged valley in eastern Afghanistan where Tillman was killed. It was a risky trip; the region is even more dangerous today than it was in 2004." -By Scott Lindlaw and Martha Mendoza -AP via -Yahoo

20061108

Noteworthy - Secret - US - Iraq - Iran - Religious - Terrorism - Military- Intelligence - History

"Gates’ CIA Past Could Haunt Him in Confirmation Hearings." ... "President Bush’s pick to replace Donald H. Rumsfeld with former CIA Director Robert Gates is an odd one, considering it’s almost certain to revive festering questions about the Bush administration’s handling of pre-war intelligence on Iraq." ... "In early 1987, his role in the so-called Iran-Contra affair, a secret White House operation to sell weapons to radical Islamic Iran in exchange for the release of U.S. hostages — and cash for CIA-backed rebels in Nicaragua — came under scrutiny." ... "Then, in during his 1991 nomination hearings to run the CIA, Gates ran into a buzz saw of testimony from a former agency analyst who said that during the 1980s Gates had skewered intelligence to fit the convictions of senior Reagan administration officials that Soviet agents had concocted a plot to assassinate the pope and were arming and encouraging Marxist revolutionary groups to carry out terrorist attacks." ... "Both theories turned out to be wrong, according Carolyn McGiffert Ekedahl, who headed a team of CIA analysts assigned the task of investigating the theory." ... "Senior former CIA analyst Mel Goodman charged Gates with a number of improprieties, including “the imposition of intelligence judgments, often over the protests of the consensus in the Directorate of Intelligence, to slant intelligence . . . suppression of intelligence that didn’t support the Casey agenda . . . (and) use of the Directorate of Operations to slant intelligence of the Directorate of Intelligence.”" -By Jeff Stein -CQ.com

2006 Election -Government - Money- Abortion - Health - Stem Cells - Science

"GOP already starts the 'blame game' over its big losses." ... "Dick Armey, former House majority leader and an architect of the Republicans' 1994 takeover of Congress, told National Public Radio's Diane Rehm that the GOP had become the big government party. "They actually grew the government," he said." ... "The Republican Majority for Choice, a lobbying group for Republicans who support abortion rights and embryonic stem cell research, blamed the losses Tuesday on Iraq and "social extremism," Co-chairwoman Jennifer Stockman said. "Moderates have been alienated for years. This was the last straw."" -By Emily Bazar -USATODAY

Election 2006 - US - Iraq - Military - Missouri -Montana - Virginia - Pennsylvania - Santorum - Rhode Island -Ohio - Indiana - Kentucky

"Democrats win House control in midterm elections; Senate still in doubt." ... "Democrats took over the House in Tuesday's midterm elections but Senate control might take weeks to decide, in an election shaped by voter discontent with President Bush and the direction of the Iraq war." ... "Democrat Claire McCaskill's victory over incumbent [Republican] Sen. Jim Talent in Missouri has put Senate control within her party's grasp. Two Senate races remained undecided early Wednesday -- Montana, where a Democratic challenger led, and Virginia, where another Democratic challenger was ahead by the slimmest of margins. Democrats must win both to seize Senate control." ... "Four incumbent Republicans lost in the Senate. Pennsylvanians voted out conservative stalwart Rick Santorum [Republican] — the No. 3 GOP leader in the Senate — in favor of Democrat Bob Casey; Rhode Island voters picked Democratic challenger Sheldon Whitehouse over incumbent Republican Sen. Lincoln Chafee; Ohio voters chose Democratic Rep. Sherrod Brown over Republican incumbent Mike Dewine; and McCaskill beat Talent." ... "Democrats also won major House races in Indiana, Pennsylvania and Kentucky and the closely contested governor's race in Ohio, the AP projected. And Democrats seized a majority of the nation's governorships for the first time in 12 years." -USATODAY

20061107

US - 2006 Election - Opinion -Government -Iraq- Military

"Corruption named as key issue by voters in exit polls." ... "By a wide margin, Americans who voted Tuesday in the midterm election say they disapprove of the war in Iraq." ... "But when asked which issue was extremely important to their vote, more voters said corruption and ethics in government than any other issue, including the war, according to national exit polls." ... "And defying the traditional political maxim that "all politics is local," 62 percent of voters said national issues mattered more than local issues when deciding which House candidate to pick." -CNN

Virginia - 2006 Election - Politics -Law

"FBI looking into possible Va. voter intimidation: Officials probing reports of phone calls allegedly intended to confuse voters." ... "The Federal Bureau of Investigation is looking into the possibility of voter intimidation in the hard-fought U.S. Senate race between Sen. George Allen, a Republican, and Democratic challenger James Webb, officials told NBC News." ... "State officials alerted the Justice Department on Tuesday to several complaints of suspicious phone calls to voters who attempted to misdirect or confuse them about election day, Jean Jensen, Secretary of the Virginia State Board of Elections, told NBC's David Shuster." ... "Jensen told NBC that she had been contacted by FBI agents. The FBI in Richmond refused to comment." ... "State Democratic Party counsel Jay Myerson said in a written statement issued by the Webb campaign that he believed Republicans are behind an orchestrated effort to suppress votes for the Democratic challenger." -MSNBC

2006 Election - Money - Phone - Law

"It's a Candidate Calling. Again." ... "Republicans Deny Subterfuge as Phone Barrages Anger Voters." ... "This year's heavy volume of automated political phone calls has infuriated countless voters and triggered sharp complaints from Democrats, who say the Republican Party has crossed the line in bombarding households with recorded attacks on candidates in tight House races nationwide." ... "Some voters, sick of interrupted dinners and evenings, say they will punish the offending parties by opposing them in today's [2006] elections. But critics say Republicans crafted the messages to delude voters --especially those who hang up quickly -- into thinking that Democrats placed the calls." ... "Democrats cited federal records indicating that the NRCC recently spent about $600,000 in at least 45 contested House districts for robo-calls, which are among the least expensive campaign tools." ... "Many voters hang up as soon as a robo-call begins -- without waiting for the criticisms or the NRCC sign-off at the end -- so they think it was placed by the Democratic candidate named at the start, said Sarah Feinberg, spokeswoman for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee." ... "Democrats also cited Federal Communications Commission guidelines saying the originators of automated calls must identify themselves at the beginning of each call. Republican Party lawyers, however, said the requirement does not apply to political nonprofit organizations. They rebuffed a "cease and desist" letter sent yesterday by the DCCC." (1, 2) -By Charles Babington and Alec MacGillis with contributions by Jonathan Weisman, Dale Russakoff, and Michael Powell -WashingtonPost

Voting Machine Problems -Indiana - Illinois - Ohio - Florida -Utah - Kentucky - 2006 Election - Politics

"Voting machine problems bedevil multiple states." ... "As both parties revved up their massive get-out-the-vote operations across the nation, programming errors and inexperience dealing with electronic voting machines caused some early problems:" ... "• Election officials in Delaware County, Ind., planned to seek a court order to extend voting after an apparent computer error prevented voters from casting ballots in 75 precincts. Delaware County Clerk Karen Wenger said the cards that activate the machines were programmed incorrectly. "We are working with precincts one-by-one over the telephone to get the problem fixed," Wenger said." ... "• Illinois officials were swamped with calls from voters complaining that poll workers did not know how to operate new electronic equipment[.]" ... "• In Ohio, some machines wouldn't function."We got five machines — one of them's got to work," said Willette Scullank, a troubleshooter from the Cuyahoga County, Ohio, elections board." ... "• In Florida, voting was briefly delayed at four districts because of either mixed up ballots or electronic activators being unintentionally wiped out, according to Mary Cooney, spokeswoman for the Broward County Supervisor of Elections. Voters were forced to use paper ballots after an electronic machine broke in the Jacksonville suburb of Orange Park." ... "• In Utah County, Utah, workers failed to properly encode some of the cards that voters use to bring up touchscreen ballots." ... "• In Kentucky, a school board race was inadvertently left off the touchscreen ballot in two precincts in Bourbon County, requiring the county clerk to make paper ballots on the spot. " -By Douglas Stanglin with contributions by Bill Nichols, Kathy Kiely, and David Jackson -AP via -USATODAY

20061103

Secret - US - Iraq- Nuclear - Government - Military - Intelligence -Internet - Archive - History - Hoekstra - Michigan - Roberts -Kansas - Legislation - Politics

"U.S. Web Archive Is Said to Reveal a Nuclear Primer." ... "Last March, the federal government set up a Web site to make public a vast archive of Iraqi documents captured during the war. The Bush administration did so under pressure from Congressional Republicans who had said they hoped to “leverage the Internet” to find new evidence of the prewar dangers posed by Saddam Hussein." ... "But in recent weeks, the site has posted some documents that weapons experts say are a danger themselves: detailed accounts of Iraq’s secret nuclear research before the 1991 Persian Gulf war. The documents, the experts say, constitute a basic guide to building an atom bomb." ... "Last night, the government shut down the Web site after The New York Times asked about complaints from weapons experts and arms-control officials. A spokesman for the director of national intelligence said access to the site had been suspended “pending a review to ensure its content is appropriate for public viewing.”" ... "Officials of the International Atomic Energy Agency, fearing that the information could help states like Iran develop nuclear arms, had privately protested last week to the American ambassador to the agency, according to European diplomats who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the issue’s sensitivity. One diplomat said the agency’s technical experts “were shocked” at the public disclosures." ... "The documents, roughly a dozen in number, contain charts, diagrams, equations and lengthy narratives about bomb building that nuclear experts who have viewed them say go beyond what is available elsewhere on the Internet and in other public forums. For instance, the papers give detailed information on how to build nuclear firing circuits and triggering explosives, as well as the radioactive cores of atom bombs." ... "The director of national intelligence, John D. Negroponte, had resisted setting up the Web site, which some intelligence officials felt implicitly raised questions about the competence and judgment of government analysts. But President Bush approved the site’s creation after Congressional Republicans proposed legislation to force the documents’ release." ... "The campaign for the Web site was led by the chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, Representative Peter Hoekstra [Republican] of Michigan. Last November, he and his Senate counterpart, Pat Roberts [Republican] of Kansas, wrote to Mr. Negroponte, asking him to post the Iraqi material." (1, 2, 3) -By William J. Broad with contributions by Scott Shane -NYTimes

20061101

Secret - US - Iraq - Religious - Police - Politics- Intelligence

"Military Charts Movement of Conflict in Iraq Toward Chaos." ... "A classified briefing prepared two weeks ago by the United States Central Command portrays Iraq as edging toward chaos, in a chart that the military is using as a barometer of civil conflict." ... "A one-page slide shown at the Oct. 18 briefing provides a rare glimpse into how the military command that oversees the war is trying to track its trajectory, particularly in terms of sectarian fighting." ... "The slide includes a color-coded bar chart that is used to illustrate an “Index of Civil Conflict.” It shows a sharp escalation in sectarian violence since the bombing of a Shiite shrine in Samarra in February, and tracks a further worsening this month despite a concerted American push to tamp down the violence in Baghdad." ... "In fashioning the index, the military is weighing factors like the ineffectual Iraqi police and the dwindling influence of moderate religious and political figures, rather than more traditional military measures such as the enemy’s fighting strength and the control of territory." ... "The conclusions the Central Command has drawn from these trends are not encouraging, according to a copy of the slide that was obtained by The New York Times. The slide shows Iraq as moving sharply away from “peace,” an ideal on the far left side of the chart, to a point much closer to the right side of the spectrum, a red zone marked “chaos.” As depicted in the command’s chart, the needle has been moving steadily toward the far right of the chart." ... "An intelligence summary at the bottom of the slide reads “urban areas experiencing ‘ethnic cleansing’ campaigns to consolidate control” and “violence at all-time high, spreading geographically.” According to a Central Command official, the index on civil strife has been a staple of internal command briefings for most of this year. The analysis was prepared by the command’s intelligence directorate, which is overseen by Brig. Gen. John M. Custer." -By Michael R. Gordon -NYTimes

20061031

John E Sweeney

Politician

New York

Law

"Congressman's wife called police: Sweeney campaign says the document concerning a domestic incident is ``false and concocted''." ... "The wife of U.S. [United States New York Republican Representative] Rep. John Sweeney called police last December to complain her husband was ``knocking her around'' during a late-night argument at the couple's home, according to a document obtained last week by the Times Union." ... "The emergency call to a police dispatcher triggered a visit to the couple's residence by a state trooper from Clifton Park [New York], who filed a domestic incident report after noting that the congressman had scratches on his face, the document states. No criminal charges were filed." ... "Gaia M. Sweeney, 36, told a trooper that her husband had grabbed her by the neck and was pushing her around the house, according to the document." ... "Sweeney campaign aide Maureen Donovan issued a statement late Tuesday attacking the authenticity of the document, labeling it ``a piece of campaign propaganda.'' The six-line statement does not address whether police were called to the residence for a domestic dispute that evening." ... "The Times Union confirmed several months ago, through multiple law enforcement sources, that State Police had responded to the Sweeney residence in early December to investigate a domestic dispute. The sources confirmed that Sweeney had scratches on his face when a trooper arrived, but they provided no additional information about the incident." ... "The alleged incident at the couple's home off Kinns Road took place at the end of a tumultuous year for Sweeney. Less than two weeks earlier, his son, John J. Sweeney, then 19, pleaded guilty to felony assault charges for his role in a fight that left another young man with skull factures and blurred vision. The younger Sweeney initially faced the prospect of spending up to 15 years in prison, but a plea deal gave him youthful offender status and a sentence that included four months of weekends in jail and community service." (1, 2, 3, 4) -By Brendan J. Lyons

-TimesUnion.com

US - Iraq - Afghanistan - Military - Families

"Army: 7 Families Misled On War Deaths: Review Finds Soldiers' Families Given Incorrect Information On Their Deaths." ... "The families of seven soldiers who died in Iraq or Afghanistan were given incorrect or misleading information about the deaths, the Army has concluded after a review of war casualty reports." ... "The best-known was Cpl. Patrick Tillman, the former star player in the National Football League whose family initially was told he had died a hero's death, killed by enemy forces in Afghanistan. After Tillman's memorial service the family was told the truth: He was killed unintentionally by gunfire from his fellow soldiers." ... "More than 1,800 Army soldiers have died in Iraq since the war began in March 2003; about 240 have died in Afghanistan. Overall, more than 2,800 U.S. military members have died since the start of the Iraq war." -AP via

-CBSNews

US - Italy - Weldon - Government - Military -Money - Pennsylvania

"Italian Arms Contractor and a Pennsylvania Congressman Share Close Ties." ... "In November at the five-star Hotel Splendido overlooking the harbor in Portofino, a playground of the Italian rich, [Pennsylvania Republican] Representative Curt Weldon was the center of attention." ... "The second-ranking Republican on the House Armed Services Committee, Mr. Weldon was a main speaker at a conference sponsored in part by the Italian military giant Finmeccanica. At the gathering of Italian, British and American political leaders, Mr. Weldon, of Pennsylvania, spoke on behalf of Italian arms makers who were seeking a bigger share of Pentagon contracts." ... "Taxpayers paid for Mr. Weldon’s stay. He received a $1,153 daily expense allowance from the federal government and flew over on a military jet." ... "For Mr. Weldon, the conference was a victory lap. After several years of promoting Italian military contractors, the Italians had scored some big victories at the Pentagon. But Mr. Weldon’s efforts were equally beneficial for his district, his family, his friends and his campaign coffers." ... "His daughter Kim, 29, a former social worker, was hired by AgustaWestland, the Finmeccanica subsidiary that won the Marine One contract, shortly after her father’s speech in Portofino. Kim Weldon’s work is to set up booths at trade shows and perform public relations." ... "More than 10 Americans at Finmeccanica subsidiaries in the United States, along with their spouses, were among the biggest contributors to Mr. Weldon’s campaign in 2006. Their combined donations of $20,400 edged out donations from American giants like Boeing and Lockheed Martin." -By Leslie Wayne with contributions by David Johnston -NYTimes

20061105

Ted Haggard -

Gay -

Drug -

Politics -

Colorado

"Disgraced Haggard: I am a "deceiver and a liar." ... "In a letter of apology read to the congregation of [Colorado's] New Life Church Sunday morning, Ted Haggard confessed to sexual immorality and described himself as "a deceiver and a liar."" ... ""There is a part of my life that is so repulsive and dark that I've been warring against it all of my adult life," Haggard wrote." ... "Describing a lifelong battle against temptations that were contrary to his teachings, Haggard said he had sought assistance "in a variety of ways," and while he had stretches of "freedom," nothing proved effective." ... "Haggard was fired as senior pastor of the church on Saturday by an oversight board of pastors that concluded Haggard committed "sexually immoral conduct." The board had investigated claims by a male prostitute who said publicly this week that Haggard paid him for sex and took methamphetamine over a three-year period." -By Eric Gorski

-DenverPost.com

20061104