CLG's
BREAKING NEWS and COMMENTARY
Breaking:
Court
agrees to hear Prop 8 challenges 19
Nov 2008 California's highest court has agreed to hear legal challenges
to the state's new same-sex marriage ban, but is refusing to allow
gay couples to resume marrying until it rules on the measure's
validity. The California Supreme Court on Wednesday accepted three
lawsuits seeking to overturn Proposition 8, a constitutional amendment
which passed with 52 percent of the vote.
CLG
exclusive:
Re-killed
Ayman al-Zawahiri is back in 'audio message,' taunting Obama
--The elusive, whack-a-mole al-Qaeda #2 is back again (from
the dead)!
By Lori Price 19 Nov 2008 Ayman al-Zawahiri criticized U.S. President-elect
Barack Obama in an 'audio
message' posted on the Internet, calling him dishonorable
and a servant of whites, the Associated Press reported.
The second-in-command of Islamic militant network al-Qaeda [al-CIAduh]
has
called on Muslims to harm "criminal" America. You just
can't keep a good terrorist down (or dead) for long, especially
when Bush needs a terror attack/martial law before January 20.
Blackwater
gunboats will protect ships --The McArthur arrives in the
Gulf of Aden at the end of the year. It is to be joined by three
or four similar vessels over next year to form the
company's private navy. 19
Nov 2008 The American security company Blackwater is planning
to cash in on the rising threat of piracy on the high seas by
launching a flotilla of gunboats for hire by the shipping companies.
The firm, which gained international notoriety when its staff
terrorists killed civilians in Iraq, has already equipped one
vessel, called The McArthur, which will carry up to 40 armed guards
and have a landing pad for an attack helicopter.
Mystery
surrounds CIA Somalia trip 19 Nov 2008 Operatives from
the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) have entered the Somali
breakaway region of Puntland under a cloud of suspicion. The CIA
agents arrived in the town of Bossaso on Wednesday and are holding
meetings with Puntland's high-ranking officials, a Press TV correspondent
reported. An international advocacy group blasted Washington in
its recent report, saying US air strikes in the Horn of Africa
country had caused devastation for aid workers on the ground.
Iraq
war illegal, former U.K. lawyer says 18 Nov 2008 Justification
used by British Prime Minister Tony Blair to support the U.S.-led
of invasion of Iraq in 2003 was flawed, Iranian state media said
Tuesday. Baron Thomas Henry Bingham, former head of the judicial
branch of the House of Lords, told the British Institute of International
and Comparative Law that lawmakers had not provided sufficient
evidence to the former premier to justify the invasion of Iraq,
the Islamic Republic News Agency reported Tuesday.
Iraqi
parliament's debate on US pact disrupted 19 Nov 2008 Lawmakers
loyal to Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr on Wednesday disrupted
a parliamentary debate ahead of a Nov. 24 vote on a U.S.-Iraqi
security agreement that would keep American troops in Iraq for
three more years. Speaker Mahmoud al-Mashhadani adjourned the
session until Thursday after Sadrist lawmaker Ahmed al-Massoudi
aggressively approached a lawmaker from the ruling coalition who
was reading aloud the text of the agreement.
'Rather
than accepting responsibility, the Kellogg Brown and Root (KBR)
Corporation is seeking in an aggressive way to escape accountability
for its actions.' The
Hidden Enemy --Iraq plant coordinator: KBR
knew sodium dichromate was at the plant.
17 Nov 2008 Ed Blacke was the Health, Safety and Environmental
Coordinator at the Qarmat Ali water treatment plant near Basra,
Iraq. Blacke arrived in June of 2003 and remained through the
middle of August 2003. His Houston-based company, Kellogg Brown
& Root (KBR) was contracted to rebuild the facility after the
United States invaded Iraq in 2003 and toppled Saddam's government...
Ed Blacke claims KBR knew sodium dichromate was at the plant.
He says KBR was negligent by not giving the Indiana National Guard
soldiers protective gear.
'This
is clearly illegal because our government can't contract away
the Constitution by enlisting the aid of other governments that
do not adhere to the Constitution's requirements.' Did
U.S. push detention of American without charges? 17
Nov 2008 An American Muslim subjected to several years of intense
FBI scrutiny and questioning about links to terrorism has been
held without charges, access to a lawyer or contact with his family
for nearly three months by the security services of the United
Arab Emirates. The case of Naji Hamdan, coupled with FBI interrogations
of an American citizen secretly detained without charges in East
Africa, raises the question of whether the Bush regime has asked
other nations to hold Americans suspected of terrorism links whom
U.S. officials lack the evidence to charge.
Taxpayers
will pay for Gonzales' private attorney 18 Nov 2008 The
Justice Department has agreed to pay for a private lawyer to defend
former Attorney General [torturer] Alberto Gonzales against allegations
that he encouraged officials to inject partisan politics into
the department's hiring and firing practices. Gonzales' attorney
recently revealed in court papers that the Justice Department
had approved his request to pay private attorney's fees arising
from the federal lawsuit.
'Sealing
Afghan border impossible' 19 Nov 2008 Pakistan's army
chief meets with NATO commanders in Brussels to discuss the 'war
on terror' along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border. During the Wednesday
meeting General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani urged NATO to engage with
Pashtuns tribes near Afghanistan rather than sealing the border
to stop incursions by pro-Taliban militants. "Because of the nature
of the border, geography, history and culture, there is no force
that can physically block that border," Kayani said.
Pakistan
seeks $7.6bn in IMF reform deal bailout 17 Nov
2008 Pakistan has asked the International Monetary Fund for a
$7.6bn (£5.2bn) standby loan in return for economic reforms, said
the country's de facto finance minister. The terms of the loan
require Pakistan tocut the government's fiscal deficit to below
4 per cent of gross domestic product, from more than 7 per cent
in the financial year to June, said Shaukat Tarin, finance adviser
to the prime minister.
Kerry
expected to get top foreign affairs panel post 19 Nov
2008 Senator John F. Kerry (D-Mass.) is widely expected to be
named the new chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee,
a position that will give him enormous influence over international
relations.
US
House panel backs Waxman as energy chairman 19 Nov 2008
Rep. Henry Waxman of California narrowly won a preliminary contest
on Wednesday to replace Rep. John Dingell of Michigan as chairman
of the U.S. House of Representatives Energy and Commerce Committee.
On a secret-ballot vote of 25-22, the House Democratic Steering
Committee recommended that Waxman head the energy panel in the
new Congress set to convene in January.
Tom
Daschle accepts Obama offer to lead Health and Human Services
19 Nov 2008 President-elect Barack Obama has asked former Sen.
Tom Daschle to serve as secretary of Health and Human Services,
and the South Dakota Democrat has accepted the offer. Daschle,
if confirmed, would head the agency that will handle the new administration's
signature initiative to expand health insurance coverage, a Democrat
familiar with the process said.
Ted
Stevens loses Alaska senate race --The loss vindicates Republican
senators who yesterday delayed a decision on whether to punish
Stevens for his felony conviction. 19 Nov 2008 Alaska Senator
Ted Stevens has lost his bid for an eighth term. AP called the
race yesterday, which was Stevens' 85th birthday. He was bested
by Democratic Anchorage Mayor Mark Begich. Just days before the
election, Stevens was convicted of lying on senate financial disclosure
forms, concealing more than $250,000 in home renovations and gifts
from an oil services company. Yesterday senate Republicans chose
not to censure Stevens or expel him, opting instead to wait until
the final vote tally.
Lieberman
credits Obama after Dems let him keep post 18 Nov 2008
Democrat-turned-independent traitor Sen. Joe Lieberman
managed to keep his Senate committee chairmanship in part because
President-elect Barack Obama didn't want to punish him for supporting
Sen. John McCain, LieberBush said Tuesday. The Senate Democratic
caucus, following a lengthy and often heated debate, voted 42-13
Tuesday to let Lieberman continue chairing the Senate Homeland
Security Committee.
Satire:
Lieberman
Operation Successful: Lips Removed From Bush's Buttocks
By R J Shulman 19 Nov 2008 In a painful sixteen hour operation
performed at Bethesda Medical Center, a team of doctors has successfully
separated Senator Joe Lieberman’s lips from the posterior of President
[sic] George W. Bush. "It was touch and go for a while,"
said Dr. Siddhartha Gupta. "We didn’t know if we were going
to lose a lip or a buttock, but it all worked out." The doctors
had a brief scare when it appeared they had lost the President’s
right cheek. (Satire)
Last-minute
Bush abortion ruling causes furor 18 Nov 2008 A last-minute
Bush administration plan to grant sweeping new protections to
health care providers who oppose abortion and other procedures
on religious or moral grounds has provoked a torrent of objections,
including a strenuous protest from the government agency that
enforces job-discrimination laws. The proposed rule would prohibit
recipients of federal money from discriminating against doctors,
nurses and other health care workers who refuse to perform or
to assist in the performance of abortions or sterilization procedures
because of their "religious beliefs or moral convictions." Three
officials from the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, including
its legal counsel, whom President [sic] George W. Bush appointed,
said the proposal would overturn 40 years of civil rights law
prohibiting job discrimination based on religion.
8
= HATE By AntiGayBlacklist 19 Nov 2008 The following individuals
or organizations (according to ElectionTrack.com) have donated
money to the California Proposition 8 campaign which seeks to
ban same sex marriages. Please do not patronize them. 8 = HATE.
Manitoba
mourns the loss of Debby, world's oldest polar bear; dead at 41
18 Nov 2008 She came to Canada as a Russian orphan in the midst
of the Cold War and quickly became a beloved icon for generations
of Manitobans. After earning worldwide recognition as the oldest
of her kind, Debby the polar bear died peacefully on Monday at
the ripe old age of 41. Her keepers and admirers laid flowers
by her empty enclosure at Winnipeg's Assiniboine Park Zoo Tuesday
as they tearfully remembered the majestic, gentle bear.
Readers,
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Please send a donation.
Or, please mail a check or money order to the CLG:
Citizens for Legitimate Government (CLG)
P.O. Box 1142
Bristol, CT 06011-1142
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your contribution is not tax-deductible.
*****
Dick
Cheney, Alberto Gonzales indicted in S. Texas
--Charges related to alleged abuse of prisoners in federal detention
centers 18 Nov 2008 A South Texas grand jury has indicted
Vice President [sic] Dick Cheney and former Attorney General Alberto
Gonzales on charges related to the alleged abuse of prisoners
in Willacy County's federal detention centers. The indictment
criticizes Cheney's investment in the Vanguard Group, which holds
interests in the private prison companies running the federal
detention centers. It accuses Cheney of a conflict of interest
and "at least misdemeanor assaults" on detainees by working through
the prison companies. Gonzales is accused of using his position
while in office to stop an investigation into abuses at the federal
detention centers.
Grand
jury indicts Cheney, former AG 18 Nov 2008 Vice President
Dick Cheney and former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales have
been named in a South Texas grand jury indictment on charges related
to the alleged abuse of prisoners being detained in Willacy County
federal detention centers, The Associated Press said. Willacy
County is located in South Texas and includes the cities of Lyford,
Raymondville and San Perlita.
Afghan
article says US Bin-Ladin hunt phoney --Text of article, "Bin-Ladin
on the run? The rumour which was fact", by Afghan independent
secular daily newspaper Hasht-e Sobh, on 29 September 2008 --Posted
by Juan Cole 17 Nov 2008 The USG Open Source Center translates
an article from the Persian Afghan press alleging that French
troops were at one point close to capturing Usamah Bin Ladin in
Afghanistan, but that American forces stopped them from doing
so. It says that a forthcoming French documentary containing interviews
with the French soldiers provides proof for the allegation. The
argument is that the Bush administration
needed Bin Ladin to be at large in order to justify its military
expansionism. (Description of Source: Kabul Hasht-e-Sobh
in Dari Kabul Hasht-e Sobh in Dari)
AP
Decries Army Photoshopping 17 Nov 2008 Late Friday night,
the Associated Press published an article
discussing the digitally
altered photos of Gen. Ann E. Dunwoody that had been issued
to the media by the Defense Department. The article announced
that the AP will no longer use Defense-issued photographs.
Army
manipulated general's photo 15 Nov 2008 The Associated
Press on Friday suspended the use of photos provided by the Defense
Department after the Army distributed a digitally altered photo
of the U.S. military's first female four-star general. The image
of Army Gen. Ann E. Dunwoody is the second Army-provided photo
the AP has eliminated from its service in the last two months.
The AP said that adjusting photos and other imagery, even for
aesthetic reasons, damages the credibility of the information
distributed by the military to news organizations and the public.
"For us, there's a zero-tolerance policy of adding or subtracting
actual content from an image," said Santiago Lyon, the AP's director
of photography.
'Burrowing'
Bush ensures his corpora-terrorist trolls and environmental terrorists
remain in place: Administration
Moves to Protect Key Appointees
--Political Positions Shifted to Career Civil Service Jobs 18
Nov 2008 Just weeks before [mercifully] leaving office, the Interior
Department's top lawyer has shifted half a dozen key deputies
-- including two former political appointees who have been involved
in controversial environmental decisions
-- into senior civil service posts. The transfer of political
appointees into permanent federal positions, called "burrowing"
by career officials, creates security for those employees, and
at least initially will deprive the incoming Obama administration
of the chance to install its preferred appointees in some key
jobs.
Top
judge: US and UK acted as 'vigilantes' in Iraq invasion --Former
senior law lord condemns 'serious violation of international law'
18 Nov 2008 One of Britain's most authoritative judicial figures
last night delivered a blistering attack on the invasion of Iraq,
describing it as a serious violation of international law, and
accusing Britain and the US of acting like a "world vigilante".
Lord Bingham, in his first major speech since retiring as the
senior law lord, rejected the then attorney general's defence
of the 2003 invasion as fundamentally flawed.
Mullen:
U.S. Would Need More Than 2 Years for Iraq Withdrawal
17 Nov 2008 The U.S. military would require two to three [!?!]
years to remove its roughly 150,000 troops and equipment from
Iraq safely, and the timing of that withdrawal should be based
on security conditions on the ground, the nation's top military
officer said today.
Premier
of Iraq Is Quietly Firing Fraud Monitors 18 Nov 2008 The
government of Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki is systematically
dismissing Iraqi oversight officials, who were installed to fight
corruption in Iraqi ministries by order of the American occupation
administration [Yeah, right!] The
dismissals, which were confirmed by senior Iraqi and American
government officials on Sunday and Monday, have come as estimates
of official Iraqi corruption have soared. One Iraqi former chief
investigator recently testified before Congress that $13
billion in 'reconstruction' funds from the United States had been
lost to fraud, embezzlement, theft and waste by Iraqi
government officials [and Bush's corpora-terrorist trolls].
Military
judge in 9/11 case replaced 17 Nov 2008 A new military
judge has been named to the 'trial' of accused September 11 mastermined
Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and four other defendants at Guantanamo
Bay, Cuba, a Pentagon official said Monday. Colonel Stephen Henley
was tapped to replace Colonel Ralph Kohlmann, who will retire
in April, the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
The American Civil Liberties Union called the timing of the move
"highly suspect and disturbing," noting that it came a day after
president-elect Barack Obama pledged in an interview with CBS
Television to shut down Guantanamo. "We cannot allow the Bush
administration to sabotage president-elect Obama's plans by ramming
through these cases in its last days," said Anthony Romero,
the ACLU's executive director.
Seattle
man could face charges in Blackwater case 14 Nov 2008
Federal prosecutors in Seattle are awaiting word from the Department
of Justice to decide whether to indict a former Blackwater USA
security operator mercenary now living in Seattle for the
Christmas Eve 2006 shooting death of the bodyguard of the Iraqi
vice president. The case is not connected with the shooting involving
six Blackwater contractors mercenaries in a crowded Baghdad
square in September 2007 that left 17 civilians dead.
Top
US military officer: Taliban gains upper hand 18 Nov 2008
The top U.S. military officer says the Taliban is doing well right
now, and it's no surprise that the militants would reject settlement
talks with the Afghan government. Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of
the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told The Associated Press in an interview
that the Taliban feels confident enough in its success to, as
he put it, negotiate from a position of strength.
AFRICOM
Begins Field Operations 13 Nov 2008 The U.S. Defense Department
divides the world up into different "commands."
We hear a lot about Central
Command because it has responsibility for the wars in Iraq
and Afghanistan. The newest part of the system is Africa
Command, often referred to as AFRICOM. Previously, U.S. military
operations in Africa were divided between three different command
offices. The new AFRICOM designation has
also been controversial.
Official:
Terrorism, water shortages likely 18 Nov 2008 The number
of terrorist attacks will likely decline by 2025 but they will
be more deadly, a top U.S. intelligence officer predicted Tuesday,
citing projections from a report on global trends to be made public
this week. Global climate change will continue, and current efforts
to control it [?] will not bear fruit until around 2030, Thomas
Fingar, deputy director of national intelligence, said. Significant
water and possibly food shortages could result.
Bremerton
Ferry Run Resumes Following Threat 18 Nov 2008 The Bremerton
- Seattle ferry run has has resumed after it was canceled and
a ferry returned to the Bremerton terminal after a "terrorist
threat" was received, the Washington State Patrol said. The WSP
said someone who overheard a conversation reported it to
authorities as a terrorist threat against a state ferry, forcing
that ferry to return to its terminal at Bremerton.
U.S.
Loses Ruling on Hatfill 18 Nov 2008 A federal judge ordered
the Justice Department yesterday to release documents that explain
why investigators suspected Steven J. Hatfill in the 2001 anthrax
mailings. Hatfill has since been exonerated. U.S. District Judge
Royce C. Lamberth ordered the Justice Department to make public
affidavits and related records used to persuade judges to allow
federal agents to search Hatfill's property. He also ruled that
the government must disclose similar records involving Hatfill's
girlfriend.
Japanese
government rushing through terror bill 18 Nov 2008 The
Japanese government is deciding whether to extend parliament's
current session, in an effort to renew an anti-terrorism bill.
The current parliamentary session is set to expire November 30th.
TSA's
'behavior detection' draws scrutiny in light of few arrests
--Critics say the number of arrests is small and indicates the
program is flawed. 18
Nov 2008 Fewer than 1% of airline passengers singled out at airports
for suspicious behavior are arrested, Transportation Security
Administration figures show, raising complaints that too many
innocent people are stopped. A TSA program launched in early
2006 that looks for terrorists using a controversial surveillance
method has led to more than 160,000 people in airports
receiving scrutiny, such as a pat-down search or a brief interview.
That has resulted in 1,266 arrests, often on charges of carrying
drugs or fake IDs, the TSA said. The TSA program trains screeners
to become "behavior detection officers" who patrol terminals and
checkpoints looking for travelers who act oddly or appear to answer
questions suspiciously.
Clinton-Era
Figure a Top Contender For AG --Sources Say Obama Wants Ex-Deputy
Attorney General Eric Holder to Lead DOJ
18 Nov 2008 Washington lawyer Eric Holder has emerged as the top
contender for the Attorney General post in Barack Obama's administration,
and key Senate staff members are fielding questions about how
a potential Holder confirmation hearing could play out, ABC News
has learned. Holder would be the first African-American Attorney
General if nominated by Obama and confirmed by the U.S. Senate.
Hillary
Clinton to accept Obama's offer of secretary of state job
--President-elect Barack Obama reaching out to former rivals to
build a broad coalition administration 17 Nov 2008 Hillary
Clinton plans to accept the job of secretary of state offered
by Barack Obama, who is reaching out to former rivals to build
a broad coalition administration, the Guardian has learned. Since
being elected senator for New York, Clinton has specialised in
foreign affairs and defence.
Ex-CIA
Officials Tied to Rendition Program and Faulty Iraq Intel Tapped
to Head Obama's Intelligence Transition Team (Democracy
Now!) 17 Nov 2008 John Brennan and Jami Miscik, both former intelligence
officials under George Tenet, are leading Barack Obama’s review
of intelligence agencies and helping make recommendations to the
new administration. Brennan has supported warrantless wiretapping
and extraordinary rendition, and Miscik was involved with the
politicized intelligence alleging weapons of mass destruction
in the lead-up to the war on Iraq.
Democrats
Let Lieberman Keep Senate Chairmanship
19 Nov 2008 Senator Joseph I. LieberBush, the Democrat-turned-independent
Reichwing maggot from Connecticut, was allowed to keep his chairmanship
of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee on
Tuesday despite his support for Senator John McCain [and Sarah
Palin] in the presidential campaign. DemocRATic senators voted
instead to oust Mr. Lieberman from the Environment and Public
Works Committee, where he had been chairman of a subcommittee.
That penalty was a slap on the wrist compared with the prospect
of losing the homeland security leadership post. [Useless,
spineless DemocRATs keep traitor (and betrayer of the people of
Connecticut) Joe LieberBush (R-Israel) as chair of key committees
--This is *exactly* why no one has ANY respect for these sycophantic
f*ckers. Does anyone think for a *minute* the GOP would keep
such a traitorous maggot, if the roles were reversed? LOL. Democrats
have controlled Congress since 2006 and have done *nothing* but
vote with Bush and his corpora-terrorist trolls. And, we won't
forget Obama's vote on FISA, either. --LRP]
Alaska's
Stevens trails as Senate count nears end 18 Nov 2008 U.S.
Republican Sen. Ted Stevens of Alaska, convicted last month on
corruption charges, trails his Democratic challenger by 2,374
votes as the vote count for the state's U.S. Senate race nears
its end, state election officials said on Tuesday.
Judge
delays trial of accused Palin e-mail 'hacker' --Lawyer for
David Kernell asks court to bar references to 'hacking' and 'hacker'
17
Nov 2008 The Tennessee college student [David Kernell] indicted
a month ago for allegedly breaking into the e-mail account of
former Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin will
face trial next May, not next month as originally scheduled, according
to recent court documents. Initially, the trial was to begin Dec.
16 for Kernell, who faces a single count of illegally accessing
Palin's Yahoo Mail e-mail account.
Lawmakers,
Treasury lock horns on foreclosures 18 Nov 2008 Treasury
Secretary Henry Paulson and members of Congress clashed on Tuesday
over the best use for the $700-billion financial bailout fund,
with lawmakers demanding money to stem a national wave of mortgage
foreclosures.
U.S.
auto execs plead for Congress to fund bailout 18 Nov 2008
U.S. auto executives took their case for a $25 billion industry
bailout to Congress on Tuesday, warning that the industry was
teetering on the brink of disaster as they work to overcome political
opposition.
British
MPs pass climate change bill 19 Nov 2008 British politicians
have given final approval to a bill committing to cut greenhouse
gas emissions by 80 per cent by 2050 - the first country to have
such a legally binding framework on climate change.
World's
oldest polar bear dies in Winnipeg zoo at 42 17 Nov 2008
The oldest polar bear in the world is dead at 42. Officials with
the Assiniboine Park Zoo in Winnipeg announced in a statement
Monday evening that Debby the polar bear was euthanized earlier
in the day, "surrounded by her caring zookeepers and veterinarians."
Patrick
Christie's art to help bashed flamingo 17 Nov 2008 The
bashing of a flamingo [dubbed Greater] at
Adelaide Zoo has prompted artist Patrick Christie to auction a
piece of work to raise money for the bird's care. The male greater
flamingo, which is blind in one eye and believed by zoo staff
to be about 78 years old, was bashed last month and left with
concussion and head and beak injuries. Zookeepers last week said
the bird had yet to regain its appetite and was quieter and sleepier
than normal.
*****
Dozen
juveniles held at Guantanamo Bay --Pentagon revises upward
number of children imprisoned at Guantanamo 16 Nov 2008 The
number of juveniles held at Guantanamo Bay was revised upwards
by US military officials. Twelve juvenile prisoners have been
held at the US camp on Cuba, up from eight reported in May to
a United Nations committee on child rights, the Pentagon said.
Obama
'will close Guantanamo Bay'
17 Nov 2008 In his first major interview since polling day, President-elect
Barack Obama said last night that upon taking office he would
close Guantanamo Bay and ban torture by the American military.
'This
agreement hands Iraq over (to the US) on a golden platter and
for an indefinite period.' Iraq's
cabinet agrees deal for US troops to remain for three more years
16 Nov 2008 Iraq's cabinet today approved a security pact with
the United States that will allow American forces to stay in Iraq
for three years after their UN mandate expires at the end of this
year. Followers of Iraq's Shia leader, Muqtada al-Sadr, have objected
to the pact. "This agreement hands Iraq over (to the US) on a
golden platter and for an indefinite period," said Ahmed al-Massoudi,
spokesman for the 30-seat Sadrist bloc in parliament.
Iraqi
cabinet approves accord setting U.S. troop withdrawal
16 Nov 2008 Iraq's cabinet on Sunday approved a security pact
that sets a timetable for the nearly complete withdrawal of American
forces within three years, but the agreement faces an uncertain
outlook in Iraq's parliament. Followers of anti-American cleric
Muqtada al Sadr, meanwhile, view the agreement as an affirmation
of the American occupation and oppose it outright.
Pakistan
closes NATO's supply line into Afghanistan 16 Nov 2008
Pakistan has closed the Torkham border crossing in the Khyber
tribal agency resulting in temporary suspension of NATO's primary
supply line into Afghanistan. The closure has suspended movement
of fuel tankers and food trucks to NATO and US-led forces in Afghanistan
for security reasons, media reports said here today. [What a shame!]
British
Army soldier killed by road bomb in Afghanistan 16 Nov
2008 A British Army soldier has been killed by a road bomb in
southern Afghanistan. The Gurkha soldier was taking part in a
routine road patrol in Musa Qala, Helmand province, when the vehicle
in which he was travelling struck an improvised explosive device
(IED).
Toxic
Chemicals Blamed for Gulf War Illness 17 Nov 2008 Gulf
War illness, dismissed by some as a psychosomatic disorder, is
a very real illness that affects at least 25 percent of the 700,000
U.S. veterans who took part in the 1991 Gulf War. It's likely
cause was exposure to toxic chemicals that included pesticides
that were often overused during the war, as well as a [deadly]
drug given to U.S. troops to protect them from nerve gas, a frequent
weapon of choice of [supplied by the US to] former Iraqi leader
Saddam Hussein.
Panel
finds widespread Gulf War illness 16 Nov 2008 At least
one in four U.S. veterans of the 1991 Gulf War suffers from a
multi-symptom illness caused by exposure to toxic chemicals during
the conflict, a congressionally mandated report being released
Monday found. For much of the past 17 years, government officials
have maintained that these veterans -- more than 175,000 out of
about 697,000 deployed -- are merely suffering the effects of
wartime stress, even as more have come forward recently with severe
ailments.
Why
Obama Will Continue Star Wars
16 Nov 2008 Missile-defense skeptics yearning for a fresh look
at the wisdom of pumping $10 billion annually into missile defense
aren't going to get it from Barack Obama when he moves into the
Oval Office. Even in a Democratic-run Pentagon the push for missile
defense is going to continue. If Obama keeps Defense Secretary
Robert Gates on, as some advisers are arguing he should, that
would come as no surprise. [Uh, where's the 'change we can
believe in?']
Confirmed:
Air Force Flunks Nuke Inspection By Noah Shachtman 13
Nov 2008 It's confirmed:
The atomic missile team at Malmstrom Air Force Base, Montana "failed
its nuclear surety inspection" earlier this week, Air Force
Times is reporting. Inspectors found problems that 341st Missile
Wing’s "weapons storage area and its personnel reliability program,
which monitors who can work with nuclear weapons."
'That
loophole lets a known terrorist who is on a government watch list
board a plane without needing a fake ID. All that's needed is
a home computer, a printer and a little skill at HTML.' Chertoff:
We're Closing that Boarding-Pass Loophole By Ryan Singel
17 Nov 2008 There’s a hole in airline security big enough to get
Osama bin Laden himself onto a domestic flight, Homeland Security
chief Michael Chertoff acknowledges, but that’s no reason to ditch
watch lists or ID checks at the airport, he says. Chertoff told
Threat Level in an interview last week that the government was
aware of, and patching, the so-called boarding-pass loophole,
which just came back into the public eye after a recent Atlantic
magazine story where a reporter got though security using a fake
boarding pass.
KBR's
Convenient Contract --KBR is awarded a $75 million U.S. Army
Corps contract to provide emergency power to Western states --days
before a wildfire sweeps California, 'threatening the power of
the city of Los Angeles.' By Lori Price 16 Nov 2008 Now, that's
what I call a coincidence!
Auditors
go easy on contractors --Department officials overruled auditors
who objected to nearly $1 billion in payments to KBR, the Houston-based
contractor that supplies U.S. troops with food and housing.
09 Nov 2008 Instead of seeing red, Pentagon audit managers saw
business as usual after being told that a major military contractor
failed to open all its books for review. At a meeting of Defense
Contract Audit Agency staff in California last May, auditor Acacia
Rodriguez used a 24-page PowerPoint briefing to describe how she
and her co-workers struggled with the Bechtel Group's "chronic
failure" to provide the financial records required to prove tax
dollars were being spent properly. "Mtn View, we have a problem!!!"
said one of Rodriguez's briefing charts, a shorthand reference
to the audit agency's branch office in Mountain View, outside
San Francisco.
Grand
jury investigating another House GOP contract 15 Nov 2008
A state grand jury is investigating a second computer services
contract by the House Republican caucus, trying to determine if
a multimillion-dollar database was used illegally for political
purposes. Investigators from the office of Attorney General Tom
Corbett have questioned House employees about a contract with
GCR & Associates, a computer consulting firm with offices in New
Orleans and Birmingham, Ala., sources said. The company received
$9 million in state business from 2002 to this year for computer
programming that provided detailed information on registered voters,
their patterns and analyses.
Rather's
Lawsuit Shows Role of G.O.P. in Inquiry --Bush's media whores
at CBS used used Republican operatives to vet the names of potential
members of a panel that had been billed as independent 17
Nov 2008
When Dan Rather filed suit against CBS 14 months ago -- claiming,
among other things, that his former employer had commissioned
a politically biased investigation into his work on a "60
Minutes" segment about President [sic] Bush’s National Guard
service -- the network predicted the quick and favorable dismissal
of the case... But Mr. Rather has unearthed evidence that would
seem to support his assertion that CBS intended its investigation,
at least in part, to quell Republican criticism of the network.
Internal CBS memorandums turned over to his lawyers show that
network executives used Republican operatives to vet the names
of potential members of a panel that had been billed as independent
and charged with investigating the "60 Minutes" segment.
2
DemocRATs to Submit Compromise on Lieberman
18 Nov 2008 A pair of Senate Democrats will offer a compromise
plan today to sanction Sen. Joseph I. LIEberman (R-Israel) for
his support of the Republican presidential ticket but allow him
to keep a key committee chairmanship and remain in the party caucus.
Senators and aides said yesterday that Sens. Christopher J. Dodd
(Conn.) and Ken Salazar (Colo.) will present a plan at a caucus
meeting that would strip Lieberman of a low-profile subcommittee
chairmanship, possibly one on global warming. But LieberBush would
retain the gavel of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs
Committee.
McCain
backer LIEberman may keep committee chair 17 Nov 2008
Sen. Joe LieberBush appears increasingly likely to hold onto his
prized chairmanship of the Senate Homeland Security Committee
as he meets Tuesday with Democratic colleagues unhappy over his
vocal support for GOP nominee John McCain during this year's presidential
campaign.
Gag
me with a chainsaw *and* mega barf alert: Obama,
McCain pledge to work together 17 Nov 2008 U.S. President-elect
Barack Obama and vanquished rival John McCain met for the first
time since the Nov. 4 election on Monday, pledging to work together
to face the financial crisis and other national challenges. "We're
going to have a good conversation about how we can do some work
together to fix up the country," Obama said before the two began
their closed-door meeting, adding that he wanted to offer his
thanks to McInsane for "outstanding service" already rendered
to the United States.
Rahm
Emanuel apologizes for father's disparaging remarks about Arabs
14 Nov 2008 Rahm Emanuel U.S. President-elect Barack Obama's chief
of staff Rahm Emanuel apologized to an Arab-American group on
Thursday for comments disparaging Arabs made by his father.
Dershowitz:
I helped keep Carter silent 13 Nov 2008 Why didn't Jimmy
Carter speak from the podium at the Democratic National Convention?
Alan Dershowitz said he had something to do with it. In an interview
with Shalom TV, the Harvard Law School professor says he "pushed"
Barack Obama "very hard to make that decision," Dershowitz said
in an interview with Shalom TV. "Barack Obama had to make a choice
between his Jewish supporters and his anti-Israel supporters like
Jimmy Carter, and he did not choose Jimmy Carter. And that was
an embarrassment for Jimmy Carter and a show of disrespect."
Satire:
Obama
Victory Starts Hot New Trend: Palling Around With Terrorists
By R J Shulman 17 Nov 2008 The decisive victory of Barack Obama
in the presidential election has made a once taboo topic the talk
of the town, associating with a terrorist. "Everybody wants
to have their picture taken with a terrorist," said Sandy
Holsteder of US Magazine, "William Ayers has so many invites,
he will never have to buy lunch or dinner again." (Satire)
Priest:
No communion for Obama supporters --Priest says it's because
the Democratic president-elect supports abortion 13 Nov 2008
South Carolina Roman Catholic priest has told his parishioners
that they should refrain from receiving Holy Communion if they
voted for Barack Obama because the Democratic president-elect
supports abortion, and supporting him "constitutes material cooperation
with intrinsic evil." The Rev. Jay Scott Newman said in a letter
distributed Sunday to parishioners at St. Mary's Catholic Church
in Greenville that they are putting their souls at risk if they
take Holy Communion before doing penance for their vote. [And,
parishioners are putting their sanity at risk, listening to this
Reichwing nutjobs.]
Several
presidents of private colleges earn more than $1 million
17 Nov 2008 A dozen presidents of private colleges earned more
than $1 million in compensation during the 2006-07 year, including
Northwestern University chief Henry Bienen, who was the second-highest
paid college executive in the nation. The annual survey of presidential
pay released Monday by The Chronicle of Higher Education found
that 89 private college presidents took home more than $500,000
in annual compensation, more than double those who did five years
earlier.
Henry
Paulson abandons plan to purchase bad mortgages and will invest
$700bn bailout in banks 13 Nov 2008 Henry Paulson announced
a $700 billion U-turn on Wednesday when he said that Washington
would no longer be using taxpayer money to buy distressed assets
from troubled banks. The Treasury Secretary's change of heart
marks a dramatic shift, given that the primary purpose of the
$700 billion bailout fund, approved in Washington only in September,
had been to purchase mortgage-backed securities from troubled
lenders.
Inhofe:
Cancel the 'blank check' --Senator criticizes Henry Paulson
for changing $700 billion bailout plan 16 Nov 2008 U.S. Sen.
Jim Inhofe said Saturday that Congress was not told the truth
about the bailout of the nation's financial system and should
take back what is left of the $700 billion "blank check'' it gave
the Bush administration. "It is just outrageous that the American
people don't know that Congress doesn't know how much money he
(Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson) has given away to anyone,''
the Oklahoma Republican told the Tulsa World.
Goldman
Targeted by Investor Complaints of Naked Short-Selling --Investors:
Goldman is acting against its clients by trying to profit at their
expense. 17 Nov 2008 Investors in the $591 billion high- yield,
high-risk loan market are accusing Goldman Sachs Group Inc. of
naked short selling to profit from record price declines. At least
two fund managers complained verbally to officials of the Loan
Syndications and Trading Association, saying they believe Goldman
helped drive down prices by using the technique, according to
people with knowledge of the objections.
Lehman's
administrators paid more than the bankers 14 Nov 2008
The administrators of the UK and European arm of bankrupt investment
bank Lehman Brothers are making better money than the bankers.
PricewaterhouseCoopers, which has around 300 employees working
on the Lehman administration, is being paid £4m a week, the accounting
firm revealed yesterday. By contrast, the monthly wage bill for
Lehman's remaining 1,100 bankers is £8m – £2m a week – though
that does not include planned "small retention bonuses".
Citigroup
to slash 52,000 jobs 17 Nov 2008 Citigroup revealed plans
to cut 52,000 jobs by early next year in a dramatic move to restore
the No. 2 U.S. bank to health [?!?] as it combats mounting debt
losses and sagging economies worldwide. The cuts announced by
Chief Executive Vikram Pandit on Monday will shrink Citigroup's
work force by 15 percent, and are in addition to 23,000 jobs eliminated
between January and September.
Our
Home-Grown Melamine Problem By James E. McWilliams 17
Nov 2008 China's food supply appears to be awash in the industrial
chemical melamine. Dangerous levels have been detected not only
in milk and eggs, but also in chicken feed and wheat gluten, meaning
that melamine is almost impossible to avoid in processed foods...
For all the outrage about Chinese melamine, what American consumers
and government agencies have studiously failed to scrutinize is
how much melamine has pervaded our own food system.
*****
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Term Archives --Recent news items