Nader calls for Bush impeachment - The Boston Globe - Boston.com

The 'I' word - The Boston Globe - Boston.com - Op-ed - News: "By Ralph Nader and Kevin Zeese | May 31, 2005

THE IMPEACHMENT of President Bush and Vice President Cheney, under Article II, Section 4 of the Constitution, should be part of mainstream political discourse.
.............................

The UN, IAEA, the State and Energy departments, the Air Force's National Air and Space Intelligence Center, US inspectors, and even the CIA concluded there was no basis for the Bush-Cheney public assertions. Yet, President Bush told the public in September 2002 that Iraq ''could launch a biological or chemical attack in as little as 45 minutes after the order is given.' And, just before the invasion, President Bush said: ''Facing clear evidence of peril, we cannot wait for the final proof -- the smoking gun -- that could come in the form of a mushroom cloud.'

The president and vice president have artfully dodged the central question: ''Did the administration mislead us into war by manipulating and misstating intelligence concerning weapons of mass destruction and alleged ties to Al Qaeda, suppressing contrary intelligence, and deliberately exaggerating the danger a contained, weakened Iraq posed to the United States and its neighbors?'

If this is answered affirmatively Bush and Cheney have committed ''high crimes and misdemeanors.' It is time for Congress to investigate the illegal Iraq war as we move toward the third year of the endless quagmire that many security experts believe jeopardizes US safety by recruiting and training more terrorists. A Resolution of Impeachment would be a first step. Based on the mountains of fabrications, deceptions, and lies, it is time to debate the ''I' word."

Federal ID Act May Be Flawed

Federal ID Act May Be Flawed:

"A federal law designed to make it harder to assume someone else's identity may instead have the opposite effect, critics of the measure say.

The Real ID Act, attached to a crucial bill for military spending and tsunami relief that was signed by President Bush on May 11, sets new rules for issuing driver's licenses and requires states to share electronic access to their records.
..........................

'It's a gigantic treasure trove for those who are bent on obtaining data for the purpose of creating fake identities,' said Beth Givens of the nonprofit Privacy Rights Clearinghouse. Armed with a stranger's name, Social Security number and date of birth, it's not hard for fraudsters to take out bogus loans that can wreck a victim's credit record.

The new licenses themselves must contain some data — as yet unspecified — that can be scanned electronically by a device like a credit card reader. Virtually all states make machine-readable cards now, but they use differing technologies.

Critics predict the standardization will prompt many more merchants to scan customer licenses and then pass on the information to such data brokers as ChoicePoint Inc. and LexisNexis. The databases of both ChoicePoint and LexisNexis have been exploited by identity thieves.

'There's no data-protection law, so it can be sold to companies like ChoicePoint,' said Bruce Schneier, the author of several books on security technology. 'It would be silly not to, since it's a revenue stream.'"

BBC NEWS | South Asia | Afghan women 'still suffer abuse'

BBC NEWS | South Asia | Afghan women 'still suffer abuse':

"Women all over Afghanistan are still being murdered, raped and imprisoned with impunity, the human rights group Amnesty International has said.
..............................

No improvement

The report's author, Nazia Hussein, who travelled all over the country conducting interviews, told Reuters there was a deep sense of disappointment that matters had not improved since the removal of the Taleban.

'A lot of women told us they had hoped things would change rapidly for the better after the overthrow of the Taleban, so there is a sense of disappointment,' she said."

French fries protester regrets war jibe - Guardian Unlimited | The Guardian |

Guardian Unlimited | The Guardian | French fries protester regrets war jibe: "

It was a culinary rebuke that echoed around the world, heightening the sense of tension between Washington and Paris in the run-up to the invasion of Iraq. But now the US politician who led the campaign to change the name of french fries to 'freedom fries' has turned against the war.

Walter Jones, the Republican congressman for North Carolina who was also the brains behind french toast becoming freedom toast in Capitol Hill restaurants, told a local newspaper the US went to war 'with no justification'."

Amnesty slams U.S. on human rights - May 25, 2005 CNN.com -

CNN.com - Amnesty slams U.S. on human rights - May 25, 2005:

"LONDON, May 25 (Reuters) -- Four years after the September 11 attacks on New York and Washington, human rights are in retreat worldwide and the United States bears most responsibility, rights watchdog Amnesty International said on Wednesday.

From Afghanistan to Zimbabwe the picture is bleak. Governments are increasingly rolling back the rule of law, taking their cue from the U.S.-led war on terror, it said.

'The USA as the unrivalled political, military and economic hyper-power sets the tone for governmental behavior worldwide,' Secretary General Irene Khan said in the foreword to Amnesty International's 2005 annual report.

'When the most powerful country in the world thumbs its nose at the rule of law and human rights, it grants a licence to others to commit abuse with impunity,' she said.

London-based Amnesty cited the pictures last year of abuse of detainees at Iraq's U.S.-run Abu Ghraib prison, which it said were never adequately investigated, and the detention without trial of 'enemy combatants' at the U.S. naval base in Cuba."

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Parents: Army disrespected Tillman's memory - May 23, 2005-CNN.com -

CNN.com - Parents: Army disrespected Tillman's memory - May 23, 2005:

"The family of former professional football player Pat Tillman says the Army disrespected his memory by lying in its investigation of his death in Afghanistan last year.

In interviews with The Washington Post, the Army Ranger's mother and father said they believe the military and the government created a heroic tale about how their son died to foster a patriotic response across the country.

'Pat had high ideals about the country; that's why he did what he did,' Mary Tillman told the Post. 'The military let him down. The administration let him down. It was a sign of disrespect. The fact that he was the ultimate team player and he watched his own men kill him is absolutely heartbreaking and tragic. The fact that they lied about it afterward is disgusting.'"

Karzai angry at US Afghan 'abuse - 'BBC NEWS | South Asia |

BBC NEWS | South Asia | Karzai angry at US Afghan 'abuse':

"Afghan President Hamid Karzai has condemned as unacceptable new details of alleged abuse of prisoners by US troops in Afghanistan.

The president's spokesman told the BBC the soldiers involved in the deaths of two inmates and alleged abuse of others should be punished.

The allegations are detailed by the New York Times citing a 2,000-page document leaked from a US army investigation."

Qur'an abuse allegations date back years: Red Cross - CBC News:

CBC News: Qur'an abuse allegations date back years: Red Cross:

"The international Red Cross says it raised the issue of alleged Qur'an abuse at Guantanamo Bay with American officials on numerous occasions and as early as 2002."

In U.S. Report, Brutal Details of 2 Afghan Inmates' Deaths - New York Times

In U.S. Report, Brutal Details of 2 Afghan Inmates' Deaths - New York Times:

"The prisoner, a slight, 22-year-old taxi driver known only as Dilawar, was hauled from his cell at the detention center in Bagram, Afghanistan, at around 2 a.m. to answer questions about a rocket attack on an American base. When he arrived in the interrogation room, an interpreter who was present said, his legs were bouncing uncontrollably in the plastic chair and his hands were numb. He had been chained by the wrists to the top of his cell for much of the previous four days.
Skip to next paragraph
..........

At the interrogators' behest, a guard tried to force the young man to his knees. But his legs, which had been pummeled by guards for several days, could no longer bend. An interrogator told Mr. Dilawar that he could see a doctor after they finished with him. When he was finally sent back to his cell, though, the guards were instructed only to chain the prisoner back to the ceiling.

'Leave him up,' one of the guards quoted Specialist Claus as saying.

Several hours passed before an emergency room doctor finally saw Mr. Dilawar. By then he was dead, his body beginning to stiffen. It would be many months before Army investigators learned a final horrific detail: Most of the interrogators had believed Mr. Dilawar was an innocent man who simply drove his taxi past the American base at the wrong time.

The story of Mr. Dilawar's brutal death at the Bagram Collection Point - and that of another detainee, Habibullah, who died there six days earlier in December 2002 - emerge from a nearly 2,000-page confidential file of the Army's criminal investigation into the case, a copy of which was obtained by The New York Times."

Saudis want to limit nuclear inspections - May 4, 2005 - CNN.com -

CNN.com - Saudis want to limit nuclear inspections - May 4, 2005:

"Saudi Arabia said on Wednesday it wants to sign an obscure agreement that the U.N. nuclear watchdog has warned could keep international inspectors from monitoring any atomic activities within its borders."

World news from The Times and the Sunday Times - Times Online

World news from The Times and the Sunday Times - Times Online: "

SHAIMA REZAYEE was the face of a new generation of young Afghan women: she discarded her shalwar kameez and burkha for Western clothes and a glamorous job as a television presenter on Kabul’s answer to MTV.

But two months ago her bosses were forced to dismiss Ms Rezayee, 24, under pressure from conservative mullahs who were disgusted by the “unIslamic values” of her music show.

This week she paid for her unconventional choices with her life: she was shot dead in her home by an unknown assailant."

Scotsman.com News - Latest News - Iraq Torture: 'Claims Against Soldiers Swept under Carpet'

Scotsman.com News - Latest News - Iraq Torture: 'Claims Against Soldiers Swept under Carpet':

"Allegations by nine Iraqi men who claim to have been tortured at the hands of British soldiers at an aid camp were set out today. The men say they were subjected to beatings and abuse at Camp Breadbasket, just outside Basra, in May 2003.
.....

One claims he was kicked so hard in the genitals that he cannot have children and another says that British soldiers tried to get him to cut off the finger of a fellow Iraqi.

Mistreatment of civilian detainees at Breadbasket emerged in “trophy” photographs taken by a soldier, which included scenes of sexual humiliation."

Iran Freedom and Support Act of 2004 - GovTrack: S. 2681[108]: Text of Legislation

GovTrack: S. 2681[108]: Text of Legislation:

"Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 4 This Act may be cited as the ``Iran Freedom and Support Act of 2004''. 6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 7

Congress makes the following findings: ...

(15) The United States intelligence community believes the Government of Iran is pursuing a clan destine nuclear weapons program.
...

(17) The United States Government believes
10 that the Government of Iran supports terrorists and
11 extremist religious leaders in Iraq with the clear in-
12 tention of subverting coalition efforts to bring peace
13 and democracy to Iraq.
................

22 It is the sense of Congress that it should be the policy
23 of the United States to support regime change for the Is-
24 lamic Republic of Iran and to promote the transition to
25 a democratic government to replace that regime."

White House blames mag for rioting deaths despite general's (Myers) claim - Scripps Howard

http://www.knoxstudio.com/shns/story.cfm?pk=BUSH-NEWSWEEK-05-17-05&cat=WW:

"The White House is holding Newsweek magazine responsible for at least 17 deaths linked to rioting in Afghanistan over a report alleging American desecration of the Koran, even though a high military official has dismissed any such connection.

Gen. Richard Myers, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told the Voice of America and other news agencies on May 12 that the report - which claimed that interrogators at the Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, facility holding suspected Islamic terrorists tossed the Muslim holy book into a toilet - had little if anything to do with the protests.

Myers said he spoke with Gen. Carl Eichenberry, the U.S. commander in Afghanistan, who played down reports that the demonstrations were caused by anger over the alleged Koran incident.

'It is the judgment of our commander in Afghanistan, General Eichenberry, that in fact the violence that we saw in Jalalabad was not necessarily the result of the allegations about disrespect for the Koran, but more tied up in the political process and the reconciliation process that President (Hamid) Karzai and his Cabinet are conducting in Afghanistan,' Myers said. 'He thought it was not at all tied to the article in the magazine.'"

Galloway v the US Senate: transcript of statement - Times Online

World news from The Times and the Sunday Times - Times Online:

"'Now, Senator, I gave my heart and soul to oppose the policy that you promoted. I gave my political life's blood to try to stop the mass killing of Iraqis by the sanctions on Iraq which killed one million Iraqis, most of them children, most of them died before they even knew that they were Iraqis, but they died for no other reason other than that they were Iraqis with the misfortune to born at that time. I gave my heart and soul to stop you committing the disaster that you did commit in invading Iraq. And I told the world that your case for the war was a pack of lies.

“I told the world that Iraq, contrary to your claims did not have weapons of mass destruction. I told the world, contrary to your claims, that Iraq had no connection to al-Qaeda. I told the world, contrary to your claims, that Iraq had no connection to the atrocity on 9/11 2001. I told the world, contrary to your claims, that the Iraqi people would resist a British and American invasion of their country and that the fall of Baghdad would not be the beginning of the end, but merely the end of the beginning.



'Senator, in everything I said about Iraq, I turned out to be right and you turned out to be wrong and 100,000 people paid with their lives; 1600 of them American soldiers sent to their deaths on a pack of lies; 15,000 of them wounded, many of them disabled forever on a pack of lies.



If the world had listened to Kofi Annan, whose dismissal you demanded, if the world had listened to President Chirac who you want to paint as some kind of corrupt traitor, if the world had listened to me and the anti-war movement in Britain, we would not be in the disaster that we are in today. Senator, this is the mother of all smokescreens. You are trying to divert attention from the crimes that you supported, from the theft of billions of dollars of Iraq's wealth.



'Have a look at the real Oil-for-Food scandal. Have a look at the 14 months you were in charge of Baghdad, the first 14 months when $8.8 billion of Iraq's wealth went missing on your watch. Have a look at Haliburton and other American corporations that stole not only Iraq's money, but the money of the American taxpayer.



'Have a look at the oil that you didn't even meter, that you were shipping out of the country and selling, the proceeds of which went who knows where? Have a look at the $800 million you gave to American military commanders to hand out around the country without even counting it or weighing it." MORE...

Desecration of Koran Had Been Reported Before - WP

Desecration of Koran Had Been Reported Before:

"Newsweek magazine's now-retracted story that a military guard at the U.S. prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, flushed a copy of the Koran down a toilet has sparked angry denunciations by the White House and the Pentagon, which have linked the article to Muslim riots and deaths abroad.

But American and international media have widely reported similar allegations from detainees and others of desecration of the Muslim holy book for more than two years."

Report: Koran thrown in Toilet (YEARS PRIOR TO NEWSWEEK STORY) The Observer | UK News

The Observer | UK News | How we survived jail hell:

Sunday March 14, 2004

"As Muslims, they were shocked when in repeated 'shakedown' searches of the sleeping tents, copies of the Koran would be trampled on by soldiers and, on one occasion, thrown into a toilet bucket. Throughout their stay at Kandahar the guards carried out head-counts every hour at night to keep the prisoners awake."

03/06/2005 | Koran thrown in Toilet (MONTHS BEFORE NEWSWEEK STORY) Herald.com |

Herald.com | 03/06/2005 | Captives allege religious abuse:

03/06/2005

"Three Kuwaiti captives -- Fawzi al Odah, 27, Fouad al Rabiah, 45, and Khalid al Mutairi, 29 -- separately complained to their lawyer that military police threw their Korans into the toilet, according to the notes of Kristine Huskey, a Washington attorney."

Lawyers win right to seize Saudi assets - Guardian Unlimited | Special reports |

Guardian Unlimited | Special reports | Lawyers win right to seize Saudi assets:

"The court of appeal yesterday granted lawyers acting for three men who were tortured and detained in Saudi jails for more than two years permission to seize the kingdom's assets in this country, including Saudi commercial airliners.

The ruling follows a decision by the court of appeal last October giving the men the right to sue Saudi officials responsible for their torture in the British courts."

Reformists jailed by Saudi court - BBC NEWS | Middle East |

BBC NEWS | Middle East | Reformists jailed by Saudi court:

"A Saudi court has sentenced three reformists to jail terms of between six and nine years for 'stirring up sedition and disobeying the ruler'.

The three activists were arrested in March 2004 after urging the rulers to move towards a constitutional monarchy and speed up reforms.

They refused to defend themselves on the grounds that the trial was taking place behind closed doors.

Human rights representatives were also barred from the courtroom."

Saddam Writing Memoirs From Jail - VOA News -

VOA News - Saddam Writing Memoirs From Jail:

"Saddam Hussein reportedly is writing his autobiography while he languishes in an Iraqi prison, awaiting trial for abuses committed during his time in power.
...................

The defense lawyer is quoted as saying that Saddam's book will try to embarrass the great powers. Among other things, the ex-dictator reportedly will tell how France and Britain betrayed him during Iraq's war with Iran during the 1980s, by appearing to support Saddam but at the same time giving assistance to Iran's Islamic republic."

No foreign fighters in Iraq border town, rebels claim-Chicago Tribune |

Chicago Tribune | No foreign fighters in Iraq border town, rebels claim: "May 14, 2005

AL QAIM, Iraq -- Iraqi fighters toting machine guns and grenade launchers walked the rubble-strewn streets of this town on the Syrian border Friday, setting up checkpoints and preparing to do battle amid a major U.S. offensive.

The U.S. military says the remote desert region is a haven for foreign combatants who slip across the border along ancient smuggling routes and collect weapons to use in some of Iraq's deadliest attacks. But the fighters who remain in this Sunni town about 200 miles west of Baghdad insist there are no foreigners.

'We are all Iraqis,' said one gunman, his face covered with a scarf. He said the fighters were trying to prevent U.S. forces from entering."

Rebuffing Bush, 132 Mayors Embrace Kyoto Rules - New York Times

Rebuffing Bush, 132 Mayors Embrace Kyoto Rules - New York Times:

"May 13 - Unsettled by a series of dry winters in this normally wet city, Mayor Greg Nickels has begun a nationwide effort to do something the Bush administration will not: carry out the Kyoto Protocol on global warming.

Mr. Nickels, a Democrat, says 131 other likeminded mayors have joined a bipartisan coalition to fight global warming on the local level, in an implicit rejection of the administration's policy.

The mayors, from cities as liberal as Los Angeles and as conservative as Hurst, Tex., represent nearly 29 million citizens in 35 states, according to Mayor Nickels's office. They are pledging to have their cities meet what would have been a binding requirement for the nation had the Bush administration not rejected the Kyoto Protocol: a reduction in heat-trapping gas emissions to levels 7 percent below those of 1990, by 2012.

On Thursday, Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg brought New York City into the coalition, the latest Republican mayor to join."

Soldier describes wiring Iraq abuse victim - Yahoo! News

Soldier describes wiring Iraq abuse victim - Yahoo! News:

"Frederick, serving an eight-year prison sentence, said the Iraqi man was thought to have information about who killed four U.S. troops and where their bodies were. An investigator wanted him to be sleep deprived before interrogation the next day, he said.

'Agent Romero wanted him stressed,' Frederick told a military court at the nation's largest Army base. He quoted the agent as saying, 'I don't give a f--- what you do, I just want him to talk tomorrow.'

Frederick said a second soldier later placed the Iraqi man on the box.

The soldier, temporarily on leave from prison to testify at Harman's court-martial which began on Thursday, said investigators found the Iraqi did not have information about the deaths, and he was eventually given special privileges."

U.S. officer blames superior over Abu Ghraib abuse - Top News Article | Reuters.com

Top News Article | Reuters.com:

"The former commander of the Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq blamed a ranking officer for introducing the use of human pyramids and dog leashes in the abuse of detainees and said in an interview on Thursday that abuse may be continuing there.

Col. Janis Karpinski, a former one-star Army Reserve general who was punished in the scandal, blamed Gen. Geoffrey Miller for the methods that were used to humiliate detainees.

Miller headed the U.S. prison camp at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba and was sent to Iraq to recommend improvements in intelligence gathering and detention operations there.

'I believe that Gen. Miller gave them the ideas, gave them the instruction on what techniques to use,' she said in an interview on the ABC News 'Nightline' program."

'Tortured' maid charged by Saudis - BBC NEWS | Middle East |

BBC NEWS | Middle East | 'Tortured' maid charged by Saudis:

"There is controversy in Saudi Arabia over the treatment of a foreign maid who accused her employers of torture.

The most serious charges against the man and woman for whom she worked have now been dropped while the maid is accused of making false allegations.

The 25-year-old maid, Nour Miyati, from Indonesia was sent to hospital with gangrene saying she had been tied up for a month and left without food.

But Saudi authorities have charged her with making false allegations.
...................

Nour Miyati had to have several fingers amputated.

She said the Saudi couple who employed her had bound her hand and foot and left her on a bathroom floor for a month without food.

She also said the wife had accused her of dressing immodestly around the house and had beaten her with a shoe knocking out several teeth.
.....................

Internet chatrooms reflect their belief that such abuse of domestic servants is widespread and part of a wider human rights problem in the kingdom.

Certainly being a maid in Saudi Arabia is not a low-risk occupation.

Last year, for instance, the Indonesian embassy alone received more than 800 complaints of torture.

It has asked for a fresh inquiry into the Miyati case and in the meantime is banning any new recruitment of maids from Indonesia to Saudi Arabia."

British Intelligence Warned Blair of War - WP

British Intelligence Warned Blair of War:

"Seven months before the invasion of Iraq, the head of British foreign intelligence reported to Prime Minister Tony Blair that President Bush wanted to topple Saddam Hussein by military action and warned that in Washington intelligence was 'being fixed around the policy,' according to notes of a July 23, 2002, meeting with Blair at No. 10 Downing Street.

'Military action was now seen as inevitable,' said the notes, summarizing a report by Richard Dearlove, then head of MI6, British intelligence, who had just returned from consultations in Washington along with other senior British officials. Dearlove went on, 'Bush wanted to remove Saddam, through military action, justified by the conjunction of terrorism and WMD [weapons of mass destruction]. But the intelligence and facts were being fixed around the policy.'

British Prime Minister Tony Blair spoke with his country's intelligence chief about seven months before the Iraq invasion. Blair was advised that the threat from Saddam Hussein might have been overstated.

'The case was thin,' summarized the notes taken by a British national security aide at the meeting. 'Saddam was not threatening his neighbours and his WMD capability was less than that of Libya, North Korea or Iran.'
.....................

The notes of the Blair meeting, attended by the prime minister's senior national security team, also disclose for the first time that Britain's intelligence boss believed that Bush had decided to go to war in mid-2002, and that he believed U.S. policymakers were trying to use the limited intelligence they had to make the Iraqi leader appear to be a bigger threat than was supported by known facts."

Body Counts - Newsweek The War on Iraq - MSNBC.com

Body Counts - Newsweek The War on Iraq - MSNBC.com:

"If there’s good news, it’s that while the Pentagon may obscure this grim reality in public presentations, it doesn’t seem to be kidding itself, as it did in Vietnam. An accidentally declassified Pentagon report about a killing on the road to Baghdad airport at the beginning of March shows quite clearly how much worse the overall situation is than the Bush administration would like us, or even its allies in the Coalition forces, to believe.

“The U.S. considers all of Iraq a combat zone,” says the report, which was wrapped up at the end of April, three months after the elections that were supposed to have turned the tide in this conflict. “From July 2004 to late March 2005,” says the document, “there were 15,527 attacks against Coalition Forces throughout Iraq.” Then comes one of several paragraphs marked S//NF (secret, not for distribution to foreign nationals): “From 1 November 2004 to 12 March 2005 there were 3306 attacks in the Baghdad area. Of these, 2400 were directed against Coalition Forces.” In a span of four and a half months, which included the election turning point, that’s not only a hell of a lot of hits in the capital city, it’s just pure hell."

Iraqi Insurgents Unleash Deadly Bombings Despite U.S. Offensive - from TBO.com

Iraqi Insurgents Unleash Deadly Bombings Despite U.S. Offensive - from TBO.com: "May 12, 2005

BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) - A car bomb exploded in a jammed commercial district Thursday, devastating the area and turning the sky gray as shops and restaurants caught fire in the most deadly of a string of attacks that killed 21 and included the assassinations of a general and a colonel on their way to work.

Iraqis expressed growing fury at the relentless bloodshed, throwing stones at police and U.S. forces who came to the scene of the bombing. More than 90 were also wounded in Thursday's violence.

The attacks came as U.S. troops were in the midst of a major offensive near the Syrian border, 200 miles northwest of Baghdad. Fierce clashes were reported with insurgents on the outskirts of the town of Qaim, where angry residents lashed out at U.S. forces.

'They destroyed our city, killed our children, destroyed our houses. We have nothing left,' one man in Qaim told Associated Press Television News. He did not give his name and hid his face with a scarf to address the camera.

Families were fleeing in trucks packed with luggage and APTN footage showed plumes of smoke rising from the town. The U.S. has pounded the area with air strikes, artillery barrages and gunfire in the first days of the offensive aimed at rooting out followers of Iraq's most wanted militant leader, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi.
.................................

At the Pentagon, Gen. Richard Myers, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, indicated Thursday that the insurgency could last for many more years.

'This requires patience,' he said at a news conference. 'This is a thinking and adapting adversary ... I wouldn't look for results tomorrow. One thing we know about insurgencies, that they last from three, four years to nine years.'"

Anti-U.S. Protests Spread in Afghanistan and Pakistan - New York Times

Anti-U.S. Protests Spread in Afghanistan and Pakistan - New York Times:

"May 12 -Anti-American violence spread across Afghanistan and into Pakistan today in the third day of demonstrations and clashes with the police. A provincial office of CARE International was ransacked and four protesters were killed in a continuation of the most widespread protests against the American presence since the fall of the Taliban regime more than three years ago.

In the bloodiest single incident, the police fired on hundreds of tribesmen from Khogiani, a district in eastern Afghanistan, who were attempting to march in protest on Jalalabad, the town where 4 died and 60 were wounded on Wednesday. The police had blocked the tribesmen, many of whom were armed, 20 miles from the city and were ordered to fire into the air to disperse the crowd, said Fazel Muhammad Ibrahimi, the director of health in the province."

ABC News: Head of Abu Ghraib Prison Speaks Out

ABC News: Head of Abu Ghraib Prison Speaks Out:

"May 12, 2005 — Janis Karpinski, the former Army Reserve brigadier general who was in charge of Iraq's Abu Ghraib prison, maintains she and other reservists have been unfairly scapegoated for the prisoner abuse scandal that shocked the world last year, and the the mistreatment of detainees may still be occurring.

'All the way up to the top of the Pentagon, they have a long-standing mindset about reservists and National Guard soldiers, and we are considered disposable,' Karpinski said in an exclusive interview with ABC News' 'Nightline.' 'We go back to our lives as civilians once we're released from active duty.'"

Quality of Life Deemed Poor in Iraq - Yahoo! News

Quality of Life Deemed Poor in Iraq - Yahoo! News:

"More than two years after
Saddam Hussein's fall, 85 percent of Iraqis complain of frequent power outages, only 54 percent have access to clean water and almost a quarter of Iraqi children suffer from chronic malnutrition, a U.N.-Iraqi survey revealed Thursday."

Anti-gay mayor in net sex sting - World - theage.com.au

Anti-gay mayor in net sex sting - World - theage.com.au: "
May 12, 2005

A conservative Republican mayor has taken leave after being lured into gay internet sexual exchanges by his local newspaper.

Jim West, who has a history of opposing homosexual law reform, did not deny visiting gay internet chat rooms or having relationships with men, but did deny allegations that he molested two boys more than 25 years ago when he was a sheriff's deputy and Scout leader.

The paper, The Spokesman-Review hired a computer expert to pose as a 17-year-old male who engaged Mr West, Mayor of Spokane and one of the most powerful politicians in Washington state, in an online relationship. The newspaper accused him of using his various offices - as a sheriff's deputy, Scout leader and politician - to develop sexual relationships with boys and young men.

Mr West, a former state legislator, opposed gay reform bills in 1985 and 1987, and in 1986 tried and failed to pass a bill that would have barred gays from working in schools, day-care centres and some state agencies. The bill called for screening prospective employees for sexual orientation and firing workers whose sexual lives became known."

Billions misspent in post-Sept. 11 anti-terror buying / Screening at airports, borders still lags

Billions misspent in post-Sept. 11 anti-terror buying / Screening at airports, borders still lags: "Sunday, May 8, 2005

Washington -- After spending more than $4.5 billion on screening devices to monitor the nation's ports, borders, airports, mail and air, the federal government is moving to replace or alter much of the anti-terrorism equipment, concluding that it is ineffective, unreliable or too expensive to operate.
....................

Among the problems:

-- Radiation monitors at ports and borders that cannot differentiate between radiation emitted by a nuclear bomb and naturally occurring radiation from everyday material like cat litter or ceramic tile.

-- Air-monitoring equipment in major cities that is only marginally effective because not enough detectors were deployed, and those deployed were sometimes not properly calibrated or installed. They also do not produce results for up to 36 hours -- long after a biological attack would potentially infect thousands of people.

-- Passenger-screening equipment at airports that auditors have found is no more likely to detect whether someone is trying to carry a weapon or a bomb aboard a plane than screening systems used before federal screeners took over.

-- Postal Service machines that test only a small percentage of mail and look for anthrax but no other biological agents."

Bush not told about plane scare until after biking - - MSNBC.com

Bush not told about plane scare until after biking - - MSNBC.com: "May 11, 2005

WASHINGTON - President George W. Bush was not told for nearly an hour while he finished a bike ride about a breach in White House airspace on Wednesday that prompted the highest alert since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, the White House said.

The White House said the Secret Service held off informing the president because he was not in danger and White House spokesman Scott McClellan said Bush was satisfied with how the situation was handled.

Bush was about a half-an-hour into his ride at the Patuxent Wildlife Research Center in Maryland when an unidentified Cessna airplane came near the White House, sending the Secret Service scrambling to evacuate Vice President Dick Cheney and move First Lady Laura Bush to a secure location."

Bush asked to explain UK war memo - May 11, 2005 CNN.com -

CNN.com - Bush asked to explain UK war memo - May 11, 2005:

"Eighty-nine Democratic members of the U.S. Congress last week sent President George W. Bush a letter asking for explanation of a secret British memo that said 'intelligence and facts were being fixed' to support the Iraq war in mid-2002 -- well before the president brought the issue to Congress for approval.

The Times of London newspaper published the memo -- actually minutes of a high-level meeting on Iraq held July 23, 2002 -- on May 1.

British officials did not dispute the document's authenticity, and Michael Boyce, then Britain's Chief of Defense Staff, told the paper that Britain had not then made a decision to follow the United States to war, but it would have been 'irresponsible' not to prepare for the possibility."

Afghan Protest Over Quran Turns Deadly - Yahoo! News

Afghan Protest Over Quran Turns Deadly - Yahoo! News:

"KABUL, Afghanistan - Shouting 'Death to America,' demonstrators angry over the alleged desecration of the Quran at Guantanamo Bay smashed car and shop windows and stoned a passing convoy of U.S. soldiers Wednesday in eastern Afghanistan. Police opened fire on the protesters, killing four and injuring at least 71. The U.S. troops fired into the air before quickly leaving the area ...
........

Demonstrations began Tuesday, when protesters burned an effigy of
President Bush over a report in Newsweek magazine that interrogators at the U.S. detention center at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, placed Qurans on toilets to rattle suspects, and in at least one case 'flushed a holy book down the toilet.'

...

The Swedish Committee for Afghanistan, one of the largest aid organizations in the country, said staff at its Jalalabad office took refuge on the roof Wednesday as a mob stole, smashed or burned their equipment and torched two of their cars.

Murat Khan, Pakistan's deputy counselor, said the consulate building as well as his boss' residence were in flames.

People broke into two U.N. compounds and burned two cars, a U.N. spokeswoman said.
..

Most of the injured were students, he said, adding that many of the injured also suffered gunshot wounds.

University and high school students held similar but peaceful protests in cities in neighboring Laghman province and Khost, further to the south.

Witnesses said students also demanded the release of all prisoners from Guantanamo, and that 'American troops don't stay in Afghanistan forever' — tricky issues likely to be discussed when Karzai meets Bush in Washington later this month."

Internat'l Investment Grows in Venezuela - Forbes.com

Internat'l Investment Grows in Venezuela - Forbes.com: "International investment grew in Venezuela during the first quarter, reaching US$546 million (euro425 million) - a 220 percent growth compared to the first quarter of 2004, government statistics showed.
...

The biggest investors in Venezuela were Switzerland with US$155 million, the United States with US$62.5 million, France with US$45.9 million, Colombia with US$20.1 million, Bermudas with US$15 million and Germany with US$10 million."

Senate approves electronic ID card bill | Tech News on ZDNet

Senate approves electronic ID card bill | Tech News on ZDNet:

"Last-minute attempts by online activists to halt an electronic ID card failed Tuesday when the U.S. Senate unanimously voted to impose a sweeping set of identification requirements on Americans.

The so-called Real ID Act now heads to President Bush, who is expected to sign the bill into law this month. Its backers, including the Bush administration, say it's needed to stop illegal immigrants from obtaining drivers' licenses.

When the act's mandates take effect in May 2008, Americans will be required to obtain federally approved ID cards with 'machine readable technology' that abides by Department of Homeland Security specifications. Anyone without such an ID card will be effectively prohibited from traveling by air or Amtrak, opening a bank account, or entering federal buildings.

After the Real ID Act's sponsors glued it to an Iraq military spending bill, final passage was all but guaranteed."

Anti-abortion extremist Neal Horsley makes a stunning admission about his experiences on a farm!

Anti-abortion extremist Neal Horsley makes a stunning admission about his experiences on a farm!:
Foxnews

'Is it true?' Colmes asked.

'Hey, Alan, if you want to accuse me of having sex when I was a fool, I did everything that crossed my mind that looked like I...'

AC: 'You had sex with animals?'

NH: 'Absolutely. I was a fool. When you grow up on a farm in Georgia, your first girlfriend is a mule.'

AC: 'I'm not so sure that that is so.'

NH: 'You didn't grow up on a farm in Georgia, did you?'

AC: 'Are you suggesting that everybody who grows up on a farm in Georgia has a mule as a girlfriend?'

NH: It has historically been the case. You people are so far removed from the reality... Welcome to domestic life on the farm...'

(Excerpt) Read more at foxnews.com ... http://www.foxnews.com/alancolmesradio/index.html

Pastor Accused of Running Out Dems Quits - New York Times

Pastor Accused of Running Out Dems Quits - New York Times:
"THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published: May 10, 2005

WAYNESVILLE, N.C. (AP) -- A Baptist preacher accused of running out nine congregants who refused to support President Bush resigned Tuesday.

''I am resigning with gratitude in my heart for all of you, particularly those of you who love me and my family,'' the Rev. Chan Chandler said during a meeting at East Waynesville Baptist Church.

Congregants of the 100-member church in western North Carolina have said Chandler endorsed Bush from the pulpit during last year's presidential campaign and said that anyone who planned to vote for Democratic nominee Sen. John Kerry needed to ''repent or resign.''

The church members said he continued to preach about politics after Bush won re-election, culminating with a church gathering last week in which the nine members said they were ousted.

Chandler's resignation came a day after a national group that lobbies for church-state separation urged the Internal Revenue Service to investigate the tax-exempt status of the East Waynesville Baptist Church. IRS rules bar clear-cut politicking by tax-exempt groups."

Aministration asks to have severed head delivered to Bush - Meet the Press

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/7761272/



MR. RUSSERT: Mr. Black gave you specific instructions on what he wanted you to bring home.

MR. SCHROEN: That's true. He did ask that once we got bin Laden and killed him, that we send his head back in a cardboard box on dry ice so that he could take it down and show the president.

MR. RUSSERT: Where would you find the dry ice in Afghanistan?

MR. SCHROEN: That's what I mentioned to him. I said, "Cofer, I think that I can come up with pikes to put the heads of the lieutenants on," which is the second part of what he wanted done. "Dry ice, we'll have to improvise."

MR. RUSSERT: Why couldn't you find bin Laden?
.........

MR. RUSSERT: Do you think the Pakistanis have a pretty good sense where he is?

MR. SCHROEN: I think within the military and ISID at a a certain level, they certainly do now where he is.

MR. RUSSERT: ISID being Pakistani Intelligence...

MR. SCHROEN: Pakistani Intelligence Service.

MR. RUSSERT: Let me show you the map of the border area. It's the border 1,640 miles long, the mountainous region about the size of the country of Ireland. And you think up there in the upper right hand corner?

MR. SCHROEN: Upper right hand corner, there is a little--you know, the little jot out there is where Peshawar is, and north of that is a rugged area. It's traditionally been the most hostile area to any kind of government control. The tribals there have made centuries of living smuggling and it's one of the main drug trafficking routes in and out of the country. And bin Laden is very respected and liked in that area.

MR. RUSSERT: And they're protecting him?

MR. SCHROEN: I think they're protecting him for a number of reasons. He is considered to be a Robin Hood-like figure. He has made a, you know, mockery of our efforts to catch him for all these years.
...............

MR. RUSSERT: Is there a distinct possibility that Mr. Musharraf is afraid of capturing Osama bin Laden because he would fear that his government would be toppled?

MR. SCHROEN: In my opinion, that's a real likelihood, that the Pakistanis have cooperated pretty wholesomely in helping us capture a lot of al-Qaeda officers up to Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, and this-- the capture of Al-Libbi recently is a significant event but to take on bin Laden, there would be an uproar within that country and around the Islamic world that would really cause the foundations of the Pakistani government to be shaken.

Bush Gets Tough Queries From Youths in Holland

Bush Gets Tough Queries From Youths in Holland:

"Media were then asked to leave, though the meeting, held in a window-lined room at a glorious chateau near Maastricht, went on for another half-hour."

Bush removes press from Q&A by dutch students

http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2005/05/20050508-1.html

Q Thank you, very much. Mr. President, I have a question relating of concerning the terrorism. And you made many laws after 9/11, many -- many laws and many measures. And I'm wondering, will there be a time when you drop those laws and when you decrease the measures?

PRESIDENT BUSH: No, I appreciate that question. Look, a free society such as ours, obviously, must balance the government's most important duty, which is to protect the American people from harm with the civil liberties of our citizens. ...

PRIME MINISTER BALKENENDE: You're convinced by the President? (Laughter.)

....

Q I've a question about the reason you are here. We are honoring the soldiers who died in the second world war. In the years later, America was involved in a lot of conflicts, in a lot of wars. What's the benefit when you can ask to your people -- you are, in the first place, President of America, you're responsible for your own people --

PRESIDENT BUSH: Right --

Q -- what can you ask from your people, not only the dead and the wounded, but also economic consequences? Last week I received a brochure about raise funding for U.S. aid for poor people. So what --

PRESIDENT BUSH: You received -- I beg your pardon -- received a brochure for?

Q -- raise funding for poor people --

PRESIDENT BUSH: Oh, to raise funding, yes.

Q -- the economic consequences of all this involvement in conflicts, what's the balance between the responsibility to the world and the responsibility to your own people?

PRESIDENT BUSH: I think we have a responsibility to both. And at home, of course, economic vitality is really important, and to make sure the entrepreneurial spirit is alive and well. Seventy percent of new jobs in America are created by small business owners...

And that's why I'm such a believer in free trade, because trade ultimately -- the benefits of trade, the benefits of economy, the benefits of growing businesses far exceed the capacity of governments to hand out aid to people. And so, in Africa, for example, we've got a policy of feeding the hungry and providing money for help, but we've also got a free trade policy with Africa, which is helping these economies grow, which provides opportunity and hope for people that are living in those countries. So we have a balanced obligation at home and abroad.

Church ousters spark national reaction - CITIZEN-TIMES.com:

CITIZEN-TIMES.com: Church ousters spark national reaction:

"The turmoil embroiling East Waynesville Baptist Church and Pastor Chan Chandler is drawing national attention from religious and political groups.

Last October Chandler told those in his congregation “the question then comes in the Baptist Church how do I vote, let me just say this right now if you vote for John Kerry this year you need to repent or resign. You have been holding back God's church way too long. And I know I may get in trouble for saying that, but just pour it on.”

Nine members of East Waynesville say they had their membership revoked last week and 40 others left in protest after tension over political views came to a head, church members say. “Our memberships were terminated because we did not agree to have a political church,” said Thelma Lowe, the lone Republican voted out. “I did not vote for Kerry.”"

Ex-FBI translator plans appeal to Supreme Court (5/9/05) www.GovExec.com -

www.GovExec.com - Ex-FBI translator plans appeal to Supreme Court (5/9/05):

"An FBI contract employee who was fired after alleging national security breaches within the bureau's translation service plans to appeal to the Supreme Court to lift a gag order that she has been under for almost three years.

Sibel Edmonds lost her latest court battle on Friday when the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia upheld a lower court's ruling that dismissed her lawsuit against the Justice Department. Edmonds alleges there were security breaches, mismanagement and possible espionage within the FBI's translation service in late 2001 and early 2002. She says the information she knows would lead to criminal prosecutions if aggressively pursued.

'We are going to the Supreme Court, that's for sure,' Edmonds said Monday."

Rice's Reason for Withholding Bolton Files: A Chilling Effect - New York Times

Rice's Reason for Withholding Bolton Files: A Chilling Effect - New York Times:

"May 8 - The State Department is refusing to make public internal documents sought by Senate Democrats in their attempt to seek more information about repeated clashes between John R. Bolton and American intelligence agencies over Syria, administration officials say.

In rejecting the request, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has said that the information involves 'internal deliberations' and their disclosure could have a chilling effect on debates within the administration.

The decision was spelled out in a letter that Ms. Rice sent Friday to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, which is evaluating the administration's nomination of Mr. Bolton to be the United States ambassador to the United Nations."

Memo: Bush made intel fit Iraq policy - KRT Wire | 05/06/2005 |

KRT Wire | 05/06/2005 | Memo: Bush made intel fit Iraq policy:
Knight Ridder Newspapers

WASHINGTON - A highly classified British memo, leaked in the midst of Britain's just-concluded election campaign, indicates that President Bush decided to overthrow Iraqi President Saddam Hussein by summer 2002 and was determined to ensure that U.S. intelligence data supported his policy.

The document, which summarizes a July 23, 2002, meeting of British Prime Minister Tony Blair with his top security advisers, reports on a visit to Washington by the head of Britain's MI-6 intelligence service.

The visit took place while the Bush administration was still declaring to the American public that no decision had been made to go to war.

'There was a perceptible shift in attitude. Military action was now seen as inevitable,' the MI-6 chief said at the meeting, according to the memo. 'Bush wanted to remove Saddam through military action, justified by the conjunction of terrorism and WMD,' weapons of mass destruction.

The memo said 'the intelligence and facts were being fixed around the policy.'

No weapons of mass destruction have been found in Iraq since the U.S. invasion in March 2003.

The White House has repeatedly denied accusations made by several top foreign officials that it manipulated intelligence estimates to justify an invasion of Iraq.

It has instead pointed to the conclusions of two studies, one by the Senate Intelligence Committee and one by a presidentially appointed panel, that cite serious failures by the CIA and other agencies in judging Saddam's weapons programs.

The principal U.S. intelligence analysis, called a National Intelligence Estimate, wasn't completed until October 2002, well after the United States and United Kingdom had apparently decided military force should be used to overthrow Saddam's regime."

Ability to Track Costs in Iraq May Be Difficult, Report Says

Ability to Track Costs in Iraq May Be Difficult, Report Says:

"Auditors monitoring reconstruction funding in Iraq are concerned that the system for managing work there is so diffuse that the government may not be able to get an accurate estimate of how much its projects cost, according to an inspector general's report set for release today.

Congress allocated $18.4 billion for Iraqi reconstruction in 2003, of which about a quarter had been spent as of April. The money was intended for programs aimed at restoring basic services to the Iraqis, such as electricity, water, health care and education after the U.S. invasion in spring 2003.

But auditors with the special inspector general for Iraq reconstruction say the lack of accurate cost estimates raises the possibility that the government could be stuck without enough money to pay for reconstruction programs already begun. 'That's always a danger if you don't know how much you've spent,' said James Mitchell, spokesman for special Inspector General Stuart W. Bowen Jr."

Gore award, Online ads, Army power, IIT profile, Tsunami warning - 05/05/05

Gore award, Online ads, Army power, IIT profile, Tsunami warning - 05/05/05:

"Al Gore may have been lampooned for taking credit in the Internet's development, but organizers of the Webby Awards for online achievements don't find it funny at all.

In part to 'set the record straight,' they will give Gore a lifetime achievement award for three decades of contributions to the Internet, said Tiffany Shlain, the awards' founder and chairwoman.

'It's just one of those instances someone did amazing work for three decades as congressman, senator and vice president and it got spun around into this political mess,' Shlain said.

Vint Cerf, undisputedly one of the Internet's key inventors, will give Gore the award at a June 6 ceremony in New York.

'He is indeed due some thanks and consideration for his early contributions,' Cerf said."

William F. Buckley Jr. on Iraq on National Review Online

William F. Buckley Jr. on Iraq on National Review Online: "
May 06, 2005, 12:40 p.m.

Exiting Iraq
At what point is our job done?

It is time to ponder the strategic impact of the casualty figures. Those that are relevant to this analysis are widely familiar. The U.S. has lost approximately 1,500 dead in military action and 10,000 wounded, and we continue to lose, dead, about 50 soldiers every month. The Iraqis (using loose counts) die and are wounded at about ten times the U.S. rate. Moreover, the Iraqi deaths have increased substantially since the national election in January.

We know philosophically that all deaths should be counted equally, since we are all God’s children. But it isn’t surprising that U.S. concern should focus on deaths of our own troops, with concern for Iraqi casualties mostly as a building block of strategic reckoning. It may sound inhuman, but it is very human to care about our own on the battlefield. And doing so sharpens the strategic picture for us. We are entitled to say to ourselves: If the bloodletting is to go on, it can do so without our involvement in it."

The Hindu : International : Iraq's nine-day death toll crosses 300

The Hindu : International : Iraq's nine-day death toll crosses 300:

"Iraq's nine-day death toll crosses 300

Atul Aneja

Deal on Cabinet; Defence for Sunni leader, Shia gets Oil Ministry"

BBC NEWS | Americas | US 'al-Qaeda memo': Full text

BBC NEWS | Americas | US 'al-Qaeda memo': Full text: "The following is the full text of the intelligence briefing of 6 August 2001, prepared for President George W Bush, concerning the al-Qaeda threat to the United States.

It was declassified on 10 April.
..................

For the President Only

Bin Laden Determined To Strike in US

Clandestine, foreign government, and media reports indicate (Osama) Bin Laden since 1997 has wanted to conduct terrorist attacks in the US. Bin Laden implied in US television interviews in 1997 and 1998 that his followers would follow the example of World Trade Center bomber Ramzi Yousef and 'bring the fighting to America'." MORE...

US Catholic editor resigns after clash with Pope - Telegraph | News |

Telegraph | News | US Catholic editor resigns after clash with Pope:

A liberal American Jesuit has been forced to resign as the editor of a Roman Catholic magazine after several years of tense relations with the Vatican doctrinal office that was headed by Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger before he was elected Pope Benedict XVI last month.

Fr Thomas Reese lost the editorship of America after pressure from the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, according to The National Catholic Reporter, which broke the news. His clashes with the Congregation began four years ago when America ran articles critical of Dominus Jesus, a document produced by Cardinal Ratzinger's office which outlined the supremacy of Catholicism over other faiths and denominations."

Captured Al-Qaeda kingpin is case of ‘mistaken identity’ - Sunday Times - Times Online

Captured Al-Qaeda kingpin is case of ‘mistaken identity’ - Sunday Times - Times Online: "THE capture of a supposed Al-Qaeda kingpin by Pakistani agents last week was hailed by President George W Bush as “a critical victory in the war on terror”. According to European intelligence experts, however, Abu Faraj al-Libbi was not the terrorists’ third in command, as claimed, but a middle-ranker derided by one source as “among the flotsam and jetsam” of the organisation.

Al-Libbi’s arrest in Pakistan, announced last Wednesday, was described in the United States as “a major breakthrough” in the hunt for Osama Bin Laden.

Bush called him a “top general” and “a major facilitator and chief planner for the Al- Qaeda network”. Condoleezza Rice, secretary of state, said he was “a very important figure”. Yet the backslapping in Washington and Islamabad has astonished European terrorism experts, who point out that the Libyan was neither on the FBI’s most wanted list, nor on that of the State Department “rewards for justice” programme.

Another Libyan is on the FBI list — Anas al-Liby, who is wanted over the 1998 East African embassy bombings — and some believe the Americans may have initially confused the two. When The Sunday Times contacted a senior FBI counter-terrorism official for information about the importance of the detained man, he sent material on al-Liby, the wrong man."

National ID Card Bill Goes to Senate | Stony Brook Independent

National ID Card Bill Goes to Senate | Stony Brook Independent:

"The Senate is set to vote on the Real ID Act, which sets federal standards for drivers licenses and makes it harder for immigrants to seek asylum in the US.

The bill gives the federal government authority to maintain databases containing detailed information on citizens, which will be linked to other databases in Canada and Mexico."

Democrats Voted Out of Baptist Church - Yahoo! News

Democrats Voted Out of Baptist Church - Yahoo! News:

"WAYNESVILLE, N.C. - Some in Pastor Chan Chandler's flock wish he had a little less zeal for the GOP. Members of the small East Waynesville Baptist Church say Chandler led an effort to kick out congregants who didn't support
President Bush. Nine members were voted out at a Monday church meeting in this mountain town, about 120 miles west of Charlotte.

'He's the kind of pastor who says do it my way or get out,' said Selma Morris, the former church treasurer. 'He's real negative all the time.'

Chandler didn't return a message left by The Associated Press at his home Friday, and several calls to the church went unanswered. He told WLOS-TV in Asheville that the actions were not politically motivated."

ATTORNEY GENERAL - Most detainee abuse reports don't qualify as torture - MySA.com: AP Wire

MySA.com: AP Wire: "05/07/2005

Associated Press

Many of the accounts detailing abuse of detainees in Iraq, Afghanistan and Guantanamo Bay by American military and civilian personnel don't meet the definition of torture, U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales said.

Gonzales, who grew up in Houston, said Congress requires proving that intentional infliction of severe physical and mental pain or suffering occurred to have a prosecutable case of torture.

'Congress intended a very high bar here in order to be prosecuted for engaging in torture,' he said Friday during a visit to Houston. 'There may be conduct that you may find offensive that falls far short of torture.'
....

Gonzales has been criticized for approving an August 2002 memo while he was White House counsel that said laws prohibiting torture do 'not apply to the president's detention and interrogation of enemy combatants.' The document also said 'injury such as death, organ failure, or serious impairment of body functions' must occur for an incident to qualify as torture.

A different memo written by Gonzales said the war against terrorism renders obsolete the Geneva Convention, which outlines the treatment that should be given to prisoners of war."

The secret Downing Street memo - Sunday Times - Times Online

The secret Downing Street memo - Sunday Times - Times Online:

"The secret Downing Street memo
SECRET AND STRICTLY PERSONAL - UK EYES ONLY

DAVID MANNING
From: Matthew Rycroft
Date: 23 July 2002
S 195 /02

cc: Defence Secretary, Foreign Secretary, Attorney-General, Sir Richard Wilson, John Scarlett, Francis Richards, CDS, C, Jonathan Powell, Sally Morgan, Alastair Campbell

IRAQ: PRIME MINISTER'S MEETING, 23 JULY

Copy addressees and you met the Prime Minister on 23 July to discuss Iraq.

This record is extremely sensitive. No further copies should be made. It should be shown only to those with a genuine need to know its contents.
...

C reported on his recent talks in Washington. There was a perceptible shift in attitude. Military action was now seen as inevitable. Bush wanted to remove Saddam, through military action, justified by the conjunction of terrorism and WMD. But the intelligence and facts were being fixed around the policy. The NSC had no patience with the UN route, and no enthusiasm for publishing material on the Iraqi regime's record. There was little discussion in Washington of the aftermath after military action." MORE...

(IRAQ WAR STARTED 9 MONTHS AFTER MEMO)

Stealing Your 401K - New York Times

Feeling Shortchanged, Genteelly - New York Times:

"Retirement plans that offer workers individual accounts, like 401(k) plans, have spread rapidly in recent years, eclipsing traditional pension plans. Most operate without incident. But federal regulators report a sharp increase in reports of missing money over the last 10 years. Some cases appear to involve innocent errors, although others, according to Labor Department records, do involve fraud. Most of the problems occur at smaller, financially troubled companies.

The popularity of the newer benefits, known as defined-contribution plans, is often attributed to their simplicity. They are easier and less expensive for employers than pension plans, which require employers to bear the investment risk. They are also, ostensibly, easier for employees to understand, because each worker's benefit is shown as an account balance, rather than a formula.

But the simplicity can be deceptive. Employers fail to make the right contributions surprisingly often. The Labor Department found 2,293 such cases in fiscal 2004, including 1,269 in which the employers deducted the money from the workers' pay but did not put it into the retirement accounts."

Congress set to impose ID card rules - Boston.com / News / Nation / Washington /

Boston.com / News / Nation / Washington / Congress set to impose ID card rules: "By Charlie Savage, Globe Staff | May 5, 2005

WASHINGTON -- Congressional negotiators have agreed on a sweeping new system that would nationalize standards for driver's licenses and state identification cards, requiring states to verify the authenticity of every document that people use to prove their identity and show their legal residency.
ADVERTISEMENT

If the House and Senate both pass the bill next week as expected, by May 2008 every state will be required to contact the issuers of birth certificates, mortgage statements, utility bills, Social Security cards, and immigration papers before granting a driver's license. States will also have to keep copies of those documents for seven years."

US defence budget will equal ROW combined "within 12 months" - Jane's

US defence budget will equal ROW combined "within 12 months": "

By Guy Anderson Editor of Jane's Defence Industry

Defence expenditure in the US will equal that of the rest of the world combined within 12 months, making it 'increasingly pressing' for European contractors to develop a 'closer association' with the US, corporate finance group PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) says.

Its report - 'The Defence Industry in the 21st Century' by PwC's global aerospace and defence leader Richard Hooke - adds that 'the US is in the driving seat', raising the prospect of a future scenario in which it could 'dominate the supply of the world's arms completely'.

The US defence budget reached US$417.4 billion in 2003 - 46 per cent of the global total."

Karpinski Busted Back for Abu Ghraib, Right? Wrong

Karpinski Busted Back for Abu Ghraib, Right? Wrong:

"News organizations around the world, citing anonymous Army officials who refused to give their names, reported Thursday that President Bush approved the demotion of Brig. Gen. Janis Karpinski to colonel because she failed to properly supervise guards who abused detainees at Abu Ghraib prison in the fall of 2003.
Two weeks earlier, quoting similarly anonymous Army sources, those same world-wide news organizations reported that the Army inspector general was holding only one top officer — Karpinski — accountable for the abuse of detainees at Abu Ghraib.
Around the world, particularly in the Arab world, the stories sent the message that finally, the United States was holding a commander responsible. Finally, someone in a position of authority would be punished. Finally, there would be justice.
The trouble is, it wasn't true.
Oh, the Army inspector general singled out Karpinski for disciplinary action, all right.
And yes, Bush demoted Karpinski on the basis of the Army IG's recommendation.
But it wasn't for Abu Ghraib. It was unrelated.
In fact, the Army inspector general — a summary of whose report was released Thursday — exonerated her of any wrongdoing at Abu Ghraib, right along with the rest of the generals in the chain of command.
'Though Brig. Gen. Karpinski's performance of duty was found to be seriously lacking,' the summary said, 'the investigation team determined that no action or lack of action on her part contributed specifically to the abuse of detainees at Abu Ghraib.'"

Creating Reasons to Go to War by Congressman John Conyers

Daily Kos :: Political Analysis and other daily rants on the state of the nation.:

"Creating Reasons to Go to War
by Congressman John Conyers
Mon May 2nd, 2005 at 13:02:58 PDT

Unfortunately, the mainstream media in the United States was too busy with wall-to-wall coverage of a 'runaway bride' to cover a bombshell report out of the British newspapers. The London Times reports that the British government and the United States government had secretly agreed to attack Iraq in 2002, before authorization was sought for such an attack in Congress, and had discussed creating pretextual justifications for doing so.

The Times reports, based on a newly discovered document, that in 2002 British Prime Minister Tony Blair chaired a meeting in which he expressed his support for 'regime change' through the use of force in Iraq and was warned by the nation's top lawyer that such an action would be illegal. Blair also discussed the need for America to 'create' conditions to justify the war.
...

I am circulating the following letter among my House colleagues and asking them to sign on to it:

(Signed by 88 members of Congress)

The Honorable George W. Bush President of the United States of America The White House 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W. Washington, D.C. 20500

Dear Mr. President:

We write because of troubling revelations in the Sunday London Times apparently confirming that the United States and Great Britain had secretly agreed to attack Iraq in the summer of 2002, well before the invasion and before you even sought Congressional authority to engage in military action. While various individuals have asserted this to be the case before, including Paul O'Neill, former U.S. Treasury Secretary, and Richard Clarke, a former National Security Council official, they have been previously dismissed by your Administration. However, when this story was divulged last weekend, Prime Minister Blair's representative claimed the document contained 'nothing new.' If the disclosure is accurate, it raises troubling new questions regarding the legal justifications for the war as well as the integrity of your own Administration." MORE...

Three out of four Iraqis say Islam should be source of law - Yahoo! News

Three out of four Iraqis say Islam should be source of law - Yahoo! News:

"BAGHDAD (AFP) - Three out of four Iraqis believe Islam should be the main or only source of law and legislation in their country, according to a poll of 2,700 Iraqis.

While just over 74 percent thought Islam should be the sole or main source of legislation, just 2 percent said religion should play no role in law-making, a poll showed Friday.

The findings come as parliament prepares to draft a new constitution, which will notably focus on the role of Islam,
Iraq's official religion, in society."

Terror Suspect Gets Bush Fundraiser Invite - Guardian Unlimited | World Latest |

Guardian Unlimited | World Latest | Terror Suspect Gets Bush Fundraiser Invite: "Friday May 6, 2005 4:46 AM

By MATT APUZZO

Associated Press Writer

HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) - A year after federal agents raided his home in a terrorism investigation, Muslim businessman Syed Maswood is lucky to get on an airplane without being detained and searched. But that didn't stop him from getting an invitation to dine with President Bush.

Maswood, a nuclear engineer who has not been charged with any crime and has been trying for months to get his name off no-fly lists, received an invitation to serve as an honorary chairman at a Republican fundraiser with Bush in Washington next month.
...

FBI and Homeland Security agents raided Maswood's home last year because he donated money to the Benevolence International Foundation, a once IRS-approved charity that was accused of supporting terrorism.

Investigators also said they uncovered an e-mail Maswood sent indicating support for Islamic rebels in Chechnya, but Maswood said he was simply trying to help humanitarian workers in the war-torn region.
"

AFGHANISTAN: Woman executed for adultery - Reuters

Reuters AlertNet - AFGHANISTAN: Woman executed for adultery:

"Her crime was to be found in the company of a man she was not married to.
...

'She was stoned to death right here, we buried her up to the chest and then they stoned her, she died after two hours,' Azim continued nonchalantly, as he drew a circle around a pile of small stones in a nearby field. 'There were seventy people at the stoning, I watched for few minutes but then left.'

The killing was even endorsed by Amena'a mother."

Is ABC providing airtime to Focus on the Family ... [Media Matters for America]

Is ABC providing airtime to Focus on the Family ... [Media Matters for America]:

"During the May 2 season finale of the ABC reality series Supernanny, James C. Dobson's Christian ministry Focus on the Family plans to air a nationwide commercial promoting the organization's toll-free phone number and its Focus On Your Child parenting website. In December 2004, ABC reportedly refused to air a commercial on its broadcast network from the United Church of Christ promoting its inclusive policy towards gays, racial minorities, and people with disabilities. While the ABC Family cable channel ran the commercial, according to a United Methodist Church press release, ABC's broadcast network (which airs Supernanny) joined broadcasters such as CBS, NBC, and UPN in rejecting the ad as 'too controversial.'

Focus on the Family was a co-sponsor of 'Justice Sunday,' the April 24 event designed to rally support for President Bush's contentious judicial nominees to which Republican Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-TN) gave a videotaped address and Dobson declared that 'the biggest holocaust in world history came out of the Supreme Court'"

S&P cuts GM's debt ratings to junk status | Reuters.com

Latest Business News and Financial Information | Reuters.com:

"Standard & Poor's cut General Motors Corp.'s (GM.N: Quote, Profile, Research) debt ratings to junk status on Thursday in a move that will reduce the automaker's avenues for raising funds as it struggles with global competition and rising healthcare costs."

'Pleasure marriages' regain popularity in Iraq - Yahoo! News

'Pleasure marriages' regain popularity in Iraq - Yahoo! News:

"Al-Zaidi hopes to soon finalize his third muta'a, or 'pleasure marriage,' with a green-eyed neighbor. This time, he talks about it openly and with obvious relish. Even so, he says, he probably still won't tell his wife.

The 1,400-year-old practice of muta'a- 'ecstasy' in Arabic - is as old as Islam itself. It was permitted by the prophet Mohammed as a way to ensure a respectable means of income for widowed women.

Pleasure marriages were outlawed under
Saddam Hussein but have begun to flourish again. The contracts, lasting anywhere from one hour to 10 years, generally stipulate that the man will pay the woman in exchange for sexual intimacy."

Jim West (R - Spokane)tied to sex abuse in '70s, using office to lure young men :: Spokesmanreview.com

Jim West :: Spokesmanreview.com: "For a quarter century, the man who is now Spokane's mayor has used positions of public trust – as a sheriff's deputy, Boy Scout leader and powerful politician – to develop sexual relationships with boys and young men."

Audit of Iraq Spending Spurs Criminal Probe

Audit of Iraq Spending Spurs Criminal Probe: "Thursday, May 5, 2005; Page A22

Investigators have opened a criminal inquiry into millions of dollars missing in Iraq after auditors uncovered indications of fraud in nearly $100 million in reconstruction spending that could not be properly accounted for.

The money had been intended for rebuilding projects in south-central Iraq."

'Roadless' forests opened up for review - Environment - MSNBC.com

'Roadless' forests opened up for review - Environment - MSNBC.com:

"The action, affecting forests mainly in the West, impacts the 'roadless rule' that President Clinton had put in place little more than a week before leaving office in January 2001. Clinton’s regulation blocked road construction as a way to prevent logging, mining and other industry activities in the backcountry.

Under existing local forest management plans, some 34.3 million acres could be opened to road construction. That would be the first step in allowing logging, mining and other industry and wider recreational uses of the land."

Old brutality among new Iraqi forces | csmonitor.com

Old brutality among new Iraqi forces | csmonitor.com:

"But with Iraqis taking a greater role in battling the insurgency and patrolling their own streets as the new government begins work, accusations of human rights abuses are shifting away from the Americans and onto Iraqi police officers and soldiers.

The accusations of abuse range from reports of prisoner torture and death of detainees to the arbitrary arrest and abuse at the hands of inexperienced and untrained police officers.

Jabbar told the Monitor that during a raid he was on in January at a suspected insurgent hideout, three detainees died after being severely beaten by Iraqi security patrols."

Pat Robertson - judges bigger threat than terrorists, Nazis, slavery

KRT Wire | 05/01/2005 | Pat Robertson continues religion-based attacks on judiciary, Democrats:

"Robertson told ABC that the federal judiciary, as currently constituted, represents the biggest threat to America in its history. He warned: 'They're destroying the fabric that holds our nation together.'

His interviewer, George Stephanopolous, asked whether Robertson was saying that the threat posed by federal judges was more dire than the Civil War, World War II, and the terrorists who struck on Sept. 11. Robertson replied: 'I really believe that. ... I think that the gradual erosion of the consensus that's held our country together is probably more serious than a few bearded terrorists who fly into buildings.'

Maybe the differences between the GOP and the religious right are merely stylistic. But it's significant that the Christian leaders' continued willingness to assail the judiciary in apocalyptic religious overtones doesn't mesh with the more measured language of the Republican leadership."

Poll: Most in U.S. say Iraq war not worthwhile - May 3, 2005 - CNN.com -

CNN.com - Poll: Most in U.S. say Iraq war not worthwhile - May 3, 2005:

"57 percent of those polled said they did not believe it was worth going to war, versus 41 percent who said it was, according to a CNN/USA Today/Gallup poll of 1,006 adults.

That was a drop in support from February, when 48 percent said it was worth going to war and half (50 percent) said it was not."

Army Withheld Details About Tillman's Death - WP

Army Withheld Details About Tillman's Death:

"The first Army investigator who looked into the death of former NFL player Pat Tillman in Afghanistan last year found within days that he was killed by his fellow Rangers in an act of 'gross negligence,' but Army officials decided not to inform Tillman's family or the public until weeks after a nationally televised memorial service.

A new Army report on the death shows that top Army officials, including the theater commander, Gen. John P. Abizaid, were told that Tillman's death was fratricide days before the service."

Marijuana Becomes Focus of Drug War - WP

Marijuana Becomes Focus of Drug War:

"The focus of the drug war in the United States has shifted significantly over the past decade from hard drugs to marijuana, which now accounts for nearly half of all drug arrests nationwide, according to an analysis of federal crime statistics released yesterday.

The study of FBI data by a Washington-based think tank, the Sentencing Project, found that the proportion of heroin and cocaine cases plummeted from 55 percent of all drug arrests in 1992 to less than 30 percent 10 years later. During the same period, marijuana arrests rose from 28 percent of the total to 45 percent."

US Eases Saudi Visa Restrictions

US Eases Saudi Visa Restrictions:

"RIYADH, 4 May 2005 — US Ambassador James C. Oberwetter says changes in the US visa process would ease travel between the States and Saudi Arabia.
...

“Last week’s visit by Crown Prince Abdullah to the United States has given a major boost to the bilateral relations,” said Oberwetter. “I am very satisfied with the outcome of the royal visit,” he said, referring to the joint communique issued after the talks held by Crown Prince Abdullah and the US President George W. Bush."

VOA News - UN Human Rights Monitor in Afghanistan Loses Mandate, Claims US Pressure

VOA News - UN Human Rights Monitor in Afghanistan Loses Mandate, Claims US Pressure: "A university law professor says his position as an independent U.N. human rights investigator in Afghanistan was abolished under diplomatic pressure from Washington. The United States denies the charge, saying the human rights situation in Afghanistan has sufficiently improved to the point that a special monitor is no longer needed.

Charif Bassiouni says his job as a U.N. independent expert on human rights in Afghanistan was not renewed late last month because of his attempts to look into alleged rights abuses by U.S. forces.
...

"Then I was told, you know, beware, the United States is lobbying very actively in Geneva not to have the mandate renewed under the assumption that apparently all is well now in Afghanistan and Afghanistan doesn't need a human rights monitor," he said.

The move came only days after he submitted a new report critical not only of Afghan governmental lapses on human rights, but also of abuses by U.S. troops. In his report, he accused U.S. forces of actions amounting to torture at Bagram Air Base outside Kabul, near Kandahar, and at makeshift detention centers at firebases scattered around the country."

Afghanistan's clerics plan to launch 'Mullah TV' = The Daily Star - Politics -

The Daily Star - Politics - Afghanistan's clerics plan to launch 'Mullah TV': "Wednesday, May 04, 2005

KABUL: Radical Afghan clerics Tuesday unveiled plans to launch the country's first Islamic television channel since the fall of the fundamentalist Taliban regime more than three years ago. A group of hard-line religious scholars, or mullahs, based in the capital Kabul said the station would counter what they say are immoral and un-Islamic programs being broadcast by other channels.
...

The spokesman added that Karzai had promised to help them but did not give an exact date or details of how the station would be funded or operated.
...

Kashaf said women would appear on screen but under a full Islamic veil."

AFGHANISTAN: Woman executed for adultery - Reuters

Reuters AlertNet - AFGHANISTAN: Woman executed for adultery:

"BADAKHSHAN, 3 May (IRIN) - It's less than a week since the tiny Afghan village community witnessed the execution of 25-year-old Bibi Amena for adultery, but by Tuesday life appeared to have returned to normal. Bibi was sentenced to death by local religious leaders in the Spingul valley in the isolated northeastern province of Badakhshan.

Her crime was to be found in the company of a man she was not married to.
...........

'She was stoned to death right here, we buried her up to the chest and then they stoned her, she died after two hours,' Azim continued nonchalantly, as he drew a circle around a pile of small stones in a nearby field. 'There were seventy people at the stoning, I watched for few minutes but then left.'

The killing was even endorsed by Amena'a mother."

12 killed in fight with U.S.-led forces in Iraq - Yahoo! News

12 killed in fight with U.S.-led forces in Iraq - Yahoo! News:

"BAGHDAD (Reuters) - U.S. forces killed 12 people and wounded two others, including a six year old girl, in a firefight and bombing close to the Syrian border on Monday, the U.S. military said in a statement on Tuesday."

New Iraq could become nest of corruption - World - www.smh.com.au

New Iraq could become nest of corruption - World - www.smh.com.au:

"Like so many other Iraqis, businessmen invariably make then-and-now comparisons with the days of Saddam Hussein. The deposed leader ran his own massive corruption of the United Nations' oil-for-food program and he and his cronies regularly demanded a cut of any new business or contract.

But Mr Jawad, a Shiite with no brief for his former leader, says: 'I'd say that about 10 per cent of business was corrupt under Saddam.'

That's probably an underestimation, but Mr Jawad is making a point: 'Now it's about 95 per cent - we used to have one Saddam, now we have 25 of them.'"

Inquiry Finds Abuses at Guantánamo Bay

The New York Times > National > Threats and Responses > Inquiry Finds Abuses at Guantánamo Bay:

"April 30 - A high-level military investigation into accusations of detainee abuse at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, has concluded that several prisoners were mistreated or humiliated, perhaps illegally, as a result of efforts to devise innovative methods to gain information, senior military and Pentagon officials say."

U.S. Recruits a Rough Ally to Be a Jailer - The New York Times > International >

The New York Times > International > U.S. Recruits a Rough Ally to Be a Jailer: "May 1, 2005
By DON VAN NATTA Jr.

Seven months before Sept. 11, 2001, the State Department issued a human rights report on Uzbekistan. It was a litany of horrors.

The police repeatedly tortured prisoners, State Department officials wrote, noting that the most common techniques were 'beating, often with blunt weapons, and asphyxiation with a gas mask.' Separately, international human rights groups had reported that torture in Uzbek jails included boiling of body parts, using electroshock on genitals and plucking off fingernails and toenails with pliers. Two prisoners were boiled to death, the groups reported. The February 2001 State Department report stated bluntly, 'Uzbekistan is an authoritarian state with limited civil rights.'

Immediately after the Sept. 11 attacks, however, the Bush administration turned to Uzbekistan as a partner in fighting global terrorism. The nation, a former Soviet republic in Central Asia, granted the United States the use of a military base for fighting the Taliban across the border in Afghanistan. President Bush welcomed President Islam Karimov of Uzbekistan to the White House, and the United States has given Uzbekistan more than $500 million for border control and other security measures.

Now there is growing evidence that the United States has sent terror suspects to Uzbekistan for detention and interrogation, even as Uzbekistan's treatment of its own prisoners continues to earn it admonishments from around the world, including from the State Department."

Italy media reveals Iraq details - BBC NEWS | World | Europe |

BBC NEWS | World | Europe | Italy media reveals Iraq details:

"A Greek medical student at Bologna University who was surfing the web early on Sunday found that with two simple clicks of his computer mouse he could restore censored portions of the report.

He passed the details to Italian newspapers which immediately put out the full text on their own websites.

The missing text contains the names and ranks of all of the American military personnel involved in the killing of Nicola Calipari, the Italian agent who was given a state funeral and awarded Italy's highest medal of valour.
...

The official Italian report on the incident expected to be published this week will accuse the American military of tampering with evidence at the scene of the shooting."
...

DIFFERING ACCOUNTS

US military:
-Car approaches checkpoint at high speed
-Troops attempt to tell driver to stop with arm signals, lights and warning shots
-Soldiers shoot into engine

Italian government:
-Italy makes all necessary contacts with the US for safe passage
-The driver stops immediately when a light flashes 10m away
-At the same time, shots are fired into car for 10-15 seconds