Italy seeks more arrests in CIA kidnap case - Yahoo! News

Italy seeks more arrests in CIA kidnap case - Yahoo! News:

"MILAN (Reuters) - An Italian court has widened a probe into the alleged kidnapping of an Egyptian terrorism suspect by the
CIA, issuing arrest warrants for three U.S. citizens including a diplomat, a judicial source said on Friday.

The new warrants, issued earlier this week, bring the total number of suspects to 22. The first warrants -- all for U.S. citizens -- were issued in June, when the case sparked a diplomatic row.

Italian prosecutors say U.S. secret services took imam Hassan Mustafa Osama Nasr, also known as Abu Omar, from Milan to Egypt in February 2003 for interrogation, a process known as 'rendition.' There are suspicions he may have been tortured."

Contractors charge $2,850 to nail tarps on victims roofs

MercuryNews.com | 09/29/2005 | Expensive fix to victims' roofs: "Expensive fix to victims' roofs

TARP INSTALLATION TO GULF COAST HOMES COSTING 10 TIMES THE NORM

By Aaron C. Davis

Mercury News

and Jay Root and Seth BorensteinKnight Ridder NEW ORLEANS -- Across the hurricane ravaged Gulf Coast, thousands upon thousands of blue tarps are being nailed to wind-damaged roofs, a visible sign of government assistance.

The blue sheeting -- a godsend to residents whose homes are threatened by rain -- is rapidly becoming the largest roofing project in the nation's history.

But it isn't coming cheaply.

Knight Ridder has found that a lack of oversight, generous contracting deals and poor planning mean that government agencies are shelling out as much as 10 times what the temporary fix would normally cost. The government is paying contractors an average of $2,480 for less than two hours of work to cover each damaged roof -- even though it's also giving them endless supplies of blue sheeting for free."

Bennett Under Fire for Remark on Crime and Black Abortions

Bennett Under Fire for Remark on Crime and Black Abortions:

"The former U.S. education secretary-turned-talk show host said Wednesday that 'if you wanted to reduce crime, you could -- if that were your sole purpose -- you could abort every black baby in this country, and your crime rate would go down.'"

Judge Orders Release of Abu Ghraib Photos - Yahoo! News

Judge Orders Release of Abu Ghraib Photos - Yahoo! News: "Thu Sep 29,12:43 PM ET

NEW YORK - Saying the United States 'does not surrender to blackmail,' a judge ruled Thursday that pictures of detainee abuse at
Iraq's
Abu Ghraib prison must be released over government claims that they could damage America's image.
ADVERTISEMENT

U.S. District Judge Alvin K. Hellerstein ordered the release of certain pictures in a 50-page decision that said terrorists in Iraq and
Afghanistan have proven they 'do not need pretexts for their barbarism.'"

STATEMENTS FROM PRISONERS ABOUT ABUSE AT ABU GHRAIB

http://media.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/world/iraq/abughraib/151108.pdf

"Excerpt from statement provided by Kasim Mehaddi Hilas, Detainee #151108, on January 18 2004:

I saw [name deleted] fucking a kid, his age would be about 15 - 18 years. The kid was hurting very bad and they covered all the doors with sheets. Then when I heard the screaming I climbed the door because on top it wasn't covered and I saw [name deleted] who was wearing the military uniform putting his dick in the little kid's ass. I couldn't see the face of the kid because his face wasn't in front of the door. And the female soldier was taking pictures. [name deleted], I think he is [deleted] because of his accent, and he was not skinny or short, and he acted like a homosexual (gay). And that was in cell #23 as best as I remember."

Net body photos inquiry dropped

BBC NEWS | Americas | Net body photos inquiry dropped:

"The US army has dropped an inquiry into whether soldiers posted photographs of dead Iraqis on a website in exchange for access to pornography."

ABC News: Electric Outlet Can Be Wireless Link

ABC News: Electric Outlet Can Be Wireless Link:

"Sep 29, 2005 — The common electric socket will serve as your home's connection to broadband with a new chip developed by Matsushita Electric Industrial Co. doing away with all the Ethernet cables or the hassle of hooking up to a wireless network device."

MICHAEL BROWN COMMITS PERJURY?

http://c-span.org/search/basic.asp?ResultStart=1&ResultCount=10&BasicQueryText=michael+brown&image1.x=0&image1.y=0&image1=Submit

CNN, other news outlets ignored Brown's false c ... :

"Under questioning from Rep. Steve Buyer (R-IN) during the September 27 House hearing, Brown claimed that President Bush's August 27 declaration of emergency for Louisiana did not include Orleans, Jefferson, and Plaquemines parishes because Blanco had excluded them from her request earlier that day:

BUYER: So I'd like to know why did the president's federal emergency assistance declaration of August 27th not include the parishes of Orleans, Jefferson, and Plaquemines?

BROWN: Under the law, the governor makes the request for the declaration, and the governors of the states specify what areas, what counties they want included in that declaration. And, based upon the governor's request, that's the recommendation that we make to the president. So if a governor does not request a particular county or a particular parish, that's not included in the request.

BUYER: All right. Orleans Parish is New Orleans. I was listening to my colleague, Mr. [Rep. William J.] Jefferson's [D-LA], questions about when they talked about, you know, they asked for this assistance for three days and the president responded the very next day, not the day that it was made -- the request -- but the governor of Louisiana actually excluded New Orleans from the president's federal emergency assistance declaration?

BROWN: Again, congressman, we looked at the request. The governors make the request by --

BUYER: Let me ask this: Since you went through the exercise in [Hurricane] Pam [a FEMA training exercise], was that not shocking to you that the governor would exclude New Orleans from the declaration?

BROWN: Yes.

BUYER: When that request came in excluding these three parishes, did you question it?

BROWN: We questioned it. But I made the decision that we were going to go ahead and move assets in regardless, because we have the ability to add those parishes.

In fact, Blanco requested a federal declaration of emergency 'in all southeastern parishes,' which clearly included the three parishes in question,..."


Ed. Note -

Here is the original State of Emergency Declaration for the ENTIRE STATE of Louisiana dated 8/26 -
http://www.gov.state.la.us/Press_Release_detail.asp?id=976

And here Governor Blanco asks President to Declare an Emergency for the State of Louisiana due to Hurricane Katrina, INCLUDING THE PARISH'S BROWN FALSLY CLAIMS WERE ommitted -
http://www.gov.state.la.us/Press_Release_detail.asp?id=976

Louisiana Governor's Office - Kathleen Babineaux Blanco - BLANCO REQUEST

Louisiana Governor's Office - Kathleen Babineaux Blanco: "August 27, 2005


The President
The White House
Washington, D. C.

Through:
Regional Director
FEMA Region VI
800 North Loop 288
Denton, Texas 76209

Dear Mr. President:

Under the provisions of Section 501 (a) of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act, 42 U.S.C. 5121-5206 (Stafford Act), and implemented by 44 CFR 206.35, I request that you declare an emergency for the State of Louisiana due to Hurricane Katrina for the time period beginning August 26, 2005, and continuing. The affected areas are all the southeastern parishes including the New Orleans Metropolitan area and the mid state Interstate I-49 corridor and northern parishes along the I-20 corridor that are accepting the thousands of citizens evacuating from the areas expecting to be flooded as a result of Hurricane Katrina."

Map

Statement on Federal Disaster Assistance for Louisiana - AFTER THE STORM HIT - COVERS COASTAL AREAS

Statement on Federal Disaster Assistance for Louisiana: "Statement on Federal Disaster Assistance for Louisiana

The President today declared a major disaster exists in the State of Louisiana and ordered Federal aid to supplement State and local recovery efforts in the area struck by Hurricane Katrina beginning on August 29, 2005, and continuing."

Statement on Federal Emergency Assistance for Louisiana - BEFORE THE STORM HIT - NO COASTAL AREAS COVERED

Statement on Federal Emergency Assistance for Louisiana: "Statement on Federal Emergency Assistance for Louisiana

The President today declared an emergency exists in the State of Louisiana and ordered Federal aid to supplement state and local response efforts in the parishes located in the path of Hurricane Katrina beginning on August 26, 2005, and continuing.

The President's action authorizes the Department of Homeland Security, Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), to coordinate all disaster relief efforts which have the purpose of alleviating the hardship and suffering caused by the emergency on the local population, and to provide appropriate assistance for required emergency measures, authorized under Title V of the Stafford Act, to save lives, protect property and public health and safety, or to lessen or avert the threat of a catastrophe in the parishes of Allen, Avoyelles, Beauregard, Bienville, Bossier, Caddo, Caldwell, Claiborne, Catahoula, Concordia, De Soto, East Baton Rouge, East Carroll, East Feliciana, Evangeline, Franklin, Grant, Jackson, LaSalle, Lincoln, Livingston, Madison, Morehouse, Natchitoches, Pointe Coupee, Ouachita, Rapides, Red River, Richland, Sabine, St. Helena, St. Landry, Tensas, Union, Vernon, Webster, West Carroll, West Feliciana, and Winn.

Specifically, FEMA is authorized to identify, mobilize, and provide at its discretion, equipment and resources necessary to alleviate the impacts of the emergency. Debris removal and emergency protective measures, including direct Federal assistance, will be provided at 75 percent Federal funding.

Representing FEMA, Michael D. Brown, Under Secretary for Emergency Preparedness and Response, Department of Homeland Security, named William Lokey as the Federal Coordinating Officer for Federal recovery operations in the affected area."

Statement on Federal Emergency Assistance for Louisiana - None of coastal areas covered

Statement on Federal Emergency Assistance for Louisiana: "Statement on Federal Emergency Assistance for Louisiana

The President today declared an emergency exists in the State of Louisiana and ordered Federal aid to supplement state and local response efforts in the parishes located in the path of Hurricane Katrina beginning on August 26, 2005, and continuing.

The President's action authorizes the Department of Homeland Security, Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), to coordinate all disaster relief efforts which have the purpose of alleviating the hardship and suffering caused by the emergency on the local population, and to provide appropriate assistance for required emergency measures, authorized under Title V of the Stafford Act, to save lives, protect property and public health and safety, or to lessen or avert the threat of a catastrophe in the parishes of Allen, Avoyelles, Beauregard, Bienville, Bossier, Caddo, Caldwell, Claiborne, Catahoula, Concordia, De Soto, East Baton Rouge, East Carroll, East Feliciana, Evangeline, Franklin, Grant, Jackson, LaSalle, Lincoln, Livingston, Madison, Morehouse, Natchitoches, Pointe Coupee, Ouachita, Rapides, Red River, Richland, Sabine, St. Helena, St. Landry, Tensas, Union, Vernon, Webster, West Carroll, West Feliciana, and Winn.

Specifically, FEMA is authorized to identify, mobilize, and provide at its discretion, equipment and resources necessary to alleviate the impacts of the emergency. Debris removal and emergency protective measures, including direct Federal assistance, will be provided at 75 percent Federal funding.

Representing FEMA, Michael D. Brown, Under Secretary for Emergency Preparedness and Response, Department of Homeland Security, named William Lokey as the Federal Coordinating Officer for Federal recovery operations in the affected area."

BobHarris.com - Map of declared presidential declared disaster areas in LA showing none of the coastal parish's covered

BobHarris.com:

"I checked the parish map against the White House's own press release, posted on their own site. I have tried to figure out how this is my own mistake, but I can't find it. And the results are frankly so bizarre I had to make the graphic in order to properly show you.

Welcome to upside-down-land: the areas at risk for Katrina were quite remarkably the areas not included in Bush's declaration of emergency."

Chronology: House Majority Leader Tom DeLay - Sep 28, 2005

CNN.com - Chronology: House Majority Leader Tom DeLay - Sep 28, 2005: "# July 1997: DeLay was part of a group that tried, but failed, to oust House Speaker Newt Gingrich.

# October 1998: DeLay attacks the Electronics Industries Alliance for hiring former Democratic Rep. Dave McCurdy as its president and later receives a private rebuke from the House ethics committee.

# November 2002: Elected majority leader without opposition.

# September 2004: Grand jurors in Texas indict three DeLay associates -- Jim Ellis, John Colyandro, and Warren RoBold -- in an investigation of alleged illegal corporate contributions to a political action committee associated with him. The investigation involved the alleged use of corporate funds to aid Republican candidates for the Texas legislature in the 2002 elections.

# September-October 2004: DeLay is admonished by the House ethics committee on three separate issues. The committee chastised DeLay for offering to support the House candidacy of Michigan Republican Rep. Nick Smith's son in return for the lawmaker's vote for a Medicare prescription drug benefit. The panel said DeLay created the appearance of linking political donations to a legislative favor, and that he had improperly sought the Federal Aviation Administration's intervention in a Texas political dispute.

# January 2005: House Republicans reverse a controversial rule passed in November 2004 that would have allowed DeLay to keep his leadership post if he were indicted.

# March 2005: Media reports spur Democrats to question DeLay's relationship with lobbyist Jack Abramoff, who is under federal investigation. DeLay has asked the House ethics committee to review allegations that Abramoff or his clients paid some of DeLay's overseas travel expenses. DeLay has denied knowing that the expenses were paid by Abramoff.

# April 2005: House Republicans scrap controversial new ethics committee rules passed earlier in the year that would have made it harder to proceed with an ethics investigation. Democrats charged the rules were meant to protect DeLay.

# September 2005: Ellis and Colyandro are indicted on additional felony charges of violating Texas election law and criminal conspiracy to violate election law for their role in 2002 legislative races."

Purported al Qaeda Newscast Debuts on Internet

Purported al Qaeda Newscast Debuts on Internet: "Tuesday, September 27, 2005; A16

ROME, Sept. 26 -- An Internet video newscast called the Voice of the Caliphate was broadcast for the first time on Monday, purporting to be a production of al Qaeda and featuring an anchorman who wore a black ski mask and an ammunition belt.

The anchorman, who said the report would appear once a week, presented news about the Gaza Strip and Iraq and expressed happiness about recent hurricanes in the United States. A copy of the Koran, the Muslim holy book, was placed by his right hand and a rifle affixed to a tripod was pointed at the camera.

The origins of the broadcast could not be immediately verified. If the program was indeed an al Qaeda production, it would mark a change in how the group uses the Internet to spread its messages and propaganda. Direct dissemination would avoid editing or censorship by television networks, many of which usually air only excerpts of the group's statements and avoid showing gruesome images of killings.

The broadcast was first reported by the Italian Adnkonos news agency from Dubai. The 16-minute production was available on Italian newspaper Web sites."

Katrina Takes a Toll on Truth, News Accuracy - Los Angeles Times

Katrina Takes a Toll on Truth, News Accuracy - Los Angeles Times:

"His assessment is one of several in recent days to conclude that newspapers and television exaggerated criminal behavior in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, particularly at the overcrowded Superdome and Convention Center.
..............................

Follow-up reporting has discredited reports of a 7-year-old being raped and murdered at the Superdome, roving bands of armed gang members attacking the helpless, and dozens of bodies being shoved into a freezer at the Convention Center.

Hyperbolic reporting spread through much of the media.

Fox News, a day before the major evacuation of the Superdome began, issued an 'alert' as talk show host Alan Colmes reiterated reports of 'robberies, rapes, carjackings, riots and murder. Violent gangs are roaming the streets at night, hidden by the cover of darkness.'

The Los Angeles Times adopted a breathless tone the next day in its lead news story, reporting that National Guard troops 'took positions on rooftops, scanning for snipers and armed mobs as seething crowds of refugees milled below, desperate to flee. Gunfire crackled in the distance.'

The New York Times repeated some of the reports of violence and unrest, but the newspaper usually was more careful to note that the information could not be verified."

Brown serving as consultant to FEMA (TO INVESTIGATE HIS OWN FAILURES)- Sep 27, 2005

CNN.com - Brown serving as consultant to FEMA - Sep 27, 2005:

"Brown told congressional investigators Monday that he is being paid as a consultant to help FEMA assess what went wrong in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, according to a senior official familiar with the meeting."

Photo of JEFF GANNON AT PRO-WAR RALLY

OCBQ | Photo of JEFF GANNON AT PRO-WAR RALLY by Joe Tresh:

"Jeff Gannon (nee Guckert) at the Sunday Pro-War rally attended by 400 people.
On Saturday 150,000 attended the anti-war rally and march. Gannon is the
former prostitute who was uncovered as a fraud in the White House press pool.

Organizers of the Pro-war rally expected up to 20,000, leaving them
approximately 19,600 short oF their original estimate."

FOUR WEEKS LATER: Hundreds of Thousands remain homeless after hurricane

IOL: Thousands remain homeless after hurricane: "September 28 2005 at 07:20AM

By Jim Watson

Lake Charles, Louisiana - Hundreds of thousands of residents along the Gulf of Mexico coast remained homeless on Wednesday after two devastating hurricanes as US leaders fought about the government's response to the disaster."

Army probes complaints of corpse photos - Seattle Post-Intelligencer: AP - Washington, D.C.

Seattle Post-Intelligencer: AP - Washington, D.C.: "September 27, 2005
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

WASHINGTON -- The Army is investigating complaints that soldiers posted photographs of Iraqi corpses on an Internet site in exchange for access to pornographic images on the site, officials said Tuesday.

An Islamic civil rights group said it wrote to Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld objecting to the practice, which it said may violate international laws of war, and urging the Pentagon to bring it to an end.

'This disgusting trade in human misery is an insult to all those who have served in our nation's military,' Arsalan Iftikhar, legal director for the Council on American-Islamic Relations, said in his letter to Rumsfeld.

Bryan Whitman, a spokesman for Rumsfeld, said the Pentagon had recently become aware of Internet postings and is looking into it."

EDITORS NOTE - THE WEBSITE IS HERE - WARNING - EXTREMELY GRAPHIC - HORRIFIC IMAGES:

http://www.nowthatsfuckedup.com/bbs/forum23.html

Reuters says U.S. troops obstruct reporting of Iraq

Reuters AlertNet - Reuters says U.S. troops obstruct reporting of Iraq: " Source: Reuters
By Barry Moody

LONDON, Sept 28 (Reuters) - The conduct of U.S. troops in Iraq, including increasing detention and accidental shootings of journalists, is preventing full coverage of the war reaching the American public, Reuters said on Wednesday.

In a letter to Virginia Republican Sen. John Warner, head of the Senate Armed Services Committee, Reuters said U.S. forces were limiting the ability of independent journalists to operate. The letter from Reuters Global Managing Editor David Schlesinger called on Warner to raise widespread media concerns about the conduct of U.S. troops with Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, who is due to testify to the committee on Thursday.

Schlesinger referred to "a long parade of disturbing incidents whereby professional journalists have been killed, wrongfully detained, and/or illegally abused by U.S. forces in Iraq."

Schlesinger said the U.S. military had refused to conduct independent and transparent investigations into the deaths of the Reuters journalists, relying instead on inquiries by officers from the units responsible, who had exonerated their soldiers.

The U.S. military had failed even to implement recommendations by its own inquiry into one of the deaths, that of award-winning Palestinian cameraman Mazen Dana who was shot dead while filming outside Abu Ghraib prison in August 2003. Schlesinger said Reuters and other reputable international news organisations were concerned by the 'sizeable and rapidly increasing number of journalists detained by U.S. forces'.

He said most of these detentions had been prompted by legitimate journalistic activity such as possessing photographs and video of insurgents, whichU.S. soldiers assumed showed sympathy with the insurgency.

In most cases the journalists were held for long periods at Abu Ghraib or Camp Bucca prisons before being released without charge.

At least four journalists working for international media are currently being held without charge or legal representation in Iraq. They include two cameramen working for Reuters and a freelance reporter who sometimes works for the agency.

A cameraman working for the U.S. network CBS has been detained since April despite an Iraqi court saying his case does not justify prosecution. Iraq's justice minister has criticised the system of military detentions without charge.

Schlesinger's letter said: 'It appears as though the U.S. forces in Iraq either completely misunderstand the role of professional journalists or do not know how to deal with journalists in a conflict zone, or both.'

Reuters and other media organisations in Iraq had repeatedly tried to hold a dialogue with the Pentagon to establish appropriate guidelines on how to safeguard journalists. These efforts had failed 'and the situation is now spiraling out of control', Schlesinger said."

Officer Criticizes Detainee Abuse Inquiry - New York Times

Officer Criticizes Detainee Abuse Inquiry - New York Times: "September 28, 2005

WASHINGTON, Sept. 27 - An Army captain who reported new allegations of detainee abuse in Iraq said Tuesday that Army investigators seemed more concerned about tracking down young soldiers who reported misconduct than in following up the accusations and investigating whether higher-ranking officers knew of the abuses.

The officer, Capt. Ian Fishback, said investigators from the Criminal Investigation Command and the 18th Airborne Corps inspector general had pressed him to divulge the names of two sergeants from his former battalion who also gave accounts of abuse, which were made public in a report last Friday by the group Human Rights Watch.

Captain Fishback, speaking publicly on the matter for first time, said the investigators who have questioned him in the past 10 days seemed to be less interested in individuals he identified in his chain of command who allegedly committed the abuses.

'I'm convinced this is going in a direction that's not consistent with why we came forward,' Captain Fishback said in a telephone interview from Fort Bragg, N.C., where he is going through Army Special Forces training. 'We came forward because of the larger issue that prisoner abuse is systemic in the Army. I'm concerned this will take a new twist, and they'll try to scapegoat some of the younger soldiers. This is a leadership problem.'"

Hospital Halts Organ Program - Los Angeles Times

Hospital Halts Organ Program - Los Angeles Times:

"St. Vincent Medical Center, one of the largest organ transplantation centers in the state, has suspended its liver program after discovering that its doctors improperly arranged for a transplant to a Saudi national using an organ that should have gone to a much higher priority patient at another hospital, officials said.

Hospital staff members then falsified documents several times to cover up the alleged maneuver, pretending that the transplant was for a patient who was near the top of the regional waiting list, hospital President and Chief Executive Gus Valdespino confirmed Monday.

The transplant took place in September 2003 and was paid for by the Royal Embassy of Saudi Arabia."

Former FEMA Chief Blames Local Officials for Failures - New York Times

Former FEMA Chief Blames Local Officials for Failures - New York Times:

"'It's my belief that FEMA did a good job in the Gulf states,' Mr. Brown said at one point."

Hinchey: Bush choice of FDA chief 'bizarre'

Hinchey: Bush choice of FDA chief 'bizarre':

"The congressman noted von Eschenbach plans to continue in his current job as director of the National Cancer Institute while overseeing the federal agency.

Hinchey said that would pose a 'very serious conflict of interest' because the institute seeks the F-D-A's approval for new cancer drugs."

US troops open fire randomly at civilians

Xinhua - English:

"Sept. 27 (Xinhuanet) -- US troops on Tuesday opened fire randomly at civilians in central Ramadi, a western city of Iraq, killing four people and wounding five others, medics said."

Public Broadcasting Meets the New Boss

Newsday.com: Public Broadcasting Meets the New Boss:

"Another GOP appointee takes over from the outspoken Tomlinson, but hints at a new tone.

WASHINGTON — Kenneth Y. Tomlinson, who had led a charge against what he called the liberal slant in public broadcasting, ended his tumultuous two-year term as chairman of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting on Monday, yielding the gavel to another Republican appointee with similar views if not a similar style.


Tomlinson, a former editor of Reader's Digest, was elected chairman in 2003 and soon began to rankle broadcasting officials by pushing for more conservative voices on public television and radio. The bulk of his criticism centered on Bill Moyers, the commentator and former aide to President Lyndon B. Johnson, who had sharply criticized the Bush administration in commentaries on his program "Now," before retiring in December.

Shortly after taking office, Tomlinson secretly hired Fred Mann, a consultant with conservative ties, to monitor and report on the political leanings of guests on "Now" and other public broadcasting shows. Those who expressed opinions critical of the Bush administration were labeled "liberal" or "anti-Bush."

Tomlinson said he commissioned the report without informing the rest of the CPB board to learn more about the programming without alarming people in the system. But the report was denounced by Democratic lawmakers and liberal interest groups.

The chairman also drew criticism for awarding contracts to Republican lobbyists without informing the rest of the board.

Tomlinson's activities are being investigated by the CPB's inspector general, Kenneth A. Konz."

Blair in secret Saudi mission Guardian Unlimited | Special reports |

Guardian Unlimited | Special reports | Blair in secret Saudi mission:

"Tony Blair and John Reid, the defence secretary, have been holding secret talks with Saudi Arabia in pursuit of a huge arms deal worth up to 40bn, according to diplomatic sources."

Undeclared Civil War In Iraq | September 26, 2005�23:00:04

CBS News | Undeclared Civil War In Iraq | September 26, 2005�23:00:04:

"They were targeted for one reason alone: all were Sunnis.

At a news conference with a U.S. ambassador, a prominent Sunni politician shouted that the mostly Shiite police force was behind many of the killings — a charge the police deny.

And the killing isn't one-sided. An ambush in a western Baghdad suburb last month began with the execution of an entire Shiite family inside their home.

CBS News was shown a pamphlet by a young man too afraid to reveal his face. It's an order for all Shiites to leave his neighborhood, or be killed — given to him in broad daylight by masked terrorists. The man said if he did not leave, he will die.

The police did nothing, so within days, a powerful Shiite militia struck back at the terrorists, raiding the same neighborhood. In much of Iraq, armed factions like this one operate beyond the law.

These killings have created a climate of fear, fuelled by the fact that no one is being held responsible. What is worse, no one appears to be capable, or more importantly, willing to stop the murders from escalating into an all out civil war."

KSBI-TV - Home

KSBI-TV - Home:

"(CNN) -- Insurgents dressed as Iraq police shot and killed six teachers Monday, while violence claimed at least 10 other lives, including three U.S. soldiers, authorities in Iraq said"

Gunmen dressed as police kill five Shia teachers in classroom - World - Times Online

Gunmen dressed as police kill five Shia teachers in classroom - World - Times Online:

"GUNMEN in police uniforms shot dead five Shia teachers at a primary school south of Baghdad yesterday."

CBS News | Hurricane Rita Blog | September 26, 2005 19:30:06

CBS News | Hurricane Rita Blog | September 26, 2005 19:30:06: "Sept. 26, 2005
6:44 p.m.
(CBS) — CBS News correspondent Gloria Borger reports that Michael Brown, who recently resigned as the head of the FEMA, has been rehired by the agency as a consultant to evaluate it's response following Hurricane Katrina."

Reports of anarchy at Superdome overstated

The Seattle Times: Nation & World: Reports of anarchy at Superdome overstated: "Monday, September 26, 2005 - Page updated at 12:00 AM

Reports of anarchy at Superdome overstated

Bystanders watch as National Guard troops move about the area outside the Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans on Sept. 2. The vast majority of reported atrocities committed by evacuees at the Dome — murders, rapes and beatings — have turned out to be false, or at least unsupported by any evidence.

NEW ORLEANS — After five days managing near riots, medical horrors and unspeakable living conditions inside the Superdome, Louisiana National Guard Col. Thomas Beron prepared to hand over the dead to representatives of the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

Following days of internationally reported murders, rapes and gang violence inside the stadium, the doctor from FEMA — Beron doesn't remember his name — came prepared for a grisly scene: He brought a refrigerated 18-wheeler and three doctors to process bodies.

'I've got a report of 200 bodies in the Dome,' Beron recalled the doctor saying.

The real total?

Six, Beron said.

Of those, four died of natural causes, one overdosed and another jumped to his death in an apparent suicide, said Beron, who personally oversaw the handoff of bodies from a Dome freezer, where they lay atop melting bags of ice.

State health department officials in charge of body recovery put the official death count at the Dome at 10, but Beron said the other four bodies were found in the street near the Dome, not inside it. Both sources said no one had been murdered inside the stadium"

Families of U.S. troops killed in Iraq lead pro-war rally - Japan's Leading International News Network

Japan Today - News - Families of U.S. troops killed in Iraq lead pro-war rally - Japan's Leading International News Network:

"Monday, September 26, 2005 at 07:29 JST

WASHINGTON — Led by a group of families of U.S. troops killed in Iraq, some 200 people held a rally in Washington Sunday, backing President George W Bush's war in Iraq.

The number was a far cry from the 100,000 anti-war demonstrators who gathered in Washington a day earlier, demanding the withdrawal of American troops from the battlefield"

Protests demand end to Iraq war - The Boston Globe

Protests demand end to Iraq war - The Boston Globe: "September 25, 2005

WASHINGTON -- In a daylong marathon of protest, more than 100,000 antiwar demonstrators -- echoing the marches of a generation ago, but adding a 21st century global component -- rallied in Washington, London, and other cities yesterday to demand that President Bush and Prime Minister Tony Blair of Britain withdraw military forces from Iraq."

100,000 in Iraq war protest rally

Scotsman.com News - Latest News - 100,000 in Iraq war protest rally:

"Crowds opposed to the war in Iraq surged past the White House, shouting 'Peace now' in the largest anti-war protest in the US capital since the invasion.

The rally stretched through Saturday and into the early hours of Sunday, a marathon of music, speeches and dissent on the National Mall.

Police Chief Charles Ramsey, noting that organisers had hoped to draw 100,000 people, said, 'I think they probably hit that.
'"

300,000 protest against Iraq war [26sep05]

Herald Sun: 300,000 protest against Iraq war [26sep05]:

"300,000 protest against Iraq war

MORE than 100,000 protesters in Washington and thousands in London yesterday demonstrated against the US-led war in Iraq."

Bush weathers the storm

Telegraph | News | Bush weathers the storm:

"Even as 100,000 people gathered in Washington, the nation's attention was focused on the fearful damage Rita might inflict on Mr Bush's home state of Texas.

The influential news channels knew where the action was. They kept their cameras focused on Rita and on the president as he flew into Colorado, home of the military response to the storm.

The newspapers also played down the demonstration to give page after page to the hurricane."

Bush Waives Saudi Trafficking Sanctions - Yahoo! News

Bush Waives Saudi Trafficking Sanctions - Yahoo! News: "Wed Sep 21, 9:40 PM ET

WASHINGTON -
President Bush decided Wednesday to waive any financial sanctions on Saudi Arabia, Washington's closest Arab ally in the war on terrorism, for failing to do enough to stop the modern-day slave trade in prostitutes, child sex workers and forced laborers."

ABC News: Anti-War Protesters March in Washington

ABC News: Anti-War Protesters March in Washington: "Associated Press Writer
The Associated PressThe Associated Press

WASHINGTON Sep 24, 2005 — Opponents of the war in Iraq marched by the tens of thousands Saturday in a clamorous day of protest, song and remembrance of the dead, some showing surprisingly diverse political views even as they spoke with one loud voice in wanting U.S. troops home."

Transcript for September 25 - Meet the Press, online at MSNBC - MSNBC.com

Transcript for September 25 - Meet the Press, online at MSNBC - MSNBC.com:

"Mr. Russert: Go ahead.

Mr. Broussard: ...
Listen, sir, somebody wants to nitpick a man's tragic loss of a mother because she was abandoned in a nursing home? Are you kidding? What kind of sick mind, what kind of black-hearted people want to nitpick a man's mother's death? They just buried Eva last week. I was there at the wake. Are you kidding me? That wasn't a box of Cheerios they buried last week. That was a man's mother whose story, if it is entirely broadcast, will be the epitome of abandonment. It will be the saddest tale you ever heard, a man who was responsible for safekeeping of a half a million people, mother's died in the next parish because she was abandoned there and he can't get to her and he tried to get to her through EOC. He tried to get through the sheriff's office. He tries every way he can to get there. Somebody wants to debate those things? My God, what sick-minded person wants to do that?

What kind of agenda is going on here? Mother Nature doesn't have a political party. Mother Nature can vote a person dead and Mother Nature can vote a community out of existence. But Mother Nature is not playing any political games here. Somebody better wake up. You want to come and live in this community and see the tragedy we're living in? Are you sitting there having your coffee, you're in a place where toilets flush and lights go on and everything's a dream and you pick up your paper and you want to battle ideology and political chess games? Man, get out of my face. Whoever wants to do that, get out of my face.

Mr. Russert: Mr. Broussard, the people who are questioning your comments are saying that you accused the federal government and the bureaucracy of murder, specifically calling on the secretary of Homeland Security and using this as an example to denounce the federal government. And what they're saying is, in fact, it was the local government that did not evacuate Eva Rodrigue on Friday or on Saturday. And they're making that, in fact...

Mr. Broussard: Sir...

Mr. Russert: Let me just finish. I'll give you a chance to respond.

Mr. Broussard: Yes.

Mr. Russert: And, in fact, the owners of the nursing home, Salvador and Mable Mangano, have been indicted with 34 counts of negligent homicide by the Louisiana state attorney general. So it was the owners of the nursing home and the local government that are responsible for the lack of evacuation and not the federal government. Is that fair?

Mr. Broussard: Sir, with everything I said on Meet the Press, the last punctuation of my statements were the story that I was going to tell in about maybe two sentences. It just got emotional for me, sir. Talk about the context of everything I said. Were we abandoned by the federal government? Absolutely we were. Were there more people that abandoned us? Make the list. The list can go on for miles. That's for history to document. That's what Congress does best, burn witches. Let Congress do their hearings. Let them find the witches. Let them burn them. The media burns witches better than anybody. Let the media go find the witches and burn them. But as I stood on the ground, sir, for day after day after day after day, nobody came here, sir. Nobody came. The federal government didn't come. The Red Cross didn't come. I'll give you a list of people that didn't come here, sir, and I was here.

So anybody that's saying, "Oh, they were all here," you know, they weren't living on my planet, there weren't living in my parish. They did not come. I can't make it any more clearer than that. Did inefficiencies, did bureaucracy commit murder here? Absolutely, it did. And Congress and the media will flush it out and find it out and those people will be held accountable. You've already given an example. These people in the nursing home in St. Bernard, they're getting indicted. Good. They ought to be indicted. They ought to get good old-fashioned Western justice. They ought to be taken out and administered to like they did in the old West.

Yes, there's a lot of people that they're going to find that are going to be villains in this situation, but they're also going to find for the most part that the Peter Principle was squared. The Peter Principle is you promote somebody to the level of incompetency, but when you promote somebody to the level of incompetency in a life or death department, then those people should be ousted. Those people should be strung up. Those people should be burned at the stake. And I'm sure Congress and the press is going to do that.

Mr. Russert: At the local, state and federal level.

Mr. Broussard: Sir, at every level. Are you kidding? ...

When somebody wants to nit-pick these details, I don't know what sick minds creates this black-hearted agenda, but it's sick. I mean, let us recover. Let us rebuild. If somebody wants me to debate them on national TV, hey, buddy, be my guest. Make my day. Put me at a podium when I got a full night's sleep and you will not like matching me against anybody that you want. That person is going to be in trouble. If this station or anybody else or any other station wants to do that, you just give me a full night's sleep, sir. I haven't had one in about 30 days. But you wind me up with a full night's sleep, I'll debate every detail of everything you want, sir.

Blair falls into line with Bush view on global warming

Independent Online Edition > World Environment : app1:

"Tony Blair has admitted that he is changing his views on combating global warming to mirror those of President Bush - and oppose negotiating international treaties such as the Kyoto Protocol.

His admission, which has outraged environmentalists on both sides of the Atlantic, flies in the face of his promises made in the past two years and undermines the agreement he masterminded at this summer's Gleneagles Summit. And it endangers talks that opened in Ottawa this weekend on a new treaty to combat climate change.

The U-turn will inevitably bring accusations that he has, once again, sold out to Mr Bush, just at the time that the US President is coming under unprecedented pressure to change his policy in the wake of hurricanes Katrina and Rita. Last week the UK Government's chief scientific advisor, Sir David King, said that global warming might have increased their severity."

Leadership Failure: Firsthand Accounts of Torture of Iraqi Detainees by the U.S. Army's 82nd Airborne Division

Leadership Failure: Firsthand Accounts of Torture of Iraqi Detainees by the U.S. Army's 82nd Airborne Division:

"Leadership Failure
Firsthand Accounts of Torture of Iraqi Detainees by the U.S. Army’s 82nd Airborne Division

I. Summary

II. Account of Sergeant A, 82nd Airborne Division

III. Account of Sergeant B, 82nd Airborne Division

IV. Account of Officer C, 82nd Airborne Division

On Conditions at FOB Mercury
On Frustration Obtaining a Meaningful Response within the Military Chain of Command
On Policy Confusion within the Ranks on Coercive Interrogation
On the Implications of the Abu Ghraib Abuse Revelations in April 2004
On Failure of the Officer Corps
On the Role of “OGA”

V. Conclusion"

Related Material

Download pdf file of this report
(30 pages, 245 Kb)

Purchase this report online

More on Human Rights Watch's work on Torture and Abuse

More on Human Rights Watch's work on Iraq

More on Human Rights Watch's work on the United States

As Test Scores Jump, Raleigh Credits Integration by Income - New York Times

As Test Scores Jump, Raleigh Credits Integration by Income - New York Times: "September 25, 2005

RALEIGH, N.C. - Over the last decade, black and Hispanic students here in Wake County have made such dramatic strides in standardized reading and math tests that it has caught the attention of education experts around the country.
Skip to next paragraph
Jenny Warburg for The New York Times

Schools in Wake County, N.C., are economically diverse by design.

The main reason for the students' dramatic improvement, say officials and parents in the county, which includes Raleigh and its sprawling suburbs, is that the district has made a concerted effort to integrate the schools economically.

Since 2000, school officials have used income as a prime factor in assigning students to schools, with the goal of limiting the proportion of low-income students in any school to no more than 40 percent."

Breton: Greenspan says U.S. 'lost control' of budget deficit - Sep. 24, 2005

Breton: Greenspan says U.S. 'lost control' of budget deficit - Sep. 24, 2005:

"Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan told France's Finance Minister Thierry Breton the United States has 'lost control' of its budget deficit, the French minister said Saturday.

''We have lost control,' that was his expression,' Breton told reporters after a bilateral meeting with Greenspan.

'The United States has lost control of their budget at a time when racking up deficits has been authorized without any control (from Congress),' Breton said."

Iraqi women say freedoms are slipping away - Yahoo! News

Iraqi women say freedoms are slipping away - Yahoo! News: "Sat Sep 24, 5:08 PM ET

BAGHDAD (AFP) - Women's rights activists in
Iraq say rising extremism is restricting their freedom, even as the country prepares to vote on a constitution that is touted as one of the Arab world's most progressive regarding women.

'Women cannot walk freely out in the street,' said activist Ban Jamil, who directs the Rasafa Branch of Assyrian Women Union, a local non-governmental organisation in Baghdad.

'Women face lack of respect when they walk uncovered,' said Jamil, a Christian, who said women are insulted if they show too much skin or walk in public without wearing the Islamic veil, or hijab, to cover their hair.

She blamed 'imported extremist doctrines, which were never experienced in the past' for the new restrictions.

The tide of Islamisation has risen in Iraq as fundamentalist Shiite parties have come to power following the ouster of former dictator
Saddam Hussein.
................................

"Women have the right to participate fully in public activities," he said in August, pointing out that 25 percent of parliament seats were reserved for women.

But activists say that the current female MPs do not represent women's advocates and were brought in by male-dominated political parties to fill the 25 percent quota.

"These were voted in to fill the quota... None of them serves in the politburo of any of their parties... They are mere mouthpieces," Jamil said. "

Bush plea for cash to rebuild Iraq raises $600

The Observer | International | Bush plea for cash to rebuild Iraq raises $600: "September 25, 2005
The Observer

An extraordinary appeal to Americans from the Bush administration for money to help pay for the reconstruction of Iraq has raised only $600 (�337), The Observer has learnt. Yet since the appeal was launched earlier this month, donations to rebuild New Orleans have attracted hundreds of millions of dollars.
............................

It is understood to be the first time that a US government has made an appeal to taxpayers for foreign aid money."

US forced to import bullets from Israel as troops use 250,000 for every rebel killed

Independent Online Edition > Americas : app4:

"US forces have fired so many bullets in Iraq and Afghanistan - an estimated 250,000 for every insurgent killed - that American ammunition-makers cannot keep up with demand. As a result the US is having to import supplies from Israel.

A government report says that US forces are now using 1.8 billion rounds of small-arms ammunition a year."

As Test Scores Jump, Raleigh Credits Integration by Income - New York Times

As Test Scores Jump, Raleigh Credits Integration by Income - New York Times: "September 25, 2005

RALEIGH, N.C. - Over the last decade, black and Hispanic students here in Wake County have made such dramatic strides in standardized reading and math tests that it has caught the attention of education experts around the country.

The main reason for the students' dramatic improvement, say officials and parents in the county, which includes Raleigh and its sprawling suburbs, is that the district has made a concerted effort to integrate the schools economically.

Since 2000, school officials have used income as a prime factor in assigning students to schools, with the goal of limiting the proportion of low-income students in any school to no more than 40 percent."

Report Says Bush's Tax Cuts Will Cause Some to Pay More - New York Times

Report Says Bush's Tax Cuts Will Cause Some to Pay More - New York Times: "September 24, 2005

Over the next 10 years, Americans will not receive nearly $750 billion in tax cuts sponsored by President Bush because the cuts will be offset by the alternative minimum tax, a new report by Congressional tax specialists shows.

The report, prepared by the staff of the Congressional Joint Committee on Taxation, said that from 2006 to 2015, Americans would pay as much as $1.1 trillion more under the alternative minimum tax, partly as a result of the Bush tax cuts.
....................................

Families with children who own their homes will be hit hardest by the increased alternative tax."

Leader of the F.D.A. Steps Down After a Short, Turbulent Tenure - New York Times

Leader of the F.D.A. Steps Down After a Short, Turbulent Tenure - New York Times: "September 24, 2005

WASHINGTON, Sept. 23 - Lester M. Crawford, the commissioner of food and drugs, resigned abruptly on Friday, causing further upheaval at an agency that has been in turmoil for more than a year.

Dr. Crawford, who was confirmed just two months ago, on July 18, after serving as acting commissioner for more than a year, did not say why he was stepping down.

Senior officials at the Food and Drug Administration said they were stunned to learn of the resignation in an e-mail message from Dr. Crawford, who also sent a letter to President Bush stating that he was resigning 'effective immediately.'

A government official said the resignation was related to the fact that Dr. Crawford had not fully disclosed information about his finances to the Senate before his confirmation. The official spoke on condition of anonymity, citing Dr. Crawford's privacy.
.............................

In recent weeks, consumer advocates and scientists inside and outside the agency had said scientific decisions were being warped by politics.

On Thursday, a commentary in The New England Journal of Medicine titled 'A Sad Day for Science at the F.D.A.' said that 'recent actions of the F.D.A. leadership have made a mockery of the process of evaluating scientific evidence,' disillusioned many scientists, 'squandered the public trust and tarnished the agency's image.'"

Stupid Quotes About Hurricane Katrina - Stupidest Hurricane Katrina Quotes

Stupid Quotes About Hurricane Katrina - Stupidest Hurricane Katrina Quotes: "Stupid Quotes About Hurricane Katrina
Your Guide, Daniel Kurtzman

25 Mind-Numbingly Stupid Quotes About Hurricane Katrina And Its Aftermath

1) 'I don't think anybody anticipated the breach of the levees.' –President Bush, on 'Good Morning America,' Sept. 1, 2005, six days after repeated warnings from experts about the scope of damage expected from Hurricane Katrina (Source)

2) 'What I'm hearing which is sort of scary is that they all want to stay in Texas. Everybody is so overwhelmed by the hospitality. And so many of the people in the arena here, you know, were underprivileged anyway so this (chuckle) – this is working very well for them.' –Former First Lady Barbara Bush, on the hurricane evacuees at the Astrodome in Houston, Sept. 5, 2005 (Source)

3) 'We've got a lot of rebuilding to do ...
The good news is — and it's hard for some to see it now — that out of this chaos is going to come a fantastic Gulf Coast, like it was before. Out of the rubbles of Trent Lott's house — he's lost his entire house — there's going to be a fantastic house. And I'm looking forward to sitting on the porch.' (Laughter) —President Bush, touring hurricane damage, Mobile, Ala., Sept. 2, 2005 (Source)

4) 'Considering the dire circumstances that we have in New Orleans, virtually a city that has been destroyed, things are going relatively well.' –FEMA Director Michael Brown, Sept. 1, 2005 (Source)

5) 'Brownie, you're doing a heck of a job.' –President Bush, to FEMA director Michael Brown, while touring hurricane-ravaged Mississippi, Sept. 2, 2005 (Source)

6) "Now tell me the truth boys, is this kind of fun?" –House Majority Leader Tom Delay (R-TX), to three young hurricane evacuees from New Orleans at the Astrodome in Houston, Sept. 9, 2005 (Source)

7) "Well, I think if you look at what actually happened, I remember on Tuesday morning picking up newspapers and I saw headlines, 'New Orleans Dodged the Bullet.' Because if you recall, the storm moved to the east and then continued on and appeared to pass with considerable damage but nothing worse." –Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff, blaming media coverage for the government's failings, "Meet the Press," Sept. 4, 2005 (Source)

8) "What didn't go right?'" –President Bush, as quoted by House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), after she urged him to fire FEMA Director Michael Brown "because of all that went wrong, of all that didn't go right" in the Hurricane Katrina relief effort (Source)

9) "I mean, you have people who don't heed those warnings and then put people at risk as a result of not heeding those warnings. There may be a need to look at tougher penalties on those who decide to ride it out and understand that there are consequences to not leaving." –Sen. Rick Santorum (R-PA), Sept. 6, 2005 (Source)

10) "You simply get chills every time you see these poor individuals...many of these people, almost all of them that we see are so poor and they are so black, and this is going to raise lots of questions for people who are watching this story unfold." –CNN's Wolf Blitzer, on New Orleans' hurricane evacuees, Sept. 1, 2005 (Source) "

11) "We finally cleaned up public housing in New Orleans. We couldn't do it, but God did." –Rep. Richard Baker (R-LA) to lobbyists, as quoted in the Wall Street Journal (Source)

12) "If one person criticizes [the local authorities’ relief efforts] or says one more thing, including the president of the United States, he will hear from me. One more word about it after this show airs, and I…I might likely have to punch him, literally." –Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-LA), "This Week with George Stephanopoulous," Sept. 4, 2005 ((Source)

13) "There are a lot of lessons we want to learn out of this process in terms of what works. I think we are in fact on our way to getting on top of the whole Katrina exercise."" –Vice President Dick Cheney, Sept. 10, 2005 (Source)

14) "I believe the town where I used to come – from Houston, Texas, to enjoy myself, occasionally too much – will be that very same town, that it will be a better place to come to." –President Bush, on the tarmac at the New Orleans airport, Sept. 2, 2005 (Source)

15) "I have not heard a report of thousands of people in the convention center who don't have food and water." –Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff, on NPR's "All Things Considered," Sept. 1, 2005 (Source)

16) "Last night, we showed you the full force of a superpower government going to the rescue." –MSNBC's Chris Matthews, Sept. 1, 2005 (Source)

17) "We just learned of the convention center – we being the federal government – today." –FEMA Director Michael Brown, to ABC's Ted Koppel, Sept. 1, 2005, to which Koppel responded: "Don't you guys watch television? Don't you guys listen to the radio? Our reporters have been reporting on it for more than just today." (Source)

18) "Mayor Nagin and most mayors in this country have a hard time getting their people to work on a sunny day, let alone getting them out of the city in front of a hurricane." –Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-LA), on why New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin failed to follow the city's evacuation plan and press the buses into service, "Fox News Sunday," Sept. 11, 2005 (Source)

19) "Louisiana is a city that is largely under water." –Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff, news conference, Sept. 3, 2005 (Source)

20) "I also want to encourage anybody who was affected by Hurricane Corina to make sure their children are in school." –First Lady Laura Bush, twice referring to a "Hurricane Corina" while speaking to children and parents in South Haven, Mississippi, Sept. 8, 2005 (Source)

21) "It's totally wiped out. ... It's devastating, it's got to be doubly devastating on the ground." –President Bush, turning to his aides while surveying Hurricane Katrina flood damage from Air Force One, Aug. 31, 2005 (Source)

22)"But I really didn't hear that at all today. People came up to me all day long and said 'God bless your son,' people of different races and it was very, very moving and touching, and they felt like when he flew over that it made all the difference in their lives, so I just don't hear that." –Former First Lady Barbara Bush to CNN's Larry King, after King asked her how she felt when people said that her son "doesn't care" about race, Sept.
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5, 2005 (Source)

22) "FEMA is not going to hesitate at all in this storm. We are not going to sit back and make this a bureaucratic process. We are going to move fast, we are going to move quick, and we are going to do whatever it takes to help disaster victims." -FEMA Director Michael Brown, Aug. 28, 2005 (Source)

24) "I understand there are 10,000 people dead. It's terrible. It's tragic. But in a democracy of 300 million people, over years and years and years, these things happen." --GOP strategist Jack Burkman, on MSNBC's "Connected," Sept. 7, 2005 (Source)

25) "A young [black] man walks through chest deep floodwater after looting a grocery store in New Orleans..."
"Two [white] residents wade through chest-deep water after finding bread and soda from a local grocery store after Hurricane Katrina came through the area in New Orleans..." –captions at Yahoo News, Aug. 30, 2005 (Source)

Iraq arrest warrant for UK troops - Sep 24, 2005

CNN.com - Iraq arrest warrant for UK troops - Sep 24, 2005:

"Rockets fired at buildings housing British officials

Saturday, September 24, 2005; Posted: 7:07 a.m. EDT (11:07 GMT)

BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) -- An Iraqi judge said on Saturday he had renewed arrest warrants for two British soldiers who were rescued from jail early this week by troops using armor to crash through the prison walls.

The British government said the warrants are not legally binding, as the soldiers are subject to UK law.

This week's violence in Basra infuriated local Iraqi police and government officials, and tensions remained high in the city on Saturday.

Rockets were fired at two buildings housing British officials, police said. Most of them missed their mark, and no British officials were hurt. However, two of the rockets hit nearby homes and wounded an Iraqi civilian, police said.

The two British soldiers were arrested by Iraqi authorities on Monday after allegedly shooting two Iraqi policemen who tried to detain them. One of the policemen reportedly was killed.

The two British soldiers, operating undercover, were subsequently taken into custody.

A British armored patrol then surrounded the jail where the two were held, prompting a riot in the Basra, Iraq's second largest city and the southern hub of the country's oil industry.

Angry residents attacked the British armor with Molotov cocktails and pelted soldiers with stones as they jumped from the burning vehicles.

Later Monday, British armored vehicles crashed through the prison walls in an operation to rescue the two soldiers. They were subsequently found in a nearby house in the custody of militiamen, Britain said.

Basra authorities said the operation violated Iraqi sovereignty, and the governor ordered all government employees to stop cooperating with the British, who have 8,500 troops in the Shiite Muslim-dominated region.

Judge Raghib al-Mudhafar, chief of the Basra Anti-Terrorism Court, said Saturday that he reissued homicide arrest warrants for the two soldiers on Thursday.

But the British government said they are not legally binding on the British soldiers.

'There is no legal basis for the issue of this arrest warrant. Rather, we have a legal obligation to investigate the allegations ourselves. That is being done as we speak,' a spokesman at the British defense ministry said in London on Saturday.

'We will continue to work with the Iraqis on the inquiry which the Iraqi government has begun' into the clash, he said in an interview.

In Basra early Saturday morning, several rockets were fired at the British and American consulates in the city, but both fell in a nearby field, hurting no one, said police Capt. Mushtaq Khazim.

Also, three rockets were fired at the Shat al-Arab hotel, the headquarters of the British army in Basra, he said. One rocket hit the building, without causing casualties. The two others hit nearby private homes, wounding an Iraqi civilian, Khazim said.

He said it was not clear who had fire"

Top Democrats won't attend anti-war rally in Washington

KRT Wire | 09/22/2005 | Top Democrats won't attend anti-war rally in Washington:

"The only Democratic officeholders who plan to address the rally are Reps. Cynthia McKinney of Georgia and John Conyers of Michigan.

Today's leading Democrats head a party divided over the war, and many leaders are wary of standing with anti-war activists, who represent much of the party's base. The divide between anti-war activists and Democratic leaders underscores a challenge the party faces in the 2006 congressional elections and beyond. Some activists say that Democrats such as Clinton and Kerry who criticize the war but refuse to demand a timetable for withdrawal are effectively supporting the status quo - and may not merit future support."

Battle robots could join dogs on S.Korea border - Yahoo! News UK

Battle robots could join dogs on S.Korea border - Yahoo! News UK: "Friday September 23, 11:39 AM

SEOUL (Reuters) - Armed, six-legged robots may one day work alongside man's best friend on the southern side of the Korean DMZ.

South Korea will spend 33.4 billion won (18.2 million pounds) over the next five years to develop the robots for the heavily fortified demilitarised zone that divides the peninsula, the Communications Ministry said in a statement on Friday."

Bush skips Texas to avoid hampering Rita response - Yahoo! News

Bush skips Texas to avoid hampering Rita response - Yahoo! News: "Fri Sep 23, 9:24 PM ET

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (Reuters) -

President George W. Bush, still smarting over criticism for his slow response to Katrina, flew to a Colorado military base on Friday to monitor Hurricane Rita after abruptly canceling a trip to Texas to avoid interfering with relief operations."

No Way Out: Many Poor Stuck in Houston - New York Times

No Way Out: Many Poor Stuck in Houston - New York Times: "September 23, 2005

''All the banks are closed and I just got off work,'' said Thomas Visor, holding his sweaty paycheck as he, too, tried to get inside the store, where more than 100 people, all of them black or Hispanic, fretted in line. ''This is crazy. How are you supposed to evacuate a hurricane if you don't have money? Answer me that?''

Some of those who did have money, and did try to get out, didn't get very far.

Judie Anderson of La Porte, Texas, covered just 45 miles in 12 hours. She had been on the road since 10 p.m. Wednesday, headed toward Oklahoma, which by Thursday was still very far away.

''This is the worst planning I've ever seen,'' she said. ''They say, 'We've learned a lot from Hurricane Katrina.' Well, you couldn't prove it by me.''

On Bellaire Boulevard in southwest Houston, a weeping woman and her young daughter stood on the sidewalk, surrounded by plastic bags full of clothes and blankets. ''I'd like to go, but nobody come get me,'' the woman said in broken English. When asked her name, she looked frightened. ''No se, no se,'' she said: Spanish for ''I don't know.''

Her daughter, who appeared to be about 9, whispered in English, ''We're from Mexico.''"

Bush Waives Saudi Trafficking Sanctions

Bush Waives Saudi Trafficking Sanctions:

"President Bush decided Wednesday to waive any financial sanctions on Saudi Arabia, Washington's closest Arab ally in the war on terrorism, for failing to do enough to stop the modern-day slave trade in prostitutes, child sex workers and forced laborers."

3 in 82nd Airborne Say Beating Iraqi Prisoners Was Routine - New York Times

3 in 82nd Airborne Say Beating Iraqi Prisoners Was Routine - New York Times: "In the newest case, the human rights organization interviewed three soldiers: one sergeant who said he was a guard and acknowledged abusing some prisoners at the direction of military intelligence personnel; another sergeant who was an infantry squad leader who said he had witnessed some detainees' being beaten; and the captain who said he had seen several interrogations and received regular reports from noncommissioned officers on the ill treatment of detainees.

In one incident, the Human Rights Watch report states, an off-duty cook broke a detainee's leg with a metal baseball bat. Detainees were also stacked, fully clothed, in human pyramids and forced to hold five-gallon water jugs with arms outstretched or do jumping jacks until they passed out, the report says. 'We would give them blows to the head, chest, legs and stomach, and pull them down, kick dirt on them,' one sergeant told Human Rights Watch researchers during one of four interviews in July and August. 'This happened every day.'

The sergeant continued: 'Some days we would just get bored, so we would have everyone sit in a corner and then make them get in a pyramid. This was before Abu Ghraib but just like it. We did it for amusement.'

He said he had acted under orders from military intelligence personnel to soften up detainees, whom the unit called persons under control, or PUC's, to make them more cooperative during formal interviews.

'They wanted intel,' said the sergeant, an infantry fire-team leader who served as a guard when no military police soldiers were available. 'As long as no PUC's came up dead, it happened.' He added, 'We kept it to broken arms and legs.'"

Sale of Sen. Frist (R) family company shares comes 2 weeks before stock price falls

Daily Herald | Search: "Sale of his family company shares comes 2 weeks before stock price falls
September 21, 2005

WASHINGTON — Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, a potential presidential candidate in 2008, sold all his stock in his family’s hospital corporation about two weeks before it issued a disappointing earnings report and the price fell nearly 15 percent."

Best-Laid Plans Weren't Enough in Texas - Yahoo! News

Best-Laid Plans Weren't Enough in Texas - Yahoo! News:

"Thousands of drivers remained stranded Friday to the north and west of Houston. Many were stuck in extreme heat, out of gas — as gas trucks, rumored to be on the way, or at least buses to evacuate motorists, never came.

They were frustrated, angry and growing desperate, scattered and stranded across a broad swath of the state as the monster storm bore down.

'It's been terrible, believe me,' said Rosa Castro, who had driven more than 17 hours by Friday. Her sister behind the wheel, seven children in tow, the car was idling on less than an eighth of a tank of gas.

Castro was hoping to get gas from a lone Shell station that had opened north of Houston. But her car was at the end of a miles-long line.

'I wondered why so many people in Katrina didn't move in time, and now I'm in the same situation,' she said. 'All I have is cash, clothes and God.'"

New Accounts of Torture by U.S. Troops

Reuters AlertNet - New Accounts of Torture by U.S. Troops: "September 25, 2005) --

U.S. Army troops subjected Iraqi detainees to severe beatings and other torture at a base in central Iraq from 2003 through 2004, often under orders or with the approval of superior officers, according to accounts from soldiers released by Human Rights Watch today.

The new report, 'Leadership Failure: Firsthand Accounts of Torture of Iraqi Detainees by the U.S. Army's 82nd Airborne Division,' provides soldiers' accounts of abuses against detainees committed by troops of the 82nd Airborne stationed at Forward Operating Base Mercury (FOB Mercury), near Fallujah.

Three U.S. army personnel-two sergeants and a captain-describe routine, severe beatings of prisoners and other cruel and inhumane treatment. In one incident, a soldier is alleged to have broken a detainee's leg with a baseball bat. Detainees were also forced to hold five-gallon jugs of water with their arms outstretched and perform other acts until they passed out. Soldiers also applied chemical substances to detainees' skin and eyes, and subjected detainees to forced stress positions, sleep deprivation, and extremes of hot and cold. Detainees were also stacked into human pyramids and denied food and water. The soldiers also described abuses they witnessed or participated in at another base in Iraq and during earlier deployments in Afghanistan.

According to the soldiers' accounts, U.S. personnel abused detainees as part of the military interrogation process or merely to 'relieve stress.' In numerous cases, they said that abuse was specifically ordered by Military Intelligence personnel before interrogations, and that superior officers within and outside of Military Intelligence knew about the widespread abuse. The accounts show that abuses resulted from civilian and military failures of leadership and confusion about interrogation standards and the application of the Geneva Conventions.

The soldiers' accounts challenge the Bush administration's claim that military and civilian leadership did not play a role in abuses. The officer quoted in the report told Human Rights Watch that he believes the abuses he witnessed in Iraq and Afghanistan were caused in part by President Bush's 2002 decision not to apply Geneva Conventions protection to detainees captured in Afghanistan:

"[In Afghanistan,] I thought that the chain on command all the way up to the National Command Authority [President Bush and Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld] had made it a policy that we were going to interrogate these guys harshly. . . . We knew where the Geneva Conventions drew the line, but then you get that confusion when the Sec Def [Secretary of Defense] and the President make that statement [that Geneva did not apply to detainees] . . . . Had I thought we were following the Geneva Conventions as an officer I would have investigated what was clearly a very suspicious situation."

The officer said that Bush's decision on Afghanistan affected detention and interrogation policy in Iraq: "None of the unit policies changed. Iraq was cast as part of the War on Terror, not a separate entity in and of itself but a part of a larger war."

As one sergeant cited in the report, discussing his duty in Iraq, said: "The Geneva Conventions is questionable and we didn't know we were supposed to be following it. . . . [W]e were never briefed on the Geneva Conventions."

Continued anger on the streets of Basra as marchers denounce 'British aggression'

Guardian Unlimited | Special reports | Continued anger on the streets of Basra as marchers denounce 'British aggression': "September 22, 2005
The Guardian

Hundreds of policemen and civilians marched in Basra yesterday denouncing 'British aggression' in the raid to free the two undercover soldiers arrested by Iraqi police on Monday.

The protesters, some carrying handguns and AK-47s, chanted 'No to occupation' and waved banners calling for the two men be tried as terrorists. Soldiers and armed police watched the march but did not intervene.

Senior aides to Moqtada al-Sadr, whose Mahdi militia were at the heart of Monday's events, hit back at what they said were 'distortions and nonsense' designed to discredit the firebrand cleric. 'What is all this talk of infiltration of the police and destabilisation of Basra by supporters of Moqtada?' asked Abbas al-Rubaei, a spokesman for Mr Sadr in Sadr city in eastern Baghdad.

'The real problem of stability in Basra was the fact that British forces attacked a police station and in doing so released 150 Salafists [Sunni militants] on to the streets.' He was referring to reports, denied by British forces, that 150 prisoners escaped when British tanks demolished a prison wall to rescue the two men."

Saudi Minister Warns U.S. Iraq May Face Disintegration - New York Times

Saudi Minister Warns U.S. Iraq May Face Disintegration - New York Times: "September 23, 2005

WASHINGTON, Sept. 22 - Prince Saud al-Faisal, the Saudi foreign minister, said Thursday that he had been warning the Bush administration in recent days that Iraq was hurtling toward disintegration, a development that he said could drag the region into war.

'There is no dynamic now pulling the nation together,' he said in a meeting with reporters at the Saudi Embassy here. 'All the dynamics are pulling the country apart.' He said he was so concerned that he was carrying this message 'to everyone who will listen' in the Bush administration.

Prince Saud's statements, some of the most pessimistic public comments on Iraq by a Middle Eastern leader in recent months, were in stark contrast to the generally upbeat assessments that the White House and the Pentagon have been offering."

Guardian Unlimited | Special reports | Report attacks 'myth' of foreign fighters

Guardian Unlimited | Special reports | Report attacks 'myth' of foreign fighters: "Friday September 23, 2005
The Guardian

The US and the Iraqi government have overstated the number of foreign fighters in Iraq, 'feeding the myth' that they are the backbone of the insurgency, an American thinktank says in a new report.

Foreign militants - mainly from Algeria, Syria, Yemen, Sudan, Egypt and Saudi Arabia - account for less than 10% of the estimated 30,000 insurgents, according to the Washington-based Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS).
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The report says the presence of foreign fighters is cause for alarm 'particularly because they play so large a role in the most violent bombings and in the efforts to provoke a major and intense civil war'. The CSIS disputes reports that Saudis account for most of the foreign insurgents and says best estimates suggest Algerians are the largest group (20%), followed by Syrians (18%), Yemenis (17%), Sudanese (15%), Egyptians (13%), Saudis (12%) and those from other states (5%). British intelligence estimate the number of British jihadists at about 100.

The CSIS report says: 'The vast majority of Saudi militants who have entered Iraq were not terrorist sympathisers before the war; and were radicalised almost exclusively by the coalition invasion.'"

China's model for a censored Internet | csmonitor.com

China's model for a censored Internet | csmonitor.com: "The Christian Science Monitor

SHANGHAI, CHINA – As China began to go online, observers made brash predictions that the Internet would pry the country open. Cyberspace, the thinking went, would prove too vast and wild for Beijing to keep under its thumb.

Now these early assumptions are being sharply revised. Under an authoritarian government determined to control information, China has grown a new version of the Internet. As former US President Bill Clinton noted recently, China's Internet is very unlike the cauldron of dissenting voices that is the hallmark of the Internet familiar to Americans. Instead, it's heavily filtered, monitored, censored, and most of all, focused on making money."

Germany says auf Wiedersehen to nuclear power, guten Tag to renewables | By Michael Levitin | Grist Magazine | Main Dish | 12 Aug 2005

Germany says auf Wiedersehen to nuclear power, guten Tag to renewables | By Michael Levitin | Grist Magazine | Main Dish | 12 Aug 2005:

"About the only thing most Germans are sure about right now is the dire need to abandon nuclear power, evidenced by the 'Switch Off and Rethink' mantra stamped on billboards and in newspapers, buzzing from television sets, and crossing people's lips throughout the nation. And tough policies enacted by the red-green government have laid an incredible groundwork for that move -- not just for Europe's wealthiest nation to become nuclear-free in the next 15 years, but for renewable-energy suppliers to double their output to provide one-fifth of Germany's power within the same period. By mid-century, the country expects to derive more than half of its power from renewables."