Online NewsHour: Senate Democrats Delay John Bolton Confirmation Vote Until Next Week -- April 14, 2005

Online NewsHour: Senate Democrats Delay John Bolton Confirmation Vote Until Next Week -- April 14, 2005:

"JIM LEHRER: Finally tonight, the Senate battle over John Bolton to be U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations. The Senate Foreign Relations Committee, after two days of heated hearings, was supposed to vote on the Bolton nomination today or tomorrow, but that vote was postponed until next Tuesday at the request of committee Democrats. They want to look at more documents about Bolton's dealings with intelligence officials at the U.S. State Department."

The Washington Note Archives

The Washington Note Archives: "April 27, 2005
Lugar and Biden Unite on NSA Transcripts Request

Tomorrow the administration will receive a letter co-signed by Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Richard Lugar and Ranking Member Joseph Biden requesting that the 10 NSA intercept transcripts requested by John Bolton during his tenure as Under Secretary of State be made available to Senators and cleared senior Committee staff.

This is a very important step because if the administration fails to comply, it is now not only defying Senator Chris Dodd who has been trying to get a response on these transcripts for weeks, it is defiance of Chairman Lugar.

There are two theories as to why the NSA transcripts have not been provided yet. The first is that there are complicated protocols and precedence issues involved with the NSA providing these materials. I do not have evidence just yet of the case, but I have heard that there is in fact a precedent of the NSA providing intercept material to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee in another circumstance. These kinds of intercepts are among America's most secret kind of secrets -- and this request for a rather large number of intercepts is significant. There may also be genuine concerns about protecting sources and methods of intelligence collection -- and not having certain kinds of information leak out that could conceivably endanger national security.

The second is that this is a smoke screen that the State Department and Condoleeza Rice and others are manipulating to drag out the process of getting vital information on Bolton's interest in the various U.S. officials named in the transcripts."

NSA Spied on Government Officials

NSA Spied on Government Officials: "NSA SPIED ON GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS
Thursday, December 22, 2005 - FreeMarketNews.com

According to National Security Agency insiders, outgoing NSA Director General Michael Hayden approved special communications intercepts of phone conversations made by past and present U.S. government officials. The intercepts are at the height of the current controversy surrounding the nomination of Undersecretary of State John R. Bolton as ambassador to the United Nations. It was revealed by Connecticut Senator Christopher Dodd during Bolton’s Senate Foreign Relations Committee nomination hearing that Bolton requested transcripts of 10 NSA intercepts of conversations between named U.S. government officials and foreign persons. Later, it was revealed that U.S. companies [also treated as 'U.S. persons' by NSA] were also identified in an additional nine intercepts requested by Bolton. However, NSA insiders report that Hayden approved special intercept operations on behalf of Bolton and had them masked as 'training missions' in order to get around internal NSA regulations that normally prohibit such eavesdropping on U.S. citizens. "

Power We Didn't Grant

Power We Didn't Grant: "Power We Didn't Grant

By (Senator) Tom Daschle

Friday, December 23, 2005; Page A21

In the face of mounting questions about news stories saying that President Bush approved a program to wiretap American citizens without getting warrants, the White House argues that Congress granted it authority for such surveillance in the 2001 legislation authorizing the use of force against al Qaeda. On Tuesday, Vice President Cheney said the president 'was granted authority by the Congress to use all means necessary to take on the terrorists, and that's what we've done.'

As Senate majority leader at the time, I helped negotiate that law with the White House counsel's office over two harried days. I can state categorically that the subject of warrantless wiretaps of American citizens never came up. I did not and never would have supported giving authority to the president for such wiretaps. I am also confident that the 98 senators who voted in favor of authorization of force against al Qaeda did not believe that they were also voting for warrantless domestic surveillance."

Chicago Tribune | Halliburton stalls USA on human trafficking

Chicago Tribune | U.S. stalls on human trafficking: "Pentagon has yet to ban contractors from using forced labor

By Cam Simpson
Washington Bureau
Published December 27, 2005

WASHINGTON -- Three years ago, President Bush declared that he had 'zero tolerance' for trafficking in humans by the government's overseas contractors, and two years ago Congress mandated a similar policy.

But notwithstanding the president's statement and the congressional edict, the Defense Department has yet to adopt a policy to bar human trafficking.

A proposal prohibiting defense contractor involvement in human trafficking for forced prostitution and labor was drafted by the Pentagon last summer, but five defense lobbying groups oppose key provisions and a final policy still appears to be months away, according to those involved and Defense Department records.

The lobbying groups opposing the plan say they're in favor of the idea in principle, but said they believe that implementing key portions of it overseas is unrealistic. They represent thousands of firms, including some of the industry's biggest names, such as DynCorp International and Halliburton subsidiary KBR, both of which have been linked to trafficking-related concerns."

Chicago Tribune | U.S. stalls on human trafficking

Chicago Tribune | U.S. stalls on human trafficking: "Pentagon has yet to ban contractors from using forced labor

By Cam Simpson
Washington Bureau
Published December 27, 2005

WASHINGTON -- Three years ago, President Bush declared that he had 'zero tolerance' for trafficking in humans by the government's overseas contractors, and two years ago Congress mandated a similar policy.

But notwithstanding the president's statement and the congressional edict, the Defense Department has yet to adopt a policy to bar human trafficking.

A proposal prohibiting defense contractor involvement in human trafficking for forced prostitution and labor was drafted by the Pentagon last summer, but five defense lobbying groups oppose key provisions and a final policy still appears to be months away, according to those involved and Defense Department records."

Union workers firing results in plane damages, increse of incidents

Worker who damaged plane won't face charges:
...

About 20 minutes after takeoff Monday, Alaska Airlines Flight 536 to Burbank, Calif., suddenly lost cabin pressure, forcing the pilots to descend rapidly. The plane was stabilized and landed less than 30 minutes later at Sea-Tac Airport, where investigators discovered a foot-long gash in the fuselage....

A ramp worker for Menzies, which contracts with Alaska, has acknowledged that he did not immediately report hitting the plane at the gate with equipment, NTSB investigator Jim Struhsaker said.

After the accident, Alaska reported it to port police as a hit-and-run....

Port officials have stepped carefully around the issue since Alaska fired its regular baggage handlers and replaced them with private contractors from a company based in the United Kingdom.
...

Nevertheless, in a previous interview, Parker said port officials were "quite surprised," if not a little upset, after they discovered that its biggest tenant -- Alaska represents almost half of all Sea-Tac passenger traffic -- was not reporting accidents as often as it probably should.

"There are a lot of issues here. Safety, obviously, is the main thing we're concerned about when we talk about ramp incidents," Parker said.

"There are also issues dealing with security and customer service."

In addition to ramp violations, the port had issued 19 security citations to Alaska and Menzies in the first nine months of this year. That figure represents 41 percent of all security citations issued to airlines and ground handlers at Sea-Tac.

When Menzies first came onboard, passengers began noticing, and complaining about, luggage taking an hour or more to get to the baggage-claim terminals.

In June, port police were called to break up a fight between a Menzies driver and a US Airways employee who was almost run over.

Later that month, police responded to a report that Menzies had dropped a kennel with a dog in it three times and later did the same with a cat.

P-I reporter Candace Heckman can be reached at 206-448-8348 or candaceheckman@seattlepi.com.

Chalabi - wanted for bank fraud, appointed head of Iraq oil ministry

World News Article | Reuters.co.uk:

"Iraq's Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Chalabi has assumed direct control of the powerful oil ministry as crude exports grind to a halt due to sabotage attacks and logistics problems, officials said on Friday.

Chalabi, who has been improving relations with Washington after previously falling out with the U.S. administration, was appointed acting oil minister after the incumbent Ibrahim Bahr al-Uloum was given leave, the officials said."
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx


---There are also allegations of financial misdemeanours. In 1992, he was sentenced in absentia by a Jordanian court to 22 years in prison with hard labour for bank fraud after the 1990 collapse of Petra Bank, which he had founded in 1977.
,,,

In May 2004, Mr Chalabi's home and offices were raided.

He denounced the raid, which he said was carried out by American agents and Iraqi police, as politically motivated.

There were whispers from Washington that Mr Chalabi had all along been duping the Americans by spying for the Iranians.

It appeared that he was being sidelined by Washington because he and his organisation were one of the sources for intelligence about Iraq's weapons of destruction capability that is now widely viewed as faulty.

In August 2004, Mr Chalabi and his nephew Salem Chalabi has arrest warrants issued against them while they were outside Iraq.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/not_in_website/syndication/monitoring/media_reports/2291649.stm

The DeLay-Abramoff Money Trail

The DeLay-Abramoff Money Trail: "Nonprofit Group Linked to Lawmaker Was Funded Mostly by Clients of Lobbyist

By R. Jeffrey Smith
Washington Post Staff Writer
Saturday, December 31, 2005; A01

The U.S. Family Network, a public advocacy group that operated in the 1990s with close ties to Rep. Tom DeLay and claimed to be a nationwide grass-roots organization, was funded almost entirely by corporations linked to embattled lobbyist Jack Abramoff, according to tax records and former associates of the group.

During its five-year existence, the U.S. Family Network raised $2.5 million but kept its donor list secret. The list, obtained by The Washington Post, shows that $1 million of its revenue came in a single 1998 check from a now-defunct London law firm whose former partners would not identify the money's origins.

Two former associates of Edwin A. Buckham, the congressman's former chief of staff and the organizer of the U.S. Family Network, said Buckham told them the funds came from Russian oil and gas executives. Abramoff had been working closely with two such Russian energy executives on their Washington agenda, and the lobbyist and Buckham had helped organize a 1997 Moscow visit by DeLay (R-Tex.).

The former president of the U.S. Family Network said Buckham told him that Russians contributed $1 million to the group in 1998 specifically to influence DeLay's vote on legislation the International Monetary Fund needed to finance a bailout of the collapsing Russian economy.

A spokesman for DeLay, who is fighting in a Texas state court unrelated charges of illegal fundraising, denied that the contributions influenced the former House majority leader's political activities. The Russian energy executives who worked with Abramoff denied yesterday knowing anything about the million-dollar London transaction described in tax documents.
...

But the records show that the tiny U.S. Family Network, which never had more than one full-time staff member, spent comparatively little money on public advocacy or education projects. Although established as a nonprofit organization, it paid hundreds of thousands of dollars in fees to Buckham and his lobbying firm, Alexander Strategy Group.

There is no evidence DeLay received a direct financial benefit, but Buckham's firm employed DeLay's wife, Christine, and paid her a salary of at least $3,200 each month for three of the years the group existed. Richard Cullen, DeLay's attorney, has said that the pay was compensation for lists Christine DeLay supplied to Buckham of lawmakers' favorite charities, and that it was appropriate under House rules and election law.

Some of the U.S. Family Network's revenue was used to pay for radio ads attacking vulnerable Democratic lawmakers in 1999; other funds were used to finance the cash purchase of a townhouse three blocks from DeLay's congressional office. DeLay's associates at the time called it "the Safe House."

"

Son finds body in rubble

Son finds body in rubble: "Friday, December 30, 2005
By Walt Philbin
Staff writer

A Lower 9th Ward man who saw his mother die on the roof of their home as Hurricane Katrina's floodwaters rose in their neighborhood, returned Thursday and found their house collapsed and her skeletal remains in the rubble, police said."

American teen links heart to Iraqis through heartrending essay : HindustanTimes.com

American teen links heart to Iraqis through heartrending essay : HindustanTimes.com:

"Life is not about money, fame, or power. Life is about combating the forces of evil in the world, promoting justice, helping the misfortunate, and improving the welfare of our fellow man.

Progress requires that we commit ourselves to such goals. We are not here on Earth to hedonistically pleasure ourselves, but to serve each other and the creator. What deed is greater than sacrificing one's luxuries for the benefit of those less blessed? I know I can't do much. I know I can't stop all the carnage and save the innocent. But I also know I can't just sit here."

MiamiHerald.com | 12/30/2005 | School principal: Teen had dad's permission to go to Iraq

MiamiHerald.com | 12/30/2005 | School principal: Teen had dad's permission to go to Iraq:

"The 16-year-old boy who flew from Miami to Iraq had permission from his father to do so, the head of his Fort Lauderdale school said Friday.

Pine Crest School president Lourdes M. Cowgill said that Dr. Redha Hassan, dad of 16-year-old Farris Hassan, told school officials his son had his OK to go to Iraq to learn more about the current political situation there.

Farris says he wanted to travel to Baghdad to better understand what Iraqis are living through."

Officials: Post-9/11 CIA effort now a behemoth | IndyStar.com

Officials: Post-9/11 CIA effort now a behemoth | IndyStar.com: "December 30, 2005

By Dana Priest
The Washington Post
WASHINGTON -- The effort President Bush authorized shortly after Sept. 11, 2001, to fight al-Qaida has grown into the largest CIA covert action program since the height of the Cold War, expanding in size and ambition despite a growing outcry at home and abroad over its clandestine tactics, according to former and current intelligence officials and congressional and administration sources.

The broad-based effort, known within the agency by the initials GST, is compartmentalized into dozens of highly classified individual programs, details of which are known mainly to those directly involved.

GST includes programs allowing the CIA to capture al-Qaida suspects with help from foreign intelligence services, to maintain secret prisons abroad, to use interrogation techniques that some lawyers say violate international treaties, and to maintain a fleet of aircraft to move detainees around the globe. Other compartments within GST give the CIA enhanced ability to mine international financial records and eavesdrop on suspects anywhere in the world.

"In the past, presidents set up buffers to distance themselves from covert action," said A. John Radsan, assistant general counsel at the CIA from 2002 to 2004.

The administration's decisions to rely on a small circle of lawyers for legal interpretations that justify the CIA's covert programs and not to consult widely with Congress on them have also helped insulate the efforts from the growing furor, said several sources who have been involved.

"

Independent Online Edition > Europe

Independent Online Edition > Europe: "Ex-envoy to Uzbekistan goes public on torture
Anne Penketh, Diplomatic Editor
Published: 30 December 2005

Britain's former ambassador to Uzbekistan, Craig Murray, has defied the Foreign Office by publishing on the internet documents providing evidence that the British Government knowingly received information extracted by torture in the 'war on terror'.

Mr Murray, who publicly raised the issue of the usefulness of information obtained under torture before he was forced to leave his job last year, submitted his forthcoming book, Murder in Samarkand, to the Foreign Office for clearance. But the Foreign Office demanded that he remove references to two sensitive government documents, which undermine official denials, to show that Britain had been aware it was receiving information obtained by the Uzbek authorities through torture. Rather than submit to the gagging order Mr Murray decided to publish the material on the internet.

The first document published by Mr Murray contains the text of several telegrams that he sent to London from 2002 to 2004, warning that the information being passed on by the Uzbek security services was torture-tainted, and challenging MI6 claims that the information was nonetheless 'useful'. The second document is the text of a Foreign Office legal opinion which argues that the use by intelligence services of information extracted through torture is not a violation of the UN Convention Against Torture.

Britain's former ambassador to Uzbekistan, Craig Murray, has defied the Foreign Office by publishing on the internet documents providing evidence that the British Government knowingly received information extracted by torture in the 'war on terror'.

Mr Murray, who publicly raised the issue of the usefulness of information obtained under torture before he was forced to leave his job last year, submitted his forthcoming book, Murder in Samarkand, to the Foreign Office for clearance. But the Foreign Offic"

Memos - http://www.chris-floyd.com/telegrams/

Independent Online Edition > Europe

Independent Online Edition > Europe: "Ex-envoy to Uzbekistan goes public on torture
Anne Penketh, Diplomatic Editor
Published: 30 December 2005

Britain's former ambassador to Uzbekistan, Craig Murray, has defied the Foreign Office by publishing on the internet documents providing evidence that the British Government knowingly received information extracted by torture in the 'war on terror'.

Mr Murray, who publicly raised the issue of the usefulness of information obtained under torture before he was forced to leave his job last year, submitted his forthcoming book, Murder in Samarkand, to the Foreign Office for clearance. But the Foreign Office demanded that he remove references to two sensitive government documents, which undermine official denials, to show that Britain had been aware it was receiving information obtained by the Uzbek authorities through torture. Rather than submit to the gagging order Mr Murray decided to publish the material on the internet.

The first document published by Mr Murray contains the text of several telegrams that he sent to London from 2002 to 2004, warning that the information being passed on by the Uzbek security services was torture-tainted, and challenging MI6 claims that the information was nonetheless 'useful'. The second document is the text of a Foreign Office legal opinion which argues that the use by intelligence services of information extracted through torture is not a violation of the UN Convention Against Torture.

Britain's former ambassador to Uzbekistan, Craig Murray, has defied the Foreign Office by publishing on the internet documents providing evidence that the British Government knowingly received information extracted by torture in the 'war on terror'.

Mr Murray, who publicly raised the issue of the usefulness of information obtained under torture before he was forced to leave his job last year, submitted his forthcoming book, Murder in Samarkand, to the Foreign Office for clearance. But the Foreign Offic"

Memos - http://www.chris-floyd.com/telegrams/

BBC NEWS | Americas | Guantanamo hunger strikers double

BBC NEWS | Americas | Guantanamo hunger strikers double: "The number of detainees taking part in a hunger strike at the Guantanamo Bay prison camp has more than doubled in the past week, US authorities say.

Some 84 prisoners are now refusing food, with 46 of them reported to have joined the protest on 25 December.

The US military defines a hunger strike as missing nine consecutive meals.

Human rights groups have challenged the US in the past over the number of detainees it says are refusing food and whether they have been force fed.

About 500 prisoners remain at Guantanamo, many of them captured in Afghanistan. Some have been held for nearly four years without charge."

Capitol Hill Blue: Pentagon propaganda program orders soldiers to promote Iraq war while home on leave

Capitol Hill Blue: Pentagon propaganda program orders soldiers to promote Iraq war while home on leave:

"“I’ve been promised an early release if I do a good job promoting the war,” says one reservist who asked not to be identified.

In interviews with a number of reservists home for the holidays, a pattern emerges on the Pentagon’s propaganda effort. Soldiers are encouraged to contact their local news media outlets to offer interviews about the war. A detailed set of talking points encourages them to:

--Admit initial doubts about the war but claim conversion to a belief in the American mission;

--Praise military leadership in Iraq and throw in a few words of support for the Bush administration;

--Claim the mission to turn security of the country over to the Iraqis is working;

--Reiterate that America must not abandon its mission and must stay until the “job is finished.”

--Talk about how “things are better” now in Iraq.

“My worry is that we have the right military strategy and political strategies now but the patience of the American public is wearing thin,” Diaz told The Roanoke Times.

“It’s way better now (in Iraq). People are friendlier. They seem more relaxed, and they say, ’Thank you, mister,’” Sgt. Christopher Desierto told his hometown paper, The Maui News.

But soldiers who are home and don’t have to return to Iraq tell a different story.

“I've just been focused on trying to get the rest of these guys home,” says Sgt. Major Floyd Dubose of Jackson, MS, who returned home after 11 months in Iraq with the Mississippi Army National Guard's 155th Combat Brigade.

And the Army is cracking down on soldiers who go on the record opposing the war.

Specialist Leonard Clark, a National Guardsman, was demoted to private and fined $1,640 for posting anti-war statements on an Internet blog. Clark wrote entries describing the company's commander as a 'glory seeker' and the battalion sergeant major an 'inhuman monster'. His lasentry before the blog was shut down told how his fellow soldiers were becoming increasingly opposed to the US operation in Iraq.

“The message is clear,” says one reservist who is home for the holidays but has to return and asked not to be identified. “If you want to get out of this man’s Army with an honorable (discharge) and full benefits you better not tell the truth about what is happening in-country.”

But Sgt. Johnathan Wilson, a reservist, got his honorable discharge after he returned home earlier this month and he’s not afraid to talk on the record.

“Iraq is a classic FUBAR,” he says. “The country is out of control and we can’t stop it. Anybody who tries to sell a good news story about the war is blowing it out his ass. We don’t win and eventually we will leave the country in a worse shape than it was when we invaded.” "

"CIA probes cases of 'erroneous rendition'---Xinhua - English

Xinhua - English: "CIA probes cases of 'erroneous rendition'
www.chinaview.cn 2005-12-28 05:31:53

WASHINGTON, Dec. 27 (Xinhuanet) -- The internal watchdog of U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) is looking into several cases of 'erroneous rendition,' in which foreigners were mistakenly arrested and sent to a third country, U.S. media reported Tuesday.

  The so-called 'rendition' refers to the CIA's secret operation of sending captured terror suspects to foreign countries to avoid domestic laws which ban torture during interrogation.

The practice, authorized by U.S. President George W. Bush soon after the Sept. 11 terror attacks, has stirred up much controversy recently for its serious breach of international laws and human rights.

About 100 to 150 people have been snatched up in this way since Sept. 11, 2001."

"CIA probes cases of 'erroneous rendition'---Xinhua - English

Xinhua - English: "CIA probes cases of 'erroneous rendition'
www.chinaview.cn 2005-12-28 05:31:53

WASHINGTON, Dec. 27 (Xinhuanet) -- The internal watchdog of U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) is looking into several cases of 'erroneous rendition,' in which foreigners were mistakenly arrested and sent to a third country, U.S. media reported Tuesday.

  The so-called 'rendition' refers to the CIA's secret operation of sending captured terror suspects to foreign countries to avoid domestic laws which ban torture during interrogation.

The practice, authorized by U.S. President George W. Bush soon after the Sept. 11 terror attacks, has stirred up much controversy recently for its serious breach of international laws and human rights.

About 100 to 150 people have been snatched up in this way since Sept. 11, 2001."

Syrian rendition row deepens as lawyer claims case not isolated - 28 Dec 2005 - World News

Syrian rendition row deepens as lawyer claims case not isolated - 28 Dec 2005 - World News: "Syrian rendition row deepens as lawyer claims case not isolated

28.12.05 4.00pm
By Colin Brown and Jerome Taylor

The lawyer of a man who claims he was taken to Syria by the CIA and tortured said yesterday there were other examples of similar cases.

His remarks sparked renewed demands for a full inquiry into 'extraordinary rendition' in the UK.

Lorne Waldman, the human rights lawyer representing Maher Arar, said it was 'ridiculous' for the US Ambassador to London, Robert Tuttle to deny any renditions by the US of terrorist suspects to Syria had taken place.

Mr Tuttle denied there was evidence of a rendition to Syria, but the US Embassy in London later issued a 'clarification' admitting there were reports of one case involving Mr Arar.

'The case of Mr Arar is too public for someone to claim they are not aware of it,' Mr Waldman said on BBC radio.

'To suggest as the US ambassador did that they were not aware of the case is ridiculous.' The lawyer said other suspects had also been shipped for torture by the CIA to Syria. "

Guardian Unlimited | World Latest | NYT: NSA Spying Broader Than Bush Admitted

Guardian Unlimited | World Latest | NYT: NSA Spying Broader Than Bush Admitted: "NYT: NSA Spying Broader Than Bush Admitted


Saturday December 24, 2005 5:32 AM

AP Photo WHRE102

NEW YORK (AP) - The National Security Agency has conducted much broader surveillance of e-mails and phone calls - without court orders - than the Bush administration has acknowledged, The New York Times reported on its Web site.

The NSA, with help from American telecommunications companies, obtained access to streams of domestic and international communications, said the Times in the report late Friday, citing unidentified current and former government officials.

The story did not name the companies.

Since the Times disclosed the domestic spying program last week, President Bush has stressed that his executive order allowing the eavesdropping was limited to people with known links to al-Qaida.

But the Times said that NSA technicians have combed through large volumes of phone and Internet traffic in search of patterns that might lead to terrorists.

The volume of information harvested from telecommunications data and voice networks, without court-approved warrants, is much larger than the White House has acknowledged, the paper said, quoting an unnamed official.

The story quoted a former technology manager at a major telecommunications firm as saying that companies have been storing information on calling patterns since the Sept. 11 attacks, and giving it to the federal government. Neither the manager nor the company he worked for was identified. "

Report says NSA eavesdropping larger than White House account - The Boston Globe

Report says NSA eavesdropping larger than White House account - The Boston Globe: "Report says NSA eavesdropping larger than White House account

By Reuters | December 25, 2005

NEW YORK -- The volume of information gathered from telephone and Internet communications by the National Security Agency without court-approved warrants was much larger than the White House has acknowledged, The New York Times reported yesterday.
Article Tools

Citing current and former government officials, the Times said the information was collected by tapping directly into some of the US telecommunication system's main arteries. The officials said the NSA won the cooperation of telecommunications companies to obtain access to both domestic and international communications without first gaining warrants.

A former telecommunications technology manager told the Times that industry leaders have been storing information on calling patterns and giving it to the federal government to aid in tracking possible terrorists.

Government and industry officials with knowledge of the program told the newspaper the NSA sought to analyze communications patterns to gather clues from details like who is calling whom, how long a phone call lasts, and what time of day it is made."

The Raw Story | House Judiciary Democrats issue report alleging gross misconduct by Bush over Iraq

The Raw Story | House Judiciary Democrats issue report alleging gross misconduct by Bush over Iraq: "Executive Summary

This Minority Report has been produced at the request of Representative John Conyers, Jr., Ranking Member of the House Judiciary Committee. He made this request in the wake of the President’s failure to respond to a letter submitted by 122 Members of Congress and more than 500,000 Americans in July of this year asking him whether the assertions set forth in the Downing Street Minutes were accurate. Mr. Conyers asked staff, by year end 2005, to review the available information concerning possible misconduct by the Bush Administration in the run up to the Iraq War and post-invasion statements and actions, and to develop legal conclusions and make legislative and other recommendations to him.
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In brief, we have found that there is substantial evidence the President, the Vice President and other high ranking members of the Bush Administration misled Congress and the American people regarding the decision to go to war with Iraq; misstated and manipulated intelligence information regarding the justification for such war; countenanced torture and cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment and other legal violations in Iraq; and permitted inappropriate retaliation against critics of their Administration.

There is at least a prima facie case that these actions by the President, Vice-President and other members of the Bush Administration violate a number of federal laws, including (1) Committing a Fraud against the United States; (2) Making False Statements to Congress; (3) The War Powers Resolution; (4) Misuse of Government Funds; (5) federal laws and international treaties prohibiting torture and cruel, inhuman, and degrading treatment; (6) federal laws concerning retaliating against witnesses and other individuals; and (7) federal laws and regulations concerning leaking and other misuse of intelligence.

Whil"

John Conyers, Jr. -- Demand Censure for Bush-Cheney Misconduct

John Conyers, Jr. --: "Stand with Congressman Conyers

Demand Censure for Bush-Cheney Misconduct
Investigate Impeachable Offenses


I am taking steps against the Bush Administration’s handling of the Iraq War and its collection of intelligence. I am going to need you to stand with me in fighting for accountability.

Join me to demand censure for Bush and Cheney in addition to the creation of a Special Committee to investigate impeaching the Bush Administration for its widespread abuses of power.

I have sought answers from the administration to questions arising from the Downing Street Minutes, the Valerie Plame leak, and scores of other abominable abuses of power that pervade the activities of this White House. 121 Members of Congress and many citizens like you have joined me in asking these questions of the President.

I have just completed a thorough review of this administration’s misconduct and have produced a 250-page report that provides evidence suggesting further steps to be taken. [A copy of the report may be found at Raw Story.com and also at CensureBush.org where additional action items may be found.]

It is time to take bolder measures in our pursuit of justice. This White House has responded to questions about its conduct with misleading statements, obfuscation, and vicious attacks against their critics. We must take the next step towards restoring accountability in our federal government. To this end I have:

• Introduced a resolution of censure for both President Bush and Vice-President Cheney, and;

• I am calling upon Congress to create a select committee similar to the Ervin Committee, which investigated President Nixon’s Watergate crimes. This select committee should investigate those offenses which appear to rise to the level of impeachment.

This administration must be held accountable for its misdeeds. We have considerable work to do and I am going to need your help to make this effort successful. Join me in sending a message to the President, the"

The Constitution in Crisis | A report by the House Judiciary Comittee on Bush's abuse of power

The Constitution in Crisis | AfterDowningStreet.org:

"The Constitution in Crisis
Submitted by davidswanson on Tue, 2005-12-20 12:53. Censure

The following are links to the Investigative Status Report of the House Judiciary Committee Democratic Staff

The Constitution in Crisis; The Downing Street Minutes and Deception, Manipulation, Torture, Retribution, and Coverups in the Iraq War (This Report is 273 pages.)"

Bush lies about "Big-brothergate" - MSNBC courtesy C&L

Crooks and Liars: "Domestic Spying-Hardball

David Shuster puts together one of his really good compilations-this one on Bush and Domestic Spying."

Alito Argued to Overturn Roe in 1985 Memo - Yahoo! News

Alito Argued to Overturn Roe in 1985 Memo - Yahoo! News: "Fri Dec 23, 9:56 AM ET

WASHINGTON - Supreme Court nominee Samuel Alito wrote in a June 1985 memo that the landmark
Roe v. Wade ruling legalizing abortion should be overturned.
ADVERTISEMENT

In a recommendation to the solicitor general on filing a friend-of-court brief, Alito said that the government 'should make clear that we disagree with Roe v. Wade and would welcome the opportunity to brief the issue of whether, and if so to what extent, that decision should be overruled.'"

13WHAM-TV || Rochester - Ex-Marine Says Public Version of Saddam Capture Fiction

13WHAM-TV || Rochester - Ex-Marine Says Public Version of Saddam Capture Fiction: "A former U.S. Marine who participated in capturing ousted Iraqi President Saddam Hussein said the public version of his capture was fabricated.

Ex-Sgt. Nadim Abou Rabeh, of Lebanese descent, was quoted in the Saudi daily al-Medina Wednesday as saying Saddam was actually captured Friday, Dec. 12, 2003, and not the day after, as announced by the U.S. Army.

'I was among the 20-man unit, including eight of Arab descent, who searched for Saddam for three days in the area of Dour near Tikrit, and we found him in a modest home in a small village and not in a hole as announced,' Abou Rabeh said.

'We captured him after fierce resistance during which a Marine of Sudanese origin was killed,' he said."

Spy Agency Mined Vast Data Trove, Officials Report - New York Times

Spy Agency Mined Vast Data Trove, Officials Report - New York Times: "December 24, 2005

WASHINGTON, Dec. 23 - The National Security Agency has traced and analyzed large volumes of telephone and Internet communications flowing into and out of the United States as part of the eavesdropping program that President Bush approved after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks to hunt for evidence of terrorist activity, according to current and former government officials.

The volume of information harvested from telecommunication data and voice networks, without court-approved warrants, is much larger than the White House has acknowledged, the officials said. It was collected by tapping directly into some of the American telecommunication system's main arteries, they said.

As part of the program approved by President Bush for domestic surveillance without warrants, the N.S.A. has gained the cooperation of American telecommunications companies to obtain backdoor access to streams of domestic and international communications, the officials said."

News NYT: NSA Spying Broader Than Bush Admitted

News: "Since the Times disclosed the domestic spying program last week, President Bush has stressed that his executive order allowing the eavesdropping was limited to people with known links to al-Qaida.

But the Times said that NSA technicians have combed through large volumes of phone and Internet traffic in search of patterns that might lead to terrorists.

The volume of information harvested from telecommunications data and voice networks, without court-approved warrants, is much larger than the White House has acknowledged, the paper said, quoting an unnamed official. "

Media Matters - Former fellows at conservative think tanks issued flawed UCLA-led study on media's "liberal bias"

Media Matters - Former fellows at conservative think tanks issued flawed UCLA-led study on media's "liberal bias":

"News outlets including CNN cited a study of several major media outlets by a UCLA political scientist and a University of Missouri-Columbia economist purporting to 'show a strong liberal bias.' But the study employed a measure of 'bias' so problematic that its findings are next to useless, and the authors -- both former fellows at conservative think tanks cited in the study to illustrate liberal bias -- seem unaware of the substantial scholarly work that exists on the topic."

Townhall.com :: Columns :: Live and let spy by Ann Coulter

Townhall.com :: Columns :: Live and let spy by Ann Coulter:

"I have difficulty ginning up much interest in this story inasmuch as I think the government should be spying on all Arabs, engaging in torture as a televised spectator sport, dropping daisy cutters wantonly throughout the Middle East and sending liberals to Guantanamo."

Lawmaker Wants Bush and Cheney Censured - New York Times

Lawmaker Wants Bush and Cheney Censured - New York Times: "8:55 p.m. ET

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Rep. John Conyers, D-Mich., called Tuesday for Congress to censure President Bush and Vice President Cheney, saying they misled lawmakers on the decision to go to war in Iraq.

Conyers, the senior Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee, introduced resolutions creating a panel to investigate the Bush administration's handling of the Iraq war and separate measures censuring Bush and Cheney.

Conyers, releasing a staff report on the buildup to war, cited ''substantial evidence the president, the vice president and other high-ranking members of the Bush administration misled Congress and the American people regarding the decision to go to war in Iraq.''

"

Guardian Unlimited | World Latest | Texas Priest Accused of Groping Teen

Guardian Unlimited | World Latest | Texas Priest Accused of Groping Teen: "December 20, 2005 5:31 AM

MARBLE FALLS, Texas (AP) - A Roman Catholic priest accused of groping a 16-year-old boy at a movie theater during a showing of ``King Kong'' has been charged with indecency with a child by sexual contact.

Father Paul M. Clogan, 74, was arrested Friday as he left the theater, police Capt. F.T. Goodwin said in Monday's online edition of the Austin American-Statesman. Clogan was free on bond Monday.

Clogan sat next to the teen in the theater, Goodwin said. The boy, who did not know Clogan, told investigators the priest groped him about an hour after the movie started."

U.S. Newswire : Releases : "Quaker Organization Calls for End to Government Spying..."

U.S. Newswire : Releases : "Quaker Organization Calls for End to Government Spying...":

"'Clearly the constitutional right of free speech and peaceful assembly is not a criminal offense,' states Mary Ellen McNish, general secretary of AFSC, an international social justice organization and co-recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize. 'It's an outrage.'

Early last week, NBC reported the existence of a secret Department of Defense (DOD) database related to 'potential terrorist threats.' One example of identified 'threats' is a group in Lake Worth, Florida that included five Quakers and a 79-year old grandmother who met at their local Quaker meeting house to discuss how to protest military recruiting at an area high school. Other examples of 'threatening' events in the database included handing out literature in front of military recruiting stations and commemorating the second anniversary of the Iraq War.

At least four of the events listed were activities coordinated or supported by AFSC."

Dallas Morning News | News for Dallas, Texas | Latest News

Dallas Morning News | News for Dallas, Texas | Latest News: "December 20, 2005

Associated Press

HOUSTON - The pastor of the nation's largest church and his family were asked to leave a plane after his wife failed to comply with a flight attendant's instructions, the FBI said Tuesday."

F.B.I. Watched Activist Groups, New Files Show - New York Times

F.B.I. Watched Activist Groups, New Files Show - New York Times: "December 20, 2005

WASHINGTON, Dec. 19 - Counterterrorism agents at the Federal Bureau of Investigation have conducted numerous surveillance and intelligence-gathering operations that involved, at least indirectly, groups active in causes as diverse as the environment, animal cruelty and poverty relief, newly disclosed agency records show."

MiamiHerald.com | 12/21/2005 | Graham shares details of his wiretap `briefing'

MiamiHerald.com | 12/21/2005 | Graham shares details of his wiretap `briefing': "BY CAROL ROSENBERG
crosenberg@MiamiHerald.com

Former Florida Sen. Bob Graham reiterated Tuesday that the Bush administration never briefed him, as chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, about a covert domestic wiretap program -- and suggested the possibility that it grew out of ``a creep of presidential authority.''

Rather, Graham recalled being summoned to a classified briefing by Vice President Dick Cheney in late 2001 or early 2002. He was informed about a presidential directive that let the National Security Agency eavesdrop on overseas calls that moved through U.S. communications lines -- not people speaking on the phone inside the United States."

Spy Court Judge Quits In Protest

Spy Court Judge Quits In Protest: "December 21, 2005; Page A01

A federal judge has resigned from the court that oversees government surveillance in intelligence cases in protest of President Bush's secret authorization of a domestic spying program, according to two sources.

U.S. District Judge James Robertson, one of 11 members of the secret Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court, sent a letter to Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. late Monday notifying him of his resignation without providing an explanation.


James Robertson sent his resignation to the chief justice.
James Robertson sent his resignation to the chief justice. (Beverly Rezneck - Beverly Rezneck)
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Charlotte Observer | 12/20/2005 | Bush: I have power to order spying in U.S.

Charlotte Observer | 12/20/2005 | Bush: I have power to order spying in U.S.: "'The president's dead wrong. It's not a close question. Federal law is clear,' said Jonathan Turley, a law professor at George Washington University and a specialist in surveillance law. 'When the president admits that he violated federal law, that raises serious constitutional questions of high crimes and misdemeanors.'

Few lawmakers have rallied to Bush's defense. Sen. Arlen Specter, R-Pa., the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, has promised a full investigation into the surveillance program early next year.

Two Democratic lawmakers who'd been briefed on the program well before it became public last week accused Bush and his advisers of withholding key details.

Sen. John Rockefeller, D-W.Va., and former Sen. Tom Daschle, D-S.D., said they had objected to Bush's plan, but had no way to stop it without exposing classified information."

Guardian Unlimited | Special reports | Religious parties deal blow to US hopes for Iraq

Guardian Unlimited | Special reports | Religious parties deal blow to US hopes for Iraq: "December 21, 2005
The Guardian

The Bush administration's hopes for a government of national unity in Iraq, led by its favoured candidate, Ayad Allawi, the secular and pro-western former prime minister, received a setback last night.

Preliminary results showed that most voters opted for Sunni and Shia religious parties in a parliament in which nationalists who want an early timetable for a withdrawal of US and British troops will have a stronger voice.

Mr Allawi's camp, which includes liberals, communists, and his own secular followers, cried foul yesterday as did the main Sunni coalition known as the Consensus Front, which includes the Islamic party. The election commission has at least a week to examine hundreds of complaints of violations on polling day and this is likely to be followed by weeks of haggling over government posts.

"

'In two and a half years Bush has succeeded in creating two new Talibans in Iraq.'--Independent Online Edition > Middle East

Independent Online Edition > Middle East: "21 December 2005

Iraq is disintegrating. The first results from the parliamentary election last week show the country is dividing between Shia, Sunni and Kurdish regions.

Religious fundamentalists now have the upper hand. The secular and nationalist candidate backed by the US and Britain was humiliatingly defeated.

The Shia religious coalition has won a total victory in Baghdad and the south of Iraq. The Sunni Arab parties who openly or covertly support armed resistance to the US are likely to win large majorities in Sunni provinces. The Kurds have already achieved quasi-independence and their voting reflected that.

The election marks the final shipwreck of American and British hopes of establishing a pro-Western secular democracy in a united Iraq.

Islamic fundamentalist movements are ever more powerful in both the Sunni and Shia communities. Ghassan Attiyah, an Iraqi commentator, said: 'In two and a half years Bush has succeeded in creating two new Talibans in Iraq.'

The success of the United Iraqi Alliance, the coalition of Shia religious parties, has been far greater than expected according to preliminary results. It won 58 per cent of the vote in Baghdad, while Iyad Allawi, the former prime minister strongly supported by Tony Blair, got only 14 per cent of the vote. In Basra, Iraq's second city, 77 per cent of voters supported the Alliance and only 11 per cent Mr Allawi.

The election was portrayed by President George Bush as a sign of success for US policies in Iraq but, in fact, means the triumph of America's enemies inside and outside the country.

Iran will be pleased that the Shia religious parties which it has supported, have become the strongest political force.

Ironically, Mr Bush is increasingly dependent within Iraq on the co-operation and restraint of the Iranian President, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who has repeatedly called for the eradication of Israel. It is the allies of the Iranian theocr"

adn.com | alaska : Democrats question vote results

adn.com | alaska : Democrats question vote results: "ecember 20, 2005 at 02:29 AM

The official vote results from the 2004 general election are riddled with mistakes and discrepancies, are impossible for the public to make sense of, and should be corrected as soon as possible, the Alaska Democratic Party says."

ContraCostaTimes.com | 12/20/2005 | Voting machines rejected

ContraCostaTimes.com | 12/20/2005 | Voting machines rejected: "Suggesting the 'security and integrity' of electronic voting could be at risk, Secretary of State Bruce McPherson on Tuesday refused to approve the use of thousands of electronic voting machines pending a federal evaluation.

The touch-screen and optical-scan machines, made by Diebold Election Systems are used in 17 counties, including Alameda. They were found to have 'unresolved significant security concerns' with a memory card that stores votes in each machine, McPherson's elections chief, Caren Daniels-Meade, said in a letter to the company's vice president, David Byrd.

At issue is whether the removable cards, which are used to program and configure the machines, and count their votes, will keep data secure."

Senators seek probe of Bush's spying orders - Yahoo! News

Senators seek probe of Bush's spying orders - Yahoo! News: "Rebuffing assurances from
President George W. Bush, bipartisan members of the U.S. Senate's Intelligence Committee called on Tuesday for an immediate inquiry into his authorization of spying on Americans.
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But Vice President
Dick Cheney predicted a backlash against critics of the administration's anti-terrorism policies as he forcefully defended a program that critics say may have exceeded Bush's powers.

Republican Sens. Chuck Hagel of Nebraska and Olympia Snowe of Maine joined Democratic Sens. Carl Levin of Michigan, Dianne Feinstein of California and Ron Wyden of Oregon in calling for a joint investigation by the Senate Intelligence and Judiciary Committees into whether the government eavesdropped 'without appropriate legal authority.'

"

Volusia to replace voting machines - OrlandoSentinel.com:

Volusia to replace voting machines - OrlandoSentinel.com:: "December 17, 2005

DeLAND -- Diebold will soon be history in Volusia County.

After a nearly five-hour hearing Friday, County Council members voted to replace their Diebold-supported machines with a system made by rival voting-machine-maker Election Systems & Software.

Polk County will face a similar decision next week.

Friday's vote comes days after news surfaced that Leon County's election supervisor allowed computer experts to hack into Diebold machines to change electronic results for mock elections."

Diebold Memos Disclose Florida 2000 E-Voting Fraud - SCOOP NEW ZEALAND

Scoop: Diebold Memos Disclose Florida 2000 E-Voting Fraud:

" 'DELAND, Fla., Nov. 11 - Something very strange happened on election night to Deborah Tannenbaum, a Democratic Party official in Volusia County. At 10 p.m., she called the county elections department and learned that Al Gore was leading George W. Bush 83,000 votes to 62,000. But when she checked the county's Web site for an update half an hour later, she found a startling development: Gore's count had dropped by 16,000 votes, while an obscure Socialist candidate had picked up 10,000--all because of a single precinct with only 600 voters.'

- Washington Post Sunday , November 12, 2000 ; Page A22

Yes. Something very strange happened in Volusia County on election night November 2000, the night that first Gore won Florida, then Bush, and then as everybody can so well remember there was a tie."

Sen. Reid calls US Congress 'most corrupt in history' - Yahoo! News

Sen. Reid calls US Congress 'most corrupt in history' - Yahoo! News:

"WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid called the Republican-led Congress 'the most corrupt in history' on Sunday, and distanced himself from lobbyist Jack Abramoff, at the center of an escalating probe.

The Justice Department is investigating whether Jack Abramoff directed illegal payoffs to lawmakers, including Rep.
Tom DeLay of Texas, who was forced to step down as House Republican leader in September after indicted in his home state of Texas on unrelated charges.

'Don't lump me in with Jack Abramoff. This is a Republican scandal,' Reid told Fox News Sunday, saying he never received any money from Abramoff."

German Got Compensated for Kidnapping From U.S., Schaeuble Says - Bloomberg.com: Germany

Bloomberg.com: Germany:

"Khaled el-Masri, a German of Lebanese descent, has received compensation from the U.S. for an alleged kidnapping by the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency last year, Interior Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble said.

Schaeuble told the upper house of parliament yesterday that U.S. ambassador Daniel Coats on May 31, 2004, confidentially informed former Interior Minister Otto Schily about el-Masri's abduction in Macedonia and his deportation to Afghanistan in 2003.

Schaeuble told parliament late last night in Berlin that, according to Coats, the U.S. ``has apologized to the affected person, agreed on silence and paid him an amount of money,'' the transcript of Schaeuble's speech shows. El-Masri's defense lawyer Manfred Gnjidic didn't return calls to his office for comments."

President Backs McCain Measure on Inmate Abuse - New York Times

President Backs McCain Measure on Inmate Abuse - New York Times: "December 16, 2005

WASHINGTON, Dec. 15 - Under intense bipartisan Congressional pressure, President Bush reversed course on Thursday and reluctantly backed Senator John McCain's call for a law banning cruel, inhumane and degrading treatment of prisoners in American custody.

A day after the House overwhelmingly endorsed Mr. McCain's measure, the White House took a deal that the senator had been offering for weeks as way to end the legislative impasse, essentially giving intelligence operatives the same legal defense afforded military interrogators who are accused of violating the regulations.

For Mr. Bush, it was a stinging defeat, considering that his party controls both houses of Congress and both chambers had defied his threatened veto to support Mr. McCain's measure resoundingly. It was a particularly significant setback for Vice President Dick Cheney, who since July has led the administration's fight to defeat the amendment or at least exempt the Central Intelligence Agency from its provisions.

Mr. McCain's measure would establish the Army Field Manual as the uniform standard for the interrogation of prisoners and ban the kind of abusive treatment of prisoners that was revealed in the Abu Ghraib prison scandal in Iraq."

Officer Accused of Damaging Pro-Bush Cars

Officer Accused of Damaging Pro-Bush Cars: "December 16, 2005; 1:12 PM

DENVER -- The Air Force Reserve plans to discharge a lieutenant colonel accused of defacing cars that had pro-Bush bumper stickers, the military said Friday.

Lt. Col. Alexis Fecteau, a pilot with 500 combat hours in the first Persian Gulf war and the Balkans, is charged with criminal mischief for allegedly using paint stripper to write a profanity about Bush in 18-inch-high letters on cars at Denver International Airport.

The cars had bumper stickers supporting President Bush and conservative talk-show host Rush Limbaugh."

WESH.com - News - Elections Official: Some Voting Machines Could Be Hacked

WESH.com - News - Elections Official: Some Voting Machines Could Be Hacked:

"There's new evidence that computer hackers could change election results without anyone knowing about it, WESH 2 News reported.

The supervisor of elections in Tallahassee tested voting machines several times over the last several months, and on Monday, his workers were able to hack into a voting machine and change the outcome. He said that same thing might have happened in Volusia County in 2000.

The big controversy revolves around a little black computer card that is smaller than a floppy disk and bigger than a flash drive. The card is inserted into voting machines that scan paper ballots. The card serves as the machine's electronic brain.

But when Ion Sancho, Leon County's Supervisor of Elections, tested the Diebold system and allowed experts to manipulate the card electronically, he could change the outcome of a mock election without leaving any kind of trail. In other words, someone could fix an election and no one would know.

'The expert that we used simply programmed it on his laptop in his hotel room,' Sancho said.

Sancho began investigating the problem after watching the votes come in during the infamous 2000 presidential election. In Volusia County precinct 216, a memory card added more than 200 votes to George W. Bush's total and subtracted 16,000 votes from Al Gore. The mistake was later corrected during a hand count.

After watching his computer expert change vote totals this week, Sancho said that he now believes someone on the inside did the same think in Volusia County in 2000.

'Someone with access to the vote center in Volusia County put it on a memory card and uploaded it into the main system,' Sancho said."

www.GovExec.com - Group proposes bill to strengthen whistleblower protections (12/13/05)

www.GovExec.com - Group proposes bill to strengthen whistleblower protections (12/13/05):

"A coalition of national security whistleblowers has proposed legislation that would fundamentally change how complaints are adjudicated and would make retaliation against those who report wrongdoing a criminal offense.

Language drafted by the coalition would cover all federal employees and contractors, do away with the 1989 Whistleblower Protection Act and prevent the Office of Special Counsel from adjudicating whistleblower cases. Government Executive obtained a copy of the proposed bill; the National Security Whistleblowers Coalition does not plan to release the document until January.

The bill is part of the coalition's ongoing push to obtain stronger protections for government workers and contractors who report waste, fraud or abuse. The coalition was established in 2004 and has more than 60 members. Most were retaliated against after reporting wrongdoing and either lost their jobs or are litigating their complaints."

Abramoff ex-partner pleads guilty to fraud charge - Yahoo! News

Abramoff ex-partner pleads guilty to fraud charge - Yahoo! News:

"A New York businessman charged with fraud alongside prominent Washington lobbyist Jack Abramoff in the purchase of a Florida casino cruise line pleaded guilty on Thursday to fraud and conspiracy charges.

The case against Abramoff and former business partner Adam Kidan has gained wide attention in Washington because Abramoff, a Republican fund-raiser, has close ties to former House Majority Leader
Tom DeLay of Texas and is a central figure in influence-buying investigations.

Kidan, 41, entered the guilty plea in a Miami federal court to one count of conspiracy and one of wire fraud, each of which carries a possible sentence of five years in prison. U.S. District Judge Paul Huck accepted the plea and set sentencing for March 1.

Outside the courthouse after the hearing, Kidan's lawyer, Joseph Conway, said his client conspired with Abramoff in the fraud and was willing to testify in Abramoff's trial next month.

'If the government is prepared to call him as a witness, he is prepared to testify,' Conway said. He did not allow Kidan to talk to reporters.

"

CNN.com - Official: Al-Zarqawi caught, released - Dec 15, 2005

CNN.com - Official: Al-Zarqawi caught, released - Dec 15, 2005:

"December 15, 2005; Posted: 5:44 p.m. EST (22:44 GMT)

BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- Iraqi security forces caught the most wanted man in the country last year, but released him because they didn't know who he was, the Iraqi deputy minister of interior said Thursday.

Hussain Kamal confirmed that Abu Musab al-Zarqawi -- the al Qaeda in Iraq leader who has a $25 million bounty on his head -- was in custody at some point last year, but he wouldn't provide further details."

32% Favor Bush Impeachment

Impeachment:

December 15, 2005--Thirty-two percent (32%) of Americans believe that President George W. Bush should be impeached and removed from office. Fifty-eight percent (58%) take the opposite view."

Bloomberg.com: Top Worldwide

Bloomberg.com: Top Worldwide:

"Dec. 14 (Bloomberg) -- The U.S. trade deficit unexpectedly widened to a record $68.9 billion in October, as imports of crude oil, automobiles and televisions increased, a government report showed."

Is the Pentagon spying on Americans? - Lisa Myers & the NBC Investigative Unit - MSNBC.com

Is the Pentagon spying on Americans? - Lisa Myers & the NBC Investigative Unit - MSNBC.com: "Dec. 13, 2005


Lisa Myers
Senior investigative correspondent
WASHINGTON - A year ago, at a Quaker Meeting House in Lake Worth, Fla., a small group of activists met to plan a protest of military recruiting at local high schools. What they didn't know was that their meeting had come to the attention of the U.S. military.

A secret 400-page Defense Department document obtained by NBC News lists the Lake Worth meeting as a “threat” and one of more than 1,500 “suspicious incidents” across the country over a recent 10-month period."

HERE IS A LINK TO THE ACTUAL DOCUMENT LISTING PEACE ACTIVISTS AS "THREATS" - http://msnbcmedia.msn.com/i/msnbc/sections/news/DODAntiWarProtestDatabaseTracker.pdf

BBC NEWS | Europe | CIA abduction claims 'credible'

BBC NEWS | Europe | CIA abduction claims 'credible':

"'The elements we have gathered so far tend to reinforce the credibility of the allegations concerning the transport and temporary detention of detainees - outside all judicial procedure - in European countries,' he said.

He went on: 'Legal proceedings in progress in certain countries seemed to indicate that individuals had been abducted and transferred to other countries without respect for any legal standards.'

The BBC's Alix Kroeger in Strasbourg says the strongly worded report will add to the pressure for more in-depth inquiries.
......................

Mr Marty urged the US to comment formally on the allegations, saying he 'deplore[d] the fact that no information or explanations' were given during last week's tour of Europe by US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.

Ms Rice refused to address claims the CIA operated secret prisons abroad, where suspects could be interrogated without reference to international law."

U.S. health gains hurt by obesity, smoking - Diet & Fitness - MSNBC.com

U.S. health gains hurt by obesity, smoking - Diet & Fitness - MSNBC.com: "Dec. 12, 2005

PHILADELPHIA - Improvement in the overall health of Americans has stalled in the last five years as more people became obese and fewer quit smoking, according to a report released on Monday.

The America’s Health Rankings report, issued at the American Public Health Association’s annual meeting, showed that 23.1 percent of the U.S. population is now considered obese, more than twice the level in 1990."

Chicago Tribune | U.S. paid for media firm Afghans didn't want

Chicago Tribune | U.S. paid for media firm Afghans didn't want: "December 13, 2005

KABUL, Afghanistan -- When The Rendon Group was hired to help Afghan President Hamid Karzai with media relations in early 2004, few thought it was a bad idea. Though Rendon's $1.4million bill seemed high for Afghanistan, the U.S. government was paying.
......................

"It was a rip-off of the U.S taxpayer," said Raleigh, who left the U.S. Embassy in September."

Ex-Burns aide talks to Justice - billingsgazette.com

Ex-Burns aide talks to Justice - billingsgazette.com:

"HELENA - A former top aide to U.S. Sen. Conrad Burns, R-Mont., who quit to work at the firm of indicted lobbyist Jack Abramoff said Monday he is talking to Justice Department investigators as part of the agency's continuing probe of Abramoff's activities.
......................

Brooke served as Burns' chief of staff from November 2000 until the end of 2003. Brooke flew on Abramoff's corporate jet to the 2001 Super Bowl to attend the game at Abramoff's invitation. The trip was paid for by Abramoff's lobbying clients.

From 2001 to 2003, Abramoff's tribal clients gave $129,000 to Burns and his political action committees.

Brooke quit his post on Burns' staff in December 2003 to work at Abramoff's lobbying firm, where he was employed in 2004. The hiring occurred shortly after Burns helped secure a controversial $3 million grant for one of Abramoff's tribal clients, the Saginaw Chippewa tribe of Michigan."

CNN.com - Judge OKs subpoenas of Limbaugh doctors - Dec 12, 2005

CNN.com - Judge OKs subpoenas of Limbaugh doctors - Dec 12, 2005:

"WEST PALM BEACH, Florida (AP) -- Prosecutors can subpoena Rush Limbaugh's doctors as part an investigation into whether the conservative radio commentator illegally bought painkillers, a judge ruled Monday."

Iraq Prison Raid Finds a New Case of Mistreatment - New York Times

Iraq Prison Raid Finds a New Case of Mistreatment - New York Times: "December 12, 2005

BAGHDAD, Iraq, Monday, Dec. 12 - American and Iraqi forces raiding an Iraqi government detention center last Thursday in Baghdad discovered more than 600 prisoners packed into a cramped space, 13 of them mistreated so badly they had to be taken to a hospital, a senior American official said early Monday.

The raid was the second in the past month in which American forces have uncovered mistreatment of prisoners at the hands of Interior Ministry officials. On Nov. 15, soldiers with the Third Infantry Division, charged with controlling Baghdad, entered a ministry bunker in central Baghdad and found 169 malnourished prisoners, some of them tortured. Most of those prisoners were Sunni Arabs."

FEMA reimbursements mainly benefit higher income groups: South Florida Sun-Sentinel

FEMA reimbursements mainly benefit higher income groups: South Florida Sun-Sentinel: "December 11 2005

A Hollywood surgeon got FEMA money for Hurricane Wilma for a generator.

A Plantation lawyer received $274 more from the agency than he paid for his generator.

Yet, a Fort Lauderdale teen with serious medical problems had to insert catheters by candlelight when the Oct. 24 storm knocked out power. His family couldn't afford a generator.

A FEMA program to reimburse applicants for generators and storm cleanup items has benefited middle- and upper-income Floridians the most and so far cost taxpayers more than $332 million for the past two hurricane seasons, the South Florida Sun-Sentinel found in a continuing investigation of disaster aid.

For Wilma alone, the Federal Emergency Management Agency had spent $84 million as of last Monday on generators for 101,028 people"

Eugene J. McCarthy, Senate Dove Who Jolted '68 Race, Dies at 89 - New York Times

Eugene J. McCarthy, Senate Dove Who Jolted '68 Race, Dies at 89 - New York Times:

"Mr. McCarthy, a man of needling wit, triggered one of the most tumultuous years in American political history. With the war taking scores of thousands of American and Vietnamese lives, he rallied throngs against this 'costly exercise in futility' and stoked a fiery national debate over the World War II model of an all-powerful presidency. He challenged Johnson in a primary, and the president, facing almost certain defeat, ended up withdrawing from the race."

Pope says materialism pollutes Christmas spirit - Yahoo! News

Pope says materialism pollutes Christmas spirit - Yahoo! News:

"Pope Benedict warned on Sunday against rampant materialism which he said was polluting the spirit of Christmas.
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'In today's consumer society, this time of the year unfortunately suffers from a sort of commercial 'pollution' that threatens to alter its real spirit,' the Pope told a large crowd gathered in St. Peter's Square to hear his weekly Angelus blessing.

He said Christmas should be marked with sober celebrations and urged Christians to display a nativity crib in their houses as 'a simple but effective way of showing their faith and conveying it to their children.'"

Herald Sun: Dead man did not speak of bomb [10dec05]

Herald Sun: Dead man did not speak of bomb [10dec05]:

"THE man who was shot and killed by US air marshals in Miami on Thursday never spoke of a bomb, a fellow passenger said.

The witness, John McAlhany, said Rigoberto Alpizar seemed to suffer a panic attack and dashed up the plane's aisle.

US authorities say Mr Alpizar, 44, was shot and killed after threatening to detonate a bomb on an American Airlines plane.

'He just wanted to get off the plane,' said Mr McAlhany, who was sitting in the middle of the Boeing 757.

The incident is now being compared with the July shooting of an innocent Brazilian electrician on the London Underground.

Mr Alpizar was mentally ill, neighbours said yesterday, but managed his condition with medication.

Mr McAlhany told a reporter he heard Mr Alpizar arguing with his wife, saying, 'I have to get off the plane.'

'She said, `Calm down',' Mr McAlhany said.

Mr Alpizar, who was sitting near the back, then ran down the aisle, with his wife close behind him.

'She was running behind him saying, `He's sick. He's sick. He's ill. He's got a disorder',' Mr McAlhany recalled. 'She was trying to explain to the marshals that he was ill. He just wanted to get off."

Passengers heard no bomb claim before air marshals opened fire - World

Passengers heard no bomb claim before air marshals opened fire - World: "December 10, 2005
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Some passengers are disputing official claims that the passenger shot dead by air marshals in Miami on Wednesday had said he had a bomb.

One of them, John McAlhany said the man, Rigoberto Alpizar, bumped into him as he ran off the aircraft just moments before shots rang out.

Mr McAlhany said he did not hear Mr Alpizar say anything about a bomb. Others recalled his agitated manner and how he had been singing a hymn.

'The first time I heard the word 'bomb' was when I was interviewed by the FBI,' Mr McAlhany said. 'They kept asking if I heard him say the B-word, and I said, 'What is the B-word?' And they were, like, 'Bomb'. I said, 'No'. They said, 'Are you sure?' And I am."

Hunt continues for 1,300 children lost during Katrina-While investigators believe most of the missing are safe somewhere, finding splintered families

Hunt continues for 1,300 children lost during Katrina-While investigators believe most of the missing are safe somewhere, finding splintered families is proving a gargantuan task: "Hunt continues for 1,300 children lost during Katrina

While investigators believe most of the missing are safe somewhere, finding splintered families is proving a gargantuan task

NEW ORLEANS -- Three months after Hurricane Katrina ripped through the Gulf Coast, the fate of more than 1,300 children remains unknown."

Hunt continues for 1,300 children lost during Katrina-While investigators believe most of the missing are safe somewhere, finding splintered families

Hunt continues for 1,300 children lost during Katrina-While investigators believe most of the missing are safe somewhere, finding splintered families is proving a gargantuan task: "Hunt continues for 1,300 children lost during Katrina

While investigators believe most of the missing are safe somewhere, finding splintered families is proving a gargantuan task

By Tina Susman / Newsday

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NEW ORLEANS -- Three months after Hurricane Katrina ripped through the Gulf Coast, the fate of more than 1,300 children remains unknown."

In C.I.A. Leak, More Talks With Journalists - New York Times

In C.I.A. Leak, More Talks With Journalists - New York Times: "December 2, 2005

Correction Appended

WASHINGTON, Dec. 1 - A conversation between Karl Rove's lawyer and a journalist for Time magazine led Mr. Rove to change his testimony last year to the grand jury in the C.I.A. leak case, people knowledgeable about the sequence of events said Thursday.
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Timeline of the Leak
A trip by Joseph C. Wilson IV to Niger nearly four years ago was the beginning of a series of events now being investigated by a special prosecutor, Patrick J. Fitzgerald.
Key Articles and Documents

Mr. Rove's lawyer, Robert D. Luskin, spoke in the summer or early fall of 2004 with Viveca Novak, a reporter for Time. In that conversation, Mr. Luskin heard from Ms. Novak that a colleague at the magazine, Matthew Cooper, might have interviewed Mr. Rove about the C.I.A. officer at the heart of the case, the people said.

Time reported this week that the prosecutor in the case, Patrick J. Fitzgerald, has summoned Ms. Novak to testify about a conversation she had with Mr. Luskin, but provided no explanation of what Mr. Fitzgerald might be looking for. The account provided Thursday by people with knowledge of the discussions between Ms. Novak and Mr. Luskin suggests that Mr. Fitzgerald is still trying to determine whether Mr. Rove was fully forthcoming with investigators and whether he altered his grand jury testimony about his dealings with reporters only after learning that one, Mr. Cooper, might identify him as a source."

Time Reporter Testifies in Leak Case

Time Reporter Testifies in Leak Case: "December 9, 2005; Page A08

A special prosecutor questioned Time magazine reporter Viveca Novak under oath yesterday about a conversation she had with the attorney for presidential adviser Karl Rove that has become part of the CIA leak investigation, according to a top editor at the magazine.

In another twist, the lawyer, Robert D. Luskin, was deposed on the same issue last Friday, a source close to the case said.

Transcript
On Woodward
Washington Post Executive Editor Leonard Downie Jr. discussed Bob Woodward's revelation that he may have been the first reporter told of Valerie Plame's identity as a CIA operative.
Background on the Plame Investigation

Find stories, video, discussion transcripts and associated features related to the investigation of the leak of CIA operative Valerie Plame's identity to the press.

* Special Report: Plame Investigation

Understanding the Plame Affair

* Key Players in the CIA Leak Case Analysis and short biographies of the main individuals involved in the investigation of the leak of Valerie Plame's identity to the press.
* Explaining the Charges
* Q&A: The Leak Case Facts
* Timeline: Libby's Role
* Full Text of Indictment: US v. Libby
* Special Counsel's Press Release Detailing Libby Indictment
* Transcript: Fitzgerald's 10/28 Press Conf.
* Pres. Bush's Remarks

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Career Highlights of I. Lewis 'Scooter' Libby
I. Lewis 'Scooter' Libby, Vice President Dick Cheney's chief of staff, is at the center of an investigation into the leaking of CIA agent Valerie Plame's identity.
From FindLaw

* Plame Investigation Leaks Links to court rulings, briefs, and government documents pertaining to the leak investigation (and the First Amendment battle).
* The Intelligence Identities Protection Act of 1982

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Poland was main CIA European detention base: group - Yahoo! News

Poland was main CIA European detention base: group - Yahoo! News:


"Poland was the heart of the
CIA's secret detention network in Europe, with bases there until recently holding a quarter of the 100 detainees estimated held in such camps worldwide, a human rights group said."

Before 9/11, Warnings on bin Laden - New York Times

Before 9/11, Warnings on bin Laden - New York Times: "December 9, 2005

WASHINGTON, Dec. 8 - More than three years before the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, American diplomats warned Saudi officials that Osama bin Laden might target civilian aircraft, according to a newly declassified State Department cable."