China Installs Bishop as Vatican Objects - New York Times

China Installs Bishop as Vatican Objects - New York Times: "April 30, 2006

HONG KONG, April 30 — Despite objections from the Vatican, the state-controlled Catholic church in China installed as a bishop today a senior official who has been involved in the government's political control of the church."

Iraq Accuses Iran Of Shelling Its Territory

Iraq Accuses Iran Of Shelling Its Territory

April 30, 2006 -- Iraq's Defense Ministry today accused Iranian forces, fighting Kurdish rebels, of shelling its territory for the second time in 10 days.

Powell advised Bush to send more troops to Iraq - Yahoo! News

Powell advised Bush to send more troops to Iraq - Yahoo! News:

"LONDON (Reuters) - Former Secretary of State
Colin Powell said on Sunday he had made the case to
President George W. Bush for the United States to send more troops to
Iraq to deal with the aftermath of the war.
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In an interview with a private British television station, Powell said there had been debates about the size of the force and how to deal with the aftermath.

'The aftermath turned out to be much more difficult than anyone had anticipated,' said Powell, adding he had favoured a larger military presence to deal with the unforeseen.

'I don't think we had enough force there to impose order,' he said on ITV's Jonathan Dimbleby program.

'I made the case to General (Tommy) Franks, to (Defense) Secretary (Donald) Rumsfeld and to the president that I was not sure we had enough troops,' he said.

He argued, however, that his view was not ignored but that those responsible for the troop levels believed they had the appropriate number."

China strikes back as modern artists push boundaries | csmonitor.com

China strikes back as modern artists push boundaries | csmonitor.com: "Christian Science Monitor
BEIJING – Chinese modern art has been pushing the borders of the acceptable. But just as limits seemed to fall, the local culture police struck back, albeit politely. Three galleries at the chic Dashanzi art area were told to remove more than 20 paintings in recent weeks, all with political themes."

Next step in pirating: Faking a company - Technology - International Herald Tribune

Next step in pirating: Faking a company - Technology - International Herald Tribune: "Evidence seized in raids on 18 factories and warehouses in China and Taiwan over the past year showed that the counterfeiters had set up what amounted to a parallel NEC brand with links to a network of more than 50 electronics factories in China, Hong Kong and Taiwan.

In the name of NEC, the pirates copied NEC products, and went as far as developing their own range of consumer electronic products - everything from home entertainment centers to MP3 players. They also coordinated manufacturing and distribution, collecting all the proceeds.

The Japanese company even received complaints about products - which were of generally good quality - that they did not make or provide with warranties.

NEC said it was unable to estimate the total value of the pirated goods from these factories, but the company believed the organizers had 'profited substantially' from the operation.

'These entities are part of a sophisticated ring, coordinated by two key entities based in Taiwan and Japan, which has attempted to completely assume the NEC brand,' said Fujio Okada, the NEC senior vice president and legal division general manager, in written answers to questions.

'Many of these entities are familiar with each other and cooperate with each other to develop, manufacture and sell products utilizing the NEC brand.'

NEC declined to identify the companies for legal reasons.

Officials from branch offices of the Chinese State Administration of Industry and Commerce in southern China confirmed that counterfeit goods carrying the NEC brand had been seized in raids on a number of factories and that investigations were continuing.

Some technology companies have been criticized for piecemeal and half- hearted attempts to protect their intellectual property, but Okada said NEC was prepared to take proactive measures to defend its brand.

NEC had not previously made public the"

The Blog | Robert Scheer: Long-Delayed Story on Pre-War Intel Still Important | The Huffington Post

The Blog | Robert Scheer: Long-Delayed Story on Pre-War Intel Still Important | The Huffington Post:

"'The policy was set. The war in Iraq was coming and they were looking for intelligence to fit into the policy.'
—Tyler Drumheller, CIA's top spy in Europe.

Confession time: In fall 2004, during a crucial presidential election campaign, I made the mistake of playing by corporate media rules that amount to self-censorship.

Specifically, I joined other journalists in denying the public the right to learn of a definitive investigative report by CBS' 60 Minutes on President Bush's disregard for the truth concerning the weapons of mass destruction threat allegedly posed to the United States by Iraq. Having received an advance copy of the devastating segment, I honored CBS' proprietary request not to write about the news it carried until after it aired.

Only, it never aired. CBS got cold feet, probably because of Dan Rather's troubles over an unrelated story critical of the president. The suppressed story was solidly reported and, by exposing the Bush administration's utter disregard for the truth concerning Saddam Hussein's weapons of mass destruction, should have been made available to the public before the November election. Now, no one seems to care."

WSJ.com - Prosecutors May Widen Congressional-Bribe Case

WSJ.com - Prosecutors May Widen Congressional-Bribe Case: "April 27, 2006; Page A6

Federal prosecutors are investigating whether two contractors implicated in the bribery of former Rep. Randall 'Duke' Cunningham supplied him with prostitutes and free use of a limousine and hotel suites, pursuing evidence that could broaden their long-running inquiry."

Sen. Specter Threatens to Block NSA Funds

Sen. Specter Threatens to Block NSA Funds: "27 April, 2006


By LAURIE KELLMAN, Associated Press Writer 4 minutes ago

WASHINGTON - Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Arlen Specter said Thursday he is considering legislation to cut off funding for the Bush administration‘s secret domestic wiretapping program until he gets satisfactory answers about it from the White House.

Specter said he had informed President Bush about his intention and that he has attracted several potential co-sponsors. He said he‘s become increasingly frustrated in trying to elicit information about the program from senior White House officials at several public hearings.

'It is true that we have no assurance that the president would follow any statute that we enact,' Specter said. He said he‘s considering adding an amendment to stop funding of the program to an Iraq war-hurricane relief bill being debated by the Senate this week and next."

Senator Ron Wyden

Senator Ron Wyden: "December 15, 2005

Washington, DC – At a press conference today, U.S. Senator Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) and U.S. Representative Rahm Emanuel (D-Ill.) touted their comprehensive, bicameral tax reform legislation that contains major tax relief for America’s middle class as it makes the U.S. income tax code simpler, flatter and fairer. Wyden introduced the “Fair, Flat Tax Act of 2005” in the Senate in October; Emanuel announced plans today to introduce companion legislation in the House of Representatives.

Specifically, the legislation allows every taxpayer to file taxes on a simplified, one-page 1040 form, collapses individual tax brackets from the current six down to three, and sets one flat corporate rate. It also ends the Alternative Minimum Tax for personal income taxes, and allows federal taxpayers who do not itemize to receive a tax break for state and local taxes. Ending a number of corporate tax preferences also allows the legislation to reduce the deficit by approximately $100 billion over the next five years."

Inside Bay Area - IBA - Argus - News

Inside Bay Area - IBA - Argus - News: "Democrats are focusing more on taking things away from the industry. Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., proposed legislation this week that would repeal all tax breaks for oil drilling and production — about $10 billion over the next five years.

Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., proposed a measure that would force energy companies to pay royalties to the government on all oil and gas they produce on federal leases in the Gulf of Mexico, if the price of crude oil is above $55 a barrel. At the moment, some energy companies are allowed to receive 'royalty relief' that is expected to total about $7 billion over the next five years.

The mounting suspicion of oil companies was apparent in a letter to the IRS from Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, who is chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, and Sen. Max Baucus of Montana, the committee's senior Democrat.

The two lawmakers demanded that the IRS allow them to review the past five years of tax returns filed by the nation's 15 biggest oil companies. The senators pointedly noted an 'extremely lucrative retirement plan by one oil and gas industry executive' — a reference to Lee Raymond, the former chairman of Exxon Mobil, who received $389 million in compensation upon retiring last year."

Senate Republicans take aim at fuel prices - Yahoo! News

Senate Republicans take aim at fuel prices - Yahoo! News: "WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Senate Republicans unveiled a proposal on Thursday to soften the blow of rapidly rising gasoline prices by giving taxpayers a $100 check and suspending a retail fuel tax."

ABC News: Pentagon: Iraq Troop Reductions on the Way

ABC News: Pentagon: Iraq Troop Reductions on the Way: "JONATHAN KARL

April 26, 2006 — As the top U.S. commander in Iraq suggested today that the United States would soon reduce the number of troops in Iraq, Pentagon planners said to ABC News that they hoped to pull more than 30,000 troops out by the end of the year, and possibly by as early as November."

18 rich families pay for campaign to kill estate taxes

18 rich families pay for campaign to kill estate taxes: "Wednesday, April 26, 2006
Sabrina Eaton
Plain Dealer Bureau

Washington -- Eighteen of America's wealthiest families, including the Timkens of Canton, are bankrolling efforts to permanently repeal estate taxes that would save their families a total of $71.6 billion, according to a report released Tuesday by public interest groups.

Groups funded by the super-rich have engaged in a deceptive campaign to convince the public that estate taxes cause widespread problems for small businesses and family farms when they actually affect about one in 370 estates, said the report released by Public Citizen and Boston-based United for a Fair Economy.

This year, all assets under $2 million for individuals and under $4 million for couples are exempt from estate taxes. Current tax law will boost those exemptions to $3.5 million and $7 million in 2009, eliminate the estate tax in 2010, and reimpose it in 2011 with a $1 million exemption."

Rove to testify in leak case - Yahoo! News

Rove to testify in leak case - Yahoo! News: "WASHINGTON (Reuters) -
President George W. Bush's top political adviser, Karl Rove, will testify on Wednesday before a federal grand jury investigating the leak of a covert
CIA operative's identity, sources close to Rove said.
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They said the appearance, planned for the afternoon, would mark the fifth time that Rove, the deputy White House chief of staff, will have testified before a grand jury as part of the investigation. His last appearance was in October.

One source said Rove, a powerful and controversial political strategist, was asked to testify by special prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald, that he would appear voluntarily and had not been subpoenaed.

There also has been no change in Rove's status in the criminal investigation and Rove has not been notified that he is a target likely to be indicted soon, the source said."

Bush Picks Fox Commentator as Spokesman - New York Times

Bush Picks Fox Commentator as Spokesman - New York Times: "April 26, 2006

WASHINGTON, April 26 — President Bush today named Tony Snow, the Fox News radio and television commentator, as the new White House press secretary, despite Mr. Snow's past criticisms of his policies.

....
In a March column, Mr. Snow wrote, "A Republican president and a Republican Congress have lost control of the federal budget and cannot resist the temptation to stop raiding the public fisc." And he derided the new prescription drug benefit that Mr. Bush signed into law."

United Press International - Intl. Intelligence - Saudi releases 500 al-Qaida sympathizers

United Press International - Intl. Intelligence - Saudi releases 500 al-Qaida sympathizers: "RIYADH, Saudi Arabia, April 26 (UPI) -- Saudi Arabia released 500 al-Qaida sympathizers after they underwent religious counseling to bring them back to the moderate path of Islam.

Member of the counseling committee Mohammed Bin Yehya Nujeimi was quoted Wednesday by al-Jazeera as saying the committee, affiliated with the interior ministry, had conducted dialogue with 800 Saudis who had allegedly sympathized with prisoners convicted in cases of terrorism.

Out of the total, 500 were released following intensive studies and counseling sessions which moderated their views."

Scoop: Bush Impeachment Resolution Introduced In Illinois

Scoop: Bush Impeachment Resolution Introduced In Illinois: "Illinois Joint Resolution 125

Bush is charged with the following “high crimes and misdemeanors” in Representative Yarborough’s resolution (summary):


1. Ordering the National Security Agency to spy on American citizens without a warrant (a “felony”).
2. Violating the Torture Convention of the Geneva Conventions, “a treaty regarded as supreme law by the United States Constitution;”
3. Holding American and other citizens as “prisoners of war without a charge or trial;
4. Manipulating intelligence to start the Iraq war “resulting in the deaths of large numbers of Iraqi civilians and causing the United States to incur loss of life, diminished security and billions of dollars in unnecessary expenses; and,
5. Leaking “classified national secrets to further a political agenda” thus exposing U.S. agents “to potential harm and retribution while simultaneously refusing to potential harm and retribution while simultaneously refusing to investigate the matter.”"

Scoop: Bush Impeachment Resolution Introduced In Illinois

Scoop: Bush Impeachment Resolution Introduced In Illinois:

Representative Yarborough, Illinois State Legislature Introduces Bill
Invokes Never Used Provision from Thomas Jefferson’s Rules
Sunday 23, April 2006
By Michael Collins
For “Scoop” Independent Media
Washington, DC

Representative Karen A. Yarbrough, a Democratic member of the Illinois State Assembly, introduced a resolution calling for the impeachment of President George W. Bush. House Joint Resolution 125 was introduced on April 20, 2006 with two co sponsors, Representatives Sara Feigenholtz and Eddie Washington, also both Democrats. Derided by Thomas Jefferson as “scarcely a scarecrow,” the presidential impeachment process is a rarity in United States history. The impeachment of federal judges is more common but also a rare event.

"llinois Joint Resolution 125

Bush is charged with the following “high crimes and misdemeanors” in Representative Yarborough’s resolution (summary):


1. Ordering the National Security Agency to spy on American citizens without a warrant (a “felony”).
2. Violating the Torture Convention of the Geneva Conventions, “a treaty regarded as supreme law by the United States Constitution;”
3. Holding American and other citizens as “prisoners of war without a charge or trial;
4. Manipulating intelligence to start the Iraq war “resulting in the deaths of large numbers of Iraqi civilians and causing the United States to incur loss of life, diminished security and billions of dollars in unnecessary expenses; and,
5. Leaking “classified national secrets to further a political agenda” thus exposing U.S. agents “to potential harm and retribution while simultaneously refusing to potential harm and retribution while simultaneously refusing to investigate the matter.”

Noting that the Republican controlled Congress failed to investigate the matter, the resolution invokes the powers under Section 603 of the Jefferson rules. The resolution reaches its summary by arguing that:

“the State of Illinois has good cause to submit charges to the U. S. House of Representatives under Section 603 that the President of the United States has willfully violated his Oath of Office to preserve protect and defend the Constitution of the United States; and be it further

RESOLVED, That George W. Bush, if found guilty of the charges contained herein, should be removed from office and disqualified to hold any other office in the United States.

Each of these charges is a grave violation of the oath of office and some of them represent potential criminal charges against President Bush should he be impeached. The proposed action is unusual since it has two parts. Bush would both removed from office and “disqualified to hold any other office.”

Impeachment of a president or other federal office holder allows only for removal from office. Further financial penalties, jail time, etc. are optional for the president after he is removed from office. There is an ongoing debate over the ability of prosecutors to indict a sitting president. Although the language of the Constitution seems to allow this, there are points of tradition and interpretation used to argue against the practice."

Build your own Iraqi police squad for a little cash

Build your own Iraqi police squad for a little cash: "BAGHDAD - It doesn‘t cost a lot to set up your own death squad in Iraq . Military uniforms, guns and even police vehicles are easily available to all comers in the markets of Baghdad.

In a city where gangs of men dressed as police have killed dozens of people and stolen tens of thousands of dollars, anyone with a modest amount of cash can set up their own fake squad.

At Baghdad‘s Bab al-Sharjee market, a haven for criminals, anyone can walk into one of about 15 shops selling police and military supplies and buy a police commando uniform for 35,000 Dinars (about 13 pounds) or an ordinary police uniform for $15 (about 8 pounds).

No questions asked, no identity checks. Badges of rank from Captain to Major-General -- enough to ensure no one asks questions on the mean streets of the capital -- go for $2.

'One person came yesterday and took 12 full commando uniforms. Another took 15 army uniforms and ski masks with holes for the eyes,' said Tariq, who runs one of the stores.

'I don‘t care who comes to buy them. As long as they give me the money, I give them the products,' he said, adding the most popular items were police commando uniforms.

Although some uniforms such as a plain blue Iraqi police shirt are relatively simple for any tailor to produce, it was unclear where Tariq and others get the complicated camouflage uniforms from.

There are plenty of smaller items such as laser pointers for weapons, face-hiding ski masks, and handcuffs."

The Raw Story | Senator says Senate must study breakup of oil firms

The Raw Story | Senator says Senate must study breakup of oil firms: "In a speech today on the Senate floor, Sen. Charles Schumer (D-NY) proposed considering the breakup of oil firms.

“We also have to reexamine whether having only a handful of giant oil companies can coexist with the needs of the American consumer and a rational energy policy in this country -- I do not believe it does,' Schumer declared. 'And so I'll be offering an amendment to the supplemental that will require a complete examination as to whether or not we should break up the big oil companies.'

“Enough is enough,' the New York senator added. 'We have no competition. There are signs of it. I've talked to business leaders who buy oil and gas products, major, conservative Republican business leaders, and they don't believe the market is on the level.'

Schumer's full speech follows."

Bush takes aim at gasoline prices - Yahoo! News

Bush takes aim at gasoline prices - Yahoo! News: "WASHINGTON (Reuters) -
President George W. Bush pressured profit-rich oil companies to invest in new refineries on Tuesday and announced steps against any price gouging to contain gas prices that have soared while his popularity plummets.

He directed the
Environmental Protection Agency to suspend federal clean-burning gasoline rules this summer that are forcing consumers to buy expensive new gasoline blends.

Bush temporarily halted shipments to the Strategic Petroleum Reserve as a way to get more oil on the market and try to combat prices that have soared above $3 a gallon."

Sen.: U.S. Should Look at Tax on Oil Cos. - Yahoo! News

Sen.: U.S. Should Look at Tax on Oil Cos. - Yahoo! News: "WASHINGTON - The government should consider a tax on oil companies if they make excessive profits amid rising gasoline prices, a leading Republican senator said Sunday.
ADVERTISEMENT

Pennsylvania Sen. Arlen Specter (news, bio, voting record), chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, said a windfall profits tax, along with measures to stem concentration of market power among a few select oil companies, could offer eventual relief to consumers hurting at the gas pump.

'I believe that we have allowed too many companies to get together to reduce competition,' Specter said.

'They get together, reduce the supply of oil, and that drives up prices,' he said. 'In the short run, it's hard to deal with it for tomorrow. But I think windfall profits, eliminating the antitrust exemption, considering the excessive concentration of power are all items we ought to be addressing.'

Specter is backing legislation that would strengthen antitrust laws on oil company mergers after his committee held a hearing last month examining the growing consolidation of the oil industry. The nation's largest oil companies, including Exxon Mobil Corp., have denied their industry size has affected prices."

Sen.: U.S. Should Look at Tax on Oil Cos. - Yahoo! News

Sen.: U.S. Should Look at Tax on Oil Cos. - Yahoo! News: "WASHINGTON - The government should consider a tax on oil companies if they make excessive profits amid rising gasoline prices, a leading Republican senator said Sunday.
ADVERTISEMENT

Pennsylvania Sen. Arlen Specter (news, bio, voting record), chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, said a windfall profits tax, along with measures to stem concentration of market power among a few select oil companies, could offer eventual relief to consumers hurting at the gas pump.

'I believe that we have allowed too many companies to get together to reduce competition,' Specter said.

'They get together, reduce the supply of oil, and that drives up prices,' he said. 'In the short run, it's hard to deal with it for tomorrow. But I think windfall profits, eliminating the antitrust exemption, considering the excessive concentration of power are all items we ought to be addressing.'

Specter is backing legislation that would strengthen antitrust laws on oil company mergers after his committee held a hearing last month examining the growing consolidation of the oil industry. The nation's largest oil companies, including Exxon Mobil Corp., have denied their industry size has affected prices."

Iraq a disaster: Albright | | The Australian

Iraq a disaster: Albright | | The Australian: "April 24, 2006
INVADING Iraq would go down as one of the worst US foreign policy blunders ever, former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright said.

The former top US diplomat told the New York Times that Iraq's deposed leader Saddam Hussein 'was horrible. But I did not think he was an imminent threat to the United States'.

'You can't go to war with everybody you dislike,' Ms Albright said.

'I think Iraq may end up being one of the worst disasters in American foreign policy.'

Ms Albright, who served under President Bill Clinton, said US foreign policy mistakes under President George W. Bush have left her feeling 'sick' about America's current status in global affairs.

'A lot of the things that we worked on for eight years have unravelled. It is very hard,' she said.

'What really troubles me is that democracy is getting a bad name because it is identified with imposition and occupation,' she said.

'I'm for democracy, but imposing democracy is an oxymoron. People have to choose democracy, and it has to come up from below.'"

Intelligence on Iran nuclear threat seen as inadequate | Reuters.com

Intelligence on Iran nuclear threat seen as inadequate | Reuters.com: "WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States doesn't have enough good intelligence to know whether or not Iran will be capable of producing nuclear weapons in the near future, top congressional intelligence committee members said on Sunday.

Iran said earlier on Sunday it would not abandon its work on nuclear enrichment, which the United Nations has demanded it halt, and was prepared to face sanctions from abroad.

Asked on Fox News Sunday when Iran might be capable of producing nuclear weapons, House Permanent Select Committee on

Intelligence Chairman Peter Hoekstra, a Michigan Republican, said: 'I'd say we really don't know.

'We're getting lots of mixed messages,' Hoekstra said.

'We've got a long way to go in rebuilding our intelligence community. .... We don't have all of the information we would like to have.

Jane Harman of California, the ranking Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, concurred. 'Our intelligence is thin,' she told Fox News. 'I don't think we have enough sources, I don't think our analysis is sharp enough.'

Washington has said it wants a diplomatic resolution over Iran's nuclear ambitions but has not ruled out military action, a step its allies, as well as Russia and China, oppose."

CIA fires officer over alleged leak - Yahoo! News

CIA fires officer over alleged leak - Yahoo! News: "Fri Apr 21, 11:00 PM ET

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The
CIA said on Friday that it fired an intelligence officer for leaking classified information that sources said contributed to a Washington Post report about alleged secret CIA prisons in Eastern Europe.
ADVERTISEMENT

NBC News identified the accused officer as Mary McCarthy, and said she worked in the CIA Inspector General's office before being 'marched out' of the spy agency on Thursday.

CIA spokesman Tom Crispell said the agency could not comment on the NBC report, citing privacy law.

Public records showed McCarthy, a veteran CIA officer, had served as a special assistant to former President
Bill Clinton and
President George W. Bush from 1996 to 2001. She was a senior director for intelligence programs on the White House National Security Council staff and testified to the commission that investigated the September 11 attacks on the United States.

Earlier, the CIA said the dismissal of a CIA officer over a media leak was extremely rare and resulted from a three-month-old in-house investigation aimed at agency operations that had been the subject of recent media leaks.

Sources familiar with the case said the firing stemmed from the Washington Post's reporting about secret CIA prisons for terrorism suspects in November. The coverage sparked an international outcry over U.S. detainee policies and also won a Pulitzer Prize, America's leading journalism award."

Ex-CIA agent says WMD intelligence ignored - Yahoo! News

Ex-CIA agent says WMD intelligence ignored - Yahoo! News: "Fri Apr 21, 5:39 PM ET

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The
CIA had evidence
Iraq possessed no weapons of mass destruction six months before the 2003 U.S.-led invasion but was ignored by a White House intent on ousting
Saddam Hussein, a former senior CIA official said according to CBS.
ADVERTISEMENT

Tyler Drumheller, who headed CIA covert operations in Europe during the run-up to the Iraq war, said intelligence opposing administration claims of a WMD threat came from a top Iraqi official who provided the U.S. spy agency with other credible information.

The source 'told us that there were no active weapons of mass destruction programs,' Drumheller said in a CBS interview to be aired on Sunday on the network's news magazine, '60 Minutes.'

'The (White House) group that was dealing with preparation for the Iraq war came back and said they were no longer interested,' he was quoted as saying in interview excerpts released by CBS on Friday.

'We said: 'Well, what about the intel?' And they said: 'Well, this isn't about intel anymore. This is about regime change',' added Drumheller, whose CIA operation was assigned the task of debriefing the Iraqi official."

Democrat steps down from House ethics panel - Yahoo! News

Democrat steps down from House ethics panel - Yahoo! News: "Fri Apr 21, 7:43 PM ET

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Rep. Alan Mollohan (news, bio, voting record) of West Virginia, facing questions about his finances, stepped down on Friday as the top Democrat on the ethics committee of the scandal-rocked U.S. House of Representatives.
ADVERTISEMENT

Mollohan insisted he was the victim of baseless political attacks, but said he had decided it would be best to leave the panel while he deals with the matter, first raised publicly a few weeks ago."

Dean says Bush "cut and run" on Katrina - Yahoo! News

Dean says Bush "cut and run" on Katrina - Yahoo! News: "Sat Apr 22, 2:13 PM ET

NEW ORLEANS (Reuters) - Democratic Party chief
Howard Dean said on Saturday the Bush administration had 'cut and run' on Gulf Coast hurricane recovery and created a political legacy of deficits, divisiveness and deceit."

cbs4.com - California Man With Arsenal Claims Alpha 66 Ties

cbs4.com - California Man With Arsenal Claims Alpha 66 Ties: "An arrest in the Los Angeles suburb of San Bernadino may signal a change in that stance. A Cuban exile arrested for allegedly stashing more than a thousand guns in his home says he's a member of Alpha 66, and that the weapons were intended to help liberate Cuba. From it's Miami headquarters, the anti-Catro group issued a strong denial.
"

Yahoo! implicated in a third Chinese dissident jailing

Yahoo! implicated in a third Chinese dissident jailing: "Yahoo! implicated in a third Chinese dissident jailing

4/20/2006 11:03:31 AM, by Anders Bylund

Reporters sans frontières (Reporters Without Borders), a Paris-based organization defending freedom of the press worldwide, just released Chinese court documents translated to English (PDF), showing Yahoo! playing an instrumental part in the arrest of a Chinese dissident. It's the third case of this type RSF has been able to unearth, all pointing out Yahoo! Mail as the instrumental piece that led to the arrests.

'Little by little we are piecing together the evidence for what we have long suspected, that Yahoo! is implicated in the arrest of most of the people that we have been defending,' says the organization in a press release. 'Last week we went to the headquarters of the company to urge them to end this collaboration. We called on them to remove their email servers from China, because it is the only way to avoid taking part in the current crackdown against journalists and democrats.'

Jiang Lijun was sent to prison for four years in November 2003 on charges of 'subversion' and seeking to use 'violent means to impose democracy.' Through an e-mail draft found on a Yahoo! Mail server, Lijun was linked to a series of online articles, highly critical of the government. It is unclear whether Yahoo! directly provided the information to the Chinese police, or whether another dissident by the name of Li Yibing turned his colleague in."

Political ads could top $1 billion: survey - Yahoo! News

Political ads could top $1 billion: survey - Yahoo! News: "Fri Apr 21, 3:18 AM ET

NEW YORK (Hollywood Reporter) - With midterm elections for the House and Senate looming in an uncertain political landscape, a new forecast finds that political ad spending in 2006 might beat the record set in 2004.
ADVERTISEMENT

Political ad spending could top $1 billion, according to a Campaign Media Analysis Group forecast released Thursday at the Television Bureau of Advertising's annual marketing conference in New York."

F.D.A. Dismisses Medical Benefit From Marijuana - New York Times

F.D.A. Dismisses Medical Benefit From Marijuana - New York Times: "April 21, 2006

WASHINGTON, April 20 — The Food and Drug Administration said Thursday that 'no sound scientific studies' supported the medical use of marijuana, contradicting a 1999 review by a panel of highly regarded scientists."

Nepal king says to hand over power - Yahoo! News

Nepal king says to hand over power - Yahoo! News: "'Executive power of the kingdom of Nepal, which was in our safekeeping, shall from this day be returned to the people,' he said in an address to the nation in the Nepali language.

'We ask the seven-party alliance to recommend the name for the post of prime minister at the earliest for the constitution of a council of ministers, which will bear the responsibility of governing the country in accordance with the constitution.'

Looking serious and dressed in a Nepali cap and black jacket, Gyanendra said he was making the move 'in keeping with the tradition of the Shah dynasty to reign in accordance with the popular will, in the greater interest of the nation and the people, and our unflinching commitment toward constitutional monarchy and multi-party democracy.'

The reactions of local residents were mixed.

'The king has given all he can,' said Bobby Singh, a pilot with Royal Nepal Airlines. 'Now the ball is in the seven-party alliance's court.'

Prominent women's rights activist Prabha Thakar said: 'It's the best news in a while. It's not the be-all and end-all, but at this point in time, I think there is definitely a light at the end of the tunnel.'

The constitution issue was troubling, said Uttam Ghimire, a teacher. 'I don't think the seven political parties will agree with him because their main demand is a constituent assembly and he has not addressed this demand.'"

US Ambassador to Azerbaijan recalled after prostitute scandal - Pravda.Ru

US Ambassador to Azerbaijan recalled after prostitute scandal - Pravda.Ru:

"...Actually the FBI was on the tail of the major mafia which trades in “living” goods. FBI agents turned up in Harnish’s lobby, embassy officials began to be called in to speak with them. It is known for certain that the enlistment and transfer of young people from sunny Azerbaijan to no less sunny Florida were organized on a truly American scale and brought large profits. There turned out to be a large demand for scorching brunettes in the USA, and so joint business between American diplomats and Baku prostitutes, which had lasted for many a year, flourished. Baku has been more successful with its integration into the Western sex industry, than in its NATO partnership.

At the very moment when rumours began to emerge about American agents being interested in the arrangement for issuing visas, another scandal broke out: a former translator for the American embassy Zarifa Dzhabieva was found murdered in her own home. Detectives, this time Azerbaijani ones, soon informed the press: an unknown killer had inflicted 50 knife wounds on the woman, none of the victim’s valuables had been touched, but the criminal had clearly been looking for something. At the same time the translator’s involvement in the secret business of American diplomats was investigated – she was mixed up in aiding and abetting the issuing of visas and forged documents to girls who had agreed to become prostitutes in the dollar-haven of America."

Welcome for Chinese leader interrupted by heckler - Bush, Hu, protester, White House - Americas - International Herald Tribune

Welcome for Chinese leader interrupted by heckler - Bush, Hu, protester, White House - Americas - International Herald Tribune: "She began shouting in Chinese, but broke into English at moments, yelling 'Stop the torture and killings!' and shouting the name of the Falun Gong, a religious and exercise sect that is outlawed in China. 'Falun Dafa is good,' she yelled. Hu looked at first confused and then hesitated before continuing to speak. 'You're okay,' Bush said to him in a low voice, prodding him on.

For about a minute, the shrill protests punctuated both Hu's remarks and the gaps in which he fell silent when they were being translated into English. A photographer standing next to the woman tried briefly to silence her."

Crooks and Liars

Crooks and Liars:

"Russert: And then, someone very close to the President said to me, you know, he won't fire Rumsfeld because it would be the equivalent of firing himself. He can’t acknowledge that it was such a big mistake, in so many ways. And so Rumsfeld will stay. And that’s the decision that the President has made and I think Rumsfeld will stay and try to see this through."

WSJ.com - Bush's Approval Remains Low, Pessimism Grows, Poll Shows

WSJ.com - Bush's Approval Remains Low, Pessimism Grows, Poll Shows: "THE WALL STREET JOURNAL ONLINE
April 19, 2006

President Bush's job-approval rating slipped for the third consecutive month and remains near the lowest mark of his presidency, according to a new Harris Interactive poll.

Thirty-five percent of 1,008 U.S. adults surveyed in the telephone poll think Mr. Bush is doing an 'excellent or pretty good' job as president, down from 36% in March and significantly lower than 43% in January. This compares with 63% of Americans who said Mr. Bush is doing an 'only fair or poor' job, down from 64% in March.


Furthermore, pessimism about the direction of U.S. policies appears to be growing. Only 27% of Americans believe 'things in this country are going in the right direction,' a drop from 31% in March, according to the poll.

Bad news from Iraq appears to weigh on the general public, as 23% of Americans said they consider Iraq to be one of the top two most important issues the government should address. The ongoing immigration debate also prompted 19% of Americans to consider it a top issue, a sharp gain from just 4% a month ago, followed by health care (13%), the economy (12%) and education (10%)."

California sues Big Tobacco to pay in full - Yahoo! News

California sues Big Tobacco to pay in full - Yahoo! News: "Tue Apr 18, 6:15 PM ET

NEW YORK (Reuters) - California on Tuesday became one of the first states to sue cigarette-makers to force them to pay their share of the total of $1.2 billion the companies say they do not owe because they lost business to discounters.
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In 1998, tobacco companies settled lawsuits brought by states by agreeing to pay $206 billion to provide medical care for ailing smokers. The settlement lets cigarette-makers cut their payments if they lose market share to rivals, often discounters, that did not sign the landmark accord.

Big Tobacco says discounters in 2003 won enough of their business to trigger the reduced payments. But the states say they still are owed the full sums because they met another requirement: they 'diligently' collected payments from non-signing companies."

Study Fuels a Growing Debate Over Police Lineups - New York Times

Study Fuels a Growing Debate Over Police Lineups - New York Times: "But now, the long-awaited results of an experiment in Illinois have raised serious questions about the changes. The study, the first to do a real-life comparison of the old and new methods, found that the new lineups made witnesses less likely to choose anyone. When they did pick a suspect, they were more likely to choose an innocent person.

Witnesses in traditional lineups, by contrast, were more likely to identify a suspect and less likely to choose a face put in the lineup as filler.

Advocates of the new method said the Illinois study, conducted by the Chicago Police Department, was flawed, because officers supervised the traditional lineups and could have swayed witnesses."

Bush press secretary quits, Rove ends policy role - Yahoo! News

Bush press secretary quits, Rove ends policy role - Yahoo! News: "1 hour, 1 minute ago

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -
President George W. Bush's press secretary Scott McClellan resigned on Wednesday and senior adviser Karl Rove gave up the policy-development part of his job in a White House shake-up.
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The moves were part of an effort by new White House Chief of Staff Josh Bolten, who started work last weekend, to help Bush rebound from sagging polls and bolster American confidence in his leadership.

Bush's job approval ratings are hovering around the high 30s, the lowest of his presidency, pushed down in part by growing public disillusion with the
Iraq war."

CIA mines 'rich' content from blogs - Nation/Politics - The Washington Times, America's Newspaper

CIA mines 'rich' content from blogs - Nation/Politics - The Washington Times, America's Newspaper: "April 19, 2006

President Bush and U.S. policy-makers are receiving more intelligence from open sources such as Internet blogs and foreign newspapers than they previously did, senior intelligence officials said.
The new Open Source Center (OSC) at CIA headquarters recently stepped up data collection and analysis based on bloggers worldwide and is developing new methods to gauge the reliability of the content, said OSC Director Douglas J. Naquin.
'A lot of blogs now have become very big on the Internet, and we're getting a lot of rich information on blogs that are telling us a lot about social perspectives and everything from what the general feeling is to ... people putting information on there that doesn't exist anywhere else,' Mr. Naquin told The Washington Times. "

Parks Feel '80 Percent' Squeeze

Parks Feel '80 Percent' Squeeze: "Monday, April 17, 2006; Page A11

The Bush administration has ordered America's national parks to show that they can function at 80 percent or less of their operating budgets, which is forcing some parks to cut services for visitors as summer approaches.
.....

At Glacier National Park in Montana, three campgrounds no longer will have potable water or trash service."

In Candor From China, Efforts to Ease Anxiety - New York Times

In Candor From China, Efforts to Ease Anxiety - New York Times: "With an aura of candor described as unusual for Chinese leaders, President Hu Jintao told President Bush that fighting political corruption, rural unrest, a widening wealth gap and severe pollution consumes nearly all his time. He said domestic problems left China with neither the will nor the means to challenge America's dominance in world affairs, according to two Bush administration officials who were told about the session.

The overture — described as having improved Mr. Hu's ties with Mr. Bush despite the Chinese leader's generally aloof style — is part of a Chinese effort to reduce, or at least to deflect, American anxiety about the country's growing economic, political and military power."

Rumsfeld under renewed attack - Yahoo! News

Rumsfeld under renewed attack - Yahoo! News: "My view is that the secretary should step aside,' New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson, a potential Democratic presidential candidate, told CBS's 'Face the Nation' program. 'Besides the fact that the Iraq war has been mismanaged ... we should listen to what these generals are saying.'

Those urging Rumsfeld to step down include Maj. Gen. John Batiste, who commanded the 1st Infantry Division in Iraq, and Maj. Gen. Charles Swannack, who led the Army's 82nd Airborne Division in Iraq, and former
NATO commander Gen.
Wesley Clark.

'These are six distinguished military officers,' Richardson said. 'They basically are saying that Secretary Rumsfeld, on issues relating to military strategy ... didn't listen to them. ... This reaches a new level ... of not being willing to admit mistakes, not being willing to change a course, policy that is just not working.'

Kentucky Republican Sen. Mitch McConnell (news, bio, voting record), speaking on 'Fox News Sunday,' said the United States had 'wiped out a lot of the people who would do us harm' during Rumsfeld's tenure.

'I think the important thing to remember here is that we haven't been attacked again at home since September of 2001,' McConnell said.

Retired Brig Gen. James Marks, speaking on CNN's 'Late Edition,' said of Rumsfeld in the early days of the war: 'I kind of had the impression that his mind and those around him had been made up in terms of what we were going to do and how we were going to go about doing it. ... And there were requests for forces that were denied.'"

Key senator bucks Bush, urges US-Iran talks - Yahoo! News

Key senator bucks Bush, urges US-Iran talks - Yahoo! News: "Sun Apr 16, 4:00 PM ET

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States should hold direct talks with
Iran on its nuclear program and go slow on pressing for sanctions, contrary to Bush administration strategy, the
Senate Foreign Relations Committee chairman said on Sunday.
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Breaking with
President George W. Bush's insistence on a multilateral approach through the
U.N. Security Council, Sen. Richard Lugar (news, bio, voting record) said direct U.S. talks with Iran would be useful as part of a broad dialogue on energy."

The Democratic Party

The Democratic Party: "The Democratic Party is committed to keeping our nation safe and expanding opportunity for every American. That commitment is reflected in an agenda that emphasizes the security of our nation, strong economic growth, affordable health care for all Americans, retirement security, honest government, and civil rights.

To learn more about the Democratic Party's commitment to security, opportunity, and responsibility, read about our agenda below."

ABC News: Poll: Most Americans Say Tax System Unjust

ABC News: Poll: Most Americans Say Tax System Unjust: "By WILL LESTER

WASHINGTON Apr 15, 2006 (AP)— Almost as certain as death and taxes is the public's feeling that the U.S. income tax system is not fair. An Ipsos Poll released this week found almost six of 10 people, 58 percent, say the system is unjust, a number that is virtually unchanged from two decades ago.

People think the middle class, the self-employed and small businesses pay too much in taxes, the poll found. And they think those with high incomes and big businesses don't pay enough. The survey was conducted in the days before the mid-April deadline for filing income tax returns.

Dissatisfaction with the tax system remains high after numerous changes in tax law since the late 1980s."

Bush backs Rumsfeld against resignation calls - Yahoo! News

Bush backs Rumsfeld against resignation calls - Yahoo! News: "'Secretary Rumsfeld's energetic and steady leadership is exactly what is needed at this critical period. He has my full support and deepest appreciation,' said Bush, who is at Camp David for the Easter weekend."

Report says Rumsfeld allowed Guantanamo abuse - Yahoo! News

Report says Rumsfeld allowed Guantanamo abuse - Yahoo! News: "Fri Apr 14, 6:17 PM ET

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld allowed an 'abusive and degrading' interrogation of an al Qaeda detainee in 2002, the online magazine Salon reported on Friday, citing an Army document.
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In a report a
Pentagon spokesman denounced as 'fiction,' Salon quoted a December 2005 Army inspector general's report in which officers told of Rumsfeld's direct contact with the general overseeing the interrogation at the U.S. naval base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

The report at www.salon.com, titled 'What Rumsfeld Knew,' comes amid calls by a string of respected military commanders for the Pentagon chief to resign to take responsibility for U.S. military setbacks in
Iraq.

Rumsfeld spoke regularly to Army Maj. Gen. Geoffrey Miller, a key figure in the treatment of detainees in Iraq and Guantanamo, during the interrogation of Mohammed al-Kahtani, a Saudi suspected to have been an intended September 11 hijacker, the Salon report said.

Kahtani received 'degrading and abusive' treatment by soldiers who were following the interrogation plan Rumsfeld had approved, Salon said, quoting the 391-page report, obtained through the Freedom of Information Act.

Over 54 days in late 2002, soldiers forced Kahtani to stand naked in front of a female interrogator, accused him of being a homosexual, forced him to wear women's underwear and made him perform 'dog tricks' on a leash, the Salon report said.

Salon cited Lt. Gen. Randall Schmidt, an Army investigator, as saying in a sworn statement to the inspector general that 'The secretary of defense is personally involved in the interrogation of one person.'"

[video] New Hampshire says no to IDs | CNET News.com

[video] New Hampshire says no to IDs | CNET News.com: "Opposition to the Real ID Act

In 1775, New Hampshire declared its independence from the British. Today it appears ready to say no to Washington on the issue of digital IDs. New Hampshire Rep. Neal Kurk speaks."

Exxon chief makes $144,573 per day: NYT - MarketWatch

Exxon chief makes $144,573 per day: NYT - MarketWatch: "Apr 15, 2006

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) -- Lee Raymond, the chairman and chief executive officer of Exxon, earned $144,573 for each day of the 13 years he served at the top of the oil company, according to a report in Saturday's New York Times.
Raymond, who retired from Exxon (XOM :
exxon mobil corp com
News , chart, profile, more
Last: 61.56+0.10+0.16%
XOM61.56, +0.10, +0.2% ) in December, received more than $686 million from 1993 to 2005, according to an analysis done for the paper by an independent compensation consultant.
Raymond received more that $400 million in the final year of his contract.
Shareholder activists, consumer groups and corporate governance experts were taken aback by the details of the package."

West Point Grads Against The War- Laws And treatıes violated by President George W

West Point Grads Against The War- Laws And treatıes violated by President George W: "Laws And treaties violated by President George W. Bush, Vice-President Richard Cheney, public officials under their authority, and members of the U.S. military under their command


West Point Graduates Against The War

The U. S. Constitution, Art. VI, para. 2, makes treaties adopted by the U.S. part of the “law of the land.” Thus, a violation of the U. N. Charter, Hague IV, Geneva Conventions, etc. is also a violation of U.S. federal law.

U.S. Federal Law 18 U.S.C. § 2441 (War Crimes Act of 1996) makes committing a war crime, defined as: “…a grave breach in any of the international conventions signed at Geneva 12 August 1949, or any protocol to such convention to which the United States is a party…” punishable by fine, imprisonment, or death.

And the following treaties and charters which define: wars of aggression, war crimes, crimes against peace and crimes against humanity:

Laws and Customs of War on Land (Hague IV)

Art. 55. The occupying State shall be regarded only as administrator…of public buildings, real estate, forests, and agricultural estates belonging to the hostile State, and situated in the occupied country. It must safeguard the capital of these properties, and administer them in accordance with the rules of usufruct.

U.N. Gen. Assembly Res. 3314

Defines the crime of aggression as “... the use of armed force by a State against the sovereignty, territorial integrity or political independence of another State…or in any other manner inconsistent with the Charter of the United Nations…”

Nuremberg Tribunal Charter

Principle VI: “The crimes hereinafter set out are punishable as crimes under international law:

(a) Crimes against peace: Planning, preparation, initiation or waging of a war of aggression or a war in violation of international treaties;

(b) War crimes: …murder, ill-treatment…of civilian population of or in occupied territory; murder or ill-treatment of prisoners of war,…plunder of public or private property, wanton destruction of cities, towns, or villages…

(c) Crimes against humanity: Murder, extermination…and other inhuman acts done against any civilian population…when such acts are done…in execution of or in connection with any crime against peace or any war crime.”

Geneva Conventions"

Guardian Unlimited | Science | Lancet calls for LSD in labs

Guardian Unlimited | Science | Lancet calls for LSD in labs: "'Use more psychedelic drugs,' is not advice you would expect from your GP, but that is the call from an influential US medical journal to researchers.

An editorial in the Lancet says that the 'demonisation of psychedelic drugs as a social evil' has stifled vital medical research that would lead to a better understanding of the brain and better treatments for conditions such as depression.

The journal's editor Richard Horton said he was not advocating recreational drug use, but championed the benefits of researchers studying the effects of drugs such as LSD and Ecstasy by using them themselves in the lab."

New Page 2

New Page 2: "#

Instilled by the Cadet Honor System with a fundamental, longstanding respect for truth, we graduates of the United States Military Academy believe that honor is a basic attribute of character. That we are no longer cadets is irrelevant. We stand appalled by the deceitful behavior of the government of the United States and, in particular, its widely known malefactors. Lying, cheating, stealing, delivering evasive statements and quibbling not only has demeaned these deceivers and the United States of America, but has placed vast numbers of innocent people in deadly peril. We will not serve the lies.
#

The war in Iraq was launched illegally. It has since killed tens of thousands of innocents, causing incalculable damage to Iraq and the Iraqi people, as well as the reputation of the United States of America. We will not serve the lies.
#

When we West Point graduates took our commissioning oath of office one past June morning, we swore to protect our nation against all enemies, foreign and domestic. The deceitful connivances of the current administration have resulted in a war catastrophic to our nation’s interests: politically, economically, militarily, and morally. We now stand to protect our nation from these deceivers. We will not serve their lies.
#

We seek justice for all victims of this illegal war, both servicemen and servicewomen, and the citizens of Iraq.
#

To our purpose we invoke the words of Thomas Jefferson in the Declaration of Independence whereby we too “mutually pledge to each other our lives, our Fortunes, & our sacred Honor."

More Retired Generals Call for Rumsfeld's Resignation - New York Times

More Retired Generals Call for Rumsfeld's Resignation - New York Times:

"WASHINGTON, April 13 — The widening circle of retired generals who have stepped forward to call for Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld's resignation is shaping up as an unusual outcry that could pose a significant challenge to Mr. Rumsfeld's leadership, current and former generals said

Maj. Gen. Charles H. Swannack Jr., who led troops on the ground in Iraq as recently as 2004 as the commander of the Army's 82nd Airborne Division, on Thursday became the fifth retired senior general in recent days to call publicly for Mr. Rumsfeld's ouster. Also Thursday, another retired Army general, Maj. Gen. John Riggs, joined in the fray."

Retired US Iraq general demands Rumsfeld resign - Yahoo! News

Retired US Iraq general demands Rumsfeld resign - Yahoo! News: "By Will Dunham 39 minutes ago

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A recently retired two-star general who just a year ago commanded a U.S. Army division in
Iraq on Wednesday joined a small but growing list of former senior officers to call on Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld to resign.
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'I believe we need a fresh start in the
Pentagon. We need a leader who understands teamwork, a leader who knows how to build teams, a leader that does it without intimidation,' Maj. Gen. John Batiste, who commanded the Germany-based 1st Infantry Division in Iraq, said in an interview on CNN.

In recent weeks, retired Marine Corps Lt. Gen. Gregory Newbold, Army Maj. Gen. Paul Eaton and Marine Corps Gen. Anthony Zinni all spoke out against Rumsfeld. This comes as opinion polls show eroding public support for the 3-year-old war in which about 2,360 U.S. troops have died.

'You know, it speaks volumes that guys like me are speaking out from retirement about the leadership climate in the
Department of Defense,' Batiste said."

St. Paul Pioneer Press | 04/12/2006 | Terror watch list trips up Marines' homecoming

St. Paul Pioneer Press | 04/12/2006 | Terror watch list trips up Marines' homecoming: "Twenty-six reservists returning to Minnesota from Iraq are forced to leave a comrade at the Los Angeles airport because the government had put his name on a list of potential terrorists.
BY BILL GARDNER
Pioneer Press

Marine Staff Sgt. Daniel Brown has just spent the past eight months serving his country in Iraq, only to return to the United States and find out his country had placed him on a watch list as a possible terrorist.

A ceremony was waiting Tuesday at home in the Twin Cities for Brown and 26 other Marine military police reservists returning from the war. There were eager families and bagpipes.

But Northwest Airlines wouldn't let him on the plane in Los Angeles. His name had been flagged on the federal list.

As he worked with airport staff to gain permission to fly, the other 26 Marines arrived back in Minnesota on schedule. But rather than meet up with their families located just minutes from the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport, they opted to wait on a bus.

'We don't leave anybody behind,' said Marine 1st Sgt. Drew Benson. 'We start together, and we finish together.'

Brown arrived more than an hour later.

'A guy goes over and serves his country fighting for eight or nine months, and then we come home and put up with this crap?' Brown said."

BBC NEWS | Middle East | How predictions for Iraq came true

BBC NEWS | Middle East | How predictions for Iraq came true: "By John Simpson
BBC World Affairs Editor

It was a few weeks before the invasion of Iraq, three years ago. I was interviewing the Saudi Foreign Minister, Prince Saud al-Faisal, in the ballroom of a big hotel in Cairo.

Shrewd, amusing, bulky in his superb white robes, he described to me all the disasters he was certain would follow the invasion.

The US and British troops would be bogged down in Iraq for years. There would be civil war between Sunnis and Shias. The real beneficiary would be the government in Iran.

'And what do the Americans say when you tell them this,' I asked? 'They don't even listen,' he said.

Over the last three years, from a ringside seat here in Baghdad, I have watched his predictions come true, stage by stage.
.....................

Doing and undoing

Just over three years ago, when I interviewed the Saudi foreign minister, I asked him why he thought the US was determined to invade Iraq.

He said he had put the same question to Vice-President Dick Cheney. Mr Cheney had replied: "Because it's do-able."

It was. The trouble is, undoing the kind of damage the Saudi foreign minister foresaw is proving very hard indeed.

"

U.S. Research Funds Often Lead to Start-Ups, Study Says - New York Times

U.S. Research Funds Often Lead to Start-Ups, Study Says - New York Times: "April 10, 2006

A new study of university scientists who received federal financing from the National Cancer Institute found that they generated patents at a rapid pace and started companies in surprisingly high numbers.

The study, the authors say, suggests that the commercial payoff for the government's support for basic research and development in the life sciences is greater than previously thought."

Third Retired General Wants Rumsfeld Out - New York Times

Third Retired General Wants Rumsfeld Out - New York Times: "April 10, 2006

WASHINGTON, April 9 — The three-star Marine Corps general who was the military's top operations officer before the invasion of Iraq expressed regret, in an essay published Sunday, that he did not more energetically question those who had ordered the nation to war. He also urged active-duty officers to speak out now if they had doubts about the war.

Lt. Gen. Gregory Newbold, who retired in late 2002, also called for replacing Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld and 'many others unwilling to fundamentally change their approach.' He is the third retired senior officer in recent weeks to demand that Mr. Rumsfeld step down.

In the essay, in this week's issue of Time magazine, General Newbold wrote, 'I now regret that I did not more openly challenge those who were determined to invade a country whose actions were peripheral to the real threat — Al Qaeda.'

The decision to invade Iraq, he wrote, 'was done with a casualness and swagger that are the special province of those who have never had to execute these missions — or bury the results.'"

Bush acknowledges declassifying Iraq intelligence - Yahoo! News

Bush acknowledges declassifying Iraq intelligence - Yahoo! News: "WASHINGTON (Reuters) -
President George W. Bush acknowledged on Monday he ordered the declassification of parts of a prewar intelligence report on
Iraq to respond to critics."

Waxman Has Questions For Bush on CIA Leak Case

Waxman Has Questions For Bush on CIA Leak Case: " Waxman Has Questions For Bush on CIA Leak Case
By Henry Waxman
t r u t h o u t | Letter

Thursday 06 April 2006

Washington, D.C. - Yesterday in a letter to President Bush, Rep. Waxman asks for a full accounting of the President's and Vice President's actions in authorizing leaks of classified intelligence about Iraq, while at the same time concealing the President's knowledge of serious doubts about Iraq's pursuit of nuclear weapons. The text of the letter follows:

Thursday 06 April 2006

The President
The White House
Washington, DC 20500

Dear Mr. President:

Two recent revelations raise grave new questions about whether you, the Vice President, and your top advisors have engaged in a systematic abuse of the national security classification process for political purposes. News accounts suggest that the White House both (1) leaked classified intelligence information to further its faulty case for war and (2) improperly concealed information regarding your personal knowledge of serious doubts about this intelligence. These actions appear to violate your own executive order on handling classified information and - according to a new memorandum by the Congressional Research Service - represent an unprecedented expansion of the Vice President's role in this process. I request a full accounting of White House actions and full declassification and disclosure of all documents bearing on these critical questions.

Selective Declassification of NIE and Other Iraq Intelligence

According to an article published today in the National Journal, the Vice President's former chief of staff, I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby, claims that you - through Vice President Cheney - authorized him to leak to the press classified information from an October 2002 National Intelligence Estimate in order to blunt criticism from former Ambassador Joe Wilson about your improper use of intelligence in the run-up to war.[1] In testimony before the grand jury investigating the White House's leak of Valerie Plame Wilson's status as a covert CIA operative, Mr. Libby reportedly testified that "the Vice President had advised [Libby] that the President had authorized [Libby] to disclose relevant portions of the NIE."[2] Mr. Libby also reportedly testified that Vice President Cheney himself "authorized him to leak classified information to a number of journalists during the run-up to war with Iraq."[3] Both claims raise serious questions.

First, Mr. Libby's explanation that you authorized the leaks seems to contradict other facts. Mr. Libby claimed that he consulted David Addington, then counsel to the Vice President and now his chief of staff, who advised that your leak authorization "amounted to a declassification of the document."[4] Yet according to the National Journal, "only three people - the President, the Vice President and [Libby] - knew that the key judgments of the NIE had been declassified." It is unclear why your leak authorization would have been concealed in this way if it was truly a declassification. In addition, on July 18, 2003, some time after Mr. Libby leaked this classified information to reporters, your Administration formally declassified portions of the NIE for public release, suggesting that the information had not been declassified until that time.

The claim that the Vice President himself declassified certain materials also raises concerns. According to a new memorandum by the Congressional Research Service, although the Vice President "appears to have some limited declassification authority," such as for information that he had classified originally, "it appears that the Vice President is not otherwise authorized to disclose or to direct or to approve the disclosure of security classified information to persons not authorized to receive it."[5] The CRS memo further indicates that there is no precedent for Vice President Cheney's alleged actions in authorizing the selective disclosure of classified information to journalists:

[I]n reviewing the public record of published sources, no instance was found when, in the past, prior to the current administration, a Vice President authorized the disclosure of security classified information to journalists on a selective basis.[6]

If Mr. Libby's testimony is accurate, there are serious unanswered questions about what authority Vice President Cheney was operating under when he directed his staff to leak this classified information.

Improper Concealment of President's Knowledge of Intelligence Doubts

At the same time White House officials were leaking classified information about the NIE and Ms. Plame's covert identity, they were apparently also abusing the classification process in an entirely different way - by keeping the public in the dark before the 2004 election regarding warnings you personally received about the veracity of claims that Saddam Hussein was developing nuclear weapons.

Two additional articles in the National Journal allege that in October 2002, you received a classified "President's Summary" of the National Intelligence Estimate on Iraq's weapons of mass destruction.[7] According to these articles, this document warned you explicitly that experts at the Departments of Energy and State rejected the claim that aluminum tubes intercepted on their way to Iraq were part of Saddam Hussein's nuclear program. As the National Journal states:

The disclosure that Bush was informed of the DOE and State dissents is the first evidence that the president himself knew of the sharp debate within the government over the aluminum tubes during the time that he, Cheney, and other members of the Cabinet were citing the tubes as clear evidence of an Iraqi nuclear program.[8]

These warnings were particularly critical because the aluminum tubes were one of two key pieces of supposed evidence put forth to support your claim that Saddam Hussein had reconstituted his nuclear weapons program (the other being the now-discredited claim that Iraq sought uranium from Niger). These warnings were also significant because they came directly from Energy Department officials who were subject matter experts on aluminum tubes.

The allegations set forth in the National Journal articles contradict claims by your top advisors that you were not informed of these warnings. Then-National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice, for example, was asked whether you knew that Energy and State Department officials had rejected the claim that the aluminum tubes were part of Saddam Hussein's nuclear program. In response, she said: "Now, if there were any doubts about the underlying intelligence to that NIE, those doubts were not communicated to the president, to the vice president, or to me."[9] As the National Journal story states, "contrary to Rice's statement, the president was indeed informed of such doubts when he received the October 2002 President's Summary of the NIE."[10]

Similarly, White House Communications Director Dan Bartlett suggested that you did not know of the dispute because you did not review the full NIE and "did not read footnotes in a 90-page document."[11] As the National Journal story explains, "[b]ecause the Bush administration was able to control what information would remain classified, however, reporters did not know that Bush had received the President's Summary."[12]

The articles further report that the White House improperly concealed this President's Summary as part of a concerted effort to avoid damaging publicity prior to the 2004 election. According to the National Journal, "Karl Rove, President Bush's chief political advisor, cautioned other White House aides in the summer of 2003 that Bush's 2004 re-election prospects would be severely damaged if it was publicly disclosed that he had been personally warned that a key rationale for going to war had been challenged within the administration."[13]

Mr. Rove's concern reportedly arose after a review of classified documents by Stephen Hadley, who was then Deputy National Security Advisor and has since been promoted to National Security Advisor. According to the articles, "Hadley was particularly concerned that the public might learn of a classified one-page summary of a National Intelligence Estimate, specifically written for Bush in October 2002."[14] His review concluded that President Bush "had been directly and repeatedly apprised of the deep rift within the intelligence community over whether Iraq wanted the high-strength aluminum tubes for a nuclear weapons program or for conventional weapons."[15]

The articles make clear that national security concerns had little to do with the decision not to declassify the President's Summary. As the National Journal reported: "after reviewing the summary and realizing it would have disclosed presidential knowledge that INR and DOE had doubts about the tubes, senior Bush officials became preoccupied with ensuring that the text of the document remained classified."[16] The result was that "the White House's damage control was largely successful, because the public did not learn until after the 2004 elections the full extent of the president's knowledge. ... The most crucial information was kept under wraps until long after Bush's re-election."[17]

If the allegations made in the National Journal articles are true, Mr. Rove, Mr. Hadley, and other White House officials may have violated Executive Order 12958 by keeping the President's Summary classified and withholding it from the public. The executive order provides that information may be classified only if its unauthorized disclosure "reasonably could be expected to cause damage to the national security."[18] It further requires that information "shall be declassified as soon as it no longer meets the standards for classification."[19]

In the case of the aluminum tubes, the White House already declassified the fact that experts at the Departments of Energy and State rejected the claim that the tubes were part of Saddam Hussein's nuclear program. This fact was declassified as part of the larger declassification effort relating to the October 2002 NIE. The only apparent difference between the NIE and the President's Summary is that the summary allegedly demonstrates that you were personally warned of this fact, contrary to the public proclamations by your staff.

Any attempt to keep information classified for purely political purposes is not only against the law, but contrary to our democratic tradition of open government. The executive order is explicit on this point, stating categorically that "[i]n no case shall information be classified in order to ... conceal violations of law, inefficiency, or administration error; [or] prevent embarrassment to a person, organization, or agency."[20] Yet if the allegations outlined above are true, this is exactly what your advisors have done.

Conclusion

I have written to you and your advisors on several previous occasions regarding the failure of White House officials to comply with the executive order on safeguarding classified information.[21] In particular, I have asked repeatedly why you continue to allow your chief political advisor, Karl Rove, to retain a security clearance after he discussed Valerie Plame Wilson's identity as an undercover CIA operative with columnist Robert Novak,[22] TIME reporter Matthew Cooper,[23] and others not authorized to receive this classified information. To date, I have received no response.

The thrust of these new revelations is that you and your advisors at the White House have been engaged in a much wider and systemic effort to undermine and flout the classification provisions of your own executive order. On one hand, you and your advisors appear to have selectively released classified information in an attempt to support your case for war and blunt the criticisms of Ambassador Wilson. On the other hand, you and your advisors seem to have improperly concealed information indicating that you were warned that intelligence on Iraq's nuclear program was challenged by experts in your own Administration.

To address the new reports, I urge that you immediately provide a full accounting of your actions, as well as the actions of Vice President Cheney and other top White House advisors, relating to these claims. I also request that you declassify the President's Summary of the October 2002 NIE and all other documents bearing on these issues. Only in this way will Congress and the American people understand whether you mishandled classified information for political purposes both before and after taking the nation to war.

Sincerely,
Henry A. Waxman
Ranking Minority Member

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[1] Libby Says Bush Authorized Leaks, National Journal (Apr. 6, 2006).

[2] Id.

[3] Id.

[4] Id.

[5] Disclosure of Security Classified Information, Congressional Research Service (Mar. 10, 2006).

[6] Id.

[7] What Bush Was Told About Iraq, National Journal (Mar. 2, 2006); Insulating Bush, National Journal (Mar. 30, 2006).

[8] What Bush Was Told About Iraq, National Journal (Mar. 2, 2006).

[9] Insulating Bush, National Journal (Mar. 30, 2006).

[10] Id.

[11] Id.

[12] Id.

[12] Id.

[14] Id.

[15] Id.

[16] Id.

[17] Id.

[18] Executive Order 12958, as amended by Executive Order 13292, sec. 1.2(a) (Mar. 25, 2003).

[19] Id. at sec. 3.1(a)

[20] Id. at sec. 1.7(a)

[21] See, e.g., Letter from Rep. Henry A. Waxman to National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice (Jan. 14, 2004); Letter from Rep. Henry A. Waxman and Rep. John Conyers to President George W. Bush (Feb. 10, 2004); Letter from Rep. Henry A. Waxman to White House Chief of Staff Andrew Card (July 14, 2005); Letter from Rep. Henry A. Waxman to President George W. Bush (July 18, 2005); Letter from Rep. Henry A. Waxman to White House Counsel Harriet Miers (Nov. 9, 2005).

[22] Rove Reportedly Held Phone Talk on CIA Officer, New York Times (July 15, 2005); Rove Confirmed Plame Indirectly, Lawyer Says, Washington Post (July 15, 2005).

[23] Matthew Cooper, What I Told the Grand Jury, TIME Magazine (July 25, 2005).

"

The Leaker-in-Chief

The Leaker-in-Chief: " 'I don't know of anybody in my administration who leaked classified information,' said George W. Bush on September 30, 2003. 'If somebody did leak classified information, I'd like to know it, and we'll take the appropriate action.'

'If someone leaked classified information,' said White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan on October 7, 2003, 'the President wants to know. If someone in this administration leaked classified information, they will no longer be a part of this administration, because that's not the way this White House operates, that's not the way this President expects people in his administration to conduct their business.'

'I'd like to know if somebody in my White House did leak sensitive information,' said Bush on October 28, 2003. On this same day, Bush said, 'I have no idea whether we'll find out who the leaker is, partially because, in all due respect to your profession, you do a very good job of protecting the leakers.'

On Thursday, we found out who the leaker is.

TruthOut investigative reporter Jason Leopold wrote in the first of two reports that, "Attorneys and current and former White House officials close to the investigation into the leak of covert CIA operative Valerie Plame Wilson said Thursday that President Bush gave Vice President Dick Cheney the authorization in mid-June 2003 to disclose a portion of the highly sensitive National Intelligence Estimate to Washington Post reporter Bob Woodward and former New York Times reporter Judith Miller."

In the second of Leopold's reports, he writes, "Special Prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald stated in a court filing late Wednesday in the CIA leak case that his investigators have obtained evidence during the course of the two-year-old probe that proves several White House officials conspired to discredit former Ambassador Joseph Wilson, a critic of the administration's pre-war Iraq intelligence. This is the first time the special counsel has acknowledged that White House officials are alleged to have engaged in a coordinated effort to undercut the former ambassador's credibility by disseminating classified intelligence information that would have contradicted Wilson's public statements."

So there it is. We have Bush authorizing the disclosure of classified information, and we have that disclosure taking place for no other reason than to discredit an administration critic. Bush is often fond of defending his wildly inappropriate and often illegal activities by claiming that he has every right to do whatever he wants because America is "at war."

Never mind that no war has actually been declared. If we take his premise that we are in fact at war, than the disclosure of classified information for political gain must be defined simply and directly.

It is treason.

Representative Jane Harman, ranking Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, made the following statement on Thursday. "Leaking classified information to the press when you want to get your side out or silence your critics is not appropriate. The reason we classify things is to protect our sources - those who risk their lives to give us secrets. Who knows how many sources were burned by giving Libby this 'license to leak?' If I had leaked the information, I'd be in jail. Why should the President be above the law?"

"The President has the legal authority to declassify information," continued Harman, "but there are normal channels for doing so. Telling an aide to leak classified information to the New York Times is not a normal channel. A normal declassification procedure would involve going back to the originating agency, such as the CIA, and then putting out a public, declassified version of the document. I am stunned that the President won't tell the full the Intelligence Committee about the NSA program because he's allegedly concerned about leaks, when it turns out that he is the Leaker-in-Chief."

We can even take this a step further. The name of covert CIA operative Valerie Plame was all over the classified National Intelligence Estimate Bush ordered to be leaked. The pertinent text of the 1947 National Security Act reads as follows:

SEC. 601. (50 U.S.C. 421) (a) Whoever, having or having had authorized access to classified information that identifies a covert agent, intentionally discloses any information identifying such covert agent to any individual not authorized to receive classified information, knowing that the information disclosed so identifies such covert agent and that the United States is taking affirmative measures to conceal such covert agent's intelligence relationship to the United States, shall be fined under title 18, United States Code, or imprisoned not more than ten years, or both.

(b) Whoever, as a result of having authorized access to classified information, learns the identity of a covert agent and intentionally discloses any information identifying such covert agent to any individual not authorized to receive classified information, knowing that the information disclosed so identifies such covert agent and that the United States is taking affirmative measures to conceal such covert agent's intelligence relationship to the United States, shall be fined under title 18, United States Code, or imprisoned not more than five years, or both.

(c) Whoever, in the course of a pattern of activities intended to identify and expose covert agents and with reason to believe that such activities would impair or impede the foreign intelligence activities of the United States, discloses any information that identifies an individual as a covert agent to any individual not authorized to receive classified information, knowing that the information disclosed so identifies such individual and that the United States is taking affirmative measures to conceal such individual's classified intelligence relationship to the United States, shall be fined under title 18, United States Code, or imprisoned not more than three years or both.

George W. Bush and his people lied with their bare faces hanging out about the existence of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq.

They lied about connections between al Qaeda and the Iraqi government, lied about Iraqi connections to September 11, and further lied about the threat to America posed by Iraq.

They made a decision to invade that had nothing to do with those weapons, and even conspired with their British counterparts to goad Hussein into a war regardless of whether the weapons were there or not.

They used September 11 against the American people to frighten them into a fearfully subservient acceptance of the invasion.

They bypassed the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act in order to spy illegally on thousands of American citizens.

They leaked classified intelligence information in order to destroy a political foe, and in the process annihilated an intelligence network run by Valerie Plame. That network, it should be noted, was dedicated to tracking any person, nation or group that would deliver weapons of mass destruction to terrorists.

Every time they broke the law, their cronies in Congress manipulated those laws to make the actions taken legal.

Tens of thousands of Iraqi civilians are dead. Tens of thousands more have been maimed. Millions live with the wretched deprivations caused by this war. The new Shia-dominated government wants no part of American involvement in this, and their so-called armed forces are in truth death squads masquerading as police and soldiers.

2,345 American soldiers have been killed in Iraq, with 17 of those deaths coming in the first six days of April alone. Tens of thousands more have been grievously wounded; nearly two thirds of all injuries suffered by American soldiers in Iraq are brain injuries, and amount to permanent debilitation.

We will be generations digging out from under the vomitous refuse left behind by this administration. From this day forward, any politician who claims that censure is not appropriate and impeachment is a waste of time should have their head examined by a whole team of medical experts. Bush and his people have committed treason, and did so for the lowest of reasons: personal gain and political protection.

"The dead cannot cry out for justice," said Lois McMaster Bujold. "It is a duty of the living to do so for them." So very many have died at the hands of this administration, its lies, and its crimes. If there is to be no reckoning for this, even after all this time, there will never again be a person in America who can speak of justice while keeping a straight face.

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William Rivers Pitt is a New York Times and internationally bestselling author of two books: War on Iraq: What Team Bush Doesn't Want You to Know and The Greatest Sedition Is Silence."