The Boston Globe
Legislators reach health care deal
By Frank Phillips, Globe Staff
Legislative leaders reached a tentative deal today on the most contentious part of the health care bill, agreeing to assess employers who don't provide health insurance $295 for each employee, according to Beacon Hill officials.
The tentative agreement, to be described at a 3:30 p.m. news conference, clears the way for the Legislature to enact a sweeping health care reform bill and make the state eligible for $385 million in federal Medicaid funds.
At a State House meeting that included representatives of the business community, Speaker Salvatore DiMasi and Senate President Robert Travaglini agreed that companies that have 10 or more employees and do not provide health coverage will pay $295 a year for each worker.
http://www.boston.com/news/globe/city_region/breaking_news/2006/03/legislators_rea.html
An attack in Iraq hits hard in N.E.
Vt. soldier killed, 2 from N.H. hurt
By Brian MacQuarrie and Caroline Louise Cole, Globe Correspondent March 3, 2006
An insurgent attack on an Iraqi police station in Ramadi on Wednesday killed one soldier from Vermont and wounded two from New Hampshire, one of the bloodiest days of the war for National Guard units from New England.
http://www.boston.com/news/world/middleeast/articles/2006/03/03/an_attack_in_iraq_hits_hard_in_ne/
Katrina video is fueling criticism of Bush
White House targets Democratic attacks
By Susan Milligan, Globe Staff March 3, 2006
WASHINGTON -- The White House, already on the defensive against bipartisan allegations about its handling of port security, the Iraq war, and Hurricane Katrina, yesterday sought to stem a new flow of criticism of President Bush's level of honesty and engagement on Katrina, with Democratic lawmakers accusing Bush of covering up the ''incompetence" of the hurricane response.
http://www.boston.com/news/nation/washington/articles/2006/03/03/katrina_video_is_fueling_criticism_of_bush/
The Bangkok Post
Pornchai refutes rumours of coup
WASSANA NANUAM
Gen Pornchai Kranlert, assistant army chief, insisted yesterday that his former classmates at the pre-cadet school will not stage a coup d'etat to secure the power of Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, a member of the group.
''It's just a rumour. I'd like to ask reporters not to believe rumours because there are a lot of them going around now,'' said Gen Pornchai who is tipped to be the next army commander-in-chief.
He insisted he and other officers from Class 10 at the Armed Forces Academies Preparatory School strictly obeyed orders from their superiors and had no conflicts with Class 6 officers led by army chief Gen Sonthi Boonyaratglin.
''The army chief loves us and has never pressured us. So I would like to confirm that Class 10 officers will not stage a coup,'' Gen Pornchai said.
A unit of soldiers from the Anti-Aircraft Artillery Division had moved out of the army headquarters and returned to the division in Kiakkai because its mission at the headquarters ended on Feb 27.
However, an army source said yesterday that Gen Sonthi had ordered 120 soldiers from the First Special Warfare Division in Lop Buri province to secure the army headquarters in place of the anti-aircraft artillery force that returned to Kiakkai.
The source said Gen Sonthi is now guarded by 25 special warfare soldiers instead of just 12 previously. Gen Sonthi yesterday denied a report that he had advised Mr Thaksin to resign during their lunch at Government House on Tuesday.
Weng Tochirakarn, chairman of the Democracy Confederation, said yesterday that reports about a secret meeting of Class 10 officers and movements of forces under their command suggested the possibility of a coup d'etat. A military coup would ruin Thai democracy, he said.
''Our present democratic rule has been long developed. If a military force is used to solve political problems, it means we are backtracking,'' Dr Weng said.
He urged Mr Thaksin to stay away from politics for a while and ensure constitutional changes that will allow the people to impeach corrupt politicians. He also demanded a consensus on every issue of national interest.
http://www.bangkokpost.com/News/02Mar2006_news02.php
Public confidence in politics slumps
Public confidence in politics has plunged to its lowest point in 11 months, according to the Suan Dusit Poll. Confidence in February stood at 94.05 points, down 3.58 points from January. The survey covered 8,296 people nationwide from Feb 20-28.
The survey says 17 primary indicators had plunged to their lowest level in 11 months.
People have less faith in caretaker Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra's achievements, with his rating falling to 101.34 points, down 5.35. Public confidence in the government's achievements also fell by 4.49 points to 100.20 points.
The poll said political tensions and uncertainty brought on by the anti-Thaksin protests and the counter-rally being planned by the government continued to pound public confidence in Thai politics.
http://www.bangkokpost.com/News/02Mar2006_news03.php
Leading peace advocates offer 'alternative' solutions to crisis
PREEYANAT PHANAYANGGOOR
Four leading peace advocates yesterday suggested alternative solutions to ease the current political turmoil, including Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra's resignation and a delay to the general election.
They also called for the government, the opposition and the anti-Thaksin protesters to hold talks mediated by a respected third party with the aim of finding a joint objective to resolve the political stalemate.
The four peace advocates are Paiboon Wattanasirithum of the Centre for the Promotion of National Strength on Moral Ethics and Values, Gothom Arya, director of Mahidol University's Research Centre on Peace Building, Chaiwat Satha-Anand, director of the Peace Information Centre at Thammasat University, and Wanchai Wattanasap, of King Pradjadhipok's Institute.
They suggested, among other things, that Mr Thaksin resign to break the deadlock and appoint a deputy prime minister who was not a member of the political party as caretaker prime minister to organise a fair general election.
Resignation did not always equal defeat, Mr Chaiwat said. Rather, it could be considered Mr Thaksin's sacrifice for the country and an act to create room for a solution to ease the political conflict.
Mr Paiboon said Mr Thaksin has a number of options, including leaving the political arena for good, temporarily stepping down, or contesting the election but confining himself to work in the legislative branch as House speaker. He urged Mr Thaksin to make a decision within a few days to calm the situation.
The group also called for all political parties to draw up a joint declaration on their commitment to political reform as well as urging the opposition parties to reconsider their decision to boycott the election which could be delayed if they are not ready for the April 2 schedule.
Mr Gothom urged the government, the opposition and the protesters to hold talks to reach common ground. The talks should be mediated by respected people.
He admitted that it may be too late to call for all parties to hold talks with each other given the current tense situation.
''If no negotiations can be achieved, at least the people should have the opportunity to fight in a civilised manner,'' said Mr Gothom, referring to the right to by demonstrators to protest peacefully.
Meanwhile, Mr Thaksin confirmed his decision not to resign during a meeting with around 10 representatives of the Thai Labour Solidarity Working Committee yesterday. Committee chairman Pakdi Thanabura quoted Mr Thaksin as saying that the Thai Rak Thai party would go ahead with the election on April 2.
http://www.bangkokpost.com/News/02Mar2006_news04.php
Buyers' confidence hit by political climate
KANANA KATHARANGSIPORN
Political uncertainties will delay homebuyers' decisions and affect the country's GDP growth due to the postponement of megaprojects, according to Naporn Soontornjitcharoen, senior vice-president of Land & Houses Plc (LH).
''Amid this political climate, everyone waits and sees,'' he said. ''Homebuyers want to be confident in their future income, while developers are watching homebuyers' confidence, which is affected by current politics.''
LH, a property developer, plans to launch 13 new projects worth a combined 26.6 billion baht in 2006. Two of them will be townhouse projects located on Lad Phrao 71 and Rama II.
The company plans to sell 700 rai out of 1,050 rai in Phuket to American developers who plan to develop a golf course and marina club. LH will reserve the remaining 350 rai for housing development. Land transfer will be completed within the second quarter of this year.
''We previously planned to develop the whole plot, but we changed the plan as we are not experienced in recreational-property development,'' he said.
He added that the total number of housing registrations had risen slightly by 8% to 67,829 units in 2005 from 62,796 units in 2004. Of this figure, self-built houses totalled 25,241 units, up by 27%, while developed houses totalled 42,588 units, down by 0.8%.
The number of single-house developments totalled at 23,889 units, down by 10%, while condominium units rose by 204% to 6,653 units.
He said there were a lot of negative factors affecting the housing market. The rise in oil price, for example, had increased development costs by 10%.
The rise in interest rates by 1% had caused an added burden to consumers of about 570 baht per month for a credit loan of one million baht.
New pre-financing loans decreased by 32.5%, while post-finance reduced by 22.1% due to more stringent rules from financial institutions.
Adisorn Thananan-narapool, LH's senior vice-president, said the company planned to invest four billion baht to acquire land plots for future development.
The company would also spend another 1.5 billion baht for other investments including property funds, its subsidiaries and Land & Houses Bank, he said.
He said LH Bank, in which LH invested about 660 million baht, released housing loans worth 350 million baht in 2005, accounting for 50% of the total loans. The rest of the loans were extended for leasing and factories.
The company expected to release 12 billion baht in new housing loans, out of a total target of 18 billion baht this year.
LH last year sold 3,879 units, up by 17.5% from 2004. It consolidated total revenue of 22.7 billion baht, rising by 24.4% from 2004. It posted a net profit of 5.18 billion baht, down by 14.9% due to a decrease of 1.9 billion baht in other sources of income.
As of the end of 2005, it had total assets of 39.28 billion baht and cashflow of 2.57 billion baht. Meanwhile, its debt-to-equity ratio was 0.45 times and its financial cost was at 3.8%.
LH shares closed yesterday on the Stock Exchange of Thailand at 9.05 baht, down 10 satang, in trade worth 76.75 million baht.
http://www.bangkokpost.com/Business/02Mar2006_biz33.php
Outsourcing work not coming in
Poor policy and infrastructure are causing Thailand to miss out on outsourcing opportunities
Story by Tony Waltham
Opportunities for Thailand around ICT and to provide IT and business process outsourcing (BPO) services to a global marketplace are offset by shortcomings that include limited access to investment capital, a lack of government vision and support, and lack of regulations governing security or privacy.
The absence of recognised ICT research facilities, expensive international Internet gateways and strict immigration and labour policies were also cited by Gartner analysts last week as being weaknesses with implications for Thailand's international competitiveness in ICT.
This is at a time when many other countries are aggressively promoting their IT capabilities, such as Malaysia with its multimedia supercorridor or the Philippines, on whose behalf President Gloria Arroyo speaks to audiences in the United States about strengths in call centre hosting, a sector that now employs 100,000 Filipinos.
Thailand also lacks a single point of contact or agency promoting BPO or related IT services overseas, while the country also suffers from a perception by many that it is a holiday destination, rather than a place to do business, the Gartner analysts explained last week.
http://www.bangkokpost.com/010306_Database/01Mar2006_data001.php
The Times Picayune
Video shows Bush warned before Katrina hit
3/2/2006, 11:04 a.m. CT
And warnings of the coming destruction — breached or overrun levees, deaths at the New Orleans Superdome and overwhelming needs for post-storm rescues — were delivered in dramatic terms to all involved.
All of it was captured on videotape.
By MARGARET EBRAHIM and JOHN SOLOMON
The Associated Press
WASHINGTON (AP) — On the eve of Hurricane Katrina's fateful landfall, President Bush was confident. His homeland security chief appeared relaxed. Louisiana officials were heaping praise on the federal government.
The Associated Press obtained the confidential government video and made it public Wednesday, offering Americans their own inside glimpse into the government's fateful final Katrina preparations after months of fingerpointing and political recriminations.
"My gut tells me ... this is a bad one and a big one," then-federal disaster chief Michael Brown told the final government-wide briefing the day before Katrina struck the Gulf Coast on Aug. 29.
The video prompted Democratic leaders on Capitol Hill to reiterate their calls for a new investigation into the federal response to Katrina. House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi of California said Thursday the video "points out the need for an independent commission" to review events surrounding the hurricane.
Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid of Nevada said the video "confirms what we have suspected all along, that this Administration did anything they can to hide what really happened." He said the administration "systematically misled the American people."
The Republican-controlled House and Senate have conducted separate investigations of the Katrina response. Democrats in the House, other than those from the affected states, refused to participate in the inquiry, insisting that an independent commission was needed.
In the Aug. 29 briefing, Bush didn't ask a single question but assured soon-to-be-battered state officials: "We are fully prepared."
But Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-La., said the video shows that the administration failed to prepare adequately for the possible breach of the levees protecting New Orleans.
"This administration was told what Louisiana already knew: that our federally constructed levees could certainly fail," she said. "But these concerns, and others made by disaster relief experts, fell on deaf ears."
The footage — along with seven days of transcripts of briefings obtained by AP — show in excruciating detail that while federal officials anticipated the tragedy that unfolded in New Orleans and elsewhere along the Gulf Coast, they were fatally slow to realize they had not mustered enough resources to deal with the unprecedented disaster.
A top hurricane expert voiced "grave concerns" about the levees and Brown, then the Federal Emergency Management Agency chief, told the president and Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff that he feared there weren't enough disaster teams to help evacuees at the Superdome.
"I'm concerned about ... their ability to respond to a catastrophe within a catastrophe," Brown told his bosses the afternoon before Katrina made landfall.
The White House and Homeland Security Department urged the public Wednesday not to read too much into the footage.
"I hope people don't draw conclusions from the president getting a single briefing," Bush spokesman Trent Duffy said, citing a variety of orders and disaster declarations Bush signed before the storm made landfall. "He received multiple briefings from multiple officials, and he was completely engaged at all times."
Homeland Security spokesman Russ Knocke said his department would not release the full set of videotaped briefings, saying most transcripts — though not the videotapes — from the sessions were provided to congressional investigators months ago.
"There's nothing new or insightful on these tapes," Knocke said. "We actively participated in the lessons-learned review and we continue to participate in the Senate's review and are working with them on their recommendation."
New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin, a critic of the administration's Katrina response, had a different take after watching the footage from an AP reporter's camera.
"I have kind a sinking feeling in my gut right now," Nagin said. "I was listening to what people were saying — they didn't know, so therefore it was an issue of a learning curve. You know, from this tape it looks like everybody was fully aware."
Some of the footage and transcripts from briefings Aug. 25-31 conflicts with the defenses that federal, state and local officials have made in trying to deflect blame and minimize the political fallout from the failed Katrina response:
• Homeland Security officials have said the "fog of war" blinded them early on to the magnitude of the disaster. But the video and transcripts show federal and local officials discussed threats clearly, reviewed long-made plans and understood Katrina would wreak devastation of historic proportions. "I'm sure it will be the top 10 or 15 when all is said and done," National Hurricane Center's Max Mayfield warned the day Katrina lashed the Gulf Coast.
"I don't buy the `fog of war' defense," Brown told the AP in an interview Wednesday. "It was a fog of bureaucracy."
• Bush declared four days after the storm, "I don't think anybody anticipated the breach of the levees" that gushed deadly flood waters into New Orleans. He later clarified, saying officials believed, wrongly, after the storm passed that the levees had survived. But the transcripts and video show there was plenty of talk about that possibility even before the storm — and Bush was worried too.
White House deputy chief of staff Joe Hagin, Louisiana Gov. Kathleen Blanco and Brown discussed fears of a levee breach the day the storm hit.
"I talked to the president twice today, once in Crawford and then again on Air Force One," Brown said. "He's obviously watching the television a lot, and he had some questions about the Dome, he's asking questions about reports of breaches."
• Louisiana officials angrily blamed the federal government for not being prepared but the transcripts shows they were still praising FEMA as the storm roared toward the Gulf Coast and even two days afterward. "I think a lot of the planning FEMA has done with us the past year has really paid off," Col. Jeff Smith, Louisiana's emergency preparedness deputy director, said during the Aug. 28 briefing.
It wasn't long before Smith and other state officials sounded overwhelmed.
"We appreciate everything that you all are doing for us, and all I would ask is that you realize that what's going on and the sense of urgency needs to be ratcheted up," Smith said Aug. 30.
Mississippi begged for more attention in that same briefing.
"We know that there are tens or hundreds of thousands of people in Louisiana that need to be rescued, but we would just ask you, we desperately need to get our share of assets because we'll have people dying — not because of water coming up, but because we can't get them medical treatment in our affected counties," said a Mississippi state official whose name was not mentioned on the tape.
Video footage of the Aug. 28 briefing, the final one before Katrina struck, showed an intense Brown voicing concerns from the government's disaster operation center and imploring colleagues to do whatever was necessary to help victims.
"Go ahead and do it," Brown said. "I'll figure out some way to justify it. ... Just let them yell at me."
Bush appeared from a narrow, windowless room at his vacation ranch in Texas, with his elbows on a table. Hagin was sitting alongside him.
"I want to assure the folks at the state level that we are fully prepared to not only help you during the storm, but we will move in whatever resources and assets we have at our disposal after the storm," the president said.
A relaxed Chertoff, sporting a polo shirt, weighed in from Washington at Homeland Security's operations center. He would later fly to Atlanta, outside of Katrina's reach, for a bird flu event. Officials say he was frequently updated on the road about Katrina.
One snippet captures a missed opportunity on Aug. 28 for the government to have dispatched active-duty military troops to the region to augment the National Guard.
Chertoff: "Are there any DOD assets that might be available? Have we reached out to them?"
Brown: "We have DOD assets over here at EOC (emergency operations center). They are fully engaged. And we are having those discussions with them now."
Chertoff: "Good job."
In fact, active duty troops weren't dispatched until days after the storm. And many states' National Guards had yet to be deployed to the region despite offers of assistance, and it took days before the Pentagon deployed active-duty personnel to help overwhelmed Guardsmen.
The National Hurricane Center's Mayfield told the final briefing before Katrina struck that storm models predicted minimal flooding inside New Orleans during the hurricane but he expressed concerns that counterclockwise winds and storm surges afterward could cause the levees at Lake Pontchartrain to be overrun.
"I don't think any model can tell you with any confidence right now whether the levees will be topped or not but that is obviously a very, very grave concern," Mayfield told the briefing.
Other officials expressed concerns about the large number of New Orleans residents who had not evacuated.
http://www.nola.com/newsflash/washington/index.ssf?/base/politics-7/1141302273258390.xml&storylist=washington
Watch as President Bush is briefed on the arrival of Hurricane Katrina, in this video obtained exclusively by The Associated Press. Hear what aides told him just before the storm hit the Gulf Coast.
http://video.ap.org/v/en-ap/v.htm?g=c52e838f-66ce-47df-a229-8127e2c6f17e&t=s60&p=ENAPus_ENAPus&&f=advnj
Exclusive AP video of National Hurricane Center Director Max Mayfield briefing FEMA officials on Hurricane Katrina's strength. (March 1)
http://video.ap.org/v/en-ap/v.htm?g=cb4770d1-6194-4369-aafe-c20046c4314c&t=s60&p=ENAPus_ENAPus&&f=yourIDhere
New Katrina video shows La. governor assuring levees safe
3/2/2006, 9:54 p.m. CT
BY LARA JAKES JORDAN
The Associated Press
WASHINGTON (AP) — In the hectic, confused hours after Hurricane Katrina lashed the Gulf Coast, Louisiana's governor hesitantly but mistakenly assured the Bush administration that New Orleans' protective levees were intact, according to a new video obtained by The Associated Press showing briefings that day with federal officials.
"We keep getting reports in some places that maybe water is coming over the levees," Gov. Kathleen Blanco said shortly after noon on Aug. 29, according to the video that was obtained Thursday night. "We heard a report unconfirmed, I think, we have not breached the levee. I think we have not breached the levee at this time."
In fact, the National Weather Service received a report of a levee breach and issued a flash-flood warning as early as 9:12 a.m. that day, according to the White House's formal recounting of events the day Katrina struck.
The timing of the levees breach has been a key issue in exhaustive reviews of failures to respond to Katrina and highlights miscommunication about the scope of the storm's damage at all levels of government.
http://www.nola.com/newsflash/louisiana/index.ssf?/base/washington-0/114135835381410.xml&storylist=louisiana
Prayer kicks off Katrina tour
Prayer kicks off 3-day Katrina tour
Friday, March 03, 2006
By Jeff Duncan
Staff writer
A group of high-powered national political leaders began a much-anticipated visit to New Orleans and the hurricane-devastated Gulf Coast region with a prayer Thursday.
The rare mix of church and state was made, said House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., with a dual purpose in mind: to remember the thousands of people who have been affected by Katrina and to assist the 34-member delegation in its mission "that we do the right thing, that we help these people."
"Today was a chance to start to get an idea for what's happened and where we go from here," Hastert said. "Our job is to make sure the future of the people of Louisiana, Alabama, Mississippi and New Orleans is sound, that investments are sound."
About $88 billion has been allocated for hurricane relief, according to the federal office of Gulf Coast rebuilding, created by President Bush to be the federal contact for the recovery. Bush recently proposed another $19.8 billion that will include $4.2 billion for Louisiana housing and $1.5 billion for levee protection. That aid is subject to congressional approval.
http://www.nola.com/news/t-p/frontpage/index.ssf?/base/news-5/114140409764410.xml
The Cheney Observer
BLM Biologist Exposes Inside View Of Agency Priorities
By Todd Wilkinson, 3-026-06
I often say to friends when they quiz me about details in a story I've written: Ninety-percent of what I actually know does not find its way into print. Leaving out information may be due to space limitations in the newspaper or magazine. It might be because the stuff I've learned is tangential or only slightly relevant to the angle of the story.
Or, as was the case with veteran Bureau of Land Management field biologist Steve Belinda, it might be because I've made a promise that I'll be discreet about the opinions offered or the background information shared.A year ago last spring, I wrote a series of articles for The Christian Science Monitor about the energy boom in the West. The stories were focused on the gas drilling frenzy occurring in and around Pinedale, Wyoming. For the good part of a day, Belinda took me on a tour. We visited the Pinedale Anticline where gas production is about to dramatically increase and we talked about the precedent being set in the Jonah Field to the south.
These wide treeless expanses of high desert, covered with sagebrush, form ground zero in the national discussion about the Bush Administration's national energy policy. "We've got a world-class gas play occurring in the same landscape that is home to world-class populations of wildlife," Belinda told me of the 100,000 pronghorn (antelope), elk, deer, moose and other species that converge there. "I think can have both without sacrificing one for the other."
Belinda was parroting what the BLM told him to say. I knew it. And I respected the tough spot he was in. Privately, he was seriously concerned about the way his agency was addressing the pace, scale and impacts of gas drilling, an activity that is generating billions of dollars.
"Come back to me in a year and let's see if anything has changed," he said once we shook hands and headed in different directions. Less than a year has passed but Mr. Belinda is gone from his job.
As the Washington Post reported, Belinda out of protest recently resigned from the agency to take a job with the Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership. Now he can do something he couldn't do with the BLM: Speak candidly without fear of retaliation and seriously monitor the effects of gas drilling on wildlife.
The fact is he took pride in working for the federal government and would have stayed if he had been allowed to do his job.
http://www.newwest.net/index.php/topic/article/6678/C66/L36
For Thirsty Farmers, Old Friends at Interior Dept.
By TIMOTHY EGAN
FRESNO, Calif. — For more than 10 years, Jason Peltier was a paid advocate for the irrigation-dependent farmers here in the Central Valley of California, several hundred landowners who each year consume more water than the city of Los Angeles does.
Now Mr. Peltier works for the Bush administration, and he helps oversee the awarding of new water contracts for the people he used to represent as head of the Central Valley Project Water Users Association. The federal contracts, tying up water for a quarter-century or more from the world's largest irrigation project, have the potential to bring the farmers a huge windfall if they turn around and sell the water on the open market.
At the same time Mr. Peltier — as the deputy assistant secretary for water and science at the Interior Department — is involved with reviewing a request by the water association to stop paying up to $11.5 million a year into an environmental restoration fund, as required by a 1992 law.
Mr. Peltier's role influencing decisions that could have a direct financial impact on his former employer is part of a pattern at the Interior Department over the last five years, critics say, with a revolving door between managers on the government side, and the people who buy or lease federal water, land or forests on the other side.
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/03/03/national/03water.html?hp&ex=1141448400&en=49e5944dc5ecbad0&ei=5094&partner=homepage
Abramoff Bills Contradict DeLay’s ‘Clean Bill of Health’ Claim
During his interview with Fox News today, Tom DeLay said his hands are clean of Abramoff’s malfeasance:
I’ve hired lawyers that look through everything that we’ve done, my relationship with Jack Abramoff, every contact we made with him, everything. And they’ve given me a complete bill — clean bill of health.
DeLay might want new lawyers. From an ABC News report published today:
When Rep. Tom DeLay (R-Texas) and his wife flew from Houston to a golf resort in Scotland in June 2000, the first-class airfare cost $14,001, a big-ticket item for a public servant. But someone else paid.
The American Express bills of convicted lobbyist Jack Abramoff show he footed the bill for the tickets, in an apparent violation of House ethics rules.
http://thinkprogress.org/2006/03/02/abramoff-bills-contradict-delays-clean-bill-of-health-claim/
McCain in 2008?
From Rove to DeLay to Ralph Reed, the Arizona senator's enemies have stumbled, clearing the way for his likely run.
By Joe Conason
While Democrats gloat over the scandals besetting the Bush White House and congressional Republicans -- from the outing of Valerie Plame to the boodling of Jack Abramoff -- they are surely not alone in welcoming those multiplying embarrassments. For whether or not the president continues to plunge in the polls, and no matter how his party fares in the midterm elections, the seemingly endless avalanche of shame has improved the prospects of one very important Republican.
That would be John McCain.
For the past two years, the Arizona senator has seen his institutional adversaries in the Republican establishment brought low, one by one, clearing away the obstacles to his likely presidential bid in 2008. In some cases, their well-earned misfortune can be attributed directly to him; in others, he has merely observed their fortuitous ruin. What matters is that his worst, most effective enemies are distracted, disgraced or endangered by criminal investigations, and will be in no condition to threaten him in the foreseeable future.
http://www.salon.com/opinion/conason/2006/03/03/mccain_candidacy/index_np.html
Bruce Willis is on a film junket but would rather talk about current events
NEW YORK (AP) - Many movie stars feel they must utter logrolling boilerplate when talking about their new work: Sure, we can talk about what you want, but let me say how delightful it was to work with so-so and how I just HAD to make this film after reading the script - and then when I heard who was directing!
Bruce Willis? Not so much.
As he settles into a sofa in his hotel suite as a record-setting snowstorm rages outside, flogging 16 Blocks seems incidental to him.
He'd just as soon talk about what he sees as the manipulation of the news, Iraq, the Abramoff case and the corrosiveness of lobbying in Washington. Irksome tabloids aside, he's even willing to talk about his friendship with ex-wife Demi Moore, the joy of seeing his daughters grow up, and how he feels like he's 50 going on 25 and would love to have more kids - but not necessarily get married again.
Part of the job, though, is plugging the movie. So a few minutes are spent discussing it.
In a role reminiscent of his busted-up cop in last year's Sin City, Willis plays NYPD Detective Jack Mosley, a limping, alcoholic shell of a man who thinks life is too long. He winds up living the longest 118 minutes of his life as he tries to transport a prisoner (Mos Def) the distance given in the title.
http://www.canada.com/topics/entertainment/story.html?id=d1487ce7-9d91-4eae-981d-5154e45d2f40&k=31581
Letter: Cheney missing the target
Thursday, March 2, 2006
To the editor:
With the U.S. Ambassador to Iraq now complaining about sectarian violence, I think the signs are on the wall that the whole situation in Iraq is really starting to unravel for the Bush people and for the United States. But what did we think would happen when we charged into a war without a clear idea of what we hoped to do afterward?
It makes me wonder - how is Vice President Dick Cheney still able to get enjoyment out of shooting pretty little birds when a situation he did so much to create is totally falling apart? Maybe its because he's really not that nice of a guy, and one who doesn't have America's best interests at heart. Or maybe he just hasn't set his sights on the proper target yet.
http://www2.townonline.com/acton/opinion/view.bg?articleid=441277
At long last, spotlight falls on Cheny
By David Rossie
March Madness arrived a bit early this year; in February to be exact. And it arrived on the wings of a quail, which turned out to be a 78-year-old Texas lawyer.
No sooner had Vice President Dick Cheney, aka the Fastest Gun in the West, been identified - much to his reluctance and dismay - as the man who shot Harry Whittington, than speculation arose, even among the Republican faithful, that maybe it was time for Dead-Eye Dick to saddle up and mosey off into the sunset.
They were still plucking pellets out of Whittington's face when Peggy Noonan, writing on the Wall Street Journal's op-ed page, referred to the beleaguered Veep as the "administration's hate magnet" and speculated that perhaps it's time for the Republican hierarchy to go to the bullpen and bring in a long reliever.
Noonan made it clear that her musings had not derived from any lack of confidence in Cheney, but rather the need to have someone in place when the clock runs out on Dubya.
Conventional wisdom holds that come 2008, Cheney will not run for the job which, for all practical purposes he's held for the last five years, in fact if not in title. Therefore, if he were to step aside voluntarily the party could put someone in his place for a crash course that might make him or her a viable successor. Jebbie might want to wait until 2012 in order to make the dynastic thing less obvious.
http://www.pressconnects.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060303/OPINION/603030303/1005
Senate GOP Faces Vote to Increase Debt
Republicans in the Senate face a difficult but necessary vote in coming weeks to allow the Treasury borrow to pad the $8.2 trillion national debt by another $781 billion.
The need to increase the legal limit on the debt has Democrats eager to use the debate to blast President Bush and his GOP allies in Congress for their fiscal stewardship.
"During this administration, America's debt, that is, the total of the deficits has increased by $3 trillion," said Sen. Max Baucus of Montana, top Democrat on the Finance Committee. "That's a 40 percent increase in the entire federal debt accrued by our country in its entire history."
Treasury officials briefed Senate staff aides Thursday and told them that without an increase in the government's ability to borrow, it would default on obligations for the first time in history sometime during the week of March 20. That is an unthinkable prospect that would roil financial markets and damage the government's credit rating.
http://www.forbes.com/entrepreneurs/feeds/ap/2006/03/02/ap2566445.html
Debating a Shipping Shortcut That Turned Against New Orleans
Lee Celano for The New York Times
Pilings of a levee damaged by Hurricane Katrina on the controversial Mr. Go shipping canal.
By JOHN SCHWARTZ
Published: March 3, 2006
NEW ORLEANS — It has been a long road back for New Orleans Cold Storage. After Hurricane Katrina, with no power for its freezers, 32 million pounds of chicken rotted in the waterside warehouse of the shipping company, and the reek was detectable from a mile away.
Lee Celano for The New York Times
The reopened New Orleans Cold Storage shipping company has resumed loading chicken to be shipped on the Mississippi River-Gulf Outlet.
The company put itself back together, but its 135 jobs are suddenly facing a more serious threat. New Orleans Cold Storage, like other nearby businesses, owes its livelihood to the Mississippi River-Gulf Outlet, the reviled navigational shortcut between the Mississippi River and the Gulf of Mexico that many faulted for much of the city's devastation.
The canal, referred to locally as Mr. Go, is widely considered an environmental disaster. Residents and officials here say they want it shut down or at least bottled up. If the channel is closed, thousands of jobs could be lost unless the government spends $400 million to move the nine major businesses that currently depend on the channel directly to the banks of the Mississippi.
In the struggle to build adequate flood protection, as the canal dilemma shows, even the easy decisions are hard. A city whose economy was built around shipping and trade cannot easily limit its access to water.
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/03/03/national/nationalspecial/03canal.html?_r=1&oref=slogin
Nagin and others sign up for mayoral race
NEW ORLEANS Mayor Ray Nagin and a growing field of challengers signed up for the New Orleans' mayoral race yesterday on the first day of qualifying.
About a dozen candidates have said they'll run against Nagin, who was popular before Hurricane Katrina inflicted enormous destruction on the city August 29th.
The challengers include Louisiana Lieutenant Governor Mitch Landrieu and Audubon Institute chief executive Ron Forman. Both were one-time allies of Nagin, who has struggled with overwhelmed and underfunded infrastructure and high-profile gaffes.
They signed up for the race at the Convention Center, a site that serve as an impromptu and ill-equipped evacuation center after the storm. It has since been partially set up to house the Orleans Parish Criminal Court Clerk's Office, which handles municipal election sign-ups.
http://www.klfy.com/Global/story.asp?S=4573532
Cracking Down On Halliburton
Good news from the Senate. Byron Dorgan and 25 others introduced a bill Thursday to clean up the business of government contracting. It takes its inspiration from the problems with Iraq and Katrina contractors, but applies to all contracting.
According to Dorgan's office, the bill would put "tough new penalties in place for war profiteers, eliminating conflicts of interest, insisting on transparency and putting an end to cronyism in key government appointments relating to federal contracting and public safety.”
To Charlie Cray, director of the Center for Corporate Policy, who wrote Grand Theft Baghdad for TomPaine.com about Iraq's bungled contracting, the legislation is much like what he's been calling for. Cray released this response praising the Dorgan bill:
http://www.tompaine.com/articles/2006/03/02/cracking_down_on_halliburton.php
U.S. Democrats want tougher govt contracting terms
WASHINGTON, March 2 (Reuters) - Legislation that would punish government contractors for profiteering and cronyism was introduced on Thursday by Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid and other Democrats.
The new bill also aims to punish war profiteers with tough penalties and to "force real competition" in bidding for lucrative federal contracts, Reid said in a statement.
Democrats have been critical of contracts awarded to companies for the reconstruction of Iraq and the U.S. Gulf Coast after deadly Hurricane Katrina last year.
Earlier this week, the U.S. Army said it reimbursed a subsidiary of Halliburton Co. (HAL.N: Quote, Profile, Research), the oilfield services company formerly run by Vice President Dick Cheney, for most of $221.9 million in costs disputed by government auditors on a no-bid contract in Iraq.
A top Army procurement officer, Bunny Greenhouse, last year described Halliburton's Iraq deals as "contract abuse" and said auditors flagged more than $1 billion in potential overcharges.
Sen. Byron Dorgan of North Dakota, a co-sponsor of the new bill, said the legislation would set new standards to "restore integrity to a federal contracting process that has too often been operated in a manner that neither ensures confidence nor that taxpayers get a fair return for what they have paid."
It was not immediately clear if the legislation could win support from Republicans, who control both chambers of Congress.
http://today.reuters.com/news/articleinvesting.aspx?type=governmentFilingsNews&storyid=URI:urn:newsml:reuters.com:20060302:MTFH01994_2006-03-02_17-29-13_N02326706:1
Democrats criticize payments to KBR
Pentagon auditors question more than $1 billion in Iraq costs, report says
WASHINGTON - Pentagon auditors have questioned more than $1 billion in costs by contracting giant Halliburton Co. for its work in Iraq, a number several times higher than previously disclosed, according to a report by congressional Democrats.
The report, based on Defense Contract Audit Agency documents and a briefing by DCAA officials, details $813 million in questioned costs on a Halliburton contract to provide logistical support to U.S. troops and $219 million on a no-bid contract to restore Iraqi's oil network.
The Defense Contract Audit Agency found an additional $442 million in Halliburton charges that were "unsupported," meaning the company had not provided enough documentation to justify the cost, the report said.
http://msnbc.msn.com/id/8381265/
Fallout From the David Gregory Episode
By: John Gizzi
Posted 02/28/06
02:10 PM
Two weeks after his now-celebrated blow-up with White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan, NBC-TV’s David Gregory and his behavior at an early morning briefing (gaggle) are still the subjects of controversy.
At the first session between McClellan and the White House press corps following reports of Vice President Cheney’s accidental shooting of a hunting buddy in Texas, an exasperated Gregory admonished the President’s top spokesman: “Don’t be a jerk to me.”
McClellan had told Gregory to settle down because “the cameras aren’t on yet” (the gaggles are informal, not televised, and transcripts are difficult to get). At the afternoon session later that day (February 13), which was televised, Gregory maintained his take-no-prisoners approached and at one time snapped to McClellan’s response to a query about Cheney: “Oh, come on!” For the remainder of the week, NBC’s chief White House correspondent was nowhere to be seen at any of McClellan’s briefings, the network’s Kelly O’Donnell covering for Gregory.
http://www.humaneventsonline.com/blog-detail.php?id=12795
NRA Sues New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin
By Wayne LaPierre, 3/2/2006 9:41:43 AM
The National Rifle Association (NRA ) has filed a motion for contempt against the City of New Orleans, the mayor and the acting chief of police for failure to comply with a temporary restraining order, handed down Sept. 12, 2005, ordering an end to all illegal gun confiscations.
With looters, rapists and other thugs running rampant in New Orleans, Ray Nagin issued an order to disarm all law-abiding citizens. With no law enforcement and 911 available, he left the victims vulnerable by stripping away their only means of defending themselves and their loved ones. Now Ray Nagin thinks he's above the law, and that's just wrong.
http://www.hawaiireporter.com/story.aspx?e25adc5d-28c1-45ce-8e57-16861ac890b0
Cartoonist Helps Launch 'Scooter' Libby Parody Site
By E&P Staff
Published: March 01, 2006 1:56 PM ET
NEW YORK Takebackthemedia.com and Buzzflash.com have launched a Web site that parodies efforts to raise money for the legal defense of I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby, the Cheney aide indicted for his alleged role in "Plamegate."
Micheal Stinson, a cartoonist and flash animator who co-founded Takebackthemedia.com, said "The Libby Defense Fund" parody site "asks that people donate to worthwhile organizations instead of Libby." Stinson told E&P that those organizations include Greenpeace, Doctors Without Borders, and Gold Star Families for Peace, among others.
"Plamegate," of course, involved the leaking of the name of CIA operative Valerie Plame -- wife of Iraq War critic Joseph Wilson. She was "outed" in a 2003 column by Robert Novak of the Chicago Sun-Times and Creators Syndicate.
http://www.editorandpublisher.com/eandp/departments/syndicates/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1002114258
Bain Capital, The Carlyle Group and Thomas H. Lee Partners Complete Acquisition of Dunkin' Brands
Wednesday March 1, 2:30 pm ET
CEO Luther to Chair Board of Directors; Independent Company to Pursue Expansion Strategy
CANTON, Mass., March 1 /PRNewswire/ -- A consortium of global private equity firms consisting of Bain Capital Partners LLC, The Carlyle Group and Thomas H. Lee Partners LP today completed the acquisition of Dunkin' Brands Inc. from Pernod Ricard SA for $2.425 billion in cash. Dunkin' Brands announced on December 12, 2005 that it had reached a definitive agreement to be acquired by the consortium.
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Jon L. Luther, Chief Executive Officer of Dunkin' Brands, has been appointed Chairman of the newly formed Board of Directors, and Will Kussell, Chief Operating Officer of the company, will also serve on the Board. Bain Capital, The Carlyle Group and Thomas H. Lee Partners will each have three board seats.
"This is an exciting time for Dunkin' Brands, and we are pleased to have such experienced partners to help us execute our strategy of aggressive expansion for our three proven brands," said Luther. "With strong consumer loyalty, excellent franchisee relationships and an outstanding management team already in place, Dunkin' Brands is well-positioned for tremendous growth. We are driven by a passion to raise the bar on the quality and variety of food and beverages available in the quick service industry and change expectations about what is possible in a quick meal on the go."
"As an independent company with new owners committed to providing the resources needed to support its growth plan, we believe Dunkin' Brands is ideally situated to execute its strategy across the Dunkin' Donuts, Togo's and Baskin-Robbins brands and geographies," the consortium members said in a statement.
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/060301/nyw151.html?.v=42
Endorsements Go DeLay's Way, But Opponents Say The Polls Don't
Coming around the far turn with the primary finish-line in sight, Congressional District 22 Republican challenger Tom Campbell is leaning hard on his polls, Democratic challenger Nick Lampson is flashing his wallet, and incumbent Tom DeLay is counting his endorsements.
Weekend Politics
Last week Campbell sat in a mobile campaign RV across a Houston street from an event in which 10 members of the Texas Congressional Delegation endorsed DeLay.
Campbell brushed aside the endorsements and instead emphasized a poll by OneNet, showing him with 47.7% of the votes in the Republican primary, to 38.4% by DeLay and 13.9% to “other.”
But the poll has a margin of error of 9% (it looks like they reached fewer than 200 Republican voters), which is pretty far out there. Thus, if 9% swung one way, DeLay could have 47.4% of the vote to 38.7% for Campbell, if you believe the numbers.
http://www.fortbendnow.com/opinion/780/endorsements-go-delays-way-opponents-say-the-polls-dont
Texas Nonprofit Is Cleared After GOP-Prompted Audit
Group Says Probe Was 'Political Retaliation' by DeLay Allies
By R. Jeffrey Smith
Washington Post Staff Writer
Monday, February 27, 2006; Page A03
The Internal Revenue Service recently audited the books of a Texas nonprofit group that was critical of campaign spending by former House majority leader Tom DeLay (R-Tex.) after receiving a request for the audit from one of DeLay's political allies in the House.
The lawmaker, House Ways and Means Committee member Sam Johnson (R-Tex.), was in turn responding to a complaint about the group, Texans for Public Justice, from Barnaby W. Zall, a Washington lawyer close to DeLay and his fundraising apparatus, according to IRS documents
Rep. Sam Johnson (R-Tex.), left, with Rep. Tom DeLay (R-Tex.), wrote a letter to the IRS about complaints of possible tax violations by Texans for Public Justice, a group critical of DeLay. An audit found no wrongdoing by the nonprofit. (By Tim Johnson -- Associated Press)
Politics Trivia
How many Texas Democratic congressmen lost their 2004 U.S. House races following implementation of a redistricting plan in Texas in 2003?
Johnson, a member of the subcommittee responsible for oversight of the tax agency, sparked the IRS's interest by telling IRS Commissioner Mark W. Everson in a letter dated Aug. 3, 2004, that he had "uncovered some disturbing information" and received complaints of possible tax violations.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/02/26/AR2006022601227.html
Rove: Every Exploding Mosque Has A Silver Lining
Here’s what’s happening in Iraq:
On Thursday, sectarian violence between Shiite and Sunni Muslims left more than 100 people dead. The violence was sparked by Wednesday’s bombing of the Askariya shrine in Samarra, one of the holiest sites in Shiite Islam.
If you are having trouble interpreting the news, Karl Rove is here to help. Yesterday, he explained to Fox News’ Tony Snow that the bombing on the mosque would “likely” turn out to be a positive development:
SNOW: So you expect this [the bombing of the mosque] is going to strengthen the opposition to the terrorists?
ROVE: I think it could. I think it’s likely to.
The good news from Iraq keeps pouring in.
http://thinkprogress.org/2006/02/24/rove-mosque/
Bolivia's water wars coming to end under Morales
By Jack Chang
Knight Ridder Newspapers
EL ALTO, Bolivia - Living on the barren outskirts of the fastest growing city in Latin America, Hilda Tintachipana doesn't expect many modern comforts.
Raising and selling rabbits pays the bills for the 27-year-old woman and her young family. They live in a dank, two-room house with spotty electricity, but that's just a fact of life, she said.
But Tintachipana draws the line at water.
It's a disgrace, she said, that she must tap the muddy spring outside her house or collect rain to feed and bathe her young children. She blames the foreign company that promised her water years ago, but never delivered.
"We've been waiting for service in this part of town for a long time," she said. "We even have the pipe running down the middle of the road, but it's dry. Without water, there is no possibility of life."
http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/news/world/13969197.htm
Bringing High-Grade Experience to Rival Lab
Michael Anastasio takes the helm at Los Alamos after a 25-year career at its fellow nuclear weapons design center in Livermore, Calif.
By Rebecca Trounson, Times Staff Writer
February 26, 2006
LOS ALAMOS, N.M. — Michael Anastasio stood before the employees of Los Alamos National Laboratory, his first all-hands meeting with the wary men and women who would soon be working for him. And he quickly made them laugh.
"I never in my life imagined that I would be standing here as the new director of Los Alamos," said Anastasio, who has worked for 25 years at Los Alamos' fellow — and fiercely competitive — nuclear weapons design center in Livermore, Calif. "And I bet you never imagined it either."
… Anastasio takes the post at a pivotal moment for U.S. nuclear weapons policy, amid growing concerns about the safety and reliability of the nation's aging nuclear stockpile and debate over whether new bombs are needed. Scientists at Los Alamos and Livermore are now competing in a feasibility study to design replacement warheads intended to be safer and easier to maintain than those in the existing stockpile.
http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/asection/la-me-alamos26feb26,1,2043432.story?coll=la-news-a_section
A storm in any port
Bill Press
Tribune Media Services
http://www.ocala.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060226/NEWS/202260362/1030/news08
Reaction to hunting accident fits Cheney's "my way" pattern
Dick Cheney's idea of leaving the White House in 2009 may run along the lines of Frank Sinatra's rendition of "I did it my way."
Certainly he has done that.
My own image is of a snarling and unrepentant vice president leaving the White House with an extended middle finger to the press corps, a final "up yours" for uppity reporters and, ultimately, the American public.
What is so classic, and so ultimately wrong, about the Texas hunting accident is not that the vice president accidentally shot a hunting companion. Accidents happen.
What should bother people is the cavalier manner in which Cheney handled the accident, both at the time and later. The implausible delay of nearly 18 hours before notifying the public simply says a lot about Cheney's disdain for lesser beings.
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/opinion/2002820189_floyd22.html
Dick Cheney's New Power
Feb. 21, 2006
Quote
"There is an executive order that specifies who has classification authority, and obviously focuses first and foremost on the President, but also includes the Vice President."
Vice President Dick Cheney
(National Review Online) This column was written by Byron York.
In addition to discussing his hunting accident, Vice President Dick Cheney, in his interview on the Fox News Channel Wednesday, also pointed to a little-known but enormously consequential expansion of vice-presidential power that has come about as a result of the Bush administration's war on terror.
Near the end of the interview, Fox anchor Brit Hume brought up a controversy arising from the CIA-leak case, in which prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald said in court papers that former top Cheney aide Lewis Libby testified he had been authorized "by his superiors" to disclose information about the classified National Intelligence Estimate to members of the press. "Is it your view that a Vice President has the authority to declassify information?" Hume asked.
"There is an executive order to that effect," Cheney said.
"There is?"
"Yes."
"Have you done it?"
"Well, I've certainly advocated declassification and participated in declassification decisions. The executive order — "
"You ever done it unilaterally?"
"I don't want to get into that. There is an executive order that specifies who has classification authority, and obviously focuses first and foremost on the President, but also includes the Vice President."
Cheney was referring to Executive Order 13292, issued by President Bush on March 25, 2003, which dealt with the handling of classified material. That order was not an entirely new document but was, instead, an amendment to an earlier Executive Order, number 12958, issued by President Bill Clinton on April 17, 1995.
At the time, Bush's order received very little coverage in the press. What mention there was focused on the order's provisions making it easier for the government to keep classified documents under wraps. But as Cheney pointed out Wednesday, the Bush order also contained a number of provisions which significantly increased the vice president's power.
Throughout Executive Order 13292, there are changes to the original Clinton order which, in effect, give the vice president the power of the president in dealing with classified material. In the original Clinton executive order, for example, there appeared the following passage:
Classification Authority.
(a) The authority to classify information originally may be exercised only by:
(1) the President;
(2) agency heads and officials designated by the President in the Federal Register...
In the Bush order, that section was changed to this (emphasis added):
Classification Authority.
(a) The authority to classify information originally may be exercised only by:
(1) the President and, in the performance of executive duties, the Vice President;
(2) agency heads and officials designated by the President in the Federal Register...
In another part of the original Clinton order, there was a segment dealing with who was authorized to delegate the authority to classify material. In the Clinton order, the passage read:
(2) "Top Secret" original classification authority may be delegated only by the President or by an agency head or official designated...
(3) "Secret" or "Confidential" original classification authority may be delegated only by the President; an agency head or official designated...
In the Bush order, that segment was changed to read (emphasis added):
(2) "Top Secret" original classification authority may be delegated only by the President; in the performance of executive duties, the Vice President; or an agency head or official designated...
(3) "Secret" or "Confidential" original classification authority may be delegated only by the President; in the performance of executive duties, the Vice President; or an agency head or official designated..
Both executive orders contained extension sections defining the terms used in the order. One of those terms was "original classification authority," that is, who in the government has the power to classify documents. In the Clinton order, the definition read:
"Original classification authority" means an individual authorized in writing, either by the President, or by agency heads or other officials designated by the President...
In the Bush executive order, the definition was changed to read (emphasis added):
"Original classification authority" means an individual authorized in writing, either by the President, the Vice President in the performance of executive duties, or by agency heads or other officials designated by the President...
In the last several years, there has been much talk about the powerful role Dick Cheney plays in the Bush White House. Some of that talk has been based on anecdotal evidence, and some on entirely fanciful speculation. But Executive Order 13292 is real evidence of real power in the vice president's office. Since the beginning of the administration, Dick Cheney has favored measures allowing the executive branch to keep more things secret. And in March of 2003, the president gave him the authority to do it.
Abramoff Says He Met Bush `Almost a Dozen' Times
From Reuters
February, 10 2006
WASHINGTON — Jack Abramoff said in correspondence made public Thursday that President Bush met him "almost a dozen" times, disputing White House claims that Bush did not know the former lobbyist at the center of a corruption scandal.
"The guy saw me in almost a dozen settings, and joked with me about a bunch of things, including details of my kids. Perhaps he has forgotten everything, who knows," Abramoff wrote in an e-mail to Kim Eisler, national editor for Washingtonian magazine.
Abramoff added that Bush once invited him to his Texas ranch.
The messages were made public by the American Progress Action Fund, a liberal activist group. Eisler confirmed their accuracy, but said he did not intend them to become public.
"They reflect the feeling of frustration he has not just with Bush but with all these guys claiming they didn't know him," said Eisler, who knew Abramoff through a book he wrote about the Pequot Indian tribe.
Abramoff pleaded guilty to fraud charges in January and is cooperating with prosecutors in a corruption investigation that could implicate lawmakers and officials across Washington.
Bush has said he never had a discussion with Abramoff and does not remember having his picture taken with him.
The White House has said Abramoff attended three Hanukkah receptions at the White House. Eisler said he had seen five photographs of Abramoff with Bush, none taken at Hanukkah parties.
White House spokesman Scott McClellan said that the revelations did not prove Bush knew Abramoff well.
"I think as the president also indicated, he's taken at least five photos with many people in this room at the annual holiday reception. And so I think you need to put this in context," McClellan said.
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/politics/la-na-abramoff10feb10,1,1434058.story?coll=la-news-politics-national
Abramoff, Native Americans And Us
Daniel S. Brenner
Nineteen years ago, inspired by the words of the Western Shoshone tribal chief, I trespassed onto the Nevada Nuclear Test Site and found myself in handcuffs. I was a college student in need of a haircut in the hands of a Nevada police officer with a buzz cut who escorted me to a makeshift stockade topped with barbed wire, then to a prison bus, then to a town jail in Tonopah. Rather than book me, he took off my cuffs, pushed me out to the sidewalk and told me “go back to where you came from.” I wandered over to a local pizza restaurant, and thanking the Blessed Holy One for my freedom, ate one of the worst pies of my life.
Reading about Jack Abramoff’s despicable actions in his relationship to the Saginaw Chippewa, the Louisiana Choctaw and others — all of whom he appeared to have bilked for money, some of which went to support a yeshiva in Maryland — got me thinking again about the bizarre relationship between Jews and Native Americans.
http://www.thejewishweek.com/top/editletcontent.php3?artid=4860
Lobbyist's Ties to Lawmaker Examined
Duane Gibson, who worked for mining firms, raised money for Rep. Richard Pombo, who supported a bill to open federal land.
By Richard A. Serrano, Times Staff Writer
February 8, 2006
WASHINGTON — Duane Gibson, a Washington lobbyist under federal scrutiny in the Jack Abramoff scandal, helped raise money for a California congressman who championed legislation that would benefit Western mining interests that Gibson represented.
Last fall, Rep. Richard W. Pombo (R-Tracy), chairman of the House Resources Committee, attached an amendment to a budget bill — without hearings or floor debate — that would have opened national forest and other public land to mining. The so-called Pombo provision passed the House, but was deleted from the bill in the Senate when several Western state senators and governors complained that it would endanger vast portions of federal land.
Three months before Pombo inserted the amendment, Gibson and his lobbying firm had a $1,000-a-head fundraiser for the congressman. Although the total raised at the July event is not known, Gibson contributed $1,000, and additional donations came from mining companies, including at least one that Gibson has represented.
****Washington lobbying —A Monday correction dealing with a Feb. 8 Section A article on a lobbyist's ties to Rep. Richard W. Pombo (R-Tracy) said the House had held hearings on a mining reform provision backed by Pombo but had not debated it on the House floor. A House member held hearings on mining reform in general, but not on the provision.****
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/politics/la-na-mining8feb08,1,6230871.story?coll=la-news-politics-national
Business as usual
Bush's strong support of the Dubai ports deal isn't so surprising in light of his family's many financial ties to Arab sheikdoms.
By Joe Conason
Feb. 24, 2006 To hear George W. Bush urge calm upon the nation is a refreshing change from his administration's habitual encouragement of fear for political advantage. No more color-coded terror alerts, election-timed warnings or partisan-tinged posturing will emanate from the White House, or at least not until Dubai Ports World has safely completed its takeover of several major American shipping terminals. The president's shift in tone is as remarkable as his threat to use his first veto in five years to protect the Dubai deal in the face of bipartisan congressional opposition.
But Bush's passionate defense of the United Arab Emirates and the ports deal inevitably raises questions -- not only about the due diligence of his administration in this instance but about his and his family's long-standing ties to the Persian Gulf sheikdoms, and specifically to the UAE's rulers. His insinuation that skepticism is equivalent to bigotry cannot deflect such concerns, which first arose in the months after the 9/11 attacks.
By now, everyone paying attention to the furor over the Dubai ports deal should be aware of the UAE's mixed record with regard to terror and global security. The Emirates' ruling families formerly maintained close relationships with the Taliban and Osama bin Laden, whose hunting camps in Afghanistan they frequented; two of the 20 hijackers in the 9/11 plot were UAE nationals who used safe houses and banks in Dubai; and the A.Q. Khan nuclear smuggling network also used facilities there to mask its operations. Since 9/11, however, the Emirates have cooperated with U.S. operations against al-Qaida, and their state-owned corporations have eagerly participated in American attempts to improve transportation security.
What seems worrisome even to some who might ultimately accept the Dubai ports deal is the "casual attitude" of the Bush administration in vetting the company, as Sen. Carl Levin put it. Considering the history of Bush entanglement with the oil despots of the Gulf, that lax indulgence was bad policy and worse politics.
For the president, his administration's lenience toward the Emirates recalls the unpleasant history of Harken Energy, the loser oil exploration firm that provided him with a handsome profit when he unloaded his shares during the summer of 1990. Years earlier, Harken had been rescued from bankruptcy by timely investments of millions of dollars from the scandal-ridden Bank of Credit and Commerce International, also known as the "bank of crooks and criminals." Although dominated by Saudi friends of Dubya's dad, BCCI was headquartered in the Emirates, specifically in Abu Dhabi.
That may seem like old history, but the first family's intimate connection with the UAE royals has continued without rupture over the past two decades.
Consider the Carlyle Group, the huge, politically wired private equity firm that has employed both the president and his father -- and from which the members of the Bush family and their closest associates, such as former Secretary of State James Baker III, have profited handsomely in recent years. With its sole Middle East office headquartered in Dubai, Carlyle has managed to attract substantial funding from the UAE government, which controls most of the tiny nation's oil wealth and channels that money into foreign investments.
Last year, to cite only the most recent example, Carlyle's newest buyout fund won an infusion of at least $100 million from the Dubai Investment Corp. -- another state-owned outfit created by the ruling families to reinvest the enormous inflows of capital from rising oil prices and oil consumption. If that individual deal with Carlyle represented only a small fraction of the Emirates' investments, the upside potential of the relationship could be far greater in the future. The directors of Dubai Investment expect to invest as much as $5 billion every year for a long time to come.
No doubt Carlyle will ardently bid to manage a slice of those billions -- and the president surely understands that maintaining good relations with the Emirates will enhance the prospects of the family's favorite equity firm. But to deprive Dubai of its $6.8 billion ports acquisition might well have the opposite effect. For a company that trades on its political influence as well as its business acumen, such incidents can be pivotal.
The ports controversy could cause similar problems for Neil Mallon Bush, the president's most troublesome brother, who has become a familiar face in Dubai and Abu Dhabi. Neil Bush seems to be in constant pursuit of investors and government contracts in the Emirates, and is treated there with a respect and deference that have always eluded him in his own country. For reasons that must be painfully obvious, UAE royals have been quite eager to engage the former Silverado Savings and Loan director ever since his eldest brother entered the Oval Office. That embrace only intensified after 9/11.
In October 2001, only a month after the terrorist attacks on New York and Washington, Neil Bush showed up in Dubai to attend a technology trade fair -- and to meet with Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum. While peddling the products of Ignite!, his educational software company, Bush was feted as the guest of honor at a gala dinner for a charitable foundation, also hosted by the crown prince. (Former President Bill Clinton and former Vice President Al Gore, who had been scheduled to travel to the Emirates around the same time, both canceled their attendance at those events.) According to the UAE's official news agency, Bush's discussions with Sheikh Mohammed and with Information Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan focused on "the world economy in light of recent events." During that visit Bush also met with the UAE's finance industry minister.
Exactly how much money Neil Bush raised in the Emirates as CEO of Ignite! isn't clear, but he managed to acquire a local partner, known as Trans-Data Systems, which is required for doing business there. He returned to Dubai in January 2002 to deliver a lecture on educational reform to a "select" audience of 200 government and education officials from the seven emirates that comprise the UAE. The signs of state patronage could not have been more plain. The Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry sponsored his seminar, and the official news agency made sure to note that "the younger brother of U.S. President George W. Bush ... agrees with the vision of General Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and UAE Defense Minister, about adopting new ideas into the existing education system."
During his seminar Bush noted that the "UAE is facing a golden opportunity to lead the world by putting in place a high-speed, broadband access to rich-media content which will revolutionize education in this part of the world." He illustrated this point by streaming a video clip of his son, Pierce, appearing on a television show to discuss his own learning difficulties.
"My father was the 41st president and my brother is 43rd; I think that if Pierce finishes high school, he'll be the 50th president of the United States," quipped Neil Bush. And should he fail to graduate, perhaps he will become a global businessman, just like dear old Dad. Young Pierce -- bearing the name of his mother's family and descended indirectly from Franklin Pierce, one of the worst presidents ever -- must only hope that an indulgent relative will still be in the White House.
http://www.salon.com/opinion/conason/2006/02/24/ports_controversy/
Town raps Bush spy plan
By HOWARD WEISS-TISMAN
Reformer Staff
BELLOWS FALLS
It is not often that a 15-year-old high school student stands on a street corner with an 84-year-old World War II veteran on a cold February night.
But when the veteran and the student both feel like their president is breaking the law, the differences that may arise from those 70 years or so that separate them tend to fade away.
About 30 people met in front of the Hotel Windham Wednesday night to protest President George Bush's wiretapping of American phone lines and to read a portion of the Bill of Rights.
The vigil in Bellows Falls was one of more than 230 taking place all across the country Wednesday.
The political action group Moveon.org organized the vigils to "remind Congress what is at stake," according to the group's Web site and to encourage legislators in Washington, D.C., to "check on the president's power."
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Zoe McGuire, the 15-year old high school student, traveled over from Keene, N.H., to hold a candle, listen to the Constitution, and shiver in the cold.
She can't vote now, but she said she will be registered and ready to vote in the presidential election in 2008.
She said she studied the Bill of Rights in Social Studies class and she doubts President Bush is familiar with them.
"You can't tap a phone without a warrant," she said. "Just because the president does it doesn't make it legal."
Frank Perry of Saxtons River fought at The Battle of the Bulge. He said throughout the Korean War and the Vietnam War and in all of the time since, he has not taken part in a political action.
Until Wednesday.
"I can't stand the guy," he said." This is not what we fought for."
Maya Costley, a resident of Saxtons River, was the local organizer for the vigil. She greeted each protester who walked up, handed out a candle, and explained what was going to happen.
Cars drove by, mostly honking in support.
Costley asked someone from the crowd to step up and read one of the amendments that make up the Bill of Rights.
Men and women of all ages stepped forward. They gave their name. They read the words loudly.
They came from Dummerston and New Hampshire and Massachusetts and Newfane.
"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free expression thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances," Kevin Farrell, 42, of Brattleboro read.
People shook their heads and moved in closer to hear the words. One after another the amendments were read.
And then someone got to Amendment IV.
"The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized."
"That's the one," Farrell said after the woman was done reading.
President Bush has argued that he authorized tapping phone lines in America to protect the country against terrorists. The president said he has the power to have his officials listen in on conversations, even though he is supposed to obtain a warrant before doing so.
Ed O'Neil, 73, fought in the Korean War. He said his grandfather fought in World War I, his father fought in World War II, his younger brother fought in Vietnam and his grandson is now in the Marines.
"All of us fought for something and that is being eroded away," O'Neil said. "His cronies are making an awful lot of money on this. He lies and he swears by it. He lies and tells us he is telling the truth."
John McGovern, 59, of Saxtons River made his own sign for the event. It read, "Bush: Stay Off The Line."
McGovern said this was not the first political rally he attended, but he said he is not a regular at such events and he does not usually come up with his own slogans.
"The line has been crossed and we need to take action," he said. "I usually use cardboard to start my woodstove but I may hold on to the sign. I may use it again."
http://www.reformer.com/Stories/0,1413,102~8860~3248341,00.html
TOO soon to be sure.
Frist to Offer Bill Halting U.S. Port Deal
Staff and agencies
21 February, 2006
By WILL LESTER, 28 minutes ago
WASHINGTON - Senate Republican Leader Bill Frist called Tuesday for the Bush administration to stop a deal permitting a United Arab Emirates company to take over six major U.S. seaports, upping the ante on a fight that several congressmen, governors and mayors are waging with the White House.
"I‘m not against foreign ownership," said Frist, "but my main concern is national security." He was speaking to reporters in Long Beach, Calif., where Frist was doing a fact-finding tour on port security and immigration issues.
At the Pentagon , the UAE was praised as an important strategic military partner by both Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld and Gen. Peter Pace, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Rumsfeld told that a process was in place and "the process worked."
"We all deal with the U.A.E. on a regular basis," he added. "It‘s a country that‘s been involved in the global war on terror...a country (with which) we have very close military relations."
In Los Angeles, Sen. Sus, , ), who heads the Senate Homeland Security , , ), D-Conn., sent a letter to Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff asking that the committee be fully briefed on the ports deal with the UAE company.
The goal of the resolution will be to put the deal on hold until Congress can be fully briefed.
The administration, however, insisted that national security issues had received a full airing before the interagency panel that reviews such transactions gave the go-ahead for the deal.
Frist‘s move comes a day after two Republican governors, New York‘s George Pataki and Maryland‘s Robert Ehrlich, voiced doubts about the acquisition of a British company that has been running six U.S. ports by Dubai Ports World, a state-owned business in the United Arab Emirates.
Both governors indicated they may try to cancel lease arrangements at ports in their states because of the DP World takeover.
Ehrlich, concerned about security at the Port of Baltimore, said Monday he was "very troubled" that Maryland officials got no advance notice before the Bush administration approved the Arab company‘s takeover of the operations at the six ports.
"We needed to know before this was a done deal, given the state of where we are concerning security," Ehrlich told reporters in the State House rotunda in Annapolis.
The arrangement brought protests from both political parties in Congress and a lawsuit in Florida from a company affected by the takeover.
Public fears that the nation‘s ports are not properly protected, combined with the news of an Arab country‘s takeover of six major ports, proved a combustible mix.
Republican Sen. Lindsay Graham of South Carolina said on Fox News Sunday that the administration approval was "unbelievably tone deaf politically," and at least one Senate oversight hearing was planned for later this month.
Critics have noted that some of the 9/11 hijackers used the UAE as an operational and financial base. In addition, they contend the UAE was an important transfer point for shipments of smuggled nuclear components sent to Iran , North Korea and Libya by a Pakistani scientist.
http://www.localnewsleader.com/elytimes/stories/index.php?action=fullnews&id=147083
Halliburton Sold Iranian Oil Company Key Nuclear Reactor Components, Sources Say
by Jason Leopold
August 10, 2005
Scandal-plagued Halliburton -- the oil services company once headed by Vice President Cheney -- sold an Iranian oil development company key components for a nuclear reactor, say Halliburton sources with intimate knowledge into both companies’ business dealings.
Halliburton was secretly working at the time with one of Iran’s top nuclear program officials on natural gas related projects and sold the components in April to the official's oil development company, the sources said.
Just last week, a National Security Council report said Iran was a decade away from acquiring a nuclear bomb. That time frame could arguably have been significantly longer if Halliburton, whose miltary unit just reported a 284 percent increase in its second quarter profits due to its Iraq reconstruction contracts, was not actively providing the Iranian government with the means to build a nuclear weapon.
With Iran's new hardline government now firmly in place, Iranian officials have rounded up relatives and close business associates of Iran's former President and defeated mullah presidential candidate Hashemi Rafsanjani, alleging the men were involved in widespread corruption of Iran's oil industry, specifically tied to the country's business dealings with Halliburton.
On July 27, one of Iran's many state countrolled news agencies, FARS, an 'information' arm of the Islamic judiciary, announced the arrest of several of the executives of the Oriental Oil Kish Company, which is owned by Rafsanjani's children and other relatives.
"They were brought up on charges of economic corruption," according to a report posted on the Iran Press News website. “Following the necessary investigations by the judiciary's bailiffs, with warrants from the public prosecutor's office (mainly mullahs who only dole out Islamic jurisprudence), the case of economic corruption and malfeasance, certain of the authorities of Oriental Kish Oil Company have been arrested and under questioning. The head of the board of directors was also among those detained.”
Now comes word that Halliburton, which has a long history of flouting U.S. law by conducting business with countries the Bush administration said has ties to terrorism, was working with Cyrus Nasseri, vice chairman of the board of directors of Oriental Oil Kish, one of Iran’s largest private oil companies, on oil and natural gas development projects in Tehran. Nasseri is also a key member of Iran’s nuclear development team and has been negotiating Iran's nuclear development issues with the European Union and at the International Atomic Energy Agency.
“Nasseri, a senior Iranian diplomat negotiating with Europe over Iran's controversial nuclear program is at the heart of deals with U.S. energy companies to develop the country's oil industry,” the Financial Times reported.
“A reliable source stated that, given the parameters, the close-knit cooperation and association of one of the key members of the regime's nuclear negotiation team with Halliburton can be an alarm bell which will necessarily instigate the dynamics of the members of the regimes' negotiating committee,” according to the Iran Press News story.
Oriental Oil Kish is registerd in the United Kingdom and Dubai.
Nasseri was interrogated by Iranian authorities in late July for allegedly providing Halliburton with Iran’s nuclear secrets and accepting as much as $1 million in bribes from Halliburton, Iranian government officials said. During the first round of interrogations in the judiciary, a huge network of oil mafia has been exposed, according to the IPS report.
It’s unclear whether Halliburton was privy to information regarding Iran’s nuclear activites. Halliburton sources said the company sold centrifuges and detonators to be used specifically for a nuclear reactor and oil and natural gas drilling parts for well projects to Oriental Oil Kish.
A company spokesperson did not return numerous calls for comment. A White House spokesperson also did not return calls for comment.
In 1991, Halliburton sold Libya, another country that sponsors terrorism, nuclear detonator devices. The company paid more than $3 million in fines for violating a U.S. trade embargo that President Reagan imposed in 1986 because of Libya's ties to terrorist activities.
Oriental Oil Kish dealings with Halliburton became public knowledge in January when the company announced that it had subcontracted parts of the South Pars natural gas drilling project to Halliburton Products and Services, a subsidiary of Dallas-based Halliburton that is registered in the Cayman Islands.
Following the announcement, Halliburton said the South Pars gas field project in Tehran would be its last project in Iran. The BBC reported that Halliburton, which took in $30-$40 million from its Iranian operations in 2003, "was winding down its work due to a poor business environment."
Halliburton, under mounting pressure from lawmakers in Washington, D.C., pulled out of its deal with Nasseri's company in May, but has done extensive work on other areas of the Iranian gas project and was still acting in an advisory capacity to Nasseri's company, two people who have knowledge of Halliburton's work in Iran said.
In an attempt to curtail other U.S. companies from engaging in business dealings with rogue nations, the Senate approved legislation July 26 that would penalize companies that continue to skirt U.S. law by setting up offshore subsidiaries as a way to legally conduct business in Libya, Iran and Syria, and avoid U.S. sanctions under International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA). The amendment, sponsored by Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, is part of the Senate Defense Authorization bill.
“It prevents U.S. corporations from creating a shell company somewhere else in order to do business with rogue, terror-sponsoring nations such as Syria and Iran,” Collins said in a statement.
"The bottom line is that if a U.S. company is evading sanctions to do business with one of these countries, they are helping to prop up countries that support terrorism -- most often aimed against America," she said.
The law currently doesn’t prohibit foreign subsidiaries from conducting business with rogue nations provided that the subsidiaries are truly independent of the parent company.
But Halliburton’s Cayman Island subsidiary never did fit that description.
Halliburton first started doing business in Iran as early as 1995, while Vice President Cheney was chief executive of the company and in possible violation of U.S. sanctions.
According to a February 2001 report in the Wall Street Journal, “Halliburton Products & Services Ltd. works behind an unmarked door on the ninth floor of a new north Tehran tower block. A brochure declares that the company was registered in 1975 in the Cayman Islands, is based in the Persian Gulf sheikdom of Dubai and is non-American. But, like the sign over the receptionist's head, the brochure bears the company's name and red emblem, and offers services from Halliburton units around the world.”
Moreover, mail sent to the company’s offices in Tehran and the Cayman Islands is forwarded to the company’s Dallas headquarters.
Not surprisingly, in a letter drafted by trade groups representing corporate executives vehemently objected to the amendment saying it would lead to further hatred and perhaps incite terrorist attacks on the United States and “greatly strain relations with the United States’ primary trading partners.”
“Extraterritorial measures irritate relations with the very nations the United States must secure cooperation from to promote multilateral strategies to fight terrorism and to address other areas of mutual concern,” said a letter signed by the Coalition for Employment through Exports, Emergency Coalition for American Trade, National Foreign Trade Council, USA Engage, U.S. Council on International Business and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.
“Foreign governments view U.S. efforts to dictate their foreign and commercial policy as violations of sovereignty, often leading them to adopt retaliatory measures more at odds with U.S. goals.”
Still, Collins’ amendment has some holes. As Washington Times columnist Frank Gaffney pointed out in a July 25 story, “the Collins amendment would seek to penalize individuals or entities who evade IEEPA sanctions -- if they are "subject to the jurisdiction of the United States."
“This is merely a restatement of existing regulations," Gaffney said.
"The problem with this formulation is that, in the process of purportedly closing one loophole, it would appear to create new ones. As Sen. Collins told the Senate: "Some truly independent foreign subsidiaries are incorporated under the laws of the country in which they do business and are subject to that country's laws, to that legal jurisdiction. There is a great deal of difference between a corporation set up in a day, without any real employees or assets, and one that has been in existence for many years and that gets purchased, in part, by a U.S. firm."
"It is a safe bet that every foreign subsidiary of a U.S. company doing business with terrorist states will claim it is one of the ones Sen. Collins would allow to continue enriching our enemies, not one prohibited from doing so,” Gaffney said.
Going a step further, Dow Jones Newswires reported that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission sent letters in June to energy corporations demanding that the companies disclose in their security filings any business dealings with terrorist supporting nations.
“The letters have been sent by the SEC's Office of Global Security Risk, a special division that monitors companies with operations in Iran and other countries under U.S. sanctions, which were created by the U.S. Congress in 2004,” Dow Jones reported.
The move comes as investors have become increasingly concerned that they may be unwillingly supporting terrorist activity. In the case of Halliburton, the New York City Comptroller's office threatened in March 2003 to pull its $23 million investment in the company if Halliburton continued to conduct business with Iran.
The SEC letters are aimed at forcing corporations to disclose their profits from business dealings rogue nations. Oil companies, such as Devon Energy Corp., ConocoPhillips, Marathon Oil Corp. and Occidental Petroleum Corp., that currently conduct business with countries that sponsor terrorism, have not disclosed the profits received from terrorist countries in their most recent quarterly reports because the companies don’t consider the earnings “material.”
Devon Energy was until recently conducting business in Syria. The company just sold its stake in an oil field there. ConocoPhillips has a service contract with the Syrian Petroleum Co. that expires on Dec. 31.
---
Jason Leopold is the author of the explosive memoir, News Junkie, to be released in the spring of 2006 by Process/Feral House Books. Visit Leopold's website at www.jasonleopold.com for updates.
http://www.freepress.org/departments/display/9/2005/1402
The Globe and Mail
Global war rages against desert sand
Deserts threaten to expand across much of North and Southern Africa, with the Science and Development Network reporting that global warming is set to put the dunes of the Kalahari on the march, for example.
But elsewhere in the world, one country has launched a major plan to reclaim 250 000 square kilometres of land it has lost to expanding deserts. Nearly one-fifth of China's total area is covered with desert. Any further spread could have serious impacts on agriculture and settlements.
According to China's State Forestry Administration, 500 000 square kilometres of desert has the potential to be reclaimed. The "desert-control scheme" just announced by the Chinese Cabinet aims to reclaim half of this by 2020.
The government's heavy-handed approach may be of interest to numerous African governments faced with a similar crisis. China will ban land use in areas at risk of desertification, and plant trees and grasses in an attempt to stop the sand spreading. It will also increase research on desertification and set up a system to monitor the spread of deserts.
One major contributor to desertification is people cutting down trees to burn as fuel. The scheme will therefore invest in efficient water use and sustainable energy supplies -- such as wind or solar power -- in dry areas.
"The most important task is to work out robust research-based plans to meet the specific demands of each element of the desert-control battle," says Wang Tao, director of the Cold and Arid Regions Environmental and Engineering Research Institute in Lanzhou.
Jia Zhibang, director of the State Forestry Administration, says the government will encourage private-sector involvement in the scheme.
All of the money companies spend on fighting desertification will be tax exempt, and the government will pay the interest on any loans used to carry out the work, says Jia.
Announcing the scheme, the Chinese Cabinet said a massive tree-planting project that began in the late 1990s is already curbing desert expansion in some areas.
Between 2000 and 2004, China's deserts shrank by 1 283 square kilometres a year, compared with yearly growth of 3 436 square kilometres from 1994 to 1999.
The announcement follows the release of China's new national policy for medium- and long-term scientific development.
Priorities include energy, life sciences (otherwise known as biology) and environment and new materials. China's investment in research and development is meant to soar to 900-billion yuan ($112-billion) by 2020. -- SciDev.Net
http://www.mg.co.za/articlePage.aspx?articleid=265759&area=/insight/insight__international/
China fights to hold back desert sands
China declared its first victory in a centuries-old war against the desert on Monday after a campaign to plant 12-billion trees in five years finally made a small green dent in an ocean of sand dunes and dustbowls.
It is being hailed as a sign of a budding ecological consciousness in a country that is trying to move away from a growth-at-all-costs industrial model. On Monday, the government also announced plans to build 32 nuclear power stations -- part of a scheme to reduce dependence on fossil fuels.
Faced by one of the world's fastest-deteriorating environments, the government in Beijing has invested more than 50-billion yuan (about R37,6-billion) since 1978 on a "Great Green Wall" to protect the country's northern cities from the encroaching desert. For most of that time, it has been a losing battle because climate change and rapid industrialisation have sucked lakes and rivers dry, while overlogging and overgrazing has left many hillsides bare. Deserts now cover almost a fifth of China's territory, or more than seven times the area of Britain.
http://www.mg.co.za/articlePage.aspx?articleid=265485&area=/breaking_news/breaking_news__international_news/
A new kind of shark?
The Pentagon is funding research into neural implants, with the ultimate hope of turning sharks into "stealth spies" capable of gliding undetected through the ocean, the British weekly New Scientist says.
The research builds on experimental work to control animals by implanting tiny electrodes in their brain, which are then stimulated to induce a behavioural response.
"The Pentagon hopes to exploit sharks' natural ability to glide quietly through the water, sense delicate electrical gradients and follow chemical trails," says the report. "By remotely guiding the sharks' movements they hope to transform the animals into stealth spies, perhaps capable of following vessels without being spotted."
The unusual project is being funded by the Pentagon's Defence Advanced Research Projects Agency, which pioneered the Internet as a platform for robust communications. Scientists involved in the scheme presented their work last week at a meeting on Ocean Sciences in Honolulu, Hawaii, according to the report.
A team at Boston University have implanted electrodes into the brain of a spiny dogfish in a shallow tank. The implants, controlled by a small radio transmitter, stimulate either the right or left side of a brain-area dedicated to smell, causing the fish to flick around in that direction in response to the signal.
The next step will be to take this device outside the laboratory. Blue sharks implanted with the gadget are to be released off the coast of Florida.
As radio signals will not penetrate the sea, communications with the fish will be made through US Navy acoustic towers, capable of sending sonar signals to a shark up to 300km away. -- AFP
http://www.mg.co.za/articlepage.aspx?area=/breaking_news/other_news/&articleid=265740
Angry Aussie's 'surf rage' leads to beach ban
An Australian surfer accused of "surf rage" has been banned from riding the waves at nine Sydney beaches, local media reported on Thursday.
A court heard that John Dunne (34) had mounted a campaign of intimidation against other surfers who dared catch his favourite, world-renowned, breakers at North Narabeen beach.
He allegedly harassed seven people, including a church minister and a local lifeguard, after clashes in the surf, and is facing 29 counts of assault, stalking and malicious damage.
At a first court appearance last month, Dunne was banned from all beaches in New South Wales state, but a magistrate on Wednesday reduced the ban to cover nine Sydney area beaches.
"I think the decision to prevent him going to any beaches is a bit beyond the pale," magistrate Andrew George was quoted as saying by the Daily Telegraph.
But the magistrate refused to allow Dunne to visit the beach where his father's ashes were scattered, stipulating that he not go within 100m of any of the nine surfing spots until the court case is completed.
Australian Nat Young (53), four-time world champion surfer, has attributed "surf rage" to the increasing number of surfers searching for quality waves. -- Sapa-AFP
http://www.mg.co.za/articlepage.aspx?area=/breaking_news/other_news/&articleid=265702
Ponting in doubt for SA series
Australian cricket captain Ricky Ponting risks aggravating a stomach muscle strain if he plays in the remainder of the five-match one-day series in South Africa, team physiotherapist Errol Alcott has warned.
While Ponting is an outside chance of returning to lead Australia in the second day-night match in Cape Town on Friday, medical opinion is that he will miss the game as well as Sunday's match in Port Elizabeth.
With a schedule of five Tests in South Africa and Bangladesh in as many weeks coming up, there is a reluctance to expose any likely member of the Test squad to unnecessary risk.
http://www.mg.co.za/articlepage.aspx?area=/breaking_news/breaking_news__sport/&articleid=265708
Zimbabwe says it can't remove every white farmer
Zimbabwe's vice-president has said the country's remaining white farmers would be spared eviction if they toed the line and respected the law, local media reported on Thursday.
"We cannot remove every white man in this country," Vice-President Joseph Msika was quoted as telling a farmers' rally.
"If you think it's possible, that will not happen. We will respect those white people who respect our laws and want to live with us," the private Daily Mirror newspaper quoted him as saying.
The state-owned Herald further quoted Msika as saying: "We cannot remove every white farmer because it's stupidity. That is shooting yourself in the foot."
No more than 600 white farmers remain in Zimbabwe following controversial land reforms which saw the eviction of at least 4 000 of their peers to pave the way for land redistribution to poor blacks.
Msika also lashed out at lazy black farmers who invaded white farms and seized properties and then failed to produce anything.
"Some of you when you take these farms, you don't make use of them," The Herald quoted Msika as saying.
"Don't just evict someone who is farming productively because they are of a different race."
Msika's statements came weeks after Land Minister Didymus Mutasa said no white farmers were "farming legally" and urged them to seek permission from the government to continue work after constitutional reforms barred dispossesed farmers from seeking legal recourse.
Msika attacked new farmers for their heavy dependence on government handouts.
"We don't want to build a nation of beggars," Msika said, urging the farmers to "cultivate the land".
Zimbabwe's land reforms, which began often violently in 2000 after the rejection in a referendum on a government-sponsored draft Constitution, have seen about 4 000 white farmers lose their properties.
Critics say the majority of the beneficiaries of the land reforms lack farming skills and rely on government handouts.
They also blame the land reforms for the chronic food shortages in what was once Southern Africa's bread basket.
At least four million of Zimbabwe's 13-million people require food aid until the next harvest in May. - AFP
http://www.mg.co.za/articlePage.aspx?articleid=265729&area=/breaking_news/breaking_news__africa/
Hamas invited for talks in South Africa
A Hamas spokesperson said on Thursday that the militant group, which is to take over the Palestinian government this month, has been invited to South Africa for talks with officials.
No timetable has been set for the visit, spokesperson Sami Abu Zuhri said.
The invitation dealt yet another blow to Israel's efforts to isolate Hamas, which has refused to renounce its violent anti-Israel campaign since sweeping Palestinian elections on January 25.
"We would be concerned that giving legitimacy to an unreformed Hamas could stifle the possibility that the movement will transform itself from a terrorist organization to a political party," Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mark Regev said.
http://www.mg.co.za/articlePage.aspx?articleid=265760&area=/breaking_news/breaking_news__international_news/
Show and tell online
After decades of devotion, the British teenager is falling out of love with the television. For many, the old TV set is no longer the first thing they turn to after a day at school. Sadly for teachers, it's not always homework that kids are turning to as a substitute, but rather a group of fast-growing websites that let them watch -- and communicate with -- each other.
In the past 12 months, "social networking" has gone from being the next big thing to the thing itself. Last month, MySpace, the site that famously propelled the Arctic Monkeys to pop stardom, overtook the BBC website in terms of visitor numbers.
Along with competing sites Bebo and Facebook, MySpace has formed one of the fastest growing sectors on the internet. Latest data from the internet traffic monitor Hitwise reports that visits to MySpace, the market leader, have grown sixfold year on year, while those to rivals Spaces.MSN.com are up 11-fold and to Bebo.com an amazing 61 times more.
http://www.mg.co.za/articlePage.aspx?articleid=265752&area=/breaking_news/breaking_news__business
Birds die in Bahamas as Swiss confirm bird flu
Experts on Wednesday probed the unusual deaths of 14 birds in the southern Bahamas amid fears the deadly H5N1 bird-flu virus strain had reached the Americas.
In Europe, meanwhile, Swiss officials confirmed the Alpine nation's first case of the disease's highly pathogenic strain that can kill humans, while the world's top health agencies played down the death of a German cat from H5N1.
Ten flamingos, three roseate spoonbills and a cormorant were found dead in a wildlife reserve on the Bahamas island of Great Inagua, which has a population of about 50 000 flamingos and a large lake popular with migrating birds.
http://www.mg.co.za/articlepage.aspx?area=/breaking_news/breaking_news__international_news/&articleid=265699
Nigeria steps up effort to free remaining oil hostages
Nigerian officials stepped up efforts on Thursday to negotiate the release of two kidnapped Americans and a Briton after six of the hostages' fellow oil workers were freed by militants.
On Wednesday, separatist guerrillas allowed two thirds of their captives to go free after holding them for 13 days in the swamps of the Niger Delta.
But three more hostages -- identified by rebel and industry sources as United States oil workers Cody Oswald and Russel Spell and British security expert John Hudspith -- are still being held.
http://www.mg.co.za/articlepage.aspx?area=/breaking_news/breaking_news__africa/&articleid=265732
Nigerian militants release 'low-value' hostages
Militants have released six foreign oil workers they deemed "low value", but held on to two Americans and one Briton and threatened crippling new attacks aimed at cutting off all oil production in Nigeria.
American Macon Hawkins, who turned 69 on Wednesday, was the first to be released, set free in the presence of foreign journalists visiting the West African nation's swampy delta region. Militants said in an e-mailed statement afterward that the ageing diabetic was freed "on account of his age and poor health".
Hours later, he joined five other frazzled-looking former captives -- two Egyptians, two Thais and one Filipino -- at the offices of James Ibori, Governor of the restive southern Delta state.
http://www.mg.co.za/articlepage.aspx?area=/breaking_news/breaking_news__africa/&articleid=265715
Oil prices rise as market eyes Nigeria
Crude futures rose on Thursday as traders ignored United States government data showing growing supplies, focusing instead on Nigeria and other geopolitical threats to global oil supplies.
Light, sweet crude for April delivery rose 41 cents to $62,38 a barrel in Asian electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. On Wednesday, the contract rose 56 cents to settle at $61,97 a barrel.
April Brent crude on London's ICE Futures was up 42 cents at $62,87 a barrel.
Gasoline futures rose 0,46 cents to $1,6270 a gallon (3,8 litres), while heating oil inched up 0,83 cents to $1,7549 a gallon. Natural gas rose 4,7 cents to $6,780 per 1 000 cubic feet.
http://www.mg.co.za/articlepage.aspx?area=/breaking_news/breaking_news__business/&articleid=265723
Two hanged publicly in Iran
Two men convicted of carrying out a deadly a bomb attack in Iran's restive oil city of Ahvaz were executed in public early on Thursday, state media announced.
"People were shouting down with America, Israel and Britain," the reports said, adding that the two men -- Ali Affrawi and Mehdi Navasseri -- were hanged at the scene of their crime, committed last October. Their double bomb attack in a busy shopping area of the city killed six people and injured close to 100 others.
Khuzestan province's deputy governor Mohsen Farokh-Nejad has described the pair as "individuals with Wahabi and Salafist tendencies", a reference to hard-line Sunni Muslim ideologies that are violently opposed to the Shi'ite branch of Islam dominant in Iran.
Khuzestan is home to a large community of ethnic minority Arabs and has been plagued by a wave of bombings over the past year.
Tehran has blamed the unrest on London and the British troops based just across the border in southern Iraq, an allegation that Britain has denied. The executions bring to 24 the number of people executed in Iran so far in 2006, according to an AFP tally based on press reports and witnesses.
Capital offences in Iran include murder, rape, armed robbery, apostasy, blasphemy, serious drug trafficking, repeated sodomy, adultery or prostitution, treason and espionage. -- AFP
http://www.mg.co.za/articlepage.aspx?area=/breaking_news/breaking_news__international_news/&articleid=265720
The plight of Malawi's child brides
Innat Edson didn't think it would end this way. Last year, she was making wedding plans. Now, at just 15, she is back at her mother's cramped, dingy house, nursing a fussing baby her former fiancé refuses to acknowledge is his.
Here, and in isolated villages and crumbling cities across the most destitute continent, girls younger than 14 are finding boyfriends and getting married in a bid to escape the empty bellies, numbing work and overwhelming tedium of poverty.
Encouraged by their parents, many marry much older men who they hope can give them a better life. Often, they are disappointed.
http://www.mg.co.za/articlepage.aspx?area=/breaking_news/breaking_news__africa/&articleid=265661
Protector reopens Oilgate probe
Public Protector Lawrence Mushwana announced on Friday that his office has reopened its investigation into Social Development Minister Zola Skweyiya's role in the Oilgate affair.
This comes after his office found in July last year that there was no evidence that Skweyiya performed "any official act or omission" that could have favoured oil company Imvume in any way.
Mushwana said in a statement released in Pretoria that his office last month received further information "in connection with the allegations against Dr Skweyiya", the contents of which he would not divulge at this stage.
There had also been a complaint from an MP alleging that a R65 000 loan to Skweyiya's wife from Imvume boss Sandi Majali meant the minister himself had violated the Executive Members' Ethics Code.
http://www.mg.co.za/articlePage.aspx?articleid=265856&area=/breaking_news/breaking_news__national/
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