"Cock-A-Doodle-Do"
"Okeydoke"
Thursday, February 23, 2006
Turning his back on the country was never an issue for Bush. For any Bush for that matter.
George Walker Bush has his back to the camera no different than he exercises his priviledges as president to the country. He is greeting lobbyists in May of 2001.
Ever get the feeling the electorate was a 'bother' to them?
No Justice, No Peace
If you talk to Maher Arar long enough, even on the telephone, you'll get the disturbing sense that you are speaking with someone whose life has been shattered like a pane of glass.
"Sometimes I have the feeling that I want to go and live on another planet," he told me. "A completely different planet than planet Earth. You know?"
Mr. Arar, thanks to the United States government, went through the almost incomprehensible agony of being tortured. Now he is trying to live with the aftermath of torture, which is its own form of agony.
On Sept. 26, 2002, Mr. Arar, a Canadian citizen born in Syria, was taken into custody by American authorities at Kennedy Airport in New York. He was locked in chains and shackles and accused of being "a member of a known terrorist organization."
There was no evidence to support the accusation, and no evidence has ever come to light. Nevertheless, as part of the hideous U.S. policy known as extraordinary rendition, Mr. Arar was shipped off to Syria, where he was kept in an underground rat-infested, grave-like cell, and tortured. (When I visited him in Ottawa last year, he told me how he had screamed and wept and begged both God and his captors for mercy.)
After 10 months, he was released. No charges against him were ever filed.
I called Mr. Arar last week after a federal judge in Brooklyn threw out a lawsuit in which Mr. Arar had sought damages from the U.S. government for his ordeal.
"I don't feel like I am the same person," he said. "I feel that my brain or my inner soul does not want to think about what's going on. My soul is trying to distract itself from reality."
The reality, he said, is that his life has been all but completely destroyed. He is fearful. He has become psychologically and emotionally distant from his wife and two young children. He has nightmares. He can't find a job. He spins dizzily from one bout with depression to another. And some former friends who are Muslim will no longer associate with him because "they're afraid to be the next target."
"I mean, you can tell, no one wants to hear about me," he said. "After 9/11, everyone branded with the terrorism label — they're doomed."
Mr. Arar, now 35, made a comfortable living as a software engineer before he fell into the demonic embrace of the rendition program. Now no one will hire him. "They put it in a nice way," he said. "They've said to people: 'Listen, we believe he's innocent. But, you know, we don't want to hire him.' "
Mr. Arar's own psychological difficulties have compounded the external challenges he faces. "I was invited to go and speak in Vancouver, which is west of here," he said. "But I can't take the plane anymore. Psychologically I am so scared to fly. So I couldn't go."
He said he frequently lacks the confidence or motivation to perform even minor tasks, and often feels overwhelmed by the thought of something as ordinary as a scheduled meeting with the principal at his 9-year-old daughter's school.
He said his 4-year-old son, Houd, panics whenever he thinks his father is about to go out. "He always wants to come with me," said Mr. Arar. "He insists, and he cries if I can't take him. He's afraid that if I go, I won't ever come back."
So the nightmare that began with rendition continues with no end in sight. Mr. Arar is grateful that his wife was able to land a job last year with a political party. "It's not much money," he said, "but had she not found a job we would be in a very, very miserable situation. We're just barely surviving."
Unexpected emotional support has come from ordinary Canadians; strangers frequently come up to Mr. Arar on the street and shake his hand. "They might say, "We're behind you,' or, 'We support you,' " he said. "It means a lot to me."
The rendition program is one more example of the way the United States, using the threat of terror as an excuse, has locked its ideals away in a drawer somewhere. We don't even give them lip service anymore. A person like Mr. Arar is not seen as having any rights. He's not even seen as human. He was carted away in accordance with official U.S. policy, and treated like an animal.
"They are doing this to people and it is wrong, wrong, wrong," said Mr. Arar. "This is an evil practice, and I want them to acknowledge it. I want them to acknowledge that what they did to me was wrong."
"Sometimes I have the feeling that I want to go and live on another planet," he told me. "A completely different planet than planet Earth. You know?"
Mr. Arar, thanks to the United States government, went through the almost incomprehensible agony of being tortured. Now he is trying to live with the aftermath of torture, which is its own form of agony.
On Sept. 26, 2002, Mr. Arar, a Canadian citizen born in Syria, was taken into custody by American authorities at Kennedy Airport in New York. He was locked in chains and shackles and accused of being "a member of a known terrorist organization."
There was no evidence to support the accusation, and no evidence has ever come to light. Nevertheless, as part of the hideous U.S. policy known as extraordinary rendition, Mr. Arar was shipped off to Syria, where he was kept in an underground rat-infested, grave-like cell, and tortured. (When I visited him in Ottawa last year, he told me how he had screamed and wept and begged both God and his captors for mercy.)
After 10 months, he was released. No charges against him were ever filed.
I called Mr. Arar last week after a federal judge in Brooklyn threw out a lawsuit in which Mr. Arar had sought damages from the U.S. government for his ordeal.
"I don't feel like I am the same person," he said. "I feel that my brain or my inner soul does not want to think about what's going on. My soul is trying to distract itself from reality."
The reality, he said, is that his life has been all but completely destroyed. He is fearful. He has become psychologically and emotionally distant from his wife and two young children. He has nightmares. He can't find a job. He spins dizzily from one bout with depression to another. And some former friends who are Muslim will no longer associate with him because "they're afraid to be the next target."
"I mean, you can tell, no one wants to hear about me," he said. "After 9/11, everyone branded with the terrorism label — they're doomed."
Mr. Arar, now 35, made a comfortable living as a software engineer before he fell into the demonic embrace of the rendition program. Now no one will hire him. "They put it in a nice way," he said. "They've said to people: 'Listen, we believe he's innocent. But, you know, we don't want to hire him.' "
Mr. Arar's own psychological difficulties have compounded the external challenges he faces. "I was invited to go and speak in Vancouver, which is west of here," he said. "But I can't take the plane anymore. Psychologically I am so scared to fly. So I couldn't go."
He said he frequently lacks the confidence or motivation to perform even minor tasks, and often feels overwhelmed by the thought of something as ordinary as a scheduled meeting with the principal at his 9-year-old daughter's school.
He said his 4-year-old son, Houd, panics whenever he thinks his father is about to go out. "He always wants to come with me," said Mr. Arar. "He insists, and he cries if I can't take him. He's afraid that if I go, I won't ever come back."
So the nightmare that began with rendition continues with no end in sight. Mr. Arar is grateful that his wife was able to land a job last year with a political party. "It's not much money," he said, "but had she not found a job we would be in a very, very miserable situation. We're just barely surviving."
Unexpected emotional support has come from ordinary Canadians; strangers frequently come up to Mr. Arar on the street and shake his hand. "They might say, "We're behind you,' or, 'We support you,' " he said. "It means a lot to me."
The rendition program is one more example of the way the United States, using the threat of terror as an excuse, has locked its ideals away in a drawer somewhere. We don't even give them lip service anymore. A person like Mr. Arar is not seen as having any rights. He's not even seen as human. He was carted away in accordance with official U.S. policy, and treated like an animal.
"They are doing this to people and it is wrong, wrong, wrong," said Mr. Arar. "This is an evil practice, and I want them to acknowledge it. I want them to acknowledge that what they did to me was wrong."
Morning Papers - Its Origins
The Concord Monitor
The students just keep on coming
$2.6 million school expansion goes to council
Franklin's Paul A. Smith School is so overenrolled that classeshave taken over the library, the teacher's room, the stage and, for a time, even the hallways - until the fire department stepped in last fall.
But that may soon change. On Monday, the school board voted in favor of a $2.6 million, seven-classroom addition to the school, which serves the city's kindergarten through second grade classes.
The bond request now heads to the city council. Yesterday, the project's supporters were confident that it would pass. School Board Chair Kathy Fuller said she hadn't heard of any opposition from the councilors, who have an open invitation to tour the school and see the space crunch for themselves.
http://www.cmonitor.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060222/REPOSITORY/602220314/1031
Teachers hold off voting on strike
Union members meet, take no action
At a union meeting yesterday, Concord teachers did not vote to strike, according to the union president. It was the first time the full teachers' union gathered since members authorized a strike vote last week.
President Kerry Clock said he feels the union and the Concord School Board are close to a contract settlement. Union heads said they hope to hold off on a strike vote until they can meet again with board members - with or without the mediator, who has run negotiations but isn't available until next month.
"We should have had this settlement a long time ago," Clock said. "We'd like to put this behind us and focus all our energies on teaching."
http://www.cmonitor.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060222/REPOSITORY/602220342/1031
Seniors make it their night
Hopkinton boys roll past Campbell to improve to 15-2
HOPKINTON - Last night may not have been the final appearance at home for Hopkinton's seniors, but it was Senior Night, and the six departing Hawks wanted to put their mark on the evening. They did just that, turning a six-point halftime lead into a 52-35 blowout against Campbell (12-6).
At 15-2 with one game to play in the regular season, Hopkinton is assured a top-three seed and home court in the first round of the Class M tournament.
"It was very emotional and sad, but exciting," said Pat West. "I've lived in Hopkinton my whole life, played with these guys for as long as I can remember. So it was emotional, but it was exciting to get out here and win the last home game."
http://www.cmonitor.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060222/REPOSITORY/602220375/1222
Longtime fixture of local theater dies
Meier had a passion for performing arts
Days before Jane Meier was hospitalized last month, she directed a one-act play as part of a Concord Community Players' show. During her time in the hospital, she helped direct the Concord High School performance of Oklahoma!from her bed, as crew members stayed in touch via e-mail and brought her photos of costumes to okay.
Meier, a longtime fixture in local school and community theater programs, died early yesterday morning of cancer. Throughout her life and in her last days, friends said, theater was a constant and teaching it was one of her biggest passions.
http://www.cmonitor.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060222/REPOSITORY/602220376/1031
Nashua Telegraph
Schools eye parents to pick up sports teams’ tab
Even in an age when television offers sports on demand virtually around the clock, the high school gym remains a community gathering place on winter Tuesday and Friday nights. Parents watch their children, neighbors root for their neighbors, alumni relive the old days, school administrators get out among their constituents.
On one recent evening at Nashua High School South, Mike and Karen Feehan cheered on the boys basketball team as it finally overcame Trinity High School’s game-long lead. Junior Matt Feehan’s go-ahead 3-point shot late in the fourth quarter split the net and caused a bit of delirium in the stands.
The 16-year-old’s parents nearly reached the rafters with jumps for joy. They probably would have had the same reaction if the hoop had been nailed by Matt’s freshman teammate, his 15-year-old brother, Danny.
http://www.nashuatelegraph.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060222/NEWS01/102220086
Streeter: City is solid, but cuts need to be made
NASHUA – Mayor Bernie Streeter said the city is standing on solid financial ground, but at the same time he considers last fall’s municipal election as a mandate to rein in spending.
“Fiscal conservatives are being elected at all levels of government by a citizenry that appears to be fed up with the status quo,” Streeter said Tuesday in his seventh state-of-the-city speech.
Voters supported candidates advocating for tighter control of spending, he said, noting the turnover of members of the board of aldermen was one of the largest in recent memory.
As is the custom, Streeter made the speech at a breakfast meeting of the Greater Nashua Chamber of Commerce with some 125 people in attendance. He repeated the speech to the board of aldermen in the evening.
The twice-elected mayor joked he wondered during the fall if he would give the speech. He thanked his legal team and a “wise” judiciary for keeping him in office.
http://www.nashuatelegraph.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060222/NEWS01/102220135
Michael Moore Today
http://www.michaelmoore.com/
U.S. Concedes to Force-Feeding Detainees
By Eric Schmitt and Tim Golden / New York Times
WASHINGTON, Feb. 21 — The military commander responsible for the American detention center at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, confirmed Tuesday that officials there last month turned to more aggressive methods to deter prisoners who were carrying out long-term hunger strikes to protest their incarceration.
The commander, Gen. Bantz J. Craddock, head of the United States Southern Command, said soldiers at Guantánamo began strapping some of the detainees into "restraint chairs" to force-feed them and isolate them from one another after finding that some were deliberately vomiting or siphoning out the liquid they had been fed.
"It was causing problems because some of these hard-core guys were getting worse," General Craddock said at a breakfast meeting with reporters. Explaining the use of the restraint chairs, he added, "The way around that is you have to make sure that purging doesn't happen."
http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/latestnews/index.php?id=5929
Guantanamo Staffing to Be Reduced About 20%
By Josh White / New York Times
The size of the military task force at the U.S. detention facility in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, will be reduced by nearly 20 percent, the result of better security measures at the prison, a defense official said yesterday.
Gen. Bantz J. Craddock, who leads the U.S. military's Southern Command, told defense reporters yesterday that the Guantanamo Bay force will decline by about 400 from the current 2,000 during a phased rotation that begins next month. The decrease, he said, is because of improvements in security infrastructure, such as better fencing and electronic security features.
http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/latestnews/index.php?id=5937
Poll: Faith in Gov't Readiness Falling
By Erin McClam / Associated Press
Ask Irene Tuzinski, a retiree living in a small, northeast Pennsylvania town, about the legacy of Hurricane Katrina, and she answers with an intense blend of bewilderment and outrage.
She questions the government's handling of the recovery - "What happened to all the money we're spending on Katrina?" she asks - and she doubts the government could ably handle another major disaster. And a new Associated Press-Ipsos Public Affairs poll suggests she is far from alone.
The poll finds public confidence in government disaster readiness is lower today, six months after Katrina struck, than it was in early September 2005, when images of rooftop-stranded storm victims were fresh in the nation's mind.
Slightly less than half of those polled, 47 percent, said they were very or somewhat confident in the government's preparedness - down from 56 percent in the days after the storm and 54 percent in mid-September.
http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/latestnews/index.php?id=5934
Four influential Latino peace activists will lead a 241 mile quest for peace!
Citizens for Pablo
Main Contacts:
Pablo Paredes (619) 857-4947
pablopare@gmail.com
Victor Paredes (917) 864-9179
vicparedes@msn.com
On March 12, 2006 Fernando Suarez del Solar, Pablo Paredes, Camilo Mejia and Aidan Delgado will lead a coalition of the willing across a 241 mile quest for peace that aims at raising Latino voice of opposition to the War in Iraq. The March will run from Tijuana, Mexico all the way to The Mission district of San Francisco making strategic, symbolic and ceremonial stops along the way. The 241 mile march is inspired by Gandhi’s 1930 Salt March protesting British imperialism and will serve as a loud cry for an end to the bloodshed in Iraq.
http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/latestnews/index.php?id=5919
Congressman wants probe of president's decision to go into Iraq
FOX Providence
WASHINGTON Congressman John Olver supports an investigation into whether President Bush should face impeachment for possibly manipulating intelligence to support the invasion of Iraq.
Olver and another Massachusetts congressman -- John Tierney -- have signed onto a bill to create a House select committee to conduct the investigation. In all, 26 Democrats have co-sponsored the measure, which was introduced in December by Michigan congressman John Conyers.
President Bush could face impeachment under the long-shot legislation if the panel determines the president wrongly convinced Congress that Saddam Hussein had weapons to attack America, and that he intended to sell them to al-Qaida.
White House spokesman Ken Lisaius yesterday dismissed the move as an election-year strategy to win votes.
http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/latestnews/index.php?id=5942
Terror fears, stoked by Bush, now bite him
By Alan Elsner / Reuters
WASHINGTON - For almost five years President George W. Bush has warned Americans to fear terrorism, but now those words may come back to bite him.
The president, who has cast himself as America's protector against terrorism and Islamic militancy, has been thrown on the defensive by a bipartisan revolt over his administration's approval of a state-owned company from the United Arab Emirates assuming operation of six major U.S. seaports.
Bush and his aides have argued that the United Arab Emirates is an anti-terrorist ally and that the company would have no security role. But even Bush allies, like South Carolina Republican Sen. Lindsay Graham, have called the deal "politically tone deaf."
http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/latestnews/index.php?id=5941
Stipe, Bright Eyes Unite for Peace
Musicians, activists join forces for benefit concert
By Tracey Ford / Rolling Stone
R.E.M. singer Michael Stipe, Bright Eyes, Public Enemy frontman Chuck D and Rufus Wainwright will join peace activist Cindy Sheehan for the Bring 'Em Home concert. The event, which will benefit the Iraq War Veterans Against the War and Veterans for Peace, will take place at New York's Hammerstein Ballroom on March 20th, the third anniversary of the U.S. invasion of Iraq. The evening's guest hosts will include such outspoken celebrities as Jane Fonda, Alec Baldwin, Margaret Cho and Janeane Garofalo; while Steve Earle, Fischerspooner, Peaches and Devendra Banhart will be among the other performers.
http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/latestnews/index.php?id=5940
Gunmen strike 27 Baghdad mosques, kill imams
CNN crew members covering violence abducted and released
BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- Gunmen targeted 27 Baghdad mosques and killed three Sunni imams Wednesday in the wake of a bomb attack at one of the holiest Shiite sites.
The wave of attacks followed an early morning bombing at the Al-Askariya "Golden Mosque" in Samarra. The strikes, involving small arms, rocket-propelled grenades and mortar rounds, all happened between 11 a.m. and 5 p.m., police said.
A CNN crew was also caught up in the violence, and in Basra, southern Iraq, a local official said jail inmates were abducted.
Twelve inmates were snatched from the main prison in Basra by gunmen carrying Iraqi government identification cards, a member of the Basra provisional council said.
http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/latestnews/index.php?id=5939
Now running for office: an army of Iraq war vets
By Linda Feldmann / Christian Science Monitor
WASHINGTON - They call themselves the Band of Brothers, about 50 men - and a few women - all Democrats, all opposed to the Bush administration's handling of Iraq, and all military veterans.
One more thing: They're all running for Congress this year.
Not since 1946 have so many vets from one party come together in a political campaign, they claim. Their wildest dream is to give the Democratic Party the extra edge it needs - by boosting its weak image on defense and patriotism - to end Republican control of the House.
They also know it's a long shot: Many are running against incumbents in safe Republican districts. Many also face competitive primaries against Democratic opponents with more political experience and access to money.
http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/latestnews/index.php?id=5938
Bush Unaware of Port Sale Before Congressional Opposition
By Daniela Deane / Washington Post
President Bush wasn't aware of the sale of six U.S. ports to an Arab company until after federal approval was granted and congressional opposition erupted over the deal, his spokesman said today.
"This didn't rise to the presidential level," White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan told reporters at the daily briefing.
McClellan said Bush became aware only in the "last several days" of the controversial $6.8 billion sale of Britain's Peninsular & Oriental Steam Navigation Co., commonly known as P & O, to DP World, a state-owned company in Dubai in the United Arab Emirates.
http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/latestnews/index.php?id=5936
California postpones execution indefinitely
By Carolyn Abate / Reuters
SAN QUENTIN, California - California officials postponed indefinitely the execution of convicted killer Michael Morales on Tuesday after notifying a federal court they could not comply with a court order that medical professionals assist in carrying out his death sentence.
San Quentin State Prison spokesman Lt. Vernell Crittendon said prison officials, who had delayed the execution earlier in the day, could not find a licensed medical professional willing to inject a lethal drug into Morales.
http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/latestnews/index.php?id=5931
Police Tied to Death Squads
U.S. military officials say they suspect Iraq's highway patrol, staffed largely by Shiites, is deeply involved in torture and killings.
By Solomon Moore / Los Angeles Times
BAGHDAD — A 1,500-member Iraqi police force with close ties to Shiite militia groups has emerged as a focus of investigations into suspected death squads working within the country's Interior Ministry.
Iraq's national highway patrol was established largely to stave off insurgent attacks on roadways. But U.S. military officials, interviewed over the last several days, say they suspect the patrol of being deeply involved in illegal detentions, torture and extrajudicial killings.
The officials said that in recent months the U.S. has withdrawn financial and advisory support from the patrol in an effort to distance the American training effort from what they perceived to be a renegade force.
http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/latestnews/index.php?id=5918
3rd Anniversary of Iraq War
A Call for a Week of Local Action: March 15-22, 2006
March 19th will mark the third anniversary of a war that never should have happened -- a war based on lies that continues to devastate the lives of thousands, both in Iraq and the United States.
United for Peace and Justice joins our partners in the global antiwar movement in calling for a massive outpouring of opposition to the war in Iraq. We are urging opponents of the war to organize a wide array of events in their hometowns for the entire week surrounding this anniversary.
http://www.unitedforpeace.org/article.php?list=type&type=96
MARCH 18 - 19 COORDINATED ACTIONS
AGAINST POVERTY, RACISM AND WAR - BRING ALL THE TROOPS HOME NOW
Organizing Centers and Local Activities Listing
The Troops Out Now Coalition Headquarters is at:
39 West 14th Street, #206, NY, NY, 10011
212-633-6646
Email:info@troopsoutnow.org
March 18 Mass March/Convergence at Times Square Recruiting Center, NYC
Click on your area to see your local organizing center and March 18 activity information! Don't see your area? Sign up here to become a local organizing center for the March 18 - 19 International Days of Action to Shut Down the War!
http://www.troopsoutnow.org/m18orgcents.html
Link of the Week
Tuesday, February 21st, 2006
It Doesn't Get More Pathetic Than This
"Scooter Libby is one of the most capable and talented individuals I have ever known." -- Deadeye Dick Cheney
KNOW THESE PEOPLE.
DON'T TRUST THEM.
Since September 11, 2001, Lewis "Scooter" Libby has been one of the unsung heroes in fighting the war on terror, working diligently and making countless contributions on some of the most critical life and death issues that our country has faced. For the past five years, Scooter Libby served selflessly as an Assistant to President Bush and as the Chief of Staff and National Security Adviser to Vice President Cheney.
But Scooter's great service to our country has now been cut short, and his good name attacked. A distinguished group of friends, business leaders and former government officials have joined The Libby Legal Defense Trust to help Scooter defray his legal costs from the recent charges. We hope you will join us in supporting this effort. -Ambassador Mel Sembler
http://www.scooterlibby.org/
Send Me Your Health Care Horror Stories... an appeal from Michael Moore
Friends,
How would you like to be in my next movie? I know you've probably heard I'm making a documentary about the health care industry (but the HMOs don't know this, so don't tell them — they think I'm making a romantic comedy).
If you've followed my work over the years, you know that I keep a pretty low profile while I'm making my movies. I don't give interviews, I don't go on TV and I don't defrost my refrigerator. I do keep my website updated on a daily basis (there's been something like 4,000,000 visitors just this week alone) and the rest of the time I'm... well, I can't tell you what I'm doing, but you can pretty much guess. It gets harder and harder sneaking into corporate headquarters, but I've found that just dying my hair black and wearing a skort really helps.
http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/message/index.php?id=193
The Jerusalem Post
From tolerance to bullying
By SHMULEY BOTEACH
When I was in fourth grade, I was bullied mercilessly by a boy in class. It got so bad that I once took him to the school gift shop to buy him a present to appease him and get him to stop. When I look back 30 years later at that incident, I am filled primarily not with anger toward the boy but with shame for my own actions. I cannot believe that I allowed the bullying to take place, that I cowed in fear before a disturbed kid who used intimidation to feel powerful.
I believe that the world in general, and Europe in particular, will also look back one day at its feebleness in the face of global Islamic bullying and be ashamed of its own cowardice.
For make no mistake about it, Islam, once the world's greatest civilization, is fast becoming a global bully.
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1139395472753&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull
5 Kassams fired at Israel; none wounded
By MARGOT DUDKEVITCH
Thursday morning, five Kassam rockets were fired into the Western Negev from the former Gaza Strip settlement of Dugit.
The rockets landed in open territory, and no one was wounded and no damage reported.
On Wednesday, Deputy Chief of Staff Maj.-Gen. Moshe Kaplinsky revealed that 14 potential suicide bombers have been arrested by the IDF and Shin Bet throughout West Bank. According to Kaplinsky, the majority were arrested in northern Samaria.
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1139395468741&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull
Judge Adi Azar's killers get consecutive life terms
By DAN IZENBERG AND JPOST STAFF
The Jerusalem District Court convicted Thursday morning the mastermind and the hitman accused of murdering Tel Aviv District Court Judge Adi Azar in July 2004. They were convicted of all charges.
Yitzhak Tzeziashvilli had been accused of ordering escaped convict Rafi Nahmani to kill Azar.
Tzeshiashvilli was sentenced to another life sentence for murder, which will be served consecutively to the life sentence he is already serving.
In addition, he was sentenced to five years for conspiracy to commit murder and five years for aiding someone escape lawful imprisonment.
The court ruled that he would serve the latter five year sentence consecutively.
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1139395471311&pagename=JPost/JPArticle/ShowFull
Accused hitman denies conspiring with Tzeziashvilli in judge's murder
By DAN IZENBERG
Rafi Nahmani, the man accused of firing the shots that killed Tel Aviv District Court Judge Adi Azar, denied on Tuesday that he had conspired with the other murder suspect, Yitzhak Tzeziashvilli, to escape from prison and assassinate the judge.
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?c=JPArticle&cid=1131367051158&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull
Naveh to make formal apology to Jordan
By YAAKOV KATZ AND JPOST STAFF
IDF Chief of Staff Dan Halutz met Thursday with IDF generals and called for military officers, especially senior ones, to demonstrate caution and sensitivity in every public remark they make.
"A careless remark could be misinterpreted and taken out of context," Halutz said, something that could drag the IDF into an unnecessary public debate and misrepresent Israel's and the military's policy and position.
OC Central Command Maj.-Gen. Yair Naveh was expected Thursday to apologize formally to Jordan for saying Wednesday night that King Abdullah II risked being toppled by an "Islamist axis" and could be the last king of Jordan.
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1139395467962&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull
Ahmadinejad: US, Israel attacked shrine
By ORLY HALPERN AND AP
President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad blamed the United States and Israel on Thursday for the blowing up of a Shi'ite shrine's golden dome in Iraq, saying it was the work of "defeated Zionists and occupiers."
Speaking to a crowd of thousands on tour of southwestern Iran, the president referred to the destruction of the Askariya mosque dome in Samarra on Wednesday, which the Iraqi government has blamed on insurgents.
"They invade the shrine and bomb there because they oppose God and justice," Ahmadinejad said, referring to the US-led multinational force in Iraq.
On Wednesday, terrorists dressed as members of Iraqi security forces detonated powerful bombs inside one of Shi'ite Islam's most holy shrines in Samarra, destroying most of the building and collapsing its famous golden dome.
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1139395464516&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull
Naveh: Zarqawi trying to get better grip
By YAAKOV KATZ
Global Jihad and Al Qaeda based in Jordan have stepped up their attempts to infiltrate Israel and were in close contact with Palestinian terror cells based in West Bank, OC Central Command Maj.-Gen. Yair Naveh revealed on Wednesday.
"We recently caught several local terror cells that were in touch with the international Global Jihad based in Jordan," Naveh told a closed meeting at the Jerusalem Center of Public Affairs. Naveh would not say for certain that the al-Qaeda camp in Jordan worked under the direction of the movement's Iraqi leader Abu Musab Al Zarqawi, but, he said, "Al Qaeda was working to tighten its grip on the ground" in Jordan and Israel.
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1139395468413&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull
Jewish leaders: Ban Ahmadinejad
By JPOST.COM STAFF
The European Jewish Congress is organizing a petition calling for Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's to be made a "Persona non grata ad personam" within European territory.
The petition is a response to the Iranian president's declaration that Israel should be "wiped off the map" and his unending statements denying the Holocaust.
The European Jewish Congress and its affiliated Jewish communities throughout Europe will be circulating this petition, which will eventually be submitted to the European Parliament and other EU institutions, as well as to member state governments.
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1139395458624&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull
The Cheney Observer
TWO-YEAR PLAME LEAK HEATS UP
Monday, February 20, 2006 - FreeMarketNews.com
LINKED NEWS ANALYSIS
The investigation into the leak of covert CIA operative Valerie Plame Wilson is heating up. Evidence is mounting that senior officials in the office of Vice President Dick Cheney and the National Security Council conspired to unmask Plame Wilson's identity to reporters in an effort to stop her husband from publicly criticizing the administration's pre-war Iraq intelligence, according to sources close to the two-year-old probe. In recent weeks, investigators working for Special Prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald have narrowed their focus to a specific group of officials who played a direct role in pushing the White House to cite bogus documents claiming that Iraq attempted to purchase 500 tons of uranium from Niger, which Plame Wilson's husband, former Ambassador Joseph Wilson, had exposed as highly suspect.
http://www.freemarketnews.com/WorldNews.asp?nid=7949
The Nonproliferation Review
Fall-Winter 2001, Volume 8 • Number 3
Special Section on the September 11, 2001, Attacks
Interview with Ambassador Robert G. Joseph
conducted by Leonard S. Spector
BACKGROUND
Ambassador Robert G. Joseph is Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director for Proliferation Strategies, Counterproliferation, and Homeland Defense, U.S. National Security Council Staff. He is recognized as a leading member of the group of Republican defense strategists whose writings helped to shape the national security outlook of candidate George W. Bush. Since joining the Bush administration, Ambassador Joseph has played a key role on such issues as developing a new strategic framework with Russia and improving coordination of U.S. counterproliferation initiatives.
Prior to joining the National Security Council (NSC) staff, Dr. Joseph served as a Professor of National Security Studies and Director of the Center for Counterproliferation Research at the National Defense University. In the previous Bush administration, he held the positions of U.S. Commissioner to the Standing Consultative Commission on the Anti-Ballistic Missile (ABM) Treaty and Ambassador to the U.S.-Russian Consultative Commission on Nuclear Testing. In the Reagan administration, he held several positions within the Office of the Secretary of Defense, including Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Policy and Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Nuclear Forces and Arms Control Policy.
The interview was conducted on October 15, 2001, by Leonard S. Spector, Deputy Director of the Center for Nonproliferation Studies at the Monterey Institute of International Studies and Editor-in-Chief of the Center's publications.
ORGANIZATION OF NSC STAFF
NPR: Thank you for agreeing to this interview with The Nonproliferation Review. Let me begin by saying that my colleagues at the Monterey Institute and I recognize the great effort the administration is making to respond to the terrorist attacks of September 11. We all share your hopes for success.
I'd like to begin by asking you to comment on the new title that was given to your position when you joined the NSC staff. Formerly the position was "Senior Director for Nonproliferation." It is now called "Senior Director for Proliferation Strategies, Counterproliferation, and Homeland Defense." Why did you make these changes?
Joseph: Thank you for your words of support. As for the change in title, the Bush administration is strongly committed to reducing the threat posed by weapons of mass destruction (WMD). We believe this requires a multifaceted approach that combines traditional nonproliferation policies and programs—national, bilateral, and multinational—along with more active measures to deter and defend against existing and expanding threats posed by WMD and their delivery systems. "Counterproliferation" refers to those policies and programs needed to counter a wide spectrum of threats to the United States and to protect against the consequences of proliferation. We wanted to consolidate all of these under one Senior Director at the NSC to enhance coordination and heighten the visibility of these combined activities.[1]
NPR: What is the scope of your responsibilities regarding "homeland defense?"
Joseph: In the context of this directorate, homeland defense is limited to defense against state threats, not terrorist threats. Most of that segment of the directorate's portfolio has to date been devoted to missile defense issues, including the ABM Treaty.
DETERRENCE
NPR: To clarify the point you mentioned, you have spoken about "deterring" proliferation threats. Is part of that portfolio trying to ensure the adequacy of the U.S. nuclear weapons stockpile?
Joseph: No, the stockpile is not one of this office's responsibilities. This office, however, does have a role in shaping the administration's deterrence policy. I would refer you to the May 1st speech [at the National Defense University (NDU)] in which the president emphasized the requirement for a comprehensive strategy to deal with the proliferation threat, the threat of weapons of mass destruction and their means of delivery. This speech reflected in many ways the responsibilities of this directorate, because the comprehensive strategy is based on three principal components: strengthening nonproliferation (and we certainly want to lead in that effort); effective counterproliferation (for the first time counterproliferation is being done at the national level here at the NSC); and a new deterrence concept to address today's threats. The new deterrence concept is based less on offensive nuclear capabilities and more on defensive capabilities, particularly the ability to defend against limited missile threats.
http://cns.miis.edu/pubs/npr/vol08/83/jos83.htm
Administration to Prosecute Whistle-blowers
by William Norman Grigg
February 21, 2006
From the "intelligence failures" of 9/11 and the Iraq war, to the criminal exposure of CIA operative Valerie Plame, to the use of illegal warrantless wiretaps, the Bush administration has zealously obstructed efforts to conduct full and honest investigations. Now the administration is displaying great zeal to investigate and prosecute the government officials and reporters responsible for publicizing the president's use of illegal wiretaps -- a revelation the administration has characterized as a criminal disclosure of classified information.
Federal law enforcement agents have been conducting interviews, and criminal prosecutors at the Justice Department are laying “the groundwork for a grand jury that could lead to criminal charges,” noted the February 12 New York Times (a newspaper which is a target of the investigation). In recent congressional testimony, CIA Director Porter Goss stated: “It is my aim and it is my hope that we will witness a grand jury investigation with reporters present being asked to reveal who is leaking this information. I believe the safety of this nation and the people of this country deserve nothing less.”
Glenn Greenwald, a veteran litigator from New York City, puts this matter in perspective. “In essence, while the President sits in the White House undisturbed after proudly announcing that he has been breaking the law and will continue to do so, his slavish political appointees at the Justice Department are using the mammoth law enforcement powers of the federal government to find and criminally prosecute those who brought this illegal conduct to light.” Describing “this flamboyant use of the forces of criminal prosecution to threaten whistleblowers and intimidate journalists” as “nothing more than the naked tactics of street thugs and authoritarian juntas,” Greenwald concludes: “That sounds like a lot of things. The United States isn’t one of them.”
http://www.thenewamerican.com/artman/publish/article_3366.shtml
Jurassic President
Frank O'Donnell
February 21, 2006
Frank O'Donnell is president of Clean Air Watch, a 501(c)3 nonpartisan, nonprofit organization aimed at educating the public about clean air and the need for an effective Clean Air Act.
Political writer Fred Barnes’ new book, Rebel-in-Chief, includes a remarkable vignette. Barnes notes that early last year, Karl Rove arranged a private audience between the president and novelist Michael Crichton, whose novel, State of Fear , had portrayed global warming as an unproven theory publicized by whacko environmentalists.
“Bush is a dissenter on the theory of global warming,” Barnes notes. He and Crichton “talked for an hour and were in near-total agreement.” Unfortunately, Barnes’ anecdote carries the ring of truth.
The president actually does appear to buy into the “scientific” arguments put forth by a writer of fiction. (The White House press corps has not yet queried whether the president also believes there are dinosaurs running about a popular theme park.)
http://www.tompaine.com/articles/2006/02/21/jurassic_president.php
1 in 5 US dollars to be spent on health care: study
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Health-care spending is outpacing the growth of the American economy and will consume 20 percent of U.S. gross domestic product by 2015, the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) said on Wednesday.
By comparison, health-care spending accounted for about 16 percent of U.S. GDP in 2004, the latest year for which data are available, according to a study by CMS economists published in the journal Health Affairs.
National health care spending will grow by an average 7.2 percent annually over the coming decade, the study said. That would be slower than in recent years but still 2.1 percent faster than GDP growth, it said.
Recent annual growth in American health care spending peaked at 9.1 percent in 2002.
http://today.reuters.co.uk/news/NewsArticle.aspx?type=healthNews&storyID=uri:2006-02-22T053539Z_01_N21176744_RTRIDST_0_HEALTH-ECONOMY-HEALTHCARE-DC.XML
The Carlyle Group to Acquire MultiPlan, Largest Independent PPO in America; MultiPlan's Top 10 Clients Provide Health Coverage to Over 70 Million Americans
NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 21, 2006--MultiPlan, Inc. and The Carlyle Group announced today that The Carlyle Group will acquire MultiPlan, the largest independent PPO in America. The transaction is expected to close in the second quarter of 2006. Financial terms were not disclosed.
MultiPlan is the nation's oldest and largest independent Preferred Provider Organization (PPO) network offering nationwide access to more than 4,200 hospitals, 90,000 ancillary care facilities and 450,000 physicians and specialists. The company's 2,000 clients include large and mid-sized insurers, third-party administrators, self-funded plans, HMOs and other entities that pay claims on behalf of health plans.
Mark Tabak, MultiPlan Chief Executive Officer, said, "The healthcare system is in the midst of sweeping change, and in our 35 years we've developed not only a comprehensive suite of healthcare cost management services, but also a transaction and information management engine with the sophistication to embrace the scope, speed and flexibility demands of the country's largest insurers. In Carlyle we have the strategic and financial backing to propel our value even further in support of our clients' and providers' business and growth objectives."
http://home.businesswire.com/portal/site/google/index.jsp?ndmViewId=news_view&newsId=20060221005477&newsLang=en
Centre favours cashless settlement between DPC & Oman LNG
MUMBAI, FEB 21 : A high-level team comprising officials of the now defunt Dabhol Power Company (DPC), the Centre and Maharashtra government would leave for Oman in the first week of March to hold talks with Oman LNG LLC and Ad Gas on issues involving imposition of huge liability of around $2 billion under the “take or pay” clause against DPC’s shareholders.
The Centre, which has taken a pro-active role in settling claims made by GE and Bechtel against the now unbundled Maharashtra State Electricity Board (MSEB), is keen the ensuing settlement should take place without any cash transaction.
http://www.financialexpress.com/fe_full_story.php?content_id=118359
New schedule for Brasov-Bors highway
Robert Comanoiu
Bechtel will present the Romanian authorities with a new schedule for the Brasov-Bors highway project that will allow the finalization of the road by 2012.
The new objective will be supported by the government with 250 million euros annually.
"We have already lost a year but we are trying to complete the project according to the initial schedule; by the end of 2012. For this we will allot 250 million euros annually," government sources stated.
The government officials do not exclude the possibility for the project to be delayed by a maximum of one year.
http://www.daily-news.ro/article_detail.php?idarticle=23082
Gov. Bush has faith in brother's administration and ports deal
CORAL GABLES, Florida (AP)—Governor Jeb Bush says he has faith in his brother's administration over its decision to allow an Arab-owned company to operate major U.S. ports, including in Miami.
Dubai Ports World, a state-owned business in the United Arab Emirates, is expected to take over a British company that has been running six U.S. ports.
Several South Florida congress members and politicians say the deal should be closely examined.
U.S. Representative Ileana Ros-Lehtinen says she has no specific concerns about the company but just the fact that UAE was where a number of the September Eleven hijackers were harbored in warrants further examination.
Florida's governor says he thinks criticism by some Congress members is unwarranted because his brother, President Bush, could press for more details by the time the sale is supposed to go through on March second.
Attorney General Alberto Gonzales has said that the company went through a "very extensive" review process.
http://www.tampabays10.com/news/news.aspx?storyid=25980
Lt. Gov. Landrieu to challenge Nagin for re-election
posted: 02-21-2006
Louisiana Lt. Gov. Mitch Landrieu plans to challenge New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin for re-election.
Landrieu's sister, U.S. Sen. Mary Landrieu, said during an appearance in Shreveport today that her brother will announce his candidacy on Wednesday.
The mayoral election is scheduled for April 22. It was postponed due to damage from Hurricane Katrina.
Nagin is under fire for his handling of the approaching hurricane as well as the chaos and damage that ensued.
http://www.ktbs.com/news-detail.html?cityid=1&hid=27940
New Orleans Area Levees Raises Issue Of Congress, President Bush, Louisiana Incompetence
President Bush said our levees would be bigger and better. The nation has told us that the levee breaks were our own fault due to our own Byzantine levee systems. President Bush promised last year to armor the levees. Mayor Ray Nagin virtually wet all over himself with excitement over the announcement. Congress then diverted the promise the money for a “better cause”.
Now, hurricane season is months away and as the Times Picayune reports, we now realize we need to armor all levees in the area as soon as possible, update models used to establish storm threats to the region -- and rein in top officials who are issuing assurances the region will be safe by June 1.
http://www.bayoubuzz.com/articles.aspx?aid=6319
Zogby: Presidents Day Rating: Bush 40%
Wednesday, February 22 2006 @ 12:22 AM EST
Views: 175
Zogby: Bush Base Weakened by Weight of Iraq War
Zogby via BBSNews 2006-02-22 -- As America marks its official Presidents Day holiday, the nation's likely voters appear to have settled on a somewhat negative appraisal of work done by the current occupant of the White House, a new nationwide Zogby International telephone poll shows.
After slight moves above and below the 40% job approval mark over the course of the past few months, that's now the percentage of respondents who give him high marks for his leadership, while 60% said he deserves only fair to poor marks, the survey shows. As is usually the case, a similar percentage -- 42% -- said they believe the nation is moving in the right direction.
What is remarkable in this latest poll, conducted Feb. 15-18, 2006, is that President Bush shows weakness among the demographic groups that have comprised the heart of his political base over the past five years, according to Pollster John Zogby, President and CEO of Zogby International (Mr. Zogby's commentary on the poll is included below).
Bush performs best in the South, where 45% give him a positive rating, and the West, where 43% approve of his work. In the Central and Great Lakes region, he wins approval from 39%, while just 34% in the East give him passing marks.
Asked which two issues were the most important facing the nation right now, respondents said the war in Iraq and the war on terror were tops, with jobs and the economy considered the third-most important. Health care issues rated a distant fourth place. While Democrats and Republicans agreed that Iraq and terrorism were the two most important issues, they differed dramatically on which of the two issues was most important. Democrats said the Iraq war is clearly the most important matter facing the nation, while Republicans instead believe the war on terrorism was the most pressing concern.
Just 37% said Bush was doing an "excellent" or "good" job managing the war in Iraq, while 44% said he was doing well managing the broader war on terror.
Slightly more than one in every three -- 35% -- said the President was doing a good job handling foreign policy in general.
Pollster John Zogby: On Bush, his overall approval/disapproval rating is 40%-60%, but he has his lowest support yet from those groups who make up his political base. Among both conservatives and those who consider themselves very conservative, 61% approve of the job he is doing. He gets only 32% of independents, and only 73% among Republicans -- his lowest rating yet. Even rural voters give him just 50% approval, and 59% among those who say they are born again spiritually -- marking the lowest ratings from both of these demographic groups. And Bush remains low among men, married voters and investors.
As for Iraq, his approval/ disapproval rating stands at 37%-63%; just 12% of Democrats approve of his handling of the war, compared to 88% who disapprove, which are percentages similar to our last poll. Among independents, 26% approve of his war leadership, while 74% do not, which is down slightly from our last survey. Only 68% of Republicans support his handling of the war.
On his management of the war on terror, Bush wins 43% approval, down from 67%at the time of his re-election almost 16 months ago.
In a recent Zogby International telephone survey of likely voters nationwide, Mr. Bush ranked in the bottom half when respondents considered the "greatness" or "near-greatness" of the presidents of the modern era, stretching back to Franklin D. Roosevelt. While the incumbent ranked just under President Carter and his father, George Herbert Walker Bush, President Kennedy topped the list, considered "great" or "near-great" by 73%.
The latest survey measuring Bush's job approval rating, conducted Feb. 15-18, 2006, included 1,039 interviews with likely voters nationwide. It carries a margin of error of ± 3.1 percentage points.
http://bbsnews.net/article.php/20060222002207610
An admission of treason:bush admins decision to try and justify port sales
February 21, 2006 -- The Houses of Bush, Sabah, and Maktoum. The Bush Crime Family’s close business dealings with the royal houses of Kuwait (the Sabah family) and Dubai (the Maktoum family) either borders on or is treason according to information received from U.S. military and Persian Gulf sources by WMR.
The Sabah family and their business cohorts are reportedly skimming hundreds of millions of dollars from the shipping of military materiel through Kuwait to U.S. forces in Iraq. Moreover, much of this money is being used to fund the Sunni insurgency in Iraq that is directed against U.S. troops. In 1993, former President George H. W. Bush was awarded an honorary doctorate by Kuwait University and Kuwait’s highest honor. Bush was accompanied on a Kuwait Airlines flight by his sons Neil and Marvin and former Secretary of State James Baker III, former chief of staff John Sununu, and Joint Chiefs Operations Director General Thomas Kelly. After the trip Neil landed lucrative contracts with the Kuwaiti Ministry of Electricity and Water. Marvin secured defense contracts for his clients. Baker nailed down deals for Enron. The Bush Crime Family: Texas Yankees in the Gulf Emirs’ courts: Dubya, Poppy, Neil, Marvin, and Jeb.
http://bellaciao.org/en/article.php3?id_article=10550
Security Programs, Unions Would Stay at Ports
UAE Firm Would Operate Facilities
By Paul Blustein and Eric Rich
Washington Post Staff Writers
Wednesday, February 22, 2006; Page D01
As a furor erupted yesterday over the prospective takeover by a United Arab Emirates company of terminal operations at six major U.S. ports, officials from the company and the Bush administration scrambled to assuage fears that the deal would undermine security and anti-terrorism efforts at some of America's biggest maritime facilities.
Stewart A. Baker, assistant secretary for policy at the Department of Homeland Security, said at a news conference yesterday that Dubai Ports World, which won a takeover battle for a British firm that now operates terminals in the ports, promised during an internal administration review that it would continue participating in security programs previously entered into with the U.S. government.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/02/21/AR2006022101924.html
Think tanks plan Seminars on Pakistan, India before President Bush visits S. Asia
Khalida Mazhar 'Pakistan Times' US Bureau Chief
WASHINGTON (US): In connection with the scheduled visit of President George W. Bush to Pakistan and India in the days ahead, a number of think tanks have planned to hold seminars and roundtable conferences during this week.
President Bush will deliver an address to the Asia Society, Washington, on Feb. 22, as a prelude to his trip to South Asia, says an announcement.
Asia Society is the leading global organisation working to strengthen relationships and promote understanding among the people, leaders, and institutions of Asia and the United States. It seeks to enhance dialogue, encourage creative expression, and generate new ideas across the fields of policy, business, education, arts, and culture.
http://pakistantimes.net/top02220601.htm
An Executive Order? An Executive Order. And of course that makes it constitutional. Not only that but at the discretion of Cheney the entire CIA and FBI can be disclosed to the newspapers. There is something "W"rong with this picture. Indict Buish for conspiracy against the government and endangering the people of the USA. If that isn't bad enough, it was done for policial gain. Bush has completely compromised out intellignece agencies ot do their job. Everyone is looking over their shoulder wondering who Cheney will out next. Indict them all. Impeach Bush and Cheney.
Dick Cheney's New Power
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.
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/02/21/opinion/main1334507.shtml
MARVIN BUSH EMPLOYEE'S MYSTERIOUS DEATH – Connections to 9/11?
Washington Post Sits on Story for a Week
by Wayne Madsen
(Special to From The Wilderness)
© Copyright 2004, From The Wilderness Publications, www.fromthewilderness.com. All Rights Reserved. May be reprinted, distributed or posted on an Internet web site for non-profit purposes only.
October 10 , 2003, 1200 PDT, (FTW) -- WASHINGTON, At around 9 PM on September 29, Fairfax County, Virginia police responded to a 911 call describing an accident. However, they soon discovered they were not dealing with a routine emergency but the mysterious death of an employee of the 47-year old brother of President George W. Bush, venture capitalist Marvin Bush. Sixty-two year old Bertha Champagne, described as a long time "baby sitter" for Marvin and Margaret Bush's two children, son Walker, 13, and daughter Marshall, 17, was found crushed to death by her own vehicle in a driveway in front of the Bush family home in the Alexandria section of Fairfax County. Champagne reportedly lived at the Bush family home.
Champagne had left the residence to retrieve something from her car, which police say had somehow been left in gear. According to the police report, the car rolled forward and pinned the woman between it and a small building next to the driveway (possibly a checkpoint built by the Secret Service when Marvin's father, George H. W. Bush, was president). The car crossed Edgehill Drive, a small street in front of the Bush compound. The vehicle then crossed a busy two-lane street, Fort Hunt Road, finally coming to rest in a wooded area across the street that adjoins the prestigious Belle Haven Country Club. No explanations have been offered as to why the vehicle did not move until Champagne was in a position to be crushed.
… Until November 2002, Bush served on the board of HCC Insurance Holdings, Inc. (formerly Houston Casualty Company), a re-insurer for the World Trade Center. Bush still serves as an adviser to the firm. Walker serves as chief executive officer of Aviation General, an aircraft company backed by KuwAm. Aviation General, formerly Commander Aircraft, brokered the sale of airplanes to the National Civil Aviation Training Organization (NCATO), located in Giza, Egypt, the hometown of lead hijacker Mohammed Atta. NCATO is the only civilian pilot training school in Egypt. NCATO has a training agreement with Embry-Riddle University in Daytona Beach, Florida, the flight school that was investigated by the FBI for possibly training at least one of the 911 hijackers.
http://www.copvcia.com/free/ww3/101003_bush_death.html
Court allows church's hallucinogenic tea
By Joan Biskupic, USA TODAY
WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court ruled unanimously Tuesday that adherents of a small Brazilian-based religion practicing in New Mexico may continue to use a hallucinogenic tea. The court rejected arguments by the Justice Department that the communion ritual undermines federal anti-drug law.
e court broadly interpreted the 1993 Religious Freedom Restoration Act, intended to protect people from U.S. laws that appear to be neutral but can impinge on sacramental practices. (Related item: Opinion:Gonzales v. O Centro Espirita Beneficiente Uniao Do Vegetal)
Chief Justice John Roberts said in his opinion for the court that Congress sought "a workable test for striking sensible balances between religious liberty and competing ... governmental interests."
http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2006-02-21-court-tea_x.htm
It's finally here The Libby Legal Defense Trust Website
http://steven-foley.redstate.com/story/2006/2/21/145723/546
Friends of Scooter Libby Launch Web Site, Want Your Money
By E&P Staff
Published: February 21, 2006 12:40 PM ET
NEW YORK Scooter has come to Web, with the launch of a new site, the Libby Legal Defense Trust.
Dedicated to defending the recently-indicted former top aide to Vice President Dick Cheney, I. Lewis Libby, the site features testimonials and fundraising appeals. Using a credit card, you can quickly contribute anywhere from $50 to $10,000 (or more)--or enroll in a monthly payment plan.
The chairman of the Committee, Ambassador Mel Sembler, writes on the home page that “Scooter's great service to our country has now been cut short, and his good name attacked. A distinguished group of friends, business leaders and former government officials have joined The Libby Legal Defense Trust to help Scooter defray his legal costs from the recent charges. We hope you will join us in supporting this effort.”
http://www.mediainfo.com/eandp/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1002035554
Jewish Republican heads Libby defense fund
A prominent Jewish Republican is leading a fund-raising drive for Lewis “Scooter” Libby’s legal defense.
Mel Sembler, a board member of the Republican Jewish Coalition and the U.S. ambassador to Italy from 2001-2005, is spearheading the Libby Legal Defense Trust.
Sembler, a Florida shopping-mall magnate, describes Libby, the former chief adviser to Vice President Dick Cheney, as “one of the unsung heroes in fighting the war on terror” on the trust’s website, www.scooterlibby.com. Libby, who is Jewish, resigned in October after his indictment on perjury charges related to his leaking the name of a CIA operative whose husband criticized the Iraq war.
Other prominent Jews on the trust’s board include Sam Fox, the chairman of the RJC; Shelly Kamins, a Washington-area real estate developer; professor Bernard Lewis, a prominent scholar of Islam; Stuart Bernstein, the former ambassador to Denmark; and Dennis Ross, the top U.S. envoy to the Middle East during the Clinton administration.
http://jta.org/page_view_breaking_story.asp?intid=1464
GOP insider out at investing firm
By Ray Long
Tribune staff reporter
Published February 21, 2006
SPRINGFIELD -- An East Coast investment firm has severed its ties with a top Republican official and lobbyist who received millions of dollars in controversial fees on deals with the state's troubled teachers' pension fund.
The Carlyle Group and Springfield lobbyist Robert Kjellander, treasurer of the National Republican Party, "don't have an ongoing relationship at the moment," said David Rubenstein, a founder and managing director of Carlyle.
The Illinois Teachers' Retirement System agreed to invest up to $500 million with Carlyle under six deals while Kjellander was representing Carlyle, but he is no longer registered as a lobbyist for the firm.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chicago/chi-0602210247feb21,1,3512404.story?coll=chi-newslocalchicago-hed
Why Veto UAE port leases?
By Dick H bio
It is just my opinion that if someone with the resources and staff follow this story it will be obivous why the Veto threat.
Just follow the money.
The UAE Goverment purchased the firm of P@O, a private held British firm ,for the sum of 6.8 billion dollars.
What did they purchase?
The port leases, and contracts, of world wide operations. Among them the six USA ports.I have not seen,or heard what the value of our lease with P@O is worth.It must be considerable as the UAE already fas dispached a team to Washington to defend the purchase.
The Carlyle Group,a private owned investement firm ,is headed by George Herbert Bush. His official title being Senior Advisor.The senior legal counselor of the group in none under than James Baker, former Sect'y fo State and Sect'y under Bush one.If you recall Mr. Baker has been named the envoy in charge of restructering Iraq's debt.
Another orginal founder of the group is former British Prime Minister John Majors. Also in the past several years Andrew Foster ,the Queen of Englands personal banker,resigned his CEO postion of the Coutts Group owner of the Royal Bank of Scotland. His reasoning was he always wanted to be involved in the Carlyle Group. It is said the group has holdings, or partners, in every country in the far east. Including Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and rumered the UAE.
One step further,Robert Kjellander, the Treasure of the Republican National Committee, was George W"s campaign chairman in three mid west states. Mr Kjellander isa lobbyist from Sprinfield Il.He received a four million fee from the Carlyle group, in arranging with Gov. Ryan, of Illinois, State pension funds be invested with the Carlyle Group. This is the same Mr. Ryan that current special proscuter Patrick Fitzgearld recently prosicuted sucessfully for fraud.
NOW IS THE VETO THREAT ,in todays political climate starting to make sense? Dick H
http://www.tpmcafe.com/node/26980
Malaysia's Mahathir denies paying Abramoff
KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) - Former Malaysian prime minister Mahathir Mohamad said lobbyists may have paid to arrange his 2002 meeting with President George W Bush, but denied any money came from his government, Bernama news agency reported.
Mahathir said his White House meeting with Bush in May 2002 was arranged by a U.S. think-tank, the Heritage Foundation, to discuss foreign policy issues, the agency said late on Monday.
"I understood some people paid a sum of money to lobbyists in America but I do not know who these people were and it was not the Malaysian government," Mahathir, who retired in late 2003, told reporters on Monday in the northern state of Penang.
Mahathir said it was the practice of the U.S. government to ask people who wanted to meet the president to use the services of lobbyists and this was not viewed as a form of corruption, Bernama added.
http://today.reuters.com/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=worldNews&storyID=2006-02-21T105344Z_01_KLR313028_RTRUKOC_0_US-MALAYSIA-POLITICS-MAHATHIR.xml&archived=False
Tribe moves on from Abramoff
MOUNT PLEASANT (AP) - The Saginaw Chippewa Indian tribe is trying to move on from the scandal involving indicted lobbyist Jack Abramoff.
The tribe hasn't shied away from hiring Washington lobbyists, but it has changed its policy on campaign donations.
"The tribe is strongly committed to eliminating any questionable donations," said Larry Rosenthal, a Saginaw Chippewa lobbyist from Washington-based Ietan Consulting LLC. "The tribal council wanted more accountability."
Abramoff - who pleaded guilty to conspiracy, fraud and tax evasion charges in January - worked for the tribe from late 2001 to late 2003. The Saginaw Chippewas say they paid about $14 million to Abramoff and his former associate, Michael Scanlon. Federal prosecutors have accused Abramoff and Scanlon of defrauding several tribes who were their clients, including the Saginaw Chippewas.
http://www.record-eagle.com/2006/feb/21tribe.htm
The Washington Post
Republicans Split With Bush on Ports
White House Vows to Brief Lawmakers On Deal With Firm Run by Arab State
By Jim VandeHei and Jonathan Weisman
Washington Post Staff Writers
Thursday, February 23, 2006; Page A01
Faced with an unprecedented Republican revolt over national security, the White House disclosed yesterday that President Bush was unaware of a Middle Eastern company's planned takeover of operations at six U.S. seaports until recent days and promised to brief members of Congress more fully on the pending deal.
One day after threatening to veto any attempt by Congress to scuttle the controversial $6.8 billion deal, Bush sounded a more conciliatory tone by saying lawmakers should have been given more details about a state-owned company in the United Arab Emirates purchasing some terminal operations in Baltimore and five other U.S. cities.
"This is one where we probably should have consulted with or briefed Congress on sooner," White House spokesman Scott McClellan told reporters.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/02/22/AR2006022201609.html
Scientist's Visa Denial Sparks Outrage in India
By Shankar Vedantam
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, February 23, 2006; Page A01
A decision two weeks ago by a U.S. consulate in India to refuse a visa to a prominent Indian scientist has triggered heated protests in that country and set off a major diplomatic flap on the eve of President Bush's first visit to India.
The incident has also caused embarrassment at the highest reaches of the American scientific establishment, which has worked to get the State Department to issue a visa to Goverdhan Mehta, who said the U.S. consulate in the south Indian city of Chennai told him that his expertise in chemistry was deemed a threat.
In the face of outrage in India, the U.S. Embassy in New Delhi issued a highly unusual statement of regret, and yesterday the State Department said officials are reaching out to the scientist to resolve his case.
"It is very strange logic," said Mehta, reached at his home in Bangalore early this morning India time. "Someone is insulted and hurt and you ask him to come back a second round."
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/02/22/AR2006022202446.html
Drum Skins Suspected in Anthrax Case
Associated Press
Thursday, February 23, 2006; Page A02
NEW YORK, Feb. 22 -- A New York City man who makes drums has been hospitalized with a case of inhaled anthrax that officials say he may have contracted from raw animal hides that he imported from Africa.
Authorities said Wednesday the infection appeared to be accidental -- not terrorism -- and did not pose a serious public health risk.
Vado Diomande, 44, had traveled recently to the west coast of Africa and fell ill in Pennsylvania last week shortly after his return, authorities said.
It was not clear how he came into contact with the bacteria, or whether it happened in Africa or in this country. But aides to Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg (R) said it was related to his job as a drum maker who worked with raw animal hides.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/02/22/AR2006022201610.html
Federal Court Is Asked to Void Last D.C. Teachers Union Election
By V. Dion Haynes
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, February 22, 2006; Page B04
The U.S. Department of Labor has asked a federal court to overturn the results of a Washington Teachers' Union election held more than a year ago and to order a new election of union leaders.
Union members chose 21 officers, including President George Parker, in a December 2004 election and a January 2005 runoff, both of which were conducted by mail. At the time, the 4,500-member union was returning to self-rule after a two-year takeover by the American Federation of Teachers, which assumed control following a financial scandal involving former union president Barbara Bullock. Bullock was imprisoned after pleading guilty to conspiracy and mail fraud charges.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/02/21/AR2006022101686.html
Fed Vice Chairman Resigns, Adding to Turnover at Top
By Nell Henderson
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, February 23, 2006; Page D01
Federal Reserve Board Vice Chairman Roger W. Ferguson Jr. said yesterday that he will step down this spring, giving President Bush another opening to fill on the panel at a time of transition at the central bank.
Ferguson's announcement came just three weeks after Ben S. Bernanke succeeded Alan Greenspan as Fed chairman and leaves the Fed without the crisis-management experience of the top two officials who had led the central bank through international financial turmoil and terrorist attacks over the past eight years.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/02/22/AR2006022201136.html
Roof Collapse at Moscow Market Kills 21
By JUDITH INGRAM
The Associated Press
Thursday, February 23, 2006; 4:13 AM
MOSCOW -- The concave, snow-covered roof of a Moscow market collapsed early Thursday, killing at least 21 people and trapping about 10 people who were "knocking and crying out," emergency officials said.
Rescue workers used metal cutters and pickaxes to break through the wreckage, kneeling to call into holes in search of survivors. Every few minutes, the rescuers turned off their electric generators and stood silently to listen for signs of life. About six hours after the collapse, rescuers had located just two survivors.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/02/23/AR2006022300180.html
City Improves Youth Drug Services
D.C. Officials Say More Get Treatment Without Having to Wait
By Lori Montgomery
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, February 23, 2006; Page B06
The District provided drug treatment services to nearly 600 young people last year, a 20 percent increase over 2004, D.C. health officials said yesterday.
The increase came during a period of huge progress for youth substance-abuse programs in the District, health officials said. The city opened its first central intake center for teenagers seeking help, purchased a state-of-the-art outreach vehicle dubbed the Mobilizer and received a $1.2 million federal grant to coordinate treatment services for young people.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/02/22/AR2006022202253.html
Wizards Increase Ticket Prices
Some Seats Will Rise 59 Percent
By Thomas Heath
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, February 23, 2006; Page E01
The Washington Wizards are increasing the price of nearly 1,000 choice seats in MCI Center by 59 percent for next season, a jump that has drawn criticism from some longtime fans who feel they are being priced out of their seats.
Lower-bowl seats in Rows A through G in the center three sections closest to half court -- about 1,000 "premier seats" -- will change from between $110 and $114 per seat this year to $175 per seat next year, according to season ticket holders who received their invoices over the last several days.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/02/22/AR2006022202423.html
continued …
The students just keep on coming
$2.6 million school expansion goes to council
Franklin's Paul A. Smith School is so overenrolled that classeshave taken over the library, the teacher's room, the stage and, for a time, even the hallways - until the fire department stepped in last fall.
But that may soon change. On Monday, the school board voted in favor of a $2.6 million, seven-classroom addition to the school, which serves the city's kindergarten through second grade classes.
The bond request now heads to the city council. Yesterday, the project's supporters were confident that it would pass. School Board Chair Kathy Fuller said she hadn't heard of any opposition from the councilors, who have an open invitation to tour the school and see the space crunch for themselves.
http://www.cmonitor.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060222/REPOSITORY/602220314/1031
Teachers hold off voting on strike
Union members meet, take no action
At a union meeting yesterday, Concord teachers did not vote to strike, according to the union president. It was the first time the full teachers' union gathered since members authorized a strike vote last week.
President Kerry Clock said he feels the union and the Concord School Board are close to a contract settlement. Union heads said they hope to hold off on a strike vote until they can meet again with board members - with or without the mediator, who has run negotiations but isn't available until next month.
"We should have had this settlement a long time ago," Clock said. "We'd like to put this behind us and focus all our energies on teaching."
http://www.cmonitor.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060222/REPOSITORY/602220342/1031
Seniors make it their night
Hopkinton boys roll past Campbell to improve to 15-2
HOPKINTON - Last night may not have been the final appearance at home for Hopkinton's seniors, but it was Senior Night, and the six departing Hawks wanted to put their mark on the evening. They did just that, turning a six-point halftime lead into a 52-35 blowout against Campbell (12-6).
At 15-2 with one game to play in the regular season, Hopkinton is assured a top-three seed and home court in the first round of the Class M tournament.
"It was very emotional and sad, but exciting," said Pat West. "I've lived in Hopkinton my whole life, played with these guys for as long as I can remember. So it was emotional, but it was exciting to get out here and win the last home game."
http://www.cmonitor.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060222/REPOSITORY/602220375/1222
Longtime fixture of local theater dies
Meier had a passion for performing arts
Days before Jane Meier was hospitalized last month, she directed a one-act play as part of a Concord Community Players' show. During her time in the hospital, she helped direct the Concord High School performance of Oklahoma!from her bed, as crew members stayed in touch via e-mail and brought her photos of costumes to okay.
Meier, a longtime fixture in local school and community theater programs, died early yesterday morning of cancer. Throughout her life and in her last days, friends said, theater was a constant and teaching it was one of her biggest passions.
http://www.cmonitor.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060222/REPOSITORY/602220376/1031
Nashua Telegraph
Schools eye parents to pick up sports teams’ tab
Even in an age when television offers sports on demand virtually around the clock, the high school gym remains a community gathering place on winter Tuesday and Friday nights. Parents watch their children, neighbors root for their neighbors, alumni relive the old days, school administrators get out among their constituents.
On one recent evening at Nashua High School South, Mike and Karen Feehan cheered on the boys basketball team as it finally overcame Trinity High School’s game-long lead. Junior Matt Feehan’s go-ahead 3-point shot late in the fourth quarter split the net and caused a bit of delirium in the stands.
The 16-year-old’s parents nearly reached the rafters with jumps for joy. They probably would have had the same reaction if the hoop had been nailed by Matt’s freshman teammate, his 15-year-old brother, Danny.
http://www.nashuatelegraph.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060222/NEWS01/102220086
Streeter: City is solid, but cuts need to be made
NASHUA – Mayor Bernie Streeter said the city is standing on solid financial ground, but at the same time he considers last fall’s municipal election as a mandate to rein in spending.
“Fiscal conservatives are being elected at all levels of government by a citizenry that appears to be fed up with the status quo,” Streeter said Tuesday in his seventh state-of-the-city speech.
Voters supported candidates advocating for tighter control of spending, he said, noting the turnover of members of the board of aldermen was one of the largest in recent memory.
As is the custom, Streeter made the speech at a breakfast meeting of the Greater Nashua Chamber of Commerce with some 125 people in attendance. He repeated the speech to the board of aldermen in the evening.
The twice-elected mayor joked he wondered during the fall if he would give the speech. He thanked his legal team and a “wise” judiciary for keeping him in office.
http://www.nashuatelegraph.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060222/NEWS01/102220135
Michael Moore Today
http://www.michaelmoore.com/
U.S. Concedes to Force-Feeding Detainees
By Eric Schmitt and Tim Golden / New York Times
WASHINGTON, Feb. 21 — The military commander responsible for the American detention center at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, confirmed Tuesday that officials there last month turned to more aggressive methods to deter prisoners who were carrying out long-term hunger strikes to protest their incarceration.
The commander, Gen. Bantz J. Craddock, head of the United States Southern Command, said soldiers at Guantánamo began strapping some of the detainees into "restraint chairs" to force-feed them and isolate them from one another after finding that some were deliberately vomiting or siphoning out the liquid they had been fed.
"It was causing problems because some of these hard-core guys were getting worse," General Craddock said at a breakfast meeting with reporters. Explaining the use of the restraint chairs, he added, "The way around that is you have to make sure that purging doesn't happen."
http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/latestnews/index.php?id=5929
Guantanamo Staffing to Be Reduced About 20%
By Josh White / New York Times
The size of the military task force at the U.S. detention facility in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, will be reduced by nearly 20 percent, the result of better security measures at the prison, a defense official said yesterday.
Gen. Bantz J. Craddock, who leads the U.S. military's Southern Command, told defense reporters yesterday that the Guantanamo Bay force will decline by about 400 from the current 2,000 during a phased rotation that begins next month. The decrease, he said, is because of improvements in security infrastructure, such as better fencing and electronic security features.
http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/latestnews/index.php?id=5937
Poll: Faith in Gov't Readiness Falling
By Erin McClam / Associated Press
Ask Irene Tuzinski, a retiree living in a small, northeast Pennsylvania town, about the legacy of Hurricane Katrina, and she answers with an intense blend of bewilderment and outrage.
She questions the government's handling of the recovery - "What happened to all the money we're spending on Katrina?" she asks - and she doubts the government could ably handle another major disaster. And a new Associated Press-Ipsos Public Affairs poll suggests she is far from alone.
The poll finds public confidence in government disaster readiness is lower today, six months after Katrina struck, than it was in early September 2005, when images of rooftop-stranded storm victims were fresh in the nation's mind.
Slightly less than half of those polled, 47 percent, said they were very or somewhat confident in the government's preparedness - down from 56 percent in the days after the storm and 54 percent in mid-September.
http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/latestnews/index.php?id=5934
Four influential Latino peace activists will lead a 241 mile quest for peace!
Citizens for Pablo
Main Contacts:
Pablo Paredes (619) 857-4947
pablopare@gmail.com
Victor Paredes (917) 864-9179
vicparedes@msn.com
On March 12, 2006 Fernando Suarez del Solar, Pablo Paredes, Camilo Mejia and Aidan Delgado will lead a coalition of the willing across a 241 mile quest for peace that aims at raising Latino voice of opposition to the War in Iraq. The March will run from Tijuana, Mexico all the way to The Mission district of San Francisco making strategic, symbolic and ceremonial stops along the way. The 241 mile march is inspired by Gandhi’s 1930 Salt March protesting British imperialism and will serve as a loud cry for an end to the bloodshed in Iraq.
http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/latestnews/index.php?id=5919
Congressman wants probe of president's decision to go into Iraq
FOX Providence
WASHINGTON Congressman John Olver supports an investigation into whether President Bush should face impeachment for possibly manipulating intelligence to support the invasion of Iraq.
Olver and another Massachusetts congressman -- John Tierney -- have signed onto a bill to create a House select committee to conduct the investigation. In all, 26 Democrats have co-sponsored the measure, which was introduced in December by Michigan congressman John Conyers.
President Bush could face impeachment under the long-shot legislation if the panel determines the president wrongly convinced Congress that Saddam Hussein had weapons to attack America, and that he intended to sell them to al-Qaida.
White House spokesman Ken Lisaius yesterday dismissed the move as an election-year strategy to win votes.
http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/latestnews/index.php?id=5942
Terror fears, stoked by Bush, now bite him
By Alan Elsner / Reuters
WASHINGTON - For almost five years President George W. Bush has warned Americans to fear terrorism, but now those words may come back to bite him.
The president, who has cast himself as America's protector against terrorism and Islamic militancy, has been thrown on the defensive by a bipartisan revolt over his administration's approval of a state-owned company from the United Arab Emirates assuming operation of six major U.S. seaports.
Bush and his aides have argued that the United Arab Emirates is an anti-terrorist ally and that the company would have no security role. But even Bush allies, like South Carolina Republican Sen. Lindsay Graham, have called the deal "politically tone deaf."
http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/latestnews/index.php?id=5941
Stipe, Bright Eyes Unite for Peace
Musicians, activists join forces for benefit concert
By Tracey Ford / Rolling Stone
R.E.M. singer Michael Stipe, Bright Eyes, Public Enemy frontman Chuck D and Rufus Wainwright will join peace activist Cindy Sheehan for the Bring 'Em Home concert. The event, which will benefit the Iraq War Veterans Against the War and Veterans for Peace, will take place at New York's Hammerstein Ballroom on March 20th, the third anniversary of the U.S. invasion of Iraq. The evening's guest hosts will include such outspoken celebrities as Jane Fonda, Alec Baldwin, Margaret Cho and Janeane Garofalo; while Steve Earle, Fischerspooner, Peaches and Devendra Banhart will be among the other performers.
http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/latestnews/index.php?id=5940
Gunmen strike 27 Baghdad mosques, kill imams
CNN crew members covering violence abducted and released
BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- Gunmen targeted 27 Baghdad mosques and killed three Sunni imams Wednesday in the wake of a bomb attack at one of the holiest Shiite sites.
The wave of attacks followed an early morning bombing at the Al-Askariya "Golden Mosque" in Samarra. The strikes, involving small arms, rocket-propelled grenades and mortar rounds, all happened between 11 a.m. and 5 p.m., police said.
A CNN crew was also caught up in the violence, and in Basra, southern Iraq, a local official said jail inmates were abducted.
Twelve inmates were snatched from the main prison in Basra by gunmen carrying Iraqi government identification cards, a member of the Basra provisional council said.
http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/latestnews/index.php?id=5939
Now running for office: an army of Iraq war vets
By Linda Feldmann / Christian Science Monitor
WASHINGTON - They call themselves the Band of Brothers, about 50 men - and a few women - all Democrats, all opposed to the Bush administration's handling of Iraq, and all military veterans.
One more thing: They're all running for Congress this year.
Not since 1946 have so many vets from one party come together in a political campaign, they claim. Their wildest dream is to give the Democratic Party the extra edge it needs - by boosting its weak image on defense and patriotism - to end Republican control of the House.
They also know it's a long shot: Many are running against incumbents in safe Republican districts. Many also face competitive primaries against Democratic opponents with more political experience and access to money.
http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/latestnews/index.php?id=5938
Bush Unaware of Port Sale Before Congressional Opposition
By Daniela Deane / Washington Post
President Bush wasn't aware of the sale of six U.S. ports to an Arab company until after federal approval was granted and congressional opposition erupted over the deal, his spokesman said today.
"This didn't rise to the presidential level," White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan told reporters at the daily briefing.
McClellan said Bush became aware only in the "last several days" of the controversial $6.8 billion sale of Britain's Peninsular & Oriental Steam Navigation Co., commonly known as P & O, to DP World, a state-owned company in Dubai in the United Arab Emirates.
http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/latestnews/index.php?id=5936
California postpones execution indefinitely
By Carolyn Abate / Reuters
SAN QUENTIN, California - California officials postponed indefinitely the execution of convicted killer Michael Morales on Tuesday after notifying a federal court they could not comply with a court order that medical professionals assist in carrying out his death sentence.
San Quentin State Prison spokesman Lt. Vernell Crittendon said prison officials, who had delayed the execution earlier in the day, could not find a licensed medical professional willing to inject a lethal drug into Morales.
http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/latestnews/index.php?id=5931
Police Tied to Death Squads
U.S. military officials say they suspect Iraq's highway patrol, staffed largely by Shiites, is deeply involved in torture and killings.
By Solomon Moore / Los Angeles Times
BAGHDAD — A 1,500-member Iraqi police force with close ties to Shiite militia groups has emerged as a focus of investigations into suspected death squads working within the country's Interior Ministry.
Iraq's national highway patrol was established largely to stave off insurgent attacks on roadways. But U.S. military officials, interviewed over the last several days, say they suspect the patrol of being deeply involved in illegal detentions, torture and extrajudicial killings.
The officials said that in recent months the U.S. has withdrawn financial and advisory support from the patrol in an effort to distance the American training effort from what they perceived to be a renegade force.
http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/latestnews/index.php?id=5918
3rd Anniversary of Iraq War
A Call for a Week of Local Action: March 15-22, 2006
March 19th will mark the third anniversary of a war that never should have happened -- a war based on lies that continues to devastate the lives of thousands, both in Iraq and the United States.
United for Peace and Justice joins our partners in the global antiwar movement in calling for a massive outpouring of opposition to the war in Iraq. We are urging opponents of the war to organize a wide array of events in their hometowns for the entire week surrounding this anniversary.
http://www.unitedforpeace.org/article.php?list=type&type=96
MARCH 18 - 19 COORDINATED ACTIONS
AGAINST POVERTY, RACISM AND WAR - BRING ALL THE TROOPS HOME NOW
Organizing Centers and Local Activities Listing
The Troops Out Now Coalition Headquarters is at:
39 West 14th Street, #206, NY, NY, 10011
212-633-6646
Email:info@troopsoutnow.org
March 18 Mass March/Convergence at Times Square Recruiting Center, NYC
Click on your area to see your local organizing center and March 18 activity information! Don't see your area? Sign up here to become a local organizing center for the March 18 - 19 International Days of Action to Shut Down the War!
http://www.troopsoutnow.org/m18orgcents.html
Link of the Week
Tuesday, February 21st, 2006
It Doesn't Get More Pathetic Than This
"Scooter Libby is one of the most capable and talented individuals I have ever known." -- Deadeye Dick Cheney
KNOW THESE PEOPLE.
DON'T TRUST THEM.
Since September 11, 2001, Lewis "Scooter" Libby has been one of the unsung heroes in fighting the war on terror, working diligently and making countless contributions on some of the most critical life and death issues that our country has faced. For the past five years, Scooter Libby served selflessly as an Assistant to President Bush and as the Chief of Staff and National Security Adviser to Vice President Cheney.
But Scooter's great service to our country has now been cut short, and his good name attacked. A distinguished group of friends, business leaders and former government officials have joined The Libby Legal Defense Trust to help Scooter defray his legal costs from the recent charges. We hope you will join us in supporting this effort. -Ambassador Mel Sembler
http://www.scooterlibby.org/
Send Me Your Health Care Horror Stories... an appeal from Michael Moore
Friends,
How would you like to be in my next movie? I know you've probably heard I'm making a documentary about the health care industry (but the HMOs don't know this, so don't tell them — they think I'm making a romantic comedy).
If you've followed my work over the years, you know that I keep a pretty low profile while I'm making my movies. I don't give interviews, I don't go on TV and I don't defrost my refrigerator. I do keep my website updated on a daily basis (there's been something like 4,000,000 visitors just this week alone) and the rest of the time I'm... well, I can't tell you what I'm doing, but you can pretty much guess. It gets harder and harder sneaking into corporate headquarters, but I've found that just dying my hair black and wearing a skort really helps.
http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/message/index.php?id=193
The Jerusalem Post
From tolerance to bullying
By SHMULEY BOTEACH
When I was in fourth grade, I was bullied mercilessly by a boy in class. It got so bad that I once took him to the school gift shop to buy him a present to appease him and get him to stop. When I look back 30 years later at that incident, I am filled primarily not with anger toward the boy but with shame for my own actions. I cannot believe that I allowed the bullying to take place, that I cowed in fear before a disturbed kid who used intimidation to feel powerful.
I believe that the world in general, and Europe in particular, will also look back one day at its feebleness in the face of global Islamic bullying and be ashamed of its own cowardice.
For make no mistake about it, Islam, once the world's greatest civilization, is fast becoming a global bully.
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1139395472753&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull
5 Kassams fired at Israel; none wounded
By MARGOT DUDKEVITCH
Thursday morning, five Kassam rockets were fired into the Western Negev from the former Gaza Strip settlement of Dugit.
The rockets landed in open territory, and no one was wounded and no damage reported.
On Wednesday, Deputy Chief of Staff Maj.-Gen. Moshe Kaplinsky revealed that 14 potential suicide bombers have been arrested by the IDF and Shin Bet throughout West Bank. According to Kaplinsky, the majority were arrested in northern Samaria.
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1139395468741&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull
Judge Adi Azar's killers get consecutive life terms
By DAN IZENBERG AND JPOST STAFF
The Jerusalem District Court convicted Thursday morning the mastermind and the hitman accused of murdering Tel Aviv District Court Judge Adi Azar in July 2004. They were convicted of all charges.
Yitzhak Tzeziashvilli had been accused of ordering escaped convict Rafi Nahmani to kill Azar.
Tzeshiashvilli was sentenced to another life sentence for murder, which will be served consecutively to the life sentence he is already serving.
In addition, he was sentenced to five years for conspiracy to commit murder and five years for aiding someone escape lawful imprisonment.
The court ruled that he would serve the latter five year sentence consecutively.
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1139395471311&pagename=JPost/JPArticle/ShowFull
Accused hitman denies conspiring with Tzeziashvilli in judge's murder
By DAN IZENBERG
Rafi Nahmani, the man accused of firing the shots that killed Tel Aviv District Court Judge Adi Azar, denied on Tuesday that he had conspired with the other murder suspect, Yitzhak Tzeziashvilli, to escape from prison and assassinate the judge.
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?c=JPArticle&cid=1131367051158&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull
Naveh to make formal apology to Jordan
By YAAKOV KATZ AND JPOST STAFF
IDF Chief of Staff Dan Halutz met Thursday with IDF generals and called for military officers, especially senior ones, to demonstrate caution and sensitivity in every public remark they make.
"A careless remark could be misinterpreted and taken out of context," Halutz said, something that could drag the IDF into an unnecessary public debate and misrepresent Israel's and the military's policy and position.
OC Central Command Maj.-Gen. Yair Naveh was expected Thursday to apologize formally to Jordan for saying Wednesday night that King Abdullah II risked being toppled by an "Islamist axis" and could be the last king of Jordan.
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1139395467962&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull
Ahmadinejad: US, Israel attacked shrine
By ORLY HALPERN AND AP
President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad blamed the United States and Israel on Thursday for the blowing up of a Shi'ite shrine's golden dome in Iraq, saying it was the work of "defeated Zionists and occupiers."
Speaking to a crowd of thousands on tour of southwestern Iran, the president referred to the destruction of the Askariya mosque dome in Samarra on Wednesday, which the Iraqi government has blamed on insurgents.
"They invade the shrine and bomb there because they oppose God and justice," Ahmadinejad said, referring to the US-led multinational force in Iraq.
On Wednesday, terrorists dressed as members of Iraqi security forces detonated powerful bombs inside one of Shi'ite Islam's most holy shrines in Samarra, destroying most of the building and collapsing its famous golden dome.
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1139395464516&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull
Naveh: Zarqawi trying to get better grip
By YAAKOV KATZ
Global Jihad and Al Qaeda based in Jordan have stepped up their attempts to infiltrate Israel and were in close contact with Palestinian terror cells based in West Bank, OC Central Command Maj.-Gen. Yair Naveh revealed on Wednesday.
"We recently caught several local terror cells that were in touch with the international Global Jihad based in Jordan," Naveh told a closed meeting at the Jerusalem Center of Public Affairs. Naveh would not say for certain that the al-Qaeda camp in Jordan worked under the direction of the movement's Iraqi leader Abu Musab Al Zarqawi, but, he said, "Al Qaeda was working to tighten its grip on the ground" in Jordan and Israel.
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1139395468413&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull
Jewish leaders: Ban Ahmadinejad
By JPOST.COM STAFF
The European Jewish Congress is organizing a petition calling for Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's to be made a "Persona non grata ad personam" within European territory.
The petition is a response to the Iranian president's declaration that Israel should be "wiped off the map" and his unending statements denying the Holocaust.
The European Jewish Congress and its affiliated Jewish communities throughout Europe will be circulating this petition, which will eventually be submitted to the European Parliament and other EU institutions, as well as to member state governments.
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1139395458624&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull
The Cheney Observer
TWO-YEAR PLAME LEAK HEATS UP
Monday, February 20, 2006 - FreeMarketNews.com
LINKED NEWS ANALYSIS
The investigation into the leak of covert CIA operative Valerie Plame Wilson is heating up. Evidence is mounting that senior officials in the office of Vice President Dick Cheney and the National Security Council conspired to unmask Plame Wilson's identity to reporters in an effort to stop her husband from publicly criticizing the administration's pre-war Iraq intelligence, according to sources close to the two-year-old probe. In recent weeks, investigators working for Special Prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald have narrowed their focus to a specific group of officials who played a direct role in pushing the White House to cite bogus documents claiming that Iraq attempted to purchase 500 tons of uranium from Niger, which Plame Wilson's husband, former Ambassador Joseph Wilson, had exposed as highly suspect.
http://www.freemarketnews.com/WorldNews.asp?nid=7949
The Nonproliferation Review
Fall-Winter 2001, Volume 8 • Number 3
Special Section on the September 11, 2001, Attacks
Interview with Ambassador Robert G. Joseph
conducted by Leonard S. Spector
BACKGROUND
Ambassador Robert G. Joseph is Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director for Proliferation Strategies, Counterproliferation, and Homeland Defense, U.S. National Security Council Staff. He is recognized as a leading member of the group of Republican defense strategists whose writings helped to shape the national security outlook of candidate George W. Bush. Since joining the Bush administration, Ambassador Joseph has played a key role on such issues as developing a new strategic framework with Russia and improving coordination of U.S. counterproliferation initiatives.
Prior to joining the National Security Council (NSC) staff, Dr. Joseph served as a Professor of National Security Studies and Director of the Center for Counterproliferation Research at the National Defense University. In the previous Bush administration, he held the positions of U.S. Commissioner to the Standing Consultative Commission on the Anti-Ballistic Missile (ABM) Treaty and Ambassador to the U.S.-Russian Consultative Commission on Nuclear Testing. In the Reagan administration, he held several positions within the Office of the Secretary of Defense, including Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Policy and Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Nuclear Forces and Arms Control Policy.
The interview was conducted on October 15, 2001, by Leonard S. Spector, Deputy Director of the Center for Nonproliferation Studies at the Monterey Institute of International Studies and Editor-in-Chief of the Center's publications.
ORGANIZATION OF NSC STAFF
NPR: Thank you for agreeing to this interview with The Nonproliferation Review. Let me begin by saying that my colleagues at the Monterey Institute and I recognize the great effort the administration is making to respond to the terrorist attacks of September 11. We all share your hopes for success.
I'd like to begin by asking you to comment on the new title that was given to your position when you joined the NSC staff. Formerly the position was "Senior Director for Nonproliferation." It is now called "Senior Director for Proliferation Strategies, Counterproliferation, and Homeland Defense." Why did you make these changes?
Joseph: Thank you for your words of support. As for the change in title, the Bush administration is strongly committed to reducing the threat posed by weapons of mass destruction (WMD). We believe this requires a multifaceted approach that combines traditional nonproliferation policies and programs—national, bilateral, and multinational—along with more active measures to deter and defend against existing and expanding threats posed by WMD and their delivery systems. "Counterproliferation" refers to those policies and programs needed to counter a wide spectrum of threats to the United States and to protect against the consequences of proliferation. We wanted to consolidate all of these under one Senior Director at the NSC to enhance coordination and heighten the visibility of these combined activities.[1]
NPR: What is the scope of your responsibilities regarding "homeland defense?"
Joseph: In the context of this directorate, homeland defense is limited to defense against state threats, not terrorist threats. Most of that segment of the directorate's portfolio has to date been devoted to missile defense issues, including the ABM Treaty.
DETERRENCE
NPR: To clarify the point you mentioned, you have spoken about "deterring" proliferation threats. Is part of that portfolio trying to ensure the adequacy of the U.S. nuclear weapons stockpile?
Joseph: No, the stockpile is not one of this office's responsibilities. This office, however, does have a role in shaping the administration's deterrence policy. I would refer you to the May 1st speech [at the National Defense University (NDU)] in which the president emphasized the requirement for a comprehensive strategy to deal with the proliferation threat, the threat of weapons of mass destruction and their means of delivery. This speech reflected in many ways the responsibilities of this directorate, because the comprehensive strategy is based on three principal components: strengthening nonproliferation (and we certainly want to lead in that effort); effective counterproliferation (for the first time counterproliferation is being done at the national level here at the NSC); and a new deterrence concept to address today's threats. The new deterrence concept is based less on offensive nuclear capabilities and more on defensive capabilities, particularly the ability to defend against limited missile threats.
http://cns.miis.edu/pubs/npr/vol08/83/jos83.htm
Administration to Prosecute Whistle-blowers
by William Norman Grigg
February 21, 2006
From the "intelligence failures" of 9/11 and the Iraq war, to the criminal exposure of CIA operative Valerie Plame, to the use of illegal warrantless wiretaps, the Bush administration has zealously obstructed efforts to conduct full and honest investigations. Now the administration is displaying great zeal to investigate and prosecute the government officials and reporters responsible for publicizing the president's use of illegal wiretaps -- a revelation the administration has characterized as a criminal disclosure of classified information.
Federal law enforcement agents have been conducting interviews, and criminal prosecutors at the Justice Department are laying “the groundwork for a grand jury that could lead to criminal charges,” noted the February 12 New York Times (a newspaper which is a target of the investigation). In recent congressional testimony, CIA Director Porter Goss stated: “It is my aim and it is my hope that we will witness a grand jury investigation with reporters present being asked to reveal who is leaking this information. I believe the safety of this nation and the people of this country deserve nothing less.”
Glenn Greenwald, a veteran litigator from New York City, puts this matter in perspective. “In essence, while the President sits in the White House undisturbed after proudly announcing that he has been breaking the law and will continue to do so, his slavish political appointees at the Justice Department are using the mammoth law enforcement powers of the federal government to find and criminally prosecute those who brought this illegal conduct to light.” Describing “this flamboyant use of the forces of criminal prosecution to threaten whistleblowers and intimidate journalists” as “nothing more than the naked tactics of street thugs and authoritarian juntas,” Greenwald concludes: “That sounds like a lot of things. The United States isn’t one of them.”
http://www.thenewamerican.com/artman/publish/article_3366.shtml
Jurassic President
Frank O'Donnell
February 21, 2006
Frank O'Donnell is president of Clean Air Watch, a 501(c)3 nonpartisan, nonprofit organization aimed at educating the public about clean air and the need for an effective Clean Air Act.
Political writer Fred Barnes’ new book, Rebel-in-Chief, includes a remarkable vignette. Barnes notes that early last year, Karl Rove arranged a private audience between the president and novelist Michael Crichton, whose novel, State of Fear , had portrayed global warming as an unproven theory publicized by whacko environmentalists.
“Bush is a dissenter on the theory of global warming,” Barnes notes. He and Crichton “talked for an hour and were in near-total agreement.” Unfortunately, Barnes’ anecdote carries the ring of truth.
The president actually does appear to buy into the “scientific” arguments put forth by a writer of fiction. (The White House press corps has not yet queried whether the president also believes there are dinosaurs running about a popular theme park.)
http://www.tompaine.com/articles/2006/02/21/jurassic_president.php
1 in 5 US dollars to be spent on health care: study
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Health-care spending is outpacing the growth of the American economy and will consume 20 percent of U.S. gross domestic product by 2015, the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) said on Wednesday.
By comparison, health-care spending accounted for about 16 percent of U.S. GDP in 2004, the latest year for which data are available, according to a study by CMS economists published in the journal Health Affairs.
National health care spending will grow by an average 7.2 percent annually over the coming decade, the study said. That would be slower than in recent years but still 2.1 percent faster than GDP growth, it said.
Recent annual growth in American health care spending peaked at 9.1 percent in 2002.
http://today.reuters.co.uk/news/NewsArticle.aspx?type=healthNews&storyID=uri:2006-02-22T053539Z_01_N21176744_RTRIDST_0_HEALTH-ECONOMY-HEALTHCARE-DC.XML
The Carlyle Group to Acquire MultiPlan, Largest Independent PPO in America; MultiPlan's Top 10 Clients Provide Health Coverage to Over 70 Million Americans
NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 21, 2006--MultiPlan, Inc. and The Carlyle Group announced today that The Carlyle Group will acquire MultiPlan, the largest independent PPO in America. The transaction is expected to close in the second quarter of 2006. Financial terms were not disclosed.
MultiPlan is the nation's oldest and largest independent Preferred Provider Organization (PPO) network offering nationwide access to more than 4,200 hospitals, 90,000 ancillary care facilities and 450,000 physicians and specialists. The company's 2,000 clients include large and mid-sized insurers, third-party administrators, self-funded plans, HMOs and other entities that pay claims on behalf of health plans.
Mark Tabak, MultiPlan Chief Executive Officer, said, "The healthcare system is in the midst of sweeping change, and in our 35 years we've developed not only a comprehensive suite of healthcare cost management services, but also a transaction and information management engine with the sophistication to embrace the scope, speed and flexibility demands of the country's largest insurers. In Carlyle we have the strategic and financial backing to propel our value even further in support of our clients' and providers' business and growth objectives."
http://home.businesswire.com/portal/site/google/index.jsp?ndmViewId=news_view&newsId=20060221005477&newsLang=en
Centre favours cashless settlement between DPC & Oman LNG
MUMBAI, FEB 21 : A high-level team comprising officials of the now defunt Dabhol Power Company (DPC), the Centre and Maharashtra government would leave for Oman in the first week of March to hold talks with Oman LNG LLC and Ad Gas on issues involving imposition of huge liability of around $2 billion under the “take or pay” clause against DPC’s shareholders.
The Centre, which has taken a pro-active role in settling claims made by GE and Bechtel against the now unbundled Maharashtra State Electricity Board (MSEB), is keen the ensuing settlement should take place without any cash transaction.
http://www.financialexpress.com/fe_full_story.php?content_id=118359
New schedule for Brasov-Bors highway
Robert Comanoiu
Bechtel will present the Romanian authorities with a new schedule for the Brasov-Bors highway project that will allow the finalization of the road by 2012.
The new objective will be supported by the government with 250 million euros annually.
"We have already lost a year but we are trying to complete the project according to the initial schedule; by the end of 2012. For this we will allot 250 million euros annually," government sources stated.
The government officials do not exclude the possibility for the project to be delayed by a maximum of one year.
http://www.daily-news.ro/article_detail.php?idarticle=23082
Gov. Bush has faith in brother's administration and ports deal
CORAL GABLES, Florida (AP)—Governor Jeb Bush says he has faith in his brother's administration over its decision to allow an Arab-owned company to operate major U.S. ports, including in Miami.
Dubai Ports World, a state-owned business in the United Arab Emirates, is expected to take over a British company that has been running six U.S. ports.
Several South Florida congress members and politicians say the deal should be closely examined.
U.S. Representative Ileana Ros-Lehtinen says she has no specific concerns about the company but just the fact that UAE was where a number of the September Eleven hijackers were harbored in warrants further examination.
Florida's governor says he thinks criticism by some Congress members is unwarranted because his brother, President Bush, could press for more details by the time the sale is supposed to go through on March second.
Attorney General Alberto Gonzales has said that the company went through a "very extensive" review process.
http://www.tampabays10.com/news/news.aspx?storyid=25980
Lt. Gov. Landrieu to challenge Nagin for re-election
posted: 02-21-2006
Louisiana Lt. Gov. Mitch Landrieu plans to challenge New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin for re-election.
Landrieu's sister, U.S. Sen. Mary Landrieu, said during an appearance in Shreveport today that her brother will announce his candidacy on Wednesday.
The mayoral election is scheduled for April 22. It was postponed due to damage from Hurricane Katrina.
Nagin is under fire for his handling of the approaching hurricane as well as the chaos and damage that ensued.
http://www.ktbs.com/news-detail.html?cityid=1&hid=27940
New Orleans Area Levees Raises Issue Of Congress, President Bush, Louisiana Incompetence
President Bush said our levees would be bigger and better. The nation has told us that the levee breaks were our own fault due to our own Byzantine levee systems. President Bush promised last year to armor the levees. Mayor Ray Nagin virtually wet all over himself with excitement over the announcement. Congress then diverted the promise the money for a “better cause”.
Now, hurricane season is months away and as the Times Picayune reports, we now realize we need to armor all levees in the area as soon as possible, update models used to establish storm threats to the region -- and rein in top officials who are issuing assurances the region will be safe by June 1.
http://www.bayoubuzz.com/articles.aspx?aid=6319
Zogby: Presidents Day Rating: Bush 40%
Wednesday, February 22 2006 @ 12:22 AM EST
Views: 175
Zogby: Bush Base Weakened by Weight of Iraq War
Zogby via BBSNews 2006-02-22 -- As America marks its official Presidents Day holiday, the nation's likely voters appear to have settled on a somewhat negative appraisal of work done by the current occupant of the White House, a new nationwide Zogby International telephone poll shows.
After slight moves above and below the 40% job approval mark over the course of the past few months, that's now the percentage of respondents who give him high marks for his leadership, while 60% said he deserves only fair to poor marks, the survey shows. As is usually the case, a similar percentage -- 42% -- said they believe the nation is moving in the right direction.
What is remarkable in this latest poll, conducted Feb. 15-18, 2006, is that President Bush shows weakness among the demographic groups that have comprised the heart of his political base over the past five years, according to Pollster John Zogby, President and CEO of Zogby International (Mr. Zogby's commentary on the poll is included below).
Bush performs best in the South, where 45% give him a positive rating, and the West, where 43% approve of his work. In the Central and Great Lakes region, he wins approval from 39%, while just 34% in the East give him passing marks.
Asked which two issues were the most important facing the nation right now, respondents said the war in Iraq and the war on terror were tops, with jobs and the economy considered the third-most important. Health care issues rated a distant fourth place. While Democrats and Republicans agreed that Iraq and terrorism were the two most important issues, they differed dramatically on which of the two issues was most important. Democrats said the Iraq war is clearly the most important matter facing the nation, while Republicans instead believe the war on terrorism was the most pressing concern.
Just 37% said Bush was doing an "excellent" or "good" job managing the war in Iraq, while 44% said he was doing well managing the broader war on terror.
Slightly more than one in every three -- 35% -- said the President was doing a good job handling foreign policy in general.
Pollster John Zogby: On Bush, his overall approval/disapproval rating is 40%-60%, but he has his lowest support yet from those groups who make up his political base. Among both conservatives and those who consider themselves very conservative, 61% approve of the job he is doing. He gets only 32% of independents, and only 73% among Republicans -- his lowest rating yet. Even rural voters give him just 50% approval, and 59% among those who say they are born again spiritually -- marking the lowest ratings from both of these demographic groups. And Bush remains low among men, married voters and investors.
As for Iraq, his approval/ disapproval rating stands at 37%-63%; just 12% of Democrats approve of his handling of the war, compared to 88% who disapprove, which are percentages similar to our last poll. Among independents, 26% approve of his war leadership, while 74% do not, which is down slightly from our last survey. Only 68% of Republicans support his handling of the war.
On his management of the war on terror, Bush wins 43% approval, down from 67%at the time of his re-election almost 16 months ago.
In a recent Zogby International telephone survey of likely voters nationwide, Mr. Bush ranked in the bottom half when respondents considered the "greatness" or "near-greatness" of the presidents of the modern era, stretching back to Franklin D. Roosevelt. While the incumbent ranked just under President Carter and his father, George Herbert Walker Bush, President Kennedy topped the list, considered "great" or "near-great" by 73%.
The latest survey measuring Bush's job approval rating, conducted Feb. 15-18, 2006, included 1,039 interviews with likely voters nationwide. It carries a margin of error of ± 3.1 percentage points.
http://bbsnews.net/article.php/20060222002207610
An admission of treason:bush admins decision to try and justify port sales
February 21, 2006 -- The Houses of Bush, Sabah, and Maktoum. The Bush Crime Family’s close business dealings with the royal houses of Kuwait (the Sabah family) and Dubai (the Maktoum family) either borders on or is treason according to information received from U.S. military and Persian Gulf sources by WMR.
The Sabah family and their business cohorts are reportedly skimming hundreds of millions of dollars from the shipping of military materiel through Kuwait to U.S. forces in Iraq. Moreover, much of this money is being used to fund the Sunni insurgency in Iraq that is directed against U.S. troops. In 1993, former President George H. W. Bush was awarded an honorary doctorate by Kuwait University and Kuwait’s highest honor. Bush was accompanied on a Kuwait Airlines flight by his sons Neil and Marvin and former Secretary of State James Baker III, former chief of staff John Sununu, and Joint Chiefs Operations Director General Thomas Kelly. After the trip Neil landed lucrative contracts with the Kuwaiti Ministry of Electricity and Water. Marvin secured defense contracts for his clients. Baker nailed down deals for Enron. The Bush Crime Family: Texas Yankees in the Gulf Emirs’ courts: Dubya, Poppy, Neil, Marvin, and Jeb.
http://bellaciao.org/en/article.php3?id_article=10550
Security Programs, Unions Would Stay at Ports
UAE Firm Would Operate Facilities
By Paul Blustein and Eric Rich
Washington Post Staff Writers
Wednesday, February 22, 2006; Page D01
As a furor erupted yesterday over the prospective takeover by a United Arab Emirates company of terminal operations at six major U.S. ports, officials from the company and the Bush administration scrambled to assuage fears that the deal would undermine security and anti-terrorism efforts at some of America's biggest maritime facilities.
Stewart A. Baker, assistant secretary for policy at the Department of Homeland Security, said at a news conference yesterday that Dubai Ports World, which won a takeover battle for a British firm that now operates terminals in the ports, promised during an internal administration review that it would continue participating in security programs previously entered into with the U.S. government.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/02/21/AR2006022101924.html
Think tanks plan Seminars on Pakistan, India before President Bush visits S. Asia
Khalida Mazhar 'Pakistan Times' US Bureau Chief
WASHINGTON (US): In connection with the scheduled visit of President George W. Bush to Pakistan and India in the days ahead, a number of think tanks have planned to hold seminars and roundtable conferences during this week.
President Bush will deliver an address to the Asia Society, Washington, on Feb. 22, as a prelude to his trip to South Asia, says an announcement.
Asia Society is the leading global organisation working to strengthen relationships and promote understanding among the people, leaders, and institutions of Asia and the United States. It seeks to enhance dialogue, encourage creative expression, and generate new ideas across the fields of policy, business, education, arts, and culture.
http://pakistantimes.net/top02220601.htm
An Executive Order? An Executive Order. And of course that makes it constitutional. Not only that but at the discretion of Cheney the entire CIA and FBI can be disclosed to the newspapers. There is something "W"rong with this picture. Indict Buish for conspiracy against the government and endangering the people of the USA. If that isn't bad enough, it was done for policial gain. Bush has completely compromised out intellignece agencies ot do their job. Everyone is looking over their shoulder wondering who Cheney will out next. Indict them all. Impeach Bush and Cheney.
Dick Cheney's New Power
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.
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/02/21/opinion/main1334507.shtml
MARVIN BUSH EMPLOYEE'S MYSTERIOUS DEATH – Connections to 9/11?
Washington Post Sits on Story for a Week
by Wayne Madsen
(Special to From The Wilderness)
© Copyright 2004, From The Wilderness Publications, www.fromthewilderness.com. All Rights Reserved. May be reprinted, distributed or posted on an Internet web site for non-profit purposes only.
October 10 , 2003, 1200 PDT, (FTW) -- WASHINGTON, At around 9 PM on September 29, Fairfax County, Virginia police responded to a 911 call describing an accident. However, they soon discovered they were not dealing with a routine emergency but the mysterious death of an employee of the 47-year old brother of President George W. Bush, venture capitalist Marvin Bush. Sixty-two year old Bertha Champagne, described as a long time "baby sitter" for Marvin and Margaret Bush's two children, son Walker, 13, and daughter Marshall, 17, was found crushed to death by her own vehicle in a driveway in front of the Bush family home in the Alexandria section of Fairfax County. Champagne reportedly lived at the Bush family home.
Champagne had left the residence to retrieve something from her car, which police say had somehow been left in gear. According to the police report, the car rolled forward and pinned the woman between it and a small building next to the driveway (possibly a checkpoint built by the Secret Service when Marvin's father, George H. W. Bush, was president). The car crossed Edgehill Drive, a small street in front of the Bush compound. The vehicle then crossed a busy two-lane street, Fort Hunt Road, finally coming to rest in a wooded area across the street that adjoins the prestigious Belle Haven Country Club. No explanations have been offered as to why the vehicle did not move until Champagne was in a position to be crushed.
… Until November 2002, Bush served on the board of HCC Insurance Holdings, Inc. (formerly Houston Casualty Company), a re-insurer for the World Trade Center. Bush still serves as an adviser to the firm. Walker serves as chief executive officer of Aviation General, an aircraft company backed by KuwAm. Aviation General, formerly Commander Aircraft, brokered the sale of airplanes to the National Civil Aviation Training Organization (NCATO), located in Giza, Egypt, the hometown of lead hijacker Mohammed Atta. NCATO is the only civilian pilot training school in Egypt. NCATO has a training agreement with Embry-Riddle University in Daytona Beach, Florida, the flight school that was investigated by the FBI for possibly training at least one of the 911 hijackers.
http://www.copvcia.com/free/ww3/101003_bush_death.html
Court allows church's hallucinogenic tea
By Joan Biskupic, USA TODAY
WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court ruled unanimously Tuesday that adherents of a small Brazilian-based religion practicing in New Mexico may continue to use a hallucinogenic tea. The court rejected arguments by the Justice Department that the communion ritual undermines federal anti-drug law.
e court broadly interpreted the 1993 Religious Freedom Restoration Act, intended to protect people from U.S. laws that appear to be neutral but can impinge on sacramental practices. (Related item: Opinion:Gonzales v. O Centro Espirita Beneficiente Uniao Do Vegetal)
Chief Justice John Roberts said in his opinion for the court that Congress sought "a workable test for striking sensible balances between religious liberty and competing ... governmental interests."
http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2006-02-21-court-tea_x.htm
It's finally here The Libby Legal Defense Trust Website
http://steven-foley.redstate.com/story/2006/2/21/145723/546
Friends of Scooter Libby Launch Web Site, Want Your Money
By E&P Staff
Published: February 21, 2006 12:40 PM ET
NEW YORK Scooter has come to Web, with the launch of a new site, the Libby Legal Defense Trust.
Dedicated to defending the recently-indicted former top aide to Vice President Dick Cheney, I. Lewis Libby, the site features testimonials and fundraising appeals. Using a credit card, you can quickly contribute anywhere from $50 to $10,000 (or more)--or enroll in a monthly payment plan.
The chairman of the Committee, Ambassador Mel Sembler, writes on the home page that “Scooter's great service to our country has now been cut short, and his good name attacked. A distinguished group of friends, business leaders and former government officials have joined The Libby Legal Defense Trust to help Scooter defray his legal costs from the recent charges. We hope you will join us in supporting this effort.”
http://www.mediainfo.com/eandp/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1002035554
Jewish Republican heads Libby defense fund
A prominent Jewish Republican is leading a fund-raising drive for Lewis “Scooter” Libby’s legal defense.
Mel Sembler, a board member of the Republican Jewish Coalition and the U.S. ambassador to Italy from 2001-2005, is spearheading the Libby Legal Defense Trust.
Sembler, a Florida shopping-mall magnate, describes Libby, the former chief adviser to Vice President Dick Cheney, as “one of the unsung heroes in fighting the war on terror” on the trust’s website, www.scooterlibby.com. Libby, who is Jewish, resigned in October after his indictment on perjury charges related to his leaking the name of a CIA operative whose husband criticized the Iraq war.
Other prominent Jews on the trust’s board include Sam Fox, the chairman of the RJC; Shelly Kamins, a Washington-area real estate developer; professor Bernard Lewis, a prominent scholar of Islam; Stuart Bernstein, the former ambassador to Denmark; and Dennis Ross, the top U.S. envoy to the Middle East during the Clinton administration.
http://jta.org/page_view_breaking_story.asp?intid=1464
GOP insider out at investing firm
By Ray Long
Tribune staff reporter
Published February 21, 2006
SPRINGFIELD -- An East Coast investment firm has severed its ties with a top Republican official and lobbyist who received millions of dollars in controversial fees on deals with the state's troubled teachers' pension fund.
The Carlyle Group and Springfield lobbyist Robert Kjellander, treasurer of the National Republican Party, "don't have an ongoing relationship at the moment," said David Rubenstein, a founder and managing director of Carlyle.
The Illinois Teachers' Retirement System agreed to invest up to $500 million with Carlyle under six deals while Kjellander was representing Carlyle, but he is no longer registered as a lobbyist for the firm.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chicago/chi-0602210247feb21,1,3512404.story?coll=chi-newslocalchicago-hed
Why Veto UAE port leases?
By Dick H bio
It is just my opinion that if someone with the resources and staff follow this story it will be obivous why the Veto threat.
Just follow the money.
The UAE Goverment purchased the firm of P@O, a private held British firm ,for the sum of 6.8 billion dollars.
What did they purchase?
The port leases, and contracts, of world wide operations. Among them the six USA ports.I have not seen,or heard what the value of our lease with P@O is worth.It must be considerable as the UAE already fas dispached a team to Washington to defend the purchase.
The Carlyle Group,a private owned investement firm ,is headed by George Herbert Bush. His official title being Senior Advisor.The senior legal counselor of the group in none under than James Baker, former Sect'y fo State and Sect'y under Bush one.If you recall Mr. Baker has been named the envoy in charge of restructering Iraq's debt.
Another orginal founder of the group is former British Prime Minister John Majors. Also in the past several years Andrew Foster ,the Queen of Englands personal banker,resigned his CEO postion of the Coutts Group owner of the Royal Bank of Scotland. His reasoning was he always wanted to be involved in the Carlyle Group. It is said the group has holdings, or partners, in every country in the far east. Including Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and rumered the UAE.
One step further,Robert Kjellander, the Treasure of the Republican National Committee, was George W"s campaign chairman in three mid west states. Mr Kjellander isa lobbyist from Sprinfield Il.He received a four million fee from the Carlyle group, in arranging with Gov. Ryan, of Illinois, State pension funds be invested with the Carlyle Group. This is the same Mr. Ryan that current special proscuter Patrick Fitzgearld recently prosicuted sucessfully for fraud.
NOW IS THE VETO THREAT ,in todays political climate starting to make sense? Dick H
http://www.tpmcafe.com/node/26980
Malaysia's Mahathir denies paying Abramoff
KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) - Former Malaysian prime minister Mahathir Mohamad said lobbyists may have paid to arrange his 2002 meeting with President George W Bush, but denied any money came from his government, Bernama news agency reported.
Mahathir said his White House meeting with Bush in May 2002 was arranged by a U.S. think-tank, the Heritage Foundation, to discuss foreign policy issues, the agency said late on Monday.
"I understood some people paid a sum of money to lobbyists in America but I do not know who these people were and it was not the Malaysian government," Mahathir, who retired in late 2003, told reporters on Monday in the northern state of Penang.
Mahathir said it was the practice of the U.S. government to ask people who wanted to meet the president to use the services of lobbyists and this was not viewed as a form of corruption, Bernama added.
http://today.reuters.com/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=worldNews&storyID=2006-02-21T105344Z_01_KLR313028_RTRUKOC_0_US-MALAYSIA-POLITICS-MAHATHIR.xml&archived=False
Tribe moves on from Abramoff
MOUNT PLEASANT (AP) - The Saginaw Chippewa Indian tribe is trying to move on from the scandal involving indicted lobbyist Jack Abramoff.
The tribe hasn't shied away from hiring Washington lobbyists, but it has changed its policy on campaign donations.
"The tribe is strongly committed to eliminating any questionable donations," said Larry Rosenthal, a Saginaw Chippewa lobbyist from Washington-based Ietan Consulting LLC. "The tribal council wanted more accountability."
Abramoff - who pleaded guilty to conspiracy, fraud and tax evasion charges in January - worked for the tribe from late 2001 to late 2003. The Saginaw Chippewas say they paid about $14 million to Abramoff and his former associate, Michael Scanlon. Federal prosecutors have accused Abramoff and Scanlon of defrauding several tribes who were their clients, including the Saginaw Chippewas.
http://www.record-eagle.com/2006/feb/21tribe.htm
The Washington Post
Republicans Split With Bush on Ports
White House Vows to Brief Lawmakers On Deal With Firm Run by Arab State
By Jim VandeHei and Jonathan Weisman
Washington Post Staff Writers
Thursday, February 23, 2006; Page A01
Faced with an unprecedented Republican revolt over national security, the White House disclosed yesterday that President Bush was unaware of a Middle Eastern company's planned takeover of operations at six U.S. seaports until recent days and promised to brief members of Congress more fully on the pending deal.
One day after threatening to veto any attempt by Congress to scuttle the controversial $6.8 billion deal, Bush sounded a more conciliatory tone by saying lawmakers should have been given more details about a state-owned company in the United Arab Emirates purchasing some terminal operations in Baltimore and five other U.S. cities.
"This is one where we probably should have consulted with or briefed Congress on sooner," White House spokesman Scott McClellan told reporters.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/02/22/AR2006022201609.html
Scientist's Visa Denial Sparks Outrage in India
By Shankar Vedantam
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, February 23, 2006; Page A01
A decision two weeks ago by a U.S. consulate in India to refuse a visa to a prominent Indian scientist has triggered heated protests in that country and set off a major diplomatic flap on the eve of President Bush's first visit to India.
The incident has also caused embarrassment at the highest reaches of the American scientific establishment, which has worked to get the State Department to issue a visa to Goverdhan Mehta, who said the U.S. consulate in the south Indian city of Chennai told him that his expertise in chemistry was deemed a threat.
In the face of outrage in India, the U.S. Embassy in New Delhi issued a highly unusual statement of regret, and yesterday the State Department said officials are reaching out to the scientist to resolve his case.
"It is very strange logic," said Mehta, reached at his home in Bangalore early this morning India time. "Someone is insulted and hurt and you ask him to come back a second round."
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/02/22/AR2006022202446.html
Drum Skins Suspected in Anthrax Case
Associated Press
Thursday, February 23, 2006; Page A02
NEW YORK, Feb. 22 -- A New York City man who makes drums has been hospitalized with a case of inhaled anthrax that officials say he may have contracted from raw animal hides that he imported from Africa.
Authorities said Wednesday the infection appeared to be accidental -- not terrorism -- and did not pose a serious public health risk.
Vado Diomande, 44, had traveled recently to the west coast of Africa and fell ill in Pennsylvania last week shortly after his return, authorities said.
It was not clear how he came into contact with the bacteria, or whether it happened in Africa or in this country. But aides to Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg (R) said it was related to his job as a drum maker who worked with raw animal hides.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/02/22/AR2006022201610.html
Federal Court Is Asked to Void Last D.C. Teachers Union Election
By V. Dion Haynes
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, February 22, 2006; Page B04
The U.S. Department of Labor has asked a federal court to overturn the results of a Washington Teachers' Union election held more than a year ago and to order a new election of union leaders.
Union members chose 21 officers, including President George Parker, in a December 2004 election and a January 2005 runoff, both of which were conducted by mail. At the time, the 4,500-member union was returning to self-rule after a two-year takeover by the American Federation of Teachers, which assumed control following a financial scandal involving former union president Barbara Bullock. Bullock was imprisoned after pleading guilty to conspiracy and mail fraud charges.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/02/21/AR2006022101686.html
Fed Vice Chairman Resigns, Adding to Turnover at Top
By Nell Henderson
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, February 23, 2006; Page D01
Federal Reserve Board Vice Chairman Roger W. Ferguson Jr. said yesterday that he will step down this spring, giving President Bush another opening to fill on the panel at a time of transition at the central bank.
Ferguson's announcement came just three weeks after Ben S. Bernanke succeeded Alan Greenspan as Fed chairman and leaves the Fed without the crisis-management experience of the top two officials who had led the central bank through international financial turmoil and terrorist attacks over the past eight years.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/02/22/AR2006022201136.html
Roof Collapse at Moscow Market Kills 21
By JUDITH INGRAM
The Associated Press
Thursday, February 23, 2006; 4:13 AM
MOSCOW -- The concave, snow-covered roof of a Moscow market collapsed early Thursday, killing at least 21 people and trapping about 10 people who were "knocking and crying out," emergency officials said.
Rescue workers used metal cutters and pickaxes to break through the wreckage, kneeling to call into holes in search of survivors. Every few minutes, the rescuers turned off their electric generators and stood silently to listen for signs of life. About six hours after the collapse, rescuers had located just two survivors.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/02/23/AR2006022300180.html
City Improves Youth Drug Services
D.C. Officials Say More Get Treatment Without Having to Wait
By Lori Montgomery
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, February 23, 2006; Page B06
The District provided drug treatment services to nearly 600 young people last year, a 20 percent increase over 2004, D.C. health officials said yesterday.
The increase came during a period of huge progress for youth substance-abuse programs in the District, health officials said. The city opened its first central intake center for teenagers seeking help, purchased a state-of-the-art outreach vehicle dubbed the Mobilizer and received a $1.2 million federal grant to coordinate treatment services for young people.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/02/22/AR2006022202253.html
Wizards Increase Ticket Prices
Some Seats Will Rise 59 Percent
By Thomas Heath
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, February 23, 2006; Page E01
The Washington Wizards are increasing the price of nearly 1,000 choice seats in MCI Center by 59 percent for next season, a jump that has drawn criticism from some longtime fans who feel they are being priced out of their seats.
Lower-bowl seats in Rows A through G in the center three sections closest to half court -- about 1,000 "premier seats" -- will change from between $110 and $114 per seat this year to $175 per seat next year, according to season ticket holders who received their invoices over the last several days.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/02/22/AR2006022202423.html
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