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Australia

March 21, 2007 The Progressive Report

Pictures being uploaded as the limited Broadband in Australia permits.

Pic 1

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US Covert Ops Funding Al Qaeda to Undermine Iran and the Shiite

February 27th, 2007 The Progressive Report

Seymour Hersh continues his in depth coverage of The Bsh Administration, in his latest article to be published in The New York Magazine on March 5th. This time Hersch documents the troubling turn in Administration policy that now includes covert, indirect funding to those groups who participated in the 9/11 attacks on the United States (Saudi Arabia and Sunni extremist groups aligned with Al Qaeda.

The new administration policy has even shocked John Negroponte (convicted in the Iran/Contra scandal) out of his new position as national Director of Intelligence and into the Deputy Secretary of State, under Condoleezza Rice. Hersch says that a former senior intelligence official told him, "“Negroponte said, ‘No way. I’m not going down that road again, with the N.S.C. running operations off the books, with no finding.’ ” (In the case of covert C.I.A. operations, the President must issue a written finding and inform Congress".

All this in an effort to undermine Iran-the new enemy in the crosshairs of this administration. Hersch says the key players responsible for this new direction are: "Vice-President Dick Cheney, the deputy national-security adviser Elliott Abrams, the departing Ambassador to Iraq (and nominee for United Nations Ambassador), Zalmay Khalilzad, and Prince Bandar bin Sultan, the Saudi national-security adviser".

News War: What's Happening to the News

February 27th, 2007 The Progressive Report

This evening PBS series Frontline (w/Cam Bay Productions & UC Berkeley) aired 'News War: What's Happening to the News'. The third installment of the 'News War' series documents "What major players in the debates are saying about the role of media in U.S. society - and what's ahead."

Tonights episode examined the role of TV Media & Newspapers and the impact that corporate ownership has had. The emergence of Bloggers, and their impact (Trent Lott resignation, G.W.Bush National Guard Sevice, Senator Foley resignation).

It is no mistake that The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, and until 6 years ago The LA Times are/were all owned by private indiviuals or not for profit organizations. Frontline documents the purchase of the Times Mirror (The LA Times included) by The Tribune Co. and its' corporate downsizing to achieve a remarkable 20% profit margin along with the additional push from investors and analysts, such as Charles Bobrinskoy (Ariel Capital Management), to boost revenue even higher by providing more 'local content that the consumer wants and needs (likened to YouTube type content).

March on Washington

January 27th, 2007 The Progressive Report

In response to Bush's address to the Nation on January 9th, and his State of The Union address United for Peace and Justice is sponsoring a "March on Washington". The March will take place on the National Mall between 3rd and 7th Streets at 11am, march is at 1pm. The message is to end the war in Iraq and bring all the troops home now. Confirmed Speakers Include the Rev. Jesse Jackson, Bob Watada (father of Lt. Ehren Watada, the first officer to refuse deployment to Iraq, Representatives Maxine Waters (D-CA) and Lynn Woosley (D-CA), Rabbi Michael Lerner and celebrities Susan Sarandon and husband Tim Robbins, Danny Glover, and Jane Fonda.

Code Pink is sponsoring "Walk in Their Shoes" and they are asking those that show up to the march donate shoes to "help people visualize the unspeakable pain and suffering this was has inflicted on the Iraqi people". Cope Pink has a partial list of Iraqi's that have been killed since the start of the war, they ask you to attach a tag to the shoes with the name, age, and sex of the victim. As the Code Pink website states, "The goal of Walk in Their Shoes is to show politicians who still support this war that they must see the consequences of their votes to fund the war and 'stay the course'."

The Critical Voice is encouraging attendees to place a White Rose on the steps of the Capital at the end of the March to make the statement to Congress and the Bush Administration that "We Will not be Silent", a statement quoated from a student run resistance movement in Nazi Germany callled The White Rose.

The Progressive Report will attend the march and will have photos posted here shortly after.

March Photos -Posted 1/29

Stories that We Need Your Input on-Please Click Here to see Summary Requirements (these stories are unsubstantiated, and should be treated as such until properly published and posted):

500 Amputee Milestone Reached

Democrats First 100 Hours(see Moveon.org):

9/11 commission report revisited and recommendations to be passed into law

Minimum Wage Increase (first time in 10 years)

 

Pelosi Re-Iterates that she will not revoke funding for the troops on Diane Sawyer interview.

Senate Judiciary Hearings: CIA Domestic spying; Kennedy to Gonzalez:Impose Geographic restrictions or limit funding for troops ;Large number of US Attornies asked to resign by Gonzales, "A sign of good management"? ; Feingold on Illegal Wiretap reversal,"The Administration can re-instate if it wants to?".; Senator Lehee: reading of US mail per Bush's signing statement?, CIA/DOD spying on American's banking records?Canadian Citizen rendered to Syria for 10 months and tortured while flying to Canada by way of JFK?; Boxer & Condoleeza Rice," who pays the price...not me or you" ; Chuck Hagel on Surge, "Most ddangerous foreign policy blunder in this country since Vietnam." Rice:"Troops are an Augmentation"?

NY Times Story: Senior Pentagon Official in charge of dentention centers worldwide: 'Corporate clients should consider dropping law firms that represent detainees. Charles D. Stimpson on Washington Federal News Radio and The Wall Street Journal. Monica Crowly (sp?), right wing radio talk show host, furnished Stimpson the names of the firms through a Freedom of Information Act request.

Scooter Libby Trial

General John Abizad Resigns

Gates (Secretary of War/Defense Secretary) Supports Bush's Surge and proposes to increase the size of Military (65K more in the Army(547k total), 25k more Marines (202k total)

Overnight Raid by US in Northern Iraq on Iranian Consulate (Published in the BBC and www.attytood.com)

Lretta Sanchez still on the Do Not Fly List?

Lynn Cheney on Wolf Blitzer (CNN)

Children Born to Illegal Aliens no longer covered by Medicare?

Rumsfeld has a "hotline to God" says General.

Bush Tells kids of troops in Iraq over X-mas, "Send and email to Mom and Dad".

Rice: I will write Books when I am back at Standford on what the Bush Administration "might have done differently".

LA Protests Iraq Troop Surge

January 10th, 2007 The Progressive Report

In response to Bush's address to the Nation on Tuesday Los Angelinos took to the streets toprotest against the proposed Iraq troop surge. Code Pink sponsored by Code Pink and The World Can't Wait. Approximately 100 people showed up with signs, and candles, protesting the 'surge', the Iraq war, The Bush administration, and war in general.

See Photo's from the protest at NW corner of Veteran and Wilshire Blvd across from the Federal Building, in front of the Cemetary of soldiers here.

List of January 11th Surge Rally Events and Comments

Boston Rallies

Rumsfeld, Gonzales, & Tenet Accused of Abuses at Guantanimo and Abu Ghraib

November 10th, 2006 Time Magazine

Accusations in a case brought 11 Iraqis who were prisoners at Abu Ghraib andMohammad al-Qahtani, a prisoner and '20th highjacker' held at Guantanamo, allege that Donald Rumsfeld, Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, former CIA director George Tenet and other senior U.S. civilian and military officerst had a role in the abuses committed at Iraq's Abu Ghraib prison and at Guantanamo. Next week former Brigadeer General Janis Karpinski, former commander of all Iraqi prisons, is expected to address these accusations in Germany with a prior statement being released by the accusers lawyers saying, "It was clear the knowledge and responsibility [for what happened at Abu Ghraib] goes all the way to the top of the chain of command to the Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld".

The German court may charge Rumsfeld, Tenet and Gonzalez with warcrimes since the detainee's at Guantanimo no longer have the right to Habeas Corpus (see article below). Past challenges brought to the German court have been thrown due to the fact that US Law forbid such acts-this is no longer the case. The suit will be filed under a 2002 law granting German courts universal jurisdiction in the case of war crimes and crimes against humanity.

BlogCritics Magazine Article

Interesting BTC news summary

VOTE!

November 6, 2006 The Progressive Report

Below is a list of websites and their positions on the candidates...

League of Women Voters

MoveOn Ballot Endorsements

California Specific Sites:

ACLU Of Southern California

(please note that the ACLU takes no official position on proposition 89 (public campaign finance reform)-however since they are a special interest group it is no surprise what their brief assessment is)

 

THE NINTH ANNUAL WESIIIDE BOWL-A-THON AND COSTUME CONTEST

October 31st, 2006 The Progressive Report

Halloween took on a new meeting at the ninth annual wesiiide bowl in Santa Monica on Tuesday night...in attendance wre Brandy Flower....and Brandy Flower...I have a limited number of pics and will be adding more when I receive them.

See Photo's Here

LA Parade For Peace Led by Ghandi

October 28th, 2006 The Progressive Report

A parade for World Peace was lead by Ghandi's surviving 72 year-old activist grandson Arun Gandhi. Mr. Gandhi studied at his grandfather’s side from revolution through revolt and Gandhi’s tragic assassination in 1946.

See Photo's from the march here.

Habeas Corpus Revoked

October 20th, 2006 The Associated Press

The United States Justice Department informed 'unlawful combatants' , held in Guantanamo, that access to US Courts has been revoked due to passage of a bill Gearge W. Bush signed into law on Tuesday amid much protest from civil rights advocates, Democrats, and some Republicans (The Senate vote was 65/34). There is nothing in the law that states a US Citizen cannot be an 'unlawful combatant'.

The Justice Department then informed judges in pending detainee litigation that their cases are unfounded and now, unlawful. Detainees lawyers are expected to file briefs with the court contesting the new law.

Jonatan Hafetz, a lawyer for the Brennan Center for Justice at New York University School of Law respresenting multiple detainees, says, "Habeas protects against the executive taking a person and locking them up without a chance to prove their innocence.Habeas is what stands between us and a system of secret detentions, a police state."

DanFroomkin, writer at The Washington Post, quotes John D. Hutson, a former judge advocate general of the Navy and Dean of the Franklin Pierce Law School in New Hampshire, as saying "This is not a time of rebellion. There has not been an invasion, and there's no evidence the "public safety" requires it. Let's not kid ourselves. This is not about an invasion. It is about the embarrassment of holding people who, if they got to court, could show they should not have been held.'"

On October 17th the ACLU took out a full page ad in the Washington Post stating,"Today, George Bush is expected to sign into law one of the most radical rollbacks of civil liberties in American history. The Military Commissions Act of 2006 eliminates the right of Habeas Corpus for detainees who could be held for years without charge, and guts enforcement of the Geneva Conventions. The law allows detainees to be sentenced to death based on testimony literally beaten out of witnesses. And, it grants officials in the Bush Administration a retroactive “get out of jail free” card for war crimes. "

Washington Post Article, October 18th, 2006-Week in review (see mid-page for start of coverage)

NY Times Article , October 18th, 2006

LA Times Article, October 18th -By David G. Savage

LA Times Article, October 18th-By Richard B. Schmitt and Julian E. Barnes

ACLU Article, October 17th, 2006

Eisenhower Strike Group Sails Early to Persian Gulf

October 3rd, 2006 The Progressive Report

As reported on Sept. 17th by Time Magazine, the Eisenhower strike group set sail today out of Norfolk Virginia. In the same Time article it lists Iran as the probable destination; whether for military action or blockade is uncertain at this time. What is certain is that the Eisenhower left the Norfolk shipyards months earlier than planned, with a unseasoned crew (70% new sailors) and their families still shocked at the short notice they were given.

Is this an attempt to play political war games with Iran, or are we witnessing the amassing of the first wave of a possible stike/invasion force into Iran? Could this be the 'October Surprise' everyone is talking about? Could this be the surprise that will give the Bush Administration and the Republicans the upper hand?

Estimates place the strike group off the coast of Iran between October 21st and the 25th, just days before the November Election.

See also: The Nation, September 21st, 2006

Time Magazine article, September 19th, 2006

Navy Times, September 26th, 2006

WTKR, October 3rd, 2006

 

World Can't Wait Marches Take Place in More Than 200 US Cities

October 5th, 2006 The Progressive Report

Demonstrations against the policies of the Bush administration were held today in over 200 locations nationwide. Their common slogan was "NO! THIS REGIME DOES NOT REPRESENT US! AND WE WILL DRIVE IT OUT!"

Links to Press Coverage

Pictures from October 5th Los Angeles March

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FCC Holds Public Hearings in Los Angeles

October 3rd, 2006 The Progressive Report

Public hearings were held in Los Angeles Today In the start of what the FCC promises will be a 7 city tour on Corporate Media Rules. The Progressive Report was there, on the scene and participating (See The Progressive Report for October 3rd).

October 3rd, Free Press Report

 

 

Rep. Foley (R-Fl) Resigns, Key House Republicans (Speaker) Cover Up

Sept 29th, ABC News

Rep Foley (R-Fl) resigned on Sept. 29th after ABC News' Brian Ross confronted the representative with allegations that he sent 'inappropriate' messages to House pages.

A related Washington Post article reiterates the assertion of House Speaker Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.) that he knew nothing of the emails/text messages (See AP article here), . Rep. Thomas M. Reynolds (R-N.Y.) insists, and Hastert does not deny, that he informed Hastert last Spring (See ABC News Article here ). Rep. Rodney Alexander, R-La (R-Lou) was also informed of the inappropriate emails (by the page's parents) and a meeting was held with the House page administrator (Rep. John Shimkus, R-Ill.). Foley was told (by his Republican piers) that he was to stop all contact with the page in question.

The FBI was informed by a 16 year old page's parents in July of the inappropriate emails. The FBI concluded that the emails "did not rise to the level of criminal activity."

Tony Snow (White House spokesman ) told CNN that the fuss was over "simply naughty e-mails."

DNC Spokesperson Karen Finney said, "Congressman Reynolds' inaction in the face of such a serious situation is very troubling, and raises important questions about whether there was an attempt to cover up criminal activity involving a minor to keep it from coming to light before election day."

Foley checked himself into a rehabilitation clinic for Alcoholism this past weekend.

President Carter Accuses Bush Administration of Misleading American People

ABC News, Oct 2006

President Jimmy Carter, in an ABC News Interview, said," The Vice President and Secretary of defense have ....deliberately mislead the American People" with regard to Iraq (with regard to wmd and the present state of affairs) and the war on terror. He says he thinks it was a "horrible decision to abandon Afghanistan".

See ABC News Video Here

 

A related Washington Post article reit

 

Global Media Response to 9/11

Sept 11th, 2006 AFP

From the AFP:

"Newspapers across the world have strongly criticised the US response to September 11, accusing the Bush administration of bungling its "war on terror" and squandering global goodwill by invading iRAQ."

On the fifth anniversary of Al-Qaeda's assault on New York and Washington, editorials united Monday in condemning the attacks and expressing revulsion for the Islamic extremists who carried out the atrocity. Much criticism, especially in the Midde East and Europe, was reserved for US President George W. Bush's ecision to invade Iraq under the banner of the "war on terror". "

From a NY Times Editorial: "When we measure the possibilities created by 9/11 against what we have actually accomplished, it is clear that we have found one way after another to compound the tragedy."

The Financial Times said, "The way the Bush administration has trampled on the international rule of law and Geneva Conventions, while abrogating civil liberties and expanding executive power at home, has done huge damage not only to America's reputation but, more broadly, to the attractive power of Western values."

"The Bush administration has succeeded in destroying the huge pool of compassion and solidarity which gripped the world after September 11," said Left-leaning French newspaper Liberation, stressing that the American President’s so-called "war on terror" had been disastrous.

Germany’s Handelsblatt says (babelfish translation), " Bush and its internal circle carry the responsibility for very many errors with regard to foreign policy."

White House Pulls EPA Lung Warning to 9/11 Heroes

Sept 9th, 2006 60 Minutes (CBS)

60 Minutes last night aired a piece entitled ," The Dust at Ground Zero; Katie Couric Reports How it Affected Ground Zero First Responders".

Christine Todd Whitman, the head of the Environmental Protection Agency, said just after the attack that "Everything we've tested for, which includes asbestos, lead and VOC (Volatile Organic Compounds), have been below any level of concern for the general public. Obviously for those working down here, these are very important," she said, holding up a respirator mask.

However, CBS reports that, "EPA press releases were changed by the White House Council on Environmental Quality to sound more reassuring.On another front, although the city required respirators and posted signs at the site, safety reports show only half of the workers wore them. In contrast, at the Pentagon, anyone who was not wearing a respirator was not allowed to work on the site".

"There is no question that, as a result of their horrific exposures, thousands of World Trade Center responders have developed chronic and disabling illnesses that will likely be permanent," said Dr. Robin Herbert, co-director of the Mount Sinai Medical Center program monitoring afflicted workers. This week Mount Sinai released the results of a study showing nearly 7 out of every 10 ground zero responders suffered lung problems....."Almost everyone 60 Minutes spoke to said their claims were mired in bureaucratic red tape for months, if not years. "

See Sept 9th AP Story here.

Pakistan Truce With Taliban?

September 5th , 2006 AP

The Government of Pakistan signed a truce with pro-Taliban militants to ensure "permanent peace" in a tribal region bordering Afghanistan, seeking to end five years of violent unrest in the area.

Sept. 6,2006 AP Story-Pakistan: No Safe Harbor for Bin Laden.

Late Night Host Mike Malloy Fired From Air America Radio

Aug 30, 2006 The Progressive Report

Sheila Samples (Democratic Underground; January 28, 2006) wrote, “Mike Malloy is the canary in the political coal mine -- the bane of the Bush administration and of hypocrites of all stripes. He is a liberal gadfly whose light shines so brightly on the truth that even Air America struggles to keep him hidden under its late-night barrel.” For that reason AAR network executives may have deemed it ‘fitting’ that Mike Malloy was fired from Air America on Tuesday afternoon after completing his drive-time (in the light of day) broadcast substituting for Randi Rhodes.

Take action and sign the petition for Mike here.

Morrison Blog @ Powers and Morrison.com

Sacramento for Democracy links/blogs

Democratic Underground info on Mike.

Salon.com Article on Mike.

Spike Lee Katrina Documentary Premiers on HBO

Aug 29, 2006 The Progressive Report

Spike Lee's documentary, WHEN THE LEVEES BROKE: A REQUIEM IN FOUR ACTS, will be shown in its' entirety on HBO on August 29th (1 year anniversary of Katrina) . The documentary illustrates what happened before, during, and after the hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans.

In a recent interview with HBO Spike Lee commented, "One of the things I hope this documentary does is remind Americans that New Orleans is not over with, it's not done. Americans responded in record numbers to help the people of the Gulf Coast, but let's be honest. Americans have very, very short attention spans. And, I'll admit there was eventually a thing called Katrina fatigue. But if you go to New Orleans, only one-fourth of the population is there. People are still not home. So hopefully, this documentary will bring this fiasco, this travesty, back to the attention of the American people. And maybe the public can get some politicians' ass in the government to move quicker, and be more efficient in helping our fellow American citizens in the Gulf region. "

Lee's comments on the Bush administration,"George Bush doesn't care about black people. Many people think it had nothing to do with race, it had more to do with class. You have a large population who happened to be poor, and if they did vote they didn't vote Republican anyway. Everybody was on vacation. Ms. Rice was buying Ferrigamo shoes on Madison Avenue while people were drowning, then went to see Spamalot. Cheney was on vacation. Bush was on vacation, and even when the President cut short his vacation, he did not fly directly to New Orleans. He did not fly directly to the Gulf region. He had the pilot of Air Force One do a fly-over. "

Judge Declares Bush's NSA Warrantless Wiretap Program (TSP) Illegal

August 19th , 2006 NYTimes

Federal Judge Anna Diggs Taylor today ruled that the NSA program authorized by president Bush after 9/11 (that circumvents existing FISA warrantless 72 hour wiretaps) is unconstitutional and illegal.

A stay was granted to the Federal Government as they appealed the case.

Link to Court Ruling

 

 

Hundreds of Thousands March in Mexico to Demand Vote Recount

July 30, 2006 NY Times

By conservative estimates 100,000 people marched on the central plaza in Mexico City to protest the general election held on July 2,2006. Supporters of Andrés Manuel López Obrador, the leftist candidate opposing Vincente Fox's partymate Felipe Calderón, are calling for a vote recount in an election in which Calderón is said to have won by 243,000 votes out of 41 million votes cast. By their estimates the crowd numbered 1.2 million people, one of the largest in the history of Mexico.

Greg Palast, reporter at The Guardian, in a more sinister article implicates the company responsible for disenfranchising thousands of voters in the 2000 Florida election-ChoicePoint Inc. of Alpharetta, Georgia. See article links here

 

 

 

US Rushes Delivery of Precision Bombs to Israel

July 22, 2006 NY Times

There was 'relatively little debate' prior to the shipment of an expedited order of precision guided bombs to Israel the NY Times quotes American Officials as saying.

David S. Cloud (NY Times) goes on to write:

Its disclosure threatens to anger Arab governments and others because of the appearance that the United States is actively aiding the Israeli bombing campaign in a way that could be compared to Iran’s efforts to arm and resupply Hezbollah.

The munitions that the United States is sending to Israel are part of a multimillion-dollar arms sale package approved last year that Israel is able to draw on as needed, the officials said. But Israel’s request for expedited delivery of the satellite and laser-guided bombs was described as unusual by some military officers, and as an indication that Israel still had a long list of targets in Lebanon to strike.

Saudi Arabia Pledges $1.5 Billion in Aid to Lebanon

July 26, 2006 Katherine Schrader, AP

King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia pledged $1.5 Billion in aid to rebuild Lebanon, the U.S. pledged $30 Million worth of blankets and medical kits.

 

American Bar Association Declares Bush's Signing Statements Unconstitutional

July 24, 2006 Boston Globe

The American Bar Association task force concluded on July 23rd that President Bush's signing statements (numbering approximately 750) are unconstitutional and violate separation of powers.

The task force wrote, "The president's constitutional duty is to enforce laws he has signed into being, unless and until they are held unconstitutional by the Supreme Court. The Constitution is not what the president says it is."

Charlie Savage summarized the signing statements in a past article, (April 30, 2006)Boston Globe:

Bush is the first president in modern history who has never vetoed a bill, giving Congress no chance to override his judgments. Instead, he has signed every bill that reached his desk, often inviting the legislation's sponsors to signing ceremonies at which he lavishes praise upon their work.

Then, after the media and the lawmakers have left the White House, Bush quietly files “signing statements” -- official documents in which a president lays out his legal interpretation of a bill for the federal bureaucracy to follow when implementing the new law. The statements are recorded in the federal register. . .

In his signing statements, Bush has repeatedly asserted that the Constitution gives him the right to ignore numerous sections of the bills -- sometimes including provisions that were the subject of negotiations with Congress in order to get lawmakers to pass the bill. He has appended such statements to more than one of every 10 bills he has signed.

July 24, 2006 NY Times

Nieman Foundation page on signing statements @ Harvard University

Specter to Sue Bush Over Signing Statements

July 25, AP / June 28, 2006 SF Chronicle

Senator Arlen Specter (R-Pa.) is sponsoring a bill to stop President Bush from adding signing statements to bills that he signs into law. Specter hopes to retro-actively affect Bush's past signing statements (now totaling more than 800), particularly those added to the torture bill and the latest version of the patriot act. “We will submit legislation to the United States Senate which will...authorize the Congress to undertake judicial review of those signing statements with the view to having the president’s acts declared unconstitutional,” he said. Specter issues this statement after the American Bar Association released its' findings of the statements as unconstitutional (see above story).

Signing statements typically indicate how the law is to be implemented, at issue is , Specter says,"whether the president may, in effect, cherry-pick the provisions he likes, excluding the provisions he doesn’t like. The president has the option under the Constitution to veto or not."

Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-Ca.) said (June 28, SF Chronicle), "I believe that this new use of signing statements is a means to undermine and weaken the law. If the president is going to have the power to nullify all or part of a statute, it should only be through veto authority that the president has authorized and can reject -- rather than through a unilateral action taken outside the structures of our democracy."

June 28, 2006 San Francisco Chronicle

June 28, 2006 Rolling Stone story

June 28, 2006 NPR Audio

Thousands Protest IDF Bombing of Lebanon in Tel Aviv

July 23, 2006 Haaretz

Anti-War protests occurred in Tel Aviv today, more than 2,500 people attended according to Haaretz. Arab organizations (Hadash and Balad) and the zionist left joined to protest the attack on southern Lebanon. Protests included anti-Bush slogans.

July 22, 2006 YNet story

Tim Russert: "Free Elections are No Guarantee of Democracy"

July 23, 2006 Meet The Press

Tim Russert, host of Meet The Press, made the statement on Sunday:

But you have free elections in Iraq, and the head of the parliament calls us butchers. You have free elections in Palestine, and Hamas wins. You have elections in Lebanon, and Hezbollah wins 10--12 seats in the parliament and two Cabinet seats. Free elections are no guarantee of democracy.

Israeli Attack on Lebannon Planned and 'Pitched to US' more than a Year Ago

July 21 , 2006 San Francisco Chronicle

All Israel needed was an excuse to attack, and they found one when Hezbollah terrorists killed 8 Israeli's and 'kidnapped' two. This also happened after the 'matermind' of the NYC Holland Tunnel Plot was arrested in Beirut, Lebanon (See July 9th story below).

Gerals Steinberg, political science professor at Bar-llan University, is quoted as saying, "Of all of Israel's wars since 1948, this was the one for which Israel was most prepared. In a sense, the preparation began in May 2000, immediately after the Israeli withdrawal, when it became clear the international community was not going to prevent Hezbollah from stockpiling missiles and attacking Israel. By 2004, the military campaign scheduled to last about three weeks that we're seeing now had already been blocked out and, in the last year or two, it's been simulated and rehearsed across the board."

Matthew Kalman, Chronicle Foreign Service, alledges that: More than a year ago, a senior Israeli army officer began giving PowerPoint presentations, on an off-the-record basis, to U.S. and other diplomats, journalists and think tanks, setting out the plan for the current operation in revealing detail. Under the ground rules of the briefings, the officer could not be identified.

In his talks, the officer described a three-week campaign: The first week concentrated on destroying Hezbollah's heavier long-range missiles, bombing its command-and-control centers, and disrupting transportation and communication arteries. In the second week, the focus shifted to attacks on individual sites of rocket launchers or weapons stores. In the third week, ground forces in large numbers would be introduced, but only in order to knock out targets discovered during reconnaissance missions as the campaign unfolded. There was no plan, according to this scenario, to reoccupy southern Lebanon on a long-term basis.

 

 

Gonzales: Bush Blocked Justice Department Inquiry into NSA Wiretapping

July 19, 2006 Washington Post

Attorney General Alberto Gonzales wrote in a letter sent to the committee's chairman, Sen. Arlen Specter (R-Pa.),"The president decided that protecting the secrecy and security of the program requires that a strict limit be placed on the number of persons granted access to information about the program for non-operational reasons ...Every additional security clearance that is granted for the [program] increases the risk that national security might be compromised."

The Office of Professional Responsibility, the internal affairs office at Justice, chief lawyer H. Marshall Jarrett wrote in a memorandum, "Since its creation some 31 years ago, OPR has conducted many highly sensitive investigations involving Executive Branch programs and has obtained access to information classified at the highest levels. In all those years, OPR has never been prevented from initiating or pursuing an investigation."

President Bush authorized the NSA program after September 11, 2001.

See July 19,2006 Washington Post story here.

July 17,2006 NY Times Story

July 20, 2006 ACLU Article

Court Refuses to Throw Out NSA Wiretapping Lawsuit

July 21 , 2006 Electronic Frontier Foundation

A Federal Judge refused to dismiss a lawsuit brought by the Electronic Frontier Foundation against AT&T alleging they participated/are participating in the NSA Wiretapping Program-See April 7th, 2006 Related Story Below

Related Article, Reuters July 10, 2006

 

UN Report: 6,000 Iraqi Civilians Killed in 2 Months

July 16 , 2006 AFP

A UN human rights report issued today says, "A total of 5,818 civilians were reportedly killed and at least 5,762 wounded during May and June 2006..killings, kidnappings and torture remain widespread in Iraq and the number of civilians killed continues to grow". Out of the nearly 6,000 killed 244 were women, and 71 were children.

July 18, 2006 NY Times story

 

Exposed CIA NOC & Husband File Lawsuit Against Cheney, Rove and Libby

July 14 , 2006 Washington Post

Exposed CIA NOC (Non-Operative Cover (think Mission Impossible)) Valerie Plame and her husband, Joe Wilson, filed a civil suit against Vice President Cheney, presidential advisor Karl Rove, and ex-vice presidential assistant I. 'Scooter' Libby. Plame and Wilson allege that the defendants revealed her identity in retaliation for an article Wilson wrote revealing that the Iraq-Niger yellow cake uranium story was false (Patrick Fitzgerald, special prosecutor, has already alleged in legal briefs). The couple plans to donate all proceeds (beyond legal costs).

Go here to help support their case.

July 14, 2006 AP story

The Latest Terror Plots: More Reason to Fear?

July 9 , 2006 NY Times / June 30, 2006 CBS/AP

The Sears Tower Plot: 7 men accused of plotting to destroy the Sears Tower and other FBI buildings and the overthrow the U.S. government. Prosecutors say they have video of the members pledging allegiance to Osama Bin Laden, and pledged to be loyal to "the path of holy war until God's word is exalted" . In addition they claim to have video footage of the proposed targets taken by the defendants. What is not noted in some stories is that the FBI informant led the men in the pledge of allegiance to Bin Laden, in addition the informant provided a video camera for members to film each target with.

The New York Holland Tunnel Plot: The FBI says that none of the 8 suspects (The 'Mastermind' apprehended in Beirut, Lebanon, and the other 7 in 5 countries and 2 continents-none had as of yet been charged (as of July 7th) had accumulated any explosives, or bomb making material, nor had they performed any reconnaissance.

Mr. Chertoff, current Secretary of Homeland Security, said,"The distance between planning and actual operations is a very short distance ...Sometimes, that causes skeptics to say the threats are not really serious," he said. "But mixing a bomb in a bathtub does not require rocket science."

As the NY Times Eric Lipton astutely recognizes in both cases,"suspects have been apprehended before they lined up the intended weapons and the necessary financing or figured out other central details necessary to carry out their plots". Lipton quotes Martin Stolar, a NY defense lawyer, ''Talk without any kind of an action means nothing. You start to criminalize people who are not really criminals.''

See the CBS/AP story here.

See the NY Times Select Story here.

NY Times July 7, 2006 story on Holland Tunnel Plot.

Paul Krugman rebuttal to Wall Street Journal Op Ed.

July 7 , 2006 NY Times

Paul Krugman, NY Times Op Ed columnist, responded to the Wall Street Journal's accusation that The Times has treasonous intentions. The Wall Street Journal's Political Editor is quoted as being,"“shocked,” saying that “I don’t know anybody on the news staff of The Wall Street Journal that believes that.”

Krugman's emphasis is on the administrations policy to "attempt to create a political environment in which nobody dares to criticize the administration or reveal inconvenient facts about its actions".

MSNBC's Norah O'Donnell Accuses Cindy Sheehan of "trashing the President"

July 7 , 2006 Media Matters

On MSNBC's Hardball on Thursday Norah O'Donnell accuses peace activist Cindy Sheehan of "trashing the president" at home and abroad. The atmosphere was anything but receptive, as evidence from an introduction from O'Donnell that stated that Sheehan calls the President a terrorist and stands with a "socialist dictator"(Hugo Chavez

On three separate occasions O'Donnell said Sheehan was "trashing the President" and implied that she "hated" the president, to which Sheehan responded, "Well, actually, I don't hate the president, either. And I don't trash the president; I trash the president's foreign policy, which is fundamentally and inherently wrong and immoral. And I don't tell people around the world anything that they don't know."

In response to O'Donnell's question that Sheehan calls Bush "the biggest terrorist in the world" Sheehan responded,"Well, you know, he says a terrorist is somebody who kills innocent men, women, and children, and there has been over 100,000 innocent men, women, and children killed in Iraq on his orders."

Throughout the interview Sheehan responded with simple, to the point answers and she remained calm, even though it was obvious to all who saw the interview that O'Donnell was trying to provoke Sheehan.It was hard to believe this was not a FOX News channel interview.

See the Video and the transcript here. MSNBC Email link

Cindy Sheehan Starts Hunger Strike to Protest War

July 3 , 2006 AFP

Peace activist (Code Pink/Camp Casey/Camp Democracy) Cindy Sheehan will start a hunger strike tomorrow to protest the war in Iraq. Other members of the Code Pink group will join her with celebrities expected to join in for at least 1 day of her expected long term fasting.

Clerical Error or Sign of Things to Come?

June 28, 2006 Ken Thomas, AP writer

John Conyers (D-Mich.) and 10 other House Democrats are suing to stop implementation into law of the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005 because the version voted on in the House and Senate was different. The change involved the number of months that Medicare would rent medical equipment for. The House version said 36 months, the Senate version 13 months. After the bill was approved in the house it was then changed back to 13 months before Bush signed the bill into law.

The debate is not just over a clerical error, but over historical president and the ability of a bill to be changed prior to signature by the President of the United States as conyers says, "First it was ignoring the Geneva Conventions, then it was the abuse of Presidential signing statements. Now our government is arguing that it can pick and choose which laws to ultimately enact, regardless of clear Constitutional procedures requiring bicameralism before presentment to the President."

See July 20, 2006 Talk Left article with links to Defendants opposition to DOJ request for dismissal.

 

CIA Disbands Bin Laden Unit

June 3, 2006 NPR ; July 4, 2006 NY times

"Alec Station", codename for the Bin Laden Unit at the CIA, was shutdown sometime late last year according to intelligence sources in a NY times article and on NPR.

Richard Clark, former White House Counter Terrorism Chief is quoted by NPR as saying, "I don't believe Bin Laden represents a threat" reiterates an administration and CIA belief that Bin Laden has no real control of worldwide terrorist activity.

Michael Scheuer, a past head of the unit, and an outspoken critic of the administrations/CIA's policy with respect to Bin Laden told the NY times, "This will clearly denigrate our operations against al-Qaida....These days at the agency, bin Laden and al-Q aida appear to be treated merely as first among equals."

See NPR Story here.

See NY times Select Story here.

See the AP story here.

Was the 2004 Election Stolen?

June 1, 2006 Rolling Stone

Robert Kennedy Jr. writes about the voting irregularities that occurred during the 2004 election. Kennedy focuses on the incidents that took place before, after and during the Ohio election. From the direct involvement of State government officials to the indirect involvement of the Federal Government (Attorney General Ashcroft) in disenfranchisement of voters Kennedy covers it all (with footnotes-208 in total!).

Librarians Speak Out on FBI Demand for Records after being Gagged by Patriot Act.

May 30, 2006 ACLU

After congress completed a debate on the re-authorization of the Patriot Act the Federal Government lifted a permanent gag order on librarians that were ordered by the FBI to produce library records of patrons.The ACLU took on the case of the 4 librarians.

Ann Beeson, ACLU Associate Legal Director, said,"Our clients were gagged by the government at a time when Congress needed to hear their voices the most....This administration has repeatedly shown that it will hide behind the cloak of national security to silence its critics and cover up embarrassing facts. Every time the government invokes national security in defense of secrecy -- as they've done most recently with NSA wiretapping -- the American public should remember these four librarians."

FBI Continues to search office of Rep. William Jefferson (D;Louisiana)

May 21, 2006 CNN

After searching Rep William Jefferson's home in August the FBI has broadened their search to the Representatives' Washington office. While the warrant remains sealed an FBI spokesperson did say this search was "in conjunction with an ongoing public corruption investigation", and that a portion of the warrant would be made public after the search is complete.

CNN reports: "Vernon Jackson of Louisville, Kentucky, pleaded guilty in federal court this month to bribing the congressman with more than $400,000 in payments, company stock and a share of the profits to promote a Kentucky company's high-tech business ventures in Africa. See that story here.

Jefferson maintains his innocence in the matter and says he will remain in office. Jefferson represents the 2nd district of Louisiana, which is still rebuilding from Katrina and is enthralled in the FEMA contract scandals.

Related Link: Beyond Delay; The 13 Most Corrupt Members of Congress

US Updating Non-Nuclear Bombing Plan for Iran

May 16, 2006 The Herald (UK)

Sources inside the Pentagon say the US is updating its' non-nuclear contingency plans to bomb Iran. The UK paper "The Herald" reports: "The main plan calls for a rolling, five-day bombing campaign against 400 key targets in Iran, including 24 nuclear-related sites, 14 military airfields and radar installations, and Revolutionary Guard headquarters.....The alternative to an all-out campaign is a demonstration strike against one or two high-profile targets such as the Natanz uranium enrichment facility or the hexafluoride gas plant at Isfahan." Staging B2 bomber strikes from RAF Fairford (in Gloucester,UK) on Tehran have been ruled out due to current opposition.

Stephen Colbert 'Roasts' Bush And Correspondents at Correspondents'

May 1, 2006 Editor and Publisher

At the annual White House Correspondents' Dinner Stephen Colbert delivered a roast to the audience and the guests that they will not soon forget. In an event that is usually steeped in comedy Colbert, who stars in a Comedy Central series named after him, delivered an unapologetic look at George Bush, his administration and its' failed policies, and even the press.

From the start you could tell that Colbert had hit a nerve with everyone in the room, he kept drilling ......After his 'roast' had concluded Laura and George could barely shake Colbert's hand, let alone smile. The Press corp, and nearly all of the audience, appeared equally as frazzled.

The next day the press' either barely mentioned Colbert, or criticized him- Washington Post reporters Amy Argetsinger and Roxanne Roberts said,"Stephen Colbert's cutting satire fell flat because he ignored the cardinal rule of Washington humor: Make fun of yourself, not the other guy." In reality Colbert had said what none of the press dared say themselves, and most definitely not while standing next to the President of the United States. It was Harry Taylor's honest, personal criticism times one hundred. As a friend of mine said to me, "I hope Stephen has his taxes in order!" =D

A high quality VIDEO of the event can be found here.

See Washington Post Story (Not the one mentioned above!) and Blog quotes here.

White House to remove camera's from daily briefing?

May 1 , 2006 Associated Press

"Bolten (new Chief of Staff) said it may be worth considering whether to end the daily televised press briefings where reporters and the press secretary frequently air disputes in front of the cameras, but he will leave that decision up to Snow (new Press Secretary. "

European Union Accuses CIA of Secretly Transporting Terror Suspects

April 27, 2006 The Washington Post Foreign Service

An EU Parliamentary Committee accused the CIA of violating human-rights conventions and European law by concealing the true purpose of  1,000+ flights and not reporting passenger manifests to local authorities. The Parliament committee expects to conduct hearings in affected member nations. Attention will be given to the nature of the flights, compilation of the crew and prisoners, and whether EU intelligence services were involved.

Tens of Thousands Protest Iraq War in NYC

April 30, 2006 Associated Press/CBS News

Tens of Thousands of protesters protested the war in Iraq on Saturday in New York City. Event organizers estimated 300,000 people marched. The NYC police department declined to give and estimate as to the number of protestors. Jesse Jackson, Cindy Sheehan, and Susan Sarandon were among the marchers.

As of Saturday 70 US soldiers have died in Iraq during the month of April. Bush said to expect "more days of sacrifice and struggle".

See AP Boston Globe Story Here.

Economist John Kenneth Galbraith Dead at 97

May 1 , 2006 Washington Post

Economist John Kenneth Galbraith died today in Cambridge, MA, he was 97. As a prominent economist that had a direct influence on the United States economy from 1930 to the 60's Galbraith Democratic administrations up to and including the Clinton Administration.

In an interview with The News Hour in May, 2005 Galbraith was asked whether his economic vision had been eclipsed from the Reagan administration to the present, Galbraith responded,"There is no question...it's been eclipsed by the people that have the money. There is no question that corporations have taken over the basic process of governing." When asked when he thinks the pendulum will swing back he responded that democracy has operated up until now...and he "certainly expects it to operate" in the future.

See April 30, 200 NY times Article here.

Neil Young Releases "Let's Impeach the President"

April 30, 2006 F. Biele, The Progressive Report

Singer Neil Young released a new album on Friday entitle "Living with War" . His web site, www.neilyoung.com, contains a free streaming stream of the entire album and lyrics and links to interviews that he has given regarding the new album. It is currently being played by radio stations and will be available for digital download on Tuesday. The album was recorded less than 3 weeks ago and was recorded in a 12 hour session that included a 100+ chorus of all-union singers in Los Angeles, CA.

One of the songs that is particularly scathing of the President, and expected to receive backlash is entitled "Lets Impeach the President" . The song contains sound bytes from President Bush and the lyrics flip...flop...flip...flop...Young is a Canadian citizen who has lived and worked in Los Angeles for 40 years with his American born children and wife. He has already been questioned about his right to criticize America when he is not a citizen.

Young says, ""We are the silent majority now, and we haven't done a damn thing," Mr. Young said. "We've stood by and watched this happen. But there's more of us than there is of them, and we have to do something. When people start talking and see they can get away with it, it's going to happen everywhere. It's going to be a landslide, it's going to be a tidal wave. This is just the tip of it."

In March of 2003 London, just prior to the Iraq war, Dixie Chick band member Natalie Maines told a concert crowd, "Just so you know, we're ashamed the President of the United States is from Texas." To this day they still receive criticism

Around this same time of year in 1970 Neil Young wrote "Ohio" after four Kent State University students were killed by U.S. National Guardsmen.

See April 28, NY Times Story Here.

Top EU CIA Official Says Bush Went to War for Policy & Ignored Intelligence

April 23, 2006 CBS News, 60 Minutes

Tyler Drumheller, 26 year veteran of the CIA and top EU official, says the Bush Administration picked and chose which intelligence information it needed to sell the war in Iraq to Americans and the world. In an interview with CBS News 60 Minutes Drumheller says of the Administration, ""The policy was set. The war in Iraq was coming and they were looking for intelligence to fit into the policy."

The 60 Minutes piece tied together the Niger Yellow cake Uranium story, and Joe Wilson/Valerie Plame story asserting that the information presented by the Bush Administration to the United Nations and United States citizens (State of the Union) was known by the US Intelligence community to be false and that claims by the British government were unsubstantiated. Ed Bradley writes:On March 7, 2003, the head of the United Nations' nuclear watchdog agency announced that the Niger uranium documents were forgeries. The Bush administration went to war in Iraq 12 days later, without acknowledging that one of its main arguments for going to war was false.

As of today neither Britain, nor the United States have provided any evidence that Iraq had an active Nuclear program, let alone had the basic materials needed to enrich Uranium.

Churches in Ohio Risk Losing Tax Exempt Status

April 25, 2006 The Washington Post

From the Washington Post story, "A group of 56 clergy members contends that two churches have gone too far in supporting a Republican candidate for governor.

Two complaints filed with the IRS say that the large Columbus area churches, active in President Bush's narrow Ohio win in 2004, violated their tax-exempt status by pushing the candidacy of J. Kenneth Blackwell, who is the secretary of state and the favored candidate of Ohio's religious right.

The clergy members said the churches improperly held political activities and allowed Republican organizations to use their facilities."

PBS series NOW recently reported on evangelical Christian support of Republican political candidates. See NOW Story here.

Democrats Urge Education Secretary to Close Loophole in No Child Left Behind Act

April 28th, 2006 Associated Press Article

In a letter to Education Secretary, Margaret Spellings, 14 Democrats led by Rep. George Miller said, "It appears from these press reports that many states have been gaming the system, appealing to the U.S. Department of Education for loopholes that allow the exclusion of millions of minority children's scores .... States must not be allowed to continue to do this any longer."

 

 

Minority Students Not Counted for No Child Left Behind Act

April 18, 2006 Associated Press Article

According to the Federal Education Department 25 million students tests scores are being reported nation-wide for the No Child Left Behind Act. An Associated Press investigation found the nearly 2 million students (8%) were not counted, and the vast majority of these students are minorities.

The Associated Press reports,"Excluded minority students' scores may be counted at the district or state level. Bush has hailed the separate accounting of minority students as a vital feature of the law. "It's really essential we do that. It's really important," Bush said in a May 2004 speech. "If you don't do that, you're likely to leave people behind. And that's not right."

 

 

 

Military Officers Threaten to Resign if use of Tactical Nuclear Weapons not Taken out of Iran Planning

April 8, 2006 The New Yorker-Seymour Hersh with Progressive Report Comments

Hersh writes, "One of the military’s initial option plans, as presented to the White House by the Pentagon this winter, calls for the use of a bunker-buster tactical nuclear weapon, such as the B61-11, against underground nuclear sites." The Union of Concerned Scientists estimates the yield of this weapon to be 60 times that of the Nagasaki or Hiroshima bombs dropped on Japan, and thousands of deaths after the use of such a weapon on Natanz (Iran's main centrifuge plant). Dr. Kurt Gottfried, Chairman, Union of Concerned Scientists, writes on April 11th:

"The use of such a weapon would create massive clouds of radioactive fallout that could spread far from the site of the attack, including to other nations. Even if used in remote, lightly populated areas, the number of casualties could range up to more than a hundred thousand, depending on the weapon yield and weather conditions.

“Threatening to use nuclear weapons against Iran provides the strongest of incentives for nuclear proliferation, since it would send the message that the only way for a country to deter nuclear attack is to acquire its own nuclear arsenal. The administration cannot have its cake and eat it, too—it cannot have a viable nuclear non-proliferation policy while continually expanding the roles for its own nuclear weapons.”

Hersh continues: The attention given to the nuclear option has created serious misgivings inside the offices of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, he added, and some officers have talked about resigning. Late this winter, the Joint Chiefs of Staff sought to remove the nuclear option from the evolving war plans for Iran—without success, the former intelligence official said. “The White House said, ‘Why are you challenging this? The option came from you.’ ”

The Pentagon adviser on the war on terror confirmed that some in the Administration were looking seriously at this option, which he linked to a resurgence of interest in tactical nuclear weapons among Pentagon civilians and in policy circles. He called it “a juggernaut that has to be stopped.” He also confirmed that some senior officers and officials were considering resigning over the issue. “There are very strong sentiments within the military against brandishing nuclear weapons against other countries,” the adviser told me. “This goes to high levels.”

VIDEO:Seymour Hersh on CNN

Hersh continues: A government consultant with close ties to the civilian leadership in the Pentagon said that Bush was “absolutely convinced that Iran is going to get the bomb” if it is not stopped. He said that the President believes that he must do “what no Democrat or Republican, if elected in the future, would have the courage to do,” and “that saving Iran is going to be his legacy.” See above Wolf Blitzer interview from CNN

Bush, Rumsfeld and Scott McClellan have responded to Hersh's article in similar fashion as the critics prior to the start of the Iraq War, calling such talk "wild speculation".

 

Maj. Gen. Charles Swannack (Elite 82nd Airborne Division, Iraq) Wants Rumsfeld Out

April 14, 2006 CNN Story

"I really believe that we need a new secretary of defense because Secretary Rumsfeld carries way too much baggage with him," retired Maj. Gen. Charles Swannack told CNN's Barbara Starr on Thursday." He goes on to say," Specifically, I feel he has micro managed the generals who are leading our forces there," Swannack said in the telephone interview.

"And I believe he has culpability associated with the Abu Ghraib prison scandal and, so, rather than admitting these mistakes, he continually justifies them to the press ... and that really disallows him from moving our strategy forward."

 

 Army Major General John Batiste & Riggs Calls for Rumsfeld's Resignation

April 13, 2006, Washington Post Story

Yesterday Retired  Army Maj. Gen. John Batiste, commander of 1stInfantry Division in Iraq from 2004-2005, said in an interview,"I think we need a fresh start. We need leadership up there that respects the military as they expect the military to respect them. And that leadership needs to understand teamwork"I think we need a fresh start" at the top of the Pentagon, retired Army Maj. Gen. John Batiste, who commanded the 1st Infantry Division in Iraq in 2004-2005, said in an CNN interview. "We need leadership up there that respects the military as they expect the military to respect them. And that leadership needs to understand teamwork." Then saying, "It speaks volumes that guys like me are speaking out from retirement about the leadership climate in the Department of Defense".

The general has, in the past, noted his subscription to the so called "Powell Doctrine" which states that the US will not send soldiers into harms way without sufficient numbers.

Retired Army Maj. Gen. John Riggs echoed Batiste's remarks,  saying he believes that his peer group is "a pretty closemouthed bunch" but that, even so, his sense is "everyone pretty much thinks Rumsfeld and the bunch around him should be cleared out."Riggs said, explaining that he believes Rumsfeld and his advisers have "made fools of themselves, and totally underestimated what would be needed for a sustained conflict."

On Tuesday, Gen. Peter Pace, who is the first Marine to serve as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, attempted to tamp down the revolt of the retired generals. "No officers were muzzled during the planning of the invasion of Iraq", he said.

 Some have said that the fact retired Generals are speaking out against the administration is worrisome. Richard H. Kohn, a military historian at the University of North Carolina who writes frequently on civilian-military relations notes, "How can you prosecute a war if the military and civilians don't trust each other?" Kohn asked.

White House Knew Mobile Biological Weapons Labs Claims False

April 12, 2006 Washington Post Article

The Washington Post reported today that a special civilian CIA investigation team sent to Iraq concluded trucks found there could not be Mobile Biological Weapons Labs, nor could they have been converted to fulfill such a role. The investigation team released their findings 2 days prior to the Bush Administration announcing to the world that they had found Mobile Biological Weapons Labs, and therefore the supposed WMD's. The Bush Administration then pushed the notion of banned Iraqi weapons despite conclusive evidence to contrary for 1 year.

The White House claims the administration did not know about this report. Former CIA director Tenet refused to comment.

Special Prosecutor: A "concerted action to discredit, punish or seek revenge against" a critic of the Bush Administration

April 9, 2006 Washington Post Story

Special Counsel Patrick J. Fitzgerald for the first time described a "concerted action" by "multiple people in the White House" -- using classified information -- to "discredit, punish or seek revenge against" a critic of President Bush's war in Iraq-a Washington Post Story reports today. It notes that this is the first time the special prosecutor has used the Vice Presidents name specifically.

Attorney General Suggests Warrantless Domestic Spying is Legal

April 7, 2006 New York Times

Attorney General Alberto Gonzales' testified before a House Judiciary hearing yesterday. He stated that wiretapping between US Citizens in the United States is 'possibly' ongoing and is legally justified by Woodrow Wilson's interception of cables during World War I from Europe to The United States in 1917.

The existence of such a program is supported by recent statements by a former AT&T employee (see April 7th Bloomberg story below) .

The Justice Department's spokeswoman Tasia Scolinos said in a statement, "The attorney general's comments today should not be interpreted to suggest the existence or nonexistence of a domestic program or whether any such program would be lawful under the existing legal analysis."

In a related story Bush seems to acknowledge domestic spying when answering Harry Taylor's assertion that Bush was tapping phones domestically. Bush replied,"It seems like — to make sense, if we’re at war, we ought to be using tools necessary within the Constitution, on a very limited basis, a program that’s reviewed constantly to protect us. Now, you and I have a different — of agreement on what is needed to be protected. But you said, would I apologize for that? The answer — answer is, absolutely not." See video and transcripts here.

Unfortunately ACLU and other civil liberties organizations do not agree with the assertion that this program is constitutional, and most (even Congressional Republicans) would agree it does not comply with the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) that requires a retroactive court order AFTER 72 hours from the start of a wiretap.

 

AT&T Technician Says NSA Secret Wire-Tap Rooms in San Francisco, Seattle, San Jose, & Los Angeles

April 7, 2006 Bloomberg

Michael Kline, 22 year former AT&T employee, disclosed yesterday that," ``Based on my understanding of the connections and equipment at issue, it appears the NSA is capable of conducting what amounts to vacuum-cleaning surveillance of all the data crossing the Internet, whether that be people's e mail, Web surfing or any other data,''

Kline's declarations were added to a lawsuit filed in January by EFF (Electronic Frontier Foundation, a San Francisco-based privacy-rights group) against AT&T on April 5th.Kevin Bankston, EFF staff attorney, says,"The evidence that we are filing supports our claim that AT&T is diverting Internet traffic into the hands of the NSA wholesale, in violation of federal wiretapping laws and the Fourth Amendment.''

This allegation supports Attorney General Alberto Gonzales' testimony to a House Judiciary hearing yesterday where he stated wiretapping between US Citizens in the United States is 'possibly' ongoing and is legally justified by Woodrow Wilson's interception of cables during World War I from Europe to The United States in 1917. (See April 7th NYTimes)