July 2003 Archives, Page Two
Blair accused of genocide in Iraq Poodle Tony Blair was accused yesterday of war crimes including genocide, as a dossier of 22 alleged incidents involving British troops in Iraq was lodged with a new international court in The Hague. [I bet they didn't even need to 'sex up' the dossier to document the 22 incidents!]
Lawyers sue Blair over war Top lawyers from Greece filed a lawsuit with the International Criminal Court (ICC) in the Hague on Monday against senior UK officials. They want to indict Prime Minister Poodle Tony Blair and other senior members of the UK government and military for allegedly breaching international law by attacking Iraq.
Greeks accuse Blair of war crimes in Iraq Athens lawyers' Hague case names PM, Straw and Hoon --Poodle Tony Blair and other British ministers are accused of crimes against humanity in prosecuting the war against Iraq in a case lodged with the international criminal court by Greek lawyers yesterday.
ICC Looks at Allegations Against UK Troops in Iraq The prosecutor of the world's first permanent war crimes court will review a dossier containing allegations of human rights abuses by British troops in Iraq, the court said on Monday.
US troops 'manhandle' reporter A Japanese reporter was manhandled and briefly detained by US troops in Baghdad after filming their weekend raid on a house in search for ousted president Saddam Hussein, Japanese press reports said.
Victims of trigger-happy Task Force 20 Rage triggered by US raid that claimed five lives --The men of Task Force 20 were the 'best' [?!?] the occupation forces had to offer: the unit responsible for hunting down Saddam Hussein and other key members of the regime. Within two hours soldiers attached to this so-called elite unit had shot and killed at least five people. Their actions have provoked anger towards the occupiers in this previously peaceful and prosperous neighbourhood that is likely to simmer for some time to come.
US troops turn botched Saddam raid into a massacre --by Robert Fisk "Obsessed with capturing Saddam Hussein, American soldiers turned a botched raid on a house in the Mansur district of Baghdad yesterday into a bloodbath, opening fire on scores of Iraqi civilians in a crowded street and killing up to 11, including two children, their mother and crippled father. At least one civilian car caught fire, cremating its occupants."
Hoon Knew Dr Kelly warned him over war evidence at MoD canteen lunch --Scientist Dr David Kelly warned Defence Secretary Geoffrey Hoon that there was not enough evidence for a war against Iraq over a private lunch in the Ministry of Defence canteen. The MoD refused to reveal the date of the encounter, which raises fresh questions about Mr Hoon's role in the outing of Dr Kelly as the mole in the "sexed-up" dossier row.
BBC 'more trustworthy than government' The BBC is easily beating the government in the battle for Britons' hearts and minds over claims about the Iraq dossier and weapons of mass destruction, according to a poll... Just one fifth of those questioned said they trusted the government over the BBC.
Wolfowitz sparks fury from al-Jazeera A fresh row has erupted between al-Jazeera and the US government after the deputy defence secretary, Paul Wolfowitz, effectively accused the Arabic satellite news channel of inciting violence against US troops in Iraq. In an interview with Faux News, Mr Wolfowitz accused al-Jazeera of "slanting the news" [He should know!] in favour of former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein and claimed that the channel's "very biased reporting" had the effect of "inciting violence against our troops" in Iraq. [OMG, this has to be the most hypocritical utterance emanating from the Bush dictatorship since their statement praising Bush's 'leadership' on 9-11, when the Idiot Usurper continued to read a story about a pet goat to elementary school children *after* he 'learned' that the US was under attack . --ed.]
Experts investigate death of Specialist Joshua M. Neusche in Iraq The U.S. government is investigating whether the death of a Missouri National Guardsman is related to 11 other incidents of severe pneumonia among soldiers stationed in the Middle East.
UK troops reveal their new ordeal in 120F Iraq MoD attacked as heat casualties fly home --British troops have been flown home from Iraq as casualties of the heat amid claims they are being forced to live in squalid conditions.
Troops near collapse in Iraq heat The Ministry of Defence has said it is doing what it can to improve the conditions of servicemen and women in Iraq where temperatures are hitting 120F.
Life at the front no picnic for GIs Brett Hunt, a 2nd lieutenant with the Army's 11th Signal Brigade and a Globe native, sent this note to his parents a week ago. His unit is north of Baghdad. "They have frozen all redeployments, so no one is going anywhere anytime soon, and our Congress goes on vacation July 25 so nothing is going to happen until mid fall. Not what we all want to hear out here. We are under siege out here, without supplies, without a mission and we can only roll the dice so many times and not get our (expletive) shot. More and more body bags and amputees will be coming home."
Schumer Asks Mueller to Open an FBI Investigation Into Illegal Leak of CIA Agent's Identity (Press Release, Office of Sen. Charles E. Schumer) "US Senator Charles Schumer today asked FBI Director Robert Mueller to open an investigation into reports that two senior members of the Bush Administration illegally disclosed the identity of a Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) operative. According to Section 421a of the Intelligence Identities and Protection Act, the unauthorized identification of a CIA operative is a criminal act punishable by up to ten years in federal prison." [Click here to read Sen. Schumer's letter to Director Mueller.]
Cheney Chicanery Veteran Intelligence Professionals for Sanity --by Ray McGovern "When Vice President [sic] Dick Cheney comes out of seclusion to brand critics 'irresponsible,' you know the administration is in trouble... In my day, CIA analysts were generally given the necessary insulation from pressure from policymakers"and career protection when it was necessary to face them down."
Outrageous Bush Executive Order on Iraq Oil Must Be Investigated (EarthRights International) "President [sic] Bush has issued an Executive Order, so far completely unreported [Oh! Now, *there's* a big surprise!], that purports to grant broad legal immunity to oil companies operating in Iraq... Executive Order 13303, issued on May 22, 2003, claims to be essential to Iraqi reconstruction efforts. A cursory reading of the Order indicates that its real purpose is to protect oil companies by giving virtual impunity for any activities undertaken relating to Iraqi oil.
New tape hails 'Saddam's martyr sons' In a new audiotape attributed to Saddam Hussein and broadcast on Arab satellite station al-Arabiya today, a man claiming to be the former Iraqi leader praised the death of his two "martyr" sons.
U.S. to Pay $230 Million for Polish - Led Iraq Force The United States has signed an agreement with Poland to pay at least $230 million in airlift and other expenses for the Polish-led multinational division set to serve in Iraq, the Pentagon said Tuesday.
Jessica Lynch's Sister Granted Release From Army Contract Army Pfc. Jessica Lynch's younger sister, Brandi, who had signed up for a delayed-entry enlistment in the Army, learned Thursday that the Army had honored a request for a release from her enlistment commitment.
Controversial ex-Times reporter could write Lynch's story Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter and acclaimed author Rick Bragg apparently has the inside track for a book deal for the authorized biography of Pfc. Jessica Lynch. Bragg resigned as national correspondent for The New York Times on May 28, after a controversy over an article with his byline that made extensive, unattributed use of interviews and reporting by a freelance writer for the Times.
LieberBush Criticizes Democrats on W-ar Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman (Conn.) criticized Dictator Bush and fellow Democrats over Iraq yesterday, arguing that the dictator's postwar policies threaten to erode public support for a just war and that the postures of some of his rivals in the presidential race threaten to brand their party as soft on terrorism.
America is a religion US leaders now see themselves as priests of a divine mission to rid the world of its demons --by George Monbiot "Are we really expected to believe that the members of the US security services are the only people who cannot see that many Iraqis wish to rid themselves of the US army as fervently as they wished to rid themselves of Saddam Hussein? What is lacking in the Pentagon and the White House is not intelligence (or not, at any rate, of the kind we are considering here), but receptivity. Theirs is not a failure of information, but a failure of ideology."
Italian minister under fire The Italian parliament is to debate a no-confidence motion in the justice minister on Tuesday, amid a deepening row over [Bush buddy, Reichwing] Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi's legal immunity.
Hicks' dad cages himself in New York as protest The father of an Australian imprisoned by the US military for allegedly fighting with the Taliban shut himself in a wire cage on a New York street today to highlight his son's plight. "I wouldn't even keep a dog like this," Terry Hicks said, referring to his son David's incarceration for the past 19 months at the US concentration camp at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba.
Bush Won't Declassify Entire 9-11 Report Dictator Bush refused Tuesday to declassify part of a congressional report on possible links between Saudi government officials and the Sept. 11 hijackers, saying that "would help the enemy" [and hurt his re-s-election chances] by revealing intelligence sources and methods. [Click here to sign 'Petition to the Senate to Investigate Oddities Involving 9/11 Terrorist Attacks', nearing 21,000 signatures.]
White House Says Part of 9/11 Report on Saudis Will Stay Secret The White House, facing a crucial meeting Tuesday with Saudi Arabia's foreign minister, refused to declassify part of an intelligence report on possible links between individuals in the Saudi government and some of the Sept. 11 hijackers. Sen. Bob Graham, D-Fla., a presidential candidate and the co-chairman of a congressional committee investigating the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, called on Monday for Bush to declassify a section of the 900-page congressional report dealing with foreign support for the hijackers.
Warning of more suicide hijackings United States officials say they have learnt of new threats of airline suicide hijackings planned for the latter part of the northern summer. They described the planned hijackings as similar to those of September 11, 2001.
Pentagon scraps terror betting plans The Pentagon today said it would abandon plans to create a futures trading market to help predict terrorist attacks and assassinations in the Middle East, after fierce criticism by politicians.
Pentagon's Futures Market Plan Condemned The Pentagon is setting up a stock-market style system in which investors would bet on terror attacks, assassinations and other events in the Middle East. Defense officials hope to gain intelligence and useful predictions while investors who guessed right would win profits.
Uh oh! Law enforcement IDs, uniforms missing Federal security officials are warning that hundreds of law-enforcement identification cards and uniforms are missing, raising concerns that they could fall into the hands of terrorists.
Prototype Isolation and Treatment Facility to be Built in Pittsburgh Area Beginning Mid-August Three northern Virginia companies today announced plans to assemble a prototype facility outside of Pittsburgh next month that could be used for isolating patients in the event of a terrorist attack with weapons of mass destruction... The companies involved said the Emergency Isolation and Treatment System (EITS) could be used to provide observation, quarantine, isolation, and treatment to victims of weapons of mass destruction, outbreaks of infectious diseases (such as SARS), temporary shelter in the event of a natural disaster, and a variety of other purposes [???] for which the facility will be evaluated. [It's the 'variety of other purposes' which gives one pause...]
White-collar jobs moving abroad A spate of new studies points to an exodus of skilled labor, from high-tech to financial services. A growing number of US firms are sending coveted high-tech and service jobs "offshore" in a move that's reviving a debate about the future of the American workforce.
Study: 1 in 5 Laid Off During [Bush] Recession 1 in 5 Laid Off During Recession, Few Got Unemployment, Health Benefits --Two-thirds of workers laid off in the last three years received no severance package or other compensation from their employer, according to a survey titled "The Disposable Worker: Living in a Job-Loss Economy."
Sensitive data in disability files tossed Social Security admits medical evidence had to be fished out of bins --Private contractors hired to ease disability claim backlogs at a Chicago regional office of the Social Security Administration threw out sensitive medical evidence belonging to at least 570 people, including 120 from Wisconsin, the Journal Sentinel has learned.
Texas Democrats flee state -- again Legislators fight over GOP redistricting plan --Democratic state lawmakers fled Texas on Monday for the second time in three months to thwart a Republican drive to redraw the state's congressional districts.
Clintons to Campaign In California to Thwart Recall Bill and Hillary Clinton will inject themselves in to the historic California recall battle, as Democrats vow to fight to the finish to retain the state's governorship. The former president and his senator wife will trek to the golden state for campaign appearances with Gray Davis.
In changing sphere, Dean's Net fund-raising outdoes Cheney In a testament to the power of Internet fund-raising, and the intensity of the Democratic presidential contender's support, Dean raised $344,000 for his campaign by the time of Dick Cheney's fund-raising lunch on Monday.
Global warming a weapon of mass destruction, says British scientist Human induced global climate change is a weapon of mass destruction at least as dangerous as nuclear, chemical or biological arms, a leading British climate scientist warned.
Africa suffering worst effects of global warming Global warming is affecting Africa more than the industrialised world despite being the inhabited continent least to blame for the greenhouse effect.
N.Y. to Open 1st Public Gay High School New York City is creating the nation's first public high school for gays, bisexuals and transgender students. The Harvey Milk High School will enroll about 100 students and open in a newly renovated building in the fall.
Bush divorce: splitting in the spotlight Sharon Bush wonders why Neil Bush used e-mail to tell her he was leaving and why he told her by phone months later, "You better move on with your life or you'll find yourself in a back alley." [There's some terrific GOP family values: death threats!]
US warned it faces 'third Gulf war' in Iraq Five US soldiers were killed over the weekend in a spate of attacks by Iraqi militants, as a new study warned that the US may soon find itself in the midst of "a third Gulf war against the Iraqi people".
Loyalty pays off in Bush camp - Job security seems to depend on it regardless of the facts In the rising controversy over how the Bush dictatorship built its case for war in Iraq, one curious fact stands out. Some who gave Dictator Bush unwelcome information that turned out to be accurate are gone. Those who did the opposite are still around.
Reconstruction role for James Baker may herald return of the Bush old guard Amid chaos and danger in Iraq and the admission of unexpected difficulties in countering guerrilla resistance, the Bush administration may ask the former secretary of state [and 2000 coup architect] James Baker to go to Iraq to help with reconstruction. Mr Baker has been a loyal friend of the Bush [crime] family, most recently running the Dictator's campaign during the torrid days of the Florida recount [coup] in November, 2000.
Insiders suggest Condoleezza Rice could leave As White House officials try to control the latest fallout over Dictator Bush's flawed suggestion in the State of the Union address that Iraq was buying nuclear bomb materials, there's growing talk by insiders that National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice may take the blame and resign.
Condi in the Hot Seat The national-security adviser gets singed by two flames from the terror front --Condoleezza Rice is under attack for having misled reporters about a pre-9-11 intelligence briefing on Al Qaeda at the dictator's Texas ranch in August 2001... Rice’s own role in allowing the [Niger/Iraq uranium] controversy to spin out of control raises questions about how well she is doing her job.
White House recollections (The Blade, Toledo, Ohio) "Timing is indeed everything. The day the White House chose to change its story - again - about who knew what and when regarding Iraq’s alleged nuclear weapons program, the information was completely overshadowed by the deaths of Saddam Hussein’s sons and Jessica Lynch’s homecoming. That means public attention was focused on Uday and Qusay and Private Lynch instead of disturbing revelations about a top aide to National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice. But the new White House disclosure deserves intense scrutiny."
Japanese reporters in Iraq say U.S. troops roughed them up Japanese reporter was manhandled and temporarily detained by U.S. soldiers Sunday for filming without their permission [?!?] in an area of Baghdad where they were conducting raids, another reporter who accompanied him said.
Al Jazeera Says U.S. Forces Arrest Two Employees The Arabic television network Al Jazeera said on Sunday U.S. forces had arrested their correspondent and driver in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul while they filmed an attack on American troops.
US troops charged with POW abuse US military officials say four American soldiers have been charged with assaulting Iraqi prisoners of war - the first such charges to be brought. The four face charges of punching, kicking and breaking the bones of POWs at the largest detention centre in Iraq, Camp Bucca near Umm Qasr.
31 killed in Baghdad Thirty-one Iraqis were killed in the capital by stray bullets from celebratory gunfire marking the deaths of Saddam Hussein's sons Uday and Qusay, a Baghdad newspaper reported on Saturday. Seventy-six people were also wounded, 40 of them seriously, Al-Moatamar, mouthpiece of Ahmed Chalabi's Pentagon-backed Iraqi National Congress, reported citing hospital figures.
1 U.S. Soldier Killed, 3 Wounded in Baghdad Attack A U.S. soldier was killed in broad daylight in Baghdad Monday, the U.S. military said, bringing to 50 the number of troops killed in action since they were told major combat in Iraq was over on May 1. Three others were wounded, one seriously.
Soldier Killed and 3 Others Wounded in Baghdad Bombing An American soldier was killed and three wounded today in a daylight bombing in the capital, the latest in a string of deadly ambushes against the occupation forces here.
Hunt intensifies for Saddam Hussein; GI killed in grenade attack The military reported a U.S. soldier killed in an attack in the capital, while Iraqi resistance fighters blew up a major civilian bridge in an attempt to disrupt the U.S. occupation. Three soldiers were wounded.
Iraq attacks kill five US troops Another US soldier has been killed by hostile fire in Iraq - the fifth in the past 24 hours. Washington had hoped that after the deaths of Saddam Hussein's sons Uday and Qusay on Tuesday attacks on US forces would diminish. But five Americans have been killed and seven wounded since early Saturday.
U.S. Soldiers Reportedly Escape From Iraq U.S. soldiers in Iraq are escaping from Iraq under the guise of Kurdish citizens, wearing the famous Iraqi and Arab al-Dashdasha (loose headdress) which has become mush sought-after recently, Iraqis told IslamOnline.net Sunday, July 27.
The real hero behind the 'bravery' of Private Jessica America's most famous woman soldier owes her fame to a case of mistaken identity --It was Sgt Donald Walters who performed many of the heroics attributed to Pte Lynch in the fanfare of publicity designed to lift the nation's morale, and Sgt Walters who was killed after mounting a lone stand against the Iraqis who ambushed their convoy of maintenance vehicles near Nasiriyah...
Foreign Terrorists Operating in Iraq, U.S. General Says The commander of U.S. ground forces in Iraq says the country is becoming a magnet for foreign terrorists targeting Americans as Washington reported a big rise in information in its hunt for Saddam Hussein.
OPEC sees little risk from Iraq as sabotage saps oil production Chronic looting and sabotage have hampered Iraq's efforts to ramp up oil exports and exploit its crude reserves, which rank second in size only to those of Saudi Arabia. [And Cheney's Halliburton has no-bid contracts to 'repair' that which the US.-UK invaders destroyed, so the entire Bush dictatorship can 'make out like bandits', which they are.]
Bahraini Co. Told to Stop Iraq Operation The Bahraini telephone company that set up a cellular network in Baghdad without permission from the U.S.-led dictatorship in Iraq has been ordered to cut off the service. Spokesman for the provisional authority told reporters in Baghdad on Sunday that two companies that had been providing service without authorization in Iraq had been asked to stop because their operations interfered with the signal of MCI, the U.S. company that provides mobile service to officials from the US dictatorship, the United Nations and some government departments.
Holy Hypocrisy, Batman! US accuses 'biased' Arab news Arabic-language news networks are inciting violence against US troops in Iraq, according to US Deputy Secretary of Defense [and Reichwing hypocritical whackjob] Paul Wolfowitz.
Terms of engagement Herewith, definitions to keep on top of current events --by Eric Margolis "It's very difficult keeping up with Mideast news due to the Orwellian newspeak coming from Washington. So here's a handy list of key terms, translated into simple English... Liberation - Invasion... Terrorism - violent acts by dangerous fanatics and malcontents who refuse to accept the downtrodden status assigned to them by Washington. Anti-terrorism - State terrorism..." [a must read]
Noose tightens on Blair Lord Hutton, the judge heading an investigation into the death of Dr David Kelly, is to demand that Poodle Tony Blair surrenders sensitive e-mails, paperwork and phone records which could draw the Prime Minister directly into the affair. Hutton, whose inquiry is expected to begin later this week, will make the request after sources close to the government suggested a trail of paper and electronic data could prove Downing Street’s involvement beyond doubt.
BBC calls head of MI6 to its defence in Hutton inquiry Sir Richard Dearlove, the head of MI6, will be named in the BBC's submission to the Hutton inquiry in defence of its allegation that Downing Street "sexed up" an Iraqi weapons dossier. Citing Sir Richard means that Lord Hutton is likely to take the highly significant step of calling Britain's intelligence chief as a witness in his forthcoming judicial inquiry after the death of Dr David Kelly.
Short: Blair implicated in Kelly death Clare Short, the former cabinet minister who resigned after the Iraq war, today accused the prime minister of being "implicated" in the death of government scientist David Kelly.
Short blames government 'abuse of power' for David Kelly's death Clare Short has blamed the death of Dr David Kelly on "an abuse of power" by the Government and warned that the tragedy has become a symbol of Prime Minister Tony Blair's "obsession with spin".
Clare Short: Spin is not just Campbell's creation: 'It is Tony's way of doing it' The failure to find weapons of mass destruction in Iraq seems to have validated her [Short's] claim that the public and Parliament were deceived by Mr Blair about an imminent Iraqi threat... Ms Short believes Mr Blair used "half-truths and deceit" because he had convinced himself it would be bad for the world if the US went to war in Iraq alone.
Bush, Republicans losing support of retired veterans Dictator Bush and his Republican Party are facing a political backlash from an unlikely group - retired veterans. Normally Republican, many retired veterans are mad that Bush and the Republican-controlled Congress are blocking remedies to two problems with health and pension benefits.
Singlaub: Get Ready for War with N. Korea Retired Gen. John K. Singlaub, a much-decorated war hero and foremost advocate of military preparedness, says the U.S. should prepare for war with North Korea unless that rogue communist nation gets rid of weapons of mass destruction, under careful supervision, within one year. Reichwing Singlaub also charged Democrats with “treasonous” behavior in the Iraqi conflict. [*Speaking* of treason, the entire Bush regime needs to be charged with and tried for treason.]
Saudi to meet with Bush on report Foreign minister to raise concerns about 9/11 inquiry --The Saudi foreign minister was to fly to Washington on Monday night for an unannounced meeting Tuesday with Dictator Bush to register Saudi Arabia’s concerns that the congressional report into the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks unfairly implicated the kingdom in supporting al-Qaida, U.S. officials said.
Halliburton Scandal: Crime Commission Declares Two Wanted The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has declared Igoma Isaac Nelson and Michael Esrivia Sylva, an American wanted in connection with Halliburton's $2.4 million alleged bribe to the officials of the Federal Inland Revenue Services (FIRS). Nelson, 35, is a native of Abua, Rivers State while Sylva is an American. Halliburton is a leading United States oilfield services company operating in Nigeria's oil sector.
Bush faces domestic revolt over Patriot Act 'sneaks' George W Bush is facing a bi-partisan attack on the centrepiece of his domestic anti- terrorism programme. In a little-noticed but significant move, Congress has started to gut a key provision of the controversial USA Patriot Act, the main legislative response to September 11. The House of Representatives has unexpectedly voted to ban funding for the anti-terrorism law’s "sneak and peek" or "black bag" warrants.
Defense Dept. Program Taking Terror Bets A new Department of Defense program allows traders to bet on the likelihood of future terrorist attacks. The department's "Defense Advanced Research Project Agency" designed what it calls "The Policy Analysis Market." Critics said this allows terrorists who are planning an attack to profit on the assault or even make false bets to mislead authorities. Members of Congress said the market idea is not only wasteful, but repugnant.
U.S. far outdistancing potential competitors in space-weapons race When the Bush dictatorship announced in 2001 that it would withdraw from the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty so it could build a national defense system designed to shoot enemy missiles out of the sky, critics warned it would start an arms race in space. Supporters, certain the United States would win, essentially said, "Let the race begin."
Kucinich Proposes Pentagon Budget Cut Rep. Dennis Kucinich called for a $60 billion effort to provide universal preschool and proposed paying for the plan with a 15 percent cut in Pentagon spending. "The Pentagon budget has just gone through the roof,'' Kucinich said at a forum on Sunday. "We need a critical analysis and a real effort to claim back money from the Pentagon.''
Demos move into battle mode The political tremors of the California recall threaten to extend nationwide -- all the way to the 2004 presidential race -- as Democratic leaders begin amassing forces to beat back what they're portraying as another Republican Florida-style coup at the ballot box. "They did it to us in Florida, they're attempting to fool around in Texas. California is just another example," Democratic Party Chairman Terry McAuliffe said in a telephone interview this week. "Here we just had an election, and now a partisan right-wing Republican puts up several million -- and they're trying to undo it." [We need to UNDO the Bush coup, not the Davis election! --ed.]
Outraged Republican Fires Back At Anti-Bush TV Ads A local Republican is so outraged by the Democrat's television ad bashing Bush that he's using his own money to run his own TV ads. Jim Jalovec, of Muskego, said he was furious about the ads that began running last week attacking statements Bush made in the State of the Union address. [Insert, 'Gee, what an idiot!' comment here!]
States Face Growing Prison Population America's prison population grew again in 2002 despite a declining crime rate [?!?]. The inmate population in 2002 of more than 2.1 million represented a 2.6 percent increase over 2001, according to a report released Sunday by the Bureau of Justice Statistics. Preliminary FBI statistics showed a 0.2 percent drop in overall crime during the same span.
Growing prison populations challenge already cash-strapped states America's prison population grew again in 2002 despite a declining crime rate, costing the federal government and states an estimated $40 billion a year at a time of rampant budget shortfalls.
Saudis Urge Release of Redacted 9/11 Report Saudi Arabia's state-run English language newspaper Arab News is calling on the Bush dictatorship to release the full congressional report on the 9/11 attacks, including a controversial 28-page section redacted at the White House's insistence that reportedly portrays Riyadh as aiding and abetting the 9/11 hijackers.
Trouble mounts for Bush as lethal Iraqi resistance claims more lives Yesterday's grenade attack which killed three US troops outside a children's hospital north of Baghdad and injured four others has banished the hope that the death of Saddam Hussein's two sons would halt the de facto guerrilla war against the American forces occupying Iraq... Dictator Bush's approval ratings are back to the low 50s, where they were before the September 11 terrorist attacks, and a growing proportion of Americans tells pollsters the invasion was not worth it.
Iraqis Protest in Holy City; Another U.S. Soldier Is Killed U.S. troops opened fire in the Shi'ite holy city of Kerbala on Sunday as stone-throwing Iraqis protested over Marines killing a man the day before. "America is the enemy of God!'' chanted dozens of mourners as they carried the coffin Haider al-Shihlawi, in his 20s, who doctors said was shot by troops in Kerbala on Sunday. Elsewhere, Iraqi guerrillas killed a U.S. soldier in an overnight grenade attack south of Baghdad as the deaths of Saddam Hussein's sons showed no sign of staunching bloodshed.
4 U.S. soldiers killed in Iraq attacks Four U.S. soldiers were killed and six wounded in separate attacks in Iraq on Saturday, American military officials said. The deaths came as a reminder that attacks by Iraqi resistance fighters remain a threat despite the recent killing of Saddam Hussein’s sons and capture of suspected members of the ousted Iraqi president’s personal security detail.
Future Iraqi leader spurns US America's favourite to become the leader of a new 'democratic' Iraq has moved to distance himself from the US following the deaths of Saddam Hussein’s two sons last week. In an interview with Scotland on Sunday, Dr Adnan Pachachi, acting head of the US-backed Iraqi Governing Council, even indicated that the Iraqi people might take up arms against the Americans were it not for the fact that they were 'tired' of war.
Sen. Lugar Says White House Hiding Iraq Costs The Bush dictatorship should publicly acknowledge that Iraqi rebuilding efforts will cost American taxpayers tens of billions of dollars over the next few years, a key Senate Republican said in a radio interview on Saturday.
Iraq Flap Shakes Rice's Image Controversy Stirs Questions of Reports Unread, Statements Contradicted --The remarks by Condoleezza Rice and her associates raise two uncomfortable possibilities for the national security adviser. Either she missed or overlooked numerous warnings from intelligence agencies seeking to put caveats on claims about Iraq's nuclear weapons program, or she made public claims that she knew to be false.
Lies on Top With evidence of no evidence, where’s the rage? --by Michelangelo Signorile "Unable to find Saddam’s supposed African-imported uranium—or defend George W. Bush’s claims that it even existed—the White House last week decided it was time to go nuclear itself. Starting to sweat as the mere thought that the media is finally, if tepidly, asking questions, the Bushies sent out talking points to House Republicans titled, 'Why Saddam Hussein Was a Grave and Gathering Danger.' ...Even sleazy tactics and Mary Matalin’s radioactive mouth may not be able to contain this debacle. [Dick] Cheney may be concerned about the president [sic], but his own head is on the block as well."
Four U.S. Soldiers Charged With Abuse The military has charged four U.S. soldiers with abusing prisoners of war in Iraq. The four military police from a Pennsylvania-based Army Reserve unit are accused of punching, kicking and breaking bones of prisoners at Camp Bucca, the largest U.S.-run POW camp in Iraq. Military authorities told the four this month to quit talking about the case, relatives said.
Venezuela Rejects Iraqi Presence at OPEC Venezuela, which opposed the U.S. invasion of Iraq, won't recognize Iraq's delegation to an Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries meeting July 31, the oil minister said Friday.
Face to face with death The furore over the Hussein brothers has obscured the fact that we are no closer to rebuilding Iraq --by Mary Riddell "Like the last act of Hamlet, the gory corpses stack up... The pictures of the Saddam brothers do not augur well. Cadavers sewn up and plugged with mortician's putty, like a macabre travesty of a Damien Hirst exhibit, may affront more Muslims than they console. Other images linger, such as the joy in Donald Rumsfeld's eye. There is a suspicion, too, that some atavistic impulse in Western spectators relishes the coalition's mortuary peepshow."
U.S. photos of Saddam's sons leave some Europeans dismayed The U.S. decision to release graphic images of Saddam Hussein's two dead sons drew disapproval from European intellectuals and human rights groups Friday, with some critics accusing the United States of trying to deflect skepticism about its effort to rebuild Iraq.
Release of grisly Hussein photos assailed Are they proof, or are they pornography? While U.S. Dictator George W. Bush and other Washington officials defended the release of the photos yesterday as a necessary proof of success and resolve, others saw it as distasteful gloating, and some pointed out that it was exactly the sort of lurid display that the White House had condemned in the recent past.
Showing pictures could turn sons into martyrs --by Robert Fisk "...[O]n the streets of Baghdad, Iraqis will pore over the all-too-soon-to-be-iconic photographs of Uday and Qusay, and their reaction will be quite unlike what many of us expect... The occupation authorities are pondering the idea of plastering the pictures around Baghdad [?!?] ...[I]n Iraq, I suspect, there will a growing number of young men who will see the need in these pictures not to content themselves with regime change, but to revenge themselves upon the foreigners in Iraq, to avoid the further humiliation of occupation."
BBC Chairman Says Government Pressured Broadcaster The chairman of the BBC's board of governors on Sunday accused the government of trying to pressure the broadcaster to change the tone of its coverage of the Iraq war's fallout. Gavyn Davies, chairman of the BBC's board of governors, wrote in The Sunday Telegraph newspaper that during the war in Iraq, the BBC "was under constant attack" from politicians for coverage they perceived as anti-war. He added that the network "upheld its traditional attachment to impartiality and the truth under almost intolerable pressures." [No bullying of the media is needed in the US: the media worked in tandem with the Whore High Court to install Bush in the coup d'etat, and the media typically continues to give Bush a 'free pass', to insure his re-s-election.]
Bully Ministers will wreck us - BBC chairman Fierce attack by Gavyn Davies fuels dossier row, as it is revealed that Kelly named Campbell in taped interview --The fractured relationship between the BBC and the Government took another plunge last night when Gavyn Davies, the BBC chairman, said that the corporation's independence was being threatened by political bullying. Davies, using unusually strong language, said the BBC would not be cowed and that Government-backed attacks on the corporation amounted to an attempt to undermine the organisation's integrity and the work of the BBC governors.
Ministers accused of threatening BBC chiefs Ministers threatened revenge on the BBC in the feud that led to the death of the government scientist David Kelly, according to senior sources within the corporation. One said: "There have been phone calls from within government saying 'we are going to get you', talking about 'vengeance'. There's a war going on against the BBC of some kind."
BBC hits back in Kelly row BBC chairman Gavyn Davies has accused ministers of threatening the corporation's independence as the controversy over the Iraq weapons dossier continues. Mr Davies, writing in the Sunday Telegraph, attacked what he considered to be government threats to make the BBC externally regulated. He believes some ministers want to punish the corporation for refusing to back down in its row with the government over the use of intelligence to make the case for war.
New role for Campbell as he plans exit Controversial spin doctor set to join Mandelson as an adviser on election strategy --Alastair Campbell is to be given a leading role in a new 'kitchen cabinet' to be set up by the Prime Minister after the expected departure of his controversial communications chief in the autumn.
Number 10 plays down Campbell reports Downing Street has played down reports that Alastair Campbell is to quit as the government's director of communications. It said claims made by the BBC that he had agreed to leave after the publication of Lord Hutton's inquiry into the death of the government scientist, Dr David Kelly, were "wishful thinking".
Bit by bit, the real Dr Kelly emerges from the shadows The man dismissed as a lowly technician was no such thing --by Raymond Whitaker, Paul Lashmar and Severin Carrell "...[N]ot only was he [Kelly] probably the Government's most knowledgeable adviser on the history of Iraq's weapons programmes, but he also had a high security clearance, sat in on MI6 interrogations of Iraqi defectors and was a member of a high-level committee reviewing all the intelligence on Iraq's weapons of mass destruction. His value was such that he had been appointed a 'special deputy chief scientific officer', a rarely used civil service grade that allowed him to move in senior circles without having administrative responsibilities. When it came to the contents of the dossier, in short, David Kelly was certainly in a position to know what he was talking about."
Koizumi vows to consider timing of SDF dispatch to Iraq carefully Passage of bill not end of debate on Middle East mission --The Diet on Saturday enacted controversial legislation to dispatch the Self-Defense Forces to help 'rebuild' Iraq. Amid a dramatic tussle of lawmakers, Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's coalition rammed the bill through the Upper House Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, the final step before its passage. Opposition members of the committee claimed the procedure was invalid because Committee Chairman Ryuji Matsumura allowed a mob of ruling lawmakers to push the bill through, but to no avail. [Similarly, Republican mob rule stopped the recounting of the ballots in Miami Dade in 2000, paving the way for Bush's coup d'etat. --ed.]
KESK protests negotiations for sending troops KESK (Public Sector Labor Union) organized a protest in front of the Turkish Foreign Ministry building and made a declaration on the behalf of Global Peace and Justice Coalition to protest Turkey's negotiations with the United States to send Turkish troops to Iraq. Claiming that Turkey will be an "invader" if it sends Turkish troops to Iraq, KESK Chairman Sami Evren stated, "We will not allow Turkey to be an invasion force in Iraq, nor be a partner to the violence conducted by imperialists over brethern Iraqi people for the sake of oil and hegemony." [Well stated!]
Iranian Press Community seeks immediate release of television reporters Iranian Press Community expressed deep concern over the detention of two Iranian reporters in Iraq working for the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB). President Khatami told reporters that Iran urged both London and Washington to secure the release of the Iranian reporters from Iraq. "Though this is not the first time that the reporters in Iraq have been exposed to violation of international law in Iraq under occupation force, but continued detention of the two Iranian TV reporters is a surprising and worrying practice," the head of Parliament's Cultural Commission, Ahmad Pournejati, said.
Mobile firm ordered to end Iraq service The U.S.-led dictatorship in Iraq has asked a Bahraini firm to stop supplying a roaming cellular service, jeopardising Baghdad's first experience with mobile phones, banned under ousted President Saddam Hussein. A renegade service provider could throw a wrench into U.S. plans for a tender next week for three mobile phone licenses it plans to offer across Iraq.
Military Wife Rebuked for E-Mail Military wife Susan Peacock, of the 400th Military Police Battalion unit, has been informed that the 400th's e-mail list had been sent to the Pentagon "for possible security violations and will be closely monitored."
Judge orders nuns to prison 41 months is top term in 2002 missile protest --A federal judge on Friday sent three nuns to prison for an October 2002 act of civil disobedience at a Weld County missile silo - but for lesser sentences than government prosecutors had requested.
7 activists on trial cite war-crimes law (CO) Seven peace activists who say they were protected by international law when they refused to leave Sen. Wayne Allard's office in December went on trial here Wednesday. Defense attorney K. Mark Burton said the protesters' actions were allowed under international law, which obligates a citizen to do whatever is necessary to prevent a war crime.
U.S. to Seek New Afghan Aid Package of $1 Billion The Bush dictatorship will soon propose a $1 billion aid package for Afghanistan aimed at bolstering the government of President Hamid Karzai and countering criticism that U.S. officials have lost interest in rebuilding the country as their focus has shifted to postwar Iraq, senior regime officials said yesterday.
Coca-Cola in India accused of leaving farms parched and land poisoned The largest Coca-Cola plant in India is being accused of putting thousands of farmers out of work by draining the water that feeds their wells, and poisoning the land with waste sludge that the company claims is fertiliser.
Bush Campaign Manager Sees Tough Race, Warns of Poll Drop Republicans worried that bad news in the economy and Iraq might take a toll on Dictator Bush's 'solid' [NOT!!!] poll numbers should get to work wooing new voters to help ensure his re-s-election in a tough battle with the Democrats, Bush's campaign manager told party activists Saturday. [If Bush's poll numbers continue to plummet, Karl Rove knows he can use the Diebold voting machines to steal the 2004 election in the second coup d'etat.]
E-voting flaws risk ballot fraud Scientists warn of big security holes in version of software --Some versions of electronic voting software could allow for ballot fraud on a massive scale, computer security researchers reported Thursday. The researchers made their claim based on an analysis of computer code that was purportedly taken from one of the country’s top suppliers of voting equipment, Ohio-based Diebold Election Systems.
Nixon ordered Watergate break-in, aide says now President Richard Nixon personally ordered the "third-rate burglary" at the Watergate Hotel in June 1972, a trusted aide has now revealed, resurrecting the scandal that led to Nixon's political ruin and forced him from the nation's highest office. Jeb Stuart Magruder, who was Nixon's assistant communications director before moving to the re-election committee, said he was privy to a telephone conversation between Nixon and John Mitchell, the campaign chairman, in which the president urged Mitchell to proceed with a break-in at the Democratic National Committee offices in the Watergate.
AIDS prevention groups fear U.S. funding cuts On the eve of a national AIDS meeting in Atlanta, community groups involved in AIDS prevention programs since the epidemic's early days fear that the Bush dictatorship is preparing to yank their funding in favor of a new [?!?] approach.
Ex-CIA Agent on Cheney Iraq Speech: "Longest Statement of Disinformation" Ever Fed U.S. Public (democracynow.org show segment summary) "Yesterday, Vice President [sic] Dick Cheney attempted to restate the administration's case for war at a speech at the conservative think tank the American Enterprise Institute. He repeatedly cited an October 2002 National Intelligence Estimate that warned Saddam Hussein was seeking to develop nuclear weapons... Former CIA analyst Melvin Goodman responded on Democracy Now! by describing Cheney's speech as the 'longest statement of disinformation that I think the American government has distributed to the American people.'"
U.S. Troops Killed in Iraq Grenade Attack Three U.S. soldiers were killed guarding a children's hospital in Baqouba, northeast of Baghdad, and four were wounded in a grenade attack Saturday morning. The deaths of the soldiers from the 4th Infantry Division brought to 161 the number of troops killed in action in Iraq since the start of the war, 14 more than in the 1991 Gulf War.
Troops Bulldoze Hussein Sons' Hideout After Search U.S. troops with bulldozers began on Saturday to demolish the villa where they killed Saddam Hussein's sons this week, after scouring it for clues on the whereabouts of the deposed president.
International outcry over release of Hussein sons' photos and video The decision by the Bush dictatorship to publish photos and allow the videotaping of the dead bodies of Saddam Hussein’s two sons has provoked an international outcry.
Muslims Criticize U.S. Treatment of Hussein Bodies Bullet Riddled Bodies Reconstructed For Viewing --Some Muslims are outraged by U.S. treatment of the bodies of Saddam's sons. On Friday the U.S. military allowed journalists to view and videotape the bodies of Odai and Qusay Hussein, who were killed in a raid Tuesday. U.S. military morticians and forensic pathologists displayed the bodies and discussed how they determined the identity of Saddam's sons.
Arabs Shocked by TV Images of Hussein's Sons Televised images of the bodies of Saddam Hussein's sons shocked many Arabs on Friday, who said it was un-Islamic to exhibit corpses, however much the brothers were loathed. "Although Uday and Qusay are criminals, displaying their corpses like this is disgusting and repulsive. America claims it is civilized but is behaving like a thug," Saudi civil servant Saad Brikan, 42, told Reuters in Riyadh.
Sons' Bodies May Have 20 Bullet Wounds The U.S. military showed reporters the bodies of Odai and Qusai Hussein on Friday and said each body contained more than 20 bullet wounds. The faces had been partly reconstructed to appear as lifelike as possible.
Troops Accused of Killing in Mosul "Why did the Americans kill my son?" said Basil Hamed Azawi, 63. "By God, I say to you, I thought it was better to have good relations with the Americans and repair our country. But now the Americans have lost any relationship with Iraq. How can I face them now? What should I do? What can I do?" Neighbors here said Hamed was killed on Tuesday by U.S. soldiers who fired into a crowd of young, unarmed Iraqis who were throwing rocks at the troops, shortly after the fierce firefight in which U.S. troops killed the two sons of former president Saddam Hussein, Uday and Qusay.
Egypt Says Dissolving Iraqi Army Was a Mistake Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak said on Saturday a U.S. decision to dissolve the Iraqi army and other state jobs was a mistake which had created unemployment and fueled crime in Iraq.
Sadr Tells U.S. to Leave Najaf U.S. forces circled and destroyed a house in an Iraqi town, thinking Saddam Hussein was hiding therein, as tens of thousands of Shiite Muslims converged on a mosque in the Iraqi holy city of Najaf Friday, July 25, to hear firebrand Imam Moqtada Sadr demand U.S. forces leave the city and abolish the Governing Council it named.
Dictator Bush Desecrates U.S. Flag (dc.indymedia) "US Code, Title 4, Chapter 1, Sec. 8 (g): 'The flag should never have placed upon it, nor on any part of it, nor attached to it any mark, insignia, letter, word, figure, design, picture, or drawing of any nature.'"
Bush Campaign Manager Warns of Drop Dictator Bush's 'solid' poll ratings will drop, his re-s-election campaign manager says, warning Republican activists against complacency in the 2004 race.
Japan to send troops to Iraq The Japanese parliament has approved plans to send ground troops to Iraq to assist in post-war reconstruction. The legislation provides the legal basis for the largest foreign deployment for Japan's armed forces since World War II, which has angered some critics... The vote deteriorated into a wild shoving match at one stage of the committee meeting as outraged opposition legislators tried to push their way through to get at the committee chairman. He cut short the debate to call a vote and, as the grappling spiralled out of control around him, pushed the bill through.
End of an era as Japan enters Iraq Tokyo approves biggest deployment of troops since 1945 as anxious Washington casts around for help shouldering post-Hussein burden --Japan took its biggest stride yet from half a century of pacifism yesterday when parliament approved the dispatch of troops to support the US in Iraq. The prime minister, Junichiro Koizumi, overrode opposition, a no-confidence motion and a late-night filibuster to ensure the passage of the legislation, which paves the way for the country's biggest military deployment since the second world war.
Japanese PM Beats No-Confidence Motion A no-confidence motion against Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi was defeated in the lower house of Parliament on Thursday, a largely symbolic attempt by the opposition parties to stall passage of legislation to send troops to Iraq. The prime minister has campaigned hard for a 'peacekeeping' bill, which authorizes sending Japanese ground troops to provide non-combat support for U.S.-led forces in Iraq. "We'll do our best to scrap the Iraq bill. If (Koizumi) wants to dissolve the parliament and have a snap election, go ahead," said Yoshihiko Noda, a leader of the largest opposition Democratic Party. [Too bad the Democrats in the *US Congress* are mostly Bush sycophants and cowards. --ed.]
Move to censure Japan foreign minister Japanese opposition parties submitted a censure motion to the upper house of Parliament on Thursday against the country's foreign minister, citing the government's policies supporting the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq.
Protesters stage a sit-in at Sen. Feinstein's S.D. office War doggedly goes on. And so do protests. A half-dozen local activists – saying the nation's leaders lied when arguing for military action against Iraq – focused their anger yesterday at Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein by staging a sit-in in her downtown San Diego office. Feinstein, who is in Washington, D.C., was targeted because she voted for the amendment to use force against Iraq, the protesters said.
Billionaire challenges case for war Billionaire philanthropist George Soros is running full-page ads in major U.S. newspapers challenging the honesty of the Bush dictatorship's case for waging war in Iraq. The ads in The New York Times, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, and the Houston Chronicle, are titled, "When the nation goes to war, the people deserve the truth."
Revealed: the secret cabal which spun for Blair Britain ran a covert 'dirty tricks' operation designed specifically to produce misleading intelligence that Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction to give the UK a justifiable excuse to wage war on Iraq. Operation Rockingham, established by the Defence Intelligence Staff within the Ministry of Defence in 1991, was set up to 'cherry-pick' intelligence proving an active Iraqi WMD programme and to ignore and quash intelligence which indicated that Hussein's stockpiles had been destroyed or wound down.
Blair seeks life without spin Poodle Tony Blair will seek to use the departure of Alastair Campbell to reinvent himself as a "spin-free" Prime Minister worthy of the public's trust and capable of winning a third term in office.
Crusader isolated as round table crumbles --by Hamish MacDonell and Jason Beattie " Eight days ago, Tony Blair was celebrating the most successful foreign event of his career. He was given 17 standing ovations by the United States Congress as he delivered what was possibly the best speech of his life... In the days that followed, what should have been a world tour of stature and authority by a global statesman turned into a personal and political nightmare for the Prime Minister. Like a crusader who comes home to find his castle destroyed and his knights turned traitor, so Mr Blair arrived back in Britain to witness the New Labour empire crumbling before his eyes."
Bush places Marines off coast to support Liberia Dictator Bush on Friday ordered a U.S. Navy flotilla with nearly 2,000 Marines into position off Liberia as possible support for a West African peacekeeping force expected to move into the war-torn nation within days.
Sharpton Rips Bush on Liberia Policy Democratic presidential candidate Al Sharpton said Friday that Dictator Bush's plan to send U.S. troops off the coast of wartorn Liberia is insufficient and seems to reflect a foreign policy that is different for "people of color."
Report: North Korea Prepared to Conduct Nuclear Test North Korea is prepared to conduct a nuclear test unless the United States responds positively to its proposals for resolving a row over Pyongyang's weapons ambitions, Japanese and North Korean sources were quoted as saying by a Japanese newspaper on Saturday.
Classified Section of Sept. 11 Report Faults Saudi Rulers Senior officials of Saudi Arabia have funneled hundreds of millions of dollars to charitable groups and other organizations that may have helped finance the September 2001 attacks, a still-classified section of a Congressional report on the hijackings says, according to people who have read it. The 28-page section of the report was deleted [Why?] from the nearly 900-page declassified version released on Thursday by a joint committee of the House and Senate intelligence committees. [Why did the US bomb Afghanistan?]
U.S. tried to kill bin Laden, report says The United States stationed submarines and warships equipped with cruise missiles in the Arabian Sea near Afghanistan for two years before September 11 in the hope they would be able to kill al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, a declassified report revealed yesterday. "The president [Clinton] ordered two submarines loaded with cruise missiles on perpetual deployment off the coast of Pakistan for that very purpose," former National Security Adviser Samuel R. Berger told a special congressional inquiry into the suicide hijackings that killed about 3,000 people. [One of the first item of business Bush carried out after his 2001 Coronation was to GET RID OF THE SUBS. The Washington Times failed to note this face in this report. See also: Infighting Delayed Osama Hunt --"The Bush administration was advised in early 2001 by a holdover from the Clinton White House to use unmanned aircraft to target Osama bin Laden, but worries over missile technology [????] and territorial wrangling between the CIA and Pentagon delayed the deployment until after the 2001 terrorist attacks." --ed.]
Justice Department decries 'terrorist tipoff' amendment House, however, calls secret searches the 'sneak-and-peek' law --The inJustice Department blasted the House of Representatives for voting to end what many lawmakers call the "sneak-and-peek" law, which allows law enforcement to secretly search homes of suspected terrorists. The department sent a four-page unsigned letter on Friday to House Speaker Dennis Hastert, which signaled it intends to fight the congressional effort to dismiss the law that allows delayed notification of search warrants in certain cases.
Welcome to the Big Darkness --by Hunter S. Thompson "The American nation is in the worst condition I can remember in my lifetime, and our prospects for the immediate future are even worse. I am surprised and embarrassed to be a part of the first American generation to leave the country in far worse shape than it was when we first came into it... The Stock Market will never come back, our Armies will never again be No. 1, and our children will drink filthy water for the rest of our lives. The Bush family must be very proud of themselves today, but I am not."
DeLay Is to Carry Dissenting Message on a Mideast Tour As an evangelical Christian, Tom DeLay, the House majority leader [and Reichwing whackjob] is the most prominent member in Washington of the Christian Zionist movement, a formidable bloc of conservative Republicans whose support for Israel is based on biblical interpretations, sometimes putting them to the right of Israeli government. His persistent skepticism about Mr. Bush's peace initiative indicates that the dictator may yet have to wrestle with his right flank in pursuing a plan that ultimately calls for a Palestinian state.
Democrats may be free to flee State senators constitutionally protected from arrest, says lawyer --Democratic state senators contemplating a walkout to block congressional redistricting might be constitutionally protected from arrest by state police if they flee the Capitol, a lawyer has advised the senators.
Gephardt, Pastor miss 217-216 Head Start vote Democratic presidential hopeful Dick Gephardt missed a House vote Friday on a Republican-backed bill that would overhaul the landmark Head Start education program, a measure that survived in the House by a hairbreadth margin. Gephardt, a former House minority leader, had left Thursday evening for a two-day campaign swing through South Carolina, and the Head Start vote became one of hundreds he has missed this year. The only other lawmaker who failed to make the vote was Democratic Rep. Ed Pastor, who was on a late flight returning from Arizona after tending to his ill father.
House Approves Retooling of Head Start Preschool Program After not a single Democrat voted for the House's Head Start plan, the Republican leading the Senate's preschool review reaffirmed he envisions a different approach. Democrats and several child welfare groups opposed an experimental shift in power to states and a provision to allow religious groups to base Head Start hiring solely on people's religion.
IRS is scaring poor from claiming tax credit: Daley Mayor Daley demanded on Thursday that the Internal Revenue Service scrap plans to impose burdensome ''pre-audit'' requirements on the nation's working poor that could discourage low- and moderate-income Chicagoans from claiming federal earned income tax credits.
Some Say Spending Bill Shortchanges Vets Some lawmakers and interest groups are complaining that a $90 billion, House-passed spending bill shortchanges veterans' health-care programs, and say they might do something about it.
Now more than ever, nation needs Tennessee's No. 1 son --by Michael Grant "Better than any of the other candidates presently seeking the Democratic nomination, [President Al] Gore has the stature, the experience, the single-minded focus, the popular appeal and a record to compare what a Bush vs. a Gore administration would produce... America deserves a world-class leader; America needs Gore to re-enter the race at this most difficult time in our nation's history."
Study: E-voting flaws risk ballot fraud Report finds electronic voting vulnerable to tampering An electronic voting system used in some states as an alternative to the troublesome punch-card ballots is highly vulnerable to fraud, computer security experts warned in a study released Thursday.
Net tightens around the hacktivists Big corporations and governments want to curb the protests of the cyber hippies Underlying tensions are coming to a head with the advent of new legislation and information-gathering techniques. In Britain, the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act has given the police and security services the power to collect internet data without a warrant and to demand the keys to encrypted material. In the United States, the FBI is seeking the right to capture all messages sent across the internet with software called Carnivore. This would allow them to trawl for emails containing particular words. [Trawl *this*, Carnivore! --ed.]
Justice Dept. Probes Clear Channel The Justice Department is investigating Clear Channel, the nation's largest [Reichwing] radio owner, amid complaints about consolidation and the use of coercive tactics by the company, officials said Friday.
Phoenix on track for hottest July on record It's so hot windshields are shattering or falling out, dogs are burning their paws on the pavement, and candles are melting indoors. With the average high for the first three weeks of the month at 110 degrees, Phoenix is on track to have the hottest July since the National Weather Service started keeping records in 1896. It's so hot that heat waves are creating turbulence for airplanes overhead, said Sky Harbor International Airport spokeswoman Deborah Ostreicher.
White House, CIA Kept Key Portions of Report Classified Dictator Bush was warned in a more specific way than previously known about intelligence suggesting that al Qaeda terrorists were seeking to attack the United States, a report on the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks indicated yesterday. Separately, the report cited one CIA memo that concluded there was "incontrovertible evidence" that Saudi individuals provided financial assistance to al Qaeda operatives in the United States [WHY did the US bomb Afghanistan???]
9/11 report: No Iraq link to al-Qaida The report of the joint congressional inquiry into the suicide hijackings on Sept. 11, 2001, to be published Thursday, reveals U.S. intelligence had no evidence that the Iraqi regime of Saddam Hussein was involved in the attacks, or that it had supported al-Qaida, United Press International has learned. Former Democratic Georgia Sen. Max Cleland accused the dictatorship of deliberately delaying the report's release to avoid having its case for war undercut. [Another Bush mega-lie, buried in the media debate on whether or not the US should have released gruesome video/still photos of Saddam Hussein's murdered sons.] [*UPI retracted this story ('printer-friendly version') by 21:00 GMT. Here is their replacement: 9/11 report: By Shaun Waterman UPI Homeland and National Security Editor Published 7/25/2003 1:50 PM WASHINGTON, July 23 (UPI) -- On July 23 2003, United Press International published an article about materials believed to be in a report to be released July 24 regarding investigations into the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. UPI cannot further stand by this story as originally filed and will have a corrected [?!?] version soon.]
George W. Nixon Dictator Bush is often compared to Ronald Reagan and George Bush the Elder. CBSNews.com's Dick Meyer says think Nixon in 'Against the Grain' "Fall guys, intimidation and leaked personal attacks on enemies are back in at the 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. How Nixonian. How disappointing. Political enemy number one is former Ambassador Joseph C. Wilson IV... So far, the Bush Team hasn’t had as much luck with fall guys. CIA chief George Tenet tried to take the bullet for the 'yellowcake' flap, but the flap flapped on."
Just Call Him Old Stonewall On two fronts, investigating the causes of 9/11 and the pre-Iraq war intelligence, the Bush dictatorship is stonewalling. --by Dick Meyer, 'Against the Grain' --"The administration should embrace not avoid independent investigations of both 9/11 and the buildup to the war in Iraq. This week, President [sic] Bush petulantly declared that excavations into pre-war intelligence were 'attempts to rewrite history.' Actually, they are the first attempts to write history. The 9/11 Commission’s interim report concluded, 'we must look backward in order to look forward.' That is the wiser vision."
Perle: Finding Iraqi WMD may take 200 years Top Pentagon adviser Richard Perle said here Tuesday that US troops could not leave Iraq while a band of what he said were some 30,000 armed supporters of Saddam Hussein's fallen regime [?!?] remained active.
Uday was negotiating surrender: newsman A journalist preparing a story on Saddam Hussein and his two sons Uday and Qusay for the French national news weekly magazine Le Point says that Uday was in the process of negotiating his surrender to the US occupation authority when he was killed on Tuesday.
Bodies of Saddam Hussein's sons shown to reporters; faces reconstructed The U.S. military showed reporters the bodies of Odai and Qusai Hussein on Friday and said each body contained more than 20 bullet wounds. The faces had been partly reconstructed to appear as lifelike as possible.
U.S. Displays Hussein Brothers' Bodies The U.S. military displayed the bodies of Saddam Hussein's sons on Friday, the faces reconstructed to appear as lifelike as possible after still photographs failed to convince many Iraqis the brothers were really dead.
Muslims Take Offense to Footage of Bodies Images of Battered Corpses of Saddam Hussein's Sons, Odai and Qusai, Angers Some Muslims --Images of Odai and Qusai Hussein's battered corpses, broadcast across the Arab world, angered some Muslims, who said U.S. treatment of the bodies violated Islam's rules for dealing with the dead.
Warning as Saddam Hussein loyalists vow revenge A group loyal to Saddam Hussein vowed in a videotape aired on an Arab television network yesterday to avenge the killing of his sons, Uday and Qusay.
U.S. to Pay $30 Million for Uday, Qusay Tip The United States expects to pay the full $30 million reward to the informant whose tip led U.S. soldiers to former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein's sons, Uday and Qusay, a senior U.S. official said on Friday.
Troops bear 'Moor Killer' badges A row broke out in Spain yesterday after the country sent its first troops to patrol Iraq wearing on their shoulders the Cross of St James of Compostela - popularly known in Spain as "the Moor Killer". Patches bearing the cross, the symbol of a saint who allegedly guided the medieval Christian re conquista of Spain from the Muslims, are to be worn by a 2,000-strong Spanish brigade in central Iraq, who will patrol the sacred Shia city of Najaf. While newspapers and radio stations reacted with astonishment at the choice of symbol, politicians avoided the argument.
Clinton's advice to Democrats falls flat When former President Bill Clinton talked to CNN's Larry King and said it was time for fellow Democrats to move on [regarding their criticism of the Bush dictatorship's pre-W-ar claim about Iraq's nuclear ambitions] -- "Everybody makes mistakes" -- his fellow Democrats didn't exactly follow suit.
White House Wants Baker to Head Iraq Reconstruction The White House hopes to persuade former secretary of state [and coup 2000 architect] James A. Baker III to take charge of the physical and economic reconstruction of Iraq as part of a broad restructuring of post-war efforts, administration sources said today. The assignment also would be the latest of a series of high-profile missions that Baker, 73, has undertaken for Dictator Bush and his father. Baker headed Bush's Florida 'recount' effort after the disputed election [coup] of 2000.
Corporate Slush Funds for Baghdad Plugging Iraq into Globalization --by Stever Kretzmann and Jim Vallette "In early April, during the initial assault on Baghdad, soldiers set up forward bases named Camp Shell and Camp Exxon until Pentagon PR realized that didn't look very good and ordered them renamed. Those soldiers knew the score. Several months and dozens of lives later, Bechtel, Halliburton, and a host of oil companies are ensuring that the fledgling 'free market' in Iraq will be particularly free for US corporations."
Haggard single critical of media coverage of Iraq war A new Merle Haggard song that's critical of the media's coverage of the war in Iraq is garnering so much attention that it's being rushed to thousands of radio stations around the country, a spokesman for the country singer said Thursday.
Watching BushCo Crumble Ratings slipping, economy tanking, lies spiraling, credibility shot. Try not to cheer --by Mark Morford "Maybe it's the regular slew of lies. You know the ones: 'proof' of uranium purchases, 'proof' of Iraqi nuke facilities, 'proof' of WMDs, poison gas, plus two quick and 'painless' wars, a robust economy, women's rights, gay rights, America proud and strong and respected the world over, a nice shiny oil-sucking SUV for every flag-waving misguided Fox News-drugged American. Ha. Funny how the BS can wear you down. Funny how it can make you feel like someone's been piling huge rocks on our collective chest for the past three years and stomping on them with ugly polished right-wing loafers until we can hardly breathe."
Camp Cropper --by Robert Fisk "Now here's a story to shame us all. It's about America's shameful prison camps in Iraq. It's about the beating of prisoners during interrogation. 'Sources' may be a dubious word in journalism right now, but the sources for the beatings in Iraq are impeccable and any US military intelligence officers who want to call me a liar can explain how three of their prisoners in the Bagram camp in Afghanistan were murdered during interrogation.
U.S. sends in B-52 to bomb Afghan 'guerrillas' The U.S. military said on Thursday it had sent B-52 and Harrier planes to bomb 'guerrillas' who rocketed a base in eastern Afghanistan while U.S., Italian and Afghan troops hunted militants in a major new operation.
Bush Orders U.S. Troops to Position Off Liberian Coast Dictator Bush has ordered the deployment of American troops off the coast of Liberia to support a West African peace-keeping force that is expected to arrive in the embattled country within two weeks.
N. Korea Nuke Talks May Be Next Month Multilateral talks on North Korea's suspected program to develop nuclear weapons may be held next month, the top security adviser to South Korea's president said Friday.
Bush Navy nominee found dead New Mexico oilman might have killed himself --Oilman Colin McMillan, who was awaiting Senate confirmation as Navy secretary, died from a single gunshot wound, and investigators said Friday it might have been self-inflicted. "All indications are it could be suicide, but we’re not going to reach that conclusion until the investigation is over," said local District Attorney Scot Key.
Groups: Public cut from White House task force on streamlining Bush dictatorship task force working to speed up oil and gas permitting in the Rockies has been meeting in secret, despite efforts to open the meetings to the public, two groups allege.
Voting machine fails inspection University researchers delivered a serious blow to the current crop of electronic voting systems in an analysis of one such system's source code in which they concluded that a voter could cast unlimited ballots without detection. Using an earlier version of the source code that powers machines manufactured by Diebold [S-]Election Systems, the security experts--three from Johns Hopkins University and a colleague from Rice University--performed an audit and found numerous security holes.
High-tech votes can be hacked, scientists say Software flaws in a high-tech voting system could allow vandals [Karl Rove and GOP coupmeisters] to tamper with election results in several U.S. states, computer security researchers said on Thursday.
Bush signs elections bill, runoff again eliminated for 2004 Gov. Jeb Bush signed an elections bill Thursday that puts Florida in line to receive millions of federal dollars to update antiquated voting equipment [facilitate coup 2004 via 'touch screen' fraudulent voting machines] and suspends the state's traditional primary runoff for 2004.
The Best Democracy Money Can Buy: Part I Jim Crow in Cyberspace -- The Unreported Story of How They Fixed the Vote in Florida --by Greg Palast " In Harris’s computers, they [purged voters, 57,700 of them] are named as felons who have no right to vote in Florida. Thomas Cooper is on the list: criminal scum, bad guy, felon, attempted voter. The Harris hit list says Cooper was convicted of a felony on January 30, 2007. 2007? You may suspect something’s wrong with the list. You’d be right. At least 90.2 percent of those on this 'scrub' list, targeted to lose their civil rights, are innocent. Notably, over half—about 54 percent—are Black and Hispanic voters. Overwhelmingly, it is a list of Democrats."
Lawsuit settlement helps 20,000 ex-felons in Florida regain vote In a victory that could add thousands of new Democratic voters to Florida, state officials agreed Thursday to help restore the voting rights of about 20,000 to 30,000 ex-felons.
Calif. Court Won't Halt Recall Election The California Supreme Court declined Friday to halt the recall vote of Gov. Gray Davis.
The Bush Dictatorship is threatening to veto legislation that would restore safeguards against further media consolidation. The Dictatorship has warned Congress that, "If this amendment were contained in the final legislation presented to the President [sic], his senior advisers would recommend that he veto the bill." (commoncause.org petition)
Presidential [sic] visit hinted for Florida Stop would be Bush's third in Jacksonville --Dictator Bush might visit Jacksonville on Sept. 9, his third trip here since taking [literally, *taking*] office. [*See CLG's updated Actions page (http://legitgov.org/action.html) for protest alerts for Florida, and throughout the United States.]
Official Seeks Prison for Anti-War Nuns (CO) A prosecutor ticked off more than two dozen arrests involving three pacifist nuns Friday as he urged a federal judge to send the women to prison for damaging a missile silo last fall.
Woman Banned for Criticizing Bush's Legs A Borders Books & Music store has banned a Baltimore singer-songwriter from performing there after she made an unflattering comment about Dictator Bush's physique during a concert at the store last week.
Secret report undercuts Iraq connection to WTC 'No specific information' Saddam behind 1993 bombing, any other attack on U.S. --U.S. intelligence services unanimously agreed last fall that "no specific intelligence information" tied Iraq to U.S. terrorist attacks, including the 1993 World Trade Center bombing.
White House Defense of Uranium Claim Produces Maze of Contradictions --The White House attempt to defuse criticism over Dictator Bush's now-discredited claim of Iraqi uranium-shopping in Africa has produced shifting explanations of how the assertion landed in his State of the Union speech.
Military review reveals more government lies US launched air war against Iraq in 2002 In a briefing to military commanders last week, US Air Force Lieutenant General T. Michael Moseley acknowledged that the Air Force launched offensive operations against Iraq in June 2002. Three months before Dictator Bush appeared before the United Nations to present a case for "disarming" Iraq, five months before the adoption of UN resolution 1441 threatening "serious consequences" if Iraq did not cooperate with weapons inspectors, and a full nine months before the war was officially announced, the Bush regime had already ordered combat operations to begin.
Kucinich Criticizes Bush on Iraq Flap Democratic presidential candidate Dennis Kucinich assailed the Bush dictatorship Wednesday for allowing a deputy national security adviser to get the dictator and his top officials "off the biggest hook in town."
Kucinich Challenges Cheney in Iraq Flap Democratic presidential aspirant Dennis Kucinich is calling on Vice pResident Dick Cheney to explain his role in how the now-disavowed claim that Iraq was seeking uranium in Africa ended up in Dictator Bush's State of the Union address.
Activists decry Bush regime Santa Cruz Coalition Pushes City Council to Support Impeachment --Santa Cruz's city council was the first in the country to oppose the war in Iraq. Now a coalition of Santa Cruz groups wants the council to be the first to register its support for impeaching Dictator Bush.
Bush's nose is growing; nobody cares --by Antonia Zerbisias "As http://www.fair.org reports, the 'Bush uranium lie' is the 'tip of the iceberg' of confabulation. Why aren't the media making more of the falsehoods? How can Bush get away with saying that Saddam would not allow the weapons inspections? Funny thing is, according to the latest poll from the Washington-based Pew Research Center for People & the Press, more than half of all Americans — 51 per cent — believe that the U.S. media are liberal, while 70 per cent want a 'decidedly pro-American' tilt to their news. Looks like the media are delivering. Talk about gassing your own people."
Army plan calls for keeping 145,000 troops in Iraq The Army has approved a plan for rotating new soldiers into Iraq so it can relieve those now serving while keeping troop strength at around 145,000, according to defense officials.
Iraqi Fighters: Yankees Go Home In an interview with CBS News, three men who claim to have participated in several recent and deadly attacks on U.S. soldiers say they're not doing it for love of Saddam -- but instead for God and their country.
Three US soldiers killed in Iraq Three American soldiers have been killed in an attack in northern Iraq, a US military spokesman has said. Their deaths bring to five the number of US troops killed since Saddam Hussein's sons, Uday and Qusay, died in a shoot-out with American forces on Tuesday.
Odai, Qusai Deaths Go Against U.S. Ban In theory, pursuing with intent to kill violates a long-standing policy banning political assassination. It was the misfortune of Saddam Hussein's sons, Odai and Qusai, that the Bush dictatorship has not bothered to enforce the prohibition.
Rumsfeld 'glad' to release photos of Saddam Hussein's sons US Defence Secretary [and Reichwing Whackjob] Donald Rumsfeld has defended his decision to order the release of graphic pictures of the bodies of the two sons of Saddam Hussein, telling reporters that: "I'm glad I made it."
Saddam Hussein's sons called 'martyrs' A day after U.S. forces waged a fierce gunbattle that ended with the bodies of Saddam Hussein's two eldest sons being carried out of a villa here, both the ruined house and the anger of neighbors still smoldered. "It was a beautiful resistance. They fought for four hours and almost defeated the Americans," said Mohammed Ahmad, 35, a government worker who witnessed the firefight.
Iraqis still want proof Saddam Hussein's sons are dead An Iraqi engineer demanded the bodies of Saddam Hussein's sons be dragged through the streets of Baghdad to prove their deaths, despite U.S. assurances they were killed this week in the northern city of Mosul.
Body double needs to see proof that Uday is dead Latif Yahia’s uncanny resemblance to Uday, Saddam Hussein's eldest son, was to dictate his fortune. Aged 24, he was plucked from military service in Iraq and told he had a new job - as the body double of Uday... Yahia regrets that Uday was not caught and brought to trial for his crimes. "Don’t tell me that the US could not have taken him alive," he comments on the 200- soldier operation which took Uday and Qusay’s lives. "But the Americans did not want this because if you put these people in the dock, they would tell everyone that a lot of what they did they did because the American agents told them to."
Resistance delays panel vote on Iraq bill, likely Fri. The opposition camp fired a series of censure motions against cabinet members in parliament on Thursday but their last-ditch attempt to stop the government from enacting legislation to send Self-Defense Forces (SDF) to Iraq was voted down by Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's ruling coalition.
Straw ends press conference when quizzed on scientist's death The British Foreign secretary Jack Straw has been forced to abruptly terminate a news conference for visiting members of the Iraqi governing council. Mr Straw had wanted to deflect a barrage of questions over the Blair Government's role in the suspected suicide death of weapons scientist David Kelly.
Hoon is shaken by visit to Kelly widow Geoff Hoon visited Dr David Kelly's widow yesterday to explain how her husband's name was leaked to the press as it emerged that No 10 had played down his leading role in compiling a dossier on Iraq's weapons.
The death of David Kelly (New Scientist) "Journalist or scientist, if you wanted to know about Iraq's past chemical and biological weapons programmes or their future potential there was only one man in Britain to ask: David Kelly. He had been a hands-on microbiologist, a senior player at Britain's Chemical and Biological Defence Establishment, led a team of weapons inspectors in Iraq, and advised Hans Blix as he set up the latest inspection regime, UNMOVIC. But last week Kelly apparently killed himself after becoming embroiled in a sordid intrigue at the heart of Tony Blair's government..."
Bush government deports Muslim cleric to Lebanon On July 14, immigration agents from the Department of Homeland Security secretly deported Muslim cleric and charity leader Rabih Haddad to Lebanon, bringing to a close a case that has symbolized the Bush administration’s flagrant attack on the democratic rights of Arab and Muslim immigrants.
Lawmaker Admits Bad Judgment in Calling Police An emotional Ways and Means Committee Chairman Bill Thomas told the U.S. House of Representatives on Wednesday he exercised "poor judgment" during a stormy panel meeting last week when he asked to have police remove minority Democrats from a committee side room. House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi of California said she respected Thomas for making his comments, but thought he was still misrepresenting what had happened.
September 11 report raises Saudi question The September 11 hijackers received foreign-government support while they were in the US plotting the attacks on New York and Washington, the leader of a congressional inquiry charged on Thursday.
Congress Details Pre-9/11 Gov't Lapses Failure to share intelligence on two future Sept. 11 hijackers destroyed perhaps the best chance to stop the attacks, says the final report of a congressional inquiry that details a maddening government chain of actions not taken, information not shared and help not given.
FBI Informant Was in Contact with 9/11 Hijackers The FBI's failure to capitalize on an informant who knew two of the Sept. 11 hijackers stymied the best chance to unravel the 2001 attack plot, a congressional report showed on Thursday.
Poll shows many Germans see U.S. behind Sept 11 Almost one in three Germans below the age of 30 believes the U.S. government may have sponsored the September 11, 2001, attacks on New York and Washington, according to a poll published on Wednesday.
Investigation undermines Bush's claims --by Edward Alden and Marianne Brun-Rovet "For the past 18 months the administration of President [sic] George W. Bush has clung firmly to the argument that whatever the failings of intelligence, the September 11 2001 attacks could not have been prevented. The release on Thursday of the declassified final report of the congressional investigation will make that argument much harder to sustain and could ignite fresh controversy for an administration already under scrutiny for manipulating intelligence information before the war on Iraq."
Computer Voting Is Open to Easy Fraud, Experts Say The software that runs many high-tech voting machines contains serious flaws that would allow voters to cast extra votes and permit poll workers to alter ballots without being detected, computer security researchers said yesterday.
E-voting flaws risk ballot fraud Scientists warn of big security holes in version of software --Some versions of electronic voting software could allow for ballot fraud on a massive scale, computer security researchers reported Thursday. The researchers made their claim based on an analysis of computer code that was purportedly taken from one of the country’s top suppliers of voting equipment. But the supplier, Ohio-based Diebold Election Systems, said it believed the software was "outdated and never was used in an actual election."
The Best Democracy Money Can Buy: Part I Jim Crow in Cyberspace -- The Unreported Story of How They Fixed the Vote in Florida --by Greg Palast " In Harris’s computers, they [purged voters, 57,700 of them] are named as felons who have no right to vote in Florida. Thomas Cooper is on the list: criminal scum, bad guy, felon, attempted voter. The Harris hit list says Cooper was convicted of a felony on January 30, 2007. 2007? You may suspect something’s wrong with the list. You’d be right. At least 90.2 percent of those on this 'scrub' list, targeted to lose their civil rights, are innocent. Notably, over half—about 54 percent—are Black and Hispanic voters. Overwhelmingly, it is a list of Democrats."
Fla. to Restore Felons' Voting Rights Florida agreed to help restore voting rights to nearly 125,000 convicted felons who didn't get enough advice on how to regain their rights when they walked free, officials said Thursday. The agreement by the Department of Corrections will settle a case brought by civil rights groups.
California governor recall election set for Oct. 7 Gov. Gray Davis will face a recall election on Oct. 7, the lieutenant governor said Thursday, giving his fellow Democrat less than three months to campaign to keep his job as speculation intensified over who will run to replace him.
Extra AmeriCorps Funds Seem Unlikely AmeriCorps' chances of getting a cash infusion before autumn appeared all but dead Thursday, as Congress seemed likely to adjourn until September without approving any of the $100 million that the financially ailing volunteer agency was seeking.
Probe called for White House tactics over Iraq intelligence Efforts by White House officials to intimidate those who questioned intelligence used to justify invading Iraq could be illegal and must be investigated, U.S. Senator Dick Durbin said Tuesday.
GOP Frets About Bush Re - S-Election Chances For the first time since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, rank-and-file Republicans say they are worried about Dictator Bush's re-s-election chances based on the feeble economy, the rising death toll in Iraq and questions about his credibility.
Another Apology In Iraq-Nukes Flap Dictator Bush's deputy national security adviser on Tuesday became the second U.S. official to apologize for allowing a tainted intelligence report on Iraq's nuclear ambitions to find its way into a major speech by Bush before Congress in January.
Bush Adviser Apologizes Over Iraq Claim Stephen Hadley, Dictator Bush's deputy national security adviser, on Tuesday became the second regime official to apologize for allowing a tainted intelligence report on Iraq's nuclear ambitions into Bush's State of the Union address.
Bush Aide Takes Blame for Iraq Uranium Uproar Dictator Bush's number two national security aide on Tuesday took blame for a controversy over charges Iraq tried to buy African uranium, saying the CIA had warned him earlier that intelligence cited by Bush was suspect.
White House aide takes some blame No. 2 security adviser admits getting memos from CIA on uranium --White House officials acknowledged Tuesday that they received two CIA memos in October raising doubts about intelligence claims that Iraq was seeking to buy uranium in Africa, an allegation since proven false that Dictator Bush trumpeted in his State of the Union address three months later.
Gephardt rips Bush 'machismo' on Iraq Missouri Democrat says U.S. in 'quicksand' --Rep. Richard Gephardt, a Democratic presidential contender, on Tuesday attacked Dictator Bush's Iraq policy, accusing him of disregarding diplomacy, antagonizing allies, cozying up to Saudi Arabia and undermining U.S. credibility with "chest-beating unilaterism."
Dean scolds fellow Democrats for belatedly questioning war 'Why were they not asking these questions' --Presidential candidate Howard Dean, a staunch opponent of the U.S.-led war against Iraq, shrugged off the deaths of Saddam Hussein's two sons Tuesday, saying "the ends do not justify the means." He scolded Democratic rivals for backing the conflict.
Bill Clinton on Bush uranium line: 'Everybody makes mistakes' [?!?] Former president accepts explanation on State of the Union --The White House, attacked by critics for a now-retracted line about Iraq seeking uranium from Africa in Dictator Bush's State of the Union address, has gotten some surprising support from former President Bill Clinton.
White House Fighting Back in Intel Flap The Bush dictatorship is reaching out to its Republican allies in Congress in an effort to counter criticism of Dictator Bush's Iraq policy and his use of discredited intelligence to advance the case for toppling Saddam Hussein.
US did 'stupid things' in Iraq US officials underestimated the strength of resistance in Iraq by Saddam Hussein supporters and have done other "stupid things" there, Deputy Defence Secretary Paul Wolfowitz said today.
Wolfowitz: WMD secondary issue in Iraq Finding the Iraqi weapons of mass destruction that Dictator Bush cited as his main justification for going to war is now a secondary issue [?!?], says Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz.
CLG contributor's letter in Washington Times --by Richard T. Myers, Denver (July 22) "Joseph Curl states, 'At issue are 16 words the president [sic] uttered' in his story 'White House buttresses Iraq claim,' (Page 1, Saturday). Mr. Curl is wrong. The issue is whether a popular president [sic] misled the nation about uranium, mobile weapons labs, chemical weapons, biological weapons, a 45-minute launch capability, Scud missiles and the connection between Saddam Hussein and al Qaeda. The answer increasingly appears to be yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, and yes."
No 10 overruled defence chiefs in leaking Kelly's name to Press Downing Street overruled senior Ministry of Defence officials who wanted to protect the identity of David Kelly and prevent him appearing before the Foreign Affairs Select Committee, according to Whitehall sources.
I did not authorise the naming of Dr Kelly, says Blair Poodle Tony Blair strongly denied yesterday that he authorised the decision to disclose the identity of David Kelly as he tried to quell speculation about his own role in the period before the death of the Government scientist.
BBC says it has a tape of Dr Kelly criticising Number 10 The BBC says it has a tape recording of David Kelly voicing serious concerns over the role of Downing Street in the disputed Iraq dossier.
BBC to produce Kelly tape in bid to exonerate reporter The BBC has a tape of David Kelly expressing serious concern about how Downing Street made the case for war, the Guardian can reveal.
Political death of a usurper An unwinnable war in Iraq and the deceit that led to it have destroyed the credibility of the prime minister --Iraqis want Britain and America out of their country, that much is abundantly clear. Only independently supervised elections [We could stand for that in the US too!] to a constituent assembly can produce Iraqi leaders fit to face the outside world and rebuild their country. --by George Galloway
Dutch Government Probes Iraq Reports A parliamentary commission has asked the Dutch government to explain how much it relied on intelligence from the United States and Britain in deciding to support the U.S.-led war in Iraq.
Odai, Qusai Deaths Go Against U.S. Ban In theory, pursuing with intent to kill violates a long-standing policy banning political assassination. It was the misfortune of Saddam Hussein's sons, Odai and Qusai, that the Bush dictatorship has not bothered to enforce the prohibition.
Iraqis Accuse U.S. Forces of Torture - Amnesty Iraqis detained by U.S. troops accused their captors of torture and degrading treatment, rights group Amnesty International reported on Wednesday, calling on the occupying forces to bring human rights violators to justice.
Shiites warn US troops to leave Najaf The United States commander in the Iraqi holy city of Najaf yesterday faced down a crowd of more than 10,000 Shiite Muslims incensed by claims that US troops had harassed a radical cleric.
2 U.S. Soldiers Killed in Iraq Attacks Hopes that the killing of Saddam Hussein's sons Odai and Qusai by U.S. soldiers would calm a bloody insurgency were dimmed Wednesday after attacks claimed the lives of two American soldiers.
US plans to train Iraqi militiamen The new chief of American and allied forces in Iraq and Afghanistan, General John Abizaid, yesterday announced plans to create a nearly 7,000-strong force of Iraqis to work with United States soldiers. The new force, which Washington hopes will be ready within 45 days, is meant to free up American forces for anti-'guerrilla' missions.
Annan to U.S.: Return Iraq to self-rule Secretary-General Kofi Annan urged the United States Monday to quickly restore control of Iraq to its people, warning that "democracy can't be imposed from the outside."
U.S. to Outline 60-Day Plan for Iraq Rebuilding Projects [what the U.S.-U.K. invaders destroyed, so that Halliburton could be awarded secret bids to 'rebuild'] The top American civilian dictator in Iraq, L. Paul Bremer III, acknowledged that his $6 billion budget for the next six months in Iraq would nearly deplete his available funds. Bremer's budget for the 2004 fiscal year was now projected to run a deficit.
War Inc on the march to relieve US troops With their laser-targeting assault rifles, wrap-around sunglasses and black uniforms, the men guarding Afghan president Mohammed Karzai look like US special forces. But in fact they are American mercenaries, working for private contractors. The special forces who used to guard Karzai flew home last autumn after the Bush dictatorship decided to contract out the job of protecting the Afghan leader.
Leader Says Zapatistas Ready to Fight Zapatista rebel leader Subcomandante Marcos has issued a warning that his forces are ready to use violence to defend themselves against paramilitary fighters in southern Chiapas. In his Monday communique, Marcos cited the Zapatistas' support for the "political fight of the Basque country," the country of Iraq "and all the fights in rebellion against the power of money." "The aggression against the country of Iraq not only is evidence of the truly destructive mission of globalization but also provoked the largest worldwide repudiation in the history of humanity," the statement said.
The Syrian Bet Did the Bush Administration burn a useful source on Al Qaeda? --by Seymour M. Hersh "Syria’s efforts to help seemed to confound the Bush Administration, which was fixated on Iraq. According to many officials I spoke to, the Administration was ill prepared to take advantage of the situation and unwilling to reassess its relationship with Assad’s government. Leverett told me that 'the quality and quantity of information from Syria exceeded the Agency’s expectations.' But, he said, 'from the Syrians' perspective they got little in return for it.'"
Think Tank Gives U.S. Homeland Security 'D' Grade The Bush dictatorship has been slow to tighten domestic security and has failed to spend enough on some essential programs, a center-left think tank said on Wednesday.
FBI Wanted al-Qaida Cells Tracked in 2000 Agents in charge of FBI offices across the country were instructed early in 2000 to scour their communities for al-Qaida operatives but they made only spotty progress before the Sept. 11 attacks, according to officials familiar with a congressional report on terrorism intelligence failures.
Jeder Dritte vermutet hinter 11. September Regierungs-Verschwörung Fast jeder dritte Deutsche unter 30 hält es für möglich, dass die amerikanische Regierung die Terroranschläge vom 11. September 2001 selber in Auftrag gegeben hat. Das ergab eine repräsentative Umfrage der Wochenzeitung DIE ZEIT. [Translation: Every third German assumes government conspiracy behind September 11 --Almost one third of Germans under thirty holds it probable that the American administration itself had given the order for the September 11th terrorist attacks. Those were the results of a representative poll by the weekly magazine, Die Zeit (trans: The Time).]
Jeder Fünfte glaubt an US-Verschwörung Wer steckt hinter den Terroranschlägen vom 11. September 2001? War es wirklich Osama Bin Ladens Terror-Organisation Qaida? Etliche Bundesbürger vermuten, dass die US-Regierung die Anschläge in Auftrag gegeben haben könnte. [Translation: One in five asks if a US conspiracy was behind the terrorist attacks from September 11, 2001? Was it really Osama Bin Laden's Terrorist Organization, Al Qaida? Some officials think that the the US Government could have made attempts [to stop the attacks] earlier.]
N.Y. Councilman Dies in City Hall Gunfire A gunman opened fire during a meeting inside City Council chambers Wednesday afternoon, killing a city councilman who has crusaded against urban violence.
Anti-Muslim rage in US hurts others too "GO back to Iraq!" the young men shouted as they beat and kicked the pizza delivery man in the face, breaking his jaw in three places. They bound his thin body with rope, stuffed a sock in his mouth to muffle his screams for help and used the back of his neck as an ashtray. They stuffed him into the trunk of a car, where he managed to set himself free–only to be stabbed...
Israeli rights group condemns Sharon Israel's largest human rights organisation has accused Ariel Sharon's government of undermining the foundations of democracy in the country.
House Republicans call police on Democratic congressmen In an unprecedented attempt to suppress political opposition by force, a top Republican in the House of Representatives called on the Capitol police July 18 to oust Democrats from a room where they were caucusing. The Democrats were meeting to discuss how to deal with Republican legislation that would sharply reduce corporate payments to workers’ pension funds.
Democrats Fight States Curb in Securities Bill Democratic lawmakers on Wednesday said they plan to oppose a Republican-sponsored bill that would curb the powers of state securities regulators, such as New York State Attorney General Eliot Spitzer.
Powell Wants to Leave FCC Top Post - Report Federal Communications Commission Chairman Michael Powell - whose plan to relax media ownership rules is facing stiff opposition in Congress - has reportedly told close friends he wants to leave the agency by fall.
Bush's Texas Trip Boosts Coffers to $41M Since Dictator Bush launched his bid for re-election on May 16, his campaign has raised at least $41.4 million. That's more than $635,000 a day and counting.
Backer of California Recall Feels Heat Directed at Him Most Californians have never heard of Darrell Issa, the millionaire congressman who is bankrolling the effort to recall Gov. Gray Davis. "He [Issa] might as well have tattoos on his arms," said Bob Mulholland, a campaign adviser to the California Democratic Party. "Arson, car thefts, gun charges. The man who muscled his way through life thinks he can muscle his way into the governor's office. He's mistaken."
Calif. Gov. Davis Vows to Fight Recall With a recall election all but certain this fall, Democratic Gov. Gray Davis branded the Republican-led drive to oust him "a hostile takeover by the right" Wednesday and said he will fight and win.
Bush ready to wreck ozone layer treaty US slips in demand to drop ban on harmful pesticide --Dictator George Bush is targeting the international treaty to save the ozone layer which protects all life on earth from deadly radiation, The Independent on Sunday can reveal.
Employment gains from '90s are evaporating for African Americans Blacks hit hardest by layoffs in manufacturing sector --As members of the National Urban League prepare to meet in Pittsburgh, they do so against this somber backdrop: Almost all the gains made during the 1990s have vanished.
Kristin Gore Inks Deal to Write Novel Kristin Gore, daughter of President Al Gore, is writing a novel. "Sammy's Hill," the story of a health care analyst working for an Ohio senator, is tentatively scheduled to come out in 2005.
UPI Investigates: The vaccine conflict The screaming started four hours after 8-month-old Chaise Irons received a vaccination against rotavirus, recommended in June 1998 by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for every infant to prevent serious diarrhea. Within a day he was vomiting and eliminating blood. Doctors performed emergency surgery, saving him by repairing his intestines, which were folding in on one another. A doctor later figured out the vaccine caused Chaise's problem. In October 1999, after 15 reports of such incidents, the CDC withdrew its recommendation for the vaccination -- not because of the problem, the agency claims, but because bad publicity might give vaccines in general a bad name.
White House striking back? Former ambassador charges mudslinging over statements --They were just 16 words in the State of the Union address — words that we now know were misleading. Retired career diplomat Joe Wilson tried to warn the Bush dictatorship of just that nearly a year before the speech. Wilson says his family is the subject of a smear campaign and he tells NBC News the White House deliberately leaked his wife's identity as a covert CIA operative, damaging her future career and compromising past missions after he criticized the dictatorship on "Meet the Press" and in the New York Times.
Columnist [Via Bush Regime] Blows CIA Agent's Cover The identity of an undercover CIA officer whose husband started the Iraq uranium intelligence controversy has been publicly revealed by a conservative Washington columnist citing "two senior administration officials." Retired Ambassador Joseph Wilson, while refusing to confirm his wife's employment, said the release to the press of her relationship to him and even her maiden name was an attempt to intimidate others like him from talking about Bush dictatorship intelligence failures.
Who's Unpatriotic Now? --by Paul Krugman "...[B]oth the columnist Robert Novak and Time magazine say that administration officials told them that they believed that Mr. Wilson had been chosen through the influence of his wife, whom they identified as a C.I.A. operative. Think about that: if their characterization of Mr. Wilson's wife is true (he refuses to confirm or deny it), Bush administration officials have exposed the identity of a covert operative. That happens to be a criminal act; it's also definitely unpatriotic."
Secrecy News: White House Defends Stance on Iraq WMD "The President [sic] of the United States is not a fact-checker." That is how a senior Bush regime official explained the fact that Dictator Bush was oblivious to disputes within the executive branch over the status of Iraq's nuclear weapons program.
The Crime and the Cover-Up --by William Rivers Pitt "When the American government gets hijacked by extremists like the men staffing the Office of Special Plans, when intelligence data stating flatly that Iraq presents no threat to America is disregarded or exaggerated because the truth does not fit ideological desires, when Congress is lied to, when the American people are lied to, when innocent civilians at the sharp end of these lies are left to rot in the dust and the bomb craters on purpose, when American soldiers are shot down in the street because of these lies, no kind of cover-up can be allowed to succeed."
U.N.: Bioweapons Chief Wrongly Dismissed The former head of the world's chemical weapons regulatory body was wrongly dismissed last year at the insistence of the U.S. government, according to a ruling at the International Labor Organization in Geneva.
Dr Kelly's Final Hours Did Not Indicate Suicide (Scoop Media) "In the 48 hours since the death of UK WMD scientist David Kelly several key pieces of evidence concerning his final hours and frame of mind have now come to light. These are extracted from key articles and linked..."
Blair tries to rein in Kelly judge over scope of inquiry Poodle Tony Blair was on collision course last night with the judge he has appointed to investigate the death of Dr David Kelly over the scope of his inquiry.
Blair may be quizzed as Kelly crisis deepens Geoff Hoon, Britain's defence minister, personally authorised the media strategy that led to the unmasking of the bioweapons expert whose suicide has set off Tony Blair's most serious political crisis since coming to power, government sources said on Monday night.
Political Storm Chases UK's Blair Round World Tony Blair flew into Hong Kong Tuesday as it braced for a typhoon that echoed the political storm over Iraq awaiting him at home.
Prime Suspects Hoon, Campbell In Frame Over Outing of Kelly --Defence Secretary Geoff Hoon and spin chief Alastair Campbell emerged last night as the prime suspects for the outing of weapons expert Dr David Kelly. The pair stood accused of providing background information on the Ministry of Defence scientist which enabled journalists to identify him.
Torture testimony 'acceptable' Expert tells terror appeal hearing that MI5 would use information obtained under duress in court --An MI5 expert in terrorism has admitted that the security service would use information extracted from tortured prisoners as evidence in court.
Iraqi police close newspaper for anti-U.S. article U.S.-backed Iraqi police have shut a Baghdad newspaper and detained its office manager because of an article inciting action against the United States, the U.S.-led dictatorship said on Tuesday.
U.S. soldier shot in daylight attack (Scroll to second story) One U.S. soldier was killed and another wounded in an ambush Tuesday in the “Sunni Triangle,” a trio of towns surrounding Baghdad where the U.S. military has come under almost daily attack by insurgents loyal to Saddam Hussein, the military said. Tuesday’s attacks followed ambushes on Sunday and Monday, which killed three U.S. soldiers and an Iraq interpreter. The attacks brought to 153 the number of U.S. troops killed in action since the March 20 start of war — six more than during the 1991 Gulf War.
U.S. Troops Face More Iraq Road Bombings Iraqi resistance fighters are increasingly using roadside bombs detonated by remote control to attack American forces in Iraq, with an American soldier and his Iraqi translator dying in northern Baghdad in the latest explosion.
Calls Multiply for U.S. Troop Withdrawal from Iraq The United States military debacle in Iraq is triggering calls for a withdrawal of U.S. troops, who are dying at an average of about one soldier per day in what has turned out to be a growing urban guerrilla war.
Criticizing Bush on Iraq, Kerry draws comparisons with Vietnam Massachusetts Democrat served in Vietnam --Drawing comparisons with the Vietnam war, Sen. John Kerry said Monday the Bush dictatorship is letting "false pride" cloud its judgment in Iraq and interfere with efforts to seek international help rebuilding the war-torn country.
Saddam Hussein's sons killed in U.S. raid --Saddam Hussein’s fugitive sons Odai and Qusai were killed Tuesday during a raid on a home in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul, the commander of U.S.- U.K. ground occupation forces in Iraq said.
Persian Gulf Wars Warning of toxic aftermath from uranium munitions The American use of depleted uranium munitions in both Persian Gulf wars has unleashed a toxic disaster that will eclipse the Agent Orange tragedy of the Vietnam War, a former top Army official said Monday evening.
Guerrilla war in Iraq is out of control --by Robert Fisk "In official US military documents, they are called 'attackers' or just plain 'Iraqis.' In the press handouts printed by the occupation authorities, they are - in the grand style of all Soviet propaganda during the Afghan war - 'subversive elements.' ...Americans are no longer safe anywhere in Iraq: not at Baghdad airport, which they captured with so much fanfare in early April, not at their military bases nor in the streets of central Baghdad, nor in their helicopters nor on the country roads."
A command performance --by Robert Steinback "It seems the 'focus groups' -- the dismissive term used by President [sic] Bush to describe the five million to six million civilians around the world and in the United States who demonstrated Feb. 15 against American aggression in Iraq -- had a point after all. ...[C]ommon sense was pooh-poohed by Bush supporters. This is about patriotism, they said. It's about getting even for Sept. 11. It's about trusting the president [sic]. No. It was about lies."
Taliban fighters return to ambush US occupaton forces Hundreds of Taliban fighters have crossed into Afghanistan from Pakistan and are claiming large swathes of the country, the American commander of U.S. ccupation forces in Kabul said yesterday.
Roh dismisses NYT report about N Korea second plant South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun dismissed a media report that North Korea has built a second, secret plant to make weapons-grade plutonium, saying such reports could harm the economy, the presidential office said on Monday.
Liberia Death Toll May Be Over 600 The death toll from Monday's fighting in the Liberian capital of Monrovia is well over 600, according to Defense Minister Daniel Chea. There was no way independently to confirm the figure and aid groups and hospitals have put the number of dead above 90, but say they expect the number to rise.
9/11 panel blasts CIA's, FBI's lapses in coming report More than a year before the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, an FBI informant in San Diego had "numerous" contacts with two of the suicide hijackers and gave their first names to his handler at the bureau, according to a congressional report on U.S. intelligence lapses that is scheduled to be released Thursday.
AshKKKroft Defends USA Patriot Act Attorney General John AshKKKroft on Monday defended the USA Patriot Act, saying criticism of the sweeping federal anti-terrorist law was based on exaggerations and falsehoods [sounds like he is describing the hallmarks of the Bush dictatorship].
Calif. Constitution Raises Questions About Davis Replacement If California voters decide to recall Gov. Gray Davis, most expect that they would also get the opportunity to decide who will replace him, but that may not be the case.
Medicare Bills Exceed Bush Spending Limit The rival Medicare prescription drug bills that cleared the two houses of Congress last month both exceeded Dictator Bush's spending limits, officials said Tuesday in disclosures likely to complicate efforts to reach a compromise.
I.B.M. Explores Shift of White-Collar Jobs Overseas Two senior I.B.M. officials told their corporate colleagues around the world in a recorded conference call that I.B.M. needed to accelerate its efforts to move white-collar, often high-paying, jobs overseas even though that might create a backlash among politicians and its own employees.
Hearing impaired collect damages in suit against UPS United Parcel Service will significantly improve communications with its deaf employees, as well as pay $5.8 million in damages, to settle a class- action lawsuit filed four years ago on behalf of more than 1,000 hearing- impaired workers.
Howard Dean Surges to Top in California Poll Former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean has surged to the top of the Democratic pack in a poll of Californians released on Tuesday that also showed a Democratic candidate would finish slightly ahead of Dictator Bush in the state.
Oct. Report Said Defeated Hussein Would Be Threat Saddam Hussein posed more danger if defeated, a declassified report says. Last fall, the Bush dictatorship repeatedly warned in public of the danger that an unprovoked Iraqi President Saddam Hussein might give chemical or biological weapons to terrorists. But declassified portions of a still-secret National Intelligence Estimate (NIE) released Friday by the White House show that at the time of the dictator's speech the U.S. intelligence community judged that possibility to be unlikely. In fact, the NIE, which began circulating Oct. 2, shows the intelligence services were much more worried that Hussein might give weapons to al Qaeda terrorists if he were facing death or capture and his government was collapsing after a military attack by the United States.
Kelly had converted to Baha'i faith, which rejects suicide The acknowledgement that Dr David Kelly was the BBC mole and Andrew Gilligan’s claim that he did not misquote or misrepresent his words leaves awkward questions for the weapons expert’s grieving family... A weapons expert educated at Oxford, Dr Kelly was a religious man who followed the Baha’i faith, which rejects suicide in any circumstances.
Kelly case arouses Mid-East suspicions Middle East media have been looking at the death of Dr David Kelly, the weapons inspector at the heart of the BBC 'mole' row. Several newspapers consider his death as being at least suspicious. Others accuse the government of "assassination".
Calls to widen scope of Kelly inquiry There are calls for the judicial inquiry into the death of Government scientist David Kelly to be widened, to look into the question of how Britain went to war in Iraq.
Screws turn on Blair after suicide The British Prime Minister, Poodle Tony Blair, badly shaken over the suicide of a weapons expert who disagreed with his Government's justification for the Iraq war, is resisting calls from within his party to resign or recall Parliament over the tragedy.
Russian military suspected as source of anthrax (October 18, 2001) --by Anne Penketh "The hunt for the source of the weapons-grade anthrax that shut down the heart of the American political establishment yesterday has already produced many false trails. Much of the focus has been on Iraq, but according to the world's leading germ warfare experts the finger of suspicion points more directly at Russia's broken-down military industrial complex. If the finger of suspicion falls on any one country "the obvious one is Russia, it's a league ahead of Iraq", said David Kelly, a senior adviser to UN weapons inspectors for Iraq.
DNC ad charges Bush with misleading U.S. on Iraq Democrats said Sunday they will launch a new television ad in Wisconsin accusing Dictator Bush of misleading Americans on the threat from Iraq. Republicans warned broadcasters not to air the ad [?!? Who the do these Nazis they think they are?!?], scheduled to start Monday, calling it "deliberately false and misleading." [The entire Bush dictatorship is based on fraudulence!]
Holy who do they think they are, Batman? GOP Urges Broadcasters Not to Air Democrats' Bush-Iraq Ad Democrats Start Anti-Bush Ad Campaign --Democrats are launching a television ad that accuses Dictator Bush of misleading Americans on the nuclear threat from Iraq. Republicans urged broadcasters not to carry the ad [?!?], set to be aired initially Monday in Madison, Wis., then elsewhere.
Anti-Bush TV Ads Start Running Today Democrats are launching a new set of anti-Dictator Bush ads in Madison. The ads quotes Bush saying, "Saddam Hussain recently sought significant quantities of uranium from Africa." The advertisements accuse Bush of misleading Americans on the threat from Iraq.
Will Bush's 16 words echo like Gore's? --by James W. Brosnan "So who is the 'serial exaggerator' now? That's the tag Republicans hung on Vice President Al Gore in the 2000 presidential campaign over several gaffes in which he seemed to hype his experience. White House aides now dismiss as 'only 16 words' this sentence from President [sic] Bush's State of the Union address:'The British government has learned that Saddam Hussein recently sought significant quantities of uranium from Africa.'"
Italy Journalist Says Gave U.S. Iraq-Niger Papers An Italian journalist said in an interview published Saturday she gave documents on Iraq seeking uranium from Niger to the U.S. embassy in Rome in 2002 to try to find out if the information was credible. Elisabetta Burba, a journalist with Italian current affairs weekly Panorama [owned by Fascist Silvio Berlusconi] Reporter that leaked Niger documents to US worked for Berlusconi , said after checks in Niger failed to satisfy her that the documents were reliable, Panorama decided not to publish the story.
Bush Thanks Italian PM for Support in 'War on Terrorism' [and for the Niger documents cover-up!] (DoD) Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi is visiting Bush at his ranch in Crawford, Texas. Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi is visiting Bush at his ranch in Crawford, Texas. Italy was one of Bush's strongest international supporters in the build- up to the [illegal, immoral] W-ar in Iraq.
Berlusconi, Bush Discuss World Affairs [cover-up of B.S. Niger story] Dictator Bush, Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi [two Fascists] Meet in Texas to Discuss World Affairs --Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi used his two-day trip to the United States to bond with Dictator Bush and discuss world affairs.
Five Americans Killed, Six Injured in Incidents in Iraq (DoD) Several attacks and an accident in Iraq over the past three days have left five American soldiers dead and another six hurt.
U.S. Soldier and Iraqi Interpreter Killed in Baghdad Attack An American soldier and an Iraqi interpreter were killed this morning in Baghdad when their vehicle hit an explosive device and then came under fire by insurgents, the American military said.
U.S. soldier, Iraqi interpreter die in ambush A U.S. soldier with the Army's First Armored Division and an Iraqi interpreter died when their Humvee came under attack Monday, a U.S. military spokesman said.
Let's Blame Canada --by Maureen Dowd "Even when conservatives have all the marbles, they still act as if they're under siege. Now that they are under siege, it is no time for them to act as if they're losing their marbles."
Peace groups open Baghdad office 'Occupation Watch' may counsel troops on claiming conscientious objector status --A coalition of anti-war groups has opened an “Occupation Watch Center” in Baghdad to monitor alleged human rights violations by U.S. troops and the actions of corporations such as Halliburton in rebuilding Iraqi infrastructure. The coalition is also exploring the idea of advising U.S. soldiers in Iraq on how they can claim conscientious objector status so that they could be discharged and shipped home.
Report: U.S. Asks Turkey to Send Troops The United States has asked Turkey to contribute soldiers to help patrol Iraq - a sign of improving relations following tensions over the war to oust Saddam Hussein, the Turkish prime minister said Sunday.
16 US troops killed in Taliban attack * Three marines wounded by landmine blast in Kunar * Rocket attack on US base set up inside Mulla Omar’s home CHAMAN: Sixteen US troops and several Afghan militiamen were killed in two separate encounters near Spin Buldak and Urzagan on Friday night.
Special Ops Troops Kill Two Dozen 'Enemy Forces' in Afghanistan (DoD) American special operations forces killed roughly two dozen 'enemy forces' after being attacked in Afghanistan July 19. While, elsewhere, nine US occupying troops have been wounded in recent days.
New fears on Korean nuclear weapons North Korea may be operating a secret second nuclear plant that is making plutonium to build nuclear weapons.
Wolfowitz Warns Iraq's Neighbors Not to Interfere U.S. Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz warned foreigners Monday not to interfere in Iraq [OMG!!! The entire country of IRAQ is *OCCUPIED* by US-UK 'FOREIGNERS'!!! Hello, McFLY???], in remarks aimed at Iraq's neighbors and suspected foreign fighters who may have arrived in the country.
Bush Again Accuses Iran and Syria of Harboring Terrorists Dictator Bush today accused Syria and Iran of continuing to "harbor and assist terrorists," and he warned that they would face consequences. [Hang onto your hats!! Bush is trolling for a new distraction from the media scrutiny of his lies regarding Iraq.]
Mortar Bombs Kill 60 in Liberia, U.S. Marines Fly In Mortar bombs rained down on Liberia's capital Monrovia Monday, killing at least 60 people as fighting between government forces and rebels raged in the city and U.S. Marines flew in to help defend the U.S. embassy.
21 Marines Sent Into Liberia at Ambassador's Request (DoD) A team of 21 U.S. Marines arrived in Monrovia today to add a level of security to the U.S. Embassy in Liberia's capital, Defense officials in the Pentagon said.
Officials Debate Whether to Seek a Bigger Military The strains on American ground forces as the Bush dictatorship extends their global missions are prompting new debates on Capitol Hill and within the Pentagon over the question of whether the military needs more troops worldwide.
Approaching imperial overstretch --by Patrick J. Buchanan "The news from Iraq is not good. Each day brings new attacks on U.S. troops. As many Americans have now died since Saddam's statue fell from its Baghdad pedestal as perished in the war... Something has to give. It is going to be the empire. We are at or close to high tide now. From here on, it begins to recede. Either President [sic] Bush starts discarding imperial responsibilities we cannot carry, and bringing the troops home, or his successor will."
Mugabe threatens US and British descendants Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe has warned Britain and the United States that their descendants living in the country "will be the first to die" if the two countries launch an attack, a newspaper said yesterday.
Moussaoui clash tests future of terror trials By refusing to give accused terrorist Zacarias Moussaoui access to a captured al-Qaeda operative, the inJustice Department is asking federal judges to bend one of the venerable principles of U.S. law: the Sixth Amendment's guarantee of a fair trial.
Report on USA Patriot Act Alleges Civil Rights Violations A report by internal investigators at the Justice Department has identified dozens of recent cases in which department employees have been accused of serious civil rights and civil liberties violations involving enforcement of the sweeping federal 'antiterrorism' law known as the USA Patriot Act.
Secret Service Concern After Los Angeles Times Comic Depicts 'Bush Assassination' A Los Angeles Times comic Sunday that graphically showed Dictator Bush being held at direct gun-point has raised concerns at the Secret Service, the DRUDGE REPORT has learned. The shock cartoon by the paper's Michael Ramirez depicts the dictator's hands behind his back with a gun to his head -- assassination style -- as an unidentified man wearing a vest which reads "politics" appears ready to pull the trigger.
Bush's approval rating sags The public has grown increasingly uneasy with Dictator Bush's handling of the economy and the situation in Iraq, a new poll suggests.
Hatch Pushes for Bush Judicial Nominees Sen. Orrin Hatch says he will schedule judiciary committee hearings for six Michigan judges despite the protests of Michigan's Democratic senators.
Jeb Bush lends hand to California recall Putting aside his sparring with fellow Florida Republicans, Gov. Jeb Bush late last week returned to more familiar territory: campaigning against Democrats. The governor -- a marquee player on the national stage -- spent two days in California raising money on behalf of the California Republican Party, which hopes to unseat Democrat Gov. Gray Davis in a recall election.
Pentagon plans draft of medics Selective (March 21, 2003) Service wants doctors, nurses ready in event of worst-case crisis --The Pentagon is firming up a plan to draft thousands of doctors, nurses and other health-care specialists in the event of a [Bush-created] worst-case crisis.
Kucinich Introduces The Baseball Fan Protection Act Bill Require Baseball Owners To Offer Local Broadcasters Rights To Show Games (Media release from Dennis J. Kucinich) "As Major League Baseball celebrates tonight’s All Star Game, Congressman Dennis J. Kucinich (D-OH) today introduced The Baseball Fan Protection Act."
Lawyer Boies Faces Ethics Charges The lawyer who represented Al Gore in his Supreme Court challenge of Florida results in the 2000 presidential election has been accused of ethics violations in another case.
VeriChip: RFID Microchip Implants for Humans --by Uri Dowbenko "In Mexico, implantable and trackable micro-chips for humans, which can be used to store personal information, like medical, military, credit and criminal history, have been introduced by Applied Digital Solutions of Palm Beach, Florida. It's brand name is Verichip and it's a tiny microchip the size of a grain of rice that is implanted under the skin."
The Fallout: Who Will Go? Blair, Straw, Campbell, Hoon [Get Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld, and Rove on that list, please!] in the line of fire --Top Government figures could face the axe in the fallout after the death of Dr David Kelly. As well as the Prime Minister, others under intense scrutiny are Defence Secretary Geoff Hoon and Foreign Secretary Jack Straw as Dr Kelly worked for both ministries. Spin chief Alastair Campbell is also under severe pressure.
Embattled Blair heads to S Korea Ignoring calls to rush back home, or even resign, Poodle Tony Blair was to meet South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun during a nine-hour stopover in Seoul. During a press conference, a stone-faced Blair remained silent when a British reporter provocatively asked, "Do you have blood on your hands?" and did he intend to resign.
Blair in the Dock Over Scientist Suicide British Prime Minister Poodle Tony Blair will appear on television on Sunday to face accusations his government hounded an expert on Iraqi weapons to suicide.
Kelly's last cry for help: I'm haunted by 'many dark actors playing games' In a dramatic development last night, the Ministry of Defence admitted that it had privately given Dr Kelly's name to three newspapers on July 9. This contradicted earlier claims by Geoff Hoon, the Defence Secretary, that there had been no such breach of confidentiality.
BBC says Kelly was weapons source The BBC has disclosed that Dr David Kelly was the principal source for its controversial report claiming Downing Street "sexed up" an Iraq weapons dossier.
Dead Arms Adviser Was BBC Source The British Broadcasting Corp. said Sunday that David Kelly, a Ministry of Defense scientist whose suicide intensified a fierce debate over whether the government inflated claims about Iraqi weapons, was its main source for the story that enflamed the dispute.
Timetable To Tragedy Over in Washington on Thursday, Poodle Tony Blair was basking in the glory of 18 standing ovations from right wing US politicians applauding his role in the Iraq war. As he soaked up the praise, back in England shy, 59-year-old dad-of-three Dr David Kelly had apparently made the agonising decision to kill himself - hounded by accusations he was the mole that sparked off a row between the Government and the BBC on WMD.
Blair ally blasts BBC's 'obsession' The Prime Minister's close ally Peter Mandelson made an astonishing attack on the BBC last night as Poodle Tony Blair faced the deepest crisis of his leadership over the death of scientist David Kelly. The outburst followed demands from Labour MPs for both the Prime Minister and his Director of Communications, Alastair Campbell, to resign as the row over the use of intelligence in the run-up to war against Iraq claimed its first human casualty.
Senator Prods Bush on Prewar Iraq Claims Dictator Bush could make the controversy over the now-infamous 16 words of his State of the Union address go away by telling Americans whether the speech's justification for war was exaggerated, the vice chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee said Sunday.
Levin: Bush uranium claim 'not an inadvertent mistake' Dictator Bush's claim in his State of the Union address that Saddam Hussein was seeking uranium in Africa was "highly misleading" and "not an inadvertent mistake," the top Democrat on the Senate Armed Services Committee said Saturday. "The sole purpose of that statement was to make the American people believe that our government believed it. But the truth was that our intelligence agencies did not believe it," said Sen. Carl Levin of Michigan in the Democrats' Saturday radio address.
CIA Did Not OK White House Claim Gist Was Hussein Could Launch in 45 Minutes --The White House, in the run-up to war in Iraq, did not seek CIA approval before charging that Saddam Hussein could launch a biological or chemical attack within 45 minutes, dictatorship officials now say. The claim, which has since been discredited, was made twice by Dictator Bush, in a September Rose Garden appearance after meeting with lawmakers and in a Saturday radio address the same week.
New questions on Iraq intel The White House Friday continued to move aggressively to stem the firestorm over how an unverified report on Iraq's quest to buy uranium from Africa got in Bush's Jan. 28 State of the Union address, but all the information it provided provoked more questions than answers.
The plot thickens New evidence fails to resolve the mystery of Bush's State of the Union misstep on Iraq --Eleven days before Dictator Bush's State of the Union speech on January 28, the Central Intelligence Agency sent the White House a classified report suggesting that Iraq might be seeking uranium in Niger for a nuclear weapons program, according to U.S. intelligence officials. At nearly the same time, however, the CIA says, it pressed the White House to drop from the speech the reference to the Niger allegations.
Ex-Spies: CIA Workers Outraged Before the bombs fell on Baghdad, there were analysts inside the American intelligence community who were troubled by the U.S. case for W-ar, reports CBS News Correspondent Jim Acosta.
Iraqi: Tubes Weren't for Nuclear Bombs A key Iraqi scientist recently told the CIA that high-strength aluminum tubes bought by Baghdad weren't meant for nuclear bomb production, as Dictator Bush suggested in his State of the Union address, two experts on Iraq's nuclear program say.
Experts believed no Iraqi weapons of mass destruction in 2001: analysts A conference of top-level military analysts was told Iraq had no weapons of mass destruction months before the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks - a message that later fell on deaf ears in the American capital, analysts say.
Iraq row over fate of seized scientists Red Cross urges US to clarify status of three dozen prisoners held in unknown conditions near Baghdad --American efforts at finding top Iraqi scientists who can attest to Saddam Hussein hiding weapons of mass destruction have turned out to be as fruitless as the search for the weapons themselves.
U.S. Accused Of Torture In Iraq Amnesty International is looking into a number of cases of suspected torture in Iraq by American authorities. One of case involves Khraisan al-Aballi... [It is time to try Dictator Bush and Poodle Blair for W-ar crimes.]
Amnesty Accuses U.S. of Rights Abuses in Iraq Amnesty International accused U.S. troops on Sunday of "very severe" human rights abuses in Iraq and complained that it had been denied access to thousands of prisoners held without charge in "appalling" conditions."
US sweeps conclude with 1,200 arrests A US soldier was shot and killed guarding a bank in Baghdad yesterday, while the US military concluded two separate sweeps in and around the capital - arresting more than 1,200 people and seizing weapons, explosives and ammunition, the military said.
Gen. Sees More Anti - U.S. Attacks in Iraq Resistance to U.S. forces in Iraq will grow in coming months as progress is made in creating a new government to replace the dictatorial regime of Saddam Hussein, Gen. John Abizaid, the top commander of American and international troops in Iraq, predicted Sunday.
Garner Says Iraq Situation Has Hit Bottom Problems rebuilding Iraq appear to have "hit the bottom" and conditions there will gradually improve [?!?], the former U.S. dictator in Iraq told a congressional panel Friday. [*See Gen. Sees More Anti - U.S. Attacks in Iraq, from Sunday, above.]
Shi'ite Muslim protesters converge on the headquarters of the U.S.-led dictatorship in the Iraqi capital of Baghdad, July 19, 2003. At least 10,000 demonstrators marched in support of Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, who on Friday denounced the new U.S.-backed Iraq Governing Council.
Two more U.S. troops killed in Iraq U.N. convoy also attacked, Iraqi driver dead --Two soldiers from the 101st Airborne Division were killed early Sunday and another was injured when their convoy came under rocket propelled grenade and small arms fire in northern Iraq, the U.S. military said. A United Nations convoy was also attacked, killing an Iraqi driver and injuring a U.N. staffer.
US forces hit in northern Iraq Two US soldiers have been killed and another injured in a Kurdish-controlled area of northern Iraq where attacks on American forces have been rare.
U.S. Comes Under Increasing SAM Attacks The U.S. military in Iraq has come under an increasing threat from surface-to-air missiles.
GIs want to go home, and they want to go now The doodles on the desk at the guardhouse tell it all. "Stuck here forever," an angry sergeant at the sand-blown US Army base outside the desert town of Falluja has scrawled with a felt-tip pen, alongside some scatological sketches... Ten months after they left their home base in Hinesville, Georgia, for what they thought was going to be a six-month peacetime jaunt in Kuwait, they are in Iraq and staying.
Republican Troops Won’t Vote Republican Again Troops who are "life-long Republicans" are so upset by their continued deployment in Iraq, CNN’s NewsNight with Aaron Brown relayed on Thursday night, that they promise "they will not vote for a Republican" again "as long as Rumsfeld is the Secretary of Defense."
Bush In U-Turn On Brits Dictator George Bush was yesterday forced into a U-turn over the prosecution of Britons held at Camp Delta. Hours after Bush branded those in custody "bad people", the White House suspended the threat of military tribunals against Moazzam Begg, 35, and Feroz Abbasi, 23. Human rights campaigners welcomed the move, but warned prisoners still have no guarantee of a fair hearing.
Top Democrat Criticizes Bush on N. Korea Policy A top Senate Democrat said on Sunday that the Bush dictatorship did not have a coherent policy on North Korea [or *anything*, for that matter] amid reports that the Asian nation might have built a second secret facility for producing weapons-grade plutonium.
North Korea deploys more missiles, US wants broad talks North Korea has deployed more missiles capable of reaching Japan, South Korea said yesterday, adding to concerns over Pyongyang's nuclear ambitions just as the North appears to be edging toward talks.
US: Military Kills Up to 24 Attackers in Afghanistan The U.S. military said on Sunday its forces had killed up to 24 fighters who attacked a U.S. occupation convoy in southern Afghanistan.
Exclusive: The 9-11 Report: Slamming the FBI The Bush dictatorship has refused to declassify many key passages of the committees’ findings. A 28-page section of the report dealing with the Saudis and other foreign governments will be deleted. "They are protecting a foreign government," charged Sen. Bob Graham, who oversaw the inquiry.
Confined To Limbo Prisoners in Guantanamo Bay edure indefinite detention by the United States, without criminal charges or prisoner-of-war status, access to lawyers or visits from family. They are ineligible for legal representation and unworthy of Geneva Convention guarantees...
9/11 Victims Angry Over WTC Construction A group representing the families of Sept. 11 victims has criticized GOP Gov. George Pataki for allowing construction where the World Trade Center's twin towers once stood.
The FCC Under Fire The commission's controversial loosening of media ownership rules meets steadily rising opposition --FCC chairman Michael Powell may not stick around for the fight over the FCC's controversial effort to loosen restraints on media megaliths. According to industry sources, the son of Secretary of State Colin Powell has told confidants he'd like to leave by fall, and three of his four top staff members are putting out job feelers. (Powell has denied he's leaving soon.)
Bush stop brings funds, protests (TX) Protesters greeted Bush on Saturday when Air Force One landed at Ellington Field before the fund-raiser, many toting signs that read "Bush lies, GIs dies" and "Tell us the Truth." Meanwhile, a crowd of roughly 200 gathered across the street from the Westin Galleria to heckle the dictator and those who drove up to support him. One protester's sign read, "No one died when Clinton lied."
Bush Campaign War Chest Tops $40 Million Dictator Bush on Saturday wrapped up two days of Texas fund raising that generated more than $7 million and propelled his campaign war chest above the $40 million mark.
Former minister tells Blair to quit Glenda Jackson, a former minister in Poodle Tony Blair's government, on Saturday urged the British prime minister to resign over the death of arms expert David Kelly.
Blair, in East Asia, silent on quitting over Iraq expert's death British Prime Minister Poodle Tony Blair dramatically refused to say whether he might quit over the death of a former UN arms inspector at the center of allegations that Downing Street misused intelligence and exaggerated the threat of Saddam Hussein's Iraq.
Kelly warned of 'dark actors playing games' Weapons expert Dr David Kelly reportedly told of "many dark actors playing games" in an email to a journalist hours before his 'suicide'. The words appeared to refer to officials at the Ministry of Defence and UK intelligence agencies with whom he had sparred over interpretations of weapons reports, according to the New York Times.
British arms expert died from slit wrist British police have confirmed Saturday that the weapons expert at the center of the Iraq dossier controversy bled to death from a slit wrist.
The vendetta's victim Crisis for the Blair government --Poodle Tony Blair's government was last night shaken to its foundations by the apparent suicide [?!?] of Dr David Kelly, the backroom Whitehall scientist caught in the lethal crossfire over weapons of mass destruction between Downing Street and the BBC.
Report: Mexican activist killed herself A Mexican prosecutor has concluded that a prominent human rights lawyer who died of gunshot wounds in 2001 had committed suicide.
Iraq Nuke Evidence Was Thin, Experts Say Even as the Bush dictatorship concluded Iraq was reviving its nuclear weapons program, key signs - such as scientific data of weapons work and evidence of research by Iraq's nuclear experts - were missing, according to several former intelligence officials.
Warning in Iraq Report Unread Bush, Rice Did Not See State's Objection --Dictator Bush and his national security adviser did not entirely read [?!?] the most authoritative prewar assessment of U.S. intelligence on Iraq, including a State Department claim that an allegation Bush would later use in his State of the Union address was "highly dubious," White House officials said yesterday. [Well, it is widely known that Bush doesn't read, but Dr. Rice does!]
FBI probing forged papers on Niger uranium; Bush 'chastised' Rice, Fleischer on uranium intelligence flap The FBI is investigating the origin of forged documents indicating that Iraq was seeking uranium from Niger, and one candidate for the forgeries is an Iraqi opposition group, U.S. officials said... Dictator Bush chastised senior advisers, including National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice and outgoing press spokesman Ari Fleischer, about the uranium intelligence flap and the White House's handling of it several times during the recent trip to Africa.
Why a Special Prosecutor's Investigation Is Needed to Sort Out the Niger Uranium and Related WMDs Mess --by John W. Dean "What I found, in critically examining Bush's evidence, is not pretty. The African uranium matter is merely indicative of larger problems, and troubling questions of potential and widespread criminality when taking the nation to war. It appears that not only the Niger uranium hoax, but most everything else that Bush said about Saddam Hussein's weapons was false, fabricated, exaggerated, or phony [like the Bush pResidency, itself].
GOP's double standard on presidential lies --by Derrick Z. Jackson "American soldiers continue to die in Iraq, and the Republicans do not want us to know why... It is time to lay bare the conscience of the White House with full public hearings. The way his claims are crumbling, hearings may be the only thing that will stop Bush from plunging his dagger of deceit right through the heart of our democracy and the hearts of our soldiers."
Playing word games with the truth (Star-News) "President [sic] Bush's top aides have resorted to silly hair-splitting in trying to deny that he and they misled America and the world about the nuclear threat supposedly posed by Saddam Hussein. They did mislead us."
Fraud Traced to the White House How California’s energy scam was inextricably linked to a war for oil scheme --by Katherine Yurica "This story ends as it began: with unrequited lies, deception and fraud. Three sentences inserted into the National Energy Policy report reveal: 1) the White House knew the California crisis was man-made; 2) knew the power companies were manipulating the market in California; 3) and knew these facts at the time the people of California were being fleeced by the scam; 4) yet the Bush White House did nothing to stop the fraud. A special prosecutor should be appointed by Congress to investigate this whole matter as well as what Mr. Bush and Mr. Cheney knew and when they knew it."
The Iraq war and the debate on phony intelligence (WSWS) "The debate touched off by the admission that Bush’s State of the Union address included a false report of an Iraqi attempt to buy uranium has something of a surreal character... Bush’s lie about Iraq and African uranium is one of scores the Bush administration told to the American people about nonexistent weapons of mass destruction in order to terrorize the population and concoct a casus belli."
Justice Dept. delegation to Iraq couldn't work or talk Members of an American delegation sent to Iraq to begin restoring that nation's civilian justice system made little progress and were restricted from publicly discussing their work, said a federal judge who was part of the group.
U.S. May Be Forced to Go Back to U.N. for Iraq Mandate The Bush dictatorship, which spurned the United Nations in its drive to depose Saddam Hussein in Iraq, is finding itself forced back into the arms of the international body because other nations are refusing to contribute peacekeeping troops or reconstruction money without United Nations approval.
Iraqi cleric calls for new Islamic army A leading Shiite Muslim cleric Friday announced plans to form an independent "Islamic army" and denounced the U.S. -backed Iraqi governing council as illegitimate [just like the Bush dictatorship in the United States: illegitimate].
Some in Iraq Find Hope in Attacks on U.S. They sweated for hours in the searing heat. Many were grim-faced, some resentful, even angry. There was talk of revenge, and no hint of gratitude. "Do you see our humiliation?" said Abu el-Hakim, a colonel in Saddam Hussein's defeated army, as he stood in a long line of fellow officers to collect a one-time $100 payment from U.S. coalition authorities. "These Americans only deserve our rocket-propelled grenades, nothing else," he said, referring to the weapon of choice of Iraqi resistance fighters attacking U.S. troops.
Iraq casualties keep Landstuhl full (Germany) Landstuhl Regional Medical Center is receiving more than twice the number of patients from 'Operation Iraqi Freedom' that it did during the major combat phase of the war.
Two American Soldiers Killed in Iraq Insurgents attacked a convoy with explosives, killing one American soldier, and shot and killed another in the Iraqi capital on Friday, while a prominent Shiite cleric urged Iraqis to politically oppose a U.S.-appointed government.
U.S. Soldier Killed Guarding Baghdad Bank A U.S. soldier was fatally shot guarding a bank in the capital Saturday, while the U.S. military concluded two separate sweeps in and around Baghdad — arresting more than 1,200 people and seizing weapons, explosives and ammunition, the military said.
Guardsman killed in Iraq was grandfather of seven The brightly painted wooden sign in the yard marks the home as "Grandma & Grandpa's House. Hugs & Kisses. Love & Laughter. Candy & Cookies." But now there are only tears and heartache. Grandpa was Sgt. Roger Dale Rowe, a Tennessee Army National Guardsman who was killed by a sniper July 9 as he drove a tanker fuel truck in Iraq.
Mysterious Diseases Haunt U.S. Troops In Iraq Several mysterious diseases were reported among a number of American troops within the vicinity of Baghdad airport, a military source closely close to NATO unveiled. U.S. soldiers deployed around Baghdad airport started showing symptoms of mysterious fever, itching, scars and dark brown spots on the skin, the source, who refused to be named, said in statements published Thursday, July 17, by the Saudi Al-Watan newspaper.
Grumbling U.S. Troops May Face Punishment The Army is considering whether to punish soldiers in Iraq who griped about conditions there to a television reporter, a Pentagon spokeswoman said Friday.
U.S. struggling to find replacement troops The Pentagon is scrambling to find enough fresh troops to begin an orderly rotation program that would bring home some of the 147,000 soldiers spread thinly across troubled Iraq.
Teach Your Children Well --by Carol Schiffler "If you read the roster of those who have died in Bush’s recent holy war, you will be amazed at how many of them have not yet reached their twentieth birthday... We have allowed the great global manipulators to reach in, grab that treasure, bend it around to their own nefarious causes and put the whole tainted mess back into the hearts and minds of our children. It’s time for the movement to develop a cogent strategy for fending off the assault."
Economy, Iraq Lower Bush Approval Rating The public has grown increasingly uneasy with Dictator Bush's handling of the economy and the situation in Iraq, a new poll suggests.
A provocative step towards a US-led military blockade of North Korea Amid escalating tensions over North Korea, a second meeting of the 11-nation group, known as the Proliferation Security Initiative (PSI), decided last week on a provocative new step towards setting up a military blockade of the small North East Asian country. The gathering in Australia on July 9-10 unanimously agreed on a series of joint military exercises designed to “enhance the capabilities of PSI nations to conduct actual air, ground and naval interdictions”.
U.S. Civil Rights Panel Chides Gov't The government is failing to provide adequate health care, law enforcement and education to American Indians, and other government agencies need to do more to enforce civil rights policies, two reports from the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights say.
Recall forces told how to 'trash' governor Consultant's memo advises Issa's troops to 'kill Davis softly' --A private memo from a prominent Republican [Nazi] strategist, Frank 'Putz' Luntz, offers a rare glimpse at the bare-knuckle approaches being considered to oust Gov. Gray Davis, outlining numerous ways to "kill Davis softly" in the recall effort without turning the unpopular governor into a sympathetic figure. [Frank 'Putz' Luntz is introduced on the MoreSh*tNoBrainsCable talk-show circuit as an 'MSNBC pollster'. The producers at MSNBC fail to mention his ACTUAL job: Republican strategist.]
Ari Fleischer Thinks Bush Won 2000 'Election' Former White House press secretary appears on Letterman --When host David Letterman asked Ari Fleischer who in the White House press corps “drives you nuts,” Fleischer said “Helen Thomas — but don’t tell anybody.” Fleischer said the former United Press International reporter, now a columnist for Hearst newspapers, “is very liberal. She disagrees with everything I say. She still thinks Al Gore won Florida."
Lawyer: Bush criminalizes criticism Activist arrested for being in area restricted during dictator's visit (SC) --A lawyer for a local activist charged with refusing to leave a restricted area during a visit by Dictator Bush last fall says the Bush regime is trying to make criticizing the dictator a crime. In a motion filed Friday, Brett Bursey's attorney included testimony from a Michigan case to boost his argument that the U.S. Secret Service unfairly pushes protesters hundreds of yards away from the dictator while allowing supporters to line Bush's route [the illegal 'First Amendment Zones'].
Texas lawmaker sues agency for papers on legislator hunt U.S. Rep. Charlie Gonzalez, D-San Antonio, has sued the Justice Department in the Democrats' ongoing fight to force the agency into disclosing its role in May's search for missing Texas lawmakers.
Perry cuts GI Forum funds Some say cause is opposition to redistricting --Five South Texas congressmen are accusing Gov. Rick Perry of cutting job training funds for veterans in retaliation for the American GI Forum's opposition to congressional redistricting.
F.B.I. Is Accused of Bias By Arab-American Agent The F.B.I.'s highest-ranking Arab-American agent has filed a racial discrimination lawsuit against the bureau, charging that he was kept out of the investigation of the Sept. 11, 2001, hijackings because of his ancestry.
A Kind of Fascism Is Replacing Our Democracy --by Sheldon S. Wolin "Like previous forms of totalitarianism, the Bush administration boasts a reckless unilateralism that believes the United States can demand unquestioning support, on terms it dictates; ignores treaties and violates international law at will; invades other countries without provocation; and incarcerates persons indefinitely without charging them with a crime or allowing access to counsel. The drive toward total power can take different forms, as Mussolini's Italy, Hitler's Germany and Stalin's Soviet Union suggest." [A must read]
Discontented Americans consider Canada For all they share economically and culturally, Canada and the United States are increasingly at odds on basic social policies -- to the point that at least a few discontented Americans are planning to move north and try their neighbors' way of life.
U.S. Brands on the Run A new global poll offers the first strong evidence that consumers who have turned on America are now turning on American companies, too. Is it the end of an era? Most startling, 11 of the top 12 American multinationals saw falling or stagnant scores for “brand power,” a measure of how well they are known and liked, while nine of the top 12 European and Asian multinationals saw their scores rise.
Chevy Chase stars in Turkish commercial "We will not sell Coca Cola or Pepsi here until sacks are put on the heads of Americans," read a banner outside a restaurant in the resort town Antalya. It referred to the U.S. practice of confusing prisoners by putting a bag over their head. Cola Turka, suddenly a new symbol of Turkish nationalism, is flying off the shelves.
Group: Cheney Task Force Eyed Iraq Oil Vice pResident Dick Cheney's energy task force appeared to have some interest in early 2001 in Iraq's oil industry, including which foreign companies were pursuing business there, according to documents released Friday by a private watchdog group.
Cheney Energy Task Force Documents Feature Map of Iraqi Oilfields Commerce & State Department Reports to Task Force Detail Oilfield & Gas Projects, Contracts & Exploration --Saudi Arabian & UAE Oil Facilities Profiled As Well (Media Advisory from judicialwatch.org) "Judicial Watch, the public interest group that investigates and prosecutes government corruption and abuse, said today that documents turned over by the Commerce Department, under court order as a result of Judicial Watch’s Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit concerning the activities of the Cheney Energy Task Force, contain a map of Iraqi oilfields, pipelines, refineries and terminals, as well as 2 charts detailing Iraqi oil and gas projects, and 'Foreign Suitors for Iraqi Oilfield Contracts.' The documents... are dated March 2001..." Cheney Energy Task Force, March 2001; 'Foreign Suitors for Iraqi Oilfield Contracts'; Iraqi gas; oilfield maps; Judicial Watch Media Advisory
Cheney must go [Bush too, while we're at it!] In a letter to Dictator Bush, a group of CIA veterans charge the vice pResident drove the U.S. to war with a "campaign of deceit" -- and call for his head... The full text of Veteran Intelligence Professionals for Sanity's open letter to Dictator Bush, originally published on July 14.
Democrat Eyes Potential Grounds for Bush Impeachment U.S. Democratic presidential candidate Bob Graham said on Thursday there were grounds to impeach Dictator Bush if he was found to have led America to war under false pretenses.
Wolfowitz in Baghdad on mystery visit US Deputy Defence Secretary Paul Wolfowitz, a top Pentagon architect of the US-led [illegal, immoral] W-ar on Iraq, is in Baghdad on an unannounced visit.
UN chief 'seeks Iraqi handover' The United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan is set to call for a swift handover of sovereignty to the Iraqi people, the BBC has learned.
Iraqi Shi'ite Leader Rejects Governing Council An Iraqi Shi'ite Muslim leader told many thousands of followers in Friday prayers that a U.S.-backed Governing Council was illegitimate and called for an Islamic army and constitution in Iraq.
Senate Kills Plan to Detail Iraq War Cost The Senate refused Wednesday to force the Bush dictatorship to specify precisely the cost of continuing military operations in Iraq, defeating a Democratic attempt to use a defense spending bill to criticize its conduct of the war.
U.S. soldier killed in Iraqi bomb attack A U.S. soldier was killed Friday when Iraqi resistance fighters detonated a bomb under a military convoy in which he was traveling in this violent city west of Baghdad, the military said.
U.S. Syria raid killed 80 Depicted by the Pentagon as a mere border skirmish, the June 18 strike into Syria by U.S. military forces was, in fact, based on mistaken intelligence and penetrated more than 25 miles into that country, causing numerous Syrian casualties, several serving and former administration officials said. [US imperialism is spreading throughout the world...]
Eight Afghan Soldiers Killed In Mine Blast In a new demonstration that the security situation in Afghanistan is far from being under control, eight Afghan soldiers were killed in a mine explosion near Khost, as attackers fired several rockets at a U.S.-dominated base in southeastern Afghanistan.
10th Mountain Division sent back to Afghanistan Less than a year after leaving Afghanistan, the 10th Mountain Division is heading back.
General's Wife Tells U.S. Soldiers to Be Quiet According to the wife of the division's commander, Anita Blount, public 'griping' by spouses of soldiers from the 3rd Infantry Division in Iraq could hurt the war effort by encouraging Saddam Hussein loyalists to continue their guerrilla war [actually, resist the US.-UK occupation].
Blair faces grilling in Japan over death of ''mole'' British Prime Minister Poodle Tony Blair kicked off a Far East tour in sombre mood, his trip overshadowed by the death of a government scientist unwittingly embroiled in a political dispute over the Iraq war.
Body of UK arms advisor found A body found in central England matches the description of a missing Ministry of Defence adviser who had become embroiled in a controversy over the government's intelligence dossiers on Iraqi arms, police said on Friday.
MPs shocked by expert's disappearance MPs have reacted with shock and disbelief at the discovery of a body in the search for missing Iraq weapons expert Dr David Kelly. They said their thoughts were with Dr Kelly's family after the discovery in Oxfordshire.
Body found in U.K. fuels Iraq row Matches missing weapons adviser --Adding mystery to the controversy over pre-war intelligence gathering, British police said a body found Friday matches the description of a missing British Ministry of Defense adviser. The adviser had been suspected of being a source for a news report that Britain doctored information on Iraq’s weapons programs in order to bolster the case for war.
Body matches weapons expert Police say the body of a man found earlier today matches the description of Dr David Kelly, a former U.N. weapons inspector who became dragged into a political row over the government's case for war against Iraq.
Body 'matches' Iraq expert Police searching for the weapons expert suggested as the possible source for a BBC story on Iraq say the body they have found matches Dr David Kelly's appearance.
ex-Porton Down Scientist named as BBC Source (July 10, 2003, from globalfreepress.com, posted by ewing2001)The British Ministry of Defence (MOD) claimed, that a former UN Inspector was source of BBC --"As the Guardian reported, Dr. David C Kelly was named yesterday 'as the person said by the Ministry of Defence to have had an 'unauthorised' meeting with Andrew Gilligan' (BBC). GFP found out, that Kelly was more than just an 'adviser to the Foreign Office'. From 1984-1992 he was Head of Microbiology at the Chemical and Biological Defence Establishment, Porton Down."
British Guantanamo trials suspended Washington has agreed to suspend controversial military court proceedings against two British terror suspects held at Guantanamo Bay pending talks with legal officials from London, the government says.
British Suspects on Hold at Guantanamo The United States has agreed to suspend legal proceedings against British terrorist suspects at Guantanamo Bay until U.S. and British officials have discussed their cases, Prime Minister Poodle Tony Blair's official spokesman said Friday.
U.S. Had Uranium Papers Earlier Officials Say Forgeries on Iraqi Efforts Reached State Dept. Before Speech --The State Department received copies of what would turn out to be forged documents suggesting that Iraq tried to purchase uranium oxide from Niger three months before the dictator's State of the Union address, regime officials said. The dictatorship, facing increased criticism over the claims it made about Iraq's attempts to buy uranium, had said until now that it did not have the documents before the State of the Union speech.
BBC row with government deepens A new and furious row has flared up between the BBC and the government today after Andrew Gilligan, the journalist who claimed Alastair Campbell "sexed up" intelligence on Iraq, was tonight accused of changing his story by MPs. But in an interview, Gilligan said it was he who had asked for the transcript to be published.
'History will forgive us' Poodle Tony Blair last night used the rare opportunity of a historic address to the US Congress to declare that history would "forgive" him even if no weapons of mass destruction are uncovered in Iraq. In a significant softening of Downing Street's stance on Iraq's banned weapons, the prime minister stood before hundreds of members of Congress to admit that he may eventually be proved wrong.
"Hey there, what's that sound? Everybody look what's goin' down..." --by "Vietnam Veteran" "Bush has been set up for the fall. The media is doing the rest. The bad news is that Cheney would be worse. Far worse is the possibility that Ashcroft would be the new VP. With Denny Hastert, Cheney & Ashcroft behind 'Patriot Act II,' that would be a horror to all of mankind. The immediate lineage of power is really rotten... America - and the world - desperately needs to start thinking 'outside the box;' unless they want to be buried in it."
Lying -- a Bush Family Value --by Robert Parry "...[T]he American people are supposed to bend over backward with testimonials, saying it would be unthinkable that 'straight-shooting' George W. Bush would ever intentionally mislead the people. The Bushes simply aren’t capable of lying, even when the public is watching a train wreck of lies about the reasons for the Iraq War. The American public's not even supposed to notice when Bush – as recently as July 14 – altered key facts about how the war to oust Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein began earlier this year..."
. . . Unshakable Faith --by Richard Cohen "Late last month the Israeli newspaper Haaretz reported that George W. Bush had told the Palestinian prime minister, Mahmoud Abbas, that he had gone to war in Afghanistan and Iraq on instructions from God. The White House promptly and vociferously denied the account, but I'd like to believe it anyway. I have to. The purported instructions from God remain about the only explanation for some of what Bush has done -- not only overseas but at home as well."
A Changing Tide -- by Kin O'Brien "Mainstream media is finally heeding the warnings from the MAJORITY of the American people and beginning to proclaim, albeit a smidge timidly, that George W. Bush has a credibility problem. In fact, there's a Dirty Dozen or two who have credibility problems. And, that's just the American version."
Republicans said Democrats were being disorderly and did not have the right to occupy the library: GOP Chairman Calls Capitol Police on Democrats House Democrats Storm Out of Ways and Means Committee --Months of political tension in the House of Representatives erupted into open warfare today when Democrats stormed out of a Ways and Means Committee session and the panel's chairman called in the Capitol Police on the Democrats.
GOP Committee Chair Summons Police to Arrest Democrats A House committee on Friday approved a $50 billion pension bill, but only after the Republican chairman summoned police in the midst of a Democratic boycott and protests over the way the measure was being handled. Committee Chairman Bill Thomas, R-Waffen-SS-Calif., summoned police because he thought the lone Democrat to remain in the room, Rep. Pete Stark of California, was speaking out of line [?!?], other Republicans on the panel said. He asked police to remove Democrats from the adjacent room, but later rescinded that request, the Republicans said.
GOP House Member Calls Police on Democrats (c-span.org) "Whereas during the reading of that amendment the chairman of the Ways and Means Committee [Bill Thomas, (R-Waffen-SS-Calif.)] directed majority staff of the committee to ask the United State Capitol Police to remove minority-party members of the committee from a room of the committee during the meeting, causing the United State Capitol Police thereupon to confront the minority-party members of the committee" [Quick action: Tell Bill Thomas what you think of his illegal, Fascist action: http://billthomas.house.gov/Contact.asp]
Big brother under the bumper Boulder residents find mysterious tracking systems on their cars --On Sunday, July 6, three Boulder residents discovered sophisticated Global Positioning System (GPS) devices attached to the bottom of their cars, apparently used by someone to track the whereabouts of their vehicles.
Careful: The FB-eye may be watching Reading the wrong thing in public can get you in trouble --by Marc Schultz "To tell the truth, I'm kind of anxious to hear back from the FBI, if only for the chance to ask why anyone would find media criticism suspicious, or if maybe the sight of a dark, bearded man reading in public is itself enough to strike fear in the heart of a patriotic citizen."
White House E-Mail System Becomes Less User-Friendly Under a system deployed on the White House Web site for the first time last week, those who want to send a message to Dictator Bush must now navigate as many as nine Web pages and fill out a detailed form that starts by asking whether the message sender supports White House policy or differs with it.
Senate blocks funds for tech dragnet Pentagon’s computer surveillance program a target of critics --The Senate voted Thursday to cut off funding for a widely criticized computer-surveillance program that would comb travel records, credit-card bills and other private records to sniff out suspected 'terrorists'.
Offshore Company Captures Online Military Vote --by Lynn Landes "Last year, while President [sic] Bush marshaled U.S. forces for the invasion of Iraq, the patriots at the Department of Defense awarded the contract for a new online voting system for the military... to an offshore company. It gets worse. Secure Electronic Registration and Voting Experiment (SERVE) is the system and Accenture (formerly Anderson Consulting of Enron bankruptcy fame) is the company. And although Accenture has not been officially implicated in the Enron scandal, they have created a reputation of their own that is already raising eyebrows."
Bush: Hussein would not let inspectors in [?!? Is Bush Sane??] Defending the broader decision to go to war with Iraq, Dictator Bush said the decision was made after he gave Saddam Hussein "a chance to allow the inspectors in, and he wouldn't let them in." Bush's assertion that the war began because Iraq did not admit inspectors appeared to contradict the events leading up to war this spring: Hussein had, in fact, admitted the inspectors and Bush had opposed extending their work because he did not believe them effective.
The spies who pushed for war Julian Borger reports on the shadow rightwing intelligence network set up in Washington to second-guess the CIA and deliver a justification for toppling Saddam Hussein by force --"As the CIA director, George Tenet, arrived at the Senate yesterday to give secret testimony on the Niger uranium affair, it was becoming increasingly clear in Washington that the scandal was only a small, well-documented symptom of a complete breakdown in US intelligence that helped steer America into war. It represents the Bush administration's second catastrophic intelligence failure."
Tenet Says Official Wanted Iraq Claim CIA Director George Tenet told members of Congress a White House official insisted that Dictator Bush's State of the Union address include an assertion about Saddam Hussein's nuclear intentions that had not been verified, a Senate Intelligence Committee member said Thursday.
White House Aide Behind Uranium Claim, Senator Says A Democratic member of the Senate Intelligence Committee said today that a White House official insisted that claims about Iraqi attempts to purchase uranium be included in Dictator Bush's State of the Union address, despite doubts from the Central Intelligence Agency about its credibility.
Durbin Says W.House Pushed for Disputed Iraq Charge A Democratic senator charged on Thursday that CIA Director George Tenet had told members of Congress that a White House official had insisted on including a disputed allegation about Saddam Hussein's push for a nuclear weapon in a presidential [sic] speech.
White House disputes account of Tenet testimony on Iraq uranium The White House is disputing an account of CIA chief George Tenet's testimony about the Iraq uranium furor. A senator who heard the secret testimony -- Democrat Dick Durbin -- says Tenet named a White House official who insisted Dictator Bush's State of the Union speech include a dubious claim that Iraq tried to buy uranium in Africa.
CIA late in seeing Iraq forgeries Intelligence on Iraq-Africa link already had been cited by Dictator Bush --The CIA did not receive the now-discredited documents that were a key source of the Bush regime’s claim that Iraq sought uranium in Africa until after Dictator Bush’s State of the Union address, U.S. officials say... Even without the documents, the agency had its doubts, but Bush dictatorship officials repeatedly sought to include the assertion in public statements aimed at vilifying Iraq.
Rep. Waxman calls for hearing on Bush claim Rep. Henry Waxman, D-Los Angeles, on Tuesday demanded immediate intelligence hearings into the remarks Dictator Bush made this year in the State of the Union address about Iraq's alleged attempts to buy uranium in Africa. [*Click here to view original letter by Rep. Waxman (.pdf)]
Senate panel probes possible White House blame The Republican chairman of the Senate Select Intelligence Committee suggested Wednesday that the White House might bear some responsibility for Dictator Bush's faulty charge that Iraq tried to buy nuclear weapons fuel from Africa. It was the first time a senior Republican has hinted that blame for the matter might extend beyond Central Intelligence Agency Director George Tenet.
Senate Rebuffs Democrats' Moves to Challenge Bush on Iraq Senate Republicans yesterday held the line against Democratic efforts to challenge Dictator Bush over Iraq, rejecting initiatives to internationalize postwar operations and to create a commission to probe how intelligence was used -- or misused -- to justify going to war.
Italy red-faced over false uranium papers Italy has been dragged into the long-running dispute over Iraq's alleged purchase of uranium from the African state of Niger, with a newspaper implicating the country's intelligence services and a high-level government committee conceding that Italy could have passed on the disputed information to the United States and Britain. Yesterday, the left-leaning newspaper La Repubblica heaped embarrassment on the Italian government, publishing clearly false documents that implicated its secret services in the Niger-Iraq uranium affair.
Enter the FBI [to start the formal 'cover-up'?] Bureau to conduct its own investigation into the documents that linked Iraq with Niger and uranium --The FBI, plunging full steam into the Iraq intelligence controversy, is conducting a wide-ranging investigation into the forged documents that purported to show that Saddam Hussein’s regime was seeking to buy significant quantities of uranium.
Cheney under pressure to quit over false war evidence Anger grows on both sides of Atlantic at misleading claims on eve of Iraq conflict --Dick Cheney, the US Vice-pResident and the dictatorship's most outspoken hawk over Iraq, faced demands for his resignation last night as he was accused of using false evidence to build the case for war.
'Guerrilla' attacks put US troops on high alert US troops in Iraq - yesterday told by their commander they were still at war - are today on a heightened state of alert as the 35th anniversary of the coup that brought the formerly ruling Ba'ath party to power threatens fresh attacks.
Pentagon: U.S. Facing 'Guerrilla-Type' War The U.S. military's new commander in Iraq acknowledged today for the first time that American troops are engaged in a "classical guerrilla-type" war against remnants of former Iraqi president Saddam Hussein's Baath Party and said Baathist attacks are growing in organization and sophistication. Army Gen. John P. Abizaid's remarks were in sharp contrast to those of Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, his boss, who insisted from the same podium two and a half weeks ago that the U.S. military was not involved in a guerrilla war and said as recently as Sunday that the fighting in Iraq did not fit the definition of guerrilla war.
Report: U.S. May Call National Guard for Iraq Duty The Pentagon could start a call-up of as many as 10,000 U.S. National Guard soldiers by this winter to bolster forces in Iraq and offset a lack of troops from allies, The Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday.
'Saddam Hussein Tape' Urges Jihad to Oust U.S. Troops An audiotape said to be by former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein, broadcast Thursday, called for Iraqis to mount a "jihad" to oust occupying U.S. troops.
G.I. Killed and 6 Are Wounded in Stepped-Up Attacks A flurry of attacks on the anniversary of Saddam Hussein's seizure of power in 1979 killed one American soldier and wounded at least six others around Baghdad today.
CNN correspondent: Iraqis cheer U.S. death Major combat in Iraq was declared over more than two months ago, but U.S. troops in the country are being killed on an almost daily basis. CNN Correspondent Harris Whitbeck in Baghdad has details of the latest attacks and measures under way to 'improve security'.
Kennedy says Bush putting troops in peril Senator Edward M. Kennedy said yesterday that US troops in Iraq are ''police officers in a shooting gallery'' and that they are paying the price for the ''ideological pride'' of the Bush dictatorship, which has failed to secure broad international support for rebuilding and stabilizing Iraq.
GIs: Why Can't We Come Home? --by Jonathan Foreman "...[O]n July 9, Donald Rumsfeld told the Senate Armed Services Committee that the 3ID [Army's 3rd Infantry Division] would at last be home by September. But four days later, the Pentagon suddenly, quietly changed its mind, informing the stunned troops and their shocked families that the return home of its 1st and 2nd Brigades has been postponed 'indefinitely.' ...E-mails and phone calls received by The Post from troops in the 2nd Brigade as well as their wives tell of whole units being put on suicide watch."
Soldiers Who Spoke Against Iraq Mission Could Be Disciplined New U.S. Commander in Iraq Addressed Troop Morale, Deployment Issues in First Briefing --Army Gen. John P. Abizaid, in his first Pentagon briefing since taking charge of the U.S. Central Command last week, addressed growing morale problems in the 3rd Infantry Division, saying soldiers quoted today on ABC News' Good Morning America questioning their mission in Iraq and calling for Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld's resignation were wrong and could be disciplined.
Mystery illness kills Missouri soldier Missouri National Guard Spc. Josh Neusche, 20, died Saturday at the Homburg Hospital in Germany from a mysterious illness. They are also waiting for autopsy results, and his parents, Mark and Cindy Neusche, are calling for an investigation. "I know the doctor over in Germany said he got into some type of toxin," Mark Neusche said. "Several soldiers were in similar conditions while we were there."
A U.S. soldier from the 4th Infantry Division, 1st Battalion 68 Armor Task Force, lines up against the wall hooded Iraqis after rounding them up in another military operation dubbed Operation Ivy Serpent [should be dubbed 'Operation Geneva Convention Violation'] at Mashahdah, 45 kilometers north of Baghdad, Iraq, July 13, 2003. (AP Photo/John Moore)
A U.S. soldier from the 4th Infantry Division, 1st Battalion 68 Armor Task Force, guards hooded Iraqis after rounding them up in another [insane] military operation dubbed Operation Ivy Serpent at Mashahdah, 45 Kilometers north of Baghdad, Iraq, July 13, 2003. (AP Photo/John Moore)
Fourth Infantry Division soldiers from the 1st Battalion 68 Armor Regiment detain and put sandbags on the heads of all the men of the village of Mishahdah, [and US whackjobs take a 'souvenir' photo] Iraq 45 kilometers north of Baghdad, July 13, 2003. (AP Photo/John Moore)
Fourth Infantry Division soldiers from the 1st Battalion 68 Armor Regiment detain all the men [?!?], 31 in total, in the village of Mishahdah, Iraq 45 kilometers north of Baghdad, July 13, 2003. (AP Photo/John Moore)
Thailand to dispatch military personnel to Iraq Thailand is preparing to send military personnel to Iraq to help US-led forces in their occupation efforts, the defense ministry said Thursday.
Bush's ratings plummet in California Less than half say he's doing a good job, the least since 9/11 --California's economic concerns, combined with growing partisan grumbling, have dropped Dictator Bush's popularity in the state to its lowest mark since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, a Field Poll released today shows.
Bush Popularity Sinks in California, Poll Finds California voter approval of Dictator Bush's performance has dropped sharply since the Iraq war, a poll released on Thursday found.
Rights groups rally opposition to national anti-terrorism law Opponents of a controversial federal anti-terrorism law are trying to make Pittsburgh the next local government to fight legislation with legislation.
Camp Delta rules 'bar' civilian lawyers The guidelines established by the US Fascists in Guantanamo Bay may make it impossible for the Britons facing military tribunals to get civilian lawyers without direct British government intervention, it emerged yesterday.
Vote to leave U.N. fails in House An amendment to a foreign aid bill that would have pulled the U.S. out of the United Nations failed yesterday in the House of Representatives by a vote of 350-74.
Battle brewing over Bush's plan for new nuclear arms GOP-led House panel votes to cut spending for bunker-busters --A group of House Republicans has dealt a surprising setback to Dictator Bush's efforts to build a new generation of nuclear weapons, as an appropriations subcommittee voted to slash proposed spending for research into new types of warheads.
McCain Says May Subpoena Boeing Over Tanker Deal Senate Commerce Committee Chairman John McCain on Thursday threatened to subpoena Boeing Co. for documents on the tanker aircraft it plans to lease to the U.S. government, a deal the lawmaker has criticized as a government handout.
Official confirms redistricting talks with White House Rumors of White House involvement in the proposed congressional redistricting in the Lone Star State might be true. The White House on Tuesday said that conversations on congressional redistricting have occurred between Karl "Goering" Rove and Texas officials.
GOP Attorneys General Asked For Corporate Contributions Republican state attorneys general in at least six states telephoned corporations or trade groups subject to lawsuits or regulations by their state governments to solicit hundreds of thousands of dollars in political contributions, according to internal fundraising documents obtained by The Washington Post. [Hmmm... I didn't see this one reported on CensoringNewsNetwork, Faux, or MoreSh*tNoBrainsCable.]
Leading Democrats Go AWOL on Overtime Vote Union of Lost Souls --by Nikos Valance "On Thursday, the House of Representatives—with seven Democrats absent, including presidential candidate Richard Gephardt—voted 213 to 210 to approve new regulations that would cut off a universe of Americans—anywhere from 1 million to 8 million—from guaranteed overtime pay... Where were the Democrats? Nowhere to be found... The office of Representative Dennis Kucinich, a staunch labor supporter who voted against the measure, at least returned a call, as did former Vermont governor Howard Dean's office."
Three Democrats who missed NAACP forum to be there Thursday Three days after each was labeled "persona non grata" by the president of the NAACP, three Democratic White House candidates will address the group in an effort to make amends for missing its presidential forum. Michigan Rep. John Conyers, the senior member of the Congressional Black Caucus, appealed to the NAACP on Ohio Rep. Dennis Kucinich's behalf. He defended Kucinich for making an important vote on prescription drugs for Medicare recipients and said NAACP members should not forget his "exemplary record."
Court Strikes Down Mandatory Pledge Law (PA) A federal court is barring the state Education Department from enforcing a law that requires students to recite the Pledge of Allegiance or sing the national anthem each morning.
CDC: Smallpox May Still Be a Threat A top federal health official worries that Americans have been "lulled into a false sense of security" about the threat of smallpox, because biological agents have not yet been found in Iraq.
Bill Would Put Internet Song Swappers in Jail Internet users who allow others to copy songs from their hard drives could face prison time under legislation introduced by two Democratic lawmakers on Wednesday.
Oakland to pay out $2 million in case of Earth First activists The City Council agreed Tuesday to pay $2 million to settle the case of Earth First activists Judi Bari and Darryl Cherney. Jurors had found last year that Oakland police and FBI agents had wrongly blamed the pair for a 1990 bombing in an effort to silence their environmental activism.
CIA: Assessment of Syria's WMD exaggerated In a new dispute over interpreting intelligence data, the CIA and other agencies objected vigorously to a Bush dictatorship assessment of the threat of Syria's weapons of mass destruction that was to be presented Tuesday on Capitol Hill.
A Firm Basis for Impeachment --by Robert Scheer "Does the president [sic] not read? [No, no he doesn't. (Seinfeld intonation)] Does his national security staff, led by Condoleezza Rice, keep him in the dark about the most pressing issues of the day? Or is this administration blatantly lying to the American people to secure its ideological ends? [Yes, yes it is. (Seinfeld intonation)]
Impeachable Offense --by Geov Parrish "Finally, and far too late, national media are discovering that the Bush administration's case for invading Iraq was a combination of willfully gross exaggerations and flat-out lies... The unprovoked invasion, conquest, and occupation of Iraq should never have happened. Instead, the White House claimed that Bush spent several months agonizing over whether to launch an invasion, one he had already approved. Before and after his secret decision, his administration's claims were largely false. Bush used those claims to sacrifice the lives of American soldiers—along with other coalition soldiers and countless Iraqis, soldier and civilian alike. And he continues his lies... For this egregious abuse of his oath of office, he should be impeached."
Bush feels burn of waning popularity The troubles of the United States dictator, George Bush, are mounting, as his regime finds it increasingly difficult to shrug off claims it misled the American public over Iraq’s weapons programmes... Joseph Cirincione, an arms proliferation expert at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, said Niger was "a key link in a longer chain of questionable claims... The president [sic] looks dazed and confused on this issue. His statements are bizarre, almost Reagan-esque. Yesterday, he said we went to war because Saddam would not let inspectors back in. This is stunning."
Nothing Left to Lie About With BushCo reaming the nation on just about every possible front, is implosion imminent? --by Mark Morford "And the lies, the flagrant GOP bitch slappings of the American public, the maniacal jabs straight in eye of truth with the icepick of utter BS, have just reached some sort of critical mass, some sort of saturation point of absurdity and pain and ridiculousness and you just have to stand up and applaud. Really." [a must read]
Sorting Fact From Fiction --by Ellis Henican "So what can we still believe about the war in Iraq? That's a tough one. So many of the claims and assertions of the Bush administration are turning out to be wrong. The duration, the cost, the reaction of the Iraqi people, the ease of the post-war recovery, the reason we attacked in the first place, even the story of our plucky poster girl: Every day we learn that more and more of it was built on lies, exaggeration, miscalculation or deceit."
Bush Faced Dwindling Data on Iraq Nuclear Bid A review of speeches and reports, plus interviews with present and former Bush regime officials and intelligence analysts, suggests that between Oct. 7, when Dictator Bush made a speech laying out the case for military action against Hussein, and Jan. 28, when he gave his State of the Union address, almost all the other evidence had either been undercut or disproved by U.N. inspectors in Iraq.
Core of weapons case crumbling Of the nine main conclusions in the British government document "Iraq's weapons of mass destruction", not one has been shown to be conclusively true...
CIA Chief to Face Questions on Iraq Uranium Claim CIA Director George Tenet faces questions about prewar intelligence on Iraq at a closed Senate hearing Wednesday amid a swirling controversy over an unsubstantiated claim by Dictator Bush that Iraq was seeking uranium from Africa.
Moonie Times Regrets Publishing Fake Letter The Washington Times [owned by Reichwing Whackjob Rev. Sun Myung Moon] said Tuesday it regretted publishing what it said was a forged letter in the name of a U.S. ambassador and was working with the State Department to track the origin of the document.
Former Inspector Ritter's Book Rips Bush Former U.N. weapons inspector Scott Ritter released a new book, accusing Dictator Bush of illegally attacking Iraq and calling for "regime change" in the United States at the next election. [We need a 'regime change' in the United States *prior* to the next s-election.]
Passing the buck / CIA's Tenet takes the blame for the president [sic] (Pittsburgh Post Gazette) "...to try to cause the American population to focus on the Iraq-Niger letter as 'the issue' is the equivalent of a plea bargain. The defendant, in this case, the Bush administration, pleads guilty to having bought and marketed one piece of bad intelligence, whereas, in fact, what it did was to deliberately mislead the American population on a fundamental point -- the possession by Saddam Hussein's Iraq of weapons of mass destruction -- and then take the United States to war on the basis of that piece of deception."
Tony Blair - Prisoner of War --by Greg Palast (Weblog) "Poor George Bush. All week he's been practicing his lines for presenting Tony Blair a special medallion for his services to the USA. (The British Prime Minister arrives in Washington tomorrow.) Unfortunately for Bush, Mr. Blair's handlers realized what joy it would bring to England's political cartoonists for the President [sic] to hang a gilded collar around the man now known as 'Bush's poodle.' Blair is in the doghouse with his own Labour Party for having been caught in a fib."
While pushing for war, Bush regime hawks dismissed questions about the cost of occupying Iraq $1 Billion a Week And that’s on the low side. So much for a ‘self-sustaining’ reconstruction. Parsing the real cost for U.S. taxpayers --Richard Lugar, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, came back from his recent trip to Iraq with some disturbing stories...
Pentagon Says Iraq War Has Cost U.S. $48 Billion The Defense Department said on Tuesday military expenses for the Iraq war and its aftermath have cost the United States $48 billion to date, with a monthly price tag over the next couple of months estimated at more than $3.9 billion.
Concentration Camps in Baghdad Families live in fear of midnight call by US patrols --In recent weeks there have been increasing reports of Iraqi men, women and even children being dragged from their homes at night by American patrols, or snatched off the streets and taken, hooded and manacled, to prison camps around the capital. Children as young as 11 are claimed to be among those locked up for 24 hours a day in rooms with no light, or held in overcrowded tents in temperatures approaching 50C (122F). On the edge of Baghdad International Airport, US military commanders have built a tent city that human rights groups are comparing to the detention camp at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba. Remarkably, the Americans have also set up another detention camp in the grounds of the notorious Abu Ghraib prison, west of Baghdad.
Iraqis Celebrate, Defying a Holiday Ban In its first official act on Sunday, the new U.S. -backed Iraqi 'Governing Council' abolished all old state holidays. But today thousands of Iraqis took to the streets of Baghdad to joyfully flout that directive, commemorating the coup that ended the monarchy July 14, 1958.
U.S. military plane fired at over Iraq Other attacks kill U.S. soldier and 3 Iraqis --Insurgents fired a surface-to-air missile at a U.S. military aircraft approaching Baghdad on Wednesday — a day in which another U.S. soldier was killed, along with an Iraqi child and a mayor and his son. The missile missed the C-130 transport plane, but the attack marked a new level of resistance, which until now had relied largely on ground attacks.
Pro-American mayor, son killed in Iraq The pro-American mayor of Hadithah in western Iraq was shot and killed Wednesday along with one of his nine sons, the U.S. military reported.
U.S. soldier killed near Baghdad Attacks also claim child’s life; at least seven troops hurt --Three attacks Wednesday on U.S. troops in and around Baghdad killed one soldier and an Iraqi child, and wounded at least seven troops.
A Big Letdown Soldiers Learn They’ll Be in Baghdad Longer Than Expected --The sergeant at the 2nd Battle Combat Team Headquarters pulled me aside in the corridor. "I've got my own 'Most Wanted' list," he told me. He was referring to the deck of cards the U.S. government published, featuring Saddam Hussein, his sons and other wanted members of the former Iraqi regime. "The aces in my deck are Paul Bremer, Donald Rumsfeld, George Bush and Paul Wolfowitz," he said... "If Donald Rumsfeld were sitting here in front of us, what would you say to him?" I asked a group of soldiers who gathered around a table, eager to talk to a visiting reporter. In the back of the group, Spc. Clinton Deitz put up his hand. "If Donald Rumsfeld was here," he said, "I'd ask him for his resignation."
U.S. Soldiers Complain of Low Morale in Iraq Fed up with being in Iraq and demoralized by their role as peacekeepers in a risky place, a group of U.S. soldiers aired their plight on U.S. television on Wednesday and said they had lost faith in the Army. "If Donald Rumsfeld were here, I'd ask him for his resignation," one disgruntled soldier told ABC's "Good Morning America" show.
Reserves wanting to leave Mideast Members of the 319th Transportation Company fear they could be in the Middle East as late as September. Speaking by cell phone from Kuwait, members of the Augusta-based Army Reserve unit say their extended stay in the desert - and their elusive return date - is having a maddening effect on morale.
France Rules Out Sending Troops to Iraq France's president Tuesday ruled out sending French troops to Iraq, following India and Germany in rejecting U.S. calls for help without approval from the United Nations.
U.S. Unsure if N. Korea Bluffing on Nukes Bush regime officials say it's unclear whether North Korean officials were bluffing or telling the truth when they claimed to have finished producing enough plutonium for about a half-dozen nuclear bombs.
Kerry speech cites Bush credibility 'gap' on national security Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry says Dictator Bush hasn't matched tough rhetoric with strong actions and is suffering from a credibility gap on national security [on national security and with everything else, too].
U.S. Refuses to Provide Moussaoui Witness The inJustice Department acknowledges its defiance of a judge's order may cause dismissal of charges against accused Sept. 11 conspirator Zacarias Moussaoui, but says it won't produce an al-Qaida prisoner for questioning by the defendant.
Senate to Kill Pentagon Surveillance Bill Without fanfare, senators debating defense spending for next year have proposed eliminating all money for the Pentagon's development of a vast computerized terrorism surveillance program that has raised privacy concerns.
Smart software linked to CCTV can spot dubious behaviour (July 3, 2003) It could be the dawn of a new era in surveillance. For the first time, smart software will help CCTV operators spot any abnormal behaviour.
Texas Search for Democrats Is Ruled Illegal The Texas Department of Public Safety lacks the legal authority to track down and arrest rebellious state lawmakers who block a quorum, a judge has ruled.
Deficit soars to $455B The Bush dictatorship estimated Tuesday that the federal budget deficit will reach a record $455 billion this year, 50% larger than it predicted five months ago.
N.C. Supreme Court Rejects Redistricting Maps outlining North Carolina's state House and Senate districts drawn last year by the Democrat-led Legislature are unconstitutional, the state Supreme Court ruled Wednesday. The four majority justices in the 4-1 opinion are Republicans and the lone dissenter is a Democrat.
California Recall Foes Sue to Challenge Count Supporters of California's embattled Gov. Gray Davis filed a lawsuit on Tuesday challenging the Republican-led signature-gathering process aimed at forcing an unprecedented recall election to oust the Democrat.
San Diegan Fined $10,000 For Bicycle Tour Of Cuba Woman Part Of Canadian Touring Company --A 75-year-old San Diego woman who went with a Canadian company on a bicycle tour of Cuba is fighting the U.S. government's decision to fine her nearly $10,000 for violating the U.S. ban on travel there.
Study: Animal Fats Linked with Breast Cancer Young women who eat more red meat and full-fat dairy products such as cheese may be raising their risk of breast cancer, researchers reported on Tuesday.
U.S. -Backed Iraq Council to Set Up War Crimes Tribunal Iraq's new U.S.-backed Governing Council agreed Tuesday to set up a tribunal to try war criminals, a spokesman for a key member of the council said. [Dictator George Bush and Poodle Tony Blair need to be tried FIRST, before an actual W-ar crimes tribunal. --ed.]
Iraq had no A-bomb capability, inspector says A top United Nations weapons hunter says it would have been "virtually impossible" for Iraq to revive a nuclear bomb program with equipment recently dug up from a Baghdad backyard, as the United States contends.
Niger: Straw accused of 'new deception' Jack Straw stood accused of misleading the public over the threat from Iraq last night after he cited evidence that Saddam Hussein was trying to build a nuclear bomb without saying it was 12 years old.
Envoy fuels Iraqi uranium row A diplomat close to the United Nations nuclear watchdog claimed yesterday the agency believed Britain's evidence that Iraq tried to import uranium from Africa might have been based entirely on forged documents. [WHY isn't anyone asking what agency forged them, and for WHO?]
Bush hangs Blair out to dry over Iraqi nuclear claims Prominent MPs call for Blair to resign --by Chris Marsden "In admitting US doubts over British intelligence reports concerning Iraqi weapons of mass destruction (WMD), the Bush administration has deepened the political crisis of British Prime Minister Tony Blair. In particular, Blair has been hit by recent statements from Washington distancing Bush from British reports, exposed months ago as having been based on forged documents, of Iraqi efforts to purchase uranium from Niger."
Dictator Defends Allegation On Iraq Bush Says CIA's Doubts Followed Jan. 28 Address --Dictator Bush yesterday defended the "darn good" intelligence he receives, continuing to stand behind a disputed allegation about Iraq's nuclear ambitions as new evidence surfaced indicating the dictatorship had early warning that the charge could be false.
Behind the Scenes: State of the Union Preparation (Photo and caption from whitehouse.gov website) "Working at his desk in the Oval Office, President [sic] Bush reviews the State of the Union address line-by-line and word-by-word."
Photos Show Bush Rewriting, Revising Speech (Photos and essay from Media Whores online) "Official White House pix include close-up of Bush 'sketching notes in margin,' 'rewriting' SOTU address --Bush shown in oval office 'giving speechwriting team a few points' after 'revising the State of the Union address'"
Intelligence Unglued --by Veteran Intelligence Professionals for Sanity "MEMORANDUM FOR: The President [sic] FROM: Veteran Intelligence Professionals for Sanity SUBJECT: Intelligence Unglued ...Recommendation #1 We recommend that you call an abrupt halt to attempts to prove Vice President [sic] Cheney 'not guilty.' His role has been so transparent that such attempts will only erode further your own credibility. Equally pernicious, from our perspective, is the likelihood that intelligence analysts will conclude that the way to success is to acquiesce in the cooking of their judgments, since those above them will not be held accountable. We strongly recommend that you ask for Cheney’s immediate resignation."
Ex-Inspector: Bush Lied About Iraqi WMD, Blix A 'Coward' Ex-Inspector's Book Attacks Bush, U.N. --Former U.N. weapons inspector Scott Ritter released a new book, accusing Dictator Bush of illegally attacking Iraq and calling for "regime change" in the United States at the next election.
Ex-UN Inspector Ritter: Bush Based War on 'A Lie' Time has shown that the United Nations did a good job disarming Iraq while Dictator Bush went to war based on "a lie," former U.N. arms inspector Scott Ritter said on Monday.
20 Lies About the War Falsehoods ranging from exaggeration to plain untruth were used to make the case for war. More lies are being used in the aftermath. By Glen Rangwala and Raymond Whitaker "1 --Iraq was responsible for the 11 September attacks..."
Pattern of Corruption --by Paul Krugman "How did we get into this mess? The case of the bogus uranium purchases wasn't an isolated instance. It was part of a broad pattern of politicized, corrupted intelligence. Literally before the dust had settled, Bush administration officials began trying to use 9/11 to justify an attack on Iraq. Gen. Wesley Clark says that he received calls on Sept. 11 from 'people around the White House' urging him to link that assault to Saddam Hussein."
Black Thursday For Bush --by David S. Broder "If President [sic] Bush is not reelected [sic], we may look back on last Thursday, July 10, 2003, as the day the shadow of defeat first crossed his political horizon... If Iraq looks increasingly worrisome on TV and in the polls, the economy is even worse. CBS found jobs and the economy dwarfing every other issue, cited by almost four times as many people as cited Iraq or the war on terrorism."
Lying Pays Off Neo-Cons Learn from Past Nazi Leaders --by W. Madsen "America's manipulative neo-conservatives, who support unending aggression against any country that does not succumb to United States political, economic, and military control and who, themselves, seized power in Washington through electoral malfeasance, are taking a page from Nazi Germany's leaders in their quest for world domination. It is no coincidence that the neo-cons are in fact worried about comparisons between their policies and those of Hitler."
Kennedy assails Bush’s Iraq policy Influential Democratic Sen. Edward Kennedy said Tuesday U.S. soldiers were paying the price for the Bush regime’s "arrogant" policy in Iraq and he urged the dictator to call in foreign troops.
Hillary Clinton Calls Iraq Intelligence Investigation Senator Hillary Clinton calls for answers questions about intelligence and what Dictator Bush knew in the push for war with Iraq last spring. The senator called the controversy surrounding the lead up to war with Iraq a "symptom of a deeper problem," and she says the Bush dictatorship has a "history of stonewalling and failing to disclose, and trying to keep information away from both Congress and the public."
Democrats attack Bush's credibility over Niger uranium claims George Bush's personal credibility was under threat as senior Democrats used the Niger uranium controversy to attack him and demand a public inquiry into the affair yesterday.
350,000 WMD signers by Weds.? (Quick action from moveon.org) "If we work together, we can hit 350,000 signers by Wednesday, and really impress Congress... Please take a moment to forward the message below to your friends, and urge them to sign on now at: http://www.moveon.org/wmdpledge/"
France cannot send troops to Iraq in current conditions: Chirac French President Jacques Chirac said Paris could not consider sending troops to Iraq under existing conditions.
U.S. Troops to Get Longer Stay in Iraq The Army said Monday it has extended the deployment of thousands of 3rd Infantry Division soldiers in Iraq due to increased attacks against U.S-U.K. occupation forces, dashing hopes that the troops would be home by September.
From Native News: Finding Sgt. Two Crow --by Carter Camp "Sgt. Alan Two Crow has been found. For over two months his body had lain exposed and forgotten beside a path at the West Point Military Academy where he was stationed. But he was not found by his Army comrades as he should have been, he was found because a circle of people had compassion for a Sioux family who had sent their son to serve his country, a circle of people who refused to believe the Army story that his loss was so simple, each of them necessary to the circle that found him..."
Shell wants "legitimate" Iraqi authority before upstream bids British-Dutch oil giant Royal Dutch/Shell will only vie for contracts to develop Iraq's upstream oil business once a "legitimate authority" is in place, the group's chairman said in published remarks. The US dictatorship in Iraq is requesting an extra 800 million dollars from Congress to rebuild the oil industry, a senior U.S.-U.K occupation official in Baghdad has said. [Uh, can we first get 'legitimate' authority in the Executive branch in the United States?]
Iran Claims to Make Significant New Oil Find Iran has made a major new oil find containing estimated reserves of more than 38 billion barrels, making it one of the world's biggest undeveloped fields, a senior oil official was quoted as saying Monday. [Yikes! Guess where the missing 'Weapons of Mass Destruction' will allegedly emerge???]
World leaders reject Blair's move over military action Poodle Tony Blair was rebuffed yesterday over attempts to give international backing to military action to topple the brutal leaders of failed states like Iraq.
Blair's new world order blocked Poodle Tony Blair's plans for a new world order in which advanced nations would take armed action to remove brutal or failed regimes were blocked yesterday by fellow centre-Left leaders.
U.S., N. Korea Drifting Toward War, Perry Warns Former Defense Secretary Says Standoff Increases Risk of Terrorists Obtaining Nuclear Device --Former defense secretary William Perry warned that the United States and North Korea are drifting toward war, perhaps as early as this year, in an increasingly dangerous standoff that also could result in terrorists being able to purchase a North Korean nuclear device and plant it in a U.S. city.
North Korea Says It Has Made Fuel for Atom Bombs North Korean officials told the Bush dictatorship last week that they had finished producing enough plutonium to make a half-dozen nuclear bombs, and that they intended to move ahead quickly to turn the material into weapons, senior American officials said today.
U.S. Will Defy Court's Order in Terror Case The inJustice Department said today that it would defy a court order and refuse to make a captured member of Al Qaeda available for testimony in the case of Zacarias Moussaoui. The department acknowledged that its decision could force a federal judge to dismiss the indictment against Mr. Moussaoui, the only person facing trial in the United States in connection with the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. Bush dictatorship officials have said for months that if Mr. Moussaoui's indictment were dismissed, his prosecution would almost certainly be moved to a military tribunal.
Justice refuses to let Moussaoui call witness Denial of access to Binalshibh could lead to dismissal --The Justice Department refused a federal judge's order to allow terrorism suspect Zacarias Moussaoui access to a captured al Qaeda leader Monday, citing 'national security' [?!?] concerns.
UK gives up fight for Guantanamo captives Ministers believe legal barriers rule out trial in British courts --Senior ministers are resigned to the prospect that the two British prisoners who face US military tribunals at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba cannot be repatriated to stand trial in UK courts because the legal barriers to such a political compromise are insurmountable.
Interpol Chief Warns on Terror Readiness The world's law enforcement agencies still are ill-equipped to block a bioterrorist attack and need governments and research institutions to keep better track of pathogens that can be turned into weapons, according to the head of Interpol, an international organization of police forces.
Pentagon to dig into marketing data on citizens The type of information that can be legally obtained for a new federal government computer program ranges from political and religious contributions to magazine subscriptions, clothing sizes and even data about prostate problems. The Pentagon's Terrorism Information Awareness program is being designed to 'track terrorists' [?!? Not!], but privacy advocates say it could be misused.
Patriot Act defiance mulled Defending Liberties: The Assembly votes tonight on issue. The Anchorage Assembly could join Fairbanks, the Legislature and other Alaska cities in standing against the USA Patriot Act, which grants federal authorities broad snooping and surveillance powers.
Four judicial nominees to get hearings despite 'blue slips' The Senate Judiciary Committee is preparing to hold hearings for four of Dictator Bush's judicial nominees from Michigan despite staunch objections from their home-state senators. Sens. Carl Levin and Debbie Stabenow, both Michigan Democrats, oppose the nominees to the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. Normally, that would prevent the nominees from getting a hearing. [But, alas alak, we are living under the Bush-GOP dictatorship.]
White House Projects Record $455 Billion Deficit for 2003 White House Admits Record Deficit --The White House expects the federal budget deficit to balloon to a record high of more than $450 billion this fiscal year, but pledged for the first time to cut it in half "over the next few years."
Budget Deficit May Surpass $450 Billion War Costs, Tax Cut, Slow Economy Are Key Factors --War, tax cuts and a third year of a flailing economy may push this year's budget deficit past $450 billion, according to congressional sources familiar with new White House budget forecasts. That would be 50 percent higher than the Bush dictatorship forecast five months ago. [Bush's deficit prediction was another lie to sell the W-ar.]
Panel sees more factory-job losses in Pennsylvania The steady trickle of manufacturing jobs from Pennsylvania continues, a trend that bodes ill for regional economies across the state, according to participants in a Congressional Coalition held in Pittsburgh yesterday.
Budget bill puts food labels on hold Labels that tell consumers whether the hamburger in U.S. grocery coolers is imported or homegrown seem less likely now than it did a year ago. The House voted Monday to effectively rescind the country-of-origin labeling requirements signed into law last year and due to take effect by fall 2004.
Democratic candidates take stage at NAACP Convention In their most unified indictment yet of the Bush dictatorship's policies in Iraq, most of the Democratic candidates for president told the NAACP's annual convention Monday that the dictator misled the public to justify the W-ar... Florida Sen. Bob Graham, the only member of Congress running for president who voted against the war resolution, has been attacking Bush's policies on the campaign trail for months. ''If the standard of impeachment that the Republicans set for Bill Clinton, that a personal, consensual relationship was the basis for impeachment, would not a president [sic] who knowingly deceived the American people about something as important as whether to go to war meet the standard of impeachment?'' Graham said.
Kucinich spices up Democratic race Ohio congressman offers purer anti-Pentagon alternative to Howard Dean --Taking stands to the left of former Vermont governor Howard Dean, who many strategists now deem the front-runner for the party’s nomination, Rep. Dennis Kucinich wants to cut the Pentagon budget by $60 billion, scrap free trade accords such as NAFTA, abolish the death penalty, and squelch private-sector insurance and pharmaceutical firms, squeezing them out with government-run entities.
Loud crowd greets Dean Health, tax cut stands resonate with backers --Democratic presidential contender Howard Dean slammed Dictator Bush's tax cuts and promised health insurance to all Americans at a Tucson rally Saturday that drew an enthusiastic crowd three times as big as expected.
Court Denies Clintons' Request for Legal Reimbursement A 'special federal judicial panel' this morning denied a request by former president Bill Clinton and his wife Hillary Clinton to be reimbursed for millions of dollars in legal costs they incurred defending themselves during the independent counsel's investigation [Ken Starr's whackjob witch hunt] of a failed Arkansas land development known as Whitewater. Their petition came under the 1978 Ethics in Government Act, which created the structure for appointing independent counsels. That law specifies that legal fees can be paid to the subject of a probe if there is no indictment.
Broadcaster Pat Robertson calls for retirement of justices Religious broadcaster [and Reichwing whackjob] Pat Robertson urged his nationwide audience Monday to pray for God to remove three justices from the Supreme Court so they could be replaced by conservatives.
"Jerry Falwell, Senate Majority leader Bill Frist, and Senator Rick Santorum want to write their personal religious beliefs into our U.S. Constitution... For the first time in our history, other than Prohibition, a constitutional amendment would take rights away from Americans rather than defend their freedoms. Don't let that happen." (Quick action from DontAmend.com)
Climate change could be next legal battlefield A collaborative venture called the Climate Justice Programme involving lawyers, scientists and more than 40 civil groups, is supporting the use of the law to combat climate change.
Antiwar song banned from Spanish television Spanish state television TVE has banned a song from being performed in a festival programme that traditionally launches the summer season.
Bush Used British 45 Minutes Claim Just two weeks before the U.S. Congress voted to authorise military action in Iraq, Dictator Bush told congressional leaders that, according to the British government, Iraq could launch a biological or chemical attack in 45 minutes. Mr. Bush made the claim in a meeting of members of Congress at the White House on September 26 2002.
CIA vetoed first Niger nuclear claim The CIA director, George Tenet, intervened to remove a reference to Iraq-Niger nuclear links from a presidential [sic] speech last October, three months before the same intelligence appeared in George Bush's State of the Union address, US officials say.
CIA Doubted Uranium Report The CIA "from day one" was highly skeptical of reports that Iraq had been shopping for uranium ore in Africa, and the State Department also was highly suspicious, according to intelligence officials.
Italy denies uranium claims role Italian intelligence services did not give the United States and Britain documents indicating that Iraq sought uranium in Africa to make nuclear weapons, the government said Sunday, denying media reports that it had a role in passing on the disputed claims.
PM's department must have known evidence was false: Fraser The prime minister's department must have known doubts existed about evidence Iraq had sought to import uranium from Africa, former prime minister Malcolm Fraser said today. Prime Minister John Howard said in a speech in February there was evidence Iraq had sought to buy uranium from Niger. [Bush's lies circumnavigate the globe.]
W. House: Iraq Intelligence Uproar 'Bunch of Bull' The White House on Monday dismissed as a "bunch of bull" charges that Dictator Bush used disputed intelligence to justify the invasion of Iraq and said there was no need to delve further into the matter. [The 'bull' is that the Bush Dictatorship is costing us 3.9 billion dollars per month on a bogus W-ar waged under completely FRAUDULENT circumstances. The 'bull' is the GALL this Dictator has and the utter CONTEMPT he shows for the truth, democracy and REALITY itself.]
Fleischer Spars With Press on Last Day White House press secretary Ari 'Goebbels' Fleischer spent his last day at the lectern Monday as if it were any other day - sparring with reporters. The press secretary used uncharacteristically colorful language on his last day, branding as "a bunch of bull" the suggestion that the African uranium was a major Bush argument for the Iraqi invasion.
Dictator defends intelligence team 'The speeches I have given are backed by good intelligence' [See Spot run!] Dictator Bush on Monday defended the quality of intelligence he receives as "darn good" despite an uproar over disputed reports that Iraq tried to buy uranium from Africa for nuclear weapons.
Graham: Bush to blame for report George Bush, not George Tenet, is to blame for including a discredited report about Iraq's nuclear ambitions in the State of the Union speech, Sen. Bob Graham said Sunday.
Sen. Jay Rockefeller: WMD Flap 'Far From Over' Democrat Calls Rice 'Dishonorable' for Blaming CIA Director --In a conversation with NPR's Steve Inskeep, Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-WV) -- the ranking Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee -- says the White House unfairly made CIA director George Tenet the scapegoat for faulty intelligence on Iraq.
Agencies hit by row over Iraq weapons British intelligence says it was barred from passing on Niger uranium claims --Relations between British and American intelligence agencies, a central pivot of "the special relationship", are in disarray over disputed claims about Iraq's attempts to procure weapons of mass destruction.
Bogus From the Beginning The backlash against the War Party's lies is only just starting --by Justin Raimondo "As the lies of the War Party come unraveled, we find that, like a sweater with a loose thread, if we pull on one lie the whole thing comes apart. When disinformation from forged documents purporting to show Iraq's efforts to procure uranium in the African country of Niger somehow found expression in the President[sic]'s state of the union address, CIA director George Tenet agreed to fall on his sword. But the bloodshed won't stop there."
Ralph Nader Says Bush Impeachable on Iraq War "There’s nothing more serious than deception and prevarication on national security matters," former Green Party presidential candidate Ralph Nader told journalists this week. The invasion of Iraq was illegal, unconstitutional and an impeachable offense, he said.
Blair Must Resign If No WMDs Are Found Poodle Tony Blair must quit if weapons of mass destruction are not found in Iraq, former minister Glenda Jackson said yesterday. In one of the strongest attacks on Mr Blair's leadership yet by a former member of his Government, Ms Jackson said time was running out.
Blair 'will back policy of armed invasion' Poodle Tony Blair is expected to put his name today to a declaration justifying armed intervention against 'failing' states.
Rumsfeld says more GIs may be needed Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld predicted Sunday that attacks on coalition troops in Iraq could grow "more vicious" this summer, and said for the first time that an increase in U.S. force levels was at least a possibility.
Rumsfeld Warns of More Attacks in Iraq It's not going to be a peaceful summer in Iraq for U.S. forces, who may face increased attacks in the coming days. The stark warning came Sunday from Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, who also acknowledged the Bush Dictatorship does not know how long the occupation will last or how much it ultimately will cost.
Soldier Killed in Iraq; Operation Ivy Serpent [?!?] Yields Results [This is the actual headline on the DoD website. Are those the results that Bush is hoping to achieve?] A 3rd Infantry Division soldier was killed and six others wounded in Baghdad early July 14 when their convoy was attacked with rocket-propelled grenades, U.S. Central Command officials said.
U.S. soldier killed in Iraq ambush Attackers fired rocket-propelled grenades and machine guns at U.S. soldiers in Baghdad on Monday, killing one and wounding six, the U.S. military said. The ambush came as American forces launched a fourth major offensive against insurgents in central Iraq and Secretary of State Donald Rumsfeld warned that it could be a long, hot and deadly summer for U.S. troops in the country [securing those oil fields for Halliburton and Bush's corporate paymasters].
Blast near Iraqi police station At least one person has been killed and another injured in a blast outside a police station in a suburb of the Iraqi capital Baghdad. Witnesses said a headless body was found at the scene after the blast in the western suburb of Maysaloun on Sunday. The police station is sometimes visited by US soldiers.
In Rebuff to U.S., India Says It Won't Send Troops to Iraq In a sharp blow to America's postwar 'plans', India refused today to send peacekeeping troops to Iraq. The Bush dictatorship had hoped that India would send a full army division of 17,000 or more soldiers to serve in the Kurdish region around Mosul, and it had exerted considerable pressure on the government of Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee to do so.
India rejects Iraq troop request The Indian Government has rejected a US request to send peacekeeping troops to Iraq. Foreign Minister Yashwant Sinha said such a deployment could be considered only under a United Nations mandate.
Camp X-Ray Brit Tries to Hang Himself One of the Britons due to face trial at Guantanamo Bay has tried to kill himself. The suicide attempt will increase the pressure on Tony Blair to raise the case of British terror suspects held in Camp Delta when he meets Dictator George Bush on Thursday.
Guantanamo gulag U.S. base in Cuba is an affront to American principles (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette) "The military base which the United States maintains at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba is, in effect, a triple offense to Americans in its inconsistency with national principles and interests... None of this is necessary for security or for the defense of American interests. Maintaining the base at Guantanamo, holding Afghan war captives prisoner there and putting them on trial at the base is expensive to the American taxpayer and inconsistent with U.S. concepts of justice. A new expensive courtroom facility has been built at Guantanamo for the event. The Kellogg Brown & Root subsidiary of Halliburton, Vice President [sic] Dick Cheney's former company, alone received an open-ended $300 million contract for construction at Guantanamo to accommodate the prisoners."
Cities Ready Sirens As Terror Warnings Cold War-era sirens may be revived as terrorism warnings. Cities including Oklahoma City, Chicago and Dallas have upgraded their outdoor warning systems with a type of siren that can carry voice announcements - an idea that officials say took on added importance in the post-Sept. 11 world.
Patriot Act battle is fought locally Activists in tiny Belfast, Maine, hope to persuade community leaders Tuesday to join a growing number of states and cities opposed to the USA Patriot Act. Three states — Hawaii, Alaska and Vermont — plus 134 cities and counties have approved resolutions calling for a repeal of the act, according to the Bill of Rights Defense Committee.
Antiterror funding questioned Department of Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge has called the way federal homeland security money is doled out "inappropriate," and members of Congress who represent cash-strapped cities complain that too much money is being wasted where it's not needed.
Schumer: Tactics Are 'Stalinist' Sen. Charles Schumer accused the Bush dictatorship yesterday of using "Stalinist" tactics by requiring overseers to sit in when federal employees are interviewed by an independent commission investigating the Sept. 11 attacks. "Gatekeepers usually occur in places with totalitarian regimes," the New York Democrat said at a news conference yesterday. "Stalinist Russia was known for that."
Why does 9/11 inquiry scare Bush? (The Berkshire Eagle) "The Bush administration has never wanted an inquiry into the intelligence and law-enforcement failures that led up to the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, and it is doing its best to make sure we never get one... The parallel to Saddam Hussein's refusal to let Iraqi scientists talk to U.N. weapons inspectors without a similar monitor is too glaring to miss and begs the obvious question: What has Mr. Bush got to hide?"
Some 9/11 families reject federal fund and sue The U.S. government made two promises to the families of those who died in the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks: A special Justice Department fund would compensate their financial losses and official investigations would uncover the security failures that enabled al-Qaeda to kill 3,027 people.
Body bag maker sues NY over September 11 order A New Jersey plastic bag company has sued New York City for refusing to pay for 100,000 body bags it had ordered after the September 11 attack on the World Trade Centre.
Julian Bond sees GOP with 'dark underside' Republicans appeal "to the dark underside of American culture, to that minority of Americans who reject democracy and equality," NAACP Chairman Julian Bond said yesterday at the civil rights group's 94th annual convention.
NAACP leader blasts the Bushes Bond's convention speech stresses affirmative action --NAACP Executive Director Julian Bond urged blacks and Hispanics on Sunday to work together toward common goals, warned about eroding freedoms in the era of homeland security and railed against Dictator Bush and his brother Jeb, the Florida governor.
Senegal — Bush brings his own lunch, dogs, cars, 700 agents, tree cutters, reporters and soda pop (SunMt member Joan Herron got this message from friend in Senegal.) "More than 1,500 persons have been arrested and put in jail between Thursday and Monday. Hopefully they will be released now that the Big Man is gone... About 700 security people from the US for Bush's security in Senegal, with their dogs, and their cars. Senegalese security forces were not allowed to come near the US president [sic]. All trees in places where Bush will pass have been cut. Some of them have more than 100 years."
Bush ends African trip with pledges on terrorism and Liberia George Bush warned he would not allow terrorists to use Africa as a springboard to threaten the world [Oh, but Bush can?] as he closed a trip that underlined a shift in United States policy towards the continent.
Bill Gates': Killing Africans for Profit and PR. Mr. Bush's Bogus AIDS Offer --by Greg Palast (Weblog entry, July 14) "The bully billionaire’s 'philanthropic' organization is currently working paw-in-claw with the big pharmaceutical companies in support of the blockade on cheap drug shipments. [Bill] Gates' game is given away by the fact that his Foundation has invested $200 million in the very drug companies stopping the shipment of low-cost AIDS drugs to Africa. Gates' says his plan is to reach one million people with medicine by the end of the decade. Another way to read it: he’s locking in a trade system that will block the delivery of cheap medicine to over 20 million."
Protest in Streets of Benton Harbor About 200 people came together Saturday on the streets of Benton Harbor. This protest was peaceful, but some people may still find themselves in trouble with the law for Saturday's march. The group tried to get a permit to march in the street from the Department of Transportation. Police say that was denied, but the group did it anyway... the police chief will work to prosecute the rally organizers later.
Former Cincinnati Mayor Springer Files for Senate Jerry Springer, the former mayor of Cincinnati and syndicated talk show host, officially filed papers on Monday to run for the U.S. Senate from Ohio.
French impression of U.S. delays art We poured our French wine in the gutter and started eating "freedom" fries. Now, the French government is firing back, delaying a highly anticipated U.S. exhibition of work by famed Impressionist Claude Monet.
Radio Host Limbaugh Joins ESPN's 'NFL Countdown' Reichwing radio host Rush Limbaugh will soon be calling some signals for ESPN's weekly football preview "Sunday NFL Countdown." [Tell ESPN executive vice president Mark Shapiro what you think of this decision: (860)766-2000. Or, write to: Network Operations, ESPN, One ESPN Plaza, Bristol, CT 06010]
CIA Got Uranium Reference Cut in Oct. Why Bush Cited It In Jan. Is Unclear [Bush is a liar --that *is* clear] --CIA Director George J. Tenet successfully intervened with White House officials to have a reference to Iraq seeking uranium from Niger removed from a presidential [sic] speech last October, three months before a less specific reference to the same intelligence appeared in the State of the Union address, according to senior regime officials.
Ex-Officials Dispute Iraq Tie to al-Qaida As Dictator Bush works to quiet a controversy over his discredited claim of Iraqi uranium shopping in Africa, another of his prewar assertions is coming under fire: the alleged link between Saddam Hussein's regime and al-Qaida.
Russia Protests U.S. Envoy's Comments on Saddam Hussein Russia protested Sunday over suggestions by the U.S. ambassador to Moscow that it was not cooperating in the hunt for Saddam Hussein in the second day of a frosty standoff over Iraq between the Cold War-era rivals.
Blair ignored CIA weapons warning Intelligence breakdown after Britain dismissed US doubts over Iraq nuclear link to Niger --Britain and America suffered a complete breakdown in relations over vital evidence against Saddam Hussein and weapons of mass destruction, refusing to share information and keeping each other in the dark over key elements of the case against the Iraqi president.
Britain Denies U.S. Rift Over Iraq Intelligence Britain tried to brush off reports Sunday of a serious rift with Washington over its intelligence on Saddam Hussein's nuclear ambitions used by the two allies to justify invading Iraq.
Blair seeks new powers to attack rogue states Poodle Tony Blair is appealing to the heads of Western governments to agree a new world order that would justify the war in Iraq even if Saddam Hussein's elusive weapons of mass destruction are never found.
Angry MPs set Blair a deadline to find weapons Even the PM's loyalists are growing more uneasy every day about the 'missing' arms --Growing anger among formerly loyal MPs means that Tony Blair has until the autumn to uncover weapons of mass destruction in Iraq or face serious calls from his own colleagues to stand down as Prime Minister. [Bush too! The Poodle's master needs to stand down, too.]
Quit before it gets nasty, Blair told Tony Blair's troubles are set to worsen - and he should quit as prime minister before things get "ever nastier", former cabinet minister Clare Short has said. [The Poodle's master, Dictator George Bush, should quit as well.]
Howard apologises over Iraq claim The Australian Prime Minister, John Howard, has apologised for using false intelligence reports to justify sending troops to Iraq as part of the US-led invasion. Mr Howard cited the now discredited claims that Iraq tried to buy uranium from the African country of Niger when he was making the case for sending troops to Iraq during an address to Parliament.
Gung-ho Howard lets spooks take the rap Despite the claims from the Government that no one cares, the public wants to know who knew what about Iraq and its arms, Michelle Grattan writes. "For a man apparently seriously and embarrassingly dudded by his experts, John Howard appears extraordinarily forbearing. You have to wonder why. ONA [Office of National Assessments] let him make a claim it knew was dubious, and yet the PM finds excuses for it. When it comes to the missing weapons of mass destruction, the PM wants to move on. He keeps saying the public has. But it's not that easy. When their leader has made a false claim, people want to know why."
A Question Of Trust The CIA's Tenet takes the fall for a flawed claim in the State of the Union, but has Bush's credibility taken an even greater hit? --by Michael Duffy and James Carney "Just how aware was Bush of the accuracy of what he was about to say? Deep in his 5,400-word speech was a single sentence that had already been the subject of considerable internal debate for nearly a year... The line—'The British government has learned that Saddam Hussein recently sought significant quantities of uranium from Africa'—wasn't the Bush team's strongest evidence for the case that Saddam wanted nuclear weapons. It was just the most controversial, since most government experts familiar with the statement believed it to be unsupportable."
National House of Waffles --by Maureen Dowd "More and more, with Bush administration pronouncements about the Iraq war, it depends on what the meaning of the word 'is' is... Mr. [George] Tenet, in his continuing effort to ingratiate himself to his bosses, agreed to take the fall, trying to minimize a year's worth of war-causing warping of intelligence as a slip of the keyboard. 'These 16 words should never have been included in the text written for the president [sic],' he said, in 15 words that were clearly written for him on behalf of the president [sic]. But it won't fly."
Who's Steering This Ship? --by Bridget Gibson "Following the logic of the 'blame' routine leads me down an interesting path... If our illustrious President [sic] will not take the responsibility for the content and context in which his words are spoken - and spoken in a Constitutionally proscribed duty - then this person does not deserve to be called the 'leader of the free world.'"
Assassins stalk new Iraqi government Underground militants in Iraq have threatened to target members of the country’s new interim government, claiming they are puppets of Washington and London.
Rumsfeld Warns of More Attacks on U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld warned Sunday that attacks on U.S. troops in Iraq may worsen this summer but he insisted that occupation forces there are 'making progress' [?!?].
Pentagon "Sexing up" casualty reports? (iraqwar.ru) "Somehow the news releases on casualties given out lately by CENTCOM haven’t matched those given to public by the Department of Defense. In most cases it is minor matter of changing or omitting details before releasing the name of the killed soldier, but it does affect the picture public is been given of what is happening back in Iraq. It is as if Pentagon did not want the public to know what is really going on." [Nah, you think?]
Reserves wanting to leave Mideast First, they heard it would be May. Then they heard June. Then they thought they had a departure date of July 20. Now, members of the 319th Transportation Company fear they could be in the Middle East as late as September.
Halliburton moves to expand its role in a postwar Iraq Officials from Kellogg, Brown & Root Services, a subsidiary of oil-services giant Halliburton Co., are using their broadly worded mandate to evaluate and repair Iraq's petroleum infrastructure, ''as directed'' by the U.S. government, to gain a huge head start over potential competitors in redeveloping the country's vast, outdated oil industry. With much of Iraqi reconstruction bogged down by sabotage, chronic looting, and bureaucratic mire, KBR -- which also is supposed to repair war-damaged oil wells and provide general logistical support to the U.S. Army -- has expanded its role to include everything from gasoline imports to laundry services.
Iraq Cost Could Mount to $100 Billion Impact on Other Programs Feared --The cost of the war and occupation of Iraq could reach $100 billion through next year, substantially higher than anticipated at the war's outset, according to defense and congressional aides. This is raising worries that other military needs will go unmet while the government is swamped in red ink.
Germany rules out troops for Iraq Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder on Friday said that Germany would be unable to send troops to Iraq to take part in a multinational peacekeeping mission, despite a US request for it to play a role.
India not to send troops to Iraq India will not be sending its troops to Iraq. The internal debate within the Government is over and "on balance of considerations", the decision is that it will not be in India's national interest to send its troops to Iraq.
Shabby cause to shed blood --by Gregory Clark "The bad news is that the Japanese government wants to send troops to Iraq... The good news is that this time Tokyo has probably gone too far. In its efforts to legitimize an overseas role for its Self-Defense Forces, it has chosen an area that will probably rival the Vietnam War in brutality, moral ambiguity and ultimate defeat. If Japan's volatile public opinion reacts negatively, those efforts could well turn to dust."
US warns Tokyo over N Korea The US government has warned Tokyo that North Korea has positioned 200 medium-range Rodong missiles to target Japan, a report said today, quoting a foreign ministry official here.
Belgium Scraps War Crimes Law Which Angered U.S. Belgium said Saturday it has decided to scrap a war crimes law which has seen cases launched against Dictator Bush and Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon.
Rules for Terror Tribunals May Deter Some Defense Lawyers As the Pentagon prepares for the first such proceedings in more than 50 years, it is encountering a potent criticism: many lawyers and bar groups say the conditions for civilian defense lawyers are so restrictive that they might not agree to participate in the process and thereby lend it legitimacy.
Terror Suspect's Lawyer Blasts U.S. Gov't A lawyer for an Australian terror suspect who allegedly fought with the Taliban accused the United States in an interview aired Sunday of staging a "Stalinist show trial" in order to convict and possibly execute him quickly. [This quip brings to mind the late fall of 2000, when Bush was trying to engender public support for the coup d'etat (prior to the Less-Than-Supreme Court's ruling) and Bush assured the American people that he would 'govern from the center'. The center of *what*?? Hell??? -- ed.]
Blunkett opposes return of Guantanamo prisoners David Blunkett, the Home Secretary, has warned Tony Blair not to insist that British prisoners held by the US at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba be returned to the UK.
For Democrats Challenging Bush, Ashcroft Is Exhibit A As Senator John Kerry of Massachusetts put it in a speech on domestic security in Lowell, Mass., last month: "When I am president of the United States, there will be no John Ashcroft trampling on the Bill of Rights." These days, it is hard to go to any event featuring a Democratic presidential candidate without hearing a condemnation of the former Missouri senator who suffered the ignominy of losing re-election to an opponent who had died in a plane crash the month before the election.
Homes bulldozed to clear way for Bush Armed police backed by bulldozers tore down illegally built homes and shops in the Nigerian capital Abuja today ahead of a visit by US Dictator George W Bush.
Canadians vote Bush least-liked president [sic] U.S. Dictator George W. Bush is the most unpopular American president [sic] in recent memory among Canadians, with more than 60 per cent saying they have an unfavourable opinion of him, according to a new poll by Environics Research Group Ltd.
NAACP Calls for Fairer Foreign Policies The NAACP opened its 94th annual convention Saturday with a call for the United States to adopt more equitable foreign policies toward African and Caribbean nations. President Kweisi Mfume also criticized Dictator Bush for again turning down an invitation to attend the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People convention.
Democrats' Ads Target GOP on Medicare House Democrats launched a wave of televised attacks Friday night against eight Republicans in swing districts, saying their support for the GOP-backed House version of a prescription drug benefit for Medicare ignores seniors' needs.
Natural gas prices poised to hammer consumers and industries in months ahead Last week, Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan predicted that tight natural gas supplies and high prices would be evident for some time... To bring gas supplies more in line with demand, [Mike] Zenker said that Congress needed to open more areas in the U.S. for gas exploration and drilling. [The GOP plan: allow prices of natural gas to skyrocket in the midst of the Bush depression, so that the public will clamor for gas exploration and drilling in sensitive environmental areas.]
Neil Bush Admits Asian Flings Dictator Bush's brother Neil cheated on his ex-wife, Sharon, with local women he met during business trips to the Far East, according to a videotaped deposition conducted by Sharon's lawyers. "I was totally devastated, and so were our children upon learning this," Sharon told PAGE SIX about Neil's admission of cheating. "I trusted him while he was on all those foreign trips and kept the home fires burning while raising three great children . . . His behavior has been appalling. Where are the family values?"
Revealed: food companies knew products were addictive Multinational food companies have known for years of research that suggests many of their products trigger chemical reactions in the brain which lead people to overeat, The Telegraph can reveal.
The Top Ten Reasons to Get Involved in Local Activism --by Carol Schiffler, CLG Actions Coordinator "If you don’t want your kids on the next bus to Washington, (or the next troop carrier to the Middle East), you have to change the way people think about the fundamental issues that face oppressed people both at home and abroad. This cannot be done through elections and elected officials alone. WE have a responsibility to feed the poor in our own communities, keep our neighborhood clean and environmentally conscious, and stop our local 'talk radio' hosts from spewing lies and propaganda."
'No real planning for postwar Iraq' The small circle of senior civilians in the Defense Department who dominated planning for postwar Iraq failed to prepare for the setbacks that have erupted over the past two months.
Pentagon had no detailed plans for postwar Iraq: report [Insert "Bleeping morons!" comment *here*.] Pentagon planners failed to develop detailed plans for postwar Iraq because they were convinced Iraqis would welcome US troops and that a hand-picked exile leader would replace Saddam Hussein and impose order, Knight Ridder Newspapers reported Saturday.
Bush's Approval Rating Drops Sharply Public Increasingly Concerned About Casualties in Iraq --Public support for Dictator Bush has dropped sharply amid growing concerns about mounting U.S. military casualties and doubts whether the war with Iraq was worth fighting, according to a new Washington Post-ABC News poll.
Bush's Approval at Lowest Since 9/11 Dictator Facing New Challenges of Credibility and Casualties Americans are expressing rising dismay with U.S. casualties in Iraq, declining confidence in the Bush dictatorship — and growing doubt whether the war was worth fighting.
Iraqi chemical weapons "posed no risk", expert says Iraqi chemical weapons posed no significant risk to the world in the run-up to the US-led war to oust Saddam Hussein, the former head of an international arms non-proliferation agency said Friday.
Bush team united Iraq front unravels Use of flawed intelligence opens a Pandora's box --The Bush dictatorship and the government of British Prime Minister Poodle Tony Blair are pelted daily with increasingly pointed questions about the case they made for going to war against Iraq. The admission that the dictator made an apparently false allegation against Iraq in his State of the Union address was supposed to help put the issue to rest. Instead, it reopened fissures inside the dictatorship and in Blair’s government over the validity of their case for war.
LOL: Bush Considers Iraq Uranium Issue Closed Dictator Bush said Saturday he had confidence in CIA Director George Tenet despite his agency's failure to warn Bush against making allegations about Iraq's nuclear weapons program later found false. Bush considers the matter closed, said White House spokesman Ari "Goebbels" Fleischer. "The president [sic] has moved on," he said.
CIA chief Tenet takes blame for Bush accusation on Iraqi nuclear weapons Dictator George W. Bush's regime was hoping Saturday that a CIA mea culpa would enable it to stamp out a smoldering scandal over questionable claims about Iraq's nuclear shopping in Africa. [No, it's going to keep right on smoldering...]
White House Welcomes Tenet Taking Blame Dictator [and coward] Bush on Saturday welcomed CIA Director George Tenet's mea culpa for letting Bush make allegations in a January speech about Iraq's nuclear weapons program - charges the regime later admitted were unfounded.
Bush blames CIA for false info on Iraq uranium U.S. Dictator George Bush and his national security adviser on Friday put responsibility squarely on the CIA for the Idiot Usurper's erroneous claim in his State of the Union address that Iraq tried to acquire nuclear material from Africa.
CIA Blamed for Iraq Claim Bush, Rice Blame CIA for Iraq Error --Dictator Bush and his national security adviser yesterday placed full responsibility on the Central Intelligence Agency for the inclusion in this year's State of the Union address of questionable allegations that Iraq's Saddam Hussein was trying to buy nuclear materials in Africa. Within hours of Bush's comments, CIA Director George J. Tenet accepted blame for allowing the allegations into the Jan. 28 address.
Tenet Takes Blame on Iraqi Uranium Claim CIA Director George Tenet gave Congress and the White House the accountability they demanded, declaring Friday that the blame for Dictator Bush's false allegation about an Iraqi nuclear deal rested squarely with him and his agency.
Tenet Takes Responsibility for False Iraq Intelligence CIA Director George Tenet acknowledged Friday his agency wrongly allowed Dictator Bush to tell the American people that Iraq was seeking nuclear material from Africa when analysts had doubts about the quality of the intelligence.
Rumsfeld backtracks on evidence The Bush dictatorship conceded yesterday it had no "dramatic new evidence" about Iraq's weapons of mass destruction before the war – an admission in stark contrast to claims it made earlier this year to justify the invasion. The statement, made by US Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, came amid growing anger on Capitol Hill about pre-war intelligence.
Revealed: first dossier also dodgy Tony Blair's first Iraq weapons dossier used material culled from the internet to buttress the Government's case for war - exactly as the now-discredited second, so-called dodgy dossier did. The Foreign Affairs Select Committee has already criticised the second dossier, produced in February, in which intelligence was mixed with other material, including a student's PhD thesis.
Spies take rap for Howard on Iraq Doubts about claims that Iraq sought to buy uranium from Africa for a nuclear weapons program would not have altered the decision to take Australia to war, John Howard insisted yesterday.
Howard shuns Iraq deception claims Australian Prime Minister John Howard remained unrepentant Friday as analysts and opposition lawmakers suggested his administration knowingly misled the country over his reasons for going to war with Iraq.
Danish PM called to explain Iraq's missing weapons Denmark's opposition far-left party called on Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen on Thursday to explain what intelligence officials knew about Iraq's alleged weapons of mass destruction before the war.
Don't Dub Me, Dubya PM calls off medal ceremony in US Poodle Tony Blair has ditched plans to receive a "thank you" medal from Dictator Bush next week for backing the war on Iraq. The Prime Minister and the Dictator scrapped the ceremony as it would have triggered a furious backlash in Britain where controversy over the war is raging.
We're Staying in Iraqi Flashpoint, U.S. Forces Say U.S. soldiers remained posted on Saturday inside an Iraqi police station in anti- American Falluja despite protests from police eager to take over security in the flashpoint town.
U.S. Forces Girding for Raids by Iraqis American intelligence agencies are warning of a possible new wave of attacks against United States forces in Iraq during the next week to coincide with anniversaries tied to Saddam Hussein and the Baath Party, military officials said today.
Trained killer stalks US troops A highly trained assassin is stalking American soldiers on the streets of Baghdad, according to the most senior US military commander in Iraq.
Second service woman dies in Iraq An Army sergeant killed by a gunshot wound in Iraq became the second U.S. servicewoman to die in the war.
Berkshire headlines 'Baghdad is on the brink of civil war' Twyford-based charity worker Ian Lethbridge has just returned from a four-day trip to Baghdad with a warning that the Iraqi capital is on the brink of civil war. He said: "If the US and the UK don't do something now, I'm convinced there will be a civil war within a month or two. "The situation is noticeably worse then when I visited a month ago. It's total anarchy now."
Iraq's Most Feared Prison Open Again for Business Under US Control Abu Ghraib prison - which under Saddam Hussein was dreaded for its torture chambers and mass executions - is open again, now run by Iraq's American occupiers. And Iraqis still fear it. The Americans, who have tried but in many cases failed to convince Iraqis that they are liberators, say they're unhappy about reopening the prison, but had no choice [?!?].
U.S. Forces Leave Fallujah Mayor's Office The U.S.-appointed mayor of Fallujah said American forces withdrew from his office Friday - a highly symbolic gesture of confidence that local police can keep him safe in the violence-ridden city.
No Date Set for Iraqi Governing Council Iraq's U.S.-led provisional government is in "the final stages" of setting up a governing council that will be the first national Iraqi political body since the fall of Saddam Hussein's regime, but no date has been set for establishing the council, a senior Western diplomat told The Associated Press.
Bremer a quick study in colony building --by Pepe Escobar "The United States may try to import its preferred leaders - or force them down Iraqis' throats. It may impose an alien governance system. It may marginalize powerful indigenous Shi'ite religious leaders or tribal elders. It may try to grant privileges to tribal and commercial elites who enjoy disproportionate local power. It may use locals and then get rid of them when they are no longer useful. May the US try any one of these things, it's possible that former minister of information Mohammed Saeed al-Sahaf, aka 'Comical Ali', will be proved prophetic: 'They're coming to surrender or be burned in their tanks.'"
NATO Role in Iraq Faces Snags Divisions Over War, Existing Deployments Hinder U.S. Efforts --American efforts to get NATO to play a major role in peacekeeping in Iraq will be hampered by continuing divisions in the alliance over the wisdom of the war and concerns that its troops are already overextended on missions elsewhere, according to NATO diplomats and defense analysts.
Iraqi Kurdish professors protest drastic salary cut by U.S.-U.K. occupiers Around 100 university professors demonstrated in this Kurdish city of northern Iraq on Wednesday to press the US-led occupiers to restore their salaries to pre-war levels.
US and UK take lion's share in Iraq oil tender US and UK-based oil majors have taken the lion's share of Iraq's second post-Saddam crude oil sell tender, companies have confirmed.
U.S. May Tap Oil for Iraqi Loans The White House weighs a plan to pledge future revenue to finance postwar reconstruction. Critics question the effort's legitimacy. The Bush dictatorship is considering a provocative idea to pledge some of Iraq's future oil and gas revenue to secure long-term reconstruction loans before a new Iraqi government is in place to sign off on the proposal.
Washington seeks cover for occupation US convenes Iraqi council with aim of grabbing oil --by Bill Vann "A new 'governing council' appointed by Washington’s administrator in Baghdad, L. Paul Bremer, has been hailed by the Bush administration as a step toward democracy. However, numerous reports from both the US and Iraq indicate that the real function of this body will be to rubber stamp the privatization of the Middle Eastern country’s oil industry and the US expropriation of its earnings for years to come."
The cost of war / The Pentagon's figures are bad news for the deficit (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette) "The fact dropped before a congressional committee Wednesday that the war in Iraq is costing $3.9 billion a month, as opposed to the already hefty $2 billion a month that the Pentagon had originally estimated, is a blockbuster in the current context of the federal, state and city budget deficits the country is facing. It gets worse. The continuing war in Afghanistan is costing almost a billion a month. That makes almost $5 billion a month for the two... Moreover, what the Bush administration had put forward before the war as a postwar scenario -- a warm welcome for liberating Americans in Iraq, ...turns out to have been as much a will-o'-the-wisp as a Pirates lead going into the ninth inning."
Anti-American Press Pays the Price The regime of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak continued its crackdown on media earlier this week as the police banned an anti-American weekly. The July 2 issue of al-Sadaa of the al-Takaful political party could not come out.
U.S. to move 'striker' force to Hawaii for N Korea The United States is set to relocate to Pearl Harbor a "striker brigade" consisting of an aircraft carrier, advanced transport aircraft and other strategic resources for rapid forward deployment to deal with North Korean threats and terrorist moves in East Asia, visiting Hawaii Gov. Linda Lingle said Tuesday.
Report: N. Korea takes nuclear step U.S. intelligence: Evidence suggests Pyongyang is reprocessing spent nuclear fuel rods --North Korea has begun to reprocess spent nuclear fuel rods — a critical step to produce more nuclear weapons — an intelligence report delivered to the White House on Thursday suggests.
Come into our missile shield: US The US wants Australia to join a global missile shield that could see interceptors and radar units based on Australian soil and new RAN warships working with the US Navy to protect vast areas of the region.
Weapon destruction fears in Ala. Army says concern about incinerating chemical weapons unwarranted [Hello, McFly?], despite earlier leak --Under a treaty, the United States has to get rid of nearly 47 million pounds of weapons of mass destruction by 2007. To that end, the Army is expected to begin burning chemical weapons at a depot in Anniston later this much, despite residents’ fears.
House panel won't subpoena Ashcroft in 'Killer Ds' inquiry U.S. House Republicans refused Wednesday to order Attorney General John Ashcroft to divulge his agency's role in the search for Texas lawmakers who went into hiding in May.
FAA had larger role in hunt for Texas Democrats, report says The Federal Aviation Administration played a much larger role than was previously known in the search for Texas Democrats who fled the Legislature to kill a redistricting bill, according to an investigative report released Friday.
Millions May Lose Overtime Pay With New Bush Bill The new rules take overtime away from at least 644,000 white-collar workers and possibly as many as 8 million. Unions say the new rules would let employers stop paying overtime to people such as licensed practical nurses, paralegals and dental hygienists -- though the rules would not affect those covered by union contracts.
Senate GOP Blocks Minimum Wage Hike Senate Democrats yesterday launched a new drive to raise the minimum wage but ran into a roadblock from Republicans. [Gee, what a surprise.]
Blacks Lose Better Jobs Faster as Middle-Class Work Drops Unemployment among blacks is rising at a faster pace than in any similar period since the mid-1970's, and the jobs lost have been mostly in manufacturing, where the pay for blacks has historically been higher than in many other fields. Nearly 2.6 million jobs have disappeared over all during the last 28 months.
Vermont beats trend with $10 million surplus In a fiscal year that saw states across the nation swimming in seas of red ink, Vermont ended with a $10.4 million General Fund surplus. Vermont Administration Secretary Michael Smith said credit for the budget balancing should be shared by the Legislature, former Gov. Howard Dean and Gov. James Douglas.
Governor's Aide Offends Senators With Memo A memo from one of Gov. Jeb Bush's aides is fueling what has become an all-out ideological war within the GOP over medical malpractice. Senators say they are stunned by threats to members of the governor's own party.
Drug giant accused of false claims Whistleblower alleges illegal encouragement of off-label use --The questions began with the confession of an insider at one of the nation’s largest pharmaceutical firms. He says his former company deliberately distorted information about one of its drugs, possibly putting lives at risk, and costing patients and taxpayers millions of dollars. The results of a year-long investigation by Dateline may indicate one of the biggest medical deceptions in history.
FDA Says Feed Maker Admits to Mad Cow Violation The U.S. Food and Drug Administration said on Friday a Washington state livestock feed manufacturer admitted selling "adulterated and misbranded" feed that violated federal rules to prevent mad cow disease.
Many to cast ballots by Internet in 2004 Thousands of people serving in the military and Americans living abroad will have that option next year in the nation's most extensive Internet voting experiment, viewed by some as a step toward elections in cyberspace. [Holy hacking, Batman! More secret source code for the GOP to implement in order to steal the 2004 election: the Bush poll numbers are plummeting and they realize he cannot win this election, either.]
Springer to File Papers for Senate Bid Jerry Springer, the talk show host, will file papers to run for the U.S. Senate as early as Friday, advisers said. Springer, 59, the former Cincinnati mayor, will not decide whether to actually run until later this month, said Mike Ford, his political adviser.
Ex-Superintendent of Air Force Academy Is Demoted in Wake of Rape Scandal The former superintendent of the Air Force Academy, Lt. Gen. John Dallager, has been demoted by one star, in the clearest move yet to punish a commanding officer after the sexual assault scandal at the school.
Former cadets dispute commanders Four Air Force Academy cadets who came forward as sexual assault victims praised the panel investigating the scandal, but had a "jaw-dropping moment" when former administrators said they never punished the women for reporting rapes.
Chainsaws let rip in Europe's oldest forest Trees in the last remaining tract of Europe's original forest are being cut down, to the dismay of Polish naturalists. The trees are in the Bialowieza forest, in some respects a treasure comparable to the Amazon rainforest.
Bush Knew Iraq Info Was False Senior regime officials tell CBS News the Dictator’s mistaken claim that Iraq tried to buy uranium from Africa was included in his State of the Union address -- despite objections from the CIA. Before the speech was delivered, the portions dealing with Iraq’s weapons of mass destruction were checked with the CIA for accuracy.
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