Citizens For Legitimate Government

June 2002 Archives

June 30, 2002

President Gore criticizes White House for handling of economy, war President Al Gore Saturday criticized the Bush mis-ministration's handling of the economy and the war on terrorism, specifically citing the administration's failure to capture al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden.
Michael Rectenwald replies to a rightwinger who asks the CLG staff, "What kind of drugs do you use?"
Rights Groups Assail U.S. Efforts to Win Exemption from International Criminal Court United States and international human rights groups are calling on members of the United Nations Security Council to reject U.S. efforts this week to exempt U.S. citizens and others serving in UN peacekeeping operations from the scope of the new International Criminal Court, the world's first permanent tribunal to prosecute war crimes, genocide, and other crimes against humanity.
Bush Slashing Aid for E.P.A. Cleanup at 33 Toxic Sites The Bush mis-ministration has designated 33 toxic waste sites in 18 states for cuts in financing under the Superfund cleanup program, according to a new report to Congress by the inspector general of the Environmental Protection Agency.
NYC Rolls Back Recycling Rules The nation's largest city is eliminating glass and plastics from its recycling program on Monday in what recycling advocates say is the first significant rollback of such a program in the United States.
Pushing the Death Penalty At a time when many authorities, from the U.S. Supreme Court to state governments, are rethinking aspects of capital punishment, Attorney General [and rightwing nutcase] Ashkkkroft is aggressively pursuing the federal death penalty and frequently overruling his own prosecutors in the process, according to records and public officials.
Tensions Between CDC, White House The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta has been weakened and demoralized by tensions with Bush mis-ministration officials in Washington, according to a number of current and former officials at the nation's top public health agency.
An unstable new administration undemocratically installed [sound familiar?!?] in Afghanistan None of the 29 ministers were elected—either directly or indirectly. The country’s transitional president Hamid Karzai chose all of them after days of intriguing and backroom horse-trading involving various factional leaders and representatives of the UN and major powers.
Xerox restates billions in revenue: yet another case of accounting fraud In the latest scandal involving a prominent American corporation, Xerox revealed last week that over the past five years it has improperly classified over $6 billion in revenue, leading to an overstatement of earnings by nearly $2 billion.
2 NY Dems Propose Wall St. Reform The two Democratic candidates for governor want to use the clout of New York state's $112 billion pension fund to reform Wall Street.
Gay Pride Parades Held Around U.S Thousands of rainbows appeared under the blue sky Sunday as an estimated half million people lined the streets to celebrate diversity and progress during San Francisco's 32nd annual gay pride parade.
New F.B.I. Alert Warns of Threat Tied to July 4th Federal authorities have issued a secret alert [?!?] to state and local law enforcement agencies warning them of the possibility of a terrorist attack in the United States around the Fourth of July holiday, senior government officials said.
Blair's aides denounce US 'blundering' in Afghan war Senior officials in the Prime Minister's office have launched an astonishing attack on America's handling of the hunt for Osama bin Laden and al-Qa'eda fugitives. They have told The Telegraph that troops carrying out house-to-house searches in the remote tribal areas of Pakistan along the Afghanistan border were "blundering" with a "march-in-shooting" approach.
US pilots culpable in friendly fire deaths An inquiry has found that an American pilot ignored orders to hold his fire just before he mistakenly bombed Canadian soldiers in Afghanistan, killing four and wounding eight.
Testimony in El Salvador Torture Trial Blindfolded and handcuffed, Carlos Mauricio said he suffered a blow to the head or stomach every time he refused to confess to soldiers who detained him for eight days in El Salvador in 1983.
If He Runs for Reelection, Gore Says, 'To Hell With the Polls' President Al Gore conceded today that his 2000 presidential campaign was too heavily influenced by polls, consultants and tactical maneuvering, telling key supporters here that, if he runs in 2004, he will "let it rip" and "let the chips fall where they may."
Gore Vows More Spontaneous Campaign President Gore Promises More Spontaneous, Less Restrained Campaign if He Runs for Reelection in 2004 -- Al Gore told top Democratic fund-raisers Saturday that the party's 2000 campaign had too many consultants and that if he runs for reelection he will speak from the heart and "let it rip."
GOP disarray may spell doom in fall vote (IL) The fall of state GOP Chairman Lee A. Daniels (R-Elmhurst) has left his party in disarray and could doom its statewide ticket in the Nov. 5 election.
Public defender can't represent suspected Taliban fighter, court rules A U.S. appeals court ruled Wednesday that a federal public defender cannot represent a suspected American-born Taliban fighter because the attorney has no official relationship [?!?] with him, according to court documents.
F-U Nation I am not for US, I am against US -- by Lawrence Littleby "I am not for US, I am against US. I do not pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, nor to the republic for which it now stands: one nation under god and Capital, insufferable and unyielding, with liberty and justice least of all. America has become not just a gun nation, a TV nation, a Ritalin and Prozac nation, an obese nation, and a remedial nation, it has also become a rogue nation. In brand as in empire, America has become the ultimate menace – the superego state that says F*ck You to any nation that stands in the way of its state and corporate interests. And it manages to get away with it."
Court Keeps Terror Immigration Hearings Closed The U.S. Supreme Court handed the Justice Department a victory on Friday by keeping immigration hearings in cases stemming from the Sept. 11 terrorism investigation closed while the government appeals.
Closing the Door to Public Scrutiny (New York Times) "Congress passed the U.S.A. Patriot Act, rolling back civil liberties in key areas, and the Bush administration has held hundreds in secret detention. The court, meanwhile, said nothing. Yesterday the justices made themselves heard for the first time, blocking a federal judge's order to open to the public immigration hearings for terrorism suspects. It is a troubling move, and we hope it does not signal more broadly how the court will decide civil liberties challenges to the war on terrorism."
Makin' Us Dizzy -- by Maureen Dowd "Mr. Cheney created a Machiavellian Mobius strip: the F.B.I. is now investigating the committees that are investigating the F.B.I."
Remaining U.S. CEOs Make a Break For It Band of Roving Chief Executives Spotted Miles from Mexican Border (SatireWire) "Unwilling to wait for their eventual indictments, the 10,000 remaining CEOs of public U.S. companies made a break for it yesterday, heading for the Mexican border, plundering towns and villages along the way, and writing the entire rampage off as a marketing expense."
Cheney Warns of Pre-Emptive Strikes As he prepared to assume the pResidential powers temporarily, Vice pResident [and rightwing nutcase] Dick Cheney warned anew on Friday that the United States could make a pre-emptive strike at some point against a threatening foe. [Is there any way to convince him that the Bush mis-ministration is a "threatening foe?"]
Washington’s phony pretext for Iraqi invasion Speaking before a Rethuglican audience in Portland, Oregon June 24, Vice pResident Dick Cheney reiterated the Bush mis-ministration’s intention to carry out a preemptive strike against Iraq under the pretext of preventing the use of "weapons of mass destruction."
Pentagon Shifts Anthrax Vaccine to Civilian Uses The Bush mis-ministration announced a new anthrax vaccination policy today, including plans to continue vaccinating some military personnel and to stockpile for civilian use a large part of all the anthrax vaccine being produced for the Pentagon. [Bush has to dump the unsafe vaccines somewhere to insure corporate profit!]
White House Seeks to Resume Aiding Indonesia's Army The United States is pressing hard to resume assistance to the Indonesian military in an effort to re-establish American influence here in the world's most populous Muslim nation. The Bush mis-ministration is determined to re-engage with Indonesia's army, despite its lack of reform.
Further evidence of a massacre of Taliban prisoners New reports from a human rights organisation and the German press have substantiated charges that US troops, aided by local and international allies, massacred thousands of defenceless Taliban in the course of the war in Afghanistan.
Bush to Undergo Colon Procedure pResident Bush said today that he would transfer the powers of the presidency to Vice pResident Dick Cheney for a short time on Saturday while he was under sedation for what he described as a routine colonoscopy.
Bush May Cut U.N. Program's Funding No Final Decision, but State Department Told to Plan Withholding Family Planning Aid pResident Bush is heading toward a decision to cut off millions of dollars of funds for an international family planning program opposed by abortion foes, according to people familiar with the plans.
Rudy [Fascist] Giuliani Favors National ID Former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani had given the national ID card tacit approval in his keynote speech earlier Wednesday at the E-Gov 2002 conference here.
President Gore Bashes Bush Policy As Cause of Biz Scandals "You see now what it means to have an administration that's that committed to fighting and working on behalf of the powerful, and letting the people of this country get the short end of the stick," President Gore told more than 200 supporters at a Manhattan fund-raiser.
Daschle Assails Bush Record The pResident's economic record is a "disaster," the Senate leader says.
Expert says Enron doctored files Enron Corp. is opening up its computer database to state Senate investigators after a state-hired electronics expert said he discovered gaps, erasures, and altered and encrypted files in thousands of electronic records that the company submitted under subpoena.
House Democratic Leader Richard A. Gephardt's Statement on Corporate Expatriation "It should be obvious by now that there are some in the business world who are looking for ways to bend the rules, break the rules, or look for places where there are no rules..."
House Democratic Whip Nancy Pelosi's Statement on Republican Rule on Prescription Drugs "When Medicare went into existence, there was a big fight over it. The Democrats wholeheartedly supported it; the Republicans opposed it..."
For Bush Daughters, (Night) Life Isn't Fair "We hope those fun-loving [and lawbreaking] first twins, Jenna and Barbara Bush, had a good time Wednesday night at Stetson's, the Texas-themed Washington saloon where they were spotted by multiple witnesses sucking down Budweisers and chain-smoking cigarettes with a group of friends till well past midnight."
7 Cleared in Protest At Supreme Court D.C. Judge Questions Federal Prohibition On Demonstrations on Building's Steps .
Injustice Dept, Fla. Reach Voting Deal The Injustice Department and two Florida counties reached agreements Friday over voting rights violations, ending the possibility of a protracted court battle.
Democracy in Crisis -- What is to be Done? "In June 2002, the United States of America resembles the Animal Farm eerily portrayed by George Orwell in 1946--a 'farm' run by Mr. Pilkington and the 'Pigs.' "
A godless Constitution Our founding fathers never intended to make religion a part of daily public life; in fact, they erected a church-state wall -- by David Greenberg
Interview with Israeli refusenik: "We can put in place a new leadership" Israel’s Supreme Court ordered on June 25 that an Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) officer be released from military jail, despite completing only 13 days of a 35-day sentence for refusing to serve in the Occupied Territories.
C.I.A. and F.B.I. Promise to Share Data With New Agency The directors of the C.I.A. and the F.B.I. told Congress today that their agencies would share secret intelligence with the proposed Department of Homeland Security. But they expressed support for a Bush mis-ministration plan that would keep their agencies independent of the new organization. [If independent of Homeland Security, there is no congressional scrutiny, right??]
House Votes to Raise Debt Ceiling The House narrowly voted to raise the ceiling on the national debt by $450 billion late yesterday, just hours before the government was due to bump up against its borrowing limits.
Hitting the trifecta Bush’s favorite joke about 9/11 is not only in bad taste, it’s a lie -- by David Neiwert "Not even the bravest have tried to turn the deaths of some 3,000 people into a laughing matter. But President [sic] Bush has forged ahead anyway. Bush has now been telling the same, spectacularly tasteless joke to a variety of mostly Republican audiences as part of his stock stump speech for the better part of four months now."
Nvidia shares could compromise Rumsfeld Donald Rumsfeld retained his shares in leading computer graphics chip company nVidia. The INQUIRER has learned that nVidia has invested billions of dollars in defence contracts and provides graphic technology to USAF F-22 Air Dominance Fighter Aircraft currently being developed for the US Air Force by Lockheed Martin and Boeing.
Scandals May Tar Bush, GOP Both sides believe accumulating economic bad news may be reaching critical mass, creating a public disenchantment that could stick to the Bush mis-ministration and congressional Republicans in November.
'Enemy combatant' issue rises to fore The Bush mis-ministration pressed forward with its argument yesterday that ''enemy combatants'' should not have access to a lawyer even if they are American citizens, in a federal case that will have broad implications for the administration's strategy in the war against terrorism.
US "Pledge" ruling exposes political scoundrels -- by Bill Vann "The ruling by a three-judge federal appeals court panel in San Francisco that compelling the recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance to 'one nation under God' in public schools is unconstitutional has afforded yet another opportunity for America’s politicians to make fools of themselves."
The Metamorphosis -- By David Podvin "What had begun as a traumatic transformation for me now seemed like the natural order of things. Corporate America has been right all along: the law of the jungle is not just a shallow cliché – it really is the one true path to contentment."
Statement by Representative Charles B. Rangel, Ranking Democrat, House Committee Ways And Means Republican Leadership Has Denied The American People a Chance to Have a Real Medicare Prescription Drug Benefit
Statement by Congressman Jesse L. Jackson, Jr Vouchers: Illegitimate Cure For Legitimate Concerns
The Pentagon's New Budget, New Strategy, and New War Project on Defense Alternatives Briefing Report #12 In the weeks following the 11 September terrorist attacks Bush mis-ministration officials frequently declared that "everything has changed" without specifying precisely how.
Tipper Gore makes herself clear: Al can run again I know it's a huge undertaking, but I think it could be very exciting," Mrs. Gore said in her first interview about the 2004 race.
E-Mail Deriding Katherine Harris Costs Editor's Job Herald-Tribune recently ran a 4,400-word, 2 1/2-page spread on Republican congressional candidate Katherine Harris. And when one reader complained that Democratic candidates were getting short shrift, Managing Editor Rosemary Armao responded with a remarkably candid e-mail -- one that wound up costing her her job.
Tennis Great Navratilova Comments on U.S. Values "The Republicans in the United States manipulate public opinion and sweep any controversial issues under the table," Navratilova said. "It's depressing. Decisions in America are based solely on the question of 'how much money will come out of it' and not on the questions of how much health, morals or the environment suffer as a result." [Terrific assessment!]
We are Deeply Concerned -- by Carol Schiffler "One wonders what exactly it takes to keep these people up at night. Would a flaming Constitution on their doorstep do it?"
Away From the TV Cameras, Fire Consumes Apache Land While national attention is focused on the threat Arizona's wildfires pose to Show Low, the resort town 40 miles northeast of here, the blaze has already brought widespread and lasting economic damage to Apache country.
Sept. 11 Hearings Likely Delayed Public hearings by a congressional panel looking into the Sept. 11 attacks probably will be delayed until September, about three months later than originally planned, congressional aides said Tuesday.
pResident Bush's national security leadership met formally nearly 100 times in the months prior to the Sept. 11 attacks -- yet terrorism was the topic during only two of those sessions, [?!?] officials say.
June 28, 2002
Court Approves Random Drug Tests in Public High Schools The Supreme Court approved random drug tests for many public high school students Thursday, ruling that schools' interest in ridding their campuses of drugs outweighs an individual's right to privacy.
Supreme Court Upholds Voucher System That Pays Religious Schools' Tuition The Supreme Court, concluding that Cleveland's voucher plan was "a program of true private choice," today upheld the use of public money for religious school tuition in a decisive 5-to-4 ruling that the majority called a logical outgrowth of recent decisions and the dissenters described as a fundamental break with the past.
Supreme Court Supports Vouchers for Religious Schools Led by a narrow conservative majority, the Supreme Court ruled Thursday that school voucher programs are constitutional if they provide parents a choice among a range of religious and secular schools.
Supreme Court Upholds School Voucher Program 5-4 ruling allows public money to be used for religious schools.
ROFL! An EXACT BLURB from Thursday's Washington Post Cover Story: U.S. Fears Cyberspace Attacks by Al Qaeda "Terrorists may be at threshold of using the Internet as a direct instrument of bloodshed -- Regarded until recently as remote, the risks of cyber-terrorism now command urgent White House attention." That's right! From cave dwellers to certified webmasters in less than--how long ago did Colin Powell give 43 million dollars to the Taliban?? May, 2001. Will this will be Ashkkkroft's excuse to shut down the websites with which he disagrees?
[Barf alert!] Feds Fear Possible Al Qaeda Cyber-Attacks U.S. government experts, wary of al Qaeda's skills on the Internet, are concerned that Osama bin Laden's guerrilla network [not to mention, Karl "Powerpoint" Rove's] may be planning cyber-attacks targeting nuclear power plants, dams or other critical structures, The Washington Post reported on Thursday.
Leahy calls new Dept. of [Fascism] Homeland Security "above the law" The chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee accused the Bush Fourth Reich today of trying to put the proposed new Department of Homeland Security "above the law" by exempting it from some regulations on access to information, conflict of interests and whistle-blower protections.
Judge Rules "Unconstitutional" Key Provision of PATRIOT Act Judge slams terror law; Lindh defense could gain
G-8 security operation-the stifling and criminalizing of dissent The arrangements surrounding this week’s G-8 summit in Kananaskis County, Alberta underline that the assembled leaders are representatives of a privileged minority that is increasingly haunted by the fear of popular unrest.
U.S. Court Votes to Bar Pledge of Allegiance Use of 'God' Called Unconstitutional -- The Pledge of Allegiance is unconstitutional because it describes the United States as "one Nation, under God," a federal appeals court ruled yesterday.
Voting rights lawsuit headed to trial A voting rights lawsuit against the state, Miami-Dade and several other counties stemming from the disputed 2000 p-residential s-election [coup] is headed to trial later this summer after attorneys deadlocked on a settlement, a federal judge said Tuesday. ''As far as I'm concerned, this case is going to trial,'' U.S. District Judge Alan Gold said after hearing that attempts for successful mediation had failed. "It's disappointing, but it is what it is.''
Jeb: No grand jury on DCF kids Gov. Jeb Bush has refused a request to create a statewide grand jury to investigate the 1,237 children under state care who can't be located.
House Panel Approves 4.1% Federal Pay Raise The House subcommittee with authority over federal pay yesterday approved a 4.1 percent increase for about 1.8 million Defense Department civilians and federal workers effective next Jan. 1.
The Latest Corporate Scandal Is Stunning, Vast and Simple -- by Kurt Eichenwald with Simon Romero "The name of WorldCom, once a darling of Wall Street, had now become the latest shorthand for corporate scandal."
The New Identity Theft -- by Michelangelo Signorile "Privacy on the Web is a pretty naive concept: even the feds will be able to snoop on folks in Internet chat rooms, courtesy of the [In]Justice Dept.’s newest antiterrorism guidelines. And now it appears that the Republican National Committee, conspiring with Yahoo, is engaging in what could be termed a new form of identity theft."
Michael Rectenwald responds to "Republic Yes - Democracy No!!!"
KKKatherine Harris says Palast 'Twisted and Maniacal' - in July Harper's
Gas Masks Ordered for U.S. Capitol [Yes, Bush is a stinker, isn't he?] Capitol Police have ordered 25,000 gas masks to help protect tourists, members of Congress and their staffs in the event of a chemical or biological attack, a congressional official said Tuesday.
Enron Criminal Investigation Is Said to Expand to Bankers Criminal investigators examining the Enron debacle have expanded their inquiry to focus on activities at the commercial banks that provided billions of dollars in loans and other financial services to the company, according to current and former Enron executives and others involved in the investigation.
WorldCom Says It Hid Expenses, Inflating Cash Flow $3.8 Billion WorldCom, the nation's second-largest long-distance carrier, said last night that it had overstated its cash flow by more than $3.8 billion during the last five quarters in what appears to be one of the largest cases of false corporate bookkeeping yet.
Corporate Scandals Taking Toll On Markets
Pentagon wants intelligence czar The Pentagon plans to create an intelligence czar to better fight the war on terrorism [actually, to better coordinate additional acts of terrorism].
FBI Anthrax Probe Leads to Md. Home The FBI searched the home of a researcher next to Fort Detrick, who may have had access to anthrax while doing work for the Army base, a law enforcement official said Tuesday.
Lawmakers grill patrol chief over searches aboard ferries Three days after halting random searches on state ferries, Washington State Patrol Chief Ronal Serpas fielded tough questions from lawmakers yesterday about how the practice got started in the first place.
Bush at bay -- by Ed Vulliamy Facing mid-term elections, the President[sic]'s squabbling team has never looked so vulnerable.
FBI Begins Visiting Libraries The FBI is visiting libraries nationwide and checking the reading records of people it suspects of having ties to terrorists or plotting an attack, library officials say.
Russia gets ready to gag online dissent Russia's parliament may give final approval this week to sweeping restrictions on using the Internet to oppose the government. [Uh, are we next?]
Hanford's new budget is secret The U.S. Department of Energy here has submitted to Washington, D.C., its 2004 budget projections for the Hanford nuclear reservation, but for the first time since the mid-1990s, the numbers are secret.
Soldier arrested in explosives theft A soldier stationed at Fort Benning was arrested Friday on charges related to the theft of 300 sticks of high-grade explosives from a paving company in Columbus earlier this year. Last month, authorities recovered 275 pounds of stolen explosives in a wooded area on the grounds of Fort Benning.
US torture of John Walker Lindh exposed as frame-up continues Defense attorneys for John Walker Lindh filed documents describing how, after barely surviving atrocities that claimed the lives of hundreds of his companions, the so-called “American Taliban” was tortured while the FBI wrangled statements out of him in violation of his Fifth Amendment right not to be a witness against himself.
Confidence in [phony] war on terror wanes One in three Americans say the United States is winning the war on terrorism, according to a USA TODAY/CNN/Gallup Poll. Half say the war is at a stalemate. Public confidence that the United States and its allies are winning has slipped to 33%, the lowest level since Sept. 11.
Drug war strategy fatally flawed -- by Tom Thompson "America's drug war is such a spectacular failure that a visitor from another planet might conclude that it's intentionally that way."
US could default on debt The US government will officially run out of money at the weekend [because Bush stole it and gave it to his installers] unless the US House of Representatives approves an increase in the national debt ceiling this week.
Consumer confidence drops Consumer confidence fell in June, posting its largest one-month drop since just after Sept. 11 as a weak labor market and eroding confidence in corporate America took a toll on the mood of Americans, a report said Tuesday.
Suits Say Wal-Mart Forces Workers to Toil Off the Clock
Generals Knew of Salvadorans' Torture, Suit Says Two Salvadoran generals knowingly allowed subordinates to beat, rape and torture unarmed civilians during their nation's civil war, lawyers for three alleged victims said in a civil damages trial on Monday.
United Seeks $1.8B Federal Loan United Airlines asked the government Monday for $1.8 billion in loan assistance, making it the biggest carrier yet to seek help from a loan guarantee program created to [keep quiet about 9/11] prop up the ailing industry after Sept. 11.
High Court Rules on Defendants' Rights A unanimous U.S. Supreme Court ruled on Monday that criminal defendants do not have a constitutional right before pleading guilty to get information from prosecutors that could help them fight the charges.
168 Death Sentences Overturned The Supreme Court overturned the death sentence laws of five states Monday, affecting more than 160 death row inmates, by ruling that juries and not judges must make life-or-death determinations about the fate of convicted killers.
Court Overturns More Than 150 Judge-Imposed Death Sentences The Supreme Court overturned the death sentences of at least 150 convicted killers Monday, ruling that juries and not judges must make such life-or-death decisions.
NASDAQ Dips Below Post 9-11 Low Another round of questions about the tech sector depressed Wall Street Monday, sending the NASDAQ composite index below the closing low it reached following the Sept. 11 terror attacks. [Great job, Bush -- you moron!]
Kerry blasts Bush on war, Mideast Democratic contender assails Bu$h policies, sees U.S. military failure in al-Qaida escape -- Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry let loose a blistering critique of pResident Bu$h’s Middle East policy Sunday, saying the president had made “a catastrophic mistake” by not building on President Clinton’s Camp David negotiations and by sending confusing signals to Israeli and Palestinian leaders.
Rep. Watts may retire, Hastert says House Speaker [and rightwing nutcase] Dennis Hastert said Sunday he hoped that Rep. J.C. Watts, the only black Republican in Congress and a member of the GOP leadership [and rightwing nutcase], would seek re-election but acknowledged that the Oklahoman might retire.
EU Police will Patrol UK by 2007 The proposals were launched at the Seville summit against opposition from Tony Blair. European leaders have been rattled by the growing controversy over illegal immigration and the rise of Right-wing parties in recent elections.
Senators to Subpoena White House Documents on Air Pollution Regulations Sought -- Senate Environment and Public Works Committee members intend to subpoena the Bush mis-ministration this week for documents and e-mails related to a recent decision to relax restrictions on emissions from older coal-fired power plants and refineries.
Portfolio Politics -- by E.J.Dionne, Jr. "Just two years ago, the rise of Shareholder Nation was taken as a great boon to the long-term prospects of the Republican Party and conservative policies...But then a funny thing happened on the way to Dow 36,000 (to borrow from the title of a popular book), and shrewd Republican strategists are nervous."
The evil Dick Cheney -- by Jackson Thoreau "My dream scenario would be a re-enactment of Watergate, where the vice president is forced to resign before the president follows suit. Add to that the resignation of Scalia, Ashcroft, and Rumsfeld, and I'd start believing that God does have more than a superficial effect on our political process. Thank you, Jesus, thank you, Lord."
Telling it like it is "The U.S. Supreme Court elected a president, basically. Let our Supreme Court go ahead on and elect the legislature." -- State Rep. Mickey Michaux (D-Durham) commenting on new legislative maps drawn up by Republican Superior Court Judge Knox Jenkins. Black lawmakers oppose the maps because they say they weaken the participation of nonwhite voters.
O'Neill Urges Congress to Raise Debt Ceiling U.S. Treasury Secretary Paul O'Neill on Sunday urged Congress to fulfill its responsibility and raise the debt ceiling so the government can make Social Security payments next weekend.
Anthrax in Mail Was Newly Made, Investigators Say Scientists have determined that the anthrax powder sent through the mail last fall was fresh, made no more than two years before it was sent, senior government officials said. The new finding has concerned investigators, who say it indicates that whoever sent the anthrax could make more and strike again.
Security bill bars blowing whistle A provision in the bill seeking to create a Homeland Security Department will exempt its employees from whistleblower protection, the very law that helped expose intelligence-gathering missteps before September 11. The legislation now before Congress contains a provision allowing the director of the proposed agency to waive all employee protections in Title V, including the Whistleblower Protection Act.
'All of Us Are in Danger' The Sons and Daughters of Liberty -- by Nat Hentoff "In the spirit of the Sons of Liberty, on February 4 of this year, some 300 citizens of Northampton, Massachusetts, held a town meeting to organize ways to—as they put it—protect the residents of the town from the Bush-Ashcroft USA Patriot Act. On that night, the Northampton Bill of Rights Defense Committee began a new American Revolution. Similar committees are organizing around the country."
'Enemy combatants' -- by Dale McFeatters "The Bush administration is making a breathtaking assertion of its right to imprison an American citizen indefinitely, without access to a court or a lawyer, simply by designating the citizen an 'enemy combatant.' And who, precisely, is an enemy combatant? Anybody President Bush [sic] - or his military commanders - says. And, the administration asserts further, the courts have no jurisdiction to rule on whether the individual is or is not an enemy combatant."
Sacrifice Is for Losers -- by Frank Rich "This time the cancer is not on the presidency but on the economy, where the malignancy is a flood of corporate transgressions whose scope and scale, in the words of The Wall Street Journal this week, 'exceed anything the U.S. has witnessed since the years preceding the Great Depression.' "
Former Officials Say Enron Hid Gains During Crisis in California The Enron Corporation used undisclosed reserves to keep as much as $1.5 billion in trading profits off its books during the California energy crisis, according to six former managers and executives who handled or reviewed the accounts.
Enron's ex-CFO seeks protection from lawsuits Enron Corp.'s former chief financial officer wants a federal judge to grant him protection from civil lawsuits as the FBI pursues its criminal probe against him and others.
New Routes To Channel 'Soft Money' On Horizon The Federal Election Commission yesterday approved a major exemption to the new campaign finance law that will facilitate plans by strategists for both major parties to create new ways to channel large, unregulated "soft money" contributions into federal elections.
Representative John Dingell (D-MI) Radio Address on Prescription Drugs
Major Crimes Rise in U.S. After 9 (Bill Clinton) Years of Declines The number of major crimes in the United States increased last year for the first time in a decade, bringing an end to a decline in violence that had resulted in the lowest crime levels in a generation, according to FBI statistics.
Florida Election Reforms Called Inadequate Florida voters will grapple with unfamiliar new machines, redrawn precincts and haphazard ballot education when they go to the polls in September for the first statewide election since the debacle in the 2000 presidential s-election, voting rights advocates said on Thursday. The result, the advocates told U.S. Commission on Civil Rights, is likely to be chaos and rejected ballots.
Election-reform critics: Expect a mess (in Florida, of course) MIAMI -- U.S. Commission on Civil Rights Chairwoman Mary Frances Berry warned of a "mini-disaster" in Florida's fall elections after a parade of critics said the state's election reforms don't go far enough. "You've got a mini-disaster waiting to happen in September," Berry said.
Italian police 'framed G8 protesters' Italian police have been accused of fabricating evidence against anti-globalisation protesters at last year's G8 summit in Genoa by planting petrol bombs at their headquarters and falsely accusing them of stabbing a police officer.
In the Northwest: Funnyman Ed Asner now in a serious line of work -- by Joel Connelly "In Asner's view, the Bush administration has manipulated public fear -- 'They love to identify people as 'the enemy' -- to chip away at personal freedoms and civil rights. Attorney General John Ashcroft is, in Asner's view, 'a madman.' 'I hope somebody kick-starts an examination of things, being done in the name of national security and war, that are ravaging the American people,' Asner said."
Speaking of rightwing nutcases: Jerry Falwell sues parody Web site The Rev. Jerry Falwell has gone to federal court to shut down a Web site that parodies him. [LOL! Too bad! Here is the website: http://www.internetparodies.org/ .]
Senator Clinton: Put 9/11 Heroes On Wheaties Box Senator Hillary Clinton has called on General Mills to put New York's Bravest and Finest on Wheaties boxes. "In this age of celluloid superheroes, America's children have real heroes to look up to, especially in the wake of Sept. 11," Clinton (D-N.Y.) wrote to General Mills' chairman and CEO, Steve Sanger.
Closed Detention Hearings Sought The Injustice Department appealed Friday to the U.S. Supreme Court to keep immigration hearings for some terrorism suspects closed.
Jeb Bush seeks to appoint terrorist's lawyer to Florida Supreme Court A Miami lawyer who could become the Florida Supreme Court's first Hispanic justice is under fire for his ties to Orlando Bosch, a militant anti-Castro activist once accused of plotting to blow up a Cuban airplane.
Agents pursue terrorists online U.S. scours Web for al-Qaeda site, closely monitors talk in chat room U.S. officials are searching the Internet for the reappearance of a Web site that they believe has been used by al-Qaeda to deliver messages, including possible instructions for its next attacks, to its operatives around the world.
Skeptics assail Bush plan Lawmakers, while promising swift passage of pResident Bush's plan to create a new mega-agency for homeland security, expressed doubts that it would fix the most glaring flaw exposed by the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks -- the lack of a central clearinghouse to analyze the huge volume of intelligence data flowing through the government.
[The Bush mis-ministration is trolling for trouble, again...] Cheney Sees 'Gathering Danger' in Iraq Iraqi President Saddam Hussein represents a "gathering danger" to the United States, Vice pResident Dick Cheney said on Thursday, while warning that Washington will act preemptively against threats of terrorism.
Bush, Fundraising in Fla., Scales $100 Million Mark He Makes 10th Trip as pResident to Pivotal State -- The chairs were gold, the cushions were gold, the tablecloths were gold -- even the plates were gold at tonight's dinner, which raised $2.5 million. About 1,400 donors paid $500 to $100,000 each to benefit the Rethuglican Party of Florida, which under state can is pay for advertising, polling and other expenses for this year's reelection of Bu$h's younger brother Gov. Jeb Bush (R).
Bush Hits $100M Fund-Raising Tally pResident Bu$h put the 2002 fund-raising tally for himself and Vice pResident Dick Cheney over the $100 million mark Friday with a Florida dinner boosting brother Jeb Bush's gubernatorial re-election.
Enron execs looted company prior to bankruptcy Documents filed in a New York court by the energy company Enron reveal the extent to which the company’s top executives enriched themselves in the year preceding its bankruptcy.
Report Predicts Deep Benefit Cuts Under Bush Social Security Plan Opponents of pResident Bush's plan to create personal investment accounts within Social Security released a report today concluding that the administration's approach would lead to deep cuts in retirement benefits and still require trillions of dollars in additional financing to keep the system solvent.
Fear of All Sums -- by Paul Krugman "To make sense of what passes for debate over Social Security reform, one must realize that advocates of privatization — of replacing the current system, at least in part, with a system of personal accounts — are determined not to understand basic arithmetic. Otherwise they would have to admit that such accounts would weaken, not strengthen, the system's finances."
Dirty-Bomb Politics -- by Mary McGrory "If the mugging of Sen. Max Cleland of Georgia is a fair indicator of what is to come, the fall elections will be ugly. Cleland, a decorated veteran and triple amputee, was attacked by his Republican opponent, Rep. Saxby Chambliss, 'for breaking his oath to protect and defend the Constitution.' "
Halliburton’s Home Court Gives Workers the Shaft In an over-the-top business power grab, Texas’ High Court last month overturned two lower courts to force a Halliburton employment dispute out of court and into arbitration (In re Halliburton Co.). The ruling paves the way for Texas businesses to strip their employees of the right to use jury trials to settle employment disputes.
Report: Arafat ready to accept Clinton plan Israel says Palestinian deaths a mistake -- At the end of a week in which Palestinians killed 31 Israelis in terror attacks, Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat said in a newspaper interview he was ready to accept a proposal first made by U.S. President Bill Clinton as a framework for a Mideast peace settlement.
Why is the US media blacking out documentary on war crimes in Afghanistan?
Supreme Court Bars Executing the Mentally Retarded A divided Supreme Court reversed itself Thursday and ruled that executing the mentally retarded is unconstitutionally cruel. Rightwing nutcases and Bush lackeys Chief Injustice William H. Rehnquist, and Injustices Antonin Scalia and Clarence Thomas dissented. [Whew! Bush is safe if and when he is tried and convicted of treason!"]
Mike Rectenwald's Interview on The Jim Greenfield Show! [Stay tuned for transcript -- coming soon!]
Court, 5-4, Upholds Authority of States to Protect Patients The Supreme Court today upheld the states' authority to protect the rights of patients in disputes with managed care companies over denial of recommended treatments.
Court Bars Student Suit Under U.S. Privacy Law The Supreme Court yesterday barred students from using federal privacy law to sue schools that divulge their personal information [?!?].
Government Closes Clinton N.Y. Clemency Case Federal prosecutors said on Thursday they were closing a probe, without filing charges, into clemencies that former President Bill Clinton granted four Hasidic men after their town voted overwhelmingly for Hillary Rodham Clinton's U.S. Senate bid.
Former Univ. if Ill. Student held on "Secret Evidence" Former University student Ahmed Bensouda is being detained by the Department of Immigration and Naturalization Services as a "national security threat," according to friends who held a press conference Friday morning. The trial included "secret evidence" against Bensouda that neither he nor his lawyer had access to, because he is considered a "national security threat" as determined by the judge. At the hearing Wednesday, the press and public were cleared from the courtroom because of this, and the hearing was unrecorded.
Air Force officer disciplined for saying Bush allowed September 11 attacks Hijacker attended US military school -- An Air Force officer in California recently accused pResident Bush of deliberately allowing the September 11 terror attacks to take place. The officer has been relieved of his command and faces further discipline.
Bush to Help in Brother's Campaign [Why not? Jeb helped steal election 2000 for the Idiot Usurper!] pResident Bush is shoring up his brother's re-election war chest, hoping to raise $2.5 million in one event for the Florida GOP.
S.C. plutonium impasse appeal denied A federal appeals court Thursday rejected hero and patriot Gov. Jim Hodges' last-minute attempt to stop plutonium shipments from entering South Carolina.
Study: Warming a Boon to Diseases Climate warming is allowing disease-causing bacteria, viruses and fungi to move into new areas where they may harm species as diverse as lions and snails, butterflies and humans, a study suggests.
Rethuglican Will Head Energy Bill Negotiations Rethuglican Rep. Billy Tauzin, who wants to allow oil drilling in an Alaskan wildlife refuge, edged out a Democratic senator on Wednesday to head the congressional panel that will negotiate a final bill to overhaul U.S. energy policy.
GOP right in Iowa fear 'purge' Conservatives claim they are about to be "purged" from the Iowa Republican Party [why stop there?] in a move that could have national repercussions.
Tony [barf alert!] Blankley named editorial-page editor of Moonie-CIA-owned Washington Times Tony Blankley, a Washington newspaper columnist and television commentator [and rightwing nutcase] since he left his job as press secretary to Newt Gingrich, yesterday was named editor of the editorial page of The Washington Times.
Troops Face Long Stay in Afghanistan The United States is no longer dropping bombs in Afghanistan and few al-Qaida fighters have been captured in recent weeks. The 7,000 American soldiers in Afghanistan, however, won't be leaving any time soon.
Stocks Tumble to New Lows for the Year [thanks to Bush]
Dollar Hits a 2-Year Low Against Euro [thanks to Bush]
Michael Rectenwald interviewed in The Oregonian! Radio host offers opponent airtime "During the interview with Michael Rectenwald, founder of the anti-Bush group Citizens for Legitimate Government, Greenfield challenged his guest to defend his use of the words 'coup' and 'occupation' to describe Bush's presidency [sic]."
U.S. Warplanes Strike Iraq 'No-Fly' Zone - Military Western warplanes on Thursday attacked an Iraqi military command-and-control center in a "no-fly" zone southeast of Baghdad.
Red, White And Greenbacks At GOP Fundraiser The combined committees raised more than $30 million. Twenty-one drug companies ponied up $250,000 each to underpin the evening. Robert A. Ingram, president and CEO of GlaxoSmithKline pharmaceutical company, was the corporate chairman of the event. He led the pResidential toast [barf alert!].
Panel Debates Revising U.S. Policy on Smallpox Shots On the eve of a planned vote on whether to change the government's recommendations on smallpox vaccine, a national advisory panel struggled today to determine what is the actual risk of a bioterrorist attack with smallpox. [After the big donations by the pharmaceutical companies to Bush last night, it's really not much of a debate, is it?]
White House Briefly Evacuated, Cowardly Bush Almost Fled to Bunker Again The White House was briefly evacuated on Wednesday after an aircraft flew into restricted airspace several miles away, apparently by accident.
Court Jousters A Small Cartel of Conservative Lawyers Rewrites the American Rule -- by James Ridgeway "Behind the Bush Administration's attack on civil rights in the name of war lurks the network of attorneys crafting laws for a new America. Their hodgepodge of rules and statutes either now or soon will remake the nation, providing local police with sweeping federal authority, pushing the military and CIA directly into everyday domestic politics, and sanctioning indefinite detention without a charge or even a court hearing."
Lawmakers Fear Costly Price Tag to Create Homeland Dept. Democrats: Bush Camp Ignores Budget Reality -- Lawmakers from both parties said yesterday that creating a Department of Homeland Security could cost hundreds of millions of dollars, taking issue in the most forceful terms to date with the White House's contention that all or parts of 22 federal agencies can be merged on a break-even basis.
House Panel Created to Handle Bush Security Bill The House of Representatives on Wednesday established a select committee to help expedite consideration of pResident Bush 's proposal to create a Department of Homeland Security.
'Combatants' Lack Rights, U.S. Argues Prisoners declared enemy combatants do not have the right to a lawyer and the American judiciary cannot second-guess the military's classification of such detainees, the Injustice Department argued yesterday in a brief to an appeals court.
FBI mobilizes surveillance for July 4th The FBI is launching a national surveillance effort to guard local communities against possible terrorist attacks on Fourth of July celebrations, federal authorities said Wednesday.
FBI Will Monitor July 4 Festivities The FBI is putting together a major national operation to monitor and protect [barf alert!] July Fourth parades and festivities because of concern that terrorists might attack, officials said Wednesday. [Gee, where were they on September 10th? Not "monitoring and protecting," I guess...(see stories, above)]
EPA says toxic sludge is good for fish The Army Corps of Engineers' dumping of toxic sludge into the Potomac River protects fish by forcing them to flee the polluted area and escape fishermen, according to an internal Environmental Protection Agency document.
Whitman says she hadn't read EPA report that irritated Bush Environmental Protection Agency administrator Christie Whitman said yesterday she did not review a controversial EPA report on global warming until she read about it in a newspaper, prompting critics to question her stewardship of the agency.
Pentagon Clears Troops for Philippines Patrols The Pentagon has approved a plan to send American troops on patrol with Philippine soldiers battling Islamic rebels in the southern Philippines, a U.S. defense official said on Wednesday.
House Panel Approves Guns for 2 Percent of Pilots A House of Representatives subcommittee approved a bill Wednesday to let 2 percent of commercial pilots carry guns in the cockpit for a two-year trial period, as a last line of defense against hijackers.
Congress Gets Bill Setting Up Security Dept. The F.B.I. and the C.I.A. would be required to turn over intelligence reports on terrorist threats to the proposed Department of Homeland Security, White House officials said today in submitting to Congress a bill that would reorganize much of official Washington.
Major Companies Sponsoring G.O.P. Fund-Raiser Tonight As lawmakers battle over a prescription drug bill, pharmaceutical and health-care concerns are providing major support for a fund-raiser scheduled for Wednesday night that is expected to raise more than $20 million for Republican candidates in this year's Congressional election.
Drug Firms Giving Big to GOP Pharmaceutical companies are among 21 donors paying $250,000 each for red-carpet treatment at tonight's GOP fundraising gala starring pResident Bush, two days after Republicans unveiled a prescription drug plan the industry is backing, according to GOP officials.
Conservatives not satisfied with Bush's record [By golly, It's unanimous!! EVERYONE hates Bu$h! Can he be tried for treason for 9/11 now?] Conservative lawmakers and activists disappointed with pResident Bush's first 18 months in office are calling into question his tactics and strategy in advancing the conservative agenda.
Nuclear-waste conflict intensifies Opponents of plans point to terrorism -- Fear of nuclear terrorism is heating up a dispute concerning the safety of shipping radioactive cargo across the USA by road, rail and waterway.
Court Revives Radiation Claim A federal appeals court Tuesday revived two lawsuits filed by thousands of people who claimed they were sickened by radiation releases from the Hanford nuclear weapons complex.
Senate Passes Aid to Insurers on Terrorism The Senate passed legislation today requiring the government to pay the overwhelming majority of financial losses in a major terrorist attack, though the measure takes a markedly different approach from one approved by the House.
Banks sued for $50bn in South Africa class action A group of apartheid's victims are suing three banks which breached the international sanctions against white South Africa for $50bn damages, accusing them of collaborating in forced labour, murder, torture and massacres.
"Homeland Security = Home-grown Fascism" While Tom Ridge spoke to the group of several hundred mayors, a group of protesters stood outside the Monona Terrace convention center carrying signs such as: "War on Terrorism = War on Immigration" and "Homeland Security = Home-grown Fascism."
Justices OK police tactics in searches No need to tell of search rights -- Police are not required to tell bus and train passengers that they can object to being frisked, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled Monday in a case that tested police tactics that have been used increasingly since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.
Lawyer: Lindh's Rights Violated The government violated John Walker Lindh's rights when it refused to fly the U.S.-born Taliban home from Afghanistan for a prompt hearing while allowing him to be questioned by U.S. interrogators, his lawyers said Tuesday.
GOP State Representative charged with indecent exposure A Tennessee lawmaker has been arrested for indecent exposure. Investigators say the state representative exposed himself several times to a group of kids outside a hotel swimming pool. Rep. Keith Westmoreland is a Rethuglican from Kingsport. He serves on the house judiciary committee helping to make laws in Tennessee. Now, he's accused of breaking the law in Florida. [Was Jeb with him?]
Jeb Bush (inadvertently) endorses Janet Reno for Governor of Florida, leaving voters to wonder: "Is he as dumb as his brother George after all?"
Rumsfeld Sold Millions in Stock Under Ethics Rules Defense Secretary [and rightwing nutcase] Donald Rumsfeld sold between $20 million and $90 million in stocks and other investments last year to comply with government ethics rules.
Chavez facing a storm of coup threats A new wave of coup threats against President Hugo Chávez is pushing Venezuelans to the edge of hysteria, with many residents of the capital stockpiling food and condo associations preparing an inventory of guns in case of looting. Clandestine communiqués and videos from alleged military officers vowing to topple the leftist president emerge almost daily.
A chilling case of political censorship -- Anti-Bush protesters ejected from Ohio State commencement Graduates at the June 14 commencement ceremony held by Ohio State University (OSU) were threatened with arrest if they made any protest against the keynote speaker, George W. Bush.
Miramar man faces bomb threat charges Federal prosecutors say the Miramar man, 22, sent an anonymous tip from his work computer to the FBI Internet desk on May 31, saying he had overheard “Safraz Jehaludi” state he was planning to blow up a Florida Power & Light Co. power plant and make a name for himself in an attempt to kill the president [sic] and take over the White House [Uh, the White House has already been "taken over" since November, 2000.]
Bush Advisers Backing Card as Homeland Security Secretary Prominent advisers to pResident Bush are urging him to name White House Chief of Staff Andrew H. Card Jr. as secretary of the Department of Homeland Security if Congress approves the administration's plan, several of those advisers said yesterday.
As critics get louder, Bush fights back with a plan to reform homeland security An official describes the clandestine enterprise as "sort of like the Manhattan Project," and paranoia about leaks ran so high that meetings were moved to the secure bunker beneath the White House where senior officials had taken cover on Sept. 11.
$680 million paid to top Enron execs in '01 Lay, Skilling together topped $109 million -- Enron paid its top 140 executives a total of $680 million in the year prior to its Dec. 2 bankruptcy, according to a filing the company will make public today.
'Virtual Slave Labor' In The American Heartland In Tulsa, Oklahoma 53 Indian men spent months working under conditions that their attorneys call "virtual slave labor."
Isn't Democracy Worth It? -- by Bob Herbert "Today it may be Padilla. Tomorrow it might be you."
Lindh Request to Drop Case Rejected A federal judge refused on Monday to dismiss John Walker Lindh's indictment, rejecting defense arguments the American had a constitutional right to associate with the Taliban and could not get a fair trial.
Venue change for Lindh trial rejected A federal judge Monday rejected a defense motion for a change of venue in the trial of John Walker Lindh.
Bush order to topple Saddam is in effect pResident Bush signed an intelligence order early this year directing the CIA to undertake a comprehensive, covert program to topple Saddam Hussein, including authority to use lethal force to capture the Iraqi president, according to sources familiar with the matter.
On trial for paper plane attack on US embassy According to the police report, three men threw paper airplanes at the US embassy in Oslo on the evening of October 14 while yelling, "These are peace planes, not bombers". One of the accused says that the point of the paper ambush was to protest the USA's war in Afghanistan.
Sticker may reap a bumper crop "Anybody but Katherine" is already spawning sticker spinoffs as the Democrats running against Katherine Harris plan to turn out others suggesting who "anybody" should be.
French right-wing parties consolidate large parliamentary majority
Bush to Formalize a Defense Policy of Hitting First Dictator George W. Bush has directed his top national security aides to make a doctrine of pre-emptive action against states and terrorist groups trying to develop weapons of mass destruction into the foundation of a new national security strategy, according to senior mis-ministration officials drafting the document.
[Cover story, New York Times, June 22:] Conspiracy Theory Grips French: Sept. 11 as Right-Wing U.S. Plot In the book, L'Effroyable Imposture, or The Horrifying Fraud, Thierry Meyssan challenges the entire official version of the Sept. 11 attacks. Comment by CLG Founder and Chair, Michael Rectenwald: "Books such as this one provide perfect foils for the US media against legitimate criticism of the Bush mis-ministration for the disaster of 9-1-1. The NYT review helps to make cynics of erstwhile skeptics. These cynics then scoff at "conspiracy theories," and likewise ignore the real questions asked by reasonable people. The NYT fails to mention that the official version of 9-1-1 is a "conspiracy theory" itself--the conspiracy of a terrorist network to destroy US targets. Given the foil of "conspiracy theories," The NYT need not mention the connections between Bush&Co and the Arab financiers of bin Laden. It need not question the real oil interests that propel U.S. policy in Afghanistan and Iraq. It need not mention the concurrent policy of arming Israel against Palestine, which policy makes US Mid-East policy "bipolar"-- fueling Arab hatred while pouring money into their coffers.
It is not surprising that the New York Times picked this straw man of a book to beat up and tear apart, in lieu of real investigative or critical journalism. They do so to quell the real doubts and questions about the culpability (not complicity, but real criminal negligence) of Bush&Co. regarding 9-1-1."
Delay in WTC Probe Criticized A federal agency planning to investigate the Twin Towers collapse heard a wide range of technical suggestions as well as criticism from fire safety experts, victims’ relatives and experts from across the country Monday.
Authorities Accused of Delaying WTC Investigation Engineers, fire-science experts and victims' relatives who yesterday were called to make suggestions on the federal plan to study the World Trade Center collapse blasted authorities for delaying their investigation.
Head of Sept. 11 Probe Allegedly Obstructed Danforth's Waco Inquiry Former FBI Counsel Held Onto Papers -- The official in charge of ferreting out information about the FBI for a joint congressional intelligence panel allegedly obstructed a Justice Department probe of the bureau two years ago.
[And, so that we never get to the bottom of 9/11:] Sept. 11 Leak Probe Urged The leaders [cowards] of a congressional probe into Sept. 11 intelligence failures — stung by Bush administration complaints about leaks — asked John Ashkkkroft yesterday to investigate. The request came after Vice pResident Cheney called key congressional leaders to express White House anger about the leaks.
Ashkkkroft may probe leaked pre-9/11 intercepts Leaders of a joint congressional panel probing pre-September 11 intelligence lapses have asked the attorney general to investigate who leaked cryptic intercepts that hinted of imminent attacks.
Cheney Blames Leaks on Congress Intelligence Chairmen Request Justice Investigation -- Vice pResident Cheney chastised the House and Senate intelligence committees yesterday about leaks of classified information, and the panels' chairmen responded by requesting a Injustice Department investigation into the disclosures.
Bush Complains About Release of Sept. 11 Intercepts The White House complained on Thursday that a House-Senate probe into the Sept. 11 attacks released sensitive information about secret intercepts with the potential to undermine U.S. national security [Bush doesn't want us to know about his treasonous actions regarding the September 11th terrorist attacks!!].
Dick Cheney Complains About Leaks Vice pResident Dick Cheney complained to lawmakers Thursday about leaks that he believes led to disclosure of the National Security Agency's Sept. 10 intercepts of at least two messages in Arabic that suggested a major event was to take place the next day. [Too bad, Enron breath!]
Agency Is Under Scrutiny for Overlooked Messages The National Security Agency intercepted two cryptic communications on the day before the Sept. 11 attacks that referred to a major event scheduled for the next day, but analysts at the secret eavesdropping agency did not read the messages until Sept. 12, American intelligence officials said today.
US Heard 'Tomorrow Is Zero Hour' on Eve of Attacks U.S. intelligence [LOL - now THERE'S a contradiction in terms!] intercepted two messages the day before the Sept. 11 attacks that indicated an event was planned the following day, but the communications were not translated until Sept. 12, government sources said on Wednesday.
U.S. Intelligence Intercepted Messages Day Before Sept. 11 U.S. intelligence intercepted two messages the day before the Sept. 11 attacks that indicated an event was planned the following day, but the communications were not translated until Sept. 12, government sources said Wednesday.
NSA Knew of Impending Attacks on 9/10 A conversation intercepted by the National Security Agency suggested that a big event [?!?] was to take place the next day. It was not translated until Sept. 12 [?!?]. Intelligence agencies aren't sure [?!?] if a conversation in Arabic intercepted Sept. 10 was a warning of the next day's attacks at the World Trade Center and Pentagon, an intelligence source said Wednesday.
S.F. attorney: Bush allowed 9/11 San Francisco attorney Stanley Hilton now figures his case is stronger because of a coalition of attorneys, victims' families and bipartisan legislators who gathered in Washington on Monday to condemn the government's lack of action in preventing the Sept. 11 attacks.
June 19, 2002
Activists plan to monitor voting at polls Stung by the Bush mis-ministration's decision this month not to pursue further legal action in Florida's 2000 presidential election, civil rights leaders say that getting massive numbers of voters to the polls is not enough. Activists must converge to monitor precincts for signs of fraud and improper conduct, they said, because the U.S. Justice Department may not step in. [NOTE the admission at the end of the article by the Miami Herald that in ONE Jacksonville county alone, "thousands of ballots were never counted." We know, Miami Herald--by why did you LIE about that before????]
Fla. Election Monitors Recruited Civil rights leaders and liberal groups are organizing Florida residents to monitor polling places in the upcoming election for fraud and improper conduct.
Supreme Court Rules on Bus Searches The Less-Than-Supreme- Court ruled Monday that police who want to look for drugs or evidence of other crimes do not have to first inform public transportation passengers of their legal rights.
Ashcroft's High Profile, Motives Raise White House Concerns Attorney General Ashcroft's visibility has fed speculation, denied by his aides, that he is eyeing another run for office.
The man is stupid -- by Joan Smith "I have lost count of the times I have been ticked off in recent months, sometimes by quite senior politicians, for suggesting that George W Bush is a complete idiot."
Debunk the myth of Al Qaeda Its size and reach have been blown out of proportion -- by Kimberly A. McCloud and Adam Dolnik
Arrogance in education (St. Petersburg Times) The state (FL) has organized its educational policy around the results of one standardized test, and then has set itself up as the only gauge of public school performance.
Afghan war documentary charges US with mass killings of POWs A documentary film, Massacre in Mazar, by Irish director Jamie Doran, was shown to selected audiences in Europe last week, provoking demands for an international inquiry into US war crimes in Afghanistan.
Interview with Jamie Doran, director of Massacre at Mazar
New Jersey appeals court upholds secret detentions In the first ruling to uphold the Bush mis-ministration’s secret detention policy, a New Jersey Appeals Court ruled June 12 that two county jails do not have to reveal the names of immigrants rounded up since September 11. Bush’s inJustice Department has refused to release the names of those arrested in the “anti-terror” dragnet.
Lawyers: Lindh Can't Get Fair Trial Lawyers for John Walker Lindh, seeking dismissal of his indictment, argue that the American-born Taliban fighter cannot receive a fair trial anywhere in America — and especially not 10 miles from the Pentagon where 189 people died Sept. 11.
FBI Referral Rate Of Terror Cases for Prosecution Grows The FBI has been seeking prosecution of international terrorism cases at six times the rate it did before Sept. 11, but more than half those cases considered by federal prosecutors never made it to court, Justice Department records show.
Questions as Bush Tests Harder Line with N. Korea As the Bush mis-ministration prepares to test a harder line in talks with North Korea, it remains divided on key aspects of U.S. strategy and where negotiations with Pyongyang might lead.
Anti-Missile Work Begins in Alaska Federal officials broke ground Saturday on six underground missile interceptor silos as part of the new national missile defense system [that no one but the Bush junta wants to see built].
Activists Say Anti-Nuke Support Up
With friends like these -- by Michael Parsons "The very institutions that are supposed to make America great--from Big Business to the Oval Office--are embarrassing the country."
We won't deny our consciences Prominent Americans have issued this statement on the war on terror: "Let it not be said that people in the United States did nothing when their government declared a war without limit and instituted stark new measures of repression. The signers of this statement call on the people of the US to resist the policies and overall political direction that have emerged since September 11 and which pose grave dangers to the people of the world..."
Bush to use Covert CIA Program to Topple Hussein pResident Bush early this year signed an intelligence order directing the CIA to undertake a comprehensive, covert program to topple Saddam Hussein, including authority to use lethal force to capture the Iraqi president, according to informed sources.
The Lindh E-Mail The inJustice Department’s own lawyers have raised questions about the government’s case against the American Taliban -- Even as prosecutors began preparing criminal charges against Lindh last December, the department’s own ethics advisers were raising red flags.
S.C. Watches for Plutonium Shipments One day after hero and patriot Gov. Jim Hodges' request to block the shipments from the Rocky Flats facility in Colorado was denied in federal court, the governor read a statement Friday declaring a state of emergency and sent troopers to block roads near the site. Hodges ordered state police to prevent anyone transporting plutonium into South Carolina starting Friday.
Mayors Set to Oppose Nevada Dump Site Three Western mayors urged their counterparts Saturday to oppose a plan that would create a national nuclear waste repository in Nevada, saying that shipping radioactive waste to the site would threaten the entire country.
Senate Democrats Push Medicare Drug Plan Senate Democrats used their weekly radio address on Saturday to promote their plan to help seniors pay for prescription drugs under Medicare.
Experts [and all sane people] Wary of G.O.P. Drug Plan A Republican plan to provide prescription drug benefits to the elderly through private insurers is drawing a skeptical reaction from many health policy experts. The plan, they say, would face problems like those that have plagued Medicare's attempt to encourage the use of health maintenance organizations.
AMA Officer Sparks Ethics Debate Doctor-Lawyer's Business Advises on How to Avoid Malpractice Suits -- A Louisiana physician poised to become president-elect of the American Medical Association founded a company that advises doctors on how to avoid malpractice suits, drawing criticism that his ascension reflects a disturbing trend in the nation's health care system.
Report Provides New Details of Soviet Smallpox Accident A Soviet field test of weaponized smallpox caused an outbreak in 1971 that killed two children and a young woman before health teams disinfected homes, quarantined hundreds of people and administered nearly 50,000 emergency vaccine shots, a new report asserts.
Alaska, No Longer So Frigid, Starts to Crack, Burn and Sag With the average temperature rising seven degrees over the past 30 years, Alaskans are facing sagging roads, shoreline erosion and dying forests.
Secrets of the Yo-Yo's -- by Maureen Dowd "A predictable insight into the Rove world view. He worries about Enron as a potential political attack rather than an economic calamity in which thousands of people lost their shirts and their jobs."
Powell may split from Bush team US Secretary of State Colin Powell is becoming so frustrated at being undermined by the White House that he may stand down after the mid-term elections, some American diplomats claim. The damaging speculation has been dismissed by senior State Department sources, but it caps a bad week for pResident Bu$h's Cabinet.
Three graduating students were arrested at their own graduation for the crime of turning their backs to Bush as he delivered the keynote address.
"Graduating students were told that they would be expelled and arrested if they turned their backs."
Ohio State Graduates Were Threatened With Arrest and Expulsion if they Protested Bush's Speech. They Were Ordered to Give Bush a "Thunderous Ovation."
Pentagon Meddles in Windtalkers Movie A scene was written out of the script after the Marine Corps and the Department of Defense -- which lent production assistance to the movie -- complained about it.
S.C. Troopers to Watch for Plutonium Hero and patriot Gov. Jim Hodges ordered state troopers and other authorities to South Carolina's borders Friday to stop federal shipments of plutonium that could begin arriving from Colorado as early as this weekend. "I order that the transportation of plutonium on South Carolina roads and highways is prohibited," Hodges said. "I order that any persons transporting plutonium shall not enter the state of South Carolina."
Earthquake Near Planned Nuke Waste Site A mild earthquake rumbled beneath the desert early Friday near Yucca Mountain, the federal government's proposed site for a nuclear waste repository.
Quake Stirs Opposition To Nuclear Waste Plan A mild earthquake early yesterday in the Nevada desert about 12 miles southeast of Yucca Mountain has added fuel to the controversy over the Bush mid-ministration plan to build a centralized nuclear waste repository beneath the mountain.
EPA OKs combining most pesticides Activists complain children, some risks were not weighed -- The Environmental Protection Agency has signed off on the safety of all but two of 30 pesticides it studied to see whether they are unreasonably dangerous to human health when combined.
Andersen Found Guilty of Obstruction of Justice Arthur Andersen was convicted Saturday of obstructing justice by shredding Enron-related documents in a verdict that could be the death knell for the shattered accounting firm and one that boosts prosecutors' efforts to get to the bottom of the Enron scandal.
U.S.: People Held for Attacks Probe At least 147 people detained as part of the investigation into the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks are still being held by the government, the inJustice Department revealed in response to a court order.
US to hold Jose Padilla indefinitely without charges The Bush mis-ministration confirmed June 13 that it had no plans either to charge, try or release Jose Padilla, the Brooklyn-born man who was seized by FBI agents last month. Padilla is the first [and likely, not the last] US citizen to be subjected to indefinite detention by the Bush Fourth Reich under its unilateral assertion of wartime executive power.
Agency: Deficit Likely Above $100B The federal deficit probably will soar beyond $100 billion this year, Congress' top budget analyst says.
President Gore searched twice during Wisconsin trip Traveling to Wisconsin, President Gore was pulled aside for random security screening ["Random?!?"] at Reagan National Airport before boarding the 7:15 p.m. flight to Milwaukee on Friday.
EPA Documents Reveal Plan to Weaken Air Quality Protections NRDC says Bush mis-ministration plans would violate law and threaten public health.
Plutocracy and Politics -- by Paul Krugman "In 1981 ...captains of industry were paid an average of $3.5 million, which seemed like a lot at the time. By 1988 the average had soared to $19.3 million, which seemed outrageous. But by 2000 the average annual pay of the top 10 was $154 million...earnings of top executives rose 4,300 percent."
Is Scandal, Fear Inspiring Malaise Among Americans? Nine months after the Sept. 11 attacks, the United States finds itself in a jittery mood, as scandal and doubts envelop a growing number of major institutions.
Unocal Faces Trial For Rights Abuses A Superior Court judge in Los Angeles ordered Unocal to stand trial for human rights abuses allegedly committed in association with a pipeline project in Myanmar.
Surprise, surprise, the Bush regime rigs (another) s-election.
Karl Rove's Missing Computer Disk Found by a Democrat A computer disk containing a private analysis of the 2002 elections prepared by White House Political Director Ken Mehlman somehow was left on a street corner a few blocks from the White House. The disk, which also includes a more detailed Power Point presentation on the political climate for the 2002 and 2004 elections prepared by Karl Rove, was picked up off the pavement by a Senate Democratic aide, who has been happily passing it on to others.
Bob Barr's Believe It or Not -- by Lloyd Grove "We never realized that that Rep. Bob Barr -- the Georgia Republican who so despised Bill Clinton that he demanded his impeachment before the Monica Lewinsky scandal -- was such a delicate hothouse flower. Well, it turns out that Barr was deeply hurt by all those slings and arrows during his 1998 ordeal as a Republican impeachment manager."
The Strangest Bedfellows Conservative Strategy Meeting Gets a Dose of Naderite Populism -- At one point, the room cheered Nader for his "help" in the 2000 s-election. Nader responded by pointing to his favorite political cartoon, in which a George W. Bush figure, upon hearing that "A Vote for Nader Is a Vote for Bush," announces his intention to "Vote for Nader." And Nader began his presentation by poking fun at his audience and at its reputation as the fulcrum of a right-wing conspiracy.
Bush Distances Himself From Attorney General [God, we ALL wish we could do that!] -- by James Ridgeway "As Bush angrily backpedals away from Attorney General John Ashcroft's statements Monday about the supposed dirty-bomb plot of former Chicago thug Abdullah al Muhajir (a/k/a Jose Padilla), Washington officials are nervously watching the nation's top lawman and wondering what's next."
Unions say Bush blocking them Tens of thousands of federal employees who would be shifted to a new department of homeland security risk losing their union memberships, triggering a fight that could complicate the agency's congressional approval.
Axis of errors has America's friends Bushed -- by Paul McGeough "The White House stumblebum team played fast and loose this week - rushing headlong into every crisis, their loose lips risking greater tension, fear and panic in a world that was trying to cool it."
Lindh: U.S. Denied My Legal Rights U.S. authorities in Afghanistan failed to advise John Walker Lindh of his legal rights and ignored his pleas for a lawyer, defense attorneys contended Friday.
Anthrax Theory Emerges Scientists: FBI Questions Suggest Insider Grew Spores At Lab, Refined Them Elsewhere -- The FBI is investigating whether the anthrax spores used in last fall's attacks could have been grown secretly inside an Army lab and then taken elsewhere to be weaponized, according to three sources familiar with the ongoing probe.
Judge Refuses to Force Nevada to Give Water to Yucca Mountain A judge is refusing to make Nevada turn on the water tap for the federal government at the Yucca Mountain nuclear waste dump site.
White House Seeks a Change [for the Worse] in Rules on Air Pollution The Bu$h mis-ministration today proposed changing air pollution rules to give utilities more leeway in modernizing power plants without also being required to improve their pollution-control equipment.
EPA Proposes To Ease Rules On Clean Air Foes Vow a Court Fight -- The Bush mis-ministration announced yesterday a major relaxation of clean air enforcement rules governing older coal-fired power plants and refineries that would effectively preclude future government legal action in all but the most flagrant cases of pollution.
S.C. Loses Plutonium Shipment Ruling A federal judge on Thursday denied Gov. Jim Hodges' request to block shipments of weapons-grade plutonium, which could begin arriving in South Carolina as early as this weekend.
Anti-Nuke Pills a Hot Item Potassium iodide has become such a hot commodity among people living near the Indian Point nuclear power plant in Westchester County (NY) that there were no fewer than 20 Internet auction listings for the little pills on eBay yesterday.
President Gore plans retreat with contributors Al Gore plans to meet with top Democratic fund-raisers at the end of July to talk about elections — the 2000 presidential s-election, this year's congressional elections and future contests.
Text of President Gore's Speech at the Wisconsin State Democratic Party Convention
Congressional agency debunks charges of vandalism by Clinton White House “Vandalism-Gate” has become the latest anti-Clinton scandal to be exposed as a Republican-inspired fraud.
Ex-Mayor Rudolph Giuliani to face questioning in case by artist Former Mayor [and rightwing nutcase] Rudolph Giuliani will answer legal questions in a lawsuit brought by an artist who says he was repeatedly arrested after depicting Giuliani as Adolph Hitler in a painting, the city says.
Giuliani Will Testify vs. New York Artist Rudy Giuliani will testify against the painter who depicted him as Adolph Hitler. The former mayor will be deposed as part of the city's defense against a federal suit by artist Robert Lederman, who claims he was illegally targeted for arrest by the Giuliani administration.
N.Y. Teacher Arrested for Hitting Kids with Broom A substitute teacher has been arrested for attacking school children with a broom handle in the Washington Heights section of Manhattan, sending many of the six- and seven-year olds to the hospital with bruises and welts, police said Friday.
America faces a capitalism crisis -- by Andrew Neil "American business currently occupies an unprecedented 'position of low repute', Hank Paulson, the chief executive of Goldman Sachs, said last week. Confidence in American companies was the lowest 'in my lifetime'.
Unintelligent intelligence - by Keiler Hook "Are the FBI and CIA fumbling around again and calling it a victory? Is the detaining of Abdullah al Muhajir, previously known as Jose Padilla, just another spin by the administration to keep us distracted from the reality of the inadequacy of the intelligence community? It certainly appears that way."
Now showing on satellite TV: secret American spy photos Security lapse allows viewers to see sensitive operations -- European satellite TV viewers can watch live broadcasts of peacekeeping and anti-terrorist operations being conducted by US spyplanes over the Balkans.
US invasion proposal shocks MPs The Dutch parliament was shocked by a US legislative proposal giving an official green light to a US invasion of the Netherlands should it be deemed necessary to free US citizens from the International Criminal Court in The Hague.
Democrats Complain About Missile Test Secrecy Leading Senate Democrats today accused the Missile Defense Agency of excessive secrecy in reporting on its tests, timetables and cost estimates.
State Patrol begins random searches at ferry docks State troopers have launched an aggressive campaign to boost security on Washington State Ferries by randomly searching vehicles while their owners wait to board.
EPA chief was left in the dark on U.S. climate report Christine Todd Whitman, the top U.S. environmental regulator, said on Wednesday she was not told in advance about a controversial Bush mis-ministration report that concluded greenhouse gas emissions produced by human activities were the primary cause of global warming.
Dangerous waters By shipping plutonium around the world, Britain is courting catastrophe -- by George Monbiot "The world now faces two imminent nuclear threats. The first is the stand-off between India and Pakistan, two nuclear powers vacillating on the brink of war. The second arises from a commercial deal between the United Kingdom and Japan."
Vermont to Require Drug Makers to Disclose Payments to Doctors Amid rising concern about the cost of prescription drugs, Vermont is expected today to become the first state in the nation to require pharmaceutical companies to disclose their gifts and cash payments to doctors, hospitals and other health care providers.
Senators Say U.S. Should Keep Tabs on Internet Body U.S. lawmakers said on Wednesday that they would step up oversight of the nonprofit group that oversees the Internet's domain-name system, but stopped short of saying the United States should run the controversial body.
Effort to Repeal Estate Tax Ends in Senate Defeat The Republican push for a permanent repeal of the estate tax collapsed today in the Democratic-led Senate.
Environmental Activists Win Case Against FBI, Police -- Given $4.4M
Judge tells Utah newspaper not to publish story A judge has ordered the Standard-Examiner not to publish a story involving an injured girl who was removed from her home.
Indiana high school withholds diploma after student's speech Officials at Whiting High School refused to give the senior class salutatorian her diploma after she deviated from her prepared speech and gave teachers frivolous awards during the ceremony.
British security sources raise doubts over US claims about 'dirty bomber' British and European security officials are highly sceptical of American claims that the alleged "dirty bomb" plotter, Abdullah al-Muhajir, was preparing to unleash a radioactive attack.
Dramatic return of 'war on terror' can only help Bush -- by Rupert Cornwell "The arrest of the alleged al-Qa'ida associate and would-be 'dirty bomber' Abdullah al-Muhajir may raise as many questions as it answers. But whatever the threat he posed to America's national security, the political benefits to the Bush administration from his capture are clear."
Lawyer Challenges al Muhajir's Detention The attorney for a U.S. citizen accused of plotting to explode a radioactive "dirty bomb" in the United States filed a motion in federal court today challenging his indefinite detention at a high-security naval brig in Charleston, S.C.
Another step towards presidential dictatorship: Bush orders US citizen held indefinitely by military (WSWS) "A New York-born man of Puerto Rican descent has been jailed indefinitely by the Bush administration in a military brig in South Carolina, in an unprecedented assertion of executive power. The federal government has seized a US citizen and locked him up for an unlimited period of time on the say-so of the president [sic], without the sanction of any court and in defiance of such elementary legal principles as the presumption of innocence and the right of habeas corpus."
Suspect is being denied rights, say campaigners The Bush mis-ministration came under fire from civil rights groups yesterday for its decision to hold the suspected "dirty bomb" plotter in military custody and deny him access to civilian courts.
Suspect Held 8 Months Without Seeing Judge A former Boston cab driver once identified by authorities as a major terrorism suspect was kept in solitary confinement for more than eight months here without seeing a judge or being assigned a lawyer, according to court records, lawyers and advocates familiar with the case.
Anti - Ballistic Missile Treaty Expires The Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty, long the centerpiece of nuclear equilibrium between the United States and the Soviet Union and a strong deterrent to other nations with nuclear aspirations, will expire Thursday. Barring last-minute court intervention, the 1972 ABM treaty will expire six months after pResident Bush invoked a provision allowing either side to withdraw upon such notice.
Hate Crimes Bill Dealt a Setback The Senate on Tuesday dealt a major setback to a bill that would make violent attacks based on victims' sexual orientation or disabilities a federal hate crime, refusing to limit debate on the measure.
No war has been declared. But in the border villages it has already begun For the Indian villagers of Garkwal, it is not a question of when war will break out. It already has.
How close is your home to Bush’s traveling toxic waste road show? Type in your zip code and check it out! The Senate could vote as early as June 25th to ship radioactive waste via truck or train through your community -–so take action NOW!
Bush Setting Stage to Privatize Air-Traffic Control pResident Bush says air traffic control "not inherently governmental" -- In a surprise move June 6th, pResident Bush took the first steps toward privatizing air traffic control services.
House Democrats to Sue Over ABM Treaty Pullout A group of Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives plans to file a lawsuit on Tuesday challenging pResident Bush's decision to withdraw from the 1972 Antiballistic Missile Treaty, according to the office of Rep. Dennis Kucinich of Ohio.
Reid Urges Bush to Condemn GOP Monitoring of Lobbyists Senate Majority Whip Harry M. Reid called on pResident Bush yesterday to condemn Republicans close to the White House who are tracking the political activities of Democratic lobbyists in order to deny them lobbying jobs and access to key government officials.
Bush: U.S. Must Strike Terror First pResident Bush made a case Monday for pre-emptive strikes against terrorists that seek weapons of mass destruction for use against the United States and other nations, saying "we will oppose the new totalitarians with all our power." [He will oppose himself?]
Fleischer: Bush Didn't Read Report White House press secretary Ari Fleischer fessed up: pResident Bush didn't actually read that 268-page Environmental Protection Agency report on climate change, even if he said he did. [Well, we know this is the one statement of Fleischer's to be veracious, as the Idiot Usurper cannot read.]
What Was Terror Suspect Up To? U.S. officials are backing away from assertions that a man arrested last month in Chicago was plotting a 'dirty' bomb attack on the United States, CBS Correspondent Jim Stewart reports. [Yet, he can be held indefinitely -- without being charged, under AshKKKroft's new AmeriKKKan system of justice]
Detained American Al Qaeda Operative Has Few Rights The U.S. government's decision to declare a suspected American al Qaeda operative an "enemy combatant" means he can be held indefinitely and questioned without an attorney present.
[Barf Alert!] U.S. Should Control Internet Body, Senator Says Montana Rethuglican Sen. Conrad Burns said he would try to rein in the group that oversees the Internet's traffic system, calling for a more direct U.S. government role in the ostensibly international and independent body.
Bush Plan's Underground Architects In Silence and Stealth, Mis-ministration Drafted Huge Security Overhaul
Right wing wins solid majority in French legislative election
The Rove Doctrine -- by Paul Krugman "As analysts at the Cato Institute point out, the Bush-Cheney energy plan may have been conservative in the sense that it was anti-environmentalist, but otherwise it was stuffed full of things free-marketeers are supposed to abhor: expanded government power to seize private land (for transmission lines), large tax incentives for energy sources that don't pay their way at market prices (nuclear power in particular)."
Lieberman Presses for Enron Papers The head of a Senate panel that has received some 2,500 pages of documents under subpoena from the White House wants to know when it will deliver the rest of the records regarding contacts with Enron officials.
Va. House Speaker Paid Office Worker Rethuglican House Speaker S. Vance Wilkins Jr. has admitted that he paid $100,000 to a woman who accused him of harassment but denied that he forced sexual advances on her.
Gov. Davis Runs Ad Attacking Opponent Gov. Gray Davis, a Democrat known for his bare-knuckles campaign style, broadcast the first attack advertisement of his re-election campaign today.
U.S. Citizen Held In 'Dirty Bomb' Plot Bomb Plot Disrupted in Early Planning Stages -- Attorney General John AshKKKroft said that Abdullah Al Mujahir was in the custody of the U.S. military and was being treated as an enemy combatant. This suggests plans for the first military tribunal of a U.S. citizen.
Preemption to Be Military Policy The Bush Fourth Reich is developing a new strategic doctrine that moves away from the Cold War pillars of containment and deterrence toward a policy that supports preemptive attacks against terrorists and hostile states [?!?] with chemical, biological or nuclear weapons.
U.S. to Add 'Preemption' to Military Policy - Post The Bush insane mis-ministration is drafting a formal military policy that supports preemptive attacks against terrorists and hostile states with weapons of mass destruction, The Washington Post said in Monday editions.
Panel Questions New Agency's Powers pResident Bush's proposal to merge all or parts of 22 federal agencies into a homeland security structure does not give the head of the new department control over those who gather intelligence for the FBI, CIA, and other agencies, leaders of the Senate intelligence committee said yesterday.
Ridge: Bush should veto Cabinet-level homeland security office Homeland Security Director Tom Ridge said May 30th he would advise the Idiot Usurper to veto any legislation creating a congressionally authorized Office of Homeland Security if Congress approves a bill this year.
Police to spy on all emails Fury over Europe's secret plan to access computer and phone data -- Millions of personal emails, other internet information and telephone records are to be made accessible to the police and intelligence services in a move that has been denounced by critics as one of the most wide-ranging extensions of state power over private information.
Bush, Cheney Near $90M in GOP Funds The Rethuglican team of pResident Bush and Vice pResident Cheney is closing in on $90 million raised for the party for this fall's congressional elections.
GOP Monitoring Lobbyists' Politics White House, Hill Access May Be Affected -- Rethuglicans are researching the party affiliation and political contributions of hundreds of lobbyists in Washington, part of a campaign that could deny government access and prime lobbying jobs to Democrats, according to people familiar with the project.
When Hollywood's Big Guns Come Right From the Source The military establishment has been cooperating with Hollywood for nearly a century, with a noticeable break in the Vietnam years. But in recent times, with movie budgets swelling into the hundreds of millions of dollars, the Defense Department's contribution — and thus the American taxpayer's — has grown ever bigger and more elaborate.
Gore, in Madison, aims squarely at Bush President Gore charms Democratic convention crowd -- Al Gore thanked Wisconsin Democrats on Saturday for carrying the state for him in the 2000 presidential s-election and sharpened themes he would use if he runs again in two years.
Martin Sheen Stumps for Janet Reno in Fla. Sheen, who plays President Josiah Bartlet on NBC's "The West Wing," rallied at a retirement community on Saturday with the former U.S. attorney general seeking to oust Gov. Jeb Bush.
Michael Rectenwald replies to a rightwinger who writes, "YOU FOLKS ARE REALLY A TRIP!"
Stay tuned for Michael Rectenwald's review of The Best Democracy Money Can Buy, to appear in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, on the CLG website, and in other newspapers around the country.
NSA Got 9/11 Warning on 9/10 The National Security Agency received information on September 10th that "something big" was coming, it was reported last night.
Federal judge’s ties to Islamic radical to be exposed American Freedom News has learned that Attorney General John Ashcroft has been told that a sitting federal judge has close ties to Islamic radicals. He is suspected of being the same federal judge who refused to authorize over 20 FBI wiretaps on al-Qaeda suspects before September 11.
Agency heard terrorists talk before 9-11 A secretive U.S. eavesdropping agency monitored telephone conversations before Sept. 11 between the suspected commander of the World Trade Center and Pentagon attacks and the man thought to be the chief hijacker, but it did not share the information with other intelligence agencies, U.S. officials said Thursday.
Has FBI promoted 9-11 ball-dropper? The FBI supervisor who allegedly hamstrung the pre-Sept. 11 Minneapolis investigation into the alleged 20th hijacker has been transferred to a position where bureau sources say he'll actually have more authority.
A Pilot Answers 911 Questions JCS General Myers Wouldn't
More Pre-Attack Tips Surface The chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee said Sunday "significant numbers of people" from inside the government were coming forward with new information on U.S. intelligence failures related to the Sept. 11 attacks on America.
Judicial Watch sues to discover why Bush went on Cipro on September 11 In October 2001, press reports revealed that White House staff had been on a regimen of the powerful antibiotic Cipro since the September 11th terrorist attacks. Judicial Watch is aggressively pursuing the disclosure of the facts and the decision for White House staff, and pResident Bush as well, to begin taking Cipro nearly a month before anthrax was detected on Capitol Hill.
White House Faces Disclosure Suit Group Says Government Had Braced for Anthrax Attacks -- Judicial Watch group is suing the Bush administration for access to documents about last fall's anthrax attacks, asserting that top officials might have known the bioterrorist attack was coming.
Feds sued over anthrax documents Legal group wonders why White House took Cipro before attacks -- Legal watchdog group Judicial Watch has filed lawsuits against several Bush mis-ministration agencies for failure to produce documents concerning the terrorist anthrax attacks of last October, the organization announced today.
Al-Qaida monitored U.S. negotiations with Taliban over oil pipeline A memo by military chief Mohammed Atef raises new questions about whether failed U.S. efforts to reform Afghanistan's radical regime -- and build the pipeline -- set the stage for Sept. 11.
June 11, 2002
Bono and O’Neill’s African tour: low farce against a backdrop of human tragedy (WSWS) "Watching Ugandan workers labouring under the hot sun in the fields where they cultivate flowers for the European market, Bono enthused that this was 'globalisation at its best.'"
Radioactive Waste Goes Under Tents The federal government spent $62 million on a building to store and treat low-level radioactive waste at a California nuclear weapons laboratory, then decided the structure wasn't secure enough. So where is the waste kept now? Under tents.
GOP 'in political shock' over Card's revelations Republicans expressed shock yesterday at reports that White House Chief of Staff Andrew H. Card Jr. discussed his fear of a further swing to the right within the Bush Fourth Reich in a magazine interview.
White House chief warns of lurch to right Departure of pResident's closest adviser raises fear that conservative strategist may seize chance to extend his influence -- In an unusually revealing insight into the Bush White House yesterday, its chief of staff, Andrew Card, expressed concern that the administration was about to swing further to the right with the imminent departure of the pResident's closest adviser.
Dept. of Political Security -- by Maureen Dowd "With the most daring reorganization of government in half a century, George W. Bush hopes to protect something he holds dear: himself. After weeks of scalding revelations about a cascade of leads and warnings prefiguring the 9/11 attacks that were ignored by the U.S. government, the president [sic] created the Department of Political Security."
Presidential Powers in Times of Emergency: Could Terrorism Result In A Constitutional Dictator? -- by John W. Dean "We are fighting a war against terrorism, with no end in sight. It is a war, I believe, that will inevitably escalate. Indeed, it is a war that could force the nation to live under martial law - for indefinite periods."
Protesters Hold March in Rome Under tight security, thousands of protesters marched peacefully through Rome on Saturday to air grievances over genetically modified food and other agriculture issues two days before the start of a U.N. summit in the Italian capital.
Gore Slams Bush for Refusing Global Climate Report President Al Gore on Saturday criticized the Idiot Usurper for refusing to accept a federal agency report that blames humans for global warming.
Is It OK To Hate Bush? In which the president's carefully orchestrated dumb-guy shtick proves hollow and dubious -- by Mark Morford "Of course 'hate' is too strong a word. You should not hate anyone. Especially not jittery world leaders who are striving to justify war and make it look all fierce and necessary."
More upheaval in Venezuela? Sources say violence between military, militia factions imminent
GOP district plans win U.S. backing -- Quick approval is political, Democrats say -- The U.S. Department of inJustice approved the state's new GOP-drawn congressional districts Friday, prompting cries of partisan politicking from Democrats who say the Bush mis-ministration is intent on ensuring Republican domination in Congress.
A Buzzflash Interview with Greg Palast, in which he Reveals the Letter he Received from KKKatherine Harris
Feds Worked to Quash College Protests Newspaper: FBI, CIA Worked Covertly to Harass UC Students, Faculty, President -- The FBI, working covertly with the CIA and then-Gov. Ronald Reagan, spent years unlawfully trying to quash the voices and careers of students and faculty deemed subversive at the University of California, the San Francisco Chronicle reported.
Secret FBI files reveal covert activities at UC Bureau's campus operations involved Reagan, CIA Under the guise of protecting national security, the FBI conducted wide-ranging and unlawful intelligence operations concerning the University of California that at different points involved the head of the CIA and then-Gov. Ronald Reagan, The Chronicle has learned.
Iowan Rowley blunt about faults at FBI, but will she pay a price? --by John Carlson "Attorney General [and rightwing nutcase] John Ashcroft went on national television over the weekend and refused to say Rowley will be OK at the bureau. Sam Donaldson asked Ashcroft two, maybe three times, whether there would be retribution against Rowley for writing the memo."
The Color Wheel of Fascism (humor) -- by Carol Schiffler
GOP slipping in the suburbs (IL) The Cook County suburbs are becoming more Democratic and could determine the outcome of the Nov. 5 gubernatorial election.
Intelligence Powers Set for New Agency The Department of Homeland Security proposed by pResident Bush would take over significant duties in the war on terrorism, including alerts to the public and police currently handled by the inJustice Department and the FBI, mis-ministration officials said yesterday.
Lawmakers: Homeland Proposal Should Pass Congressional leaders predicted yesterday that pResident Bush's plan for a behemoth Department of Homeland Security will be modified, and approved, within three months, despite concerns that the proposed new agency may fail to rectify the intelligence-sharing failures that have plagued the government.
Congressman John Conyers, Jr., Ranking Member, Committee on the Judiciary and Dean, Congressional Black Caucus, Criticizes the Idiot Usurper's Homeland Security Proposal
Bush’s new Department of Homeland Defense: the scaffolding of a police state (WSWS) "In its timing, it is a transparent attempt to distract public attention from the revelations of advance warnings to the government about the terrorist attacks on the Pentagon and the World Trade Center. In its substance, the proposal represents an acceleration of the moves towards presidential dictatorship that have characterized every step taken by the Bush administration since September 11."
Dubya calls for US Gestapo -- by Thomas C. Greene "...the new Homeland Security Department will not have access to raw data from these [CIA and FBI] agencies, but will instead rely on whatever redacted reports they happen to volunteer. This means that any important data these agencies fail to recognize will also be missed by the new Department. So we can pretty well rule out the possibility that the stated purpose is the real purpose. The real purpose, clearly, is data acquisition, mining and manipulation on a gargantuan scale."
Do Dots Connect to Police State? -- by Farhad Manjoo "'I think we've reached the point in the debate where we need to ask larger questions about where this administration is taking the U.S. government,' said Marc Rotenberg, director of the Electronic Privacy Information Center. He added that 'someone needs to apply the brakes' or the United States will become a 'police state.'"
A copy of Lt. Col. Butler's letter Lt. Col. Steve Butler was serving as vice chancellor for student affairs at the Defense Language Institute when he wrote the letter, published in The Herald on May 26. Butler was suspended from his duties at the Monterey language school following publication of his letter.
Amnesty says US leads in human rights violations following September 11
Statement from DNC Chairman Terry McAuliffe Regarding Bush's Pork at the World Pork Expo
Court Voids Law Barring Con Ed Fee for its Defunct Nuke A federal appeals court has struck down a New York State law that barred Consolidated Edison from charging customers about $200 million for expenses related to an 11-month shutdown of its Indian Point nuclear power plant.
Evils of Access -- by Paul Krugman "...the administration learned nothing from the California crisis; it still takes its advice from the energy companies that financed its campaign (and made many administration officials, including Mr. Bush and Mr. Cheney, rich). And it's one thing to reward your friends with subsidies and lax regulation. It's something quite different to let them dictate policy on climate change."
Weather Wars A declassified version of a 2-year study prepared by the Air War College and obtained by Popular Mechanics titled "Weather As A Force Multiplier: Owning The Weather In 2025," envisions future generals having at their disposal an impressive weather-control arsenal for tactical operations. The Pentagon's top meteorologists believe the United States will be ready to fight--and win--a weather war early in the next century.
Bush, as Terror Inquiry Swirls, Seeks Cabinet Post on Security Responding to widespread criticism of the government's handling of terrorist threats, pResident Bush called tonight for the creation of a cabinet department for domestic defense that would combine 22 federal agencies into a single one intended to prevent attacks against the United States.
Bush Wants Cabinet Post For Homeland Security The department would absorb a huge swath of the executive branch [Bush Fourth Reich], including all of the Coast Guard, Secret Service, Federal Emergency Management Agency, Immigration and Naturalization Service and Customs Service, as well as the new agency in charge of airport security, the Transportation Security Administration.
House Backs Permanent End to Estate Tax "I can't think of a more irresponsible, wrong-headed thing to do on the floor of the House today," the House minority leader, Representative Richard A. Gephardt, a Missouri Democrat, said.
Bush mis-ministration cites September 11 "failures" to attack democratic rights FBI gets blank check for domestic spying
100,000 foreign visitors to face fingerprinting As many as 100,000 foreign visitors who enter the United States could be fingerprinted and photographed the first year the government implements the system, the US inJustice Department announced yesterday.
Global Warming Blamed for Melting Everest Glacier A glacier from which Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay set out to conquer Mount Everest nearly 50 years ago has retreated three miles up the mountain due to global warming, a U.N. body says.
Conyers Criticizes AshKKKroft's Registration Regulations for Middle Easterners
Gephardt Calls for Full House Investigation into Energy Market Manipulation
Energy firm scars county wetlands (FL) Surveyors for a Houston energy company that wants to build a natural gas pipeline through county-owned environmental preserves have inadvertently hacked a path through about 400 feet of trees and wetlands in the Loxahatchee Slough.
[More fuzzy math!!] State tries to set record straight on school funding Facing the prospect of getting less federal money than expected for high-poverty schools and the political embarrassment that it would bring, Florida officials tried Wednesday to convince the U.S. Department of Education that school spending increased during Gov. Jeb Bush's first budget.
The Eagles vs. The Chickenhawks (humor) -- by Carol Schiffler "George W. Bush loves baseball, at least so we are told. Personally, we don’t think it is the baseball he likes - we think it is just the keeping score part, an activity which gives him ample opportunity to practice his fuzzy math skills."
Bush to Seek Cabinet-Level Domestic Security Office pResident Bush will tell the American people tonight that he wants to create a Cabinet-level domestic security office in what the Bush Fourth Reich House says would be the biggest government reorganization in more than a half-century.
F.B.I. Chief Tells Congress His Agency Needs More Resources FBI Director Robert S. Mueller III told Congress on Thursday his agency needs to devote more agents, money and time to meeting its "paramount mission of prevention'' in an age of terrorism.
J. Edgar Mueller -- by William Safire "To fabricate an alibi for his nonfeasance, and to cover up his department's embarrassing cut of the counterterrorism budget last year, Attorney General John Ashcroft — working with his hand-picked aide, F.B.I. Director 'J. Edgar' Mueller III — has gutted guidelines put in place a generation ago to prevent the abuse of police power by the federal government."
AshKKKroft Proposes Rules for Foreign Visitors Attorney General [and rightwing nutcase] John AshKKKroft proposed inJustice Department regulations today that would require 100,000 foreign students, tourists, researchers and other visitors to register with the federal government.
A 'Final Exam' Begins for Security Agencies Panel Could Prompt Easing of Three Decades of Restraints on Agencies' Domestic Intelligence Efforts
FBI to build data warehouse The FBI has selected "investigative data warehousing" as a key technology to use in the [alleged] war against terrorism.
FDA Launches Investigation Into VeriChip 'Tech Live' Exclusive: NASDAQ halts trading in Applied Digital Solutions stock after feds claim company includes medical data in its controversial device.
Mueller: FBI Tails Many The FBI has placed a "substantial" number of people suspected of ties to terror under constant surveillance, sending out special teams of agents to various parts of the United States roughly every two weeks in a mission that is seriously taxing the agency's resources, FBI Director Robert S. Mueller III said yesterday.
Former Astronaut Warns Against Weapons In Space The United States should not let heightened concern over national security since Sept. 11 accelerate the drive to base weapons in space, former astronaut Sally Ride said Tuesday.
Kiss My Nuclear Arsenal -- Much macho swagger as India and Pakistan threaten annihilation, and the U.S. feels totally left out -- by Mark Morford "Darn nuclear punks. Don't they see we've got a hollow war-that's-not-really-war to wage over oil and money and future presidential elections over here?"
Wyclef Arrested in NY Schools Protest Ten people, including singer Wyclef Jean, were arrested as thousands of teachers and students turned out for a rally to hear hip-hop stars and politicians denounce proposed cuts in New York City school funding.
Health Insurers Are Seeking 20% Rate Rise Health insurers are demanding premium increases of more than 20 percent on average for next year, a sharp increase from earlier forecasts, a national survey reported yesterday.
Pentagon denies developing bioweapons that attack machines A U.S. military special weapons office is denying accusations it is seeking to develop biological agents that attack military equipment and material, but not personnel.
Company accuses state (FL) of stealing e-budget idea Another one of Governor Jeb Bush's self-proclaimed titles is under attack -- his claim to being Florida's first "e-governor," as adept at surfing the Internet as he is on the campaign trail. In a lawsuit filed in Tallahassee, two businesswomen say the Bush administration stole their idea for creating a user-friendly state budget that could be accessed on the Web.
Gov. Bush cites "adversity" Jeb Bush, the underdog? The incumbent governor of the fourth-largest state and the brother of the American president says he faces ''great adversity,'' in a fundraising plea that hit thousands of mailboxes Wednesday.
9th grader charged in bomb doodling (RI) A Cumberland High School student is arrested after drawing flaming sticks and "CHS will pay" on a peer's paper; a civil-liberties official says the criminal charge is an overreaction.
Loose Lips can Sink Ships -- Again NSA Launches Ad Campaign Urging Secrecy -- In a move that hearkens back to World War II's "Loose Lips Sink Ships" campaign, the National Security Agency has launched a flock of ads urging military personnel to protect national secrets during this time of terrorist crisis.
Air Force Officer Suspended Criticizing Bush A U.S. Air Force officer has been suspended from duty after he wrote a letter to a California newspaper accusing pResident Bush of allowing the Sept. 11 attacks to happen "because he needed this war on terrorism," a military official said on Tuesday.
Pentagon may sell missiles to Kuwait The Pentagon is planning to sell Kuwait advanced air-to-air missiles to help the country protect itself against what the Defense Department called "hostile neighbors."
U.S. Threatens Energy Traders With Limits on Pricing Federal regulators threatened today to strip four large energy traders of their ability to charge unregulated rates for electricity because of their responses to inquiries about their strategies in California.
Wall Street broker rebuked for misleading investors Merrill Lynch has agreed to pay $100 million and reform its research department to settle claims that it was offering investors biased advice.
Inspectors, unions criticize air traffic control system The Federal Aviation Administration is going forward with plans to install a new air traffic control system over objections by the Transportation Department inspector general and the agency employees who certify the equipment.
Double-Playing 9-11 Errors -- Ashcroft to Mueller to Anybody Else -- by James Ridgeway "With Senate and House intelligence committees finally demanding answers for pre-9-11 blunders, the bottom line should be whether even the most skillful attempts at damage control can keep FBI director Robert Mueller or CIA chief George Tenet from losing their jobs. Attorney General John Ashcroft is doing his best to bail a leaking boat dry, but in the end he could sink right along with those he's now trying to save."
U.S. Will Seek to Fingerprint Visas' Holders The inJustice Department will propose new regulations this week requiring tens of thousands of Muslim and Middle Eastern visa holders to register with the government and be fingerprinted, administration officials said today.
Washington Post Staffers Hold 'Byline Strike' Protest Nearly all Washington Post reporters, photographers and artists withheld their names from work in today's editions of the paper in a "byline strike" called by union leadership to protest the current contract offer by The Post's management.
Residents Near NY Nuke Plant to Get Iodide Pills Amid fears nuclear power plants could be the target of terror attacks, officials plan to provide residents near the Indian Point installation, just north of New York, with potassium iodide pills to protect against any release of radioactive gases.
[June 4] White House Warns on Climate Change pResident Moron on Tuesday dismissed his own administration's report warning that human activities are behind climate change that is having significant effects on the environment.
[June 3:] Climate Changing, U.S. Says in Report In a stark shift for the Bush mis-ministration, the United States has sent a climate report to the United Nations detailing specific and far-reaching effects that it says global warming will inflict on the American environment. [The Bush mis-ministration finally acknowledges the human causes of global warming, but proposes to do nothing about it!]
Kangaroos offer clue to global warming It appears that Kangaroos know more about global warming than Bush, who kicks and screams from the pouch of his oil donors, as science tells the truth.
Sharp Reversal By EPA: Cleanup Of Many Downtown Apartments Planned More cosmetic environmentalism from the Bush mis-management EPA...
White House Submits Enron Papers The White-washing of Enron-gate continues. What does it take to see foul play? How about the defrauding of the largest state in the union?
Giuliani gives a boost to Jeb Bush's campaign Barf alert! Written by the rightwing Jeb-fawning "journalist" Peter Wallsten of The Miami Herald
Greed Is Bad -- by Paul Krugman "Gordon Gekko, the corporate raider who gave that speech in the 1987 movie 'Wall Street,' got his comeuppance; but in real life his philosophy came to dominate corporate practice. And that is the backstory of the wave of scandal now engulfing American business.
Health experts: U.S. would get little radioactive fallout [?!?] from a nuclear war between Pakistan and India!
Castro Rejects Bush Democracy Ideas Bush's calls for fair elections rejected by Castro who calls Bush idea of democracy "criminal" and Bush a "thug." Despite wanting more Democracy than either Castro or Bush stand for, we couldn't agree more with Castro's characterization of so-called American "Democracy." Furthermore, when was the last time WE had a real election, Mr. Bush, you usurping THIEF!?!!!
Halfway to Yucca DOE has a Utah site in mind for "temporary" nuke storage
Memphis Med. Examiner Attack Probed Big coverup of the 12-plus dead microbiologists continues
Senator Asks for Probe of Energy Official The Senate's second-ranking Democratic leader has called for an ethics investigation to determine whether Undersecretary of Energy Robert G. Card violated conflict-of-interest rules by acting to benefit two nuclear-waste companies where he once was a high-ranking official.
India, Pakistan exchange fire on tense border Indian and Pakistani soldiers traded heavy mortar, machine gun and small arms fire along their tense border early on Monday, an Indian army official said.
Report: Al Qaeda Tells U.S. to Get Ready for Attack The pan-Arab daily al-Hayat published Sunday what it said was a statement from an al Qaeda spokesman warning the United States to get ready for another attack.
Washington Post Writers May Pull Bylines In Protest The union that represents more than 1,400 Washington Post employees called for editorial staffers at the paper to pull their bylines as a protest.
Cheney on the Grill Taking a closer look at Halliburton’s accounting practices
Phone Glitch Disconnects the Idiot Usurper [an intelligent telephone!] "I'm sorry, they dropped the call," said the aide. "We're going to re-establish." "What are you talking about, they dropped the call?" said Bush.
Judges set to consider Legislature's redistricting Nearly a year after it began with public testimony, the once-a-decade redistricting process heads toward a final turn in Florida.
Unleashing the FBI 'There Would Be No Place to Hide' -- by Nat Hentoff "During COINTELPRO, I got that knock on the door because I, among other journalists, had been publishing COINTELPRO reports that had been stolen from an FBI office. You might keep a pocket edition of the Constitution handy to present to the FBI agents—like a cross in front of Dracula."
The FBI's Magic Lantern Ashcroft Can Be in Your Computer -- by Nat Hentoff "Beware of 'The Magic Lantern.' Under the 'sneak and peek' provision of the USA Patriot Act, pushed through Congress by John Ashcroft, the FBI, with a warrant, can break into your home and office when you're not there and, on the first trip, look around. They can examine your hard drive, snatch files, and plant the Magic Lantern on your computer.
Right Leads Assault on CIA, FBI at Bush's Expense Friendly fire from fellow Republicans is looming as an increasing risk for the White House as Congress gears up its investigations of government intelligence failures before Sept. 11.
Bush Intelligence Plan Meant to Blunt Tough Questions --by James Ridgeway "President [sic] Bush's proposal for a new homeland security department amounts to dropping a fragmentation bomb on Congress to bust up growing demands for an inquiry into who knew what when about 9-11."
Bush Cites CIA-FBI Breakdown House-Senate Panel Starts Probing 9/11 Intelligence Failure [Well, they need to start with the Idiot Usurper himself, if they are trolling for an "intelligence failure".]
Opening Statement -- Hearing on Oversight of DOJ Counterterrorism Effort FBI Oversight Series -- by Senator Patrick Leahy, Chairman, Senate Judiciary Committee
Ashcroft knew -- by Bruce Shapiro "The official responsible for the most dramatic failures of Sept. 11 turns out to be the attorney general. His sweeping anti-terror measures in recent months were a fig leaf to cover naked incompetence."
Whistle-Blower Recounts Faults Inside the F.B.I. The F.B.I. agent whose impassioned protest letter ignited a storm of criticism of the bureau's management told a Senate committee today that the F.B.I.'s bureaucracy discouraged innovation, drowned investigators in paperwork and punished agents who sought to cut through the many layers of gatekeepers at the bureau's headquarters.
Sept. 11 Suspect May Be Relative of '93 Plot Leader United States intelligence and law enforcement officials said today that they had concluded that a possible relative of Ramzi Ahmed Yousef, who coordinated the first bombing of the World Trade Center in 1993, played a pivotal role in planning the Sept. 11 attacks on New York and Washington.
Sept. 11 Mastermind May Be ID'd Investigators believe they have identified a Kuwaiti lieutenant of Osama bin Laden as the likely mastermind of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, a senior U.S. counterterrorism official said Tuesday.
Rifts Plentiful as 9/11 Inquiry Begins Fingerpointing, some of it pitting the F.B.I. against the C.I.A., already threatens to overshadow the joint committee's actual hearings.
Egypt Warned U.S. of a Qaeda Plot, Mubarak Egyptian intelligence warned American officials about a week before Sept. 11 that Osama bin Laden's network was in the advance stages of executing a significant operation against an American target, President Hosni Mubarak said in an interview on Sunday.
Senator: Hearings to expose 'big failures' U.S. lawmakers are poised to open hearings Tuesday looking into apparent intelligence lapses that have come to light since the devastating September 11 terrorist attacks.
C.I.A. Was Tracking Hijacker Months Earlier Than It Had Said The Central Intelligence Agency says in a classified chronology submitted to Congress recently that it picked up the trail of a Qaeda operative who turned out to be a Sept. 11 hijacker months earlier than was previously known, government officials said today.
The Hijackers We Let Escape (A Newsweek exclusive) The CIA tracked two suspected terrorists to a Qaeda summit in Malaysia in January 2000, then looked on as they re-entered America and began preparations for September 11.
Congress Must Take Charge Of 9/11 Investigation -- by Ross K. Baker "Grasping the nettle of controversy on matters relating to Sept. 11 may be painful in the short run, but the institution would suffer more enduring scars from the self-inflicted wound of an independent commission to perform an inquest that is more properly conducted by Congress alone."
Report: CIA knew two Sept. 11 hijackers in U.S. Months before the September 11 attacks, the CIA knew two of the hijackers were in the United States and that they were connected to the al Qaeda organization, Newsweek reported Sunday.
Senator Seeks FBI Agent for Probe A member of the Senate Judiciary Committee wants to hear testimony next week from a Minneapolis FBI agent critical of the bureau headquarters' handling of a terrorism investigation before the Sept. 11 attacks.
Has someone been sitting on the FBI? 11/6/01 Greg Palast Newsnight, the BBC: The CIA and Saudi Arabia, the Bushes and the Bin Ladens. Did their connections cause America to turn a blind eye to terrorism?
The buck doesn't stop with Bush -- by Larry Klayman "In short, most of this information [FBI data] was available to high officials in the Bush administration and, in particular, the Bush White House before Sept. 11." [Even a rabid, rightwing nutcase is calling the Bush's mis-ministration an incompetent, patriarchal and authoritarian regime opposed to the principles on which this country was founded!!!]
June 4, 2002
FBI Search Warrant Policy Changed for Terror Cases -- The director of the FBI will personally review all applications for search warrants related to terrorism investigations under a policy change quietly put into effect weeks ago in response to the furor over obstacles that hindered agents here investigating Zacarias Moussaoui, the alleged "20th hijacker."
Key Republican blasts new FBI guidelines The inJustice Department's plan to give the FBI more domestic surveillance power "has gone too far," House Judiciary Committee Chairman James Sensenbrenner, R-Wisconsin, said Saturday. He has called Attorney General [and rightwing nutcase] John AshKKKroft and FBI Director [and coverup mastermind] Robert Mueller to appear before his committee "to justify why the 1976 regulations on domestic spying, that have worked so well for the last 25 or 26 years, have to be changed."
Connecting-the-dots reveals terrorists of April 12, 2002 -- by Christopher Reilly "Wayne Madsen, a former intelligence officer with the U.S. navy, told London's Guardian newspaper on April 28 that the United States had been considering a coup to overthrow the Venezuelan president for almost a year."
U.S. Will Resume Production of Nuclear Warhead Triggers The federal government has announced plans to resume production of plutonium "pits," which are used to trigger nuclear warheads, the Energy Department has announced. Design work is beginning for the manufacturing plant, which is expected to cost $2.2 billion to $4.4 billion, depending on its production capacity.
Bush: U.S. Will Strike First at Enemies Preemptive strategy represents a foreign policy shift-- pResident Bush told future Army officers today that the United States can no longer deter attacks from other nations by threatening massive retaliation, but instead must strike looming enemies first. ["Bush has had little success so far, he is working to convince others through intellectual argument ..." Never had truer words been spoken.]
Two Conservatives Tell Bush They Oppose Plan for Police Two leading conservatives have joined a chorus of police officials and immigrant rights advocates in opposing a Justice Department proposal to allow state and local law enforcement agencies to track down illegal immigrants as a way to fight terrorism.
Airports Urge Delay in New Security Rules The top officials of 39 airports, which handle most of the nation's air travelers, have warned the secretary of transportation that air travel will be seriously disrupted in January unless Congress delays the Dec. 31 deadline for screening all checked bags, a major defense against terrorism.
KKKatherine Harris writing book [Barf alert!] on recount 'Center of Storm' aimed at `myths' [How about, Center of Storm aimed at the obscene and complete Fascist coup d'etat that was foisted upon us in November 2000? OMG, here is the actual title of the alleged tome: Center of the Storm: Practicing Principled Leadership in Times of Crisis Ugh! Gag me with a chainsaw!] The book is due out Sept. 3 -- a week before she faces two little-known challengers in the Rethuglican primary.
Vice pResident helps raise $1 million in Tennessee, 'Bush-Cheney country' [Barf alert!]

*****

CLG News Archives



Citizens For Legitimate Government™ is a multi-partisan activist group established to expose and resist US imperialism, corpora-terrorism, and the New World Order.
	June 2002 Archives June 30, 2002 President Gore criticizes White House for handling of economy, war President Al Gore Saturday criticized the Bush mis-ministration's handling of the economy and the war on terrorism, specifically citing the administration's failure to capture al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden. Michael Rectenwald replies to a rightwinger who asks the CLG staff, "What kind of drugs do you use?" Rights Groups Assail U.S. Efforts to Win Exemption from International Criminal Court United States and international human rights groups are calling on members of the United Nations Security Council to reject U.S. efforts this week to exempt U.S. citizens and others serving in UN peacekeeping operations from the scope of the new International Criminal Court, the world's first permanent tribunal to prosecute war crimes, genocide, and other crimes against humanity. Bush Slashing Aid for E.P.A. Cleanup at 33 Toxic Sites The Bush mis-ministration has designated 33 toxic waste sites in 18 states for cuts in financing under the Superfund cleanup program, according to a new report to Congress by the inspector general of the Environmental Protection Agency. NYC Rolls Back Recycling Rules The nation's largest city is eliminating glass and plastics from its recycling program on Monday in what recycling advocates say is the first significant rollback of such a program in the United States. Pushing the Death Penalty At a time when many authorities, from the U.S. Supreme Court to state governments, are rethinking aspects of capital punishment, Attorney General [and rightwing nutcase] Ashkkkroft is aggressively pursuing the federal death penalty and frequently overruling his own prosecutors in the process, according to records and public officials. Tensions Between CDC, White House The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta has been weakened and demoralized by tensions with Bush mis-ministration officials in Washington, according to a number of current and former officials at the nation's top public health agency. An unstable new administration undemocratically installed [sound familiar?!?] in Afghanistan None of the 29 ministers were elected—either directly or indirectly. The country’s transitional president Hamid Karzai chose all of them after days of intriguing and backroom horse-trading involving various factional leaders and representatives of the UN and major powers. Xerox restates billions in revenue: yet another case of accounting fraud In the latest scandal involving a prominent American corporation, Xerox revealed last week that over the past five years it has improperly classified over $6 billion in revenue, leading to an overstatement of earnings by nearly $2 billion. 2 NY Dems Propose Wall St. Reform The two Democratic candidates for governor want to use the clout of New York state's $112 billion pension fund to reform Wall Street. Gay Pride Parades Held Around U.S Thousands of rainbows appeared under the blue sky Sunday as an estimated half million people lined the streets to celebrate diversity and progress during San Francisco's 32nd annual gay pride parade. New F.B.I. Alert Warns of Threat Tied to July 4th Federal authorities have issued a secret alert [?!?] to state and local law enforcement agencies warning them of the possibility of a terrorist attack in the United States around the Fourth of July holiday, senior government officials said. Blair's aides denounce US 'blundering' in Afghan war Senior officials in the Prime Minister's office have launched an astonishing attack on America's handling of the hunt for Osama bin Laden and al-Qa'eda fugitives. They have told The Telegraph that troops carrying out house-to-house searches in the remote tribal areas of Pakistan along the Afghanistan border were "blundering" with a "march-in-shooting" approach. US pilots culpable in friendly fire deaths An inquiry has found that an American pilot ignored orders to hold his fire just before he mistakenly bombed Canadian soldiers in Afghanistan, killing four and wounding eight. Testimony in El Salvador Torture Trial Blindfolded and handcuffed, Carlos Mauricio said he suffered a blow to the head or stomach every time he refused to confess to soldiers who detained him for eight days in El Salvador in 1983. If He Runs for Reelection, Gore Says, 'To Hell With the Polls' President Al Gore conceded today that his 2000 presidential campaign was too heavily influenced by polls, consultants and tactical maneuvering, telling key supporters here that, if he runs in 2004, he will "let it rip" and "let the chips fall where they may." Gore Vows More Spontaneous Campaign President Gore Promises More Spontaneous, Less Restrained Campaign if He Runs for Reelection in 2004 -- Al Gore told top Democratic fund-raisers Saturday that the party's 2000 campaign had too many consultants and that if he runs for reelection he will speak from the heart and "let it rip." GOP disarray may spell doom in fall vote (IL) The fall of state GOP Chairman Lee A. Daniels (R-Elmhurst) has left his party in disarray and could doom its statewide ticket in the Nov. 5 election. Public defender can't represent suspected Taliban fighter, court rules A U.S. appeals court ruled Wednesday that a federal public defender cannot represent a suspected American-born Taliban fighter because the attorney has no official relationship [?!?] with him, according to court documents. F-U Nation I am not for US, I am against US -- by Lawrence Littleby "I am not for US, I am against US. I do not pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, nor to the republic for which it now stands: one nation under god and Capital, insufferable and unyielding, with liberty and justice least of all. America has become not just a gun nation, a TV nation, a Ritalin and Prozac nation, an obese nation, and a remedial nation, it has also become a rogue nation. In brand as in empire, America has become the ultimate menace – the superego state that says Fck You to any nation that stands in the way of its state and corporate interests. And it manages to get away with it." Court Keeps Terror Immigration Hearings Closed The U.S. Supreme Court handed the Justice Department a victory on Friday by keeping immigration hearings in cases stemming from the Sept. 11 terrorism investigation closed while the government appeals. Closing the Door to Public Scrutiny (New York Times) "Congress passed the U.S.A. Patriot Act, rolling back civil liberties in key areas, and the Bush administration has held hundreds in secret detention. The court, meanwhile, said nothing. Yesterday the justices made themselves heard for the first time, blocking a federal judge's order to open to the public immigration hearings for terrorism suspects. It is a troubling move, and we hope it does not signal more broadly how the court will decide civil liberties challenges to the war on terrorism." Makin' Us Dizzy -- by Maureen Dowd "Mr. Cheney created a Machiavellian Mobius strip: the F.B.I. is now investigating the committees that are investigating the F.B.I." Remaining U.S. CEOs Make a Break For It Band of Roving Chief Executives Spotted Miles from Mexican Border (SatireWire) "Unwilling to wait for their eventual indictments, the 10,000 remaining CEOs of public U.S. companies made a break for it yesterday, heading for the Mexican border, plundering towns and villages along the way, and writing the entire rampage off as a marketing expense." Cheney Warns of Pre-Emptive Strikes As he prepared to assume the pResidential powers temporarily, Vice pResident [and rightwing nutcase] Dick Cheney warned anew on Friday that the United States could make a pre-emptive strike at some point against a threatening foe. [Is there any way to convince him that the Bush mis-ministration is a "threatening foe?"]* Washington’s phony pretext for Iraqi invasion Speaking before a Rethuglican audience in Portland, Oregon June 24, Vice pResident Dick Cheney reiterated the Bush mis-ministration’s intention to carry out a preemptive strike against Iraq under the pretext of preventing the use of "weapons of mass destruction." Pentagon Shifts Anthrax Vaccine to Civilian Uses The Bush mis-ministration announced a new anthrax vaccination policy today, including plans to continue vaccinating some military personnel and to stockpile for civilian use a large part of all the anthrax vaccine being produced for the Pentagon. *[Bush has to dump the unsafe vaccines somewhere* to insure corporate profit!] White House Seeks to Resume Aiding Indonesia's Army The United States is pressing hard to resume assistance to the Indonesian military in an effort to re-establish American influence here in the world's most populous Muslim nation. The Bush mis-ministration is determined to re-engage with Indonesia's army, despite its lack of reform. Further evidence of a massacre of Taliban prisoners New reports from a human rights organisation and the German press have substantiated charges that US troops, aided by local and international allies, massacred thousands of defenceless Taliban in the course of the war in Afghanistan. Bush to Undergo Colon Procedure pResident Bush said today that he would transfer the powers of the presidency to Vice pResident Dick Cheney for a short time on Saturday while he was under sedation for what he described as a routine colonoscopy. Bush May Cut U.N. Program's Funding No Final Decision, but State Department Told to Plan Withholding Family Planning Aid pResident Bush is heading toward a decision to cut off millions of dollars of funds for an international family planning program opposed by abortion foes, according to people familiar with the plans. Rudy [Fascist] Giuliani Favors National ID Former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani had given the national ID card tacit approval in his keynote speech earlier Wednesday at the E-Gov 2002 conference here. President Gore Bashes Bush Policy As Cause of Biz Scandals "You see now what it means to have an administration that's that committed to fighting and working on behalf of the powerful, and letting the people of this country get the short end of the stick," President Gore told more than 200 supporters at a Manhattan fund-raiser. Daschle Assails Bush Record The pResident's economic record is a "disaster," the Senate leader says. Expert says Enron doctored files Enron Corp. is opening up its computer database to state Senate investigators after a state-hired electronics expert said he discovered gaps, erasures, and altered and encrypted files in thousands of electronic records that the company submitted under subpoena. House Democratic Leader Richard A. Gephardt's Statement on Corporate Expatriation "It should be obvious by now that there are some in the business world who are looking for ways to bend the rules, break the rules, or look for places where there are no rules..." House Democratic Whip Nancy Pelosi's Statement on Republican Rule on Prescription Drugs "When Medicare went into existence, there was a big fight over it. The Democrats wholeheartedly supported it; the Republicans opposed it..." For Bush Daughters, (Night) Life Isn't Fair "We hope those fun-loving [and lawbreaking] first twins, Jenna and Barbara Bush, had a good time Wednesday night at Stetson's, the Texas-themed Washington saloon where they were spotted by multiple witnesses sucking down Budweisers and chain-smoking cigarettes with a group of friends till well past midnight." 7 Cleared in Protest At Supreme Court D.C. Judge Questions Federal Prohibition On Demonstrations on Building's Steps . Injustice Dept, Fla. Reach Voting Deal The Injustice Department and two Florida counties reached agreements Friday over voting rights violations, ending the possibility of a protracted court battle. Democracy in Crisis -- What is to be Done? "In June 2002, the United States of America resembles the Animal Farm eerily portrayed by George Orwell in 1946--a 'farm' run by Mr. Pilkington and the 'Pigs.' " A godless Constitution Our founding fathers never intended to make religion a part of daily public life; in fact, they erected a church-state wall -- by David Greenberg Interview with Israeli refusenik: "We can put in place a new leadership" Israel’s Supreme Court ordered on June 25 that an Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) officer be released from military jail, despite completing only 13 days of a 35-day sentence for refusing to serve in the Occupied Territories. C.I.A. and F.B.I. Promise to Share Data With New Agency The directors of the C.I.A. and the F.B.I. told Congress today that their agencies would share secret intelligence with the proposed Department of Homeland Security. But they expressed support for a Bush mis-ministration plan that would keep their agencies independent of the new organization. [If independent of Homeland Security, there is no congressional scrutiny, right??]** House Votes to Raise Debt Ceiling The House narrowly voted to raise the ceiling on the national debt by $450 billion late yesterday, just hours before the government was due to bump up against its borrowing limits. Hitting the trifecta Bush’s favorite joke about 9/11 is not only in bad taste, it’s a lie -- by David Neiwert "Not even the bravest have tried to turn the deaths of some 3,000 people into a laughing matter. But President [sic] Bush has forged ahead anyway. Bush has now been telling the same, spectacularly tasteless joke to a variety of mostly Republican audiences as part of his stock stump speech for the better part of four months now." Nvidia shares could compromise Rumsfeld Donald Rumsfeld retained his shares in leading computer graphics chip company nVidia. The INQUIRER has learned that nVidia has invested billions of dollars in defence contracts and provides graphic technology to USAF F-22 Air Dominance Fighter Aircraft currently being developed for the US Air Force by Lockheed Martin and Boeing. Scandals May Tar Bush, GOP Both sides believe accumulating economic bad news may be reaching critical mass, creating a public disenchantment that could stick to the Bush mis-ministration and congressional Republicans in November. 'Enemy combatant' issue rises to fore The Bush mis-ministration pressed forward with its argument yesterday that ''enemy combatants'' should not have access to a lawyer even if they are American citizens, in a federal case that will have broad implications for the administration's strategy in the war against terrorism. US "Pledge" ruling exposes political scoundrels -- by Bill Vann "The ruling by a three-judge federal appeals court panel in San Francisco that compelling the recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance to 'one nation under God' in public schools is unconstitutional has afforded yet another opportunity for America’s politicians to make fools of themselves." The Metamorphosis -- By David Podvin "What had begun as a traumatic transformation for me now seemed like the natural order of things. Corporate America has been right all along: the law of the jungle is not just a shallow cliché – it really is the one true path to contentment." Statement by Representative Charles B. Rangel, Ranking Democrat, House Committee Ways And Means Republican Leadership Has Denied The American People a Chance to Have a Real Medicare Prescription Drug Benefit Statement by Congressman Jesse L. Jackson, Jr Vouchers: Illegitimate Cure For Legitimate Concerns The Pentagon's New Budget, New Strategy, and New War Project on Defense Alternatives Briefing Report #12 In the weeks following the 11 September terrorist attacks Bush mis-ministration officials frequently declared that "everything has changed" without specifying precisely how. Tipper Gore makes herself clear: Al can run again I know it's a huge undertaking, but I think it could be very exciting," Mrs. Gore said in her first interview about the 2004 race. E-Mail Deriding Katherine Harris Costs Editor's Job Herald-Tribune recently ran a 4,400-word, 2 1/2-page spread on Republican congressional candidate Katherine Harris. And when one reader complained that Democratic candidates were getting short shrift, Managing Editor Rosemary Armao responded with a remarkably candid e-mail -- one that wound up costing her her job. Tennis Great Navratilova Comments on U.S. Values "The Republicans in the United States manipulate public opinion and sweep any controversial issues under the table," Navratilova said. "It's depressing. Decisions in America are based solely on the question of 'how much money will come out of it' and not on the questions of how much health, morals or the environment suffer as a result." [Terrific assessment!] We are Deeply Concerned -- by Carol Schiffler "One wonders what exactly it takes to keep these people up at night. Would a flaming Constitution on their doorstep do it?" Away From the TV Cameras, Fire Consumes Apache Land While national attention is focused on the threat Arizona's wildfires pose to Show Low, the resort town 40 miles northeast of here, the blaze has already brought widespread and lasting economic damage to Apache country. Sept. 11 Hearings Likely Delayed Public hearings by a congressional panel looking into the Sept. 11 attacks probably will be delayed until September, about three months later than originally planned, congressional aides said Tuesday. pResident Bush's national security leadership met formally nearly 100 times in the months prior to the Sept. 11 attacks -- yet terrorism was the topic during only two of those sessions, [?!?] officials say. June 28, 2002 Court Approves Random Drug Tests in Public High Schools The Supreme Court approved random drug tests for many public high school students Thursday, ruling that schools' interest in ridding their campuses of drugs outweighs an individual's right to privacy. Supreme Court Upholds Voucher System That Pays Religious Schools' Tuition The Supreme Court, concluding that Cleveland's voucher plan was "a program of true private choice," today upheld the use of public money for religious school tuition in a decisive 5-to-4 ruling that the majority called a logical outgrowth of recent decisions and the dissenters described as a fundamental break with the past. Supreme Court Supports Vouchers for Religious Schools Led by a narrow conservative majority, the Supreme Court ruled Thursday that school voucher programs are constitutional if they provide parents a choice among a range of religious and secular schools. Supreme Court Upholds School Voucher Program 5-4 ruling allows public money to be used for religious schools. *ROFL! An EXACT BLURB from Thursday's Washington Post Cover Story:* U.S. Fears Cyberspace Attacks by Al Qaeda "Terrorists may be at threshold of using the Internet as a direct instrument of bloodshed -- Regarded until recently as remote, the risks of cyber-terrorism now command urgent White House attention." That's right! From cave dwellers to certified webmasters in less than--how long ago did Colin Powell give 43 million dollars to the Taliban?? May, 2001. Will this will be Ashkkkroft's excuse to shut down the websites with which he disagrees? [Barf alert!] Feds Fear Possible Al Qaeda Cyber-Attacks U.S. government experts, wary of al Qaeda's skills on the Internet, are concerned that Osama bin Laden's guerrilla network [not to mention, Karl "Powerpoint" Rove's] may be planning cyber-attacks targeting nuclear power plants, dams or other critical structures, The Washington Post reported on Thursday. Leahy calls new Dept. of [Fascism] Homeland Security "above the law" The chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee accused the Bush Fourth Reich today of trying to put the proposed new Department of Homeland Security "above the law" by exempting it from some regulations on access to information, conflict of interests and whistle-blower protections. Judge Rules "Unconstitutional" Key Provision of PATRIOT Act Judge slams terror law; Lindh defense could gain G-8 security operation-the stifling and criminalizing of dissent The arrangements surrounding this week’s G-8 summit in Kananaskis County, Alberta underline that the assembled leaders are representatives of a privileged minority that is increasingly haunted by the fear of popular unrest. U.S. Court Votes to Bar Pledge of Allegiance Use of 'God' Called Unconstitutional -- The Pledge of Allegiance is unconstitutional because it describes the United States as "one Nation, under God," a federal appeals court ruled yesterday. Voting rights lawsuit headed to trial A voting rights lawsuit against the state, Miami-Dade and several other counties stemming from the disputed 2000 p-residential s-election [coup] is headed to trial later this summer after attorneys deadlocked on a settlement, a federal judge said Tuesday. ''As far as I'm concerned, this case is going to trial,'' U.S. District Judge Alan Gold said after hearing that attempts for successful mediation had failed. "It's disappointing, but it is what it is.'' Jeb: No grand jury on DCF kids Gov. Jeb Bush has refused a request to create a statewide grand jury to investigate the 1,237 children under state care who can't be located. House Panel Approves 4.1% Federal Pay Raise The House subcommittee with authority over federal pay yesterday approved a 4.1 percent increase for about 1.8 million Defense Department civilians and federal workers effective next Jan. 1. The Latest Corporate Scandal Is Stunning, Vast and Simple -- by Kurt Eichenwald with Simon Romero "The name of WorldCom, once a darling of Wall Street, had now become the latest shorthand for corporate scandal." The New Identity Theft -- by Michelangelo Signorile "Privacy on the Web is a pretty naive concept: even the feds will be able to snoop on folks in Internet chat rooms, courtesy of the [In]Justice Dept.’s newest antiterrorism guidelines. And now it appears that the Republican National Committee, conspiring with Yahoo, is engaging in what could be termed a new form of identity theft." Michael Rectenwald responds to "Republic Yes - Democracy No!!!" KKKatherine Harris says Palast 'Twisted and Maniacal' - in July Harper's Gas Masks Ordered for U.S. Capitol [Yes, Bush is a stinker, isn't he?] Capitol Police have ordered 25,000 gas masks to help protect tourists, members of Congress and their staffs in the event of a chemical or biological attack, a congressional official said Tuesday. Enron Criminal Investigation Is Said to Expand to Bankers Criminal investigators examining the Enron debacle have expanded their inquiry to focus on activities at the commercial banks that provided billions of dollars in loans and other financial services to the company, according to current and former Enron executives and others involved in the investigation. WorldCom Says It Hid Expenses, Inflating Cash Flow $3.8 Billion WorldCom, the nation's second-largest long-distance carrier, said last night that it had overstated its cash flow by more than $3.8 billion during the last five quarters in what appears to be one of the largest cases of false corporate bookkeeping yet. Corporate Scandals Taking Toll On Markets Pentagon wants intelligence czar The Pentagon plans to create an intelligence czar to better fight the war on terrorism [actually, to better coordinate additional acts of terrorism]. FBI Anthrax Probe Leads to Md. Home The FBI searched the home of a researcher next to Fort Detrick, who may have had access to anthrax while doing work for the Army base, a law enforcement official said Tuesday. Lawmakers grill patrol chief over searches aboard ferries Three days after halting random searches on state ferries, Washington State Patrol Chief Ronal Serpas fielded tough questions from lawmakers yesterday about how the practice got started in the first place. Bush at bay -- by Ed Vulliamy Facing mid-term elections, the President[sic]'s squabbling team has never looked so vulnerable. FBI Begins Visiting Libraries The FBI is visiting libraries nationwide and checking the reading records of people it suspects of having ties to terrorists or plotting an attack, library officials say. Russia gets ready to gag online dissent Russia's parliament may give final approval this week to sweeping restrictions on using the Internet to oppose the government. [Uh, are we next?] Hanford's new budget is secret The U.S. Department of Energy here has submitted to Washington, D.C., its 2004 budget projections for the Hanford nuclear reservation, but for the first time since the mid-1990s, the numbers are secret. Soldier arrested in explosives theft A soldier stationed at Fort Benning was arrested Friday on charges related to the theft of 300 sticks of high-grade explosives from a paving company in Columbus earlier this year. Last month, authorities recovered 275 pounds of stolen explosives in a wooded area on the grounds of Fort Benning. US torture of John Walker Lindh exposed as frame-up continues Defense attorneys for John Walker Lindh filed documents describing how, after barely surviving atrocities that claimed the lives of hundreds of his companions, the so-called “American Taliban” was tortured while the FBI wrangled statements out of him in violation of his Fifth Amendment right not to be a witness against himself. Confidence in [phony] war on terror wanes One in three Americans say the United States is winning the war on terrorism, according to a USA TODAY/CNN/Gallup Poll. Half say the war is at a stalemate. Public confidence that the United States and its allies are winning has slipped to 33%, the lowest level since Sept. 11. Drug war strategy fatally flawed -- by Tom Thompson "America's drug war is such a spectacular failure that a visitor from another planet might conclude that it's intentionally that way." US could default on debt The US government will officially run out of money at the weekend [because Bush stole it and gave it to his installers] unless the US House of Representatives approves an increase in the national debt ceiling this week. Consumer confidence drops Consumer confidence fell in June, posting its largest one-month drop since just after Sept. 11 as a weak labor market and eroding confidence in corporate America took a toll on the mood of Americans, a report said Tuesday. Suits Say Wal-Mart Forces Workers to Toil Off the Clock Generals Knew of Salvadorans' Torture, Suit Says Two Salvadoran generals knowingly allowed subordinates to beat, rape and torture unarmed civilians during their nation's civil war, lawyers for three alleged victims said in a civil damages trial on Monday. United Seeks $1.8B Federal Loan United Airlines asked the government Monday for $1.8 billion in loan assistance, making it the biggest carrier yet to seek help from a loan guarantee program created to [keep quiet about 9/11] prop up the ailing industry after Sept. 11. High Court Rules on Defendants' Rights A unanimous U.S. Supreme Court ruled on Monday that criminal defendants do not have a constitutional right before pleading guilty to get information from prosecutors that could help them fight the charges. 168 Death Sentences Overturned The Supreme Court overturned the death sentence laws of five states Monday, affecting more than 160 death row inmates, by ruling that juries and not judges must make life-or-death determinations about the fate of convicted killers. Court Overturns More Than 150 Judge-Imposed Death Sentences The Supreme Court overturned the death sentences of at least 150 convicted killers Monday, ruling that juries and not judges must make such life-or-death decisions. NASDAQ Dips Below Post 9-11 Low Another round of questions about the tech sector depressed Wall Street Monday, sending the NASDAQ composite index below the closing low it reached following the Sept. 11 terror attacks. [Great job, Bush -- you moron!] Kerry blasts Bush on war, Mideast Democratic contender assails Bu$h policies, sees U.S. military failure in al-Qaida escape -- Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry let loose a blistering critique of pResident Bu$h’s Middle East policy Sunday, saying the president had made “a catastrophic mistake” by not building on President Clinton’s Camp David negotiations and by sending confusing signals to Israeli and Palestinian leaders. Rep. Watts may retire, Hastert says House Speaker [and rightwing nutcase] Dennis Hastert said Sunday he hoped that Rep. J.C. Watts, the only black Republican in Congress and a member of the GOP leadership [and rightwing nutcase], would seek re-election but acknowledged that the Oklahoman might retire. EU Police will Patrol UK by 2007 The proposals were launched at the Seville summit against opposition from Tony Blair. European leaders have been rattled by the growing controversy over illegal immigration and the rise of Right-wing parties in recent elections. Senators to Subpoena White House Documents on Air Pollution Regulations Sought -- Senate Environment and Public Works Committee members intend to subpoena the Bush mis-ministration this week for documents and e-mails related to a recent decision to relax restrictions on emissions from older coal-fired power plants and refineries. Portfolio Politics -- by E.J.Dionne, Jr. "Just two years ago, the rise of Shareholder Nation was taken as a great boon to the long-term prospects of the Republican Party and conservative policies...But then a funny thing happened on the way to Dow 36,000 (to borrow from the title of a popular book), and shrewd Republican strategists are nervous." The evil Dick Cheney -- by Jackson Thoreau "My dream scenario would be a re-enactment of Watergate, where the vice president is forced to resign before the president follows suit. Add to that the resignation of Scalia, Ashcroft, and Rumsfeld, and I'd start believing that God does have more than a superficial effect on our political process. Thank you, Jesus, thank you, Lord." Telling it like it is "The U.S. Supreme Court elected a president, basically. Let our Supreme Court go ahead on and elect the legislature." -- State Rep. Mickey Michaux (D-Durham) commenting on new legislative maps drawn up by Republican Superior Court Judge Knox Jenkins. Black lawmakers oppose the maps because they say they weaken the participation of nonwhite voters. O'Neill Urges Congress to Raise Debt Ceiling U.S. Treasury Secretary Paul O'Neill on Sunday urged Congress to fulfill its responsibility and raise the debt ceiling so the government can make Social Security payments next weekend. Anthrax in Mail Was Newly Made, Investigators Say Scientists have determined that the anthrax powder sent through the mail last fall was fresh, made no more than two years before it was sent, senior government officials said. The new finding has concerned investigators, who say it indicates that whoever sent the anthrax could make more and strike again. Security bill bars blowing whistle A provision in the bill seeking to create a Homeland Security Department will exempt its employees from whistleblower protection, the very law that helped expose intelligence-gathering missteps before September 11. The legislation now before Congress contains a provision allowing the director of the proposed agency to waive all employee protections in Title V, including the Whistleblower Protection Act. 'All of Us Are in Danger' The Sons and Daughters of Liberty -- by Nat Hentoff "In the spirit of the Sons of Liberty, on February 4 of this year, some 300 citizens of Northampton, Massachusetts, held a town meeting to organize ways to—as they put it—protect the residents of the town from the Bush-Ashcroft USA Patriot Act. On that night, the Northampton Bill of Rights Defense Committee began a new American Revolution. Similar committees are organizing around the country." 'Enemy combatants' -- by Dale McFeatters "The Bush administration is making a breathtaking assertion of its right to imprison an American citizen indefinitely, without access to a court or a lawyer, simply by designating the citizen an 'enemy combatant.' And who, precisely, is an enemy combatant? Anybody President Bush [sic] - or his military commanders - says. And, the administration asserts further, the courts have no jurisdiction to rule on whether the individual is or is not an enemy combatant." Sacrifice Is for Losers -- by Frank Rich "This time the cancer is not on the presidency but on the economy, where the malignancy is a flood of corporate transgressions whose scope and scale, in the words of The Wall Street Journal this week, 'exceed anything the U.S. has witnessed since the years preceding the Great Depression.' " Former Officials Say Enron Hid Gains During Crisis in California The Enron Corporation used undisclosed reserves to keep as much as $1.5 billion in trading profits off its books during the California energy crisis, according to six former managers and executives who handled or reviewed the accounts. Enron's ex-CFO seeks protection from lawsuits Enron Corp.'s former chief financial officer wants a federal judge to grant him protection from civil lawsuits as the FBI pursues its criminal probe against him and others. New Routes To Channel 'Soft Money' On Horizon The Federal Election Commission yesterday approved a major exemption to the new campaign finance law that will facilitate plans by strategists for both major parties to create new ways to channel large, unregulated "soft money" contributions into federal elections. Representative John Dingell (D-MI) Radio Address on Prescription Drugs Major Crimes Rise in U.S. After 9 (Bill Clinton) Years of Declines The number of major crimes in the United States increased last year for the first time in a decade, bringing an end to a decline in violence that had resulted in the lowest crime levels in a generation, according to FBI statistics. Florida Election Reforms Called Inadequate Florida voters will grapple with unfamiliar new machines, redrawn precincts and haphazard ballot education when they go to the polls in September for the first statewide election since the debacle in the 2000 presidential s-election, voting rights advocates said on Thursday. The result, the advocates told U.S. Commission on Civil Rights, is likely to be chaos and rejected ballots. Election-reform critics: Expect a mess (in Florida, of course) MIAMI -- U.S. Commission on Civil Rights Chairwoman Mary Frances Berry warned of a "mini-disaster" in Florida's fall elections after a parade of critics said the state's election reforms don't go far enough. "You've got a mini-disaster waiting to happen in September," Berry said. Italian police 'framed G8 protesters' Italian police have been accused of fabricating evidence against anti-globalisation protesters at last year's G8 summit in Genoa by planting petrol bombs at their headquarters and falsely accusing them of stabbing a police officer. In the Northwest: Funnyman Ed Asner now in a serious line of work -- by Joel Connelly "In Asner's view, the Bush administration has manipulated public fear -- 'They love to identify people as 'the enemy' -- to chip away at personal freedoms and civil rights. Attorney General John Ashcroft is, in Asner's view, 'a madman.' 'I hope somebody kick-starts an examination of things, being done in the name of national security and war, that are ravaging the American people,' Asner said." Speaking of rightwing nutcases: Jerry Falwell sues parody Web site The Rev. Jerry Falwell has gone to federal court to shut down a Web site that parodies him. [LOL! Too bad! Here is the website: http://www.internetparodies.org/ .] Senator Clinton: Put 9/11 Heroes On Wheaties Box Senator Hillary Clinton has called on General Mills to put New York's Bravest and Finest on Wheaties boxes. "In this age of celluloid superheroes, America's children have real heroes to look up to, especially in the wake of Sept. 11," Clinton (D-N.Y.) wrote to General Mills' chairman and CEO, Steve Sanger. Closed Detention Hearings Sought The Injustice Department appealed Friday to the U.S. Supreme Court to keep immigration hearings for some terrorism suspects closed. Jeb Bush seeks to appoint terrorist's lawyer to Florida Supreme Court A Miami lawyer who could become the Florida Supreme Court's first Hispanic justice is under fire for his ties to Orlando Bosch, a militant anti-Castro activist once accused of plotting to blow up a Cuban airplane. Agents pursue terrorists online U.S. scours Web for al-Qaeda site, closely monitors talk in chat room U.S. officials are searching the Internet for the reappearance of a Web site that they believe has been used by al-Qaeda to deliver messages, including possible instructions for its next attacks, to its operatives around the world. Skeptics assail Bush plan Lawmakers, while promising swift passage of pResident Bush's plan to create a new mega-agency for homeland security, expressed doubts that it would fix the most glaring flaw exposed by the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks -- the lack of a central clearinghouse to analyze the huge volume of intelligence data flowing through the government. [The Bush mis-ministration is trolling for trouble, again...] Cheney Sees 'Gathering Danger' in Iraq Iraqi President Saddam Hussein represents a "gathering danger" to the United States, Vice pResident Dick Cheney said on Thursday, while warning that Washington will act preemptively against threats of terrorism. Bush, Fundraising in Fla., Scales $100 Million Mark He Makes 10th Trip as pResident to Pivotal State -- The chairs were gold, the cushions were gold, the tablecloths were gold -- even the plates were gold at tonight's dinner, which raised $2.5 million. About 1,400 donors paid $500 to $100,000 each to benefit the Rethuglican Party of Florida, which under state can is pay for advertising, polling and other expenses for this year's reelection of Bu$h's younger brother Gov. Jeb Bush (R). Bush Hits $100M Fund-Raising Tally pResident Bu$h put the 2002 fund-raising tally for himself and Vice pResident Dick Cheney over the $100 million mark Friday with a Florida dinner boosting brother Jeb Bush's gubernatorial re-election. Enron execs looted company prior to bankruptcy Documents filed in a New York court by the energy company Enron reveal the extent to which the company’s top executives enriched themselves in the year preceding its bankruptcy. Report Predicts Deep Benefit Cuts Under Bush Social Security Plan Opponents of pResident Bush's plan to create personal investment accounts within Social Security released a report today concluding that the administration's approach would lead to deep cuts in retirement benefits and still require trillions of dollars in additional financing to keep the system solvent. Fear of All Sums -- by Paul Krugman "To make sense of what passes for debate over Social Security reform, one must realize that advocates of privatization — of replacing the current system, at least in part, with a system of personal accounts — are determined not to understand basic arithmetic. Otherwise they would have to admit that such accounts would weaken, not strengthen, the system's finances." Dirty-Bomb Politics -- by Mary McGrory "If the mugging of Sen. Max Cleland of Georgia is a fair indicator of what is to come, the fall elections will be ugly. Cleland, a decorated veteran and triple amputee, was attacked by his Republican opponent, Rep. Saxby Chambliss, 'for breaking his oath to protect and defend the Constitution.' " Halliburton’s Home Court Gives Workers the Shaft In an over-the-top business power grab, Texas’ High Court last month overturned two lower courts to force a Halliburton employment dispute out of court and into arbitration (In re Halliburton Co.). The ruling paves the way for Texas businesses to strip their employees of the right to use jury trials to settle employment disputes. Report: Arafat ready to accept Clinton plan Israel says Palestinian deaths a mistake -- At the end of a week in which Palestinians killed 31 Israelis in terror attacks, Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat said in a newspaper interview he was ready to accept a proposal first made by U.S. President Bill Clinton as a framework for a Mideast peace settlement. Why is the US media blacking out documentary on war crimes in Afghanistan? Supreme Court Bars Executing the Mentally Retarded A divided Supreme Court reversed itself Thursday and ruled that executing the mentally retarded is unconstitutionally cruel. Rightwing nutcases and Bush lackeys Chief Injustice William H. Rehnquist, and Injustices Antonin Scalia and Clarence Thomas dissented. [Whew! Bush is safe if and when he is tried and convicted of treason!"] Mike Rectenwald's Interview *on The Jim Greenfield Show!* [Stay tuned for transcript -- coming soon!] Court, 5-4, Upholds Authority of States to Protect Patients The Supreme Court today upheld the states' authority to protect the rights of patients in disputes with managed care companies over denial of recommended treatments. Court Bars Student Suit Under U.S. Privacy Law The Supreme Court yesterday barred students from using federal privacy law to sue schools that divulge their personal information [?!?]. Government Closes Clinton N.Y. Clemency Case Federal prosecutors said on Thursday they were closing a probe, without filing charges, into clemencies that former President Bill Clinton granted four Hasidic men after their town voted overwhelmingly for Hillary Rodham Clinton's U.S. Senate bid. Former Univ. if Ill. Student held on "Secret Evidence" Former University student Ahmed Bensouda is being detained by the Department of Immigration and Naturalization Services as a "national security threat," according to friends who held a press conference Friday morning. The trial included "secret evidence" against Bensouda that neither he nor his lawyer had access to, because he is considered a "national security threat" as determined by the judge. At the hearing Wednesday, the press and public were cleared from the courtroom because of this, and the hearing was unrecorded. Air Force officer disciplined for saying Bush allowed September 11 attacks Hijacker attended US military school -- An Air Force officer in California recently accused pResident Bush of deliberately allowing the September 11 terror attacks to take place. The officer has been relieved of his command and faces further discipline. Bush to Help in Brother's Campaign [Why not? Jeb helped steal election 2000 for the Idiot Usurper!] pResident Bush is shoring up his brother's re-election war chest, hoping to raise $2.5 million in one event for the Florida GOP. S.C. plutonium impasse appeal denied A federal appeals court Thursday rejected hero and patriot Gov. Jim Hodges' last-minute attempt to stop plutonium shipments from entering South Carolina. Study: Warming a Boon to Diseases Climate warming is allowing disease-causing bacteria, viruses and fungi to move into new areas where they may harm species as diverse as lions and snails, butterflies and humans, a study suggests. Rethuglican Will Head Energy Bill Negotiations Rethuglican Rep. Billy Tauzin, who wants to allow oil drilling in an Alaskan wildlife refuge, edged out a Democratic senator on Wednesday to head the congressional panel that will negotiate a final bill to overhaul U.S. energy policy. GOP right in Iowa fear 'purge' Conservatives claim they are about to be "purged" from the Iowa Republican Party [why stop there?] in a move that could have national repercussions. Tony [barf alert!] Blankley named editorial-page editor of Moonie-CIA-owned Washington Times Tony Blankley, a Washington newspaper columnist and television commentator [and rightwing nutcase] since he left his job as press secretary to Newt Gingrich, yesterday was named editor of the editorial page of The Washington Times. Troops Face Long Stay in Afghanistan The United States is no longer dropping bombs in Afghanistan and few al-Qaida fighters have been captured in recent weeks. The 7,000 American soldiers in Afghanistan, however, won't be leaving any time soon. Stocks Tumble to New Lows for the Year [thanks to Bush] Dollar Hits a 2-Year Low Against Euro [thanks to Bush] *Michael Rectenwald interviewed in The Oregonian!* Radio host offers opponent airtime "During the interview with Michael Rectenwald, founder of the anti-Bush group Citizens for Legitimate Government, Greenfield challenged his guest to defend his use of the words 'coup' and 'occupation' to describe Bush's presidency [sic]." U.S. Warplanes Strike Iraq 'No-Fly' Zone - Military Western warplanes on Thursday attacked an Iraqi military command-and-control center in a "no-fly" zone southeast of Baghdad. Red, White And Greenbacks At GOP Fundraiser The combined committees raised more than $30 million. Twenty-one drug companies ponied up $250,000 each to underpin the evening. Robert A. Ingram, president and CEO of GlaxoSmithKline pharmaceutical company, was the corporate chairman of the event. He led the pResidential toast [barf alert!]. Panel Debates Revising U.S. Policy on Smallpox Shots On the eve of a planned vote on whether to change the government's recommendations on smallpox vaccine, a national advisory panel struggled today to determine what is the actual risk of a bioterrorist attack with smallpox. [After the big donations by the pharmaceutical companies to Bush last night, it's really not much of a debate, is it?] White House Briefly Evacuated, Cowardly Bush Almost Fled to Bunker Again The White House was briefly evacuated on Wednesday after an aircraft flew into restricted airspace several miles away, apparently by accident. Court Jousters A Small Cartel of Conservative Lawyers Rewrites the American Rule -- by James Ridgeway "Behind the Bush Administration's attack on civil rights in the name of war lurks the network of attorneys crafting laws for a new America. Their hodgepodge of rules and statutes either now or soon will remake the nation, providing local police with sweeping federal authority, pushing the military and CIA directly into everyday domestic politics, and sanctioning indefinite detention without a charge or even a court hearing." Lawmakers Fear Costly Price Tag to Create Homeland Dept. Democrats: Bush Camp Ignores Budget Reality -- Lawmakers from both parties said yesterday that creating a Department of Homeland Security could cost hundreds of millions of dollars, taking issue in the most forceful terms to date with the White House's contention that all or parts of 22 federal agencies can be merged on a break-even basis. House Panel Created to Handle Bush Security Bill The House of Representatives on Wednesday established a select committee to help expedite consideration of pResident Bush 's proposal to create a Department of Homeland Security. 'Combatants' Lack Rights, U.S. Argues Prisoners declared enemy combatants do not have the right to a lawyer and the American judiciary cannot second-guess the military's classification of such detainees, the Injustice Department argued yesterday in a brief to an appeals court. FBI mobilizes surveillance for July 4th The FBI is launching a national surveillance effort to guard local communities against possible terrorist attacks on Fourth of July celebrations, federal authorities said Wednesday. FBI Will Monitor July 4 Festivities The FBI is putting together a major national operation to monitor and protect [barf alert!] July Fourth parades and festivities because of concern that terrorists might attack, officials said Wednesday. [Gee, where were they on September 10th? Not "monitoring and protecting," I guess...(see stories, above)] EPA says toxic sludge is good for fish The Army Corps of Engineers' dumping of toxic sludge into the Potomac River protects fish by forcing them to flee the polluted area and escape fishermen, according to an internal Environmental Protection Agency document. Whitman says she hadn't read EPA report that irritated Bush Environmental Protection Agency administrator Christie Whitman said yesterday she did not review a controversial EPA report on global warming until she read about it in a newspaper, prompting critics to question her stewardship of the agency. Pentagon Clears Troops for Philippines Patrols The Pentagon has approved a plan to send American troops on patrol with Philippine soldiers battling Islamic rebels in the southern Philippines, a U.S. defense official said on Wednesday. House Panel Approves Guns for 2 Percent of Pilots A House of Representatives subcommittee approved a bill Wednesday to let 2 percent of commercial pilots carry guns in the cockpit for a two-year trial period, as a last line of defense against hijackers. Congress Gets Bill Setting Up Security Dept. The F.B.I. and the C.I.A. would be required to turn over intelligence reports on terrorist threats to the proposed Department of Homeland Security, White House officials said today in submitting to Congress a bill that would reorganize much of official Washington. Major Companies Sponsoring G.O.P. Fund-Raiser Tonight As lawmakers battle over a prescription drug bill, pharmaceutical and health-care concerns are providing major support for a fund-raiser scheduled for Wednesday night that is expected to raise more than $20 million for Republican candidates in this year's Congressional election. Drug Firms Giving Big to GOP Pharmaceutical companies are among 21 donors paying $250,000 each for red-carpet treatment at tonight's GOP fundraising gala starring pResident Bush, two days after Republicans unveiled a prescription drug plan the industry is backing, according to GOP officials. Conservatives not satisfied with Bush's record [By golly, It's unanimous!! EVERYONE hates Bu$h! Can he be tried for treason for 9/11 now?] Conservative lawmakers and activists disappointed with pResident Bush's first 18 months in office are calling into question his tactics and strategy in advancing the conservative agenda. Nuclear-waste conflict intensifies Opponents of plans point to terrorism -- Fear of nuclear terrorism is heating up a dispute concerning the safety of shipping radioactive cargo across the USA by road, rail and waterway. Court Revives Radiation Claim A federal appeals court Tuesday revived two lawsuits filed by thousands of people who claimed they were sickened by radiation releases from the Hanford nuclear weapons complex. Senate Passes Aid to Insurers on Terrorism The Senate passed legislation today requiring the government to pay the overwhelming majority of financial losses in a major terrorist attack, though the measure takes a markedly different approach from one approved by the House. Banks sued for $50bn in South Africa class action A group of apartheid's victims are suing three banks which breached the international sanctions against white South Africa for $50bn damages, accusing them of collaborating in forced labour, murder, torture and massacres. "Homeland Security = Home-grown Fascism" While Tom Ridge spoke to the group of several hundred mayors, a group of protesters stood outside the Monona Terrace convention center carrying signs such as: "War on Terrorism = War on Immigration" and "Homeland Security = Home-grown Fascism." Justices OK police tactics in searches No need to tell of search rights -- Police are not required to tell bus and train passengers that they can object to being frisked, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled Monday in a case that tested police tactics that have been used increasingly since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. Lawyer: Lindh's Rights Violated The government violated John Walker Lindh's rights when it refused to fly the U.S.-born Taliban home from Afghanistan for a prompt hearing while allowing him to be questioned by U.S. interrogators, his lawyers said Tuesday. GOP State Representative charged with indecent exposure A Tennessee lawmaker has been arrested for indecent exposure. Investigators say the state representative exposed himself several times to a group of kids outside a hotel swimming pool. Rep. Keith Westmoreland is a Rethuglican from Kingsport. He serves on the house judiciary committee helping to make laws in Tennessee. Now, he's accused of breaking the law in Florida. [Was Jeb with him?] Jeb Bush (inadvertently) endorses Janet Reno for Governor of Florida, leaving voters to wonder: "Is he as dumb as his brother George after all?" Rumsfeld Sold Millions in Stock Under Ethics Rules Defense Secretary [and rightwing nutcase] Donald Rumsfeld sold between $20 million and $90 million in stocks and other investments last year to comply with government ethics rules. Chavez facing a storm of coup threats A new wave of coup threats against President Hugo Chávez is pushing Venezuelans to the edge of hysteria, with many residents of the capital stockpiling food and condo associations preparing an inventory of guns in case of looting. Clandestine communiqués and videos from alleged military officers vowing to topple the leftist president emerge almost daily. A chilling case of political censorship -- Anti-Bush protesters ejected from Ohio State commencement Graduates at the June 14 commencement ceremony held by Ohio State University (OSU) were threatened with arrest if they made any protest against the keynote speaker, George W. Bush. Miramar man faces bomb threat charges Federal prosecutors say the Miramar man, 22, sent an anonymous tip from his work computer to the FBI Internet desk on May 31, saying he had overheard “Safraz Jehaludi” state he was planning to blow up a Florida Power & Light Co. power plant and make a name for himself in an attempt to kill the president [sic] and take over the White House [Uh, the White House has already been "taken over" since November, 2000.] Bush Advisers Backing Card as Homeland Security Secretary Prominent advisers to pResident Bush are urging him to name White House Chief of Staff Andrew H. Card Jr. as secretary of the Department of Homeland Security if Congress approves the administration's plan, several of those advisers said yesterday. As critics get louder, Bush fights back with a plan to reform homeland security An official describes the clandestine enterprise as "sort of like the Manhattan Project," and paranoia about leaks ran so high that meetings were moved to the secure bunker beneath the White House where senior officials had taken cover on Sept. 11. $680 million paid to top Enron execs in '01 Lay, Skilling together topped $109 million -- Enron paid its top 140 executives a total of $680 million in the year prior to its Dec. 2 bankruptcy, according to a filing the company will make public today. 'Virtual Slave Labor' In The American Heartland In Tulsa, Oklahoma 53 Indian men spent months working under conditions that their attorneys call "virtual slave labor." Isn't Democracy Worth It? -- by Bob Herbert "Today it may be Padilla. Tomorrow it might be you." Lindh Request to Drop Case Rejected A federal judge refused on Monday to dismiss John Walker Lindh's indictment, rejecting defense arguments the American had a constitutional right to associate with the Taliban and could not get a fair trial. Venue change for Lindh trial rejected A federal judge Monday rejected a defense motion for a change of venue in the trial of John Walker Lindh. Bush order to topple Saddam is in effect pResident Bush signed an intelligence order early this year directing the CIA to undertake a comprehensive, covert program to topple Saddam Hussein, including authority to use lethal force to capture the Iraqi president, according to sources familiar with the matter. On trial for paper plane attack on US embassy According to the police report, three men threw paper airplanes at the US embassy in Oslo on the evening of October 14 while yelling, "These are peace planes, not bombers". One of the accused says that the point of the paper ambush was to protest the USA's war in Afghanistan. Sticker may reap a bumper crop "Anybody but Katherine" is already spawning sticker spinoffs as the Democrats running against Katherine Harris plan to turn out others suggesting who "anybody" should be. French right-wing parties consolidate large parliamentary majority Bush to Formalize a Defense Policy of Hitting First Dictator George W. Bush has directed his top national security aides to make a doctrine of pre-emptive action against states and terrorist groups trying to develop weapons of mass destruction into the foundation of a new national security strategy, according to senior mis-ministration officials drafting the document. [Cover story, New York Times, June 22:] Conspiracy Theory Grips French: Sept. 11 as Right-Wing U.S. Plot In the book, L'Effroyable Imposture, or The Horrifying Fraud, Thierry Meyssan challenges the entire official version of the Sept. 11 attacks. Comment by CLG Founder and Chair, Michael Rectenwald: "Books such as this one provide perfect foils for the US media against legitimate criticism of the Bush mis-ministration for the disaster of 9-1-1. The NYT review helps to make cynics of erstwhile skeptics. These cynics then scoff at "conspiracy theories," and likewise ignore the real questions asked by reasonable people. The NYT fails to mention that the official version of 9-1-1 is a "conspiracy theory" itself--the conspiracy of a terrorist network to destroy US targets. Given the foil of "conspiracy theories," The NYT need not mention the connections between Bush&Co and the Arab financiers of bin Laden. It need not question the real oil interests that propel U.S. policy in Afghanistan and Iraq. It need not mention the concurrent policy of arming Israel against Palestine, which policy makes US Mid-East policy "bipolar"-- fueling Arab hatred while pouring money into their coffers. It is not surprising that the New York Times picked this straw man of a book to beat up and tear apart, in lieu of real investigative or critical journalism. They do so to quell the real doubts and questions about the culpability (not complicity, but real criminal negligence) of Bush&Co. regarding 9-1-1." Delay in WTC Probe Criticized A federal agency planning to investigate the Twin Towers collapse heard a wide range of technical suggestions as well as criticism from fire safety experts, victims’ relatives and experts from across the country Monday. Authorities Accused of Delaying WTC Investigation Engineers, fire-science experts and victims' relatives who yesterday were called to make suggestions on the federal plan to study the World Trade Center collapse blasted authorities for delaying their investigation. Head of Sept. 11 Probe Allegedly Obstructed Danforth's Waco Inquiry Former FBI Counsel Held Onto Papers -- The official in charge of ferreting out information about the FBI for a joint congressional intelligence panel allegedly obstructed a Justice Department probe of the bureau two years ago. [And, so that we never get to the bottom of 9/11:] Sept. 11 Leak Probe Urged The leaders [cowards] of a congressional probe into Sept. 11 intelligence failures — stung by Bush administration complaints about leaks — asked John Ashkkkroft yesterday to investigate. The request came after Vice pResident Cheney called key congressional leaders to express White House anger about the leaks. Ashkkkroft may probe leaked pre-9/11 intercepts Leaders of a joint congressional panel probing pre-September 11 intelligence lapses have asked the attorney general to investigate who leaked cryptic intercepts that hinted of imminent attacks. Cheney Blames Leaks on Congress Intelligence Chairmen Request Justice Investigation -- Vice pResident Cheney chastised the House and Senate intelligence committees yesterday about leaks of classified information, and the panels' chairmen responded by requesting a Injustice Department investigation into the disclosures. Bush Complains About Release of Sept. 11 Intercepts The White House complained on Thursday that a House-Senate probe into the Sept. 11 attacks released sensitive information about secret intercepts with the potential to undermine U.S. national security [Bush doesn't want us to know about his treasonous actions regarding the September 11th terrorist attacks!!]. Dick Cheney Complains About Leaks Vice pResident Dick Cheney complained to lawmakers Thursday about leaks that he believes led to disclosure of the National Security Agency's Sept. 10 intercepts of at least two messages in Arabic that suggested a major event was to take place the next day. [Too bad, Enron breath!] Agency Is Under Scrutiny for Overlooked Messages The National Security Agency intercepted two cryptic communications on the day before the Sept. 11 attacks that referred to a major event scheduled for the next day, but analysts at the secret eavesdropping agency did not read the messages until Sept. 12, American intelligence officials said today. US Heard 'Tomorrow Is Zero Hour' on Eve of Attacks U.S. intelligence [LOL - now THERE'S a contradiction in terms!] intercepted two messages the day before the Sept. 11 attacks that indicated an event was planned the following day, but the communications were not translated until Sept. 12, government sources said on Wednesday. U.S. Intelligence Intercepted Messages Day Before Sept. 11 U.S. intelligence intercepted two messages the day before the Sept. 11 attacks that indicated an event was planned the following day, but the communications were not translated until Sept. 12, government sources said Wednesday. NSA Knew of Impending Attacks on 9/10 A conversation intercepted by the National Security Agency suggested that a big event [?!?] was to take place the next day. It was not translated until Sept. 12 [?!?]. Intelligence agencies aren't sure [?!?] if a conversation in Arabic intercepted Sept. 10 was a warning of the next day's attacks at the World Trade Center and Pentagon, an intelligence source said Wednesday. S.F. attorney: Bush allowed 9/11 San Francisco attorney Stanley Hilton now figures his case is stronger because of a coalition of attorneys, victims' families and bipartisan legislators who gathered in Washington on Monday to condemn the government's lack of action in preventing the Sept. 11 attacks. June 19, 2002 Activists plan to monitor voting at polls Stung by the Bush mis-ministration's decision this month not to pursue further legal action in Florida's 2000 presidential election, civil rights leaders say that getting massive numbers of voters to the polls is not enough. Activists must converge to monitor precincts for signs of fraud and improper conduct, they said, because the U.S. Justice Department may not step in. [NOTE the admission at the end of the article by the Miami Herald that in ONE Jacksonville county alone, "thousands of ballots were never counted." We know, Miami Herald--by why did you LIE about that before????] Fla. Election Monitors Recruited Civil rights leaders and liberal groups are organizing Florida residents to monitor polling places in the upcoming election for fraud and improper conduct. Supreme Court Rules on Bus Searches The Less-Than-Supreme- Court ruled Monday that police who want to look for drugs or evidence of other crimes do not have to first inform public transportation passengers of their legal rights. Ashcroft's High Profile, Motives Raise White House Concerns Attorney General Ashcroft's visibility has fed speculation, denied by his aides, that he is eyeing another run for office. The man is stupid -- by Joan Smith "I have lost count of the times I have been ticked off in recent months, sometimes by quite senior politicians, for suggesting that George W Bush is a complete idiot." Debunk the myth of Al Qaeda Its size and reach have been blown out of proportion -- by Kimberly A. McCloud and Adam Dolnik Arrogance in education (St. Petersburg Times) The state (FL) has organized its educational policy around the results of one standardized test, and then has set itself up as the only gauge of public school performance. Afghan war documentary charges US with mass killings of POWs A documentary film, Massacre in Mazar, by Irish director Jamie Doran, was shown to selected audiences in Europe last week, provoking demands for an international inquiry into US war crimes in Afghanistan. Interview with Jamie Doran, director of Massacre at Mazar New Jersey appeals court upholds secret detentions In the first ruling to uphold the Bush mis-ministration’s secret detention policy, a New Jersey Appeals Court ruled June 12 that two county jails do not have to reveal the names of immigrants rounded up since September 11. Bush’s inJustice Department has refused to release the names of those arrested in the “anti-terror” dragnet. Lawyers: Lindh Can't Get Fair Trial Lawyers for John Walker Lindh, seeking dismissal of his indictment, argue that the American-born Taliban fighter cannot receive a fair trial anywhere in America — and especially not 10 miles from the Pentagon where 189 people died Sept. 11. FBI Referral Rate Of Terror Cases for Prosecution Grows The FBI has been seeking prosecution of international terrorism cases at six times the rate it did before Sept. 11, but more than half those cases considered by federal prosecutors never made it to court, Justice Department records show. Questions as Bush Tests Harder Line with N. Korea As the Bush mis-ministration prepares to test a harder line in talks with North Korea, it remains divided on key aspects of U.S. strategy and where negotiations with Pyongyang might lead. Anti-Missile Work Begins in Alaska Federal officials broke ground Saturday on six underground missile interceptor silos as part of the new national missile defense system [that no one but the Bush junta wants to see built]. Activists Say Anti-Nuke Support Up With friends like these -- by Michael Parsons "The very institutions that are supposed to make America great--from Big Business to the Oval Office--are embarrassing the country." We won't deny our consciences Prominent Americans have issued this statement on the war on terror: "Let it not be said that people in the United States did nothing when their government declared a war without limit and instituted stark new measures of repression. The signers of this statement call on the people of the US to resist the policies and overall political direction that have emerged since September 11 and which pose grave dangers to the people of the world..." Bush to use Covert CIA Program to Topple Hussein pResident Bush early this year signed an intelligence order directing the CIA to undertake a comprehensive, covert program to topple Saddam Hussein, including authority to use lethal force to capture the Iraqi president, according to informed sources. The Lindh E-Mail The inJustice Department’s own lawyers have raised questions about the government’s case against the American Taliban -- Even as prosecutors began preparing criminal charges against Lindh last December, the department’s own ethics advisers were raising red flags. S.C. Watches for Plutonium Shipments One day after hero and patriot Gov. Jim Hodges' request to block the shipments from the Rocky Flats facility in Colorado was denied in federal court, the governor read a statement Friday declaring a state of emergency and sent troopers to block roads near the site. Hodges ordered state police to prevent anyone transporting plutonium into South Carolina starting Friday. Mayors Set to Oppose Nevada Dump Site Three Western mayors urged their counterparts Saturday to oppose a plan that would create a national nuclear waste repository in Nevada, saying that shipping radioactive waste to the site would threaten the entire country. Senate Democrats Push Medicare Drug Plan Senate Democrats used their weekly radio address on Saturday to promote their plan to help seniors pay for prescription drugs under Medicare. Experts [and all sane people] Wary of G.O.P. Drug Plan A Republican plan to provide prescription drug benefits to the elderly through private insurers is drawing a skeptical reaction from many health policy experts. The plan, they say, would face problems like those that have plagued Medicare's attempt to encourage the use of health maintenance organizations. AMA Officer Sparks Ethics Debate Doctor-Lawyer's Business Advises on How to Avoid Malpractice Suits -- A Louisiana physician poised to become president-elect of the American Medical Association founded a company that advises doctors on how to avoid malpractice suits, drawing criticism that his ascension reflects a disturbing trend in the nation's health care system. Report Provides New Details of Soviet Smallpox Accident A Soviet field test of weaponized smallpox caused an outbreak in 1971 that killed two children and a young woman before health teams disinfected homes, quarantined hundreds of people and administered nearly 50,000 emergency vaccine shots, a new report asserts. Alaska, No Longer So Frigid, Starts to Crack, Burn and Sag With the average temperature rising seven degrees over the past 30 years, Alaskans are facing sagging roads, shoreline erosion and dying forests. Secrets of the Yo-Yo's -- by Maureen Dowd "A predictable insight into the Rove world view. He worries about Enron as a potential political attack rather than an economic calamity in which thousands of people lost their shirts and their jobs." Powell may split from Bush team US Secretary of State Colin Powell is becoming so frustrated at being undermined by the White House that he may stand down after the mid-term elections, some American diplomats claim. The damaging speculation has been dismissed by senior State Department sources, but it caps a bad week for pResident Bu$h's Cabinet. Three graduating students were arrested at their own graduation for the crime of turning their backs to Bush as he delivered the keynote address. "Graduating students were told that they would be expelled and arrested if they turned their backs." Ohio State Graduates Were Threatened With Arrest and Expulsion if they Protested Bush's Speech. They Were Ordered to Give Bush a "Thunderous Ovation." Pentagon Meddles in Windtalkers Movie A scene was written out of the script after the Marine Corps and the Department of Defense -- which lent production assistance to the movie -- complained about it. S.C. Troopers to Watch for Plutonium Hero and patriot Gov. Jim Hodges ordered state troopers and other authorities to South Carolina's borders Friday to stop federal shipments of plutonium that could begin arriving from Colorado as early as this weekend. "I order that the transportation of plutonium on South Carolina roads and highways is prohibited," Hodges said. "I order that any persons transporting plutonium shall not enter the state of South Carolina." Earthquake Near Planned Nuke Waste Site A mild earthquake rumbled beneath the desert early Friday near Yucca Mountain, the federal government's proposed site for a nuclear waste repository. Quake Stirs Opposition To Nuclear Waste Plan A mild earthquake early yesterday in the Nevada desert about 12 miles southeast of Yucca Mountain has added fuel to the controversy over the Bush mid-ministration plan to build a centralized nuclear waste repository beneath the mountain. EPA OKs combining most pesticides Activists complain children, some risks were not weighed -- The Environmental Protection Agency has signed off on the safety of all but two of 30 pesticides it studied to see whether they are unreasonably dangerous to human health when combined. Andersen Found Guilty of Obstruction of Justice Arthur Andersen was convicted Saturday of obstructing justice by shredding Enron-related documents in a verdict that could be the death knell for the shattered accounting firm and one that boosts prosecutors' efforts to get to the bottom of the Enron scandal. U.S.: People Held for Attacks Probe At least 147 people detained as part of the investigation into the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks are still being held by the government, the inJustice Department revealed in response to a court order. US to hold Jose Padilla indefinitely without charges The Bush mis-ministration confirmed June 13 that it had no plans either to charge, try or release Jose Padilla, the Brooklyn-born man who was seized by FBI agents last month. Padilla is the first [and likely, not the last] US citizen to be subjected to indefinite detention by the Bush Fourth Reich under its unilateral assertion of wartime executive power. Agency: Deficit Likely Above $100B The federal deficit probably will soar beyond $100 billion this year, Congress' top budget analyst says. President Gore searched twice during Wisconsin trip Traveling to Wisconsin, President Gore was pulled aside for random security screening ["Random?!?"] at Reagan National Airport before boarding the 7:15 p.m. flight to Milwaukee on Friday. EPA Documents Reveal Plan to Weaken Air Quality Protections NRDC says Bush mis-ministration plans would violate law and threaten public health. Plutocracy and Politics -- by Paul Krugman "In 1981 ...captains of industry were paid an average of $3.5 million, which seemed like a lot at the time. By 1988 the average had soared to $19.3 million, which seemed outrageous. But by 2000 the average annual pay of the top 10 was $154 million...earnings of top executives rose 4,300 percent." Is Scandal, Fear Inspiring Malaise Among Americans? Nine months after the Sept. 11 attacks, the United States finds itself in a jittery mood, as scandal and doubts envelop a growing number of major institutions. Unocal Faces Trial For Rights Abuses A Superior Court judge in Los Angeles ordered Unocal to stand trial for human rights abuses allegedly committed in association with a pipeline project in Myanmar. Surprise, surprise, the Bush regime rigs (another) s-election. Karl Rove's Missing Computer Disk Found by a Democrat A computer disk containing a private analysis of the 2002 elections prepared by White House Political Director Ken Mehlman somehow was left on a street corner a few blocks from the White House. The disk, which also includes a more detailed Power Point presentation on the political climate for the 2002 and 2004 elections prepared by Karl Rove, was picked up off the pavement by a Senate Democratic aide, who has been happily passing it on to others. Bob Barr's Believe It or Not -- by Lloyd Grove "We never realized that that Rep. Bob Barr -- the Georgia Republican who so despised Bill Clinton that he demanded his impeachment before the Monica Lewinsky scandal -- was such a delicate hothouse flower. Well, it turns out that Barr was deeply hurt by all those slings and arrows during his 1998 ordeal as a Republican impeachment manager." The Strangest Bedfellows Conservative Strategy Meeting Gets a Dose of Naderite Populism -- At one point, the room cheered Nader for his "help" in the 2000 s-election. Nader responded by pointing to his favorite political cartoon, in which a George W. Bush figure, upon hearing that "A Vote for Nader Is a Vote for Bush," announces his intention to "Vote for Nader." And Nader began his presentation by poking fun at his audience and at its reputation as the fulcrum of a right-wing conspiracy. Bush Distances Himself From Attorney General [God, we ALL wish we could do that!] -- by James Ridgeway "As Bush angrily backpedals away from Attorney General John Ashcroft's statements Monday about the supposed dirty-bomb plot of former Chicago thug Abdullah al Muhajir (a/k/a Jose Padilla), Washington officials are nervously watching the nation's top lawman and wondering what's next." Unions say Bush blocking them Tens of thousands of federal employees who would be shifted to a new department of homeland security risk losing their union memberships, triggering a fight that could complicate the agency's congressional approval. Axis of errors has America's friends Bushed -- by Paul McGeough "The White House stumblebum team played fast and loose this week - rushing headlong into every crisis, their loose lips risking greater tension, fear and panic in a world that was trying to cool it." Lindh: U.S. Denied My Legal Rights U.S. authorities in Afghanistan failed to advise John Walker Lindh of his legal rights and ignored his pleas for a lawyer, defense attorneys contended Friday. Anthrax Theory Emerges Scientists: FBI Questions Suggest Insider Grew Spores At Lab, Refined Them Elsewhere -- The FBI is investigating whether the anthrax spores used in last fall's attacks could have been grown secretly inside an Army lab and then taken elsewhere to be weaponized, according to three sources familiar with the ongoing probe. Judge Refuses to Force Nevada to Give Water to Yucca Mountain A judge is refusing to make Nevada turn on the water tap for the federal government at the Yucca Mountain nuclear waste dump site. White House Seeks a Change [for the Worse] in Rules on Air Pollution The Bu$h mis-ministration today proposed changing air pollution rules to give utilities more leeway in modernizing power plants without also being required to improve their pollution-control equipment. EPA Proposes To Ease Rules On Clean Air Foes Vow a Court Fight -- The Bush mis-ministration announced yesterday a major relaxation of clean air enforcement rules governing older coal-fired power plants and refineries that would effectively preclude future government legal action in all but the most flagrant cases of pollution. S.C. Loses Plutonium Shipment Ruling A federal judge on Thursday denied Gov. Jim Hodges' request to block shipments of weapons-grade plutonium, which could begin arriving in South Carolina as early as this weekend. Anti-Nuke Pills a Hot Item Potassium iodide has become such a hot commodity among people living near the Indian Point nuclear power plant in Westchester County (NY) that there were no fewer than 20 Internet auction listings for the little pills on eBay yesterday. President Gore plans retreat with contributors Al Gore plans to meet with top Democratic fund-raisers at the end of July to talk about elections — the 2000 presidential s-election, this year's congressional elections and future contests. Text of President Gore's Speech at the Wisconsin State Democratic Party Convention Congressional agency debunks charges of vandalism by Clinton White House “Vandalism-Gate” has become the latest anti-Clinton scandal to be exposed as a Republican-inspired fraud. Ex-Mayor Rudolph Giuliani to face questioning in case by artist Former Mayor [and rightwing nutcase] Rudolph Giuliani will answer legal questions in a lawsuit brought by an artist who says he was repeatedly arrested after depicting Giuliani as Adolph Hitler in a painting, the city says. Giuliani Will Testify vs. New York Artist Rudy Giuliani will testify against the painter who depicted him as Adolph Hitler. The former mayor will be deposed as part of the city's defense against a federal suit by artist Robert Lederman, who claims he was illegally targeted for arrest by the Giuliani administration. N.Y. Teacher Arrested for Hitting Kids with Broom A substitute teacher has been arrested for attacking school children with a broom handle in the Washington Heights section of Manhattan, sending many of the six- and seven-year olds to the hospital with bruises and welts, police said Friday. America faces a capitalism crisis -- by Andrew Neil "American business currently occupies an unprecedented 'position of low repute', Hank Paulson, the chief executive of Goldman Sachs, said last week. Confidence in American companies was the lowest 'in my lifetime'. Unintelligent intelligence - by Keiler Hook "Are the FBI and CIA fumbling around again and calling it a victory? Is the detaining of Abdullah al Muhajir, previously known as Jose Padilla, just another spin by the administration to keep us distracted from the reality of the inadequacy of the intelligence community? It certainly appears that way." Now showing on satellite TV: secret American spy photos Security lapse allows viewers to see sensitive operations -- European satellite TV viewers can watch live broadcasts of peacekeeping and anti-terrorist operations being conducted by US spyplanes over the Balkans. US invasion proposal shocks MPs The Dutch parliament was shocked by a US legislative proposal giving an official green light to a US invasion of the Netherlands should it be deemed necessary to free US citizens from the International Criminal Court in The Hague. Democrats Complain About Missile Test Secrecy Leading Senate Democrats today accused the Missile Defense Agency of excessive secrecy in reporting on its tests, timetables and cost estimates. State Patrol begins random searches at ferry docks State troopers have launched an aggressive campaign to boost security on Washington State Ferries by randomly searching vehicles while their owners wait to board. EPA chief was left in the dark on U.S. climate report Christine Todd Whitman, the top U.S. environmental regulator, said on Wednesday she was not told in advance about a controversial Bush mis-ministration report that concluded greenhouse gas emissions produced by human activities were the primary cause of global warming. Dangerous waters By shipping plutonium around the world, Britain is courting catastrophe -- by George Monbiot "The world now faces two imminent nuclear threats. The first is the stand-off between India and Pakistan, two nuclear powers vacillating on the brink of war. The second arises from a commercial deal between the United Kingdom and Japan." Vermont to Require Drug Makers to Disclose Payments to Doctors Amid rising concern about the cost of prescription drugs, Vermont is expected today to become the first state in the nation to require pharmaceutical companies to disclose their gifts and cash payments to doctors, hospitals and other health care providers. Senators Say U.S. Should Keep Tabs on Internet Body U.S. lawmakers said on Wednesday that they would step up oversight of the nonprofit group that oversees the Internet's domain-name system, but stopped short of saying the United States should run the controversial body. Effort to Repeal Estate Tax Ends in Senate Defeat The Republican push for a permanent repeal of the estate tax collapsed today in the Democratic-led Senate. Environmental Activists Win Case Against FBI, Police -- Given $4.4M Judge tells Utah newspaper not to publish story A judge has ordered the Standard-Examiner not to publish a story involving an injured girl who was removed from her home. Indiana high school withholds diploma after student's speech Officials at Whiting High School refused to give the senior class salutatorian her diploma after she deviated from her prepared speech and gave teachers frivolous awards during the ceremony. British security sources raise doubts over US claims about 'dirty bomber' British and European security officials are highly sceptical of American claims that the alleged "dirty bomb" plotter, Abdullah al-Muhajir, was preparing to unleash a radioactive attack. Dramatic return of 'war on terror' can only help Bush -- by Rupert Cornwell "The arrest of the alleged al-Qa'ida associate and would-be 'dirty bomber' Abdullah al-Muhajir may raise as many questions as it answers. But whatever the threat he posed to America's national security, the political benefits to the Bush administration from his capture are clear." Lawyer Challenges al Muhajir's Detention The attorney for a U.S. citizen accused of plotting to explode a radioactive "dirty bomb" in the United States filed a motion in federal court today challenging his indefinite detention at a high-security naval brig in Charleston, S.C. Another step towards presidential dictatorship: Bush orders US citizen held indefinitely by military (WSWS) "A New York-born man of Puerto Rican descent has been jailed indefinitely by the Bush administration in a military brig in South Carolina, in an unprecedented assertion of executive power. The federal government has seized a US citizen and locked him up for an unlimited period of time on the say-so of the president [sic], without the sanction of any court and in defiance of such elementary legal principles as the presumption of innocence and the right of habeas corpus." Suspect is being denied rights, say campaigners The Bush mis-ministration came under fire from civil rights groups yesterday for its decision to hold the suspected "dirty bomb" plotter in military custody and deny him access to civilian courts. Suspect Held 8 Months Without Seeing Judge A former Boston cab driver once identified by authorities as a major terrorism suspect was kept in solitary confinement for more than eight months here without seeing a judge or being assigned a lawyer, according to court records, lawyers and advocates familiar with the case. Anti - Ballistic Missile Treaty Expires The Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty, long the centerpiece of nuclear equilibrium between the United States and the Soviet Union and a strong deterrent to other nations with nuclear aspirations, will expire Thursday. Barring last-minute court intervention, the 1972 ABM treaty will expire six months after pResident Bush invoked a provision allowing either side to withdraw upon such notice. Hate Crimes Bill Dealt a Setback The Senate on Tuesday dealt a major setback to a bill that would make violent attacks based on victims' sexual orientation or disabilities a federal hate crime, refusing to limit debate on the measure. No war has been declared. But in the border villages it has already begun For the Indian villagers of Garkwal, it is not a question of when war will break out. It already has. How close is your home to Bush’s traveling toxic waste road show? Type in your zip code and check it out! The Senate could vote as early as June 25th to ship radioactive waste via truck or train through your community -–so take action NOW! Bush Setting Stage to Privatize Air-Traffic Control pResident Bush says air traffic control "not inherently governmental" -- In a surprise move June 6th, pResident Bush took the first steps toward privatizing air traffic control services. House Democrats to Sue Over ABM Treaty Pullout A group of Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives plans to file a lawsuit on Tuesday challenging pResident Bush's decision to withdraw from the 1972 Antiballistic Missile Treaty, according to the office of Rep. Dennis Kucinich of Ohio. Reid Urges Bush to Condemn GOP Monitoring of Lobbyists Senate Majority Whip Harry M. Reid called on pResident Bush yesterday to condemn Republicans close to the White House who are tracking the political activities of Democratic lobbyists in order to deny them lobbying jobs and access to key government officials. Bush: U.S. Must Strike Terror First pResident Bush made a case Monday for pre-emptive strikes against terrorists that seek weapons of mass destruction for use against the United States and other nations, saying "we will oppose the new totalitarians with all our power." [He will oppose himself?] Fleischer: Bush Didn't Read Report White House press secretary Ari Fleischer fessed up: pResident Bush didn't actually read that 268-page Environmental Protection Agency report on climate change, even if he said he did. [Well, we know this is the one statement of Fleischer's to be veracious, as the Idiot Usurper cannot read.] What Was Terror Suspect Up To? U.S. officials are backing away from assertions that a man arrested last month in Chicago was plotting a 'dirty' bomb attack on the United States, CBS Correspondent Jim Stewart reports. [Yet, he can be held indefinitely -- without being charged, under AshKKKroft's new AmeriKKKan system of justice] Detained American Al Qaeda Operative Has Few Rights The U.S. government's decision to declare a suspected American al Qaeda operative an "enemy combatant" means he can be held indefinitely and questioned without an attorney present. [Barf Alert!] U.S. Should Control Internet Body, Senator Says Montana Rethuglican Sen. Conrad Burns said he would try to rein in the group that oversees the Internet's traffic system, calling for a more direct U.S. government role in the ostensibly international and independent body. Bush Plan's Underground Architects In Silence and Stealth, Mis-ministration Drafted Huge Security Overhaul Right wing wins solid majority in French legislative election The Rove Doctrine -- by Paul Krugman "As analysts at the Cato Institute point out, the Bush-Cheney energy plan may have been conservative in the sense that it was anti-environmentalist, but otherwise it was stuffed full of things free-marketeers are supposed to abhor: expanded government power to seize private land (for transmission lines), large tax incentives for energy sources that don't pay their way at market prices (nuclear power in particular)." Lieberman Presses for Enron Papers The head of a Senate panel that has received some 2,500 pages of documents under subpoena from the White House wants to know when it will deliver the rest of the records regarding contacts with Enron officials. Va. House Speaker Paid Office Worker Rethuglican House Speaker S. Vance Wilkins Jr. has admitted that he paid $100,000 to a woman who accused him of harassment but denied that he forced sexual advances on her. Gov. Davis Runs Ad Attacking Opponent Gov. Gray Davis, a Democrat known for his bare-knuckles campaign style, broadcast the first attack advertisement of his re-election campaign today. U.S. Citizen Held In 'Dirty Bomb' Plot Bomb Plot Disrupted in Early Planning Stages -- Attorney General John AshKKKroft said that Abdullah Al Mujahir was in the custody of the U.S. military and was being treated as an enemy combatant. This suggests plans for the first military tribunal of a U.S. citizen. Preemption to Be Military Policy The Bush Fourth Reich is developing a new strategic doctrine that moves away from the Cold War pillars of containment and deterrence toward a policy that supports preemptive attacks against terrorists and hostile states [?!?] with chemical, biological or nuclear weapons. U.S. to Add 'Preemption' to Military Policy - Post The Bush insane mis-ministration is drafting a formal military policy that supports preemptive attacks against terrorists and hostile states with weapons of mass destruction, The Washington Post said in Monday editions. Panel Questions New Agency's Powers pResident Bush's proposal to merge all or parts of 22 federal agencies into a homeland security structure does not give the head of the new department control over those who gather intelligence for the FBI, CIA, and other agencies, leaders of the Senate intelligence committee said yesterday. Ridge: Bush should veto Cabinet-level homeland security office Homeland Security Director Tom Ridge said May 30th he would advise the Idiot Usurper to veto any legislation creating a congressionally authorized Office of Homeland Security if Congress approves a bill this year. Police to spy on all emails Fury over Europe's secret plan to access computer and phone data -- Millions of personal emails, other internet information and telephone records are to be made accessible to the police and intelligence services in a move that has been denounced by critics as one of the most wide-ranging extensions of state power over private information. Bush, Cheney Near $90M in GOP Funds The Rethuglican team of pResident Bush and Vice pResident Cheney is closing in on $90 million raised for the party for this fall's congressional elections. GOP Monitoring Lobbyists' Politics White House, Hill Access May Be Affected -- Rethuglicans are researching the party affiliation and political contributions of hundreds of lobbyists in Washington, part of a campaign that could deny government access and prime lobbying jobs to Democrats, according to people familiar with the project. When Hollywood's Big Guns Come Right From the Source The military establishment has been cooperating with Hollywood for nearly a century, with a noticeable break in the Vietnam years. But in recent times, with movie budgets swelling into the hundreds of millions of dollars, the Defense Department's contribution — and thus the American taxpayer's — has grown ever bigger and more elaborate. Gore, in Madison, aims squarely at Bush President Gore charms Democratic convention crowd -- Al Gore thanked Wisconsin Democrats on Saturday for carrying the state for him in the 2000 presidential s-election and sharpened themes he would use if he runs again in two years. Martin Sheen Stumps for Janet Reno in Fla. Sheen, who plays President Josiah Bartlet on NBC's "The West Wing," rallied at a retirement community on Saturday with the former U.S. attorney general seeking to oust Gov. Jeb Bush. Michael Rectenwald replies to a rightwinger who writes, "YOU FOLKS ARE REALLY A TRIP!" Stay tuned for Michael Rectenwald's review of The Best Democracy Money Can Buy, to appear in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, on the CLG website, and in other newspapers around the country. NSA Got 9/11 Warning on 9/10 The National Security Agency received information on September 10th that "something big" was coming, it was reported last night. Federal judge’s ties to Islamic radical to be exposed American Freedom News has learned that Attorney General John Ashcroft has been told that a sitting federal judge has close ties to Islamic radicals. He is suspected of being the same federal judge who refused to authorize over 20 FBI wiretaps on al-Qaeda suspects before September 11. Agency heard terrorists talk before 9-11 A secretive U.S. eavesdropping agency monitored telephone conversations before Sept. 11 between the suspected commander of the World Trade Center and Pentagon attacks and the man thought to be the chief hijacker, but it did not share the information with other intelligence agencies, U.S. officials said Thursday. Has FBI promoted 9-11 ball-dropper? The FBI supervisor who allegedly hamstrung the pre-Sept. 11 Minneapolis investigation into the alleged 20th hijacker has been transferred to a position where bureau sources say he'll actually have more authority. A Pilot Answers 911 Questions JCS General Myers Wouldn't More Pre-Attack Tips Surface The chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee said Sunday "significant numbers of people" from inside the government were coming forward with new information on U.S. intelligence failures related to the Sept. 11 attacks on America. Judicial Watch sues to discover why Bush went on Cipro on September 11 In October 2001, press reports revealed that White House staff had been on a regimen of the powerful antibiotic Cipro since the September 11th terrorist attacks. Judicial Watch is aggressively pursuing the disclosure of the facts and the decision for White House staff, and pResident Bush as well, to begin taking Cipro nearly a month before anthrax was detected on Capitol Hill. White House Faces Disclosure Suit Group Says Government Had Braced for Anthrax Attacks -- Judicial Watch group is suing the Bush administration for access to documents about last fall's anthrax attacks, asserting that top officials might have known the bioterrorist attack was coming. Feds sued over anthrax documents Legal group wonders why White House took Cipro before attacks -- Legal watchdog group Judicial Watch has filed lawsuits against several Bush mis-ministration agencies for failure to produce documents concerning the terrorist anthrax attacks of last October, the organization announced today. Al-Qaida monitored U.S. negotiations with Taliban over oil pipeline A memo by military chief Mohammed Atef raises new questions about whether failed U.S. efforts to reform Afghanistan's radical regime -- and build the pipeline -- set the stage for Sept. 11. June 11, 2002 Bono and O’Neill’s African tour: low farce against a backdrop of human tragedy (WSWS) "Watching Ugandan workers labouring under the hot sun in the fields where they cultivate flowers for the European market, Bono enthused that this was 'globalisation at its best.'" Radioactive Waste Goes Under Tents The federal government spent $62 million on a building to store and treat low-level radioactive waste at a California nuclear weapons laboratory, then decided the structure wasn't secure enough. So where is the waste kept now? Under tents. GOP 'in political shock' over Card's revelations Republicans expressed shock yesterday at reports that White House Chief of Staff Andrew H. Card Jr. discussed his fear of a further swing to the right within the Bush Fourth Reich in a magazine interview. White House chief warns of lurch to right Departure of pResident's closest adviser raises fear that conservative strategist may seize chance to extend his influence -- In an unusually revealing insight into the Bush White House yesterday, its chief of staff, Andrew Card, expressed concern that the administration was about to swing further to the right with the imminent departure of the pResident's closest adviser. Dept. of Political Security -- by Maureen Dowd "With the most daring reorganization of government in half a century, George W. Bush hopes to protect something he holds dear: himself. After weeks of scalding revelations about a cascade of leads and warnings prefiguring the 9/11 attacks that were ignored by the U.S. government, the president [sic] created the Department of Political Security." Presidential Powers in Times of Emergency: Could Terrorism Result In A Constitutional Dictator? -- by John W. Dean "We are fighting a war against terrorism, with no end in sight. It is a war, I believe, that will inevitably escalate. Indeed, it is a war that could force the nation to live under martial law - for indefinite periods." Protesters Hold March in Rome Under tight security, thousands of protesters marched peacefully through Rome on Saturday to air grievances over genetically modified food and other agriculture issues two days before the start of a U.N. summit in the Italian capital. Gore Slams Bush for Refusing Global Climate Report President Al Gore on Saturday criticized the Idiot Usurper for refusing to accept a federal agency report that blames humans for global warming. Is It OK To Hate Bush? In which the president's carefully orchestrated dumb-guy shtick proves hollow and dubious -- by Mark Morford "Of course 'hate' is too strong a word. You should not hate anyone. Especially not jittery world leaders who are striving to justify war and make it look all fierce and necessary." More upheaval in Venezuela? Sources say violence between military, militia factions imminent GOP district plans win U.S. backing -- Quick approval is political, Democrats say -- The U.S. Department of inJustice approved the state's new GOP-drawn congressional districts Friday, prompting cries of partisan politicking from Democrats who say the Bush mis-ministration is intent on ensuring Republican domination in Congress. A Buzzflash Interview with Greg Palast, in which he Reveals the Letter he Received from KKKatherine Harris Feds Worked to Quash College Protests Newspaper: FBI, CIA Worked Covertly to Harass UC Students, Faculty, President -- The FBI, working covertly with the CIA and then-Gov. Ronald Reagan, spent years unlawfully trying to quash the voices and careers of students and faculty deemed subversive at the University of California, the San Francisco Chronicle reported. Secret FBI files reveal covert activities at UC Bureau's campus operations involved Reagan, CIA Under the guise of protecting national security, the FBI conducted wide-ranging and unlawful intelligence operations concerning the University of California that at different points involved the head of the CIA and then-Gov. Ronald Reagan, The Chronicle has learned. Iowan Rowley blunt about faults at FBI, but will she pay a price? --by John Carlson "Attorney General [and rightwing nutcase] John Ashcroft went on national television over the weekend and refused to say Rowley will be OK at the bureau. Sam Donaldson asked Ashcroft two, maybe three times, whether there would be retribution against Rowley for writing the memo." The Color Wheel of Fascism (humor) -- by Carol Schiffler GOP slipping in the suburbs (IL) The Cook County suburbs are becoming more Democratic and could determine the outcome of the Nov. 5 gubernatorial election. Intelligence Powers Set for New Agency The Department of Homeland Security proposed by pResident Bush would take over significant duties in the war on terrorism, including alerts to the public and police currently handled by the inJustice Department and the FBI, mis-ministration officials said yesterday. Lawmakers: Homeland Proposal Should Pass Congressional leaders predicted yesterday that pResident Bush's plan for a behemoth Department of Homeland Security will be modified, and approved, within three months, despite concerns that the proposed new agency may fail to rectify the intelligence-sharing failures that have plagued the government. Congressman John Conyers, Jr., Ranking Member, Committee on the Judiciary and Dean, Congressional Black Caucus, Criticizes the Idiot Usurper's Homeland Security Proposal Bush’s new Department of Homeland Defense: the scaffolding of a police state (WSWS) "In its timing, it is a transparent attempt to distract public attention from the revelations of advance warnings to the government about the terrorist attacks on the Pentagon and the World Trade Center. In its substance, the proposal represents an acceleration of the moves towards presidential dictatorship that have characterized every step taken by the Bush administration since September 11." Dubya calls for US Gestapo -- by Thomas C. Greene "...the new Homeland Security Department will not have access to raw data from these [CIA and FBI] agencies, but will instead rely on whatever redacted reports they happen to volunteer. This means that any important data these agencies fail to recognize will also be missed by the new Department. So we can pretty well rule out the possibility that the stated purpose is the real purpose. The real purpose, clearly, is data acquisition, mining and manipulation on a gargantuan scale." Do Dots Connect to Police State? -- by Farhad Manjoo "'I think we've reached the point in the debate where we need to ask larger questions about where this administration is taking the U.S. government,' said Marc Rotenberg, director of the Electronic Privacy Information Center. He added that 'someone needs to apply the brakes' or the United States will become a 'police state.'" A copy of Lt. Col. Butler's letter Lt. Col. Steve Butler was serving as vice chancellor for student affairs at the Defense Language Institute when he wrote the letter, published in The Herald on May 26. Butler was suspended from his duties at the Monterey language school following publication of his letter. Amnesty says US leads in human rights violations following September 11 Statement from DNC Chairman Terry McAuliffe Regarding Bush's Pork at the World Pork Expo Court Voids Law Barring Con Ed Fee for its Defunct Nuke A federal appeals court has struck down a New York State law that barred Consolidated Edison from charging customers about $200 million for expenses related to an 11-month shutdown of its Indian Point nuclear power plant. Evils of Access -- by Paul Krugman "...the administration learned nothing from the California crisis; it still takes its advice from the energy companies that financed its campaign (and made many administration officials, including Mr. Bush and Mr. Cheney, rich). And it's one thing to reward your friends with subsidies and lax regulation. It's something quite different to let them dictate policy on climate change." Weather Wars A declassified version of a 2-year study prepared by the Air War College and obtained by Popular Mechanics titled "Weather As A Force Multiplier: Owning The Weather In 2025," envisions future generals having at their disposal an impressive weather-control arsenal for tactical operations. The Pentagon's top meteorologists believe the United States will be ready to fight--and win--a weather war early in the next century. Bush, as Terror Inquiry Swirls, Seeks Cabinet Post on Security Responding to widespread criticism of the government's handling of terrorist threats, pResident Bush called tonight for the creation of a cabinet department for domestic defense that would combine 22 federal agencies into a single one intended to prevent attacks against the United States. Bush Wants Cabinet Post For Homeland Security The department would absorb a huge swath of the executive branch [Bush Fourth Reich], including all of the Coast Guard, Secret Service, Federal Emergency Management Agency, Immigration and Naturalization Service and Customs Service, as well as the new agency in charge of airport security, the Transportation Security Administration. House Backs Permanent End to Estate Tax "I can't think of a more irresponsible, wrong-headed thing to do on the floor of the House today," the House minority leader, Representative Richard A. Gephardt, a Missouri Democrat, said. Bush mis-ministration cites September 11 "failures" to attack democratic rights FBI gets blank check for domestic spying 100,000 foreign visitors to face fingerprinting As many as 100,000 foreign visitors who enter the United States could be fingerprinted and photographed the first year the government implements the system, the US inJustice Department announced yesterday. Global Warming Blamed for Melting Everest Glacier A glacier from which Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay set out to conquer Mount Everest nearly 50 years ago has retreated three miles up the mountain due to global warming, a U.N. body says. Conyers Criticizes AshKKKroft's Registration Regulations for Middle Easterners Gephardt Calls for Full House Investigation into Energy Market Manipulation Energy firm scars county wetlands (FL) Surveyors for a Houston energy company that wants to build a natural gas pipeline through county-owned environmental preserves have inadvertently hacked a path through about 400 feet of trees and wetlands in the Loxahatchee Slough. [More fuzzy math!!] State tries to set record straight on school funding Facing the prospect of getting less federal money than expected for high-poverty schools and the political embarrassment that it would bring, Florida officials tried Wednesday to convince the U.S. Department of Education that school spending increased during Gov. Jeb Bush's first budget. The Eagles vs. The Chickenhawks (humor) -- by Carol Schiffler "George W. Bush loves baseball, at least so we are told. Personally, we don’t think it is the baseball he likes - we think it is just the keeping score part, an activity which gives him ample opportunity to practice his fuzzy math skills." Bush to Seek Cabinet-Level Domestic Security Office pResident Bush will tell the American people tonight that he wants to create a Cabinet-level domestic security office in what the Bush Fourth Reich House says would be the biggest government reorganization in more than a half-century. F.B.I. Chief Tells Congress His Agency Needs More Resources FBI Director Robert S. Mueller III told Congress on Thursday his agency needs to devote more agents, money and time to meeting its "paramount mission of prevention'' in an age of terrorism. J. Edgar Mueller -- by William Safire "To fabricate an alibi for his nonfeasance, and to cover up his department's embarrassing cut of the counterterrorism budget last year, Attorney General John Ashcroft — working with his hand-picked aide, F.B.I. Director 'J. Edgar' Mueller III — has gutted guidelines put in place a generation ago to prevent the abuse of police power by the federal government." AshKKKroft Proposes Rules for Foreign Visitors Attorney General [and rightwing nutcase] John AshKKKroft proposed inJustice Department regulations today that would require 100,000 foreign students, tourists, researchers and other visitors to register with the federal government. A 'Final Exam' Begins for Security Agencies Panel Could Prompt Easing of Three Decades of Restraints on Agencies' Domestic Intelligence Efforts FBI to build data warehouse The FBI has selected "investigative data warehousing" as a key technology to use in the [alleged] war against terrorism. FDA Launches Investigation Into VeriChip 'Tech Live' Exclusive: NASDAQ halts trading in Applied Digital Solutions stock after feds claim company includes medical data in its controversial device. Mueller: FBI Tails Many The FBI has placed a "substantial" number of people suspected of ties to terror under constant surveillance, sending out special teams of agents to various parts of the United States roughly every two weeks in a mission that is seriously taxing the agency's resources, FBI Director Robert S. Mueller III said yesterday. Former Astronaut Warns Against Weapons In Space The United States should not let heightened concern over national security since Sept. 11 accelerate the drive to base weapons in space, former astronaut Sally Ride said Tuesday. Kiss My Nuclear Arsenal -- Much macho swagger as India and Pakistan threaten annihilation, and the U.S. feels totally left out -- by Mark Morford "Darn nuclear punks. Don't they see we've got a hollow war-that's-not-really-war to wage over oil and money and future presidential elections over here?" Wyclef Arrested in NY Schools Protest Ten people, including singer Wyclef Jean, were arrested as thousands of teachers and students turned out for a rally to hear hip-hop stars and politicians denounce proposed cuts in New York City school funding. Health Insurers Are Seeking 20% Rate Rise Health insurers are demanding premium increases of more than 20 percent on average for next year, a sharp increase from earlier forecasts, a national survey reported yesterday. Pentagon denies developing bioweapons that attack machines A U.S. military special weapons office is denying accusations it is seeking to develop biological agents that attack military equipment and material, but not personnel. Company accuses state (FL) of stealing e-budget idea Another one of Governor Jeb Bush's self-proclaimed titles is under attack -- his claim to being Florida's first "e-governor," as adept at surfing the Internet as he is on the campaign trail. In a lawsuit filed in Tallahassee, two businesswomen say the Bush administration stole their idea for creating a user-friendly state budget that could be accessed on the Web. Gov. Bush cites "adversity" Jeb Bush, the underdog? The incumbent governor of the fourth-largest state and the brother of the American president says he faces ''great adversity,'' in a fundraising plea that hit thousands of mailboxes Wednesday. 9th grader charged in bomb doodling (RI) A Cumberland High School student is arrested after drawing flaming sticks and "CHS will pay" on a peer's paper; a civil-liberties official says the criminal charge is an overreaction. Loose Lips can Sink Ships -- Again NSA Launches Ad Campaign Urging Secrecy -- In a move that hearkens back to World War II's "Loose Lips Sink Ships" campaign, the National Security Agency has launched a flock of ads urging military personnel to protect national secrets during this time of terrorist crisis. Air Force Officer Suspended Criticizing Bush A U.S. Air Force officer has been suspended from duty after he wrote a letter to a California newspaper accusing pResident Bush of allowing the Sept. 11 attacks to happen "because he needed this war on terrorism," a military official said on Tuesday. Pentagon may sell missiles to Kuwait The Pentagon is planning to sell Kuwait advanced air-to-air missiles to help the country protect itself against what the Defense Department called "hostile neighbors." U.S. Threatens Energy Traders With Limits on Pricing Federal regulators threatened today to strip four large energy traders of their ability to charge unregulated rates for electricity because of their responses to inquiries about their strategies in California. Wall Street broker rebuked for misleading investors Merrill Lynch has agreed to pay $100 million and reform its research department to settle claims that it was offering investors biased advice. Inspectors, unions criticize air traffic control system The Federal Aviation Administration is going forward with plans to install a new air traffic control system over objections by the Transportation Department inspector general and the agency employees who certify the equipment. Double-Playing 9-11 Errors -- Ashcroft to Mueller to Anybody Else -- by James Ridgeway "With Senate and House intelligence committees finally demanding answers for pre-9-11 blunders, the bottom line should be whether even the most skillful attempts at damage control can keep FBI director Robert Mueller or CIA chief George Tenet from losing their jobs. Attorney General John Ashcroft is doing his best to bail a leaking boat dry, but in the end he could sink right along with those he's now trying to save." U.S. Will Seek to Fingerprint Visas' Holders The inJustice Department will propose new regulations this week requiring tens of thousands of Muslim and Middle Eastern visa holders to register with the government and be fingerprinted, administration officials said today. Washington Post Staffers Hold 'Byline Strike' Protest Nearly all Washington Post reporters, photographers and artists withheld their names from work in today's editions of the paper in a "byline strike" called by union leadership to protest the current contract offer by The Post's management. Residents Near NY Nuke Plant to Get Iodide Pills Amid fears nuclear power plants could be the target of terror attacks, officials plan to provide residents near the Indian Point installation, just north of New York, with potassium iodide pills to protect against any release of radioactive gases. [June 4] White House Warns on Climate Change pResident Moron on Tuesday dismissed his own administration's report warning that human activities are behind climate change that is having significant effects on the environment. [June 3:] Climate Changing, U.S. Says in Report In a stark shift for the Bush mis-ministration, the United States has sent a climate report to the United Nations detailing specific and far-reaching effects that it says global warming will inflict on the American environment. [The Bush mis-ministration finally acknowledges the human causes of global warming, but proposes to do nothing about it!] Kangaroos offer clue to global warming It appears that Kangaroos know more about global warming than Bush, who kicks and screams from the pouch of his oil donors, as science tells the truth. Sharp Reversal By EPA: Cleanup Of Many Downtown Apartments Planned More cosmetic environmentalism from the Bush mis-management EPA... White House Submits Enron Papers The White-washing of Enron-gate continues. What does it take to see foul play? How about the defrauding of the largest state in the union? Giuliani gives a boost to Jeb Bush's campaign Barf alert! Written by the rightwing Jeb-fawning "journalist" Peter Wallsten of The Miami Herald Greed Is Bad -- by Paul Krugman "Gordon Gekko, the corporate raider who gave that speech in the 1987 movie 'Wall Street,' got his comeuppance; but in real life his philosophy came to dominate corporate practice. And that is the backstory of the wave of scandal now engulfing American business. Health experts: U.S. would get little radioactive fallout [?!?] from a nuclear war between Pakistan and India! Castro Rejects Bush Democracy Ideas Bush's calls for fair elections rejected by Castro who calls Bush idea of democracy "criminal" and Bush a "thug." Despite wanting more Democracy than either Castro or Bush stand for, we couldn't agree more with Castro's characterization of so-called American "Democracy." Furthermore, when was the last time WE had a real election, Mr. Bush, you usurping THIEF!?!!! Halfway to Yucca DOE has a Utah site in mind for "temporary" nuke storage Memphis Med. Examiner Attack Probed Big coverup of the 12-plus dead microbiologists continues Senator Asks for Probe of Energy Official The Senate's second-ranking Democratic leader has called for an ethics investigation to determine whether Undersecretary of Energy Robert G. Card violated conflict-of-interest rules by acting to benefit two nuclear-waste companies where he once was a high-ranking official. India, Pakistan exchange fire on tense border Indian and Pakistani soldiers traded heavy mortar, machine gun and small arms fire along their tense border early on Monday, an Indian army official said. Report: Al Qaeda Tells U.S. to Get Ready for Attack The pan-Arab daily al-Hayat published Sunday what it said was a statement from an al Qaeda spokesman warning the United States to get ready for another attack. Washington Post Writers May Pull Bylines In Protest The union that represents more than 1,400 Washington Post employees called for editorial staffers at the paper to pull their bylines as a protest. Cheney on the Grill Taking a closer look at Halliburton’s accounting practices Phone Glitch Disconnects the Idiot Usurper [an intelligent telephone!] "I'm sorry, they dropped the call," said the aide. "We're going to re-establish." "What are you talking about, they dropped the call?" said Bush. Judges set to consider Legislature's redistricting Nearly a year after it began with public testimony, the once-a-decade redistricting process heads toward a final turn in Florida. Unleashing the FBI 'There Would Be No Place to Hide' -- by Nat Hentoff "During COINTELPRO, I got that knock on the door because I, among other journalists, had been publishing COINTELPRO reports that had been stolen from an FBI office. You might keep a pocket edition of the Constitution handy to present to the FBI agents—like a cross in front of Dracula." The FBI's Magic Lantern Ashcroft Can Be in Your Computer -- by Nat Hentoff "Beware of 'The Magic Lantern.' Under the 'sneak and peek' provision of the USA Patriot Act, pushed through Congress by John Ashcroft, the FBI, with a warrant, can break into your home and office when you're not there and, on the first trip, look around. They can examine your hard drive, snatch files, and plant the Magic Lantern on your computer. Right Leads Assault on CIA, FBI at Bush's Expense Friendly fire from fellow Republicans is looming as an increasing risk for the White House as Congress gears up its investigations of government intelligence failures before Sept. 11. Bush Intelligence Plan Meant to Blunt Tough Questions --by James Ridgeway "President [sic] Bush's proposal for a new homeland security department amounts to dropping a fragmentation bomb on Congress to bust up growing demands for an inquiry into who knew what when about 9-11." Bush Cites CIA-FBI Breakdown House-Senate Panel Starts Probing 9/11 Intelligence Failure [Well, they need to start with the Idiot Usurper himself, if they are trolling for an "intelligence failure".] Opening Statement -- Hearing on Oversight of DOJ Counterterrorism Effort FBI Oversight Series -- by Senator Patrick Leahy, Chairman, Senate Judiciary Committee Ashcroft knew -- by Bruce Shapiro "The official responsible for the most dramatic failures of Sept. 11 turns out to be the attorney general. His sweeping anti-terror measures in recent months were a fig leaf to cover naked incompetence." Whistle-Blower Recounts Faults Inside the F.B.I. The F.B.I. agent whose impassioned protest letter ignited a storm of criticism of the bureau's management told a Senate committee today that the F.B.I.'s bureaucracy discouraged innovation, drowned investigators in paperwork and punished agents who sought to cut through the many layers of gatekeepers at the bureau's headquarters. Sept. 11 Suspect May Be Relative of '93 Plot Leader United States intelligence and law enforcement officials said today that they had concluded that a possible relative of Ramzi Ahmed Yousef, who coordinated the first bombing of the World Trade Center in 1993, played a pivotal role in planning the Sept. 11 attacks on New York and Washington. Sept. 11 Mastermind May Be ID'd Investigators believe they have identified a Kuwaiti lieutenant of Osama bin Laden as the likely mastermind of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, a senior U.S. counterterrorism official said Tuesday. Rifts Plentiful as 9/11 Inquiry Begins Fingerpointing, some of it pitting the F.B.I. against the C.I.A., already threatens to overshadow the joint committee's actual hearings. Egypt Warned U.S. of a Qaeda Plot, Mubarak Egyptian intelligence warned American officials about a week before Sept. 11 that Osama bin Laden's network was in the advance stages of executing a significant operation against an American target, President Hosni Mubarak said in an interview on Sunday. Senator: Hearings to expose 'big failures' U.S. lawmakers are poised to open hearings Tuesday looking into apparent intelligence lapses that have come to light since the devastating September 11 terrorist attacks. C.I.A. Was Tracking Hijacker Months Earlier Than It Had Said The Central Intelligence Agency says in a classified chronology submitted to Congress recently that it picked up the trail of a Qaeda operative who turned out to be a Sept. 11 hijacker months earlier than was previously known, government officials said today. The Hijackers We Let Escape (A Newsweek exclusive) The CIA tracked two suspected terrorists to a Qaeda summit in Malaysia in January 2000, then looked on as they re-entered America and began preparations for September 11. Congress Must Take Charge Of 9/11 Investigation -- by Ross K. Baker "Grasping the nettle of controversy on matters relating to Sept. 11 may be painful in the short run, but the institution would suffer more enduring scars from the self-inflicted wound of an independent commission to perform an inquest that is more properly conducted by Congress alone." Report: CIA knew two Sept. 11 hijackers in U.S. Months before the September 11 attacks, the CIA knew two of the hijackers were in the United States and that they were connected to the al Qaeda organization, Newsweek reported Sunday. Senator Seeks FBI Agent for Probe A member of the Senate Judiciary Committee wants to hear testimony next week from a Minneapolis FBI agent critical of the bureau headquarters' handling of a terrorism investigation before the Sept. 11 attacks. Has someone been sitting on the FBI? 11/6/01 *Greg Palast Newsnight, the BBC: The CIA and Saudi Arabia, the Bushes and the Bin Ladens. Did their connections cause America to turn a blind eye to terrorism? The buck doesn't stop with Bush -- by Larry Klayman "In short, most of this information [FBI data] was available to high officials in the Bush administration and, in particular, the Bush White House before Sept. 11." [Even a rabid, rightwing nutcase is calling the Bush's mis-ministration an incompetent, patriarchal and authoritarian regime opposed to the principles on which this country was founded!!!] June 4, 2002* FBI Search Warrant Policy Changed for Terror Cases -- The director of the FBI will personally review all applications for search warrants related to terrorism investigations under a policy change quietly put into effect weeks ago in response to the furor over obstacles that hindered agents here investigating Zacarias Moussaoui, the alleged "20th hijacker." Key Republican blasts new FBI guidelines The inJustice Department's plan to give the FBI more domestic surveillance power "has gone too far," House Judiciary Committee Chairman James Sensenbrenner, R-Wisconsin, said Saturday. He has called Attorney General [and rightwing nutcase] John AshKKKroft and FBI Director [and coverup mastermind] Robert Mueller to appear before his committee "to justify why the 1976 regulations on domestic spying, that have worked so well for the last 25 or 26 years, have to be changed." Connecting-the-dots reveals terrorists of April 12, 2002 -- by Christopher Reilly "Wayne Madsen, a former intelligence officer with the U.S. navy, told London's Guardian newspaper on April 28 that the United States had been considering a coup to overthrow the Venezuelan president for almost a year." U.S. Will Resume Production of Nuclear Warhead Triggers The federal government has announced plans to resume production of plutonium "pits," which are used to trigger nuclear warheads, the Energy Department has announced. Design work is beginning for the manufacturing plant, which is expected to cost $2.2 billion to $4.4 billion, depending on its production capacity. Bush: U.S. Will Strike First at Enemies Preemptive strategy represents a foreign policy shift-- pResident Bush told future Army officers today that the United States can no longer deter attacks from other nations by threatening massive retaliation, but instead must strike looming enemies first. ["Bush has had little success so far, he is working to convince others through intellectual argument ..." Never had truer words been spoken.] Two Conservatives Tell Bush They Oppose Plan for Police Two leading conservatives have joined a chorus of police officials and immigrant rights advocates in opposing a Justice Department proposal to allow state and local law enforcement agencies to track down illegal immigrants as a way to fight terrorism. Airports Urge Delay in New Security Rules The top officials of 39 airports, which handle most of the nation's air travelers, have warned the secretary of transportation that air travel will be seriously disrupted in January unless Congress delays the Dec. 31 deadline for screening all checked bags, a major defense against terrorism. KKKatherine Harris writing book [Barf alert!] on recount 'Center of Storm' aimed at `myths' [How about, Center of Storm aimed at the obscene and complete Fascist coup d'etat that was foisted upon us in November 2000? OMG, here is the actual title of the alleged tome: Center of the Storm: Practicing Principled Leadership in Times of Crisis Ugh! Gag me with a chainsaw!] The book is due out Sept. 3 -- a week before she faces two little-known challengers in the Rethuglican primary. Vice pResident helps raise $1 million in Tennessee, 'Bush-Cheney country' [Barf alert!] *** CLG News Archives**



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