Citizens for Legitimate Government, News Archives

January 2008 Archives, Page Two

Bush to seek $70 bln in partial 2009 war funding 29 Jan 2008 The Bush administration will ask the U.S. Congress next week for $70 billion to fund the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and related operations for part of the 2009 fiscal year, the Pentagon said on Monday. Since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the United States, Congress has approved $691 billion to pay for wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and such related activities as Iraq 'reconstruction,' the Congressional Budget Office said last week.

Big blaze sweeps through Iraq's central bank 28 Jan 2008 A large fire ripped through Iraq's central bank building in Baghdad in the early hours of Monday, causing material damage, police said. The fire erupted in three floors of the bank's building on Rashid Road in the centre of Baghdad, a security source told the Voices of Iraq news agency.

Five US soldiers killed in Iraq 28 Jan 2008 Five US soldiers were killed in Iraq today when their patrol was hit by a roadside bomb and then came under small arms fire, the American military said. The attack, one of the deadliest against US troops in months, was in Mosul, Iraq's third-largest city, 390km (240 miles) north of Baghdad.

Fort Riley soldier dies of injuries suffered in Iraq 28 Jan 2008 A 19-year-old soldier from Fort Riley has died of wounds suffered from a bomb that detonated near his vehicle during combat in Baghdad, Iraq, military officials said Sunday.

Baghdad blast kills 3 28 Jan 2008 A roadside bomb has struck a minibus in southeastern Baghdad, killing at least three passengers and wounding five, police say. The bomb apparently was meant for a police patrol but missed its target and blew up near the bus, which was carrying a coffin to a funeral, a police officer said.

Family of 3 Stabbed to Death in Baghdad 27 Jan 2008 A former city official was stabbed to death along with his wife and daughter in their home in a neighborhood in northeastern Baghdad, officials said Sunday. Elsewhere in the capital, two American soldiers were killed in separate bombings, the military said Sunday.

Musharraf rejects CIA bid to hunt Taliban 28 Jan 2008 President Pervez Musharraf has rejected an offer of greater American involvement in hunting down 'al-Qa'eda' and Taliban militants in Pakistan, it has been reported. Amid growing concern in Washington over militants' entrenchment in Pakistan's border tribal areas, America's two most senior intelligence officials made the proposal during a secret visit to Islamabad earlier this month.

Turkey says U.S. nuclear policy strengthens Iran 26 Jan 2008 U.S. ally Turkey said on Saturday Washington's efforts to isolate Iran over its nuclear programme were undermining reformists in Tehran and bolstering Iranian influence across the Middle East. Foreign Minister Ali Babacan said the United States was failing to win broad support for tougher sanctions against Iran, and called instead for dialogue and diplomacy.

Iran to Retaliate in Case of Invasion 27 Jan 2008 IRGC commander says his forces would retaliate against the US military bases in the Persian Gulf if they are involved in any possible future attack on Iran. General Mohammad Ali Jaafari, commander of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps, told Arab language Al-Jazeera television on Saturday evening that it is Iran's "natural right to respond'' if attacked by land or air.

McCain Warns: "There Will Be Other Wars" By Sam Stein 27 Jan 2008 The presidential candidate who sang "Bomb bomb Iran" is already looking towards the war after the war in Iraq. Sen. John McCain told a crowd of supporters on Sunday, "It's a tough war we're in. It's not going to be over right away. There's going to be other wars." Offering more of his increasingly bleak "straight talk," he repeated the claim: "I'm sorry to tell you, there's going to be other wars. We will never surrender but there will be other wars."

Israeli 'Economic Warfare' to Include Electricity Cuts in Gaza 28 Jan 2008 Saying they were waging "economic warfare" against the Gaza Strip's Hamas leaders, Israeli officials told the Supreme Court on Sunday that the military intends to start cutting electricity to the Palestinian territory and continue restricting fuel. The statements by Israel's state attorney, outlining Defense Ministry plans, came in response to a lawsuit filed by Israeli and Palestinian rights groups.

Israel bars aid convoy to Gaza By Rachel Shabi at the Erez crossing, Gaza-Israel border 28 Jan 2008 The Israeli military has prevented an aid convoy organised by Israeli human rights organisations, peace activists, and former military personnel, from reaching needy families in the besieged Gaza Strip. Since Saturday, Israeli groups have braved dipping temperatures and the unusually rain-sodden grounds of the Erez border crossing between Israel and the Gaza Strip, hoping that Israeli authorities would allow five tonnes of food through. Israeli, Palestinian unity: The Israeli and Palestinian peace activists first arrived at the Erez crossing in a convoy of about 100 cars and 20 buses that wound its way from Israel's main cities to the border on Saturday. Travelling under the "End the Siege!" banner, the convoy brought about 1,000 demonstrators and five tonnes of food aid to the border.

Man arrested near White House for verbal threat 28 Jan 2008 A man was arrested on Monday for making a verbal threat against President [sic] George W. Bush outside the fence at the White House, the Secret Service said. "We had an individual arrested for making a threat against the president on the fence line," Malcolm Wiley, spokesman for the Secret Service, said. "He left behind a suspicious package," he said. That prompted the area immediately outside the White House to be closed off to the public, he said.

Gas Leak Prompts Evacuation of Senate Day-Care Center 28 Jan 2008 A gas leak in the 300 block of C Street NE temporarily forced the evacuation of a building that houses a day-care center for the Senate. D.C. Fire and Emergency Medical Services was notified by Capitol Police around 9:30 a.m. that people had reported smelling natural gas in a building just one block from the Hart Senate Office Building, said fire department spokesman Alan Etter.

TSA tester slips mock bomb past [Bush's privatized] airport security --CNN goes along with a TSA tester, witnesses mock bomb slip past security 28 Jan 2008 Jason -- that's the name CNN was asked to call him -- slides a simulated explosive into an elastic back support. The mock bomb is as slim as a wallet; its fuse, the size of a cigarette. He wraps the support around his torso, and the bomb fits comfortably into the small of his back... So Jason shows a boarding pass and an ID to a TSA document checker, and he is directed to a checkpoint where, unbeknown to the security officer on site, the real test begins. He gets through, which in real life would mean a terrorist was headed toward a plane with a bomb.

'We think that this e-mail could be the tip of the iceberg and that we may have many more similar e-mails circulating in federal agencies.' 3 US workers face investigation over Obama e-mail 26 Jan 2008 Three federal employees are being investigated for unlawful political activities after they allegedly sent an e-mail falsely accusing Barack Obama of being a "radical Muslim," the Globe has learned. The US Office of Special Counsel has launched investigations of two employees at one agency and one employee at another agency. All three are believed to have forwarded the erroneous chain e-mail about Obama from their government e-mail accounts... The e-mail questioning Obama's faith and patriotism, recently appeared on a local Republican Party office's website in Washington state.

Make no mistake: The GOP-run media is using race to pick off Clinton first, Obama second. The media is (finally) giving us wall-to-wall political coverage instead of Lindsay Lohan and Britney Spears - but that of the campaigners and their surrogates, not the issues. 28 Jan 2008 Where is John Edwards? He's as far from Bush as you can get, and so the corpora-terrorists don't want us to hear/see him. After a Bush false flag in the summer of 2008, the GOP troll on tap will gain about 10 points heading into the November 'elections.' When the GOP steals a *third* presidential 'election,' the Reichwing - pushing race as a false front-and-center issue 24/7 - will claim that even though Barack Obama was ahead in pre-election polls, people must lied to pollsters and in fact, decided not to vote for an African American for president, after all! Hint: Do you think we will be getting wall-to-wall coverage of the Kennedys, when the general election campaign begins? LOL, we'll be back to Lindsay and Britney in the blink of an eye. --LRP See: Tell MSNBC to Stop the Misogyny! and Hill-bullies May Bring US Four More Years of GOP Rule By MDR 08 Dec 2008.

'I feel a change in the air,' says Kennedy of Obama 28 Jan 2008 Barack Obama today appeared at a boisterous rally alongside three members of the Kennedy family, America's most beloved political dynasty, to accept the endorsement of senator and Democratic powerbroker Edward Kennedy. "We want a president for those who still believe in the American dream and those around the world who still believe in the American ideal," the senator said. "I feel change in the air. What about you?"

Florida Democratic Primary Florida: Clinton 47% Obama 25% 28 Jan 2008 The latest Rasmussen Reports telephone survey in Florida finds Senator Hillary Clinton leading Barack Obama by nineteen percentage points, 47% to 25%. That’s little changed from earlier surveys.

Shell set to stir petrol storm with record profits of £13.6bn --Oil group to post highest earnings by British firm 28 Jan 2008 Shell will be at the centre of a political storm this week when it posts profits of almost $27bn (£13.6bn), the highest earnings ever made by a British company. The record-breaking profits, on the back of soaring oil prices, seem likely to stir fresh allegations of profiteering. Texas-based Exxon Mobil, the world's largest privately-owned oil company, is expected to improve on its own previous record on Friday by reporting earnings of $39.6bn, the biggest annual profits that the US has ever seen.

Polar Bear Population In Arctic Sea Endangered 28 Jan 2008 Global warming and oil spills, from oil drilling projects slated to begin February 2008 in the Arctic, may endanger the lives of polar bears. With ongoing global warming, the ice in the Arctic Sea is shrinking, making the animals vulnerable to drowning as they are forced to swim long distances in between the ice or simply starve to death. NASA predicts that the Arctic Sea could be ice-free as early as the summer of 2013.

Bush's moves in Alaska fail 'red face' test By Joel Connelly 27 Jan 2008 The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service recently announced a "delay" in its decision on listing the polar bear under the Endangered Species Act. In the meantime, the Minerals Management Service is getting set, on Feb. 6, to throw open 30 million acres of the bears' habitat to oil and gas development. With the skill of a World War II convoy escort, the administration has laid down a smoke screen around its actions... "The U.S. Geological Survey has concluded that polar bears will almost certainly disappear from Alaska by the middle of this century, and that we will have lost fully two-thirds of the world's polar bears by this time," [Reps.] Inslee and Shays wrote.

Navy resumes sonar training off coast 27 Jan 2008 The Navy has resumed sonar training off the coast of Southern California as the government and environmentalists battle in court over how the exercises affect whales and other marine mammals.

Sales of New Homes Fell by 26% in 2007 28 Jan 2008 The housing industry, caught in a maelstrom of sinking demand, rising foreclosures, and bulging inventories, is in its worst slump in decades, a growing body of economic evidence shows. Sales of new homes fell last year by 26 percent, the steepest drop since records began in 1963, the Commerce Department said on Monday.

Ballot measure would phase out rent control laws 28 Jan 2008 More than 100 owners and operators of apartment buildings and mobile home parks spent nearly $2 million to put an initiative on the June 3 ballot to phase out California's rent control laws. About 1.2 million people statewide are covered by such laws.

Japan stocks down 2 pct on exporters, Fed cut eyed 27 Jan 2008 Japanese stocks fell more than 2 percent on Monday, with exporters such as Canon Inc down after U.S. stocks sagged late last week, while investors grew cautious ahead of events including a Federal Reserve meeting that is expected to result in another interest rate cut.

eBay's PayPal to buy Israeli fraud-detection company 28 Jan 2008 An Israeli transaction verification service, Fraud Sciences, is being acquired by PayPal [terrorists] in a $169 million transaction, San Jose-based eBay announced today. The deal marks the first time eBay and PayPal have acquired a security technology company. PayPal, eBay's online payment service, has preferred to build its own 'security' technology until now.

Court rules Arizona must allow 'choose life' license plate 28 Jan 2008 A federal appellate court says Arizona must grant an anti-abortion group's request for a special "choose life" license plate. The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Monday that the state's system for special plates effectively created a public forum for private speech.

India bird flu disease 'alarming' 28 Jan 2008 The bird flu epidemic has spread further in the Indian state of West Bengal with 13 of the state's 19 districts affected, officials say. An outbreak has been reported from Budge Budge, a suburb of the capital, Calcutta, officials say.

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Iraq moves troops, tanks to northern city Mosul 27 Jan 2008 Iraqi tanks and helicopters arrived in the northern city of Mosul with troop reinforcements on Sunday for a big offensive against 'al Qaeda' militants, Iraqi security officials said. U.S. military officials on Sunday said their own operations around Iraq's third largest city were continuing.

2 soldiers killed in separate attacks in Baghdad: U.S. military 27 Jan 2008 The U.S. military says two American soldiers are dead because of separate bombings in Baghdad. According to a military statement, one soldier died after his vehicle was struck by a roadside bomb in a northeastern part of the Iraqi capital. The military also says another soldier was killed yesterday by a bomb during a foot patrol in northern Baghdad.

Another US Soldier Falls in Iraq 26 Jan 2008 The US army said a service member was killed on Friday in central Iraq due to what the army described as "non-combat related causes". "A Multinational Division-Center soldier died Jan 25 of non-combat related causes," the army said in a statement received by Aswat al-Iraq, the Arabic for Voice of Iraq (VOI).

Pakistan Rebuffs Secret U.S. Plea for C.I.A. Buildup 27 Jan 2008 The top two American intelligence officials traveled secretly to Pakistan early this month to press President Pervez Musharraf to allow the Central Intelligence Agency greater latitude to operate in the tribal territories where militants are active, according to several officials who have been briefed on the visit. But in the unannounced meetings on Jan. 9 with the two American officials -- Mike McConnell, the director of national intelligence, and Gen. Michael V. Hayden, the C.I.A. director -- Mr. Musharraf rebuffed proposals to expand any American combat presence in Pakistan, either through unilateral covert C.I.A. missions or by joint operations with Pakistani security forces.

Pakistan's Musharraf Says No US Troops 25 Jan 2008 Pakistan's president said Friday U.S. troops cannot do a better job than his forces in routing the Taliban and al-Qaida [al-CIAduh], and the United States should increase its presence in Afghanistan instead to deal with the growing 'insurgency' there. Pervez Musharraf reiterated that Pakistan opposes any foreign forces on its soil and said "the man in the street will not allow this -- he will come out and agitate."

Anti-terror focus returns to Afghanistan, Pakistan 27 Jan 2008 In a shift with profound implications, the Bush regime is attempting to re-energize its terrorism-'fighting' war efforts in Afghanistan, the original target of a post-Sept. 11 offensive. The U.S. also is refocusing on Pakistan, where a regenerating al-Qaeda [al-CIAduh] is posing fresh threats.

Tip-off thwarted nuclear spy ring probe 27 Jan 2008 An investigation into the illicit sale of American nuclear secrets was compromised by a senior official in the State Department, a former FBI employee has claimed. The official is said to have tipped off a foreign contact about a bogus CIA company used to investigate the sale of nuclear secrets. The firm, Brewster Jennings & Associates, was a front for Valerie Plame, the former CIA agent. The claims that a State Department official blew the investigation into a nuclear smuggling ring have been made by Sibel Edmonds, a former Turkish language translator in the FBI’s Washington field office.

Transfers to resume once prisons improve: MacKay 26 Jan 2008 News Defence Minister Peter MacKay said Saturday that Canadian soldiers will resume transferring prisoners to Afghan authorities, but only when Canada is confident they will not be tortured.

Giuliani to 'Post': Israel has to be able to defend itself 27 Jan 2008 Republican presidential candidate Rudy Giuliani strongly defended Israel's actions toward Gaza in an interview Sunday with The Jerusalem Post. "Israel has to do what it believes is necessary for its safety and security," he said when asked about Israel's response to the rocket attacks that have been launched from the Gaza Strip. "Those are decisions where I think you give a great deal of discretion to the Israeli government."

Chavez: Pull reserves from US 26 Jan 2008 Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez urged his Latin American allies on Saturday to begin withdrawing billions of dollars in international reserves from U.S. banks, warning of a looming U.S. economic crisis.

Veto of Wiretap Measure Is Threatened --Bush Wants to Add Immunity for Phone Companies 27 Jan 2008 The White House warned Democratic leaders yesterday that President [sic] Bush would veto a proposal to extend an expiring surveillance law by 30 days, saying that Congress should quickly approve a Senate bill favored by the Bush administration. The White House and Republicans want the temporary surveillance law made permanent. But many Democrats, spurred on by objections from civil liberties and liberal groups, have balked at the Bush regime's demand to add legal immunity for telephone companies, which face dozens of lawsuits over their role in warrantless wiretaps conducted [before and] after the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.

Missouri Citizen Soliders to Seize Armory in Terror Drill 25 Jan 2008 It'll look real tomorrow when Missouri soldiers work to clear hostile forces out of a Jefferson City armory. There are 70 citizen soldiers involved in the Blue Armory takeover. They'll form four teams and using simulated firearms they'll sweep the armory looking for terrorists.

Cheney's attorneys trying to prevent VP from testifying in lawsuit 25 Jan 2008 Dick Cheney's attorneys want to stop an attempt to force him to testify in a lawsuit where a man claims he was arrested after telling the vice president [sic] his policies in Iraq were "disgusting." Cheney is not a defendant in the lawsuit against five Secret Service agents, but attorney David Lane says he's the best eyewitness in his client's case. Cheney's attorneys filed a motion today in federal court opposing Lane's request to subpoena him.

'Bill Clinton is holding the audience hostage in Missouri.' --D.C. Sniper #2 aka Joe Scarborough (D.C. sniper #1 is Chris Matthews) bashing Bill Clinton during MSNBC's Democratic South Carolina primary coverage. [Earth to MSNBC: We don't want Reichwing 'Morning Joe' on a panel discussing Democratic primaries!]

The GOP-run media is making 'race' the issue in the Democratic primary, so that people are brainwashed into forgetting that Bush is carrying out genocide in Iraq for Exxon, Halliburton and Blackwater while trying to kill as many elderly, poor people and minorities at home, by turning over the National Treasury to same. Don't fall for the media's false front-and-center issue of race, to dissuade people from voting against sociopath John McCain, GOPervert Mitt Romney - or whichever Republican warmonger is on the menu - in November. --LRP

'Yes We Can!' Obama Beats Clinton in S.C. Primary --Record African-American Turnout Carries Sen. Barack Obama to Victory in S.C. 26 Jan 2008 Sen. Barack Obama, vying to become the nation's first black president, has won the South Carolina primary today, boosted by a record turnout of African-American voters. Obama overwhelmingly beat Sen. Hillary Clinton with 55 percent support to her 27 percent, and former Sen. John Edwards, trailing with 18 percent support, with almost all preccints reporting.

Obama rolls to big South Carolina win 26 Jan 2008 Barack Obama easily won South Carolina's bitterly contested Democratic presidential primary with the help of heavy black support on Saturday, dealing a setback to rival Hillary Clinton after a week of political brawling.

Kennedy to endorse Obama, officials say 27 Jan 2008 Democratic Sen. Edward M. Kennedy of Massachusetts will endorse Senate colleague Barack Obama for president, party officials confirmed Sunday.

Caroline Kennedy Endorses Obama 26 Jan 2008 Caroline Kennedy has endorsed Sen. Barack Obama in a Sunday op-ed in the New York Times, the first time she has weighed in on a presidential race since her uncle, Sen. Edward Kennedy, sought the White House in 1980.

A President Like My Father By Caroline Kennedy 27 Jan 2008 Over the years, I’ve been deeply moved by the people who’ve told me they wished they could feel inspired and hopeful about America the way people did when my father was president. This sense is even more profound today. That is why I am supporting a presidential candidate in the Democratic primaries, Barack Obama.

Romney climbs into Florida tie with McCain: poll 27 Jan 2008 Republican Mitt Romney climbed into a tie with John McCain three days before a critical presidential primary in Florida, according to a Reuters/C-SPAN/Zogby poll released on Sunday.

Exxon-Mobil Makes $75,000 a Minute By Young Turks 26 Jan 2008 In the midst of record profits for oil companies we are giving them a $14 billion subsidy. That's insane. That's money straight out of our pockets and into Exxon-Mobil's pockets. Outside of politicians who get their elections financed by these guys, no one in the country should be in favor of this. This is not a conservative or liberal position, this is plain old robbery... And now, because of this insane economic stimulus package, businesses are going to get another $50 billion in tax breaks.

Funding and review of Palin-touted study criticized --Polar Bears: The author is tied to Exxon and groups that hunt the animal. 27 Jan 2008 The state has made an effort to enlist support from a controversial scientific study on polar bears. The study, by polar bear researcher M.G. Dyck and six climate scientists, was published last year as a "Viewpoint" in the journal Ecological Complexity. It rebutted earlier work by Canada's leading polar bear experts linking declines in Hudson Bay polar bear populations to warmer temperatures and shorter sea-ice seasons. The State of Alaska quoted extensively from the study, in opposing a "threatened" listing for polar bears. The Dyck study was especially important because little other science on bears took that side... Rep. Brad Miller, a North Carolina Democrat and a subcommittee chairman on the U.S. House Committee on Science and Technology, raised an alarm because one of the authors, Harvard astrophysicist Willie Soon, said he had been funded in part by Exxon Mobil and the American Petroleum Institute.

Iraq ratifies Kyoto Protocol on climate change 26 Jan 2008 Iraq has formally ratified the UN's Kyoto Protocol on climate change, according to a government statement seen by AFP on Saturday.

Big business says addressing climate change 'rates very low on agenda' --Poll of 500 major firms reveals that only one in 10 regard global warming as a priority 27 Jan 2008 Global warming ranks far down the concerns of the world's biggest companies, despite world leaders' hopes that they will pioneer solutions to the impending climate crisis, a startling survey will reveal this week.

Gardasil A Prime Suspect in Two Deaths 25 Jan 2008 Gardasil has been linked to the deaths of two women in Europe, prompting more concerns about the controversial cervical cancer vaccine. This week’s deaths follow the deaths of three other young women who died in the U.S. days after GardaKILL was administered. FDA documents indicate Gardasil may be responsible for at least eight deaths. Since its approval, there had been 3,461 complaints of adverse reactions to Gardasil.

NY subpoenas Merck and Schering-Plough over Vytorin 26 Jan 2008 New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo has subpoenaed Merck & Co and Schering-Plough Corp for documents and information to see whether the companies hid the results of a study on their cholesterol drug Vytorin.

Bird flu spreads to 2 more Bengal districts 28 Jan 2008 The bird flu noose is drawing tighter around Kolkata. After Howrah's Nalpur and Hooghly's Balagharh, samples from Budge Budge in South 24-Parganas tested positive for the deadly H5N1 virus on Sunday.

FCC levies "NYPD" indecency fine 27 Jan 2008 In a sign that the federal airwaves police may ratchet up their campaign against racy programming, the FCC on Friday determined that a woman's naked backside is indecent enough to net ABC a proposed fine of $1.43 million. The fine proposal, announced late Friday, comes as much of the regulatory regime the commission uses to fine stations is under judicial review.

Polar bear cub Flocke learns to crawl 27 Jan 2008 The baby polar bear at the Nuremberg zoo has learned to crawl. Flocke [Snowflake] is five weeks old and is already half a metre tall. She weighs in at almost 3.9 kg - if she stays still long enough for her keepers to be able to read the scales, that is.

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"If Hitler were still alive and walked through Brattleboro, I think the local police would arrest him for war crimes." Brattleboro to vote on arresting Bush, Cheney 26 Jan 2008 Brattleboro residents will vote at town meeting on whether President [sic] George Bush and Vice President [sic] Dick Cheney should be indicted and arrested for war crimes, perjury or obstruction of justice if they ever step foot in Vermont. The Brattleboro Select Board voted 3-2 Friday to put the controversial item on the Town Meeting Day warning. According to Town Clerk Annette Cappy said residents will get to vote on the matter by paper balloting March 4. [Good! Hopefully, their treason trials will start shortly thereafter, with all possible penalties for treason on the plate.]

Bush Order Expands Internet Monitoring By NSA 26 Jan 2008 President [sic] Bush signed a directive this month that expands the intelligence community's role in monitoring Internet traffic to ~~protect against a rising number of attacks on federal agencies' computer systems~~ spy. The directive, whose content is classified, authorizes the intelligence agencies, in particular the National Security Agency, to monitor the computer networks of all federal agencies -- including ones they have not previously monitored. The prospect of aiming NSA's power at domestic networks is raising concerns, just as the NSA's role in the government's warrantless domestic-surveillance program has been controversial. Lawmakers with oversight of homeland security and intelligence matters say they have pressed the administration for months for details. The classified joint directive, signed Jan. 8 and called the National Security Presidential Directive 54/Homeland Security Presidential Directive 23, has not been previously disclosed.

Defunct Spy Satellite Falling From Orbit 26 Jan 2008 A large U.S. spy satellite has lost power and propulsion and could hit the Earth in late February or March, government officials said Saturday. The satellite, which no longer be controlled, could contain hazardous materials, and it is unknown where on the planet it might come down, they said. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because the information is classified as secret. [Gee, wouldn't it be nice if lands on a Blackwater training camp?]

'This may hinge on what people's definition of 'equipment' is.' Taliban seize Nato supplies in Pakistan 25 Jan 2008 The suspected Taliban mastermind behind Benazir Bhutto's assassination [Baitullah Mehsud] has stolen sophisticated Nato equipment by raiding the alliance's supply lines running through Pakistani territory. A senior government official, based near the frontier town of Tank, told The Daily Telegraph that Mehsud's men regularly ambushed container lorries carrying hardware bound for Nato forces in Afghanistan. A Nato spokesman in Kabul did not rule out that material had been stolen in transit through Pakistan, but denied that any weapons or military equipment had been lost. [?!?] "This may hinge on what people's definition of 'equipment' is," he said.

Karzai: Terrorists could regain control [With Bush's help, they already have.] 26 Jan 2008 Unless more is done to tackle growing extremism in countries including Pakistan, Afghanistan could once again fall into terrorist hands with dire consequence for the region and the world, the country's president warned Friday. Hamid Karzai said "misguided policy objectives" of unnamed countries or organizations were continuing to fuel violence in Afghanistan.

US offers troops to fight in Pakistan 25 Jan 2008 The United States has offered to send American troops into Pakistan to fight Islamic militants. Defence Secretary Robert Gates said the US was ready, willing and able to conduct joint combat operations against Al Qaeda [al-CIAduh] and Taliban insurgents in the tribal zone near the Afghan border. Previous offers involving direct combat action by US soldiers in Pakistan have been strongly rejected. The regime of President Pervez Musharraf fears an undisguised US military presence in the country would further erode public support and possibly draw new recruits to 'insurgent' ranks.

Bush plan for Iraq would be a first --No OK from Congress seen; Constitutional issues raised 25 Jan 2008 President [sic] Bush's plan to forge a long-term agreement with the Iraqi government that could commit the US military to defending Iraq's security would be the first time such a sweeping mutual defense compact has been enacted without congressional approval, according to legal specialists. Bush and Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Al-Maliki have already agreed that a coming compact will include the United States providing "security assurances and commitments" to Iraq to deter any foreign invasion or internal terrorism by "outlaw groups." But a top White House official has also said that Bush does not intend to submit the deal to Congress... "We've got to rein in President [sic] Bush," Sen. Clinton said Monday in a South Carolina debate. "We need legislation in a hurry."

Blasts Hit Baghdad, Including Green Zone --Explosions Reverberate in Baghdad, Including Mortar Round Into US-Controlled Green Zone 26 Jan 2008 A series of explosions thundered in the Iraqi capital Saturday morning, police said, including one from a mortar round that hit the U.S.-controlled Green Zone. One of the explosions was a roadside bomb that targeted a U.S. patrol in eastern Baghdad.

3,000 extra police for restive Iraq province 26 Jan 2008 An extra 3,000 police are to boost forces in Iraq's northern Nineveh province where troops are readying for a new assault on Al-Qaeda [al-CIAduh] after lethal bombings in Mosul city, an official said on Saturday.

Iraq ready for "final" battle with al Qaeda: PM 25 Jan 2008 Iraqi security forces have begun a(nother) "decisive" final offensive against al Qaeda [al-CIAduh] in Iraq to push the Sunni Islamist militants out of their 'last' major stronghold in the north, Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki said on Friday.

MoD blames army leadership failure for abuse of Iraqis --Troops were kept in dark about ban on hooding --Defence secretary promises further inquiry 26 Jan 2008 Serious failings in army leadership, planning and training - particularly about treating civilians in an occupied country - led to the ~~abuse~~ torture of Iraqis by British soldiers, a Ministry of Defence investigation has found. Soldiers were not told about their obligations under international law or about a specific ban on hooding imposed by the government 36 years ago, said the report by Brigadier Robert Aitken, the army's director of army personnel strategy.

6 Powers Propose New Iran Sanctions 26 Jan 2008 New U.N. sanctions against Iran would require countries to ban the entry of individuals involved in the Iranian nuclear program -- a step up from a previous call for vigilance over their travel, according to a document obtained Friday. The latest round of penalties would also for the first time ban trade in equipment and technology that can be used in both civilian and nuclear programs, according to elements that would form the basis of a new U.N. resolution.

Iran to face travel bans 26 Jan 2008 Proposed new U.N. sanctions on Iran over its nuclear program call for mandatory travel bans and asset freezes for specific Iranian officials and vigilance on all banks in Iran, according to a draft text. The text of "elements" of a third round of sanctions, obtained by Reuters on Friday, was agreed on by Britain, France, Germany, the United States, Russia and China and will be the basis of a resolution intended for the Security Council to pass in the next few weeks.

American Woman Kidnapped in Afghanistan 26 Jan 2008 Gunmen kidnapped an American aid worker and her driver in southern Afghanistan's largest city early Saturday, snatching the woman from a residential neighborhood as she was on her way to work. Cyd Mizell worked in Kandahar for the Asian Rural Life Development Foundation.

Army Rangers, medic arrested on drug, firearms charges 26 Jan 2008 Four active-duty U.S. soldiers -- three of them elite Army Rangers -- have been arrested and charged with planning to rob drug traffickers. They're charged with conspiracy to possess and distribute cocaine and with carrying firearms in connection with that conspiracy.

ACLU Challenges Cuyahoga's Unequal Voting Technology in Federal Court --New Voting System Unlawful, Will Result in More Uncounted Ballots (ACLU) 17 Jan 2008 The American Civil Liberties Union and ACLU of Ohio filed a lawsuit against state election officials in federal court today challenging the use of unequal, inaccurate and inadequate voting technology in Ohio’s most populous county. Today’s legal action seeks to block Cuyahoga County’s recent shift from using electronic voting machines to a system that lacks the ability to provide voters with notice of balloting errors and an opportunity to correct such mistakes. According to the ACLU, the use of these machines violates the Constitution’s Fourteenth Amendment as well as the Voting Rights Act.

Record Turnout Expected as South Carolina Votes 26 Jan 2008 Democratic voters were taking their turn Saturday in the first Southern primary of the presidential campaign, the final contest before the race expands into a state-by-state battle for the party’s nomination.

On Friday's 'Hardball,' Chris Matthews asks a(nother) rightwing pundit: 'Do you like that all these guys have chosen her [Hillary Clinton] as their target range?' [It's YOU, Chris Matthews, who has her in YOUR target range! Tell MSNBC to Stop the Misogyny! 'Chris Matthews is like the DC sniper, lying in wait, always on the hunt for Hillary.' --MDR 25 Jan 2008]

Obama: Press 'Manically Focused on Race' 26 Jan 2008 Heading into the Democratic primary in South Carolina, Sen. Barack Obama is banking on a win. He also says the [GOP-run] media is making race more of an issue that it actually is. "The press has been focused, almost, you know, maniacally, on the issue of race, here in South Carolina. But, as we move forward after this contest, I'm very confident that we are going to continue to build the kinds of coalitions that we've been seeing all across the country," Obama told "Good Morning America Weekend" anchor Kate Snow. In recent weeks, media coverage of the Democratic primaries has been dominated by issues of race.

Obama leads South Carolina; McCain up in Florida: poll 26 Jan 2008 Barack Obama expanded his lead on rival Hillary Clinton to 15 points heading into South Carolina's bitterly contested presidential primary, according to a Reuters/C-SPAN/Zogby poll released on Saturday.

Senators question why terror tipsters were skunked 25 Jan 2008 Minnesota Sens. Norm Coleman and Amy Klobuchar asked the State Department on Friday to explain why two flight-school managers whose phone tips led to the arrest of Zacarias Moussaoui were passed over for cash rewards. They said those men deserved recognition along with a third employee of the Pan American International Flight Academy, Clarence Prevost, who received a $5 million check Thursday under the State Department's Rewards for Justice program in a private ceremony. Prevost gave Moussaoui ground-school lessons in flying a 747 jumbo jet over two days in August 2001. He testiLIED at Moussaoui's 2006 death-penalty trial that he'd told colleagues and supervisors that he found Moussaoui's behavior odd, but he didn't phone the FBI at the time. [It was the testimony that Bush bought for $5 million.]

Memo Details Objections to Command Center Site 26 Jan 2008 The New York Police Department produced a detailed analysis in 1998 opposing plans by the city to locate its emergency command center at the World Trade Center, but the Giuliani administration overrode those objections. The command center later collapsed ~~from damage in the Sept. 11 terrorist attack~~ after Larry Silverstein gave the command to 'pull it' for insurance purposes. "Seven World Trade Center is a poor choice for the site of a crucial command center for the top leadership of the City of New York," a panel of police experts, which was aided by the Secret Service, concluded in a confidential Police Department memorandum.

GardaKILLs again: Alert over jab for girls as two die following cervical cancer vaccination 25 Jan 2008 A jab that could be given to hundreds of thousands of schoolgirls this autumn was at the centre at a safety scare last night following the deaths of two young women. European regulators are investigating the "sudden and unexpected" deaths of the women who received Gardasil [GardaKILL], one of two jabs to ~~protect against~~ give cervical cancer licensed for use in the UK. It follows the deaths of three young women aged 12, 19 and 22 who were reported to have died in the U.S. days after Gardasil was administered, with 1,700 patients suffering "adverse reactions".

Sixth swan tests positive for H5N1 bird flu 26 Jan 2008 A sixth swan in southern England has tested positive for the deadly H5N1 strain of bird flu, the farm ministry said on Saturday. The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) said in a statement that the swan was found in the same area as five previous cases.

Exxon, Shell seen posting record 2007 profits 25 Jan 2008 Exxon Mobil Corp and Royal Dutch Shell Plc are forecast to, yet again, break corporate earnings records next week when they report their full-year results, as high oil prices continue to outweigh rising costs and taxes. Houston-based Exxon is expected to report a 4 percent rise in fourth-quarter profits to $10.65 billion dollars, according to Reuters calculations. This would push 2007 earnings to $39.6 billion, just ahead of the $39.5 billion Exxon posted in 2006, which set a U.S. earnings record. A Reuters poll of nine analysts forecast Hague-based Shell will report a 10 percent rise in fourth quarter current cost of supply (CCS) net profits, excluding one-off items, to $6.1 billion.

Bad news, bears --White House considers drilling plan (San Francisco Chronicle) 24 Jan 2008 Next month, the Bush White House will choose polar bears or oil derricks in the sea ice off the Alaska coast. The early betting, no surprise, shows a decided tilt toward drilling. One arm of the Interior Department has set Feb. 6 for oil lease sales for 30 million acres of the Chukchi Sea off Alaska, where 20 percent of the world's 25,000 polar bears live... The bears, in all their photogenic glory, are a nightmare for the White House. Their plight is due to global warming... Two-thirds of their numbers may disappear by 2050 as their sea-ice homes melt away... Preserving these animals will be hard enough, given the widespread sources of global warming. But adding oil drilling as an extra pressure only compounds the problem.

HUD OKs diverting Katrina housing funds 25 Jan 2008 The federal government on Friday approved Mississippi's plan to divert $600 million in hurricane housing funds to a port improvement project, angering critics who say tens of thousands of people made homeless by Hurricane Katrina still need help.

US slides into dangerous 1930s 'liquidity trap' 25 Jan 2008 The United States is sliding towards a dangerous 1930s-style "liquidity trap" that cannot easily be stopped by drastic cuts in interest rates, Nobel economist Joseph Stiglitz has warned. "The biggest fear is that long-term bond rates won't come down in line with short-term rates. We'll have the reverse of what we've seen in recent years, and that is what is frightening the markets," he told the Daily Telegraph, while trudging through ice and snow in Davos.

Banks 'face a further $300bn sub-prime hit' 26 Jan 2008 The world's financial institutions will have to write down a further $300bn (£152bn) of US sub-prime losses before the crisis is over, according to a study by consulting firm Oliver Wyman.

Senate Looking at Endowments as Tuition Rises 25 Jan 2008 The Senate Finance Committee, increasingly concerned about the rising cost of higher education, demanded detailed information on Thursday from the nation’s 136 wealthiest colleges and universities on how they raised tuition over the last decade, gave out financial aid and managed and spent their endowments.

Turnpike bankrolls PennDOT again 26 Jan 2008 The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation has gotten another cash infusion from the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission, part of a unique "public-public partnership" created by the state Legislature last summer to raise more money for roads, bridges and transit. The agency's indebtedness is to be repaid through a combination of tolling Interstate 80 across the state [!], starting in 2011 with high-tech toll barriers, and raising tolls on the existing turnpike system by 25 percent next year and 3 percent a year thereafter.

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US willing to send troops to Pakistan 24 Jan 2008 The Bush regime is willing to send a small number of U.S. combat troops to Pakistan to help ~~fight~~ foment the 'insurgency' there if Pakistani authorities ask for such help, Defense Secretary Robert Gates said Thursday.

Musharraf losing military backing 25 Jan 2008 There are definite signs that the Pakistani President, Pervez Musharraf, is losing the important backing of the military after an influential group of retired officers called on him to step down.

Pakistan tests missile, rejects nuclear safety worry 25 Jan 2008 Pakistan's army chief dismissed on Friday fears that the country's nuclear weapons could fall into the hands of Islamist militants as the military test fired a nuclear-capable missile.

Iraq Oil Law Talks Not Taking Place 25 Jan 2008 Negotiations are not taking place in Baghdad on the controversial oil law and other oil disputes, contrary to previous news accounts. UPI confirmed that a top U.S. State Department official tasked with moving the oil law forward is in Washington, not Iraq. Iraq Oil Minister Hussain al-Shahristani is at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, which began Wednesday.

Mosul Bombings Prompt Promise of New Offensive 26 Jan 2008 Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki announced Friday that he was sending more troops to Mosul to drive the Sunni 'insurgent' group Al Qaeda [al-CIAduh] in Mesopotamia from what he described as its 'last major stronghold' in Iraq. Mr. Maliki’s remarks came in the wake of successive bombings in the northern capital.

Petraeus to stay in Iraq most of this year: Gates 24 Jan 2008 Army Gen. David Petraeus, the top U.S. commander in Iraq, will stay in his post for most of this year at least, Defense Secretary Robert Gates said on Thursday. Gates was responding to press reports that Betrayus was being considered for the post of NATO's top commander.

Iraq: Another journalist held by the U.S. military 23 Jan 2008 Reporters Without Borders has voiced concern about the continuing detention of Rashid Majid Al-Sari, the editor of the biweekly newspaper "Al-Fatah", who was arrested by United States troops at his Baghdad home on 18 January 2008... Bilal Hussein, a 36-year-old photographer employed by the Associated Press, has been held by the U.S. military since April 2006.

UN powers agree on more Iran sanctions 24 Jan 2008 Major U.N. Security Council powers have agreed on an incremental increase in sanctions on Iran, including a new restriction on exporters doing business with the country, diplomats said Thursday.

US says Iran sanctions will be 'punitive' 24 Jan 2008 A top US official inisted on Thursday that a new UN sanctions resolution against Iran over its contested nuclear programme would be "punitive." "This is a punitive resolution. I say this because I saw some comments yesterday from Moscow that it wasn't. It is," the US State Department's third highest diplomat Nicholas Burns told reporters after talks with Israeli officials in Jerusalem.

Number 10 rejects Karzai claims 25 Jan 2008 Downing Street has hit back at claims by Afghan President Hamid Karzai that the arrival of British troops made security in his country worse. Mr Karzai said the mistake was allowing the US and the UK to replace the province's sitting governor. [Well, the US has to oversee its poppy produciton.]

10 Die in Mistaken Afghan Firefight 25 Jan 2008 At least nine Afghan police officers and a civilian were killed early Thursday in a firefight between American forces and the officers in Ghazni Province, just south of the capital, local officials said.

Egyptian riot police battle to shut Gaza border 25 Jan 2008 Egypt tried in vain to re-establish its border with Gaza as its security personnel were overwhelmed by a flood of Palestinians streaming across the frontier. At one point a phalanx of Egyptian riot police, backed up by others with attack dogs on leads, tried to stop Palestinians crossing near the centre of the Gazan town of Rafah.

Mega barf alert! Paul Wolfowitz named to chair advisory panel 24 Jan 2008 Paul Wolfowitz, an architect of the Iraq war who was forced to resign from the World Bank because of an ethics scandal, will chair a U.S. advisory panel on arms control, the State Department said on Thursday. The former deputy secretary of defense [war criminal] and advocate of the 2003 U.S.-led invasion of Iraq will head the State Department's International Security Advisory Board, which gives the department ~~independent~~ advice on arms control, disarmament, international security and other matters.

Prodi resigns after losing vote 24 Jan 2008 The Italian Prime Minister, Romano Prodi, has resigned after being defeated in a vote of confidence in the upper house of parliament, the Senate. Mr Prodi, who had led his centre-left coalition for 20 months, was defeated by five votes... Correspondents say the centre-right opposition alliance led by the former Prime Minister, Silvio Berlusconi [!], is regarded as well-placed to win an early election.

Detainees might be stuck in legal limbo, lawyers say --Transfers to Afghan jails suspended, but military won't say where prisoners being held 25 Jan 2008 Battlefield prisoners in Afghanistan may be stuck in the Canadian equivalent of Guantanamo Bay – a legal limbo where they are not charged or granted a lawyer – now that prisoners are no longer handed over to Afghan jails for fear of torture, human rights lawyers say. The federal government revealed Wednesday that the Canadian military stopped sending its prisoners to local jailers almost three months ago after discovering a badly bruised prisoner and the weapons used in his torture on Nov. 5.

Judge releases Blackwater protesters after quiet debate of the issues 24 Jan 2008 (Currituck, NC) Judge Russell Duke gave no additional jail time to seven convicted Blackwater protesters for a demonstration at Blackwater’s Moyock headquarters Oct. 20, a re-enactment of a Sept. 16 shooting incident in Baghdad involving Blackwater security contractors in which 17 Iraqi civilians died. The seven were originally convicted in District Court in December, all but one of them in trials that were closed to the media and the public.

CIA: Hackers shut down power to entire cities 25 Jan 2008 Computer hackers have managed to shut down power to entire cities by breaking into the systems of electricity companies and then demanding money, a senior CIA analyst has claimed. Tom Donahue told a utilities security conference in New Orleans that all the successful hackings occurred outside America.

Like FBI, CIA Has Used Secret 'Letters' 25 Jan 2008 Newly released documents shed light on the use of national security letters by the CIA. The spy agency has employed them to obtain financial information about U.S. residents and does so under extraordinary secrecy, according to the American Civil Liberties Union, which obtained copies of CIA letters under the Freedom of Information Act. The CIA's requests for financial records come with "gag orders" on the recipients, said ACLU lawyer Melissa Goodman. In many cases, she said, the recipient is not allowed to keep a copy of the letter or even take notes about the information turned over to the CIA.

Phone Firms' Bid for Immunity in Wiretaps Gains Ground 25 Jan 2008 The Senate signaled in a key vote yesterday that it supports giving some of the nation's largest telephone companies immunity from dozens of privacy lawsuits related to a federal domestic eavesdropping program initiated after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. In a 60 to 36 vote -- with 12 DemocRATs joining Republicans in the majority -- the Senate rejected a version of the proposed legislation sponsored by Democrats on the Judiciary Committee. That bill omitted immunity for the telecommunications firms involved in warrantless eavesdropping. [From Glenn Greenwald's blog: As usual, just enough Democrats -- roughly 12 -- voted in favor in order to ensure that the Motion passed while enabling Democrats generally to pretend that they opposed it. All GOP Senators voted in favor. The pro-immunity, pro-warrantless eavesdropping Democrats: Rockefeller, Pryor, Inouye, McCaskill, Landrieu, Salazar, Nelson (FL), Nelson (NE), Mikulski, Carper, Bayh, and Johnson. Neither Clinton nor Obama bothered to show up for any of this.]

Senate Defeats 1st Try to Strip Telcos of FISA Immunity 24 Jan 2008 Lawmakers in the Senate defeated an initial attempt Thursday to strip immunity for telecommunications companies out of a bill reauthorizing the federal government's warrantless wiretapping program. Senators approved a motion to table an amendment to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act that would have removed the immunity provision in the bill.

AG nixes special prosecutor in CIA case 25 Jan 2008 Attorney General Michael Mukasey said Friday he doesn't plan for a special prosecutor to investigate whether the CIA broke the law when it destroyed videotapes of terror interrogations, defying some in Congress who want an independent look at the politically charged case. Mukasey, in a briefing with reporters, also ducked repeated questions about whether he considers waterboarding an illegal form of torture -- an issue expected to be at the top of the agenda when he appears next week before the Senate Judiciary Committee.

Federal judge orders government response on CIA destruction of interrogation videos 25 Jan 2008 US District Judge Richard W. Roberts on Thursday ordered the government to submit a report to the court by February 14 detailing why the CIA destroyed videotapes showing the interrogation of terror suspects, whether other evidence connected to a Guantanamo Bay detainee's lawsuit may have been destroyed, and what steps the government has taken to preserve relevant evidence. Roberts' ruling is in response to a motion filed on behalf of Guantanamo Bay detainee Hani Abdullah asking the court to compel the government to report on its compliance with a July 2005 order issued by Roberts requiring the government to "preserve and maintain all evidence, documents, and information, without limitation, now or ever in respondents' possession, custody or control, regarding the individual detained petitioners" in cases brought by several detainees.

Judge wants answers on CIA videotapes 24 Jan 2008 A federal judge said Thursday that CIA interrogation videotapes may have been relevant to his court case, and he gave the Bush regime three weeks to explain why they were destroyed in 2005 and say whether other evidence was destroyed. The decision is a legal setback for the Bush regime, which has urged courts not to get involved.

Immigration officials detaining, deporting American citizens 24 Jan 2008 Thomas Warziniack was born in Minnesota and grew up in Georgia, but immigration authorities pronounced him an illegal immigrant from Russia. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has held Warziniack for weeks in an Arizona detention facility with the aim of deporting him to a country he's never seen. His jailers shrugged off Warziniack's claims that he was an American citizen, even though they could have retrieved his Minnesota birth certificate in minutes and even though a Colorado court had concluded that he was a U.S. citizen a year before it shipped him to Arizona. [See graphic: U.S citizens detained? See Gallery: Are U.S. citizens being deported to foreign countries?]

Repress U By Michael Gould-Wartofsky 10 Jan 2008 Free-speech zones. Taser guns. Hidden cameras. Data mining. A new security curriculum. Private security contractors... From Harvard to UCLA, the ivory tower is fast becoming the latest watchtower in Fortress America. The terror warriors, having turned their attention to "violent radicalization and homegrown terrorism prevention"--as it was recently dubbed in a House of Representatives bill of the same name--have set out to reconquer that traditional hotbed of radicalization, the university. Building a homeland security campus and bringing the university to heel is a seven-step mission: 1. Target dissidents. As the warfare state has triggered dissent, the campus has attracted increasing scrutiny--with student protesters in the cross hairs. The government's number-one target? Peace and justice organizations... 7. Privatize, privatize, privatize.

Home Office warns Smith on detention 25 Jan 2008 Jacqui Smith has been warned by her department, the Home Office, that moves to lock up terror suspects for up to 42 days could provoke a backlash among Muslims. The Home Secretary pressed ahead yesterday with moves to increase the detention period from 28 days – the longest in the West – despite opposition among MPs of all parties and civil liberties groups.

Critics slam new UK anti-terrorism plan 25 Jan 2008 The British government's plans to allow terrorist suspects to be held for up to 42 days without charge prompted strong criticism from political opponents and civil liberties groups Friday.

Dr. Rec details the "Tweety Effect." Identity Politics: Sexism, Racism and the Political Imaginary --The Rec Report By Dr. Michael Rectenwald 24 Jan 2008 Obama, the first viable African-American presidential candidate in our nation’s history, has been used to provide a "liberal" Trojan horse for sexists like Matthews to drive their misogyny home. But as divided as the electorate is by the Clinton-Obama clash, liberal activists have not been fooled. I submit that not only is Matthews’s deployment sexist; it is also racist. It’s a cynical use of supposed progressive anti-racism to cut in anti-progressive ways.

'If Hillary Clinton wins the Democratic nomination, she'll be running as a team, with Bill Clinton, for president. Specifically: How would you run against Bill and Hillary Clinton, in November?' --Sexist Hill-bully (and Coup 2000 co-architect) Tim Russert, during the GOP debate on MSNBC 24 Jan 2008

Clinton, McCain win New York Times endorsements 25 Jan 2008 The New York Times on Thursday endorsed Democratic Sen. Hillary Clinton and Republican Sen. John McCain for their party's nominations to contest the U.S. presidential election in November.

Obama with 13-point lead in South Carolina: poll 25 Jan 2008 Barack Obama has a 13-point lead on rival Hillary Clinton but his support has eroded slightly on the eve of South Carolina's Democratic presidential primary, according to a Reuters/C-SPAN/Zogby poll released on Friday.

Ron Paul: No to Mandatory Immunization [Awesome!] 23 Jan 2008 Ron Paul's libertarian ideology is dramatically revealed when you get him started on topics such as the 'War on Drugs,' the FDA and forced immunization that draw on his background in medicine. Paul, a ten-term member of Congress who's hoping to pick up the Republican nomination for president, feels strongly that the federal government, in most cases, shouldn't be telling Americans what they can and cannot put into their bodies. "I don't think anything should be forced on us by the government, [and] immunization is one thing that we're pressured and forced into," he said.

Kucinich to Drop Bid and Focus on Re-election 25 Jan 2008 Representative Dennis J. Kucinich has decided to end his presidential bid, and allowing him to focus on a contested race for re-election in his Ohio Congressional district. Mr. Kucinich, a former mayor of Cleveland and a six-term congressman, has a tough primary fight on his hands in Ohio’s 10th Congressional District. Four other Democrats are trying to defeat him on March 4.

White House, congressional leaders announce deal on economic package 24 Jan 2008 President [sic] George Bush and congressional leaders in the House of Representatives have reached an agreement worth roughly 150 bln usd to boost a slowing US economy, though Senate leaders promised to add additional spending to the measure before sending it to Bush's desk for signature.

Stimulus Gone Bad By Paul Krugman 25 Jan 2008 House Democrats and the White House have reached an agreement on an economic stimulus plan. Unfortunately, the plan -- which essentially consists of nothing but tax cuts and gives most of those tax cuts to people in fairly good financial shape -- looks like a lemon. Specifically, the Democrats appear to have buckled in the face of the Bush administration’s ideological rigidity [As always], dropping demands for provisions that would have helped those most in need. And those happen to be the same provisions that might actually have made the stimulus plan effective.

It's the Friday afternoon environmental bad news dump! The Bush regime does this every Friday afternoon, and the GOP owned & operated media never seem to see the pattern. Bush plans to open 3 million acres in Alaska's Tongass National Forest to logging 25 Jan 2008 1:26 p.m. PT More than 3 million acres in Alaska's Tongass National Forest would be open to logging under a federal plan. Environmentalists fear that the proposal will devastate the forest. The Bush regime released Friday a ~~management~~ destruction plan for the forest. The plan would leave about 3.4 million acres open to logging, road building and other development.

O'Malley Attacks EPA Greenhouse Gas Decision --Governors Testify Against Block in Emission Cuts 25 Jan 2008 Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley (D) joined other governors and several U.S. senators yesterday in criticizing a recent decision by the Environmental Protection Agency blocking California and effectively a host of other states from cutting greenhouse gas emissions from vehicles.

Higher Exxon Mobil, Chevron to update earnings 24 Jan 2008 Exxon Mobil Corp. and Chevron Corp. will look for their overseas-refining businesses to provide an extra jolt to their bottom lines as the two oil giants both provide earnings updates next Friday. Analysts expect Exxon Mobil to post an increase in net income to $10.3 billion from $9.84 billion in the year-ago period, according to a survey by Thomson Financial. Chevron is on tap to deliver expected earnings of $4.8 billion, compared with $3.8 billion in the year-ago period.

Tell Your Representative to Put Polar Bears First (NRDC) 24 Jan 2008 We've got to stop the Bush Administration from rushing through the sale of oil and gas drilling leases in Alaska's prime polar bear habitat -- before it makes a final decision about protecting these imperiled bears under the Endangered Species Act. Sign the message and tell your Representative to support the Markey bill (H.R. 5058) that will reverse these new oil and gas lease sales for the sake of polar bear survival.

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U.S. to Insist Iraq Grant It Wide Mandate in Operations 25 Jan 2008 With its international mandate in Iraq set to expire in 11 months, the Bush regime will insist that the government in Baghdad give the United States broad authority to conduct combat operations and guarantee ~~civilian contractors~~ mercenaries immunity from Iraqi law, according to administration and military officials. This emerging American negotiating position faces a potential buzz saw of opposition from Iraq, according to these officials. At the same time, the administration faces opposition from Democrats at home, who warn that the agreements the White House seeks would bind the next president by locking in Mr. Bush's policies and a long-term military presence. The American negotiating position for a formal military-to-military relationship... includes demands that American troops be immune from Iraqi prosecution, and that they maintain the power to detain Iraqi prisoners.

'It keeps going up, up and away.' U.S. war costs in Iraq up-budget report --$11 billion a month 23 Jan 2008 "Funding for U.S. operations in Iraq and Afghanistan and other activities in the war on terrorism expanded significantly in 2007," the Congressional Budget Office said in a report released on Wednesday. War funding, which averaged about $93 billion a year from 2003 through 2005, rose to $120 billion in 2006 and $171 billion in 2007 and President George W. Bush has asked for $193 billion in 2008, the nonpartisan office wrote.

Bomb kills Iraq police chief as he visits blast scene 24 Jan 2008 A suicide bomber killed the chief of police of Iraq's main northern city of Mosul and two other officers on Thursday as they were traveling to the scene of an earlier blast, the US military said. Brigadier General Salah al-Juburi had previously been reported wounded in the bombing, which struck as he traveled to a three-story apartment block leveled in a bombing on Wednesday which killed 18 people.

Deadly explosions strike northern Iraq 23 Jan 2008 An explosion ripped through an apartment building and surrounding houses in northern Iraq Wednesday shortly after police arrived to investigate a tip about a weapons cache, killing at least nine people. In a separate incident, a suicide car bomber targeted a police convoy near the northern city of Kirkuk, killing at least five civilians and injuring 11, police said.

Infamous WMD report to be made public 24 Jan 2008 An early draft of the government's infamous dossier on Iraq's weapons of mass destruction must be made public, the Information Tribunal said yesterday. The publication of the document by John Williams, Foreign Office press chief, will resolve whether Whitehall spin doctors inserted the claim WMDs could be deployed by Saddam Hussein in 45 minutes to "sex up" the dossier in 2002.

Foreign Office told to give up WMD draft 24 Jan 2008 An early draft of the government's discredited Iraq weapons dossier written by John Williams, a former journalist and head of the Foreign Office news department, must be released, the Information Tribunal ordered yesterday. The government has said the dossier was entirely the work of the intelligence agencies. Williams' role in the affair was not disclosed to the Hutton inquiry into the circumstances surrounding the death of David Kelly, the government weapons expert who questioned the way the dossier was drawn up.

Truth was first US casualty in Iraq war: study 23 Jan 2008 US President [sic] George W. Bush and his top officials ran roughshod over the truth in the run-up to the Iraq war lying a total of 935 times, a study released Wednesday found. Bush and his administration "waged a carefully orchestrated campaign of misinformation about the threat posed by Saddam Hussein's Iraq," said the damning report entitled "False Pretenses." According to the Center for Public Integrity, eight administration officials "made at least 935 false statements" about Iraq's possession of weapons of mass destruction, or links to Al-Qaeda [al-CIAduh], on 532 separate occasions.

Envoys of six major powers meet on UN Iran resolution 24 Jan 2008 Ambassadors of six major powers dealing with the nuclear standoff with Iran met behind closed doors here Thursday to fine-tune a third sanctions resolution against Tehran, diplomats said. The envoys from the five veto-wielding permanent members of the Security Council -- Britain, China, France, Russia, the United States, plus Germany -- were building on elements of a text agreed by their foreign ministers in Berlin Tuesday, according to two Western diplomats who spoke on condition of anonymity.

U.S. commander orders plans on Pakistan --U.S. admiral has plans to 'help' Pakistan through 2015 23 Jan 2008 The commander of U.S. forces in Central Asia has launched planning for more extensive use of U.S. troops to train Pakistani armed forces, a senior defense official said Wednesday. Adm. William J. Fallon, commander of U.S. Central Command, issued a planning order, an internal instruction to lower-level commanders, to propose ideas for a long-term approach to helping Pakistan ~~combat~~ foment what has become an expanding, homegrown 'insurgency' that threatens the stability of the government. [Sending in US troops to... ensure the 'stability of the government of Pakistan.' Now there's one you don't hear every day.]

Rummy Resurfaces, Calls for U.S. Propaganda Agency By Sharon Weinberger 23 Jan 2008 Back in 2001, the Pentagon under his leadership created the controversial Office of Strategic Influence, which was closed down just a few months later after its existence became public. Rightly or wrongly, the Pentagon was accused of creating a propaganda office. Now, the former defense secretary has a bigger vision: he is advocating a "21st century agency for global communications."...According to Rumsfeld, the United States is losing the war of ideas in the Muslim world, and the answer to that, in part, is through the creation of this new government agency.

Army wants to cut war tours to 12 months 23 Jan 2008 Soldiers' battlefield tours would be cut from 15 months to 12 months beginning Aug. 1 [to help the GOP in November], under a proposal being considered by the Army as part of an effort to reduce the stress on a force battered by more than six years at war. The proposal, recommended by U.S. Army Forces Command, is being reviewed by senior Army and Pentagon leaders, and would be contingent on the changing needs for troops in Iraq and Afghanistan [and Pakistan and Iran].

U.S. to join Israel in boycotting UN meeting 23 Jan 2008 The U.S. and Israel will boycott a special United Nations Human Rights Council meeting in Geneva on Wednesday. The meeting has been set down to discuss the Israeli blockade of Gaza, and military action.

Israel authorises 2,500 new settler homes in Jerusalem 23 Jan 2008 Israel has authorised the construction of nearly 2,500 new housing units in settlements in annexed east Jerusalem, the city authorities said on Wednesday.

Bush Justice Nominee Authorized C.I.A. Torture Techniques 24 Jan 2008 The Justice Department lawyer who wrote a series of classified legal opinions in 2005 authorizing harsh C.I.A. interrogation techniques [torture] was renominated by the White House on Wednesday to a senior department post, a move that was seen as a snub to Senate Democrats who have long opposed his appointment. The lawyer, Steven G. Bradbury, who has run the department’s Office of Legal Counsel without Senate confirmation for more than two years, has been repeatedly nominated to the job of assistant attorney general for legal counsel. Late last year, Democrats urged the White House to withdraw Mr. Bradbury’s name once and for all and find a new candidate for the post after it was disclosed in news reports in October that he was the author of classified memorandums that gave approval to harsh interrogation techniques, including head slapping, exposure to cold and simulated drowning, even when used in combination.

Cheney Calls for Permanent Warrantless Wiretapping --ACLU calls law "Police America Act" 23 Jan 2008 Vice President [sic] Cheney called on Congress today to permanently extend the Protect America Act as the White House launched a drive to secure the tools it says are 'needed' to fight a continuing terrorist threat beyond the law's Feb. 1 expiration. In a speech to the Heritage Foundation, Cheney also said the law must include immunity from lawsuits for telecommunications companies that assisted the U.S. government's electronic surveillance efforts after Sept. 11, 2001.

Labour facing humiliation on terror bill 24 Jan 2008 The government is facing defeat over its legislation to hold terror suspects for up to 42 days without charge, which is to be published today without many of the safeguards demanded by opponents. The detailed legislation is expected to be tougher than originally trailed, with no legal definition of the seriousness of the alleged offence that could trigger an exceptional period of detention beyond the current 28 days without charge.

UK publishes controversial terror bill 24 Jan 2008 The UK government published controversial new counter-terrorism plans on Thursday which are likely to present Gordon Brown, prime minister, with a tough parliamentary test in the coming weeks. Opposition and Labour MPs, along with senior lawyers and human rights groups have criticised a key proposal in the new Counter Terrorism Bill to extend the limit suspects can be held without being charged from 28 to 42 days.

Smith unveils anti-terror plans 24 Jan 2008 Controversial plans to extend the detention period for terror suspects have been published by the Home Secretary, with a pledge to get the legislation passed despite the threat of a backbench rebellion. Jacqui Smith said she is still hopeful of winning cross-party agreement on the need to increase the maximum from 28 days to 42.

AT&T Looking at Internet Filtering --AT&T Looking at How to Monitor Internet Traffic to Prevent Sharing of ~~Copyrighted Content~~ Truth 23 Jan 2008 AT&T Inc. is still evaluating whether to examine traffic on its Internet lines to stop illegal sharing of copyright material, its chief executive said Wednesday. CEO Randall Stephenson told a conference at the World Economic Forum that the company is looking at monitoring peer-to-peer file-sharing networks.

Security beefed up at gas sites 23 Jan 2008 (UK) Extra security measures are being rolled out to protect key installations from terrorist attack, raising the prospect of higher gas and electricity prices. The counter-terrorism bill, due to be published on Thursday, is expected to include provisions under which the private sector will finance the deployment of armed military police at four strategic sites in the gas sector. Plans to deploy armed military police to gas pipeline sites have been accelerated over the past year amid fears that al-Qaeda[al-CIAduh]-trained terrorists were increasingly targeting economic sites.

Exxon guns for all-time profit record 23 Jan 2008 Exxon Mobil, the world's largest publicly traded oil company, is within striking distance of setting an all-time profit record - again. Analysts are expecting the company to post solid quarterly and full-year earnings next Friday - and if the results top forecasts, Exxon could end up reporting the highest profit ever for a U.S. company. "Exxon is likely to have record quarterly earnings," said Fadel Gheit, a senior energy analyst at Oppenheimer. "For every $1 [increase] in the price of oil, Exxon makes [another] $125 million for the quarter."

ConocoPhillips' 4Q Net Up 37% Amid Record Prices --ConocoPhillips 4Q earnings $4.37B vs year-ago $3.2B 23 Jan 2008 ConocoPhillips's fourth-quarter net income rose 37% amid record oil prices, better-than-expected refining margins and higher profits from its investment in Lukoil Holdings. ConocoPhillips was the first major U.S. major oil company to report fourth-quarter earnings, setting the stage for a possible strong quarter for Exxon Mobil Corp. and Chevron Corp., which both report on Feb. 1.

Tentative Deal on Economic Stimulus Plan 24 Jan 2008 House leaders and the White House on Thursday reached a tentative agreement on an economic 'stimulus' package of roughly $150 billion that would pay stipends of $300 to $1,200 per family and provide tax incentives for businesses.

Kucinich drops presidential bid 24 Jan 2008 Cleveland Congressman Dennis Kucinich is dropping out of the Democratic race for president. Kucinich will make the announcement Friday at a news conference in Cleveland. In an exclusive interview with Plain Dealer editors and reporters, Kucinich said he will explain his "transition" tomorrow. "I want to continue to serve in Congress," he said.

Obama said oops on 6 state Senate votes 24 Jan 2008 Barack Obama angered fellow Democrats in the Illinois Senate when he voted to strip millions of dollars from a child welfare office on Chicago's West Side. "I was