Citizens for Legitimate Government, News Archives

May 2005 Archives

New blasts in Iraq push two-week death toll to 400 --Suicide bombers ripped through a crowded market and a line of security force recruits Wednesday as a wave of explosions and gunfire across Iraq killed at least 69 people — pushing the death toll from insurgent [U.S.] violence to more than 400 in less than two weeks.

A Bloody, Devastating Day: Violence Kills 72 --At least 72 Iraqis died across northern and central portions of the country Wednesday. The death toll over the past two weeks neared 400, making it one of the most violent periods since the U.S. invasion two years ago.

One month's toll in Iraq: 67 suicide bombers --US losing battle to stem flow of foreign fighters prepared to die for cause --The number of suicide attacks in Iraq has reached a record high, with more than 67 insurgents blowing themselves up in the month of April alone. New figures revealed by diplomatic and Iraqi security sources yesterday show that of the 135 car bombings that month, which took hundreds of lives and inflicted thousands of injuries, more than half were suicide missions.

Prohibiting Driving Cars Without a Companion in Tikrit --The province council of Tikrit, 180 km north of Baghdad, and its security authorities have taken measures, according to which they prohibited driving cars without the presence of a passenger or more with the driver to prevent the martyrs from exploding bombed cars in the city.

'They Came Here to Die' --Insurgents Hiding Under House in Western Iraq Prove Fierce in Hours-Long Fight With Marines --"They came here to die," said Gunnery Sgt. Chuck Hurley, commander of the team from the 1st Platoon, Lima Company, of the Marines' 3rd Battalion, 25th Regiment, that battled the insurgents in the one-story house in Ubaydi, about 15 miles east of the Syrian border. "They were willing to stay in place and die with no hope," Hurley said Tuesday. "All they wanted was to take us with them.''

Japan Considering Exit Strategy From Iraq --Nearly 18 months into its most ambitious overseas military operation since World War II, Japan is now considering whether to join a growing list of countries pulling out or scaling back their operations in Iraq in the coming months.

U.S. Believes Syria Supporting Terrorists --United States military officials have said it is increasingly believed in the Pentagon that the Syrian regime is assisting insurgents on the Syrian-Iraqi border. The Pentagon has not gone public with this assumption for lack of conclusive evidence. [Well, the CIA agents *are* the terrorists! See: Cuba 'plane bomber' was CIA agent]

Iran launches submarine production --Iran on Tuesday officially launched the production of its first locally built submarine, a craft capable of operating stealthily, state-run television reported. Defence Ministry spokesman Mohammad Imani was quoted as saying "the enemy would not be able to detect the submarine." He did not elaborate.

U.S. In Caspian Region and Russia's Position MOSCOW, (RIA Novosti commentator Pyotr Goncharov) "Iran has offered support for a Russian initiative on the Caspian Sea states alone establishing a joint rapid reaction force in the region. 'These Caspian states should come to terms on the establishment of a rapid reaction force,' said Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Hamid Reza Asefi. Russia's initiative initially envisaged more than efforts to combat international terrorist attacks against the region and to avert other common threats. It was also designed to prevent countries from outside the region, above all the U.S., from becoming involved in the affairs of the region, which the U.S. has included in the zone of its interests."

US 'sent detainees to Egypt' to be tortured --A new report by a leading human rights group says the United States and other countries have secretly sent dozens of Islamist detainees to Egypt, where they have most likely been tortured, in the past decade. The 53-page report by Human Rights Watch said Egypt is the world's main recipient of detainees.

Abu Ghraib victim's statement barred at trial --Testimony from an Iraqi photographed with wires attached to his arms and a hood over his head at Abu Ghraib prison will not be allowed at a prisoner abuse 'trial' [kangaroo court], a U.S. military judge ruled on Wednesday.

4 killed, dozens hurt as Afghan students riot --Shouting "Death to America," demonstrators angry over the alleged desecration of the Quran at Guantanamo Bay smashed car and shop windows and stoned a passing convoy of U.S. soldiers Wednesday in eastern Afghanistan. Police opened fire on the protesters, killing four and injuring at least 71.

U.S. army probes why troops go wild in Colombia --The U.S. military is investigating what has gone wrong with its operations in Colombia, where troops have been arrested on suspicion of smuggling drugs and selling arms to far-right militias, a senior U.S. officer said on Wednesday.

Military judge convicts anti-war sailor San Diego, CA - A sailor turned anti-war activist was convicted Wednesday in a special court-martial of refusing to board the USS Bonhomme Richard as it deployed to the Persian Gulf in December.

Former Army recruit says his life was threatened --More people are coming forward with Army recruiting horror stories after the 11 News Defenders investigation that exposed a recruiting scandal. Will Ammons, 20, signed up for delayed entry at the Lake Jackson Army recruiting station last year. But, he changed his mind before he ever shipped out. That's when, he says, Army recruiters crossed the line and started harassing him. "He told me I pretty much had two options," Ammons said. "I'd go before a judge and get a sentence of 15 years but he had the option to double it. It was either that or they were going to put me in front of seven other people with rifles and shoot me." This is the second time this week that young men have made similar allegations about Army recruiters threatening to kill people going too far.

11 News Defenders report leads to nationwide Army stand-down --Late Tuesday afternoon, 11 News confirmed the U.S. Army will now call for a nationwide stand-down of all recruiting efforts in what a spokesperson at the Pentagon calls a serious step at self-examination. The Army will set aside a full day on May 20 as the day to have every recruiter across America review Army recruiting policies and standards.

From Baghdad to Brasilia --by Pepe Escobar "The 'Declaration of Brasilia' to be endorsed this Wednesday calls for close political and economic ties between South America and the Arab world; demands that Israel disband its settlements in the West Bank, including 'those in East Jerusalem', and retreat to its borders before 1967; criticizes US 'unilateral economic sanctions against Syria', which violates principles of international law; and forcefully condemns terrorism... The declaration also calls for a global conference to define the meaning of terrorism, and defends peoples' rights to 'resist foreign occupation in accordance with the principle of international legality and in compliance with international humanitarian law'." [Gee, it looks like Faux News is going to have to stop calling the Iraqi freedom fighters 'terrorists' - that moniker needs to be reserved for Iraq's occupiers.]

Israeli threat to sue union over college boycott --The dispute between Israeli universities and UK academics intensified yesterday after it emerged that a leading lecturers' union was facing legal action from Haifa University. Last month the Association of University Teachers voted to sever links with Haifa in a wider boycott of Israeli academia, claiming the university had victimised staff who spoke out against Israel's policies in the occupied territories.

Senate panel probing Bolton down to wire --The Senate on Wednesday kept up an investigation of John R. Bolton on the eve of a showdown vote on the troubled nominee to be U.S. ambassador to the United Nations. Democrats who claim he is too hotheaded or unbending say they could try to hold up a final vote in the full Senate.

John R. Bolton Court Divorce Records Show His First Wife Fled Home When He Was Traveling Abroad (larryflynt.com) 11 May 2005 "Court records concerning the divorce of John R. Bolton, the Bush administration's nominee to become the next ambassador to the United Nations, show his first wife fled the couple's marital home when he was traveling abroad in mid-August 1982... Corroborated allegations that Mr. Bolton's first wife, Christina Bolton, was forced to engage in group sex have not been refuted by the State Department despite inquires posed by Hustler magazine publisher Larry Flynt concerning the allegations. Mr. Flynt has obtained information from numerous sources that Mr. Bolton participated in paid visits to Plato's Retreat, the popular swingers club that operated in New York City in the late 1970s and early 1980s."

Ridge reveals 'flimsy evidence' to justify terror alerts --The Bush regime periodically put the USA on high alert for terrorist attacks even though then-Homeland Security chief Tom Ridge argued there was only flimsy evidence to justify raising the threat level, Ridge now says. Ridge, who resigned Feb. 1, said Tuesday that he often disagreed with administration officials who wanted to elevate the threat level to orange, or "high" risk of terrorist attack, but was overruled.

Fighter jets scrambled to meet 'security threat' plane in Washington --The US Capitol building and White House were evacuated today after a small plane entered the restricted airspace over Washington. War planes were seen flying overhead and security cars rushed away from the buildings. Dictator George Bush was not at the White House at the time.

White House and Capitol evacuated; war planes seen flying overhead -- The Capitol and White House were evacuated Wednesday after a small plane entered restricted airspace over the capital. Within minutes people were allowed back into the buildings. Several other government buildings, including the Treasury Department and the U.S. Supreme Court ordered people to safer locations.

Two in Custody After Capitol Plane Scare --The U.S. Capitol and White House were evacuated Wednesday after a small plane entered restricted airspace. Military jets scrambled to intercept the aircraft and fired warning flares. Two men in the aircraft were later taken into custody at a Maryland airport where the plane landed after a military escort.

Cuba 'plane bomber' was CIA agent 11 May 2005 --Declassified US government documents show that a man suspected of involvement in the bombing of a Cuban passenger plane worked for the CIA. Luis Posada Carriles, a Cuban-born Venezuelan and anti-Castro dissident, was an agent and informer. The papers also reveal that an FBI informer "all but admitted" that Mr Posada was one of those behind the 1976 bombing that killed 73 people. Mr Posada, who denies any involvement, is said to be seeking asylum in the US.

Luis Posada Carriles - The Declassified Record --CIA and FBI Documents Detail Career in International Terrorism; Connection to U.S. - National Security Archive Electronic Briefing Book No. 153 - 10 May 2005 --Declassified CIA and FBI records posted today on the Web by the National Security Archive at George Washington University identify Cuban exile Luis Posada Carriles, who is apparently in Florida seeking asylum, as a former CIA agent and as one of the "engineer[s]" of the 1976 terrorist bombing of Cubana Airlines flight 455 that killed 73 passengers.

Senate Backs Measure to Tighten ID Requirements --The Real ID Act, which the Senate approved yesterday, would affect U.S. citizens... Americans would need an authentic copy of their birth certificate to apply for a new driver's license or renew an old one. The certificates must be verified at the counter by a Department of Motor Vehicles agent, along with other identification, such as Social Security numbers and utility bills.

Bush Mendacity Will Shock Historians --by Bill Gallagher "We're told, in effect, that trampling on civil liberties and eroding freedom are a sure way to protect us from terrorists who envy our freedom. That colossal lie will be one of the lasting stains on this era, and I fear the day coming when the Busheviks or their political heirs, gripped in fascist fever, will silence those who expose the fraud. The latest assault on liberty cloaked as protection is the Republican campaign in Congress for national identity cards. Of course, they don't call them that. Such candor sparks opposition. It's much more benevolent sounding to call the measure the Real ID Act."

Mass. Tracks Sex Offenders Via Satellite --New Technology Can Locate Sexual Predators Around World --Many sex offenders in Massachusetts already wear ankle bracelets as a way of being monitored. On Wednesday, the state put new technology in the field to supplement the bracelets. A satellite, circling 12,000 miles above the earth, will track sexual predators anywhere in the state or the world using satellites and cell phones.

Utah police use church lot as speed trap --City officials have acknowledged police erred when they used a church parking lot to issue speeding tickets to motorists caught in a radar trap last month.

Compton residents outraged over shooting Compton, CA - Angry residents poured out their emotions Wednesday to Sheriff Lee Baca, following a shooting in which 10 deputies fired more than 100 rounds at an unarmed driver.

U.S. conservatives to rally around Tom DeLay --Conservative activists, frustrated by Democratic opposition to some of Dictator Bush's key proposals, gather on Thursday to show solidarity with embattled Republican House leader Tom DeLay and pressure wavering supporters to stay in his corner.

CLG Exclusive: Judge who exonerated Cheney is on payroll from Exxon --Research, commentary by Mary Titus, CLG Contributing Writer "Judge Raymond Randolph is with the George Mason University Law and Economics Center - funded by Exxon! George Mason University, Law and Economics Center has received $115,000 from ExxonMobil since 1998. Say Hey! Its good being a judge!"

Court Tells EPA to Stop Tracking Solvent --The government can no longer require chemical makers and users to account for how much methyl ethyl ketone, a widely used ingredient in plastics, textiles and paints, is released into the environment each year. A federal appeals court Tuesday ruled in favor of the American Chemistry Council, which had petitioned the Environmental Protection Agency to remove the chemical, known as MEK, from its annual Toxic Release Inventory List.

Agriculture Dept. paid journalist for favorable stories --A third federal agency has admitted it paid a journalist to write favorable stories about its work. Documents released by the Agriculture Department show it paid a freelance writer $9,375 in 2003 to "research and write articles for hunting and fishing magazines describing the benefits of NRCS (Natural Resources Conservation Service) programs."

Memo May Have Swayed Plan B Ruling --FDA Received 'Minority Report' From Conservative Doctor on Panel --Soon after the Food and Drug Administration overruled its advisory panel last year and rejected an application to make an emergency contraceptive more easily available, critics of the agency said it had ignored scientific evidence and yielded to pressure from social conservatives. The agency denied the charge, but an outspoken evangelical conservative doctor on the panel subsequently acknowledged in a previously unreported public sermon that he was asked to write a memo to the FDA commissioner soon after the panel voted 23 to 4 in favor of over-the-counter sales of the contraceptive, called Plan B. He said he believes his memo played a central role in the rejection of that recommendation.

Fairness of Taser study in question --An adviser to a federally funded study concerning the safety of stun guns made by Taser International also is a paid consultant to Taser, the Justice Department acknowledges. The situation is raising questions about potential conflicts of interest in the $500,000 study, which is being done amid reports that dozens of people have died after being shocked with stun guns.

New Panel Will Study Medicaid With Eyes Toward Big Changes --The Bush regime will create an 'advisory panel' [barf] to recommend big changes in Medicaid eligibility and benefits and in the financing of the program, administration officials said Wednesday. By Sept. 1, the panel is to recommend ways to save $10 billion in Medicaid, the federal-state program that insures more than 50 million low-income people. [See: Halliburton gets $72 million bonus for work in Iraq. Maybe cut back on the bonuses for the Halliburton terrorists, and there would be plenty of money to fund Medicaid.]

Official Says Bush's Social Security Plan Would Cut Some Survivor Benefits --pResident Bush's preferred approach for Social Security would mean smaller survivor benefits for middle and upper-income children and widows than they are now promised, a top administration official said Wednesday.

United Gets OK to Dump Four Pension Plans --United Airlines gained a significant financial victory with court approval to dump its four pension plans. It also prompted a renewed warning from some members of Congress that taxpayers may someday have to bail out the deficit-riddled government pension agency, which now will assume an additional $6.6 billion in pension obligations from United. "Taxpayers had better buckle up because we will be in for a bumpy ride of bailout after bailout, as more and more corporations dump their pension plan obligations on the PBGC," said U.S. Rep. Jan Schakowsky, D-Ill., referring to the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp. that already is operating at a more than $23 billion deficit.

Live Dangerously: Be a Scientist --by Whitley Strieber 11 May 2005 "Another scientist involved in disease control has been killed. David Banks was the principal scientist with Biosecurity Australia and was involved in containing pest and disease threats. He died along with 15 other people when the commuter plane he was traveling in went down in Queensland, Australia... His primary mission was protecting livestock and plants in the country, and keeping diseases from crossing into Australia... Since January of 2004, more than twenty scientists are known to have died in accidents, under suspicious circumstances, or been murdered."

Project's land likely polluted, activists say West Hazleton, PA - Ronald Kripp led a handful of environmental watchdogs and reporters to a site where he said more than 20 years ago, power companies illegally dumped electric capacitors filled with possibly harmful chemicals.

U.S. scientists create self-replicating robot --Self-replicating robots are no longer the stuff of science fiction. Scientists at the Cornell University in Ithaca, New York have created small robots that can build copies of themselves.

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U.S. to Expand Prison Facilities in Iraq --The number of prisoners held in U.S. military detention centers in Iraq has risen without interruption since autumn, filling the centers to capacity and prompting commanders to embark on an unanticipated prison expansion plan. As U.S. and Iraqi forces battle an entrenched insurgency, the detainee population surpassed 11,350 last week, a nearly 20 percent jump since Iraq's Jan. 30 'elections.' [Cui bono? Why, Halliburton, of course. They are the no-bid, prison-building contractors in Iraq and Afghanistan. See: Conflict of interest for vice president? --by David Lazarus (03 November 2002) "In July, the government announced that KBR had been awarded a $9.7 million contract to build an additional 204-unit detention center at the U.S. military base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, where hundreds of 'enemy combatants' have been held since January. This is on top of $16 million received by KBR in February to get the Guantanamo prison facility off the ground, as well as another $7 million in April to expand the compound."]

"More Powerful Than the US Army" - Straight to Bechtel --by Jeffrey St. Clair "For the year 2004, Bechtel [the global construction firm based in San Francisco] brought in more than $17.4 billion, a record haul for the company. That makes two record years in a row... A few days after the war began, the US Agency for International Development handed Bechtel a $680 million contract for the reconstruction of Iraq infrastructure, a by-invitation-only deal awarded in a secret process. That number has been jacked up twice and now totals more than $1.8 billion and may eventually reach as much as $50 billion... Bechtel has gotten a piece of the biggest boondoggle of our time, the $100 billion Ballistic Missile Defense project, AKA Star Wars."

Congress approves additional $82B for wars --Congress approved an additional $82 billion for Iraq and Afghanistan and combating [fomenting] terrorism worldwide on Tuesday, boosting the cost of the global effort since 2001 to more than $300 billion.

Senate passes war-spending bill 100-0 --Bush 'looks forward' to signing $82 billion legislation -- The Senate unanimously approved an $82 billion spending package Tuesday evening to pay for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and other projects, including border control and tsunami relief. The House of Representatives approved the measure last week by a vote of 368-58.

Halliburton gets $72 million bonus for work in Iraq --The U.S. Army said on Tuesday it had awarded $72 million in bonuses to Halliburton Co. for logistics work in Iraq but had not decided whether to give the Texas company bonuses for disputed dining services to troops. Halliburton, which was run by Vice pResident Dick Cheney until he joined the 2000 race for the White House, has earned more than $7 billion under its 2001 logistics contract with the U.S. military.

Rumsfeld was on ABB board during deal with North Korea 11.05.2005, CET 05:16 --Donald Rumsfeld, the US secretary of defence, was on the board of technology giant ABB when it won a deal to supply North Korea with two nuclear power plants. Weapons experts say waste material from the two reactors could be used for so-called "dirty bombs". The Swiss-based ABB on Friday told swissinfo that Rumsfeld was involved with the company in early 2000, when it netted a $200 million (SFr270million) contract with Pyongyang. The ABB contract was to deliver equipment and services for two nuclear power stations at Kumho, on North Korea’s east coast. Rumsfeld – who is one of the Bush regime’s most strident "hardliners" on North Korea – was a member of ABB’s board between 1990 and February 2001, when he left to take up his current post.

U.S. inventing threats to justify nuclear build-up --by Richard Gwyn "As part of this continued drive for supremacy, the U.S. has announced it will not ratify the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty and, although no decision to test has yet been made, Washington has ordered the national nuclear laboratories to start research on new atomic weapons. While all this is going on, the U.S. is trying to convince Iran and North Korea to halt their minuscule nuclear programs... It's all madness. But clever, cynical, Machiavellian madness. To justify its own nuclear program, from the anti-missile system to the dismissal of international controls, Washington needs a threat. Iran and North Korea, thus, are doing exactly what Washington wants them to do. And they are doing it because Washington is provoking them into doing it."

Secret Service told grenade landed near Bush --U.S. officials are investigating a report that an apparent hand grenade landed about 100 feet from where Dictator Bush was speaking Tuesday in Tblisi, the capital of Georgia, a Secret Service spokesman said. The Secret Service has not yet confirmed whether the object was a real grenade and if so, whether the pin had been pulled, said spokesman Jim Mackin. [Comment to be *absolutely condemned,* by a CLG reader: "Maybe the relief pitcher will..." Shame on that reader!!]

Possible explosive device hurled near Bush --The Secret Service was investigating a report Tuesday that a hand grenade was thrown at the stage during pResident Bush's speech in the former Soviet republic of Georgia. Video: A possible hand grenade landed in the vicinity of President Bush in the former Soviet Republic of Georgia.

Officials Say Grenade Thrown at Bush in Georgia --A grenade was thrown within 100 feet of the stage where Dictator Bush was giving a speech today in the former Soviet republic of Georgia, local authorities told the U.S. Secret Service. The device did not go off and no one was hurt, the Secret Service said. Local police told the Secret Service the device was thrown as Bush spoke in Freedom Square in Tblisi, the Georgian capital. The device hit someone and fell to the ground about 100 feet away from the stage, where local authorities grabbed it up, Georgian officials told the Secret Service. ['The intended target is not known at this time,' reported MSNBC. LOL...uh... that's a hard one to figure out. Let us get the detectives from Law & Order: Criminal Intent on the case.]

Marines Push Toward Iraq's Syrian Border --Capitalizing on a lull in fighting Tuesday, hundreds of U.S. Marines pushed through a region on the Syrian frontier after intense battles along the Euphrates River with well-armed insurgents fighting from basements, rooftops and sandbag bunkers. Rebels kidnapped the provincial governor as a bargaining chip.

Suicide car bomb kills 24 in Tikrit --U.S. hunts foreign fighters in western Iraq [?!? Oh. Are they hunting *themselves?* After all, the US invaders are 'foreign fighters in western Iraq.'] --A suicide car bomb exploded in a small market near a police station in Tikrit on Wednesday, killing at least 24 people and wounding 70, police said.

New US laser weapon tested for Iraq --A Pentagon-funded laser weapon prototype - capable of bringing down rockets and even helicopters - is currently under assessment for use in Iraq despite major funding problems. The Mobile Tactical High Energy Laser (MTHEL) was meant to be a defensive laser weapon powered by the combustion of highly volatile chemicals that shoots down artillery projectiles. The laser is powered by toxic chemicals like deuterium and nitrogen triflouride.

British memo: U.S. data manipulated for Iraq war --A Michigan congressman is seeking more information from Dictator Bush about a classified British memo, leaked during Britain's recent election campaign, that claims Bush decided by summer 2002 to overthrow Iraqi President Saddam Hussein and was determined to ensure that U.S. intelligence data supported his policy. Rep. John Conyers, the top Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee, is circulating a letter asking Bush for an explanation, an aide said. [See: The secret Downing Street memo SECRET AND STRICTLY PERSONAL - UK EYES ONLY -- David Manning From: Matthew Rycroft Date: 23 July 2002 S 195 /02 --Iraq: Prime Minister's Meeting, 23 JULY]

This Is Not the First Time --by Malcom Lagauche "...[T]here is a precedent that went unnoticed and underreported of brutal treatment of Iraqi POWs — the 1991 abuse of Iraqi POWs during and after Operation Desert Storm... The former U.S. Army soldier told me that Iraqi POWs were rounded up and put in barbed wire pens. After a few days, they were shot and/or burned to death by soldiers without any reason or ways of defending themselves. According to the ex-GI, one soldier would shoot into the pen and another, in a seat would keep score."

Pakistan outraged over Koran's reported desecration by U.S. interrogators --Pakistan, a key Muslim ally in the U.S.-led war on terror, has voiced deep concern to Washington over a magazine report that U.S. interrogators in Guantanamo Bay desecrated the Koran. Newsweek magazine, in its latest edition, quoted sources as saying that investigators probing abuses at the military prison had found that interrogators "had placed Korans on toilets, and in at least one case flushed a holy book down the toilet."

An ethical blank cheque --British and US mythology about the second world war ignores our own crimes and legitimises Anglo-American warmaking --by Richard Drayton "The 'good war' against Hitler has underwritten 60 years of warmaking. It has become an ethical blank cheque for British and US power. We claim the right to bomb, to maim, to imprison without trial on the basis of direct and implicit appeals to the war against fascism... After 1945, we borrowed many fascist methods. Nuremberg only punished a handful of the guilty; most walked free with our help... The Gestapo's torture techniques were borrowed by the French in Algeria, and then disseminated by the Americans to Latin American dictatorships in the 60s and 70s. We see their extension today in the American camps in Cuba and Diego Garcia." [a must read]

Marines Recall Combat Vests After Tests --The Marine Corps is recalling 5,277 combat vests issued to troops in Iraq, Afghanistan and Djibouti after a newspaper article raised concerns that they failed a test to determine whether they could stop a bullet.

Army Recruitee Tells of False Promises (CBS4 Army recruiting investigation) A young man is sharing his story of how recruiters created false documents to get him into the ranks, and a recruiter is talking about the pressure to meet their quotas. False promises were listed among some of the 117 substantiated cases of recruiter improprieties the Army reported for 2004.

Steve Nash's Brilliant Year --Anti-War Hoopster Wins NBA's MVP --by Dave Zirin "By electing Steve Nash the NBA's Most Valuable Player, the pro basketball media made the day of everyone who plays hoops on Friday and protests the US war machine on Saturday... Nash was the first high profile athlete to come out against Dick Cheney's 'war of a generation' showing up at the 2003 All-Star game in 2003 wearing a T-shirt that read, 'Shoot baskets not people.'"

Amnesty may include Taliban leaders --The head of Afghanistan's peace and reconciliation commission, Sebaghatullah Mojadeddi, has offered an amnesty to all rebels fighting US and Government forces, even extending the offer to two of the state's most wanted terrorism suspects: the Taliban leader Mullah Mohammad Omar, and the renegade warlord, Gulbuddin Hekmatyar... The announcement came as the US military reported more casualties of fighting with suspected Taliban in eastern Afghanistan.

Taliban radio back on the air 11 May 2005 --In April, residents of the southern Afghan city of Kandahar were again able to hear Sharia Zhagh (Voice of the Sharia) - the name used for Kabul's Radio Afghanistan during the Taliban rule between 1996 and 2001. The opening statement of the broadcast in Pashtu told listeners that "Sharia Zhagh radio raises the voice of the Islamic brotherhood against the superpower, United States of America, and its associates who have been insulting the honor of the Muslim world and its religion and who [have] harmed Islamic rule."

State Dept. rebuffs call for more Bolton papers --Dems have accused Rice of ignoring requests on U.N. nominee --The State Department won’t turn over more internal documents requested by Senate Democrats investigating John R. Bolton’s fitness to be U.N. ambassador, a spokesman said Monday.

Court Ruling Favors Cheney in Energy Task Force Case 10 May 2005 --In a major victory for the Bush regime, a federal appeals court today dismissed a lawsuit that sought information about the secret White House energy task force overseen by Vice pResident Dick Cheney in the early months of the administration's first term.

Appeals Court Sides With Cheney in Lawsuit --A lawsuit seeking to force Vice pResident Dick Cheney to reveal details about the energy policy task force he headed and the pro-industry recommendations it made was scuttled Tuesday by a federal appeals court. The lawsuit, filed by the Sierra Club and Judicial Watch, alleged that energy industry officials effectively became members of the task force, while environmental groups and others were shut out of the meetings.

Report Backs Up Navy Whistle-Blower --Counsel Says Welder Found Potentially Fatal Carrier Flaws --A Navy whistle-blower uncovered critical welding problems on an aircraft carrier that could have caused aircraft to crash and kill or injure pilots and sailors, according to an Office of Special Counsel report released yesterday... Whistle-blower Kristin Shott said she has been reassigned to more mundane work welding cargo containers, taking her away from her expertise in submarines, airplanes and aircraft carriers.

Judge lets United Airlines shed pension plans --Decision clears way for biggest corporate-pension default ever --A federal bankruptcy judge approved United Airlines’ plan to terminate its employees’ pension plans on Tuesday, clearing the way for the largest corporate-pension default in American history. [Poll: Do you think United should be allowed to shed its pension liabilities? 05:00 GMT snapshot: 8624 responses - Yes, it's the only way the airline can keep flying - 8%; No, executives should be forced to live up to their promises - 92%]

Party Leaders Seek Showdown Over Bush's Judicial Nominees --The Senate's Republican and Democratic leaders called yesterday for a prompt showdown in the impasse over judicial nominations, a move that would undercut moderates' efforts to find a compromise to the long-running dispute.

Frist Expects Showdown Over Filibuster --A long-threatened showdown over changing Senate rules to stop Democratic filibusters of pResident Bush's judicial nominations could come as early as next week, Senate Majority Leader [and Reichwing whackjob] Bill Frist said Tuesday.

Nuclear Option --by David Podvin "Washington’s current simulated death struggle involves the legislative 'nuclear option'. The issue is whether Republicans will change the Senate rules so that George W. Bush can have all of his extremist judicial nominees confirmed, or whether things will stay as they are, in which case Bush must settle for having ninety-six percent of his extremist judicial nominees confirmed... The GOP is sincere about using any means necessary to achieve total dominance of the judiciary... Senate Democrats have already activated the 'betrayal option' by allowing almost two hundred Bush-appointed racist, misogynistic, and homophobic corporate whores onto the federal bench." [a must read]

Last Chance to Stop National ID --by Rep. Ron Paul "Absent a political miracle in the Senate, within two years every American will need a conforming national ID card to participate in ordinary activities. This REAL ID Act establishes a massive, centrally coordinated database of highly personal information about American citizens: at a minimum their name, date of birth, place of residence, Social Security number, and physical characteristics. The legislation also grants open-ended authority to the Secretary of Homeland Security to require biometric information on IDs in the future."

Appeals Court Backs Dismissal of Suit on F.B.I. --A federal appeals court agreed with the government on Friday that a suit by an F.B.I. translator who was fired after accusing the bureau of ineptitude could reveal the truth about the Bush regime's complicity in the 9/11 terrorist attacks ['expose government secrets and jeopardize national security']. The decision, by a three-judge panel of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, effectively ends the suit by the translator, Sibel Edmonds. Her lawyer said, however, that she planned to take the case to the Supreme Court.

Homeland Security Bill may include border patrol for US Virgin Islands --ST THOMAS, USVI: Representative Donna Christiansen's Office has issued a statement that the US House of Representatives' Department of Homeland Security's Authorization Bill now includes consideration for placement of border patrol agents in the Caribbean.

1,300 fake law badges seized --Use could have been 'devastating' to security, official says --Federal agents arrested a man on Monday, charging him with possessing and selling more than 1,300 counterfeit badges representing 35 law enforcement agencies, the U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement agency said.

EPA to Sample Dust From 150 NYC Buildings --Dust samples from 150 New York buildings in lower Manhattan and part of Brooklyn are to be gathered by the Environmental Protection Agency to find out how much indoor contamination might remain from the collapse of the World Trade Center.

EPA Puts Mandated Lead-Paint Rules on Hold --The Environmental Protection Agency has quietly delayed work on completing required rules to protect children and construction workers from exposure to lead-based paint, exploring instead the possibility of using voluntary standards to govern building renovations and remodeling.

The Biggest Story of Our Lives --by Jim Lampley "At 5:00 p.m. Eastern time on Election Day, I checked the sportsbook odds in Las Vegas and via the offshore bookmakers to see the odds as of that moment on the Presidential election. John Kerry was a two-to-one favorite. You can look it up... NEVER have exit polls varied by beyond-error margins in a single state, not since 1948 when this kind of polling began. In this past election it happened in ten states, all of them swing states, all of them in Bush's favor. Coincidence? Of course not. Karl Rove isn't capable of conceiving and executing such a grandiose crime? Wake up. They did it. The silence of traditional media on this subject is enough to establish their newfound bankruptcy. The revolution will have to start here."

Many in Pennsylvania lack health plans, study says --A new study finds that about 900,000 Pennsylvanians lacked health insurance during 2004, and about half of those without insurance were between the ages of 18 and 34.

LA Deputies Fire 120 Rounds at Unarmed Suspect --At least five Compton homes are left with bullet holes as officers fire 120 rounds at SUV. Ten Los Angeles County sheriff's deputies opened fire early Monday on an SUV they were chasing, discharging 120 rounds in a frenzied crossfire that injured a deputy and the unarmed suspect while sending bullets into nearby homes. The shooting on a narrow residential street in Compton sent residents diving for cover as bullets zipped over their heads and through their windows.

Bird flu strain found in three Chennai poultry workers 11 May 2005 --Scientists from a partner laboratory of the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) have found the first signs of an Avian influenza virus in three workers from a poultry farm near Chennai. Only specific protein signatures of the "highly pathogenic" H5N1 strain were spotted at ICMR's influenza referral laboratory in Chennai's King Institute of Preventive Medicine-the disease itself has not been detected.

Marburg outbreak now devastating all age groups 10 May 2005 --The outbreak of the deadly Marburg haemorrhagic fever sweeping across northern Angola is now devastating all age groups - and no longer predominantly young children - say epidemiologists on the ground.

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U.S. troops launch attacks against villages along Euphrates --More than 1,000 U.S. troops supported by fighter jets and helicopter gunships attacked villages Sunday along the Euphrates River, seeking to uproot a persistent insurgency in an area that American intelligence indicated has become a haven for foreign fighters flowing in from Syria. [Oh. The Syrian fighters are 'foreign' to Iraq. And, the US invaders are... endemic to the area?]

U.S.: 100 insurgents killed near Iraq-Syria border --Three Marines die as operation aims to stem 'smuggling route' --American forces have killed at least 100 insurgents and foreign fighters in an offensive near Iraq's border with Syria, U.S. military officials said Monday.

Marines surprised by insurgent's preparation for attack --The Marines who swept into the Euphrates River town of Ubaydi confronted an enemy they had not expected to find - and one that attacked in surprising ways... Marine commanders expressed surprise Monday not only at the insurgents' presence but also the extent of their preparations, as if they expected the Marines to come.

Al-Sadr Re-emerges (PINR) 10 May 2005 --A continuation and possible intensification of the interim government's crisis of legitimacy was signaled when 3,000 backers of dissident Shi'a cleric Moqtada al-Sadr clashed with government security forces after they had heard a message from their leader threatening to restart armed resistance if the provisional government did not produce "tangible results," and warning: "We have laid down our weapons but we still exist, and our fingers are still on the trigger."

Suicide car bomb kills at least 7 in Baghdad --A suicide car bomber blew up his vehicle near a U.S. military convoy in central Baghdad on Tuesday, killing at least seven Iraqis and wounding 16, police said.

Japanese security worker reported seized in Iraq --An Islamic militant group said it was holding a badly wounded Japanese man after an ambush near a U.S. base in Iraq, but Japan's government said on Tuesday the incident would not affect its troop deployment in the country.

Hostage's family offers donation to people of Iraq --Relatives of an Australian man being held hostage in Iraq are offering to send a charitable donation to the people of Iraq in the hope of saving Douglas Wood's life.

Military: Blues, But Not Green --In case anyone still doesn't understand that recruiting is now the toughest job in the Army, the service missed its April goal by 42 percent. It was the third month in a row that the active-duty recruiting mission was not accomplished.

America's shame, two years on from 'Mission Accomplished' [Original publication, The Independent] --by Robert Fisk Two years after 'Mission Accomplished', whatever moral stature the United States could claim at the end of its invasion of Iraq has long ago been squandered in the torture and abuse and deaths at Abu Ghraib. That the symbol of Saddam Hussein’s brutality should have been turned by his own enemies into the symbol of their own brutality is a singularly ironic epitaph for the whole Iraq adventure... But this is not only about Abu Ghraib. There are clear and proven connections now between the abuses at Abu Ghraib and the cruelty at the Americans’ Bagram prison in Afghanistan and Guantanamo Bay."

Blix: Washington's Nuclear Moves Lose It Support on Iran, North Korea --Because of its own nuclear moves, the Bush administration has only "muted" support in much of the world in its campaign to condemn and shut down the North Korean and Iranian nuclear programs, Hans Blix said Monday.

North Korea has plutonium 'to make six nuclear bombs' 10 May 2005 --The head of the United Nations' nuclear watchdog has issued a new warning about North Korea's nuclear potential, at a time when the reclusive communist state is reported to be preparing its first known test of an atomic weapon.

Cuba calls United States the 'Fourth Reich' --As world leaders celebrated the defeat of Nazi Germany in Moscow’s Red Square on Monday, Communist Cuba held its own parade and accused the United States of using "fascist" policies to dominate the world. The president of Cuba’s National Assembly, Ricardo Alarcon, denounced the world’s only superpower for employing military force unilaterally in an apparent reference to the US invasion of Iraq. "They practice a fascist military doctrine and proclaim their right to attack anyone when they please, using their powerful military machine, without any justification," he said in a speech marking the 60th anniversary of the defeat of Germany’s Third Reich.

George W. Bush: An insult to our collective intelligence --President of the USA is provocative and aggressive instead of conciliatory and diplomatic (Pravda) "On one side, we have a President whose policy is directed towards improving relations with the international community... On the other, a roving cowboy, taming the wilderness with his gun and his Bible, with an absence of tact and diplomacy. Diplomacy, debate, dialogue and discussion are the basic precepts of democracy, a word much referred to by the USA but unfortunately not practised in principle and diplomacy, debate, dialogue and discussion are for sure the four words which summarise Moscow's foreign policy, while Washington's continues to be dominated by bullying, blackmail, belligerence and bullishness."

Electoral reform: Why it's time for change --The Government is facing calls for a wholesale review of the voting system after the general election was condemned as a "travesty of democracy". Politicians from all parties demanded that the first-past-the-post system be scrapped after Labour formed a Government with the smallest share of the vote for more than 100 years. Constitutional specialists said Tony Blair was in charge of an "elected dictatorship" after Labour was able to win a majority with only 36 per cent of the vote. They say the Prime Minister is able to hold power with the support of just a fifth of the British adult population, the lowest figure since the Great Reform Act of 1832. [OMG, at least the UK dictatorship was 'elected.' We have endured an **UN**elected dictatorship since 2000!]

Blair faces growing chorus to quit --Labour MPs have engaged in a fierce war of words over Prime Minister Tony Blair's future in Downing Street. Some backbenchers ignored appeals from Cabinet ministers to rally around Mr Blair, issuing new calls for him to quit No 10 sooner rather than later...

Democrats, State Department wrangle over Bolton --Senate Democrats have demanded more documents in a wrangle with the State Department over the controversial nomination of John Bolton as the next U.S. ambassador to the United Nations.

Bush Interviewed by Dutch Television in Advance of Europe Trip --Following is the transcript of Dictator Bush’s interview with Dutch TV NOS May 5 at the White House, one day prior to his departure for Latvia, the Netherlands, Russia and Georgia.

Internet Attack Called Broad and Long Lasting by Investigators --Federal officials and computer security investigators have acknowledged that a Cisco Systems network break-in last year was only part of a more extensive operation in which thousands of computer systems were similarly penetrated. Investigators in the United States and Europe say they have spent almost a year pursuing the case involving attacks on computer systems serving the American military, NASA and research laboratories.

Homeland Security's Security Questioned --A Homeland Security network that shares classified information with intelligence and law enforcement agencies was put together too quickly to ensure it can protect the information, according the department's inspector general.

Dogs Deputized for Terror War --Dogs are learning to help out with homeland security at the Canine Training Center for the U.S. Customs Service (search), which is located in a rural Virginia town. "We're looking for concealed humans or potential terrorists [?!? And they are locating 'terrorists' based on...?] coming across the border," said Lee Titus, the director of the Canine Enforcement Program.

NY fire chief criticizes terror response plan --New York's fire chief, citing the Sept. 11 Commission's recommendation of a joint command to deal with chemical or biological incidents, said on Monday Mayor Michael Bloomberg's plan to put police in charge of the initial response was "dangerous."

US radical right remains a threat --The decline in the [rightwing] militias should not be read as an overall decline in the radical right in the US, experts are quick to add. They are much less public about their activities and some have tried to recast themselves as supporting homeland security efforts in the wake of the 11 September 2001 attacks.

US's Snow promises terrorism insurance study soon --U.S. Treasury Secretary John Snow on Monday promised the Bush regime would complete its study in a timely fashion on whether to reauthorize more corporate welfare ['the government's terrorism risk insurance backstop.']

U.S. Navy SEALs in Indonesia anti-terrorism drill [Holy coincidence, Batman! Polio reemerges in Indonesia immediately after the U.S. shows up for anti-terrorism drills!] U.S. Navy Seals and Indonesian forces are practicing anti[pro]-terrorism drills, including boarding ships and battling pirates [ROFL], in a palm-fringed string of resort islands near Jakarta, officials said on Monday. [See: Polio alarm as virus spreads to Indonesia 04 May 2005 --Outbreak a blow for global eradication programme --The battle to eradicate polio from the globe received another serious setback yesterday with news that the disease has spread to Indonesia as well as Yemen, both of which had been polio-free for nearly 10 years.]

Bie: Soldiers to Attend Seminar On Marburg Fever 09 May 2005 Kuito --Soldiers operating in Kuito city, Central Bie Province, will participate Tuesday in a talk on Marburg haemorrhagic fever, a sickness which has already killed over 260 people, most of them in Bie, Angop has learnt.

Marburg Toll in Angola Rises to 327 (Recombinomics Commentary) 09 May 2005 --The Marburg toll in Angola rose to 327 on Friday when 8 new cases were recorded in the Ministry of Health's daily report.

Ex-FBI translator plans appeal to Supreme Court --An FBI contract employee who was fired after alleging national security breaches within the bureau's translation service plans to appeal to the Supreme Court to lift a gag order that she has been under for almost three years. Sibel Edmonds lost her latest court battle on Friday when the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia upheld a lower court's ruling that dismissed her lawsuit against the Justice Department.

National security employees form whistleblowers coalition 27 April 2005 --More than 50 former and current government officials from more than a dozen agencies have formed a new coalition, the National Security Whistleblower's Coalition, to protect and support national security whistleblowers.

Bush's Call for Vote on Judges Adds Urgency to Filibuster Battle --Dictator Bush yesterday called for an immediate vote on two of his most controversial judicial nominations, increasing pressure on Senate Republicans to consider a historic rule... Despite a flurry of congressional negotiations yesterday, Senate Republicans appear increasingly likely to exercise the "nuclear option" of changing Senate rules to prevent Democrats from filibustering Bush's judicial nominees [Reichwing terrorists].

U.S. Republicans demand votes on judicial nominees --Republicans on Monday marked the fourth anniversary of Dictator Bush's nomination of Priscilla Owen to a federal appeals court by calling on the Senate to finally vote on the Texas Supreme Court justice and six other blocked judicial nominees.

Bush May Destroy Social Security, Not Fix It --by John M. Berry "When the House Ways and Means Committee reopens hearings on the future of Social Security this week, two ideas members should bury are those offered by President [sic] George W. Bush. The sweeping changes Bush has proposed for Social Security, creation of private accounts and progressive indexing of benefits, are far more likely to destroy the program than to fix it."

The Final Insult --by Paul Krugman "Now they're accusing their opponents of coddling the rich and not caring about the poor. Well, why not? It's no more outrageous than other arguments they've tried. Remember the claim that Social Security is bad for black people? ...These are people who denounced you as a class warrior if you wanted to tax Paris Hilton's inheritance. Now they say that they're brave populists, because they want to cut the income of retired office managers."

"Happy Birthday, Mr. President": Our George ain't no Marilyn Monroe --by Jane Stillwater "My friend just said, 'Jane, everyone knows that the presidential election was stolen but Bush is still getting away with it. What can we do?' One thing comes immediately to mind. LET'S STOP CALLING HIM 'MR. PRESIDENT'! Can you imagine Marilyn Monroe singing, 'Happy birthday, Mr. President' to GWB? Absolutely not! Maybe Tony Blair or Jeff Gannon might want to sing it to him but that's another story. Maybe electronic voting machine executives might want to sing it but that's another story too. Maybe the Supreme Court justices would sing it. Or the weapons industry."

Intel CEO slams U.S. tech and tax policies --Says other countries offer better incentives to business --Attacking U.S. government policies on taxes, immigration and Internet access, Intel Corp. CEO Craig Barrett warned that the U.S. could be left behind when technology companies decide where to make their next big capital investments.

Education bill could send sparks flying as legislative session ends --Cutting Medicaid and boosting business have been the hallmarks so far of the Missouri Legislature's session, which will end this week with a $1 billion battle over school funding.

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Soldier lifts lid on Camp Delta --For the first time, an army insider blows the whistle on human rights abuses at Guantánamo --An American soldier has revealed shocking new details of abuse and sexual torture of prisoners at Guantánamo Bay in the first high-profile whistleblowing account to emerge from inside the top-secret base. Erik Saar, an Arabic speaker who was a translator in interrogation sessions, has produced a searing first-hand account of working at Guantánamo.

Amidst doubts, CIA hangs on to control of Iraqi intelligence service --The CIA has so far refused to hand over control of Iraq's intelligence service to the newly elected Iraqi government in a turf war that exposes serious doubts the Bush regime has over the ability of Iraqi leaders to fight the insurgency and worries about the new government's close ties to Iran.

Blair set 18-month deadline to quit as cabinet ministers round on him --Tony Blair's most senior Cabinet colleagues plan to urge him to stand down within 18 months because he lost seats for Labour at last week's election.

Election probes raise new fears of postal vote fraud --Fresh concerns over the UK's voting process were raised last night after it emerged that three men are to be charged with defrauding the electoral system in Burnley and that at least 17 police authorities are investigating similar allegations relating to the general election.

Seven U.S. Servicemembers Killed in Iraq --An explosion of insurgent violence killed seven U.S. servicemembers in Iraq over the weekend even as the Shiite-dominated parliament approved four more Sunni Arabs to serve as government ministers.

Bombers Hit U.S. Convoy in Baghdad --Two suicide bombers rammed cars filled with explosives into a U.S. security [?!?] convoy on a busy street in downtown Baghdad Saturday, killing 22 people. Two Americans were among the dead.

Australia Islamic leader pleads for Iraq hostage --Australia's senior Islamic leader has appealed for the release of an Australian held hostage by Iraqi militants, telling the captors in a statement broadcast on Al Jazeera television that he values their holy war.

Defective armor issued despite warnings --The Marine Corps issued to nearly 10,000 troops body armor that military ballistic experts had urged the Marines to reject after tests revealed life-threatening flaws in the vests, an eight-month investigation by Marine Corps Times has found.

Oops! Captured Al-Qaeda kingpin is case of 'mistaken identity' --The capture of a supposed Al-Qaeda kingpin by Pakistani agents last week was hailed by pResident George W Bush as "a critical victory in the war on terror". According to European intelligence experts, however, Abu Faraj al-Libbi was not the terrorists' third in command, as claimed, but a middle-ranker derided by one source as "among the flotsam and jetsam" of the organisation.

White House not on hit-list [!?!] --The group of al-Qaeda's frontman in Iraq, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, has denied that one of its top figures threatened to attack the White House and the Vatican, according to a message posted Sunday on the internet. "Pro-crusader media have reported that a senior leader of the organisation threatened the Vatican and the White House ... We defy them to cite our leaders accurately," said the statement, whose authenticity could not be confirmed.

Karzai's opponent opposes US military presence in Afghanistan --Afghanistan National Congress Party (ANCP), has strongly opposed the proposal of establishing US permanent military bases in Afghanistan, a Kabul-based weekly reported. "The decision of installed regime to have US permanent military bases in Afghanistan is tantamount to the complete occupation of the country," Payam-e-Mujahid quoted a statement of the ANCP as saying.

Kabul blast signals return of forgotten Taliban insurgency --A United Nations employee has been killed in a suicide bomb attack in Kabul, after the worst week of fighting further south in Afghanistan for nine months. About 70 Taliban fighters and 10 government security personnel have also been killed and seven US soldiers wounded in two battles, confounding hopes that the Taliban insurgency may be petering out.

Lugar Expects Bolton to Win Panel Vote for U.N. Envoy --The chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee said yesterday that he expects John R. Bolton, the contentious nominee to be U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, to win a party-line vote in the committee this week.

Sudan: US rolls out red carpet for Darfur's executioner --by Norm Dixon "Revelations of a covert rendezvous in Washington between top CIA officials and the head of Sudan’s secret police have starkly exposed just how hollow and hypocritical are the US administration’s expressions of concern for the plight of millions of Darfuri peasants, who have been systematically targeted by Sudan’s rulers in a vicious 26-month-long campaign of ethnic cleansing and mass murder. Ken Silverstein, writing in the April 29 Los Angeles Times, reported that US government officials revealed to him that, in the previous week, 'the CIA sent an executive jet ... to ferry the chief of Sudan's intelligence agency [General Salah Abdallah Gosh] to Washington for secret meetings sealing Khartoum’s sensitive and previously veiled partnership with the administration'."

U.S., Indonesia sign $245 mln Aceh highway project -- U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Robert Zoellick signed an agreement on Sunday to build a $245 million road along Aceh's western coast, one of the first of many huge projects to rebuild the Indonesian province after the Dec. 26 tsunami. Tenders for the road project have already gone out and construction is ready to begin soon after the U.S. Congress appropriates the money, which is expected as soon as this month, aid officials said. [US taxpayers are dollars funding Bush's corpora-terrorists for foreign projects, so they will not have to pay taxes on their profits.]

Venezuela to Investigate Oil Companies --Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez said Sunday that foreign oil companies working in the country must pay taxes he insists they owe the country, or else leave the country.

Row of Loosely Guarded Targets Lies Just Outside New York City -- It is the deadliest target in a swath of industrial northern New Jersey that terrorism experts call the most dangerous two miles in America: a chemical plant that processes chlorine gas, so close to Manhattan that the Empire State Building seems to rise up behind its storage tanks. According to federal Environmental Protection Agency records, the plant poses a potentially lethal threat to 12 million people who live within a 14-mile radius. Yet on a recent Friday afternoon, it remained loosely guarded and accessible.

Ashcroft sanctioned for violating gag order in Detroit terror trial --U.S. Attorney General John D. Ashcroft was sanctioned by a federal judge on Tuesday for twice violating a court-imposed gag order in the Detroit terror trial. But Ashcroft, the nation's highest-ranking law enforcement officer, will not face criminal charges of contempt of court.

Bush Administration Claims Presidential Privilege for LBJ Documents --CIA Refuses Release of 35-Year-Old President's Daily Briefs 06 May 2005 --Legal motions and sworn declarations filed in federal court this week have refuted Bush regime claims that the CIA can never release President's Daily Briefs given to President Lyndon Johnson in the 1960s because that would damage national security and violate presidential privilege, according to the Web posting of the documents by the National Security Archive at George Washington University.

Clash Over Judicial Filibusters Nears Boiling Point --The issue of judicial filibusters has simmered ever since, and many lawmakers say they believe it will reach a full boil this month, as conservative activists press Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-Terrorist-Tenn.) to try to change Senate rules to bar filibusters of judicial nominees.

Mega Barf Alert! Welcome to the Christian Exodus "ChristianExodus.org is moving thousands of Christians to South Carolina to reestablish constitutionally limited government founded upon Christian principles. This includes the return to South Carolina of all 'powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States.' ...The time has come for Christian Constitutionalists to protect our American principles in a State like South Carolina by interposing the State's sovereign authority retained under the 10th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution." [Hit the low road, whackjobs! Take your 'Intelligent (Moron) Design' theory and *go!*]

Aid to Christian School In Alaska Spurs Lawsuit --Over the past two years, Congress has given Alaska Christian College more than $1 million. The school, founded five years ago and affiliated with the Evangelical Covenant Church, has 37 students. The Madison, Wisconsin-based Freedom From Religion Foundation is suing the Education Department to rescind the funding.

US tourism 'losing billions because of image' --The US is losing billions of dollars as international tourists are deterred from visiting the US because of a tarnished image overseas and more bureaucratic visa policies, travel industry leaders have warned.

Police nab activists seeking Bush's nuke suitcase --Dutch police arrested six activists on Sunday who said they wanted to enter Dictator Bush's Netherlands hotel and look for the suitcase which allows him to activate nuclear weapons. The activists, carrying binoculars and wearing signs that identified them as "citizen's inspectors," mimicking the International Atomic Energy Agency's weapons inspectors, were caught by Dutch soldiers as they approached Bush's hotel.

States Propose Sweeping Changes to Cut Billions From Medicaid [and give it to Halliburton] --Governors and state legislators have devised proposals for sweeping changes in order to cut billions of dollars from Medicaid. Under the proposals, some beneficiaries would have to pay more for care, and states would have more latitude to limit the scope of services.

Hundreds protest Bush plan (FL) Young residents oppose Social Security changes --Mobilized Youth is a local organization set on making young people politically aware before many of them are even able to vote. About 20 members representing every Sarasota high school gathered at the corner of U.S. 41 and Siesta Drive to protest pResident Bush's proposed personal-account Social Security plan...

Forbes reports bonanza for world's billionaires --by Simon Whelan "Business magazine Forbes introduced its yearly world rich list with the understatement, 'The rich had a very good year.' The magazine’s compilation of the world’s super-rich has increased to a record 691 people who currently own a combined sum of US$2.2 trillion."

Huge radioactive leak closes Thorp nuclear plant --A leak of highly radioactive nuclear fuel dissolved in concentrated nitric acid, enough to half fill an Olympic-size swimming pool, has forced the closure of Sellafield's Thorp reprocessing plant. The highly dangerous mixture, containing about 20 tonnes of uranium and plutonium fuel, has leaked through a fractured pipe into a huge stainless steel chamber which is so radioactive that it is impossible to enter.

Secret papers reveal new nuclear building plan --The government's strategy to kick-start a huge nuclear power station building programme is revealed today in confidential Whitehall documents seen by The Observer.

Blair demands nuclear power to protect high 'living standards' --Tony Blair has ruled out making changes to "living standards" to tackle global warming, and is drawing up plans to build a new generation of nuclear power stations to reduce carbon dioxide emissions instead.

Britain faces big chill as ocean current slows --Climate change researchers have detected the first signs of a slowdown in the Gulf Stream — the mighty ocean current that keeps Britain and Europe from freezing. The weakening, apparently caused by global warming, could herald big changes in the current over the next few years or decades.

The vanishing flowers of Britain: one in five species faces extinction --One in five of Britain's wild flower species is threatened with extinction, according to the most detailed analysis to date of the British flora.

Virus fear over smuggled bushmeat 08 May 2005 --Diseases that pose a threat to humans, such as Ebola, may be entering UK through the illegal food trade --Seizures of illegal meat smuggled into the UK from 'high-risk' countries where infectious animal diseases can pose a risk to human health have spiralled by almost 20 per cent, according to new figures.

Bird flu tests out-of-date, may have missed cases 08 May 2005 --A diagnostic test designed by Canadian researchers and used in Vietnam to detect H5N1 avian flu is out of date, scientists from the National Microbiology Laboratory admit -- raising the possibility some human cases may have been dismissed in error.

Less lethal bird flu more likely to become pandemic 08 May 2005 --Vietnamese doctors are reporting that the mortality rate from avian influenza in their country has dropped substantially. But while this is good news for survivors, it could mean the outbreak of bird flu in Southeast Asia is taking an ominous turn. If a disease quickly kills almost everyone it infects, it has little chance of spreading very far, according to international health experts. The less lethal bird flu becomes, they say, the more likely it is to develop into the global pandemic they fear, potentially killing tens of millions of people.

Zimbabweans get Marburg warning 08 May 2005 -- Zimbabwe is warning its citizens against travelling to Angola following the outbreak of the Ebola-like Marburg virus which has claimed 280 lives, the health minister said on Sunday.

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U.S. to Spend Billions More to Alter Security Systems --After spending more than $4.5 billion on screening devices to monitor the nation's ports, borders, airports, mail and air, the federal government is moving to replace or alter much of the anti[pro]terrorism equipment, concluding that it is ineffective, unreliable or too expensive to operate.

US defence budget will equal ROW combined "within 12 months" --Defence expenditure in the US will equal that of the rest of the world combined within 12 months, making it "increasingly pressing" for European contractors to develop a "closer association" with the US, corporate finance group PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) says. Its report - 'The Defence Industry in the 21st Century' by PwC's global aerospace and defence leader Richard Hooke - adds that "the US is in the driving seat", raising the prospect of a future scenario in which it could "dominate the supply of the world's arms completely".

Labour MPs tell Blair to quit --Pressure on Tony Blair to quit as prime minister intensified this weekend with a growing number of Labour MPs calling for him to leave Downing Street within a year.

I won't quit, vows Blair as cabinet rift opens · Defeated MPs blame leader for poll losses · Blair reveals 2008 timetable for departure --Tony Blair and Gordon Brown were locked in a fierce power struggle last night over the cabinet reshuffle as the newly born partnership stumbled during the first days of the new government.

War Cost 1M Votes --Protesters turned backs on Blair because of Iraq --Labour's missing 1.1million voters punished the Government for ignoring their demand not to invade Iraq, anti-war campaigners claimed last night. The party polled 9.6million votes - down six per cent on 2001 when 10.7million people put their cross in Labour's box. The 1.1million difference mirrors the number of anti-war marchers who protested in London before the war.

Galloway: Bring Blair Before the Hague --"This defeat is for Iraq. All the people you have killed, all the lies you have told have come back to haunt you," declared maverick lawmaker George Galloway following his tight election victory Friday in London's East End district of Bethnal Green. Parading through his newly won constituency in an open-deck bus on Saturday, Galloway told followers: "It is one of my first missions to bring him [Blair] in front of a court in The Hague and behind bars." [Don't forget Bush, Mr Galloway!!]

Upsurge in Iraq bloodshed as US seizes key militants --Military says latest violence is sign of anti-terrorist success [I guess they 'had to destroy the village in order to save it.'] After one of the bloodiest weeks in Iraq since the fall of Saddam Hussein, US military officials have claimed that the dramatic upsurge in violence is proof they are close to breaking up the terrorist network of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the Jordanian-born leader of al-Qaeda in Iraq. [I thought Bush was the 'leader of al-Qaeda in Iraq' - he's undeniably their best recruiter.]

Iraq's nine-day death toll crosses 300 --The whirlwind of violence sweeping across Iraq has claimed 17 more lives, taking the death toll beyond 300 following last week's announcement of a partial Cabinet line-up by 'Prime Minister' Ibrahim Jaafari.

Four Americans among 17 dead in Baghdad car bombing --Four Americans were among 17 people killed in a huge car bomb blast in central Baghdad Saturday, security and medical sources said. "According to the latest toll, there are 13 Iraqi civilians killed and four foreigners whose bodies were completely charred," the official said on condition of anonymity.

'Great Crime' at Abu Ghraib Enrages and Inspires an Artist --Fernando Botero, Latin America's best-known living artist... has taken on the topic of the torture of Iraqi prisoners at Abu Ghraib. Forty-eight paintings and sketches - of naked prisoners attacked by dogs, dangling from ropes, beaten by guards, in a mangled heap of bodies - will be exhibited in Rome at the Palazzo Venezia museum on June 16. [During the 2000 presidential campaign, Ralph Nader stated that there was no difference between George W. Bush and Al Gore. Suffice to say at this juncture - 100,000 dead Iraqi civilians and the US Abu Ghraib's 'Guernica' later - there was, in fact, a *difference.*]

Colombian artist depicts Abu Ghraib torture --In a new series of paintings by famed Colombian artist Fernando Botero, Iraqi detainees are shown being beaten by American prison guards, made to wear women's lingerie and suffering other abuse.

Gonzales: Most detainee abuse reports don't qualify as torture --Many of the accounts detailing abuse of detainees in Iraq, Afghanistan and Guantanamo Bay by American military and civilian personnel don't meet the definition of torture, U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales said.

Blast kills two, wounds five in Afghan capital --A bomb exploded at an Internet cafe in the Afghan capital, Kabul, on Saturday killing two Afghans and wounding five, police said. The cafe is at the front of a guest house used by Westerners in the heart of the city.

Somaliland accuses US of illegal incursion The Government of Somaliland in north-eastern Somalia has accused the United States of violating its air space. The accusation follows another that US Marines landed in the area looking for terrorists last week. [Check 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.]

Belarus tells U.S. to keep out of its affairs --Dictator Bush said on Saturday free elections should be held in Belarus but the Russian-backed country swiftly accused the United States and its Baltic neighbors of interfering in its internal affairs.

Spy photos spot signs of N Korea nuclear test site --American officials believe that new satellite photographs of North Korea show intensive preparations for a possible nuclear weapons test, it was reported yesterday.

Senate Democrats May Extend Inquiry on Bolton --They say documents they need on Bush's nominee for the U.N. have not been furnished. A Senate Foreign Relations Committee meeting took place on the final day set aside for interviews of witnesses as the committee formally wrapped up its investigation of John R. Bolton before a vote scheduled for Thursday. But though Sen. Richard G. Lugar (R-Ind.), the committee chairman, may believe the inquiry has ended, Democrats on the panel said more information was needed. And aides said the Democrats might try to extend the investigation.