Democrats Abroad New Zealand
12.30.2004
China Expands. Europe Rises. And the United States . . . (NYTimes.com)
By FRED KAPLAN
Published: December 26, 2004
IT'S a risky business to predict the decline of the American empire. Ask Paul Kennedy, the Yale historian, who issued such a forecast in his 1987 book, "The Rise and Fall of Great Powers," only to witness an almost immediate American resurgence.
Yet the signposts, at the end of this year, are ominous. As an economic power, the United States no longer sets the rules, much less rule the game. As a military power, it vastly outguns the rest of the world, but has a harder time translating armed might into influence.
On March 1, the European Union announced that it was raising import tariffs on a long list of American products, and would go on raising them each month until Congress repealed a subsidy for American exporters that had been ruled illegal by the World Trade Organization. Congressmen railed against this intrusion but finally gave in. Americans realized that, in the global economy they largely created and for 60 years dominated, they could no longer do whatever they wanted.
Last month, China's president, Hu Jintao, embarked on a 12-day tour of Latin America, and wound up making commitments to invest $30 billion in the region. China is now Brazil's second largest trading partner and Chile's largest export market. In trade, technology, investment, education and culture, China has been displacing the United States all across Asia, and is now starting to do the same in America's backyard.
There is nothing necessarily alarming about an expansive China or an emergent Europe, except perhaps that they coincide with a growing American dependence on both.
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Published: December 26, 2004
IT'S a risky business to predict the decline of the American empire. Ask Paul Kennedy, the Yale historian, who issued such a forecast in his 1987 book, "The Rise and Fall of Great Powers," only to witness an almost immediate American resurgence.
Yet the signposts, at the end of this year, are ominous. As an economic power, the United States no longer sets the rules, much less rule the game. As a military power, it vastly outguns the rest of the world, but has a harder time translating armed might into influence.
On March 1, the European Union announced that it was raising import tariffs on a long list of American products, and would go on raising them each month until Congress repealed a subsidy for American exporters that had been ruled illegal by the World Trade Organization. Congressmen railed against this intrusion but finally gave in. Americans realized that, in the global economy they largely created and for 60 years dominated, they could no longer do whatever they wanted.
Last month, China's president, Hu Jintao, embarked on a 12-day tour of Latin America, and wound up making commitments to invest $30 billion in the region. China is now Brazil's second largest trading partner and Chile's largest export market. In trade, technology, investment, education and culture, China has been displacing the United States all across Asia, and is now starting to do the same in America's backyard.
There is nothing necessarily alarming about an expansive China or an emergent Europe, except perhaps that they coincide with a growing American dependence on both.
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Bush Promises Long-Range Help as Impatience Grows in Region (NYTimes.com)
By AMY WALDMAN and WARREN HOGE
Published: December 30, 2004
MADRAS, India, Dec. 29 - World leaders, including President Bush, promised long-range help to Asian countries on Wednesday as impatience with the pace of relief efforts rose along with the estimated toll from the week's disaster, which officials said now surpassed 80,000 dead.
As American planes and ships moved into place to help, Mr. Bush made his first public comments since tsunamis inundated about a dozen countries on Sunday, reflecting pressure on the vacationing president to appear more engaged in what aid groups are calling one of the worst natural disasters in history.
"These past few days have brought loss and grief to the world that is beyond our comprehension," he said at his ranch in Crawford, Tex., adding that Washington was prepared to contribute much more than the $35 million it initially pledged.
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Published: December 30, 2004
MADRAS, India, Dec. 29 - World leaders, including President Bush, promised long-range help to Asian countries on Wednesday as impatience with the pace of relief efforts rose along with the estimated toll from the week's disaster, which officials said now surpassed 80,000 dead.
As American planes and ships moved into place to help, Mr. Bush made his first public comments since tsunamis inundated about a dozen countries on Sunday, reflecting pressure on the vacationing president to appear more engaged in what aid groups are calling one of the worst natural disasters in history.
"These past few days have brought loss and grief to the world that is beyond our comprehension," he said at his ranch in Crawford, Tex., adding that Washington was prepared to contribute much more than the $35 million it initially pledged.
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Single Government (Employee) ID Moves Closer to Reality (WashingtonPost.com)
By Christopher Lee
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, December 30, 2004; Page A25
Federal officials are developing government-wide identification card standards for federal employees and contractors to prevent terrorists, criminals and other unauthorized people from getting into government buildings and computer systems.
The effort, known as the Personal Identity Verification Project, stems from a homeland security-related presidential directive and is being managed by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), a Commerce Department agency with offices in Gaithersburg.
In his Aug. 27 directive, President Bush said that "wide variations in the quality and security of forms of identification used to gain access to secure federal and other facilities where there is potential for terrorist attacks need to be eliminated." Bush called for the development of "secure and reliable forms of identification" for federal workers and contract employees.
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Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, December 30, 2004; Page A25
Federal officials are developing government-wide identification card standards for federal employees and contractors to prevent terrorists, criminals and other unauthorized people from getting into government buildings and computer systems.
The effort, known as the Personal Identity Verification Project, stems from a homeland security-related presidential directive and is being managed by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), a Commerce Department agency with offices in Gaithersburg.
In his Aug. 27 directive, President Bush said that "wide variations in the quality and security of forms of identification used to gain access to secure federal and other facilities where there is potential for terrorist attacks need to be eliminated." Bush called for the development of "secure and reliable forms of identification" for federal workers and contract employees.
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GOP's Soft Sell Swayed the Amish (WashingtonPost.com)
Unlikely Voters Cast Lot With Bush
By Evelyn Nieves
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, December 30, 2004; Page A03
BIRD-IN-HAND, Pa.
Early on a pale blue morning, a horse-drawn buggy clop-clopped along a farmland stretch of Route 340. A lone little Chevy compact came toward it at a Sunday pace.
From an intersection, a black SUV the size of an Indian elephant barreled up to the buggy's back, passing with a quick jerk that nearly clipped the oncoming car -- and the horse's nose.
That's Pennsylvania's Amish country, where the 19th and 21st centuries coexist, commingle and collide on a regular basis. The Amish may hold fast to their plain ways, rejecting cars, indoor electricity, home phones and televisions. But contact with the outside world is unavoidable. Malls stand on land where corn used to grow, tourists run around the village streets, and even the old unspoken rule -- leave the Amish alone -- is gone, left in the dust of the presidential campaign, when the Republicans came calling for votes.
Yes, the Republicans, true to their vow to leave no vote unwooed, came to Lancaster County hoping to win over the famously reclusive Old Order Amish -- who shun most modern ways -- along with their slightly less-strict brethren, the Mennonites. Democrats laughed at the very idea. The Amish had no use for politics. Were the Republicans that desperate? But the GOP effort, underscored by President Bush's meeting with some Amish families in early July, did the trick.
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By Evelyn Nieves
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, December 30, 2004; Page A03
BIRD-IN-HAND, Pa.
Early on a pale blue morning, a horse-drawn buggy clop-clopped along a farmland stretch of Route 340. A lone little Chevy compact came toward it at a Sunday pace.
From an intersection, a black SUV the size of an Indian elephant barreled up to the buggy's back, passing with a quick jerk that nearly clipped the oncoming car -- and the horse's nose.
That's Pennsylvania's Amish country, where the 19th and 21st centuries coexist, commingle and collide on a regular basis. The Amish may hold fast to their plain ways, rejecting cars, indoor electricity, home phones and televisions. But contact with the outside world is unavoidable. Malls stand on land where corn used to grow, tourists run around the village streets, and even the old unspoken rule -- leave the Amish alone -- is gone, left in the dust of the presidential campaign, when the Republicans came calling for votes.
Yes, the Republicans, true to their vow to leave no vote unwooed, came to Lancaster County hoping to win over the famously reclusive Old Order Amish -- who shun most modern ways -- along with their slightly less-strict brethren, the Mennonites. Democrats laughed at the very idea. The Amish had no use for politics. Were the Republicans that desperate? But the GOP effort, underscored by President Bush's meeting with some Amish families in early July, did the trick.
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12.29.2004
Homeland Security Oversight (WashingtonPost.com)
Tuesday, December 28, 2004; Page A18
WHOMEVER President Bush chooses as his next nominee to head the Department of Homeland Security would be well-advised to take a look at a spine-tingling new chart before accepting the job. The chart -- too large to reprint here but available for viewing at www.hsc.house.gov -- depicts the intricate web of congressional committees and subcommittees with oversight authority for the gargantuan department. There are 79 such panels; every single senator and at least 412 of the 435 House members have some degree of responsibility for homeland security operations. By contrast, the Defense Department, with a budget 10 times that of DHS, reports to "just" 36 committees and subcommittees.
From the perspective of national security, this fragmented, dysfunctional structure is sheer lunacy. Department officials spend too much time responding to their many congressional masters; last year alone, according to the departing secretary, Tom Ridge, he and other top department officials testified 145 times before various committees and subcommittees. Moreover, such balkanized oversight is less effective rather than more so, because members of Congress suffer from parochial viewpoints influenced by their individual committee assignments and fail to develop a broad overview of homeland security priorities.
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WHOMEVER President Bush chooses as his next nominee to head the Department of Homeland Security would be well-advised to take a look at a spine-tingling new chart before accepting the job. The chart -- too large to reprint here but available for viewing at www.hsc.house.gov -- depicts the intricate web of congressional committees and subcommittees with oversight authority for the gargantuan department. There are 79 such panels; every single senator and at least 412 of the 435 House members have some degree of responsibility for homeland security operations. By contrast, the Defense Department, with a budget 10 times that of DHS, reports to "just" 36 committees and subcommittees.
From the perspective of national security, this fragmented, dysfunctional structure is sheer lunacy. Department officials spend too much time responding to their many congressional masters; last year alone, according to the departing secretary, Tom Ridge, he and other top department officials testified 145 times before various committees and subcommittees. Moreover, such balkanized oversight is less effective rather than more so, because members of Congress suffer from parochial viewpoints influenced by their individual committee assignments and fail to develop a broad overview of homeland security priorities.
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Death Penalty Politics (WashingtonPost.com)
Friday, December 24, 2004; Page A16
VIRGINIA ATTORNEY General Jerry W. Kilgore has seen the problem with the death penalty in his state: There's not enough of it. Virginia is hardly a slacker in the capital punishment world. It has put 94 inmates to death in the modern era of executions -- more than any other state save Texas. But Mr. Kilgore, who is seeking the Republican nomination for governor next year, objects to the commonwealth's leniency toward those who are involved in a murder but don't actually pull the trigger. So, as part of his legislative agenda for the coming General Assembly session, he has proposed doing away with the so-called "triggerman" requirement. It's a bad idea.
The proposal, Mr. Kilgore has said, is a response to the sniper trial, in which the mastermind of the killings -- John Allen Muhammad -- appears not to have fired the shots. As a result, there was some question as to whether Virginia law would support a death sentence against Mr. Muhammad, and prosecutors relied in part on an anti-terrorism law to make sure death was available as punishment. In addition, Mr. Kilgore's spokesman, Timothy Murtaugh, notes that 23 of 38 states with the death penalty lack comparable restrictions. The broader goal of the legislation, he says, is to "bring us into the majority of death penalty states" by letting prosecutors and juries decide whether a person's involvement in a killing makes him culpable enough for death.
Only in a political year could the Muhammad case be cited as evidence of the need to make capital punishment easier. Prosecutors did not just rely on the terrorism law; they proved to the jury's satisfaction that Mr. Muhammad satisfied the current triggerman rule. That is, because the sniper team was a two-man operation, both he and Lee Boyd Malvo were deemed the immediate killers for legal purposes. Current law worked just fine for prosecutors
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VIRGINIA ATTORNEY General Jerry W. Kilgore has seen the problem with the death penalty in his state: There's not enough of it. Virginia is hardly a slacker in the capital punishment world. It has put 94 inmates to death in the modern era of executions -- more than any other state save Texas. But Mr. Kilgore, who is seeking the Republican nomination for governor next year, objects to the commonwealth's leniency toward those who are involved in a murder but don't actually pull the trigger. So, as part of his legislative agenda for the coming General Assembly session, he has proposed doing away with the so-called "triggerman" requirement. It's a bad idea.
The proposal, Mr. Kilgore has said, is a response to the sniper trial, in which the mastermind of the killings -- John Allen Muhammad -- appears not to have fired the shots. As a result, there was some question as to whether Virginia law would support a death sentence against Mr. Muhammad, and prosecutors relied in part on an anti-terrorism law to make sure death was available as punishment. In addition, Mr. Kilgore's spokesman, Timothy Murtaugh, notes that 23 of 38 states with the death penalty lack comparable restrictions. The broader goal of the legislation, he says, is to "bring us into the majority of death penalty states" by letting prosecutors and juries decide whether a person's involvement in a killing makes him culpable enough for death.
Only in a political year could the Muhammad case be cited as evidence of the need to make capital punishment easier. Prosecutors did not just rely on the terrorism law; they proved to the jury's satisfaction that Mr. Muhammad satisfied the current triggerman rule. That is, because the sniper team was a two-man operation, both he and Lee Boyd Malvo were deemed the immediate killers for legal purposes. Current law worked just fine for prosecutors
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Aid Grows Amid Remarks About President's Absence (WashingtonPost.com)
By John F. Harris and Robin Wright
Washington Post Staff Writers
Wednesday, December 29, 2004; Page A01
The Bush administration more than doubled its financial commitment yesterday to provide relief to nations suffering from the Indian Ocean tsunami, amid complaints that the vacationing President Bush has been insensitive to a humanitarian catastrophe of epic proportions.
As the death toll surpassed 50,000 with no sign of abating, the U.S. Agency for International Development added $20 million to an earlier pledge of $15 million to provide relief, and the Pentagon dispatched an aircraft carrier and other military assets to the region. Secretary of State Colin L. Powell, in morning television appearances, chafed at a top U.N. aid official's comment on Monday that wealthy countries were being stingy with aid. "The United States is not stingy," Powell said on CNN.
Although U.N. Emergency Relief Coordinator Jan Egeland yesterday withdrew his earlier comment, domestic criticism of Bush continued to rise. Skeptics said the initial aid sums -- as well as Bush's decision at first to remain cloistered on his Texas ranch for the Christmas holiday rather than speak in person about the tragedy -- showed scant appreciation for the magnitude of suffering and for the rescue and rebuilding work facing such nations as Sri Lanka, India, Thailand and Indonesia.
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Washington Post Staff Writers
Wednesday, December 29, 2004; Page A01
The Bush administration more than doubled its financial commitment yesterday to provide relief to nations suffering from the Indian Ocean tsunami, amid complaints that the vacationing President Bush has been insensitive to a humanitarian catastrophe of epic proportions.
As the death toll surpassed 50,000 with no sign of abating, the U.S. Agency for International Development added $20 million to an earlier pledge of $15 million to provide relief, and the Pentagon dispatched an aircraft carrier and other military assets to the region. Secretary of State Colin L. Powell, in morning television appearances, chafed at a top U.N. aid official's comment on Monday that wealthy countries were being stingy with aid. "The United States is not stingy," Powell said on CNN.
Although U.N. Emergency Relief Coordinator Jan Egeland yesterday withdrew his earlier comment, domestic criticism of Bush continued to rise. Skeptics said the initial aid sums -- as well as Bush's decision at first to remain cloistered on his Texas ranch for the Christmas holiday rather than speak in person about the tragedy -- showed scant appreciation for the magnitude of suffering and for the rescue and rebuilding work facing such nations as Sri Lanka, India, Thailand and Indonesia.
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In a Clueless Party (WashingtonPost.com)
By Michael Gecan
Wednesday, December 29, 2004; Page A19
Thirty-two years ago, in the Auditorium Theatre of Roosevelt University in downtown Chicago, I believe I witnessed the destruction -- actually, the self-destruction -- of the Democratic Party. I was attending a rally for George McGovern. The place was packed. And the stage held scores of Chicago pols -- red-faced aldermen and county committeemen in dark suits.
There were the usual speeches from the usual Democratic functionaries, but the warm-up act for the candidate was not some tongue-tied Polish pol from the Northwest Side. Onto the stage strode an actor everyone knew -- Warren Beatty. He was a vision -- handsome, tanned, long-haired and dressed almost entirely in black leather. He dramatically discarded his floor-length leather coat, only to reveal leather pants and shirt. The crowd inhaled, gasped and burst into applause. The faces of the pols onstage went white with shock or red with rage.
Beatty is now a married man, with a family, back in California, but the Democratic Party is still the same star-struck, celebrity-driven, immature mess that it was in 1972. Instead of Warren Beatty, this year's headliners were Bon Jovi, Bruce Springsteen and the inimitable Michael Moore.
Incredibly, on the night before the election, in the crucial swing state of Ohio, in the incredibly important city of Cleveland, John Kerry appeared at a rock concert headlined by The Boss. If any of those jowly pols who were on that auditorium stage in Chicago are still alive, they must have howled with disbelief and expired. If buried, they were rolling in their graves. There is nothing dumber than bringing all of your troops out of the trenches at the very decisive point of a major battle. While Kerry was playing McClellan, the distracted, cautious and self-involved Union general who led from the rear, Karl Rove was Stonewall Jackson, using maximum force with maximum mobility for maximum effect at all the key points and moments of the campaign.
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Wednesday, December 29, 2004; Page A19
Thirty-two years ago, in the Auditorium Theatre of Roosevelt University in downtown Chicago, I believe I witnessed the destruction -- actually, the self-destruction -- of the Democratic Party. I was attending a rally for George McGovern. The place was packed. And the stage held scores of Chicago pols -- red-faced aldermen and county committeemen in dark suits.
There were the usual speeches from the usual Democratic functionaries, but the warm-up act for the candidate was not some tongue-tied Polish pol from the Northwest Side. Onto the stage strode an actor everyone knew -- Warren Beatty. He was a vision -- handsome, tanned, long-haired and dressed almost entirely in black leather. He dramatically discarded his floor-length leather coat, only to reveal leather pants and shirt. The crowd inhaled, gasped and burst into applause. The faces of the pols onstage went white with shock or red with rage.
Beatty is now a married man, with a family, back in California, but the Democratic Party is still the same star-struck, celebrity-driven, immature mess that it was in 1972. Instead of Warren Beatty, this year's headliners were Bon Jovi, Bruce Springsteen and the inimitable Michael Moore.
Incredibly, on the night before the election, in the crucial swing state of Ohio, in the incredibly important city of Cleveland, John Kerry appeared at a rock concert headlined by The Boss. If any of those jowly pols who were on that auditorium stage in Chicago are still alive, they must have howled with disbelief and expired. If buried, they were rolling in their graves. There is nothing dumber than bringing all of your troops out of the trenches at the very decisive point of a major battle. While Kerry was playing McClellan, the distracted, cautious and self-involved Union general who led from the rear, Karl Rove was Stonewall Jackson, using maximum force with maximum mobility for maximum effect at all the key points and moments of the campaign.
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Irate Over 'Stingy' Remark, U.S. Adds $20 Million to Disaster Aid (NYTimes.com)
By STEVEN R. WEISMAN
Published: December 29, 2004
WASHINGTON, Dec. 28 - Rejecting a United Nations official's suggestion that it had been a "stingy" aid donor, the Bush administration on Tuesday announced another $20 million in relief for victims of the Asian earthquake and tsunamis and dispatched an aircraft carrier and other ships to the region for possible relief operations.
The announcement brought the United States' total aid package to $35 million so far, and Bush administration officials said much more would be sent.
Secretary of State Colin L. Powell, displaying irritation with the suggestion of American stinginess, said the United States had been the most generous of aid donors in recent years and that, in any case, the sums announced so far were "just a start" of a larger sustained effort."
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Published: December 29, 2004
WASHINGTON, Dec. 28 - Rejecting a United Nations official's suggestion that it had been a "stingy" aid donor, the Bush administration on Tuesday announced another $20 million in relief for victims of the Asian earthquake and tsunamis and dispatched an aircraft carrier and other ships to the region for possible relief operations.
The announcement brought the United States' total aid package to $35 million so far, and Bush administration officials said much more would be sent.
Secretary of State Colin L. Powell, displaying irritation with the suggestion of American stinginess, said the United States had been the most generous of aid donors in recent years and that, in any case, the sums announced so far were "just a start" of a larger sustained effort."
(More ... The New York Times > International > International Special > Relief Effort: Irate Over 'Stingy' Remark, U.S. Adds $20 Million to Disaster Aid) ¶ 19:10 0 comments
12.28.2004
Ohio Official Refuses Interview Over Vote (ABCnews.go.com)
COLUMBUS, Ohio Dec 27, 2004 — Secretary of State Kenneth Blackwell has requested a protective order to prevent him from being interviewed as part of an unusual court challenge of the presidential vote.
Blackwell, in a court filing, says he's not required to be interviewed by lawyers as a high-ranking public official, and accused the voters challenging the results of "frivolous conduct" and abusive and unnecessary requests of elections officials around the state.
Citing fraud, 37 people who voted for president Nov. 2 have challenged the election results with the Ohio Supreme Court. The voters refer to irregularities including long lines, a shortage of voting machines in minority precincts and problems with computer equipment.
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Blackwell, in a court filing, says he's not required to be interviewed by lawyers as a high-ranking public official, and accused the voters challenging the results of "frivolous conduct" and abusive and unnecessary requests of elections officials around the state.
Citing fraud, 37 people who voted for president Nov. 2 have challenged the election results with the Ohio Supreme Court. The voters refer to irregularities including long lines, a shortage of voting machines in minority precincts and problems with computer equipment.
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Jet Is an Open Secret in Terror War (WashingtonPost.com)
By Dana Priest
Washington Post Staff Writer
Monday, December 27, 2004; Page A01
The airplane is a Gulfstream V turbojet, the sort favored by CEOs and celebrities. But since 2001 it has been seen at military airports from Pakistan to Indonesia to Jordan, sometimes being boarded by hooded and handcuffed passengers.
The plane's owner of record, Premier Executive Transport Services Inc., lists directors and officers who appear to exist only on paper. And each one of those directors and officers has a recently issued Social Security number and an address consisting only of a post office box, according to an extensive search of state, federal and commercial records.
Bryan P. Dyess, Steven E. Kent, Timothy R. Sperling and Audrey M. Tailor are names without residential, work, telephone or corporate histories -- just the kind of "sterile identities," said current and former intelligence officials, that the CIA uses to conceal involvement in clandestine operations. In this case, the agency is flying captured terrorist suspects from one country to another for detention and interrogation.
The CIA calls this activity "rendition." Premier Executive's Gulfstream helps make it possible. According to civilian aircraft landing permits, the jet has permission to use U.S. military airfields worldwide.
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Washington Post Staff Writer
Monday, December 27, 2004; Page A01
The airplane is a Gulfstream V turbojet, the sort favored by CEOs and celebrities. But since 2001 it has been seen at military airports from Pakistan to Indonesia to Jordan, sometimes being boarded by hooded and handcuffed passengers.
The plane's owner of record, Premier Executive Transport Services Inc., lists directors and officers who appear to exist only on paper. And each one of those directors and officers has a recently issued Social Security number and an address consisting only of a post office box, according to an extensive search of state, federal and commercial records.
Bryan P. Dyess, Steven E. Kent, Timothy R. Sperling and Audrey M. Tailor are names without residential, work, telephone or corporate histories -- just the kind of "sterile identities," said current and former intelligence officials, that the CIA uses to conceal involvement in clandestine operations. In this case, the agency is flying captured terrorist suspects from one country to another for detention and interrogation.
The CIA calls this activity "rendition." Premier Executive's Gulfstream helps make it possible. According to civilian aircraft landing permits, the jet has permission to use U.S. military airfields worldwide.
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Video Supporting Ohio Vote Fraud Claim Revealed (Truthout.org)
By William Rivers Pitt
23 December 2004
Truthout has come into possession of video from Hocking County, Ohio. The video was recorded by a documentary film crew that was reporting on the Ohio election. The crew interviewed a technician from Triad Systems. In a report released by truthout on December 15, 2004, we reported on an affidavit filed by Sherole Eaton, Hocking County deputy director of elections. In her affidavit, Eaton stated:
On Friday, December 10 2004, Michael from TriAd called in the AM to inform us that he would be in our office in the PM on the same day. I asked him why he was visiting us. He said, "to check out your tabulator, computer, and that the attorneys will be asking some tricky questions and he wanted to go over some of the questions they maybe ask." He also added that there would be no charge for this service.
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23 December 2004
Truthout has come into possession of video from Hocking County, Ohio. The video was recorded by a documentary film crew that was reporting on the Ohio election. The crew interviewed a technician from Triad Systems. In a report released by truthout on December 15, 2004, we reported on an affidavit filed by Sherole Eaton, Hocking County deputy director of elections. In her affidavit, Eaton stated:
On Friday, December 10 2004, Michael from TriAd called in the AM to inform us that he would be in our office in the PM on the same day. I asked him why he was visiting us. He said, "to check out your tabulator, computer, and that the attorneys will be asking some tricky questions and he wanted to go over some of the questions they maybe ask." He also added that there would be no charge for this service.
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Shopping for War (NYTimes.com)
By BOB HERBERT
Published: December 27, 2004
You might think that the debacle in Iraq would be enough for the Pentagon, that it would not be in the mood to seek out new routes to unnecessary wars for the United States to fight. But with Donald Rumsfeld at the apex of the defense establishment, enough is never enough.
So, as detailed in an article in The Times on Dec. 19, Mr. Rumsfeld's minions are concocting yet another grandiose and potentially disastrous scheme. Pentagon officials are putting together a plan that would give the military a more prominent role in intelligence gathering operations that traditionally have been handled by the Central Intelligence Agency. They envision the military doing more spying with humans, as opposed, for example, to surveillance with satellites.
Further encroachment by the military into intelligence matters better handled by civilians is bad enough. Now hold your breath. According to the article, "Among the ideas cited by Defense Department officials is the idea of 'fighting for intelligence,' or commencing combat operations chiefly to obtain intelligence."
That is utter madness. The geniuses in Washington have already launched one bogus war, which has cost tens of thousands of lives and provoked levels of suffering that are impossible to quantify. We don't need to be contemplating new forms of warfare waged for the sole purpose of gathering intelligence.
(More ... The New York Times > Opinion > Op-Ed Columnist: Shopping for War) ¶ 11:18 0 comments
Published: December 27, 2004
You might think that the debacle in Iraq would be enough for the Pentagon, that it would not be in the mood to seek out new routes to unnecessary wars for the United States to fight. But with Donald Rumsfeld at the apex of the defense establishment, enough is never enough.
So, as detailed in an article in The Times on Dec. 19, Mr. Rumsfeld's minions are concocting yet another grandiose and potentially disastrous scheme. Pentagon officials are putting together a plan that would give the military a more prominent role in intelligence gathering operations that traditionally have been handled by the Central Intelligence Agency. They envision the military doing more spying with humans, as opposed, for example, to surveillance with satellites.
Further encroachment by the military into intelligence matters better handled by civilians is bad enough. Now hold your breath. According to the article, "Among the ideas cited by Defense Department officials is the idea of 'fighting for intelligence,' or commencing combat operations chiefly to obtain intelligence."
That is utter madness. The geniuses in Washington have already launched one bogus war, which has cost tens of thousands of lives and provoked levels of suffering that are impossible to quantify. We don't need to be contemplating new forms of warfare waged for the sole purpose of gathering intelligence.
(More ... The New York Times > Opinion > Op-Ed Columnist: Shopping for War) ¶ 11:18 0 comments
12.26.2004
Iraq Poll Hangs on Overseas Vote (Guardian.co.uk)
UN launches £50m operation to reach four million expatriates
Jason Burke and Tariq Panja
Sunday December 26, 2004
The Observer
A last-minute push to prepare millions of Iraqis living overseas to vote in the critical elections in their homeland next month has been launched by the United Nations.
With only five weeks until the poll, there are still no clear estimates of how many expatriate Iraqis might be eligible to vote, though analysts agree that they could determine its outcome. Around 250,000 Iraqis live in Britain - one of the biggest expatriate communities - with up to four million spread elsewhere around the world.
In one of the biggest exercises of its type, costing around £50 million, tens of thousands of volunteers in 15 countries are working frantically to register Iraqis who are aged over 18.
(More ... The Observer | International | Iraq poll hangs on overseas vote) ¶ 21:28 0 comments
Jason Burke and Tariq Panja
Sunday December 26, 2004
The Observer
A last-minute push to prepare millions of Iraqis living overseas to vote in the critical elections in their homeland next month has been launched by the United Nations.
With only five weeks until the poll, there are still no clear estimates of how many expatriate Iraqis might be eligible to vote, though analysts agree that they could determine its outcome. Around 250,000 Iraqis live in Britain - one of the biggest expatriate communities - with up to four million spread elsewhere around the world.
In one of the biggest exercises of its type, costing around £50 million, tens of thousands of volunteers in 15 countries are working frantically to register Iraqis who are aged over 18.
(More ... The Observer | International | Iraq poll hangs on overseas vote) ¶ 21:28 0 comments
RudyWorld/HilWorld (Observer.com)
by Ben Smith
New York’s two political giants, Hillary Clinton and Rudy Giuliani, seemed for a moment after November’s election to be moving on parallel tracks toward their respective parties’ Presidential nominations in 2008. If anything, America’s Mayor had the straighter shot, while Mrs. Clinton’s prospective candidacy would have to deal with the legions of Hillary haters in the heartland.
A few weeks later, Senator Clinton is still marching steadily toward the nomination, but Mr. Giuliani’s Presidential hopes are evaporating. If you want to understand why the two politicians are headed in such different directions, it’s worth taking a look at the company they keep, at the contrast between Mrs. Clinton’s broad circle of old political hands and Mr. Giuliani’s tight, loyal cadre.
Mrs. Clinton’s network is broad and largely female, packed with some of the nation’s most experienced political operatives and spanning cities, generations and ethnic groups. They include longtime practitioners of political hardball like Ann Lewis and Harold Ickes, discreet loyalists like fund-raiser Patti Solis Doyle and former aide Maggie Williams, and Democratic Party media stars like James Carville. She can also rely on the advice of one of America’s great political minds: her husband’s. (He held high national office at one point in the recent past.)
(More ... RudyWorld/HilWorld) ¶ 11:54 0 comments
New York’s two political giants, Hillary Clinton and Rudy Giuliani, seemed for a moment after November’s election to be moving on parallel tracks toward their respective parties’ Presidential nominations in 2008. If anything, America’s Mayor had the straighter shot, while Mrs. Clinton’s prospective candidacy would have to deal with the legions of Hillary haters in the heartland.
A few weeks later, Senator Clinton is still marching steadily toward the nomination, but Mr. Giuliani’s Presidential hopes are evaporating. If you want to understand why the two politicians are headed in such different directions, it’s worth taking a look at the company they keep, at the contrast between Mrs. Clinton’s broad circle of old political hands and Mr. Giuliani’s tight, loyal cadre.
Mrs. Clinton’s network is broad and largely female, packed with some of the nation’s most experienced political operatives and spanning cities, generations and ethnic groups. They include longtime practitioners of political hardball like Ann Lewis and Harold Ickes, discreet loyalists like fund-raiser Patti Solis Doyle and former aide Maggie Williams, and Democratic Party media stars like James Carville. She can also rely on the advice of one of America’s great political minds: her husband’s. (He held high national office at one point in the recent past.)
(More ... RudyWorld/HilWorld) ¶ 11:54 0 comments
Hillary ’08: Don’t Ask If—It’s a Go! (Observer.com)
by Ben Smith
Let’s just get this out of the way now: She’s running.
Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton has a re-election campaign in front of her in 2006, but as far as many around her are concerned, the train has already departed for a destination two years farther out—the Presidency.
"She is going to focus on going for Senate and getting that out of the way, but the eye is always on the prize," a former aide to Mrs. Clinton told The Observer.
Mrs. Clinton currently is gearing up for her re-election with a campaign whose cost and intensity are taking on the scale of a national race. The first, slightly frantic fund-raising letters already have gone out, warning of coming Republican attacks. And a veteran national Democratic player, Ann Lewis, will start work at Mrs. Clinton’s Washington, D.C., offices in January. Mrs. Clinton is on a path to finish her re-election campaign in November 2006 and—assuming she isn’t the first New York Democrat in a century to lose a Senate seat—pivot swiftly toward the White House. A loyal circle of advisors led by her husband is urging her on, allies say, despite the doubts that some supporters will express privately.
And so the question isn’t whether Mrs. Clinton is running for President. It’s whether it’s already too late to pull the brakes.
(More ... ) ¶ 11:52 0 comments
Let’s just get this out of the way now: She’s running.
Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton has a re-election campaign in front of her in 2006, but as far as many around her are concerned, the train has already departed for a destination two years farther out—the Presidency.
"She is going to focus on going for Senate and getting that out of the way, but the eye is always on the prize," a former aide to Mrs. Clinton told The Observer.
Mrs. Clinton currently is gearing up for her re-election with a campaign whose cost and intensity are taking on the scale of a national race. The first, slightly frantic fund-raising letters already have gone out, warning of coming Republican attacks. And a veteran national Democratic player, Ann Lewis, will start work at Mrs. Clinton’s Washington, D.C., offices in January. Mrs. Clinton is on a path to finish her re-election campaign in November 2006 and—assuming she isn’t the first New York Democrat in a century to lose a Senate seat—pivot swiftly toward the White House. A loyal circle of advisors led by her husband is urging her on, allies say, despite the doubts that some supporters will express privately.
And so the question isn’t whether Mrs. Clinton is running for President. It’s whether it’s already too late to pull the brakes.
(More ... ) ¶ 11:52 0 comments
Kerry's E-Mail List Continues to Be a Valuable Resource (WashingtonPost.com)
By Brian Faler
Special to The Washington Post
Saturday, December 25, 2004; Page A02
Enough about John F. Kerry. What about his e-mail list?
The former Democratic presidential candidate built, over the course of his two-year campaign, one of the biggest e-mail lists in his party. More than 2.7 million supporters signed up to receive his campaign e-mails, which his advisers have said were critical to its fundraising success. Now, as Democrats survey the post-election landscape, some are wondering what Kerry might do with all those e-mail addresses.
Thursday's Question:
Which president began the National Tree Lighting Ceremony?
Calvin Coolidge
Franklin D. Roosevelt
John F. Kennedy
Richard M. Nixon
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It is a relatively new question. Few cared what happened, for example, to Al Gore's e-mail list when his Democratic presidential campaign folded. But with the increasing maturation of the Internet as a political tool -- and the huge sums that can be raised online -- some experts said those addresses can remain valuable long after an election.
"It could be a very powerful thing," said Eli Pariser, the executive director of MoveOn.org's political action committee. "It is part of the way that online organizing is reshaping politics, because, as opposed to the boom-bust cycle of campaigns -- where you build up all this grass-roots energy and then it dissipates -- now you can keep them connected to you for cheap. It totally changes what it means to be a losing presidential candidate."
Strategists said Kerry's list might be used to raise money for him and other candidates, to organize supporters around various causes, and to help position the senator from Massachusetts as the head of the Democratic opposition -- all of which might come in handy if he decides to run for president again.
(MOre ... Kerry's E-Mail List Continues to Be a Valuable Resource (washingtonpost.com)) ¶ 11:16 0 comments
Special to The Washington Post
Saturday, December 25, 2004; Page A02
Enough about John F. Kerry. What about his e-mail list?
The former Democratic presidential candidate built, over the course of his two-year campaign, one of the biggest e-mail lists in his party. More than 2.7 million supporters signed up to receive his campaign e-mails, which his advisers have said were critical to its fundraising success. Now, as Democrats survey the post-election landscape, some are wondering what Kerry might do with all those e-mail addresses.
Thursday's Question:
Which president began the National Tree Lighting Ceremony?
Calvin Coolidge
Franklin D. Roosevelt
John F. Kennedy
Richard M. Nixon
_____Free E-mail Newsletters_____
• Daily Politics News & Analysis
See a Sample | Sign Up Now
• Campaign Report
See a Sample | Sign Up Now
• Federal Insider
See a Sample | Sign Up Now
• Breaking News Alerts
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It is a relatively new question. Few cared what happened, for example, to Al Gore's e-mail list when his Democratic presidential campaign folded. But with the increasing maturation of the Internet as a political tool -- and the huge sums that can be raised online -- some experts said those addresses can remain valuable long after an election.
"It could be a very powerful thing," said Eli Pariser, the executive director of MoveOn.org's political action committee. "It is part of the way that online organizing is reshaping politics, because, as opposed to the boom-bust cycle of campaigns -- where you build up all this grass-roots energy and then it dissipates -- now you can keep them connected to you for cheap. It totally changes what it means to be a losing presidential candidate."
Strategists said Kerry's list might be used to raise money for him and other candidates, to organize supporters around various causes, and to help position the senator from Massachusetts as the head of the Democratic opposition -- all of which might come in handy if he decides to run for president again.
(MOre ... Kerry's E-Mail List Continues to Be a Valuable Resource (washingtonpost.com)) ¶ 11:16 0 comments
12.25.2004
The Vote Count Goes On (NYTimes.com)
EDITORIAL
Published: December 24, 2004
The conviction that every vote must be counted in a democratic election should be automatic. But lately, as an extraordinary number of contests seem to be decided by just a few ballots, it's been depressing to see how few politicians are willing to simply take their chances on the fairest possible count.
A State Supreme Court justice in Washington State, Susan Owens, put it best when she addressed Republican attempts to disallow more than 700 uncounted ballots in the photo-finish governor's race there. "You're looking at it from the point of view of the winner or the loser," she said. "Shouldn't we be looking at it from the point of view of the voter?"
The decision to count those votes, which had been overlooked or erroneously set aside, should not have been just an obvious ruling. The question should never have come up in the first place. The American political culture is supposed to prize the fairness of the fight more than the outcome.
(More ... The New York Times > Opinion > Editorial: The Vote Count Goes On) ¶ 13:30 0 comments
Published: December 24, 2004
The conviction that every vote must be counted in a democratic election should be automatic. But lately, as an extraordinary number of contests seem to be decided by just a few ballots, it's been depressing to see how few politicians are willing to simply take their chances on the fairest possible count.
A State Supreme Court justice in Washington State, Susan Owens, put it best when she addressed Republican attempts to disallow more than 700 uncounted ballots in the photo-finish governor's race there. "You're looking at it from the point of view of the winner or the loser," she said. "Shouldn't we be looking at it from the point of view of the voter?"
The decision to count those votes, which had been overlooked or erroneously set aside, should not have been just an obvious ruling. The question should never have come up in the first place. The American political culture is supposed to prize the fairness of the fight more than the outcome.
(More ... The New York Times > Opinion > Editorial: The Vote Count Goes On) ¶ 13:30 0 comments
12.24.2004
How Uncle Santa Diddles Dems from Ukraine to Venezuela (Truthout.org)
How Uncle Santa Diddles Dems from Ukraine to Venezuela
By Steve Weissman
Friday 24 December 2004
From: http://www.truthout.org/docs_04/122404A.shtml
Author's Note: In last week's "Uncle Santa and Ukraine's Orange-Colored Elves" I tried to show how both Russia and the United States were interfering in Ukrainian political life. The column ended by asking: "Should we support the meddling we like? Or do we need to oppose and expose it all?" Reader response continues to overwhelm me and my feeble effort to reply personally. The vast majority who took the time to write clearly oppose and want to expose all foreign intervention. But many impassioned emails came from those who desperately want the United States to meddle - though only on behalf of democracy. Especially for those readers, I offer this cautionary tale.
Friday, 24 December 2004
The coup came on April 11, 2002, when Venezuelan military forces overthrew the democratically elected president, Hugo Chavez. As many as 100 people died in the clash, which included mysterious sniper attacks on individual civilians.
The brass arrested Chavez, a former paratrooper, and installed in the Presidential Palace the well-established Pedro Carmona, a wealthy oil executive and head of Fedecámaras, the national Chamber of Commerce and Industry. Quickly disbanding parliament, the Supreme Court and other government bodies, Carmona revoked dozens of his predecessor's reforms, including a law that redistributed unused farmland to poor, landless peasants.
Carmona also broke ranks with the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and set out to increase Venezuela's oil production for export to the United States.
He was in charge, Carmona told the world. Chavez had "resigned."
This was neither the first lie about the coup, nor the last.
(More ... t r u t h o u t - Steve Weissman | How Uncle Santa Diddles Dems from Ukraine to Venezuela) ¶ 21:11 0 comments
By Steve Weissman
Friday 24 December 2004
From: http://www.truthout.org/docs_04/122404A.shtml
Author's Note: In last week's "Uncle Santa and Ukraine's Orange-Colored Elves" I tried to show how both Russia and the United States were interfering in Ukrainian political life. The column ended by asking: "Should we support the meddling we like? Or do we need to oppose and expose it all?" Reader response continues to overwhelm me and my feeble effort to reply personally. The vast majority who took the time to write clearly oppose and want to expose all foreign intervention. But many impassioned emails came from those who desperately want the United States to meddle - though only on behalf of democracy. Especially for those readers, I offer this cautionary tale.
Friday, 24 December 2004
The coup came on April 11, 2002, when Venezuelan military forces overthrew the democratically elected president, Hugo Chavez. As many as 100 people died in the clash, which included mysterious sniper attacks on individual civilians.
The brass arrested Chavez, a former paratrooper, and installed in the Presidential Palace the well-established Pedro Carmona, a wealthy oil executive and head of Fedecámaras, the national Chamber of Commerce and Industry. Quickly disbanding parliament, the Supreme Court and other government bodies, Carmona revoked dozens of his predecessor's reforms, including a law that redistributed unused farmland to poor, landless peasants.
Carmona also broke ranks with the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and set out to increase Venezuela's oil production for export to the United States.
He was in charge, Carmona told the world. Chavez had "resigned."
This was neither the first lie about the coup, nor the last.
(More ... t r u t h o u t - Steve Weissman | How Uncle Santa Diddles Dems from Ukraine to Venezuela) ¶ 21:11 0 comments
Voting Problems in Ohio Spur Call for Overhaul (NYTimes.com)
By JAMES DAO, FORD FESSENDEN
and TOM ZELLER Jr.
Published: December 24, 2004
COLUMBUS, Ohio, Dec. 22 - William Shambora, 53, is the kind of diligent voter who once assumed that his ballot always counted. He got a rude awakening this year.
Mr. Shambora, an economics professor at Ohio University, moved during the summer but failed to notify the Athens County Board of Elections until the day before the presidential election. An official told him to use a provisional ballot.
But under Ohio law, provisional ballots are valid only when cast from a voter's correct precinct. Mr. Shambora was given a ballot for the wrong precinct, a fact he did not learn until after the election. Two weeks later, the board discarded his vote, adding him to a list of more than 300 provisional ballots that were rejected in that heavily Democratic county.
"It seems like such a confused system," said Mr. Shambora, a John Kerry supporter who blames himself for the mistake. "Maybe if enough people's votes had counted, the election might have turned out differently."
(More ... The New York Times > National > Voting Problems in Ohio Spur Call for Overhaul) ¶ 20:56 0 comments
and TOM ZELLER Jr.
Published: December 24, 2004
COLUMBUS, Ohio, Dec. 22 - William Shambora, 53, is the kind of diligent voter who once assumed that his ballot always counted. He got a rude awakening this year.
Mr. Shambora, an economics professor at Ohio University, moved during the summer but failed to notify the Athens County Board of Elections until the day before the presidential election. An official told him to use a provisional ballot.
But under Ohio law, provisional ballots are valid only when cast from a voter's correct precinct. Mr. Shambora was given a ballot for the wrong precinct, a fact he did not learn until after the election. Two weeks later, the board discarded his vote, adding him to a list of more than 300 provisional ballots that were rejected in that heavily Democratic county.
"It seems like such a confused system," said Mr. Shambora, a John Kerry supporter who blames himself for the mistake. "Maybe if enough people's votes had counted, the election might have turned out differently."
(More ... The New York Times > National > Voting Problems in Ohio Spur Call for Overhaul) ¶ 20:56 0 comments
Bush Will Renominate 20 Judges (WashingtonPost.com)
Fights in Senate Likely Over Blocked Choices
By Michael A. Fletcher and Helen Dewar
Washington Post Staff Writers
Friday, December 24, 2004; Page A01
President Bush announced yesterday his intention to renominate 20 people previously blocked by Senate Democrats for federal court seats, setting the stage for a renewal of the bitter partisan battles over the makeup of the federal judiciary.
The president's list includes seven appeals court candidates whose nominations were stalled on the Senate floor by Democrats, who said the nominees' conservative views were out of the mainstream. The other nominations never made it to the full Senate. Buoyed by his reelection and a four-seat Republican gain in the Senate, Bush said he will submit the nominees' names when the Senate returns to work next month.
Among the most prominent names on the list are Texas Supreme Court Justice Priscilla Richman Owen, who was previously nominated for a seat on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit; California Supreme Court Justice Janice Rogers Brown, previously nominated to a seat on the Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit; and former associate White House counsel Brett M. Kavanaugh, who was also nominated to the D.C. Circuit. William J. Haynes II, who served as Pentagon general counsel when controversial detainee policies were set, will again be a nominee for the 4th Circuit.
Another is former Alabama attorney general William H. Pryor, an outspoken abortion opponent, for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit in Atlanta. Pryor was appointed by Bush last year to the 11th Circuit while Congress was in recess; Pryor needs Senate confirmation to stay on the court.
(More ... Bush Will Renominate 20 Judges (washingtonpost.com)) ¶ 20:52 0 comments
By Michael A. Fletcher and Helen Dewar
Washington Post Staff Writers
Friday, December 24, 2004; Page A01
President Bush announced yesterday his intention to renominate 20 people previously blocked by Senate Democrats for federal court seats, setting the stage for a renewal of the bitter partisan battles over the makeup of the federal judiciary.
The president's list includes seven appeals court candidates whose nominations were stalled on the Senate floor by Democrats, who said the nominees' conservative views were out of the mainstream. The other nominations never made it to the full Senate. Buoyed by his reelection and a four-seat Republican gain in the Senate, Bush said he will submit the nominees' names when the Senate returns to work next month.
Among the most prominent names on the list are Texas Supreme Court Justice Priscilla Richman Owen, who was previously nominated for a seat on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit; California Supreme Court Justice Janice Rogers Brown, previously nominated to a seat on the Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit; and former associate White House counsel Brett M. Kavanaugh, who was also nominated to the D.C. Circuit. William J. Haynes II, who served as Pentagon general counsel when controversial detainee policies were set, will again be a nominee for the 4th Circuit.
Another is former Alabama attorney general William H. Pryor, an outspoken abortion opponent, for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit in Atlanta. Pryor was appointed by Bush last year to the 11th Circuit while Congress was in recess; Pryor needs Senate confirmation to stay on the court.
(More ... Bush Will Renominate 20 Judges (washingtonpost.com)) ¶ 20:52 0 comments
America, the Indifferent (NYTimes.com)
EDITORIAL
Published: December 23, 2004
It was with great fanfare that the United States and 188 other countries signed the United Nations Millennium Declaration, a manifesto to eradicate extreme poverty, hunger and disease among the one billion people in the world who subsist on barely anything. The project set a deadline of 2015 to achieve its goals. Chief among them was the goal for developed countries, like America, Britain and France, to work toward giving 0.7 percent of their national incomes for development aid for poor countries.
Almost a third of the way into the program, the latest available figures show that the percentage of United States income going to poor countries remains near rock bottom: 0.14 percent. Britain is at 0.34 percent, and France at 0.41 percent. (Norway and Sweden, to no one's surprise, are already exceeding the goal, at 0.92 percent and 0.79 percent.)
And we learned this week that in the last two months, the Bush administration has reduced its contributions to global food aid programs aimed at helping hungry nations become self-sufficient, and it has told charities like Save the Children and Catholic Relief Services that it won't honor earlier promises. Instead, administration officials said that most of the country's emergency food aid would go to places where there were immediate crises.
Something's not right here. The United States is the world's richest nation. Washington is quick to say that it contributes more money to foreign aid than any other country. But no one is impressed when a billionaire writes a $50 check for a needy family. The test is the percentage of national income we give to the poor, and on that basis this country is the stingiest in the Group of Seven industrialized nations.
(More ... The New York Times > Opinion > Editorial: America, the Indifferent) ¶ 08:27 1 comments
Published: December 23, 2004
It was with great fanfare that the United States and 188 other countries signed the United Nations Millennium Declaration, a manifesto to eradicate extreme poverty, hunger and disease among the one billion people in the world who subsist on barely anything. The project set a deadline of 2015 to achieve its goals. Chief among them was the goal for developed countries, like America, Britain and France, to work toward giving 0.7 percent of their national incomes for development aid for poor countries.
Almost a third of the way into the program, the latest available figures show that the percentage of United States income going to poor countries remains near rock bottom: 0.14 percent. Britain is at 0.34 percent, and France at 0.41 percent. (Norway and Sweden, to no one's surprise, are already exceeding the goal, at 0.92 percent and 0.79 percent.)
And we learned this week that in the last two months, the Bush administration has reduced its contributions to global food aid programs aimed at helping hungry nations become self-sufficient, and it has told charities like Save the Children and Catholic Relief Services that it won't honor earlier promises. Instead, administration officials said that most of the country's emergency food aid would go to places where there were immediate crises.
Something's not right here. The United States is the world's richest nation. Washington is quick to say that it contributes more money to foreign aid than any other country. But no one is impressed when a billionaire writes a $50 check for a needy family. The test is the percentage of national income we give to the poor, and on that basis this country is the stingiest in the Group of Seven industrialized nations.
(More ... The New York Times > Opinion > Editorial: America, the Indifferent) ¶ 08:27 1 comments
12.22.2004
Global Intelligence Domination (NYTimes.com)
EDITORIAL
Published: December 21, 2004
Of all the bad ideas we heard during what passed for a Congressional debate over intelligence reform, none were as awful as a new plan being drawn up by Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld's staff to actually expand the Pentagon's authority over intelligence.
Apparently Mr. Rumsfeld is not satisfied with controlling 80 percent of the intelligence budget, an absurd situation that would have been remedied in the intelligence bill if Congress had not caved in to the Pentagon's lobbying. In this latest power grab, the Defense Department wants to elbow its way into more traditional intelligence gathering, which has been and should be done by the Central Intelligence Agency.
An article in Sunday's Times by Douglas Jehl and Eric Schmitt reported that a plan was being drafted that calls for the Pentagon to undertake more "human intelligence missions." That's militaryspeak for spying by actual people rather than satellites, often to get specific information sought by civilian policy makers rather than generals. The Pentagon's plan is to focus on terrorist groups and those involved in weapons proliferation.
That would be great for the purposes of expanding Mr. Rumsfeld's empire, but it flies in the face of the rationale behind the intelligence reform bill, and the suggestions from the 9/11 commission that inspired it. The wisdom of the reforms lay in making the nation's spy network more coherent, not more disorganized. It's already a superhuman task to coordinate the C.I.A. and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Adding a Pentagon agency could only make it harder to forestall another attack like the one on Sept. 11, 2001.
(More ... The New York Times > Opinion > Editorial: Global Intelligence Domination) ¶ 20:31 0 comments
Published: December 21, 2004
Of all the bad ideas we heard during what passed for a Congressional debate over intelligence reform, none were as awful as a new plan being drawn up by Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld's staff to actually expand the Pentagon's authority over intelligence.
Apparently Mr. Rumsfeld is not satisfied with controlling 80 percent of the intelligence budget, an absurd situation that would have been remedied in the intelligence bill if Congress had not caved in to the Pentagon's lobbying. In this latest power grab, the Defense Department wants to elbow its way into more traditional intelligence gathering, which has been and should be done by the Central Intelligence Agency.
An article in Sunday's Times by Douglas Jehl and Eric Schmitt reported that a plan was being drafted that calls for the Pentagon to undertake more "human intelligence missions." That's militaryspeak for spying by actual people rather than satellites, often to get specific information sought by civilian policy makers rather than generals. The Pentagon's plan is to focus on terrorist groups and those involved in weapons proliferation.
That would be great for the purposes of expanding Mr. Rumsfeld's empire, but it flies in the face of the rationale behind the intelligence reform bill, and the suggestions from the 9/11 commission that inspired it. The wisdom of the reforms lay in making the nation's spy network more coherent, not more disorganized. It's already a superhuman task to coordinate the C.I.A. and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Adding a Pentagon agency could only make it harder to forestall another attack like the one on Sept. 11, 2001.
(More ... The New York Times > Opinion > Editorial: Global Intelligence Domination) ¶ 20:31 0 comments
Giving New Meaning to 'Every Vote Counts' (CSMonitor.com)
The interminable race for Washington governor may hinge on whether 723 originally untallied votes count.
By Dean Paton | Contributor to The Christian Science Monitor
SEATTLE – Cecily Kaplan is a mother of two, a program manager at a local synagogue, and what they call a perfect voter. She is proud of casting ballots in every election since 1976 because she adores this thing called democracy. But now she is angry.
Ms. Kaplan learned last week that she is one of 723 King County voters who cast valid ballots in the Nov. 2 election but whose vote has not yet been counted - and may never be. With Dino Rossi (R) leading Christine Gregoire (D) by just a handful of votes in the hand recount for the governorship, these absentee ballots have become 24-carat jewels coveted by both Democrats and Republicans.
"I spent a week with my ballot and my voter's guide, studying the issues," says Kaplan. "It's not an issue of who wins but if my vote counts."
(More ... Giving new meaning to 'every vote counts' | csmonitor.com) ¶ 20:27 0 comments
By Dean Paton | Contributor to The Christian Science Monitor
SEATTLE – Cecily Kaplan is a mother of two, a program manager at a local synagogue, and what they call a perfect voter. She is proud of casting ballots in every election since 1976 because she adores this thing called democracy. But now she is angry.
Ms. Kaplan learned last week that she is one of 723 King County voters who cast valid ballots in the Nov. 2 election but whose vote has not yet been counted - and may never be. With Dino Rossi (R) leading Christine Gregoire (D) by just a handful of votes in the hand recount for the governorship, these absentee ballots have become 24-carat jewels coveted by both Democrats and Republicans.
"I spent a week with my ballot and my voter's guide, studying the issues," says Kaplan. "It's not an issue of who wins but if my vote counts."
(More ... Giving new meaning to 'every vote counts' | csmonitor.com) ¶ 20:27 0 comments
Dems: Wash. Recount Puts Gregoire on Top (Yahoo! News--AP)
By REBECCA COOK, Associated Press Writer
OLYMPIA, Wash. - The head of the state Democratic Party said late Tuesday that recount results from King County give Democrat Christine Gregoire an eight-vote victory in the closest governor's race in state history.
Neither King County nor the Republican party could confirm the hand recount results on Tuesday night. But if the Democrats' analysis is correct, it's a stunning reversal in the gubernatorial race, which has been hotly contested ever since election day.
Republican Dino Rossi won the first count by 261 votes and won a machine recount by 42 votes, out of 2.9 million ballots cast. The hand recount did not include the 700-plus ballots cast in heavily Democratic King County that could widen any Gregoire lead if the state Supreme Court allows them to be counted.
"We're confident Christine Gregoire has been elected the governor of the state of Washington," Democratic Chairman Paul Berendt said. "I believe Dino Rossi should concede."
(More ... Yahoo! News - Dems: Wash. Recount Puts Gregoire on Top) ¶ 20:25 0 comments
OLYMPIA, Wash. - The head of the state Democratic Party said late Tuesday that recount results from King County give Democrat Christine Gregoire an eight-vote victory in the closest governor's race in state history.
Neither King County nor the Republican party could confirm the hand recount results on Tuesday night. But if the Democrats' analysis is correct, it's a stunning reversal in the gubernatorial race, which has been hotly contested ever since election day.
Republican Dino Rossi won the first count by 261 votes and won a machine recount by 42 votes, out of 2.9 million ballots cast. The hand recount did not include the 700-plus ballots cast in heavily Democratic King County that could widen any Gregoire lead if the state Supreme Court allows them to be counted.
"We're confident Christine Gregoire has been elected the governor of the state of Washington," Democratic Chairman Paul Berendt said. "I believe Dino Rossi should concede."
(More ... Yahoo! News - Dems: Wash. Recount Puts Gregoire on Top) ¶ 20:25 0 comments
Fighting On Is the Only Option, Americans Say (NYTimes.com)
THE PUBLIC
By KIRK JOHNSON
Published: December 22, 2004
DENVER, Dec. 21 - Americans across the country expressed anguish about the devastating attack on a United States military base in Iraq on Tuesday. But it was the question of where the nation should go from here that produced the biggest sigh from Dallas Spear, an oil and gas industry worker from Denver.
"I would never have gone there from the beginning, but that's beside the point now," Mr. Spear said, his jaw clenched. "We upset the apple cart and now there's pretty much no choice. We have to proceed."
Mr. Spear's sentiment was echoed in interviews in shopping malls, offices, sidewalks and homes on a day when the news from Iraq was bleak. With at least 19 American service members killed and dozens injured, it was apparently the worst one-day death toll for American forces since United States forces defeated Saddam Hussein's regime in spring 2003.
Many people said they were dispirited or angry, but many expressed equal unhappiness about seeing a lack of options.
(More ... The New York Times > National > The Public: Fighting On Is the Only Option, Americans Say) ¶ 20:23 0 comments
By KIRK JOHNSON
Published: December 22, 2004
DENVER, Dec. 21 - Americans across the country expressed anguish about the devastating attack on a United States military base in Iraq on Tuesday. But it was the question of where the nation should go from here that produced the biggest sigh from Dallas Spear, an oil and gas industry worker from Denver.
"I would never have gone there from the beginning, but that's beside the point now," Mr. Spear said, his jaw clenched. "We upset the apple cart and now there's pretty much no choice. We have to proceed."
Mr. Spear's sentiment was echoed in interviews in shopping malls, offices, sidewalks and homes on a day when the news from Iraq was bleak. With at least 19 American service members killed and dozens injured, it was apparently the worst one-day death toll for American forces since United States forces defeated Saddam Hussein's regime in spring 2003.
Many people said they were dispirited or angry, but many expressed equal unhappiness about seeing a lack of options.
(More ... The New York Times > National > The Public: Fighting On Is the Only Option, Americans Say) ¶ 20:23 0 comments
The Facts of Life in The Capitol (NYTimes.com)
EDITORIAL NOTEBOOK
By FRANCIS X. CLINES
Published: December 21, 2004
Congressional Democrats are wandering the Yellow Brick Road, trying to work their lion's woof into a roar as they vow to confront the Republicans' dominance of government with some "put up yer dukes" ferocity. In the Senate, where most of their dwindling power resides in the limited form of a filibuster threat, the Democrats plan to dust off their policy committee as a vehicle to hold their own oversight hearings. They hope to investigate administration programs and hear from whistle-blowers. They lack the subpoena power the G.O.P. majority can bring to bear on witnesses and issues, but the Democrats are promising to muckrake the status quo the way the Republicans are not.
Taxpayers can only wish them well. But if the senators are serious, they might take a lesson from down the hall in the other chamber, where Congressman Henry Waxman, a California Democrat, has made pestering from the minority side of the aisle an art form for the past 10 years.
Mr. Waxman regularly attracts attention with early warning inquiries into such subjects as the Enron scandal, the State Department's erroneous claim of terrorism's decline and corporate-contract boondoggles in Iraq. His latest project may be too bold for the Democrats who are worried by the supposed power of the moral values lobby, but Mr. Waxman has surveyed the Bush administration's financing of abstinence-only programs and found a laundry list of sexual nonsense being purveyed to teenagers: that genital touching can result in pregnancy, that abortion can lead to sterility and suicide, and that 50 percent of gay teenage boys test positive for the AIDS virus.
(More ... New York Times > Opinion > Editorial Notebook > The Facts of Life in The Capitol) ¶ 08:29 0 comments
By FRANCIS X. CLINES
Published: December 21, 2004
Congressional Democrats are wandering the Yellow Brick Road, trying to work their lion's woof into a roar as they vow to confront the Republicans' dominance of government with some "put up yer dukes" ferocity. In the Senate, where most of their dwindling power resides in the limited form of a filibuster threat, the Democrats plan to dust off their policy committee as a vehicle to hold their own oversight hearings. They hope to investigate administration programs and hear from whistle-blowers. They lack the subpoena power the G.O.P. majority can bring to bear on witnesses and issues, but the Democrats are promising to muckrake the status quo the way the Republicans are not.
Taxpayers can only wish them well. But if the senators are serious, they might take a lesson from down the hall in the other chamber, where Congressman Henry Waxman, a California Democrat, has made pestering from the minority side of the aisle an art form for the past 10 years.
Mr. Waxman regularly attracts attention with early warning inquiries into such subjects as the Enron scandal, the State Department's erroneous claim of terrorism's decline and corporate-contract boondoggles in Iraq. His latest project may be too bold for the Democrats who are worried by the supposed power of the moral values lobby, but Mr. Waxman has surveyed the Bush administration's financing of abstinence-only programs and found a laundry list of sexual nonsense being purveyed to teenagers: that genital touching can result in pregnancy, that abortion can lead to sterility and suicide, and that 50 percent of gay teenage boys test positive for the AIDS virus.
(More ... New York Times > Opinion > Editorial Notebook > The Facts of Life in The Capitol) ¶ 08:29 0 comments
Polls Show Majority of Americans Think Iraq War Mistake (XinhuaNet.com)
WASHINGTON, Dec. 21 (Xinhuanet) -- A solid majority of Americans believe, for the first time, that the war in Iraq was a mistake and most people believe Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld should lose his job, according to a new Washington Post-ABC News poll published Tuesday.
While a slight majority believe the Iraq war contributed to thelong-term security of the United States, 70 percent of Americans think these gains have come at an "unacceptable" cost in military casualties, the poll shows.
This led 56 percent to conclude that, given the cost, the conflict in Iraq was "not worth fighting, " an eight-point increase from this summer, and the first time a decisive majority of people have reached this conclusion.
The poll was published hours before 22 people were killed and 51 wounded in a blast near a joint US-Iraqi military base near thenorthern Iraqi city of Mosul on Tuesday.
The poll shows that 53 percent of Americans disapproved the work performance of Rumsfeld and 52 percent said he should not stay on during Bush's second-term.
(More ... Xinhua - English) ¶ 07:51 0 comments
While a slight majority believe the Iraq war contributed to thelong-term security of the United States, 70 percent of Americans think these gains have come at an "unacceptable" cost in military casualties, the poll shows.
This led 56 percent to conclude that, given the cost, the conflict in Iraq was "not worth fighting, " an eight-point increase from this summer, and the first time a decisive majority of people have reached this conclusion.
The poll was published hours before 22 people were killed and 51 wounded in a blast near a joint US-Iraqi military base near thenorthern Iraqi city of Mosul on Tuesday.
The poll shows that 53 percent of Americans disapproved the work performance of Rumsfeld and 52 percent said he should not stay on during Bush's second-term.
(More ... Xinhua - English) ¶ 07:51 0 comments
12.21.2004
Bush Threatens Syria, Iran With New Pressure Over Iraq (AlJazeera.com)
President Bush threatened Syria, Iran on Monday with new diplomatic or economic measures to pressure both countries to stay away from the Iraqi politics.
Bush added that the United States had several ways to retaliate if the two countries failed to heed his warning.
"We have sent messages to the Syrians in the past and we will continue to do so. We have tools at our disposal -- a variety of tools, ranging from diplomatic tools to economic pressure.
"Nothing's taken off the table," Bush told a press conference.
Bush’s new threat comes nearly a week after he previously demanded Syria and Iran to stop their support to the Iraqi resistance, ahead of next month's elections.
(More ... Bush threatens Syria, Iran with new pressure over Iraq -) ¶ 20:06 0 comments
Bush added that the United States had several ways to retaliate if the two countries failed to heed his warning.
"We have sent messages to the Syrians in the past and we will continue to do so. We have tools at our disposal -- a variety of tools, ranging from diplomatic tools to economic pressure.
"Nothing's taken off the table," Bush told a press conference.
Bush’s new threat comes nearly a week after he previously demanded Syria and Iran to stop their support to the Iraqi resistance, ahead of next month's elections.
(More ... Bush threatens Syria, Iran with new pressure over Iraq -) ¶ 20:06 0 comments
The President's Grand Elusion (WashingtonPost.com)
WHITE HOUSE MEMO
By Dana Milbank
Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, December 21, 2004; Page A05
President Bush, an old F-102 pilot, showed at yesterday's news conference that he has not forgotten his evasive maneuvers.
As he fielded questions on everything from Iranian nukes to presidential personnel, the often blunt and plainspoken president employed the full range of artful dodges.
Qualifications for a director of national intelligence? "I'm going to find somebody who knows something about intelligence," Bush disclosed.
Timeline for Iraq? "We'd like to achieve our objective as quickly as possible."
Vladimir Putin's turn toward autocracy? "If we disagree with decisions, we can do so in a friendly and positive way."
When the subject turned to Social Security, the president made clear that questions about his views on the subject were strictly out of bounds -- as when CNN's John King asked why Bush wasn't talking about "tough measures" such as raising the retirement age or cutting benefits.
"Now the temptation is going to be, by well-meaning people such as yourself, John, and others here as we run up to the issue, to get me to negotiate with myself in public," Bush said. Saying he was trying to "condition" reporters, he added: "I'm not going to negotiate with myself and I will negotiate at the appropriate time with the law writers, and so thank you for trying."
(More ... The President's Grand Elusion (washingtonpost.com)) ¶ 19:58 0 comments
By Dana Milbank
Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, December 21, 2004; Page A05
President Bush, an old F-102 pilot, showed at yesterday's news conference that he has not forgotten his evasive maneuvers.
As he fielded questions on everything from Iranian nukes to presidential personnel, the often blunt and plainspoken president employed the full range of artful dodges.
Qualifications for a director of national intelligence? "I'm going to find somebody who knows something about intelligence," Bush disclosed.
Timeline for Iraq? "We'd like to achieve our objective as quickly as possible."
Vladimir Putin's turn toward autocracy? "If we disagree with decisions, we can do so in a friendly and positive way."
When the subject turned to Social Security, the president made clear that questions about his views on the subject were strictly out of bounds -- as when CNN's John King asked why Bush wasn't talking about "tough measures" such as raising the retirement age or cutting benefits.
"Now the temptation is going to be, by well-meaning people such as yourself, John, and others here as we run up to the issue, to get me to negotiate with myself in public," Bush said. Saying he was trying to "condition" reporters, he added: "I'm not going to negotiate with myself and I will negotiate at the appropriate time with the law writers, and so thank you for trying."
(More ... The President's Grand Elusion (washingtonpost.com)) ¶ 19:58 0 comments
GAO Again Finds Fault With the Federal Books (WashingtonPost.com)
Auditors Say That Government's Records Are So Inadequate They Cannot Be Evaluated, but Bush Official Cites Progress
By Christopher Lee
Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, December 21, 2004; Page A23
The U.S. government's financial record-keeping is so inadequate that congressional auditors said last week that they could not determine whether the federal books meet generally accepted accounting principles.
It was the eighth fiscal year in a row that the Government Accountability Office, the investigative arm of Congress, was unable to provide a definitive opinion on the quality of the federal government's consolidated financial statements.
"Proper accounting and financial reporting practices are essential in the public sector," Comptroller General David M. Walker wrote in a Dec. 14 cover letter to his agency's audit report on consolidated financial statements for fiscal 2003 and 2004. "The U.S. government is the largest, most diverse, most complex, and arguably the most important entity on earth today. . . . Sound decisions on the current results and future direction of vital federal programs and policies are made more difficult without timely, reliable and useful financial and performance information."
(More ... GAO Again Finds Fault With the Federal Books (washingtonpost.com)) ¶ 19:55 0 comments
By Christopher Lee
Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, December 21, 2004; Page A23
The U.S. government's financial record-keeping is so inadequate that congressional auditors said last week that they could not determine whether the federal books meet generally accepted accounting principles.
It was the eighth fiscal year in a row that the Government Accountability Office, the investigative arm of Congress, was unable to provide a definitive opinion on the quality of the federal government's consolidated financial statements.
"Proper accounting and financial reporting practices are essential in the public sector," Comptroller General David M. Walker wrote in a Dec. 14 cover letter to his agency's audit report on consolidated financial statements for fiscal 2003 and 2004. "The U.S. government is the largest, most diverse, most complex, and arguably the most important entity on earth today. . . . Sound decisions on the current results and future direction of vital federal programs and policies are made more difficult without timely, reliable and useful financial and performance information."
(More ... GAO Again Finds Fault With the Federal Books (washingtonpost.com)) ¶ 19:55 0 comments
Count Every Vote (NYTimes.com)
MAKING VOTES COUNT
Published: December 20, 2004
Every vote is supposed to count in America, but candidates too often maneuver to disqualify votes that they think might go to the other side. A month and a half after Election Day, battles are still raging in Washington State and in San Diego over whether to count all of the votes that were cast. The answer to that question must be yes.
In Washington's gubernatorial election, Dino Rossi, a Republican, and Christine Gregoire, a Democrat, finished in a virtual dead heat. With nearly 2.9 million votes cast, Mr. Rossi initially led by 261 votes. A machine recount took his lead down to 42. Ms. Gregoire requested a hand recount. During it, King County, a heavily Democratic area that includes Seattle, found 723 absentee ballots that had not been counted because election workers made errors like failing to verify the voters' signatures.
Republicans, fearing that those ballots would throw the election to Ms. Gregoire, have gotten a lower court judge to prevent them from being counted, at least temporarily. But there is no reason these ballots and other valid ballots that have turned up during the recount should not be counted. The right to vote cannot be taken away because an election official did not do his or her job correctly.
(More ... The New York Times > Opinion > Making Votes Count: Count Every Vote) ¶ 19:47 0 comments
Published: December 20, 2004
Every vote is supposed to count in America, but candidates too often maneuver to disqualify votes that they think might go to the other side. A month and a half after Election Day, battles are still raging in Washington State and in San Diego over whether to count all of the votes that were cast. The answer to that question must be yes.
In Washington's gubernatorial election, Dino Rossi, a Republican, and Christine Gregoire, a Democrat, finished in a virtual dead heat. With nearly 2.9 million votes cast, Mr. Rossi initially led by 261 votes. A machine recount took his lead down to 42. Ms. Gregoire requested a hand recount. During it, King County, a heavily Democratic area that includes Seattle, found 723 absentee ballots that had not been counted because election workers made errors like failing to verify the voters' signatures.
Republicans, fearing that those ballots would throw the election to Ms. Gregoire, have gotten a lower court judge to prevent them from being counted, at least temporarily. But there is no reason these ballots and other valid ballots that have turned up during the recount should not be counted. The right to vote cannot be taken away because an election official did not do his or her job correctly.
(More ... The New York Times > Opinion > Making Votes Count: Count Every Vote) ¶ 19:47 0 comments
New FBI Files Describe Abuse of Iraq Inmates (NYTimes.com)
PRISONERS
By NEIL A. LEWIS and DAVID JOHNSTON
Published: December 21, 2004
WASHINGTON, Dec. 20 - F.B.I. memorandums portray abuse of prisoners by American military personnel in Iraq that included detainees' being beaten and choked and having lit cigarettes placed in their ears, according to newly released government documents.
The documents, released Monday in connection with a lawsuit accusing the government of being complicit in torture, also include accounts by Federal Bureau of Investigation agents who said they had seen detainees in Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, being chained in uncomfortable positions for up to 24 hours and left to urinate and defecate on themselves. An agent wrote that in one case a detainee who was nearly unconscious had pulled out much of his hair during the night.
One of the memorandums released Monday was addressed to Robert S. Mueller III, the F.B.I. director, and other senior bureau officials, and it provided the account of someone "who observed serious physical abuses of civilian detainees" in Iraq. The memorandum, dated June 24 this year, was an "Urgent Report," meaning that the sender regarded it as a priority. It said the witness "described that such abuses included strangulation, beatings, placement of lit cigarettes into the detainees' ear openings and unauthorized interrogations."
(More ... The New York Times > Washington > Prisoners: New F.B.I. Files Describe Abuse of Iraq Inmates) ¶ 19:39 0 comments
By NEIL A. LEWIS and DAVID JOHNSTON
Published: December 21, 2004
WASHINGTON, Dec. 20 - F.B.I. memorandums portray abuse of prisoners by American military personnel in Iraq that included detainees' being beaten and choked and having lit cigarettes placed in their ears, according to newly released government documents.
The documents, released Monday in connection with a lawsuit accusing the government of being complicit in torture, also include accounts by Federal Bureau of Investigation agents who said they had seen detainees in Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, being chained in uncomfortable positions for up to 24 hours and left to urinate and defecate on themselves. An agent wrote that in one case a detainee who was nearly unconscious had pulled out much of his hair during the night.
One of the memorandums released Monday was addressed to Robert S. Mueller III, the F.B.I. director, and other senior bureau officials, and it provided the account of someone "who observed serious physical abuses of civilian detainees" in Iraq. The memorandum, dated June 24 this year, was an "Urgent Report," meaning that the sender regarded it as a priority. It said the witness "described that such abuses included strangulation, beatings, placement of lit cigarettes into the detainees' ear openings and unauthorized interrogations."
(More ... The New York Times > Washington > Prisoners: New F.B.I. Files Describe Abuse of Iraq Inmates) ¶ 19:39 0 comments
On The Contemporary Nature Of Just Wars (Scoop.co.nz)
Paul G. Buchanan
12-19-04
Revelations that the SAS detachment to Afghanistan received a US presidential unit citation for its actions as part of the multinational task force supporting nation-building and counter-terror operations in that country have occasioned varying responses from the New Zealand political spectrum. On the one hand, conservative commentators wax poetic over the great job the boys of the SAS are doing in the war on terror. That may be true, but in reality presidential unit citations are relatively minor honours given as standard procedure for the successful completion of assigned operational tasks, in this case within the boundaries of a larger coalition mandate that involves military forces from several nations (and not, as some have said, for the individual accomplishments of the NZSAS). Thus pride in the SAS may be over-inflated given the realities of the situation, although it certainly should reaffirm public faith in the competence of New Zealand’s best fighting force. Not surprisingly, given the NZSAS track record, conservatives call for the New Zealand commitment of combat troops to be extended to the “other” war on terrorism, in Iraq, in what they see as an extension of the just fight against global Islamicism.
In contrast, left-leaning observers point to the Labour government’s apparent embarrassment at news of the commendation, denouncing it as evidence of New Zealand complicity in the “dirty” war conducted by the US military in Afghanistan. For these pundits the conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq are equivalent, both being instances of US imperialist aggression against the civilian populations of selectively targeted failed states. This is why they believe the government should be ashamed about New Zealand involvement in Afghanistan (and its recently concluded operational deployment of military engineers to Basra). In their mind the overseas combat force commitment (as opposed to peace-keeping duties) should be reduced, not expanded.
Both views are wrong because they fail to address the nature of just and unjust wars in the contemporary geo-strategic context.
(More ... Scoop: On The Contemporary Nature Of Just Wars) ¶ 19:24 0 comments
12-19-04
Revelations that the SAS detachment to Afghanistan received a US presidential unit citation for its actions as part of the multinational task force supporting nation-building and counter-terror operations in that country have occasioned varying responses from the New Zealand political spectrum. On the one hand, conservative commentators wax poetic over the great job the boys of the SAS are doing in the war on terror. That may be true, but in reality presidential unit citations are relatively minor honours given as standard procedure for the successful completion of assigned operational tasks, in this case within the boundaries of a larger coalition mandate that involves military forces from several nations (and not, as some have said, for the individual accomplishments of the NZSAS). Thus pride in the SAS may be over-inflated given the realities of the situation, although it certainly should reaffirm public faith in the competence of New Zealand’s best fighting force. Not surprisingly, given the NZSAS track record, conservatives call for the New Zealand commitment of combat troops to be extended to the “other” war on terrorism, in Iraq, in what they see as an extension of the just fight against global Islamicism.
In contrast, left-leaning observers point to the Labour government’s apparent embarrassment at news of the commendation, denouncing it as evidence of New Zealand complicity in the “dirty” war conducted by the US military in Afghanistan. For these pundits the conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq are equivalent, both being instances of US imperialist aggression against the civilian populations of selectively targeted failed states. This is why they believe the government should be ashamed about New Zealand involvement in Afghanistan (and its recently concluded operational deployment of military engineers to Basra). In their mind the overseas combat force commitment (as opposed to peace-keeping duties) should be reduced, not expanded.
Both views are wrong because they fail to address the nature of just and unjust wars in the contemporary geo-strategic context.
(More ... Scoop: On The Contemporary Nature Of Just Wars) ¶ 19:24 0 comments
U.S. Loses Bid to Stop Turnover of CIA Records (Reuters.com)
By Gail Appleson
NEW YORK (Reuters) - The U.S. government lost a bid on Monday to block civil rights groups from obtaining CIA records of its internal investigation into abuse of detainees held by U.S. forces in Iraq and Afghanistan.
In a ruling from the bench, U.S. District Judge Alvin Hellerstein denied a government motion aimed at stopping an earlier order to turn over documents.
The decision was made in a lawsuit brought against the government by the American Civil Liberties Union and other groups for what they said was the illegal withholding of records about U.S. military abuse of prisoners held in Iraq, the Guantanamo Bay Naval Base in Cuba and other locations.
The suit, filed in Manhattan federal court, charged that the CIA and other federal agencies failed to comply with a Freedom of Information Act, or FOIA, request filed by the groups in October 2003 and May 2004. The FOIA allows citizens access to public federal records.
"This (ruling) is extremely important," said attorney Lawrence Lustberg, who is assisting the civil rights groups. "What we're going to get are the fruits of the CIA's own internal investigation."
(More ... Top News Article | Reuters.com) ¶ 15:18 0 comments
NEW YORK (Reuters) - The U.S. government lost a bid on Monday to block civil rights groups from obtaining CIA records of its internal investigation into abuse of detainees held by U.S. forces in Iraq and Afghanistan.
In a ruling from the bench, U.S. District Judge Alvin Hellerstein denied a government motion aimed at stopping an earlier order to turn over documents.
The decision was made in a lawsuit brought against the government by the American Civil Liberties Union and other groups for what they said was the illegal withholding of records about U.S. military abuse of prisoners held in Iraq, the Guantanamo Bay Naval Base in Cuba and other locations.
The suit, filed in Manhattan federal court, charged that the CIA and other federal agencies failed to comply with a Freedom of Information Act, or FOIA, request filed by the groups in October 2003 and May 2004. The FOIA allows citizens access to public federal records.
"This (ruling) is extremely important," said attorney Lawrence Lustberg, who is assisting the civil rights groups. "What we're going to get are the fruits of the CIA's own internal investigation."
(More ... Top News Article | Reuters.com) ¶ 15:18 0 comments
US Supports UN’s Vital Role in Global Problem-solving (NZHerald.co.nz)
Charles J. Swindells
21.12.04
The United Nations is not a counterweight to the United States or any other UN member state. It is a political body. As Kim Holmes, US Assistant Secretary of State for International Organisation Affairs, said recently, "The United Nations is not an end in and of itself. It is a means to an end."
That end is something we support: advancing peace and security, human rights, and freedom for all the people of the world. When the UN fails to act or acts too slowly in these important areas, it is always appropriate for nations to speak out.
Despite perceptions to the contrary, the US prefers to solve international problems multilaterally. We participate in regional alliances such as NATO to deal with problems in the Balkans. We work with the African Union on Darfur.
(More ... The New Zealand Herald) ¶ 10:20 0 comments
21.12.04
The United Nations is not a counterweight to the United States or any other UN member state. It is a political body. As Kim Holmes, US Assistant Secretary of State for International Organisation Affairs, said recently, "The United Nations is not an end in and of itself. It is a means to an end."
That end is something we support: advancing peace and security, human rights, and freedom for all the people of the world. When the UN fails to act or acts too slowly in these important areas, it is always appropriate for nations to speak out.
Despite perceptions to the contrary, the US prefers to solve international problems multilaterally. We participate in regional alliances such as NATO to deal with problems in the Balkans. We work with the African Union on Darfur.
(More ... The New Zealand Herald) ¶ 10:20 0 comments
12.20.2004
Signature Row Turns Up Heat on Rumsfeld (Guardian.co.uk)
Defence secretary admits machine signed Iraq condolence letters
Dan Glaister in Los Angeles
Monday December 20, 2004
The Guardian
The pressure on the beleaguered US defence secretary, Donald Rumsfeld, intensified yesterday and threatened to taint his main supporter in Washington, George Bush.
David Hackworth, a retired US army colonel turned writer, reported that Mr Rumsfeld had used a mechanical signature writer to sign his name on letters of condolence to relatives of soldiers killed in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Although the charge was initially denied by the Pentagon, Mr Rumsfeld issued a statement on Thursday acknowledging the practice and promising to halt it.
"While I have not individually signed each one, in the interest of ensuring expeditious contact with grieving family members, I have directed that in the future I sign each letter," Mr Rumsfeld said in the statement.
Mr Hackworth also reported allegations by relatives of deceased soldiers that letters they had received from the president had been signed by a machine.
(More ... Guardian Unlimited | Special reports | Signature row turns up heat on Rumsfeld) ¶ 22:58 0 comments
Dan Glaister in Los Angeles
Monday December 20, 2004
The Guardian
The pressure on the beleaguered US defence secretary, Donald Rumsfeld, intensified yesterday and threatened to taint his main supporter in Washington, George Bush.
David Hackworth, a retired US army colonel turned writer, reported that Mr Rumsfeld had used a mechanical signature writer to sign his name on letters of condolence to relatives of soldiers killed in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Although the charge was initially denied by the Pentagon, Mr Rumsfeld issued a statement on Thursday acknowledging the practice and promising to halt it.
"While I have not individually signed each one, in the interest of ensuring expeditious contact with grieving family members, I have directed that in the future I sign each letter," Mr Rumsfeld said in the statement.
Mr Hackworth also reported allegations by relatives of deceased soldiers that letters they had received from the president had been signed by a machine.
(More ... Guardian Unlimited | Special reports | Signature row turns up heat on Rumsfeld) ¶ 22:58 0 comments
Maverick McCain Is at It Again (WashingtonPost.com)
Stands at Odds With Bush Revive Talk of Presidential Bid
By Dana Milbank
Washington Post Staff Writer
Monday, December 20, 2004; Page A11
John McCain is back.
In the six weeks since the end of a campaign in which he wholeheartedly promoted President Bush's reelection, the Republican senator from Arizona has wasted no time reasserting his independence from the White House.
Just two weeks after the election, he renewed his opposition to Bush's policy on global warming and urged action against greenhouse gases. He went to Europe and promoted a harder line against Russian President Vladimir Putin than the administration has voiced, and he returned home to take a harder line against steroid use in baseball than the administration had done.
Then, last week, he took aim at Donald H. Rumsfeld, saying he had "no confidence" in Bush's defense secretary. "There are very strong differences of opinion between myself and Secretary Rumsfeld" on U.S. troop strength in Iraq, he said.
The highly visible stands by McCain have revived speculation that he will seek the White House for a second time in 2008. Aides say that McCain has merely been repeating long-held positions and that a decision on a presidential run probably will not be made for two years.
(More ... Maverick McCain Is at It Again (washingtonpost.com)) ¶ 22:27 0 comments
By Dana Milbank
Washington Post Staff Writer
Monday, December 20, 2004; Page A11
John McCain is back.
In the six weeks since the end of a campaign in which he wholeheartedly promoted President Bush's reelection, the Republican senator from Arizona has wasted no time reasserting his independence from the White House.
Just two weeks after the election, he renewed his opposition to Bush's policy on global warming and urged action against greenhouse gases. He went to Europe and promoted a harder line against Russian President Vladimir Putin than the administration has voiced, and he returned home to take a harder line against steroid use in baseball than the administration had done.
Then, last week, he took aim at Donald H. Rumsfeld, saying he had "no confidence" in Bush's defense secretary. "There are very strong differences of opinion between myself and Secretary Rumsfeld" on U.S. troop strength in Iraq, he said.
The highly visible stands by McCain have revived speculation that he will seek the White House for a second time in 2008. Aides say that McCain has merely been repeating long-held positions and that a decision on a presidential run probably will not be made for two years.
(More ... Maverick McCain Is at It Again (washingtonpost.com)) ¶ 22:27 0 comments
Asian $$ - Prince Neil Bush Gets Media Protection (Scoop.co.nz)
Once Upon A Time In The Bush Family Series
By Evelyn J Pringle
Once upon a time Prince Neil Bush was making money hand-over-fist over in China and Taiwan and nobody even seemed to notice.
When it comes to influence peddling by presidential relatives, nothing comes close to the financial activities of Neil Bush. But the comical part of this whole story is that with the media asleep at the wheel during the Bush presidency, Neil’s deals may have remained a secret for life if not for his equally shady violations of his marital vows, and his attempt to dump the wife and keep all the money for himself.
During a divorce deposition on March 4, 2003, Neil detailed financial relationships with firms in Taiwan and China and admitted to having had sex on several occasions with unidentified women who simply came to his hotel door in Thailand and Hong Kong, according to the UPI on Nov 26, 2003.
Lets skip past the sex talk that's been covered in other articles in this series and go to the area of the transcript that deals with Neil's contract with one Grace Semiconductor Manufacturing. With no background whatsoever in semiconductors, Neil entered into a 5-year consultant contract, with an annual retainer of $400,000 in stock, with this company.
The 2-page Aug 15, 2002 contract bears the signatures of Winston Wong and Neil Bush, and under the terms of the contract, Neil has only 2 duties:
· To provide GSMC from time to time with business strategies and policies; latest information and trends of the related industry, and other expertized advices (sic).
· To attend Directors Board Meetings.
For this he will be paid a total of $2 million worth of preferred stock, and $10,000 in expense money for each board meeting he attends.
(More ... Scoop: Asian $$ - Prince Neil Bush Gets Media Protection) ¶ 21:10 0 comments
By Evelyn J Pringle
Once upon a time Prince Neil Bush was making money hand-over-fist over in China and Taiwan and nobody even seemed to notice.
When it comes to influence peddling by presidential relatives, nothing comes close to the financial activities of Neil Bush. But the comical part of this whole story is that with the media asleep at the wheel during the Bush presidency, Neil’s deals may have remained a secret for life if not for his equally shady violations of his marital vows, and his attempt to dump the wife and keep all the money for himself.
During a divorce deposition on March 4, 2003, Neil detailed financial relationships with firms in Taiwan and China and admitted to having had sex on several occasions with unidentified women who simply came to his hotel door in Thailand and Hong Kong, according to the UPI on Nov 26, 2003.
Lets skip past the sex talk that's been covered in other articles in this series and go to the area of the transcript that deals with Neil's contract with one Grace Semiconductor Manufacturing. With no background whatsoever in semiconductors, Neil entered into a 5-year consultant contract, with an annual retainer of $400,000 in stock, with this company.
The 2-page Aug 15, 2002 contract bears the signatures of Winston Wong and Neil Bush, and under the terms of the contract, Neil has only 2 duties:
· To provide GSMC from time to time with business strategies and policies; latest information and trends of the related industry, and other expertized advices (sic).
· To attend Directors Board Meetings.
For this he will be paid a total of $2 million worth of preferred stock, and $10,000 in expense money for each board meeting he attends.
(More ... Scoop: Asian $$ - Prince Neil Bush Gets Media Protection) ¶ 21:10 0 comments
The White House Must Love 'Opposite Day'
EDITORIAL PAGE EDITOR: John W. Porter
It is a favored tactic in the Bush White House to take on tough criticism by boldly asserting the opposite.
Keeping clean air regulations from forcing further cuts in emissions is labeled a "clear skies" initiative. Judicial nominees who would bring the government into our bedrooms are defenders of liberty. And a scheme to gut Social Security and turn it into a money machine for the securities industry is a plan to "strengthen" that same system.
The latest in this series of 180-degree misdirections - reminiscent of when kids play "opposite day" - was Bush's assertion at a White House conference last week that moving forward with his proposals on Social Security would send positive signals to financial markets.
Say what?
Let's be clear about the what the president wants to do. He wants to put the nation another $2 trillion in debt so that, over time, he and his conservative supporters can eliminate the Social Security system as we know it.
(More ... The White House must love 'opposite day')
Copyright © 2004 Blethen Maine Newspapers Inc. ¶ 08:19 0 comments
It is a favored tactic in the Bush White House to take on tough criticism by boldly asserting the opposite.
Keeping clean air regulations from forcing further cuts in emissions is labeled a "clear skies" initiative. Judicial nominees who would bring the government into our bedrooms are defenders of liberty. And a scheme to gut Social Security and turn it into a money machine for the securities industry is a plan to "strengthen" that same system.
The latest in this series of 180-degree misdirections - reminiscent of when kids play "opposite day" - was Bush's assertion at a White House conference last week that moving forward with his proposals on Social Security would send positive signals to financial markets.
Say what?
Let's be clear about the what the president wants to do. He wants to put the nation another $2 trillion in debt so that, over time, he and his conservative supporters can eliminate the Social Security system as we know it.
(More ... The White House must love 'opposite day')
Copyright © 2004 Blethen Maine Newspapers Inc. ¶ 08:19 0 comments
12.19.2004
Diplomatic Phenomenon of Israeli Attitudes to USA (AlJazeera.com)
Washington's support for Israel is a diplomatic phenomenon. Successive U.S. administrations have armed, financed and trained their Middle Eastern ally’s armed forces, regularly fed them key electronic intelligence while throwing an all-embracing protective diplomatic arm around the country. In return, Israel has meddled in the U.S. political process, killed 34 U.S. citizens when it attacked the spy ship the USS Liberty in international waters in 1967, routinely ignored even the mildest US requests and perhaps worst of all, regularly spied upon its faithful sponsor.
The nuclear weaponry that Israel developed at Dimona was very probably completed with secrets stolen from the Americans. It had long been suspected that Israel has abused its status as a friendly ally to plunder Washington’s secrets. Jonathan Pollard, the Israeli spy who by 1987 had plundered of US intelligence secrets is widely thought to be only the tip of an iceberg of Zionist penetration of America’s secret corridors of power. Even though US administrations have often been openhanded with their confidences, while many pro-Israeli statesmen have been happy to brief Tel Aviv’s diplomats and politicians on US thinking and intelligence, the Israelis have clearly felt it wiser to maintain their own secret sources of information. The thinking is clear. The time may come, incredible though it may seem to Israel’s supporters, when a US president is finally going to have had enough of seeing America being treated as a dupe and led around by the ring that has been put through its nose.
The latest example of Israeli disregard for Washington’s own policies and interests has come with industrial espionage and the sale of sensitive weapons technology to the Chinese. The matter is still murky but it is known that a weapons system sold to Beijing in the 1990s was returned to Israel for repair. It is said that the US was prepared to allow this. However, it is now furious to discover that far from being repaired, the weaponry has been upgraded with what Washington considers to be sensitive technology — either given to the Israelis or stolen by their spies.
(More ... Diplomatic phenomenon of Israeli attitudes to USA) ¶ 20:46 0 comments
The nuclear weaponry that Israel developed at Dimona was very probably completed with secrets stolen from the Americans. It had long been suspected that Israel has abused its status as a friendly ally to plunder Washington’s secrets. Jonathan Pollard, the Israeli spy who by 1987 had plundered of US intelligence secrets is widely thought to be only the tip of an iceberg of Zionist penetration of America’s secret corridors of power. Even though US administrations have often been openhanded with their confidences, while many pro-Israeli statesmen have been happy to brief Tel Aviv’s diplomats and politicians on US thinking and intelligence, the Israelis have clearly felt it wiser to maintain their own secret sources of information. The thinking is clear. The time may come, incredible though it may seem to Israel’s supporters, when a US president is finally going to have had enough of seeing America being treated as a dupe and led around by the ring that has been put through its nose.
The latest example of Israeli disregard for Washington’s own policies and interests has come with industrial espionage and the sale of sensitive weapons technology to the Chinese. The matter is still murky but it is known that a weapons system sold to Beijing in the 1990s was returned to Israel for repair. It is said that the US was prepared to allow this. However, it is now furious to discover that far from being repaired, the weaponry has been upgraded with what Washington considers to be sensitive technology — either given to the Israelis or stolen by their spies.
(More ... Diplomatic phenomenon of Israeli attitudes to USA) ¶ 20:46 0 comments
Freed Briton Details U.S. Abuses at Guantanamo (AlJazeera.com)
A Briton freed from the U.S. detention facility at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, told Europe's top human rights body on Friday that he was beaten, shackled, locked inside a cage and fed rotten food as part of "systematic abuse" in U.S. custody.
Jamal al-Harith's statement before a panel from the Council of Europe was a part of an investigation by the body into human rights abuses at the U.S. naval base. The findings of the probe are expected to be made public in a report early next year.
Al-Harith, 37, described his two-year confinement at Guantanamo as a period of continued mistreatment that ranged from humiliation and 15-hour interrogations to physical abuses that he said left scars.
(More ... Freed Briton details U.S. abuses at Guantanamo) ¶ 20:35 0 comments
Jamal al-Harith's statement before a panel from the Council of Europe was a part of an investigation by the body into human rights abuses at the U.S. naval base. The findings of the probe are expected to be made public in a report early next year.
Al-Harith, 37, described his two-year confinement at Guantanamo as a period of continued mistreatment that ranged from humiliation and 15-hour interrogations to physical abuses that he said left scars.
(More ... Freed Briton details U.S. abuses at Guantanamo) ¶ 20:35 0 comments
Reid Vows to Stand Up to GOP (WashingtonPost.com)
A Moderate, Party's New Senate Leader Says He Won't Yield
By Charles Babington
Washington Post Staff Writer
Sunday, December 19, 2004; Page A06
The new leader of Senate Democrats sent a shiver down liberals' backs this month when he seemed to endorse conservative Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia as a possible chief justice of the United States.
Sen. Harry M. Reid's opposition to abortion was well known and generally accepted, liberal activists said, but this was something else. Some wondered if Senate Democrats had replaced Thomas A. Daschle (S.D.) with a considerably more conservative lawmaker who might yield to Republicans, especially in light of the party's four-seat net loss in November's elections.
The answer is no, according to a review of the Nevada senator's voting record, assessments by his colleagues, and his comments in a recent interview. By most measures Reid is a mainstream Democrat, landing slightly to the right of his party's average score on congressional ratings issued by a wide range of interest groups. And by his own accounts, Reid, a former boxer, is ready to go toe-to-toe with President Bush and the Senate's GOP majority on the biggest issues facing the 109th Congress.
(More ... Reid Vows to Stand Up to GOP (washingtonpost.com)) ¶ 20:15 0 comments
By Charles Babington
Washington Post Staff Writer
Sunday, December 19, 2004; Page A06
The new leader of Senate Democrats sent a shiver down liberals' backs this month when he seemed to endorse conservative Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia as a possible chief justice of the United States.
Sen. Harry M. Reid's opposition to abortion was well known and generally accepted, liberal activists said, but this was something else. Some wondered if Senate Democrats had replaced Thomas A. Daschle (S.D.) with a considerably more conservative lawmaker who might yield to Republicans, especially in light of the party's four-seat net loss in November's elections.
The answer is no, according to a review of the Nevada senator's voting record, assessments by his colleagues, and his comments in a recent interview. By most measures Reid is a mainstream Democrat, landing slightly to the right of his party's average score on congressional ratings issued by a wide range of interest groups. And by his own accounts, Reid, a former boxer, is ready to go toe-to-toe with President Bush and the Senate's GOP majority on the biggest issues facing the 109th Congress.
(More ... Reid Vows to Stand Up to GOP (washingtonpost.com)) ¶ 20:15 0 comments
Text of Democratic Response by Sen. Durbin (Chron.com)
From (Houston) Chronicle wire reports
Hello. This is Senator Dick Durbin of Illinois.
If this holiday season finds you at a post office, take a look at the people in line with you. Most of them are mailing packages across the state and across the country, but many are sending packages to their soldiers in Iraq or Afghanistan.
Inside many of those boxes headed for the war zones you'll find gifts like homemade cookies and family photos, but you'll also find expensive items no military family should ever have to buy like body armor and Kevlar vests.
(More ... HoustonChronicle.com - Text of Democratic response by Sen. Durbin) ¶ 18:02 0 comments
Hello. This is Senator Dick Durbin of Illinois.
If this holiday season finds you at a post office, take a look at the people in line with you. Most of them are mailing packages across the state and across the country, but many are sending packages to their soldiers in Iraq or Afghanistan.
Inside many of those boxes headed for the war zones you'll find gifts like homemade cookies and family photos, but you'll also find expensive items no military family should ever have to buy like body armor and Kevlar vests.
(More ... HoustonChronicle.com - Text of Democratic response by Sen. Durbin) ¶ 18:02 0 comments
12.18.2004
Ready, Willing, Disqualified (NYTimes.com)
By NATHANIEL FRANK
Published: December 16, 2004
TWO lawsuits were filed last week against the United States military. In one, eight soldiers are challenging an Army policy that extended their tours of duty in the Middle East. They are suing to get out of military service. In the other suit, 12 gay and lesbian veterans are challenging the decade-old "don't ask, don't tell" policy that bars known gays from serving in the armed forces. They are suing to get back into the military.
The connection between the two suits may be more than coincidental. An analysis of Pentagon data reveals that the military is losing gay troops in the occupational areas where shortfalls are most dire. In addition to the "stop loss" orders that prompted last week's lawsuit, the Pentagon has recalled thousands of former troops from civilian life to fill these gaps.
Many of these recalls would have been unnecessary if the military had not fired so many gay service members. This year the Pentagon approved the recall of 72 veterans in communication and navigation, but it has expelled 115 gay troops in that category since 1998; it recalled 33 in operational intelligence but has expelled 50 gays; in combat operations control, it recalled 33 but expelled 106.
Overall, the military has announced the recall of 5,674 veterans since June, but has discharged 6,416 soldiers under its "don't ask, don't tell" policy since 1998, including 1,655 since the wars in the Middle East began. The discharges covered people in 161 occupational specialties, including linguists; intelligence personnel; nuclear, biological and chemical warfare experts; artillery specialists; and missile guidance and control operators.
The gay plaintiffs are suing on constitutional grounds. Yet the evidence suggests that the current policy should also be challenged on grounds of national security.
(More ... The New York Times > Opinion > Op-Ed Contributor: Ready, Willing, Disqualified) ¶ 15:29 0 comments
Published: December 16, 2004
TWO lawsuits were filed last week against the United States military. In one, eight soldiers are challenging an Army policy that extended their tours of duty in the Middle East. They are suing to get out of military service. In the other suit, 12 gay and lesbian veterans are challenging the decade-old "don't ask, don't tell" policy that bars known gays from serving in the armed forces. They are suing to get back into the military.
The connection between the two suits may be more than coincidental. An analysis of Pentagon data reveals that the military is losing gay troops in the occupational areas where shortfalls are most dire. In addition to the "stop loss" orders that prompted last week's lawsuit, the Pentagon has recalled thousands of former troops from civilian life to fill these gaps.
Many of these recalls would have been unnecessary if the military had not fired so many gay service members. This year the Pentagon approved the recall of 72 veterans in communication and navigation, but it has expelled 115 gay troops in that category since 1998; it recalled 33 in operational intelligence but has expelled 50 gays; in combat operations control, it recalled 33 but expelled 106.
Overall, the military has announced the recall of 5,674 veterans since June, but has discharged 6,416 soldiers under its "don't ask, don't tell" policy since 1998, including 1,655 since the wars in the Middle East began. The discharges covered people in 161 occupational specialties, including linguists; intelligence personnel; nuclear, biological and chemical warfare experts; artillery specialists; and missile guidance and control operators.
The gay plaintiffs are suing on constitutional grounds. Yet the evidence suggests that the current policy should also be challenged on grounds of national security.
(More ... The New York Times > Opinion > Op-Ed Contributor: Ready, Willing, Disqualified) ¶ 15:29 0 comments
In U.S., 44 Percent Say Restrict Muslims (Yahoo! News--AP)
By WILLIAM KATES, Associated Press Writer
ITHACA, N.Y. - Nearly half of all Americans believe the U.S. government should restrict the civil liberties of Muslim Americans, according to a nationwide poll.
The survey conducted by Cornell University also found that Republicans and people who described themselves as highly religious were more apt to support curtailing Muslims' civil liberties than Democrats or people who are less religious.
Researchers also found that respondents who paid more attention to television news were more likely to fear terrorist attacks and support limiting the rights of Muslim Americans.
"It's sad news. It's disturbing news. But it's not unpredictable," said Mahdi Bray, executive director of the Muslim American Society. "The nation is at war, even if it's not a traditional war. We just have to remain vigilant and continue to interface."
The survey found 44 percent favored at least some restrictions on the civil liberties of Muslim Americans. Forty-eight percent said liberties should not be restricted in any way.
(More ... Yahoo! News - In U.S., 44 Percent Say Restrict Muslims) ¶ 15:14 0 comments
ITHACA, N.Y. - Nearly half of all Americans believe the U.S. government should restrict the civil liberties of Muslim Americans, according to a nationwide poll.
The survey conducted by Cornell University also found that Republicans and people who described themselves as highly religious were more apt to support curtailing Muslims' civil liberties than Democrats or people who are less religious.
Researchers also found that respondents who paid more attention to television news were more likely to fear terrorist attacks and support limiting the rights of Muslim Americans.
"It's sad news. It's disturbing news. But it's not unpredictable," said Mahdi Bray, executive director of the Muslim American Society. "The nation is at war, even if it's not a traditional war. We just have to remain vigilant and continue to interface."
The survey found 44 percent favored at least some restrictions on the civil liberties of Muslim Americans. Forty-eight percent said liberties should not be restricted in any way.
(More ... Yahoo! News - In U.S., 44 Percent Say Restrict Muslims) ¶ 15:14 0 comments
12.17.2004
Fiddling as Iraq Burns (NYTimes.com)
By BOB HERBERT
Published: December 17, 2004
The White House seems to have slipped the bonds of simple denial and escaped into the disturbing realm of utter delusion. On Tuesday, there was President Bush hanging the nation's highest civilian honor, the Presidential Medal of Freedom, on George Tenet, the former C.I.A. director who slept through the run-up to Sept. 11 and then did the president and the nation the great disservice of declaring that it was a "slam-dunk" that Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction.
It was a fatal misjudgment.
Another Medal of Freedom was given to Paul Bremer III, the chief civilian administrator of the American occupation, who made the heavily criticized decision to disband the defeated Iraqi Army and presided over an ever-worsening security situation. Thousands upon thousands have died in this unnecessary and incompetently conducted war, yet here was the president handing out medals as if some kind of triumph had been achieved. If these guys could get the highest civilian award, what honor is left for someone who actually does a good job?
A third medal was given to Gen. Tommy Franks, who led the invasion of Iraq, which Mr. Bush, in his peculiar way, has characterized as a "catastrophic success." It's an interesting term. Some people have applied it to the president's run for re-election.
(More ... The New York Times > Opinion > Op-Ed Columnist: Fiddling as Iraq Burns) ¶ 22:06 0 comments
Published: December 17, 2004
The White House seems to have slipped the bonds of simple denial and escaped into the disturbing realm of utter delusion. On Tuesday, there was President Bush hanging the nation's highest civilian honor, the Presidential Medal of Freedom, on George Tenet, the former C.I.A. director who slept through the run-up to Sept. 11 and then did the president and the nation the great disservice of declaring that it was a "slam-dunk" that Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction.
It was a fatal misjudgment.
Another Medal of Freedom was given to Paul Bremer III, the chief civilian administrator of the American occupation, who made the heavily criticized decision to disband the defeated Iraqi Army and presided over an ever-worsening security situation. Thousands upon thousands have died in this unnecessary and incompetently conducted war, yet here was the president handing out medals as if some kind of triumph had been achieved. If these guys could get the highest civilian award, what honor is left for someone who actually does a good job?
A third medal was given to Gen. Tommy Franks, who led the invasion of Iraq, which Mr. Bush, in his peculiar way, has characterized as a "catastrophic success." It's an interesting term. Some people have applied it to the president's run for re-election.
(More ... The New York Times > Opinion > Op-Ed Columnist: Fiddling as Iraq Burns) ¶ 22:06 0 comments
Guard Reports Serious Drop in Enlistment (NYTimes.com)
By ERIC SCHMITT
Published: December 17, 2004
WASHINGTON, Dec. 16 - In the latest signs of strains on the military from the war in Iraq, the Army National Guard announced on Thursday that it had fallen 30 percent below its recruiting goals in the last two months and would offer new incentives, including enlistment bonuses of up to $15,000.
In addition, the head of the National Guard Bureau, Lt. Gen. H Steven Blum, said on Thursday that he needed $20 billion to replace arms and equipment destroyed in Iraq and Afghanistan or left there for other Army and Air Guard units to use, so that returning reservists will have enough equipment to deal with emergencies at home.
The sharp decline in recruiting is significant because National Guard and Army Reserve soldiers now make up nearly 40 percent of the 148,000 troops in Iraq, and are a vital source for filling the ranks, particularly those who perform essential support tasks, like truck drivers and military police.
(More ... The New York Times > Washington > Guard Reports Serious Drop in Enlistment) ¶ 19:38 0 comments
Published: December 17, 2004
WASHINGTON, Dec. 16 - In the latest signs of strains on the military from the war in Iraq, the Army National Guard announced on Thursday that it had fallen 30 percent below its recruiting goals in the last two months and would offer new incentives, including enlistment bonuses of up to $15,000.
In addition, the head of the National Guard Bureau, Lt. Gen. H Steven Blum, said on Thursday that he needed $20 billion to replace arms and equipment destroyed in Iraq and Afghanistan or left there for other Army and Air Guard units to use, so that returning reservists will have enough equipment to deal with emergencies at home.
The sharp decline in recruiting is significant because National Guard and Army Reserve soldiers now make up nearly 40 percent of the 148,000 troops in Iraq, and are a vital source for filling the ranks, particularly those who perform essential support tasks, like truck drivers and military police.
(More ... The New York Times > Washington > Guard Reports Serious Drop in Enlistment) ¶ 19:38 0 comments
USCountVotes.org
USCountVotes proposes to objectively investigate voting patterns through the creation of a database of precinct level election and demographic data for all states. Our goal is to develop analytical and statistical techniques capable of pinpointing probable errors in vote counts worthy of investigation, regardless of the parties involved.
A group of independent mathematicians, statisticians and computer professionals has formed a new, volunteer scientific research project to objectively investigate the accuracy of elections in America.
We propose to create and analyze - for the first time ever - a single database containing precinct-level election results for the entire United States. This rich mine of data will be analyzed by our project's affiliated mathematicians, computer programmers, pollsters and statisticians, as well as by an independent peer-review board. Our goal is to use this data to develop and test mathematical techniques to reliably detect precinct-level vote counting errors worthy of investigation.
Home - USCountVotes.org ¶ 19:29 0 comments
A group of independent mathematicians, statisticians and computer professionals has formed a new, volunteer scientific research project to objectively investigate the accuracy of elections in America.
We propose to create and analyze - for the first time ever - a single database containing precinct-level election results for the entire United States. This rich mine of data will be analyzed by our project's affiliated mathematicians, computer programmers, pollsters and statisticians, as well as by an independent peer-review board. Our goal is to use this data to develop and test mathematical techniques to reliably detect precinct-level vote counting errors worthy of investigation.
Home - USCountVotes.org ¶ 19:29 0 comments
"Fraud By Computer" in Florida (MadCowProd.com)
Election Official Thwarts Recount Using Phony Vote Totals
By Daniel Hopsicker
A ''mistake'' made in the office of a seriously-compromised Supervisor of Election in Pinellas County whose husband is a top executive of the country’s largest election services company has almost unnoticed spiked the best hope for a election recount in Florida that might have thrown a spotlight on the dark corners of the Florida election process concealing widespread systemic and system-wide vote fraud.
The office of Supervisor of Elections in Pinellas County, Deborah Clark, provided inflated totals on the YES side of the gambling initiative which were then used by state officials in the official state tally of the hotly-contested gambling initiative known as Amendment 4..
The initiative would allow casino slot machine gambling in South Florida, an outcome devoutly to be wished by owners of the spanking new $700 million Hard Rock Café Casino in Hollywood, Florida, a facility all dressed up but with currently nowhere to go.
Pinellas County voters defeated the gambling initiative by more than 17,000 votes. But the official state record says the exact opposite, the result of a “mistake” by the office of Pinellas Elections Supervisor which would have gone unnoticed, said local reports, had it not been caught by outside observers.
(More ... Scoop: Daniel Hopsicker: The Big Fix 2004 (Part3)) ¶ 19:24 0 comments
By Daniel Hopsicker
A ''mistake'' made in the office of a seriously-compromised Supervisor of Election in Pinellas County whose husband is a top executive of the country’s largest election services company has almost unnoticed spiked the best hope for a election recount in Florida that might have thrown a spotlight on the dark corners of the Florida election process concealing widespread systemic and system-wide vote fraud.
The office of Supervisor of Elections in Pinellas County, Deborah Clark, provided inflated totals on the YES side of the gambling initiative which were then used by state officials in the official state tally of the hotly-contested gambling initiative known as Amendment 4..
The initiative would allow casino slot machine gambling in South Florida, an outcome devoutly to be wished by owners of the spanking new $700 million Hard Rock Café Casino in Hollywood, Florida, a facility all dressed up but with currently nowhere to go.
Pinellas County voters defeated the gambling initiative by more than 17,000 votes. But the official state record says the exact opposite, the result of a “mistake” by the office of Pinellas Elections Supervisor which would have gone unnoticed, said local reports, had it not been caught by outside observers.
(More ... Scoop: Daniel Hopsicker: The Big Fix 2004 (Part3)) ¶ 19:24 0 comments
America's War on Human Rights (NZHerald.co.nz)
BOOK REVIEW: America's War on Human Rights, by David Rose
17 December 2004
Reviewed by John Freeman
They talked about the war in Iraq and prescription drug benefits, debated gay marriage and discussed the particulars of our efforts to capture Osama Bin Laden. But one word you rarely heard President Bush or Senator John Kerry utter throughout the 2004 presidential campaign was Guantanamo.
Indeed, it was as if the US$155 million ($216 million) prison in Cuba built - David Rose reminds us in his new book - by Vice President Dick Cheney's former company, Halliburton, didn't exist.
And that is exactly as the Government wanted things to be.
(More ... The New Zealand Herald) ¶ 10:07 0 comments
17 December 2004
Reviewed by John Freeman
They talked about the war in Iraq and prescription drug benefits, debated gay marriage and discussed the particulars of our efforts to capture Osama Bin Laden. But one word you rarely heard President Bush or Senator John Kerry utter throughout the 2004 presidential campaign was Guantanamo.
Indeed, it was as if the US$155 million ($216 million) prison in Cuba built - David Rose reminds us in his new book - by Vice President Dick Cheney's former company, Halliburton, didn't exist.
And that is exactly as the Government wanted things to be.
(More ... The New Zealand Herald) ¶ 10:07 0 comments
The Global Political Positioning System (NYTimes.com)
By PAUL TOUGH
Published: December 12, 2004
Let's say you somehow find yourself stuck behind enemy lines in the new divided America -- a Democrat in suburban Dallas, say, or a Republican in the East Village. Surely there's someone around who thinks the way you do; but how to locate that lonesome kindred spirit? Now there's a solution: a simple application you can install on your BlackBerry or cellphone (preferably the latest kind, equipped with G.P.S.) that displays the precise redness and blueness of the spot where you're standing -- and points you in the direction of redder or bluer neighborhoods nearby.
(More ... The New York Times > Magazine > Global Political Positioning System, The) ¶ 09:59 0 comments
Published: December 12, 2004
Let's say you somehow find yourself stuck behind enemy lines in the new divided America -- a Democrat in suburban Dallas, say, or a Republican in the East Village. Surely there's someone around who thinks the way you do; but how to locate that lonesome kindred spirit? Now there's a solution: a simple application you can install on your BlackBerry or cellphone (preferably the latest kind, equipped with G.P.S.) that displays the precise redness and blueness of the spot where you're standing -- and points you in the direction of redder or bluer neighborhoods nearby.
(More ... The New York Times > Magazine > Global Political Positioning System, The) ¶ 09:59 0 comments
Income-Variability Anxiety (NYTimes.com)
By NOAM SCHEIBER
Published: December 12, 2004
For decades, political scientists have believed that the economy is the key to a president's re-election chances: when the economy is buoyant, as it was in 1984 and 1996, the incumbent should cruise to victory. When the economy is dicey, as it was in 1980 and 1992, the advantage tilts toward the challenger. So it is no surprise that with every major economic indicator looking good this year, leading political-science models tended to show George W. Bush winning easily.
That obviously didn't happen. And the reason, according to a recent series of papers by Jacob Hacker, a Yale political scientist, is that while incomes have been rising, so has the degree to which those incomes fluctuate. The problem for an incumbent, Hacker argues, is that voters care a great deal about having a stable income, not just about having a large one.
(More ... The New York Times > Magazine > Income-Variability Anxiety) ¶ 09:55 0 comments
Published: December 12, 2004
For decades, political scientists have believed that the economy is the key to a president's re-election chances: when the economy is buoyant, as it was in 1984 and 1996, the incumbent should cruise to victory. When the economy is dicey, as it was in 1980 and 1992, the advantage tilts toward the challenger. So it is no surprise that with every major economic indicator looking good this year, leading political-science models tended to show George W. Bush winning easily.
That obviously didn't happen. And the reason, according to a recent series of papers by Jacob Hacker, a Yale political scientist, is that while incomes have been rising, so has the degree to which those incomes fluctuate. The problem for an incumbent, Hacker argues, is that voters care a great deal about having a stable income, not just about having a large one.
(More ... The New York Times > Magazine > Income-Variability Anxiety) ¶ 09:55 0 comments
Strategic Extremism (NYTimes.com)
By PAUL TOUGH
Published: December 12, 2004
It may be hard to believe these days, but in fact, Americans are pretty moderate people, politically. Even on deeply emotional issues like abortion, public opinion tends to coalesce around a mushy compromise position somewhere close to the middle of the road. So why do party platforms and campaign rhetoric tend toward extreme positions?
According to a paper in the October issue of the Harvard Institute of Economic Research, there may be a calculated reason behind the nation's current political divide. The lead author, Edward L. Glaeser, a Harvard economist, argues that the parties are employing a tactic that he calls strategic extremism. When the political landscape is balanced in a very particular way, he writes -- the way it is right now -- ''extreme political platforms that deviate sharply from the median voter's preferences can be vote-maximizing.''
There are two main conditions that have to be met before strategic extremism can work. The first is the presence of a lot of voters with relatively extreme positions who don't vote regularly. This was the idea behind Karl Rove's ''base'' strategy this year: target the four million evangelicals who didn't vote in 2000, as well as other reluctant voters with similar positions. If you fire them up enough, you can afford to lose a few voters in the middle.
The second condition is what Glaeser calls informational asymmetry. Strategic extremism works only if you are able to target your extreme messages solely at your own base. The polarization of the media has made this easier -- an interview on Fox News will reach more right-leaning voters; an interview on Air America will reach more left-leaning voters. Direct mail (the field in which Karl Rove got his start in politics) is probably the most effective narrow-casting strategy of all.
But at the same time, there are other emerging technologies that make this approach risky. Blogs, ''oppo'' researchers and even the mainstream media can reveal a candidate's red-meat rhetoric to the other side, thus firing up his opponent's base. It is anyone's guess, Glaeser says, which set of tools will be more effective in the future. ''Everything depends upon whether changes in technology increase the ability to target faster than they increase the ability to reveal,'' Glaeser says. ''It's direct mailing versus Drudge, and reducing extremism depends on the Drudges expanding faster than the direct mailers.''
The New York Times > Magazine > Strategic Extremism ¶ 09:24 0 comments
Published: December 12, 2004
It may be hard to believe these days, but in fact, Americans are pretty moderate people, politically. Even on deeply emotional issues like abortion, public opinion tends to coalesce around a mushy compromise position somewhere close to the middle of the road. So why do party platforms and campaign rhetoric tend toward extreme positions?
According to a paper in the October issue of the Harvard Institute of Economic Research, there may be a calculated reason behind the nation's current political divide. The lead author, Edward L. Glaeser, a Harvard economist, argues that the parties are employing a tactic that he calls strategic extremism. When the political landscape is balanced in a very particular way, he writes -- the way it is right now -- ''extreme political platforms that deviate sharply from the median voter's preferences can be vote-maximizing.''
There are two main conditions that have to be met before strategic extremism can work. The first is the presence of a lot of voters with relatively extreme positions who don't vote regularly. This was the idea behind Karl Rove's ''base'' strategy this year: target the four million evangelicals who didn't vote in 2000, as well as other reluctant voters with similar positions. If you fire them up enough, you can afford to lose a few voters in the middle.
The second condition is what Glaeser calls informational asymmetry. Strategic extremism works only if you are able to target your extreme messages solely at your own base. The polarization of the media has made this easier -- an interview on Fox News will reach more right-leaning voters; an interview on Air America will reach more left-leaning voters. Direct mail (the field in which Karl Rove got his start in politics) is probably the most effective narrow-casting strategy of all.
But at the same time, there are other emerging technologies that make this approach risky. Blogs, ''oppo'' researchers and even the mainstream media can reveal a candidate's red-meat rhetoric to the other side, thus firing up his opponent's base. It is anyone's guess, Glaeser says, which set of tools will be more effective in the future. ''Everything depends upon whether changes in technology increase the ability to target faster than they increase the ability to reveal,'' Glaeser says. ''It's direct mailing versus Drudge, and reducing extremism depends on the Drudges expanding faster than the direct mailers.''
The New York Times > Magazine > Strategic Extremism ¶ 09:24 0 comments
Democratic Providentialism (NYTimes.com)
The Way We Live Now
By MICHAEL IGNATIEFF
Published: December 12, 2004
During this year's election campaign, President Bush liked to wind up his stump speech with a peroration about freedom -- and therefore democracy -- being not just America's gift to the world but God's gift to mankind. This line went down well, maybe because it carried the happy implication that when America and its soldiers promote democracy overseas, they are doing God's work, even in Iraq.
The name for this idea is democratic providentialism. It has become the organizing vision of an administration that took power in 2001 actively disdainful of highfalutin foreign-policy uplift. All that John Kerry and the Democrats could put up against it was prudent realism, and to the extent that the election was a referendum on vision, prudent realism lost hands down. The 2004 election closed out the final chapter in a fascinating realignment in American politics. Democrats, who once were heirs of big dreamers like Franklin Roosevelt and Woodrow Wilson, risk becoming the party of small dreams, while the Republicans, who under Nixon and Kissinger seemed determined to divest foreign policy of high moral purpose, have become the party that wants to change the world.
Of course, there is nothing necessarily good about dreaming big. Big dreams can be crazy. And dangerous. A lot of people -- including people of Christian faith -- found it alarming that a president could actually claim to know what God's plan might be, and scarier still that there were evangelical Christians divinely certain that George W. Bush was himself part of that plan.
But while you may not like the providential aspect of democratic providentialism, it remains true that the promotion of democracy by the United States has proved to be a dependably good idea. America may be more unpopular than ever before, but its hegemony really has coincided with a democratic revolution around the world. For the first time in history, a majority of the world's peoples live in democracies. In a dangerous time, this is about the best news around, since democracies, by and large, do not fight one another, and they do not break up into civil war. As a result -- and contrary to the general view that the world is getting more violent -- ethnic and civil strife have actually been declining since the early 1990's, according to a study of violent conflicts by Ted Robert Gurr at the University of Maryland. Democratic transitions can be violent -- when democracy came to Yugoslavia, majority rule at first led to ethnic cleansing and massacre -- but once democracies settle in, once they develop independent courts and real checks and balances, they can begin to advance majority interests without sacrificing minority rights.
(More ... The New York Times > Magazine > The Way We Live Now: Democratic Providentialism) ¶ 09:00 0 comments
By MICHAEL IGNATIEFF
Published: December 12, 2004
During this year's election campaign, President Bush liked to wind up his stump speech with a peroration about freedom -- and therefore democracy -- being not just America's gift to the world but God's gift to mankind. This line went down well, maybe because it carried the happy implication that when America and its soldiers promote democracy overseas, they are doing God's work, even in Iraq.
The name for this idea is democratic providentialism. It has become the organizing vision of an administration that took power in 2001 actively disdainful of highfalutin foreign-policy uplift. All that John Kerry and the Democrats could put up against it was prudent realism, and to the extent that the election was a referendum on vision, prudent realism lost hands down. The 2004 election closed out the final chapter in a fascinating realignment in American politics. Democrats, who once were heirs of big dreamers like Franklin Roosevelt and Woodrow Wilson, risk becoming the party of small dreams, while the Republicans, who under Nixon and Kissinger seemed determined to divest foreign policy of high moral purpose, have become the party that wants to change the world.
Of course, there is nothing necessarily good about dreaming big. Big dreams can be crazy. And dangerous. A lot of people -- including people of Christian faith -- found it alarming that a president could actually claim to know what God's plan might be, and scarier still that there were evangelical Christians divinely certain that George W. Bush was himself part of that plan.
But while you may not like the providential aspect of democratic providentialism, it remains true that the promotion of democracy by the United States has proved to be a dependably good idea. America may be more unpopular than ever before, but its hegemony really has coincided with a democratic revolution around the world. For the first time in history, a majority of the world's peoples live in democracies. In a dangerous time, this is about the best news around, since democracies, by and large, do not fight one another, and they do not break up into civil war. As a result -- and contrary to the general view that the world is getting more violent -- ethnic and civil strife have actually been declining since the early 1990's, according to a study of violent conflicts by Ted Robert Gurr at the University of Maryland. Democratic transitions can be violent -- when democracy came to Yugoslavia, majority rule at first led to ethnic cleansing and massacre -- but once democracies settle in, once they develop independent courts and real checks and balances, they can begin to advance majority interests without sacrificing minority rights.
(More ... The New York Times > Magazine > The Way We Live Now: Democratic Providentialism) ¶ 09:00 0 comments
12.16.2004
Yukos Files for Bankruptcy Protection in Bush's Backyard (Guardian.co.uk)
Russian oil giant takes Kremlin fight to new heights in US
Nick Paton Walsh in Moscow and Terry Macalister
Thursday December 16, 2004
The Guardian
Russian oil giant Yukos yesterday increased the stakes in its battle with the Kremlin when it filed for bankruptcy in the United States in an unusual move possibly intended to pitch Washington against Moscow.
The world's second largest oil producer filed for chapter 11 protection in Houston, Texas, the home state of President George Bush, despite Yukos having few assets in the US.
A US bankruptcy judge scheduled a session for later today to hear arguments in the bankruptcy filing and decide whether the court should issue a temporary restraining order blocking the planned sale of a part of the business responsible for 60% of its output.
Some industry experts believe Yukos is deliberately trying to win American political - as well as legal - backing just four days before state bailiffs in Russia sell off its main production unit to settle a $28bn (£14.4bn) tax debt.
The move comes at a time when relations between Mr Bush and his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, are strained over the controversial election results in Ukraine.
(More ... Guardian Unlimited | The Guardian | Yukos files for bankruptcy protection in Bush's backyard) ¶ 19:15 0 comments
Nick Paton Walsh in Moscow and Terry Macalister
Thursday December 16, 2004
The Guardian
Russian oil giant Yukos yesterday increased the stakes in its battle with the Kremlin when it filed for bankruptcy in the United States in an unusual move possibly intended to pitch Washington against Moscow.
The world's second largest oil producer filed for chapter 11 protection in Houston, Texas, the home state of President George Bush, despite Yukos having few assets in the US.
A US bankruptcy judge scheduled a session for later today to hear arguments in the bankruptcy filing and decide whether the court should issue a temporary restraining order blocking the planned sale of a part of the business responsible for 60% of its output.
Some industry experts believe Yukos is deliberately trying to win American political - as well as legal - backing just four days before state bailiffs in Russia sell off its main production unit to settle a $28bn (£14.4bn) tax debt.
The move comes at a time when relations between Mr Bush and his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, are strained over the controversial election results in Ukraine.
(More ... Guardian Unlimited | The Guardian | Yukos files for bankruptcy protection in Bush's backyard) ¶ 19:15 0 comments
American Democracy Hangs By a Thread in Ohio (FreePress.org)
by Bob Fitrakis, Steve Rosenfeld and Harvey Wasserman
December 15, 2004
As the whole world watches, American democracy may be hanging by a thread in Ohio.
Monday, December 13, saw a triple play that will live in electoral infamy. But every new day brings still more stunning revelations -- this time from Toledo -- of vote theft and fraud and a towering wall of resistance and sabotage against a fair recount of the votes that allegedly gave George W. Bush four more years in the White House.
Three major events made December 13 a monument to electoral theft: a lawsuit filed in the morning at the Ohio State Supreme Court demanding a recount of all Ohio ballots; a Congressional hearing held in Columbus City Council chambers filled with angry, high-profile testimony of vote fraud and disenfranchisement and the illegal sabotaging of a recount; and then, at noon, a block away at the statehouse, the vote of Ohio's twenty illegitimate electors designating their choice of George W. Bush to be president.
On Tuesday, demonstrators staged the latest in a long string of protests at the statehouse. And at an evening hearing in Toledo, stunning new sworn testimony revealed that Diebold technicians have tainted official voting machines before a recount could be done, irrevocably compromising the process.
The December 13 lawsuit was filed in the presence of Rev. Jesse Jackson, who compared it to the attempts to win voting rights for African-American citizens in the era of Dr. Martin Luther King.
The suit seeks to overturn Ohio's presidential vote. It asked an immediate court order to stop Republican presidential electors from meeting and voting for George W. Bush.
(More ... The Free Press -- Independent News Media - Election 2004) ¶ 18:39 0 comments
December 15, 2004
As the whole world watches, American democracy may be hanging by a thread in Ohio.
Monday, December 13, saw a triple play that will live in electoral infamy. But every new day brings still more stunning revelations -- this time from Toledo -- of vote theft and fraud and a towering wall of resistance and sabotage against a fair recount of the votes that allegedly gave George W. Bush four more years in the White House.
Three major events made December 13 a monument to electoral theft: a lawsuit filed in the morning at the Ohio State Supreme Court demanding a recount of all Ohio ballots; a Congressional hearing held in Columbus City Council chambers filled with angry, high-profile testimony of vote fraud and disenfranchisement and the illegal sabotaging of a recount; and then, at noon, a block away at the statehouse, the vote of Ohio's twenty illegitimate electors designating their choice of George W. Bush to be president.
On Tuesday, demonstrators staged the latest in a long string of protests at the statehouse. And at an evening hearing in Toledo, stunning new sworn testimony revealed that Diebold technicians have tainted official voting machines before a recount could be done, irrevocably compromising the process.
The December 13 lawsuit was filed in the presence of Rev. Jesse Jackson, who compared it to the attempts to win voting rights for African-American citizens in the era of Dr. Martin Luther King.
The suit seeks to overturn Ohio's presidential vote. It asked an immediate court order to stop Republican presidential electors from meeting and voting for George W. Bush.
(More ... The Free Press -- Independent News Media - Election 2004) ¶ 18:39 0 comments
Radio ID Tags Proliferate, Stirring Privacy Debate (CSMmonitor.com)
NZDEMS: Big Brother on the march? You decide.
Soon, everything from children's backpacks to the shoes you buy could be tracked by radio signal.
By Daniel B. Wood | Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor
LOS ANGELES – Nearly unknown a decade ago, a device the size of a pencil tip is beginning to infiltrate every corner and pocket of American life.
This recent technology - called RFID for "radio frequency identification" - is making everything from warehouse inventory to lost-luggage tracking to library checkouts easier, faster, and much more informed.
Some examples of RFID uses that have proliferated in just the past several years:
• Electronic key-sized purchase tags in Arizona that are replacing conventional credit cards.
• ID tags for Texas school children that allow local law-enforcement offices to monitor their movements.
• A proposal to examine the possible use of EZ-pass type trackers in California autos to enforce a statewide mileage tax.
• Medicine containers electronically fitted nationwide to alert to fraud, counterfeiting, and even mistakes by hospital staff.
At the same time, the rush to harness the technology is raising a host of regulatory and other concerns, including the invasion of privacy, personal freedom, and civil rights. Those issues in turn are generating concern by lawmakers for how access to data collected by such methods should be limited and protected.
(More ... Radio ID tags proliferate, stirring privacy debate | csmonitor.com) ¶ 09:04 0 comments
Soon, everything from children's backpacks to the shoes you buy could be tracked by radio signal.
By Daniel B. Wood | Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor
LOS ANGELES – Nearly unknown a decade ago, a device the size of a pencil tip is beginning to infiltrate every corner and pocket of American life.
This recent technology - called RFID for "radio frequency identification" - is making everything from warehouse inventory to lost-luggage tracking to library checkouts easier, faster, and much more informed.
Some examples of RFID uses that have proliferated in just the past several years:
• Electronic key-sized purchase tags in Arizona that are replacing conventional credit cards.
• ID tags for Texas school children that allow local law-enforcement offices to monitor their movements.
• A proposal to examine the possible use of EZ-pass type trackers in California autos to enforce a statewide mileage tax.
• Medicine containers electronically fitted nationwide to alert to fraud, counterfeiting, and even mistakes by hospital staff.
At the same time, the rush to harness the technology is raising a host of regulatory and other concerns, including the invasion of privacy, personal freedom, and civil rights. Those issues in turn are generating concern by lawmakers for how access to data collected by such methods should be limited and protected.
(More ... Radio ID tags proliferate, stirring privacy debate | csmonitor.com) ¶ 09:04 0 comments
U.S. Resists Changing Stance Amid Climate Warnings (Reuters.com)
By Mary Milliken
BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (Reuters) - Meteorologists warned on Wednesday that 2004 would be one of the hottest years since records began as environment ministers tried to crack U.S. resistance to joining international efforts against global warming.
The Geneva-based World Meteorological Organization said in its annual report that 2004 would be the fourth-hottest since record-keeping began in 1861 and predicted global warming would continue with more extreme weather like hurricanes and droughts.
The report came as environment ministers from 80 countries met on Wednesday for the final days of a U.N. conference on climate change.
The conference of nearly 200 nations has turned into a polarized affair, with the European Union and nations supporting the Kyoto protocol to cut greenhouse gases in one camp and the United States, the world's biggest polluter, in the other.
(More ... Science News Article | Reuters.com) ¶ 08:44 0 comments
BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (Reuters) - Meteorologists warned on Wednesday that 2004 would be one of the hottest years since records began as environment ministers tried to crack U.S. resistance to joining international efforts against global warming.
The Geneva-based World Meteorological Organization said in its annual report that 2004 would be the fourth-hottest since record-keeping began in 1861 and predicted global warming would continue with more extreme weather like hurricanes and droughts.
The report came as environment ministers from 80 countries met on Wednesday for the final days of a U.N. conference on climate change.
The conference of nearly 200 nations has turned into a polarized affair, with the European Union and nations supporting the Kyoto protocol to cut greenhouse gases in one camp and the United States, the world's biggest polluter, in the other.
(More ... Science News Article | Reuters.com) ¶ 08:44 0 comments
12.15.2004
Bush Allies May Defect Over Fiscal Proposals (WashingtonPost.com)
By Jeffrey H. Birnbaum and Jonathan Weisman
Washington Post Staff Writers
Wednesday, December 15, 2004; Page A01
The AARP bulletined its 35 million members last week that President Bush's plan to make personal investment accounts part of Social Security was the "wrong direction" and would "make the problem worse." The National Retail Federation has cautioned lawmakers that a national sales tax would hurt the economy. And health lobbyists have begged the White House to retain tax breaks for health insurance.
As the White House opens a two-day conference today to promote its second-term fiscal priorities, powerful interest groups that once supported Bush are either actively working to undercut him or are wary of his proposals. The result, experts say, is that the president will probably have a hard time passing his ambitious plans, which include cracking down on medical malpractice lawsuits and overhauling both the federal tax code and Social Security.
"Combining all three of these major issues mobilizes the largest interest groups in America, including the trial lawyers and AARP," said James A. Thurber, director of the Center for Congressional and Presidential Studies at American University. Added Marshall Wittmann, a former Republican congressional staffer and now a senior fellow at the pro-business Democratic Leadership Council, "No one has ever tried to do as many of these at once, and he will be very lucky if he achieves just one of his goals, let alone all of them."
(More ... Bush Allies May Defect Over Fiscal Proposals (washingtonpost.com)) ¶ 22:43 0 comments
Washington Post Staff Writers
Wednesday, December 15, 2004; Page A01
The AARP bulletined its 35 million members last week that President Bush's plan to make personal investment accounts part of Social Security was the "wrong direction" and would "make the problem worse." The National Retail Federation has cautioned lawmakers that a national sales tax would hurt the economy. And health lobbyists have begged the White House to retain tax breaks for health insurance.
As the White House opens a two-day conference today to promote its second-term fiscal priorities, powerful interest groups that once supported Bush are either actively working to undercut him or are wary of his proposals. The result, experts say, is that the president will probably have a hard time passing his ambitious plans, which include cracking down on medical malpractice lawsuits and overhauling both the federal tax code and Social Security.
"Combining all three of these major issues mobilizes the largest interest groups in America, including the trial lawyers and AARP," said James A. Thurber, director of the Center for Congressional and Presidential Studies at American University. Added Marshall Wittmann, a former Republican congressional staffer and now a senior fellow at the pro-business Democratic Leadership Council, "No one has ever tried to do as many of these at once, and he will be very lucky if he achieves just one of his goals, let alone all of them."
(More ... Bush Allies May Defect Over Fiscal Proposals (washingtonpost.com)) ¶ 22:43 0 comments
Lawmaker Seeks Inquiry Into Ohio Vote (NYTimes.com)
By TOM ZELLER Jr.
Published: December 15, 2004
The ranking Democratic member of the House Judiciary Committee, Representative John Conyers Jr. of Michigan, plans to ask the Federal Bureau of Investigation and a county prosecutor in Ohio today to explore "inappropriate and likely illegal election tampering" in at least one and perhaps several Ohio counties.
The request for an investigation, made in a letter that was also provided to The New York Times, includes accounts from at least two county employees, but is based largely on a sworn affidavit provided by the Hocking County deputy director of elections, Sherole Eaton.
Among other things, Ms. Eaton says in her affidavit that a representative of Triad Governmental Systems, the Ohio firm that created and maintains the vote-counting software in dozens of Ohio counties, made several adjustments to the Hocking County tabulator last Friday, in advance of the state's recount, which is taking place this week.
Ohio recount rules require that only 3 percent of a county's votes be tallied by hand, and typically one or more whole precincts are selected and combined to get the 3 percent sample. After the hand count, the sample is fed into the tabulator. If there is no discrepancy, the remaining ballots can be counted by the machine. Otherwise, a hand recount must be done for the whole county.
Ms. Eaton contends that the Triad employee asked which precinct Hocking County planned to count as its representative 3 percent, and, upon being told, made further adjustments to the machine.
County officials decided to use a different precinct when the recount was done yesterday. No discrepancies were found.
"This is pretty outrageous," Mr. Conyers said. "We want to pursue it as vigorously as we can."
(More ... The New York Times > Washington > Lawmaker Seeks Inquiry Into Ohio Vote) ¶ 22:33 0 comments
Published: December 15, 2004
The ranking Democratic member of the House Judiciary Committee, Representative John Conyers Jr. of Michigan, plans to ask the Federal Bureau of Investigation and a county prosecutor in Ohio today to explore "inappropriate and likely illegal election tampering" in at least one and perhaps several Ohio counties.
The request for an investigation, made in a letter that was also provided to The New York Times, includes accounts from at least two county employees, but is based largely on a sworn affidavit provided by the Hocking County deputy director of elections, Sherole Eaton.
Among other things, Ms. Eaton says in her affidavit that a representative of Triad Governmental Systems, the Ohio firm that created and maintains the vote-counting software in dozens of Ohio counties, made several adjustments to the Hocking County tabulator last Friday, in advance of the state's recount, which is taking place this week.
Ohio recount rules require that only 3 percent of a county's votes be tallied by hand, and typically one or more whole precincts are selected and combined to get the 3 percent sample. After the hand count, the sample is fed into the tabulator. If there is no discrepancy, the remaining ballots can be counted by the machine. Otherwise, a hand recount must be done for the whole county.
Ms. Eaton contends that the Triad employee asked which precinct Hocking County planned to count as its representative 3 percent, and, upon being told, made further adjustments to the machine.
County officials decided to use a different precinct when the recount was done yesterday. No discrepancies were found.
"This is pretty outrageous," Mr. Conyers said. "We want to pursue it as vigorously as we can."
(More ... The New York Times > Washington > Lawmaker Seeks Inquiry Into Ohio Vote) ¶ 22:33 0 comments
Missteps Cited in Kerik Vetting by White House (NYTimes.com)
By ELISABETH BUMILLER
Published: December 15, 2004
WASHINGTON, Dec. 14 - Despite hours of confrontational interviews by the White House counsel, Alberto R. Gonzales, the Bush administration failed to get a full picture of the legal and ethical problems of Bernard B. Kerik, its nominee for homeland security secretary, a government official said on Tuesday.
In addition, the White House did not consult with the one person in the West Wing who knew the most about Mr. Kerik's background, Frances Townsend, because Ms. Townsend, President Bush's adviser on homeland security and a former federal prosecutor in New York, was under consideration for the position herself, said the official, who would speak only on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue.
Those problems, law enforcement officials and Republicans said, were just two of the factors that led to the collapse of the Kerik nomination and surprised a White House focused on changing more than half the cabinet.
The story of Mr. Kerik's nomination is one of how a normally careful White House faltered because of Mr. Bush's personal enthusiasm for Mr. Kerik, a desire by the administration to quickly fill a critical national security job and an apparent lack of candor from Mr. Kerik himself.
A Republican close to the White House who has participated in background reviews of presidential nominees said the fault lay both with Mr. Kerik and with "whoever's job it was to check him out."
(More ... The New York Times > Washington > Missteps Cited in Kerik Vetting by White House)
This article was reported by Elisabeth Bumiller, Eric Lipton and David Johnston and written by Ms. Bumiller. ¶ 22:15 0 comments
Published: December 15, 2004
WASHINGTON, Dec. 14 - Despite hours of confrontational interviews by the White House counsel, Alberto R. Gonzales, the Bush administration failed to get a full picture of the legal and ethical problems of Bernard B. Kerik, its nominee for homeland security secretary, a government official said on Tuesday.
In addition, the White House did not consult with the one person in the West Wing who knew the most about Mr. Kerik's background, Frances Townsend, because Ms. Townsend, President Bush's adviser on homeland security and a former federal prosecutor in New York, was under consideration for the position herself, said the official, who would speak only on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue.
Those problems, law enforcement officials and Republicans said, were just two of the factors that led to the collapse of the Kerik nomination and surprised a White House focused on changing more than half the cabinet.
The story of Mr. Kerik's nomination is one of how a normally careful White House faltered because of Mr. Bush's personal enthusiasm for Mr. Kerik, a desire by the administration to quickly fill a critical national security job and an apparent lack of candor from Mr. Kerik himself.
A Republican close to the White House who has participated in background reviews of presidential nominees said the fault lay both with Mr. Kerik and with "whoever's job it was to check him out."
(More ... The New York Times > Washington > Missteps Cited in Kerik Vetting by White House)
This article was reported by Elisabeth Bumiller, Eric Lipton and David Johnston and written by Ms. Bumiller. ¶ 22:15 0 comments
New York Art Shuttered After Bush Monkey Portrait (Reuters.com)
By Larry Fine
NEW YORK (Reuters) - A portrait of President Bush using monkeys to form his image led to the closure of a New York art exhibition over the weekend and anguished protests on Monday over freedom of expression.
"Bush Monkeys," a small acrylic on canvas by Chris Savido, created the stir at the Chelsea Market public space, leading the market's managers to close down the 60-piece show that was scheduled to stay up for the next month.
The show featured art from the upcoming issue of Animal Magazine, a quarterly publication featuring emerging artists.
"We had tons of people, like more than 2,000 people show up for the opening on Thursday night," said show organizer Bucky Turco. "Then this manager saw the piece and the guy just kind of flipped out. 'The show is over. Get this work down or I'm gonna arrest you,' he said. It's been kind of wild."
Turco took the show down on Saturday and moved the art work to his small downtown Animal Gallery. Calls to the management of Chelsea Market for comment were not returned.
From afar, the painting offers a likeness of Bush, but when you get closer you see the image is made up of chimpanzees or monkeys swimming in a marsh.
(More ... Politics News Article | Reuters.com) ¶ 08:07 0 comments
NEW YORK (Reuters) - A portrait of President Bush using monkeys to form his image led to the closure of a New York art exhibition over the weekend and anguished protests on Monday over freedom of expression.
"Bush Monkeys," a small acrylic on canvas by Chris Savido, created the stir at the Chelsea Market public space, leading the market's managers to close down the 60-piece show that was scheduled to stay up for the next month.
The show featured art from the upcoming issue of Animal Magazine, a quarterly publication featuring emerging artists.
"We had tons of people, like more than 2,000 people show up for the opening on Thursday night," said show organizer Bucky Turco. "Then this manager saw the piece and the guy just kind of flipped out. 'The show is over. Get this work down or I'm gonna arrest you,' he said. It's been kind of wild."
Turco took the show down on Saturday and moved the art work to his small downtown Animal Gallery. Calls to the management of Chelsea Market for comment were not returned.
From afar, the painting offers a likeness of Bush, but when you get closer you see the image is made up of chimpanzees or monkeys swimming in a marsh.
(More ... Politics News Article | Reuters.com) ¶ 08:07 0 comments
12.14.2004
Startling New Revelations Highlight Rare Congressional Hearings on Ohio Vote (FreePress.org)
by Bob Fitrakis, Steve Rosenfeld and Harvey Wasserman
December 13, 2004
Startling new revelations about Ohio's presidential vote have been uncovered as Democratic members of the House Judiciary Committee join Rev. Jesse Jackson in Columbus, the state capital, on Monday, Dec. 13, to hold a rare field hearing into election malfeasance and manipulation in the 2004 vote. The Congressional delegation will include Rep. John Conyers (D-MI), Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA), Rep. Stephanie Tubbs-Jones, and others.
Taken together, the revelations show Republicans – in state and county government, and in the Ohio Republican Party – were determined to undermine and suppress Democratic turnout by a wide variety of methods.
The revelations were included in affidavits gathered for an election challenge lawsuit filed Monday at the Ohio Supreme Court. Ohio's Republican Electoral College representatives are also to meet at noon, Monday, at the State House, even though the presidential recount, requested by the Green and Libertarian Parties, is only beginning the same day.
On Sunday, John Kerry spoke with Rev. Jesse Jackson and urged him to take an more active role in investigating the irregularities and ensuring a fair and impartial recount. Kerry said there were three areas of inquiry that should be addressed: 92,000 ballots that recorded no vote for president; qualifying and counting provisional ballots; and supported an independent analysis of the software and set-up of the optical scan voting machines.
(More ... The Free Press -- Independent News Media - Election 2004) ¶ 20:20 0 comments
December 13, 2004
Startling new revelations about Ohio's presidential vote have been uncovered as Democratic members of the House Judiciary Committee join Rev. Jesse Jackson in Columbus, the state capital, on Monday, Dec. 13, to hold a rare field hearing into election malfeasance and manipulation in the 2004 vote. The Congressional delegation will include Rep. John Conyers (D-MI), Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA), Rep. Stephanie Tubbs-Jones, and others.
Taken together, the revelations show Republicans – in state and county government, and in the Ohio Republican Party – were determined to undermine and suppress Democratic turnout by a wide variety of methods.
The revelations were included in affidavits gathered for an election challenge lawsuit filed Monday at the Ohio Supreme Court. Ohio's Republican Electoral College representatives are also to meet at noon, Monday, at the State House, even though the presidential recount, requested by the Green and Libertarian Parties, is only beginning the same day.
On Sunday, John Kerry spoke with Rev. Jesse Jackson and urged him to take an more active role in investigating the irregularities and ensuring a fair and impartial recount. Kerry said there were three areas of inquiry that should be addressed: 92,000 ballots that recorded no vote for president; qualifying and counting provisional ballots; and supported an independent analysis of the software and set-up of the optical scan voting machines.
(More ... The Free Press -- Independent News Media - Election 2004) ¶ 20:20 0 comments
