Snow Angel Record

Did you ever wonder what almost 9000 snow angels look like? Here's a picture of a what's believed to be a new record set on Feb. 17, 2007 in Bismarck, North Dakota.

(snow angels are created by laying on your back in the snow and moving your arms and legs in unison.)

Italy Indicts 26 Americans in C.I.A. Abduction Case

February 16, 2007
Italy Indicts 26 Americans in C.I.A. Abduction Case

ROME, Feb. 16 — An Italian judge today ordered the first trial involving the American program of kidnapping terror suspects on foreign soil, indicting 26 Americans, most of them C.I.A. agents, but also Italy's former top spy.

The indictments covered the episode in which a radical Egyptian cleric, Hassan Mustafa Osama Nasr, who disappeared near his mosque in Milan on Feb. 17, 2003, says he was kidnapped. The cleric, known as Abu Omar, was freed this week from jail in Egypt, where he says he was taken and then tortured.

House rebukes Bush on Iraq

February 16, 2007
House rebukes Bush on Iraq

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Seventeen Republicans joined Democrats on Friday in passing a two-sentence resolution denouncing President Bush's plan to boost troop levels in Iraq.

The resolution passed easily, 246-182.

Democratic leaders on Saturday will attempt to bring the same measure to the floor in the Senate.

The resolution says that Congress supports the military but disapproves of Bush's plan to send 21,500 additional troops to Iraq. A clear majority of Republicans battled to the end against the resolution.

Poll: 63% Oppose Escalation

February 16, 2007
Poll: 63% Oppose Escalation

Would you favor or oppose sending more troops to Iraq?

• Favor, 35 percent (26)
• Oppose, 63 percent (70)
• Not sure, 2 percent (4)

Do you think the war in Iraq is ...

• A worthy cause, 39 percent
• A hopeless cause, 56 percent
• Both equally (volunteered), 2 percent
  
• Neither (volunteered), 2 percent
  
• Not sure, 1 percent

Pentagon Rejected Contracts Because of Party Affiliation

February 15, 2007
Pentagon Rejected Contracts Because of Party Affiliation

The Pentagon rejected qualified experts for reconstruction work in Iraq because they were not deemed loyal to the Republican party, according to the former chief of staff of the Washington Office of the Coalition Provisional Authority, Frederick Smith.

"Some people were overlooked because they didn't meet the political saliva test," Smith, now retired, told ABC News.

Smith said political appointees at the Pentagon, including a special assistant to the secretary of defense and White House liaison, James O'Beirne, led the screening.

PBS' 'Frontline' examines ways politics, business hurt news media

February 13, 2007
PBS' 'Frontline' examines ways politics, business hurt news media

Readers didn't need a week of front-page stories about diaper-wearing astronauts and the alleged cultural significance of Anna Nicole Smith to tell them that the Fourth Estate is having an identity crisis. There's also last week's Pentagon inspector general report criticizing the Bush administration's manipulation of prewar intelligence, reminding Americans that most of the Beltway media danced to the White House's drumbeat to the Iraq war four years ago.

The 4 1/2-hour "News War" series traces the pathology crippling the media business -- financially and legally -- back to the days of the Nixon administration. What it reports is not necessarily new, but it is one of the first televised efforts to connect the factors transforming the news industry at this critical juncture in journalism. And many of the key players -- on both sides of the camera -- are in the Bay Area.

Carl Bernstein on Nixon vs. Bush

February 14, 2007
Carl Bernstein on Nixon vs. Bush

BERNSTEIN: First, Nixon's relationship to the press was consistent with his relationship to many institutions and people. He saw himself as a victim. We now understand the psyche of Richard Nixon, that his was a self-destructive act and presidency.

I think what we're talking about with the Bush administration is a far different matter in which disinformation, misinformation and unwillingness to tell the truth -- a willingness to lie both in the Oval Office, in the Office of the Secretary of Defense, in the office of the vice president, the vice president himself -- is something that I have never witnessed before on this scale.

Former Justice and Interior Officials Targeted

February 15, 2007
Former Justice and Interior Officials Targeted

The inquiry by the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee was announced hours after The Associated Press reported that the prosecutor, Sue Ellen Wooldridge, bought a $1 million vacation home on Kiawah Island, S.C., with ConocoPhillips Vice President Donald R. Duncan, nine months before agreeing to let the company delay a half-billion-dollar pollution cleanup. It was one of two proposed consent decrees Wooldridge signed with ConocoPhillips just before resigning last month.

The third buyer of the beachshore getaway was former Deputy Interior Secretary J. Steven Griles, the highest-ranking Bush administration official targeted for criminal prosecution in the Jack Abramoff corruption probe.

$10 billion squandered in Iraq

February 15, 2007
$10 billion squandered in Iraq

More than one in six dollars charged by U.S. contractors were questionable or unsupported, nearly triple the amount of waste the Government Accountability Office estimated last fall.

According to their testimony, the investigators:

• Found overpricing and waste in Iraq contracts amounting to $4.9 billion since the Defense Contract Audit Agency began its work in 2003. Some of that money has been recovered. An additional $5.1 billion in expenses were charged without proper documentation.
• Pointed to growing Iraqi sectarian violence as a significant factor behind bloated U.S. contracting bills. Iraqi officials, they said, must begin to take primary responsibility for reconstruction efforts. That is an uncertain goal, given the widespread corruption in Iraq and the local government's inability to fund projects.
• Urged the Pentagon to reconsider its growing reliance on outside contractors in wars and reconstruction efforts. Layers of subcontractors, poor documentation and lack of strong contract management are rampant and promote waste even after the GAO first warned of problems 15 years ago.

Ex-aide says Rice misled U.S. Congress on Iran

February 13, 2007
Ex-aide says Rice misled U.S. Congress on Iran

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice misled the U.S. Congress when she said last week that she had not seen a 2003 Iranian proposal for talks with the United States, a former senior government official said on Wednesday.

"The Bush administration up to and including Secretary Rice is misleading Congress and the American public about the Iran proposal," he said.

Testifying before the House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee last week, Rice told lawmakers who asked about Leverett's previous public comments and writings on the Iranian proposal: "I don't know what Flynt Leverett's talking about."

She faulted him for not telling her, "We have a proposal from Iran and we really ought to take it."

U.S. Army Translator Pleads Guilty to Possessing Iraq Documents

February 14, 2007
U.S. Army Translator Pleads Guilty to Possessing Iraq Documents

Feb. 14 (Bloomberg) -- An Arabic translator for the U.S. Army who had a top-secret security clearance pleaded guilty to unauthorized possession of documents concerning plans to combat insurgents in Iraq.

Abdulhakeem Nour used a fake identity to win a translator job with L-3 Titan Corp., which contracts with the U.S. military in Iraq, Brooklyn U.S. Attorney Roslynn Mauskopf said today. The documents, including one showing the coordinates of insurgent locations the Army was preparing to attack in January 2004, were found in his Brooklyn apartment in 2005.

Justice Official Bought Vacation Home With Oil Lobbyist

February 15, 2007
Justice Official Bought Vacation Home With Oil Lobbyist

A senior Justice Department official who recently resigned her post bought a nearly $1 million vacation home with a lobbyist for ConocoPhillips months before approving consent decrees that would give the oil company more time to pay millions of dollars in fines and meet pollution-cleanup rules at some of its refineries.

Sue Ellen Wooldridge, former assistant attorney general in charge of environment and natural resources, bought a $980,000 home on Kiawah Island, S.C., last March with ConocoPhillips lobbyist Don R. Duncan. A third owner of the house is J. Steven Griles, a former deputy interior secretary, who has been informed he is a target in the federal investigation of Jack Abramoff's lobbying activities.

Murtha Plan to End War

February 15, 2007
Murtha Plan to End War

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Rep. John Murtha, a leading congressional opponent of the war in Iraq, on Thursday said his plans for placing conditions on how President George W. Bush can spend $93.4 billion in new combat funds would effectively stop an American troop buildup.

"They won't be able to continue. They won't be able to do the deployment. They won't have the equipment, they don't have the training and they won't be able to do the work. There's no question in my mind," the Pennsylvania Democrat said.

Bush Battles Military Over Iran Intelligence

February 15, 2007
Bush Battles Military Over Iran Intelligence

"No, no, no, no," White House spokesman Tony Snow said Monday in response to questions about whether the administration embellished evidence against Iran in a U.S. military briefing in Baghdad the previous day. "I'm almost ready to hit my head on the microphone."

"In the old days, if the U.S. government had come out and said, 'We've got this, here's our assessment,' reasonable people would have taken it at face value," the official said of the Baghdad briefing. "That's never going to happen again."

Bush contradicted the military's account, saying, "We don't know . . . whether the head leaders of Iran ordered" it.

Gore Sets Global Warming Concerts on Seven Continents

February 15, 2007
Gore Sets Global Warming Concerts on Seven Continents

Feb. 15 (Bloomberg) -- A group headed by former Vice President Al Gore is planning a single day of concerts on seven continents featuring more than 100 performers, including Bon Jovi, Snoop Dogg and Fall Out Boy, to promote awareness of global warming.

The "Live Earth" shows will take place July 7 in London, Shanghai, Sydney, Johannesburg and locations to be determined in the U.S., Brazil and Japan, Gore and music producer Kevin Wall said today in Los Angeles. Details of a show in Antarctica will be announced next month, Gore spokeswoman Kalee Kreider said.

Poll: Most Americans Want Congress to Go Beyond Non-Binding Vote on War

February 13, 2007
Poll: Most Americans Want Congress to Go Beyond Non-Binding Vote on War

NEW YORK A new Gallup Poll released today -- as a landmark debate on the Iraq war begins in the House of Representatives -- finds that most Americans favor congressional action for a cap on, and then withdrawal of, troops. They are less excited about the current nonbinding resolution against a "surge."

America's view of Republicans crumbles in Iraq

February 14, 2007
America's view of Republicans crumbles in Iraq

According to the latest Gallup survey, Republican self-identification has declined nationally and in almost every American state. Why? The short answer is that President Bush's war of choice in Iraq has destroyed the partisan brand Republicans spent the past four decades building.

That brand was based upon four pillars: that Republicans are more trustworthy on defense and military issues; that they know when and where markets can replace or improve government; that they are more competent administrators of those functions government can't privatize; and, finally, that their public philosophy is imbued with moral authority. The war demolished all four claims.

Most Beloved Country in the World, the US is Now the Most Hated

February 14, 2007
Most Beloved Country in the World, the US is Now the Most Hated

When I first went to the United States in the 1950s, I impertinently remarked to an archetypal guru, Chief Justice Felix Frankfurter, that what with Senator McCarthy and southern segregation, and civic corruption everywhere, I was not much impressed by the condition of America. Be patient, said the sage. America is like a pendulum, swinging from good to bad, from bad to good, and before long it will swing again.

He was right, and with luck, perhaps the pendulum is almost ready to swing back once more. Whatever we may think in our moments of despair, America is still a marvellous and lovable country whose patriotism can still be touching: try restraining a tear when you listen to Irving Berlin's setting of the words on the Statue of Liberty - the ultimate American text, with music by the emblematic American immigrant. The Great Republic is great still, full still of decent clever people trying to be good. Even now, it is as free as can be expected, and its democracy is fundamentally honest and robust. It laughs at itself, criticises itself and dislikes itself just as much as we do.

EU Parliament report accuses some member nations of colluding with CIA renditions

February 14, 2007
EU Parliament report accuses some member nations of colluding with CIA renditions

STRASBOURG, France - The European Parliament on Wednesday approved a controversial report accusing Britain, Germany, Italy and other European nations of turning a blind eye to CIA flights transporting terror suspects to secret prisons overseas in an apparent breach of EU human rights standards.

Israeli legislators begin impeachment hearings

February 14, 2007
Israeli legislators begin impeachment hearings

Jerusalem- Israeli legislators began discussions Wednesday
on whether to impeach President Moshe Katsav, who has taken leave of
absence after the attorney-general said he could be charged with
rape, sexual harassment, breech of trust and obstruction of justice.
It is the first time in Israel's history the Knesset House
Committee is debating whether to remove a sitting president.

Bill Would Restore Detainees' Rights, Define 'Combatant'

February 14, 2007
Bill Would Restore Detainees' Rights, Define 'Combatant'

A group of Senate Democrats introduced legislation yesterday that would restore habeas corpus rights to all detainees in U.S. custody and would narrowly define what it means to be an "enemy combatant" against the United States, a measure designed to challenge laws ushered in by the Republican-controlled Congress last year.

The bill, titled the "Restoring the Constitution Act of 2007," strikes at the core of the Military Commissions Act of 2006 by giving detainees access to U.S. courts. It was introduced by Sen. Christopher J. Dodd (Conn.), a candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination.

Felons, But Not Gays

February 14, 2007
Felons, But Not Gays

The problem is that the Pentagon's current personnel policy is utterly irrational. Under its "don't ask, don't tell" policy, it has fired over 11,000 capable troops, including nearly 1000 considered mission-critical and over 300 foreign linguists, just because they're gay. This despite overwhelming evidence that letting known gays serve does not impair cohesion, recruitment or effectiveness.

Army recruiting more criminals

February 14, 2007
Army recruiting more criminals

The number of waivers granted to Army recruits with criminal backgrounds has grown about 65 percent in the last three years, increasing to 8,129 in 2006 from 4,918 in 2003, Department of Defense records show.

During that time, the Army has employed a variety of tactics to expand its diminishing pool of recruits. It has offered larger enlistment cash bonuses, allowed more high school dropouts and applicants with low scores on its aptitude test to join, and loosened weight and age restrictions.

Exxon Admits Global Warming is Real

February 13, 2007
Exxon Admits Global Warming is Real

HOUSTON — Exxon Mobil Chairman Rex Tillerson told a world energy conference today that "there is no question that the world's climate is getting warmer," and said that technological advances and a global strategy will be needed to combat the rise in carbon emissions.

Wilkes, Foggo Indicted

February 13, 2007
Wilkes, Foggo Indicted

SAN DIEGO – A federal grand jury on Tuesday issued indictments against Poway defense contractor Brent Wilkes and former high-ranking CIA official Kyle "Dusty" Foggo, childhood friends from San Diego who are entangled in the Randy "Duke" Cunningham congressional corruption scandal.

Poll: Americans oppose surge

February 13, 2007
Poll: Americans oppose surge

Sixty percent of Americans oppose the deployment that is part of Bush's new strategy for restoring security in Iraq, according to a USA Today/Gallup Poll published on Tuesday.

The House opens debate on Tuesday on a two-sentence resolution disapproving a troop buildup in Iraq but also pledging support for U.S. forces serving there. A vote was planned for Friday.

Bush budget cuts veterans health care in 2009

February 13, 2007
Bush budget cuts veterans health care in 2009

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Bush administration's budget assumes cuts to veterans' health care two years from now -- even as badly wounded troops returning from Iraq could overwhelm the system.

Bush is using the cuts, critics say, to help fulfill his pledge to balance the budget by 2012.
But even administration allies say the numbers are not real and are being used to make the overall budget picture look better.

After an increase sought for next year, the Bush budget would turn current trends on their head. Even though the cost of providing medical care to veterans has been growing rapidly -- by more than 10 percent in many years -- White House budget documents assume consecutive cutbacks in 2009 and 2010 and a freeze thereafter.

Don't let kids grow up 'red'

February 9, 2007
Don't let kids grow up 'red'

Just how big is the gap between red states and blue states on children's issues? According to Petit, a child in the overall bottom 10 states is:

• Twice as likely to die by the age of 14.
• Seven times more likely to die from abuse and neglect.
• Twice as likely to be living in poverty.
• More than twice as likely to be incarcerated as juveniles.

Former Press Secretary Didn't Know What Was Going On

February 11, 2007
Former Press Secretary Didn't Know What Was Going On

What has emerged, instead, is:

• a vice president fixated on finding ways to debunk a former diplomat's claims that Bush misled the U.S. people in going to war and his suggestion Cheney might have played a role in suppressing contrary intelligence.
• a presidential press secretary kept in the dark on Iraq policy.
• top White House officials meeting daily to discuss the diplomat, former ambassador Joseph Wilson, and sometimes even his CIA-officer wife Valerie Plame.

Cheney may snub outspoken Japan Defense chief

February 12, 2007
Cheney may snub outspoken Japan Defense chief

TOKYO (Reuters) - The United States has asked Japan not to arrange a meeting between Vice President Dick Cheney and Defense Minister Fumio Kyuma, an apparent response to Kyuma's criticism of U.S. policy, Kyodo news agency said on Monday.

Last month, Kyuma irked the U.S. administration by saying the United States was wrong to start the war in Iraq. He also criticized Washington's handling of the relocation of a U.S. base in Japan.

Boost for Obama from Australia

February 12, 2007
Boost for Obama from Australia

Mr Howard's intervention helps Mr Obama by highlighting his opposition to the war, in contrast to Mrs Clinton, who voted for it in the Senate in 2002 but now distances herself from it. Democratic activists are strongly opposed to the war. Mr Obama, 45, will also be helped by American irritation that a foreign leader should intervene in their election.

Robert Gibbs, Mr Obama's press secretary, said Mr Howard was not in a position to be overly critical. "If prime minister Howard truly believes what he says, perhaps his country should find its way to contribute more than just 1,400 troops so some American troops can come home. It's easy to talk tough when it's not your country or your troops making the sacrifice."

Civilian Contractor Killed by US troops

February 12, 2007
Civilian Contractor Killed by US troops

DETROIT - Several investigations have been launched into why a civilian contractor in Iraq was shot and killed by American troops as he drove toward a U.S. military checkpoint last week.

Greenfelder said a KBR representative visited Tolfree's daughter, Kristen Martin, 22, of Owosso, Feb. 6 to deliver the news. The representative initially said Tolfree and another convoy driver were killed by a roadside bomb.

Later that day, the representative phoned Martin and said Tolfree was killed by U.S. forces, Greenfelder said. She later learned from news reports that the other driver had survived.

Ex-Agent Ties Firing to CIA Pressure on WMD

February 10, 2007
Ex-Agent Ties Firing to CIA Pressure on WMD

A federal judge has ruled that a CIA agent identified only as "Doe," allegedly fired after he gathered prewar intelligence showing that Iraq was not developing weapons of mass destruction, can proceed with his lawsuit against the CIA. The judge has ordered both parties to submit discovery requests–evidence they want for their case–to be completed by March 15, according to the CIA agent's lawyer and a spokesman for the Justice Department, which is defending the CIA in court.

U.S. District Judge Gladys Kessler issued her ruling after what Doe's attorney, Roy Krieger, described as an extraordinary, secret status conference by telephone this afternoon that lasted nearly a half an hour. So concerned was the CIA about the agent's identity becoming public that the Justice Department prevailed upon the judge to issue a highly restrictive order regarding press contacts by the agent and Krieger. The order barred them from "requesting, allowing, encouraging, or directing" any members of the media from appearing at Krieger's office or even
within a two-block vicinity of the building where he works or of any other location of the status conference, until two hours after the conference was completed.

McCain Taps Cash He Sought To Limit

February 11, 2007
McCain Taps Cash He Sought To Limit

Just about a year and a half ago, Sen. John McCain went to court to try to curtail the influence of a group to which A. Jerrold Perenchio gave $9 million, saying it was trying to "evade and violate" new campaign laws with voter ads ahead of the midterm elections.

As McCain launches his own presidential campaign, however, he is counting on Perenchio, the founder of the Univision Spanish-language media empire, to raise millions of dollars as co-chairman of the Arizona Republican's national finance committee.

Intelligence agencies disagreed with many of its prewar findings

February 10, 2007
Intelligence agencies disagreed with many of its prewar findings

WASHINGTON — As the Bush administration began assembling its case for war, analysts across the U.S. intelligence community were disturbed by the report of a secretive Pentagon team that concluded Iraq had significant ties to Al Qaeda.

Analysts from the CIA and other agencies "disagreed with more than 50%" of 26 findings the Pentagon team laid out in a controversial paper, according to testimony Friday from Thomas F. Gimble, acting inspector general of the Pentagon.

Envoy: Iran poses no threat to Israel

February 11, 2007
Envoy: Iran poses no threat to Israel

MUNICH, Germany - Iran's nuclear program is not a threat to Israel and the country is prepared to settle all outstanding issues with the International Atomic Energy Agency within three weeks, its top nuclear negotiator said Sunday.

Ali Larijani, speaking at a forum that gathered the world's top security officials, said Iran doesn't have aggressive intentions toward any nation.

"That Iran is willing to threaten Israel is wrong," Larijani said. "We pose no threat and if we are conducting nuclear research and development we are no threat to Israel. We have no intention of aggression against any country."

Baptist group fights Texas coal plant

February 10, 2007
Baptist group fights Texas coal plant

DALLAS - Texas' largest Baptist group is taking a rare step into environmental advocacy, working to block Gov. Rick Perry's plan to speed the approval process for 18 new coal-fired power plants.

The Christian Life Commission, the public policy arm of the Baptist General Convention of Texas, is mobilizing Baptists against the coal-fired plants and urging the convention's 2.3 million members to voice their opposition to state lawmakers.

Wal-Mart Joins Business, Labor Coalition for Universal Health Care

February 10, 2007
Wal-Mart Joins Business, Labor Coalition for Universal Health Care

Wal-Mart – the nation's largest retailer – has formed a coalition with labor unions and other larger corporations to call for quality affordable health coverage for all Americans by 2012. The coalition includes AT&T, Intel, Kelly Services, the Service Employees International Union and the Communications Workers of America. We get analysis from Center for American Progress Senior Fellow Jeanne Lambrew and Healthcare-NOW! National Coordinator Marilyn Clement. [includes rush transcript] Wal-Mart – the nation's largest retailer – has formed a coalition with labor unions and other larger corporations to call for quality affordable health coverage for all Americans by 2012. The coalition includes AT&T, Intel, Kelly Services, the
Service Employees International Union and the Communications Workers of America. Three public policy groups are also backing the campaign, dubbed Better Health Care Together. Wal-Mart's CEO Lee Scott said "Our current system hurts America's competitiveness and leaves too many

Republican Senators Up For Reelection Who Voted Against Debating Iraq Surge

Republican Senators Up For Reelection Who Voted Against Debating Iraq Surge
Lamar Alexander (R-TN)	Saxby Chambliss (R-GA)	Thad Cochran (R-MS)	John Cornyn (R-TX)	Larry Craig (R-ID)	Elizabeth Dole (R-NC)
Pete Domenici (R-NM)	Mike Enzi (R-WY)	Lindsey Graham (R-SC)	Chuck Hagel (R-NE)	Jim Inhofe (R-OK)	Mitch McConnell (R-KY)
Pat Roberts (R-KS)	Jeff Sessions (R-AL)	Gordon Smith (R-OR)	Ted Stevens (R-AK)	John Sununu (R-NH)	John Warner (R-VA)

History of the Public Debt

February 5, 2007
Clicking the link below will load a pdf file from the Treasury Department.
US Government Debt (1982-January 21, 2007 (PDF)

The government should stop deceptively pretending that war costs are separate from the Pentagon's

February 10, 2007
The government should stop deceptively pretending that war costs are separate from the Pentagon's budget

Here's how the supplemental shell game works. The official defense budget for 2008 comes to $481 billion. That's a 10% increase over last year and a 62% increase over 2001. And it conveniently fails to include a supplemental request of $141.7 billion, which brings the 2008 defense total to $622.7 billion. On top of that, the president requested a 2007 supplemental in the amount of $93.4 billion, bringing this week's entire defense "budget authority request" to $716 billion (the
figure of actual outlays is even higher because it includes billions already committed to the
Pentagon).

So why abuse supplemental appropriations? Because Congress and the president have discovered
that they are an effective way to discreetly increase spending for a long and painful war. As
important, supplemental spending does not count against budget caps or automatically trigger
offsetting cuts. Thus, the Pentagon can have money for the war while keeping space available in
the regular budget for pet projects.

House security chief: Pelosi didn't ask for plane; I did

February 9, 2007
House security chief: Pelosi didn't ask for plane; I did

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- House Speaker Nancy Pelosi did not request a larger plane for personal use to travel cross-country without stopping, Bill Livingood, the House sergeant at arms, said Thursday.

Livingood said the request was his, and he made it for security reasons.

"The fact that Speaker Pelosi lives in California compelled me to request an aircraft that is
capable of making non-stop flights for security purposes, unless such an aircraft is unavailable,"
Livingood, who has been at his post for 11 years, said in a written statement.

Report Says Pentagon Manipulated Intel

February 9, 2007
Report Says Pentagon Manipulated Intel

He cited Gimble's findings that Feith's office was, despite doubts expressed by the intelligence
community, pushing conclusions that Sept. 11 hijacker Mohammed Atta had met an Iraqi intelligence officer in Prague five months before the attack, and that there were "multiple areas of
cooperation" between Iraq and al-Qaida, including shared pursuit of weapons of mass
destruction.

"That was the argument that was used to make the sale to the American people about the need to
go to war," Levin said in an interview Thursday. He said the Pentagon's work, "which was wrong,
which was distorted, which was inappropriate … is something which is highly disturbing."

All 435 House Members Can See Iraq Intelligence

February 5, 2007
All 435 House Members Can See Iraq Intelligence

To the surprise of the Bush administration, the House Intelligence Committee voted unanimously
Wednesday night to allow all 435 House members to see the classified version of the National
Intelligence Estimate on Iraq sent to the White House last week. The report is classified in part
because it contains information about sources and methods used in intelligence-gathering.

The document will provide fuel for a House debate, scheduled to begin Tuesday, on a resolution
of disapproval of President Bush's plan to boost U.S. troop strength in Iraq. Remarkably, each
House member will be given five minutes to speak. The decision to provide such broad access to the microphones is based on the fact that each member got the chance to speak before the Iraq war
began, according to House leadership aides.

Homeland Security Dead Last in Job Satisfaction Survey

February 8, 2007
Homeland Security Dead Last in Job Satisfaction Survey

But the results of the federal government's own survey of employee morale paints a different
picture.

Of the 36 agencies surveyed, Homeland Security employees rated theirs as last: 36th in job
satisfaction, 35th on leadership and 36th on results-oriented performance.

"Dysfunction equals danger," said Clark Kent Ervin, the former inspector general of the
Homeland Security Department, who says the results of the survey are one more sign of serious
trouble for the agency in charge of protecting America.

Federal Reserve chairman issues warning on social inequality

February 8, 2007
Federal Reserve chairman issues warning on social inequality

He noted that wages at the 50th percentile ("the median wage") had risen approximately 11.5
percent between 1979 and 2006, while wages at the 10th percentile ("near the bottom of the wage
distribution") had climbed just 4 percent and earnings at the 90th percentile ("close to the top
of the distribution") had jumped 34 percent. Bernanke pointed out that the worker at the 90th
percentile now earned 4.7 times as much as the worker at the 10th percentile, compared to a ratio
of 3.7 in 1979.

The federal reserve chairman went on to say that greater inequality was also evident in other
measures of financial well-being, such as real household income. Figures showed, he said, that the
share of the national income received by households in the top fifth of the income distribution
rose from 42 percent in 1979 to 50 percent in 2004 (a 19 percent increase), while the share of the
bottom 20 percent of households had declined from 7 to 5 percent (a 29 percent decline). He took
note of the fact that the wealthiest 1 percent of households had seen its share of after-tax
income increase from 8 percent in 1979 to 14 percent in 2004 (a 57 percent jump).

War Planners Prepare For Defeat in Iraq

February 8, 2007
War Planners Prepare For Defeat in Iraq

Feb. 8, 2007 | Deep within the bowels of the Pentagon, policy planners are conducting secret
meetings to discuss what to do in the worst-case scenario in Iraq about a year from today if and
when President Bush's escalation of more than 20,000 troops fails, a participant in those
discussions told me. None of those who are taking part in these exercises, shielded from the
public view and the immediate scrutiny of the White House, believes that the so-called surge will
succeed. On the contrary, everyone thinks it will not only fail to achieve its aims but
also accelerate instability by providing a glaring example of U.S. incapacity and
incompetence.

Rice grilled over lack of smoking gun in allegations against Iran

February 7, 2007
Rice grilled over lack of smoking gun in allegations against Iran

WASHINGTON (AFP) - US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice faced a blistering challenge in Congress over the administration's failure to provide evidence to back up allegations Iran is building
nuclear weapons and fueling attacks on US forces in Iraq.

"Unproven charges against Iran's nuclear intentions are eerily reminiscent of the false charges
made against Iraq before we invaded that country," said Ron Paul, a lawmaker from President George W. Bush's own Republican Party, during an appearance by Rice before a congressional panel.

CREW's Latest Report reveals 25 Most Corrupt Members of the Bush Administration

February 7, 2007
CREW's Latest Report reveals 25 Most Corrupt Members of the Bush Administration

Today, CREW released a new report, "Criminals and Scoundrels: The 25 Most Corrupt Members of the Bush Administration." The full report with exhibits can be found here.

The 25 Most Corrupt Members of the Bush Administration are:
Claude Allen, White House	Eric Andell, U.S. Department of Education	Margaret Burnette, Food and Drug Administration	Lester Crawford, Food and Drug Administration	Lurita Doan, General Services Administration
Brian Doyle, U.S. Department of Homeland Security	Darleen Druyun, U.S. Air Force	Frank Figueroa, U.S. Department of Homeland Security	Kyle "Dusty" Foggo, Central Intelligence Agency	J. Steven Griles, U.S. Department of the Interior
Andrea Grimsley, U.S. Department of Homeland Security	Donald Keyser, U.S. Department of State	John Korsmo, Federal Housing Finance Board	Kevin Marlowe, U.S. Department of Defense	Jose Miranda, Broadcasting Board of Governors
William Myers, U.S. Department of Interior	Janet Rehnquist, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services	David Safavian, White House and General Services Administration	Robert Schofield, U.S. Department of Homeland Security	Thomas Scully, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
David Smith, Department of Interior	Jeffrey Stayton, U.S. Department of the Army	Robert Stein, Coalition Provisional Authority	Roger Stillwell, U.S. Department of the Interior	Kenneth Tomlinson, Corporation for Public Broadcasting

Two Million Iraqis Have Fled In Past Three Years

February 7, 2007
Two Million Iraqis Have Fled In Past Three Years

SULAIMANIYAH, Iraq - Some 2 million Iraqis have fled to neighboring countries in the past three
years and up to 3,000 more go abroad every day, according to the U.N. refugee agency. But Umm Ali and her husband, Hussein Jawad, are among nearly 85,000 Iraqi Arabs who have sought refuge in the autonomous Kurdish region of northern Iraq.

Mistrial declared because soldier believes war in Iraq is a war crime

February 7, 2007
Mistrial declared because soldier believes war in Iraq is a war crime

FORT LEWIS, Washington (Reuters) - A military judge declared a mistrial on Wednesday in the
court-martial of a U.S. Army officer, who publicly refused to fight in Iraq and criticized the
war.

First Lt. Ehren Watada had faced up to four years in prison and a dishonorable discharge if
found guilty on a charge of missing movements for not deploying to Iraq and two charges of conduct unbecoming an officer for his criticism of the war.

Lt. Col. John Head, the military judge, declared a mistrial after throwing out a "stipulation
of fact" -- an agreement over certain facts of the trial -- that forced the government to ask the
judge for a mistrial instead of arguing its entire case again.

Bush Proposes Steep Cut to PBS Funding

February 5, 2007
Bush Proposes Steep Cut toPBS Funding

President Bush is reopening the fight over government support of public television, unveiling a
2007 government fiscal year budget that would cut federal funding for the Corporation for
Public Broadcasting by nearly 25 percent.

There was some confusion on how to tally the exact cut, but public TV and congressional sources
said at least $114 million of the $460 million CPB budget for the fiscal year that starts in
October would be cut. The Association of Public Television Stations said the total impact could be
$145 million when cuts in related programs are added, including a program to upgrade radio station
satellite facilities.

Wrong Weapons, Wrong Wars: The Self-Destructive Logic of War

February 7, 2007
Wrong Weapons, Wrong Wars: The Self-Destructive Logic of War

Yet the Pentagon continues to spend money on weapons that are ill suited for the fights "we are
in." As a top U.S. Air Force commander told Aviation Week and Space Technology, the most expensive fighter aircraft ever built may be ready for war but it's not ready for the war we have today in raq. The F-22 isn't "ready for Iraq" because it probably can't fulfill its core mission,
especially in the Baghdad area. In straightforward language, the F-22 would be electronically
"blind" despite having the most advanced suite of intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance
devices in the U.S. Air Force.

This brings us back full circle. U.S. Air Force Gen. Ronald E. Keys is concerned that the
surveillance suite of the $350 million aircraft may not be able to operate around Baghdad.
Although nominally a fighter aircraft, the F-22 also can act as a signals intelligence
interceptor, which would be its role in Iraq. General Keys notes, however, that the electronic
spectrum around Baghdad is polluted by the myriad jamming devices that coalition forces primarily
employed to thwart remote detonations of the improvised explosive devices (IEDs) that have
inflicted 70% of all U.S. fatalities in that war.

The potential problem was discovered when the first F-22s were operating near U.S. navy ships
off the Atlantic coast. Navy radars overwhelmed the F-22's automated sensors. Even now, larger,
multi-station, purpose-built electronic intelligence-gathering airplanes encounter difficulties
around the Iraqi capital because of the extreme density of jamming devices. Supporters of the F-22
propose that one headquarters should coordinate F-22 intelligence collection missions with the use
of both airborne and ground-based jammers.

Bush Budget Delivers the Bacon

February 7, 2007
Bush Budget Delivers the Bacon

At least in Iraq, we created enemies we can now fight. The bulk of the rest of the military
portion of the federal budget, $481.4 billion for the Defense Department and an additional $22.5
billion for other departments' defense programs, is intended to fight an enemy of advanced
military power that is nowhere to be found--not even among the dreaded "Axis of Evil" nations.

For example, this budget allocates billions to continue building stealth aircraft designed to
evade Soviet defenses the ex-superpower never managed to create.

The United States' military budget is greater than that of the next 14 biggest military
spenders combined. Even if not one additional dollar is allocated to the advanced weapons systems
now in the works, there is not a nation on Earth that would dare challenge U.S. dominance in the
air or on the seas for decades to come. The enormous imbalance in U.S. military spending is not
about defense but rather profit.