US Fallen Are Now Met With Honor Guards Instead of Forklifts

April 6, 2007
US Fallen Are Now Met With Honor Guards Instead of Forklifts

In an about-face by the U.S. government four years into the war in
Iraq, America's fallen troops are being brought back to their families aboard charter jets instead of ordinary commercial flights, and the caskets are being met by honor guards in white gloves instead of baggage handlers with forklifts.

That change — which took effect quietly in January and applies to members of the U.S. military killed in Afghanistan, too — came after a campaign waged by a father who was aghast to learn that his son's body was going to be unloaded like so much luggage.

John Holley said an airline executive told him that was the "most expeditious" way to get the body home.

"I said, `That's not going to happen with my son. That's not how my son is coming home,'" said Holley, an Army veteran from San Diego whose son, Spc. Matthew Holley, was killed by a roadside bomb in Iraq in 2005. "If it was `expeditious' to deliver them in garbage trucks, would you do that?"

Cheney: Al Qaeda was in Iraq before war

April 7, 2007
Cheney: Al Qaeda was in Iraq before war

WASHINGTON -- Vice President Dick Cheney repeated his assertions of Al Qaeda links to Saddam Hussein's Iraq on Thursday as the Defense Department released a report citing more evidence that the prewar government did not cooperate with the terrorist group.

Cheney contended that Al Qaeda was operating in Iraq before the U.S.-led invasion in March 2003 and that terrorist Abu Musab al-Zarqawi was leading the Iraqi branch of Al Qaeda. Others in Al Qaeda planned the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.

"He took up residence there before we ever launched into Iraq, organized the Al Qaeda operations inside Iraq before we even arrived on the scene and then, of course, led the charge for Iraq until we killed him last June," Cheney told radio host Rush Limbaugh during an interview. "As I say, they were present before we invaded Iraq."

However, a declassified Pentagon report released Thursday said that interrogations of the deposed Iraqi leader and two of his former aides as well as seized Iraqi documents confirmed that the terrorist organization and the Hussein government were not working together before the invasion.

Pentagon report debunks prewar Iraq-Al Qaeda connection

April 6, 2007
Pentagon report debunks prewar Iraq-Al Qaeda connection

A declassified report by the Pentagon's acting Inspector General Thomas F. Gimble provides new insight into the circumstances behind former Pentagon official Douglas Feith's pre-Iraq war assessment of an Iraq-Al Qaeda connection — an assessment that was contrary to US intelligence agency findings, and helped bolster the Bush administration's case for the Iraq war.

The report, which was made public in summary form in February, was released in full on Thursday by Sen. Carl Levin, chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee. In a statement accompanying the 121-page report, Senator Levin said: "It is important for the public to see why the Pentagon's Inspector General concluded that Secretary Feith's office 'developed, produced and then disseminated alternative intelligence assessments on the Iraq and al-Qaeda relationship,' which included 'conclusions that were inconsistent with the consensus of the Intelligence Community.' "

Gonzales Aide Goodling Resigns

April 6, 2007
Gonzales Aide Goodling Resigns

(CBS) WASHINGTON A top aide to Attorney General Alberto Gonzales abruptly quit Friday, almost two weeks after telling Congress she would not testify about her role in the firings of federal prosecutors.

Monica M. Goodling, the Justice Department's liaison to the White House, gave no reason for her resignation. Since she was at the center of the firings, Goodling's refusal to testify has intensified questions about whether the U.S. attorney dismissals were proper and heightened the furor that threatens Gonzales' own job.

Three lawyers with U.S. attorney's office in Minneapolis resign

April 6, 2007
Three lawyers with U.S. attorney's office in Minneapolis resign

MINNEAPOLIS – Three lawyers in the U.S. Attorney's office in Minneapolis resigned their management posts, moves that gained national attention against the backdrop of claims top federal prosecutors elsewhere were fired for political reasons.

U.S. Attorney Rachel Paulose confirmed Friday that John Marti, a first assistant U.S. attorney, Erika Mozangue, head of the office's civil division, and James Lackner, who heads the office's criminal division, have decided to "go back to the line to be full-time prosecutors."

She did not say why the three stepped down and indicated that she would have no further public comment. "We have work to do," her statement said.

John Kelly, deputy director of the Justice Department's executive office of U.S. Attorneys, visited Minneapolis on Thursday to try to resolve the situation, according to two aides in Washington who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue. The prosecutors stepped down after Kelly's visit.

US Probes GSA Chief Lurita Doan

April 5, 2007
US Probes GSA Chief Lurita Doan

Federal investigators are looking into whether the head of the General Services Administration improperly engaged in partisan politics at government expense.

The Office of Special Counsel confirmed to ABC News it is looking into whether GSA head Lurita Doan violated a ban on using government resources for partisan politics, during a meeting that featured a presentation by a White House political operative on Republican election strategy.

At a January meeting held at a GSA facility, senior White House political aide Scott Jennings briefed Doan and other officials on GOP plans to win seats in Congress in 2008.

A House committee heard testimony last week from the GSA inspector general that witnesses alleged Doan encouraged others at the January meeting to look for ways the GSA could help "our candidates."

12,000 more Guard troops may be going to Iraq

April 5, 2007
12,000 more Guard troops may be going to Iraq

WASHINGTON - Coming on the heels of a controversial "surge" of 21,000 U.S. troops that has stretched the Army thin, the Defense Department is preparing to send an additional 12,000 National Guard combat forces to Iraq and Afghanistan, defense officials told NBC News on Thursday.

The troops will come from four Guard combat brigades in different states, the officials told NBC News' chief Pentagon correspondent, Jim Miklaszewski. They said papers ordering the deployment, which would run for one year beginning in early 2008, were awaiting Defense Secretary Robert Gates' signature.

The deployment is sure to ignite a firestorm on Capitol Hill, where Democrats in Congress are maneuvering to scale back the U.S. commitment in Iraq. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., is pushing a proposal to end most spending on the war in 2008, limiting it to targeted operations against al-Qaida, training for Iraqi troops and protection for U.S. forces.

An Administration's Epic Collapse

April 5, 2007
An Administration's Epic Collapse

When Bush came to office--installed by the Supreme Court after receiving fewer votes than Al Gore--I speculated that the new President would have to govern in a bipartisan manner to be successful. He chose the opposite path, and his hyper-partisanship has proved to be a travesty of governance and a comprehensive failure. I've tried to be respectful of the man and the office, but the three defining sins of the Bush Administration--arrogance, incompetence, cynicism--are congenital: they're part of his personality. They're not likely to change. And it is increasingly difficult to imagine yet another two years of slow bleed with a leader so clearly unfit to lead.

Israel Controls US Arms Sales To Saudi Arabia

April 4, 2007
Israel Controls US Arms Sales To Saudi Arabia

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Objections by Israel are delaying Bush administration plans for a major arms sale to Saudi Arabia and other Gulf allies aimed at deterring Iran, The New York Times reported on Wednesday.

Quoting unnamed senior U.S. officials, the Times said on its Web site that Israel was concerned the advanced weapons would erode its military advantage over regional rivals.

Israeli officials came to Washington in recent months to argue against parts of the planned sales, according to the newspaper.

It said Israel was particularly concerned about the possible transfer of precision-guided weapons that would improve the ability of Saudi warplanes to hit targets.

Bleak Global Warming Report Issued

April 6, 2007
Bleak Global Warming Report Issued

Apr 6, 2007 — BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Top climate experts issued their bleakest forecasts yet about global warming on Friday, ranging from hunger in Africa to a thaw of Himalayan glaciers in a study that may add pressure on governments to act.

More than 100 nations in the U.N. climate panel agreed a final text after all-night disputes during which some scientists accused governments of watering down forecasts about extinctions and other threats.

The report said change, widely blamed on human emissions of greenhouse gases, was already under way in nature and that desertification, droughts and rising seas would hit hard in the tropics, from sub-Saharan Africa to Pacific islands.

The Gay Mogul Changing U.S. Politics

April 4, 2007
The Gay Mogul Changing U.S. Politics

Tim Gill is a 53-year-old snowboarder, retired computer programmer and multimillionaire. He made his fortune (estimated at $425 million by Forbes magazine) by founding Quark, the pioneering desktop publishing software company. After selling the firm, he started the Gill Foundation, which has invested $110 million nationwide in gay causes over the past decade. The Gill Action Fund threw $15 million into a dozen states during the 2006 midterm elections, targeting 70 politicians regarded as unhelpful to gay causes: 50 went down. And the fund is helping transform the political face of Colorado.

Democrats Call For Investigation Of Bush's Sam Fox Appointment

April 6, 2007
Democrats Call For Investigation Of Bush's Sam Fox Appointment

Washington, D.C. (AHN) - Three Democratic senators wrote a letter to the Government Accountability Office Thursday calling for an investigation of whether President Bush's Wednesday appointment of Sam Fox as U.S. ambassador to Belgium was legal. Bush bypassed Congress and gave Fox the position without confirmation from the Senate, angering Democrats who were strongly against his nomination.

Bush used his power to make recess appointments and gave Fox the job while lawmakers were on a one (day) -break. Recess appointments are generally made if Congress is out for a long time, such as a month-long summer vacation.

The letter, submitted by Democrats Chris Dodd of Connecticut, John Kerry of Massachusetts and Robert Casey of Pennsylvania, read: "We view the recess appointment of Mr. Fox as a clear abuse of the President's recess appointment power."

The Incompetent Media: Pelosi's scarf and visit to Syria

April 4, 2007
The Incompetent Media: Pelosi's scarf and visit to Syria

News reports in the Associated Press and the New York Post, and an editorial in Investor's Business Daily, quoted Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney criticizing House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) by saying that "being seen in a head scarf and so forth is sending the wrong signal to the people of Syria and to the people of the Middle East," without noting that Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and first lady Laura Bush have both done the same when visiting the Middle East.

America's Broken-Down Army

April 5, 2007
America's Broken-Down Army

"The readiness of the Army's ground forces is as bad as it was right after Vietnam," Murtha tells TIME. Even Colin Powell—a retired Army general, onetime Chairman of the Joint Chiefs and Bush's first Secretary of State—acknowledges that after spending nearly six years fighting a small war in Afghanistan and four years waging a medium-size war in Iraq, the service whose uniform he wore for 35 years is on the ropes. "The active Army," Powell said in December, "is about broken."

New Defense Secretary Robert Gates concedes there are readiness problems. He told Congress March 29 that next year's proposed $625 billion defense budget—the highest, adjusted for inflation, since World War II—will "make a good start at addressing the readiness" issues plaguing the Army. His first concern before taking the post in December was his suspicion "that our ground forces weren't large enough," and he has urged troop hikes starting next year.

McCaffrey, the retired general, says the Joint Chiefs are responsible for the state of today's Army. They rubber-stamped Rumsfeld's plan to build a smaller, more agile force while fighting two wars. McCaffrey, a Vietnam veteran, recalls the scolding lesson of Dereliction of Duty. That 1997 book explained how the Vietnam-era Joint Chiefs' timidity in challenging Defense Secretary Robert McNamara allowed the U.S. to slide into that war. Written by H.R. McMaster, an Army colonel now in Iraq, the book has been required reading for many military officers. "Should there be a Dereliction of Duty II?" McCaffrey wonders aloud. "The answer is, Yes, of course."

'Professor Torture' stands by his famous memo

March 17, 2007
'Professor Torture' stands by his famous memo

Yoo's answer to "How far can we go?" turned out to be indistinguishable from "as far as the president wants to." The most controversial part of Yoo's advice was that, as commander-in-chief in war, the U.S. constitution allows the president to be the judge of what is and what is not "necessary" to prosecute war successfully. That's the claim the OLC later explicitly disavowed.

Yoo's theory of the president's practically untrammelled powers in war is, to put it mildly, not the orthodox position on what the constitution permits. "Well, it may not be orthodox," Yoo replied with a smile, "but it is in fact the way presidents have behaved during wartime, and it is supported by legal precedent. Generally, the courts have not tried to interfere with the president's power to conduct war ... I think the OLC's reversal was pure politics. The administration just lost the courage of its convictions."

You mean, I ask, that they are said to be legal because it is decided they don't inflict the level of pain required to count as torture? "Correct," Yoo answered. "There's a footnote in the new OLC memo which states that explicitly. I know that the new advice hasn't made any difference to what the CIA does. Nor, incidentally, has the McCain Act." (This is the legislation, sponsored by Senator John McCain, that explicitly prohibits U.S. officials from using torture.)

That act changes the definition of torture from the infliction of "severe" pain to the infliction of "serious" pain. It doesn't, however, define what serious pain is.

"Does water-boarding (inducing the perception of drowning in someone to make him talk) inflict serious pain?' Yoo asks. "I doubt that the CIA thinks that it does ... or that it is going to stop using the technique, if the stakes are high enough." So despite the new law, the old tactics will be available? "I think so. And more important, so do they ..."

British team grows human heart valve from stem cells

April 2, 2007
British team grows human heart valve from stem cells

A British research team led by the world's leading heart surgeon has grown part of a human heart from stem cells for the first time. If animal trials scheduled for later this year prove successful, replacement tissue could be used in transplants for the hundreds of thousands of people suffering from heart disease within three years.

Sir Magdi Yacoub, a professor of cardiac surgery at Imperial College London, has worked on ways to tackle the shortage of donated hearts for transplant for more than a decade. His team at the heart science centre at Harefield hospital have grown tissue that works in the same way as the valves in human hearts, a significant step towards the goal of growing whole replacement hearts from stem cells.

To crack the problem, Prof Yacoub assembled a team of physicists, biologists, engineers, pharmacologists, cellular scientists and clinicians. Their task - to characterise how every bit of the heart works - has so far taken 10 years. The progress of his team and that of colleagues around the world will be published in August in a special edition of the journal Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society.

Drug Lobbyists' Role Keeps Drug Prices High

April 1, 2007
Drug Lobbyists' Role Keeps Drug Prices High

(CBS) If you have ever wondered why the cost of prescription drugs in the United States are the highest in the world or why it's illegal to import cheaper drugs from Canada or Mexico, you need look no further than the pharmaceutical lobby and its influence in Washington, D.C.

According to a new report by the Center for Public Integrity, congressmen are outnumbered two to one by lobbyists for an industry that spends roughly a $100 million a year in campaign contributions and lobbying expenses to protect its profits.

One reason those profits have exceeded Wall Street expectations is the Medicare prescription drug bill. It was passed three-and-a-half years ago, but as 60 Minutes correspondent Steve Kroft reports, its effects are still reverberating through the halls of Congress, providing a window into how the lobby works.

Blame It on the Democrats

April 4, 2007
Blame It on the Democrats

President Bush's Iraq strategy may be coming straight from Vice President Cheney, but his political attacks on Democrats who dare to demand a pullout are pure Karl Rove.

When the president is on the defensive, Rove's signature move is to disdain the quaint constraints of reality and attack the critics where they are strongest -- ideally, by tarring them with Bush's own weakness.

Gitmo Conditions Worsening

April 4, 2007
Gitmo Conditions Worsening

Conditions for detainees at the US military jail at Guantanamo Bay are deteriorating, with the majority held in solitry confinement, a report says.

Amnesty International said the often harsh and inhumane conditions at the camp were "pushing people to the edge".

It called for the facility to be closed and for plans for "unfair" military commission trials to be abandoned.

Many of the 385 inmates have been held for five years or more, unable to mount a legal challenge to their detention.

Bush bypasses Senate to name ambassador

April 5, 2007
Bush bypasses Senate to name ambassador

WASHINGTON - President Bush named Republican fundraiser Sam Fox as U.S. ambassador to Belgium on Wednesday, using a maneuver that allowed him to bypass Congress, where Democrats had derailed Fox's nomination.

The appointment, made while lawmakers were out of town on spring break, prompted angry rebukes from Democrats, who said Bush's action may even be illegal.

Democrats had denounced Fox for his donation to the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth during the 2004 presidential campaign. The group's TV ads, which claimed that Sen. John Kerry exaggerated his military record in Vietnam, were viewed as a major factor in the Massachusetts Democrat's election loss.

Biden says Bush could be impeached

April 4, 2007
Biden says Bush could be impeached

DES MOINES, Iowa — Delaware Sen. Joe Biden said a case could be made to impeach President Bush, but that such a step would be politically impractical.

Biden told about 200 students at Drake University Law School Tuesday that most Americans wouldn't want to impeach Bush. He said such a move would be bad politics and could have unintended consequences.

"I don't want to impeach Bush — because I don't want Cheney," he said, referring to Vice President Dick Cheney.

Europe stock market value tops US

April 2 2007
Europe stock market value tops US

Europe has eclipsed the US in stock market value for the first time since the first world war in another sign of the slipping of the global dominance of American capital markets.

Europe's 24 stockmarkets, including Russia and emerging Europe, saw their capitalisation rise to $15,720bn (€11,819bn) at the end of last week, according to Thomson Financial data. That exceeded the $15,640bn market value of the US.

The rise of the euro against the dollar, growth of east European markets such as Russia and stock market outperformance spurred by improving profitability have seen Europe close a long-held gap with the US. Ian Harnett at Absolute Strategy Research, who identified the move, said this marked a "seismic shift" in markets.

The last time Europe eclipsed the US in market capitalisation was likely to have been before the first world war, said Mike Staunton, stock-market historian at London Business School. The shift mirrors a trend in the debt world, where European activity has caught up, and in some cases overtaken the US.

Experts: $4 a gallon gas coming soon

April 3, 2007
Experts: $4 a gallon gas coming soon

Analysts say that the price reduction should hold during the coming days but won't translate into lower prices at the pump.

Flynn said he believes gasoline prices will head into record territory — currently a nationwide average of $3.07 — by the height of the summer season.

"This is the time of year when we're supposed to be building supplies, but it seems like the refiners just can't get ahead of what has been very, very strong demand," he said.

Today's report shows that the national supply of gas is at the low end of its average range for this time of year, meaning the United States will have less gas in the tank before the peak summer driving season in the coming months.

Cumberland Sound: Ice Conditions Worst in History

April 3, 2007
Cumberland Sound: Ice Conditions Worst in History

Days after our small team crossed an Arctic ice field, the surface broke up and disappeared. If we had set out hours earlier, team members may not have survived.

Canadian radio is reporting that the ice fields here are so thin that seal pups are falling through to their deaths. According to a CBC radio report, the area around Cumberland Sound is experiencing the worst ice conditions in recorded history, and we fear for our safety. This remote Inuit region is the frontline of Earth's changing climate.

The view was frightening, since the ice on Cumberland Sound was fragmented with large stretches of completely open water. The northwest wind had blown the pack ice out toward the mouth of the sound, leaving miles and miles of open water near its head, right where the dog teams were traveling. The only solid ice skirted the very edges of the sound, and even this was punctuated by occasional polynias (ice-free areas of warm upwelling ocean currents).

The politics of Hicks

April 03, 2007
The politics of Hicks

DAVID Hicks will return to Australia under circumstances best described as unsettling and surprising.

The short sentence and the undemocratic gag order have added further layers of contradiction to a story that is as weird as it is unpredictable.

There are many straightforward questions that need to be answered, starting with who ordered the political fix, why such a short sentence, and why stop a guilty man telling a story of his own wrongdoing?

The Pentagons Crooked "Judicial" Process

April 2, 2007
The Pentagons Crooked "Judicial" Process

With the U.S. Constitution, our American ancestors brought into existence the finest criminal-justice system in history. With the Bill of Rights, everyone whom federal officials accuse of a crime, including terrorism, would be entitled to rights and guarantees that stretch back centuries into British jurisprudence. Those rights and guarantees include right to counsel, right to confront witnesses, right to a speedy and public trial, right to trial by jury, and many others.

After 9/11, the president and the Pentagon persuaded a frightened American public to accept an alternative military-justice system in Cuba in which the Constitution and the Bill of Rights would be ditched for some (but not all) "enemy combatants" in the "war on terror." We now see the results of that decision: David Hicks, who is a kangaroo skin hunter back in Australia, has himself been skinned by a crooked, corrupt, and rotten kangaroo court where politics trumps justice.

How Bogus Letter Became a Case for War

April 3, 2007
How Bogus Letter Became a Case for War

"Do you remember me?" the deep voice said, without identifying himself outright. It was Rocco Martino, an old source who had proved reliable in the past. He was once again trying to sell her information.

Martino said he had some very interesting documents to show her, and asked whether she could fly down to Rome right away.

They met at a restaurant in Rome on Oct. 7, where Martino showed Burba a folder filled with documents, most of them in French. One of the documents was purportedly sent by the president of Niger to Iraqi President Saddam Hussein, confirming a deal to sell 500 tons of uranium to Iraq annually. This was the smoking gun in the package, claiming to show the formal approval of Niger's president to supply Iraq with a commodity that would in all likelihood only be used for a nuclear weapons program: Iraq had no nuclear power plants.

Almost four months later, on Feb. 5, 2002, the CIA received more information from Sismi, including the verbatim text of one of the documents. The CIA failed to recognize that it was riddled with errors, including misspellings and the wrong names for key officials. But it was a separate DIA report about the claims that would lead Cheney to demand further investigation. In response, the CIA dispatched Wilson to Niger.

Martino's approach to Burba eight months later with the Italian letter coincided with accelerating U.S. preparations for war. On Oct. 7, 2002, the same day Martino gave Burba the dossier, President Bush launched a new hard-line PR campaign on Iraq. In a speech in Cincinnati, he declared that Iraq under Saddam Hussein was a "grave threat" to U.S. national security.

"It possesses and produces chemical and biological weapons. It is seeking nuclear weapons," the president warned.

On Oct. 16, Burba sat on a plane on her way to Niger, while in Washington, copies of the Italian letter and the accompanying dossier were placed on the table at an interagency nuclear proliferation meeting hosted by the State Department's Bureau of Intelligence and Research.

At this point, State Department analysts had determined the documents were phony, and had produced by far the most accurate assessment of Iraq's weapons program of the 16 agencies that make up the intelligence community. But the department's small intelligence unit operated in a bubble. Few administration officials -- not even Secretary of State Colin L. Powell -- paid much attention to its analytical product, much of which clashed with the White House's assumptions.

Not to be rude, but isn't it time Mister Bush just shut up

April 1, 2007
Not to be rude, but isn't it time Mister Bush just shut up

That's all it would take. He needn't make a big production of the disaster or rush in for the big photo-op, handshakes, fake tears, bullhorn proclamations or anything else. The nation doesn't need to hear anymore of his post-disaster lies.

Remember after the terrorist attacks Mister Bush claimed nobody "could have foreseen" terrorists using planes as weapons? Except that on August 6, 2001 the Presidential Daily Briefing (PDB) highlighted the fact that terrorists might be looking to use planes.... And after Katrina, George W. Bush claimed nobody "could have foreseen" the levies failing. Except that prior to Katrina, his administration had "table-topped" an exercise in which the levies in New Orleans failed. Not to mention years and years of governmental analysis predicting not if, but when the levies would fail.

Besides, it really isn't like anybody is listening to George W. Bush anymore, anyway. Every time he speaks now, Mister Bush only manages to dishonor himself and the Presidency.

Ghost Prisons, Ghost Courtrooms

March 25, 2007
Ghost Prisons, Ghost Courtrooms

"What are we going to do with these people when we're finished . . . with them? Are they going to disappear?"
Jack Cloonan, senior FBI agent on the Bin Laden Squad, speaking of the terrorism suspects hidden in CIA secret cells, Nightline, May 13, 2004.

On September 17, 2001, the president told the National Security Council that, at the advice of then CIA director George Tenet (who was later awarded the Medal of Freedom by the president) he was going to issue a classified Memorandum of Notification that would give the CIA permission to use "special authorities to detain Al Qaeda operatives worldwide."

Without consulting Congress or any court, Bush had given the CIA the power to ignore American laws and our international treaty obligations to—among other war crimes under the Geneva Conventions—create its own secret prisons around the world. The CIA could also continue to conduct "renditions" to kidnap terrorism suspects to be interrogated in countries known for torturing their prisoners.

Police Log Confirms FBI Role In Arrests of War Protesters

April 3, 2007
Police Log Confirms FBI Role In Arrests of War Protesters

A secret FBI intelligence unit helped detain a group of war protesters in a downtown Washington parking garage in April 2002 and interrogated some of them on videotape about their political and religious beliefs, newly uncovered documents and interviews show.

For years, law enforcement authorities suggested it never happened. The FBI and D.C. police said they had no records of such an incident. And police told a federal court that no FBI agents were present when officers arrested more than 20 protesters that afternoon for trespassing; police viewed them as suspicious for milling around the parking garage entrance.

But a civil lawsuit, filed by the protesters, recently unearthed D.C. police logs that confirm the FBI's role in the incident. Lawyers for the demonstrators said the logs, which police say they just found, bolster their allegations of civil rights violations.

The probable cause to arrest the protesters as they retrieved food from their parked van? They were wearing black -- a color choice the FBI and police associated with anarchists, according to the police records.

FBI agents dressed in street clothes separated members to question them one by one about protests they attended, whom they had spent time with recently, what political views they espoused and the significance of their tattoos and slogans, according to interviews and court records.

Monica Goodling, One of 150 Pat Robertson Cadres in the Bush Administration

March 30, 2007
Monica Goodling, One of 150 Pat Robertson Cadres in the Bush Administration

Monica Goodling, a previously unknown Justice Department official who served as liaison to the White House, has become a key figure in the Attorneygate scandal. When newly released emails revealed the prominent role Goodling played in engineering the firing of seven US Attorneys, Goodling pled the Fifth Amendment, refusing to testify under oath.

Josh Marshall writes that Goodling may be "afraid of indictment for perjury because she has to go up to Congress and testify under oath before the White House has decided what its story is."

Goodling's involvement in Attorneygate is not the only aspect of her role in the Bush administration that bears examination. Her membership in a cadre of 150 graduates of Pat Robertson's Regent University currently serving in the administration is another, equally revealing component of the White House's political program.

Supreme Court Ruling Adds to Momentum for Major Changes at Guantanamo

April 2, 2007
Supreme Court Ruling Adds to Momentum for Major Changes at Guantanamo

Today's decision by the Supreme Court not to hear a case challenging the provision of the Military Commissions Act of 2006 that restricted detainees' habeas corpus rights provides fresh impetus to a Congress that was already pushing for major changes to the prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

After the Supreme Court rejected the Bush administration's plan to try Guantanamo detainees before special military commissions in June 2006, Congress quickly responded with the Military Commissions Act that not only allowed evidence obtained by torture, but stripped jurisdiction from U.S. courts to hear habeas corpus claims from Guantanamo detainees. Today's decision simply affirms that legislative action, although the Court did warn that it may still take up this issue in the future.

Let's hope Congress responds to this Supreme Court decision with equal vigor. Several Senators have already introduced legislation to amend the Military Commissions Act to restore habeas rights and prohibit evidence gathered in coercive interrogations. Attention in the House is more focused on efforts led by Rep. Jim Moran (D-VA) to close Guantanamo and transfer the detainees to military prisons in the United States.

GOP Insider Launches Attack Against GOP National Party

April 2, 2007
GOP Insider Launches Attack Against GOP National Party

At a lunch recently at a downtown Washington hotel, Gold, 78, hands over the program, now an artifact of seemingly ancient history. He is trying to explain why it was so hard to write his new book, one whose title encapsulates what he now thinks of his onetime friends: "Invasion of the Party Snatchers: How the Holy-Rollers and the Neo-Cons Destroyed the GOP." The two men at the top, he says, were men he knew pretty well -- or at least he thought he did.

"For all the Rove-built facade of his being a 'strong' chief executive, George W. Bush has been, by comparison to even hapless Jimmy Carter, the weakest, most out of touch president in modern times," Gold writes. "Think Dan Quayle in cowboy boots."

Gold is even more withering in his observations of Cheney. "A vice president in control is bad enough. Worse yet is a vice president out of control."

UK Soldier Suicides: 687, Killed in Action: 438

April 1, 2007
UK Soldier Suicides: 687, Killed in Action: 438

More servicemen and women have committed suicide over the past two decades than have died in military action, according to new figures.

The latest death toll for those in the armed forces who have taken their own lives has risen to 687 compared with 438 killed during active service in major conflicts such as the Gulf, Afghanistan and Northern Ireland.

Ministry of Defence (MoD) figures released this weekend also reveal that the number of suicides among servicemen and women has risen by at least 49 in a year. This is more than three times the number of soldiers killed since the start of war in Afghanistan in 2001 and has raised fresh concerns about the mental welfare of troops. Those most at risk of taking their own lives are soldiers in their early 20s and teenage army recruits.

Supreme Court Rebukes Bush on Greenhouse Gases

April 3, 2007
Supreme Court Rebukes Bush on Greenhouse Gases

WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court cleared the way Monday for a more aggressive attack by government on global warming, which could include the first national rules to limit carbon dioxide emissions from new cars, trucks and power plants.

In a 5-4 decision, the high court rebuked the Bush administration and ruled that so-called greenhouse gases — like carbon dioxide — were air pollutants subject to federal regulation.

President Bush and his aides, allied with automakers, argued that federal officials did not have the power to set mandatory limits on greenhouse gas emissions.

The court's ruling knocked down a legal barrier that kept California and other states from requiring reduced carbon emissions by new vehicles starting in 2009.

NY Times Allows Bush to Get Away With Lies About Soldier Salaries

March 29, 2007
NY Times Allows Bush to Get Away With Lies About Soldier Salaries

A March 28 New York Times article reported without refuting President Bush's false claim that the $6.4 million for "the House of Representatives' 'salaries and expense accounts' " -- included in the emergency supplemental bill for the war in Iraq recently approved by the House -- was "not related to the war and protecting the United States of America."

For an additional amount for "Salaries and Expenses", $6,437,000, as follows:

ALLOWANCES AND EXPENSES

For an additional amount for allowances and expenses as authorized by House resolution or law, 16

$6,437,000 for business continuity and disaster recovery, to remain available until expended: Provided, That the amount provided under this heading is designated as making appropriations for contingency operations directly related to the global war on terrorism, and other unanticipated defense-related operations, pursuant to section 402 22 of H. Con. Res. 376 (109th Congress), as made applicable to the House of Representatives by section 511(a)(4) of 24 H. Res. 6 (110th Congress).

NY Times Ignored Polls: Americas are Fed Up

March 29, 2007
NY Times Ignored Polls: Americas are Fed Up

• Contrary to the aides' assertion that the public "is beginning to see improvements on the ground in Iraq," a March 27 USA Today/Gallup poll found that 65 percent of respondents felt the increase in the number of U.S. troops in Baghdad is either "not making much difference" or making the situation there "worse." Moreover, a March 17 Newsweek poll found that 61 percent of respondents think the U.S. is "losing ground in its efforts to establish security and democracy in Iraq."


• Contrary to the aides' claim that the public "is willing to give Mr. Bush's troop buildup a chance," the March 17 Newsweek poll found that just 32 percent of respondents favored "Bush's decision earlier this year to increase the level of U.S. troops in Iraq," while 64 percent were opposed to it.

Chuck Todd: NBC's GOP Lapdog

March 30, 2007
Chuck Todd: NBC's GOP Lapdog

While Todd has repeatedly praised Republicans during these appearances, his comments about Democrats have been largely critical:

• On March 21, discussing the possibility that former Vice President Al Gore might run for president, Todd said: "I think Al Gore doesn't sit well in a long period of time with the American people."


• On March 22, Todd said of the congressional investigation into the Bush administration's firing of eight U.S. attorneys: "This is the danger for the Democrats, of looking like they're not doing the job that they were elected to do. They're not talking about Iraq, and instead they're picking a political fight." Since Todd's assertion of political "danger," polls have shown majorities or pluralities of Americans support Congress' investigation into the U.S. attorney dismissals. As Media Matters noted, the March 23-25 USA Today/Gallup poll found that 72 percent of respondents said "Congress should ... investigate the involvement of White House officials in this matter" and that 48 percent of respondents said "Democrats in Congress" were spending the "right amount" or "not ... enough" time on the matter, compared with 40 percent of respondents who said Democrats were spending "too much" time on the matter. Similarly, a March 16-19 Pew Research Center for the People and the Press poll found that 60 percent of respondents said Congress was spending "too little, or the right amount of time conducting investigations of possible government wrongdoing," while 31 percent of respondents said Congress was spending "too much" time.

Naval Academy: Sexual Assault Not a Crime

March 31, 2007
Naval Academy: Sexual Assault Not a Crime

ANNAPOLIS, Md. — A Naval Academy probe into allegations of lewd behavior and heavy drinking on a Caribbean cruise found that up to 10 midshipmen acted "immature" but committed no crimes.

The findings were announced Friday. The investigation began after a passenger alleged that she and other women were groped on the Carnival cruise ship Glory during the academy's March 10-18 spring break. Some of the midshipmen also were accused of offering alcohol to teenage girls.

The investigation determined there were 37 midshipmen on the ship.

"The Naval Academy holds our midshipmen to extremely high standards and this type of inappropriate conduct is not tolerated," the academy said. "Any midshipmen who acted inappropriately will be held accountable and appropriate disciplinary action will be taken."

Kissinger: Iraq victory not possible

April 1, 2007
Kissinger: Iraq victory not possible

Former US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, who helped engineer the US withdrawal from Vietnam, says the problems in Iraq are more complex than that conflict, and military victory is no longer possible.

He also said he sympathises with the troubles facing US President George Bush.

"A 'military victory' in the sense of total control over the whole territory, imposed on the entire population, is not possible," Kissinger told The Associated Press in Tokyo, where he received an honorary degree from Waseda University.

The faceless, ubiquitous nature of Iraq's insurgency, as well as the religious divide between Shi'ite and Sunni rivals, makes negotiating peace more complex, he said.

"It is a more complicated problem," Kissinger said. "The Vietnam War involved states, and you could negotiate with leaders who controlled a defined area."

Iraq President Lashes Out at US Occupation

March 29, 2007
Iraq President Lashes Out at US Occupation

RIYADH (AFP) - Iraqi President Jalal Talabani said on Thursday that the US-led invasion of his country four years ago had turned into an occupation with dire consequences for Iraq.

Talabani, a member of the Kurdish minority, which has been largely insulated from the violence and devastation visited on other parts of the country since Saddam Hussein fell, was addressing the Arab summit in the Saudi capital.

"The decision to turn the liberation of Iraq into an occupation ... with the dire consequences this had internally and the fears (it aroused) in Arab, regional and international arenas, all this was contrary to what Iraqi parties and national forces were planning at the time," he said.

Talabani did not spell out the mistakes he was referring to, but the US-run civil administration installed after Saddam's fall has been widely criticised for taking decisions that have made the situation worse.

Iraq deaths up 15 percent despite surge

April 1, 2007
Iraq deaths up 15 percent despite surge

BAGHDAD (AFP) - The monthly death toll in Iraq rose 15 percent in March, government figures revealed Sunday, as insurgents and sectarian militias continue to defy a military crackdown in Baghdad.

Half the 30,000 troop reinforcements promised by President George W. Bush to support the huge security operation have now deployed to Iraq, the US military confirmed.

At least 2,078 Iraqi civilians, policemen and soldiers died nationwide last month, 272 more than in February, and grim news for the US-backed crackdown billed as a last chance to wrest back control of Baghdad.

U.S. toll in March is twice Iraq forces

April 1, 2007
U.S. toll in March is twice Iraq forces

BAGHDAD - The U.S. military death toll in March, the first full month of the security crackdown, was nearly twice that of the Iraqi army, which American and Iraqi officials say is taking the leading role in the latest attempt to curb violence in the capital, surrounding cities and Anbar province, according to figures compiled on Saturday.

The Associated Press count of U.S. military deaths for the month was 81, including a soldier who died from non-combat causes Friday. Figures compiled from officials in the Iraqi ministries of Defense, Health and Interior showed the Iraqi military toll was 44. The Iraqi figures showed that 165 Iraqi police were killed in March. Many of the police serve in paramilitary units.

Gen. Tried to Warn Bush on Tillman

March 31, 2007
Gen. Tried to Warn Bush on Tillman

SAN JOSE, Calif. Mar 31, 2007 (AP)— For weeks after his death, the Pentagon maintained that Pat Tillman was killed in an enemy ambush, even after a top general tried to warn President Bush that the NFL star-turned-soldier likely died by friendly fire, according to a memo obtained by The Associated Press.

In the memo sent to a superior officer seven days after Tillman's death, Lt. Gen. Stanley McChrystal warned that the evidence strongly pointed to friendly fire and the nation's leaders risked embarrassing themselves if they publicly said otherwise.

"I felt that it was essential that you received this information as soon as we detected it in order to preclude any unknowing statements by our country's leaders which might cause public embarrassment if the circumstances of Cpl. Tillman's death become public," McChrystal wrote.

The family was not told until May 29, 2004, what really happened. In the intervening weeks, the military continued to say Tillman died under enemy fire, and even awarded him the Silver Star, which is given for heroic battlefield action.

GOP Porn Star and Hero Investigated

April 1, 2007
GOP Porn Star and Hero Investigated

The Corps on Friday was slated to wrap up an investigation into allegations that a corporal in the Individual Ready Reserve who appeared in gay porn films before enlisting solicited more than $12,000 from private organizations by asking them to fund a deployment to Iraq he never made, according to e-mails from the investigating officer forwarded to Marine Corps Times.

Reserve Col. Charles Jones, a staff judge advocate called to Marine Corps Mobilization Command in Kansas City, Mo., on temporary orders that expire Saturday, informed Reserve Cpl. Matt Sanchez of the allegations against him in a March 22 e-mail that advised Sanchez of his rights.

Jones wrote that Sanchez's participation in porn films was part of the investigation, but that two of the three allegations against him involved lying "to various people, including but not limited to, representatives of the New York City United War Veterans Council and U-Haul Corporation" about deploying to Iraq at the commandant's request.

Federal judge tosses out forest rules

March 30, 2007
Federal judge tosses out forest rules

SAN FRANCISCO — A federal judge on Friday tossed out new Bush administration rules that gave national forest managers more discretion to approve logging and other commercial projects without lengthy environmental reviews.

U.S. District Court Judge Phyllis Hamilton ruled that the government failed to adequately consider the effects the rules would have on the environment and neglected to properly gather public comment on the issue.

Hamilton said in her written decision that the government couldn't institute the new rules until proper environmental reviews were conducted, but she declined to specify how the nation's 155 national forests should be managed until then.

POW Sentenced to Nine Months

March 31, 2007
POW Sentenced to Nine Months

Blackanthem Military News, NAVAL STATION GUANTANAMO BAY, Cuba – Australian detainee David Hicks, the first person convicted under the Military Commission Act of 2006, was sentenced here today to nine months in confinement, a sentence he will serve in Australia under a diplomatic agreement.

Since his capture, Hicks has cooperated with U.S. authorities and worked on completing his high school diploma, Mori said. Hicks's guilty plea shows that he is on his way to being rehabilitated, Mori said, asking the commission to set the sentence at one year and eight months, which would make Hicks's total confinement since his capture seven years.

POW Says Torture Led to Confessions

March 31, 2007
POW Says Torture Led to Confessions

A prisoner held by the American military at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, said he had confessed to several terrorist attacks and plots only because he had been tortured, according to a transcript of a hearing held on March 14 and released yesterday by the Pentagon.

The prisoner, Abd al-Rahim al Nashiri, is accused of planning the attack on the destroyer Cole off Yemen in 2000 and playing a role in the bombings of two American embassies in Africa in 1998.

Speaking before a combatant status review tribunal charged with determining whether he had been properly designated an enemy combatant, Mr. Nashiri said he had confessed to many terrorist activities under torture.

"From the time I was arrested five years ago, they have been torturing me," Mr. Nashiri said through a translator, according to the transcript. "It happened during interviews. One time they tortured me one way, and another time they tortured me in a different way."

Ex-Aide Says He Lost Faith in Bus

March 29, 2007
Ex-Aide Says He Lost Faith in Bush

He criticized the president as failing to call the nation to a shared sense of sacrifice at a time of war, failing to reach across the political divide to build consensus and ignoring the will of the people on Iraq. He said he believed the president had not moved aggressively enough to hold anyone accountable for the abuses at Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq, and that Mr. Bush still approached governing with a "my way or the highway" mentality reinforced by a shrinking circle of trusted aides.

Mr. Dowd, a crucial part of a team that cast Senator John Kerry as a flip-flopper who could not be trusted with national security during wartime, said he had even written but never submitted an op-ed article titled "Kerry Was Right," arguing that Mr. Kerry, a Massachusetts Democrat and 2004 presidential candidate, was correct in calling last year for a withdrawal from Iraq.