uni- New Reports of Abuse of Detainees Surface

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2005/092405Z.shtml
New Reports of Abuse of Detainees Surface
Mistreatment Was Routine, Group Is Told
By Josh White, The Washington Post, Saturday 24 September 2005
"Some days we would just get bored so we would have everyone sit in a corner and then make them get in a pyramid," ... "This was before Abu Ghraib but just like it. We did that for amusement."
    Two soldiers and an officer with the Army's 82nd Airborne Division have told a human rights organization of systemic detainee abuse and human rights violations at U.S. bases in Afghanistan and Iraq, recounting beatings, forced physical exertion and psychological torture of prisoners, the group said.
    A 30-page report by Human Rights Watch describes an Army captain's 17-month effort to gain clear understanding of how US soldiers were supposed to treat detainees, and depicts his frustration with what he saw as widespread abuse that the military's leadership failed to address. The Army officer made clear that he believes low-ranking soldiers have been held responsible for abuse to cover for officers who condoned it.
 

http://hrw.org/reports/2005/us0905/
Leadership Failure
Firsthand Accounts of Torture of Iraqi Detainees by the U.S. Army’s 82nd Airborne Division
 

http://www.consortiumnews.com/2005/092305.html
What to Do About the Bush Problem
As more and more crises flood in on the United States -- from the Iraq War to the budget deficit to the Katrina debacle -- the nation must confront a hard question: Can the country afford to drift along through an additional three-plus years of George W. Bush's presidency? If not, is impeachment or some forced resignation a realistic alternative? September 23, 2005
 

http://www.amnews.com/public_html/?module=displaystory&story_id=16392&format=html
Politics and the pulpit: Religious leaders speak out
By HERB BROCK , Staff Writer, Friday September 23, 2005
Editor's note: This is the second of two commentaries on pastors using their pulpits to discuss political events and, in some cases, press a viewpoint.
"The war is immoral!"
    That was one of the leading battle cries of the movement against the Vietnam War, and it, along with other familiar placard slogans like "Bring the troops home now!" and "Impeach the president!", and, on the other side, "America: Love it or leave it!" and "Support our troops!", or similar lines are starting to be heard and seen now as dissatisfaction with the war in Iraq grows.
    And, like was the case in the late 1960s, most of the high profile groups and people who are leading today's anti-war movement are linked to political organizations. Still, also like in the 1960s, more and more of the protesters are religious individuals or members of religious groups that advocate peace along with social justice.
    On the other side, the supporters of the war in Iraq contain the same mix of mainly political types or organizations, along with people who didn't exist in the 1960s, radio talk show hosts, with a sprinkling of religious types and groups.
    In the case of the war in Iraq, the highest profile religious type against the war has been the pope, both the late John Paul II and Benedict XVI, along with several Catholic bishops in the U.S., while leading supporters have included the likes of such well-known folks as Jerry Falwell and Pat Robertson. (Robertson has had to take a break from his support of the war to tend to a war of words he set off by calling for the assassination of the leftist Venezuelan president.)
    The war in Iraq is the latest example of how politics and religion mix in this country - how many preachers use their pulpits as political platforms to discuss current events and issues, often tying them to events or parables or principles in the Bibles. Ministers in the 1960s used their position to speak out about the Vietnam War, especially those who opposed it.
    But while the war in Iraq has been a popular subject for ministers, it appears most are not taking positions, like the aforementioned high-profile religious leaders, such as the pope and Pat Robertson. Recent surveys by national polling organizations show that a majority of ministers are talking about the war at their pulpits but most are not publicly stating their positions on the war.
 

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2005/092305R.shtml
Facing Opposition, US and EU Backpedal on Iran Action
By John Ward Anderson, The Washington Post, Friday 23 September 2005
    Vienna - The European Union and United States backpedaled Thursday in their drive to have Iran referred to the UN Security Council for nuclear treaty violations, following strong opposition from other countries on the board of the International Atomic Energy Agency, the UN's nuclear monitoring group.
 

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2005/092305A.shtml
Senate Democrats Request Briefings on Iraq, al Qaeda
By Charles Babington, The Washington Post
    Friday 23 September 2005
    Congressional Democrats, signaling plans to become more assertive about Iraq, yesterday asked the director of national intelligence to brief senators on conditions there, including whether the conflict has strengthened Islamic terrorists rather than weakened them.
 

http://www.iacenter.org/depleted/poison-dust.htm
Film Poison DUst: A NEW LOOK AT U.S. READIOACTIVE WEAPONS
International Action Center Thu, 22 Sep 2005 11:26 PM PDT
During the current Iraq War the U.S. use of radioactive DU weapons increased from 375 tons used in 1991 to 2200 tons. Geiger counter readings at sites in downtown Baghdad record radiation levels 1,000 and 2,000 times higher than background radiation.
    The effects on the Iraqi population are far greater. Many other countries and U.S. communities near DU weapons plants, testing facilities, bases and arsenals have also been exposed to this radioactive material which has a half-life of 4.4 billions years
 

http://www.rigzone.com/news/article.asp?a_id=25493
The Bush administration and other supporters of the 2003 invasion
Rigzone Fri, 23 Sep 2005 10:53 AM PDT
Big oil companies have no concrete plans to develop the oil industry in Iraq, meaning that it will be several years before the country can hope to return to its 1979 peak in production and probably a decade before Iraq can pump the 5.5 million to 6 million barrels a day suggested by its reserves, according to a former Iraqi oil minister.
    The Bush administration and other supporters of the 2003 invasion  of Iraq pointed to the prospect of increasing the country's oil production to improve the lives of its people.
But much equipment was looted from pipelines, pumping stations and other facilities in the immediate aftermath of the invasion, and continuing extreme insecurity has kept foreign oil companies away.
    In addition, there has been a lack of clear institutions and laws to manage the oil industry.
    The former official, Issam al-Chalabi, who led the Iraqi Oil Ministry in the late 1980s, told a conference here on Wednesday, "There is no plan to develop the Iraqi oil industry."

Now we don't know what to believe. Al-Chalabi is a tried-and-true LIAR.
No wonder Laura Bush loved him enough to while away a State of the Union address with him. She is comfortable now with liars.

http://www.rigzone.com/news/
Wanna keep up with this?
Deepwater Nautilus Breaks Loose in Heavy Hurricane Rita Seas
Friday, September 23, 2005 - The Deepwater Nautilus, an ultra-deep water state of the art semi-submersible drilling rig, owned by Transocean Inc., broke its towline while attempting to run from Hurricane Rita and is now adrift in heavy Hurricane Rita seas. read full story
 

* Action Alert: Don't Let Congress Ignore the Broadcast
Treaty!
Lobbyists at the World Intellectual Property Organization
(WIPO) want to give broadcasters a brace of undeserved
rights in the content that they transmit.  That's right,
another group of companies is seeking to control what you
do with your television or computer.  If they get their
way, these middlemen will seize 50 years of copyright-like
control over the material they merely broadcast, including
public domain and Creative Commons-licensed works.  If that
wasn't bad enough, the US is pushing to extend this new
layer of rights to "webcasters."
    EFF believes that there should be a demonstrated need for
such rights, and a clear understanding of how they
will impact the public, educators, existing copyright
holders, and new Internet technologies.  Write to Congress
now and ask them to take a close look at this new WIPO
treaty!
<http://action.eff.org/site/Advocacy?id=163>
Join EFF as a member today:
<http://secure.eff.org/support>
 

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2005/092305C.shtml
The FBI Fails (For Now) to Grab Subpoena Powers
By David Corn, The Nation, Thursday 22 September 2005
    With several key provisions of the controversial Patriot Act set to expire later this year, Congress has been working for months on legislation that would extend and perhaps restrict those provisions.
    Most of the debate has concerned whether the Patriot Act went too far and has focused on the measure's Section 215, which allows the FBI to obtain library records and other "tangible things" in a terrorism or national security investigation by obtaining a warrant from the super-secret Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) court.
    But the FBI, with the presumed approval of the White House, has been pushing for power that would go beyond that of the controversial Section 215. In particular, the bureau has wanted the new Patriot Act measure to award it the right to issue administrative subpoenas. With an administrative subpoena, an FBI agent could-without going to a court or a grand jury-demand that a person or institution hand over any record on another person or organization: financial papers, health records, library records, e-mails and more. The order would be subject to judicial review only if the recipient-say, an Internet service provider-opposed the order. Administrative subpoenas would give the FBI greater power than Section 215 and national security letters. (With a national security letter, the FBI can, without bothering a court, obtain a limited set of information-certain financial documents, credit reports and Internet-use records. But a federal court last year declared national security letters unconstitutional. The Bush Administration has filed an appeal.) Moreover, as Kate Martin, director of the Center for National Security Studies, notes, "The FBI wants this administrative subpoena power forever"-that is, with no sunset provision. Beating back the FBI's demand for this authority would be a victory for the civil liberties community. And so far, the FBI has been losing.
 

WOW! We got a free one from Wanniski!
It appears that it is the flow in information that helps a candidate win. So what are we all going to do the next election? We are going to counter all the strange, authorless, factless emailings that the GOP members send us with real information and unbiased links, real and tangible, and not the tall tales that the GOP members  we know and love are used to getting. It is up to us to educate them, dear friends. No one else is doing it and they are not getting it from their own party. If they quote you about the phrase "liberal media", tell them that it doesn't exist. "Liberal Media"  is just a part of the mind-set that they have been spoon-fed.

http://www.wanniski.com/showarticle.asp?articleid=4639
SSU Fall Session Lesson #3:
The Efficient Political Market
By Paul Hoffmeister
[This weekend's lecture by Jude explains how the political marketplace is just like the economic marketplace. In the Wanniskian model, it is the politician's job to decipher exactly what the electorate wants. If there is a free flow of information, the winner is always the one who most closely represents the voter's ideal candidate. Aspiring politicians read carefully. PH]
    Memo To: Students of SSU
From: Jude Wanniski
Re: The Political Market
    This lecture was originally presented on January 30, 1998, as the third lesson of the spring semester, a semester also devoted to the political side of the political economy. The lecture is meant to demonstrate that the "political market" is as efficient as the economic marketplace. That is, just as the free market for goods and services is driven by consumer demand, so is the market for political ideas and the political leaders who represent those ideas. Consumers in the broad marketplace will only buy those things that strike their fancy or fulfill their needs if the price is acceptable. This means producers who wish to be successful in selling their goods and services have to be attentive to consumer demands on price and quality. The more information available in the marketplace about the availability of goods, services and their quality and prices, the less waste there will be, and the happier the results will be for both producers and consumers. The marketplace falls short of the optimum when there are limitations on information flows, or if government interventions on taxation, regulation or monetary arrangements are sub-optimal.
    In the political marketplace, the same conditions apply. The "best man" (or best woman) will win the election if there is a free flow of information on how they intend to represent the constituency that is doing the electing. This week, the lecture is focused on how it was that I came to see the parallels between the two markets, and the significance to the real political world in which we live. It is not easy to accept the notion that elections always turn out correctly, given the information available, but the process is a precondition to the workings of a democracy. Over the years I have found again and again that when Democrats are winning elections, Republicans think the voters are too dumb to know what’s good for them, and when Republicans are winning elections, they think the voters are all wise while Democrats think they have been misled.
 

Houston Chronicle, Fri, 23 Sep 2005 10:38 PM PDT
Plan would suspend Clean Air Act in crises
http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/nation/3367516
WASHINGTON - The Bush administration is drafting legislation that
would give it broad powers to suspend the Clean Air Act to respond to
hurricanes or other unforeseen events, according to documents released
by a House Democrat on Friday.
 

BioWorld, Fri, 23 Sep 2005 7:51 PM PDT
Follow-On Biologics Spur Much Dialogue At Generic Policy Event
http://www.bioworld.com/servlet/com.accumedia.web.Dispatcher?next=bioWorldHeadlines_article&forceid=36339
WASHINGTON - Drug companies that have fought against easy approvals
for follow-on protein products aren't letting up these days, but their
generic counterparts may be gaining some footholds as they clearly
have their sights set on the lucrative and growing biopharmaceutical
market.
 

WOW! Someone has finally paid attention to Eureka Alert. It is in one of my yahoo alerts.
EurekAlert!, Fri, 23 Sep 2005 8:46 AM PDT
U.S. House introduces Microbicide Development Act of 2005
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2005-09/gcfm-uhi092305.php
Washington, DC (September 23, 2005) -- The Alliance for Microbicide
Development and the Global Campaign for Microbicides are pleased to
announce the introduction of the "Microbicide Development Act of 2005."
The bill was introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives by
Representative Shays (R-CT) and Representative Schakowsky (D-IL).
 

http://www.usatoday.com/travel/destinations/2005-09-22-peru_x.htm
The trail less trampled on
USA Today Thu, 22 Sep 2005 2:28 PM PDT
Spurred by recent Peruvian government efforts to enforce visitation limits on the classic trail to Machu Picchu, adventure companies have been adding new treks across the region. They follow lesser-used but no less spectacular Inca routes and visit little-known Inca ruins.
 

http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20050922/ap_on_sc/hurricanes_spies__eyes_3
Spy Imagery Agency Prepares to Record Rita
AP via Yahoo! News Thu, 22 Sep 2005 3:39 PM PDT
Peering from space using the government's most covert satellites, a little-known spy agency is turning its cameras toward Hurricane Rita and the destruction it is expected to inflict on the Gulf Coast.
 

http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/custom/attack/bal-alexanderqa0821,1,5881294.story?track=rss&ctrack=1&cset=true
Interview with NSA Director Lt. Gen. Keith B. Alexander
Baltimore Sun Fri, 23 Sep 2005 12:05 PM PDT
On Aug. 16, Siobhan Gorman, a correspondent in The Sun 's Washington bureau, interviewed Lt. Gen. Keith B. Alexander, 53, the new director of the National Security Agency, in his headquarters office at Fort Meade. Here is a transcript of the interview as recorded, transcribed and edited by The Sun .

Uni- From Gulf to shining Gulf

This is good news.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20050923/ap_on_go_ca_st_pe/fda_commissioner_resigns
FDA Commissioner Lester Crawford Resigns
By LAURAN NEERGAARD, AP Medical Writer
WASHINGTON - Embattled Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Lester Crawford abruptly resigned Friday, telling his staff that at age 67 it was time to step aside.
    President Bush designated the National Cancer Institute's director, Dr. Andrew von Eschenbach, to be the FDA's new acting commissioner.
    Crawford's resignation came just two months after the Senate, in a long-delayed move, elevated the longtime agency deputy and acting commissioner to the top job.
    His three-year tenure at FDA was marked by increasing criticism and a particularly rocky final 12 months. The painkiller Vioxx was pulled off the market for safety problems, FDA was embarrassed last fall when its British counterparts shut down a supplier of U.S. flu vaccine for tainted shots, and over the summer recalls of malfunctioning heart devices mounted.
    Finally last month, morale at the agency plummeted when Crawford indefinitely postponed nonprescription sales of emergency contraception over the objections of staff scientists who had declared the pill safe. FDA's women's health chief resigned in protest.
    Still, Crawford's resignation, effective immediately, was a surprise. An affable veterinarian who specialized in food safety, he was elevated by President Bush from acting commissioner to the full job in part because his experience was deemed important as the FDA tried to better safeguard the food supply against bioterrorism. Crawford gave a speech Monday in Washington during which he betrayed no sign he was planning to leave, instead discussing upcoming FDA policy on the safety of cloned beef.
 

Your friend's message: Blumenthal strikes again! This guy is just a dynamo.
From Gulf to shining Gulf
By Sidney Blumenthal
http://www.salon.com/opinion/blumenthal/2005/09/22/iraq_katrina/index.html
 

So how is the Katrina clean-up going, now that the levees have broke again???
http://www.grandforks.com/mld/grandforks/news/12716905.htm
Karl Rove, top Bush political adviser, visiting Fargo on Saturday
Grand Forks Herald Thu, 22 Sep 2005 6:50 PM PDT
BISMARCK, N.D. - Karl Rove, President Bush's top political adviser, plans to speak Saturday at a GOP fundraiser and meet with Gov. John Hoeven, whom Republicans hope to coax into running against Sen. Kent Conrad, D-N.D. -snip-
    Rove has ties to a number of North Dakota Republicans, including Attorney General Wayne Stenehjem, who was a summer roommate of Rove's in Alexandria, Va., in 1975.
Stenehjem was a law clerk at the Pentagon after his first year of law school, and was chairman of the North Dakota College Republicans when Rove served as chairman of the College Republican National Committee.
    An adviser to Bush when he was governor of Texas, Rove has been dubbed "Bush's brain" by critics of the president, and the nickname is part of the title of a recent book about Rove.
    "He is a bright guy. He's very politically adept. But George Bush is still running his own show," Stenehjem said. "I think that most of that criticism comes from people who are simply unhappy that Karl Rove has proven to be rather successful in getting people elected to office."
 

http://www.kxma.com/news/local.asp?ID=5869
Governor downplays visit by Bush political adviser
KXMA-TV Dickinson Fri, 23 Sep 2005 6:34 AM PDT
Governor Hoeven says a visit by President Bush's top political adviser is being overplayed. Hoeven says he'll be meeting with Karl Rove when Rove is in Fargo tomorrow.
 

http://www.phillyburbs.com/pb-dyn/news/104-09232005-545611.html
Lautenberg criticizes Rove's North Dakota trip
phillyburbs.com Fri, 23 Sep 2005 11:06 AM PDT
WASHINGTON - A senator from New Jersey is criticizing White House adviser Karl Rove for planning to attend a North Dakota fundraiser the same day Hurricane Rita is expected to hit Texas.
    Democrat Frank Lautenberg sent a letter to President Bush Friday saying "it would be expected that Mr. Rove would be at his post '24/7' during this crisis."
    Rove is scheduled to attend a Fargo fundraiser for the North Dakota Republican Party on Saturday. He also is scheduled to speak with Gov. John Hoeven, who is considering a challenge to Democratic Sen. Kent Conrad.
    Rove is White House deputy chief of staff and Bush's top political adviser.
    "There will be plenty of time for fundraising," Lautenberg said in the letter to Bush. "But for now, putting lives back together and rebuilding communities must take priority over building political war chests."
    The White House did not immediately return a call for comment.
 

http://money.cnn.com/2005/09/23/news/midcaps/tyco_abramoff/index.htm?section=money_latest
Did Rove help Tyco lobbyist?
CNN Money Fri, 23 Sep 2005 4:58 AM PDT
Republican lobbyist Jack Abramoff bragged two years ago that he was in contact with White House political aide Karl Rove to fight a move to crackdown on firms which used offshore headquarters to pay lower U.S. taxes, according to a published report.
 

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/09/22/AR2005092202204.html?nav=rss_business/government
Tyco Exec: Abramoff Claimed Ties to Administration
Washington Post Fri, 23 Sep 2005 0:12 AM PDT
Republican lobbyist Jack Abramoff bragged two years ago that he was in contact with White House political aide Karl Rove on behalf of a large, Bermuda-based corporation that wanted to avoid incurring some taxes and continue receiving federal contracts, according to a written statement by President Bush's nominee to be deputy attorney general.
    Timothy E. Flanigan, general counsel for conglomerate Tyco International Ltd., said in a statement to the Senate Judiciary Committee last week that Abramoff's lobbying firm initially boasted that Abramoff could help Tyco fend off a special liability tax because he "had good relationships with members of Congress," including House Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R-Tex.). -snip-
    Rove's personal assistant at the time, Susan Ralston, formerly worked as Abramoff's secretary. It could not be learned yesterday whether she was among those contacted by any of the 14-person Greenberg team recorded as working on the Tyco account.
 
 
 
 

TAKE ACTION:
http://www.kintera.org/siteapps/advocacy/index.aspx?c=dsJSK2PFJrH&b=1063899&sid=61232557&action=4383&template=x.ascx
Education Under Attack
The Wall Street Journal recently exposed that President Bush and his allies in Congress are plotting to take advantage of hurricane relief measures to "achieve a broad range of conservative economic and social policies, both in the storm zone and beyond." On the table are more tax cuts for the wealthy and the suspension of desegregation measures and environmental safeguards. Following last week's waiver of wage protections for federal workers, public education is now targeted by two legislative initiatives that could come up for a vote as early as this week.
 

http://online.wsj.com/public/article/0%2C%2CSB112674719461641356-43p2eR5Z9GaOg_Ub3CekoDfRpTY_20060915%2C00.html?mod=tff_main_tff_top&tr=y&auid=1115431
After Katrina, Republicans Back a Sea of Conservative Ideas
By JOHN R. WILKE and BRODY MULLINS
Staff Reporters of THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
September 15, 2005; Page B1
    Congressional Republicans, backed by the White House, say they are using relief measures for the hurricane-ravaged Gulf coast to achieve a broad range of conservative economic and social policies, both in the storm zone and beyond.
    Some new measures are already taking shape. In the past week, the Bush administration has suspended some union-friendly rules that require federal contractors pay prevailing wages, moved to ease tariffs on Canadian lumber, and allowed more foreign sugar imports to calm rising sugar prices. Just yesterday, it waived some affirmative-action rules for employers with federal contracts in the Gulf region.
 
 

http://www.aspentimes.com/article/2005109220016
Media culpa
September 22, 2005
Dear Editor:
Karl Rove was sighted in Aspen last Friday at the Forstmann Little & Co. gathering at the Jerome by some friends of mine. Nearby was George Lucas - both known for amazing special effects!
Amazing that Karl has survived Enron, Enron Europe (Caspian intrigue), the Carlyle Group (Saudi intrigue), Iraq, WMD, Valerie Plame and now also the FEMA debacles along with, of course, his "re-elected" president.
How is it that FEMA was so slow when Nicolas Davies of the Online Journal states with regard to the Downing Street memos, "The British documents show that they were already committed to 'regime change' in Iraq by April 2002. Britain's Ministry of Defense and two senior U.S. generals have confirmed that offensive military operations began in May 2002, without authorization from the U.S. Congress, the British Parliament, or the Security Council"?
Finally, the excellent quote by Mr. Davies, "We are now engaged in an intractable war whose principal victims are the civilian population of Iraq."
Thanks, George. Thanks, Karl.
Sven Erik Alstrom
Lawrence, Kan. and Aspen
 

http://www.lewrockwell.com/kwiatkowski/kwiatkowski121.html
Why Neoconservatives Won’t Back Down
by Karen Kwiatkowski
    Homer Simpson is known, among other things, for his schemes. Often, as the situation deteriorated, his schemes got crazier and his hold on ground truth more wobbly.
    Rube Goldberg-style, the neoconservatives are offering a superior solution than solemn statesmen, grieved parents, and American (small-r) republicans. They will not be bested by famous cartoon characters. They aim to win in Iraq, no matter how many steps it takes. In fact, the more steps, the better!
    I think I understand it now. Neocons worship a god named Homer Simpson. Their Holy Ghost is Rube Goldberg, and the Son ? I’m guessing here ? must be Chaos.
    Jude Wanniski asks "when will the pundits apologize?" When will they admit their mistakes and grave errors to the families of the dead on all sides and to the people of America? Homer Simpson answers for them, "I don't apologize. I am sorry Lisa, that's the way I am." (http://www.wanniski.com/showarticle.asp?articleid=4589) And so it is with the neoconservatives who clamored for war and cakewalks and slam-dunks. You will hear the inconsistency in their voices. You will see their pain in the Sunday morning talk shows. But you will never hear those responsible for designing a flawed policy in the Middle East, destroying the U.S. Army and its Guard and Reserve system, and Iraq as a nation ever say they’re sorry.
 

In honor of the late Jude Wanniski:
August 23, 2005
http://www.wanniski.com/showarticle.asp?articleid=4589
When Do the Pundits Apologize?
Memo To: Bill Kristol & Friends
From: Jude Wanniski
Re: You Got Us Into the War, No?
At some point, Bill, aren't you going to have to look back and say you really goofed, in the myriad articles you wrote in your Weekly Standard, promoting the war in Iraq? You must have seen the most recent cover story of the American Prospect magazine, which asks pointedly: "Are mere pundits responsible when an administration’s policy goes wrong?," and then: "When their sophistic arguments helped sell and sustain it, very." There you are in a caricature with three other pundits who helped cook up the war with your neo-con pals in the Bush administration, the pundits being Charles Krauthammer, Thomas L. Friedman, and Christopher Hitchens. Within the text, Harold Meyerson, a Prospect editor-at-large, throws in a fifth pundit, Victor Davis Hanson, a historian cheerleader for the war at National Review. But as you are the most important of the quintet, he leads off with you, in the following excerpt. [You can read the article in full at the link provided above.]
 

>More students are drawn to conservative colleges
>Enrollment is up at smaller colleges with Christian values. Some think
>students hope it will launch political careers. By Adam Karlin
>http://www.csmonitor.com/2005/0921/p02s01-ussc.html?s=hns
 

http://www.cepr.net/err/2005_09_19.htm
Disasters Waiting To Happen
Louis Uchitelle
New York Times, September 11, 2005, Section 3, Page 1
http://err.c.topica.com/maadZ37abkr5xbnpH4ybaeQBpp/
Dean Baker: This article discusses areas in which infrastructure repairs and
improvements have been neglected in an effort to save money. While the
failure to repair the levees in New Orleans is one example of neglected
infrastructure, there are many others across the nation, some of
which may also have serious consequences in an emergency.

More from Dean Baker's Economic Reporting Review, whom I saw on C-span very early the other morning:
http://www.cepr.net/err/2005_09_19.htm
Conservatives and Big Government
Thumbing Nervously Through the Conservative Rulebook
Robin Toner
New York Times, September 11, 2005, Section 4, page 1
http://err.c.topica.com/maadZ37abkr5AbnpH4ybaeQBpp/
    This article discusses the reaction of conservatives to the damage
caused by Hurricane Katrina and its aftermath. The article repeatedly
asserts that conservatives favor small government.
    This is not true. Conservatives like to say that they favor small
government, but this is rhetoric that is used for its political appeal;
it is not an accurate representation of their views. While
conservatives generally oppose government social programs that are designed to
benefit large segments of middle class and poor, and they strongly
support government intervention when its primary beneficiaries are
upper income people.
    For example, most conservatives are strong proponents of copyright
and patent monopolies which transfer hundreds of billions of dollars
every year from consumers to the entertainment, software, and
pharmaceutical industries. Enforcement of these monopolies often requires
extensive government involvement in the economy. Similarly, most
conservatives supported the new bankruptcy law, which gives the government
large responsibilities to act as a bill collector for credit card
companies and other creditors.

MoRe from ERR, dean Baker:
http://www.cepr.net/err/2005_09_19.htm
Job Growth and Accounting Fraud
The Crime: Slow Job Growth. A Suspect: Enron
Daniel Gross
New York Times, September 11, 2005, Section 3, page 11
http://err.c.topica.com/maadZ37abkr5CbnpH4ybaeQBpp/
    This article discusses the possibility that the fallout from the
accounting fraud of the nineties boom may partially explain the slow job
growth in the recovery. It is worth noting that some economists had
predicted, even before the collapse of the stock bubble,  that
accounting fraud associated with the bubble would inhibit future growth (see
“The Costs of the Stock Market Bubble,”
[http://www.cepr.net/publications/stock_market_bubble.htm ]).  Many
economists believe that even 3-4 percent inflation leads to serious
economic distortions. If modest inflation can lead to economic
distortions, then it must be the case that huge financial bubbles (like the
stock market or housing bubbles) would lead to serious distortions,
resulting in a negative impact on growth and jobs.
 

U.S. Newswire via Yahoo! News, Tue, 13 Sep 2005 11:53 AM PDT
Pelosi, House Democrats Request GAO Oversee Spending for Relief and
Reconstruction of Gulf Coast to Avoid Waste
http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/usnw/20050913/pl_usnw/pelosi__house_democrats_request_gao_oversee_spending_for_relief_and_reconstruction_of_gulf_coast_to_avoid_waste_and_fraud304_xm
House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi and senior House Democrats sent
a letter today to GAO Comptroller General David Walker requesting he
immediately establish a team of experienced auditors and
investigators to monitor in real time the contracts and spending for the
recovery, relief, and reconstruction of the Gulf Coast. To avoid the waste,
fraud, and abuse that have plagued Iraq
 

http://www.metrotimes.com/editorial/story.asp?id=8195
See no lethal
Body counts, election chicanery, government surveillance and other news beyond the mainstream
by Camille T. Taiara, 9/14/2005
Beyond the top ten - More stories the mainstream media missed.
Censored — or bogus? - Even this project has its fringe.
More from Camille T. Taiara
Censored — or bogus? (9/14/2005)
    Beyond the top ten (9/14/2005)
    Censored! (9/8/2004)
Just four days before the 2004 presidential election, a prestigious British medical journal published the results of a rigorous study by Dr. Les Roberts, a widely respected researcher. Roberts concluded that close to 100,000 people had died in the invasion and occupation of Iraq. Most were noncombatant civilians. Many were children.
    But that news didn’t make the front pages of the major newspapers. It wasn’t on the network news. So most voters knew little or nothing about the brutal civilian impact of President George W. Bush’s war when they went to the polls.ADVERTISEMENT
    That’s just one of the big stories the mainstream news media ignored, blacked out or underreported over the past year, according to Project Censored, a media watchdog group based at California’s Sonoma State University.
 

San Francisco Bay Guardian, Tue, 13 Sep 2005 8:04 PM PDT
Project Censored ignores alt-weeklies
http://www.sfbg.com/39/50/x_talkback.html
According to Project Censored, a report on the Bush administration's
penchant for secrecy, issued in 2004 by Rep. Henry Waxman, was one of
the most undercovered stories of the year. Fair enough: The
mainstream media did indeed give the Waxman report little coverage.
    But I was surprised to see from Camille T. Taiara's story on Project Censored's findings ["Censored!," 9/7/05] that the organization's sole citation regarding the Waxman report was a press release posted on Common Dreams. I wrote a long article on the report (including an interview with Waxman) for the Boston Phoenix at the time it was issued, as well as a follow-up several months later on how the White House has undermined the Freedom of Information Act. Nor am I alone. Among others, Taiara herself has reported extensively on the Bush administration's attempts to suppress public information.
    Scan through Project Censored's sources and you will see ? with a few exceptions ? a plethora of tiny newsletters and obscure Web sites, which leads to the impression that the media simply aren't doing their job. In fact, a number of alternative weeklies have been covering these stories, and, if they're not as influential as the Washington Post or NBC News, they are nevertheless well-read in their communities.
    Project Censored has a history of ignoring the good work performed by alt-weeklies. It's one of the reasons that its annual list is not taken as seriously as it ought to be.
    Dan Kennedy Visiting assistant professor School of Journalism Northeastern University, Boston
More censored stories
    Thank you for "Local Censored" [9/7/05], which has maximal relevance to San Francisco residents and readers. Please expand this section and make it primary.
    I have to Google the Center for Corporate Policy for some topics that merit top 10 status, such as:
A. Supreme Court nominee John Roberts has a record of prioritizing corporate rights over rights of people.
B. Benedict Arnold corporations reincorporate offshore to avoid paying their fair share of taxes.
C. War profiteering is by the president's own family.
D. The CEO backlash against Enron is to water down Sarbanes-Oxley regulations.
Will Barium San Francisco
 

http://www.independent-media.tv/item.cfm?fmedia_id=11869&fcategory_desc=Under%20Reported
War Profiteer, Undersecretary of Defense for Bush, Doug Feith Retires Wealthy - Independent Media TV
Independent Media TV Thu, 08 Sep 2005 6:13 AM PDT
Douglas Feith, the recently resigned undersecretary of defense, who just happened to be one of the main people who for years on end advocated for a war in Iraq, and who in large part developed the disastrous policies for the war in Iraq, planned ahead for his retirement and will not be seen in the unemployment line.
 

SECRECY NEWS
from the FAS Project on Government Secrecy
Volume 2005, Issue No. 91, September 22, 2005
** HOUSE INTEL COMMITTEE BEGINS HEARINGS ON LEAKS
** GUIDELINES FOR ACCESS TO GEOSPATIAL DATA
** US ARMY WEAPONS SYSTEM HANDBOOK
** ABLE DANGER HEARING
** A CITIZEN'S GUIDE TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT
HOUSE INTEL COMMITTEE BEGINS HEARINGS ON LEAKS
    The first of a series of congressional hearings on the unauthorized
disclosure of classified information was held last week by the
House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence.  The closed
hearing featured "a representative of the intelligence community"
who discussed the consequences of such unauthorized disclosures.
    Committee chairman Pete Hoekstra (R-Mich.) said the committee will
hold open hearings on the issue in the future.  He indicated that
no legislation on unauthorized disclosure is pending before the
committee and that no decision has been made to introduce a bill,
according to a September 14 news release.  See:
     http://www.fas.org/sgp/news/2005/09/hpsci091405.pdf
    Meanwhile, the Committee voted on party lines to reject a resolution
requesting that the executive branch provide documents on the
unauthorized disclosure of the identity of CIA officer Valerie
Plame.
    When it comes to leaks, the Republican majority said, "the House
must focus on the problem broadly rather than focusing solely on
any specific case."
    Democrats said "the Committee missed a critical opportunity to
exercise appropriate and responsible oversight of this serious
matter."
    See the House Intelligence Committee report on the resolution here:
     http://www.fas.org/irp/congress/2005_rpt/hrpt109-228.html
GUIDELINES FOR ACCESS TO GEOSPATIAL DATA
    Official guidelines for deciding whether and how to permit public
access to geospatial data -- such as maps and satellite imagery
-- have recently been issued by the Federal Geographic Data
Committee of the U.S. Geological Survey.
    "In the United States many public and private organizations and
individuals originate geospatial data and make them available to
the public," the Guidelines note. "Because of this condition
centralized control of information is not viable and decision
making about the sensitivity and safeguarding of geospatial data
will be decentralized."
    To assist in such decentralized decision making, the Guidelines
define general procedures for identifying sensitive information
and weighing the risks and benefits of disclosure.
    See "Guidelines for Providing Appropriate Access to Geospatial
Data in Response to Security Concerns," Federal Geographic Data
Committee, June 2005:
     http://www.fas.org/sgp/othergov/fgdc0605.pdf
US ARMY WEAPONS SYSTEM HANDBOOK
    The 2005 U.S. Army Weapons System Handbook, a descriptive catalog of
dozens of current and near-term weapons systems used by the U.S.
Army, is now available on the Federation of American Scientists web
site.
    Previous editions of the Handbook were routinely made available on
Army web sites.  But along with many thousands of other
unclassified documents, they were withdrawn from online public
access a few years ago when the Army moved much of its web-based
content behind a password-protected portal called Army Knowledge
Online.  A softcopy of the new edition was obtained by Secrecy
News.
    The unclassified Handbook is not sensitive, even by government
standards.  A hardcopy of the publication can still be purchased
through the Government Printing Office.  But the online version was
a casualty of the Army's retreat from the web, until now.
    See the 2005 U.S. Army Weapons System Handbook here:
     http://www.fas.org/man/dod-101/sys/land/wsh/index.html
ABLE DANGER HEARING
    The Senate Judiciary Committee held a hearing yesterday on ABLE
DANGER, the Defense Department intelligence program that may or may
not have identified Mohamed Atta and other September 11 hijackers a
year or more before they struck.
    The hearing ended inconclusively after the Pentagon refused to
permit several witnesses to testify, citing classification
concerns.
    "That looks to me as if it may be obstruction of the committee's
activities," said Judiciary Committee chair Sen. Arlen Specter
(R-Pa).
    "The Senate Intelligence Committee, as I understand it, has
jurisdiction over this matter and is looking into it," Defense
Secretary Donald Rumsfeld told reporters in response.
    "Second, the department, I'm told, offered a classified briefing
because the subject matter was classified," Rumsfeld said.  "And as
I understand it, the Judiciary Committee preferred to have an open
hearing on a classified matter, and therefore the department
declined to participate in an open hearing on a classified matter."
    The prepared testimony from the September 21 Judiciary Committee
hearing is available here:
     http://www.fas.org/irp/congress/2005_hr/index.html
    A September 1 Pentagon press briefing on ABLE DANGER is available
here:
     http://www.fas.org/irp/news/2005/09/dod090105.html
A CITIZEN'S GUIDE TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT
    The House Committee on Government Reform has published a new edition
of its popular "Citizen's Guide on Using the Freedom of Information
Act and the Privacy Act of 1974 to Request Government Records."
    The Guide, first published in 1977, "is one of the most widely read
congressional committee reports in history," the new edition says.
    A copy of the updated Guide, House Report 109-226, September 20,
2005, is available here:
     http://www.fas.org/sgp/foia/citizen.html
_______________________________________________
Secrecy News is written by Steven Aftergood and published by the
Federation of American Scientists.
To SUBSCRIBE to Secrecy News, send email to
     secrecy_news-request@lists.fas.org
with "subscribe" in the body of the message.
Secrecy News is archived at:
     http://www.fas.org/sgp/news/secrecy/index.html
 

Bush is hoping we don't notice this.
Former Bush Administration Official Charged -- A former Bush
administration official is charged with making false statements and obstructing a federal investigation into his dealings with lobbyist Jack Abramoff.
http://www.capitolhillblue.com/artman/publish/article_7415.shtml

Is Social Security 'Reform' Dead? -- Beset by issues ranging from the
double-barreled hurricane recovery to the occupation of Iraq, President
Bush nonetheless is laying plans to proceed on the hot-button topic of
Social Security reform.
http://www.capitolhillblue.com/artman/publish/article_7422.shtml

Tax Breaks for Katrina Victims -- Congress has readied more than $6
billion in temporary Katrina tax breaks for displaced families, good
Samaritans and Gulf Coast businesses that hire low-income workers to get up
and running again.
http://www.capitolhillblue.com/artman/publish/article_7423.shtml

Time to Profile Terrorists -- If we had infinite resources and time, we
could scrutinize all passengers equally. But we don't. Either we
prioritize screenings on the basis of reliable data and rational risk
analysis -- or we kid ourselves and, sooner or later, sacrifice lives on the
altar of "political correctness."
http://www.capitolhillblue.com/artman/publish/article_7425.shtml

THE RANT: Ignoring the Real Obscenities -- Had lunch last week with an
old friend, a career agent with the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
He's considering early retirement because he just can't handle what's
happening to his agency, the federal law enforcement apparatus and the
country.
http://www.capitolhillblue.com/artman/publish/article_7420.shtml

Try Something New...Like Cooperation -- Public hearings and
investigations into the various mishaps that befall our nation are a long and
valuable tradition in American politics, and the sluggish government
response to Katrina will be no different.
http://www.capitolhillblue.com/artman/publish/article_7418.shtml

Playing the Blame Game -- In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, the
blame game frequently has been mentioned in the news. To those not
familiar with this game, which is close to being America's national pastime,
it is worth describing its rules and purpose.
http://www.capitolhillblue.com/artman/publish/article_7417.shtml

When Religious Zealots Rule -- It's probably the most common trait
among humans. We always want to tell others how to live, to set the social
agenda for our friends and neighbors. That's particularly true when
religion gets into the act, which it almost always does, and becomes the
guiding principle for existence, no matter how impractical and
oppressive.
http://www.capitolhillblue.com/artman/publish/article_7413.shtml
 

Join us in telling the FDA that Americans are tired of anti-choice politics getting in the way of women's access to safe and legal birth control!
<http://go.care2.com/e/F6J/bJ/E0rG>
Hi sven,
    Why is it that I never read about drugs that improve men's sexual performance getting blocked by the FDA, or pharmacists refusing to fill men's prescriptions on moral grounds? But time and again, when it comes to women's access to safe and legal birth control, we encounter endless regulatory delays, manipulation of science by political appointees, and pharmacists refusing to fill doctor's prescriptions.
    When will these unfair attacks on women come to an end? What's it going to
take?
    That's why I was so frustrated when I heard that the FDA had broken its promise to rule on over-the-counter access to the morning-after pill by September 1st. After all, improved access to emergency contraception could reduce the number of unintended pregnancies by half. Send a letter <http://go.care2.com/e/F6J/bJ/E0rG> .
    American women have waited more than two years for the FDA to decide whether women can purchase the morning-after pill over-the-counter. The FDA's own experts have said repeatedly that emergency contraception is safe and effective, and should be sold over-the-counter. What's worse, the Bush Administration publicly promised senators that the FDA would stop dragging its feet and issue a decision by September 1st in exchange for confirmation of the new FDA Commissioner. Now, it's just another broken promise.
    And while it's tempting to throw up your hands in disgust - it's more important than ever that the FDA hears from ordinary citizens like you. We cannot let politics get in the way of such an important decision - please urge the FDA to approve
<http://go.care2.com/e/F6J/bJ/E0rG>  over-the-counter sales of emergency
contraception right now!
    Tell the FDA that Americans are sick and tired of anti-choice politics getting in the way of sound science and women's access to safe and legal medications.
    Sign our petition to the FDA Commissioner! <http://go.care2.com/e/F6J/bJ/E0rG>
Thank you for standing up for women's rights today,
- Dawn Sanders,
Care2 and ThePetitionSite team
 

http://www.kansascity.com/mld/kansascity/news/nation/12707376.htm
‘Able Danger’ obstruction a concern 
Kansas City Star - Sep 22 12:17 AM
WASHINGTON — The Senate Judiciary Committee chairman said Wednesday that he would look into whether the Pentagon obstructed his committee by refusing to allow testimony from five persons.

(This is just mind-boggling!)

..let's hear it for Costco!! (This is just mind-boggling!)
 

Make sure you read all the way past the list of the drugs
 
 

The woman who wrote this and signed below, Sharon Davis, is a Budget
Analyst out of Federal Offices in Washington, D.C.

Did you ever wonder how much it costs a drug company for the active
ingredient in prescription medications?  Some people think it must cost a
lot, since many drugs sell for more than $2.00 per tablet.
 
 

We did a search of offshore chemical synthesizers that supply the active
ingredients found in drugs approved by the FDA.   As we have revealed in
past issues of Life Extension, a significant percentage of drugs sold in
the United States contain active ingredients made in other countries.
 
 

In our independent investigation of how much profit drug companies really
make, we obtained the actual price of active ingredients used in some of
the most popular drugs sold in America.

The chart below speaks for itself.

Celebrex 100 mg
  Consumer price (100 tablets): $130.27
  Cost of general active ingredients: $0.60
Percent markup: 21,712%

Claritin 10 mg
Consumer Price (100 tablets): $215.17
Cost of general active ingredients: $0.71
  Percent markup: 30,306%
 

Keflex 250 mg
Consumer Price (100 tablets): $157.39
Cost of general active ingredients: $1.88
Percent markup: 8,372%
 

Lipitor 20 mg
Consumer Price (100 tablets): $272.37
Cost of general active ingredients: $5.80
Percent markup: 4,696%

Norvasec 10 mg
Consumer price (100 tablets): $188.29
Cost of general active ingredients: $0.14
Percent markup: 134,493%

Paxil 20 mg
Consumer price (100 tablets): $220.27
Cost of general active ingredients: $7.60
Percent markup: 2,898%

Prevacid 30 mg
Consumer price (100 tablets): $44.77
Cost of general active ingredients: $1.01
Percent markup: 34,136%
 

Prilosec 20 mg
Consumer price (100 tablets): $360.97
Cost of general active ingredients $0.52
Percent markup: 69,417%

Prozac 20 mg
Consumer price (100 tablets) : $247.47
Cost of general active ingredients: $0.11
Percent markup: 224,973%

Tenormin 50 mg
Consumer price (100 tablets): $104.47
Cost of general active ingredients: $0.13
Percent markup: 80,362%

Vasotec 10 mg
Consumer price (100 tablets): $102.37
Cost of general active ingredients: $0.20
Percent markup: 51,185%

Xanax 1 mg
Consumer price (100 tablets) : $136.79
Cost of general active ingredients: $0.024
Percent markup: 569,958%

Zestril 20 mg
Consumer price (100 tablets) $89.89
Cost of general active ingredients $3.20
Percent markup: 2,809%

Zithromax 600 mg
Consumer price (100 tablets): $1,482.19
Cost of general active ingredients: $18.78
Percent markup: 7,892%

Zocor 40 mg
Consumer price (100 tablets): $350.27
Cost of general active ingredients: $8.63
Percent markup: 4,059%

Zoloft 50 mg
Consumer price: $206.87
Cost of general active ingredients: $1.75
Percent markup: 11,821%

Since the cost of prescription drugs is so outrageous, I thought everyone
knew should know about this.  Please read the following and pass it on.
 

It pays to shop around.  This helps to solve the mystery as to why they
can afford to put a Walgreen's on every corner.
 
 

On Monday night, Steve Wilson, an investigative reporter for Channel 7 News
in Detroit, did a story on generic drug price gouging by pharmacies.  He
found in his investigation, that some of these generic drugs were marked up
as much as 3,000% or more.
 

Yes, that's not a typo.....three thousand percent! So often, we blame the
drug companies for the high cost of drugs, and usually rightfully so.
 

But in this case, the fault clearly lies with the pharmacies themselves.
For example, if you had to buy a prescription drug, and bought the name
brand, you might pay $100 for 100 pills.
 

The pharmacist might tell you that if you get the generic equivalent, they
would only cost $80, making you think you are "saving" $20.  What the
pharmacist is not telling you is that those 100 generic pills may have only
cost him $10.
 

At the end of the report, one of the anchors asked Mr. Wilson whether or
not there were any pharmacies that did not adhere to this practice, and he
said that Costco consistently charged little over their cost for the
generic drugs.
 

I went to the Costco site, where you can look up any drug, and get its
online price.  It says that the in-store prices are consistent with the
online prices.  I was appalled.  Just to give you one example from my own
experience, I had to use the drug, Compazine, which helps prevent nausea in
chemo patients.
 

I used the generic equivalent, which cost $54.99 for 60 pills at CVS.
 
 

I checked the price at Costco, and I could have bought 100 pills for
$19.89.
 

For 145 of my pain pills, I paid $72.57.  I could have got 150 at Costco
for $28.08.
 

I would like to mention, that although Costco is a "membership" type store,
you do NOT have to be a member to buy prescriptions there, as it is a
federally regulated substance.  You just tell them at the door that you
wish to use the pharmacy, and they will let you in. (this is true, I went
there this past Thursday and asked them.)
 
 

I am asking each of you to please help me by copying this letter, and
passing it into your own email, and send it to everyone you know with an
email address.
 

Sharon L. Davis
Budget Analyst
U.S. Department of Commerce
Room 6839
Office Ph: 202-482-4458
Office Fax: 202-482-5480
Email Address: sdavis@doc.gov
 

[Fwd: Open Letter to Kansas, by Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster]]

[http://www.venganza.org/]

Hillarious and sad that we have come to this in US. First the response
from a sane member of the Kansas school board, then the letter from the
"FSM Church bishop" -- law

Dear Mr. Henderson,

In the midst of the sad circumstances of having our science standards
lowered, you and your legion of fellow FSM followers have offered
wonderful comic relief.. I am a member of the Kansas State Board of
Education and have voted repeatedly to maintain excellent science
standards. Last week was the vote to send a new draft (written by the 6
conservative members) out for external review. The four of us on the
board who are moderates were in the minority on the vote. The group of
science teachers and university professors who had written the original
standards (before they were changed) have now asked that their names be
withdrawn from the document. The new version changes the very definition
of science from "seeking natural explanations" to "seeking logical
explanations". That is why I think FSMism is able to be included. It is
as "logical" as any other theory.

The final vote on the standards will be in October. We will be in
Lawrence, Kansas for that meeting. Those of us who are moderates on the
board are trying to have the meeting in the Natural History Museum at
the University of Kansas. We think that would be an appropriate setting
for the occasion. We welcome you to be in attendance.

Thank you for adding levity to this situation.. I was wondering if we
could reverse the effects of global warming if we started breeding
pirates.

Sincerely,
Carol Rupe

--------------------------------

OPEN LETTER TO KANSAS SCHOOL BOARD

I am writing you with much concern after having read of your hearing to
decide whether the alternative theory of Intelligent Design should be
taught along with the theory of Evolution. I think we can all agree that
it is important for students to hear multiple viewpoints so they can
choose for themselves the theory that makes the most sense to them. I am
concerned, however, that students will only hear one theory of
Intelligent Design.

Let us remember that there are multiple theories of Intelligent Design.
I and many others around the world are of the strong belief that the
universe was created by a Flying Spaghetti Monster. It was He who
created all that we see and all that we feel. We feel strongly that the
overwhelming scientific evidence pointing towards evolutionary processes
is nothing but a coincidence, put in place by Him.

It is for this reason that Iím writing you today, to formally request
that this alternative theory be taught in your schools, along with the
other two theories. In fact, I will go so far as to say, if you do not
agree to do this, we will be forced to proceed with legal action. Iím
sure you see where we are coming from. If the Intelligent Design theory
is not based on faith, but instead another scientific theory, as is
claimed, then you must also allow our theory to be taught, as it is also
based on science, not on faith.

Some find that hard to believe, so it may be helpful to tell you a
little more about our beliefs. We have evidence that a Flying Spaghetti
Monster created the universe..

Iím sure you now realize how important it is that your students are
taught this alternate theory.. Furthermore, it is disrespectful to teach
our beliefs without wearing His chosen outfit, which of course is full
pirate regalia. I cannot stress the importance of this enough..

You may be interested to know that global warming, earthquakes,
hurricanes, and other natural disasters are a direct effect of the
shrinking numbers of Pirates since the 1800s. For your interest, I have
included a graph of the approximate number of pirates versus the average
global temperature over the last 200 years. As you can see, there is a
statistically significant inverse relationship between pirates and
global temperature...

I think we can all look forward to the time when these three theories
are given equal time in our science classrooms across the country, and
eventually the world; One third time for Intelligent Design, one third
time for Flying Spaghetti Monsterism, and one third time for logical
conjecture based on overwhelming observable evidence.

[Image]

Open Letter

--
Posted by lawnorder to lawnorder at 9/23/2005 12:43:00 PM

Uni-No Place for a Poet at a Banquet of Shame

No Place for a Poet at a Banquet of Shame
Sharon Olds
http://www.thenation.com/doc/20051010/olds>http://www.thenation.com/doc/20051010/olds
     > >
     > >   Laura Bush
     > >   First Lady
     > >   The White House
     > >
     > >   Dear Mrs. Bush,
     > >
     > >   I am writing to let you know why I am not able to accept your kind
     > >invitation to give a presentation at the National Book Festival on
     > >September 24, or to attend your dinner at the Library of Congress or
     > >the breakfast at the White House.
     > >
     > >   In one way, it's a very appealing invitation. The idea of speaking at
     > >a festival attended by 85,000 people is inspiring! The possibility of
     > >finding new readers is exciting for a poet in personal terms, and in
     > >terms of the desire that poetry serve its constituents--all of us who
     > >need the pleasure, and the inner and outer news, it! delivers.
     > >
     > >   And the concept of a community of readers and writers has long been
     > >dear to my heart. As a professor of creative writing in the graduate
     > >school of a major university, I have had the chance to be a part of
     > >some magnificent outreach writing workshops in which our students have
     > >become teachers. Over the years, they have taught in a variety of
     > >settings: a women's prison, several New York City public high schools,
     > >an oncology ward for children. Our initial program, at a 900-bed state
     > >hospital for the severely physically challenged, has been running now
     > >for twenty years, creating along the way lasting friendships between
     > >young MFA candidates and their students--long-term residents at the
     > >hospital who, in their humor, courage and wisdom, become our teachers.
     > >
     > >   When you have witnessed someone nonspeaking and almost nonmoving
     > >spell out, with a toe, on a big plastic alphabet chart, letter by letter, his
     > >new poem, you have experienced, close up, the passion and esse ntialness
     > >of writing. When you have held up a small cardboard alphabet card for a
     > >writer who is completely nonspeaking and nonmoving (except for the
     > >eyes), and pointed first to the A, then the B, then C, then D, until
     > >you get to the first letter of the first word of the first line of the
     > >poem she has been composing in her head all week, and she lifts her
     > >eyes when that letter is touched to say yes, you feel with a fresh
     > >immediacy the human drive for creation, self-expression, accuracy,
     > >honesty and wit--and the importance of writing, which celebrates the
     > >value of each person's unique story and song.
     > >
     > >   So the prospect of a festival of books seemed wonderful to me. I
     > >thought of the opportunity to talk about how to start up an outreach
     > >program. I thought of the chance to sell some books, sign some books
     > >and meet some of the citizens of Washington, DC. I thought that I could
     > >try to find a way, even as your guest, with respect, to speak about my
     > >deep feeling that we should not have invaded Iraq, and to declare my
     > >belief that the wish to invade another culture and another
     > >country--with the resultant loss of life and limb for our brave
     > >soldiers, and for the noncombatants in their home terrain--did not come
     > >out of our democracy but was instead a decision made "at the top" and
     > >forced on the people by distorted language, and by untruths. I hoped to
     > >express the fear that we have begun to live in the shadows of tyranny
     > >and religious chauvinism--the opposites of the liberty, tolerance and

     > >diversity our nation aspires to.
     > >
     > >   I tried to see my way clear to attend the festival in order to bear
     > >witness--as an American who loves her country and its principles and
     > >its writing--against this undeclared and devastating war.
     > >
     > >   But I could not face the idea of breaking bread with you. I knew that
     > >if I sat down to eat with you, it would feel to me as if I were

     > >condoning what I see to be the wild, high handed actions of the Bush

     > >Administration.
     > >
     > >   What kept coming to the fore of my mind was that I would be taking
     > >food from the hand of the First Lady who represents the Administration
     > >that unleashed this war and that wills its continuation, even to the
     > >extent of permitting "extraordinary rendition": flying people to other
     > >countries where they will be tortured for us.
     > >
     > >   So many Americans who had felt pride in our country now feel anguish
     > >and shame, for the current regime of blood, wounds and fire. I thought
     > >of the clean linens at your table, the shining knives and the flames of
     > >the candles, and I could not stomach it.
     > >
     > >   Sincerely,
     > >
     > >   SHARON OLDS
 

Flying Spaghetti Monsterism - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Flying Spaghetti Monsterism is a satirical parody religion created to protest the decision by the Kansas State Board of Education to allow intelligent design to be taught in science classes alongside evolution.

The "religion" has become an Internet phenomenon that has garnered many "followers" of the Flying Spaghetti Monster (sometimes referring to themselves as "Pastafarians," a pun on Rastafarians) who claim to have been touched by "His Noodly Appendage" and preach the word of their "noodly master" as the one true religion. Flying Spaghetti Monsterism is primarily the invention of Bobby Henderson, a graduate of Oregon State University with a degree in physics.

Developments

In June 2005, Bobby Henderson submitted an open letter to the Kansas Board of Education in response to their decision on giving intelligent design equal time with evolution by natural selection in biology classes. He formally requested that Flying Spaghetti Monsterism be given time in classrooms equal to that given to intelligent design and to "logical conjecture based on overwhelming observable evidence" (evolution), and stated that if this was not done, then "we will be forced to proceed with legal action." Shortly afterwards, he received responses from two sympathetic members of the board. A third response was also received in mid-August.

Worldwide attention was immediately drawn to the site when it was first featured on Boing Boing. Over the next two months, traffic on Henderson's FSM website grew steadily. The popularity of the site exploded in August, when the Flying Spaghetti Monster was repeatedly featured on Boing Boing and several additional blogs and Internet news sites such as Something Awful and Fark.com. Articles in the mainstream media soon followed.

In the "Latest News" section of Henderson's website he notes that U.S. President George W. Bush [1] and U.S. Senator Bill Frist [2] have publicly supported the teaching of "different ideas" (Bush) and "a broad range of fact, of science, including faith" (Frist) on the origin of life, alongside evolutionary theory. Henderson therefore infers that they support the teaching of Flying Spaghetti Monsterism. Neither, however, has publicly stated a position specifically on FSM.

Henderson's work sparked the creation of many FSM-related sites, such as Spaghetti & Pulsar Activating Meatballs, a "rival" parody that calls for a holy war against FSM.

Beliefs
Images depicting the creation of the universe typically show the Monster, a tree-covered mountain, and a "midgit".
Enlarge
Images depicting the creation of the universe typically show the Monster, a tree-covered mountain, and a "midgit".

Many of the "beliefs" proposed by Henderson were intentionally chosen to parody arguments commonly set forth by proponents of Intelligent Design.

* The Universe was created by an invisible and undetectable Flying Spaghetti Monster. All evidence pointing towards evolution was intentionally planted by this being.
* According to the pastafarians, the monster created the world starting with a mountain, trees and a midget and continues to guide human affairs with his "noodly appendage." Heaven is depicted as having a stripper factory and a beer volcano. Their prayers to "Him" are typically ended by "Ramen", instead of "Amen".
* Global warming, earthquakes, hurricanes, and other natural disasters are a direct consequence of the decline in numbers of pirates since the 1800s. A graph showing the inverse correlation between the pirates and global temperatures was also provided. This component of the theory highlights the logical fallacy of correlation implying causation.
* Bobby Henderson is the "prophet" of this religion.





Flying Spaghetti Monsterism - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Uni - Lobbying and the WHITE HOUSE

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2005/091905J.shtml
Largest Theft in History:
$1 Billion Missing in Iraq
 

http://atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/GI22Ak01.html
The failed mission to capture Iraqi oil
Asia Times Wed, 21 Sep 2005 4:23 AM PDT
It has long been an article of faith among America's senior policymakers - Democrats and Republicans alike - that military force is an effective tool for ensuring control over foreign sources of oil.
 

http://politics.guardian.co.uk/comment/story/0,9115,1574819,00.html
To say we must stay in Iraq to save it from chaos is a lie
Guardian Unlimited Tue, 20 Sep 2005 6:25 PM PDT
This is a fiasco without parallel in recent British history. Don't be fooled a second time. They told you Britain must invade Iraq because of its weapons of mass destruction. They were wrong. Now they say British troops must stay in Iraq because otherwise it will collapse into chaos.

Older news but still kind of an interesting read.
http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/usatoday/20050825/pl_usatoday/bushsdailyintelbriefingrevamped
Bush's daily intel briefing revamped
USATODAY.com via Yahoo! News Thu, 25 Aug 2005 4:17 AM PDT
The classified intelligence briefings President Bush gets daily have been revamped to include divergent opinions from more sources, incorporate the latest terrorism threats and reduce the role of the CIA.
 
 

http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20050921/ap_on_go_ca_st_pe/hurricanes_chertoff_hk4_1
Chertoff Has Little Room for Error on Rita
AP via Yahoo! News Wed, 21 Sep 2005 11:15 AM PDT
Michael Chertoff survived the fallout over the federal response to Hurricane Katrina, which cost President Bush political capital and the government's emergency chief his job.
 

WHAT'S NEW ON CORPWATCH
Holding Corporations Accountable
<< http://www.corpwatch.org >>
Big and Easy Iraqi-Style Contracts Flood New Orleans
Pratap Chatterjee, September 20th, 2005
As Katrina's flood waters recede, government contractors are flowing
into the Gulf Coast and reaping billions of dollars in pre-bid, limited bid,
and sometimes no-bid contracts. Many of these contractors and the men who
award them are the same players who bungled the reconstruction of Iraq.
Deja vu all over again.
http://www.corpwatch.org/article.php?id=12647
IN THE NEWS
US: Conrad Black's right-hand man pleads guilty to $32m fraud
(Conrad Black is a close personal friend of Richard Perle's, ennable Richard Perle to have a media mouthpiece.)
http://www.corpwatch.org/article.php?id=12644
US: Ex-Tyco Executives Get 8 to 25 Years in Prison
http://www.corpwatch.org/article.php?id=12643
US: Contractor Entangled in Abu Ghraib Plans to Drop Interrogation
Work
http://www.corpwatch.org/article.php?id=12636
CHILE: Detective Story that Linked £1m Pinochet Cash to BAE
(Britain's biggest arms company, BAE, facing many questions in what may prove one of the biggest scandals to hit an already scandal-prone company.)
http://www.corpwatch.org/article.php?id=12642
US: Spitzer Says 8 Former Insurance Executives Are Indicted
http://www.corpwatch.org/article.php?id=12635
US: Private Security Company Creates Stir in New Orleans
http://www.corpwatch.org/article.php?id=12634
US: Wal-Mart Accused of Denying Workers' Rights
http://www.corpwatch.org/article.php?id=12645
EUROPE: Private Security Companies Linked with Organized Crime
http://www.corpwatch.org/article.php?id=12639
WORLD: Steady Growth Expected for Private Security Industry
http://www.corpwatch.org/article.php?id=12638
 

http://www.stuff.co.nz/stuff/0,2106,3417826a4501,00.html
Book review: Chain of Command - Seymour M Hersh
WEDNESDAY, 21 SEPTEMBER 2005
By BOB RIGG
We live in what is often referred to as an age of information, characterised by the unparalleled availability of factual and analytical data. At the same time, we are confronted, on a daily basis, with evidence of the extreme lengths that governments are prepared to go to in systematically misrepresenting their actions.
    Seymour M Hersh is a seasoned American journalist who has published controversial exposures of matters as diverse as the United States' hidden arsenal of biological and chemical weapons, the My Lai massacre and the relationship between US foreign policy and Israel's nuclear arsenal. Richard Perle, the leading US neo-con, recently described Hersh as "the closest thing American journalism has to a terrorist, frankly".
 

http://www.public-i.org/lobby/report.aspx?aid=734
LobbyWatch - The Center for Public Integrity
The Center for Public Integrity Tue, 20 Sep 2005 1:18 PM PDT
China is the world's largest Communist country and the biggest potential rival to the United States in the global economy. They're learning what other countries and corporations have known for decades: how to buy a seat at the table. Here, a look at their approach.
China Steps Up Its Lobbying Game
The Chinese government is hiring the best of the best to advance its agenda
By Marina Walker Guevara and Bob Williams
WASHINGTON, September 13, 2005 — An oil company controlled by the government of China bankrolled one of the most intense, multipronged lobbying blitzes in recent memory in a bid to take over U.S. petroleum giant Unocal this summer, according to an in-depth analysis of new disclosure filings by the Center for Public Integrity.
    In an eight-day span in June, lobbyists from Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld contacted federal and state officials nearly 250 times in an unsuccessful effort to build support for an $18.5 billion bid for Unocal by China National Offshore Oil Co. And Akin Gump was just one of six top-flight lobbying firms hired by CNOOC to push its bid.
 

THE CENTER FOR PUBLIC INTEGRITY
Investigative Journalism In Public Interest
http://www.public-i.org/default.aspx

http://www.public-i.org/lobby/report.aspx?aid=731
Lobbying the White House
Campaign donors and former government officials help 4,600 companies influence the executive branch
By Alex Knott
WASHINGTON, September 21, 2005 — Not many companies change their names to accommodate a recent hire, but not every new employee has the standing of Kirk Blalock. In a town where influence is predicated on who you know, Blalock's connections are a conspicuously valuable commodity. As special assistant to the president, he often counseled George W. Bush and crafted political strategies with now-Deputy Chief of Staff Karl Rove. And as deputy director of the White House Office of Public Liaison, he coordinated the Bush administration's outreach to the business community—a role that gave him unique stature along Washington, D.C.'s K Street corridor.
Summary of Study Findings
    Perhaps that's why in October 2003, just 11 months after Blalock left public service for Fierce & Isakowitz, the 25-year-old lobbying shop made him a name partner. It proved to be a profitable decision: Since Blalock's arrival, the firm has nearly doubled its annual revenue to more than $6 million, with its new marquee partner involved in much of the business. In fact, during Blalock's freshman year at what is now Fierce, Isakowitz & Blalock, he personally registered to lobby on behalf of 33 clients. Of those, 22 listed the White House as a lobbying target.
    Blalock was part of a team that lobbied the White House for the American Forest & Paper Association in support of the Healthy Forests Initiative, a legislative plan that was billed as a common-sense way to reduce the threat of destructive wildfires. The proposal was applauded by Blalock's timber-business client as a way to address the "crisis" facing the nation's federal forests, but roundly criticized by environmental organizations as being a mere giveaway to the timber industry. On Dec. 3, 2003, over the vehement protests of those environmentalists, President Bush signed the Healthy Forests Restoration Act into law.
    Lobbying the White House, as the American Forest and Paper Association did in that legislative fight, has become an increasingly preferred tactic in Washington. More than one in five of those lobbying the federal government since 1998 have lobbied the offices of the White House, according to a study by the Center for Public Integrity. More than 4,600 companies, trade associations and interest groups have directly lobbied the 14 offices of the White House, including those of the president and vice president. In fact, over the past seven years, the White House has been lobbied by more parties than have the Federal Communications Commission and the departments of Education and Veterans Affairs combined.

What is  acrylamide and why are they putting it in fries? To make us even fatter? So that you can't eat just one? What the heck is the purpose of  acrylamide? WHY?
FIGHT OVER FRIES
“Americans may have plenty of reasons to fear French fries. While
they are one of the country's favorite foods, they are soaked with trans
fats, loaded with sodium and full of simple carbs, the bad kind. And, it
turns out, they are also full of a chemical called acrylamide, which is
known to cause cancer in laboratory rats and mice,” The New York Times
reports. “That discovery a few years ago has raised questions about the
safety of fries, as well as potato chips, which are also packed with
acrylamide.”
(http://cato-subscriptions.org/ct.html?rtr=on&s=77z,fchj,949,82x0,c6ft,9zdt,1kws
    The article continues: “What happens over the next few months could
have a huge bearing on the eating habits of Americans, and may make a
dent in the bottom lines of restaurants and food companies. […] California's
attorney general, Bill Lockyer, filed suit in August against McDonald's;
Burger King; Frito-Lay, owned by PepsiCo; and six other food companies,
saying that they should be forced to put labels on all fries and potato
chips sold in California. The proposed warning might say something to this
effect: ‘This product contains a chemical known to the state of California
to cause cancer.’”
    In “French Fry Scare,” Cato adjunct scholar Steven Milloy writes that
the new effort at food terrorism is self-debunking.
(http://cato-subscriptions.org/ct.html?rtr=on&s=77z,fchj,949,ghda,jiwc,9zdt,1kws
) “In the first place, it's far from clear that acrylamide is at all
a cancer-causing substance,” Milloy states. “Some scientists seem to
have induced cancer in laboratory rats by feeding them the ‘maximum
tolerated dose’ of acrylamide -- an amount just below the level the rats would
be poisoned from simply eating the acrylamide.
    “I hope you like McDonald's French fries because you'd have to eat
486 large servings -- weighing out at 182 pounds -- every day for life
to get the same amount of acrylamide as the EPA's lab rats.”
 

Wednesday, September 21, 2005 -- GLOBAL SECURITY NEWSWIRE
Today’s Global Security Newswire is now available: http://www.nti.org
QUOTE OF THE DAY
================
There's no doubt about it. ... We are not going to withdraw from the [Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty]. -- --Iranian delegation member Ali Asghar Soltanieh at the International Atomic Energy Agency Board of Governors meeting.
FULL ISSUE
==========
TERRORISM
U.N. Must Sharpen Response to Evolving "Third Generation" al-Qaeda Tactics, Report Says http://www.nti.org/d_newswire/issues/2005_9_21.html#70014A5A
WEAPONS OF MASS DESTRUCTION
Australian Authorities to Protect 2006 Commonwealth Games Against Terrorist WMD Threat http://www.nti.org/d_newswire/issues/2005_9_21.html#0FA2779B
NUCLEAR WEAPONS
Iran Warns U.N. Agency of Resumed Nuclear Activity http://www.nti.org/d_newswire/issues/2005_9_21.html#F0CE5833
U.S. Plays Down North Korea Reactor Demand http://www.nti.org/d_newswire/issues/2005_9_21.html#793B11D5
Conference on Facilitating CTBT to Convene Today http://www.nti.org/d_newswire/issues/2005_9_21.html#A1BC49D4
Russia Scraps Old Topol ICBM Launchers http://www.nti.org/d_newswire/issues/2005_9_21.html#5D1B7A43
BIOLOGICAL WEAPONS
CDC Considers Bioterror Antidote Kits for U.S. Homes
(Wonder who will be making MONEY on this move?)
http://www.nti.org/d_newswire/issues/2005_9_21.html#DC57C858
Japanese Counterterrorism Law to Cover Tuberculosis http://www.nti.org/d_newswire/issues/2005_9_21.html#3EAED492
CHEMICAL WEAPONS
Second Russian CW Destruction Plant Near Completion http://www.nti.org/d_newswire/issues/2005_9_21.html#941D67C5
OTHER
Utah Senator Backs Plan to Keep Waste Out of Yucca http://www.nti.org/d_newswire/issues/2005_9_21.html#AD7DCB59
 

http://www.lasvegassun.com/sunbin/stories/lv-gov/2005/sep/21/519391152.html
NRC advisory panel studies Yucca issues
Las Vegas Sun Wed, 21 Sep 2005 10:12 AM PDT
The controversial e-mails that cast doubt on some Yucca Mountain research, plus ongoing tests to check that research, were among the issues discussed Tuesday at a meeting of an advisory committee of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
    The Energy Department's efforts to have the NRC license Yucca Mountain as a high-level nuclear waste dump suffered a black eye in March with the discovery of e-mails by U.S. Geological Survey employees that suggest several Yucca researchers did not follow proper procedures and may have "fudged" data.
    The studies are important because critics have said water flow inside the mountain could ultimately cause radiation to leak from the repository.
 

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=10000087&sid=ak0dhyyuCI2s
Tancredo, Bush Foe on Immigration, Poised as Republican Spoiler
Bloomberg.com Tue, 20 Sep 2005 11:47 PM PDT
Sept. 21 (Bloomberg) -- Right-wing populists have bedeviled American political parties in presidential elections for more than 30 years. These include George Wallace in the 1960s and 70s, Patrick Buchanan in the 90s, and may include another such spoiler in 2008: Republican Tom Tancredo.

Power and Interest News Report (PINR)
http://www.pinr.com, 22 September 2005
To contact any of PINR's analysts, please e-mail inquiries@pinr.com.
------------------------------
Economic Brief: Italy's Loss of its Strategic Markets
Drafted By: Federico Bordonaro , http://www.pinr.com
 

CONGRESS DEBATES EMINENT DOMAIN
“The Connecticut woman whose case led to the Supreme Court decision
allowing local governments to take homes for private development asked
senators on Tuesday to end the federal government's involvement in such
seizures,” according to The Associated Press.
http://cato-subscriptions.org/ct.html?rtr=on&s=77z,fchj,949,arik,1akk,9zdt,1kws
    The article continues: “State and national lawmakers around the
nation are moving quickly to blunt the effects of the Supreme Court's Kelo
v. City of New London, Conn., decision. In that 5-4 ruling, the justices said
municipalities have broad power to bulldoze people's homes in favor of
private development to generate tax revenue.”
    In the Policy Analysis “Robin Hood in Reverse: The Case against
Taking Private Property for Economic Development,” Ilya Somin, assistant
professor of law at the George Mason University School of Law, writes, “Federal and state courts should ban economic development takings. Such takings
are usually the product of collusion between large and powerful interests and
government officials against comparatively powerless local residents.
They generally produce far more costs than benefits, as the Poletown case
dramatically demonstrates. Finally, the economic development
rationale renders nearly all property rights insecure because it can justify virtually any taking that benefits a private business interest.”
http://cato-subscriptions.org/ct.html?rtr=on&s=77z,fchj,949,7ao1,6k1l,9zdt,1kws
 

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2005/092105J.shtml
Pentagon Nixes 9/11 Hearing Testimony
    By Kimberly Hefling , The Associated Press, 21 September 2005
    Washington - The Department of Defense forbade a military intelligence officer to testify Wednesday about the work of a secret military unit that identified four 9/11 hijackers more than a year before the Sept. 11 terrorists attacks, according to the man's attorney.
    In written testimony prepared for the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing, attorney Mark Zaid, who represents Lt. Col. Anthony Shaffer, said the Pentagon also refused to permit testimony there by a defense contractor that he also represents.
    The Judiciary Committee was scheduled to hear testimony about the work of a classified unit code named "Able Danger."
    In his prepared remarks, Zaid was ready to say on behalf of Shaffer and contractor John Smith that Able Danger, using data mining techniques, identified four of the terrorists who struck on Sept. 11, 2001 - including mastermind Mohamed Atta.
    "At least one chart, and possibly more, featured a photograph of Mohamed Atta," Zaid said in his prepared remarks.

I LOVE Truthout.org. It would be good to make a daily visit there.
http://truthout.org/

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2005/092005S.shtml
FEMA Chief Brown Paid Millions in False Claims to Help Bush Win Florida Votes
By Jason Leopold , The Free Press, Monday 19 September 2005
    Michael Brown, the embattled head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, approved payments in excess of $31 million in taxpayer money to thousands of Florida residents who were unaffected by Hurricane Frances and three other hurricanes last year in an effort to help President Bush win a majority of votes in that state during his reelection campaign, according to published reports.
    "Some Homeland Security sources said FEMA's efforts to distribute funds quickly after Frances and three other hurricanes that hit the key political battleground state of Florida in a six-week period last fall were undertaken with a keen awareness of the looming presidential elections,” according to a May 19 Washington Post story.
    Homeland Security sources told the Post that after the hurricanes that Brown "and his allies [recommended] him to succeed Tom Ridge as Homeland Security secretary because of their claim that he helped deliver Florida to President Bush by efficiently responding to the Florida hurricanes.”
    The South Florida Sun-Sentinel uncovered emails from Florida Gov. Jeb Bush that confirmed those allegations and directly implicated Brown as playing politics at the expense of hurricane victims.
 

It is clear that the present GOP does not follow the rules, nor comply to the laws.
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2005/092005A.shtml
FEC Sues Pro-Republican Political Group
By Sharon Theimer,  The Associated Press, 20 September 2005
    Washington - Federal election regulators have taken a political group to court in what could serve as a test case for how the government will address complaints over millions of dollars in big contributions poured into last year's presidential race.
    The Federal Election Commission filed a lawsuit Monday in US District Court in Washington against the Club for Growth, the first case of its kind to arise from high-dollar fundraising during the 2004 elections. The pro-Republican group spent at least $21 million in the 2003-2004 election cycle.
 

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2005/092005L.shtml
Protesters Draw Link between Katrina and Iraq War
Reuters, Monday 19 September 2005
    New York - President George W. Bush's faltering performance after Hurricane Katrina, like his decision to invade Iraq, show his priorities are at odds with actions needed to keep Americans safe, anti-war protesters said on Monday.
    "One of the bogus reasons that George Bush gives for this invasion (and) occupation of Iraq is to make America safer - and Katrina exposed that clearly he has made America more vulnerable through his policies in Iraq," anti-war activist and bereaved mother Cindy Sheehan told a morning news conference.
    U.S. troops fighting an unexpectedly stubborn insurgency in Iraq should come home to help face domestic challenges like the unprecedented humanitarian relief and recovery effort on the Gulf Coast, said the activists, who will stage a march on Washington this weekend.
 

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2005/092005Z.shtml
Former White House Official Arrested
    The Associated Press

http://www.forbes.com/technology/infoimaging/2005/09/14/l3-defense-boom-cx_dl_0914L3.html?partner=rss
The Next Defense Spending Boom
Forbes Tue, 20 Sep 2005 2:13 PM PDT
Defense contractors like L-3 may benefit from war but also from non-man-made tragedies like Katrina.
 

http://www.cfr.org/publication/8438/in_the_wake_of_war.html?jsessionid=57e685078404264e0b744e1c2585b5d8
In the Wake of War: Improving U.S. Post-Conflict Capabilities - Council on Foreign Relations
Foreign Relations Wed, 21 Sep 2005 12:04 PM PDT
 

http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/usatoday/20050921/ts_usatoday/uspressuressyriatofallinlineonlebanoniraq
U.S. pressures Syria to fall in line on Lebanon, Iraq
USATODAY.com via Yahoo! News Wed, 21 Sep 2005 4:01 AM PDT
The United States is increasing pressure on Syria, using harsher words and pointed diplomacy to get President Bashar Assad's government to stop aiding Iraqi insurgents.
 

http://www.myrtlebeachonline.com/mld/myrtlebeachonline/news/local/12696252.htm
Judge holds closed hearing in case of former CIA contractor
Myrtle Beach Online Tue, 20 Sep 2005 2:36 PM PDT
RALEIGH, N.C. - In one of the final hearings before the scheduled start of the trial of a former CIA contractor accused of beating an Afghan detainee who later died, a federal judge closed his courtroom Tuesday to allow attorneys to discuss classified material.
 

Some old news, found in clearing out my inbox.
http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/afp/20050910/wl_sthasia_afp/netherlandspakistanuscianuclear_050910113737
Dutch court loses Abdul Qadeer Khan's files, judge suspects CIA
AFP via Yahoo! News Sat, 10 Sep 2005 4:37 AM PDT
The Amsterdam court, which sentenced the father of Pakistan's nuclear program Abdul Qadeer Khan to four years in prison in 1983, has lost Khan's legal files and the court's vice-president suspects the CIA had a hand in the documents' disappearance.
 

http://www.worldtribune.com/worldtribune/05/front2453628.076388889.html
Al Qaida sought to infiltrate
World Tribune Wed, 14 Sep 2005 11:11 AM PDT
A U.S. military report says intelligence analysts are trapped in American mindsets and cannot comprehend the culture of Islamic militants. Earlier this year, a CIA official confirmed that Al Qaida have attempted to infiltrate Arab language classes for U.S. intelligence operatives.
 

http://www.telegraphindia.com/1050910/asp/nation/story_5218444.asp
Pakistan scientist mud on CIA
The Telegraph Fri, 09 Sep 2005 2:58 PM PDT
New Delhi, Sept. 9 (PTI): Former Dutch Premier Ruud Lubbers has said the Netherlands government had in 1975 and 1986 refrained from acting against disgraced Pakistani nuclear scientist Abdul Qadir Khan following requests from the Central Intelligence Agency of the US, media reports said.
 

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/4229714.stm
US warns Nicaraguans against coup
BBC News Fri, 09 Sep 2005 10:07 AM PDT
Nicaragua faces isolation if opposition forces depose President Enrique Bolanos, a US diplomat warns.
 

Seattle Times, Sat, 10 Sep 2005 5:04 AM PDT
FEMA steeped in politics
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/hurricanekatrina/2002482281_katfemascandal09.html?syndication=rss&source=seattletimes.xml&items=183
In the days since Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans, Federal
Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) director Michael Brown has come
under...
 

The Hill, Tue, 20 Sep 2005 9:52 PM PDT, Jonathan E. Kaplan
http://www.thehill.com/thehill/export/TheHill/News/Frontpage/092105/brief1.html
Rep. Henry Waxman, the ranking Democrat on the House Government
Reform Committee, introduced legislation yesterday to create a 10-member commission to monitor government contracts related to Hurricane
Katrina.
 

The Hill, Fri, 09 Sep 2005 2:02 PM PDT
Davis will hold hearings after all
http://www.thehill.com/thehill/export/TheHill/News/Frontpage/090805/davis.html
The House Government Reform Committee will hold a hearing next week
on emergency response issues related to Hurricane Katrina, despite GOP
leaders' attempts to quash committee chairman Tom Davis' (R-Va.)
initial plans.
 

Sun-Sentinel, Fri, 09 Sep 2005 1:16 PM PDT
FEMA appointees lack relief experience
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/southflorida/bal-te.fema09sep09,0,2208978.story?coll=sfla-home-headlines
WASHINGTON - In the days since Hurricane Katrina devastated New
Orleans, Federal Emergency Management Agency director Michael Brown has
come under withering attack, with critics charging that his lack of
prior experience in dealing with natural disasters contributed to his
agency's poor performance.
 

San Francisco Chronicle, Wed, 21 Sep 2005 5:45 AM PDT
Pelosi willing to give up S.F. funds for recovery
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2005/09/21/MNGDMER7HE1.DTL
Washington -- House Minority Leader Rep. Nancy Pelosi of San
Francisco said Tuesday she was willing to return to the federal Treasury $70
million designated for San Francisco projects in the new highway and
transportation bill and use the money to help pay for Hurricane
Katrina recovery efforts.
 

Knight Ridder via Yahoo! News, Tue, 20 Sep 2005 4:23 PM PDT
Recovery's cost forces lawmakers to reassess pet spending projects
http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/krwashbureau/20050920/ts_krwashbureau/_wea_katrina_congress_1
WASHINGTON - Pressure is growing to help pay for Hurricane Katrina's
costs by getting members of Congress to give up the pet spending
projects they've inserted into legislation for their states or districts.
 

Medical News Today, Fri, 09 Sep 2005 4:13 PM PDT
Republican Congressional Leaders Delay Budget Reconciliation Process,
Including How To Determine $10B in Medicaid Cuts
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/medicalnews.php?newsid=30423
Hurricane Katrina has "forced Republicans to temporarily set aside a
planned fall agenda," including the budget reconciliation process and
plans to find $10 billion in Medicaid spending reductions over five
years, the... Washington Post reports.
 

http://www.progress.org/2005/stasi07.htm
THE ORIGIN OF SPECIOUS: National Mutation Through Unnatural Selection
The Progress Report Fri, 12 Aug 2005 3:03 PM PDT
America's Children Become Less Able to Compete thanks to Bush's plan to indoctrinate them with non-science.
    “The fundamentalists, by 'knowing' the answers before they start examining evolution, and then forcing nature into the straitjacket of their discredited preconceptions, lie outside the domain of science - or of any honest intellectual inquiry.” - Stephen Jay Gould
    George W. Bush wants to see “different ideas” introduced into the science curriculum of our public schools.
    That’s fundamentalist code for, “I want to indoctrinate your children to Creationism.”
 
 

http://news.yahoo.com/s/hsn/20050921/hl_hsn/greenteacompoundstopsalzheimersinmice
 Green Tea Compound Stops Alzheimer's in Mice
 

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2005-09/aaop-teo092105.php
Public Release: 21-Sep-2005, Journal of Periodontology
The end of daylight savings time may harm your oral health
Beginning in 2007, daylight savings time will be extended by almost a month. This additional amount of daylight may also help extend the life and health of people's teeth and bones. That's because vitamin D, also known as the "sunshine vitamin," is made by the body through casual and minimal sun exposure. Vitamin D is just as essential as calcium for healthy teeth and bones according to a paper that was published in the September issue of the Journal of Periodontology.
American Academy of Periodontology
 

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2005-09/acs-avc092105.php
Public Release: 21-Sep-2005, Agriculture and Food Chemistry
Aloe vera coating may prolong freshness, safety of fruits and vegetables
Aloe vera gel is known for its therapeutic effect on burned or irritated skin, but in the future, you could be eating the gel as a healthful additive to your fruits and veggies. Researchers in Spain have developed an edible coating from the gel that they say can prolong the freshness and safety of produce without affecting taste and appearance. The coating, tested on grapes, shows promise an environmentally-friendly alternative to conventional preservatives, they say.
American Chemical Society

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2005-09/asfm-wba091905.php
Public Release: 21-Sep-2005
Women better at hand hygiene habits, hands down
Ninety-one percent of American adults say they always wash their hands after using public restrooms. But just eighty-three percent actually did so, according to a separate observational study.
American Society for Microbiology
 

I wonder how Karl Rove will use this knowledge?
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2005-09/riot-suw092005.php
Public Release: 20-Sep-2005, Nature Neuroscience
Scientists uncover why picture perception works
A team of scientists has solved a key mystery of visual perception. Why do pictures look the same when viewed from different angles?
Rochester Institute of Technology
 

HEADLINE:  Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty reform and diplomacy keys
to solving Iran Crisis
SOURCE:    Greenpeace International
POSTED:    Sep 21, 2005 @ 4:26 am
LINK:      http://www.ems.org/nws/2005/09/21/nuclear_non_prol
 

HEADLINE:  Environmental groups petition EPA to retract fluoride
pesticide tolerances on food
SOURCE:    Fluoride Action Network
POSTED:    Sep 21, 2005 @ 12:13 am
LINK:      http://www.ems.org/nws/2005/09/21/environmental_gr
 

HEADLINE:  Brazil's Environment Minister Marina Silva to Speak on
Deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon
SOURCE:    Brazil @ the Wilson Center and the Environmental Change
and Security Program
POSTED:    Sep 20, 2005 @ 11:12 am
LINK:      http://www.ems.org/nws/2005/09/20/brazils_environm
 

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/08/24/AR2005082402318.html?nav=rss_technology/techpolicy
Hackers Attack Via Chinese Web Sites
Washington Post Fri, 26 Aug 2005 3:39 AM PDT
Web sites in China are being used heavily to target computer networks in the Defense Department and other U.S. agencies, successfully breaching hundreds of unclassified networks, according to several U.S. officials.
 

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/08/25/AR2005082501715.html?nav=rss_technology
Exodus Would Usher In A New Era for Arlington
Washington Post Fri, 26 Aug 2005 4:07 AM PDT
Arlington would still be home to the Pentagon. But in losing thousands of civilian defense workers and private contractors, the county also would lose some of its identity.
 

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=10000102&sid=a_jX.m5mrYFA
Mobil, CIA Secrets May Come Out in Bribery Trial of Oil Adviser
Bloomberg.com Wed, 24 Aug 2005 10:45 PM PDT
U.K. Aug. 25 (Bloomberg) -- In the mid-1990s, long before oil prices topped $60 a barrel, U.S. companies sought access to Kazakhstan, a Central Asian nation that the U.S. State Department says will be among the world's top 10 producers of crude by 2015.
    First, they had to win approval from Jim Giffen, a New York investment banker who became an official in Kazakhstan's government and held sway over its energy deals.
``You couldn't go to a Kazakh minister, particularly if you were an American company, without going through Giffen,'' says Ed Chow, who managed external affairs at Chevron Overseas Petroleum Ltd., a unit of San Ramon, California-based Chevron Corp.
    Chevron, the second-largest U.S. oil company, avoided Giffen by arriving in the country before he amassed power, says Chow, 55, who's now an oil and gas consultant in Leesburg, Virginia. Others couldn't.
    Now, federal prosecutors say Giffen, 64, cemented his power by bribing Kazakh leaders with $84 million that Amoco Corp., Mobil Oil Co., Phillips Petroleum Co. and Texaco Inc. paid to win access to Kazakh fields. In January, Giffen goes on trial in federal district court in New York in one of the largest overseas criminal bribery cases ever.
    The four companies, which have since merged with rivals, haven't been charged.
    Giffen denies wrongdoing. His lawyers, Steven Cohen and William Schwartz, say in court papers that Giffen's actions were condoned by the Central Intelligence Agency, White House and State Department to curry favor with Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev, 65.

http://www.consortiumnews.com/2005/092105.html
Bush & Media: Normalizing the Abnormal
For five years, the U.S. press corps has acted as if its principal duty was to protect George W. Bush's image and legitimacy, rather than to inform the American people as fully as possible. Bush's Katrina catastrophe breached those protective barriers much as the hurricane's flood waters overwhelmed New Orleans' levees. September 21, 2005
 

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/blog/2005/07/20/BL2005072001380.html?nav=rss_opinion/columns
How Bush Made the Call
Washington Post Wed, 24 Aug 2005 11:25 PM PDT
Up until yesterday, things were not looking so good at the White House. A full-scale crisis over Karl Rove's involvement in the leak of a CIA operative's identity appeared to be thriving in a climate of increasingly mistrustful and disapproving public opinion.
    But yesterday, the White House pulled itself off the ropes, by staging the kind of grand political theater that only the president of the United States can really carry off.
This is where the Bush White House flourishes: Where it has complete control of the message -- where it sets the agenda, controls the content, masterminds the timing, flummoxes the media and boxes in its critics.
    In nominating U.S. Court of Appeals Judge John G. Roberts Jr. for the Supreme Court last night, President Bush used his most bully of pulpits to refocus the nation's attention -- on his terms. And by choosing a nominee less likely than some of the others he was considering to inflame Democrats -- at least right away -- he dominated the news cycle almost without any opposition.
 

http://www.consortiumnews.com/2005/091605.html
Powell's Widening Credibility Gap
Former Secretary of State Colin Powell's latest attempt to shift the blame for his false Iraq testimony onto mid-level intelligence analysts has prompted more questions about Powell's credibility. The evidence indicates that the savvy Powell knew the shortcomings of his 2003 speech to the United Nations before he delivered it. September 17, 2005

Huffington: Plamegate: The John Bolton Connection | The Huffington Post

According to two sources, Bolton's former chief of staff, Fred Fleitz, was at least one of the sources of the classified information about Valerie Plame that flowed through the Bush administration and eventually made its way into Bob Novak's now infamous column.

After delving into Fleitz, I can safely report that he is, at a minimum, a very interesting character.
He is a career CIA agent who Bolton handpicked to join him at Foggy Bottom, having gotten to know him during the administration of the first President Bush. While working as Bolton's top aide, Fleitz also continued his work in the CIA's WINPAC division, the group responsible for some of the worst prewar intelligence on Iraq (they were, among other things, big fans of Curveball and had "high confidence" in the presence of WMD in Iraq).


The Blog | Arianna Huffington: Plamegate: The John Bolton Connection | The Huffington Post

Uni- Is stupid the new chic for the GOP?

Good quote sent from a friend:
Under capitalism, man exploits man. Under communism, it's just the opposite.
             -- John Kenneth Galbraith

In the weird algebra of Congress, a single email, fax or phone call is equal to the opinion of 13,000 voting constituents!
Your voice counts -- 13,000 times!

The Pentagon has been compiling sensitive data on 30 million youth ages 16-to-25 using a private marketing firm, without the knowledge or consent of individuals or their families. You can opt-out of this database by following instructions at http://www.LeaveMyChildAlone.org. Click below to start the "Opt Out" process.
 

Nashua Telegraph, Mon, 19 Sep 2005 10:03 AM PDT
Congress authorizes future fiscal disaster
http://nsnlb.us.publicus.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050919/OPINION04/109190073/-1/sports
Imagine a charge card that permitted you to spend up to $250,000 per
transaction, and you never see the bill. Sound exciting? Congress
just put such cards into the pockets of government employees. Thatâ?™s
not just foolish, itâ?™s irresponsible.
 

http://www.usnews.com/usnews/news/articles/050919/19whwatch.htm
Rove in Aspen as Bush pushes relief
US News & World Report Mon, 19 Sep 2005 11:05 AM PDT
Despite President Bush's emphasis on rebuilding the gulf states after Hurricane Katrina, White House Deputy Chief of Staff Karl Rove found time to visit a super-exclusive conference this past weekend sponsored by leaders of Forstmann Little, the investment company, in Aspen, Colo. A White House official said Rove's appearance was "on the books" for a long time and he decided to proceed with the trip, but the official provided no further information. However, a prominent Republican with strong connections to Capitol Hill got wind of Rove's jaunt and wasn't pleased.
    "What the hell is Karl Rove doing there?" he asked. The GOP insider wondered whether it was appropriate for Bush's political guru to hobnob with the rich and powerful at the exclusive resort at a time when the administration is supposed to be focused on helping the victims of hurricane Katrina and showing empathy for their plight.
Rove, according to White House insiders, has been designated by Bush play a big role in coordinating the relief effort.
 

Being nasty must acidify the body.
It appears that nothing in Bush's fAdministration functions without Rove. But how good will be be after having serious narcotics to cut the deeply acute pain of kidney stones?
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/1235063.cms
During Katrina, Bush aide Rove was absent
The Times of India Mon, 19 Sep 2005 7:04 AM PDT
"Bush's brain", the White House aide, was suffering from painful kidney stones and was briefly hospitalised in the middle of the biggest crisis so far of President George W Bush's second term.
    Once his condition improved it was Rove who urged Bush to open his cheque book for the stricken city, against the advice of White House economists, and spend $200 billion to rebuild it "higher and better", as Bush went on to promise.

I remind you that Cheney has his "knee" surgery this week, to replace the pacemaker, most likely, in his heart of jello.

http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/latimests/20050920/ts_latimes/stormstrainsbushstiestoblackclergy
Storm Strains Bush's Ties to Black Clergy
Los Angeles Times via Yahoo! News Tue, 20 Sep 2005 2:30 AM PDT
WASHINGTON â?” For many of the black ministers who have allied themselves with President Bush and a Republican strategy to boost the party's African American support, the government's slow response to Hurricane Katrina put a severe strain on new and still-fragile bonds of trust.
 

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=2&ObjectID=10346562
Corruption concern as Katrina relief billions pour in
The New Zealand Herald Tue, 20 Sep 2005 10:09 AM PDT
The outpouring of billions of dollars in federal relief money to victims of Hurricane Katrina is raising concerns about the risks of corruption and cronyism.
 

http://www.madison.com/post/blogs/militarymatters/index.php?ntid=54671
Mr. Galloway comes to Madison
The Capital Times Tue, 20 Sep 2005 2:32 PM PDT
For someone on my side of the political fence regarding international affairs, it represents a dilemma when George Galloway calls you an honest man. He said it to recognize that I was not simply throwing talking points at him and was attempting to engage him on substance. None the less, this is a man beloved on the left and reviled on the right.
 

Jude Wanniski, my favorite supply-sider,  has not sent me articles for a while. But someone (Patricia) was up for this one:
http://wanniski.com/showarticle.asp?articleid=4630
A Worst-Case Scenario
Sep 20 2005
To: Gentle Readers
From: Patricia Koyce Wanniski
Re: Hurricanes Katrina and Rita
Pity the Gulf Coast. Parts of Biloxi and other areas in Missisippi barely received rebuilding supplies before new weather reports began looking dire. New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin, who had been encouraging New Orleans residents to return to the 60 percent of the city that is now above water, was forced to announce yesterday a "mandatory" evacuation because of the threat of Hurricane Rita. Speaking at a news conference, Nagin warned, "our levee systems are still in a very weak condition. Our pumping stations are not at full capacity, and any type of storm that heads this way and hits us will put the east bank of Orleans Parish in very significant harm`s way. So I`m encouraging everyone to leave." On top of that, Vice Admiral Thad Allen, head of the federal recovery effort, noted that the 911 system was still not fully functional and hospitals and other vital services remained closed.
    Thankfully, the current storm track (as of 11:33 am EDT) projects Rita making landfall Saturday morning, somewhere along the Texas coast. However, the computer models can only outline possible outcomes, not predict the future, and come complete with the caveat that "deviations in track and/or intensity from current projections could result in significant differences from the information on this graphic ." The danger that the area could be hit again is very real and present. Even if the best case scenario occurs and the storm hits as it is currently projected, the potential for Rita`s strengthening over the Gulf waters is high. With current winds of 85 mph, Rita will "quite likely [be] powering up into a major hurricane (winds over 110 miles per hour) by the end of the week," according to weather.com. Already traumatized residents of the Gulf Coast evacuated to that area must feel as though they are being dogged by Jupiter, the Roman god of wind and storms.
 

http://www.arabicnews.com/ansub/Daily/Day/050920/2005092006.html
Warrant against former Iraqi minister over corruption
ArabicNews.com Tue, 20 Sep 2005 9:27 AM PDT
An investigator in corruption issues in Iraq expected the issuance of a warrant of arrest against the former Iraqi minister Hazem al-Shaalan over the disappearance of more than USD one billion dollars from the budget of the ministry when he presided over it.
 

http://www.woai.com/news/world/story.aspx?content_id=A84A350B-9180-477B-A8F3-43FDE84D7E73
Government seeks to strip former Iraqi defense minister of immunity in corruption probe
WOAI Mon, 19 Sep 2005 5:12 PM PDT
BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) - A committee working to rid the Iraqi hierarchy of members of Saddam Hussein's Baath Party said Monday it was trying to strip a former defense minister of immunity so he could face charges of corruption and serving in Saddam's intelligence service.
 

North Korea: Two Steps Forward, One Step Back
    “Pyongyang agreed on Monday to dismantle its nuclear program in
return for aid and security guarantees, following six-nation talks,” BBC
News reports.
(http://cato-subscriptions.org/ct.html?rtr=on&s=77z,fbgm,949,6a2,2br5,9zdt,1kws
    “However, in a statement broadcast on North Korean radio early on
Tuesday morning local time, Pyongyang reiterated its ‘right to peaceful
nuclear activities.’”
    Ted Galen Carpenter, Vice President for foreign policy and defense
studies, comments: “[As] with all diplomatic agreements, the devil is
in the details -- and [Monday’s] agreement is disturbingly short on details.
North Korea has agreed to stop building nuclear weapons and allow
international inspectors to return in exchange for energy aid, economic
concessions, and security assurances. In other words, Pyongyang has apparently agreed to stop doing something it had previously (in 1994) agreed not to do, and will receive additional benefits for making its new promise. Only time will tell whether this latest agreement will be the first step toward Washington’s goal of a complete, verifiable and irreversible end to North Korea’s nuclear program or simply the latest instance in Pyongyang’s long record of making commitments to remain non-nuclear only to violate those commitments whenever it becomes convenient.”
 

 In today's Daily Commentary: “Offset Opportunity”
 by Chris Edwards
(http://cato-subscriptions.org/ct.html?rtr=on&s=77z,fbgm,949,c1qy,6maz,9zdt,1kws
 

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2002506765_koreanuke20.html?syndication=rss&source=seattletimes.xml&items=102
North Korea does quick reversal on nuclear-arms pact
Seattle Times Tue, 20 Sep 2005 10:53 AM PDT
SEOUL, South Korea — Less than 24 hours after diplomats announced a breakthrough pact to eliminate nuclear arms in North Korea, the isolated communist state threw cold water on the deal today, saying it would not abandon its weapons program until the United States gives it a light-water nuclear reactor.
 

http://www.iht.com/articles/2005/09/20/news/assess21.php
News Analysis: An accord on North Korea, but more discord
International Herald Tribune Tue, 20 Sep 2005 7:04 AM PDT
After four years of bitter arguments over whether to negotiate with North Korea or try to engineer its collapse, the accord President George W. Bush grudgingly approved provided the bare minimum.
 

ANOTHER RITTER WARNING
http://www.yaledailynews.com/article.asp?AID=29892
Former U.N. inspector denounces war
Yale Daily News Mon, 19 Sep 2005 1:00 AM PDT
On Sept. 3, 1998, Scott Ritter sat in front of a joint hearing of two Senate committees speaking as a witness on U.S. policy on Iraqi weapons inspections. He faced another audience Saturday: the greater New Haven community and Yale students. -snip-
    Following the 1991 Gulf War to remove Iraqi troops from Kuwait, the U.N. Security Council demanded complete disarmament of Iraqi nuclear, biological and chemical weapons. Ritter, a former marine intelligence officer, was chosen to head up the inspection team once Iraq had initially failed to cooperate, he said. He served as chief of the team from 1991 until Aug. 1998, when he resigned, citing Central Intelligence Agency interference in the primary mission of the inspections.
    By 1996, 95 percent of the Iraqi weapons of mass destruction had been accounted for, Ritter said. But once inspections stopped, Ritter said, there was no way to guarantee that Iraq did not produce new weapons.
    "If you remove weapons inspectors from Iraq, it is possible that Iraq, a technologically advanced country, could reconstitute their weapons programs within six to nine months," he said in a press conference before the event.
    While Ritter said he recognizes the possibility that Iraq had developed new weapons, he said the appropriate response would have been to send in inspectors, not to declare war.
    "My rhetoric has been the same, not that Iraq had no [weapons of mass destruction], but that we should bring inspectors back in," he said.
Emily Jones '06 said she was convinced by Ritter's arguments.
    "I thought he was fabulously articulate in presenting the facts and really showed how damning those facts are," Jones said. -snip-
    Ritter also addressed the potential for a similar war with Iran, which has been accused of developing a nuclear-weapons program. Iran has admitted to having a nuclear-energy program, but denies the British and American accusations. But Ritter said there is no evidence of an Iranian nuclear-weapons program, and that Iran is in compliance with the Non-Proliferation Treaty, an agreement among 187 countries.
    He said Iran has pursued a comprehensive nuclear-energy program, including producing its own fuel, for years. The U.S. government was supportive of the shah of Iran's stated intent in 1976 to diversify its energy sources, Ritter said.
    Regardless, Ritter said, the U.S. government will follow the same logic with which they approached Iraq, which will likely lead to war.
    "It's inevitable," Ritter said. "We're going to be going to war with Iran."
    Even if Iran were to attempt to develop nuclear weapons, Ritter said, it would take a year to enrich enough uranium to required levels of potency. He said this was an impossible task under International Atomic Energy Agency inspections.
 

http://uspolitics.about.com/b/a/203766.htm
Voting Reforms Proposed
About.com Mon, 19 Sep 2005 2:00 PM PDT
A federal voting commission headed by Jimmy Carter and James Baker, warns that "Americans are losing confidence in the fairness of elections." It recommends that voters be required to show photo IDs, electronic voting machines be required to have a...
 

COMMISSION URGES VOTING REFORM
    “Warning that public confidence in the nation's election system is
flagging, a commission headed by former president Jimmy Carter and
former secretary of state James A. Baker III today will call for significant
changes in how Americans vote, including photo IDs for all voters,
verifiable paper trails for electronic voting machines and impartial
administration of elections,” the Washington Post reports.
(http://cato-subscriptions.org/ct.html?rtr=on&s=77z,fa63,949,f976,cyrd,9zdt,1kws
    “The report concludes that, despite changes required under the Help
America Vote Act of 2002, far more must be done to restore integrity
to an election system that suffers from sloppy management, treats voters
differently not only from state to state but also within states, and
that too often frustrates rather than encourages voters' efforts to
participate in what is considered a basic American right.”
    In “Uncompetitive Elections and the American Political System,”
(http://cato-subscriptions.org/ct.html?rtr=on&s=77z,fa63,949,g2cr,38gg,9zdt,1kws
Patrick Basham, a senior fellow at Cato’s Center for Representative
Government,
(http://cato-subscriptions.org/ct.html?rtr=on&s=77z,fa63,949,m34h,dmio,9zdt,1kws
 and Dennis Polhill, a senior fellow at the Independence Institute,
claim that American elections are no longer about competition and
choice.  They argue that current redistricting rules only help
strengthen incumbency advantage. Partisan legislative gerrymandering has created
a situation where “almost 90 percent of Americans live in
congressional districts where the outcome is so certain that their votes are
irrelevant.” This situation severely undermines electoral competition,
“arguably to the point of violating the Constitution’s Equal Protection Clause.”
 

SECRECY NEWS
from the FAS Project on Government Secrecy
Volume 2005, Issue No. 90, September 20, 2005
** REMOVING HEU FROM ARGENTINA ** ARKIN: EARLY WARNING
** KATRINA AND CLASSIFIED RECORDS ** REMEMBERING PHILIP MORRISON ** SELECTED CRS REPORTS
REMOVING HEU FROM ARGENTINA
    The U.S. Department of Energy, "in secret and under heavy security
measures," has been removing highly enriched uranium fuel elements
from the RA3 nuclear research reactor in Ezeiza, Argentina,
according to a September 18 report in the Buenos Aires newspaper
Clarin, as part of a continuing effort to convert such reactors to
the use of low enriched uranium fuel.
    See "EE.UU. se lleva materiales nucleares de la Argentina" by
Daniel Santoro, Clarin, September 18, 2005:
   http://www.clarin.com/suplementos/zona/2005/09/18/z-03615.htm
ARKIN: EARLY WARNING
    A new blog by author and critic William Arkin on the
WashingtonPost.com web site has become instantly "bookmarkable"
for students of national security affairs.
    The web is already supersaturated with opinion, of course, and with
analysis of varying degrees of sophistication or self-indulgence.
But Arkin's blog, Early Warning, stands out because he also
offers access to official records that are otherwise not publicly
available.
    In his first outing on September 14, for example, he posted the
April 2005 Department of Homeland Security National Planning
Scenarios, which are "for official use only."  On September 19, he
disclosed another FOUO document on "Potential Terrorist Use of
Pressure Cookers."  And "there is a lot more where that came
from," he promises, or threatens.
See "Early Warning" here:
     http://blogs.washingtonpost.com/earlywarning/
KATRINA AND CLASSIFIED RECORDS
    One of the many disruptive effects of Hurricane Katrina with which
residents and government agencies have to contend is the loss of
personal and official records.
    The National Archives has "consulted with Federal agencies
concerning classified national security information that may be
affected by the hurricane," according to a September 19 news
release.  See:
 http://www.archives.gov/press/press-releases/2005/nr05-120.html
(Why don't they consult that MATRIX corporation in Florida? They seem to be collecting lots of personal info on people these days)
REMEMBERING PHILIP MORRISON
Physicist Philip Morrison, a Manhattan Project veteran and former
FAS President who died earlier this year, is recalled in an
obituary in the latest FAS Public Interest Report by Priscilla
McMillan.  See:
     http://www.fas.org/faspir/2005/v58n2/morrison.htm
    Ms. McMillan's recent book "The Ruin of J. Robert Oppenheimer" was
perceptively reviewed by author Thomas Powers, along with several
other recent books on Oppenheimer, in the September 22 New York
Review of Books:
     http://www.nybooks.com/articles/18268
SELECTED CRS REPORTS
Some new or newly acquired reports of the Congressional Research
Service obtained by Secrecy News include the following:
"Emergency Preparedness and Continuity of Operations (COOP)
Planning in the Federal Judiciary," updated September 8, 2005:
     http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/secrecy/RL31978.pdf
"Legislative Initiatives to Temporarily Relocate Federal Courts
Interrupted by Natural or Man-Made Disasters, 109th Congress,"
September 8, 2005:
     http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/secrecy/RS22244.pdf
"Continuity of Government: Current Federal Arrangements and the
Future," updated August 5, 2005:
     http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/secrecy/RS21089.pdf
"Homeland Security: Protecting Airspace in the National Capital
Region," September 1, 2005:
     http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/homesec/RS22234.pdf
"Military Base Closures: A Historical Review from 1988 to 1995,"
updated October 18, 2004:
     http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/natsec/97-305.pdf
_______________________________________________
Secrecy News is written by Steven Aftergood and published by the
Federation of American Scientists.
To SUBSCRIBE to Secrecy News, send email to secrecy_news-request@lists.fas.org with "subscribe" in the body of the message.
To UNSUBSCRIBE, send a blank email message to  secrecy_news-remove@lists.fas.org OR email your request to saftergood@fas.org
Secrecy News is archived at:
     http://www.fas.org/sgp/news/secrecy/index.html
 

Power and Interest News Report (PINR)
http://www.pinr.com, 20 September 2005
In light of the agreement with North Korea, we encourage you to read:
"The Fourth Round of Six-Party Talks"
http://www.pinr.com/report.php?ac=view_report&report_id=360
------------------------------
Intelligence Brief: Norway
Drafted By: Dr. Michael A. Weinstein
http://www.pinr.com
 

Monday, September 19, 2005 -- GLOBAL SECURITY NEWSWIRE Today’s Global Security Newswire is now available: http://www.nti.org
QUOTE OF THE DAY
================
Agreeing to a common document does not mean that the solution to our problems has been found. -- --Japan's top negotiator at the six-party talks, Kenichiro Sasae, on North Korea's agreement today to scrap its nuclear program.
FULL ISSUE
==========
WEAPONS OF MASS DESTRUCTION
U.S. Secretary of State Meets Senior Libyan Official http://www.nti.org/d_newswire/issues/2005_9_19.html#E50FCE64
U.K. Reviews WMD Response Team Funding http://www.nti.org/d_newswire/issues/2005_9_19.html#EB00C68F
Toronto Tests Emergency Response Services http://www.nti.org/d_newswire/issues/2005_9_19.html#15BC2E08
Australian Prime Minister Laments Failure to Achieve U.N. Nonproliferation Agreement http://www.nti.org/d_newswire/issues/2005_9_19.html#B8A94464
NUCLEAR WEAPONS
North Korea Agrees to End Nuclear Program http://www.nti.org/d_newswire/issues/2005_9_19.html#AF8C39EE
IAEA Board Takes on Iran Again http://www.nti.org/d_newswire/issues/2005_9_19.html#99DD1F82
Pentagon Pre-Emptive Nuclear Attack Plan Far >From Finished, Senior Official Says http://www.nti.org/d_newswire/issues/2005_9_19.html#2ADF46A5
Russia Dismantles Rail-Based Missile System http://www.nti.org/d_newswire/issues/2005_9_19.html#1FC1A4CF
BIOLOGICAL WEAPONS
Two Claims by Former Army Scientist Named in Anthrax Investigation Dismissed from Federal Lawsuit http://www.nti.org/d_newswire/issues/2005_9_19.html#75F6DC97
Kansas Mail Facility to Begin Using Anthrax Detector http://www.nti.org/d_newswire/issues/2005_9_19.html#56399AE3

Tuesday, September 20, 2005 -- GLOBAL SECURITY NEWSWIRE Today’s Global Security Newswire is now available: http://www.nti.org
QUOTE OF THE DAY
================
The performance and outcomes of the administration at the NPT conference was zero. -- --U.S. Representative Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) on the Bush administration's handling of the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty review conference held in May.
FULL ISSUE
==========
WEAPONS OF MASS DESTRUCTION
Experts Meet to Discuss Preventing WMD Terrorism http://www.nti.org/d_newswire/issues/2005_9_20.html#A57F31C4
NUCLEAR WEAPONS
North Korea Demands Light-Water Reactor Before Disarmament http://www.nti.org/d_newswire/issues/2005_9_20.html#6061104C
Diplomats Fight Uphill Battle for Consensus on IAEA Nuclear Resolution to Pressure Iran http://www.nti.org/d_newswire/issues/2005_9_20.html#9287571A
Half of "Axis of Evil" Agenda Complete, Says Top U.S. State Department Arms Control Official http://www.nti.org/d_newswire/issues/2005_9_20.html#14D13F77
Potential India Nuclear Energy Cooperation Deal Holds Nonproliferation Benefits, U.S. Official Says http://www.nti.org/d_newswire/issues/2005_9_20.html#DEDD0D86
U.S. Reaffirms Nuclear Energy Cooperation With India
http://www.nti.org/d_newswire/issues/2005_9_20.html#DEDD0D86
U.S. Deactivates Peacekeeper Missile http://www.nti.org/d_newswire/issues/2005_9_20.html#4E0CD8A4
BIOLOGICAL WEAPONS
Red Cross Calls for Strengthening of Biological Weapons Treaty to Better Regulate Against Weapons Programs http://www.nti.org/d_newswire/issues/2005_9_20.html#840B9EE2
Indiana Mail Facility Gets Anthrax Detector http://www.nti.org/d_newswire/issues/2005_9_20.html#D5F7044E
CHEMICAL WEAPONS
U.S. Distributes Funds to Pueblo, Blue Grass Depots http://www.nti.org/d_newswire/issues/2005_9_20.html#EF602F76
Japan Recovers 281 Chemical Weapons in China http://www.nti.org/d_newswire/issues/2005_9_20.html#C812799B
OTHER
Bulgaria Foils Nuclear Smuggling Plot http://www.nti.org/d_newswire/issues/2005_9_20.html#5CB7CC20
 

You all know what I think of Richard Perle.
http://www.communitypress-online.com/template.php?id=24096&RECORD_KEY(Letters)=id&id(Letters)=24096
Did propaganda and smooth delivery charm Reform/Alliance?
09.20.05
Dear Editor:
Did the Hastings Conservatives (Reform/Alliance) shoot themselves in the foot when they invited David Frum to speak at their fund raiser in Belleville (A.C’s Editorial, September 16, “David waves their flag”)? It is not everyone who believes in his hawkish, pro-Bush, attitude on foreign affairs and we certainly should take offense at him telling us we ought to be ashamed we did not back the Americans in their attack on Iraq. Who does he think he is? The consensus of the Canadian majority is we did the right thing. The war on Iraq was illegal and unjustified. The resultant blood bath which continues to this day, but mostly hidden or distorted by media manipulation, attests to its sinful immorality.
Were the dinner guests, at $100 a shot, taken in by Frum’s propaganda or only impressed by his personality and smooth delivery? Awed by his tenure in the White House? One can hope the invitation to speak was not directed by party bigwigs but was the local initiative of a naive few. Otherwise it would suggest a disturbing trend on the part of Conservative national policy suggesting should they come to power our sovereignty would be at stake.
A.C neglected to mention Frum’s latest book, An End to Evil, a call to further chaos and bloodshed, was co-authored by Richard Perle, considered to be one of the strongest and most dangerous neo-cons in the American imperialistic domain. He is an active proponent of militarism in American foreign policy and may be best known for his support of Zionism in the MIddle East.
David Frum’s prescription to ending the world’s ills as reflected in A.C’s editorial seems more a doomsday scenario that would take the world further into the abyss of terror, torture and bloodshed, more killing of the oppressed, the weak and the poverty-stricken.
I am not ashamed that we are not in Iraq. I remain a proud and loyal Canadian very protective of our sovereignty and a supporter of human justice.
George Fleming
Ivanhoe
 

http://www.indianexpress.com/full_story.php?content_id=78523
CIA funded Cong against Left in Kerala, Bengal
Express India Mon, 19 Sep 2005 4:22 PM PDT
Reacting to The Mitrokhin Archive II: The KGB and the World, former West Bengal chief minister Jyoti Basu told The Indian Express yesterday, ''Even the CIA paid money to Indira Gandhi. You read former US ambassador to India Daniel Patrick Moynihan's book.'' Ironically, the CPI(M) veteran's thesis is supported by the Mitrokhin Archive II itself.
 

http://www.eveningtelegraph.co.uk/output/2005/09/20/story7560044t0.shtm
Dundee authors Kennedy theory
The Evening Telegraph Tue, 20 Sep 2005 6:51 AM PDT
A Dundee author s new book on the assassination of John F Kennedy includes a document which may prove the CIA trained Lee Harvey Oswald.
 

Another $1 billion goes missing in Iraq
http://www.theinsider.org/news/article.asp?id=1545
OTHER IMPORTANT NEWS HEADLINES TODAY:
US officials ordered doctors not to save New Orleans victims
Blair calls BBC news 'anti-American'
Iran calls for UN to monitor Israel's nuclear weapons
US regime deliberately sabotaged UN summit
Israeli Prime Minister fears war crimes arrest in UK
UK regime uses flack to silence critics and manipulate mass media.
 

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=10000103&sid=aVt3Yiy8CguI
Bush to Press Congress for Guest-Worker Program, Tancredo Says
Bloomberg.com Tue, 20 Sep 2005 2:32 PM PDT
U.S. Sept. 20 (Bloomberg) -- President George W. Bush will push this year for legislation overhauling immigration laws, including creating a new guest-worker program, said U.S. Representative Tom Tancredo, chairman of the House Immigration Reform Caucus.

Protect Our Water
http://www.powalliance.org/petition/index.html

http://www.healthfreedomusa.org/bills/
KEEPING YOU UPDATED ABOUT WHAT DC IS UP TO REGARDING HEALTH FREEDOM IN AMERICA

Who can trust the FDA nowdays?
http://msnbc.msn.com/id/9271786
Update: Baytril finally off the market!
After losing another administrative appeal, Bayer threw in the towel and finally allowed its poultry antibiotic Baytril to go off the market. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) cancelled the drug effective September 12, but Bayer still had the option of a judicial appeal. UCS applauds the FDA for its tenacity in defending its decision over the five years of the Bayer appeals. Read an Associated Press article about the ban.
 

We have been on a new trend in this household NOT to eat meat that has anti-biotics and growth hormones in the meat.
Safe alternatives to antibiotics for livestock
In preparation for a 2006 ban on antibiotics for growth promotion in livestock, European researchers are developing alternative products for growth promotion and disease prevention. Among the new products are plant-based feed additives for livestock and a dozen probiotics, which contain live “friendly” bacteria whose presence can prevent the invasion of harmful bacteria. In Canada, the University of Guelph is working on a therapy for pigs based on phages, bacteria-killing viruses that can combat E. coli infections. For more information, check out:
- MeatProcess.com, a site run by a European news media organization
http://www.meatprocess.com/news/printNewsBis.asp?id=60106
- An article about phage therapy in Ontario Pork
http://www.thepigsite.com/FeaturedArticle/Default.asp?Display=1427
- The official European Union project website.
http://www.replace-eu.com/
 

http://www.organicconsumers.org/organic/taxbreak071805.cfm
Iowa county offers tax breaks for organic farmers
Woodbury County, Iowa, is the first county in the United States to offer farmers tax incentives to convert to organic farming. The incentives add up to about $50,000 in property tax rebates for each of the five years needed for the conversion. The county hopes to develop an organic industry niche. Read an Associated Press article about the program.

==<>==<>==<>==<>==<>==<>==<>==<>==<>==<>==
PRESS RELEASE  **  PRESS RELEASE  **  PRESS RELEASE
For Immediate Release, September 20, 2005
Americans United for Separation of Church and State
http://www.au.org/site/PageServer?JServSessionIdr011=qhxdqhomv1.app5b
KEEP HEAD START FREE OF RELIGIOUS DISCRIMINATION, SAYS AMERICANS UNITED
Watchdog Group Deplores Effort To Undercut Popular Program With
Discriminatory 'Faith-Based' Amendment
    Americans United for Separation of Church and State today announced
strong opposition to a congressional proposal to allow Head Start
providers to discriminate on the basis of religion when hiring staff.
    As currently written, the Head Start reauthorization bill, the School
Readiness Act (H.R. 2123), contains provisions barring discrimination
in hiring. This language has been part of Head Start legislation
since 1972, but U.S. Reps. John Boehner (R-Ohio) and Charles Boustany
(R-La.) have promised a floor fight over the matter. Boehner and
Boustany insist that religious groups that sponsor Head Start programs
should be permitted to hire and fire on religious grounds, even though the
program does not contain religious content.
    Americans United Executive Director Barry W. Lynn noted that Head
Start serves low-income children and their families.
    "Our children deserve better than this," Lynn said. "A popular
program like Head Start should not become the victim of divisive games in
Washington."
    Americans United noted that the Head Start reauthorization bill
emerged from the Education and Workforce Committee with unanimous support
without Boehner's amendment. Given this strong bipartisan support, it
is counterproductive to try to add such a controversial amendment
now.
    "Americans support Head Start and oppose religious discrimination. It
makes no sense to undercut this popular program with a useless floor
fight," said Lynn. "The Republican majority seems determined to
sabotage their own bill."
    A 2001 poll by the Pew Forum found that 78 percent of respondents
oppose allowing "faith-based" groups to discriminate in hiring with
taxpayer funds.
    Americans United is a religious liberty watchdog group based in Washington, D.C. Founded in 1947, the organization educates Americans
about the importance of church-state separation in safeguarding religious freedom.

PRESS RELEASE  **  PRESS RELEASE  **  PRESS RELEASE
For Immediate Release, September 14, 2005
Americans United for Separation of Church and State
http://www.au.org/site/PageServer
FEDERAL COURT RULING ON 'UNDER GOD' IN PLEDGE SHOWS RESPECT FOR RELIGIOUS DIVERSITY, SAYS AMERICANS UNITED
Public Schools Should Not Require Students To Affirm Belief In God In
Order To Express Patriotism, Says Church-State Watchdog Group
    A federal district court decision against use of "under God" in
public school recitations of the Pledge of Allegiance shows respect for
religious diversity, says Americans United for Separation of Church and
State.
    U.S. District Judge Lawrence Karlton ruled today in Sacramento,
Calif., that public school sponsorship of the Pledge violates students'
right to be "free from a coercive requirement to affirm God."
    "The court's decision was correct as a matter of Establishment Clause
jurisprudence," said Americans United Legal Director Ayesha Khan.
"The Constitution forbids government to intervene in religious matters.
    "America is a very diverse nation," Khan continued. "We have some
2,000 different denominations and faith groups, as well as many
Americans who choose no religious path at all. It is wrong for public schools
to ask students to affirm a religious belief in order to express
their patriotism."
    Khan noted that some religious traditions use different names for the
deity, while other faiths believe in more than one god. Others regard
governmental appropriation of God as theologically unacceptable.
    "America faces many challenges today," Khan concluded. "We can best
meet those challenges if we are united as a people. Americans should
never be made to feel excluded from our national life because they
have the 'wrong' views about religion."
    Today's decision came in a lawsuit brought by Michael Newdow on
behalf of three California parents and their children. (Newdow v. Congress
of the United States of America)
    Americans United is a religious liberty watchdog group based in
Washington, D.C. Founded in 1947, the organization educates Americans
about the importance of church-state separation in safeguarding religious
freedom
==<>==<>==<>==<>==<>==<>==<>==<>==<>==<>==

HEADLINE:  State Judge Issues Preliminary Injunction Requiring
Warnings on Tattoo Ink Products Sold by Largest Ink Sellers in US
SOURCE:    American Environmental Safety Institute
POSTED:    Sep 19, 2005 @ 9:59 pm
LINK:      http://www.ems.org/nws/2005/09/19/state_judge_issu
 

HEADLINE:  Endangered Species Act Needs To Be Updated
SOURCE:    The Council of Republicans for Environmental Advocacy
(CREA)
POSTED:    Sep 19, 2005 @ 5:44 pm
LINK:      http://www.ems.org/nws/2005/09/19/endangered_speci
 

HEADLINE:  Administration Seeks to Weaken Laws that Govern U.S.
Fishing; Ignores Recommendations of Own Commission on Ocean Policy
SOURCE:    The Ocean Conservancy
POSTED:    Sep 19, 2005 @ 3:25 pm
LINK:      http://www.ems.org/nws/2005/09/19/administration_s
 

HEADLINE:  Assault on Endangered Species Act
SOURCE:    Defenders of Wildlife
POSTED:    Sep 19, 2005 @ 12:00 pm
LINK:      http://www.ems.org/nws/2005/09/19/assault_on_endan

Uni- Flirtations with disaster

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/09/17/politics/17anthrax.html
In 4-Year Anthrax Hunt, F.B.I. Finds Itself Stymied, and Sued
By SCOTT SHANE, Published: September 17, 2005
WASHINGTON, Sept. 15 - Richard L. Lambert, the F.B.I. inspector in charge of the investigation of the deadly anthrax letters of 2001, testified under oath for five hours last month about the case.
    But Mr. Lambert was not testifying in a criminal trial. He and his teams of F.B.I. agents and postal inspectors have not found the culprit. Instead, he and six other F.B.I. and Justice Department officials have been forced to give depositions in a suit over news media leaks filed by Dr. Steven J. Hatfill, the former Army biodefense expert who was under intensive scrutiny for months.
 

Mazza, a frequent writer in my newsletters, whose writings little my desktop with PDFs.
Online Journal, Fri, 16 Sep 2005 8:40 PM PDT
Continuing the debate, an opposing view: Is 'Peak Oil' a put on?
http://www.onlinejournal.com/Commentary/091705Mazza/091705mazza.html
September 17, 2005 It seems so easy to believe
this idea. Oil contributes greatly to polluting the environment. The
industrial age has intensified its use greatly.
 

http://www.boston.com/news/nation/washington/articles/2005/09/18/stress_fees_mount_for_bush_aides_called_to_testify/?rss_id=Boston+Globe+--+National+News
Stress, fees mount for Bush aides called to testify
Boston Globe Sun, 18 Sep 2005 1:04 AM PDT
WASHINGTON -- Sympathy can be hard to come by for White House officials who are summoned to appear before a grand jury.
    Those whose identities remain a secret suffer in silence, discouraged from reaching out to friends for help. Those whose names leak into the public domain become lightning rods for rumor, suspicion, and innuendo, as politicians, commentators, and journalists try to divine a meaning behind each summons.
    The latest White House staff member to face the grand jury is Susan Ralston, assistant to White House deputy chief of staff Karl Rove, who testified before the committee investigating the leak of the identity of CIA operative Valerie Plame.
But while the politics of every appearance is picked over in minute detail, there is also a human story to each summons that often goes unexplored.
    Witnesses face stress, uncertainty, and crippling lawyer's fees. And as prosecutors cast their net ever wider, inexperienced staff members with few financial assets are increasingly facing the emotional and financial burden of grand jury testimony.
Ralston appeared at the end of July on the same day as former Rove aide Israel ''Izzy" Hernandez, according to ABC News. -snip-
    Americans for Tax Reform's president, Grover Norquist, who described himself as a friend and a work contact, said he was unaware she had testified: ''It hasn't come up, and I haven't noticed anything, in work or other contact."

Good gods, Rove had a worker named Israel. Isn't that interesting?!
And Grover Norquist has his fingers in a hell of a lot of pots, doesn't he?
 

Los Angeles Times, Sun, 18 Sep 2005 0:21 AM PDT
Many Dollars, Few Details
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-spend18sep18,1,34778.story?coll=la-headlines-nation
Bush renews his call for relief spending but doesn't say where the
billions will come from.
 

The Union Leader and NewHampshire Sunday News,
Fri, 16 Sep 2005 9:13 PM PDT, Steven L. Schooner:
Washington authorizes a federal employee spending  spree
http://www.theunionleader.com/articles_showfast.html?article=60503
IMAGINE a charge card that permitted you to spend up to $250,000 per
transaction, and you never see the bill. Sound exciting? Congress
just put such cards into the pockets of government employees. That's
not just foolish, it's irresponsible.
 

Isn't this stuff a matter of public record? I mean, political affiliations don't seem to have any trouble getting my address and party affiliations. Why was this woman fired for telling of something on public record??
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2002502813_rovefire19.html?syndication=rss&source=seattletimes.xml&items=151
Phone call from Rove spurred dismissal
Seattle Times Sun, 18 Sep 2005 11:38 AM PDT
White House Deputy chief of staff Karl Rove personally called the Texas secretary of state about a newspaper story quoting a staff lawyer...
 

http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/dn/latestnews/stories/081705dntexrove.21bcdfd3.html
Lawyer was fired after Rove called
Dallas Morning News Fri, 16 Sep 2005 7:13 PM PDT
AUSTIN â?“ White House Deputy Chief of Staff Karl Rove personally called the Texas secretary of state about a newspaper story quoting a staff lawyer about whether Mr. Rove was eligible to vote in the state.
 

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2002470786_rove04.html?syndication=rss&source=politics.xml&items=31
Rove assessed $3,400 in back taxes
Seattle Times Wed, 07 Sep 2005 4:56 PM PDT
Presidential adviser Karl Rove may live in Washington. But in his heart â?” and for voting purposes â?” he remains a Texan. Which means he is...
 

http://www.statesman.com/news/content/gen/ap/TX_Rove_Voting.html
State can't investigate complaint on Rove's voting in Texas
Austin American-Statesman Wed, 07 Sep 2005 5:00 PM PDT
WASHINGTON â?” The Texas Secretary of State's office doesn't have jurisdiction to investigate a watchdog group's complaint that presidential adviser Karl Rove may be illegally voting in Texas, a spokesman said Wednesday.
 

http://www.bloomingtonalternative.com/subscribers/news.php?topicid=829
Flirtations with disaster
September 18, 2005 , by Jeffery St. Clair
Bloomington Alternative Sun, 18 Sep 2005 6:24 AM PDT
For those of you waiting on the emergence of Karl Rove's New Orleans strategy, it already came and went: Blame it on Brownie.
    Admittedly, this bit of misdirection doesn't qualify as vintage Rove. But then Rove, who has been tapped by Bush to head the reconstruction program, may have personal reasons for keeping the deepening New Orleans scandal on the front pages. At least it takes the heat off of his own travails, as Special Prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald prepares to lay out his case before the federal grand jury in Arlington.
    So Mike Brown, the fabulously inept director of FEMA, now joins Paul O'Neill and Richard Clarke as another flattened piece of Bush administration roadkill.
    Of course, Brown is a convenient and deserving patsy.
        Prior to joining the Bush team, the high point of Brown's career had been his tenure as executive director of the International Arabian Horse Association. Like his patron George Bush, Brown proved to be an inept businessman. In a few brief years, Brown had wrecked the once venerable organization, bankrupted its accounts and opened it to flood of lawsuits. One former member of the group called Brown's management of the organization "an unmitigated, total fucking disaster."
 

Independent Media TV, Thu, 15 Sep 2005 5:14 AM PDT
Did FEMA "Buy" Votes for Bush?
http://www.independent-media.tv/item.cfm?fmedia_id=11948&fcategory_desc=Under%20Reported
 

Obviously Bush is running out of friends toward which to hand positions. My contention is that Bush has few real friends.
http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/huffpost/20050917/cm_huffpost/007485_200509162223
Jesse Kornbluth: 10 Americans Who Could Head the Reconstruction Better Than Karl Rove
HuffingtonPost.com via Yahoo! News Fri, 16 Sep 2005 8:23 PM PDT
Astonishing, is it not, that in all of America, the only person the President is said to find up to the job of heading the reconstruction of the South is....Karl Rove.
 

>>>>> LAST RESPONDERS <<<<<
Hurricane Katrina's ravages in the Gulf Coast earlier this month have
left many foreign policy experts questioning the Department of
Homeland Security's capacity to prevent or limit the damages of a
large-scale terrorist attack on the United States. Given the apparent failures
of the federal government's response, it is worth revisiting "The
Neglected Home Front," an essay by Stephen Flynn in Foreign Affairs last
year, in which he identified some of the U.S. infrastructure's many
soft spots and suggested how, if the private sector and civil society
mobilized together, the nation might better be able to protect
itself.
* Click for the full text of the original essay, (September/October
2004): http://m1e.net/c?33182130-Bqao9do9jxGDQ%401179711-LY61VHun12m6I
 

http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2005-09-18-goss-reprot_x.htm
Lawmakers ask CIA to open Sept. 11 report
USA Today Sun, 18 Sep 2005 7:22 AM PDT
The leaders of the House Intelligence Committee want CIA Director Porter Goss to provide a public version of his agency's hard-hitting report on the failures leading up to Sept. 11, 2001. The report was sent to Congress last month and scant details have been provided.
 

http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/afp/20050917/pl_afp/usattacksciareport_050917213313
Republicans urge release of report criticizing ex-CIA chief's pre-9/11 moves: NY Times
AFP via Yahoo! News Sat, 17 Sep 2005 2:33 PM PDT
Republican lawmakers have reportedly joined Democrats in pressing CIA chief Porter Goss to declassify an internal agency report that had criticized the actions of his predecessor George Tenet and others prior to the September 11, 2001 terror strikes.
 

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/korea_north_dc;_ylt=Ao7EuGe7cMV5krY11CCkVoBhr7sF;_ylu=X3oDMTBiMW04NW9mBHNlYwMlJVRPUCUl
N.Korea nuclear talks reach their climax
BEIJING (Reuters) - Talks in the Chinese capital aimed at ending North Korea's nuclear crisis are expected to wind up on Monday, with the Americans saying they will leave town and Japan holding out hope for a so-far elusive agreement.
 

http://www.consortiumnews.com/2005/091605.html
Powell's Widening Credibility Gap
consortiumnews.com Fri, 16 Sep 2005 1:28 PM PDT
F ormer Secretary of State Colin Powell appears to have widened his credibility gap with his latest attempt to shift the blame for bogus evidence about Iraqi weapons of mass destruction onto mid-level intelligence analysts and away from himself and other senior officials.
 

http://www.kansascity.com/mld/kansascity/news/local/12643384.htm
Supreme Court ruling may not end fight over abortion records
Kansas City Star Wed, 14 Sep 2005 9:26 AM PDT
LAWRENCE, Kan. - The legal fight over privacy of the abortion records of 90 women and girls may not end when the Kansas Supreme Court rules later this year.
 

http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/512008
US FDA Official Quits Over Contraceptive Delay
 A senior women's health official at the Food and Drug Administration resigned on
Wednesday to protest the agency's failure to approve over-the-counter sales of a "morning-after" contraceptive despite favorable recommendations from
staff scientists. -snip-
A decision that "continues to limit women's access to a product that would reduce unintended pregnancies and reduce abortions is contrary to my core commitment to improving and advancing women's health," said Susan Wood, the FDA's assistant commissioner for women's health and director of its office of women's health.
    "I can no longer serve as staff when scientific and clinical evidence, fully evaluated and recommended for approval by the professional staff here, has been overuled. I therefore have submitted my resignation effective today," Wood said in an e-mail to colleagues.
    Wood was a career scientist who worked at the FDA for nearly five years. She holds a doctorate in biology and has worked on women's health issues for about 15 years. -snip-
    Wood, in an interview, said she did not know if politics played a role because "it was a very closed decision" made by FDA Commissioner Lester Crawford rather than the head of the FDA's drug center.
    "I know a lot of professional staff at FDA are deeply concerned about a loss of credibility for the agency" on Plan B and other issues, Wood said. -snip-
    Agency scientists agreed Plan B could be used safely without a prescription by girls and women 17 and older, but other questions including how to enforce an age limit were unresolved, Crawford said. The agency is taking public comment for 60 days.
    The application to sell Plan B over the counter was first submitted in April 2003. A panel of outside advisers voted 23-4 in December 2003 to urge the FDA to reclassify Plan B from a prescription to over-the-counter drug.
 

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/hurricanekatrina/2002502793_katnews18.html?syndication=rss&source=seattletimes.xml&items=152
Elderly survivor's story "incredible"
Seattle Times Sun, 18 Sep 2005 2:25 PM PDT
The 76-year-old man sat trapped and alone in his attic for more than two weeks, sipping from a dwindling supply of water until it ran out...
 

http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20050917/ap_on_re_mi_ea/iraq_propaganda_war_2
 Propaganda Bombards Iraqis on Both Sides
By TAREK EL-TABLAWY, Associated Press Writer
Sat Sep 17, 6:45 PM ET
    BAGHDAD, Iraq - Iraqis, still stunned Saturday by sectarian violence that killed more than 200 people in four days, find themselves under a propaganda bombardment from all sides as the Americans and the Iraqi government duel insurgents for the hearts and minds of a battered people.
    The most recent broadside showed up in al-Mutammar, a secular daily newspaper, as an anonymous paid advertisement denouncing al-Qaida in Iraq as "followers of the devil."
 

http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20050918/ap_on_re_as/india_kgb_1
New Book: KGB Infiltrated India in 1970s
AP via Yahoo! News Sun, 18 Sep 2005 6:40 AM PDT
India's government was infiltrated in the 1970s by the Soviet Union's feared KGB intelligence agency, which bribed officials with millions of dollars in order to hold sway over its South Asian ally during the Cold War, according to a recently released book.
 

http://www.abqtrib.com/albq/nw_local_state_government/article/0,2564,ALBQ_19859_4088781,00.html
Treasurers' case is study in corruption
Albuquerque Tribune Sat, 17 Sep 2005 9:42 AM PDT
About 70 state FBI agents worked on the massive case that alleges more than $650,000 in kickbacks.
By Kate Nash, Tribune Reporter, September 17, 2005
    Allegations in a federal grand jury indictment and the search warrant documentation used against the state Treasurer's Office paint a picture of political corruption that crossed at least two administrations.
    Federal authorities said the investigation is only beginning.
    The case involving state Treasurer Robert Vigil and former Treasurer Michael Montoya is so large that the FBI dedicated about three-fourths of its agents in New Mexico to arresting the pair and executing search warrants.
 

http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20050917/ap_on_go_ca_st_pe/spy_satellite_boeing_1
Boeing May Lose Part of Spy Satellite Pact
AP via Yahoo! News Fri, 16 Sep 2005 5:29 PM PDT
Defense Department and intelligence officials concerned about problems with a classified spy satellite program are preparing to shift part of the program's contract from Boeing Co. to Lockheed Martin Corp., a government official familiar with the discussions said Friday.
 

CBS Market Watch, Fri, 16 Sep 2005 2:16 PM PDT
Washington events for Sept. 19 - 23
http://www.marketwatch.com/enf/rss.asp?guid=%7B69DBCCF9-6F8E-4EAB-A5FB-4DA9AB1ABDE5%7D&dist=rss&siteid=mktw
President Bush meets with Thailand's Prime Minister Thaksin
Shinawatra, at the White House.
 

http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/krwashbureau/20050916/ts_krwashbureau/_usiraq_defenseminister_1
A remarkable reversal of fortune for Iraq's defense minister
Knight Ridder via Yahoo! News Fri, 16 Sep 2005 12:32 PM PDT
BAGHDAD, Iraq - As U.S. airstrikes pummeled insurgent strongholds in western Iraq recently, Iraqi Defense Minister Saadoun al Duleimi sipped bitter lime tea and watched news of the operation on a flat-screen TV in his opulent office in Baghdad.
 

http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/nm/20050916/ts_nm/iraq_saddam_trial_dc_1
As Saddam's day in Iraq court nears, hiccups emerge
Reuters via Yahoo! News Fri, 16 Sep 2005 1:03 AM PDT
Some predict it could be the "trial of the century" but bringing Saddam Hussein to justice has hardly gone smoothly and may get rockier still.
 

Baltimore Sun, Wed, 14 Sep 2005 7:57 AM PDT
Exceptions in new EPA rules would allow testing pesticides on children
http://feeds.baltimoresun.com/baltimoresun/news/rss2.0.xml?m=558
WASHINGTON - The Environmental Protection Agency's new rules on human
testing, which the agency said last week would "categorically"
protect children and pregnant women from pesticide testing, include
numerous exemptions - including one that specifically allows testing of
children who have been "abused and neglected."
 

Sept. 16th, 2005
Return to Big Government
 “President Bush will tell the nation tonight that he's committed to
rebuilding New Orleans and the Gulf Coast, while eliminating the
poverty andjoblessness that were exposed in the wake of Hurricane Katrina,” USA Today reports.
(http://cato-subscriptions.org/ct.html?rtr=on&s=77z,f81x,949,38cc,ley9,9zdt,1kws
 “In a prime-time speech from New Orleans, Bush also will pledge more
federal help providing housing, health care and education to
evacuees. ‘We want to see a region that is better and stronger than before,’ said Bush  spokesman Scott McClellan.”
    In “No Longer out of Sight,”
(http://cato-subscriptions.org/ct.html?rtr=on&s=77z,f81x,949,jbvh,m4c7,9zdt,1kws
Michael D. Tanner, director of health and welfare studies at the Cato Institute, writes: “In the wake of  Hurricane Katrina, there will justifiably be calls to do something about the poverty that existed unseen in New Orleans and still exists in so many cities across America. Most of those speaking longest and loudest
will be telling us to pour more money into various welfare programs. Doing so
will help salve our conscience and tuck the poor safely out of sight
until the next disaster forces us to face the consequences again. But it will
do little to help these people escape poverty.
    “The poor of New Orleans have been victims twice: of the storm and of
the failed welfare state. As we pick up the pieces, let's not
victimize them a third time. Let's try fighting poverty in ways that work.”
In an article appearing in today’s Washington Post,
(http://cato-subscriptions.org/ct.html?rtr=on&s=77z,f81x,949,j1vw,gljo,9zdt,1kws
Cato Institute scholars Stephen Slivinski, director of budget studies, and Chris
Edwards, director of tax policy studies, are quoted, warning of a  looming “budget disaster,” in response to the unprecedented federal spending for
Hurricane Katrina relief.
    To offset Katrina relief in the short-term and create savings to
reduce the federal deficit over the long-term, Slivinski and Edwards
propose $62 billion in spending cuts, including:  “Cutting NASA in half, slashing
energy research and subsidies just as Congress is gearing up to
increase them in the face of soaring gasoline prices, cutting the U.S. Army Corps
of Engineers' budget by $4.6 billion after its levees failed to
protect New Orleans, and eliminating $4.2 billion in homeland security grants
while lawmakers are debating the nation's lack of preparedness.”
(http://cato-subscriptions.org/ct.html?rtr=on&s=77z,f81x,949,8947,gve6,9zdt,1kws
 

Pledge of Allegiance Declared Unconstitutional
“A federal judge declared Wednesday that the reciting of the Pledge
of Allegiance in public schools is unconstitutional, a decision that
could put the divisive issue on track for another round of Supreme Court
arguments,” The Associated Press reports.
(http://cato-subscriptions.org/ct.html?rtr=on&s=77z,f81x,949,lu65,ce48,9zdt,1kws
    “U.S. District Judge Lawrence Karlton ruled that the pledge's
reference to one nation ‘under God’ violates schoolchildren's right to be
‘free from a coercive requirement to affirm God.’”
    In “What’s Conservative about the Pledge of Allegiance?,”
(http://cato-subscriptions.org/ct.html?rtr=on&s=77z,f81x,949,69uf,2hxo,9zdt,1kws
Cato senior editor, Gene Healy, observes: “Hands on their hearts, more
than 100 Republican members of Congress gathered on the steps of the
Capitol to recite the pledge shortly after the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals
ruled for Newdow in June 2002. It was an effective photo-op, allowing the G.O.P.
to cast itself as the defender of tradition. But not every tradition
deserves defending. Though no one can be legally compelled to salute
the flag, encouraging the ritual smacks of promoting a quasi-religious
genuflection to the state. That's not surprising, given that the Pledge was
designed by an avowed socialist to encourage greater regimentation of society.”
 

HEADLINE:  Stakes High in U.S. vs. EC Genetically Modified Crops
Dispute at WTO
SOURCE:    Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy
POSTED:    Sep 15, 2005 @ 3:53 pm
LINK:      http://www.ems.org/nws/2005/09/15/stakes_high_in_u
 

HEADLINE:  Green Groups Oppose Bush Pick For Fish and Wildlife
Service; Illegal Orders, Altering Scientific Findings and
Developer-Friendly Pattern Cited
SOURCE:    Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER)
and Forest Guardians; Center for Biological Diversity
POSTED:    Sep 15, 2005 @ 1:01 pm
LINK:      http://www.ems.org/nws/2005/09/15/green_groups_opp
 

HEADLINE:  Report: US Army Corp of Engineers is Taking Aim at
Wetlands, Opening up at Least 11,000 Acres in 15 States
SOURCE:    Environmental Integrity Project, Washington, D.C.
POSTED:    Sep 15, 2005 @ 12:17 pm
LINK:      http://www.ems.org/nws/2005/09/15/report_us_army_c
 

HEADLINE:  Fisheries Managers Receive 'Wake-Up Call' on Overfishing:
New data shows that overfishing continues to threaten the future of
fishing in N.E.
SOURCE:    The Ocean Conservancy
POSTED:    Sep 15, 2005 @ 11:31 am
LINK:      http://www.ems.org/nws/2005/09/15/fisheries_manage
 

HEADLINE:  Rare Enterprise in Mexico Wins Conde Nast Traveler Award
SOURCE:    Rare
POSTED:    Sep 15, 2005 @ 11:04 am
LINK:      http://www.ems.org/nws/2005/09/15/rare_enterprise_
 

HEADLINE:  Chemical Weapons Plants Issue Gag Order To Employees; All
Disclosures of Unclassified but "Sensitive" Information Must Be
Cleared
SOURCE:    Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER)
POSTED:    Sep 14, 2005 @ 12:59 pm
LINK:      http://www.ems.org/nws/2005/09/14/chemical_weapons
 

HEADLINE:  SEA TURTLE RESTORATION PROJECT
SOURCE:    Sea Turtle Restoration Project
POSTED:    Sep 14, 2005 @ 11:11 am
LINK:      http://www.ems.org/nws/2005/09/14/sea_turtle_resto
 

This is an old one that I had missed sending you all.'
Wednesday, September 14, 2005 -- GLOBAL SECURITY NEWSWIRE
Today’s Global Security Newswire is now available: http://www.nti.org
QUOTE OF THE DAY
================
The big item missing is nonproliferation and disarmament. This is a real disgrace. We have failed twice this year: we failed at the [Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty] conference, and we failed now. -- --U.N.
Secretary General Kofi Annan, criticizing the omission of two key themes from the final document of an international summit in New York.
FULL ISSUE
==========
NUCLEAR WEAPONS
Nonproliferation, Disarmament Matters Dropped From U.N. Summit Document http://www.nti.org/d_newswire/issues/2005_9_14.html#539B1CCD
Iran Case Could Lead to Nonconsensus IAEA Action http://www.nti.org/d_newswire/issues/2005_9_14.html#2522728E
North Korea Nuclear Negotiations See No Progress After Two Days, Chief U.S. Envoy Says http://www.nti.org/d_newswire/issues/2005_9_14.html#1F3864BC
U.S. Supports Iran's Right to Nuclear Energy http://www.nti.org/d_newswire/issues/2005_9_14.html#C6B5C4F7
Russia Warns U.S. on Nuclear Pre-Emption Policy http://www.nti.org/d_newswire/issues/2005_9_14.html#4B30DDDA
California Lawmakers Encourage U.S. Senate to Restore Superlaser Project Funding http://www.nti.org/d_newswire/issues/2005_9_14.html#7314F194
U.S. Conducts Successful Minuteman ICBM Test http://www.nti.org/d_newswire/issues/2005_9_14.html#2BB33CC7
BIOLOGICAL WEAPONS
Biodefense Labs Secure After Katrina http://www.nti.org/d_newswire/issues/2005_9_14.html#441734E6
Man Convicted of Ricin Possession Gets Prison Term http://www.nti.org/d_newswire/issues/2005_9_14.html#806BF85F
CHEMICAL WEAPONS
Baltimore Chlorine-Train Ban Bid Derailed http://www.nti.org/d_newswire/issues/2005_9_14.html#08B7D5BE
Iraqi Terrorist Group Claims Chemical Weapons Attack http://www.nti.org/d_newswire/issues/2005_9_14.html#71CC5F58
Blue Grass CW Waste Transport Plan Opposed  http://www.nti.org/d_newswire/issues/2005_9_14.html#D7C0A869
 

http://www.crosswalk.com/news/1351201.html
Democrat Party Keeping Its Focus on Karl Rove
Crosswalk.com Wed, 14 Sep 2005 3:52 AM PDT
(CNSNews.com) - John Roberts' confirmation hearings and hurricane relief efforts may be dominating the headlines, but the Democratic National Committee is not deterred: It continues to issue daily reminders about the Karl Rove controversy in an effort to keep the issue alive.
 

http://news.pacificnews.org/news/view_article.html?article_id=04d78f52b76e0474b40d88e4e8347322
Will Katrina Wallop Black Voting Power?
Pacific News Service Wed, 14 Sep 2005 2:23 PM PDT
Will Katrina Wallop Black Voting Power? Editor's Note: The hurricane, by scattering black voters over several states, may have given the GOP a gift. LOS ANGELES--President Bush, Karl Rove and top GOP strategists would never publicly gloat over Katrina's unintended political consequences.
 

http://hartfordadvocate.com/gbase/News/content?oid=oid:125722
Rove v. Wait
Hartford Advocate Wed, 14 Sep 2005 1:50 AM PDT
When, oh when, will the trial begin? "I am waiting for the American Eagle to really spread its wings and straighten up and fly right."
 

http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20050914/ap_on_go_su_co/roberts_transcript15_2
Text of John Roberts Hearing - 15
AP via Yahoo! News Tue, 13 Sep 2005 5:28 PM PDT
ROBERTS: I think it is a very serious threat to the independence and integrity of the courts to politicize them. I think that is not a good development, to regard the courts as simply an extension of the political process. That's not what they are.
 

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/05257/571043.stm
Transcript: Judge John G. Roberts Jr. hearing, Day Two
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Tue, 13 Sep 2005 9:36 PM PDT
U.S. SENATOR RICHARD J. DURBIN (D-IL) WITNESSES: JUDGE JOHN ROBERTS, NOMINATED TO BE CHIEF JUSTICE OF THE UNITED STATES SPECTER: It is 9:30. The confirmation hearing of Judge Roberts will now proceed.

http://www.rednova.com/news/display/?id=234005&source=r_technology
Era of Next-Generation Electronics Draws Closer With the Discovery of Spintronics
RedNova Thu, 08 Sep 2005 4:43 AM PDT
LONDON, September 8 /PRNewswire/ -- Spintronics - the pioneering new technology, wherein both the charge and spin of an electron are used to carry information - is generating great excitement in the world of technology for its immense potential in a wide variety of applications.

Uni- CRISIS IN CONFIDENCE, CRISIS IN DEMOCRACY

Nobel Laureates Frown on Curriculum Plans
AP - Fri Sep 16, 3:18 PM ET
LAWRENCE, Kan. - Thirty-eight Nobel Prize laureates asked state educators to reject proposed science standards that treat evolution as a seriously questionable theory, calling it instead the "indispensable" foundation of biology.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/evolution_debate;_ylt=AvbPvN3_RFBdY8G.mqjMudRhr7sF;_ylu=X3oDMTBiMW04NW9mBHNlYwMlJVRPUCUl
On the Net:
State Board of Education: http://www.ksde.org
Wiesel's foundation: http://www.eliewieselfoundation.org
 

http://www.healthfreedomusa.org/
http://www.healthfreedomusa.org/standfor/
Natural Solutions Foundation.
The Natural Solutions Foundation is a non-profit organization founded to protect and promote health freedom in America.
Codex Key Points:
* Dr. Laibow studied 16,000 pages of Codex documentation
* Codex is unscientific
* Not consumer protection
* Increases big pharma profits
* By eliminating natural healthcare via WTO
* DSHEA protects U.S. from Codex
* Some in Congress weakening DSHEA
Want to know more? Take the 5-minute tour.
You can make a difference. There are many other Americans like you who care about health freedom.
Take action.
http://www.healthfreedomusa.org/action/step2.shtml
On this page you will find bills that relate to health freedom. Each bill comes with a button you can press to send an email to Congress with your approval or disapproval (depending on whether the bill is in support of health freedom or not).
 

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ucrr/crisisinconfidencecrisisindemocracy;_ylt=AhhvlyXaQg0dOUQMZG7Loc5hr7sF;_ylu=X3oDMTBiMW04NW9mBHNlYwMlJVRPUCUl
CRISIS IN CONFIDENCE, CRISIS IN DEMOCRACY
Richard Reeves -
NEW YORK -- The polls of the week indicate that most Americans have lost faith in the leadership of George W. Bush, the mission-accomplishing conqueror of Iraq and would-be hero of New Orleans.
 

http://www.nydailynews.com/front/story/346898p-296015c.html
Why Rove can't go ... to meetings
New York Daily News Fri, 16 Sep 2005 1:31 AM PDT
Never mind those planned congressional hearings on the hows and whys of government incompetence in the attempt to cope with Hurricane Katrina. There were not only logistical and bureaucratic troubles but, astonishingly for the Bush White House, political snafus.
 

http://www.salon.com/news/feature/2005/09/16/allbaugh/index_np.html
The crony who prospered
Salon.com Fri, 16 Sep 2005 6:25 AM PDT
Joe Allbaugh was George W. Bush's good ol' boy in Texas. He hired his good friend Mike Brown to run FEMA. Now Brownie's gone and Allbaugh is living large.
 

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20050916/ap_on_re_us/jeb_bush_son_arrested;_ylt=AovlMqkY3t6U8ExRAKe_BWMb.3QA;_ylu=X3oDMTA3OXIzMDMzBHNlYwM3MDM-
Son of Florida Gov. Bush Arrested
AUSTIN, Texas - The youngest son of Florida Gov. Jeb Bush was arrested early Friday and charged with public intoxication and resisting arrest, law enforcement officials said.
    John Ellis Bush, 21, was arrested by agents of the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission at 2:30 a.m. on a corner of Austin's Sixth Street bar district, said commission spokesman Roger Wade.
    The nephew of President Bush was released on $2,500 bond for the resisting arrest charge, and on a personal recognizance bond for the public intoxication charge, officials said.
    Wade said he had no further details about the charges.
    Gov. Bush and his wife Columba appeared Friday evening at a museum reception in Miami.
    "My son's doing fine. It's a private matter. We will support him. We're sad for him. But I'm not going to discuss it on the public square with 30 cameras," the governor told reporters.
    It's not the first time Florida's first family has experienced legal problems with one of their children.
    Noelle Bush, the governor's daughter, was arrested in January 2002 and accused of trying to pass a fraudulent prescription at a pharmacy to obtain the anti-anxiety drug Xanax. She completed a drug rehabilitation program in August 2003 and a judge dismissed the drug charges against her.
 

I remind you that things are never as they seem. This is what the spin-meisters WANT us to know.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20050916/ap_on_go_pr_wh/cheney_surgery;_ylt=AiU7yYceGgAEnsDX2kSh8VQb.3QA;_ylu=X3oDMTA3OXIzMDMzBHNlYwM3MDM-
 Cheney to Have Surgery Next Weekend
By DEB RIECHMANN, Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON - Vice President Dick Cheney will undergo an elective surgery next weekend to treat an aneurysm in an artery behind his right knee.
    The condition, discovered earlier this year during a routine checkup, needs to be treated "as to not become a problem over time," Steve Schmidt, counselor to the vice president, said Friday.
    "The procedure will be performed under local anesthetic," Schmidt said. "It will take place next weekend. It will involve a short hospital stay. The vice president will return to work shortly thereafter."
    Schmidt said more details will be announced next week.
    Cheney, 64, has had four heart attacks, though none since he became vice president in 2001. That year, he had an implantable cardioverter defibrillator inserted in his chest. The pacemaker starts automatically if needed to regulate his heartbeat.
    An aneurysm is a ballooning weak spot in an artery that, as blood pounds through, can eventually burst if left untreated.
    Those in the knee, popliteal aneurysms, act a little differently. They're less likely to burst than are aneurysms in other parts of the body. But blood clots can form in the weakened artery that can break off and cause a stroke, or block circulation in the leg.
    Typical surgical repair is to open the leg and sew a fabric patch onto the artery to reinforce the weak spot.
    A vascular exam, part of a two-part annual physical Cheney completed in July, identified "small, dilated segments of the arteries behind both knees." But his overall cardio health was judged as good after the first part of the exam, which included a general physical exam, an electrocardiogram and a stress test.
    The checkup determined that the pacemaker was working well and never had to be activated.
 

http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/huffpost/20050916/cm_huffpost/007419_200509160056
Arianna Huffington: Karl Rove's Big Easy
HuffingtonPost.com via Yahoo! News Thu, 15 Sep 2005 9:56 PM PDT
Creating an independent, bipartisan commission to look into what went so horribly wrong with the response to Katrina is not only an idea supported by an overwhelming majority of the American people -- including 64% of Republicans -- itâ?™s also, inarguably, the right thing to do.
 

http://news.yahoo.com/s/csm/avictory;_ylt=AtpvtrxniyI_4hFuIy9eVzthr7sF;_ylu=X3oDMTBiMW04NW9mBHNlYwMlJVRPUCUl
US tempers its view of victory in Iraq
The Christian Science Monitor - Fri Sep 16, 4:00 AM ET
WASHINGTON - Since the day in May 2003 when President Bush stood beneath a banner proclaiming "Mission Accomplished," the course of the conflict in Iraq has been one of optimism followed by revision.
 

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/medicare_premiums
Gov't Raises Medicare Premiums Again
WASHINGTON - Senior citizens and the disabled will have to pay a monthly Medicare premium of $88.50 next year for doctor's visits and other services, a $10.30 boost in the fee.
 

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/katrina_justice_lawsuits
Justice Dept. Looks at Lawsuits, Levees
WASHINGTON - The Justice Department is seeking information about whether lawsuits by environmental groups hindered efforts to improve New Orleans levees, an effort the Sierra Club and Democratic lawmakers say is aimed at shifting blame for the massive flooding.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/social_security
GOP Leaders Asked to Stall Soc. Sec. Bill
WASHINGTON - House Speaker Dennis Hastert suggested the head of the House Republican campaign committee spoke for himself when he urged fellow GOP leaders to drop plans for Social Security legislation this year, citing potential repercussions in the 2006 elections.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/emergency_contraception
Mass. Lawmakers Override Contraception Veto
BOSTON - The state Legislature voted Thursday to override Gov. Mitt Romney's veto of a measure that will expand access to emergency contraception.
 

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/katrina_contracts_dc
Democrats warn of potential Katrina contract abuse
Reuters - Fri Sep 16, 3:17 PM ET
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Rebuilding from Hurricane Katrina could be ripe for fraud if government whistle-blowers are not better protected than those who lost their jobs after disclosing abuses in Iraq's reconstruction, a leading Senate Democrat said on Friday.
 

http://www.commondreams.org/views05/0918-23.htm
Published on Sunday, September 18, 2005 by the New York Times
Message: I Care About the Black Folks
by Frank Rich
Once Toto parts the curtain, the Wizard of Oz can never be the wizard again. He is forever Professor Marvel, blowhard and snake-oil salesman. Hurricane Katrina, which is likely to endure in the American psyche as long as L. Frank Baum's mythic tornado, has similarly unmasked George W. Bush.
    The worst storm in our history proved perfect for exposing this president because in one big blast it illuminated all his failings: the rampant cronyism, the empty sloganeering of "compassionate conservatism," the lack of concern for the "underprivileged" his mother condescended to at the Astrodome, the reckless lack of planning for all government operations except tax cuts, the use of spin and photo-ops to camouflage failure and to substitute for action.
    In the chaos unleashed by Katrina, these plot strands coalesced into a single tragic epic played out in real time on television. The narrative is just too powerful to be undone now by the administration's desperate recycling of its greatest hits: a return Sunshine Boys tour by the surrogate empathizers Clinton and Bush I, another round of prayers at the Washington National Cathedral, another ludicrously overhyped prime-time address flecked with speechwriters' "poetry" and framed by a picturesque backdrop. Reruns never eclipse a riveting new show.

Message To George W. Bush

Hey George Bush, I thought you said you were going to offer up a culture of responsibility. We can we expect to see that?