Breaking News and Commentary from Citizens for Legitimate Government
19 September 2006
http://www.legitgov.org/
All links to articles as summarized below are available here:
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White House Offers New Proposal on Interrogations 19 Sep 2006 White House officials sent Congress a revised proposal last night on rules governing the interrogation of detainees at secret CIA prisons... Henry J. Hyde (R-Ill.), chairman of the House International Relations Committee, indicated he may ask to examine portions of the bill pertaining to international treaties, leadership aides acknowledged. Hyde would also like to examine a section of the bill suspending detainees' right of habeas corpus, a provision that civil libertarians strongly criticize but that so far has not been controversial in Congress. A White House official expressed confidence that House GOP leaders will bring to a vote a bill of the president's [sic] liking.
"it seems torture is not just a random thing. It's a policy and everyone is required to follow it." New Leaders, Similar Story at Iraq's Abu Ghraib 16 Sep 2006 Fresh allegations of brutality are being reported from inside the walls of Iraq's Abu Ghraib prison, which was transferred from U.S. military to Iraqi government control on September 1st. Sa'dik al-Hasnawi, who heads up Shi'ite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr's offices in the southern city of Diwaniya, told OneWorld, "it seems torture is not just a random thing. It's a policy and everyone is required to follow it." Hasnawi has been interviewing inmates as they're released from Abu Ghraib.
UK government accused of collusion in Guantánamo war crimes 18 Sep 2006 More than 100 senior doctors today accused the government of colluding in war crimes by refusing to give medical aid to British residents detained at Guantánamo Bay... Last year the New England Journal of Medicine reported that psychiatrists and psychologists had been involved in coercive interrogation tactics being used on detainees at the camp since 2002.
Canadians Fault U.S. for Its Role in Torture Case 19 Sep 2006 A government commission on Monday exonerated a Canadian computer engineer [Maher Arar] of any ties to terrorism and issued a scathing report that faulted Canada and the United States for his deportation four years ago to Syria, where he was imprisoned and tortured.
Report slams RCMP for giving erroneous information on Arar to U.S. 19 Sep 2006 The RCMP passed misleading, inaccurate and unfair information to U.S. authorities that "very likely" led to the arrest of Maher Arar and his deportation to face torture in Syria, a public inquiry concludes. In a report released Monday, Justice Dennis O'Connor absolved Arar of any suspicion of terrorist activity and urged the federal government to offer financial compensation for his suffering.
Bubble-Boy Bush Defends Torture By Bill Gallagher 19 Sep 2006 Give torture a chance. And grant me a law to justify anything I have done or will do... Bush looked like a man possessed at a ranting, spit-spewing news conference last Friday. Bush rose into rapture, trying to sell his mad plan for fascist rule in America, urging us to shed those old-fashioned protections in the Bill of Rights, so we can "protect the nation," and he can use the fight to attempt to save his political hide in the process. Bush can only function with single-party rule.
Bush demands US Congress pass bill sanctioning torture of detainees By Joe Kay 16 Sep 2006 President [sic] George Bush held a news conference on Friday at which he demanded that Congress pass a bill sanctioning interrogation methods of detainees that are defined by international law as torture and banned by the Geneva Conventions... The CIA prisons, which Bush openly defends, are themselves illegal under international law, since the International Red Cross is denied access to them. Those held in these gulags have been subjected to what Bush terms "alternative interrogation methods"—a euphemism for torture.
New rule on government spying powers goes to Congress --Compromise measure would give government more leeway to listen in 18 Sep 2006 Five years after President [sic] Bush launched the National Security Agency's warrantless surveillance program, Congress is expected to take up a measure this week that would strengthen the president's authority to conduct domestic espionage.
Iraq in danger of civil war, warns Annan ahead of crucial UN assembly 19 Sep 2006 The UN secretary general warned yesterday that Iraq was in danger of sliding into anarchy and civil war. Addressing an international aid conference at the UN, Kofi Annan said: "If current patterns of alienation and violence persist much longer, there is a grave danger that the Iraqi state will break down, possibly in the midst of full-scale civil war."
Suicide attacks, bombs kill 62 in Iraq 19 Sep 2006 At least 62 people were killed around Iraq, 21 of them in a suicide attack on people waiting for their butane gas ration cards [?!?] in the northern city of Tal Afar.
Bomb kills 17 in market in Iraq's Tal Afar-police 18 Sep 2006 A bomb killed 17 people and wounded 27 in a market in the northern Iraqi city of Tal Afar on Monday, local police said.
Halliburton to Wounded Employee: You'll Get a Medal -- If You Don't Sue By Justin Rood 18 Sep 2006 Halliburton will help its combat-zone employees get the honors and recognition they deserve -- if they promise not to sue the company. That's according to new documents released today by Senate Democrats.
Bush's bitch Merkel and the navy gathering in the Lebanon coast By Zam 18 Sep 2006 1. A great navy gathering is in the Lebanon coast... 2. Troops of the NATO member countries are in Lebanon below UN mandate. 3. The bitch of Bush, Merkel, said, after Germany's Cabinet approved the deployment of warships to Lebanon as part of the expanded United Nations peacekeeping force known as UNIFIL.
Rumsfeld adviser resigns as Pentagon shake-up looms 18 Sep 2006 The Pentagon's top special operations policy-maker [Thomas W. O'Connell, assistant secretary of defense for special operations and low-intensity conflict (SOLIC)] is quitting in a move that several Bush administration sources say is the first negative fallout from a major reorganization of advisers in the office of Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld.
Labour admits: we made mistakes on Afghanistan --Strength and determination of Taliban were misjudged, says defence secretary 19 Sep 2006 The defence secretary, Des Browne, will admit today that Britain and its Nato allies seriously underestimated the strength of the Taliban and the violent resistance faced by western forces in Afghanistan.
Four Canadians killed in Afghan suicide bombing 18 Sep 2006 The first of four Canadian servicemen killed by a bicycle bomber targeting troops in southern Afghanistan was identified on Monday as a Manitoba-based soldier. An undisclosed number of Canadian soldiers and at least 27 Afghan civilians were also wounded in the blast in the Kafir Band village, located in the Kandahar province district of Panjwaii.
Thanks to Bush: Taliban: 500 Suicide Bombers Ready to Attack 18 Sep 2006 Rahimullah Yusufzai Reports: In a rare interview, the Taliban's top military commander told ABC News he has 500 suicide bombers at his disposal and could launch them at any time. Speaking by satellite telephone from an undisclosed location, Mulla Dadullah Akhund told ABC News the suicide bombers will target Kabul, the capital, because it is the headquarters for U.S. and NATO forces. "They attacked us. We didn't go to the U.S. to fight them. We are fighting for our religion and homeland," he said.
Africa key to Pentagon counterterrorism [terrorism] strategy 14 Sep 2006 Nearly five years after the 'fall' [?!?] of the Taliban in Afghanistan, Africa has emerged as a leading front in a U.S. military campaign to deny [foment] al Qaeda [al CIAduh] a new safe haven in the continent's vast, hard-to-govern regions. Small groups of special forces, known as A-teams and often numbering less than a dozen soldiers, have begun traversing the hinterlands of more than a dozen countries in the Horn of Africa, the Sahel and Sahara regions.
Bush blocks campaign to put pressure on Sudan over Darfur 19 Sep 2006 The Bush regime and big business interests have been accused of undermining efforts to exert financial pressure on the Sudanese government to stop the killing in Darfur.
National Guard to Stay in New Orleans Through December 18 Sep 2006 National Guard troops and state police will patrol the city through December, Gov. Kathleen Blanco said Saturday at a summit of law enforcement officials and crime experts called to address a spate of [Blackwater's?] killings marring the recovery from Hurricane Katrina.
FEMA Camp Footage (Concentrations Camps in USA) Added by MasterpieceConCen (YouTube video) 23 Apr 2006
CCTV gets a voice in English town (London) Big Brother - in the form of closed-circuit television cameras - is not only watching people misbehaving in one English town, it is also telling them off. Municipal council officials in Middlesbrough, northeast England, have fitted microphones to seven CCTV cameras in the town centre that yell at people up to no good. [That's seven CCTV cameras that need to be *unplugged.*]
'Universal' ID Card Part of Federal Security Upgrades 18 Sep 2006 New identification cards ["super CAC" ID cards] to be issued to Defense Department employees beginning next month will help standardize workforce identification and security access systems across the government, a senior Defense Department official said here Sept. 15.
Armed man crashes through Capitol barricade 18 Sep 2006 An armed man ran through the hallways of the U.S. Capitol after crashing his vehicle on the Capitol grounds Monday in the worst [?!?] breach of security since a gunman killed two police officers eight years ago.
Bush administration names cyber security czar 18 Sep 2006 The U.S. Department of Homeland Security named its first cyber security czar [Gregory Garcia] on Monday, filing a job that had been vacant since it was created a year ago.
Film Shows Youths Training to Fight for Jesus --New Documentary Features Controversial Bible Camp, Evangelical Movement 17 Sep 2006 An in-your-face documentary out this weekend is raising eyebrows, raising hackles and raising questions about evangelizing to young people. Speaking in tongues, weeping for salvation, praying for an end to abortion and worshipping a picture of President [sic] Bush [*puke*] -- these are some of the activities at Pastor Becky Fischer's Bible camp in North Dakota, "Kids on Fire," subject of the provocative new documentary, "Jesus Camp."
Mega barf alert! U.S. Uploads Anti-Drug Videos to YouTube 18 Sep 2006 The Bush administration is taking its fight against illegal drugs to YouTube, the trendy Internet video service that already features clips of wacky, drug-induced behavior and step-by-step instructions for growing marijuana plants. [YouTube should block any uploads by the Bush dictatorship.]
Impeachment Referendum on Wisconsin Rapids Ballots 18 Sep 2006 Supporters of a referendum on whether President [sic] Bush and Vice President [sic] Dick Cheney should be impeached gathered more than 900 signatures -- enough to get the question printed on the ballot.
Pittsville voters asked if Bush, Cheney should be impeached 30 Aug 2006 (WI) Voters in Pittsville, a tiny Wood County community, will be asked to vote on a question calling for the impeachment of President [sic] Bush and Vice President [sic] Dick Cheney.
"Hotel Minibar" Keys Open Diebold Voting Machines 18 Sep 2006 By Ed Felten The access panel door on a Diebold AccuVote-TS voting machine — the door that protects the memory card that stores the votes, and is the main barrier to the injection of a virus — can be opened with a standard key that is widely available on the Internet. On Wednesday we did a live demo for our Princeton Computer Science colleagues of the vote-stealing software described in our paper and video. Afterward, Chris Tengi, a technical staff member, asked to look at the key that came with the voting machine. He noticed an alphanumeric code printed on the key, and remarked that he had a key at home with the same code on it. The next day he brought in his key and sure enough it opened the voting machine.
Republican N.Y. Mayor to Campaign For Lieberman 18 Sep 2006 Republican New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg will host a fundraiser for U.S. Sen. Joe LieberBush at the mayor's Upper East Side town house.
Major State Union Switches to Lamont --AFSCME Council 4 Drops Lieberman, Citing Movement Toward Bush Policies 18 Sep 2006 One of Connecticut's largest labor unions has dropped its endorsement of U.S. Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman and switched its support to Democratic primary winner Ned Lamont.
A Thousand Words --Sen. Lieberman's car parked at Fairfield University this morning [in a handicapped parking space] (lamontblog) 15 Sep 2006
Gore: Global Warming an Immediate Crisis 19 Sep 2006 President Al Gore on Monday called for immediate action to stop global warming, calling the phenomenon a "climate crisis'' that demands attention from American leaders.
Hydropower, Geothermal Research Could Disappear In 2007 15 Sep 2006 The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) is quitting the hydropower and geothermal power research business — if Congress will let it. Declaring them "mature technologies" that need no further funding, the Bush administration in its FY 2007 budget request eliminates hydropower and geothermal research, venerable programs with roots in the energy crises of the 1970s.
Mercury Contamination Moves Beyond Fish --'Every Link of the Food Chain Affected' a New Report Says 18 Sep 2006 Mercury contamination is making its way into nearly every habitat in the United States, not just oceans, according to a report that the National Wildlife Federation will release Tuesday. The problem with high mercury levels in certain types of fish has been well documented, resulting in 46 states issuing advisories for pregnant women and children to avoid eating certain types of fish. But this is the first report to expose the problem in such a wide variety of species, 40 to be exact.
Stubborn Calif. Fire Doubles in Size 19 Sep 2006 Teams of firefighters hiked into the remote wilderness along the Los Angeles-Ventura County line on Monday to fight a stubborn, two-week-old wildfire that has scorched more than 125 square miles of chaparral and timber.
[18 September lead stories:] U.S. War Prisons Legal Vacuum for 14,000 --A Global network of U.S overseas prisons keeps 14,000 detainees beyond the reach of established law. 17 Sep 2006 In the few short years since the first shackled Afghan shuffled off to Guantanamo, the U.S. military has created a global network of overseas prisons, its islands of high security keeping 14,000 detainees beyond the reach of established law. Captured on battlefields, pulled from beds at midnight, grabbed off streets as suspected insurgents, tens of thousands now have passed through U.S. detention, the vast majority in Iraq.
U.S. holds AP photographer in Iraq 5 mos 17 Sep 2006 The U.S. military in Iraq has imprisoned an Associated Press photographer for five months, accusing him of being a security threat but never filing charges or permitting a public hearing. "We want the rule of law to prevail. He either needs to be charged or released. Indefinite detention is not acceptable," said Tom Curley, AP's president and chief executive officer. "We've come to the conclusion that this is unacceptable under Iraqi law, or Geneva Conventions, or any military procedure."
"We're transferring things that are military today into a civil implementation." Firms Vie to Provide the Future of Border Security 18 Sep 2006 The Department of Homeland Security is expected within days to name a winner in a competition that could permanently change the way the United States conducts surveillance, apprehension and detention operations along its northern and southern boundaries. Overall, the proposals lean heavily on technology developed for the battlefield. "We're transferring things that are military today into a civil implementation," said Bruce Walker, a Northrop Grumman vice president who has led the California company's efforts. [See: KBR awarded $385M Homeland Security contract for U.S. detention centers 24 Jan 2006.]
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