Thursday Morning News

Red text is the "real" story buried in the news.
Blue text is my own commentary.
Violet text is the blog quote of the day.

AFRICA (...once again, the first news about Africa comes late in the week. This is the most under-reported genocide story since the Biafran holocaust...)
The International Criminal Court on Wednesday issued its first arrest warrants in Sudan's Darfur conflict, for a government minister and a former militia leader accused of war crimes. Sudanese officials, however, said they would not hand over the pair, who are charged with dozens of counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity. The court alleges that the Sudanese government joined with militia groups in systematic attacks against civilians in Darfur as part of an effort to combat rebel movements. More than 200,000 people have been killed and 2 million displaced in the four-year conflict. (...those are "conservative" estimates...) The Sudanese government denies backing the militias, commonly known as janjaweed. The move by the Hague-based court is a strong indicator that it believes the Khartoum government is unlikely to fulfill its promise to prosecute the pair under its own judicial system. The court can step in only when a country fails to put suspects on trial.
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-sudan3may03,0,2839093.story?track=ntothtml

BUSH WARS
Republicans, fearing massive 2008 election losses, begin to turn on Bush
Distressed by the violence in Iraq and worried about tying their political fate to an unpopular president, some Republicans on Capitol Hill are beginning to move away from the White House to stake out a more critical position on the U.S. role in the war. These lawmakers are advocating proposals that would tie the U.S. commitment in the war to the Iraqi government's ability to demonstrate that it is working to quell the sectarian conflict. As Democrats start work on a new war spending bill to replace the one President Bush vetoed, at least three Republican senators who opposed the Democratic withdrawal plan said Wednesday that the new bill should include so-called benchmarks for the Iraqi government to meet.
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-warfunds3may03,0,7640493.story?track=ntothtml

Which brings us to the blog quote of the day, thanx to Larry Johnson's "No Quarter" regular contributor "Leslie," posted by "Susan UNPC"
"Days after Bush acknowledged that Congress had a legitimate authority to include timetables in its Iraq supplemental bill, King George has since vetoed the bill arguing that Congress has infringed on his Constitutional role. By vetoing the bill, Bush can blame Congress simultaneously for denying the troops support, which his veto denies them, and for violating the prerogatives of the Commander-in-Chief. But we won't hear Bush say this publicly, however. It's attached to his veto statement. Check out "The Veto Statement -- Not Surprisingly, the President Claims a Constitutional Prerogative." (..how about "Constitutional Crisis"???) The House attempted to override the veto today and failed. The vote was 222-203, short of the two-thirds necessary to override."
http://noquarter.typepad.com/my_weblog/2007/05/king_george_is_.html

Iraqi Oil at the center of Bush's failure-mode
Kurdish and Sunni Arab officials expressed deep reservations on Wednesday about the draft version of a national oil law and related legislation, misgivings that could derail one of the benchmark measures of progress in Iraq laid down by President Bush. The draft law, which establishes a framework for the distribution of oil revenues, was approved by the (Shi'ite dominated)Iraqi cabinet in late February after months of negotiations. The White House was hoping for quick passage to lay the groundwork for a political settlement among the country’s ethnic and sectarian factions. But the new Kurdish concerns have created doubts about the bill even before Parliament is to pick it up for debate. The issue comes at a delicate moment for Mr. Bush, who on Wednesday began negotiations ("began negotiations" ...is that the new term for "veto"?) with Congressional Democrats over a new war-spending measure. (... is Malaki trying to give all the oil to the Shi'ites?)
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/03/world/middleeast/03iraq.html?th&emc=th

White House Investigates ("warns") top Iraq Contract Inspector The inspector general who uncovered cases of waste, fraud and abuse in the U.S.-led reconstruction effort in Iraq is under investigation by a presidential panel, according to the White House. Stuart W. Bowen Jr., the special inspector general for Iraq reconstruction, is under investigation after complaints were made by former employees about his work habits and work he required employees to perform. The investigation is headed by the integrity committee of the President's Council on Integrity and Efficiency, (...now there's a joke of a committee, lots of pots calling all the kettles black...) which is made up of inspectors general appointed by the president. (...with all the other whistleblowers coming out of the woodwork, is it any wonder they want this very strategically positioned appointee to remain very, very silent???) http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/05/02/AR2007050202714.html?referrer=email

Canada collaborating with U.S. to track down American soldiers who have fled (and the apologists say this isn't Bush's Viet Nam!) The incidents have sparked allegations that Canadian law enforcement has been collaborating with U.S. officials to help track down American soldiers who have fled to Canada. Some critics, including a left-leaning member of Parliament who represents Nelson, say they believe it is a campaign of intimidation. "Our concern is that there could be other Kyle Snyders in Canada," Alex Atamanenko, the parliamentarian, said following Snyder's arrest on Feb. 23. "Are there those that are being apprehended now?" In a formal letter of complaint to the Conservative Party Cabinet ministers responsible for public safety and immigration, Atamanenko noted that Snyder was apprehended without a search warrant or permission to enter the residence. "Has Canada ever raised official objection to the U.S. about the operation of U.S. police, security, intelligence or military officials in Canada?" Atamanenko asked, adding, "It is important for Canadian citizens and visitors to our country to know that our Canadian sovereignty is respected." (Oh, Canada! When will you learn, BushCo has respect only for outsourcers, off-shoreres, no-bidders and book cookers) http://www.salon.com/news/feature/2007/05/03/awol_in_canada/?source=newsletter

DOJ SCANDAL
TESTER CALLS FOR MERCER TO RESIGN (thanx to TPM for this link to the WaPo) Sen. Jon Tester (D-Mont.) called yesterday on a top Justice Department official to resign his U.S. attorney's post after revelations that he worked to alter federal law so that he and a handful of other senior aides could escape residency requirements that governed their assignments as federal prosecutors. Since 2005, William W. Mercer has served as acting associate attorney general at Justice Department headquarters in Washington as well as being the U.S. attorney in Montana, where he spends just three days a month. That has drawn the anger of a Montana federal judge who contends that Mercer is violating a federal law that requires him to live in Montana. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/05/02/AR2007050202353.html?nav=rss_politics

On Nov. 10, 2005, Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales sent a letter to a federal judge in Montana, assuring him that the U.S. attorney there, William W. Mercer, was not violating federal law by spending most of his time in Washington as a senior Justice Department official. That same day, Mercer had a GOP Senate staffer insert into a bill a provision that would change the rules so that federal prosecutors could live outside their districts to serve in other jobs, according to documents and interviews. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/05/01/AR2007050101961.html

IF MERCER AND GONZALES CONSPIRED TO CREATE THIS LIE, IT WOULD CONSTITUTE HIGH CRIMES, NOT MISDEMEANORS!

Lam claims coersion, attempted cover-up conspiracy...
In a strongly worded defense of her four-year tenure as U.S. attorney in San Diego, Carol C. Lam told congressional investigators that she was constantly given conflicting instructions from Washington and was expected to bring more prosecutions with fewer resources. According to written statements released Wednesday — her first public comments since testifying two months ago about her firing — Lam also said she was given just weeks to clear out of her office and was informed by Justice Department officials that her ouster was "coming from the very highest levels of the government." And, she said, Washington wanted her to pretend (... "lie for us...") as though it was her decision to leave office. When Michael A. Battle, then a Justice Department supervisor for U.S. attorneys, called her in December to tell her she was being terminated, she said, "He advised me to simply say publicly that I had decided to pursue other opportunities." (..doesn't that "advice" constitute the hub of a conspiracy?)
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-testimony3may03,0,5926250.story?track=ntothtml

Goodling gets "warned"
The Justice Department said Wednesday that it had launched an internal probe into whether a chief figure in the U.S. attorneys affair had violated policy — and possibly federal law — by injecting party politics into the selection of career prosecutors. The investigation of Monica M. Goodling, once the Justice Department's White House liaison, widens the probe (...is Rove at the end of all these probes???) into allegations of partisan hiring and firing at the agency and complicates the Bush administration's efforts to weather the scandal. (...so how do they weather an F-6 political perfect storm?)
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-usattys3may03,0,6205687.story?track=ntothtml

IRS RECORDS HINT AT BUSH ADMINISTRATION'S SYSTEMIC PROTECTION FOR OFFSHORE OUTSOURCERS (how many small business will be audited this year?) The Internal Revenue Service is curtailing audits of many people who use offshore tax havens, even when agents see signs of tax evasion, because agents fear they cannot meet a three-year deadline for finishing an examination, Congressional investigators have found. In a report to be released on Thursday, the Government Accountability Office found that I.R.S. agents are so hobbled by “dilatory tactics” by offshore taxpayers and other problems that it takes almost two and a half years to complete a typical audit. Many I.R.S. agents told the G.A.O., the investigative arm of Congress, that the “safest way” was often to stop an audit prematurely and sometimes to refrain from starting one in the first place. The I.R.S. reported that almost $300 billion in investment and business income was moved out of the United States in 2003. (UNDER COVER OF WAR!!!) Analysts at the Joint Committee on Taxation have estimated that the annual outflow has shot to more than $400 billion since then. (...anyone else interested in how this all relates to "The New World Order"???) http://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/03/business/03tax.html?th&emc=th

WOLFOWITZ GAL-PAL SCANDAL COMING TO A HEAD
Members of a World Bank board committee investigating the conduct of Paul D. Wolfowitz, the bank president, are leaning toward finding that he violated the institution’s rules against conflicts of interest when he arranged a pay raise and promotion for his companion, bank officials said Wednesday. A conclusion that Mr. Wolfowitz broke the bank rules and the terms of his own contract, which bars conflicts of interest, would be likely to increase the pressure on him to resign despite his vow not to do so in the face of such charges.
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/03/washington/03wolfowitz.html?th&emc=th

THE ENVIRONMENT
Southern California air regulators cannot require railroads to shut down idling locomotives or obey other local laws designed to clean up deadly diesel pollution, a federal judge ruled this week. The decision invalidates action taken last year by the South Coast Air Quality Management District to reduce a major source of air pollution in the Southland. Locomotives are responsible for more than 32 tons per day of pollutants, an amount equal to that produced by 1.4 million cars, according to figures compiled by state and regional agencies. The state air board estimates that 5,400 premature deaths annually in Southern California can be linked to air pollution, and studies have found that the sooty particulates put out by trains are particularly harmful... Two railroads and a trade group filed suit, saying that under special exemptions passed by Congress more than a century ago, (...time to revisit some of these exemptions?) they do not have to abide by local laws that could interfere with interstate commerce.
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-rail3may03,0,7418155.story?track=ntothtml

At the Habersham Gardens nursery, (in Atlanta) where well-heeled homeowners choose their spring seedlings, a spiky-leafed, sultry coastal oleander has been thriving in a giant urn. “We never expected it to come back every year,” said Cheryl Aldrich, the assistant manager, guiding a visitor on a tour of plants that would once have needed coddling to survive here: eucalyptus, angel trumpets, the Froot Loop-hued Miss Huff lantana. “We’ve been able to overwinter plants you didn’t have a prayer with before.” (you won't see Glenn Beck reporting this news...)
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/03/science/03flowers.html?th&emc=th

Healthcare

The Food and Drug Administration ordered drug makers yesterday to add warnings to antidepressant medications, saying the drugs increase the risk of suicidal thinking or behavior in some young adults. (..ever wonder if the political climate over the past few years has contributed to this endemic suicidal depression??) The drugs' labels, which have included similar warnings for adolescents and children since 2005, will apply to people under 25. The expanded warnings, which will appear in a black-ruled box displayed prominently on the prescribing information... http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2007/05/03/drug_makers_to_widen_suicide_risk_warning/

Tuesday Morning News

Red text is the "real" story buried in the news.
Blue text is my own commentary.
Violet text is the blog quote of the day.

BUSH WARS
The deaths of more than 100 American troops in April made it the deadliest month so far this year for U.S. forces in Iraq, underscoring the growing exposure of Americans as thousands of reinforcements arrive for an 11-week-old offensive to tame sectarian violence.
More than 60 Iraqis also were killed or found dead across Iraq on Monday. Casualties among Iraqi civilians and security forces have outstripped those of Americans throughout the war. In March, a total of 2,762 Iraqi civilians and policemen were killed, down 4 percent from the previous month, when 2,864 were killed. Iraq's government has yet to release any monthly totals for April. (...and they aren't going to release them anymore, it seems, can't imagine why...)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/04/30/AR2007043001929.html?referrer=email

The largest bloc of Sunni Arabs in the Iraqi Parliament threatened to withdraw its ministers from the Shiite-dominated cabinet on Monday in frustration over the government’s failure to deal with Sunni concerns. The bloc, known as the Iraqi Consensus Front and made up of three Sunni Arab parties, “has lost hope in rectifying the situation despite all of its sincere and serious efforts to do so,” the statement said. If the Sunni group followed through on its threat, it would further weaken a government already damaged by the pullout two weeks ago of six cabinet ministers aligned with the renegade Shiite cleric Moktada al-Sadr and further erode American efforts to promote reconciliation between Sunnis and Shiites. (...1400 years of vendetta, and the U.S. is going to step in and fix it??? RIIIIGHTTT. Try food instead of guns, feed em', don't fight em', maybe they will begin to trust us as an honest broker, not an international oil thief...)
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/01/world/middleeast/01iraq.html?_r=1&th&emc=th&oref=slogin

Brushing aside White House opposition, Republican leaders in Congress said yesterday that negotiations on a second war spending bill should begin with benchmarks of success (how about our own contractors accounting for all that wasted reconstruction money) for the Iraqi government, and possible consequences if those benchmarks are not met. Democratic leaders will send a $124 billion war funding bill to President Bush today that would establish such benchmarks and tie them to troop withdrawals, which would begin as early as July 1 if they are not met. The bill will arrive at the White House on the fourth anniversary of Bush's speech aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln, when he declared an end to major combat operations in Iraq before a banner that proclaimed "Mission Accomplished."
(..how ironically appropriate...)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/04/30/AR2007043001527.html?referrer=email

"A new study ordered by the Pentagon warns that the rising cost and dwindling supply of oil -- the lifeblood of fighter jets, warships, and tanks -- will make the US military's ability to respond to hot spots around the world "unsustainable in the long term." The study, produced by a defense consulting firm, concludes that all four branches of the military must "fundamentally transform" their assumptions about energy, including taking immediate steps toward fielding weapons systems and aircraft that run on alternative and renewable fuels."
http://www.boston.com/news/nation/washington/articles/2007/05/01/pentagon_study_says_oil_reliance_strains_military/

VOTER FRAUD FRAUD
A GOP-majority committee split along party lines to send the Senate a substitute version of the House-approved measure requiring voters to prove their identity before casting ballots. Sen. Troy Fraser, R-Horseshoe Bay, tweaked the House-approved proposal by not exempting any voters from the identification requirement. ...Proponents, including the Republican Party of Texas, say it’s necessary to reduce chances of voter fraud....Opponents, including the Texas Democratic Party, say the changes attack a problem (voter impersonation) that doesn’t exist. They also say the mandate will serve mainly to drive down turnout of minorities, the elderly and the young.
(...Kansas' Republican controlled legislature is doing the same thing, the Red States are getting more desperate every day trying to prevent their "redness" from turning purple or blue...)
http://www.statesman.com/blogs/content/shared-gen/blogs/austin/legislature/index.html

DOJ SCANDAL
SYSTEMIC FEDERAL POLITICIZATION UNDER INTERNAL SCRUTINY
Don't miss this editorial, it really goes to the core of the DOJ scandal, and why Bush kkeps giving Gone-Zo the vote of confidence...!!!
"NO MATTER how many members of Congress lose confidence in Atty. Gen. Alberto R. Gonzales, President Bush is unlikely to let him go. If Gonzales resigns, the vacancy must be filled by a new presidential nominee, and the last thing the White House wants is a confirmation hearing. All this is reminiscent of the Watergate scandal. In 1973, as the coverup was unraveling, the Senate imposed a condition on the confirmation of President Nixon's nominee for attorney general, Elliot Richardson. Richardson's predecessor had resigned because of Watergate troubles. Concerned that the Justice Department would not get at the truth, the Senate insisted that Richardson would name a special prosecutor to investigate Watergate. Richardson duly appointed Archibald Cox. The rest is history. Cox's aggressive investigations led to the prosecution of top administration officials and the naming of Nixon as an unindicted co-conspirator in the coverup. When Cox sought White House tapes of Nixon's conversations with his staff, the president had him fired, unleashing a firestorm of protests. Americans demanded that a previously reluctant Congress start impeachment proceedings against Nixon. Congress complied; the House Judiciary Committee, of which I was a member, voted for impeachment, and Nixon resigned. Aspects of this history could easily repeat themselves. The Senate could demand, as it did in 1973, that a new attorney general appoint a special prosecutor, (...sounds like a plan...) and this could again have dire consequences for the White House."
http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/la-oe-holtzman1may01,0,3365495.story?track=ntothtml

A true US Attorneys/Abramoff link uncovered...
(Thanx to emptywheel at "The Next Hurrah" for this link to MPW at "Wampum")
...And boy, is it a doozy!
"The discussion has continued over at Marcy's place, spurred on by this excellent post documenting recent changes in the make-up of the Native American Issues Subcommittee at the DoJ. Of particularly interesting note, the 2006 appointment of Colorado USA, Troy Eid. Seems that Eid was a 2003 hire of Greenberg Traurig in their Denver office. While Eid tried to whitewash his involvement in the firm at the same time as Abramoff's tenure, such claims turn out to be patently false. First, from the Denver Post upon Eid's appointment: Eid, a shareholder at the law firm of Greenberg Traurig, practices land use and environmental law, federal Indian law, American Indian tribal law, business negotiations and public law. Jack Abramoff, the Washington lobbyist who recently pleaded guilty to bribery, mail fraud and other charges, previously worked at Greenberg Traurig. Eid and Abramoff both worked in divisions that represented American Indian tribes. But Eid has said he joined Greenberg Traurig in 2003, about the time Abramoff was being fired. However, not only did Eid and Abramoff overlap in 2003-2004 (Abramoff wasn't fired until March, 2004), Eid was directly involved in at least two clients handled by "Team Abramoff". (...triple snark; Bush doesn't remember knowing Jack, either...)
http://wampum.wabanaki.net/vault/2007/05/003621.html

So, is Bloch the next Archie Cox,
OR IS HE JUST RUNNING COVER?
At first glance, Scott J. Bloch seems to fit the profile of the "loyal Bushie," the kind of person the White House salted through the Washington bureaucracy to make sure federal agencies heeded administration priorities. But Bloch, 48, is a man who defies expectations. The lifelong Republican runs an agency — the Office of Special Counsel — that is turning its investigative spotlight on the White House, in particular the political operation headed by Karl Rove. His office is investigating whether Bush administration personnel violated civil statutes by inserting GOP electoral politics into Cabinet agency meetings, firing at least one U.S. attorney, and discussing some of the activities in private e-mails that are missing...Bloch says he felt compelled to initiate the broad investigation after reviewing results from two seemingly separate inquiries. The first was a preliminary interview with the fired U.S. attorney from New Mexico, David C. Iglesias, who said, among other things, that his termination might have resulted from his failure to swiftly pursue a corruption case against Democrats.The second involved a PowerPoint presentation highlighting upcoming battleground election races that a Rove aide, J. Scott Jennings, made at the General Services Administration this year.
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-bloch1may01,0,2406788.story?track=ntothtml

And this from Murray Wass at The National Journal,
Waas is really covering this DOJ scandal from the roots up, he broke the story yesterday about Gone-Zo's secret deal giving sweeping hire-and-fire powers to young, inexperienced, and hostile partisan politicos at the DOJ...
"Shortly before Attorney General Alberto Gonzales advised President Bush last year on whether to shut down a Justice Department inquiry regarding the administration's warrantless domestic eavesdropping program, Gonzales learned that his own conduct would likely be a focus of the investigation, according to government records and interviews. Bush personally intervened to sideline the Justice Department probe in April 2006 by taking the unusual step of denying investigators the security clearances necessary for their work."
http://news.nationaljournal.com/articles/0315nj1.htm


ANOTHER TOP DOJ "OUT-OF-THE-LOOPER"
ADMITS ONLY IGNORANCE
Deputy Attorney General Paul J. McNulty told congressional investigators that he had limited involvement in the firing last year of eight U.S. attorneys and that he did not choose any to be removed, congressional aides familiar with his statements said yesterday. McNulty said he provided erroneous testimony to Congress in February because he had not been informed that Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales and his aides had been working with the White House on the firings for nearly two years, the congressional aides said.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/04/30/AR2007043001526.html?referrer=email&referrer=email&referrer=email

"CHILDREN" IN CHARGE OF THE DOJ PERSONNEL DECISIONS
In a previously undisclosed move, Gonzales approved an order in March 2006 that delegated to his chief of staff and the department's White House liaison broad authority over 135 department positions designated for political appointees, a copy of the order obtained by The Times shows. Their authority did not cover high-level positions that required Senate confirmation, such as the 93 U.S. attorneys. (that might be somewhat inaccurate, it seems as if these two had quite a hand even in that highest-level hiring process, especially Griffin's appointment in Arkansas) Gonzales' chief of staff at the time was D. Kyle Sampson, who resigned in March after it became known that he was the point man on the controversial firing of eight U.S. attorneys last year. Not long after the order was signed, the position of White House liaison was filled by Monica M. Goodling, a former Justice Department public affairs officer. She recently resigned because of disclosures about her role in the firings. Some Democrats on Capitol Hill, where two committees are investigating allegations of improper political interference at the Justice Department, said they were troubled by the disclosure and how Sampson and Goodling might have exercised their powers. (apparently they did it with a neoconic iron hand...)
http://email.latimes.com/cgi-bin1/DM/y/hBOJ40RvPwf0G2B0IXxq0E3

85 US-A CO-CONSPIRATORS? (also see this previous post)
When a jury acquitted Carl J. Marlinga, a former county prosecutor from suburban Detroit, of bribery charges last year, his initial reaction was to write off the episode as a terrible mistake that at least had been corrected. “Prosecutors can make mistakes for innocent reasons,” Mr. Marlinga said. “I know that first hand.” But as he looks back at the case, Mr. Marlinga, 60, who was charged while he was a Democratic candidate for Congress, no longer has such confidence in the integrity of the legal system. “Was there some extra pressure on the United States attorney’s office, whether articulated or tacitly understood, by their superiors in Washington who would not look favorably upon the office if this case was not pursued?” he asked. “I have to wonder.” That kind of second guessing has surfaced with increasing frequency in recent weeks in states including Alabama, Maryland, Michigan, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. Since the dismissals of eight United States attorneys, local lawyers, politicians, editorial writers, members of Congress and defendants are questioning what they say is a pattern of investigating Democrats. They point to inquiries that drag on for years but end with no charges, an acquittal or convictions for relatively modest infractions.
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/01/washington/01corrupt.html?ei=5088&en=301d72e7b39b9fca&ex=1335672000&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss&pagewanted=all

WHICH BRINGS US TO THE BLOG QUOTE OF THE DAY
...and today is a first, I'm quoting myself in an older post...
85 US Attorneys as co-conspirators? from "Between the Lines" 3/18/2007
"Let me press the issue of the SURVIVING US-A's, if Iowa is any indicator, there is an ongoing conspiracy against Democrats, by Republican-planted US-A's, and it may have actually accelerated since this exposure of their colleagues questionable removal and replacements. Matt McCoy, the Democratic state senator from Des Moines' south side, is being persecuted in a classic case of entrapment, by the US-A that was appointed to that district. If there's a provable passel of politics in this process, wouldn't these US-A's themselves be subject to some serious scrutiny from Congress? One thing is for certain, it immediately opens the door for McCoy's defense attorney to demand charges be dropped. This political hackery makes our US-A's impotent."
http://jep-betweenthelines.blogspot.com/2007_03_01_archive.html

WOLFOWITZ REFUSES TO GO QUIETLY,
BRINGS HIGH-PAID GAL PAL TO COURT WITH HIM
Wolfowitz, an architect of the Iraq war as deputy U.S. Defense secretary from 2001 to 2005, appeared with his partner, Shaha Ali Riza, and his lawyer, Robert S. Bennett, before an investigative committee of the bank's board Monday to plead his case. The investigative panel met behind closed doors into the evening without resolving the issue. While the committee was meeting, Wolfowitz received an endorsement from President Bush, his former boss, (and Iraq War co-conspirator) but only a noncommittal statement from a key European official. ...Bush nominated Wolfowitz to the World Bank job in 2005. But the bank's board, whose 24 members come from 24 countries, will decide his future. The board includes Germany, whose chancellor, Angela Merkel, met Monday with Bush. Merkel, appearing with Bush, offered Wolfowitz no endorsement, saying only that the bank board's inquiry "should be a very transparent conversation." The Europeans, with whom the Iraq war has never been popular, are among Wolfowitz's most outspoken detractors on the bank's board. However, the board has never unseated a bank president, and bylaws apparently do not contemplate the possibility.
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-wolfowitz1may01,0,3103606.story?track=ntothtml

UNIONS TAKE ON BEHEMOTH WAL MART
In its first study of how an American company treats its workers, Human Rights Watch said Monday that Wal-Mart Stores Inc.'s aggressive efforts to keep out labor unions often violated federal law and infringed on workers' rights. The group said that when Wal-Mart stores faced efforts to unionize employees, the company often broke the law by eavesdropping on workers, training surveillance cameras on them and firing those who favored unions, among other actions. "While many American companies use weak U.S. laws to stop workers from organizing, the retail giant stands out for the sheer magnitude and aggressiveness of its anti-union apparatus," the group wrote. Wal-Mart has more than 1.3 million workers at almost 4,000 U.S. stores, and none belongs to a union. (.. the lowest wages, ALWAYS!..)
http://www.statesman.com/business/content/business/stories/other/05/01/1walmart.html


THE ENVIRONMENT
The Bush administration proposed on Monday leasing out millions of acres along the coasts of Alaska and Virginia to oil and gas drillers, a move that would end a longstanding ban on drilling in those environmentally sensitive areas. Both areas have been closed to new drilling for many years. The areas off Virginia are still covered by laws that prohibit new drilling in all areas along the Atlantic and Pacific seaboards. But Congress lifted the prohibition on Bristol Bay off Alaska in 2003, and President Bush lifted an executive order in January that had blocked drilling there through 2012. In the case of Virginia, administration officials are hoping to capitalize on interest in drilling expressed by the state legislature, which passed a bill last year asking the federal government to allow exploration for natural gas in waters 50 miles or farther from the state coastline. Both proposals are part of a broader five-year plan to open up 48 million acres along the outer continental shelf to oil and gas drilling. Unless Congress objects within 60 days, most of the five-year plan will go into effect, though resistance has been voiced. Starting this year, the Interior Department plans to offer leases on about 8.3 million acres in the central region of the Gulf of Mexico, which Congress specifically approved for offshore drilling late last year. (...before they leave, the neocons plan their final travesty...)
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/01/washington/01drill.html?th&emc=th

The United States and China want to amend a major report by U.N.-sponsored climate researchers to play down its conclusion that quick, affordable action can limit the worst effects of global warming, according to documents reviewed Monday by The Associated Press. The critiques, among hundreds of government comments on the draft, are the prelude to what is expected to be a contentious weeklong meeting as scientists and national delegations wrangle over final wording (to spin the truth) in the report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, to be issued Friday.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/313789_climate01.html

TUESDAY'S NEWS

Red text is the "real" headline in these stories and articles.
Blue text is my own personal commentary.
Violet text is the blog quote of the day.

AFRICA'S ONGOING CULTURAL TRAGEDY
AT THE END of last year, a slender opportunity opened to stabilize Somalia, a failed state in the Horn of Africa that has become a haven for members of al-Qaeda and for other Islamic extremists. With the assistance of U.S. Special Forces, troops from neighboring Ethiopia launched an offensive that overturned the Taliban-style Islamist government that had controlled the capital, Mogadishu, and much of the southern half of the country. A transitional government backed by the United Nations took over, while diplomats scrambled to arrange for an African peacekeeping force to replace the Ethiopians. Many of the extremists scattered; some were reportedly killed in U.S. airstrikes while others were captured at the Kenyan border. Three months later, the opportunity may have been lost. Heavy fighting erupted in Mogadishu late last month, with regrouped Islamists and their allies arrayed against Ethiopian forces, which have failed to withdraw. Hundreds were killed and thousands were added to the approximately 100,000 refugees from Mogadishu recorded by the United Nations since the beginning of the year. The al-Qaeda leader in Somalia is reportedly back in Mogadishu, as is one of the senior commanders of the former Islamic government. Only 1,200 of the 8,000 planned peacekeepers have arrived, and they are dedicated mostly to guarding the airport and seaport. Once again, anarchy threatens to overtake a country that has not had a stable government since 1991. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/04/09/AR2007040901103.html?referrer=email

DEMOCRATS IMPROVE PUBLIC FAITH IN CONGRESS
Public approval for Congress is at its highest level in a year as Democrats mark 100 days in power and step up their confrontation with President Bush over his handling of the Iraq War, the issue that overshadows all others. Yet for all their eagerness to challenge Bush, congressional Democrats so far have failed to attract significant support among independents, a group that helped propel them to power in last fall's elections and now appears more strongly opposed to the war than the general public.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/1153AP_Congress_100_Days.html

NO MORE EASY CORPORATE-SPONSORED BALLOT INITIATIVES IN IOWA?!?!
There will be more sunshine on political groups that try to persuade Iowans to vote yes or no on ballot issues such school bonds or a one-cent sales tax.Instead of filing just one disclosure report a year, political committees who do activities such as advertisements, yard signs or pamphlets that expressly advocate for a public measure will now have to file as many as five reports revealing who their contributors are and where they spent their money.The ballot issue campaigns have become increasingly sophisticated and expensive, officials said. Senate File 351 was approved today by the Iowa House; it previously passed the Iowa Senate. It now goes to the governor for his signature.
http://desmoinesregister.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070410/NEWS/70410018/1001/NLETTER01

MEDIA, THE BLOGS, AND THE INTERNET
WHY THE MEDIA FAILED IN THE RUN-UP TO THE WAR IN IRAQ
It's no secret that the period of time between 9/11 and the invasion of Iraq represents one of the greatest collapses in the history of the American media. Every branch of the media failed, from daily newspapers, magazines and Web sites to television networks, cable channels and radio. I'm not going to go into chapter and verse about the media's specific failures, its credulousness about aluminum tubes and mushroom clouds and failure to make clear that Saddam Hussein had nothing to do with 9/11 -- they're too well known to repeat. In any case, the real failing was not in any one area; it was across the board. Bush administration lies and distortions went unchallenged, or were actively promoted. Fundamental and problematic assumptions about terrorism and the "war on terror" were rarely debated or even discussed. Vital historical context was almost never provided. And it wasn't just a failure of analysis. With some honorable exceptions, good old-fashioned reporting was also absent. But perhaps the press's most notable failure was its inability to determine just why this disastrous war was ever launched.
http://www.salon.com/opinion/kamiya/2007/04/10/media_failure/

Seven candidates for the 2008 Democratic Party nomination will take part tonight in a live "virtual town hall" forum about the Iraq war, in what is being billed as the largest and most ambitious experiment yet in harnessing the power of Internet technology to reshape participatory democracy. http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2007/04/10/campaigning_gets_a_new_web_version/

BUSH ABUSES RECESS APPOINTMENT SYSTEM, EXECUTIVE PRIVELEGE
IN ELEMENTARY school, recess is a time for fun and games. The same is true, unfortunately, in the nation's capital. President Bush last week took advantage of a Senate recess to appoint three controversial figures to positions — including a major ambassadorship — that ordinarily require confirmation. In the spirit of the playground, Vice President Dick Cheney yukked it up with talk show host Rush Limbaugh about how the administration had gone around the Democratic-controlled Senate, which returned this week. "You go on vacation, this is what happens to you," joked Limbaugh. "If you're a Democrat," Cheney replied. (laugh while you can, Monkey-Boys) http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/editorials/la-ed-recess10apr10,0,3578392.story?track=ntothtml

In the summer of 1974, Richard Nixon bet his presidency on the doctrine of executive privilege, and lost. Nixon’s lawyer, James St. Clair, argued to the Supreme Court that he did not have to give a special prosecutor the Watergate tape recordings of Nixon talking with various advisers. But in the oral argument, the justices were skeptical. Lewis Powell, the courtly Virginian, asked: “Mr. St. Clair, what public interest is there in preserving secrecy with respect to a criminal conspiracy?” Justice Powell’s question cut through Nixon’s central claim: that executive privilege gives presidents an absolute right to keep their communications secret. Barely two weeks after the oral argument, the court unanimously ordered Nixon to turn over the tapes.
Three decades later, the Bush administration is threatening to invoke executive privilege to hobble Congress’s investigation into the purge of United States attorneys. President Bush has said that Karl Rove, his closest adviser, and Harriet Miers, his former White House counsel, among others, do not have to comply with Congressional subpoenas because “the president relies upon his staff to give him candid advice.” This may well end up in a constitutional showdown. If it does, there is no question about which side should prevail. Congress has a right, and an obligation, to examine all of the evidence, which increasingly suggests that the Bush administration fired eight or more federal prosecutors either because they were investigating Republicans, or refusing to bring baseless charges against Democrats.
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/10/opinion/10tue4.html?th&emc=th

The Bush administration and the Defense Department are among the winners of the 2007 Jefferson Muzzle awards, given Tuesday by a free-speech group to those it considers the most egregious First Amendment violators in the past year. The Bush administration appears on the list, compiled by the Thomas Jefferson Center for the Protection of Free Expression, for its efforts to discourage, modify and sometimes censor government scientists' reports and studies to be more in line with the administration's political policies, notably on global warming, the center said. http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/1110AP_Muzzle_Awards.html

DOJ APPOINTMENTS, THE SCANDAL THAT JUST KEEPS ON GIVING
A federal appeals court last week slapped down a controversial fraud conviction with a swift, blunt decisiveness almost never seen in the legal system. The ruling struck a blow to the credibility of the Milwaukee-based federal prosecutor who brought the case, and to other investigations related to campaign fundraising by Democratic Gov. Jim Doyle, said former prosecutors and other legal experts. The investigations have not led to any charges against Doyle or his aides. The federal prosecutor, who was appointed by President Bush, and the state attorney general, a Republican, say they are continuing their probes. But the appeals court has sent a very clear message that prosecutors will need to bring much stronger cases if they expect charges to stick, experts said. A federal spokeswoman acknowledged that the appeals court's forthcoming written decision may affect the handling of the other investigations. The three-judge panel of the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Chicago on Thursday overturned a jury's conviction of state purchasing agent Georgia Thompson on charges that she illegally steered a state travel contract to a company whose officials donated to Doyle. Former U.S. Attorney Frank Tuerkheimer said the case stood alone in his more than four decades in criminal law. The ruling was highly unusual, the UW-Madison law professor said, both for the way the judges ordered Thompson released from a federal prison and for the speed with which they did it. "I can't think of any case where an appellate court after hearing oral arguments ordered the release of a person who's confined" the same day, said Tuerkheimer, who was a U.S. attorney under Democratic President Carter. A written decision, which will explain the judges' reasoning, has not yet been issued, but their statements during Thursday's hearing suggest they felt the case against Thompson was threadbare at best. http://www.madison.com/wsj/home/local/index.php?ntid=128460&ntpid=2

Following the rules of succession at the Justice Department, according to the letter from Assistant Attorney General Richard Hertling, the guy in charge of all that is Solicitor General Paul Clement. So who is Clement? Since 2005, as Solicitor General, he's been the administration's face before the Supreme Court. Legal Times profiled him earlier this year. Can you guess which Supreme Court justice he used to work for?
http://www.tpmmuckraker.com/

Members of the Senate Judiciary Committee, indicating they think there is more to learn about the firings of eight federal prosecutors last year, asked Atty. Gen. Alberto R. Gonzales on Monday to turn over additional documents on the terminations and threatened to issue subpoenas if the materials were not forthcoming.Specifically, the four senators want the internal rankings that the Justice Department made of all 93 U.S. attorneys over the years, as well as employment charts that Monica M. Goodling, a top aide to Gonzales, provided to Justice officials as they decided which prosecutors to fire. http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-usattys10apr10,0,6662017.story?track=ntothtml

A half-dozen sitting U.S. attorneys also serve as aides to Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales or are assigned other Washington postings, performing tasks that take them away from regular duties in their districts for months or even years at a time, according to officials and department records. Acting Associate Attorney General William W. Mercer, for example, has been effectively absent from his job as U.S. attorney in Montana for nearly two years -- prompting the chief federal judge in Billings to demand his removal and call Mercer's office "a mess."
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/04/09/AR2007040901227.html?referrer=email

THE BUSH WARS
BLOG QUOTE OF THE DAY From Larry Johnson's blog, "No Quarter"
"In fact, if imitation is the most sincere type of flattery, then we clearly have a thing for 'Baghdad Bob.' My God! General Caldwell and John McCain are emulating his crazy pronouncements. Even today McCain continues to insist that the media is steering the American people wrong when it comes to assessing progress in Iraq. Bob blamed Al-Jazeera and so does McCain and Bush and Cheney. Sound familiar? Insisting that things are improving and life returning to normal? If you call 20,000+ people marching in the streets, burning our flag, and calling for U.S. troops to leave Iraq "normal," then yes, things are returning to normal. How much more normal can we endure?" http://noquarter.typepad.com/my_weblog/2007/04/colonel_boylan_.html#more

A woman with explosives hidden beneath her black abaya detonated them Tuesday in a crowd of about 200 police recruits northeast of Baghdad, killing at least 16 people, police and hospital officials said. The woman walked into the crowd at the main gate of the Muqdadiyah police station and blew herself up, according to a police officer at the scene who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media. At least 16 people were killed and 33 wounded in the mostly Sunni Muslim city about 60 miles northeast of Baghdad, said Dr. Abdul Salam al-Jibour at Muqdadiyah General Hospital. Meanwhile, U.S. and Iraqi army forces were engaged in fierce fighting with gunmen in two Sunni-dominated neighborhoods of the capital, Fadhil and Sheik Omar, police and witnesses said.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/huff-wires/20070410/iraq

The Pentagon will send four National Guard brigades to Iraq and may extend the tours of five active-duty Army brigades by as much as four months as it strains to find troops to sustain the buildup in Baghdad through the end of the year.http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-guard10apr10,0,7610558.story?track=ntothtml

Torching American flags and demanding that U.S. troops leave Iraq, followers of radical Shiite cleric Muqtada Sadr gathered by the thousands Monday for a protest that marked the fourth anniversary of Saddam Hussein's fall from power. Shiite Muslims flocked to the shrine city of Najaf in a peaceful show of solidarity with Sadr, whose grass-roots movement has been squeezed by U.S. and Iraqi forces since the start of the Baghdad security plan two months ago. http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-protest10apr10,0,4056731.story?track=ntothtml

The Taliban on Monday threatened to kill four Afghan medical personnel and their driver unless the government releases two Taliban commanders, seeking a deal similar to the swap that won an Italian journalist's freedom last month. The threat came a day after the hard-line militia beheaded Ajmal Naqshbandi, an Afghan interpreter seized March 5 along with journalist Daniele Mastrogiacomo of the Rome-based La Repubblica newspaper. Authorities had refused an exchange to secure Naqshbandi's release, the Taliban said. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/04/09/AR2007040901044.html?referrer=email

WAXMAN DEMANDS ANSWERS FROM RICE ON PRE-WAR INTELLIGENCE
Waxman wants Rice to answer questions about what she knew about the assertion that Iraq tried to buy uranium before the U.S. invasion, according to a letter the chairman sent Rice on Monday.The claims, which have since been proved false, were the basis for a now notorious line in President Bush’s State of the Union in 2003 address to justify the invasion of Iraq. That claim eventually led to the outing of Valerie Plame, a covert CIA agent, who has already testified before Waxman’s committee. (thanx to the Huffington Post for this link) http://www.politico.com/blogs/thecrypt/0407/Waxman_Still_Wants_Rice_To_Answer_Question_On_Niger_Uranium_Claims.html

GOP's NEW "INSIDER" SCANDAL; STUDENT-LOAN BOOK-COOKERS
AFTER 15 YEARS of reporting on the student-loan industry, I didn't think much could surprise me. But even I was shocked last week when I discovered Securities and Exchange Commission documents revealing that financial aid directors at three prominent universities — as well as a senior official at the U.S. Education Department — each had significant personal investments in a private student-loan company When it came to power, the Bush administration — with its reverence for the private sector — rewarded loan industry officials and lobbyists with prominent positions throughout the Education Department. Meanwhile, lenders such as Sallie Mae have showered Republican congressional leaders with hundreds of thousands of dollars in contributions each campaign cycle. "Know that I have all of you in my two trusted hands," Rep. John A. Boehner (R-Ohio), a top recipient of that campaign cash, once famously told a gathering of student-loan providers...
http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/la-oe-burd10apr10,0,1732640.story?track=ntothtml

The founders of Student Loan Xpress had an explicit plan for corralling a bigger share of the lucrative student loan business: “market to the financial aid offices of schools.” the company says it is the eighth-largest player in student lending — and it found many ways to court university financial aid directors. It put them on a company advisory board, paid at least two as consultants and sold stock in the venture to others, investigators and university officials say. Yesterday aides to Attorney General Andrew M. Cuomo of New York provided new details, saying financial aid officers at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore and Capella University, an online for-profit institution, had served as paid consultants to the lending company.
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/10/education/10loan.html?_r=1&th&emc=th&oref=slogin

THE ENVIRONMENT
Officials in the Fish and Wildlife Service of the Interior Department appear to believe that the time has come to reclassify the Florida manatee to “threatened” from “endangered.” That “downlisting” would give the manatee — the vulnerable, slow-moving sea cow, which is an environmental icon in Florida — a lower level of protection from its principal enemies, including boats and developers. http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/10/opinion/10tue3.html?th&emc=th

There's a growing interest in turning lawns and landscapes into pesticide-free, food-yielding gardens. More urban residents are seeing the potential for growing their own fruit and vegetables, but many don't know how to dig in."We've seen that growth (in gardening interest) and added so many more programs recently," said Kathy Dang, a teacher at Seattle Tilth, an organic gardening non-profit group founded in 1978. http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/310831_urbangarden09.html?source=mypi