Free Internet Press Newsletter - Tuesday April 10 2007 - (813)

Tuesday April 10 2007 edition
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U.S. Troops Weary Of Sadr's Mahdi Militia 2007-04-10 02:00:54 No, there have been no problems, the police commander was telling the armor-laden American soldiers squeezed into his office in the vast Shiite enclave of Sadr City. Except, he said, for the text-messaged death threats he often received from militia members. Suddenly the meeting was interrupted by a loud mortar blast, followed by another explosion. A third, thunderous boom rattled the room, sending ripples through the yellow curtains and bringing the U.S. soldiers to their feet. The soldiers later learned the target was a nearby outpost they had recently established with Iraqi security forces on the edge of Sadr City. The third explosion was a car bomb that upended a blast barrier and punched three neat holes through a concrete wall 50 yards away. The holes, the soldiers said, were telling: The bomb was one of the potent projectile-emitting weapons that the U.S. military says Iran provides to Shiite militias in Iraq. And in Sadr City, militia means one thing: Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr's formidable Mahdi Army. Read The Full Story 13,000 U.S. National Guard Troops Told They May Go To Iraq 2007-04-09 17:18:46 Some 13,000 U.S. National Guard troops are receiving notice to prepare for possible deployment to Iraq, which would be the second tour for several thousand of them. The orders had been anticipated, but the specific units were not announced until Monday. They are the Army National Guard's 39th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, based in Little Rock, Arkansas; 45th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, Oklahoma City; the 76th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, Indianapolis, Indiana; and the 37th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, Columbus, Ohio. The units would serve as replacement forces in the regular troop rotation for the war, and would not be connected to the recent military buildup for security operations in Baghdad, said the Pentagon. One unit would deploy in December and the others in 2008, said the Army. Read The Full Story British Military Banned From Selling Stories 2007-04-09 17:18:07 British military personnel have been banned from selling their stories to the media, Britain's Defense Secretary, Des Browne, announced Monday night, amid a growing row over the returned captives from Iran. He said the Royal Navy had faced a "very tough call" over its decision to allow the sailors among the 15 hostages to take payments in return for their accounts - the first of which were published Monday; but he said everyone concerned recognized it had "not reached a satisfactory outcome" and lessons must be learned from a review of procedures ordered by the Ministry of Defense. "I want to be sure those charged with these difficult decisions have clear guidance for the future," he said in his first comment on the controversy. "Until that time, no further service personnel will be allowed to talk to the media about their experiences in return for payment." Read The Full Story 1 Killed, 2 Wounded In Shooting In Michigan Office 2007-04-09 17:15:25 One person was killed and two were wounded Monday by a former employee of an accounting firm in Troy, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit. Police reported that they had stopped a suspect by mid-afternoon in Genesee County, about 45 miles north of Troy. Police officials, in a televised interview, said the shooter had a long gun, rather than a pistol, and apparently had selected targets, rather than firing randomly. They said the shooter entered a modern office building and headed to the second floor, where the accounting firm has its offices, and opened fire there. Genesee County Sheriff Robert J. Pickell said the police had found a 12-gauge pump-action shotgun with live shells still in it. Read The Full Story Imus Fights For Job In Wake Of Insults 2007-04-09 17:14:55 After a career of cranky insults, radio star Don Imus was fighting for his job Monday following one joke that by his own admission went "way too far". Two of the nation's biggest media companies - CBS Corp. and NBC Universal - will ultimately decide the fate of Imus' daily program after he referred last week to members of the Rutgers women's basketball team as "nappy-headed hos". Imus continued to apologize Monday, both on his show and on a syndicated radio program hosted by the Rev. Al Sharpton, who is among several black leaders demanding his ouster. Imus could be in real danger if the outcry causes advertisers to shy away from him, said Tom Taylor, editor of the trade publication Inside Radio. Read The Full Story Ahmadinejad: Iran Can Enrich Uranium 'On An Industrial Scale' 2007-04-09 13:09:52 Iran announced Monday that it has begun enriching uranium with 3,000 centrifuges, defiantly expanding a nuclear program that has drawn U.N. sanctions and condemnation from the West. President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said at a ceremony at the enrichment facility at Natanz that Iran was now capable of enriching nuclear fuel "on an industrial scale." Asked if Iran has begun injecting uranium gas into 3,000 centrifuges for enrichment, top nuclear negotiator Ali Larijani replied, "Yes." He did not elaborate, but it was the first confirmation that Iran had installed the larger set of centrifuges after months of saying it intends to do so. Until now, Iran was only known to have 328 centrifuges operating. Uranium enrichment can produce fuel for a nuclear reactor or the material for a nuclear warhead. The United States and its allies accuse Iran of intending to produce weapons, a charge the country denies. Read The Full Story Imus Embarrassed By His Comments At Rutgers University 2007-04-09 13:09:04 After being criticized for his racially charged comments about the Rutgers University women's basketball team, radio host Don Imus said Monday that he's a good person who said a bad thing and will check his acid tongue. "Here's what I've learned: that you can't make fun of everybody, because some people don't deserve it," he said on his nationally syndicated radio show. "Because the climate on this program has been what it's been for 30 years doesn't mean it's going to be what it's been for the next five years or whatever because that has to change, and I understand that." Imus said he was "embarrassed" by the remarks, in which he referred to the mostly black team as "nappy-headed hos." He said he had made the comments in the course of "trying to be funny," but he was not trying to excuse them. "I'm not a bad person. I'm a good person, but I said a bad thing. But these young women deserve to know it was not said with malice," he said. Read The Full Story Britain's Defense Ministry Sees Grim Future Of Brain Chips, Revolution, EMP Weapons and Neutron Bombs 2007-04-09 01:33:08 Information chips implanted in the brain. Electromagnetic pulse weapons. The middle classes becoming revolutionary, taking on the role of Marx's proletariat. The population of countries in the Middle East increasing by 132%, while Europe's drops as fertility falls. "Flashmobs" - groups rapidly mobilized by criminal gangs or terrorists groups. This is the world in 30 years' time envisaged by a British Ministry of Defense (MoD) team responsible for painting a picture of the "future strategic context" likely to face Britain's armed forces. It includes an "analysis of the key risks and shocks". Rear Admiral Chris Parry, head of the MoD's Development, Concepts & Doctrine Center which drew up the report, describes the assessments as "probability-based, rather than predictive". The 90-page report comments on widely discussed issues such as the growing economic importance of India and China, the militarization of space, and even what it calls "declining news quality" with the rise of "internet-enabled, citizen-journalists" and pressure to release stories "at the expense of facts". It includes other, some frightening, some reassuring, potential developments that are not so often discussed. New Weapons An electromagnetic pulse will probably become operational by 2035 able to destroy all communications systems in a selected area or be used against a "world city" such as an international business service hub. The development of neutron weapons which destroy living organs but not buildings "might make a weapon of choice for extreme ethnic cleansing in an increasingly populated world". The use of unmanned weapons platforms would enable the "application of lethal force without human intervention, raising consequential legal and ethical issues". The "explicit use" of chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear weapons and devices delivered by unmanned vehicles or missiles. Read The Full Story Iraqi Foreign Minister: Keep Your Quarrels Out Of Iraq Talks 2007-04-09 01:32:07 Iraq must not become a crucible for confrontation between the U.S. and its regional foes Iran and Syria, the foreign minister Hoshyar Zebari warned Sunday, adding that Iraq's security should be the "only issue on the agenda" of a major international conference aimed at finding ways to stabilize the strife-torn country. "We are saying keep your quarrels and fights away; we have enough on our plate," Zebari said in an interview with the Guardian. "We are getting caught in the middle and the tensions are affecting us immediately and directly." The foreign minister announced over the weekend that Iraq's neighbors, the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council and the G8 group of industrialized countries would meet in the Egyptian Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh on May 3 to discuss the security situation in Iraq. U.S. officials have said that Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice will attend. Read The Full Story Democrats Hope To Lead The Way On Tax Overhaul 2007-04-09 01:31:32 House Democratic leaders, in an effort to upstage Republicans on the issue of tax cuts, are preparing legislation that would permanently shield all but the very richest taxpayers from the alternative minimum tax, which is likely to affect tens of millions of families as early as next year if it is left unchanged. The effort, which lawmakers emphasize is still in its early stages, would exempt millions of people from the tax but would have to come up with a way to offset an enormous loss of revenue in the next decade. Measured in dollars, it would be far bigger than Democratic initiatives to provide money for children’s health care, education or any other spending program. The alternative minimum tax was created in 1969 to prevent millionaires from using loopholes to avoid all federal income taxes. Under it, affected taxpayers have to do a second tax calculation without claiming popular deductions like those for state and local taxes that they have come to rely on. It is akin to a flat tax of 26 to 28 percent. But the tax is expanding at a rapid pace, partly because it is not adjusted for inflation. It can hit people with incomes as low as $50,000 and if left unchecked is expected to affect 23 million households during the 2007 tax year - up from 3.4 million last year. Read The Full Story	6 U.S. Attorneys Moonlighting In Washington, D.C. 2007-04-10 02:00:38 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". Another U.S. attorney, Michael J. Sullivan, of Boston, Massachusetts, has been in Washington for the past six months as acting director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. He is awaiting confirmation to head the agency permanently while still juggling his responsibilities in Massachusetts. The number of U.S. attorneys pulling double duty in Washington is the focus of growing concern from other prosecutors and from members of the federal bench, according to legal experts and government officials. Read The Full Story U.S. To File Trade Cases Against China On Copyrighted Material 2007-04-09 17:18:33 The Bush administration announced Monday that it is filing two new trade cases against China to force the Asian giant to crack down on the distribution of pirated products and to drop barriers to the sale of American music, movies and books. The move marks the latest salvo in the administration's ongoing effort to make headway with China on difficult economic issues and to defuse mounting political pressure on Capitol Hill to reverse record trade deficits that, Democrats argue, cost Americans thousands of jobs. U.S. Trade Representative Susan C. Schwab said the United States will file Tuesday with the World Trade Organization in Geneva, Switzerland, two requests for dispute consultation, the first step in legal proceedings before that body. Read The Full Story Pfizer's Celebrex Commercial Draws Criticism From Consumer Group 2007-04-09 17:15:47 A new television advertisement for Pfizer’s painkiller Celebrex that has attracted attention for both its length and innovative marketing approach is now also the target of criticism for its message. Public Citizen, a consumer group, asked the U.S. Food and Drug Administration Monday morning to ban the Celebrex television commercial, alleging that it gives consumers a false impression that the prescription drug has no more safety risk than some other painkillers. Celebrex is in the same class of drugs as the Merck pill Vioxx, which was withdrawn in 2004 because of its link to cardiovascular problems. At that time, the F.D.A. also asked Pfizer to suspend its television advertising for Celebrex. Dr. Sidney M. Wolfe, in his letter to the F.D.A. commissioner, Dr. Andrew C. von Eschenbach, said that the ad violated the law because it contained “false or misleading statements” that might lead consumers to underestimate the risks of Celebrex and use it instead of safer painkillers that are just as effective. Read The Full Story Naval Academy Midshipman Found Guilty Of Sexual Assault 2007-04-09 17:15:10 A Naval Academy midshipman was found guilty Monday of sexually assaulting a fellow student at a hotel last year, a verdict that could lead to prison time and his dismissal from the Annapolis military school. After three hours of deliberation, a jury of seven Navy and Marine Corps officers convicted Kenny Ray Morrison of forcing himself on a female midshipman in February 2006 after a night of drinking. He was also convicted of conduct unbecoming an officer and a gentleman. He was cleared on charges that he had sex with another midshipman against her will in April 2006. Read The Full Story Iraqis Protest U.S. Occupation Of Their Country 2007-04-09 13:10:07 Large crowds marched in the city of Najaf today, the fourth anniversary of the fall of Baghdad, to protest the American occupation of Iraq.  The peaceful demonstration was being held at the urging of militant Shiite cleric Moktada al-Sadr. He exhorted Iraqi security forces on Sunday to unite with his militiamen against the American military in Diwaniya, an embattled southern city in Iraq where fighting has raged for four days. Sadr’s statement did not explicitly call for armed struggle against the Americans, but it still represented his most forceful condemnation of the American-led occupation since he went underground after the start of an intensified Baghdad security crackdown nearly two months ago. Read The Full Story Editorial: Another Layer Of Scandal 2007-04-09 13:09:27 Intellpuke: The following editorial appears in the New York Times edition for Monday, April 9, 2007. I found it well worth the read. The editorial follows: As Congress investigates the politicization of the United States attorney offices by the Bush administration, it should review the extraordinary events the other day in a federal courtroom in Wisconsin. The case involved Georgia Thompson, a state employee sent to prison on the flimsiest of corruption charges just as her boss, a Democrat, was fighting off a Republican challenger. It just might shed some light on a question that lurks behind the firing of eight top federal prosecutors: what did the surviving attorneys do to escape the axe? Ms. Thompson, a purchasing official in the state’s Department of Administration, was accused by the United States attorney in Milwaukee, Steven Biskupic, of awarding a travel contract to a company whose chief executive contributed to the campaign of Gov. Jim Doyle, a Democrat. Ms. Thompson said the decision was made on the merits, but she was convicted and sent to prison before she could appeal. The prosecution was a boon to Mr. Doyle’s opponent. Republicans ran a barrage of attack ads that purported to tie Ms. Thompson’s “corruption” to Mr. Doyle. Ms. Thompson was sentenced shortly before the election, which Governor Doyle won. The Chicago-based United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit seemed shocked by the injustice of her conviction. It took the extraordinary step of releasing Ms. Thompson from prison immediately after hearing arguments, without waiting to issue a ruling. One of the judges hinted that Ms. Thompson may have been railroaded. “It strikes me that your evidence is beyond thin,” Judge Diane Wood told the lawyer from Mr. Biskupic’s office. Read The Full Story Student Lender CIT Group Suspends 3 Top Executives 2007-04-09 13:06:28 The CIT Group said this morning that it had suspended three top executives of its student loan unit, Student Loan Xpress, after revelations last week that stock in that company had once been held by financial aid administrators at three universities and by an Education Department official who helps oversee the federal student loan program. The stock ownership has raised questions of conflicts of interest because, critics say, it could give the college administrators an incentive to steer students to the loan company. Lawmakers in Washington have raised concerns about the issue. The New York attorney general’s office has opened a wide-ranging investigation of relations between loan companies and academic institutions and now government officials. “We take the allegations raised by New York Attorney General Cuomo very seriously,” said Jeffrey M. Peek, chairman and chief executive of CIT, which acquired Student Loan Xpress 2005. “The management changes announced today should facilitate CIT’s independent review of Student Loan Xpress’ student lending practices and its assessment of existing policies and procedures governing student lending.” Read The Full Story Moqtada al-Sadr Blames 'Evil' U.S. For Violence 2007-04-09 01:32:27 Calling the United States the "great evil," radical Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr on Sunday accused U.S. forces of dividing Iraqby stoking violence. He also urged his Mahdi Army militiamen and Iraqi security forces to stop fighting each other in Diwaniyah, a southern city where clashes erupted late last week. The influential cleric's verbal assault came as the U.S. military announced that 10 American soldiers were killed over the weekend, including six who died Sunday in attacks north and south of Baghdad. At least 69 Iraqis were also killed or found dead across Iraq. Sadr, a fierce nationalist who has long called for a U.S. withdrawal, stopped short of telling his fighters to rise up against the American troops, a move that would severely complicate an ongoing security offensive underway in Iraq. Instead, he ordered his followers to remain united and to "demonstrate" to "end the occupation." Read The Full Story Bush Renewing Efforts On Immigration 2007-04-09 01:31:51 President Bush will relaunch his push for an overhaul of the nation's immigration laws Monday in Arizona, with a fresh speech on the border and a new congressional leadership that is friendlier to his views, but with the same dynamics that scuttled his last attempt: a cooperative Senate but bipartisan opposition in the House. In contrast to her approach to other controversial issues, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-California) has told the White House that she cannot pass a bill with Democratic votes alone, nor will she seek to enforce party discipline on the issue. Bush will have to produce at least 70 Republican votes before she considers a vote on comprehensive immigration legislation, a task that may be very difficult for a president saddled with low approval ratings. Democratic conservatives, particularly freshmen who seized their seats from Republicans, weathered a barrage of attacks on the issue before their victories in November and are not anxious to relive the experience, aides and lawmakers say. Some of those lawmakers, such as Reps. Nancy Boyda (Kansas), Brad Ellsworth (Indiana), Nick Lampson (Texas) and Heath Shuler (North Carolina), are implacably opposed to a bill that would grant any of the nation's estimated 12 million illegal immigrants legal residence or citizenship, at least until new border controls are implemented and working. Read The Full Story
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