Free Internet Press Newsletter - Saturday June 30 2007 - (813)

Saturday June 30 2007 edition
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Turkey Warns Of Plans To Invade Northern Iraq 2007-06-30 02:15:46 Turkey has prepared a blueprint for the invasion of northern Iraq and will take action if U.S. or Iraqi forces fail to dislodge the guerrillas of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) from their mountain strongholds across the border, Turkey's foreign minister Abdullah Gul has warned. "The military plans have been worked out in the finest detail. The government knows these plans and agrees with them," Gul told Turkey's Radikal newspaper. "If neither the Iraqi government nor the U.S. occupying forces can do this [crush the PKK], we will take our own decision and implement it," said Gul. The foreign minister's uncharacteristically hawkish remarks were seen as a response to pressure from Turkey's generals, who have deployed some 20,000-30,000 troops along the borders with Iraq, and who are itching to move against the rebels they say are slipping across the border to stage attacks inside Turkey. Among other things, Turkish military planners have been working on a scheme to establish a buffer zone on Iraqi soil to try to stop the rebels' movements. Read The Full Story Commentary: I Have A New Hero And Her Name Is Mika Brzezinski 2007-06-30 02:15:15 Intellpuke: The following commentary is by Guardian correspondent David Adams, writing from Washington, D.C., about the media "kerfuffle" on Paris Hilton's release from jail. It appears in the Guardian newspaper's edition for Saturday, June 30, 2007. Mr. Adams commentary follows: It was Peter Finch, in the 1976 movie "Network", who first played a newsreader suffering an on-air breakdown. Driven to madness by poor ratings, Finch's character snaps and tells viewers to shout: "I'm mad as hell and I'm not going to take it any more." It's hard not to think of Finch, who won an Oscar for his performance, when watching a similar implosion by the newsreader Mika Brzezinski on the cable news channel MSNBC on Wednesday morning. Despite goading from her co-hosts, including the former Republican congressman turned rightwing talkshow host Joe Scarborough, Brzezinski stood her ground and refused to read her segment's lead news item on Paris Hilton. After a media frenzy that saw even arch-publicist Michael Moore elbowed off CNN's Larry King show to make way for Hilton's first post-jail interview, Brzezinski has become a cyberspace star. Clips of her shredding the script were the lead item on the Technorati search, while the blogosphere was alight with praise. "I have a new hero, and her name is Mika Brzezinski," wrote one. Read The Full Story Car Bombs Come To London 2007-06-30 02:14:13 British police were Friday night hunting a suspected al-Qaeda-inspired terrorist cell after the discovery of two "Iraqi style" car bombs, which United Kingdom officials said were designed to cause mass murder. One was outside a London nightclub, and a second nearby. Only luck and probable faults in the bombs' construction meant that the first device, inside a metallic green Mercedes, could be disarmed, while the second, in a blue Mercedes 280E, failed to explode. Police say both were capable of causing severe casualties and were intended to have been detonated remotely, most likely by a mobile phone. Counter-terrorism officials said the first device - made up of 60 liters of petrol, several propane gas cylinders, nails and a detonation mechanism - was similar to those used by al-Qaeda in Iraq. [Intellpuke: You might want to read my comment at the end of this article.] The second car, containing similar lethal materials, was given a parking ticket at 2:30 a.m. before being towed to a car park in Park Lane, central London. Read The Full Story Hamas Takeover In Gaza Leaves Israel Facing Tough Calls 2007-06-30 02:11:48 Since the Hamas takeover of the Gaza Strip, Israel has faced an increasingly complex set of military options to stop attacks from the territory, and a debate over its humanitarian responsibilities for the strip's 1.4 million people. The political split between the West Bank and Gaza has also strengthened calls in Israel to abandon the idea of a Palestinian state, which was at the core of the Oslo peace accords signed in 1993. Gaza is now ruled by an ascendant Islamic movement that calls for Israel's destruction, and the West Bank by a disorganized secular party seeking immediate peace negotiations. That divide has cast doubts on whether the formula of a Palestinian state existing side by side with Israel is still viable. "What is starting to emerge is a Palestinian Authority with two heads - one that accepts the two-state solution of Oslo lock, stock and barrel, and the other that does not," said Ron Pundak, an Israeli architect of the Oslo  agreement. "And there is concern the West Bank could become a new battleground between Fatah and Hamas. But is Oslo dead? No. Is it threatened? Yes." Read The Full Story Egypt Officials Ban Female Circumcision 2007-06-29 21:35:05 On Thursday, the Egyptian Health Ministry issued a decree stating that it is "prohibited for any doctors, nurses, or any other person to carry out any cut of, flattening or modification of any natural part of the female reproductive system, either in government hospitals, nongovernment hospitals or any other places." It warned that violators would be punished, but did not specify the penalty. The ban is not as enforceable as a law, which requires passage in the national legislature. Read The Full Story Cyclone Yemyin Leaves Hundreds Of Thousands Of Pakistanis Homeless 2007-06-29 17:57:00 Some 800,000 people have now been hit by flooding in Pakistan's Balochistan province, with hundreds of thousands of homes destroyed, say officials. Many of them are without electricity or drinking water four days after a cyclone hit coastal districts. Eyewitnesses say there is almost no sign of government relief getting to the affected areas. Police have fired tear gas on hundreds of angry protesters in the city of Turbat who were demanding help. The central government has confirmed 14 deaths and 24 people missing in Balochistan since Tuesday, but other reports put the figure much higher. Read The Full Story Native Canadians Hold Peaceful Protests Across Nation 2007-06-29 17:55:24 Aside from a few morning disruptions in Eastern Ontario and near Montreal, the national day of protest organized by Native Canadians was marked by peaceful marches in pockets across the country. Ontario Provincial Police reopened Highway 401 just west of Kingston, Ontario by lunch hour, after Natives had set up a blockade on a highway that police had cordoned off late Thursday night. “People were concerned that it may be too much of an imposition and erode any support that there might be for First Nations' issues,” Native protest leader Shawn Brant said from an overpass on top of the highway. He added this was not a result of police intervention early Friday morning but merely a “gesture to the public.” Read The Full Story Supreme Court To Hear Guantanamo Detainees Case 2007-06-29 13:16:35 The U.S. Supreme Court said Friday that it would review the rights of Guantanamo Bay detainees to challenge their confinements in federal court, reversing a decision in April not to take up that issue. The justices did not say what had changed their minds. The Bush administration had praised the court's earlier decision not to review the matter. At the time, only three of four justices necessary to grant review - David H. Souter, Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Stephen G. Breyer - were willing to take the two cases involved, saying "these questions deserve this court's immediate attention.'' Two other justices, John Paul Stevens and Anthony M. Kennedy, issued a statement saying they might want to hear the issue in the future. Friday's order, by tradition, does not indicate which justices decided to hear the cases, but the decision to reopen the matter is unusual. Read The Full Story British Police: Car Bomb Found In London May Have Been Inspired By Al-Qaeda 2007-06-29 12:40:37 Senior British police and Whitehall sources Friday said the failed attempt to inflict mass murder in central London was the work of al-Qaeda or those inspired by its ideology. "You only have to read past cases of those convicted for terrorism to realize they have been plotting to blow up nightclubs and putting gas cylinder bombs in cars," said one senior source. Counter-terrorism sources said the car bomb found in Haymarket - one of London's main nightlife districts - was similar to car bombs used in Iraq. The car had been left outside the Tiger Tiger club, near Piccadilly Circus, which had hundreds of people inside. More were milling around on the street. Read The Full Story Commentary: The Coming Biofuels Disaster 2007-06-29 02:19:45 Intellpuke: The following commentary is by Joe Brewer, a Research Fellow at The Rockridge Institute. This commentary was initially posted at the Truthout.org website on Thursday, June 28, 2007, but I believe it merits a broader audience and hope Mr. Brewer and Truthout agree. Mr. Brewer's commentary follows. Have you ever tried to solve a problem only to discover that you made things worse in the process? This is happening right now with biofuels. We are on the road to disaster because the problem we are trying to solve has been framed inadequately. Harmful impacts from large-scale biofuel production are largely overlooked. And we aren't even addressing the right problem! The truth can be seen when we frame issues in the context of livability. Solving the Wrong Problem Policymakers have been grappling with the fact that an excessive amount of carbon dioxide is polluting our atmosphere, disrupting global weather patterns and shifting the world's climate beyond safe boundaries. The solution required by this problem is that we stop increasing greenhouse pollution levels. This can be accomplished by shifting our energy sector in a direction that ultimately reduces the amount of heat-trapping gases that have accumulated since the dawn of the industrial revolution. On the surface, biofuels present the ideal solution to this problem. We can grow them in large amounts, and the carbon that is released by burning them is equal to the amount they breathe in as they grow. This simple mental accounting is very appealing, but woefully inaccurate for describing what is really going on. The real problem is that the way we use energy is out of balance with natural processes, driving us away from the equilibrium necessary for our communities to survive. This is evident in the planet's atmosphere where global warming is running rampant; our cities are submerged in toxic gases, and the protective ozone shield is tattered. It is also evident in the biosphere, where we are in the midst of the Earth's sixth mass extinction (the first in the planet's 4.5 billion-year history caused by a single species - humans). Soils in our agricultural plains are lost to wind and water, reducing the land's capacity to produce food. And our water supplies are being diverted, drained and contaminated by toxic run-off. We need to find livable solutions to this problem. Read The Full Story Russian Probe Shuts U.S.-Funded Media Foundation 2007-06-29 02:19:12 A Russian nonprofit organization funded by the U.S. government to train journalists and improve management at local television stations has been shuttered by a criminal investigation that critics charge is politically motivated. Authorities targeted the Educated Media Foundation after its head was found with slightly more than $12,500 in undeclared currency at a Moscow airport, an offense that routinely would be settled with a fine, said lawyers. Instead, Manana Aslamazyan, 55, is facing up to five years in prison on smuggling charges. Her organization, previously called Internews Russia, is accused of money laundering - an allegation that Russian journalists and civic activists, as well as Western diplomats, dismissed as absurd. Read The Full Story DNA Study Traces Cats' Ancestry To Middle East 2007-06-29 02:18:23 Some 10,000 years ago, somewhere in the Near East, an audacious wildcat crept into one of the crude villages of early human settlers, the first to domesticate wheat and barley. There she felt safe from her many predators in the region, such as hyenas and larger cats. The rodents that infested the settlers’ homes and granaries were sufficient prey. Seeing that she was earning her keep, the settlers tolerated her, and their children greeted her kittens with delight. At least five females of the wildcat subspecies known as Felis silvestris lybica accomplished this delicate transition from forest to village. And from these five matriarchs all the world’s 600 million house cats are descended. A scientific basis for this scenario has been established by Carlos A. Driscoll, of the National Cancer Institute, and his colleagues. He spent more than six years collecting species of wildcat in places as far apart as Scotland, Israel, Namibia and Mongolia. He then analyzed the DNA of the wildcats and of many house cats and fancy cats. Read The Full Story	House, Senate Judiciary Committee Chairs Tell Bush To Justify Executive Privilege 2007-06-30 02:15:33 The chairmen of the House and Senate Judiciary committees Friday ratcheted up their fight with President Bush over documents on the firing of U.S. attorneys, sending the White House a barbed letter demanding that the president back down from a claim of executive privilege - or give Congress a detailed explanation for withholding each document. In the letter to the White House counsel, Rep. John conyers, Jr. (D-Michigan) and Sen. Patrick J. Leahy (D-Vermont) accused the administration of a "veil of secrecy ... unprecedented and damaging to the tradition of open government." The correspondence came a day after the White House invoked executive privilege, for the second time in Bush's tenure, to block the release of internal e-mails and other documents that congressional investigators are seeking to clarify what role Bush's senior staff played in the Justice Deparment's removal of nine chief federal prosecutors last year. The firings have triggered bipartisan calls for Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzalesto resign. Friday's letter marks Congress's first move toward enforcing subpoenas issued by the committees this month. The lawmakers had sought documents and testimony from former White House political director Sara M. Taylor and former White House Counsel Harriet E. Miers. Internal Justice e-mails show they were involved in the dismissals. Read The Full Story Emergency Chiefs In Britain Fear The Worst With Warnings Of New Downpours 2007-06-30 02:14:33 Hundreds of extra emergency staff, troops and police special constables have been mobilized in flood-stricken regions of Britain as control centers prepare for a possible 60 millimeter (2.4 inches) of rainfall - the same as Monday's devastating weather - although police and fire service commanders are hoping that lower estimates of 20 millimeters prove accurate. "Even that level would have consequences, falling on ground which is waterlogged and rivers which are very high," said Meredydd Hughes, chief constable of South Yorkshire, whose gold command center has run the country's biggest crisis operation for the past six days. The Sheffield-based operation is getting updates from the Meteorological Office on two depressions tracking in from the Atlantic. Similar bulletins have gone to the other main flood area, the low-lying basin of the river Severn. The current forecasts predict a second band of rain on the west coast today, larger than a system which caused the prolonged downpours Friday in southern England before moving northwards Friday night. Read The Full Story Democrats Plan To Press GOP On Iraq 2007-06-30 02:12:29 With the immigration bill dead, troop-withdrawal deadlines vetoed and other high-profile initiatives stalled, Democratic leaders closed six months in control of Congress mired in low approval ratings and plotting a legislative blitz on an issue they once tried to escape: Iraq. Defeated last month on a war funding bill, Democratic leaders had hoped to spend June delivering on prominent domestic issues, such as homeland security, ethics rules and immigration. Instead, they limped out of Washington for a week-long Fourth of July break with few successes to boast about while complaining bitterly of Republican tactics that had stymied their higher-profile efforts. "Because of the obstructionism of the Republicans in the United States Senate, I'm not happy with Congress either," said House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-California). On Thursday alone, parliamentary trench warfare helped torpedo President Bush's immigration bill. Hours later, two of the same warriors - Sens. Jim DeMint (R-South Carolina) and Tom Coburn (R-Oklahoma) - blocked Senate Majority Leader Harry M. Reid (D-Nevada) as he tried to finish work on ethics legislation and a bill instituting most of the homeland security recommendations of the blue-ribbon committee that studied the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. Read The Full Story China Enacts Strong New Labor Law To Protect Migrant Workers 2007-06-30 02:11:24 The Chinese legislature passed a law Friday to provide more protection to the millions of farm youths who leave home and become cheap labor in the factories and construction sites that have mushroomed in China's booming economy. The Standing Committee of the China People's Congress, in approving the law, presented it as a bulwark against widespread abuses of the often-uneducated migrant workers, such as forced labor, withholding of pay and unwarranted dismissal. The country was alarmed two weeks ago, for example, by the discovery that hundreds of Chinese were forced to work in conditions resembling slavery at dozens of brick kilns in Shanxi province while local Communist Party officials did nothing to stop it. In reaction, lawmakers at the last minute added a provision to the long-discussed labor code to mandate punishment for officials who are shown to be negligent or corrupt in allowing entrepreneurs to abuse workers. This and the unusual public rollout of the new law seemed designed to show the Chinese public that the central government of President Hu Jintao is determined to crack down on corrupt officials and protect those left behind by the swift economic growth of the past 25 years. Read The Full Story Sunni Arab Bloc Boycotts Participation In Iraq Government 2007-06-29 17:57:18 Iraq's main Sunni Arab bloc has said it will boycott government meetings because of legal steps being taken against one of its ministers. The Iraqi Accord Front (IAF) has six ministers, and its move is seen as a blow to the Shia-led cabinet as it tries to reconcile the two communities. Earlier this week, an arrest warrant was issued for Culture Minister Asaad Kamal al-Hashemi, an IAF member. The case concerns the killing of two sons of a Sunni politician in 2005. IAF head Adnan al-Dulaimi told the BBC that the bloc's ministers would continue their work apart from the cabinet meetings. Read The Full Story Commentary: Iraq - Grim Situation, Uncertain Future 2007-06-29 17:55:39 Intellpuke: The following commentary by Dr. Maha Al-Hujailan was posted in the Riyadh, Saudi Arabia-based Arab News edition for Friday, June 29, 2007. Dr. Maha Al-Hujailan is a medical researcher at King Khaled University Hospital in Riyadh. His commentary follows: Local newspapers and alarabiya.net reported on Thursday, June 21, the shocking news about a government-run orphanage for children with special needs in Iraq. The harrowing scene at the Baghdad facility shocked some of the U.S. and Iraqi soldiers who found the children in tears. The 24 boys were found naked and lying on concrete floors, covered in their own excrement, flies and sores. Some were nearly dead. The news was horrifying, especially the pictures published of the children tied to their beds with their skinny bodies that revealed their bones. I can’t talk enough about this brutal treatment of innocent homeless children. These Iraqi children were supposed to be taken care of by their Iraqi supervisor. Unfortunately, he instead used the money set apart for the orphanage, abused the children and sold their canned food in open market. This is not the only scandal we hear of happening in Iraq. There are many conspiracies, betrayals and murders resulting from clashes between the government forces and Islamic groups and between Iraqis and some Arab and foreign fighters. And with this religious and racial polarization that is killing and destroying everything, our voices are becoming louder in condemning the foreign invaders blaming them for everything going on in Iraq. How could a foreign enemy convince a people to kill each other if sectarianism and discrimination didn’t exist among them in the first place? Read The Full Story Canada's Economy Wilts 2007-06-29 17:55:08 Canadian economic growth stalled for the first time in 10 months amid a slowdown in wholesale trade - though the Bank of Canada is still seen raising interest rates next month. Both the goods and services sides of the economy stood still, after the economy expanded 0.3-per-cent pace in March, Statistics Canada said Friday. It was the first month of no growth since June, 2006. Growth may have dwindled in April, but it comes after five months of solid gains and may prove to be a temporary blip. Most economists still expect the Bank of Canada (BoC) to raise interest rates next month as inflation picks up and the labor market remains tight. “The loss of economic momentum in the spring and the evident impact of the high Canadian dollar will raise a few eyebrows at the BoC,” said Sal Guatieri, senior economist with BMO Nesbitt Burns Inc. in a note. Read The Full Story U.S. Urges Vigilance After Car Bomb Discovered In London 2007-06-29 13:16:23 The government is urging Americans to be vigilant about suspicious activity after British police defused a bomb in downtown London, but officials said they saw no potential terrorist threat in the United States ahead of next week's Fourth of July holiday. "At this point, I have seen no specific, credible information suggesting that this incident is connected to a threat to the homeland," Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff said in a statement. "We have no plans at this time to change the U.S. threat level," he said. The current national threat level is yellow, or elevated, meaning there is a "significant risk" of terrorist attacks. "We encourage the public to enjoy the upcoming holiday but ask, as always, that they be vigilant and report any suspicious activities to authorities," said Chertoff. Read The Full Story Iranian Unrest Grows Amid Gas Rationing 2007-06-29 02:19:57 Unrest spread in Tehran on Thursday, the second day of gasoline rationing in oil-rich Iran, with drivers lining up for miles, gas stations being set on fire and state-run banks and business centers coming under attack. Dozens were arrested, and the Tehran police chief, Ismail Ahmadi Moghaddam, complained to reporters that the police had been caught unaware by the decision to ration fuel. The anger posed a keen threat to President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who was elected two years ago on a platform of bringing income from oil to the nation’s households. Instead, even though Iran is one of the world’s largest producers of crude oil, it has been forced to import about 40 percent of its gasoline at an annual cost of $5 billion to make up for shortfalls in its archaic refining industry. Some analysts said the decision to ration gasoline was intended to prepare for the possibility of more United Nations economic sanctions as a result of concern over Iran’s nuclear program. Read The Full Story U.S. Blocks Chinese Seafood Shipments 2007-06-29 02:19:26 The list of quality-compromised goods from China grew longer Thursday, as federal authorities slapped a highly unusual hold on shrimp and certain fish from that country after tests showed contamination from potentially harmful drugs. The Food and Drug Administration said it would block all shipments from China of farm-raised shrimp, catfish, eel and two other kinds of fish until importers can produce independent test results showing the items to be free of drugs banned in U.S. fish farming. Agency officials said there was no immediate threat to human health. An industry expert said he didn't expect shortages of shrimp because of the FDA action, since there was more than enough available on the world market. Read The Full Story Israel Drops Rape Charges As President Agrees To Quit 2007-06-29 02:18:43 The Israeli government has dropped rape charges against President Moshe Katsav in exchange for his agreement to step down and to plead guilty to lesser charges, the attorney general, Menachem Mazuz, announced Thursday. Katsav, 61, will receive a suspended sentence and will pay a total of $11,695 in compensation to two of the women who accused him, said Mazuz. One of them had worked for Katsav when he was tourism minister in the late 1990s; the other worked in his office in 2003 and 2004. Katsav will plead guilty to committing indecent acts without consent, sexual harassment of the two women and harassing a witness. He is expected to resign on Friday. His seven-year term as president, a largely ceremonial post, was to end in July. Shimon Peresis expected to take office as president on July 15. The announcement of a plea bargain caused debate and expressions of anger from Israelis who said Katsav was being treated too lightly. Read The Full Story
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Free Internet Press Newsletter - Friday June 29 2007 - (813)

Friday June 29 2007 edition
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Iranian Unrest Grows Amid Gas Rationing 2007-06-29 02:19:57 Unrest spread in Tehran on Thursday, the second day of gasoline rationing in oil-rich Iran, with drivers lining up for miles, gas stations being set on fire and state-run banks and business centers coming under attack. Dozens were arrested, and the Tehran police chief, Ismail Ahmadi Moghaddam, complained to reporters that the police had been caught unaware by the decision to ration fuel. The anger posed a keen threat to President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who was elected two years ago on a platform of bringing income from oil to the nation’s households. Instead, even though Iran is one of the world’s largest producers of crude oil, it has been forced to import about 40 percent of its gasoline at an annual cost of $5 billion to make up for shortfalls in its archaic refining industry. Some analysts said the decision to ration gasoline was intended to prepare for the possibility of more United Nations economic sanctions as a result of concern over Iran’s nuclear program. Read The Full Story U.S. Blocks Chinese Seafood Shipments 2007-06-29 02:19:26 The list of quality-compromised goods from China grew longer Thursday, as federal authorities slapped a highly unusual hold on shrimp and certain fish from that country after tests showed contamination from potentially harmful drugs. The Food and Drug Administration said it would block all shipments from China of farm-raised shrimp, catfish, eel and two other kinds of fish until importers can produce independent test results showing the items to be free of drugs banned in U.S. fish farming. Agency officials said there was no immediate threat to human health. An industry expert said he didn't expect shortages of shrimp because of the FDA action, since there was more than enough available on the world market. Read The Full Story Israel Drops Rape Charges As President Agrees To Quit 2007-06-29 02:18:43 The Israeli government has dropped rape charges against President Moshe Katsav in exchange for his agreement to step down and to plead guilty to lesser charges, the attorney general, Menachem Mazuz, announced Thursday. Katsav, 61, will receive a suspended sentence and will pay a total of $11,695 in compensation to two of the women who accused him, said Mazuz. One of them had worked for Katsav when he was tourism minister in the late 1990s; the other worked in his office in 2003 and 2004. Katsav will plead guilty to committing indecent acts without consent, sexual harassment of the two women and harassing a witness. He is expected to resign on Friday. His seven-year term as president, a largely ceremonial post, was to end in July. Shimon Peresis expected to take office as president on July 15. The announcement of a plea bargain caused debate and expressions of anger from Israelis who said Katsav was being treated too lightly. Read The Full Story Poll Of Democrats Shows Gore Could Steal The Show 2007-06-28 21:11:53 A presidential election poll suggesting Democratic voters would prefer former vice-president Al Gore to any of the declared contenders, including frontrunner Hillary Clinton, has highlighted continuing dissatisfaction among supporters of both main parties with the choice of candidates to succeed George Bush. The poll, conducted in New Hampshire by 7News and Suffolk University, confirmed Ms. Clinton's nationwide double-digit lead over her main rival, Illinois senator Barack Obama. The former first lady and New York senator attracted 37% support, against Obama's 19%. John Edwards, a former North Carolina senator, was on 9%. But if Gore were to seek the Democratic nomination, 29% of Clinton's backers would switch their support to him, the poll found. When defections from other candidates are factored in, the man who controversially lost to Bush in the 2000 election takes command of the field, with 32% support. Read The Full Story Supreme Court Limits Race To Achieve Diversity In Schools 2007-06-28 21:11:28 A splintered Supreme Court Thursday threw out school desegregation plans from Seattle and Louisville but,  without a majority, holding that race can never be considered as school districts try to ensure racially diverse populations. Chief Justice John G. Roberts, Jr., authored the most important opinion of his two terms leading the court. He held that both plans, which categorize students on the basis of race and use that in making school assignments, violate the constitution's promise of equal protection, even if the goal is integration of the schools. "The way to stop discrimination on the basis of race is to stop discriminating on the basis of race," wrote Roberts. Read The Full Story Rain Continues To Plague Texas 2007-06-28 21:10:59 More rain fell Thursday in flood-weary parts of Texas, where evacuations were under way and residents were bracing for even more of the constant downpours that have killed 11 people in recent days. Officials reported calls for dozens of rescues in San Antonio, and hundreds of people were being ordered to leave their homes near the bloated Brazos River in North Texas. Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst, acting as governor while Gov. Rick Perry is out of the country, surveyed damage Thursday in the lakeside community of Marble Falls, which was drenched by as much as 18 inches of rain early Wednesday. No one was killed, but there were 32 water rescues and widespread damage. "I haven't seen so much destruction since I was on the ground right after Hurricane Rita," said Dewhurst. "What these folks need is just a break in the rain and a chance to dry out." Read The Full Story Egyptian Said To Have Spied For Israel's Mossad Dies In Fall From Apartment 2007-06-28 21:08:54 A multimillionaire Egyptian businessman who was accused of being an agent for Mossad, the Israeli intelligence service, has been found dead at the foot of the luxury apartment block in London where he had lived for more than 20 years. Ashraf Marwan, 63, the son-in-law of the former Egyptian leader Gamel Abdel Nasser, is understood to have been seriously ill for some time before his death in Mayfair on Wednesday afternoon. Marwan is said to have feared assassination after being identified by Israeli sources as the agent who had tipped off Mossad just hours before Egypt and Syria launched the Yom Kippur war in 1973. However, Scotland Yard is investigating the possibility that he took his own life. A spokeswoman said: "It is understood he may have fallen from a balcony, but inquiries continue." Read The Full Story Immigration Bill Looks Dead After Senate Vote, No Resurrection Foreseen 2007-06-28 15:15:33 The most dramatic overhaul of the nation's immigration laws in a generation was trounced this morning by a bipartisan filibuster, with the political right and left overwhelming a coalition of Republicans and Democrats who had been seeking compromise on one of the most difficult social and economic issues facing the country. The 46-53 tally fell dramatically short of the 60 votes needed to overcome opponents' dilatory tactics and parliamentary maneuvers that have dogged the bill for weeks. The failure marked the second time in a month the bill was pulled from the Senate floor, and this time, Democratic leaders of the Senate indicated it would not be back. The vote was a major defeat for President Bush, dealt largely by members of his own party. The president made a last-ditch round of phone calls this morning to senators in an attempt to rescue the bill, but with his poll numbers at record lows, his appeals proved fruitless. Bush has now lost what is likely to be the last, best chance at a major domestic accomplishment for his second term. Read The Full Story Bombings, Beheadings Roil Iraq 2007-06-28 15:14:39 A massive car bomb exploded at a street-side bus depot during Baghdad's Thursday morning rush hour, killing at least 22 people and wounding more than 40 others in a tremendous explosion that set fire to scores of vehicles, said Iraqi police. The 8:15 a.m. blast occurred at a large central bus stop in the predominantly Shiite Baya'a neighborhood, where residents from the southeast quadrant of Baghdad catch buses for trips across the capital. It was at least the third time that the site has been targeted by bombings. Arabia TV showed a huge crater in the street where the car bomb exploded. The Associated Press reported that as many as 40 empty minibuses were incinerated in the blast and subsequent fires. The attack followed a late-night car bombing on Wednesday that killed at least 14 people near a major Shiite shrine in the Kadhimiya neighborhood in northern Baghdad, police reported. Read The Full Story	Commentary: The Coming Biofuels Disaster 2007-06-29 02:19:45 Intellpuke: The following commentary is by Joe Brewer, a Research Fellow at The Rockridge Institute. This commentary was initially posted at the Truthout.org website on Thursday, June 28, 2007, but I believe it merits a broader audience and hope Mr. Brewer and Truthout agree. Mr. Brewer's commentary follows. Have you ever tried to solve a problem only to discover that you made things worse in the process? This is happening right now with biofuels. We are on the road to disaster because the problem we are trying to solve has been framed inadequately. Harmful impacts from large-scale biofuel production are largely overlooked. And we aren't even addressing the right problem! The truth can be seen when we frame issues in the context of livability. Solving the Wrong Problem Policymakers have been grappling with the fact that an excessive amount of carbon dioxide is polluting our atmosphere, disrupting global weather patterns and shifting the world's climate beyond safe boundaries. The solution required by this problem is that we stop increasing greenhouse pollution levels. This can be accomplished by shifting our energy sector in a direction that ultimately reduces the amount of heat-trapping gases that have accumulated since the dawn of the industrial revolution. On the surface, biofuels present the ideal solution to this problem. We can grow them in large amounts, and the carbon that is released by burning them is equal to the amount they breathe in as they grow. This simple mental accounting is very appealing, but woefully inaccurate for describing what is really going on. The real problem is that the way we use energy is out of balance with natural processes, driving us away from the equilibrium necessary for our communities to survive. This is evident in the planet's atmosphere where global warming is running rampant; our cities are submerged in toxic gases, and the protective ozone shield is tattered. It is also evident in the biosphere, where we are in the midst of the Earth's sixth mass extinction (the first in the planet's 4.5 billion-year history caused by a single species - humans). Soils in our agricultural plains are lost to wind and water, reducing the land's capacity to produce food. And our water supplies are being diverted, drained and contaminated by toxic run-off. We need to find livable solutions to this problem. Read The Full Story Russian Probe Shuts U.S.-Funded Media Foundation 2007-06-29 02:19:12 A Russian nonprofit organization funded by the U.S. government to train journalists and improve management at local television stations has been shuttered by a criminal investigation that critics charge is politically motivated. Authorities targeted the Educated Media Foundation after its head was found with slightly more than $12,500 in undeclared currency at a Moscow airport, an offense that routinely would be settled with a fine, said lawyers. Instead, Manana Aslamazyan, 55, is facing up to five years in prison on smuggling charges. Her organization, previously called Internews Russia, is accused of money laundering - an allegation that Russian journalists and civic activists, as well as Western diplomats, dismissed as absurd. Read The Full Story DNA Study Traces Cats' Ancestry To Middle East 2007-06-29 02:18:23 Some 10,000 years ago, somewhere in the Near East, an audacious wildcat crept into one of the crude villages of early human settlers, the first to domesticate wheat and barley. There she felt safe from her many predators in the region, such as hyenas and larger cats. The rodents that infested the settlers’ homes and granaries were sufficient prey. Seeing that she was earning her keep, the settlers tolerated her, and their children greeted her kittens with delight. At least five females of the wildcat subspecies known as Felis silvestris lybica accomplished this delicate transition from forest to village. And from these five matriarchs all the world’s 600 million house cats are descended. A scientific basis for this scenario has been established by Carlos A. Driscoll, of the National Cancer Institute, and his colleagues. He spent more than six years collecting species of wildcat in places as far apart as Scotland, Israel, Namibia and Mongolia. He then analyzed the DNA of the wildcats and of many house cats and fancy cats. Read The Full Story Scientists: Depleted Uranium Shells Leave Lethal Legacy Of Toxic, Radioactive Dust 2007-06-28 21:11:41 Toxic, radioactive dust released from armor-piercing depleted uranium shells lingers for decades in the environment and contaminates land far from where it is used, according to British scientists. The finding raises fears that communities living in or returning to war zones may be forced to live on contaminated ground, in danger of inhaling the substance or consuming it in food or water supplies. Hundreds of tons of tank-busting depleted uranium rounds have been fired by British and American forces in the Balkans and Iraq. On impact the rounds fragment into a shower of fine particles, which have been linked to medical conditions including cancer and birth defects. Scientists initially suspected that even fine particles of the heavy dust would only cause contamination over a confined area. But research conducted by a team at Leicester University found that it can spread nearly 6 kilometers and persists in soils for more than 25 years. Read The Full Story Britain's Flood Death Toll Rises To 6, Emergency Services 'Came Close To Collapse' 2007-06-28 21:11:10 The British government is facing pressure to step up civil emergency measures and increase funding after figures revealed that this week's flood rescues have been one of the biggest peacetime operations of their kind. As the death toll rose to six and the casualty list topped 600, Home Office figures showed that 3,500 people have been rescued from swamped homes and a further 4,000 call-outs carried out by firefighters, ambulance staff and police. The absence of political leaders in the stricken areas, during three days which coincided with the change of government, will be highlighted Friday when Prince Charles visits at least one, and possibly several, of the communities - mostly in Yorkshire and in the Severn valley - which have suffered millions of pounds of damage. The Queen sent a message of sympathy Thursday. Read The Full Story E.U. Bans 'Unsafe' Airlines From Flights To Europe 2007-06-28 21:09:13 All Indonesian airlines have been banned from flying to Europe in a safety crackdown that has also placed several carriers from Russia, Ukraine and Angola on an aviation blacklist. The ban was imposed following a series of accidents involving the countries' aircraft that have included two fatal crashes since the New Year which killed a total of 123 people. The national airline of Indonesia, Garuda, and the 50 other airlines registered in the country, will be kept away from the European Union, although no Indonesian carriers at present fly to the continent. Hours after the ban was announced Angolan national radio reported that a Boeing 737 operated by one of the newly banned carriers, TAAG Angola Airlines, had crashed in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Read The Full Story Surprise! NOT! - Bush Won't Supply Subpoenaed Documents 2007-06-28 15:15:46 The White House said Thursday it would not comply with congressional subpoenas for documents and testimony relating to the firings of federal prosecutors last year, setting up a potential constitutional confrontation over its claim of executive privilege. In a letter to the chairmen of the House and Senate judiciary committees, President Bush's counsel, Fred F. Fielding, said the White House refuses to turn over documents that were subpoenaed by the two committees on June 13. The deadline for handing over most of them was today (Thursday). "I write at the direction of the President to advise and inform you that the President has decided to assert executive privilege and therefore the White House will not be making any production in response to these subpoenas for documents," Fielding wrote in the letter to Sen. Patrick J. Leahy (D-Vermont), chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and Rep. John conyers, Jr., (D-Michigan), chairman of the House Judiciary Committee. Read The Full Story Costs Skyrocket As Homeland Security Dept. Runs Up No-Bid Contracts 2007-06-28 15:14:53 The project started in 2003 with a $2 million contract to help the new Department of Homeland Security quickly get an intelligence operation up and running. Over the next year, the cost of the no-bid arrangement with consultant Booz Allen Hamilton soared by millions of dollars per month, as the firm provided analysts, administrators and other contract employees to the department's Information Analysis and Infrastructure Protection offices. By December 2004, payments to Booz Allen had exceeded $30 million - 15 times the contract's original value. When department lawyers examined the deal, they found it was "grossly beyond the scope" of the original contract, and they said the arrangement violated government procurement rules. The lawyers advised the department to immediately stop making payments through the contract and allow other companies to compete for the work. Read The Full Story U.S. Economy Limps In First Quarter 2007-06-28 15:14:23 The economy limped ahead at just a 0.7 percent pace in the first quarter, the slowest in more than four years, as some businesses clamped down on spending given uncertainties about the severity of the housing slump. The Commerce Department's new reading on gross domestic product for the January-to-March period, released Thursday, was a slight upgrade from the 0.6 percent growth rate estimated a month ago, but it still fell short of economists' forecasts for a 0.8 percent pace and will probably turn out to be the weakest point for the economy this year. "Companies were really watching their cash," said Oscar Gonzalez, economist at John Hancock Financial Services. Read The Full Story
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Free Internet Press Newsletter - Thursday June 28 2007 - (813)

Thursday June 28 2007 edition
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U.S. Senate's Immigration Bill Appears On Shakey Ground - Again 2007-06-27 23:43:26 The U.S. Senate Wednesday turned back a series of amendments from both parties aimed at substantially altering controversial immigration legislation, but the bill shed supporters as it became mired in procedural hurdles that left backers concerned about its prospects. The legislation faces a make-or-break vote this morning when senators will decide whether to cut off debate and move to a final vote Thursday. If it does not get the 60 votes necessary, Majority Leader Harry M. Reid (D-Nevada) has said he will pull the bill, all but dashing hopes for any meaningful legislation this year. Top legislative aides in both parties predicted Thursday's vote would be very close but would fall short of keeping the proposal alive. Read The Full Story At Least 13 Palestinians Killed, More Than 40 Wounded As Israeli Military Enters Gaza 2007-06-27 23:42:53 Israeli forces killed at least 13 Palestinians on Wednesday and wounded more than 40 others in ground fighting backed by tanks and air support during military operations across the Gaza Strip. Most of those killed, said Palestinian health officials, belonged to militias that Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas of the secular Fatah party is moving to disarm following the intense factional fighting this month that left Gaza in the hands of Hamas. But also among the dead was 12-year-old Sami al-Manasrah, who witnesses said was killed in fighting between Israeli soldiers and Palestinian gunmen in the Shajaiyeh neighborhood of Gaza City. Read The Full Story Probe Finds National Institutes Of Health Official Violated Government Regulations 2007-06-27 23:42:18 A high-powered institute director at the National Institutes of Health disregarded conflict-of-interest guidelines by making decisions affecting the university where he was a faculty member, broke government spending rules, and raised concerns with his growing involvement as an expert witness in legal cases, according to sources within NIH and Congress and hundreds of pages of confidential documents. David Schwartz, a physician and researcher recruited from Duke University to great fanfare in 2005 as chief of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, was found to have spent modest amounts of institute money for personal purposes but was cleared of other allegations of wrongdoing in a recent internal NIH ethics review obtained by the Washington Post. In a telephone interview Tuesday, Schwartz said he made mistakes, which he blamed on "misunderstandings" about institute rules and "poor communication," for which he said he takes "full responsibility." Read The Full Story Ancient Seri Indian Tribe At Crossroads 2007-06-27 23:41:32 Gloria Sesma clamps tough stems of desert limberbush between her front teeth, shredding the plant into the floppy strands she needs to weave graceful baskets. Sesma's lifelong work has worn her top teeth down to tiny stubs, much like the teeth of other women in this remote Gulf of California village, home to Mexico's most reclusive indigenous people, the Seri Indians. She and her daughters adhere to traditional techniques, so it can take 10 months of shredding and weaving to make a single basket. But Sesma's family also reflects new realities for the Seri, a tribe at a crossroads. While eight of her children married within the tribe, a ninth - her son, Ezekiel - piqued the family by breaking with long-standing tradition and moving away last year to marry a non-Seri woman. Now, the Seri desire for insularity is being tested on a larger scale. The inevitable march of development is forcing the Seri to confront fundamental questions about their future, questions that will determine whether one of the last truly autonomous tribes in Mexico melds into the greater society or stays walled off from the world. Read The Full Story Kremlin Lays Claim To 460,000 Square Miles Of The Oil-Rich Arctic 2007-06-27 22:00:37 It is already the world's biggest country, spanning 11 time zones and stretching from Europe to the far east. But Tuesday Russia signalled its intention to get even bigger by announcing an audacious plan to annex a vast 460,000 square mile chunk of the frozen and ice-encrusted Arctic. According to Russian scientists, there is new evidence backing Russia's claim that its northern Arctic region is directly linked to the North Pole via an underwater shelf. Under international law, no country owns the North Pole. Instead, the five surrounding Arctic states, Russia, the U.S., Canada, Norway and Denmark (via Greenland), are limited to a 200-mile economic zone around their coasts. On Monday, however, a group of Russian geologists returned from a six-week voyage on a nuclear icebreaker. They had travelled to the Lomonosov ridge, an underwater shelf in Russia's remote and inhospitable eastern Arctic Ocean. Read The Full Story Skepticism Hangs Over Blair's Appointment As 'Quartet' Middle East Envoy 2007-06-27 22:00:14 Tony Blair is to make his first working visit to Ramallah in the West Bank next month as envoy of the quartet of Middle East peacemakers, it emerged Wednesday, after his job was confirmed amid skepticism about any chance of his success. His role of quartet representative was announced jointly in New York by the U.S., European Union, United Nations and Russia. Blair will work on building government institutions and the rule of law, mobilizing international help, and promoting the economy. "He will spend significant time in the region working with the parties and others to help create viable and lasting government institutions representing all Palestinians, a robust economy, and a climate of law and order for the Palestinian people," the quartet said in a statement. Read The Full Story New Poll Finds Young Americans Are Leaning Left 2007-06-27 13:41:24 Young Americans are more likely than the general public to favor a government-run universal health care insurance system, an open-door policy on immigration and the legalization of gay marriage, according to a New York Times/CBS News/MTV poll. The poll also found that they are more likely to say the war in Iraq is heading to a successful conclusion. The poll offers a snapshot of a group whose energy and idealism have always been as alluring to politicians as its scattered focus and shifting interests have been frustrating. It found that substantially more Americans ages 17 to 29 than four years ago are paying attention to the presidential race. But they appeared to be really familiar with only two of the candidates, Senators Barack Obama and Hillary Rodham Clinton, both Democrats. They have continued a long-term drift away from the Republican Party. Although they are just as worried as the general population about the outlook for the country and think their generation is likely to be worse off than that of their parents, they retain a belief that their votes can make a difference, the poll found. Read The Full Story China Shuts 180 Food Factories 2007-06-27 13:40:57 China has closed 180 food factories after inspectors found industrial chemicals being used in products from candy to seafood, state media said Wednesday. The closures came amid a nationwide crackdown on shoddy and dangerous products launched in December that also uncovered use of recycled or expired food, said the China Daily. Formaldehyde, illegal dyes, and industrial wax were found being used to make candy, pickles, crackers and seafood, it said, citing Han Yi, an official with the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine, which is responsible for food safety. "These are not isolated cases," Han, director of the administration's quality control and inspection department, was quoted as saying. Read The Full Story CIA Experimented With Mind Drugs 2007-06-27 13:39:26 The CIA was eager to examine the use of dangerous pharmaceutical drugs to modify the behavior of targeted individuals, and so it asked commercial drug manufacturers to pass along samples of medicines rejected for commercial sale "because of unfavorable side effects," according to an undated memorandum included in dozens of CIA documents released Tuesday. CIA scientists tested some of the drugs on monkeys and mice, the memo said. Drugs that showed promise, it said, "were then tested at Edgewood, using volunteer members of the Armed Forces." This appears to be a reference to an Army laboratory north of Baltimore, Maryland, now called the Edgewood Chemical Biological Center. The memo doesn't discuss the reactions of those human subjects. The three-paragraph memo reports that the late Carl Duckett, a senior CIA technologist, had said the testing program was not intended to find new techniques to be used offensively, but rather was an effort to detect if such drugs were being employed by others. Read The Full Story Tony Blair Officially Resigns As Prime Minister 2007-06-27 13:38:29 Prime Minister Tony Blair resigned Wednesday after a decade of guiding Britain through economic prosperity at home and a deeply unpopular war abroad, turning over power to his longtime political partner and rival Gordon Brown. Looking grayer but no less effusive than when he took office in 1997, Blair, 54, received a standing ovation after his final appearance at Britain's famous Prime Minister's Questions in the House of Commons. He then tendered his resignation in a private audience with Queen Elizabeth II at Buckingham Palace. Blair spent much of his last address as prime minister defending the war in Iraq and began his remarks by saluting three British soldiers who had died in Iraq and Afghanistan. Read The Full Story Editorial: Gitmos Across America 2007-06-27 02:25:50 Intellpuke: The following editorial appears in the New York Times edition for Wednesday, June 27, 2007. Toughness is the watchword in immigration policy these days. When you combine the new toughness with same-old bureaucratic indolence and ineptitude, you get a situation like that described by Nina Bernstein in the Times Tuesday. She wrote about how the boom in immigration detention - the nation’s fastest-growing form of incarceration - ensnares people for dubious reasons, denies them access to medicine and lawyers and sometimes holds them until they die. Sandra M. Kenley, a legal permanent resident who had high blood pressure and a bleeding uterus, died in a rural Virginia jail after not receiving her medication. Returning home from a trip to Barbados she was locked up because of two old misdemeanor drug convictions. Abdoulai Sall, an auto mechanic, had no criminal record, but was still seized during an immigration interview. He had a severe kidney ailment and he, too, complained about not getting his medicine. He got sicker and died in another Virginia jail last December. Sixty-two immigrants have died since 2004 while being held in a secretive detention system, a patchwork of federal centers, private prisons and local jails. Advocacy groups and lawyers say that the system not only denies detainees the most basic rights but also lacks the oversight and regulations that apply to federal prisons. Instead of fixing this broken system, the Senate bill that is lumbering toward final passage - after surviving a crucial procedural vote yesterday - is overloaded with provisions that will make it even harsher and more unfair. Read The Full Story Psychiatrists Top List In Gifts From Pharmaceutical Companies 2007-06-27 02:25:19 As states begin to require that drug companies disclose their payments to doctors for lectures and other services, a pattern has emerged: psychiatrists earn more money from drug makers than doctors in any other specialty. How this money may be influencing psychiatrists and other doctors has become one of the most contentious issues in health care. For instance, the more psychiatrists have earned from drug makers, the more they have prescribed a new class of powerful medicines known as atypical antipsychotics to children, for whom the drugs are especially risky and mostly unapproved. Vermont officials disclosed Tuesday that drug company payments to psychiatrists in the state more than doubled last year, to an average of $45,692 each from $20,835 in 2005. Antipsychotic medicines are among the largest expenses for the state’s Medicaid program. Over all last year, drug makers spent $2.25 million on marketing payments, fees and travel expenses to Vermont doctors, hospitals and universities, a 2.3 percent increase over the prior year, said the state. Read The Full Story Buffet Helps Raise $1 Million For Clinton In New York 2007-06-27 02:24:37 Billionaire investor Warren Buffett used his business clout and folksy wisdom to raise $1 million for Democratic presidential hopeful Sen. Hillary Clinton on Tuesday, telling big donors that Democrats are better than Republicans  at taking care of the less fortunate. Buffett has said he admires both Clinton and Sen. Barack Obama and could support either one. He mentioned neither by name as he regaled listeners in the New York event billed as "A Conversation with Hillary Clinton and Warren Buffett." Many of the attendees work on Wall Street. They paid $500 to hear Buffett and the New York senator, $1,000 to attend a separate cocktail party or $4,600 to attend a dinner as well, bringing the take to $1 million, said a Clinton spokeswoman. Read The Full Story Conoco, Exxon Exit Venezuelan Oil Deals 2007-06-27 02:23:57 Conoco Phillips is pulling out of its Venezuelan oil ventures after failing to agree on new contract terms with the populist government of President Hugo Chavez, and Exxon Mobil said it had also reached an impasse in negotiations there. The stalemate follows the Venezuelan national oil company's seizure of majority stakes last month in four projects in an area containing one of the largest oil deposits in the world. The move was part of a wider effort by Chavez to boost state control over parts of the economy such as utilities, television and telecommunications. It also reflected a recent trend in some oil-rich countries, such as Russia, toward squeezing foreign oil companies to a point where many of them prefer to leave. Four other major oil companies signed deals Tuesday giving the Venezuelan state oil company 60 to 83 percent interests in their ventures. The companies were Chevron, Statoil, Total and BP. Read The Full Story Al-Qaeda, Seeking New Influence, Urges Arabs To Aid Hamas 2007-06-27 02:23:25 Ayman al-Zawahiri, al-Qaeda's second in command, called on all Muslims Monday to support the Islamic movement Hamas in the Gaza Strip by sending money and weapons to defend it against what he said are attacks planned by Western and Arab governments. The appeal marked a shift in tactics for al-Qaeda, which has long criticized Hamas for not adhering to strict interpretations of Islamic principles and for its participation in Palestinian elections last year. The appeal follows Hamas's conquest of Gaza this month in a brutal five-day battle against Fatah, the rival Palestinian party headquartered in the West Bank. With the Palestinian Authority now split into two camps, and Gaza cut off from international assistance as the United States and Israel back Fatah and President Mahmoud Abbas, al-Qaeda is seizing an opportunity to increase its influence. "We are with you ... despite all the mistakes of your leadership," Zawahiri told Hamas in an audio recording posted on a Web site frequently used by groups linked to al-Qaeda. Read The Full Story	U.N. Report: Likely Spread Of Deserts To Fertile Land Needs Quick Response 2007-06-27 23:43:12 Enough fertile land could turn into desert within the next generation to create an “environmental crisis of global proportions,” large-scale migrations and political instability in parts of Africa and Central Asia unless current trends are quickly stemmed, a new United Nations report concludes. “The costs of desertification are large,” said Zafar Adeel of the United Nations University, who is based in Canada and is an author of the report, to be released Thursday. “Already at the moment there are tens of millions of people on the move,” Dr. Adeel said in an interview. “There’s internal displacement. There’s international migration. There are a number of causes. But by and large, in sub-Saharan Africa and Central Asia this movement is triggered by degradation of land.” The report’s authors say individual nations and international groups must collaborate to solve what has so far been an under-recognized crisis in the making, caused mainly by climate change. Water resources are overexploited because the poor have no other options, and climate change has exacerbated the cycle. Governments and wealthier countries must aid these populations to develop more sustainable livelihoods or suffer the consequences, says the report. Read The Full Story Study Sees Some Of Climate Change's Impacts On Alaska 2007-06-27 23:42:34 Many of Alaska's roads, runways, railroads and water and sewer systems will wear out more quickly and cost more to repair or replace because of climate change, according to a study released Wednesday. Higher temperatures, melting permafrost, a reduction in polar ice and increased flooding are expected to raise the repair and replacement cost of thousands of infrastructure projects as much as $6.1 billion for a total of nearly $40 billion - about a 20 percent increase - from now to 2030, according to the study, by the Institute for Social and Economic Research at the University of Alaska Anchorage. The cost estimates are based on the needs of nearly 16,000 pieces of public infrastructure, including airports and small segments of roads. Read The Full Story Poison-Containing Chinese-Made Toothpaste Sold Wider In U.S. Than Thought 2007-06-27 23:41:55 After federal health officials discovered last month that tainted Chinese toothpaste had entered the United States, they warned that it would most likely be found in discount stores. In fact, the toothpaste has been distributed much more widely. Roughly 900,000 tubes containing a poison used in some antifreeze products have turned up in hospitals for the mentally ill, prisons, juvenile detention centers and even some hospitals serving the general population. The toothpaste was handed out in dozens of state institutions, mostly in Georgia but also in North Carolina, according to state officials. Hospitals in South Carolina and Florida also reported receiving Chinese-made toothpaste, and a major national pharmaceutical distributor said it was recalling tainted Chinese toothpaste. Read The Full Story U.S. Senate Subpoenas White House, Cheney's Office 2007-06-27 22:12:17 The Senate subpoenaed the White House and Vice President Dick Cheney's office Wednesday, demanding documents and elevating the confrontation with President Bush over the administration's warrant-free eavesdropping on Americans. Separately, the Senate Judiciary Committee also is summoning Attorney General Alberto Gonzales to discuss the program and an array of other matters that have cost a half-dozen top Justice Department officials their jobs, committee chairman Patrick Leahy announced. Leahy, D-Vermont, raised questions about previous testimony by one of Bush's appeals court nominees and said he wouldn't let such matters pass. "If there have been lies told to us, we'll refer it to the Department of Justice and the U.S. attorney for whatever legal action they think is appropriate," Leahy told reporters. He did just that Wednesday, referring questions about testimony by former White House aide Brett Kavanaugh, who now sits on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia. Read The Full Story Global Poll: Environment And U.S. Policy Top Fears 2007-06-27 22:00:25 Growing numbers of people worldwide view environmental problems, pollution, infectious diseases, nuclear proliferation and the widening gap between rich and poor as the most menacing threats facing the planet, according to a 47-nation survey published Wednesday by the U.S.-based Pew Global Attitudes Project. The survey, which conducted more than 45,000 interviews, finds that global opinion is increasingly wary of the world's dominant countries but also unimpressed by aspiring leaders in Iran and Venezuela who challenge the international status quo. In contrast, the U.N. receives strong support. The U.S. comes in for sharp criticism. "Global distrust of American leadership is reflected in increasing disapproval of the cornerstones of U.S. foreign policy," the survey says. "Not only is there worldwide support for a withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq but there is also considerable opposition to U.S. and NATO operations in Afghanistan ... The U.S. image remains abysmal in most Muslim countries in the Middle East and Asia and continues to decline among the publics of America's oldest allies." Nine per cent of Turks, 13% of Palestinians and 15% of Pakistanis take a favorable view of the U.S. In Germany, the figure is 30%, in France 39% and in Britain 51% - all down on previous surveys. Only in Israel, Ghana, Nigeria and Kenya do majorities believe U.S. forces should stay in Iraq. Read The Full Story Torrential Rains Flood Parts Of Texas, Oklahoma 2007-06-27 13:41:36 Torrential storms flooded parts of central Texas early Wednesday, stranding people on roofs, in trees and in vehicles, and the weather was so treacherous that some helicopter rescue attempts had to be abandoned. The worst flooding was in Williamson, Lampasas and Burnet counties in the Texas Hill Country northwest of Austin. "We got hard facts of 18-plus inches of rain in a couple of those places since midnight," Austin-Travis County emergency medical services spokesman Warren Hassinger said just after 7 a.m. More rain was expected throughout the day, said the National Weather Service. Parts of Oklahoma also were soaked Wednesday, with rain falling on Oklahoma City for the 15th consecutive day, breaking a 70-year-old record. Read The Full Story U.N. Report: Half The World's Population Soon To Live In Cities, Towns 2007-06-27 13:41:08 By next year, more than half the world’s population, 3.3 billion people, will for the first time live in towns and cities, a number expected to swell to almost 5 billion by 2030, according to a United Nations Population Fund report released Wednesday. The onrush of change will be particularly extraordinary in Africa and Asia, where between 2000 and 2030 “the accumulated urban growth of these two regions during the whole span of history will be duplicated in a single generation,” the report says. This surge in urban populations, fueled more by natural increase than the migration of people from the countryside, is unstoppable, said George Martin, author of the report, “State of World Population 2007: Unleashing the Potential of Urban Growth.” Read The Full Story Egypt Unveils Mummy Of Queen Hatshepsut 2007-06-27 13:39:47 The mummy of an obese woman, who likely suffered from diabetes and liver cancer, has been identified as that of Queen Hatshepsut, Egypt's most powerful female pharaoh, Egyptian archaeologists said Wednesday. Hatshepsut, who ruled Egypt in the 15th century B.C., was known for dressing like a man and wearing a false beard. But when her rule ended, all traces of her mysteriously disappeared, including her mummy. Discovered in 1903 in the Valley of the Kings, the mummy was left on site until two months ago, when it was brought to the Cairo Museum for testing, said Egypt's antiquities chief Zahi Hawass. DNA bone samples taken from the mummy's pelvic bone and femur are being compared to the mummy of Queen Hatshepsut's grandmother, Amos Nefreteri, said molecular geneticist Yehia Zakaria Gad, who was part of Hawass' team. Read The Full Story CIA: The View From Watergate 2007-06-27 13:39:10 "Mr. Helms instructed me to restrict knowledge of the existence of the letter to an absolute minimum number of people." So said Howard J. Osborn, the CIA's director of security, in a sworn affidavit that sat for decades in the agency's secret files until it was released Tuesday. The Mr. Helms in question was Richard Helms, the director of central intelligence during Watergate and a zealous guardian of his agency - "the man who kept the secrets," as his biographer, Thomas Powers, called him. In this case, Osborn reported that James W. McCord, Jr., the head of the Watergate burglary team and Osborn's predecessor as the CIA's chief of security, had written a letter in August 1972 to Helms. Osborn, according to his affidavit, said he "felt strongly" that it should be turned over to the FBI, which was supposedly conducting a rigorous investigation of Watergate. It was a critical moment in the Watergate probe, with Nixon seeking reelection that fall and desperate to keep the botched burglary from spoiling his chances. McCord's letter to the CIA could have been important evidence; according to later testimony, he was seeking assistance from the CIA, where he had worked for decades, and was on the verge of blowing the whistle about Watergate, as he did months later in a famous March 21, 1973, letter to Judge John J. Sirica. Read The Full Story House Report Faults Pentagon Accounting Of Iraqi Forces 2007-06-27 02:26:02 The United States has invested $19 billion to train and equip nearly 350,000 Iraqi soldiers and police since toppling Saddam Hussein, but the ability of those forces to provide security remains in doubt, according to the findings of a bipartisan congressional investigation to be released Wednesday. As a result, President Bush's pledge to have U.S. troops "stand down" as Iraqi forces "stand up" remains unfulfilled. Instead, U.S. troop numbers and operations have escalated in recent months, and the overall level of violence has not decreased. Despite the substantial number of Iraqi security forces and their increasing willingness to fight - demonstrated by rising numbers of casualties - their progress toward taking full responsibility for the nation's security remains mixed, according to a report on the investigation by the oversight panel of the House Armed Services Committee. U.S. commanders now predict that it will take years and tens of thousands more Iraqi soldiers and police to achieve that goal. The Pentagon "cannot report in detail how many of the 346,500 Iraqi military and police personnel that the coalition trained are operational today," according to the 250-page report. Details of the document were provided to the Washington Post by congressional staff members. Read The Full Story New Scrutiny As Immigrants Die In Custody 2007-06-27 02:25:39 Sandra M. Kenley was returning home from her native Barbados in 2005 when she was swept into the United States’ fastest-growing form of incarceration, immigration detention. Seven weeks later, Ms. Kenley died in a rural Virginia jail, where she had complained of not receiving medicine for high blood pressure. She was one of 62 immigrants to die in administrative custody since 2004, according to a new tally by Immigration and Customs Enforcement that counted many more deaths than the 20 previously known. No government body is charged with accounting for deaths in immigration detention, a patchwork of county jails, privately run prisons and federal facilities where more than 27,500 people who are not American citizens are held on any given day while the government decides whether to deport them. Getting details about those who die in custody is a difficult undertaking left to family members, advocacy groups and lawyers. Read The Full Story More Evacuations In Britain As Floods Threaten To Burst Dam 2007-06-27 02:25:01 Hundreds of people were evacuated from their homes in Yorkshire, England, Tuesday after record rainfall led to a "significant risk" that a dam containing a reservoir could burst. Firefighters were trying to drain the Ulley reservoir, which is less than a mile from the M1 motorway and near a power station that serves most of Sheffield. In a separate development, West Mercia police said they were concerned about the safety of a man who called his wife Monday to say his car was being washed away by floods. He has not been heard from since. A helicopter search Monday and Tuesday failed to find any trace of the Volvo V70 estate or the man, who was travelling to Worcester from Evesham. People living near Ulley dam, in South Yorkshire, were urged by the council to leave their houses after a large section of the earth dam collapsed into a flooded stream below. Read The Full Story Judge Orders Prison Time For Ex-Interior Dept. Deputy 2007-06-27 02:24:23 A federal judge rejected the tearful pleas of the former second-ranking official in the Interior Department Tuesday and sentenced him to 10 months in prison for a felony conviction of obstructing a Senate investigation into corrupt lobbyist Jack Abramhoff. "You are not above the law," U.S. District Judge Ellen S. Huvelle told former deputy interior secretary J. Steven Griles as he asked for forgiveness. Griles pleaded guilty in March to lying to the Senate about his relationship with Abramoff. In the plea agreement, prosecutors recommended a sentence of five months of house arrest and five months in prison. But Huvelle imposed a sterner penalty of 10 months in prison and a $30,000 fine. She said she wanted to send a message to deter wrongdoing by high-ranking government officials. Defense attorneys had asked for three months of home detention, community service and a "reasonable fine." Read The Full Story Gas Rationing Sparks Iranians Anger 2007-06-27 02:23:43 Angry Iranians attacked several gas stations in protest after the government suddenly began long-threatened fuel rationing, while many others rushed to fill their tanks. The Oil Ministry announced the start of rationing Tuesday night, just three hours before it was due to begin at midnight. The sudden announcement sparked long lines at stations as Iranians tried to get one last fill-up before the limitations kicked in. Several stations were attacked "by vandals," state radio reported early Wednesday. It did not say how many stations were damaged or give details. The Iranian government has been planning for weeks to implement rationing, which was supposed to begin May 21 but was repeatedly delayed. In May, the government reduced subsidies for gas, causing a 25 percent jump in the price. Read The Full Story CIA Releases Files On Past Misdeeds - Assassination Plots, Domestic Spying And More 2007-06-27 02:22:36 Hundreds of pages of decades-old documents declassified and released by the CIA Tuesday revealed a 1970s-era agency in the throes of unaccustomed self-examination, caught between its traditional secrecy and demands that it come clean on a history of unsavory activities. Prompted by the then-unraveling Watergate affair, and by fears that CIA involvement in that scandal would be exposed along with other illegal operations, the agency combed its files for what it called "delicate" information with "flap potential." The result was a collection of documents the CIA called the "family jewels." Partly disclosed Tuesday, the documents chronicle activities including assassination plans, illegal wiretaps and hunts for spies at political conventions. One document spoke of a plan to poison an African leader. Another revealed that the CIA had offered a Mafia boss $150,000 to kill Cuba's Fidel Castro. Read The Full Story
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Free Internet Press Newsletter - Wednesday June 27 2007 - (813)

Wednesday June 27 2007 edition
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House Report Faults Pentagon Accounting Of Iraqi Forces 2007-06-27 02:26:02 The United States has invested $19 billion to train and equip nearly 350,000 Iraqi soldiers and police since toppling Saddam Hussein, but the ability of those forces to provide security remains in doubt, according to the findings of a bipartisan congressional investigation to be released Wednesday. As a result, President Bush's pledge to have U.S. troops "stand down" as Iraqi forces "stand up" remains unfulfilled. Instead, U.S. troop numbers and operations have escalated in recent months, and the overall level of violence has not decreased. Despite the substantial number of Iraqi security forces and their increasing willingness to fight - demonstrated by rising numbers of casualties - their progress toward taking full responsibility for the nation's security remains mixed, according to a report on the investigation by the oversight panel of the House Armed Services Committee. U.S. commanders now predict that it will take years and tens of thousands more Iraqi soldiers and police to achieve that goal. The Pentagon "cannot report in detail how many of the 346,500 Iraqi military and police personnel that the coalition trained are operational today," according to the 250-page report. Details of the document were provided to the Washington Post by congressional staff members. Read The Full Story New Scrutiny As Immigrants Die In Custody 2007-06-27 02:25:39 Sandra M. Kenley was returning home from her native Barbados in 2005 when she was swept into the United States’ fastest-growing form of incarceration, immigration detention. Seven weeks later, Ms. Kenley died in a rural Virginia jail, where she had complained of not receiving medicine for high blood pressure. She was one of 62 immigrants to die in administrative custody since 2004, according to a new tally by Immigration and Customs Enforcement that counted many more deaths than the 20 previously known. No government body is charged with accounting for deaths in immigration detention, a patchwork of county jails, privately run prisons and federal facilities where more than 27,500 people who are not American citizens are held on any given day while the government decides whether to deport them. Getting details about those who die in custody is a difficult undertaking left to family members, advocacy groups and lawyers. Read The Full Story More Evacuations In Britain As Floods Threaten To Burst Dam 2007-06-27 02:25:01 Hundreds of people were evacuated from their homes in Yorkshire, England, Tuesday after record rainfall led to a "significant risk" that a dam containing a reservoir could burst. Firefighters were trying to drain the Ulley reservoir, which is less than a mile from the M1 motorway and near a power station that serves most of Sheffield. In a separate development, West Mercia police said they were concerned about the safety of a man who called his wife Monday to say his car was being washed away by floods. He has not been heard from since. A helicopter search Monday and Tuesday failed to find any trace of the Volvo V70 estate or the man, who was travelling to Worcester from Evesham. People living near Ulley dam, in South Yorkshire, were urged by the council to leave their houses after a large section of the earth dam collapsed into a flooded stream below. Read The Full Story Judge Orders Prison Time For Ex-Interior Dept. Deputy 2007-06-27 02:24:23 A federal judge rejected the tearful pleas of the former second-ranking official in the Interior Department Tuesday and sentenced him to 10 months in prison for a felony conviction of obstructing a Senate investigation into corrupt lobbyist Jack Abramhoff. "You are not above the law," U.S. District Judge Ellen S. Huvelle told former deputy interior secretary J. Steven Griles as he asked for forgiveness. Griles pleaded guilty in March to lying to the Senate about his relationship with Abramoff. In the plea agreement, prosecutors recommended a sentence of five months of house arrest and five months in prison. But Huvelle imposed a sterner penalty of 10 months in prison and a $30,000 fine. She said she wanted to send a message to deter wrongdoing by high-ranking government officials. Defense attorneys had asked for three months of home detention, community service and a "reasonable fine." Read The Full Story Gas Rationing Sparks Iranians Anger 2007-06-27 02:23:43 Angry Iranians attacked several gas stations in protest after the government suddenly began long-threatened fuel rationing, while many others rushed to fill their tanks. The Oil Ministry announced the start of rationing Tuesday night, just three hours before it was due to begin at midnight. The sudden announcement sparked long lines at stations as Iranians tried to get one last fill-up before the limitations kicked in. Several stations were attacked "by vandals," state radio reported early Wednesday. It did not say how many stations were damaged or give details. The Iranian government has been planning for weeks to implement rationing, which was supposed to begin May 21 but was repeatedly delayed. In May, the government reduced subsidies for gas, causing a 25 percent jump in the price. Read The Full Story CIA Releases Files On Past Misdeeds - Assassination Plots, Domestic Spying And More 2007-06-27 02:22:36 Hundreds of pages of decades-old documents declassified and released by the CIA Tuesday revealed a 1970s-era agency in the throes of unaccustomed self-examination, caught between its traditional secrecy and demands that it come clean on a history of unsavory activities. Prompted by the then-unraveling Watergate affair, and by fears that CIA involvement in that scandal would be exposed along with other illegal operations, the agency combed its files for what it called "delicate" information with "flap potential." The result was a collection of documents the CIA called the "family jewels." Partly disclosed Tuesday, the documents chronicle activities including assassination plans, illegal wiretaps and hunts for spies at political conventions. One document spoke of a plan to poison an African leader. Another revealed that the CIA had offered a Mafia boss $150,000 to kill Cuba's Fidel Castro. Read The Full Story U.S. Consumer Confidence Falls In June 2007-06-26 14:45:11 Two pillars of the economy - consumer confidence and the housing market - sent off warning signs on Tuesday that could mean lower spending during the critical fall shopping season, particularly if the labor market weakens. Both pieces of the economic puzzle dropped into a market that is worried about inflation, interest rates and economic growth ahead of a two-day meeting of the Federal Reserve that begins Wednesday. The Fed is expected to keep interest rates steady, but investors are watching for clues about future moves. In midmorning trading, the Dow Jones industrial average rose only slightly as investors were unnerved about the larger-than-expected drop in consumer sentiment. The New York-based Conference Board said that its Consumer Confidence Index fell almost 5 points to 103.9, down from a revised 108.5 in May, reaching the lowest level since August 2006 when the reading was 100.2. Analysts had expected a reading of 106. Read The Full Story Iraq Issues Arrest Warrant Minister Of Culture, A Sunni 2007-06-26 14:39:31 An arrest warrant was issued against Iraq's Sunni culture minister, and police raided his home on Tuesday after he was accused of ordering a 2005 assassination attempt against a secular Sunni politician that killed his two sons, said officials. The main Sunni political bloc immediately demanded the decision be reversed. Culture Minister Asad Kamal al-Hashimi, who was not home during the raid, was identified by two suspected militants as the mastermind of a Feb. 8, 2005, ambush against then-parliamentary candidate Mithal al-Alusi, according to Ali al-Dabbagh, a government spokesman. Al-Alusi escaped unharmed but two of his sons were killed. "The two who planned and carried out the killings of Mithal al-Alusi's two sons confessed that they took orders from him," said al-Dabbagh. He added that al-Hashimi was a mosque imam at the time. Read The Full Story Commentary:A GOP Plan To Oust Cheney 2007-06-26 14:38:31 Intellpuke: The following commentary by Sally Quinn, co-host, with John Meacham, of "On Faith", an online conversation about religion, appears in the Washington Post edition for Tuesday, June 26, 2007. Ms. Quinn's commentary follows: The big question right now among Republicans is how to remove Vice President Cheney from office. Even before this week's blockbuster seriesin the [Washington] Post, discontent in Republican ranks was rising. As the reputed architect of the war in Iraq, Cheney is viewed as toxic, and as the administration's leading proponent of an attack on Iran, he is seen as dangerous. As long as he remains vice president, according to this thinking, he has the potential to drag down every member of the party - including the presidential nominee - in next year's elections. Removing a sitting vice president is not easy, but this may be the moment. I remember Barry Goldwater sitting in my parents' living room in 1973, in the last days of Watergate, debating whether to lead a group of senior Republicans to the White House to tell President Nixon he had to go. His hesitation was that he felt loyalty to the president and the party. But in the end he felt a greater loyalty to his country, and he went to the White House. Read The Full Story North Korea Says Funds Issue Resolved, Will Shut Down Reactor 2007-06-26 14:37:22 North Korea announced Monday that a prolonged dispute over $25 million frozen in Macau bank accounts has finally been resolved, opening the way for closure of its main nuclear reactor. The declaration, by a Foreign Ministry spokesman on the official Korean Central News Agency, said North Korea is now ready to carry out an agreement reached in Beijing on Feb. 13 to shut down the reactor and allow inspections by the International Atomic Energy Agency to make sure it does not resume operation. Olli Heinonen, the agency's deputy director general for safeguards, was scheduled to arrive Tuesday in Pyongyang,  the North Korean capital, for discussions on closing the reactor, in nearby Yongbyon, and setting up regular inspections by IAEA experts. Read The Full Story GOP Senator Say Iraq Plan Not Working 2007-06-26 01:43:46 Sen. Richard Lugar, a senior Republican and a reliable vote for President Bush on the war, said Monday that Bush's Iraq strategy was not working and that the U.S. should downsize the military's role. The unusually blunt assessment deals a political blow to Bush, who has relied heavily on GOP support to stave off anti-war legislation. It also comes as a surprise. Most Republicans have said they were willing to wait until September to see if Bush's recently ordered troop buildup in Iraq was working. "In my judgment, the costs and risks of continuing down the current path outweigh the potential benefits that might be achieved," Lugar, R-Indiana, said in a Senate floor speech. "Persisting indefinitely with the surge strategy will delay policy adjustments that have a better chance of protecting our vital interests over the long term." Read The Full Story Editorial: Three Bad Rulings 2007-06-26 01:42:52 Intellpuke: The following editorial appears in the New York Times edition for Tuesday, June 26, 2007. The Supreme Court hit the trifecta Monday: Three cases involving the First Amendment. Three dismaying decisions by Chief Justice John Roberts’ new conservative majority. Chief Justice Roberts and the four others in his ascendant bloc used the next-to-last decision day of this term to re-open the political system to a new flood of special-interest money, to weaken protection of student expression and to make it harder for citizens to challenge government violations of the separation of church and state. In the process, the reconfigured court extended its noxious habit of casting aside precedents without acknowledging it -  insincere judicial modesty scored by Justice Antonin Scalia in a concurring opinion. First, campaign finance. Four years ago, a differently constituted court upheld sensible provisions of the McCain-Feingold Act designed to prevent corporations and labor unions from circumventing the ban on their spending in federal campaigns by bankrolling phony “issue ads.” These ads purport to just educate voters about a policy issue, but are really aimed at a particular candidate. Read The Full Story Ex-EPA Chief Defends Role In 9/11 Response 2007-06-26 01:42:16 Testifying at a Congressional hearing on Monday about the government’s environmental response to the Sept. 11 terrorist attack, Christie Whitmanstaunchly defended her statements assuring the public that the air in Lower Manhattan was safe in the days immediately after the attack. Facing some of her toughest Congressional critics, Whitman, the former administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, repeatedly denied the critics’ assertions that there had been a deliberate attempt to play down health risks or that the White House had improperly influenced statements she made in the weeks after 9/11. She said that she was addressing residents of Lower Manhattan - not workers at ground zero - when she said a week after the attack that the air was safe to breathe. She said that the agency issued strong and repeated warnings to workers on the debris pile to wear protective equipment, but that her agency had no ability or authority to enforce that requirement. Read The Full Story Mexico Demotes Senior Police Officials In Graft Crackdown 2007-06-26 01:41:13 The heads of federal police agencies in all 32 Mexican states and 250 other high-ranking officers were demoted Monday in one of the broadest corruption crackdowns in this country's recent history. The demotions are the latest step in President Felipe Calderon's campaign to fight drug cartels, which are blamed for more than 1,000 execution-style killings this year and have been largely undeterred by Mexican military offensives against their strongholds. The demoted police chiefs and officers will undergo ethics training in hopes of bringing them up to "international standards" for professionalism, Security Minister Genaro Garcia Luna said Monday at a news conference. They will remain on the payroll - under Mexican law, it is extremely difficult to fire police officers. Garcia Luna gave no details about possible crimes committed by the demoted officials or whether any of them would eventually be removed from office. Read The Full Story	Editorial: Gitmos Across America 2007-06-27 02:25:50 Intellpuke: The following editorial appears in the New York Times edition for Wednesday, June 27, 2007. Toughness is the watchword in immigration policy these days. When you combine the new toughness with same-old bureaucratic indolence and ineptitude, you get a situation like that described by Nina Bernstein in the Times Tuesday. She wrote about how the boom in immigration detention - the nation’s fastest-growing form of incarceration - ensnares people for dubious reasons, denies them access to medicine and lawyers and sometimes holds them until they die. Sandra M. Kenley, a legal permanent resident who had high blood pressure and a bleeding uterus, died in a rural Virginia jail after not receiving her medication. Returning home from a trip to Barbados she was locked up because of two old misdemeanor drug convictions. Abdoulai Sall, an auto mechanic, had no criminal record, but was still seized during an immigration interview. He had a severe kidney ailment and he, too, complained about not getting his medicine. He got sicker and died in another Virginia jail last December. Sixty-two immigrants have died since 2004 while being held in a secretive detention system, a patchwork of federal centers, private prisons and local jails. Advocacy groups and lawyers say that the system not only denies detainees the most basic rights but also lacks the oversight and regulations that apply to federal prisons. Instead of fixing this broken system, the Senate bill that is lumbering toward final passage - after surviving a crucial procedural vote yesterday - is overloaded with provisions that will make it even harsher and more unfair. Read The Full Story Psychiatrists Top List In Gifts From Pharmaceutical Companies 2007-06-27 02:25:19 As states begin to require that drug companies disclose their payments to doctors for lectures and other services, a pattern has emerged: psychiatrists earn more money from drug makers than doctors in any other specialty. How this money may be influencing psychiatrists and other doctors has become one of the most contentious issues in health care. For instance, the more psychiatrists have earned from drug makers, the more they have prescribed a new class of powerful medicines known as atypical antipsychotics to children, for whom the drugs are especially risky and mostly unapproved. Vermont officials disclosed Tuesday that drug company payments to psychiatrists in the state more than doubled last year, to an average of $45,692 each from $20,835 in 2005. Antipsychotic medicines are among the largest expenses for the state’s Medicaid program. Over all last year, drug makers spent $2.25 million on marketing payments, fees and travel expenses to Vermont doctors, hospitals and universities, a 2.3 percent increase over the prior year, said the state. Read The Full Story Buffet Helps Raise $1 Million For Clinton In New York 2007-06-27 02:24:37 Billionaire investor Warren Buffett used his business clout and folksy wisdom to raise $1 million for Democratic presidential hopeful Sen. Hillary Clinton on Tuesday, telling big donors that Democrats are better than Republicans  at taking care of the less fortunate. Buffett has said he admires both Clinton and Sen. Barack Obama and could support either one. He mentioned neither by name as he regaled listeners in the New York event billed as "A Conversation with Hillary Clinton and Warren Buffett." Many of the attendees work on Wall Street. They paid $500 to hear Buffett and the New York senator, $1,000 to attend a separate cocktail party or $4,600 to attend a dinner as well, bringing the take to $1 million, said a Clinton spokeswoman. Read The Full Story Conoco, Exxon Exit Venezuelan Oil Deals 2007-06-27 02:23:57 Conoco Phillips is pulling out of its Venezuelan oil ventures after failing to agree on new contract terms with the populist government of President Hugo Chavez, and Exxon Mobil said it had also reached an impasse in negotiations there. The stalemate follows the Venezuelan national oil company's seizure of majority stakes last month in four projects in an area containing one of the largest oil deposits in the world. The move was part of a wider effort by Chavez to boost state control over parts of the economy such as utilities, television and telecommunications. It also reflected a recent trend in some oil-rich countries, such as Russia, toward squeezing foreign oil companies to a point where many of them prefer to leave. Four other major oil companies signed deals Tuesday giving the Venezuelan state oil company 60 to 83 percent interests in their ventures. The companies were Chevron, Statoil, Total and BP. Read The Full Story Al-Qaeda, Seeking New Influence, Urges Arabs To Aid Hamas 2007-06-27 02:23:25 Ayman al-Zawahiri, al-Qaeda's second in command, called on all Muslims Monday to support the Islamic movement Hamas in the Gaza Strip by sending money and weapons to defend it against what he said are attacks planned by Western and Arab governments. The appeal marked a shift in tactics for al-Qaeda, which has long criticized Hamas for not adhering to strict interpretations of Islamic principles and for its participation in Palestinian elections last year. The appeal follows Hamas's conquest of Gaza this month in a brutal five-day battle against Fatah, the rival Palestinian party headquartered in the West Bank. With the Palestinian Authority now split into two camps, and Gaza cut off from international assistance as the United States and Israel back Fatah and President Mahmoud Abbas, al-Qaeda is seizing an opportunity to increase its influence. "We are with you ... despite all the mistakes of your leadership," Zawahiri told Hamas in an audio recording posted on a Web site frequently used by groups linked to al-Qaeda. Read The Full Story Another GOP Senator Urges Iraq Pullout 2007-06-26 14:45:29 U.S. Sen. George Voinovich said Tuesday the U.S. should begin pulling troops out of Iraq and bolster diplomatic efforts, becoming the second Republican lawmaker in as many days to declare President Bush's war strategy a failure. "It's in their best interest to become part of the solution instead of sitting on the sidelines," the Ohio senator said of the Iraqi people. "I don't think they'll get it until they know we're leaving." Voinovich's remarks come on the heels of similar comments by Sen. Richard Lugar, R-Indiana. The two GOP senators previously had expressed concerns about Bush's decision to send 30,000 extra troops to Iraq in a massive U.S.-led security push in Baghdad and Anbar province, but they had stopped short of saying U.S. troops should leave and declined to back Democratic legislation setting a deadline for troop withdrawals. Read The Full Story U.K. Defense Contractor BAE Systems Is Under Justice Dept. Investigation 2007-06-26 14:39:54 BAE Systems PLC said Tuesday that the U.S. Department of Justice has begun an investigation of the company's dealings with Saudi Arabia. BAE's brief announcement said the investigation related to the company's compliance with anti-corruption laws. BAE shares opened 6 percent lower on the London Stock Exchange at $8.30. The company has denied accusations that it paid illegal kickbacks to members of the Saudi royal family as part of the $86 billion Al-Yamamah aircraft deal negotiated in 1985. Read The Full Story Fred Thompson Defends His Lobbying Record 2007-06-26 14:39:11 Fred Thompson, a likely Republican presidential candidate, on Tuesday defended his work as a Washington lobbyist, telling the Associated Press that lobbying is an important part of life because "government's got their hands in everything." The actor and former U.S. senator from Tennessee added, "Nobody yet has pointed out any of my clients that didn't deserve representation." Thompson, who likes to cast himself as a political outsider, earned more than $1 million lobbying the federal government for more than 20 years. He lobbied for a savings-and-loan deregulation bill that helped hasten the industry's collapse and a failed nuclear energy project that cost taxpayers more than a billion dollars. In a brief interview with the A.P., Thompson said he expects to hear criticism about his lobbying activities as he moves closer to declaring his candidacy. Opponents emphasized his lobbying work during his Senate races in 1994 and 1996. Read The Full Story Pro Wrestler Benoit Strangled Wife, Smothered Son, Before Hanging Himself 2007-06-26 14:38:15 Pro wrestler Chris Benoit strangled his wife and smothered his son before hanging himself in his weight room, a law enforcement official close to the investigation told the Associated Press on Tuesday. Authorities also said they are investigating whether steroids may have been a factor in the deaths of Benoit, his wife and their 7-year-old son. Steroid abuse has been linked to depression, paranoia, and aggressive behavior or angry outbursts known as "roid rage." "We don't know yet. That's one of the things we'll be looking at," said Fayette County District Attorney Scott Ballard. He said test results may not be back for weeks. Autopsies were scheduled Tuesday by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation. Read The Full Story U.S. May Deport Ex-Councilwoman 2007-06-26 02:18:16 A former Adelanto City Council member who resigned after questions of her citizenship status were raised two years ago now faces deportation for voting in the 2004 presidential election. Cuban-born Zoila Meyer surrendered to the San Bernardino County office of the Department of Homeland Security's Immigration and Customs Enforcement on Tuesday and was arrested on charges of violating immigration laws. The arrest stems from Meyer's voting in the presidential election and pleading guilty to an unlawful voter charge last year. Meyer, a 40-year-old mother of four who has lived in the United States since she was 1, is a legal alien resident but not a U.S. citizen, according to the San Bernardino County district attorney's office. Meyer could not be reached Friday but told the Associated Press that she always assumed she was a citizen, and was unaware of her immigration status when she voted and ran for office. "It makes me feel like we're all just numbers," she said. "I see people writing, 'This is my country.' It really isn't. It belongs to the government, and they decide who stays and who goes…. You think you're free; you're really not. If they can do this to me, they can do it to anybody." Read The Full Story American Indian Tribes Speak Out About Climate Change 2007-06-26 01:43:05 American Indian leaders are speaking out more forcefully about the danger of climate change. Members of six tribes recently gathered near the Baker River in New Hampshire's White Mountains for a ceremony honoring ''Earth Mother.'' Talking Hawk, a Mohawk Indian who asked to be identified by his Indian name, pointed to the river's tea-colored water as proof that the overwhelming amount of pollution humans have produced has caused changes around the globe. ''Earth Mother is fighting back - not only from the four winds but also from underneath,'' he said. ''Scientists call it global warming. We call it Earth Mother getting angry.'' At a United Nations meeting last month, several American Indian leaders spoke at a session called ''Indigenous Perspectives on Climate Change.'' Also in May, tribal representatives from Alaska and northern Canada - where pack ice has vanished earlier and earlier each spring - traveled to Washington to press their case. Read The Full Story Ex-Aides Break With Bush On 'No Child Left Behind' 2007-06-26 01:42:40 President Bush urged lawmakers Monday to renew No Child Left Behind, his landmark education initiative, but one of his biggest political liabilities in achieving that goal comes from an unlikely source: his former aides. Five years after they helped craft and implement the initiative, senior administration officials from Bush's first term are speaking out against the law with increasing boldness. The shift, combined with mounting criticism from both the political right and left in Congress, is causing supporters of the law to worry that it might not win renewal this year. Speaking in the East Room of the White House Monday, Bush repeated his plea for speedy passage of the law. "The No Child Left Behind Act is working, and Congress needs to reauthorize this good piece of legislation," he said. Read The Full Story Chinese-Made Tires Are Ordered Recalled 2007-06-26 01:41:54 Federal officials have told a small New Jersey importer to recall 450,000 radial tires for pickup trucks, sport utility vehicles and vans after the company disclosed that its Chinese manufacturer had stopped including a safety feature that prevented the tires from separating. Tread separation is the same defect that led to the recall of millions of Firestone tires in 2000. At the time, tire failure was linked to an increased risk of rollover of light trucks and S.U.V.’s. The company, Foreign Tire Sales of Union, New Jersey, had originally sought the federal government’s help with a recall, saying it did not have enough money to recall all the tires itself. Typically, importers are responsible for the cost of recalling defective foreign products. But officials at the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said it remained the responsibility of Foreign Tire Sales to pay for the costs of the recall, said Heather Hopkins, a spokeswoman for the agency. She said the agency wanted “a full tire recall” by the company. Read The Full Story
Original materials on this site © Free Internet Press. Any mirrored or quoted materials © their respective authors, publications, or outlets, as shown on their publication, indicated by the link in the news story. Original Free Internet Press materials may be copied and/or republished without modification, provided a link to http://FreeInternetPress.com is given in the story, or proper credit is given. Newsletter options may be changed in your preferences on http://freeinternetpress.com Please email editor@freeinternetpress.com there are any questions. XML/RSS/RDF Newsfeed Syndication: http://freeinternetpress.com/rss.php