Free Internet Press Newsletter - Monday November 26 2007 - (813)

Monday November 26 2007 edition
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U.S. Obtains Swiss Records, Flies In British Witness In BAE Investigation 2007-11-26 03:01:28 Justice Dept. investigators want papers from Britain's Serious Fraud Office's (SFO) Saudi investigation. Brown government trying to block questions on payments. U.S. corruption investigators have gone behind the back of Downing Street to fly a British witness to Washington, D.C., to testify about Saudi arms deals with the U.K. arms firm BAE Systems, the Guardian newspaper disclosed Monday. In a hitherto secret move, Swiss federal prosecutors have also agreed to hand over to U.S. Justice Department investigators financial records linked to the Saudi royal family. The U.S. is seeking - but has so far been refused - more than a million pages of documents seized from BAE, its bankers, Lloyds TSB, and Britain's Ministry of Defense during an investigation by Britain's Serious Fraud Office. Prince Bandar, the former Saudi ambassador to the U.S., who says there was no impropriety about a $2 billion (£1 billion) payment he received for brokering arms deals with BAE, has hired a former head of the FBI and a retired British high court judge to defend his position. The British government has been attempting to block all investigations into payments from BAE to members of the Saudi regime. Read The Full Story Bush Administration Scales Back Political Goals For Iraq 2007-11-25 18:27:26 With American military successes outpacing political gains in Iraq, the Bush administration has lowered its expectation of quickly achieving major steps toward unifying the country, including passage of a long-stymied plan to share oil revenues and holding regional elections. Instead, administration officials say they are focusing their immediate efforts on several more limited but achievable goals in the hope of convincing Iraqis, foreign governments and Americans that progress is being made toward the political breakthroughs that the military campaign of the past 10 months was supposed to promote. The short-term American targets include passage of a $48 billion Iraqi budget, something the Iraqis say they are on their way to doing anyway; renewing the United Nations mandate that authorizes an American presence in the country, which the Iraqis have done repeatedly before; and passing legislation to allow thousands of Baath Party members from Saddam Hussein's era to rejoin the government. A senior Bush administration official described that goal as largely symbolic since rehirings have been quietly taking place already. Bush administration officials have not abandoned their larger goals and emphasize the importance of reaching them eventually. They say that even modest steps, taken soon, could set the stage for more progress, in the same manner that this year’s troop “surge” opened the way, unexpectedly, for drawing Sunni tribesmen to the American side. Read The Full Story Strong Earthquakes Rattle Indonesia 2007-11-25 18:26:45 Strong earthquakes shook western and eastern Indonesia on Sunday, sending panicked residents fleeing from their homes. There were no immediate reports of injuries. A 6.1-magnitude quake early Sunday was centered 110 miles from Bengkulu, a coastal town on Sumatra island that has been hit by a series of tremors in recent months, said the U.S. Geological Survey. It was followed 13 hours later by a quake with a preliminary strength of 6.7 on Sumbawa island, to the west, said the agency. The morning temblor near Sumatra had a depth of just six miles beneath the ocean floor, the USGS said, but did not trigger a tsunami. "It was very strong ... even utility poles were shaking," said Dina Ramadani, a resident in Bengkulu, adding that people started screaming after one pole toppled over and crashed into a street. Read The Full Story Russian Police Detain Prominent Opposition Leaders 2007-11-25 18:26:09 Belykh, Nemtsov in custody after Russian police disperse hundreds at rally. Russian riot police detained the leaders of one of Russia's oldest opposition parties Sunday and violently dispersed what officials described as an illegal rally and march in St. Petersburg. Among those detained were Nikita Belykh, chairman of the Union of Right Forces (SPS) and Boris Nemtsov, a former deputy prime minister in the 1990s. Both men are standing for the SPS in next Sunday's parliamentary elections, and Nemtsov was chosen Friday as the party's candidate in next March's presidential election. Nearly 200 people were detained in the city, including activists allied with the chess grandmaster and anti-Putin activist Garry Kasparov, who was sentenced to five days in jail in Moscow Saturday for participating in an "illegal procession." He and his allies attempted to march to the Russian Central Election Commission to hand in a letter following a rally in central Moscow. In St. Petersburg, both Russian and foreign correspondents said police beat activists with their batons and fists before hustling them into buses that took them to police stations. Read The Full Story Fortunes Shift As Oil Prices Soar 2007-11-25 01:27:04 Millionaires are created in Moscow but French fishermen riot over lost profit as oil price effects ripple around the world. Oil makes the world go 'round. Each day, more than 85 million barrels of black gold are pumped from the ground - that's nearly 70 ounces for each of the 6.6 billion men, women and children on Earth. Since January, the price of a barrel of oil has almost doubled and is now approaching $100. Blame tensions in the Middle East, speculators on a quest for profit and the hunger for energy of rising powers, including India and China. The ripples from this price surge are washing up on every shore. It's creating new wealth in such locales as Moscow, where oil barons are almost at a loss about how to spend their riches. But the effects in some other places are less predictable. Israelis fear a rush of people will chop down trees to heat their homes. Farmers in northern Iraq are abandoning their fields to sell gas. Fishermen in France, stung by the price of diesel, have rioted. As Californians cope with gasoline near $3.50 a gallon and other Americans brace for a winter of high heating bills, we asked Times correspondents how the skyrocketing prices are affecting their corner of the world. Here's what they found. Read The Full Story Commentary: Banks Gone Wild 2007-11-25 01:26:28 Intellpuke: The following commentary was written by New York Times columnist Paul Krugman and appeared in the Times edition for Friday, November 23, 2007. “What were they smoking?” asks the cover of the current issue of Fortune magazine. Underneath the headline are photos of recently deposed Wall Street titans, captioned with the staggering sums they managed to lose. The answer, of course, is that they were high on the usual drug - greed. And they were encouraged to make socially destructive decisions by a system of executive compensation that should have been reformed after the Enron and WorldCom scandals, but wasn’t. In a direct sense, the carnage on Wall Street is all about the great housing slump. This slump was both predictable and predicted. “These days,” I wrote in August 2005, “Americans make a living selling each other houses, paid for with money borrowed from the Chinese. Somehow, that doesn’t seem like a sustainable lifestyle.” It wasn’t. Read The Full Story Australia Prime Minister John Howard, A Bush Ally, Defeated In Election 2007-11-25 01:25:11 Next prime minister promises new course on Iraq, global warming. Australia's Conservative Party Prime Minister John Howard suffered a humiliating defeat Saturday at the hands of the left-leaning opposition, whose leader has promised to immediately sign the Kyoto Protocol on global warming and withdraw Australia's combat troops from Iraq.  Labor Party head Kevin Rudd's pledges move Australia sharply away from policies that had made Howard one of President Bush's staunchest allies. Rudd has named global warming as his top priority, and his signing of the Kyoto Protocol will leave the United States as the only industrialized country not to have joined the 1997 pact that set mandatory reductions in greenhouse gases. Rudd said he would withdraw Australia's 550 combat troops from Iraq, leaving twice that number in mostly security roles. Howard had said that all the troops would stay as long as needed. Read The Full Story Wisconsin Company Recalls Beef Products On E. Coli Concerns 2007-11-25 01:24:15 American Foods Group voluntarily recalled nearly 96,000 pounds of ground beef products after two people were sickened, possibly by the E. coli bacteria, the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food Safety and Inspection Service said Saturday. The beef products recalled by the company include coarse and fine ground beef chuck, sirloin and chop beef. They were distributed to retailers and distributors in Indiana, Kentucky, Maryland, Ohio, Tennessee, Wisconsin and Virginia. The problem surfaced after an investigation by the Illinois Department of Health, which was looking into two reports of illnesses. The bacteria is E. coli O157:H7. E. coli is harbored in the intestines of cattle. Improper butchering and processing can cause the E. coli to get onto meat. Thorough cooking, to at least 160 degrees internal temperature, can destroy the bacteria. E. coli O157:H7 is a potentially deadly bacterium that can cause bloody diarrhea and dehydration. The very young, seniors and people with compromised immune systems are the most susceptible to E. coli. Read The Full Story	Huckabee Making Gains In Iowa, Now Neck-And-Neck With Romney 2007-11-25 18:27:42 For six months, former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney has owned Iowa.  He spent millions on TV and unleashed his extended family to blanket the state. He survived a farm-town blitz by Sen. Sam Brownback (R-Kansas) and the late entrance of former Tennessee senator Fred D. Thompson into the Republican race. Romney's money and organization bought him a convincing victory at the Ames presidential straw poll and a seemingly unshakable lead in the Iowa survey. Yet his vision of quick, one-two victories here in Iowa and in New Hampshire is crumbling, suddenly threatened by former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee, a candidate who spent most of 2007 out of the spotlight and has struggled to raise money. Polls now show the pair in a virtual tie in Iowa, a development that not only threatens Romney's carefully laid plans but could reshape the entire Republican nominating contest. Huckabee has received glowing reviews for his debate performances, showing off his folksy charm and playing to conservatives. Despite his second-place showing in the straw poll this summer, his campaign didn't take off until this month, when polls began to show him overtaking everyone but Romney in Iowa. Money started flowing in - $1 million online in less than one week, according to his campaign - and he started to catch the attention of both pundits and rivals. Read The Full Story News Analysis: Hope For Mideast Leaders On Cooperation, But Little For Results 2007-11-25 18:27:10 Israeli and Palestinian leaders gather tomorrow under American tutelage, with Arab foreign ministers in attendance amid anxiety about Iran, to try again to negotiate an end to nearly 60 years of conflict. The Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas, and the Israeli prime minister, Ehud Olmert, respect each other. They have the potential to negotiate and sign the most far-reaching agreement ever between Israelis and Palestinians. But even if they do, can they carry it out? “There’s never been less skepticism about the peaceful intentions of the leadership of the other side,” said David Makovsky, an analyst with the Washington Institute for Near East Policy. “But there’s never been more skepticism about their capabilities to deliver.” If Israel is serious about peace, it has a major internal conflict coming with the settler movement, with those who do not wish to risk the security of Israel by withdrawing from the West Bank and from those who believe that Jerusalem must never again be divided. Read The Full Story Update: Fire Crews Make Progress Against Malibu Fires 2007-11-25 18:26:35 Fire crews hoped mild temperatures and gentle winds Sunday would help them solidify gains against the sprawling wildfire that destroyed dozens of homes in this upscale coastal community. Hot, powerful winds that fanned the blaze across 4,720 acres starting early Saturday were not expected Sunday, Los Angeles County Fire Inspector Ron Haralson said. The fire was about 40 percent contained, with few flames visible to the three water-dropping helicopters deployed over the fire zone, said Haralson. "Winds have subsided considerably and we're making good headway," he said. Read The Full Story Fire Destroys 49 Homes In Malibu, 5,000 Acres Burned 2007-11-25 01:27:18 Blaze is city's most destructive in 15 years, thousands evacuated. The most destructive fire in Malibu in nearly 15 years raced through parched canyons Saturday, destroying 49 homes and forcing the evacuations of thousands of residents. The so-called Corral Fire burned nearly 5,000 acres before the fierce Santa Ana winds died down, allowing firefighters to make a stand against the blaze. By evening, the fire was 25% contained. Six firefighters sustained minor injuries, said authorities. Meteorologists said the winds were subsiding and not expected to return Sunday. A red flag warning, issued when the humidity level drops below 8%, would remain in effect in Los Angeles and Ventura counties until Sunday evening. Read The Full Story Commentary: What Ever Happened To 'We The People'? 2007-11-25 01:26:45 Intellpuke: The following commentary was written by author and nationally syndicated talk show host Thom Hartman and is an excerpt from his new book, "Cracking The Code: How To Win Hearts, Change Minds, and Restore America's Original Vision", and first appeared on AlterNet.org's edition for Friday, November 23, 2007. Mr. Hartman's book is published by Berret-Koehler Publishing. The excerpt follows: We the people The traditional American liberal story is the story of We the People. As Americans, the most important part of our social identity is our role as citizens. To be a citizen means to be part of, and a de- fender of, the commons of our nation. The water we drink, the air we breathe, the streets we drive on, the schools that we use, the departments that protect us - these are all the physical commons. And there are also the cultural commons - the stories we tell ourselves, our histories, our religions, and our notions of ourselves. And there are the commons of our power systems (in the majority of American communities), our health-care system (stolen from us and privatized over the past twenty-five years, our hospitals in particular used to be mostly nonprofit or run by mostly city or county governments), and the electronic commons of our radio and TV spectrum and the Internet. Most important for citizenship is the commons of government - the creation and the servant of We the People. Franklin D. Roosevelt understood this commons. In his "Four Freedoms" speech, he said, "Necessitous men are not free men." Hungry people aren't free people, no matter what you want to call them. Hungry people can't be good citizens: they're too busy taking care of the hungry part of themselves to care about the citizen part. Read The Full Story Revised Rule For U.S. Employers That Hire Immigrants 2007-11-25 01:26:10 The Bush administration will suspend its legal defense of a new rule issued in August to punish employers who hire illegal immigrants, conceding a hard-fought opening round in a court battle over a central measure in its strategy to curb illegal immigration, according to government papers filed late Friday in federal court. Instead, the administration plans to revise the rule to try to meet concerns raised by a federal judge and issue it again by late March, hoping to pass court scrutiny on the second try. The rule would have forced employers to fire workers within 90 days if their Social Security information could not be verified. The government’s proposal was a response to an indefinite delay to the rule ordered Oct. 10 by the judge, Charles R. Breyer of Federal District Court in San Francisco. Judge Breyer found that the government had failed to follow proper procedures in issuing the rule and that it should have completed a survey of its impact on small business. He also found that the Social Security database the government would use to verify workers’ status was full of errors, so the rule could lead to the dismissal of many thousands of workers who were American citizens or legal immigrants. Read The Full Story U.S. FDA: Flu Drugs Affecting Childrens' Behavior 2007-11-25 01:24:37 U.S. government health regulators recommended adding label precautions about neurological problems seen in children who have taken flu drugs made by Roche and GlaxoSmithKline. The Food and Drug Administration on Friday released its safety review of Roche's Tamiflu and Glaxo's Relenza. Next week, an outside group of pediatric experts is scheduled to review the safety of several such drugs when used in children. FDA began reviewing Tamiflu's safety in 2005 after receiving reports of children experiencing neurological problems, including hallucinations and convulsions. Twenty-five patients under age 21 have died while taking the drug, most of them in Japan. Five deaths resulted from children "falling from windows or balconies or running into traffic". There have been no child deaths connected with Relenza, but regulators said children taking the drug have shown similar neurological problems. Read The Full Story
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