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Morning headlines brought to you by Carolyn Kay MakeThemAccountable.com Top StoryThe Iraq money pit (by James P. McGovern)
I RECENTLY came across a photo of a handwritten sign in a US military facility in Ramadi, Iraq. The sign read, "America is not at war. The Marine Corps is at war; America is at the mall." The sign reflects a perception among many US soldiers and their families that the American people are not sharing in their sacrifice. It is a perception grounded in reality. The Radical Fringe
The WorldRoadside bomb kills Iskandariyah mayor
BAGHDAD - The mayor of the religiously mixed town of Iskandariyah was killed along with four of his guards in a roadside bomb attack Thursday, police said.
Iraqi insurgents announce new coalition
CAIRO, Egypt - Nearly two dozen previously unknown Iraqi insurgent groups announced a new coalition to fight foreign occupation but it also set conditions for talks with the U.S. in a statement on a Web site affiliated with the country's deposed Baath party.
Gaza explosion wounds 3 Hamas police
GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip - An explosion went off early Thursday near a group of Hamas policemen patrolling in Gaza City, wounding three, including one critically, Hamas officials said.
Harper says Afghan mission could stay longer
OTTAWA (Reuters) - Prime Minister Stephen Harper said on Wednesday that the country's military mission to Afghanistan could remain longer than scheduled -- an idea bound to anger opposition parties, which have a majority in Parliament.
Militants kill three abducted Pakistani soldiers
PESHAWAR, Pakistan (AFP) - Pro-Taliban militants holding more than 200 Pakistani soldiers in a troubled tribal region near the Afghan border shot dead three of their captives on Thursday, officials said.
Myanmar junta tightens screw on dissenters
YANGON (Reuters) - Despite gradually easing its iron grip on Myanmar's main city on Thursday, the junta continued to round up scores of people and grill hundreds more arrested during last week's bloody crackdown on pro-democracy marches.
2 Koreas sign summit declaration
SEOUL, South Korea - The leaders of North and South Korea pledged Thursday to seek a peace treaty to replace the Korean War's 1953 cease-fire and expand projects to reduce tension across the world's last Cold War frontier.
Carter, others lash out at Darfur misery
KHARTOUM, Sudan - Prominent world figures led by former President Carter and Desmond Tutu of South Africa said Thursday they were shocked by the suffering in Darfur and criticized Sudan's government in exceptionally harsh terms. The NationSecret U.S. Endorsement of Severe Interrogations
(S)oon after Alberto R. Gonzales’s arrival as attorney general in February 2005, the Justice Department issued another opinion, this one in secret. It was a very different document, according to officials briefed on it, an expansive endorsement of the harshest interrogation techniques ever used by the Central Intelligence Agency. The new opinion, the officials said, for the first time provided explicit authorization to barrage terror suspects with a combination of painful physical and psychological tactics, including head-slapping, simulated drowning and frigid temperatures.
This was after the administration claimed it had stopped torturing people.—Caro
Files raise questions on Gitmo decisions
Two dozen prisoners were cleared for transfer from Guantanamo Bay last year even though U.S. military panels found they still posed a threat to the United States and its allies.
Britain 'no longer closest Bush ally'
The White House no longer views Britain as its most loyal ally in Europe since Gordon Brown took office and is instead increasingly turning towards France and Germany, according to Bush administration sources… The White House official added that … there was "a lot of unhappiness" about how British forces had performed in Basra and an acceptance that Mr Brown would pull the remaining 4,500 troops out of Iraq next year.
“You won’t do what I want, so I don’t like you any more, and I’m going to call you names.” That’s exactly how childish this administration is.—Caro
House Passes Bill on Pullout
The House, with overwhelming, bipartisan support, voted yesterday to give the Bush administration two months to present to Congress its planning for the withdrawal of combat forces in Iraq. The 377 to 46 vote was the first salvo of a new legislative strategy adopted by House Democratic leaders, away from partisan confrontation and toward a more incremental approach to war policy that can bring Republicans to their side.
At last, SOMETHING!—Caro
Bush veto strategy threatens Republicans
Polls suggest that Bush's budget battle could be a loser for his party. Two new polls — one nonpartisan and one sponsored by a labor union — showed that solid U.S. majorities want to cut the financing for the war and increase spending on children's health insurance… Polls suggest that Bush's budget battle could be a loser for his party.
Bush vetoes child health insurance plan
WASHINGTON - President Bush, in a sharp confrontation with Congress, on Wednesday vetoed a bipartisan bill that would have dramatically expanded children's health insurance.
Panel urges boost to disability benefits
WASHINGTON - Veterans disability payments should be increased immediately by up to 25 percent as part of a sweeping overhaul designed to compensate for a wounded warrior's lost "quality of life," a special commission recommended Wednesday.
The People vs. the Profiteers
Americans working in Iraq for Halliburton spin-off KBR have been outraged by the massive fraud they saw there. Dozens are suing the giant military contractor, on the taxpayers' behalf. Whose side is the Justice Department on?
Congress wants to rein in contractors
WASHINGTON - Congress wants to update a law that has protected Blackwater USA and other private security contractors in Iraq from criminal prosecution, but the White House has expressed doubts.
Blackwater to guard feds investigating Blackwater.
On Monday, the FBI announced that it would be sending “a team to Iraq to investigate the role of Blackwater USA in last month’s shoot-out in Baghdad that killed 11 Iraqis.” (Wednesday), the New York Daily News reports that the investigators “will be protected by bodyguards from the very same firm” that they are investigating. “What happens when the FBI team decides to go visit the crime scene? Blackwater is going to have to take them there,” a senior U.S. official said.
Leahy to Mukasey: Can We Get Along?
Last month, Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-VT) had a simple message: the President's nominee for attorney general, Michael Mukasey, wasn't going anywhere until the administration finally handed over documents he'd long been seeking. But now it appears that things are moving along, though it seems that the administration hasn't handed over anything.
What did we ever do to deserve such wimps as our representatives in Congress?—Caro
Towns Rethink Laws Against Illegal Immigrants
RIVERSIDE, N.J., Sept. 25 — A little more than a year ago, the Township Committee in this faded factory town became the first municipality in New Jersey to enact legislation penalizing anyone who employed or rented to an illegal immigrant. Within months, hundreds, if not thousands, of recent immigrants from Brazil and other Latin American countries had fled. The noise, crowding and traffic that had accompanied their arrival over the past decade abated. The law had worked. Perhaps, some said, too well.
Isn’t this what I’ve been saying? It’s very easy to get rid of illegal immigrants, if that’s what you really want to do. No fences needed, virtual or otherwise.—Caro MediaPermanent link to MTA daily media news
State Department now offers "an alternative source to MSM"
The State Department's Dipnote blog is up and running, and Al Kamen is excited: "This is what we've all been waiting for! No more media filters and distortions. Unbiased news directly from the federal government, a news source long noted for truthful, unbiased reporting."
Web 2.0 Goes Mainstream
NEW YORK Mainstream Internet users are employing simple tools to personalize their Web experiences, though they are skipping some of the popular totems of Web 2.0, according to a newly released survey… More mature Web 2.0 technologies have higher adoption: 85 percent used "most e-mailed/most popular stories" links, 60 percent personalized their home pages and nearly the same amount subscribed to RSS feeds. Blogs are regular fare: 61 percent read them on at least a weekly basis.
Editorials Amplify Call for Congress to Act Against Telco Censorship
Verizon and AT&T’s attempts to sweep away the controversy over cell phone censorship isn’t working. Despite their best spin, another message is getting through: Phone companies can’t be trusted to protect free speech.
The Point of Net Neutrality (by Timothy Karr, campaign director for Free Press)
Supporters of net neutrality aren't asking that users pay one fee for all grades of access. We want a truly competitive marketplace where people can choose from numerous broadband companies offering access at different speeds and costs. What we are demanding is a better system, where the few phone and cable companies that dominate the market can't leverage their control over Internet access to become gatekeepers of Web content.
SLOWLY WE TURN: (by Bob Somerby)
Rush Limbaugh’s “phony soldiers” exchange was actually pretty tame stuff—for him. He has said worse, for many years, while Potemkin liberals sat and stared, refusing to notice or comment. But we were thrilled watching Countdown (Tuesday) night—thrilled to see the liberal world starting to teach itself how to respond to fact-challenged blather… We liberals are teaching ourselves very late. In the past fifteen years, many phony stories have been generated—and these phony stories did change history, while the “liberal” world sat and stared into space.
Clear Channel CEO responds to Reid
Clear Channel CEO Mark P. Mays responded to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) in a letter hand-delivered to his office (Tuesday) evening… He took a respectful tone, saying he regretted that Reid and others might have been offended by Limbaugh. But ultimately, Mays wrote, he didn't believe Limbaugh's statements were "intended to personally indict combat soldiers simply because they didn't share his own beliefs regarding the war in Iraq."
Mays doesn’t know what Limbaugh said, but he knows Limbaugh couldn’t have said what he said.—Caro
Glenn Beck: “Context is everything” (by: Nicole Belle at Crooks and Liars)
Watch how (Glenn Beck’s) defense of Rush jumps from smears against Media Matters, to MoveOn to George Soros to “fringe left elements” to socialism. Socialism? So a socio-economic philosophy is now persecuting Rush Limbaugh?... Please, for the love of everything holy, why does this man have a show?
Click through to watch the video.—Caro
Even as . . . (by Jeff Jarvis)
(Wednesday) the Times reported that Hillary Cliinton beat Barack Obama in fundraising — in dollars and people. But they had to get in digs against — that’s what they call balance, you see — and they did it in this bullshit paragraph: “Mrs. Clinton’s fund-raising success came even as some Democratic elected officials continue to have concerns about her electability…” Name those Democratic elected officials, please. There’s nothing else in the story quoting these people. There are no links online to the stories that say that. There’s no particular reason given why that is relevant in this story. A lot of things are happening “even as” this is happening.
I’ll bet those are the same unnamed Democratic officials who told the media that Howard Dean wasn’t electable, but John Kerry was.—Caro
Hillary Chuckles; Pundits Snort (by Howard Kurtz)
Forget the cleavage. It's now about the cackle. No joke: Hillary Clinton's laugh is now being analyzed, scrutinized and, yes, mocked… Lacking much of a horse race, … journalists are resorting to a classic general-election question: Are Americans ready to have this woman in their living rooms every night for four years? Are they comfortable with her personality? Do they like her voice? Plus, examining her personality quirks is more fun than deconstructing her stance on Iraq.
More fun, sure, AND A LOT LESS WORK! What did we ever do to deserve such a lazy, herdlike press corps?—Caro
Candidates are building up cash to guard against the Swift Boats and MoveOns
The Democratic and Republican frontrunners for their parties' presidential nominations (are), according to … Donna Brazile, socking away funds because they expect that third-party groups will be on the attack -- just as the Swift Boat Veterans were against Sen. John Kerry in 2004 and as MoveOn.org has been against President Bush for much of the past four years.
I have yet to see a Democrat successfully defend him- or herself against a Swift Boat style attack, however. Because they won’t go for the jugular.—Caro
The Daily Show: Chris Matthew’s “Book about Sadness” (by Nicole Belle at Crooks and Liars)
(T)he always brilliant Jon Stewart–after reading (Chris) Matthews’ new book “Life’s a Campaign“–calls it …: for Tweety, it’s all strategy. It doesn’t matter if you’re doing right or good. It doesn’t matter if you are sincere…all that matters is that you play the game… “MATTHEWS: …, you’re trashing my book. STEWART: I’m not trashing your book, I’m trashing your philosophy of life.”
Click through to watch the video.—Caro
From the You Can't Make This Shit Up Files
1. Bush declares Oct. 1 Child Health Day: "Our Nation is committed to the health and well-being of our youth. … My Administration supports programs that give parents, mentors, and teachers the resources they need to help and encourage children to maintain an active and healthy way of life." 2. Bush vetoes children's health care bill Oct. 2. Technology & ScienceEmail Scam Crackdown Leads to Worldwide Arrests
A major crackdown on Internet financial scams has resulted in $2.1 billion in seized fake checks. This was an International effort, with aid from multiple English-speaking countries, including the US, the Netherlands, UK and Nigeria, where most of the scams actually take place. These scams entice people with spam email messages that offer to pay recipients’ processing fees for depositing checks, which are in fact fakes.
Proving That Seeing Shouldn’t Always Be Believing
Hany Farid, a 41-year-old engineer, is a founder of a subdiscipline within computer science: digital forensics.
eBay Exec Warns Against Internet Taxes
An Internet tax ban, which was initiated in 1998 and has since been twice extended, is set to expire on November 1, 2007… The current Internet tax ban keeps state and local governments from taxing connection to basic Internet content, and if taxes ever do take effect, small businesses could see a 15% to 30% increase in their Internet bills. Congress is currently considering legislation that would extend the Internet ban for several more years, and maybe even permanently.
Robots may aid aging Japanese population
TOKYO - If you grow old in Japan, expect to be served food by a robot, ride a voice-recognition wheelchair or even possibly hire a nurse in a robotic suit — all examples of cutting-edge technology to care for the country's rapidly graying population.
Liquid Drops Defy Gravity, Travel Uphill
Gravity-defying drops of liquid can travel uphill if the surface they are sitting on is shaken up and down vigorously enough, a new study finds.
Researchers Discover Link Between Schizophrenia, Autism and Maternal Flu
PASADENA, Calif.- A team of California Institute of Technology researchers has found an unexpected link connecting schizophrenia and autism to the importance of covering your mouth whenever you sneeze.
Discovery Supports Theory of Alzheimer's Disease as Form of Diabetes
EVANSTON, Ill. --- Insulin, it turns out, may be as important for the mind as it is for the body. Research in the last few years has raised the possibility that Alzheimer's memory loss could be due to a novel third form of diabetes.
Flu Vaccine Does Protect Older People
It cuts rates of hospitalizations and deaths, study finds.
Duck-billed dinosaur amazes scientists
SALT LAKE CITY - Scientists are amazed at the chomping ability of a newly described duck-billed dinosaur. The herbivore's powerful jaw, more than 800 teeth and compact skull meant that no leaf, branch or bush would have been safe, they say.
Astronomers See Second Earth in the Making
Astronomers have spotted evidence of a second Earth being built around a distant star 424 light-years away. Using NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope, astronomers have spotted a huge belt of warm dust swirling around a young star called HD 113766 that is just slightly larger than our sun. EnvironmentHole in Ozone Layer Shrinks 30 Percent
The gaping hole in Earth's ozone layer has shrunk 30 percent in size compared to last year, according to new measurements made by the European Space Agency's Envisat satellite… Researchers are not certain if this year's smaller ozone hole means the radiation-blocking layer is healing.
Fact sheet: Perennial Ice, Sometimes thick enough to Defy Icebreakers, May be Key to Predicting Arctic Thaw
Loss of sea ice that is more than a year old -- called perennial ice -- may be the key predictor for how much Arctic ice melts each summer, a University of Washington polar scientist says. He says the loss of perennial ice in the last two years led to this summer's record-breaking ice retreat.
Australian Fires Add to Fears on Climate Change
As the first bush fires of the year rage through Australia’s national forests, concern over climate change and its effects is intensifying.
Brazil urges world support for Amazon
BRASILIA (Reuters) - Brazil's environment minister said on Wednesday the international community was failing to honor pledges to help protect the Amazon and other tropical forests but that her government rejected specific deforestation targets.
EPA Asked to Regulate Ship Emissions
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - Environmental groups and California Attorney General Jerry Brown asked the federal government Wednesday to require oceangoing ships to limit emissions of heat-trapping gases blamed for global warming.
The Promise and Perils of Taking Green Products Mainstream
In this episode of GreenBiz Radio, Columbia Forest Products' John McIsaac discusses the ups and downs of developing and marketing green products in a conservative industry: "What we call green building right now, in five years that will just be building." For more headlines, visit MakeThemAccountable.com. |
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