Breaking News and Commentary from Citizens for Legitimate Government
09 January 2006
http://www.legitgov.org/
All links to articles as summarized below are available here:
http://www.legitgov.org/index.html#breaking_news
Tonight! Monday, 09 January --CLG Founder and Chair, Michael Rectenwald, will appear on MSNBC's 'Scarborough Country,' to discuss Harry Belafonte's branding of Bush as "the greatest terrorist in the world." The show airs 10:00 PM EST, and re-airs at 2:00 AM, EST.
IRS Said to Improperly Restrict Access 08 Jan 2006 The Bush administration has illegally stopped making public detailed tax enforcement data, which has been used to show which kinds of taxpayers get the most and toughest audits, a noted tax researcher says.
Egyptian fax points to CIA jail in Romania 09 Jan 2006 A fax by the Egyptian foreign minister appears to confirm the existence of CIA prisons on European territory, according to the Swiss weekly, SonntagsBlick.
CIA Director Goss targeting leaks 08 Jan 2006 CIA Director Porter Goss is redoubling efforts to stop information leaks among staff members. Time Magazine reports that at staff meetings last week, CIA managers at the agency's Langley, Va., headquarters told employees the leaking was out of control and needed to stop.
The CIA Says, "Shhh..." 08 Jan 2006 Angered by recent leaks of information about sensitive intelligence operations, CIA Director Porter Goss is redoubling efforts to get his spooks to keep their mouths shut. At staff meetings last week, CIA managers at the agency's Langley, Va., headquarters told employees that the leaking had got out of control and needed to stop.
NSA spied on UN diplomats in push for invasion of Iraq By Norman Solomon 08 Jan 2006 "Despite all the news accounts and punditry since The New York Times published its Dec. 16 bombshell about the US National Security Agency's domestic spying, the media coverage has made virtually no mention of the fact that the Bush administration used the NSA to spy on UN diplomats in New York before the invasion of Iraq. That spying had nothing to do with protecting the United States from a terrorist attack."
Feingold says impeachment a possibility 08 Jan 2006 U.S. Sen. Russ Feingold, D-Wis., says he would not rule out calling for impeachment of pResident Bush over secret wiretaps and spying on U.S. citizens.
MPs leaked Bush plan to hit al-Jazeera --Transcript of meeting with Blair passed to US contact --Official and aide already charged over document 09 Jan 2006 Two Labour MPs have defied the Official Secrets Act by passing on the contents of a secret British document revealing how Dictator George Bush wanted to bomb the Arabic TV station, al-Jazeera.
Suicide attack at Interior Ministry kills 29 --Deadly four-day period also claims lives of 28 American troops in Iraq 09 Jan 2006 Two suicide bombers wearing police uniforms and holding security passes tried to attack National Police Day celebrations [?!?] Monday, with police shooting one to death and the other exploding his vest, killing 29 people, authorities said. The U.S. ambassador and Iraq's interior and defense ministers were in attendance but far from the attacks. [Of course they were. Why would Al-CIAduh-in-Iraq kill top US officials?]
US raid on Iraq mosque sparks Sunni anger 09 Jan 2006 Sunni Arab political parties in Iraq condemned the weekend U.S. raid on the Baghdad offices of an influential Islamic organization, accusing the U.S. military of targeting Muslim clergy and violating a place of worship.
Urgent Appeal to Save Iraq's Academics (brusselstribunal.org) "A little known aspect of the tragedy engulfing Iraq is the systematic liquidation of the country's academics. Even according to conservative estimates, over 250 educators have been assassinated, and many hundreds more have disappeared... This situation is a mirror of the occupation as a whole: a catastrophe of staggering proportions unfolding in a climate of criminal disregard. As an occupying power, and under international humanitarian law, final responsibility for protecting Iraqi citizens, including academics, lies with the United States. With this petition we want to break the silence."
Academics and Artists for Peace --Stop the Killing of Iraq's Academics --List of principal endorsers 09 Jan 2006
Prisoner Dies at Abu Ghraib 09 Jan 2006 A 56-year-old detainee died Jan. 7 of complications from an apparent stroke [likely induced by his US-tormentors] at Abu Ghraib prison in Baghdad, military officials reported today.
Bremer warns Dutch to back Afghan mission 09 Jan 2006 A decision not to send more troops in Afghanistan would be damaging for Dutch interests in the US, former American diplomat Paul Bremer III warned on Monday.
Taliban Leader Vows Jihad Against U.S. 09 Jan 2006 Fugitive Taliban leader Mullah Mohammad Omar, in a message to mark the three-day Muslim festival of Eid al-Adha which starts in Afghanistan on Tuesday, reiterated his call for jihad, or holy war, against the United States. His public vow for more attacks against U.S. forces in Afghanistan comes a day after Afghan [US-installed] President Hamid Karzai suggested he "get in touch" if he wanted peace.
Taleban head offered olive branch 08 Jan 2006 Afghan President Hamid Karzai has said he would be happy for Taleban leader Mullah Mohammad Omar to contact him with a view to reconciliation.
Karzai Invites Contact With Taliban Head 08 Jan 2006 US-installed Afghan 'President' Hamid Karzai said Sunday that a few hundred Taliban fighters have reconciled with the government and suggested militant leader Mullah Omar should "get in touch" if he wanted to talk peace.
Harry Belafonte calls Bush 'terrorist,' praises Chavez in Venezuela 08 Jan 2006 American singer and activist Harry Belafonte called U.S. pResident George W. Bush "the greatest terrorist in the world" Sunday and said millions of Americans support the socialist revolution of Venezuelan leader Hugo Chavez.
Thousands protest against U.S.-Thai trade talks 09 Jan 2006 Thousands of Thais marched through the northern city of Chiang Mai on Monday to protest against a U.S.-Thai free-trade pact as officials began a sixth round of negotiations.
9/11 As 'Reichstag fire' Raised to White House Press Secretary (White House Press Briefing) 05 Jan 2006 "Q Scott, a few days ago, conservative columnist Paul Craig Roberts had a column where he compared the administration's use of September 11th with Hitler and the Reichstag fire as a blanket cover for extraordinary measures. Now, this is coming from a conservative columnist; this is not Nancy Pelosi. Doesn't this concern you that these kind of reactions have come up especially with all the revelations about the NSA and spying?"
Court denies DeLay's request to drop charges 09 Jan 2006 Texas' highest criminal court today rejected U.S. Rep. Tom DeLay's request to throw out criminal indictments against him or order an immediate trial on a charge of money laundering.
Controversial lobbyist had close contact with Bush team 09 Jan 2006 In pResident Bush's first 10 months, GOP fundraiser Jack Abramoff and his lobbying team logged nearly 200 contacts with the new administration as they pressed for friendly hires at federal agencies and sought to keep the Northern Mariana Islands exempt from the minimum wage and other laws, records show.
Fellow Republican: Ney likely to be indicted 07 Jan 2006 Rep. Bob Ney, R-Ohio, is likely to be indicted in an ongoing public corruption scandal, according to a fellow Republican congressman, Jim McCrery of Louisiana.
Bush-Authorized Spying Spills Into Alito Confirmation Hearings 09 Jan 2006 U.S. senators challenging Samuel Alito's Supreme Court nomination are focusing on a potentially combustible issue to raise at the confirmation hearings starting today: the limits of presidential power. [Or, in George W. Bush's case, the limits of dictatorial power.]
Dems try to link Alito with wiretapping, detention 09 Jan 2006 Judge Samuel Alito's quest for a pivotal seat on the U.S. Supreme Court opened today with Senate Democrats attempting to link the conservative judge's nomination with pResident Bush's wiretapping and detention policies. "In an era when the White House is abusing power, is excusing and authorizing torture, and is spying on American citizens, I find Judge Alito's support for an all-powerful executive branch to be genuinely troubling,'' Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., said in his opening statement at the Senate Judiciary Committee's confirmation hearing. Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., the committee's ranking Democrat, said the public is entitled to know whether Alito would "allow the government to intrude on Americans' personal privacy and freedoms ... at a time when this administration seems intent on accumulating unchecked power.''
Senators Should Press Alito on Bush v. Gore by John Nichols 09 Jan 2006 "Ask the nominee [Samuel Alito] how he would have ruled in the case of Bush v. Gore. Does he agree that the court was right to intervene, for the first time in history, to stop the counting of the ballots that could have determined the result of a presidential contest? ...Does he believe that Justices Antonin Scalia, whose sons were associated with firms that represented George W. Bush's campaign, and Clarence Thomas, whose wife was working with Bush's transition team, should have recused themselves from the deliberations?"
Ministers Say They Blessed Seats Ahead of Alito Hearing 05 Jan 2006 Insisting that God "certainly needs to be involved" in the Supreme Court confirmation process, three Christian ministers today blessed the doors of the hearing room where Senate Judiciary Committee members will begin considering the nomination of Judge Samuel Alito on Monday.
U.S. Vice President Cheney Released From Hospital, Aide Says 09 Jan 2006 U.S. Vice President [sic] Dick Cheney was released from the hospital early today after experiencing shortness of breath, an aide said. Cheney, 64, was taken to George Washington University Hospital in Washington at 3 a.m. local time, the vice president's spokesman said in a telephone interview.
US Vice President taken to hospital 09 Jan 2006 The US Vice President [sic] Dick Cheney was taken to George Washington Hospital in Washington today experiencing shortness of breath.
Deconstructing Cheney By James Carroll 07 Nov 2005 "The indictment of the vice president's chief of staff for perjury and obstruction of justice is an occasion to consider just how damaging the long public career of Richard Cheney has been to the United States... At world-shaping moments across a generation, Cheney reacted with an instinctive, This is war! He helped turn the War on Poverty into a war on the poor. He helped keep the Cold War going longer than it had to, and when it ended (because of initiatives taken by the other side), Cheney refused to believe it. To keep the US war machine up and running, he found a new justification just in time."
Pharmacists Overwhelmed By New Medicare Drug Program 09 Jan 2006 The start of the Medicare prescription drug plan for seniors has been difficult for pharmacists in Connecticut. Pharmacists are helping bewildered beneficiaries, dispensing medications at their own expense and are working out problems with overwhelmed insurance plans. The program began Jan. 1. "This has been catastrophic," said Frederick Vegliante, 77, a pharmacist and former owner of Bella Vista Pharmacy and Surgical Supplies Inc. in New Haven.
Dow tops 11,000 for first time since 9/11 --Nasdaq advances to 5-year high 09 Jan 2006 The Dow Jones industrial average closed above 11,000 Monday for the first time since before the 9/11 terrorist attacks, buoyed by a rally that has sent stock prices soaring through the first five sessions of 2006.
Bird Flu Reports Multiply in Turkey, Faster Than Expected 09 Jan 2006 A flurry of new reports of avian influenza in humans and animals emerged Sunday from various parts of Turkey, and international health officials said they had come to believe that the disease had been simmering in the eastern part of the country for months, even though it was reported there only in late December.
Polar Bears Face New Toxic Threat: Flame Retardants 09 Jan 2006 Already imperiled by melting ice and a brew of toxic chemicals, polar bears throughout the Arctic, particularly in remote dens near the North Pole, face an additional threat as flame retardants originating largely in the United States are building up in their bodies, according to an international team of wildlife scientists.
[08 Jan lead stories:] "It's nothing short of breathtaking." Bush quietly undercuts laws with bill-signing statement 08 Jan 2006 Dictator Bush agreed with great fanfare last month to accept a ban on torture, but he later quietly reserved the right to ignore it, even as he signed it into law. Bush said he would interpret the new law in keeping with his expansive view of presidential power. He did it by issuing a bill-signing statement -- a little-noticed device that has become a favorite tool of presidential power in the Bush White House. In fact, Bush has used signing statements to reject, revise or put his spin on more than 500 legislative provisions... "It's nothing short of breathtaking,'' said Phillip Cooper, a professor of public administration at Portland State University. "In every case, the White House has interpreted presidential authority as broadly as possible, interpreted legislative authority as narrowly as possible and pre-empted the judiciary."
Impeach Blair over Iraq: UK general 08 Jan 2006 A leading British Army officer believes Prime Minister Tony Blair should be impeached for his role in the war in Iraq, the Mail on Sunday reported. General Sir Michael Rose, a former UN commander in Bosnia, was quoted by the right-of-centre Mail on Sunday as saying: "I think the politicians should be held to account ... my view is that Blair should be impeached. That would prevent the politicians treating quite so carelessly the subject of taking a country into war."
Scandal of force-fed prisoners --Hunger strikers are tied down and fed through nasal tubes, admits Guantánamo Bay doctor 08 Jan 2006 New details have emerged of how the growing number of prisoners on hunger strike at Guantánamo Bay are being tied down and force-fed through tubes pushed down their nasal passages into their stomachs to 'keep them alive' [torture them].
