|
Morning headlines brought to you by Carolyn Kay MakeThemAccountable.com Top StoryWhite House denies torture assertion
WASHINGTON - House Democrats demanded Thursday that the Justice Department turn over two secret memos that reportedly authorize painful interrogation tactics against terror suspects — despite the Bush administration's insistence that it has not violated U.S. anti-torture laws. The Heretik
The WorldIraq orders $100 million arms supply from China: reports
BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Iraq has ordered light military equipment from China worth $100 million because the United States is unable to meet Baghdad's requirements, the Washington Post reported President Jalal Talabani as saying. The weapons are intended for Iraq's police where only one in five officers are armed, it quoted Talabani as saying in an article published on its Web site on Thursday. The Iraqi president also called for faster U.S. weapons deliveries to strengthen Iraq's army.
Um, didn’t our previous shipments of arms end up in the hands of insurgents, used to kill American troops?—Caro
Iraqi probe implicates Blackwater
BAGHDAD - The official Iraqi investigation into the Blackwater shooting last month recommends that the security guards face trial in Iraqi courts and that the company compensate the victims, an Iraqi government minister told The Associated Press on Thursday.
Iraqi judge: Corruption undermines Iraq's future
WASHINGTON — Iraq's top corruption fighter, who's seeking U.S. asylum because of death threats against him, told a congressional panel Thursday that rising corruption cost Iraq $18 billion over the past three years, with enormous sums of oil revenues ending up in the hands of Sunni and Shiite militias.
In Basra, vigilantes wage deadly campaign against women
BASRA, Iraq — Women in Basra have become the targets of a violent campaign by religious extremists, who leave more than 15 female bodies scattered around the city each month, police officers say.
Tough EU talks expected on new Iran sanctions
BRUSSELS (AFP) - The EU, under pressure from France, will debate on October 15 whether to slap new sanctions on Iran but the talks will be tough, with Germany and Italy reluctant to act outside the United Nations.
Tehran: Split between liberal, hard-line
TEHRAN, Iran - The shops are full of Western pop music and movies — the latest Harry Potter film, even "The Simpsons." Young women stroll the streets in skinny jeans and short coats, their heads barely covered, arm-in-arm with boys in muscle shirts and spiky hair.
Pakistan election can go ahead
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan - Pakistan's Supreme Court ruled that the country can hold its presidential election Saturday but may only declare the winner after the court rules on whether President Gen. Pervez Musharraf, the expected victor, is eligible to run.
U.N. envoy reports on Myanmar as China opposes action
UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - The U.N. Security Council decided on Thursday to hear a U.N. envoy's report on Myanmar at a public meeting but China said it was opposed to any action by the 15-member body because the junta's crackdown on pro-democracy campaigners was an internal affair.
N. Korea shifts toward engagement with world
WASHINGTON; and PAJU, SOUTH KOREA - An agreement reached this week with North Korea for it to dismantle "all" of its nuclear facilities by the end of the year further cements Pyongyang's commitment to a path of denuclearization – but is not the end of the story.
Somalia blasts kill 4; crackdown starts
MOGADISHU, Somalia - The Somali government announced a massive operation to stamp out an insurgency Thursday, hours after two explosions rocked the capital, killing at least four people. The NationBush leaving some problems to successors
WASHINGTON - Over and over, President Bush confidently promised to "solve problems, not pass them on to future presidents and future generations." As the clock runs out on his eight-year presidency, a tall stack of troubles remain and Bush's words ring hollow.
That’s strong stuff, coming from the Bush-loving AP.—Caro
Byrd: Senate’s ‘Saber-Rattling’ Is ‘Sleep-Walking’ America To War With Iran
On the Senate floor today, Sen. Robert Byrd (D-WV) decried the recent Kyl-Lieberman amendment on Iran that 72 of his colleagues voted for, calling it an exercise in “international verbal spitball.” Byrd warned his colleagues against “sleep-walking” into another war, saying “I hope that we can stop this war of words before it becomes a war of bombs.”
Click through to watch the video.—Caro
New military leaders question Iraq mission
WASHINGTON — Four and a half years after the nation's top military leaders saluted and fell in behind President Bush's pre-emptive invasion of Iraq, their replacements are beginning to question the mission and sound alarms about the toll the war is taking on the Army and the Marine Corps. The change at the Pentagon is striking but little-noticed, in part because Defense Secretary Robert Gates, a longtime veteran of the CIA, is quiet where his predecessor Donald H. Rumsfeld was not.
You won’t earn any points by just questioning, new military leaders. You’ve got to DO SOMETHING.—Caro
House Panel Demands Secret DOJ Torture Memos
House Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers (D-MI) and subcommittee chair Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) … demanded the Justice Department release secret legal opinions from 2005 and 2006 that The New York Times described (Thursday) as "an expansive endorsement of the harshest interrogation techniques ever used by the Central Intelligence Agency."
Army Denies Education Benefits To National Guard Troops Who Served 22 Months In Iraq
Approximately 2,600 members of the Minnesota National Guard recently returned home after serving multiple tours of duty in Iraq. They served 22 months — “longer than any other ground combat unit” — recieved nine fatalities, and were awarded dozens of Purple Hearts. But the Army wrote the orders for 1,162 of these soldiers for 729 days, making them ineligible for full educational benefits under the GI Bil.
That’s not torture?—Caro
House OKs bill to prosecute contractors
WASHINGTON - The House passed a bill Thursday that would make all private contractors working in Iraq and other combat zones subject to prosecution by U.S. courts. It was the first major legislation of its kind to pass since a deadly shootout last month involving Blackwater employees.
How Did Specialist Ciara Durkin Die?
The family of Army National Guard Spc. Ciara Durkin, who worked in the finance unit in Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan, said she'd uncovered some troubling information and had made enemies. Then Durkin was found dead from a gunshot wound.
Did White House Lie About Solution Provider's Role in Loss of 5 Million E-mails?
When Congress asked about 5 million executive branch e-mails that went missing, a White House lawyer pointed the finger at an outside IT contractor. The only problem? No such IT contractor exists, according to sources close to the investigation of a possible violation of the Federal Records and Presidential Records acts.
Craig vows to stay despite court loss
WASHINGTON - Idaho Sen. Larry Craig lost a bid Thursday to withdraw his guilty plea in a men's room sex sting but defiantly vowed to finish his Senate term, prolonging a headache for Republican leaders already facing a tough political climate.
Senator's disease a type of dementia
The disease cited by 75-year-old Sen. Pete Domenici, R-N.M., in his decision to not seek re-election — frontotemporal lobar degeneration, or FLTD — is a type of dementia. Its name refers to the slow deterioration of affected sections of the brain, the front and lower sides — areas that control such things as language and behavior.
Gee, you could almost call it the Republican disease.—Caro
We Like Voting Rights
Kudos to Obama for stepping in to block the odious nomination of voting rights opponent Hans von Spakovsky to the Federal Election Commission. Republicans do this sort of thing pretty often; Democrats seldom.
Biden education plan: 16 years of school for every student
Democrat Joe Biden today proposed a 16-year education for kids -- the standard 12 years preceded by two years of preschool and followed by at least two years of college. "Every child must graduate from high school. Every qualified student should get a minimum of an associate’s degree," the Delaware senator said today at East High School in Des Moines. MediaPermanent link to MTA daily media news
Filing reports from Burma between gunshots
For a while, reports from Rangoon flowed out via cell phones and email. Now it is pretty much blacked out, says the editor of Irrawaddy, a news magazine based in Thailand.
U.S. Confiscates AP Footage At Scene of Bloody Baghdad Bombing
BAGHDAD A daring ambush of bombs and gunfire left Poland's ambassador pinned down in a burning vehicle Wednesday before being pulled to safety… American authorities confiscated an AP Television News videotape that contained scenes of the wounded being evacuated. U.S. military spokesman Lt. Col. Scott Bleichwehl told AP that Iraqi law make it illegal to photograph or videotape the aftermath of bombings or other attacks.
U.S. pulls plug on 6 al-Qaeda media outlets
The U.S. military says it has captured at least six al-Qaeda media centers in Iraq and arrested 20 suspected propaganda leaders since June.
The More Things Change... (by Eric Alterman)
Conservatives are now spouting the “If you disagree with me, you’re a racist” brand of moral bullying that people rightly criticized liberals for years ago.
The subtext is quickly becoming the text (by Amanda Marcotte at Pandagon)
(Ann Coulter’s) insistence that women should lose the right to vote is … linked into the larger way that reactionary politics are tied up into anxious masculinity and misogyny… Coulter’s premise here is that there’s something wrong with democracy itself, because government by the people has potential to be government for the people. Yes, it’s true, that voting citizens might decide that the government should work for them instead of work to oppress them for the benefit of a neofeudal corporatism.
Bloggers to Gain Protection Through Free Flow of Information Act
The blurred distinction between journalist and blogger received further confusion during a U.S. Senate committee on Thursday. Representatives supported an amended version of the “Free Flow of Information Act” by a margin of fifteen to two. With a focus on “reporter’s privilege,” the bill could potentially extend bloggers the right to protect confidential source information.
Prosecutor says shield bill poses hazards to national security
US Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald says the proposed federal shield law would require the government to disclose in a hearing the specific damage caused by a leak -- "information often more sensitive than the leak itself." Also, he contends that "'journalism' is so broadly defined in the bill that it includes not just newspapers and bloggers but also criminal organizations that disseminate information widely."
Ig Nobels honor crazy science with a point
Ten Ig Nobel prizes were awarded Thursday night for quirky, funny and sometimes legitimate scientific achievements, from the mathematics of wrinkled sheets to U.S. military efforts to make a “gay bomb.”
Puff pieces?: ABC, "60 Minutes" defend Thomas interviews
Seeing Clarence Thomas peddle his book on "60 Minutes" and "Nightline" was like watching the Home Shopping Network, says one NABJ member. "This was pure journalistic drivel." A spokesman for the CBS newsmagazine says: "60 Minutes' goal in this rare interview was to provide as complete a picture of Justice Thomas as we could. We believe we succeeded." ABC says its interview was "both fair and probing."
Clear Channel Rejects VoteVets Ad Because It ‘Conflicts’ With Listeners Who Tune Into Rush
Rush Limbaugh’s hometown radio station that broadcasts his show — WJNO AM in Palm Beach, Florida — has refused to air a VoteVets ad by Brian McGough, the Iraq war veteran who was compared by Limbaugh to a suicide bomber… (Clear Channel vice president John) Hunt’s rationale was not that the ad was inaccurate or that it posed legal issues, but rather, the ad presented information that “would conflict with the listeners who have chosen to listen to Rush Limbaugh.”
God forbid that Limbaugh’s listeners should have to hear something they disagree with.—Caro
MySpace Offers PayPal Integration for Non-Profits
MySpace has found a way to partner with PayPal. The two companies have teamed up to enable non-profits and political candidates to raise funds through the Impact channel, MySpace’s civic and political section… Only select non-profits and politicians will be able to integrate PayPal into their MySpace pages.
Here’s another way for Rupert Murdoch to control the electoral process.—Caro
iPhone Opening to Third-Party Apps; Not Other Networks
Here’s more reasons why Apple will only increase its control over the ability to unlock iPhones: more “official” third-party applications may be on the way. As allowing phones to be unlocked would prove dire for the licensed use of third-party games and content, its unlikely that Apple will b letting up on this end anytime soon.
They want to control your access to content.—Caro Technology & ScienceAnother '80s comeback: All-in-one PCs
Computer makers are going all out for all-in-one PCs, which combine a monitor and a processing unit in one piece.
Microsoft HealthVault: Web-Based Platform for Medical Records
After two years spent building a team, technology, and the attached expertise, Microsoft announced HealthVault (Thursday) in Washington. HealthVault is a web-based personal health record tracking data such as blood pressure, cholesterol levels, surgical procedures, etc. Centralizing medical data for physician access alleviates problems in both personalized care and also insurance.
Even without math, ancients engineered sophisticated machines
CAMBRIDGE, Mass., October 1, 2007—Move over, Archimedes. A researcher at Harvard University is finding that ancient Greek craftsmen were able to engineer sophisticated machines without necessarily understanding the mathematical theory behind their construction. Recent analysis of technical treatises and literary sources dating back to the fifth century B.C. reveals that technology flourished among practitioners with limited theoretical knowledge.
Hormone May Play Key Part in Creating Memories
Rise in norepinephrine levels tied to emotionally charged events, study finds
Gene-Based Screen Spots Cervical Cancer Earlier
It could lengthen the time needed between tests, researchers say
Crows bend twigs into tools to find food
WASHINGTON - Mounting tiny video cameras to the tail feathers of crows, researchers discovered that the birds use a variety of tools to seek food, and even make their own tools, plucking, smoothing and bending twigs and grass stems.
Deep sea thermal vents yield thousands of new microbes
Hot vents deep in the ocean harbor thousands of previously unknown microorganisms, scientists report.
Scientists show San Andreas rock cores
LOS ANGELES - A team of scientists on Thursday showed off the first rock samples taken from a borehole being drilled into the mighty San Andreas Fault to better understand how earthquakes are born. EnvironmentMessage from MTA reader Walt H, regarding yesterday’s recommendation that we ban incandescent bulbs altogether: “those bulbs can not be used in ovens and refrigerated devices. Limiting incandesants to 40 watts has been proposed.”
Another warm winter seen for much of U.S.
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Long-range weather forecasts are predicting a warmer than average winter with less precipitation for much of the United States except the Pacific Northwest.
Walruses Abandon Ice for Alaska Shore
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) - Thousands of walruses since late summer have congregated in haulouts on Alaska's northwest shore, a phenomenon likely connected to record low Arctic sea ice.
Everyone to pay for climate change
LONDON (Reuters) - Climate change will likely cost every global citizen something in the years ahead, although the payback will be much greater, policymakers, scientists and officials told a Reuters summit this week.
Americans Willing to Pay for Global Warming Remedies
Nearly three-quarters of Americans are willing to pay more taxes to support local government efforts aimed at mitigating global warming, according to the findings of two recent national surveys conducted by Yale University. Americans were willing to pay more money in property taxes, home costs and utility fees to support initiatives that would encourage people to use less energy and get that energy from alternative sources, the surveys showed.
New Roofing Technology: Strong, Light, Green, Beautiful, Sustainable
Santa Ana, Calif. – A Santa Anna California company has developed a new green roofing product that is both light and strong and environmentally-sustainable, using advanced engineering polymer materials. The top layer of the roofing product is made from a highly weatherable material called GE Geloy for superior weatherability.
Green Resource Guide for Film Industry Unveiled
LOS ANGELES, Oct. 5, 2007 -- The California Film Commission recently unveiled a Green Resource Guide to help the film industry reduce its environmental footprint.
Amazon group bans logging, mining
An indigenous group in Guyana, backed by government decree and a U.S.-based conservation organization, has banned miners and loggers from its section of the Amazon jungle and pledged to pursue an economic strategy based on ecotourism, research and traditional crafts. For more headlines, visit MakeThemAccountable.com. |
Printer-friendly format
Email this thread to a friend
Bookmark this thread
(1000+ posts)
Send PM |
Profile |
Ignore
