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[Caro]

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Carolyn Kay
MakeThemAccountable.com

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Putin warns on U.S. missiles in Europe
ROME - Russian President Vladimir Putin warned that U.S. plans to build a missile defense system in Eastern Europe would force Moscow to target its weapons against Europe.

The Illustrated Daily Scribble

The World

U.S. announces 14 troop deaths in Iraq
BAGHDAD - Fourteen American soldiers were killed in three deadly days in Iraq, the U.S. military said Sunday, including four in a single roadside bombing and one who was struck by a suicide bomber while on a foot patrol southwest of the capital.

Kurds say Turks shelled Iraq border area
ANKARA, Turkey - Turkish troops shelled a border area in northern Iraq early Sunday in an attack on Kurdish rebels based there, an Iraqi Kurdish leader said.

Iran counters Western nuclear demands
TEHRAN, Iran - Iran said Sunday it would work to settle disputes over its atomic program if its case went back to the U.N. nuclear watchdog agency — a stance far from Western demands that it suspend uranium enrichment.

Heavy fighting in Sri Lanka leaves 82 dead, say combatants
COLOMBO (AFP) - Tiger rebels destroyed army bases in northern Sri Lanka leaving 82 combatants dead according to both sides Sunday as the island's main aid donor, Japan, was set to launch a fresh peace bid.

Thousands of anti-coup protesters descend on Bangkok
BANGKOK (AFP) - Thousands of anti-coup demonstrators descended on Bangkok Sunday to urge a return to democracy, police and organisers said, a day after a similar rally drew record numbers.

German police arrest 128 after violent anti-G8 protest
ROSTOCK, Germany (AFP) - German police said on Sunday that 128 people were arrested after a violent demonstration by anti-G8 protestors in Rostock the previous day which left up to 1,000 people injured.

The Nation

Arkansas GOP head: We need more 'attacks on American soil' so people appreciate Bush
In his first interview as the chairman of the Arkansas Republican Party, Dennis Milligan told a reporter that America needs to be attacked by terrorists so that people will appreciate the work that President Bush has done to protect the country. "At the end of the day, I believe fully the president is doing the right thing, and I think all we need is some attacks on American soil like we had on (Sept. 11, 2001)," Milligan said to the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, "and the naysayers will come around very quickly to appreciate not only the commitment for President Bush, but the sacrifice that has been made by men and women to protect this country."

JFK Suspects Had No al-Qaeda Ties, `Same Hatred,' Official Says
June 3 (Bloomberg) -- Four men charged with plotting to bomb fuel tanks and a pipeline at New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport had no direct ties to al-Qaeda though they had the ``same hatred'' that motivates the terrorist group, the city's police commissioner said.
Yes, please tie them to al-Qaeda, even though they’re not tied to al-Qaeda. —Caro

House keeps pet projects from scrutiny
WASHINGTON - After promising unprecedented openness regarding Congress' pork barrel practices, House Democrats are moving in the opposite direction as they draw up spending bills for the upcoming budget year… (Rep. David) Obey insists he is reluctantly taking the step because Appropriations Committee members and staff have not had enough time to fully review the 36,000 earmark requests that have flooded the committee. The committee has been absorbed with writing a catchall spending bill cleaning up unfinished budget business from last year and the just-completed Iraq war spending bill.
I’d like to blame the Republicans, too, but I guess I don’t see why we can’t do away with earmarks altogether. Call me naïve. —Caro

Pelosi committed to allowing outside groups file ethics complaints
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) is planning an announcement soon on an independent ethics commission that will help police members’ conduct.

US Attorney Resigns Following Conyers’ Request for BBC Documents
Tim Griffin, formerly right hand man to Karl Rove, resigned Thursday as US Attorney for Arkansas hours after BBC Television ‘Newsnight’ reported that Congressman John Conyers requested the network’s evidence on Griffin’s involvement in ‘caging voters.’ Greg Palast, reporting for BBC Newsnight, obtained a series of confidential emails from the 2004 Bush-Cheney campaign. In these emails, Griffin, then the GOP Deputy Communications Director, transmitted so-called ‘caging lists’ of voters to state party leaders. Experts have concluded the caging lists were designed for a mass challenge of voters’ right to cast ballots. The caging lists were heavily weighted with minority voters including homeless individuals, students and soldiers sent overseas.

Former Defense worker gets prison time
WASHINGTON - A former Defense Department employee was sentenced to a year in prison Friday for accepting money and a job from a government contractor he had used his federal position to assist. U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly sentenced Steven Merkes, 49, of Las Vegas, on a charge of accepting an illegal gratuity.

Media

Permanent link to MTA daily media news

The Price of Free Airwaves (by Michael J. Copps)
AS a member of the Federal Communications Commission, I often hear how fed up Americans are with the news media. Too much “if it bleeds it leads” on the evening news and not enough real coverage of local issues. Too little high-quality entertainment and too many people eating bugs. It doesn’t have to be this way. America lets radio and TV broadcasters use public airwaves worth more than half a trillion dollars for free… Using the public airwaves is a privilege — a lucrative one — not a right, and I fear the F.C.C. has not done enough to stand up for the public interest.

When the Press Fails…
(J)ust what makes it so difficult for reporters and their editors to find more independent perspectives from which to address important issues? Spin can only work with willing victims. This problem of a dependent press will not go away until journalists can look squarely at why, despite being aware of their common vulnerability to catastrophic failure, they seem unable to change how they operate. Perhaps the path to reform is too obvious. Let every organization start each day by deciding whether they are reporting events from the standpoint of the people or from the viewpoint of those in power.

From a comment on the post above: (R)eporters didn't just lie back and transcribe during the Clinton administration. And they certainly won't stay docile and supine if the Democrats take control of the White House in 2008. No, for the last 25 years, the press has failed to do its duty only when a Republican president is in office. They loved Reagan, they were okay with George Bush I and they adored Bush II. They savaged Carter and Clinton. It's not just about sucking up to power. It's about continually being a propaganda arm for the Republican party.

Mike Allen, consummate Beltway "journalist"
The Politico's "Chief Political Correspondent" Mike Allen (until recently Time's White House Correspondent") has a … new article on Rove protegee Dan Bartlett and his departure from the White House… Even someone hired to serve as Bartlett's publicist would be embarrassed to churn out something this adoring and one-sided. But not Mike Allen, who very well may be the single most obedient, right-wing-power-worshipping reporter in Washington, a distinction for which there is a crowded and heated competition.

Great Lede Alert
"For the record, it isn't until the fourth page of the introduction to his new memoir, No Excuses, that Robert Shrum begins making excuses." — Steve Kornacki in the New York Observer

Internet videos to vie for Daytime Emmys
Internet videos showing volcanic eruptions of Diet Coke will compete along with Web shorts featuring the cast of NBC’s “The Office” in newly created categories for the upcoming Daytime Emmy Awards.

Technology & Science

Graduation Webcasts bridge distances
Shohei Takagiwa wanted more than anything to see his three friends graduate from college, but he couldn't travel halfway around the world from his native Japan to Northampton Community College in Bethlehem. So Takagiwa, a 2006 alumnus, did the next best thing. He logged onto his computer to watch a live Internet broadcast of the May 24 evening ceremony for the 1,177 graduates — the college's first commencement Webcast.

'Freedom Calls' connect GIs, families online
Freedom Calls Foundation, a New Jersey-based charity born in the wake of the U.S. invasion of Iraq, makes video hookups available for milestone events to thousands of military families to connect while serving.

Poll: A fifth vacation with laptops
WASHINGTON - Sun block. Beach umbrella. Laptop. One in five people toted laptop computers on their most recent vacations, an AP-Ipsos poll released Friday said. Along with the 80 percent who said they brought along their cell phones, the survey shows going on vacation no longer means being out of the electronic loop.
Yes, well, who the heck are those other four fifths? —Caro

Spam flows despite high-profile arrest
NEW YORK - Junk e-mail continued to land in mailboxes around the world Thursday, despite the arrest a day earlier of a man described as one of the world's most prolific spammers.
I haven’t noticed any slowdown at all. —Caro

Dutch Try To Grow Environment-Friendly Meat in Lab
(D)utch researchers are trying to grow pork meat in a laboratory with the goal of feeding millions without the need to raise and slaughter animals. "We're trying to make meat without having to kill animals," Bernard Roelen, a veterinary science professor at Utrecht University, said in an interview.
Cholesterol-free meat? Wouldn’t that be great? —Caro

Residents of ancient Pompeii liked fast food
Residents of Pompeii ate their meals on the run, just like many Americans do today, according to a new archaeological study of how households functioned in the ancient Roman city buried by volcanic ash.

Environment

Australian PM Sidesteps Bush On Climate
Australia's John Howard has been alone among the industrialized nations' leaders to stand with President Bush against the Kyoto Protocol. But now he says he wants a carbon trading system, something the Bush administration strongly opposes.

Japan Showcases Eco-Friendly Cars Ahead of G-8 Summit
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe took Japan's latest eco-friendly cars out for a spin Friday to show off his environmental awareness ahead of next week's G-8 summit meeting. Abe and Economy, Trade and Industry Minister Akira Amari took turns trying out six car models that emit zero or low-level carbon dioxide by using electric batteries, clean diesel, fuel cells, hydrogen gas or biofuels for power.

Pelosi makes 'carbon neutral' Europe trip
When House Speaker Nancy Pelosi jetted off last Saturday to Europe for a climate change fact-finding trip, she probably expected questions on how much greenhouse gas her trip would generate.
But Pelosi was one step ahead of the criticism, announcing as she left that she plans to “offset” her carbon dioxide emissions by contributing to the Pacific Forest Trust.

Report Says Climate Making Forest Fires Bigger
Climate change is making forest fires around the world bigger and more intense, increasing the threat to people and the environment and costing countries millions in damage and firefighting expenses, the United Nations said Thursday.

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