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Morning headlines brought to you by Carolyn Kay MakeThemAccountable.com Top StoryCall Out the Cops--It's Time to Reopen the Capitol Jail
The Capitol Visitor Center is regularly in the news for its dizzying cost overruns, driven in major part by all the alterations in plans made by both Members of Congress and the Architect of the Capitol. I am afraid we need one more change in those plans: the addition of a new and spacious Capitol jail to house those arrested by the Capitol Police for showing contempt of Congress. The Heretik
The WorldIraq: Troops clash with Shiite militia
BAGHDAD - Shiite militiamen battled with U.S. and Iraqi troops Friday in the holy city of Karbala, and the fighting left nine people dead and nearly two dozen wounded, local officials said.
The United States Finds Few Non-Iraqis Among Insurgents
As President Bush continues to stress al Qaeda as the chief threat to Iraq's stability--a reprised effort to establish a link between al Qaeda in Iraq and the 9/11 attackers--U.S. military forces on the ground in Iraq are fighting a complex war in regions with vast networks of overlapping loyalties--and few foreign fighters. Most members of al Qaeda in Iraq, say commanders on the ground, are local Iraqi outcasts.
Olmert ally: Pull out of West Bank
JERUSALEM - A key ally of Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said Friday that Israel should withdraw from most of the West Bank in a deal with the Palestinians.
Pakistan test fires nuclear-capable missile
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan (Reuters) -- Pakistan successfully tested on Thursday a cruise missile capable of carrying a variety of warheads, including nuclear, the military said.
UK terror charges dropped against doctor
BRISBANE, Australia - An Indian doctor was freed from custody after Australia's chief prosecutor said Friday that a charge linking him to failed terrorist bombings in Britain was a mistake.
Sarkozy Says Trust Arab States with Nuclear Power
After agreeing to nuclear cooperation with Libya, French President Nicolas Sarkozy said the West should trust Arab states to develop such technology for peaceful purposes or risk a war of civilisations.
De Klerk denies apartheid crimes
CAPE TOWN, South Africa - F.W. De Klerk, South Africa's last white president and a Nobel Peace Prize winner, insisted Thursday that he knew nothing about any atrocities committed during his leadership.
No development, no peace
(T)he new United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) report Sudan: Post-Conflict Environmental Assessment … is much more. It is a vivid study of how the natural environment, poverty, and population growth can interact to provoke terrible human-made disasters like the violence in Darfur. The NationMueller Contradicts Gonzales Testimony, Confirms NSA Program Was Subject Of Hospital Visit
Speaking with the House Judiciary Committee today, FBI director Robert S. Mueller contradicted Attorney General Alberto Gonzales’ sworn Senate testimony from Tuesday, confirming that the “terrorist surveillance program” run by the National Security Agency (NSA) was the subject of discussion during Gonzales’ controversial visit to former Attorney General John Ashcroft’s hospital bed. Gonzales had testified that it was about “other intelligence activities”.
Click through to watch the video.—Caro
Democrats subpoena Rove, seek perjury investigation of Gonzales
WASHINGTON — Senate Democrats escalated their investigations of the Justice Department on Thursday, subpoenaing President Bush's top political adviser, Karl Rove, and seeking the appointment of a special counsel to consider whether Attorney General Alberto Gonzales has committed perjury.
Chairman Waxman Asks About the White House Counsel's Knowledge of Potential Presidential Records Act Violations
In two separate letters, Chairman Waxman asks when the White House Counsel's office learned about White House officials' use of nongovernmental e-mail accounts for official purposes, and what steps, if any, it took to preserve these records and prevent violations of the Presidential Records Act. A staff report issued by the committee's majority staff in June found that the White House Counsel's office under Alberto Gonzales may have known about officials' use of these accounts as early as 2001 and done nothing to prevent continued use of the accounts for official business.
Intelligence Official Contradicts Bush: ‘Primary’ Terrorist Threat Is From ‘South Asia,’ Not Iraq
On Tuesday, President Bush delivered an address claiming that al Qaeda in Iraq is the central terror threat to the United States… Top U.S. intelligence officials testifying before the House yesterday explained that Bush’s monolithic conception of al Qaeda does not represent their views. As NPR reported, “none of the officials testifying would put it quite the way President Bush has.” In rare testimony, Edward Gistaro, “a principal author” of the recent National Intelligence Estimate, said the “primary concern” today comes from Afghanistan and Pakistan.
Gates expresses regret for aide’s attack on Clinton.
In a new letter to Sen. Hillary Clinton, Defense Secretary Robert Gates apologizes for Under Secretary of Defense Eric Edelman’s recent attacks on her. He writes, “I emphatically assure you that (the Defense Department does) not claim, suggest, or otherwise believe that congressional oversight emboldens our enemies, nor do we question anyone’s motives in this regard.”
There's no vacation for our troops in Iraq
We're hard upon the dog days of August. Members of the U.S. Congress and the Iraqi parliament will soon slither away to the shade of cooler rocks, and President Bush will no doubt head off to Crawford to take his frustrations out on some brush with a chainsaw. Meanwhile, in Iraq, the 60,000 American combat troops who daily patrol the most dangerous streets and roads in the world will carry on fighting, dying and bleeding in the broiling sun where temperatures nudge the 130-degree mark and 40 pounds of body armor and Kevlar helmet plus weapon and ammunition weigh more with every step an Infantryman takes.
House Passes Lee Bill to Ban Permanent Bases in Iraq
WASHINGTON - JULY 25 - – Today, by a vote of 399-24, the House passed legislation introduced by Congresswoman Barbara Lee (D-Oakland) to prevent permanent military bases in Iraq and bar U.S. control over Iraqi oil resources.
New Details on Tillman's Death
Army medical examiners were suspicious about the close proximity of the three bullet holes in Pat Tillman's forehead and tried without success to get authorities to investigate whether the former NFL player's death amounted to a crime, according to documents obtained by The Associated Press.
Federal audit rips Iraqi reconstruction work
A new federal audit released Wednesday, however, found that a big chunk of Bechtel's reconstruction work for USAID, the federal agency that issued the contract, was never achieved… Auditors checked the 24 jobs Bechtel was supposed to complete.
Slave labor used to contruct U.S. Embassy In Baghdad.
During testimony before the House Oversight Committee today, Rory Mayberry, a former subcontract employee of the firm responsible for the construction of the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad, said he believes that at least 52 Filipino nationals had been kidnapped to work on the embassy project.
Click through to watch the video.—Caro
Former Judiciary Chair Calls For Probe into Roberts, Alito
Senator Arlen Specter (R-PA), who chaired the committee hearings on Chief Justice Roberts and Justice Alito, said yesterday that he intends to investigate whether the Court's newest Justices "lived up" to their promises during those hearings to respect stare decisis.
They lied. They said they wouldn’t overturn precedent, and they’ve done almost nothing BUT that.—Caro
House panel OKs expanding insurance program to cover wind damage
WASHINGTON — The House Financial Services Committee voted Thursday to make a dramatic change in federal disaster insurance by expanding the national flood insurance program to cover wind damage. The 38-29 vote, largely along party lines, was spurred by a pledge that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., made after Hurricane Katrina to the coastal communities of Mississippi and Louisiana.
Just as with health insurance, soon we’ll be able to leave the insurance companies out of this kind of coverage altogether. They don’t want to insure. They just want to collect premiums and not pay out.—Caro
Democrats Push Parcel of Bills That Could Split Republicans
House and Senate negotiators reached accord yesterday on legislation to implement most of the recommendations of the bipartisan commission that studied the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. The deal could be enacted as early as this week. Agreement on a package of lobbying and ethics rules changes should be done by early next week. And congressional leaders hope to pass a significant expansion of the 10-year-old program to provide health insurance for children of the working poor.
Alaska Senator to sell back riverfront property
Murkowski, R-Alaska, announced the giveback a day after a Washington watchdog group filed a 15-page Senate ethics complaint against her, alleging that Anchorage businessman Bob Penney sold the property well below market value. The transaction amounted to an illegal gift worth between $70,000 and $170,000, depending on how the property was valued, according to the complaint by the National Legal and Policy Center.
Conservatives call for Bush to emphasize ‘leaving Iraq’
Some conservative activist leaders, fearing voter anger with the Iraq war, want President Bush and GOP leaders to begin emphasizing that U.S. troops will be “leaving Iraq” to give Republicans cover as they head into a tough political landscape in 2008… Some conservative activist leaders, fearing voter anger with the Iraq war, want President Bush and GOP leaders to begin emphasizing that U.S. troops will be “leaving Iraq” to give Republicans cover as they head into a tough political landscape in 2008.
Notice that they’re not asking Bush to do the right thing. They’re asking him to do the political thing.—Caro
Scandal-plagued Vitter to ‘rebrand’ conservatives.
Speaking at a policy lunch on Tuesday, Sen. David Vitter (R-LA), who recently admitted to frequenting a prostitution service run by the “DC Madam,” told his colleagues that Senate conservatives should “rebrand” themselves “by reclaiming the fiscal conservative mantle.” According to The Hill, “This time, his colleagues held the applause.”
Focus Group Says Edwards Won Debate
Of the 12 focus group members, four thought Edwards won the debate, three thought Obama prevailed and two picked Clinton. In particular, the focus group thought Edwards was the most "genuine" of the candidates.
New study explores impact of voting rights act on election of nonwhite officials in the US
Washington, DC -- New research by political scientists examines the significance of the Voting Rights Act (VRA) for the political representation of people of color and documents “a substantial relationship between the VRA and the election of nonwhite officials at the national, state, and local levels.”… At the national level, despite the increase of nonwhite elected officials in recent decades, “nonwhites are still severely underrepresented in Congress,” state the authors. MediaPermanent link to MTA daily media news
http://www.mediachannel.org/wordpress/2007/07/25/media-corrections-wed-like-to-see/">Media Corrections We'd Like To See
Every once in a while, I imagine what it might be like if news outlets were candid and leveled with media consumers instead of the usual circuitous route of pretense and distortion. What media scenes would we like to see?... “Yesterday’s paper included a business section but failed to also include a labor section.“
Click through for more excellent examples.—Caro
The NYT Argues For Class Biased Trade Agreements
The Peter G. Peterson Institute has no interest in reducing or eliminating trade barriers that have the effect of shifting income upwards. The Peter G. Peterson Institute, and apparently also the NYT, only wants to eliminate the trade barriers that might benefit less educated workers. And, because they have so much influence in the media, they get to call this "free trade."
http://www.mediachannel.org/wordpress/2007/07/26/hungry-for-younger-readers-newspapers-should-embrace-their-voices/">Hungry For Younger Readers, Newspapers Should Embrace Their Voices
Why is it that every time an issue concerning young people arises, the newspaper op-eds commenting on those issues are almost always written by people in their 40s, 50s, or 60s?
http://www.mediachannel.org/wordpress/2007/07/26/crowdsourcing-tests-yield-mixed-results/">Crowdsourcing Tests Yield Mixed Results
Journalism has been best practiced alone, but the masses of the Internet, always eager to improve or destroy a well-established practice, have deemed "crowdsourcing" the journalism technique of the future.
Fox News On Arabic Culture School: ‘Al Qaeda Is Coming Soon To A Classroom Near You’
As Fox rolled footage of the 9/11 attacks, Sean Hannity asked if the New York Board of Education was “blurring the line between the separation of church and state” by using “tax dollars to fund an all Muslim school. ” After displaying banners with “Islam 101?” and “Funding Fatwa?,” Alan Colmes introduced the segment by saying, “Coming soon to a classroom near you, Al Qaeda!”… In reality, the school is open to “students of all racial and ethnic background,” not just Muslims, and its curriculum is “not religion-based.”
Bill O'Reilly and Rod Wheeler Apologize for Inaccuracies in Their Report on Violent Lesbian Gangs
In his apology Wheeler states, "During the O'Reilly Factor segment on June 21st, while engaged in a discussion on Lesbian gangs, I inadvertently stated that gang members carry pistols that are painted pink and call themselves the "Pink Pistol Packing Group." I was not referring to the gay rights group "Pink Pistols" who advocates for the lawful rights of gays to carry weapons for protection.
Honestly, this could be a routine on The Daily Show. There’s more to the correction. Click through if you care.—Caro
Swift Boat 2004 vs. 'Swift Boat' 2008
When a prominent group of New York City firefighters attacked Rudy Giuliani's handling of the September 11 terrorist attacks, and when they posted a video online puncturing what they called the "urban legend of America's Mayor," the political press knew what to do -- it anointed the first responders as this election cycle's Swift Boat Veterans for Truth… But that's the king of phony comparisons. And by making it, the press, once again, is letting the lying Swift Boat Vets off easy.
http://www.mediachannel.org/wordpress/2007/07/26/why-fairness-fails/">Why 'Fairness' Fails
Congress should more fruitfully spend its time coming to grips with the massive concentration of communication power in an ever-shrinking bucket. Private companies pay a pittance to use public airwaves. What price are they really worth? The president and Congress are unwilling to dissolve or downsize media giants; perhaps they will be willing to require a better price for the airwaves if coupled with creative requirements for community broadcasting. Technology & ScienceSenators worried about TV 'train wreck'
WASHINGTON - On Feb. 18, 2009, tens of millions of televisions that are not equipped to receive digital signals will become useless pieces of furniture. The government is spending $5 million to let owners know so they can do something about it — not enough, critics say.
Hand gestures dramatically improve learning
Kids asked to physically gesture at math problems are nearly three times more likely than non-gesturers to remember what they’ve learned. In (Wednesday)’s issue of the journal Cognition, a University of Rochester scientist suggests it’s possible to help children learn difficult concepts by providing gestures as an additional and potent avenue for taking in information.
Pot Ups Risk for Mental Illness
The more you smoke, the greater the odds, researchers report.
Evidence of city beneath Alexandria
CAIRO, Egypt - Alexander the Great founded Alexandria to immortalize his name amid his quest to conquer the world — but his was apparently not the first city on the famed site on Egypt's Mediterranean coast. EnvironmentWhite House Trims Investigators Tracking Environmental Crimes, Below Level Ordered by Congress
Fewer U.S. environmental cops are tracking criminal polluters these days, their numbers steadily dropping below levels ordered by Congress. They are pursuing fewer environmental crimes in a strategy by the Bush administration to target bigger polluters.
Pond bacterium converts light to energy
WASHINGTON - The wonderland known as Yellowstone National Park has yielded a new marvel — an unusual bacterium that converts light to energy.
New material can soak up pollutants, study shows
A new porous material can soak up heavy metals from liquids like a sponge, U.S. researchers said on Thursday, offering a host of potential uses including removing pollutants such as mercury or lead from water.
Floods, Heat Hit Europe, but Is It Global Warming?
Computer simulations may soon be able to show how likely it is that extreme weather events such as the floods and heatwaves that swept Europe this week were caused by climate change, scientists say. For more headlines, visit MakeThemAccountable.com. |
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