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Morning headlines brought to you by Carolyn Kay MakeThemAccountable.com Top StoryBush defends Iran policy amid doubts on new U.N. sanctions
WASHINGTON — President Bush worked the phones Tuesday to salvage his hard-line policy toward Iran, lobbying foreign leaders for tougher economic sanctions despite a new U.S. intelligence report that concluded that the Islamic republic halted its secret nuclear weapons program four years ago. Several U.S. officials and experts, however, said that the new National Intelligence Estimate has upended Bush's policy and erased any justification for threatening military strikes. The Heretik
The WorldAhmadinejad: Report a victory for Iran
TEHRAN, Iran - A new U.S. intelligence review concluding Iran stopped developing an atomic weapons program in 2003 is a "declaration of victory" for Iran's nuclear program, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said Wednesday.
A victory handed to him by our clueless administration.—Caro
Car bombs kill 9 in northern Iraq
BAGHDAD - Car bombs killed nine Iraqis Wednesday north of Baghdad, where U.S. officials have cited increased attacks despite a sharp drop in violence countrywide.
Report: Insurgent Leader In Iraq Warns Of New Attacks - AFP
DUBAI (AFP)--The leader of an Al-Qaida-linked group in Iraq warned in an Internet audio message of renewed attacks there and announced the formation of a new brigade, the SITE Intelligence Group said on Tuesday.
Israel says army ready for Gaza invasion
JERUSALEM - Israel's army has completed plans for a large offensive in the Gaza Strip and is only waiting for government approval for the action, the military chief said Wednesday, shortly after two Palestinian militants were killed by Israeli tank fire in the coastal area.
Suicide attack in Kabul during US defence chief visit claims 13: officials
A suicide attacker slammed a bomb-filled car into an Afghan army bus in the capital Kabul Wednesday, killing at least 13 people, the defence ministry said, in the second such blast in two days.
One-child policy cited as China youth crime soars
BEIJING (Reuters) - China's criminals are getting younger, more innovative and more plentiful, state media said on Wednesday, citing experts who blamed increasing Internet access and the effects of the country's "one-child policy."
Suspect in foiled Philippine coup caught
MANILA, Philippines - Police arrested an army soldier who allegedly took part in last week's botched coup attempt as he tried to board a flight to the U.S. on Wednesday, officials said.
Australian PM hails 'hero' who won billions for sick workers
SYDNEY (AFP) - Australia's new Prime Minister Kevin Rudd Wednesday hailed as a hero a man who won billions of dollars in compensation for workers from a multinational company.
I’m really liking this guy.—Caro
Turning on Chavez
The tipping point for Chavez's loss may have come from his supporters.
Sudan told to stop blocking peacekeepers
JOHANNESBURG, South Africa - Veteran statesmen including former President Jimmy Carter appealed Tuesday for an immediate cease-fire in Darfur and called on the Sudanese government to drop all obstacles to the deployment of a U.N.-African Union peacekeeping force. The NationAnalysis: US loses leverage over Iran
WASHINGTON - U.S. leverage over Iran all but evaporated this week, along with some of the international credibility and goodwill the Bush administration has worked to rebuild since the phantom weapons debacle in Iraq.
Bush insists Iran poses danger, despite report
The United States refused to rule out a military attack on Iran and vowed to step up pressure on Tehran, despite a surprise US intelligence report saying Iran had halted its nuclear weapons program in 2003.
Rice explains new US view on Iran nukes
ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia - Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is working the phones to defend the Bush administration's strategy on Iran and to explain a new U.S. intelligence assessment that Tehran halted its nuclear weapons program in 2003, a startling turnabout that contradicted past U.S. conclusions.
She’s dancing as fast as she can.—Caro
After Blackwater Controversy, State Dep't Gave Bonuses to Contracting Officials (by Spencer Ackerman at TPM Muckraker)
According to internal State Department cables obtained by TPMmuckraker, the State Department has slated two Diplomatic Security officials who oversee private-security contractors guarding U.S. diplomats in Iraq and Afghanistan for salary bonuses. The optional bonuses, called Senior Foreign Service Performance Pay Awards, come months after administrative investigations have raised questions about the propriety of State's relationship with security contractors like Blackwater.
Another Sensitive Guantanamo Manual Leaked Online
Like the 2003 Gitmo manual that Wikileaks published last month, this document is unclassified but still contains significant information about the isolation of prisoners, the use of dogs at Guantanamo, and forms of punishment for detainees… Wikileaks also published a second document this week that details instructions for dealing with rendition flights involving the air transport of detainees.
'Clarifying' the Geneva Conventions: A Ploy to Limit US Culpability
JURIST Guest Columnist Benjamin Davis of the University of Toledo College of Law says official US calls for "clarifying" the Geneva Conventions are part of a ploy to limit their application and enable prisoners to be treated outside the law without inviting culpability for war crimes and torture.
Homeland Security for Sale - DHS: Five Years of Mismanagement (CREW)
Washington, DC – Today, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) released a new report entitled Homeland Security for Sale – DHS: Five Years of Mismanagement, an accompanying website, www.homelandsecurityforsale.org, and a video created and produced by Brave New Foundation. The report and video document the past five years of the agency’s most serious problems and troubling practices.
Leahy sets Thursday vote for contempt resolutions against Rove, Bolten
Senate Judiciary Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) has scheduled a committee vote Thursday on contempt resolutions against White House Chief of Staff Josh Bolten and former presidential political guru Karl Rove for failing to respond to subpoenas. Under Judiciary Committee rules, the vote could be postponed for a week, but Leahy said he intends to move the criminal contempt resolutions as soon as possible.
Supreme Court Hears Important Product Liability Case (by Jonathan Turley)
The Bush Administration has switched the government’s position on an important product liability question in a case that could have profound effects for all Americans. At issue in Riegel v. Medtronic Inc., No. 06-179, is whether citizens are preempted or barred from suing a company for a product that was approved for sale by the Food and Drug Administration.
CEOs take brighter view of economy: survey
BOSTON (Reuters) - Chief executives' view of the economy improved in the fourth quarter, although they have become far more concerned about energy prices than they were a year ago, according to a survey by the Business Roundtable.
Productivity surged in 3rd Quarter
WASHINGTON - Worker productivity roared ahead at the fastest pace in four years in the summer while wage pressures dropped sharply.
Got that? Productivity roars and wages drop. That means more money into the pockets of the already rich at the expense of the rest of us. So can the next headline be any surprise?—Caro
Worker sentiment index hits record low in November
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Worker confidence stumbled to a record low in November, reflecting growing pessimism over jobs and personal finances stemming from housing and credit troubles, a survey released on Wednesday shows. MediaPermanent link to MTA daily media news
McClatchy Scribe Hit 'Hype' On Iran's Nukes a Month Ago
Five years after being one of the few reporters to repeatedly question White House claims of Iraqi WMD, Jonathan Landay was at it again in casting doubt on claims of an Iranian nuclear project.
Have I told you lately that I love McClatchy?—Caro
AP Headline Writers Make Iran NIE Say The Opposite of What It Says (by Spencer Ackerman at TPM Horse’s Mouth)
Like all other straight write-ups of the (National Intelligence Estimate) – (the AP’s Pamela) Hess's story emphasizes that Iran shuttered its nuclear program in 2003 under international pressure. It further reports, faithfully following the NIE, that Iran is considered unlikely to have a nuclear weapon… So what did the AP use for its headline, as of 1:03 p.m.? “US Officials: Iran Has Nuke Capability”. Now, someone at the AP must have figured that headline was misleading… So what was AP's new headline, at 1:43 p.m.? “US: Iran Still Able to Develop Nukes”. (M)illions of casual readers will come away with an impression of the Iranian nuclear weapons non-program that's exactly the opposite of what the U.S. intelligence community says it is.
Debunking Iran's Nuclear Program: Another 'Intelligence Failure' -- On the Part of the Press? (by Greg Mitchell, Editor & Publisher)
Iraqi WMD redux: The release of the NIE throwing cold water on oft-repeated claims of a rampant Iranian nuclear weapons program has chastened public officials and policymakers who have promoted this line for years. But many in the media have made these same claims, often extravagantly.
Washington Post, Associated Press Let Bush Skate With Phony Claim That He Learned Iran Nuke Threat Was Bogus "Last Week" (by Greg Sargent at TPM Horse’s Mouth)
Bush said (yesterday) that all he knew about until last week was that there was "some new information" about Iran. He wasn't told what it was. WaPo didn't say anything to refute these claims. But here's what WaPo itself reported just yesterday in its story on the NIE: "… (National Security Advisor Stephen) Hadley said Bush first learned in August or September about intelligence indicating Iran had halted its weapons program and was advised it would take time to evaluate… The Associated Press, too, appears ready to let Bush skate on this.
Hersh: Bush Told Olmert Of NIE Two Days Before President Was Allegedly First Briefed On It
Yesterday, National Security Adviser Stephen Hadley told reporters that President Bush was first briefed on the National Intelligence Estimate’s conclusions on Wednesday, Nov. 28.But (Tuesday) in an interview with CNN, Seymour Hersh, The New Yorker’s Pulitzer-Prize winning investigative journalist, revealed that Bush actually knew about the NIE at least two days earlier and had a “private discussion” about it with Prime Minister Ehud Olmert before the Middle East peace summit in Annapolis, MD, last week.
Click through to watch the video.—Caro
Biden: Bush either not truthful or incompetent on Iran
“Are you telling me a president who is briefed every single morning, who is fixated on Iran, is not told back in August that the tentative conclusion of 16 intelligence agencies in the United States government said they had abandoned their effort for a nuclear weapon in ’03?” (Sen. Joe) Biden said in a conference call with reporters. “That’s not believable,” Biden added. “I refuse to believe that. If that’s true, he has the most incompetent staff in … modern American history and he’s one of the most incompetent presidents in modern American history.”
I Just Work Here (by Josh Marshall at Talking Points Memo)
Mike McConnell, comes in to the president and says, "Mr. President, we've got some important new information on the Iran nuclear front." And the president apparently says, okay. And then he doesn't ask him what the information was… In the president's defense, I don't think this happened. I think he's lying. Of course, McConnell told him.
It’s like the poppycock he told us about the August 6, 2001 briefing that bin Laden was about to attack the United States. He told the guy who briefed him, “All right. You've covered your ass, now.” He asked no questions and then went fishing. —Caro
The Roll-Out Goes Flat (by Scott Horton, Harper’s)
(O)ne highly reliable intelligence community source I consulted immediately after (Stephen) Hadley spoke answered my question this way: “This is absolutely absurd. The NIE has been in substantially the form in which it was finally submitted for more than six months. The White House, and particularly Vice President Cheney, used every trick in the book to stop it from being finalized and issued. There was no last minute breakthrough that caused the issuance of the assessment.” So what, I asked, if not an intelligence breakthrough, what caused the last-minute change and the sudden issuance of the summary of the NIE? My source had no idea. He speculated, however, that a hardening of attitudes within the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the intelligence community, and in Israel against the plans for an air war in Iran had caused Cheney and his team to fold their cards. “But I’d leave that with a final note of caution,” the source added, “Cheney sometimes appears to give up, but he’s a tenacious son-of-a-bitch. He may very well be back at it tomorrow.”
How could they possibly recover? Why, blame Bush haters, that’s how. See below.—Caro
NeoCons Go Ballistic on Iran NIE (by Larry Johnson at No Quarter)
“How can you trust the intelligence community to get it right on Iran? They got Iraq wrong in 2002 and now this?” The “this” is the NIE on Iran and its search for nukes. That in a nutshell is one of the prevalent reactions of neocons and Bush true believers. But wait, there is more. John Bolton told Wolf Blitzer that the NIE was the handiwork of exiled State Department officials hell bent on undermining Bush and this country.
And Bolton told Fox News that Congress should investigate those traitors.—Caro
Hardball: Biden Repeats His Threat To Bush - Invade Iran And You’ll Be Impeached (by Logan Murphy at Crooks and Liars)
On Tuesday’s Hardball, Senator Joe Biden appeared with Chris Matthews and talked about the new NIE report that showed Iran had halted its nuclear weapons program in 2003. Biden said last week that if the president chose to bypass Congress and invade Iran he would immediately call for his impeachment. Biden stood behind those comments today, saying they were a warning to President Bush and that he has no constitutional authority to take us to war without congressional approval.
Thank you, Sen. Biden. Without this kind of threat, Bush-Cheney will do whatever the hell they want to do. Click through to watch the video.—Caro
Mainstream Media Critics Start Pressuring Big News Orgs To Tell Their Readers The Truth (by Greg Sargent at TPM Horse’s Mouth)
The in-house media critics at the major papers are finally beginning to ratchet up the pressure on their own papers' editors and reporters to start getting much more aggressive in scrutinizing the claims of candidates… (T)he only way aggressive fact-checking will make a real difference is if the big news orgs make a regular habit of it and start calling out falsehoods and lies for what they are again and again and again. The point here is that the reason someone like Karl Rove keeps lying about what happened in the runup to the Iraq War is precisely because he knows that big news orgs won't call him out on it often enough for there to be any serious downside to doing it. But if they did do this regularly, the cost of telling this lie would begin to outweigh the benefit and Rove would stop doing it.
Sherri Shepard: Nothing Pre-Dates Christians (By Manila Ryce at The Largest Majority)
(The View’s) Sherri Shepard (of flat earth fame) decided to out do her fellow fundamentalists who think the world is only 6,000-years-old by knocking 4,000 years off their total. I’ve always suspected that BC was a fictional era created by secular progressives to destroy the sacrament of marriage with fictional, yet irresistibly sexy tales of Greco-Roman man love. Get out of my head Russell Crowe!
How many hundreds of thousands a year does that woman make from being on The View? While those of us who try to bring you truthful reporting can’t scrape together but a few pennies?—Caro Technology & ScienceWatch For Holiday E-Card Spam, Symantec Warns
Some malware authors have even gone so far as to include the phrases "no worm, no virus" in the e-card's text, as if such an assurance made the message safe.
Live Documents Looks Exactly Like Office (by Stan Schroeder at Mashable)
The folks of Microsoft have rarely impressed us with their online applications, but this time might be different. Live Documents, created by Sabeer Bhatia of Hotmail fame, has one huge advantage over every other online office suite - it looks exactly like Microsoft Office 2007, and Office is by far the most often used desktop office package out there.
Gotta Go On the Go? Check MizPee. (by Kristen Nicole at Mashable)
The latest site from Yojo Mobile, MizPee will help you find the nearest, cleanest public bathroom. It’s accessible on the web as well as your mobile phone, so you’ll be able to get to MizPee while on the go. What’s useful about MizPee is the profile capabilities that let you save the best and worst bathrooms that you’ve come across.
I kid you not.—Caro
Radio Antenna Made of Plasma
A radio antenna made of electrified gas could lead to stealthy, jamming-resistant transmitters, research now reveals. Electrified gas, or plasma, makes up stars and lightning and is what sheds light in fluorescent bulbs. Sealed glass, ceramic or even flexible plastic tubes of plasma can behave just like conventional metal antennas.
New hypothesis for origin of life proposed
(Santa Barbara, Calif.) –– Life may have begun in the protected spaces inside of layers of the mineral mica, in ancient oceans, according to a new hypothesis. The (Helen) Hansma mica hypothesis proposes that the narrow confined spaces between the thin layers of mica could have provided exactly the right conditions for the rise of the first biomolecules –– effectively creating cells without membranes. The separation of the layers would have also provided the isolation needed for Darwinian evolution.
Israeli study says generosity may be linked to genes
JERUSALEM (AFP) - The spirit of giving may lie in an individual person's genetic makeup, according to a recent study conducted by researchers at Hebrew University's psychology department, the school said on Wednesday.
Yes, and I’d write a book about how this applies to politics, if I could ever find a publisher.—Caro
Possible Markers For Mental Illness Discovered
ScienceDaily (Dec. 5, 2007) — Researchers have discovered natural genetic differences that might help predict the most effective antipsychotic drugs for particular patients with mental disorders such as schizophrenia, Parkinson's and drug addiction.
Protein found to turn up metabolism in mice
CHICAGO (Reuters) - Tricking muscle tissue to burn rather than store fat has succeeded in increasing the average life span of mice and staved off some age-related diseases, U.S. researchers said on Tuesday.
First known example of Roman throne found near Pompeii
The lava and ash that buried the ancient city of Herculaneum, near Pompeii, have yielded the first known example of a Roman throne, archaeologists said Tuesday.
Dead Stars Propelled Like Rockets
As white dwarfs form, they get a "kick" that propels them to speeds of thousands of miles per hour, new evidence from NASA's Hubble Space Telescope shows. EnvironmentNations Divided at Climate Conference
BALI, Indonesia (AP) - Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd urged the United States to follow his country's lead and ratify the Kyoto Protocol, while rich and poor nations appeared divided Wednesday over what a future climate change pact should look like.
House seeks tax incentives for renewable energy
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Democrats in the House of Representatives want to include provisions in pending energy legislation that would strip about $21 billion in tax subsidies from oil and gas companies and put them toward subsidies for renewable energy sources like wind and solar.
Telcos can save millions by energy efficiency
AMSTERDAM (Reuters) - A typical western European mobile operator can save millions of euros a year by simple energy-saving measures, Nokia Siemens Networks said on Wednesday.
Solar-powered taxi seeks to go around world
NUSA DUA, Indonesia (Reuters) - Louis Palmer's taxi cost as much as two Ferraris, has a top speed of 90 kms (55 miles) per hour yet could make history as the first solar-powered car to drive around the world.
Solar Billboard Billed as a Power Plant
Energy-sapping billboards, your days may be numbered. A California electricity supplier says it has installed the nation's first solar-powered billboard, which generates more electricity than it uses.
Electricity revives Bali coral reefs
Just a few years ago, the lush coral reefs off Bali island were dying out, bleached by rising temperatures, blasted by dynamite fishing and poisoned by cyanide. Now they are coming back, thanks to an unlikely remedy: electricity… Rod Salm, coral reef specialist with the Nature Conservancy, said while the method may be useful in bringing small areas of damaged coral back to life, it has very limited application in vast areas that need protection… Others note the Bali project is mostly dependent on traditionally generated electricity, a method that itself contributes to global warming.
Maybe they could figure out a way to make it solar powered.—Caro For more headlines, visit MakeThemAccountable.com.
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