|
Morning headlines brought to you by Carolyn Kay MakeThemAccountable.com Top StoriesIran's secret plan for summer offensive to force US out of Iraq
Iran is secretly forging ties with al-Qaida elements and Sunni Arab militias in Iraq in preparation for a summer showdown with coalition forces intended to tip a wavering US Congress into voting for full military withdrawal, US officials say. (Emphasis added) "Iran is fighting a proxy war in Iraq and it's a very dangerous course for them to be following. They are already committing daily acts of war against US and British forces," a senior US official in Baghdad warned.
Nine U.S. warships enter Gulf in show of force
ABOARD USS JOHN C. STENNIS (Reuters) - Nine U.S. warships carrying 17,000 personnel entered the Gulf on Wednesday in a show of force off Iran's coast that navy officials said was the largest daytime assembly of ships since the 2003 Iraq war.
Bush Authorizes New Covert Action Against Iran
The CIA has received secret presidential approval to mount a covert "black" operation to destabilize the Iranian government, current and former officials in the intelligence community tell the Blotter on ABCNews.com. The sources, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the sensitive nature of the subject, say President Bush has signed a "nonlethal presidential finding" that puts into motion a CIA plan that reportedly includes a coordinated campaign of propaganda, disinformation and manipulation of Iran's currency and international financial transactions. Off the Wahl
The WorldBody of missing U.S. soldier found in river: Iraqi police
HILLA, Iraq (Reuters) - The half-naked body of one of three missing U.S. soldiers was found on Wednesday in the Euphrates River in the town of Mussayab south of Baghdad, police said.
Iraq draws up plans if U.S. forces leave
BAGHDAD, Iraq — Iraq's military is drawing up plans on how to cope if U.S.-led forces leave the country quickly, the defense minister said Monday. The statement by Defense Minister Abdul-Qader al-Obeidi marked the first time a senior Iraqi official has spoken publicly about the possibility of a quick end to the U.S.-led mission.
Refugees flee Lebanon camp as truce holds
NAHR AL-BARED, Lebanon (AFP) - In cars and pickup trucks, thousands of Palestinians on Wednesday continued to flee a refugee camp in northern Lebanon where a fragile truce was holding after three days of intense fighting.
Injury toll from Turkey blast rises to 102
ANKARA (Reuters) - Turkey's government convened an emergency meeting on countering terrorism on Wednesday, a day after a powerful bomb blast in the capital Ankara killed six people and wounded 102 others, authorities said. The NationDemocrats Drop Timeline From Iraq Spending Bill
Democrats concede on withdrawal deadlines; plan establishes benchmarks for the Iraqi government and requires President Bush to report on progress.
Pitiful, Democrats, just plain pitiful. —Caro
Bush: bin Laden ordered non-Iraq attacks
Seeking to rally support for the war, President Bush is pointing to U.S. intelligence asserting that Osama bin Laden ordered a top lieutenant in early 2005 to form a terrorist unit to hit targets outside Iraq, and that the United States should be first in his sights.
I don’t believe a word you say, Mr. Bush. —Caro
US effort in Iraq "abysmal": top congressman
Veteran Democratic congressman Tom Lantos on Tuesday took aim at the Bush administration for "serious misconduct" in its "abysmal" attempt to rebuild violence-shattered Iraq.
Senate to debate immigration measure
WASHINGTON - Democrats are seeking to slash the number of foreign workers who could come to the U.S. on temporary visas as the Senate prepares for another day of freewheeling debate over a bipartisan immigration measure.
Democrats Find Ethics Overhaul Elusive in House
Democratic leaders pushing promised lobbying reforms are facing resistance from balky lawmakers.
CEO-Backed Immigration Bill Would Depress U.S. Wages - By Sen. Bernie Sanders
I am sympathetic to the goal of strengthening our borders and holding employers accountable when they hire illegal immigrants. I also believe that we must develop a path to citizenship for the 12 million illegal immigrants already in the United States. What most concerns me about this legislation are the provisions that would bring low-wage workers into this country in order to depress the wages of American workers, which are already in decline. With poverty increasing and the middle-class shrinking, we must not force American workers into even more economic distress. MediaPermanent link to MTA daily media news
FAIR Action Alert: Illegal, Yes--But Not Newsworthy
The revelations coming from a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing last week were startling. On May 15, former Deputy Attorney General James Comey testified about the Bush administration's extraordinary efforts in March 2004 to gain legal approval for the National Security Agency's domestic surveillance program by visiting Attorney General John Ashcroft's hospital room as he recovered from gall bladder surgery. The story is surprising, at the very least—but has so far attracted little media curiosity.
Free To Be Al Gore
Boy, it would be fun if Al Gore changed his mind and ran for president -- fun for the voters, anyway. Imagine a candidate whose preelection book is devoted in large part to an attack on the media for waging war on reason. Politicians, it is often said, never win by attacking the media. That's simply not true. Conservatives have been attacking the media for decades, to good effect… It's delightful to see the critique coming from the other side.
U.S. Government Gave Airtime to Terrorists, Official Admits
Al Hurra television, the U.S. government's $63 million-a-year effort at public diplomacy broadcasting in the Middle East, is run by executives and officials who cannot speak Arabic, according to a senior official who oversees the program. That might explain why critics say the service has recently been caught broadcasting terrorist messages, including an hour-long tirade on the importance of anti-Jewish violence, among other questionable pieces.
But who was right – Rudy or Ron?
It was the decisive moment of the South Carolina debate. Hearing Rep. Ron Paul recite the reasons for Arab and Islamic resentment of the United States, including 10 years of bombing and sanctions that brought death to thousands of Iraqis after the Gulf War, Rudy Giuliani broke format and exploded… After the debate, on Fox News' "Hannity and Colmes," came one of those delicious moments on live television. As Michael Steele, GOP spokesman, was saying that Paul should probably be cut out of future debates, the running tally of votes by Fox News viewers was showing Ron Paul, with 30 percent, the winner of the debate.
You just can’t fool most of the people most of the time. —Caro
For the second time in a week, Dobson suggested the loss of U.S. cities to an Islamic terror attack
On the May 16 edition of his Focus on the Family radio show, Focus on the Family founder and chairman James C. Dobson broadcast an interview with evangelical pastor Michael Youssef, founder of The Church of The Apostles and host of the syndicated radio and TV program Leading the Way, from an earlier event held in Naples, Florida, in which the two discussed "Insights on Radical Islam." During the broadcast, Dobson said that "it's a matter of time" before a terror attack destroys "a city or two or three or four." Two days earlier, Dobson had cited the "danger" posed by Iran and the possibility of subsequent "pile on" attacks by "North Korea and Russia and China."
Glass houses? O'Reilly derided "talk show nuts" who believe U.S. will "nuke Iran"
On the May 18 broadcast of his nationally syndicated radio show, while discussing May 17 Senate negotiations on a comprehensive immigration bill, Fox News host Bill O'Reilly asserted: "Now, the far right, the hard right, somehow believes that, in the United States of America, the federal government at some point is gonna form federal squads to go in and grab people where they live or where they work and throw them out of the country. These are the talk show nuts who are telling you that they're gonna nuke Tehran." In fact, as Media Matters for America has documented, O'Reilly is among those who have predicted that the United States will eventually bomb Iran. Technology & ScienceCity use seen as key to Wi-Fi projects
Utility workers armed with the latest wireless gadgets will be able to read electric meters remotely using Wi-Fi networks many cities are contemplating. Police and building inspectors can file and retrieve reports on the go. City employees carrying Wi-Fi phones can also reduce cellular phone bills.
Hate your cell company? Start your own
NEW YORK - Maybe it's time to stop grumbling about your cell phone company and just start your own.
Genes underlie both hyperactivity and poor grades: study
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Hyperactive behavior and difficulty in school share the same genetic roots, conclude the authors of a new study of twins.
Feathers fly over key evidence in the rise of dino-birds
PARIS (AFP) - Palaeontologists have fired a broadside over a fossil which is the cornerstone evidence to back the theory that birds descended from dinosaurs. EnvironmentNoah's Ark rebuilt to show climate change threat
MOUNT ARARAT, Turkey (Reuters) - Noah's Ark, built to save humanity and the animal kingdom in the face of a great flood, is being reconstructed in model form on Mount Ararat as a warning to mankind to act now to prevent global warming.
U.N. urges world to slow extinctions: 3 each hour
OSLO (Reuters) - Human activities are wiping out three animal or plant species every hour and the world must do more to slow the worst spate of extinctions since the dinosaurs by 2010, the United Nations said on Tuesday. For more headlines, visit MakeThemAccountable.com. |
Printer-friendly format
Email this thread to a friend
Bookmark this thread
(1000+ posts)
Send PM |
Profile |
Ignore
