The inspector general of the Department of Homeland Security said Tuesday that his office had received accusations of fraud and waste in the multibillion-dollar relief programs linked to Hurricane Katrina and would investigate how no-bid contracts were awarded to several large, politically well-connected companies.
The inspector general, Richard L. Skinner, who serves as the department's internal watchdog, said in an interview that he intended to be "extremely aggressive" in monitoring the Federal Emergency Management Agency, which will receive most of the $62 billion in disaster-response financing approved by Congress last week.
Wednesday, September 14, 2005
Bush's anti-Iran PowerPoint not "strictly supported by the facts
With an hour-long slide show that blends satellite imagery with disquieting assumptions about Iran's nuclear energy program, Bush administration officials have been trying to convince allies that Tehran is on a fast track toward nuclear weapons.
The PowerPoint briefing, titled "A History of Concealment and Deception," has been presented to diplomats from more than a dozen countries. Several diplomats said the presentation, intended to win allies for increasing pressure on the Iranian government, dismisses ambiguities in the evidence about Iran's intentions and omits alternative explanations under debate among intelligence analysts.
The presenters argue that the evidence leads solidly to a conclusion that Iran's nuclear program is aimed at producing weapons, according to diplomats who have attended the briefings and U.S. officials who helped to assemble the slide show. But even U.S. intelligence estimates acknowledge that other possibilities are plausible, though unverified.
The problem, acknowledged one U.S. official, is that the evidence is not definitive. Briefers "say you can't draw any other conclusion, and of course you can draw other conclusions," said the official, who would discuss the closed-door sessions only on condition of anonymity.
The briefings were conducted in Vienna over the past month in advance of a gathering of world leaders this week at the United Nations. President Bush, who is to address the annual General Assembly gathering Wednesday, and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, plan to use the meeting to press for agreement to threaten international sanctions against Iran.
The PowerPoint briefing, titled "A History of Concealment and Deception," has been presented to diplomats from more than a dozen countries. Several diplomats said the presentation, intended to win allies for increasing pressure on the Iranian government, dismisses ambiguities in the evidence about Iran's intentions and omits alternative explanations under debate among intelligence analysts.
The presenters argue that the evidence leads solidly to a conclusion that Iran's nuclear program is aimed at producing weapons, according to diplomats who have attended the briefings and U.S. officials who helped to assemble the slide show. But even U.S. intelligence estimates acknowledge that other possibilities are plausible, though unverified.
The problem, acknowledged one U.S. official, is that the evidence is not definitive. Briefers "say you can't draw any other conclusion, and of course you can draw other conclusions," said the official, who would discuss the closed-door sessions only on condition of anonymity.
The briefings were conducted in Vienna over the past month in advance of a gathering of world leaders this week at the United Nations. President Bush, who is to address the annual General Assembly gathering Wednesday, and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, plan to use the meeting to press for agreement to threaten international sanctions against Iran.
Shaquille O'Neal -- Crime-Fighter
The 7-foot-1 Miami Heat center, who is in the process of becoming a Miami Beach, Fla. reserve officer, was driving on South Beach around 3 a.m. Sunday. He saw a passenger in a car yell anti-gay slurs at the couple, who were walking, said Bobby Hernandez, a spokesman for the Miami Beach Police Department.
The man then got out of the car and threw a bottle, hitting one of the pedestrians, who was not seriously hurt. The man got back in the car, which sped off. O'Neal followed, flagging down an officer who made an arrest, Hernandez said.
The man then got out of the car and threw a bottle, hitting one of the pedestrians, who was not seriously hurt. The man got back in the car, which sped off. O'Neal followed, flagging down an officer who made an arrest, Hernandez said.
FAA Warned of Airplane Attacks in 1998
American aviation officials were warned as early as 1998 that Al Qaeda could "seek to hijack a commercial jet and slam it into a U.S. landmark," according to previously secret portions of a report prepared last year by the Sept. 11 commission. The officials also realized months before the Sept. 11 attacks that two of the three airports used in the hijackings had suffered repeated security lapses.
Federal Aviation Administration officials were also warned in 2001 in a report prepared for the agency that airport screeners' ability to detect possible weapons had "declined significantly" in recent years, but little was done to remedy the problem, the Sept. 11 commission found.
The White House and many members of the commission, which has completed its official work, have been battling for more than a year over the release of the commission's report on aviation failures, which was completed in August 2004.
Federal Aviation Administration officials were also warned in 2001 in a report prepared for the agency that airport screeners' ability to detect possible weapons had "declined significantly" in recent years, but little was done to remedy the problem, the Sept. 11 commission found.
The White House and many members of the commission, which has completed its official work, have been battling for more than a year over the release of the commission's report on aviation failures, which was completed in August 2004.
'Denver Post' Asks Court for Release of Columbine Records
The high court heard arguments from The Denver Post, the parents of Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold, and the Jefferson County sheriff's office, which seized the materials from the teenagers' homes shortly after they killed 12 students and a teacher in April 1999.
Attorneys for the sheriff and the gunmen's parents say the videos and documents are private property and should not be released.
Attorneys for the sheriff and the gunmen's parents say the videos and documents are private property and should not be released.
'It may be legal, but it's immoral'
Fancy a M4 Carbine? A M16A2 equipped with M203 grenade launcher? Depleted uranium? They are all for sale and they are a magnet for the peace protesters intent on preventing a 2007 return for the bi-annual event in east London.
Speaking after its last London trade fair, Defence Systems and Equipment International spokesman Paul Beaver said: "It is like any other trade exhibition, it is like the motor show in Birmingham or exhibitions at Earl's Court, this happens to be for the defence industry."
Campaigners have planned a week of protests, including a rally on Tuesday, which saw several hundred march through the streets of East Ham to the Excel centre itself - or as close as the police would allow.
"This is the global arms trade come to our community," said Anna Jones, the rally's co-ordinator. "But we are not going to let the global arms trade do its business in our communities or anybody else's around the world.
Speaking after its last London trade fair, Defence Systems and Equipment International spokesman Paul Beaver said: "It is like any other trade exhibition, it is like the motor show in Birmingham or exhibitions at Earl's Court, this happens to be for the defence industry."
Campaigners have planned a week of protests, including a rally on Tuesday, which saw several hundred march through the streets of East Ham to the Excel centre itself - or as close as the police would allow.
"This is the global arms trade come to our community," said Anna Jones, the rally's co-ordinator. "But we are not going to let the global arms trade do its business in our communities or anybody else's around the world.
Tuesday, September 13, 2005
Media gave Bush free pass for repeating false "dodged a bullet" claim about New Orleans levees
The assertion that the president relied on news reports to apprise himself of the situation in New Orleans -- rather than the National Weather Service, which reported the first levee breaches before and shortly after Hurricane Katrina passed through New Orleans -- is an incredible one. But in fact, many in the media were not reporting that New Orleans "dodged a bullet," as Media Matters for America has noted. For example, 12 hours before the time when Bush claims to have heard the "dodged a bullet" news reports, the New Orleans Times-Picayune reported that the levees had been breached. Moreover, while Bush did not indicate from which "airwaves" he had heard the "dodged a bullet" reports, other newspapers in addition to the Times-Picayune reported on the morning after the storm that there had already been breached levees and significant flooding. For example, on August 30, the Los Angeles Times reported that a levee break had occurred by late morning August 29, with water from the break "spill[ing] through the area, flooding the town's two main shelters and swamping the local National Guard armory, leaving even public safety officials homeless."
Reporters Blocked from Gulf Coast Body Recoveries
On Saturday, after being challenged in court by CNN, the Bush administration agreed not to prevent the news media from following the effort to recover the bodies of Hurricane Katrina victims.
But on Monday, in the Bywater district, that assurance wasn't being followed. The 82nd Airborne soldier told reporters the Army had a policy that requires media to be 300 meters -- more than three football fields in length -- away from the scene of body recoveries in New Orleans. If reporters wrote stories or took pictures of body recoveries, they would be reported and face consequences, he said, including a loss of access for up-close coverage of certain military operations.
Dean Nugent, of the Louisiana State Coroner's Department, who accompanied the soldier, added that it wasn't safe to be in Bywater. "They'll kill you out here," he said, referring to the few residents who have continued to defy mandatory evacuation orders and remain in their homes."
But on Monday, in the Bywater district, that assurance wasn't being followed. The 82nd Airborne soldier told reporters the Army had a policy that requires media to be 300 meters -- more than three football fields in length -- away from the scene of body recoveries in New Orleans. If reporters wrote stories or took pictures of body recoveries, they would be reported and face consequences, he said, including a loss of access for up-close coverage of certain military operations.
Dean Nugent, of the Louisiana State Coroner's Department, who accompanied the soldier, added that it wasn't safe to be in Bywater. "They'll kill you out here," he said, referring to the few residents who have continued to defy mandatory evacuation orders and remain in their homes."
American Civil Liberties Union : Federal Judge Orders FBI to Lift Patriot Act Gag on Librarian
The decision marks the second time a federal court has dealt a blow to the National Security Letter (NSL) provision of the Patriot Act, which authorizes the FBI to demand a range of personal records such as the identity of a person who has checked out books from a library or engaged in anonymous speech on the Internet. The first ruling, which also came in a case brought by the ACLU, found that the entire NSL provision was unconstitutional.
In today's decision, which has been stayed until September 20 to allow the government to appeal, U.S. District Court Judge Janet Hall held that the “John Doe” organization has a First Amendment right to engage in the “current and lively debate in this country over the renewal of the PATRIOT Act.”
“The [National Security Letter] statute has the practical effect of silencing those who have the most intimate knowledge of the statute's effect and a strong interest in advocating against the federal government's broad investigative powers,” wrote Judge Hall.
In today's decision, which has been stayed until September 20 to allow the government to appeal, U.S. District Court Judge Janet Hall held that the “John Doe” organization has a First Amendment right to engage in the “current and lively debate in this country over the renewal of the PATRIOT Act.”
“The [National Security Letter] statute has the practical effect of silencing those who have the most intimate knowledge of the statute's effect and a strong interest in advocating against the federal government's broad investigative powers,” wrote Judge Hall.
Clinton aide fined in document case
Sandy Berger, President Clinton's national security adviser who was once entrusted with the nation's most sensitive secrets, was fined $50,000 Thursday for taking classified documents from the National Archives.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Deborah Robinson handed down the punishment in federal court, stiffening the $10,000 fine recommended by government lawyers.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Deborah Robinson handed down the punishment in federal court, stiffening the $10,000 fine recommended by government lawyers.
UN raises alarm on death squads and torture in Iraq
The United Nations raised the alarm on Thursday about mounting violence in Iraq blamed on pro-government militias and urged the authorities to look into reports of systematic torture in police stations.
In a bi-monthly human rights report, released on a day when 14 more victims of "extrajudicial executions" were found near Baghdad, the U.N. Assistance Mission for Iraq also said "mass arrests" by U.S. and Iraqi forces, and long detentions without charge, could damage support for the new political system.
"Corpses appear regularly in and around Baghdad and other areas. Most bear signs of torture and appear to be victims of extrajudicial executions," it said, noting incidents reported after arrests by "forces linked to the Ministry of Interior".
In a bi-monthly human rights report, released on a day when 14 more victims of "extrajudicial executions" were found near Baghdad, the U.N. Assistance Mission for Iraq also said "mass arrests" by U.S. and Iraqi forces, and long detentions without charge, could damage support for the new political system.
"Corpses appear regularly in and around Baghdad and other areas. Most bear signs of torture and appear to be victims of extrajudicial executions," it said, noting incidents reported after arrests by "forces linked to the Ministry of Interior".
Former Bush Aid Recommends Assassinating More Suspected Terrorists
A law professor at the University of California at Berkeley, he said his proposal would require "a change in the way we think about the executive order banning assassination, which has been with us since the 1970s." Such a change is needed, he said, because it is wartime: "A nation at war may use force against members of the enemy at any time, regardless of their proximity to hostilities or their activity at the time of attack."
Mr. Yoo, 38 years old, is no ordinary ivory-tower theorist. During a two-year stint at the Justice Department from 2001 through 2003, he wrote some of the most controversial internal legal opinions justifying the Bush administration's aggressive approach to detaining and interrogating suspected terrorists.
Some of those memos have become public, but not all of them. Asked after his AEI talk whether there is a classified Justice Department opinion justifying assassinations, Mr. Yoo hinted that he'd written one himself. "You would think they -- the administration -- would have had an opinion about it, given all the other opinions, wouldn't you?" he said, adding, "And you know who would have done the work."
A spokesman for the Justice Department declined to comment.
Mr. Yoo, 38 years old, is no ordinary ivory-tower theorist. During a two-year stint at the Justice Department from 2001 through 2003, he wrote some of the most controversial internal legal opinions justifying the Bush administration's aggressive approach to detaining and interrogating suspected terrorists.
Some of those memos have become public, but not all of them. Asked after his AEI talk whether there is a classified Justice Department opinion justifying assassinations, Mr. Yoo hinted that he'd written one himself. "You would think they -- the administration -- would have had an opinion about it, given all the other opinions, wouldn't you?" he said, adding, "And you know who would have done the work."
A spokesman for the Justice Department declined to comment.
CJR: Embedded with the Times Picayune in New Orleans
Embedded with the Times-Picayune in New Orleans : The Columbia Journalism Review covers the heroic efforts of the Times-Picayune reporters. [from MetaFilter.com]
White House asks oil companies to postpone refinery maintenance
The White House has asked US refiners to postpone all scheduled maintenance in order to keep up production levels after extensive disruption to the Gulf of Mexico energy industry production after Hurricane Katrina, the Financial Times reported.
It quoted an executive with a refinery in Houston as saying: 'The message from the government is, 'Run the refinery as high as you can and avoid all the non-priority maintenance in the next four or six weeks'.'
Washington has also asked refiners to stop producing clean-burning grades of diesel and prioritize gasoline output.
It quoted an executive with a refinery in Houston as saying: 'The message from the government is, 'Run the refinery as high as you can and avoid all the non-priority maintenance in the next four or six weeks'.'
Washington has also asked refiners to stop producing clean-burning grades of diesel and prioritize gasoline output.
School Playing Hanson Tune Until Katrina Charity Goal Met
Suggested by a few members of the student council, the school is playing Hanson's 1996 hit "MMMBop" through the loudspeakers before classes begin, between periods and during lunch. The idea? Annoy students into donating; have them pay to stop the music.
The goal is $3,000, which could be reached if each of the 659 students donates $5.
The goal is $3,000, which could be reached if each of the 659 students donates $5.
Pakistan Leader Confirms Nuclear Exports
President Pervez Musharraf of Pakistan said yesterday that he believed that a Pakistani nuclear expert who ran the world's largest proliferation ring exported "probably a dozen" centrifuges to North Korea to produce nuclear weapons fuel. He added, however, that after two years of interrogations there was still no evidence about whether the expert also gave North Korea a Chinese-origin design to build a nuclear weapon.
New legal threat to Google over GMail
Independent International Investment Research, a British company that specialises in research and has several leading City investment banks as clients, argues that it launched "G-MailTM web based email" in May 2002.
IIR's version of G-Mail was developed by one of its subsidiaries, Pronet, which specialises in research about the currency markets for banks and other financial institutions.
The idea was that subscribers to its research could use G-Mail to disseminate it and discuss it over the web confidentially.
The development came nearly two years before Google unveiled its own branded e-mail service, known at "GMailTM".
IIR's version of G-Mail was developed by one of its subsidiaries, Pronet, which specialises in research about the currency markets for banks and other financial institutions.
The idea was that subscribers to its research could use G-Mail to disseminate it and discuss it over the web confidentially.
The development came nearly two years before Google unveiled its own branded e-mail service, known at "GMailTM".
Study: U.S. Losing Ground in Education
Among adults age 25 to 34, the U.S. is ninth among industrialized nations in the share of its population that has at least a high school degree. In the same age group, the United States ranks seventh, with Belgium, in the share of people who hold a college degree.
By both measures, the United States was first in the world as recently as 20 years ago, said Barry McGaw, director of education for the Paris-based Organization for Cooperation and Development. The 30-nation organization develops the yearly rankings as a way for countries to evaluate their education systems and determine whether to change their policies.
McGaw said that the United States remains atop the "knowledge economy," one that uses information to produce economic benefits. But, he said, "education's contribution to that economy is weakening, and you ought to be worrying."
By both measures, the United States was first in the world as recently as 20 years ago, said Barry McGaw, director of education for the Paris-based Organization for Cooperation and Development. The 30-nation organization develops the yearly rankings as a way for countries to evaluate their education systems and determine whether to change their policies.
McGaw said that the United States remains atop the "knowledge economy," one that uses information to produce economic benefits. But, he said, "education's contribution to that economy is weakening, and you ought to be worrying."
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