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CORRUPTION UPDATES 73 June 11, 2007 The CORRUPTION UPDATES posts corruption news stories from California, the Nation and the World, and gives you the straight story. |
CORRUPTION UPDATES 73
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1) THE ABSTRACT PRINTED BELOW WAS ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE:
Appeals court rules against Bush's enemy combatant policy
From the Associated Press
11:18 AM PDT, June 11, 2007
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-ex-enemy061107,0,3600105.story?coll=la-home-center
RICHMOND, Va. -- The Bush administration cannot legally detain a U.S. resident it suspects of being an al-Qaida sleeper agent without charging him, a divided federal appeals court ruled today.
"To sanction such presidential authority to order the military to seize and indefinitely detain civilians, even if the President calls them 'enemy combatants,' would have disastrous consequences for the constitution -- and the country," the court panel said.
In the 2-1 decision, the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals panel found that the federal Military Commissions Act doesn't strip Ali al-Marri, a legal U.S. resident, of his constitutional rights to challenge his accusers in court.
It ruled the government must allow al-Marri to be released from military detention.
He is currently the only U.S. resident held as an enemy combatant within the U.S.
Jose Padilla, another U.S. citizen, was held as an enemy combatant in a Navy brig for 3 1/2 years before he was hastily added to an existing case in Miami in November 2005, a few days before a U.S. Supreme Court deadline for Bush administration briefs on the question of the president's powers to continue holding him in military prison without charge.
Al-Marri has been held in solitary confinement in the Navy brig in Charleston, S.C., since June 2003. The Qatar native has been detained since his December 2001 arrest at his home in Peoria, Ill., where he moved with his wife and five children a day before the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks to study for a master's degree at Bradley University.
Al-Marri's lawyers argued that the Military Commissions Act, passed last fall to establish military trials after a U.S. Supreme Court ruling, doesn't repeal the writ of habeas corpus -- defendants' traditional right to challenge their detention.
THE COMMITTEE SAYS:
Bush's Illegal Detentions of American citizens ruled Unconstitutional; Ilegal Detentions of Foreigners Still Unimpeded
citizen detentions
Also See:
Corruption Updates 21, 7th article on page, “Ex-judges: Detainee law unconstitutional “
Corruption Updates 23, 9th article on page, "TIMES SOFTPEDALS PRESIDENTIAL WAR CRIMES AND DOMESTIC CRIMES"
Corruption Updates 25, 7th article on page, 12-6-06, “Italy Seeks Indictments of C.I.A. Operatives in Egyptian’s Abduction”
Corruption Updates 31, 1st article on page, 1-17-07, “AG criticizes judges for terror rulings”
Corruption Updates 31, 2nd and 3rd articles on page, “Deputy Assistant Secretary for the Indefensible,” and “A Bush appointee's crude gambit on detainees' legal rights”
Corruption Updates 31, 7th article on page, ““DETANIEE” TORTURE, HEARSAY, AND NO HABIUS CORPUS:CRIMINALS ARE RUNNING THE COURTS”
Corruption Updates 31, 8th article on page, 1-19-07, “Pentagon sets rules for detainee trials”
Corruption Updates 34, 4th article on page, “BUSH KIDNAPPING ON TRIAL IN GERMANY: WHY IS GERMANY HOLDING US TO THE RULE OF LAW?”
Corruption Updates 34, 8th article on the page, "HABIUS AND JUDICIAL REVIEW CURBED, JUDICIAL REVIEW DENIED TO “DETAINEES:” KIDNAPP VICTIMS HAVE NO RECOURSE
Corruption Updates 38, 2nd article on page, “Legal experts rap media ban at Gitmo"
Search the Corruption Database under
Illegal Detentions
2) THE ABSTRACT PRINTED BELOW WAS ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE :
Vote on Gonzales marks juncture in probe
The next step for the inquiry of the U.S. attorney firings is unclear as the Senate takes up a no-confidence motion, which Tony Snow calls 'purely a symbolic act.'
By Richard B. Schmitt
Times Staff Writer
June 11, 2007
From the Los Angeles Times
WASHINGTON — By his own admission, he may have misled the public in describing his role in firing eight U.S. attorneys.
A top aide probably violated civil service laws by injecting politics into the hiring of career prosecutors at the Justice Department.
Now, the question is where a Democratic-led investigation of Gonzales' two-year tenure at the department goes from here, and whether it is losing steam.
Gonzales has acknowledged that he might have initially misspoken in describing his role in some of these events, offering what he described as "imprecise and overbroad" answers about his role in the prosecutor purge.
The Senate Judiciary Committee has authorized but not issued subpoenas to the White House for testimony and documents about what officials there knew about the plans to fire the eight U.S. attorneys.
Gonzales' Lies are merely "Imprecise and Overbroad" statements: Lies are what you call them
Are the Dems going to role over and allow Gonzales' crimes to go unaddressed?
If they do not continue to pursue Gonzales, then Bush will continue to hide his crimes behind his criminal Attorney General.
Gonzales is covering up not just the domestic political crimes of his Administration's politicization of the whole Department of Justice, but he is covering the illegal searching programs of the FBI and NSA.
Gonzales is protecting the illegal kidnapping, torture, and endless detentions of muslims in Gitmo, and in secret CIA prisons around the world.
If Congress would do its duty, it would investigate all of the crimes of the Bush Administration, as well as the role Gonzales played in committing and covering up these crimes.
Sufficient evidence is on the table to justify a special prosecutor.
Also See:
Corruption Updates 39, 7th article on page, “Gonzales is urged to quit 'for the nation'
Corruption Update 43 2nd article on the page, "GONALES CAUGHT IN OPEN LIES TO CONGRESS"
Corruption Updates 46, 8th article on the page, "Prosecutor Posts Go To Bush Insiders:Bush packing US Attorney posts with biased insiders"
Corruption Updates 47, 2nd article on the page, "Gonzales has US Attorneys in Babylonian Captivity"
Search the Corruption Database under
Gonzales
US Attorney
3) THE Article PRINTED BELOW WAS ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE :
Dems Push Monday Vote on Gonzales
By LAURIE KELLMAN, Associated Press Writer
11:18 AM PDT, June 11, 2007
WASHINGTON -- The top Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee said Monday he will vote for a no-confidence resolution against Attorney General Alberto Gonzales.
Sen. Arlen Specter, R-Pa., said he's concerned like others in his party that the resolution, sponsored by Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y. and up for a test vote later in the day, was a Democratic effort to embarrass Bush and prompt Gonzales to resign.
But Specter has long said that Gonzales has exercised poor leadership on a host of issues, from the firings of eight federal prosecutors to the department's handling of wiretapping authority under the USA Patriot Act.
"If you ask Arlen Specter, do I have confidence in Attorney General Gonzales, the answer is a resounding no," Specter said during a news conference in Philadelphia. "I'm going to vote that I have no confidence in Attorney General Gonzales."
THE COMMITTEE SAYS:
Spector will Vote no Confidence on Gonzales
Also See:
Corruption Updates 54, 1st article on the page, "A Root and Branch Survey:Gonzales allowed aides some hiring power, records show"
Search the Corruption Database under
Gonzales
US Attorney
4) THE ABSTRACT PRINTED BELOW WAS ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE :
Nicaraguan president in Tehran today
Tehran Times, 6-9-07
http://www.tehrantimes.com/Description.asp?Da=6/9/2007&Cat=2&Num=13
TEHRAN (FNA) -- Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega is scheduled to arrive here later today on an official two-day visit.
Upon arrival, Ortega will be received by Iranian President Mahmud Ahmadinejad.
During the trip, which will take place at the invitation of the Iranian President, Ortega is due to attend meetings with senior Iranian officials, and make some speeches at Iran's academic centers, including Tehran University.
Ortega, a Cold War-era enemy of Washington who is an ally of US antagonist Hugo Chavez of Venezuela, first leaves for Caracas, the first stop in a 10-day tour that will take him to Iran, Algeria, Libya and Cuba.
Ortega would also make a stop in Italy.
"We want to improve relations with Iran in all fields, in all areas," Ortega told reporters before leaving Nicaragua.
A former Marxist guerrilla who fought U.S.-backed Contra rebels during his 1980s government, Ortega has reached out to Iran since recapturing the presidency this year. He hosted Ahmadinejad in Managua a few months ago, where he awarded two medals of honor to his Iranian counterpart.
THE COMMITTEE SAYS:
Watch the Rise of a New Balance of World Power: Countries once Ruled by American Dictators Joining Forces against American Fascism
Also See:
Corruption Updates 32, 10th article on the page, "Iran:Bush's Parade of International Crimes Continue"
Corruption Updates 57, 10th article on the page, "Cheney talks tough on Iran from U.S. carrier:Cheney is Dr.Strangelove"
Corruption Updates 58, 4th article on the page, "Cheney's choices"
Corruption Updates 72, 2nd article on the page, "Lieberman: U.S. Should Weigh Iran Attack"
Seymore Hersh, The New Yorker
Search the Corruption Database under
Iran
5) THE ABSTRACT PRINTED BELOW WAS ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE :
Putin does not rule out 2012 presidential run
09.06.2007, Pravda, AP
http://english.pravda.ru/russia/93105-putin-0
President Vladimir Putin, who is constitutionally barred from seeking a third term next year, left the door open for a return to the Kremlin in 2012, a Russian newspaper reported Saturday.
"There is still a lot of time," the daily Kommersant quoted Putin as telling reporters Friday during a Group of Eight summit in Germany, when asked whether he would run in 2012. "Theoretically it's possible. The constitution does not forbid it. But it's very far away, I haven't even thought about this."
On one level, the remark could be taken as a straight statement of fact: while the 1993 Russian Constitution bars presidents from serving more than two consecutive four-year terms, it allows them to seek re-election after a hiatus.
Amid repeated calls by politicians for Putin to remain to power after 2008, the president has stressed that he opposes changing the constitution to allow him to stay on. But he has also suggested he will choose a favored successor and hinted that he may keep a hand in running the country after he steps down.
Despite his repeated assurances that he will leave the presidency after the elections next March, Putin muddied the waters last week by saying he favors lengthening the presidential term to between five and seven years, instead of four - and not saying whether it should be done before he leaves office.
THE COMMITTEE SAYS:
Putin's Choice: Stay in Office, or Retire to the Sidelines
Also See:
Corruption Updates 36 , 1st article on page, “RUSSIA RESPONDS STRONGLY TO AMERICAN AGGRESSION"
Corruption Updates 36 , 2nd article on page, “CHINESE ENJOY AMERICAN PROVACATION OF RUSSIA"
Corruption Updates 49 , 4th article on page, “Russian Minister Says No ‘Rogue State’ Missile Threat to Europe"
Search the Corruption Database under
Russia (23 Abstracts)
6) THE ABSTRACT PRINTED BELOW WAS ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE :
Putin Plays Down I.M.F. and W.T.O.
By ANDREW E. KRAMER
June 11, 2007
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/11/business/worldbusiness/
11chiefs.html?ref=business&pagewanted=print
ST. PETERSBURG, Russia, June 10 — President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia called Sunday for a new global economic framework that would play down the role of institutions like the International Monetary Fund and the World Trade Organization and instead emphasize regional alliances.
Such a system, he said, would reflect the rising power of emerging- market economies like Russia, China, India and Brazil, and the decline of old heavyweights like the United States, the Europeans and Japan.
Mr. Putin, speaking at a business forum attended by international corporate executives, said advanced industrial economies were dominating the institutions of world trade in an “inflexible” manner, even as their own share of global wealth was diminishing.
The world needs a “new architecture of international economic relations based on trust and mutually beneficial integration,” he said. “Today protectionism, which the W.T.O. is meant to fight, often comes from developed economies.”
He said that more than 60 percent of the world’s output was produced outside the G-7 countries: the United States, Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and Canada.
Goldman Sachs has predicted that by 2050, Brazil, Russia, India and China will be the world’s dominant economies.
Peter Mandelson, the European Union trade commissioner...“Globalization does not respect spheres of influence...Membership in the W.T.O. is Russia’s ticket to a rules-based system”
THE COMMITTEE SAYS:
Another Fault line of the New World Balance of Power Appears in Russia
Search the Corruption Database under
Russia
7) THE ABSTRACT PRINTED BELOW WAS ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE :
China's Trade Surplus Surges 73 Percent
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
June 11, 2007
Filed at 1:50 p.m. ET
BEIJING (AP) -- Just last month, China announced plans to buy $4.3 billion of U.S. technology as a way to show how serious it is about reducing the ballooning trade gap with the U.S.
The surplus hit $22.5 billion, up 73 percent from last May, the Chinese customs agency said on its Web site. Exports jumped 28.7 percent to $94 billion, while imports rose 19.1 percent to $71.6 billion.
The United States reported a $232.5 billion trade deficit with China in 2006, and this year's figure is expected to surpass that.
Beijing is trying to reduce dependence on exports by encouraging China's consumers to spend more, which would increase imports and narrow the trade gap. But that has had only limited success, with exports still growing much faster than domestic retail sales.
The influx of foreign money has strained Beijing's ability to contain pressure for prices to rise. The central bank has been forced to drain billions of dollars a month from the economy by selling bonds, piling up reserves that have topped $1.2 trillion.
States because China has deficits with some countries.
The World Bank and other experts say this year's trade surplus could top $250 billion.
THE COMMITTEE SAYS:
"Free Trade" Blowback: American Corporate Profits made by Avoiding Responsible Costs of Educating, Medicating, Retiring American Labor, and Skirting Environmental Laws in China
Also See:
Corruption Updates 59, 3th article on page, "F.D.A. to Test Toothpaste Sent to U.S. From China"
Corruption Updates 36, 6th article on the Page, "China about to pass U.S. as world's top generator of greenhouse gases"
Corruption Updates 41, 9th article on the Page, "China jails editor for subversion"
Corruption Updates 55, 7th article on the Page, "China Tells Little About Illness That Kills Pigs, Officials Say"
Corruption Updates 59, 3th article on page, "F.D.A. to Test Toothpaste Sent to U.S. From China"
Corruption Updates 59, 7th article on page, "Chinese Police Arrest 28 in Riots Against Family Planning Laws"
Corruption Updates 60 , 8th article on the Page, "China: Recall Is Issued for Frozen Fish"
Corruption Updates 67, 5th article on the Page, "China: When Fakery Turns Fatal"
Corruption Updates 77, 5th article on the Page, "Thomas the Tank Engine Toys Recalled Because of Lead Paint"
Corruption Updates 79, 2th article on the Page, "As More Toys Are Recalled, Trail Ends in China"
Search the Corruption Database under
China
8) THE ABSTRACT PRINTED BELOW WAS ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE :
Ethiopian protest leaders guilty
Monday, 11 June 2007, 17:13 GMT 18:13 UK
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/low/world/africa
/6740929.stm
A court in Ethiopia has found 38 senior opposition figures guilty of charges connected to mass protests after disputed elections two years ago.
The charges ranged from armed rebellion to "outrage against the constitution".
Sentencing is next month and they could face the death penalty, says the BBC's Elizabeth Blunt in Ethiopia.
Hundreds of thousands took part in demonstrations complaining of fraud and vote-rigging by Prime Minister Meles Zenawi's government in the 2005 polls.
Almost 200 people died in two waves of protests.
An independent inquiry carried out by an Ethiopian judge concluded that the police had used excessive force.
He went on to accuse them of carrying out a massacre. The judge later fled Ethiopia, saying he had been put under pressure to change his findings and had received death threats.
Two months ago, a judge threw out controversial charges of attempted genocide and treason against 111 people arrested after the election protests.
The violence and the charges of election fraud have tarnished Mr Meles' image as a favourite of Western donors and one of a new wave of reforming African leaders.
THE COMMITTEE SAYS:
Ethiopia Invaded Somalia at the Behest of Bush,
Expect Bush to Support Fradulent Election, Violent suppression of Protest, and Death for Protestors
Also See:
Corruption Updates 41, 6th article on page, "BUSH LAWLESSNESS SPREADS TO KENYA:Kenya defends transfers, absolves U.S."
Corruption Updates 72, 4th article on page, "Sudan aids CIA's spy efforts in Iraq"
Corruption Updates 73, 8th article on page, "Ethiopian protest leaders guilty"
Search the Corruption Database under
Africa (11 Abstracts)
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Next Corruption Updates: Page 74
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