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CORRUPTION UPDATES 88

July 7th, 2007: With Older News Bits thrown in

The CORRUPTION UPDATES posts corruption news stories from California, the Nation and the World, and gives you the straight story.

 

CORRUPTION UPDATES 88

 

Previous Corruption Updates: Page 87

Next Corruption Updates: Page 89

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1) The Article linked below was Abstracted from the cited source. Following the Abstract, you will find analysis and commentary, references to related articles, and a link to the database with suggested search terms.

U.S. Says Iran Helped Iraqis Kill Five G.I.’s

By JOHN F. BURNS and MICHAEL R. GORDON

July 3, 2007

 

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/03/world/middleeast/03iraq.html?ref=

todayspaper&pagewanted=print

BAGHDAD, July 2 —

Brig. Gen. Kevin J. Bergner, the military spokesman here, said an elite unit of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards, a force under the control of Iran’s most powerful religious leaders, had used veterans of the Lebanese Islamic militia group Hezbollah as a “proxy” to train, arm and plan attacks by an array of Shiite militant cells in Iraq.

One high-ranking Hezbollah commander from Lebanon was captured in Basra in March, and after weeks of pretending that he could not hear or speak, he gave American interrogators details of the Iranian role, the general said.

The briefings on Monday shifted the focus from the weapons to what General Bergner described as a network of secret militant cells armed, financed and directed by the Iranians. He said the information was drawn from interrogations of three men captured in a raid in Basra on May 20, and from documents found with them.

He did not present transcripts of the interrogations or the seized documents for inspection. The general said the captured men had been deeply involved in organizing Iranian-backed militia cells, including the one that killed the Americans.

It was the first time that the United States had charged that

Iranian officials had helped plan operations against American troops in Iraq and had advance knowledge of a specific attack that led to the death of American soldiers.

A statement by the Iranian Foreign Ministry rejected the American claims, describing them as “fabricated and ridiculous.”

General Bergner said Mr. Daqduq had previously commanded a Hezbollah special operations unit and “coordinated protection” for Sheik Hassan Nasrallah, Hezbollah’s leader. The general said Mr. Daqduq had been sent by Hezbollah to Iran in 2005 with orders to work with the Quds Force, an elite unit of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards, to train “Iraqi extremists.”

In the past year, the general said, Mr. Daqduq made four trips to Iraq, to report on the training and operations of underground militia cells, and to organize them in ways that mirrored Hezbollah’s structure.

The general said the cells had been responsible for much violence. “I think the reality of this is that they’re killing American forces, they’re killing Iraqis, they’re killing Iraqi security forces, and they are disrupting the stability in Iraq,” he said.

The official said the shift had been achieved without harming Mr. Daqduq. “We don’t torture,” the official said. “We follow scrupulously the interrogation techniques in the Army’s new field manual, which forbids torture, and has the force of law.”

 

THE COMMITTEE SAYS:

Torture or Truth?

Who can believe ANYTHING that comes out of Tortured Men's Mouths?

Alex Wierbinski, Berkeley, Ca., July 8, 2007

This article indicates that Bush is moving closer to attacking Iran. It has been apparent from the moment Bush belatedly realized attacking Iraq had empowered, not cowed, Iran, that Bush was crafting justifications, as well as provocations, to spread the war to Iran.

Then comes General Bergner's press conference where "information" from "interrogations" implicated Iran. Our government's willingness to torture people makes any information they produce suspect. Our military cannot be trusted with prisoners, and the information they torture out of prisoners cannot be trusted.

Although a "senior official" denied torturing Mr. Daqduq, he failed to mention that Bush claims the right to be able to legally break the laws prohibiting torture. And when US officials speak of torture, are they using the Bush definition of torture as something approaching organ failure or death, or are they using the actual definition of torture, inflicting intentional pain?

In either case, both the government and military have no credibility when it comes to either telling the truth, or torturing prisoners.

The words of this administration and its various spokesmen cannot be trusted. The only thing that can be trusted is the actions of this administration.

Based on his own actions, we can trust Bush to attack countries based on trumped up lies and deceptions.

Based on his own actions, we can trust Bush to torture these prisoners until they said what the administration wanted them to say.

We can trust Bush to do and say whatever is required to either provoke Iran to respond, or lie to create a pretext to attack them.

Based on his previous actions, what we are seeing in General Bergner's press conference is Bush creating a pretext to attack Iran.

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"

The Redirection

Seymore Hersh, The New Yorker

 

Search the Corruption Database under

Iran (27 Abstracts)

 

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2) THE ABSTRACT PRINTED BELOW WAS ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE :

Air board's leader fired

By Andy Furillo - Bee Capitol Bureau
Published 12:00 am PDTFriday, June 29, 2007

http://www.sacbee.com/capolitics/v-print/story/247795.html

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has fired California's top air quality official for voting to extend the deadline for the San Joaquin Valley to meet federal clean air standards.

Schwarzenegger spokesman Adam Mendelsohn said Thursday the administration gave California Air Resources Board Chairman Robert F. Sawyer "the option to step down," but when the option wasn't taken, "we rescinded his appointment."

"The decision by the Air Resources Board to ask for a waiver in the San Joaquin Valley was very problematic for this administration as well as most of the environmental community," Mendelsohn said.

Sawyer, in an interview, said "I would guess" that the June 14 vote by the state air board figured in his termination. By a 7-1 margin, the state panel voted to give valley polluters until 2024 to come into compliance with the federal Clean Air Act. But Sawyer said he believes there was more to his dismissal.

"I think I was protecting the independence of the board by not doing things I was instructed to, and they decided that was not acceptable," Sawyer said.

Besides the vote, Sawyer also cited his opposition to the administration's effort to dismiss the air board's chief executive officer, Catherine Witherspoon, as a major reason for his own rescinded appointment.

"The governor and his staff would have you think they have absolute power over the board," Sawyer said. "But the tradition has never been that. Some members of the board, going back to the (former Gov. Pete) Wilson days, said they'd never seen such an effort to control the board as they were experiencing at the present time. So I felt it was important to protect that level of independence."

Representatives of both environmental and business interests expressed disappointment Thursday over his firing.

"That's a very tragic and unjustified decision," said V. John White, a Sacramento lobbyist who represents major groups such as Environmental Defense and the Natural Resources Defense Council. "This is a very distinguished scientist and leader, one of the top 10 of all time. He's been mistreated and doesn't deserve this end to an illustrious career."

Michael Marsh, chief executive officer of Western United Dairymen, also termed Sawyer's dismissal "disappointing."

"From our industry's perspective, we've long advocated a science-based approach to air regulation," Marsh said. "It's just disappointing that a scientist with that kind of prestige, who reviewed issues and used a science-based approach, won't be on the board any more. If you're going to have a meaningful reduction in smog and ozone, you have to follow the science. You can't just make stuff up."

The heat started coming down on Sawyer after the ARB vote in Fresno to uphold a decision by the San Joaquin Valley Unified Air Pollution Control District to delay an ozone emission attainment date by 11 years, from 2013 to 2024.

Schwarzenegger himself stepped into the issue last Friday by issuing a statement saying he was "deeply disappointed" that the board voted for the delay. He said the board let the federal government, with whom he has squabbled over global warming and other environmental issues, "off the hook" by pushing back the attainment date.

THE COMMITTEE SAYS:

Arnie pretends Political Corruption is Environmentalism

 

(See Links and Commentary following the next abstract)

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3) The Article linked below was Abstracted from the cited source. Following the Abstract, you will find analysis and commentary, references to related articles, and a link to the database with suggested search terms.

Ex-official of air board says pressure was intense

Governor's office accused of 'interference' on emissions

Saturday, July 7, 2007

(07-07) 04:00 PDT Sacramento -- A former executive officer of the California Air Resources Board told state lawmakers Friday that the governor's office has unleashed a "cascade of interference" to dissuade the air board from aggressively implementing plans to fight global warming.

Catherine Witherspoon, who resigned Monday, testified at an emergency oversight hearing called by Assembly Speaker Fabian Núñez, D-Los Angeles. After the departure of the air board's top two officials, Núñez convened the hearing to question the officials as well as Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's top aides.

The air board has been in turmoil since last week, when Schwarzenegger fired board Chairman Robert Sawyer. Sawyer says he lost his position after ignoring an administration staff member's phone call and then trying to enact more than the three pollution-saving measures that the governor's office had approved. His departure was followed by Witherspoon's resignation.

On Friday, Witherspoon and Sawyer were two of four witnesses called to testify at the hearing at the Capitol. The committee also requested Schwarzenegger Chief of Staff Susan Kennedy and Cabinet Secretary Dan Dunmoyer to participate, but they did not attend.

Sawyer testified Friday that he had delivered a letter to Schwarzenegger before the hearing that said the governor's "staff has interjected itself in a manner that has compromised the independence and integrity of the board."

Witherspoon said that she routinely received calls from the governor's top aides -- including Kennedy and Dunmoyer.

"We'd even get calls during our regulatory hearings with specific instructions on what to do," she said.

The pressure from the administration seemed to intensify in the past year, Witherspoon said.

"It's been a cascade of interference," she said.

In many ways, Schwarzenegger has been both the "best and the worst governor that we've ever had," Witherspoon said.

"He's empowered the board to act, he's signed terrific legislation, he authorized budget requests. But then he wants to have his staff decide all of the implementing details, and that's just not feasible," she said.

After the hearing, Assemblywoman Loni Hancock, D-Berkeley, who chairs the Natural Resources Committee, said she plans to hold additional hearings and might even seek to use the Legislature's subpoena powers to compel Schwarzenegger's top aides to testify.

THE COMMITTEE SAYS:

Arnie tries to look Good while doing Evil:

His feeble Acting and Political Skills provide no Cover

 

(See Links and Commentary following the next abstract)

 

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4) The Article linked below was Abstracted from the cited source. Following the Abstract, you will find analysis and commentary, references to related articles, and a link to the database with suggested search terms.

Governor's deeds on air quality contradict words

By Evan Halper
Times Staff Writer

7:17 PM PDT, July 2, 2007

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-air3jul03,0,594444,full.story?coll=la-home-center

From the Los Angeles Times


SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- As Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger exhorts countries to act quickly to reduce harmful gas emissions, his administration is helping California's construction industry stall tough new air-quality rules at home.

In public hearings and private negotiations, administration transportation officials are working to slow a planned crackdown by regulators on aging diesel construction equipment -- among the state's most noxious machinery and a major source of greenhouse gases.

The officials successfully lobbied a board appointed by the governor to delay voting on draft regulations for dealing with the polluters. The officials contended that the new rules, years in the making, were too tough on the construction industry -- which is a major Schwarzenegger donor.

Last week, the governor fired the board's chairman, who said he was let go after pushing ahead with aggressive pollution curbs. The administration said the chairman was fired because he wasn't tough enough -- a claim environmentalists find dubious. On Monday, the board's executive officer quit with a sharply worded criticism of the administration.
The departed air board officials said they were frustrated by administration meddling in both the diesel construction equipment crackdown and the implementation of landmark legislation the governor signed last year to curb global warming.

It is not the first time the governor has made bold promises on the environment while his administration dragged its feet behind the scenes. Schwarzenegger has vetoed bills that would put new taxes on polluters, spur the development of alternative fuels and help clean the air. He has accepted $1 million in campaign cash from the oil industry, and he had threatened to veto the global warming bill unless it was made more business-friendly.
Environmentalists say the governor's lofty goals clash with his administration's go-slow approach on construction equipment, which could put California out of compliance with minimum federal clean-air requirements and make a mockery of his repeated pledge to reduce state air pollution by half.
Fumes from heavy diesel construction equipment are linked to tens of thousands of cases of asthma and 1,100 deaths annually, state studies show. Scientists and economists say staying in compliance with the federal Clean Air Act would cost the industry more than $3 billion over the next two decades. Construction companies say it could be at least three times that amount.

"We don't believe the technology is evolving fast enough (to do what the new state regulations would require)," said Mike Lewis of the Construction Industry Air Quality Coalition, a trade group. "We're not arguing with the goal. But you are asking us to replace 85 percent of our equipment by 2020. We don't believe there is enough money in the industry to do this."

Construction companies and builders have buried regulators with letters and e-mail saying the regulations would put them out of business. Officials at the Air Resources Board, a state entity that enforces environmental laws, say the costs are manageable for a multibillion-dollar industry whose business is about to boom because of a surge in public-works spending.
The 112,000 tractors, excavators, backhoes and other construction vehicles that regulators are targeting are the second-largest source of diesel pollution in California. The rules drafted by the Air Resources Board would require construction companies, over the course of several years, to replace their dirtiest equipment or retrofit the machines with devices that capture soot.

Doing so, state scientists say, would avoid hundreds of deaths each year and thousands of cases of asthma. Such a move would cut smog and curb the release of greenhouse gases.
A few weeks earlier, however, top administration officials were encouraging the Air Resources Board to step on the brakes and consider industry pleas to push back the cleanup deadlines.

Gregg Albright, deputy director of the state Department of Transportation, said at a May hearing that the administration is "very concerned about the impacts on small business." He also expressed concern that the draft rules would drive up the cost of building roads and other infrastructure.
The construction industry has developed close ties with Schwarzenegger. It worked with him to pass the $37 billion public-works bonds that he championed, taking a lead role in the campaign to pass the measures and contributing more than $6 million to the effort.

Construction companies and related industries also directly contributed at least $1.3 million to the governor's re-election campaign and kicked in tens of thousands of dollars after the election to help pay for the governor's inauguration celebrations.

"These emission reductions are absolutely needed to address public health," said Catherine Witherspoon, the air board's executive officer. "Doing less or waiting longer will mean more people will breathe unhealthy air, suffer adverse health effects and will also delay attainment of the federal air standards."

According to internal memos obtained by the Los Angeles Times, the administration sought in early June to have Witherspoon removed from her job, but the board declined to fire her. Within weeks, board chairman Robert F. Sawyer -- already at odds with the administration over how aggressively to combat global warming -- was fired. Witherspoon resigned Monday.


Meanwhile, the administration was lobbying the Legislature against limiting construction equipment emissions. CalTrans director Will Kempton cautioned lawmakers against requiring contractors to use cleaner equipment in projects funded with state bond money.

Lawmakers moved the cleaner-machines requirement along anyway, and it is now part of state budget negotiations. But it would not take effect unless the governor signed off on it.

THE COMMITTEE SAYS:

Arnie's History Speaks for itself

Alex Wierbinski, Berkeley, Ca., July 8, 2007

I could write about how Arnie has been collecting bribes from the biggest special interests in California. Instead, the following list of linked articles offers a substantial body of proof of Arnie's failure to curb special interest's influence in Sacramento. Especially in his own office.

Instead, I must repeat my earlier prediction: Arnie's massive collection of bribes late in his term signals he is turning his attention to running for the US Senate.

For Citizens of California, this means the profits of the Bribers are more important that our health, safety, and welfare, let alone the quality of our roads, schools, and our lives.

March 15, 2007, Corruption Update 40_2:

ARNIE SELLS INFLUENCE: 250,000 BUYS GOV'S EAR

Arnie's raising of a fortune when he is term-limited out of office indicates he is raising money, and support, to run for a US Senate seat.

Arnie has formed a slush fund with PG&E, has done AT&T's bidding, and they directed a fortune of their corporate bribery payment to his foundation. The insurance industry is embedded in the Arnie Administration. The developers and real estate interests are amenable.

As far as our democracy is concerned, Arnie is a Benedict Arnie.

Arnie Link List

scroll down for more recent articles

 

Corruption Updates 6, 4th article on page, Arnie's Turn to Bleed Special Interests: Assembly done selling itself, Now it's Arnie's Turn.

Corruption Updates 12, 4th article on page,How to Corrupt Democracy: The Insurance Industry and the Governor

Corruption Updates 12, 5th article on page INSURANCE INDUSTRY BATTLE PLAN: COMBINED BUSINESS ASSUALT ON DEMOCRACY” LATimes. Plot to corrupt democratic process and institutions successful. Plot uncovered, and yet it goes on. 9-24-06

 

Corruption Updates 13, 6th article on page, “Governor, PGE, Set Up Political Slush Fund

Corruption Updates 17, 5th article on page, VAST SUMS OF SPECIAL INTEREST MONEY COLLECTED BY GOV CANDIDATES IN CA

Corruption Updates 17, 6th article on page Total Campaign Outlays Approach $400 Million

 

Corruption Updates 24, 2nd article on page, Arnie has Huge Special Interest Slush Fund ("officeholder" account: Southern California Edison, PG&E, Chevron and AT&T)

Corruption Updates 40, 2nd article on page, "ARNIE SELLS INFLUENCE: 250,000 BUYS GOV'S EAR"

 

Corruption Updates 40, 4th article on page, "ARNIE'S INCOMPENTENT CHIRO BOARD ATTRACTS OVERSIGHT"

 

Corruption Updates 42, 1st article on page, "ARNIE cause gets $500,000 after he signed law: Arnie Using Office to Collect Bribes"

Corruption Updates 44, 6th article on page, "Arnie: Agency execs get pay hikes:Staff Steals Like Corporate America"

 

Corruption Updates 47, 4th article on page, "LA TIMES Kicks RepubliCrats Junketeering in Ass"

Corruption Updates 49, 7th article on page, "Arnie Buddy: Board member still claims Ph.D:Arnie's Doctors Quack like Ducks"

 

Corruption Updates 53, 3rd article on page, "Arnie:$10,000 donation raises questions"

Corruption Updates 56, 3rd article on page, "State Farm donates to governor's fund"

 

Corruption Updates 65, 9th article on page, Arnie Appoints Crooks to run Prisons

 

Corruption Updates 88, 2nd article on page, Air board's leader fired: Arnie pretends Political Corruption is Environmentalism

Corruption Updates 88, 3rd article on page, Air Board Leader Reports Arnie's pressure-manipulation

Corruption Updates 88, 4th article on page, Arnie's Air Board War: Arnie's corrupt history speaks for itself

 

Corruption Updates 89, 5th article on page, Nonprofit subsidizes Schwarzenegger travel frills

Corruption Updates 112, 6th article on page, Regugs Struggle with identity Crisis: Bitches or Pigs?

 

Arnie notices mexican gangs run california's streets, lat, 3-6-07

 

Arnie Vetoes Rational, Bipartisan reforms of Police Practices: What an idiot, NYT, October 16, 2007

 

Arnie attempts to Strip Civil Rights Commish of Lawyers, Chronicle, September 17, 2007

Arnie's ambigious gay rights position reflects his desire to become Senator of California, rather than defend American Liberty, SF Chron, September 29, 2005

Arnie defends Tyranny if it is the "Will of the People:" Welcome to the dictatorship of the majority. Hell of a lot better than Fiendstien, SF Chronicle, September 17, 2007

 

Analysis of incompentence, cupidity, and the Whorishness of Our Bribed Legislature-Governor: Legislative health care plans that only serve corporate profits, American Nurses Association, Oct 12, 2007

Arnie calls Special Legislative Session: Water and Health Crisis Looms: Idiots do Nothing, Bee, September 12, 2007

 

Arnie is the Gold Standard for Living Large on Bribes, LAT, July 5, 2007

 

Arnie rejects Nunez's Fake Term Limit measure, Bee, September 17, 2007

 

Arnie's Plans to steal N. Cal water to continue irresponsible growth in LA, Bee, September 19, 2007

Arnie and Perata prepare competing water plan initiatives, Bee, October 9, 2007

Arnie plan to give state assets to his bribers, LAT, Nov 28, 2007

 

Arnie trying to break dem monopoly on electoral districts, bee, December 4, 2007

 

Budget Cuts for Education on the way bee 12-10

Arnie predicts 14bil budget Shortfall, bee, December 12, 2007

Leg analyst: Arnie's idiot budget, lat, 1-14-08

 

Arnie and Nunez agree to subsidize profits of corporate health industry, bee, January 2, 2008

 

Schwarzenegger Budget Cuts everything, cbs, ap, bcn, 1-11-08

Gov plans massive prison release, bee, January 11, 2008

Moron Gov tries accounting trick to lessen deficit, sf gate, 1-15-08

Gov budget loses billon in matching fed funds, bee, 1-15-08

 

Arnie betrays democracy again: serves dems who are serving big money, upi, 1-14-08

Arnie sells out to corporate-dem monopoly of politics in ca by weakening term limits, lat, January 15, 2008

 

California budget coalition: If they can't find the problem, they won't find the solution, bee, 3-8-08

 

Schwarzenegger's quest for revenues taxes consumers and their patience, lat, 5-3-08

 

Arnie declares Drought without recognizing California's Massive growth already exceeds our water supply: Idiot politicians leave border open, tell moron public to save water so a million illegals can surge into california every year, bee, 6-5-08

background: Water Links

 

Governor's former cabinet secretary joins Farmers Insurance, capweek

 

Regressive Taxes to Support irresponsible growth, profits, and the rip-off of California's political and natural infrastructres

Governor lobbies for ballot measures, sf chron, 3-13-09

Arnie Link List

scroll up for earlier articles

 

Essay: Arnie provides the final piece of the corporate fascist state

 

Search the Corruption Database under
Arnie (51 Abstracts)

 

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5) The Article linked below was Abstracted from the cited source. Following the Abstract, you will find analysis and commentary, references to related articles, and a link to the database with suggested search terms.

 

Doolittle supports query of ex-aides

By David Whitney - Bee Washington Bureau
Published 12:00 am PDTFriday, June 29, 2007

http://www.sacbee.com/capolitics/v-print/story/247798.html

Rep. John Doolittle on Thursday said he is gratified that former aides are being sought out by the Justice Department in its investigation of the congressman's ties to convicted lobbyist Jack Abramoff.

The embattled Roseville Republican's comments came as a former aide, Jason Larrabee, dropped his candidacy for a state Assembly seat Thursday.

The Justice Department has been seeking out Doolittle's top aides, including those who have held the legislative director position at least as far back as 2000.

Larrabee also had worked for former Rep. Doug Ose, R-Sacramento.

The Justice Department is believed to be trying to talk to as many as a half-dozen former Doolittle aides. Former legislative director Peter Evich has agreed to meet with department officials, and former chief of staff David Lopez has turned down the request, on the advice of his lawyer.

Doolittle said Thursday, during a weekly telephone conference with reporters, that he has no problem with his former aides talking to prosecutors because he thinks it might hasten his dismissal as a focus of the Abramoff probe.

Doolittle also said that the House ethics committee has signed off on a legal defense fund that will permit the congressman to tap supporters for contributions up to $5,000 to defray his mounting legal expenses. Doolittle said the ethics panel will allow the fund to pay legal expenses for both him and his wife.

Doolittle said his wife's company will not be doing any of the solicitations for the legal defense fund.

In addition to working for Abramoff, Julie Doolittle was paid a 15 percent commission to raise money for her husband's campaign committee and political action committee.

The Justice Department is looking into whether Julie Doolittle, through her fundraising and event planning business, Sierra Dominion Financial Solutions, served as a conduit for money from Abramoff.

Doolittle has said previously that the Justice Department advised the couple that they needed separate lawyers because of a potential conflict of interest.

Larrabee had intended to seek the seat now held by Republican Doug LaMalfa, who would be forced out of the Legislature by term limits next year unless voters pass a ballot measure easing the limits.

LaMalfa's 2nd Assembly District covers all or part of nine counties stretching to the Oregon border north of Sacramento and has a 16 percentage point Republican voter registration edge.

THE COMMITTEE SAYS:

Doolittle's Lies Fool No One

Alex Wierbinski, Berkeley, Ca., July 8, 2007

Doolittle's office was a major spoke in Abramoff's wheel of Congressional Corruption. Abramoff and Ney have been imprisoned, and a whole host of executive branch officials have gone down, along with a slew of Congressional aides.

The rusty, corrupt, minions of Gonzales are slowly going to run Doolittle down. Doolittle's desperation is so thick he has lashed out at the Democrats, the Justice department, and now at his own staff.

Here's the thing: Neither could do it without the help of the other. Doolittle's staff managed the incoming bribes and the outgoing earmarks, votes, and influence. Doolittle made the deals and the decisions. The staff carried the water.

But Blaming the staff is fatal, and a clear measure of Doolittle's perception of his upcoming doom. Doolittle's senior staff was in on all of his dirty deals, and can easily trade the boss in for a ticket out of prison.

But Doolittle need not worry too much. The inJustice Department is going easy on all the corrupt politicians, and Abramoff, requesting light sentences, and making easy deals for all.

Doolittle will be humiliated a bit more, sent to prison for a few years, and it will all be over for him before he even knows it.

The real question is "what will you do about it?"

I suggest the initiative.

Also See:

Corruption Updates 1, 5th article on the page, "ABRAMOFF-DOOLITTLE: A LOVE STORY"

Corruption Updates 13, 5th article on the page, "DOOLITTLE DEFENDS CORRUPTION AND IGNORANCE, NEW RECIPE FOR POLITICAL SUCCESS"

Corruption Updates 18, 4th article on the page, "DOOLITTLE SOUGHT AND GOT ABRAMOFF JOB FOR WIFE"

Corruption Updates 57, 2nd article on the page, "Doolittle switches blame for raid to Dems: Doolittle adds Insanity to Corruption"

Search the Corruption Database under

Doolittle (10 Abstracts)

 

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6) The Article below describing start of the President's Crime Spree was suppressed in Secret by the NYT for over a year.

 

Bush Authorized Domestic Spying
Post-9/11 Order Bypassed Special Court

By Dan Eggen
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, December 16, 2005; A01

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/12/16/AR2005121600021_pf.html

President Bush signed a secret order in 2002 authorizing the National Security Agency to eavesdrop on U.S. citizens and foreign nationals in the United States, despite previous legal prohibitions against such domestic spying, sources with knowledge of the program said last night.

The super-secretive NSA, which has generally been barred from domestic spying except in narrow circumstances involving foreign nationals, has monitored the e-mail, telephone calls and other communications of hundreds, and perhaps thousands, of people under the program, the New York Times disclosed last night.

But the program's ramifications also prompted concerns from some quarters, including Sen. John D. Rockefeller IV (W.Va.), the ranking Democrat on the intelligence committee, and the presiding judge of the surveillance court, which oversees lawful domestic spying, according to the Times.

The Times said it held off on publishing its story about the NSA program for a year after administration officials said its disclosure would harm national security.

THE COMMITTEE SAYS:

Reminder Abstract from 2005:

Bush is a Criminal, and an Enemy of our Constitution

Alex Wierbinski, Berkeley, Ca., July 8, 2007

It has come out since this belated, delayed, and watered down report made by the NY Times in 2005 that the NSA is recording and storing almost every digital communication of every American.

The new information about a total information collection system leaves us with two options: either there is just one domestic NSA program, and the Administration lied about the scope of its reach, or there are two NSA programs within the US.

The one exposed by the Times, is said to be limited to tracking foreign communications to US citizens, and there is a second NSA program which is capturing and recording all communications in the US.

In a way, it matters little if there are one or two illegal surveillance programs. If both, or either program exists, the Administration has defiled the Constitution, and spit on the laws protecting our Constitutional rights.

The Times aggression in promoting Bush's war is matched by their timidity in reporting his crimes.

Our national security is based on our citizen's rights and democracy, not upon the President's ability to defy our Constitution, and invade our domestic security.

In case you have forgotten, the NY Times has repeatedly proven itself as an enemy to our Constitutional rights and our democracy.

See Links and Commentary following the next abstract.

illegal searching links

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7) The Article linked below was Abstracted from the cited source. Following the Abstract, you will find analysis and commentary, references to related articles, and a link to the database with suggested search terms.

PBS FRONTLINE

Spying on the Home Front

CORRESPONDENT AND SENIOR PRODUCER
Hedrick Smith

WRITTEN BY
Hedrick Smith & Rick Young
 

Posted on Frontline Webpage May 15, 2007

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/homefront/etc/script.html

HEDRICK SMITH: [voice-over] Klein's job was to maintain AT&T's Internet service for several million customers, domestic and international traffic all mixed together.

MARK KLEIN: We're talking about billions and billions of bits of data going across every second, right?

HEDRICK SMITH: A co-worker showed Klein how their Internet room was directly connected to the secret NSA room through a special device called a splitter.

MARK KLEIN: So what they do with the splitter is they intercept that data stream and make copies of all the data, and those copies go down on the cable to the secret room.

BRIAN REID, Internet Systems Consortium: What this thing was is a very full-scale device to take all communication, voice and data, and send it both wherever it was supposed to go but also shunted off to a little listening room.

HEDRICK SMITH: So what exactly was going on in that listening room? Klein found clues at work one day.

MARK KLEIN: I came across these three documents and I brought them back to my desk. And when I started looking at it, I looked at it more, and finally, it dawned on me sort of all at once, and I almost fell out of my chair,

HEDRICK SMITH: Klein eventually found detailed designs for the secret room. One of the first to see his documents was Internet expert Brian Reid.

[www.pbs.org: See Klein's AT&T documents]

BRIAN REID: Lord, they had a lot of hardware. And they could- with the computers that they had there, they could do anything they wanted with that data. There was serious compute power available to process that wiretap data.

MARK KLEIN: But then there was one thing that was odd because I didn't recognize it. It was not part of normal day-to-day telecommunications equipment that I was familiar with. And that was a Narus - N-A-R-U-S - Narus STA 6400.

BRIAN REID: The Narus STA 6400 made me sit up and take notice and realize this was not an amateur game. And so when you see it, a Narus box and all that storage space and all that compute power, you can't help but think, "Wow,you know, this is some heavy-duty processing power here to really analyze the data that is siphoned off. What is going on?"

STEVE BANNERMAN, VP, Narus Marketing: The term "Narus" is Latin for "to know." The way our software works is it monitors all of the traffic on the Internet, all of the ones and zeros that make up all of the data that- you know, that you and I generate when we're looking at Web pages or when corporations are sending e-mails back and forth, all of that information. We just sort of peer into the pipes, if you will, and look at the ones and zeros as they go by.

HEDRICK SMITH: [on camera] Peering into the pipes- what does that mean?

STEVE BANNERMAN: It's sort analogous to a letter inside of an envelope. So you've got different layers in these things we call packets. And you know, the first layer that you get to peer back is the information about where the packet's coming from and where it's going to, the addresses that identify, you know, who's communicating with who. And then once you've delved into deeper parts of the packets, that's when you get into what's called the payload, and that includes the actual information that you're trying to send in the packet.

HEDRICK SMITH: The contents.

STEVE BANNERMAN: The content of the packet. That's correct.

 

THE COMMITTEE SAYS:

Frontline Reveals Width and Depth of Illegal Domestic Spying by Bush

Alex Wierbinski, Berkeley, Ca., July 8, 2007

The above abstract from the frontline transcript reveals the power and depth of the NSA domestic spying program.

This information demonstrates that not only is Bush authorizing warrantless searches of my "effects," as the Constitution puts it, but is authorizing General Warrantless Searches.

You should understand that none of your communication are private. Every piece of information you send and receive over the phone and internet are being inspected, if not reviewed, under Bush's orders.

Since this secret program is already completely illegal, what's stopping Rove and Cheney from using this information for political purposes?

As they are trying to prevent any investigation of these crimes, let alone "oversight," how can we know their true extent, and what they are really doing with this power?

As this Administration has politicized every aspect of government and law, I expect them to apply their same lack of principals as icing on the cake of their illegal searching crimes.

They certainly have the tools to remotely target illegal searches against political enemies, gather all relevant communications, and use this information for political purposes.

The administration has the requisite lack of honesty and ethics to use information gleaned from their secret illegal searching programs for political or financial gain.

Also See:

Corruption Updates 23, 9th article on the page, "TIMES SOFTPEDALS PRESIDENTIAL WAR CRIMES AND DOMESTIC CRIMES"

Corruption Updates 25, 8th article on the page, "FBI CHIEF DEFYS CONGRESSIONAL OVERSIGHT REFUSAL TO DISCLOSE ILLEGAL PROGRAM"

Corruption Updates 32, 3rd article on the page, "PRESIDENT TRIES END RUN AROUND CONSTITUTION: CLAIMS ACTIONS ARE SECRET, AND ABOVE THE LAW"

Corruption Updates 36, 5th article on the page, "White House Confirms Americans Have No Constitutional Protections"

Corruption Updates 41, 5th article on the page, "FBI Violations May Number 3,000, Official Says: HOW DO YOU SAY ILLEGAL SEARCH? “National Security Letter"

Corruption Updates 51, 9th article on the page, "Administration Seeks to Expand Surveillance Law"

illegal searching links

Search the Corruption Database under

Illegal Searches (21 Abstracts)

 

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8) The Article linked below was Abstracted from the cited source. Following the Abstract, you will find analysis and commentary, references to related articles, and a link to the database with suggested search terms.


Judges OK warrantless monitoring of Web use

Privacy rules don't apply to Internet messages, court says

Saturday, July 7, 2007

http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/07/07/BAGMNQSJDA1.DTL

Federal agents do not need a search warrant to monitor a suspect's computer use and determine the e-mail addresses and Web pages the suspect is contacting, a federal appeals court ruled Friday.

In a drug case from San Diego County, the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco likened computer surveillance to the "pen register" devices that officers use to pinpoint the phone numbers a suspect dials, without listening to the phone calls themselves.

Federal law requires court approval for a pen register. But because it is not considered a search, authorities do not need a search warrant, which would require them to show that the surveillance is likely to produce evidence of a crime.

They also do not need a wiretap order, which would require them to show that less intrusive methods of surveillance have failed or would be futile.

In Friday's ruling, the court said computer users should know that they lose privacy protections with e-mail and Web site addresses when they are communicated to the company whose equipment carries the messages.

The ruling "further erodes our privacy," the attorney said. "The great political marketplace of ideas is the Internet, and the government has unbridled access to it."

THE COMMITTEE SAYS:

Federal Courts Fail to Uphold 4th Amendment

Alex Wierbinski, Berkeley, Ca., July 8, 2007

The specific words of the Fourth Amendment of The Constitution are clear:

The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers and effects, against reasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and No warrant shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.

The president has no authority to interfere with this Constitutionally mandated standard. Nor does Congress, nor the Courts. Their jobs are to enforce the Constitution, not to assist Bush in stealing our Rights.

It is clear from this decision that the courts no longer respect or shield a person's effects from illegal searches.

But considering the way judges are selected and elected, let alone their rulings, its surprising anybody pays any attention to anything they say.

Those disrespecting our rights have forfeited their own

 

Search the Corruption Database under

Illegal Searches (21 Abstracts)

Judges (45 Abstracts)

 

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9) The Article linked below was Abstracted from the cited source. Following the Abstract, you will find analysis and commentary, references to related articles, and a link to the database with suggested search terms.

Musharraf’s Plane Fired Upon as Mosque Standoff Continues

By SALMAN MASOOD and CARLOTTA GALL

July 7, 2007

 

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/07/world/asia/07pakistan.html?pagewanted=print

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan, July 6 — A burst of gunfire went off as President Pervez Musharraf’s plane took off Friday morning from an airfield in the garrison town of Rawalpindi, near the capital, as the government’s siege of a militant mosque entered its fourth day.

Security officials said they recovered two antiaircraft guns and one submachine gun with a telescopic sight from the rooftop of a house barely a mile from the airport where the shooting had apparently taken place.

It was not immediately clear if there was a link between the shooting and the siege at the Lal Masjid, or Red Mosque, complex in the heart of the capital, where the leader of the rebellion vowed to fight to the death.

But the gunfire was a reminder of the presence of militants across many districts, as were two roadside bombs that exploded in northwestern Pakistan, one of them killing four soldiers and critically wounding a fifth.

Residents living near where the shooting occurred said they heard a loud bang around 10 a.m. Soon after the gunfire, which lasted less than three minutes, two men chanting “God is great” pulled away on a motorbike, said Muhammad Ali, 19, a student who lived nearby.

The siege of the mosque, where several hundred students and militants remain holed up, seemed to be entering a more tense period after the government rejected the conditions for surrender offered Thursday evening by the leading cleric, Abdur Rashid Ghazi.

“We will not surrender,” Mr. Ghazi told GEO television, an independent channel. “We will be martyred, but we will not surrender. We are more determined now.”

Nevertheless, another hundred students have come out of the mosque and surrendered in the past 24 hours, Pakistani officials said. A total of 1,221 students had left by Friday evening.

THE COMMITTEE SAYS:

Pakistan Unraveling Under Musharraf

See commentary and links about Musharraf following the next abstract.

Search the Corruption Database under

Pakistan (18 Abstracts)

 

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10) The Article linked below was Abstracted from the cited source. Following the Abstract, you will find analysis and commentary, references to related articles, and a link to the database with suggested search terms.

As Pakistan’s Chief Looks Ahead, Army Holds the Cards

By CARLOTTA GALL

June 28, 2007

Memo From Islamabad

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/28/world/asia/28pakistan.html?pagewanted=print

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan — Speculation has been rife in political circles recently that Pakistan’s president, Gen. Pervez Musharraf, may not survive his wrangle with the chief justice and hold on to power, but a great silence emanates from the one place that may count the most: the barracks and the mess halls of the armed forces, the other great part of Pakistan’s ruling equation.

If and when the army feels it is being damaged by its association with General Musharraf, and his insistence on retaining the dual posts of president and chief of army staff, they will act to safeguard the reputation of the army, they say.

Historians and columnists have been outlining the precedents, recalling how Pakistan’s three previous military rulers exited from power. None of the departures came in happy circumstances, and none bode well for General Musharraf, who took power in a bloodless coup in 1999.

The longest ruling general, Mohammad Zia ul-Haq, who seized power in 1977, died in 1988 in a plane crash, the cause of which still remains a mystery.

Pakistan’s other two military dictators in its turbulent 60 years since independence were forced out by fellow officers. Gen. Mohammad Ayub Khan, who ruled from 1958 to 1969, was isolated, unpopular and sick by the end, and after months of popular unrest was replaced by another military man, Gen. Yahya Khan.

General Yahya Khan promised a return to democracy and held probably the fairest elections Pakistan has ever seen. But after war and the breakup of Pakistan in 1971, when Bangladesh gained independence, his fellow officers forced him to resign and hand over rule of what remained of Pakistan to the civilian political leader, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto.

But the general is showing no readiness to give up either of his posts, president or chief of army staff, though the terms for both jobs expire toward the end of the year.

Well aware of the importance of backing within the army, General Musharraf called a meeting of his corps commanders and principal military staff recently, apparently to ensure their support. The military public relations service issued an unusually long news release in that vein.

“The Corps Commanders and Principal Staff Officers of the Pakistan Army affirmed to stand committed for the security of their country under the leadership and guidance of the President and the COAS,” it read, referring to the chief of army staff.

(A)...military officer said he had not seen a commander calling for such a statement of support in more than 30 years in the army. “The statement was a mistake,” he said.

“The army is not a political party,” he said. “People do not have to swear support for their leader.” An army officer takes an oath to uphold the Constitution, not his commander, he added.

A veteran opposition politician, Enver Baig, was more definitive. “The military backing he had, has definitely eroded,” he said, speaking of General Musharraf. The discontent with General Musharraf is seeping into the lower ranks as well. “The midlevel officers are becoming restless,” said Ayesha Siddiqa, a military analyst and author of a recent book on the military’s enormous economic clout that has angered the military leadership.

Meanwhile, military officers no longer feel comfortable going around Peshawar in uniform, said one former officer from the province.

Even in the capital, army officers say they can feel the changing mood. The military officer described driving in Islamabad and seeing someone holding up a placard showing a big army boot stamping on a map of Pakistan. “That is a very poor reflection,” he said. “It is hatred that is building in the civilian level against the army.”

Faced with such discontent, the mood in the military is not for another general to take over, but for the country to restore civilian rule, he and several former members of the military said.

But who will tell the general to go? After nearly eight years in power, General Musharraf has personally picked all the top military and intelligence leaders. He will remain secure as long as he retains the support of four or five of the nine corps commanders, Ms. Siddiqa said.

Asked if the corps commanders might tell the general he had to go, he answered, “We may be coming to that stage

THE COMMITTEE SAYS:

Originally written on June 8, 2007, for Corruption Update 70_7

Musharraf Desperation Deepens: Shallow Accusations and Falling Support Spelling End of Musharraf

Musharraf is failing. His party's murder of 45 protesters in Karachi did not dissuade further public protest, nor did it satisfy Musharraf, judging by his complaints about lack of party support. Sometimes murder is not sufficient to maintain dictatorial power.

At this point, Musharraf barely has time and maneuvering room to exit gracefully. His options for keeping power are limited.

He can back off, reappoint Chaudry, and focus on guiding his fatally wounded dictatorship towards stealing the next presidential election, set for this year.

This is unlikely, as resistance to his Dictatorship is growing in all quarters.

Musharraf's most likely path, if he can keep the Army behind him, will be to put the Army in the Streets, adding the tool of direct State Violence to his use of mass political arrests, and closing the media.

In any case, neither side has backed off, and a showdown is coming.

If Musharraf stands his ground, blood will soon be running through the streets of Pakistani cities. If Musharraf flees, the Army may not be able to impose another general, and may be forced to step back, and cut a deal with the opposition groups to hold a real election.

America is responsible for heavily arming and funding Musharraf, and directly supporting his military dictatorship. We have raised no objections to his dictatorship, despite our oft repeated goal of "democratization," nor have we spoken against his latest arbitrary uses of violence and political power.

If blood runs in the streets of Karachi and Islamabad, we must bear a great deal of responsibility.

For commentary on how this will affect the Afghan War, see:

Corruption Update 38_10

Also See:

Corruption Updates 31, 10th article on page, “Pakistan's old new year"

Corruption Updates 38, 10th article on the page, "American Dictator Removes Chief Justice in Pakistan"

Corruption Updates 44 , 3rd article on page, American backed Dictator Attempting to Crush Pakistan's Judiciary"

Corruption Updates 61, 5th article on the page, "Musharraf 'seeks Karachi peace'"

Corruption Updates 62, 7th article on the page, "Pakistan's ex-top judge has addressed thousands..."

Corruption Updates 62, 10th article on the page, Clinton:Pakistani businessman, donor to Dems, returns to U.S. to face charges

Corruption Updates 63, 9th article on the page, "Pakistan: 4 Arrested in Killing of Judge’s Aide"

Corruption Updates 67, 4th article on the page, "Musharraf Issues Decree Cracking Down on News Media"

Corruption Updates 68, 2nd article on the page, Pakistan Holds 2 in Pearl Killing: False, These Men Kidnapped 4 years Ago

Corruption Updates 69, 2nd article on the page, "Pakistan Arrests 300 Workers From Opposition"

Corruption Updates 70, 7th article on the page, Paki: Protests Rage Against Musharraf; Aides Criticize Justice He Ousted

Corruption Updates 72, 1st article on the page, Musharraf Rescinds Media Regulations After Public Outcry

Corruption Updates 74, 5th article on the page, Pakistan: Judge Gains Legal Ground

Corruption Updates 84, 2nd article on the page, Pakistan Is Building New Reactor

Corruption Updates 87, 3rd article on the page, Musharraf Suffers Setback in Effort to Remove Pakistan’s Chief Justice

Corruption Updates 88, 9th article on the page, Musharraf’s Plane Fired Upon as Mosque Standoff Continues

Corruption Updates 88, 10th article on the page, As Pakistan’s Chief Looks Ahead, Army Holds the Cards

Corruption Updates 92, 8th article on the page, U.S.: Pakistan Will Fight Militants: American Dictator Save Pakistan from itself

Corruption Updates 92, 9th article on the page, Islamabad Bombing Kills at Least 12: Pakistani Blood Bath Beginning with full US Support

Corruption Updates 95, 1st article on the page, Pakistani justice's reinstatement is blow to Musharraf

Corruption Updates 95, 2nd article on the page, Parties to Challenge Pakistan Election Plan

Corruption Updates 96, 4th article on the page, New Violence at Reopened Pakistan Mosque: American Dictator Provokes Widespread

 

Search the Corruption Database under

Pakistan (18 Abstracts)

Supporting Dictators

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