Official Chosen by McCain to Run Convention Resigns

The public relations executive whom Senator John McCain’s campaign had chosen to run the Republican National Convention this summer resigned his post on Saturday after a magazine reported that his firm had lobbied for the military junta that runs Myanmar.

U.S. looks set to offer Israel powerful new radar

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Bush administration appears set to offer Israel a powerful radar system that could greatly boost Israeli defenses against enemy ballistic missiles while tying them directly into a growing U.S. missile shield. President George W. Bush is expected to discuss the matter during a visit to Israel starting on Wednesday to mark the 60th anniversary of the Jewish state amid mounting U.S. concern over perceived threats from Iran, people familiar with the matter said.

Judge Drops General From Trial of Detainee

In a new blow to the Bush administration’s troubled military commission system, a military judge has disqualified a Pentagon general who has been centrally involved in overseeing Guantánamo war crimes tribunals from any role in the first case headed for trial. The judge said the general was too closely aligned with the prosecution, raising questions about whether he could carry out his role with the required neutrality and objectivity.

EUROPE: Stealth Lobbyists Creep In

BRUSSELS, May 9 (IPS) - The often cosy relationship between corporate lobbyists and the Brussels bureaucracy was illustrated in the past few weeks as several members of the European Parliament (MEPs) prepared to visit Peru.

Why the propaganda campaign for international intervention in Burma?

The catastrophe wrought by Cyclone Nargis on the Burmese people has provoked an extraordinary campaign by the US and allied powers, and in the international media, demanding that the military junta open its borders to aid and aid officials as well as to American military aircraft, troops and warships. Once again an attempt is being made to stampede public opinion with heartrending images of desperate survivors and devastated towns, accompanied by an incessant drumbeat condemning the Burmese regime for its inadequate aid efforts, its insularity, and its failure to accept international, especially American, aid.

U.S. lease of Waterloo fairgrounds raises questions

Federal officials have imposed a news blackout at the National Cattle Congress fairgrounds in Waterloo, where they have leased almost the entire property through May 25. Tim Counts, a Midwest spokesman for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, known as ICE, declined to say Monday whether an immigration raid is pending that would use the fairgrounds as a detention center.

Republicans vote against moms; no word yet on puppies, kittens

It was already shaping up to be a difficult year for congressional Republicans. Now, on the cusp of Mother's Day, comes this: A majority of the House GOP has voted against motherhood.

Studies on tasers are flawed, cardiologist tells inquiry

Tasers pose potentially fatal health risks that studies proving their safety don't take into account, a U.S. doctor told the B.C. taser inquiry yesterday.

Johann Hari: The loathsome smearing of Israel's critics

In the US and Britain, there is a campaign to smear anybody who tries to describe the plight of the Palestinian people. It is an attempt to intimidate and silence – and to a large degree, it works. There is nobody these self-appointed spokesmen for Israel will not attack as anti-Jewish: liberal Jews, rabbis, even Holocaust survivors.

Pastors May Defy IRS Gag Rule

A conservative legal-advocacy group is enlisting ministers to use their pulpits to preach about election candidates this September, defying a tax law that bars churches from engaging in politics. Alliance Defense Fund, a Scottsdale, Ariz., nonprofit, is hoping at least one sermon will prompt the Internal Revenue Service to investigate, sparking a court battle that could get the tax provision declared unconstitutional. Alliance lawyers represent churches in disputes with the IRS over alleged partisan activity.

Americans United Condemns Religious Right Plot To Politicize Pulpits

A Religious Right group’s plan to ask churches to violate federal tax law on electioneering is deplorable, according to Americans United for Separation of Church and State.

News Corp. withdraws bid to buy NY newspaper Newsday

Ecuador says Colombia committed 'crimes against humanity' in military raid on rebel camp

QUITO, Ecuador: Colombia's military committed "crimes against humanity" when it allegedly shot three people in the back and killed a man with a blow to the head during a raid on a rebel camp in Ecuador's jungle, the Ecuadorean interior minister said Wednesday.

US risking Cold War: Gorbachev

LONDON: The US risks starting a new Cold War by proposing to build its missile shield in central and eastern Europe, former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev warned in comments published in London yesterday.

Russian parliament confirms Putin as prime minister

MOSCOW - Vladimir Putin was named prime minister of Russia Thursday after a fervent speech full of ambitious plans that overshadowed his low-key successor and suggested that he will keep a strong hand in ruling the country.

Fresh talk of 'dream team' emerges in White House race

WASHINGTON (AFP) - The notion of a Democratic "dream team" uniting to face Republican White House contender John McCain has resurfaced amid increasing calls for Hillary Clinton to abandon her presidential bid.

Online library gets FBI to back off

(05-07) 18:03 PDT SAN FRANCISCO -- Brewster Kahle, who runs an online library in San Francisco, was appalled when his volunteer lawyers told him in November that the FBI was demanding records of all communications with one of his patrons as part of an investigation of "international terrorism or clandestine intelligence activities." The FBI document, called a national security letter, told Kahle he could be prosecuted if he discussed the subject with anyone but his lawyers, and allowed him to speak with his attorneys only in person. Kahle said his Internet Archive, which has 500,000 card-holders, doesn't even keep the records the FBI was seeking.

Feds Practice Evacuation From D.C.

A national disaster exercise that began last week involves the evacuation of thousands of federal personnel from Washington, D.C., the Washington Post reported (see GSN, April 29).In National Exercise 2-08, which continues through Saturday, terrorists release a poisonous gas from a tanker in Washington state while Oregon authorities must handle the unintentional escape of nerve agent from the Umatilla Chemical Depot.

That’ll Teach ‘Em: Secret Service Bravely Arrests British Pilot Who Tried to Pin a Thank You Note on President Bush’s Gate

Ever since they burned the White House, the Secret Service has been a little edgy about British veterans carrying gas cans. Maurice Kirk, 63, who is nicknamed the “Flying Vet”, learned this lesson when he tried to pin a thank you note on the gate of Bush’s ranch. He flew to Texas to thank Bush for his rescue by the Coast Guard in February. He ended up in a psychiatric hospital, charged with a criminal acts and facing deportation. It appears that, with President Bush now the most unpopular president in history, it is considered manifest insanity for anyone to be thankful to Bush for any aspect of his service.

Townspeople Hunt Down the Wizard of Land O’ Lakes

This week, the good town of Land O’ Lakes, Florida is free of the scourge of a wizard. While such hunt were once led by pitchfork carrying townsfolk, this important civic action was taken by concerned parents who discovered the magical tendencies of substitute teacher (and fulltime wizard) Jim Piculas in Pasco County School District. Piculas inadvertently disclosed his dark secret in a class when he showed children how he could make a toothpick disappear and reappear at a middle school. It proved the toothpick that broke the wizard’s back. The District supervisor of substitute teachers (and hunter of wizards) Pat Sinclair, who oversees substitute teachers in the Pasco County School District, called Piculas to tell him that he was fired, explaining “You’ve been accused of wizardry.” (For more, click here.)

Drug ads scrutinized by Congress

WASHINGTON, May 8 (UPI) -- Drug company television ads have crossed ethical boundaries due to political appointments at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, a congressman said.

Woman fired over 16-cent doughnut

Canadian becomes first child soldier since Nuremberg to stand trial for war crimes

An inmate at the US-run Guantanamo Bay prison camp in Cuba is set to be the first child soldier to go on trial for war crimes since Nuremberg, after a military judge ruled that there were no legal obstacles preventing the camp's special military commissions from prosecuting him. Omar Khadr, a Canadian national, was 15 at the time of his alleged crimes. His defence team said his age should see him treated as a victim and rehabilitated, rather than prosecuted as a war criminal. He has had no access to education while at Guantanamo, where he has spent more than a quarter of his life.

How Barack Obama Fronted for the Most Vicious Predators on Wall Street
Obama's Money Cartel

Wall Street, known variously as a barren wasteland for diversity or the last plantation in America, has defied courts and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) for decades in its failure to hire blacks as stockbrokers. Now it’s marshalling its money machine to elect a black man to the highest office in the land. Why isn’t the press curious about this?

Bankrolling a Presidential Campaign
The Obama Bubble Agenda

The Obama phenomenon has been likened to that of cults, celebrity groupies and Messiah worshipers. But what we’re actually witnessing is ObamaMania (as in tulip mania), the third and final bubble orchestrated and financed by the wonderful Wall Street folks who brought us the first two: the Nasdaq/tech bubble and a subprime-mortgage-in-every-pot bubble. 

'Bioterror' Case Falls Apart

NEW YORK, 2 May (IPS) - After a four-year legal battle, a U.S. federal judge has dismissed all charges against an avant-garde artist who public officials condemned as a bio-terrorist in a case critics are calling 'a persecution, not a prosecution'. The artist is Dr. Steven Kurtz, a professor of Visual Studies at the University of Buffalo, and a founding member of the award-winning collective Critical Art Ensemble (CAE).

Medvedev sworn in as Russian president

The eight-year presidency of Vladimir Putin came to an end today as his successor Dmitry Medvedev was sworn into office in a solemn ceremony in the Kremlin's throne room. Medvedev, a 42-year-old former corporate lawyer and longtime Putin ally, stressed freedom and the rule of law in his first remarks after taking the oath of office and receiving a gold chain of double-headed eagles symbolising the presidency.

US trains Pakistani killing machine

KARACHI - A longstanding disconnect between the Pakistan and United States militaries is largely responsible for the inability of the "war on terror" to nail key targets such as al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, as well as military failures against the Taliban-led insurgency in Afghanistan. Former US ambassador to Honduras, Mexico and the Philippines and presently Deputy Secretary of State, John Negroponte, aims to change this by creating special Pakistani units, trained by the US, to go after key figures.

US mourns black woman who defied racist divorce order

On a hot July night almost exactly 50 years ago, Mildred Loving and her husband Richard were roused from their bed by the sheriff of the rural Virginia county where they lived and hauled off to jail. Their only crime was to be a black woman and a white man presumptuous enough to be married at a time when many southern US states banned mixed-race unions.

Top UBS banker detained in US

Oil nears $123 on $200 oil prediction, supply concerns

NEW YORK - Oil futures blasted to a new record near $123 a barrel Tuesday, gaining momentum as investors bought on a forecast of much higher prices and on any news hinting at supply shortages. Retail gas prices edged lower, but appear poised to rise to new records of their own in coming weeks.

McCain vows to name more 'Alitos' and 'Robertses'

WASHINGTON — John McCain sought to burnish his conservative credentials Tuesday with a broadside against "the common and systematic abuse of our federal courts by the people we entrust with judicial power" and a promise of "better judges" in the mold of Supreme Court Justices John G. Roberts and Samuel Alito.

Pentagon Targeted Iran for Regime Change after 9/11

WASHINGTON, May 5 (IPS) - Three weeks after the 9/11 terror attacks, former U.S. Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld established an official military objective of not only removing the Saddam Hussein regime by force but overturning the regime in Iran, as well as in Syria and four other countries in the Middle East, according to a document quoted extensively in then Undersecretary of Defence for Policy Douglas Feith's recently published account of the Iraq war decisions.

Bolton: Striking Iran ‘Is Really The Most Prudent Thing To Do’

Yesterday morning, Fox News interviewed former U.N. Ambassador John Bolton to discuss whether America is close to striking Iranian targets, as new reports indicate the Bush administration is drawing up plans for a “surgical strike.” Bolton said that while there are “obviously risks associated” with a strike on Iran, the risks of not doing something are “far higher” at this point.

Special counsel's office raided amid obstruction probe

WASHINGTON - Federal agents raided the office and home of U.S. Special Counsel Scott Bloch on Tuesday while investigating whether the nation's top protector of whistle-blowers destroyed evidence potentially showing he retaliated against his own staff.

Italian Rightist Sparks Outrage

Gianfranco Fini, the president of the Italian Parliament, is facing a firestorm of controversy after saying that the May 1 burning of Israeli flags in Turin by far-left protesters was "much more serious" than the savage beating of a 29-year-old that same day in Verona by a neo-Nazi gang. The victim of the beating, Nicola Tommasoli, died late Monday after several days in a coma. Five young fans of the Verona soccer team have been arrested for the murder.

Indiana nuns lacking ID denied at poll by fellow sister

About 12 Indiana nuns were turned away Tuesday from a polling place by a fellow sister because they didn't have state or federal identification bearing a photograph.

Israeli President: Nuclear Iran would be 'nightmare'; Israel must remain sole Mideast nuclear power

The Israeli President, Shimon Peres, stated Monday that "Iran is a danger not only for Israel but also for the rest of the world", adding that if Iran were to get a nuclear weapon, it would be a "nightmare". In his talk, he tacitly acknowledged that Israel is a nuclear power - something that was long denied by the Israeli state, but has recently been discreetly mentioned by Israeli leaders on a number of occasions.  Peres has long been called the 'father of Israel's bomb', having obtained help from the French government in the 1950s to build Israel's nuclear reactor at Dimona. Since building the reactor, the Israeli government has maintained a policy of "nuclear ambiguity" and has never signed the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. Most estimates put the number of nuclear bombs in Israel's arsenal at about 100, which would make it the sixth-largest nuclear power in the world, if it were to come out of the closet and openly admit that it has nuclear weapons.

Why I Will Not Vote for John McCain

As some of you might know, John McCain is a long-time acquaintance of mine that goes way back to our time together at the U.S. Naval Academy and as Prisoners of War in Vietnam. He is a man I respect and admire in some ways. But there are a number of reasons why I will not vote for him for President of the United States.

Broke Britain: How soaring bills have left cash-strapped families with less to spend than for 17 years

Israeli Political Crisis Overshadows Rice’s Trip

JERUSALEM — Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice held a series of talks on Israeli-Palestinian peace here on Sunday, saying she believed an accord was attainable by year’s end. But the process was overshadowed by an intensifying police investigation of Prime Minister Ehud Olmert of Israel.

McCain's proposal to kick Russia out of G-8 is bold and unlikely

WASHINGTON — John McCain dropped a little-noticed bombshell into his March foreign-policy address: Boot Russia from the G-8, the elite club of leading industrial democracies whose leaders try to coordinate economic policies.

Hotels, shops, condos planned for Green Zone

BAGHDAD — Forget the rocket attacks, concrete blast walls and lack of a sewer system. Now try to imagine luxury hotels, a shopping center and even condos in the heart of Baghdad.

U.S. base is no longer welcome in Ecuador

Ecuadorean President Rafael Correa has vowed not to renew the base's contract beyond its November 2009 expiration. And politicians drafting a new constitution have proposed banning the base or any other foreign military presence in the country.

Greetings from Guantanamo Bay ... and the sickest souvenir shop in the world

Welcome to "Taliban Towers" at Guantanamo Bay, the most ghoulishly distasteful tourist destination on the planet. As these astonishing mementoes show, the US authorities are promoting the world's most notorious prison camp as a cheap hideaway for American sunseekers – a revelation that has drawn international anger and condemnation. Just yards from the shelves of specially branded mugs and cuddly toys, nearly 300 "enemy combatants" lie sweltering in a waking nightmare.

Gaza sewage overflowing into Mediterranean Sea

With treatment plants out of action due to a lack of fuel, sewerage plants in Gaza are overflowing. Massive amounts of sewage have had to be dumped into the Mediterranean Sea to prevent an outbreak of disease. Now the United Nations is concerned the overflow into the sea will contaminate the water with bacteria making it unsafe for swimming.

Senators call for EPA to consider ethanol mandate waiver

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Senate Republicans on Monday asked environmental regulators to use their power to halt the country's ethanol output expansion plans amid rising food prices.

The Myth of Green McCain

Despite the accolades he receives, McCain's record shows a candidate who is behind the times on climate policy and lacks conviction on environment.

McCain's Delusional Tax Plan

John McCain has adopted a tax plan that covers up massive giveaways to the rich with absurd assertions and faulty calculations.

Outrage at European moves to feed animal remains to chickens

The European Union is preparing plans to allow pig remains to be used to feed poultry. The practice - banned in Europe after the BSE crisis 10 years ago - would save farmers millions of pounds as prices of cereal feed for chickens soar, say officials in Brussels. But the proposal has outraged animal rights campaigners, Muslim organisations and other groups. They claim the move would put families at risk, offend religious sensibilities and lead to a major consumer backlash.

States Look to Rein In Private Medicare Plans

WASHINGTON — State officials say they will soon ask Congress for more power to regulate the marketing of private Medicare insurance plans to older Americans because they are still receiving complaints of high-pressure sales tactics that have led some beneficiaries to sign up for unsuitable policies.

How the British Government planned to deal with Armageddon: make sure we had enough tea

Five million are dead, our cities laid waste and the nation's infrastructure is shattered. The nightmare aftermath of a Soviet nuclear assault is outlined in apocalyptic detail in a secret government report in 1955. And among the issues troubling civil servants is...tea. More precisely, would there be enough to go round and help the nation recover from Armageddon?

Amazon suing NY state over sales tax law

Shell firms shielded US contractor from taxes
Defense outfit may have saved millions

WASHINGTON - In March 2005, one of the Pentagon's most trusted contractors - Virginia-based MPRI, founded by retired senior military leaders - won a $400 million contract to train police in Iraq and other hotspots. Two months later, MPRI set up a company in Bermuda to which it subcontracted much of the work. It was not the first time that MPRI executives had used a shell company in an offshore tax haven to perform government-funded work. A year earlier, MPRI headed a joint venture that won a $1.6 billion contract to provide US peacekeeping forces in Kosovo and elsewhere. Three months later, MPRI set up a company in the Cayman Islands to do the work.

Despite Alert, Flawed Wiring Still Kills G.I.s

WASHINGTON — In October 2004, the United States Army issued an urgent bulletin to commanders across Iraq, warning them of a deadly new threat to American soldiers. Because of flawed electrical work by contractors, the bulletin stated, soldiers at American bases in Iraq had received severe electrical shocks, and some had even been electrocuted.

Building Manager: DC Madam's Death Not Suicide

ORLANDO, Fla. -- The building manager of a Central Florida condo said he spent time talking to Deborah Jean Palfrey on Monday as she packed to go to her mother's house and she did not seem suicidal . . . Palfrey’s building manager said she often told him she believed she was being followed and he thinks there may have been some former clients of her escort service who wanted her dead. "She insinuated that there is a contract out for her and I fully believe they succeeded," her building manager said.

Darfur Tragedy: Follywood Turns the Victims into Villains

They do say that Tinsel Town, home of the fabulously rich, famous and beautiful people is the place where dreams come true. But I think that Hollywood should now be renamed Follywood to reflect the actions of some of its residents. Dreamboats George Clooney, Brad Pitt and Matt Damon, poster girls like Angelina Jolie and other giants of the silver screen like film director Steven Spielberg – have blundered in to Sudan like someone with a candle hunting for a gas leak. These foolish Follywood folk have turned the victims of the Darfur tragedy into villains. It would be funny if it wasn’t so tragic but sadly they appear too dim to realize they are being manipulated.

Why John McCain Wants You To Give Up Your Health Insurance

When he [John McCain] says, "we have the highest quality of health care in the world in America," he is speaking as a man who has enjoyed a lifetime of government-run care. But now John McCain is seeking the presidency as a Republican, and a healthy distaste for government-run health care is de rigueur. "I am convinced," said John McCain at Miami Children's Hospital, "that the wrong way to go is to turn over your lives to the government and hope it will all be fine. It won't." Spoken like a 71-year-old whose government health coverage has kept him healthy enough to run for the presidency.

Malaysia angers women with travel-restriction idea

KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) - Malaysian women's groups reacted with outrage on Sunday to a government proposal to impose restrictions on women planning to travel overseas on their own.

US religious rights panel wants Vietnam, Pakistan blacklisted

WASHINGTON (AFP) - A US religious freedom watchdog on Friday asked the State Department to include Vietnam, Pakistan and Turkmenistan in its global blacklist of religious freedom violators, and maintained Indonesia, the world's most populous Muslim nation, on a watchlist.

Mideast Quartet presses Arab states, Israel

LONDON (AFP) - Key world powers called Friday on Arab states to fulfil their promises of aid for the Palestinians and voiced deep concern over the humanitarian impact of a nine-month-old Israeli blockade on the Gaza Strip.

FBI wants widespread monitoring of 'illegal' Internet activity