.N. satellite imagery experts have determined that material that could be used to make biological or chemical weapons and banned long-range missiles has been removed from 109 sites in Iraq, U.N. weapons inspectors said in a report obtained Thursday.
U.N. inspectors have been blocked from returning to Iraq since the U.S.-led war in 2003 so they have been using satellite photos to see what happened to the sites that were subject to U.N. monitoring because their equipment had both civilian and military uses.
In the report to the U.N. Security Council, acting chief weapons inspector Demetrius Perricos said he's reached no conclusions about who removed the items or where they went. He said it could have been moved elsewhere in Iraq, sold as scrap, melted down or purchased.
He said the missing material can be used for legitimate purposes. "However, they can also be utilized for prohibited purposes if in a good state of repair."
He said imagery analysts have identified 109 sites that have been emptied of equipment to varying degrees, up from 90 reported in March.
The report also provided much more detail about the percentage of items no longer at the places where U.N. inspectors monitored them.
From the imagery analysis, Perricos said analysts at the U.N. Monitoring, Verification and Inspection Commission which he heads have concluded that biological sites were less damaged than chemical and missile sites.
The commission, known as UNMOVIC, previously reported the discovery of some equipment and material from the sites in scrapyards in Jordan and the Dutch port of Rotterdam.
Perricos said analysts found, for example, that 53 of the 98 vessels that could be used for a wide range of chemical reactions had disappeared. "Due to its characteristics, this equipment can be used for the production of both commercial chemicals and chemical warfare agents," he said.
The report said 3,380 valves, 107 pumps, and more than 7.8 miles of pipes were known to have been located at the 39 chemical sites.
A third of the chemical items removed came from the Qaa Qaa industrial complex south of Baghdad which the report said "was among the sites possessing the highest number of dual-use production equipment," whose fate is now unknown." Significant quantities of missing material were also located at the Fallujah II and Fallujah III facilities north of the city, which was besieged last year.
Before the first Gulf War in 1991, those facilities played a major part in the production of precursors for Iraq's chemical warfare program.
The percentages of missing biological equipment from 12 sites were much smaller - no higher than 10 percent.
The report said 37 of 405 fermenters ranging in size from 2 gallons to 1,250 gallons had been removed. Those could be used to produce pharmaceuticals and vaccines as well as biological warfare agents such as anthrax.
The largest percentages of missing items were at the 58 missile facilities, which include some of the key production sites for both solid and liquid propellant missiles, the report said.
For example, 289 of the 340 pieces of equipment to produce missiles - about 85 percent - had been removed, it said.
At the Kadhimiyah and Al Samoud factory sites in suburban Baghdad, where the report said airframes and engines for liquid propellant missiles were manufactured and final assembly was carried out, "all equipment and missile components have been removed."
UNMOVIC is the outgrowth of a U.N. inspections process created after the 1991 Gulf War in which invading Iraqi forces were ousted from Kuwait. Its staff are considered the only multinational weapons experts specifically trained in biological weapons and missile disarmament.
The report noted that the commissioners who advise UNMOVIC again raised questions about its future. Iraq has called for its Security Council mandate to be terminated because UNMOVIC is funded from past Iraqi oil sales and it wants to be treated like other countries, but the council has not taken up the issue.
France's U.N. Ambassador Jean-Marc de La Sabliere said Thursday the commission's expertise "should not be lost for the international community."
Friday, June 03, 2005
Flight to N.Y. diverted over terror scare
Canadian law enforcement officials took charge of a passenger jet that was escorted by fighter jets to Halifax International Airport on Friday after it sent out a false hijacking alarm en route from London to New York.
The airliner landed safely at 11 a.m. ET and was met by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and Canadian Border Service Agency, according to Homeland Security Department spokeswoman Katie Montgomery.
The airline issued a statement saying it is investigating the technical reason for the false alarm and that passengers have been informed of developments.
The jetliner, an Airbus A340-600, left London Heathrow Airport at 3:59 a.m. ET as Flight 45 with 273 passengers and 16 crew, the airline said.
�The transponder sent out a false alert,� said Virgin Atlantic spokeswoman Brooke Lawer.
Lawer said the airline was in contact with the captain and the flight crew, who said the flight deck door was locked and secured.
The airliner landed safely at 11 a.m. ET and was met by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and Canadian Border Service Agency, according to Homeland Security Department spokeswoman Katie Montgomery.
The airline issued a statement saying it is investigating the technical reason for the false alarm and that passengers have been informed of developments.
The jetliner, an Airbus A340-600, left London Heathrow Airport at 3:59 a.m. ET as Flight 45 with 273 passengers and 16 crew, the airline said.
�The transponder sent out a false alert,� said Virgin Atlantic spokeswoman Brooke Lawer.
Lawer said the airline was in contact with the captain and the flight crew, who said the flight deck door was locked and secured.
Support for teacher in toe-licking case
Some Carroll County parents Thursday voiced support for a local teacher accused of having inappropriate physical contact with a 10-year-old student.
Denise Strozier has accused Jodi Kilpatrick, a teacher at Temple Elementary School, of forcing her son into a bizarre confrontation with her at school and forcing him to lick her toes in front of more than a dozen other children in exchange for candy.
Strozier says the teacher then openly joked about it at school and in a note she wrote in her son�s yearbook.
Nicole Stephens, whose daughter was one of Kilpatrick�s students, said the incident didn�t elicit much reaction at the school when it first happened.
�[My daughter] heard about it in the lunchroom with the other kids, but nobody seemed to be upset about it -- none of the kids, the kid that did it, didn't seem to be upset. So, that's where it ended,� Stephens said.
The parents that 11Alive News spoke with said they do not know exactly what happened that day between Kilpatrick and the 10-year-old, but said Strozier's accusation was likely the result of a misunderstanding.
�Well, my first reaction was nothing inappropriate happened because that's just not Jodi,� said Jennifer Foster.
�I was just so sad to see this happen to her, because it's just not who she is,� said Jennifer Applegate. �She's just the kind of teacher that you would want your child to be in her class.
Dina Shumake said the accusation could scare teachers away from befriending their students.
�Jodi's there for them, and now, you know, what is this telling our teachers -- you can't even get close to them,� Shumake said.
�They just aren't going to know what's appropriate and what's not, and it's going to scare them into thinking that any little thing could be misconstrued,� Applegate said.
The Georgia Professional Standards Commission, which oversees teacher certification, has no record of any complaints or actions against Kilpatrick.
The Carroll County superintendent's office is not saying when the school board will decide to punish her, or clear her, in this case.
Kilpatrick could lose her job, but she is not facing any criminal charges.
Denise Strozier has accused Jodi Kilpatrick, a teacher at Temple Elementary School, of forcing her son into a bizarre confrontation with her at school and forcing him to lick her toes in front of more than a dozen other children in exchange for candy.
Strozier says the teacher then openly joked about it at school and in a note she wrote in her son�s yearbook.
Nicole Stephens, whose daughter was one of Kilpatrick�s students, said the incident didn�t elicit much reaction at the school when it first happened.
�[My daughter] heard about it in the lunchroom with the other kids, but nobody seemed to be upset about it -- none of the kids, the kid that did it, didn't seem to be upset. So, that's where it ended,� Stephens said.
The parents that 11Alive News spoke with said they do not know exactly what happened that day between Kilpatrick and the 10-year-old, but said Strozier's accusation was likely the result of a misunderstanding.
�Well, my first reaction was nothing inappropriate happened because that's just not Jodi,� said Jennifer Foster.
�I was just so sad to see this happen to her, because it's just not who she is,� said Jennifer Applegate. �She's just the kind of teacher that you would want your child to be in her class.
Dina Shumake said the accusation could scare teachers away from befriending their students.
�Jodi's there for them, and now, you know, what is this telling our teachers -- you can't even get close to them,� Shumake said.
�They just aren't going to know what's appropriate and what's not, and it's going to scare them into thinking that any little thing could be misconstrued,� Applegate said.
The Georgia Professional Standards Commission, which oversees teacher certification, has no record of any complaints or actions against Kilpatrick.
The Carroll County superintendent's office is not saying when the school board will decide to punish her, or clear her, in this case.
Kilpatrick could lose her job, but she is not facing any criminal charges.
Video shows missile hitting Hamas terrorists
IDF releases video (see it here!) of missile hitting Hamas terrorists who fired mortar shells at Israeli settlements Wednesday; Meanwhile, mortar barrage in Gaza Strip continues, Karni crossing, army base targeted
The video features several small explosions, marking the mortar shells fired by the terrorists, followed by a large blast, marking the impact of the missile fired at the terror cell.
According to Palestinian sources, the aircraft used by the IDF to fire the missile was a pilotless drone, but the Air Force has not confirmed the reports.
One of the Hamas terrorists involved in the incident, Ahmed Shauan, sustained critical injuries and later died of his wounds.
The video features several small explosions, marking the mortar shells fired by the terrorists, followed by a large blast, marking the impact of the missile fired at the terror cell.
According to Palestinian sources, the aircraft used by the IDF to fire the missile was a pilotless drone, but the Air Force has not confirmed the reports.
One of the Hamas terrorists involved in the incident, Ahmed Shauan, sustained critical injuries and later died of his wounds.
Thursday, June 02, 2005
10-year-old forced to lick teacher's toes
No sexual gratification, so no criminal charges yet
A 10-year-old Atlanta-area boy was forced to kiss and lick his teacher's toes.
And though the teacher, Jody Kilpatrick of Temple Elementary School in Carroll County, has apologized for the incident, a preliminary investigation found no criminal intent since she apparently received no sexual gratification from the physical contact.
The child told investigators his classmates physically restrained him and forced him to kiss his teacher�s feet � and the teacher went along with the abuse.
"Ms. Kilpatrick asked [my son], did he want to see her toes, and he was, like, okay, I'll look at your toes," explained Denise Strozier, the boy's mother. "So, a student that was his friend and another student took his hands and put them down, behind his back, and she stood there and allowed these children to push my son to the ground, and he licked her toes. And she gave him candy."
Later, the teacher, as well as one of the students, signed the child's yearbook, with messages openly joking about what happened that day.
Chief Deputy Brad Robinson told a local TV news crew that investigators have concluded, preliminarily, that the teacher's intent was not criminal because there is no evidence she sought to derive any sexual gratification, which he said is key to prosecutors seeking to prove wrongdoing in cases involving physical contact between teachers and children.
But Strozier wants the teacher fired.
"Outrage doesn�t begin to describe how I feel right now," she said. "It�s like a game to her. It�s a joke to her."
Robinson believes Strozier's complaint is an issue for the school board to address rather than the sheriff's office.
The Carroll County school superintendent�s office is investigating, and declined to comment.
The Georgia Professional Standards Commission's code of ethics for teachers states "An educator should demonstrate conduct that follows generally recognized professional standards." Unethical conduct includes "committing any act of child abuse" and "encouraging an inappropriate physical relationship."
"I don't know what to say. I'm just literally dumb-founded that this has happened in my son's school," Strozier said.
The Carroll County district attorney�s office will make the final decision on whether to indict the teacher later this month. The school board will decide whether to discipline her.
A 10-year-old Atlanta-area boy was forced to kiss and lick his teacher's toes.
And though the teacher, Jody Kilpatrick of Temple Elementary School in Carroll County, has apologized for the incident, a preliminary investigation found no criminal intent since she apparently received no sexual gratification from the physical contact.
The child told investigators his classmates physically restrained him and forced him to kiss his teacher�s feet � and the teacher went along with the abuse.
"Ms. Kilpatrick asked [my son], did he want to see her toes, and he was, like, okay, I'll look at your toes," explained Denise Strozier, the boy's mother. "So, a student that was his friend and another student took his hands and put them down, behind his back, and she stood there and allowed these children to push my son to the ground, and he licked her toes. And she gave him candy."
Later, the teacher, as well as one of the students, signed the child's yearbook, with messages openly joking about what happened that day.
Chief Deputy Brad Robinson told a local TV news crew that investigators have concluded, preliminarily, that the teacher's intent was not criminal because there is no evidence she sought to derive any sexual gratification, which he said is key to prosecutors seeking to prove wrongdoing in cases involving physical contact between teachers and children.
But Strozier wants the teacher fired.
"Outrage doesn�t begin to describe how I feel right now," she said. "It�s like a game to her. It�s a joke to her."
Robinson believes Strozier's complaint is an issue for the school board to address rather than the sheriff's office.
The Carroll County school superintendent�s office is investigating, and declined to comment.
The Georgia Professional Standards Commission's code of ethics for teachers states "An educator should demonstrate conduct that follows generally recognized professional standards." Unethical conduct includes "committing any act of child abuse" and "encouraging an inappropriate physical relationship."
"I don't know what to say. I'm just literally dumb-founded that this has happened in my son's school," Strozier said.
The Carroll County district attorney�s office will make the final decision on whether to indict the teacher later this month. The school board will decide whether to discipline her.
Runaway Bride Pleads No Contest to Felony
With her once-jilted fiance at her side, runaway bride Jennifer Wilbanks pleaded no contest Thursday to a felony charge and wept as she was sentenced to probation, community service and a fine.
"I'm truly sorry for my actions and I just want to thank Gwinnett County and the city of Duluth," a crying Wilbanks told the judge as she pleaded to a charge of making a false statement.
She was sentenced to two years of probation and 120 hours of community service. The judge also ordered her to continue mental health treatment and pay the sheriff's office $2,550.
If she successfully completes her probation, the felony will be erased from her record, Gwinnett County District Attorney Danny Porter said.
Wilbanks, whose disappearance before her wedding in April created a nationwide sensation, was wearing a black outfit and running shoes as she arrived at the Gwinnett County courthouse Thursday to make her plea. Her fiance John Mason, whom she was to have married April 30 in a lavish ceremony, was by her side.
Wilbanks was indicted last week on charges of making a false statement and making a false police report. She could have faced up to six years in prison and $11,000 in fines if convicted of both charges. The misdemeanor false report charge was dropped as part of her plea deal.
Wilbanks also could also have been ordered to reimburse authorities for the cost of the search, which has been tallied at more than $50,000. She's already agreed to pay part of the tab: On Tuesday, she said she would pay $13,250 to the city of Duluth, Ga., to help offset the overtime costs the city incurred searching for her.
"She's done everything that we would ask of her," Wilbanks' attorney, Lydia Sartain, said Thursday morning before sentencing. "She has accepted responsibility."
Wilbanks, a nurse, disappeared from her Duluth home on April 26, four days before she was to have been married at a high-profile ceremony with 600 guests and 28 attendants. She took a bus to Las Vegas and then Albuquerque, N.M.
She initially claimed she was abducted and sexually assaulted, but later recanted and said she fled because of unspecified personal issues days before the wedding. The false statement charge under which she was sentenced stemmed from a phone call she made relaying the abduction and assault allegations from New Mexico to Georgia.
Family members say she has been receiving psychiatric treatment at an unspecified facility.
"I'm truly sorry for my actions and I just want to thank Gwinnett County and the city of Duluth," a crying Wilbanks told the judge as she pleaded to a charge of making a false statement.
She was sentenced to two years of probation and 120 hours of community service. The judge also ordered her to continue mental health treatment and pay the sheriff's office $2,550.
If she successfully completes her probation, the felony will be erased from her record, Gwinnett County District Attorney Danny Porter said.
Wilbanks, whose disappearance before her wedding in April created a nationwide sensation, was wearing a black outfit and running shoes as she arrived at the Gwinnett County courthouse Thursday to make her plea. Her fiance John Mason, whom she was to have married April 30 in a lavish ceremony, was by her side.
Wilbanks was indicted last week on charges of making a false statement and making a false police report. She could have faced up to six years in prison and $11,000 in fines if convicted of both charges. The misdemeanor false report charge was dropped as part of her plea deal.
Wilbanks also could also have been ordered to reimburse authorities for the cost of the search, which has been tallied at more than $50,000. She's already agreed to pay part of the tab: On Tuesday, she said she would pay $13,250 to the city of Duluth, Ga., to help offset the overtime costs the city incurred searching for her.
"She's done everything that we would ask of her," Wilbanks' attorney, Lydia Sartain, said Thursday morning before sentencing. "She has accepted responsibility."
Wilbanks, a nurse, disappeared from her Duluth home on April 26, four days before she was to have been married at a high-profile ceremony with 600 guests and 28 attendants. She took a bus to Las Vegas and then Albuquerque, N.M.
She initially claimed she was abducted and sexually assaulted, but later recanted and said she fled because of unspecified personal issues days before the wedding. The false statement charge under which she was sentenced stemmed from a phone call she made relaying the abduction and assault allegations from New Mexico to Georgia.
Family members say she has been receiving psychiatric treatment at an unspecified facility.
Amnesty defends 'gulag,' urges Guantanamo access
Human rights group Amnesty defended its description of Guantanamo prison as a "gulag" Thursday and urged the United States to allow independent investigations of allegations of torture at its detention centers for terrorism suspects.
A verbal feud between Amnesty International and Washington has escalated since Amnesty last week compared the prison at the U.S. naval base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, to the brutal Soviet system of forced labor camps where millions of prisoners died.
Story Tools
More Wire Service Stories
Breaking News
Business
Entertainment
Politics
Science
Sports
Technology
World
President Bush dismissed as "absurd" the Amnesty report, which also said the United States was responsible for an upsurge in global human rights violations, and Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld called the description "reprehensible."
"The administration's response has been that our report is absurd, that our allegations have no basis, and our answer is very simple: if that is so, open up these detention centers, allow us and others to visit them," Amnesty International Secretary General Irene Zubaida Khan told a news conference.
"Transparency is the best antidote to misinformation and incorrect facts," said Khan, who is here to meet with Japanese officials.
The United States holds about 520 men at Guantanamo, where they are denied rights accorded under international law to prisoners of war.
Many have been held without charge for more than three years.
Khan rejected a suggestion that Amnesty's use of the emotive term "gulag" had turned the debate into one over semantics, and distracted attention from the situation in the detention centers.
"What we wanted to do was to send a strong message that ... this sort of network of detention centers that has been created as part of this war on terrorism is actually undermining human rights in a dramatic way which can only evoke some of the worst features of human rights scandals of the past," she said.
"I don't think people have got off the hook yet."
Khan also said Japan's bid for a permanent seat on the U.N. Security Council meant Tokyo should play a bigger role in the global fight for human rights and improve its own record at home.
Japan has stepped up its campaign for a permanent seat as part of an effort to boost its global clout in security affairs.
"Japan, by its strong bid to become a U.N. Security Council member, is subjecting itself to greater international scrutiny and that creates an imperative for change," she said.
Khan urged Japan to abolish the death penalty, improve the treatment of prisoners, revise a strict stance toward refugees -- only 15 refugees were accepted last year -- and do more to prevent and protect victims of human trafficking.
A verbal feud between Amnesty International and Washington has escalated since Amnesty last week compared the prison at the U.S. naval base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, to the brutal Soviet system of forced labor camps where millions of prisoners died.
Story Tools
More Wire Service Stories
Breaking News
Business
Entertainment
Politics
Science
Sports
Technology
World
President Bush dismissed as "absurd" the Amnesty report, which also said the United States was responsible for an upsurge in global human rights violations, and Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld called the description "reprehensible."
"The administration's response has been that our report is absurd, that our allegations have no basis, and our answer is very simple: if that is so, open up these detention centers, allow us and others to visit them," Amnesty International Secretary General Irene Zubaida Khan told a news conference.
"Transparency is the best antidote to misinformation and incorrect facts," said Khan, who is here to meet with Japanese officials.
The United States holds about 520 men at Guantanamo, where they are denied rights accorded under international law to prisoners of war.
Many have been held without charge for more than three years.
Khan rejected a suggestion that Amnesty's use of the emotive term "gulag" had turned the debate into one over semantics, and distracted attention from the situation in the detention centers.
"What we wanted to do was to send a strong message that ... this sort of network of detention centers that has been created as part of this war on terrorism is actually undermining human rights in a dramatic way which can only evoke some of the worst features of human rights scandals of the past," she said.
"I don't think people have got off the hook yet."
Khan also said Japan's bid for a permanent seat on the U.N. Security Council meant Tokyo should play a bigger role in the global fight for human rights and improve its own record at home.
Japan has stepped up its campaign for a permanent seat as part of an effort to boost its global clout in security affairs.
"Japan, by its strong bid to become a U.N. Security Council member, is subjecting itself to greater international scrutiny and that creates an imperative for change," she said.
Khan urged Japan to abolish the death penalty, improve the treatment of prisoners, revise a strict stance toward refugees -- only 15 refugees were accepted last year -- and do more to prevent and protect victims of human trafficking.
Amnesty leadership aided Kerry
The top leadership of Amnesty International USA, which unleashed a blistering attack last week on the Bush administration's handling of war detainees, contributed the maximum $2,000 to Sen. John Kerry's presidential campaign.
Federal Election Commission records show that William F. Schulz, executive director of Amnesty USA, contributed $2,000 to Mr. Kerry's campaign last year. Mr. Schulz also has contributed $1,000 to the 2006 campaign of Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, Massachusetts Democrat.
Also, Joe W. "Chip" Pitts III, board chairman of Amnesty International USA, gave the maximum $2,000 allowed by federal law to John Kerry for President. Mr. Pitts is a lawyer and entrepreneur who advises the American Civil Liberties Union.
Amnesty USA yesterday told The Washington Times that staff members make policy based on laws governing human rights, pointing out that the organization had criticized some of President Clinton's policies.
"We strive to do everything humanly possible to see that the personal political perspectives of our leadership have no bearing whatsoever upon the nature of our findings and the conduct of our work," a spokesman said.
Amnesty International describes itself as nonpartisan. Disclosure of the leadership's political leanings came yesterday as the Bush administration continued to lash out at the human rights group for remarks last week by Irene Khan, Amnesty's secretary-general.
Mrs. Khan compared the U.S. detention center at U.S. Naval Base Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, where more than 500 suspected al Qaeda and Taliban members are held, to Soviet dictator Josef Stalin's "gulag" prison system.
At the same time, Mr. Schulz issued a statement calling Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld and other top administration officials "architects of torture." Mr. Schulz suggested that other countries could file war-crime charges against the top officials and arrest them.
Since Sunday, Air Force Gen. Richard B. Myers, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff; Vice President Dick Cheney; and President Bush have accused Amnesty International of irresponsible criticism.
Yesterday, it was Mr. Rumsfeld's turn.
"No force in the world has done more to liberate people that they have never met than the men and women of the United States military," Mr. Rumsfeld said at the Pentagon press conference. "That's why the recent allegation that the U.S. military is running a gulag at Guantanamo Bay is so reprehensible. Most would define a gulag as where the Soviet Union kept millions in forced labor concentration camps. ... To compare the United States and Guantanamo Bay to such atrocities cannot be excused."
Amnesty International has hit the White House for refusing to treat suspected al Qaeda and Taliban terrorists as prisoners of war subject to the Geneva Conventions; for abuses at Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq; and for a list of largely unsubstantiated complaints from detainees at Guantanamo.
Mr. Rumsfeld said "at least a dozen" of the 200 detainees released from Guantanamo "have already been caught back on the battlefield, involved in efforts to kidnap and kill Americans."
Mr. Schulz posted a statement yesterday on Amnesty's Web site (www.amnesty.org) that said, in part, "Donald Rumsfeld and the Bush administration ignored or dismissed Amnesty International's reports on the abuse of detainees for years, and senior officials continue to ignore the very real plight of men detained without charge or trial."
Amnesty International's Web site states it is "independent of any government, political ideology, economic interest or religion. It does not support or oppose any government."
Federal Election Commission records show that William F. Schulz, executive director of Amnesty USA, contributed $2,000 to Mr. Kerry's campaign last year. Mr. Schulz also has contributed $1,000 to the 2006 campaign of Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, Massachusetts Democrat.
Also, Joe W. "Chip" Pitts III, board chairman of Amnesty International USA, gave the maximum $2,000 allowed by federal law to John Kerry for President. Mr. Pitts is a lawyer and entrepreneur who advises the American Civil Liberties Union.
Amnesty USA yesterday told The Washington Times that staff members make policy based on laws governing human rights, pointing out that the organization had criticized some of President Clinton's policies.
"We strive to do everything humanly possible to see that the personal political perspectives of our leadership have no bearing whatsoever upon the nature of our findings and the conduct of our work," a spokesman said.
Amnesty International describes itself as nonpartisan. Disclosure of the leadership's political leanings came yesterday as the Bush administration continued to lash out at the human rights group for remarks last week by Irene Khan, Amnesty's secretary-general.
Mrs. Khan compared the U.S. detention center at U.S. Naval Base Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, where more than 500 suspected al Qaeda and Taliban members are held, to Soviet dictator Josef Stalin's "gulag" prison system.
At the same time, Mr. Schulz issued a statement calling Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld and other top administration officials "architects of torture." Mr. Schulz suggested that other countries could file war-crime charges against the top officials and arrest them.
Since Sunday, Air Force Gen. Richard B. Myers, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff; Vice President Dick Cheney; and President Bush have accused Amnesty International of irresponsible criticism.
Yesterday, it was Mr. Rumsfeld's turn.
"No force in the world has done more to liberate people that they have never met than the men and women of the United States military," Mr. Rumsfeld said at the Pentagon press conference. "That's why the recent allegation that the U.S. military is running a gulag at Guantanamo Bay is so reprehensible. Most would define a gulag as where the Soviet Union kept millions in forced labor concentration camps. ... To compare the United States and Guantanamo Bay to such atrocities cannot be excused."
Amnesty International has hit the White House for refusing to treat suspected al Qaeda and Taliban terrorists as prisoners of war subject to the Geneva Conventions; for abuses at Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq; and for a list of largely unsubstantiated complaints from detainees at Guantanamo.
Mr. Rumsfeld said "at least a dozen" of the 200 detainees released from Guantanamo "have already been caught back on the battlefield, involved in efforts to kidnap and kill Americans."
Mr. Schulz posted a statement yesterday on Amnesty's Web site (www.amnesty.org) that said, in part, "Donald Rumsfeld and the Bush administration ignored or dismissed Amnesty International's reports on the abuse of detainees for years, and senior officials continue to ignore the very real plight of men detained without charge or trial."
Amnesty International's Web site states it is "independent of any government, political ideology, economic interest or religion. It does not support or oppose any government."
Poll: 39% view high court favorably
By comparison, 67% have positive opinion of military
About 39 percent of Americans have a favorable opinion of the Supreme Court, according to a new poll.
By comparison, about 67 percent view the U.S. military favorably and 38 percent have a favorable opinion of Sen. Hillary Clinton, according to Rasmussen Reports, which conducted the surveys.
The poll on the high court found 33 percent have an unfavorable opinion.
Rasmussen said the results were similar to a poll five years ago that found 35 percent agreed with most Supreme Court decisions while 30 percent disagreed.
The pollster noted cultural issues, often decided by Supreme Court rulings, were the most important issue for 10 percent of voters on Election Day last fall. These voters overwhelmingly supported President Bush.
A March 2005 survey found that 28 percent believe the high court is too liberal and 24 percent say it is too conservative. A separate survey found that 31 percent believe most judges are too liberal and 19 percent believe they are too conservative.
In the lastest poll, Rasmussen found that favorable views of the Supreme Court are held by 42 percent of Republicans, 37 percent of Democrats and 38 percent of those not affiliated with either major party.
Among men, the Court is viewed favorably by 44 percent and unfavorably by 36 percent. Among women, the numbers are 34 percent favorable and 31 percent unfavorable.
Broken down by generation, those aged 30-49 view the court most favorably and those 50 and above have the least favorable opinion.
The July 2000 survey found that solid majorities supported Court rulings upholding Miranda rights, allowing Elian Gonzales to return to Cuba and a decision allowing the Boy Scouts of America to ban gays from adult membership.
The public was evenly divided on a June 2000 Court ruling on partial birth abortion and opposed to a ruling banning prayer before high school football games in Texas.
At that time, 44 percent of Americans believed the Supreme Court was too hostile to religion while 7 percent said it was too friendly.
An Election 2004 survey found that voters believed the Massachusetts Supreme Court exceeded its authority by mandating same-sex marriages.
About 39 percent of Americans have a favorable opinion of the Supreme Court, according to a new poll.
By comparison, about 67 percent view the U.S. military favorably and 38 percent have a favorable opinion of Sen. Hillary Clinton, according to Rasmussen Reports, which conducted the surveys.
The poll on the high court found 33 percent have an unfavorable opinion.
Rasmussen said the results were similar to a poll five years ago that found 35 percent agreed with most Supreme Court decisions while 30 percent disagreed.
The pollster noted cultural issues, often decided by Supreme Court rulings, were the most important issue for 10 percent of voters on Election Day last fall. These voters overwhelmingly supported President Bush.
A March 2005 survey found that 28 percent believe the high court is too liberal and 24 percent say it is too conservative. A separate survey found that 31 percent believe most judges are too liberal and 19 percent believe they are too conservative.
In the lastest poll, Rasmussen found that favorable views of the Supreme Court are held by 42 percent of Republicans, 37 percent of Democrats and 38 percent of those not affiliated with either major party.
Among men, the Court is viewed favorably by 44 percent and unfavorably by 36 percent. Among women, the numbers are 34 percent favorable and 31 percent unfavorable.
Broken down by generation, those aged 30-49 view the court most favorably and those 50 and above have the least favorable opinion.
The July 2000 survey found that solid majorities supported Court rulings upholding Miranda rights, allowing Elian Gonzales to return to Cuba and a decision allowing the Boy Scouts of America to ban gays from adult membership.
The public was evenly divided on a June 2000 Court ruling on partial birth abortion and opposed to a ruling banning prayer before high school football games in Texas.
At that time, 44 percent of Americans believed the Supreme Court was too hostile to religion while 7 percent said it was too friendly.
An Election 2004 survey found that voters believed the Massachusetts Supreme Court exceeded its authority by mandating same-sex marriages.
Productivity Increase Beats Estimates
Productivity rose at an annual rate of 2.9 percent in the first three months of this year, but that was accompanied by a jump over the past six months in unit labor costs, a key factor that determines future rates of inflation.
The Labor Department reported Thursday that the January-March increase in productivity, the amount of output per hour of work, was up from an initial estimate last month of a 2.6 percent. This reflected the fact that overall output, the nation's gross dometic product, was revised up to 3.5 percent from an original estimate of 3.1 percent. The costs of producing each unit of output jumped by 3.3 percent in the first three months of the year after surging by a revised 7.7 percent in the final three months of 2004, which was the biggest quarterly jump in more than four years. Federal Reserve policymakers closely track unit labor costs for signs of growing inflation pressures.
Separately, the Labor Department reported that the number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits shot up by 25,000 last week, the biggest weekly increase in 14 months. Labor Department analysts blamed the increase, which pushed total claims to 350,000 last week, on temporary layoffs in the auto industry.
The jump, the biggest one-week gain since a rise of 27,000 in late January 2004, caught private economists by surprise. They had been forecasting that claims applications would remain basically unchanged from the 325,000 of the previous week.
The increase pushed total claims to the highest level in two months while the four-week moving average edged up to 334,500, the highest level since early April.
Still, economists said the labor market is continuing to show gradual improvement.
They believe the unemployment rate remained steady at 5.2 percvent in May as the nation's businesses created 180,000 new jobs. The government will release its estimates for employment last month on Friday.
The department's new report on productivity and unit labor costs reflected major alterations to previous data which had showed unit labor costs rising at a much more measured pace.
The 7.7 percent jump in labor costs in the fourth quarter was the fastest quarterly gain since an 8.9 percent surge in the third quarter of 2000. It had earlier been reported as a much more modest 1.7 percent increase.
Labor Department analysts said the sharp upward revision occurred because of revised source data.
The third quarter performance of unit labor costs was revised to show a gain of 4.5 percent while the second quarter gain last year was changed to an increase of 1.8 percent.
The increases were all above the small 0.8 percent rise for all of 2004 and the actual decline of 0.3 percent in unit labor costs in 2003.
The upward revisions were certain to prompt the Federal Reserve to examine whether the economic recovery from the 2001 recession was beginning to trigger higher wage pressures that could spur unwanted inflation.
The Fed has been increasing a key interest rate by gradual quarter-point moves over the past year and has so far pledged to keep moving at a moderate pace because of officials' belief that inflation pressures outside of energy have remained well contained.
The Labor Department reported Thursday that the January-March increase in productivity, the amount of output per hour of work, was up from an initial estimate last month of a 2.6 percent. This reflected the fact that overall output, the nation's gross dometic product, was revised up to 3.5 percent from an original estimate of 3.1 percent. The costs of producing each unit of output jumped by 3.3 percent in the first three months of the year after surging by a revised 7.7 percent in the final three months of 2004, which was the biggest quarterly jump in more than four years. Federal Reserve policymakers closely track unit labor costs for signs of growing inflation pressures.
Separately, the Labor Department reported that the number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits shot up by 25,000 last week, the biggest weekly increase in 14 months. Labor Department analysts blamed the increase, which pushed total claims to 350,000 last week, on temporary layoffs in the auto industry.
The jump, the biggest one-week gain since a rise of 27,000 in late January 2004, caught private economists by surprise. They had been forecasting that claims applications would remain basically unchanged from the 325,000 of the previous week.
The increase pushed total claims to the highest level in two months while the four-week moving average edged up to 334,500, the highest level since early April.
Still, economists said the labor market is continuing to show gradual improvement.
They believe the unemployment rate remained steady at 5.2 percvent in May as the nation's businesses created 180,000 new jobs. The government will release its estimates for employment last month on Friday.
The department's new report on productivity and unit labor costs reflected major alterations to previous data which had showed unit labor costs rising at a much more measured pace.
The 7.7 percent jump in labor costs in the fourth quarter was the fastest quarterly gain since an 8.9 percent surge in the third quarter of 2000. It had earlier been reported as a much more modest 1.7 percent increase.
Labor Department analysts said the sharp upward revision occurred because of revised source data.
The third quarter performance of unit labor costs was revised to show a gain of 4.5 percent while the second quarter gain last year was changed to an increase of 1.8 percent.
The increases were all above the small 0.8 percent rise for all of 2004 and the actual decline of 0.3 percent in unit labor costs in 2003.
The upward revisions were certain to prompt the Federal Reserve to examine whether the economic recovery from the 2001 recession was beginning to trigger higher wage pressures that could spur unwanted inflation.
The Fed has been increasing a key interest rate by gradual quarter-point moves over the past year and has so far pledged to keep moving at a moderate pace because of officials' belief that inflation pressures outside of energy have remained well contained.
Nation's Retailers Report Solid May Sales
The nation's retailers turned in a solid performance during May, overcoming the effects of an unusually cold spring. As serchants began reporting their sales results on Thursday, the big winners were luxury stores such as Nordstrom Inc. and teen retailers like Bebe Stores Inc. Wal-Mart Stores Inc., the world's largest retailer, reported sales that matched analysts' modest estimates.
"I am looking at more positives than negatives right now," said Gint Rimas, analyst at Thomson Financial. Wal-Mart said its sales at stores open at least a year, known as same-store sales, rose 2.5 percent. Wall Street analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial had forecast a 2.5 percent gain.
Costco Wholesale Corp. had a 5 percent increase in same-store sales, better than the 4.4 percent Wall Street estimate. Total sales rose 8 percent.
ShopKo Stores Inc. had a 7.2 percent decline in same-store sales, worse than the 2.8 percent projection. Total sales fell 6.7 percent.
Limited Brands Inc. had a 1 percent decrease in same-store sales, better than the 2.7 percent decline Wall Street expected. Total sales rose 4.9 percent.
Talbots Inc. had a 4.1 percent gain in same-store sales, better than the 3.4 percent estimate. Total sales rose 11 percent.
Bebe's same-store sales soared 40.3 percent, much higher than the 24 percent increase forecast. Total sales rose 54.5 percent.
Nordstrom had a 7.4 percent gain in same-store sales for the month, exceeding the 4.0 percent estimate. Total sales rose 9.3 percent.
On Wednesday, Neiman Marcus Group Inc. said its same-store sales rose 11 percent, surpassing the 6.2 percent analyst forecast. Total sales rose 10.2 percent.
On Tuesday, Kohl's Corp. said same-store sales edged up 0.2 percent, better than the 0.8 percent decline Wall Street projected. Total sales rose 10.2 percent.
"I am looking at more positives than negatives right now," said Gint Rimas, analyst at Thomson Financial. Wal-Mart said its sales at stores open at least a year, known as same-store sales, rose 2.5 percent. Wall Street analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial had forecast a 2.5 percent gain.
Costco Wholesale Corp. had a 5 percent increase in same-store sales, better than the 4.4 percent Wall Street estimate. Total sales rose 8 percent.
ShopKo Stores Inc. had a 7.2 percent decline in same-store sales, worse than the 2.8 percent projection. Total sales fell 6.7 percent.
Limited Brands Inc. had a 1 percent decrease in same-store sales, better than the 2.7 percent decline Wall Street expected. Total sales rose 4.9 percent.
Talbots Inc. had a 4.1 percent gain in same-store sales, better than the 3.4 percent estimate. Total sales rose 11 percent.
Bebe's same-store sales soared 40.3 percent, much higher than the 24 percent increase forecast. Total sales rose 54.5 percent.
Nordstrom had a 7.4 percent gain in same-store sales for the month, exceeding the 4.0 percent estimate. Total sales rose 9.3 percent.
On Wednesday, Neiman Marcus Group Inc. said its same-store sales rose 11 percent, surpassing the 6.2 percent analyst forecast. Total sales rose 10.2 percent.
On Tuesday, Kohl's Corp. said same-store sales edged up 0.2 percent, better than the 0.8 percent decline Wall Street projected. Total sales rose 10.2 percent.
Factory Orders at Five-Month High
Orders to U.S. factories advanced in April at the fastest clip in five months while productivity rose at an annual rate of 2.9 percent in the first three months of this year, better than first thought. But labor costs, a key factor influencing future inflation rates, rose sharply over the past six months.
The Commerce Department said Thursday that factory orders rose by 0.9 percent in April as demand for durable goods posted a solid 1.9 perent gain, the first increase in four months, led by strength in demand for autos and aircraft. This strength offset a 0.2 percent decline in orders for non-durable goods, items not expected to last three years. Meanwhile, the Labor Department reported that productivity went up at an annual rate of 2.9 percent in the quarter after surging a revised 7.7 percent in the final three months of 2004, gains certain to raise concerns at the Federal Reserve about inflationary pressures.
In a third report, the Labor Department said the number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits shot up by 25,000 last week, the biggest weekly increase in 14 months. Labor Department analysts blamed the increase, which pushed total claims to 350,000 last week, on temporary layoffs in the auto industry.
The jump, the biggest one-week gain since a rise of 27,000 in late January 2004, caught private economists by surprise. They had been forecasting that claims applications would remain basically unchanged from the 325,000 of the previous week.
Still, economists said the labor market is continuing to show gradual improvement. They believe the unemployment rate remained steady at 5.2 percvent in May as the nation's businesses created 180,000 new jobs. The government will release its estimates for employment last month on Friday.
The report on factory orders showed no change from in the overall increase for durable goods from an original estimate last week of a rise of 1.9 percent. The 0.2 percent drop in non-durable goods followed a huge 3 percent rise in March and a 1 percent decline in February.
The government's new report on productivity and unit labor costs reflected major alterations to previous data which had showed unit labor costs rising at a much more measured pace.
The 7.7 percent jump in labor costs in the fourth quarter was the fastest quarterly gain since an 8.9 percent surge in the third quarter of 2000. It had earlier been reported as a much more modest 1.7 percent increase.
Labor Department analysts said the sharp upward revision occurred because of revised source data.
The third quarter performance of unit labor costs was revised to show a gain of 4.5 percent while the second quarter gain last year was changed to an increase of 1.8 percent.
The increases were all above the small 0.8 percent rise for all of 2004 and the actual decline of 0.3 percent in unit labor costs in 2003.
The upward revisions were certain to prompt the Federal Reserve to examine whether the economic recovery from the 2001 recession was beginning to trigger higher wage pressures that could spur unwanted inflation.
The Fed has been increasing a key interest rate by gradual quarter-point moves over the past year and has so far pledged to keep moving at a moderate pace because of officials' belief that inflation pressures outside of energy have remained well contained.
The Commerce Department said Thursday that factory orders rose by 0.9 percent in April as demand for durable goods posted a solid 1.9 perent gain, the first increase in four months, led by strength in demand for autos and aircraft. This strength offset a 0.2 percent decline in orders for non-durable goods, items not expected to last three years. Meanwhile, the Labor Department reported that productivity went up at an annual rate of 2.9 percent in the quarter after surging a revised 7.7 percent in the final three months of 2004, gains certain to raise concerns at the Federal Reserve about inflationary pressures.
In a third report, the Labor Department said the number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits shot up by 25,000 last week, the biggest weekly increase in 14 months. Labor Department analysts blamed the increase, which pushed total claims to 350,000 last week, on temporary layoffs in the auto industry.
The jump, the biggest one-week gain since a rise of 27,000 in late January 2004, caught private economists by surprise. They had been forecasting that claims applications would remain basically unchanged from the 325,000 of the previous week.
Still, economists said the labor market is continuing to show gradual improvement. They believe the unemployment rate remained steady at 5.2 percvent in May as the nation's businesses created 180,000 new jobs. The government will release its estimates for employment last month on Friday.
The report on factory orders showed no change from in the overall increase for durable goods from an original estimate last week of a rise of 1.9 percent. The 0.2 percent drop in non-durable goods followed a huge 3 percent rise in March and a 1 percent decline in February.
The government's new report on productivity and unit labor costs reflected major alterations to previous data which had showed unit labor costs rising at a much more measured pace.
The 7.7 percent jump in labor costs in the fourth quarter was the fastest quarterly gain since an 8.9 percent surge in the third quarter of 2000. It had earlier been reported as a much more modest 1.7 percent increase.
Labor Department analysts said the sharp upward revision occurred because of revised source data.
The third quarter performance of unit labor costs was revised to show a gain of 4.5 percent while the second quarter gain last year was changed to an increase of 1.8 percent.
The increases were all above the small 0.8 percent rise for all of 2004 and the actual decline of 0.3 percent in unit labor costs in 2003.
The upward revisions were certain to prompt the Federal Reserve to examine whether the economic recovery from the 2001 recession was beginning to trigger higher wage pressures that could spur unwanted inflation.
The Fed has been increasing a key interest rate by gradual quarter-point moves over the past year and has so far pledged to keep moving at a moderate pace because of officials' belief that inflation pressures outside of energy have remained well contained.
Amnesty Chief Seeks Guantanamo Inspection
The United States should open its detention centers at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and elsewhere to human rights investigators if it wants to dispute allegations of abuse, the head of Amnesty International said in Tokyo on Thursday.
The group released a report last week comparing the camps to Soviet-era gulags, and urged Washington to close down Guantanamo Bay, where some 540 men accused of links to Afghanistan's ousted Taliban and the al-Qaida terror network are held. President Bush dismissed the comparison to gulags as "absurd." But Irene Khan, secretary-general of the London-based human rights group, challenged Washington to prove its case by opening the camps to outside scrutiny.
"Our answer is very simple ... open up the detention centers, allow us and others to visit them," she told reporters. "Transparency is the best antidote to misinformation or incorrect facts."
Khan also defended the organization's choice of the word "gulag."
"We wanted to send a strong message that ... (the detention centers) are actually undermining human rights in a very dramatic way," she said.
There has been widespread criticism of the Guantanamo Bay operation, which began in January 2002 with the arrival of prisoners captured on the battlefield in Afghanistan.
Khan also criticized Japan's death penalty and urged the country to review the system. Japan and the United States are the only developed countries that still employ the death penalty.
The group released a report last week comparing the camps to Soviet-era gulags, and urged Washington to close down Guantanamo Bay, where some 540 men accused of links to Afghanistan's ousted Taliban and the al-Qaida terror network are held. President Bush dismissed the comparison to gulags as "absurd." But Irene Khan, secretary-general of the London-based human rights group, challenged Washington to prove its case by opening the camps to outside scrutiny.
"Our answer is very simple ... open up the detention centers, allow us and others to visit them," she told reporters. "Transparency is the best antidote to misinformation or incorrect facts."
Khan also defended the organization's choice of the word "gulag."
"We wanted to send a strong message that ... (the detention centers) are actually undermining human rights in a very dramatic way," she said.
There has been widespread criticism of the Guantanamo Bay operation, which began in January 2002 with the arrival of prisoners captured on the battlefield in Afghanistan.
Khan also criticized Japan's death penalty and urged the country to review the system. Japan and the United States are the only developed countries that still employ the death penalty.
Clinton: Impeachment Charges Were 'False'
Ex-president Bill Clinton is backing away from the deal he made with independent counsel Robert Ray four years ago, which required him to admit that he gave false testimony under oath to a federal grand jury.
In an explosive interview with NBC's Brian Williams broadcast Wednesday night, Clinton insisted that articles of impeachment passed by the House in 1998 - which included the accusation that he lied under oath - were false. "The charges that the House sent to the Senate were false," Clinton claimed for the first time since signing off on his 2001 plea bargain with Ray. "So I did a bad thing. I made a bad personal mistake. I paid a big price for it. But I was acquitted because the charges were false."
On December 19, 1998, the House passed two out of four articles of impeachment against Clinton. Article One, charging that he committed perjury before the grand jury, passed 228 to 206. Article Two, perjury in the Paula Jones civil case, was defeated, 229 to 205. Article Three, obstruction of justice, passed 221 to 212, and Article Four, abuse of power, was defeated, 285 to 148.
On January 19, 2001, after hammering out a plea bargain that allowed him to avoid prosecution and possible jail time, Clinton issued a carefully worded statement to meet independent counsel Ray's terms:
"I tried to walk a fine line between acting lawfully and testifying falsely," Clinton said in a statement read by his press secretary, Jake Siewert. "But I now recognize that I did not fully accomplish that goal and that certain of my responses to questions about Ms. Lewinsky were false."
In his Wednesday night interview with NBC, however, the ex-president blasted the press for covering the Monica Lewinsky investigation without telling his side of the story, which included the fact that he'd been impeached on false charges.
"People in your business [liked the Lewinsky investigation] very much," Clinton told Brian Williams. "And they like what Ken Starr did because they thought it made good ink.
"[But] they didn't do a very good job of reporting for years all the innocent people he persecuted and indicted because they wouldn't lie and the assault on the American Constitution that he waged or that I was acquitted.
"And that the charges that the House sent to the Senate were false. So I did a bad thing. I made a bad personal mistake. I paid a big price for it. But I was acquitted because the charges were false."
In an explosive interview with NBC's Brian Williams broadcast Wednesday night, Clinton insisted that articles of impeachment passed by the House in 1998 - which included the accusation that he lied under oath - were false. "The charges that the House sent to the Senate were false," Clinton claimed for the first time since signing off on his 2001 plea bargain with Ray. "So I did a bad thing. I made a bad personal mistake. I paid a big price for it. But I was acquitted because the charges were false."
On December 19, 1998, the House passed two out of four articles of impeachment against Clinton. Article One, charging that he committed perjury before the grand jury, passed 228 to 206. Article Two, perjury in the Paula Jones civil case, was defeated, 229 to 205. Article Three, obstruction of justice, passed 221 to 212, and Article Four, abuse of power, was defeated, 285 to 148.
On January 19, 2001, after hammering out a plea bargain that allowed him to avoid prosecution and possible jail time, Clinton issued a carefully worded statement to meet independent counsel Ray's terms:
"I tried to walk a fine line between acting lawfully and testifying falsely," Clinton said in a statement read by his press secretary, Jake Siewert. "But I now recognize that I did not fully accomplish that goal and that certain of my responses to questions about Ms. Lewinsky were false."
In his Wednesday night interview with NBC, however, the ex-president blasted the press for covering the Monica Lewinsky investigation without telling his side of the story, which included the fact that he'd been impeached on false charges.
"People in your business [liked the Lewinsky investigation] very much," Clinton told Brian Williams. "And they like what Ken Starr did because they thought it made good ink.
"[But] they didn't do a very good job of reporting for years all the innocent people he persecuted and indicted because they wouldn't lie and the assault on the American Constitution that he waged or that I was acquitted.
"And that the charges that the House sent to the Senate were false. So I did a bad thing. I made a bad personal mistake. I paid a big price for it. But I was acquitted because the charges were false."
Wednesday, June 01, 2005
FEC treads into sticky web of political blogs
Web loggers, who pride themselves on freewheeling political activism, might face new federal rules on candidate endorsements, online fundraising and political ads, though bloggers who don't take money from political groups would not be affected.
Draft rules from the Federal Election Commission, which enforces campaign finance laws, would require that paid political advertisements on the Internet declare who funded the ad, as television spots do.
Similar disclaimers would be placed on political Web sites, as well as on e-mails sent to people on purchased lists containing more than 500 addresses. The FEC also is considering whether to require Web loggers, called bloggers, to disclose whether they get money from a campaign committee or a candidate and to reveal whether they are being paid to write about certain candidates or solicit contributions on their behalf.
These rules would not affect citizens who don't take money from political action committees or parties.
The FEC long has been reluctant to craft rules for the Internet, and it has exempted the online world from many regulations that apply to other media such as television and radio. But a court ruling last fall required the agency to include the Internet in its definition of public communications and to begin regulating activities there.
The FEC, which also is striving to clarify regulations about online volunteer campaign activity, is accepting public comments on the proposals until Friday. Hearings will be held June 28 and 29.
The final version of the rules is expected later this year, unless Congress intervenes to exempt the Internet from FEC regulation, as is wanted by lawmakers including Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.)
Advocates for rules say they are necessary to prevent groups such as corporations and labor unions from exploiting loopholes.
"I think FEC needs to regulate ordinary people as lightly as possible," said Carol Darr, director of the Institute for Politics, Democracy & the Internet at The George Washington University Graduate School of Political Management.
But as Internet technology improves, she said, politicians, corporations and unions will "learn where to go to reach unconverted people. They will use Internet more and more. People like me who are worried about corporate and union abuse are less comfortable with that."
Opponents of the regulations, including many bloggers, worry that freedom of speech would suffer and that the rules would have a chilling effect on the lively political discussions that occur online. FEC regulation, they say, would unfairly punish individuals, adding that nothing happened in the 2004 elections to warrant intervention.
Adam Bonin, a lawyer in Philadelphia, is drafting comments to the FEC on behalf of two prominent bloggers, Markos Moulitsas Zuniga of Daily Kos and Duncan Black of Eschaton.
Bonin said his clients "want to know they are protected in . . . terms of reporting, advocacy, fundraising for candidates and accepting advertising."
He added, "They want to make sure the regulations are clear enough so they and their users feel confident they can speak without worrying that the FEC will issue a subpoena for innocuous activities."
FEC commissioners say they are drafting rules cautiously and being careful to craft protections for individual speakers and online news publications.
"The fundamental presumption has changed from the Internet being unregulatable to now it will be regulated," said FEC Commissioner Bradley Smith.
Smith cautioned that the rules, if approved, could be more restrictive than many think, and he predicted that more rules likely would follow.
Smith, who favors less regulation, said he wouldn't commit to voting in favor of the rules.
He said he had wanted the FEC to appeal U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly's decision in hopes of warding off any Internet regulation.
Draft rules from the Federal Election Commission, which enforces campaign finance laws, would require that paid political advertisements on the Internet declare who funded the ad, as television spots do.
Similar disclaimers would be placed on political Web sites, as well as on e-mails sent to people on purchased lists containing more than 500 addresses. The FEC also is considering whether to require Web loggers, called bloggers, to disclose whether they get money from a campaign committee or a candidate and to reveal whether they are being paid to write about certain candidates or solicit contributions on their behalf.
These rules would not affect citizens who don't take money from political action committees or parties.
The FEC long has been reluctant to craft rules for the Internet, and it has exempted the online world from many regulations that apply to other media such as television and radio. But a court ruling last fall required the agency to include the Internet in its definition of public communications and to begin regulating activities there.
The FEC, which also is striving to clarify regulations about online volunteer campaign activity, is accepting public comments on the proposals until Friday. Hearings will be held June 28 and 29.
The final version of the rules is expected later this year, unless Congress intervenes to exempt the Internet from FEC regulation, as is wanted by lawmakers including Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.)
Advocates for rules say they are necessary to prevent groups such as corporations and labor unions from exploiting loopholes.
"I think FEC needs to regulate ordinary people as lightly as possible," said Carol Darr, director of the Institute for Politics, Democracy & the Internet at The George Washington University Graduate School of Political Management.
But as Internet technology improves, she said, politicians, corporations and unions will "learn where to go to reach unconverted people. They will use Internet more and more. People like me who are worried about corporate and union abuse are less comfortable with that."
Opponents of the regulations, including many bloggers, worry that freedom of speech would suffer and that the rules would have a chilling effect on the lively political discussions that occur online. FEC regulation, they say, would unfairly punish individuals, adding that nothing happened in the 2004 elections to warrant intervention.
Adam Bonin, a lawyer in Philadelphia, is drafting comments to the FEC on behalf of two prominent bloggers, Markos Moulitsas Zuniga of Daily Kos and Duncan Black of Eschaton.
Bonin said his clients "want to know they are protected in . . . terms of reporting, advocacy, fundraising for candidates and accepting advertising."
He added, "They want to make sure the regulations are clear enough so they and their users feel confident they can speak without worrying that the FEC will issue a subpoena for innocuous activities."
FEC commissioners say they are drafting rules cautiously and being careful to craft protections for individual speakers and online news publications.
"The fundamental presumption has changed from the Internet being unregulatable to now it will be regulated," said FEC Commissioner Bradley Smith.
Smith cautioned that the rules, if approved, could be more restrictive than many think, and he predicted that more rules likely would follow.
Smith, who favors less regulation, said he wouldn't commit to voting in favor of the rules.
He said he had wanted the FEC to appeal U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly's decision in hopes of warding off any Internet regulation.
Indiana Judge Rules Against Planned Parenthood
An Indiana judge ruled Tuesday that Planned Parenthood of Indiana must let state officials review the medical records of 84 girls younger than 14 who visited Planned Parenthood clinics.
Global Anti-WMD Drive Notches Up Successes
On 11 occasions over the past nine months, the U.S. and allies cooperating in the Proliferation Security Initiative have successfully prevented the spread of nuclear, chemical or biological weapons or related items.
At least two of those incidents involved Iran, two involved North Korea and another involved an unidentified third country, State Department spokesman Richard Boucher confirmed.
Tuesday marked the second anniversary of the PSI, a project launched by President Bush during a 2003 visit to Krakow, Poland.
With a focus on stopping and searching ships, planes, trains or trucks, the PSI aims to prevent terrorists and rogue states from getting hold of weapons of mass destruction-related items.
Supported initially by a core group of 10 other founding nations, the U.S. initiative has since then enjoyed the cooperation of more than 60 countries, according to the department.
The U.S. has identified only one specific episode in which it credits the PSI for stopping a dangerous cargo - the Oct. 2003 interception of the "BBC China," a German-owned vessel carrying Malaysian-produced uranium centrifuge equipment destined for Libya.
At a PSI anniversary function in Washington Tuesday, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said the BBC China incident played a "major role" in Libya's decision to shut down its WMD programs, and in unraveling a global nuclear black market run by Pakistani nuclear scientist Abdul Qadeer Khan.
For the first time, she also announced that there had been other successes - 11 in total over the past nine months.
One involved stopping a shipment of materials and equipment bound for ballistic missile programs in Iran and other "countries of concern," she said. Others have prevented Iran from securing items to support its missile and WMD programs, "including its nuclear program."
Elaborating later Tuesday, Boucher said there had also been two efforts involving North Korea, the reclusive Stalinist country engaged in a lengthy standoff with the U.S. and international community over nuclear weapons.
"Bilateral cooperation with several governments prevented North Korea from receiving materials used in making chemical weapons, and cooperation with another country blocked the transfer to North Korea of a material useful in its nuclear programs," he said.
Making it clear that only limited information could be released for intelligence reasons, Boucher said apart from the two North Korean incidents and "at least two" involving Iran, PSI had also been effective in stopping "another country in another region" from getting hold of propellant for ballistic missiles.
At least two of those incidents involved Iran, two involved North Korea and another involved an unidentified third country, State Department spokesman Richard Boucher confirmed.
Tuesday marked the second anniversary of the PSI, a project launched by President Bush during a 2003 visit to Krakow, Poland.
With a focus on stopping and searching ships, planes, trains or trucks, the PSI aims to prevent terrorists and rogue states from getting hold of weapons of mass destruction-related items.
Supported initially by a core group of 10 other founding nations, the U.S. initiative has since then enjoyed the cooperation of more than 60 countries, according to the department.
The U.S. has identified only one specific episode in which it credits the PSI for stopping a dangerous cargo - the Oct. 2003 interception of the "BBC China," a German-owned vessel carrying Malaysian-produced uranium centrifuge equipment destined for Libya.
At a PSI anniversary function in Washington Tuesday, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said the BBC China incident played a "major role" in Libya's decision to shut down its WMD programs, and in unraveling a global nuclear black market run by Pakistani nuclear scientist Abdul Qadeer Khan.
For the first time, she also announced that there had been other successes - 11 in total over the past nine months.
One involved stopping a shipment of materials and equipment bound for ballistic missile programs in Iran and other "countries of concern," she said. Others have prevented Iran from securing items to support its missile and WMD programs, "including its nuclear program."
Elaborating later Tuesday, Boucher said there had also been two efforts involving North Korea, the reclusive Stalinist country engaged in a lengthy standoff with the U.S. and international community over nuclear weapons.
"Bilateral cooperation with several governments prevented North Korea from receiving materials used in making chemical weapons, and cooperation with another country blocked the transfer to North Korea of a material useful in its nuclear programs," he said.
Making it clear that only limited information could be released for intelligence reasons, Boucher said apart from the two North Korean incidents and "at least two" involving Iran, PSI had also been effective in stopping "another country in another region" from getting hold of propellant for ballistic missiles.
Felt Had Personal Motivation Then and Now, Reports Suggest
In its extensive coverage of "Deep Throat's" identity, the Washington Post reported on Wednesday that former Deputy FBI Director Mark Felt has been conflicted all along -- about his major, anonymous and possibly criminal role in leaking confidential details of the Watergate scandal to the Washington Post in the early 1970s.
As the Post put it on Wednesday, Felt wondered if he was a "hero for helping the truth come out" -- or a "turncoat who betrayed his government, his president, and the FBI he revered."
The Washington Post reported that Felt "may have had a personal motivation" in leaking details of a criminal investigation to two young Washington Post reporters: Felt was passed over as FBI director when J. Edgar Hoover died.
The Post said although Felt was Hoover's "likely successor," the White House named an FBI outsider, L. Patrick Gray III, as acting director.
Felt may also have a personal motivation in finally coming forward with the truth at age 91: His family apparently needs the money that Felt's sudden fame is expected to bring.
According to the Vanity Fair article, Felt's daughter Joan remembers saying, "Bob Woodward's going to get all the glory for this (revealing Deep Throat's identity), but we could make at least enough money to pay some bills, like the debt I've run up for the kids' education. Let's do it for the family."
(Joan Felt and other relatives on Tuesday refused to let Felt answer reporters' questions, possibly waiting for the big-bucks book deal.)
According to USA Today, Felt's attorney John O'Connor said he and Felt considered publishing a book to reveal Deep Throat's identity, but then they decided to "go for the dignity of it" by telling Felt's story to Vanity Fair -- which paid an undisclosed fee for the story.
USA Today quoted a Vanity Fair editor as saying that O'Connor's fee "was in keeping with what other freelancers are paid."
In spilling his long-kept secret to Vanity Fair, Felt scooped (and surprised) the Washington Post, which has lived up to its end of the agreement to say nothing about Deep Throat's identity until the leaker had died.
At age 91 and in failing health, Felt is now unlikely to face repercussions for obstruction of justice. His family only learned he was Deep Throat in 2002 -- and even then, only because Felt's close friend told the family, Vanity Fair said.
Felt's son told Vanity Fair that Felt would not have gone to the Washington Post during the Watergate era "if he didn't feel it was the only way to get around the corruption in the White House and Justice Department."
As the Post put it on Wednesday, Felt wondered if he was a "hero for helping the truth come out" -- or a "turncoat who betrayed his government, his president, and the FBI he revered."
The Washington Post reported that Felt "may have had a personal motivation" in leaking details of a criminal investigation to two young Washington Post reporters: Felt was passed over as FBI director when J. Edgar Hoover died.
The Post said although Felt was Hoover's "likely successor," the White House named an FBI outsider, L. Patrick Gray III, as acting director.
Felt may also have a personal motivation in finally coming forward with the truth at age 91: His family apparently needs the money that Felt's sudden fame is expected to bring.
According to the Vanity Fair article, Felt's daughter Joan remembers saying, "Bob Woodward's going to get all the glory for this (revealing Deep Throat's identity), but we could make at least enough money to pay some bills, like the debt I've run up for the kids' education. Let's do it for the family."
(Joan Felt and other relatives on Tuesday refused to let Felt answer reporters' questions, possibly waiting for the big-bucks book deal.)
According to USA Today, Felt's attorney John O'Connor said he and Felt considered publishing a book to reveal Deep Throat's identity, but then they decided to "go for the dignity of it" by telling Felt's story to Vanity Fair -- which paid an undisclosed fee for the story.
USA Today quoted a Vanity Fair editor as saying that O'Connor's fee "was in keeping with what other freelancers are paid."
In spilling his long-kept secret to Vanity Fair, Felt scooped (and surprised) the Washington Post, which has lived up to its end of the agreement to say nothing about Deep Throat's identity until the leaker had died.
At age 91 and in failing health, Felt is now unlikely to face repercussions for obstruction of justice. His family only learned he was Deep Throat in 2002 -- and even then, only because Felt's close friend told the family, Vanity Fair said.
Felt's son told Vanity Fair that Felt would not have gone to the Washington Post during the Watergate era "if he didn't feel it was the only way to get around the corruption in the White House and Justice Department."
Iran 'Tests New Missile Engine'
Iran's defence minister says it has successfully tested a new missile motor using solid-fuel technology with a range of 2,000km (1,250 miles).
Such an engine would enhance the capability of medium-range Shahab-3, which already has the ability to hit Israeli and US bases in the region.
The new engine would give the missile a greater range and increase its shelf life, Ali Shamkhani said.
Iran has taken huge steps in ballistic missile technology, experts say.
This - coupled with the country's nuclear activities - has caused alarm among the international community.
"Using solid fuel would be more durable and increase the range of the missile," Mr Shamkhani was quoted as saying by the Iranian official news agency.
Military experts are quoted as saying that the more complex solid-fuel technology would be necessary if Iran wanted to develop a two-stage rocket that could outrange the Shahab-3.
Iran says it is not seeking to develop longer-range missiles and denies allegations that it wants to make nuclear weapons.
Such an engine would enhance the capability of medium-range Shahab-3, which already has the ability to hit Israeli and US bases in the region.
The new engine would give the missile a greater range and increase its shelf life, Ali Shamkhani said.
Iran has taken huge steps in ballistic missile technology, experts say.
This - coupled with the country's nuclear activities - has caused alarm among the international community.
"Using solid fuel would be more durable and increase the range of the missile," Mr Shamkhani was quoted as saying by the Iranian official news agency.
Military experts are quoted as saying that the more complex solid-fuel technology would be necessary if Iran wanted to develop a two-stage rocket that could outrange the Shahab-3.
Iran says it is not seeking to develop longer-range missiles and denies allegations that it wants to make nuclear weapons.
Talabani: Saddam Likely to Face Trial Soon
Iraqi President Jalal Talabani said Tuesday in an interview with CNN that authorities expected to put Saddam Hussein on trial in the next two months.
Talabani said that "the court of Iraq will decide the future of Saddam Hussein" and that there was a strong public desire for him to be executed if convicted. CNN said Talabani had said the proceedings would start in the next two months.
"Saddam Hussein is a war criminal," Talabani said, noting that he had committed "crimes against Iraqi people" in Kurdistan as well as Shiite areas of southern Iraq and in Baghdad.
Noting that he was a lawyer, Talabani said in English that he would have to await the outcome of the trial process "but the Iraqi people from now are starting to ask for executing Saddam Hussein and for sentencing him for death."
Last week, Iraq's planning minister, Barham Salih, said the chief justice of the special tribunal in charge of prosecution in Baghdad had told him that "within the next few months Saddam Hussein could be brought before the court."
U.S. forces captured Saddam in December 2003 hiding in a concealed hole near his hometown of Tikrit, 80 miles north of Baghdad.
He faces charges including killing rival politicians during his 30-year rule, gassing Kurds, invading Kuwait in 1990 and suppressing Kurdish and Shiite uprisings in 1991. He was arraigned in July without defense counsel and will be tried before a special Iraqi tribunal.
Talabani said that "the court of Iraq will decide the future of Saddam Hussein" and that there was a strong public desire for him to be executed if convicted. CNN said Talabani had said the proceedings would start in the next two months.
"Saddam Hussein is a war criminal," Talabani said, noting that he had committed "crimes against Iraqi people" in Kurdistan as well as Shiite areas of southern Iraq and in Baghdad.
Noting that he was a lawyer, Talabani said in English that he would have to await the outcome of the trial process "but the Iraqi people from now are starting to ask for executing Saddam Hussein and for sentencing him for death."
Last week, Iraq's planning minister, Barham Salih, said the chief justice of the special tribunal in charge of prosecution in Baghdad had told him that "within the next few months Saddam Hussein could be brought before the court."
U.S. forces captured Saddam in December 2003 hiding in a concealed hole near his hometown of Tikrit, 80 miles north of Baghdad.
He faces charges including killing rival politicians during his 30-year rule, gassing Kurds, invading Kuwait in 1990 and suppressing Kurdish and Shiite uprisings in 1991. He was arraigned in July without defense counsel and will be tried before a special Iraqi tribunal.
U.S. Captures Former Saddam Regime Spy
U.S. soldiers have captured a former Saddam Hussein regime spy, the U.S. military said.
U.S. soldiers struck a blow against militants plotting attacks by capturing four wanted terrorists during separate raids since Sunday, including a former spy in Saddam's secret service who was believed to be financing several terrorist groups in western Baghdad's Ghazaliyah district, the military said in a statement Wednesday.
The former spy, whose identity was not revealed, was also suspected of working as a cameraman for a terrorist group, apparently filming attacks against coalition forces that are later posted on Internet sites or distributed to media outlets.
U.S. soldiers struck a blow against militants plotting attacks by capturing four wanted terrorists during separate raids since Sunday, including a former spy in Saddam's secret service who was believed to be financing several terrorist groups in western Baghdad's Ghazaliyah district, the military said in a statement Wednesday.
The former spy, whose identity was not revealed, was also suspected of working as a cameraman for a terrorist group, apparently filming attacks against coalition forces that are later posted on Internet sites or distributed to media outlets.
Book: Hillary threatened husband's accusers
Women say she had major role intimidating them into silence
Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., had a major role in threatening and intimidating women who accused her husband of sexual relationships with other women, according to a new book.
Candice E. Jackson, author of "Their Lives: The Women Targeted by the Clinton Machine," told Cybercast News Service that along with the "sexual abuse" she alleges was committed by former President Bill Clinton, "Hillary's involvement is just as devastating and just as important in all this."
"[Hillary Clinton] was right there in the inner circle taking a lead in giving these women zero credibility, in attacking them in the public and through the press and in participating in all of these scare tactics, like hiring private investigators to threaten them and follow them," Jackson said.
Hillary Clinton is "either as misogynistic as her husband or she is simply willing to conspire to mistreat women if that's what it takes to preserve their political careers," she added.
She told CNS the former president's behavior toward numerous women "demonstrated sexual harassment and sexual abuse and ultimately misogyny on his part.
Jackson's book tells the story of Clinton and the many women whose names have hit the media in the last 15 years and explains why, with his wife eyeing the White House, it still matters.
Said Kathleen Willey, who alleged she was sexually assaulted by Bill Clinton in the White House in 1993: "Candice E. Jackson's rendition of my story is the most accurate portrayal of my experience with Bill Clinton that has yet been published. I appreciate her painstaking attempt to express the true nightmare Bill and Hillary put me through."
Added Juanita Broaddrick, whose allegation of rape is told in an excerpt on WND: "Candice E. Jackson presents a complete chronological account of the events surrounding Bill Clinton's violent assault on me. People need to remember this side of Clinton before writing him up as a hero for women."
Jackson told CNS Bill Clinton was guilty of "a true lack of respect for women that allowed him to use and abuse them and throw them away when he was done and do whatever it took to keep them quiet if they tried to speak up about it."
Jackson admitted that one of her goals it to prevent Sen. Clinton from being elected president in 2008.
"We have let the Clintons go to the White House once and I think this is a serious enough abuse issue to prevent them from going there again," she told CNS.
She said the Clintons "have really gotten away with a political reputation of being defenders of women's rights and women's issues."
"To me that really says a lot about the state of feminism in this country," Jackson said. "It seems like it doesn't even matter whether women are brutally mistreated as long as politicians support abortion rights."
Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., had a major role in threatening and intimidating women who accused her husband of sexual relationships with other women, according to a new book.
Candice E. Jackson, author of "Their Lives: The Women Targeted by the Clinton Machine," told Cybercast News Service that along with the "sexual abuse" she alleges was committed by former President Bill Clinton, "Hillary's involvement is just as devastating and just as important in all this."
"[Hillary Clinton] was right there in the inner circle taking a lead in giving these women zero credibility, in attacking them in the public and through the press and in participating in all of these scare tactics, like hiring private investigators to threaten them and follow them," Jackson said.
Hillary Clinton is "either as misogynistic as her husband or she is simply willing to conspire to mistreat women if that's what it takes to preserve their political careers," she added.
She told CNS the former president's behavior toward numerous women "demonstrated sexual harassment and sexual abuse and ultimately misogyny on his part.
Jackson's book tells the story of Clinton and the many women whose names have hit the media in the last 15 years and explains why, with his wife eyeing the White House, it still matters.
Said Kathleen Willey, who alleged she was sexually assaulted by Bill Clinton in the White House in 1993: "Candice E. Jackson's rendition of my story is the most accurate portrayal of my experience with Bill Clinton that has yet been published. I appreciate her painstaking attempt to express the true nightmare Bill and Hillary put me through."
Added Juanita Broaddrick, whose allegation of rape is told in an excerpt on WND: "Candice E. Jackson presents a complete chronological account of the events surrounding Bill Clinton's violent assault on me. People need to remember this side of Clinton before writing him up as a hero for women."
Jackson told CNS Bill Clinton was guilty of "a true lack of respect for women that allowed him to use and abuse them and throw them away when he was done and do whatever it took to keep them quiet if they tried to speak up about it."
Jackson admitted that one of her goals it to prevent Sen. Clinton from being elected president in 2008.
"We have let the Clintons go to the White House once and I think this is a serious enough abuse issue to prevent them from going there again," she told CNS.
She said the Clintons "have really gotten away with a political reputation of being defenders of women's rights and women's issues."
"To me that really says a lot about the state of feminism in this country," Jackson said. "It seems like it doesn't even matter whether women are brutally mistreated as long as politicians support abortion rights."
Clinton's womanizing: Why it still matters
Shocking new expose covers Bill and Hillary's intimidation machine
What injustices did women who got tied up with Bill Clinton suffer? What kind of tactics were used against them? What really happened between Clinton and the many women whose names have hit the media in the last 15 years?
Those questions and more are answered in clear detail in Candice E. Jackson's new book, "Their Lives: The Women Targeted by the Clinton Machine," which covers many of Clinton's "womanizing" cases and explains why, with his wife eyeing the White House, we should still care about them.
Said Kathleen Willey: "Candice E. Jackson's rendition of my story is the most accurate portrayal of my experience with Bill Clinton that has yet been published. I appreciate her painstaking attempt to express the true nightmare Bill and Hillary put me through."
Added Juanita Broaddrick, whose story is told in an excerpt on WND: "Candice E. Jackson presents a complete chronological account of the events surrounding Bill Clinton's violent assault on me. People need to remember this side of Clinton before writing him up as a hero for women."
In a groundbreaking examination of the accounts of seven women, Jackson, who describes herself as a libertarian feminist, examines how the former president and his inner circle wielded vast power to discredit and destroy the former objects of his desire. Instead of passing moral judgment on Clinton, Jackson relies on extensive research and firsthand interviews to document the intimidation and harassment unleashed on these individuals.
Jackson, a victim of rape herself, uses her own experience to analyze that of Broaddrick and others.
She also presents a cogent rebuke of modern-day liberalism and explains why it enables men in high places to abuse their power.
States promotional material for "Their Lives": "The pattern of threats, bribes, and coercion that this book uncovers reveals not only a cold-blooded willingness on the part of Clinton, his wife and their inner circle to maintain power at any cost, but it also exposes the undeniable connection between Clinton's misogynist tendencies and his liberal agenda. 'Their Lives' is a wake-up call to women everywhere to re-evaluate this ruthless man and to come together to prevent Hillary Clinton, a willing partner in her husband's attacks, from returning to the White House."
What injustices did women who got tied up with Bill Clinton suffer? What kind of tactics were used against them? What really happened between Clinton and the many women whose names have hit the media in the last 15 years?
Those questions and more are answered in clear detail in Candice E. Jackson's new book, "Their Lives: The Women Targeted by the Clinton Machine," which covers many of Clinton's "womanizing" cases and explains why, with his wife eyeing the White House, we should still care about them.
Said Kathleen Willey: "Candice E. Jackson's rendition of my story is the most accurate portrayal of my experience with Bill Clinton that has yet been published. I appreciate her painstaking attempt to express the true nightmare Bill and Hillary put me through."
Added Juanita Broaddrick, whose story is told in an excerpt on WND: "Candice E. Jackson presents a complete chronological account of the events surrounding Bill Clinton's violent assault on me. People need to remember this side of Clinton before writing him up as a hero for women."
In a groundbreaking examination of the accounts of seven women, Jackson, who describes herself as a libertarian feminist, examines how the former president and his inner circle wielded vast power to discredit and destroy the former objects of his desire. Instead of passing moral judgment on Clinton, Jackson relies on extensive research and firsthand interviews to document the intimidation and harassment unleashed on these individuals.
Jackson, a victim of rape herself, uses her own experience to analyze that of Broaddrick and others.
She also presents a cogent rebuke of modern-day liberalism and explains why it enables men in high places to abuse their power.
States promotional material for "Their Lives": "The pattern of threats, bribes, and coercion that this book uncovers reveals not only a cold-blooded willingness on the part of Clinton, his wife and their inner circle to maintain power at any cost, but it also exposes the undeniable connection between Clinton's misogynist tendencies and his liberal agenda. 'Their Lives' is a wake-up call to women everywhere to re-evaluate this ruthless man and to come together to prevent Hillary Clinton, a willing partner in her husband's attacks, from returning to the White House."
Canada's Red Cross guilty in HIV scandal
Distributed tainted blood killing thousands at time of deal with Bill Clinton's Arkansas
The Canadian Red Cross pleaded guilty to distributing blood tainted with HIV and hepatitis C in a health disaster that has killed more than 3,000 people.
The organization, which distributed the blood in the 1980s, paid a fine of $4,000 for causing more than 1,000 Canadians to contract blood-borne HIV and as many as 20,000 to become infected with hepatitis C.
As part of the plea deal yesterday, Canadian Red Cross Secretary General Dr. Pierre Duplessis issued a public apology via videotape that was played in the courtroom to survivors of the victims.
"[The] Canadian Red Cross Society is deeply sorry for the injury and death ... for the suffering caused to families and loved ones of those who were harmed," said Duplessis.
As WorldNetDaily reported, Bill Clinton was at the center of a scandal in Arkansas in the 1980s involving the sale of AIDS-tainted blood to Canada, which was distributed through the Red Cross.
As governor of Arkansas, Clinton awarded a contract to Health Management Associates to provide medical care to the state's prisoners. The president of the company was a long-time friend and political ally of Clinton and later was appointed by him to the Arkansas Industrial Development Commission. Later, he was among the senior members of Clinton's 1990 gubernatorial re-election team.
The death toll from the tainted blood has grown since the figure of 3,000 was calculated in 1997, but recent estimates are not available, the Associated Press reported.
Duplessis said the organization accepted responsibility for "having distributed harmful products for those that rely on us for their health."
Prosecutors dropped criminal charges, including criminal negligence and common nuisance.
The Canadian Red Cross already has paid victims $55 million in a separate fund. Along with the fine, the charity will set aside $1.2 million for scholarships for family members of victims.
The Arkansas connection to Canada's blood scandal began with a deal Health Management Associates struck with the state allowing collection and sale of prisoners' blood in addition to treatment.
Because of the exploding AIDS crisis, U.S. regulations did not permit the sale of prisoners' blood within the country.
But HMA found a willing buyer in Montreal, which brokered a deal with Connaught, a Toronto blood-fractionator, which didn't know the source of the supplies.
Sales continued until 1983, when HMA revealed that some of the plasma might be contaminated with the AIDS virus and hepatitis. The blood was also marketed overseas.
Michael Galster, who conducted orthopedic clinics in the Arkansas prison system during the period the blood was collected, charged HMA officials knew the blood was tainted as they sold it to Canada and a half-dozen other foreign countries. He also alleged Clinton knew of the scheme and likely benefited from it financially.
The Canadian Red Cross pleaded guilty to distributing blood tainted with HIV and hepatitis C in a health disaster that has killed more than 3,000 people.
The organization, which distributed the blood in the 1980s, paid a fine of $4,000 for causing more than 1,000 Canadians to contract blood-borne HIV and as many as 20,000 to become infected with hepatitis C.
As part of the plea deal yesterday, Canadian Red Cross Secretary General Dr. Pierre Duplessis issued a public apology via videotape that was played in the courtroom to survivors of the victims.
"[The] Canadian Red Cross Society is deeply sorry for the injury and death ... for the suffering caused to families and loved ones of those who were harmed," said Duplessis.
As WorldNetDaily reported, Bill Clinton was at the center of a scandal in Arkansas in the 1980s involving the sale of AIDS-tainted blood to Canada, which was distributed through the Red Cross.
As governor of Arkansas, Clinton awarded a contract to Health Management Associates to provide medical care to the state's prisoners. The president of the company was a long-time friend and political ally of Clinton and later was appointed by him to the Arkansas Industrial Development Commission. Later, he was among the senior members of Clinton's 1990 gubernatorial re-election team.
The death toll from the tainted blood has grown since the figure of 3,000 was calculated in 1997, but recent estimates are not available, the Associated Press reported.
Duplessis said the organization accepted responsibility for "having distributed harmful products for those that rely on us for their health."
Prosecutors dropped criminal charges, including criminal negligence and common nuisance.
The Canadian Red Cross already has paid victims $55 million in a separate fund. Along with the fine, the charity will set aside $1.2 million for scholarships for family members of victims.
The Arkansas connection to Canada's blood scandal began with a deal Health Management Associates struck with the state allowing collection and sale of prisoners' blood in addition to treatment.
Because of the exploding AIDS crisis, U.S. regulations did not permit the sale of prisoners' blood within the country.
But HMA found a willing buyer in Montreal, which brokered a deal with Connaught, a Toronto blood-fractionator, which didn't know the source of the supplies.
Sales continued until 1983, when HMA revealed that some of the plasma might be contaminated with the AIDS virus and hepatitis. The blood was also marketed overseas.
Michael Galster, who conducted orthopedic clinics in the Arkansas prison system during the period the blood was collected, charged HMA officials knew the blood was tainted as they sold it to Canada and a half-dozen other foreign countries. He also alleged Clinton knew of the scheme and likely benefited from it financially.
Iranian smuggling ring busted near Mex border
Feds believe man brought 60 from terrorist state into U.S.
A smuggling ring specializing in bringing Iranians into the U.S. over the Mexico border has been broken up in an FBI sting operation.
A 39-year-old Iranian with permanent legal residency status who is suspected of having smuggled 60 other Iranians into the U.S. was arrested Thursday in Mesa, Ariz., according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.
At his arraignment yesterday, Zeayadali Malhamdary, who owns a tailoring business, pleaded not guilty. He faces a detention hearing tomorrow.
Iran has long been designated a terrorist state by the U.S. State Department and FBI.
The FBI began investigating Malhamdary after a source told immigration officials that Malhamdary had sought help getting false Mexican visas so he could bring Iranians into Mexico and then across the border into Arizona.
The source also told investigators that Malhamdary had asked for help bringing his sister into the United States. According to the probable cause statement by FBI Agent Aaron Kellerman, the source didn't help him, but the sister did arrive in Arizona.
Federal prosecutors say Malhamdary had previously smuggled about 60 Iranians into the United States.
Malhamdary flew to Tehran, Iran, in March, allegedly to get the passports of the Iranians he planned to smuggle into the United States through Mexico, Kellerman said in the statement.
In late March, the undercover agent was given three passports.
Malhamdary allegedly told the undercover agent in May that he had eight more people who wanted to be smuggled into the United States.
The undercover agent on Thursday met with Malhamdary and agreed to pick up three Iranians in Mexico City and then to bring them to Nogales, Mexico, and arrange to have them smuggled across the border, Kellerman said in his statement.
When he was arrested, Malhamdary allegedly told investigators that he wanted to bring Iranians into the United States so they could seek refugee status. No one answered the phone at his tailoring business yesterday afternoon.
If convicted of the three attempted smuggling charges, Malhamdary could face up to 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine on each of the counts.
FBI officials said they had no reason to believe there were any terrorist connections to the case.
A smuggling ring specializing in bringing Iranians into the U.S. over the Mexico border has been broken up in an FBI sting operation.
A 39-year-old Iranian with permanent legal residency status who is suspected of having smuggled 60 other Iranians into the U.S. was arrested Thursday in Mesa, Ariz., according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.
At his arraignment yesterday, Zeayadali Malhamdary, who owns a tailoring business, pleaded not guilty. He faces a detention hearing tomorrow.
Iran has long been designated a terrorist state by the U.S. State Department and FBI.
The FBI began investigating Malhamdary after a source told immigration officials that Malhamdary had sought help getting false Mexican visas so he could bring Iranians into Mexico and then across the border into Arizona.
The source also told investigators that Malhamdary had asked for help bringing his sister into the United States. According to the probable cause statement by FBI Agent Aaron Kellerman, the source didn't help him, but the sister did arrive in Arizona.
Federal prosecutors say Malhamdary had previously smuggled about 60 Iranians into the United States.
Malhamdary flew to Tehran, Iran, in March, allegedly to get the passports of the Iranians he planned to smuggle into the United States through Mexico, Kellerman said in the statement.
In late March, the undercover agent was given three passports.
Malhamdary allegedly told the undercover agent in May that he had eight more people who wanted to be smuggled into the United States.
The undercover agent on Thursday met with Malhamdary and agreed to pick up three Iranians in Mexico City and then to bring them to Nogales, Mexico, and arrange to have them smuggled across the border, Kellerman said in his statement.
When he was arrested, Malhamdary allegedly told investigators that he wanted to bring Iranians into the United States so they could seek refugee status. No one answered the phone at his tailoring business yesterday afternoon.
If convicted of the three attempted smuggling charges, Malhamdary could face up to 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine on each of the counts.
FBI officials said they had no reason to believe there were any terrorist connections to the case.
Zarqawi tells bin Laden wounds 'minor'-Web
Iraq's al Qaeda leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi told Osama bin Laden in an audio tape attributed to him that he had suffered only "minor" wounds, denying reports he was seriously injured.
"I think news has reached your ears through the media that I was seriously wounded ... I would like to assure you and assure Muslims that these are baseless rumors and that my wounds are minor," the voice on the tape said.
"I am now with the help of God enjoying good health among my brothers and my people in Iraq," it added. The authenticity of the Internet tape could not be immediately verified.
The audio tape followed Internet postings by the group saying Zarqawi was in good health and was back leading operations in Iraq after being wounded.
The Sunday Times newspaper in London reported that said Zarqawi was wounded three weeks ago when a U.S. missile hit his convoy near the northwestern Iraqi city of al Qaim.
Zarqawi is an ally of al Qaeda leader bin Laden.
His Al Qaeda Organization for Holy War in Iraq has claimed responsibility for most of the bloodiest suicide attacks against U.S. and Iraqi forces.
"I think news has reached your ears through the media that I was seriously wounded ... I would like to assure you and assure Muslims that these are baseless rumors and that my wounds are minor," the voice on the tape said.
"I am now with the help of God enjoying good health among my brothers and my people in Iraq," it added. The authenticity of the Internet tape could not be immediately verified.
The audio tape followed Internet postings by the group saying Zarqawi was in good health and was back leading operations in Iraq after being wounded.
The Sunday Times newspaper in London reported that said Zarqawi was wounded three weeks ago when a U.S. missile hit his convoy near the northwestern Iraqi city of al Qaim.
Zarqawi is an ally of al Qaeda leader bin Laden.
His Al Qaeda Organization for Holy War in Iraq has claimed responsibility for most of the bloodiest suicide attacks against U.S. and Iraqi forces.
Lawmakers, aides belatedly disclose trips
Scrutiny of Majority Leader Tom DeLay's travel has led to the belated disclosure of at least 198 previously unreported special interest trips by House members and their aides, including eight years of travel by the second-ranking Democrat, an Associated Press review has found.
At least 43 House members and dozens of aides _ including one New Jersey lawmaker and one state lawmaker's aide _ had failed to meet the one-month deadline in ethics rules for disclosing trips financed by organizations outside the U.S. government.
The AP review of thousands of pages of records covered pre-2005 travel that was disclosed since early March. That's when news stories began scrutinizing DeLay's travel, prompting lawmakers to comb through their files to make sure they had disclosed their travel.
New Jersey Rep. Scott Garrett, R-Wantage, filed a late disclosure form on March 18 for a five-day, $5,080 trip to Taipei he took in January 2004, sponsored by the Chinese International Economic and Cooperation Association. The late filing was due to a clerical error, said April Eisenhower, Garrett's spokeswoman.
Also, Matthew Dennis, who works for Rep. Rush Holt, D-Pennington, filed a disclosure form on April 26 for a two-day trip to Princeton last November. Healthcare Institute of New Jersey sponsored the $574.61 trip, which included tours of pharmaceutical companies. In a letter he wrote to the Committee on Standards of Official Conduct, Dennis said he "neglected" to fill out the forms after his trip.
While most of the previously undisclosed trips occurred in 2004, some date back to the late 1990s. House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer recently disclosed 12 trips, the oldest dating back to 1997.
Stacey Bernards, a spokeswoman for the Maryland Democrat, said the office searched the files after the travel issue was raised initially by "Republicans doing opposition research to deflect from their own ethical issues."
Hoyer's undisclosed trips were nearly doubled by Rep. Ellen Tauscher, D-Calif., with 21. Rep. Luis Gutierrez, D-Ill., reported 20 past trips and Rep. Elijah Cummings, D-Md. reported 13.
Republican and Democratic House members were nearly equal rules violators in failing to disclose their personal trips within 30 days after the trip's completion. There were 23 GOP members, 19 Democrats and 1 independent, all of them months or years late in their reporting to the House public records office.
Staff members for House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., disclosed 11 prior trips, while staff members for DeLay, R-Texas, had 4. Rep. John Linder of Georgia, a former chairman of the House Republican campaign organization, belatedly filed 9 trips, as did Rep. Maxine Waters, D-Calif.
The volume of unreported trips surprised the former chairman of the House ethics committee, Rep. Joel Hefley, R-Colo.
"I didn't realize the extent of the problem," Hefley said. "There is no particular sanction (for tardiness) if you come back and file. They get lax. They don't think about it.
"People will be more aware now. The ethics committee will be more aware that it's a problem."
A spokesman for Gutierrez said the seven-term lawmaker did not know of his obligation to file the required travel disclosure reports.
"In late April, the congressman approached our staff to ask why in the news he was reading all this information about trips," spokesman Scott Frotman said.
Cummings spokeswoman Trudy Perkins said the original reports were sent to the House's public records office on time throughout 2004, using an internal mail system. They never made it to the public files.
"It was our understanding they were on file. It was odd, certainly," Perkins said.
Hayley Rumback, press secretary for Tauscher, said, "A recent review of our travel records showed that while all travel was properly disclosed on annual financial disclosure statements, some additional travel disclosure forms were not filed. We have corrected this oversight."
The travel in question is not for official government trips known as CODELS, shorthand for Congressional Delegations.
The special interest trips are usually financed by corporations, trade groups, think tanks, universities and others. They often pay for first-class commercial seats or provide corporate jets for lawmakers.
Many trips combine speeches, seminars and fact-finding tours with golf, sightseeing, shopping and accommodations at first-class hotels _ often in foreign countries.
"This sudden rush to file reports on previously undisclosed trips is certainly filling many pages of congressional passports," said Kent Cooper, head of the PoliticalMoneyLine Internet site that tracks political donations and travel.
Some lawmakers and staff members wrote apologetic letters to the House ethics committee.
Rep. John Boehner, R-Ohio, said he discovered "my staff had failed to submit a travel disclosure" for a trip to Scotland in August 2004, an error made "during a staff transition."
Elizabeth Greer, an aide to Rep. F. Allen Boyd Jr., D-Fla., took responsibility for not filing her documents after a trip to Kenya in December 2004. She said she completed the form soon after the trip, but "found it still buried on my desk recently. It simply slipped off my radar screen and found its way to the bottom of a pile."
One late filer, Republican Rep. Melissa Hart of Pennsylvania, is a current member of the ethics committee who could make judgments on DeLay's travel.
DeLay has asked the committee to review his travel, following allegations that a lobbyist paid for some of his trips despite a ban on such payments.
"Someone had done a story and incorrectly listed my travel," Hart said in an interview, explaining what led her to check her records. She found an unreported trip she made to Hungary and Germany last November.
Popular destinations listed in the tardy disclosures included Amelia Island, Fla.; New York City; San Juan; San Francisco; San Diego; Miami and Las Vegas. Foreign sites included Cuba, Taiwan and Israel.
Among the most expensive trips:
_Rep. Jim Matheson, D-Utah and his wife, Amy, traveled to Australia last November, listing a combined airfare of $24,804 paid by the American Australian Association. The nonprofit group says it is devoted to strengthening relations between the United States and two allies, Australia and New Zealand. Matheson said meals and lodging were picked up by the Australian government, but no amounts were specified.
_Rep. Bob Beauprez, R-Colo., and his wife, Claudia, traveled to Israel and Spain last November and December, listing the cost at $21,226. The travel, for participation in a Jerusalem conference, was financed by the Michael Cherney Foundation. The organization has various charity projects in Israel, including help for victims of suicide bombings.
_Rep. John Linder, R-Ga., and his wife, Lynne, traveled to Israel and Jordan in January, 2004 at a cost of $19,650. Linder said the trip, sponsored by The Jerusalem Fund, was designed to promote international understanding.
Waters, the California Democrat, insisted her late reports were unrelated to DeLay's troubles, and blamed those who paid her way.
"Sometimes they run late because the people who are responsible for inviting you have to get you all the receipts and they are so slow," Waters said.
At least 43 House members and dozens of aides _ including one New Jersey lawmaker and one state lawmaker's aide _ had failed to meet the one-month deadline in ethics rules for disclosing trips financed by organizations outside the U.S. government.
The AP review of thousands of pages of records covered pre-2005 travel that was disclosed since early March. That's when news stories began scrutinizing DeLay's travel, prompting lawmakers to comb through their files to make sure they had disclosed their travel.
New Jersey Rep. Scott Garrett, R-Wantage, filed a late disclosure form on March 18 for a five-day, $5,080 trip to Taipei he took in January 2004, sponsored by the Chinese International Economic and Cooperation Association. The late filing was due to a clerical error, said April Eisenhower, Garrett's spokeswoman.
Also, Matthew Dennis, who works for Rep. Rush Holt, D-Pennington, filed a disclosure form on April 26 for a two-day trip to Princeton last November. Healthcare Institute of New Jersey sponsored the $574.61 trip, which included tours of pharmaceutical companies. In a letter he wrote to the Committee on Standards of Official Conduct, Dennis said he "neglected" to fill out the forms after his trip.
While most of the previously undisclosed trips occurred in 2004, some date back to the late 1990s. House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer recently disclosed 12 trips, the oldest dating back to 1997.
Stacey Bernards, a spokeswoman for the Maryland Democrat, said the office searched the files after the travel issue was raised initially by "Republicans doing opposition research to deflect from their own ethical issues."
Hoyer's undisclosed trips were nearly doubled by Rep. Ellen Tauscher, D-Calif., with 21. Rep. Luis Gutierrez, D-Ill., reported 20 past trips and Rep. Elijah Cummings, D-Md. reported 13.
Republican and Democratic House members were nearly equal rules violators in failing to disclose their personal trips within 30 days after the trip's completion. There were 23 GOP members, 19 Democrats and 1 independent, all of them months or years late in their reporting to the House public records office.
Staff members for House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., disclosed 11 prior trips, while staff members for DeLay, R-Texas, had 4. Rep. John Linder of Georgia, a former chairman of the House Republican campaign organization, belatedly filed 9 trips, as did Rep. Maxine Waters, D-Calif.
The volume of unreported trips surprised the former chairman of the House ethics committee, Rep. Joel Hefley, R-Colo.
"I didn't realize the extent of the problem," Hefley said. "There is no particular sanction (for tardiness) if you come back and file. They get lax. They don't think about it.
"People will be more aware now. The ethics committee will be more aware that it's a problem."
A spokesman for Gutierrez said the seven-term lawmaker did not know of his obligation to file the required travel disclosure reports.
"In late April, the congressman approached our staff to ask why in the news he was reading all this information about trips," spokesman Scott Frotman said.
Cummings spokeswoman Trudy Perkins said the original reports were sent to the House's public records office on time throughout 2004, using an internal mail system. They never made it to the public files.
"It was our understanding they were on file. It was odd, certainly," Perkins said.
Hayley Rumback, press secretary for Tauscher, said, "A recent review of our travel records showed that while all travel was properly disclosed on annual financial disclosure statements, some additional travel disclosure forms were not filed. We have corrected this oversight."
The travel in question is not for official government trips known as CODELS, shorthand for Congressional Delegations.
The special interest trips are usually financed by corporations, trade groups, think tanks, universities and others. They often pay for first-class commercial seats or provide corporate jets for lawmakers.
Many trips combine speeches, seminars and fact-finding tours with golf, sightseeing, shopping and accommodations at first-class hotels _ often in foreign countries.
"This sudden rush to file reports on previously undisclosed trips is certainly filling many pages of congressional passports," said Kent Cooper, head of the PoliticalMoneyLine Internet site that tracks political donations and travel.
Some lawmakers and staff members wrote apologetic letters to the House ethics committee.
Rep. John Boehner, R-Ohio, said he discovered "my staff had failed to submit a travel disclosure" for a trip to Scotland in August 2004, an error made "during a staff transition."
Elizabeth Greer, an aide to Rep. F. Allen Boyd Jr., D-Fla., took responsibility for not filing her documents after a trip to Kenya in December 2004. She said she completed the form soon after the trip, but "found it still buried on my desk recently. It simply slipped off my radar screen and found its way to the bottom of a pile."
One late filer, Republican Rep. Melissa Hart of Pennsylvania, is a current member of the ethics committee who could make judgments on DeLay's travel.
DeLay has asked the committee to review his travel, following allegations that a lobbyist paid for some of his trips despite a ban on such payments.
"Someone had done a story and incorrectly listed my travel," Hart said in an interview, explaining what led her to check her records. She found an unreported trip she made to Hungary and Germany last November.
Popular destinations listed in the tardy disclosures included Amelia Island, Fla.; New York City; San Juan; San Francisco; San Diego; Miami and Las Vegas. Foreign sites included Cuba, Taiwan and Israel.
Among the most expensive trips:
_Rep. Jim Matheson, D-Utah and his wife, Amy, traveled to Australia last November, listing a combined airfare of $24,804 paid by the American Australian Association. The nonprofit group says it is devoted to strengthening relations between the United States and two allies, Australia and New Zealand. Matheson said meals and lodging were picked up by the Australian government, but no amounts were specified.
_Rep. Bob Beauprez, R-Colo., and his wife, Claudia, traveled to Israel and Spain last November and December, listing the cost at $21,226. The travel, for participation in a Jerusalem conference, was financed by the Michael Cherney Foundation. The organization has various charity projects in Israel, including help for victims of suicide bombings.
_Rep. John Linder, R-Ga., and his wife, Lynne, traveled to Israel and Jordan in January, 2004 at a cost of $19,650. Linder said the trip, sponsored by The Jerusalem Fund, was designed to promote international understanding.
Waters, the California Democrat, insisted her late reports were unrelated to DeLay's troubles, and blamed those who paid her way.
"Sometimes they run late because the people who are responsible for inviting you have to get you all the receipts and they are so slow," Waters said.
Court Overturns Arthur Andersen Conviction
The Supreme Court threw out the conviction of the Arthur Andersen accounting firm for destroying Enron Corp.-related documents, ruling unanimously Tuesday that the jury instructions were too broad.
The decision was a defeat for the Bush administration, which had declared prosecution of white-collar criminals a high priority following accounting scandals at major corporations. But it offered only symbolic relief for Andersen, the company whose 2002 conviction put 28,000 employees out of work and left it virtually defunct.
"We pursued an appeal of this case not because we believed Arthur Andersen could be restored to its previous position, but because we had an obligation to set the record straight," Andersen spokesman Patrick Dorton said. "We are very pleased with the Supreme Court's decision."
The Justice Department said it was disappointed and was reviewing its options, including retrying the case. "We remain convinced that even the most powerful corporations have the responsibility of adhering to the rule of law," said acting assistant Attorney General John C. Richter.
The high court's decision was surprisingly swift, coming just over a month after the justices heard arguments in the case.
Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist, writing for the court, said the former Big Five accounting firm's obstruction-of-justice conviction was improper because the instructions at trial were too vague for jurors to determine correctly whether Andersen obstructed justice.
"The jury instructions at issue simply failed to convey the requisite consciousness of wrongdoing," he wrote. "It is striking how little culpability the instructions required."
Enron crashed in December 2001, putting more than 5,000 employees out of work, just six weeks after the energy company revealed massive writedowns. As the Securities and Exchange Commission began looking into Enron's convoluted finances, Andersen put in practice a policy that called for the destruction of what it considered unnecessary documentation.
The decision was a defeat for the Bush administration, which had declared prosecution of white-collar criminals a high priority following accounting scandals at major corporations. But it offered only symbolic relief for Andersen, the company whose 2002 conviction put 28,000 employees out of work and left it virtually defunct.
"We pursued an appeal of this case not because we believed Arthur Andersen could be restored to its previous position, but because we had an obligation to set the record straight," Andersen spokesman Patrick Dorton said. "We are very pleased with the Supreme Court's decision."
The Justice Department said it was disappointed and was reviewing its options, including retrying the case. "We remain convinced that even the most powerful corporations have the responsibility of adhering to the rule of law," said acting assistant Attorney General John C. Richter.
The high court's decision was surprisingly swift, coming just over a month after the justices heard arguments in the case.
Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist, writing for the court, said the former Big Five accounting firm's obstruction-of-justice conviction was improper because the instructions at trial were too vague for jurors to determine correctly whether Andersen obstructed justice.
"The jury instructions at issue simply failed to convey the requisite consciousness of wrongdoing," he wrote. "It is striking how little culpability the instructions required."
Enron crashed in December 2001, putting more than 5,000 employees out of work, just six weeks after the energy company revealed massive writedowns. As the Securities and Exchange Commission began looking into Enron's convoluted finances, Andersen put in practice a policy that called for the destruction of what it considered unnecessary documentation.
Bush Calls Human Rights Report 'Absurd'
President Bush on Tuesday dismissed a human rights report as "absurd" for its harsh criticism of U.S. treatment of terrorist suspects at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, saying the allegations were made by prisoners "who hate America."
"It's an absurd allegation. The United States is a country that promotes freedom around the world," Bush said of the Amnesty International report that compared Guantanamo to a Soviet-era gulag.
In a Rose Garden news conference, Bush defiantly stood by his domestic policy agenda while defending his actions abroad. He repeatedly pledged to press ahead - "The president has got to push, he's got to keep leading" - despite mounting criticism.
"It's an absurd allegation. The United States is a country that promotes freedom around the world," Bush said of the Amnesty International report that compared Guantanamo to a Soviet-era gulag.
In a Rose Garden news conference, Bush defiantly stood by his domestic policy agenda while defending his actions abroad. He repeatedly pledged to press ahead - "The president has got to push, he's got to keep leading" - despite mounting criticism.
'Deep Throat' Reportedly Comes Forward
A former FBI official claims he was "Deep Throat," the long-anonymous source who leaked secrets about President Nixon's Watergate coverup to The Washington Post, Vanity Fair reported Tuesday.
W. Mark Felt, 91, who was second-in-command at the FBI in the early 1970s, kept the secret even from his family until 2002, when he confided to a friend that he had been Post reporter Bob Woodward's source, the magazine said.
"I'm the guy they used to call Deep Throat," he told lawyer John D. O'Connor, the author of the Vanity Fair article, the magazine said in a news release.
Felt was initially adamant about remaining silent on the subject, thinking disclosures about his past somehow dishonorable.
"I don't think (being Deep Throat) was anything to be proud of," Felt indicated to his son, Mark Jr., at one point, according to the article. "You (should) not leak information to anyone."
Felt is a retiree living in Santa Rosa, Calif., with his daughter, Joan, the magazine said. He could not immediately be reached for comment by The Associated Press. His family members disagreed with their father, feeling that he should receive accolades for his role in Watergate before his death.
The Washington Post had no immediate comment on the report.
O'Connor is a lawyer at the San Francisco firm Howard, Rice, Nemerovski, Canady, Falk & Rabkin. A receptionist there said O'Connor was out of the office but confirmed he was the author of the Vanity Fair article.
The existence of Deep Throat, nicknamed for a popular porn movie of the early 1970s, was revealed in Woodward and Carl Bernstein's best-selling book "All the President's Men." In the hit movie based on the book, Deep Throat was played by Hal Holbrook.
But his identity of the source whose disclosures helped bring down the Nixon presidency remained a mystery.
Among those named over the years as Deep Throat were Assistant Attorney General Henry Peterson, deputy White House counsel Fred Fielding, and even ABC newswoman Diane Sawyer, who then worked in the White House press office. Ron Zeigler, Nixon's press secretary, White House aide Steven Bull, speechwriters Ray Price and Pat Buchanan, and John Dean, the White House counsel who warned Nixon of "a cancer growing on the presidency," also were considered candidates.
And some theorized Deep Throat wasn't a single source at all but a composite figure.
In 1999, Felt denied he was the man.
"I would have done better," Felt told The Hartford Courant. "I would have been more effective. Deep Throat didn't exactly bring the White House crashing down, did he?"
In 2003, Woodward and Bernstein reached an agreement to keep their Watergate papers at the University of Texas at Austin.
At the time, the pair said documents naming "Deep Throat" would be kept secure at an undisclosed location in Washington until the source's death.
W. Mark Felt, 91, who was second-in-command at the FBI in the early 1970s, kept the secret even from his family until 2002, when he confided to a friend that he had been Post reporter Bob Woodward's source, the magazine said.
"I'm the guy they used to call Deep Throat," he told lawyer John D. O'Connor, the author of the Vanity Fair article, the magazine said in a news release.
Felt was initially adamant about remaining silent on the subject, thinking disclosures about his past somehow dishonorable.
"I don't think (being Deep Throat) was anything to be proud of," Felt indicated to his son, Mark Jr., at one point, according to the article. "You (should) not leak information to anyone."
Felt is a retiree living in Santa Rosa, Calif., with his daughter, Joan, the magazine said. He could not immediately be reached for comment by The Associated Press. His family members disagreed with their father, feeling that he should receive accolades for his role in Watergate before his death.
The Washington Post had no immediate comment on the report.
O'Connor is a lawyer at the San Francisco firm Howard, Rice, Nemerovski, Canady, Falk & Rabkin. A receptionist there said O'Connor was out of the office but confirmed he was the author of the Vanity Fair article.
The existence of Deep Throat, nicknamed for a popular porn movie of the early 1970s, was revealed in Woodward and Carl Bernstein's best-selling book "All the President's Men." In the hit movie based on the book, Deep Throat was played by Hal Holbrook.
But his identity of the source whose disclosures helped bring down the Nixon presidency remained a mystery.
Among those named over the years as Deep Throat were Assistant Attorney General Henry Peterson, deputy White House counsel Fred Fielding, and even ABC newswoman Diane Sawyer, who then worked in the White House press office. Ron Zeigler, Nixon's press secretary, White House aide Steven Bull, speechwriters Ray Price and Pat Buchanan, and John Dean, the White House counsel who warned Nixon of "a cancer growing on the presidency," also were considered candidates.
And some theorized Deep Throat wasn't a single source at all but a composite figure.
In 1999, Felt denied he was the man.
"I would have done better," Felt told The Hartford Courant. "I would have been more effective. Deep Throat didn't exactly bring the White House crashing down, did he?"
In 2003, Woodward and Bernstein reached an agreement to keep their Watergate papers at the University of Texas at Austin.
At the time, the pair said documents naming "Deep Throat" would be kept secure at an undisclosed location in Washington until the source's death.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)