The Talk Show American

THE TALK SHOW AMERICAN: 02/26/2006 - 03/05/2006

Saturday, March 04, 2006

Rep. Hunter Warns of Dubai WMD Trade

California Congressman Duncan Hunter, who heads up the House Armed Services Committee, offered new details on Friday about how the port of Dubai was used to transfer "nuclear materials and weapons of mass destruction components" to countries like Iran and Pakistan, calling the track record at the port "terrifying."

In a press release issued Thursday, the conservative Republican complained:

� United Arab Emirates officials and private companies have regularly waived-through or turned a blind eye to the shipment of nuclear triggers to Pakistan and nerve gas precursors to Iran.

� In 2003, over U.S. protests, United Arab Emirates customs officials allowed sixty-six American high-speed electrical switches, which are ideal for detonating nuclear weapons, to be sent to a Pakistani businessman with longstanding ties to the Pakistani military.

� Seventy tons of heavy water, a component for nuclear reactors, were sent from China to Dubai. The shipping labels were then changed to mask the transaction, and sixty tons of the heavy water were forwarded to India, where it enabled the government to use its energy-producing reactors to create plutonium for its atomic weapons program. The other ten tons went to Argentina.
� A Greek intermediary offered Iraq an atomic-bomb design from Dr. A. Q. Khan in Pakistan, with a guarantee that "any requirements or materials" could be bought from Western countries and routed through Dubai.

� Two containers of gas centrifuge parts from Dr. Khan's labs were shipped through Dubai to Iran for about $3 million worth of Untied Arab Emirates currency.

� A Dubai company ordered American-made impregnated alumina - a substance that can be used for making nerve gas ingredients - and tried to pass it along to an Iranian purchasing agent in violation of American export control laws.

Hunter urged: "The United States government must take steps to enhance our security -not create greater vulnerabilities. We must ensure critical U.S. infrastructure remains in U.S. hands."

He concluded: "To those who say my views smack of protectionism, I say: America is worth protecting."

Halliburton Eyed for Dubai Ports Deal

The Bush administration is working behind the scenes to defuse the Dubai Ports World controversy by having the UAE-based firm team up with an American company.

According to the New York Daily News, which first reported the new White House strategy on Saturday, "one snag may be that sources say the U.S. company best equipped to partner with DP World is Halliburton, once headed by Vice President Dick Cheney."

But a role for Halliburton may not be such a "snag" after all, since the controversial company's involvement has already been endorsed by leading ports security critic, Sen. Charles Schumer.

"I'd take Halliburton over U.A.E. at this point, if I had to take a choice right now," Schumer told the Fox News Channel on Feb. 20.

Dick Morris: Clinton on Dubai Payroll

Former President Bill Clinton is up to his eyeballs in dealings with Dubai, his former top political adviser has revealed. According to Dick Morris, author of the best-selling book, "Condi vs, Hillary," Clinton is a paid agent of the crown prince of Dubai, now involved in a firestorm over its deal to take over some of the operations at six major U.S. ports. "Bill Clinton is a senior adviser - a paid adviser - to a company called Yucaipa which recently set up a relationship with a group called the Yucaipa Investment group to set up a new company called DIGL," Morris said on "The O'Reilly Factor." "DIGL Inc. is in charge of managing the investments of the crown prince of Dubai throughout the world. Bill Clinton is paid by Yucaipa a percentage of the profits it makes, and Yucaipa said its profits have exceeded 40 percent in recent years. "He is a paid agent of the crown prince of Dubai. That in addition to the roughly million dollars they gave his library, in addition to the probably $600,000 in speaking fees he got, and in addition to the scholarships for Dubai children they endowed through his library.

"I have three points about that. First, when Bill Clinton tells us this port deal is kosher, he ought to disclose that he's being paid by the government. Secondly, he should register as an agent of a foreign principal because he's giving public relations advice to a foreign company. And thirdly, his wife should disclose how much Clinton is being paid and when he's been paid, because it goes into a joint bank account and this is in effect a payment to the husband of a senator. "And then I would raise another question: Didn't Hillary jump out of the box opposing this port deal because she knew of her husband's vulnerability and wanted to get out ahead of the story? I was talking to a source of mine who's very close to the Clintons about seven or eight months ago and the source said that he's all the time going back and forth to Dubai and getting deeper and deeper into that relationship. She (Hillary) was worried about that and its political impact," Morris said.

Bush Didn�t Lie About Levee Breaching

News sources have reported that President Bush lied when he said he wasn�t warned that the levees in New Orleans could be breached during Hurricane Katrina.

But a videotape of a key meeting between Bush and hurricane officials supports the president�s contention that the breaching of the levees was unanticipated.

On September 1, four days after Katrina struck, Bush said: "I don�t think anybody anticipated a breach of the levees.�

The Associated Press on Wednesday claimed that "federal disaster officials warned President Bush and his homeland security chief before Hurricane Katrina struck that the storm could breach levees.�

The Democratic National Committee attempted to make political hay out of the AP report, stating that "during the briefing, National Hurricane Center Director Max Mayfield told the president that the integrity of the levees was �a very, very grave concern� that the president appears to have ignored.�
However, the tape shows that what Mayfield actually told Bush was: "I don�t think any model can tell you with any confidence right now whether the levees will be topped or not, but that�s obviously a very, very grave concern.�

Mayfield told NBC News on Thursday that he warned only that the levees might be topped � that is, the storm surge could push water over the top of the levees � not breached, and that on the many conference calls he monitored, "Nobody talked about the possibility of a levee breach or failure until after it happened.�

Mayfield even told Bush: "The forecast now suggests that there will be minimal flooding in the City of New Orleans itself.�

The Washington Times, commenting on what it called a "hit job� on the president, opined: "If it were true that Mr. Bush heard predictions of levee breaches before the storm hit, then that makes a despicable and costly lie of his statement four days after the hurricane.
"The truth, instead, is that no adviser warned the president of the possibility that the levees could fail. Of course, it makes a juicier story to suggest that the president was warned.�

Blanco Wrong on Levee Breaches

As Hurricane Katrina loomed over the Gulf Coast, federal and state officials agonized over the threat to levees and lives. Hours after the catastrophic storm hit, Louisiana's governor believed New Orleans' crucial floodwalls were still intact.

"We keep getting reports in some places that maybe water is coming over the levees," Gov. Kathleen Blanco said shortly after noon on Aug. 29 - the day the storm hit the Gulf coast.

"We heard a report � unconfirmed, I think � we have not breached the levee," she said on a video of the day's disaster briefing that was obtained Thursday night by The Associated Press. "I think we have not breached the levee at this time."

In fact, the National Weather Service received a report of a levee breach and issued a flash-flood warning as early as 9:12 a.m. that day, according to the White House's formal recounting of events the day Katrina struck.

Tuesday, February 28, 2006

Economy Grows 1.6 Percent in Fourth Quarter

The economy, sagging under the strain of lofty energy prices, grew at an annual rate of 1.6 percent in the final quarter of last year - a mediocre performance that nonetheless turned out to be slightly better than first thought.

The new reading on gross domestic product, released by the Commerce Department on Tuesday, did represent an upgrade from the 1.1 percent growth rate initially estimated for the October-to-December quarter. Still, economic growth under the new GDP figure - as well as the old one - was the slowest in three years and clearly showed a loss of momentum from the third quarter's brisk 4.1 percent pace.

Economists, however, said the economy is already rebounding smartly from the end-of-year lull. They predict growth will clock in at a robust 4.5 percent pace in the current January-to-March quarter.

Expert: Jihadists Can Infiltrate Dubai Ports World

A terrorism expert has revealed a chilling scenario of just how Jihadists could deeply penetrate Dubai Ports World, the embattled United Arab Emirates company that is poised to take over operations at many key U.S. maritime terminals.

Dr. Walid Phares, terrorism and Mideast expert and senior fellow with the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies in Washington, told MSNBC: "In the Dubai World ports agreement, the issue is about how successful can the Jihadists be in penetrating the company in the U.A.E. If they can infiltrate it - which is most likely - they will be able to infiltrate the U.S."

"If anything has to be done, it is in this regard. The rest is politics," the former professor of Middle East Studies and Ethnic and Religious Conflict at Florida Atlantic University concluded in the brief televised interview.

Phares, who conducts briefings to the State, Justice, Defense and Homeland Security Departments, the U.S. Congress, the European Union, and the United Nations Security Council, has been - like many experts these days - focused on the national security implications of the recent purchase of London-based Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Co. by DP World, a state-owned business headquartered in the UAE.

After denigrating the politicizing of the issue, Dr. Phares emphasizes in his essay the deep danger of penetration:

"First, the enemy will penetrate from the U.A.E. end, aided by Salafi or even Khumeinist sympathizers. This first line of defense could be breached by hiring elements to form a network inside the company, or subcontracted �hostile' entities in the future.

"Second, while moving inside the layers of the management the �net' could then hire elements coming from the American side. If we project that Jihadists are operating inside the U.S., a U.A.E. company managing six main U.S. ports would be a first rate opportunity for them to �connect.'

Hence, one can project that once a network installs itself inside the corporation, it would be able to recruit U.S. citizens and residents [who are] sympathizers with or part of the movement. A bridge would thus be established between the outside cells and the inside cells through a perfectly legitimate outlet."

As to the enemy's end-game in the expert's sobering scenario, Phares writes: "Action would come once the bridge is operational. It could develop into multiple directions. General intelligence and spying in the U.S. is only one possibility. Storing material in these sensitive areas is two. Learning about the security systems in these ports from the administrative end is three. Disrupting national security operations is four. The deeper the layers, the wider possibilities would open to the Jihadists. But the initial �hole' is what allows the chain to develop."

Coast Guard Has Port Co. Intel Gaps

Citing broad gaps in U.S. intelligence, the Coast Guard cautioned the Bush administration weeks ago that it could not determine whether a United Arab Emirates-based company seeking a stake in some U.S. port operations might support terrorist operations.

The disclosure came during a hearing Monday on Dubai-owned DP World's plans to take over significant operations at six leading U.S. ports.

The Bush administration said the Coast Guard's concerns were raised during its review of the deal, which it approved Jan. 17, and that all those questions were resolved.

The port operations are now handled by London-based Peninsular & Oriental Steam Navigation Co.

"There are many intelligence gaps, concerning the potential for DPW or P&O assets to support terrorist operations, that precludes an overall threat assessment" of the potential merger, the unclassified Coast Guard intelligence assessment said.

"The breadth of the intelligence gaps also infer potential unknown threats against a large number of potential vulnerabilities," the assessment said.

The Coast Guard said the concerns reflected in the document ultimately were addressed. In a statement, the Coast Guard said other U.S. intelligence agencies were able to provide answers to the questions it raised.

"The Coast Guard, the intelligence community and the entire CFIUS (Committee on Foreign Investments in the United States) panel believed this transaction received the proper review, and national security concerns were, in fact, addressed," the Coast Guard said.

That multi-agency government panel reviews foreign purchases of vital U.S. assets.

The report raised questions about the security of the companies' operations, the backgrounds of people working for the companies, and whether other foreign countries influenced operations that affect security.

CBS poll: 18% have favorable view of Cheney

The latest CBS News poll finds President Bush's approval rating has fallen to an all-time low of 34 percent, while pessimism about the Iraq war has risen to a new high.

Americans are also overwhelmingly opposed to the Bush-backed deal giving a Dubai-owned company operational control over six major U.S. ports. Seven in 10 Americans, including 58 percent of Republicans, say they're opposed to the agreement.

CBS News senior White House correspondent Jim Axelrod reports that now it turns out the Coast Guard had concerns about the ports deal, a disclosure that is no doubt troubling to a president who assured Americans there was no security risk from the deal.

Mr. Bush's overall job rating has fallen to 34 percent, down from 42 percent last month. Fifty-nine percent disapprove of the job the president is doing.

For the first time in this poll, most Americans say the president does not care much about people like themselves. Fifty-one percent now think he doesn't care, compared to 47 percent last fall.

Just 30 percent approve of how Mr. Bush is handling the Iraq war, another all-time low.

In a bright spot for the administration, most Americans appeared to have heard enough about Vice President Dick Cheney's hunting accident.

More then three in four said it was understandable that the accident had occurred and two-thirds said the media had spent too much time covering the story.

Still, the incident appears to have made the public's already negative view of Cheney a more so. Just 18 percent said they had a favorable view of the vice president, down from 23 percent in January.

Americans were evenly split on whether or not Cheney's explanation of why there was a delay in reporting the accident was satisfactory.

Report: Dick Cheney to quit after elections

Magazine: VP expected to retire within year as he becomes increasing 'liability' to Bush

Vice President Dick Cheney might retire within a year, shortly after the mid-term elections, according to senior Republican sources who spoke to Insight magazine.

The sources said they envision Cheney being persuaded to step down as he becomes an increasing liability to President Bush.

There is a growing rift between the president and the vice president and their staffs, the sources said, citing Cheney's delay in informing the president of the accidental shooting of the vice president's hunting colleague.

Cheney could face a new crisis by the end of the year with possible accusations from his former chief of staff Lewis Libby, who faces charges in connection with the CIA leak probe.

The White House, according to Insight, anticipates Libby putting Cheney on the defensive with claims the vice president ordered Libby to relay classified information � a charge that could lead to a congressional probe and even impeachment proceedings. Libby told a grand jury unnamed "superiors" directed him to relay the content of a National Intelligence Estimate on Iraq in July 2003.

"Nothing will happen until after the congressional elections," a GOP source told Insight. "After that, there will be significant changes in the administration and Cheney will probably be part of that."

The accidental shooting highlighted the lack of communication between Bush and Cheney staffers, the sources said. Nobody on the president's staff could get to Cheney, the sources said, to advise him to contact reporters.

"At that point, the president picked up the phone and suggested that Cheney get his story out fast," a source said.

The vice president has struggled with the departure of his closest aides, the sources said. Along with Libby, he lost his media adviser, Steve Schmidt, to California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's re-election campaign.

The president, the sources told Insight, has been urged by people close to his father to dismiss Cheney but has rejected the advice. Bush values Cheney for his national security experience and trust by conservative Republicans.

Monday, February 27, 2006

EPA OK'd plan to dump VX nerve agent into river

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency won't oppose the U.S. Department of Defense and DuPont Co.'s plan to dump a wastewater byproduct of a deadly nerve agent into the Delaware River.

The agency said it's assured of a safe treatment for up to 4 million gallons of caustic wastewater created in the treatment for VX, a chemical weapon with a pinhead-size potency to kill a human. DuPont is treating VX for disposal at its Newport Chemical Depot in Indiana.

The agent, once neutralized, would be shipped to DuPont's Chambers Works plant in Deepwater, N.J., for discharge into the river.

"EPA believes that all of our previously identified ecological concerns have been resolved," said Walter Mugdan, director of the agency's Environmental Planning and Protection division in New York, in a letter released Friday to CNN and obtained by The News Journal in Wilmington, Del.

The agency's position angers opponents of the disposal plan. They're concerned the wastewater would harm the Delaware, which supplies drinking water to millions. Furthermore, opponents say the EPA's opinion is premature and raises more questions about the wastewater's effects on river health.

The EPA forwarded its findings to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, where analysts are considering health risks posed by the Army and DuPont's plan. A final report from the CDC is expected to go to the region's congressional delegations in April. An earlier study by the agency was inconclusive as to the health effects of the discharge.

Tracy Carluccio, a spokeswoman for the Delaware Riverkeeper based in Washington Crossing, criticized the EPA for its action.

"This report [by the EPA] is not conclusive in any way," she said Saturday.

Government officials in both states have said they're concerned that traces of VX and other toxic byproducts would reach the river even after treatment.

Although the EPA found DuPont had proven the discharge would meet federal limits on toxic pollutants, the agency recommended additional work, including studies of fish and other aquatic life before treatment begins. The EPA, New Jersey, DuPont and the Delaware River Basin Commission would collaborate in those studies.

Germany admits it gave Iraq intelligence to U.S.

German intelligence officials provided the United States with information about developments in Iraq during the US-led invasion to which the Berlin government was officially opposed, according to a government dossier.

But the report on the activities of BND foreign intelligence agents in Iraq dismisses claims they assisted the US in its "strategic aerial offensive" against the forces of then-president Saddam Hussein.

Media reports in Germany and the United States had claimed two BND agents who remained in Baghdad after the March 2003 invasion had provided information that helped US forces target their bombs.

The report said the agents relayed information to

BND headquarters in Pullach near Munich where it was evaluated and in some cases passed on to the US.

Some of the data concerned military and troop activities and the location of Iraqi special forces, often ascertained with the help of GPS equipment.

None of this served to support the "strategic aerial war offensive" because no information concerning immediate air or ground operations was passed on, the report said.

The original dossier was 300 pages, but the version made public late Thursday was only 90 pages because of cuts made for security reasons and data protection requirements.

Iraq official: Top Zarqawi aide captured

Interior Ministry forces captured a top aide to al-Qaida in Iraq leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi during a raid in western Iraq, a security official said Monday.

The official, a member of the ministry's counterinsurgency Wolf Brigade, identified the key al-Qaida figure as Abu al-Farouq, who was previously unknown. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media.

The officer said al-Farouq and five other al-Qaida operatives were captured based on a tip from residents near al-Bakr, about 30 miles west of the insurgent stronghold of Ramadi.

"Abou al-Farouq, a Syrian, was in charge of planning and financing militant groups operating in Ramadi while the other five are responsible of attacking Iraqi and coalition forces," the officer told The Associated Press.

Al-Qaida: We infiltrated UAE government

Al Qaeda warned the government of the United Arab Emirates more than three years ago that it "infiltrated" key government agencies, according to a disturbing document released by the U.S. military.
The warning was contained in a June 2002 message to UAE rulers, in which the terror network demanded the release of an unknown number of "mujahedeen detainees," who it said had been arrested during a government crackdown in the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks.

The explosive document is certain to become ammunition for critics of the controversial UAE port who fear the Dubai-based firm could be used by terrorists to sneak money and personnel into the United States.

Little is known about the origins or authorship of the message.

"You are well aware that we have infiltrated your security, censorship and monetary agencies, along with other agencies that should not be mentioned," the message said.

"Therefore, we warn of the continuation of practicing . . . policies which do not serve your interest and will only cost you many problems that will place you in an embarrassing state before your citizens.

"Your homeland is exposed to us. There are many vital interests that will hurt you if we decided to harm them."

The document was among a batch of internal al Qaeda communications captured by U.S. forces in the war on terror.

They were declassified and released earlier this month by the Center for Combating Terrorism at West Point.

"If it's real, the document shows that the UAE really is trying to cooperate with the U.S. in the war on terrorism, because they were being threatened by al Qaeda," said terrorism expert Lorenzo Vidino.

"But it also reveals that even though they [the UAE] are our friends, al Qaeda seems to have people on the inside in the UAE, just as it has in Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, Qatar and Kuwait."

"Talk Show America" Featured in Local Magazine Article

The fresh air of podcasting

By Scott Zoback

Twelve months ago �podcasting� was little more than a nonsense word for most people. And for some, it still is. In its most basic form, podcasting is a cross between an audio blog or diary and a radio show saved on the Internet for anyone to download and listen to. Users are able to �subscribe� to particular shows, and have them download automatically whenever they are updated.

Over the past year or so, the number of casts has exploded dramatically, with little more required than a computer and a microphone. While many die out, several widely ranged casts currently broadcast on a regular basis. As a sampling, there is a Limbaugh-esque conservative talk show; a decidedly liberal show called �Queerspresso,� another one dedicated to electric cars, and yet another with the sole purpose of getting new and great hip-hop music out to the world. Certainly a wide variety, yet the Worcester shows go unheard by many not in the know.

Podcasting has been around for a while, even if it wasn�t known by that name or was as popular as it has become over the past year or so. Joseph LaFlower, the Warren police officer who runs and hosts the daily conservative talk-cast �Talk Show America,� says that, �It�s a show I�ve been doing on the Internet for five years.� It�s also a show that has run � and continues to run � on various airwaves and Internet radio stations around the country.

More than anything, podcasts have given a forum and a voice to people who didn�t have the same opportunity � or the same perception of that opportunity � 11 months or a year ago.

�That�s what podcasting is about,� says Andy Douglas, a pillar of the RainbowPodSquad lineup. �It connects to fans more than radio.� It also allows for podcasters to reach a wider audience, with LaFlower getting thousands of daily listeners between the live show and the downloads; �I have hundreds more from the podcast alone,� he says.

And while the relative ease of podcasting has turned everyone into a pundit, comedian or music guru, it is not always an easy process. The podcast universe is littered with failed shows that lasted one or two episodes before falling by the wayside. As anyone who has done radio will tell you, filling a significant amount of airtime with valuable content is a challenge. Add to that some of the technical hurdles. Douglas says that for any individual show, �you can spend anywhere from one hour to two-and-a-half editing, recording, researching, etc.� It is a lot of time for something that is not a money-making venture, but as he adds, �the point is to have fun and interact with people.�



Scott Zoback may be reached at szoback@worcestermag.com.

Read the complete story here: Worcester Magazine

Sunday, February 26, 2006

Al-Qaida in Iraq Chief Killed in Raid

Al-Qaida in Iraq's leader in northern Baghdad was killed in a raid Friday, the U.S. military said.

The military identified Abu Asma, also known as Abu Anas and Akram Mahmud al-Mushhadani, as an explosives expert with close ties to important car bomb manufacturers in Baghdad.

He died in a northern Baghdad raid conducted by coalition forces with the help of Iraqi police, a military statement said.

"Intelligence reports indicated Abu Asma was in possession of and expected to use suicide vests against the Iraqi people and security forces," the statement said. "He was directly responsible for many deaths and injuries of coalition and Iraqi security forces."

No further details were provided.

Al-Qaida Vows Attacks After Foiled Bid

Al-Qaida on Saturday vowed more attacks a day after an attempt to bomb the world's biggest oil processing complex showed the group still can strike inside Saudi Arabia despite the arrests of hundreds of suspects.

A strike on the Abqaiq complex, near Saudi Arabia's eastern Persian Gulf coast, could have been devastating. Nearly two-thirds of the country's oil flows through the facility for processing before export.

Foiling the attack demonstrated Saudi Arabia's success in putting tough security around the oil industry, the source of the royal family's wealth, oil analysts said.

Two suicide bombers in explosives-packed cars traded fire with police at a checkpoint before a gate in the first of three fences around the sprawling, heavily guarded complex. One bomber collided with the closed gate, exploding and blowing a hole in the fence, a senior Saudi security official said.

The second bomber drove through the hole before police opened fire, detonating his car, the official added on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue.

Witnesses on Friday reported that security forces traded fire with gunmen outside the facility after the explosions and that a hunt for attackers continued for hours. Saudi officials have not reported the capture of any assailants.

At least two attackers and two security guards were killed, the state news agency reported. Eight foreign workers at the facility - all from South Asia - were wounded, a former Aramco employee told The Associated Press on condition of anonymity. Aramco is the state oil company that owns the facility.

Homeland Security Protested Ports Deal

The Homeland Security Department objected at first to a United Arab Emirates company's taking over significant operations at six U.S. ports. It was the lone protest among members of the government committee that eventually approved the deal without dissent.

The department's early objections were settled later in the government's review of the $6.8 billion deal after Dubai-owned DP World agreed to a series of security restrictions.

Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist and other congressional leaders, the company and Bush administration officials were working on a compromise intended to derail plans by Republicans and Democrats for legislation next week that would force a new investigation of security issues relating to the deal. Talks were to continue through the weekend.

"My comfort level is good, but I have 99 other United States senators who need the opportunity to ask their questions," Frist told the Lexington Herald-Leader before speaking at a Republican dinner Saturday evening in Lexington, Ky.

"We're behind the president 100 percent," he added. "We believe the decision in all likelihood is absolutely the right one."

Under one proposal being discussed, DP World would seek new approval of the deal from the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, given the company's surprise decision Thursday to indefinitely postpone its takeover of U.S. port operations. Other proposals included a new, intensive 45-day review of the deal by the government - something the White House had refused to consider as recently as Friday.

Rep. Peter King, chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee, said discussions among congressional leaders centered on that issue. "It's my understanding that they are trying to build support for a deal involving a new 45-day investigation," he said.

Frist, R-Tenn., said that while legislation may not be necessary now, having "30 to 45 days" to step back and evaluate the deal still could be necessary.

"If there's some question about the diagnosis, then maybe we need to get a second opinion," said Frist, a former heart surgeon.