Press fury at Baghdad wall 23 Apr 2007 Date: Tue, 24 Apr 2007 00:56:10 -0500 (CDT) Breaking News and Commentary from Citizens for Legitimate Government 23 April 2007 http://www.legitgov.org/ All links to articles as summarized below are available here: http://www.legitgov.org/index.html#breaking_news Press fury at Baghdad wall 23 Apr 2007 A controversial wall being built by US forces in a Baghdad's Sunni district on a mainly Shia east bank of Tigris has been roundly condemned by papers both in Iraq and wider region. Fears are expressed that the wall will turn the capital into "a big prison", exacerbate sectarian tensions and trigger the construction of similar barriers elsewhere in the country. A Syrian daily urges Iraqis to rise up and fight what it sees as part of wider US-Israeli efforts to isolate Arabs or "face extermination". [Citizens for Legitimate Government has saved this article on its server, in case the BBC removes it. Click here for CLG's archive of the article.] As'ad Abud In Syria's Al-Thawrah 23 Apr 2007 'The wall is a real step to solidify and increase the sectarian hostility that has flourished in the US-made reality on the ground in Iraq. Such a humiliation for the Arabs ... what can you do? Either fight the siege or face extermination, so choose between dying as a resistance fighter or dying between a wall and the other.' Iraq PM says he has ordered halt to Baghdad wall 22 Apr 2007 Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki said Sunday that he had ordered a halt to a controversial wall being built by US troops around a Sunni enclave in mainly Shiite east Baghdad. "I am opposed to the building of the wall and its construction is going to stop," the premier told a joint press conference in Cairo with Arab League chief Amr Mussa. [Only Bush could make Iraqis long for the good old days of Saddam Hussein.] Bush says he'll stand by his principles like Lincoln did in wartime 23 Apr 2007 President [sic] Bush empathized with Abraham Lincoln on Monday, saying they both stood by their principles in the face of criticism during wartime. The president took seniors and advocacy group leaders on a tour of the Oval Office after a meeting on Medicare's drug 'benefit.' He showed the group a portrait of Abraham Lincoln. He said Lincoln was unpopular during the Civil War but maintained his belief that all men are created equal. "Look what would have happened to history" if Lincoln had abandoned that principle, Bush said. [Let's hope the comparison doesn't extend to a night at the theater.] Higher U.S. troop levels in Iraq likely beyond summer 22 Apr 2007 Remarks by senior U.S. commanders and officials and a change in Army deployment plans all suggest the higher level of American troops now building in Iraq is likely to remain for months beyond the summer. The Bush regime has avoided predicting how long it will keep the beefed-up force of about 160,000 troops ordered by the pResident in January. US to help Iraq recruit 40,000 troops 22 Apr 2007 Iraq and the United States are to spend 14 billion dollars and recruit 40,000 new soldiers into the Iraqi armed forces in the next 18 months, a US military commander said Sunday. Car Bomb Kills 9 U.S. Soldiers in Iraq 24 Apr 2007 Nine U.S. soldiers were killed and 20 were wounded Monday in a suicide car bombing against a patrol base northeast of Baghdad [in Diyala province], the military said. An Iraqi civilian was also wounded. Suicide Bombings Around Iraq Kill 46 23 Apr 2007 A suicide car bomb struck a restaurant in Iraq on Monday, killing at least 19 people and wounding 35, police said. The attack occurred on a highway near Ramadi, a city that is 70 miles west of Baghdad, a policeman said on condition of anonymity out of concern for his own safety. Day of carnage as 47 slaughtered in Iraq 23 Apr 2007 'Insurgents' slaughtered another 47 Iraqis on Sunday, including 23 members of a small religious minority dragged from a bus and gunned down by the roadside, security officials said. Democrats to send Bush $124B war spending bill 24 Apr 2007 Congressional Democrats agreed Monday to ignore President [sic] Bushs veto threat and send him a $124 billion war spending bill that orders the administration to begin pulling troops out of Iraq by Oct. 1. [Useless is as useless does.] Intelligence Agent Killed in Afghanistan 24 Apr 2007 Assailants abducted and beheaded an Afghan intelligence service employee and struck one of the agencys vehicles with a remote-controlled bomb in a separate attack, killing six employees and wounding three, officials said Monday. Another roadside bomb attack in the south killed two policemen, while a large car bomb was found and defused in the capital, Kabul. Nigeria election 'worst ever seen' [The election 'worst ever seen' goes to the 2000 NON-elections (coup) in the United States.] 24 Apr 2007 Ruling party candidate Umaru Yar'Adua was declared winner of Nigeria's presidential election, but foreign observers slammed the credibility of a disputed poll that claimed at least 200 lives. The US said it was "deeply troubled" by violence and voting irregularities during both state elections on April 14 and the presidential and parliamentary polls on Saturday. [OMFG! The US is "deeply troubled" by voting irregularities!] Blair Set to Quit On May 9 22 Apr 2007 Tony Blair will leave Downing Street before a decision is taken on charges in the cash for honours affair. The Prime Minister was yesterday said to be preparing to stand down on May 9. That will trigger a seven-week leadership election process in the Labour Party and a new PM - probably Gordon Brown - will move into 10 Downing Street at the end of June. Al-Qaeda 'planning big British attack' 22 Apr 2007 Al-Qaeda [al-CIAduh] leaders in Iraq are planning the first "large-scale" terrorist attacks on Britain and other western targets with the help of supporters in Iran [LOL!], according to a leaked intelligence report. Spy chiefs warn that one operative had said he was planning an attack on "a par with Hiroshima and Nagasaki" in an attempt to "shake the Roman throne", a reference to the West. Iran FM accuses US of supporting terrorism 23 Apr 2007 Iran's Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki on Monday claimed in Havana that Washington supported terrorism in various parts of the world, criticizing last week's release of a former CIA operative convicted in the deadly 1976 downing of a Cuban airliner. The Iranian diplomat, who was on a two-day visit to Cuba, decried what he called Washington's "support for terrorism in various parts of the world." His remarks followed last week's release on bail of former CIA operative Luis Posada Carriles, who is wanted in Cuba and Venezuela for a 1976 bombing that killed all 73 people aboard a Cuban passenger jet. Plans to transport plutonium through Chicago suburbs raise concerns --DoE considering Interstates 88, 80, 294 and 74 to transport plutonium to Argonne National Laboratory and new nuclear waste facility in Morris 20 Apr 2007 Concern over the possibility that radioactive plutonium waste will be transported on area highways has prompted a meeting tonight on the subject. The meeting will take place from 6 to 8:30 p.m. at Nichols Library, 200 W. Jefferson Ave., in Naperville. It was organized by the Nuclear Waste Containment Campaign, a group of citizens from throughout the western suburbs. FDA inaction cited in contamination 23 Apr 2007 The Food and Drug Administration knew for years about contamination at a Georgia peanut butter plant and on California spinach farms that led to disease that killed three people, federal records show. But the agency took only limited steps and relied on producers to police themselves. Ohio Congressman Wants Cheney Impeached 24 Apr 2007 Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D), a vocal critic of the Bush regime's war in Iraq, plans to introduce articles of impeachment against Vice President [sic] Dick Cheney on Tuesday. Tortureboy says he's staying on the job 23 Apr 2007 Bolstered by a fresh show of support from President [sic] Bush, Attorney General Alberto Gonzales [aka Tortureboy] sought Monday to move beyond calls for his resignation and lingering questions about his credibility after the firings of federal prosecutors. Critics reluctantly conceded that Gonzales was likely to weather the political storm. [He should hold his job for as long as he can hold his breath while being waterboarded. --MDR] Bush Reaffirms His Support for Tortureboy 23 Apr 2007 President [sic] Bush said today that the Congressional testimony of Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales [aka Tortureboy] last week, roundly panned by members of both parties, "in a way increased my confidence in his ability to do the job." Huckabee Calls Gonzales a Distraction 24 Apr 2007 Republican presidential hopeful Mike Huckabee on Monday called Alberto Gonzales a "major distraction" for President [sic] Bush and the GOP, and suggested the attorney general voluntarily step down. Obama pulls even with Clinton in White House race 23 Apr 2007 On the heels of a burst of successful fund-raising, Democratic 2008 presidential hopeful Sen. Barack Obama has pulled even with frontrunner Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, a new poll released on Monday found. Legislature passes bill delaying Real ID 20 Apr 2007 Georgia joins a growing number of states whose lawmakers have approved bills threatening not to comply with federal standards [the Real ID Act] for drivers' licenses. Virginia Tech Shooting 'Oddities' By Lori Price Updated! Professor fired over Va. Tech discussion 23 Apr 2007 An adjunct professor [Nicholas Winset] was fired after leading a classroom discussion about the Virginia Tech shootings in which he pointed a marker at some students and said "pow." Fired Emmanuel College professor fights back 23 Apr 2007 A former Emmanuel College adjunct professor [Nicholas Winset], who was fired last week after using a classroom discussion to mimic the recent tragedy at Virginia Tech, said yesterday that the college violated his rights and has tried to stifle valid discussion of a controversial topic. Tech gunman shot victims over 100 times 22 Apr 2007 Dr. William Massello, the assistant state medical examiner based in Roanoke, said Sunday that Virginia Tech gunman Seung-Hui Cho died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound to his temple after firing enough shots to wound his 32 victims more than 100 times. But there was nothing unusual about Cho's autopsy, he said, and nothing that would have hinted at any psychological problems that might have led him to commit the worst shooting massacre in modern U.S. history. MID electric customers get big shock from PG&E 21 Apr 2007 Local businesses and residents who disconnected from Pacific Gas and Electric as long as 12 years ago are in for shock -- they still owe PG&E money. Electric customers who switched their service from PG&E to Merced Irrigation District starting in 1995 will be hit with retroactive bills following a recent ruling by the California Public Utilities Commission. Statewide, residential customers will face a median total fee charge of $1,100, said Nicole Tam, a PG&E spokesperson. [Arming the Left: Is the time now? --by Charles Southwell 21 Oct 2003] Gasoline at $4 Coming to a Pump Near You, Unfazed by Rising Tab 23 Apr 2007 Whether it's $50 to fill up your Prius or $130 for the Ford Expedition, $4-a-gallon gasoline is coming to a pump near you. "Prices will depend entirely on whether we have a couple of refineries blow up," [!?!] said Philip K. Verleger, an economist who runs a consulting firm in Newport Beach, California. [LOL, Bush bin Laden and Exxon Mobil are *counting* on it.] CLGers, we need your support. http://www.legitgov.org/#contribute Or, please mail a check or money order to the CLG: Citizens for Legitimate Government (CLG) P.O. Box 1142 Bristol, CT 06011-1142 Contributions to CLG are not tax deductible. [Previous lead stories:] Troop Surge May Be Extended in Iraq 21 Apr 2007 The Pentagon is laying the groundwork to extend the U.S. troop buildup in Iraq. At the same time, the administration is warning Iraqi leaders that the boost in forces could be reversed if political reconciliation is not evident by summer. Top general: Iraq must live with 'sensational attacks' 22 Apr 2007 The U.S. troop buildup in Iraq has yielded modest progress but a rise in suicide bombings helps make the ultimate success of the security crackdown uncertain, the top U.S. commander in the country said in remarks published Sunday... The Washington Post cited military data showing that suicide bombings increased 30 percent over the six weeks that ended in early April. "I don't think you're ever going to get rid of all the car bombs," Gen. David Petraeus said. [Yeah, especially when you're the one having them planted.] "Iraq is going to have to learn -- as did, say, Northern Ireland -- to live with some degree of sensational attacks." He said a more realistic goal was preventing the bombings from causing "horrific damage." [What is "less" horrific damage? Some might say, if a bomb lands on Petraeus's head instead of that of an Iraqi civilian --well, that's "less" horrific damage. --LRP] Fallujah loses 4th city council chairman to assassination 21 Apr 2007 The 65-year-old Sunni sheik was the only one who campaigned to take the helm of the Fallujah city council after three previous chairmen were gunned down by 'suspected Sunni insurgents' [US terrorists]. But Sami Abdul-Amir al-Jumaili died Saturday as his predecessors had in a hail of bullets. Please forward this newsletter to anyone you think might be interested. Those who'd like to be added to the Newsletter list can sign up: http://www.legitgov.org/#subscribe_clg. Please write to: signup@legitgov.org for inquiries. CLG Newsletter editor: Lori Price, Manager. Copyright ) 2007, Citizens For Legitimate Government . All rights reserved. CLG Founder and Chair is Michael Rectenwald, Ph.D.