Iraqi journalists forced into exile 20 Mar 2008 Resent-Date: Thu, 20 Mar 2008 22:48:10 -0500 (CDT) Breaking News and Commentary from Citizens For Legitimate Government 20 Mar 2008 http://www.legitgov.org/ All items are here: http://www.legitgov.org/#breaking_news Iraqi journalists forced into exile 19 Mar 2008 Hundreds of Iraqi journalists have been forced into exile since the war started five years ago, Reporters without Borders announced in a report released Wednesday. Most fled to Jordan or Syria after receiving threats or surviving murder attempts, according to the Paris-based advocacy group. The report found that Iraqi journalists face the unique danger of being targeted by multiple groups -- Sunni and Shiite militias, 'al-Qaida' in Iraq, the [US-funded] police and other authorities and U.S.-led forces. Lawmakers want probe of KBR role in accidental electrocutions in Iraq --Details sought about electrocutions of military and contract workers in Iraq and about KBR's role in making electrical repairs. 19 Mar 2008 At least a dozen soldiers and Marines have been electrocuted in Iraq over the five years of the war, and investigators now are trying to learn what role improper grounding of electrical wires played in those deaths. And Houston-based KBR -- which builds bases and maintains housing for U.S. troops in Iraq -- is at the center of the probe, with questions being raised about its responsibility to repair known wiring problems. Henry Waxman (D-Calif.), chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, sent a letter today to Defense Secretary Robert Gates seeking details about electrocutions of military and contract workers in Iraq and about KBR's role in making electrical repairs. Soldiers Dying From KBR Electrocution --A Dozen Soldiers Have Died From Accidental Electrocution in Iraq, Says Congressman 20 Mar 2008 Staff Sgt. Ryan D. Maseth's parents have filed a wrongful death lawsuit in a Pennsylvania state court against Kellogg Brown Root, the contractor hired to maintain and repair the electrical infrastructure at the Radwaniyah Palace complex in Baghdad, where Maseth lived. His mother, Cheryl A. Harris, claims that KBR had been aware of the problems with the electrical system at the complex since February 2007, citing reports from the contractor and the Army's Criminal Investigation Division she was shown during meetings with Army personnel. Iraq to pay $2.5 billion to Exxon Mobil, BP, other top oil firms 19 Mar 2008 The Iraqi government is expected to pay up to $2.5 billion to five top oil companies to increase the country's oil output by nearly a quarter, a government adviser told Reuters on Wednesday. In what would be the biggest foreign involvement for decades, Baghdad is close to signing technical support contracts with BP, Royal Dutch Shell, Exxon Mobil, Chevron and Total... The ongoing talks have also given the five major oil companies a head start in efforts to bid for future oil contracts. [I am without speech. The Bush f*ckers are sticking it to us, by announcing this corpora-terrorist giveaway exactly five years after shock & awe.] Forbidden fields: Oil groups circle the prize of Iraq's vast reserves 19 Mar 2008 Royal Dutch Shell has been quietly working with Iraq's oil ministry over the past two years, advising it on how to increase the production of two oilfields. Under an agreement struck after the 2003 invasion, no one from the company, Europes largest oil group, has set foot in the troubled country; instead, monthly face-to-face meetings with the oil ministry have been held in Amman, the Jordanian capital, and weekly contact has been maintained by video-link... Shell is one of several international oil companies including BP and the US groups ExxonMobil and Chevron that have been tapping into Iraq's oil industry by remote control. US Company Given $85M to Help Expand Iraqi Refinery 19 Mar 2008 Iraq's Oil Ministry has signed a contract with the Colorado Industrial Construction Services Co. to help expand a refinery in Najaf, south of Baghdad, an official said Wednesday. The $85 million contract is designed to increase the refinery's current capacity of 20,000 barrels of oil per day by roughly 10,000 barrels per day, a senior ministry official said. 'We live in a nightmare. Death and carnage is everywhere' Ali, Baghdad resident 20 Mar 2008 In Baghdad, survival stories can be found on every street corner. Ali is a painter and a student at the academy of art in north Baghdad... In a shy, soft voice Ali tells me how he had been standing with a friend in Karrada when a bomb went off at the side of the road. "I heard an explosion very close by," he says. "I saw smoke and chaos and people screaming. I saw my friend Hassan, who was running and carrying a child who had lost an arm. I saw a nice-looking girl - the Karrada girls, you know how beautiful they are. She was dead. And I saw a girl who had only one eye." Canadian says U.S. interrogators threatened rape 19 Mar 2008 A young Canadian prisoner [Omar Khadr] held at Guantanamo said in legal documents that U.S. interrogators repeatedly threatened to rape him and Canadian government visitors told him they were powerless to do anything. Officer nearly ordered Khadr's execution: witness 19 Mar 2008 A U.S. Army officer was going to have Canadian Omar Khadr executed after a July 2002 firefight in Afghanistan but was stopped at the last moment by Special Forces troops, according to a diary account. 'Canadians called me a liar': Khadr --Guantanamo prisoner says he was denied help despite his reports of torture by Americans 19 Mar 2008 Canadian officials refused to help a sobbing Omar Khadr when they visited him in Guantanamo Bay, despite allegations of torture at the hands of Americans who had captured him after a firefight in Afghanistan, according to Khadr. "I showed them my injuries," recalled Khadr in an affidavit filed with a U.S. military war crimes court. "I said that I told the Americans whatever they wanted me to say because they would torture me. The Canadians called me a liar and I began to sob. They screamed at me and told me that they could not do anything for me," said Khadr, recalling one of six visits in 2003 and 2004 by Canadians to the U.S. naval base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Cheney Doesn't Care What You Think By Dan Froomkin 20 Mar 2008 It's never exactly been a secret that Vice President [sic] Cheney operates by his own rules and thinks he knows better than the American public. But yesterday, he made it official. Talking to ABC News's Martha Raddatz, in the piano lounge of the Shangri-La resort and spa in Oman, Cheney said he isn't the least bit concerned that the public overwhelmingly opposes the war in Iraq. Over 200 arrested in U.S. antiwar protests 20 Mar 2008 More than 200 people were arrested across the United States on Wednesday as protesters marking the fifth anniversary of the U.S. invasion of Iraq obstructed downtown traffic and tried to block access to government offices. Anti-War Protest Blocks Lake Shore Drive 20 Mar 2008 (Chicago) About a dozen anti-war protesters blocked northbound Lake Shore Drive Thursday morning causing traffic to slow to a crawl in either direction. Bush Vows to Prevent Iran From Acquiring Nuclear Arms --President Says Tehran Wants to 'Destroy People;' [in psychology, this is called projection] Cannot Be Trusted to Enrich Uranium 20 Mar 2008 President [sic] Bush said the Iranian government has "declared they want to have a nuclear weapon to destroy people" and vowed that the United States would be "firm" in preventing Tehran's acquisition of such arms. Longer Afghan missions eyed --MacKay says extending 6-month stints possible as manpower shortages hamper 'Afghan mission' 20 Mar 2008 Longer deployments for Canadian troops in Kandahar perhaps as long as a year are being considered as the military struggles to meet the manpower demands of a 'mission' that has been extended by two years. Defence Minister Peter MacKay said yesterday from Kandahar he is not ruling it out, but added the decision rests with senior commanders. [Besides boosting US opium smuggling, what exactly *is* the 'Afghan mission?'] British troops kill Afghan policeman 20 Mar 2008 British troops shot dead one Afghan policeman and wounded another in southern Afghanistan, the officials said on Thursday. NATO forces opened fire on an Afghan National Police (ANP) checkpoint in the provincial capital of Helmand overnight, the Afghan Interior Ministry said. Cheney: 'Haven't seen' Osama bin Laden's latest 20 Mar 2008 Vice President [sic] Dick Cheney... was asked about the situation in Pakistan and about his reaction to the latest tape released this week by Osama bin Laden "I havent seen the statement" he said of the al Qaeda leaders latest communique. [Right, he's only involved in the pre-production meetings.] New 'Bin Laden tape' threatens EU 20 Mar 2008 In a new audio message purportedly from Osama Bin Laden, the al-Qaeda [al-CIAduh] leader threatens the EU over the re-printing of a cartoon offensive to Muslims. Bin Laden to release new message: monitor 19 Mar 2008 Al-Qaeda [al-CIAduh] leader Osama bin Laden is expected to release a new message within the next two days, the U.S.-based 'terrorism monitoring service' SITE Institute said on Wednesday. The message is entitled, "The Response Will Be What You See, Not What You Hear," SITE said in a release. [Hmm, I wonder which Osama nose and beard will appear this time?] Counter-terrorism building blueprints found in trash 20 Mar 2008 Public Safety Minister Stockwell Day says he is waiting for details on how the blueprints for the Canadian Armed Forces new counter-terrorism building to be based in Trenton, Ont., ended up in a garbage can in downtown Ottawa. Exxon Mobil spent $16.9M lobbying federal government 19 Mar 2008 Exxon Mobil Corp., the largest U.S. oil company, spent more than $16.9 million to lobby the federal government in 2007, according to a disclosure form. Besides Congress, Exxon Mobil lobbied the White House, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, U.S. Trade Representative's office, the departments of Energy, Defense, Interior, State, Commerce, Homeland Security and more. [Uh, why is Exxon Mobil lobbying the *Defense* Department and *Homeland Security?* I know Exxon is lobbying the Interior Department so they can kill off the rest of the polar bears, but is anyone besides me wondering why an oil company is lobbying the Defense Department and Homeland Security? --LRP] Terrorists' dream given go-ahead: Federal Regulators Approve Liquefied Natural Gas Terminal --NY officials have yet to decide on issuing permits for project; Conn. officials warned will fight in court if project is approved by federal regulators, New York. 20 Mar 2008 Federal regulators have approved a liquefied natural gas terminal proposed for Long Island Sound. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission on Thursday approved the $700 million terminal proposal by Broadwater Energy. It would be located nine miles from Long Island and 10 miles from the Connecticut shoreline. Environmentalists and many elected officials oppose the project, saying it could imperil the fragile ecosystem in Long Island Sound and that a terrorist attack on the facility could result in catastrophe. [Yeah, but think of all the Democrats living in those two blue states Bush could kill in one fell swoop --even more than in New Orleans! LieberBush and Bloomberg would approve the KBR and Blackwater 'rebuilding' contracts, no questions asked. --LRP] Montrial 9/11 Truth Prisente: Montreal, The Next Terror Target? (Lequipe Montreal 9/11 Truth Team) 20 Mar 2008 Montreal 9/11 Truth has just produced a documentary film exposing a networked video surveillance contract that the Montreal Transit System (STM) has signed involving a company with an alleged shady history and very close ties to American and Israeli intelligence services. Israel's airport security questioned 19 Mar 2008 A civil rights group is challenging Israeli airport security practices. The group says Israel singles out Arabs for closer inspection, and that's racism. But experts say the practice, which is known as profiling, is vital to security and saves lives. 'They made third world nations laboratories. They want us to be ill while at the same time selling the vaccines.' Indonesia accuses U.S. of abusing bird flu virus 20 Mar 2008 Indonesian Health Minister Siti Fadhilah Supari has accused the United States of abusing Indonesian bird flu virus for commercial purposes, Antara news agency reported on Thursday. "We sent the virus (to them) for the sake of humanity but they have turned it into vaccines sold everywhere on the pretext of keeping watch for pandemic," Antara news agency Thursday quoted the minister as saying in Surabaya. On the pretext of keeping watch for pandemic, she said the U.S. and WHO had produced vaccines and sold them to third world countries for millions of dollars. "They made third world nations laboratories. They want us to be ill while at the same time selling the vaccines. Don't let this continue," she said. [See: Rumsfeld's growing stake in Tamiflu 31 Oct 2005 Defense Secretary, ex-chairman of flu treatment rights holder, sees portfolio value growing. See: Killer flu recreated in the lab 07 Oct 2004.] Rio registers 1,100 cases of dengue fever in single day 20 Mar 2008 The city of Rio de Janeiro registered 1,100 new cases of dengue fever between March 17 and 18, Brazilian media reported Wednesday. 'When a member of the Bar is convicted of an offense involving moral turpitude, disbarment is mandatory.' Former Cheney Aide Libby Disbarred --Bush Commuted Libby's Prison Sentence Last Year 20 Mar 2008 A Washington, D.C., radio station reports that I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby Jr., the former chief of staff to Vice President [sic] Dick Cheney, has been disbarred. A three-judge panel on the D.C. Court of Appeals stripped Libby of his ability to practice law after he was found guilty last year of obstructing the investigation in the CIA leak investigation, WTOP radio reported. Cheney Ex-Aide 'Scooter' Libby Disbarred --Vice President's Former Chief of Staff Convicted of Lying to Investigators in Plame Case 20 Mar 2008 Vice President [sic] Cheney's former chief of staff, I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby, was disbarred today by a District of Columbia court which ruled that his convictions last year for perjury and obstructing justice in a White House leak investigation disqualify him from practicing law. Obama eyes active role in oil markets 20 Mar 2008 Democrat Barack Obama would take an active role in U.S. oil markets as president, tackling concerns about the dominance of large oil companies and eyeing the Strategic Petroleum Reserve as a potential weapon to combat high prices, his top energy adviser said. Mich. re-vote plan dies in state Senate 20 Mar 2008 Chances for a June 3 do-over of the Democratic presidential primary in Michigan evaporated Thursday afternoon when the state Senate adjourned for two weeks without taking action. HBOS crash prompts market abuse probe 20 Mar 2008 City regulators accused market speculators yesterday of deliberately planting false rumours about failing banks in order to earn huge profits from the febrile atmosphere on world markets. The Bank of England and the Financial Services Authority made extraordinary interventions to stamp on gossip about a banking collapse as shares of HBOS were sent plunging. 60% of CNMI homeowners face foreclosures 20 Mar 2008 Many people in the community may have to move to smaller houses or even leave the islands, senators learned yesterday. According to the Marianas Public Land Trust and the Northern Marianas Housing Corp., 60 percent of CNMI [Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands] homeowners are delinquent borrowers and are facing foreclosures. Con Ed Wins Approval for a Big One-Time Increase in Rates for Electric Service 20 Mar 2008 Residents of New York City will see the biggest one-time increase in their bills for electric service next month, after state regulators approved a $425 million increase in rates for Consolidated Edison on Wednesday. Fears mount on jobless, factory data 20 Mar 2008 Evidence of U.S. recession mounted on Thursday with reports showing Mid-Atlantic factory activity in its worst slump since the start of the Iraq war and more workers claiming jobless benefits. Jobless benefit rolls hit 3-1/2 year high 20 Mar 2008 The number of U.S. workers filing initial claims for unemployment aid climbed 22,000 last week, while the overall number on the benefit rolls hit a 3-1/2 year high a week earlier, the government said on Thursday. How the blurring of the seasons is a harbinger of climate calamity 20 Mar 2008 Spring, which officially starts today, is starting to dissolve as a distinct season as climate change takes hold. According to documented observations throughout 2007 and 2008, events in the natural world that used to be key spring indicators, from the blooming of flowers to the appearance of insects, are now increasingly happening in what used to be thought of as mid-winter, as Britain's temperatures steadily rise. CLG needs 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:] What is the real death toll in Iraq? The Americans learned one lesson from Vietnam: don't count the civilian dead. As a result, no one knows how many Iraqis have been killed in the five years since the invasion. Estimates put the toll at between 100,000 and one million. 19 Mar 2008 The British polling firm Opinion Research Business (ORB) asked 1,720 Iraqi adults last summer if they had lost family members by violence since 2003; 16% had lost one, and 5% two. Using the 2005 census total of 4,050,597 households in Iraq, this suggests 1,220,580 deaths since the invasion. Estimates of Iraq War Cost Were Not Close to Ballpark 19 Mar 2008 At the outset of the Iraq war, the Bush administration predicted that it would cost $50 billion to $60 billion... Five years in, the Pentagon tags the cost of the Iraq war at roughly $600 billion and counting. Joseph E. Stiglitz, a Nobel Prize-winning economist and critic of the war, pegs the long-term cost at more than $4 trillion. AP president: US arrests journalist in Iraq to 'control' information 19 Mar 2008 Associated Press president Tom Curley says his news organization does not buy the government's argument that one of its photographers arrested in Iraq was working on behalf of the enemy, and he alleged the US is rounding up journalists in an attempt to control information. Please forward this newsletter to anyone you think might be interested. Those who'd like to be added to the list can go here: http://www.legitgov.org/#subscribe_clg and add your name. Those who wish to be removed from the list can access the same link and click 'unsubscribe.' Please write to: signup@legitgov.org for inquiries/issues/concerns with your subscription. CLG Newsletter editor: Lori Price, Manager. Copyright ) 2008, Citizens For Legitimate Government . All rights reserved. CLG Founder and Chair is Michael Rectenwald, Ph.D.