AG Mukasey Aware of Spitzer Investigation 11 Mar 2008 Resent-Date: Tue, 11 Mar 2008 18:29:35 -0500 (CDT) Breaking News and Commentary from Citizens For Legitimate Government 11 Mar 2008 http://www.legitgov.org/ All items are here: http://www.legitgov.org/#breaking_news AG Mukasey Aware of Spitzer Investigation 11 Mar 2008 Gov. Eliot Spitzer's role in a prostitution scandal grew out of a public corruption inquiry triggered by his movement of large amounts of cash from several bank accounts to one that operated by a call-girl ring, a law enforcement official said Tuesday. Spitzer was the initial target of the investigation and was tracked using court-ordered wiretaps that appear to have recorded him arranging for a prostitute to meet him at a Washington hotel in mid-February, the official said... Attorney General Michael Mukasey was made aware of the investigation because it involved a high-ranking political official the Bush regime was gunning for Joe Wilson er, Admiral Fallon er, Eliot Spitzer. [See: AG Mukasey blocking investigation of criminal acts by Bush advisors 29 Feb 2008 Attorney General Michael Mukasey has now decided not to investigate White House chief of staff Josh Bolten and former White House counsel Harriet Miers for contempt of Congress. See: Justice Dept. 'Cannot' Probe Waterboarding, Mukasey Says 08 Mar 2008 The attorney general yesterday rejected growing congressional calls for a criminal investigation of the CIA's use of simulated drownings [torture] to extract information from its prisoners.] Impeachment Proceeding? [Gee, I've waited *so long* for this headline, but no. Not Bush for war--Spitzer for sex.] Republicans Set Deadline For Governor's Ousting: 'I've Asked Him To Resign' 11 Mar 2008 If Gov. Eliot Spitzer opts to roll the dice and not resign, state Republican leadership will force him to go all-in and call for his impeachment from office, according to a state Assemblyman, who admitted he asked the governor to step down. Sources told CBS 2 HD shortly after it was reported that the governor was linked to a prostitution ring that he would likely hand in his resignation, which could happen within the next 36 hours. [MSNBC's Andrea Mitchell just asked TIME managing editor Richard Stengel, 'Does any of this remind us of Monica Lewinsky?' Why yes, Andrea, it does: Democrats are impeached (or threatened with impeachment) for illegal sex; Republicans are re-installed for their illegal sex, illegal wars, illegal wiretapping, torture, torching of the Constitution, destroying the environment, eradicating endangered species and tanking the economy. --LRP] Pressure mounts on Spitzer to quit 11 Mar 2008 With pressure mounting to resign Tuesday over a call-girl scandal, Gov. Eliot Spitzer found himself with few friends and lots of powerful [Reichwing] enemies... Republicans began talking impeachment, and few if any fellow Democrats were willing to defend him. [Oh, but what about David Vitter? See: The Double Hypocrisy of the Rightwing: The Vitter's Victual By Michael Rectenwald 16 Jul 2007.] Spitzer's Sex Life Is Weapon of Mass Distraction for Bunch of Bad News for Bush 10 Mar 2008 By Lori Price It Wasn't the Sex; Suspicious $$ Transfers Led to Spitzer --Officials Say Spitzer Is 'Client 9' in a Federal Complaint Against the Prostitution Ring 10 Mar 2008 The federal investigation of a New York prostitution ring was triggered by Gov. Eliot Spitzer's suspicious money transfers, initially leading agents to believe Spitzer was hiding bribes, according to federal officials. Predatory Lenders' Partner in Crime --How the Bush Administration Stopped the States From Stepping In to Help Consumers By Eliot Spitzer 14 Feb 2008 Several years ago, state attorneys general and others involved in consumer protection began to notice a marked increase in a range of predatory lending practices by mortgage lenders... Even though predatory lending was becoming a national problem, the Bush administration looked the other way and did nothing to protect American homeowners. In fact, the government chose instead to align itself with the banks that were victimizing consumers. Predatory lending was widely understood to present a looming national crisis. This threat was so clear that as New York attorney general, I joined with colleagues in the other 49 states in attempting to fill the void left by the federal government... What did the Bush administration do in response? Did it reverse course and decide to take action to halt this burgeoning scourge? As Americans are now painfully aware, with hundreds of thousands of homeowners facing foreclosure and our markets reeling, the answer is a resounding no. Not only did the Bush administration do nothing to protect consumers, it embarked on an aggressive and unprecedented campaign to prevent states from protecting their residents from the very problems to which the federal government was turning a blind eye. British Officers Train For Counterinsurgency In Kansas 06 Mar 2008 Now roaming the nation's heartland: British soldiers. Some 200 British army and Royal Marine officers are currently in northeast Kansas, training and building relationships with American officers they are likely to see again. International outrage as 'shameful' Bush refuses to ban CIA torture 10 Mar 2008 George Bush caused international outrage last night after refusing to ban torture by the CIA. The President [sic] announced on Saturday that he had blocked a bill which would have outlawed simulated drowning and other torture methods. Snubbing advice from 43 retired military chiefs and admirals and 18 national security advisers, Mr Bush refused to tie the hands of interrogators, claiming the tactics helped foil terror plots. Top Commander Resigns Over Article Exposing His Opposition to Bush --CENTCOM Commander Adm. William Fallon Resigns, Citing Magazine Article on Iran Policy 11 Mar 2008 Admiral William Fallon, the top U.S. military commander for the Middle East, has resigned, citing a magazine article in which appeared to criticize President [sic] George W. Bush's policy toward Iran. In a statement released by U.S. Central Command, Fallon cited the a recent Esquire magazine article which suggested differences between his views and Administration policies concerning Iran Fallon 'may lose job over Iran war' 07 Mar 2008 Adm. William Fallon, the head of the US Central Command, may lose his job for opposing President [sic] Bush's plans to wage war against Iran. According to a new Esquire article by Thomas Barnett; Admiral Fallon may be prematurely 'relieved of his command' as soon as this summer to be replaced with a more 'pliable' commander. "If that were to happen, it may well mean that the president and vice-president [sic] intend to take military action against Iran before the end of this year and don't want a commander standing in their way," says the article which will be published on March 12... The Navy admiral has vowed that an attack on Iran would 'not happen on his watch', calling the White House warmongering echelons 'not helpful'. Bush: 'I wish I didn't have to talk about war' [OMFG! I wish WE didn't have to talk about it, EITHER!!] By Mark Silva "I wish I didn't have to talk about war," President [sic] Bush said today in Nashville. "No president wants to be a war president. But when confronted with the realities of the world, I have made the decision that now is the time to confront, now is the time to deal with this enemy, and now is the time to spread freedom as the great alternative to the ideology they adhere to." Exhaustive review finds no link between Saddam, al Qaida [Yeah, but a cursory review finds hundreds of links between Bush, al-Qaeda.] 10 Mar 2008 An exhaustive review of more than 600,000 Iraqi documents that were captured after the 2003 U.S. invasion has found no evidence that Saddam Hussein's regime had any operational links with Osama bin Laden's al Qaida [al-CIAduh] terrorist network. Iraq piling up oil revenue, but U.S. still pays the bills 11 Mar 2008 Iraq isn't spending much of its own money, despite soaring oil revenues that are pushing the country toward a massive budget surplus, auditors told Congress today. The expected surplus comes as the U.S. continues to invest billions of dollars in 'rebuilding' Iraq and faces a financial squeeze domestically because of record oil prices. Health workers try to halt Iraq measles outbreak 11 Mar 2008 Hundreds of health workers are in Iraq's Anbar province to vaccinate 200,000 children against with measles in a bid to contain foment an outbreak which has already struck 100 children, the World Health Organisation said on Tuesday. "Nearly 600 vaccinators are taking part in the house-to-house drive and they are determined to reach every child [Oh, I'm sure they are] under age five who missed routine vaccinations," WHO spokeswoman Fadela Chaib told a news briefing in Geneva. [Let's see... there's no health care, electricity or water in Baghdad --but yet, the US is determined to vaccinate every child? Bush's goal is to kill as many Iraqis as possible, so that Exxon Mobil, Monsanto, KBR and Blackwater can operate without resistance. --LRP] Iraq, Afghanistan wars to cost U.S. $12-billion monthly: studies 10 Mar 2008 The flood of U.S. money into the Iraq war is steadily rising, new analyses show. In 2008, its sixth year, the war will cost approximately $12 billion a month, triple the burn rate of its earliest years, Nobel Prize-winning economist Joseph Stiglitz and co-author Linda Bilmes report in a new book. Beyond 2008, working with "best-case" and "realistic-moderate" scenarios, they project the Iraq and Afghan wars, including long-term U.S. military occupations of those countries, will cost the U.S. budget between $1.7 trillion and $2.7 trillion -- or more -- by 2017. Cost of Iraqi and Afghan wars has doubled --Bill for both conflicts adds up to #10bn since 2003 --Sharp rise mainly due to equipment prices, say MPs 11 Mar 2008 The combined cost of military operations in Afghanistan and Iraq over the past 12 months has almost doubled to more than #3bn, a cross-party group of MPs revealed yesterday. The costs of operations by British forces in Afghanistan has risen to more than #1.6bn, a year-on-year increase of 122%. More surprisingly, given the reduction in troops in Iraq, the cost of Britain's military presence there has also increased to #1.6bn, a year-on-year rise of 72%, the Commons defence committee said. Army's $200 Billion Reboot Fizzles; Murtha Wants $20 Billion More By Noah Shachtman 10 Mar 2008 The Army's gargantuan digital modernization plan has turned so rotten, a new congressional report says it's time to start thinking about killing off the effort, and looking for new alternatives. Rep. John Murtha (D-Pa.), the powerful head of the House Appropriations defense subcommittee, has another plan: Pump another $20 billion into the sickly, $200 billion behemoth "Future Combat Systems" before it drops dead under its own weight. KBR Faulted on Water Provided to Soldiers 11 Mar 2008 U.S. soldiers at a military base in Iraq were provided with treated but untested wastewater for nearly two years by KBR, the giant government contractor, and may have suffered health problems as a result, according to a report released yesterday by the Pentagon's inspector general. The report said that from October 2005 to June 2006, sick-call records showed 38 reported illnesses that "an attending medical official said could be attributed to water, such as skin abscesses, cellulites, skin infections and diarrhea." Gulf War illness linked to chemical exposure 10 Mar 2008 Exposure to pesticides, nerve agents and other chemicals may explain the chronic, multi-symptom health problems experienced by up to one-third of Gulf War veterans, U.S. researchers said on Monday. US taxpayers upgrade Poland's military instead of the US military, so Bush's corpora-terrorist cronies can make a killing on missile 'defense': Bush modernizes Poland's military so they will accept US missile defense shield 10 Mar 2008 President [sic] George W. Bush pledged on Monday to help modernize Poland's military as part a U.S. effort to secure agreement for basing components of a global missile 'defense' shield in Eastern Europe. Poland, the biggest NATO member from the former Warsaw Pact, has demanded that Washington help upgrade its military in exchange for hosting part of the anti-missile system, which has added to strains between Washington and Moscow. Google pulls some map images at Pentagon's request 07 Mar 2008 Google has complied with a request by the Pentagon to remove some online images from its street-level map service because they pose a security threat to U.S. military bases, military and company officials said on Thursday. At least 42 killed in Iraq violence 11 Mar 2008 At least 42 people were killed in violence across Iraq on Tuesday, including 14 mourners from one family when a roadside bomb hit a bus in a southern province, security officials said. Bomb strikes bus in Iraq 11 Mar 2008 A roadside bomb in southern Iraq struck a bus on Tuesday, killing 16 passengers and wounding 22, an Interior Ministry official said. Two blasts in Iraq kill eight U.S. troops 11 Mar 2008 Two bombings in separate Iraq provinces on Monday killed eight U.S. troops, the U.S. military said. A roadside bomb killed three U.S. soldiers and an interpreter in Diyala province. Earlier in the day, at least five U.S. soldiers on foot patrol were killed and three others wounded in a suicide bombing in Baghdad. US considers putting Venezuela on terrorist list 11 Mar 2008 US President George Bush is trying to determine whether Venezuela should be placed on a list of countries that support terrorism. He has ordered White House lawyers to investigate documents that were found on computers during a Colombian raid on a FARC camp. Pakistan bombs kill 24, wound more than 200 --Lahore bombings pressure Pakistan to rethink 'counter'-terror strategy 11 Mar 2008 The spread of terrorism across Pakistan from its tribal regions to the cultural capital of Lahore on Tuesday adds to the pressure for a reconsideration of its U.S.-allied president's approach to countering al-Qaida [al-CIAduh] and the Taliban as its new government prepares to take office. WSJ: U.S. Domestic Spying Grows 10 Mar 2008 The U.S. intelligence community's domestic spying efforts have expanded faster than most people realize, the Wall Street Journal's Siobhan Gorman reports this morning. Despite attempts by Congress to kill rapacious data-gathering programs on U.S. citizens like Total Information Awareness or the FBI's Carnivore, components of those efforts have lived on, the Journal found. NSA's Domestic Spying Grows As Agency Sweeps Up Data --Terror Fight Blurs Line Over Domain; Tracking 10 Mar 2008 Five years ago, Congress killed an experimental Pentagon antiterrorism program meant to vacuum electronic data about people in the U.S. to search for suspicious patterns. But the data-sifting effort didn't disappear. The National Security Agency, once confined to foreign surveillance, has been building essentially the same system. The central role the NSA has come to occupy in domestic intelligence gathering has never been publicly disclosed. NSA shifts to e-mail, Web, data-mining dragnet By Declan McCullagh 11 Mar 2008 Recent evidence suggests that the NSA has been focusing on widespread monitoring of e-mail messages and text messages, recording of Web browsing, and other forms of electronic data-mining, all done without court supervision... Documents released last week by a security consultant (PDF) indicate that an unnamed major wireless provider has opened its network to the U.S. government, allowing customers' e-mail, text messaging, and Web use to be monitored. New Guidelines Ahead of Ashcroft Testimony 11 Mar 2008 The Justice Department announced guidelines Monday to prevent the sort of conflict-of-interest accusations that followed its decision to steer a private contract worth tens of millions of dollars to former Attorney General John Ashcroft to monitor a large out-of-court settlement. The announcement came on the eve of scheduled Congressional testimony by Mr. Ashcroft to explain the circumstances of the no-bid 18-month contract, worth $28 million to $52 million, that calls for him to monitor a settlement between the government and an Indiana medical supply company. House to Try Override of Intelligence Authorization Veto 10 Mar 2008 The House will try Tuesday to override President [sic] Bushs March 8 veto of intelligence authorization legislation, Democratic aides said Monday. The vote is all but sure to fail. House Democrats go to court to force testimony from Bush aides 10 Mar 2008 Demonstrating that a constitutional battle between Congress and the White House is far from over, the House Judiciary Committee took legal action Monday to try to compel presidential chief of staff Joshua Bolten and former White House counsel Harriet Miers to provide information about the firings of nine U.S. attorneys. 'Doing nothing means extinction for the polar bear. That's what the administration is doing -- nothing.' Groups sue over polar bear --Bush regime misses deadlines to list species as threatened. 11 Mar 2008 Three conservation groups sued the Department of the Interior on Monday for missing a deadline on a decision to list polar bears as threatened because of the loss of Arctic sea ice. A decision was due Jan. 9, one year after the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service proposed listing the animals as threatened under the Endangered Species Act. 2008: The Year of the Polar Bear 11 Mar 2008 As wild polar bears struggle with the effects of climate change, the polar bears at the Oregon Zoo may be of some assistance. The zoo, along with other zoos and the nonprofit Polar Bears International, has declared 2008 "the Year of the Polar Bear." The Oregon Zoos three polar bears -- Conrad, Tasul and Yugyan -- will celebrate St. Patricks Day with green chunks of ice, flavored with herring and tied together to resemble four-leaf clovers. Wolf Opponent for McCain's Vice President? Reichwing nutball and VIRULENT *ENEMY* to POLAR BEARS, WOLVES and the ENVIRONMENT, first-term Alaska Governor Sarah Palin, is one name being circulated as a possible pick for Insane McCain's Vice President! 10 Mar 2008 During her short time as Alaskas governor, Sarah Palin has pushed for more aerial gunning of wolves and bears, introduced legislation that would eliminate the public's right to vote on wildlife issues, and appointed her high school basketball coach to the state's powerful Board of Game where he would support their anti-conservation policies. But despite her abysmal record on wildlife and conservation issues, Alaska Governor Sarah Palin is being discussed as a possible running mate in John McCains bid for the presidency. Sign petition: Let Governor Palin Know That You Care About Wildlife and Democracy. Many experts said McCain's proposals would make the fiscal picture worse. McCain budget numbers don't add up, experts say 11 Mar 2008 John McCain's reputation for "straight talk" [no, vote fraud] has helped him clinch the U.S. Republican presidential nomination but budget experts say his numbers do not add up. McCain's promises to reduce wasteful spending if elected president in November would not begin to cover the costs of his proposed tax cuts, analysts say... On top of that, a President McCain would inherit a $400 billion budget deficit, wars in Iraq and Afghanistan that cost nearly $200 billion per year and a similar bill for interest payments on the $10 trillion national debt. Many experts said McCain's proposals would make the fiscal picture worse. Obama, Clinton Battle in Mississippi 11 Mar 2008 Barack Obama battled Hillary Rodham Clinton in the Mississippi primary on Tuesday, last in a string of contests across the Deep South and the final tune-up before next month's high-stakes race in Pennsylvania. Rezko Trial: Obama Consulted on Board 10 Mar 2008 As an Illinois lawmaker, Barack Obama was one of eight state officials consulted on appointments to a state board which later became involved in what prosecutors describe as a fraud scheme, the Associated Press reports today. That information was contained in a June 2003 memo from a national Democratic official introduced this morning as evidence at the trial of Antoin "Tony" Rezko, a Chicago-area developer and political operative facing corruption charges. Obama Rips Clinton's VP Suggestion --Illinois Senator Says Voters Need to Make a Choice Between Two Democrats 10 Mar 2008 Democrat Barack Obama ridiculed the idea of being Hillary Rodham Clinton's running mate Monday, saying voters must choose between the two for the top spot. Stocks Rally: Dow Closes Up 416 Points --Wall Street Moves Sharply Higher After the Federal Reserve Takes Action 11 Mar 2008 Wall Street finally found a reason for a huge rally Tuesday, after the Federal Reserve said it plans to pump $200 billion into the financial markets to help ease the strain from the credit crisis. The Dow Jones industrial average shot up more than 416 points, its biggest one-day point gain since July 24, 2002. Oil prices rocket close to 110 dollars a barrel 11 Mar 2008 World oil prices continued their record charge Tuesday, rocketing close to 110 dollars amid lingering supply concerns and as the US dollar plumbed fresh lows against the euro. Gas may hit $3.50 by spring --Rise to affect price of goods 11 Mar 2008 Experts predict a string of tough months ahead for Arizona consumers as gasoline prices, which are expected to approach $3.50 per gallon by spring, drive up costs of goods and services against the backdrop of a declining U.S. economy. White House, Congress to battle over Medicaid for the poor 09 Mar 2008 As the last months of the Bush administration dwindle away, the White House might yet face another showdown with the Democratic Congress, this one over changes in Medicaid rules that could affect millions of low-income children and adults. In the past year, the administration has tried to change the rules in a way that would reduce Medicaid spending by $15 billion over the next five years. Prescription drugs found in drinking water across U.S. 10 Mar 2008 A vast array of pharmaceuticals -- including antibiotics, anti-convulsants, mood stabilizers and sex hormones -- have been found in the drinking water supplies of at least 41 million Americans, an Associated Press investigation shows. They Criticized Vista. And They Should Know. 09 Mar 2008 Anyone who bought a PC that Microsoft labeled "Windows Vista Capable" without also declaring "Premium Capable" is now a party in the suit. The judge also unsealed a cache of 200 e-mail messages and internal reports, covering Microsofts discussions of how best to market Vista... The documents incidentally include those accounts of frustrated Vista users in Microsofts executive suites. The messages were released in a jumble, but when rearranged into chronological order, they show a tragedy in three acts. 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:] Sources: Spitzer Resignation Expected --Lt. Gov. David Paterson Could Be Sworn In Tonight 10 Mar 2008 Gov. Eliot Spitzer was not expected to continue as governor and may resign sometime Monday evening, sources told CBS 2 shortly after it was reported that he was linked to a prostitution ring. Reliable sources told CBS 2 Political Reporter Marcia Kramer that Lt. Gov. David Paterson could be sworn in as governor as early as 7 p.m. Monday. DHS Holds Cyber Storm II Security Exercise --Cyber Storm II will include 18 federal departments and agencies, nine states and more than 40 private sector companies 10 Mar 2008 The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is conducting the largest cyber security exercise ever organized. Cyber Storm II is being held from March 10-14 in Washington, D.C. and brings together participants from federal, state and local governments, the private sector, and the international community. Cyber Storm II will include 18 federal departments and agencies, nine states (CA, CO, DE, IL, MI, NC, PA, TX, VA), five countries (US, Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the UK), and more than 40 private sector companies. They include ABB, Inc., Air Products, Cisco, Dow Chemical Company Inc. [?], Harris Corporation, Juniper Networks, McAfee, Microsoft, NeuStar, PPG Industries, and Wachovia. Bush veto allows CIA torture to continue 10 Mar 2008 US President [sic] George W Bush has vetoed legislation that would have prevented the CIA from using torture during interrogation of terrorism suspects. The annual intelligence authorisation bill would have required the CIA to follow the Army Field Manual rules on interrogations, which specifically prohibit torture of suspects, most notably waterboarding. 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.