Monday News Bucket

11 Comments

1. 

   CabinGirl on December 4, 2006 at 7:57 am

   This should be enough to repeal the Patriot act AND keep impeachment on the table: NYT

   That day, Mr. Padilla, a Brooklyn-born Muslim convert whom the Bush administration had accused of plotting a dirty bomb attack and had detained without charges, got to go to the dentist.

   “Today is May 21,” a naval official declared to a camera videotaping the event. “Right now we’re ready to do a root canal treatment on Jose Padilla, our enemy combatant.”

   Several guards in camouflage and riot gear approached cell No. 103. They unlocked a rectangular panel at the bottom of the door and Mr. Padilla’s bare feet slid through, eerily disembodied. As one guard held down a foot with his black boot, the others shackled Mr. Padilla’s legs. Next, his hands emerged through another hole to be manacled.

   Wordlessly, the guards, pushing into the cell, chained Mr. Padilla’s cuffed hands to a metal belt. Briefly, his expressionless eyes met the camera before he lowered his head submissively in expectation of what came next: noise-blocking headphones over his ears and blacked-out goggles over his eyes. Then the guards, whose faces were hidden behind plastic visors, marched their masked, clanking prisoner down the hall to his root canal.

   And what did he do to deserve this?  He must be violent and scary, right?

   One of Mr. Padilla’s lawyers, Orlando do Campo, said, however, that Mr. Padilla was a “completely docile” prisoner. “There was not one disciplinary problem with Jose ever, not one citation, not one act of disobedience,” said Mr. do Campo, who is a lawyer at the Miami federal public defender’s office.

   In his affidavit, Mr. Patel said, “I was told by members of the brig staff that Mr. Padilla’s temperament was so docile and inactive that his behavior was like that of `a piece of furniture.’ “

   The photos included in the article are chilling.  Go read.

   • 

     rba on December 4, 2006 at 9:51 am

     It’s everywhere now, just click your favorite news spot.  One line announcement, no story.

     • 

       ask on December 4, 2006 at 10:37 am

       Washington’s UN envoy quits post

       The US ambassador to the United Nations is to leave his post when his temporary appointment runs out, officials say.

       John Bolton was unable to win the necessary Senate support for him to continue in the job.

       He took up the UN posting last year during a Congressional holiday after his nomination stalled in the Senate.

       • 

         idredit on December 4, 2006 at 12:26 pm

         if but for the hour, I’d sip a glass of wine. Happy riddance.

         I know, I know somewhere in the world it’s 5:30 PM. I’ll wait for our lounge to open.

   • 

     idredit on December 4, 2006 at 12:53 pm

     Sen. Patrick Leahy, new chair of Judiciary Committee intends to have oversight hearings. Subpoenas will be issued. That and other related privacy issues in my comment downthread.

2. 

   CabinGirl on December 4, 2006 at 8:06 am

   WalMart just sucks: NYT

   Faced with public demonstrations of discontent by its employees, Wal-Mart Stores has developed a wide-ranging new program intended to show that it appreciates its 1.3 million workers in the United States and to encourage them to air their grievances.

   As part of the effort, Wal-Mart managers at 4,000 stores will meet with 10 rank-and-file workers every week and extend an additional 10 percent discount on a single item during the holidays to all its employees, beyond the normal 10 percent employee discount.

   How big of WalMart, to offer these employees a t-shirt and an extra  10% discount on 1 item bought at their stores in lieu of a living wage, reasonable treatment of their employees, and/or healthcare.

   Just what sort of policies are the workers upset about?  Policies like this one:

   Kory Uselton, a 35-year-old overnight floor cleaner at a Wal-Mart in Tyler, Tex., said his store manager offered “robotic” company-approved responses during a recent meeting when workers questioned the new attendance policy, which originally called for disciplinary action after three unauthorized absences (although it was later revised to four unexcused absences).

   Asked if absence for a family emergency, like a sick child, would be authorized, Mr. Uselton recounted, the manager said, “No, it’s not.”

3. 

   CabinGirl on December 4, 2006 at 8:12 am

   are these people on? AP/Yahoo

   While
   President Bush acknowledges the need for major changes in
   Iraq, he will not use this week’s Iraq Study Group report as political cover for bringing troops home, his national security adviser said Sunday.

   “We have not failed in Iraq,”
   Stephen Hadley said as he made the talk show rounds. “We will fail in Iraq if we pull out our troops before we’re in a position to help the Iraqis succeed.”

   But he added: “The president understands that we need to have a way forward in Iraq that is more successful.”

   More successful than creating a civil war?  Talk about setting reachable goals.

   I need high blood pressure medication after reading the news this morning.

4. 

   Knoxville Progressive on December 4, 2006 at 8:40 am

   A rise in the number and strength of “extreme” rainstorms in central India could be linked to global warming.  While average annual rainfall has generally gone unchanged, there was a 10 percent increase each decade in the number of heavy rainstorms (more than 100 millimeters a day) and a doubling over the five decades of very heavy storms (more than 150 millimeters a day).  The four largest storms in each June-September monsoon season have intensified on average by 10 percent in the 1950-2000 period.

   New mathematical studies of the interactions between oscillating biological populations may shed light on some of the toughest questions in ecology, including the number and types of species in an ecosystem.  Many animal and plant populations oscillate in synchrony because of interactions such as predation and competition. Such synchronization can have far-reaching effects. Several well-known biological conundrums, such as the higher-than-expected diversity of plankton in aquatic ecosystems, may be explained this way.

   An international team of scientists is calling for a targeted global conservation effort to preserve seagrasses and their ecological services for the world’s coastal ecosystems.  Costal development, population growth and the resulting increase of nutrient and sediment pollution have contributed to large-scale losses worldwide.  While recent studies rank seagrass as one of the most valuable habitat in coastal systems, media coverage of other habitats – including salt marshes, mangroves and coral reefs – receive 3 to 100-fold more media attention than seagrass systems.

   Vast tracts of rainforest in Brazil are to get a new protected status. The segments of land in the northern Para state together cover an area of land that is bigger than England.  Thousands of wildlife species inhabit the pristine forest, including jaguars, anteaters and colorful macaws.  Nine new areas will gain protection, stretching from neighboring Guyana, Surinam and French Guiana into Brazil.  The area contains more than 25% of Earth’s humid tropical forests. Almost 90% of the Guyana Shield forest is untouched, and the area also contains the most significant freshwater reserves in the American tropics: almost 20% of the world’s water runs through it.

   A startling archaeological discovery this summer changes our understanding of human history. While, up until now, scholars have largely held that man’s first rituals were carried out over 40, 000 years ago in Europe, it now appears that they were wrong about both the time and place: Rituals worshiping a python-god were performed 70,000 years ago in Africa.  According to the creation myth of the people in the area today, mankind descended from the python and the ancient, arid streambeds around the hills are said to have been created by the python as it circled the hills in its ceaseless search for water.

   Climate change is already having a chilling effect on where Americans can build their homes. Insurance companies are becoming much more wary of insuring coastal properties.

   In a convention that underscored the rising political weight of climate change, Canada’s Liberal Party on Saturday chose Stephane Dion to lead the party and try to wrest power from the ruling Conservatives in the next national election.

   Following the approval of a new framework for chemical regulation in the EU, many medical researchers and health experts here say the US system for regulating chemicals is a growing cause for concern and are asking whether the US regulates toxic chemicals in a way that adequately protects people.  A growing number of scientists report that a portion of our susceptibility to various ailments may be established by chemical exposures our mothers and even grandmothers experienced while pregnant.

   The best summary yet (perhaps ever!) of the EPA’s arguments presented at the Supreme Court last week in the global warming case:  “…Now, maybe it’s because I have a toddler at home, but the EPA’s argument, presented by Deputy Solicitor General Gregory Garre, quickly sounds very familiar. 1) I can’t clean it up; 2) Even if I could, I don’t want to clean it up; 3) You can’t make me clean it up; and 4) China is making an even bigger mess. How come China never has to clean it up? When and if all that fails, the EPA, like my son, just puts its hands over its eyes and says there is no mess in the first place.”

   • 

     idredit on December 4, 2006 at 12:32 pm

     Stephane Dion, the new Liberal Party of Canada said a sustainable environment is the issue of our time. It was a stunning victory ahead of 2 front-runners, defeating Michael Ignatieff whose policies are not well received.

5. 

   BrendaStewart on December 4, 2006 at 10:59 am

   just so you know some of who robert gates is and how wealthy he is.

6. 

   idredit on December 4, 2006 at 12:51 pm

   Lost Privacy

   Terror Screening of Americans and worldwide travelers Draws Outrage

   The travelers are not allowed to see or directly challenge these risk assessments, which the government intends to keep on file for 40 years. Some or all data in the system can be shared with state, local and foreign governments for use in hiring, contracting and licensing decisions. Courts and even some private contractors can obtain some of the data under certain circumstances.

   The roving bug: FBI taps cell phone mic as eavesdropping tool

   “The FBI appears to have begun using a novel form of electronic surveillance in criminal investigations: remotely activating a mobile phone’s microphone and using it to eavesdrop on nearby conversations. The surveillance technique came to light in an opinion published this week by U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan. He ruled that the “roving bug” was legal because federal wiretapping law is broad enough to permit eavesdropping even of conversations that take place near a suspect’s cell phone.
   the eavesdropping technique “functioned whether the phone was powered on or off.” Some handsets can’t be fully powered down without removing the battery;”

   Scooter Libby’s pressured defense:  “I was too busy with terror threats, Iraq and nuclear programs.” I simply forgot.

   A reckless Gambler our President: Bush Gambles with Lives to the bitter end -The Sunday Times, UK – Review- Andrew Sullivan

   One would expect any responsible president of the United States to have such a plan. But Bush is not a responsible president of the United States. He is a reckless gambler of other people’s money and other people’s lives.

   It seems as if his prime objective is being able to stay the course in Iraq until the day he leaves office and hands the mess to a successor. It seems as if he cannot acknowledge any outcome that could acknowledge any failure. He won’t even follow the face-saving recommendations prepared by his father’s wise men.”

   (emphasis added)