U.S. News
Curt Anderson
Associated Press
Tue, 29 Nov 2005 12:00 EST
Miami police announced Monday they will stage random shows of force at hotels, banks and other public places to keep terrorists guessing and remind people to be vigilant.
Deputy Police Chief Frank Fernandez said officers might, for example, surround a bank building, check the IDs of everyone going in and out and hand out leaflets about terror threats.
"This is an in-your-face type of strategy. It's letting the terrorists know we are out there," Fernandez said.
Comment: Random shows of force, eh? Well, if the "terrorists" aren't going to terrorise the population, law enforcement agents will just have to do the job!
Liz Sidoti
Associated Press
Tue, 29 Nov 2005 12:00 EST
President Bush on Monday tried to ease the concerns of conservatives who are wary of his guest-worker plan for foreigners, talking tough about illegal immigration and a need for tight U.S. borders to deter terrorist attacks.
"Illegal immigration is a serious challenge and our responsibility is clear: We are going to protect the border," Bush said.
By Caroline Drees
Reuters
Tue, 29 Nov 2005 12:00 EST
Washington - The Bush administration's yardsticks for progress in its fight against terrorism are inadequate and do not show whether the United States is winning or losing, a study by a congressional think tank says.
"Although four years have gone by since September 11, government agencies have still not agreed on criteria to measure progress against terrorism, even though billions of dollars have been spent," said Raphael Perl, author of the internal report by the Congressional Research Service.
"The risk is that without these criteria, we just take action and we measure progress retrospectively against what we've done. And of course since we've done some stuff, we've made progress," he told Reuters in an interview on Monday.
Reuters
Tue, 29 Nov 2005 12:00 EST
Washington - A chunk of marble fell from near the roof of the U.S. Supreme Court onto the stairs in the front of the building but no one was injured, a court spokeswoman said on Monday.
Comment: How symbolic... Justice, law, and order are crumbling.
Agence France-Presse
Tue, 29 Nov 2005 12:00 EST
Washington - Intrigue deepened over the CIA leak scandal clouding the White House, after Time magazine said special counsel Patrick Fitzgerald had demanded testimony from another of its reporters.
The magazine said Sunday that Washington correspondent Viveca Novak would testify under oath about her conversations with Robert Luskin, lawyer for White House deputy chief of staff Karl Rove.
Rowan Hooper
New Scientist
Tue, 29 Nov 2005 12:00 EST
It is a case that is gripping the Philippines and being followed avidly in Spain. A man convicted of kidnap, rape and murder sits on death row. His lawyers argue that a simple DNA test would establish his innocence by proving that a crime was not even committed, but the courts have refused to grant their request.
The case is symptomatic of a wider problem. The huge potential of DNA evidence is often blocked by criminal justice systems that refuse to consider it even when it could confirm innocence or guilt.
David Swanson
ImpeachPAC
Tue, 29 Nov 2005 12:00 EST
ImpeachPAC, a political action committee launched earlier this month to support candidates in next year's congressional election who favor impeachment of George Bush and Dick Cheney, today announced its first endorsement.
ImpeachPAC has contributed $2,500 to Democratic congressional candidate Tony Trupiano in his bid to unseat Republican incumbent Thaddeus McCotter in Michigan's 11th District. Trupiano has already been endorsed by Progressive Democrats of America (PDA) and by the Michigan Teamsters Union Joint Council 43. Trupiano has had a national radio audience for over a decade as host of the Tony Trupiano Show.
Scott McLarty
ZNet
Tue, 29 Nov 2005 12:00 EST
Can anyone still take the Democrats seriously as an opposition party after leaders like Senators Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), Hillary Clinton (D-NY), and John Kerry (D-Mass.) and Rep. Rahm Emanuel (D-Ill.) firmly distanced themselves from Rep. John Murtha's (D-Penn.) call on November 17 for an immediate withdrawal from Iraq?
In a recent editorial,
The Nation declared that it "will not support any candidate for national office who does not make a speedy end to the war in Iraq a major issue of his or her campaign. We urge all voters to join us in adopting this position." ("
Democrats and the War", November 9, 2005
Silla Brush
U.S. News
Tue, 29 Nov 2005 12:00 EST
It's been two years now since federal investigators began trying to untangle the dealings of Washington uberlobbyist Jack Abramoff. But what was once a potential scandal looming over the horizon is now looking more ominous by the day.
Last week's guilty plea by Abramoff's onetime partner, a former top aide to the beleaguered Rep. Tom DeLay, darkened the skies further. Michael Scanlon's admission he had conspired to bribe public officials and defrauded four Indian gaming casinos of millions in fees effectively makes him the government's star witness in a probe that threatens to ensnare officials throughout the nation's capital.
Barbara Ferguson
Arab News
Tue, 29 Nov 2005 12:00 EST
Washington - In order to contain Iran's nuclear development and prevent a nuclear arms race in the region, Israel must begin nuclear disarmament.
This, according to a recent report, entitled
Getting Ready for a Nuclear Ready Iran, published by the US Army War College, commissioned and partially funded by the Pentagon, argues that Iran's nuclear weapon development cannot be stopped by any current military or diplomatic options.
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