Courtesy: BSAlert.com
Archive for November, 2007
WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service on Tuesday reversed seven rulings that denied endangered species increased protection, after an investigation found the actions were tainted by political pressure from a former senior Interior Department official.
In a letter to Rep. Nick Rahall, D-West Virginia., the agency acknowledged that the actions had been “inappropriately influenced” and that “revising the seven identified decisions is supported by scientific evidence and the proper legal standards.” The reversal affects the protection for species including the white-tailed prairie dog, the Preble’s meadow jumping mouse and the Canada lynx.
The rulings came under scrutiny last spring after an Interior Department inspector general concluded that agency scientists were being pressured to alter their findings on endangered species by Julie MacDonald, then a deputy assistant secretary overseeing the Fish and Wildlife Service.
Rahall in a statement said that MacDonald, a civil engineer, “should never have been allowed near the endangered species program”, and called MacDonald’s involvement in species protection cases an example of “this administration’s penchant for torpedoing science.”
Acting Fish and Wildlife Director Kenneth Stansell wrote Rahall that the cases were reviewed “after questions were raised about the integrity of scientific information used and whether the decisions were made consistent with the appropriate legal standards.”
He did not refer to MacDonald specifically.
Francesca Grifo of the Union of Concerned Scientists said the acknowledgment of seven instances of wrongdoing “does not begin to plumb the depths of what’s wrong” at the wildlife agency and its implementation of the Endangered Species Act.
There are at least 30 cases “where we have evidence of interference” over the last seven years, maintained Grifo, director of the group’s scientific integrity program.
Problems were found in seven of the eight cases, taken up for review after MacDonald’s resignation.
The wildlife agency said it will reconsider a petition to list as endangered the white-tailed prairie dog. The petition had been denied, but the agency said after its investigation “the Service believes this decision should be reconsidered.”
It also said it will examine the continued listing of the Preble’s meadow jumping mouse, as well as a separate ruling that had been made concerning the mouse’s critical habitat. The agency decision to take the mouse from under the protection of the Endangered Species Act was questioned after MacDonald’s involvement became known.
Four other cases being reconsidered involved declarations of critical habitat for the Canada lynx, the Hawaiian picture-wing fly, the Arroyo toad, and the California red-legged frog.
The agency said it did not find any scientific evidence to warrant changes in another questioned critical habitat decision involving the Southwestern willow flycatcher, saying it was “scientifically supportable.”
MacDonald resigned in May after the Interior Department’s inspector general rebuked her for pressuring wildfire agency scientists to alter their findings about endangered species and leaking information about species decisions to industry officials. The IG found that she had broken federal rules by those actions.
In her three years on the job, MacDonald also was heavily involved in delisting the Sacramento splittail, a fish found only in California’s Central Valley where she owned an 80-acre farm on which the fish live. More…
By EDITH M. LEDERER, Associated Press Writer
UNITED NATIONS - In an about face, the United States on Friday withdrew a U.N. resolution endorsing this week’s agreement by Israeli and Palestinian leaders to try to reach a Mideast peace settlement by the end of 2008, apparently after Israel objected.
Deputy Ambassador Alejandro Wolff informed the Security Council that the United States was pulling the resolution from consideration less than 24 hours after Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad had introduced it and welcomed the “very positive” response from council members.
Khalilzad had said he needed to consult with the Israelis and Palestinians overnight on the text of the resolution to ensure it was what they wanted.
Well-informed diplomats said Israel, a close U.S. ally, did not want a resolution, which would bring the Security Council into the fledgling negeotiations with the Palestinians. The diplomats spoke on condition of anonymity because the discussions were private.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas told reporters Friday in the Tunisian capital, Tunis, that while he didn’t know the details of the draft resolution it was a sign of the seriousness of the United States, which he also perceived at this week’s Mideast conference in Annapolis, Md.
“This means, if what we have learned is verified, that there are serious steps that speak to the existence of an American position supporting the negotiations,” Abbas said.
Wolff told reporters the U.S. had held intensive consultations in the past few days “and the upshot was that there were some unease with the idea” of a resolution. More…
By Philip Pullella, Reuters
VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - Pope Benedict, in an encyclical released on Friday, said atheism was responsible for some of the “greatest forms of cruelty and violations of justice” in history.
The 75-page “Spe Salvi,” which takes its Latin title from a quote by St Paul (in hope we were saved), is an appeal to a pessimistic world to find strength in Christian hope.
In the second encyclical of his papacy, Benedict urges Christians to put their hope for the future in God and not in technology, wealth or political ideologies.
Atheism could be regarded by some as a “type of moralism,” particularly in the 19th and 20th centuries, to protest against the injustices of the world and world history, he said.
Reciting arguments made by atheists, he said: “A world marked by so much injustice, innocent suffering and cynicism of power cannot be the work of a good God. A God with responsibility for such a world would not be a just God, much less a good God.”
History has proven wrong ideologies such as Marxism which say humans had to establish social justice because God did not exist, the Pope wrote.
“It is no accident that this idea has led to the greatest forms of cruelty and violations of justice,” the Pope said. Such a concept was grounded in “intrinsic falsity.”
Marxism, the Pope wrote, had left behind “a trail of appalling destruction” because it failed to realize that man could not be “merely the product of economic conditions.”
ATHEISTS REACT
The encyclical is the highest form of papal writing and addresses all members of the Church. This document is written in a highly academic, professorial style in which the Pope quotes saints, philosophers and writers to make his point.
Atheism has been a hot topic recently thanks to best-selling books questioning the value of religion such as “The God Delusion” by Richard Dawkins and “God is Not Great” by Christopher Hitchens.
The Pope seemed to be addressing the fresh interest in atheism in the developed world with phrases such as: “Let us put it very simply: man needs God, otherwise he remains without hope.”
Italy’s Union of Atheists, Agnostics and Rationalists (UAAR) said by taking such stands the Pope would push more people away from the Church.
“The existence of a billion non-believers in the world should be enough to make the Pope understand that man can live very well without God, but with reason,” a statement said.
The Pope urged Christians to put their hope for a better future in God. More…
So I guess the injustices Catholic priests inflicted on young children is ok because they’re Catholic, huh? Sieg Heil, eh Ratzy? -Sue
By Bill Gertz, The Washington Times
U.S. intelligence agencies informed a Treasury Department-led review committee recently that a merger between 3Com and a Chinese company would threaten U.S. national security, The Washington Times has learned.
Bush administration intelligence officials said the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (DNI) recently submitted a required threat assessment to the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, known as CFIUS, which is conducting a 30-day investigation of the proposed deal between 3Com and China’s Huawei Technologies.
The assessment, which is classified, described the deal as posing a “threat” to U.S. national security, according to officials familiar with the document.
“The deal is in trouble,” said one official, who noted that pro-business officials who in the past dismissed critics of the deal are now worried the merger will be blocked because of the assessment.
The proposed $2.2 billion merger was announced quietly in October, with 3Com stating that the main purchaser would be the international investment firm Bain Capital Partners — an apparent bid to play down the role of Huawei, China’s main producer of computer network equipment and an international supplier.
Reports in The Times about Huawei’s past illicit activities — including bribery, economic espionage and violating U.N. sanctions — led Bain to voluntarily submit the deal to the Treasury Department for review.
3Com manufactures computer network intrusion-prevention equipment used by the Pentagon and U.S. government agencies. Intelligence officials are concerned that the technology China would gain from 3Com will boost the Chinese military’s computer warfare capabilities.
Asked about the assessment, DNI spokesman Ross Feinstein said, “In accordance with the statute, the intelligence community prepares threat assessments for the CFIUS process, but we do not comment on these assessments.”
A Treasury spokeswoman also declined to comment.
Under legislation passed in the aftermath of last year’s failed Dubai Ports World deal, involving a bid by a United Arab Emirates company to manage operations at six U.S. ports, Treasury Department rules permit deals to be approved with “mitigation agreements” that set conditions for foreign acquisitions.
CFIUS has 30 days to conduct its first investigation of the deal, and a second, 45-day inquiry could follow.
The proposed deal has generated opposition from congressional Republicans.
A group of House Republicans introduced a resolution in October calling on the Bush administration to block the deal.
The resolution stated that evidence shows that “the proposed transaction involving Huawei threatens the national security of the United States and should not be approved by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States.”
Huawei has been accused of a range of illegal activities, including bribes related to cellular telephone contracts in post-Saddam Hussein Iraq, and of violating U.N. sanctions against Iraq by building a fiber-optic network that was used to link Iraqi air defenses, at a time when U.S. warplanes were patrolling the country.
Huawei also was linked to industrial espionage against Cisco Systems and Japan’s Fujitsu several years ago, the officials said.
Huawei also constructed a telephone system in Kabul for Afghanistan’s extremist Taliban government, which was ousted in October 2001.
White House spokesmen have opposed national-security critics of the 3Com-Huawei deal and have said CFIUS should be permitted to conduct its review without political interference. More…
By REBECCA CATHCART, The New York Times
LOS ANGELES, Nov. 29 — A California appeals court has ordered the police in Garden Grove to return marijuana that was seized from a man during a routine traffic stop, ruling that enforcement of federal drug laws did not supersede the state’s allowance of marijuana for medicinal purposes.
The man, Felix Kha, had a doctor’s prescription for the marijuana, which he used for the treatment of chronic pain.
In the ruling issued Wednesday, a three-judge panel from the state’s Fourth District Court of Appeals cited constitutional principles of federalism and power-sharing between state and national governments in ordering the marijuana returned. California law allows for the prescription and possession of medical marijuana in amounts of less than eight ounces.
Police officers pulled over Mr. Kha in Garden Grove, south of Los Angeles, in 2005 for running a stop sign. When they asked him if he was in possession of any illegal substances, Mr. Kha, now 22, said he had marijuana prescribed to him by a doctor. Officers seized the marijuana, about a quarter of an ounce, and cited Mr. Kha for possession of marijuana and a traffic violation.
Mr. Kha pleaded guilty to running the stop sign and asked the judge for the return of his marijuana. After hearing proof of the authenticity of the doctor’s note, he was given permission to retrieve the marijuana.
But the Garden Grove Police Department refused to return it when Mr. Kha presented them with the court order, said his lawyer, Joe Elford of Americans for Safe Access, a group that advocates medicinal uses of marijuana.
“He had to go to court three times to get this order,” Mr. Elford said. “When the police have no probable cause to believe that people are violating state law, they shouldn’t be seizing their medical marijuana or citing them.” More…
The Gospel of the Flying Spaghetti Monster
While brooding atop Mount Salsa because he can’t find a pirate ship, Mosey the Pirate captain receives some advice from the Flying Spaghetti Monster in the form of ten stone tablets. These were called the “I’d Really Rather You Didn’ts” by the FSM, the “Commandments” by Mosey, and the “Condiments” by his Pirate gang. While there were originally ten “I’d Really Rather You Didn’ts”, two were dropped on the way back down the mountain, with eight remaining. This event “partly accounts for Pastafarians’ flimsy moral standards”. The FSM’s commandments address the treatment of people of other faiths, worship of the FSM, sexual conduct, and nutrition.
The Eight “I’d Really Rather You Didn’ts”
1. I’d really rather you didn’t act like a sanctimonious holier-than-thou ass when describing my noodly goodness. If some people don’t believe in me, that’s okay. Really, I’m not that vain. Besides, this isn’t about them so don’t change the subject.
2. I’d really rather you didn’t use my existence as a means to oppress, subjugate, punish, eviscerate, and/or, you know, be mean to others. I don’t require sacrifices, and purity is for drinking water, not people.
3. I’d really rather you didn’t judge people for the way they look, or how they dress, or the way they talk, or, well, just play nice, Okay? Oh, and get this into your thick heads: woman = person. man = person. Samey = Samey. One is not better than the other, unless we’re talking about fashion and I’m sorry, but I gave that to women and some guys who know the difference between teal and fuchsia.
4. I’d really rather you didn’t indulge in conduct that offends yourself, or your willing, consenting partner of legal age AND mental maturity. As for anyone who might object, I think the expression is go fuck yourself, unless they find that offensive in which case they can turn off the TV for once and go for a walk for a change.
5. I’d really rather you didn’t challenge the bigoted, misogynistic, hateful ideas of others on an empty stomach. Eat, then go after the bitches.
6. I’d really rather you didn’t build multi million-dollar churches/temples/mosques/shrines to my noodly goodness when the money could be better spent (take your pick):
1. Ending poverty
2. Curing diseases
3. Living in peace, loving with passion, and lowering the cost of cable
I might be a complex-carbohydrate omniscient being, but I enjoy the simple things in life. I ought to know. I AM the creator.
7. I’d really rather you didn’t go around telling people I talk to you. You’re not that interesting. Get over yourself. And I told you to love your fellow man, can’t you take a hint?
8. I’d really rather you didn’t do unto others as you would have them do unto you if you are into, um, stuff that uses a lot of leather/lubricant/Las Vegas. If the other person is into it, however (pursuant to #4), then have at it, take pictures, and for the love of Mike, wear a CONDOM! Honestly, it’s a piece of rubber. If I didn’t want it to feel good when you did it I would have added spikes, or something.
Bob brought up the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster last night on the HORN Section. If you click on the image of the Gospel of the Flying Spaghetti Monster above you can buy it through the H.O.R.N. Store.
I’m seriously thinking about conversion :).
~Susan~
WASHINGTON - The White House on Thursday lowered its forecast for economic growth for next year and said unemployment would rise as the housing slump and tight credit weigh on national economic activity.
Under the administration’s new forecast, gross domestic product, or GDP, will grow by 2.7 percent next year. Its old projection called for a stronger, 3.1 percent increase. The unemployment rate, meanwhile, is projected to move up to 4.9 percent. That’s up from a previous forecast of a 4.7 percent jobless rate. Inflation, however, should improve. The White House expects consumer prices to increase by 2.1 percent next year, a moderation from a previous forecast of a 2.5 percent rise.
“While the difficulties in housing and credit markets and the effects of high energy prices will extract a penalty from growth, the U.S. economy has many strengths, and I expect the expansion to continue,” said Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson.
The odds of a recession have grown this year. But the Bush administration, Federal Reserve officials and others remain hopeful that one can be avoided. More…
By James Rowley, Bloomberg
Nov. 29 (Bloomberg) — A key U.S. Senate Democrat threatened White House Chief of Staff Joshua Bolten and three former presidential aides with contempt of Congress for continued refusal to cooperate with congressional investigations into nine U.S. attorney firings.
Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy of Vermont, in a formal ruling, rejected President George W. Bush’s claim of executive privilege in refusing to turn over White House documents on the firings or let top aides discuss their role in the dismissals. Leahy ordered Bolten and three former aides to comply with the subpoenas or risk contempt proceedings.
Bush’s former top political adviser, Karl Rove, refused to appear before the committee in August. Two former White House political aides, Sara Taylor and J. Scott Jennings, refused to answer many questions from senators when they testified at hearings on whether the firings were politically motivated.
“It is obvious that the reasons given for these firings were contrived as part of a cover-up and that the stonewalling by the White House is part and parcel of that same effort,” Leahy said. Leahy did not specify when he would seek contempt citations, which would have to be approved by his committee and the full Senate.
Congressional committees are investigating whether Rove and former White House counsel Harriet Miers directed the ouster of U.S. attorneys for allegedly failing to aggressively probe claims of voter fraud against groups allied with the Democratic Party. The inquiry also focused on whether the firings were intended to thwart investigations of Republicans.
Political Agenda
Leahy said the evidence showed that “officials from the highest political ranks at the White House, including Mr. Rove, manipulated the Justice Department into its own political arm to pursue a partisan political agenda.”
The senator cited the firing of New Mexico U.S. Attorney David Iglesias after Rove complained to Attorney General Alberto Gonzales about a lack of federal voter-fraud prosecutions in the state.
Gonzales’s inability to explain the firings lost him support among both Democrats and Republicans, and he resigned in September.
Justice Department e-mails turned over to Congress showed that the firings were sought by Rove and Miers and were carried out in close coordination with the White House staff.
Bolten refused to comply with House and Senate subpoenas to turn over documents that Congress considers under the control of the president’s chief of staff.
The House Judiciary Committee has already voted contempt citations against Bolten and Miers, who ignored a subpoena to testify before the House panel investigating the firings. The full House hasn’t scheduled a vote on the citation.
During confirmation hearings last month, Attorney General Michael Mukasey said presidential aides can’t be prosecuted for contempt of Congress, a criminal misdemeanor, if legal advice from the Justice Department formed the basis of Bush’s executive privilege claim. More…
Jill Del Greco, WHIO
TROTWOOD, Ohio — The FBI is investigating after a Trotwood police officer used a Taser on a pregnant woman.
Trotwood Public Safety Director Michael Etter said the incident happened on Nov. 18. He said the woman arrived at the police department asking to give up custody of her 1-year-old son.
Etter said his officer spoke with the woman as she held on to the child outside the police department.
“(He) attempted to obtain information on both the mother and the child, at which time the mother refused to give any information and became very agitated,” Etter said.
Surveillance video from the police department shows the woman try to leave with the child. The officer then grabs her coat in an effort to get her to stop. Etter said the officer was doing what he thought was in the best interest of the 1-year-old boy.
The video shows the woman struggle with the officer, who then takes the child from her and gives the boy to another officer. The first officer then forces the woman down on her stomach, and he then deploys a Taser on her neck.
Etter said the officer did not know the woman was pregnant.
“She did not disclose, even after she was arrested, that she was pregnant,” Etter said. He said the woman was wearing a large winter coat and had her child on her lap when she was talking to the officer.
Etter said the department is cooperating with the FBI investigation, and there is also an ongoing internal investigation to see if the use of force was warranted for the situation.
Etter said the officer involved is still on duty. More plus video…
Ok, so the woman was sitting with “her child on her lap when she was talking to the officer”, but in all that “talking”, she didn’t give ANY information whatsoever, eh? Yeah right. I might have been born in the morning, but it wasn’t this morning! I don’t believe the officer’s tale one bit. -Sue
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