Bad Deeds for 5-14-2008

 

Crude, Racist and Pornographic Secret Service E-Mails – Emails containing crude, racist and pornographic images have just released by the Secret Service as part of a long-running civil rights suit filed by African American agents. One of the emails joked about civil rights leader Jesse Jackson being killed by a missile. The Secret Service e-mail was titled ‘The Righteous Reverend,’ and jokes about the deaths of Jackson and his wife when a missile strikes their plane. The e-mail ends with, it “certainly wouldn’t be a great loss and probably wouldn’t be an accident either.”

 

U.S. Major Importer of Illegal Asian Timber – Vietnam has become a hub for processing Asia’s illegally logged timber, much of which is sold in the United States as outdoor furniture, conservationists say. In a report released in March, the U.K.-based nonprofit Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA) and its Indonesian partner Telapak warned that the illegal timber trade is threatening some of the last intact forests in Southeast Asia, especially in Laos.

 

White House Spokesperson Says Administration Did Not Know About the Pentagon’s Use of TV Military Analysts, But Pentagon E-Mails Prove Otherwise – A reporter repeated his question as White House Press Secretary Dana Perino walked away from the podium, “Did the White House know about the program?” And on her way out of the room, Perino answered, “I just said: no.” E-mails from Pentagon officials dealing with the military analyst program refer to weekly meetings with “karl,” to having the analysts briefed by Bush’s National Security Advisor Stephen Hadley, and even to getting the analysts “in with potus” himself (that’s POTUS, or the President of the United States). So in the process of discussing how to keep “their” TV military analysts “on message” regarding claims about the Iraq war, they talked about efforts to have both Stephen Hadley and Bush himself speak with the analysts — proposals that had been discussed with “karl” (which, clearly, in this case, means Rove). That means Perino’s denial was false and that the White House had at least some knowledge of and involvement in this propaganda program.

 

Pentagon Puppet Military Analysts Appeared or Were Quoted More Than 4,500 Times on Broadcast Nets, Cables, NPR – A New York Times article detailed the connection between numerous media military analysts and the Pentagon and defense industries, reporting that “the Bush administration has used its control over access and information in an effort to transform” media military analysts “into a kind of media Trojan horse — an instrument intended to shape terrorism coverage from inside the major TV and radio networks.” A Media Matters review found that since January 1, 2002, the analysts named in the Times article — many identified as having ties to the defense industry — collectively appeared or were quoted as experts more than 4,500 times on ABC, ABC News Now, CBS, CBS Radio Network, NBC, CNN, CNN Headline News, Fox News, MSNBC, CNBC, and NPR.

 

In England, Council Used Terror Law to Spy on Fishermen and Family of School Children – A council that used controversial powers to spy on a family to check whether they were living in the correct school catchment area has done the same to keep an eye on local fishermen, it emerged yesterday. Poole borough council is using the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act (Ripa) – a law brought in to combat terrorism and cyber crime – to scrutinise people gathering shellfish. Last month the council admitted spying on a family to check they were living in the correct school catchment area. Jenny Paton, 39, Tim Joyce, 37, and their three daughters had their movements scrutinised and timed by an undercover official. A detailed log of the family’s activities was kept with statements including “curtains open and all lights on in premises”, but no action was taken against them.

 

How Green Is John McCain? Not So Much.

 

John McCain Has Missed Every Major Environmental Vote During This Congress – And the Wall Street Journal completely omits McCain voting record on the environment.

 

John McCain Has Numerous Lobbyists Working on His Campaign, Including at Least Ten Who Represent Brutal Dictators, Human Rights Abusers, and Other Unsavory Foreign Interests – Recently two of John McCain’s lobbyist supporters resigned from his campaign almost immediately after news came to light that they had lobbied for the brutal military junta in Myanmar.

But that’s only the tip of the iceberg. McCain still has plenty of other lobbyists — according to our friends at Public Campaign Action Fund, 112 at last count — working on his behalf, including at least ten who represent brutal dictators, human rights abusers, and other unsavory foreign interests.

Among the worst offenders is one of McCain’s top advisors, Charlie Black. His firm has represented several leaders known for human rights abuses, as well as Chinese oil interests. Another lobbyist, Tom Loeffler, works for a firm that counts the Saudi Arabian government among its clients. One of McCain’s top fundraisers, Peter Madigan defended the United Arab Emirates against allegations that boys there are enslaved and forced to be camel jockeys. Take action at the link:

 

McCain’s Spiritual Advisor – John McCain and Rev. Rod Parsley, a televangeslist from Ohio who hates Islam. According to David Corn of Mother Jones, Parsley has called on Christians to wage war against Islam, which he considers to be a “false religion.” Watch the video.

 

Blunt Federal Letters Tell Students They’re Security Threats – Letters have gone to 5,000 applicants across the country who have at least initially been turned down for a Transportation Worker Identification Credential, an ID card meant to guard against acts of terrorism, agency officials said Monday. The letters contain an ominous warning from John M. Busch, a security administration official: “I have determined that you pose a security threat.” “It’s an unfortunate choice of words in a bureaucratic letter,” said Ellen Howe, a security agency spokeswoman. Ms. Howe and Maurine Fanguy, who oversees the new ID card program, said that most foreign students did not qualify for the identity cards, but that the letters were not intended tothe recipients as potential terrorists.

 

Bush Still Hiding from Global Warming – Today’s decision to list the polar bear as “threatened” was bizarrely schizophrenic in that the administration simultaneously enacted policies to prevent the polar bear’s listing from affecting runaway greenhouse gas emissions.

– The administration should have listed the polar bear as “endangered” rather than “threatened.” An endangered listing would require a stronger protective standard.

– The administration refused to designate and protect the polar bear’s habitat as “critical habitat.” The overwhelming threat to polar bears is the melting of Arctic sea ice. It is absolutely essential that this habitat is itself protected if we expect to save the bear.

– The listing decision includes a “special rule” and a declaration that greenhouse gas emissions can’t and shouldn’t be limited by the Endangered Species Act. This poison pill attempts to completely undermine the entire point of the polar bear’s listing: to reign in the primary actions driving the species extinct.

 

Charter Communications to Snoop on Broadband Customers’ Web Histories for Ad Networks – Charter Communications, one of the nation’s largest ISPs, plans to begin eavesdropping on the web surfing of its customers, in order to help web advertisers deliver targeted ads. In letters being sent to some of its 2.7 million high-speed internet customers, Charter is billing its new web tracking program as an “enhancement” for customers’ web surfing experience. The letters were first reported by a BroadbandReports.com user on Sunday. The pilot program is set to begin next month.

 

U.S. Deploys More Than 43,000 Unfit for Combat – More than 43,000 U.S. troops listed as medically unfit for combat in the weeks before their scheduled deployment to Iraq or Afghanistan since 2003 were sent anyway, Pentagon records show. This reliance on troops found medically “non-deployable” is another sign of stress placed on a military that has sent 1.6 million service members to the war zones, soldier advocacy groups say.

 

FBI Issued Illegal National Security Letter to Library – The FBI issued an illegal National Security Letter (NSL) seeking information from an online library. After the legality of the letter was challenged, the FBI withdrew it. NSLs are secretly issued by the government to obtain access to personal customer records from Internet Service Providers, financial institutions, and credit reporting agencies. In almost all cases, recipients of the NSLs are forbidden, or “gagged,” from disclosing that they have received the letters. The ACLU has challenged this Patriot Act statute in federal court in two other cases where the judges found the gags unconstitutional: one involving an Internet Service Provider (ISP); the second a group of librarians. In the ISP case, the district court invalidated the entire NSL statute. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit is expected to hear oral arguments in the government’s appeal of that case next month.

 

Joe Scarborough Wants Tear Gas in the Streets of Denver During the Democratic Convention – Scarborough said,. “I want the Stones’ Street Fighting Man played in the background while I monitor the streets of Denver with tear gas, the ghost of Abbie Hoffman rising up over the auditorium. Yeah, baby, I want a fight — on both sides”

Regards,

Jim