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State troopers battle big gas bills - Life- msnbc.com
HELENA, Mont. - In big, wide-open Montana, a state trooper might have to drive more than 100 miles to answer an emergency call and routinely puts several hundred miles on the odometer in a day.
With gasoline at $4 a gallon, all that driving is tearing up the Highway Patrol's budget.
It is the same story elsewhere around the country, especially in big, sparsely populated Western states with vast stretches of highway. State police agencies nationwide are scrambling to reduce gasoline use and find the money to cover their costs. Some are beginning to worry that they will have to cut back on hiring officers.
For the Highway Patrol in Montana — the fourth-largest state in area, at 147,000 square miles — the options are limited.
The Highway Patrol considered buying more V6 Chevrolet Impala cruisers to save gasoline, but initial tests showed the Impalas get about the same mileage as the department's V8 Ford Crown Victorias, or a little above 15 miles per gallon.
Switching to hybrid vehicles is out of the question, since there is no hope of chasing down bad guys in one, police say.
"They're gutless," said the head of the Highway Patrol, Col. Paul Grimstad, who oversees some 200 state troopers and happens to own a hybrid. "The one I have gets awesome gas mileage and runs good. But if you floor the thing, it doesn't have the performance. Not even close."
That has left him looking at the possibility of buying motorcycles. But Montana's harsh winter would prevent year-round use. HELENA, Mont. - In big, wide-open Montana, a state trooper might have to drive more than 100 miles to answer an emergency call and rou... more -
Iraq banned from Summer Olympics
The International Olympic Committee has banned Iraq from competing in the upcoming Summer Olympics games because of what it says is political interference by the government in sports.
An Iraqi Olympic Committee official said the IOC sent letters in Arabic and English confirming the ban.
The official said the seven Iraqi athletes who were to travel to China for the games in August are disappointed by the decision. The International Olympic Committee has banned Iraq from competing in the upcoming Summer Olympics games because of what it says is po... more -
Suicide blast kills 8 U.S.-allied forces
BAGHDAD - A female suicide bomber killed at least eight people Thursday night at a checkpoint manned by U.S.-allied Sunni guards northeast of Baghdad, Iraqi police said.
The woman blew herself up near a checkpoint in central Baqouba, a police officer said.
At least eight guards were killed and 24 other people were wounded, according to the officer. He spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to release the information
BAGHDAD - A female suicide bomber killed at least eight people Thursday night at a checkpoint manned by U.S.-allied Sunni guards north... more -
Iraq banned from Beijing Olympics
Iraq cannot take part in the Beijing Olympics because it disbanded the country's Olympic Committee, a committee official said on Thursday, but a comment from the Games' organizers suggested the ban may not be final. Iraq cannot take part in the Beijing Olympics because it disbanded the country's Olympic Committee, a committee official said on Thurs... more
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Conyers plans Bush impeachment substitute
Rebuffing Dennis Kucinich’s calls for impeachment hearings on George W. Bush, the House Judiciary Committee instead will hear testimony about Bush’s “imperial presidency” and several of his administration’s scandals.
In a press release issued Thursday, Rep. John Conyers, House Judiciary Committee chairman, said his panel will explore a variety of Bush controversies, including manipulation of prewar Iraq intelligence, politicization of the Justice Department, and refusal to cooperate with congressional investigations.
But the Michigan Democrat also left little doubt that the committee’s review was meant to fend off demands from Rep. Kucinich that Conyers initiate impeachment proceedings against Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney.
With impeachment ruled out, it’s unclear how much the Judiciary Committee’s inquiry can accomplish, given Bush’s broad assertion of executive privilege when his subordinates are faced with congressional questions about criminal and other wrongdoing.
Conyers’s committee faced just that dilemma earlier Thursday when former Attorney General John Ashcroft refused to answer an array of questions about his role in decisions regarding warrantless wiretaps and harsh interrogations of detainees in the “war on terror.”
In effect, President Bush keeps broadening his claims of executive privilege - even citing it Wednesday to cover testimony that Cheney gave in 2004 to a federal prosecutor about his role in exposing a covert CIA officer.
Bush knows that Democratic leaders, including House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Judiciary Committee Chairman Conyers, have long ago rejected impeachment proceedings, the one instrument included in the Constitution for Congress to wield against a President who has abused his powers.
With only six months left in his term, Bush can easily wait out any court challenges to his privilege claims, cases that might take years to litigate.
Nevertheless, in announcing the July 25 hearing, Conyers said his committee would address “possible legal responses” to Bush’s “imperial presidency.”
“As Chairman of the Judiciary Committee, I believe it is imperative that we pursue a comprehensive review commensurate to this constitutionally dangerous combination of circumstances. Next Friday’s hearings will be an important part of that ongoing effort,” Conyers said.
Abuses on display
Among the topics cited by Conyers for the hearing are:
* The forced resignation of nine U.S. attorneys allegedly because some balked at politically motivated prosecutions.
* The misuse of the “unitary executive” theory, which involved Bush’s presidential signing statements to negate laws passed by Congress.
* The abuse of the government’s powers to investigate and detain U.S. citizens and to harm administration critics, including disclosing the identity of CIA operative Valerie Plame after her husband, former Ambassador Joseph Wilson, challenged Bush’s use of bogus intelligence to justify invading Iraq.
* The assertion of executive privilege to prevent Congress and the public from overseeing the administration’s actions and decisions.
Kucinich, D-Ohio, cited those issues and others, such as sanctioning torture and invading Iraq under false pretenses, as part of his 35 articles of impeachment, which were introduced in June.
The House sidetracked Kucinich’s resolution by voting - 251-166 - to send it to the House Judiciary Committee. At the time, Kucinich said he expected Conyers to hold hearings within a 30-day deadline Kucinich had imposed, but Conyers chose not to act.
Kucinich rankled Democratic leaders last week when he stated that he would reintroduce impeachment articles if Conyers and other top Democrats tried to derail his efforts.
Last week, Conyers told Congressional Quarterly that his committee’s actions will be limited to a public hearing.
“We’re not doing impeachment, but [Kucinich] can talk about it,” Conyers told CQ.
Rebuffing Dennis Kucinich’s calls for impeachment hearings on George W. Bush, the House Judiciary Committee instead will hear testimon... more -
A New Cold War in the Caribbean?
Ever since the Monroe Doctrine, the United States has seen the Caribbean in the way that the Romans viewed the Mediterranean — Mare Nostrum, Our Sea. From the Spanish-American War through the Cuban Missile Crisis and the Central American dirty wars of the Reagan era, Washington was always quick to flex its muscle over the rum-soaked waters that stretch from Florida to Venezuela. The bad news: It ain't our sea anymore, gringos.
"The U.S. let its guard down in the Caribbean after the Berlin Wall fell," says Johanna Mendelson-Forman, a senior associate for the Americas at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. "As a result we've gone from unipolarity in that region to multipolarity, which isn't necessarily a bad thing, but we're in a real learning phase as to how to deal with it."
Chavez's visit to Moscow this week, not only to buy more than $1 billion worth of anti-aircraft missiles and submarines, but also to commune with growing anti-American resentment in Russia, resurrected old ghosts for some conservative yanqui lawmakers. Florida Congressman Connie Mack declared the Caracas-Moscow partnership "a stark reminder of the Cold War partnership between the Soviet Union and Cuba." Ever since the Monroe Doctrine, the United States has seen the Caribbean in the way that the Romans viewed the Mediterranean — Mare No... more -
Iraq banned from Beijing Olympics
Athletes from Iraq have been banned from taking part at this summer's Beijing Games, the International Olympic Committee has announced.
The team was already the subject of an interim ban after the Iraqi government replaced the country's Olympic committee with its own appointees.
Under the IOC charter, all committees must be free of political influence.
As a result the team of two rowers, two sprinters, one archer, one weightlifter and one judo competitor cannot attend.
"The deadline for taking up places for Beijing for all sports except athletics has now passed," said IOC spokeswoman Giselle Davies.
"The IOC very sadly has now to acknowledge that it is likely there will be no Iraqi presence at the Beijing Olympic Games, despite our best efforts."
She added: "Clearly, we'd very much like to have seen Iraq's athletes in Beijing.
"We are very disappointed that the athletes have been so ill-served by their own government's actions."
The four Iraqi athletes that qualified could have competed under the Olympic flag
BBC Radio 5 Live's Gordon Farquhar
Hussein al-Amidi, the general secretary of the Iraqi Olympic Committee, said: "This morning we were informed of the final decision of the International Olympic Committee to suspend the membership of the Iraqi Olympic Committee.
"It's a final decision, there is no way to appeal. This means that Iraq will not take part in the coming Olympic games.
"It is a blow to Iraq and its international reputation, its athletes and its youth.
"I swear those athletes who have been training - they phoned me today and they were crying and were very upset."
BBC Radio 5 Live sports news correspondent Gordon Farquhar added: "The four Iraqi athletes that qualified could have competed under the Olympic flag but the deadline for confirmation of places has passed."
The committee which the government dismissed was elected in 2004, in line with the Olympic movement's regulations.
Its chairman, Ahmad al-Samarra'i, and several other members were abducted by gunmen while attending a meeting in central Baghdad in July 2006.
They have not been seen since.
The Iraqi government said it took the move because the committee was corrupt and had not been functioning properly. Athletes from Iraq have been banned from taking part at this summer's Beijing Games, the International Olympic Committee has announced... more -
Gays in Iraq terrorized by threats, rape, murder
Kamal was just 16 when gunmen snatched him off the streets of Baghdad, stuffed him in the trunk of a car and whisked him away to a house. But the real terror was about to begin.
The men realized he was gay, Kamal said, when he took his shirt off and they saw his chest was shaved.
"They told me to take off my clothes to rape me or they would kill me immediately. This moment was the worst moment in my life," he told CNN, weeping as he spoke of the 2005 ordeal.
"I was watching them taking off their clothes, preparing to rape me. I did not know what to do, so I started shouting loudly, 'Please do not do that! I will ask my family to give you whatever you want.'"
His pleas went unheeded. "The other two kidnappers took off my clothes by force and, at that time, I saw them as three dirty animals trying to tear my body apart."
He was held for 15 days, released only after his family paid a $1,500 ransom. He was raped every day. Only once, he said, was he allowed to talk to his family during captivity. "I told my family that I was beaten by them, but I did not dare to tell my family that I was raped by them. I could not say it, it's too much shame."
CNN spoke with Kamal, now 18, and his 21-year-old friend, Rami, about what it's like to be gay in Iraq. Coming out as gay is not easy in any country, but to do so in Iraq could mean a death sentence or torture.
The two men rarely show feelings toward each other in public. They spend a lot of time in Internet cafes in Baghdad, surfing gay chat rooms and seeking contacts with other gay men in Iraq and elsewhere.
Since the fall of Saddam Hussein in 2003, the situation for gays and lesbians in Iraq has deteriorated. Ridiculed under Hussein, many now find themselves the targets of violence, according to humanitarian officials.
Lesbians are also victims of harassment and violence, but not nearly as often as gay men.
It's unknown how many homosexuals have been killed by militias in the lawless streets of Iraq's cities, but some Web sites post pictures of Iraqis they say were killed for being gay.
One photo on the Iraqi Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender site shows a group of men standing around three male bodies sprawled on a street, blood pouring from their heads. "Gay Iraqi victims of the police and death squads," the site says.
A U.N. report on human rights in Iraq reinforces the accusations of violence. Although gays are supposed to be protected by law in Iraq, it says, they face extreme brutality.
"Armed Islamic groups and militias have been known to be particularly hostile toward homosexuals, frequently and openly engaging in violent campaigns against them," the report said, adding that homosexuals have been murdered.
"Militias are reportedly threatening families of men believed to be homosexual, stating that they will begin killing family members unless the men are handed over or killed by the family," it said. Kamal was just 16 when gunmen snatched him off the streets of Baghdad, stuffed him in the trunk of a car and whisked him away to a ho... more -
Saddam Hussein's Rolls Royce on eBay
Reports are that Saddam Hussein's purple Rolls was, until a few hours ago, listed for sale on eBay for £185,000. The car was apparently bought from the Iraqi government by a Surrey-based car dealer which and has the paperwork to prove the moustachioed identity of its previous owner. The car would have been shipped over from Baghdad within 28 days, with a new stereo added, apparently to replace the one that was ripped out by American soldiers. Sadly the auction has now been pulled, though it's not known if an offline buyer turned up or the authorities stepped in ... Reports are that Saddam Hussein's purple Rolls was, until a few hours ago, listed for sale on eBay for £185,000. The car was apparent... more
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Barack Obama's huge welcome in Baghdad
Barack Obama is obviously hugely popular with the US military in Iraq as well as with the civilians working in the US Embassy in Baghdad.
More telling pictures and videos at http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2008/7/22/111651/551/... Barack Obama is obviously hugely popular with the US military in Iraq as well as with the civilians working in the US Embassy in Baghd... more -
Replacing private contractors in Iraq
In the recent years since the invasion of Iraq, insufficient US military force has lead to the use of an estimated 20,000 contractors to date. The boon in the demand for this began when it became apparent the US Military didn't have the man power to defend the Iraqi/Coalition reconstruction effort. As civilian construction/industrial sites and convoys were attacked private security firms/contractors/providers (mostly with previous or current dealings with the US government) were called in for defense contracts. At first this was slow, but as operations, reconstruction, and industrial development got under-way the more contracts were taken out, and eventualy we are now left with the present situation.
In the column linked by David Isenberg (ex. US Navy and military affairs analyst) we are presented with a paper named " Phasing Out Private Security Contractors in Iraq, " written by Col. Bobby Towery while studying at the US Army War College. It reflects on the possabilities of completely removing private security from convoys construction sites military bases and any site not directly supporting or directly involved with combat operations for the coalition. It states all these things should be the responsability of the Iraqi government to better affirm their authority on the country. Col. Towery also provides an estimated statistic using the current Blackwater training program acknowledging said private security groups could traing their replacements. He proposes if three training firms are signed, it will take just over 133 eight week training sessions between them to replace the 20,000 contractors with special security police officers, trained for various private security missions, knocking out 150 per session.
Let's hope they start soon, as once the coalition pulls out there will be a large base for possible private insurgency, as the companies still barely answer to any Iraqi authority, let alone one that has authority over them. In the recent years since the invasion of Iraq, insufficient US military force has lead to the use of an estimated 20,000 contractors ... more -
Barack on Iraq policy
In Washington, D.C. last week, before heading to the middle east, Barack Obama gave a speech on Iraq policy.
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Robots in Iraq:Air Strike!
" It looks more Star Wars than Iraq War, an unmanned aerial killer ready to fly its first combat mission in Iraq. But the MQ-9 Reaper is more than just a stunning sight — it may represent the future of combat aviation.
Chesser doesn't pilot the Reaper from inside. Instead, he operates the drone from a cockpit in a reinforced trailer on the ground at Joint Base Balad. The joystick he uses to control the plane looks remarkably like a computer game control.
The Reaper is slated to take over many support missions for ground troops next year that are currently being flown by F-16 fighter jets."
" It looks more Star Wars than Iraq War, an unmanned aerial killer ready to fly its first combat mission in Iraq. But the MQ-9 Reaper ... more -
Vote Vets Come Down On McCain Iraq Policy
The ad features Brandon Woods, an Iraq War veteran from New York .
In the ad, Brandon says, "What did we fight for in Iraq ? I have some idea. I fought in Operation Iraqi Freedom. And "freedom" means when the Iraqi people and their Prime Minister ask us to make a plan to leave, we do. But, Senator McCain would occupy Iraq indefinitely, against their wishes. That's not what freedom means. That's not what we fought for. Senator, I thought you would know better." The ad features Brandon Woods, an Iraq War veteran from New York . ... more -
Obama's overseas success sends McCain scrambling
For months, McCain asked for it. On its website, the GOP set up a counter to track how long it had been since the last time it happened. McCain's supporters called for Barack Obama to halt all criticism of the War in Iraq until it took place. But now that Obama has begun his overseas tour, McCain is scrambling. For months, McCain asked for it. On its website, the GOP set up a counter to track how long it had been since the last time it happene... more
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Montage of Bush using Soldiers Killed in Iraq
All I have to say is that a picture is worth a thousand words. ...what is a war worth?
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Iraqi Vets Against the War - PDF on Recruting
Anyone who is even considering joining the armed forces needs to read this! This was posted yesterday and buried, even though it was at the top of upcoming. It picked up another 70 diggs after being buried. Anyone who is even considering joining the armed forces needs to read this! This was posted yesterday and buried, even though it was a... more
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Another US led massacre of civilians planned for Fallujah: Documenting American Wa...
Every time I read a story published in Western mainstream media about what transpired in Fallujah in 2004 during two US assaults on the city I feel sick.
The evidence proving that the United States committed war crimes, slaughtering innocent men, women and children is irrefutable. The US military’s use of chemical weapons is irrefutable. The destruction of a city amounting to collective punishment is irrefutable. All of this occurred because four Blackwater mercenaries were killed by Iraqis who were trying to protect their city from what we now know as “America's Private Army”.
I have tried to understand why Western mainstream media has remained complicit in its coverage and reporting of this event, and I believe I have found the answer. Every time I read a story published in Western mainstream media about what transpired in Fallujah in 2004 during two US assaults on th... more -
Sexually assaulted female troops struggle to recover
Women who are fighting for our country and the challenges they face.
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CBS edits McCain gaffe on Iraq
In an interview with Katie Curic this evening Sen. McCain, in response to Sen. Obama's assertion that conditions may have improved in Iraq regardless of the surge, claimed the Sunni awakening that pitted them against the Al Qaeda insurrection happened as a result of the surge. Stating it was a simple matter of historic fact McCain feigned to not understand how Obama could make such a gaffe. The only problem, or rather the latest problem, is the surge hadn't happened when the Sunnis turned against Al Qaeda in Iraq. In an interview with Katie Curic this evening Sen. McCain, in response to Sen. Obama's assertion that conditions may have improved in ... more
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