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More: the prosecution of George W Bush for murder - C-Span
I posted on Youtube Vincent Bugliosi's appearance on Democracy Now democracynow.org/
There he gave a broad list of reasons why our president George W. Bush should be prosecuted for murder. Due to time limits on Youtube, I was unable to post the entire broadcast but took from it what I thought was most interesting (hard to do since all of Vincent Bugliosi words are phenomenal).
Now Videocafeblog has posted the Vincent Bugliosi's opening statements during the House Judiciary Committee hearing on the onstitutional limits of executive power.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GDAFozFn4kU
This man is serious and all should take a moment to hear his chilling words. I posted on Youtube Vincent Bugliosi's appearance on Democracy Now democracynow.org/ ... more -
Gonzales won't face charges for mishandling info?
WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Justice Department refused to prosecute former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales for improperly - and possibly illegally - storing in his office and home classified information about two of the Bush administration's most sensitive counterterrorism efforts.
Mishandling classified materials violates Justice Department regulations, and removing them from special secure facilities without proper authorization is a misdemeanor crime. A report issued Tuesday by the Justice Department's inspector general says the agency decided not to press charges against Gonzales, who resigned under fire last year.
The report by Inspector General Glenn A. Fine found that Gonzales risked exposing at least some parts of the National Security Agency's terrorist surveillance program, as well as interrogations of terrorist detainees. Some aspects of the surveillance program explicitly referred to in the documents were "zealously protected" by the NSA, the report found.
Fine referred the case to the Justice Department's National Security Division to see if charges should be brought against Gonzales. But prosecutors dropped the case after an internal review that began earlier this year, said Justice Department spokesman Dean Boyd.
"After conducting a thorough review of the matter and consulting with senior career officials inside and outside of the division, the NSD ultimately determined that prosecution should be declined," Boyd said in a statement. The lack of charges against the nation's former top law enforcement officer infuriated the Democratic chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, John Conyers, D-Mich., who demanded to know why.
Lawyers for Gonzales acknowledge he did not store or protect the top secret papers - a set of handwritten notes about the surveillance program and 17 other documents - as he should have. But they say he did not intend to risk letting unauthorized people see them, and there's no evidence that occurred.
The report is the latest to take Gonzales to task for mismanagement at the department during his 31 months as attorney general. The criticism could foreshadow the results of an ongoing investigation by Fine's office about Gonzales' role in the 2006 firings of nine U.S. attorneys. That inquiry is expected to be finished within months.
"Like all other department employees, Gonzales was responsible for safeguarding classified materials, familiarizing himself with the facilities available to him ... for storing these materials and observing the rules and procedures for the proper handling of classified materials," Fine's report stated. "Our investigation found that Gonzales did not fulfill these obligations and instead mishandled highly classified documents about the NSA surveillance program and a detainee interrogation program."
In a statement Tuesday afternoon, Conyers said he was "shocked" by the report's findings that he said only adds "to an already troubling record of the Justice Department under this administration and under Mr. Gonzales." "The department ought to explain clearly why it declined to pursue charges against Mr. Gonzales and what actions it intends to take in response to the report," Conyers said.
Three years ago, former national security adviser Sandy Berger pleaded guilty to removing classified documents from the National Archives and hiding them under a construction trailer. He was fined $50,000 and ordered to perform community service. He was barred from viewing classified material. WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Justice Department refused to prosecute former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales for improperly - and possibly ... more -
Lawyers: Gonzales mishandled classified data
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales mishandled highly classified notes about a secret counterterror program, but not on purpose, according to a memo by his legal team. The memo, obtained by The Associated Press, acknowledges that Gonzales improperly stored notes about the program and might have taken them home at one point. Removing secret documents from specially secured rooms violates government policy.
Gonzales' lawyers wrote in their memo that there is no evidence the security breach resulted in secret information being viewed or otherwise exposed to anyone who was not authorized.
The classified notes focus on a March 2004 meeting with congressional leaders about a national security program that was about to expire. Efforts to renew the program sparked an intense Bush administration debate that played out at the hospital bedside of then-Attorney General John Ashcroft.
The memo was prepared by Gonzales' legal team as a response to a report being finalized by the Justice Department's inspector general. The report, which could be released as early as Tuesday, is expected to criticize Gonzales' handling of sensitive compartmentalized information, or SCI, according to the memo.
Gonzales agrees with inspector general's findings that his handling of notes and other SCI documents "was not consistent with the department's regulations governing the proper storage and handling of information classified as SCI," concluded the legal team's memo. "Judge Gonzales regrets this lapse."
Sensitive compartmentalized information is one of the highest and most sensitive levels of classified documents and is deemed top secret. It usually relates to national security cases.
Gonzales' lawyers acknowledge that he kept the notes in a safe in his fifth-floor office at the Justice Department, along with a small number of other highly classified papers, instead of in the special facilities accessible only by certain people with top secret security clearances. He also may have taken the notes home at one point in 2005 as he was moving out of the White House counsel's office, where he served until he was sworn in as attorney general at the start of President Bush's second term, the memo says.
The inspector general's report will be the latest in a series taking Gonzales to task for his management of the Justice Department. He resigned under fire in September 2007. At least two more reports, including one looking at Gonzales' role in the ouster of nine U.S. attorneys, are expected in coming months.
It also could re-ignite a simmering controversy about Gonzales' role in urging an ailing Ashcroft to continue a national security program the Justice Department had deemed illegal.
Preparing for the criticism, Gonzales' legal team fired back with the 12-page memo and a three-page addendum accompanying it. The documents indicate the attorney general was merely forgetful or unaware of the proper way to handle the top secret papers. Both documents were written by Gonzales attorney George Terwilliger, who served as the Justice Department's No. 2 official between 1991 and 1992.
The classified notes, according to the lawyers' memo, focus on a March 10, 2004 emergency meeting in the White House Situation Room with Gonzales, other high-ranking Bush administration officials and the eight House and Senate leaders and intelligence committee chairmen. It was held to brief the bipartisan group of lawmakers about a sensitive counterterror program that was set to expire the next day.
Then-Deputy Attorney General James Comey, who was running the Justice Department while Ashcroft was hospitalized for pancreatitis, had refused to sign off on the program because he questioned whether parts of it were legal. At the Situation Room meeting, administration officials asked the congressional leaders to consider creating legislation to let the program continue, according to the memo. WASHINGTON (AP) -- Former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales mishandled highly classified notes about a secret counterterror program, b... more -
Article XXXll - Bush supresses science and fails to act on climate change
"In all of these actions and decisions, President George W. Bush has acted in a manner contrary to his trust as President and subversive of constitutional government, to the prejudice of the cause of law and justice and to the manifest injury of the people of the United States. Wherefore, President George W. Bush, by such conduct, is guilty of an impeachable offense warranting removal from office."
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Gee, i wonder why. "In all of these actions and decisions, President George W. Bush has acted in a manner contrary to his trust as President and sub... more -
EPA warns Bush: Adaptation to climate change may not be possible.
The EPA has issued its "Synthesis and Assessment Product 4.6; Analyses of Effects of Global Climate Change on Welfare and Human Systems"
which anticipates a wide range of negative impacts on human health over the coming decades, including "increased mortality"
This excerpt, which I found on page 94, states the following:
"there is no guarantee that future changes in climate will not present a threshold that poses technological or physical limits to which adaptation is not possible."
The Bush administration has rejected proposals to cap C02 or impose carbon taxes to limit global warming. The EPA has issued its "Synthesis and Assessment Product 4.6; Analyses of Effects of Global Climate Change on Welfare and Human S... more -
Rise and fall of Pak President Pervez Musharaff //hamropalo
On October 12 1999, Pervez Musharraf went from being the chief of Pakistan's army to the chief of its government. In a bloodless coup, democracy was toppled and the general faced flak for it, but that didn't stop him from formally appointing himself President less than two years later on June 20, 2001.
The event which was going to define Musharraf's presidency however came later that year - on September 11.
Almost overnight, the man who many in the west had shunned as a dictator became a pivotal player in the war on terror. Islamists' back home, however, denounced him as a traitor.
In April 2002, Musharraf conducted a widely criticised referendum where he won himself five years in office. By August that year, he had sweeping new powers including the right to dismiss and elect a Parliament.
In October 2002, the general elections resulted in a hung parliament, but Musharraf bailed himself out by making a deal with a coalition of Islamic parties.
He promised to leave the army by December 31 2004, but later broke his promise.
The next few years saw him walking a tightrope. His relationship with the US had its ups and down.
Musharraf's true test however lay ahead. On March 9, 2007, he fired chief justice Iftikhar Choudhary accusing him of misuse of authority. A week later, the police attacked the office of a private news channel minutes after it showed a video of police roughing up Choudhary's supporters.
On May 12, 2007, large-scale clashes left 35 people dead and then the Pakistan army raided the Lal Masjid on July 10. Musharraf had been avoiding action against the madarsa for nearly seven months, but finally, extremism was met with an iron fist.
But his problems did not end there what with a failed peace deal in Waziristan, imposition of Emergency, return of rivals from exile and unhappy Islamists at home.
In October 2007, Musharraf got himself re-elected as the President of Pakistan and went on to impose Emergency in November 2007.
Later that month, a tearful Musharraf handed over the command of the army to General Ashfaq Kayani. It was the beginning of his end and Benazir Bhutto's assassination in December 2007 only delayed the inevitable.
The February 2008 elections saw Bhutto's PPP and the PML-N trounce Musharraf's allies. The election result flung the biggest challenge for Musharraf as it brought the same man he deposed - Nawaz Sharif - closer to power.
The new ruling coalition then decided to impeach President Musharraf for alleged misconduct, violation of the Constitution and financial irregularities. In yet another sign of eroding support for him ahead of the impeachment motion in Parliament, three of Pakistan's four provinces - Punjab Assembly, North West Frontier Province Assembly and Sindh Assembly - adopted a resolution asking him to face a vote of confidence or resign.
If President Musharraf does not announce his resignation on Monday, then the ruling coalition will go ahead and file for impeachment. If the coalition succeeds in getting a two-thirds majority in a combined sitting of the National Assembly and the Senate to topple him, it would be a first in Pakistan's 61-year history. On October 12 1999, Pervez Musharraf went from being the chief of Pakistan's army to the chief of its government. In a bloodless ... more -
Breaking news :President Musharraf quit :Pakistan //hamropalo
Islamabad: Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf resigned on Monday minutes after giving a speech to his country in which he outlined his achievements and flayed attempts to impeach him.
“In last nine years I have worked very hard and faced all challenges. I have withstood every challenge. We have seen growth in everything from GDP to foreign exchange reserve,” he said in his speech.
"I wanted to help the Government but they never listened to me. Now they want to impeach me. No charge will be proved against me. Impeachment will never be right for the country. Impeachment will be defeat to the country.”
"Keeping everything in mind, I have decided to resign. God was always kind (and) we faced every challenge. This day is important for me. I have to take an important decision.”
“I have fought two wars for Pakistan and still have enthusiasm for another.”
Speculation that the former army chief and US ally will resign had been mounting since the coalition government, led by the Pakistan People’s Party, said in August it planned to impeach him.
Prolonged jockeying and uncertainty over Musharraf's position has hurt Pakistan's financial markets and raised concern in Washington and among other allies it is distracting from efforts to control violent militants in the nuclear-armed nation.
The ruling coalition had prepared impeachment charges against Musharraf focusing on violation of the constitution and misconduct. Coalition officials had indicated that Musharraf could quit and avoid impeachment.
Coalition officials said last week Musharraf was ready to quit but was demanding immunity from prosecution. Musharraf seized power in a 1999 coup but has been isolated since his allies lost a February election.
All four provincial assemblies have passed resolutions in recent days pressing him to resign and several old allies have joined the campaign against him.
The political battling over Musharraf's fate has sapped investor confidence and there has been criticism it has taken government attention away from economic problems. Pakistani stocks are near two-year lows, while its currency has lost nearly a quarter of its value this year. Pakistan also faces major fiscal problems, with Saudi Arabia's help critical to defer an estimated $5.9 billion worth of oil payments. Islamabad: Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf resigned on Monday minutes after giving a speech to his country in which he outlined hi... more -
Musharraf likely to resign today, to go into exile
Islamabad: President Pervez Musharraf, under pressure to step down before he is impeached, will address Pakistan at 1300 hrs PST on Monday, an official in the President\'s office told Reuters.
Speculation that the former army chief and firm US ally will resign has been mounting since the coalition government, led by PPP - the party of assassinated former prime minister Benazir Bhutto - said this month it planned to impeach him.
The official in the president\'s office gave no details of Musharraf\'s address, but his Chief Spokesman, retired Major General Rashid Qureshi, was quoted separately as again denying that Musharraf would resign or leave the country.
\"President Musharraf is not going to Saudi Arabia or any other country and he will fight impeachment constitutionally,\" Dawn Television cited Qureshi as saying.
The ruling coalition has prepared impeachment charges against Musharraf focusing on violation of the Constitution and misconduct. Coalition officials have been hoping Musharraf would quit to avoid impeachment while some allies have said he should at least answer charges brought against him before stepping down.
Officials from Saudi Arabia, as well as the United States and Britain, have been involved in negotiations aimed at ending the confrontation between Musharraf and the government.
Coalition officials said last week Musharraf was ready to quit but was demanding immunity from prosecution. All four provincial assemblies have passed resolutions in recent days pressing him to resign and several old allies have joined the campaign against him.
Prolonged jockeying and uncertainty over Musharraf\'s position has hurt Pakistan\'s financial markets and raised concern in Washington and among other allies that it is distracting from efforts to control violent militants in the nuclear-armed nation.
Pakistani stocks are near two-year lows, while its currency has lost nearly a quarter of its value this year. The political battling over Musharraf\'s fate has sapped investor confidence and there has been criticism it has taken government attention away from economic problems.
Pakistan also faces major fiscal problems, with Saudi Arabia\'s help critical to defer an estimated $5.9 billion worth of oil payments.
Musharraf seized power in a 1999 coup but has been isolated since his allies lost a February election.
However, Musharraf\'s once-considerable power has eroded significantly since parties opposed to his rule swept the parliamentary elections this year.
Since last week, the new ruling coalition has been taking steps to force Musharraf to step down or face impeachment. Islamabad: President Pervez Musharraf, under pressure to step down before he is impeached, will address Pakistan at 1300 hrs PST on Mo... more -
Musharraf will be soon at home, playing golf: Zardari //hamropalo
Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf, who faces a possible impeach motion, has been “badly advised” by his aides, the co-chairperson of the Pakistan’s People Party (PPP) has said. Asif Ali Zardari said he didn’t believe in “politics of revenge” and was willing to allow Musharraf to resign and save face.
Extracts from CNN Correspondent Reza Sayah’s interview with Zardari:
CNN-IBN:Why hasn\'t Musharraf resigned yet?
Zardari: I think he was very badly advised, he is not used to it. He is a little confused.
CNN: Why the decision to impeach the President?
Zardari: Because this is the issue. PPP, and my colleagues to a great extent, did try to find a middle ground. But I don\'t think his (Musharraf) mind understands the definition of a parliamentary democracy.
CNN: Your party, the coalition, has been in power for more than five months, why decide to do it now?
Zardari:It has built up to it. We were trying to find out a working relationship (but) it just didn’t work. In fact three months ago, I had sent him a decent proposition, whereby he could take a retirement or take a respectable retreat, but I guess he dint think I was serious and did not understand what the parliament was saying.
CNN Is PPP willing to offer the President safe passage and immunity, if he resigns?
Zardari:We never believed in the politics of revenge. Neither the PPP nor the democracy believes in revenge.
CNN One week from today, where is President Musharraff going to be?
Zardari: Hopefully home, playing golf. Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf, who faces a possible impeach motion, has been “badly advised” by his aides, the co-chairperson o... more -
This is Horsesh** by Cindy Sheehan
by Cindy Sheehan
Dandelion Salad
featured writer
Cindy Sheehan for Congress
Aug. 6, 2008
It is not if we will be extremists, but what kind of extremists will we be? — Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr
You know, I don’t care if it’s not proper for a Congressional candidate to say: “horseshit.” I don’t care if it is not a good “tactic” to get kicked out of a Congressional non-impeachment hearing that was just a bunch of horseshit anyway. I don’t care if I get accused of being too “extreme” for bucking the (cyst)em by doing everything form camping in a ditch in Crawford, Tx to non-violent civil disobedience to, lately, running for Congress as (oh no!) an independent.
If people can’t see how this nation is teetering on the precipice of financial ruin and dragging the rest of this planet down with us as we destroy our ecology, too…and if people don’t realize how desperate our situation is, then I must say, that’s horseshit!
I am angry. No, I am incensed that hundreds of thousands of people are dead, dying, wounded, displaced from their homes or being imprisoned and tortured by the sadists that reside or work at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue with the approval of their accomplices down the road in Congress. I am furious that I buried my oldest son when he was 24 years old for the unrepentant lies and the unpunished crimes of the Bush mob. Are you incensed? If not, maybe you should ask yourself: “Why?” Hypothetically: “Why am I not enraged that my country has killed or hurt so many people for absolutely no noble cause in my name and with my tacit approval?”
I am steamed that the working class has to, once again, pay for the excesses of the capitalist criminals that feeds its rapacious appetite with the flesh and blood of our children and won’t rest until it owns every penny in this world and has all the power.
You may say, “But Cindy, it is not polite to be angry or to use such strong language in public.” Horseshit! In my opinion, every citizen in this country should rise up in anger and DEMAND that George Bush and Dick Cheney not only be impeached and removed from office, but be tried and convicted for murder and crimes against the peace and humanity!
We should all walk off of our jobs and refuse to work and refuse to be cogs in the wheels of psychotic consumerism until our troops, military contractors and permanent bases are removed from Iraq and Afghanistan. We should, but most of us won’t. We won’t because it may mean that we would lose something of “value.” Material possessions are so transitory, as are our lives. We can leave a lasting impression by our courageous activism and moral sacrifice, or we can leave a pile of rusting metal or rotting wood. I choose the former for myself.
We should come out of our comas of too much TV news and not enough non-biased information to push for alternatives to fossil fuels that are clean and renewable and protest nuclear facilities and off-shore oil drilling like we used to in the olden days when people actually cared enough about not poisoning our world to get off of their couches or (today) out from behind their computer screens to do something constructive instead of complacently shelling out hundreds of dollars a week for gasoline and food.
READ MORE ON THE LINK by Cindy Sheehan Dandelion Salad featured writer Cindy Sheehan for Congress Aug. 6, 2008 ... more -
New Book Says Bush Committed Impeachable Offense
Imagine that! a whole book on impeachable offenses from our current president!!!! Who woulda thunkit!?
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Impeaching Bush: What do you think?
" A crowd gathered outside of the room for Friday's hearing in the House Judiciary Committee that focused on executive power and the possibility of impeachment of President George W. Bush.
The hearing was brought about when former Democratic presidential candidate Dennis Kucinich, D-Ohio, brought impeachment charges against Bush.
Florida congressman Robert Wexler laid down his complete support for the charges during his opening statement.
"Never before in the history of this nation has an administration so successfully diminished the constitutional power of the legislative branch. It is unacceptable and must not stand," Wexler said.
"The White House is charged with: Deliberately lying to Congress and the American people and manipulating intelligence regarding weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, Ordering the illegal use of torture, firing U.S. attorneys for political purposes, and denying the legitimate constitutional powers for congressional oversight by blatantly ignoring subpoenas among countless other crimes," Wexler said.
But, the deep division of opinion on political lines was evident early with the ranking Republican Lamar Smith questioning the need of the hearing at all.
"Nothing is going to come out of this hearing with regard to impeachment of the president. I know it, the media knows it, even the Speaker knows, it will only serve to impeach our own credibility," Smith said.
Republican Mike Pence of Indiana stated he saw no credible evidence for impeachment, but also warned about the dangers surrounding impeachment hearings.
"These hearings, intentionally or unintentionally, take us down the road of the criminalization of American politics," Pence said."
What do you think- Should we really think about impeaching Bush seriously, or is it damaging American politics? " A crowd gathered outside of the room for Friday's hearing in the House Judiciary Committee that focused on executive powe... more -
Meet the Bloggers: Liliana Segura Talks Impeachment and Sending Karl Rove to Jail
On the premiere of Meet the Bloggers, Liliana Segura discussed whether Karl Rove should be sent to jail. She said, "The very people who are supposed to be supporting the law are instead protecting the Bush administration."
And you can pressure the House Judiciary Committee to Send Rove to Jail:
http://sendkarlrovetojail.com/ On the premiere of Meet the Bloggers, Liliana Segura discussed whether Karl Rove should be sent to jail. She said, "The very peop... more -
Why Impeachment was "Off the Table"
In December of last year, The Washington Post revealed:
Four members of Congress met in secret for a first look at a unique CIA program designed to wring vital information from reticent terrorism suspects in U.S. custody. For more than an hour, the bipartisan group, which included current House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), was given a virtual tour of the CIA’s overseas detention sites and the harsh techniques interrogators had devised to try to make their prisoners talk.
Among the techniques described, said two officials present, was waterboarding, a practice that years later would be condemned as torture by Democrats and some Republicans on Capitol Hill. But on that day, no objections were raised. Instead, at least two lawmakers in the room asked the CIA to push harder, two U.S. officials said.
Identically, numerous key Democrats in Congress were told that Bush had ordered the NSA to spy on American without warrants and outside of FISA. None of them did anything to stop it.
In light of this sordid history of active complicity, is it really any wonder that these leading Democrats are desperate to quash any investigations or judicial adjudications of Bush administration actions that they knew about and did nothing to stop, in some cases even actively supporting? In December of last year, The Washington Post revealed: ... more -
McCain attended zero Afghanistan hearings in the passed two years
ABC News reports that McCain has attended zero of his Senate committee's six hearings on Afghanistan in the last two years:
The McCain campaign criticism of Sen. Barack Obama's hearing record on Capitol Hill led us to put the shoe on the other foot.
It turns out that presumptive Republican nominee Sen. John McCain, has attended even fewer Afghanistan-related Senate hearings over the past two years than Obama's one. Which is a nice way of saying, McCain, R-Ariz., the top Republican on the Senate Armed Service Committee, has attended zero of his committee's six hearings on Afghanistan over the last two years...
...The findings are surprising given the fact that the McCain campaign loudly criticized Obama this week for failing to schedule any hearings on Afghanistan in the last year and a half. Obama chairs the European Affairs Subcommittee of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, which has oversight of military operations in Afghanistan.
The American public believes the war in Afghanistan is far more essential to the war on terror than the war in Iraq: 51% believe the U.S. must win the war in Afghanistan to succeed in the war on terror, whereas only 34% feel the same about the Iraq war. ABC News reports that McCain has attended zero of his Senate committee's six hearings on Afghanistan in the last two years: ... more -
'Bush Imperial Presidency' Congressional hearing set..
In a release Thursday, House Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers (D-MI) announced he will hold a hearing July 25 examining "the imperial presidency of George W. Bush and possible legal responses."The word "impeachment" was not mentioned in the announcement, but it appears the hearing is going to examine issues raised by Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-OH) in his resolution to impeach Bush. A Judiciary Committee spokesman tells RAW STORY Kucinich will testify at the hearing. “Over the last seven plus years, there have been numerous credible allegations of serious misconduct by officials in the Bush Administration,” Conyers said in a news release. “At the same time, the administration has adopted what many would describe as a radical view of its own powers and authorities. 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 did not say who would testify at the hearing, but he laid out a variety of abuses that would be examined, including:(1) improper politicization of the Justice Department and the U.S. Attorneys offices, including potential misuse of authority with regard to election and voting controversies; (2) misuse of executive branch authority and the adoption and implementation of the so-called unitary executive theory, including in the areas of presidential signing statements and regulatory authority; (3) misuse of investigatory and detention authority with regard to U.S. citizens and foreign nationals, including questions regarding the legality of the administration’s surveillance, detention, interrogation, and rendition programs; (4) manipulation of intelligence and misuse of war powers, including possible misrepresentations to Congress related thereto; (5) improper retaliation against administration critics, including disclosing information concerning CIA operative Valerie Plame, and obstruction of justice related thereto; and (6) misuse of authority in denying Congress and the American people the ability to oversee and scrutinize conduct within the administration, including through the use of various asserted privileges and immunities.After the committee ignored Kucinich's first impeachment attempt last month, the former Democratic presidential candidate re-introduced a single article on Tuesday. In response, Conyers promised a hearing that would accumulate "all the things that constitute an imperial presidency."However, Conyers indicated his unwillingness to actually vote on impeachment, regardless of Kucinich's presentation.While no one has really asked lately, the White House has previously brushed off questions about impeachment in the past."I'm not going to comment on something as ridiculous as that," Bush spokeswoman Dana Perino said last year when asked about impeachment.Kucinich has been relentless in his push to impeach Bush. On Tuesday, the House formally sent his latest impeachment resolution to the Judiciary Committee. Its title: "Deceiving Congress with Fabricated Threats of Iraq WMDs to Fraudulently Obtain Support for an Authorization of the Use of Military Force Against Iraq."He also suggested in an interview with Congressional Quarterly that the Judiciary hearing could serve as a forum for some new revelations.“I’ve been contacted by representatives of a U.S. ally who are seeking an opportunity to appear before the Judiciary Committee,” he told CQ's Molly K. Hooper.“Legislative leaders of a foreign capital” have a “new angle that I haven’t thought of before but is relevant,” he said. “This interest in whether we’ve been told the truth has extended to other countries.” In a release Thursday, House Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers (D-MI) announced he will hold a hearing July 25 examining "... more
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Obama details foreign policy plan
Barack Obama laid the foundations for a new US foreign policy today ahead of his trips to Europe and the Middle East, promising to work with allies to tackle the threats of the 21st century with a push comparable to the Marshall Plan, a policy enacted after the second world war.In his biggest speech on foreign policy since he entered the presidential race in February last year, he said the US has "paid a price for foreign policy that lectures without listening".Ranging over the Middle East, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Africa and the United Nations, he set out five goals for his presidency: ending the war in Iraq; finishing the war with al-Qaida and the Taliban in Afghanistan; ending US oil dependency; securing all nuclear weapons and materials from terrorists and rogue states; and rebuilding US alliances."As president, I will pursue a tough, smart and principled national security strategy - one that recognises that we have interests not just in Baghdad, but in Kandahar and Karachi, in Tokyo and London, in Beijing and Berlin," he told an audience at the Ronald Reagan building in the heart of Washington.Just as he did earlier this year when he devoted lengthy speeches to race and patriotism, Obama spoke at length and in more detail than before. He has already built up a team of scores of foreign policy advisers.Obama, who is planning to visit Europe as well as Iraq and Afghanistan, said he wanted to work with European countries, an implicit criticism of the alienation of Germany and France in the early years of the Bush administration."It's time for America and Europe to renew our common commitment to face down the threats of the 21st century just as we did the challenges of the 20th," he said. The US Marshall plan provided the massive investment to rebuild post-war Europe.He envisaged Europe and others allies helping more in Afghanistan as well as in rebuilding Iraq. He praised Britain, France and Germany for their diplomatic efforts with Iran and said it was time for the US, which, initially at least, refused to participate, to play a full part in that.As part of his Marshall Plan, he saw weak and vulnerable countries being strengthened and he promised he will double US foreign assistance, to $50bn by 2012, most of it going to Africa.He confirmed his intention, as he signalled yesterday, to switch military resources from Iraq to Afghanistan, saying that one of his first steps as president would be to ask the military to find a way out of Iraq.Obama has said he intends to have all US combat troops out of Iraq within 16 months of becoming president whereas John McCain says setting a timetable risks undoing the gains made by the yearlong "surge" policy that he says has helped reduce violence.Obama was a frequent critic of the surge policy. His campaign team, sensitive to attacks made by McCain yesterday, wiped all Obama's criticism of the surge from its website today.A Washington Post poll today showed US voters divided, with 50% in favour of Obama setting a timetable and 49% backing McCain's view that a timetable would be counterproductive. He is to follow up his speech with another one tomorrow concentrating on what he portrayed as the biggest risk facing the US today, the potential for nuclear weapons to fall into the hands of terrorists.He put out a television ad in 18 battlefield states in the US today warning of the danger. Barack Obama laid the foundations for a new US foreign policy today ahead of his trips to Europe and the Middle East, promising to wor... more
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Impeachment resolution to be read by Clerk of House
Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-OH) will formally introduce another article of impeachment against President Bush Tuesday as House leaders indicate they're willing to convene a hearing to consider the Ohio Democrat's arguments.
Kucinich will move for a vote on a privileged resolution Tuesday, which likely will result in the impeachment article being referred to the Judiciary Committee. The lawmaker warned he would keep coming back with the resolution if the House voted to dismiss it.
The House Clerk will read the resolution into the record Tuesday before the vote by the full House.
"If it is tabled, I will bring another impeachment resolution back this week," said Kucinich. "Our Constitution is being destroyed. We are losing our nation to a war based on lies. I am determined to get this bill to committee for a hearing," he said. "The President has conducted the affairs of the nation in a manner which cries out for justice and it is the Constitutional obligation of Congress to check his wanton abuses of U.S. and international law. We have troops whose lives were put on the line because the President told them Iraq was a threat to the United States and it was not. The loss of lives of our troops and of innocent Iraqi civilians is a direct result of the lies this president told to Congress. He must be held accountable."
Earlier this week, Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers said he would let Kucinich discuss his arguments for impeachment during a hearing later this summer, but he indicated the committee likely would not act on impeachment.
“We’re not doing impeachment, but he can talk about it,” the chairman said.
The Article of Impeachment alleges that President Bush falsely told the nation that it had no other choice to go to war because Iraq was an imminent threat in possession of weapons of mass destruction, and that the President had repeatedly implied that Iraq had abetted al Qaeda in its devastating attack of 9/11. Kucinich, in his Article, cited documents which assert the White House knew the statements were false at the time they were made. Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-OH) will formally introduce another article of impeachment against President Bush Tuesday as House leaders ind... more -
Red Cross says Bush and others may be guilty of war crimes
WASHINGTON — Red Cross investigators concluded last year in a secret report that the Central Intelligence Agency's interrogation methods for high-level Qaeda prisoners constituted torture and could make the Bush administration officials who approved them guilty of war crimes, according to a new book on counterterrorism efforts since 2001.
The book says that the International Committee of the Red Cross declared in the report, given to the C.I.A. last year, that the methods used on Abu Zubaydah, the first major Qaeda figure the United States captured, were "categorically" torture, which is illegal under both American and international law.
The book says Abu Zubaydah was confined in a box “so small he said he had to double up his limbs in the fetal position” and was one of several prisoners to be “slammed against the walls,” according to the Red Cross report. The C.I.A. has admitted that Abu Zubaydah and two other prisoners were waterboarded, a practice in which water is poured on the nose and mouth to create the sensation of suffocation and drowning.
The book, “The Dark Side: The Inside Story of How the War on Terror Turned Into a War on American Ideals,” by Jane Mayer, who writes about counterterrorism for The New Yorker, offers new details of the agency’s secret detention program, as well as the bitter debates in the administration over interrogation methods and other tactics in the campaign against Al Qaeda. WASHINGTON — Red Cross investigators concluded last year in a secret report that the Central Intelligence Agency's interrogation ... more -
President George Bush: 'Goodbye from the world's biggest polluter'
The American leader, who has been condemned throughout his presidency for failing to tackle climate change, ended a private meeting with the words: "Goodbye from the world's biggest polluter."
He then punched the air while grinning widely, as the rest of those present including Gordon Brown and Nicolas Sarkozy looked on in shock.
Mr Bush, whose second and final term as President ends at the end of the year, then left the meeting at the Windsor Hotel in Hokkaido where the leaders of the world's richest nations had been discussing new targets to cut carbon emissions.
One official who witnessed the extraordinary scene said afterwards: "Everyone was very surprised that he was making a joke about America's record on pollution." The American leader, who has been condemned throughout his presidency for failing to tackle climate change, ended a private meeting wi... more
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