Latest News

Week of May 08 2006

by Ryan Millar

Shake-up at the CIA – Goss Resigns
Gen. Michael V. Hayden, Bush's pick to head the CIA after the resignation of Porter Goss, has implemented, overseen and vigorously defended the NSA's domestic spying program. A dangerous man. Read the article Top CIA Pick Has Credentials and Skeptics by Scott Shane and Mark Mazzetti on the New York Times. Crooks and Liars also reminds us of Hayden's claim in January 2006 that the Fourth Amendment doesn't mention "probable cause."

But does it matter who runs the CIA? Counterpoint from Counterpunch.

UK Attorney General Calls for Guantanamo to Close
 In a move sure to strain relations between the UK and the USA, the UK Attorney General Lord Goldsmith is set this week to call upon the White House to close Guantanamo Bay. "There are certain principles on which there can be no compromise," Goldsmith will say at a global security conference this week. "Fair trial is one of those - which is the reason we in the UK were unable to accept that the US military tribunals proposed for those detained at Guantanamo Bay offered sufficient guarantees of a fair trial in accordance with international standards." Read the article by Jamie Doward and Mark Townsend on The Observer UK.

Even President Bush called for the closing of Guantanamo this past Sunday while in Germany. But he quickly undercut his remarks by referring to a pending case in the U.S. Supreme Court, stating that the Supreme Court first had to decide whether the detainees there should be brought before civilian courts or military commissions. Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and the Center for Constitutional Rights all issued statements rebutting this claim.

Take Action: Read the above statements and send a message to Bush with your thoughts on closing Guantanamo. See also the Amnesty International USA site to send your concerns over suicide attempts at Guantanamo

Bush's Best Moment in Office: Catching a Fish
President George W Bush told German newspaper Bild am Sonntag "The best moment of all was when I caught a 7.5lb (3.4kg) perch in my lake," he told. His worst moment was the attacks of September 11th, 2001. Unsurprisingly his best moment didn't involve an act of governmental competence, good judgment, smooth diplomacy, or making tough choices, it involved accomplishing something completely unrelated to governance.

Read the article Big fish gave Bush biggest thrill on the BBC and Reuters report, Bush's best moment in office? Reeling in big perch. 

On DemocraticUnderground, see a review of answers to the same question by presidents for the past 100 years.

An Excellent Reason Not to Join the Military
A new book offers reasons not to join the military. Read an excerpt by Aimee Allison with her first hand account of being a female in uniform on active duty and the difficulty in the male dominated domain of the military, and routine systemic injustices therein. 60% of women in the National Guard say they have been harassed.

The book, 10 Excellent Reasons Not to Join the Military, is published by New Press and will be released on May 18, 2006.

Take Action: See the United for Peace & Justice web site for information on counter-recruitment and ways to take action.

(?) Question War (?)
The perfect answer to the yellow ribbons supporting the troops is the yellow ribbon in the shape of a question mark asking you to "question war."

If you know of additional news items that should be listed, send them via email.

Top