Dangerous Germ Becoming More Common

By Rob Stein

A dangerous germ easily mistaken for an innocuous one has become alarmingly common around the United States, raising concern that seemingly minor boils, pimples and abscesses could increasingly become disfiguring or even life-threatening, researchers reported yesterday.

To view the entire article, go to http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/artic...er=emailarticle

Same Committee, Same Combatants, Different Tune

By Dana Milbank

Rep. Walter B. Jones Jr. is a conservative Republican from North Carolina who voted to authorize the use of force in Iraq. So it jarred all the more yesterday when Jones turned his fury on Richard N. Perle, the Pentagon adviser who provided the Bush administration with brainpower for the Iraq war.

To view the entire article, go to http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/artic...er=emailarticle

Corruption in Iraq under US-led CPA may dwarf UN oil-for-food scandal.

http://www.csmonitor.com/2005/0407/dailyUpdate.html

http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/a...ce_050407183453

US appeals court hears arguments on military tribunals

US unready for rising threat of 'moles'
A recent report on US intelligence harshly critiqued counter-spy
efforts across 15 agencies and recommended major changes. By Faye Bowers
http://www.csmonitor.com/2005/0408/p01s01-usfp.html?s=hns

Culture war hits local pharmacy
Many druggists across the country refuse to give out morning-after
pills. Legislators weigh in. By Amanda Paulson
http://www.csmonitor.com/2005/0408/p01s02-ussc.html?s=hns

A Wal-Mart charm offensive opens HQ to a rare peek inside
Despite being the world's biggest retailer, the company has just 17
public relations employees. But it's trying to change its tune. By
Christopher Leonard
http://www.csmonitor.com/2005/0408/p01s03-usgn.html?s=hns

Wide reach of papal clout
How the papacy still wields great 'soft power.' By Peter Ford and
Sophie Arie
http://www.csmonitor.com/2005/0408/p01s04-woeu.html?s=hns

Downsizing Fan and Fred
A new bill in Congress wisely would rein in the two largest US mortgage
companies. The Monitor's View
http://www.csmonitor.com/2005/0408/p08s02-comv.html?s=hns

Floor cleaning: Who you gonna call? Outsourcer ... or illegal alien?
Wal-Mart needs to think outside the big box. By Jeffrey Shaffer
http://www.csmonitor.com/2005/0408/p09s03-cojs.html?s=hns

The Day After: Can Democrats survive a nuclear winter?

http://www.tnr.com/doc.mhtml?i=20050418&s=crowley041805

Air Security Agency Faces Reduced Role

By Sara Kehaulani Goo

The Transportation Security Administration, once the flagship agency in the nation's $20 billion effort to protect air travelers, is now targeted for sharp cuts in its high-profile mission.

To view the entire article, go to http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/artic...er=emailarticle

Martinez Staff Probes Memo Origin

By Mike Allen

The office of Sen. Mel Martinez (R-Fla.) is investigating whether an aide who resigned this week distributed a memo about the Terri Schiavo case to other Senate offices, and whether any other aides in the senator's office had seen it, his staff said yesterday.

To view the entire article, go to http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/artic...er=emailarticle

Rumsfeld Memo on Intelligence Criticized

By Walter Pincus

A memo signed last week by Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld gave one of his top aides authority over efforts to improve intelligence operations within the department, but it is being interpreted by some senior intelligence officials as a challenge to the new director of national intelligence, a position John D. Negroponte has been nominated to fill.

To view the entire article, go to http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/artic...er=emailarticle

U.S., China Agree To Regular Talks

By Glenn Kessler

President Bush has decided the United States and China should begin holding regular senior-level talks on a range of political, security and possibly economic issues, signifying both China's interest in the prestige of such sessions and the administration's efforts to come to grips with China's rising influence in Asia, senior administration officials said.

To view the entire article, go to http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/artic...er=emailarticle

Carter's Absence From Group Reignites Tensions With Bush

By Peter Baker

He was the only president ever to host a pope at the White House when John Paul II came to visit a quarter-century ago, and in many ways Jimmy Carter had a powerful spiritual and philosophical affinity for the Polish pontiff. But when the pope is buried at the Vatican this morning, three living U.S. presidents will be in attendance and Carter will not.

To view the entire article, go to http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/artic...er=emailarticle

THE PROGRESS REPORT

by Christy Harvey, Judd Legum and Jonathan Baskin with Nico Pitney and Mipe Okunseinde

April 8, 2005

JUDICIARY
No Nukes!

The battle over judicial nominations is heating up, with the Senate right wing getting louder about detonating the "nuclear option" in order to push through President Bush's radical, activist judicial nominations. In the latest furor, conservatives are trying to overturn the tactic known as the filibuster, which has been in the Senate rules since the early 1800s. The filibuster has a long history in the Senate. As John Dean writes, the filibuster exists "to ensure that the majority party's nominees have sufficient bipartisan appeal." Even Orrin Hatch, the former chairman of the Judiciary Committee, has said the filibuster is "one of the few tools that the minority has to protect itself and those the minority represents." It's also designed to force compromise. Going nuclear is dangerous maneuver which would overturn the basic power of checks and balances.

GOING NUCLEAR: If at least 41 senators strongly oppose a bill or nominee, they can decide to indefinitely extend debate, blocking a final vote on the issue. That's a filibuster. All it takes is 60 senators to vote the debate is over, and the bill/nominee is sent to the floor. What's the "nuclear option"? Right-wing senators want to change the long-standing rule so a simple majority can end the debate (meaning they could easily stop all filibusters). To change Senate rules, however, you have to have two-thirds of your colleagues behind you. (This ensures one party can't politicize Senate procedure.) In this case, the right wing doesn't have the required 67 senators on its side. Thus, it's time for procedural trickery known as the "nuclear option." Once the next filibuster is set in motion, probably over one of the more extremist judicial nominees, a right-wing senator wanting to activate the "nuclear option" would object, "claiming that the filibuster cannot be used on a judicial nomination." The Senate leader would rule in his favor. That ruling would be appealed, and only a simple majority would be needed to uphold that ruling which, in effect, would change the rule itself. Procedure averted, rule changed, and it all happens without needing two-thirds on your side. (Thanks to People For The American Way for the explanation.)

IT'S ADVISE *AND* CONSENT: The Constitution says the president "shall nominate, and by and with the advice and consent of the Senate shall appoint" judges. The right wing is looking to strip the "consent" from that process. President Bush is already complicit in this attempt: when the Senate fails to confirm his nominees, he simply renominates them. Even worse, he has a history of bypassing the Senate altogether and simply installing judges on the bench during a recess. Conservatives in the Senate would strip their role in checks and balances. Claims that moderates and liberals in the Senate are being obstructionists, however, are belied by the record: the Senate has confirmed 204 of the president's 214 trial and appellate judicial nominees.

THE FIRST PRECEDENT: Many conservatives claim using a filibuster to block a judicial nominee is unprecedented. They may need to consult their history books. In fact, as the Los Angeles Times points out, "In fact, in 1968, Senate Republicans used a filibuster to block President Johnson's nomination of Abe Fortas to be Supreme Court chief justice."

THE FRIST PRECEDENT: Speaking of precedents, Senate Leader Bill Frist himself took part in an attempt to filibuster a judicial nominee. On 3/9/00, Frist took part in a filibuster of Richard Paez, President Clinton's nominee to the Ninth Circuit. (He tried to spin this vote last year, claiming the filibuster was for "scheduling" purposes, but a press release by former Senator Bob Smith titled "Smith Leads Effort to Block Activist Judicial Nominees" exposed his disingenuousness.) In reality, conservatives led at least six filibusters during the Clinton years.

BLUE SLIPPING: Take right-wing protestations that every nominee deserves a floor vote with a giant grain of salt. During the Clinton years, conservatives employed a bag of legislative ploys to block judicial nominations from coming to a vote. In 1994, for example, Sen. Orrin Hatch added language to the Senate rules for confirming nominees. Known as the "blue slip" policy, it allowed a single senator to secretly block nominations from leaving committee for a vote; compare that to the 41 required to keep a filibuster going. Using this method, Senate conservatives were able to block more than 60 judicial nominations. (After Bush took office, Hatch abandoned this procedure.)

THERE ARE OPTIONS: There is an easy fix to President Bush's judge problem: Stop nominating far-right, activist ideologues with extreme views not shared by many mainstream Americans. According to Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT),"What is driving ... the Senate toward conflict is this White House's efforts to create unnecessary confrontation over judicial nominees.... The president insisted on renominating troublesome and divisive choices, rather than working with us to find more consensus nominees who would be fair judges." The Washington Post writes that President Bush has many valid options to get his nominees accepted: "He could, as Judiciary Committee Chairman Arlen Specter (R-Pa.) recently said, consult with Democrats on nominations.... He could pick nominees who are qualified and to his ideological liking and yet immune to plausible partisan challenge; even in a highly charged atmosphere, many such people exist. If he showed this kind of leadership, his demand for up-or-down votes would carry far more weight."

CONSERVATISM
The Great Divide

For years, Washington conservatives have myopically pursued their political agenda while setting aside not only sound governance principles, but longtime tenets of conservatism. Now they're reaping what they've sown. New public opinion data finds President Bush hamstrung by historically low approval ratings, a markedly unpopular agenda, and, according to a major new Wall Street Journal/NBC study, a conservative movement increasingly disenchanted with the widespread corruption, rigid ideology, and fiscal profligacy of their entrenched counterparts in Washington.

AMERICA SOURS ON PRESIDENT BUSH: A note to pundits who still refer to the president as a "popular" leader: Please stop. President Bush's approval rating has now "plunged to the lowest level of any president since World War II at this point in his second term," Gallup reported on Tuesday. President Bush's current rating -- just 45 percent -- is 14 points lower than President Clinton, 11 lower than President Reagan, and a whopping 24 lower than President Johnson, relative to corresponding points in their second terms. "More bad signs for the president: Gallup's survey now finds only 38% expressing satisfaction with the 'state of the country' while 59% are 'dissatisfied.'"

CONSERVATIVES REJECT THE OVERREACH: The Wall Street Journal/NBC poll found that even a third of the president's base wants Congress to prevent the White House and conservative leaders "from going to far in pushing their agenda." Forty-one percent oppose Sen. Bill Frist's plan to "go nuclear" and eliminate filibusters against President Bush's judicial nominees, citing their concern for "checks and balances." And clear majorities of conservatives, independents, and evangelicals opposed the unprecedented federal intrusion into the Schiavo family's private medical affairs, which was backed (very publicly) by President Bush, Sen. Frist, and Rep. Tom DeLay.

CONSERVATIVES REJECT THE FISCAL RECKLESSNESS: President Bush's base is also none-too-happy with the right wing's concerted campaign to run up massive deficits while simultaneously cutting important social programs. Thirty-two percent of Bush backers polled by the Wall Street Journal called it "a bad idea" to borrow $2 trillion to privatize Social Security ("I think he's kind of bitten off more than we can chew," said Roberta Shakoori, a 61-year-old conservative homemaker in Sacramento, CA.). And on tax cuts, the president's "signature first-term economic initiative," one in four Bush backers "now says tax cuts have 'not been worth it' because they have increased the federal budget deficit and have led to reductions in government programs." More than half of President Bush's base disapproved of the president's handling of the economy (53 percent) and said the country heading "on the wrong track" (51 percent).

CONSERVATIVES REJECT THE IDEOLOGY: When a committed ally of President Bush, Rep. Christopher Shays (R-CT), says Washington conservatives have created a "theocracy," you know ideology has officially run amok. Unsurprisingly, then, nearly two-thirds of conservatives polled by the Wall Street Journal said "Congress shouldn't pass legislation affecting families in cases such as Ms. Schiavo's," while 41 percent said they had lost respect for Congress on the issue. Additionally, by a 50-37 percent margin, conservatives said that the federal government should be "less active" on social and moral issues; they split even on gay marriage, "with 48% saying Congress should pass legislation and 47% saying it shouldn't."

'JUST A FLESH WOUND': On Tuesday, conservative columnist David Brooks valiantly tried to wrap a pretty bow around this data, claiming that conservatives have triumphed precisely because "they are split into feuding factions that squabble incessantly," which helps to foster a diverse, ever-expanding movement. But conservatism has hardly "triumphed" in recent years; as the Washington Monthly's Kevin Drum points out, the number of Americans who identify themselves as conservatives has been mostly stagnant since the 1970s, and has actually dropped consistently since 1996. Moreover, unlike grassroots conservatives, Brooks' claim that the mainstream conservative pundit class is an ideologically diverse bunch is just wishful thinking. On "every major political issue of the last five years," the New Republic's Jonathan Chait notes -- from tax cuts and Social Security privatization to Bush's Medicare drug benefit, muffled deficit concerns, Iraq, judicial nominees, Karl Rove's political strategy and more -- "Bush has enjoyed a solid phalanx of conservative pundits all repeating the same talking points on his behalf."






Under the Radar

PROPAGANDA -- "VET"-TED NEWS: The Pentagon has decided it wants to offer television news in the hospital rooms of returning vets from Iraq and Afghanistan. CNN? MSNBC? Fox? Apparently, none of those were quite controllable enough. Instead, the Defense Department presents the all new 24-hour news network, the Pentagon Channel. The Pentagon Channel features what officials call "CNN-like" programming. The difference, of course, is all of this "news" has been carefully created and vetted by the Pentagon. There's "Studio Five," for example, with positive interviews from top Defense leaders, and "Freedom Journal Iraq," a Pentagon-approved daily look at the war. Apparently, the Pentagon doesn't trust the troops who actually fought in Afghanistan and Iraq to be able to handle unbiased reporting from those areas. It's just the latest in the White House's long efforts to spread fake news to as much of the American public as possible. To comment on the Pentagon's new broadcasting effort, go to Think Progress.

WAL-MART -- THE CORRUPTION WITHIN: The Wall Street Journal reports that a celebrated Wal-Mart senior vice president, Thomas M. Coughlin, "periodically had subordinates create fake invoices to get Wal-Mart to pay for his personal expenses." The company has to rely on government programs to provide its employees with health insurance but Coughlin had no problem getting Wal-Mart to pay for "hunting vacations, a $1,359 pair of alligator boots custom-made for Mr. Coughlin and a $2,590 dog pen for Mr. Coughlin's Arkansas home." Coughlin, who earned $6 million from the company last year, was "the second-highest-ranking executive in a company of more than a million employees" for a period of five years.

ETHICS -- SCHIAVO MEMO MAY HAVE BEEN SENT AROUND: An aide to Sen. Mel Martinez (R-FL) says departed aide Brian H. Darling, who admitted writing a memo calling Terri Schiavo a "great political issue" for conservatives, "may have disseminated [the memo] to other offices." Martinez said in a statement Wednesday night that one staff member "was unilaterally responsible for this document," but the Washington Post reports Martinez's staff is now engaged in an internal investigation of the matter. Martinez denied that he or his staff had any idea what was in the memo. Sen. Tom Harkin (D-IA) said Martinez handed him the memo and said, "these were talking points -- something that we're working on here."

DELAY -- THE LATEST ATTACK ON JUDGES: Tom DeLay's assault on the judiciary continues. Yesterday, in a taped address to a conference entitled "Confronting the Judicial War on Faith," DeLay said the judiciary had "run amok." The New York Times described his comments as the "latest evidence of his determination to follow through on his vows to hold federal judges accountable in the aftermath of the failure of the federal courts to order the reinsertion of Terri Schiavo's feeding tube." DeLay advocated forcefully asserting greater congressional oversight of the courts, adding "this era of constitutional cowardice must end."

HEALTH CARE -- BEXTRA PULLED, GRAHAM VINDICATED: The drugmaker Pfizer halted sales of its arthritis painkiller Bextra yesterday "after the Food and Drug Administration concluded that the drug posed too many serious safety risks." In addition to asking Pfizer to stop selling its $1.4 billion-a-year blockbuster, the FDA concluded the entire class of anti-inflammatory painkillers carries a potentially increased risk of heart attack and stroke -- and it told manufacturers to substantially toughen the safety warnings on almost all nonnarcotic painkillers still on the market. The actions serve as vindication for FDA whistle-blower Dr. David Graham, who tried unsuccessfully last year to warn of problems with Vioxx. Graham told the Senate Finance Committee late last year that Bextra should also be removed from the market. He chided the FDA for becoming "feckless and far too likely to surrender to demands of drug makers."

GOOD NEWS

Recognizing that the need to communicate in and understand foreign cultures has become "as important as critical weapons systems," the Pentagon has ordered a broad effort to expand the foreign language skills of the U.S. military.


DON'T MISS

DAILY TALKING POINTS: Nuking the Nuclear Option.

SOCIAL SECURITY: American Progress's Christian Weller examines the mother of all unfunded mandates.

TAXES: Want to know where your tax dollars go? Check out how the government spends your money in a new report by the National Priorities Project.

SUDAN: 350+ students from 42 states visit the Hill to help end genocide.

UNITED NATIONS: New York Times calls Bolton "worst of the bad nominations," supports block.


DAILY GRILL

The presidential commission on intelligence "called for a broad overhaul in the intelligence community to increase sharing among 15 agencies and foster dissenting views." -- Washington Post, 3/31/05

VERSUS

A new memo signed last week by Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld gave Undersecretary for Defense Intelligence Stephen A. Cambone greater authority over intelligence operations. Officials say this "could allow Cambone to interfere with the new intelligence chief by, for example, limiting the information he gets from the Pentagon." -- Washington Post, 4/8/05


DAILY OUTRAGE

States that would steer Medicare beneficiaries to a particular drug plan -- say, one that would provide the best deals for elderly people with low incomes -- have been told to keep their mouths shut. Though a federal advisory commission recently recommended such a move, the Bush administration has told states "they cannot steer Medicare beneficiaries to any specific prescription drug plan."

Cherry Blossoms Blooming in Nation's Capital

http://enews.voanews.com/t?ctl=CBD61E:2F72C9D

To attract more tourists, the city of Washington has built a series of
events around the blooming, including a festival and parade

The cherry blossoms are in full bloom along the Tidal Basin in
Washington, D.C.. They are expected to last for a few more days. It is
one of the times tourists and residents enjoy the most in the nation's
capital.  Kimberly Russell reports.

Cherry blossoms in full bloom, are a spectacular sight, and are for
many, they are a sign that spring has arrived.  The blossoms
begin to expand in late March, and depending on the weather, can bloom
in early to mid-April.

The Japanese government gave the first trees to the United States
in  1912. Most of the trees surround the area known as the Tidal
Basin, land reclaimed from the Potomac River, which is now part of the
National Mall.

The National Park Service estimates that as many as one-million people
visit  the area each year..

Cathy, who lives in nearby Virginia says, "It is interesting to see
all the different kinds of people and where they are from and who
comes to see this."

Margin Shaper, a tourist from Israel says, "It is what one does this
time of year. You cannot come to Washington in the spring and not
see  the cherry blossoms. They are kind of unpredictable, but
this year, they are here at the right time."

To attract more tourists the city of Washington has built a series of
events around the blooming, including a festival and a parade.

Once in bloom, the blossoms remain intact for a week or more, unless
strong wind gusts or heavy rains tear them from the trees.

SECRECY NEWS
from the FAS Project on Government Secrecy
Volume 2005, Issue No. 32
April 8, 2005


** DEFENSE DOCTRINE WEB SITE GOES DARK
** SECRECY IMPEDES SECURITY, NATIONAL ACADEMY SAYS
** VANDENBERG LAUNCH SCHEDULE RESTORED TO WEB
** FBIS VIEWS RUSSIAN FUEL FOR IRAN'S BUSHEHR REACTOR
** NEW FROM CRS


DEFENSE DOCTRINE WEB SITE GOES DARK

A large portion of a major Department of Defense web site was
taken offline overnight after unclassified documents on the site
became the subject of news stories and public controversy.

The Defense Technical Information Center (DTIC) Joint Electronic
Library, including hundreds or thousands of doctrinal and other
publications, has been replaced by a single page that reads "File
Not Found" (www.dtic.mil/doctrine/).

One of those publications was a draft entitled "Joint Doctrine for
Detainee Operations" (JP 3-63) that was circulated by Human
Rights Watch and others and that was widely and critically
reported in the press today.

Another was a draft "Doctrine for Joint Nuclear Operations" (JP
3-12), that was spotlighted and cleverly analyzed by Jeffrey
Lewis of ArmsControlWonk.com earlier this week.

In response, the Defense Department removed those draft documents,
but also many hundreds of others. A DTIC spokesman was not
immediately available for comment.

A selection of DoD Joint Publications and other doctrinal
documents previously available through DTIC remains available on
the FAS web site here:

http://www.fas.org/irp/doddir/dod/index.html


SECRECY IMPEDES SECURITY, NATIONAL ACADEMY SAYS

"Security restrictions on sharing of information ... are hindering
progress in address potential vulnerabilities of spent [nuclear]
fuel storage to terrorist attacks," a National Academy of
Sciences (NAS) committee reported this week.

The NAS study tends to confirm, as many people have intuited, that
indiscriminate or poorly conceived government controls on
information are impeding security instead of enhancing it.

"The committee fully agrees that information that could prove
useful to terrorists should not be released. On the other
hand,... sharing information with industry is essential for
ensuring that mitigative actions to reduce vulnerabilities are
carried out."

"Sharing information with the public is essential in a nation with
strong democratic traditions for sustaining public confidence in
the [Nuclear Regulatory] Commission as an effective regulator of
the nuclear industry, and for reducing the potential for severe
environmental, health, economic, and psychological consequences
from terrorist attacks should they occur," the NAS Committee
wrote (p. 77).

"While it would be inappropriate to share all information
publicly, more constructive interaction with the public and
independent analysts could improve the work being carried
out...." (p. 78).

See "Safety and Security of Commercial Spent Nuclear Fuel Storage:
Public Report," NAS Board on Radioactive Waste Management, 2005:

http://books.nap.edu/books/0309096472/html/index.html


VANDENBERG LAUNCH SCHEDULE RESTORED TO WEB

After Vandenberg Air Force Base removed the unclassified launch
schedule from its web site (Secrecy News, 03/14/05), officials
reconsidered the move and reposted a revised schedule, Inside the
Air Force reported on April 1.

Instead of the previous one-year launch schedule, the revised site
provides a three-month launch schedule, with a one-year
projection (without fixed dates) beyond that. See the new
Vandenberg AFB unclassified launch schedule here:

http://mocc.vandenberg.af.mil/launchsched.asp

A new Defense Department publication "provides guidance and
procedures for designating and naming defense military aerospace
vehicles."

Aerospace vehicles -- rockets, satellites, manned and unmanned
aerial vehicles, etc. -- are identified by an alphanumeric
designation and by a popular nickname. The new regulation
describes how both are to be chosen.

See "Designating and Naming Defense Military Aerospace Vehicles,"
March 14, 2005:

http://www.fas.org/irp/doddir/army/ar70-50.pdf


FBIS VIEWS RUSSIAN FUEL FOR IRAN'S BUSHEHR REACTOR

Russia will supply eighty metric tons of uranium fuel for Iran's
Bushehr nuclear reactor, Russian TV reported this week.

Excerpts from the television report, captured by the CIA's Foreign
Broadcast Information Service, may be seen here:

http://www.fas.org/nuke/guide/iran/nuke/bushehr-fuel.html

Pentagon to Stress Foreign Languages

By Bradley Graham

The Pentagon has ordered a broad effort to expand the foreign language skills of the U.S. military, calling for recruitment of more foreign language speakers, higher proficiency levels for linguists and increased language instruction for U.S. forces.

Among measures still under consideration, a senior defense official said, is adoption of a requirement that all or most U.S. military officers understand a foreign language.

The moves reflect plans by Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld and his team to better prepare U.S. forces for more operations and training missions in foreign countries and for working with international coalitions. In recent strategy statements, the Rumsfeld group has made clear that as part of the war on terrorism, it expects the U.S. military to take more action abroad to prevent nations from falling prey to terrorists or being undermined by such other threats as insurgency, drugs and organized crime.

"This new approach to warfighting in the 21st century will require forces that have foreign language capabilities beyond those generally available in today's force," a new Pentagon report said.

The report expressed high-level concern about what it said are serious shortfalls in the language skills and cultural awareness of U.S. forces. It faulted the Defense Department for doing poorly in retaining troops with language experience or training in regional areas. It also acknowledged that defense officials have done little to determine what language talent exists in the force, saying such talent "is unknown and untapped."

"Language skill and regional expertise have not been regarded as warfighting skills and are not sufficiently incorporated into operational or contingency planning," said the report, released to little notice last week. The ability of U.S. troops to communicate in and understand foreign cultures, it added, has become "as important as critical weapons systems."

Much of the Pentagon's approach to language skills dates to the Cold War, said David S.C. Chu, the Pentagon's undersecretary for personnel. The emphasis then was on training translators for intelligence work, mostly focused on the old Soviet Union.

Now, Chu said, the challenge goes well beyond sustaining a small cadre of professional linguists, extending to large numbers of combat forces and requiring knowledge of such languages as Arabic and Chinese.

"We're really aiming to move a big part of the force -- that would otherwise only know a few words or nothing -- up to some kind of middle category," he said in an interview.

One option under review is whether to require every officer, in Chu's words, to "have some degree of competence in one or more of what we call the 'investment languages,' " meaning Arabic, Chinese, Japanese or Korean. "We've asked the military services for a concept on how we'd do this," Chu said.

According to Pentagon figures, about 84,000 service members have some language proficiency. Of those, about 19,000 have had their language skill certified and receive "proficiency pay." About 1,900 service members are listed as proficient in Arabic.

No decision has been made on how many more professional linguists are needed or what percentage of the U.S. military should receive language training, Chu said. But he described last week's report as meant to signal that quiet efforts begun in 2002 to address the language issue would be giving way to bolder action.

Titled "Defense Language Transformation Roadmap," the report outlined a series of directives to the military services and regional commands, with deadlines for action stretching over the next several years.

By the end of the year, for instance, a Pentagon survey is to be conducted to determine how many military and civilian personnel in the Defense Department speak a foreign language. A Pentagon "Language Office" is being established, and a "language readiness index" will be devised to measure the military's capabilities.

Additionally, the services have been ordered to develop plans for recruiters to step up efforts among university students with foreign language skills, and in immigrant and "heritage" communities in which foreign languages are widely spoken.

Officials are looking as well at ways of quickly expanding the number of language specialists in the event of a foreign crisis, by streamlining procedures for hiring contract linguists and by compiling a database of linguists who previously worked for the Defense Department. A pilot program for a Civilian Linguistic Reserve Corps also is being launched.

The minimum proficiency standard will be raised, particularly for those headed for military intelligence work. On a scale of 1 to 5, with 5 being most proficient, the traditional requirement for graduates of the Pentagon's Defense Language Institute has been achievement of a level of 2 in reading, listening and speaking. That will jump to a level of 3 for some graduates, reflecting what officials say are the greater demands of counterterrorism work.

"This is not just figuring out how many tanks the enemy has," Chu said. "This is more nuanced work. This is tracking people who communicate with allusions, with metaphors."

To improve retention of troops skilled in a foreign language, the Pentagon intends to provide higher pay and greater chances of promotion. Chu acknowledged that the Pentagon has not done enough to keep these forces, particularly Army specialists known as "Foreign Area Officers" with extensive regional experience. Most of these officers often have not risen above the rank of lieutenant colonel, Chu noted.

"Fortunately, there was a cadre of people who loved doing this kind of work, even if we didn't manage them all that well," he said. "Now we're saying this is an important warfighting skill, and we have to nurture and manage it."


http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/a...er=emailarticle

Pentagon drafts new wartime detention policy:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/artic...5-2005Apr7.html

Rumsfeld memo on intelligence cooperation criticized:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/artic...0-2005Apr7.html

Was Carter eased out of the delegation or not?:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/artic...6-2005Apr7.html

http://www.philly.com/mld/inquirer/news/nation/11339623.htm

Prosecutor: 2 reporters stalling CIA leak probe

http://www.showmenews.com/2005/Apr/20050407News014.asp

Panel's findings take lawmakers, CIA by surprise

http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/k...ambassador_wa_1

Nominee for UN ambassador under investigation

http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/c.../ts_csm/amole_1

US unready for rising threat of 'moles'

--------------------
No retreat on 'Hanoi Jane' front
--------------------

Thirty years later, many Vietnam veterans still hold a grudge against Fonda.

By Scott Martelle
Times Staff Writer

Apr 8 2005

It's almost like the coming of the locusts.

The complete article can be viewed at:
http://www.calendarlive.com/cl-et-hanoi8ap...1,2842855.story

--------------------
Abu Ghraib Officers Claimed They Were Scapegoats
--------------------

Documents show that three who served at the prison said they were unfairly singled out.

By Richard A. Serrano
Times Staff Writer

April 8 2005

WASHINGTON; As the Abu Ghraib scandal was going public a year ago, junior Army officers at the prison in Iraq formally protested that they were being singled out for discipline for the actions of a few rogue soldiers. They also complained that it was unfair for senior military leaders to get away without a blemish on their careers.

The complete article can be viewed at:
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/wo...headlines-world

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Army May Shorten Tours in Iraq and Afghanistan
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By John Hendren
Times Staff Writer

April 8 2005

WASHINGTON; Anticipating progress toward curbing insurgents in Iraq and Afghanistan, the Army may cut in half the yearlong tours of duty in the two nations that have strained an already stretched service, a senior Army general said Thursday.

The complete article can be viewed at:
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/wo...headlines-world

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Get Used to High Gas Prices, U.S. Says
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By Jonathan Peterson
Times Staff Writer

April 8 2005

WASHINGTON; On a day when California gasoline prices set a new high, the Energy Department forecast Thursday that record pump prices will not only rule the road this summer, they'll stick around through 2006 as motorists' thirst for fuel shows no sign of abating.

The complete article can be viewed at:
http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-gas8...0,5581893.story

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/04/08/nyregion/08suicide.html?

Girl Called Would-Be-Bomber was Drawn to Islam

http://www.wpherald.com/storyview.php?Stor...07-102629-5234r

China's growing influence in West worries Pentagon

http://arabnews.com/?page=4§ion=0&arti...&d=7&m=4&y=2005

US Rolls Out Welcome Mat for Students

President Moved By Pope's Funeral Service

By Tom Raum

President Bush on Friday said that attending the funeral of Pope John Paul II was "one of the highlights of my presidency" and made clear that he disagrees with former President Clinton's assessment that the pontiff leaves a mixed legacy.

To view the entire article, go to http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/artic...er=emailarticle

President Moved By Pope's Funeral Service

By Tom Raum

President Bush on Friday said that attending the funeral of Pope John Paul II was "one of the highlights of my presidency" and made clear that he disagrees with former President Clinton's assessment that the pontiff leaves a mixed legacy.

To view the entire article, go to http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/artic...er=emailarticle

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THE EVENING WRAP

April 8, 2005 -- 5:28 p.m. EDT

___________________________________
As the Dolans Turn

By MARK GONGLOFF
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL ONLINE


In the latest turn in the corporate soap opera that is Cablevision, the company is shutting down its Voom satellite television business at the end of April.

The money-hemorrhaging unit is the rope in a tug-of-war between the chairman of New York's biggest cable provider, Charles Dolan, and his son, CEO James Dolan. Though the venture lost more than $661 million last year, the elder Mr. Dolan has fought to keep it alive. The younger Mr. Dolan has fought to kill it, and Cablevision's board sided with him, voting in January to dissolve it and sell its only satellite. The elder Mr. Dolan countered by replacing several directors with friendlier faces, who gave him until the end of March to raise funds to buy Voom himself. Investors hoped he would sell Cablevision for some quick cash, and pushed its shares up 74% since last summer. But his window of opportunity closed last week, and it seems that 40,000 or so Voom customers -- including some signed since the end of March -- must soon find another way to watch TV.

Continuing its recent pattern of bizarre behavior, Cablevision didn't bother to publicly announce Voom's fate when Mr. Dolan's deadline passed; instead, it quietly notified the Securities and Exchange Commission. Meanwhile, it's still in what may be a losing battle to block the New York Jets from building a Manhattan stadium/convention center that could compete with its Madison Square Garden property. It's in a dogfight with Time Warner Cable that's kept the New York Mets off many local TV sets (maybe not such a bad thing). And it unexpectedly tried to buy Adelphia out from under Time Warner and Comcast. Cablevision seems to have lost that fight, pleasing investors who sent its shares up slightly.

And Cablevision's still got plenty of drama ahead. Some analysts believe it won't have its head on straight until it's sold out from under Charles Dolan. They don't like his iron grip on the board or his distracting forays into non-core businesses. "This should be the best cable system in America on a per-subscriber basis," said Cathay Financial analyst Andrew Baker. "These are systems that could do better in the hands of a much larger organization; Cablevision has taken them as far as it can take them."

Ford Warns on Profit
Ford joined No. 1 auto maker General Motors in warning of weak profits this year. Citing "historically high prices for steel and crude oil, escalating health-care expenses and a weak U.S. dollar," the No. 2 U.S. auto maker said it expected to earn between $1.25 and $1.50 a share this year, down sharply from its previous range of between $1.75 and $1.95 a share. Wall Street analysts, on average, expected Ford to earn $1.68 a share. GM's shares fell to their lowest levels in more than a decade last month, when it made even deeper cuts to its own profit forecast. Ford's shares fell more than 2% today and could fall harder tomorrow.

Pope Buried
Pope John Paul II was buried in St. Peter's Basilica in the Vatican this morning, attended by an estimated four million people, including hundreds of world leaders. German Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, considered by many to be a potential papal successor, delivered the homily. Infuriating many observers, the Vatican said Cardinal Bernard Law, the former archbishop of the Boston diocese who resigned in 2003 after being accused of shielding child-molesting priests, will preside over one of the daily masses to be delivered during the mourning period following the pope's funeral. After his resignation, Cardinal Law received an honorary Vatican post that entitled him to play a prominent role in the pope's funeral. The controversy was a reminder of one of the many challenges facing the next pope in guiding the Catholic church. Though Pope John Paul II was personally popular, helped bridge divides between the world's religions and played a role in ending communism in Eastern Europe, he also left a church divided about issues of dogma, particularly on issues such as contraception and the role of women in the church. And critics have faulted the Vatican's reaction to the sex-abuse scandal that hurt the church's reputation and contributed to declining membership and thinning priesthood ranks in the U.S. and elsewhere.

Spitzer Subpoenas Drug Wholesalers
New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer has subpoenaed Cardinal Health and AmerisourceBergen, two of the nation's biggest drug wholesalers. The companies said Mr. Spitzer was looking for info about the wholesalers' practice of occasionally buying drugs from each other, rather than from manufacturers. Neither the companies nor Mr. Spitzer's office would provide any color commentary on the probe, but analysts speculated that it might have to do with counterfeit drugs slipping into the system via this secondary market. Though analysts also said these trades were a small and shrinking part of the wholesalers' operations, their shares fell more than 2% each on the news. Shares of McKesson, the third major U.S. wholesaler, also fell more than 2%, though it hasn't been subpoenaed.

ShopKo Sold
Discount retailer ShopKo agreed to be bought by a private equity firm for about $715 million. ShopKo operates about 218 Pamida stores and about 141 ShopKo stores in the western U.S. The buyout by Minneapolis-based Goldner Hawn Johnson & Morrison marks the latest episode in a wave of retail consolidation, including mergers between Kmart and Sears and Federated and May. ShopKo's shares jumped more than 14%.

Sears Holdings plans to lay off 500 workers, according to a new filing with the state of Illinois, double the amount it warned about last week. The company, formed last month in the $12.3 billion purchase of Sears by the once-bankrupt Kmart, has predicted some $500 million in cost savings from the merger, though it has also promised that most of its 400,000 employees will keep their jobs. Its shares rose nearly 2% today to more than $141.

MG Rover Bankrupt; Threat to Blair?
MG Rover Group, Britain's last big auto maker, filed for bankruptcy protection. The British government immediately offered a loan of about $75 million to MG Rover's suppliers, to dissuade them from cutting jobs. Prime Minister Tony Blair has a big stake in the matter, having just set a May 5 date for the next national election. Though his Labour Party is expected to win, it has been losing support in recent polls. The health of the U.K. economy is its sharpest weapon in the fight, and its main counter to widespread disgust with Mr. Blair's support for the Iraq war. Having 6,000 MG Rover employees and about 15,000 suppliers' employees at risk of unemployment won't help Labour's case much. The 100-year-old MG Rover has in various incarnations produced such snazzy cars as the MGB, the Triumph and the Austin Healy. But it has struggled financially for several years; the German media called it "the English Patient" when BMW bought it in the 1990s. There was hope that a merger deal with Chinese auto maker Shanghai Automotive Industrial Co. would save the day and win a huge government bridge loan; but the deal collapsed last night. Though the deal could still go through, SAIC may simply wait for MG Rover to enter bankruptcy to take the juicier bits.

Stocks Stumble
After gaining for four straight days, U.S. stocks stumbled at the end of the week, though they did manage to turn in the first positive week in more than a month. The Dow fell about 85 points, with about 1.66 billion shares changing hands on the Big Board. The Dow rose a net 57 points on the week. Dow component AIG fell nearly 2% on a New York Times report that documentation of a sketchy reinsurance deal between AIG and Berkshire Hathaway unit General Re was altered by General Re. GM, another Dow component, slid more than 3% after Deutsche Securities became the latest of many analysts to downgrade its beaten-up shares. The S&P 500 fell about 10 points, and the Nasdaq fell about 19 points. Crude-oil prices fell to nearly $53 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. U.S. Treasury bond prices fell, sending yields higher. The dollar rose against the Japanese yen and the euro. Asian stocks were mixed, while major European markets were mostly higher.

Postal Service Seeks Rate Hike
The U.S. Postal Service has asked the federal government for permission to raise the price of a first-class stamp to 39 cents from 37 cents. It said it would withdraw the request if Congress overturned a 2003 law requiring it to set up a $3.1 billion escrow fund. It may take a year for the fast-moving government to approve the rate increase, which would be the first since 2002.

Report: Rudolph to Plead Guilty to Olympics Bombing
Eric Rudolph will plead guilty to a series of late-1990s bombings in the southern U.S., including the 1996 bombing at the Atlanta Olympics, the Associated Press reported. Mr. Rudolph, who was captured two years ago after a five-year manhunt in the mountains of western North Carolina, will also plead guilty to a 1998 bombing at an abortion clinic in Birmingham, Ala., along with two 1997 bombings in downtown Atlanta, one at a lesbian bar and another at an abortion clinic, the report said. Jury selection in his trial for the 1998 bombing began this week. If convicted in that case, Mr. Rudolph faced the death penalty. In a deal with prosecutors, Mr. Rudolph will get four life sentences instead, the AP said. As part of the deal, he told investigators the location of 250 pounds of dynamite hidden in the North Carolina mountains, the AP said. The Olympics bombing killed one person and injured 100 more, while the Birmingham clinic bombing killed one person and injured another.

Spammer Sentenced to Slammer
Jeremy Jaynes, the first person in the U.S. to be convicted of felony spamming charges, was sentenced to nine years in prison by a Virginia judge. The sentence was suspended pending appeal. Attorneys for the Raleigh, N.C., native say the sentence is too long, especially considering the fact that Virginia's law was passed just two weeks before he was charged. Prosecutors said Mr. Jaynes was one of the world's top 10 spammers at the time of his arrest, sending some 10 million emails a day through Virginia-based America Online under a false identity and grossing a cool $750,000 a month. Mr. Jayne did not deny the spamming, but his attorney argued that Virginia's law was poorly crafted and violated his First Amendment right to free speech.

No Patent for PBJ
A federal appeals court rejected J.M. Smucker's effort to patent its crustless version of the peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Smucker's bought the idea for the "Uncrustable" sandwich, which it sells frozen and in roughly the shape and size of a pierogi, from its North Dakota inventors in 1995. Smucker's won patent protection for the treat in 1999. Before long, though, smaller operators were trying to nibble at its share of the crustless PBJ market, which generated an estimated $27.5 million for Smucker's last year. When the company tried to expand its patent, the U.S. Patent Office turned it down, saying the process of making Uncrustables wasn't unique, pointing to evidence in a cookbook and a recipe printed in a newspaper. Smucker's countered by noting that it sealed its PBJs with a special process, rather than by "commingling the two bread slices into an amorphous homogenous mass" as other cooks might do. A federal appeals court was not impressed. "It is a patent that never should have been issued," Adam Jaffe, economics professor at Brandeis University, told the Wall Street Journal earlier this week. "This is a technology -- if you can call it that -- that has been around in many forms for many years."

__________________________________
TODAY'S MARKETS
The Dow industrials, burdened by hefty losses at AIG and GM, finished down 84.98 points at 10461.34, snapping a four-day winning streak. Analysts, though, were upbeat about stocks.

http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,SB1112958...tml?mod=djemTEW

Wal-Mart's ex-vice chairman had subordinates create fake invoices to get the firm to pay for personal expenses, papers suggest. The questionable activity appears to involve dozens of transactions, including hunting vacations and alligator boots.

http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,SB1112914...tml?mod=djemTEW

The FDA ordered drug makers to include stronger warnings on their painkiller labels and pressured Pfizer into pulling Bextra from the market.

http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,SB1112879...tml?mod=djemTEW

When Warren Buffett directed his lawyers to turn over documents of a deal with AIG to regulators, he set off a chain reaction that dashed Hank Greenberg's career -- and will land both before prosecutors in a burgeoning scandal.

http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,SB1112913...tml?mod=djemTEW

US lawmakers regret voting for Iraq war:

US Representative Walter Jones, a conservative Republican, does not hide his anger when he says bad information led him to vote for the Iraq war.
http://www.middle-east-online.com/english/?id=13180

Antiwar Movement Debates Occupation:

Does the U.S. government does have an obligation to the Iraq people?
http://www.traprockpeace.org/iraq_debate_06april05.html

The Basing Game:

The Pentagon is closing military bases at home and opening new ones abroad.
http://www.thenation.com/blogs/outrage?pid=2297

Religious right in D.C. to target judicial system:

The goal is to rein in judges who have undermined democracy and family values with recent decisions on same-sex marriage, the Ten Commandments, school prayer and the Pledge of Allegiance, said Rick Scarborough, a Texas Baptist minister.
http://www.tucsoncitizen.com/index.php?pag...christianjudges

http://snipurl.com/dwjc

Sidney Blumenthal : Politics in red robes :

As the authority of the Vatican was marshalled on behalf of the conservatives, the Republican right adopted its position as its own in order to capture Catholic votes. Now the social agendas of conservative Catholics and Republicans are indistinguishable.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/usa/story/0,12271,1453862,00.html

Get The Faith Outtta Here!:

Energized by the widely held, if not strictly accurate, assumption that it cinched George Bush’s victory over John Kerry, the Fundamentalist Right is now convinced that the president owes it, big-time. They’re calling in their favors
http://lacitybeat.com/article.php?id=1899&IssueNum=96

Oil for dollars, and dollars for US deficit:

The United States is extracting tribute on oil from the world. If the world wants Middle Eastern oil, it can pay for it through the Saudi branch of the US Treasury.
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Asian_Economy/GD09Dk01.html

http://snipurl.com/dwjq

Economic growth at peak, warns World Bank :

Led by rapid growth in China, India and Russia, developing countries outgrew rich countries last year, with aggregate gross domestic product rising by a record 6.6 per cent.
http://business.scotsman.com/economy.cfm?id=368242005

World Bank Warns U.S. to Cut Deficits:

Accumulation of dollar reserves by some Asian countries could spark a systemic foreign exchange crisis, the chief economist of the World Bank said in an interview to be published on Thursday
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article8489.htm

http://snipurl.com/dwjm

Home Foreclosure Listings Surged in March, Study Shows:

In what could be a crack in the housing market's sturdy foundation, the number of foreclosed homes put up for sale rose 50 percent between February and March
http://ap.tbo.com/ap/breaking/MGBFGGY197E.html

Hunger-Based Lines Lengthen at the Faith-Based Soup Kitchens:

The sight of masses of Americans gratefully chowing down on free food is indeed a show, an amazingly discreet one that is classified not as outright hunger but as "food insecurity" by government specialists who are busy measuring the growing lines at soup kitchens and food pantries across the nation.
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article8492.htm

http://snipurl.com/dwjr

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Bush Recalls a Spiritual Moment
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Returning from the Vatican, the president discusses his faith, Mideast politics and what he felt as he prayed near the deceased pope.

By James Gerstenzang
Times Staff Writer

April 9 2005

WASHINGTON; As he was on his knees just yards from the body of Pope John Paul II during a viewing in St. Peter's Basilica this week, President Bush recalled Friday, he had been "in touch with a spirit" as he prayed.

The complete article can be viewed at:
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/wo...headlines-world

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Indictment Points to Arms Danger
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A Pakistani charged with exporting nuclear weapons components is described as potentially serious threat to American security.

By Josh Meyer
Times Staff Writer

April 9 2005

WASHINGTON; A Pakistani military supplier has been indicted in an investigation into a network now suspected of supplying both Pakistan and India with outlawed components for their nuclear weapons and ballistic missile systems, federal authorities disclosed Friday.

The complete article can be viewed at:
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/wo...,0,439617.story