SECRECY NEWS
from the FAS Project on Government Secrecy
Volume 2006, Issue No. 113
October 30, 2006

Secrecy News Blog: http://www.fas.org/blog/secrecy/

** DOD CONTRACTOR IMPROPERLY BLOCKED RELEASE OF INFO
** PUBLIC INTEREST DECLASSIFICATION BOARD STALLS
** CRS ON PAKISTAN-US RELATIONS, MORE


DOD CONTRACTOR IMPROPERLY BLOCKED RELEASE OF INFO

In an unusual investigation of improper secrecy involving
unclassified information, an Inspector General report last week
found that a Defense Department contractor marked records as
"proprietary data," thereby restricting their dissemination, even
though the records did not qualify as proprietary.

Kellogg, Brown and Root Services, Inc. (KBR), a component of
Halliburton, "routinely marks almost all of the information it
provides to the government as KBR proprietary data," the Special
Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction found.

This is not consistent with Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR),
the IG said.

"The routine use of proprietary markings when the data marked is not
internal contractor information... is an abuse of FAR procedures
[and] inhibits transparency of government activities and the use of
taxpayer funds...," the Inspector General reported.

"The result is that information normally releasable to the public
must be protected from public release..."

"In effect, KBR has turned FAR provisions designed to protect truly
proprietary information ... into a mechanism to prevent the
government from releasing normally transparent information, thus
potentially hindering competition and oversight," the Inspector
General concluded.

See "Interim Audit Report on Inappropriate Use of Proprietary Data
Markings by the Logistics Civil Augmentation Program Contractor,"
Office of the Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction,
October 26, 2006:

http://www.sigir.mil/reports/pdf/audits/06-035.pdf

Halliburton's Kellogg Brown & Root unit won a $17 billion contract in
2001 to provide services to the U.S. Army worldwide that includes
over $15.4 billion for Iraq work, noted Tony Capaccio in a report
for Bloomberg News. "While KBR has been criticized for its
accounting practices, bills and estimates of future costs, this
audit is the first to cite it for restricting information," he
wrote.

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=new...id=aPgSZWxN2kyo

While national security classification procedures are governed by
certain rules and procedures, including a degree of external
oversight, the same is not consistently true of the dozens of
control markings (such as "proprietary data" or "for official use
only") that are increasingly imposed on unclassified information.

So, for example, there are well-defined procedures for
declassification of classified information, but there are no such
procedures for lifting controls on many varieties of "sensitive but
unclassified" information.

And while the Information Security Oversight Office is responsible
for oversight of classification and declassification activity, no
one is similarly responsible for monitoring restrictions on
unclassified information that is withheld from the public. It would
be surprising if such restrictions were not abused, since they can
serve as a shield against oversight and accountability.

The new Inspector General report suggests that this is a function
that might regularly be assumed by agency Inspectors General.

A House Government Reform Subcommittee held a hearing last March on
the proliferation of controls on unclassified information and their
consequences. The record of that hearing has recently been
published.

See "Drowning in a Sea of Faux Secrets: Policies on Handling of
Classified and Sensitive Information,"House Committee on Government
Reform, March 14, 2006:

http://www.fas.org/sgp/congress/2006/faux.html


PUBLIC INTEREST DECLASSIFICATION BOARD STALLS

Confronted for the first time by a congressional request to review
the classification of two congressional reports, the new Public
Interest Declassification Board (PIDB) has been stymied by doubts
over its own authority to proceed.

The PIDB was formally created by statute in 2000 to serve as an
advisory body on declassification priorities and policies. Its
controlling statute was modified in the intelligence reform
legislation of 2004, when its members began to be named, but it
first received funding in fiscal year 2006.

In September, Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR) and other members of the
Senate Intelligence Committee including its chairman Sen. Pat
Roberts (R-KS), asked the Board to review the controversial
classification of portions of two committee reports on pre-war Iraq
intelligence, contending that those documents were overclassified.
It was the Board's first such tasking (Secrecy News, 09/15/06).

Under the terms of the amended statute, the Board now says it cannot
act on the congressional request without specific Presidential
approval.

"The statute under which we operate provides that [President Bush]
must request the board undertake such a review before it can
proceed," wrote L. Britt Snider, chairman of the Public Interest
Declassification Board, in a letter to Sen. Wyden.

In effect, it appears, the Bush Administration must authorize the
Board's investigation of whether the Bush Administration
overclassified the reports in question.

See "Anti-secrecy panel called 'puppet'," by Shaun Waterman, United
Press International, October 30:

http://washingtontimes.com/national/200610...15609-8893r.htm

Some aspects of the dilemma were reported by Tim Starks in
Congressional Quarterly on October 20, and elaborated by Nick
Schwellenbach of the Project on Government Oversight in "Public
Interest Declassification Board: Who's the Boss?":

http://pogoblog.typepad.com/pogo/2006/10/p...c_interest.html


CRS ON PAKISTAN-US RELATIONS, MORE

Some recent products of the Congressional Research Service, not made
directly available to the public, include the following.

"Pakistan-U.S. Relations," updated October 26, 2006:

http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/row/RL33498.pdf

"Pakistan: Chronology of Recent Events," updated October 20, 2006:

http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/row/RS21584.pdf

"Western Sahara: Status of Settlement Efforts," updated September 29,
2006:

http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/row/RS20962.pdf



_______________________________________________
Secrecy News is written by Steven Aftergood and published by the
Federation of American Scientists.
Steven Aftergood
Project on Government Secrecy
Federation of American Scientists
web: www.fas.org/sgp/index.html
email: saftergood@fas.org
voice: (202) 454-4691

"The Way Out of Iraq: Decentralizing the Iraqi Government," by Ivan Eland
http://www.independent.org/store/policy_re...etail.asp?id=16

"The Rise of an American Dictatorship," by Anthony Gregory (10/20/06)
http://www.independent.org/newsroom/article.asp?id=1837

PROP. 86: THE CALIFORNIA CIGARETTE TAX HIKE

California voters next week will decide the fate of Proposition 86, which would increase excise taxes on a package of cigarettes from 87 cents to $3.47, generating an estimated $2 billion in tax revenue. Some anti-tobacco activists argue that high cigarette taxes are justified as a way to offset the costs that smokers ultimately imposes on non-smokers, but Senior Fellow William F. Shughart II argues that tax revenues from smoking already exceed that amount.

"Whatever extra burden smokers place on California's public healthcare resources is more than offset by the revenue generated by the excise taxes they now shell out, and ghoulish as it may be, by the resources they save -- the pensions they do not claim, the nursing home beds they do not occupy -- on account of early death," writes Shughart in a recent op-ed.

"No responsible economist has reckoned that such external costs amount to anything close to 87 cents per pack -- in California or anywhere else. $3.47, which would be the tax per pack if Prop. 86 passes, is equivalent to exercising the nuclear option of predatory public finance."

"Prop. 86 and the Tyranny of the Majority," by William F. Shughart II (10/24/06)
http://www.independent.org/newsroom/article.asp?id=1841

TAXING CHOICE: The Predatory Politics of Fiscal Discrimination, ed. by William F. Shughart II
http://www.independent.org/store/book_detail.asp?bookID=48

A Recipe for the Greater War

The U.S. fear of losing power which it doesn't have

By Abid Ullah Jan

The Bush administration has been fully successful in what it wanted to achieve in Iraq. The country is occupied. Oil resources are under full control. The military threat that Iraq could pose has been fully neutralized. The country is divided. Iraqis are pitted against each other. The civil war is on and the co-opted media still limits its description to fear of a looming civil war.
http://informationclearinghouse.info/article15438.htm

Texas Versus Tel Aviv: US Policy in the Middle East

By James Petras

Almost without exception, Israel’s ideological soldiers have taken to the opinion columns of all the major newspapers, television and radio shows (as self-reputed Middle East experts) to promote the breaking up of Iraq into mini-states and to pursue the killing fields beyond the over 650,000 slaughtered Iraqi civilians and 3,000 dead US soldiers.
http://informationclearinghouse.info/article15445.htm

===
"The President Knows more than He Lets on":

CIA expert Ron Suskind accuses Washington of "running like a headless chicken" in its war against al-Qaida. He reserves special criticism for the CIA's torture methods, which he argues are unproductive.
http://www.spiegel.de/international/0,1518...-445117,00.html

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. believes the 2004 election was stolen:

I believe that any intelligent person who reads the evidence will come to the same conclusion. But one will never be able to prove it to an absolute certainty because the votes were never counted in Ohio as the result of an illegal effort by public officials to derail the recount.
http://progressive.org/node/4135

Why are Republican conservatives calling for an end to One Party GOP Rule?:

William Frey, a founder of "Republicans for Humility," explains why he and other conservative Republicans are upset with the direction of the Bush administration and the GOP-controlled Congress:
http://www.consortiumnews.com/2006/102606a.html

The way the police treat us verges on the criminal:

Guilty until proven innocent now seems to be the watchword of a government that increasingly treats its law-abiding citizens with absolute contempt
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/st...1934370,00.html

Pentagon boosts 'media war' unit BBC News
The US defence department has set up a new unit to better promote its message across 24-hour rolling news outlets, and particularly on the internet.The Pentagon said the move would boost its ability to counter "inaccurate" news stories and exploit new media. Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said earlier this year the US was losing the propaganda war to its enemies. On Monday, Vice-President Dick Cheney said insurgents had increased attacks in Iraq to sway the US mid-term polls. The Bush administration does not believe the true picture of events in Iraq has been made public, the BBC's Justin Webb in Washington says. The administration is particularly concerned that insurgents in areas such as Iraq have been able to use the web to disseminate their message and give the impression they are more powerful than the US, our correspondent says.

'Correcting messages'
The newly-established unit would use "new media" channels to push its message and "set the record straight", Pentagon press secretary Eric Ruff said."We're looking at being quicker to respond to breaking news," he said. "Being quicker to respond, frankly, to inaccurate statements." A Pentagon memo seen by the Associated Press news agency said the new unit would "develop messages" for the 24-hour news cycle and aim to "correct the record". The unit would reportedly monitor media such as weblogs and would also employ "surrogates", or top politicians or lobbyists who could be interviewed on TV and radio shows. Mr Russ said the move to set up the unit had not been prompted either by the eroding public support in the US for the Iraq war or the US mid-term elections next week.

'War of ideas'
Mr Rumsfeld said earlier this year that he was concerned by the success of US enemies in "manipulating the media". "That's the thing that keeps me up at night," Mr Rumsfeld said. On Monday, US Vice President Dick Cheney also made reference to the use of media, suggesting insurgents had increased their attacks and were checking the internet to keep track of American public opinion. "It's my belief that they're very sensitive of the fact that we've got an election scheduled and they can get on the websites like anybody else," Mr Cheney told Fox News. "There isn't anything that's on the internet that's not accessible to them. They're on it all the time. They're very sophisticated users of it." Mr Cheney's comments came as American forces suffered one of the highest death tolls in October - more than 100 troops killed - since the war began in 2003. President Bush has said recently that terror groups were trying to influence public opinion in the US, describing their efforts as the "war of ideas".

A Swiss on the Democratic campaign trail swissinfo
Swiss-American Vinz Koller, chairman of Monterey County Democratic Party, tells swissinfo about life on the political frontline ahead of the US mid-term elections.Koller criticises the Bush administration and the religious right, and explains why the Democrats now need tougher policies and a new direction.

swissinfo: Critical United States mid-term congressional elections are taking place on November 7, in which the Republicans risk losing their majorities in the two houses. How do you think the Democrats will fare?
Vinz Koller: I am reluctant to give predictions as they have proved to be wrong in the past. It's clear that the Republicans are running scared after the recent scandals and because their Iraq policy is no longer popular. The Democrats are working to see that this one-party nation gets a proper opposition. We hope to secure a majority in the House of Representatives and it's possible that we could even gain control of both chambers.

swissinfo: You are in charge of the Democratic election campaign in Monterey County in California. What kind of campaign is it – full of scandals about political opponents?
V.K.: We are definitely against smear campaigns. We don't want to get into that kind of politics. Our approach is to knock at people's doors and present our ideas to get them to come down and vote. We are trying to present new policies such as social justice and a withdrawal from Iraq. Although many Republicans now oppose the war in Iraq, they link it to their security fears. We are convinced that Iraq has not made the US a safer place.

swissinfo: What would you say to those Europeans who claim that there is not much difference between the Democrats and the Republicans?
V.K.: I can understand that for a long time people from outside and also from inside the US have not been able to differentiate. But it's clear that if Al Gore had been president the Iraq war would never have occurred and if John Kerry had beaten Bush in 2004 things would have turned out quite differently. Of course many Democrats also supported the war in Iraq because they were afraid to be thought of as unpatriotic. And they believed what our government told them about Iraq possessing weapons of mass destruction.

swissinfo: From Europe it sometimes seems that the Democrats are struggling with subjects such as the death penalty, abortion and gun laws. Is this a false impression?
V.K.: No. It's partly true, but political parties are not popular movements. The mood of the population must first shift before a party can include a theme in its election campaign. But Democrats now realise that we shouldn't hesitate when dealing with this administration. Things must be clear and politically to the point. Political campaigns are fought based on values as well as actions. For over 20 years the Republicans have used simple language to communicate in a down-to-earth, catchy and simple fashion. They talk about a culture of life when they mean abortion, and about the traditional family when it's about homosexuality. The Democrats must learn a new language, but not that of the Republicans, which smacks of moral double standards.

swissinfo: The current administration has introduced a kind of religious fundamentalism into US politics. Do the Democrats feel under pressure to embrace religious values?
V.K.: Democrats have to look carefully at the question of values; there are positive religious values, such as loving one's neighbour, helping the poor and peacemaking. The Republican Party has associated itself with the religious fundamentalists, and I feel they represent the wrong doctrine. It's terrifying that fundamentalist movements can have such an influence on US politics. As an American citizen who came here 20 years ago, it's worrying to think that people outside the US are afraid of the country where I live.

swissinfo: Is US politics able to function without religion?
V.Z.: Religion plays an important role. The Democrats believed for a long time that politics should be free of religion. But many voters decide according to their values. I can see the danger of a country being run according to Christian nationalistic values, which are actually contrary to the fundamental principles of the US. The present administration uses fundamentalist religious language to win voters. I consider that dangerous for the US.
swissinfo-interview: Gaby Ochsenbein

Emergency candidate alert: Five House races John Kerry
Dear Friend,
Their names are Paul, Carol, Leonard, John and Betty. They hold the future of the House of Representatives in their hands -- and with one final act of will, you can pull them through to victory next Tuesday.The final week of this dramatic campaign is almost here. And these five House candidates need one last, powerful infusion of funds to push their way past a vicious final week assault from running-scared Republicans. That's why we're issuing this emergency candidate alert. I know how much I've asked of you -- and how energetically you've responded. We've got to stay on the case for one more week. The Republicans are throwing everything but the kitchen sink at our candidates. We can't yield an inch -- not now. Not with victory at hand.

RUSH HELP TO OUR EMERGENCY SLATE OF HOUSE CANDIDATES!
Two of our candidates are running in New Hampshire. In the NH-01 district, Carol Shea-Porter has mobilized an army of active, fired-up volunteers to take on an attack campaign run by a close ally of Karl Rove. And in NH-02, Democrat Paul Hodes is facing a merciless barrage of special interest-funded attack ads. With your support, Paul and Carol can make both New Hampshire and the House of Representatives blue next Tuesday. But they've got to have your immediate support now.

RUSH HELP TO OUR EMERGENCY SLATE OF HOUSE CANDIDATES!
Our third candidate is Iowa's Leonard Boswell, who is facing more than $1 million in attacks from a group with direct links to the people who funded the Swift Boat attacks of 2004. Just this week, President Bush campaigned to try to kick Leonard out of the House. Also in need of your emergency help is John Cranley, running in Ohio's 1st district against one of the most far-right members of Congress. John has been a leading critic of the Bush "stay the course and pass the buck" policy in Iraq. Also in Ohio, our fifth and final emergency slate candidate is Betty Sutton. Her opponent has been relentlessly on the attack, challenging Sutton for her strong stances on Roe v. Wade and civil liberties.

RUSH HELP TO OUR EMERGENCY SLATE OF HOUSE CANDIDATES!
We're in the every-moment-counts stage of this campaign. The sooner your gift arrives, the quicker our candidates can put it to work in the final make-or-break days of these elections.
Act now. Act quickly. Go big.

John Kerry

Resistance to deadlines for Iraq is weakening

WASHINGTON - Growing numbers of American military officers have
begun to privately question a key tenet of U.S. strategy in Iraq -
that setting a hard deadline for troop reductions would strengthen
the insurgency and undermine efforts to create a stable state. By
Doyle McManus.
http://email.latimes.com/cgi-bin1/DM/y/eBB...Io30G2B0H1DI0EO

A bishop's divided house

In troubled times, L.A.'s Episcopal leader seeks to be a unifying
force. By James Ricci.
http://email.latimes.com/cgi-bin1/DM/y/eBB...Io30G2B0H1DJ0EP

Governor's ban on staff perks isn't perfect

SACRAMENTO - After allowing his staff to accept tens of thousands
of dollars' worth of gifts from business interests, Gov. Arnold
Schwarzenegger is now worried about the appearance of a conflict
of interest and has barred them from taking even a free cup of
coffee. By Peter Nicholas.
http://email.latimes.com/cgi-bin1/DM/y/eBB...Io30G2B0H1DK0EQ

Launching a journey they'd never imagined

ATLANTA, Ga. - Chad and David had experienced both anguish and joy
trying to create a child. But it was only the beginning. By Kevin
Sack.
http://email.latimes.com/cgi-bin1/DM/y/eBB...Io30G2B0H1DL0ER

Living among the dead

MANILA - About 50,000 destitute Filipinos call a Manila cemetery
home. They say it's safe and quiet, and the neighbors are nothing
to be afraid of. By John M. Glionna.
http://email.latimes.com/cgi-bin1/DM/y/eBB...Io30G2B0H1DM0ES

Pay now or later for warming, study says

LONDON - A major study concludes that without rapid and
substantial spending, global warming will reduce worldwide
productivity on the scale of the Great Depression, devastate food
sources, cause widespread deaths and create hundreds of millions
of refugees. By Kim Murphy.
http://email.latimes.com/cgi-bin1/DM/y/eBB...Io30G2B0H1DN0ET

Reprisals feared after blast

BAGHDAD - The specter of a fresh cycle of revenge killing haunts
Iraq after bombing in Shiite area that left dozens dead. By Ken
Ellingwood and Said Rifai.
http://email.latimes.com/cgi-bin1/DM/y/eBB...Io30G2B0H1DO0EU

Oaxaca's streets still simmer with defiance

OAXACA, Mexico - The state capital remained divided Monday, as
thousands marched in defiance and others praised government forces
that dislodged a protest encampment from the city center this
weekend. By Sam Enriquez.
http://email.latimes.com/cgi-bin1/DM/y/eBB...Io30G2B0H1DP0EV

Free speech test for judicial reform

LAS VEGAS - Banning judges from personally soliciting or accepting
campaign contributions would not represent an improper restriction
on their constitutional rights and would help restore the
integrity of Nevada's troubled judiciary, an advocate for reform
has argued. By Scott Gold.
http://email.latimes.com/cgi-bin1/DM/y/eBB...Io30G2B0H1DQ0EW

Blue for Beacon Hill?

EVERETT, Mass. - The man who might be Massachusetts' first
Democratic governor in 20 years is far from a standard-issue
liberal. By Elizabeth Mehren.
http://email.latimes.com/cgi-bin1/DM/y/eBB...Io30G2B0H1DR0EX

Anxiety builds as crime increases in Koreatown

Some residents won't go out after dark in the trendy area. Others
fear South Korean investors will be turned off. By K. Connie Kang
and Andrew Blankstein.
http://email.latimes.com/cgi-bin1/DM/y/eBB...Io30G2B0H1DS0EY

Tenants want landlord to try their life

Residents of a building plagued by vermin and with holes in the
walls seek to force owner to spend two nights there. By Jessica
Garrison.
http://email.latimes.com/cgi-bin1/DM/y/eBB...Io30G2B0H1DT0EZ

County gets a break on King/Drew

U.S. officials were set to halt Medicare funds on Nov. 30 but will
keep the cash flowing through March barring a relapse in
healthcare quality. By Susannah Rosenblatt.
http://email.latimes.com/cgi-bin1/DM/y/eBB...Io30G2B0H1DU0Ea

Mementos from a unique friendship

They were an unlikely pair, Joanne Carson and Truman Capote. She
was the plucky, gorgeous wife of the man who would become the
undisputed king of late-night television. He was the diminutive
literary genius whose rapier wit would eventually force him into a
kind of social exile from Manhattan. By Robin Abcarian.
http://email.latimes.com/cgi-bin1/DM/y/eBB...Io30G2B0H1Dc0Eo

Cotton-picking subsidies

Corporate welfare for growers is wasting taxpayer dollars and
hurting the U.S. image abroad.
http://email.latimes.com/cgi-bin1/DM/y/eBB...Io30G2B0H1Dd0Ep

SECRECY NEWS
from the FAS Project on Government Secrecy
Volume 2006, Issue No. 114
October 31, 2006

Secrecy News Blog: http://www.fas.org/blog/secrecy/

Support Secrecy News:
http://www.fas.org/static/contrib_sec.jsp


** AN UPDATED LEXICON OF GOVERNMENT INFORMATION POLICY
** SOMETHING WIKI THIS WAY COMES
** GAO ON SECURITY CLEARANCES, NRC ON SAFEGUARDS INFO
** CRS ON THE NORTH KOREAN NUCLEAR TEST


AN UPDATED LEXICON OF GOVERNMENT INFORMATION POLICY

The specialized language of government information policy is itself
a reflection of the intricacies and convolutions of that policy.

A newly updated and substantially expanded lexicon of
information-related terms, prepared by Susan L. Maret, provides a
valuable map to the language and the terrain of U.S. government
information policy.

Hundreds of entries, ranging from the well-known or obvious
("classified") to the obscure and recondite (e.g., EPITS), are
presented with lucid definitions and pointers to official source
documents.

"These terms represent a virtual seed catalog to federal
informationally-driven procedures, policies, and practices
involving, among other matters, the information life cycle, record
keeping, ownership over information, collection and analysis of
intelligence information, security classification categories and
markings, censorship, citizen right-to-know, deception, propaganda,
secrecy, technology, surveillance, threat, and warfare," Dr. Maret
writes.

"The terms reported here -- which have often been interpreted widely
from one federal agency to another -- play a significant role in
shaping social and political reality, and furthering government
policy."

See "On Their Own Terms: A Lexicon with an Emphasis on
Information-Related Terms Produced by the U.S. Federal Government"
by Susan Maret, Ph.D., updated October 2006:

http://www.fas.org/sgp/library/maret.pdf


SOMETHING WIKI THIS WAY COMES

The Office of Director of National Intelligence is holding a media
roundtable today to introduce "Intellipedia," described as a
Wikipedia for the Intelligence Community.

http://www.fas.org/irp/news/2006/10/odni103006.pdf

The event follows on a news story about Intellipedia and related
initiatives in the current issue of U.S. News and World Report.
See "Wikis and Blogs, Oh My!" by David E. Kaplan, U.S. News,
October 30:

http://www.usnews.com/usnews/news/articles...030/30wikis.htm


GAO ON SECURITY CLEARANCES, NRC ON SAFEGUARDS INFO

Processing of applications for security clearances by the Department
of Defense continues to fall far behind official targets for
improvement, according to the Government Accountability Office.

"Our independent analysis of timeliness data showed that industry
personnel contracted to work for the federal government waited more
than one year on average to receive top secret clearances," a new
GAO study said.

Among other things, the latest study provides a useful snapshot of
the security clearance apparatus. It reports, for example, that
approximately 2.5 million persons hold security clearances
authorized by the Department of Defense.

See "DOD Personnel Clearances: Additional OMB Actions Are Needed to
Improve the Security Clearance Process" [GAO-06-1070], September
2006:

http://www.fas.org/sgp/gao/gao-06-1070.pdf

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission is proposing a new rule on
protection of "Safeguards Information" (SGI).

"SGI is a special category of sensitive unclassified information to
be protected from unauthorized disclosure under Section 147 of the
[Atomic Energy Act]."

"Although SGI is considered to be sensitive unclassified
information, it is handled and protected more like Classified
National Security Information than like other sensitive
unclassified information (e.g., privacy and proprietary
information)." Access to SGI, for example, requires a validated
"need to know."

The proposed NRC rule, issued for public comment, was published in
the Federal Register today. See:

http://www.fas.org/sgp/news/2006/10/fr103106.html


CRS ON THE NORTH KOREAN NUCLEAR TEST

A new report from the Congressional Research Service synthesizes
what is known, believed and speculated about the recent North
Korean nuclear explosive test, and sketches out the options for
U.S. policy.

"The most fundamental U.S. goals of the confrontation with North
Korea are to prevent the proliferation of weapons of mass
destruction and to prevent an attack -- either nuclear or
conventional -- on the United States or on its allies in the
region," the report says.

"The options available to U.S. policymakers to pursue these goals
include the acceptance of North Korea as a nuclear power, bilateral
or multilateral negotiations, heightened legal and economic
pressure on North Korea, adoption of a regime change policy through
non-military means, military action or threats, and withdrawal from
the conflict."

A copy of the new CRS report was obtained by Secrecy News.

See "North Korea's Nuclear Test: Motivations, Implications, and U.S.
Options," October 24, 2006:

http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/nuke/RL33709.pdf

Steven Aftergood
Project on Government Secrecy
Federation of American Scientists
web: www.fas.org/sgp/index.html
email: saftergood@fas.org
voice: (202) 454-4691

Campaigner in chief has limited reach MSNBC
An unpopular president avoids many key races
When President Bush swooped down here late last week, Republican House candidate Jeff Lamberti was happy for the high-level attention -- and the roughly $400,000 in contributions -- the short stopover produced for his campaign. But the man Lamberti is trying to unseat, Rep. Leonard L. Boswell (D), was no less happy to see the president in his district. As Bush's entourage was heading for Michigan and another campaign event, Lamberti said he would welcome the president back anytime. He also made it clear he does not want the president to be the issue that decides his fate next week: "I trust the voters to be sophisticated enough to know it's between the two candidates." Boswell had another view, one that underscored the double-edged impact of a presidential visit this fall. Saying his challenger would be little more than a rubber stamp for the White House if he is elected, Boswell said Bush's visit might give both campaigns a boost. "If it ramps up their troops a little bit, it will ramp ours up, too," he said. His name is not on any ballot this fall, but George W. Bush is the central issue of campaign 2006. Tuesday's vote will deliver a referendum on six years of Bush's leadership -- bold and principled or radically divisive, depending on one's political ideology -- and the wartime policies he has championed. Other issues may come into play, congressional scandals and performance among them, but in the end, next week's verdict will be remembered for what it says about this president. With Bush's approval ratings hovering just below 40 percent, Republicans are braced for big losses.

Bush's challenge
GOP strategists know well that no political party has successfully weathered a midterm election with such an unpopular president in office. Bush's challenge as he campaigns in the final days of the election is to find a way to excite and mobilize a fractured Republican base without triggering an even bigger turnout among Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents that could cost his party the House or Senate. As Election Day draws near, the president has taken on a new role for his beleaguered party, that of optimist-in-chief. On the stump, Bush is ebullient, defiant, humorous, partisan and totally focused on bolstering morale, mocking Democrats (and the pundits he says are in their pockets) for dancing in the end zone before they have scored a touchdown.
By Dan Balz, The Washington Post

U.S. PUBLIC DIPLOMACY ENVOY SAYS IRAN MUST SEIZE OPPORTUNITY TO RESUME NEGOTIATIONS - ASSOCIATED PRESS (INTERNATIONAL HERALD TRIBUNE, OCTOBER 31): "We're working with our international partners to send a message to Iran that the international community is opposed to Iran obtaining nuclear weapons," Undersecretary of State Karen Hughes told The Associated Press in Dubai.
http://www.iht.com/bin/print_ipub.php?file...aren_Hughes.php

A SCRAMBLE FOR FRIENDS OVER IRAN - KAVEH L. AFRASIABI (ASIA TIMES, NOVEMBER 1): It is preposterous to imagine that we can mount a successful public diplomacy campaign directed at the Iranian people while at the same time sanctioning them economically.
http://atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/HK01Ak02.html

IS AL HURRA GAINING POPULARITY IN THE MIDDLE EAST? - CCR (OCTOBER 30): "I wish that Americans could watch Al Hurra to see how they do the news, to hear officials explain their policies, and to see what we're promoting abroad. But we can't. It's illegal to disseminate such propaganda to American citizens, which also explains why Americans can't listen to Voice of America etc."
http://arab-media.blogspot.com/2006/10/is-...ularity-in.html

DO AS WE SAY -- IF YOU DARE: THE WEST IS NO BETTER AT PROMOTING DEMOCRACY TODAY THAN IT WAS IN 1956 - ANNE APPLEBAUM (SLATE, OCTOBER 31): The U.S. role in the Hungarian revolution was hardly admirable. At the same time that Secretary of State John Foster Dulles was reassuring everybody that nothing would be done, Radio Free Europe was explaining to its listeners how to make Molotov cocktails and hinting at the American invasion to come. Don't blame George W. Bush. Chaos in U.S. foreign policy is nothing new.
http://www.slate.com/id/2152515

U.S. INTELLIGENCE UNVEILS SPY VERSION OF WIKIPEDIA - REUTERS (WASHINGTON POST, OCTOBER 31): The office of U.S. intelligence czar John Negroponte announced Intellipedia, which allows intelligence analysts and other officials to collaboratively add and edit content on the government's classified Intelink Web much like its more famous namesake on the World Wide Web.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/conte...6103101042.html

COMPLAINTS MOUNT AT U.S. FORTRESS IN IRAQ - DAVID PHINNEY, ELECTRONIC IRAQ (OCTOBER 31): This article is the second part of a series on allegations of forced labour and abuse of workers in the construction of the U.S. embassy in Baghdad.
http://electroniciraq.net/news/2580.shtml
SEE ALSO
http://electroniciraq.net/news/2575.shtml

THE SUNK-COST FALLACY AND IRAQ: WHEN IS IT TIME TO SAY, 'ENOUGH'? - JEREMY MANIER (CHICAGO TRIBUNE, OCTOBER 29): Last month, Congress estimated that the Iraq war costs America $2 billion each week.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/opinion...perspective-hed

AUDIT SLAMS US TRAINING OF IRAQI PROVINCIAL GOVERNMENTS: INSPECTOR GENERAL'S AUDITS ALSO CITE THOUSANDS OF MISSING US WEAPONS, CONCERNS ABOUT SECURITY HANDOVER TO IRAQIS - TOM REGAN (CSMONITOR.COM, AUGUST 31)
http://www.csmonitor.com/2006/1031/dailyUpdate.html

THE UNTRACKED GUNS OF IRAQ - EDITORIAL (NEW YORK TIMES, OCTOBER 31): About the last thing the United States ought to be doing in Iraq is funneling weapons into black-market weapons bazaars, as sectarian militias arm themselves for civil war.
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/10/31/opinion/...agewanted=print

ACCOUNTING FOR DISASTER IN IRAQ RECONSTRUCTION - TRUDY RUBIN (BALTIMORE SUN, OCTOBER 31): The biggest lesson is that we should have avoided handing massive projects to big U.S. firms and focused instead on helping Iraqis to get their own systems up and running.
http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/opinion/o...=bal-pe-opinion

FEARS OVER HUGE GROWTH IN IRAQ'S UNREGULATED PRIVATE ARMIES: MERCENARIES 'OUTNUMBER UK SOLDIERS THREE TO ONE'; SECURITY COMPANIES ARE UNACCOUNABLE, SAY CRITICS - RICHARD NORTON-TAYLOR (GUARDIAN, OCTOBER 31)
http://www.guardian.co.uk/Iraq/Story/0,,1935704,00.html
via
http://www.juancole.com/2006/10/saudis-war...ion-day-of.html

IRAQI PM ENDS SOME JOINT CHECKPOINTS - CHRISTOPHER BODEEN, ASSOCIATED PRESS (HOUSTON CHRONICLE, OCTOBER 31): Exploiting GOP vulnerability in the Nov. 7 elections, Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki flexed his political muscle Tuesday and won U.S. agreement to lift military blockades on Sadr City and another Shiite enclave where an American soldier was abducted.
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/world/4301681.html

RESISTANCE TO DEADLINES FOR IRAQ IS WEAKENING: MORE U.S. OFFICERS DOUBT INSURGENTS WOULD GAIN, AND BELIEVE THAT BAGHDAD MUST BE PUSHED - JULIAN E. BARNES AND DOYLE MCMANUS (LOS ANGELES TIMES OCTOBER 31): Growing numbers of American military officers have begun to privately question a key tenet of U.S. strategy in Iraq -- that setting a hard deadline for troop reductions would strengthen the insurgency and undermine efforts to create a stable state.
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/wo...-home-headlines

FILLING THE SPIN VACUUM - IVAN ELAND (ANTIWAR.COM, OCTOBER 31): Iraqis don't follow Washington's rules of spin. The recent escalation of violence in Iraq and an upsurge in U.S. military deaths has made the "stay the course" mantra appear out of touch with reality.
http://www.antiwar.com/eland/?articleid=9942

IRAQ'S BLOODY DESTINY - SAMI MOUBAYED (ASIA TIMES, NOVEMBER 1): The reason Iraq is so bloody today is blamed on many factors. A reason might simply be a result of resistance to the occupation -- something that would end the minute the Americans left Iraq. Alternatively, although most would refuse to admit it, it might be because the Iraqis are a difficult people by nature who have never had the chance to develop the notion of nationhood and who have lived under strong leadership since the days of the Hashemite monarchy.
http://atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/HK01Ak01.html

SHAME: WHAT WE HAVE DONE TO THE IRAQI PEOPLE CAN NEVER BE UNDONE. BUT THERE IS ONE SMALL GESTURE WE CAN MAKE: APOLOGIZE - GARY KAMIYA (SALON)
http://www.salon.com/opinion/kamiya/2006/1...hame/print.html

IF YOU ARE AGAINST THE WAR, TAKE THIS QUIZ - DANNY SCHECHTER (COMMON DREAMS, OCTOBER 31): For the most part the American debate leaves out the Iraqis except as victims or killers.
http://www.commondreams.org/views06/1031-29.htm

HOW TO CUT AND RUN: WE COULD LEAD THE MIDEAST TO PEACE, BUT ONLY IF WE STOP REFUSING TO DO THE RIGHT THING - WILLIAM E. ODOM (LOS ANGELES TIMES, OCTOBER 31): Only a complete withdrawal of all U.S. troops from Iraq -- within six months and with no preconditions -- can break the paralysis that now enfeebles our diplomacy.
http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/la-oe-...inion-rightrail

NEITHER VOTERS NOR POLITICAL LEADERS ARE SATISFIED WITH IRAQ: BUSH'S COMMITMENT TO REMAIN IN IRAQ IS A COURAGEOUS ONE - JOHN HUGHES (CHRISTIAN SCIENCE MONITOR, NOVEMBER 1): Bush has made it clear that there will be no precipitate withdrawal of American forces from Iraq on his watch. That is a courageous decision.
http://www.csmonitor.com/2006/1101/p09s01-cojh.html

LOSING IS NOT AN OPTION: THE BATTLE FOR THE MIDDLE EAST - OMAR FADHIL (OPINION JOURNAL FROM THE WALL STREET JOURNAL EDITORIAL PAGE, OCTOBER 31): Maybe the world isn't going to harvest direct benefits from winning the battle of Iraq but the world still has to spare no effort to win this battle, again not because winning will bring direct benefits but because losing here will bring subsequent losses that would no doubt be great.
http://www.opinionjournal.com/federation/f...e/?id=110009169

RUSHING FOR THE EXIT: IF WE LEAVE IRAQ, WHAT HAPPENS TO THE SUPPORTERS OF DEMOCRACY? - CHRISTOPHER HITCHENS (SLATE, OCTOBER 30)
http://www.slate.com/id/2152548

SINJAR DIARIST: DEVIL'S ADVOCATES - LAWRENCE F. KAPLAN (NEW REPUBLIC, OCTOBER 31): Washington will surely forget about the Yezidi when the Americans depart Iraq, just as it discarded Vietnam's Montagnards -- another mountain people who suffered terribly for the sin of aiding the United States.
http://www.tnr.com/docprint.mhtml?i=20061106&s=diarist110606

STRAYING FROM A FAILED COURSE - H.D.S. GREENWAY (BOSTON GLOBE, OCTOBER 31): The Viet-Nam war left more than 50,000 Americans and countless Vietnamese dead, but victory remained elusive. In Iraq this time around there is no chance that the American people will be that patient.
http://www.boston.com/news/globe/editorial..._course?mode=PF

THIRD AND FINAL ACT - WILLIAM S. LIND (ANTIWAR.COM, OCTOBER 31): The third and final act in the national tragedy that is the Bush administration may soon play itself out. That could be the long-planned attack on Iran.
http://www.antiwar.com/lind/?articleid=9938

GIVING IRAN THE BOMB - BRET STEPHENS (WALL STREET JOURNAL, OCTOBER 31): Does the Bush administration seriously mean to give Iran a nuclear bomb? Look carefully at the confidential text of a forthcoming U.N. Security Council resolution, and the answer, it would seem, is yes.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1162255917...days_us_opinion
PAID SUBSCRIPTION

RIGHT ON!: AN APPEAL OF FAITH TO PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH - MICHAEL FREUND (JERUSALEM POST, OCTOBER 31): Iran can and must be stopped, and the only way to do so is through the use of military force.
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid...ticle%2FPrinter

BREAKING THE SILENCE: THE DEBATE IGNITED BY WALT AND MEARSHEIMER GATHERS MOMENTUM - SCOTT MCCONNELL (AMERICAN CONSERVATIVE, NOVEMBER 6): With the Mideast now on the front burner, as even Bush administration officials acknowledge, America will have no allies whatsoever in the war against terrorists unless progress is made towards a fair settlement of the Palestine question; it is shameful to remain silent. Walt and Mearsheimer's essay on the Israel lobby has opened the door, and others of great eminence have joined them.
http://www.amconmag.com/2006/2006_11_06/feature.html

GEOPOLITICAL REALITIES IN ANKARA - TULIN DALOGLU (WASHINGTON TIMES, OCTOBER 31): A Turkey pushed away from the Western alliance will turn old friends into foes, and radical Islamists will reap the benefits.
http://www.washtimes.com/functions/print.p...30-095025-5645r

NORTH KOREA TALKS: DOES PYONGYANG WANT TO GIVE UP ITS NUKES OR MERELY EASE THE INTERNATIONAL PRESSURE - EDITORIAL (WASHINGTON POST, NOVEMBER 1): China will face a question: Is it willing to use its now proven clout with the North to put an end to its nuclear program -- or only to require that it attend meetings?
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/conte...3101361_pf.html

SIX-PARTY TALKS, REDUX - REVIEW & OUTLOOK (WALL STREET JOURNAL, NOVEMBER 1): China's Foreign Ministry announced last night that North Korea will return to the six-party talks. The question is, how forcefully will Pyongyang's counterparties stand by their goal of a nuclear-free North Korea?
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1162354370...ain_europe_asia
PAID SUBSCRIPTION

KEEP THE PRESSURE ON NORTH KOREA: PYONYANG IS WILLING TO REJOIN NUCLEAR TALKS, BUT SOUTH KOREA AND CHINA MUST ENFORCE SANCTIONS - EDITORIAL (LOS ANGELES TIMES, NOVEMBER 1)
http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/la-ed-...pinion-leftrail

WHY NORTH KOREA LOVES THE BOMB: ITS NUCLEAR WEAPONS PROGRAM PLAYS A MAJOR ROLE IN PROPPING UP KIM JONG IL'S REPRESSIVE REGIME - BENNETT RAMBERG (LOS ANGELES TIMES, NOVEMBER 1)
http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/la-oe-...-opinion-center

'ISLAMO-FASCISM' IS ISLAMO-BULL ... - ISMAEL HOSSEIN-ZADEH (ASIA TIMES, NOVEMBER 1): This wanton flinging of the word "fascism"in reference to radical
movements and leaders of the Muslim world not only inaccurate and oxymoronic, but it is also offensive and inflammatory and, therefore, detrimental to international understanding and stability.
http://atimes.com/atimes/Front_Page/HK01Aa01.html

SOFT JUSTICE AT GUANTANAMO WEAKENS WAR EFFORT - VASKO KOHLMAYER (BALTIMORE SUN, OCTOBER 31): There may still be time to reverse some of the damage that has been done at Guantanamo. It is to be hoped that the legislation recently passed will quickly translate into military tribunals that will deliver justice in swift and solemn fashion.
http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/opinion/o...-oped-headlines

SINCE AMERICANS ARE GOOD PEOPLE, WHATEVER WE DO IT CAN'T BE CALLED "TORTURE": NORMALIZING TORTURE - BRUCE JACKSON (COUNTERPUNCH, OCTOBER 30): How could the United States have violated or abrogated the 1984 Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment more cynically than it did in the Military Commissions bill George W. Bush signed into law?
http://www.counterpunch.org/jackson10302006.html

ERODING DETAINEES RIGHTS - NAT HENTOFF (WASHINGTON TIMES, OCTOBER 30): President Bush alone cannot be blamed for this desecration of what used to be American values. A majority of Congress, fearful of appearing soft on terrorism, also betrayed the Constitution in the Military Commissions Act of 2006.
http://www.washtimes.com/op-ed/20061029-081248-7596r.htm

MORE TROOPS OR LESS EMPIRE - PATRICK J. BUCHANAN (AMERICAN CONSERVATIVE, NOVEMBER 6): We have more than enough soldiers to defend the United States and our vital interests and allies. If we will pull up the old trip wires we put down in the Cold War and bring home the troops manning those trip wires, we will also find that, suddenly, we have fewer quarrels and fewer enemies than the administration has managed to make for us.
http://www.amconmag.com/2006/2006_11_06/buchanan.html

HAUNTED BY THE PAST - MAUREEN DOWD (NEW YORK TIMES, NOVEMBER 1): As Bush 41's defense secretary, Mr. Cheney prepared the '92 Defense Planning Guidance draft with his aides Paul Wolfowitz and Scooter Libby, which called for swaggering world domination in the wake of the cold war, asserting that America should intervene to stop any countries -- allies or foes -- from challenging its supremacy. A decade later, with a more jejune Bush as president and a more jittery post-9/11 America, Cheney & Co. brought back the loony plan and renamed it the Bush doctrine.
http://select.nytimes.com/2006/11/01/opini...agewanted=print
PAID SUBSCRIPTION

Jarret M. Brachman. "High Tech Terror: Al Qaeda's Use of New Technology," The Fletcher Forum of World Affairs, 30 (Summer, 2006), 149-164. Brachman, Director of Research at West Point's Combating Terrorism Center, argues Al Qaeda is no longer best conceived as an "organization, a network, or even a network of networks." It has become an Internet-based "organic social movement" whose strategic use of web-based technology is a more enduring and lethal threat than its operational objectives. Brachman examines Al Qaeda's use of video games, discussion forums, and other techniques; the views of Syrian-born Internet strategist Abu Musab al-Suri; and the need for strategic level responses that go beyond monitoring Al Qaeda websites for operational information.
http://fletcher.tufts.edu/forum/30-2pdfs/brachman.pdf


"Q: I'D BE REMISS IF I DIDN'T MENTION A NON-ECONOMIC ISSUE WITH YOU, SIR, AND IT CONCERNS TORTURE. AND SOME ARGUE THAT YOUR WORDS WERE TAKEN OUT OF CONTEXT WHEN -- OF WHETHER YOU APPROVED OF WATER BOARDING, WHETHER YOU APPROVED OF OTHER VARIOUS TORTURE TECHNIQUES. COULD I GET UNEQUIVOCALLY FROM YOU, YOUR VIEW ON WATER BOARDING, WHETHER THAT'S APPROPRIATE TORTURE?

THE VICE PRESIDENT: MY VIEW IS I NEVER TALK ABOUT SPECIFIC METHODS. THAT'S ALL CLASSIFIED. WE DON'T DISCUSS IT. WE DON'T TALK ABOUT IT. WE DON'T TORTURE, THOUGH. IT'S VERY IMPORTANT TO MAKE THAT POINT. WE ARE PARTIES TO INTERNATIONAL TREATIES, AND ANY ACTIVITY THE U.S. GOVERNMENT IS INVOLVED IN, IN THIS AREA IS CONSISTENT WITH THOSE TREATIES AND THOSE OBLIGATIONS AND WITH THE LAW OF THE LAND."

--Cited in Dan Froomkin, "Waterboarding Watch; Desperate Times" (washingtonpost.com, October 31)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/conte...3100629_pf.html

IRAQ: U.S. Military Adopts Desperate Tactics
Dahr Jamail and Ali al-Fadhily
FALLUJAH - Increased violence is being countered by harsh new measures across the Sunni-dominated al-Anabar province west of Baghdad, residents say.
http://ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=35312

Government Death Squads Ravaging Baghdad
http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=35159

*****
IRAQ, MIDEAST AND THE U.S. MIDTERM ELECTIONS
===========================================
U.S.: Republicans Spring a New Winning Strategy
Analysis by Bill Berkowitz
OAKLAND - In the final days before the November elections, Bush administration surrogates have taken to asking whoever they are conversing with about the Iraq war, "Do you want us to win in Iraq?"
http://ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=35335

U.S. Jews Give Bush, Republicans Failing Grades - By Jim Lobe
http://ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=35325

Hillary Clinton Urges Talks with Syria, Iran, North Korea - By Jim Lobe
http://ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=35330

Belafonte on Thinking Outside the Ballot Box - By Aaron Glantz
http://ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=35313

*****
Once Again, Stop the War
Sanjay Suri
LONDON - More than three years after London saw its biggest ever rally to prevent the war in Iraq, the group Stop the War is launching a new campaign to pull coalition forces out of Iraq.
http://ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=35295

*****
ENVIRONMENT-MOROCCO: The Old Picture Is Disappearing
Abderrahim El Ouali - IPS/IFEJ
CASABLANCA - The visitor to Morocco has often been tempted by pictures with the proverbial palm tree somewhere in the frame. But fewer and fewer of these trees are now around, and at this rate of decline the visitor of the future might not find any at all.
http://ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=35290

*****
Bush Under Growing Pressure to Engage Syria
Jim Lobe
WASHINGTON - While President Bush appeared this week to reject suggestions that Washington directly engage the government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, pressure both here and in the region for Washington to work out some accommodation with Damascus is rising.
http://ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=35277

50 Years After Suez, U.S. Hegemony Ebbing Fast - Analysis by Jim Lobe
http://ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=35261

*****
IRAN: Ahmadinejad's Divine Inspiration
Analysis by Omid Memarian
BERKELEY - Amid a struggle between two major clerical factions for control of Iran's influential Assembly of Experts, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is trying to shore up his conservative base by portraying himself as a man with a direct link to god.
http://ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=35255

*****
U.S.-IRAQ: "It's Time to Step Out"
Aaron Glantz
SAN FRANCISCO - For the first time since the U.S. invasion of Iraq in 2003, active-duty members of the military are asking members of Congress to end the occupation of Iraq and bring U.S. soldiers home.
http://ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=35251

*****
Home Is Where You Migrate To
Julio Godoy
PARIS - "My home is in Tunis," metal worker Chedli who migrated to France in the 1970s used to say until recently. Now he is not so sure. "They do not want me down there."
http://ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=35247

Squeeze on North Korea's money supply yields results

For three years, the Bush administration has waged a campaign to
choke off North Korea's access to the world's financial system.
The cash crunch appears to have played a key role in that
country's decision Tuesday to return to six-nation talks over its
nuclear ambitions. By Josh Meyer.
http://latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/...y?track=tottext

Can he save this school?

Stephen Strachan, the tough principal of troubled Jordan High
School, will do almost anything to reach his students, regardless
of opposition. And when he needs to recharge his batteries,
Strachan retreats to a classroom filled with boys: his all-male
academy, a daring, unofficial experiment that he will not allow to
fail. By Sandy Banks.
http://latimes.com/news/local/la-me-strach...y?track=tottext

Foot-in-mouth afflicts candidates this year

When the dust clears after election day, 2006 may be remembered as
the year of the offhand remark. In what he said was a joke gone
awry about the Iraq war, Sen. John F. Kerry this week became the
second would-be presidential candidate to see his hopes dimmed
because of a botched comment. By Richard Simon.
http://latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation...y?track=tottext

Panama is in line for a seat at the U.N.

Ending a two-week-long standoff, Venezuela and Guatemala bowed out
of the race for a U.N. Security Council seat Wednesday and chose
Panama as a compromise candidate. The contest for a seat for Latin
America and the Caribbean had become a protracted battle. By
Maggie Farley.
http://latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/...y?track=tottext

U.S. sees evidence of a Lebanon coup plot

In an unusual statement, the Bush administration charged Wednesday
that there was "mounting evidence" that Iran, Syria and the
militant group Hezbollah were trying to engineer the overthrow of
the elected government of Lebanese Prime Minister Fouad Siniora.
By Paul Richter.
http://latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/...y?track=tottext

Chemical may lengthen life

An ingredient in red wine extends lifespan and alleviates disease
when fed in huge quantities to obese mice, even though the mice
remain fat, researchers reported today in the online edition of
the journal Nature. By Thomas H. Maugh II.
http://latimes.com/news/science/la-sci-lon...y?track=tottext

Breach at lab is called significant

A significantly larger amount of classified information from a
nuclear weapons laboratory in New Mexico was discovered in a
residential trailer during a police search on Oct. 17 than was
disclosed by law enforcement officials, sources close to the
investigation said Wednesday. By Ralph Vartabedian.
http://latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation...y?track=tottext

L.A. sues over unaccounted-for housing funds

A Los Angeles city agency was so badly run that it could not
account for $70 million in federal funds meant to help poor people
get housing and jobs, including money that was steered to a friend
of a top executive for bogus work, according to a lawsuit filed by
the city. By Jessica Garrison.
http://latimes.com/news/local/la-me-author...y?track=tottext

Post-election power surge is expected for Feinstein

No matter which party controls the U.S. Senate after Nov. 7,
California Sen. Dianne Feinstein is expected to come out a winner.
The margin of control is anticipated to be very thin - one or two
votes. That would magnify the power of senators such as Feinstein
who are known for crossing party lines. By Maura Reynolds.
http://latimes.com/news/local/la-me-feinst...y?track=tottext

Fisheries face collapse by 2048, study warns

All of the world's fishing stocks will collapse before midcentury,
devastating food supplies, if overfishing and other human impacts
continue at their current pace, according to a global study
published today by scientists in five countries. By Marla Cone.
http://email.latimes.com/cgi-bin1/DM/y/eBB...Io30G2B0H1tV0EO

Murder charges follow fatal wildfire

A 36-year-old auto mechanic from Beaumont was charged Thursday
with arson and five counts of murder for allegedly setting last
week's Esperanza fire, which killed five U.S. Forest Service
firefighters and destroyed 34 homes in a remote mountain area of
Riverside County. By Sara Lin.
http://email.latimes.com/cgi-bin1/DM/y/eBB...Io30G2B0H1tW0EP

We think we can, GOP optimists say

Though there is pervasive fear that Republicans will lose control
of Congress, a cadre of die-hard optimists is refusing to wave the
white flag. They point, like parched travelers spying water in the
desert, to a few recent developments that could help the GOP in
the waning days of the campaign. By Janet Hook.
http://email.latimes.com/cgi-bin1/DM/y/eBB...Io30G2B0H1tX0EQ

Private investors seek a gusher in oil tax

Once a means for venture capitalists to pursue philanthropic
interests, the bankrolling of citizen initiatives has become a
financial opportunity. Their campaigns could bring billions of
dollars in public money to niche technology markets that their
firms bet on. By Evan Halper.
http://email.latimes.com/cgi-bin1/DM/y/eBB...Io30G2B0H1tY0ER

A clash of wills at 'Firecracker'

On July 4, a squad of Marines was ordered to an intersection
nicknamed "Firecracker," the most dangerous in the Iraqi city of
Ramadi. In their own words, the Marines recall a bruising fight
with insurgents. "Training kicks in." By Julian E. Barnes.
http://email.latimes.com/cgi-bin1/DM/y/eBB...Io30G2B0H1tZ0ES

Israeli raid fails to slow rocket strikes

Sderot's nerve-racked residents got what they wanted - an assault
by infantry troops on the Gaza Strip launching ground for most of
the Kassam rockets that Palestinian militants fire into Israel
almost daily. But instead of relief, the beleaguered Israeli
community got more rockets. By Richard Boudreaux.
http://email.latimes.com/cgi-bin1/DM/y/eBB...Io30G2B0H1ta0EZ

Nigerians skeptical about vote

University of Lagos students cheered when parliament rebuffed
Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo's push for a constitutional
amendment to serve a third term. Five months later, that euphoria
has given way to a familiar cynicism that Nigerian politics may
never change. By Edmund Sanders.
http://email.latimes.com/cgi-bin1/DM/y/eBB...Io30G2B0H1tb0Ea

Evangelical leader steps down

The president of the National Assn. of Evangelicals resigned
Thursday after his Colorado Springs, Colo., mega-church opened an
investigation into allegations that he had repeatedly paid for sex
with a male prostitute. By Stephanie Simon.
http://email.latimes.com/cgi-bin1/DM/y/eBB...Io30G2B0H1tc0Eb

Ex-private is indicted in Iraqi family's deaths

Steven D. Green, the former Army private arrested in the March
rape and slaying of a 14-year-old Iraqi girl while he was on duty
south of Baghdad, was indicted by a federal grand jury Thursday on
17 counts of murder, sexual assault and obstruction. Twelve of the
charges carry the death penalty. By Peter Spiegel.
http://email.latimes.com/cgi-bin1/DM/y/eBB...Io30G2B0H1td0Ec

SECRECY NEWS
from the FAS Project on Government Secrecy
Volume 2006, Issue No. 115
November 3, 2006

Secrecy News Blog: http://www.fas.org/blog/secrecy/

Support Secrecy News:
http://www.fas.org/static/contrib_sec.jsp


** NY TIMES STORY LEADS TO SHUTDOWN OF IRAQI DOCUMENT SITE
** CLASSIFIED BUDGETS AND CONGRESSIONAL CORRUPTION


NY TIMES STORY LEADS TO SHUTDOWN OF IRAQI DOCUMENT SITE

The U.S. Government suspended public access to an online database
of captured Iraqi documents after the New York Times presented
claims from some nuclear experts that the documents included
sensitive nuclear weapons design information.

The documents had already been reviewed and cleared for public
release, but the experts consulted by the Times said they should
not have been disclosed.

See "U.S. Web Archive Is Said to Reveal a Nuclear Primer" by
William J. Broad, New York Times, November 3:

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/11/03/world/mi...-documents.html

Everyone agrees that proliferation-sensitive data should be
protected. The Federation of American Scientists does not
publish detailed blueprints of functional nuclear weapons, for
example, though such records can be found in the public domain.

But in Secrecy News' estimation, the New York Times story failed
to include an appropriate note of skepticism about the
significance of the disclosures.

According to the Times, experts say that the Iraqi documents
"constitute a basic guide to building an atom bomb."

This is a trope that has surfaced repeatedly for decades, from the
publication of the Smyth Report in 1946 and the Los Alamos Primer
some years later to the Progressive Case in 1979 and even the
declassification of inertial confinement fusion in the 1990s,
each of which supposedly compromised the secret of the Bomb.

While it is no doubt true, as former Energy Department
classification official A. Bryan Siebert told the Times, that
there are still nuclear weapons secrets, the basics of nuclear
weapons construction have long been publicly available. And in
case anyone hasn't noticed, proliferation of actual nuclear
weapons has been proceeding apace in North Korea, Iran and
elsewhere, with or without captured Iraqi documents.

William Broad is the best of reporters and his stories pack a
punch even when they are not on the front page of the New York
Times.

But he also has a penchant for telling and retelling a
sensational, counterintuitive story that the government is
failing to protect sensitive national security secrets.

A January 13, 2002, front page story by Mr. Broad reported that
the government was selling declassified documents describing the
production of biological weapons. That story, like the one
today, also referred to the documents in question as "cookbooks"
for weapons of mass destruction, a cliched term that grossly
exaggerates their significance and utility, in Secrecy News'
opinion.

The earlier story prompted the removal of many thousands of
declassified documents from public access, which was probably
prudent. But it also triggered a continuing expansion of
official controls on unclassified information, culminating in a
March 19, 2002, memorandum from White House chief of staff Andrew
Card on "White House Guidance on Safeguarding WMD Information and
Sensitive Homeland Security Documents." One has to expect that
the latest story will aggravate the problem.

The current Administration is not known for reckless disclosure of
sensitive data, to put it mildly. The Times and its reporters
know this. But today's story does not account for the
government's supposed departure from its normal stinginess with
information and its move towards indiscriminate revelation of
precious nuclear secrets, if that's what happened. Having been
publicly scolded by the Times for this little experiment in
public disclosure, officials are now even less likely to defy
well-founded expectations of secrecy.

Last week, coincidentally, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission
published a proposal to export some 15 kilograms of highly
enriched uranium (93% U-235) to Canada, thereby perpetuating
international traffic in actual bomb-grade materials.

http://www.fas.org/sgp/news/2006/10/fr102706.html

The proposal was not reported in the New York Times.


CLASSIFIED BUDGETS AND CONGRESSIONAL CORRUPTION

Rep. Jim Gibbons (R-Nevada) helped to direct millions of dollars
of classified contracts to one of his major campaign
contributors, according to an astonishing account in the Wall
Street Journal. ("Congressman's Favors for Friend Include Help
in Secret Budget," by John R. Wilke, Wall Street Journal,
November 1, sub. req'd.).

Coming in the wake of the bribery scandal involving Rep. Randy
"Duke" Cunningham (R-CA), the latest report underscores the
potential for corruption in classified defense and intelligence
budgeting.

Yet Congressional leaders have stubbornly resisted efforts to
reduce budget secrecy.

The Las Vegas Review-Journal followed up on this aspect of the
Gibbons story in a report yesterday.

See " Experts critical of secret defense budgeting system" by
Aaron Sadler, Las Vegas Review-Journal, November 2:

http://tinyurl.com/yefazm

Steven Aftergood
Project on Government Secrecy
Federation of American Scientists
web: www.fas.org/sgp/index.html
email: saftergood@fas.org
voice: (202) 454-4691

Sex-row US pastor 'bought drugs' BBC News
The head of a US evangelical body who quit after being accused of paying for sex with a gay prostitute has admitted he bought drugs. The Reverend Ted Haggard, ex-leader of the 30m-strong National Association of Evangelicals, said he bought methamphetamine but "never used it". He denies having sex with the man but said he did receive a massage. Mr Haggard has also stepped down temporarily from his 14,000-strong, Colorado-based New Life Church. The issue is being played out against the backdrop of a vote in Colorado and seven other US states on Tuesday on whether to ban same-sex marriages. Mr Haggard, 50, has been a vocal opponent of the unions.

'Pastor Ted'
Mr Haggard told journalists outside his home that he had bought methamphetamine. "I bought it for myself but never used it. I was tempted but I never used it," Mr Haggard said. He said he threw it away. Denver man Mike Jones, 49, this week told a radio show he had been paid to have sex with Mr Haggard nearly every month over the past three years. Mr Haggard said he had not had sex with Mr Jones but did receive a massage after being referred to him by a Denver hotel. The man who has temporarily replaced Mr Haggard as head of the New Life Church, Ross Parsley, said in an email message on Friday: "It is important for you to know that he confessed to the overseers that some of the accusations against him are true. "He has willingly and humbly submitted to the authority of the board of overseers, and will remain on administrative leave during the course of the investigation." Mr Jones said he had stepped forward because of the gay marriage issue. "It made me angry that here's someone preaching about gay marriage and going behind the scenes having gay sex," he said. Mr Jones said he was contacted by a man through the internet called Art. Mr Jones said Art, who he later recognised as Mr Haggard, used methamphetamine to heighten their sexual encounters.

Influential ties
Mr Haggard, who is also known as "Pastor Ted" and has five children, has close contacts with the White House. He became president of the National Association of Evangelicals in 2003. The BBC's Jane Little in Washington says he is one of America's most influential and politically well-connected religious leaders. His resignation comes as a blow for Republicans, who are hoping to energise a demoralised Christian base ahead of mid-term elections, our correspondent says.

US closes 'bomb secrets' website BBC News
The US government has closed one of its websites that contained documents found during the invasion of Iraq in 2003. Weapons experts had complained that the site contained details on making nuclear bombs, the New York Times said. The US had set up the site to post documents that it hoped might reveal information about Saddam Hussein's weapons programmes. A US national intelligence spokesman said there would be a careful review before the site went online again. The website, Iraqi Freedom Document Portal, was set up in March after pressure from Republican legislators that intelligence experts were taking too long to comb through thousands of documents from Saddam Hussein's Iraq. They wanted public help in sifting through the mass of material.

'Nuclear cookbook'
In the last few weeks, the website had posted accounts of Iraq's secret research into nuclear bomb-making before the 1991 Persian Gulf War, the New York Times said. The documents reportedly contained detailed information on the radioactive cores of atom bombs and how to build nuclear firing circuits and trigger explosives. One diplomat told the New York Times that the documents were "a cookbook". Weapons expert Peter Zimmerman told the newspaper that the website material was "very sensitive, much of it undoubtedly secret restricted data".

Warning
US Director of National Intelligence John Negroponte had cautioned against posting the documents before the website went public, a former official said. ''John Negroponte warned us that we don't know what's in these documents, so these are being put out at some risk, and that was a warning that he put out right when they first released the documents,'' former White House chief of staff Andrew Card told NBC television. The website contained a warning that "the US government has made no determination regarding the authenticity of the documents... or factual accuracy of the information contained therein". Mr Negroponte's spokesman, Chad Kolton, said in a statement there were "strict criteria" governing what was posted on the website. "The material currently on the website, as well as the procedures used to post new documents, will be carefully reviewed before the site becomes available again," he said.

Abu Ghraib man's Iraq tour halted BBC News
The US military has reversed plans to return a soldier to Iraq who had been convicted of abusing an inmate at the country's notorious Abu Ghraib prison. Santos Cardona, 32, had reached Kuwait with his unit when news of his planned redeployment to Iraq emerged. The US army dog handler was convicted in June of using his dog to abuse an inmate at the prison near Baghdad. He was sentenced to 90 days' hard labour, demoted one rank and had his pay docked by a military court. Specialist Cardona was ordered back to his unit's home base at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, "where he will be assigned duties commensurate with his military occupation speciality and rank," the army said in a statement. Abuse of prisoners at Abu Ghraib prison was brought to world attention after photographs of the incidents were released and published. The pictures showed US guards mistreating prisoners, some of them naked, and humiliating them. Spc Cardona is the 11th US soldier convicted in connection with abuse at Abu Ghraib.

Hussein found guilty of crimes against humanity

BAGHDAD - Former Iraqi leader and two others are sentenced to hang
for 1982 killings. On hearing verdict, ex-dictator chants, "God is
great!" By Borzou Daragahi.
http://email.latimes.com/cgi-bin1/DM/y/eBB...Io30G2B0H16A0Ec

Baghdad, provinces on shutdown for Hussein verdict
http://email.latimes.com/cgi-bin1/DM/y/eBB...Io30G2B0H16B0Ed

Voters in center may get their say

WASHINGTON - The GOP's reliance on its base may not be enough this
time. By Ronald Brownstein.
http://email.latimes.com/cgi-bin1/DM/y/eBB...Io30G2B0H16C0Ee

State Democrats look past Angelides

Lacking a strong contender for governor, Democrats in California
are relying on a jumbled patchwork of other forces to rouse the
party's voters to cast ballots Tuesday and keep Gov. Arnold
Schwarzenegger from sweeping Republicans to victory in other
races. By Michael Finnegan.
http://email.latimes.com/cgi-bin1/DM/y/eBB...Io30G2B0H16D0Ef

With kidney transplants, a question of how to ration life

More older patients are getting the organs. But possible new rules
may cut their odds. By Alan Zarembo.
http://email.latimes.com/cgi-bin1/DM/y/eBB...Io30G2B0H16E0Eg

In Russia, schisms are evident on unity day

MOSCOW - The new holiday has become a rallying cry for
ultranationalists. By David Holley.
http://email.latimes.com/cgi-bin1/DM/y/eBB...Io30G2B0H16G0Ei

Church ousts pastor for 'immoral' acts

DENVER - After resigning as head of a national evangelical group,
Ted Haggard is removed from his New Life leadership post. By
Stephanie Simon.
http://email.latimes.com/cgi-bin1/DM/y/eBB...Io30G2B0H16H0Ej

Iraq veteran's slaying mystifies a D.C. suburb

ARLINGTON, Va. - The 24-year-old was shot in a busy, upscale area
near the Pentagon months ago. Loved ones can't imagine why. By
Stephen Braun.
http://email.latimes.com/cgi-bin1/DM/y/eBB...Io30G2B0H16I0Ek

First woman takes helm of Episcopal Church

WASHINGTON - The Rt. Rev. Katharine Jefferts Schori was empowered
to take charge of the Episcopal Church in a Gothic sanctuary
filled with well-wishers and the acrid smell of hot wax and
incense, becoming the first woman to lead a national church in the
Anglican Communion's roughly 500-year history. By Louis Sahagun.
http://email.latimes.com/cgi-bin1/DM/y/eBB...Io30G2B0H16J0El

Editorial: Reasons to bother

It's tempting to give in to election fatigue, but that means
someone else gets to make the big decisions.
http://email.latimes.com/cgi-bin1/DM/y/eBB...Io30G2B0H16Z0E2

Campaign ad nauseam

As candidates sling whatever mud they can, the real issues of the
day aren't addressed. By Don Sipple.
http://email.latimes.com/cgi-bin1/DM/y/eBB...Io30G2B0H16a0EA

Cut and run isn't cutting it with these Democrats

They're certainly not "stay the course," but the crop of Dems that
wants to control Congress doesn't want to abandon Iraq. By Matthew
Dallek.
http://email.latimes.com/cgi-bin1/DM/y/eBB...Io30G2B0H16b0EB

The cost of voting by mail

How the rapid growth of absentee voting is changing elections, and
not necessarily for the better. By Steven Hill.
http://email.latimes.com/cgi-bin1/DM/y/eBB...Io30G2B0H16c0EC

Jonathan Chait: GOP wants election to be about Kerry

Everyone knows the senator botched a joke, but the ensuing
controversy shows how powerful the Republican media machine is.
http://email.latimes.com/cgi-bin1/DM/y/eBB...Io30G2B0H16d0ED

US pastor admits sex 'immorality' BBC News
Disgraced former US evangelist leader Reverend Ted Haggard has confessed to his followers that he was guilty of "sexual immorality"."I am a deceiver and a liar," Mr Haggard said in a letter - a day after his New Life Church fired him for what it called "sexually immoral conduct". A vocal opponent of gay marriage, he earlier admitted buying drugs and having a massage from a gay masseur. But he denied using the methamphetamine or having sex with the man. "I am so sorry for the circumstances that have caused shame and embarrassment for all of you," Mr Haggard said in the letter that was read out to New Life Church followers in Colorado Springs. "There is a part of my life that is so repulsive and dark and I've been warring against it my entire adult life," the letter said.

'Pastor Ted'
The row erupted last week, after Mike Jones told a Colorado radio station that he had been paid to have sex with Mr Haggard nearly every month over the past three years.Mr Haggard denied the claims but said he did receive a massage after being referred to Mr Jones by a Denver hotel. Mr Haggard, 50, who on Thursday stepped down as the head of the 30m-strong National Association of Evangelicals, also admitted that he bought methamphetamine but "never used it". The issue is being played out against the backdrop of a vote in Colorado and seven other US states on Tuesday on whether to ban same-sex marriages. Mr Haggard, who is also known as "Pastor Ted" and has five children, has close contacts with the White House.

U.S. Wants Filmmaker's Suit Dismissed :

"I found it disturbing that their position is that American citizens can be treated with impunity by American officials without a recognition that the constitution applies," Rosenbaum said.
http://tinyurl.com/yg7mek

===
Cheating possible on vote machine:

Pushing yellow button on device could reset machine, let someone cast ballot multiple times
http://www.insidebayarea.com/oaklandtribun...36?source=email

===
Republican dirty tricks:

Repeat calls not from Hodes :

Democratic field offices received dozens of phone calls and e-mails from frustrated voters upset about repeated automated phone calls they thought were coming from Democratic candidate Paul Hodes - though the calls were paid for by a Republican group instead.
http://tinyurl.com/yenwhp

===
5 Minute Video:

The U.S. Constitution Explained
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article15519.htm

===
Medicaid Wants Citizenship Proof for Infant Care :

Under a new federal policy, children born in the United States to illegal immigrants with low incomes will no longer be automatically entitled to health insurance through Medicaid, Bush administration officials said Thursday.
http://tinyurl.com/ylugwc

US parties poised for poll battle BBC News
The Republican and Democratic parties are gearing up for a final day of campaigning before the US votes in key mid-term elections on Tuesday.Both parties have welcomed the death sentence handed down to former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein on Sunday. President George W Bush thanked US troops for making the trial possible. His Democratic Party opponents, whose lead has narrowed in the latest opinion polls, are set to continue attacking him over Iraq, our correspondent says. Monday will see the publication of an editorial in a military journal, the Army Times, calling for the dismissal of Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld. A senior Democratic congresswoman, Nancy Pelosi, said the scope of the administration's failure in Iraq was not lessened by the Saddam trial. The Democrats are hoping to take control of at least one of the two Houses of Congress. But according to the BBC's Justin Webb in Washington, the final opinion polls before voting suggest that the Republicans are not beaten and may have gained ground in recent days.

'Courage and skill'
President Bush spent Sunday campaigning in districts of conservative states where Republican control appeared under threat.He told a rally in Grand Island, Nebraska, that the death sentence awarded to Saddam Hussein marked a "landmark event". He urged his audience to thank "the men and women of America's armed forces". "Without their courage and skill, today's verdict never would have happened," he said. The Republicans have regularly accused the Democrats of cowardice over Iraq, saying the party was not prepared to take the risks necessary to make the US secure.

'Mount Everests'
Turn-out on Tuesday is not expected to be above 40% and both parties have spent the past few days trying to ensure their supporters are motivated to vote. Ms Pelosi told a crowd in the north-eastern state of Connecticut that the Democrats are "poised for success", but she warned against complacency. "We have two Mount Everests we have to climb - they are called Monday and Tuesday," she said. A third of the Senate, the whole House of Representatives and 36 governorships are up for election on 7 November. The Democrats need to pick up six seats to gain control of the Senate, and 15 House seats to have a majority there.

Verdict stirs fury, praise among Iraqis

BAGHDAD - The trial of Saddam Hussein that ended Sunday with a
guilty verdict and death sentence for the former Iraqi leader,
once viewed as a means of reconciliation and justice, instead
seemed to fuel the sectarian division that grips the country. By
Borzou Daragahi.
http://email.latimes.com/cgi-bin1/DM/y/eBB...Io30G2B0H17w0Em

San Bernardino's bad luck underlies its crime wave

The city's poverty and gangs are partly inherited from Los
Angeles, and it's hard to beef up a police force. By Ashley
Powers.
http://email.latimes.com/cgi-bin1/DM/y/eBB...Io30G2B0H17x0En

Two parties far apart in turnout tactics too

BOCA RATON, Fla. - The GOP uses precision pitches; Democrats try
to exploit broad unease. By Tom Hamburger.
http://email.latimes.com/cgi-bin1/DM/y/eBB...Io30G2B0H17y0Eo

It's the roar of rebellion

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia - Illegal motorcycle racing is a deadly and
daring obsession of youth in Malaysia, inspiring a government
crackdown - and a movie. By John M. Glionna.
http://email.latimes.com/cgi-bin1/DM/y/eBB...Io30G2B0H17z0Ep

Taiwan's president says he is not a crook

BEIJING - Taiwanese President Chen Shui-bian denies any link to an
embezzlement scandal that has seen his wife indicted. His rivals
threaten a recall. By Mark Magnier.
http://email.latimes.com/cgi-bin1/DM/y/eBB...Io30G2B0H1730Ee

Landscapers: We don't take gay customers

HOUSTON - A Houston company's rejection of a client shocks some in
the city, where homosexuals have made strides. By Lianne Hart.
http://email.latimes.com/cgi-bin1/DM/y/eBB...Io30G2B0H1740Ef

Vegas union makes '08 power play

LAS VEGAS - Service workers will wield new clout when Nevada moves
up in the Democrats' primary schedule. By Scott Gold.
http://email.latimes.com/cgi-bin1/DM/y/eBB...Io30G2B0H1750Eg

Candidates race toward finish line

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and state Treasurer Phil Angelides lead
battles of their respective parties to gain a last-minute edge in
contests testing the Democrats' strength. By Michael Finnegan and
Seema Mehta.
http://email.latimes.com/cgi-bin1/DM/y/eBB...Io30G2B0H1760Eh

Environmental coalition digs in at Tejon Ranch

When the owner rebuffed a proposal to scale back the Centennial
housing project, the Sierra Club and others vowed to fight. By
Gary Polakovic.
http://email.latimes.com/cgi-bin1/DM/y/eBB...Io30G2B0H1780Ej

SECRECY NEWS
from the FAS Project on Government Secrecy
Volume 2006, Issue No. 116
November 6, 2006

Secrecy News Blog: http://www.fas.org/blog/secrecy/

Support Secrecy News:
http://www.fas.org/static/contrib_sec.jsp


** COVERT ACTION POLICY MAY NEED UPDATING, SAYS CRS
** ARMY PRESENTS STANDARD CLASSIFICATION METHODOLOGY


COVERT ACTION POLICY MAY NEED UPDATING, SAYS CRS

U.S. intelligence policy on covert action, including presidential
authorization and congressional notification requirements, is "less
than clear," according to a new report from the Congressional
Research Service, and may need to be updated to encompass activities
performed by the Department of Defense.

Covert action generally refers to CIA operations undertaken abroad
against foreign targets in which U.S. sponsorship is concealed. But
increasingly, some DoD special operations seem to fit the criteria
for covert action.

"Senior U.S. intelligence community officials have conceded that the
line separating CIA and DOD intelligence activities has blurred,
making it more difficult to distinguish between the traditional
secret intelligence missions carried out by each," according to the
new CRS report.

The Department of Defense contends that there is a difference between
its "clandestine operations," which do not entail any unique
oversight requirements, and CIA "covert actions," which cannot be
conducted without a written presidential finding and congressional
notice, mandated by a 1991 statute.

As explained by CRS, "a clandestine operation is an operation
sponsored or conducted by governmental departments or agencies in
such a way as to assure secrecy or concealment. Such an operation
differs from a covert action in that emphasis is placed on
concealment of the operation rather than on the concealment of the
identity of the sponsor."

In certain DoD special operations, however, "an activity may be both
covert and clandestine."

The CRS report presents a menu of policy questions for lawmakers to
consider in evaluating whether to modify U.S. policy on covert
action.

A copy of the report was obtained by Secrecy News.

See "Covert Action: Legislative Background and Possible Policy
Questions," November 2, 2006:

http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/intel/RL33715.pdf


ARMY PRESENTS STANDARD CLASSIFICATION METHODOLOGY

U.S. Army intelligence (G2) has developed a new methodology for
applying national security classification controls and for training
personnel in the proper use of classification restrictions.

Failure to classify correctly has consequences, a tutorial on the new
approach points out.

"Over-classification is costly, inefficient and can cause slow downs
to development/operation. Under-classification can cause compromise,
inadvertent disclosures and confusion."

But getting it right is easier said than done, because it involves the
conscious exercise of informed judgment.

"The descriptors used in addressing damage at the confidential
(damage), secret (serious damage) or top secret (exceptionally grave
damage) levels are subjective."

The new Army methodology "provides a standardized method of making an
objective decision about a subjective issue," wrote Lt. Gen. John F.
Kimmons, U.S. Army Deputy Chief of Staff for Intelligence, in a cover
memorandum.

See "Standardized Methodology for Making Classification Decisions,"
Office of the Army Deputy Chief of Staff, G-2, October 25, 2006:

http://www.fas.org/sgp/othergov/dod/methodology.pdf

Steven Aftergood
Project on Government Secrecy
Federation of American Scientists
web: www.fas.org/sgp/index.html
email: saftergood@fas.org
voice: (202) 454-4691

Day Left: GOP Making Push, But Democrats' Lead Still Significant abc7news.com
The latest ABC News/Wash Post poll has Democrats leading Republicans 53 to 43 percent among registered voters. That advantage is the largest in any midterm election since the Watergate years. Democrats head to Election Day with a continued advantage in voter preference, fueled by discontent with the war in Iraq and broad unhappiness with George W. Bush and the Republican-led Congress alike. The president's party may have gained back some ground: The Democrats' lead among likely voters in the latest ABC News/Washington Post poll is perhaps a bit narrower than its recent level, unseen in congressional elections since post-Watergate 1974 and 1976. Still, discontent remains impressive. Just 40 percent of Americans approve of George W. Bush's job performance, the lowest for a president heading into a midterm election since Harry Truman in 1950, when his party lost 29 seats in Congress. Ronald Reagan's rating in 1982 was 42 percent, similar to Bush's now; that year the Republicans lost 26 seats. Among registered voters, 60 percent disapprove of the way the Republican-led Congress is handling its job, 59 percent say the country is headed in the wrong direction and 53 percent say the war in Iraq was not worth fighting. A majority hasn't backed the war in two years. Fifty-three percent of registered voters in this poll support Democratic candidates for Congress, while 43 percent support Republicans. Among likely voters it's 51-45 percent, less broad than the Democrats' double-digit advantage in the last ABC/Post poll, but still sufficient for change: Republicans won the national House vote by seven points in 1994, the year they gained 52 seats and took control of Congress. The Democrats' advantage is remarkable in what has been mostly a 50/50 nation. The national vote for House, in the last four elections has been, stated as Democrat-Republican, 47-49 percent, 45-50 percent, 47-47 percent, and 47-48 percent. Republican candidates are doing better in groups where some late improvement might be expected -- for example, among married men, previously undecided independents and people who say their financial situation has improved in the last year. They also get some help from a sense, expressed by nearly half of registered voters, that the Democrats have not offered clear policy alternatives. Married women, a changeable group that House Republicans won by nine points in 2004, split about evenly now. Democrats lead among independents, classic swing voters, by a still-hefty 56-38 percent; it was 59-31 percent among independents in the last ABC/Post poll Oct. 22. Very few registered or likely voters -- just two or three percent -- are undecided in this survey. Undecideds are a product of polling technique; other polls in the past few days have had them as high as eight percent of likely voters. The generic congressional horse race captures attitudes nationally, but doesn't predict how candidates will fare in individual state- and district-level races. The mood is not broadly anti-incumbent; 56 percent of registered voters approve of their own representative's job performance. Fewer, as low as 49 percent, approved of their own representative shortly before the 1994 election. While 59 percent say the country's on the wrong track, this too was worse -- 69 percent -- just before Congress changed hands in 1994. It was worse still in 1992, when economic discontent pushed Bush's father out of office. One continuing trend is in the level of anti-Bush voting this year: Registered voters by nearly a 2-1 margin, 31 to 17 percent, say they're casting their vote to show opposition to Bush rather than to show support for him. (The rest, 50 percent, say he isn't a factor.) 1998 is a stark contrast: Then, even in the height of the Lewinsky scandal, just nine percent said they were voting to show opposition to Bill Clinton. Anti-Bush sentiment extends to his party; registered voters are nine points more likely to say most Democrats deserve re-election than to say most Republicans do. Still, the number who say most Democrats deserve re-election has ebbed somewhat; campaign criticisms may have taken some toll.

War
The public's most prominent complaint is the war in Iraq: Asked, open-ended, why they say the country's going in the wrong direction, three in 10 registered voters cite the war, putting it far and away first. About half as many, 16 percent, raise economic concerns; 12 percent mention corruption or general distrust of politicians; 11 percent cite problems with Bush. Similarly, 31 percent call the war in Iraq the most important issue in their vote; 21 percent say it's the economy; 12 percent health care; and about as many, 11 percent, cite terrorism. That's different than 2002, when the economy and terrorism shared top billing, and 2004, when it was terrorism, Iraq and the economy bunched together. The change hurts the Republicans. Among people who call terrorism their No. 1 issue, Republican candidates lead by nearly 60 points, 77-19 percent. Among the many more who call Iraq their top issue, by contrast, Democratic candidates lead, 73-26 percent. Although it doesn't seem to hurt them among Iraq voters, Democrats have slipped a bit on another Iraq gauge: Registered voters break evenly on whom they trust more to handle the situation in Iraq, the Democrats or the Republicans, 42-42 percent. It was a 48-40 percent Democratic lead last month. That may stem from the lack of consensus on whether the Democrats are offering the country a clear direction that's different from the Republicans: Registered voters divide, 49-47 percent, on whether that's the case. It matters: Leaving aside partisans, among independent voters who see a clear Democratic direction, Democrats for House lead by 72-23 percent. By contrast, independents who don't see a new course from the Democrats divide, 44-50 percent, in their vote preference. Another question is whether the Democrats were hurt by a comment last week by Sen. John Kerry that some took as disrespectful to veterans. In this poll military veterans split 42-51 percent (Dem.-Rep.) for House; in an early October ABC/Post poll, it was essentially the same, 40-51 percent. If the Democrats don't show direct damage from the Kerry remark, neither do the Republicans show direct damage from recent scandals that have touched their party. In this poll registered voters divide by 48-44 percent on whether the Democrats or the Republicans better represent their personal values. That compares with 51-39 percent in an early October poll and 50-41 percent in a poll done a year ago. Evangelical white Protestants, a core Republican group sometimes identified with the term "values," favor Republicans for House by 64-31 percent margin. That compares with a 74-25 percent vote for Republicans among this group in the 2004 exit poll.

Economy
Despite recent positive economic trends, the Republicans show little if any improvement among economy voters; they break by 54-42 percent for Democratic candidates in this survey, compared with a similar 57-39 percent last week. The GOP does much better, with 70 percent support, among the roughly one-quarter of Americans who say they're getting ahead financially. That is perhaps up, albeit within sampling error, from 64 percent last month. It's not necessarily surprising that the economy isn't providing more of a boost to the president's party. Clearly a bad economy is political poison; but a good one, much less a great one, doesn't reliably accrue to the in-party's benefit. (Ask Al Gore.)

Get Out the Vote, But Will It Count?
Another factor on Tuesday is the parties' get-out-the-vote efforts: Four in 10 registered voters say they've been contacted recently on a candidate's behalf, up from three in 10 two weeks ago. And it could be that the Republicans' vaunted machine is a bit better turned: Among those who've been contacted, three in 10 say they've been asked only to vote for a Republican, two in 10 only for a Democrat. The rest have been approached by both sides. Registered voters, finally, do not express broad doubts about the vote count on Tuesday, but neither is their confidence supreme -- perhaps not surprising, given news coverage of potential problems with new electronic voting systems. Eighty-four percent are confident their own votes will be counted accurately, but just 49 percent are "very confident" of that. Among likely voters more, 56 percent, are very confident in the vote count. This ABC News/Washington Post poll was conducted by telephone Nov. 1-4, 2006, among a random national sample of 1,205 adults, including 1,037 who identified themselves as registered voters. The results have a three-point error margin. Sampling, data collection and tabulation by TNS of Horsham, Pa.
ABC News polls can be found at ABCNEWS.com at http://abcnews.com/pollvault.html.
Parties Crank Up Voter Turnout Efforts Washington Post
Democrats tipped to regain House in US elections Mail & Guardian Online
Chicago Tribune - Dallas Morning News (subscription) - Spiegel Online, Germany - Huffington Post, NY - all 51 news articles »

US parties' final push for votes BBC News
Republicans and Democrats have sent thousands of volunteers to the most contested US states to canvass support ahead of Tuesday's mid-term elections.President George W Bush is rallying support in the southern states of Florida, Texas and Arkansas on Monday. Democrats, whose lead has narrowed in recent opinion polls, are focusing on Iraq, saying Republicans have blindly followed Bush's "failed policy". Democrats hope to win control of at least one of the Houses of Congress.The BBC's James Coomarasamy in Washington says that although the mid-terms are essentially a series of local elections, the president's low approval ratings and the high number of recent US casualties in Iraq have made many races less predictable. But the Republicans have been campaigning hard and may have had a boost in recent days, he adds. Hundreds of thousands of voters have already cast their ballots, taking advantage of an early voting system. Thirty-five states and the District of Columbia allow in-person voting before election day in certain cases - either at a voting machine or by absentee ballot. However, turnout on Tuesday is not expected to be above 40%, and both parties are spending the last day trying to ensure their supporters are motivated to vote.

'Courage and skill'
Iraq has dominated the campaign season. Both parties welcomed the death sentence handed down to former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein on Sunday. However, US policy in Iraq has been heavily criticised in an editorial published in an influential military journal on Monday. The Army Times, Air Force Times, Navy Times and Marine Corps Times said Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, the architect of the Iraq campaign, had "lost credibility with the uniformed leadership". It urged President George W Bush to install a replacement at the Pentagon. Mr Bush is canvassing support in three southern states on Monday, a fifth successive day on the campaign trail in areas judged vulnerable by Republican pollsters. On Sunday he spoke in Nebraska, saying the verdict of execution against Saddam Hussein was a "landmark event". He urged his audience to thank "the men and women of America's armed forces" for their courage and skill, without which the "verdict would never have happened". The Republicans have regularly accused the Democrats of cowardice over Iraq, saying the party is not prepared to take the risks necessary to make the US secure. The Democrats say they want a "new direction" to Iraq. Correspondents say the Democratic party could push to investigate the Bush administration preparations for the Iraq war and there are also those within the party who want to impeach the president for allegedly misleading Congress about Iraq's weapons programmes. A third of the Senate, the whole House of Representatives and 36 governorships are up for election on 7 November. The Democrats need to pick up six seats to gain control of the Senate, and 15 House seats to have a majority there.

Do Republicans Think Black Voters Are Stupid?:

There are reports out of Nashville that African Americans are getting phone
calls telling them if they voted for Harold Ford Jr. in the August primary, they
don't need to vote for him again now.
http://www.chattanoogan.com/articles/article_96098.asp

Voting in a neck-and-neck nation

WASHINGTON - The 2006 campaign, one of the nastiest battles and
the most expensive ever for control of Congress, came to an end
amid indications that months of debate over Iraq, political
corruption and the Republican dominance of Washington could
produce the highest voter turnout in decades for a midterm
election. By Ronald Brownstein.
http://email.latimes.com/cgi-bin1/DM/y/eBC...Io30G2B0H2Rv0Eg

Recast, Schwarzenegger primes for a second act

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's one-year quest for political
redemption faces a final judgment today as California voters cast
ballots in the race for governor and decide whether to launch the
state's most ambitious rebuilding plan in decades. By Michael
Finnegan and Scott Martelle.
http://email.latimes.com/cgi-bin1/DM/y/eBC...Io30G2B0H2Rw0Eh

When you can't afford to go buy the book

The era of heading to the college bookstore and compliantly buying
everything that a professor deems required reading - to the extent
that those days ever really existed - is receding into the pages
of history. The escalating costs of higher education and the ease
of online shopping have spurred students to seek money-saving
alternatives. By Stuart Silverstein.
http://email.latimes.com/cgi-bin1/DM/y/eBC...Io30G2B0H2Ry0Ej

Candidate a no-show at Bush rally

PENSACOLA, Fla. - GOP nominee for governor denies he snubbed the
president. Karl Rove is not pleased. By James Gerstenzang.
http://email.latimes.com/cgi-bin1/DM/y/eBC...Io30G2B0H2R40Ea

Decision time on Cuban's detention

MIAMI - The U.S. government has until Feb. 1 to prosecute Luis
Posada Carriles, wanted abroad in a jet bombing case. By Carol J.
Williams.
http://email.latimes.com/cgi-bin1/DM/y/eBC...Io30G2B0H2R50Eb

White House bids are now accepted

After months of quiet jockeying, the 2008 presidential race begins
in earnest as campaigning ends in a fierce midterm election that
has helped reshape the next contest on both sides. By Mark Z.
Barabak.
http://email.latimes.com/cgi-bin1/DM/y/eBC...Io30G2B0H2R60Ec

This customs job requires extra fortitude

Agents fighting a cyber war on internationally trafficked child
porn must wade through the images in building cases against makers
or users. By H.G. Reza.
http://email.latimes.com/cgi-bin1/DM/y/eBC...Io30G2B0H2R80Ee

Touch-screen test

Electronic voting machines will get a nationwide workout today.
But will they work as advertised? As every computer user knows,
reliability is often more important than speed. And a lot depends
on who's using the machine and how.
http://email.latimes

It's all been for this moment! John Kerry
Dear Friends,

We've been working hard to get to this moment. And, here we are -- we can see the finish line. But, if we want to produce the Democratic victories our nation so urgently needs, you have one critical task left, and that is to get to the polls and vote. It has been decades since there have been so many close, down-to-the-wire races for the Senate, for the House, and for critical state and local offices. Many of those races are close today because of what you and other members of the johnkerry.com community have done up to this point.
And now, many of those races will be finally decided by what you do in the time between now and the closing of the polls. Please call and email your friends, family and colleagues and ask them to vote on Tuesday. Don't let a single person you know let Tuesday pass without voting. And there's still time to contact Democratic campaigns in your area to volunteer your time and be part of grassroots efforts to get out the vote. This is our chance to take the power to lead America out of the Bush Republicans' hands. Winning means raising the minimum wage. Winning means moving towards health care for all, starting with every child in America. Winning means forcing an end to the disastrous war in Iraq, and getting our heroes home.
Winning means firing the incompetents, stopping the corruption, and making America stop being the world's leading denier of global climate change. Let's get out and do it. You've been amazing all along. You've stood up. Stand up again. Your country is counting on you.
It's on to victory from here.

John Kerry

US votes in crucial mid-term poll BBC News
Voting has begun in US mid-term elections that could determine the course of President George W Bush's last two years in office. Polls suggest Democrats could capture at least one of the Houses of Congress, although the race remains close. The whole lower House and a third of Senate seats are up for re-election. Democrats are hoping to gain from the growing unpopularity of Mr Bush's Iraq policies while Republicans stress their party's tough stance on security. On Monday Mr Bush made a last-minute tour of three southern states, warning that Democrats would raise taxes and be soft on terrorism. Speaking in Arkansas, Mr Bush said his party would come from behind in the election."Our principles are the principles of the majority of the people in this country," he told supporters. Democrats say Republicans have blindly followed Mr Bush's "failed policy" on Iraq, and voters are turning their backs on them. "People are starting to look around," Illinois Senator Barack Obama said. "All across the country people are saying 'I think it's time for a change'."

'Referendum' on Bush
Both parties have sent thousands of volunteers to battleground states to rally supporters to the polls, but turnout is not expected to be above 40%. The Democrats need to pick up six seats to gain control of the Senate, and 15 seats in the House of Representatives to have a majority there. Voters are also choosing governors in 36 states. The polls are widely seen as a referendum on Mr Bush's presidency. The BBC's James Coomarasamy in Washington says that if either house changes hands it will be new territory for the president, who has governed with a Republican majority for six years. He would still drive foreign policy but with Congress holding the purse strings, the Democrats would be in a position to demand more oversight, our correspondent adds.

New machines
Analysts say some Republican candidates have kept their distance from Mr Bush, because of the president's low opinion poll ratings and the unpopularity of the Iraq war. On Monday, Mr Bush was snubbed by the Republican candidate for Florida governor, Charlie Crist.Mr Crist missed the president's rally in Pensacola and held his own in Palm Beach, hundreds of miles away. Many Americans will be using electronic voting machines, brought in to replace older systems, such as punch-card machines at the centre of the Florida dispute during the 2000 presidential election. However, many have questioned the effectiveness of the new devices. Federal Election Commission Michael Toner said the US still had a long way to go with regard to the use of voting technology. "We still do not in my view have the resources devoted to have the right type of equipment and there is real concern about the integrity of these electronic voting machines," he told the BBC. Hundreds of thousands of voters cast their ballots before election day, taking advantage of an early voting system. Thirty-five states and the District of Columbia allow in-person voting before election day in certain cases - either at a voting machine or by absentee ballot.