California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger intends to sue the federal government for its decision to block California from reducing its greenhouse gas emissions faster than under the presidentâs emissions-reduction plan. The governor, who no longer drives Hummers, stated that “it’s another example of the administration’s failure to treat global warming with the seriousness that it actually demands.â Meanwhile, Henry Waxman (D-CA) has called on the Environmental Protection Agency to âpreserve and produce all documents relating toâ the decision to block Californiaâs efforts to go green. (Reuters)
Blackwater now faces a new suit from the estate of an Iraqi man gunned down by Blackwater guard who opened fire on âinnocent bystanders in and around Al Watahba Square in Baghdad on Sept. 9.â The suit on behalf of the victim, who was the father of a newborn daughter, âalleges that heavily armed Blackwater mercenaries, known in company parlance as âshooters,â fired without justification and killed five civilians, including Mr. Albazzaz, who was standing outside his rug store.â (Center For Constitutional Rights)
Rudy Giuliani took the written, photographic and electronic record of his eight years in office â more than 2,000 boxes — with him when he stepped down as Mayor under an unprecedented agreement that didn’t become public until after he left office. The AP reviewed Rudy’s years as mayor and discovered a pattern of secrecy, where City Hall withheld requested information from public groups and journalists and the mayor’s own whereabouts were deliberately hidden, especially during his extramarital affair. (AP)
Two hundred and fifty-six people once held in Iraqi prisons — and who were released without ever being charged with a crime — have filed suit against a US military contractor for their alleged torture between 2003-2004. The former prisoners are asking for millions of dollars in compensatory and punitive damages against CACI International Inc. of Arlington, Virginia. (AFP)
A military judge declared Osama bin Laden’s former driver an “unlawful enemy combatant,” which will allow the driver to be tried on war crimes charges in May before a military commission at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. The driver has denied being a member of al Quaida or taking part in any attacks, and was hoping to get prisoner of war status under the Geneva Conventions. (BBC)
Republicans in both houses of Congress take top honors in pork for 2007. According to preliminary reviews by Taxpayers for Common Sense, Senators Ted Stevens (R-AK) ($502 million in earmarks) and Thad Cochran (R-MS) ($773 million in earmarks) are the Senateâs two biggest sponsors of âpet projects.â In the House, Reps. Bill Young (R-FL) and Jerry Lewis (R-CA) produced the most earmarks. (AP)
Clinton insiders have expressed concern that the Bush administration âpossesses detailed knowledge of her movements – and her husband’s – over the past seven years.â Bill and Hillaryâs âlong-term surveillance by an Executive Branch agency controlled by the opposing political partyâ is under the control of Michael Chertoff, a âlongtime Clinton nemesis dating back to his work as a Republican lawyer on the Senate’s Whitewater investigation in the 1990s.â (Huffington Post)
A Harvard School of Public Health research team believes that there is no evidence to prove that routine airport security measures make air travel any safer. The study was especially critical of searches of shoes. Asked the researchers: “Can you hide anything in your shoes that you cannot hide in your underwear?” (Reuters)