The Daily MuckA United Nations investigation has found that U.S. airstrikes in Afghanistan killed 90 civilians. The U.N. report contradicts the official U.S. account of the attacks, which found that twenty five militants were killed and only five civilians. Afghan officials and human rights groups had previously disputed the U.S. tally. (AP)
A holistic health counselor pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit prostitution on Monday. Tanya Hollander, is the fourth person to be convicted in the prostitution ring that brought down former New York Gov. Elliot Spitzer. Hollander claims that she was tricked into believing that she was engaged in a legitimate business. (New York Times)
Poland is investigating claims that the country may have hosted a CIA secret prison used to detain terrorism suspects and move them to other locations. A European Parliament committee found that 14 E.U. countries have hosted these CIA “black sites,” and according to a CIA source quoted in the New York Times, one of the most important secret prisons was in Poland. (EU Observer)
Another leader of the Service Employees International Union has stepped aside amidst an ongoing investigation into alleged misuse of union funds. SEIU Michigan head Rickman Jackson’s temporary leave of absence comes less than a week after a Los Angeles Times report that the SEIU has spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on firms owned by friends and family members of local union President Tyrone Freeman. (Los Angeles Times)
The SEC is launching an investigation into the business practices of the Wachovia Corporation. Wachovia is accused of anti-competitive bidding practices in municipal derivatives and investment products. (Financial Planning)
The American Civil Liberties Union of Maryland claims that state police have failed to release all documents related to a 14 month infiltration of peace and anti-death penalty activists. The state police had been ordered to disclose all information related to these surveillance operations as part of a previous ACLU lawsuit under the state Public Information Act. (AP)
ed. note: In this post we originally stated that SEIU head Jackson “purchased his home with the help of a corporation created by Freeman.” This was inaccurate and the sentence has been removed. We apologize for the error.
