9/11 Measure Expands Police Powers --Intelligence Bill Includes Disputed Anti-Terror Moves --The intelligence package that Congress approved this week includes a series of little-noticed measures that would broaden the government's power to conduct terrorism investigations, including provisions to loosen standards for FBI surveillance warrants and allow the Justice Department to more easily detain suspects without bail. ['Little-noticed' measures??? No, we *noticed* them --the GOP media whores refused to *cover* them!!]

Anti-[pro]terror bill worries liberties groups --People indicted on terror charges will have a much harder time getting free on bail under a provision in the new intelligence bill. The provision also broadens the government's authority to spy on terror suspects.

Congress expands use of terrorist watch lists --Anyone who works at an airport or aboard a cruise ship will have his identity checked against government watch lists, just like commercial airline passengers.

Permanent jail set for Guantánamo --Even as federal judges weigh whether the U.S. has the authority to detain and try suspects in the war on terror, the Pentagon is quietly planning for permanency at the U.S. detention center at Guantánamo Bay, The Herald has learned.

Holy conflict of interest, Batman!! Security Post Would Put Kerik Atop Field That Enriched Him --Just five years ago, Bernard B. Kerik was facing lawsuits from a condominium association and bank over delinquent payments owed on a modest New Jersey condo he owned. Today, he is a multimillionaire as a result of a lucrative partnership with former Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani and an even more profitable relationship with a stun-gun manufacturer. If he is confirmed to the post of homeland security secretary, to which Dictator Bush nominated him last week, he will oversee an enormous department that does business with some of the companies that helped make him wealthy.

Oops! Better give Nazis Kerik and Giuilani even *more* money: Al-Qaeda could stage seaborne attack within 12 months: security firm --The al-CIA-duh network could stage a seaborne attack within the next 12 months, in a tactical strategy to drive maritime shipping costs and travel times to record highs, a British private defense firm said.

Oops! Better give Nazis Kerik and Giuilani even *more* money: 'Terrorists' Explore Lasers as Weapons, U.S. Warns --Federal officials are concerned that 'terrorists' could try to down aircraft by blinding pilots with laser beams during landing approaches. A memo sent to law enforcement agencies recently by the FBI and the Homeland Security Department says there is evidence that 'terrorists' have explored using lasers as weapons. [Terrorists - such as the Pentagon W-ar planners?]

Rectenwald (CLG News) at Scarborough on e-voting Fraud, Bush/Bin Laden and PNAC --page by Nico Haupt of globalfreepress.com "... Did you know that George Bush Sr. was sitting in a room with bin Laden‘s brother on the day that 9/11 happened?...And it was the Project For a New American Century that said we needed a new Pearl Harbor in order to mobilize their international agenda of a war in the Middle East... Once Diebold controls the election—and it‘s a Republican-owned corporation that promised the election for Bush from the outset, are we supposed to believe these results?.."

U.S. Money Helped Opposition in Ukraine --The Bush dictatorship has spent more than $65 million in the past two years to aid political organizations in Ukraine, paying to bring opposition leader Viktor Yushchenko to meet U.S. leaders and helping to underwrite exit polls indicating he won last month's disputed runoff election.

Doubts Persist About Election Results --As the Electoral College prepares to certify Dictator Bush's re-selection on Monday, concerns persist about the integrity of the nation's voting system — particularly in Ohio, where details continue to emerge of technology failures, voter confusion and overcrowded polling stations in minority and poor neighborhoods.

Democrat sues secretary of state over Nevada presidential election --A citizen activist has sued Secretary of State Dean Heller, alleging he's withholding election records that could cast doubt on Dictator Bush's 21,000 vote victory over John Kerry in Nevada.

Observers Watch Wash. Recount Closely --Dozens of election observers kept close watch Friday on teams of vote counters in King County as Washington state's largest county began its tedious hand recount of the governor's race.

Bill Moyers Retiring From TV Journalism --come next week, Bill Moyers will sign off from "Now," the weekly PBS newsmagazine he began in 2002, as, at age 70, he retires from television. "I'm going out telling the story that I think is the biggest story of our time: how the right-wing media has become a partisan propaganda arm of the Republican National Committee," says Moyers. "We have an ideological press that's interested in the election of Republicans, and a mainstream press that's interested in the bottom line. Therefore, we don't have a vigilant, independent press whose interest is the American people."

Mega barf alert! Rehnquist to Administer Oath --Chief inJustice William H. Rehnquist, who has been absent from Supreme Court oral arguments in the past two months because of thyroid cancer, has accepted an invitation from Dictator Bush to administer the oath of office on Jan. 20, a White House official said yesterday. [Speaking of which: CLG presents . . . UN-AUGURATION Washington, D.C. Jan. 20th, 2005 - JOIN HORDES IN D.C. FOR AN EXTRA SPECIAL UN-AUGURATION PARADE http://www.legitgov.org/012005/Unauguration05.html

Rumsfeld under fire for 'hillbilly armour' used to defend army --The row over America's failure to send enough military vehicles to Iraq took a new twist yesterday when the company that manufactures them said it could deliver 1,200 more a year, but has had no request from the Pentagon.

Valley firm disputes Rumsfeld, is ready to supply Army armor --A Valley firm that provides critical armor for military vehicles in Iraq is operating at only half-capacity despite complaints from soldiers who say they are being sent into combat without adequate protection.

He lost an arm in Iraq; the Army wants money --He lost his arm serving his country in Iraq. Now this wounded soldier is being discharged from his company in Fort Hood, Texas, without enough gas money to get home. In fact, the Army says 27-year-old Spc. Robert Loria owes it close to $2,000, and confiscated his last paycheck.

U.S. Soldier Guilty of Murder, Killed Wounded Iraqi --An American soldier pleaded guilty at a court martial in Baghdad on Friday to the murder of a badly wounded Iraqi, the U.S. military said in a statement.

GI Admits to Killing Hurt Iraqi Teenager --A U.S. soldier pleaded guilty Friday to killing a severely wounded Iraqi teenager in what investigators say may have been a mercy [Yeah, right!] killing, the latest of several similar incidents that have undercut efforts by the United States to win support among Iraqis and defeat a rampant insurgency.

Two U.S. Troops Die in Iraq Copter Crash --A helicopter accident killed two U.S. soldiers from Task Force Olympia and injured four, the military said Friday.

Deserters: We Won't Go To Iraq --The Pentagon says more than 5,500 servicemen have deserted since the war started in Iraq. 60 Minutes Wednesday found several of these deserters who left the Army or Marine Corps rather than go to Iraq.

Homeless Iraq vets showing up at shelters --U.S. veterans from the war in Iraq are beginning to show up at homeless shelters around the country, and advocates fear they are the leading edge of a new generation of homeless vets not seen since the Vietnam era.

Company to Aid in DeLay Corruption Probe --A company accused in the campaign-finance investigation that has implicated associates of U.S. House Majority Leader Tom DeLay agreed to aid prosecutors in exchange for having charges against it dropped, court papers showed.

More Signs Inflation's Picking Up --Wholesale prices climbed by 0.5 percent in November — an improvement compared with the previous month's surge, but still fresh evidence that inflation is picking up as the economy gains momentum.

Record number need heating help --Demand for heating assistance from low-income households is expected to jump to the highest level in two decades this winter, putting a significant strain on government and charitable groups, according to state energy directors.

Cargo Ship Leaking Fuel Oil Off of Alaska --Fuel oil was pouring out of a Malaysian-flagged cargo vessel that grounded off an Aleutian island and split into two nearly equal pieces, threatening a sensitive area of marine habitat, officials said on Thursday.

Soldier's Family Says He's Being Punished For Complaining About Equipment Shortfalls --by Eric Flak "They're risking their lives for our country, and Wednesday angry U.S. soldiers in Iraq told Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld a lack of equipment is making their job even more dangerous. Meanwhile, the family of a local soldier who first made safety complaints in October says he's being punished for speaking out. WAVE 3 Investigator Eric Flack reports."

Reporters Fight in Court Not to Reveal Sources --A lawyer for two journalists subpoenaed to testify before a grand jury asked a federal court on Wednesday to rule that they do not have to disclose their confidential sources in an investigation into the leak of a covert CIA officer's name in the build-up to the Iraq war.