OpEdNews - Diary: DEFENSE NOMINEE'S BUSINESS TIES RAISE CONCERNS

Robert M. Gates's affiliations have some watchdogs worried about a revolving door between the private sector and government.

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DIANE'S NEWS CLIPS begins here :)~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~> IF LINK DOESN'T WORK, THEN PASTE ARTICLE LINK(S) INTO YOUR BROWSER -- OR GO DIRECTLY TO >> http://www.truthout.org FOCUS | Defense Nominee's Business Ties Raise Concerns http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/120306Y.shtml As Robert Gates awaits Senate confirmation as President Bush's secretary of defense, ethics watchdogs worry about the revolving door between government and private business that allowed Gates to align himself with defense contractors, investment houses and a global drilling company involved with Vice President Dick Cheney's former employer, Halliburton Co. ----- FOCUS | Bush Administration Faulted for FEMA Aid Shortfalls http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/120306X.shtml In denouncing the way the Bush administration has denied aid to tens of thousands of victims of hurricanes Katrina and Rita, a federal judge in Washington last week pulled back the curtain on a deeper mystery 15 months after the nation's costliest natural disaster: What has happened to 2.6 million households that applied for disaster assistance but have been largely shed from the rolls? ----- Blowing the Whistle on Big Oil http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/120306B.shtml During a 22-year career, Bobby L. Maxwell routinely won accolades and awards as one of the Interior Department's best auditors in the nation's oil patch, snaring promotions that eventually had him supervising a staff of 120 people. He and his team scrutinized the books of major oil producers that collectively pumped billions of dollars worth of oil and gas every year from land and coastal waters owned by the public ... Gale A. Norton, then the secretary of the interior, in a 2003 citation, praised Mr. Maxwell's "perseverance and leadership" while cataloguing his "many outstanding achievements." Less than two years later, the Interior Department eliminated his job in what it called a "reorganization." That came exactly one week after a federal judge in Denver unsealed a lawsuit in which Mr. Maxwell contended that a major oil company had spent years cheating on royalty payments. ----- Eleanor Clift | Senator-Elect Webb Not to Be Toyed With http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/120306F.shtml Eleanor Clift writes: "Every so often a politician comes along who doesn't pander to the president. Fresh off a nasty campaign that centered on the war in Iraq, Virginia senator-elect Jim Webb had no interest in a picture of himself with President Bush, and he didn't want to exchange small talk with the man whose war policies he opposes. So he skipped the receiving line at a White House reception for newly elected members of Congress, creating the first of what we should all hope will be many ripples in Washington." ----- Helen Thomas | Iraq Study Group Won't Rock the Boat http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/120306G.shtml "With Iraq falling apart, it's getting lonely at the top for President Bush. His hawkish neo-con advisers are deserting him. He had to fire Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld. The Democrats have won control of Congress. US allies are angry at his Iraq policies. And even Henry Kissinger - one of Bush's foreign policy advisers and a key architect of the Vietnam debacle - has decided Iraq is a can't-win situation," says Helen Thomas. ----- FOCUS | Israel's Defense Forces Warn of Pending Mideast War http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/120306Z.shtml [snip] ... As Amir Oren reported in Haaretz several weeks ago, the IDF's operative assumption is that during the coming summer months, a war will break out against Hezbollah and perhaps against Syria as well. ----- Review Finds Army Mishandled Friendly-Fire Case http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/120306D.shtml Army officials destroyed critical evidence that could have determined who shot and killed Pfc. Jesse R. Buryj at an Iraq checkpoint in May 2004, one of several problems with the friendly-fire inquiry that may permanently shroud Buryj's death in mystery. ----- GOP Pays $135K in New Hampshire Call Jamming Suit http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/120306E.shtml ----- Frank Rich | Has He Started Talking to the Walls? http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/120306A.shtml ----- Adviser: Clinton Actively Weighs '08 Bid http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/120306C.shtml NOTE from Diane >> Have you noticed? Every mention attached to Hillary Clinton's potential run in 2008 does not fail to mention her 'marriage' to Bill Clinton, but you never hear mentioned, (I haven't heard mentioned,) the 8-years experience under her belt she would be bringing to that office. Huh? _________________________________ The U.S. dollar continued its decent on Nov. 30, falling to its lowest level against the British pound in 14 years, and also lost value against the euro and Japanese yen. Full Story >> http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20061130/ap_on_bi_ge/dollar _________________________________ Submitted by: http://jablankfort@earthlink.net: Haaretz: The third Lebanon war? NORTH AND SOUTH By Amos Harel and Avi Issacharoff 1.The third Lebanon war THERE WILL BE A WAR NEXT SUMMER. Only the sector has not been chosen yet. The atmosphere in the Israel Defense Forces in the past month has been very pessimistic. The latest rounds in the campaigns on both fronts, Lebanon and the Gaza Strip, have left too many issues undecided, too many potential detonators that could cause a new conflagration. The army's conclusion from this is that a war in the new future is a reasonable possibility. As Amir Oren reported in Haaretz several weeks ago, the IDF's operative assumption is that during the coming summer months, a war will break out against Hezbollah and perhaps against Syria as well. At the same time, the IDF does not anticipate a long life for the cease-fire achieved last Saturday night with the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip. When the present tahdiya (lull) joins its predecessors that fell apart - the hudna (cease-fire) of summer 2003 (which lasted for a month and a half) and the tahdiya of winter 2005 (which was in its death throes for months until its final burial at the end of the disengagement) - there is a danger that the big bang will take place in Gaza. At its conclusion, like a self- fulfilling prophecy, IDF soldiers will return to the heart of Rafah for the first time in 13 years. Of the two worrisome scenarios, the IDF speaks more in public about a conflagration in Gaza, but is also genuinely worried about a war in the North, mainly in light of the army's dubious achievements in the previous round there. Deputy Chief of Staff Moshe Kaplinsky has recently spoken about a war in the North in the summer, in several closed military forums. The army is already undergoing ...[snip] ....................snip..................... Olmert has been told that there is little chance that Syria would agree to an arrangement in which Israel would transfer this area to Lebanon. According to this assessment, Syrian President Bashar Assad is not enthusiastic about the possibility. When proposals for a remapping of the Syrian-Lebanese border were made to Assad, he replied that he would agree to that only if it began in the area of Tripoli in the north. In other words: as far as possible from the Shaba farms. ....................snip..................... As things look at the moment, Hamas is emerging strengthened from the cease-fire, and its position will continue to improve after the Shalit deal. The surprising support from Egypt will further solidify the position of Haniyeh and Meshal in the unity government contacts. 3. Ofra is expanding A Peace Now report about the settlements, which merited only limited coverage in the Israeli media, made considerable waves abroad. The New York Times thought that the revelations by Dror Etkes - the head of the organization's Settlements Watch program, who said that 40 percent of the settlement areas in the West Bank are located on private Palestinian land - was a front-page story. The detailed data gathered by Peace Now, which are backed by aerial photos and information about the legal status of each plot of land, indicate that no fewer than 130 settlements were built on private Palestinian property. ....................snip..................... The settlement of Ofra, north of Ramallah, is a good example. Seen as the flagship of Gush Emunim (the original settlers' movement), this community sits on Palestinian land, according to the report. Not all of it, it's true. Only 93 percent. In light of this, the debate about last February's demolition of nine houses in its satellite outpost, Amona, seems somewhat marginal. Etkes' team obtained aerial photos that document the development of Ofra in four stages, from its establishment in 1969 until today. Almost all the construction has been carried out on land belonging to Palestinians from the neighboring villages. Peace Now relies on a databank similar to the one coordinated by deputy defense minister Brigadier General (res.) Baruch Spiegel, whose main principles were published in Haaretz about two months ago. The U.S. administration, which keeps close track of any information about the settlements, has since asked for clarifications from the defense establishment. But Big Brother's surveillance does not really affect what happens on the ground. On the contrary: The present days of the shaky Olmert government are good for the settlers. The tractors are once again working energetically on the hills of Samaria, while Defense Minister Amir Peretz continues to issue weekly notices about his intention of dealing soon and with utmost seriousness with the construction in the outposts. Full article: http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/794993.html ----- Interview with Larry Birns on Ecuador, Mexico, and Cuba On Wednesday, Nov. 29, I conducted my second interview with Larry Birns, Director of the Council on Hemispheric Affairs, on the situation in Latin America, which included the election of Rafael Correa in Ecuador and his relations with Venezuela's Hugo Chavez, the ongoing standoffs regarding the presidential elections in Mexico and Oaxaca, Cuba's moves towards energy independence and implication of Fidel Castro's illness.. You can hear that interview by clicking on http://www.radio4all.net/proginfo.php?id=20759 and then scrolling to the bottom of the page and clicking on Pls in the lower right hand corner. _________________________________ President Bush wants to build new nuclear weapons! The Bush administration wants to start building new nuclear weapons! The Energy Department program is called "Complex 2030," but in reality the name should be "Nuclear Bombplex 2030." Click here to contact the Department of Energy >> click here and demand that they abandon their "Bombplex 2030" plan, which is a threat to the security of the U.S. and the planet. This program started with the proposal to build the so-called "Reliable Replacement Warheads" in spite of the fact that the nuclear warheads in our arsenal are perfectly reliable and do not need replacing. It has now grown into a $155 BILLION program that would build new nuclear bomb factories capable of producing up to 125 new plutonium pits the core of a thermonuclear weapon each and every year. This is, to put it bluntly, insanity. This plan was made public just a few weeks ago, and only when the Department of Energy (DOE) released a Notice of Intent to prepare a programmatic environmental impact statement for "Complex 2030." They are holding hearing across the country right now we're notifying members who live near those hearings so you can attend but it is also possible to send a comment via email to the DOE, and they are obligated by law to take public comments. Please click here to let the DOE know what you think of their plans to build new nuclear weapons. > > click here ....................snip..................... Kevin M. Martin, Executive Director, Peace Action _________________________________ Excerpted from: http://onlinejournal.com How multinational corporations avoid paying their taxes By Peter Rost, M.D. | Online Journal Guest Writer The biggest tax scam on earth has a very innocent sounding name. It is called "transfer prices." That almost sounds boring. It is, however, anything but boring. Abuse of transfer prices is a key tool multinational corporations use to fool the U.S. and other jurisdictions to think that they have virtually no profit; hence, they shouldn't pay any taxes. http://onlinejournal.com/artman/publish/article_1475.shtml ----- "America's moment in the Middle East is about to end" By Mike Whitney | Online Journal Contributing Writer There are no "accidents" in Middle East politics. Last week's assassination of Lebanese Industry Minister, Pierre Gemayel can only be understood in the context of the ongoing struggle between the competing political forces in the region. http://onlinejournal.com/artman/publish/article_1469.shtml ----- Why a national service program is a bad idea By Lorraine Jarvi | Online Journal Contributing Writer Rep. Charlie Rangel (D-NY 15) is again in the news for proposing legislation to require "Universal National Service" for the "furtherance of the national defense and homeland security, and for other purposes". He's been beating this drum for the past four years (HR 2723, 2724, and 4752). http://onlinejournal.com/artman/publish/article_1473.shtml _________________________________ FREQUENT FIREBALLS ... Space Weather News http://spaceweather.com FREQUENT FIREBALLS: Have you ever stepped outside after dinner to walk the dog--just in time to see a bright fireball streak across the sky? It makes you wonder, how often does that happen? More often than you think. A NASA meteor expert has used a computer model of Earth's meteoroid environment to calculate how often Earth runs into bits and pieces of comets and asteroids big enough to produce fireballs. (A fireball is defined to be a meteor brighter than the planet Venus.) Globally, Earth experiences more than a hundred fireballs every day, according to the calculations. Visit http://spaceweather.com for complete results. TRANSIT OF MERCURY PHOTO CONTEST: Photos. Paintings. 3D Anaglyphs: Hundreds of entries to the Transit of Mercury Photo Contest have been judged. And the winners are ... click here: http://spaceweather.com/mercury/ _________________________________ Living Harvest >> click here Ore., launches the first shelf-stable Hempmilk product, Living Harvest Hempmilk, for those seeking a delicious and healthier alternative to soy or dairy. Full Release >> http://www.specialtyfood.com/fileManager/23528Hempmilk.pdf _________________________________ http://www.antiwar.com | http://www.mediatransparency.org | http://eriposte.com _________________________________ THIS WEEK'S FOCUS: Christmas lights on your computer Make your computer part of your Christmas decorations. This week's program will string Christmas lights around your computer screen. And these lights won't tangle or burn out! >> http://www.komando.com/downloads/ Be sure to listen to me Monday through Friday. Use my map to find me near you http://www.komando.com/listen/index.aspx _________________________________ eHEALTHY NEWS Only Partial Progress on School Soda Elimination - The new plan from the beverage industry still exposes your kids to health-harming artificially sweetened drinks while they are at school. http://www.mercola.com/2006/may/16/only_partial_progress_on_school_soda_elimination.htm ----- Is Your Phone Company Violating Your Privacy? - Was your phone company one of the ones involved in turning your personal records over to the government, without warrant or notification? http://www.mercola.com/2006/may/16/is_your_phone_company_violating_your_privacy.htm _________________________________ VIDEO: A Taste of Nate | United States | 4:37 | Jim McGorman A glimpse into the world of Nate Wiley and The Crowd Pleasers, veterans of modern jazz and house band at Bob and Barbara's Lounge in Philadelphia. Go backstage (and seemingly back in time) and meet the band in this savory and stylish short that will leave you hankering for more of this truly old school band. http://www.atomfilms.com/af/content/taste_nate _________________________________ NationalGeographic.com http://lava.nationalgeographic.com/pod/ _________________________________ NASA Astronomy picture of the day http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/astropix.html _________________________________ Submitted by: http://madams12@earthlink.net Dear Friend, I have the honor of being on the committee to raise $5,000,000 for a monument to "George W. Bush" and would like to request your help. We originally planned to carve his likeness on Mt. Rushmore. Unfortunately, there was not enough room for two more faces. We then decided to erect a statue in the Washington, D.C. Hall of Fame. But we were in a quandary as to where the statue should be placed. It was not proper to place it beside the statue of George Washington, who never told a lie, or beside Richard Nixon, who never told the "truth," since GW Bush could never tell the difference. We've finally decided to place it beside Christopher Columbus, the greatest Republican of them all. You may well ask why Mr. Columbus was the greatest Republican of them all? Well, he left not knowing where he was going, and when he got there he did not know where he was. He returned not knowing where he had been, and did it all on someone else's money. Thank you for anything you can contribute. "George W. Bush, Monument Committee" | P.S. The Committee has raised *$1.16* so far :)