Top Bush aides pushed for Guantánamo torture --Senior
officials bypassed army chief to introduce interrogation methods 19 Apr 2008
America's most senior general was "hoodwinked" by top Bush administration
officials determined to push through aggressive interrogation techniques of
terror suspects held at Guantánamo Bay, leading to the US military abandoning
its age-old ban on the cruel and inhumane treatment of prisoners, the Guardian
reveals today. General Richard Myers, chairman of the US joint chiefs of staff
from 2001 to 2005, wrongly believed that inmates at Guantánamo and other prisons
were protected by the Geneva conventions and from abuse tantamount to torture.
The way he was duped by senior officials in Washington, who believed the Geneva
conventions and other traditional safeguards were out of date, is disclosed in a
devastating account of their role, extracts of which appear in today's Guardian.

Stress hooding noise nudity dogs --It was the young
officials at Guantánamo who dreamed up a list of new aggressive interrogation
techniques, inspired by Jack Bauer from the TV series,
24. But it was the politicians and lawyers in Washington who set the
ball rolling. Philippe Sands follows the torture trail right to the top 19 Apr
2008 On Tuesday, December 2 2002, Donald Rumsfeld signed a piece of paper that
changed the course of history. That same day, President [sic] Bush signed a bill
to put the Pentagon in funds for the next year... Elsewhere in the Pentagon, an
event took place for which there was no comment, no fanfare. With a signature
and a few scrawled words, Rumsfeld reneged on the tradition of valour to which
Bush had referred. Principles for the conduct of interrogation, dating back
more than a century to President Lincoln's famous instruction of 1863 that
"military necessity does not admit of cruelty", were discarded. He approved
new and aggressive interrogation techniques that would produce devastating
consequences.

Guantanamo eight to sue MI5 and MI6 over 'illegal abduction and
interrogation' --Allegation: Eight were put on CIA "torture flights"
to prison camp in U.S.-occupied Cuba 19 Apr 2008 Eight men freed from
Guantanamo Bay are suing the British Secret Services for millions, the Daily
Mail can reveal today. They have issued writs against MI5 and MI6 in a claim for
damages that would fall on the taxpayer. One of the men said they will argue
that Britain was complicit in their illegal abduction, treatment and
interrogation.

Guantanamo eight to sue British intelligence: report 19 Apr 2008 Eight men freed
from Guantanamo Bay are looking to sue the British intelligence services for
damages, the Daily Mail said Saturday citing lawyers and one of the former
prisoners. The daily newspaper said two separate writs had been issued on behalf
of the eight -- five British nationals and three with residency rights --
claiming the complicity of the domestic and overseas security services with the
Americans.

Pentagon
institute calls Iraq war 'a major debacle' with outcome 'in doubt' 17
Apr 2008 The war in Iraq has become "a major debacle" and the outcome "is in
doubt" despite improvements in security from the buildup in U.S. forces,
according to a highly critical study published Thursday by the Pentagon's
premier military educational institute. The report released by the National
Defense University raises fresh doubts about President [sic] Bush's
projections of lies about a U.S. victory in Iraq just a week after Bush
announced that he was suspending U.S. troop reductions.

America's allies in Iraq under pressure as civil war breaks out
among Sunni --The US and the Iraqi government are now facing a war on
two fronts. 19 Apr 2008 A vicious civil war is now being fought within
Iraq's Sunni Arab community between 'al-Qa'ida' in Iraq and al-Sahwa while other
groups continue to attack American forces. In Baghdad on a single day the head
of al-Sahwa in the southern district of Dora was killed in his car by gunmen and
seven others died by bombs and bullets in al-Adhamiya district.

GIs in
Sadr City caught between warring Iraqi sides 18 Apr 2008 Three weeks
after U.S. troops were ordered into Sadr City to stop rockets from raining down
on the U.S. Embassy compound in Baghdad's Green Zone, they're caught in
crossfire between Shiite militiamen and the mostly Shiite Iraqi army.

Iranian ambassador denounces US operation in Baghdad 19
Apr 2008 Iran's ambassador to Iraq on Saturday denounced U.S. military
operations in Baghdad's Sadr City, saying they had led to the deaths of innocent
people and threatened to aggravate an already tense situation. The comments by
Ambassador Hassan Kazemi Qomi came after police and hospital officials reported
that 12 people had died in overnight clashes in Sadr City.

12
Killed in Baghdad's Sadr City, Government Troops Sweep Through Basra 19
Apr 2008 Twelve people died in overnight clashes in Baghdad's Sadr City
district, which has become a chief battleground between U.S. and Iraqi forces
and the Mahdi Army of anti-American cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, police and hospital
officials said Saturday.

Heavy fighting in Iraq's Basra 19 Apr 2008 Heavy fighting
broke out in the Iraqi city of Basra on Saturday, where police said government
forces entered a neighborhood known as a stronghold of fighters loyal to the
anti-U.S. cleric, Moqtada al-Sadr. A Reuters reporter in the city said he had
heard the sound of heavy gunfire and explosions at dawn.

U.S.
builds Baghdad's wall of segregation 19 Apr 2008 U.S. forces have begun
the construction of a concrete wall that will partition Sadr City and isolate it
from other parts of Baghdad. The construction, which began Tuesday night, is
intended to turn the southern quarter of Sadr City near the international Green
Zone into a "protected" enclave.

US and Britain make united stand on Iran 19 Apr 2008 US
President [sic] George Bush and British Prime Minister Gordon Brown have offered
stern warnings about Iran's nuclear program, with Mr Brown holding out the
prospect of extended European sanctions to block outside investment. A US
National Intelligence Estimate last year concluded that Iran had abandoned a
clandestine nuclear weapons program in 2003. Nonetheless, Mr Bush said on
Thursday that if Iran learned how to enrich uranium, the knowledge "can be used
to develop a nuclear weapon".

Taliban hold kidnapped Pakistan envoy to Afghanistan 19
Apr 2008 Pakistan's envoy to Afghanistan Tariq Azizuddin, who went missing in
February, appeared on Saturday in a video aired by Al-Arabiya news channel in
which he said that he was held by the Taliban.

Report Finds Air Force Officers Steered Contract 18 Apr
2008 Air Force Maj. Gen. Stephen Goldfein, the highest-ranking officer in the
room, leaned forward and told the officers and others assembled before him that
they should steer a multimillion-dollar Air Force contract to a company named
Strategic Message Solutions... It was during that meeting in November 2005,
according to the 251-page report, obtained by The Washington Post, that a controversial
$50 million contract was awarded to a company that barely existed in an effort to
reward a recently retired four-star general and a millionaire civilian pilot who
had grown close to senior Air Force officials and the Thunderbirds.

Germany to Allow Video Surveillance of Private Homes 18
Apr 2008 Changes proposed to the law governing Germany's federal criminal police
operations would allow investigators to use wire taps and surveillance cameras
in homes of innocent citizens to keep tabs on terror suspects. Under the
government proposals, federal police would be permitted to install "hidden
technical equipment, that is to say bugs or cameras inside or outside apartments
... if there is a pressing danger for state security," interior ministry
spokesman Stefan Paris said at a news conference on April 18.

Ground Zero Plans Found In Trash --Homeless Man Turns
In Confidential 'Freedom Tower' Blueprints to Newspaper 18 Apr 2008 A
homeless man has come forward with two sets of confidential ground zero
blueprints that he says were dumped in a Lower Manhattan trash can. The man
brought the Freedom Tower plans to the New York Post, which says the 150-page
schematic is marked: "Secure Document - Confidential." The agency that owns the
World Trade Center site, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, calls it
a serious security lapse.

FAA sets up high-level alerts for missed airline
inspections 19 Apr 2008 The Federal Aviation Administration is going to
begin alerting its top headquarters officials when field inspectors miss airline
safety inspections, Transportation Secretary Mary Peters announced Friday.
[You mean, they're actually going to do their jobs?]

Contempt for Congress (And Potential Contempt of
Congress) By Stephen Johnson 17 Apr 2008 EPA has refused to turn
over the documents, still calling them "pre-decisional" in a letter today, and fearing that they might create an
"erroneous impression of the agency's thinking" and potentially be "injurious to
important Executive Branch institutional prerogatives." Rep. Markey plans to consult with fellow Committee members before
announcing his next steps, which may ultimately include going to the U.S.
Attorney.

Union head claims USDA tried to intimidate employees 17
Apr 2008 The head of the union that represents 6,000 federal food inspectors
told a congressional committee Thursday that the Agriculturebusiness
Department tried to intimidate him and other employees who reported violations
of regulations, an allegation denied by the agency. Union chief Stan Painter
said that following a mad cow disease scare in 2003, he told superiors that new
food safety regulations for slaughtered cattle were not being uniformly
enforced. Painter said he was told to drop the matter, and when he didn't,
was grilled by department officials and then placed on disciplinary
investigative status.

Meat Inspectors Can't Keep Up, Official Says 18 Apr 2008
The improper slaughter of so-called downer cows that led to the nation's largest
beef recall wasn't an isolated incident, a union official representing U.S.
Agriculture Department meat inspectors told a House panel. The department's
meat-inspection agency is so understaffed that some inspectors are assigned to
as many as 24 plants or facilities in a geographic region too large to traverse
for the required inspections, said Stanley Painter, chairman of the National
Joint Council of Food Inspection Local Unions.

Meat inspection is adequate, USDA official tells Congress 18 Apr 2008 The Bush regime Thursday resisted calls from Congress to add more
inspectors and new technologies to oversee slaughterhouses. The exchange, during
a hearing before a House subcommittee, reflected continuing fallout from the
nation's largest beef recall, which occurred this year.

President Broke Law on Program for Children 19 Apr 2008
The Bush administration violated federal law last year when it restricted
states’ ability to provide health insurance to children of middle-income
families, and its new policy is therefore unenforceable, lawyers from the
Government Accountability Office said Friday. The ruling strengthens the hand of
at least 22 states that already provide such coverage or want to do so.

Giuliani breaks rules by having Communion at papal mass 19 Apr 2008 Twice-divorced former New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani took
Communion at a Mass celebrated by Pope Benedict on Saturday, breaching rules
that bar those who remarry outside the Church from doing so. As he left New
York's St. Patrick's Cathedral with his third wife, Judith, the failed
presidential candidate confirmed to Reuters that he took Communion from a
priest.

Clinton, Obama press for advantage in pivotal weekend 19
Apr 2008 Hillary Clinton implored Pennsylvanians on Saturday to think about the
nation's trade and debt burdens, the growth of China and the restive Middle East
when they vote in the state's pivotal primary, perhaps her last chance to stall
rival Barack Obama's reach for the Democratic nomination.

Obama Draws Record Crowd in Philadelphia 19 Apr 2008
(Philadelphia, PA) Senator Barack Obama drew what may be his biggest crowd yet
here Friday. His campaign, quoting Frank Friel, director of security at the
Independence Visitor Center, pegged the number at 35,000.

Obama goes after McCain on economy 19 Apr 2008 Barack
Obama didn't let go of his attack on John McCain in Williamsport yesterday
afternoon, continuing to criticize the Republican nominee for a comment that he
made about the economy making progress under George W. Bush. "Our economy is in
shambles," Obama said before listing off statistics about how a community likes
Williamsport had been affected over the last few years, citing losses in
manufacturing jobs at sewing plants and window plants in the area.

Earth Day By Lindsay Levin 19 Apr 2008 Hillary Clinton
has a long history of working to protect our environment, and with Earth Day
just around the corner it’s important to focus on the challenges ahead. Hillary
has outlined a comprehensive plan to address the energy and environmental concerns facing our
country, while at the same time focusing on a green, efficient economy that will
create as many as five million new jobs.

Charity sues R.I. hospital over free bed donated century
ago 19
Apr 2008 When Louisa Lippitt died in 1912, the wealthy widow left $4,000 to
Rhode Island Hospital on the condition the money be used to provide a permanent
"free bed" for needy patients, to be selected by a favored charity. A successor
to the charity she selected rediscovered her bequest when it dusted off its
archives, but the free bed is long gone. Now, Children's Friend and Service is
suing to get the health care back.

Featherless
Bird Could Be World's Ugliest --Animal Suffers From Beak and Feather
Disease 18 Apr 2008 Oscar the cockatoo (a female), who has lived for the
past 12 years with no feathers at an animal shelter in Florida, just may be the
world's ugliest bird. She suffers from beak and feather disease, which causes
feathers to grow deformed and irritating, so she plucks them. "It's more of a
skin irritation," said Mary Steffen of the Broward County Humane Society. "Their
feathers irritate their skin, so they pluck them out." Without her feathers,
Oscar shivers a lot because she has no insulation, so she has her own heat lamp.
[Poor Oscar!]

CLG needs your support.
https://www.legitgov.org/#contribute
Or, please mail a check or money order to the
CLG:
Citizens for
Legitimate Government (CLG)
P.O. Box 1142
Bristol, CT 06011-1142
Contributions
to CLG are not tax deductible.

[Previous lead stories:] Top US general 'hoodwinked' over aggressive interrogation 18 Apr 2008 The US's most senior general was "hoodwinked" by top Bush
administration officials determined to push through aggressive interrogation
techniques torture for terror suspects held at Guantánamo Bay, the Guardian
can reveal. The development led to the US military abandoning its age-old ban on
the cruel and inhumane treatment of prisoners. General Richard Myers, the
chairman of the US joint chiefs of staff from 2001 to 2005, wrongly believed
that inmates at Guantánamo and other prisons were protected by the Geneva
conventions and from abuse tantamount to torture. The way he was duped by senior
officials in Washington - who believed the Geneva conventions and other
traditional safeguards were out of date - is disclosed in a devastating account
of their role, extracts from which will be published in tomorrow's
Guardian.