| 2976 |
[Jan. 4th, 2008|08:20 am] |
Oh my. . .
I moved into the lab house at 42 Main Street, nearly atop Winter Hill, Somerville (see previous entries), in February of 2003 after three months with Gresh at 36 Pearson, of that timeframe I find
from washingtonpost.com:
CIA in 2003 Planned Destruction of Tapes
Congresswoman Argued Against the Move
By Walter Pincus
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, January 4, 2008; A03
A key member of Congress disclosed yesterday that the CIA said in February 2003 that it planned to destroy videotapes of harsh interrogations after the agency's inspector general finished probing the episodes, an account that adds detail to recent CIA statements about the circumstances surrounding the tapes' destruction.
Rep. Jane Harman (D-Calif.) released a declassified copy of a letter she secretly wrote to the CIA in February 2003, in which she quoted then-CIA General Counsel Scott W. Muller as telling her a tape of the agency's interrogation of Zayn al-Abidin Muhammed Hussein, better known as Abu Zubaida, "will be destroyed after the Inspector General finishes his inquiry." The CIA yesterday confirmed Harman's account of Muller's statement.
Harman at that time had recently become the ranking Democrat on the House intelligence committee, and in her letter she urged Muller to "reconsider" that plan and predicted that the tapes' destruction "would reflect badly on the agency." Agency officials nonetheless destroyed the tapes in 2005, and on Wednesday, Attorney General Michael B. Mukasey ordered a formal criminal probe into the destruction.
In recent public accounts about the tapes, CIA officials have said that no definitive decision was made about destroying the tapes until 2005. Beginning in early 2003, senior officials expressed an "intention to dispose" of the videos, according to a Dec. 6 statement by CIA Director Michael V. Hayden. But an internal debate over the tapes' disposition continued for two more years, with senior CIA lawyers advising against their destruction.
According to several senior intelligence officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the matter is under criminal investigation, the videotaping at issue was conducted at secret CIA detention sites overseas with the approval of CIA headquarters. The interrogations got underway after the administration in August 2002 authorized what Muller described in a Feb. 28, 2003, letter to Harman as a "handful of specially approved interrogation techniques."
"As we informed both you and the leadership of the Intelligence Committees last September, a number of Executive branch lawyers including lawyers from the Department of Justice participated in a determination that, in the appropriate circumstances, use of these techniques is fully consistent with US law," Muller wrote.
By that time, videotaping of Abu Zubaida and a second terrorism suspect, Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri, had stopped and CIA Inspector General John L. Helgerson was just beginning his inquiry.
The video of Abu Zubaida's interrogation, according to a former CIA official familiar with the situation, was meant to show "that the interrogators stayed within the guidelines and they didn't do anything to him that could lead to his death."
Helgerson, in a statement released Wednesday, said he and his staff reviewed the tapes as part of their inquiry, which ended in May 2004.
Harman's recommendation to Muller that the tapes not be destroyed was reported earlier. In her letter, she said: "Even if the videotape does not constitute an official record that must be preserved under the law, the videotape would be the best proof that the written record is accurate, if such record is called into question in the future." In a telephone interview, Harman said she never received a direct reply.
In his letter to Harman, Muller did not respond to Harman's direct request for information about whether President Bush had authorized and approved the harsh interrogation techniques, saying in his letter to her that it was "not appropriate for me to comment on issues that are a matter of policy, much less the nature and extent of Executive Branch policy deliberations."
Muller, reached by e-mail, declined to comment yesterday on the letters or on any other aspect of the CIA's handling of the tapes. Other officials have said Muller did not disagree with Harman and counseled colleagues not to destroy the tapes.
Harsh interrogation techniques, including a form of simulated drowning known as waterboarding, were used on Khalid Sheik Mohammed, the prime architect of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, after he was captured in March 2003. But, according to present and former intelligence officials, that technique was no longer needed or used after August 2003.
Helgerson concluded in his May 2004 report that the interrogations might violate international law, and he recommended changes in the treatment and handling of detainees. The tapes were eventually destroyed, CIA officials have said, at the instruction of then-CIA Deputy Director for Operations Jose A. Rodriguez Jr., after Muller had left the CIA.
---
and not for nothing, too: recall that the lads (Nguyen, Nguyen, and Doh) cut the deal with Baldessari to evacuate the house a month ere the lease was to expire. . . tis was a month after Mansour left the top floor, too. . . that was in May of 2004. . . so. . . was I expected to either bolt for Maine or becopme homeless back then? REcall he wind down from work opportunities, preventing income, the MA plate SJC in Canton, and the possibility of feds (CIA - see previous entries), judge-placed, and arm-twisted juvies in the shelters. . . Viscusi did say "undercover," and some folks at HLS did intimate something devious (and some names, too). . .
Hmmmm. . .
I believe my altruism was again tested (the fact that I still care seems, like transparent eyeballs, to bother some - see previous entries), and I responded accordingly, asking to house if necessary (denied).
In all of this, who speaks for whom, what's the motivation, and how deep does the perversion cut?
Read the journal formthe beginning folks - the longer the future meets the present, it appears that things I have written of in this journal appear more and more to be coming to light . . .
And that's not good. . .
CIA, in fact, was mentioned last night at work, as were hidden surveillence from the recently vacated business space across the street, the letter of the law, and jibbers. . .
Hmmm. . .
and this form thecrimson.com:
‘Think Secret,’ Apple Settle On 2005 Leak Case
Published On Thursday, January 03, 2008 10:00 PM
By PRATEEK KUMAR
Crimson Staff Writer
Apple, Inc. settled a lawsuit out of court on Dec. 20 against Nicholas M. Ciarelli ’08 over leaks about its product plans on Ciarelli’s Web site, “Think Secret.”
The lawsuit ended a drawn-out effort by Apple to better control its product launches by targeting sites that published product information prior to official releases, as Think Secret has done on numerous occasions.
“We’re settling because we’ve been able to reach an agreement that results in a positive solution for both sides,” said Ciarelli, who is also a Crimson news executive.
As part of the settlement, no sources were revealed, and Ciarelli agreed to shut down Think Secret.
“We are pleased to have reached this amicable settlement and happy to have this behind us,” an Apple spokesperson said.
Ciarelli said he started the Web site in 1998—at the age of 13—in part out of excitement with creating a Web site for the first time.
“The other factor,” Ciarelli said, “was that I had been and continue to be an enthusiast of Apple products, and creating the site seemed like it would be a fun way to take that to the next level.”
Ciarelli noted that he started the Web site as a hobby, but over time, the site grew into something more serious. Apple filed the lawsuit against Think Secret in January 2005, when Ciarelli was a college freshman.
The company also filed subpoenas in December 2004 against Web sites AppleInsider and O’Grady’s PowerPage.
Think Secret responded with what is called an Anti-SLAPP motion. It asserted that Apple’s case was a SLAPP (Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation) and therefore not meritorious. The anti-SLAPP motion, if successful, would have thrown Apple’s lawsuit out of court.
“[Although] the court never ruled on that motion, I think that if the case had gone to court, Think Secret would have won,” said Kurt Opsahl, a senior staff attorney with the Electronic Frontier Foundation.
Opsahl defended AppleInsider and O’Grady’s PowerPage against the Apple subpoenas.
Some internet rights advocates have expressed disappointment with the settlement, but Ciarelli was upbeat.
“I think if you look at how Think Secret defended the lawsuit when it was filed,” Ciarelli said, “that reflects very positively on the ability of online journalists to assert their First Amendment rights.”
And Opsahl said that the settlement did not mean Ciarelli’s case against Apple was weak.
“Understand that the vast majority of cases settle,” Opsahl said. “It’s extraordinarily rare for a case not to settle. Even if you think that you have a good chance of succeeding and that your case is meritorious, it may still be useful to settle in order to save time and money.”
Ciarelli said he doesn’t have any future career plans set in stone. “It’s something that’s very much on my mind,” he said. “It may be something in journalism, which remains a very strong interest. It may be a new startup.”
And despite the lawsuit, when asked whether he still likes Apple products, Ciarelli responded, “Absolutely. I’m calling from my iPhone right now.”
---------------
See previous entries - the metaphorics are staggering . . .
the latest in from HU HR:
32557 F-T 011 Checker
Dining Services Eliot/Kirkland 01/03/2008
32556 F-T 032 Grill Cook
Dining Services Sebastian's 01/03/2008
32554 P-T 056 Part-time Project Manager
Harvard Medical School Office for Diversity and Community Partnership 01/03/2008
32553 F-T 047 Laboratory Aide, Glasswash
Harvard Medical School Systems Biology 01/03/2008
------------
Are the lines being drawn?
Be well . . . |
|
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| 2976 |
[Jan. 4th, 2008|10:59 am] |
I spoke last night - if there is filming from the now vacated hair salon, review the tapes please - of the flick "Red Planet" during a cigarette break in the parking lot behind work. Dust devils on Mars and the ballooning bounce entry landing were the conversation leadins. And now, lo and behold, it is on the satellite TV. Coincidence? I do not think so. And because of that there's just more fodder for the fire of technological isolation and vivisecti0n via the choreographed scenarios of McCoy's "drama." See previous entries; read the journal form the beginning . . . blah blah blah. . .
Library reservation system has a glitch (and I was glad to hear it happens ot others) whereby request holds are deleted by the software. . .
Hmmmm . . . Like the hU hR application system?
Oy . . .
Through the lab at work, I note the increased effort once again on the part of hte hUMF to steer my behavior -- "box you in" as WAckrow (CIA?) stated, when he wasn;t speaking of castration (see previous entries) - to that which I'd rather not. (And does this again not tie back to the post 2004 Matt S. statement: You've had plenty of time to change your mind/values. And that after the his observation of 42 Main Street (2/03 - 6/04) things . . . and he and Blanton with Gil Armstrong, and his CO ties. . .
Hmmm . . .
For, to maintain integrity of effort and altruistic concern, at present I ought be railing for (doshwashing) chemicals and avoiding the interrogation/tape thing altogether (not to mention that that was played up at work last night, too).
So again - and this is an integrity maintenance thing as well - plunging me into yet another scenario (recall the behavioral scientist outside work a whoile back?) where exposing and informing all sides of hte existence of the others, even whilst not understanding completely the motivations (not to mention the ethics of them) of the opposing or convergent sides in the matter . . .
Well . . . I never agreed to be used in such a way. . . see preivous entries. . . hence the trafficking and enslavement comments. . . and recall the coercive scenarios of the "probation" efforts of GRady et al back in the 04/05 exile time. . .
Oy . . .
www.nas.edu has a thing out on science/religion . . . an 88 page book. I posted of it, yes? Well, recall the Randstad bait (had i accepted the mockery of hte Cell assignment) of the AAAS development slot - ficiton then I thought, for no one could ever provide definitives on the opportunity . . . So was the Randstad cast trying to explain the human experiment? And recall, it was, I understood at the time, solely Randstad that was the HLS temp vector. . .
Sigh . . .
The CDs deleted from the library request list were a Taj Mahal CD (See previous entries; Taj Mahal performed at the Rockland Blues festival in 04 or 05, the former I think - and it was Blanton introduced me to Taj Mahal . . . the others, the Pirates of hte Caribbean soundtrack . . . Walke hated that flick (a movie based on a ride), but hte Disney connection, too? REcall the addictive issues of hte mouseketeers, the HLS sports and entertainment connections (more on that later), and the family's recent vacation in Orlando. . . .
Hmmm . . .
Investors throughout, too . . .
Recall Fred Crockett (Bok connected) and his "there goes the chair" and Stuntz for Weiler? There were a lot of chairs removed form the basement of the workplace yesterday. . .
The tune Blanton seemed most eager to impress upon me years ago was "Take a Giant Step." 41 Glenwood, if I recall. . .
Do review the SJC/TRacks entries, folks . . . and summer of 2006 . . .
Post personal downward spiral, it appears as if I were autioned off and programmed . . .
Read hte journal form the beginning folks . . . I do still ownder about that missing $100 million form the Sliefert thing. . .
more later . . .
* * *
The HUMF is already at it. . .
from hu hr today (external):
32558 F-T 057 Manager of Animal Care
Faculty of Arts and Sciences Molecular & Cellular Biology 01/04/2008
Requisition Number 32558
Title Manager of Animal Care
School / Unit Faculty of Arts and Sciences
Department Molecular & Cellular Biology
Location Cambridge
Full Or Part Time Full-Time
Salary Grade 057
Date Posted 01/04/2008
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Duties And Responsibilities Report to the Director of Operations. Responsible for the management and operation of the six FAS-Office of Animal Resources animal facilities and the management and operational oversight of 10 additional FAS-IACUC approved satellite animal facilities. The Animal Care Manager has responsibility for 24 animal care staff members. Responsible for financial management, budget development, and development of per diem rates. Working with the Associate Director and the supervisory staff is responsible for the program management and operation of all FAS-OAR facilities. Oversees staff hiring, training and the resolution of disciplinary issues. Develops, implements and documents adherence to standard operating procedures for animal care and facility operations, to assure local, state and Federal regulatory compliance; as well as continued program accreditation by the Association for the Assessment and Accreditation of Laboratory Animal Care, International, (AAALAC). Plans and Coordinates with the FAS-IACUC, educational programs to orient and train FAS research faculty and staff utilizing research animals. Maintains open communication between the FAS research faculty and staff and the FAS-Office of Animal Resources.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Required Education, Experience and Skills A BS/BA in Animal Science or Biology, with at least 5 years of significant supervisory and management experience in laboratory animal resources or a 2 year Associates degree in Animal Science plus 8 years of supervisory experience in laboratory animal resources. Certification as a Laboratory Animal Technologist, (LATG) by the American Association for Laboratory Animal Science is required. A minimum of 5 years in a laboratory animal resource program in a significant supervisory or managerial capacity is required. Excellent interpersonal and communication skills required for direct interaction with multiple layers of personnel inside and outside the university. Bilingual (English/Spanish) speaking ability would be a significant asset.
=============
so let's consider HU HR's last three postings. . .
32556 F-T 032 Grill Cook
Dining Services Sebastian's 01/03/2008
32557 F-T 011 Checker
Dining Services Eliot/Kirkland 01/03/2008
32558 F-T 057 Manager of Animal Care
Faculty of Arts and Sciences Molecular & Cellular Biology 01/04/2008
-----------------
GRill Cook? Checker? Animal Care?
Dare I mention that a pet cat at the Marr/Rossborough address (see preivous entries for hte early 90s HLS ties here, folks, and Maine, and BU medical/development) was named Sebastian?
Oh, the horror . . .
nytimes.com:
January 4, 2008
U.S. Curtailing Bids to Expand Medicaid Rolls
By ROBERT PEAR
WASHINGTON — The Bush administration is imposing restrictions on the ability of states to expand eligibility for Medicaid, in an effort to prevent them from offering coverage to families of modest incomes who, the administration argues, may have access to private health insurance.
The restrictions mirror those the administration placed on the State Children’s Health Insurance Program in August after states tried to broaden eligibility for it as well.
Until now, states had generally been free to set their own Medicaid eligibility criteria, and the Bush administration had not openly declared that it would apply the August directive to Medicaid. State officials in Louisiana, Ohio and Oklahoma said they had discovered the administration’s intent in negotiations with the federal government over the last few weeks.
The federal government has leverage over states, because it pays a large share of the costs for Medicaid and the State Children’s Health Insurance Program, and states have to comply with federal standards to get federal money. The insurance program was created for children whose families have too much income to qualify for Medicaid but not enough to buy private insurance.
On Dec. 20, the Bush administration rejected a proposal by Ohio to expand its Medicaid program to cover 35,000 more children. Ohio now offers Medicaid to children with family incomes up to twice the poverty level, or about $41,000 a year for a family of four. The state had proposed increasing the limit to three times the poverty level, to about $62,000.
“Federal officials told us that they would apply the criteria set forth in the Aug. 17 letter to our proposal for expansion of Medicaid,” said Cristal A. Thomas, the Ohio Medicaid director.
Dennis G. Smith, the director of the federal Center for Medicaid and State Operations, confirmed that account.
“To be consistent and logical, you have to apply the criteria to Medicaid and CHIP,” Mr. Smith said in an interview.
The same concern, about the substitution of government health care for private insurance, is present under both programs, he said, and states will not be allowed to “sidestep the Aug. 17 policy directive” by expanding Medicaid.
Jeff Nelligan, a spokesman for the Medicaid agency, said Ohio officials “were trying to get around the Aug. 17 policy directive.” Under that policy, states had to enroll 95 percent of eligible children below 200 percent of the federal poverty level before they could expand their programs, a criterion that many state health officials said would be impossible to meet.
Tony Fratto, a spokesman for President Bush, defended the administration’s stance.
“We want states to focus on enrolling their neediest population before they consider expanding Medicaid and CHIP to middle-income families,” Mr. Fratto said. “This policy demonstrates the president’s compassion. He wants to direct scarce tax dollars to those with the greatest needs.”
Administration officials say government health programs start to “crowd out” private insurance when they cover families with incomes from 250 percent to 300 percent of the poverty level — about $51,600 to $62,000 for a family of four.
Some state officials complained about both the substance of the Medicaid policy and the way it was adopted.
“The Aug. 17 letter is a CHIP policy, not a Medicaid policy,” said Mike Fogarty, chief executive of the Oklahoma Health Care Authority. “But it’s being applied in a much broader way. We are seeing many more roadblocks.”
The Oklahoma Legislature voted in May to cover 42,000 more children under Medicaid by increasing the income limit to 300 percent of the poverty level, from 185 percent. “In recent weeks,” Mr. Fogarty said, “we got a very clear signal from federal officials that we would not be allowed to go beyond 250 percent of the poverty level.”
Louisiana officials reported a similar experience. “We found that we have much less flexibility to make changes in Medicaid than we thought,” said J. Ruth Kennedy, deputy director of the state’s Medicaid program.
The new federal policy reflects a significant shift. In the first four years of the Bush administration, Tommy G. Thompson, the secretary of health and human services, often boasted that he had approved record numbers of waivers, allowing states to decide who got what benefits under Medicaid and the child health program.
“Our goal is to give governors the flexibility they need to expand insurance coverage to more Americans,” Mr. Thompson said in 2001.
The child health program complements Medicaid. Income limits vary from state to state and tend to cluster from 133 percent to 185 percent of the poverty level for Medicaid, with states allowed to go 50 percentage points higher for the child health program.
Mr. Bush has been engaged in a yearlong battle with Congress over the child health program. In his budget request last February, Mr. Bush said he wanted to return the program to its “original objective” of covering children with family incomes less than twice the poverty level. He asked Congress to cut payments to states that covered children at higher income levels.
The Democratic-controlled Congress showed no interest in Mr. Bush’s proposal. But the administration has tried to achieve a similar objective unilaterally, with the letter to state health officials.
Under the new policy, states must meet certain conditions if they want to cover children with family incomes above 250 percent of the poverty level. For example, a child who had private coverage in the past must be uninsured for at least one year before being enrolled in a state child health program.
In June, the Louisiana Legislature unanimously approved a bill to expand eligibility for the State Children’s Health Insurance Program by raising the income limit to 300 percent of the poverty level, from 200 percent.
But Ms. Kennedy, the Louisiana official, said, “After receiving the Aug. 17 letter, we had to change course.”
Louisiana is now seeking permission to increase its income limit to 250 percent of the poverty level. And it has had difficulty getting federal approval.
In correspondence with the Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals, federal officials have suggested that the state does not have enough money to pay its share of the costs.
In addition, federal officials challenged Louisiana to explain why it did not want to enforce the one-year waiting period for children who had lost private health insurance because of a parent’s death or the failure of a business where a parent was employed. In such cases, the state replied, the loss of coverage is involuntary, and the waiting period would “penalize children and families for circumstances beyond their control.”
In Wisconsin, Gov. James E. Doyle, a Democrat, and the State Legislature also wanted to expand eligibility for the children’s health program by increasing the income limit to 300 percent of the poverty level, from 200 percent. The federal government approved the proposal after Wisconsin scaled it back to 250 percent. Coverage for children above that level is to be financed entirely with state money.
“Federal officials made clear that they would not approve our proposal if we went to 300 percent of the poverty level,” said Jason Helgerson, the Medicaid director in Wisconsin.
----------------
nytimes.com:
January 4, 2008
Oil Falls From $100 Record, U.S. Jobs Data Weigh
By REUTERS
Filed at 11:23 a.m. ET
LONDON (Reuters) - Oil fell more than $1 a barrel on Friday from its $100 lifetime high as gloomy U.S. jobs data heightened concern about a slowdown in the world's top consumer that could dampen fuel demand.
Equities markets and the U.S. dollar also took a hit after a government report showed the U.S. unemployment rate rose to 5 percent in December -- its highest in more than two years.
U.S. crude dropped $1.68 cents from the previous day's close to $97.50 by 11:09 A.M. ET. London Brent crude lost $1.00 to $96.60.
"The jobs data is pressuring stock markets and may be viewed as another negative sign for the economy, which in the long run will actually hurt oil demand," said Tom Bentz of BNP Paribas.
Oil's surge has darkened the economic outlook in the United States, already battered by a housing crisis, and has threatened economic growth in Europe.
Gold and platinum have also hit record highs partly due to the struggling dollar, which makes dollar-denominated assets relatively cheap in other currencies.
Oil marched to $100.09 on Thursday, the second straight day of triple digit prices, after crude stocks in top consumer the United States sank to a three-year low.
Some analysts said OPEC's reluctance to increase crude supplies despite oil's break above $100, combined with geopolitical tensions, would keep oil at record levels.
The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries agreed at its last meeting in December to keep output unchanged. Officials from the group say exporters can do little to tame oil prices and that world markets are well-supplied.
OPEC last month pumped beyond the rate targeted in a pact to boost output, led by a rebound in supply from the United Arab Emirates, a Reuters survey showed on Friday.
Major consuming nations have no intention of releasing strategic fuel stocks to curb a rally entering its sixth year.
The International Energy Agency (IEA), adviser to industrialized countries, echoed the White House in saying there was no need to release emergency crude.
--------------
nytimes.com:
January 4, 2008
Bush, Advisers Look for Economic Fixes
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Filed at 11:21 a.m. ET
WASHINGTON (AP) -- President Bush and his top economic advisers on Friday will work on drafting a possible package to stimulate the U.S. economy as it weathers the housing slump, rising oil prices and an uptick in unemployment.
On Friday, the Labor Department reported that hiring practically stalled in December, driving the nation's jobless rate up to a two-year high of 5 percent. The report, which fanned fears of a recession, indicated that employment conditions are deteriorating, strained by the housing crisis and credit crunch that are sapping economic strength. On Wall Street, stocks tumbled.
The White House is not ready to say if Bush will offer a stimulus package -- possibly coinciding with his State of the Union address on Jan. 28. But deputy press secretary Tony Fratto said that the president and his advisers were looking at ways to keep the economy open for foreign investments, open up markets for U.S. exporters, and fight against efforts to raise taxes. They are also looking at shorter-term threats to economic growth, including the downturn in the housing market.
''We're not ready to say whether we will, in fact, have something or not, at this point,'' Fratto said. ''We need a little bit more information. There are lots of ideas out there. Obviously tax policy is an important component, but we'll see. We want to take in more data.''
It will be Bush's first meeting with his working group on financial markets, an interagency panel led by Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson that meets regularly to discuss market conditions and regulatory policy. The other members are: Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke; Chris Cox, chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission; and Walt Lukken, acting director of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission.
The December employment picture was much weaker than economists were expecting. They were forecasting the unemployment rate to bump up to 4.8 percent and for employers to add around 70,000 jobs to their payrolls.
''I'm not trying to paint the uptick in the rate of unemployment with rosy colors,'' Fratto said. ''We'd rather not see it go up to 5 percent, but I think you have to take a step back and look at the broader picture and recognize that by historic standards that's still a relatively low rate of unemployment.''
There have been other not-so-positive signs of economic decline.
The Commerce Department reported Thursday that orders for manufactured goods rose by 1.5 percent in November, the biggest rise since a 3.4 percent surge in July. But the increase reflected higher petroleum prices and was not seen as a sign of renewed strength in the nation's manufacturing sector.
The Federal Reserve cut a key rate three times last year. Many economists predict there will be more rate cuts to come to help energize a weakening economy.
In addition, oil prices briefly marched past $100 a barrel this week. High energy prices are a double-edged sword; they can sap economic growth and also can spread inflation throughout the economy if they cause a rise in the price of other goods and services.
''It's a mixed economy,'' Fratto said. ''We're seeing mixed data, and we're paying close attention to it. Core inflation remaining low, but we're also seeing higher prices in energy and health care and other items. We're seeing a little bit slower growth here domestically. We're seeing very strong export growth. I think it's a mixed picture.''
===========
again - from wikipedia.org:
Church Committee
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
(Redirected from Church committee)
Jump to: navigation, search
The Church Committee is the common term referring to the United States Senate Select Committee to Study Governmental Operations with Respect to Intelligence Activities, a U.S. Senate committee chaired by Senator Frank Church (D-ID) in 1975. A precursor to the U.S. Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, the committee investigated intelligence gathering for illegality by the CIA and FBI after certain activities had been revealed by the Watergate affair.
Contents [hide]
1 Background
2 Overview
3 Committee members
4 Opening mail
5 The Ford administration and the Church Committee
6 Results of the investigation
7 Aftermath
8 Sections of the Church Committee report
8.1 Books II and III "Church Committee" report
9 See also
10 Further reading
11 References
12 External links
[edit] Background
By the early years of the 1970s, the unpopularity of the Vietnam War and the unfolding Watergate scandal brought the era of minimal oversight to a screeching halt. Congress was determined to rein in the Nixon administration and to ascertain the extent to which the nation's intelligence agencies had been involved in questionable, if not outright illegal, activities.
A series of troubling revelations started to appear in the press concerning intelligence activities. First came the revelations of Christopher Pyle in January 1970 of the U.S. Army's spying on the civilian population [1] and Sam Ervin's Senate investigations that resulted. The dam broke on 22 December 1974, when The New York Times published a lengthy article by Seymour Hersh detailing operations engaged in by the CIA over the years that had been dubbed the "family jewels". Covert action programs involving assassination attempts against foreign leaders and covert attempts to subvert foreign governments were reported for the first time. In addition, the article discussed efforts by intelligence agencies to collect information on the political activities of US citizens.
These revelations convinced many Senators and Representatives that the Congress itself had been too lax, trusting, and naive in carrying out its oversight responsibilities.
[edit] Overview
In 1975 and 1976, the Church Committee published fourteen reports on the formation of U.S. intelligence agencies, their operations, and the alleged abuses of law and of power that they had committed, together with recommendations for reform, some of which were put in place.
Among the matters investigated were attempts to assassinate foreign leaders, including Patrice Lumumba of the Congo, Rafael Trujillo of the Dominican Republic, the Diem brothers of Vietnam, Gen. René Schneider of Chile and President John F. Kennedy's plan to use the Mafia to kill Fidel Castro of Cuba.
Under recommendations and pressure by this committee, President Gerald Ford issued Executive Order 11905 (ultimately replaced in 1981 by President Reagan's Executive Order 12333) to ban U.S. sanctioned assassinations of foreign leaders.
Together, the Church Committee's reports have been said to constitute the most extensive review of intelligence activities ever made available to the public. Much of the contents were classified, but more than 50,000 pages have since been declassified under the 1992 JFK Assassination Records Collection Act.
[edit] Committee members
Majority (Democratic) Minority (Republican)
Frank F. Church, Chairman, Idaho
Philip A. Hart, Michigan
Walter F. Mondale, Minnesota
Walter D. Huddleston, Kentucky
Robert B. Morgan, North Carolina
Gary W. Hart, Colorado
John G. Tower, Vice Chairman, Texas
Howard H. Baker, Jr., Tennessee
Barry M. Goldwater, Arizona
Charles McC. Mathias, Jr., Maryland
Richard S. Schweiker, Pennsylvania
[edit] Opening mail
The Church Committee learned that beginning in the 1950's, the CIA and FBI intercepted, opened and photographed more than 215,000 pieces of mail by the time the program called "HT Lingual" was shut down in 1973. This program was all done under the "mail covers" program. A mail cover is when the government records without a warrant or notification all information on the outside of an envelope or package, including the name of the sender and the recipient. The Church report found that the CIA was zealous about keeping the Postal Service from learning that mail was being opened by government agents. CIA agents moved mail to a private room to open the mail or in some cases opened envelopes at night after stuffing them in briefcases or coat pockets to deceive postal officials.[2]
[edit] The Ford administration and the Church Committee
On May 9th the Church Committee decided to call acting CIA director William Colby. That same day Ford's top advisers (Henry Kissinger, Donald Rumsfeld, Buchen, and John Marsh) drafted a recommendation that Colby be authorized to brief only rather than testify, and that he would be told to discuss only the general subject, with details of specific covert actions to be avoided except for realistic hypotheticals. But the Church Committee had full authority to call a hearing and require Colby's testimony. Ford and his top advisers met with Colby to prepare him for the hearing.[3]
The Ford administration, particularly Rumsfeld, was concerned about the effort by members of the Church Committee in the Senate and the Pike Committee in the House to curtail the power of U.S. intelligence agencies: "They were very specific about their effort to destroy American intelligence [capabilities]," remembers Robert Ellsworth, a U.S. diplomat. "It was Senator Church who said our intelligence agencies were 'rogue elephants.' They were supposedly out there assassinating people and playing dirty tricks and so forth...Well, that just wasn't true."
Rumsfeld and Ellsworth prevented the committees from dismantling the CIA and other intelligence organizations.[4]
[edit] Results of the investigation
The Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) and Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (FISC) were inspired by the recommendations of the Church Committee. [5] Today, the FISC oversees requests for surveillance warrants of suspected foreign intelligence agents inside the United States by federal police agencies.
[edit] Aftermath
Early on, critics from Bing Crosby to Paul Harvey accused the committee of treasonous activity. The 1975 assassination of Richard Welch, a CIA station chief in Greece, intensified the public backlash against its mission.[6] The committees work has more recently been criticized after the September 11th attacks, for leading to legislation reducing the ability of the CIA to gather human intelligence.[7][8][9][10] In response to such criticism, the chief counsel of the committee, Frederick A.O. Schwarz Jr., retorted with a book co-authored by Aziz Z. Huq, denouncing the Bush administration's use of 9/11 to make "monarchist claims" that are "unprecedented on this side of the North Atlantic". [11]
In September 2006, the University of Kentucky hosted a forum called "Who's Watching the Spies? Intelligence Activities and the Rights of Americans," bringing together two Democratic committee members, former Vice President Walter F. Mondale and former U.S. Senator Walter "Dee" Huddleston of Kentucky, and Frederick A.O. Schwarz Jr., chief counsel to the committee, to discuss the committee's work, its historical impact, and how it pertains to today's society.[12]
[edit] Sections of the Church Committee report
Interim Report: Alleged Assassination Plots Involving Foreign Leaders (Index Only, in text form) (364 pages)
Volume 1: Unauthorized Storage of Toxic Agents (249 pages)
Volume 2: Huston Plan (409 pages)
Volume 3: Internal Revenue Service (128 pages)
Volume 4: Mail Opening (264 pages)
Volume 5: The National Security Agency and Fourth Amendment Rights (169 pages)
Volume 6: Federal Bureau of Investigation (1010 pages)
Volume 7: Covert Action (234 pages)
Book I: Foreign and Military Intelligence (659 pages)
Book II: Intelligence Activities and the Rights of Americans (412 pages)
Book III: Supplementary Detailed Staff Reports on Intelligence Activities and the Rights of Americans (989 pages)
Book IV: Supplementary Detailed Staff Reports on Foreign and Military Intelligence (181 pages)
Book V: The Investigation of the Assassination of President J.F.K.: Performance of the Intelligence Agencies (112 pages)
Book VI: Supplementary Reports on Intelligence Activities (384 pages)
[edit] Books II and III "Church Committee" report
Final Report of the Select Committee to Study Governmental Operations with Respect to Intelligence Activities. United States Senate, 94th Congress, 2nd Session, April 26 (legislative day, April 14), 1976. [AKA "Church Committee Report"]. Archived on COINTELPRO sources website. Transcription and HTML by Paul Wolf. Retrieved April 19, 2005.
Intelligence Activities and the Rights of Americans, Book II
I. Introduction and Summary
II. The Growth of Domestic Intelligence: 1936 to 1976
III. Findings
(A) Violating and Ignoring the Law
(B) Overbreadth of Domestic Intelligence Activity
(C) Excessive Use of Intrusive Techniques
(D) Using Covert Action to Disrupt and Discredit Domestic Groups
(E) Political Abuse of Intelligence Information
(F) Inadequate Controls on Dissemination and Retention
(G) Deficiencies in Control and Accountability
IV. Conclusions and Recommendations
Supplementary Detailed Staff Reports, Book III
COINTELPRO: The FBI's Covert Action Programs Against American Citizens
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Case Study
The FBI's Covert Action Program to Destroy the Black Panther Party
The Use of Informants in FBI Intelligence Investigations
Warrantless FBI Electronic Surveillance
Warrantless Surreptitious Entries: FBI "Black Bag" Break-ins And Microphone Installations
The Development of FBI Domestic Intelligence Investigations
Domestic CIA and FBI Mail Opening
CIA Intelligence Collection About Americans: CHAOS Program And The Office of Security
National Security Agency Surveillance Affecting Americans
Improper Surveillance of Private Citizens By The Military
The Internal Revenue Service: An Intelligence Resource and Collector
National Security, Civil Liberties, And The Collection of Intelligence: A Report On The Huston Plan
[edit] See also
COINTELPRO
Family jewels (Central Intelligence Agency)
Hughes-Ryan Act
Project MKULTRA
Operation Gladio (included in the classified part of the report)
Pike Committee
Plausible denial
Rockefeller Commission
[edit] Further reading
Johnson, Loch K. (1988). A Season Of Inquiry, Congress And Intelligence. Chicago: Dorsey Press. ISBN 0-256-06320-6.
Smist, Jr., Frank J. (1990). Congress Oversees the United States Intelligence Community, 1947-1989. Knoxville: University of Tennessee Press. ISBN 0-87049-651-4.
[edit] References
^ Sources: ABC News Charlotte-Mecklenburg Historic Landmarks Commission
^ Benjamin, Mark (January 5 2007). "The government is reading your mail".
^ Prados, John (2006). Lost Crusader: The Secret Wars of CIA Director William Colby. Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-512847-8. p. 313
^ Frontline. www.pbs.org. Retrieved on 2006-07-30.
^ Cohen, David; John Wells (Apr 17, 2004). American National Security and Civil Liberties in an Era of Terrorism. Palgrave. ISBN 1-4039-6199-9. p. 34
^ Church Committee Created www.senate.gov
^ Knott, Stephen F (November 4 2001). "Congressional Oversight and the Crippling of the CIA". History News Network.
^ Mooney, Chris (November 5 2001). "The American Prospect". Back to Church.
^ Burbach, Roger (October 2003). "State Terrorism and September 11, 1973 & 2001". ZMag 16 (10).
^ (May 19 2002) "Debate: Bush's handling of terror clues". Cable News Network.
^ Unchecked and Unbalanced: Presidential Power in a Time of Terror (New Press, 2007).
^ (September 14 2006) "UK Hosts Historical Reunion of Members of Church Committee". University of Kentucky News.
[edit] External links
Church Committee reports (Assassination Archives and Research Center)
Church Report: Covert Action in Chile 1963-1973 (U.S. Dept. of State)
History Matters: Church Committee
On the dangers of an unchecked bully boy
The Pike Committee Investigations and the CIA
Congressional Oversight and the Crippling of the CIA." Stephen F. Knott. History News Network. November 4, 2001.
Back to Church." Chris Mooney. The American Prospect. November 5, 2001.
State Terrorism and September 11, 1973 & 2001." Roger Burbach. ZMag.
Debate: Bush's handling of terror clues." Cable News Network. May 19, 2002.
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Church_Committee"
Categories: Central Intelligence Agency operations | Reports of the United States government | Defunct committees of the United States Senate
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I have oft thought that the HUmf used me to figure things out for itsel;f in job positions . . . how would someone outside the assimilation of HBS and HLS processing take things, find things, etc . . .
Might be the reason for the troubles of hte HU Executive Education stuff, eh? See previous entries. . .
Oh - wow. . . with the John Coffee houston talk . . .. I had never considerd rom above: Volume 2: Huston Plan (409 pages) . . .
here's the link folks. . . learn for yourselves:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Church_committee
http://www.aarclibrary.org/publib/church/reports/vol2/contents.htm
synopsis --
Volume 2: Huston Plan
In June of 1970, during the wave of domestic protest centered around the war in Vietnam, President Nixon approved a set of recommendations known as the Huston Plan. This plan called for various agencies of government, including the CIA, FBI, and military intelligence agencies, to conduct wide-ranging intelligence-gathering activities targeted toward dissident groups and individuals. Most of these activities violated basic civil liberties. The President revoked the plan 5 days later, though some of its recommendations continued to be carried out. Volume 2 consists of hearings followed by a lengthy set of document exhibits. Witnesses included Tom Charles Huston, the author of the plan, former CIA counterintelligence head James Angleton, and former Assistant Director of the FBI Charles Brennan.
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At the Goodwill here recently, I came across a book called Case Closed (on the kennedy assasination) by a posner . . . was there not a posner inthe fifth floor of griswold, when I temped there (a, a russian girl, too - and this in the suite of jackson and lise berg, too) . . . hmmm . . . when with printer broken kagan sat in a darkened office, shortly ere her announcement as hls dean (for clark) . . .
Hmmm . . .
REcall that Judi of St. James (ah - the hair salon moves out across the street from work, just as the Agape church group moved out of St. James in 2006 . . . see preivous entries. . . ) claimed that we, the guests, would fear being committed, being put away . . .
And recall that - Amazingly! - a long losyt family member has resurfaced here in Maine (one quoting vodka martinis - and there was such a glass to be washed when I got back for Shift Two yesterday) . . .
The pressure's on to keep the VEritas hidden . . . see previous entries on familial coercion and involvement. . .
Ah, the games . .. oppression, oppression, oppression . . .
small wonder hte planted mole in h. square that day tried to rally thtre lab rats to revolt . . . see preivous entries. . .
read the journla form the beginning . . .
and help if you can . . .
* * *
Internet Explorer just cancelled out hte journal, and it appears that the journal history and archive is no longer available online. . .
On that thought, where I used to have a menu option on the journal screen to view the archive, it has disappeared . . .
Just trying to make it a little harder, computer censors, to prevent the populous form reading a little veritas?
See previous entries; read hte journal form the beginning (if you;re able). . .
and please let me know if you;re not . . .
thje posner thing, case closed . . . it was ken cowhey who was a jfk conspiracy advocate, single and childless. . . and recall my previous speculative entries on the replacement of me for him , . . . . and also the mysterious circumstances of his death in 1995 . . .
posner, marr/rossbrough/bu-kupferman, maine -- connected?
a lifetime under the microscope?
fits with my age, calculated form my birthdate and the switch in centuries/millenia -- see previous entries. . .
and the CA(org) priest - "This meeting eats its young. . ."
oy . . .
ayup . . . more(?): from hu hr --
32562 F-T 058 Senior Statistical Programmer
Graduate School of Education Learning Technology Center 01/04/2008
32561 F-T 057 Statistical Support Specialist
Graduate School of Education Learning Technology Center 01/04/2008
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tryingto program behavior? I think the humf is trying to steer this back to autistic communoications again . . .
see preivous entries (and hte pelizzon close same name research) . . .
oy . ..
more, i am sure, l;ater . .. |
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[Jan. 4th, 2008|02:20 pm] |
Tried for nought to nap, chipped the top layers of snow and ice from the bulkhead, sipping tea now. . .
NYTIMES.COM:
Federal Employees To Receive Pay Raise
By Stephen Barr
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, January 4, 2008; 2:02 PM
President Bush today signed an executive order that provides nearly 1.8 million federal employees with an average 3.5 percent pay raise and also increases salaries by smaller percentages for the armed forces, members of Congress, federal judges, diplomats and others.
In 2008, the base pay provided most civil service employees, covered by the General Schedule, will range from $17,046 to $124,010 annually, according to the order. The base pay will be supplemented by geographic-based raises, or locality pay, that can boost the take-home pay of employees.
More than 1.4 million active-duty military personnel will receive raises that average 3 percent, but the raise will be increased by an additional 0.5 percent after the White House and Congress reach an agreement on the fiscal 2008 defense authorization bill. Military pay varies widely, based on rank and years of service.
The pay of Foreign Service officers also varies by rank. This year, base pay will range from $26,264 to $124,010.
The pay raises are negotiated by the White House and the Congress each year as part of the government's budget, and they help shore up the Washington region's economy. In 2006, for example, the federal employee payroll alone was about $76 million per work day.
Under the order, the vice president will receive a $5,400 salary increase, to $221,100. The speaker of the House will receive a $5,300 increase, to $217,400, and the majority leader of the Senate will get a boost of $4,600, to $188,100.
In 2008, members of the House, senators and U.S. District Court judges will be paid $169,300. The chief justice of the United States will be paid $217,400, and Supreme Court justices will receive $208,100.
Members of the Cabinet, usually heads of large departments, will be paid $191,300 this year. Deputy secretaries of departments and heads of major agencies will receive $172,200.
Members of the Senior Executive Service, the government's career senior officials, will be paid from $114,468 to $172,200, according to the order.
The president's salary is set by Congress, at $400,000, and is not changing.
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like huctw in '04 . . . see preivous entries. . .
Worst of all, though, is this spewing of mine now. . . the time is better spent elsewhere. . .
I think back to the claim to remain for protection (see previous entries - the disney tie, geographically?) . . . as if it were known by HLSers that there'd be a need to be protected . . . and this bodes not well, for I do believe that oe of the main tacits of the experiments on humans (with consent) is that if they;re to be put in harms way - and if there's anything to spyglasseswear, that's certainly the case: especially r'land in 04 and 07 . . . see previous entries. . . ) - and that then admits of fraud in the first place, and then the effort to quell the fixing of that "clerical error" oversight . . .
Shame to they . . .
from nytimes.com e-mail (non-bulk):
NYTimes.com Movies Update: 'The Killing of John Lennon' - John Lennon's Death Revisited Thro... Fri Jan 04, 2008
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chapman again - the boston conservatory, the swank place next to hu development and hls alumni hq that juels had, the dead cop honored at the park downtown, the man forn the humanities copy center . . .
see previous entries. . .
oh yes, and speaking of juels, this was in the bulk box:
Jules Chaney european online pharmacies Thu Jan 03, 2008 2k
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cute, eh?
If I do accept so much herein as "admissions," than pretty much the majority of what I have outlined herein is true, yes? I don't have the monetary or personnel resources - nor really the desire to involve - to paint. . .
and, in truth, i am reacting ever so more than acting . .. ah, yes, acting. . .
oh - at work yesterday. . . a t-shirt with Catalano on it. . . is that not hte name of hte HUPD spokesperson? Coincidence? See previous entries, especially "The TRuman Show" interview at 23 Everett before its reconstruction (a HUMF theme, you know), the murder/suicide behind the museum (ah: was that a reflection of the Cowhey demise? - see previous entries . . . hmmmm, that's scary . . . the second runoff from Austin (a power trip that was), the loads of postings (really, folks, you gotta sign these non-disclosure statements to reapply for your job; we gotta be careful). . .
Sigh . . .
I see that federal employees are getting a raise . . . I'm cool with that, for most of them are most likely honest, sincere, and hard-working (albeit silent) civil servants. . . It's the people that pop in and out of government, usually in slots where a lot of cash can be pocketed (if not whilst in office certainly later) I'm concerned about . . . a lack of sincerity and honesty and only working hard on the pet agenda issues of the tenure of the time served. . .
Ah - I must soon off to work for hte evening . . . I expect it'll be a good one and I'm looking forward to it. The ladies at the library were kind enough to renew the Huxley again for me, for to have had to have sent it off again just to special order it once more simply would not do, we joked. I've still not the full energy I think I ought to have, the slow recovery from the mini-mono (as it's been referred to) runnning about this winter. So much to do, and I've been rather incommunicado with the museum . . . I ought head south for a weekend again soon and put in some more hours. . .
I'll hope for a busy night; the more to do the quicker the evening seems to pass. I left a clean area. Was even reminded to clean the trap - which, gosh, I'd just never clicked to do when clocked in. Easy to work into the evening routine. Silly me for the overlook. And it's a new month there. . . so all those things, pretty much everything, I do there have to be done again . . .
If it's gonna be that slow a winter, the better to get started . . . next week . . .
on the work projects, as much as they'll be allowed. . .
and on better expressing myself and natural economy, too . . .
more, i am sure, later - I realize I still have the rest of hte articles I e-mailed to myself to post and also the observastions (got 'em written down) . . .
Who helps, who hurts? What's real, for if its choreography to judge a response, I question, no, find lacking in judgement, those choreographing and the actors and actresses their roles. Always have, simple as that. . .
Taj Mahal has been in the background all afternoon thus far, and it is a good sounding set of tunes. . .
If you want to say something to me HUMF, start running "Creator" and "Local Hero" back to back on the satellite TV. Toss in "Dark Crystal" and a Godzilla marathon - all, please - or two (marathons). Stop hiding. . .
For Star TRek Insurrection was just on, too . . . and what was the opening scene of that?
More later; be well . . . |
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theurbanhermit's journal