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Last Updated: Oct 2nd, 2008 - 08:17:26 |
Ike Leaves Behind Devastation in Haiti, Cuba
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| Towns in Haiti have have been devasted by back-to-back storms. |
Hurricane Ike is making its way to the Gulf Coast after a deadly sweep through the Caribbean. Cuba is estimating the damage from Ike at around $4 billion. Some 140,000 buildings were said to be damaged as the storm pounded the island over two days. Four people were killed, the first storm-related deaths Cuba has seen in several years. Meanwhile, Haiti continues to reel from what has become a humanitarian disaster. More than 1,000 Haitians are believed to have died and an estimated one million left homeless. Rescue groups have no access to many interior villages across the southern region and to Gonaives, Haiti’s third-largest city, cut off by a bridge collapse.
Ex-Klansman Freed in 1964 Murder Case
Here in the United States, a federal appeals court has overturned the conviction of a former Ku Klux Klan member sentenced to life in prison for his role in the murder of two black teenagers in 1964. James Ford Seale was convicted last year after the case was reopened after more than four decades. He was first arrested shortly after the killings, but the charges were thrown out after the FBI turned the case over to local authorities. On Tuesday, a three-judge panel ruled Seale should never have been tried, because a five-year statute of limitations on kidnapping-related charges had expired. Seale had been thought dead but was discovered by the brother of one of the victims. During the trial, Seale’s cousin Charles Marcus Edwards testified he and Seale had abducted and attacked the black teenagers. Edwards said Seale and other Klansmen then drove the teenagers across the Louisiana border. They put duct tape over their mouths and dumped them into the Mississippi River alive. The victims, Henry Hezekiah Dee and Charles Eddie Moore, were both nineteen years old. Their bodies were found about two months later, when authorities were conducting an intensive search for slain civil rights workers Andrew Goodman, James Chaney and Michael Schwerner.
Noose Left in Office of Black Student President at Va. School
In Virginia, police have opened a probe into the discovery of a noose in the office of the African American student body president at Abilene Christian University in Fredericksburg. The student, Daniel Paul Watkins, found the noose on his office chair last week.
Study: Police in Houston Use Tasers Mostly on Blacks
A new study has revealed that police in Houston, Texas have used Taser stun guns far more on African Americans than any other group. Between December 2004 and June 2007, the police used tasers 1,400 times. Nearly 67 percent were used on blacks, even though only about 25 percent of Houston’s population is black.
Georgia Sets Date to Execute Troy Davis
In the state of Georgia, a county judge has issued an order for Troy Davis to be executed on September 23. Last July, Davis came within twenty-four hours of execution before receiving a temporary stay. In 1991, Davis was convicted of murdering a white police officer, but since then many questions have been raised about his case. The murder weapon was never found. There’s no DNA evidence or other physical evidence. Seven of the nine non-police witnesses said they were coerced by police and have since recanted their testimony.
Halliburton Exec Pleads Guilty to Bribing Nigerian Officials
A former Halliburton executive has pleaded guilty to orchestrating more than $180 million in bribes to senior Nigerian government officials. Albert Stanley used the bribes to help Halliburton win a contract to build a $6 billion liquefied natural gas plant in Nigeria. Several of the bribes were paid during the time when Vice President Dick Cheney led Halliburton.
Nation’s Unemployment Rate at Five-Year High
In other economic news, the nation’s unemployment rate has reached 6.1 percent, a five-year high. The unemployment rate for African Americans is now in double digits, at 10.6 percent. Meanwhile, in Nevada regulators shut down Silver State Bank on Friday. It is the eleventh bank failure this year.
Rep. McDermott Backs Bush Impeachment
On Capitol Hill, Congress member Jim McDermott of Washington has become the latest lawmaker to sign onto a measure to impeach President Bush. McDermott announced his support on Tuesday from the House floor.
Rep. Jim McDermott: “I was attacked for saying the President would mislead us into the war, but the American people ultimately learned the truth. There seems to be no end to the allegations, and we have a responsibility to investigate their authenticity. That’s why I’m signing onto a resolution to consider impeachment of the President. Without accountability, a democracy will fail.”
Lawsuits Planned over DNC, RNC Protest Crackdowns
And legal and civil rights groups say they plan on filing multiple lawsuits over the crackdown on protesters at both the Democratic convention in Denver and the Republican convention in St. Paul. The National Lawyers Guild of Minnesota says it will sue police and city officials over tactics against protesters in St. Paul. More than eight hundred people were arrested during the Republican National Convention. In Denver, the group Re-Create 68 says it plans to launch similar suits. More than one-hundred fifty people were arrested during the Democratic convention. The American Civil Liberties Union is planning on representing Code Pink member Alicia Forrest, whose arrest became a widely seen video on youtube. During a protest, a Denver police officer shoved Forrest with his baton, forcing her to the ground. Moments later, Forrest was seized and arrested by police officers as she tried to explain to reporters what had just happened.
UN Official: Eat Less Meat to Fight Global Warming
And a top UN official is urging people to eat less meat in an effort to tackle climate change. Rajendra Pachauri, chair of the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, told the London Observer, "In terms of immediacy of action and the feasibility of bringing about reductions in a short period of time, it clearly is the most attractive opportunity.” The animal welfare group Compassion in World Farming has calculated that if the average British household cut their meat consumption in half, it would cut greenhouse gas emissions more than if car use was cut in half.
27,000 Boeing Workers on Strike
In labor news, 27,000 workers at Boeing have gone on strike after contract talks broke down over pay, pensions and job security. The striking workers are represented by the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers.
Video: Palin Supported Alaska’s Bridge to Nowhere in 2006
While the McCain campaign continues to claim Sarah Palin opposed Alaska’s notorious Bridge to Nowhere, more evidence has emerged proving that she once supported the project. On Sunday night, C-SPAN re-aired a 2006 gubernatorial debate in Alaska, when Palin was asked whether she supported a $24 million federal earmark to build a gravel access road to the nonexistent bridge.
Sarah Palin: “I wouldn’t [cancel the project]. I’m not going to stand in the way of progress that our congressional delegation—in the position of strength that they have right now—they’re making those efforts for the state of Alaska to build up our infrastructure. I would not get in the way of progress.”
NYPD Sued Over Surveillance Plan
The New York Civil Liberties Union has sued the New York Police Department over plans to use over 100 license plate readers and 3,000 surveillance cameras to track and photograph automobiles entering Manhattan. The civil liberties group says the police department moved forward with its surveillance plan without explaining how the department will use and store images and data captured by the video cameras.
Palin Billed State for Nights Spent at Home
Meanwhile, the Washington Post reports that Governor Palin has billed Alaskan taxpayers for 312 nights spent in her own home during her first nineteen months in office. Palin has charged “per diem” allowance intended to cover meals and incidental expenses while traveling on state business. The governor also has charged the state for travel expenses to take her children on official out-of-town missions. And her husband, Todd, has billed the state for expenses and a daily allowance for trips he makes on official business for his wife. Palin, who earns $125,000 a year, claimed and received nearly $17,000 as her allowance. The governor’s daughters and husband charged the state over $43,000 to travel, and many of the trips were between their house in Wasilla and Juneau, the capital city 600 miles away. A gubernatorial spokeswoman said Monday that Palin’s expenses are not unusual.
Sarah Palin and the Wasilla Church of God
New revelations about Republican vice-presidential nominee Sarah Palin continue to raise questions about how her religious views might affect her decisions on public policy. Much of the scrutiny has focused on Palin’s church, the Wasilla Assembly of God. This past a week, a video emerged of Palin telling students there that the US invasion of Iraq is a task from God. Her comments have raised concerns she could see some government actions as inevitable or preordained as part of a theocratic belief in “end times.”
Facing Political Pressure, MSNBC Reshuffles Campaign Anchors
In media news, MSNBC has announced Keith Olbermann and Chris Matthews will no longer anchor any of the network’s live political coverage for the rest of the presidential campaign season. NBC News’ White House correspondent David Gregory will become the primary host of the network’s coverage of the upcoming debates and on election night. In May, White House Counselor Ed Gillespie sent a letter to NBC News accusing Matthews and Olbermann of being “blatantly partisan.” The McCain campaign and several right-wing groups have also complained that Matthews and Olberrmann are too liberal. It’s not the first time MSNBC, which is owned by General Electric, has shifted its programming because of political pressure. In 2003, prior to the invasion of Iraq, the network canceled its highest-rated program hosted by Phil Donahue. A leaked internal NBC study indicated Donahue was fired because of his antiwar views. The study found that Donahue “seems to delight in presenting guests who are anti-war, anti-Bush and skeptical of the administration’s motives.”
US Bails Out Fannie Mae & Freddie Mac
The US government has seized control of the mortgage finance companies Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac in what could become the largest corporate bailout ever. The Treasury Department has pledged to provide as much as $200 billion as the two quasi-public companies deal with heavy losses on mortgage defaults. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac own or guarantee just under half the country’s $12 trillion in mortgage debt. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson announced the bailout.
HENRY PAULSON: Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are so large and so interwoven in our financial system that a failure of either of them would cause great turmoil in the financial markets here at home and around the globe. This turmoil would directly and negatively impact household wealth, from family budgets to home values, to savings for college and retirement. A failure would affect the ability of Americans to get home loans, auto loans and other consumer credit and business finance. And a failure would be harmful to economic growth and job creation. That is why we have taken these actions today.
US Provided Combat Training to Georgian Commandos Prior to Assault
The Financial Times reports the US military provided combat training to eighty Georgian special forces commandos only months prior to Georgia’s army assault in South Ossetia in August. The training was provided by senior US soldiers and two private military contractors—MPRI and American Systems, both based in Virginia.The revelation could add fuel to accusations by Russia that the US had orchestrated the war in the Georgian enclave.
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