Bush 'is planning nuclear strikes on Iran's secret sites' By Philip Sherwell in Washington (Filed: 09/04/2006) http://www.telegraph.co.uk Jack Straw: Iran attack would be 'nuts' The Bush administration is planning to use nuclear weapons against Iran, to prevent it acquiring its own atomic warheads, claims an investigative writer with high-level Pentagon and intelligence contacts. President George W Bush is said to be so alarmed by the threat of Iran's hard-line leader, Mahmoud Ahmedinejad, that privately he refers to him as "the new Hitler", says Seymour Hersh, who broke the story of the Abu Ghraib Iraqi prisoner abuse scandal. Mahmoud Ahmedinejad: 'The new Hitler' Some US military chiefs have unsuccessfully urged the White House to drop the nuclear option from its war plans, Hersh writes in The New Yorker magazine. The conviction that Mr Ahmedinejad would attack Israel or US forces in the Middle East, if Iran obtains atomic weapons, is what drives American planning for the destruction of Teheran's nuclear programme. Hersh claims that one of the plans, presented to the White House by the Pentagon, entails the use of a bunker-buster tactical nuclear weapon, such as the B61-11, against underground nuclear sites. One alleged target is Iran's main centrifuge plant, at Natanz, 200 miles south of Teheran. Although Iran claims that its nuclear programme is peaceful, US and European intelligence agencies are certain that Teheran is trying to develop atomic weapons. In contrast to the run-up to the Iraq invasion, there are no disagreements within Western intelligence about Iran's plans. This newspaper disclosed recently that senior Pentagon strategists are updating plans to strike Iran's nuclear sites with long-distance B2 bombers and submarine-launched missiles. And last week, the Sunday Telegraph reported a secret meeting at the Ministry of Defence where military chiefs and officials from Downing Street and the Foreign Office discussed the consequences of an American-led attack on Iran, and Britain's role in any such action. The military option is opposed by London and other European capitals. But there are growing fears in No 10 and the Foreign Office that the British-led push for a diplomatic solution to the Iranian nuclear stand-off, will be swept aside by hawks in Washington. Hersh says that within the Bush administration, there are concerns that even a pummelling by conventional strikes, may not sufficiently damage Iran's buried nuclear plants. Iran has been developing a series of bunkers and facilities to provide hidden command centres for its leaders and to protect its nuclear infrastructure. The lack of reliable intelligence about these subterranean facilities, is fuelling pressure for tactical nuclear weapons to be included in the strike plans as the only guaranteed means to destroy all the sites simultaneously. The attention given to the nuclear option has created serious misgivings among the joint chiefs of staff, and some officers have talked about resigning, Hersh has been told. The military chiefs sought to remove the nuclear option from the evolving war plans for Iran, without success, a former senior intelligence officer said. The Pentagon consultant on the war on terror confirmed that some in the administration were looking seriously at this option, which he linked to a resurgence of interest in tactical nuclear weapons among defence department political appointees. The election of Mr Ahmedinejad last year, has hardened attitudes within the Bush Administration. The Iranian president has said that Israel should be "wiped off the map". He has drafted in former fellow Revolutionary Guards commanders to run the nuclear programme, in further signs that he is preparing to back his threats with action. Mr Bush and others in the White House view him as a potential Adolf Hitler, a former senior intelligence official told Hersh. "That's the name they're using. They say, 'Will Iran get a strategic weapon and threaten another world war?' " Despite America's public commitment to diplomacy, there is a growing belief in Washington that the only solution to the crisis is regime change. A senior Pentagon consultant said that Mr Bush believes that he must do "what no Democrat or Republican, if elected in the future, would have the courage to do," and "that saving Iran is going to be his legacy". Publicly, the US insists it remains committed to diplomacy to solve the crisis. But with Russia apparently intent on vetoing any threat of punitive action at the UN, the Bush administration is also planning for unilateral military action. Hersh repeated his claims that the US has intensified clandestine activities inside Iran, using special forces to identify targets and establish contact with anti-Teheran ethnic-minority groups. The senior defence officials said that Mr Bush is "determined to deny Iran the opportunity to begin a pilot programme, planned for this spring, to enrich uranium". ***** February 13, 2006 FY 2007 Budget Proposal for Social Security Privatization, Again http://ataxingmatter.blogs.com As David Sanger of the New York Times wrote of the Bush FY 2007 budget proposals: "The budget bears all the hallmarks of the Bush presidency, putting national security and tax cuts above all other considerations and gradually tightening or reducing spending on programs, including educational loans, farm subsidies and national parks." See Bush's $2.77 Trillion Budget Calls for Medicare Cuts. Thus it should not be surprising to anyone that Mr. Bush has again trotted out budget breaking privatization "reforms" for Social Security. In spite of a State of the Union speech proposing a bipartisan commission to consider ways to ensure Social Security's solvency for years to come, the FY 2007 budget proposals include a plan to privatize Social Security at a cost of $700 billion (over the first seven years). See this report on OMB Watch. Although little noticed in the media, the plan would provide for workers to divert funds to private accounts beginning at $1,100 in 2009 and increasing by $100 increments through 2016. Congressman Steny Hoyer (D-Md) had this to say about the reappearance of Bush's privatization plan. “This is absolutely stunning. ... Last year, the country emphatically rejected the President’s effort to privatize this critical program. Instead of working in a bipartisan fashion to find a common sense solution to Social Security’s solvency, the President’s budget embraces an ill-advised, unpopular plan that would turn a guarantee into a gamble.” Hoyer Budget Release. For other commentary on Bush's "stealth" Social Security privatization proposal, see this Washington Post article; this report on SeniorJournal.com, which provides links to the Social Security section of the budget document; and this brief report at PAFCO education fund. The FY 2007 budget also proposes reductions in Social Security benefits by $2.2 billion over five years and $6.3 billion over the ten-year budget period. See this report on the FY 2007 budget from the Center for Budget and Policy Priorities. If the budget proposals are carried out as planned, 1,900 Social Security Administration positions nationwide would be cut through attrition, possibly hampering the SSA's ability to respond appropriately to changes in status of eligible retirees. See this report. The CBPP report notes additional changes that could hurt vulnerable populations, including elimination of the lump-sum death benefit of $255 that can help families pay for funerals and an apparently rigid requirement that school-age children attend school in order to receive benefits, even if there were reasonable cause for the children to miss school, such as mental disability. Grassley, Chair of the Senate Finance Committee, made clear that those heartless changes had no chance of passage. See this Social Security News report and the linked AP report. (The CBPP report, by the way, is well worth reading beyond its section on Social Security. It provides a good overview of the budget proposals, and a noteworthy evaluation of the various ways in which these budget proposals are deceptive as to their ultimate impact on the U.S. economy.) The Bush Social Security privatization plan is old wine in new bottles. The Cato Institute, of course, has been pushing privatization of Social Security for a decade. See, e.g., this 1997 Cato Institute piece proposing that all workers 32 and under divert almost 50% of their Social Security taxes into private accounts, with the shortfalls in paying benefits to be made up by additional federal debt. The solution to the health care and retirement needs of Americans will not be found in programs that merely transfer risk to workers while putting more money in the pockets of the wealthiest Americans. Instead, Congress and the White House should work together to find a reasonable solution to fund the needs of Social Security beneficiaries in the years to come. The most obvious one is to increase or eliminate the cap and to have it apply to capital gains as well as to ordinary wage income. The choice is simple--reduce benefits for those who rely on Social Security as their primary income, or have better-off Americans pay their fair share of the tax burden for Social Security by paying tax at the same flat rate proportionately on all of their income that ordinary Americans pay on all of theirs. It seems clear that having wealthy Americans pay their fair share is the solution most in line with American values. ***** Writers Guild Crowns 'Casablanca' Best Script By Jesse Hiestand Reuters LOS ANGELES (April 7) - "Casablanca" has topped the list of "101 Greatest Screenplays," a first-ever ranking by members of the Writers Guild of America that was revealed Thursday night at a reception in Beverly Hills. The screenplay for "Casablanca," by Julius Epstein, Philip Epstein and Howard Koch, was followed, in order, by Mario Puzo and Francis Ford Coppola's "The Godfather," Robert Towne's "Chinatown," Herman Mankiewicz and Orson Welles' "Citizen Kane" and Joseph Mankiewicz's "All About Eve ." "This list and the films on it are meant to be scrutinized and criticized, dissected and collected, viewed and reviewed," WGA West president Patric Verrone said. "They are the literature of our industry and the legacy of our union." Added WGA East president Chris Albers: "It's difficult to think of American life without the films on this list. Just reading the titles reminds us of the fantastic journeys they have provided." The results, sponsored by the unions and Premiere magazine, were revealed at a gala tribute at the Writers Guild Theater. Members nominated more than 1,400 screenplays. Any produced screenplay was eligible regardless of era or language. Rounding out the top 10 are Woody Allen and Marshall Brickman's "Annie Hall," Charles Brackett, Billy Wilder and D.M. Marshman Jr.'s "Sunset Blvd.," Paddy Chayefsky's "Network," Billy Wilder and I.A.L. Diamond's "Some Like It Hot" and Coppola and Puzo's "The Godfather Part II." Three writers -- Allen, Coppola and Wilder -- had four films on the list, while three others had three: William Goldman, John Huston and Charlie Kaufman. Forty-five were original scripts, while 56 were adaptations; the list also was heavy on dramas (60) as opposed to comedies (26) and comedy/dramas (15). Full credits and the complete list can be found at www.wga.org. ***** http://www.cryptomundo.com First Sasquatch Expedition - 72 Years Ago Today! Fresno [California] Bee April 9, 1934 Californians Out To Bag Legendary ‘Sasquatch’ VANCOUVER (B.C.), April 9. — (AP) — America’s first Sasquatch-catching expedition headed into the mountains of British Columbia today on a hunt for the horrible, hairy, naked bogey-man of Indian legend. J. F. Blakeney and C. K. Blakeney, brothers, of Sacramento, medical students at the University of California, read reports of frightened tribesmen that the giant body-snatcher of old had been seen recently in the mountains north of Harrison Lake and determined to attempt to photograph or lasso a "Sasquatch." The fabled Sasquatch, as described in Indian lore for hundreds of years, is about as villainous a phantasm as ever frightened a little papoose anywhere, but adult Indians also are fearful of the monsters. They are supposed to lurk in the caves and glades of British Columbia, coming out in the twilight to peer moodily into Indian tepees, to glower and snatch at children, to steal food, play diabolical tricks and even kill warriors. "Our professor of anthropology will be much interested," said the Blakeneys, as they left for the haunts of the Sasquatch. British Columbia is a happy hunting ground for weird legends, and there is no lack of witnesses who will swear to them, as hundreds have sworn they have seen Ogopogo, the sheep-headed fresh-water serpent of Lake Okanogan, and the two big salt-water sea-serpents, Hiaschuckaluck Cadborosaurus and his "wife," Amy. ________________________________ Thanks to Jerome Clark. ***** BusinessWeek.com This Train Is Really Defying Gravity By Eamon Javers APRIL 17, 2006 WASHINGTON OUTLOOK If Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid has his way, someday a superfast hovering train will whisk tourists from family-friendly Disneyland to the what-happens-here-stays-here city, Las Vegas. But so far, the Nevada senator's fascination with magnetic levitation -- the futuristic technology that would power the train across the desert at 300 mph -- has managed only to levitate a steady stream of money out of the federal budget: $54 million and counting. Few others are climbing aboard. The Transportation Dept. rejects MagLev for its steep price tag, which a 2005 study says eclipses the cost of current high-speed rail by "fourfold to ninefold." Even Nevada's other senator, Republican John Ensign, questions the value of spending an estimated $12 billion or more on a 269-mile Anaheim-to-Vegas train line. But Reid has pressed ahead, earmarking $9 million between 2000 and 2004 and winning a $45 million authorization in last year's federal transportation bill. It's just one small example of how congressional leaders can keep projects alive and how difficult it will be for reformers to stamp out earmarks -- the hidden pots of cash that lawmakers tuck into spending bills for favorite projects or constituents. MagLev, which uses the attraction and repulsion of powerful magnets to power a train hovering inches off the track, enjoyed a brief burst of federal support in the 1990s. Clintonites praised it as a new and efficient option for short-range travel. But since 2001 the Bush Administration has not sought funding for MagLev projects. "The Administration believes that the money could be better spent on other transportation needs," says Steven Kulm, a Federal Railroad Administration spokesman. But with Reid's help, MagLev boosters have kept hope alive. So far, they've spent $7 million on preconstruction engineering studies, and they're pushing for Congress to appropriate the $45 million it O.K.'d last year. The California-Nevada Super Speed Train Commission wants to leverage federal dollars with tax-exempt bonds and private equity. It has partnered with American Magline Group, many of whose corporate members -- General Atomics, Hirschfeld Steel, and Parsons Transportation Group, among others -- would help build the high-speed train. Backers argue that the project is crucial for the future of transportation. "I don't know if anyone accused President Eisenhower of pork when he created the interstate highway system," says Neil Cummings, president of American Magline. Jim Manley, a spokesman for Reid, says a high-speed train would ease congestion at Las Vegas McCarran International Airport. "It's a good project," says Manley. Nonsense, says Keith Ashdown, vice-president of Taxpayers for Common Sense, a group that tries to limit federal spending. MagLev is "a train to nowhere," says Ashdown. "We're wasting tens of millions of dollars on a project that nobody believes will be built except Harry Reid." But Reid's faith in MagLev has been a plus for him: Companies and individuals tied to the project have given him $28,749 in campaign funds since 1999, according to the Center for Responsive Politics. And with Ensign facing his first reelection campaign, MagLev fans are opening their checkbooks for him, to the tune of $23,248. For now, MagLev keeps hovering along. ***** Posted 04/06/2006 $13,700 an Hour Katrina vanden Heuvel TheNation.com Last Sunday, the New York Times reported that--for the first time--a full-time worker earning minimum wage cannot afford a one-bedroom apartment anywhere in America at market rates. That means more and more people like Michelle Kennedy--a former Senate page and author of Without a Net: Middle Class and Homeless (with Kids) in America--are finding themselves homeless and living out of their cars. At a town hall meeting in Ohio last Saturday, Representative Sherrod Brown of Ohio, a staunch advocate for social and economic rights--he and Bernie Sanders are the two best candidates running for Senate in 2006--railed against stagnant wages' contribution to economic hardship. "It is unacceptable that someone can work full-time--and work hard--and not be able to lift their family out of poverty." He blasted a system where a full-time worker making the minimum wage earns $10,500 annually, while "last year the CEO of Wal-Mart earned $3,500 an hour. The CEO of Halliburton earned about $8,300 an hour. And the CEO of ExxonMobil earned about $13,700 an hour." This past weekend Robert Kuttner argued in the Boston Globe that while people are blaming undocumented workers for driving down wages, the real villains are "the people running the government, who have made sure that the lions' share of the productivity gains go to the richest 1 percent of Americans. With different tax, labor, health, and housing policies, native-born workers and immigrants alike could get a fairer share of our productive economy." Kuttner points to Census data showing that "median household income fell 3.8 percent, or $1,700, from 1999 to 2004...during a period when average productivity rose 3 percent per year." And while income is falling, working people are increasingly squeezed. Costs for housing, healthcare, education and childcare rose 46 percent between 1991 and 2002, according to economist Jared Bernstein of the Economic Policy Institute. And the situation is getting worse. Look at the Delphi Corporation's moves as reported in the Washington Post on Saturday. The company asked a bankruptcy judge to void its union contracts so it could lower worker wages and benefits. CEO Steve Miller played the ever-reliable global competition card saying, "At the end of the day, Delphi must be competitive in the global marketplace." But as Kate Bronfenbrenner, director of labor education research at Cornell University, makes clear, this new tactic will further erode labor's power in the workplace. "What in our laws and in our democracy gives a bankruptcy judge the right to take away freedom of association and collective bargaining?" Bronfenbrenner asked. "Bankruptcy judges should not have that power. Now they do." In the current climate--with tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans; a minimum wage frozen for eight years and a GOP-dominated Congress; deterioration of labor's power in the workplace; and corporate-authored free-trade agreements that exacerbate these trends--it is heartening to hear Sherrod Brown make the case that "a hard day's work should mean a fair day's pay." But where are the other Democratic leaders who should be standing by his side? The Democratic Party needs to regain its moral compass, its heart and soul. Sounding an alarm on this economic catastrophe befalling so many Americans is what heart and soul is all about. ***** SF Wi-Fi a 'dinosaur deal' for the poor Privacy, 911 questions linger By Andrew Orlowski in San Francisco Published Saturday 8th April 2006 http://www.theregister.co.uk San Francisco's municipal Wi-Fi initiative isn't the biggest such project in the world, but it may be the most keenly watched. And after this week's award to Google and Earthlink, the battle to win the best deal for the city's residents is only just starting. That's largely thanks to San Francisco's activist community, who've tackled the tough questions that evangelist sites like Muniwireless - which rely on technology vendors for sponsorship - have avoided. As the smoke clears, it's evident that San Francisco has failed to win the kind of deal for its poorer and less computer literate residents than the one Earthlink provided in Philadelphia. In San Francisco, Earthlink will operate the high speed, pay-for service, while Google will operate the free, low-speed tier. However, while Earthlink provided Philly citizens with 10,000 free computers, and skims a percentage from the paid-for service to fund training initiatives, no such guarantees have been made in Baghdad by the Bay. "It's very disappointing," says Sydney Levy, program director of Media Alliance and a co-ordinator for Internet 4 Everyone. Levy also says that the free portion is too slow. While Mountain View residents will get 1mbit/s free from Google, San Francisco's is 300kbit/s. "It's going to be another digital divide," says Levy. "It's going to be another dinosaur". In fact a municipal Wi-Fi network can widen, not close the "digital divide". The Charleston, Ga. Post and Courier quotes consultant Craig Settles for the observation that, "Typically, the people who need Internet access the least are the ones who use municipal WiFi the most". So municipal Wi-Fi simply saves money for the people who can already afford it. "There is no way you are going to improve or resolve the digital-divide issue if all you do is put up the network and say, 'That's it,'" Settles said. The city should have mandated future upgrades, he says. He wants the TechConnect project team to acknowledge that training is essential, and that it isn't starting with a blank piece of paper. "There are resources being used in local communities that have the expertise to work on chunks of this issue. There are many groups involved in computer training and computer refurbishing - so any solution needs to acknowledge it's not starting from scratch. These groups know how to do it in Spanish and in Chinese, and they know how to do it in BayView." Two other areas of concern remain unaddressed, say critics. An audit by the Electronic Privacy Information Centre earlier this week found the Google/Earthlink bid wanting. "Both [free and fee] services require the user to sign on, thus creating the opportunity for persistent tracking across sessions. The Google advertising supported service would target advertisements to individuals based on their Internet usage and other information," it notes. Kimo Crossman, the computer consultant and blogger who did more than anyone to expose the backroom machinations of the project, criticizes it for failing to provide the emergency services with guarantees. Small municipalities have deployed Wi-Fi in combination with VoIP to replace older radio services for the police. Advocates say New Orleans mesh Wi-Fi network showed its potential for disaster situation. So long as it isn't raining, it isn't foggy, and there are no leaves on the trees. "There's nothing here for the emergency services. You'd think with the 100 year anniversary of the San Francisco Earthquake, this might have been worth some thought." TechConnect's criteria for the RFP can be found here. As with other infrastructure bids, cities get what they ask for. For reasons unknown, San Francisco just didn't ask for very much.