tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-39886152011-12-10T10:03:34.628-05:00milicornruminations on international financing and whateverGaryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04035503653188871681noreply@blogger.comBlogger911100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3988615.post-52651342048199009962011-12-10T09:52:00.003-05:002011-12-10T10:03:34.634-05:00eurozone zombie banksBank deposits with the ECB now stand at their highest level since June 2010 at €905bn (£772bn) as lenders withdraw deposits held with their peers and put them into the central bank. At the same time, banks in major eurozone countries such as France and Italy have become increasingly reliant on central bank funding. This follows the trend seen in smaller countries like IrelandGaryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04035503653188871681noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3988615.post-9016997536735148642011-12-09T10:39:00.003-05:002011-12-09T10:45:00.309-05:00 Capital flight to GermanyThe deal clinched by European leaders in the early morning hours of Friday seems unlikely to ease the intense financial pressures that have plagued the currency bloc for over two years. Nor will it dispel concerns that the euro area could eventually break apart, with one or more countries exiting despite the catastrophic consequences that would entail.European companies Garyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04035503653188871681noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3988615.post-85156803150930324252011-12-08T10:30:00.002-05:002011-12-08T10:40:45.957-05:00Printing new Irish Pounds?The Central Bank of Ireland has said it is not printing Irish punts and is only printing euro.It is understood that the Central Bank is not in talks with any private printing companies regarding evaluating the need for additional capacity to produce new currency.In recent weeks, British Chancellor George Osborne said his government had contingency planning in place in Garyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04035503653188871681noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3988615.post-87913729078968177902011-05-26T16:30:00.003-04:002011-05-26T17:14:33.820-04:00CIA's Panetta asks for quick renewal of Patriot ActGaryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04035503653188871681noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3988615.post-6078283952643646892011-05-03T10:21:00.002-04:002011-05-03T10:31:25.946-04:00Note pickupsTargeting and Analysis Center. JSOC, active “kinetic” -- or lethal -- counterterrorism missions abroad includes more than 4,000 soldiers and civilians and its own intelligence division which has gobbled up a number of free-floating Defense Department entities that allowed it to rapidly acquire, test, and field new technologies. Recently, JSOC built a new Targeting and Analysis Garyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04035503653188871681noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3988615.post-79897119519160386842010-10-28T23:42:00.006-04:002010-10-28T23:55:15.706-04:00Mr. Furlong’s network, composed of a group of small companies that used agents deep inside Afghanistan and Pakistan to collect intelligence on militant groups, operated under a $22 million contract run by Lockheed Martin.One of the companies used a group of American, Afghan and Pakistani agents overseen by Duane Clarridge, a Central Intelligence Agency veteran best known for his role in the Garyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04035503653188871681noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3988615.post-26715718464248828182010-10-28T09:24:00.004-04:002010-10-28T09:36:31.380-04:00"not always straightforward""Torture is illegal and abhorrent under any circumstances and we have nothing whatsoever to do with it. ... UK's security service had a duty to ensure any partner service would respect human rights but admitted this was "not always straightforward"."Yet if we hold back and don't pass that intelligence, out of concern that a suspect terrorist may be badly treated, Garyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04035503653188871681noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3988615.post-56476025524650324112010-09-29T23:36:00.003-04:002010-09-29T23:44:25.680-04:00Secretary of Defense Robert M. Gates said that military recruits came increasingly from the South, the mountain West and small towns, and less often from the Northeast, West Coast and big cities. The military’s own basing decisions have reinforced the trend, he said, with a significant percentage of Army posts moved in recent years to just five states: Georgia, Kentucky, North Carolina, Texas andGaryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04035503653188871681noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3988615.post-64074332568383144302010-09-26T12:00:00.004-04:002010-09-26T12:05:54.006-04:00Officials accuse Anwar Awlaki of planning attacks for Al Qaeda’s Yemen branch, and he is believed to be on a “targeted killings” list for the military and the Central Intelligence Agency. Al-Aulaqi (al-Awlaki) v. Obama, 10cv1469, U.S. District Court, District of Columbia (Washington). A lawsuit seeks an injunction to block the government from killing him. While the government’s brief did not Garyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04035503653188871681noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3988615.post-12053979963623592532010-06-29T16:54:00.006-04:002010-06-29T17:25:07.757-04:0011 spy network suspects, who were described by prosecutors as living under false identities in an effort to penetrate American society videothe Foreign Ministry issued another statement acknowledging that the suspects were Russian citizens.“They have not conducted any activities directed against the interests of the United States,” the statement said. It is both risky and very expensive work, Garyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04035503653188871681noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3988615.post-35180463472014004782010-05-16T09:12:00.009-04:002010-05-16T09:26:58.806-04:00 Bourne Ultimatum - life imitating artSince the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, the Pentagon has used broad interpretations of its authorities to expand military intelligence operations, including sending Special Operations troops on clandestine missions far from declared war zones. These missions have raised concerns in Washington that the Pentagon is running de facto covert actions without proper Garyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04035503653188871681noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3988615.post-42430807531109111482010-05-14T10:21:00.002-04:002010-05-14T10:25:13.812-04:00The C.I.A. has placed the American-born cleric Anwar al-Awlaki on a list for killing. The notion that the government can, in effect, execute one of its own citizens,an American, born in New Mexico, far from a combat zone, with no judicial process and based on secret intelligence, makes some legal authorities deeply uneasy. Harold Koh, the State Department’s legal adviser, approves under the Garyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04035503653188871681noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3988615.post-87373051137500221082010-05-09T23:20:00.001-04:002010-05-09T23:21:30.203-04:00Mr. Holder signaled the abrupt shift of tone as the administration’s proposaed to ask Congress to loosen the Miranda rule. It comes against the backdrop of sharp criticism by Republicans who have argued that terrorism suspects — including United States citizens like Faisal Shahzad, the suspect in the Times Square case — should be imprisoned and interrogated as military detainees, rather than Garyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04035503653188871681noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3988615.post-79355396909039207592010-04-16T10:25:00.003-04:002010-04-16T10:33:19.471-04:00a number of documents released April 16 provide the most detailed glimpse yet of the deliberations inside the C.I.A. surrounding the destroyed tapes, and of the concern among officials at the spy agency that the decision might put the C.I.A. in legal jeopardy.The documents detailing those deliberations, including two e-mail messages from a C.I.A. official whose name has been excised,.The e-mail Garyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04035503653188871681noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3988615.post-40404083980052237492010-04-03T23:21:00.003-04:002010-04-03T23:27:31.520-04:00Vaughn Walker, a federal judge, ruled Wednesday that the National Security Agency’s program of surveillance without warrants was illegal. His ruling establishes that state secrecy claims do not trump the requirements of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act. The ruling also provides a chilling account of the relentless efforts by the Bush and Obama administrations to kill the civil lawsuit Garyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04035503653188871681noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3988615.post-11291841573362023482010-03-31T22:52:00.003-04:002010-03-31T22:57:20.182-04:00Vaughn R. WalkerFederal Judge Finds N.S.A. Wiretapping Program IllegalGaryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04035503653188871681noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3988615.post-19335792609439395942010-02-26T20:13:00.003-05:002010-02-26T20:16:02.212-05:00 The disappearance of e-mail messages by Bush lawyers who drafted memos blessing harsh interrogation tactics may launch a criminal inquiry. They cover a critical period in 2002 when Justice Department attorneys labored under heavy pressure on a memo that gave the CIA a green light to use simulated drowning, sleep deprivation and other since-repudiated interrogation techniques against al-Qaeda Garyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04035503653188871681noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3988615.post-10650327870378398702010-02-20T10:40:00.002-05:002010-02-20T10:46:35.594-05:00C.I.A. interrogation program broke the lawTwo department lawyers involved in analyzing and justifying waterboarding and other interrogation tactics — Jay S. Bybee, now a federal judge, and John C. Yoo, now a professor at the University of California, Berkeley — had demonstrated “professional misconduct.” It said the lawyers had ignored legal precedents and provided slipshod legal advice to the Garyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04035503653188871681noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3988615.post-56722446693648650132010-01-12T21:58:00.001-05:002010-01-12T22:05:00.621-05:00John A. Rizzo, who joined the CIA in 1976 and retired late last year as the agency's acting general counsel, has held preliminary discussions with William Morris, the large talent and literary agency. Historical topics Rizzo plans to write about will include Iran-Contra investigations in the 1980s, controversies in the 1990s over the CIA's use of "dirty assets" in Central America and elsewhere,Garyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04035503653188871681noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3988615.post-35919237090687650992009-10-29T00:14:00.003-04:002009-10-29T00:21:16.225-04:00The Federal Bureau of Investigation's"Domestic Investigations and Operation Guide"NY TimesGovernmentGaryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04035503653188871681noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3988615.post-84923848179178338962009-09-19T09:04:00.002-04:002009-09-19T09:13:48.021-04:00Former CIA Directors ask for an end to torture investigationLetter hereGaryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04035503653188871681noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3988615.post-42895198842123217002009-07-27T08:13:00.003-04:002009-07-27T08:19:51.710-04:00'Torture Memo' Author Yoo Gets Private Lawyer for Appeal of Detainee LawsuitMiguel Estrada will be representing Yoo for the appeal.Estrada is a Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher partner and former Bush nominee for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, The Justice Department said it will still pay for Yoo's defense, "as is normal practice when the potential exists for disagreement between the Garyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04035503653188871681noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3988615.post-77643167095604808532009-07-11T11:02:00.003-04:002009-07-11T11:15:24.434-04:00An FBI agent's notes stated that then-White House chief of staff Andrew H. Card Jr. and Pres. G. W. Bush called the hospital room, and that Ashcroft's wife had taken the call. Card would not sit for an interview with the IGs about his dramatic visit with then-White House counsel Alberto R. Gonzales to the hospital bedside of an ailing Ashcroft. Gonzales told the inspectors general that Bush Garyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04035503653188871681noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3988615.post-81758825414158512922009-06-30T11:37:00.002-04:002009-06-30T11:40:16.870-04:00GM bankruptcy hearing seems like it will go into tomorrow.Garyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04035503653188871681noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3988615.post-35118295082947497342009-06-25T09:18:00.001-04:002009-06-25T09:19:37.485-04:00The judge has approved the DIP financing. That only took 15 minutes.Garyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04035503653188871681noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3988615.post-83482807937941748012009-06-24T21:41:00.002-04:002009-06-24T21:46:09.166-04:00national security collection functions The Intelligence Community gives current heavy reliance on contractors. It is estimated that some intelligence entities within the IC devote up to 70 percent of their resources to contractors. Allowing the private sector to be so heavily involved in the intelligence business is counterproductive for several reasons. First, it fosters an atmosphere of Garyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04035503653188871681noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3988615.post-2325474575224278512009-06-17T08:14:00.002-04:002009-06-17T08:17:27.720-04:00 Recent intercepts of the private telephone calls and e-mail messages of Americans are broader than previously acknowledged by the National Security agency. hereGaryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04035503653188871681noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3988615.post-16779759956438001942009-06-06T11:57:00.003-04:002009-06-06T12:01:01.316-04:00General Motors Bankruptcy datesGM's next major hearing is scheduled for June 25, when it will ask for final approval of its full $33.3 billion in debtor-in-possesion financing. A hearing on the proposed sale of the bulk of GM's assets to a new company is scheduled for June 30. see alsoGaryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04035503653188871681noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3988615.post-68278118459382397032009-06-05T14:13:00.002-04:002009-06-05T14:17:50.042-04:00Roger PenskeGeneral Motors has agreed to sell its Saturn brand to Roger Penske, a major auto dealer, Mr. Penske and G.M. announced June 5, 2009. Mr. Penske’s company, which owns 310 franchises around the world, already serves as the sole distributor of Daimler’s Smart line of small cars.Garyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04035503653188871681noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3988615.post-82516316060398297332009-06-02T10:03:00.006-04:002009-06-02T14:20:22.530-04:00 Chinese Buy HummerUnder the agreement with G.M, The Sichuan Tengzhong Heavy Industrial Machinery Company Ltd., based in Chengdu GM will initially continue to manufacture Hummers under contract for Sichuan Tengzhong, which will then market them around the world. G.M. will continue making the H3 and H3T models in Shreveport, La., through the end of next year, for example. The buyer plans to Garyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04035503653188871681noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3988615.post-21852689944447598522009-06-01T08:58:00.007-04:002009-06-02T09:50:04.987-04:00GM files for bankruptcy$22,759,871,912 bond debt wilmington trust$20,560,000,000 UAW union trusts$4,444,050,000 Deutsche Bank AG, as fiscal agent (eurodollar)The PetitionThe videoThe WebsiteAn interesting sitePrimer Michael Moore Huffington DealbookGaryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04035503653188871681noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3988615.post-63001211142386883032009-04-16T20:30:00.003-04:002009-04-16T20:36:25.490-04:00Overcollection of American e-mail Overcollection problems appear to have been uncovered as part of a twice-annual certification that the Justice Department and the director of national intelligence are required to give to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court on the protocols that the N.S.A. is using in wiretapping. Congress gave the N.S.A. broad new authority to collect, without Garyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04035503653188871681noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3988615.post-81028723062151948462009-03-02T18:22:00.004-05:002009-03-02T18:29:32.442-05:00Torture at Thai CIA black siteTapes had been held inside a safe in the C.I.A. station in Thailand, the country where two Al Qaeda suspects — Abu Zubaydah and Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri — were interrogated were destroyed by order of Jose A. Rodriguez Jr., who at the time was the head of the spy agency’s clandestine service.Garyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04035503653188871681noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3988615.post-58548029997379147322009-02-04T09:36:00.006-05:002009-02-04T09:44:03.393-05:00List of 147 Philanthropies stung by Bernard MadoffGaryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04035503653188871681noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3988615.post-46877368332834658472009-02-02T09:20:00.003-05:002009-02-02T09:27:54.500-05:00Waterboarding jokeSen. Joe Lieberman (I-CT), at Jan 31st’s black-tie dinner at Washington’s Alfalfa Club, said, ‘We had hoped Vice President Cheney would be here tonight. I hope it’s not his back injury that’s keeping him away. Apparently, he hurt it moving some things out of his office. Personally, I had no idea that waterboards were so heavy.'Last year, Lieberman, who has voted against banning Garyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04035503653188871681noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3988615.post-8783085554707207972009-01-31T09:53:00.003-05:002009-01-31T10:12:53.158-05:00Rich income 3½ times more than 1996The average adjusted gross income in 2006 of more than $263 million for the top 400 taxpayers compared with an average of $214 million in 2005. It was three and a half times what they earned in 1996, which was $74 million, and their average tax rate continued to a 15-year low of 17 percent.Garyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04035503653188871681noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3988615.post-19346736509485344692009-01-15T09:05:00.003-05:002009-01-15T09:08:56.583-05:00A new ruling is expected to have broad implications for federal wiretapping law. Barack Obama, when a United States senator, was highly critical of the presidential wiretapping power claimed by Mr. Bush, and threatened to filibuster the final bill. But he ultimately voted for the Protect America Act. A federal appeals court has now for the first time has ruled on the constitutional question of Garyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04035503653188871681noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3988615.post-77856591128034469232008-12-21T22:30:00.002-05:002008-12-21T22:34:45.149-05:00The Pentagon has drawn up plans to deploy 20,000 U.S. soldiers inside our borders by 2011, to help state and local officials respond to terrorist attacks or other catastrophes. hereGaryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04035503653188871681noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3988615.post-26262874489249438832008-09-25T08:15:00.004-04:002008-09-25T08:21:12.793-04:00Condi chaired torture meetings at White HouseThe meetings were led by Condoleezza Rice, then the national security adviser, and attended by Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld, Attorney General John Ashcroft and other top administration officials.Garyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04035503653188871681noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3988615.post-69338925212836369842008-09-03T09:17:00.007-04:002008-09-03T09:30:07.514-04:00 Data is increasingly flowing around the United StatesInterception of foreign Internet communications is shifting Canadian and European traffic away from the United States. Internet traffic passing through the switching equipment of companies based in the United States is monitored by American intelligence agencies.Since passage of the Patriot Act, many companies based outside of the United Garyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04035503653188871681noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3988615.post-85304054248701012792008-06-06T09:25:00.004-04:002008-06-06T09:32:41.547-04:00McCain: Stop! I'm for Amnesty for Lawbreaking TelecomsNeither the Administration nor the telecoms need apologize for actions...were Constitutional and appropriate. hereSee SalonWiredGaryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04035503653188871681noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3988615.post-75645345105827013142008-05-20T17:14:00.003-04:002008-05-20T17:23:29.444-04:00A massive government database holding details of every phone call, e-mail and time spent on the internet by the public is being planned as part of the fight against crime and terrorism. hereGaryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04035503653188871681noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3988615.post-75802026219686274392008-04-26T18:38:00.002-04:002008-04-26T18:43:25.501-04:00Letter Outlines Legal Rationale for C.I.A. TacticsGaryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04035503653188871681noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3988615.post-65569957873001822092008-04-22T08:44:00.003-04:002008-04-22T08:52:37.724-04:00FBI will create a modern identification system for catching criminals and terroristsApril 22 (Bloomberg) -- Lockheed Martin Corp., the world's largest defense company, said first-quarter earnings rose 5.8 percent as higher U.S. government computer sales and revenue from development of new NASA spacecraft helped overcome lower F-16 deliveries.In February, Lockheed added to its role as the largestGaryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04035503653188871681noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3988615.post-55957724022436632162008-04-03T08:35:00.004-04:002008-04-03T08:43:26.614-04:00George J. Terwilliger IIIThe administration now disavows program.."Our office recently concluded that the Fourth Amendment had no application to domestic military operations," a 2003 footnote states, referring to a a secret Justice Department legal memo dated Oct. 23, 2001 to Alberto Gonzales titled "Authority for Use of Military Force to Combat Terrorist Activities Within the United States." Garyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04035503653188871681noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3988615.post-55721184947323778082008-04-02T08:58:00.002-04:002008-04-02T09:02:35.451-04:00John C. Yoo Memo on Torture A memo by John C. Yoo, then of the Justice Department, argued federal laws prohibiting assault, maiming and other crimes did not apply to military interrogators who questioned al-Qaeda captives because the president's ultimate authority as commander in chief overrode such statutes. Although the existence of the memo has long been known, its contents had not been Garyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04035503653188871681noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3988615.post-21111253668969533052007-12-13T08:32:00.000-05:002007-12-13T08:35:42.118-05:00The legal siege against the Bush administration’s counterterrorism programs goes far beyond the C.I.A., including lawsuits brought on behalf of hundreds of detainees held at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, and more than 40 challenges in court to the National Security Agency’s warrantless surveillance program.Garyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04035503653188871681noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3988615.post-63252163362285008912007-08-31T08:54:00.000-04:002007-08-31T09:03:55.343-04:00SWIFT Orwellian example of government overreaching Two American banking customers have sued Swift on invasion-of-privacy grounds. Legal and financial analysts had expected that the suit would have been thrown out because American banking privacy laws are considered much laxer than those in much of Europe.But the chief judge in Federal District Court in Chicago,[Northern District] James F. Garyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04035503653188871681noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3988615.post-34491334718443428372007-08-28T10:17:00.000-04:002007-08-28T10:23:34.227-04:00Attorney General resignsThe departure of Attorney General Alberto Gonzales could unlock the Bush administration's legal closet, bringing new details tumbling into the open about issues including the treatment of terrorism suspects, warrantless surveillance of Americans, and the administration's definition of official secrets.hereGaryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04035503653188871681noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3988615.post-32835197708204192322007-08-23T21:17:00.000-04:002007-08-23T21:27:56.455-04:00Private Sector has assisted usVice Adm. Mike McConnell, director of national intelligence has told the El Paso Times "under the president's program, the terrorist surveillance program, the private sector had assisted us." hereGaryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04035503653188871681noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3988615.post-59432157365049315162007-08-19T08:54:00.000-04:002007-08-19T08:59:58.774-04:00Broad new surveillance powersBroad new surveillance powers approved by Congress this month could allow the Bush administration to conduct spy operations that go well beyond wiretapping to include — without court approval — certain types of physical searches on American soil and the collection of Americans’ business records, Democratic Congressional officials and other experts said.hereGaryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04035503653188871681noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3988615.post-78969476829010578512007-04-10T12:54:00.000-04:002007-04-10T13:03:41.492-04:00documents withheldFour senators suspect that the Justice Department have failed to turn over all relevant documents related to the dismissals of eight United States attorneys.Justice said they turned over all relevant materials, but held back sensitive personnel information about most prosecutors other than those who were removed.The signers of the letter were one Republican, Arlen Specter of Garyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04035503653188871681noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3988615.post-77524491410446987702007-03-25T19:32:00.000-04:002007-03-25T19:37:03.154-04:00TIDEPresident Bush ordered the intelligence community in 2003 to centralize data on terrorism suspects, and U.S. agencies at home and abroad now send everything they collect to TIDE.Called TIDE, for Terrorist Identities Datamart Environment, the list is a storehouse for data about individuals that the intelligence community believes might harm the United States.The list marks the first time Garyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04035503653188871681noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3988615.post-12257756498364495942007-03-22T11:45:00.000-04:002007-03-22T11:50:57.039-04:00RedactionsSen. Leahy also complained about the 3,000 documents the Justice Department handed over to the committees late Monday, saying redactions in the documents make them unworkable."Instead of freely and fully providing relevant documents to the investigating committees, they have only selectively sent documents, after erasing large portions that they do not want to see the light of day," he Garyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04035503653188871681noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3988615.post-71481585397290845022007-03-22T08:23:00.000-04:002007-03-22T08:28:14.896-04:00E-mail GapMiers responded , "Not sure whether this will be determined to require the boss's attention" and noted that President Bush had left town the night before. Sampson then asked, "Who will determine whether this requires the president's attention?" There is no follow-up response in the documents so far releasedhereGaryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04035503653188871681noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3988615.post-85516729075385723602007-03-21T21:16:00.000-04:002007-03-21T21:18:59.787-04:00Politico notes email gap hereGaryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04035503653188871681noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3988615.post-75241886611483962172007-03-20T11:45:00.000-04:002007-03-20T11:46:55.888-04:00e-mails, more promisedGaryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04035503653188871681noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3988615.post-9863977999357068672007-03-19T08:30:00.000-04:002007-03-19T08:42:10.503-04:00Document deadline missed On March 16, the administration missed a deadline to turn over new documents in a congressional investigation into whether the firings were part of a larger effort to politicize the department. The Justice Department said it would turn over on Mar. 19 the remaining documents that Congress requested. But the White House offered no such assurance. hereGaryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04035503653188871681noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3988615.post-8230775235860394062007-03-17T21:29:00.000-04:002007-03-17T21:39:01.547-04:00warrantless domestic eavesdropping programShortly before Attorney General Alberto Gonzales advised President Bush last year on whether to shut down a Justice Department inquiry regarding the administration's warrantless domestic eavesdropping program, Gonzales learned that his own conduct would likely be a focus of the investigation, according to government records and interviews.Bush personally Garyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04035503653188871681noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3988615.post-64984831485009202922007-03-09T09:30:00.000-05:002007-03-09T09:39:14.236-05:00a profoundly disturbing breach of public trustThe FBI in 2005 reported to Congress that its agents had delivered a total of 9,254 national security letters seeking e-mail, telephone or financial information on 3,501 U.S. citizens and legal residents over the previous two years. Justice Department Inspector General Glenn A. Fine's report says the number of letters was underreported by 20 percent, Garyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04035503653188871681noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3988615.post-17464138605887712312007-02-09T17:14:00.000-05:002007-02-07T16:58:04.724-05:00Feith the scapegoat?The long-awaited report by the Pentagon’s acting inspector general, Thomas F. Gimble, on the investigation into the handling of prewar intelligence was sent to Congress, centering on Douglas J. Feith, who at the time was under secretary of defense for policy. here Executive Summary of the Report (From Sen. Levin's Office. PDF format)Garyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04035503653188871681noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3988615.post-73888777540055897282007-02-07T16:40:00.000-05:002007-02-07T16:58:04.844-05:00Claimed source of power for warrantless wiretapsThe White House claims Congress granted it widespread powers to execute the war on terror after passing the joint resolution called the Authorization for the Use of Military Force. here Joint Resolution Authorization for Use of Military Force Against Iraq, 50 USC 1541, PUBLIC LAW 107–243 including warrantless wiretaps.Garyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04035503653188871681noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3988615.post-55430696554834699642007-02-05T09:17:00.000-05:002007-02-05T09:35:31.881-05:00Collection of DNA authorized by late amendmentPL 109-162 of 2006 reauthored the Violence Against Women Act, including an amendment offered by Sen. Jon Kyl(R-AZ) that would for the first time allow the federal government to collect the DNA of anyone who is arrested, even if the person is never charged or convicted, or of any “non–United States person” who is even briefly detained..• The DNA Garyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04035503653188871681noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3988615.post-29448587226329027752007-02-01T23:18:00.000-05:002007-02-01T23:27:50.846-05:00Administration SWIFT surveillance breached the trust and private lives of many millions of peoplePeter Hustinx, the European Data Protection Supervisor (EDPS)has ruled: "Just as other banks, the ECB can not escape some responsibilities in the SWIFT case which has breached the trust and private lives of many millions of people. Secret, routine and massive access of third country authorities to Garyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04035503653188871681noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3988615.post-8447927811787431072007-01-18T08:24:00.000-05:002007-01-18T14:03:25.019-05:00“It’s not academic when the president violates the law,” Mr. Romero said."An exorbitant and extreme theory of executive power that ended up weakening the presidency,” Harold Hongju Koh, the dean of Yale Law School and a critic of the administration’s legal theories, said the president’s strategy to wiretap without court approval, now reversed, might have provoked so strong a judicial and Garyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04035503653188871681noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3988615.post-1070333706418490782007-01-14T08:31:00.000-05:002007-01-14T08:48:49.643-05:00Rumsfeld directed military to get financial recordsAfter the Sept. 11 attacks, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld directed military lawyers and intelligence officials to examine their legal authorities to collect intelligence both inside the United States and abroad. They concluded that the Pentagon had “way more” legal tools than it had been using, a senior Defense Department official said. ButGaryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04035503653188871681noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3988615.post-23640862907598389392006-11-30T08:30:00.000-05:002006-11-30T08:44:53.976-05:00WH unblocks Security Clearance for FISA investigationLast December, an arm of the Justice Department, the Office of Professional Responsibility sought to examine ethical issues surrounding the roles played by Justice Department lawyers in the FISA eavesdropping program. But its review was blocked when Mr. Bush personally refused security clearances for its investigators. On Monday, DOJ's Glenn Garyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04035503653188871681noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3988615.post-11717476582256745672006-11-26T13:53:00.000-05:002006-11-26T14:04:14.607-05:00S.4051 Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Oversight and Resource Enhancement Act of 2006Sen. Arlen Specter submitted another proposal that would require warrants for eavesdropping on communications coming out of, but not into, the United States, and would put the whole issue on a fast track to the Supreme Court. Its fate, like its predecessors’, is unclear. here ThomasGaryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04035503653188871681noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3988615.post-1160055498780747072006-10-05T09:23:00.000-04:002006-10-05T09:44:59.926-04:00MUSLIM COMMUNITY ASSN v. ASHCROFTU.S. District Judge Denise Page Hood said in a 15-page decision that the American Civil Liberties Union's clients -- six Muslim groups that provide religious, medical, social and educational services to Muslims and people of Arab descent -- established that they have been harmed or threatened by Section 215 of the Patriot Act, rejecting motion to dismiss. here Garyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04035503653188871681noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3988615.post-1158673110595525392006-09-19T09:32:00.000-04:002006-09-19T09:38:30.596-04:00Other Major Challenges to the NSA's Warrantless Wiretapping Program in Federal CourtTash Hepting v. AT&T(Northern District of California, Interlocutory appeal to the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ) Federal judge dismissed Justice Department effort to intervene by using the state-secrets privilege and ruled class action plaintiffs have standing to sue.Center for Constitutional Rights v. George W. Garyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04035503653188871681noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3988615.post-1158671960782051512006-09-19T09:11:00.000-04:002006-09-19T09:23:47.486-04:00Electronic Surveillance Modernization Act Senate Judiciary Committee approved legislation by Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) that would largely preserve a 1978 law governing domestic spying while making few provisions for new executive powers. While one lawmaker decried the Senate approach as "totally contradictory," the House Judiciary Committee abruptly canceled a vote on its own version of Garyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04035503653188871681noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3988615.post-1157026068768373752006-08-31T08:05:00.000-04:002006-08-31T08:18:40.380-04:00ACLU v. NSA Stay StipulationThe ACLU and the National Security Agency and Lieutenant General Keith B. Alexander have agreed to a stay of the Court’s Judgment and Permanent Injunction Order of Aug. 17, 2006, pending the Court’s ruling on the Defendants’ forthcoming motion for a stay pending appeal. A hearing on the motion is scheduled for September 7. hereGaryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04035503653188871681noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3988615.post-1156337856297151752006-08-23T08:44:00.000-04:002006-08-23T08:59:25.183-04:00Board with Judge Anna Diggs Taylor gave four grants to wiretap plaintiff ACLUThe executive director of the Michigan A.C.L.U., Kary Moss, said her group had received four grants totaling $125,000 from the Community Foundation for Southeastern Michigan since 1999. They were a $20,000 grant in 1999 for an educational program on the Bill of Rights, $60,000 in 2000, along with the N.A.A.C.P. and otherGaryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04035503653188871681noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3988615.post-1156187468372847162006-08-21T15:03:00.000-04:002006-08-21T15:11:08.630-04:00FISA opinion"Those who heralded the decision not to give law enforcement the tools necessary to protect the American people simply don’t see the world the way we do" President Bush said today. hereGaryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04035503653188871681noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3988615.post-1156075265398118982006-08-20T07:54:00.000-04:002006-08-20T08:01:05.410-04:00Wiretap opinion of Anna Taylor DiggsCass R. Sunstein, a law professor at the University of Chicago, predicted that the plaintiffs would win the surveillance case on appeal, but not for the reasons Judge Taylor gave.“The chances that the Bush program will be upheld are not none, but slim,” Professor Sunstein said. “The chances that this judge’s analysis will be adopted are also slim.” hereGaryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04035503653188871681noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3988615.post-1155989865142241652006-08-19T08:13:00.000-04:002006-08-19T08:19:31.896-04:00"The Constitution Makes Protecting Our Nation From Foreign Attack The President's Most Solemn Duty And Provides Him With The Legal Authority To Keep America Safe." ("The NSA Program To Detect And Prevent Terrorist Attacks: Myth V. Reality," Department Of Justice, 1/27/06) here "Nobody's talking about impeachment," said plaintiff James Bamford, "but if you had opposite parties in Congress, Garyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04035503653188871681noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3988615.post-1155908634287493872006-08-18T09:34:00.000-04:002006-08-18T09:43:54.336-04:00A federal judge in Detroit on Thursday struck down the National Security Agency's domestic surveillance program, calling it unconstitutional and an illegal abuse of presidential power. here U.S. Speaker of the House J. Dennis Hastert today responded "Our terrorist surveillance programs are critical to fighting the War on Terror and saved the day by foiling the London terror plot." here The Garyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04035503653188871681noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3988615.post-1151610585850236172006-06-29T15:40:00.000-04:002006-06-29T15:49:45.883-04:00SWIFT data mining reported by UN in 2002International clearance centers such as the SWIFT are critical to processing international banking transactions and are rich with payment information. The United States has begun to apply new monitoring techniques to spot and verify suspicious transactions. reported in Third report of the Monitoring Group established pursuant to Security Council resolutionGaryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04035503653188871681noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3988615.post-1151244155145908132006-06-25T09:43:00.000-04:002006-06-25T10:02:35.166-04:00Swift data most ever possessedSWIFT(Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication) couldn't extract the bits of data U.S. terrorism analysts were looking for; instead, `We'll give you all the data,' OFAC was given access to a vast database of detailed records on billions of bank-to-bank transfers worldwide, the most expansive database on international financial transactions the U.SGaryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04035503653188871681noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3988615.post-1151157139137646472006-06-24T09:44:00.000-04:002006-06-24T09:52:19.146-04:00SWIFT search worked around State DepartmentConspicuously absent in the SWIFT caper was any mention of State. According to State, its Office of the Coordinator for Counterterrorism is charged with directing, managing, and coordinating all U.S. agencies’ efforts to develop and provide counter-terrorism financing programs. here Treasury notified the central banks of Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Garyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04035503653188871681noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3988615.post-1151073453571269702006-06-23T10:34:00.000-04:002006-06-23T11:27:19.106-04:00 Swift was exempt.Data from the Brussels-based banking consortium, formally known as the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication, has allowed officials from the C.I.A., the Federal Bureau of Investigation and other agencies to examine "tens of thousands" of financial transactionsTreasury officials said Swift was exempt from American laws restricting government access to Garyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04035503653188871681noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3988615.post-1149453487683822192006-06-04T16:29:00.000-04:002006-06-05T08:59:21.570-04:00The federal government had at least 122 data mining programs--with the Defense, Justice and Homeland Security Departments among the top users. Big databases with little public oversight can be tempting targets for officials "taking a peek," says Paul Schwartz, a visiting law professor at University of California at Berkeley, especially if the benefit is a worthy one.Chicago Tribune Two key Garyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04035503653188871681noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3988615.post-1149077306536210922006-05-31T08:07:00.000-04:002006-05-31T09:08:56.566-04:00The Counterintelligence Field Activity (CIFA), started as a small office to protect military facilities and personnel, but in the last years has grown to an analytic and operational organization with nine directorates. CIFA has awarded at least $33 million in contracts to corporate giants Lockheed Martin, Unisys Corporation, Computer Sciences Corporation and Northrop Grumman to develop databases Garyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04035503653188871681noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3988615.post-1148047837209506222006-05-19T10:08:00.000-04:002006-05-19T10:49:46.513-04:00CIA Nominee:Variation justified by expediencyPresident Bush's nominee to be the next director of the CIA, General Michael V. Hayden, faced intense questions yesterday ...' With all due respect, general, I can't tell now if you've simply said one thing and done another, or whether you have just parsed your words like a lawyer to intentionally mislead the public," Wyden said. Hayden replied that heGaryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04035503653188871681noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3988615.post-1147829237033547372006-05-16T21:23:00.000-04:002006-05-16T21:27:17.043-04:00Careful denials Verizon Communications this afternoon said that it "was not asked by the (National Security Agency) to provide, nor did Verizon provide, customer records" from any of its telephone businesses "or any call data from those records."Any media reports that say it did those things "are simply false," the company stated.It is the second company to challenge a USA TODAY report Thursday Garyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04035503653188871681noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3988615.post-1147445389168554002006-05-12T10:38:00.000-04:002006-05-14T10:35:18.350-04:00Just the tip the iceberg FISA pen register authority was not requested in compiling telephone information, as it required a court order for interception of calling pattern data. The scope of that provision was vastly expanded in the PATRIOT Act.USA Today has revealed that the National Security Agency has been compiling telephone information on millions of innocent Americans that includes data Garyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04035503653188871681noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3988615.post-1146315685738929802006-04-29T08:58:00.000-04:002006-04-29T10:00:40.176-04:00Two that support the tax 18 families worth a total of $185.5 billion have financed and coordinated a 10-year effort to repeal the estate tax, a move that would collectively net them a windfall of $71.6 billion.The families and their businesses, which include the families behind Wal-Mart, Gallo wine, Campbell’s soup, and Mars Inc., maker of M&Ms. Collectively, the list includes the first- and Garyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04035503653188871681noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3988615.post-1141827079673814662006-03-08T09:09:00.000-05:002006-03-08T09:11:19.683-05:00The USA Patriot Act renewal passed by a 280-138 vote.Garyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04035503653188871681noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3988615.post-1138631186244733572006-01-30T09:21:00.000-05:002006-01-30T09:55:02.126-05:00National Special Security EventsA GOP-approved conference bill on the Patriot Act would give the Secret Service wider latitude to charge protesters accused of disrupting major events including political conventions.The changes would tighten security restrictions at major events and would subject protesters to jurisdiction of federal law enforcement officers.The Secret Service is authorized to Garyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04035503653188871681noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3988615.post-1134854917157636802005-12-17T16:15:00.000-05:002005-12-18T09:43:35.846-05:00The parts of the Patriot Act that rankle The Bush administration has fostered a good deal of national anxiety by its simple refusal to release information allaying public fears about how the act is being implemented.Immediately after Sept. 11, many Americans seemed to fall victim to an understandable fallacy: We believed that by surrendering our freedoms, we were buying national security. Slowly Garyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04035503653188871681noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3988615.post-853350432002-12-01T11:57:00.000-05:002002-12-01T12:02:35.000-05:00The Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations held hearings on private banking in 1999. About one trillion goes through private banks each year. The creation of shell companies and the opening of accounts in offshore havens are reviewed by supervisors but in practice, private bank oversight is weak or ignored. In theory, the United States Patriot Act will require more scrutiny, but banks Garyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04035503653188871681noreply@blogger.com0