Thursday, July 2, 2009

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Iran Uprising Blogging (Friday July 3) Top
I'm liveblogging the latest Iran election fallout. Email me with any news or thoughts, or follow me on Twitter . Send me instant messages at nico.pitney@gmail.com or njpitney on AIM. Scroll down for news related to the front-page headlines. Local Iran time is 8 1/2 hours ahead of Eastern time. 2:30 AM ET -- Ahmadinejad 'facing diplomatic isolation.' The Los Angeles Times' term -- "diplomatic isolation" -- is probably too strong for what we've seen thus far. A dozen or so countries have recognized his victory, and even the U.S. provided visas to Iranian officials who visited the UN in New York last week. But as the Times notes today, Ahmadinejad's diplomatic treatment has certainly undergone a significant change since his tainted "victory" in last month's election: Russian President Dmitry Medvedev publicly greeted Ahmadinejad at a recent meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, but did not grant him a private meeting as he had the leaders of Pakistan and Afghanistan. In Belarus, the Iranian leader was met not by President Alexander Lukashenko, but by the speaker of the upper house of parliament. A similar pattern has emerged in the Middle East, where Arab regimes have long been wary of Iran's ambitions. Authorities in Jordan withdrew licenses for two Iranian news organizations this week and the sultan of Oman reportedly canceled a trip to Tehran following the unrest after Iran's June 12 election. Snubs and slights in the diplomatic world are common, sometimes almost imperceptible. But as long as Ahmadinejad remains in power, with the support of Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, there are concerns about how the messy fallout over his reelection will influence diplomacy regarding Iran's nuclear program, regional stature and relations with the U.S. and Europe. 2:28 AM ET -- Programming note. I'll be on C-SPAN's Washington Journal this morning at 8AM ET. 2:25 AM ET -- Doctor who tried to save Neda responds to Iran propaganda. A reader helpfully sent along this link to the blog of Arash Hejazi , the doctor who attempted to save Neda's life, subsequently fled to London, and now is being attacked in state media by Iranian officials. The reader provided a nearly full translation of the blog post: After my interview on June 25th, 2009, regarding my personal account of the brutal killing of Neda Agha Soltan, I read the news of my arrest warrant by the government of Iran. As I mentioned in the interview, I was expecting such as action from a government, which is founded on lies and deceit. I was expecting them to deny my statements. This government, instead of bringing justice to the murders of this innocent girl and others and accepting their responsibilities, tries to blame individuals and organizations, which have done nothing wrong. They have put pressure on my friends and family who have done nothing. They have harassed my father who is 70 years and a university professor. I did what every human would have done in my situation. I tried to save a victim. When the government tried to cover up the details, I testified what I witnessed. I have lived my life so that I would have no regret. I was one of the first physicians who went to Bam after the earthquake so that I could be near the victims who had no hope. However this time, this victim was not the victim of a natural disaster. I am a writer and from my essays and stories, you will realize that I have always been a human rights advocate and I have paid the price. I have always tired to live honestly and do not betray my principles. I believe what I did regarding Neda was the right things. I believe that if I have to pay the price, so be it, but I reserve the right to defend my honor. God is my witness that I told the truth. This lie questions the entire principles of this government. A government which questions the events of WWII, claims that there is freedom of speech in Iran, claims that there is no censorship, states that there are no political prisoners and that each individual enjoys full rights including regarding their sex, religion and race. In the past 20 days, the world has come to realize that these are false claims. I know that the world will not believe these new lies and know that this physician has do nothing except following his principles and coming to the help of people who need help and stating the truth. Neda was not the only victim. Are all the other victims the result of Western conspiracy? I am only a witness. Why are they pursuing the witness and not the killers? Is there enough bloodshed? Should I have been silent regarding this horrible crime? Is this the message that we want to send to the future generations? I believe that all the citizens of the world will support me and thousands of other Iranians who have been beaten, murdered and imprisoned, in order to achieve freedom and join the rest of the free people. I am proud of myself for being a part of this movement. I have done something that every honest human being would have done. This is my crime and this is why they are threatening me. CLICK HERE FOR LIVE-BLOGGING ARCHIVES Useful Resources Translations: TehranBroadcast.com | Translate4Iran Helping Iranians use the web: Tor Project ( English & Farsi ) IranHelp.org (Farsi) Demonstrations: Facebook | WhyWeProtest Activism: Avaaz.org | National Iranian American Council More on Iranian Election
 
Cheney Discussed Inquiries Into Plame Leak, Obama Administration Trying To Keep Details Secret Top
WASHINGTON — Vice President Dick Cheney talked with top White House officials about how to respond to reporters' inquiries into who leaked the identity of a CIA operative, according to a court filing. Cheney told the FBI about his recollection of discussions with his former top aide, I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby, and other White House officials on the media's questions. But the Obama administration is fighting in court to keep the substance of what Cheney revealed to the FBI from the public. The FBI interviewed Cheney in 2004 as it was investigating the leak of former CIA operative Valerie Plame's identity to reporters the year before. Her name was revealed after her husband, former Ambassador Joseph Wilson, criticized the Bush administration's prewar intelligence on Iraq. The leak touched off a lengthy inquiry that led to Libby being convicted on charges of obstruction of justice and lying to investigators about his conversations with reporters. Libby told the FBI it was possible that Cheney ordered him to reveal Plame's identity to the media. The liberal watchdog group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington filed a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit last year seeking records related to Cheney's FBI interview. In a court filing Wednesday, Acting Assistant Attorney General David Barron argued that parts of Cheney's interview should be kept secret because they involve confidential deliberations among White House officials. Barron said their disclosure could limit frank and open discussion about matters of national importance in the White House in the future. He said Cheney's recollection of discussions with Libby, the White House communications director and chief of staff about media inquiries into the Plame leak were among those portions that should be protected. He also included Cheney's discussions with the CIA director about Wilson's trip and his role in resolving disputes about declassifying "certain information" in that category. Barron's filing was first reported Thursday on The Washington Post's Web site. More on Dick Cheney
 
Sunscreen: Still Shady Top
July 4th weekend beach time is upon us, and the FDA still hasn't finalized its rules about what sunscreen manufacturers can claim on sunscreen labels. The new regulations were proposed back in 2007, and two years later, they still haven't been published. That means sunscreen manufacturers are still getting away with exaggerated claims.
 
Ruth Madoff's Fur Coat Taken By The Feds Top
NEW YORK — Federal marshals seized disgraced financier Bernard Madoff's $7 million Manhattan penthouse on Thursday and forced his wife to move out and leave her possessions behind, including a fur coat she had asked to take with her, an official told The Associated Press. Proceeds from a sale of the property and its contents could be used to help reimburse those who lost billions of dollars investing with Madoff before he confessed to running a Ponzi scheme. U.S. Marshal Joseph Guccione said the marshals arrived at the property at noon with a court order permitting them to take custody of the apartment and to make anyone living there move out. Guccione said Madoff's wife Ruth had been advised in advance of the marshals' plans and was leaving the residence and surrendering all personal property. "She will be leaving," he said at midday. "Restitution for the victims is the government's top priority." Typically, the U.S. Marshals Service changes all locks and secures a property when it seizes a location. By about 1 p.m. EDT, 67-year-old Ruth Madoff had left. It was not immediately clear where she went to live. Ruth Madoff first argued with marshals who came to the apartment and asked to stay, then asked if she could take a fur coat with her, a federal official informed of Ruth Madoff's departure told The AP. The official wasn't authorized to discuss details of her encounter with marshals and spoke on condition of anonymity. Ruth Madoff walked out of the apartment carrying just a straw bag after she was told she couldn't take her coat, the official said. "This cheap effort to smear Ruth Madoff is meritless _ with a little over two days to pack up her entire life of 68 years and find a new place to live, Ruth still managed to move out right on time, in an orderly fashion and in total compliance with her court approved agreement," said her lawyer, Peter Chavkin. "And it was she who forfeited the furs last Friday as the publicly filed stipulation states." "These anonymous attacks on her should stop," Chavkin added. The 71-year-old Madoff was sentenced Monday to 150 years in prison. He pleaded guilty in March to charges that his investment advisory business was a multibillion-dollar Ponzi scheme that wiped out thousands of investors and ruined charities. Authorities said Madoff had carried out the fraud for at least two decades before confessing to his sons in December that his investment business was a fraud and that he had lost as much as $50 billion. Last week, Ruth Madoff agreed to give up all of her possessions in return for a promise that federal prosecutors would not pursue $2.5 million not tied to the fraud. The money, though, is not protected from civil legal actions that might be pursued by a court-appointed trustee liquidating Madoff's assets or by investor lawsuits. Ruth Madoff broke her silence Monday when she said in a statement that her husband "stunned us all with his confession and is responsible for this terrible situation in which so many now find themselves." Before she agreed on a deal with the government to resolve her finances a week ago, Ruth Madoff had indicated through lawyers that she planned to try to keep the penthouse and an additional $62 million in assets as unrelated to the fraud. Before the fraud was exposed, the Madoffs had homes in Palm Beach, Fla., the south of France and the tip of Long Island along with the midtown Manhattan penthouse. They also traveled by private jet and yacht. The couple met at their Queens high school and married in 1959. Ruth Madoff worked with her husband when he started his financial business in 1960 and she reportedly still had an office near his when the fraud was exposed. Madoff has said he operated his fraud without the knowledge of his family.
 
Joan Blades: Outing the Toxic in Our High Chairs Top
Baby products throughout the United States are saturated with toxic flame retardants, and it is going to stay that way if the bromine industry has its way. Parents would be outraged if they were aware. Because of an antiquated California flammability standard, California Technical Bulleting 117 (TB117), the foam in children's products such as portable cribs, bassinets, strollers, playpens, swings, nursing pillows, high chairs and toddler chairs are infused with toxic flame retardant chemicals. These chemicals leach into dust, pets, humans, and the environment. Worst of all, they end up in our children. Californians have the highest body burdens in the world of pentaBDE, a potent endocrine disrupting toxic chemical which is a flame retardant. Now our babies are born with these chemicals in their bodies and get a further dose from their mother's milk and exposure to baby products. Research shows that the levels of this chemical in toddlers' bodies is three times that of their mothers. These chemicals are almost certainly harmful to human health. In animal studies in multiples species, they cause cancer, neurological impairments like hyperactivity, reproductive problems like lower sperm count, microtestes, thyroid problems, and endocrine disruption. In Sacramento, playing out on a stage that is largely invisible, SB772, a new bill to get these toxic flame retardants out of baby products, is struggling to stay afloat. Far from the media spotlight, the chemical industry has far too much influence for my comfort. MomsRising.org , the Green Science Policy Institute, Friends of the Earth and a number of concerned environmental organizations are supporting this important bill in a David and Goliath-like fight against the cynical attacks of a profit-driven and self-serving chemical industry. On Tuesday, SB772 passed out of the Senate Environmental Committee by the skin of its teeth. Supporters of the bill had believed the Committee would vote unanimously for this bill. A close vote wasn't expected. The dynamics changed when the bromine industry funded front group, "Citizens for Fire Safety," brought a half dozen sympathetic-sounding spokespeople to the hearing to speak against the legislation, portraying the legislation as reducing children's fire protection and charging that it would disproportionately harm communities of color. This is patently untrue. The fact is that it is unconscionable to expose babies to these chemicals -- especially since the 12-second flame resistance provided by these toxic chemicals has shown no measurable benefit in terms of actual fire protection. The baby products in question do not constitute a fire hazard, but they do constitute a serious health hazard when toxic chemicals are unnecessarily added. We have to change that, and we can if we shine a bright light on the dishonest and disingenuous campaign the bromine industry is waging against us and our children!
 
Sea Lion 'Hijacks' Police Harbor Boat (VIDEO) Top
CNN's Anderson Cooper reports on a frisky sea lion and the boat it apparently tried to "hijack": More on Video
 
Congressional Quarterly Sued For Corporate Espionage Top
The transcript service Federal News Service filed a lawsuit on Thursday against Congressional Quarterly and its parent companies, accusing them of corporate espionage and theft of information. Federal News also accused Congressional Quarterly of trying to buy the transcript provider to eliminate a competitor and of paying a Federal News employee involved in business development to provide confidential business information.
 
Head Scarf, or Jilbab, Emerges As Indonesian Election Issue Top
The three parties competing in Indonesia's presidential election next week have plastered this city with campaign billboards and posters depicting, predictably, their presidential and vice presidential choices looking self-confident. But one party, Golkar, has also put up posters of the candidates' wives next to their husbands, posing demurely and wearing Muslim head scarves known here as jilbabs. The wives recently went on a jilbab shopping spree in one of Jakarta's largest markets, and published a book together titled "Devout Wives of Future Leaders. More on Indonesia
 
Guantanamo's Early Months: "Chaotic And Sometimes Violent Operation" Top
WASHINGTON — Newly released Defense Department documents and memos about the first years of operation of the jail at the U.S. base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, portray a chaotic and sometimes violent operation that its own commanders described as dysfunctional. President Barack Obama has ordered the detention facility closed next year. It holds more than 200 terror suspects whose cases are undergoing review for their potential release, prosecution or continued confinement. The documents and memos were turned over to the American Civil Liberties Union as part of a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit. The ACLU has sued for release of all materials related to the government's interrogation program after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. "These documents provide further evidence of the widespread and systemic abuse of prisoners conducted at Guantanamo Bay and other overseas locations," said Amrit Singh, a staff attorney with the ACLU. "They further underscore the need for a congressional select committee to examine the roots of the torture program as well as an independent prosecutor to investigate issues of criminal responsibility." One of the newly released documents, from 2005, is the statement of one of the first commanders of Guantanamo to another general who was investigating allegations of prisoner abuse lodged by the FBI. The now-retired Maj. Gen. Michael Dunleavy commanded the Guantanamo interrogation operation in 2002. Dunleavy described the chaos he found when he arrived: a lack of security and control over detainees who would riot and throw food and turned items like spoons, magnets and welding rods into weapons. He said his interrogators were virtually inexperienced and that the military linguists "were worthless." Dunleavy said he was brought in to bring "a commonsense way on how to do business." He had experience with more than 3,000 interrogations going back 35 years. Dunleavy said he was initially told that he would be reporting to U.S. Southern Command, but that quickly changed. "I got my marching orders from the president of the United States," he said. He also wrote, "The mission was to get intelligence to prevent another 9/11." Dunleavy said physical torture would not produce intelligence, but instead they needed to build rapport and create a "dependency relationship" with prayer beads and the Quran. He said he treated detainees "as human beings, but not like soldiers" and denied there was any torture. One interrogator had to be removed, Dunleavy said, after the interrogator "physically mishandled" a detainee, belting and handcuffing him to an eyebolt on the floor. An FBI agent was removed after "he went across the desk at a detainee" after the detainee threatened to kill his family, Dunleavy said. Dunleavy said his "best interrogator" was prosecuted and that another officer was removed after it became apparent he was an alcoholic who secretly drank in his room every night. Loud music and yelling were used to disrupt detainees' thought process, Dunleavy said. Chaining a detainee in a fetal position was "not a normal procedure," he said, but may have been used to secure a prisoner who leapt at an interrogator. Maj. Gen. Geoffrey Miller, who commanded Guantanamo from late 2002 to March 2004, said in another newly released document that he had rejected a proposal to use the harsh techniques employed by survival trainers to prepare American troops for combat. He said some of the techniques "went beyond what I felt comfortable with." Some of the same harsh techniques had already been secretly adopted by the CIA with White House approval. Another set of memos, dated 2004, described how a detainee was knocked unconscious for several minutes by guards while he was being forcibly removed from his cell. The memos were apparently written in response to State Department inquiries about a prisoner's treatment at the military run jail. "Please assure (redacted) that their detainees have never been subjected to torture or systematic abuse," wrote Matthew Waxman, then the director of detainee affairs for the Pentagon, in an October 2004 memo to an undisclosed recipient. "Additionally, while he has some mental health issues, these are not the result of any physical abuse at Guantanamo." Waxman did not mention in that letter that the detainee had been knocked unconscious. The detainee's identity was redacted from the memo. In another memo, a Marine officer recommended an investigation into a report by "one of the most, if not the most, cooperative and influential detainees" at Guantanamo, who alleged he was tortured at the facility between August and October 2003 by methods involving women, sleep deprivation and exposure to cold. Most of the details of the detainee's account were blacked out. But he said he once was forced to stay awake for 70 days, that interrogators put ice all over his body directly against his skin inside his clothes, and that there was a room that the detainees called the "freezer." He said he made a false confession while being tortured. Another document detailed "troubling" interrogation techniques used against the detainee during that period, including a threat that if he didn't talk he would "soon disappear down a very dark hole" and that his "very existence would be erased." The same document, undated, noted that at the time 40 percent of the abuse allegations in Iraq were being substantiated by investigations.
 
Carolyn Rubenstein: The In2 Effect: How One Word Can Shift Your Perspective Top
Last week, I wrote about feelings of inadequacy and how I work to battle them. Notably, I received quite a few e-mails in response to that post , most of which focused on specific questions. However, while those questions were different, they shared a common theme: everyday angst. That angst was expressed most commonly with regard to specific areas of life, such as finances, career, or faith. I plan to focus some upcoming posts on several of the main questions--more details to come as I explore the questions a bit further. Before discussing specific topics, I would like to share a secret tool with you. I dubbed this little gem "The In2 Effect." Background A few months ago, I found myself allowing negative situations to dictate my perspective and my mood. Soon enough, I began that all-too-familiar and very uncomfortable downward spiral. Thankfully, I decided to focus my strength: I chose to step back, see the big picture, and flip a coin. Flipping that coin would allow me to shift my focus from pure negativity to the positive alternatives. Perspective Does your perspective on something ever turn sour? Do you ever feel as though you're stuck in a negative rut? Do you focus on the negatives more than the positives? If you answered yes to any of these questions, then read on. Alternatively, if you answered no, then please post your secret immediately! The In2 Effect What is the one word that has the power to shift your perspective? --> In2 (otherwise known as Into ) Be perceptive. Take note of when you see, say, or hear the word into . The goal is to strengthen your awareness of that word. The word into serves as your trigger. When thinking about into, be sure to associate the number "2" with it. That 2 emphasizes the two sides of the coin you hold; essentially, the power you have to choose your perspective. Here, you have 2 options: positive or negative. Take Action: Ask yourself what you can do to turn something negative into something positive. Fill in these blanks mentally: _____ into _____ Now that I've let you in on my little secret, let's talk about the background story that led me to the In2 Effect. At the time, I was trying to let go of my expectations for Perseverance ; unfortunately, I couldn't. I realized finally that I equated letting go with giving up. And I could never give up on my book, even if an entire field of well-constructed obstacles threatened my progress. I realized that I could choose to turn the situation into something other than failure: positive alternatives were indeed available to me. I didn't have to let go or quit just because of my unmet expectations. Instead, I could simply redefine those expectations, which would allow me to switch my perspective from "failure" into "success." Now it's your turn, and don't waste any time. Start today! What can you change from a negative into a positive? How can you apply "The In2 Effect" to your life? Please share your thoughts in the comment section below. Also, if you have a "secret" tool, I would love to hear about it! : : : Each day, I post inspiring tips focused on turning knowledge into action and action into change. You can read these tips and much more on carolynrubenstein.com . More on Wellness
 

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