Kraven Moorehead

Posted at 08:30 AM ET, 12/15/2005
The American Battlefield
The Pentagon now says that it has ordered a "review" of the collection of information about U.S. citizens, particularly those who pose no plausible terrorist threat, after my NBC Nightly News piece ran Tuesday and my blog yesterday revealed some of the contents of a Pentagon database compiling "suspicious incidents."

Shocked that there is gambling going on in the casino, here's my prediction of what the Pentagon "review" will find:

They will conclude that information collected on certain incidents fell within Pentagon guidelines for "force protection."
They will find that no information naming U.S. persons was disseminated outside of valid law enforcement or intelligence channels.
They will find that perhaps over-zealous anti-terrorism and law enforcement personnel retained information beyond a 90 day limit set to determine if real threats exist.
They will order a further review of the practices of the Counterintelligence Field Activity (CIFA) in compiling and disseminating databases of incidents deemed non-threatening.
In other words, the Pentagon will not conclude that the military shouldn't spy on peace groups and anti-war protestors.

The problem here is that the United States is seen as another battlefield in the war on terrorism. We, ladies and gentleman, are the potential enemy.

Posted by Kraven Moorehead at 11:28 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Our Winner: A Pistol-Packing Hottie

By Al Kamen

Friday, December 23, 2005; Page A19

And now, the 2005 Loop Lawmaker of the Year: Rep. Jean "Mean Jean" Schmidt (R-Ohio). Schmidt narrowly edged former representative Randy "Duke" Cunningham (R-Calif.). Cunningham, who had been seen as a slam-dunk winner. Unfortunately, he was ruled ineligible after having resigned from the House for personal reasons and a bribery indictment.

Schmidt gives herself an "A-minus" for her work these past few months. When asked by the Enquirer if that speech might have been a low point, she said: "I'm not sure I've had any. The first 100 days have been rewarding, challenging, invigorating and exciting."

Her stunning attack on Murtha catapulted her to national fame, three marriage proposals and lots of requests for dates. "It's amazing. . . . They think I'm a hottie," said Schmidt, 54 -- and married.

And in October, Schmidt easily passed a tough firearms class -- written and target shooting -- to get a license to carry a concealed weapon. She used her new Bersa .380 ACP semiautomatic handgun -- a Sweetest Day gift from her husband -- in the test. It's similar to James Bond 's famous Walther PPK.

She says she won't bring it to work here, but she wouldn't tell the Enquirer whether she'll carry it in Ohio. " 'You never know whether Schmidt's carrying or not,' she said with a chuckle."

Truly an A-plus effort.

Posted by Kraven Moorehead at 11:23 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Heating aid slashed; N.E. faces burden
US spending was tied to Alaska drilling
By Susan Milligan and Rick Klein, Globe Staff | December 23, 2005

WASHINGTON -- The federal program to help poor families heat their homes got cut to less than half the amount originally promised by Congress, because of a flurry of late-night maneuvers on Wednesday that could leave tens of thousands of New England families struggling with skyrocketing heating bills this winter.

Sign up for: Globe Headlines e-mail | Breaking News Alerts Congress authorized $5.1 billion earlier this year for the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program, known as LIHEAP, which provides grants to needy residents to ease heating and cooling costs. But in last-minute deals to complete spending bills in the waning hours of the Senate's 2005 session, the program was slashed to $2.16 billion for the 2006 fiscal year that began in October -- $20 million less than the amount allocated for the 2005 fiscal year and far less than the minimum $4.5 billion energy assistance officials say they need to keep poor families warm this winter.

Posted by Kraven Moorehead at 09:01 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Bush's false choices
By Ellen Goodman | December 23, 2005

SO IT COMES DOWN to September 11, 2001. Again. The president has drawn a great dividing line through the country, separating his supporters from his critics. Again.

Article Tools
Printer friendly
E-mail to a friend
Op-ed RSS feed
Available RSS feeds
Most e-mailed
Reprints/permissions
More:
Globe Editorials / Op-Ed |
Globe front page |
Boston.com
Sign up for: Globe Headlines e-mail | Breaking News Alerts This time, those who see a presidency run amok are not just labeled ''defeatists." They are considered amnesiacs.

This time, those who oppose torture are diagnosed with short-term memory loss. Those who are outraged at domestic snooping are people who have forgotten to be afraid.

The president's ''humble" speech from the Oval Office contained the inevitable line: ''September the 11th, 2001, required us to take every emerging threat to our country seriously." His decidedly unhumble wrestling with the media on the subject of domestic spying had no less than 10 references to ''this new threat [that] required us to think and act differently."

Meanwhile, what was Vice President Cheney's response when asked if he was concerned that 100 people had died in US custody? What actually worried him was that ''as we get farther and farther away from 9/11 . . . there seems to be less concern about doing what's necessary in order to defend the country."

It's as if the administration were waving a sampler embroidered with that old saying: If you are keeping your head while all about you are losing theirs, perhaps you don't know the seriousness of the situation.

We have been handed yet another in an endless series of false choices. Those who don't blindly trust the president are dismissed as amnesia victims. Americans who don't connect the dots from 9/11 to Iraq or spying or torture are cast as actors living in a foolish, fearless, fantasy world. Indeed, 9/11 was the day the president became the commander in chief. The words he often repeats were spoken to him by a rescue worker at the World Trade Center: ''Whatever it takes."

If there are Americans who have actually forgotten the attacks in all their searing horror, I don't know any. I remember the weeks when I would wake up and reach for the remote to see if we'd caught Osama. When did that expectation fade? I remember the just pursuit of Al Qaeda into its safety zone, Afghanistan. And the satisfaction in overthrowing the Taliban.

But gradually, 9/11 became the all-purpose excuse for . . . whatever it takes. The war in Iraq was conflated with the war on terror, and preemptive strikes were launched against weapons of mass destruction that didn't exist. In ''The Assassin's Gate," George Packer, a liberal hawk, tries to assess why the United States really did invade Iraq. ''It still isn't possible to be sure -- and this remains the most remarkable thing about the Iraq War," he writes. ''Iraq is the Rashomon of wars" and all he can conclude is that it ''has something to do with September 11."

As recently as last February, 47 percent of Americans still believed that Saddam had something to do with 9/11. Does the White House accuse its supporters of false memory?

And what of the president himself? In his news conference, he angrily attacked those who leaked the spy story. He asked reporters to guess what happened the last time there was a similar security leak. Then he stumbled over the answer, ''Saddam . . . Osama bin Laden changed his behavior." Memory loss?

Those who criticize the commander in chief wonder if he is the one who's forgotten 9/11. Has he forgotten when the country was united? Has he forgotten when the world was on our side? Has he forgotten that we were the good guys?

As for fear? My generation grew up under the threat of a mushroom cloud. There is an old theatrical adage that when there's a gun on stage in the first act, it will go off by the third act. We have no false sense of security in this dangerous world. Nor do we embrace the equally false belief that curtailing liberty automatically makes us safer. We have seen how the promise of protection becomes a protection racket.

''Whatever it takes" does not mean ''whatever the president says it takes." It does not mean becoming our own worst enemies. It does not mean approving torture or domestic spying. And it most certainly does not mean watching silently as a commander in chief takes on the uniform of a generalissimo.

Who owns September 11? The White House has built its own memorial and raised a stiff price of admission. It only allows in those who agree with the president. But the memory and meaning of 9/11 do not belong to any partisan. It's common ground waiting to be recaptured. Whatever it takes.

Posted by Kraven Moorehead at 08:57 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

MILAN (Reuters) - A Milan court has issued a European arrest warrant for 22 CIA agents suspected of kidnapping an Egyptian cleric from Italy's financial capital in 2003, Prosecutor Armando Spataro said on Friday.

Milan magistrates suspect a CIA team grabbed Hassan Mustafa Osama Nasr off a Milan street and flew him for interrogation to Egypt, where he said he was tortured.

Posted by Kraven Moorehead at 08:47 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Casualties in Iraq
The Human Cost of Occupation
Edited by Michael Ewens :: Contact American Military Casualties in Iraq

Date Total In Combat

American Deaths
Since war began (3/19/03): 2160 1740
Since "Mission Accomplished" (5/1/03) (the list) 2023 1631
Since Capture of Saddam (12/13/03): 1693 1434
Since Handover (6/29/04): 1294 1106
Since Election (1/31/05): 722 630
American Wounded Official Estimated
Total Wounded: 15881 15000 - 48100
Latest Fatality December 20th, 2005
Page last updated 12/22/05 3:17 pm EDT
US Military Deaths by Month
Put a Casualty Counter on Your Website
Others
Other Coalition Troops 199
US Military Deaths - Afghanistan 246
Iraqi Body Count IBC
American Civilian Casualties
Sources: DoD, CentCom, MNF, and iCasualties.org

Daily DoD Casualty Release

The Faces The List Sources American Casualties Iraqi Casualties Contact

.::A Running Log of the Wounded::.

UPI reports :

As many as 1 of every 10 soldiers from the war on terror evacuated to the Army's biggest hospital in Europe was sent there for mental problems.

Between 8 and 10 percent of nearly 12,000 soldiers from the war on terror, mostly from Iraq, treated at the Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany had "psychiatric or behavioral health issues," according to the commander of the hospital, Col. Rhonda Cornum.

That means about 1,000 soldiers were evacuated for mental problems.

The hospital has treated 11,754 soldiers from the war on terror, with 9,651 from Iraq and the rest from Afghanistan, according to data released by the hospital.

Also see The Missing Wounded.

American Count

Dates and sources of Americans killed in Iraq since 5/1/03 are documented in this file. Admittedly the file is incomplete, for the Department of Defense does not maintain old records. All data was compiled from http://www.defenselink.mil. If something is amiss in the data collection, please contact Michael Ewens.

Iraqi Civilian Count

We have not set up a database for these numbers, rather we direct you Iraq Body Count.

CIVILIAN DEATHS
Latest updates:
Dec 15: Guard near polling station, Mosul
Dec 15: One by mortar shell, Tal Afar
Dec 15: Two police at polling station, Kirkuk
Dec 12: 2-4 in clashes in Ghazaliyah, Baghdad
Dec 15: One by roadside bomb in Baquba
Dec 14: Child by roadside bomb in Samarra
Dec 14: Two police by roadside bomb in Mosul
Dec 13: Trade Ministry employee in Baiji
Dec 12: Policeman in Ameriyah, Baghdad
Dec 12: Police sergeant shot dead in Baghdad
Dec 12: 2 shot dead, Raghba Khatoon, Baghdad
Dec 13: Sunni politician shot dead in Ramadi
Dec 11-12: 4 men found shot dead, Dora, Baghdad
Dec 12: 2-3 by minibus bomb, Karkh, Baghdad
Dec 12: Two shot dead in Dora, Baghdad
Dec 12: Woman by roadside bomb in Muqdadiyah
Dec 11: Election worker shot dead in Mosul
Dec 11: Two at Turkmen Front HQ, Mosul
Dec 10: Election worker shot dead in Mosul
Dec 09: Nine bodies found bound, shot, nr. Musayyib
Dec 10: Two by car bomb, Mosul
Dec 09: 2 brothers shot dead in Buhriz
Dec 09: Policeman and civilian by bomb,south Baghdad
Dec 09: Islamic Party member near Balad
Dec 09: Father and son, Al-Imam, south of Baghdad
Dec 09: Two in clashes in Jamiaa, western Baghdad
Dec 09: Two by roadside bomb, Saydiyah, Baghdad
Dec 08: 29-33, Al-Nahda bus station, Baghdad
Dec 07: Three found bound, shot dead outside Falluja
Dec 07: Three police guards at Kirkuk hospital
Dec 06: Police general, companion, Dora, Baghdad
Dec 06: Policewoman in Amiriyah, Baghdad
Dec 06: One by bomb near restaurant, south Baghdad
Dec 06: Bodyguard of al-Jaafari, Al-Khalis
Dec 06: 40-43 by suicide bombers at Baghdad police academy
Dec 06: 2 Islamic Union members in Zakho

British Medical Journal Lancet estimates 100,000 civilians killed.

Sources and Links
Web page listing names of those killed since 5/1/03
Central Command Department of Defense Profiles of Americans Who Have Died
BBC News Coalition Casualty Count The Washington Post
Iraq Body Count Fox News Listing by month
Search Casualties by Name Cost of War

Reproduction of material from any original Antiwar.com pages
without written permission is strictly prohibited.
Copyright 2005 Antiwar.com

Posted by Kraven Moorehead at 08:44 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Judge resigns to protest Bush spying program
WASHINGTON (AP) — A federal judge has resigned from a special court set up to oversee government surveillance, apparently in protest of President Bush's secret authorization of a domestic spying program on people with suspected terrorist ties.
U.S. District Judge James Robertson would not comment Wednesday on his resignation, but The Washington Post reported that it stemmed from deep concern that the surveillance program Bush authorized was legally questionable and may have tainted the work of the court. The Post quoted two associates of the judge.

An aide to Robertson said the resignation letter submitted to Chief Justice John Roberts was not being released. Robertson did not step down from his district judgeship in Washington.

White House press secretary Scott McClellan would not comment on Robertson's reported resignation or the reasons cited for his departure. "Judge Robertson did not comment on the matter and I don't see any reason why we need to," McClellan said.

Posted by Kraven Moorehead at 08:41 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

President George W. Bush, 2004:

"[T]here are such things as roving wiretaps. Now, by the way, any
time you hear the United States government talking about wiretap, it
requires -- a wiretap requires a court order. Nothing has changed,
by the way. When we're talking about chasing down terrorists, we're
talking about getting a court order before we do so. It's important
for our fellow citizens to understand, when you think Patriot Act,
constitutional guarantees are in place when it comes to doing what
is necessary to protect our homeland, because we value the
Constitution."

Posted by Kraven Moorehead at 08:40 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Bush bypassed compliant court on wiretapping
But many lawyers familiar with the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court, as the group of judges who secretly authorize national security wiretaps is known, challenged Gonzales's description of the court procedures as cumbersome. Records showed that the court had rejected none of more than 11,000 requests for warrants from 1979 through 2001. Since then, it has rejected just four of more than 5,200 applications.Congress set up the special electronic surveillance court in 1978 in response to revelations that former President Richard M. Nixon had used the FBI to spy on his domestic enemies. The law required the government to obtain a warrant from the court before it could wiretap a phone line.

Posted by Kraven Moorehead at 11:45 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Trade deficit hits another all-time high
WASHINGTON (AP) — The trade deficit unexpectedly rose 4.4% in October to $68.9 billion, an all-time high, as oil shipments soared and the United States set deficit records with China, Europe, Canada and Mexico, the Commerce Department said Wednesday.
So far this year, the gap between what America sells overseas and what it imports is running at an annual rate of $718 billion, far surpassing last year's $617.6 billion imbalance. Critics say the soaring deficit is evidence that President Bush's policy of pursuing free trade deals around the world is not working.

Posted by Kraven Moorehead at 04:28 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

New Overnight: Men Fall Off 410 Overpass During Fight
LAST UPDATE: 12/8/2005 4:13:42 AM
Posted By: Laura Berryhill
This story is available on your cell phone at mobile.woai.com.

Two men fell off an overpass early Thursday, after they started fighting right in the middle of Loop 410.

This happened around 12:30 a.m. on 410 at Wetmore, on the north side.

Police say the men stopped their truck on the freeway, got out, and started throwing punches.

After the men fell off the overpass, one landed on top of the other -- then walked away. The other man suffered broken bones and is currently at University Hospital in undetermined condition. No word yet on whether any charges will be filed.

Posted by Kraven Moorehead at 09:15 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Police: Officer Zaps Partner After Soda Dispute

POSTED: 6:19 am CST December 8, 2005

Email This Story | Print This Story

HAMTRAMCK, Mich. -- Authorities said a police officer in Michigan used a Taser stun gun on his partner during an argument about stopping for a soft drink.

The suspect was fired after the Nov. 3 incident and is charged with assault.

Ronald Dupuis, 32, could get up to 93 days in jail if convicted.

Authorities said Dupuis asked partner Prema Graham to stop at a store for a soft drink, but she refused and instead kept driving back to headquarters.

Authorities said the partners struggled over the steering wheel, and Dupuis hit Graham's leg with his department-issued Taser gun. She wasn't seriously hurt.

Posted by Kraven Moorehead at 09:13 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Nebraska Judge Says 128 mph Not 'Reckless'

NEBRASKA CITY, Neb. (AP) -- Speeding is not necessarily reckless, even at 128 mph, a judge ruled in the case of a motorcyclist who tried to flee from state troopers.

With some reluctance, County Judge John Steinheider ruled last week that Jacob H. Carman, 20, was not guilty of reckless driving on Sept. 5, when he was spotted by a trooper who then chased him at the top speed of his cruiser's odometer - 128 mph.

"As much as it pains me to do it, speed and speed alone is not sufficient to establish reckless driving," the judge told Carman on Friday. "If you had had a passenger, there would be no question of conviction. If there had been other cars on the roadway, if you would've went into the wrong lane or anything, I would have convicted you."

Otoe County prosecutor David Partsch acknowledged that Carman could have been charged with speeding but, "We felt that the manner in which he was operating the motorcycle was reckless."

Carman didn't get off entirely. He was fined $300 for expired tags and other violations.

Posted by Kraven Moorehead at 09:01 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Kissinger: U.S. Should Stay in Iraq for Now

By PEGGY HARRIS
Associated Press Writer

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) -- Former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger said Wednesday that Republicans and Democrats should forge bipartisan support for President Bush to bring stability to Iraq instead of arguing over the war.

"The fundamental fact is we cannot afford to leave that area under conditions that leave chaos," Kissinger told hundreds of business people at an annual meeting of the Little Rock Chamber of Commerce.

Terrorists cannot be disabled through traditional diplomatic means, said Kissinger, who was secretary of state and national security adviser under the administrations of Nixon and Ford. He retains substantial influence in foreign affairs, and continues to have close links to the Bush administration.

Kissinger, 82, urged compromise across political party lines and international boundaries.

As the war continues, President Bush's ratings have fallen. On Wednesday, Bush again defended his war policy, saying that while the violence has been unrelenting, Iraq is making steady progress. Democrats criticize the White House as having no clear plan for bringing American troops home.

Posted by Kraven Moorehead at 08:54 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Ann Coulter Cuts University Speech Short

By SHELLEY K. WONG
Associated Press Writer
STORRS, Conn. (AP) -- Conservative columnist Ann Coulter cut short a speech at the University of Connecticut amid boos and jeers, and decided to hold a question-and-answer session instead.

"I love to engage in repartee with people who are stupider than I am," Coulter told the crowd of 2,600 Wednesday.

Before cutting off her speech after about 15 minutes, Coulter called Bill Clinton an "executive buffoon" who won the presidency only because Ross Perot took 19 percent of the vote.

Coulter's appearance prompted protests from several student groups. About 100 people rallied outside the auditorium where she spoke, saying she spread a message of intolerance

"We encourage diverse opinion at UConn, but this is blatant hate speech," said Eric Knudsen, a 19-year-old sophomore journalism and social welfare major who heads campus group Students Against Hate.

It wasn't the first time Coulter has had trouble at a university speech. In October 2004, two men ran onstage and threw custard pies as she was giving a speech at the University of Arizona.

Posted by Kraven Moorehead at 08:52 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

LIVERPOOL, England/NEW YORK (Reuters) - Liverpool and New York prepared to honor pop icon John Lennon on Thursday with floral and musical tributes and a candle lit vigil close to where he was shot dead 25 years ago.

In a ceremony in the center of the northern English city where Lennon was born and raised, fans and officials will create a shrine beneath a statue of the legendary Beatle, gunned down in New York by a fan in the presence of his wife Yoko Ono.

Later in the day, the city holds a memorial service for the man who created some of the best-known tunes in pop and is considered one of the most influential songwriters of all time.

In New York, hundreds of mourners are expected to gather at the Strawberry Fields section of Central Park and light candles at 10:50 p.m. EST (0350 GMT Friday), the time Lennon was shot.

Friends in Liverpool remembered Lennon with fondness, but also felt he distanced himself from them after meeting Ono, the woman who many fans blame for breaking up the Beatles in 1970.

"You couldn't approach John at the end, and looking back it was from the moment ... he met Yoko Ono," said former friend and fellow musician Billy Kinsley, who knew Beatles Lennon and Paul McCartney in the 1960s.

"It was sad. He was my hero from when I was a 15-year-old kid, and he was always approachable, always said hello, and had a little chat. But after he met Yoko, that went out the window completely."

His assessment of Lennon and the Beatles as musicians, however, has never changed.

"It really did make a big impression on me seeing the Beatles on that first night at the Cavern, because it just changed my outlook," he told Reuters in a makeshift recording studio in his garden, recalling the night in February 1962.

"I thought 'My God, I have just seen the best thing that I could ever see', and since then it's been downhill because I've never seen anything as good as the Beatles."

Posted by Kraven Moorehead at 08:48 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

MIAMI (Reuters) - U.S. air marshals on Wednesday shot and killed an American Airlines passenger who claimed to be carrying a bomb in his backpack and ran off a plane at Miami International Airport after being confronted.

Federal officials said the 44-year-old American made threats and indicated he had a bomb in his bag as he was boarding a flight to Orlando in central Florida.

It was the first time an airplane passenger was shot by air marshals since the U.S. marshals program was beefed up after the September 11, 2001, attacks on New York and Washington. Witnesses said the man might have been mentally ill.

The man, who arrived in Miami from Quito, Ecuador, was identified as Florida resident Rigoberto Alpizar.

Authorities said he was challenged by two air marshals on board the Orlando-bound plane, and shot on the passenger gangway after running off the aircraft. He ignored demands to put his bag on the ground and instead reached into it, a Department of Homeland Security spokesman said.

"Shots were fired as the team attempted to subdue the subject," the spokesman said.

The shooting triggered a scramble by air marshals to guard airports across the United States against possible attacks.

But Jim Bauer, special agent in charge of the federal air marshals' Miami office, said investigators found no immediate evidence of a link to terrorism and no sign of a bomb.

A woman who said she was a witness told NBC television's Miami affiliate, WTVJ, that the man's wife had screamed "my husband, my husband," and said he had bipolar disorder and needed medication.

"Her husband ran through the aisle frantically. She ran after him and all of a sudden there were four or five shots," passenger Mary Gardner told the station by telephone.

Federal officials said they could not comment on the allegation that the suspect might have been mentally ill.

Posted by Kraven Moorehead at 08:44 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

US planting stories in Iraqi newspapers
Articles by troops said to offer one-sided view
By Mark Mazzetti and Borzou Daragahi, Los Angeles Times | December 1, 2005

WASHINGTON -- As part of an information offensive in Iraq, the US military is secretly paying Iraqi newspapers to publish stories written by American troops in an effort to burnish the image of the US mission in Iraq.

Article Tools
Printer friendly
E-mail to a friend
Nation RSS feed
Available RSS feeds
Most e-mailed
Reprints/permissions
More:
Globe Nation stories |
Latest national news |
Globe front page |
Boston.com
Sign up for: Globe Headlines e-mail | Breaking News Alerts The articles, written by US military ''information operations" troops, are translated into Arabic and placed in Baghdad newspapers with the help of a defense contractor, according to US military officials and documents obtained by the Los Angeles Times.

Many of the articles are presented in the Iraqi press as unbiased news accounts written and reported by independent journalists. The stories trumpet the work of US and Iraqi troops, denounce insurgents, and tout US-led efforts to rebuild the country.

While the articles are basically truthful, they present only one side of events and omit information that might reflect poorly on the US or Iraqi governments, officials said. Records and interviews indicate that the United States has paid Iraqi newspapers to run dozens of such articles -- with headlines such as ''Iraqis Insist on Living Despite Terrorism" -- since the effort began this year.

The operation is designed to mask any connection with the US military. The Pentagon has a contract with a small Washington-based firm called Lincoln Group, which helps translate and place the stories. The Lincoln Group's Iraqi staff, or its subcontractors, sometimes pose as freelance reporters or advertising executives when they deliver the stories to Baghdad media outlets.

The military's effort to disseminate propaganda in the Iraqi media is taking place even as US officials are vowing to promote democratic principles, political transparency, and freedom of speech to a country emerging from decades of dictatorship and corruption. It comes as the State Department is training Iraqi reporters in basic journalism skills and Western media ethics, including one workshop titled ''The Role of Press in a Democratic Society."

Posted by Kraven Moorehead at 12:46 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)