BITS & BITES

U.S. EMITS RECORD LEVELS OF GREENHOUSE GASES

STEVE CONNOR, INDEPENDENT - The United States emitted more greenhouse
gases in 2004 than at any time in history, confirming its status as the
world's biggest polluter. Latest figures on the US contribution to
global warming show that its carbon emissions have risen sharply despite
international concerns over climate change. The figures, which were
quietly released on Easter Monday, reveal that net greenhouse gas
emissions during 2004 increased by 1.7 per cent on the previous year,
equivalent to a rise of 110 million tons of carbon dioxide.

This is the biggest annual increase since 2000 and means that in 2004 -
the latest year that full data is available - the US released the
equivalent of nearly 6,300 million tons of carbon dioxide into the
atmosphere. Scientists in Britain condemned the increase, saying that it
showed how the US was failing to take a lead in the international
attempt to curb greenhouse gas emissions despite being the worst
offender.

http://news.independent.co.uk/world/science_technology/article358583.ece



IRAN JOINS ALLIANCE WITH CHINA, RUSSIA

M K BHADRAKUMAR, ASIA TIMES - The Shanghai Cooperation Organization ,
which maintained it had no plans for expansion, is now changing course.
Mongolia, Iran, India and Pakistan, which previously had observer
status, will become full members. SCO's decision to welcome Iran into
its fold constitutes a political statement. Conceivably, SCO would now
proceed to adopt a common position on the Iran nuclear issue at its
summit meeting June 15. . . The SCO, an Intergovernmental organization
whose working languages are Chinese and Russian, was founded in Shanghai
on June 15, 2001 by China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgystan, Tajikistan and
Uzbekistan. The SCO's change of heart appears set to involve the
organization in Iran's nuclear battle and other ongoing regional issues
with the United States.

Visiting Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mohammadi told
Itar-TASS in Moscow that the membership expansion "could make the world
more fair". And he spoke of building an Iran-Russia "gas-and-oil arc" by
coordinating their activities as energy producing countries. Mohammadi
also touched on Iran's intention to raise the issue of his country's
nuclear program and its expectations of securing SCO support. . .

The SCO is not a military bloc but is nonetheless a security
organization committed to countering terrorism, religious extremism and
separatism. SCO membership would debunk the US propaganda about Iran
being part of an "axis of evil". . . .

By virtue of SCO membership, Iran can partake of the various SCO
projects, which in turn means access to technology, increased investment
and trade, infrastructure development such as banking, communication,
etc. It would also have implications for global energy security.
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/China/HD18Ad02.html



AMERICA'S NEW CONCENTRATION CAMPS

RUTH CONNIFF, PROGRESSIVE - The government was making plans for
large-scale detention centers in case of an "emergency influx" of
immigrants. KBR, the Halliburton subsidiary recently reprimanded for
gross overcharging in its military contracts in Iraq, won a $385 million
contract to build the centers. According to the Halliburton website
--www.Halliburton.com -- "the contract, which is effective immediately,
provides for establishing temporary detention and processing
capabilities to augment existing ICE Detention and Removal Operations
Program facilities in the event of an emergency influx of immigrants
into the U.S., or to support the rapid development of new programs."

What new programs might those be? The web was abuzz with speculation
after the contract was awarded on January 24. Pacific News Service gave
the most detailed analysis.
It connected the new "immigration emergency" plans with older plans that
involved imposing martial law. . .

http://www.commondreams.org/views06/0418-27.htm



GORE GETS A NON-CAMPAIGN MANAGER

BEN SMITH, NY DAILY NEWS - Al Gore is getting the band back together. In
a move that could inch him closer to another bid at the presidency in
2008, the former vice president has hired Roy Neel, a veteran of
presidential politics, to help run his current campaign to raise
awareness of global warming. . . The presidential speculation, Neel
said, "is clearly flattering, but he's doing nothing to plan a
presidential campaign right now." Neel will coordinate a growing effort.
Gore is starring in a new documentary, "An Inconvenient Truth," which
opens next month. He's written a new book, and another aide said he will
soon open a training institute, all focused on bringing political will
to bear on rising global temperatures.

Gore is also mounting a fund-raising effort to bring attention to what
he has called a "planetary emergency" that threatens "the worst
catastrophe in the history of human civilization" if Americans and
others don't address it within the next decade.

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/wn_report/story/409731p-346762c.html


POLITICS


SENATOR EXPECTS SEVEN LAWMAKERS TO GO TO JAIL

KTEN, OK - U-S Senator Tom Coburn isn't naming names, but he expects six
congressmen and a fellow senator will go to jail. That's because he
thinks they'll be facing corruption charges following investigations
involving lobbyist Jack Abramoff and others. Speaking at a town hall
meeting in Wagoner last night, Coburn said that "if you've been keeping
up with things, you've got a pretty good idea" of who the seven
lawmakers are.

http://www.kten.com/Global/story.asp?S=4773216


ARTS


AUTHOR OF 'GRADUATE' FACING EVICTION FROM APARTMENT

BBC - Charles Webb and his partner face eviction from their Hove flat
The author behind the film The Graduate faces eviction from his home in
East Sussex because of rent arrears. Novelist Charles Webb, 66, and his
partner have only days to pay two months' overdue rent, totaling nearly
L1,600, on their flat in Hove. Mr Webb wrote the book on which the 1967
movie starring Dustin Hoffman and Anne Bancroft was based. The
Californian author accepted a one-off payment of L14,000 for the novel,
while the film made L60m.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/southern_counties/4919334.stm


WORLD


REFUGEES HIDDEN VICTIMS OF WAR ON TERROR

INDPEPENDENT, UK - Refugees fleeing persecution or civil war are
becoming the hidden victims of the West's obsession with combating
terrorism, the United Nations will warn in a report published today.
Only a fraction of the world's 9.2 million refugees have the means to
reach the industrialized world to seek asylum. Those who do are
increasingly likely to be treated like criminals as rich countries put
up the barriers to keep out terrorists and economic migrants.

"More and more, asylum-seekers are portrayed not as refugees fleeing
persecution and entitled to sanctuary, but rather as illegal migrants,
potential terrorists and criminals - or at a minimum, as 'bogus'," the
report by the office of the High Commissioner for Refugees, warns.

http://news.independent.co.uk/world/politics/article358573.ece


ELITE ETHNOGRAPHY


SMITHSONIAN CHIEF EARNS TWICE AS MUCH AS PRESIDENT

JACQUELINE TRESCOTT WASHINGTON POST - The Smithsonian's Office of the
Inspector General is looking into the executive compensation and
accounting practices of Smithsonian Business Ventures, the division of
the institution that operates its retail and publishing enterprises.
Inspector General Debra Ritt notified SBV Chief Executive Officer Gary
M. Beer that she was starting an audit of how the salary and bonus
levels of its managers are established and whether those payments met
the agreements set by the Board of Regents. . . CEO Beer earned
$525,000, according to the Smithsonian's 2003 tax return, the latest one
available to the public. Lawrence Small, secretary of the Smithsonian,
earned $813,000, according to the return, including a housing allowance.
The top salary for civil service employees is $162,000.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/04/18/
AR2006041801944.html


MEANWHILE, IN FEDERAL HEIGHTS, CO. . .

CHRIS BARGE, ROCKY MOUNTAIN NEWS - It seemed like a good idea at the
time. A year ago, when business was slow at his Smokin' Mayor barbecue
restaurant, Federal Heights Mayor Dale Sparks took a side job as a
doorman at the town's only all-nude nightclub. Sparks, 55, said he
thought briefly then about what his constituents would think. But after
talking it over with his wife of 35 years, he decided it would be fine
to sit at the door, check IDs and collect the cover charge.

"The bottom line is (that) what I make being doorman pays for my health
insurance," he said. "Still, I knew there would be an issue from a few
citizens' perspective about working there." All went well enough until
this weekend, when about two dozen officers stormed Bare Essence, 8485
Umatilla St., with warrants to arrest 10 people, including the owner, DJ
and eight dancers. . .

Sparks was questioned for more than two hours at the police station then
was released without being charged."I didn't know any of this was going
on," Sparks said. "I've never been back there to receive a private
dance. I've never been back there to watch one. So I don't know what
goes on back there."

Nonetheless, Sparks said he has decided to quit working at Bare Essence,
at least for the rest of his mayoral term, which ends next year, to
prevent any perception of a conflict of interest.

http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/local/article/
0,1299,DRMN_15_4629602,00.html


CITIES


HOW TO MAKE WELFARE RECIPIENTS DISAPPEAR

CASSI FELDMAN, CITY LIMITS - [NYC Mayor Bloomberg] grabbed headlines
earlier this month when he announced that welfare rolls had dipped to
their lowest level in 40 years. But new data obtained by City Limits
from the Human Resources Administration reveals a less impressive trend:
Of the recipients who leave welfare each month, only around 23 percent
are known to have found work. The rest, according to HRA, just stop
showing up for appointments. Meanwhile, a dramatic 67 percent of cases
added to the rolls each month are returnees, proof of what advocates
call "churning," the tendency of low-wage workers to cycle between
government assistance and dead-end jobs. . . A recent report from CSS
found that despite citywide job growth, real wages at the bottom rung
have fallen by 3.6 percent since 2000, and overall employment levels
have declined.

http://www.citylimits.org/content/articles/weeklyView.cfm?articlenumber=1893


ECOLOGY


DEPARTMENT OF SILLY TALKS

Energy equals prosperity, and America is a shining example. The more it
uses, the richer it gets. - Jeff Byron, co-chairman of the Silicon
Valley Leadership Group's Energy Committee



AFRICA'S LAKE CHAD IS DISAPPEARING

ANDREW BOMFORD BBC NEWS - Lake Chad has shrunk from 15,000 to 500 sq
miles in 40 years. One of the world's great lakes is disappearing. Lake
Chad - shared by Nigeria, Chad, Cameroon, and Niger - has receded to
less than 20% of its former volume. Global warming is being blamed, as
well as water extraction. The land is parched dry and dusty but the
first hint that there is water comes with the growing numbers of
Caltropis dotting the landscape. These strange, twisted plants have deep
tap roots, and where they grow water is usually not far away. . . Just
30 years ago, water covered the whole area. Baga was a waterfront town.
Now it is stranded many miles from the lake as the land around it
becomes desert. The Sahara is moving southwards. . . Global warming is
one factor blamed and local people say rainfall has been steadily
reducing by about five to 10 mm a year.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/4906692.stm


WAR DEPARTMENT


SENIOR BRITISH OFFICER THINKS U.S. GENERALS TRY TO ACT LIKE JOHN WAYNE

AGENCE FRANCE PRESSE - A senior British military officer, who worked in
Baghdad in 2004, believes US generals try to act like gung-ho movie
stars such as John Wayne, a newspaper reported. Brigadier Alan Sharp
made the comments in an academic report on Britain's influence on US
foreign relations, The Daily Telegraph said. The 46-year-old, who worked
alongside the US military in Baghdad, said there was a "strong streak of
Hollywood" among American officers.

He said an important part to being a success in the US army was the
ability to combine the "real and acted heroics" of Audie Murphy, a World
War II hero, and the "newsreel antics" of General Douglas MacArthur,
famed by the post-war occupation of Japan, and the "movie performances"
of Hollywood actors.

This may make good television back home, but Sharp said "loud voices,
full body armor, wrap-around sunglasses, air strikes and daily
broadcasts from shoulder-holster wearing brigadier generals proudly
announcing how many Iraqis have been killed by US forces today" was no
"hearts-and-minds winning tool".

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20060419/wl_uk_afp/britainusiraqmilitary
_060419001553


OTHER NEWS


GREAT MOMENTS IN HOMELAND SECURITY

FIRST COAST NEWS - An airline passenger made a surprising discovery
after flying from New Jersey to Florida -- When she opened her luggage,
she found a uniform belonging to the Transportation Security
Administration. . . The TSA says her luggage wasn't searched by a TSA
employee because there was no note left in her suitcase stating it was
physically searched.

http://www.firstcoastnews.com/news/florida/news-article.aspx?ref=rss&storyid=55975


FURTHERMORE. . .


AL KAMEN, WASHINGTON POST - Washington State University Vancouver folks
were puzzled last week when only 100 people bought advance tickets for
former attorney general John D. Ashcroft 's speech on national security
and civil liberties. After all, last year's speaker, newly named
Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean, sold out the 1,100
seats before the event. The head of the WSU Vancouver College
Republicans told the Oregonian of Portland it may be that Ashcroft, the
author of the controversial USA Patriot Act, "is not an exciting
character for a lot of people." Well, he must be exciting to someone. He
received a $27,000 speaker's fee to address the school's fourth annual
Public Affairs Distinguished Lecture series, according to Carolyn N.
Long, head of the school's public affairs program. And that was
substantially less than his usual $60,000. With travel and other costs
for receptions and dinners, the tab came to about $36,000.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/
2006/04/18/AR2006041801748_pf.html



BLOOMBERG Wachovia shareholders voted yesterday to cap future severance
payments for top executives of the No. 4 U.S. bank, ignoring
management's protests. The measure, proposed by the Trowel Trades S&P
500 Index Fund of Detroit, will limit benefits paid to departing
executives at 2.99 times their base salary plus bonus. Cutting severance
packages could help in "insulating the board of directors from
manipulation" when senior execs are fired, Trowel Trades wrote in the
submission for its proposal before Wachovia's general meeting in
Charlotte, N.C.

http://www.nypost.com/php/pfriendly/print.php?url=http://
www.nypost.com/business/67211.htm



BOSTON GLOBE - Two more candidates for [Maine] governor, Republican
Peter Mills and Maine Green Independent Pat LaMarche, have submitted
enough petitions and qualifying donations to qualify for public funds
for their campaigns.
Both candidates turned in more than 2,600 donations of $5, exceeding the
minimum necessary to qualify by about 100 donations apiece, according to
the Maine Commission of Governmental Ethics and Elections Practices.
Maine's Clean Elections Act allows gubernatorial and legislative
candidates to use public money if they demonstrate public support and
agree to abide by spending limits. Mills, a state senator from
Cornville, and LaMarche, the Greens' 1998 nominee for governor, each
will receive $200,000 in public money for their respective primaries if
state elections officials certify their submissions. . . LaMarche, of
Yarmouth, is running unopposed in her bid for the Green Party
nomination. As a result, she is all but assured another $400,000, and
perhaps double that, in public funds for the general election in
November.

http://www.boston.com/news/local/maine/articles/2006/04/18/
mills_lamarche_qualify_for_public_funding/?rss_id=Boston.com+--+Maine+news


FIELD NOTES


WAR AGAINST CILANTRO
http://www.ihatecilantro.com/