SCOTUS shields corrupt from whistleblowers

FREEDOM NEWS
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1) Relentless violence kills 54 in Iraq
Moscow-Pullman Daily News

"Car bombs targeting Shiite areas devastated a bustling outdoor market and
an auto dealership Tuesday, part of a relentless onslaught that killed 54
people and prompted the United States to deploy more troops to combat
insurgents in western Iraq. The bombs also wounded 120 people, officials
said. The death toll made Tuesday one of the bloodiest days in Iraq this
month, and lawmakers still had not agreed on who should lead the nation's
army and police forces. Authorities also captured a suspected terrorist who
allegedly confessed to beheading hundreds of people. The operation by Iraqi
forces also netted documents, cell phones and computers containing
information on other wanted terrorists and Islamic extremist groups."
(05/30/06)

http://tinyurl.com/oj2w9

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2) Bush signs ban on speech, assembly
Olympia Olympian

"President Bush, marking Memorial Day with a speech paying tribute to
fighting men and women lost in war, signed into law Monday a bill that
keeps demonstrators from disrupting military funerals. In advance of his
speech and a wreath-laying at America's most hallowed burial ground for
military heroes, Bush signed the 'Respect for America's Fallen Heroes Act.'
This was largely in response to the activities of a Kansas church group
that has staged protests at military funerals around the country, claiming
the deaths symbolized God's anger at U.S. tolerance of homosexuals."
(05/30/06)

http://tinyurl.com/m8k5v

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3) SCOTUS shields corrupt from whistleblowers
Yahoo! News

"The Supreme Court on Tuesday made it harder for government employees to
file lawsuits claiming they were retaliated against for going public with
allegations of official misconduct. By a 5-4 vote, justices said the
nation's 20 million public employees do not have carte blanche free speech
rights to disclose government's inner-workings. New Justice Samuel Alito
cast the tie-breaking vote. ... Dissenting justices said Tuesday that the
ruling could silence would-be whistleblowers who have information about
governmental misconduct." [editor's note: Predictions that Alito would
always side with the government are coming true - MLS] (05/30/06)

http://tinyurl.com/oyrw2

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4) Afghanistan wants US troops prosecuted
ABC News

"Afghanistan's parliament has approved a motion calling for the government
to prosecute the U.S. soldiers responsible for a deadly road crash that
sparked the worst riots in Kabul in years, officials said Wednesday. The
assembly passed the nonbinding motion Tuesday, after debating Monday's
crash in which a U.S. truck plowed into a line of cars, killing up to five
Afghans and sparking citywide, anti-foreigner riots, said Saleh Mohammed
Saljuqi, an assistant to the parliamentary speaker. ... Hospital officials
say most of the dead and wounded were shot." (05/31/06)

http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory?id=2022820

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5) US reportedly ready for Iran talks
Houston Chronicle

"The United States is ready to meet with Iran and other nations for talks
on Tehran's nuclear ambitions if the Islamic republic gives up uranium
enrichment, diplomats said Wednesday. ... One of the diplomats told The
Associated Press that the Bush administration was planning to make an
official announcement on Washington's conditional readiness to join in such
talks later in the day. The development is significant because the United
States has had no official direct talks with the Iranians since the two
countries cut diplomatic ties following the occupation of the U.S. Embassy
in Tehran by radicals in 1979." (05/31/06)

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/world/3916927.html

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6) UK: "New evidence" in Diana inquiry
Telegraph

"New witnesses and forensic evidence have emerged in the investigation into
the death of Diana, Princess of Wales, the man leading the inquiry said
yesterday. Lord Stevens made the disclosure during an interview at the Hay
Festival, the literary event in Hay-on-Wye. But he refused to elaborate on
the nature of the new material, a fact likely to be seized upon by
conspiracy theorists who have argued that the princess and Dodi Fayed were
murdered. The former commissioner of the Metropolitan Police was asked by
the Royal Coroner two years ago to investigate the crash in Paris that
killed the couple in August 1997." (05/31/06)

http://tinyurl.com/olxxy

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7) Veterans official steps down after theft
USA Today

"A Veterans Affairs deputy assistant secretary who didn't immediately
notify top officials about a theft of 26.5 million veterans' personal
information is stepping down, citing missteps that led to the security
breach. Michael McLendon, deputy assistant secretary for policy who
supervised the VA data analyst who lost the data, said he would relinquish
his high-level post on Friday. The data analyst also will be dismissed
while the acting head of the division in which he worked, Dennis Duffy, has
been placed on administrative leave, VA Secretary Jim Nicholson said
Tuesday." (05/30/06)

http://tinyurl.com/mutgl

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8) Pentagon: Iraq insurgency steady until '07
USA Today

"The Sunni Arab heart of the Iraqi insurgency seems likely to hold its
strength the rest of the year, and some of its leaders are now
collaborating with al-Qaeda terrorists, the Pentagon said Tuesday. In a
report assessing the situation in Iraq, required quarterly by Congress, the
Pentagon painted a mixed picture on a day when the U.S. military command in
Baghdad said 1,500 more combat troops have arrived in the country. The
extra troops are part of an intensified effort to wrest control of the
provincial capital of Ramadi from insurgents." (05/30/06)

http://tinyurl.com/n2kjm

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9) Microsoft launches security for Windows
Berkshire Eagle

"Security software makers, the 800-pound gorilla has landed. Microsoft
Corp. was to announce Wednesday that it is releasing software that aims to
better protect people who use its Windows operating system from Internet
attacks. The move pits the world's largest software maker head-to-head with
longtime business partners Symantec Corp., McAfee Inc. and others. Windows
Live OneCare, which will protect up to three computers for $49.95 per year,
marks the latest step in Microsoft's effort over the years to make its
operating system less vulnerable to crippling Internet attacks." [editor's
note: Some sick dogs you take to the vet; others, you just take back behind
the barn and put out of their misery - TLK] (05/30/06)

http://tinyurl.com/mkmsq

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10) Iraq war proves deadliest for journalists
MSNBC

"Transferred Tuesday to the U.S. military's largest hospital abroad, CBS
correspondent Kimberly Dozier remained in stable but critical condition,
according to U.S. doctors in Landstuhl, Germany. 'Right now,' says
Landstuhl Hospital commander Bryan Gamble, 'She is doing as well as can be
expected.' But Dozier's camera crew -- Britons Paul Douglas and Jim Brolan
-- were killed by the same roadside bomb, while embedded with the U.S. Army
in Baghdad." (05/30/06)

http://msnbc.msn.com/id/13053284/

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11) FBI comes up empty in search for Hoffa
Lima News

"The FBI said Tuesday it found no trace of Jimmy Hoffa after digging up a
suburban Detroit horse farm in one of the most intensive searches in
decades for the former Teamsters boss. The two-week search involved dozens
of FBI agents, along with anthropologists, archaeologists, cadaver-sniffing
dogs and a demolition crew that took apart a barn. Louis Fischetti,
supervisory agent with the Detroit FBI, said the tip that led agents to the
farm was the best federal authorities had received since 1976." (05/30/06)

http://tinyurl.com/r35ul

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12) Bush taps Paulson for Treasury Secretary
Alexandria Town Talk

"Goldman Sachs chief Henry Paulson was tapped Tuesday to be the next
Treasury secretary by President Bush, who turned to a 32-year Wall Street
veteran to help breathe new life into his economic agenda and revive his
troubled presidency. It marked the latest in a string of major changes in
the president's personnel lineup that started two months ago with the
replacement of Bush's chief of staff and has grown to include his CIA
director, budget chief and top trade representative." (05/30/06)

http://tinyurl.com/r93gv

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13) Former Abramoff partner testifies on ties to GOP lawmakers
CNN

"A former congressional aide and lobbyist described Tuesday how he obtained
insider information, advice and assistance from Bush administration
procurement chief David Safavian to advance two projects for Republican
influence-peddler Jack Abramoff, who then took the official on a lavish
golf trip to Scotland. The aide, Neil Volz, who was a partner of Abramoff's
at the time, also outlined how the Abramoff team received assistance from
several Republican congressmen including, Rep. Bob Ney, R-Ohio, Rep.
Shelley Moore Capito, R-West Virginia, Rep. Don Young, R-Alaska, and Rep.
Steven LaTourette, R-Ohio." (05/30/06)

http://tinyurl.com/pavd7

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14) Miniluv puts squeeze on Internet firms
CNN

"During a meeting last week with some of the nation's leading Internet
service companies, the attorney general and the FBI director asked a
variety of customer information and other data be kept for two years, much
longer than the companies do now, the Justice Department confirmed Tuesday.
Companies have varying policies regarding what information is kept and for
how long. One thing the Justice Department wants is some type of subscriber
information, such as the Internet address assigned to a person when logging
on to a service provider, two sources familiar with the meeting told CNN."
(05/30/06)

http://tinyurl.com/lleeg

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15) Officers not a target of Iraq death probe
Glasgow Daily Times

"Three officers relieved of command from a Marine battalion are not targets
of investigations into whether their troops killed as many as two dozen
Iraqi civilians and tried to cover it up, the attorney for one of the
officers said Tuesday. Capt. James Kimber learned about the deaths only
after the 3rd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment returned from Iraq in March,
attorney Paul Hackett said. Separate investigations seek to determine
whether the Nov. 19 killings in the western Iraqi city of Haditha were
criminal and whether the Marines involved and their commanding officers
tried to hide the truth." (05/30/06)

http://tinyurl.com/qcqsq

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16) Military starts online stress screening
Yahoo! News

"Concerned by rising stress levels in the ranks, the Defense Department has
quietly started an online self-screening program in hopes that anonymity
will help some service members and their spouses overcome reluctance to
confront possible mental-health problems. ... The effort is among the
latest of numerous military initiatives undertaken to cope with stress,
depression and other mental-health problems that have proliferated since
the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan led to tougher overseas deployment
schedules." (05/30/06)

http://tinyurl.com/oso9y

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17) Australia: $300 cash handout for parents
The Age

"Victorian parents will get a direct cash 'bonus' from the Bracks
Government when their children start primary and secondary school, and
business taxes will be cut, under Treasurer John Brumby's big-spending
pre-election budget. To Opposition cries of 'it's a bribe,' Mr Brumby
yesterday told Parliament that the Government would pay parents $300 for
every child when they started prep and again in year 7 -- and the first
payments would be made just months before the November state election. He
said the money would help parents pay for uniforms, books and equipment and
was designed to 'support families and highlight the importance of
education.' The bonus will go to all parents regardless of their wealth or
income and regardless of whether the children go to state or private
schools." (05/30/06)

http://tinyurl.com/oj84v

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18) UK: Passport D-day for soccer hooligans
Guardian

"More than 3,000 English football hooligans were required to hand over
their passports to police by 5 pm on Tuesday to prevent them traveling to
the World Cup. The deadline was set for 3,286 people currently subject to
football banning orders, who were required to submit their travel documents
at their local police station. They will also be required to attend a
police station each time England play during the tournament. A huge
security operation will also be launched at UK ports and airports ahead of
the tournament and police have a watchlist of fans who are not subject to
banning orders but against whom they have intelligence." (05/30/06)

http://tinyurl.com/q4p7o

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19) Iraq PM: Excuses for killings don't cut it
Reuters

"Iraq's prime minister said on Tuesday his patience was wearing thin with
excuses from U.S. troops that they kill civilians by 'mistake' and said he
would launch an investigation into killings at Haditha last year. 'There is
a limit to the acceptable excuses. Yes a mistake may happen but there is an
acceptable limit to mistakes,' Nuri al-Maliki told Reuters when asked about
a U.S. investigation into the deaths of 24 Iraqis in the western town last
November." (05/30/06)

http://today.reuters.com/News/CrisesArticle.aspx?storyId=MAC048936

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20) ID: Shooting leaves one dead
KTVB News

"A Valley County man is dead, and the man who pulled the trigger says he
did it in self-defense. The 26-year old shooter admitted to police that he
killed the man, but he says he did it for his own protection. ... According
to police 11 people were at a party in the home when a fight broke out.
Police say a number of metal weapons were used in the fight. The shooter
tells police the Prescott brothers attacked him with the weapons, and
that's when he shot James Prescott in self-defense." (05/30/06)

http://tinyurl.com/qaf9q

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21) SC: 2 gunned down in botched robbery
Myrtle Beach Online

"Two men were killed early Monday in a gunfight sparked by an armed robbery
attempt near the intersection of Cassandra Lane and 22nd Avenue South,
Myrtle Beach police said. ... A police incident report said that Smith and
a friend, Charles Melvin Stocker Jr., 26, of Hopkins, were near Cassandra
and 22nd when McCullough and another person approached and tried to rob
them at gunpoint. During the robbery, McCullough shot and killed Smith,
police said. Stocker then pulled a gun he had and fired on McCullough,
police said. Horry County Deputy Coroner Tamara Willard said both men were
shot multiple times while within a few feet of each other." (05/30/06)

http://tinyurl.com/r5vk3

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22) OR: Intruder shot multiple times
KPTV News

"A 9-1-1 call from a woman in Boring reported that a man who had been
harassing her, broke into her residence and her boyfriend shot the intruder
multiple times. It happened at about 2:30 a.m. Clackamas County Sheriff's
officials say the woman told them the intruder had been stalking her. She
says the man physically forced his way into her residence. The man,
reported to be 49-years-old, was shot multiple times with a handgun in the
upper torso and is reported to be in stable condition." (05/30/06)

http://www.kptv.com/Global/story.asp?S=4964332

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23) NC: Squabble leads to gunfire
McDowell News

"Capt. Dudley Greene of the Sheriff's Office said Freeman and several
others were in his yard, when 34-year-old Mark Anthony Salyer of Southern
Way showed up unannounced. Witness said a confrontation ensued and Salyer
brandished a weapon, the captain stated. That's when Freeman shot Salyer
once in the chest with a .45-caliber handgun." (05/30/06)

http://tinyurl.com/nw2dg

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24) MI: No murder charge for man who shot rapper Proof
Detroit Free Press

"The man who shot and killed Detroi