NO MORE EARLY TERMINATION FEES....sorta

California judge rules early cell phone termination fees illegal

In one of the most significant legal rulings in the tech industry this year, a Superior Court judge in California has ruled that the practice of charging consumers a fee for ending their cell phone contract early is illegal and violates state law.

The preliminary, tentative judgment orders Sprint Nextel to pay customers $18.2 million in reimbursements and, more importantly, orders Sprint to stop trying to collect another $54.7 million from California customers (some 2 million customers total) who have canceled their contracts but refused or failed to pay the termination fee.

While an appeal is inevitable, the ruling could have massive fallout throughout the industry. Without the threat of levying early termination fees, the cellular carriers lose the power that's enabled them to lock customers into contracts for multiple years at a time. And while those contracts can be heinously long, they also let the carriers offer cell phone hardware at reduced (subsidized) prices. AT&T's two-year contract is the only reason the iPhone 3G costs $199. If subsidies vanish, what happens to hardware lock-in? Could an era of expensive, but unlocked, hardware be just around the corner? It's highly probable.

Of course, the carriers aren't going to take this lying down. Early termination fees are seen as critical to business, so carriers are expected to look for ways to reclassify the fees (such as by calling them "rates," part of the arcane set of laws that covers the telecommunications industry). The industry is also pushing for the federal government to step in and claim oversight over the early termination fee issue, which would invalidate any state ruling. The FCC is generally more tolerant of such fees, though Chairman Kevin Martin has proposed a plan whereby the fees are decreased the closer you are to the end of your contract.

The FCC may also buy the argument that, since carriers are nationally based (and consumers can use their phones anywhere in the country), that a single policy should apply across the nation, rather than creating a patchwork of legislation that could lead to confusion and chaos caused by having 50 different policies.

Is the early termination fee dead? Not yet, but it's looking a little haggard.

9-11 TRUTH RISING

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-9153741586264750761&q=truth+rising+alex+jones&ei=97SQSOesE6fyqwOIp_S5CA

new 9-11 documentary from alex jones watch it learn....actually go watch loose change 3rd edition first then watch this movie.

Another bear gets death sentence without trial

Sad end for bear with jar on head

The jar was said to be the type that holds sweets or popcorn

US wildlife officials who tried to capture a bear that had a jar stuck on its head, have shot the animal after it wandered into a busy Minnesota town.

The bear, a male about two years old, was killed by police after six days of failed efforts to catch it alive.

"When it got into town, our main concern was public safety," said Rob Naplin, a local wildlife supervisor.

The wild black bear could breathe but could not eat or drink, and was probably hungry and dehydrated.

'Tough condition'

"With all the people around... you're never sure what the outcome is going to be," Mr Naplin told the Minneapolis Star Tribune newspaper.

Mr Naplin said efforts had been made to capture the bear alive as it moved through areas near the town of Lake George, where it was first spotted on 21 July.

Efforts to tranquilise the animal failed because the bear "stayed in forested areas", he said.

Mr Naplin said the bear was "in pretty tough condition" after being unable to eat or drink for several days because of the 2.5-gallon (9.5-litre) plastic jar on its head.

He said the jar was the type that holds sweets or popcorn, and had probably become lodged on its head as the bear was foraging for food.

A new internet.....WHAT?

Project to rebuild Internet gets $12M, bandwidth

By ANICK JESDANUN, AP Internet Writer Wed Jul 30, 4:23 PM ET

NEW YORK - A massive project to redesign and rebuild the Internet from scratch is inching along with $12 million in government funding and donations of network capacity by two major research organizations.

Many researchers want to rethink the Internet's underlying architecture, saying a "clean-slate" approach is the only way to truly address security and other challenges that have cropped up since the Internet's birth in 1969.

On behalf of the government, BBN Technologies Inc. is overseeing the planning and design of the Global Environment for Network Innovations, or GENI, a network on which researchers will be able to test new ideas without damaging the current Internet.

The $12 million in initial grants from the National Science Foundation will go to developing prototypes for the GENI network.

To test these prototypes, the Internet2 organization is contributing 10 gigabits per second of dedicated bandwidth, so researchers won't have to worry about normal Internet traffic interfering with their experiments. National LambdaRail is offering another 30 gigabits per second of capacity, though it won't be dedicated to GENI at all times.

The bandwidth is thousands of times faster than standard home broadband connections — enough to run 30 high-quality movies into your home simultaneously.

Craig Partridge, chief scientist at BBN Technologies, said the commitments amounted to an important endorsement of GENI by two organizations that run ultra-high-speed networks for universities and other researchers to conduct data-intensive projects.

Construction on GENI could start in about five years and cost $350 million. Congress still has to approve those funds.

one two one two this is just a test

This is a short short film of the old run down Chippewa Lake park and also my first time adding a video to my page. Just playing around trying to see if this is easy or not...seems pretty easy so far....

what are those strange lines in the sky?

Anybody else curious? I've read alot about contrails over the past few years but i am still skeptical....however you cannot deny that something is goofy with these things. They expand and stay up there all day now instead of dissipating like a normal contrail would. Please feel free to add a comment whether you agree or disagree.

It's high time this happened!!! cheech and chong reunite!!!

Cheech and Chong reunite as feud goes up in smoke

By MICHAEL WEINFELD – 6 hours ago

WASHINGTON (AP) — Now that their feud is up in smoke, Cheech and Chong are high on plans to reunite for their first comedy tour in more than 25 years.

Cheech Marin told AP Radio that he and Tommy Chong "looked at each other going, `If we're ever going to do something it has to be now because you're not getting any younger and neither am I.'"

They tossed around some ideas and figured a comedy tour would be "the most fun" and "the least hassle," the 62-year-old Marin said.

Marin and Chong, who broke up amid creative differences, have tried to reunite before, but have always fought too much. Marin laughed and said: "It takes about 3 minutes for that to happen. There's this veiled hatred." But he added: "We've kind of resolved that."

"We've gotten to the age where we don't feel like fighting anymore because the end is a lot closer than the beginning," he said.

Marin said he thinks dope humor can be as funny today as it was back in the '70s.

"I think it's time for a revival of dope jokes. It's a much bigger audience now, it's much more widespread and institutionalized," he said in an interview earlier this month.

Details of the "Hey, What's That Smell?" tour were to be announced Wednesday at a news conference in West Hollywood, Calif., according to concert promoter Live Nation.

During their original run, Marin and Chong released nine comedy albums between 1972 and 1985, were nominated for four Grammy Awards and won one. They also starred in eight feature films, almost always portraying a pair of comical stoners stumbling through life.

While Chong has continued to do standup, Marin has concentrated on films and TV appearances.

"I guess Cheech forgot how tough standup is," Chong joked last month after Marin said they were considering reuniting.

"But he's got the incentive and the enthusiasm and he's ready," he said of his former partner. "My boy is back."

THE ICE IS MELTING THE ICE IS MELTING....no really the ice is melting

Canadian Arctic sheds ice chunk

The free ice will need to be monitored in case it becomes a hazard to shipping

A large chunk of an Arctic ice shelf has broken free of the northern Canadian coast, scientists say.

Nearly 20 sq km (eight sq miles) of ice from the Ward Hunt shelf has split away from Ellesmere Island, according to satellite pictures.

It is thought to be the biggest piece of ice shed in the region since 60 sq km of the nearby Ayles Ice Shelf broke away in 2005.

Scientists say further splitting could occur during the Arctic summer melt.

The polar north is once again experiencing a rapid ice retreat this year, although many scientists doubt the record minimum extent of 4.13 million sq km (1.59 million sq miles) of sea-ice seen in 2007 will be beaten.

Nonetheless, dramatic changes are occurring in the region, affecting the ice both in the open ocean and the ice which is attached to the coast.

Researchers had predicted that the Ward Hunt Ice Shelf (WHIS) was likely to experience a major calving event of this nature. The satellite images from last week show ice breaking away in two major segments - their area totalling 20 sq km - together with some smaller fragments.

The one take-home message for me here is that these ice shelves aren't re-generating Dr Derek Mueller, Trent University

Scientists travelling with the Canadian armed forces visited the area recently and found major new fractures in the ice that stretched for more than 16km (10 miles).

Ellesmere Island was once bounded by one giant ice shelf that covered almost 10,000 sq km (3,500 sq miles).

Now this expanse of ice has retreated into a string of five, much smaller, individual shelves, which together cover just under 1,000 sq km (400 sq miles). At 440 sq km (170 sq miles) in size and 40m (130ft) thick, the WHIS is the largest of the remnant shelves.

Scientists have been studying the Canadian feature because of what it can tell them about Arctic history.

Radiocarbon dating of driftwood trapped behind the shelf in Disraeli Fjord shows the shelf itself has been in place for at least 3,000 years.

Researchers believe the mechanism which has maintained its stability - fresh water coming out of Disraeli Fjord and freezing under the shelf - may have been disturbed. If that is the case, the rest of the WHIS may disappear quite rapidly, researchers say.

Zoom into the Canadian Arctic to see where the ice has broken free

The current warming being experienced in the Arctic means the conditions needed to rebuild the shelves simply does not exist.

"The one take-home message for me here is that these ice shelves aren't re-generating," explained Dr Derek Mueller, from Trent University, Ontario.

"There were, for some period of time, insipient ice shelves reforming in the form of sea-ice that just remained fast to the land for many decades; and those pieces of ice have broken up in the last eight years or so," he told BBC News.

"Those aborted attempts at re-growth suggest to me that the conditions are not right either to maintain or re-grow these ice shelves."

Loss of ice in the Arctic, and in particular the extensive sea-ice, has global implications. The "white parasol" at the top of the planet reflects energy from the Sun straight back out into space, helping to cool the Earth.

Further loss of Arctic ice will see radiation absorbed by darker seawater and snow-free land, potentially warming the Earth's climate at an even faster rate than current observational data indicates.

As with the Ayles breakout in 2005, the authorities will have to track the Ward Hunt ice carefully. Its size means it could be a hazard to shipping and offshore development in the region.

Satan...um i mean Karl Rove will be cited with contempt.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080730/ap_on_go_co/rove_contempt

House panel votes to cite Rove with contempt

Wed Jul 30, 10:53 AM ET

WASHINGTON - The House Judiciary Committee has voted to hold former White House strategist Karl Rove in contempt of Congress for ignoring a subpoena to testify.
ADVERTISEMENT

Voting along party lines Wednesday, the committee said Rove broke the law by failing to appear at a July 10 hearing on allegations of White House influence over the Justice Department, including whether Rove encouraged prosecutions against Democrats.

The committee decision is only a recommendation, and it was unclear whether Speaker Nancy Pelosi would allow a final vote.

Rove has denied any involvement with Justice Department decisions, and the White House has said Congress has no authority to compel testimony from current and former advisers.

HOWARD AND OPIE AND ANTHONY AS ONE!

FCC Finally OKs XM-Sirius Merger

It was a ridiculously long time coming, but on Friday the FCC officially approved the merger between XM Satellite Radio and Sirius, reports MediaBuyerPlanner.

The National Association of Broadcasters immediately relayed the following statement (via Barron’s): "Today’s vote certainly comes as a disappointment to NAB. We continue to believe that consumers are best served by competition rather than monopolies."

Yesterday Sirius announced preliminary second quarter 2008 financial results, citing a 25 percent increase in revenue to $283 million and a 70 percent decrease in its adjusted loss from operations. Subscribers now total over 8.9 million, including an addition of 279,302 new subscribers in the quarter

Stocks soar after another drop in oil prices

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080729/ap_on_bi_st_ma_re/wall_street;_ylt=An.7dKjIZ1ph8vRwnS1KueuyBhIF

By MADLEN READ, AP Business Writer Tue Jul 29, 5:45 PM ET

NEW YORK - Wall Street shot higher Tuesday, gaining back the previous session's sharp losses and then some, after a drop in oil prices and a rise in consumer confidence gave investors some hope for a letup in Americans' financial woes. The Dow Jones industrial average rose 266 points.

Crude oil prices sank $2.54 to $122.19 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, extending their two-week-long retreat from record highs above $147. The prospect of lower energy costs for U.S. consumers, along with a modest uptick in the Conference Board's July index of consumer confidence to 51.9 from 51 in June, came as welcome news. Consumer spending accounts for more than two-thirds of U.S. economic activity.

"The thinking is that oil prices are heading lower, and that's obviously a positive for the market," said Richard E. Cripps, chief market strategist for Stifel Nicolaus.

A stock bounce was hardly unexpected, though, after the Dow lost nearly 240 points Monday on worries about the sagging financial sector. Wall Street is torn: Energy prices, if they continue on their downward path, could provide big relief to consumers and in turn help the economy, but credit losses keep mounting at the nation's major banks. The result is big swings in the market but little consistent direction.

"We're living from one piece of news to the next," said Alan Gayle, senior investment strategist for RidgeWorth Capital Management. The market's volatility is likely to continue unless it gets further evidence that oil prices are, indeed, on their way down, and that banks have already seen the bulk of their losses.

In a sign that there could be additional asset markdowns for banks, Merrill Lynch & Co. announced late Monday that it was writing down another $5.7 billion and selling assets tied to risky debt at a steep discount to Lone Star Funds, a distressed debt investor.

Still, Merrill's moves at least answered lingering questions about the health of the brokerage's balance sheet. And many analysts said the asset sale could help to finally establish a market for all the hard-to-value securities held by various financial institutions.

"The bad news is, there's going to be write-downs. The better news is, we can estimate those write-downs with better clarity," Gayle said.

The Dow gained 266.48, or 2.39 percent, to 11,397.56.

Broader stock indicators also climbed. The Standard & Poor's 500 index rose 28.83, or 2.34 percent, to 1,263.20, and the Nasdaq composite index rose 55.40, or 2.45 percent, to 2,319.62.

The Dow and the S&P are now less than 20 percent below their Oct. 9 record peaks — technically out of bear market territory. The Nasdaq is less than 19 percent below its Oct. 31 peak. Still, another downturn will put the market back into bear territory, and some analysts would call an advance like Tuesday's a bear market rally.

Advancing issues outnumbered by nearly 4 to 1 on the New York Stock Exchange. Consolidated volume came to a moderate 5.11 billion shares, up from 4.16 billion shares Monday.

Bond prices fell after advancing a day earlier. The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note, which moves opposite its price, rose to 4.04 percent from 4.01 percent late Monday.

The dollar was mostly higher against other major currencies, while gold prices fell.

Merrill, which plans to issue new stock to raise $8.5 billion, initially saw its stock drop. But shares later rallied to finish up $1.92, or 8 percent, at $26.25.

Most other financial stocks also bounced higher. Citigroup Inc. rose $1.03, or 5.9 percent, to $18.46; Washington Mutual Inc. rose 46 cents, or 11.7 percent, to $4.40; Bank of America Corp. rose $3.97, or 14.2 percent, to $32.03; and Wachovia Corp. rose $1.98, or 14.5 percent, to $15.61.

Airline stocks also jumped due to slumping oil prices. AMR Corp., the parent of American Airlines, rose $1.47, or 18.4 percent, to $9.47; Delta Air Lines Inc. rose $1.01, or 14.6 percent, to $7.91; and United parent UAL Corp. rose $1.50, or 21.4 percent, to $8.51.

Better-than-expected quarterly earnings helped shore up sentiment as well.

United States Steel Corp.'s profit more than doubled in the second quarter following an increase in demand and pricing. The stock jumped $20.43, or 14 percent, to $165.76.

Colgate-Palmolive rose $5.59, or 8.2 percent, to $74.15 after reporting that its second-quarter earnings rose 19 percent. Price increases helped the consumer products company offset rising input costs.

But on the downside, there was more data pointing to a still sinking housing market. S&P/Case-Shiller said its 20-city index for May fell 15.8 percent from a year earlier — the sharpest drop since its inception in 2000. The narrower 10-city index is down 16.9 percent, the biggest decline in its 21-year history.

The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies rose 18.44, or 2.65 percent, to 714.55.

Overseas, Japan's Nikkei stock average fell 1.46 percent. Britain's FTSE 100 rose 0.12 percent, Germany's DAX index rose 0.75 percent, and France's CAC-40 dipped 0.09 percent.

THE MISTAKE DEPARTMENT

THE MISTAKE DEPARTMENT
One Example of Why American Foreign Policy is a Disaster

http://www.opednews.com/articles/Th...080725-269.html

by J. Michael Springmann

After airplanes flew into the World Trade Towers and the Pentagon, The Los Angeles Times reported that 15 of the 19 alleged hijackers got their U.S. visas from the American Consulate General at Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, a consulate where I had served as chief of the Visa Section. What The Los Angeles Times did not report was what I had told their Washington, D.C. bureau after reading the story: (1) that the Jeddah Consulate was not a State Department post but an intelligence services operation; (2) that the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) routinely demanded (and got) visas for sleazy characters with no ties to either their home country or Saudi Arabia; (3) that these vile people were terrorists recruited by U.S. intelligence officers along with Osama bin Laden, then a CIA asset. With the help of non-State Department officials, i.e., Consul General, Jay Philip Freres (retired and living in Clearwater, Fla.), the head of the Political/Economic Section, Eric L. Qualkenbush (retired and living in Findlay, Ohio), the Political Officer, Henry Ensher (currently assigned to D.C. and living in McLean, Va.), a Commercial Officer, Paul Arvid Tveit (retired and also living in McLean, Va.), the Chief of the Consular Section, Justice (given name) Stevens (whereabouts unknown), and a "part-time" Consular officer, Andy Weber (last seen on the PBS program "Bio-Terror"), they were sent to America for training in blowing things up and shooting things down. Afterwards, they were sent on to Afghanistan to murder Soviet soldiers. It seems pretty clear that they and people that they had trained are now pursuing their own goals (and most likely U.S. foreign policy interests) in helping destabilize Lebanon, Iraq, and Afghanistan. Their next target may be Iran.

Having been Commercial Attaché at the American Embassy in New Delhi, India (a post with a goodly number of CIA and National Security Agency, NSA, staff) and twice in Stuttgart, Germany, a Consulate with successive Consuls General sent out by the intelligence services, Douglas Jones and Day Olin Mount (both now retired, whereabouts unknown), I was still flabbergasted at the blatant disregard (and wholehearted contempt) for the Immigration and Nationality Act and the Foreign Affairs Manual (the State Department's Holy Book governing, inter alia, visa issuance). And it wasn't until I was fired for questioning these spurious visa practices that I learned what was really going on and how the system worked--to America's detriment.

Despite being given ample notice, I still did not, in fact, could not, see the coming disaster--because I trusted my government. Consider:

• My predecessor at Jeddah (Greta C. Holtz, now assigned to Washington) simply did not answer my letters asking about the situation at the Consulate, later telling me that she was "too upset" to respond. (Once there, I learned that she had been repeatedly threatened with losing her job over visa refusals, but, later, was apparently "wised-up" about the situation since she then stopped her complaining.)
• The then-American Ambassador to Saudi Arabia, Walter Cutler (who went on to head the Meridian International Center in Washington, D.C. for 17 years, promoting U.S. ties with Iran), spent 45 minutes with me before I left the U.S. In the meeting, he told me about all the problems my predecessor had caused him in refusing visas to unqualified people. When I asked the State Department Desk Officer for Saudi Arabia about this, he replied that he didn't know, "Cutler was just a queer duck".
• Again, while still in D.C., I had a chance conversation with a staff member (Ellen Goff) at the Executive Office of the-then Bureau for Near East/South Asia, learning that there were serious but unspecified problems connected with visa issuances at Jeddah.
• Upon my arrival, I was fêted for being a distinct change from my predecessor (who still has her job and is a high-ranking Foreign Service officer). Not long afterwards, things swiftly reversed themselves, and I was constantly browbeaten by the Consul General, Jay Freres, about refusing visas to unqualified applicants.
• It was not unusual for expediters carrying visa applications to the Consulate for their employers to tell me I could issue the visa then and there or, if I refused, later on, after the Consul General ordered me to.
• I was told by a contact outside the Consulate (Nestor Martin, whereabouts unknown), whom I now believe worked for the CIA, that if I spoke one word about the nefarious visa activities to a team inspecting the Consulate's operations, I would lose my job. One of the Inspectors (Joseph P. O'Neil, later retired, but afterwards assigned to various posts in Central Asia) came to me, questioned me in detail, while insisting I had to answer and that he would protect me. I did and I later lost my job.
• The Counselor for Consular Affairs in Riyadh, Stephanie Smith, (now retired and living in Florida) told me that things in Jeddah were very serious and that, on my way to my next assignment, I should speak about the disconcerting situation with the Bureau for Consular Affairs--which then professed absolutely no interest when I did so.
• After being notified that the State Department intended to pitch me out, I contacted that agency's Inspector General and the Bureau of Diplomatic Security (DS). DS agents, including Travis A. Moran, told me that I simply had had a "personality conflict" with the Consul General (who, astonishingly enough, had had a visa signature plate made and had sat at the visa window interviewing applicants, a function far below his pay grade).

At the time (before I spoke with the journalist Joe Trento, a retired government official, and a man connected to a D.C. university (not named for their safety) and learned what was really going on), I had thought the whole problem was visa fraud, i.e., someone was paying good money for a chance to come to the U.S. Fraud like this is every consular officer's nightmare and is anathema at State. According to the Bureau of Diplomatic Security's website: "[V]isa fraud is a federal offense punishable by up to 10 years in prison and a fine of $250,000. If the offense is connected...to international terrorism [the sentence is increased to 20 years]."

But, when I said "fraud" to people charge with investigating it, I was told I had a personality conflict. And I became unemployed.

There you have it. The United States of America, whose diplomatic posts are too often outposts of the CIA and NSA, was running (and, from what I can see) is likely still running a visas for terrorists program, while blaming the rest of the world for causing disasters of its own making. According to a former CIA Station Chief and a member of State's Inspector General's office, both of whom I wish to protect, at least one-third of the people who claim to work for the Department of State in reality work for one of the many U.S. intelligence agencies. In my limited experience, I would be inclined to raise that proportion which, I am inclined to believe, is increasing. (In Jeddah, all but three of the 20 or so U.S. staff worked for intelligence offices.)

Despite my best efforts, no other agency of the United States government ever wanted to deal with this matter. My Freedom of Information Act lawsuit about the reasons for my dismissal was sealed (and shut down) as a threat to national security. The Government Accountability Office took no interest in what I told them about the issue. The FBI ignored my calls, even the ones after September 11, 2001. Congress then and later also took an ostrich's view of my charges with a staffer on the House Foreign Affairs Committee once telling me that we needed the CIA.

Over the years, I wrote ever more pointed letters to Congressmen dealing with the intelligence services: to John D. Rockefeller IV, then Vice Chairman, U.S. Senate Select Committee on Intelligence; to Jane Harman, then Ranking Member, U.S. House of Representatives Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence; and to Nancy Pelosi, then Democratic Leader of the House of Representatives. I also wrote to Tom Davis, now Ranking Republican on the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, U.S. House of Representatives, who was opposing legislation to protect national security whistle-blowers.

In those missives, I named the intelligence officers who ran the Visas for Terrorists Program and instructed the Congressmen on how to contact them. But, no action was ever taken, no question was ever raised, giving rise to my view that they knew all about the matter. And chose to ignore it.

Additionally, in the hopes of getting some action, I published several articles on the Visas for Terrorists Program, "The Hand That Rules The Visa Machine Rocks The World" in a now-defunct magazine during the Winter of 2001, and "The Visas for Terrorists Program" in Global Outlook (Triple Issue No. 11, Spring/Summer 2006). While the concept was picked up by Project Censored (25 Runners Up) 2002, and my interviews are still on the Internet, no uproar has yet been generated and no governmental action has resulted.

Why not? Any investigation would mean indictments. It would mean jail sentences. It would mean political accountability. And, as we can see from the illegal and unconstitutional wars in Iraq, Afghanistan, and, soon, Iran, no one, whether voter or politician or official, wants to deal with an uncomfortable and rather dangerous reality. It would reflect on their judgment (or lack of it) and, if faced squarely, would cause them to believe that their lives have been a lie.

J. Michael Springmann was a diplomat in the State Department's Foreign Service, with postings to Germany, India, Saudi Arabia, and the Bureau of Intelligence and Research in Washington, D.C. The published author of several articles on national security themes, he is now an attorney in private practice in the Washington, D.C.area

Bush's Mass Pardons Predicted

http://www.consortiumnews.com/2008/072608a.html

By Brent Budowsky
July 26, 2008

Editor’s Note: As his presidency nears its end, George W. Bush will be faced with a tough choice: either run the risk, along with many of his top aides, of future prosecution for a variety of crimes from the “war on terror” -- or fashion a mass pardon for all those involved.

In this guest essay, former Democratic congressional aide Brent Budowsky predicts that Bush will take the latter course, even outdoing his father's lame-duck Iran-Contra pardons in 1992.

Before leaving office George W. Bush will issue a mass pardon, the largest collection of presidential pardons in American history.

Bush will pardon himself, Vice President Cheney, and a long list of officials involved in torture, eavesdropping, destruction of evidence, the CIA leak case, and a range of other potential crimes.

As George Bush signs the pardons and boards the helicopter to depart Washington as his presidency finally ends, even then he and those pardoned will worry about the statute of limitations.

There is an important point to this, often not recognized in official Washington during the Bush years: When the unthinkable became a way of life, acts were committed that defied constitutional and legal principles in ways never done by an American president.

Torture alone violates international law, domestic law, criminal statutes, and American principles that date back to George Washington.

Eavesdropping without court order violates a statute, FISA, that includes severe criminal penalties. If the courts ultimately conclude that these laws were broken, as I predict they ultimately will, considering the number of individual violations, and the penalties for each violation, the potential sentencing liability for anyone convicted would be huge.

On the destruction of evidence, disappearing e-mails, claims of executive privilege that I predict will be clearly rejected by the Supreme Court after Bush has departed, arguably false testimony to Congress, attempts to cover up actions that violate the law, the list, again, goes on.

There will be a huge legal debate about the right of a President to issue pardons so sweeping in their language that they cover all these potential areas of legal liability, and very possibly, it cannot be done.

Congress should pursue every pending and possible legal challenge to claims of executive privilege so completely untenable under the law that even some conservative Supreme Court justices will refuse to uphold them, as conservative justices joined liberals ruling against Richard M. Nixon.

I predict a series of historic Supreme Court cases that will defeat most of the Bush executive privilege claims and permanently end attempts for royalist interpretations of the law that the Bush years embody.

The fact that Bush attempted to seize power in ways that negate the legislative and judicial branches of government, and the fact that Congress was not heroic in defending its rightful place in the separation of powers, do not change the fact that what is illegal is illegal.

But this is not merely a liberal issue.

There are many authentic conservatives, true Barry Goldwater Republicans, genuine libertarians, honorable strict constructionist conservative jurists and legal scholars who agree entirely that on occasions George Bush has attempted and at times executed seizures of executive power that violate the American Constitution and American statutes.

So, get ready for mass pardons.

Get ready for the long-held precedents of American law to be ultimately if belatedly upheld and spurious claims of executive privilege to be rejected.

Get ready for a long-overdue debate that has barely begun and will be triggered by the mass pardons that will be the last sorry act of the presidency of George W. Bush.

Brent Budowsky was an aide to Sen. Lloyd Bentsen and to Rep. Bill Alexander, then the chief deputy whip of the House. A contributing editor to Fighting Dems News Service, he can be read on The Hill newspaper where this essay first appeared. He can be reached at brentbbi@webtv.net.

Oscar-winning director produced 'evidence' documentary at Gitmo trial

Reuters Published: Monday July 28, 2008

http://rawstory.com/news/2008/Guantanamo_trial_views_graphic_911_video_0728.html

GUANTANAMO BAY U.S. NAVAL BASE, Cuba (Reuters) - Prosecutors in the trial of Osama bin Laden's driver unveiled a graphic video on Monday of the September 11 attacks and other al Qaeda operations that is likely to play a repeated role in pending war crimes cases.

The video is entitled "The Al Qaeda Plan," an echo of "The Nazi Plan" made by Oscar-winning director George Stevens as evidence in the Nuremberg war crimes trials of German leaders after World War II.

"Oh my God" was heard repeatedly as crowds watched the twin towers of the World Trade center collapse on September 11, 2001, in a vivid highlight of the movie shown over defense objections at the terrorism conspiracy trial of Salim Hamdan.

The six-member panel that will decide Hamdan's fate also saw footage of charred bodies stripped of flesh in the bombings of two U.S. embassies in Africa and the body of a U.S. soldier dragged through the streets in Somalia in 2003.

Control tower conversations with one of the doomed September 11 planes were also included.

"The Al Qaeda Plan" was made for $25,000 by terrorism consultant Evan Kohlmann for the Office of Military Commissions, which is conducting the trials of terrorism suspects at Guantanamo. Its 90 minutes of video clips depict the history of al Qaeda from its formation in 1988 through the September 11 attacks.

The commission's lead prosecutor, Col. Lawrence Morris, said the tape would be used in other trials but no decision had been made whether to use it in the trial of accused September 11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed.

Hamdan's attorneys objected that the footage would prejudice the jury. "They're trying to terrorize the members," defense attorney Charles Swift told the court.

But prosecutors said the video helped illustrate the goals of al Qaeda training and ideology. "It is a very important part of the prosecution's case," said prosecutor Clayton Trivett.

Commission Judge Keith Allred approved the video, after first saying it would serve more to prejudice the case than to prove a point. "The planes crashing into the towers and the people screaming doesn't prove anything," he said.

A pivotal point of contention is the significance of Hamdan's role in al Qaeda. The Yemeni native was caught in November 2001 with two surface-to-air missiles in his car.

Defense attorneys say he was a lowly driver, but the prosecution has sought to portray him as a trusted bodyguard who helped bin Laden evade capture and stay alive.

The two sides have also skirmished over an expert's testimony on the laws of war. With Hamdan being tried as a war criminal under a 2006 U.S. law, the prosecution is seeking to show the United States was in a continuing armed conflict with al Qaeda well before the September 11 attacks.

Hamdan's attorneys have sought to demonstrate that the battle with al Qaeda did not reach the state of armed conflict until the September 11 attacks, which could make it harder for the prosecution to prove Hamdan's actions count as a war crime.

Separately on Monday, the Pentagon announced it had filed charges against another detainee at Guantanamo and released three from the detention center.

The Pentagon said Abdul Ghani was accused of attempted murder, material support for terrorism and conspiracy over accusations he fired rockets and planted bombs aimed at U.S.-led forces in Afghanistan in 2001 and 2002, and tried to kill an Afghani soldier in 2002.

The Pentagon said it had released three detainees -- one to Afghanistan, one to the United Arab Emirates and one to Qatar. It said more than 65 Guantanamo detainees are eligible for transfer or release subject to talks on where they will go

British Kids Encouraged To Become “Climate Cops”

this article is a bit dramatic however i can't help being a bit weirded out by this. it reminds me of george orwell's 1984 how the kids would sell out their parents to the "thought police".

http://www.prisonplanet.com/british-kids-encouraged-to-become-climate-cops.html/comment-page-1/#comments

Full page adverts in weekend newspapers ask kids to rat on their friends and family in order to prevent “climate crimes”

Steve Watson
Infowars.net
Monday, July 28, 2008

A leading British energy company blitzed the newspapers with full page colour advertisements this weekend which encourage children to sign up as “climate cops” and keep “climate crime case files” on their families, friends and neighbours.

The ads, run by Npower, promote a website at www.climatecops.com where “trainees” must complete three missions before they can join the “elite cadets” and “train to become a climate cop”.

These missions basically consist of a barrage of eco propaganda which the child must simply engage in in order to be accepted as a special agent of the green brigade.

The site offers a selection of downloads, including a pack of “climate crime cards“, which instruct recruits to spy on families, friends and relatives, encouraging each of them to build up a written “climate crime case file”.

“Report back to your family to make sure they don’t commit those crimes again (or else)!” one section states, before reminding recruits to keep a watchful eye on parents and even extend their web further. “What about the homes of aunts and uncles, or friends from school?” it suggests.

Full article at INFOWARS.NET

Blood oil' dripping from Nigeria

By Andrew Walker BBC News, Abuja Oil company employees are suspected of selling their skills to oil bunkerers Under cover of night dozens of barges queue up to dock at a jetty in a creek somewhere in Nigeria's oil-rich Niger Delta. Their holds are filled with stolen oil running from valves illegally installed into a pipeline. Full, they chug downstream to meet around 10 larger ships near the oil export terminal in Bonny, Rivers State, where they disgorge their cargo. By 0500, in the darkness before dawn, the ships uncouple from the barges and move out in a convoy to sea to rendezvous with a tanker which will spirit away the stolen oil, making it disappear into another cargo, bound for sale on the world market. It is likely the tanker arrived partly loaded with guns, cocaine to be trafficked into Europe and cash, which they will use to pay for the oil. Bogus shipping documents make their load - possibly tens of thousands of tons of crude oil - disappear into legitimate markets in Eastern Europe or America. This is an industry that makes £30m ($60m) a day, they'd kill you, me, anyone, in order to protect it Analyst close to former government of Olusegun Obasanjo This, according to activists and former Nigerian government advisers, is the process by which Nigeria is losing billions of dollars every year to oil smuggling. The illegal "bunkering", as it is known, makes a huge profit for Nigerian syndicates and rogue international traders. It leaves in its wake chaos and misery for the people of the Niger Delta. 'Godfathers' According to Nigeria's President Umaru Yar'Adua this is "blood oil", akin to the trade in "blood diamonds" that fuelled bloody civil wars in West African neighbours Liberia and Sierra Leone. Gordon Brown promised to help Nigeria tackle the unrest in the Delta He is calling on the international community to help Nigeria end the trade. Britain has promised military training to improve the Nigerian military Joint Task Force's ability to police the Delta region. But a source close to the former government of President Olusegun Obasanjo says the problem is not about quashing militants in boats. Some of the people who run the cartels are among Nigeria's top political "godfathers", who wield massive political influence. "If the president goes after them, they could destabilise the country, cause a coup, a civil war. They are that powerful, they could bring the state down," said the source, who did not want to be identified. He says that attempts in the past to bring the trade under control were stopped for that reason. "This is an industry that makes £30m ($60m) a day, they'd kill you, me, anyone, in order to protect it," he said. The militant connection In order to get away with the theft, the bunkering syndicates operate under the cloak of the conflict between militants and oil companies in the Niger Delta. They need "security" - gangs of armed heavies to protect their cargos - and threaten anyone who tries to interfere. Barges like this one are filled with crude and then take it to larger ships They don't have to look far to find large groups of unemployed youths willing to do what they are told for a little money. State governments in the Delta armed militias to carry out widespread rigging during the 2003 elections. But the militiamen say they were abandoned, so they turned to oil theft to fund their activities. Although they are referred to in the media as "militants" there are few coherent groups. Most are gangs, led by commanders who are perpetually at war with each other. These youths protect bunkering ships, force local community leaders to let bunkerers pass and bribe the Nigerian military. The thieves may also need "the boys" to blow up pipelines, forcing the oil company to shut down the flow, allowing them to install a tap in the pipe. "Hot-tapping", as it is known, requires considerable expertise, usually supplied by a former oil company employee. These militants don't see the process of oil theft as stealing, observers say. They believe they are taking what is legitimately theirs from the companies and the government. They organise themselves in "bunkering turfs", but outbreaks of violence between them have been frequent and bloody. 'Legal theft' But militant-assisted theft is not the only way oil is stolen. According to a source close to the government of former President Olusegun Obasanjo, the heavy military presence in the Delta has led oil bunkerers to find other ways to extract more oil. ILLEGAL BUNKERING Oil theft costs Nigeria an estimated $5bn (£2.5bn) every year Estimates of how many barrels of oil are stolen range from 70,000 to 500,000 Official estimates are made by subtracting the amount of oil delivered from the amount expected from a well head Nigeria has proven reserves of over 31bn barrels Its production capacity is 3.2m barrels per day Its current production rate is 1.9m bpd Source: Legaloil.com Simply put, they just load more onto a ship than they are allowed to. With the connivance of officials from international oil companies, national oil parastatal officials and ships' captains, oil can be stolen through the legitimate process of lifting oil from the dock to the ship. One oil company employee told the BBC that his company had discovered a vessel they were using had a secret compartment behind the bridge, where tens of thousands of barrels could be redirected at the flick of a switch while the hold was being filled. Other ways include almost filling the ship with legitimate oil, then topping it up with oil that hasn't been paid for legitimately, according to government sources. Or a whole ship can be filled with stolen crude using fake documents. Estimates on how much oil is stolen in this manner vary, but according to the International Maritime Organisation last year it amounted to 80,000 barrels every day. Part of the problem is that no one can be sure how much oil is being taken out of the ground. Shipping documents can be forged. Also ownership of a shipment can be transferred while the vessel is on the high seas, making cargo tracking incredibly difficult. Possible solution? The only way to shut down the oil cartels, observers say, is a tighter regulatory framework. This would involve electronic bills of how much oil a ship has loaded, which would record if they had been tampered with. The environmental effects of oil bunkering are disastrous Oil can also be "fingerprinted". The technology to distinguish between different types of oil exists already, says Patrick Dele Cole, a former adviser to Mr Obasanjo. Oil companies do this routinely already, sources say. All that would be needed is a database of all the different types of Nigerian crude. The UK has offered to train the military, and President Yar'Adua wants to form a "maritime academy" naval installation in the Delta. But activists in the Delta say that increasing the military presence would be counterproductive. It would increase resentment and militants' numbers - the level of violence would rise, they say. And the Nigerian military is part of that violence, observers say. Soldiers have indiscriminately burned whole towns and killed civilians, according to activists. The high price of oil today is partly a result of Nigeria's complex and shadowy world of corruption and violence. It is into this chaotic shadow world that the UK is about to commit itself.

OLYMPIANS MAY HAVE TO WEAR BREATHING MASKS

Lingering pollution worries China

By Michael Bristow BBC News, Beijing

Air pollution remains a very visible problem in Beijing

China has admitted it could introduce further emergency measures to cut air pollution during the Olympic Games.

One expert said that could mean taking 90% of Beijing's private cars off the streets at particularly bad times.

Figures show pollution levels have been relatively high over recent days - on some days thick smog is severely reducing visibility.

The BBC found one pollutant at the Olympic Village was three times higher than the recommended level on Monday.

See the results of the BBC's pollution tests

China has already introduced a series of measures to curb air pollution, including taking half the city's cars off the roads.

If this new series of measures don't work, it's hard to think of what else this city can do - apart from pray for wind or rain The BBC's James Reynolds Reynolds' China: Olympic arrivals

Polluting factories surrounding Beijing have also been told to close.

But an article in the state-run China Daily gave details of the further, stricter measures that could be introduced.

"More vehicles could go off the roads, and all construction sites and some more factories in Beijing and its neighbouring areas could be closed temporarily," a front-page article said.

This was confirmed by Professor Zhu Tong, of Peking University, who advises the Beijing government about air pollution.

He confirmed that 90% of the city's private cars could be taken off the roads under these stricter controls.

Any emergency measures would be introduced 48 hours in advance of very bad pollution, he said.

"There is a chance... that we cannot meet the air quality standards so stricter measures are needed," said Prof Zhu.

Pollution facts and figures In pictures: Pollution-watch

He maintained that the current measures had reduced pollution, but not by enough to guarantee good air quality every day.

China promised to clean up its air pollution for this summer's games, but figures show it still does not meet the toughest World Health Organization standards.

Small particles in the air - PM10 - are a particular worry. WHO guidelines say 50 micrograms per cubic metre is the standard to aim for, but Beijing rarely hits that target.

At the Olympic Village on Monday, the BBC found the PM10 level was at least 145, while at the BBC office it was 134.

'Positive legacy'

Separately on Monday, Greenpeace published its assessment of China's efforts to clean up Beijing for the Olympic Games.

It says, that overall the attempt to get rid of pollution has created a "positive legacy" for the city and should be commended.

"Greenpeace found that Beijing achieved, and in some cases surpassed, original environmental goals," the report says.

But it said in other areas, including air quality, Beijing had not met targets, and has had to bring in short-term measures.

"Beijing could have adopted clean production measures more widely across the municipality to speed up the improvement of air quality," the report says.

Suicide attacks in Baghdad, Iraq's south kill 52

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080728/ap_on_re_mi_ea/iraq

BAGHDAD - A roadside bomb and three female suicide attackers exploded in quick succession among Shiite pilgrims in Baghdad on Monday, while in the country's north, another suicide bomber attacked a Kurdish protest rally. At least 52 people were killed, officials said.

The attacks were a blow to recent security gains that have seen violence in Iraq drop to its lowest levels in more than four years.

The violence began in Baghdad, when a roadside bomb and three suicide attackers exploded in quick succession among crowds of Shiite pilgrims marking the death of an eighth-century saint, killing at least 32 people and wounding 102, police and hospital officials said.

"At about 8 a.m. three female suicide bombers detonated themselves among pilgrims heading to Kazimiyah," the main Iraqi military spokesman in Baghdad, Brig. Gen. Qassim al-Moussawi said in a statement posted on his Web site.

A senior U.S. military official blamed al-Qaida in Iraq for the attacks in Baghdad.

The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was releasing the information ahead of a formal statement, gave a slightly lower casualty toll of 20 killed and 70 wounded and said two of the bombers were believed to be women.

The attacks in Baghdad took place in the mainly Shiite Karradah district, which is several miles away from the destination of the pilgrimage in Kazimiyah in northern Baghdad. Most of the dead were women and children, police and health officials said.

"I heard women and children crying and shouting and I saw burned women as dead bodies lied in pools of blood on the street," Mustapha Abdullah, a 32-year-old man who was injured in the stomach and legs, said from the hospital where he was being treated.

It was the deadliest attack in Baghdad since June 17, when a truck bombing killed 63 people in Hurriyah, a neighborhood that saw some of the worst Shiite-Sunni slaughter in 2006.

In a separate attack, another suicide bomber killed at least 20 people and wounded scores of others at a Kurdish rally in the northern city of Kirkuk, Iraqi authorities said.

The demonstrators were protesting a provincial elections measure blocked in parliament because of disagreement over a power-sharing formula in the disputed city of Kirkuk, an oil-rich area.

Maj. Gen. Jamal Tahir, a Kirkuk police spokesman, said police found a car bomb nearby and detonated it safely, Tahir said.

After the explosion, dozens of angry Kurds opened fire on the offices of a Turkomen political party, which opposes Kurdish claims on Kirkuk.

A police official, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media, said no one was hurt in the attack and that the party offices were placed under police protection.

Suicide bombings are increasingly carried out by women, who are more easily able to hide explosives under their all-encompassing black Islamic robes, or abayas, and often are not searched at checkpoints.

But security forces have deployed about 200 women this week to search female pilgrims near Kazimiyah, where the Shiite saint Imam Moussa al-Kadhim is buried in a golden domed shrine.

Since the 2003 ouster of Saddam Hussein, who was a Sunni, Shiite political parties have encouraged huge turnouts at religious festivals to display the majority sect's power in Iraq. Sunni religious extremists have often targeted the gatherings to foment sectarian war, but that has not stopped the Shiites.

In 2005, at least 1,000 people also were killed in a bridge stampede caused by rumors of a suicide bomber in Baghdad during the Kazimiyah pilgrimage.

Batman rocks the box office two weeks in a row

"Dark Knight" overshadows box office rivals again
Sunday July 27 1:32 PM ET

Batman buried his rivals at the North American box office for a second weekend on Sunday, racing past $300 million in a record 10 days.

The Caped Crusader's blockbuster outing, "The Dark Knight," sold an estimated $75.6 million worth of tickets during the three days beginning Friday, taking its total to $314.2 million, distributor Warner Bros. Pictures said.

A week after it scored a record-breaking $158 million opening, "The Dark Knight" added a new title to its impressive list of superlatives: the best second weekend, surpassing the holiday-boosted $72 million haul of 2004's "Shrek 2."
the $180 million movie, which stars Christian Bale as Batman and late actor Heath Ledger as the anarchic Joker, has reportedly been drawing strong repeat business, and also has piqued the interest of people who avoid superhero flicks or rarely go to the movies at all.

"The Dark Knight" now ranks as the second-biggest movie of the year, just behind the $315 million haul of "Iron Man," and the 23rd-biggest of all time.

The previous speed record for a $300 million film was 16 days set by "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest" in 2006. The next target is $400 million, which took "Shrek 2" 43 days to reach. Warner Bros. distribution president Dan Fellman predicted "The Dark Knight" would take just 18 days to reach that milestone.

"Where we go from there, it's uncharted waters," Fellman said.

The last movie to break $400 million was the 2006 "Pirates of the Caribbean" movie, which ranks No. 6 on the all-time list with $423 million. The 1997 epic "Titanic" leads the field with $601 million.

"STEP BROTHERS" STRONG

Elsewhere, the Columbia Pictures comedy "Step Brothers," starring Will Ferrell and John C. Reilly as perpetual adolescents, opened surprisingly strongly at No. 2 with $30 million. The 20th Century Fox sci-fi sequel "The X-Files: I Want to Believe" came in at No. 4 with $10.2 million, a figure at the lower end of expectations.

In between, Universal Pictures' ABBA-inspired musical romance "Mamma Mia!" slipped one place to No. 3 with $17.8 million while its 10-day total rose to $62.7 million.

"Step Brothers" represents a strong rebound for Ferrell and Reilly, following their recent respective bombs "Semi-Pro" and "Walk Hard." The actors, along with director Adam McKay, previously worked together in the hit 2006 comedy "Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby."

Industry pundits had forecast a $25 million opening for the $65 million film, which received mixed reviews from critics. Ferrell and Reilly's emotionally stunted characters are forced to live together when their single parents marry. Two-thirds of the male-skewing audience was aged under 25, Columbia said.

"The X-Files: I Want to Believe" also marks a reunion, this time between former FBI agents Mulder (David Duchovny) and Scully (Gillian Anderson). But it failed to spark much enthusiasm among fans or critics. Fox said it had targeted an opening in the $10 million to $15 million range.

"We made it for the fans and they have come out," said Chris Aronson, senior VP of distribution at the News Corp-owned studio.

The sci-fi mystery comes to screens six years after the underlying TV series "The X-Files" ended its run, and a decade after the first big-screen spinoff. That film, also called "The X-Files" opened to $30 million on its way to $84 million domestically.

The $30 million sequel marks the third consecutive disappointment in as many weeks for Fox, following the Eddie Murphy comedy "Meet Dave" and then the animated "Space Chimps." The studio, noted for keeping costs down and sharing the risk with outside partners, has had a quiet year highlighted by the early-spring release "Dr. Seuss' Horton Hears a Who," which grossed $154 million domestically. Next up is the August 15 horror film "Mirrors" starring Kiefer Sutherland.

Warner Bros. is a unit of Time Warner Inc. Columbia Pictures is a unit of Sony Corp while Universal Pictures is a unit of General Electric Co.

Mafia boss arrested when shopping

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/7527835.stm

A leading member of one of the most notorious clans of the Naples mafia has been arrested while shopping in Rome.

Local media name the man as Adriano Graziano, known as "The Teacher", who was detained without a fight as he left a designer clothes store.

Mr Graziano, of the clan of the same name, escaped capture in May when police arrested 23 alleged members.

The Grazianos are known for a bloody war against the Cava clan of the Naples mafia, also known as the Camorra.

Investigators say Mr Graziano gave the orders for an ambush which killed the mother and sister in law of the rival clan chief in 2002.

The Impeachment Hearing That Wasn't

http://www.buzzflash.com/articles/alerts/438

by Meg White
Submitted by meg on Fri, 07/25/2008

Though the name of the hearing -- Executive Power and Its Constitutional Limitations -- didn't include the hot-button word, impeachment was on the minds of judiciary committee members and witnesses Friday.

Last month, Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-OH) introduced 35 articles of impeachment against President George W. Bush. In an interview with BuzzFlash shortly after the introduction, Kucinich said it was imperative that Congress act now, rather than later:

"If we wait, we're licensing further abuses of power. There's been broad concern that this administration could attack Iran. Why should we give them the opening to do so by failing to challenge the lies that they told that took us into war with Iraq?" he asked. "We cannot wait for after the election. We don't know what could happen in the next six months with respect to a further erosion of our democratic process. And what the impeachment process would do would be to have a chilling effect on further abuses of the Constitution and on creating another war."

Kucinich recently introduced more articles of impeachment against Bush. After years of sticking to her impeachment is "off the table" line, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) said earlier this month that she supported the idea of Kucinich's articles making it to a hearing.

It has been suggested that Pelosi took impeachment off the table to avoid being entangled in legal issues.

A Washington Post article from December of last year revealed that party leadership such as Pelosi had been briefed by the Bush Administration early on regarding torture policies, including waterboarding, as well as other controversial subjects. Journalists and lawmakers alike have suggested that the Democratic Party's reluctance to hold impeachment hearings relates to these closed meetings. They have suggested that Pelosi and others could be held legally responsible for their reticence on harsh interrogation techniques.

When such Bush Administration wrongdoings are brought up publicly, Republican lawmakers often say that since the Congressional leaders known as the Gang of Eight did not express concern at the closed hearings that they are complicit in the condoning of torture, an opinion mentioned again at today's hearings.

In at least one way, these were the impeachment hearings that weren't.

Conyers' staff made sure each witness had a written copy of the House rule that state "personal abuse, innuendo, or ridicule of the president is not permitted. . . Any suggestion of mendacity is out of order."

Being called out of order could result in being barred from speaking for the duration of the hearing. In order to talk specifically about impeaching the president, Congress would have to vote to begin an inquiry.

"To the regret of many, this is not an impeachment hearing," Conyers said.

The lawmakers and witnesses repeatedly had to result to codes to refer to specific members of the Bush Administration. At one point, Rep. Cohen, wanting to ask a question about the vice president, referred to a "barnacle attached to the legislature."

Many were pleased that Conyers set up such parameters. Rep. Trent Franks (R-AZ) said he was taking Conyers at his word:

"I hope we can expect that none of the witnesses will mention the word impeachment."

Cindy Sheehan, an activist who is running for Pelosi's seat, addressed the media and impeachment advocates gathered at the National Press Club yesterday:

"I read that Conyers has said that tomorrow they can't talk about lies or crimes or mention George Bush or Dick Cheney because it's not an impeachment hearing. Well, I have a solution for that: Make it an impeachment hearing. There's so many good people here that are really being betrayed by our Democratic leadership in Congress... I'm afraid that tomorrow's hearing is going to be another dog and pony show."

Pelosi's recent change of heart on whether or not impeachment is off the table put Judiciary Committee Chair John Conyers (D-MI) in a political bind. He has said he supports impeachment hearings, but also that he couldn't make a move without the approval of party leadership. One way to avoid the problem was to hold a hearing that's not technically about impeachment.

Though Sheehan did not testify, she was addressed by the committee chair: "Sheehan, you're out," Conyers said, as security guards escorted her out of the hearing room after a disturbance during testimony.

One constant during the hearing was audience participation. The hearing was paused several times to remove protestors, and Conyers reminded those in attendance repeatedly not to show appreciation or disappointment with testimony or statements.

Even before the hearing began, the audience was audible. Screams and clapping accompanied Kucinich and his wife as they entered the hearing room.

Not everyone was as excited as the audience about the prospect of impeachment. Several Republicans used derogatory language to refer to the hearings.

Ranking Member Lamar Smith (R-TX) called the hearing an "anger management class," saying "nothing is going to come" of the exercise:

"There is no evidence to support impeachment."

Comparing the hearing to watching the "Friday night fights" as a child, Rep. Dan Lungren (R-CA) called the gathering the "Friday morning show trials:"

"Maybe what we're here for is impeachment-lite... to allow the press the opportunity to print that the president has been accused of impeachable offenses."

Franks said the proceedings "would make Alice in Wonderland roll her eyes."

Sardonic language came from both sides of the aisle.

"Thank God we're not in Kansas any longer," Rep. Steve Cohen (D-TN) said in reply to Franks' comment. Cohen had much higher expectations, saying, "These hearings will restore the faith of the American people."

Zoe Lofgren (D-CA) also raised the ire of at least one Republican lawmaker when she stated that, "President Bush is the worst president we have ever suffered."

Witnesses invited by the minority party also used invective language when referring to impeachment.

George Mason University Law Professor Jeremy Rabkin was asked by House Republicans to testify.

"The tone of the deliberations is slightly demented," he said of the hearing. Rabkin characterized the idea that Bush lied in order to start a war in Iraq as an unbelievable, outrageous "conspiracy theory," born of bitterness and political divisiveness.

Both Rabkin and Northwestern University Legal History Professor Stephen Presser spoke to what exactly is an impeachable offense and advised against impeachment.

Presser appeared before Congress in 1998 during the effort to impeach President Bill Clinton. He said the allegations against President Bush were "different" from those mounted against Clinton. He said that since Bush didn't appear to have acted out of self interest, as Clinton did, his offense was not impeachable. Presser said that while "obstruction of justice" was the best legal course for Congress to take in constructing a case against the Bush Administration, he saw no direct evidence of the president obstructing justice.

Though both the professors were vehemently against the idea of impeaching the president, when Rep. Keith Ellison asked them if Kucinich's assertions proved accurate whether Congress should act, they both agreed that Congress should investigate.

Former Mayor of Salt Lake City and President of High Roads for Human Rights Rocky Anderson said that the two lawyers that used the personal interest argument were misusing law to prove a partisan point:

"That is atrocious scholarship." He brought up several instances of legal precedent that allow for actions by the Bush Administration to be classified as impeachable offenses.

"I stick by the list of impeachable offenses," Presser simply replied.

There were many different offenses committed by the Bush Administration that were mentioned as impeachable at the hearing. Elizabeth Holtzman, who most recently wrote a book on the subject of impeaching President Bush, was also a member of Congress who served on the Judiciary Committee. She was present, along with Conyers, during the impeachment of President Nixon.

Holtzman said there was a case, based on prima facie grounds, for impeachment. Among the grounds was the charge that the Bush Administration refused to obey the FISA law, the Geneva Conventions, the War Crimes Act, and the Anti-Torture Act. She noted that since the death penalty could factor in some of these charges, there is no statute of limitations. She also noted the improper use of signing statements, misuse of executive privilege, and deceptions about going to war with Iraq as further impeachable offenses.

Holtzman suggested beginning an impeachment inquiry. She said that prosecution is unrealistic, a truth commission would be stonewalled, and the only realistic remedy is impeachment, because executive privilege would not be a legal possibility in such a case.

"The options are limited, but there are options," Holtzman said.

Rep. Maurice Hinchey (D-NY) testified that he was most concerned about the quick shift from the war in Afghanistan to war with Iraq:

"They did not want to capture bin Laden," Rep. Maurice Hinchey (D-NY) said in his opening testimony. "It would have been much more difficult to justify the attack of another country which had nothing to do with the attack of Sept. 11."

Much of the discussion revolved around what, in the absence an impeachment inquiry, should be done about accusations against the Bush Administration.

"My question is how we can enforce limitations of power... without using the impeachment inquiry process," Rep. Bobby Scott (D-VA) asked another witness, Bruce Fein, who was associate deputy attorney general from 1981-82 and is currently chairman of the American Freedom Agenda.

"Short of impeachment, there isn't anything you can do about a president," Fein replied.

Former U.S. Congressman from Georgia and Libertarian Presidential Candidate Bob Barr disagreed, saying that there are numerous Congressional actions that could at least "not make things worse." One of the examples he gave where Congress could have acted differently to change the actions of the administration was the recent passage of the FISA bill.

Despite the name of his book, The Prosecution of George W. Bush for Murder, witness Vincent Bugliosi, author and former deputy district attorney, did not necessarily support the formation of impeachment hearings.

"Once he leaves office he could be criminally prosecuted for any crimes he had committed while in office," he said. "I've never suggested he could be prosecuted for murder while he was in office."

Many resolutions were suggested, including a bill to limit the president's authority to pardon of members of his administration.

Rep. Brad Miller (D-NC) serves on the House Foreign Affairs Committee and was also a witness at the hearing. He introduced a bill last week to restore certain checks and balances against executive power and expects to introduce similar legislation next week. He said Bush should be pursued after leaving office:

"Those disputes will not be moot next year."

The election loomed large over the hearings. Many hinted at the theory that Democratic leadership does not want impeachment hearings to ensue because they are concerned the inquiry could make their party appear petty in the eyes of voters.

While the recognition of a new administration in 2009 put a short timetable on the possibility of impeachment, many were concerned by precedents that could be set by Congress' failure to act.

Rep. Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) said the future presidents "are informed by the actions and inaction of past administrations and Congresses... [Our actions] will impact the conduct of future presidents."

Previous administrations played a big part in the hearing as well. Impeachment efforts against both the Nixon and Clinton Administrations were referenced several times.

Rep. Hank Johnson (D-GA) rebuffed some who said that Clinton deserved impeachment while Bush should be exempt.

"If lying about consensual sexual activity fits the bill... lying to the American people about the invasion of Iraq, a sovereign country... certainly that qualifies as an impeachable offense," he said, to an outburst of applause. Once again, Conyers was forced to ask the audience to keep quiet.

Others were worried that the current partisan nature of Congress is much closer to that of the Clinton Administration's era, and that voters might see the impeachment effort as disingenuous.

"The reason the Nixon impeachment worked was because it was bipartisan," said Holtzman.

At one point, both concerns over what should be done about the situation and what has been done in the past converged.

Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA) proposed the formation of a modern-day Church Committee to start an inquiry, independent of the administration shift that will take place in January, into possible illegal actions in the Bush Administration. Schiff's proposal is based on a Senate committee that investigated the Nixon Administration.