Progress Report: Tue, 06 Dec 2005

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Tue, 06 Dec 2005 08:14:16 -0800

Progress Report: Condi's European Vacation

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AMERICAN PROGRESS ACTION FUND

The Progress Report

by Judd Legum, Faiz Shakir, Nico Pitney

Amanda Terkel and Payson Schwin

www.progressreport.org

12/6/2005

 

For news and updates throughout the day, check out our new blog at

ThinkProgress.org.

 

INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS

Condi's European Vacation

 

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice's trip to Europe this week was

originally meant to " highlight the enduring importance of

transatlantic relations and U.S. efforts to partner with Europe to

address common challenges around the globe. " Instead, Rice is dealing

with a " trans-Atlantic uproar " over reports that the " CIA has been

hiding and interrogating some of its most important al Qaeda captives

at a Soviet-era compound in Eastern Europe. " Before boarding her

flight, Rice addressed the issue in a prepared speech, part of an

administration effort to " put European governments on notice that they

should back off and begin to emphasize the benefits of intelligence

cooperation to their citizens. " Rice did not explicitly admit to the

existence of secret prisons, but said, " Some governments choose to

cooperate with the United States in intelligence, law enforcement, or

military matters. That cooperation is a two-way street. " As she

travels from Germany to Romania, Ukraine and Belgium, Rice will

continue to face difficult questions about America's rendition policy

specifically, and our strategy in the fight against terrorism generally.

 

SUSPECTS REPORTEDLY MOVED FROM SECRET PRISONS BEFORE RICE'S VISIT: ABC

News reported last night that the " United States scrambled to get all

the suspects [held in secret prisons] off European soil before

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice arrived there " and " 11 top al

Qaeda suspects have now been moved to a new CIA facility in the North

African desert. " During their detainment, the prisoners were

reportedly subjected to " enhanced interrogation techniques " such as

water boarding - a form of interrogation that originated during the

Italian Inquisition, and which Vietnam-era generals designated as illegal.

 

SECRET PRISONS MAY LAND E.U. COUNTRIES IN TROUBLE: The Washington Post

did not reveal the names of the " several democracies in Eastern

Europe " that reportedly house the secret prisons. But the European

Union has warned its member nations that if these reports are true,

there would be " extremely serious " consequences, " including the

suspension of voting rights in the council. " The United Kingdom's Jack

Straw wrote Rice a letter asking for any " clarification the U.S. can

give about these reports in the hope that this will allay

parliamentary and public concerns. "

 

RICE REPLIED WITH DEFIANT SPEECH: In response to Straw's letter, Rice

delivered a " condescending salvo to Europeans, " saying, " We share

intelligence that has helped protect European countries from attack,

helping save European lives. " While claiming the " United States does

not permit, tolerate, or condone torture under any circumstances, "

Rice said renditions " take terrorists out of action, and save lives. "

Rice added - as if Europeans needed reminding - that Europe faces

threats from terrorism: " What I would hope that our allies would

acknowledge is that we are all in this together. ... Very often these

are not plots that are headed for the United States; they're headed

for someplace in Europe. "

 

RENDITIONS TROUBLE GERMANY: Renditions have come to the forefront of

U.S.-German relations, after it was reported the German " government

had a list of more than 400 overflights and landings by planes

suspected of being used by the CIA. " The flights will not be the only

topic of discussion that might harm the " attempted reconciliation

between the two countries. " Rice had to apologize today about the

mistaken detention of Khaled el-Masir, a German citizen who the U.S.

detained for five months because the CIA " believed he was someone else. "

 

PART OF BUSH ADMINISTRATION'S CULTURE OF SECRECY: While the question

about how to treat possible terrorists remains a difficult one, the

stories about secret prisons and mistaken renditions once again show

the administration's desire to keep the terrorism fight out of public

view. Even the two terrorists Rice cited in her speech yesterday -

Ramzi Youssef and " Carlos the Jackal " - were ultimately brought to

justice in established Western judicial systems. Despite this, the CIA

and other intelligence agencies have captured around 3,000 people, but

it remains " impossible to know... how many mistakes the CIA and its

foreign partners have made. "

 

 

 

CORPORATE POWER

Blocking Innovation

 

With New Orleans police still " scattered in hotels, precinct stations

and other makeshift locations " since Hurricane Katrina, city officials

were delighted that regional phone giant BellSouth Corp. had agreed

" after months of discussions " to donate one of its damaged buildings

to serve as a new police headquarters. That is, until last Tuesday,

when BellSouth abruptly rescinded the offer. Why the sudden

turnaround? Municipal wireless (a.k.a. community Internet). According

to the Washington Post, " officials said BellSouth was upset about [New

Orleans's] plan to bring high-speed Internet access for free to homes

and businesses to help stimulate resettlement and relocation to the

devastated city. " Though notable for its ruthlessness, BellSouth's

move is just the latest evidence that major U.S. telecom firms will

stop at little to undercut local control and prevent competition in

their efforts to outlaw municipal wireless systems.

 

SPECIAL INTERESTS PRY OPEN DIGITAL DIVIDE: Desperate to maintain their

monopoly, telecom giants have " done their best to demonize " municipal

broadband projects, launching " an aggressive lobbying and

misinformation campaign. " (After all, Americans won't " need those

pesky phone lines or coaxial cables if you can pull your Internet

service from the sky. " ) Earlier this year, Verizon, which successfully

blocked Pennsylvania residents from obtaining low-cost Internet access

without its permission, circulated a so-called fact sheet " to

lawmakers, journalists and opinion leaders " that was full of erroneous

statistics on the " 'failures' of public broadband. " The same is

occurring in Houston, where SBC and Time Warner are fighting to stop a

proposed municipal wireless system. In fact, former SBC employee Rep.

Pete Sessions (R-TX) introduced a bill in May that " would extend the

ban on municipal broadband services to every city in the country. " Yet

all the telecom lobbying work obscures the fact that " the commercial

broadband market has not only failed to bring affordable access in

2005, it is nowhere close. "

 

THE WHITE HOUSE'S PRIVATIZATION 'SOLUTION': The White House and the

FCC claim they want universal, affordable broadband by 2007. Yet

current telecom policy is " being left in the hands of the cable and

phone companies that control at least 93 percent of the country's

broadband market. " As the Wall Street Journal notes, the " inferior

value of [commercial] U.S. broadband service becomes clear when you

calculate the monthly 'cost per megabit' of Internet access, or how

much you pay to get a megabit's worth of download capability. " With

Verizon, entry-level broadband users pay about $20 per megabit; in

France, customers pay just $1.80 per megabit for a service that is 20+

times faster than Verizon's. This is because " France has strict

'unbundling' rules that force big carriers like France Télécom to make

their networks available to other companies offering Web services. "

But as the Wall Street Journal points out, " In the U.S., unbundling is

a dead issue because of heavy lobbying by telephone companies. "

 

WHAT CAN COMMUNITY INTERNET DO FOR YOU? The benefits of municipal

wireless are numerous, as New Orleans has already demonstrated. City

officials say the system has proved " invaluable for law enforcement, "

as " background data checks and other police functions can be done on

the WiFi network, relieving pressure on the radio system. " Broadband

has been put to use " for an array of city government functions, such

as speeding approval of building permits, " and is being designed

specifically to chip away at the digital divide -- the increasing gap

" between those who have access to information technology and digital

content and those who do not. " According to Forbes, New Orleans is

" focusing especially on low-income areas that were particularly

hard-hit when the levees burst and where phone service has still not

resumed. " Broadband wireless can do wonders for business, particularly

in rural and low-income urban areas, which " are badly underserved by

providers of DSL and cable modem broadband. " And with free wireless in

place, " communities can offer citizens numerous advanced media

services for everything from pubic safety and political forums to

church services and Internet radio stations. "

 

FREE INTERNET OVER 'FREEDOM FRIES': Even as conservatives lob insults

at our allies abroad, the United States has fallen further behind the

rest of the industrialized world in indicators from health care to

wireless technology. In the last five years, the United States has

dropped from 4th to 16th place in global rankings of broadband

Internet usage. " We're behind Hong Kong, Japan, and Israel, as well as

most of Western Europe, " -- not to mention that broadband rates abroad

are as much as 200 times faster than the average U.S. " broadband "

rate. Foreign Affairs notes that the United States is no longer even

considered " a leader in Internet innovation, " a technological set-back

that " will cost it dearly. " These days, several other industrialized

nations are " positioning themselves to be the first states to reap the

benefits of the broadband era: economic growth, increased

productivity, and a better quality of life. "

 

 

INTERNSHIPS

 

The research team that brings you The Progress Report and

ThinkProgress.org needs interns! Click here for more information.

 

GOOD NEWS

 

" Eleven Nobel Peace Prize Laureates, including former U.S. President

Jimmy Carter, have joined with a labor group in urging full

recognition of worker's rights in the lead-up to International Human

Rights Day on Saturday. "

 

STATE WATCH

 

OHIO: New bill would limit Ohio Secretary of State Kenneth Blackwell's

® ability to " hold two jobs seemingly at odds " : counting votes and

backing candidates.

 

KENTUCKY: Crackdown on the illegal prescription drug trade hits

impoverished senior citizens.

 

FOOD STAMPS: States pick up the fight that the Bush administration

dropped.

 

BLOG WATCH

 

THINK PROGRESS: President Bush's war on Christmas. (Even Fox News

parent company News Corp. has joined in.)

 

WAR & PIECE: A Duke University pollster apparently wrote most of

President Bush's " victory in Iraq " speech.

 

TPM CAFE: Paul Begala, who grew up in Tom DeLay's district, explain

why locals are turning against the indicted congressman.

 

MEDIA MATTERS: Group launches newly redesigned website.

 

 

DAILY GRILL

 

" And I know he's thinking about his late father. Samuel Alito Sr. came

to this country as a immigrant from Italy in 1914. "

-- President Bush announcing the Alito nomination, 10/31/05

 

VERSUS

 

" Nativity: New Jersey "

-- Samuel Alito Sr.'s military enlistment records, indicating he was

born in New Jersey, not Italy.

(Hattip: DailyKos.com)

 

 

UNDER THE RADAR

 

RADICAL RIGHT -- FORD MOTOR CO. CAVES TO RIGHT WING'S HOMOPHOBIC

AGENDA: Ford Motor Company has announced that " it will cut back on

advertising in gay-oriented publications " after the right-wing

American Family Association (AFA) threatened a boycott of the company

for Ford's " track record for supporting the homosexual agenda. " In the

past, Ford received praise from gay rights organizations, promoting

LGBT workplace diversity and donating to gay causes, including the

Human Rights Campaign. While Jaguar and Land Rover ads will be pulled

from gay publications, a Ford spokesperson could not confirm whether

donations to LGBT organizations will continue. AFA chairman, Donald E.

Wildmon, was pleased with Ford's decision: " They've heard our

concerns, " he said. " They are acting on our concerns. " The right-wing

Christian organization, Focus on the Family, was less successful in

convincing its banker, Wells Fargo, to change its agenda. Focus has

fired Wells Fargo after the banking company's decision to make a

matching grant to the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD).

 

IRAQ -- RUMSFELD'S RULES FOR MEDIA COVERAGE OF IRAQ WAR: In an address

at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies,

Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld blamed the press for depicting a

deteriorating situation on the ground in Iraq, arguing the country is

" on a greatly improved path. " Rumsfeld said " news media organizations

were focusing too much on casualties and mistakes by the military in

Iraq and were failing to provide a full picture of the progress toward

stabilizing the country. " Washington Post columinst Richard Cohen

responds by noting it was Rumsfeld's " mistakes, miscalculations and

arrogant dismissal of dissent [that] have cost American (and Iraqi)

lives and prolonged the conflict. " Rumsfeld's numerous

miscalculations, writes Cohen, include, among other things " fighting

the war on the cheap -- in terms of both manpower and money " and

dismissing the " looting that stripped Iraq bare following the war,

setting the stage for the chaos and lawlessness that persist to this

day. " Cohen concludes, " When it comes to Iraq, if the United States is

going to stay, then Rumsfeld has to go. " Some pundits inside the

beltway have begun speculating Rumsfeld may be on his way out, and

Sen. Joseph Lieberman (D-CT) may be on his way in.

 

CORRUPTION -- CUNNINGHAM CO-CONSPIRATOR RAN WASHINGTON, D.C.

'HOSPITALITY SUITE': Military contractor Brent Wilkes, named as

" co-conspirator No. 1 " in the Rep. Randy " Duke " Cunningham (R-CA)

case, was " a political operative " who " knew how to grease the wheels "

to gain influence with lawmakers. Wilkes's contacts reached to the top

of government, including to the CIA's third-in-command, Kyle Dustin

" Dusty " Foggo, Wilkes's best friend since high school. He was able to

" identify which politicians should be given donations " in order to

gain lucrative contracts. Wilkes also gave generously to legislators

-- including over $100,000 to Cunningham -- " and ran a hospitality

suite, with several bedrooms, in Washington – first in the Watergate

Hotel and then in the Westin Grand near Capitol Hill. " Hospitality suite?

 

ETHICS -- JUDGE'S RULING THWARTS DELAY'S RETURN TO LEADERSHIP: A Texas

judge ruled yesterday that former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay

(R-TX) should stand trial for money-laundering allegations. The judge

threw out the lesser charge of conspiracy. DeLay and two of his

fundraisers, John Colyandro and Jim Ellis, " are accused of illegally

funneling $190,000 in corporate donations to 2002 Republican

candidates for the Texas Legislature. Under Texas law, corporate money

cannot be directly used for political campaigns, but it can be used

for administrative purposes. " The decision by the judge threw a wrench

into DeLay's plans to return to his leadership post in the House,

making it likely that his colleagues will soon hold an election to

choose new leaders. Rep. Charles Bass (R-NH) said of the DeLay

situation, " We have a very strange and somewhat murky leadership

structure, and I'm not sure that's good for the discipline and our

ability to work together. "

 

UNITED NATIONS -- BOLTON THREATENING TO BLOCK UNITED NATIONS BUDGET

PROCESS: " Muscular diplomacy is one thing. But John Bolton has been

all muscle and no diplomacy " during his tenure as the U.S. ambassador

to the United Nations, concluded the New York Times's editorial staff.

He is threatening to block the entire two-year operating budget of the

U.N. " unless his demands for major reforms are met almost

immediately. " Bolton " has called for the United Nations to approve a

budget for three or four months rather than the usual two-year

budget, " a move opposed by the vast majority of the U.N. members,

including Britain and Japan. A stop-gap budget would leave the United

Nations " with a deficit of $320 million in the first quarter of 2006 "

and would likely cut " recruitment, travel, equipment purchases and

salary payments, " according to Warren Sach, assistant secretary

general and controller.