Previous lead stories: Minot AFB 'Oddities' Grow: Air Force Searches For Lost Launch Devices --Three Crew Members Removed Over Allegations of Sex Abuse and Equipment Tampering 28 Aug 2008 The Air Force says at least three ballistic missile crew members at bases in North Dakota and Montana have been taken off the job while the military investigates allegations ranging from sexual abuse to missing classified components used in underground launch control centers. The Air Force announced Thursday that an officer who earlier worked at Minot Air Force Base's 91st Space Wing notified the military in May that he and another officer had lied about destroying classified launch components in July 2005. "They were supposed to destroy them and they signed documents saying they destroyed them," said Maj. Laurie A. Arellano, an Air Force spokeswoman. Instead, she said, "they took them home." In May, one of the officers notified the Air Force of the incident and "turned his launch components over to the government." Arellano said the devices are used on equipment inside the launch control center to detect equipment tampering. One of the devices remains missing. "We only know of the whereabouts of one for sure," Arellano said. [See: Minot AFB Clandestine Nukes 'Oddities' 17 Sep 2007.]

Minot AFB 'Oddities' Grow: Air Force Searches For Lost Launch Devices --Three Crew Members Removed Over Allegations of Sex Abuse and Equipment Tampering 28 Aug 2008 The Air Force says at least three ballistic missile crew members at bases in North Dakota and Montana have been taken off the job while the military investigates allegations ranging from sexual abuse to missing classified components used in underground launch control centers. The Air Force announced Thursday that an officer who earlier worked at Minot Air Force Base's 91st Space Wing notified the military in May that he and another officer had lied about destroying classified launch components in July 2005. "They were supposed to destroy them and they signed documents saying they destroyed them," said Maj. Laurie A. Arellano, an Air Force spokeswoman. Instead, she said, "they took them home." In May, one of the officers notified the Air Force of the incident and "turned his launch components over to the government." Arellano said the devices are used on equipment inside the launch control center to detect equipment tampering. One of the devices remains missing. "We only know of the whereabouts of one for sure," Arellano said. [See: Minot AFB Clandestine Nukes 'Oddities' 17 Sep 2007.]

Blackwater Issues Mercenary Call For Hurricane Gustav --Blackwater Worldwide: Security for Hurricane Gustav 29 Aug 2008 Blackwater is compiling a list of qualified security personnel for possible deployment into areas affected by Hurricane Gustav. Applicants must meet all items listed under the respective Officer posting and be US citizens. Contract length is TBD. [Email from Blackwater Worldwide disseminated 29 Aug 2008]

St. Bernard Parish plans "lockdown" 29 Aug 2008 St. Bernard Parish President Craig Taffaro Jr. announced late Friday night that he plans to call a mandatory evacuation for his parish at 4 p.m. Saturday, which will be followed immediately by a "lockdown" to prevent anyone from entering the parish. Anyone who does not comply with the mandatory evacuation will be required to remain in his or her house, he said.

Bush declares emergency in Mississippi 30 Aug 2008 President [sic] Bush has declared an emergency in Mississippi because of the potential for damage from Hurricane Gustav, the White House says.

Bush Declares Federal State of Emergency For Louisiana --Hurricane Gustav Nears Cuba With 195 kph Winds 30 Aug 2008 U.S. President [sic] George Bush declared a federal state of emergency in the state of Louisiana, a likely target for the storm.

Gustav hits Cuba as Category 4 hurricane 30 Aug 2008 Gustav, now an "extremely dangerous Category 4" storm, hit Cuba Saturday, forcing thousands of people from their homes.

McCain: Hurricane Gustav [Obama] May Suspend RNC 30 Aug 2008 ABC News: In an interview with Fox News' Chris Wallace that will air Sunday morning, Sen. John McCain indicated that the GOP convention could be suspended because of Hurricane Gustav.

Bush Seeks to Affirm a Continuing War on [of] Terror 30 Aug 2008 Tucked deep into a recent proposal from the Bush administration is a provision that has received almost no public attention, yet in many ways captures one of President [sic] Bush’s defining legacies: an affirmation that the United States is still at war with Al Qaeda [al-CIAduh]. Mr. Bush’s advisers want Congress to say so and "acknowledge again and explicitly that this nation remains engaged in an armed conflict with Al Qaeda, the Taliban, and associated organizations, who have already proclaimed themselves at war with us and who are dedicated to the slaughter of Americans." The language, part of a proposal for hearing legal appeals from detainees at the United States naval base at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, goes beyond political symbolism. Echoing a measure that Congress passed just days after the Sept. 11 attacks, it carries significant legal and public policy implications for Mr. Bush, and potentially his successor, to claim the imprimatur of Congress to use the tools of war, including detention, interrogation and surveillance, against the enemy, legal and political analysts say. Some lawmakers are concerned that the administration's effort to declare anew a war footing is an 11th-hour maneuver to re-establish its broad interpretation of the president's wartime powers, even in the face of challenges from the Supreme Court and Congress.

Biggest Newspaper In Holland Says Dutch Intelligence Helped Prepare Imminent Attack On Iran --De Telegraaf front page says sources inside AVID helped CIA map air attack By Steve Watson 29 Aug 2008 The biggest Newspaper in the Netherlands today devotes its front page to news that the Dutch intelligence agency has helped the CIA prepare for an air attack on Iran which it now believes is imminent. AVID, Holland's military intelligence service, has pulled back from operations it was carrying out inside Iran as it believes an American led attack will go ahead within weeks according to De Telegraaf's sources.

Top Iran general says attack on Tehran would ignite 'world war' 30 Aug 2008 A senior Iranian military commander has warned that a "world war" would erupt in the event the United States or Israel launch an offensive against his country, AFP quoted the state news agency IRNA as reporting on Saturday. "Any aggression against Iran will start a world war," deputy chief of staff for defence publicity, Brigadier General Masoud Jazayeri, said in a statement carried by IRNA.

Commander: Aggression on Iran to start world war 30 Aug 2008 Deputy chief of Iran's armed forces Brigadier General Masoud Jazayeri said here on Saturday that any aggression on Iran would start a world war, the official IRNA news agency reported. "Any aggression against Iran will start a world war," and "the unrestrained greed of the U.S. leadership is leading the world to the edge of a precipice," the report quoted him as saying.

Military help for Georgia is a 'declaration of war', says Moscow in extraordinary warning to the West 27 Aug 2008 Moscow has issued an extraordinary warning to the West that military assistance to Georgia for use against South Ossetia or Abkhazia would be viewed as a "declaration of war" by Russia. The extreme rhetoric from the Kremlin's envoy to NATO['s extreme rhetoric] came as President Dmitry Medvedev stressed he will make a military response to US missile defence installations in eastern Europe.

Source: Petraeus submitted report on troop cuts 30 Aug 2008 The top U.S. commander in Iraq, Gen. David Petraeus [Betrayus], has given his military superiors and Defense Secretary Robert Gates his initial recommendation on when to resume a U.S. troop withdrawal and at what pace, a senior military officer close to the process said Friday.

Ex-Marine acquitted in Iraqi prisoner deaths 29 Aug 2008 In the first civilian trial in modern times of a former member of the U.S. military for alleged combat crimes, a Riverside jury Thursday acquitted a one-time Marine sergeant in the killings of four unarmed Iraqi prisoners in Fallouja. After deliberating less than six hours, the panel found Jose Luis Nazario, 28, not guilty of manslaughter, assault and use of a firearm in the shooting deaths of the Iraqi men, taken prisoner by Nazario's squad in late 2004.

Veterans groups will meet -- to oppose the Iraq war Iraq --Veterans Against the War, which now has 1,300 members, and the older group Veterans for Peace will hold a counter-event to the Republican National Convention. 29 Aug 2008 As U.S. Sen. John McCain, a highly decorated veteran, is about to be nominated as the Republican candidate for president in St. Paul next week, hundreds of other veterans, many of them recently deployed to Iraq, are staging their own event at a Bloomington hotel.

New! Maverick McCain to Give Convention Acceptance Speech In His Underwear By R J Shulman Sources close to the presumptive Republican Presidential nominee say John McCain will show American just what a maverick he is by breaking the tradition of wearing a suit and tie while giving his acceptance speech. "When he made that ditzy pick of the unknown and untested Sarah Palin as his VP against our advice, we thought his political career was over," said Rick Davis of the McCain campaign. "But the press went wild, giving John kudos and calling him a maverick all over again, so we will now milk that maverick pony all the way to the White House." (Satire!)

'Her father shot the grizzly bear whose hide is now draped over the sofa in her office.' OMG! McCain's newest bimbo (since McCain couldn't take her on a date, he decided to make her his VP) Sarah Palin, actually has a grizzly bear hide on her couch in her downtown Anchorage office! Click here for picture of Puke Palin sitting on dead grizzly bear. ('Do unto others,' Sarah, remember? The Golden Rule applies to bears, too.)

John McCain and Sarah Paling In Comparison '08 --John Rectenwald (son of CLG Founder Michael Rectenwald)

Obama Continues to Lead 49% to 41% --Obama support at high-water mark 30 Aug 2008 Barack Obama maintains an eight percentage point lead over John McCain when registered voters nationwide are asked whom they would vote for in the presidential election if it were held today, according to the latest Gallup Poll Daily tracking figures.

Evangelicals energized by McCain-Palin ticket 30 Aug 2008 Sarah Palin already has energized conservative religious leaders who had fretted that John McCain would pick an abortion rights supporter as his running mate. The Alaska governor was raised in a Pentecostal church and has called herself "as pro-life as any candidate can be."

UK considers Guantanamo man move 29 Aug 2008 The government has been given a further week by the High Court to consider its refusal to disclose material involving a UK resident held in Guantanamo Bay. Binyam Mohamed, who is facing terrorism charges, says the documents support his case that the evidence against him has been obtained through torture.

'It's high time the county implemented what is now a standard law enforcement tool in cities like London and Tel Aviv.' County to expand network of surveillance cameras 30 Aug 2008 Allegheny County [Pittsburgh] will receive $750,000 in federal funding to expand a security and surveillance camera system, which officials say will be used not only to track criminals but in emergencies like fires, floods, or potential cases of [Bush's] bioterrorism.

Judge strikes down Cuba travel ban for professors 30 Aug 2008 A federal judge has struck down a controversial state law that essentially banned professors at state universities in Florida from traveling to Cuba for research purposes, declaring it unconstitutional. U.S. District Court Judge Patricia Seitz ruled that the 2006 law, pushed aggressively by state Rep. David Rivera, "is an impermissible sanction and serves as an obstacle to the objectives of the federal government."

Bayer on defensive in bee deaths --German authorities look into allegation that [deadly] RTP maker's pesticide harms environment 26 Aug 2008 Bayer CropScience is facing scrutiny because of the effect one of its best-selling pesticides has had on honeybees. A German prosecutor is investigating Werner Wenning, Bayer's chairman, and Friedrich Berschauer, the head of Bayer CropScience, after critics alleged that they knowingly polluted the environment.

CLG needs your support.
http://www.legitgov.org/#contribute
Or, please mail a check or money order to CLG:
Citizens for Legitimate Government (CLG)
P.O. Box 1142
Bristol, CT 06011-1142
Contributions to CLG are not tax deductible.

Previous lead stories: Why was Cheney's guy in Georgia before the war? By James Gerstenzang 26 Aug 2008 Joseph R. Wood, Dick Cheney's deputy assistant for national security affairs, was in Georgia shortly before the war began. But, the vice president's [sic] office says, he was there as part of a team setting up the vice president's just-announced visit to Georgia. The White House disclosed on Monday that Cheney would hurry over to Azerbaijan, Georgia, Ukraine and Italy next week, almost immediately after addressing the Republican National Convention on Labor Day. And so it was that a team from the vice president's office, U.S. security officials and others were in Georgia several days before the war began.

'I have great concern that these hearings will be virtually or exclusively classified, closed to the public and, I might add, to the detainees.' Judge fears secret hearings over Guantanamo Bay 27 Aug 2008 A federal judge [U.S. District Judge Richard J. Leon] overseeing cases against dozens of Guantanamo Bay prisoners said Wednesday that he fears the public -- and the prisoners themselves -- will be locked out of the courtroom when evidence in the case is scrutinized for the first time. Hundreds of prisoners are awaiting hearings in a Washington federal court in the coming months to determine whether they were properly labeled enemy combatants and imprisoned without being charged.

U.S. Officers Executed Iraqis, Statements Say --After removing the blindfolds and handcuffs, the three soldiers shoved the four bodies into the canal. 26 Aug 2008 In March or April 2007, three noncommissioned United States Army officers, including a first sergeant, a platoon sergeant and a senior medic, killed four Iraqi prisoners with pistol shots to the head as the men stood handcuffed and blindfolded beside a Baghdad canal, two of the soldiers said in sworn statements. After the murders, the first sergeant told the other two to remove the men’s bloody blindfolds and plastic handcuffs, according to the statements made to Army investigators, which were obtained by The New York Times.

Please forward this newsletter to anyone you think might be interested. Those who'd like to be added to the list can go here: http://www.legitgov.org/#subscribe_clg and add your name.Those who wish to be removed from the list can access the same link and click 'unsubscribe.'
Please write to: signup@... for inquiries/issues/concerns with your subscription.

Why was Cheney's guy in Georgia before the war? By James Gerstenzang 26 Aug 2008 Joseph R. Wood, Dick Cheney's deputy assistant for national security affairs, was in Georgia shortly before the war began. But, the vice president's [sic] office says, he was there as part of a team setting up the vice president's just-announced visit to Georgia. The White House disclosed on Monday that Cheney would hurry over to Azerbaijan, Georgia, Ukraine and Italy next week, almost immediately after addressing the Republican National Convention on Labor Day. And so it was that a team from the vice president's office, U.S. security officials and others were in Georgia several days before the war began.

'NATO ships' funeral, a missile salvo away' 29 Aug 2008 NATO's naval squad is no match for Russia's Black Sea Fleet and would fall to pieces should the fleet launch a 'single missile salvo.' Former Russian commander Admiral Eduard Baltin said "a single missile salvo from the Moskva missile cruiser and two or three missile boats would be enough to annihilate the entire group." The one-time fleet commander was quoted by Ria Novosti as saying that the NATO squad looked better than they fought.

Russia tests stealth missile that could penetrate US shield 29 Aug 2008 Russia has successfully tested a stealth missile able to penetrate the US defence system being built in Poland. Kremlin chiefs fired a Topol RS-12M rocket, which has nuclear capabilities, from their Plesetsk space centre to a target 3,700 miles across the country. The test came a week after Washington and Warsaw formally agreed a deal to host components of a US missile defence shield in Poland.

Russian Navy planning greater presence in Syria [Oh. Better get Sarah Palin on the case.] 28 Aug 2008 The Russian Navy will make more use of Syrian ports as part of increased military presence in the Mediterranean, a Russian diplomat said yesterday. The announcement comes as tensions rise between Moscow and the West over Russia's role in Georgia. President Bashar al-Assad of Syria backed Russia's recent offensive on response to Georgia in support of a separatist province during a visit to Russia last week.

Pentagon brass meet secretly with Pakistanis 28 Aug 2008 With violence worsening in Afghanistan and Pakistan, top U.S. military officers conducted a secret strategy session with commanders from Islamabad on an aircraft carrier in the Indian Ocean. The meeting aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln was the latest of several between Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and General Ashfaq Kayani, chief of staff of the Pakistani army.

Bombing of Pakistani government bus kills 8 29 Aug 2008 A surge of violence continued unabated in Pakistan's tribal border region, with a car bomb Thursday blasting a bus filled with Pakistani police and government workers off a bridge and killing eight people aboard. That was followed on Friday by an explosion that injured at least 20 people when troops shot at a suicide car bomber speeding toward a checkpoint near the northwestern town of Kohat, police official Afzal Kahn said.

Disclosure of prisoner details would harm national security, says US --Releasing details about a prisoner held in Guantánamo Bay would damage UK relations with America, court told 27 Aug 2008 The US state department today warned that disclosure of secret information in the case of a British resident said to have been tortured before he was sent to Guantánamo Bay would cause "serious and lasting damage" to security relations between the two countries. In a last-minute court intervention, a legal adviser to the US state department also claimed that the "national security of the UK" would be affected by disclosure of the details of the detention and interrogation of Binyam Mohamed, who is being held in Guantánamo Bay accused of conspiring with al-Qaida [al-CIAduh]. In September 2004, he was taken to Guantánamo Bay, where he is still held. He claims that all his confessions were a result of the torture. He faces the death penalty if convicted. Last week, in the initial hearing of the case, the high court found that MI5 had participated in the unlawful interrogation of Mohamed. It emerged that one MI5 officer was so concerned about incriminating himself that he initially declined to answer questions from the judges even in private. Although the judges said that "no adverse conclusions" should be drawn by the plea against self-incrimination, it was disclosed that the officer, Witness B, was questioned about alleged war crimes, including torture, under the international criminal court act. David Miliband, the foreign secretary, has provided the US with documents about the case. Miliband has declined to release further evidence about the case on grounds of national security, arguing that disclosure would harm Britain's intelligence relationship with the US.

Iraqi's arrest stokes Iran suspicions --Official suspected of ties to militias, bombing 29 Aug 2008 A senior official in Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's government was in custody Thursday, suspected of ties to Iranian-backed Shi'ite militias and plotting a June bombing that killed 10 people, including four Americans, Iraqi authorities said.

Iran confirms nuclear component production 29 Aug 2008 Iran's deputy foreign minister said Friday that almost 4,000 uranium-enriching centrifuges are now operating at the country's Natanz enrichment facility, the national IRNA news agency reported. Ali-Reza Sheikh Attar told Iranian TV that another 3,000 centrifuges are being installed, IRNA said.

CDC Releases 1918 Pandemic Flu Storybook to Prepare for New Outbreak 27 Aug 2008 The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released an online storybook containing narratives from survivors, families, and friends about one of the largest scourges ever on human kind - the 1918 influenza pandemic that killed millions of people around the world. The storybook provides valuable insight for public health officials preparing for the possibility of another pandemic sometime in our future [Um... maybe the near future? Say, by November? See: DoD to 'augment civilian law' during pandemic or bioterror attack.]

Pitt Scientists Receive $3.6 Million to Test Vaccine Against Deadliest Strain of Avian Flu 27 Aug 2008 Scientists at the University of Pittsburgh Center for Vaccine Research have been awarded $3.6 million from the National Institutes of Health to conduct animal studies of vaccines designed to protect against foment the most common and deadliest strain of avian flu, H5N1.

Flu Antibodies Recovered From 1918 Pandemic Survivors 18 Aug 2008 Scientists in the US recovered antibodies to the 1918 flu virus from elderly survivors of the pandemic, used them to create cell lines of monoclonal antibodies and then showed they were still potent by injecting them into infected mice that survived, whereas the controls did not. The researchers believe the antibodies could help develop effective treatments to use 'in case' a similar virus breaks out again.

John McCain and Sarah Paling In Comparison '08 --John Rectenwald (son of CLG Founder Michael Rectenwald)

'I know Hillary Clinton and Sarah Palin is no Hillary Clinton.' --Debbie Wasserman Schultz (MSNBC) live interview with Andrea Mitchell. 'This is just an example of colossally bad judgment of John McCain,' Wasserman Schultz added.

Anti-environmentalist and enemy of the polar bear, Sarah Palin, is McCain VP pick: McCain Chooses Alaska Governor Palin as Running Mate --Palin Will Be the First Woman Nominated to the Ticket by the Republican Party 29 Aug 2008 Republican presumptive presidential nominee John McCain has chosen first-term Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin as his running mate, the campaign announced today.

Palin 'unclear on what the VP actually does' --Palin On Ethics Investigation, Unproductive VP Post 29 Aug 2008 Sarah Palin is the subject of an ethics investigation in her home state of Alaska that's connected to her firing of the state's public safety commissioner... In the same interview, Palin pans the vice president's office, saying she's unclear on what the VP actually does and suggests she's too productive for the job.

Investigation dogs Alaska governor --The allegations she abused her office could prove embarrassing for Palin, who got elected in 2006 on an ethics reform platform. 14 Aug 2008 Gov. Sarah Palin, a rising young GOP star mentioned as a possible running mate for John McCain, could see her clean-hands reputation damaged by a growing furor over whether she tried to get her former brother-in-law fired as a state trooper. A legislative panel has launched a $100,000 investigation to determine if Palin dismissed Alaska's public safety commissioner because he would not fire the trooper, Mike Wooten. Wooten went through a messy divorce from Palin's sister.

Shocking Choice by John McCain By Rodger Schlickeisen 29 Aug 2008 Senator McCain's choice for a running mate is beyond belief. By choosing Sarah Palin, McCain has clearly made a decision to continue the Bush legacy of destructive environmental policies. Sarah Palin, whose husband works for BP, has repeatedly put special interests first when it comes to the environment. In her scant two years as governor, she has lobbied aggressively to open up the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to drilling, pushed for more drilling off of Alaska's coasts, and put special interests above science. Ms. Palin has made it clear through her actions that she is unwilling to do even as much as the Bush administration to address the impacts of global warming. Her most recent effort has been to sue the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to remove the polar bear from the endangered species list, putting Big Oil before sound science. As unbelievable as this may sound, this actually puts her to the right of the Bush administration.

Sad News for Alaska's Wolves By Rodger Schlickeisen 27 Aug 2008 I have some sad news. Unfortunately, Alaska voters defeated a ballot initiative yesterday that would have ended the state's brutal aerial hunting program. Thousands of Defenders of Wildlife Action Fund supporters gave invaluable support to this important campaign, but in the end, deep-pocketed special interests carried the day. I spoke with Nick Jans, co-chair of Alaskans for Wildlife, our grassroots partners in The Last Frontier who spearheaded the state ballot initiative to end Alaska's brutal aerial hunting program. He [said]: "I want to thank Defenders of Wildlife Action Fund supporters for their help in this hard-fought campaign. "We faced an approximately $750,000 campaign from our opponents -- including [terrorists] Safari Club International and a $400,000 state-funded campaign approved by Governor Sarah Palin and the Alaska legislature. They used deceptive propaganda and the authority of the Alaska government to defeat the ballot initiative.

Protecting polar bears gets in way of drilling for oil, says governor 23 May 2008 The polar bear should be removed from the endangered species list because its protected status will hamper drilling for oil and gas in Alaska, the state's Republican Governor has demanded. Sarah Palin is suing the Bush Administration over its decision last week to place the animal under the protection of the Endangered Species Act, claiming that climate models predicting the continued loss of sea ice - the main habitat of polar bears - are unreliable.

Governor opposes polar bear protection --Environmentalists say Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin is skating on thin ice with her opposition to efforts to protect polar bears. 02 Nov 2007 Palin said last week that listing the bears as threatened under the federal Endangered Species Act because of possible global warming would open the floodgates for petitions to protect other species, the Anchorage Daily News said Thursday.

Governor Sarah Palin Has What It Takes to Be the Next Dick Cheney By Chris Kelly 27 May 2008 Over the weekend, the Anchorage Daily News discovered a whole new reason Governor Palin is the perfect person to be the next Dick Cheney: She can look you in eye and tell you black is white. Especially when there's oil involved. Back in January, the secretary of the interior was considering whether or not polar bears should be on the endangered species list... The polar bears weren't drowning. They were hanging themselves in their cells... All I know is, there are lots of polar bears and no scientific reason at all to believe they can't live happily, underwater, eating clean coal. Let's get drilling! It's almost like Republicans say ridiculous twisted half-truths, and the New York Times publishes them as facts.

GOP Considers Delaying Convention --Tropical Storm Gustav Is Forecast to Hit U.S. Next Week as Hurricane [Hurricane Obama Forces GOP Delay!] 29 Aug 2008 Republican officials said yesterday that they are considering delaying the start of the GOP convention in Minneapolis-St. Paul because of Tropical Storm Gustav, which is on track to hit the Gulf Coast, and possibly New Orleans, as a full-force hurricane early next week. The threat is serious enough that White House officials are also debating whether President [sic] Bush should cancel his scheduled convention appearance on Monday [LOL!], the first day of the convention, according to administration officials and others familiar with the discussion.

Obama-Biden campaign to roll into Michigan over holiday 28 Aug 2008 The freshly minted Democratic ticket of Barack Obama and Joe Biden will launch its national campaign with a bus tour through Michigan this weekend.

Obama Breaks Ratings Records at 38 million with Inspired Speech --Not much on TV can beat American Idol and the Olympics, but Obama did 29 Aug 2008 Barack Obama will our next President if Nielsen ratings are any indicator. 38 million viewers, more people watched Obama speak than watched the Olympics opening ceremony in Beijing, the final "American Idol" or the Academy Awards this year, according to Nielsen Media Research. Obama, speaking live to 85,000 supporters at the Denver Bronco’s Mile High Stadium as the fireworks laden finale to the Democratic National Convention, may have reached many more as the overnight rating do not include PBS or C-SPAN. Nor could the overnights count all the folks in the rooms at the 50,000 viewing parties that the Obama campaign reported, based on viewing party kits ordered on their website. Plus there were crowds in New York’s Times Square and sports bars across the nation.

Brokaw Warns Dems to Lay Off McCain --Criticizing Republican candidate 'very tricky,' says NBC host 29 Aug 2008 (FAIR) Longtime NBC anchor [Reichwing troll] Tom Brokaw offered two unusual warnings to Democrats about the supposed limits of criticizing Republican presidential candidate John McCain, suggesting that McCain's military service makes it dangerous for Democrats to aggressively challenge him. ACTION: Ask Tom Brokaw to clarify his warning that Democrats have to be "careful about" criticizing Republican presidential candidate John McCain. Contact: Meet the Press Webform, 202-885-4598.

'Charles Babington, find a new line of work.' MSNBC Host Rips AP Reporter's Analysis of Obama Speech 29 Aug 2008 ...MSNBC's Keith Olbermann laced into the Associated Press's Charles Babington an hour after Barack Obama had concluded his speech in Denver on Thursday night. With rare exception, nearly all of the top commentators and reporters on the three cable news networks had hailed Obama's speech as something new and powerful, and filled with specifics, and predicted it would have a positive effect on his chances vs. John McCain. This hallelujah chorus included conservatives... Buchanan called it the best and most important political convention speech he had ever heard, going back 48 years. So Olbermann was outraged that the AP's Babington had written, in his analysis of the speech that Obama had tried nothing new and that his speech was lacking in specifics.

Obama Takes Aim at Bush and McCain With a Forceful Call to 'Change America' 28 Aug 2008 Barack Obama accepted the Democratic Party presidential nomination tonight, declaring that the "American promise has been threatened" by eight years under President [sic] Bush and that John McCain represented a continuation of policies that undermined the nation’s economy and imperiled its standing around the world.

Obama Accepts Nomination, Makes History --Tens of Thousand Pack Stadium 28 Aug 2008 Democratic Sen. Barack Obama became the first black American nominated by a major U.S. political party to run for the presidency on Thursday, before tens of thousands of supporters packed in to a Denver football stadium. "This moment -- this election -- is our chance to keep, in the 21st Century, the American promise alive," Obama told a raucous a crowd estimated at about 75,000. "We meet at one of those defining moments a moment when our nation is at war, our economy is in turmoil, and the American promise has been threatened once more."

Barack Obama's Speech at the Democratic National Convention 28 Aug 2008 Interactive video and transcript of the senator accepting the Democratic presidential nomination in Denver on Aug. 28.

Obama: 'John McCain likes to say that he'll follow bin Laden to the gates of Hell, but he won't even follow him to the cave where he lives.'

Carter: McCain 'milking' POW time 28 Aug 2008 Former president Jimmy Carter called Republican presidential candidate John McCain a "distinguished naval officer," but he said the Arizona senator has been "milking every possible drop of advantage" from his time served as a prisoner of war in Vietnam. Carter spoke Thursday with USA TODAY and Gannett News Service reporters before Barack Obama's acceptance speech to cap off the Democratic National Convention... Carter decried Connecticut Sen. Joe Lieberman's decision to "abandon" the Democrats by speaking at the Republican convention next week.

In St. Paul, civil liberties put to the test By Rubén Rosario 28 Aug 2008 Like a thick, ominous blanket of fog advancing north from the Mississippi, a heightened sense of security has enveloped the Saintly City near the start of the Republican National Convention... Take Guy Flâneur, the pseudonym of a respected Washington, D.C.-based photographer. He has been taking photographs across the globe for more than 45 years -- from massive demonstrations in our nation's capital to buildings, armed guards and people behind the Berlin Wall in former communist East Germany. Yet, he's been stopped and questioned just once about his activities in all those years and in all those places. Guess where. "Nothing like this has ever happened to me anywhere -- just in St. Paul,'' says Flâneur, who requested his real name be withheld because of concerns about corporate clients here. "While I won't pass judgment here on the human-rights record of various governments," Flâneur adds, "I can tell you that I've taken pictures in public places in countries and situations where human rights might not have been of prime concern."

Judges consider whether FBI violated free speech 27 Aug 2008 A panel of federal appeals court judges pushed a U.S. government lawyer on Wednesday to answer why FBI letters sent out to Internet service providers seeking information should remain secret. A panel of three judges from the U.S. Second Circuit Court of Appeals heard arguments on whether a provision of the Patriot Act, which requires people who are formally contacted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation for information to keep it a secret, is constitutional.

Comcast to make monthly Internet use cap official 28 Aug 2008 Comcast Corp., the nation's second-largest Internet service provider, Thursday said it would set an official limit on the amount of data subscribers can download and upload each month.

Baby won't get vaccine 26 Aug 2008 A couple in hiding after they refused to have their newborn baby vaccinated against hepatitis B is now free to return home. The New South Wales Department of Community Services (DoCS) today decided not to pursue further action against the couple after the timeframe for an effective vaccination lapsed. DoCS, with police assisting, was unable to locate the couple. The parents fled their home in Sydney's Croydon Park on Thursday to avoid police and DoCS officials, after refusing to have their three-day-old son vaccinated at Royal Prince Alfred Hospital.

Parents on the run with baby after refusing vaccination 23 Aug 2008 A Sydney couple was on the run with their two-day-old baby last night after the Department of Community Services took out a Supreme Court order to have the boy vaccinated against hepatitis B. The parents, from Croydon Park, fled their home on Thursday to avoid police and DOCS officers after they refused to have their son vaccinated at Royal Prince Alfred Hospital. They told the Herald yesterday that they [rightly] believed aluminium in the vaccine could cause him more damage than contracting hepatitis B.

North Pole ice cap melting faster than ever 28 Aug 2008 The Arctic ice cap keeps melting under the effects of global warming and in August saw its second largest summer shrinkage since satellite observations began 30 years ago, US scientists said.

Canada wants more study on polar bear protection --Canada is home to about two-thirds of the world's 25,000 polar bears. 28 Aug 2008 Canada, criticized by environmentalists for not adequately protecting polar bears from the effects of climate change, said on Thursday it will take more time study its next step.

New Katrina death tally: Half of victims 75 and up 28 Aug 2008 As New Orleans residents warily track another threatening storm, a new report presents the clearest picture yet of deaths from Katrina FEMA in Louisiana. Of the nearly 1,000 who died, almost half were 75 or older, according to researchers. Most died on the day of the storm -- August 29, 2005 -- and drowning was the leading cause of death. More than one-third died in homes.

Bush Issues Emergency Declaration for Louisiana, Texas --Gustav Gains Hurricane Strength, Expected to Hit Gulf Coast on Tuesday 29 Aug 2008 President [sic] Bush today declared a state of emergency for Louisiana and Texas, as former tropical storm Gustav strengthened to become a hurricane and continued on a collision course with the U.S. Gulf Coast. The president's declaration came three years to the day after Hurricane Katrina hit Louisiana and Mississippi, overwhelming [exploded] levees designed to protect New Orleans and inflicting record damage on the region.

CLG needs your support.
http://www.legitgov.org/#contribute
Or, please mail a check or money order to CLG:
Citizens for Legitimate Government (CLG)
P.O. Box 1142
Bristol, CT 06011-1142
Contributions to CLG are not tax deductible.

Breaking: Sen. Joseph Biden (D-Del.) nominated to be the Democratic vice presidential candidate. Biden: 'Yes. Yes. I accept your nomination as Vice President.' [More convention news, below]

'I have great concern that these hearings will be virtually or exclusively classified, closed to the public and, I might add, to the detainees.' Judge fears secret hearings over Guantanamo Bay 27 Aug 2008 A federal judge [U.S. District Judge Richard J. Leon] overseeing cases against dozens of Guantanamo Bay prisoners said Wednesday that he fears the public -- and the prisoners themselves -- will be locked out of the courtroom when evidence in the case is scrutinized for the first time. Hundreds of prisoners are awaiting hearings in a Washington federal court in the coming months to determine whether they were properly labeled enemy combatants and imprisoned without being charged.

U.S. Officers Executed Iraqis, Statements Say --After removing the blindfolds and handcuffs, the three soldiers shoved the four bodies into the canal. 26 Aug 2008 In March or April 2007, three noncommissioned United States Army officers, including a first sergeant, a platoon sergeant and a senior medic, killed four Iraqi prisoners with pistol shots to the head as the men stood handcuffed and blindfolded beside a Baghdad canal, two of the soldiers said in sworn statements. After the murders, the first sergeant told the other two to remove the men’s bloody blindfolds and plastic handcuffs, according to the statements made to Army investigators, which were obtained by The New York Times.

Top U.S. Marine sees shift from Iraq to Afghanistan 27 Aug 2008 The top U.S. Marine officer on Wednesday said he could reduce his 25,000-strong force in the former al Qaeda [al-CIAduh] stronghold of Iraq's Anbar province to reinforce military operations against a growing Taliban threat in Afghanistan. Marine Corps Commandant Gen. James Conway told reporters the once-restive province west of Baghdad could be turned over to Iraqi security control within days, thanks to the sharp decline in violence after [bribed] Sunni tribal leaders switched allegiance from al Qaeda to the U.S. military.

US and Russian warships line up in dispute over Georgia --Russians unhappy with US for using military craft to deliver 'relief' supplies 27 Aug 2008 US and Russian warships took up positions in the Black Sea today in a risky war of nerves on opposing sides of the Georgia conflict. With the Russians effectively controlling Georgia's main naval base of Poti, Moscow also dispatched the Moskva missile cruiser and two smaller craft on "peacekeeping" duties at the port of Sukhumi on the coast of Abkhazia, the breakaway region that the Kremlin recognised as independent yesterday. The Americans... cancelled the scheduled docking in Poti of the US Coast Guard vessel, the Dallas, and instead sent it to the southern Georgian-controlled port of Batumi, 200km (124 miles) from the Russian ships, where it delivered 'humanitarian' aid.

David Miliband tells Russia it must avoid starting a new Cold War 27 Aug 2008 David Miliband launched one of his strongest attacks on Russia when he told the Kremlin it has a "big responsibility" to avoid a new Cold War. During an official visit to Ukraine, the British Foreign Secretary accused Russia of trying to "redraw the map" of Europe by recognising Georgia's breakaway regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia. [The US, Israel and Georgia are dying to start a hot one, preferably before the 2008 'elections.']

North Korea to Stay on Terrorism Blacklist, U.S. Says 27 Aug 2008 North Korea will stay on a U.S. terrorism blacklist until a mechanism is in place to verify its nuclear dossier, the White House said, after the government said it stopped disabling a reactor to protest a delay in its removal.

Electronic binoculars from Northrop Grumman to detect threats through brain activity 23 Aug. 2008 Everyone who has ever watched the Star Wars films has probably at one moment wished they had Jedi abilities such as mind control or what Lucas called Jedi reflexes – knowing something will happen a second before it does. A team led by Northrop Grumman's Electronic Systems Sector is looking to bring a similar threat detection capability to warfighters as part of an advanced research contract to develop a panoramic day/night optical system that will utilize human brain activity to detect, analyze, and alert foot-soldiers to possible threats.

Bush steps up fight over US congressional authority 27 Aug 2008 The Bush administration is raising the stakes in a court fight that could change the balance of power between the White House and the U.S. Congress. Justice Department lawyers said Wednesday that they will soon ask a federal appeals court not to force the president's top advisers to comply with congressional subpoenas next month. President [sic] George W. Bush argues Congress does not have the authority to demand information from his aides.

White House cannot delay aides' testimony: judge 26 Aug 2008 A U.S. judge ruled against the Bush regime in its fight with Congress over a probe into the firings of U.S. attorneys by refusing on Tuesday to delay an order that current and former White House aides comply with congressional subpoenas. Federal judge John Bates ruled that he would not put off his July order that former White House counsel Harriet Miers testify to Congress, and that Chief of Staff Josh Bolten surrender documents related to the 2006 firings. He said on Tuesday that the administration had failed to make its case that the order should be delayed while the administration appeals it.

Clinton forcefully endorses Obama 28 Aug 2008 Former President Bill Clinton forcefully endorsed Barack Obama's bid for the White House on Wednesday, telling delegates to the Democratic convention that Obama is "ready to lead America and restore American leadership in the world." "With Joe Biden's experience and wisdom, supporting Barack Obama's proven understanding, insight, and good instincts, America will have the national security leadership we need," Clinton said.

Clinton praises Obama in convention speech --Clinton receives prolonged standing ovation as convention speech begins 27 Aug 2008 Former President Bill Clinton declared Barack Obama "ready to be president of the United States" at the Democratic National Convention Wednesday. "Last night Hillary told us in no uncertain terms that she is going to do everything in her power to elect Barack Obama," Clinton said of his wife, who ran against Obama for the Democratic nomination and urged her backers Tuesday night to support him. "That makes two of us -- actually that makes 18 million of us," he said, a reference to the number of Democratic primary voters who backed Hillary Clinton.

Transcript: Bill Clinton 27 Aug 2008 'Now, in spite of all the evidence, their candidate is promising more of the same: More tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans that will swell the deficit, increase inequality, and weaken the economy. More band-aids for health care that will enrich insurance companies, impoverish families and increase the number of uninsured. More going it alone in the world, instead of building the shared responsibilities and shared opportunities necessary to advance our security and restore our influence. They actually want us to reward them for the last eight years by giving them four more. Let's send them a message that will echo from the Rockies all across America: Thanks, but no thanks. In this case, the third time is not the charm.'

Dems choose Obama in thunderous acclamation 28 Aug 2008 Barack Obama stepped triumphantly into history Wednesday night, the first black American to win a major party presidential nomination, as thousands of Democrats transformed their convention hall into a joyful, shouting celebration. Former rival Hillary Rodham Clinton asked delegates to the party convention to make their verdict unanimous "in the spirit of unity, with the goal of victory." And they did, with a roar. Competing chants of "Obama" and "Yes we can" surged up from the convention floor as the outcome of a carefully scripted roll call of the states was announced.

In Historic Vote, Obama Officially Claims Democratic Nomination 27 Aug 2008 With the weight of history hanging over them, Hillary Rodham Clinton and the Democratic Party formally chose Sen. Barack Obama as the nominee for the White House, elevating the first African American to that exalted post and putting a black man a step from the presidency. With a theatrical flourish, the roll call vote was rushed to allow Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton to suspend the vote and "in the spirit of unity, with the goal of victory," declare Obama the nominee by acclamation. "With eyes firmly fixed on the future, and in the spirit of unity with the goal of victory," Clinton said, "with faith in our party and our country, let's declare together with one voice right here, right now that Barack Obama is our candidate and he will be our president."

Obama Secures Historic Nomination 27 Aug 2008 Senator Barack Obama, the Hawaiian-born son of a father from Kenya and a mother from Kansas, officially became the presidential nominee of the Democratic Party on Wednesday, capping a meteoric rise from a little-known state senator to the first African-American to win a major-party nomination.

Clinton releases delegates 27 Aug 2008 Sen. Hillary Clinton released her delegates Wednesday afternoon, allowing those who had been pledged to her to vote for whomever they choose in a roll call vote later in the day. "This was such a competitive primary season," Clinton told her delegates in a packed ballroom at the Denver Convention Center, "I want you to know this has been a joy. Boy did we have a good time trying."

Nazi link in 'plot to assassinate Obama' --In the back of the vehicle, officers found two high-powered rifles, one with telescopic sights, a spotting scope, a flak jacket, camouflage clothing, a bulletproof vest, boxes of ammunition, three fake identity cards, two wigs, two walkie-talkies and a quantity of the drug methamphetamine, a form of speed known as crystal meth. 27 Aug 2008 The three men arrested over a reported plot to kill the US Democratic presidential candidate, Barack Obama, have ties to the white supremacist group Aryan Nations, police said last night. Shawn Robert Adolf, 33, Nathan Johnson and Tharin Gartrell are all said to have links to the group. Adolf – his real name according to police – and the others were arrested on weapons charges after an apparent move to assassinate Mr Obama during his party's convention in Denver this week. The US authorities are playing down the ability of the arrested men to carry out an assassination amid tight security. Prosecutors yesterday said they had evidence to charge the three men only with drugs and firearms offences. [Why weren't these alleged TERRORISTS charged under any of Bush's 9 million TERRORISM laws?! If you're a Muslim, you're arrested for viewing 'radical' webpages on your seized laptop. Reichwing TERRORISTS get a free pass from the Bush regime. --LRP]

Democrat Joe Biden, Obama's No. 2 27 Aug 2008 Democratic vice presidential candidate Joe Biden, one of the longest-serving members of the U.S. Senate and a highly regarded voice on foreign policy, speaks to his party's national convention on Wednesday.

Lawyers Guild: Cops illegally seize video equipment 26 Aug 2008 Three New York videographers, in town to document police conduct for the Republican National Convention, are alleging Minneapolis police illegally seized their video equipment early this morning. The attorney for the videographers, part of a prominent group [Glass Bead Collective] that documents police activities during rallies and demonstrations, said he suspects the seizure is "a pre-emptive strike" by authorities.

DNC Protests: Protester is slammed to the ground by police in Denver 27 Aug 2008 A CodePink protester is knocked to the ground and later arrested when she did not move back fast enough after the Denver police made an arrest. (Video)

No water or toilets at Freedom Cage 27 Aug 2008 The vast unused Freedom Cage for protesters at the Pepsi Center has no water or toilets in apparent violation of a federal judge’s order. U.S. District Judge Marcia Krieger issued an order Aug. 6 that set conditions for the protest zone and resolved an ACLU lawsuit against the city and U.S. Secret Service over security restrictions.

ABC Reporter Arrested in Denver Taking Pictures of Senators, Big Donors --Asa Eslocker Was Investigating the Role of Lobbyists and Top Donors at the Convention 27 Aug 2008 Police in Denver arrested an ABC News producer today as he and a camera crew were attempting to take pictures on a public sidewalk of Democratic Senators and VIP donors leaving a private meeting at the Brown Palace Hotel. A police official later told lawyers for ABC News that producer Asa Eslocker is being charged with trespass, interference, and failure to follow a lawful order. [Will we see Asa 'investigating' GOP top donors (every corpora-terrorist on God's green earth) at the Repugnant Nazi Convention?]

Hillary Rodham Clinton's Speech at the Democratic National Convention 26 Aug 2008 Interactive video and transcript of the senator in Denver on Aug. 26.

'No way. No how. No McCain. Barack Obama is my candidate.' 27 Aug 2008 Hillary Clinton: "I haven't spent the past 35 years in the trenches, advocating for children, campaigning for universal health care, helping parents balance work and family, and fighting for women's rights here at home and around the world to see another Republican in the White House squander our promise of a country that really fulfills the hopes of our people. And you haven't worked so hard over the last 18 months or endured the last eight years to suffer through more failed leadership. No way, no how, no McCain. Barack Obama is my candidate, and he must be our president."

Clinton Urges Supporters to Give Allegiance to Obama 27 Aug 2008 Hillary Clinton asked her supporters last night to put aside any idea of voting for Republican John McCain and instead back her former rival for the Democratic presidential nomination, Barack Obama. "Whether you voted for me, or you voted for Barack, the time is now to unite as a single party with a single purpose," Clinton said at the Democratic National Convention in Denver. Americans can't afford another Republican in the White House, she said: "No way. No how. No McCain."

Hillary smacks convention speech out of the park By Michael Goodwin 25 Aug 2008 Barack Obama just lost his biggest excuse. Now he can't blame Hillary [Clinton] for any of his problems. She hit a home run for him Tuesday night. It was a big-time performance when it mattered most, and she delivered without reservation... The stars were aligned for a marriage of political convenience, and she pronounced her vows with dignity, humor and gusto. Her speech was a genuine twofer, good for her and good for the man who bested her in the long, bitter primary.

Clinton's Thankless Job By Marie Cocco 26 Aug 2008 If there is a political job more fraught with peril than running to become the next commander in chief, surely it is being cast as cheerleader in chief... The work of the next phase of [Hillary] Clinton's career has been going on doggedly, and often with little notice, since she suspended her campaign on June 7. She's been a campaign emissary for Obama to the Sheet Metal Workers union; to Hispanics and others in New Mexico and Nevada; to older women in South Florida who still haven't quite accepted the loss of what for some of them may be their last chance to see a woman elected president.

McCain Owes America An Alzheimer's Test By Bob Fertik 26 Aug 2008 [John] McCain's medical records are not available to physicians. He did not "release" them for the campaign; he only allowed hand-picked reporters to examine them quickly without making copies. And there were no results of an Alzheimer's test, because McCain has never had one - even though he has 6 of the 10 warning signs, including his inability to remember facts like the number of homes he owns or the U.S. invasion of Iraq in 2003.

Obama camp: Prosecute Simmons 26 Aug 2008 Obama general counsel Bob Bauer today sent a second, sharper letter to the Justice Department, directly attacking the Dallas billionaire funding a harsh attack ad, Harold Simmons. "We reiterate our request that the Department of Justice fulfill its commitment to take prompt action to investigate and to prosecute the American issues Project, and we further request that the Department of Justice investigate and prosecute Howard (sic) Simmons for a knowing and willful violation of the individual aggregate contribution limits," he wrote. He called the group's activities "patently illegal."

Mega barf alert! Giuliani Visits Terrorism Exhibit Near Democratic Convention 26 Aug 2008 CBS News: Rudy Giuliani made an appearance just around the corner from the Democratic National Convention in Denver today at a nearby exhibit on terrorist attacks. "People forget...this is ongoing," Giuliani said, referring to a threat of [Bush] terrorist attacks in the United States and worldwide. "This is a museum about what is happening to us now, the present, and what will be happening to us in the future."

McCain Has Made His Pick and Is Set to Tell on Friday 27 Aug 2008 Senator John McCain has decided on his running mate, two Republican strategists in contact with Mr. McCain’s campaign said Wednesday. He is expected to reveal his choice at a rally at a basketball arena in Dayton, Ohio, at 11 a.m. Friday.

Schwarzenegger could be no-show at GOP convention 27 Aug 2008 When the Republican convention opens Monday night, its prime-time lineup could be missing one of its biggest draws: California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Police were wrong to stop pensioner under Terrorism Act 27 Aug 2008 Police were wrong to use anti-terrorism powers to stop and search an elderly peace activist wearing an anti-Tony Blair top during a Labour party conference, a watchdog has ruled. John Catt, 83, was stopped by officers while on his way to join a protest for the release of former Guantánamo Bay detainee Omar Deghayes outside the Brighton conference in 2005.

Louisiana eyes Gustav, activates National Guard troops 27 Aug 2008 On the eve of Hurricane Katrina's third anniversary, a nervous New Orleans watched Wednesday as another storm threatened to test everything the city has rebuilt, and officials made preliminary plans to evacuate people, pets and hospitals in an attempt to avoid a KatrinaFEMA-style chaos. Gov. Bobby Jindal (R) declared a state of emergency to lay the groundwork for federal assistance, and put 3,000 National Guard troops on standby.

New Orleans mulls evacuation as Gustav looms 27 Aug 2008 Three years after Hurricane Katrina slammed into the Louisiana coast, New Orleans residents on Wednesday again confronted the prospect of an evacuation as Tropical Storm Gustav loomed.

Arctic sea ice drops to 2nd lowest level on record --Sea ice also serves as primary habitat for threatened polar bears. 27 Aug 2008 More ominous signs Wednesday have scientists saying that a global warming "tipping point" in the Arctic seems to be happening before their eyes: Sea ice in the Arctic Ocean is at its second lowest level in about 30 years. With about three weeks left in the Arctic summer, this year could wind up breaking that previous [Sept. 2007] record, scientists said.

Polar bear euthanized 26 Aug 2008 Yugyan, a 22-year-old female polar bear at the Oregon Zoo, was euthanized Tuesday. Yugyan was diagnosed with kidney failure a year ago and the zoo staff had tried to manage the bear's pain. Polar bears are listed as an endangered species. The Oregon Zoo and other conservation organizations have been increasingly alarmed about the effects of global warming on polar bears.

CLG needs your support.
http://www.legitgov.org/#contribute
Or, please mail a check or money order to CLG:
Citizens for Legitimate Government (CLG)
P.O. Box 1142
Bristol, CT 06011-1142
Contributions to CLG are not tax deductible.

Previous lead stories: Afghanistan demands end to Nato air strikes on villagers --UN backs Karzai concerns over loss of civilian life in allied raids 26 Aug 2008 Tensions increased today between Afghanistan's president, Hamid Karzai, and US and Nato troops, with the government ordering a review of foreign military activities amid claims that dozens of civilians have died in raids and air strikes over the past week. The ministries of foreign affairs and defence said they would seek to regulate raids with a status of forces agreement and a negotiated end to "air strikes on civilian targets, uncoordinated house searches and illegal detention of Afghan civilians".