] WASHINGTON - Secretary of State Colin Powell acknowledged
] Thursday that he saw no "smoking gun, concrete evidence"
] of ties between Saddam Hussein and the al-Qaida terror
] network, but insisted that Iraq had dangerous weapons and
] needed to be disarmed by force.
]
] Speaking at a State Department news conference, Powell
] openly disagreed with a private think tank report which
] maintained that Iraq was not an imminent threat to the
] United States. And the secretary defended the case he
] made before the United Nations for a U.S.-led war to
] force Saddam from power.

Powell Refutes Think-Tank Report on Iraq

] WASHINGTON - The FBI is warning police nationwide to be
] alert for people carrying almanacs, cautioning that the
] popular reference books covering everything from
] abbreviations to weather trends could be used for
] terrorist planning.
]
] In a bulletin sent Christmas Eve to about 18,000 police
] organizations, the FBI said terrorists might use almanacs
] "to assist with target selection and pre-operational
] planning."
]
] It urged officers to watch during searches, traffic stops
] and other investigations for anyone carrying almanacs,
] especially if the books are annotated in suspicious ways

Better not carry an Almanac in your car or you will go to federal prision. Almanacs are evil!!!!!

FBI warns police: Watch for almanacs

] The US has offered $10bn to Israel, to bail it
] out of the worst economic crisis in its history.
]
] Israel's Finance Ministry said the package consisted of
] $1bn in direct military aid and $9bn in loan
] guarantees.

Just makes me sick.

US offers Israel billions in aid

] The outlines of this new mission are not new, but TIME has
] uncovered enough fresh details to construct the fullest picture
] yet of the CIA's secret army. It spoke to past and current
] intelligence officials, including an active member of the SOG,
] as well as to detractors within the Pentagon.

What is going on in the spook biz? Good read!

TIME Magazine: The CIA's Secret Army

] "Republicans with close ties to the Bush administration
] said today that Senator Trent Lott had no chance of
] remaining majority leader and that the White House wanted
] him out. President Bush (news - web sites), they said,
] would not intervene to save him, but neither would he
] take any overt actions that would be seen as forcing
] Senator Lott from the position. "

na na naaa na....na na naaa na...hey hey, good bye....

Republicans Say Lott Lacks Bush's Support

] "It spies on terrorists and rogue states, guides war
] fighters to their targets and helps rescue teams during
] disasters, all with an array of space-age technology. "

Wow... Impressive. I wonder if they know what is hidden
in my back yard.

Secretive map agency opens its doors

] "The federal Victim Compensation Fund has offered 85
] awards to the families of people who died in the
] September 11, 2001, attack on the World Trade Center,
] with an average payment of $1.49 million, a published
] report said. "

9/11 victims' fund has offered 85 awards

This week, a federal court of appeals declared that "democracies die behind closed doors" and demanded that Attorney General John Ashcroft open up the immigration hearings for suspects connected to Sept. 11 roundups. But wherever the courts open one door, Ashcroft and the Bush administration manage to close another. And so we find ourselves in peril of losing the right to search warrants granted by real judges in real courts, as the attorney general again attempts to drag the Constitution into dark caverns and windowless towers.

--

very good article!

Seventy-five little reasons to be terrified of the FISA court.