news.notes20090515a

[Biography of the Day] from [Britannica]
Friday, May 15, 2009
Madeleine Albright
Madeleine Albright, born this day in Prague in 1937, earned a reputation as a savvy defender of American interests while a UN ambassador (1993–97) and was the first woman to serve as U.S. secretary of state (1997–2001).

[On This Day] from [Britannica]
Friday, May 15, 2009
1991: Edith Cresson appointed French premier
On this day in 1991, Edith Cresson of the Socialist Party became the first female premier of France, but she lost the office less than a year later because of rising unemployment and declining support from within her party.


[TODAY'S TOP STORIES] from [The Japan Times]

[NATIONAL NEWS]
Friday, May 15, 2009
Ozawa to still play key role, rivals vow
Departing boss to maintain DPJ influence

By ALEX MARTIN
Staff writer

Democratic Party of Japan Secretary General Yukio Hatoyama and deputy chief Katsuya Okada, the two candidates running in Saturday's DPJ presidential race, said Thursday resigning President Ichiro Ozawa will still serve in a key post.

Their remarks indicate that the scandal-hit Ozawa will remain a kingpin in the party and continue to exercise influence from behind the scenes even after he is replaced — the way Ozawa has wielded power throughout his political career.

While Okada is favored in national opinion polls and is gaining support from the anti-Ozawa faction, Hatoyama reportedly has the backing of Ozawa and his followers, placing Okada at a likely disadvantage.

Regarding Ozawa's role under the party's new leadership, Hatoyama said that although he has not yet decided what post Ozawa might fill in the new lineup, he would take on a "prominent role."

Hatoyama did stress, however, that Ozawa would not be steering him and the party from behind the scenes, contrary to much speculation.

"I have no intention for (the DPJ) to be called (Ozawa's) puppet," he said.

Hatoyama added that if he becomes president, he would also want Okada, whom he described as an intelligent and talented politician, to assume an active role in the party.

"A regime change is inevitable," Hatoyama said. "Ozawa's resignation is an ordeal" the party must get through, he said.

As for Okada, he said both Ozawa and Hatoyama would have prominent roles in the party so the DPJ can oust the ruling coalition, adding he will consider what posts they would serve if he is elected.

"We all need to play ball" to win, he said.

The presidential election will be a one-on-one contest between Hatoyama and Okada, both former party heads. The winner could become prime minister in the event the DPJ wins the next Lower House poll.

Although the two candidates unveiled their positions in a news conference Thursday, there were no major differences.

Both called for the abolition of corporate donations, limiting the number of second-generation politicians and reducing the number of seats in the Lower House.

However, Hatoyama did differentiate himself from Okada, a proponent of raising the consumption tax, by stressing he believes such talk is unnecessary in amid these dire economic times.

"When people are encountering such hardships, I don't think the topic needs to even be discussed," Hatoyama said, adding it will still have to be dealt with in the long term to cover the costs of the national pension system.


[NATIONAL NEWS]
Friday, May 15, 2009
Ex-Xinhua journalist gave Japan 'secrets'

(Kyodo News) A Chinese court sentenced Yu Jiafu, a former reporter at the state-run Xinhua news agency, to 18 years in prison in early May for distributing state secrets to Japanese and South Korean diplomats in 2006, an Australian newspaper has reported.

Yu was found guilty of handing out state secrets to diplomats, including Japanese Ambassador to China Yuji Miyamoto and former senior South Korean diplomat Li Jiaxian, The Australian said in its online edition recently.

Miyamoto said Thursday through the Japanese Embassy in Beijing that he cannot comment on specific diplomatic activities, but sees no problem because the envoy respects Chinese laws.

Yu, 62, has admitted that he gave information to the diplomats but his lawyers told the Beijing court that the information he distributed was already widely available, the newspaper said.

Yu's daughter, who immigrated to Australia and became a citizen in 2007, said the family was considering appealing, the paper said.

Yu was put under house arrest from July 31, 2007, by the State Security Bureau of Langfang, Hebei Province, and arrested on Dec. 21 the same year, it said.

He was found guilty of obtaining illegal profit by providing South Korean diplomat Li, who was deployed in China, with information on China's foreign policy between November 2006 and July 2007.

The Chinese court alleged that Li, who has since retired and returned to his homeland, was a South Korean intelligence agent and Yu knew this but continued to supply him with information at a string of meetings in hotels.

Before his 2007 arrest, Yu had retired from a senior position at the news agency, where he was a longtime expert on Japanese and Korean affairs, rising to run Xinhua's foreign affairs group, said The Australian.

Yu requested that the Japanese and South Korean diplomats stand and give evidence in his support in the Beijing court but they declined, the paper said.

Miyamoto became the ambassador to China in April 2006.

Another report said Miyamoto may have paid Yu about 3 million.

[NATIONAL NEWS]
Friday, May 15, 2009
Japan, Canada ink deal on air force refueling

By JUN HONGO
Staff writer

Japan and Canada signed an agreement Thursday that will let the Canadian Air Force planes refuel in Japan when participating in disaster relief and humanitarian missions in Asia.

The pact, signed by Foreign Minister Hirofumi Nakasone and counterpart Lawrence Cannon, allows Canada to use an airport in Hokkaido within 48 hours after applying for permission.

"Canada is an extremely important partner in this field. I am hoping this becomes the first step in further collaboration," Nakasone told reporters.

Cannon, on a three-day visit to Japan, said the procedure will widen bilateral cooperation in the Asia-Pacific region.

"We will continue to look at ways together to cooperate notably in areas of peace and security," he said.

The two sides also exchanged opinions on measures against H1N1 influenza A, saying that coordination is essential in dealing with the quickly spreading swine flu virus. Three Japanese students and a teacher became Japan's first swine flu cases earlier this month after returning from a school trip to Canada.

Cannon told reporters that their countries will continue to exchange information "timely and in a systematic manner," but repeated that other countries should not impose travel restrictions since the World Health Organization has been clear that the situation does not justify it.

During a separate speech at the Japan National Press Club, Cannon also pushed for an economic partnership agreement with Tokyo, saying free trade with Canada will not only strengthen the flow of goods and technology but also enhance energy, natural resources and food supplies in Japan.

Cannon also met with Prime Minister Taro Aso earlier in the day and discussed antiterrorism efforts in Afghanistan and North Korea's nuclear threat.

news.notes20090515b

[TODAY'S TOP STORIES] from [The Japan Times]

[BUSINESS NEWS]
Friday, May 15, 2009
Sony logs \228 billion loss, sees more red ink

By HIROKO NAKATA
Staff writer

Sony Corp. suffered a record \227.78 billion group operating loss for the business year that ended on March 31, blaming plummeting global demand and the yen's surge against other currencies.

It was the first full-year operating loss for the electronics and entertainment giant in 14 years. Sony on Thursday also released a dim outlook for the current business year, saying it expects a \110 billion operating loss because the worldwide economic downturn will continue to create a harsh business environment.

The loss for business 2008 marked a sharp contrast with the \475.30 billion profit Sony posted the year before.

It logged a group net loss of \98.94 billion on sales of \7.73 trillion, against a \369.44 billion net profit on \8.87 trillion sales in the 2007 business year.

"The deterioration of the economy, triggered by the Lehman shock, made things extremely serious worldwide," Nobuyuki Oneda, Sony's chief financial officer, told reporters in Tokyo. He added that the yen's surge against major currencies and a tumble in Japanese share prices also hurt earnings.

The higher yen took about \968 billion out of Sony's sales and about \279 billion out of its operating profit. The yen's surge erodes profits earned overseas by Sony and other export-oriented manufacturers.

Oneda said Sony is ahead of schedule on its restructuring plan announced in December and January. The company said it has already slashed more than \300 billion in production and other costs from the previous year, against \250 billion it announced it would cut throughout the course of this business year.

Sony also said it has decided to close a total of eight plants at home and abroad, against its plan to cut about 10 percent of its 57 plants by next March. It also said it has completed its global 16,000-job restructuring plan announced in December.

Oneda said the firm will continue restructuring for the next few years, including job cuts, even though it has already reached its current goals.

But Sony, which is trailing Apple Inc., has no clear strategy to turn its fortunes around, and it expects its core electronics sector to lose even more money this year due to the higher yen and restructuring costs.

Panasonic loss
OSAKA (Kyodo), BLOOMBERG Panasonic Corp. is expected to log a group net loss of tens of billions of yen in business 2009, falling into the red for the second consecutive year due mainly to costs linked to restructuring its production bases, company sources said Thursday.

The company anticipates a \380 billion group net loss for business 2008, which ended in March. This would mark its first red ink in six years and a sharp turnaround from a net profit of \281.88 billion logged a year earlier.

Panasonic, formerly Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., joins a growing list of other electronics giants, including Toshiba Corp. and Hitachi Ltd., in projecting two consecutive years of net losses, with their earnings hit by weak sales and a stronger yen.

Panasonic anticipates its operating profit, which better reflects the performance of its core businesses, to be in the black for the current business year through next March, the sources said.

But a solid recovery in sales of its mainstay products, including flat-panel TVs and digital cameras, is expected to take more time amid the ongoing global economic downturn.

Panasonic expects to book heavy restructuring costs as it cuts 15,000 jobs worldwide by the end of next March and shutters 27 of its production facilities in Japan and overseas.

Meanwhile, Sanyo Electric Co., which is being acquired by Panasonic, announced Thursday it expects an increase in annual operating profit, beating analyst estimates.

Operating profit, or sales minus the cost of goods sold and administrative expenses, will probably triple to \25 billion in the 12 months to March 31, 2010, from \8.28 billion a year earlier, Sanyo said.


[BUSINESS NEWS]
Friday, May 15, 2009
NEC, Hitachi exit project for computer

(Kyodo News) NEC Corp. and Hitachi Ltd. said Thursday they will not participate in the manufacturing phase of a government-led project to develop next-generation supercomputers so they can cut costs amid deteriorating business conditions.

NEC, which incurred a group net loss of \296.65 billion in business 2008, which ended in March, would shoulder over \10 billion in research and development costs if it continued to participate in the project.

Hitachi, another key member of the project facing tough times, followed suit later Thursday, announcing separately that it will exit the supercomputer project.

With the two electronics giants leaving the project, the government will likely face a fundamental review of the project to develop the world's fastest supercomputers, which are expected to run at a maximum speed of 10 petaflops, or 10 quadrillion floating point operations, per second.

The project, led since 2006 by the Education, Sports, Culture, Science and Technology Ministry, is now at the final stage of detailed system design.

The government has so far invested about \115 billion in the project, which is expected to be completed by 2012.

Fujitsu Ltd. is also part of the project to develop the supercomputers, which can be used in simulating experiments for developing new drugs, predicting the paths of typhoons or studying the formation of galaxies.

NEC has been one of the global leaders in the field and plans to continue development of cutting-edge supercomputers even after it withdraws from the project.

The company made the Earth Simulator supercomputer, which the Japan Agency for Marine Earth Science and Technology uses for global warming projections.

Fujitsu CPU is fastest
Fujitsu Ltd. has developed the world's fastest central processing unit, becoming the first Japanese company in 10 years to claim the top spot, company officials said Wednesday.

The new CPU, called Venus, runs 2 1/2 times faster than the product of its rival, Intel Corp., according to the officials. Fujitsu last held the record for the world's fastest CPU in 1999.

Fujitsu's new CPU, often called the computer's brain, may be installed in a next-generation supercomputer that is planned to begin operation at Riken, the officials said.

[BUSINESS NEWS]
Friday, May 15, 2009
IHI to head offshore for shipbuilding components

(Bloomberg) IHI Corp. plans to increase imports of shipbuilding components to counter the yen's rise.

The heavy-machinery maker's IHI Marine United Inc. unit, which buys "most" of its components from domestic suppliers, plans to buy parts including pumps and motors from South Korea and other nations, Shigemi Kurahara, the subsidiary's incoming president, said, without specifying volumes and suppliers.

IHI forecast a 64 percent decline in shipbuilding operating profit this business year to \1 billion because of the stronger yen. The unit will review procurement to hedge currency risk and cut costs and will likely increase purchases from South Korea, where quality improvements in vessels and parts have boosted demand from global shipping lines, Kurahara, 60, said.

"We need a business structure that's less affected by factors beyond our own control," said Kurahara, who takes IHI Marine United's helm in June.

South Korean shipbuilders, now the world's largest, used to import Japan-made components, Kurahara said. The yards now make about 80 percent of the parts domestically, and IHI imports electrical cable from the country for its ships, he said.

"As far as our customers agree, we are putting overseas-made parts on ships we build," Kurahara said.

IHI assumes the yen will strengthen 7 percent to average \95 against the dollar for the year started April 1.

news.notes20090515c

[Today's Paper] from [Los Angeles Times]

Schwarzenegger outlines drastic budget cuts
The governor would slash $3 billion from schools, lay off 5,000 workers and sell state property, even if voters approve ballot measures next week.

By Michael Rothfeld
May 15, 2009

Reporting from Sacramento -- Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger unveiled a pair of financial disaster plans Thursday, proposing to address the state's budget crisis by slicing up to seven days off the public school year, releasing thousands of inmates from prison and packing others into county jails, cutting off healthcare to more than 200,000 children and drilling for oil off the Santa Barbara coast.

The governor presented lawmakers with two alternative budgets. The first was grim, addressing a $15.4-billion deficit that finance officials say the state will face even if voters approve a set of ballot measures in Tuesday's special election.

The second, a contingency plan, held more extreme remedies intended to close a $21.3-billion gap if the measures fail. Under that scenario, the state would borrow up to $2 billion from local governments, to be repaid within three years.

If lawmakers were to ratify either of the governor's plans, almost every constituency in the state would feel substantial pain. Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors Chairman Don Knabe said in an angry statement that residents would suffer from "the state hijacking these local funds, in the form of reduced services and fewer options."

In either case, Schwarzenegger would borrow $6 billion to pay bills, pare education funding by at least $3 billion, lay off 5,000 of the state's 235,000 workers, cut funding to hospitals and reduce eligibility for healthcare programs if he could get federal permission.

The state also would delay repairs in the Capitol for a year, sell the Los Angeles Coliseum and Sports Arena, San Quentin State Prison and other facilities, consolidate state agencies, and eliminate some boards and commissions.

Schwarzenegger explained his proposals to put some of the state's treasured landmarks on the block plainly, saying that the state can't afford to keep them. He compared the government with average Californians, who, he said, have told him of selling cars, boats and motorcycles to stay afloat during the recession.

"We are going to do everything that we can to make sure that we are going to make ends meet, but it's going to be tough," he said. "And I think that state government has to make the same sacrifices as the ordinary folks make out there."

In the worst case, Schwarzenegger would release up to 19,000 undocumented immigrants from state prisons, turning them over to federal authorities. Up to 23,000 other state prisoners could be sent to county jails.

The governor would take $3 billion from public schools if the ballot propositions pass and $5 billion if they fail -- potentially forcing a seven-day reduction in the school year -- on top of billions the state cut several months ago. California's public colleges and universities would lose $1 billion if the measures pass and $1.2 billion if they fail.

Administration officials said the education cuts would be cushioned by incoming federal stimulus funds.

But a lobbyist for school districts, Kevin Gordon, questioned whether the U.S. government would allow the state to use federal money to replace its own.

Such cuts would violate "the spirit of what leaders in Washington, D.C., intended," Gordon said. The federal money, he said, was not meant to enable the state to cut its own spending.

Only three months ago, Schwarzenegger and legislative leaders reached a budget deal that they said would carry the state through the middle of next year.

But a worsening economy and falling tax revenues have thrown that plan way out of balance. Unless the governor and lawmakers rectify the crisis by the end of July, the state might not be able to pay bills, officials say.

Despite the state's problems, Schwarzenegger said he would propose no new tax increases beyond those he signed in February. But some of his plan would hit Californians in their pocketbooks.

No matter the outcome of the election, individuals and companies that pay estimated taxes would have to submit 10% more in June, giving the government $610 million earlier than now required. Employers would pay $40 million in fees to fund workplace safety programs.

And if the ballot measures fail, the governor would increase fees at state parks and impose a 4.8% property insurance surcharge on residents and businesses.

The governor also included a proposal, which failed earlier this year at the state Lands Commission, to make $1.8 billion over 14 years by allowing oil drilling from an existing platform at Tranquillon Ridge off the Santa Barbara coast.

His aides said he would ask lawmakers to approve that instead. But the plan could face resistance from environmentalists and residents.

It's a horrible idea," said Assemblyman Pedro Nava (D-Santa Barbara). "It would throw the door open for other offshore drilling."

Schwarzenegger has been accused of playing politics by moving up the announcement of his revised budget, due annually in May, from its scheduled date of May 28.

Polls show California voters ready to reject Propositions 1A through 1E. They include, among other ideas, altering the state lottery, extending recent tax increases and diverting money from voter-approved programs, and account for $6 billion of the deal Schwarzenegger and lawmakers reached in February.

"We view what's occurring right now as little more than a Hail Mary pass to try to get the voters to buy off on these ballot propositions," said Jon Coupal of the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Assn., which is campaigning against the measures.

But Assembly Speaker Karen Bass (D-Los Angeles) said in an interview that if the measures fail, the consequences will be real.

"There are no gimmicks to pull," she said. "I do hope in these last few days before the election voters will see how serious this is. If they don't, I believe we will have very angry Californians when we actually move forward with some of these cuts."

The governor, who has been arguing strongly for a system to limit spending and create a rainy-day fund in Proposition 1A, acknowledged that he wanted voters to know "how this election will affect your child's school, your roads, the safety of your neighborhoods, the future of your state."

news.notes20090515d

[Today's Paper] from [The New York Times]

Mexican Data Say Migration to U.S. Has Plummeted

By JULIA PRESTON
Published: May 14, 2009

MEXICALI, Mexico — Census data from the Mexican government indicate an extraordinary decline in the number of Mexican immigrants going to the United States.

The recently released data show that about 226,000 fewer people emigrated from Mexico to other countries during the year that ended in August 2008 than during the previous year, a decline of 25 percent. All but a very small fraction of emigration, both legal and illegal, from Mexico is to the United States.

Because of surging immigration, the Mexican-born population in the United States has grown steeply year after year since the early 1990s, dipping briefly only after the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, census data in both countries show.

Mexican and American researchers say that the current decline, which has also been manifested in a decrease in arrests along the border, is largely a result of Mexicans’ deciding to delay illegal crossings because of the lack of jobs in the ailing American economy.

The trend emerged clearly with the onset of the recession and, demographers say, provides new evidence that illegal immigrants from Mexico, by far the biggest source of unauthorized migration to the United States, are drawn by jobs and respond to a sinking labor market by staying away.

“If jobs are available, people come,” said Jeffrey S. Passel, senior demographer at the Pew Hispanic Center, a nonpartisan research group in Washington. “If jobs are not available, people don’t come.”

The net outflow of migrants from Mexico — those who left minus those who returned — fell by about half in the year that ended in August 2008 from the preceding year. The figures are based on detailed household interviews conducted quarterly by the census agency in Mexico, the National Institute of Statistics and Geography.

Along the border, the signs of the drop-off are subtle but ubiquitous. Only two beds are filled in a shelter here that houses migrants hoping to sneak into the United States. On the American side, near Calexico, Calif., Border Patrol vans return empty to their base after agents comb the desert for illegal crossers.

In recent weeks, the spread of swine flu in Mexico and the government’s response of shutting down schools and canceling public gatherings brought migration here and elsewhere nearly to a halt. But demographers expect the deep flu-related decline to be temporary.

With so many Mexicans remaining in their home villages, the population of illegal immigrants in the United States stopped growing and might have slightly decreased in the last year, an abrupt shift after a decade of yearly influxes, research by demographers in the United States shows. Mexicans account for 32 percent of immigrants in the United States, and more than half of them lack legal status, the Pew center has reported.

Still, at least 11 million illegal immigrants remain in the United States, the demographers say. Despite collapsing job markets in construction and other low-wage work, there has been no exodus among Mexicans living in the United States, the Mexican census figures show. About the same number of migrants — 450,000 — returned to Mexico in 2008 as in 2007.

Some researchers argue that the drop in crossings from Mexico proves that tough law enforcement at the border and in American workplaces can reduce illegal immigration in times of rising unemployment in the United States. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials stepped up factory and community raids last year, and the Border Patrol expanded its force by 17 percent in one year, to nearly 17,500 agents.

“The latest evidence suggests that you can reverse the flow,” said Steven A. Camarota, a demographer at the Center for Immigration Studies, a research group in Washington that calls for reduced immigration. “It is not set in stone, so with some mix of enforcement and the economy, fewer will come and more will go home.”

But Wayne Cornelius, the director of the Center for Comparative Immigration Studies at the University of California, San Diego, predicted that if the United States job market revived, border enforcement would become much less of a deterrent.

The center has documented the causes of the decrease in Mexican migration though interviews this year with more than 1,000 Mexicans in California and in a Yucatán village that has been a source of migrants. In the interviews, all of the Mexicans who did set out from Yucatán for the United States reported that they eventually succeeded in crossing.

Mexicans are “not forgoing migration forever,” Professor Cornelius said. “They are hoping that the economy in the United States will improve.”

For now, though, Mexicans like José Luis Z., 16, of the state of Michoacán, are setting the trend. José Luis went to the Albergue del Desierto, a migrant shelter in Mexicali for minor boys, after setting out from home without telling his parents.

But when a job planting trees in Washington State fell through and he heard from migrants of increased patrolling along the border, he decided to head back home.

“I thought it would be easy, but now I see how people suffer,” said José Luis, who asked that his last name be withheld because he was a minor. He said he would go back to picking strawberries in Michoacán, if his furious father did not banish him.

“There is work back home,” José Luis said, “but it doesn’t pay anything.”

The enforcement buildup along the border, which started during the Bush administration, has made many Mexicans think twice about the cost and danger of an illegal trek when no job awaits on the other side, scholars said.

“There is a lack of certainty about jobs, so for the time being it is better to stay home,” said Agustín Escobar Latapí, a sociologist at the Center for Research in Social Anthropology in Guadalajara, Mexico.

Most immigrants now need smugglers to guide them through searing deserts and hidden mountain passes where there are gaps in Border Patrol surveillance. In Mexicali, smugglers’ fees are now $3,000 to $5,000 for a trip to Los Angeles, immigrants and social workers said. They reported that Mexicans’ relatives in the United States, struggling to hold on to their own jobs, no longer had money to lend to a family member to pay a smuggler.

Some here in Mexicali said they were not surprised by the low number of Mexicans coming back from the United States. “Our people are not stupid,” said Mónika Oropeza Rodríguez, the executive director of the Albergue del Desierto. “There may be a crisis in the United States, but they know that we have been in an economic crisis in Mexico for many years.”

news.notes20090515e

[Today's Newspaper] fom [The Washington Post]

Accusations Flying In Interrogation Battle
Pelosi Says CIA Misled Congress on Methods

By Paul Kane
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, May 15, 2009

The debate over the tactics used by the Bush administration to combat terrorism continued to grip Washington yesterday, as Democrats and Republicans on Capitol Hill lobbed accusations about controversial interrogation methods used on suspects.

The battle among lawmakers over who knew what, and when, coupled with the CIA's assertion that it had fully informed congressional leaders about classified matters, made it all but certain that the debate will drag into the summer, when the Obama administration hoped to have Congress's full attention focused on its ambitious legislative agenda.

CIA officials found themselves caught in the middle as both sides pressed for the release of documents that they argued would bolster their arguments.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) yesterday charged the CIA with knowingly misleading members of Congress about the interrogation practices, even as she acknowledged for the first time that she learned six years ago that waterboarding was being used on detainees.

Pelosi's comments during a heated news conference added another layer to the debate over President George W. Bush's anti-terrorism methods and their effectiveness.

On another front, the CIA yesterday rejected former vice president Richard B. Cheney's request to release documents that he said would reveal that waterboarding and other interrogation practices helped thwart terrorist plots.

In her most explicit comments to date about the controversial interrogation methods, Pelosi slammed the CIA and called on the agency to release classified notes about the secretive briefings congressional leaders received.

"At every step of the way, the administration was misleading the Congress. And that is the issue," Pelosi said at the news conference.

Pelosi, who was the ranking Democrat on the House intelligence committee until January 2003, has emerged as the central focus of an effort by congressional Republicans and former Bush administration officials to paint Democratic leaders as giving their tacit support for the interrogation tactics. They contend that top Democrats were aware that CIA interrogators were using waterboarding, or simulated drowning, and that their support waned only after its use became public and led to an outcry from human rights activists.

Pelosi's news conference marked her first time addressing the issue since the CIA released a detailed memo last week outlining almost 40 congressional briefings on interrogation practices since September 2002.

Yesterday, the CIA offered conflicting accounts about the merits of Pelosi's charge. In a statement, the agency stood by records it released last week suggesting that Pelosi was informed in September 2002 about the use of "enhanced interrogation techniques."

"The language in the chart -- 'a description of the particular [enhanced interrogation techniques] that had been employed' -- is true to the language in the agency's records," a CIA spokesman said yesterday. That chart contradicts the speaker's assertion, which she has maintained consistently for the past 18 months, that she was told only that the Justice Department had provided a legal basis for using waterboarding or other harsh techniques in future interrogations.

news.notes20090515f

[Today's Papers] from [Slate Magazine]

Pelosi Knew About Water-Boarding
By Daniel Politi
Posted Friday, May 15, 2009, at 6:47 AM ET

The Washington Post and the Wall Street Journal 's world-wide newsbox lead with the continuing debate over whether the CIA fully informed lawmakers about the interrogation techniques used by the Bush administration on terror suspects. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, involved in a controversy that has been bubbling for weeks, decided to up the ante and explicitly accused the CIA of knowingly misleading Congress about the practices. But she also admitted for the first time that in early 2003 she knew the CIA had used water-boarding on detainees. USA Today leads with a look at how the federal government is having difficulty getting rid of more than 50,000 houses it currently owns. Most of the houses became federal property when borrowers defaulted on government-backed loans. Like all sellers in this market, the government is having trouble unloading the homes, particularly since they are concentrated in struggling areas.

The New York Times leads with recently released Mexican census data that show there was a 25 percent decline in emigrants from Mexico during the year that ended in August 2008 compared with the previous year. The vast majority of people who leave Mexico go to the United States. Experts say Mexicans are delaying coming into the United States because of the lack of jobs in the current economic crisis. Still, despite what many have been saying, there's no evidence of a mass exodus of Mexicans living in the United States, at least so far. The Los Angeles Times leads with California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger presenting lawmakers with two alternative budgets, both of which would translate into "substantial pain" for "almost every constituency in the state." Along with cuts in education and health care, Schwarzenegger also proposed selling some of the state's best-known landmarks, including the Los Angeles Coliseum and the San Quentin state prison.

Republicans have been accusing Pelosi of hypocrisy for harshly criticizing the Bush administration's use of torture on terror suspects when she knew it was going on and didn't try to stop them. Yesterday, in a "heated" (WP), "contentious" (WSJ), and "tense" (NYT) news conference, Pelosi said that in a 2002 briefing, she was told that water-boarding had been deemed legal by the Justice Department but was not being used on detainees. But she also acknowledged that five months later, a senior aide attended a briefing on the harsh interrogation techniques and informed her that water-boarding was being used. "At every step of the way, the administration was misleading Congress," Pelosi said. "And that's the issue."

The CIA responded by saying that the recently released chart that said Pelosi attended a briefing at Sept. 2002 at which the subject was discussed and the CIA described the interrogation techniques "that had been employed." But the WP notes that's hardly a resounding contradiction mainly because the CIA records on the matter "are based on the almost seven-year-old recollections of officials present for the briefings." Government officials tell the Post that it might never be possible to really know who was told what because no one wrote up a precise transcript. Regardless, it seems clear now that this issue "will drag into the summer," a time when the Obama administration had hoped lawmakers could make progress on its domestic agenda.

The WP's Dan Balz writes that Pelosi's move "was either a calculated escalation of a long-running feud" or "a reckless act by a politician," or both. Pelosi's statement amounts "to a virtual declaration of war against the CIA," an agency still reeling from Obama's decision to release the torture memos. It is clear that "whether by design or accident" Pelosi "succeeded in enlarging a controversy that is no longer a sideshow." How could this help her? Well, Pelosi favors a truth commission to investigate the Bush era, and her explosive charges against the CIA could make that more likely, even though the president and several Democratic leaders have come out against it.

The LAT fronts, and WSJ goes inside with, word that the White House will announce today plans to bring back the military commission system from the Bush years in order to try terrorism suspects. The LAT calls it a reversal of Obama's campaign promise to rely on federal courts and the traditional military justice system. But the WSJ doesn't quite see it that way, noting that while Obama has criticized the Bush approach, he has also said he could back a system of military trials if they could likely withstand a legal challenge. The administration will also institute several major changes to the military commission system to expand the legal rights of defendants. Evidence obtained through "cruel, inhuman or degrading" interrogations will be banned and the use of hearsay evidence will be restricted. Detainees will also be given more flexibility in choosing their lawyers.

The administration still intends to prosecute some Guantanamo detainees in federal court, as well as release others. In fact, the WSJ hears word that Obama will also announce developments on both fronts. The Guantanamo detainee accused of carrying the 1998 embassy bombings will be prosecuted in federal court, and another detainee will be resettled in France. It looks like the military commissions will try at least 50 cases, in which the prisoners are seen as dangerous but the government lacks sufficient evidence to prosecute.

In an analysis piece inside, the NYT states that if Obama is serious about keeping the photographs of prisoner abuse out of the public's hands, his best bet might be to classify them. That would allow him to claim they're exempt from the Freedom of Information Act. As many have noted, the obvious route would be for the administration to go to the Supreme Court, but that "would preclude playing the classification card," notes the paper. Some think courts might have an issue with the fact that the material wasn't classified before, but even so, the administration could, at the very least, delay the release of the photographs for months, if not years.

Everybody fronts news that the downsizing of Detroit's Big Three that has hit hard in Michigan and much of the Midwest is spreading the pain across the country. Chrylser announced that it will close 789 dealerships by June 9. Dealers in every state except Alaska are on the list. The bad news will spread today, when General Motors is expected to give bad news to as many as 1,200 of its dealers. That's without counting the additional 1,400 GM dealers that will likely be forced to close as the automaker finalizes restructuring plans. All in all, "nearly 20% of the nation's roughly 19,000 auto dealerships will be forced out of business," notes the LAT.

The NYT fronts an interesting look at how the companies that make processed foods are increasingly "unable to guarantee the safety of their ingredients." The problem is particularly bad with frozen foods that often require thorough cooking in order to be safe, which is something that consumers often overlook. Many of the companies say it's the consumer's responsibility to make sure the food is thoroughly cooked before eating. But many don't have prominent or easy-to-understand instructions, and even those that do don't actually achieve the required result. The NYT followed directions on several brands of frozen meals and found that none of them reached the required temperature to kill any pathogens.

Everyone notes that former Vice President Dick Cheney was denied his request to declassify memos pertaining to the success or failure of the CIA's harsh interrogation methods. The CIA said it wouldn't declassify the documents because they are part of an ongoing Freedom of Information Act lawsuit. The LAT notes the group that filed that lawsuit finds it ironic that the CIA would use a suit that seeks to get the release of the documents as a reason for not doing so. "It is unusual for Amnesty International to find itself on the same side ... as Cheney," said a counterterrorism expert at the organization. "But we welcome his late conversion to the value of transparency in government."

The LAT fronts a dispatch from Neumont University, aka Geek Heaven, where students can choose only one major: computer science. While the 6-year-old school has found success in placing students at some of the biggest names in the industry, employers often complain that graduates can't get away from the computer and have trouble socializing with colleagues. So, administrators have started social clubs and are forcing students to take classes in public speaking and interpersonal communication. But students have resisted the efforts, saying that one of the main reasons they chose to attend the for-profit university was to be with people who had similar interests. "Back in high school, I was the lone geek," said a student. "Now I'm surrounded by geeks."

news.notes20090515g

[Today's News] from [The Guardian]

Shahid Malik resigns as minister as expenses scandal deepens
Junior justice minister ordered to step down from post during inquiry into his allegedly subsidised rent of Dewsbury home

Andrew Sparrow, Patrick Wintour, Deborah Summers and agencies
guardian.co.uk, Friday 15 May 2009 11.54 BST
Article history

Gordon Brown today ordered Shahid Malik to stand down from his post as junior justice minister pending an investigation into claims that he broke the ministerial code with his expenses claims.

A Downing Street spokesman said that the prime minister had asked Sir Philip Mawer, the independent adviser on ministerial interests, to conduct an inquiry as quickly as possible and his report could come within days.

"There have been accusations made in the past 24 hours against Shahid Malik, in particular that he received preferential rent on his main residence," the No 10 spokesman said.

"Because that allegation would represent a potential financial benefit and that potential and alleged financial benefit was not declared as part of his ministerial declaration, this could represent a breach of the ministerial code.

"In line with the procedures of the ministerial code, the matter has been referred to the independent adviser on ministers' interests."

He added that, pending the outcome of Mawer's investigation, Malik would be stepping down as a minister, although he would not be replaced.

The spokesman stressed that the expectation would be that Malik would return to office if he was cleared.

The move comes after the Daily Telegraph revealed that Malik designated his London flat as his second home, which allowed him to claim more than £60,000 on the property over three years. He designated as his main home a three-bedroom house in his Dewsbury constituency that he rents for £100 a week, according to the paper.

Malik said he had gone "one million per cent by the book" in claiming for his second home.

The Telegraph also reported that he claimed £2,100 for a 40-inch flatscreen television, although the Commons authorities only agreed to pay him for half the sum.

Today Malik insisted that he was "as straight as they come" and that nearly every other MP in the country had spent the same amount as him. But he pledged to donate the £1,050 he claimed for the TV to worthy local causes in his constituency.

He told Sky News: "I will not be giving it to the authorities in parliament because it is legitimately mine. But as a gesture I am giving that to good causes in my constituency, and I think it will be appreciated by those who receive it."

Malik also criticised the Sky interviewer for allegedly following a political agenda. "You are running with the Conservatives' agenda, and obviously the way that they have played this has been more detrimental to Labour than to anybody else," the minister said.

Much of the reporting about his expenses claims was "absolute nonsense", he added.

The Telegraph reported that Malik had run up the highest expenses claim of any MP, claiming second home allowances of £66,827 over three years on his house in London.

Malik's second-home claims were also said to have included £730 for a "massage chair" and £65 to cover a court summons for non-payment of council tax.

Malik, one of the fast-rising 2005 Labour intake, denied breaking any rules, saying the expenses system was inherently flawed. He declined to discuss the Telegraph's claim that he was renting a house in Dewsbury at below the market value, saying: "That is my private business."

He added: "I spend half the week in Dewsbury and half the week in London and claim on my second home in London. I have not broken any rules. It is correct that I put a claim in for a home cinema system costing £2,600. I rang the fees office and asked if there was a limit to what I could spend before I bought a TV, and they said no. I did think at the time that was madness.

"When I put the claim in they came back and said I had exceeded the limit. They later apologised and in the end they paid half. I was a new MP and in hindsight I am sure there are lots of things lots of MPs would do differently. The system was inevitably going to fail."

He agreed last night to pay back the council tax fees.

The Telegraph said that his landlord in Dewsbury, local businessman Tahir Zaman, had told them: "He is definitely paying well under the market value rent" for the house. "I'm renting [out] the next-door [property]. It's half the size of his property. They pay me more rent than he's paying me."

Malik's case is likely to go in front of the Labour national executive committee on Tuesday, along with that of Elliot Morley.

Gordon Brown yesterday suspended the party whip from Morley, a former environment minister, for claiming £16,800 in mortgage interest payments for a mortgage that had already been paid off.

Morley yesterday met the chief whip, Nick Brown, to say he would stand down from the party and put his case in front of the parliamentary commissioner for standards.

Brown also sacked Morley as his climate change envoy. The chief whip said Morley's suspension did not impute guilt. Morley has apologised and blamed sloppy accounting.