'Real ID' national ID-card scheme may be defunct; House votes to override Bush veto of water bill...

6 November :: Privacy advocates say Real ID —a Homeland Security plan to force all US citizens to carry uniform biometric ID cards— may be finished, as DHS official reportedly indicated to officials from several states their citizens will not be penalized for the states' rejecting Real ID; 17 states have passed legislation opposing the nationalization of ID documents, concerned a centralized database would pose an unprecedented threat to privacy... State Dept. envoy Sung Kim says North Korea dismantling of nuclear facilities is "off to a good start", adding "this phase of disablement" may be complete by New Year... The US House has voted 361-54 to override a veto by Pres. Bush of its water bill, aimed at coastal restoration, transport and flood-control projects, with prominent Republicans saying "The next crisis we're facing in this country is our water...This bill is right. Let's override the president. Let's do something for America" and that the bill was "long overdue"... Resolution to impeach VP Cheney put on hold in House of Representatives; presidential candidate Dennis Kucinich (D-OH) proposed the resolution, and Republicans sought to bring it directly to a vote to serve Kucinich a rapid defeat, while Democratic leaders referred to the resolution to the judiciary committee, where it is expected not to be brought to a vote... Yahoo! executives face House foreign affairs committee hearing, accused of providing false information to Congress, aiding Chinese gov't jailing of reporter; China ranks in bottom 10 nations worldwide for press freedom, according to Reporters without Borders... Software to be produced by Google's Open Handset Alliance, through the Linux-based 'Android' platform, expected to be "everything you need to run a phone", meaning handset manufacturers will be forced to choose between the open platform and proprietary OS that let them limit adaptability... Alibaba.com raises $1.5 billion in IPO, leaving it with $25.7 billion in market value, after one day of trading, according to the IHT; the site is China's biggest eCommerce business, may herald new boom in Asian internet ventures...

US Senate subcommittee approves emissions cap bill; London police found guilty in shooting death of innocent man in 2005...

3 November :: Senate subcommittee approves America's Climate Security Act, legislation aimed at capping greenhouse gas emissions, now to be voted by full Environment and Public Works committee; bill touted as milestone in US climate policy; Sen. Lieberman has said it is the "Manhattan Project" for climate change that activists have long called for, bill also supported by senators from coal-rich states... London police as a group have been found guilty in the shooting death of innocent Brazilian immigrant on London Tube in 2005; no individuals have been singled out, and punishment beyond fine has been imposed... Antiwar activist faces jury trial for raising hands in "peace sign" during Congressional hearing, in which secretary of State Condoleezza Rice testified, was confronted by another activist... Mukasey nomination facing stiff opposition, even as two key Democrats express support; Pres. Bush has defended the retired judge, along with his refusal to qualify simulated drowning as a form of torture... CSM reports 13 majority-Sunni Muslim nations have declared their ambition to gain nuclear energy, just this year, likely as response to Shi'a-dominated Iran's high-profile nuclear pursuits, which some fear are weapons program in disguise... Minuteman anti-immigrant group, which includes armed militia in border states, spreading to interior states amid lack of legislation to reform immigration process; critics call group dangerous vigilante operation, while Minutemen say they are only trying to ensure that less people "break the law" by entering without papers... Reuters reporting "A federal judge on Friday approved subpoenas for Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and White House national security adviser Stephen Hadley in the case of two former pro-Israel lobbyists accused of disclosing national defense information"... Habitat for Humanity project in Los Angeles aims to build environmentally-friendly homes, as demand for low-emissions, fuel-efficient housing models on rise...

China to spend $14 bn to clean up toxic lake; FEMA apologizes for sham press briefing...

27 October :: China plans to spend $14.4 billion to clean up Lake Tai, 3rd largest fresh-water lake in country, affected by direct toxic dumping, rampant algal bloom that cut off drinking water to Wuxi, a city of 2.3 million; according to IHT "Lake Tai, known as China's ancient "land of rice and fish," is a legendary setting, once famous for its bounty of white shrimp, whitebait and whitefish. But over time, an industrial buildup transformed the region. More than 2,800 chemical factories arose around the lake, and industrial dumping became a severe problem and, eventually, a crisis"... FEMA has apologized for staging a sham press conference; the Federal Emergency Management Agency gave reporters from around the country only 15 minutes' notice to attend, then had its own public affairs personnel pose questions... DR Congo, US leaders meet to discuss the humanitarian, security situation, as well as economic policies, political viability; fighting in far east of sub-Saharan nation of major concern, rebels say they are fighting to protect the population from outsiders who fled Rwanda after their campaign of genocide there was ended... Georgia Supreme Court orders 21-year-old man freed who was sentenced to 10 years in prison for having consensual oral sex at 17 with 15-year-old, saying the extreme sentence violated Constitutional protection against "cruel and unusual punishment"; court found the sentence "grossly disproportionate", that the activity considered criminal by then state law "did not rise to the level of culpability of adults who prey on children"... CNN reports "An eastern Kentucky school district with one confirmed case of antibiotic-resistant staph infection plans to shut down all 23 of its schools Monday, affecting about 10,300 students, to disinfect the facilities"; drug resistant bacterium suspected of infecting 90,000 Americans per year...

GAO finds terrorist watch list may target too many people; St. Bernard breed may prove Darwin's evolution; oil over $92/barrel...

26 October :: Report from Government Accountability Office (GAO) finds terrorist watch list may be targetting too many people to be effective, including 755,000 names as of May 2007, 860,000 at present; critics of the list say it threatens civil liberties, contravenes Constitutional protections; Sen. Lieberman has expressed concern about its "500 percent increase in three years", Justice Dept. inspector-general's report questions quality of data used... Scientists say study of St. Bernard skulls over 120 year period show selection in dog breeding demonstrates Darwin's theory of evolution; in case of dog breeds, human selection accelerates the process of natural selection, which would likely take longer to show evidence... US announces stiffest sanctions regime against Iran in nearly 3 decades, targeting three state banks, declaring elite Revolutionary Guard "proliferators of weapons of mass destruction" for efforts to enrich uranium, making it a crime for any US citizen to do business with any of the cited entities; Russia has already denounced the new sanctions, some fear move could be provocation, further escalate tensions; US sec. of State Condoleezza Rice said in announcing the sanctions that the US is still fully committed to a diplomatic solution... Financial firm Merrill Lynch has added $2.9 billion to its already massive write-down of losses, now totalling $7.9 billion for this quarter; the firm's revenues fell 94% against this time last year, and spokesman says firm still faces some exposure from sub-prime related accounts... Oil hits record high $92.22 in trading Friday, as falling dollar, mounting violence in Iraq, tension between Turkey, Kurds, dwindling US supplies, Iran sanctions provoke fears of further scarcity; OPEC says it has no plans to increase production at next meeting...

Senate wiretap bill to grant retroactive telecom immunity; Blackwater accused to taking Iraqi military aircraft...

20 October :: US Senate crafts 'compromise' wiretapping bill that grants telecoms immunity from prosecution for illegally handing customer information to NSA; deal was made after intel. committee chair Sen. Rockefeller (D-WV), obtained the secret documents debating, justifying and authorizing the warrantless wiretapping program which spied on American citizens; White House has said it will not allow House intel. committee or House or Senate judiciary committees to see the documents —which may technically illustrate a conspiracy to violate US law— unless immunity is granted retroactively to telecoms... Unnamed Iraqi official reportedly told Congress Blackwater tried to take two Iraqi military aircraft out of Iraq, then refused to return them, US Congressman Henry Waxman is demanding answers, has ordered the company to turn over "a sweeping amount of information about Blackwater's business, including its contracts with the federal government, profits made since the company was founded a decade ago, Prince's personal earnings since 2001, and details about the payments to the families of Iraqis killed by Blackwater personnel", according to IHT... 8 reported killed in bombing of Makati shopping mall, in Manila, Philippines; Pres. Arroyo said police and military were on "highest alert", she was putting 2,000 more security personnel on duty to raise preparedness, warned "those who seek to destabilize our government not to exploit this incident for their selfish political motives"... French pres. Sarkozy and UK PM Brown say they would back Tony Blair as first to fill the new office of EU president, if the new treaty is ratified by all 27 member states; the office would come into being in 2009 and would have a base term of 30 months, with a possible extension to 5 years; EU presidency currently rotates among member states every 6 months, held by top elected official... US House fails to override presidential veto of children's healthcare funding...

House panel rejects immunity for telecoms in domestic spying; China's richest person is 26-year-old heiress, worth $16 billion...

10 October :: US House panel rejects White-House-proposed corporate immunity amendment to eavesdropping legislation; amendment would have retroactively shielded telecoms from penalties for illegally cooperating in the secret NSA domestic spying operation from 2001 through this summer; Pres. Bush warned blocking the retroactive amendment would "take us backward", while Democratic leaders said they were driven to protect "our precious rights and liberties" against impunity in violating Constitutional protections... 9 Republican contenders of US presidency answered questions in debate, giving positions on possible war with Iran, economic relations, ideological differences with "Communist China"; 8 of the 9 candidates said they believed a Dubai company should be allowed to buy a 20% stake in NASDAQ; each of the polling 'frontrunners' said they would consult Congress before any military action against Iran... Richest person in China is 26-year-old heiress to developer's fortune, her fortune now worth $16 billion, after company's Hong Kong IPO; in 2005, "rags-to-riches" father gave her his stake in the company he founded; Yang Huiyan is one of 40 dollar-billionaires in China, compared with just 15 one year ago; rapidly widening gap between super-rich and abject poor said to be of concern to authorities in Beijing, who consider it a threat to "social stability"... Federal judge blocks administration crackdown on undocumented workers; ACLU, AFL-CIO brought suit alleging the "no-match" program that cross-referenced documents with a gov't database was rife with errors, violated civil liberties of legal workers; Judge Charles Breyer wrote in his opinion "The balance of hardships tips sharply in plaintiffs' favor and plaintiffs have raised serious questions", while a spokeswoman for the AFL-CIO said the program was "targeting workers rights generally"... Global carbon footprint passes 25 billion tons, as news of record ice-melt in Arctic, "autumnless autumn" in parts of US, suggest climate irregularities accelerating...

'Brain-eating' amoeba found in Tucson water, chlorination should help; Musharraf regime wins 5 more years, Court may invalidate vote...

7 August :: Brain-eating amoeba found throughout Tucson, AZ, water supply, authorities say no need to worry, as chlorination kills parasite; at least 6 young men and boys have been killed by the Naegleria fowleri amoeba this year in warm lakes, according to NIH researcher for recreational water-born diseases; scientists say rising temperatures may mean more cases in coming years... Musharraf wins Pakistan vote in 'landslide' denounced by opposition as "sham" election; more than 150 ministers quit seats in protest before vote, Supreme Court to decide whether Musharraf military leadership invalidates presidential vote... LA Times reports "The State Department, which is facing growing criticism of its policy on private security contractors, overlooked repeated warnings from U.S. diplomats in the field that guards were endangering Iraqi civilians and undermining U.S. efforts to win support from the population, according to current and former U.S. officials"... Iraqi officials have revised to 17 the number of deaths from the September shooting involving Blackwater; originally, it was suspected 11 were killed; the Iraqi gov't also says those alleged to be involved were not fired upon... Reports suggest US troops in Iraq have been persecuted, threatened for resisting participating in Christian religious prayer, or for forming atheist and agnostic support group; Military Religious Freedom Foundation, along with one soldier, filed suit on 17 September against Defense Dept., alleging violation of soldier's civil rights, including being forced to submit to a "religious test" to qualify to serve... Individual internet user Jammie Thomas ordered to pay $220,000 in fines for allegedly making 24 songs available for sharing online; lawyer says record companies never proved who uploaded music into folder assigned to Thomas on Kazaa music service; Thomas earns only $36,000 per year, may have 1/4 of her wages taken for the rest of her life to pay record companies...