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Politics : Impeach George W. Bush -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: steve harris who wrote (52821)	1/31/2006 7:47:37 AM
From: Proud_Infidel	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 93284

I have much less respect for these companies after this..... Tech firms skip D.C.-China shindig By Declan McCullagh Story last modified Mon Jan 30 17:20:00 PST 2006 Several technology companies may skip a Congressional meeting on human rights, China and the Internet. With less than two days left before the Congressional Human Rights Caucus' event, not one of the four companies--Microsoft, Google, Yahoo and Cisco--has agreed to send a representative, according to the caucus. "We're definitely not going to see somebody from Cisco and Microsoft," caucus spokeswoman Lynne Weil said Monday. "We're obviously hopeful, but with less than 48 hours to go before the event, it's hard to imagine why we wouldn't have heard back." The event comes a few days after Google opened a China-based censored version of its search engine. Google received reactions ranging from strident criticism to begrudging acceptance that censorship is the price of doing business with the Chinese Communist Party. According to the caucus' announcement, "instead of promoting freedom of speech and democracy, some U.S. companies have been charged with aiding--or at least complying with--Chinese Internet censorship." Cisco said it couldn't send an executive for scheduling reasons but will send someone to a related Feb. 15 hearing. Yahoo and Google also said they plan to send representatives at that time. Microsoft did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Because Wednesday's meeting is an informal event organized by a caucus, the companies cannot be compelled to testify. But the organizers of the Feb. 15 hearing under the auspices of the House International Relations Committee do have the authority to send subpoenas and could force the companies to send representatives. "We do have subpoena power," said Brad Dayspring, a subcommittee spokesman. "There has been no decision made whether to use that or not." The subcommittee's chairman, Rep. Chris Smith, a New Jersey Republican, raised eyebrows last week with his pointed attack on Google. He said in a statement that "Many Chinese have suffered imprisonment and torture in the service of truth--and now Google is collaborating with their persecutors." A Cisco representative said his company is happy to educate members of Congress about the company's products and that routers and other products sold to China were off-the-shelf. "We have offered to have our Cisco D.C. representatives speak with any member of the caucus or their staffs on this issue outside of the meeting," the representative said. "As Rep. (Tom Lantos, D-Calif., co-chairman of the caucus) is the ranking member on the House International Relations full committee, we will hopefully be able to address any of his questions at the subcommittee hearing on the 15th."

To: steve harris who wrote (52821)	1/31/2006 12:48:31 PM
From: sea_biscuit	Respond to of 93284

Dumbya's "cakewalk war" in Iraq has led to a glorious present : 01/31/06 News Limited: Iraqi police find 11 bodies 01/31/06 AP: Iraq's oil fields forecast to pump 1.57 million barrels of oil a day ... That was a 4.7 percent drop from 2004 or 1.48 million barrels a day. 01/31/06 Staff and agencies: Iraq says treating 12 possible human bird flu cases 01/31/06 Lee Enterprises: St. Helenan hurt by sniper fire in Iraq 01/31/06 Sydney Morning Herald: ambassador tried to kill US hunt for AWB bribes 01/31/06 Staff and agencies: Shi‘ites in Iraq mark Ashura amid tight security 01/31/06 DPA: Firefight kills four Iraqi soldiers in Buhriz 01/31/06 AFP: Iraq names acting oil minister as incumbent quits 01/31/06 Reuters: 14 bodies found around Baghdad 01/31/06 MOD: Explosion kills British soldier in Iraq (confirmed) 01/31/06 MOD: Lance Corporal Allan Douglas killed in Iraq 01/31/06 AFP: Gunmen kill mother, two infants 01/31/06 thespectrum: Injured 222nd soldier improving Spc. Rick J. McClary, a member of the Utah National Guard's 2nd Battalion, 222nd Field Artillery, 01/31/06 BBC: UK forces suffer 100th Iraq death 01/31/06 Kyodo: Japan to leave Iraq in May: reports 01/31/06 AP: N.C. Marine killed in Humvee accident in Iraq 01/30/06 9news: Local doctor sees destruction from IEDs 01/30/06 KRT: Nearly half of Iraqis support attacks on U.S. troops, poll finds 01/30/06 AP: Kidnapped U.S. journalist appears in new video 01/30/06 MOD: British soldier killed in Iraq (confirmed) 01/30/06 BBC: British soldier shot dead in Iraq 01/30/06 DoD Identifies Army Casualty Sgt. David L. Herrera, 26, of Oceanside, Calif., died in Baghdad, Iraq on Jan. 28, 01/30/06 DoD Identifies Army Casualty Pfc. Brian J. Schoff, 22, of Manchester, Tenn., 01/30/06 AP: Lawyer: Saddam to Boycott Next Session 01/30/06 AP: Two bodies found--construction worker killed 01/30/06 AP: Two militants killed in Ramadi 01/30/06 KUNA: Italian convoy attacked--one injured 01/30/06 KUNA: Three Iraqi soldiers killed in Kirkuk 01/30/06 Xinhuanet: Habaniyah military base mortared 01/30/06 Xinhuanet: Gunmen attack US soldiers' house in Fallujah 01/30/06 ANS: Soldiers arrest chief of Baghdad kidnapping cell 01/30/06 Reuters: Iraq health minister says dead teenager had bird flu