Nuclear-powered drone aircraft on drawing board
The US Air Force is examining the feasibility of a nuclear-powered version of an unmanned aircraft. The USAF hopes that such a vehicle will be able to "loiter" in the air for months without refueling, striking at will when a target comes into its sights. The idea is bound to raise serious concerns about the wisdom of flying radioactive material in a combat aircraft. This is beside the political impact that having Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV) almost constantly flying over a region would amount to a new form of military intimidation, especially if they were armed. UAV’s, because they do not put pilot’s lives at risk, are now the norm for many reconnaissance and even attack missions. Last week, the Pentagon allocated $1 billion for its 2004 budget for development of both armed and unarmed UAV’s. (New Scientist)

LA council adopts anti-war resolution
With the gallery packed with peace advocates, the Los Angeles City Council passed a resolution Feb. 21 opposing unilateral action against Iraq and urging president Bush to employ all diplomatic options to deal with the crisis. LA became the country’s largest city to oppose such a war, joining more than 100 other cities and counties, including Chicago, Philadelphia, and Detroit. Council members opposed to the measure feel it is not their business to take such a stand and feel they are loosing focus of what they are elected to do — a common "explanation" other city councils give to validate their refusal to consider such anti-war declarations. (NY Times)

LA high school’s students stage anti-war protest
About 250 high school students walked out of class Fri. to protest a possible war with Iraq. The students, from Downtown Magnets High School, marched about three miles to City Hall where the City council had just approved a resolution against the possible war. The protest was peaceful with no arrests, accompanied by school staff and police to ensure their safety. The assistant principal said the school needs to provide better forums for student to express their beliefs. "We don’t feel that leaving class and disrupting school is the appropriate way to address their concerns," he said. (AP)

Gov. Jeb Bush’s privatization of appeals process criticized
A state agency in Florida has become one of the most successful death-row defense services in the nation, working to overturn improper death sentences and, ideally, prevent the execution of innocent individuals. Yet it would be shut down in Gov. Jeb Bush’s proposed state budget that seeks to speed up executions by privatizing the capital-appeals process — moving the primary responsibility for death-row appeals to private-sector lawyers rather than lawyers working as state employees. While proponents say this measure could save the state $3.8 million a year while preventing excessive delays in the appeals process, critics say it will undermine justice by shortening the time a death-row inmate has to appeal a sentence and that there is no proof private lawyers, who are unfamiliar with the death-row appeals process, will be any speedier that state employed ones. (Christian Science Monitor)

Supreme Court urged to review ruling on gov’t spying
In an unprecedented legal move, a coalition of civil liberties and Arab-American groups urged the US Supreme Court to review an extraordinary decision by a secret appeals court that broadly expanded the government’s powers to spy on US citizens. The case offers the first opportunity for the Justices to consider government actions in the wake of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks that severely restrict civil liberties in the name of national security; in this case, the compromising of the Fourth Amendment of the Constitution on unreasonable search and seizure. The ACLU, the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, the Arab-American Anti-Discrimination Committee, and the Arab Community Center for Economic and Social Services have filed an appeal — which has focused a spotlight on the ultra-secret Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (FISC) — that questions the constitutionality of the USA PATRIOT Act to permit the government to use looser foreign intelligence standards to conduct surveillance on criminal investigations in the US and the constitutionality of the act that created the FISC itself. (ACLU)

VT Supreme Court rules in favor of driver in case against cops
A police officer must have a reasonable basis to believe that safety is at stake or a crime has been committed before ordering a driver out of a stopped vehicle, the Vermont Supreme Court ruled Friday. At issue is the way police obtained their evidence in the drug case against Jonathan Sprague, who was arrested on drug charges after he was asked to step out of his car while receiving a simple ticket for speeding. The court ruled Sprague was the victim of illegal search and seizure and that "the subsequent ‘consents’ to the search of his person, car, and home were tainted and ineffective" and that "Vermonters should be assured that when they are stopped for speeding the consequence is a ticket and a fine, not a license for law enforcement to exploit a temporary advantage." (AP)

Health research being politicized, critics charge
Advocates for women’s health charge that abortion politics, not science, is behind a conference this week at the National Cancer Institute that will consider whether women who terminate a pregnancy also face higher risks of breast cancer. Critics say the conference is the latest case of the Bush administration’s skewing the nation’s medical research agenda to please its conservative allies. Some scientists theorize that breast cells, which multiply during pregnancy, might become vulnerable to cancer if the hormones associated with late pregnancy do not arrive — claims that have been used by anti-abortion groups in seeking legislation to warn women seeking abortions of these "risks." Many experts say that fear was assuaged by a major Danish study, considered highly reliable because of the number of women covered — 1.5 million — and it’s basis on medical records rather than women’s personal recollection, that found no links between abortion and breast cancer. Partly because of the study, the American Cancer Society says it sees no link between abortion and breast cancer, warning that "the public is not well-served by false alarms." A spokesperson denied charges that the conference has ties with anti-abortion groups. (Los Angeles Times)

ACLU calls for investigation into police surveillance
Prompted by the recent disclosure by city officials in Providence that wiretapping equipment has been installed at the city’s year-old public safety complex, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Rhode Island said it is calling on police officials to investigate whether officers have engaged in illegal surveillance of political activists or opponents over the years. While emphasizing that there was no direct evidence that illegal surveillance of any groups took place under previous administrations, the executive director of the ACLU of Rhode Island said that in light of past scandals, "It would be foolhardy to ignore the possibility that Providence police have engaged in this kind of illegal surveillance." (ACLU)

Greek professor detained, questioned if "anti-American"
Eugene Angelopoulos, professor at the National Technical University of Athens was invited to speak at a Philosophy and Politics conference at New York University last week. Upon his arrival at JFK airport, he was detained, shackled, and asked if he is anti-American and whether he opposed the war against Iraq. He agreed to a second FBI interview on neutral ground at NYU but refused to meet with FBI operatives at their NY field office.
"Today the leading democracy of the world is the United States. Contradiction is inherent to democracy and every time, one term of the contradiction prevails…It is good to know that America has many choices and voices, and not only the one of her president. Hope is not dead, and I am sure this conference will help keep hope alive," said the professor. (Democracy Now)

GOP threats halted GAO Cheney suit
Threats by Republicans to cut the General Accounting Office (GAO) budget influenced its decision to abandon a lawsuit against Vice President Cheney. Sources familiar with high-level decisions at the GAO said Sen. Stevens, chairman of the Appropriations Committee, met with GAO Comptroller General David Walker earlier this year and pressured him to drop the suit or face cuts in his $440 million budget. Walker acknowledged meeting with Stevens but denied the threats, saying they were made some time ago by a lawmaker "not in a position to deliver on them." The controversy with Cheney came to a head in Dec. after a US District Court Judge, citing separation of powers, ruled that Walker lacked sufficient grounds to compel Cheney to disclose the records of a closed-to-the-public White House energy task force he headed. The decision to drop the lawsuit has raised concerns that Congress’s all-purpose auditor has sacrificed its traditional role as an independent arm of Congress. (The Hill)

GAO: Justice Dept. inflated terror cases
In the year after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, federal prosecutors exaggerated their success convicting would-be terrorists by wrongly classifying three of every four cases originally labeled as international terrorism, congressional investigators said this week. The GAO concluded that the Justice Department "does not have sufficient management oversight and internal controls in place to ensure the accuracy and reliability of terrorism-related conviction statistics included in its annual performance reports." The inaccuracies hampered "Congress’s ability to accurately assess terrorism-related performance outcomes of the US criminal justice system" — information needed for Congress to make decisions on federal law enforcement budget requests — the GAO said in its report. The Sept. 11 attacks reshaped law enforcement’s mission as federal officials from Attorney General Ashcroft to the FBI declared that preventing future attacks would be a priority for the Justice Dept. and would require millions more federal dollars. (AP)

Army train vandalized in FL
Military authorities, police, and the Department of Defense are investigating the theft, vandalism, and arson overnight on a CSX train carrying support equipment for the Army’s 101st Airborne Division. Military vehicles and personal items belonging to Army soldiers were damaged on the train, which had stopped downtown about 4 a.m. while it waited for clearance to enter Blount Island, said Susan Wiles, a CSX spokesperson. Equipment belonging to the 101st Airborne is being sent to Blount Island where it is being loaded on military transport going to the Middle East. The train was carrying a variety of equipment, including Humvees, jeeps and other transport vehicles being shipped from the 101st Airborne’s home base at Fort Campbell, Ky. Among items that have been taken from the vehicles were tools, batteries, gas cans, boots, clothing, reading materials, and meal packs. Some stolen items were thrown on the tracks and set on fire. The FBI was called to the scene, saying it appears to be a crime of opportunity rather than a terrorist act and his agency was called only as a precautionary measure. The Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office has taken over the case but has no suspects at this time. (Florida Times-Union)

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