| mmaqglolxw | Date: Thursday, 28/11/2013, 13:04 | Post # 1 |
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A day after senators from his or her own party pummelled him, pressure on Attorney General Alberto Gonzales to resign kept coming, reports CBS News correspondent Jim Axelrod. Sen. Jeff Sessions of Alabama, a powerful ally of President Bush as well as a former U.S. Attorney, today created a statement saying Gonzales "should have a very frank discussion together with the White House. If he along with the president decide that he can't be an effective leader ... he then should resign." The Judiciary Committee's top Republican, Sen. Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania, stopped less than making that recommendation during yesterday's hearing; that call, he said, belongs to Gonzales and also the President. Gonzales and other administration officials had hoped his appearance Thursday would produce a groundswell of support among Republicans, but there was little if any evidence of that."The attorney general sets the standard of leadership for the Department of Justice along with the standard set by Mr. Gonzales bills . has been unacceptably low," said Sen. Tom Coburn (R-OK). "Leadership requires accountability and mistakes must have consequences. In this instance, the consequence should be the resignation of the attorney general."Axelrod claims that Republicans now notice the attorney general's hurt himself badly with his testimony — including 71 cases of not being able to recall key events in the U.S. Attorney firings — he may have no choice but to go out of. Gonzales gave no indication Friday that they was prepared to go anywhere."Please realize that as you continue your hard work, I am by your side," he told viewers of crime victims' rights supporters. He spoke in a gravely voice the day after his long day's testimony.Gonzales also called several GOP senators, including John Cornyn (R-Tex.) and Specter.White House spokeswoman Dana Perino said President Bush had spoken with Gonzales after Thursday's hearing, and she added, "The attorney general continues to have the president's full confidence."There was little other proof support for Gonzales, who's been struggling to explain last winter's firings of eight federal prosecutors.Sen. Sam Brownback, a Kansas Republican who sits on the committee, issued a statement that notably did not urge Gonzales to remain in the post."Although his answers suggested that there were serious managerial issues in the Department of Justice, I didnrrrt see a factual basis to call for his resignation. As for whether the attorney general should resign, that's a question I leave to him and the president," he was quoted saying.There were also fresh calls from Democrats for Gonzales to step down. "The president should restore credibility to the office of the attorney general. Alberto Gonzales must resign," said House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of California.Sen. Benjamin L. Cardin (D-MD), another an affiliate the Senate Judiciary Committee, said, "I have very little confidence in Attorney General Gonzales' ability to manage the Justice Department an in independent, non-political manner." Sen. Mel Martinez of Florida, who doubles because the general chairman of the Republican Party, had no immediate reaction to Gonzales' appearance.In several hours before the Judiciary Committee on Thursday, Gonzales said he'd done nothing improper in firing the eight prosecutors, but conceded true had been badly handled. Several Republicans made plain their unhappiness.Specter told Gonzales his description of events was "significantly or else totally at variance using the facts.""Why is your story changing?" Charles Grassley of Iowa asked at one point, citing differences between an early on explanation and the hearing testimony.Lindsey Graham of Sc, after hearing the attorney general's account of the case, said, "Most on this is a stretch," and added it did actually him that some of the people dismissed "just had personality conflicts with individuals in your office or perhaps the White House and (officials) just constructed reasons to fire them."At the White House on Friday, Perino lavished praise on Gonzales. "He did a fantastic job at the Department of Justice. He could be our No. 1 crime fighter. She has done so much to hold this country safe from terrorists. He has worked determinately to prevent predators from attacking our kids," she said."He worked as a chef — they have a fantastic record of fighting corruption in government maintaining true gang violence off our streets." ugg classic short boot
Syria and North Korea denied Tuesday they're cooperating on a Syrian nuclear program, plus they accused U.S. officials of spreading the allegations for political reasons -- with the idea to back Israel or to block progress on a deal between Washington and Pyongyang.A front-page editorial in the government newspaper Tishrin also was critical of america for failing to condemn a Sept. 6 Israeli incursion, that this called a violation of international law.Israel has clamped a good lid of military censorship over its air raid against Syria, but U.S. officials tell CBS News the strike destroyed a building Israeli intelligence believed housed nuclear equipment, which was launched three days after a North Korean ship docked with a Syrian port. U.S. officials the arrival of that ship triggered the strike up against the building which had been under surveillance by an Israeli satellite sent into orbit last June, reports CBS News national security correspondent David Martin.Syria has said only that warplanes entered its airspace, was the target of fire from anti-aircraft defenses, and dropped munitions and fuel tanks to lighten their loads since they fled.Andrew Semmel, acting deputy assistant secretary of state for nuclear nonproliferation policy, said Syria could possibly have had contacts with "secret suppliers" to get nuclear equipment. He did not identify the suppliers, but said North Koreans were in Syria anf the husband could not exclude involvement by the network run by the disgraced Pakistan nuclear scientist A.Q. Khan.Former CIA officer Bruce Riedel says the stakes couldn't have been higher, adds Martin."This was obviously a strike deep inside of Syria, a really audacious move at a time when Israel and Syria have had increasing war fevers. The Israelis have to have been going after an extremely sensitive and important target to adopt that kind of a risk," says Riedel.U.S. officials say they just don't know for sure what was in the building, but trust the Israelis that there are signs Syria is attempting to acquire a nuclear capability, adds Martin."I think to the Syrians, there's only one logical location to look, and that's North Korea. We know North Korea can establish nuclear weapons so that's the address you would visit," said Riedel. North Korea strongly denied it secretly helped Syria produce a nuclear program, maintaining the charge was fabricated by U.S. hard-liners to block progress in the North's relations with the United States.A Syrian Cabinet minister ridiculed the speculation about any cooperation with North Korea."All this rubbish isn't true. I don't know how their imagination has reached such creativity," Bouthaina Shaaban said."Regretfully, the international press is busy justifying an aggression on a sovereign state and the world needs to be busy condemning it rather than inventing reasons and aims of the aggression," he told Lebanon's Hezbollah TV station Al-Manar.North Korea recently opted for dismantle its program. Selling its equipment to Syria would fly in the face of U.S. warnings not to transfer nuclear technology. For Syria, a nuclear warhead atop a scud missile would function as an equalizer against Israel. Martin reports that U.S. officials don't believe Syria is close to having a nuclear weapon, and say the Israeli air strike was should have been a warning: Don't even think over it.In Vienna, officials for the International Atomic Energy Agency declined comment. But a diplomat linked to the agency said the IAEA "didn't know anything about any nuclear facility in Syria, and if there is something there, we ought to know." no previous page next 1/2 ugg sale boots
U.N. inspectors have verified that North Korea has de-activate its sole functioning nuclear reactor, the chief of the watchdog agency said Monday, confirming Pyongyang's 1st step to halt production of atomic weapons in nearly 5 years."Our inspectors are there. They verified the shutting down of the reactor yesterday," said Mohamed elbaradei, chief of the International Atomic Energy Agency."The process continues to be going quite well and now we have had good cooperation from North Korea. It's a good step in the right direction," ElBaradei said, speaking in Bangkok in advance of an event sponsored by Thailand's Secretary of state for Science.Earlier Monday, Mexico sent more oil to North Korea to reward its compliance with an international disarmament agreement.Unification Minister Lee Jae-joung said an extra shipment of oil departed Monday for your North on a South Korean ship. A primary shipment that arrived Saturday — prompting the North to follow through on its pledge to seal the reactor — has been completely offloaded, Lee said with a meeting with U.S. nuclear envoy Christopher Hill.The 2 shipments are part of 50,000 a lot of oil that the North get for the reactor shutdown. With a February agreement at international arms talks, Pyongyang get a total equivalent of 1 million tons of oil for dismantling its nuclear programs.The North had said that it power down the reactor, which generates plutonium for atomic bombs, on Saturday — the 1st on-the-ground achievement toward scaling back Pyongyang's nuclear ambitions considering that the international standoff began in late 2002.A 10-member team of IAEA inspectors arrived Saturday in North Korea to confirm the shutdown at Yongbyon.The North's Foreign Ministry said Sunday that further progress on disarmament would depend "on what practical measures the U.S. and Japan, in particular, will take to roll back their hostile policies toward" North Korea.The ministry noted North Korea acted to seal down its nuclear reactor could receiving all 50,000 a great deal of oil, adding that has been "a manifestation of its good faith for the agreement," as outlined by a statement carried by the state run Korean Central News Agency.Still, North Korea emphasized Sunday it did not view the oil as aid knowning that the U.N. inspectors' activities were restricted in scope."The provision of substitute energy including heavy oil is by no means 'aid' in the form of charity but compensation for that (North's) suspension of its nuclear facilities and the activities of the IAEA in (Yongbyon) are certainly not 'inspection' but limited to verification and monitoring," the ministry said.North Korea is placed to participate in a renewed session of arms talks immediately in Beijing, in addition to China, Japan, Russia, Mexico and the U.S.Hill, a U.S. assistant secretary of state, has stated the negotiations would focus on a "work plan and a timeframe" for how disarmament would proceed, adding he planned to satisfy his North Korean counterpart Tuesday ahead of the formal start of talks.A North Korean diplomat said Pyongyang was happy to discuss listing its nuclear programs in addition to disabling them provided that the U.S. removed all sanctions up against the communist nation.Hill said Monday during his meeting with Lee that Washington moving to get rid of the North's pariah status would depend on Pyongyang continuing to abide by its disarmament promises."With complete denuclearization, things are all going to be possible," Hill said.Hill states he believes the disablement from the North's nuclear facilities might be completed by the end of the year. mulberry neely
Striking Hollywood writers 're going back to work.The Writers Guild of the usa said its members voted Tuesday to end their devastating, three-month strike that brought the entertainment industry with a standstill.Writers is going to be back on the job Wednesday after voting in Beverly Hills and The big apple."At the end of the day, everybody won. It turned out a fair deal and one the companies can deal with, and it recognizes the large contribution that writers make to the industry," Leslie Moonves, top dog of CBS Corp., told The Associated Press. Moonves was one of the media executives who helped broker a deal after talks involving the guild and the Alliance of movement Picture and Television Producers, comprising studios, collapsed in acrimony in December. Photos: Entertaining A Strike CBS announced Wednesday morning that new instances of scripted shows will be back on the air in March, beginning with "How I Met Your Mother," "The Big Bang Theory," and "Two And A Half Men" on March 17.Residuals for Shows and movies distributed online was one of the most contentious issue in the bitter dispute concerning the 12,000-member union along with the world's largest media companies as well as other producers.Under the agreement, writers get a maximum flat fee of approximately $1,200 for streamed programs inside the deal's first two years and then get 2 percent of a distributor's gross in year three."These advances now provide us with a foothold from the digital age," said Patric Verrone, president of the West Coast guild. "Rather than being inwardly smile at of the future of articles and delivery, writers may lead the way as television migrates to the Internet."One winner in the vote was the Oscars that can now be staged on Feb. 24 devoid of the threat of pickets or a boycott by actors that would have dulled the glamour of Hollywood's signature celebration.The strike's end will permit many hit series to go back this spring for what's left of the current season, airing from four to seven new episodes. Shows with marginal audience numbers might not return until fall or may be canceled."It will be all face to face deck for the writing staff," said Chris Mundy, co-executive producer of CBS' drama "Criminal Minds." He hopes to get a couple of scripts within the pipeline right away, approximately seven episodes airing by eliminate May.The combined New York-Beverly Hills count was overwhelmingly in favor of ending the strike: 3,492 voted yes, with 283 voting to stay off the job.Writers didn't vote on the tentative contract agreement that already has won approval from the union's board of directors.The guild will mail contract ratification ballots to members within the next few days. Writers may also vote at meetings. All ballots has to be cast by Feb. 25.The walkout stopped work with dozens of TV shows, disrupted movie production and turned the usually star-studded Golden Globes show in a news conference.The strike also dealt a severe financial blow into a wide range of businesses determined by work from studios.The strike took a $3.2 billion toll in indirect and direct costs on the economy of Chicago County, the home of almost all of the nation's TV and film production, according to a new estimate from Jack Kyser, chief economist for that Los Angeles Economic Development Corp.The last writers strike, a 153-day walkout in 1988, caused an estimated $500 million in lost pay.Members of the guild gathered Saturday in Chicago and New York to get details of the proposed agreement. The meetings were arranged after having a Feb. 1 breakthrough by union negotiators and studio executives.The strike began on Nov. 5, but formal negotiations broke on Dec. 7 following the guild pushed to unionize writers on reality and animated productions.Informal talks began on Jan. 23 between studio heads and also the union, which extended an olive branch by withdrawing its proposal to prepare reality and animated shows. It also decided against picketing the Grammy Awards.Pressure to achieve an agreement mounted following the studio alliance reached a tentative contract deal on Jan. 17 with all the Directors Guild of America.On the list of executives who took control in breaking the impasse were Peter Chernin, chief operating officer of News Corp., and Robert Iger. chief executive of The Walt Disney Co."A union in the United States of America stood as much as corporate America and said 'We're not gonna take this anymore," documentary filmmaker Michael Moore told Early Show on Monday. "I wouldn't have thought it could be the writers." ugg kensington biker boot
A heat wave sizzling throughout the West showed little indication of letting up Thursday, with Vegas forecast to tie an archive high and even northern Idaho expected to top 100 degrees.Phoenix likes its 12th year of below record rainfall. Just like the rest of the Southwest and elements of the Southeast, it's in the middle of an extreme drought, reports CBS News Correspondent Sandra Hughes.Near-record highs were also forecast for Socal, where the mercury was likely to top 115 within the desert. Los Angeles is on the right track to record the driest Yr since records began in 1877."I'm in the camp that thinks climatic change is definitely affecting the worldwide climate because we percieve the increase in hurricanes, we have seen the increase in flooding," says CBS Station KPHO chief meteorologist Sean McLaughlin.A higher of 101 was forecast Thursday in Spokane, Wash., and nearby Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, which will exceed the record of 100 placed in 1975."Today, we're expected 116 degrees officially. We might go near and even over 117 degrees, our all-time record high," Larry Jenson, a meteorologist together with the National Weather Service in Las Vegas, told CBS Radio News' Phyllis McQuillan. "Turn your oven on to about 120 degrees, and when it warms up, just open the door, and that's what it feels like."Firefighters in Tempe, Ariz. learn how to deal with the heat, says Senior Fire Inspector Mike Reichling, and continue to help others achieve this, too."We really make an effort to educate our public about what they need to do as much as hydration, wearing the correct clothing, wearing a hat, doing all of the things early ahead of the event to where they can survive and be healthy of these times," Reichling said on CBS News' Earlier Show . "We drink a lot of water, we wear dark colors, because dark colors absorb the warmth and keep us cooler."Friday's forecast didn't hold much relief from the nearly weeklong heat wave, either."By some time we get into Friday, it appears as if it will cool down, and that i do use that loosely. We're only looking at 113 degrees on Friday," Jenson said.Relief will have to wait until the weekend, he said."We'll still be above normal, but a minimum of not near our all-time record temperatures any further," Jenson said.In California, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger ordered the opening of state cooling centers in 13 counties, along with the operator of the statewide power grid ask Californians to try to conserve energy in order to avoid brownouts.Tempe's firefighters ride around the city, raising the public."We have a tool called the 'Sea Breeze,' that actually puts out an atomized mist of ice-cold air that could drop your body temperature four degrees, and that will assist your body in lowering your temperature on track ranges," medical transport coordinator and firefighter John Valenzuela told Early Show co-anchor Harry Smith.Across the Southwest and Southeast, extreme drought conditions have fed fires such as the Neola blaze that has already burned 62 square miles near Salt Lake City and killed three people, reports Hughes. Officials now say it may burn all summer. Three firefighters suffered heat exhaustion while battling a 700-acre wildfire that started Wednesday northwest of Santa Barbara, said Santa Barbara County Fire Capt. Craig Vanderzwaag.In Vegas, hospital emergency rooms are reporting increased cases of heat exhaustion, reports Hughes. Moisture levels in some of the largest logs east in the Cascade Range have dropped to what typically is seen within the hottest days of August, U.S. Forest Service officials said."We're headed toward a lengthy, hard fire season, operate looks. The public should be prepared for it," said Steve Rawlings, fire management officer to the Colville National Forest in Washington. "We've slid into fire season without people building a big issue about it." Across the country, officials just this week declared the whole state of Alabama a drought disaster area. "With the drought taking place the way that it is, we encourage that you stay away from any brush, forest areas, things of that nature," said C.W. Mardis from the Birmingham Fire Department. mulberry bayswater sale
Congress is looking into the collection boxes of a number of the nation's best-known televangelists. Their tax-exempt ministries take in millions and today Iowa Sen. Charles Grassley, the top Republican on the Senate Finance Committee, is asking whether these churches are actually non-profits. Georgia megachurch pastor Creflo Dollar is one of the televangelists who was asked to provide financial information."We have zero problems complying to some valid request," Dollar told CBS News' Early Show co-anchor Julie Chen.But he questioned whether or not it was appropriate for the Senate Finance Committee "to turn into a tax examiner and to get involved in the information of private, nonprofit organizations in the event the IRS has already been assigned that responsibility."Asked about some specific assertions by Grassley, Dollar denied that two Rolls-Royces were purchased by the church for him and the wife. "That's not true. For starters, we don't have two Rolls-Royces," he said. "And secondly, the one Rolls-Royce that was purchased was purchased by the donors, or perhaps the members of the church, also it was a surprise to me. I had no idea they were performing it."Dollar also responded to claims that he tried to raise $1 million using their company ministries to give to fellow evangelists Kenneth and Gloria Copeland to celebrate their anniversary, which his ministry gave over 500,000 dollars."Also not true," Dollar said. "We didn't give Kenneth $500,000, and that we didn't take it from our church. We sent letters to be able to ministers around the country inviting them to share in honoring Kenneth Copeland's 40th anniversary. It is really an opportunity for people to do whatever they believe, and unless we completely got rid of the First Amendment, that's our possibility to believe that we can sow in to a man of God's life, certainly be a blessing to him and celebrate his 40 years of service in the ministry."Asked whether you'll find televangelists who abuse the faith of believers and misuse church funds, Dollar said, "There are a couple of bad apples out there. But we've got to make sure that in our fear to attempt to locate those poor examples that we don't put everybody in this same bucket and automatically assume for that fear that everybody is the same."Others under scrutiny include Copeland, faith healer Benny Hinn the other of the nation's most widely known female preachers, Joyce Meyer. Grassley sent letters to a half-dozen Christian media ministries the 2009 week requesting answers by Dec. 6 about their expenses, executive compensation and amenities, including use of fancy cars and private jets.In a statement, Grassley said he was performing on complaints from the public and news coverage of the organizations."The allegations involve governing boards that are not independent and allow generous salaries and housing allowances and amenities such as private jets and Rolls-Royces," Grassley said."I don't wish to conclude that there's a problem, however have an obligation to donors along with the taxpayers to find out more. Individuals who donated should have their funds spent as intended plus adherence with the tax code."Those ministries that responded Tuesday either said these were cooperating or committed to financial transparency and following the law.The investigation promises to shine new light about the kind of TV ministries which are crippled by sex and funds scandals in the 1980s. Experts also say it stands out as an unusual case in the government probing the inner workings of religious organizations.The majority of those under investigation preach a variation of the "prosperity gospel," the teaching that God will shower faithful followers with material riches. mulberry antony messenger
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