What they don’t want you to know can hurt you:

…deep within the turgid pages of the Federal Register, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration published a regulation that would forbid the public release of some data relating to unsafe motor vehicles, saying that publicizing the information would cause “substantial competitive harm” to manufacturers. As soon as the rule was published, consumer groups yelped in complaint, while the government responded that it was trying to balance the interests of consumers with the competitive needs of business. But hardly anyone else noticed, and that was hardly an isolated case. Allies and critics of the Bush administration agree that the Sept. 11 attacks, the war in Afghanistan and the war in Iraq have preoccupied the public, overshadowing an important element of the president’s agenda: new regulatory initiatives. Health rules, environmental regulations, energy initiatives, worker-safety standards and product-safety disclosure policies have been modified in ways that often please business and industry leaders while dismaying interest groups representing consumers, workers, drivers, medical patients, the elderly and many others. And most of it was done through regulation, not law – lowering the profile of the actions.

Count me among those shocked, just shocked:

Since 2001, President Bush’s tax cuts have shifted federal tax payments from the richest Americans to a wide swath of middle-class families, the Congressional Budget Office has found, a conclusion likely to roil the presidential election campaign. The CBO study, due to be released today, found that the wealthiest 20 percent, whose incomes averaged $182,700 in 2001, saw their share of federal taxes drop from 64.4 percent of total tax payments in 2001 to 63.5 percent this year. The top 1 percent, earning $1.1 million, saw their share fall to 20.1 percent of the total, from 22.2 percent. Over that same period, taxpayers with incomes from around $51,500 to around $75,600 saw their share of federal tax payments increase. Households earning around $75,600 saw their tax burden jump the most, from 18.7 percent of all taxes to 19.5 percent.

Michael Moore offers Porter Goss some rope with which to hang himself:

“I couldn’t get a job with CIA today. I am not qualified,” the Florida Republican told documentary-maker Michael Moore’s production company during the filming of the anti-Bush movie “Fahrenheit 9/11.” A day after Bush picked Goss for the top U.S. spy job, Moore on Wednesday released an excerpt from a March 3 interview in which the 65-year-old former House of Representatives intelligence chief recounts his lack of qualifications for employment as a modern CIA staffer. “I don’t have the language skills. I, you know, my language skills were romance languages and stuff. We’re looking for Arabists today. I don’t have the cultural background probably,” Goss is quoted in an interview transcript. “And I certainly don’t have the technical skills, uh, as my children remind me every day: ‘Dad you got to get better on your computer.’ Uh, so, the things that you need to have, I don’t have.”

Via Alek, who suggests that this is “up your Noel Coward-esque alley.”

Residents of the Hill in New Haven, organized in to the newly-formed CORD (Communities Organized for Responsible Development), call for a meeting with Joe Zaccagnino:

Donned in white T-shirts with a brown logo, members of the new
grass-roots Community Organized for Responsible Development announced CORD’s
formation and requested a meeting with Yale-New Haven Hospital President and
CEO Joseph A. Zaccagnino. CORD gathered outside Yale’s Grace building at 25 Park St. to unveil its agenda: Negotiating community benefits agreements when development projects are planned throughout the city. “We believe the hospital has a great opportunity to model a partnership with
the community,” said the Rev. Scott Marks, lead organizer for CORD and New Haven director of the Connecticut Center for a New Economy. “We can no longer allow development to happen across the city and we’re not at the table,” he said of the unionized workers, residents, elected officials and clergy who form CORD’s membership. “Who knows better than the community about what we need?” said Ted Gardner, who recruited CORD members from Dixwell, East Rock and Newhallville…CORD’s letter to Zaccagnino asks for a meeting to discuss a community benefits agreement.

New Jersey Governor Jim McGreevey announces his resignation:

“My truth is, I am a gay American,” Mr. McGreevey said in a short speech that was televised live from Trenton. “I engaged in an adult consensual affair with another man,” he said, adding that “it was wrong, it was foolish, it was inexcusable” and that it violated the bonds of his marriage. Mr. McGreevey said he was making the intensely personal announcement that he is gay known for the first time in a public statement because he feared that keeping silent would open up the governor’s office to rumors, accusations and threats. “So I am removing these threats by telling you directly about my sexuality,” he said. “I have decided the right course of action is to resign,” he said, adding that his resignation would be effective on Nov. 15.

When Mr. McGreevey, whose four-year term expires in January 2006, steps down this November, the law calls for the president of the State Senate, Richard J. Codey, to fill in as governor. Mr. McGreevey, however, did more than just hand off the office he held for two and a half years. He put together an exit strategy that will allow Mr. Codey to serve as governor until 2006, and run as an incumbent in November 2005, should he choose to do so. Had Mr. McGreevey stepped down immediately, Mr. Codey would have been able to serve only until a special election could be held in November.

Human Rights Watch releases a new report on the intensifying violence in Darfur:

The Sudanese government’s pledges of progress in Darfur show little credibility as civilians face further atrocities amid growing insecurity in the region, Human Rights Watch said in a report released today. Instead of disarming the government-backed militias known as the Janjaweed, Khartoum has begun to incorporate them into police and other security forces that could be used to secure proposed “safe areas” for displaced civilians. The 35-page report, “Empty Promises: Continuing Abuses in Darfur, Sudan,” documents how the Sudanese armed forces and the government-backed Janjaweed militias continue to target civilians and their livestock in villages in rural areas and in the towns and camps under government control. The report also analyzes Sudanese government pledges to rein in the militias, end impunity and restore security in Darfur. “The Sudanese government insists that it is taking significant measures, but the continuing atrocities in Darfur prove that Khartoum’s claims simply aren’t credible,” said Peter Takirambudde, executive director for Human Rights Watch’s Africa Division. “If the government were serious about wanting to protect civilians, it would welcome a greater international presence.”

Increasing the international presence on the ground is urgently needed to improve protection of civilians, seriously assess the government’s actions and stabilize the region. The African Union, which has a small ceasefire monitoring force in place in Darfur, has announced plans to expand the mission from 300 to more than 2,000 troops, and give it a mandate to protect civilians as well as safeguard AU ceasefire monitors. However, the Sudanese government on Sunday rejected this proposal. In spite of an April ceasefire agreement, fighting continues between government forces with their allied Janjaweed militias and the two rebel groups in Darfur—the Sudan Liberation Army/Movement (SLA/M) and the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM). In many rural areas and small towns in Darfur, government forces and the Janjaweed militias continue to routinely rape and assault women and girls when they leave the periphery of the camps and towns. In one such attack documented by Human Rights Watch in July, a group of women and girls were stopped at a Janjaweed militia checkpoint in West Darfur. Militia members told them that “the country belonged to the Arabs now and, as they were there without permission, they would be punished.” All of the women were then beaten, and six girls aged 13 to 16 were raped.

The Bush campaign is, predictably, trying to cover for their candidate’s belly-flop of a foreign policy by painting Kerry as a flip-flopper. It would be nice if John Kerry didn’t make it easier for them.

Must be Old Europe stirring up trouble:

European terrorism analysts acknowledge that the U.S. and its allies are under threat by Al Qaeda, but some suggest that the White House is unnecessarily adding to public anxiety with vague and dated intelligence about possible attacks. Some in Western Europe suspect the administration is using fear to improve its chances in the November election. Terrorism experts say too much publicity about possible plots and raids of Islamic extremist networks, including the arrest of 13 suspects in Britain last week, could hurt wider investigations. American politicians have called for an examination of that contention.

Protesters mourn workers who died preparing for the Olympics:

About 500 demonstrators stood in silence as the names of the workers were read out and olive wreaths placed on 13 crosses erected outside Greece’s parliament three days before the games’ start. “We have paid for the Olympic games in blood,” said Andreas Zazopoulos, head of the Communist-backed Greek Construction Workers Union. “All the money spent on the games means our children and grandchildren will have fewer benefits and will be worse off.” Deaths at construction sites have spurred a small but vocal anti-Olympics movement in Athens, adding to anger over massive security measures and commercialism surrounding the world’s biggest sporting event. “People won’t forget their problems, no matter how big the party is and how many fireworks are used during the opening ceremony,” protest organizer Giorgos Mavrikos said.

Construction crews raced round the clock this year to finish off seriously delayed Olympic venues and infrastructure projects, pushing up the Olympic budget to more than US$7 billion and compromising worker safety, according to protest and human rights groups. Amnesty International, the human rights watchdog, said the Olympic death toll could be as high as 40. The late surge of Olympic construction has also raised questions about the future of more than 10,000 immigrant workers _ mostly from neighboring Albania _ whose contracts are now up.

Bad news for those huddled masses yearning to breathe free:

The federal government is offering $1 billion to hospitals that provide emergency care to undocumented immigrants. But to get the money, hospitals would have to ask patients about their immigration status, a prospect that alarms hospitals and advocates for immigrants….Hospital executives and immigrant rights groups said the questioning would deter undocumented immigrants from seeking hospital care when they need it, and some hospitals said compliance might cost them more than they would receive in federal aid.

Marcela G. Urrutia, an analyst at the National Council of La Raza, a Hispanic civil rights group, said: “We are extremely concerned about this requirement. It will deter Latino communities from seeking emergency care. That could lead to serious public health problems, including the spread of communicable diseases.” Janelle R. Howard, a spokeswoman for Carondelet Health Network, with hospitals in Tucson and Nogales, Ariz., said: “Our emergency rooms see a lot of undocumented immigrants, including some picked up in the desert. But as a Catholic institution, we have never asked about their immigration status. It’s our mission and philosophy to treat all without distinction.”

Your new CIA Director-Appointee on the Plame scandal:

Somebody sends me a blue dress and some DNA, I’ll have an investigation.