Another Angle 25 - January - 2006

ANOTHER ANGLE
News others won't tell you



NATIONAL:



White House Declines to Provide Storm Papers
The Bush administration, citing the confidentiality of executive branch communications, said Tuesday that it did not plan to turn over certain documents about Hurricane Katrina or make senior White House officials available for sworn
testimony before two Congressional committees investigating the storm response.



Alaska: Raw votes 'can't be made public'
The official vote results from the last general election are riddled with discrepancies and impossible for the public to make sense of. At this point, it's impossible to say whether the correct candidates were declared the winner in all Alaska races from 2004. The private contractor hired to provide Alaska's electronic voting machines is Diebold Election Systems. It has told Alaska officials it owns the "structure of the database" though the data itself is public.



"VIDEO - Belafonte Smacks Down Blitzer"



Duke Professor Skeptical of bin Laden Tape
Bruce Lawrence has just published Messages to the World: The Statements of Osama Bin Laden, a book translating bin Laden's writing. Lawrence recently analyzed more than 20 complete speeches and interviews of the al Qaida leader for his book. He says the new message is missing several key elements.



N.C. Police Chief Resigns After Racial Scandal
A racial profiling scandal has forced the resignation of the police chief in Greensboro, N.C. He used an internal affairs unit to secretly investigate 14 black officers for alleged misconduct. Rusty Jacobs of WUNC North Carolina Public Radio reports.



Roundtable: Domestic Surveillance, Black Jesus
Topics include President Bush's defense of domestic surveillance, and controversy over a new film featuring a black Jesus. Guests: Mary Frances Berry, professor of history at the University of Pennsylvania; Roland Martin, executive editor of The Chicago Defender; and Nat Irvin, professor of future studies at Wake Forest University.



INTERNATIONAL:



Iran official threatens oil blockades
"if Europe does not act wisely with the Iranian nuclear portfolio and it is referred to the UN Security Council and economic or air travel restrictions are imposed unjustly, we have the power to halt oil supply to the last drop from the shores of the Persian Gulf via the Straits of Hormuz."


IRAQ:



Iraq abuse lenience 'affects' US image
Such cases erode US credibility at a time when it is urging other countries to increase human-rights protections. They could also set human rights progress back by giving countries such as Libya an excuse to justify abuses.



BUSH CRIME FAMILY:



NSA Director Hayden--One Needle in a Growing Bush "Hay"stack of Lies
General Hayden should reconcile his contradictory statements.



OP-ED:



New Blood, New Visions, and a New Political Party
Working class people, especially progressives, must come to understand that our interests are not being served by hitching our political wagons to either the Democratic or the Republican Party. Whichever party we choose represents a system that favors plutocrats—those of wealth and privilege. It is a system of their creation, for their sole benefit. We cannot possibly compete in this system. We have no alternative but to create a new system in place of the old.



Alito Filibuster: It Only Takes One
A filibuster could touch a public nerve if it concentrates on protecting the Founding Fathers' framework of checks and balances, the Bill of Rights, and the rule of law - all designed specifically to prevent an abusive Executive from gaining dictatorial powers.



FOOD&DRINK:



MISS SHIRLEY'S EASTERN SHORE CRAB CAKES
Shirley Phillips was raised on Hooper Island, Maryland, in Chesapeake Bay, and grew up surrounded by the finest seafood imaginable. Given her upbringing, it's not surprising that she married a waterman, Brice Phillips. The couple made their way to Ocean City, Maryland, and opened a crab shack, selling "jimmies" — heavy, fat, perfectly seasoned crabs — to tourists and locals alike. Almost fifty years later, that roadside crab shack has evolved into one of the largest seafood operations in America.



REVIEWS/INTERVIEWS:



Watch Out for Barbers' Clippers, and Zingers
MTV plans to bring to its viewers next month "The Shop," a new reality series that chronicles all the goings-on at Mr. Rooney's - all the debates, the "yo momma" jokes, the pseudopolitical commentary, and the wry observations. The show, part "McLaughlin Group," part BET's video show "106 and Park," is the brainchild of Corey Rooney, a popular R&B producer and founder of the shop.



New Book Examines Black Youth, Economic Boom of the 90s
Black Males Left Behind showcases the research of 17 leading scholars and gives policymakers an essential starting point and reference for addressing the complex problems of young black men with limited education. This book gives us a clear, detailed look at a growing crisis in black America. It’s a critical first step toward helping less-educated young black men get on track so they can fulfill their promise.



HUMOR?:



Has Bush Fallen Off The Wagon?