Korean National Assembly authorizes probe into Samsung Group

The Korean National Assembly has approved a bill that would investigate Samsung Group for corruption and bribery. It also sets up an independent counsel to investigate the group. President Roh had threatened to veto the bill. The National Assembly is reportedly likely to have enough votes to override a presidential veto. The probe comes amidst a presidential election which is scheduled to be held on Dec. 19th. The investigation would not be done until after the election.

Australian PM defeated

Australia's Prime Minister John Howard was defeated in recent parliamentiary elections. Howard was a staunch ally with the US under the Bush Administration. He clearly and passionately believed that going after the terrorists in Iraq was the appropriate way to defeat terrorism as a global strategy. The US may have lost Australia as an ally but gained the support of France and Germany who after recent elections are supporters of the US and Bush Administration. Australia announced that it plans to pull out of Iraq.

Emergency Director fired

The MNDOT Emergency Director was formally fired after failing to effectively manage a crisis situation. The director was on the east coast when the 35W Bridge collapse took place. The director failed to return to MN to manage one of the biggest crisis in the history of MN. She was also under investigation prior to the bridge collapse. She was also accused of using her business cellphone for personal use.

Pakistan continues under Emergency Rule

Pakistani president Musharraf promised to hold parliamentary elections in a few months after being pressed by Secretary of State Rice and Pres. Bush. The White House and the State Department is currently reviewing its foreign aid package to Pakistan. Pakistan is currently receiving reimbursements from the US government to fight the War on Terror. Bush wants Musharraf to resign his position as the head of the Army. Musharraf fired most of the supreme court justices including the chief justice when a report from the court was expected to rule the recent election invalid. Pakistan is also currently a nuclear power.

Pakistani President declares Marshal law

President Mushareff declared Marshall law after the he learned that the recent election that he won would be ruled unconstitutional. He also replaced the Chief Justice. US Secretary of State Rice strongly condemned the move stating that this was a strategy that would backfire. The White House also condemned the move. Pakistan is the chief ally for the United States on the War on Terror. It is believed that Bin Laden is hiding out between the Afghan and Pakistani border.

Pawlenty threatens to derail steel plant deal

Governor Pawlenty announced in a surprise statement that he may halt the billion dollar steel plant after learning that the same company may build an oil plant in Iran. India based SR Global denied that it had plans to build a plant in Iran. The steel plant could have hundreds of jobs. The announcement came on the heels of a recent trip to India to increase Minnesota's trade presence in India and China. Pawlenty said that he would not allow a company that does business with Iran which is a known state sponsor of terror to do business in MN.

MuKasey likely next AG

Former federal judge Mukasey is likey to be the next US Attorney General. The Senate Judiciary Committee held hearings asking the nominee questions on various issues such as civil liberties and the legal definition of torture also on the issue of civil rights. Mukasey is likely to succeed Alberto Gonzalez.

Turkey threatens to deny air rights to US

The government of Turkey has already recalled its Ambassador to the US and is threatening to revoke air rights to the US if a genocide resolution in the US House passes. Currently the US uses Turkey as a launching pad into Iraq. It is also a major supply route for the US. The war effort in Iraq would be jeopardized because the US has no viable options for supply routes to Iraq.

Judge blocks software for accessing concert tickets

A judge recently today blocked companies from using software that would allow them first access to concert tickets. The programs would allow companies to get first access to high demand concerts and inflate ticket prices. The judge stated that the companies did not add value and that consumers were being prevented from purchasing tickets at fair market value.

Feds blocked from enforcing immigration law

A federal judge blocked the federal governments ability to enforce immigration law. The judge cited the fact that it put an undue harm to illegal immigrants who are in the United States. The feds have been trying to crack down on illegal immigrants who obtain stolen social security numbers or fake numbers. The Department of Homeland Security is planning to appeal the decision and work with the judge.

Funding for 35W Bridge lagging behind commitment

The MN Legislature is debating funding for the rebuild of the 35W bridge 2 months after the collapse. Pres. Bush promised to expedite the funding process but the funds have been held up in committee in Washington under threat of vetoe. This has tested some lawmakers because they want to get the bridge started but the project may be delayed. The federal transportation department did allocate immediate funds for clean up but that money has already been spent. The totol cost of the bridge effort is expected to total $400million.

Blackwater grilled by congressional committee

Blackwater USA Security was grilled by a congressional committee last week accused of shooting civillians. An investigation is underway by the State Deparmtment. Secretary of State Rice has ordered Blackwater vehicles come under more scrutiny and cameras installed and record activity of the private security firm. The security firm came under fire after reports surfaced that several civillians were killed. Blackwater defended its actions stating that they felt threatened and fired to protect themselves. There is debate as to what jurisdiction private security firms come under when things go wrong. Blackwater is one of many security firms hired by the State Department to protect and guard personnel while in Iraq. They are one of many security firms contracted to provide protection to government personnel in Iraq.

Bush vetoes portion of SCHIP

Pres. Bush defended his decision to vetoe a part of the provision of the State Childrens Health Insurance Program. He said the program would lead to socialized medicine and cost too much. There was bipartisan support of the bill. The program however continues in its current form but the extension was vetoed for those ineligible for medicare or private health insurance.

Judge rejects withdraw of guilty plea

A Minnesota judge rejected Senator Larry Craig's request to withdraw his guilty plea in a sex sting operation at the Minnepolis airport. Craig's lawyers had argued that their clients plea should be withdrawn because he did not actually commit a crime. In an unusual twist the ACLU joined Craig a republican senator from Idaho claiming that Craig did not actually commit a crime and that his constitutional rights were violated. Craig is expected to appeal the plea. He will serve out the remainder of his term but is not expected to seek re-election.

Korean presidents meet to end Korean War

The presidents of the two Koreas met at a summit in North Korea to formally end the Korean War. Korea has been formally divided into North and South for more than five decades. This first step is said to help North and South eventually become one Korea. Roh, the South Korean president and Kim Jung Ill the North Korean president discussed issues surrounding the War.

Paulose still under fire

US Attorney Rachel Paulose is still under fire and under investigation by the Office of Special Counsel. This division is from the Justice Department but answers directly to the White House. Paulose has been accused of creating a hostile work environment within the US Attorney Office in MN. Several of the attorneys within the office have resigned from the management role in the office. It was thought that she was hired strictly because of her alliance with the Bush administration. A former Justice Department testified in congress that that was not the case. This case raised questions as to the real reason former US Attorney Tom Heffelfinger. Heffelfinger however insists that he left on his accord and not because the White House pressured him to resign to make room for Paulose. Was he forced to resign in favor of Paulose? Congressman Keith Ellison is demanding answers.

Iranian Leader to address UN and Columbia University

The Leader of Iran spoke at the UN on Sunday. His visited has brought much protest. The NYPD and the State Department denied his request to lay a wreath at ground zero citing security reasons. The Secret Service is providing protection while he is in the United States. Iran is on the list of countries that are state sponsors of terrorism by the State Department. He is also expected to address Columbia University to the ire of some.

Flatiron Corp. to rebuild 35W bridge

MNDOT awarded the contract to rebuild the 35W bridge to Flatiron Corp. and which has several corporate entities. They were responsible for building a bridge in Florida in record time and a project in CA. The cost is estimated at $234 million. The contractor has said it will have the project done in 437 days. Several contractors have filed complaints that their projects were less expensive. MNDOT spokesman stated that price was not the only factor used to consider the contractor. They also were required to meet certain technical requirements as well as how fast the project could be done without comprising the integrity of the project. The contractor will be rewarded up to $25million for completing the project early.

Ramstad to retire from Congress

Congressman Jim Ramstad announced his resignation from Congress. His career began in the MN State Senate. Ramstad was known as a moderate who could work with both sides in Washington in a town full of political division. Republicans have held Minnesota's 3rd District for nearly 60 years. The district has trended more liberal in recent years. Ramstad also sat on the powerful Ways and Means Committee.

US remembers 9/11

Gen. Patraeus grilled on Capitol Hill on Iraq

General Patraeaus report to Congress on the Progress of the Iraq War gained plenty of attention. The House Foreign Affairs Committee grilled the general as well as the ambassador on the succcesses and failures in Iraq. Today they testified in the Senate.

Pawlenty calls Special Session for flood relief

Gov. Tim Pawlenty ordered the Legislature into special session to provide relief to victims of the flood in Southeastern MN. FEMA has kicked in several million after the president declared it a federal disaster area. The state legislature is expected to provide an estimated $160million in state aid primarily in bonding. The legislature is not expected to address the issue of the bridge collapse because the governor and legislative leaders could not come to consensus on how to fund the projects.

APEC meets in Australia

Congress holds hearing on safety of bridges

The House Transportation Committee chaired by Jim Oberstar (D-MN) held a hearing today on the safety of bridges of America. Minneapolis Mayor RT Ryback testified on that comittee. Ryback supported the idea of raising the gas tax in order to pay for bridge repairs. Mary Peters, Transportation Secretary spoke on behalf of the Bush Administration and told the committee that there were other ways to pay for bridge repairs besides raising the gas tax such as rerouting current funds.

Senator Larry Craig (R-ID) to resign

After being caught in a sex sting at a Minneapolis airport and pleading guilty to a misdemeanor Senator Craig is expected to resign from his office on Sept. 30th. Senator Craig is expected to attempt to repeal his guilty plea but many legal experts say that is highly unlikely.

Nifong disbarred

An ethics hearing was held this week as to the fitness of Mike Nifong the DA for Durham, NC. The Ethics panel revoked his law license and determined that the DA put his personal ambitions above public service, lied about evidence and embarassed the legal profession. The North Carolina Attorney Generals office determined that not only was there not evidence for trial but that the Duke Lacrosse players did not commit the offenses that the DA had alleged in the indictment. Nifongs legal troubles are not over and he faces criminal and civil lawsuits. Some legal experts believe that there could be more cases like this and the only difference is that the defendants were able to hire defense attorneys to defend them. This was truly a a case of miscarriage of justice.

Libby sentenced

Lewis Libby was formally sentenced to 30 months in prison for lying about his role in the CIA leak of Valerie Plame even though the prosecutor did not find any wrong doing. Political analysts have speculated whether Libby will be pardoned by the president. Libby was the former Chief of Staff to VP Cheney. It was later learned that former Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage was the original source of the leak.

Congressman indicted on corruption and bribery

LA Congressman William Jefferson (D-LA) was indicted by the Justice Department on 16 counts of corruption and bribery. This investigation has been a year long investigation in which Jefferson is accused of using his office for personal gain for himself and his family. Several of his aides are currently serving jail time as well. Controversy erupted when Jefferson's Capitol Hill office was raided by the FBI after numerous requests for cooperation failed. Jefferson was also re-elected despite the investigation. He was removed from key committees by the Speakers Office pending the investigation. The Ethics committee is expected to convene to consider the seriousness of the charges. Jefferson is not likely to be expelled from congress unless he is convicted. Another congressman from Ohio was recently expelled from congress for corruption and bribery convictions. He is currently serving prison time in PA.

Clash in Washington

Pres. Bush followed through on his threat to veto the war funding bill because it put a date certain which he objected to from the beginning. Congress attempted an override but failed to get the necessary votes to do so. This was classic political theatre. Both sides not budging to see who will blink first. Congress believing they have the public on their side and seeing a weekened White House figured to score political points. Bush is too far into the War in Iraq to pull out now and believes in the policy of a free Iraq long term to stabilize the Middle East. Continuing to tolerate the former Saddam regime after 9/11 was viewed as a potential threat to the United States. Since he has no political worries to worry about he could afford to take a hit. Democrats were counting on a disgruntled public that while wants to win the war is clearly agitated with the progress. Democrats needed to make sure that they opposed the policy as strongly as they could while also supporting the troops. If the public perceived this as being opposed to the troops they would have immediately backed off.

Boris Yeltsin dies

The first freely elected President of Russia Boris Yeltsin died yesterday.

Campus deals with bomb threat

A few days after one of the deadliest shootings in US history the University of Minnesota Twin Cities campus went underlock down after a threatening note was found in a bathroom. University officials said they had no choice but to lockdown the school and cancel classes afte the incident out at Virgina Tech.

Supreme Court upholds ban on partial birth abortion

The Supreme Court in a 5-4 decision ruled that the law that was passed by congress in 2003 was legal. Justice Anthony Kennedy writing for the majority said that the proponents did not make a sufficient case to warrant lifting the ban. Proponents say the ruling pushes womens rights back significantly and will allow states to put further restrictions on abortions and womens rights. Right to Life advocates claimed victory saying that the court made the right decision by following the constitution and protecting the unborn.

No deal yet on Iraq

Bush and congressional leaders met today to try and hammer out a deal to continue funding for the troops. However there was no progress made. Democrats claimed that they had made concessions with the White House. Bush said that he did not want a deadline for troop withdrawal and promised to veto the bill when it reaches his desk. Democrats will likely not have enough votes for a override so the bill will likely be renegotiated in conference committee.

NC Attorney General dismisses charges against Duke players

The North Carolina Attorney General in a press conference today declared that all charges related to the alleged rape by Duke students were going to be dropped. This after it was earlier learned that Mike Nifong the Durham city prosecutor mishandled the evidence. The Attorney General's office was brought in after it was determined that the city prosecutor was no longer effective in bringing the case forward and that there was not enough evidence and that the prosecutor was operating under prejudicial conduct. Nifong had been accused of using the rape case to ensure his re-election as city prosecutor. A member of congress from NC has asked the Justice department to investigate whether the college students civil rights were violated.

Congress and White House at odds over war funding

The White House and Congress continued to exchange volleys as the president vowed to veto a war funding bill that contains pork and a timetable which Bush says will hamstring the generals in the field. Congress said that it is trying to create accountability and that they have a constitutional right and obligation to get answers to questions they say that the previous congress failed to do. Congress also said that they are also doing the will of the people which they accuse the president of failing to do.

Twins stadium deal almost done

After passing a bill through the legislature and signed by the governor the Twins stadium has hit a hurdle. the Board of the Hennepin County has been negotiating with the owners of the would be site of the proposed outdoor stadium. the County voted to take the land by eminent domain and agreed to pay $13.35 million. The owners of the current space dispute that saying that the land is worth much more than that. A court appointed panel is expected to take oral arguments and issue a ruling. The Twins have stated that they are willing to pay additional costs for land aquisition although they did not elaborate on how much. The rest of the funding is expected to come from a county sales tax. The open air stadium is scheduled to be open for the 2010 season.

Red light camera overturned

The MN State Supreme Court sustained a District courts ruling that the red light camera ordinance by the City of Minneapolis was unconstitutional. It stated that the owners were assumed to be the violators and that the goverment did not provide a way for the offender to defend their actions. The City of Minneapolis failed in its attempt at the legislature to get an a exception in state law. State law requires an officer to be present to issue such a citation. The city ordinance is likely to be ruled unconstitutional because of the 4th Amendment due process clause.

Iran to release British sailors

After a 13 day standoff with Britain, Iran has agreed to turn over 15 British sailors. Iran claimed that the British sailors had entered into territory that is in Iran. Some experts believed that this was a trap by Iran to gain concessions. Iran claims that they were in Iranian territory. However the British said that according to their maps they were in Iraq territory. Iran currently has a dispute with the UN regarding its nuclear program. The price of oil dropped on the news.

Supreme Court rules against Gitmo detainees

The US Supreme Court rejected an appeal by Gitmo detainees to get acess to the federal court system. The court did not elaborate on the reason behind their decision. This decision did not address a previous ruling that allows the congress to determine the formulation of military tribunals by the administration.

Bush threatens veto

President Bush continued his threat to veto legislation that would force a timetable for US forces to withdraw from Iraq. In a test of political wills the Senate passed a bill that would require the Bush administration to set timetables. The bill is likely to get vetoed by the president and the Democrats will likely be forced to withdraw that provision. Bush urged the congress to act quickly on this defense appropriation because they will need the money by the middle of the month. The congress is on a two week recess.

Bush backs embattled AG Gonzalez

Despite the firestorm of controversy surrounding the firings of several federal prosecutors the White House continues to support Attorney General Gonzalez. The White House released a statement in support of the embattled Attorney General after his former Chief of Staff suggested that Gonzalez made statements that were contrary to internal email communications. The Senate has been adament about finding out why these US Attorneys were fired. The White House defended the decision on the grounds that US Attorneys serve at the pleasure of the president thus are political appointments not civil servants. The controversy comes because it was thought that the federal prosecutors were fired for incompetence not politics. The White House also stated that the federal prosecutors were fired because they were not following the presidents priorities.

UN approves sanctions against Iran

The UN Security Council approves sanctions against Iran for continuing its nuclear program. The US and its European allies have been trying for many months to try and get Iran to suspend its nuclear program because they believe its being developed for military rather than civilian use. Iran has stated that they will not be reporting to the UN. Iran must be careful because unlike Iraq Iran doesnt have as many friends when it comes this issue.

Congress vs The White House

As the democrats took over the Congress in November the White House has had a much more hostile relationship with the Congress. The current controversy is a prime example of payback by congressional democrats who say that republicans failed to provide adequate oversight of the White House. Congress has held numerous hearings including the War in Iraq. Congress held a vote this week to provide funding for the war which was requested by the president but was contingent on an exit strategy of early 08. With a significant number of Senators running for president in 08, the Senate is likely to get just as political as the US House. Dont feel too much sympathy for the White House as republicans have privately complained that the White House has not done a good job of explaining its policy and strategy goals. Rather they have just wanted to execute their strategy and expected that republicans would fall in line. While they were willing to do that in the first time most republicans are now looking for answers.

Bush draws crticism for Iraq plan

Pres. Bush drew criticism from both sides of the political aisle. He laid out a plan in which he would add an additonal 20,000 troops to secure Baghdad which is been plagued by secterian violence and IED's. Privately White House aides say they have told the Iraqi government that America's resolve is wearing thin and that they need to start making progress. The White House fears that a pull out of US forces would have far deadlier consequences both short term and long term. In the short term they fear that Syria and Iran would have a heavier hand in the political affairs of Iraq and would give Iran further incentive to puruse its nuclear programs. Also that Al-Qaeda would use Iraq as a base of operations to commit attacks dircectly against the United States. The long term consequence would result in a very unstable region which is already dealing with enough turmoil.