The National Cathedral got a message from on high today: “Run!” A construction crane toppled over there today, smashing into the Church House and the Herb Cottage, along with five parked cars, the Washington Post reports. The area was experiencing high wind at the time, with gusts hitting 40 to…
Continue reading …Yale University could have, and should have, done more to protect Annie Le and other women on campus, Le’s family claims in a lawsuit filed yesterday. The family is suing for wrongful death over the murder of Le, who was killed by a co-worker at a campus lab in 2009….
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Former Nasa scientist admits trying to sell top secret information to an undercover FBI agent posing as an Israeli spy A former US government space scientist has pleaded guilty to one count of attempted espionage for trying to sell classified information to an undercover FBI agent posing as an Israeli spy. During an appearance in federal court, Stewart David Nozette admitted trying to provide Israel with top-secret information about satellites, early warning systems, ways of retaliating against large-scale attacks, communications intelligence information and major elements of defence strategy. Both the justice department and Nozette’s lawyers have agreed to a sentence of 13 years in prison, with credit for two years Nozette has already spent behind bars. US district judge Paul Friedman said he was prepared to accept the deal, pending Nozette’s co-operation with prosecutors, a procedure expected to last into November. Appearing in court in a prison jumpsuit, Nozette said he understood the charge to which he was pleading. He could have been sentenced to death had he been convicted of all four counts of attempted espionage that he faced. Just before his arrest, Nozette told an undercover FBI agent in the October 2009 sting operation the secrets he was passing to Israel had cost the US government between $200m and almost $1bn, according to newly filed court papers in the case. “So I tell you … theoretically I should charge you certainly, you know, at most 1%”, the court papers quoted Nozette as telling the agent. In the conversation at the Mayflower Hotel in downtown Washington on 19 October, Nozette told the undercover agent: “I’ve crossed the Rubicon … I’ve made a career choice,” and then, according to the papers, he laughed. “The cost to the US government was $200m,” Nozette is quoted as saying. “And then that’s not including the launching of it … Integrating the satellites – that probably brings it to almost a billion dollars.” Nozette had high-level security clearances during decades of government work on science and space projects at Nasa, the energy department and the National Space Council in George Bush Sr’s White House. He has a doctorate in planetary sciences from MIT, and was known primarily as a defence technologist who had worked on the Reagan-era missile defence shield effort formally called the Strategic Defence Initiative. He also helped discover evidence of water on the moon. Because Nozette had access to such high-level information, including about the nation’s nuclear missile programme, the attorney general, Eric Holder, ordered special communications restrictions placed on him in jail. During a hearing after his arrest, the prosecutor played a video from the 2009 sting in which Nozette lounged on a hotel room couch, eating and laughing with the undercover agent. He discussed the possibility of having to flee the country if he came under scrutiny. United States FBI Israel guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …Former Nasa scientist admits trying to sell top secret information to an undercover FBI agent posing as an Israeli spy A former US government space scientist has pleaded guilty to one count of attempted espionage for trying to sell classified information to an undercover FBI agent posing as an Israeli spy. During an appearance in federal court, Stewart David Nozette admitted trying to provide Israel with top-secret information about satellites, early warning systems, ways of retaliating against large-scale attacks, communications intelligence information and major elements of defence strategy. Both the justice department and Nozette’s lawyers have agreed to a sentence of 13 years in prison, with credit for two years Nozette has already spent behind bars. US district judge Paul Friedman said he was prepared to accept the deal, pending Nozette’s co-operation with prosecutors, a procedure expected to last into November. Appearing in court in a prison jumpsuit, Nozette said he understood the charge to which he was pleading. He could have been sentenced to death had he been convicted of all four counts of attempted espionage that he faced. Just before his arrest, Nozette told an undercover FBI agent in the October 2009 sting operation the secrets he was passing to Israel had cost the US government between $200m and almost $1bn, according to newly filed court papers in the case. “So I tell you … theoretically I should charge you certainly, you know, at most 1%”, the court papers quoted Nozette as telling the agent. In the conversation at the Mayflower Hotel in downtown Washington on 19 October, Nozette told the undercover agent: “I’ve crossed the Rubicon … I’ve made a career choice,” and then, according to the papers, he laughed. “The cost to the US government was $200m,” Nozette is quoted as saying. “And then that’s not including the launching of it … Integrating the satellites – that probably brings it to almost a billion dollars.” Nozette had high-level security clearances during decades of government work on science and space projects at Nasa, the energy department and the National Space Council in George Bush Sr’s White House. He has a doctorate in planetary sciences from MIT, and was known primarily as a defence technologist who had worked on the Reagan-era missile defence shield effort formally called the Strategic Defence Initiative. He also helped discover evidence of water on the moon. Because Nozette had access to such high-level information, including about the nation’s nuclear missile programme, the attorney general, Eric Holder, ordered special communications restrictions placed on him in jail. During a hearing after his arrest, the prosecutor played a video from the 2009 sting in which Nozette lounged on a hotel room couch, eating and laughing with the undercover agent. He discussed the possibility of having to flee the country if he came under scrutiny. United States FBI Israel guardian.co.uk
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Rick Perry takes centre stage in the Republican presidential debate at the Ronald Reagan Library. Follow the action live 7.22pm ET: I just asked my colleague Ewen Macaskill to sum up tonight’s debate in a word, and he said: “Tea.” 7.18pm ET: Who is missing tonight? Why Sarah Palin, the Gruffalo* of American politics. If you think Sarah Palin is still in the running – and she’s not, in any real sense, or even any unreal sense – then read this blast by Erick Erickson in RedState today: To paraphrase Ann [Coulter], a lot of us fell in love with Sarah Palin because of her enemies and a lot of us have fallen out of love with Sarah Palin because of her fans. For the past year, Palin fans have become an online fixture with more venom and insanity than the most rabid Ron Paul fan. They have not evangelized on behalf of Sarah Palin trying to lead people to Sarah Palin, they have freaked a lot of us out. I am at the point of fearing that should Palin not get in the race we’re going to have a Hale Bopp moment with many of her most ardent supporters. These people have become too emotionally invested in one person to discuss that person rationally or even to address serious policy concerns. Erickson’s post is entitled “Enough”. Which tells you everything. * There’s no such thing as a Gruffalo , don’t you know? 7.11pm ET: Speaking of stubbing your own tow repeatedly, yesterday I had root canal surgery. Tonight it’s the GOP debate. Which will be the more painful? At least with a root canal you get Novocaine. I guess there’s always booze. Welcome to our live coverage of the Republican presidential debate taking place tonight, with Texas governor Rick Perry making his first appearance as the cat set among a flock of political pigeons. Younger readers may not realise this but before his beatification Ronald Reagan was actually president of the United States, a fact commemorated by the beautiful presidential library built in his name in California, where tonight’s debate takes place. Tonight’s debate is notable for the debut of Perry on the national stage , and for being the first of three Republican debates that take place in the next two weeks – the next one being on 12 September and then another on 22 September. Presumably the Republican party has taken a leaf from the Discovery Channel’s schedule: it has Shark Week , the GOP has Debate Month. Like Shark Week, Debate Month will be a televised catalogue of horror, with blood in the water and the pack (of journalists) turning on and devouring the weakest members. So what do we have tonight? Aside from Perry there will be leading contender Mitt Romney, Tea Party favourite Michele Bachmann, the evergreen Ron Paul, and a supporting cast of bottom-feeders: Jon Huntsman, Herman Cain, Newt Gingrich and Rick Santorum, none of whom have a realistic chance of winning the nomination even if all the other candidates collectively resigned. For Perry the game plan is obvious: it’s his first outing so he needs to play it safe and avoid doing anything to frighten anyone, but also be prepared to bat away attacks from the likes of Santorum, who is desperate enough to get nasty. Romney needs to do a lot more work to regain the momentum his campaign has lost in recent weeks. Bachmann has also waned somewhat since Perry’s decision to run but in reality she remains a fringe candidate, hoping to use Iowa as a springboard. But with so many candidates on stage before NBC News’s cameras, the chances of an actual debate are slim: what is most likely is a battle of sound-bites as individual candidates struggle to make themselves heard among the babble. The debate kicks off at 8pm ET (that’s 5pm in California or 1am in the UK, for insomniac political junkies), and we’ll be live-blogging it all here, as well as on Twitter . And of course feel free to leave your comments below. In the meantime, here’s my colleage Ewen Macaskill’s preview of tonight’s showdown: The main focus of Wednesday night’s debate at the Ronald Reagan Library in the Simi Valley, near Los Angeles, will be on whether Texas governor Rick Perry, who only entered the race last month, can consolidate his frontrunner status. Tom Mann, a political analyst at the Brookings Institution, said: “It is interesting because of Rick Perry, and the fact that he has sky-rocketed to the lead in the Republican field without many people having a firm hold on him, just some impressions.” Want more? Why not “enjoy” our liveblog of the last Republican debate in Iowa – or achieve the same effect by stubbing your own toe, repeatedly. Republican presidential nomination 2012 Rick Perry Michele Bachmann Mitt Romney Republicans US elections 2012 California Ronald Reagan Jon Huntsman Ron Paul Newt Gingrich NBC US politics United States Richard Adams guardian.co.uk
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Rick Perry takes centre stage in the Republican presidential debate at the Ronald Reagan Library. Follow the action live 7.22pm ET: I just asked my colleague Ewen Macaskill to sum up tonight’s debate in a word, and he said: “Tea.” 7.18pm ET: Who is missing tonight? Why Sarah Palin, the Gruffalo* of American politics. If you think Sarah Palin is still in the running – and she’s not, in any real sense, or even any unreal sense – then read this blast by Erick Erickson in RedState today: To paraphrase Ann [Coulter], a lot of us fell in love with Sarah Palin because of her enemies and a lot of us have fallen out of love with Sarah Palin because of her fans. For the past year, Palin fans have become an online fixture with more venom and insanity than the most rabid Ron Paul fan. They have not evangelized on behalf of Sarah Palin trying to lead people to Sarah Palin, they have freaked a lot of us out. I am at the point of fearing that should Palin not get in the race we’re going to have a Hale Bopp moment with many of her most ardent supporters. These people have become too emotionally invested in one person to discuss that person rationally or even to address serious policy concerns. Erickson’s post is entitled “Enough”. Which tells you everything. * There’s no such thing as a Gruffalo , don’t you know? 7.11pm ET: Speaking of stubbing your own tow repeatedly, yesterday I had root canal surgery. Tonight it’s the GOP debate. Which will be the more painful? At least with a root canal you get Novocaine. I guess there’s always booze. Welcome to our live coverage of the Republican presidential debate taking place tonight, with Texas governor Rick Perry making his first appearance as the cat set among a flock of political pigeons. Younger readers may not realise this but before his beatification Ronald Reagan was actually president of the United States, a fact commemorated by the beautiful presidential library built in his name in California, where tonight’s debate takes place. Tonight’s debate is notable for the debut of Perry on the national stage , and for being the first of three Republican debates that take place in the next two weeks – the next one being on 12 September and then another on 22 September. Presumably the Republican party has taken a leaf from the Discovery Channel’s schedule: it has Shark Week , the GOP has Debate Month. Like Shark Week, Debate Month will be a televised catalogue of horror, with blood in the water and the pack (of journalists) turning on and devouring the weakest members. So what do we have tonight? Aside from Perry there will be leading contender Mitt Romney, Tea Party favourite Michele Bachmann, the evergreen Ron Paul, and a supporting cast of bottom-feeders: Jon Huntsman, Herman Cain, Newt Gingrich and Rick Santorum, none of whom have a realistic chance of winning the nomination even if all the other candidates collectively resigned. For Perry the game plan is obvious: it’s his first outing so he needs to play it safe and avoid doing anything to frighten anyone, but also be prepared to bat away attacks from the likes of Santorum, who is desperate enough to get nasty. Romney needs to do a lot more work to regain the momentum his campaign has lost in recent weeks. Bachmann has also waned somewhat since Perry’s decision to run but in reality she remains a fringe candidate, hoping to use Iowa as a springboard. But with so many candidates on stage before NBC News’s cameras, the chances of an actual debate are slim: what is most likely is a battle of sound-bites as individual candidates struggle to make themselves heard among the babble. The debate kicks off at 8pm ET (that’s 5pm in California or 1am in the UK, for insomniac political junkies), and we’ll be live-blogging it all here, as well as on Twitter . And of course feel free to leave your comments below. In the meantime, here’s my colleage Ewen Macaskill’s preview of tonight’s showdown: The main focus of Wednesday night’s debate at the Ronald Reagan Library in the Simi Valley, near Los Angeles, will be on whether Texas governor Rick Perry, who only entered the race last month, can consolidate his frontrunner status. Tom Mann, a political analyst at the Brookings Institution, said: “It is interesting because of Rick Perry, and the fact that he has sky-rocketed to the lead in the Republican field without many people having a firm hold on him, just some impressions.” Want more? Why not “enjoy” our liveblog of the last Republican debate in Iowa – or achieve the same effect by stubbing your own toe, repeatedly. Republican presidential nomination 2012 Rick Perry Michele Bachmann Mitt Romney Republicans US elections 2012 California Ronald Reagan Jon Huntsman Ron Paul Newt Gingrich NBC US politics United States Richard Adams guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …OK, so we’re getting as worn out as you are with the ” owling is the new horsemaning is the new cone-ing is the new planking” stories. We told ourselves we’d stop. Then we were introduced to “Batmanning,” and it’s kind of awesome, in a please-don’t-crash-onto-your-head way. To pull off your…
Continue reading …Ann Coulter is the latest pundit to jump into the “will she or won’t she?” discussion about Sarah Palin’s potential presidential run, and she has a message for Palin: “Fish or cut bait, because you are ginning up this group of Americans who will not even consider anyone else,” namely…
Continue reading …Libya’s rebel commanders say they’ve got Moammar Gadhafi surrounded, and it’s only a matter of time until they catch him—and this time they mean it . A spokesman tells the Telegraph that they’ve used a combination of high tech methods and human intelligence to narrow Gadhafi’s whereabouts down to a…
Continue reading …Madonna has gotten herself quite a bit of bad press this week , and now she’s making less-than-awesome headlines again by dissing Lady Gaga, E! reports. Asked by French newspaper Le Soir about Gaga’s love for her, the Material Girl replied, “As for Lady Gaga, I have no comment to make…
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