If it comes out by "accident," either he is pandering or really like that, or both!
Pressure grows for Imus to resign over racial slur

By Ellen Wulfhorst 18 minutes ago

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Calls for Don Imus' head sounded loudly on Wednesday, as the ranks of advertisers dropping their support and activists vowing not to rest until he is off the air grew.

The apology by the syndicated U.S. radio host, his suspension, the canceled advertising and media uproar are not enough, say many who want Imus fired. His comments show just how sensitive and unresolved issues of race and racism remain in America, they say.

Major advertisers -- General Motors Corp., GlaxoSmithKline and Ditech.com, a unit of GMAC Financial Services -- yanked their advertising on Wednesday. They joined Procter & Gamble Co. and Staples Inc., which previously said they were pulling out.

Imus referred to the mostly black women's basketball team at Rutgers University as "nappy-headed hos" last Wednesday after the team lost the national championship game.

The word "nappy" is viewed as a vile slur describing the tightly curled natural hair texture of many African-Americans, while "ho" is slang for "whore," usage of which has exploded in hip-hop music and popular culture in recent years.

"Imus' bigoted remarks are indicative of the entrenched racism found throughout the corporate news and entertainment media in the United States," said Viola Plummer, chief of staff for New York City Councilman Charles Barron, at a demonstration on the steps of City Hall on Wednesday.

"The black women of this city, this state and this country will not rest until Don Imus is fired," she said. "We are saying that we don't accept his apology."

Despite Imus' apologies, CBS Radio and MSNBC, which broadcasts the "Imus In The Morning" radio show on television, suspended him for two weeks starting next Monday. Black leaders
Al Sharpton and
Jesse Jackson have demanded he be fired.

"If there is any integrity in the media business, then Don Imus must be fired," said Betty Dopson of the Committee to Eliminate Media Offensive to African People.

PROGRESS ON RACE, OR DENIAL?

To some, the uproar shows how far race relations have come, said John Bunzel, senior research fellow at the Hoover Institution and an expert in civil rights and race relations.

"The outrage is a sign that people are far more sensitive, they understand that language can hurt and, as each generation passes along to another, this kind of prejudice diminishes," he said. "That's something that in my lifetime, 40 or 50 years ago, would have been very different."

Look at the uproar over comedian Michael Richards, who came under heavy criticism for racial epithets he made, and look at the support U.S. Sen. Barack Obama (news, bio, voting record) has made in his bid for the Democratic Party's presidential nomination, he said.

"Don Imus is in trouble because times have changed," Bunzel said.

But Michael Dawson, a professor of political science at The University of Chicago who researches public opinion on race, disputed that assessment of race relations.

His findings show most blacks think racial equality will not be achieved in the United States during their lifetimes, while most whites think it has been achieved or will be soon.

"I think the amount of progress made is dramatically overstated," he said. "What we really have is a divided society with startlingly different assessments of how much progress has been made."

Activists note that blacks in the United States, fare dramatically worse than whites in terms of infant mortality, high school dropout rates, average earnings and poverty rates.

At least the Imus uproar gives Americans an opportunity to talk about race and racism, said Karen Hunter, a former radio talk show host who is a professor in the film and media department at Hunter College in New York.

"We can't miss yet another opportunity to discuss racism in this country," Hunter said. "Until people who make racist remarks admit to being racist, we as a country will continue to deny there is a problem.

"Don Imus was wrong for what he said. I just for once want to hear someone admit they are racist instead of making excuses," she said.

(Additional reporting by Edith Honan)

Gonzales gets subpoena for documents in firings
Gonzales gets subpoena for documents in firings

1 hour, 2 minutes ago

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Attorney General Alberto Gonzales received a subpoena on Tuesday from a U.S. congressional panel for documents related to the firing of federal prosecutors, a controversy that has prompted calls for his resignation.

"I look forward to your timely compliance so that we can proceed with getting to the truth," Democratic Rep. John Conyers (news, bio, voting record) of Michigan, chairman of the
House Judiciary Committee, wrote in a letter to Gonzales that accompanied the subpoena.

The White House said
President George W. Bush had asked the Justice Department to be "fully responsive" to the request, and a spokesman said the department was hoping to reach an accommodation with Congress.

The House of Representatives and the Senate are investigating the Bush administration's dismissal last year of the eight U.S. attorneys.

While the administration has insisted the firings were justified, Republican and Democratic critics question if the dismissals were politically motivated.

Gonzales, who with Bush's public support has rejected calls to resign, is to appear next week before the Senate Judiciary Committee, which plans to authorize subpoenas of its own on Thursday for administration documents.

At the White House, spokeswoman Dana Perino said, "President Bush asked the
Department of Justice to be fully responsive to this specific request from Congress" and added the department has already provided more than 3,000 pages of documents.

Asked whether Bush continued to have confidence in Gonzales, Perino replied: "Of course the president still has confidence in the attorney general."

Justice Department spokesman Brian Roehrkasse said much of the information sought by Congress involved individuals other than the fired prosecutors.

"Because there are individual privacy interests implicated by publicly releasing this information, it is unfortunate the Congress would choose this option," he said. "We still hope and expect that we will be able to reach an accommodation with the Congress."

(Additional reporting by Tabassum Zakaria and James Vicini)

The audience that supports such an Imus point of view, stated to get their support, is who is most despicable!
Don Imus Benched Two Weeks for Comments
Shock Jock Says Suspension Is 'Appropriate'
By DAVID BAUDER, AP
NEW YORK (April 10) - Rutgers women's basketball coach urged the nation Tuesday to look closely at the players radio host Don Imus referred to as "nappy-headed hos" and see them for the human beings they are.

"These young ladies before you are valedictorians, future doctors, musical prodigies," coach C. Vivian Stringer told a nationally publicized news conference a day after the uproar over Imus' comments led to a two-week suspension of his show.

Is the End Near for Imus?
Rutgers Coach Fires Back: Calls Imus' Comments "Racist"

When Bloggers Disagree: Dump Don! | Spare Him!
"These young ladies are the best this nation has to offer and we are so very fortunate to have them at Rutgers. They are young ladies of class, distinction. They are articulate. They are gifted," she said.

Rutgers President Richard McCormick also spoke, calling the Imus's words despicable, unconscionable and deeply hurtful to the players, students and their families.

"We cannot stand in silence and let these young women be unfairly attacked," McCormick said. "They did nothing to invite the words that Don Imus used."

Imus started the firestorm after the Rutgers team, which includes eight black women, lost the NCAA women's championship game to Tennessee. He was speaking with producer Bernard McGuirk and said "that's some rough girls from Rutgers. Man, they got tattoos."

"Some hardcore hos," McGuirk said.

Watch the Latest Imus Video


Imus and Matt Lauer Face Off

Next Video: Shock Jock Given Two Week Suspension

Previous 1/6 Next
"That's some nappy-headed hos there, I'm going to tell you that," Imus said.

The Rutgers comment struck a chord, in part, because it was aimed at a group of young women at the pinnacle of athletic success.

It also came in a different public atmosphere following the Michael Richards and Mel Gibson incidents, said Eric Deggans, columnist for the St. Petersburg Times and chairman of the media monitoring committee of the National Association of Black Journalists. The NABJ's governing board, which doesn't include Deggans, wants Imus canned.

"What I did was make a stupid, idiotic mistake in a comedy context," Imus said on his show Tuesday morning, the final week before his suspension starts.

Asked by NBC "Today" host Matt Lauer if he could clean up his act as he promised on Monday, he said, "Well, perhaps I can't." But he added, "I have a history of keeping my word."

Imus said his staff had been trying to set up a meeting with the Rutgers players to apologize, but he said he didn't expect forgiveness. Of the two-week suspension by MSNBC and CBS Radio, he said: "I think it's appropriate, and I am going to try to serve it with some dignity."

Matt Lauer Talks to Imus and Sharpton
The Rev. Al Sharpton also appeared on "Today" and called the suspension "not nearly enough. I think it is too little, too late." He said presidential candidates and other politicians should refrain from going on Imus' show in the future.

Comic Bill Maher, CBS News political analyst Jeff Greenfield and former Carter administration official Hamilton Jordan all appeared on Imus' show Tuesday.

Imus, who appeared on Sharpton's syndicated radio program for two hours Monday, accused the minister of lacking courage for refusing an invitation to appear on "Imus in the Morning." Sharpton said he couldn't tell people not to watch the show and then appear on it. "It's not about courage," he said.

MSNBC, which telecasts the radio show, said Imus' expressions of regret and embarrassment, coupled with his stated dedication to changing the show's discourse, made it believe suspension was the appropriate response.

"Our future relationship with Imus is contingent on his ability to live up to his word," the network said late Monday.

Imus, who has made a career of cranky insults in the morning, was fighting for his job following the joke that by his own admission went "way too far." He continued through the day Monday, both on his show and Sharpton's.

Racism in the Stars
The Rev. Jesse Jackson, who marched with about 50 protesters Monday outside NBC offices in Chicago, said Imus' suspensions will not halt the protests.

"This is a two-week cooling off period," Jackson said. "It does not challenge the character of the show, its political impact, or the impact that these comments have had on our society."

Imus could be in real danger if the outcry causes advertisers to shy away from him, said Tom Taylor, editor of the trade publication Inside Radio. The National Organization for Women is also seeking Imus' ouster.

Imus isn't the most popular radio talk-show host - the trade publication Talkers ranks him the 14th most influential - but his audience is heavy on the political and media elite that advertisers pay a premium to reach. Authors, journalists and politicians are frequent guests - and targets for insults.

He has urged critics to recognize that his show is a comedy that spreads insults broadly. Imus or his cast have called Colin Powell a "weasel," New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson a "fat sissy" and referred to Sen. Ben Nighthorse Campbell of Colorado, an American Indian, as "the guy from `F Troop."' He and his colleagues also called the New York Knicks a group of "chest-thumping pimps."

On his show Monday, Imus called himself "a good person" who made a bad mistake.

"Here's what I've learned: that you can't make fun of everybody, because some people don't deserve it," he said. "And because the climate on this program has been what it's been for 30 years doesn't mean that it has to be that way for the next five years or whatever because that has to change, and I understand that."

Baseball star Cal Ripken Jr., who was to appear on Imus' show Tuesday to discuss a new book, canceled the appearance.

"He didn't want anyone getting the message that he agreed in any way, shape or form with the comments," said John Maroon, Ripken's publicist. "It was the right thing to do."

The "Today" show's Al Roker said Tuesday on his show's official blog that it was time for Imus to go. "I, for one, am really tired of the diatribes, the 'humor' at others' expense, the cruelty that passes for 'funny,"' Roker said.

Even Howard Stern of Sirius Satellite Radio, a big fan of unrestricted content, mocked Imus' apology, according to the New York Daily News. "He's apologizing like a guy who got his first broadcasting job," Stern said. "He should have said, '(expletive) you, it's a joke."'

Arizona Republican Sen. John McCain, whose presidential candidacy has been backed by Imus on the air, said he would still appear on Imus' program.

"He has apologized," McCain said. "He said that he is deeply sorry. I'm a great believer in redemption."

Imus' radio show originates from WFAN in New York City and is syndicated nationally by Westwood One, both managed by CBS. The show reached an estimated 361,000 viewers on MSNBC in the first three months of the year, up 39 percent from last year. That's the best competitive position it has ever achieved against CNN (372,000 viewers).

Imus' fate could ultimately rest with two of the nation's most prominent media executives: CBS Corp chief Leslie Moonves and Jeff Zucker, head of NBC Universal.

"He will survive it if he stops apologizing so much," said Michael Harrison, publisher of Talkers. Imus clearly seems under corporate pressure to make amends, but he's nearly reached the point where he is alienating the fans who appreciate his grumpy outrageousness.

Even if he were to be fired, he's likely to land elsewhere in radio, Harrison said.

Imus was mostly contrite in his appearance with Sharpton, although the activist did not change his opinion that Imus should lose his job. At one point Imus seemed incredulous at Sharpton's suggestion that he might walk away from the incident unscathed.

"Unscathed?" Imus said. "How do you think I'm unscathed by this? Don't you think I'm humiliated?"

Associated Press writers Deepti Hajela and Jacques Billeaud in New York and Nathaniel Hernandez in Chicago contributed to this report.

Copyright 2007 The Associated Press. The information contained in the AP news report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press. All active hyperlinks have been inserted by AOL.
2007-04-09 07:02:22

Larry Birkhead the Father of Dannielynn!
Larry Birkhead the Father of Dannielynn
ABCNews.com
UPDATE: "I told you so." With those four words, Larry Birkhead announces he is the father of Anna Nicole Smith infant daughter, Dannielynn.

(April 10) -- More than two months after Anna Nicole Smith 's death and 10 months since the birth of her daughter Dannielynn, another chapter in the former model's saga is likely to be written when the baby's father is revealed. DNA test results ordered by a Bahamian judge are scheduled to be released this afternoon.

'I Told You So'
Related Story: Stern Hires JonBenet Parents' Lawyer
Several men claim paternity in what has become a heated custody battle. The key players -- Smith's ex-boyfriend Larry Birkhead and her lawyer and companion Howard K. Stern -- are expected to be in court today. At least two other men also claiming to be the baby's father are not on the island, including Prince Fredrick von Anholt, Zsa Zsa Gabor 's husband.

What's made the paternity question so compelling is another, ongoing legal battle that could see Dannielynn Smith inherit hundreds of millions of dollars from the estate of Smith's second husband, the late Texas oil tycoon J. Howard Marshall.

Smith was married to Marshall -- roughly 60 years her senior -- for slightly more than a year in the mid-1990s. She battled his son Pierce Marshall for years, the case going all the way to the Supreme Court in in 2005 before being sent back to lower courts, where it now stands.

Also pending is a legal case involving Smith's estranged mother, Virgie Arthur, who is trying to wring custody of the baby away from Stern, who she says is an unfit father, if he is even the biological father at all.

Will Paternity Settle the Custody Battle?

Today's expected ruling may bring closure to the custody firestorm that began in earnest after the former Playboy Playmate and reality TV star died on Feb. 8 after being found in a Florida hotel room.

A medical examiner ruled Smith died of an accidental overdose of a toxic drug cocktail of nine prescription medications: a powerful and rarely used sleeping medication, chloral hydrate, along with least eight other prescription drugs. She also had a bacterial infection from injecting anti-aging drugs into her buttocks.

An extensive six-week investigation found no signs of foul play, according to Florida authorities, but the medical examiner found that most of the drugs Smith was taking were prescribed in Stern's name.

The medical board of California said last Thursday that it is investigating the Los Angeles doctor, Dr. Khristine Eroshevich, who, according to documents, authorized all 11 prescription medications found in Smith's hotel room the day the starlet died.

After a preliminary hearing in the Bahamas last month, Birkead came out of the courtroom jumping up and down and announced that the judge had ordered a paternity test. Because of a strict gag order -- Bahamian courts are very secretive -- news stemming from today's announcement will likely be revealed in a similar fashion. Meanwhile what if Larry Birkhead is proven to be the poppa? Celebrity Web site TMZ.com reports that Howard K. Stern will not stand in ex-boyfriend Larry Birkhead's way if tests show Birkhead is the father of Smith's baby.

"If Larry Birkhead is confirmed to be Dannielynn's biological father, Howard will not challenge custody. His love for her will not change, irrespective of the results. Howard will act in Dannielynn's best interest, because he loves her and would want a smooth transition to protect her, as she is deeply bonded to those who have been with her since birth," sources told TMZ.

Regardless of what happens, Stern has vowed to make sure Arthur does not get custody of the baby. The sources also told TMZ that Stern would "do whatever is necessary to assist Larry Birkhead to defeat Virgie Arthur."

Paternity, Custody Won't End Legal Questions

Regardless of today's outcome, the legal questions surrounding Smith's death and her family are likely to continue. An inquest into the death of her 20-year-old son Daniel was put on hold last month pending a legal challenge filed by Stern.

Daniel Smith died in a Bahamian hospital room from an apparently accidental overdose of methadone and two prescription drugs -- Zoloft and Lexapro -- that, when combined with methadone, can be deadly.

The chief magistrate overseeing that inquest has said that Anna Nicole Smith 's mysterious death, just five months after her 20-year-old son's equally suspicious death, increased the police's interest in Howard K. Stern, who was present or nearby when both mother and son fell ill and died. Anna Nicole's death "caused us to lose the weight of her evidence, but at the same time, it has also increased the interest in [Daniel's] inquest because of the way in which she died,'' Bahamian Chief Magistrate Roger Gomez told United Press International. He said the court will "look with interest at the cause of [Smith's] death as well.''

Gomez said that Stern's testimony is critical because "he would have been the only other person present at the time.''

Dozens of witnesses are expected to testify at the inquest whenever it resumes.

Because some brain dead retired coloniel [Jacobs] makes simplistic macho comments on TV the story is they"broke?"
Updated:2007-04-09 15:18:45
Crew Recount Fears During Captivity in Iran
British Government Bans Paid Military Interviews
By ROBERT BARR
AP
LONDON (April 9) - Britain on Monday banned all military service members from talking to the media in return for payment in the future, reversing its decision to allow the 15 marines and sailors held captive in Iran to sell their stories.

British Crew Released
The British government said the new ban on paid military interviews will not affect those who already gave accounts.


Talk About It: Post Thoughts
Defense Secretary Des Browne issued a statement saying the navy faced a "very tough call" over its initial decision to allow the payments, which came under sharp criticism. The new ban will not affect those who already gave accounts, a Defense Ministry spokesman said.

On Monday, in one of the first accounts, Faye Turney, the sole woman in the detained crew, said that she "felt like a traitor" for agreeing to her captors' demands to appear on Iranian TV and that she believed they had measured her for a coffin.

The Sun newspaper also reported that Turney, 25, was told by her captors that her 14 male colleagues had been released while she alone was being held.

Another sailor, Arthur Batchelor, 20, said he was singled out by his captors because he was the youngest of the crew.

The financial arrangements for Turney and Batchelor were not disclosed, but Turney said the offer she accepted was not the largest she had been offered.

Browne said lessons must be learned from a review the Ministry of Defense is now conducting regarding the regulations that affect service members talking with media.

"I want to be sure those charged with these difficult decisions have clear guidance for the future," Browne said. "Until that time, no further service personnel will be allowed to talk to the media about their experiences in return for payment."

The British sailors and marines were searching a merchant ship on March 23 when they and their two inflatable boats were intercepted by Iranian vessels near the disputed Shatt al-Arab waterway, U.S. and British officials said. Iran claimed the British had strayed into its territorial waters, a charge that Britain denied.

During the crew's captivity, Britain accused Iran of using the group for propaganda for putting them on Iranian television in appearances in which they "admitted" trespassing in Tehran's waters. They were freed last week by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad , who called their release a gift to Britain.

Turney, who also sold her story to British broadcaster ITV1, told The Sun that she feared at one point that she would be killed.

"One morning, I heard the noise of wood sawing and nails being hammered near my cell. I couldn't work out what it was. Then a woman came into my cell to measure me up from head to toe with a tape," The Sun quoted Turney as saying.

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"She shouted the measurements to a man outside. I was convinced they were making my coffin."

Turney said she asked one Iranian official where her male colleagues were.

"He rubbed the top of my head and said with a smile, 'Oh no, they've gone home. Just you now,'" she said.

At another time, Turney said the same official asked her how she felt about dying for country.

By her fifth day in detention, she said she was told that she could be free within two weeks if she confessed that the crew had intruded into Iranian waters.

"If I didn't, they'd put me on trial for espionage and I'd go to prison for several years. I had just an hour to think about it," The Sun quoted her as saying.

"If I did it, I feared everyone in Britain would hate me. But I knew it was my one chance of fulfilling a promise to Molly (her daughter) that I'd be home for her birthday on May 8.

"I decided to take that chance, and write in such a way that my unit and my family would know it wasn't the real me."

Turney told ITV1 that she "felt like a traitor" when she was forced to write letters of confession that were shown on Iranian television.

Batchelor said in an interview with the Daily Mirror that he found his capture "beyond terrifying."

"They seemed to take particular pleasure in mocking me for being young," he said. "A guard kept flicking my neck with his index finger and thumb. I thought the worst."

Retired Maj. Gen. Patrick Cordingly said Monday he believes the sailors and marines were being used "almost as a propaganda tool" by the British government.

"I was depressed because I thought the team were so good on the press conference _ they didn't overplay their unpleasant experience and we could all imagine what they had gone through," Cordingly said in a British Broadcasting Corp. radio interview.

Turney said she was offered "a hell of a lot of money" for her story and said she was not "taking the biggest offer."

"I want everyone to know my story from my side, what I went through," she told ITV1. She added part of the money she was paid would go toward helping personnel on her ship, the frigate HMS Cornwall.

After their release last week, the crew members told reporters in Britain they were subjected to constant psychological pressure in detention.

In an attempt to dispute that claim, Iran broadcast new video Sunday showing some of the crew playing chess and watching television during their captivity.

Some of the footage, briefly aired on Iran's state-run Arabic satellite TV channel Al-Alam, also showed crew members watching soccer on TV and eating at a long table decorated with flowers. The crew members could be heard laughing and chatting.

A newscaster said the video proved "the sailors had complete liberty during their detention, which contradicts what the sailors declared after they arrived in Britain."

At a news conference Friday, Lt. Felix Carman, who was in charge of the crew, said the sailors and marines were only allowed to socialize for the benefit of the Iranian media.

Copyright 2007 The Associated Press. The information contained in the AP news report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press. All active hyperlinks have been inserted by AOL.
2007-04-08 15:48:24

Naive Seniors sucked into giving away their SS checks fund this Evil!
jurisprudence: The law, lawyers, and the court.
Who's the Boss?How Pat Robertson's law school is changing America.
By Dahlia Lithwick
Posted Saturday, April 7, 2007, at 6:52 AM ET

Monica Goodling has a problem. As senior counsel to Attorney General Alberto Gonzales and Justice Department liaison to the White House, Goodling no longer seems to know what the truth is. She must also be increasingly unclear about who her superiors are. This didn't used to be a problem for Goodling, now on indefinite leave from the DoJ. Everything was once very certain: Her boss's truth was always the same as God's truth. Her boss was always either God or one of His staffers.

This week, through counsel, Goodling again refused to testify about her role in the firings of several U.S. attorneys for what appear to be partisan reasons. Asserting her Fifth Amendment privilege against self-incrimination, Goodling somehow felt she may be on the hook for criminal obstruction. But it was never clear whose truths she was protecting or even whose law seems to have tripped her up. She resigned abruptly Friday evening without explanation.

Goodling is an improbable character for a political scandal. She's the mirror opposite of that other Monica—the silly, saucy minx who felled Bill Clinton. A 1995 graduate of an evangelical Christian school, Messiah College, and a 1999 graduate of Pat Robertson's Regent University School of Law (this seems to be her Web page), Goodling's chief claim to professional fame appears to have been loyalty to the president and to the process of reshaping the Justice Department in his image (and thus, His image). A former career official there told the Washington Post that Goodling "forced many very talented, career people out of main Justice so she could replace them with junior people that were either loyal to the administration or would score her some points." And as she rose at Justice, according to a former classmate, Goodling "developed a very positive reputation for people coming from Christian schools into Washington looking for employment in government."
Click Here!

Start digging, and Goodling also looks to be the Forrest Gump of no comments: Here she is in 1997, fielding calls from reporters to Regent's School of Government admissions office. Asked whether non-Christians were admitted, she explained that "we admit all students without discrimination. We are a Christian institution; it is assumed that everyone in the classes are Christians." Here, in 2004, she's answering phones at the Justice Department about whether then-Deputy Solicitor General Paul Clement knew about the abuses at Abu Ghraib when he told the Supreme Court that the United States does not torture. Said Goodling, in lieu of taking the Fifth: "We wouldn't have any comment." (Jenny Martinez, who argued against Clement that day at the court, suggested to Salon's Tim Grieve: "When Mr. Clement said to the court that we wouldn't engage in that kind of behavior, either he was deliberately misleading the court or he was completely out of the loop." Sound familiar?)

Goodling is only one of 150 graduates of Regent University currently serving in this administration, as Regent's Web site proclaims proudly, a huge number for a 29-year-old school. Regent estimates that "approximately one out of every six Regent alumni is employed in some form of government work." And that's precisely what its founder desired. The school's motto is "Christian Leadership To Change the World," and the world seems to be changing apace. Former Attorney General John Ashcroft teaches at Regent, and graduates have achieved senior positions in the Bush administration. The express goal is not only to tear down the wall between church and state in America (a "lie of the left," according to Robertson) but also to enmesh the two.

The law school's dean, Jeffrey A. Brauch, urges in his "vision" statement that students reflect upon "the critical role the Christian faith should play in our legal system." Jason Eige ('99), senior assistant to Virginia Attorney General Bob McDonnell, puts it pithily in the alumni newsletter, Regent Remark: "Your Resume Is God's Instrument."

This legal worldview meshed perfectly with that of former Attorney General John Ashcroft—a devout Pentecostal who forbade use of the word "pride," as well as the phrase "no higher calling than public service," on documents bearing his signature. (He also snatched the last bit of fun out of his press conferences when he covered up the bared breasts of the DoJ statue the "Spirit of Justice"). No surprise that, as he launched a transformation of the Justice Department, the Goodlings looked good to him.
PAGE: 12NEXT >

There is no forgiveness where there is no effort to help the disabled.
Imus appears on Sharpton's radio show

Ed: Yeah,yeah! We get that it is theater designed to cater to the lowest common denominator who think like the knobby headed guy in the back booth, Bernard, is it? That's about money, not helping anyone learn to think to a higher level. There is no forgiveness where there is no effort to help the disabled. Superficiality is often a crime against reason, sanity, morality, and life itself! There is nothing more "American;" nothing more disabled! maybe the comedy value of "nappy" Should exist at the same level as Blonde jokes, but it DOESN'T, SO DON'T DO IT, DUMB-ASS!!! This is 2007. Are you new here?

By DEEPTI HAJELA, Associated Press Writer 25 minutes ago

NEW YORK - Don Imus took a seat on the other side of the microphone Monday, appearing on the Rev.
Al Sharpton's radio show and enduring more criticism for his offensive comments about the Rutgers women's basketball team.

Real people. Real success stories. Yahoo! Personals. See Stephanie and Mike's story.

Imus issued another apology for referring to members of the team as "nappy-headed hos." Sharpton called the comments "abominable" and "racist" and repeated his demand that Imus be fired.

"Our agenda is to be funny and sometimes we go to far. And this time we went way too far," Imus told Sharpton.

Earlier Monday, on his own radio show, Imus called himself "a good person" who made a bad mistake.

"Here's what I've learned: that you can't make fun of everybody, because some people don't deserve it," he said. "And because the climate on this program has been what it's been for 30 years doesn't mean it's going to be what it's been for the next five years or whatever."

Tell the Turds to go fuck themselves, George! Stick up for the Kurds, damn you!
AP
Turkey warns Iraqi Kurds on interference

By SUZAN FRASER, Associated Press Writer 28 minutes ago

ANKARA, Turkey - The prime minister on Monday warned Iraqi Kurds against interfering in southeastern Turkey, where the Kurdish majority is fighting Turkish security forces, saying "the price for them will be very high."

Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan was responding to Massoud Barzani, leader of the Kurdish autonomous region in
Iraq, who said Iraqi Kurds would retaliate for any Turkish interference in northern Iraq by stirring up trouble in southeastern Turkey.

"He's out of place," Erdogan said of Barzani. "He'll be crushed under his words."

The verbal sparring was set off by Barzani on Saturday when he said in an interview with al-Arabiyah television that Iraqi Kurds could "interfere" in Kurdish-majority Turkish cities if Ankara interfered in northern Iraq.

The remark touched a nerve in Turkey, where more than 37,000 people have been killed in fighting between Turkish security forces and Kurdish rebels since 1984, most of them in the southeastern region bordering Iraq. Turkey fears that any moves toward greater independence for Kurds in northern Iraq could incite Turkey's own estimated 14 million Kurds to outright rebellion.

Turkey is especially concerned about Barzani's bid to incorporate the northern Iraqi city of Kirkuk into his semiautonomous region, fearing that Iraqi Kurds will use revenues from the city's oil wealth to fund a bid for independence.

"Northern Iraq, which is a neighbor, is making a serious mistake: The price for them will be very high," Erdogan warned.

Last week, the Iraqi government decided to implement a constitutional requirement to determine the status of Kirkuk — which is disputed among several different ethnic groups — by the end of the year. The plan is expected to turn Kirkuk and its vast oil reserves over to Kurdish control, a step rejected by many of Iraq's Arabs and its Turkmen — ethnic Turks who are strongly backed by the Turkish government.

Some in Turkey have hinted at military action to prevent the Kurds from gaining control of Kirkuk.

Barzani's remarks were front-page news and angered many in Turkey, with opposition parties criticizing the government for not responding harshly to the Kurdish leader's threat.

Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul called Secretary of State
Condoleezza Rice on Saturday to discuss Barzani's remarks, the government-run Anatolia news agency reported.

Kursad Tuzmen, the Turkish minister in charge of trade, said earlier Monday: "Turkey's hand of friendship is warm and solid. But for those who don't deserve it, it is very heavy — it should never be tested." Turkey is an important trading partner for the Iraqi Kurds.

In the interview with Al-Arabiya on Saturday Barzani said: "Turkey is not allowed to intervene in the Kirkuk issue and if it does, we will interfere in Diyarbakir's issues and other cities in Turkey." Diyarbakir is the largest city in Turkey's Kurdish-dominated southeast.

When asked about the Turkmen minority in Kirkuk and Turkey's concern for its ethnic brethren, Barzani shot back:

"There are 30 million Kurds in Turkey and we don't interfere there. If they (the Turks) interfere in Kirkuk over just thousands of Turkmen, then we will take action for the 30 million Kurds in Turkey."

"I hope we don't reach this point, but if the Turks insist on intervening in the Kirkuk matter I am ready to take responsibility for our response," Barzani said.

The ancient city of Kirkuk has a large minority of Turkmen as well as Christians, Shiite and Sunni Arabs, Armenians and Assyrians.

__

Associated Press Writer Benjamin Harvey in Istanbul contributed to this report.

The "Every Sperm Is Sacred" bunch don't seem to grow into the promise of their Intelligence Quotents easily.
Stem cell vote set for Congress this week

By Maggie Fox, Health and Science Editor Mon Apr 9, 9:24 AM ET

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Stem cells will be at the top of the agenda for the U.S. Senate when it returns on Tuesday with supporters of the research hoping they can change the president's mind on the issue and opponents hoping to have a say about their stand.

The Senate will consider two bills, one virtually identical to a bill vetoed by
President George W. Bush last year that would have expanded and encouraged federal funding of human embryonic stem cell research.

The other is a compromise measure worked out by Republicans Sen. Johnny Isakson (news, bio, voting record) of Georgia and Norm Coleman (news, bio, voting record) of Minnesota. It would encourage stem cell research on embryos that have naturally lost the ability to develop into fetuses, such as those that have died "naturally" during fertility treatments.

The compromise bill also would support the creation of a bank of stem cells taken from amniotic fluid and placentas -- two recently discovered potential sources.

This bill replaces last year's alternative sponsored by Kansas Republican Sam Brownback (news, bio, voting record), which would ban human embryonic stem cell research and encourage research using other types of stem cells.

The House of Representatives passed a bill in January that would expand federal funding of stem cell research, which is now restricted by Bush to batches available as of August 2001. But the bill does not have enough supporters to override a second presidential veto.

It is not clear how much support there is for either Senate bill, although opponents of human embryonic stem cell research, such as Brownback, have signaled they will vote for the compromise bill. They also said they were looking forward to making use of up to 20 hours of scheduled debate.

Stem cells are the body's master cells, giving rise to all the tissues and cells that make up a living creature. Scientists are working with stem cells from a variety of sources to try to cure diseases such as diabetes and Parkinson's, and perhaps someday regenerate organs and tissue.

VARIOUS SOURCES

Stem cells taken from days-old human embryos appear to be especially powerful and many scientists consider them among the most promising sources of stem cell research. But most researchers stress that it is important to study all types and sources of stem cells.

The United States has no restrictions on research funded by private sources or by states and several, including California, are actively funding embryonic stem cell research.

Opponents say it is unethical to experiment on human embryos and especially wrong to destroy them.

"Without an understanding that life begins at conception and that an embryo is a nascent human being, there will always be arguments that other uses, takeovers and make-overs of embryos are justified by potential scientific and medical benefits," the White House wrote in a report issued in January.

The issue transcends the abortion debate with conservative Republicans who oppose abortion such as Utah Sen. Orrin Hatch (news, bio, voting record) backing broader federal funding of embryonic stem-cell research.

Polls show the U.S. public consistently supports embryonic stem cell research, especially using embryos left over from fertility treatments.

"We got a super-majority under the Republican-controlled 109th Congress," said Sean Tipton of the American Society of Reproductive Medicine, which lobbies in support of embryonic stem-cell research.

Tipton said the current Democratic-controlled Senate will be even friendlier. "When the Senate passes this bill, the president is going to be under incredible pressure to acknowledge that the science has changed and to acknowledge that the American people support this research," he said in a telephone interview.

Evil Bushco squashes negotiated drug prices for Wisconsin seniors!!
FRI., APR 6, 2007 - 1:30 AM
Waiver for SeniorCare is rejected
MARK PITSCH 608-252-6145
mpitsch@madison.com

Gov. Jim Doyle's administration is reviewing how best to maintain prescription drug services to the elderly after the federal government rejected the state's request to extend the popular SeniorCare program, the governor said Wednesday.

Regardless, Doyle said at a news conference that the decision likely kills the program, forcing the 104,000 people on SeniorCare to use the Medicare Part D drug plan.

"It's pretty hard to say it can be salvaged," Doyle said of SeniorCare.

Losing SeniorCare would cost taxpayers money and increase the price Wisconsin's elderly pay for medications, he said.

He said he will ask lawyers to review the federal decision.

In an April 3 letter to Doyle, Leslie Norwalk, acting administrator for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, said the federal government wavier allowing Wisconsin to operate SeniorCare would expire June 30 because state officials had not proven the program was cost-neutral. She said the state's waiver request didn't include information about the assets of program participants, which would help determine if SeniorCare saved taxpayers money.

The agency would consider allowing the program to continue through the end of this year if the state abandoned SeniorCare and created a program to supplement the federal Medicare Part D prescription drug plan, she said.

Kevin Hayden, secretary of the Department for Health and Family Services, said Wednesday he has asked that the waiver be extended through 2007 so the state has time to create a new program. He said he expects it will be granted.

Doyle said one option under consideration by the administration would be the creation of a supplemental program. He said there are other options he wouldn't disclose.
Darlene Finch, 70, of Oregon, was upset by the Bush administration decision.

"It's devastating that they're canceling out SeniorCare," Finch said. "I can't understand. SeniorCare is a very good program. Why are they are so determined to cancel it?"

A retired switchboard operator, Finch said one of her rheumatoid arthritis drugs costs $1,400 a month. She said under Medicare Part D, the government would pay for the first $2,500, then she would have to pay the next $3,000 before the plan would cover additional costs. That's money she said she can't afford. With SeniorCare, she gets the same drug for about $15 per month, she said.

Doyle said Wednesday that the savings for people like Finch comes after the state negotiates big price discounts with drug companies.

This year, SeniorCare will cost the state $57.6 million and the federal government $53.6 million. The program saves $62.2 million through drug company discounts, the state said.

Doyle and advocates for the elderly who attended the governor's news conference Wednesday urged the roughly 104,000 SeniorCare participants not to worry because the program has not ended yet.

"Don't panic," said Tom Frazier, executive director of the Coalition of Wisconsin Aging Groups. "There is time. Take a deep breath."

Administration officials urged people with questions to call the SeniorCare hot line, 800-657-2038. Officials also will contact those in the program to let them know about developments, said Matt Canter, a spokesman for Doyle.
As word spread Wednesday about the waiver, Democrats and Republicans escalated the political rhetoric about who was to blame.

At a news conference, Doyle, a Democrat, said the Bush administration was ignoring the facts on costs savings to taxpayers and the impact on the elderly by forcing them into the Medicare Part D plan. Wisconsin is the last state with its own prescription drug program for the elderly after the Bush administration killed off other state programs, he said.

"This has become a pattern with President Bush," Doyle said. "Stubborn and unwilling to admit a mistake. Relying on ideology while ignoring obvious facts. And putting rich, powerful interests ahead of regular people."

Republicans accused Doyle and the Democrats of trying to score political points. Some blamed Doyle for failing to submit all of the information Norwalk's office requested.

"I am disappointed that the federal government has denied Wisconsin's application to extend the waiver under which we offer the SeniorCare program," Senate Minority Leader Scott Fitzgerald, R-Juneau, said in a statement. "I am also disappointed that the Doyle administration failed to collect or provide information the federal government had repeatedly requested as they considered Wisconsin's application."

But state lawmakers also urged cooperation in trying to create a program that will supplement Medicare Part D and be affordable to the state's elderly.

Members of the state's federal delegation from both parties issued statements Wednesday saying they were disappointed with the decision.

Former Wisconsin Gov. Tommy Thompson, launching his bid for the presidency Wednesday, said he, too, was disappointed in the wavier rejection, according to spokesman Tony Jewell. But Thompson, who approved the state's SeniorCare waiver as secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services, urged state officials to accept the decision.

Wisconsin began SeniorCare in September 2002 as a way to provide low-cost prescription drugs to the elderly. The Bush administration started Medicare Part D in January 2006.

For more information

On Medicare Part D:

800-633-4227

www.medicare.gov

On SeniorCare:

800-657-2038

dhfs.wisconsin.gov/seniorcare/

Other resources:

Dane County benefits specialists at the Coalition of Wisconsin Aging Groups: 608-224-0606, 800-488-2596

Disability Rights Wisconsin, 608-267-0214

AARP, 888-687-2277


Copyright ? 2007 Wisconsin State Journal

Trusting the great WHITE FATHER (MUTHER) in Washington DC speakng in forked tongues isn't working out!
'Our Homes Are Going into the Sea'

Interview with Sheila Watt-Cloutier*, Inter Press Service (IPS) Fri Apr 6, 10:14 PM ET

UNITED NATIONS, Apr 6 (IPS) - "The ice is not only our roads but also our supermarket," says Sheila Watt-Cloutier, an Inuit leader who has been fighting for the rights of indigenous peoples in the Canadian Arctic region for many years.

The Inuit people journey across the frozen ocean for much of the year. For them, sea ice allows for safe travel on the perilous Arctic waters and provides a stable platform from which to hunt its bounty.

But all that has begun to change as a result of global warming. The ice is melting from below, and the Inuit hunters can no longer trust its stability.

In the past few years, many hunters have died or been injured after falling through thin ice. Changing weather patterns have forced many native communities who lived in coastal areas for thousands of years to move to other places.

Testifying at a hearing of the Inter-American Human Rights Commission in Washington last month, Watt-Cloutier said that global warming "is destroying our right to life, health, property, and means of subsistence."

At the hearing, Watt-Cloutier, who has been nominated for this year's Nobel Peace Prize, also raised critical questions about the role of governments that refuse to acknowledge the disastrous effects of climate change on the environment and indigenous communities in the Arctic region.

Following are excerpts from a recent interview IPS conducted with Watt-Cloutier.

IPS: We all know that the Arctic region is becoming increasingly vulnerable to global warming. Could you explain how is it affecting the biodiversity of the region, and the lives and culture of your people?

Sheila Watt-Cloutier: Our hunting culture is very much based on the snow, the ice. Nowhere else in the world does the ice and snow represent mobility and transportation [as it does] for us. So the changes are really great in terms of the ice forming much later in the fall and breaking up much earlier in the spring, and we also are having the ice conditions changing as well, in terms of it not forming as thick as it used to be. And because this is our highway, it becomes an issue of safety and security.

The permafrost is melting in certain areas much more than others. At certain areas in our region, like where I come from in Nunavut, we've had to move and relocate some houses because they were bucking inwards because of the permafrost melting. And then we have places like Alaska where the coastal erosion is so big, so huge, that homes, over the years, have just gone into the sea.

Some of the other things are different species of fish and different species of birds and insects that have found their way into the Arctic now, for which we don't even have names, because they are following the warming trend and they end up in the Arctic. The glaciers are melting so fast that what used to be safe streams for our hunters and our families to cross sometimes have become torrential rivers.

IPS: What about the communities that have suffered from displacement. Is there any assistance from the governments of the region?

SWC: In Alaska, they are trying to find ways in which to relocate them, yeah, but really who fits the bill? That's the problem. Because no one has been able to address this issue as seriously as it needed to be addressed over the years. And now as a result it's too late for some of those communities where there are no adaptation programmes [and] there is no help in terms of relocating them.

IPS: In your testimony before the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights you said that all of this is a violation of human rights. Could you explain?

SWC: Well, we filed a petition to the Commission citing that the inaction of the United States, one of the biggest emitters of greenhouse gases, is indeed violating the human rights of the Inuit of the Arctic by their inaction to address this issue of mitigation of greenhouse gases. I testified about the legal impact and the connection between human rights and the climate change. But we have yet to hear back from them.

IPS: Tell us about how you look at the role of the Arctic Council, which includes Iceland, Finland, Sweden, Denmark, Canada, Norway, Russia and the United States, in addressing the issue of global warming?

SWC: Well, the Arctic Council was created as a high-level governmental membership of those eight countries to deal with sustainable development of the circumpolar world. It has the indigenous people as permanent participants, but not as voting members of it. What we had thought when it was created in 1995 was that it would be able to take more effective action than it has. It has become very good at technical assessments, but it gets paralysed in the politics afterwards.

IPS: U.N. treaties on biodiversity and climate change are already in place. What more do you think the international community can do to minimise the damage that has been done to the biodiversity of the planet, particularly in your region, and its indigenous peoples?

SWC: Well, I think already the
United Nations has played a positive role, for example in the contaminants issue, the persistent organic pollutants, which led to the Stockholm Convention, which is now one of the fastest conventions to have been signed, ratified, and enforced in the history of the U.N.. So when the world comes together to do the right thing, it can do the right thing when the will is there. So that's a success story. But when it comes to climate change issues, it becomes once again paralysed not only at the Arctic Council level, but when the negotiators go in, for example, from powerful countries like the United States who have decided not to sign onto Kyoto.

IPS: The U.S. has not signed onto the treaty on biological diversity either. This treaty recognises the indigenous peoples' knowledge as an essential aspect of global efforts to reverse the loss of biodiversity. What do you say about that?

SWC: The U.S. sterilised the process. And it becomes so hard that even if the global community is moving ahead in those areas, the United States continues to be the odd-man out. But I am still very hopeful that things will change in the United States as well.

IPS: How do you assess the role of the international financial institutions in addressing these issues? How important is the funding aspect?

SWC: Well, it's just one of those situations where we fall through the cracks, because any of these big institutions usually don't fund developed countries. We, in the Arctic, Canada, the United States, Greenland, are considered developed countries, yet we are challenged almost like Third World countries.

We don't qualify to get effective funding to address these issues because our own governments are supposed to be looking after us. There have been no real climate change programmes yet, either in the United States or Canada, to address this issue on our behalf.

IPS: What about the participation of indigenous communities and the significance of their role in the overall efforts to address climate change?

SWC: Well, what we have been trying to say is that we are a people who still feel very connected to our environment, we are very connected to our food source, so we understand the cycles and the rhythms of nature very well. We are not just powerless victims over these compelling issues. Of course, we are very challenged, of course we become the net recipients of these contaminants and are disproportionately negatively impacted.

But we want to play an active role with the world, because we are still a people who connect so much to our hunting way of life and to the ecosystem that we know about sustainability. We have thrived, and not just survived. We want to be equal partners in this. And, of course, the world sometimes tends to view the indigenous people as a thorn in their side rather than equal partners that have solutions to offer to this debate.

*Haider Rizvi is a U.N.-based journalist who has covered indigenous issues for IPS for many years.

Iraq war protester marches to Bush's ranch
Iraq war protester marches to Bush's ranch

By Steve Holland Fri Apr 6, 4:52 PM ET

CRAWFORD, Texas (Reuters) -
Iraq war protester Cindy Sheehan urged
President George W. Bush to "end this madness" in Iraq on Friday in a march toward Bush's ranch.

Sheehan, a vocal protester of the war since her soldier son, Casey, was killed in Iraq in 2004, also expressed disappointment with Democrats in charge of the U.S. Congress for failing to stop the war.

Sheehan took advantage of a heavy media presence covering Bush's Easter weekend by leading an anti-war protest of about three dozen people in a march to the security checkpoint outside Bush's ranch.

Sheehan asked police at the security checkpoint for permission to go see Bush and was told no. She and her group set up an altar with candles on top and she read aloud some of the names of the more than 3,200 American soldiers killed in Iraq.

She said her message to Bush was for him to "end this madness" in Iraq before more people are killed.

"There are hundreds of thousands of people in Iraq and America who are dead forever, and there are families who are destroyed forever because of
George Bush's policies," she told reporters.

Sheehan started visiting Crawford in the summer of 2005 when she wanted to meet with Bush while he vacationing at his ranch. Bush had met with her after her son died but did not see her again, although he sent some top aides to talk to her.

Bush and the Democrats are on a collision course over the president's request for $100 billion to fund the wars in Iraq and
Afghanistan.

Democrats have attached a troop withdrawal timetable to their legislation, and Bush has vowed to veto it if it reaches his desk.

Sheehan said the anti-war movement has been betrayed by Democrats because their legislation delays the withdrawal.

"We think the timeline is now, not 18 months or two years or whenever they feel like it," she said, adding that, "Yeah, people are feeling betrayed."

White House spokesman Gordon Johndroe declined comment on Sheehan's march.

He said Democrats calling on Bush to compromise need to reach agreement among themselves on which elements they support among competing versions of their bills in the House of Representatives and the Senate.

"They need to negotiate with themselves, figure out what their positions are," Johndroe said.

If this business philosophy hurt Disney financially, this stand would dissappear.
Disney opens weddings to gay couples

By GARY GENTILE, Associated Press Writer 1 hour, 1 minute ago

LOS ANGELES - Same-sex couples who want to exchange vows in front of Cinderella's Castle now have the chance.

The Walt Disney Co. had limited its Fairy Tale Wedding program to couples with valid marriage licenses, but it is now making ceremonies at its parks available to gay couples as well.

"We believe this change is consistent with Disney's long-standing policy of welcoming every guest in an inclusive environment," Disney Parks and Resorts spokesman Donn Walker said Friday. "We want everyone who comes to celebrate a special occasion at Disney to feel welcome and respected."

The company said it made the change after being contacted by a gay couple who wanted to use the wedding service, which offers ceremonies at Disneyland in California, Walt Disney World Resort in Florida and Disney's cruise ships.

The service offers flowers, dining, music and many optional Disney touches, from ceremonies in front of the parks' iconic attractions to having Mickey and Minnie Mouse in formal wear as guests. The packages start at $8,000 and can cost more than $45,000.

Groups not affiliated with Disney have held annual "gay days" celebrations at Disney parks for years. Company officials have taken a tolerant attitude to the weekend, allowing party promoters to rent out parks after hours and rebuffing religious groups that condemned Disney.

In 2005, Southern Baptists ended an eight-year boycott of the Walt Disney Co. for violating "moral righteousness and traditional family values."

Why don't the damned spin artists just stay the hell out of this!
Soldier friend of Prince William killed

21 minutes ago

LONDON - A British female soldier killed by a roadside bomb in
Iraq was a close friend of Prince William, a spokesman for the royal family said Friday.


Second Lt. Joanna Yorke Dyer, 24, was among four soldiers killed when a British patrol was attacked early Thursday in the southern Iraqi city of Basra.

William, who is second in line to the British throne, met Dyer while both were at the Sandhurst military academy, family spokesman Patrick Harrison said.

"Prince William was deeply saddened to hear the tragic news of Jo Dyer's death," said Harrison, press secretary for
Prince Charles, William's father.

"Jo was a close friend of his at Sandhurst and he is very much thinking of her family and friends right now. They are in his thoughts and prayers."

William and his younger brother, Prince Harry, are both serving officers with the Blues and Royals, an elite cavalry regiment. Harry, third in line to the throne, is to be deployed to Iraq, the Ministry of Defense has said.

Dyer's commanding officer, Lt. Col. Mark Kenyon, said in a statement that the soldier was "a talented and energetic officer who was determined to make the most of her deployment to Iraq."

Prime Minister
Tony Blair called the ambush an "act of terrorism" Thursday and suggested it may have been carried out by elements linked to
Iran, although he stopped short of blaming Tehran.

The British patrol struck a roadside bomb and was hit by small-arms fire, a British military spokeswoman, Capt. Katie Brown, said. The explosion created a 9-foot crater in the road.

A civilian interpreter was also killed and a fifth British soldier was seriously wounded, Brown said.

Does Putin have a cold, yet?
Former spy shadows Putin for throne

By Guy Faulconbridge Fri Apr 6, 3:59 AM ET

SARANSK, Russia (Reuters) - Sergei Ivanov walks and talks like a man who wants to be the next president of Russia, except for one thing: he has not said he is running for the job.

On a trip to a central Russian province that had all the hallmarks of a campaign trip, he toured factories, chatted with townsfolk and squeezed the hand of a four-year-old girl.

Then came the awkward moment. "We hope to see you as president," one resident shouted out.

Ivanov, a suave former KGB spy, tensed for just a fraction of a second, blinked and then resumed his conversation about mortgages and child benefit.

It is still anybody's guess who will succeed President
Vladimir Putin when his second and final term ends next year. His potential heirs are careful not to show any naked ambition until Putin himself has expressed a preference.

What is clear, though, is that the candidate who gets the blessing of the hugely popular Putin is highly likely to stroll through the 2008 presidential election.

And Ivanov, along with his fellow First Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev, is a front-runner to be that person.

"If Putin does leave, then Ivanov has the number one chance," Olga Kryshtanovskaya, an academic who has studied the Russian elite since 1989, told Reuters.

"Ivanov is the closest person to Putin, a close friend and they have very good relations. If Medvedev is, say, Putin's adopted son, then Ivanov is his brother," she said.

FRONT-RUNNER

Ivanov's front-runner status has left Russian voters -- as well as foreign investors -- keen to get a feel for the man, and the sort of president he would make.

The 54-year-old worked as a spy in Scandinavia, Africa and Western Europe. The period left its mark: Ivanov speaks fluent English, though he prefers not to use it in public, and has a taste for English espionage novels.

Ivanov has a wry sense of humour and is noticeably more of a natural performer than Medvedev.

He also has a keen eye for populists slogans. This week he urged Russian consumers to boycott goods from ex-Soviet Estonia, which has angered many Russians with plans to move a memorial to Soviet troops.

Dressed in a black polo-neck sweater and navy blazer, Ivanov last week toured the railway-truck factory in Saransk, a town 630 km (390 miles) east of Moscow.

Officers from the Federal Security Service kept a close eye on a Reuters reporter during Ivanov's tour.

Displaying his common touch, he told workers at the factory he had come to learn about the economy, asked about their wages and joked about the weather.

"It was very pleasant to speak to him," said Valentina, a worker at the plant. "He speaks in a laid-back manner."

One person who has been in close contact with Ivanov over several years said he was more at home with grand strategy than talking to the people.

"He is a master strategist, an intellectual and quite brilliant, but for him people are part of a system, elements in a strategy - he doesn't feel people. There is a coldness there," the source said.

From the factory, Ivanov went on to light a candle in Saransk's Orthodox Church and then walked out to speak with a mother walking her baby.

"I see you are fulfilling the demographic plan," Ivanov said wryly.

Ivanov has made political missteps. In his previous job as defence minister, he was caught out by news that a conscript had his legs and genitals amputated after a bout of bullying.

He initially told reporters that if the case was important his aides would have told him about it.

But his promotion in February to the post of first deputy prime minister released him from the defence portfolio. His new duties, in overall charge of industrial policy, give him a higher profile, and greater exposure on television.