Again in the catagory for what a sick world we live in.
FBI: Pa. student hoped to breed sex slave society
JOE MANDAK ASSOCIATED PRESSOriginally published 05:10 p.m., August 19, 2008, updated 05:08 p.m., August 19, 2008
PITTSBURGH (AP) - A Pennsylvania medical student told a classmate he was trying to recruit a New Zealand woman and her 4-year-old daughter to start a society of sex slaves that would live on a farm or island, the FBI said.
The FBI said in an affidavit filed Aug. 13 that it began investigating Jeremy Noyes, 30, of Erie, after someone tipped them off about his efforts to recruit the New Zealand woman and girl to come to the United States. They said he also possessed child pornography.
The tipster, using a pseudonym, submitted a complaint on an FBI Web page in June in which she wrote, "Noyes has threatened to kill me and my family ... (and) will not rest until we are dead. All the evidence you need is in his computer and that little girl's mind. Please save her."
Investigators got warrants to search Noyes' two e-mail accounts and found "images of prepubescent minors engaged in sexually explicit activity," the FBI wrote in the affidavit.
The images Noyes is accused of sending and receiving do not depict the New Zealand woman or her daughter. FBI agent William Crowley could not say Tuesday if authorities have determined whether they even exist.
Noyes was in custody Tuesday and faces a hearing before a federal magistrate in Erie on Thursday to determine whether he will remain jailed on the child pornography charges until he stands trial. He is represented by a federal public defender who declined to comment Tuesday in line with the office's policy of not speaking to the media.
The tipster's note said Noyes claimed he had been instructing the girl's mother to train the girl to perform bizarre sexual acts, to expose her to pornography and to mete out "extreme punishments such as locking her in a closet with no food for three days."
The note led the FBI to interview a woman who attended school with Noyes at the Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine. The classmate told the FBI she had dated Noyes and acted as his sex slave.
She also detailed Noyes' plans for the New Zealand woman, who is pregnant, and her daughter, the affidavit said.
Noyes wanted them to move in with him, she said, and his intent was to have sex with the woman and her daughter and breed a family of female sex slaves, according to the affidavit.
The FBI investigation said it found women who corresponded with Noyes online and, in turn, the child-sex images in his e-mail account this month.
A spokesman for the medical school said that confidentiality laws prevent him from commenting on Noyes' status at the school.
Noyes faces as many as 40 years in prison if he is convicted of the child pornography charges. The magistrate on Thursday must determine whether he is likely to flee prosecution or too dangerous to remain free pending trial.
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2008/aug/19/fbi-pa-student-hoped-to-breed-sex-slave-society-1/

If they do it to them, they will being doing it to you.
FBI blames phone flap on miscommunication
Critics unlikely to be mollified
The FBI's top lawyer said miscommunication - not malevolence - led the bureau in 2004 to improperly obtain the telephone records of newspaper reporters writing about Islamic terrorism in Indonesia.
Valerie E. Caproni, the FBI's general counsel, told The Washington Times in an interview that her explanation was based on a preliminary review of e-mails sent among agents at the time.
It was the first time an FBI official described any circumstances surrounding the situation, though the explanation seems unlikely to sway critics.
A more definitive account of the situation is expected to be included in a forthcoming report from the Justice Department's Inspector General (IG) into the use of so-called "exigent letters."
The FBI used such letters to request telephone toll-billing records and subscriber information, but not the content of the calls. The letters sent to the phone companies simply stated the information was being requested because of an emergency.
"Exigent letters" are similar to the controversial National Security Letters (NSLs), which allow agents to gather certain information without normal judicial oversight.

Valerie E. Caproni
In the case regarding the New York Times and The Washington Post, the FBI violated a long-standing Justice Department policy that requires high-level approval before seeking that type of information from journalists.
FBI Director Robert S. Mueller III apologized to The Times and The Post earlier this month, and the case likely will be brought up Sept. 17, when he testifies before the Senate Judiciary Committee.
Ms. Caproni said the case agent e-mailed an agent in the terrorism-investigating Communications Analysis Unit (CAU) to suggest seeking Justice Department permission and a grand jury subpoena to obtain the reporters' phone records.
Ms. Caproni said the case agent did not say it was an emergency, but the agent in CAU sent an "exigent letter" anyway.
While it is not known why the agent in CAU sent the letter, Ms. Caproni suggested the agent in CAU may have been trying to be helpful. She also noted CAU is on the front lines of the fight against terrorism and that the unit was busy at the time.

Robert S. Mueller III
Mike German, policy counsel for the American Civil Liberties Union's Washington legislative office, said he didn't buy Ms. Caproni's argument. "It's clear the FBI wants to minimize this as a mistake and not abuse," he said. "The facts are, there was a ridiculous amount of misuse and abuse."
Ms. Caproni said she does not want to minimize the bureau's mistakes, but stressed changes made in recent years should prevent a similar situation in the future.
She said the bureau has banned the use of "exigent letters" and has a new process in place to obtain such information in an emergency.
An agent seeking emergency toll-billing information from a phone company now must write a memo explaining the emergency that makes such a request necessary. Ms. Caproni said a supervisor must approve the request.
In the past, phone companies could refuse the requests made in an "exigent letter." But they were in a difficult position to do so because they didn't know the circumstances of the apparent emergency.
Now, Ms. Caproni said, the letters sent to phone companies must provide more facts to help the company determine whether the emergency is serious enough to turn over the records without first receiving a subpoena.
"This, at least, creates a factual record," Ms. Caproni said. "Assuming it passes the 'straight-face test,' we don't anticipate any problems with the phone companies."
According to a report from the Justice Department's inspector general, more than 700 "exigent letters" were sent from 2003 to 2006.
"The numbers of true emergencies is far smaller than that," Ms. Caproni said. "It's a small number of true emergencies, though there are some. There are times when we have true emergencies, and we need things quickly."
She said she is not sure how many letters have been sent under the new standards.
The upcoming IG report will be its third about the bureau's expanded investigative power under the Patriot Act, which originally was passed in response to the 2001 terrorist attacks.
The first two reports focused mostly on NSLs, which allow the bureau to act unilaterally in demanding financial, phone and other records. Unlike typical subpoenas or search warrants, NSLs do not need judicial approval.
The reports found widespread abuses.
"National Security Letters can be a valuable tool for the FBI to use in detecting and preventing acts of terrorism. But abuses should not be tolerated; there's too much at stake for the FBI to get it wrong," Sen. Charles E. Grassley, Iowa Republican and member of the Judiciary Committee, said Monday. "The FBI needs better transparency and accountability, and those who broke the rules should be held accountable."
Ms. Caproni said the biggest problems with NSLs were similar to those regarding "exigent letters" in the Times and the Post case. She described them not as malicious, but as "procedural" or "failure of care."
In 2007, the bureau increased training about NSLs and created a work-flow system that ensures supervisory review. Every NSL also must be reviewed by a bureau lawyer, she said.
Despite the changes, Ms. Caproni doesn't suspect any fewer NSLs are being sent.
Mr. German thinks the bureau's internal changes are not enough. "This requires outside oversight," he said. "Getting the courts involved is the most important check against abuses of executive power."
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2008/aug/26/fbi-blames-phone-flap-on-miscommunication/

Wind, solar projects race to finish before tax credit expires
By Paul Davidson, USA TODAY
A congressional stand-off that has blocked extension of federal tax credits for renewable energy projects is setting off a boom in the wind and solar industries. Developers and customers are racing to install systems by year's end to qualify for the credits, which can cut the cost of a large commercial system by 30%.
Wind developer EnXco has spent millions to ensure wind farms in Minnesota and California are spinning this year, says CEO Tristan Grimbert. "We will go the extra mile to be on time."
Randall Swisher, head of the American Wind Energy Association, says 8,000 megawatts of wind energy — the equivalent of 16 average coal-fired plants — are under construction, with developers scrambling to finish most by year's end.
Solar panel installations in California are up 74% this year, at least partly due to the tax-break impasse, says Larry Sherwood, a consultant for the Interstate Renewable Energy Council. It's mostly businesses that are racing to beat the clock, says Barry Cinnamon, CEO of installer Akeena Solar.
Sempra Generation is hurrying to finish a solar farm in Nevada, though it hasn't lined up a utility to buy the power. "We stepped out a little bit," says CEO Michael Allman, adding he expects to find a buyer.

Extension of the tax credits has wide support in Congress, but the issue has bogged down in partisan battles. Senate Democrats insist the subsidies — costing the Treasury at least $1.7 billion a year — be offset with new revenue, while Republicans insist on an energy package that includes offshore oil drilling. Energy consultant Stow Walker expects the credits to be extended, but Congress plans to adjourn in early October, leaving just weeks to decide.
The boom could be short-lived. Uncertainty about renewal of the credits is causing projects scheduled for 2009 and beyond to be delayed or scrapped.
Abengoa Solar can't get financing for a $1 billion solar thermal plant in Arizona without the credit, says company senior adviser Fred Morse. National Wind says four Midwest projects are in limbo. EnXco's Grimbert has rerouted turbines intended for the Midwest to the United Kingdom. "This is a classic boom-bust cycle, and it's not at all good for the industry," Sherwood says.
If tax breaks aren't renewed by December, up to 115,000 workers could be laid off in early 2009, according to the trade groups for wind and solar.
The wind industry endured similar gyrations in 1999, 2001 and 2003 when Congress let the tax benefit expire. Lawmakers ultimately renewed it the following years, but wind turbine installations fell as much as 93%.
Now, the stakes are higher, because the 2-year-old solar credit is affected for the first time. And wind energy has nearly tripled the past five years.
http://www.usatoday.com/money/industries/energy/2008-08-25-alternative-energy-tax-credits_N.htm

Pet-food recall leads to 6,000 claims and counting
By Julie Schmit, USA TODAY
Almost 6,000 claims have been filed in a class-action settlement stemming from last year's massive pet-food recall.
Menu Foods, other pet-food makers and retailers in May agreed to set up a $24 million cash fund to compensate pet owners whose cats and dogs became sick or died after eating food that had a contaminated ingredient from China.
The filing period for claims began May 30 and will run until Nov. 24.
"I expect that number (of claims) will go up a lot. There's quite a bit of time to go," says attorney Sherrie Savett of plaintiffs' law firm Berger & Montague.
The Food and Drug Administration never identified how many pets were affected, but it received more than 17,000 complaints.

Once a claim is filed, it will be reviewed by an independent claims administrator. Claimants may receive a 100% cash payment for all documented expenses deemed reasonable, including veterinary bills and burial costs. They may receive up to $900 for undocumented expenses. Under the terms of the settlement, most claims are likely to be paid next year.
To be eligible, claimants must have bought or fed their pets one of the recalled pet foods.
A federal judge in New Jersey gave the settlement preliminary approval in May. A hearing for final approval is scheduled for October.
If the court approves the settlement as expected, it would resolve more than 100 lawsuits brought in the U.S. and a dozen in Canada. The $24 million is in addition to $8 million that pet-food makers have already paid to pet owners.
Legal fees and attorneys' expenses, which haven't been determined, will come out of the fund. Attorneys' fees cannot exceed 31% of the fund for the U.S. and Canadian attorneys combined, according to the settlement's terms.
The vast majority of the fund will go to pet owners whose pets were injured or died as a result of kidney failure, which was linked to the contaminant.
The FDA determined that the pet-food ingredients, sold to pet-food makers as wheat gluten and rice protein concentrate, were adulterated in China with the industrial chemical melamine to make them appear richer in protein than they actually were.
The recall was the largest ever for the pet-food industry.
It began March 16, 2007, by Menu Foods, a large maker of wet pet food for many pet-food brands.
The recall grew to involve 12 pet-food makers and 180 brands of pet food and treats. Along with Menu, other defendants include Hill's Pet Nutrition, Iams and retailers such as Wal-Mart.
Menu Foods, which supplied most of the recalled foods, has pegged its recall costs at $55 million, some of which went to the settlement fund.
If there is money remaining after claims have been processed, it will go to charities that promote the well-being of pets, the settlement says.
A website has been set up at www.petfoodsettlement.com. The claims administrator can be reached at 800-392-7785.
http://www.usatoday.com/money/industries/manufacturing/2008-08-25-pet-food-recall_N.htm

Squier's ID found in women's restroom
John McCaslin (Contact)Tuesday, August 26, 2008
Peggy Cusack, chief of staff of the 2008 Democratic National Convention, wrote a rather intriguing e-mail to her staff Tuesday summing up day one of the Denver proceedings, which included speeches by Sen. Edward M. Kennedy and Michelle Obama.
"Great job guys! One down, three to go!" she begins, then makes these points, among others:
"1. Morning coordination meeting, we probably don't need one today, unless anyone thinks we still might have outstanding convention issues that haven't been addressed yet?
"2. I think that congressional staffer made a career move when she 'lost' her boss's parking pass.
"3. I just spit coffee.
"4. Who do you want to bet cries first?
"5. No, sir, we actually do not provide food for protesters.
"6. Does anyone know where Mark Squier is? I just found his USSS ID - in the women's restroom."
A convention producer, Mr. Squier is a media consultant and strategic adviser to numerous Democratic candidates, having co-founded Squier/Eskew Communications in 1991. A filmmaker, he produced the Emmy- and Academy Award-winning film "The Blue Men."
Ms. Cusack, when not politicking, is managing director of the Washington office of Rendezvous Consulting Group. For eight years she was the Clinton White House event planner.
DONKEY CHANGE
Among the more outrageous T-shirt messages spotted within the venue of the Democratic National Convention: "Monica Lewinsky's Ex-Boyfriend's Wife for President."
And in the spirit of "change" there's another popular T-shirt showing a donkey sporting an afro with a comb stuck in it.
PAUSE, JOE
Renowned copy editor Merrill Perlman comes to the defense of outspoken Sen. Joe Biden in this week's Columbia Journalism Review, her headline: "Comma Suture: A little punctuation mark can hold things together, or rend them asunder."
She observes that the selection of Mr. Biden to be Barack Obama's running mate has revived the debate over a statement the Delaware Democrat made in early 2007: "I mean, you got the first mainstream African-American who is articulate and bright and clean and a nice-looking guy."
"Now, we're not going to deal with the question of whether his use of words like 'articulate' and 'clean' was racist or otherwise loaded, or whether he was slighting other 'mainstream' African-Americans like Jesse Jackson, Shirley Chisholm or even Jackie Robinson. Instead, we're going to focus on the comma that could have helped make his point clearer," Ms. Perlman writes.
Instead, she quotes Dean Mills, who happens to be dean of the University of Missouri School of Journalism: "Seldom has the distinction between a restrictive and a nonrestrictive clause been more important. Without the comma, which is how every version I've seen is punctuated, it sounds as if Biden is saying that all other African-American candidates were not articulate, bright, etc.
"But if you listen to the clips, Biden pauses significantly between 'African-American' and 'who.' So he could have meant (and almost certainly did): 'I mean, you got the first mainstream African-American, who is articulate and bright and clean and a nice-looking guy.'"
Ms. Perlman says she and Dean Mills "have had frequent run-ins over the serial comma, which he fervently believes in and I don't. But this time, I'm on his side."
POLITICOS GONE WILD
Just in time for the Democratic National Convention hosted by his city, Denver author Kim Long, who has published The American Forecaster Almanac annually since 1984, brings readers the Almanac of Political Corruption, Scandals & Dirty Politics.
All told, he recalls 300 years of political wrongdoing, era-defining misdeeds and indiscretions, from Teapot Dome to Monica Lewinsky.
We've leafed through the book, which goes on sale next Tuesday, to sadly discover that the current decade is as ripe with monkey business as any before.
John McCaslin can be reached at 202/636-3284 or jmccaslin@washingtontimes.com.
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2008/aug/26/squiers-id-found-in-womens-restroom/?page=2


Russia seeks support from eastern neighbors
DUSHANBE, Tajikistan (AP) — Russia's president appealed to the leaders of China and four Central Asian countries for support Thursday amid the fallout over Moscow's invasion of Georgia and its recognition of the country's separatist regions.
Speaking at a Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit in this impoverished country, President Dmitry Medvedev called Georgia the aggressor in the conflict and said support for Russia would serve as a "serious signal for those who are trying to justify the aggression."
Medvedev's appeal came as Western leaders accuse Russia of using excessive force by sending troops into Georgia earlier this month after a Georgian crackdown on the pro-Russian South Ossetia.
European nations and the United States have also criticized Russian troops' continued presence in Georgia near the two separatist regions, South Ossetia and Abkhazia, and Moscow's recognition of them as independent republics.
Russian leaders, meanwhile, have blamed NATO expansion and Western support for Georgia for raising the specter of a new Cold War.
China and the other Shanghai Cooperation Organization member states — Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan — were expected to stop short of endorsing Medvedev's recognition of the regions.
Medvedev discussed the situation in Georgia with Chinese President Hu Jintao on Wednesday, Medvedev's spokeswoman Natalia Timakova said.
China has traditionally been wary of supporting separatist movements, mindful of its own problems with Tibet and what it describes as radicals seeking to establish a Muslim state in the western territory of Xinjiang.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang was quoted by state news agency Xinhua as saying "the situation in the region ... should be resolved in dialogue."
Dmitry Peskov, spokesman for Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, told reporters Wednesday that China's refusal to recognize South Ossetia or Abkhazia did not mean that China was joining Western opposition to Russia's actions in Georgia.
The other nations in the alliance may be reluctant to strain their relations with Europe and the United States.
The Asian alliance was created in 2001 as a forum for its members to improve regional coordination on terrorism and border security.
http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2008-08-28-russia-support_N.htm?loc=interstitialskip