 Small's salary was increased from $356,000 in 2000 to $819,000 in 2005 and, according to Senator Charles Grassley who's investigating the Smithsonian's Board of Regents, that increase was without any apparent justification or benchmarks; In 2005 Small received up to $179,322 in additional compensation for housing costs, including a subsidy based on a fixed 30-year mortgage rate to occupy the house he already owns; Small is allowed premium first class travel (which is usually disallowed and/or deemed inappropriate for charities); Small's wife accompanied him to a Board meeting in China, expenses paid, then took a side business trip to Cambodia without him which she expensed for $5,764 — such expenses are supposed to be approved in advance, but this was not; Small booked a $14,509 charter flight from San Antonio, Tex., in 2001 when he could have flown first class commercial for $2000. Small then told the press that he'd paid for the flight out of his own pocket when in fact it ...
http://www.cbsnews.com
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Editor - 18:20:00 02-25-07
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 Rice Says Bush Won't Abide By Legislation To Limit Iraq War |
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice urged the Democratic-controlled Congress not to interfere in the conduct of the Iraq war and suggested President Bush would defy troop withdrawal legislation. But Sen. Carl Levin, chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, said lawmakers would step up efforts to force Bush to change course. ``The president needs a check and a balance,'' said Levin, D-Mich. Rice said proposals being drafted by Senate Democrats to limit the war amounted to ``the worst of micromanagement of military affairs.'' She said military leaders such as Gen. David Petraeus, the new U.S. commander in Iraq, believe the president's plan to send more troops is necessary. ``I can't imagine a circumstance in which it's a good thing that their flexibility is constrained by people sitting here in Washington, sitting in the Congress,'' Rice said. She was asked in a broadcast interview whether Bush would feel bound by legislation seeking to withdraw combat troops within 120 days...
http://www.kotv.com/news/national/story/?id=121151
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Editor - 17:57:00 02-25-07
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| US generals ‘will quit’ if Bush orders Iran attack |
SOME of America’s most senior military commanders are prepared to resign if the White House orders a military strike against Iran, according to highly placed defence and intelligence sources. Tension in the Gulf region has raised fears that an attack on Iran is becoming increasingly likely before President George Bush leaves office. The Sunday Times has learnt that up to five generals and admirals are willing to resign rather than approve what they consider would be a reckless attack. “There are four or five generals and admirals we know of who would resign if Bush ordered an attack on Iran,” a source with close ties to British intelligence said. “There is simply no stomach for it in the Pentagon, and a lot of people question whether such an attack would be effective or even possible.” A British defence source confirmed that there were deep misgivings inside the Pentagon about a military strike. ...
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/iraq/article1434540.ece
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Editor - 17:50:00 02-25-07
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| Israelis put Nablus under curfew |
Israeli forces imposed a curfew and conducted house-to-house searches for wanted militants in a major incursion in the West Bank town of Nablus. Army vehicles which entered Nablus early on Sunday surrounded several buildings including two main hospitals. The Israelis say they aim to counter "terrorist threats" in Nablus. The Palestinian Authority has condemned the incursion, which is one of the biggest Israeli operations the West Bank has seen in recent months. Nablus governor Kamal al-Sheikh demanded the Israelis lift the hospital blockade, to allow medical staff to carry out their work. Main routes into the city have been closed, witnesses say. Schools and a university in Nablus have been closed in response to the raid. There are reports of bulldozers piling up rubble on main roads, making them impassable. ...
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/6394295.stm
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Editor - 12:41:00 02-25-07
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| Space probe performs Mars fly-by |
A European space probe has completed a close fly-by of the planet Mars in a crucial manoeuvre on its 10-year journey to land on a distant comet. The unmanned Rosetta craft passed within some 250 km (150 miles) of Mars. In a precise move, the probe used the planet's gravity to change course on its voyage to the Churyumov-Gerasimenko comet out near Jupiter. Rosetta is due to reach the comet's orbit in 2014 and send a lander to its surface to study its chemistry. The probe must harness the gravitational forces of the planets to build up the speed it needs to chase down and catch the comet. Rosetta's flight takes it round the Sun four times, Mars once and the Earth three times, before hurtling out towards Jupiter. ...
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/6394141.stm
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Editor - 12:35:00 02-25-07
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| Iran rocket claim raises tension |
Iranian media say the country has successfully launched its first rocket capable of reaching space. But officials later said it was for research and would not go into orbit. Experts say if Iran has fired a rocket into space it would cause alarm abroad as it would mean scientists had crossed important technological barriers. Iran has made little secret of its desire to become a space power and already has a satellite in orbit launched by the Russians. The latest launch - if confirmed - comes at a time of mounting tension between Tehran and the West over Iran's controversial nuclear programme. The five permanent members of the UN Security Council and Germany are due to meet on Monday to discuss the possibility of more sanctions over the nuclear issue. On Sunday, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad delivered another defiant speech insisting there is no going back on Iran's nuclear programme. ...
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/6394387.stm
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Editor - 12:32:00 02-25-07
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