The Daily Muck

post from TPMmuckraker on 02 November 2007 11:01:09 AM. © TPMmuckraker

Consumer Product Safety Commissioner Nancy Nord has taken dozens of trips where airfare, accommodations and meals were financed by trade industries and manufacturers under the purview of her agency. The big winner was an $11,000 trip to China, with all costs covered by a fireworks company. (Washington Post)

CBS 60 Minutes has discovered the identity of ?Curve Ball,? the Iraqi defector and secret CIA source who fabricated stories of Iraqi biological weapons that served as the pretext for the US invasion of Iraq. In addition to being a liar, Rafid Ahmed Alwan was a thief and poor student, not a chemical engineer as he claimed. (CBS 60 Minutes)

A New York City Councilman wants to know why former Mayor Rudy Giuliani thought it was appropriate to offer a no-bid contract to Motorola that resulted in faulty radios for firefighters during 9/11. The chair of the city's oversight and investigations committee says he intends to get to the bottom of the matter. (Huffington Post)

University and public librarians are alarmed that Draft House and Senate surveillance bills ?allow the government to compel any ?communications service provider? to provide access to e-mails and other electronic information within the United States as part of federal surveillance of non-U.S. citizens outside the country.? Privacy and academic freedom are at risk because universities that run private Internet networks can be classified as Internet service providers, thus opening up entire campuses to surveillance. (Washington Post)