The Business Section of the NY Times led interviews with a several economists Wednesday with a reassuring paragraph saying there won’t be a depression. In London, meanwhile, The Independent carried this story yesterday:

UK INDEPENDENT: BY OCTOBER, 2008, AMERICA WILL BE IN ANOTHER GREAT DEPRESSION

This may be why John McCain has distanced himself from Bush economic policies.

THE FBI NAMES THE ANTHRAX KILLER
MORE QUESTIONS RAISED ABOUT THE PROBE
CHALLENGING CREDIT CARD COMPANIES

And now the FBI has spoken. IVINS IS THE ONE, THE ONLY ONE, THE LONE ASSASSIN.

Sound familiar?

AP: - Army scientist Bruce Ivins had sole custody of highly purified anthrax spores with “certain genetic mutations identical” to the poison that killed five people and rattled the nation in 2001, according to documents unsealed Wednesday in the government’s investigation.

NPR reported that the FBI the “ biodefense researcher was unable to give them an explanation for a sudden and unusual spike in late-night office visits to the lab.”

THE PROSECUTOR; : Remarks by US Attorney Jeffrey Taylor

We are now beginning the process of concluding this investigation. Once this process is complete, we will formally close the case. Had Dr. Ivins been indicted, he would have been presumed innocent until proven guilty as in the case with any other criminal defendant. We regret that we will not have the opportunity to present the evidence to a jury to determine whether the evidence establishes Dr. Ivins’ guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.

THE FUNERAL–WASHINGTON POST

More than 200 mourners filled a small chapel not far from the lab Ivins used for nearly three decades. The tone of the service was one of unmitigated support and loyalty for the researcher, and there was no mention of the accusations against him before he died July 29. Many in the chapel wept as a singer stood at a piano next to the altar and sang “Somewhere Over the Rainbow.”

Five eulogists, all of whom worked closely with Ivins, praised him as a scientist and friend.

Ivins’ wife, Diane, and their two children, Amanda and Andrew, both 24, sat in the front row and were greeted by Maj. Gen. George Weightman, the commander of Fort Detrick.

Many soldiers and Ivins’ fellow researchers filled the pews, including those who found the allegations against him inconceivable. A statement issued later in the day by Ivins’ attorneys concluded: “No one who attended (the) service could believe that Dr. Ivins committed any crime.”

QUESTIONS, QUESTIONS, QUESTIONS

Earlier in the day, the AP posted some “questions” about the FBI’s case:

Below are some of the biggest unanswered questions in the “Amerithrax” case and the possible answers that have emerged so far.

Q: How could Ivins get access to powdered anthrax, since the biological warfare lab at Ft. Detrick did not deal with the toxin in that form?
A: There is no indication that authorities can prove Ivins made the powdered form of bacteria. Investigators say that in 2001, Ivins borrowed a device, known as a lyopholizer, capable of converting anthrax spores into powder. But some colleagues say it would have been difficult, if not impossible, for Ivins to do that unnoticed.
Q: How can the FBI link Ivins to the anthrax for certain?
A: The FBI used advanced DNA testing to track the anthrax that killed five people to a sample Ivins controlled, but as many as 12 others had access to it. It’s unclear for now exactly how the FBI eliminated those others as suspects.
Q: What motive would Ivins have had to unleash an attack?
A: One investigative theory is that Ivins released the toxin as a way to test cures he was developing or a vaccine he had recently patented. But it’s unclear whether the FBI can prove that. Ivins’ therapist said the scientist had a history of homicidal and sociopath tendencies, but his friends say his mental deterioration was caused by the FBI’s relentless pursuit.
Q: Did Ivins travel to Princeton, N.J., where the anthrax letters are believed to have been mailed?
A: Authorities cannot place Ivins in Princeton when the letters were mailed. And the only explanation for why he’d make the seven-hour round trip is bizarre. Authorities say Ivins was obsessed with the sorority Kappa Kappa Gamma, dating back to his own college days. The Princeton mailbox is not far from the school’s sorority office and authorities say Ivins had made unexpected visits to the sorority at other schools.
Q: Why target media organizations and politicians?
A: The FBI’s initial behavior analysis said it’s unlikely that NBC News, the New York Post, then-Sen. Tom Daschle were selected randomly. Analysts said the targets “are probably very important to the offender” and may have been the focus of his contempt. There is no indication, for now at least, that Ivins demonstrated such feelings. Under the theory that Ivins was testing his cure, lawmakers and media might drum up attention for the importance of anthrax drugs, but it’s unclear whether there’s any evidence about that.
Q: Has the FBI matched handwriting samples from the letters?
A: FBI handwriting analysts described a distinct writing style on the envelopes and letters sent along with the anthrax. The letters were all capitalized and block-style. The names and addresses tilted downward from left to right. The word “cannot” was written as “can not.” The numeral one was written quite formally. The writer selected dashes instead of slashes in the date “09-11-01.” The FBI has seized numerous documents in the case but it’s unclear whether the handwriting has been matched.

Also how did this case relate to the Anthrax incident at the American Media building in Florida?

DAILY NEWS: FBI was told to blame Anthrax scare on Al Qaeda by White House officials

BY JAMES GORDON MEEK, NY DAILY NEWS

WASHINGTON - In the immediate aftermath of the 2001 anthrax attacks, White House officials repeatedly pressed FBI Director Robert Mueller to prove it was a second-wave assault by Al Qaeda, but investigators ruled that out, the Daily News has learned.

After the Oct. 5, 2001, death from anthrax exposure of Sun photo editor Robert Stevens, Mueller was “beaten up” during President Bush’s morning intelligence briefings for not producing proof the killer spores were the handiwork of terrorist mastermind Osama Bin Laden, according to a former aide.

COMMENT BY JOURNALIST ROBERT SCHEER (HP)

Our ostensible reason for developing the world’s most sophisticated arsenal of deadly biological weapons is that the United States needs to learn how to prevent such attacks from deranged outsiders. Now we have yet another reminder that the enemy may be us, and that at least some of the folks who develop weapons like to find occasions to use them. In this case, the terrorist the FBI was about to charge with homicide was a nut case who nonetheless received the highest security clearance to work on the most dangerous of weapons deep within our own military-industrial complex.

This is yet another disappointment for those writing the basic Bush administration narrative in which the terrorist is always some Islamo-fascist guy.

GRASS RECYCLING

From the Sydney Morning Herald:

The FBI believed Mr Ivins had the skills and access to equipment needed to turn anthrax bacteria into an ultra-fine powder that could be used as a lethal weapon. Court documents and tapes also reveal a therapist’s deep concern that Mr Ivins, 62, was homicidal.

Yet colleagues and friends of the vaccine specialist remained convinced he was innocent. They contended that he had neither the motive nor the means to create the lethal powder that was sent by mail to news outlets and congressional offices in 2001. Mindful of previous FBI mistakes in fingering others in the case, many are sceptical that the FBI has it right this time.

“I really don’t think he’s the guy. I say to the FBI, ‘Show me your evidence,”‘ said Jeffrey Adamovicz, formerly of the US Army Medical Research Institute for Infectious Diseases. But investigators are so confident of Mr Ivins’s involvement that they have been debating since Friday whether and how to close the seven-year-old anthrax investigation. The move would amount to a strong signal that the FBI and Justice Department think they got their man - and that he had died, excluding the possibility of a prosecution.

One bioweapons expert familiar with the FBI investigation said Mr Ivins possessed the skills needed to create the dust-fine powder used in the attacks. At the army lab where he worked, Mr Ivins specialized in making sophisticated preparations of anthrax bacteria spores for use in animal tests.

Jaye Holly, who lived next door to Mr Ivins until she and her husband moved to New York a month ago, said she could not believe that her former neighbour would endanger others for financial gain. “That’s not the Bruce we knew. He was sweet, friendly. I mean, he was into grass recycling,” Ms Holly said

THE AUSTRALIAN: “Reports yesterday said FBI agents showed Ivins’s 24-year-old daughter pictures of the victims who had died in the 2001 anthrax attacks and told her: “Your father did this.”

WHO IS THAT “THERAPIST” THAT CALLED HIM A SOCIOPATH?

Jeff writes to Democratic Underground via Mark Crispin Miller

My 25+ years in retained executive search and recent experience in another business dealing with legal documents tells me — in layman’s terms — that Dr. Ivins’ publicity-seeking “therapist” is either crazy herself. Or else some sort of shill who is deliberately trying to make a scapegoat out of this man.

Living in Berkeley I have known socially — as neighbors — 2 psychiatrists and 4 different practicing clinical psychologists or therapists. These professionals never behaved like Dr. Ivin’s “therapist” — Jean Duley. First, ethical considerations prevent such mental health professionals from coming forth to tell any details about their live or dead clients. (Unless they are brought into some sort of legal proceeding under oath.) Second, and even more important, rational mental health professionals carefully avoid dangerous clients or patients. Third, if a rational mental health professional were to get a homicidal patient they would quickly get an unlisted phone number and carefully try to hide their address. Responsible therapists don’t want to get sued, injured or murdered!

But even more telling, Ms. Duley makes less sense if you do a simple background check on her through the most readily accessible database sources. She doesn’t look credible. Her handwriting on the complaint document against Dr. Ivins dated July 24, 2008 is childish and her phrasing edges either toward the “weird” or “illiterate” categories. Someone in the media needs to bring this out. Moreover this Jean C. Duley, has just a little too many civil litigation in her history to be put into the category of a rational, responsible or competent mental health professional — without some careful vetting.

See Ms. Duley’s handwritten court filing:

MEET THE FEDERAL PROSECUTOR

Guess who they’ve got prosecuting the anthrax case? Amy Jeffress, daughter of Bill Jeffress, the guy who was last seen trying to keep Scooter Libby, known within the Administration as “Mr. Germ,” out of the pokey. Yeah. That gives me confidence in the investigation.

….And finally, here’s Jeremy Scahill on Libby’s role as “Germ Boy” within the administration.

In mid-2002, as they struggled desperately to sell the war, these key players in “Plamegate” were engaged in full-out offensive aimed at convincing Americans that the country faced an imminent threat of a smallpox attack. To underscore this “threat,” Libby began fanatically pressing to have the entire US population preemptively vaccinated against smallpox (which was declared eradicated in 1980).

Expect More Terror Alerts this Election Cycle

GUILTY, SORT OF, BUT OF A LESSER CHARGE

Agence France-Presse: “Military jurors found Osama bin Laden’s former driver, Salim Hamdan, not guilty Wednesday on terrorist conspiracy charges, but convicted him on the lesser charge of providing material support to terrorism. The split verdict marked a dramatic conclusion of the first trial before the special tribunals created by President George W. Bush to try suspects in the ‘war on terror.’”

NATIONAL SECURITY NETWORK: OSAMA IS STILL AT LARGE BUT HIS TORTURED DRIVER IS CONVICTED IN A MILITARY TRIAL

Washington, D.C. - Today’s conviction of Salim Hamdan, Osama bin Laden’s former driver on the lesser of two counts marks the end of a 7-year military and judicial journey that involved countless court procedures, including a Supreme Court ruling that repudiated the Bush administration’s flawed use of military commissions.

“Today’s verdict does little if anything to advance American security. The entire process raises fundamental questions about the administration’s disregard for our constitutional values and may well do America more harm than good in the court of world opinion,” said Rand Beers, President of the National Security Network. “It took seven years for the Bush administration’s military commissions system to get its first conviction for a crime that is regularly prosecuted in federal court. And when it did, it was a driver who even the administration acknowledges did not participate in the planning or execution of any terrorist attacks. Surely there is a better way to protect America and bring terrorists to justice while adhering to the constitutional values that have kept us safe and strong for 200 years,” Beers continued.

NSN also produced a report examining the various facets of the Hamdan case, which you can find below:

HAMDAN VERDICT: We Waited Seven Years for This?

The Bush administration’s policies have not only violated our basic values and traditions; almost seven years after the 9/11 attacks, they have failed to bring terrorists to justice while damaging the credibility of our justice system and our democracy in the eyes of the world. In fact, we learned during this trial that the Bush administration failed to follow up on Hamdan’s offer of assistance in helping track Osama Bin Laden - a revelation that further brings into question the administration’s strategy in the “Global War on Terror.”

Military commission finds Guantanamo detainee Hamdan guilty on lesser of two charges against him. The military commission established by the Bush administration reached a verdict in the case against Osama Bin Laden’s driver Salim Hamdan on Wednesday. The jury, made up of active US service members, found Hamdan guilty of material support for terrorism but acquitted him of the more serious charge of conspiracy to commit terrorist acts. That means even under these extremely favorable trial procedures the government could not persuade a simple majority of the six jurors that Hamdan was guilty of conspiracy. Sentencing will follow, although the case is almost certain to be appealed to the Court of Military Commission Review as established by the Military Commissions Act of 2006.

IN AFGHANISTAN WHERE THE DRIVER ONCE DROVE

BBC MONITORING SOUTH ASIA: Afghan Cabinet “Trying to Shut the Mouth” of Outspoken Media - Paper

Excerpt from an article by Sadiqollah Tawhidi entitled: “The resolution of the Council of Ministers removes the mask over the `democracy’”, published by privately-owned Afghan newspaper Payman daily on 4 AugustThe Council of Ministers issued a resolution last week on media activities, which removed the mask over the six years of rule of the government. While 90 per cent of the people are living below the poverty line, an average of six people are killed in the country every day and 90 per cent of the world’s heroin is produced in Afghanistan, the ministers of the Islamic Republic are busy imposing restrictions on the free media and are trying to shut the mouth of these outspoken media outlets

SAM GARDINER: MORE ON THE WAR IN AND ON IRAN

THE MEDIA LINE REPORTS THIS MORNING THAT A KUWAITI NEWS AGENCY SAYS US IS SENDING TWO AIRCRAFT CARRIERS TO THE GULF…..

The U.S. supported Free Life Party of Kurdistan (PJAK) has reported their July combat data. On their web site, they are claiming 51 Iranian security forces killed. Of the the total, 31 were soldiers in the Revolutionary Guard; 20 were other security forces. They are also claiming 11 vehicles destroyed.

Executive Order 12333 covers covert operations and was just updated on July 31. It says, “No person employed by or acting on behalf of the United States Government shall engage in or conspire to engage in assassination.” Scholars define assassination as a subset of murder where the target is chosen based on identity, prominence, or public position, and the killing is motivated to achieve some political objective. In the case of Iran, the political objective is to destabilize the government.

Killing Revolutionary Guard soldiers would most likely not fit the definition of assassination since the group has been declared a terrorist organization. The killing of the 20 other individuals, however, seems to fit the definition of assassination. It appears as if the executive order on covert operations is being violated.

To give you a sense of how much interest the PJAK has generated, the new claims were posted last night. When I went back to the web site this morning, I became the third to view the new information. In other words, there seems to be one other person in the world interested in this pa rt of the operations against Iran.