BAGHDAD, Iraq - February 25, 2008 - U.S. troops detained the news editor of a prominent Shiite-run television station and his son in a raid aimed at disrupting Iranian-backed militia groups, the military said Monday.

Hafidh al-Beshara, the news editor and manager of political programming for Al-Forat TV, and his son were taken into custody after American forces, acting on a tip, stormed their house in Baghdad. Al-Forat is operated by Iraq's largest Shiite political party.

The raid late Friday and early Saturday was targeting the son, but al-Beshara was detained as well after an unauthorized machine gun was found on the premises, a military official familiar with the operation said. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he wasn't authorized to release the information.

The son, who was not identified in the official military statement announcing the detentions, was accused of being a so-called ''special groups'' militia operative who provided intelligence that aided attacks by Shiite extremists against U.S. and Iraqi forces.

Special groups is a term used by the military to describe Shiite extremist groups that have broken with anti-U.S. cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, who last week renewed a six-month cease-fire army to his Mahdi Army militia. The U.S. military believes the groups are backed by predominantly Shiite Iran, although Tehran denies the allegations.

Al-Beshara's son was linked to several senior Shiite militia leaders, according to the military, which added that the machine gun and ammunition were found at the site.

Based on information found in the initial raid of the house, the soldiers then searched the headquarters of Al-Forat in the central Karradah neighborhood in Baghdad but didn't find anything, the military said separately.

Maj. Brad Leighton, a U.S. military spokesman, said al-Beshara's detention was not in any way related to his work at Al-Forat but that his son was accused of providing intelligence for attacks.

Haider Khazim, a producer for the station, said al-Beshara's son is 19 years old and also worked at the station.

He said the station's guards were put in a room and their weapons were confiscated while the U.S. soldiers searched the complex, which he said had been raided last year.

''Their attitude was rough and provocative,'' he said, adding that the soldiers refused to give any reason for the arrests. ''Al-Beshara is a professional journalist and he has no problems with anybody,'' he said.

Al-Forat is owned by the biggest Shiite party, the Supreme Islamic Iraqi Council, or SIIC, which is led by Abdul-Aziz al-Hakim, one of the most powerful politicians in the country. Mahdi Army elements have frequently clashed with the armed wing of SIIC known as the Badr Brigade.

February 24, 2008 - In a ceremony that received virtually no attention in the American media, the United States and Canada signed a military agreement Feb. 14 allowing the armed forces from one nation to support the armed forces of the other nation during a domestic civil emergency, even one that does not involve a cross-border crisis.

LOUISIANA - February 19, 2008 - A Louisiana police officer was fired after a woman, who was pulled over on the suspicion of a DWI, ended up unconscious in a pool of her own blood with two black eyes, a broken nose and broken teeth, and bruises to her face while in police custody in November.

What makes Angela Garbarino's injuries and situation more curious is the fact that Shreveport police Officer Wiley Willis turned off the interrogation-room camera after he and Garbarino exchanged words.

The video shows Garbarino requesting a phone call.

"You're not going to let me call anybody?" she asks on the video. "I have a right to call somebody right now and I know that. Is this on the record?"

The footage documents Wiley attempting to read Garbarino her rights, but he runs out of patience and things get tense. He seems to forcefully put her in a chair.

"Don't touch me again. Get away from me," Garbarino says after a scream.

Then, Wiley walks over to the police camera recording the booking and turns it off. What happens next is a mystery, but when the video resumes the handcuffed Garbarino is sprawled on the floor and silently lying in a pool of her blood.

Another officer arrives and takes a cursory look before Garbarino is wheeled out on a stretcher. In addition to her bruised face, Garbarino's injuries also included two broken teeth.

While Garbarino says Wiley physically abused her, his attorney said what he did was "in accordance with normal practice."

"The suspect again tried to leave the room. In the process of stopping her, she fell and injured herself," said Eron Brainard in a statement to ABC News.

Wiley is appealing his dismissal and police have not brought charges against him because no one knows for sure what occurred.

Meanwhile, Garbarino faces reckless driving, hit-and-run and DWI charges. She has denied the charges.

A Shreveport police spokesperson said no specific law about the phone call exists, but typically suspects are processed, booked and then allowed to make a phone call.

But at least one expert said at the very least Wiley should have called for a female backup.

ROGERS, Arkansas - February 21, 2008 - Police are conducting an internal investigation into an allegation that a lieutenant used his stun gun to shock a cow and shared a videotape of the incident with other department employees.

Police Chief Steve Helms said Tuesday the inquiry began after he received a complaint from the group People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals. A letter dated Feb. 11 from PETA representative Stephanie Bell complained that Lt. David Mitchell filmed himself using the electronic stun device on the cow.

Electronic stun guns are used as less-lethal weapons to subdue people who pose a threat to officers.

Bell said in the letter that Mitchell distributed the video as a joke among friends and co-workers and she notes that animal cruelty is a misdemeanor crime in Arkansas.

Helms didn't immediately return a call for comment on Wednesday. City Attorney Ben Lipscomb said Tuesday that the alleged incident happened 2 1/2 years ago, which would be beyond the statute of limitations for misdemeanors. Lipscomb said there would be no point in pursuing a criminal investigation.

Helms said a captain in the department will conduct the investigation and Mitchell will remain on regular duty.

Ed. Note:  In a just society, when a public official acts in such a disgusting, immoral, reprehensible manner such as this pig did (and I use the word both intentionally and accurately), then the pig in question is fired and brought up on charges.  But then, neither the United States nor the State of Louisiana are just societies, are they?

WASHINGTON - February 19, 2008 - The Supreme Court rejected a challenge to the Bush regime's domestic spying program. However, the justices' decision Tuesday included no comment explaining why they turned down the appeal from the American Civil Liberties Union.

WASHINGTON - February 18, 2008 - Amtrak, the only long-haul passenger rail service in the United States, will for the first time randomly screen passengers' bags and deploy armed security officers on trains and platforms, the railroad said on Monday night.

ST. PAUL, Minnesota - February 16, 2008 - The St. Paul Police Department is asking the city for permission to buy 230 additional Tasers.

Police spokesman Tom Walsh said the $210,000 purchase would allow every patrol officer in the city to have a stun gun.

"Using the Taser has allowed us to take people into custody without using deadly force, without using a degree of force that would cause a police officer to use a firearm or an additional force that would leave a person injured," explained Walsh.

"So we find them to be effective and probably safer for both the police officer and the person who's being arrested," Walsh said.

Critics are concerned that the police are preparing to use the Tasers at the Republican National Convention in September. The event, to be held in downtown St. Paul, will likely attract thousands of protesters.

But Walsh said the request has nothing to do with the convention.

He said the devices are intended to help officers in their day-to-day work.

The City Council will hold a public hearing on the matter next Wednesday.

Ed. Note: Are these going to be used on people who dare to exercise their First Amendment rights at the convention?