SPB News for Friday.

ABC: Inside Account of U.S. Eavesdropping on Americans --U.S. Officers' "Phone Sex" Intercepted; Senate Demanding Answers Despite pledges by President [sic] George W. Bush and American intelligence officials to the contrary, hundreds of US citizens overseas have been eavesdropped on as they called friends and family back home, according to two former military intercept operators who worked at the giant National Security Agency (NSA) center in Fort Gordon, Georgia. The chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, Jay Rockefeller (D-WV), called the allegations "extremely disturbing" and said the committee has begun its own examination.

States' Actions to Block Voters Appear Illegal --Coup 2008 underway: Tens of thousands of eligible voters in Colo., Ind., Ohio, Mich., Nev. and N.C. illegally removed from rolls, blocked from registering Tens of thousands of eligible voters in at least six swing states have been removed from the rolls or have been blocked from registering in ways that appear to violate federal law, according to a review of state records and Social Security data by The New York Times. Still, because Democrats have been more aggressive at registering new voters this year, according to state election officials, any heightened screening of new applications may affect their party’s supporters disproportionately. The screening or trimming of voter registration lists in the six states, Colorado, Indiana, Ohio, Michigan, Nevada and North Carolina, could also result in problems at the polls on Election Day.

Iraq must rid itself of US troops, Iran says Iran is trying to derail an agreement that would allow US and British troops to stay in Iraq after their mandate expires at the end of this year. In a move that has raised concern among senior Iraqi and US officials, Tehran is using its influence over its smaller neighbour to scupper a Status of Forces Agreement, which must be reached by January 1. After the deadline US and British troops would have no legal basis to remain and, in theory, would have to leave.

Muqtada al-Sadr calls for anti-US protest Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr has called for a delayed [formerly, April 9] anti-U.S. protest to take place in Baghdad. A statement posted on al-Sadr's Web site says "it has been decided to hold the anti-occupation protest on Oct. 18 in Baghdad." The Sadrists oppose negotiations for a security agreement that would extend the presence of U.S. troops in the country beyond the end of the year.

'Disgusted' to be U.S. soldier --Family's hopes of becoming Canadian citizens shattered after deportation order Jill Hart gripped her husband's hand yesterday as the two spoke of their hopes of becoming Canadian citizens -- just hours after the Canadian Border Services Agency denied the couple their bid to stay in Canada on humanitarian and compassionate grounds. The couple was told yesterday by a CBSA officer they must leave Canada by Oct. 30 or they'll be deported. They are planning to appeal... Patrick Hart, who was stationed in Bosnia in the '90s, said when he was deployed to Kuwait in 2003, he was horrified by tales from other U.S. soldiers who boasted about killing Iraqi civilians and picking human flesh and hair out of the grills of their vehicles after running over Iraqi children. "In '95 I had a sense that the U.S. was the good guy, and when I was deployed in 2003, a lot of the stories I was hearing, I wasn't hearing of heroic deeds or anything of that nature. It was stuff that made me disgusted to be an American soldier," Hart said.

Former Republican senator criticizes McCain, supports Obama Lincoln Chafee, a former Republican U.S. senator from Rhode Island, is throwing his support behind Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama, saying he is disillusioned with Republican John McCain. "Sen. Obama is the first Democrat I've ever voted for," Chafee said during a stop in Grand Rapids this morning.

Hispanics turn cold shoulder to McCain — Despite championing immigration reform in 2007, John McCain is poised to lose the Hispanic vote by a landslide margin that is well below President George W. Bush's 2004 performance. — Polls show Obama winning the broadest support from Latino voters …

John McCain is a Coward — I am glad higher profile bloggers are beginning to recognize what I have been saying for days. John McCain is a coward: … John McCain is not man enough to own his s**t. John McCain will not openly confront Obama with his smears and lies and innuendo.

Asian Stocks Plunge as Credit Crisis Widens; Nikkei Tumbles — (Bloomberg) — Asian stocks tumbled, driving Japan's Nikkei 225 Stock Average down 11 percent, and U.S. futures slumped on concern the deepening credit crisis will push the global economy into recession and spur corporate failures.

Esquire:Esquire Endorses Barack Obama for President