Tuesday 9th February 2010
Champagne celebrations at Scotland Yard
as 'universally hated' Dizaei is exposed
Mark Hughes - The Independent
The
Statement
from the Metropolitan Police Commissioner, Sir Paul
Stephenson, was suitably sober and contrite. "Commander Ali Dizaei has
been a police officer for nearly 25 years," he wrote. "It is extremely
disappointing and concerning that this very senior officer has been
found guilty of abusing his position and power."But behind the scenes at Scotland Yard and the Independent Police Complaints Authority last night the mood was not one of despondency at the shaming of the police's most senior Asian officer. Rather it was one of jubilation: A man they believed was corrupt for more than 10 years had finally been exposed. "The champagne corks are popping," said one source close to the case.
While investigations into colleagues are not generally welcomed by fellow officers, there is no sympathy within the Met for Dizaei. As one officer said: "Ali Dizaei is universally hated. He is not trusted and he is not a nice person. There will be no tears shed for him."
Dizaei's time at Scotland Yard was possibly the most controversy-ridden tenure by a senior police officer in recent times. In his 11-year career in the force, Dizaei was suspended for four of them, faced two criminal prosecutions and was the subject of a host of allegations including using prostitutes, acting as an Iranian spy and misusing his police credit card.
Born in Tehran in 1962, Dizaei was brought up in a family steeped in policing with a father who headed the country's traffic police and a grandfather who was an assistant commissioner. He claimed that police work was his destiny and joined Thames Valley Police in 1986. He was soon marked out as a rising star and was tipped by some to become the country's first Asian chief constable.
He transferred to the Metropolitan Police as a superintendent in March 1999, when the force was badly in need of high-calibre ethnic minority officers. But just a few months later, his problems began. In June senior officers were told of claims that Dizaei was associating with a drugs dealer and had intervened to quash a speeding fine. He was also alleged to have supported the passport application of a man linked to drugs.
An investigation, codenamed Operation Helios, began. It became the biggest investigation ever into a serving police officer. Dizaei was trailed, bugged and filmed, investigated for being a drug-taker, a threat to national security and a friend of traffickers and money launderers. All of Dizaei's phone conversations were intercepted. Undercover officers posed as bodybuilders at his gym and were told to befriend him. His line manager kept a diary of his movements. In all, at least 135 officers were utilised in the investigation into Dizaei. As well as detectives from the Met, other agencies involved in Operation Helios included Special Branch, Beverly Hills Police and even the Canadian Mounties.
But the marathon inquiry ended in ignominy for the Metropolitan Police. When Dizaei was eventually brought to court it was on charges of lying during a police investigation into his car being vandalised. Dizaei claimed that the charges were racially motivated, and when the extent of the police investigation into him was revealed in court he was cleared.
Faced with a public relations disaster the Met reinstated Dizaei, allowed him to write a highly critical book about the failed investigation and placed him on a fast-track promotion scheme. In March 2008 he was promoted to the rank of commander – but his career would be over just six months later.
In June he was accused of misusing his American Express corporate card. It was alleged he spent more than £5,000 on clothes and perfume while on a trip to the US – something he was cleared of late last year.
Then in September 2008 he was embroiled in a second scandal when a newspaper claimed that he had given advice to Shahrokh Mireskandari, a lawyer who was defending a woman charged with causing death by dangerous driving, on how to pick holes in the prosecution case. These allegations are currently being investigated by the Metropolitan Police Authority.
In the same month Dizaei was suspended by the Met for the second and final time. His suspension this time related to the allegations which yesterday saw him jailed.
Even then Dizaei filed another claim of discrimination against the Met. During the trial Dizaei yet again claimed he was the victim of a racist witch-hunt. But, rather than downtrodden victim, the image that was presented in court of Dizaei was that of a domineering bully.
The chief prosecution witness, and victim, in the case, Waad al-Baghdadi, said that Dizaei had first challenged him to a fight and then told him he would "fuck his life" when he falsely arrested him outside a west London restaurant.
The officer added: "You think I do not know what you do in London? I will find every single detail about your life. I will show you what I can do."
He then put on his police cap and falesly arrested al-Baghdadi.
Having been through so much and defeated the Met before, perhaps Dizaei thought he was, in the words of police sources, "untouchable". But, if so, then he was mistaken. In the end it took the jury just two hours to find him guilty of all charges.
Police chief Peter Fahy: Discrimination holds back black officers
Met scheme aims to identify Muslim extremists
Dutch job retraining not forced labour
A mandatory retraining programme for people on Dutch unemployment benefit does not amount to forced labour. The ruling was given by the Occupations Advisory Board (CRB), the highest court for social security cases in the Netherlands.
A 45-year-old man from Amsterdam brought the case after his benefit was reduced in 2006 when he refused to retrain for work. He claimed the retraining programme was forced labour.
The CRB disagrees, arguing that no physical or psychological pressure was brought to bear on the man. The CRB says the case is important as it is the first test in the courts for international treaties on forced labour.
World's tallest tower closes
The world's tallest skyscraper has shut its doors to the public just a month after its lavish opening.
Electrical problems are at least partly to blame for the closure of the Burj Khalifa's viewing platform — the only part of the half-mile high tower open yet. But a lack of information from the spire's owner left it unclear whether the rest of the largely empty building — including dozens of elevators meant to whisk visitors to the tower's more than 160 floors — was affected by the shutdown.
The indefinite closure, which began yesterday, comes as Dubai struggles to revive its international image as a cutting-edge Arab metropolis amid nagging questions about its financial health.
The Persian Gulf city-state had hoped the 2,717-foot Burj Khalifa would be a major tourist draw. Dubai has promoted itself by wowing visitors with over-the-top attractions such as the Burj, which juts like a silvery needle out of the desert and can be seen from miles around.
In recent weeks, thousands of tourists have lined up for the chance to buy tickets for viewing times often days in advance that cost more than $27 apiece. Now many of those would-be visitors, such as Wayne Boyes, a tourist from near Manchester, England, must get back in line for refunds.
"It's just very disappointing," said Boyes, 40, who showed up at the Burj's entrance Monday with a ticket for an afternoon time slot only to be told the viewing platform was closed. "The tower was one of my main reasons for coming here," he said.
The precise cause of the $1.5 billion Dubai skyscraper's temporary shutdown remained unclear.
In a brief statement responding to questions, building owner Emaar Properties blamed the closure on "unexpected high traffic," but then suggested that electrical problems were also at fault.
"Technical issues with the power supply are being worked on by the main and subcontractors and the public will be informed upon completion," the company said, adding that it is "committed to the highest quality standards at Burj Khalifa."
Despite repeated requests, a spokeswoman for Emaar was unable to provide further details or rule out the possibility of foul play. Greg Sang, Emaar's director of projects and the man charged with coordinating the tower's construction, could not be reached. Construction workers at the base of the tower said they were unaware of any problems.
Power was reaching some parts of the building. Strobe lights warning aircraft flashed and a handful of floors were illuminated after nightfall.
Emaar did not say when the observation deck would reopen. Ticket sales agents were accepting bookings starting on Valentine's Day this Sunday, though one reached by The Associated Press could not confirm the building would reopen then.
Tourists affected by the closure are being offered the chance to rebook or receive refunds.
The shutdown comes at a sensitive time for Dubai. The city-state is facing a slump in tourism — which accounts for nearly a fifth of the local economy — while fending off negative publicity caused by more than $80 billion in debt it is struggling to repay.
Ervin Hladnik-Milharcic, 55, a Slovenian writer planning to visit the city for the first time this month, said he hoped the Burj would reopen soon.
"It was the one thing I really wanted to see," he said. "The tower was projected as a metaphor for Dubai. So the metaphor should work. There are no excuses."
Dubai opened the skyscraper on Jan. 4 in a blaze of fireworks televised around the world. The building had been known as the Burj Dubai during more than half a decade of construction, but the name was suddenly changed on opening night to honor the ruler of neighboring Abu Dhabi.
Dubai and Abu Dhabi are two of seven small sheikdoms that comprise the United Arab Emirates. Abu Dhabi hosts the federation's capital and holds most of the country's vast oil reserves. It has provided Dubai with $20 billion in emergency cash to help cover its debts.
Questions were raised about the building's readiness in the months leading up to the January opening.
The opening date had originally been expected in September, but was then pushed back until sometime before the end of 2009. The eventual opening date just after New Year's was meant to coincide with the anniversary of the Dubai ruler's ascent to power.
There were signs even that target was ambitious. The final metal and glass panels cladding the building's exterior were installed only in late September. Early visitors to the observation deck had to peer through floor-to-ceiling windows caked with dust — a sign that cleaning crews had not yet had a chance to scrub them clean.
Work is still ongoing on many of the building's other floors, including those that will house the first hotel designed by Giorgio Armani that is due to open in March. The building's base remains largely a construction zone, with entrance restricted to the viewing platform lobby in an adjacent shopping mall.
The first of some 12,000 residential tenants and office workers are supposed to move in to the building this month.
The Burj Khalifa boasts more than 160 stories. The exact number is not known.
The observation deck, which is mostly enclosed but includes an outdoor terrace bordered by guard rails, is located about two-thirds of the way up on the 124th floor. Adult tickets bought in advance cost 100 dirhams, or about $27. Visitors wanting to enter immediately can jump to the front of the line by paying 400 dirhams — about $110 apiece.
The United Arab Emirates
Darfur rebel leader escapes ICC trial
Darfur rebel leader Bahar Idriss
Abu Garda will not have to stand trial
in The Hague for the killing of 12 African Union peacekeepers in 2007.The International Criminal Court says there is not enough evidence to charge him with responsibility for the attack on the AU peacekeeping force in Darfur in western Sudan.
Mr Abu Garda is the first Sudanese suspect to surrender voluntarily to the ICC in The Hague. He said he wanted to prove his innocence. ICC chief prosecutor Luis Moreno Ocampo is to appeal against the decision not to bring the United Resistance Front leader to trial.
We're living in broken Britain, say most voters
Peter Riddell - The Times
Voters are deeply pessimistic about the state of Britain today, believing that society is broken and heading in the wrong direction, a Populus poll for The Times has found.
Nearly three fifths of voters say that they hardly recognise the country they are living in, while 42 per cent say they would emigrate if they could.
But worries over the pace of social change and dislocation are balanced by the belief that life will get better, according to the survey undertaken at the weekend.
It suggests that 70 per cent believe that society is now broken, echoing a Conservative campaign theme of the past two years, while 68 per cent say people who play by the rules get a raw deal and 82 per cent think it is time for a change.
The snapshot of Britain also confirms, however, that the battle between the parties has tightened with Labour two points up at 30 per cent.
Women, working-class people and Tory voters were more likely to say that they hardly recognise their own country.
Overall, 64 per cent think that Britain is going in the wrong direction and just 31 per cent believe it is on the right track.
This is a widely used measure of mood in the United States where 57 per cent of people think America is going wrong and 37 per cent believe it is on the right track.
It is not all gloom. Three fifths (60 per cent) of those polled say they look to the future with optimism, against 38 per cent who are looking forward with anxiety. While 45 per cent say Britain’s best years are behind us, 50 per cent say that they are still to come.
More than half the public (55 per cent) say that their children’s lives will be better than their own, while 37 per cent say that they will be worse.
Voters’ main fire is directed at political institutions: 73 per cent say politics is broken in Britain and 77 per cent say there are far fewer people in public life that they admire than there used to be. The poll suggests anger at MPs who have had to repay expenses. A third say that they will vote against their local MP if he or she had been required to repay money.
David Cameron claimed yesterday that his generation of Tories were better placed than the Government to “fix broken politics”, and unveiled new rules that would bar former ministers in the private sector from lobbying government for two years.
Elite denial
Pakistan claims to have foiled Lahore attack
Pakistani police say they have prevented an attack on a five-star hotel in Lahore, the country's second largest city.
Six suspects have been arrested, including a 15-year-old boy and an imam. Officers discovered an explosive vest with 26 hand grenades and detonators.
The police were following a tip-off and describe the detainees as Taliban fighters who say they wanted to kill Americans in Lahore's Pearl Continental Hotel.
The Pakistani government has intensified its fight against the Islamist rebels following pressure from the United States. It regularly says it has foiled planned attacks, but the claims can rarely be confirmed.
Jonathan Ross and ‘top talent’ get £70m as BBC pays out £229m a year
Patrick Foster - The Times
The BBC pays presenters and contributors to its television and radio programmes £229 million each year, it will announce today.
The total includes everyone from extras in EastEnders to newsreaders, but the BBC will also reveal that its “top talent”, the exclusive group of presenters that includes Jonathan Ross and Graham Norton, are paid £70 million in total from the £3.6 billion annual licence fee income.
The information will be released as part of the BBC’s quarterly disclosure of the salaries and expenses paid to its top 107 executives, 37 of whom earn more than the Prime Minister. For the first time, the corporation will also publish a register of the gifts and hospitality received by its senior managers, who earn £22 million a year.
The disclosure will be made by Caroline Thomson, the BBC’s chief operating officer, who is seen by many in the corporation as the driver behind the decision to make available the information about its stars. The salaries will be published in bands and will show that half of the total spending, about £115 million, is on contracts worth £50,000 or less.
Last night there was confusion about the figures, as BBC sources said the information related only to those paid directly by the corporation, as opposed to presenters who are paid out of budgets awarded by the BBC to independent production companies.
About 20 per cent of the BBC’s programmes are not produced in-house. If the spending on performers for those programmes replicated the BBC’s outlay, it could mean that the true figure for the amount of the licence fee spent on talent is closer to £290 million.
BBC sources said that it would be illegal, because of commercial confidentiality, for the corporation to release figures for those presenters and actors paid by production companies. But they insisted that presenters such as Norton, who signed a new £2 million-a-year deal recently, were paid directly by the BBC, and so were included in the figures.
“We have been consistent in that we want to drive down the cost of talent,” one BBC insider said. “These figures will show that around 6.5 per cent of the licence fee goes to our talent, which is less than many people would expect.”
Sir Michael Lyons, the chairman of the corporation, also reinforced the BBC’s attitude. He said yesterday: “We are simply not going to see what the public regard as excessive salaries, so [the BBC] must be harder in negotiations and much more willing to walk away . . . The BBC needs to be more confident that people will accept the most extraordinary discount to come and work for it.”
The disclosure will not silence many critics of the BBC, however. Mark Thompson, the Director-General, received a frosty reception the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) yesterday. Mr Thompson, appearing to explain the BBC’s £350 million annual spending on live events, was told by MPs that his decision to hand the auditing of the corporation to a private company, rather than the National Audit Office, was “evasive at best”.
Yesterday the BBC also agreed to reveal licence-fee-funded payments to some of its leading sports presenters to the Commons spending watchdog but not to the public. Jeremy Peat, a BBC trustee, said he would provide a breakdown of the costs for big events in confidence to the PAC after Edward Leigh, its chairman, accused the corporation of being obsessed with celebrities and suggested that the figures should be made public.
BBC to slash the pay of its highest-earning stars by 40%
Benefit informers could be given share of cash saved
Proposals to encourage people to inform on benefit cheats are being examined by Labour's manifesto team
Patrick Wintour - Guardian
People who inform on benefit cheats could be given a share of the resulting savings to the state under proposals being examined by Labour's manifesto team.
The idea has been put to Ed Miliband, Labour's manifesto co-ordinator, by Jim Murphy, the Scottish secretary, as a way of making life harder for benefit cheats.
It has also been discussed by Downing Street as it looks at ways to bolster its Respect agenda, designed to persuade sceptics that the state is on the side of hard-working families.
Although some will see the proposals as wildly impractical or socially divisive, others say they will encourage white, working-class voters to stay loyal to Labour.
No 10 is said to be attracted to the idea as symbolic of a tough contract on fairness in which Labour offers support for those genuinely in need on the condition that they play by the rules.
In Labour's successful byelection campaigns in Glenrothes and Glasgow North-East, Murphy was struck by how much Labour voters wanted to hear a message that emphasises "firm but fair rules".
One Glasgow resident told Murphy he was fed up with going to work at eight in the morning knowing the man in the flat above was not – but would still be keeping him awake at two in the morning.
Murphy believes there is a large constituency that would like to see the government reward those who give tipoffs about cheats, pointing out that the proposal is designed to end antisocial behaviour that increases the taxes other people pay.
In Australia, billboards urge people to "dob" on their cheating mates, leading to an upsurge in tipoffs.
The government already has benefit hotlines where suspected cheats can be shopped, but this is the first time a minister has suggested that anyone who reveals a benefit cheat might secure a proportion of the money recovered, or that there should be a financial incentive. Critics claim it would lead to malicious accusations and difficulties in deciding whether the person that revealed the cheat was responsible for a benefit cheat being caught.
The government's free and confidential benefit hotline started gathering systematic information only in 2007-08. The lines are open 7am until 11pm, seven days a week.
Last year, the Department for Work and Pensions claimed to have caught 56,493 benefit thieves.
It claims more than 677 calls a day were made to the hotline and a further 476 benefit thieves reported online every day.
Some critics have claimed that the hotlines reduced social cohesion and made innocent citizens the victims of deranged neighbours determined to cause misery.
The DWP convicts around 6,000 benefit cheats each year. Figures for 2005-06 show benefit expenditure cost £116bn.
Every £1bn of fraud and error is estimated to cost £35 for every taxpayer.
The DWP claimed to have cut the cost of fraud, as opposed to error, from £2bn to £1bn a year, but subsequently the department appeared to recognise that its sample size was so small that the figures might not be reliable.
Murphy's tough approach is in part credited with Labour leading the SNP in Holyrood polling for the first time since Alex Salmond became first minister.
Labour has also stretched its lead in Scotland's Westminster seats to 16 points, according to a poll commissioned by the Glasgow Herald.
Since an identical poll in October, there has been a sharp change in voting intentions for the Scottish parliament. Labour has gone from trailing the SNP by eight points on constituency and regional list votes, to a lead of two and seven points respectively.
Compared with October, the latest poll shows Labour in Scotland's Westminster seats up three points to 42%. The SNP was up one point to 26%, compared with an 18% share in 2005. The Conservatives are unchanged on 18%.
Perculier case of middle-class benefits
“Anti-fascists plan election campaign sabotage”
Anti-fascist action group AFA might be planning to sabotage meetings by Dutch right wing parties. The Dutch Intelligence Service has warned local councils that the organisation might try to target meetings of right wing parties participating in the Dutch municipal elections in March.
The AFA was founded in 1992 and started out as a group of violent protesters. It has recently expanded its activities to lobbying.
According to the Intelligence Agency, AFA members sometimes pass themselves off as representatives of anti-discrimination agencies. They approach venue owners and advise them against allowing rightwing meetings to take place on their property, pointing out the potential damage such events might cause.
The AFA have also been known to infiltrate rightwing organisations in order to obtain candidates' personal information. They also organise counter-protests during rightwing meetings and marches.
The parties targeted by the AFA in the municipal elections range from the traditional far-right party NVU to the more recently established populist parties like Geert Wilders' Freedom Party and Rita Verdonk’s Proud of the Netherlands.
Yarl's Wood women on hunger strike 'locked up and denied treatment'
As their protest runs into a fourth day, some are said to be fainting or injured.
But the Home Office denies wrongdoing
Afua Hirsch - The Guardian
An immigration removal centre was reported to be in a state of chaos yesterday, as at least 50 women entered the fourth day of a hunger strike in protest against their detention and conditions, with several reportedly fainting in corridors and almost 20 locked outdoors wearing few clothes.
Yarl's Wood detention centre in Bedfordshire, which houses 405 women and children, was in lockdown, leaving women in communal spaces without food, water or toilet facilities.
Several women who tried to escape through a window were then locked outside, according to one detainee, including one whose finger was almost severed as she escaped but who had not received medical treatment.
"We have been on hunger strike since Friday protesting about the length of time we have spent in detention here," said Aisha, who has been in Yarl's Wood for three months. "We have been locked in the hallway all day – five ladies have fainted because they have not eaten since Friday. No one has come to give them any medical attention.
"I had an asthma attack, but no one would come to give me my inhaler. I'm very weak. But we will stay on hunger strike for as long as it takes."
Campaigners condemned the response of the authorities at the centre, accusing them of using a "kettling" technique to trap the women.
"The women are currently trapped in an airless hallway," said Cristel Amiss, of Black Women's Rape Action Project. "Women should be allowed back into their rooms immediately; there should be an immediate investigation."
The Home Office confirmed the disturbance, saying that 40 women were involved, and insisted the measures were temporary until the women could be reintegrated into the centre.
"The wellbeing of detainees is of paramount concern, which is why healthcare staff are at the scene to monitor developments," said David Wood, strategic director at the UK Border Agency. "The detainees will be integrated back into the centre at the earliest opportunity."
The hunger strike is the latest in a series of protests at the facility, which has attracted controversy for detaining women for long periods.
Campaigners say many of the women being detained are also victims of abuse and rape and should not be held while awaiting deportation decisions.
"Over 70% of women in Yarl's Wood are rape survivors, many are sick and vulnerable," said Amiss.
"Why are they being punished for raising serious injustices?"
The Home Office denied its practices in detaining immigrants were unfair.
"All detainees are treated with dignity and respect, with access to legal advice and health care facilities," said Wood.
Hunger Strike
Nasa discovers new evidence that Saturn moon 'may contain life'
New evidence that liquid water lies beneath the surface on the Saturn moon Enceladus has been discovered by Nasa scientists, suggesting that life may exist.
Andrew Hough - Telegraph
Robert Carroll's impression of Ice
Volcanos on Saturn's Moon EnceladusNasa's Cassini spacecraft flew through icy plumes created by ice volcanoes and detected negatively charged water molecules, in a clear sign an underground sea exists.
On Earth this short-lived type of ion is produced where water is moving, such as in waterfalls or crashing ocean waves.
British scientists, reporting in the journal Icarus, say it is known that the jets contained water but it was not clear before whether this might be liquid.
If there is liquid water on Enceladus, Nasa scientists believe Saturn's sixth-largest moon could have the conditions necessary to sustain life.
High-resolution images already taken by the Cassini spacecraft show that the icy surface of Enceladus has a spreading Earthlike crust that has changed over time.
On Earth the spreading of the sea floor is driven by molten rock and Nasa scientists speculated that the liquid beneath the south pole of Enceladus may be water
Cassini scientist Andrew Coates said the evidence gathered by Cassini pointed to other constituents for life, such as carbon, plus a source of heat to keep the water liquid.
"While it's no surprise that there is water there, these short-lived ions are extra evidence for subsurface water," said Dr Coates, from University College London's Mullard Space Science Laboratory.
"And where there's water, carbon and energy, some of the major ingredients for life are present.
“The surprise for us was to look at the mass of these ions. There were several peaks in the spectrum, and when we analysed them we saw the effect of water molecules clustering together one after the other.”
Similar negatively charged ions have been found on another satellite of Saturn, Titan, which is the only moon in the solar system with a thick atmosphere.
The data from Enceladus's icy spray was collected by an instrument on Cassini called a plasma spectrometer.
It measured the density, temperature and speed of ions and electrons it collected as it flew through the jets.
Cassini is a project of Nasa, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency.
It has been a major success for U.S. and European scientists since the spacecraft began orbiting Saturn and studying its rings and moons since 2004.
Nasa has just extended the mission's life by seven years.
But the British scientists have been told to abandon their research thanks to swingeing cuts in science spending by the government.
Veteran congressman's death adds to Barack Obama's woes
• Democrats fear Republicans will win seat held since 1974
• President's poll ratings fall further amid health care impasse
Ewen MacAskill - The Guardian
The Democratic party faces another election test after the
death
yesterday of John Murtha, a
congressman dubbed by his colleagues the
"king of pork".Murtha, aged 77, had been in the House of Representatives since being elected to his Pennsylvania district in 1974.
The fear in the party is that Republicans will notch up another victory when a special election is held, probably May.
The Democrats have been panicking since losing Ted Kennedy's Massachusetts Senate seat to the Republicans last month.
Murtha's nickname referred to so-called pork barrel politics – bringing government spending to bear in a representative's own district.
His death came on a day that saw Barack Obama's poll ratings fall further. A Marist poll found that only 44% of voters surveyed approved of his job performance, down 2% on December. More alarming for Democratic strategists, 57% of independents disapprove of his performance.
Murtha's death will have a neglible impact on the arithmetic of the House, where the Democrats have an overwhelming majority, unlike in the Senate. But another defeat in the spring would add to the sense of panic among Democrats in the run-up to the Congressional mid-term elections in November.
Murtha's office said he had died in hospital after complications following gallbladder surgery. He had been in hospital for several months.
His election in 1974 marked him out as the first of those to have served in Vietnam to make it into Congress.
He was popular on the left as one of the first senior Democrats in 2005 to turn against the Iraq war. But he was also one of the leading exponents of 'pork-barrel' politics, a practice that has long been reviled outside Washington and is one of the reasons for the present levels of disenchantment.
Murtha, as chairman of the House defence appropriations sub-committee, added 'earmarks', special spending projects to help his district, to defence bills, hence the King of Pork.
Scandal hovered over him throughout much of his career.
Murtha faced a tough race for re-election in 2008 after sabotaging his own campaign by referring to some of voters in Pennsylvania as "racist".
One of the reasons for the turnaround in Democratic fortunes is opposition to Barack Obama's health reform plan.
The president will make a fresh push this month to get his troubled health reform package through Congress by meeting both Democrats and Republicans, hoping to find common ground.
The half-day discussion at Blair House, opposite the White House, will be broadcast live on television to counter public criticism that too many deals in Washington are made behind closed doors.
Obama announced the meeting during a CBS television interview on Sunday evening. "I want to consult closely with our Republican colleagues … to ask them to put their ideas on the table. I want to come back and have a large meeting, Republicans and Democrats, to go through systematically all the best ideas that are out there and move it forward," he said.
The Republican leader in the House of Representatives, John Boehner, welcomed the move as "a real, bipartisan conversation", but added: "The problem with the Democrats' healthcare bills is not that the American people don't understand them; the American people do understand them and they don't like them."
The Republican leader in the Senate, Mitch McConnell, welcomed the meeting, but suggested he was unlikely to compromise, calling for the Democrats' bill to be shelved.
The move buys the Democrats a few more weeks while they debate among themselves whether to push forward with the bill or abandon it. The version of the bill passed by the Senate on Christmas Eve would extend health care to 30 million more Americans
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