Sebelius Says Government Insurance Plan Not Essential 16 Aug 2009 Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said providing citizens with the option of government-run insurance isn’t essential to the Obama administration’s proposed overhaul of U.S. health care. "What’s important is choice and competition," Sebelius said today on CNN’s "State of the Union." The public option itself "is not the essential element."
California board votes to drop healthcare coverage for 60,000 children 14 Aug 2009 Nearly 670,000 children could be dropped by June 30. The announcement by state officials that California has enough cash to stop paying bills with IOUs did little to take the sting out of other budget news Thursday: Tens of thousands of poor children are about to lose their healthcare coverage. A state board voted Thursday to begin terminating health insurance for more than 60,000 children Oct. 1 as a result of the budget amendments signed into law recently by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger [R-Enron]. [Oh, but there's *plenty* of money to train Georgian troops and (pretend to) rebuild Afghanistan. Not a *peep* when billions are handed to corpora-terrorist contractors to pour down their sewers, right? Also, where is the town hall outrage when the GOP 'pulls the plug on grand*KIDS?* --LRP]
Three more British soldiers killed in Afghanistan --Three more British soldiers have been killed in Afghanistan, taking the number of UK personnel killed since operations began in 2001 to 204. 16 Aug 2009 The three, all from The 2nd Battalion The Royal Regiment of Fusiliers, died on Sunday morning after they were attacked while on patrol near Sangin, the Ministry of Defence said.
British soldier's death brings Afghanistan toll to 200 15 Aug 2009 A soldier who died in the UK from wounds suffered in Afghanistan has become the 200th British serviceman killed since the start of operations in 2002, the Ministry of Defence said.
Four killed in Iraq attacks 16 Aug 2009 At least four people were killed and 18 wounded in a bomb attack in the Iraqi capital on Sunday, an interior ministry official said. Two bombs, one planted inside a restaurant and one outside, tore into diners at around 8:20 pm (1720 GMT) in the east Baghdad neighbourhood of Jadidah, the official told AFP, requesting anonymity.
Mercenaries and murder in Iraq --As private security firms take on more responsibility in Iraq, no amount of regulation can stop tragedies from happening By Eric Stoner 14 Aug 2009 In fact, with no countries officially left in the so-called "coalition of the willing", contractors are now playing a more important role than ever, as the Obama administration begins to slowly scale back the war in Iraq. In June, a Pentagon report revealed that there are still 132,610 contractors in Iraq – effectively doubling the size of the occupation – and that the use of armed "private security contractors" in the country actually increased by 23% during the second quarter of 2009.
Coups we can believe in: US 'involved in Honduras military coup' 16 Aug 2009 The United States was involved in a military coup in Honduras that ousted President Manuel Zelaya on June 28, a top aide to Zelaya says. Before heading to Costa Rica, the Honduran military plane that flew Zelaya into exile stopped to refuel at the Soto Cato air base (Palmerola) where at least 500 US troops are based, said Patricia Valle, the deputy foreign minister of Zelaya. Palmerola is a Honduran air base that houses US troops who according to Washington conduct counter-narcotics operations and other missions in Central America. "The United States was involved in the coup against Zelaya," Valle told The Associated Press on Saturday.
US military denies role in Honduras coup flight 16 Aug 2009 The U.S. military said Sunday its troops in Honduras did not know of and played no role in a flight that took ousted President Manuel Zelaya to exile during a military coup. Zelaya says the Honduran military plane that flew him to Costa Rica on June 28 stopped to refuel at Soto Cano, a Honduran air base that is home to 600 U.S. soldiers, sailors and airmen engaged in counter-narcotics operations and other missions in Central America. Zelaya said last week, "Now, there are some elements of the CIA that could have been involved. When they took me by plane to Costa Rica, it was a short flight but the plane made a stop at the Palmerola air base to refuel. Palmerola is a base administered by Honduran and U.S. troops. If it was a short flight, some 40 minutes, why did they have to refuel at Palmerola base?' Palmerola was used by the United States during the Central American civil wars of the 1980s.
Brazil played role in U.S.-backed overthrow of Chile's Allende, document shows --The Chilean leader died during a U.S.-backed overthrow of his elected government in September 1973. 16 Aug 2009 President Nixon's determination to eliminate the socialist government of Salvador Allende led him to offer financial support to efforts by the Brazilian military to undermine the Chilean leader, according to a newly declassified summary of a White House meeting between Nixon and the president of Brazil. The offer of U.S. help came after Medici told Nixon that Brazilian military officers were working with counterparts in Chile and that he thought Chilean armed forces were capable of overthrowing Allende.
New CIA money pit opens: Moussavi Forms 'Grass-Roots' Movement in Iran 16 Aug 2009 The Iranian opposition leader Mir Hussein Moussavi announced the formation of a new social and political movement on his Web site on Saturday, following through on a promise made last month and defying a renewed government campaign of intimidation aimed at him and his supporters. The movement is not a political party but a "grass-roots and social network" that will promote 'democracy' and adherence to the law [?!?], Mr. Moussavi wrote in a statement on his site.
North Korea puts military on 'special alert' 17 Aug 2009 North Korea says its military will be on "special alert" because of South Korea's joint military drills with the US. North Korea's army made the announcement Monday, the same day that the country said it was restarting key reconciliation projects with South Korea. The North's army said its troops would go on "a special alert" starting Monday, when South Korean and US militaries planned to start annual computer-simulated war games.
Nuclear riddle of missing ship as pirates demand a £1m ransom 16 Aug 2009 Pirates last night demanded a ransom of almost £1million for the release of the cargo ship which sparked an international search after vanishing from the English Channel a fortnight ago. Police in Finland confirmed the ransom demand was made to the Finnish owners of the 4,000-ton Arctic Sea and that the case was now being treated as 'a hijacking with aggravated extortion'. The ransom demand came as The Mail on Sunday established radiation tests were carried out at the port of Pietarsaari in western Finland, where the Maltese-flagged ship Arctic Sea started its voyage.
Bill Gives DHS Lead on Fed IT Security Policy 14 Aug 2009 A newly revised U.S. Information and Communications Enhancement Act (U.S. ICE), if enacted as is, would grant the Department of Homeland Security unprecedented authority over the development of federal IT security policy. The responsibility to oversee information security among federal agencies would shift to DHS from the White House Office of Management and Budget under revisions of the measure, nicknamed U.S. ICE, that updates IT security guidance detailed in the seven-year-old Federal Information Security Management Act (FISMA), according to a senior cybersecurity staff member on the Senate Committee of Homeland Security and Government Affairs.
Feds to Use Wiki For Cybersecurity Collaboration --The Department of Homeland Security and other federal agencies will use the platform to share operational information on cybersecurity threats and best practices.14 Aug 2009 The Department of Homeland Security's National Cyber Security Center plans to deploy a wiki to facilitate collaboration among federal agencies on cybersecurity. NCSC and other agencies will use the wiki for real-time information sharing on threats, attacks, and responses and as a repository for technical and standards information.
U.S. judge sets trial date for terrorism suspect --Accusations include keeping waterproof socks and raincoats --Suspect faces 70-year prison sentence 12 Aug 2009 A U.S. federal judge on Wednesday set a trial date of November 30 for an American student who was the first person extradited to the United States from Britain on terrorism charges. Syed Hashmi, 29, has pleaded not guilty to charges of supporting al Qaeda [al-CIAduh], which include accusations he kept ponchos, raincoats and waterproof socks in his London apartment knowing they would be passed on by a friend for use by al Qaeda fighters in Afghanistan. Hashmi was arrested in June 2006 at London's Heathrow Airport and extradited to New York. He faces a maximum sentence of up to 70 years in prison.
Bollywood star held in US airport, fans outraged 16 Aug 2009 Indian Bollywood star Shah Rukh Khan said he felt angry and humiliated after he was detained and questioned at a US airport, sparking an uproar in India among his fans. Khan, one of India's best known actors, was en route to Chicago for a parade to mark the Indian independence day on Saturday when he was pulled aside at Newark airport Friday, he said. "I was really hassled perhaps because of my name being Khan. These guys just wouldn't let me through," he said in a text message to reporters in India.
Pharma-terrorists fight over their WMDs: Novartis sues Glaxo Smith Kline over vaccine patent 16 Aug 2009 Novartis, the Swiss drugs giant, has launched a legal action against Glaxo Smith Kline claiming that its larger rival is infringing one of its patents. The move, which will be fiercely resisted by the British company, is the latest twist in a bitter dispute that centres on the techniques used to produce a set of vaccines... Vaccines in particular are becoming a growth area for the big pharma companies.
Swine flu jab link to killer nerve disease: Leaked letter reveals concern of neurologists over 25 deaths in America 15 Aug 2009 A warning that the new swine flu jab is linked to a deadly nerve disease has been sent by the Government to senior neurologists in a confidential letter. The letter from the Health Protection Agency, the official body that oversees public health, has been leaked to The Mail on Sunday, leading to demands to know why the information has not been given to the public before the vaccination of millions of people, including children, begins. It tells the neurologists that they must be alert for an increase in a brain disorder called Guillain-Barre Syndrome (GBS), which could be triggered by the vaccine. The letter, sent to about 600 neurologists on July 29, is the first sign that there is concern at the highest levels that the vaccine itself could cause serious complications.
Children Will Be Flu Vaccine Guinea Pigs 14 Aug 2009 (UK) Children and babies with underlying health conditions will get the new swine flu vaccine before it has even passed clinical trials, it emerged last night. Fears were raised the drug is being rushed through before it has been properly tested on vulnerable groups such as babies, putting lives at risk. The Department of Health confirmed last night that none of the 900 children taking part in safety tests are believed to be under three but babies with health problems will be among the first to get the vaccine.
Illinois schools considering flu vaccination plans 16 Aug 2009 Vaccination clinics for swine flu could take place in some Chicago high schools this fall, but nobody should expect flu shots in elementary schools or in every school building, one health official said. Authorities are making tentative plans to distribute swine flu vaccine to clinics, hospitals and retail pharmacies in Chicago, and to hold mass vaccination clinics at large facilities scattered across the city.
Swine flu drug advice rejected by government --Ministers pressed ahead with prescription despite concern from advisory panel 16 Aug 2009 The government rejected advice from its expert advisers on swine flu, who said there was no need for the widespread use of Tamiflu and suggested that the public should simply be told to take paracetamol. An independent panel set up by the Department of Health warned ministers that plans to make the stockpiled drug widely available could do more harm than good, by helping the flu virus to develop resistance to the drug. But ministers pressed ahead with a policy of mass prescription, fearing the public would not tolerate being told that the millions of doses of Tamiflu held by the state could not be used during a pandemic, one of the committee members has told the Guardian.
Mutant Polio Virus Spreads in Nigeria --124 Children Afflicted This Year By Paralyzing Disease, Believed to Be Caused By Same Vaccine Used to Fight It 14 Aug 2009 Polio, the dreaded paralyzing disease stamped out in the industrialized world, is spreading in Nigeria. And health officials say in some cases, it's caused by the vaccine used to fight it. In July, the World Health Organization issued a warning that this vaccine-spread virus might extend beyond Africa. So far, 124 Nigerian children have been paralyzed this year - about twice those afflicted in 2008.
Oil trader under scrutiny for phenomenal success 14 Aug 2009 An oil trader who has rocked Wall Street and the White House over his nine-figure salary clings to a low profile, quietly making trades from a former dairy farm in Westport, Connecticut, and emerging occasionally to satisfy his passion for art. Andrew Hall, a British-born naturalized American, has been phenomenally successful with the Citigroup unit Phibro, earning an estimated $100 million this year while the parent company reported a net loss of $18.7 billion in 2008 and took $45 billion in taxpayer bailouts. In the previous five years, Hall earned more than $250 million, according to a Wall Street Journal analysis of securities filings and Hall's compensation structure... But his pay packets also have grabbed the attention of Kenneth Feinberg, the White House pay czar who is examining the compensation of the top earners at financial companies that accepted government bailouts.
Deep Into Season, 3 Storms Finally Form --Tropical Storm Bill could become a major hurricane. 16 Aug 2009 After 11 weeks of a quiet-as-a-church hurricane season, three storms were churning toward the United States coast on Sunday. Two are several days away in the Atlantic Ocean, but one popped up just Sunday morning, very close to the Florida panhandle in the Gulf of Mexico.
Previous lead stories: "I was building a bridge," an Afghan contactor said, one evening over drinks. "The local Taliban commander called and said 'don't build a bridge there, we'll have to blow it up.' I asked him to let me finish the bridge, collect the money -- then they could blow it up whenever they wanted. We agreed, and I completed my project." Who is funding the Afghan Taliban? You don't want to know. 13 Aug 2009. In Afghanistan, one of the richest sources of Taliban funding is the foreign assistance coming into the country. Virtually every major project includes a healthy cut for the insurgents. Call it protection money, call it extortion, or, as the Taliban themselves prefer to term it, "spoils of war," the fact remains that international donors, primarily the United States, are to a large extent financing their own enemy... The manager of an Afghan firm with lucrative construction contracts with the U.S. government builds in a minimum of 20 percent for the Taliban in his cost estimates. The manager, who will not speak openly, has told friends privately that he makes in the neighborhood of $1 million per month. Out of this, $200,000 is siphoned off for the insurgents.
New Obusha money pit opens: U.S. to Resume Training Georgian Troops 14 Aug 2009 The United States is resuming a combat training mission in the former Soviet republic of Georgia to prepare its army for counterinsurgency operations in Afghanistan, despite the risks of angering Russia, senior Defense Department officials said Thursday. The training effort is intended to prepare Georgian troops to fight at NATO standards alongside American and allied forces in Afghanistan, the Pentagon officials said.
International Swine Flu Conference --August 19-20, 2009 Workshop: August 21, 2009 - Washington, DC (New-Fields.com/ISFC) --Concurrent Breakout Session #1 Mass Fatality Management Planning Develop and implement training and exercise programs; Direct fatality management tactical operations; Activate fatality management operations; Conduct morgue operations; Manage ante-mortem data; Conduct final disposition --Session #7 First Responders: Fire Department Protect fire department first responders from falling ill & from being hurt in civil disturbances; Effectively transition into All-Hazards Incident Management Responders; Effectively undertake mass vaccinations; Enforce quarantines --Session #8 First Responders: Fire Department Protect public works first responders from falling ill or being hurt in civil disturbances.
