Change we can deXEive in: U.S. Still Using Security Firm It Broke With 22 Aug 2009 Despite publicly breaking with an American mercenary company in Iraq, the State Department continues to award the company, formerly known as Blackwater, more than $400 million in contracts to fly its diplomats around Iraq, guard them in Afghanistan, and train security forces in antiterrorism tactics at its remote camp in North Carolina. The contracts, one of which runs until 2011, illustrate the extent to which the United States government remains reliant on private contractors like Blackwater, now known as Xe Services.
CIA Accused of Third Torture Prison in Europe --Black Site in Lithuania? 21 Aug 2009 As Americans continue to debate the torture era of the Bush administration, a new report has emerged about the alleged existence of a third secret prison used by the CIA in Europe. According to ABC News, the CIA operated a "black site" prison in Lithuania until the end of 2005. Following reports on "black site" prisons in Poland, ABC News is now reporting that a third jail existed in the Lithuanian capital Vilnius. According to the report, as many as eight prisoners were held there for at least one year.
Gitmo lawyers accused of blowing CIA agents' cover 21 Aug 2009 An investigation is launched into whether military defense attorneys at the Guantanamo prison had compromised the cover of CIA interrogators by showing their pictures to prisoners. The investigation was lunched by the Justice Department almost two weeks ago, when the FBI and the Judge Advocate General's Corps approached three military defense lawyers, The New York Times said on Friday.
Bush's security chief: I faced pressure to raise terror alert before election 21 Aug 2009 Tom Ridge, the former US homeland security secretary, has accused members of George W Bush's administration of putting pressure on him to raise the terror alert level on the eve of the 2004 presidential 'election.' In a new book, Mr Ridge claims that Mr Bush's defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld the attorney general John Ashcroft had attempted to persuade him to raise the national threat level from yellow, which represents an "elevated" threat, to orange or "high". Mr Ridge declined.
In Pakistan, US blitz death toll rises fourfold 21 Aug 2009 The death toll from US missile strikes in a tribal belt of the troubled northwest Pakistan has risen to twelve after more bodies were pulled from rubbles, officials say. Initial reports indicated that three people were killed in the attack near Miran Shan, capital of North Waziristan tribal district.
Pakistan: US missile attack toll mounts to 12, including women and children 21 Aug 2009 The death toll of US drone strike in Danday Darpa Khel reached 12 as women and children are also among the dead. According to sources, a US drone fired missile at a house in Danday Darpa Khel area. Eyewitnesses said 12 bodies have been recovered from the rubble so far whereas several were injured, some of them reported in critical condition. Five houses were also demolished in the attack.
Karzai and Abdullah both claim victory in Afghan 'elections' 21 Aug 2009 Despite calls by the US [the world's busiest nosy parker] for the leading candidates in Afghanistan's election not to claim victory, both Hamid Karzai and Abdullah Abdullah said they won yesterday's vote. Although the first early official results are not expected until Saturday or even Sunday, both campaign teams claimed they were ahead, with President Karzai's staff saying he had taken a majority of votes, making a second round run-off unnecessary. Abdullah's spokesman, Sayyid Agha Hussain Fazel Sancharaki, said the former foreign minister was ahead with 62% of the vote.
Afghanistan Bomb Blasts Kill Two U.K. Soldiers, One U.S. 21 Aug 2009 Three soldiers serving in the NATO-led force in Afghanistan, one American and two Britons, were killed by separate explosions. The U.S. soldier died today from wounds caused by a homemade bomb in eastern Afghanistan, NATO’s International Security Assistance Force said in an e-mailed statement.
Blast leaves 4 army personnel dead in Mosul 22 Aug 2009 At least four Iraqi army personnel have lost their lives as a car bomb explosion ripped through their police patrol in the west of Mosul. Talafar's Police Chief Ali Hadi Ubeid said that a car rigged with explosives blew up on Friday afternoon near an Iraqi army vehicle patrol at Uwaynat village in the Rabiea district, west of the northern city of Mosul.
US: 4 American troops in Iraq charged with cruelty 21 Aug 2009 The U.S. military says four American soldiers in Iraq have been charged with cruelty and maltreatment of soldiers in their platoon. In a statement released Friday, the military says charges were filed Wednesday against the four soldiers serving with Multi-National Division-South.
Israel closes case against offending settlers 21 Aug 2009 Israeli police drop a case against the masked settlers who were captured on a widely broadcast videotape beating Palestinian shepherds in the occupied West Bank. Israel announced the decision on Friday, citing lack of evidence as the reason. "The file was closed because it turned out to be impossible to identify the attackers," AFP quoted a police spokesman as saying.
Mega barf alert! KBR forms new business group 21 Aug 2009 KBR Inc. has formed a new government, defense and infrastructure business group. The group will serve the Houston engineering, construction and services company’s customers in North America, the Middle East, United Kingdom and Australia.
'The guard called a Homeland Security Officer who asked Thomas what he was filming.' Homeland Security cop arrests man for filming FBI building in NYC By Carlos Miller 20 Aug 2009 A 43-year-old man was jailed for six hours – and had his camera and memory card confiscated by a judge - after filming an FBI building from across the street in New York City Monday. Randall Thomas, a professional photographer, said he was standing on the corner of Duane Street and Broadway in downtown Manhattan when he used his video camera to pan up and down on the 42-story building at 26 Federal Plaza. He was immediately accosted by a security guard in a brown uniform who told him he was not allowed to film the building.
Police Taser use 'up nearly a third' 17 Aug 2009 Police use of Taser stun guns has increased by nearly a third, figures revealed today. Officers fired the electro-shock weapons 226 times in the first three months of this year - up from 174 in the last three months of 2008.
Second 9/11 Investigation Petition Moves Toward NYC November Ballot By Barbara G. Ellis for Portland 9/11 Legislative Alliance 20 Aug 2009 A second 9/11 investigation about the destruction of the World Trade Center and attack on the Pentagon--this one independent of the U.S. government--may start late this year if legal debris is cleared away for approval as a referendum issue on November 3 in New York City.
Government's Tamiflu advice is wrong, says WHO 22 Aug 2009 Only seriously ill and vulnerable patients should be prescribed antiviral drugs to help them to get over swine flu, the World Health Organisation said yesterday, in advice which conflicts with the decision taken by the British Government to prescribe Tamiflu to everyone with swine flu. Most people will recover from swine flu within a week, just as they would from seasonal forms of influenza, the WHO said.
Sanofi-Aventis (SNY) gains on UNH swine flu assurances 21 Aug 2009 Sanofi-Aventis shares are rising today after health insurer Unitedhealth Group announced that it would fully cover swine flu vaccinations, even for members that do not have immunizations typically covered. As one of the drugmakers that is producing a swine flu vaccine, SNY stands to benefit.
WHO predicts 'explosion' of swine flu cases 21 Aug 2009 The global spread of swine flu will endanger more lives as it speeds up in coming months and governments must boost preparations for a swift response, the World Health Organization said Friday. There will soon be a period of further global spread of the virus, and most countries may see swine flu cases double every three to four days for several months until peak transmission is reached, said WHO's Western Pacific director, Shin Young-soo.
U.S. Sells Seized Texas Bank to Spanish Firm 22 Aug 2009 The federal government is casting more broadly as it seeks buyers for a growing number of failed banks, including entertaining bids from foreign firms and seeking to attract new investors to the industry by easing restrictions. The results were on display Friday, as regulators seized Guaranty Bank of Texas and immediately sold its branches, deposits and most of its assets to Spain's Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria. The failure of Guaranty, with $13 billion in loans and other assets, was the 10th-largest in U.S. history and the fourth-largest since the financial crisis began last year.
Failed Bank List (fdic.gov) Last Updated 21 Aug 2009 The FDIC is often appointed as receiver for failed banks. This page contains useful information for the customers and vendors of these banks... This list includes banks which have failed since October 1, 2000.
AP source: White House projects lower deficit 21 Aug 2009 The federal budget picture will look slightly better next week. Relatively speaking. The White House plans to announce the federal deficit will still be a record breaker, at $1.58 trillion, for the current 2009 fiscal year. But the amount is about $262 billion less than officials predicted earlier this year.
Existing homes selling fast - record fast --The volume of home re-sales has been on the upswing for four consecutive months. 21 Aug 2009 Sales of existing homes rose in July for the fourth consecutive month, lending support to economists who argue a recovery is near. Sales of previously owned single-family homes were up 7.2% compared with June and 5% from July 2008, The National Association of Realtors (NAR) reported Friday. The monthly gain was the largest on record for existing-home sales, which NAR has tracked since 1999.
Consumer Groups Warn of Dealer Double-Dipping In Cash For Clunkers --Dealers should not be getting paid twice By James Limbach 21 Aug 2009 A coalition of consumer groups is calling on the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) to ensure, as the agency winds down the Cash for Clunkers program, that dealers are not "double-dipping" and getting paid twice -- once by their customers and again by the government.
NEA Attacks Administration's Education Reform Plan 21 Aug 2009 The nation's largest teachers union sharply attacked President Obama's most significant school improvement initiative on Friday evening, saying that it puts too much emphasis on a "narrow agenda" centered on charter schools and echoes the Bush administration's "top-down approach" to reform. The National Education Association's criticism of Obama's $4.35 billion "Race to the Top" initiative came nearly a month after the president unveiled the competitive grant program...
Dimwitted bimbo is world's biggest hypocrite: Bachmann: No Government Control Over My Body! By Eric Kleefeld 21 Aug 2009 Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Insane-MN), who is a staunch champion of the religious right and an opponent of President Obama on all things under the sun, has a new line against the Democrats on health care: Keep the government off my body! Bachmann appeared on Sean Hannity's radio show on Tuesday. Bachmann said, "That's why people need to continue to go to the town halls, continue to melt the phone lines of their liberal members of Congress," said Bachmann, "and let them know, under no certain circumstances will I give the government control over my body and my health care decisions."
Britain's 'toxic ship' returns from Brazil --Waste shipment illegally exported from UK had prompted UN complaint 22 Aug 2009 A massive shipment of toxic waste, alleged to have been illegally exported from the UK to Brazil, arrived back in Britain yesterday after its discovery prompted an angry complaint to the United Nations from the Brazilian authorities. The 1,400 tonnes of rubbish were found in three Brazilian ports in July, in 89 containers believed to have been exported from Britain under the guise of recyclable plastic.
Previous lead stories: C.I.A. Said to Use Blackwater to Put Bombs on Drones --Blackwater, now Xe Services, has grown through government work, even as it attracted criticism and allegations of brutality in Iraq. 21 Aug 2009 From a secret division at its North Carolina headquarters, the company formerly known as Blackwater has assumed a role in Washington’s most important counterterrorism program: the use of remotely piloted drones to kill Al Qaeda’s [alleged] leaders, according to government officials and current and former employees. The division’s operations are carried out at hidden bases in Pakistan and Afghanistan, where the company’s contractors mercenaries assemble and load Hellfire missiles and 500-pound laser-guided bombs on remotely piloted Predator aircraft, work previously performed by employees of the Central Intelligence Agency. They also provide security at the covert bases, the officials said.
In Obusha Land, *attorneys* are investigated -- while torturers get a free pass. Detainees Shown CIA Officers' Photos --Justice Dept. Looking Into Whether Attorneys Broke Law at Guantanamo 21 Aug 2009 The Justice Department recently questioned military defense attorneys at Guantanamo Bay about whether photographs of CIA personnel, including covert officers, were unlawfully provided to detainees prisoners charged with organizing the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, according to sources familiar with the investigation. Investigators are looking into allegations that laws protecting classified information were breached when three lawyers showed their clients the photographs, the sources said. The lawyers were apparently attempting to identify CIA officers and contractors mercenaries involved in the agency's interrogation of suspected al-Qaeda terrorists in facilities outside the United States, where the agency employed harsh techniques torture... At a hearing in July, the audio feed was cut when a lawyer for Ramzi Binalshibh, one of the alleged Sept. 11 co-conspirators, mentioned sleep deprivation, one of the "enhanced interrogation techniques" used at the CIA's black sites.
