US military disclosing list of secret prisoners 22 Aug 2009 The Pentagon plans to give the Red Cross access to a list of terror suspects held in secret prisons in Iraq and Afghanistan, US military officials say. In another shift of policy made by the US President Barack Obama, the Pentagon will give the Red Cross access to dozens of suspected terrorists and militants held in what it calls the Special Operations camps, The New York Times reported on Saturday, citing three unidentified military officials.
U.S. judge orders Guantanamo prisoner released 21 Aug 2009 A Yemeni prisoner held since 2002 in the U.S. prison at Guantanamo Bay must be freed because there is no evidence he belonged to al Qaeda [al-CIAduh] or was a bodyguard for Osama bin Laden, a U.S. judge said in a decision published on Friday. Mohammed Adahi is one of 29 detainees who have been ordered released from Guantanamo, a controversial prison on a U.S. Navy base in Cuba that has housed suspected militants since the September 11 attacks on the United States by al Qaeda in 2001.
Afghanistan Contractors Outnumber Troops --Despite Surge in U.S. Deployments, More Contractors Are Posted in War Zone; Reliance Echoes Controversy in Iraq 22 Aug 2009 Even as U.S. troops surge to new highs in Afghanistan they are outnumbered by military contractors working alongside them, according to a Defense Department census due to be distributed to Congress. The number of military contractors in Afghanistan rose to almost 74,000 by June 30, far outnumbering the roughly 58,000 U.S. soldiers on the ground at that point... The reliance on contractors has prompted a shift in the defense industry, sending more money to logistics and construction companies that can perform everything from basic functions to project engineering. A recent contract is worth up to $15 billion to two firms, DynCorp International Inc. and Fluor Corp., to build and support U.S. military bases throughout Afghanistan.
"I was building a bridge," an Afghan contactor said, one evening over drinks. "The local Taliban commander called and said 'don't build a bridge there, we'll have to blow it up.' I asked him to let me finish the bridge, collect the money -- then they could blow it up whenever they wanted. We agreed, and I completed my project." Who is funding the Afghan Taliban? You don't want to know. 13 Aug 2009 In Afghanistan, one of the richest sources of Taliban funding is the foreign assistance coming into the country. Virtually every major project includes a healthy cut for the insurgents. Call it protection money, call it extortion, or, as the Taliban themselves prefer to term it, "spoils of war," the fact remains that international donors, primarily the United States, are to a large extent financing their own enemy.
Observers say Afghanistan elections had serious flaws 22 Aug 2009 International monitors are praising Afghanistan for this week's 'elections,' but say it is too soon to determine whether the process was free and fair. [LOL!] Observers with the National Democratic Institute for International Affairs (NDI) said Saturday the presidential and provincial elections were held "in accordance with democratic principles" even though there were serious flaws. [Did the troglodyte who just passed the law that allows women get raped and starved - the Unocal/opium puppet the US/Blackwater installed, Hamid Karzai - win? Or did the other puke, Abdullah Abdullah, claim victory? Either way, it's billion$ more for Fluor, Xe, and the child-rapists at DynCorp, so it's all good. --LRP]
Intimidation and Fraud Observed in Afghan Election 23 Aug 2009 Reports of fraud and intimidation in Afghanistan’s presidential election continued to mount Saturday, with anecdotal but widespread accounts of ballot-box stuffing, a lack of impartiality among election workers and voters casting ballots for others. [Just like the US '00 and '04 'elections.']
$7.5 Billion more in US tax dollars for Pakistan money pit: 'US helping Pakistan to invest more in education' --Hillary says bills being finalised in US for socio-economic development aid to Pakistan [Oh, but we can't extend 'Cash-for-Clunkers,' though, right? Notice the GOP always votes NO for increases on health care and education for US citizens, but always votes for an increase in foreign 'aid,' where US 'contractors' distribute the monies?] 23 Aug 2009 The US is 'helping' Pakistan to invest more in schools and children instead of just its military, as was the case in the past, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said on Saturday. In an interview with The New York Times, Hillary said spreading education was part of the Obama administration’s policy. Hillary said the bills being finalised in the US Senate and the House of Representatives were aimed at providing aid to Pakistan for socio-economic development, including building schools. US lawmakers have voted to provide $7.5 billion for Pakistan over the next five years in non-military assistance.
Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. Pakistan Seeks More U.S. Military Aid 23 Jul 2009; US to send $110 million in emergency aid to Pakistan 19 May 2009; Pakistan to get billions from U.S. despite oversight concerns 27 Mar 2009; Taleban tax: allied supply convoys pay their enemies for safe passage: West funding insurgency in Afghanistan with Taleban payoff system --"We estimate that approximately 25 per cent of the money we pay for security to get the fuel in goes into the pockets of the Taleban." 12 Dec 2008 The West is indirectly funding the insurgency in Afghanistan thanks to a system of payoffs to Taleban commanders who charge protection money to allow convoys of military supplies to reach Nato bases in the south of the country; Billions in U.S. Aid to Pakistan Wasted, Officials Assert 24 Dec 2007; US Senate approves Pakistan aid worth $785m 20 Dec 2007.
Terrorists R Us: Iraqi security forces collaborated with bombers: FM 22 Aug 2009 Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari on Saturday alleged there had been collaboration between Iraqi security forces and the 'insurgents' whose massive truck bombings killed 95 people three days ago. The ministry lost 32 workers in the blast at its headquarters. Wednesday's bombings at the ministries of foreign affairs and finance culminated in the worst day of violence seen in the conflict-hit country in 18 months, with around 600 people also wounded. "How could this truck pass unless there is collaboration?" Zebari told reporters in Baghdad. "There was collaboration between security forces and the terrorist group to facilitate the passing of this truck through such a sensitive area." [Who does the US pay to train Iraqi security forces? Xe. Who benefits from bombings to show that US mercenaries are still 'needed' in Iraq?]
CIA staged mock execution, wielded power drill in interrogations, secret report says --The methods were not mentioned in Justice Department memos authorizing the so-called enhanced interrogation program for prisoners. 22 Aug 2009 The CIA staged a mock execution and brandished weapons, including a gun and a power drill, during interrogation sessions with detainees prisoners the agency was desperate to persuade to talk, according to a long-secret internal CIA report expected to be released Monday. The episodes are part of a catalog of alleged abuses torture -- a 2004 report by the CIA's inspector general -- that has prompted U.S. Atty. Gen. Eric H. Holder Jr. to consider appointing a criminal prosecutor to investigate cases in which the CIA strayed beyond its interrogation authorities.
CIA Used Gun, Drill in Interrogation --The federal torture statute prohibits a U.S. national from threatening anyone in his or her custody with imminent death. 22 Aug 2009 CIA interrogators used a handgun and an electric drill to try to frighten a captured [alleged] al-Qaeda commander into giving up information, according to a long-concealed agency report due to be made public next week, former and current U.S. officials who have read the document said Friday. The tactics -- which one official described Friday as a threatened execution -- were used on Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri, according to the CIA's inspector general's report on the agency's interrogation program... In a separate encounter, a power drill was held near Nashiri's body and repeatedly turned on and off, said the officials, who spoke about the report on the condition of anonymity because it remains classified.
Israel to actively participate in NATO operation 22 Aug 2009 For the first time, the Israeli army will actively participate in a NATO operation in the Mediterranean Sea as part of the Active Endeavor maritime operation. The decision to send an Israeli Navy ship was made recently by Defense Minister Ehud Barak, Israeli occupation army Chief of General Staff Lt.-Gen. Gabi Ashkenazi and commander of the Navy Adm. Eliezer Marom.
Sweden flatly rejects Israeli request for media quiet 21 Aug 2009 Sweden has turned down a demand that it condemn the recent publication of an article that links Israeli soldiers to the death of Palestinian civilians with the motive of obtaining their organs. In an article published earlier in the week, Sweden's best-selling daily Aftonbladet recounted grotesque incidents dating as far back as 1992 in which Israeli soldiers allegedly abducted Palestinian youths and returned their bodies mutilated a few days later.
Employers experience life in the National Guard 22 Aug 2009 By Rodger Nichols (Boise, ID) That morning we had arrived at Gowen Air National Guard base, next to the Boise Airport, as part of a program called Boss Lift. It's an activity coordinated by the Employer Support of Guard and Reserve. ESGR was set up in 1972, when the national draft ended, as a way to smooth relations and resolve conflicts between employers and the obligations of their employees to be away from their jobs at times for Guard and Reserve training... Over the course of our carefully organized stay, we'll have two rides in a UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter, spend time in a $3 million A-10A Thunderbolt II flight simulator, clamber on an M1-A1 Abrams tank, and have a chance to fire laser-rigged machine guns at a whole wall of computer-generated targets.
Up to 11,000 U.S. veterans may have been mistakenly infected with HIV 21 Aug 2009 11,000 veterans who had colonoscopies at U.S. Veterans Affairs hospitals may have been exposed to hepatitis B, hepatitis C and HIV. The veterans were advised equipment used during their treatment was not sterilized. Of those so far that responded by having follow-up blood checks, 8 have tested positive for HIV. Twelve of the veterans have tested positive for hepatitis B, and 37 have tested positive for hepatitis C.
'The government is prepared to buy enough to vaccinate every person.' [Well, they can save on my dose. 'I want to be one less.' Yes, that's the Merck Gardakill campaign slogan. We're taking it as our own, against Baxter's mercury, squalene, cancer-laden shots.] Government Plans 'Mass Vaccination Events' In Vast Swine Flu Effort --"There's little doubt we're going to vaccinate people," said Anthony S. Fauci of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, who is leading the government's testing of the vaccine. 23 Aug 2009 Government health officials are mobilizing to launch a massive swine flu vaccination campaign this fall that is unprecedented in its scope -- and in the potential for complications. The campaign aims to vaccinate at least half the country's population within months. Local officials are drafting plans tailored to their communities. The shots in the arms and squirts up the nose will happen in schools, medical offices, hospitals, public health clinics, workplaces, drug stores and at mass vaccination events, possibly including drive-through clinics in parking lots where people would stick their arms out their car windows for a stab.
Vaccine caution --Swine flu vaccine could be a recipe for disaster By Colin G. Fink, Micropathology Ltd, University of Warwick 20 Aug 2009 Sir, Dr David Salisbury does NHS nurses an injustice by saying that they have a duty to their patients to be vaccinated against swine flu (report, Aug 18). Their caution is based on the experience in the US where an influenza vaccine was withdrawn during a previous influenza outbreak when the vaccine was found to cause many cases of Guillain-Barré syndrome (an ascending paralysis that may also affect sensory nerves). Adequate safety trials are a prerequisite for any new vaccine and require volunteers who are not morally blackmailed. The new vaccine for the pandemic strain is being trialled on nursing staff.
Common Sense 2009 By Larry Flynt 20 Aug 2009 The American government -- which we once called our government -- has been taken over by Wall Street, the mega-corporations and the super-rich. They are the ones who decide our fate. It is this group of powerful elites, the people President Franklin D. Roosevelt called "economic royalists," who choose our elected officials -- indeed, our very form of government. Both Democrats and Republicans dance to the tune of their corporate masters. In America, corporations do not control the government. In America, corporations are the government. This was never more obvious than with the Wall Street bailout, whereby the very corporations that caused the collapse of our economy were rewarded with taxpayer dollars.
Banker who tipped feds to UBS tax scam gets prison time 21 Aug 2009 In a surprisingly heavy judgment, Bradley Birkenfeld, the former UBS private banker who blew the whistle on a wide-ranging scheme in which the Swiss bank helped wealthy Americans dodge income taxes through secret accounts, was sentenced to 40 months in prison Friday morning. The sentence was 10 months longer than the prosecution had asked for.
Mercury found in every U.S. fish tested 20 Aug 2009 A federal study of mercury contamination released Wednesday found the toxic substance in every fish tested at nearly 300 streams across the country, a finding that underscores how widespread mercury pollution has become. From 1998 to 2005, scientists collected and tested more than a thousand fish from 291 streams nationwide.
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.
