Aiding Torture: Health Professionals' Ethics and Human Rights Violations Demonstrated in the May 2004 CIA Inspector General's Report (PHR) 31 Aug 2009 This 6-page white paper, published August 31, 2009, after the new release of the May 2004 CIA Inspector General's report, shows that the extent to which American doctors and psychologists violated human rights and betrayed the ethical standards of their professions by designing, implementing, and legitimizing a worldwide torture program is worse than previously known. A team of PHR doctors authored the white paper, which details how the CIA relied on medical expertise to rationalize and carry out abusive and unlawful interrogations. It also refers to aggregate collection of data on detainees’ reaction to interrogation methods. Physicians for Human Rights is concerned that this data collection and analysis may amount to human experimentation and calls for more investigation on this point. If confirmed, the development of a research protocol to assess and refine the use of the waterboard or other techniques would likely constitute a new, previously unknown category of ethical violations committed by CIA physicians and psychologists.
CIA refuses to release torture documents 03 Sep 2009 The CIA has refused to release further documents related to its controversial rendition, detention and interrogation of terror suspects. In a 33-page court statement made public on Tuesday, the Central Intelligence Agency said the documents contained sensitive information "that implicates intelligence activities, sources and methods, and information relating to the foreign relations and activities of the United States." Last month the Department of Justice revealed details of a report by a CIA inspector-general that outlined methods used during interrogation of "al-Qaeda suspects" in the midst of George W. Bush's term, including threats of rape of detainees' family members.
Killers-for-hire we can believe in: Obama to increase use of mercenaries in Afghanistan --Support units will be replaced by up to 14,000 'trigger-pullers,' and noncombat posts will be contracted out, Defense officials say. 02 Sep 2009 U.S. officials are planning to add as many as 14,000 combat troops to the American force in Afghanistan by sending home support units and replacing them with "trigger-pullers," Defense officials say. Many of the noncombat jobs are likely be filled by private contractors terrorists, who have proved to be a source of controversy in Iraq and a growing issue in Afghanistan.
Government extends work by Blackwater successor in Iraq 02 Sep 2009 The State Department said on Wednesday it has asked the company formerly known as Blackwater to continue providing security services to U.S. diplomats in Iraq because the company hired to replace it was not ready to take over. Xe Services, formerly known as Blackwater, earlier this year learned its State Department contract in Iraq would not be renewed after some of its mercenaries were accused of killing Iraqi civilians while protecting U.S. diplomats in Baghdad.
Kabul U.S. Embassy Guard: Sexual Deviancy Required for Promotion --Whistleblower Says Bosses Required Sex Acts for Guards Seeking Best shift, Promotion 02 Sep 2009 Private security guards mercenaries at the U.S. Embassy in Kabul were pressured to participate in naked pool parties and perform sex acts to gain promotions or assignment to preferable shifts, according to one of 12 guards who have gone public with their complaints. In an interview with ABC News, the guard, a U.S. military veteran, said top supervisors of the ArmorGroup were not only aware of the "deviant sexual acts" but helped to organize them.
Private guards at US embassy 'running rampant' 03 Sep 2009 The US State Department is set to investigate allegations of a breakdown in discipline among privately-contracted mercenaries at the American embassy in Afghanistan that created a "Lord of the Flies" environment of humiliation and coercion. The working culture featured lurid locker room-style hazing, semi-naked, vodka-fuelled parties and the humiliation or even firing of those who refused to join in. A charitable government oversight group described the alleged violations in a report delivered to the Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton. The Project on Government Oversight also handed over emails, videos, photographs and other testimony from other guards.
G.O.P. May Be Vital to Obama on Afghan War 03 Sep 2009 As President Obama prepares to decide whether to send additional troops to Afghanistan, the political climate appears increasingly challenging for him, leaving him in the awkward position of relying on the Republican Party, and not his own, for support. The simple political narrative of the Afghanistan war — that this was the good war, in which the United States would [pretend to] hunt down the perpetrators of the Sept. 11 attacks [they were in the White House] -- has faded over time, with popular support ebbing, American casualties rising and confidence in the Afghan government declining. In addition, Afghanistan’s disputed 'election,' and the attendant fraud charges that have been lodged against President Hamid Karzai, are contributing further to the erosion of public support.
Top Afghan security official killed in blast 02 Sep 2009 A strong car bomb explosion has targeted mourners at a funeral in eastern Afghanistan and killed 25 people, including civilians and a senior security official. The explosion took place on Wednesday when a bomber blew himself up outside the main mosque in Mihtarlam, the provincial capital of eastern Laghman province.
Four sentenced to die for deadly Iraq bank robbery 02 Sep 2009 A court sentenced four Iraqi security force members to death on Wednesday for Iraq's bloodiest ever bank robbery, in which eight police guards were shot dead and millions of dollars stolen. The robbers seized 3.8 million dollars (2.7 million euros) in a pre-dawn raid on a branch of the Al-Rafidain bank on July 28. The cash was later recovered and a trail of clues implicated two former guards of Iraqi Vice President Adel Abdel Mahdi.
Minot AFB Cleans Up After Accident 02 Sep 2009 A semi-trailer truck used to carry intercontinental missiles overturned into a ditch last night. The incident occurred in north-central North Dakota. Air Force officials say the truck was not carrying nuclear material, but they were initially concerned that some rocket fuel might leak because of the accident. Colonel Chris Ayers says the truck, called a payload transport, was carrying parts for a Minuteman Three missile when it overturned.
Md. Gov. Calls Seasonal Flu Shots a 'Patriotic Duty' --Health Sec'y likened Maryland's share of upcoming the mass swine-flu vaccination campaign to a "military operation." 02 Sep 2009 Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley (D-Insane) on Wednesday said it was residents' "patriotic duty" to get seasonal flu shots in coming weeks to make it easier for health officials to determine if outbreaks are related to H1N1, or swine flu. "You'll be doing your patriotic duty to get your seasonal flu shot this year," O'Malley said... John M. Colmers, secretary of Health & Mental Hygiene, likened Maryland's share of the upcoming mass swine-flu vaccination campaign to a "military operation," and said much remains unknown about exactly how the state will carry it out. Unlike seasonal flu shots, which are available now, swine flu vaccines will not be ready until at least mid-October, and even then only in limited quantities.
D.C. Area Officials Use Post-Sept. 11 Response to Coordinate Flu Fight 02 Sep 2009 Top officials from Maryland, Virginia and the District met Tuesday to coordinate plans for fighting the swine flu, taking advantage of a structure set up after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks to try to sharpen the region's response to outbreaks expected this fall. The governors of Maryland and Virginia joined D.C. Mayor Adrian M. Fenty (D) and Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano on a day when President Obama said "every American has a role to play in responding to this virus." [Do you trust Obama in a (USAMRIID-created) flu pandemic? Obama has followed in Bush's footsteps in nearly every single action -- or inaction -- he has taken since the election. See petition, Refuse and Resist Mandatory Flu Vaccines and CLG Pandemic Action Alerts. CLG has a Flu 'Oddities' RSS feed for breaking Flu news (as well as a main news RSS feed).]
MA Pandemic Bill Allows Police to Enter Homes, Detain Without Warrant 02 Sep 2009 A pandemic response bill currently making its way through the Massachusetts state legislature would allow authorities to forcefully quarantine citizens in the event of a health emergency, compel health providers to vaccinate citizens, authorize forceful entry into private dwellings and destruction of citizen property and impose fines on citizens for noncompliance. If citizens refuse to comply with isolation or quarantine orders in the event of a health emergency, they may be imprisoned for up to 30 days and fined $1,000 per day that the violation continues. Massachusetts' 'Pandemic Response Bill' 2028 was passed by the Massachusetts state Senate on April 28 and is now awaiting approval in the House.
Defense Department to Start Mandatory H1N1 Flu Vaccinations 01 Sep 2009 All military personnel will be vaccinated against the H1N1 flu virus, and the vaccine will be available to all military family members who want it, a Defense Department health affairs official said today. The H1N1 vaccination program will begin in early October, said Army Lt. Col. (Dr.) Wayne Hachey, director of preventive medicine for Defense Department health affairs. The vaccine, which has been licensed [!] by the Food and Drug Administration, will be mandatory for uniformed personnel, the colonel said. "What we want to do is target those people who are at highest risk for transmission," he said.
Homeland Security Sec'y: New infections expected 02 Sep 2009 Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano says people should expect "a big influx" of swine flu cases this fall and brace for it as best they can. Napolitano also said in a nationally broadcast interview Wednesday that many cases are likely to surface before a [deadly] vaccine for H1N1 is available, probably no earlier than mid-October.
1 in 1,000 Ind. residents has had H1N1 01 Sep 2009 State Health Commissioner Dr. Judy Monroe said about one of every 1,000 Indiana residents has contracted the H1N1 flu virus so far -- and possibly several times that rate. Monroe told a General Assembly panel on Tuesday that the Indiana State Department of Health estimates at least 6,000 people – and possibly as many as 23,000 -- have contracted the H1N1 virus in the state. The department has stopped counting cases.
Neurologists urged to watch for rare swine flu vaccine side-effect 01 Sep 2009 The last time the United States had a swine flu scare, mass vaccinations led to an even bigger worry that the injections might have caused a few dozen cases of a rare disease called Guillain-Barre syndrome. As the nation prepares for another round of 2009 H1N1 flu shots this fall, the federal government is urging neurologists to keep an eye out for new cases of Guillain-Barre. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the American Academy of Neurology have asked all neurologists to report new cases of Guillain-Barre in people who get vaccines this fall and winter to the Food & Drug Administration's Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System.
Preparing for a riot --Area agencies receive crowd-control training 28 Aug 2009 Like "Star Wars" stormtroopers, police officers and sheriff's deputies wielding batons and face-shielded helmets on order march tightly bunched together up the steps to the bleachers at Round Rock ISD Athletic Complex Thursday. With boots, protective vests and shin guards, the group might be viewed by some as an intimidating force, akin to an experienced varsity football squad entering the stadium.
Sarah Palin's presidential hopes crushed as Levi Johnston claims she can't even shoot a gun [The dim-witted bimbo is a complete fraud.] Despite describing herself as a "hockey mom with lipstick" - a line which delighted Republicans at her forceful national convention debut last year - Mrs Palin rarely attended her son Track's hockey games, claimed Mr Johnston. 02 Sep 2009 Sarah Palin, the former governor of Alaska who built her reputation on her rugged application of motherhood, does not actually fish and has no idea how to use her own gun, according to her daughter's former boyfriend. Levi Johnston, the teenager who Mrs Palin embraced as part of her family last year when it emerged during the presidential campaign that he had impregnated her 17-year-old daughter, turned against the family in an interview with Vanity Fair, painting the former governor as a selfish woman who took little interest in her children.
Mount Vernon to award Glenn Beck key to city --Protesters called it "totally inappropriate" to give a man who labeled President Barack Obama a "racist" a key to the city. 01 Sep 2009 The mayor of Mount Vernon has made it official. Mayor Bud Norris says he will give the key to his city to conservative talk show host [sociopath] Glenn Beck on September 26. Norris says Beck will deliver a short talk that night and become the first person to receive a key to the city in the six years Norris has been mayor. Protesters from the Skagit County Young Democrats walked outside city hall Tuesday with protest signs, one reading "Change the locks!"
Obama to Address Congress About Health Care 02 Sep 2009 President Obama will address a joint session of Congress next Wednesday about the nation's health-care system, Democratic officials said Wednesday. Under pressure to seize the initiative on the biggest legislative proposal of his young administration, Obama is expected to add more detail to his vision for health-care reform when he speaks to lawmakers upon their return from an August recess.
GOP calls VA pamphlet a 'death book.' Experts say it isn't 02 Sep 2009 While Republicans are calling a Department of Veterans Affairs health planning booklet a "death book" that encourages veterans to kill themselves or forgo care, ethicists and legal and medical experts say it's a reasonable attempt to help America's veterans plan for the end of their lives.
Pfizer Pays $2.3 Billion to Settle Marketing Case 03 Sep 2009 The pharmaceutical giant Pfizer agreed to pay $2.3 billion to settle civil and criminal allegations that it had illegally marketed its now-withdrawn painkiller, Bextra. It was the largest health care fraud settlement and the largest criminal fine of any kind ever. It was Pfizer’s fourth settlement over illegal marketing activities since 2002.
Obamas captured in Kennedy-like Oval Office photo 02 Sep 2009 An unusual and yet strangely familiar image of life intruding into the Oval Office has been captured by a White House photographer. As Barack Obama looks through papers, his eight-year-old daughter, Sasha, spies on him from behind a sofa. The photograph, released by the White House, was taken by Peter Souza, whose brief is to document the Obama presidency.
Previous lead stories: Controversial Blackwater Security Firm Gets Iraq Contract Extended by State Dept --Company Banned From Operating by Iraqi Government Earlier This Year 01 Sep 2009 The State Department has extended a contract with controversial private security firm Blackwater, ABC News has learned. The contract was due to expire this month. Sources say the department has agreed to temporarily continue using the subsidiary known as Presidential Airways to provide helicopter transport for embassy employees around Iraq until a new contract with another security company, DynCorp International, is fully implemented. Presidential Airways is an arm of U.S. Training Center, which is a subsidiary of the company Xe, formerly and still commonly known as Blackwater. [See: DynCorp Disgrace By Kelly Patricia O'Meara 14 Jan 2002 Middle-aged men having sex with 12- to 15-year-olds was too much for Ben Johnston, a hulking 6-foot-5-inch Texan, and more than a year ago he blew the whistle on his employer, DynCorp, a U.S. contracting company doing business in Bosnia.]
Phrase 'War on Terror' Returns to White House Lexicon [It - like Bush himself - never really left.] 01 Sep 2009 Press Secretary Robert Gibbs may have returned the United States to the "War on Terror" -- or at least returned the term "War on Terror" to the White House glossary -- when he used the abandoned phrase Monday in response to a question about the current situation in Afghanistan. "You can't under-resource the most important part of our War on Terror, you can't under-resource that for five or six or seven years... and hope to snap your fingers and have that turn around in just a few months," Gibbs said during the daily briefing to reporters.
Iowa officials say no quarantine for swine flu 31 Aug 2009 Iowa public health officials are trying to alert the public that there is no truth to an Internet rumor that the state has instituted a quarantine for the H1N1 flu is untrue. Polly Carver-Kimm, spokeswoman for the Iowa Department of Public Health, said a reporter from Kentucky called the department Monday, asking about something called the "facility quarantine order." [And, here is the nonexistent document: Iowa Department of Public Health - Center for Acute Disease Epidemiology, 'Local Board of Health Quarantine Isolation Rules:' Facility Quarantine Order. '6. Violations of order. If you fail to comply with this Quarantine Order you may be ordered to be quarantined in a more restrictive facility. In addition, failure to comply with this order is a simple misdemeanor for which you may be arrested, fined, and imprisoned.']
