Russian report: Netanyahu may be planning attack --PM's rushed visit to Moscow under cloud of secrecy occupies Russian media. 10 Sep 2009 Israel News Russian media on Thursday continued to cover Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's mysterious visit to Moscow, that was leaked to the media from his office. Kommersant newspaper quoted "experts" as saying they believe a visit of this kind could have stemmed from urgent circumstances, "for example, in the event that Israel plans to attack Iran".
Obama says U.S. must renew fight against al Qaeda 11 Sep 2009 President George W. Bush Barack Obama sought to rally Americans behind the war in Afghanistan on the eighth anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks on the United States as opinion polls show faltering public support for the conflict. "Let us renew our resolve against those who perpetrated this barbaric act and plot against us still," Obama said on Friday at a somber ceremony attended by about 500 people under rain-filled skies at the Pentagon. "In pursuit of al Qaeda and its extremist allies we will never falter," he said, before laying a wreath at a memorial for those killed at the Pentagon on Sept. 11, 2001.
US committee approves $128 billion war spending --Funding will allow President Obama's order to add 21,000 more troops to the Afghanistan contingent, to proceed. 10 Sep 2009 A powerful Senate committee in the US has approved President Barack Obama’s $128 billion request for military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. With little debate, it was decided to allow the request which will cater for $636 billion in funding for next year’s Pentagon budget. The funding will allow President Obama’s order from earlier this year, to add 21,000 more troops to the Afghanistan contingent, to go ahead.
'Taliban hold sway over in 97% of Afghanistan' 11 Sep 2009 A policy research group says the Taliban have a significant presence in almost every corner of Afghanistan, eight years after their overthrow by US-led forces. A security map by the London-based International Council on Security and Development (ICOS) showed a deepening security crisis with substantial Taliban activity in at least 97 percent of the war-ravaged country.
Senate Armed Services Chairman: No More U.S. Troops to Afghanistan 11 Sep 2009 The debate whether to send more combat troops to Afghanistan took a twist reminiscent of the Iraq conflict when the head of the Senate Armed Services Committee on Friday advised not sending any more U.S. combat troops to Afghanistan beyond those already approved by President Obama until more Afghan security forces are trained. Chairman Carl Levin, D-Mich., also called for a shift in U.S. efforts toward [a new money pit] more trainers, who could, in part, be supplied by NATO allies.
Iraq suicide truck bombing kills 22 people 11 Sep 2009 A suicide truck bomber triggered a massive blast in a Kurdish village in northern Iraq as residents slept early on Thursday, flattening homes and killing at least 22 people, officials said. The attack just after midnight in Wardak, southeast of Mosul, brought down a dozen houses built from clay and stone, damaged 60 others and left a massive crater, said an AFP reporter at the scene.
Gunmen kill five Iraqi soldiers in drive-by 11 Sep 2009 Gunmen drove two cars up to an Iraqi army checkpoint in northern Iraq and opened fire on Friday evening, killing five soldiers, police said. The drive-by shooting took place just before Iraqis broke their Ramadan fast in the village of Safara, about 200 km (125 miles) northwest of Baghdad.
Iraqi shoe thrower gets hero treatment 11 Sep 2009 The Iraqi TV journalist who threw his shoes at then-president [sic] George W. Bush will be showered with gifts including a four-bedroom house -- and at least one potential bride -- upon his imminent release from jail. Muntadhar al-Zeidi, 30, is scheduled to be freed Monday after spending nine months in prison for assault, according to Dhiya al-Saadi, his lawyer. Al-Zeidi hurled both shoes at Bush during a Baghdad news conference last December to protest the U.S. presence in Iraq.
Torture Case Against US Mercenaries Is Dismissed 12 Sep 2009 A federal appeals court dismissed a lawsuit against two American mercenary firms by Iraqi victims of torture, saying the companies had immunity as 'government contractors.' The lawsuit was filed in 2004 on behalf of Iraqis who say they or their relatives had been tortured or mistreated at Abu Ghraib prison. The plaintiffs sued CACI International, which provided interrogators at Abu Ghraib, and L-3 Communications Holdings’ Titan unit, which provided interpreters to the military.
Met Police to investigate M16 torture claim --Scotland Yard is investigating an allegation that an MI6 officer was complicit in torture, after the Secret Intelligence Service referred the incident on its own initiative. 11 Sep 2009 Police are already looking into similar claims made against MI5 by the former Guantanamo detainee Binyam Mohamed. This latest case emerged in a letter from the Foreign Secretary David Miliband to his Conservative counterpart William Hague - and it has prompted calls for a full independent inquiry into all such allegations. Scotland Yard said the attorney general, Baronness Scotland, asked the police to investigate "the conditions under which a non-Briton was held" and the "potential involvement of British personnel".
Biden Honors NYC 9/11 Victims as Obama Hosts Memorial 11 Sep 2009 Vice President Joe Biden led past and present area governors and mayors of New York City as well as relatives and friends honoring 2,752 people who perished in the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attack on the World Trade Center. New York’s eighth anniversary observance paid tribute to the volunteer spirit of hundreds of emergency responders and individuals who helped rescue thousands from the towers and then aided in the recovery of the dead from the burning ruins.
Fifty questions on 9/11 By Pepe Escobar 11 Sep 2009 It's September 11 all over again - eight years on. The George W Bush administration is out. The "global war on terror" is still on, renamed "overseas contingency operations" by the Barack Obama administration. Obama's "new strategy" - a war escalation - is in play in AfPak. Osama bin Laden may be dead or not. "Al-Qaeda" remains a catch-all ghost entity. September 11 - the neo-cons' "new Pearl Harbor" - remains the darkest jigsaw puzzle of the young 21st century. [See: CLG 9/11 Exposition Zone.]
FAA: Flights at Ronald Reagan Airport Halted for 20 Minutes After Reports of Shots 11 Sep 2009 The Federal Aviation Administration confirmed to ABC News that flights departing from the Washington D.C. Ronald Reagan National Airport were stopped for 20 minutes as a precautionary measure after media reports of shots fired by the Coast Guard on the Potomac River. FAA officials say 17 outbound flights were affected but arrivals were not impacted. Departures stopped at around 10:08 a.m. and resumed at 10:29 a.m.
'No shots fired' in Washington river Coast Guard exercise 11 Sep 2009 The Coast Guard was conducting a training exercise in the Potomac River in Washington DC moments before US President Barack Obama and his motorcade crossed a nearby bridge today. Coast Guard Chief Keith Moore said no shots were fired as part of the exercise. Media reports suggested shots had been fired in the river. President Obama had travelled to the Pentagon for a ceremony commemorating the eighth anniversary of the September 11 terrorist attacks.
Coast Guard Exercise on Potomac River Raises Fears 11 Sep 2009 The U.S. Coast Guard sent gunboats to the Potomac River in Washington today as part of a training exercise on the eighth anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks, prompting the FBI and other law enforcement agencies which hadn't received advance notice to race to the scene. The exercise [?!?] was conducted about the time President Barack Obama was at a Sept. 11 ceremony at the Pentagon, which required crossing the river on a nearby bridge.
Potomac River Scare: Coast Guard 'Shots' During 9/11 Memorial --Coast Guard Admits it Was Running Training Exercise -- Right Near Pentagon Ceremony 11 Sep 2009 Washington, D.C., residents mourning the victims of the Sept. 11 attacks this morning heard an eerie echo less than an hour later -- reports that a Coast Guard vessel had fired shots at a boat in the Potomac River near the Pentagon. But after half an hour of anxiety, the Coast Guard and local police said the whole thing was a training exercise, and no shots were fired at all. The exercise took place before mourners had left the memorial ceremony at the Pentagon where President Obama spoke, and while memorials in New York City and Shanksville, Pa., were still in progress.
Homeland security grants awarded in state after 9/11 marked by waste, lack of oversight 11 Sep 2009 ...The Marin County example is not an isolated one. Under the state's open-records laws, California Watch found scores of instances of wasteful spending, purchasing violations, error-prone accounting and shoddy oversight at agencies across the state during the years immediately following the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks.
Metro to Get $78.3 Million to Enhance Security 11 Sep 2009 1:34 PM Metro will receive $78.3 million in grants from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to enhance the security of the system, its riders and employees, the agency announced Thursday. Metro said it will use the money to hire additional police officers and explosives-detecting dogs, install surveillance cameras on rail cars and buses, and implement and enhance emergency training for employees. It said $11 million will go toward creating 25 new positions for the Metro Transit Police, including 20 additional officers for new anti-terrorism teams.
Police resources for homicide cases scarce as Detroit faces cash crisis 11 Sep 2009 As the city tries to stave off financial collapse, it also finds itself mired in controversy about its high murder rate and large number of unsolved murders. Murders are up more than 15 percent from this time a year ago, according to police, who patrol the city with the nation's highest murder rate. Add to that a Detroit News investigation that on Thursday revealed that, at minimum, seven in 10 people who committed murder in this city last year have gotten away with it.
Big Brother database to protect children against paedophiles has gone too far, says Soham report chief 12 Sep 2009 (UK) A massive vetting system set up to safeguard children and the elderly has come under fire from Sir Michael Bichard - the man whose report into the Soham murders led to its creation. One in four adults in Britain will have to be screened by the Independent Safeguarding Authority when it goes live next month, before they are allowed to work in any job involving access to children. It could even cover those who do no more than give neighbours' or friends' children lifts to sports or club events.
My question: If the outburst by Rep. Joe Wilson (R-SC) was 'spontaneous,' as he claimed, how come -- and who -- photographed Wilson at the exact moment of his heckling of President Obama? --Lori Price
House plans to admonish Rep. Wilson over outburst --While not a formal censure or reprimand, the resolution, if passed as expected, would put Congress on record as condemning Wilson's conduct. 11 Sep 2009 Democratic leaders are planning a House vote early next week to admonish Republican Rep. Joe Wilson if he does not apologize on the House floor for yelling "You lie!" during President Barack Obama's health care address to Congress. National attention from the heckling episode has money pouring into Wilson's campaign treasury and that of his 2010 Democratic challenger. Democratic leaders decided at a meeting late Thursday that they probably will propose a resolution of disapproval early next week if Wilson doesn't apologize to Congress, said Brendan Daly, a spokesman for House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
Dem leaders renew push for Wilson censure 10 Sep 2009 Joe Wilson's flat refusal to apologize to the entire House for heckling President Obama has rekindled a push by top Democrats to introduce a censure resolution -- despite Speaker Nancy Pelosi's earlier refusal to consider the idea, sources tell me. Majority Whip James Clyburn (D-SC) and Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) are once again considering the move after Wilson adamantly refused to offer a mea culpa in the well of the House -- after Clyburn buttonholed him on the floor.
Joe Wilson: 'I will not be muzzled' 11 Sep 2009 Rep. Joe Wilson (R-Racist-SC) released a fiery fundraising appeal late Thursday, calling himself a target of the left and vowing to push forward in his battle against President Obama’s health care reform effort. "…I will not be muzzled. I will speak up loudly against this risky plan," Wilson says in the video appeal on his campaign Web site.
"Joe the Heckler" Wilson Newest GOP Star By R J Shulman 12 Sep 2009 While not as snappy as "I have not yet begun to fight" or "give me liberty or give me death," the words "you lie," hurled at President Barack Obama by South Carolina Representative Joe Wilson, has catapulted the little-known congressman into the new Republican sensation. "With just two words, Joe was able to wrestle the spotlight away from Obama and his fascist communistic plans for a government takeover of health care, complete with death panels and doctor rationing," said Senator Chuck Grassley, Republican of Iowa. (Satire)
Insurance company stock dividends we can believe in: Shares of U.S. health insurers rose after Obama's speech 10 Sep 2009 Shares of U.S. health insurers climbed on Thursday after analysts saw no "game changers" from President Barack Obama's highly anticipated speech on health reform. Following the speech, analysts predicted any changes to the system would be moderate, with Obama backing many initiatives put forth earlier this week by a leading Senate committee. The possibility a threatening public health plan would be enacted also now seemed doubtful, analysts said.
Nancy Pelosi joins President Obama on road to health care compromise 11 Sep 2009 House Speaker Nancy Pelosi fell in line Thursday behind President Obama's bid to water down liberal Democrats' health reform demands and pave the way for compromise sell-out. One day after Obama's speech to Congress, Pelosi stepped away from her previously unwavering insistence on a government-run public insurance option. "I don't think you ever really go into a negotiation and say that some things are nonnegotiable," Pelosi said when asked if the public option is on the table. Bridging the differences between liberal and moderate Democrats is key to Obama's strategy to break the gridlock and put together majorities to pass a bill screw the left, *again.*
Insiders sell like there's no tomorrow --Corporate officers and directors were buying stock when the market hit bottom. What does it say that they're selling now? 11 Sep 2009 Can hundreds of stock-selling insiders be wrong? The stock market has mounted an historic rally since it hit a low in March. The S&P 500 is up 55%, as U.S. job losses have slowed and credit markets have stabilized. But against that improving backdrop, one indicator has turned distinctly bearish: Corporate officers and directors have been selling shares at a pace last seen just before the onset of the subprime malaise two years ago.
Corus, Minn. bank busts bring '09 failures to 91 11 Sep 2009 Regulators closed Chicago-based Corus Bank N.A. and Woodbury, Minn.-based Brickwell Community Bank on Friday, bringing the number of U.S. bank failures this year to 91. Corus had $7 billion in assets and $7 billion in deposits as of June 30, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. said in a statement. Corus' deposits have been assumed by MB Financial Bank, the FDIC said. Brickwell Community Bank had $63 million in deposits as of July 24, the regulator said.
'I've never experienced anything like this. There has been a huge drop in the number of bears we see.' Grizzlies starve as salmon disappear 11 Sep 2009 First the salmon vanished, now the bears may be gone too. Reports from conservationists, salmon-stream walkers and ecotourism guides all along British Columbia's wild central coast indicate a collapse of salmon runs has triggered widespread death from starvation of black and grizzly bears. Those guides are on the front lines of what they say is an unfolding ecological disaster that is so new that it has not been documented by biologists.
Help Stop the International Polar Bear Trade 03 Sep 2009 In some countries, collectors can still buy polar bear skin rugs, claws, skulls and other parts of these animals -- even as these beloved bears struggle for survival in a warming world. The U.S. can strengthen protections for polar bears under international law by proposing to restrict trade in polar bear products -- a move that could save the lives of hundreds of polar bears each year. But officials need to hear from you. Take action now -- Urge the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service to propose an international ban on the trade of polar bear products. Please take action: The deadline is today!
Previous lead stories: U.S. eyes military equipment in Iraq for Pakistan 09 Sep 2009 The Pentagon has proposed transferring U.S. military equipment from Iraq to Pakistani security forces to 'help' Islamabad step up its offensive against the Taliban, according to officials and government documents. The Pentagon request for the authority to "transfer articles no longer needed in Iraq" to the army of Pakistan received a cool reception in the U.S. Congress. [Gee, if the *equipment* goes, is it not logical to assume that the *people* (mercenaries, soldiers) who *operate* the equipment will soon follow?]
Lithuania Parliament Rejects CIA Prison Probe 10 Sep 2009 Lithuania's parliament on Thursday rejected holding an inquiry into a U.S. report that the country hosted a secret CIA prison for 'al Qaeda' suspects. ABC News reported in August that Lithuania was the third European country after Poland and Romania to have provided the Central Intelligence Agency with facilities for detaining and, possibly, interrogating suspects.
FBI Informant Says Agents Missed Chance to Stop 9/11 Ringleader --Mohammed Atta Undercover Operative 'One Million Percent Positive' Attacks Could Have Been Prevented 10 Sep 2009 On the eve of the eight year anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, an FBI informant who infiltrated alleged terrorist cells in the U.S. tells ABC News the FBI missed a chance to stop the al Qaeda [al CIAduh] plot because they focused more on undercover stings than on the man who would later become known as 9/11 ringleader Mohammed Atta. Former undercover operative Elie Assaad says he spotted and became suspicious of Atta in early 2001, when he was sent by the FBI to infiltrate a small mosque outside Miami.
