Rhetorical Tax Evasion --The IRS says it will fine or jail you for not paying Obama's mandate levy. (The Wall Street Journal) 29 Sep 2009 President Obama's effort to deny that his mandate to buy insurance is a tax has taken another thumping, this time from fellow Democrats in the Senate Finance Committee. Chairman Max Baucus's bill includes the so-called individual mandate, along with what he calls a $1,900 "excise tax" if you don't buy health insurance. (It had been as much as $3,800 but Democrats reduced the amount last week to minimize the political sticker shock.) And, lo, it turns out that if you don't pay that tax, the IRS could punish you with a $25,000 fine or up to a year in jail, or both. Under questioning last week, Tom Barthold, the chief of staff of the Joint Committee on Taxation, admitted that the individual mandate would become a part of the Internal Revenue Code and that failing to comply "could be criminal, yes, if it were considered an attempt to defraud." Mr. Barthold noted in a follow-up letter that the willful failure to file would be a simple misdemeanor, punishable by the $25,000 fine or jail time under Section 7203.
Italian lawyers seek jail for CIA agents 01 Oct 2009 Public prosecutors in Italy have urged a court in Milan to jail 26 Americans for the kidnapping of a terrorism suspect in a 2003 CIA operation. The Italian lawyers are seeking sentences of between 10 and 13 years for the US agents. They also want 13 years for the former head of Italy’s secret service, Nicolo Pollari. The trial is the most high profile case in Europe to challenge the extra-judicial transfers also known as 'renditions.'
Prosecutor: Italy kidnapping too grave to cover up 30 Sep 2009 The kidnapping of a terror suspect is too grave a crime to be covered up just to protect government secrets, a prosecutor declared Wednesday in the trial of 26 Americans and seven Italians charged in the abduction of an Egyptian cleric. Prosecutor Armando Spataro gave his closing arguments in a trial that is the first in any country to scrutinize the CIA's extraordinary renditions kidnappings. Under that program, the U.S. spy agency transferred terrorism suspects to third countries for interrogation [and torture].
Lawmakers ban transfer of Guantanamo detainees to US 01 Oct 2009 The US House of Representatives have voted to ban the transfer of detainees prisoners from Guantanamo Bay to the US, and the release of abuse torture photos in Iraq and Afghanistan. The measure, sponsored by Republican Representative Harold Rogers as part of the 2010 Homeland Security Department budget, passed by a vote of 258 to 163, attracting support from nearly all the chamber's Republicans, as well as 88 DemocRATs.
Judge orders release of Cheney interview with FBI --Both Bush and Obama administrations said they wanted to keep interview confidential 01 Oct 2009 A federal judge ruled Thursday that the FBI must publicly reveal much of its notes from an interview with former Vice President [sic] Dick Cheney during the investigation into who leaked the identity of a CIA operative. Cheney agreed to be interviewed by Special Counsel Patrick Fitzgerald in June 2004 during the investigation of the leak of Valerie Plame's identity after her husband publicly criticized the Bush regime.
Odierno: U.S. May Never Declare Victory in Iraq [Well, ExxonMobil, BP, Blackwater/Xe, Fluor, Triple Canopy and KBR can declare victory --and that's what matter$.] 01 Oct 2009 The top American commander in Iraq said Thursday it is unlikely the U.S. can declare victory by the time forces leave at the end of 2011. "I'm not sure we will ever see anyone declare victory in Iraq, because first off, I'm not sure we'll know for 10 years or five years," Army Gen. Ray Odierno told reporters at a Pentagon briefing.
Iran agrees to open up uranium enrichment plant to inspection --Provisional deal offers hope of defusing crisis 01 Oct 2009 Iran agreed in principle today to export much of its stock of enriched uranium for processing and to open its newly-revealed enrichment plant to UN inspections within a fortnight. The agreements, struck at negotiations in Geneva with six major powers, represented the most significant progress in talks with Tehran in over three years, and offered hope that the nuclear crisis could be defused, at least temporarily.
Iran to Send Enriched Uranium to Russia 02 Oct 2009 Iran agreed on Thursday in talks with the United States and other major powers to open its newly revealed uranium enrichment plant near Qum to international inspection in the next two weeks and to send most of its openly declared enriched uranium to Russia to be turned into fuel for a small reactor that produces medical isotopes, senior American and other Western officials said. Iran’s agreement in principle to export most of its enriched uranium for processing -- if it happens -- would represent a major accomplishment for the West, reducing Iran’s ability to make a nuclear weapon quickly and buying more time for negotiations to bear fruit.
U.S. lawmakers vote to punish Iran's fuel suppliers [to help US corpora-terrorists] 01 Oct 2009 As Washington and Tehran began talks over Iran's nuclear program, U.S. lawmakers approved legislation to bar foreign companies exporting gasoline to Iran from also delivering crude oil to America's emergency petroleum stockpile. Thursday's action by the U.S. House of Representatives marks the first time lawmakers imposed economic sanctions on Iran since Tehran disclosed it was building another uranium enrichment plant and U.S. and Iranian officials met in Geneva, Switzerland to discuss the country's nuclear program.
NYMEX-Crude ends up on Iran worry, firm gasoline 01 Oct 2009 U.S. crude futures closed higher in a late run-up on Thursday on worries about talks between Iran and the West over its nuclear program and as follow-through buying spurred by improved demand lifted gasoline futures.
Poll: 56% of American Jews think U.S. should strike Iran 01 Oct 2009 One day ahead of talks in Geneva between Iran and six major powers - the United States, Britain, France, Russia, China and Germany - on Tehran's controversial nuclear program, a national poll finds that 56 percent of American Jews support a U.S. military strike against Iran. The annual Survey of American Jewish Opinion, commissioned by the American Jewish Committee, revealed a 14 percent rise in the number of U.S. Jews in support of such a military strike. 36 percent of those polled - self-described adult Jews ere against such an attack.
Israel trying to dodge overseas prosecution 01 Oct 2009 Stung by a damning U.N. report alleging war crimes in Gaza, Israel is taking extraordinary steps to fend off potential international prosecution of its political and military leaders, hiring high-powered attorneys, lobbying Western governments and launching a public relations blitz. Israel has dismissed the U.N. investigation into its winter offensive in the Gaza strip as biased, but its latest moves show it is clearly concerned.
Netanyahu nixes call for Israeli inquiry into Gaza war 01 Oct 2009 Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has nixed the idea of setting up an inquiry committee into alleged Israeli war crimes in the Gaza Strip as a means of dealing with the Goldstone Commission's report. That report, submitted to the UN Human Rights Council on Tuesday, accuses both Israel and Hamas of war crimes during their three-week conflict in Gaza in January and recommends that both be referred to the International Criminal Court for prosecution unless they carry out in-house investigations that the UN deems adequate within six months.
White House Eyeing Narrower War Effort --Obama to continue assassination program 02 Oct 2009 Senior White House officials have begun to make the case for a policy shift in Afghanistan that would send few, if any, new combat troops to the country and instead focus on faster military training of Afghan forces, continued assassinations of 'al-Qaeda' leaders and support for the government of neighboring Pakistan [aka the Obusha money pit] in its fight against the Taliban. In a three-hour meeting Wednesday at the White House, senior advisers challenged some of the key assumptions in Gen. Stanley A. McChrystal's blunt assessment of the nearly eight-year-old war, which President Obama has said is being fought to destroy al-Qaeda and its allies in Afghanistan and the ungoverned border areas of Pakistan.
NORAD: Shooting down stray planes always option 01 Oct 2009 The U.S. North American Aerospace Defense Command said Thursday that shooting down a small plane that left its flight plan and later crashed in Indiana, killing the pilot, was always an option. NORAD spokesman, Michael Kucharek, wouldn't say whether the option was seriously considered Wednesday before the single-engine propeller M20M Mooney crashed about 12 miles northeast of Muncie, Ind., but said leaders in NORAD and other agencies were consulted. Kucharek didn't know whether President Barack Obama, the ultimate authority for such a decision, was alerted to the situation.
'Violation of quarantine order tantamount to manslaughter' --Canadians willing to give up rights to combat flu 24 Sep 2009 Canadians are bullish on giving government officials permission to restrict personal freedoms in a flu pandemic, with half of those surveyed agreeing that violation of a quarantine order would be tantamount to manslaughter. The survey, conducted for the University of Toronto Joint Centre for Bioethics, is based on a random sample of 500 Canadians surveyed by phone, and nearly 100 more via a series of town hall meetings.
Army's first swine flu death is soldier in SC 01 Oct 2009 A 23-year-old soldier from Florida who was in basic training is the Army's first death from complications of swine flu, officials said Thursday. The death at Fort Jackson, the Army's largest training camp and just outside Columbia, may be the first such loss among the nation's 1.4 million men and women in uniform.
Nurses file lawsuit over mandatory flu vaccine 01 Oct 2009 A union representing 16,000 registered nurses in Washington state has filed a federal lawsuit against MultiCare Health System for implementing a mandatory flu vaccination policy. The lawsuit, filed by the Washington State Nurses Association, seeks an injunction to stop the policy from being implemented at both Tacoma General and Good Samaritan hospitals.
Swine flu shot protests may be the next Tea Party 30 Sep 2009 If Trends Research Institute Director Gerald Celente is right another volley may have been fired in what he is calling the "Second American Revolution." Here's part of an e-mail trend alert he sent to clients, "While there are many wild cards that could light the fuse, The Trends Research Institute forecasts that if the threat of government-forced Swine Flu vaccinations is realized, it will be the fourth shot (of the second American Revolution). Tens of millions will fight for their right to remain free and unvaccinated." According to a UPI report, Hospital Corp. of America, with clinics and hospitals in 20 states including Tennessee and Virginia, is requiring its 120,000 employees to be vaccinated... Lori Price of Citizens for Legitimate Government, a Connecticut-based group that opposes government [corporate] expansion. "It's all part of an encroachment on our liberties," Price told The Wall Street Journal The Washington Post in a story published Saturday.
D.C. Schools to Start Swine Flu Shots in Oct. 02 Oct 2009 Students at some D.C. public schools will be able to get vaccinated against swine flu this month, and inoculations for students are expected to be available citywide in November, according to a plan health officials made public this week. But Peter Branch, the head of Georgetown Day School, said he was frustrated that private schools would not have access to the vaccine until after many other schools had received it. [Mr. Branch doesn't 'get it.' The pharma-terrorists/govt is ensuring the public school children are the guinea pigs for the squalene-laden, mercury-filled, Polysorbate 80-laced vaccine. --LRP]
U.K. to Start Swine Flu Vaccination This Month, Government Says 01 Oct 2009 The U.K. will begin offering [] swine flu vaccine to health workers and people most at risk of contracting the illness later this month, government health officials said. "If everything goes well and according to plan it will be in the second half of October," England’s Chief Medical Officer Liam Donaldson told reporters today in London.
US officials worry about homegrown terrorism plots --Recent arrests highlight risk of attacks in U.S. 30 Sep 2009 Top Obama administration officials on Wednesday said recent arrests in alleged bombing plots highlight the challenges they face combating "self-radicalized, homegrown extremists" as well as foreigners in the United States determined to carry out attacks. The officials told the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee that 'al Qaeda' still poses a threat -- although a reduced one -- and that they must also focus on affiliated groups and homegrown militants.
Homeland Security to hire up to 1K cyber experts 01 Oct 2009 The Obama administration has given a green light to the Homeland Security Department to be more competitive and choosey as it hires up to 1,000 new cyber experts over the next three years, the first major personnel move to fulfill its vow to bolster security of the nation's computer networks. The announcement follows a wave of cyber attacks on federal agencies, including a July assault that knocked government Web sites off the Internet and earlier intrusions into the country's electrical grid.
Senator's Aid to Mistress's Husband Raises Ethics Flags 02 Oct 2009 Early last year, Senator John Ensign (R) contacted a small circle of political and corporate supporters back home in Nevada -- a casino designer, an airline executive, the head of a utility and several political consultants -- seeking work for a close friend and top Washington aide, Douglas Hampton. "He’s a competent guy, and he’s looking to come back to Nevada. Do you know of anything?" one patron recalled Mr. Ensign asking. The job pitch left out one salient fact: the senator was having an affair with Mr. Hampton’s wife, Cynthia, a member of his campaign staff.
Pelosi: GOP has double standard in health care rhetoric debate 01 Oct 2009 House Speaker Nancy Pelosi ripped congressional Republicans on Thursday for holding Democrats to a higher standard in the rhetoric employed in the often acidic health care debate. "Apparently, Republicans are holding Democrats to a higher level than they hold their own members," she said on Capitol Hill. "If anybody's going to apologize, everybody should apologize."
Senate Committee Passes Quasi-Public Option Amendment 01 Oct 2009 The Senate Finance Committee narrowly passed an amendment Thursday from Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.) that moves the conservative panel as close as it will likely get to a public health insurance option. The amendment creates a "federally funded, non-Medicaid, state plan which combines the innovation and quality of private sector competition with the purchasing power of the states," according to an overview. It would be available to people with incomes above Medicaid eligibility but below 200 percent of the federal poverty level -- a very narrow window.
Previous lead stories: Gore Vidal: 'We'll have a dictatorship soon in the US' --Gore Vidal claims America is 'rotting away'-- and don’t expect Barack Obama to save it 30 Sep 2009 Vidal originally became pro-Obama because he grew up in "a black city" (meaning Washington), as well as being impressed by Obama’s intelligence. "But he believes the generals... Obama believes the Republican Party is a party when in fact it's a mindset, like Hitler Youth, based on hatred -- religious hatred, racial hatred. When you foreigners hear the word 'conservative' you think of kindly old men hunting foxes. They're not, they're fascists." ...Another notable Obama mis-step has been on healthcare reform. "He f***ed it up. I don’t know how because the country wanted it. We’ll never see it happen." Vidal now believes, as he did originally, Clinton would be the better president. "The Republicans will win the next election," Vidal believes; though for him there is little difference between the parties. "Remember the coup d’etat of 2000 when the Supreme Court fixed the selection, not election, of the stupidest man in the country, Mr Bush."
NORAD to Conduct Flight Exercise Over DC Area --Exercise to include air force F-16s, Coast Guard helicopters 30 Sep 2009 The North American Aerospace Defense Command and the Continental U.S. NORAD Region plans a training flight exercise over Washington. The exercise, called Falcon Virgo 10-01, will take place late Wednesday and early Thursday. The exercise is comprised of a series of training flights held in coordination with the Federal Aviation Administration, National Capital Region Command Center, Joint Air Defense Operations Center, Continental U.S. NORAD Region (CONR), Civil Air Patrol, U.S. Coast Guard and CONR's Eastern Air Defense Sector.
Critics say pandemic emergency bill tramples privacy rights 28 Sep 2009 Mandatory vaccinations, home searches without a warrant and forced quarantine for those who resist. Critics of a pandemic preparedness bill pending in the Legislature say it would allow all those things and sets the stage for a medical police state where any response to an epidemic of flu or other illness has the potential to steamroll civil liberties. The bill’s supporters and its sponsor, Sen. Richard Moore, D-Uxbridge, have found themselves in recent weeks defending against attacks from critics. Senate Bill No. 2028 – An Act Relative to Pandemic and Disaster Preparation and Response in the Commonwealth – passed the Senate (MA) by a unanimous vote on April 30 with almost no public notice.
