New Evidence Jack Straw Guilty On Torture - A Smoking Gun By Ambassador Craig Murray 16 Nov 2009 Finally I have indisputable documentary evidence that the British government had a positive policy of using intelligence from torture in the War on Terror, and that the policy was personally directed by Jack Straw. Here are the minutes of the meeting at which I was told this. All references to the CIA and MI6 have been literally cut out, but the meaning is till perfectly unmistakeable particularly given the heading of the minute. And here is the absolute smoking gun of Jack Straw's involvement. Straw has been lying about this for five years. He dismissed my evidence on this to the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Human Rights as "Entirely untrue".
Obama no better than Bush, says Iranian parliament speaker 15 Nov 2009 U.S. steps to renew sanctions and seize a New York skyscraper linked to Iran show that President Barack Obama is no better than his predecessor George W. Bush, Iranian parliament speaker Ali Larijani said on Sunday. Larijani's statement, which was followed by chants of "Death to America" among MPs in the legislature, was the latest from Tehran voicing disappointment in the new U.S. administration's policies toward the Islamic Republic.
Obama says al Qaeda still greatest threat to U.S. 16 Nov 2009 U.S. President Barack Obama on Monday called al Qaeda [al-CIAduh] the biggest threat to U.S. security, as his aides stepped up pressure on Afghanistan and Pakistan to cooperate with Washington's strategy [aka killer drone bombings] in the troubled region.
Danger from al Qaeda is strong as ever, warns Gordon Brown 16 Nov 2009 Gordon Brown will today warn the danger posed by al-Qaeda is as strong as ever, as he tries to rally support for the war in Afghanistan. The PM will claim the terrorist network remain the "biggest threat" to Britain's national security. As a result, he will argue, it is essential that UK forces win the battle in Afghanistan against Taliban insurgents [that the US is funding].
CIA has given hundreds of millions to Pakistan spy agency --CIA says gets its money's worth from ISI 15 Nov 2009 The CIA has funneled hundreds of millions of dollars to Pakistan's intelligence service since the Sept. 11 attacks, accounting for as much as one-third of the foreign spy agency's annual budget, current and former U.S. officials say. The Inter-Services Intelligence agency also has collected tens of millions of dollars through a classified CIA program that pays for the capture or killing backing of wanted militants, a clandestine counterpart to the rewards publicly offered by the State Department, officials said. The payments have triggered intense debate within the U.S. government, officials said, because of long-standing suspicions that the ISI continues to help Taliban extremists who undermine U.S. efforts in Afghanistan and provide sanctuary to Al Qaeda members in Pakistan.
US pressures Pakistan to intensify war on militants 16 Nov 2009 The United States has warned that its new Afghan strategy could fail unless Pakistan intensifies its fight against the militants. US President Barack Obama has called on his Pakistani counterpart Asif-Ali Zardari to broaden his battle against the militants, The New York Times reports on Monday. Obama has also offered a range of new incentives bribe$ to the Pakistanis in exchange for their cooperation.
UK seeking new world order by Afghan war 16 Nov 2009 Despite reports of the UK's plan for peace talks with the Taliban, Premier Gordon Brown defends Britain's military involvement in the Afghan war, saying his country must play a full role in 'changing the world'. "I believe that Britain can and must play its full part in changing the world," the British prime minister said Monday.
3 Afghan policemen killed in Kandahar 16 Nov 2009 At least three Afghan policemen have been killed and six others wounded in an attack in the southern part of the war-torn country, police officials say. Militants attacked a police checkpoint in the province of Kandahar overnight, police criminal director of Kandahar Pashton Moamand said on Monday.
Gunmen in army uniforms kill 12 Iraqi villagers 16 Nov 2009 [Blackwater?] Gunmen wearing military uniforms shot dead at least 12 men in a pre-dawn attack in a village near Baghdad on Monday, villagers and police said. The attack took place in the mainly Sunni village of Zauba, west of Baghdad.
Iraqi cleaner takes UK to court over alleged sexual harassment 16 Nov 2009 An Iraqi cleaner who claims that she was sexually harassed at the British Embassy and at the ambassador’s residence in Baghdad is taking the Government to court over its alleged failure to investigate her complaints. The case will challenge a decision by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office to allow KBR, the American company contracted to maintain the two premises, to conduct its own investigation into the allegations, rather than carry out an independent inquiry.
Oops! Israel gaffe reveals 'Iran ship photos' were forged 16 Nov 2009 After Israel released photos it said proved that a huge shipment of weapons for Hezbollah came from Tehran, Iranian news agencies publish evidence showing that the photos are forged. Israeli naval sources recently claimed that they found a large cache of Iranian-made arms when they stormed a vessel near Cyprus in the Mediterranean Sea. They claimed that the ship was heading for the Hezbollah resistance movement, either in Lebanon or Syria. Iran instantly dismissed the claims, issuing a statement with which it condemned Israel's many acts of piracy in international waters.
Pro-Israel lobby group bankrolling Tories, film claims --50% of MPs in the shadow cabinet are Conservative Friends of Israel members, according to Channel 4's Dispatches 16 Nov 2009 Pro-Israeli organisations in Britain look set to see their influence increase if the Conservatives win the next election, a film scrutinising the activities of a powerful but little-known lobby warns today. At least half of the shadow cabinet are members of the Conservative Friends of Israel (CFI), according to a Dispatches programme being screened on Channel 4. The programme-makers describe the CFI as "beyond doubt the most well-connected and probably the best funded of all Westminster lobbying groups".
Israel could annex more of West Bank - minister 16 Nov 2009 An Israeli cabinet minister said on Monday Israel could annex more of the West Bank if Palestinians declared statehood without concluding a peace agreement. "If the Palestinians take such a unilateral line, Israel should also consider ... passing a law to annex some of the settlements," Environment Minister Gilad Erdan, a close ally of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, told Israel Radio.
FM: Israel would counter any Palestinian unilateral step 16 Nov 2009 Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman said Monday that any unilateral step by the Palestinians will be countered by a unilateral step from Israel. "The Americans also understand that unilateralism buries any chance for peace. They would find themselves in an uncomfortable position faced with a one-sided move," Lieberman said.
Chavez: US to use bases in Colombia for spying 16 Nov 2009 Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez has renewed his criticism of the US-Colombia military pact, accusing Washington of using its bases there for spying. On Sunday, Chavez once again slammed a recently signed defense accord between Washington and Bogota, which would give the US access to military bases in Colombia.
Anti-war soldier faces 10 years in jail 17 Nov 2009 A British soldier who faces up to 10 years in jail for speaking out against the war in Afghanistan will go before a military judge this week to discover if he will remain in an army jail while he awaits trial. In an escalation of the Ministry of Defence's legal action against him, Lance Corporal Joe Glenton, 27, was arrested and charged last week with five counts of disobeying lawful commands and standing orders in relation to his public opposition to the war expressed at an anti-war rally last month. He had already been charged with desertion for refusing to return to fight in Afghanistan.
Up to 16 US soldiers committed suicide last month 15 Nov 2009 More U.S. soldiers likely committed suicide last month than were killed in the Fort Hood shootings earlier this month. The U.S. army is investigating sixteen potential suicides among active-duty soldiers in October, about twice the number reported in September, Army officials said. Of the 7 reported in September, three have been confirmed as suicides, and 4 still are under investigation [!] to determine the cause of death.
Officials: Major Hasan Sought War Crimes Prosecution of U.S. Soldiers 16 Nov 2009 Major Nidal Malik Hasan's military superiors repeatedly ignored or rebuffed his efforts to open criminal prosecutions of soldiers he claimed had confessed to war crimes during psychiatric counseling, according to investigative reports circulated among federal law enforcement officials. On Nov. 4, the day after his last attempt to raise the issue, he [allegedly] took extra target practice at Stan's shooting range in nearby Florence, Texas and then closed a safe deposit box he had at a Bank of America branch in Killeen, according to the reports... Investigators believe Hasan's frustration over the failure of the Army to pursue what he [and the whole world] regarded as criminal acts by U.S. soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan may have helped to trigger the shootings.
Giuliani calls Obama soft on terrorism 16 Nov 2009 Former New York Mayor [9/11 co-conspirator] Rudolph W. Giuliani called President Obama soft on terrorism for deciding to try the acknowledged mastermind of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on U.S. soil, and said it would increase the security risk to the city. Trying Khalid Shaikh Mohammed in the city also would wrongfully force Americans to pay for his security, both in court and in holding while awaiting trial, said the Republican who oversaw the city's response to the Sept. 11 attacks.
U.K. Anti-Terror Police Hold 5 in Northwest, London 16 Nov 2009 U.K. police arrested five men under the Terrorism Act after raids in northwestern England and a hotel near London’s Heathrow airport. The arrests in Manchester, Bolton, Stalybridge and close to Heathrow were part of a coordinated operation that began at 4 a.m. local time today, Greater Manchester Police said in e-mailed statements today.
Five held in terror 'recruitment' probe 16 Nov 2009 Five men were arrested today as part of an investigation into the alleged recruitment of terrorists to join training camps in Afghanistan. Among those held during the series of early morning raids at addresses in Greater Manchester and a hotel near Heathrow airport was a 62-year-old Muslim preacher who was taken from his home in Bolton. Police said there was no imminent threat within Britain and that the inquiry was focusing on an overseas target.
Facebook Twitter Monitoring by US Government 2009 Posited By AfterAmericaNZ 03 Nov 2009 How safe are you when using Twitter? RT's Anastasia Churkina visited a home that was raided by the FBI, after its owner was arrested for allegedly directing huge demonstrations at the G20 Summit in Pittsburgh in September.
Million Hit By 'Plague Worse Than Swine Flu' 15 Nov 2009 A deadly plague could sweep across Europe, doctors fear, after an outbreak of a virus in Ukraine plunged the country and its neighbours into a state of panic. A cocktail of three [Baxter] flu viruses are reported to have mutated into a single pneumonic plague, which it is believed may be far more dangerous than swine flu. The death toll has reached 189 and more than 1 million people have been infected, most of them in the nine regions of Western Ukraine. President of Ukraine Viktor Yushchenko has called in the World Health Organisation and a team of nine specialists are carrying out tests in Kiev and Lviv to identify the virus. President Yushchenko said: "People are dying. The epidemic is killing doctors. This is absolutely inconceivable in the 21st Century." [See: Baxter working on vaccine to stop swine flu, though admitted sending live pandemic flu viruses to subcontractor By Lori Price 26 Apr 2009.]
Doctors learn why Ukrainians dying 13 Nov 2009 All victims of the virus in Bukovyna (22 people aged 20-40) died not from bilateral pneumonia, as was previously thought, but as a result of viral distress syndrome --i.e, the total destruction of the lungs. Cardio-pulmonary insufficiency comes and consequently cardiogenic shock develops, which causes cardiac standstill and death, said the bureau chief of the Chernivtsi regional forensic examination, doctor of science, Professor Viktor Bachynsky, UNIAN reports. "The virus, which causes death, is very aggressive, it does not strike the trachea, but immediately gets into the lungs and causes heavy swelling and solid hemorrhage. Mixed types of parainfluenza and influenza A/N1N1 lead to this state. This is a very toxic strain, which has not yet answered to the treatment of the Ministry of Health", said Viktor Bachinsky.
Experts warn of possible A/H1N1 mutation 11 Nov 2009 Medical experts are warning that the A/H1N1 flu has entered a period of high frequency and easy transmission. And with fresh cases of pigs infected by the virus in Hong Kong and Taiwan, experts say the possibility that the virus will mutate is growing. Recent monitoring has found several cases of pigs, cats and dogs infected by the human A/H1N1 flu virus.
H1N1 no deadlier than regular flu: top doctor 16 Nov 2009 Despite the recent surge in H1N1 deaths, the nation's chief public health officer says the pandemic virus appears no deadlier than regular seasonal influenza and that there could actually be substantially fewer flu deaths than normal this season. Although H1N1 is disproportionately infecting more children and otherwise healthy young adults, "the mortality rate from this (H1N1) is no worse than seasonal flu," Dr. David Butler-Jones said in an interview with Canwest News Service.
Pfizer Demands DNA from Vaccine Injured Beneficiaries 01 Nov 2009 Pfizer International, the US pharmaceutical company that carried out a meningitis trovan test in 1996 on a number of children in Kano State, has demanded a Deoxyribonucleic Acid (DNA) report as a pre-condition for beneficiaries to draw down on the $75 million judgment money against it, a retired justice of the Supreme Court, Justice Abubakar Wali, said. Speaking at the palace of the Emir of Kano on Friday, Justice Wali said Pfizer came to Nigeria in 1996 at the peak of the outbreak of meningitis disease in Kano to offer 'assistance' on affected victims. He said, unknown to the government and people of the state, the company had come to test the drug, which resulted to deforming and killing of many children in the state.
Feds seek transit oversight 16 Nov 2009 The Obama administration will propose that the federal government regulate local transit agencies in the wake of an increase in subway and light-rail passenger injuries, a Transportation Department spokeswoman said Sunday. Jill Zuckman said the department launched an examination of transit safety after an accident in June on the District of Columbia's Metro system killed nine people and injured 80.
Federal prosecutors oppose former Gov. Siegelman's appeal to U.S. Supreme Court 14 Nov 2009 The U.S. Supreme Court does not need to hear the appeal of [Rove victim] former Gov. Don Siegelman (D-AL) because prosecutors adequately proved at trial that he exchanged an official act for a political donation, according to written arguments filed late Friday by the U.S. Department of Justice. Siegelman and co-defendant HealthSouth Corp. founder Richard Scrushy in August asked the justices to take up their case because they believe it raises broader legal questions about how much evidence is needed to prove bribery.
Drug Makers Raise Prices in Face of Health Care Reform 16 Nov 2009 In the last year, the industry has raised the wholesale prices of brand-name prescription drugs by about 9 percent, according to industry analysts. That will add more than $10 billion to the nation’s drug bill, which is on track to exceed $300 billion this year. By at least one analysis, it is the highest annual rate of inflation for drug prices since 1992... A Harvard health economist, Joseph P. Newhouse, said he found a similar pattern of unusual price increases after Congress added drug benefits to Medicare a few years ago, giving tens of millions of older Americans federally subsidized drug insurance. Just as the program was taking effect [under pharmaterrorist troll Bush] in 2006, the drug industry raised prices by the widest margin in a half-dozen years.
In House, Many Spoke With One Voice: Lobbyists' 15 Nov 2009 In the official record of the historic House debate on overhauling health care, the speeches of many lawmakers echo with similarities. Often, that was no accident. Statements by more than a dozen lawmakers were ghostwritten, in whole or in part, by Washington lobbyists working for Genentech, one of the world's largest biotechnology companies. E-mail messages obtained by The New York Times show that the lobbyists drafted one statement for Democrats and another for Republicans. The lobbyists, employed by Genentech and by two Washington law firms, were remarkably successful in getting the statements printed in the Congressional Record under the names of different members of Congress. Genentech, a subsidiary of the Swiss drug giant Roche, estimates that 42 House members picked up some of its talking points -- 22 Republicans and 20 Democrats, an unusual bipartisan coup for lobbyists.
Useless is as useless does: Copenhagen climate talks: No deal, we're out of time, Obama warns 16 Nov 2009 Barack Obama acknowledged today that time had run out to secure a legally binding climate deal at the Copenhagen summit in December and threw his support behind plans to delay a formal pact until next year at the earliest. During a hastily convened meeting in Singapore, the US president supported a Danish plan to salvage something from next month's meeting by aiming to make it a first-stage series of commitments rather than an all-encompassing protocol.
Boycott Alaskan tourism: AK Governor Declares War on Polar Bears By Adrian Chen 16 Nov 2009 Alaska Gov. Sean Parnell [R-terrorist] wants the polar bears hanging out on top of his state's oil reserves to stop being so endangered. He's suing the feds to remove their "threatened" classification and help speed up development of oil fields.
Previous lead stories: US blocks release of Iraq, Afghanistan torture photos 15 Nov 2009 US Secretary of Defense Robert Gates has blocked the release of new photographs showing prisoners in Afghanistan and Iraq being abused by their Americans captors. The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) had sued for the release of 21 color photos under the Freedom of Information Act. The Obama regime filed a brief with the Supreme Court late Friday saying that Gates has invoked new powers blocking the release of the photos. Federal courts had rejected the government's arguments to block their release, so Congress gave Gates new powers to keep them private under a law signed by President Barack Obama last month. Gates' order specifically cites the 21 pictures sought by the ACLU, plus 23 additional ones cited in a ruling by the US Court of Appeals for the second Circuit. However, Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman said the order covers all photographs from investigations related to the treatment of individuals captured or detained in military operations outside the US between Sept. 11, 2001, and Jan. 22, 2009.
Britain's Abu Ghraib: Did Britain collude with US in abuse [and torture] of Iraqis? 14 Nov 2009 Claims that British soldiers recreated the torture conditions of Abu Ghraib to commit the sexual and physical abuse of Iraqi civilians are being investigated by the Ministry of Defence. In one case, British soldiers are accused of piling bodies of Iraqi prisoners on top of each other and subjecting them to electric shocks, an echo of the abuse at the notorious US detention centre at Baghdad's Abu Ghraib prison. One claimants says he was raped by two British soldiers, and others say they were stripped naked, abused and photographed... "They made him strip naked and started messing with his penis and taking photos. On one occasion I refused to pick a fight, then a soldier kicked me hard on my back, which made me fall on the floor. He started hitting me with a baton on my knees. Then he used an electric baton on different parts of my body."
Afghan troop surge to cost up to $54 bn per year 15 Nov 2009 The cost of sending 40,000 additional American troops to Afghanistan is estimated to be between $40 billion to $54 billion annually, a new report says. The New York Times cited top administration officials on Saturday that budget projections for the Afghan war will cost US taxpayers at least $1 million per soldier, per year.
