US rushing troops, supplies to Afghanistan By Dan De Luce 10 Dec 2009 Engineers are working furiously to prepare for a surge of troops and supplies into Afghanistan to carry out President Barack Obama's war plan, the top US military officer said. "The debate is over. The decision has been made. It is time to execute," Admiral Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told a press conference in Washington. Hundreds of Marines would be in southern Helmand province next week, tonnes of supplies were due to be delivered and the military was "accelerating deployment plans for the rest of the extended surge forces," Mullen said.
Petraeus predicts intensified combat in Afghanistan 10 Dec 2009 'Progress' will come more slowly from the U.S. troop escalation in Afghanistan than it did during a similar move in Iraq, the top American commander in the Middle East told Congress on Wednesday, predicting intensified combat in coming months. Army Gen. David H. Petraeus, the head of U.S. Central Command, said Afghanistan was beset by problems that would challenge the new U.S. strategy, including government corruption, 'insurgent' sanctuaries along the Pakistani border and the strength of the Taliban movement.
Top U.N. official in Afghanistan to leave his post --The United Nations says Kai Eide's contract is expiring and that his exit is unrelated to a clash with his U.S. deputy over corruption in the Afghan government. 11 Dec 2009 The top United Nations official in Afghanistan, under criticism of not being tough enough with President Hamid Karzai over the issue of corruption, will not seek reappointment when his contract expires in March, the U.N. said today Norwegian diplomat Kai Eide is following through on his previous intention to leave when his two-year contract is finished, said U.N. spokesman Dan McNorton.
Wartime US President Picks Up His Peace Prize 10 Dec 2009 Honored for peace in a time of war, President Barack Obama is formally becoming a Nobel laureate under such odd circumstances that even he will make a point of it. In a ceremony in Oslo, the president on Thursday will receive his Nobel Peace Prize medal and diploma for his work to reshape the way the United States deals with the world. Yet he does so under the long shadow of Afghanistan, where he is ordering 30,000 more troops to war.
Special essay on the 'Obama Effect' by CLG Founder: 'They are war criminals in complicity with other war criminals.' The Obama Effect: The Demise of the Democratic Party and a Gift to the Country --The Rec Report By Michael Rectenwald 11 Dec 2009 Every last tissue of belief in the Democrats should by now be shred and cast aside. The Democrats are no less the corporate bailers and militarists than the Republicans. They hand trillions to the banks and brokerage firms; they dissolve union contracts and send the workers to the dogs; their unmanned drones bomb Pakistan, killing and maiming innocents and displacing tens of thousands; they sell the same lies about the wars-that they have to do with terrorism or democracy rather than oil and other resources-as their predecessors; they fund the very enemy that they claim to fight; they keep up the same contracts with Blackwater and its successors; they vote for the same war funding; they carry out the same secret renditions; they sanction and continue the same spying on US citizens; they exonerate torturers and war criminals from the previous administration; they are war criminals in complicity with other war criminals.
President Obama 'creating torture impunity' 11 Dec 2009 A US civil rights group says that President Barack Obama by creating impunity is following his predecessor into allowing torture policies to continue in the country. The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) said on Thursday that the US president has failed to provide accountability on torture. Director of ACLU's National Security Project Jameel Jaffer said "the Bush administration constructed a legal framework for torture and now the Obama administration is constructing a legal framework for impunity." "We're frustrated by the growing gap between (the) Obama administration's rhetoric on accountability and the reality," Jaffer added.
War criminals we can believe in: White House wants suit against Yoo dismissed 08 Dec 2009 The Obama administration has asked an appeals court to dismiss a lawsuit accusing former Bush regime attorney John Yoo of authorizing the torture of a terrorism suspect, saying federal law does not allow damage claims against lawyers who advise the president on national security issues. Such lawsuits ask courts to second-guess presidential decisions and pose "the risk of deterring full and frank advice regarding the military's detention and treatment of those determined to be enemies during an armed conflict," Justice Department lawyers said Thursday in arguments to the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco.
Blackwater, 'CIA's partner in secret operations' 11 Dec 2009 The US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) has recruited private security guards from Blackwater for clandestine operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, a report says. The New York Times cited statements by former company employees and intelligence officials as evidence that Blackwater guards participated almost nightly in "snatch and grab" raids on suspected militants during the height of the Iraqi insurgency from 2004 to 2006.
Blackwater Guards Tied to Covert Raids by the C.I.A. 11 Dec 2009 Private security guards Mercenaries from Blackwater Worldwide participated in some of the C.I.A.’s most sensitive activities -- clandestine raids with agency officers against people suspected of being insurgents in Iraq and Afghanistan and the transporting of detainees, according to former company employees and intelligence officials. The raids against suspects occurred on an almost nightly basis during the height of the Iraqi insurgency between 2004 and 2006, with Blackwater personnel playing central roles in what company insiders called "snatch and grab" operations, the former employees and current and former intelligence officers said.
Mission accomplished! Big Oil Jumps for Licenses in Iraq 10 Dec 2009 Foreign oil executives are flocking to Iraq as it prepares to open some of its untapped oil assets to Western oil companies... Iraq's second oil-licensing round, to be held Friday and Saturday, has elicited substantial interest from Big Oil. The most tempting prizes are the Majnoon and West Qurna-Phase 2 fields, each of which contains more than 12 billion barrels of proven reserves. The fields have been in the majors' sights for decades.
Seven killed in Baghdad bomb attacks 11 Dec 2009 Iraqi officials say attacks in and around Baghdad have taken the lives of seven people, including three police officers and two soldiers. A car bomb rocked the town of Yusufiyah, 25 kilometers (15 miles) south of the capital at around 5:00 p.m. (1400 GMT) on Friday, leaving six people killed, AFP quoted an Interior Ministry official who spoke on condition of anonymity.
Another US soldier loses life in Iraq 11 Dec 2009 The United States military says another American soldier has lost his life due to non-combat injuries in conflict-stricken Iraq. "A Multi-National Division-Baghdad soldier died Dec. 10, of non-combat related injuries," according to a US military statement issued on Thursday.
Israeli vandals attack West Bank mosque 11 Dec 2009 Israeli extremists have attacked a mosque in the occupied West Bank, vandalizing the property and desecrating the holy book of Islam, the Qur'an. Suspected hardline Israeli settlers stormed the holy site in the northern West Bank village of Yasuf at night, set fire to the mosque's library and sprayed hate messages on the building.
Islamabad says bin Laden not in Pakistan 11 Dec 2009 Pakistan has rejected reports claiming the al-Qaeda leadership is "definitely" hiding in the country's tribal areas bordering Afghanistan. "Even US leaders have lately accepted that we do not know about the whereabouts of al-Qaeda leadership and we have seen statements to this effect," Pakistan's Foreign Office Spokesman Abdul Basit said on Thursday.
Pakistan to Deport U.S. Terror Suspects After Inquiry 11 Dec 2009 Pakistan will accept U.S. requests to deport six Muslim Americans arrested this week on suspicion of seeking training as jihadist guerrillas, after an inquiry into the case, a provincial minister said. “It’s quite clear that the next step for these men is to be deported to their home country, America, but we will do so only after a full investigation is complete,” Punjab province Home Minister Rana Sanaullah said today in a telephone interview from Lahore, the provincial capital.
Five Put on Leave Over Internet Posting 10 Dec 2009 Five employees of the Transportation Security Administration have been placed on administrative leave since the discovery that sensitive guidelines about airport passenger screening had been posted on the Internet. The assistant secretary of homeland security, David Heyman, told senators that the employees had been taken off duty until a full investigation is completed.
Private Contractor Posted Secret TSA Screening Manual Online 09 Dec 2009 ...Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano said Wednesday that her department is conducting a review to determine how the Transportation Security Administration's (TSA) air passenger screening manual ended up online. Napolitano also confirmed that a private contractor had posted the manual online. The most sensitive parts of the Standard Operating Procedures manual were redacted in a way that computer-savvy individuals easily overcame, revealing sample CIA, Congressional and law enforcement credentials, and that only 20 percent of checked bags at airports are to be hand searched for explosives.
Indiana City Threatens $2500 Fines for Challenging Traffic Tickets --Lawyer sues traffic and parking courts in Indianapolis, Indiana over threatened $2500 penalty for contesting a ticket in court. 09 Dec 2009 Motorists who receive minor parking or traffic tickets in Indianapolis, Indiana are being threatened with fines of up to $2500 if they attempt to take the ticket to court. A local attorney with the firm Roberts and Bishop was so outraged by what he saw in Marion County traffic court that he filed a class action suit yesterday seeking to have the practice banned as unconstitutional.
Batch of H1N1 Vaccine Pulled Due to Severe Allergic Reactions 10 Dec 2009 Health officials across Canada are being asked to hold back a batch of [deadly] swine flu vaccine that appears to be causing higher rates of severe allergic reactions. The vaccine's manufacturer, GlaxoSmithKline, is asking governments to stop using vaccine doses from one particular lot shipment issued in late October.
House Votes to Tighten Regulation of Wall Street 12 Dec 2009 The House on Friday approved a Democratic plan to significantly tighten federal regulation of Wall Street and the financial sector, advancing a far-reaching Congressional response to the financial crisis still reverberating through the economy. After three days of floor debate, the House voted 223 to 202 to approve the measure. It creates a new agency to oversee consumer lending, establishes new rules for transactions that contributed to the meltdown, and seeks to reduce the threat that one or two huge companies on the verge of collapse could bring down the economy.
Treasury Pay Czar Limits Pay At Automakers, Banks --Other Payouts Delayed 11 Dec 2009 The Obama administration's pay czar is limiting the cash compensation for executives at companies that received the largest taxpayer bailouts to $500,000. The 25th through the 100th top earners at Citigroup, GMAC, American International Group and General Motors also must take more than half their compensation in stock, and at least half must be delayed for three or more years, said Kenneth Feinberg, the Treasury Department's Special Master for Executive Compensation.
Americans Want Government to Spend for Jobs, Send Bill to Rich 10 Dec 2009 Americans want their government to create jobs through spending on public works, investments in alternative energy or skills training for the jobless. They also want the deficit to come down. And most are ready to hand the bill to the wealthy. A Bloomberg National Poll conducted Dec. 3-7 shows two-thirds of Americans favor taxing the rich to reduce the deficit.
Max Baucus gave girlfriend $14K raise 11 Dec 2009 Sen. Max Baucus (D-Mont.), chairman of the powerful Senate Finance Committee, gave a nearly $14,000 pay raise to a female staffer in 2008, at the time he was becoming romantically involved with her, and later that year took her on a taxpayer-funded trip to Southeast Asia and the Middle East, though foreign policy was not her specialty.
Impeachment drama over, Jenny Sanford files for divorce 11 Dec 2009 First Lady Jenny Sanford issued a statement this morning saying she is filing for divorce from Gov. Mark Sanford. In a two-page filing made this morning in Charleston County family court, Jenny Sanford asked for a divorce on grounds of adultery. The news comes the same week as Gov. Sanford (R) was censured but spared impeachment by a House subcommittee investigating allegations that Sanford misused campaign money, and state planes and other assets.
Text of divorce statements from SC first lady, gov 11 Dec 2009 Here is the text of a statement released Friday by South Carolina first lady Jenny Sanford on filing for divorce from Gov. Mark Sanford months after he publicly confessed an affair with an Argentine woman.
Copenhagen climate summit in disarray after 'Danish text' leak --Developing countries react furiously to leaked draft agreement that would hand more power to rich nations, sideline the UN's negotiating role and abandon the Kyoto protocol 08 Dec 2009 The UN Copenhagen climate talks are in disarray today after developing countries reacted furiously to leaked documents that show world leaders will next week be asked to sign an agreement that hands more power to rich countries and sidelines the UN's role in all future climate change negotiations. The document is also being interpreted by developing countries as setting unequal limits on per capita carbon emissions for developed and developing countries in 2050; meaning that people in rich countries would be permitted to emit nearly twice as much under the proposals.
Ocean acidification rates pose disaster for marine life, major study shows --Report launched from leading marine scientists at Copenhagen summit shows seas absorbing dangerous levels of CO2 10 Dec 2009 The world's oceans are becoming acidic at a faster rate than at any time in the last 55m years, threatening disaster for marine life and food supplies across the globe, delegates at the UN climate conference in Copenhagen have been warned. A report by more than 100 of Europe's leading marine scientists, released at the climate talks this morning, states that the seas are absorbing dangerous levels of carbon dioxide as a direct result of human activity.
Previous lead stories: John Prescott expresses doubt over British support for Iraq invasion --We all know George Bush is crap, former deputy prime minister tells New Statesman 09 Dec 2009 John Prescott has become the latest senior Labour politician to voice open doubts about his own support for Tony Blair's decision in 2003 to place British military forces behind the American-led invasion of Iraq. In a wide-ranging interview with the New Statesman magazine the former deputy prime minister asks himself: " I do wonder, looking back now, having the privilege of discussing with Tony about all this, how did I go along [with it]?" Listening to some of Blair's video-conferences with George Bush was, he admits, a hair-raising experience. "Bush is crap, you know it, I know it, the party knows it," he tells the magazine.
Iraq to auction vast oilfields despite bombs 08 Dec 2009 The threat of bombs and violence will compete with the lure of some of the world's most promising oilfields when oil majors fly into Baghdad this week to bid in Iraq's second auction of contracts since the U.S. invasion. The risks, nearly seven years after U.S. forces toppled Saddam Hussein, were on display on Tuesday when a series of car bombs killed 112 people in the capital, rattling the windows of the Oil Ministry where the Dec. 11-12 auction will be held.
