Breaking: U.S. Asks Firms to Make H1N1 Flu Vaccine 23 May 2009 The federal government has asked three drug companies to make enough swine Fort Detrick flu vaccine to immunize at least 20 million people in key positions in health care, national security and emergency services, officials said yesterday. The order, announced by Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, is part of a $1 billion investment in immediate production and testing of vaccine 'against' the newly emerged strain of the H1N1 flu virus. HHS has contracts with five companies to make pandemic vaccine. The department has activated the ones with Sanofi Pasteur, Novartis and GlaxoSmithKline. It is still negotiating with the two others, MedImmune and CSL, an Australian company. [See: Baxter working on vaccine to stop swine flu, though admitted sending live pandemic flu viruses to subcontractor 26 Apr 2009.] Obama's Preventive Detention Plans Face Scrutiny 22 May 2009 The Obama administration's efforts to craft what it calls a "preventive detention" plan for suspected terrorists will face constitutional challenges similar to those raised against the Bush regime's policies. A White House task force reviewing detention policy is set to make recommendations in late July. The administration has floated with Congress a possible plan that would seek legislation allowing the government to hold suspected terrorists without trial indefinitely on U.S. soil... Civil liberties and human rights groups who criticized the Bush administration's detention policies are definitive in their opposition to Mr. Obama's plans. "It's really crossing a constitutional Rubicon," said Jonathan Hafetz, American Civil Liberties Union attorney who represented Ali al Marri.
Mancow Waterboarded, Admits It's Torture --"It is way worse than I thought it would be" 22 May 2009 And so it went Friday morning when WLS radio host Erich "Mancow" Muller decided to subject himself to the controversial practice of waterboarding live on his show... Turns out the stunt wasn't so funny. Witnesses said Muller thrashed on the table, and even instantly threw the toy cow he was holding as his emergency tool to signify when he wanted the experiment to stop. He only lasted 6 or 7 seconds. "It is way worse than I thought it would be, and that's no joke," Mancow said. "It is such an odd feeling to have water poured down your nose with your head back...It was instantaneous...and I don't want to say this: absolutely torture."
The Obama-Cheney "debate" and the threat of dictatorship in America By Joe Kishore 22 May 2009 Whatever his criticisms of the Bush administration's policies, Obama defends its basic aims. On domestic policy, he is continuing the massive handouts to the banks and Wall Street investors. On military policy, he is continuing the occupation of Iraq, while expanding the war in Afghanistan and Pakistan. His argument for legality is undermined by the fact that his administration has restarted military commissions, refused to publish torture photos, and in general maintained the anti-democratic measures of his predecessor. Whatever verbal warnings Obama may make about the erosion of democracy in the United States, the actions of his administration facilitate and accelerate its breakdown. It is impossible to combine imperialist war with democracy. The latter cannot survive without opposing the former.
Pelosi Says She Stands by Previous Statement on CIA 22 May 2009 House Speaker Nancy Pelosi stood by her statement that the Central Intelligence Agency misled Congress about harsh interrogations torture of suspected terrorists and refused to discuss the political controversy triggered by her assertion. "I stand by my comment," Pelosi, a California Democrat, said today at a news conference in Washington.
CIA agents lose bid to halt trial over rendition 22 May 2009 The landmark trial of American and Italian spies accused of abducting an Egyptian cleric in Milan will continue, a judge has ruled, rejecting a defence bid to end the proceedings. The ruling was a victory for prosecutors in the first trial to examine the "rendition" process, in which the CIA allegedly abducted suspects abroad and sent them to other countries for harsh interrogation torture.
Satire: Obama: Gitmo Detainees to be Sent to AIG, Citibank and Bear Stearns By R J Shulman 22 May 2009 President Barack Obama announced today at a press conference that the detainees at the US prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, will be transferred to AIG, Citibank, Bear Stearns and other troubled banks and financial firms starting June 1. "These detainees will need something to keep them out of trouble," Obama said. "So, sending them to these beleaguered firms will keep them completely occupied. Besides, they couldn’t mess things up any worse than the regular Wall Street gang did." (Satire)
Top US official warns that war in Afghanistan strengthens Taliban in Pakistan 22 May 2009 America's top military official warned that the US offensive in Afghanistan could end up fuelling the conflict in Pakistan by pushing more Taliban fighters across the border. Admiral Mike Mullen, the chairman of the US joint chiefs of staff, said the surge of 21,000 additional US troops into Afghanistan had raised the prospect that Pakistan could face even greater turmoil in the months ahead. "They want Afghanistan back," he said.
Gag me with a chainsaw! Former UNOCAL/RAND Corporation - Bush/Rumsfeld troll rears ugly head: Former U.S. envoy eyed as Afghan 'CEO' 19 May 2009 Former U.S. ambassador to Afghanistan Zalmay Khalilzad is negotiating with President Hamid Karzai to take a role in his government, diplomatic sources say. Khalilzad, who served as U.S. envoy to Kabul under former President [sic] George W. Bush, has abandoned plans to challenge Karzai in Afghanistan's upcoming presidential elections and is instead looking to take on an unelected positioned described as the country's chief executive officer, The New York Times reported Tuesday.
Senate Approves $91 Billion Funding Bill for Iraq, Afghan Wars --Total costs for both wars to top $900B 22 May 2009 The U.S. Senate approved a $91 billion spending bill that would fund President Barack Obama’s troop buildup in Afghanistan and block a lawsuit seeking to force the release of photos showing abuse of war prisoners. The vast majority of the money in the bill would fund military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, pushing total costs for the two wars to more than $900 billion.
Bombings kill dozens in Iraq 3 Americans on foot patrol among dead 22 May 2009 Bombers struck in Baghdad and a northern city yesterday, killing three American soldiers and nearly two dozen Iraqis in a new spasm of violence that has taken at least 66 lives in two days. The deadliest blast yesterday occurred in an outdoor market in Baghdad's Dora district, when a bomb exploded near a US foot patrol, US and Iraqi officials said.
US soldiers charged over Spanish journalist's death 21 May 2009 A Spanish judge on Thursday revived murder charges against three US soldiers over the killing a Spanish television cameraman during the shelling of a Baghdad hotel in 2003. The same judge, Santiago Pedraz, had thrown out the charges one year ago, citing "insufficient evidence" of deliberate intent on the part of the three to target civilians inside the hotel where journalists were known to be staying.
Israeli toxic waste threatens Palestinian life 22 May 2009 Tel Aviv illegally dumps hazardous waste in the Palestinian West Bank, gifting cancer, sterility and mental disorders to the local population. In an exclusive interview with Press TV, Deputy Director of the Palestinian environmental authority, Jamil Mtoor, confirmed that Israel cuts disposal costs by discarding its waste on Palestinian territory at the expense of the population. "For several years, Israeli companies have been dumping solid and hazardous waste in different West Bank villages," Mtoor said.
White House: "Don’t Ask, Don't Tell" under review 22 May 2009 The White House is insisting that officials are working to overturn a policy that bans gays and lesbians from serving openly in the military, pushing back against Pentagon assessments a day earlier that such efforts were low priorities and Democratic activists’ complaint of slow progress.
Colorado plan to give police power to draw blood from 'uncooperative' suspects --'100 days of heat' crackdown will involve 150 sobriety checkpoints 22 may 2009 One Colorado police chief is preparing to launch a controversial practice in the fight against drunken driving by seeking search warrants that would give his officers the power to have blood drawn from uncooperative suspects. To Chief Bruce Kozak of the Avon Police Department, the blood in a suspected drunken driver's veins is no different than a gun next to a murder victim -- evidence that must be collected by investigators. Kozak's plan is part of the "100 days of heat" crackdown on drunken driving by law enforcement agencies across Colorado.
'Anything using RF energy -- we have the right to inspect it.' FCC's Warrantless Household Searches Alarm Experts By Ryan Singel 21 May 2009 ...[I]f you have a wireless router, a cordless phone, remote car-door opener, baby monitor or cellphone in your house, the FCC claims the right to enter your home without a warrant at any time of the day or night in order to inspect it... And the commission maintains the same policy applies to any licensed or unlicensed radio-frequency device. "Anything using RF energy -- we have the right to inspect it to make sure it is not causing interference," says FCC spokesman David Fiske. That includes devices like Wi-Fi routers that use unlicensed spectrum, Fiske says.
WHO chief warns H1N1 swine flu likely to worsen --Chan says H1N1 could mutate in "unpredictable [!] ways" 22 May 2009 The world must be ready for H1N1 swine flu to become more severe and kill more people, World Health Organization chief Dr. Margaret Chan said on Friday. The virus must be closely monitored in the southern hemisphere, as it could mix with ordinary seasonal influenza and change in unpredictable ways, Chan told the WHO annual congress in Geneva. An international team of researchers who analyzed all eight genes of the new virus confirmed its sneakiness, saying it was so different from its ancestral strains that it must have been circulating undetected for years created in a USAMRIID lab.
Australia's swine flu alert level raised 22 May 2009 Australia's swine flu alert level has been raised from delay to contain. The announcement by Federal Health Minister Nicola Roxon this afternoon comes after after the first case of human to human transmission was confirmed at a school in Epping, in Melbourne's north.
Verizon Willing to Let 62-Year-Old Man Die Unless Cops Pay $20 of His Overdue Bill 22 May 2009 Ohio police are pissed with Verizon after the company refused to help them find a missing 62-year-old man unless they paid his $20 of his overdue cellphone bill. The cops got a call that the man was rampaging around his house and breaking windows. When they arrived, the man had fled, taking bottles of pills with him. The sheriff contacted Verizon to ask them to turn the man's cellphone service on so they could track his signal, but the operator said the missing man's bill had to be paid first. After some back and forth, the sheriff started to make arrangements to pay his bill. Just as he was doing so, the search party... found the man, unconscious, after 11 hours of searching. "I was more concerned for the person's life," Sherrif Williams said. "It would have been nice if Verizon would have turned on his phone for five or 10 minutes, just long enough to try and find the guy. But they would only turn it on if we agreed to pay $20 of the unpaid bill. Ridiculous." [See: Unconscious Carroll man found after 11-hour search --Sheriff unhappy with Verizon's 'line' on emergency 21 May 2009.]
Obama Signs Credit-Card Consumers' 'Bill of Rights' 22 May 2009 President Barack Obama signed into law a credit-card consumers' "“Bill of Rights" that limits fees and curbs contract changes, saying it will give Americans "the strong and reliable protections they deserve."
Credit Card Bill Allows Guns In National Parks 20 May The U.S. House of Representatives followed the Senate's lead and passed the Credit Card Holders Bill of Rights -- but there's more. The bill contains an amendment that has nothing to do with credit cards. The bill allows concealed weapons to be carried in America's national parks.
TARP Warrants Show Banks May Reap 'Ruthless Bargain' 22 May 2009 Banks negotiating to reclaim stock warrants they granted in return for Troubled Asset Relief Program money may shortchange taxpayers by almost $10 billion if Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner’s first sale sets the pace, data compiled by Bloomberg show. While 17 financial institutions have repaid TARP funds, two have come to terms with the U.S. on the value of the rights to buy stock that taxpayers received for the risk of recapitalizing the industry.
'The executive branch will construe this subsection of the bill not to abrogate any constitutional privilege.' Obama Issues Signing Statement After Creating Financial Investigative Panel 20 May 2009 President Obama on Wednesday signed legislation aimed at curbing financial fraud in the mortgage and other industries, including a provision that created an independent panel to investigate the root causes of the nation’s economic downturn. This one would have subpoena power; its work would be independent of Congress. But after signing the bill, the White House issued what is called a signing statement by Mr. Obama, which includes this advisory to agencies about the financial panel’s potential reach... In other words, the president is reserving the right to claim executive privilege if the commission seeks information or documents that the White House considers to be beyond the bounds of public information and/or privileged communications and negotiations within the executive branch.
FDA: Calif. pistachio plant knew some nuts were tainted but kept shipping them for 6 months 22 May 2009 Food safety inspectors say a California plant at the center of a salmonella scare knew some of its pistachios were tainted but continued shipping nuts for another six months. The Food and Drug Administration issued a sweeping national warning in March for consumers to avoid eating pistachios after concerns surfaced about nuts from Setton Pistachio of Terra Bella, Inc.
Illinois Company Recalls 95,898 Pounds of Beef 22 May 2009 A Coal Valley, Illinois company is recalling 95,898 pounds of ground beef because of possible E. Coli contamination. The U.S. Dept. of Agriculture announced the recall Thursday morning. Valley Meats LLC makes ground beef products for several different brands, including J & B and Grillmaster. The USDA says the meat was produced on March 10th. The government calls this a Class One recall. That means there is a reasonable chance that eating this product will cause serious health problems.
U.S. appeals court finds tobacco companies lied 22 May 2009 Cigarette companies systematically lied for years in order to sell tobacco products they knew were dangerous, a U.S. appeals court said on Friday as it upheld a trial judge's racketeering verdict. But in a blow to anti-smoking groups, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia also upheld the lower court's decision to reject expensive remedies, like funding a smoking cessation program.
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Previous lead stories: How MI5 blackmails British Muslims --'Work for us or we will say you are a terrorist' 21 May 2009 Five Muslim community workers have accused MI5 of waging a campaign of blackmail and harassment in an attempt to recruit them as informants. The men claim they were given a choice of working for the Security Service or face detention and harassment in the UK and overseas. They have made official complaints to the police, to the body which oversees the work of the Security Service and to their local MP Frank Dobson. Now they have decided to speak publicly about their experiences in the hope that publicity will stop similar tactics being used in the future.
Undercover Agents Supplied Missile and Explosives to NYC Plotters --The FBI and other agencies monitored the men and provided an inactive missile and inert C-4 to the informant for the defendants, a federal complaint said. 21 May 2009 Four men arrested after planting what they thought were explosives near two New York City synagogues were disappointed that the World Trade Center wasn't still around to attack, a federal prosecutor said Thursday as the men appeared in court for the first time. The suspects were arrested Wednesday night. Authorities said the men also plotted to shoot down a military plane. James Cromitie, David Williams, Onta Williams, and Laguerre Payen, all of Newburgh, were charged with conspiracy to use weapons of mass destruction within the United States and conspiracy to acquire and use anti-aircraft missiles.
Obama Is Said to Consider Preventive Detention For Suspects Deemed 'National Security Threat' --'The idea that we might find ourselves fighting with the Obama administration over these powers is really stunning.' 21 May 2009 President Bush Obama told human rights advocates at the White House on Wednesday that he was mulling the need for a "preventive detention" system that would establish a legal basis for the United States to incarcerate terrorism suspects who are deemed a threat to national security but cannot be tried, two participants in the private session said. One participant said Mr. Obama did not seem to be thinking about preventive detention for terrorism suspects now held at Guantánamo Bay, but rather for those captured in the future, in settings other than a legitimate [?] battlefield like Afghanistan.
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