Breaking: AIG Is Preparing to Pay New Round of Bonuses --The payments coming due next week include $2.4 million in bonuses for about 40 high-ranking corporate officers at AIG. 09 Jul 2009 American International Group is preparing to pay millions of dollars more in bonuses to several dozen top corporate executives after an earlier round of payments four months ago set off a national furor. The company has been pressing the federal government to bless the payments in hopes of shielding itself from renewed public outrage. The request puts the administration's new compensation czar on the spot by seeking his opinion about bonuses that were promised long before he took his post.
U.S. Prepared to Spend Billions on Swine Flu Vaccine --Health Secretary Makes Announcement at All-Day Summit on H1N1 Flu Outbreak 09 Jul 2009 School-age children will be among the population groups likely to get pandemic H1N1 flu vaccine in the fall, and they may get their shots at schools. Vaccines, now being made by five companies [pharma-terrorists] will probably be available in tens of millions of doses by the second week in October. The vaccine supply, which could amount to as much as 200 million doses, will all be acquired by the federal government, which will then distribute it to states, territories, cities, tribal governments and federal agencies.
Heads up! Administration readies $350 million for state, local responders to combat flu pandemic --The Obama administration said today that it has billions of dollars available to help pay for a national H1N1 flu vaccine program that could be ready starting in mid-October. 08 Jul 2009 Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius made the announcement at an all-day summit on the outbreak of what is more commonly known as swine flu. Sebelius said the government has "already appropriated about a billion dollars to buy the bulk ingredients" [i.e., insect parts, influenza viruses, Neomycin, Polymyxin, Gentamycin, Thimerosal (mercury), Betapropiolactone, Nonoxynol, Octoxinol 9, Formaldehyde - yum yum!] and has $7.5 billion more available in emergency preparedness funds. Congress approved $350 million for state and local responders in a recent supplemental war funding bill, and the administration is set to distribute the funds. Public health officials said they could need $3 billion if the H1N1 virus mutates into a more deadly form this fall. [Count on it. US pharma-terrorists are dying to get the 'Baxter Bug' pandemic party started.]
White House threatens veto over intel disclosure 08 Jul 2009 The White House said Thursday that if the intelligence authorization bill contains language broadening who the president must inform on covert activities, President Obama would be advised to veto the bill. Currently, the White House is required by law to inform the "Gang of Eight," the leadership of both Houses and intelligence committees, of covert actions deemed too sensitive to disclose to full committees or legislative bodies.
Obama wants keep Bush policy on CIA briefings By Carolyn Lochhead 08 Jul 2009 The Obama administration just lodged a strong objection to efforts by Democrats on Capitol Hill to remedy the problem of the CIA briefing too few members of Congress on top-secret subjects. Turns out Obama wants to keep Bush's policies. Such secret briefings are what got House Speaker and San Francisco Rep. Nancy Pelosi in hot water just weeks ago, over what she was told when about torture.
Truck bomb kills school children 09 Jul 2009 A truck bomb in central Afghanistan has exploded, taking the lives of at least 25 people, including at least 12 school children. Police have described a truck bomb which was remotely detonated [by Xe?] as children were walking to a local school. At least a dozen students, four police officers and nine others were killed in the blast.
Seventh soldier dies in grim fortnight for British forces in Afghanistan 08 Jul 2009 The seventh British soldier to die in Afghanistan in just over two weeks has been killed in a helicopter incident. The soldier was from 22 Engineer Regiment, Royal Engineers. He died on Monday while the helicopter was taking off in Zabul province in southern Afghanistan. His death brings the number of British fatalities in Afghanistan since 2001 to 175, four short of the 179 deaths recorded during the six-year military campaign in Iraq.
Two days of US drone attacks kill nearly 80 in Pakistan By Barry Grey 09 Jul 2009 The United States fired multiple missiles from pilotless drones on Wednesday in two separate attacks on insurgents in Pakistan’s South Waziristan district, killing up to 60 people. The attacks followed a US missile strike in South Waziristan on Tuesday that reportedly killed 16 people.
Bombs kill 50 in Iraq as violence flares 09 Jul 2009 Bombs in Baghdad and northern Iraq killed at least 50 people on Thursday, police said. The attacks in the north, where tensions between Arabs and Kurds threaten to flare into Iraq's next conflict, and in the capital appeared to be part of an attempt by 'insurgents' to reignite sectarian fighting following the partial U.S. pullback.
U.S. hands over Iranian officials detained in Iraq 09 Jul 2009 Five Iranian officials detained by the U.S. military in Iraq for up to two years were released on Thursday and handed over to Iranian embassy staff by Iraqi authorities, an Iranian embassy official said. The capture of the Iranians included officials U.S. forces accused of arming Shi'ite Muslim militias at the height of Iraq's sectarian war.
Netanyahu adviser raises "MAD" nuclear scenario 09 Jul 2009 Israel must have "tremendously powerful" weapons to deter a nuclear attack or destroy an enemy that dares to launch an atomic strike, a senior adviser to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was quoted on Thursday as saying. National security adviser Uzi Arad, in comments to Haaretz newspaper, appeared to allude to what is widely believed to be Israel's own nuclear arsenal and a standing policy of "mutually assured destruction" (MAD). He warned other countries they could bring about their own devastation if they launched an attack.
Israeli attack on Iran 'absolute catastrophe', says Sarkozy 09 Jul 2009 The French President Nicolas Sarkozy warns that a unilateral military strike on Iran by Israel would be an "absolute catastrophe." Sarkozy was speaking after a summit of the Group of Eight industrialized nations (G8) in the central Italian city of L'Aquila on Thursday.
EU retracts criticism of Israeli settlements --The Foreign Ministry called in the EU ambassador to protest the report 09 Jul 2009 The European Commission on Thursday backtracked on its unusually harsh criticism of Israeli settlements, declaring that a statement released earlier this week did not reflect the commission's position. The contentious statement accused Israel's settlement policy of strangling the Palestinian economy and making the Palestinian government more dependent on foreign aid.
Mexican Army Accused of Torture in Drug War --U.S. government has encouraged, funded strategy --U.S. officials warned that Congress may withhold more than $100 million in 'anti-narcotics' funding 09 Jul 2009 The Mexican army has carried out forced disappearances, acts of torture and illegal raids in pursuit of drug traffickers, according to documents and interviews with victims, their families, political leaders and human rights monitors... In Tijuana, across the border from San Diego, two dozen policemen who were arrested on drug charges in March alleged that, to extract confessions, soldiers beat them, held plastic bags over their heads until some lost consciousness, strapped their feet to a ceiling while dunking their heads in water and applied electric shocks, according to court documents, letters and interviews with their relatives and defense lawyers.
Trident added to G8 Summit disarmament deal by Gordon Brown 10 Jul 2009 Britain’s Trident nuclear deterrent could be thrown into a world disarmament deal after President Obama called yesterday for the biggest summit to stop the spread of atomic weapons. In a move designed to increase pressure on Iran, up to 30 countries will be invited to Washington next spring for a nuclear security conference. Iran is likely to be forced to prove to the world that it does not have a nuclear weapons programme, Gordon Brown suggested at a press briefing last night. [If the US, Israel and other nations can have a nuclear weapons program, why can't Iran?]
Miss Obama's peacenik T-shirt sends a message to G8 leaders 09 Jul 2009 Barack Obama's eldest daughter has a clear message for her father - it's time to get rid of the world's nuclear weapons. Just 48 hours after the U.S. President shook hands with Vladimir Putin over an agreement to reduce their stockpile of nuclear weapons, Malia spotted out wearing not one, but two anti-nuclear T-shirts. The 11-year-old wore tops bearing the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament's famous symbol as her father prepared for three days of G8 talks in Italy.
G8 leaders have 5-course meal before hunger talks 09 Jul 2009 World leaders have enjoyed a five-course meal on the eve of a G8 summit on tackling world food shortages, a menu released by a summit source showed. The leaders will be joined by representatives of African countries for Friday's session at the G8 summit focusing on food, security and development issues. The British Prime Minister Gordon Brown said earlier this week, "A hunger emergency looms and the world must act." [Yes, and Brown, et al., solved their 'hunger emergency' with a five-course meal.]
Ban says G8 not doing enough on climate 09 Jul 2009 UN chief Ban Ki-moon maintains that the Group of Eight Industrial Nations (G8) has not done enough to find answers to the worsening global climate changes. "The policies that they have stated so far are not enough," Reuters quoted Ban as saying in Italy on Thursday. "This is politically and morally (an) imperative and historic responsibility... for the future of humanity, even for the future of the planet Earth."
Greenpeace Activists Arrested After Draping Banner on Mount Rushmore 08 Jul 2009 Greenpeace activists draped an enormous banner next to the carved stone faces of Mount Rushmore today, calling for more-aggressive action to fight climate change. The banner showed President Obama's face -- Greenpeace said it was an unfinished portrait, implying that Obama's legacy was in question -- and the words "America honors leaders not politicians: Stop Global Warming."
rBGH we can believe in: Mike Taylor to Join FDA By Ethicurean 30 Jun 2009 Rumor has it that Mike Taylor, currently a professor at George Washington University but better known for his work as Monsanto’s Vice President for Public Policy, will start on Monday at the FDA in a position coordinating food safety. Congress is considering a major food safety bill and the scuttlebutt is that Taylor might coordinate the implementation of that bill once it’s passed... In the late 1980s, he left a job at the FDA to work as a lawyer and lobbyist for a company representing biotech giant [terrorists] Monsanto.
Banks' 'courtesy' loans at soaring rates irk consumers 09 Jul 2009 ...Another type of lending threatens to mire consumers in a credit trap. It's called "courtesy overdraft" and has long been used by banks to automatically pay transactions that account holders don't have the money to cover — and then charge them a steep fee. For years, banks have made it easier for customers to overdraw their checking accounts, aided by a cottage industry of consultants who make big money by helping to wring fees out of consumers, a USA TODAY analysis finds.
Obama's Single Payer Beat Down --"Debate is permitted only to the Right of his own fuzzy position." By Glen Ford 09 Jul 2009 President Obama is mad, again, at the usual suspects: progressives that insist on speaking out in the people's interest on single-payer healthcare. He picked up the phone last week to warn lefties and unions to watch their mouths and get with his fuzzy program on healthcare – although even White House chief of staff Rahm Emanuel doesn't seem to know what that program is. "For Obama to 'win' his debate, the American people must lose." President Obama has escalated his campaign to suppress single-payer healthcare advocates, hinting darkly that there will be repercussions if unions and activists persist in harassing his fellow center-right Democrats.
'Choose Your Own Health Insurance Adventure' By Jen Sorensen 01 Jun 2009 (Political cartoon)
Illinois Senator Won't Run in '10, Officials Say 10 Jul 2009 Senator Roland W. Burris, the Illinois Democrat appointed by Gov. Rod R. Blagojevich before his ouster to fill the seat of President Obama, is expected to announce Friday that he will not seek election in 2010 to a full Senate term, party officials said. Mr. Burris provided a reliable Democratic vote when a special election might have turned the slot over to a Republican.
Calif. high court: Breath test accuracy can vary 09 Jul 2009 The California Supreme Court has joined a handful of other courts in the country that have said Breathalyzer results mean different things for different people and ruled that suspected drunken drivers can attack the test results in court. Defense attorneys lauded Thursday's unanimous ruling for deferring to science, which has shown for years that the test results are highly variable.
Stars may sue as Scotland Yard rejects phone tap inquiry 09 Jul 2009 More than a dozen high-profile figures are considering an unprecedented, multi-million-pound group legal action against the [Murdoch cesspool] News of the World over allegations that their phones were tapped illegally. Lawyers have said that the unidentified individuals, from politics, television and sport, were considering suing the Sunday newspaper.
Murdoch papers paid £1m to gag phone-hacking victims 08 Jul 2009 Rupert Murdoch's News Group Newspapers has paid out more than £1m to settle legal cases that threatened to reveal evidence of his journalists' repeated involvement in the use of criminal methods to get stories. The payments secured secrecy over out-of-court settlements in three cases that threatened to expose evidence of Murdoch 'journalists' using private investigators who illegally hacked into the mobile phone messages of numerous public figures to gain unlawful access to confidential personal data, including tax records, social security files, bank statements and itemised phone bills.
Previous lead stories:Panetta Says CIA Officials Have Misled Congress Since 2001 08 Jul 2009 Central Intelligence Agency Director Leon E. Panetta has told lawmakers that CIA officials misled Congress "for a number of years" since 2001 [i.e., the start of the Bush regime], according to a letter released Wednesday from six Democratic lawmakers. The lawmakers say the CIA also withheld information about unspecified "significant actions." [i.e., 9/11] The letter didn't identify when Mr. Panetta made the statements or to what they referred. "This is similar to other deceptions of which we are aware from other recent periods," the letter continued.[Oops! Murdoch's Wall Street Urinal already dropped 'Since 2001' from their headline, lol.]
Child prostitution we can believe in: DynCorp Up On Army Award For Afghanistan Work Worth Up to $7.5B 08 Jul 2009 Shares of DynCorp International Inc. rose Wednesday as the service provider to government agencies and Fluor Corp. were selected over rival KBR Inc. for U.S. contracts worth up to $7.5 billion each to support base-camp operations in Afghanistan. DynCorp and Fluor were notified Tuesday that each won one-year contracts worth as much as $1.5 billion with four one-year options for the same annual amount, Dan Carlson, spokesman for the U.S. Army Sustainment Command, told Dow Jones Newswires. [See: Secrets and Lies: How Secret Bidding and the Shut-Out of Foreign Corporations in Iraqi Reconstruction Violates International Trade Principles By Anupam Chander 24 Apr 2003 "DynCorp received the contract despite its checkered past. Just three years ago, its American employees on U.S. government contracts in Bosnia were allegedly deeply implicated in an international prostitution ring, which included child prostitutes." See also: DynCorp Disgrace (from Insight Magazine) 14 Jan 2002 By Kelly Patricia O’Meara "Middle-aged men having sex with 12- to 15-year-olds was too much for Ben Johnston, a hulking 6-foot-5-inch Texan, and more than a year ago he blew the whistle on his employer, DynCorp, a U.S. contracting company doing business in Bosnia."]
Iraq group calls for further attacks on US troops 08 Jul 2009 An insurgent group linked to al-Qaeda of Iraq urged militants to continue attacks against U.S. forces even after combat troops were pulled from city centres, according to an audiotape released on Wednesday. The Islamic State of Iraq is believed to be affiliated with al Qaeda's main organisation in Iraq, led by Abu Ayyub al-Masri, also known as Abu Hamza al-Muhajir Blackwater, also known as Xe.
Historic Moment Tensor Solutions
