C.I.A. Sought Blackwater's Help in Its Assassination Plans 20 Aug 2009 The Central Intelligence Agency in 2004 hired outside contractors mercenaries from the private security contractor Blackwater USA as part of a secret program to locate and assassinate [alleged] top operatives of 'Al Qaeda,' according to current and former government officials. Executives from Blackwater, which has generated controversy because of its aggressive tactics in Iraq, helped the spy agency with planning, training and surveillance. The C.I.A. spent several million dollars on the program, which did not capture or kill any terrorist suspects. The fact that the C.I.A. used an outside company for the program was a major reason that Leon E. Panetta, the C.I.A.'s director, became alarmed and called an emergency meeting in June to tell Congress that the agency had withheld details of the program for seven years, the officials said.
FBI: Arm Boston Police With M-16s to Prepare for Terror Attack 18 Aug 2009 An FBI official said Boston police officers should be armed with assault rifles to make the city more prepared for a terrorist attack. Warren Bamford, the special agent in charge of the FBI in Boston, said Tuesday that he is baffled by opposition to a proposal to give some neighborhood police officers the semiautomatic weapons. In May, Boston Mayor Tom Menino criticized a proposal to arm up to 200 officers with M-16s that the police department had ordered from the U.S. military. Menino said only specially trained units should have the guns.
F.B.I. Agents' Role Is Transformed by Terror Fight 19 Aug 2009 Spending two days with the 21-member threat squad, known as Counterterrorism 6, or CT-6, offered a rare window on the daily workings of an F.B.I. transformed after the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. The bureau now ranks fighting terrorism as its No. 1 priority. It has doubled the number of agents assigned to counterterrorism duties to roughly 5,000 people, and has created new squads across the country that focus more on deterring and disrupting terrorism than on solving crimes. Of the 5,500 leads that the squad has pursued since it was formed five years ago, only 5 percent have been found credible enough to be sent to permanent F.B.I. squads for longer-term investigations, said Supervisory Special Agent Kristen von KleinSmid, head of the squad.
Australia: No-warrant terrorism raids proposed 12 Aug 2009 The Federal Government has unveiled plans to toughen its counter-terrorism laws, including a change to allow police to break into a suspect's home without getting approval from a judge. It also wants to make it easier to stop suspects getting out of jail on bail. But the Government is planning to put a cap on the amount of time suspects can be held without charge.
Iraqi bombers infiltrate Green Zone 19 Aug 2009 At least 95 people have been killed in Iraqi bombings, which took place in a wave of attacks in Baghdad. A massive truck bomb exploded outside the finance ministry in the capital's northern neighbourhood of Waziriyah. Apart from many dead, more than 400 were injured.
Iraq bombs kill 95 20 Aug 2009 At least 95 people were killed and 536 injured by two huge [Xe?] truck bombs in Baghdad yesterday. Government buildings were hit in co-ordinated attacks that rocked the Iraqi capital.
Public Opinion in U.S. Turns Against the War --New poll comes amid widespread speculation that Gen. Stanley A. McChrystal, the top U.S. commander in Afghanistan, will request more troops 20 Aug 2009 A majority of Americans now see the war in Afghanistan as not worth fighting, and just a quarter say more U.S. troops should be sent to the country, according to a new Washington Post-ABC News poll... When it comes to the baseline question, 42 percent of Americans say the United States is winning in Afghanistan; 36 percent, say it is losing.
Media blackout imposed as Afghans await polls 19 Aug 2009 Afghanistan has called on local and international media outlets to refrain from reporting violent incidents a day ahead of crucial presidential 'elections.' "All domestic and international media agencies are requested to refrain from broadcasting any incidence of violence during the election process form 6:00 am to 8:00pm on 20 August 2009," a government statement said Wednesday.
Kandahar blast kills 6 ahead of elections 20 Aug 2009 A blast has left six people killed in the Afghan city of Kandahar as 17 million people are getting ready to vote in the presidential 'elections.' No group has so far claimed responsibility for the early Thursday attack, a Press TV correspondent reported.
Afghanistan war claims another 8 U.S. soldiers' lives 19 Aug 2009 The bloodshed in war-torn Afghanistan continues to surge. The deaths of eight American soldiers and 6 election workers have been announced in the past 24 hours.
Pakistani VOA journalist released from U.S. detention 19 Aug 2009 Immigration officials released a Voice of America journalist Wednesday after deciding he could apply to remain in the U.S. because of a "credible fear" of being tortured or persecuted in his native Pakistan, his attorney said. Early last month, Rahman Bunairee's house in a northern Pakistani village was blown up.
North Korea 'wants direct N-talks with US' 20 Aug 2009 A top US official claims that North Korea has called for fresh negotiations on its nuclear program and called for direct talks with the US. "They (North Koreans) want a new format. And the format they want is direct talks with the United States. Now, maybe a compromise might be some kind of direct talks within the six-party format, but, again, this is something that diplomats should negotiate," New Mexico's Governor Bill Richardson told CNN on Wednesday.
Tech Gunman's 'Missing' Records Released 20 Aug 2009 The missing mental health records of Seung Hui Cho, released Wednesday afternoon, provide more evidence that Virginia Tech's counseling center and the state's mental health system failed to recognize, communicate and treat the gunman's increasingly erratic behavior... On Dec. 14, 2005, the day Cho was released from a psychiatric hospital, was declared a danger for threatening to kill himself and was ordered by a judge to receive involuntary outpatient treatment at Cook Counseling Center, the therapist who saw him there did not evaluate his mood.
N.Y. health facilities required to provide flu shots, report vaccine refusals 19 Aug 2009 New York’s State Hospital Review and Planning Council has approved an emergency regulation requiring each healthcare facility to provide or arrange for influenza vaccinations for personnel, at no cost to its workers, either at the facility or elsewhere. The vaccinations and appropriate documentation need to happen by Nov. 30 of each year, the regulation said... The state’s nursing homes must offer flu vaccines to staff and residents and report any refusals to be vaccinated.
Pregnant Women in D.C. Area Cautious About Shot 20 Aug 2009 They are usually urged not to drink coffee, sip wine or pop aspirin. But now pregnant women find themselves high atop the federal government's priority list for those who ought to receive the new [deadly] swine flu vaccine -- a prospect that some mothers-to-be are greeting with caution. A surprisingly low number of pregnant women -- less than 15 percent -- do so, according to the CDC.
CSL Fiscal Year Profit Jumps 63% Boosted By Flu Vaccine Orders 18 Aug 2009 CSL Ltd., the world's second-largest maker of human plasma products, said Wednesday full-year net profit rose 63% boosted by flu vaccine orders and it expects further profit growth ahead. Profit in the year ended June 30 rose to A$1.15 billion, from A$701.8 million a year earlier, as total revenue grew 32% to A$5.04 billion, from A$3.80 billion in fiscal year 2008.
Obama Calls Health Plan a 'Moral Obligation' 20 Aug 2009 President Obama sought Wednesday to reframe the health care debate as "a core ethical and moral obligation," imploring a coalition of religious leaders to help promote the plan to lower costs and expand insurance coverage for all Americans... As the president returned to the health care debate after two days of silence, the administration [insanely] encouraged Republicans to take part in the negotiations. Still, Democratic leaders moved ahead with plans to advance a measure next month with or without Republican cooperation.
Why Funding for Abortions is Essential to the Nation's Health By Jim Fetzer 17 Aug 2009 Congressman Ron Paul (R-TX) has taken the stand that federal taxpayer-funding for abortions is immoral... A debate ensued between Shane Matthews, a Ron Paul supporter, and me, where I contended that staking out a position that would severely limit a woman's right to choose is an absurd position for a prominent libertarian--who is an ob/gyn physician, to boot!--to defend. The situation is laden with irony, moreover, because the weight of the evidence, in my estimation, not only demonstrates that Ron Paul's position is indefensible but that, on the contrary, denying abortion funding in a tax-payer funded health care plan would be profoundly immoral.
UBS to Provide Data on 4,450 Accounts in Tax Accord 19 Aug 2009 -- UBS AG, Switzerland’s largest bank, will divulge information on 4,450 accounts to settle a U.S. lawsuit that sought names of American clients suspected of evading taxes. Switzerland and the U.S. announced the agreement today, resolving a six-month legal tussle that put unprecedented pressure on Swiss banking secrecy.
Texas bank hit by California dreaming 19 Aug 0209 Guaranty Bank, an Austin-based savings institution with $13.5 billion in assets, is expected to be seized by the FDIC by the end of the week. According to multiple reports late Wednesday, Spanish bank Banco Bilbao Vizcaya (BBV) has won the bidding for Guaranty.
New limits on credit card issuers begin to take effect (finally) 18 Aug 2009 The credit card legislation signed by President Barack Obama in May provides consumers their first morsel of relief on Thursday when card issuers must begin giving more notice before imposing rate increases or charging late fees. Beginning Aug. 20, the Credit Card Accountability, Responsibility, and Disclosure Act of 2009 increases the required notice before raising credit card interest rates to 45 days from 15 days.
'Extremely dangerous' Hurricane Bill churns in Atlantic --Forecasters: Bill may strengthen further over next two days 19 Aug 2009 Described as "an extremely dangerous Category 4 hurricane," Hurricane Bill was churning closer to the Atlantic island of Bermuda on Wednesday, forecasters said... As of 5 p.m. ET, Bill's center was about 335 miles northeast of the Leeward Islands and about 970 miles south-southeast of Bermuda, the hurricane center said.
Previous lead stories: CLG Exclusive: Barack Obama: Change We Can Deceive In --A critique from the Left By Lori Price 19 Aug 2009 President Barack Obama is selling out the left wing of his party - those who contributed $750 million to his campaign for 'change' - quicker than a Blue Cross rate rise in August. Mr. Obama won the Democratic nomination -- and the presidency -- on a wave of anti-Bush sentiment and the promise of 'change we can believe in.' But when the assertions and actions of the Obama Administration are critically examined, a conclusion can be drawn that the key difference -- thus far -- between Barack Obama and George W. Bush is their choice in breed of White House pet. 'Bipartisanship,' the bane of Obama's first eight months as president, is providing the groundwork for an extended (albeit educated, charming) Bush-light Administration. Those of us on the left are fearing a Bush-ultra Administration, wrapped in populist rhetoric, and disguised as everything but the same.
Obama tells veterans Afghanistan is a 'war of necessity' 18 Aug 2009 Speaking to more than 5,500 veterans, President Obama on Monday renewed his commitment to dismantling 'Al Qaeda' in Afghanistan -- a struggle he said was "fundamental to the defense of our people" -- and offered assurances that his healthcare overhaul would not touch veterans' medical benefits. "This is not a war of choice. This is a war of necessity," Bush Obama told the annual Veterans of Foreign Wars conference -- cautioning that the insurgency would not be defeated overnight. "Those who attacked America on 9/11 are plotting to do so again. If left unchecked, the Taliban insurgency will mean an even larger safe haven from which Al Qaeda would plot to kill more Americans." A third of nurses will refuse to have the swine flu jab 18 Aug 2009 Up to a third of nurses will say no to the swine flu jab because of concerns over its safety, a poll has found. NHS workers are first in line for the vaccine, but a survey of 1,500 nurses found many will reject it. The poll, by Nursing Times magazine, will raise questions over the Government's planned mass vaccination programme.
