Saturday, August 22, 2009
In this August 2009 handout photograph provided by The Denver Zoo, emperor tamarin monkey twins Lara and Lucy look on from their home in the zoo's nursery. The twins are being cared for by zookeepers after they were orphaned on July 30 when their mother died from cancer, three weeks after giving birth to the pair.(AP Photo/HO, The Denver Zoo, Dave Parsons)
One of the emperor tamarin monkey twins is groomed with a toothbrush by a handler. Zookeepers are feeding the monkeys by hand. (AP Photo/HO, The Denver Zoo, Dave Parsons)
Wall Street Journal | Afghanistan Contractors Outnumber Troops
Despite Surge in U.S. Deployments, More Civilians Are Posted in War Zone; Reliance Echoes the Controversy in Iraq
Even as U.S. troops surge to new highs in Afghanistan they are outnumbered by military contractors working alongside them, according to a Defense Department census due to be distributed to Congress -- illustrating how hard it is for the U.S. to wean itself from the large numbers of war-zone contractors that proved controversial in Iraq.
The number of military contractors in Afghanistan rose to almost 74,000 by June 30, far outnumbering the roughly 58,000 U.S. soldiers on the ground at that point. As the military force in Afghanistan grows further, to a planned 68,000 by the end of the year, the Defense Department expects the ranks of contractors to increase more.
READ MORE.....
SpaceWeather.com | A solar prominence big enough to swallow ten planet Earths is dancing along the NE limb of the sun today 22Aug09
Les Cowley, UKAug. 22, 2009
Emergency and Disaster Information Services (EDIS) | Current Emergencies, Short-time Events & Long-time or Rolling Events - Aug 23, 2009 11:45am CDT
Emergency and Disaster Information Services (EDIS)
Budapest Hungary
Cave Editor's Note: Scroll down below global map to view listings
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Today's latest earthquakes magnitude 2.5+ in the US and Adjacent Areas and 4.5+ in the rest of the world - 22Aug09 11:45am CDT
Update time = Sat Aug 22 16:31:01 UTC 2009
| MAG | UTC DATE-TIME y/m/d h:m:s | LAT deg | LON deg | DEPTH km | Region | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MAP | 5.1 | 2009/08/22 13:18:35 | 46.418 | 150.008 | 169.4 | KURIL ISLANDS |
| MAP | 5.3 | 2009/08/22 12:34:51 | 0.862 | -28.503 | 10.0 | CENTRAL MID-ATLANTIC RIDGE |
| MAP | 4.7 | 2009/08/22 10:30:01 | -3.096 | 100.907 | 35.0 | KEPULAUAN MENTAWAI REGION, INDONESIA |
| MAP | 4.8 | 2009/08/22 10:26:43 | 52.717 | 143.857 | 22.4 | SAKHALIN, RUSSIA |
| MAP | 4.7 | 2009/08/22 09:51:48 | 12.401 | 144.348 | 35.0 | GUAM REGION |
| MAP | 2.5 | 2009/08/22 08:38:02 | 33.397 | -117.022 | 12.3 | SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA |
| MAP | 2.5 | 2009/08/22 08:10:06 | 38.478 | -122.598 | 7.4 | NORTHERN CALIFORNIA |
| MAP | 4.2 | 2009/08/22 07:21:36 | -28.265 | -67.405 | 111.8 | CATAMARCA, ARGENTINA |
| MAP | 2.6 | 2009/08/22 07:03:01 | 38.904 | -123.017 | 0.0 | NORTHERN CALIFORNIA |
| MAP | 3.0 | 2009/08/22 06:47:24 | 63.300 | -151.566 | 5.4 | CENTRAL ALASKA |
| MAP | 3.7 | 2009/08/22 05:46:15 | 62.904 | -147.991 | 72.3 | CENTRAL ALASKA |
| MAP | 2.9 | 2009/08/22 05:35:59 | 61.290 | -139.550 | 15.5 | SOUTHERN YUKON TERRITORY, CANADA |
| MAP | 3.1 | 2009/08/22 05:14:38 | 53.635 | -163.564 | 41.7 | UNIMAK ISLAND REGION, ALASKA |
| MAP | 4.4 | 2009/08/22 02:49:56 | 72.284 | 1.205 | 10.0 | NORWEGIAN SEA |
| MAP | 4.7 | 2009/08/22 02:05:36 | 57.799 | -32.616 | 10.0 | REYKJANES RIDGE |
| MAP | 4.9 | 2009/08/22 01:26:44 | -21.247 | -174.559 | 35.0 | TONGA |
| MAP | 4.6 | 2009/08/22 00:51:59 | 57.940 | -32.710 | 10.0 | REYKJANES RIDGE |
| MAP | 2.9 | 2009/08/22 00:29:42 | 36.949 | -117.425 | 10.6 | CENTRAL CALIFORNIA |
| MAP | 4.7 | 2009/08/22 00:17:12 | -6.603 | 154.075 | 97.9 | BOUGAINVILLE REGION, PAPUA NEW GUINEA |
Republic of Lakota | Leonard Peltier, a Chippewa activist convicted in 1977 of the murder of two FBI agents, has been denied parole.
Friday, August 21, 2009Leonard Peltier, a Chippewa activist and member of the American Indian Movement who was convicted in 1977 of the murder of two FBI agents, has been denied parole. Peltier is serving two consecutive life sentences in the United States Penitentiary in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania. Peltier had been previously denied parole in 1993.
Peltier, along with Robert Robideau and Darelle “Dino” Butler, was charged with the murders of FBI Special Agents Jack Coler and Ronald Williams after a shootout during unrest on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation. Robideau and Butler were acquitted, the jury finding the shootings of Robideau and Butler having been in self defense, but Peltier had fled the country and was tried separately on his return and found guilty.
Peltier’s attorney, Eric Seitz, stated that the announcement of Peltier’s being denied parole was made without the courtesy of informing the defense, and noted that Peltier, currently 64 years of age, is in poor health with numerous complaints. U.S. Attorney Drew Wrigley, meanwhile, called Peltier “an unrepentant, cold-blooded murderer who executed FBI special agents” who is “exactly where he belongs — federal prison”.
Peltier has consistently denied that he murdered Coler and Williams and maintains that the FBI framed him. Supporters of his release include a wide range of world figures, including Nelson Mandela and the Dalai Lama and Amnesty International, while not classifying Peltier as a political prisoner, asserts that “there is concern about the fairness of the
proceedings leading to his conviction and it is believed that political factors may have influenced the way the case was prosecuted.”
A statement from the FBI released after the announcement that Peltier would stay in jail reads, in part, “His callous criminal acts demonstrated a complete disrespect for human life and for the law. His time served in jail for their 1975 murders has not diminished the brutality of his crimes or the pain and sorrow felt by the families of his victims or the FBI family.”
Leonard Peltier is next eligible for parole in 2024.
–Russell Means Comments—
Everything about Leonard Peltier’s case stinks of complete racism. No one including his lawyers argue this in court. Even Amnesty International is racist in not labeling him as a political prisoner.
Leonard Peltier personifies the endemic hatred the United States and its People exhibit on a daily basis against American Indian people on reservations and in society as a whole. There are two examples; the Bower case a white man, and a Croatian, Zvonko Buzic who was convicted of murdering 2 police agents, who escaped and was an exemplary prisoner identical to Leonard Peltier. He was released last summer 2008 after serving his mandatory sentence.
In all fairness, using the above as an example Leonard Peltier should have been released last February. This is further proof Leonard Peltier is a political prisoner. If all of the sell out tribal government puppets of the United States had any self dignity and self pride they would continually be up in arms over this blatant exhibition of hatred for the American Indian.
Russell Means, Chief Facilitator
Republic of Lakotah Provisional Government
TheGlobeAndMail.com | Dow Jones Industrial Average could get a new name - Sales process conducted by investment bank Goldman Sachs
Dow Jones might sell storied stock index
Owned by Rupert Murdoch's News Corp., the process is still preliminary, Wall Street Journal says.
The Journal, citing unnamed sources, said the process is still preliminary, and could result in a joint venture or no sale at all.
Read more...
Banksters Meeting in Jackson Hole: Proposal -The Federal Reserve itself should get into the credit default swap business to prevent the next crisis.
http://blogs.wsj.com/economics/2009/08/21/should-the-fed-get-into-the-cds-business/
Exotic financial instruments known as credit default swaps played a central role in the crisis that brought the U.S. economy to its knees last year. Ricardo Caballero and Pablo Kurlat, two M.I.T. economists, have an audacious response: The Federal Reserve itself should get into the credit default swap business to prevent the next crisis.
Their proposal will be debated today at the Fed’s annual Jackson Hole, Wyo., symposium by the world’s leading central bankers and economists. Harvard’s Kenneth Rogoff, former chief International Monetary Fund economist, will present a critique.
A credit default swap is an insurance policy for financial storms. A firm selling a swap — a hedge fund, an insurance company, a big bank — promises the buyer that it will be repaid if an underlying debt defaults.
Oxford, Alabama | A new retail development is tearing down the largest stone mound created by Native Americans - built approx 1500 years ago (video)
http://www2.nbc13.com/vtm/news/local/article/video_protestors_stand_their_ground_in_battle_over_indian_mound/88255/
Lisa Crane, Reporting
Lynne Jones, Producer
Jamey Bryan, Photographer/Editor
Published: August 20, 2009
Oxford, Ala. - The battle over a Native American Indian mound in Oxford has garnered national - even international attention.
The city is tearing down the historic site to help build a new retail development. The dirt work at the mound has created a huge backlash from Native American groups.
It’s the largest stone mound ever creat
ed by Native Americans. A recent study found Indian artifacts at the site. Archaeologists estimate it was built 1,500 years ago.
The property was transferred from the city to Oxford’s Commercial Development Authority about six months ago.
As you drive along Interstate 20 through Oxford, you can see the Indian mound. Missing most of its trees, the hill has been cleared down to the red clay since workers started carrying truck loads of soil off the mound to use as fill dirt on a retail construction site at nearby Oxford Exchange.
Sharon Jackson, a Creek Tribal Elder is upset about the construction, “It just absolutely makes me sick, I have a really hard time even coming down here and looking at it.”
Amber Davis is like many other Native Americans in the state who say they have a spiritual connection to the mound. “I feel like I’m at home up there and I don’t want anyone to disturb that.”
But there may be nothing tribal elders or anyone else can do about it.
So far this group has organized protests, submitted a petition and their efforts haven’t stopped there.
Jackson explained, “We’ve written letters, we’ve called we’ve emailed, we’ve faxed. Nothing, nothing seems to phase them.”
Jackson is talking about the mayor and city council. Oxford Mayor Leon Smith refused to talk to us about this issue, but we talked with city council member June Land Reaves. She says she’s against the destruction of the mound. “It’s been a little bit embarrassing to me. I regret that it’s happened. I personally feel like we should treasure and preserve our history our heritage.“
Reaves says she voted against transferring the land to the Commercial Development Authority, mostly because they can award no-bid contracts. Reaves says she’s not comfortable with city tax dollars being used in that way. But she says she was not aware anyone would be disturbing the mound. “I thought it was protected and that kind of thing would not happen, but that’s not the case.“
The Alabama Historical Commission in Montgomery has gotten involved, and looked into a University of Alabama study at the site. While the commission has no enforcement authority, state archaeologists say they’ve made their opinion clear to city officials.
Stacye Hathorn, a state archaeologist, said, “We’ve made our recommendations. We think it’s worthy of being preserved.”
According to the commission, the mound meets two different criteria to be listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Native American artifacts from the Woodland Period some 1,500 years ago were found at the mound.
Hathorn explained, “There was a little bit of pottery found there and deboutage where someone had made a projectile point or arrowhead or knife.“
The Native American elders say they are desperate to protect this piece of land. They say their next step if this work continues is to actually put protestors on the mound to physically prevent the trucks from getting back up there and doing anymore damage.
Navajo Tribal Elder Tony Castaneda said, “It is part of our heritage. It would be no different than excavating a cemetery anywhere else.”
Mark Davis, Cherokee Tribal Elder said, “It’s a matter of history, there’s not much of that around anymore and what is there is unclaimed and everything is being destroyed for what they call progress.“
Hathorn said, “These types of structures are considered sacred structures that, to me, is translated into churches in my culture.“
So who is to blame for the destruction of this piece of Alabama and American history?
June Land Reaves points to one group, “The Commercial Development Authority is in charge of the land. But they ultimately work for the city, and they’re ultimately under the leadership of the mayor.“
The C.D.A. is a public board. Members are appointed by the city council. But tribal leaders blame Oxford’s mayor.
A press release from Mayor Leon Smith dated July 27, 2009, states the city “will maintain a cultural resource representative on the site during the course of development activites.” But calls by NBC13HD to his office to identify that representative were not returned.
Native Americans would like to see all work stopped. And while experts say damage done to the site from an archaeological perspective can never be undone, those with ties to the mound want to repair the mound in spiritual sense.
Mark Davis said, “I know it wouldn’t be the same but to try and re-erect the stones the way they were up there, but my grandchildren won’t be able to know what’s up there, it’s a part of their history.”
Tony Castaneda is adamant, saying, “Stay off that mound, that mound is sacred.”
There is a federal law that would prevent the mound from being destroyed if it were federally owned land. However, since the land is owned by the C.D.A., there doesn’t appear to be anything legally that can be done to stop the destruction.
Link: Life After the Oil Crash (LATOC) Forum Old Knowledge Database: Hundreds of Books *For Free*
Zawya.com | Export-Import Bank of US set to finalize Egyptair purchase of five Boeing
WASHINGTON -- The Export-Import Bank of the United States (Ex-Im Bank)Export-Import Bank of the United States (Ex-Im Bank) will host a signing ceremony on Wednesday at Ex-Im Bank headquarters to finalize financing of Egyptairs purchase of five Boeing 737-800s as part of a major fleet renewal, it was announced on Friday.
Ex-Im Bank Chairman and President Fred P. Hochberg; Mohamed Mohamed Hassan, technical advisor to the chairman of Egytair Holding Co.; and Astar Saleh, executive director of JP Morgan Chase Bank will sign the financing documents involving Ex-Im Banks guarantee of a loan from JP Morgan Chase.
Also in attendance will be Egyptian Ambassador to the United States Sameh Shoukry and John Matthews, managing director-Middle East and Africa, Boeing Capital Corp. Ex-Im Bank is the official export-credit agency of the United States.
Geology.com | Today's Headlines - August 22, 2009
Mercury in Fish, Bed Sediment, and Water Posted: 21 Aug 2009 08:04 PM PDT Mercury is a global pollutant that ultimately makes its way into every aquatic ecosystem through the hydrologic cycle. USGS published a study that examined mercury in top-predator fish, bed sediment, and water from streams across the United States. |
| Posted: 21 Aug 2009 07:26 PM PDT In some countries such as Kenya, where household electricity can be a luxury, many people are buying solar cell phones. Between uses, a solar panel produces electricity that charges the phone’s battery. |
| Galapagos Volcano: Sierra Negra Posted: 21 Aug 2009 04:35 PM PDT The Sierra Negra volcano, located on Isabela Island of the Galapagos, is one of the most active volcanoes in the world. Scientists from the fields of volcanology, geodesy, and seismology teamed up to install instruments which will collect data from the area. |
| No More Plastic Bags in Mexico City Posted: 21 Aug 2009 03:05 PM PDT New ordinances now prohibit stores in Mexico City from using non-biodegradable plastic bags. Some other cities around the world have also adopted restrictions on the bags. |
| Posted: 21 Aug 2009 02:05 PM PDT The Arenysaurus ardevoli, a duck-billed hadrosaur, may have been one of the last surviving dinosaurs before the mass extinction. It is theorized that the creature had large limb muscles which were used for swimming. |
| Posted: 21 Aug 2009 01:35 PM PDT Astronomers have captured images of some storm clouds hovering near the equator of Saturn’s moon Titan. This is unusual, as Titan has very little cloud cover, and it usually accumulates at the poles. |
| Posted: 21 Aug 2009 12:11 PM PDT Hurricane Bill is expected to remain away from the United States coastline as it moves north in the Atlantic. However, surfers are excited about the possibility of getting some good waves to ride. |
Breaking News and Commentary from Citizens For Legitimate Government | 22 August 2009
Change we can deXEive in: U.S. Still Using Security Firm It Broke With 22 Aug 2009 Despite publicly breaking with an American mercenary company in Iraq, the State Department continues to award the company, formerly known as Blackwater, more than $400 million in contracts to fly its diplomats around Iraq, guard them in Afghanistan, and train security forces in antiterrorism tactics at its remote camp in North Carolina. The contracts, one of which runs until 2011, illustrate the extent to which the United States government remains reliant on private contractors like Blackwater, now known as Xe Services.
CIA Accused of Third Torture Prison in Europe --Black Site in Lithuania? 21 Aug 2009 As Americans continue to debate the torture era of the Bush administration, a new report has emerged about the alleged existence of a third secret prison used by the CIA in Europe. According to ABC News, the CIA operated a "black site" prison in Lithuania until the end of 2005. Following reports on "black site" prisons in Poland, ABC News is now reporting that a third jail existed in the Lithuanian capital Vilnius. According to the report, as many as eight prisoners were held there for at least one year.
Gitmo lawyers accused of blowing CIA agents' cover 21 Aug 2009 An investigation is launched into whether military defense attorneys at the Guantanamo prison had compromised the cover of CIA interrogators by showing their pictures to prisoners. The investigation was lunched by the Justice Department almost two weeks ago, when the FBI and the Judge Advocate General's Corps approached three military defense lawyers, The New York Times said on Friday.
Bush's security chief: I faced pressure to raise terror alert before election 21 Aug 2009 Tom Ridge, the former US homeland security secretary, has accused members of George W Bush's administration of putting pressure on him to raise the terror alert level on the eve of the 2004 presidential 'election.' In a new book, Mr Ridge claims that Mr Bush's defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld the attorney general John Ashcroft had attempted to persuade him to raise the national threat level from yellow, which represents an "elevated" threat, to orange or "high". Mr Ridge declined.
In Pakistan, US blitz death toll rises fourfold 21 Aug 2009 The death toll from US missile strikes in a tribal belt of the troubled northwest Pakistan has risen to twelve after more bodies were pulled from rubbles, officials say. Initial reports indicated that three people were killed in the attack near Miran Shan, capital of North Waziristan tribal district.
Pakistan: US missile attack toll mounts to 12, including women and children 21 Aug 2009 The death toll of US drone strike in Danday Darpa Khel reached 12 as women and children are also among the dead. According to sources, a US drone fired missile at a house in Danday Darpa Khel area. Eyewitnesses said 12 bodies have been recovered from the rubble so far whereas several were injured, some of them reported in critical condition. Five houses were also demolished in the attack.
Karzai and Abdullah both claim victory in Afghan 'elections' 21 Aug 2009 Despite calls by the US [the world's busiest nosy parker] for the leading candidates in Afghanistan's election not to claim victory, both Hamid Karzai and Abdullah Abdullah said they won yesterday's vote. Although the first early official results are not expected until Saturday or even Sunday, both campaign teams claimed they were ahead, with President Karzai's staff saying he had taken a majority of votes, making a second round run-off unnecessary. Abdullah's spokesman, Sayyid Agha Hussain Fazel Sancharaki, said the former foreign minister was ahead with 62% of the vote.
Afghanistan Bomb Blasts Kill Two U.K. Soldiers, One U.S. 21 Aug 2009 Three soldiers serving in the NATO-led force in Afghanistan, one American and two Britons, were killed by separate explosions. The U.S. soldier died today from wounds caused by a homemade bomb in eastern Afghanistan, NATO’s International Security Assistance Force said in an e-mailed statement.
Blast leaves 4 army personnel dead in Mosul 22 Aug 2009 At least four Iraqi army personnel have lost their lives as a car bomb explosion ripped through their police patrol in the west of Mosul. Talafar's Police Chief Ali Hadi Ubeid said that a car rigged with explosives blew up on Friday afternoon near an Iraqi army vehicle patrol at Uwaynat village in the Rabiea district, west of the northern city of Mosul.
US: 4 American troops in Iraq charged with cruelty 21 Aug 2009 The U.S. military says four American soldiers in Iraq have been charged with cruelty and maltreatment of soldiers in their platoon. In a statement released Friday, the military says charges were filed Wednesday against the four soldiers serving with Multi-National Division-South.
Israel closes case against offending settlers 21 Aug 2009 Israeli police drop a case against the masked settlers who were captured on a widely broadcast videotape beating Palestinian shepherds in the occupied West Bank. Israel announced the decision on Friday, citing lack of evidence as the reason. "The file was closed because it turned out to be impossible to identify the attackers," AFP quoted a police spokesman as saying.
Mega barf alert! KBR forms new business group 21 Aug 2009 KBR Inc. has formed a new government, defense and infrastructure business group. The group will serve the Houston engineering, construction and services company’s customers in North America, the Middle East, United Kingdom and Australia.
'The guard called a Homeland Security Officer who asked Thomas what he was filming.' Homeland Security cop arrests man for filming FBI building in NYC By Carlos Miller 20 Aug 2009 A 43-year-old man was jailed for six hours – and had his camera and memory card confiscated by a judge - after filming an FBI building from across the street in New York City Monday. Randall Thomas, a professional photographer, said he was standing on the corner of Duane Street and Broadway in downtown Manhattan when he used his video camera to pan up and down on the 42-story building at 26 Federal Plaza. He was immediately accosted by a security guard in a brown uniform who told him he was not allowed to film the building.
Police Taser use 'up nearly a third' 17 Aug 2009 Police use of Taser stun guns has increased by nearly a third, figures revealed today. Officers fired the electro-shock weapons 226 times in the first three months of this year - up from 174 in the last three months of 2008.
Second 9/11 Investigation Petition Moves Toward NYC November Ballot By Barbara G. Ellis for Portland 9/11 Legislative Alliance 20 Aug 2009 A second 9/11 investigation about the destruction of the World Trade Center and attack on the Pentagon--this one independent of the U.S. government--may start late this year if legal debris is cleared away for approval as a referendum issue on November 3 in New York City.
Government's Tamiflu advice is wrong, says WHO 22 Aug 2009 Only seriously ill and vulnerable patients should be prescribed antiviral drugs to help them to get over swine flu, the World Health Organisation said yesterday, in advice which conflicts with the decision taken by the British Government to prescribe Tamiflu to everyone with swine flu. Most people will recover from swine flu within a week, just as they would from seasonal forms of influenza, the WHO said.
Sanofi-Aventis (SNY) gains on UNH swine flu assurances 21 Aug 2009 Sanofi-Aventis shares are rising today after health insurer Unitedhealth Group announced that it would fully cover swine flu vaccinations, even for members that do not have immunizations typically covered. As one of the drugmakers that is producing a swine flu vaccine, SNY stands to benefit.
WHO predicts 'explosion' of swine flu cases 21 Aug 2009 The global spread of swine flu will endanger more lives as it speeds up in coming months and governments must boost preparations for a swift response, the World Health Organization said Friday. There will soon be a period of further global spread of the virus, and most countries may see swine flu cases double every three to four days for several months until peak transmission is reached, said WHO's Western Pacific director, Shin Young-soo.
U.S. Sells Seized Texas Bank to Spanish Firm 22 Aug 2009 The federal government is casting more broadly as it seeks buyers for a growing number of failed banks, including entertaining bids from foreign firms and seeking to attract new investors to the industry by easing restrictions. The results were on display Friday, as regulators seized Guaranty Bank of Texas and immediately sold its branches, deposits and most of its assets to Spain's Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria. The failure of Guaranty, with $13 billion in loans and other assets, was the 10th-largest in U.S. history and the fourth-largest since the financial crisis began last year.
Failed Bank List (fdic.gov) Last Updated 21 Aug 2009 The FDIC is often appointed as receiver for failed banks. This page contains useful information for the customers and vendors of these banks... This list includes banks which have failed since October 1, 2000.
AP source: White House projects lower deficit 21 Aug 2009 The federal budget picture will look slightly better next week. Relatively speaking. The White House plans to announce the federal deficit will still be a record breaker, at $1.58 trillion, for the current 2009 fiscal year. But the amount is about $262 billion less than officials predicted earlier this year.
Existing homes selling fast - record fast --The volume of home re-sales has been on the upswing for four consecutive months. 21 Aug 2009 Sales of existing homes rose in July for the fourth consecutive month, lending support to economists who argue a recovery is near. Sales of previously owned single-family homes were up 7.2% compared with June and 5% from July 2008, The National Association of Realtors (NAR) reported Friday. The monthly gain was the largest on record for existing-home sales, which NAR has tracked since 1999.
Consumer Groups Warn of Dealer Double-Dipping In Cash For Clunkers --Dealers should not be getting paid twice By James Limbach 21 Aug 2009 A coalition of consumer groups is calling on the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) to ensure, as the agency winds down the Cash for Clunkers program, that dealers are not "double-dipping" and getting paid twice -- once by their customers and again by the government.
NEA Attacks Administration's Education Reform Plan 21 Aug 2009 The nation's largest teachers union sharply attacked President Obama's most significant school improvement initiative on Friday evening, saying that it puts too much emphasis on a "narrow agenda" centered on charter schools and echoes the Bush administration's "top-down approach" to reform. The National Education Association's criticism of Obama's $4.35 billion "Race to the Top" initiative came nearly a month after the president unveiled the competitive grant program...
Dimwitted bimbo is world's biggest hypocrite: Bachmann: No Government Control Over My Body! By Eric Kleefeld 21 Aug 2009 Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Insane-MN), who is a staunch champion of the religious right and an opponent of President Obama on all things under the sun, has a new line against the Democrats on health care: Keep the government off my body! Bachmann appeared on Sean Hannity's radio show on Tuesday. Bachmann said, "That's why people need to continue to go to the town halls, continue to melt the phone lines of their liberal members of Congress," said Bachmann, "and let them know, under no certain circumstances will I give the government control over my body and my health care decisions."
Britain's 'toxic ship' returns from Brazil --Waste shipment illegally exported from UK had prompted UN complaint 22 Aug 2009 A massive shipment of toxic waste, alleged to have been illegally exported from the UK to Brazil, arrived back in Britain yesterday after its discovery prompted an angry complaint to the United Nations from the Brazilian authorities. The 1,400 tonnes of rubbish were found in three Brazilian ports in July, in 89 containers believed to have been exported from Britain under the guise of recyclable plastic.
Previous lead stories: C.I.A. Said to Use Blackwater to Put Bombs on Drones --Blackwater, now Xe Services, has grown through government work, even as it attracted criticism and allegations of brutality in Iraq. 21 Aug 2009 From a secret division at its North Carolina headquarters, the company formerly known as Blackwater has assumed a role in Washington’s most important counterterrorism program: the use of remotely piloted drones to kill Al Qaeda’s [alleged] leaders, according to government officials and current and former employees. The division’s operations are carried out at hidden bases in Pakistan and Afghanistan, where the company’s contractors mercenaries assemble and load Hellfire missiles and 500-pound laser-guided bombs on remotely piloted Predator aircraft, work previously performed by employees of the Central Intelligence Agency. They also provide security at the covert bases, the officials said.
In Obusha Land, *attorneys* are investigated -- while torturers get a free pass. Detainees Shown CIA Officers' Photos --Justice Dept. Looking Into Whether Attorneys Broke Law at Guantanamo 21 Aug 2009 The Justice Department recently questioned military defense attorneys at Guantanamo Bay about whether photographs of CIA personnel, including covert officers, were unlawfully provided to detainees prisoners charged with organizing the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, according to sources familiar with the investigation. Investigators are looking into allegations that laws protecting classified information were breached when three lawyers showed their clients the photographs, the sources said. The lawyers were apparently attempting to identify CIA officers and contractors mercenaries involved in the agency's interrogation of suspected al-Qaeda terrorists in facilities outside the United States, where the agency employed harsh techniques torture... At a hearing in July, the audio feed was cut when a lawyer for Ramzi Binalshibh, one of the alleged Sept. 11 co-conspirators, mentioned sleep deprivation, one of the "enhanced interrogation techniques" used at the CIA's black sites.