Obama Nominee Linked to Spying on Muslims, CIA Torture (Democracy Now!) 05 Jun 2009 The Obama administration’s pick for a top Homeland Security position has ties to the FBI spying on Muslim Americans, as well as reported links to CIA torture. Philip Mudd has been nominated to become secretary of intelligence and analysis at Homeland Security. Under the Bush administration, Mudd helped spearhead an FBI program that sifted through customer data collected by San Francisco-area grocery stores in 2005 and 2006, hoping that sales records of Middle Eastern food would lead to Iranian secret agents. A congressional aide, meanwhile, told the Associated Press Mudd had direct knowledge of the torture of foreign prisoners while serving as deputy director of the CIA’s Office of Terrorism Analysis.
Bagram: Is it Obama's new Guantanamo? Judge's ruling is forcing president to confront issue of Afghan prison 03 Jun 2009 Should prisoners the United States has shipped to the Bagram air base in Afghanistan have the same constitutional right to challenge their detention in court that prisoners at the Guantanamo prison in Cuba have been given? President Barack Obama has promised to close the Guantanamo prison by Jan. 22 of next year, but the Bagram prison continues to house alleged terrorists captured by the United States in Pakistan and other nations.
Barack Obama visits Nazi concentration camp 05 Jun 2009 Barack Obama visited a former Nazi concentration camp which his great-uncle helped to liberate, laid a white rose at a memorial to its victims, and described the site where 56,000 people died as the "ultimate rebuke" to Holocaust deniers. After seeing the crematoriums, guard towers and barbed-wire fences, and a clock set at 3:15 – when the camp was liberated on 11 April 1945 – Obama said: "These sites have not lost their horror. More than half a century later, our grief and our outrage have not diminished." [Why doesn't Obama also visit Bagram air base, a different Nazi camp? See: 'One of them made cuts in my penis. I was in agony' --Benyam Mohammed travelled from London to Afghanistan in July 2001, but after September 11 he fled to Pakistan. He was arrested at Karachi airport on April 10 2002, and describes being flown by a US government plane to a prison in Morocco. 02 Aug 2005 (Diary entry) They took the scalpel to my right chest. It was only a small cut... One of them took my penis in his hand and began to make cuts. He did it once, and they stood still for maybe a minute, watching my reaction. I was in agony. They must have done this 20 to 30 times, in maybe two hours. There was blood all over. "I told you I was going to teach you who's the man," [one] eventually said.]
Obama's support for the new Graham-Lieberman secrecy law By Glenn Greenwald 01 Jun 2009 ...[O]bviously anticipating that the Government is likely to lose in court again -- Obama wants Congress to change FOIA by retroactively narrowing its disclosure requirements, prevent a legal ruling by the courts, and vest himself with brand new secrecy powers under the law which, just as a factual matter, not even George Bush sought for himself. The White House is actively supporting a new bill jointly sponsored by Sens. Lindsey Graham and Joe Lieberman -- called The Detainee Photographic Records Protection Act of 2009 -- that literally has no purpose other than to allow the government to suppress any "photograph taken between September 11, 2001 and January 22, 2009 relating to the treatment of individuals engaged, captured, or detained after September 11, 2001, by the Armed Forces of the United States in operations outside of the United States." As long as the Defense Secretary certifies -- with no review possible -- that disclosure would "endanger" American citizens or our troops, then the photographs can be suppressed even if FOIA requires disclosure... The Senate passed the bill as an amendment last week.
US 'privatizing' war in Iraq, Afghanistan? 05 Jun 2009 The number of US contractors working in Iraq and Afghanistan is on the rise despite Washington claims that it would withdraw forces from both countries within years. The Pentagon has announced that the number of US contractors affiliated with the defense department is growing dramatically, a Russia Today report revealed on Friday. US outsource personnel working for the US mercenaries like Blackwater and Triple Canopy has reached 250,000, the report said. Private security contractors form 25 percent of all the US forces in Iraq, while the equivalent number for Afghanistan is even higher with contractors constituting 30 percent of the Washington troops in the war-torn country.
4-Star Stocks Poised to Pop: KBR --Market-trouncing returns could be written in these four stars. 05 Jun 2009 Based on the aggregated intelligence of the 135,000-plus investors participating in Motley Fool CAPS, the Fool's free investing community, engineering and construction company [terrorists] KBR has earned a respected four-star ranking. [See: 6 Texans sue KBR, Halliburton over burn pits --Plaintiffs say the burning waste released toxins that harmed at least 10,000 people. 04 Jun 2009. See: U.S. Army paid bonuses to KBR despite deaths --Army paid bonuses to private contractor despite concerns --Congressional panel says KBR linked to electrocutions 20 May 2009.]
US sells 'nuke parts' to civilians 05 Jun 2009 Loopholes in the US regulations allow people to easily obtain and send overseas sensitive military hardware that could be used in nuclear devices, a government report says. A US auditory report conducted by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) watchdog agency revealed that military items -- like parts for making nuclear devices and guided missiles that could carry nuclear warheads, as well as night-vision devices, body armor and other hardware for ground combat -- could be easily purchased in the US and sent to other countries.
NJ reservist sentenced in Iraq contract scheme 03 Jun 2009 An Army Reserve officer from New Jersey has been sentenced to 30 months in prison for her role in a bid-rigging scam that steered millions of dollars for Iraq reconstruction projects to a contractor in exchange for cash, luxury cars and jewelry. The U.S. Department of Justice said Thursday that Debra Harrison also was ordered to serve two years of supervised release and to pay more than $366,000 in restitution.
Air Guard recruiter charged with selling drugs 02 Jun 2009 The Rhode Island Air National Guard suspended recruiting for five days Tuesday after a recruiter was arrested and accused of dealing cocaine and prescription drugs from his military office. Tech. Sgt. Richard Flamand, did not enter a plea to charges of possession of cocaine and prescription drugs with the intent to deliver, possession of marijuana and other crimes during an arraignment in Kent County District Court.
France to send Tiger gunships to Afghanistan 06 Jun 2009 France will send Tiger gunships to Afghanistan to replace its three aging attack helicopters, announced French Defense Minister Herve Morin Friday. Armed with rockets, missiles and a 30mm cannon, those attack choppers would be able to provide close air support to ground forces battling the Talian. According to Herve Morin, the troops would arrive in Afghanistan in the summer.
U.S. troop buildup in Afghanistan is in full force 05 Jun 2009 (Kandahar) Most of the 17,000 combat troops ordered here by President Obama will be in place by mid-July -- nearly all of them fanning out across southern Afghanistan. An additional 4,000 American troops, who will be responsible for 'training' Afghan soldiers and police officers, are expected to arrive by August. That will push U.S. troop strength above 60,000, a reflection of the shifting emphasis from Iraq to Afghanistan, where Western strategists acknowledge that more than seven years of fighting has essentially yielded a stalemate.
Three children among 30 killed in Afghanistan 05 Jun 2009 Three Afghan children were killed Friday by a mortar left over from a battle between police and Taliban, as bomb attacks and clashes left 28 more people dead, officials said. There has been a steady increase in attacks and clashes across Afghanistan in recent weeks as US military reinforcements move into the south and Afghan forces target insurgent hotspots civilians ahead of August 20 presidential 'elections.'
Army orders Swat evacuation, civilians flee 05 Jun 2009 The civilians in Pakistan's northwestern troubled valley of Swat streamed out of their homes following evacuation orders from Islamabad's troops. Military helicopters dropped leaflets overnight and advised residents to leave several villages within five kilometers of Swat's main town of Mingora.
US military reports 2 US troop deaths in Iraq 05 Jun 2009 The U.S. military on Friday reported two American troop deaths in Iraq, including a soldier who was killed in a grenade attack north of Baghdad. The soldier was the second American fatality from grenade attacks Thursday in Iraq.
Minister says cannot rule out terrorism in Air France plane crash 06 Jun 2009 French Defence Minister Herve Morin said Friday that the possibility of a terrorist attack on Air France Flight 447 cannot be ruled out. "We have no right to exclude terrorism," he told journalists, but adding that he had not heard of any threats to the flight or of any group or individual claiming responsibility for bringing down the aircraft. [Right, it's a group that does things quietly.]
Over 60% French lose confidence in finding true reason for air crash 05 Jun 2009 Over 60 percent French have lost confidence in finding the true cause for Monday's disappearance of Air France Flight AF 447, a latest poll published on Thursday showed. Among the 18,604 persons inquired by French daily Le Figaro, 61 percent answered "no" to the question that "Do you think it is possible to recover what caused the crash."
French, Brazilians still on hunt for downed Airbus 05 Jun 2009 French and Brazilian search teams have found no debris confirmed to have come from the Airbus A330 that vanished over the Atlantic, officials said Friday. Confusion broke out after Brazilian officials said Thursday that a helicopter had plucked from the sea an airplane cargo pallet from the Air France flight _ only to retract the claim hours later.
Debris not from missing French jetliner 05 Jun 2009 Brazilian search teams looking for debris from a lost Air France jet have said material recovered from the sea is not from the crashed aircraft. The news from rescuers has contradicted earlier reports which suggested material, including an airline seat and a large piece of metal had been recovered.
Feds Search for Man Allegedly on 'Mission to Kill the President' --A Warrant Has Been Issued for the Arrest of Daniel James Murray 05 Jun 2009 Federal authorities in Utah search for a man who allegedly made threats against President Obama. Daniel James Murray has been charged with making threats against Obama, after telling a bank teller he was part of a "mission" to kill the president. The Secret Service says Murray has at least eight registered firearms. His whereabouts are unknown.
"As a teller handed Murray his money, he allegedly said, 'We are on a mission to kill the president of the United States.' " Bank customer says he's 'on a mission to kill the president'; fed charges filed 04 Jun 2009 Federal prosecutors on Thursday charged a man with making threats against President Barack Obama for allegedly telling employees at a St. George bank that he is "on a mission" to kill the president. The Secret Service doesn't know where Daniel James Murray is [?!?]; authorities say he has at least eight registered firearms. Court documents say he withdrew the $85,000 in his account last week at a Zion's First National Bank branch. A Secret Service affidavit says Murray opened the saving account at Zion's on May 19 with an $85,000 check from a credit union.
"I just don't know whose side he's on," Inhofe said of the president. U.S. Sen. Inhofe calls Obama speech "un-American" 04 Jun 2009 Sen. Jim Inhofe said today that President Barack Obama's speech in Cairo was "un-American" because he referred to the war in Iraq as "a war of choice" and didn't criticize Iran for developing a nuclear program. Inhofe, R-Tulsa, also criticized the president for suggesting that torture was conducted at the military prison in Guantanamo, saying, "There has never been a documented case of torture at Guantanamo."
GOP leader doesn't rule out Sotomayor filibuster 05 Jun 2009 The Senate's top Republican said Friday it's "way too early to know" whether his party will try to block a vote on Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor's confirmation, leaving open a possibility that a so-far mild debate on her confirmation could turn bitter. Sen. Mitch McConnell appeared to break with others in his party who have said they don't foresee using Senate rules to try to stop Sotomayor.
Justice Department admits new prosecution mistakes, seeks release of 2 Alaska officials 04 Jun 2009 Attorney General Eric Holder asked a court Thursday to release two imprisoned former Alaska state lawmakers after the Justice Department found prosecutors [purposefully] improperly handled evidence in their trials on corruption charges. The move is the second embarrassing retreat for Justice Department prosecutors since the conviction of former Alaska Sen. Ted Stevens was tossed out of court in April.
Ruling allowing Taser use to get DNA may be nation's first 04 Jun 2009 It is legally permissible for police to zap a suspect with a Taser to obtain a DNA sample, as long as it’s not done "maliciously, or to an excessive extent, or with resulting injury," a county judge has ruled in the first case of its kind in New York State, and possibly the nation. Niagara County Judge Sara Sheldon Sperrazza decided that the DNA sample obtained Sept. 29 from Ryan S. Smith of Niagara Falls is legally valid and can be used at his trial.
WHO keeps level 5 flu alert, urges no travel limits 05 Jun 2009 The World Health Organisation kept its pandemic flu alert at phase 5 on a six-level scale on Friday and repeated a call for countries not to restrict travel because of the H1N1 influenza outbreak. Phase 6 means a full pandemic is in progress and phase 5, the current level, means one is imminent.
According to a report in the May 30 edition of the French newspaper, Le Journal du Dimanche, the Sarkozy government has authorized spending of an estimated €1 billion to buy vaccines allegedly to combat or protect against H1N1 Swine Flu virus. Sarkozy's Secret Plan for Mandatory Swine Flu Vaccination 03 Jun 2009 By F. William Engdahl The French Government is developing secret plans to impose mandatory vaccination of the entire French population, allegedly against possible Swine Flu disease according to reports leaked in a French newspaper. The plan is without precedent and even defies recommended public health advice. Pharmaceutical giants benefit from the move, as the Swine Flu increases the trend towards the militarization of public health and use of needless population panic to advance the agenda.
CDC Vaccine Advisor Pockets $29 Million Promoting Vaccines 04 Jun 2009 Dr. Paul Offit of the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) received at least $29 million from his share of royalties for Merck's Rotateq vaccine after using his position with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to ensure that childhood vaccination with the vaccine became compulsory. According to a report on the Web site "Age of Autism," a review of CHOP's royalties schedules reveals that Offit likely received between $29 million and $55 million for his work developing the Rotateq vaccine for rotavirus, which causes diarrhea in infants.
Gee, looky here! Merck, Glaxo Diarrhea Vaccine Endorsed for Global Use 05 Jun 2009 Vaccines against rotavirus, the main cause of severe diarrhea in preschoolers, were recommended for global use by the World Health Organization, which may boost sales for producers Merck & Co. and GlaxoSmithKline Plc. Rotateq, made by Whitehouse Station, New Jersey-based Merck and Rotarix, sold by London-based Glaxo, should be included in all national immunization programs to provide protection against the virus, the Geneva-based WHO said in a statement today.
2nd case of bovine TB in quarantined Neb. herd 05 Jun 2009 Another animal with bovine tuberculosis has been found in a quarantined north-central Nebraska cattle herd. State agriculture director Greg Ibach said Friday that authorities have given TB tests to the entire herd at the Rock County operation, but so far only one additional animal was diagnosed with the disease.
Jobless rate hits 9.4 percent in May; layoffs slow 05 Jun 2009 With companies in no mood to hire, the unemployment rate jumped to 9.4 percent in May, the highest in more than 25 years. But the pace of layoffs eased, with employers cutting 345,000 jobs, the fewest since September. The much smaller-than-expected reduction in payroll jobs, reported by the Labor Department on Friday, adds to evidence that the recession is loosening its hold on the country.
Silverton to be closed by FDIC rather than sold 05 Jun 2009 The FDIC found buyers for Atlanta's failed bankers' bank, Silverton, but none of Silverton's suitors wanted to pay enough for it. After analyzing the offers, the FDIC decided it would be less costly to shut the bank down than to accept the bids received. Bidders included the Carlyle Group with a consortium of private equity investors.
S. Carolina court orders governor to take US funds 04 Jun 2009 South Carolina's top court on Thursday ordered Governor Mark Sanford, a fierce critic of President Obama's economic stimulus program, to take $700 million in federal stimulus money. The state Supreme Court's ruling likely ends a months-old dispute between the Republican governor and the state legislature, which had already incorporated the federal money into its education spending plans.
Gov. Vetoes Bill Abolishing Death Penalty 05 Jun 2009 Connecticut Gov. M. Jodi Rell (R) has vetoed a bill passed by the House and Senate that would have abolished the death penalty, according to Chris Cooper, the governor's spokesman. House Democrats and the National NAACP President plan to protest the move in an afternoon news conference.
NY parking tickets pile up on van with dead driver 05 Jun 2009 A man's decomposing body inside a minivan covered in parking tickets went undiscovered for weeks because the vehicle's windows were apparently tinted and ticketing officers don't normally search cars, police said Friday. The body was found in the backseat Wednesday when a city marshal tried to tow the vehicle from beneath an overpass on the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway, police said.
