Ex-KBR Worker Convicted In Bribery, Fuel Conspiracy --KBR has received billions of dollars since 2001 [one of the key motives behind the 9/11 inside job] to be a major provider of food and shelter services to U.S. forces in Iraq and Afghanistan. 18 Jun 2009 A former employee of KBR Inc. has been convicted on federal charges in a bribery and fuel-diversion scheme at Bagram Airfield in Afghanistan. Raschad L. "Sean" Lewis was a former fuel-section employee assigned to Bagram, where KBR, a former Halliburton Co. subsidiary known as Kellogg Brown and Root, had a contract to provide support services to the U.S. Army. Lewis was found guilty Wednesday of conspiracy, false writing, bribery of a public official and false claims.
Japan warns that North Korea may fire missile at U.S. on Independence Day 18 Jun 2009 North Korea may launch a long-range ballistic missile towards Hawaii on American Independence Day, according to Japanese intelligence officials. The missile, believed to be a Taepodong-2 with a range of up to 4,000 miles, would be launched in early July from the Dongchang-ni site on the north-western coast of the country. Intelligence analysts do not believe the device would be capable of hitting Hawaii's main islands, which are 4,500 miles from North Korea.
U.S. Navy tracks North Korean ship 18 Jun 2009 The United States is monitoring a North Korean ship for weapons and has deployed anti-missile assets to the Pacific in case Pyongyang launches more missiles, U.S. officials said on Thursday. The U.S. Navy is monitoring a vessel called Kang Nam at sea under new U.N. sanctions that bar North Korea from exporting weapons, including missile parts and nuclear materials, they said.
US ready for possible NKorean missile launch to Hawaii: Gates --Defense Secretary approved deployment of THAAD missile weaponry, radar to Hawaii --US and South Korean officials have said North Korea might be readying another ballistic missile test after three previous launches 18 Jun 2009 The United States has concerns about a possible North Korean missile launch toward Hawaii and has taken steps to ensure the protection of US territory, Defense Secretary Robert Gates said on Thursday. The defense secretary said he had approved the deployment of THAAD missile defense weaponry to the US state and radar "to provide support" in case of a possible North Korean missile attack.
Senate Approves $106 Billion Supplemental War Spending Bill 18 Jun 2009 The Senate today overwhelmingly passed a bill that would fund military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan through Sept. 30, giving congressional backing to President Obama's plan to increase troops and resources for the war in Afghanistan. The 91-5 vote sends the bill to President Obama for signing.
US Senate Committee approves $1.5 billion in Pakistan aid 17 Jun 2009 The US Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Tuesday unanimously passed the Enhanced Partnership with Pakistan Act, (Kerry-Lugar Bill) authorising $1.5 billion annually to the key anti-terror ally for the next five years. The bipartisan measure will now have to pass the full chamber before the Senate and the House of Representative hold a conference to arrive at a reconciled version of the bill. The US House has already passed the bill. [See: Pentagon: Billions in U.S. terror aid to Pakistan diverted 06 Jun 2009; US Pledges Additional $200 Million in Aid to Pakistan 03 Jun 2009; Billions in U.S. Aid to Pakistan Wasted, Officials Assert 24 Dec 2007; US Senate approves Pakistan aid worth $785m 20 Dec 2007.]
Pentagon delays Afghan air raid report 18 Jun 2009 The release of a Pentagon report into deadly US air strikes in Afghanistan has been delayed amid an internal debate about what details should be revealed. The probe, ordered by the head of the US Central Command General David Petraeus, examined bombing raids on May 4 in the western Farah province in which the Kabul government says 140 civilians were killed.
US lawmakers vote to restrict Guantanamo transfers 17 Jun 2009 The US House of Representatives Armed Services Committee voted Wednesday to restrict the transfer to the United States of prisoners at the Guantanamo Bay facility for suspected terrorists. The panel voted 61-0 for legislation covering the Defense Department's budget for the 2010 fiscal year that starts October 1 -- 550.4 billion dollars -- but no money for moving Guantanamo Bay prisoners to US soil. And it includes language restricting any such efforts, which could be crucial if President Barack Obama is to meet his self-imposed timetable for closing the facility by January 22, 2010.
Senate OKs bill to keep detainee abuse photos private --If Congress doesn't keep pictures private, White House will, senator says 17 Jun 2009 The Senate Wednesday passed by unanimous consent a bill that would prevent the release of controversial photos of alleged U.S. abuse of prisoners and detainees. The bill, sponsored by Sens. Joe Lieberman, R-Israel, and Lindsey Graham, R-South Carolina, had originally been part of the war funding supplemental bill passed Tuesday by the House. But House Democrats stripped that part of the measure from the bill, and the senators proposed it as stand-alone legislation. Earlier Wednesday, Graham said at a Judiciary Committee hearing that he had received assurance from White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel "that the president will not let these photos see the light of day." [CLG is willing to publish them. All-around hypocrite -- Joe LieberBush -- doesn't decide what should or shouldn't see the light of day (while condemning Iran for blocking text messages and Tweets of anti-government demonstrations), in an effort to hide evidence of US abuse/torture of prisoners and other war crimes. --LRP]
Khalid Sheikh claims to have lied under CIA torture --Muhammad claimed whenever he gave them information, whether true or false, he was left alone, but whenever he refused to cooperate, he was tortured. 17 Jun 2009 Khalid Sheikh Muhammed, one of the Al Qaeda’s top operatives and 'self-confessed mastermind' of the 9/11 attacks, claimed to have lied under torture by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), according to government transcripts released on Monday. "I just make up stories," he said in broken English, telling a 2007 military tribunal at Guantanamo Bay of an interrogation session, during which he was asked about the location of Al Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden. "Where is he? [I said] I don’t know. Then he torture me," Muhammed said.
Iran elections: Supreme leader to speak out as silent, angry protests continue --Mousavi urges supporters to repeat protest marches 18 Jun 2009 Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, is expected to combine a call for calm tomorrow with a warning of severe consequences if protests continue over last week's "stolen" presidential election. Khamenei's address, to be made during Friday prayers at Tehran University, will be carefully scrutinised for clues as to how the Islamic regime plans to proceed a week after the disputed poll triggered the worst unrest since the 1979 revolution.
Nosy parker #1: Israel wants 'policy change' in Iran 18 Jun 2009 Israel's controversial Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman says Israel wants a change in Iran's policies no matter who wins the post-election dispute in Iran. Meanwhile he stressed that any regime change in Iran is unlikely despite the demonstrations taking place in the country. Asked by Israel's Channel 10 television about who Israel would prefer to prevail in the Iranian contest, Lieberman replied, "What is preferable for Israel is for there to be a change in Iranian policy."
Proof: Israeli Effort to Destabilize Iran Via Twitter Iran Election By Charting Stocks 15 Jun 2009 Right-wing Israeli interests are engaged in an all out Twitter attack with hopes of delegitimizing the Iranian election and causing political instability within Iran. Anyone using Twitter over the past few days knows that the topic of the Iranian election has been the most popular. Thousands of tweets and retweets alleging that the election was a fraud, calling for protests in Iran, and even urging followers hack various Iranian news websites (which they did successfully).
Nosy parker #2: US values 'free and fair' election in Iran [Right, anywhere but in the US.] 18 Jun 2009 The US denies that it has been trying to meddle in Iran's internal affairs, reiterating that whatever the outcome of the election, it will try to diplomatically engage the country. US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton responded to what Tehran had described as 'interfering remarks', saying that the US has no plans to meddle in Iran's domestic affairs. [LOL! See: US funds terror groups to sow chaos in Iran 25 Feb 2007 and US seeking 'international front' against Iran 17 Jun 2009.]
Nosy parker #3: 'Canada will not stay out of Iran politics' 19 Jun 2009 Canadian Foreign Minister Lawrence Cannon has declared that his country will continue to put pressure on Iran over its post-election tension. Earlier, Canada was advised through its chargé d'affaires in Tehran to "stay out of our politics," after having raised concerns over post-election tumult in Iran, Cannon told CBC.
Nosy parker #4: Over $1.6 bn of Iranian assets frozen in Britain 18 Jun 2009 Nearly one billion pounds ($1.64 billion) of Iranian assets are frozen in Britain under international sanctions imposed against the country over its nuclear program. "The total assets frozen in the UK under the EU (European Union) and UN sanctions against Iran are approximately 976,110,000 pounds," Ian Pearson, Britain's Economic Secretary to the Treasury said in a written statement to parliament on Thursday. [Outrageous! Why aren't US assets frozen over *its* nuclear program?]
Iran: A snub for the West By Anti-Imperialist Camp 14 Jun 2009 Ahmadinejad wasn’t the candidate of the establishment, but of the lower classes 1. From an anti-imperialist point of view, the overwhelming victory of Ahmadinejad in the elections is positive, because the incumbent and president-elect stands for confrontation with the U.S.-led new order for the "Near East". 2. Even the Western media had to admit that it is the poor who strongly support the president... 7. Our joy over the success of Ahmadinejad does not mean that we overlook the deep-seated problems of Iran and its regime.
Carter wants Hamas off US terror list 17 Jun 2009 Former US President Jimmy Carter has advised the Obama administration against keeping the Hamas resistance movement on its list of terror organizations. Carter, who was in the Gaza Strip to meet rulers of the area, says he will meet with officials in the Obama administration in two days to discuss his latest trip to the Middle East.
Lieberman to Clinton: Israel won't freeze settlements 18 Jun 2009 Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman told U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Wednesday that Israel could not accept the Obama administration's demand to "completely" halt activity in West Bank settlements. "We have no intention to change the demographic balance in Judea and Samaria," Lieberman said during his talks with the secretary of state in Washington.
9,200 potentially deadly Fort Detrick pathogens possibly missing --FBI investigators concluded that Fort Detrick probably was the source of the anthrax spores used in the deadly mailings of 2001. --Ebola virus, anthrax bacteria, botulinum toxin, hemorrhagic fever and others 'not accounted for' 18 Jun 2009 An inventory of potentially deadly pathogens at Fort Detrick's infectious disease laboratory found more than 9,000 vials that had not been accounted for, Army officials said yesterday, raising concerns that officials wouldn't know whether dangerous toxins were missing. After four months of searching about 335 freezers and refrigerators at the U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases in Frederick, investigators found 9,220 samples that hadn't been included in a database of about 66,000 items listed as of February, said Col. Mark Kortepeter, the institute's deputy commander.
9,200 uncounted vials found at Army biodefense lab 18 Jun 2009 An inventory of deadly germs and toxins at an Army biodefense lab in Frederick found more than 9,200 vials of material that was unaccounted for in laboratory records, Fort Detrick officials said Wednesday. The 13 percent overage mainly reflects stocks left behind in freezers by researchers who retired or left Fort Detrick since the biological warfare 'defense' program was established there in 1943, said Col. Mark Kortepeter, deputy commander of the U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases.
'Something different' happening with new flu - CDC 18 Jun 2009 The new strain of H1N1 flu is causing "something different" to happen in the United States this year -- perhaps an extended year-round flu season that disproportionately hits young people, health officials said on Thursday. The new strain of swine flu is officially a pandemic now, according to the World Health Organization. So far the virus has killed at least 167 people and been confirmed in nearly 40,000 globally. The United States has been hardest hit, with upward of 100,000 likely cases and probably far more, with 44 deaths and 1,600 hospitalized. "The fact that we are seeing ongoing transmission now indicates that we are seeing something different," the CDC's Dr. Daniel Jernigan told a news briefing.
4th H1N1 Death Reported In Connecticut --Death Occurred At Hartford Hospital 18 Jun 2009 A fourth death related to the H1N1 flu has been reported in Connecticut. Department of Public Health officials said the victim was a resident of Hartford County and over the age of 40. They said the person had underlying health conditions.
Flu virus found in wild birds in Tuva 18 Jun 2009 A bird flu virus has been found in migrant waterfowl in Tuva. Fifty-eight dead birds were found on the coast of the lake of Ubsa- Nur in the Ovyur district in the Republic of Tuva, the Russian agricultural watchdog Rosselkhoznadzor's branch for the Novosibirsk region said in a press statement.
Justices Rule Inmates Don't Have Right to DNA Tests --Ruling is 5-to-4 decision 19 Jun 2009 Convicts do not have a right under the Constitution to obtain DNA testing to try to prove their innocence after being found guilty, the Supreme Court ruled on Thursday. Since 1992, 238 people in the United States, some who were sitting on death row, have been exonerated of crimes through DNA testing.
Tarnished Republican drops leadership post 17 Jun 2009 In a new setback for the struggling Republican party, U.S. Senator John Ensign resigned from a party leadership post on Wednesday after admitting an affair with a female staffer. "He offered, and I accepted, his resignation as chairman of the (Senate Republican) Policy Committee," said Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell.
Worse than subprime? Other mortgages imploding slowly 18 Jun 2009 Call it son of subprime. Experts warn that a new wave of mortgage foreclosures may be coming soon and could rival the default rates for subprime mortgages and slow efforts to find bottom in a prolonged national housing slump. The mortgages in question are $230 billion of option adjustable-rate mortgages, creative lending products that flourished at the height of the housing boom.
Blackout: the great MPs' expenses cover-up 18 Jun 2009 MPs face universal condemnation over "disgraceful" censorship of their expenses claims. Party leaders struggled to explain the decision to publish heavily blacked-out versions of MPs' claims as public anger mounted. Despite a pledge from Gordon Brown that "transparency" was the only way to restore public faith in democracy, the files released by the Commons authorities withheld details that would have exposed the worst abuses of the expenses system.
Obama's bank regulation plan: A free pass for Wall Street By Barry Grey 18 June 2009 The plan outlined by Obama calls for enhanced powers for the Federal Reserve to oversee big financial firms, both bank and non-bank companies; higher capital reserve and liquidity requirements; minimal government oversight of some hedge funds; a privately-run clearinghouse for some forms of derivative trading; and a requirement that lenders retain a small stake in loans they sell to the banks to be turned into securities. All of these requirements can be easily circumvented by the banks. Moreover, the political forces responsible for enforcing them are bound hand and foot to Wall Street.
Previous lead stories: UK: Hard to eradicate risk some allies use torture --Miliband: Disclosing documents could jeopardize Britain's intelligence relationship with US 16 Jun 2009 Britain has abandoned some attempts to gather intelligence from prisoners held overseas for fear they may be abused, the foreign secretary said Tuesday. But David Miliband also said he could not guarantee that Britain's allies would refrain from abusing detainees. Former Guantanamo prisoner Binyam Mohamed accused Britain of colluding with the United States in his alleged torture in Pakistan and Morocco. London police are deciding whether there is evidence that British intelligence officials should face criminal charges over allegations that they were complicit in the alleged torture of Mohammed. Separately, British courts are considering several lawsuits filed by men who claim the U.K. was aware of their mistreatment overseas.
CIA pushing Obama to uphold torture secrecy 17 Jun 2009 The US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) is urging President Barack Obama to forestall efforts aimed at releasing parts of confidential torture memos seen as 'damaging.' According to US media, CIA is endeavoring to cover up large sections of a 2004 internal report that depicts officers administering "degrading" interrogation techniques to detainees held on suspicions of 'terror' activities.
N.S.A.'s Pinwale Examines Large Volumes of US E-mail Messages Without Court Warrants --E-Mail Surveillance Renews Concerns in Congress 17 Jun 2009 The National Security Agency is facing renewed scrutiny over the extent of its domestic surveillance program, with critics in Congress saying its recent intercepts of the private telephone calls and e-mail messages of Americans are broader than previously acknowledged, current and former officials said. A former N.S.A. analyst who, in a series of interviews, described being trained in 2005 for a program [Pinwale] in which the agency routinely examined large volumes of Americans’ e-mail messages without court warrants. Two intelligence officials confirmed that the program was still in operation.
