'The Justice Department had the lawyers' copies destroyed and now wants to prevent a judge from even looking at the material.' Documents Back Saudi Link to Extremists 24 Jun 2009 Documents gathered by lawyers for the families of Sept. 11 victims provide new evidence of extensive financial support for Al Qaeda and other extremist groups by members of the Saudi royal family, but the material may never find its way into court because of legal and diplomatic obstacles. The Justice Department is siding with the Saudis in court last month in seeking to kill further legal action. Adding to the intrigue, classified American intelligence documents related to Saudi finances were leaked anonymously to lawyers for the families.
D.C. Crash Kills General Who Scrambled Jets on 9/11 24 Jun 2009 David F. Wherley Jr., the head of the Washington National Guard who scrambled jets over the city during the 9/11 terrorist attacks, was among those killed in the worst commuter train crash in the city’s history, officials said. Wherley’s wife, Ann, was also among the nine people killed when a train plowed into the rear of a stopped train during rush hour on June 22, Quintin Peterson, a spokesman for the Metropolitan Police Department, said in a telephone interview. Wherley was commander of the 113th Fighter Wing at Andrews Air Force base in Maryland during the September 2001 terrorist attacks and sent up aircraft with orders to protect the White House and the Capitol, according to the 9/11 Commission report.
AVI BioPharma gets Defense Dept. swine flu pact 22 Jun 2009 AVI BioPharma Inc. says it will receive up to $5.1 million under a contract with the U.S. government to develop swine flu drugs. AVI disclosed May 5 that it entered into the contract with the U.S. Defense Threat Reduction Agency, a section of the Department of Defense that focuses on chemical, biological, nuclear and other weapons.
First Nations call for swine flu state of emergency 24 Jun 2009 First Nations chiefs in Manitoba called on the provincial and federal governments to declare a state of emergency on Wednesday because of the spread of swine flu on reserves and the lag time in responding to it.
Iraq confirms first cases of H1N1 flu virus 24 Jun 2009 Iraq's health minister confirmed on Wednesday the country's first cases of the H1N1 flu virus, saying seven members of the women's national basketball team were being treated in hospital. The squad had been playing in a championships in Chicago and returned to Iraq on June 20. "Today, six cases of this epidemic flu, H1N1, have been diagnosed in our ministry's central lab," Health Minister Saleh Al-Hasnawi told a news conference.
Mission accomplished: Iraqi officials plan welcome-back party for Big Oil --Thirty-five companies qualified to bid, including Exxon Mobil Corp., Royal Dutch Shell PLC, Italy's Eni SpA, Russia's Lukoil and China Petroleum & Chemical Corp., or Sinopec 25 Jun 2009 Next week, Iraqi officials plan a welcome-back party for Big Oil. The government intends to auction off oil contracts to foreign companies for the first time since Iraq nationalized its oil industry more than three decades ago. If all goes according to plan in the first round, foreign oil companies will move in to help Iraq revive production at six developed fields that have suffered from years of war and neglect. Some 120 companies expressed interest in bidding for the contracts at the June 29 and 30 auction, according to the oil ministry.
Army chief admits Britain 'failed' in Iraq 24 Jun 2009 The outgoing chief of the British army says the UK has "failed" to stabilize Iraq after the 2003 invasion due to the focus shifted to Afghanistan. General Sir Richard Dannatt said Tuesday that Britain allowed southern Iraq to deteriorate by switching its resources to Afghanistan in an illogical and hasty act.
Baghdad bomb kills at least 72 --At least 72 people have been killed by a bomb blast in a market in the Iraqi capital Baghdad. 24 Jun 2009 The blast shook the predominantly Shia district of Sadr City, an area that is home to supporters of the firebrand cleric Moqtada al-Sadr. An official at the Iraqi interior ministry said that more than 100 people were injured in the attack in a crowded market in the district.
Army bars Stars and Stripes reporter from covering 1st Cav unit in Mosul 24 Jun 2009 Asserting that Stars and Stripes "refused to highlight" good news in Iraq that the U.S. military wanted to emphasize, Army officials have barred a Stripes reporter from embedding with a unit of the 1st Cavalry Division that is attempting to secure the violent city of Mosul. Officials said Stripes reporter Heath Druzin, who covered operations of the division’s 3rd Heavy Brigade Combat Team in February and March, would not be permitted to rejoin the unit for another reporting tour because, among other things, he wrote in a March 8 story that many Iraqi residents of Mosul would like the American soldiers to leave and hand over security tasks to Iraqi forces.
Inmates at American prison in Afghanistan were 'beaten and threatened with dogs and guns' 24 Jun 2009 Former inmates at an American prison in Afghanistan have accused their captors of subjecting them to torture and death threats. In a series of BBC interviews, prisoners who were held at the Bagram Airbase, near Kabul, said they were beaten, deprived of sleep and hung from the ceiling or threatened with dogs. Four claimed officials had put a gun to their head and threatened to kill them.
Ex-detainees allege Bagram abuse 24 Jun 2009 Allegations of abuse and neglect at a US detention facility in Afghanistan have been uncovered by the BBC. Former prisoners have alleged they were beaten, deprived of sleep and threatened with dogs at the Bagram military base. The BBC interviewed 27 former inmates of Bagram around the country over a period of two months.
Afghan attack kills German soldiers 23 Jun 2009 Three German soldiers have been killed after coming under attack in northern Afghanistan, Germany's defence ministry has said. The soldiers were conducting a joint operation with Afghan forces near the northern city of Kunduz on Tuesday when unidentified assailants opened fire on their patrol, ministry officials said.
Rockets hit US base in Afghanistan, 2 troops dead 22 Jun 2009 A rocket attack on the main U.S. base in Afghanistan early Sunday killed two U.S. troops and wounded six other Americans, including two civilians, officials said. Bagram Air Base, which lies 25 miles (40 kilometers) northeast of Kabul, is surrounded by high mountains and long stretches of desert from which militants could fire rockets.
White House Threatens Defense Spending Bill Veto 24 Jun 2009 Preparing for a possible showdown with Congress, the White House has threatened to veto a $680 billion military spending bill if it contains money for jet fighters the Pentagon doesn't want. In a statement of administration policy, President Barack Obama's Office of Management and Budget said the $369 million a House committee added to the bill for 12 additional F-22 fighters runs counter to the "collective judgment" of the military's top leaders.
UK rules out 'arms embargo' on Israel 24 Jun 2009 The UK has dismissed a petition asking the key EU power to put an arms embargo on Israel and press other countries to stop supplying arms to Tel Aviv, over its conduct in the Gaza War. The petition on the prime minister's office was signed by over 38,000 people -- far more than the quorum 500 signatures it needed to receive a response from the office.
DOJ: AIPAC case witness was asked to fake suicide 22 Jun 2009 Two people asked a Pentagon official cooperating with prosecutors in an investigation into the American Israel Public Affairs Committee to fake his own death to avoid testifying against two pro-Israel lobbyists charged in the case, according to the Justice Department. Pentagon analyst Lawrence Franklin pled guilty in October 2005 to participating in a conspiracy with AIPAC officials Steven Rosen and Keith Weissman to obtain and distribute classified information. The Justice Department dropped the case against Rosen and Weissman last month as a trial approached. "Just prior to the entry of his guilty plea, Franklin was approached by two individuals who made a pitch to Franklin about faking his death by suicide and disappearing [think Ken Lay], thus thwarting any cooperation in the case against Rosen and Weissman," prosecutors wrote in a brief filed in connection with a motion to reduce the 12-year prison term Franklin was originally sentenced to.
North Korea vows to deal crushing response to US 25 Jun 2009 North Korea has threatened to deal a crushing response to the United States as the country is marking the 59th anniversary of the three-year Korean War. "If the US imperialists start another war, the army and people of Korea will ... wipe out the aggressors on the globe once and for all," a dispatch from the official Korean Central News Agency said Wednesday.
Iran's opposition vows to go on challenging poll 25 Jun 2009 Iran's reformist opposition leaders vowed to press on with legal challenges to an election they say was rigged, even as the hardline leadership appeared on Thursday to have largely crushed mass street protests.
Iran minister says CIA funding rioters: report 24 Jun 2009 Iran's interior minister on Wednesday accused U.S. spy agency the CIA of helping to fund rioters, stepping up accusations of Western involvement in street unrest following the country's disputed election. "Britain, America and the Zionist regime (Israel) were behind the recent unrest in Tehran," Interior Minister Sadeq Mahsouli was quoted as saying by the semi-official Fars News Agency.
Obama Won't Apologize For CIA Role In Chile 23 Jun 2009 President Obama today met with Chilean President Michelle Bachelet, who told Mr. Obama he is "an idol" in her country. In a bit of evidence supporting that assertion, members of the Chilean press asked the president for a group photo, a request the president granted... Asked by a reporter if he wanted to apologize for CIA involvement in Chilean elections, Mr. Obama did not do so.
S.C. Governor Admits Own Stimulus In Buenos Aires Gov. Sanford Admits Affair and Explains Disappearance 24 Jun 2009 Mark Sanford, the governor of South Carolina, apologized in a rambling news conference on Wednesday for having an extra-marital affair with a woman in Argentina, ending a mystery over his week-long disappearance that had infuriated lawmakers and seemed to put his rising political career in jeopardy. Governor Sanford admitted he had been in Buenos Aires, Argentina, since Thursday, not hiking on the Appalachian Trail as he told his staff. Mr. Sanford announced on Wednesday that he was resigning his position as chairman of the Republican Governors Association. [Flashback: Mark Sanford Sues State Assembly to Block Stimulus Funds 21 May 2009.]
Sanford, lover carried on a romantic e-mail exchange 24 Jun 2009 South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford carried on a lively e-mail exchange with his lover in Buenos Aires, praising her "gentle kisses," her tan lines and the "curve of your hips," according to copies of the e-mails given to McClatchy's The State newspaper. The newspaper posted excerpts on its Web site, after removing the woman's full name and other personal details, including her street address, e-mail address and children's names.
SC first lady says she asked gov to leave home 24 Jun 2009 South Carolina's first lady says she asked Gov. Mark Sanford (R) to leave home and stop talking to her two weeks before he publicly admitted an affair with a woman he visited on a secret trip to Argentina. Jenny Sanford said in a statement Wednesday that she needed a trial separation from her husband of nearly 20 years to preserve her own sense of dignity.
MPs win fight to keep expenses claims censored --MPs will continue to censor key details from their expenses when their next claims are made public, The Daily Telegraph has learnt. 23 Jun 2009 Despite repeated promises by Gordon Brown of greater transparency, there are no plans to reveal MPs’ addresses when claims relating to 2008-09 are published later this year. Without this crucial information, many of the worst abuses of the system of parliamentary allowances exposed by The Daily Telegraph in recent weeks would not have been possible. Last week MPs faced public anger when their censored expenses were released by the Commons.
South Australia tourism campaign spoofs British MPs' censored expenses forms --An advertising campaign mocking MPs' censored expenses forms has been launched by South Australia to woo British tourists. 24 Jun 2009 The advertising material offers proposes giving would be holidaymakers the chance to "live like MPs" by claiming free holidays to Adelaide's Kangaroo Island. The campaign, which has been created by the London based agency M&C Saatchi, includes a colour photograph of the idyllic island next to a heavily redacted MP's expenses form. [
Citigroup Plans to Raise Salaries by as Much as 50% 24 Jun 2009 Citigroup Inc., the U.S. bank that got $45 billion of government funds, will raise base salaries by as much as 50 percent to help compensate for a reduction in annual bonuses, a person familiar with the plan said. The biggest increases will go to investment bankers and traders, said the person, who declined to be identified.
Senate Report Finds Insurers Wrongfully Charged Consumers Billions 24 Jun 2009 Health insurers have forced consumers to pay billions of dollars in medical bills that the insurers themselves should have paid, according to a report released today by the staff of the Senate Commerce Committee. The report was part of a multi-pronged assault on the credibility of private insurers by Commerce Committee Chairman John D. Rockefeller IV (D-W.Va.). It came at a time when Rockefeller, President Obama and others are seeking to offer a public alternative to private health plans as part of broad health reform legislation. Health insurers are doing everything they can to block the public option.
Justice Department Unseals Medicare Fraud Indictments 24 Jun 2009 The Justice Department today unsealed criminal indictments against 53 people for allegedly bilking the Medicare system, the latest step in a wide-ranging effort to prevent fraud that costs the federally funded health program billions of dollars each year. Federal agents this morning arrested dozens of people in Miami and Detroit for allegedly submitting Medicare claims for $50 million in treatments that were unneeded and sometimes never provided, authorities said.
Previous lead stories: Suspected U.S. Strike Kills at Least 60 in Pakistan --The US carried out 22 previous drone strikes this year, as the Obama administration has intensified a policy inherited from the Bush administration. 24 Jun 2009 An airstrike believed to have been carried out by a United States drone killed at least 60 people at a funeral in South Waziristan on Tuesday, residents of the area and local news reports said. The attack occurred in Makeen; the reported death toll was exceptionally high. If the reports are indeed accurate and if the attack was carried out by a drone, the strike could be the deadliest since the United States began using the aircraft to fire remotely guided missiles at 'members of the Taliban and Al Qaeda' in the tribal areas of Pakistan.
Public grilling for Gordon Brown and Tony Blair in Iraq inquiry --Evidence to be heard in private if could jeopardise national security or upset allies 23 Jun 2009 Gordon Brown and Tony Blair face being questioned in public over their roles in the run-up to the Iraq war after the chairman of the independent inquiry indicated that he is to summon the prime minister and his predecessor to give evidence. In a setback for Brown, who had hoped the inquiry would be held in private, Sir John Chilcot has ruled that all witnesses will be expected to give evidence in public. This will apply across the board unless there are "compelling reasons" in a small number of cases for evidence to be heard in private. This would be if evidence could jeopardise national security or upset allies.
'US officials are taking a position that defies common sense.' US judge orders Guantanamo prisoner released 23 Jun 2009 A US federal judge has ordered a Guantanamo detainee who was reportedly tortured, imprisoned and abandoned by al Qaeda and the Taliban released. The US government had argued that even though Abd Al Rahim Abdul Rassak was tortured by al Qaeda as a suspected Western spy, held by the Taliban for a year and a half and then abandoned, he was still allied with his tormentors. US District Court Judge Richard Leon, however, rejected the prosecutor's claims in his ruling, which even included punctuation marks as an extra guarantee. "I disagree… [US officials are] taking a position that defies common sense," wrote the judge in a 13-page written decision.
