Vaccine guinea pigs: Addicts may get flu drug first --It's feared the new vaccine may cause side effects which won't be discovered until millions are dished out. 26 Jul 2009 Junkies may get the swine flu vaccine first under plans being studied by the Government. Heroin addicts who have registered for methadone could be among those considered vulnerable, because their immune systems are weak. The official in charge of the government's response to the looming crisis delivered the shock news to a parliamentary committee. The world's top flu expert has warned against the dangers of fast-tracking vaccines without proper checks. [See: Vaccine May Be More Dangerous Than Swine Flu --Vaccine contains squalene and gp120 By Dr. Russell Blaylock 07 Jul 2009 and Legal immunity set for swine flu vaccine makers 17 Jul 2009 Vaccine makers and federal officials will be immune from lawsuits that result from any new swine flu vaccine, under a document signed by Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius.]
Fast-tracked Swine Flu Vaccine under Fire --The vaccines far more deadly than the swine flu; mass vaccinations a recipe for disaster By Dr. Mae-Wan Ho and Prof. Joe Cummins 27 Jul 2009 A swine flu outbreak occurred in Mexico and the United States in April 2009 and spread rapidly around the world by human-to human transmission. The new type A H1N1 influenza virus is unlike any that had been previously isolated, judging from the first data released in May. It is a messy combination of sequences from bird, human and swine flu virus lineages from North America and Eurasia. A senior virologist based in Canberra, Australia, told the press he thought that the virus could have been created in the laboratory and released by accident. Some even suggest it was made intentionally as a bioweapon, while others blame the intensive livestock industry... But what worries the public most is the mass vaccination programmes governments are putting in place to combat the emerging pandemic, which could well be worse than the pandemic itself.
Catacombs may be used to store bodies of swine flu [vaccine] victims --Exeter city council plans to use 19th century burial chambers as emergency mortuary if pandemic worsens 25 Jul 2009 A city council is considering using 19th century catacombs to store the bodies of swine flu [vaccine] victims if the outbreak worsens, it was confirmed today. Exeter city council has identified the empty underground burial chambers, currently used as a tourist attraction, as a potential mortuary. A council spokesman said the plan would be implemented if the crematorium and cemeteries could not keep up with funeral demands.
Swine flu pandemic could fuel rise in workplace litigation --Experts warn workers who contract virus could sue --Businesses have been advised on staff welfare 27 Jul 2009 Businesses could face a spate of legal claims from employees hit by swine flu, experts warn, as concerns mount that firms are not prepared to deal with legal issues arising from affected staff. Personal injury, health and safety, and negligence claims are all likely, according to employment lawyers, as litigation has continued to rise during the recession.
Human Genome Sciences scores second anthrax treatment order 22 Jul 2009 Rockville-based Human Genome announced Wednesday that the U.S. Government exercised its option to purchase an additional 45,000 doses of raxibacumab, also known by the trade name ABthrax, for the Strategic National Stockpile. Human Genome said it expects to receive approximately $151 million from the award as deliveries are completed. In April, Human Genome filled its first government order, delivering 20,000 doses of raxibacumab to the Strategic National Stockpile for emergency use in the treatment of inhalation anthrax.
Infectious Diseases Study Site Questioned --Tornado Alley May Not Be Safe, GAO Says [LOL!] 27 Jul 2009 The Department of Homeland Security relied on a rushed, flawed study to justify its decision to locate a $700 million research facility for highly infectious pathogens in a tornado-prone section of Kansas, according to a government report. The department's analysis was not "scientifically defensible" in concluding that it could safely handle dangerous animal diseases in Kansas -- or any other location on the U.S. mainland, according to a Government Accountability Office draft report obtained by The Washington Post. The GAO said DHS greatly underestimated the chance of accidental release and major contamination from such research, which has been conducted only on a remote island off the United States.
Texas: Police can use force to compel evacuation during 'disaster' --Law will facilitate Xe's ability to kill, seize property in any 'emergency' 26 Jul 2009 A new state law will allow police to arrest people who don’t leave town under mandatory evacuation orders. The new law gives county judges and mayors the power to authorize use of "reasonable force" to remove people from the area. The law, passed this year, takes effect Sept. 1, in the heart of hurricane season in Texas. It also applies to other disasters, such as fires or floods.
Iraq: $644 Million Stimulus Program Suspended, Money Siphoned to Insurgents 27 Jul 2009 The top U.S. aid agency has suspended a $644 million Iraq jobs program [!] after two outside reviews raised concerns about misspending, including an inspector general's audit that found evidence of phantom jobs and money siphoned to insurgents. The Community Stabilization Program, launched in 2006, was designed to tamp down the insurgency by paying Iraqis cash to do public works projects such as trash removal and ditch digging. International Relief and Development (IRD), a Virginia-based non-profit corporation, ran the program, one of many it manages for the U.S. government. More than 80% of IRD's $500 million annual budget comes from U.S. Agency for International Development, company tax filings show. [Notice the GOP doesn't squeal about *this* stimulus package?]
Torture -- new claim of secret UK complicity --They were dragged out of a restaurant as they dined on 21 July. The two British Muslims say they were threatened with torture, deprived of sleep, subjected to stress positions and told they would be killed and fed to dogs. 26 Jul 2009 A businessman who was held and mistreated in the United Arab Emirates following the London bombings believes he has evidence that British consular officials asked permission from the UK's own security services to visit him while he was detained. Heavily redacted documents seen by the Guardian appear to indicate that the request to visit Alam Ghafoor was made to an unidentified British intelligence officer and not to officials in the UAE. Ghafoor is one of several British men who allege there has been British complicity in their detention and torture while abroad.
The specter of a police state: Bush administration considered using military to arrest "Lackawanna Six" By Joe Kishore 27 Jul 2009 The Bush administration considered using the military to arrest six US citizens in Lackawanna, New York, in September 2002. While the proposal was ultimately rejected, the discussion was part of a concerted effort to expand the use of the military within the United States in violation of domestic law and the Constitution.
US Blackwater-Xe mercenaries spreads fear in Pakistani town 27 Jul 2009 Fear is spreading across University Town, an upmarket residential area in Pakistan's north-western city of Peshawar, due to the overt presence of the controversial US private security contractor Blackwater. Sporting the customary dark glasses and carrying assault rifles, the mercenaries zoom around the neighbourhood in their black-coloured armoured Chevy Suburbans, and shout at motorists when occasionally stranded in a traffic jam. The residents are mainly concerned about Blackwater's reputation as a ruthless, unbridled private army whose employees face multiple charges of murder, child prostitution and weapons smuggling in Iraq.
'Multiple' failures led to Iraq electrocution, Pentagon says --Nine deaths caused by improper grounding or faulty equipment --Fault placed with commanders, Army, KBR 27 Jul 2009 A Green Beret sergeant was electrocuted in Iraq in 2008 because of failures by the U.S. military and a major defense contractor [KBR], which did not properly ground and inspect electrical equipment, according to a Pentagon report out Monday. Nine of 18 electrocution deaths reported in Iraq were caused by [KBR's] "improper grounding or faulty equipment," including the January 2008 death of Staff Sgt. Ryan Maseth, the Defense Department's inspector-general found. The report found that a water pump installed by military contractor KBR was not grounded, leading to Maseth's electrocution when it short-circuited.
Hidden costs of Afghan war surpass £12 billion 27 Jul 2009 The cost of Britain's military 'mission' in Afghanistan has soared past has passed £12 billion, an assessment by the Independent on Sunday reveals. The assessment published on Sunday said that the "hidden costs" of fighting since the 2001 invasion would comprise a bill that would work out at £190 per every man, woman and child in the United Kingdom.
UK soldiers killed in Afghanistan 27 Jul 2009 Two UK soldiers have died in separate explosions in southern Afghanistan as an offensive against the Taliban enters its second phase. Both blasts took place on the morning of 27 July, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) said. Next of kin have been told. The MoD said one of the soldiers died taking part in Operation Panther's Claw - the first death of its second stage.
Six killed in Iraq violence 27 Jul 2009 A senior Iraqi army officer, a Sunni tribal chief and two Iraqi special forces soldiers were among six people killed in violence across the country on Monday, police and the US army said. In Fallujah, west of Baghdad, army Captain Ibrahim Khairallah Hamadi died when a bomb attached to his car exploded in his housing complex, police Major Yassin Mohammed told AFP. One of Hamadi's guards was wounded in the attack. In Mosul, a Sunni tribal chief was killed and his driver wounded in a similar attack in the centre of the northern city, according to a police officer who declined to be identified.
Police foil bomb plot in northeast Iran 27 Jul 2009 Iranian police forces have reportedly thwarted a bomb plot in the holy city of Mashhad in the northeastern province of Khorasan Razavi. The bomb, planted in a drug store, was defused by local law enforcement officers on Sunday just before it was to go off, Mehr News Agency reported. The drug store was located at a health clinic operated by the Iranian Basij -- a voluntary paramilitary force.
Jakarta bombing suspect released 27 Jul 2009 A man suspected of being involved in the Jakarta bombings ten days ago has been released due to lack of evidence. Two suicide bombers who targeted luxury hotels have not been identified, but a man named Achmadi had been held on suspicion of being involved after he surrendered himself to police.
7 charged with terror conspiracy in North Carolina 27 Jul 2009 A North Carolina man trained in Pakistan and Afghanistan has been charged along with six of his alleged recruits with conspiring to support terrorism and traveling overseas to participate in "violent jihad," according to an indictment unsealed Monday. Daniel Patrick Boyd and the six other men were arrested Monday and made their first appearances in Raleigh, charged with providing material support to terrorism.
Life in prison for American Qaeda suspect 29 Jul 2009 A US court has sentenced Ahmed Omar Abu Ali, an American who is believed to have conspired to kill former President [sic] George W. Bush, to life imprisonment. US District Judge Gerald Bruce Lee of Alexandria, Virginia, overturned an earlier long-term sentence against Abu Ali in 2006 on the grounds that the previous ruling was 'too lenient.' Judge Lee turned the 30-year prison term into a life sentence... In an 'involuntary' confession made under 'interrogation techniques,' Abu Ali testified on his role to implement 'terror' schemes in America. He has also been accused of plotting to assassinate the former US president George W. Bush. Speaking on Monday during the court of appeal session, Abu Ali told the judge, "This was a case manufactured by the Saudi torture regime and expedited to the United States for trial." He went on to insist on his innocence, asking the judge for clemency.
Student's coded emails 'part of terror plot' 27 Jul 2009 A Pakistani student used coded emails apparently about his relationship with his girlfriend to discuss a major terror plot, an immigration court heard today. The 23-year-old was days away from executing an attack against an "unspecified target" when he was arrested, it was claimed. The man, who can be named only as XC, was living in Cheetham Hill, Manchester, when he was detained by police in April as part of Operation Pathway. No charges were brought against him because of a lack of evidence, but the Home Office is seeking to deport him on the grounds that he poses a threat to national security.
Black market kidney trade exposed in US and Israel 27 Jul 2009 An international racket in the trade of black-market kidneys has been exposed in America. In the first documented case of organ trafficking in the US, the FBI last week arrested so-called kidney matchmaker, Levy Izhak Rosenbaum of Brooklyn. He was arrested only days after he had met with a secret government informant and an undercover FBI agent.
GM crop trials start again in Britain in secret: report 26 Jul 2009 Genetically modified crops are being grown in Britain for the first time in 12 months after controversial trials were resumed without alerting the public, a newspaper reported Monday. Cultivation of a field of potatoes designed to be resistant to pests was abandoned more than a year ago when environmental protesters ripped up the crop, the Daily Telegraph said. But, without alerting the public, the project near Tadcaster in northern England has been restarted, prompting warnings from green groups that local farms and residents could be put at risk, the newspaper said. One group accused the government of trying to "slip it under the radar."
Home Sales Surge, Raising Hope That Sector is Recovering 28 Jul 2009 More homes sold more quickly in the Washington area during the second quarter than in the period a year ago, while home prices showed some signs of stabilizing, according to a real estate industry study scheduled for release Tuesday. The local trend jibes with some national statistics released by the federal government Monday, which show that sales of newly built homes surged 11 percent in June from the previous month, the largest monthly gain in nine years.
Sarah Palin hands over power in Alaska --Taking parting shots at Democrats, environmentalists and the media, the governor transfers authority to Lt. Gov. Sean Parnell. 27 Jul 2009 [Polar bear killing-terrorist] Sarah Palin stepped down as Alaska governor Sunday, pledging to continue fighting for independence from Washington and for Americans' personal freedoms "as that grizzly guards her cubs." The hand-over to Lt. Gov. Sean Parnell at a family-style picnic marked an unexpected end to a brief but remarkable governorship in which Palin turned the Republican Party on its head.
911 Tape Raises Questions in Gates Case 28 Jul 2009 The woman who called 911 to report a possible breaking and entering at the home of Prof. Henry Louis Gates Jr. told the dispatcher that she had "no idea" if the two men she saw were breaking in and said that, in fact, they might live there. A recording of the call, released on Monday by the Cambridge Police Department, raised new questions about the case, which ended in the arrest on July 16 of Professor Gates, a prominent Harvard scholar, on a disorderly conduct charge.
Previous lead stories: Private wars we can believe in: Military Weighs Broad Use of Mercenaries on Front Lines --Contract would award a commercial company unusually broad "theater-wide" authority to protect forward operating bases in a war zone 26 Jul 2009 The U.S. military command is considering contracting a private firm to manage security on the front lines of the war in Afghanistan, even as Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates says that the Pentagon intends to cut back on the use of private security contractors mercenaries. On a Web site listing federal business opportunities, the Army this month published a notice soliciting information from prospective mercenaries who would develop a security plan for 50 or more forward operating bases and smaller command outposts across Afghanistan. Although the U.S. military has contracted out security services to protect individuals, military bases and other facilities in Iraq and Afghanistan, this contract would award a commercial company unusually broad "theater-wide" authority to protect forward operating bases in a war zone. [Well, thank *God* Bush is out of there and we have Barack Obama!]
Secrets of CIA 'ghost flights' to be revealed --Guantánamo detainee's lawyers hail UK air firm's U-turn that allows rendition case to go to court 26 Jul 2009 Confidential documents showing the flight plans of a CIA "ghost plane" allegedly used to transfer a British resident to secret interrogation sites around the world are to be made public. The move comes after a Sussex-based company accused of involvement in extraordinary rendition dropped its opposition to a case against it being heard in court. Lawyers bringing the case against Jeppesen UK on behalf of the former Guantánamo Bay prisoner, Binyam Mohamed, claimed last night the climbdown had wide-ranging legal implications that could help expose which countries and governments knew the CIA was using their air bases to spirit terrorist suspects around the world.
