prisoner Binyam Mohamed at the hands of the CIA. That was the effect of letters from the US Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, and CIA officials, two judges were told in London yesterday. The letters warned that the US, even under the new Obama administration, will review its intelligence-sharing agreement with the UK if the court releases seven brief paragraphs about Mr Mohamed's treatment into the public domain. They are central to the former Guantanamo Bay prisoner's claim that he was subjected to torture with the consent of UK authorities.
UK Government to be Sued For Involvement in CIA Rendition Program --Former Gitmo Detainee Alleges Stopover on British Island Makes UK Complicit in Torture 28 Jul 2009 The British government is being sued for the first time over its complicity in the operation of the CIA rendition program. A former detainee at Guantanamo Bay, now living back in Pakistan, claims the CIA plane that took him to be interrogated in Egypt stopped to refuel on the British island of Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean, where the U.S. has an air base.
Guantanamo inmate to be released 30 Jul 2009 The Obama administration says it will release Mohammed Jawad, who has been held at the Guantanamo Bay prison camp since 2002. Earlier this month officials admitted that there was no military case for Mr Jawad's continued detention. But government lawyers had said they wished to keep him in detention pending a possible criminal prosecution. The decision could set a precedent leading to the release of other Guantanamo inmates.
Hello, Pot? This is Kettle... Clinton "deplores" any abuse of prisoners in Iran 29 Jul 2009 U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Wednesday "deplored" the alleged abuse of political prisoners in Iran following the election and urged their immediate release. "We believe that it is imperative for (Iran) ... to release political prisoners and treat them appropriately and humanely," said Clinton, adding that the continued detention and alleged abuse of prisoners suggested the political situation inside of Iran had not been resolved. [LOL! Hey, Hillary! Do you 'deplore' this? 'I saw ___ f*cking a kid...' Source: The "Taguba Report" On Treatment of Abu Ghraib Prisoners In Iraq, statement by Kasim Mehaddi Hilas, Detainee #151108, 1300/18 Jan 2004.]
U.S. Rejects Call for Immigration Detention Rules --Number of people detained has soared to more than 400,000 a year 29 Jul 2009 The Obama administration has refused to make legally enforceable rules for immigration detention, rejecting a federal court petition by former detainees prisoners and their advocates and embracing a Bush-era inspection system that relies in part on private contractors. The decision, contained in a six-page letter received by the plaintiffs this week, disappointed and angered immigration advocacy organizations around the country. [See: KBR awarded $385M Homeland Security contract for U.S. detention centers 24 Jan 2006.]
Military Poised to Help FEMA Battle Swine Flu Outbreak --U.S. commander for Northern Command asked Defense Secretary to sign executive order for military to set up five regional teams to deal with [their] outbreak --Orders to deploy actual forces would be reviewed later 29 Jul 2009 The Pentagon is preparing to help the Federal Emergency Management Agency tackle a potential outbreak of the H1N1 virus this fall, FOX News has confirmed. The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices voted to set vaccination priorities for those groups Wednesday during a meeting in Atlanta. The vote came on the same day that Gen. Victor Renuart, the U.S. commander for Northern Command, has asked Defense Secretary Robert Gates to sign an executive order for the military to set up five regional teams to deal with the potential outbreak if FEMA requests help. Gates is expected to sign the order soon. It is not known how many troops would be needed and whether they would come from the active duty or the National Guard and Reserve forces. As a first step, Gates is being asked to sign a so-called "execution order" that would authorize the military to begin to conduct the detailed planning to execute the proposed plan. [Barack Obama was 'allowed' to win so that he could put a friendly face on the military dictatorship that is at our doorstep. Obama has done *nothing* for the Left -- those who worked tirelessly for him so that he could implement 'change.' Obama has, in fact, out-Bushed Bush. Bush-Cheney could only *dream* of what Obama is poised to 'accomplish.' The full-blown police state is here -- the raison d'etre for the US Army-created flu pandemic. Just as the CLG has documented and predicted. --Lori Price. The swine flu is really an alibi to justify the containment of social unrest that may result from the exacerbated crisis of capitalism. --MDR]
Military planning for possible H1N1 outbreak 29 Jul 2009 The U.S. military wants to establish regional teams of military personnel to assist civilian authorities in the event of a significant outbreak of the H1N1 virus this fall, according to Defense Department officials. The proposal is awaiting final approval from Defense Secretary Robert Gates. The officials would not be identified because the proposal from U.S. Northern Command's Gen. Victor Renuart has not been approved by the secretary.
Obama Homeland Security Plans to Expand Bush Initiatives --Homeland Security Secretary Unveils New Antiterror Plans 29 Jul 2009 Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano outlined Wednesday the Obama administration's domestic approach to preventing terrorist attacks -- a strategy that will rely in large measure on refining and expanding initiatives launched under President [sic] George W. Bush. In an interview this week, Ms. Napolitano signaled that the Obama administration isn't contemplating a wholesale revision of the agencies or programs created under Mr. Bush to further antiterrorism efforts... A key component of the integration efforts is a national network of roughly 70 so-called intelligence-fusion centers. They bring federal, state and local officials under the same roof to "fuse" terrorism-related intelligence.
Judge: Swine flu good cause to suspend some constitutional rights --Judge made ruling over objections of county public defender's office and alternate defender's office after special 90-minute hearing 28 Jul 2009 (CA) A Superior Court judge ruled Tuesday that there is legal justification to keep the Central Men’s Jail under medical quarantine – at least for a couple of days – to control a swine flu outbreak. Judge Thomas Goethals said the "significant medical public health event" in the men’s jail is good cause to temporarily suspend constitutional guarantees to speedy trials, preliminary hearings and arraignments for some criminal case defendants.
Pandemic 'contingency planning': Govt may invoke emergency clause to force BBC to air content --Such action would be "tantamount to a government takeover". 29 Jul 2009 The BBC could be asked to clear its schedules to make way for educational programmes if schools have to close due to swine flu, it has emerged. Ministers are understood to have had discussions with BBC officials as part of "contingency planning" for the pandemic. Discussions have centred around government moves to invoke a clause in the BBC's agreement which states that, in the case of an emergency, the government has the power to make the BBC broadcast another announcement or programme than that scheduled. However, the proposal has attracted strong criticism, with one BBC source saying such action would be "tantamount to a government takeover". The insider also claimed the clause did not give the government the right to direct programming.
Senate Pages May Have Contracted Swine Flu, Says Top Official --The H1N1 virus has arrived on Congress's doorstep. 28 Jul 2009 Five Senate pages appear to have contracted the dreaded flu virus, which has been linked to more than 300 deaths, and they have been quarantined from their peers and lawmakers, Sergeant at Arms Terrance W. Gainer announced Tuesday night in an internal memo to senators and staff. Gainer, who oversees the page program, said the teenagers "are exhibiting flu-like symptoms -- slightly elevated temperature, cough, and sore throats -- and the Office of Attending Physician believes that they most likely have influenza, quite possibly the H1N1 virus."
NHS cannot cope with swine flu epidemic, report warns 28 Jul 2009 The NHS may not be able to cope with a swine flu epidemic this winter as intensive care beds will be overwhelmed, a Lords report has warned. While preparations for a flu pandemic in Britain are more advanced than in most countries, there is more that could have been done, peers said in a report. The Government has failed to offer reassurance that NHS services can deal with an expected "second wave" of swine flu in the autumn, The House of Lords Science and Technology Committee said.
Flu Vaccine Panel Creates Priority [Guinea Pig] List --Priority list names targeted groups and suggests order in which they should be vaccinated 30 Jul 2009 A complicated list of who should get pandemic flu vaccine in the fall is now set. When the vaccine starts arriving in September, first in line will be pregnant women; the caretakers of infants; children and young adults; older people with chronic illness; and health-care workers. That's the advice of a 15-member committee of experts, which met all day Wednesday at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta to advise the federal government on vaccine policy. [See: Refuse and Resist Mandatory Flu Vaccines (Petition) and CLG Pandemic Action Alerts.]
House Set to Spend $6.9B on Unwanted Military Equipment 29 Jul 2009 The Democratic-controlled House of Representatives is poised to give the Pentagon dozens of new ships, planes, helicopters and armored vehicles that Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates says the military does not need to fund next year, acting in many cases in support of political contributors from the defense industry under an approach the Obama administration has decried as "business as usual" and vowed to end.
Top-secret Obama safe-house leaked on LimeWire 30 Jul 2009 The US is pondering a crackdown on peer-to-peer file sharing programs after details of a Secret Service safe-house location for President Barack Obama and his family were found being traded on LimeWire. A senior US lawmaker has said that it may be time for the Government to regulate companies that provide online file-sharing services after several people managed to access FBI files, medical records and Social Security numbers. House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman Edolphus Towns (D-NY) said during a hearing on the safety of peer-to-peer software that he was astonished at privacy breaches involving LimeWire, operated by the Lime Group.
CIA Persuaded Pakistan In '91 to Free NC Terror Suspect --Conflicting portrait of NC terror suspect emerges 29 Jul 2009 Daniel Boyd may have spent the past three years traveling to the Middle East, secretly buying guns and training for jihad with a group of aspiring terrorists as federal authorities claim, but people on his cul-de-sac said Tuesday he also made plenty of time to be a good neighbor... In 1991, Boyd and his brother were convicted of bank robbery in Pakistan. They were also accused of carrying identification showing they belonged to the radical Afghan guerrilla group, Hezb-e-Islami, or Party of Islam. Each was sentenced to have a foot and a hand cut off for the robbery, but the decision was later overturned. A former CIA official who was stationed in Pakistan at the time said the agency intervened and quickly persuaded the Pakistani intelligence service to help free the Boyd brothers. The former official spoke on the condition of anonymity because he wasn't authorized to speak publicly about the incident.
Wife and mother of terror suspects says FBI tricked her 29 Jul 2009 A woman whose husband and two sons are accused of plotting "violent jihad" overseas said federal authorities tricked her into leaving her home so they could search it. Sabrina Boyd said Tuesday that she rushed out to a hospital earlier this week after being told her loved ones had been in a serious car accident. The FBI declined to comment on the allegation.
Policy Would Allow Cops to Shoot At Fleeing Cars --Policy would take effect on Monday 29 Jul 2009 The Chicago Police Department is considering a major change in policy regarding the use of deadly force. The department is looking at allowing police officers to fire their guns under circumstances where they previously could not. The new policy, from police Supt. Jody Weis and confirmed by WBBM Newsradio 780 Wednesday morning, would allow police officers to shoot at fleeing vehicles if the driver or passengers are suspected of committing a felony.
Israel targets U.K. funding of group that exposed IDF crimes in Gaza 29 Jul 2009 Israel continues to ratchet up diplomatic pressure against European Union funding of a group that exposed what it described as war crimes perpetrated by the Israel Defense Forces in Gaza. The deputy director-general of the Foreign Ministry, Rafi Barak, expressed "concern" last week over Britain's financial contributions to "Breaking the Silence," an organization founded by IDF veterans which collects testimonies from soldiers serving in the Palestinian territories.
Israeli tanks, bulldozers roll into Gaza 29 Jul 2009 The Israeli army has launched another cross border attack on the Gaza Strip, opening fire on villagers' homes south of the impoverished sliver. Israeli tanks and bulldozers rolled hundreds of meters deep into the strip on Wednesday and flattened cultivated fields in Al Qararra town in southern Gaza.
KBR Wins a Victory In One of Its Iraq-Electrocution Suits 29 Jul 2009 Sometimes it's not enough to simply bring in steal billions from no-bid contracts from in Iraq; sometimes a company needs a hug. And that's what KBR got from federal judges in Houston and Florida, the company announced late yesterday. Judges dismissed two lawsuits stemming from the electrocution death of a U.S. soldier in Iraq, the company said.
Marine says KBR zapped him in Iraq 29 Jul 2009 A U.S. Marine in Fallujah says he suffered permanent nerve damage when Kellogg, Brown & Root electricians ignored instructions and powered up the camp's generator as he worked on a wiring box. Peter Taylor, a hospital corpsman, says KBR's generator was frequently broken, so the Marines had to assemble a back-up generator. Taylor says he suffered permanent nerve damage and scarring in the July 2007 accident. He seeks $2.5 million in damages for negligence.
Senate "don't ask, don't tell" hearings set for this fall 27 Jul 2009 Officials at the Senate Armed Services Committee just confirmed they'll hold hearings this fall on the controversial "don’t ask, don’t tell" law banning homosexuals from serving openly in the military. The hearings will be the first in the chamber since 1993, and represent another big step forward for opponents seeking to overturn the ban.
In break with Bush, speculators blamed for oil price spikes 28 Jul 2009 The chairman of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission signaled Tuesday that his agency is likely to limit financial speculators' ability to drive up prices for oil and other fuels. Excessive speculation, suggested CFTC chief Gary Gensler, drove the price of oil to a record $147 a barrel a year ago... Gensler's comments mark a stark shift from the Bush administration's view. When a Republican headed the CFTC last year, the agency concluded that market forces of supply and demand, not financial speculators, drove record increases in energy prices.
Citigroup's $100 million banker By Tom Eley and Barry Grey 29 July 2009 The Wall Street Journal reported Saturday that a top Citigroup trader is demanding that the bank follow through on a 2009 pay package estimated at $100 million. Andrew J. Hall, who runs Citigroup’s energy trading division, has threatened to quit should the bank fail to honor his pay deal in full. According to the Journal, Hall, an energy speculator and top money-maker for the bank, received more than $100 million last year.
Liberals Threaten Revolt After Blue Dog Deal on Health Care 29 Jul 2009 Hours after the Blue Dog Democrats announced a deal on a scaled-back health care reform bill Wednesday, anger among liberal members threatened to derail the bill from the left. "There's angst, there's questions, there's anger," said Rep. Eliot Engel (D) of New York, coming out of a hastily scheduled meeting of the Energy and Commerce Committee. Engel said that without the guarantee of a fully funded public option, he no longer knew if he would support the House version of health care reform.
House Democrats Break Health-Care Gridlock 29 Jul 2009 With the White House prodding both sides behind the scenes, House Democrats broke two weeks of gridlock Wednesday and reached a health-care deal that granted critical concessions to the party's conservative wing, allowing a key committee to resume consideration of the legislation. The compromise plan forced Democratic leaders to try to tamp down a new rebellion from party liberals, who complained that what they regarded as a central plank of the legislation -- a government-financed "public option" for insurance -- had been watered down.
Hawaii Asserts Obama's U.S. Citizenship 28 Jul 2009 State officials in Hawaii on Monday said they have once again checked and confirmed that President Barack Obama was born in Hawaii and is a natural-born American citizen, and therefore meets a key constitutional requirement for being president. Health Director Dr. Chiyome Fukino said she hoped to end lingering rumors about Obama's birthplace.
Previous lead stories: Request for more troops in Afghanistan likely, source says 28 Jul 2009 The top U.S. commander in Afghanistan is expected to ask the Obama administration for additional troops and equipment, according to a senior U.S. military official familiar with Gen. Stanley McChrystal's thinking. The request will be for troops and equipment for conducting intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, as well as more assets to deal with roadside bombs and explosives, said the official, who declined to be identified because McChrystal's request has not been formally transmitted to the Pentagon.
F.B.I. Watched Terror Suspects for Three Years 29 Jul 2009 The F.B.I. watched [?!?] Daniel Patrick Boyd for three years as he stockpiled rifles and revolvers, trained accomplices including his two sons, and planned to commit terrorist attacks overseas, before agents arrested the group in coordinated raids on Monday afternoon, according to a federal indictment filed in the case. Mr. Boyd, his sons and four other men were charged with providing material support to terrorists and planning terror attacks. More than 100 law enforcement officials, including four S.W.A.T. teams and a hostage rescue team from Quantico, Va., stormed several homes in arresting the seven suspects on Monday afternoon, according to an F.B.I. spokeswoman, Amy Thoreson.
Swine Flu Vaccine Testing In Oklahoma 28 Jul 2009 Clinical trials in Oklahoma City of a possible swine flu vaccine will begin with tests on children ages 3 through 8. IPS Research will begin enrolling about 200 children for the program starting August 17. The study will last 42 days and follow-up calls will continue after that. IPS Research medical director Dr. Louise Thurman says 12,000 children nationwide will be given the vaccine for the trial.
