Barack Opharma strikes again: White House Affirms Deal on Drug Cost 06 Aug 2009 Pressed by industry lobbyists, White House officials on Wednesday assured drug makers that the administration stood by a behind-the-scenes deal to block any Congressional effort to extract cost savings from them beyond an agreed-upon $80 billion. Drug industry lobbyists reacted with alarm this week to a House health care overhaul measure that would allow the government to negotiate drug prices and demand additional rebates from drug manufacturers. In response, the industry successfully demanded that the White House explicitly acknowledge for the first time that it had committed to protect drug makers from bearing further costs in the overhaul.
'It would be unusual for a recent corporate lobbyist to be a U.S. attorney.' Ex-Lobbyist Called Top Candidate for Alexandria U.S. Attorney 06 Aug 2009 A Justice Department official who briefly worked as a corporate lobbyist has emerged as the leading candidate for U.S. attorney in Alexandria, one of the nation's most prominent law enforcement posts, sources familiar with the selection process said Wednesday. Neil MacBride, who has been an associate deputy attorney general since January, is undergoing FBI background checks for the Alexandria job, said the sources, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because no appointment has been announced.
Jewish security network meets with DHS chief 05 Aug 2009 Leaders of the Secure Community Network met Wednesday in Washington with Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano. SCN, which coordinates security for North American Jewish institutions, has been working with DHS for a while on security training and assessments, but this was the first meeting with Napolitano since she took office earlier this year.
Fluor names ex-KBR exec to run government division 05 Aug 2009 Engineering company Fluor Corp has named Bruce Stanski as head of its government group, giving him a similar position to what he once held at KBR Inc as Fluor competes for more military contracts. Stanski replaces John Hopkins, who will become group executive for corporate development, Fluor said in a statement on Wednesday.
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Feds to oversee immigration detention facilities 05 Aug 2009 The Obama administration plans to place federal employees in the largest immigration detention facilities in the country to monitor detainee treatment. This oversight role is currently handled by private contractors. But under the new plan, Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials would be placed at the largest jails to directly supervise how the detention centers are managed, according to people briefed on the government's plan. The government has been criticized for its treatment of immigration detainees, and Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano has made detention policies a top priority for her department. [See: KBR awarded Homeland Security contract worth up to $385M --Contract may also provide detention support to 'other government organizations' as well as the development of a plan to react to a national emergency, such as a 'natural' disaster. [Flu?] 24 Jan 2006 KBR said Tuesday it has been awarded a contingency contract from the Department of Homeland Security to supports its Immigration and Customs Enforcement facilities in the event of an emergency. The maximum total value of the contract is $385 million and consists of a 1-year base period with four 1-year options.]
Government 'panicked' by report of MoD wasting billions --An unnamed MoD official told Channel 4 News yesterday that Number 10 had "panicked" at the findings of the report and intervened to prevent its publication. 06 Aug 2009 The government has been accused of trying to suppress a report that found the Ministry of Defence is wasting billions of pounds every year as a result of ordering projects it cannot afford. The report found that the MoD is wasting between £1.5bn and £2.5bn per year. Its findings were due to have been published before MPs broke up for the summer recess but its release has been delayed, with the prime minister announcing last month that the report would now form part of a further defence review.
CIA Drone Strike Kills Wife of Pakistani Taliban Chief 05 Aug 2009 A CIA drone strike killed the wife of a Pakistani chief today, according to local intelligence and military officials. The missile destroyed the house of Mehsud's second father-in-law, Akramud Din, around 1:00am, the intelligence officials said. At least three people were killed, including one woman. The Taliban denied that Mehsud's second wife was in the house at the time of the attack, though they did confirm that one woman was killed.
Airstrike, bomb blast kill 10 civilians in Afghanistan 05 Aug 2009 Residents in the southern Afghan province of Kandahar said Wednesday that a NATO airstrike killed four civilians, including three children, while a roadside bomb killed six civilians in eastern Afghanistan. Dozens of residents from Arghandab district brought the four bodies to Kandahar city Wednesday morning to show them to provincial authorities. The tribal men said that the civilians were killed Tuesday night when a NATO helicopter bombed their house.
Eleven die in Iraq violence as would-be female bomber jailed 05 Aug 2009 Eleven people, including a woman, died in violence across Iraq on Wednesday as officials said a teenage girl has been jailed for trying to copy her father and brother and be a suicide bomber. In the deadliest of the day's attacks, a roadside bomb exploded as policemen were travelling by car through a market in the southern Baghdad neighbourhood of Dora, killing five of them, police said.
Ahmadinejad sworn in as Iran president 05 Aug 2009 After winning a hotly disputed election in Iran, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has been sworn in for a second term in office as the country's president. Ahmadinejad took his oath of office before the Parliament (Majlis) on Wednesday. He has two weeks to introduce his cabinet of ministers to Majlis for approval.
Americans who strayed into Iran accused of spying 05 Aug 2009 Three Americans detained in Iran on Friday have been questioned by Iranian security operatives. The US citizens, who were detained on charges of entering Iran from Iraq without permission, were arrested near the Iranian border town of Marivan. Iranian television has described the three Americans as spies.
'Pain Ray' First Commercial Sale Looms By David Hambling 05 Aug 2009 The military isn’t about to deploy its pain ray to the battlefield. But someone in the commercial sector is about to buy one. We don’t know who. The sale is mentioned in a presentation by Raytheon, who built the microwave weapon for the Defense Department. The so-called "Active Denial System" works by heating the outer surface of the target’s skin using millimeter waves -- short wavelength microwaves... Recently, it’s been proposed as a possible defense against pirates; last month, Raytheon gave a presentation on Active Denial at a NATO workshop on anti-pirate equipment and technologies.
US Marines Corps bans Facebook, Twitter 05 Aug 2009 The US Marine Corps has issued an order banning the use of social networking sites such as Facebook, MySpace and Twitter on its network for one year. "These Internet sites in general are a proven haven for malicious actors and content and are particularly high risk due to information exposure, user-generated content and targeting by adversaries," [!?!] the Marine Corps order reads.
Blackwater CEO accused of killing witnesses 05 Aug 2009 The lawsuit filed by Iraqis against the US contractor Blackwater takes turn with a former employee and a former US marine accusing the firm's owner of murder. In sworn statements filed on August 3 in federal court in the Eastern District of Virginia, the two testified that company owner and CEO Erik Prince may have murdered or arranged the murder of individuals cooperating with US federal authorities investigating the case.
Army prosecutor quits Guantanamo war court case 03 Aug 2009 An Army prosecutor has resigned from the Guantanamo war court in a crisis of conscience over plans to try a young Afghan accused of throwing a grenade rather than settle the case out of court, according to an affidavit filed with the court Wednesday. Army Lt. Col. Darrel Vandeveld, a reservist from the Pittsburgh area, becomes the fourth known prosecutor to quit the Pentagon's controversial military tribunals, which the Bush regime set up after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.
Lying about Iraq made me quit, press officer claims 05 Aug 2009 Having to peddle "government lies" about the safety of soldiers in Iraq led to a Ministry of Defence press officer suffering post-traumatic stress disorder, an employment tribunal will hear. John Salisbury-Baker will claim that he suffered "intolerable stress" through having to "defend the morally indefensible" when responding to media inquiries about the ability of army vehicles such as the "Snatch" Land Rover to protect soldiers. Mr Salisbury-Baker says he found it impossible to support the official line on deaths and injuries after seeing the suffering of soldiers' families.
Soldier Who Refused Deployment Over 'Illegal' Wars Is Jailed 06 Aug 2009 A soldier at Fort Hood who fought his deployment to Afghanistan and stopped obeying orders was sentenced to a month in jail and demoted to private in a military court on Wednesday morning. Victor Agosto, a 24-year-old signalman with the III Corps, ripped a patch showing his specialist rank off his uniform after an emotional hearing in front of an Army captain in which he had told the court he believed the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan violated international law, his lawyer, James M. Branum, said. Later, about 20 antiwar protesters cheered Private Agosto as he was taken to jail, the lawyer said. "He’s not opposed to all wars; he is opposed to this war, because it is not a war of self-defense," Mr. Branum said.
Obama team quietly mulls new quarantine regulations --OMB set Sept. for target date to complete first major overhaul of quarantine regulations --W. House officials not saying what their rules might ultimately require 05 Aug 2009 The Obama administration is quietly dusting off an effort to impose new federal quarantine regulations, which were vigorously resisted by civil liberties organizations and the airline industry when the rules were first proposed by the Bush regime nearly four years ago. The White House’s Office of Management and Budget has set a September target date to complete the first major overhaul of the quarantine regulations in about three decades. That would have at least some of the rules in place if swine flu returns with a vengeance later this year, though officials are reluctant to make that link publicly. [See: 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 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. See: DoD to 'augment civilian law' during pandemic or bioterror attack and DoD to carry out 'military missions' during pandemic, WMD attack.]
Report: White House Weighing Federal Quarantine Rules 05 Aug 2009 The Obama White House may be preparing to enact new federal quarantine regulations that were first put forth by the Bush administration almost four years ago, according to a report from Politico.com. While the Obama administration has been tight lipped about the possible new regulations, the Bush-era proposal sought to give the federal government, "the authority to order a provisional quarantine of three business days or up to six calendar days, for those suspected of having swine flu or other illnesses listed in a presidential executive order," the Politico report said.
Baxter completes first swine flu vaccine batches 05 Aug 2009 Baxter International Inc said on Wednesday it completed its first commercial batches of H1N1 vaccine in late July and is discussing distribution plans with national health authorities. The swine flu vaccine, to be sold under the brand name Celvapan, is made using Baxter's cell culture process, which is designed to be faster than traditional vaccine production methods. [See: Baxter working on vaccine to stop swine flu, though admitted sending live pandemic flu viruses to subcontractor 26 Apr 2009.]
More charged with terrorism offences in Australia 05 Aug 2009 Australian police charged four more men on Wednesday with planning to attack an army base and shoot soldiers as the government considered whether to ban a Somalia militant group linked to the plot. During a brief court hearing in Melbourne on Wednesday, one of those charged refused to stand before the court and then shouted at the presiding magistrate. "You call me a terrorist? I have never killed a person in my life," said Wissam Mahmoud Fattal, 33, before he was led to a jail cell. "Your army kills innocent people in Iraq and Afghanistan and Israel takes Palestinian land by force," he said.
Pakistan bans 25 Islamist organizations 05 Aug 2009 Pakistan has banned 25 Islamist and charity organizations across the country under the 1997 Anti-Terrorism Act saying the move was aimed at stopping growing militancy in the country. Pakistan's Interior Minister Rehman Malik announced the decision in a parliament session held on Wednesday, a Press TV correspondent reported. Malik told the National Assembly that his ministry has issued a new list of banned organizations.
Guard troops may be 'needed' for law enforcement in Ala. county 04 Aug 2009 A judge has cleared the way for more workforce cuts in Alabama's most populous county, and National Guard troops could be called in. A judge ruled Tuesday that leaders in Jefferson County could go ahead with plans to slash $4.1 million from the budget of Sheriff Mike Hale, who filed suit to block the cuts. A spokesman for Hale, Randy Christian, said the sheriff told Gov. Bob Riley after the ruling that state assistance may be needed to perform basic law enforcement tasks once the department's funding runs out in early September.
Internet firms condemn plans for GCHQ email access --The firms will be asked to collect and store vast amounts of data. 04 Aug 2009 A proposal to allow Cheltenham listening post GCHQ to monitor any email, phone call or website visit of people in the UK has been condemned by internet firms. The London Internet Exchange, which represents more than 330 companies, says the Government's surveillance proposals are an "unwarranted" invasion of people's privacy. The £2 billion project, pioneered by former Home Secretary Jacqui Smith, would allow the Benhall-based intelligence headquarters access to the records of internet providers in an effort to maintain its defences against terrorism.
Murdoch papers to charge for websites by 2010 06 Aug 2009 The days of being able to read newspapers for free on the internet are coming to a close, the media mogul Rupert Murdoch signaled, as he promised The Times and The Sun would begin charging for access to their websites within months. In a sweeping rethink of how the beleaguered newspaper industry operates, the News Corporation founder declared that quality journalism must come at a price. [Rupert Murdoch is the last 'person' on earth to know what quality journalism *is.*]
