Iran vows revenge after claiming bomb attack was carried out by Britain --A bomb attack on Iran's elite Revolutionary Guard that killed over 40 people including top generals was carried out by terrorists trained by America and Britain in nearby Pakistan, a senior commander said on Monday. 19 Oct 2009 "The terrorists were trained in the neighbouring country by the Americans and British," General Mohammad Pakpour, head of the Guard's ground forces, told state television. "The enemies of the Islamic Republic of Iran are unable to tolerate the unity in the country." Gen Pakpour, whose deputy Gen Nour Ali Shoushtari was the most senior officer killed in the attack, said there would be retribution. [See: Blackwater running covert recruitment drive in Pak through its website 16 Sep 2009 and Blackwater Recruiting Agents Fluent In Urdu and Punjabi For Pakistan --Report suggests Pakistani envoy in Washington issued 360 visas to Americans in one month without consulting Islamabad By Ahmed Quraishi 15 Sep 2009.]
UN: Israel planted spy devices in Lebanon 19 Oct 2009 A UN investigation into explosions in southern Lebanon says that Israel detonated spy devices it planted on Lebanese after their discovery by Hezbollah resistance movement. The two explosions over weekend occurred after Lebanon's Hezbollah discovered cables used for spying in the al-Abbad area near an Israeli border post. "Preliminary indications are that these explosions were caused by explosive charges contained in unattended underground sensors which were placed in this area by the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) apparently during the 2006 war," UNIFIL said in a statement.
U.S. Scientist Arrested for Allegedly Attempting to Pass Secrets to Israel --A Former NASA Scientist Is Caught in a Sting Operation for Alleged Espionage FBI agents arrested a scientist who worked for NASA and other agencies Monday afternoon in a sting operation after he allegedly attempted to sell top secret satellite information to agents he thought were Israeli spies. Stewart Nozette was arrested shortly after 4:00 p.m. at the Mayflower Hotel in downtown Washington by counterespionage agents from the FBI's Washington field office after he believed he was meeting with agents from the Mossad to pass information to them in exchange for money, the Justice Department said.
Obama 'beginning' war in Afghanistan from 'scratch' 19 Oct 2009 An adviser to US president Barack Obama says Washington is "beginning" from "scratch" the war in Afghanistan, which he says the Bush administration had set "adrift." White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel said on Sunday that former US president [sic] George W. Bush had failed to ask key questions regarding the war in Afghanistan.
Military Seeks $1.3 Billion For Construction Projects in Afghanistan 18 Oct 2009 While the Obama administration weighs whether to send additional troops to Afghanistan, the U.S. military is spending billions of dollars on construction projects to ensure the country's infrastructure can support American and coalition personnel in 2010 and years beyond. The military has already spent roughly $2.7 billion on construction over the past three fiscal years. Now, if its request is approved as part of the fiscal 2010 defense appropriations bill, it would spend another $1.3 billion on more than 100 projects at 40 sites across the country, according to a Senate report on the legislation. ["I was building a bridge," an Afghan contactor said, one evening over drinks. "The local Taliban commander called and said 'don't build a bridge there, we'll have to blow it up.' I asked him to let me finish the bridge, collect the money -- then they could blow it up whenever they wanted. We agreed, and I completed my project." Who is funding the Afghan Taliban? You don't want to know. 13 Aug 2009.]
United States admits tackling Italians over payments to the Taleban 17 Oct 2009 The US Government acknowledged for the first time yesterday that payment of protection money to the Taleban by Italian forces in Afghanistan was discussed by American officials and their Italian counterparts last year. A senior US official confirmed, two days after The Times reported that Italian authorities had paid the bribes, that "the issue [of payments] was raised with the Italians". [I wonder if US payments to the Taleban should just be incorporated into the next stimulus package? After all, funding the Taleban 'stimulates' the need for Obusha's war to continue. --LRP]
Petraeus arrives as Pakistani troops battle 10,000 Taliban 18 Oct 2009 The Pakistani military says its forces have killed some 60 Taliban fighters during a large-scale offensive in South Waziristan, near the Afghan border... Meanwhile, General David Petraeus, chief of the US Central Command, has arrived in Pakistan on an emergency visit. Talks with Pakistan's military leaders will centre on the Pakistani military’s offensive against the Taliban along the Afghan border.
Hamid Karzai faces another ballot after 1m votes ruled out 20 Oct 2009 President Karzai was under intense pressure last night to accept a deal with his main opponent or a second round of voting in Afghanistan’s disputed election after UN-backed observers declared more than a million first-round votes invalid. Sources at the Electoral Complaints Commission (ECC) confirmed that its two-month inquiry had found “clear and convincing evidence of fraud”, reducing Mr Karzai’s share of the vote from 55 to 48 per cent -- and requiring a run-off ballot under Afghan law.
Karzai: Foreigners manipulating Afghan vote recount 19 Oct 2009 The Presidential campaign of Afghan President Hamid Karzai has accused foreigners of manipulating recount process, saying new results would not be acceptable. Karzai campaign spokesman Waheed Omar said on Sunday the recount process is being politically manipulated by outsiders. Campaign officials criticized the UN-backed Electoral Complaints Commission (ECC) that is re-tallying the numbers.
2 Texas Guard soldiers killed in Afghanistan 18 Oct 2009 The Department of Defense says two Texas National Guard soldiers are dead from a roadside bomb attack on their vehicle in Afghanistan. The military says the attack happened Friday.
BP Wins Huge Oil License in Iraq --Iraqi officials also reopened talks with Royal Dutch Shell about licences connected to an oil field in Kirkuk 19 Oct 2009 Iraq's cabinet has approved a deal with BP to develop the huge Rumaila oil field in the country's first international energy deal since the American-led invasion in 2003. The agreement, which was brokered in June during the first round of tendering for licences to exploit Iraq's enormous and largely untapped hydrocarbon resources [the *real* reason for the us invasion], should also send "a strong signal" to other energy groups that the Iraqi regime is keen to secure deals. Abdul-Mahdy al-Ameedi, the deputy director of Iraq's Petroleum Contracts and Licensing Directorate, was speaking in Istanbul, where Iraqi officials are meeting oil companies ahead of a second tender of oil-field contracts due in December. [How come the 'real' insurgents didn't attended *this* meeting? Seems like that's where they should have made their stand.]
8 killed, 29 wounded in Baghdad bombings 18 Oct 2009 At least eight people have been killed and 29 others wounded in two separate bombings in Baghdad's mainly Sunni Adhamiya district, police say. In the first blast, five people were killed and 15 others wounded when a bomb in a parked car was detonated. In the second blast, after a bomb on a motorcycle detonated, three people were killed and 14 others wounded.
'Insurgents' Destroy 2 Bridges In Anbar 18 Oct 2009 'Insurgents' [Xe?] detonated a truck loaded with five tons of explosives Saturday on a bridge here that links western Iraq to Jordan and Syria, pulverizing part of the overpass and paralyzing traffic for hours. Another, smaller bridge was also destroyed in Fallujah, where a roadside bomb struck an Iraqi military patrol on the highway, killing four soldiers and wounding 14 others, said Sulaiman al-Dulaimi, a spokesman for the Fallujah General Hospital.
Xe is a busy little bee: Iraq's anti-corruption journalist attacked 18 Oct 2009 An Iraqi journalist called for protection after being "brutally" attacked for her efforts in fighting corruption while refusing to confirm rumors about the culprits and ruling out the possibility of leaving the country. Zahraa al-Moussawi published several online articles about corruption in the Iraqi government and received many threats before she was beaten up in a Baghdad street, she said in an interview with Al Arabiya TV. "I was attacked in the Arasat district in the center of Iraq,” she said. "A group of armed men got off a four-wheel drive and started beating me up brutally."
Gulf-trotting Tony Blair cashes in on his war contacts 18 Oct 2009 Tony Blair has been cashing in on his contacts from the Iraq conflict and his role as Middle East peace envoy for a private business venture expected to earn him more than £5m a year. The former prime minister has sold his political and economic expertise to two countries, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates, via his fledgling private consultancy. He also represents the investment bank JP Morgan in the region.
MI6 'halted bid to arrest bin Laden' --According to Shayler, MI6 passed £100,000 to the al-Qaeda plotters. [Gotta love that. I wonder how much the CIA and Carlyle Group was into him for?] 10 Nov 2002 The Observer has been restrained from printing details of the allegations during the course of the trial of David Shayler, who was last week sentenced to six months in prison for disclosing documents obtained during his time as an MI5 officer. He was not allowed to argue that he made the revelations in the public interest. During his closing speech last week, Shayler repeated claims that he was gagged from talking about 'a crime so heinous' that he had no choice but to go to the press with his story. The 'crime' was the alleged MI6 involvement in the plot to assassinate Gadaffi, hatched in late 1995.
Prosecutor tallies 27,000 Colombians 'disappeared' 19 Oct 2009 A senior prosecutor says more than 27,000 people have been forcibly disappeared in Colombia since the late 1980s - at least 75 percent by illegal far-right militias. It's the first official number on the subject and is based chiefly on recent confessions of demobilized militia fighters and relatives of those missing and presumed killed. Prosecutor Luis Gonzalez told local media on Monday that investigators continue to compile data and it's not clear how many bodies have been recovered of the 27,384 listed as missing.
U.S. Navy pushes green fleet 19 Oct 2009 U.S. Navy officials laid out a series of initiatives intended to change the way the force uses energy, including the increased use of renewable resources. U.S. Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus unveiled a series of measures at an energy forum in Virginia. The measures include a shift toward long-term energy savings, the increased use of hybrid and electric vehicles and the creation of a so-called Green Strike Group composed of nuclear- and biofuel-powered vessels.
Department of Homeland Security Expands Controversial 287(g) Program Empowering Local Police to Enforce Immigration Laws (Democracy Now!) 19 Oct 2009 The Department of Homeland Security said Friday it plans to enter into new agreements with sixty-seven state and local law enforcement agencies. These agreements expand the existing 287(g) program, which delegates some federal immigration enforcement authority to certain state and local agencies. The 287(g) program has come under intense criticism in recent months, with over 500 organizations, including the ACLU and the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, calling on the government to end the program.
GTPD adds SWAT team --Funding provided for development of SWAT team, procurement of more vehicles and equipment for use by GTPD 15 Oct 2009 The Georgia Tech Police Department (GTPD) will add an eight man SWAT team to its force in the coming months. The team’s formation is the culmination of over three years of work by the administration to increase emergency preparedness and 'safety' on campus. In order to fund the development of the force, GTPD received an expanded budget from the Institute and additional grants from other sources.
'The plan calls for different rules for some populations.' Florida hospitals to implement 'death panels' in pandemic --The state has not yet publicized the guidelines or solicited input from the general public. 18 Oct 2009 Florida health officials are drawing up guidelines that recommend barring patients with incurable cancer, end-stage multiple sclerosis and other conditions from being admitted to hospitals if the state is overwhelmed by flu cases. The plan, which would guide Florida hospitals on how to ration scarce medical care during a severe flu outbreak, also calls for doctors to remove patients with poor prognoses from ventilators to treat those who have better chances of surviving. That decision would be made by the hospital... While it says those decisions are not to be made based on patients' perceived social worth or role, the plan calls for different rules for some populations.
Parent takes school to task over H1N1 warning letter 18 Oct 2009 A letter sent home with Vancouver schoolchildren warning about the prevalence of the H1N1 virus among students has one father questioning why parents are getting what he said could be misleading information. On Wednesday, schools sent parents a letter from the board of education addressing the prevalence of the HINI virus in several Vancouver schools... The bulletin went on to remind parents that by Nov. 1, a vaccine will be made available for all children.
First shipment of A/H1N1 flu vaccine available in Canadian provinces [No one wants the sh*t, so watch the government make the vaccine mandatory.] 20 Oct 2009 The first shipment of two million doses of A/H1N1 flu vaccine has arrived in Canada's provinces and territories while clinical trials have started, health officials announced on Monday. Vaccination is expected to start in mid-November and the approval process is well underway, Health Minister Leona Aglukkaq said at a press conference in Ottawa.
Poll: 75% of Finns Don't Want the Swine Flu Vaccine 18 Oct 2009 In Finland, at least three media outlets have held polls asking the Finnish people if they are going to get the swine flu vaccine. The first online poll was held by MTV3; 61% said they do not want the swine flu vaccine. In the Helsingin Sanomat gallup, 75%, answered "No". A third poll, held at the end of September, by Ilta-Sanomat rendered the same percentage as the Helsingin Sanomat gallup, 75% will not be taking the vaccine.
Poll: Most Americans support public option 19 Oct 2009 A new Washington Post-ABC News poll shows that support for a government-run health-care plan to compete with private insurers has rebounded from its summertime lows [?!?] and wins clear majority support from the public. Sizable majorities back two key and controversial provisions: both the so-called public option and a new mandate that would require all Americans to carry health insurance.
Families face nuclear tax on power bills 19 Oct 2009 Government officials have drawn up secret plans to tax electricity consumers to subsidise the construction of the UK's first new [deadly] nuclear reactors for more than 20 years, the Guardian has learned. The planned levy on household bills would add £44 to an annual electricity bill of £500 and contradicts repeated promises by ministers that the nuclear industry would no longer benefit from public subsidies.
Sarah Palin Goes Down Cheap on Amazon: Just $9 for "Going Rogue," A $29.00 Book. WTF? By Mark Karlin 19 Oct 2009 Not many new books get a 69% discount before they are even released. In fact, BuzzFlash -- which sells progressive books -- has never seen such a slashed price for a book before it came out like the $9.00 Amazon.com is charging for "Going Rogue." Yes, Palin and "Going Rogue" -- not released until November 17 -- are going down cheap, at a price usually reserved for what are called "remainder" books, the surplus stock of a book that is dramatically discounted. [You can cut the words 'on Amazon,' and you'll still be right.]
PM warns of climate 'catastrophe' 19 Oct 2009 The UK faces a "catastrophe" of floods, droughts and killer heatwaves if world leaders fail to agree a deal on climate change, the prime minister has warned. Gordon Brown said negotiators had 50 days to save the world from global warming and break the "impasse".
Polar bear protection soon 17 Oct 2009 With global warming shrinking Arctic sea ice that polar bears depend upon for survival, the United States is seeking to remove another major threat: international trade in the bears' fur and other parts. In a proposal filed this week, the Interior Department asked other countries to support a ban on the commercial trade of polar bears and to strictly regulate trophy hunting. The request, if approved, would give the bear the most stringent protection afforded under an international convention to protect endangered species.
Do the right thing on polar bears By Joseph C. Leone 19 Oct 2009 (Toronto) Congratulations to the United States for doing what our own government doesn't have the courage to do -- protect our polar bears. Aboriginal groups want to defend their "key industry." This consists of selling their bear "tags" to rich American hunters for outrageous sums, up to $30,000, so they can kill a polar bear with a high powered rifle. Ottawa is asked by a Nunavut group to help defend the slaughter of this endangered species... Message to Ottawa: do the right thing and join the other 175 countries that have signed the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species, that would outlaw all commercial trade in polar bears.
Sheriff: Balloon boy hoax may have conspirators 19 Oct 2009 The lawyer for the man accused of perpetrating the balloon boy hoax to promote a reality show said Monday that he expects authorities to bring charges against his client in the coming days as investigators analyze e-mails that show Richard Heene and an associate discussing the stunt months ago.
Previous lead stories: Baghdad, USA: Chicago police officers accused of forcing kneeling suspect to pose for photo during G-20 summit 16 Oct 2009 The Chicago Police Department is investigating several of its officers accused of forcing a college student they arrested during last month's G-20 summit in Pittsburgh to pose for a group photo with them. The department, which has been dogged by embarrassing allegations of misconduct in recent years, began investigating the Pittsburgh claims after video of the alleged incident was posted on YouTube. The video apparently shows about 15 police officers in riot gear posing for a photo with a man they detained kneeling in front of them.
US judge upholds censoring CIA prisoner testimony 16 Oct 2009 A federal court upheld Friday the US government's decision to censor statements made by Guantanamo Bay detainees about their treatment at Central Intelligence Agency-run prisons. The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), a human rights group, had argued that the government should declassify redacted information contained in statements that detainees prisoners made before tribunals at Guantanamo Bay.
Judge Halts Mandatory Flu Vaccines for Health Care Workers 16 Oct 2009 A judge on Friday morning halted enforcement of a New York State directive requiring that all health care workers be vaccinated for the seasonal flu and swine flu. The temporary restraining order by the judge, Thomas J. McNamara, an acting justice of the State Supreme Court in Albany, comes amid a growing debate about the [squalene-laden, mercury-filled, Polysorbate 80-laced] flu vaccine.
