UN rights investigator warns US drone attacks may violate international law 28 Oct 2009 UN Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions Philip Alston said Tuesday that the use of unmanned warplanes by the US to carry out attacks in Pakistan and Afghanistan may be illegal. Alston criticized the US policy in a report to the UN General Assembly's human rights committee and then elaborated at a press conference.
Brother of Afghan president reportedly on CIA payroll 28 Oct 2009 The New York Times has reported that the brother of Afghan President Hamid Karzai has been taking regular payments from the Central Intelligence Agency. The Times, quoting current and former US intelligence officials, said Ahmed Wali Karzai had been paid for different services including the putting together of a CIA directed Afghan paramilitary force.
Brother of Afghan President Is on C.I.A. Payroll, Officials Say 28 Oct 2009 Ahmed Wali Karzai, the brother of the Afghan president and a suspected player in the country's booming illegal opium trade, gets regular payments from the Central Intelligence Agency, and has for much of the past eight years, according to current and former American officials. The agency pays Mr. Karzai for a variety of services, and those financial ties and the agency's close working relationship with him raise significant questions about America's war strategy, which is currently under review at the White House.
Gunmen storm UN guest house in Kabul, 12 dead 28 Oct 2009 Taliban militants wearing suicide vests and police uniforms stormed a guest house used by U.N. staff in the heart of the Afghan capital early Wednesday, killing 12 people -- including six U.N. staff. It was the biggest in a series of attacks intended to undermine next month's presidential runoff 'election.' A Taliban spokesman claimed responsibility for the early morning assaults, which also included rocket attacks at the presidential palace and the city's main luxury hotel.
October deadliest month for US troops in Afghanistan 27 Oct 2009 October has been the deadliest month for U.S. troops in Afghanistan since the start of the war in 2001, Pentagon officials said on Tuesday. The death of eight troops in bomb attacks in southern Afghanistan on Tuesday pushed the October death toll to 53, topping the previous high of 51 deaths in August, officials said.
Afghan bombs kill eight US troops 27 Oct 2009 Eight US soldiers have been killed in bomb attacks in southern Afghanistan, say Nato-led forces. An Afghan civilian was also killed in what were called "multiple complex IED attacks" - or improvised bombs. The deaths make October the deadliest month for American forces in the eight-year war in Afghanistan.
Car bomb kills 90 in Pakistan as Hillary Clinton visits 28 Oct 2009 A car bomb ripped through a crowded market killing 90 people in Pakistan's city of Peshawar on Wednesday, just hours after Washington's top diplomat arrived pledging a fresh start in sometimes strained relations. Wednesday's bomb, the latest urban attack since [Blackwater arrived] the army launched a major assault on rural Taliban strongholds two weeks ago, was the deadliest since 2007 when around 140 died.
Pakistani journalist claims life under threat following U.S agency expose 27 Oct 2009 A Pakistani journalist claims to have been receiving life threats from a U.S agency for critically writing against the Obama administration and for reporting its secret operations in the country. Fears of being harassed has him to use a pseudo name, S.F.A. Shah, who now fears for his life after breaking the story of the presence of Blackwater (now Xe Worldwide) in Peshawar along with Creative Associates International Inc (CAII). He had published names of the investigation and operational heads of the agency and had unmasked the nexus of BW, FBI and CIA. He had also investigated the activities of the US Consulate in Peshawar... The Nation reports. Now a report has revealed how he was hounded out of his home and was later approached by the CIA.
UN rights rapporteur: Guantanamo detainees should be tried or released 27 Oct 2009 UN Special Rapporteur on human rights and counterterrorism Martin Scheinin said Monday that all Guantanamo Bay detainees should be brought before US federal courts for trial by the January 22 deadline for closure set by US President Barack Obama. Scheinin said that the detainees should not be held indefinitely and that if they cannot be brought to the US for trial then they should be released.
Ex-Gitmo detainees sue UK to make evidence public 28 Oct 2009 Seven former Guantanamo Bay detainees asked the High Court in London on Tuesday to reject a government request to use secret sessions to hear allegations that Britain was complicit in their torture overseas. Britain's government and intelligence agencies want parts of a claim for damages filed by the detainees prisoners to be heard in private, and to restrict their lawyers' access to documents that the attorneys say may prove whether Britain was aware of the detainees' mistreatment. The seven men allege they were tortured or abused at the U.S. prison camp at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and at detention centers in Pakistan, Afghanistan and Morocco.
Obama reaffirms Guantanamo pledge 27 Oct 2009 President Barack Obama has declared that he is "serious" about shutting Guantanamo Bay amid speculation that a January deadline for its closure may be pushed back. At a fundraising event in Miami, the President reiterated his pledge to move all detainees off the controversial Cuban base. He made no mention of when the process would be complete, stoking speculation that the planned closure is behind schedule.
Court's flu plan raises due-process concern --'Precautionary' quarantines delaying arraignments 28 Oct 2009 Defense attorneys in the desert are crying foul at a plan to contain the spread of H1N1 virus or any other flu-like illnesses, saying that it could violate an inmate's constitutional right to a speedy trial. Riverside County Jail officials developed the protocol, which includes inmate quarantines, in an effort to curb the chances of an outbreak of flu-like viruses in the county's jails. Los Angeles County man Anthony Raymond Magdaleno,18, was scheduled to be arraigned on Tuesday... But Magdaleno did not appear in court for the second time in two days because he is one of several inmates quarantined at the Riverside County Jail in Indio in a precautionary action attributed to a flu-like virus, jail officials said.
Hearing in DHS supermarket slaying postponed again for jail flu quarantine 27 Oct 2009 Arraignment for a Los Angeles County man accused of gunning down a man in front of a Desert Hot Springs supermarket was delayed today for a second day in a row because of a flu quarantine at the Indio Jail. The hearing was rescheduled for Wednesday for 18-year-old Anthony Raymond Magdaleno, who faces a murder charge... His arraignment has been delayed three times because of the quarantine. Riverside County jails have been quarantining inmates with flu-like symptoms in attempt to keep the H1N1 virus and the seasonal flu from spreading through the population, said Capt. Raymond Gregory, who oversees jails in Indio and Blythe.
Pig plague could crash interwebs, say US feds --DHS bandwidth rationing? 28 Oct 2009 A severe outbreak of the H1N1 pandemic could overwhelm internet providers' capacity, according to a report submitted Monday, which called on Department of Homeland Security officials to develop contingency plans to avert such a crisis. "Concerns exist that a more severe pandemic outbreak than 2009's could cause large numbers of people staying home to increase their internet use and overwhelm internet providers' network capacities," according to the report, which was prepared by the US Government Accountability Office... The authors said the DHS, which is responsible for making sure critical networks remain operational during emergencies, needs to consider ways to mitigate the threat and held out the rationing of customer bandwidth or the blocking of websites as possibilities. ...Networks used by security exchanges would most likely survive because they generally bypass the public internet.
Pharmaterrorists' swine flu vaccine guinea pigs: prisoners. Texas to Give Prisoners H1N1 Vaccine Before General Public 28 Oct 2009 Texas prison officials say thousands of high-risk convicts may be vaccinated against the swine flu ahead of the general public as soon as next week. Texas Department of Criminal Justice spokeswoman Michelle Lyons and state health officials say more than 45,000 convicts are being considered for the vaccine. They've been targeted by a U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention distribution policy to receive the vaccine. Texas is the second state [Massachusetts is the other state] to announce it would vaccinate prisoners before vaccinating the general public.
Massachusetts Prisoners With 'Health Risks' to Get H1N1 Shots Before General Public 15 Oct 2009 Massachusetts health officials have decided to give swine flu vaccinations to prisoners with high health risks before the general population. Prison officials warn that inmates could quickly spread the flu if not inoculated -- particularly those in high-risk groups, such as AIDS patients or the aged. Department of Public Health spokeswoman Jennifer Manley told the Boston Herald that vaccines will go to correctional facilities the second week of November for prison health care workers and high risk prisoners. [Gee, can these Nazis get any more blatant with their medical experiments?]
U.S. may end up discarding unused H1N1 vaccine [Why not just toss the sh*t now to save time?] 27 Oct 2009 The U.S. government may end up throwing away unused doses of swine flu vaccine if people cannot get it soon enough, the director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said on Tuesday. CDC director Dr. Thomas Frieden said 22.4 million doses were now available to states, which can get them a day after they order them. "It's quite likely that too little vaccine is one of the things that's making people more interested in getting vaccinated, frankly," Frieden told reporters.
Pregnant Women Wary of Swine Flu Shot --Survey Shows Most Pregnant Women and Moms of Young Kids Won't Get Vaccinated 27 Oct 2009 A new survey shows only about one in four pregnant women and mothers of young children plan to get the H1N1 flu vaccine this year, despite recommendations from public health groups massive propaganda campaigns urging them to do so. Only 27% plan on getting the H1N1 flu vaccine.
Swine flu doctors tell footballers to stop spitting 28 Oct 2009 It is one of the most common complaints from spectators of the beautiful game. And yesterday, footballers were warned that spitting during games is not only unattractive, but could increase the risk of spreading swine flu. The warning comes as players at two Premier League clubs in England were struck down by the virus, prompting fears that it could spread to other teams and players.
Experts discount 'accident' theory in Harvard pathology lab coffee poisoning 26 Oct 2009 A leading toxicologist believes the chances are slim that six lab workers at Harvard University Medical School were poisoned by accident. "An accident? Sodium azide is a poison," said David M. Benjamin, a toxicologist and Chestnut Hill-based clinical pharmacologist. "Absolutely not." The Herald reported yesterday that six scientists and students at the New Research Building in Boston’s Longwood Medical area were mysteriously poisoned after drinking from a communal, single-serve coffee machine on the eighth floor near their pathology lab on Aug. 26. Seconds later all six reported symptoms including dizziness and low blood pressure and were taken to Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center for treatment.
Two Chicago men accused of plotting terror attacks in Denmark --U.S. citizen allegedly conspired with high-ranking operatives overseas, using code words to conceal plot called the "Mickey Mouse Project." 27 Oct 2009 Federal authorities have arrested and charged two Chicago area men in connection with an alleged terrorist plot focused on targets in Denmark after a newspaper there published cartoons that enraged the Muslim community. Prosecutors in Chicago and the District said that the men posed "no imminent danger" and noted that David Coleman Headley and Tahawar Hussain Rana have been in U.S. custody for several days while they conducted further "investigative activity."
Greyhound bus passengers get screened, pat down in special TSA operation --Everyone who walked into the terminal went through a metal detector like those at airports, and baggage was screened for explosives. 22 Oct 2009 The TSA's Visible Intermodal Prevention and Response (VIRP) teams stage periodic operations at bus and train stations, ports and other transportation centers. There was no specific threat to the bus station on John Young Parkway south of Colonial Drive. On Thursday, 50 officials from agencies including TSA, Orlando police, the Orange County Sheriff's Office, and U.S. Customs and Border Protection patted down passengers. Behavior and explosives experts and dogs trained to sniff out bombs and drugs also were used.
Anti-terrorism exercise held at CBBT 27 Oct 2009 Eight federal and local law enforcement agencies put on a show of force at the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel (CBBT) Tuesday. Random traffic stops were conducted at the north and south toll gates. The security check is part of the Transportation Security Agency's (TSA) Viper Program. It's a effort to deter terrorist activity and protect our bridges and tunnels.
Ex-A.I.G. Chief Is Back, Luring Talent From Rescued Firm 27 Oct 2009 Maurice R. Greenberg, who built the American International Group into an insurance behemoth with an impenetrable maze of on- and offshore companies, is at it again. Even as he has been lambasting the government for its handling of A.I.G. after its near collapse, Mr. Greenberg has been quietly building up a family of insurance companies that could compete with A.I.G. To fill the ranks of his venture, C.V. Starr & Company, he has been hiring some people he once employed. Now, Mr. Greenberg may have received some unintended assistance from the United States Treasury. Just last week, the Treasury severely limited pay at A.I.G. and other companies that were bailed out by taxpayers. That may hasten the exodus of A.I.G.’s talent, sending more refugees into Mr. Greenberg’s arms, since C. V. Starr is free to pay whatever it wants. [AIG --they're like the monsters in the 'Aliens' movie. People kept feeding them so they could grow bigger and then absorb their hosts. --LRP]
New York Fed's Secret Choice to Pay for Swaps Hits Taxpayers 27 Oct 2009 By Sept. 16, 2008, AIG, once the world’s largest insurer, was running out of cash, and the U.S. government stepped in with a rescue plan. The government’s commitment to AIG through credit facilities and investments would eventually add up to $182.3 billion... After less than a week of private negotiations with the banks, the New York Fed instructed AIG to pay them par, or 100 cents on the dollar. The content of its deliberations has never been made public. Bloomberg News has filed a Freedom of Information Act request seeking copies of the term sheets related to AIG’s counterparty payments, along with e-mails and the logs of phone calls and meetings... The request is pending. The Federal Reserve has been reluctant to publish information on its efforts to stabilize the financial system since the crisis began. The Fed has loaned more than $2 trillion, yet it refuses to name the recipients of the loans, or cite the amount they borrowed, saying that doing so may set off a run by depositors and unsettle shareholders.
CLG: Silence On the Senator --The Lieberman Lie Pie is growing, and Connecticut's largest newspaper is ignoring it. By Lori Price 28 Oct 2009 When Senator Chris Dodd (D) sneezes, the state of Connecticut knows it. We know it, because the Hartford Courant tells us... and tells us and tells us. On the flip side, one can (jokingly) observe that one would have to revert to the Hartford Courant's founding date -- 1764 -- to find positive coverage of Dodd or any other Democrat. The Courant, mindful that reporting Joe Lieberman's actual actions would drag his approval ratings down lower than the Marianas Trench, avoids the topic of Joe(no)mentum altogether.
Lieberman says to back GOP filibuster against Democrats on health care 27 Oct 2009 Sen. Joe Lieberman (R-Israel) said Tuesday that he’d back a GOP filibuster of Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid’s health care reform bill. LieberBush said he opposes any health care bill that includes a government-run insurance program -- even if it includes a provision allowing states to opt out of the program, as Reid has said the Senate bill will.
Poll: support growing for public option 27 Oct 2009 Public support for a public option in health care appears to be growing, according to a new poll. The NBC/Wall Street Journal survey found that 48 percent support a government-run plan to compete with private insurers and 42 percent oppose it -- the strongest support ever in the survey. Last month, opinion was basically divided with 46 percent in favor and 48 percent against.
Landfill sites may be used to dump radioactive waste --Government poised to allow nuclear power generators to put atomic waste in ordinary sites to cut cost [!] of decommissioning old reactors 19 Oct 2009 The [criminally insane] government is poised to allow nuclear power generators to use ordinary landfill sites for dumping "hundreds of thousands of tons" of waste in an attempt to reduce the £73bn cost of decommissioning old reactors. The move has triggered a swath of applications around the country from big corporations trying to cash in on this potential new business, but infuriated local councils and campaign groups.
Push to Legalize Marijuana Gains Ground in California 28 Oct 2009 These are heady times for advocates of legalized marijuana in California -- and only in small part because of the newly relaxed approach of the federal government toward medical marijuana. State lawmakers are holding a hearing on Wednesday on the effects of a bill that would legalize, tax and regulate the drug -- in what would be the first such law in the United States. Tax officials estimate the legislation could bring the struggling state about $1.4 billion a year, and though the bill’s fate in the Legislature is uncertain, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) has indicated he would be open to a "robust debate" on the issue.
Previous lead stories: In pandemic, Internet providers might need govt authorization to block popular websites --'The DHS is responsible for ensuring that critical telecommunications infrastructure is protected.' 26 Oct 2009 Securities exchanges have a sound network back-up if a severe pandemic keeps people home and clogging the Internet [!?!] but the Homeland Security Department has done little planning, Congressional investigators said on Monday... Blocking Websites: Private Internet providers might need government authorization to block popular websites, it [GAO report] said, or to reduce residential transmission speeds to make way for commerce. The Financial Services Sector Coordinating Council for Critical Infrastructure Protection and Homeland Security, a group of private-sector firms and financial trade associations, has been working to ensure that trading could continue if big exchanges had to close because of the risk of disease transmission.
Guantánamo torture: UK wants claims of complicity to be heard in secret --The government also wants its evidence kept secret from defence lawyers. 26 Oct 2009 The government wants allegations that it was complicit in the torture by the US of Britons held as terrorism suspects to be heard in secret. In documents seen by the Guardian, lawyers for the government argue it must be allowed to present evidence to the high court with the public excluded, otherwise Britain's relations with other countries and its national security could be damaged. The government also wants its evidence kept secret from defence lawyers. Lawyers for seven men who are now all back in the UK after the US released them without charge will tomorrow go to the high court in London to fight the government's attempt, which they say is designed to cover the embarrassment of ministers and the security services.
