Last updated: 12/09/2009 02:58:17
Iraq to auction vast oilfields despite bombs 08 Dec 2009 The threat of bombs and violence will compete with the lure of some of the world's most promising oilfields when oil majors fly into Baghdad this week to bid in Iraq's second auction of contracts since the U.S. invasion. The risks, nearly seven years after U.S. forces toppled Saddam Hussein, were on display on Tuesday when a series of car bombs killed 112 people in the capital, rattling the windows of the Oil Ministry where the Dec. 11-12 auction will be held.127 dead as bombers aim for heart of government --Five devices including three suicide bombs bring carnage to Baghdad ministries on the day national 'elections' are announced 09 Dec 2009 Car bombers yesterday killed as many as 127 people in Baghdad in a series of attacks that left the city's streets strewn with the wreckage of burning vehicles and the charred bodies of the dead. The five bombs, including three that were detonated by suicide bombers, exploded in succession across the Iraqi capital over the course of an hour yesterday morning, targeting a mosque, a market, a government ministry, an educational college and a court. Some 425 people were wounded.
F.B.I. Sets New Review of Shootings at Ft. Hood --F.B.I. reviewer would coordinate his work with DoD investigation and criminal prosecution in the case 09 Dec 2009 The Federal Bureau of Investigation on Tuesday named a former director, William H. Webster, to conduct an independent review of the bureau’s handling of information about the Army major charged with murder in the Fort Hood shootings. The F.B.I. director, Robert S. Mueller III, has asked Mr. Webster to examine how the bureau dealt with information about Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan before the Nov. 5 shootings in which he is accused of killing 13 people.
Roche's Tamiflu Not Proven to Cut Flu Complications, Study Says 09 Dec 2009 Roche Holding AG’s antiviral drug Tamiflu may not prevent complications from influenza in healthy adults, according to a review by an independent research group that reversed its previous findings that the medicine warded off pneumonia and other deadly conditions linked to the disease... The report raises questions about how drugs are reviewed, approved and distributed, Fiona Godlee, the British journal’s editor in chief, wrote in an editorial. The studies originally used to establish the benefits of Tamiflu were written by Roche employees and paid consultants, under-reported serious side effects and failed to clearly identify all the authors, she wrote.
Exodus of the bankers 09 Dec 2009 The president of Britain's second largest bank has issued a veiled threat that the country's elite financiers could join a mass exodus from the City of London if the Government pushes ahead with a bonus supertax today. The Chancellor, Alistair Darling, is widely expected to use his pre-Budget report to introduce a one-off windfall tax on banking bonuses to help assuage public anger over six- and seven-figure pay-outs just months after the Government's multibillion-pound bailout of the banks. Bob Diamond, the president of Barclays and head of investment bank Barclays Capital, said businesses and individuals could desert the City if new taxes were imposed. [OMG! Good riddance, a**holes! Actually, people should issue a 'veiled threat' if they *stay!*]
Geithner Said to Be Seeking TARP Extension Until Next October 09 Dec 2009 Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner plans to tell Congress that the Obama administration will extend the $700 billion financial-rescue program until next October, according to people familiar with the matter. While the Troubled Asset Relief Program expires on Dec. 31, Geithner can extend it by notifying Congress. A letter notifying Congress of the extension could come as soon as today, said the people, who declined to be identified.
Copenhagen: Leaked draft deal widens rift between rich and poor nations --Climate talks are in disarray barely days into the summit, putting at risk international unity to fight global warming 09 Dec 2009 Three hours after the "Danish text" had been leaked to the Guardian, Lumumba Di-Aping, the Sudanese chairman of the group of 132 developing countries known as G77 plus China, spelt out exactly why the poor countries he represents were so incensed. "The text robs developing countries of their just and equitable and fair share of the atmospheric space. It tries to treat rich and poor countries as equal," said the diplomat. The text is a draft proposal for the final political agreement that should be signed by national leaders including Barack Obama and Gordon Brown at the end of the Copenhagen summit on 18 December. It was prepared in secret by a group of individuals known as "the circle of commitment" but understood to include the US and Denmark.
Was Iraqi cabbie the source of the dodgy dossier? MP's report claims 'intelligence' on Saddam's WMDs came from back of a taxi 09 Dec 2009 The Iraq inquiry will probe in secret claims that an Iraqi taxi driver who peddled false gossip was one of Britain's top spies before the war. Inquiry chairman Sir John Chilcot said the Daily Mail's revelation yesterday that the cabbie may have been the source of claims that Saddam Hussein could fire chemical weapons at British targets in 45 minutes was 'relevant to' his work. But he refused to quiz Sir John Scarlett about the claims, made in a report by Tory MP Adam Holloway, on grounds of national security. Instead the Chilcot Inquiry will hold further hearings on the issue in private in the new year. Senior intelligence officials have told the MP that the cabbie falsely claimed Saddam Hussein had acquired long-range missiles after listening to Iraqi commanders chatting in his taxi two years before the invasion. The driver, who worked near Iraq's border with Jordan, was allegedly the 'sub-source' of a senior Iraqi military officer who told MI6 that Saddam had battlefield chemical weapons ready to deploy at 45 minutes' notice.
UK believed Iraq weapons were dismantled 08 Dec 2009 British intelligence believed Iraq had dismantled its chemical and biological weapons in the run-up to the 2003 invasion but said it was possible they could be reassembled. John Scarlett, who headed Britain's Joint Intelligence Committee, said Tuesday that a report issued March 7, 2003 said "Iraq had no missiles which could reach Israel and none which could carry germ or biological weapons."
$10 million is smuggled out of Afghanistan daily, official says --The culprits are drug cartels and corrupt officials and businesses, Finance Minister Omar Zakhilwal says. U.S. and Afghan officials believe much of the cash is going to the Taliban. 07 Dec 2009 An estimated $10 million a day is smuggled out of Afghanistan, most of it through Kabul's international airport, rather than through secret routes over the mountains or across the desert, the country's finance minister said Sunday. The amount of corruption, both by public officials and officials of private companies, makes him embarrassed to acknowledge while traveling that he is an Afghan, Finance Minister Omar Zakhilwal said. Much of the hot cash ends up funding the Taliban insurgency, U.S. and Afghan officials said.
US drone strike kills three in N Waziristan 08 Dec 2009 Missiles fired from a US drone have killed three people and left three others wounded in a village in the lawless tribal district in Pakistan's northwest. Security and intelligence officials said the early morning attack hit Aspalga village, some 12 kilometers (seven miles) southeast of Miranshah in North Waziristan tribal district.
US raid kills 12 civilians in east Afghanistan 08 Dec 2009 More than a dozen people have been killed in a nighttime raid by US forces on a civilian house in Afghanistan's eastern province of Laghman, witnesses say. The attack took place on Monday night when US soldiers stormed a house at Armal locality in the provincial capital Mehtar Lam, witnesses told Press TV correspondent.
Blackwater is a busy little bee! 118 killed, 197 injured in Baghdad blasts 08 Dec 2009 At least 118 people have been killed and 197 others sustained injuries as multiple bomb-rigged cars exploded in quick succession ripped through Iraqi capital of Baghdad. Three bomb-rigged cars exploded in quick succession on Tuesday, striking the Labor Ministry, a court complex and the new site of Iraq's Finance Ministry whose previous building was destroyed in an August blast.
Parliament 'misled over rendition of militants captured in Iraq' 07 Dec 2009 The government has been accused of misleading parliament over the rendition of two alleged [Pakistani] militants captured in Iraq and then turned over to the Americans to be secretly sent to Bagram in Afghanistan. One of the men has allegedly gone mad and is being treated for mental problems, according to the legal charity, Reprieve. The Ministry of Defence has refused to identify the two men, saying to do so would be a breach the Data Protection Act.
Court rebuffs Guantanamo prisoner review 07 Dec 2009 The U.S. Supreme Court Monday refused to take charge of the case of a Guantanamo prisoner still held after apparently being cleared for release. Without comment, the justices refused a request by Abdul Hamid al-Ghizzawi that they issue an original habeas writ -- take original jurisdiction -- in his case and force a federal judge to rule on his ongoing confinement, despite his apparent status, SCOTUSBLOG.com reported. Al-Ghizzawi is a prisoner at the detention facility at the U.S. naval base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
Law School Study Finds Evidence of Cover-Up After Three Alleged Suicides At Guantanamo In 2006 By Scott Horton 07 Dec 2009 On the night of June 9-10 in 2006, three prisoners held at the Guantánamo prison's Camp Delta died under mysterious circumstances. Military authorities responded by quickly ordering media representatives off the island and blocking lawyers from meeting with their clients. The first official military statements declared the deaths not just suicides -- but actually went so far as to describe them as acts of "asymmetrical warfare" against the United States. Now a 58-page study prepared by law faculty and students at Seton Hall University in New Jersey starkly challenges the Pentagon's claims. It notes serious and unresolved contradictions within a Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS) report -- which was publicly released only in fragmentary form, two years after the fact -- and declares the military's internal investigation an obvious cover-up. [Too bad NCIS agents Gibbs and DiNozzo weren't assigned to the case: They'd have produced a more realistic report. --LRP]
Two US Navy petty officers face abuse charges 08 Dec 2009 Two US Navy SEALs accused of mistreating a suspect in the March 2004 killing of Blackwater contractors have appeared before a military court. Petty Officer 2nd Class Matthew McCabe and Petty Officer 1st Class Julio Huertas appeared before a military court in Norfolk, Virginia on Tuesday... The men allegedly attacked Ahmed Hashim Abed, who was accused of planning the ambush in which four Blackwater contractors were killed in Fallujah, Iraq in March 2004.
Israel razed 14 homes in Jerusalem Al-Quds in Nov. 08 Dec 2009 Israel demolished 14 Palestinian homes in East Jerusalem Al-Quds last month as part of Tel Aviv's Judaization campaign targeting the holy city. According to the Land Research Center, the Jerusalem Al-Quds Municipality demolished 14 Palestinian homes in the city in November.
Chavez prepares Venezuela for 'US-provoked war' 08 Dec 2009 President Hugo Chavez says Venezuela must be ready to defend itself against what he called the US and Colombia's gearing up for initiating a military conflict. Chavez who accused Washington and Bogota of planning to stage war against his country announced that thousands of Russian missiles and rocket launchers were being received by Venezuela as the country is preparing for a possible military conflict. "They are preparing a war against us," Chavez was quoted as saying by the Associated Press. "Preparing is one of the best ways to neutralize it."
Army mentoring deals bypass ethics law 08 Dec 2009 The Army used a loophole in federal ethics law to award lucrative contracts to two recently retired generals, departing from its standard practice for hiring senior advisers, according to public records and interviews. During the past two years, the Army wanted to bring back two former generals, John Vines and Dan McNeill, to advise commanders as part of its "senior mentor" program. But the service's program is run by a defense contractor, Northrop Grumman, and federal ethics law prohibits newly retired senior employees from representing a company before their former agency for one year.
Feds say they will use unmanned Predator aircraft drones to hunt ocean smugglers 07 Dec 2009 U.S. Customs and Border Protection on Monday took delivery of its first Predator aircraft drone to scan U.S. waters for smugglers. The Predator B is expected to begin testing in early 2010 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Base in Florida and be used in the Caribbean to combat drug trafficking. The plane has an enhanced radar system compared to the Predator B that has been used to 'combat' drug smuggling and movement of illegal immigrants on land borders for four years.
Massive TSA Security Breach As Agency Gives Away Its Secrets --Online Posting Reveals a "How To" for Terrorists to Get Through Airport Security 08 Dec 2009 In a massive security breach, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) inadvertently posted online its airport screening procedures manual, including some of the most closely guarded secrets regarding special rules for diplomats and CIA and law enforcement officers. The most sensitive parts of the 93-page Standard Operating Procedures manual were apparently redacted in a way that computer savvy individuals easily overcame. The document shows sample CIA, Congressional and law enforcement credentials which experts say would make it easy for terrorists to duplicate.
Yahoo Issues Takedown Notice for Spying Price List By Kim Zetter 04 Dec 2009 Shortly after Threat Level reported this week that Yahoo had blocked the FOIA release of its law enforcement and intelligence price list, someone provided a copy of the company’s spying guide to the whistleblower site Cryptome. The 17-page guide describes Yahoo’s data retention policies and the surveillance capabilities it can provide law enforcement, with a pricing list for these services. ...[I]t appears to be Yahoo’s lawyers alone who have issued a DMCA takedown notice to Cryptome demanding the document be removed.
Man Chucks Tomatoes at Sarah Palin at MOA --The man misses and hits an officer instead [!] 07 Dec 2009 A man was arrested for throwing tomatoes at Sarah Palin during her book signing on Monday at the Mall of America. Jeremy Olson, 33, allegedly threw two tomatoes from the second balcony, however did not come close to hitting Palin.
Democrats Reach Deal to Drop Public Option --Alternatives to Public Option Discussed 08 Dec 2009 After days of secret talks, Senate DemocRATs tentatively agreed Tuesday night to drop a government-run insurance option from
Senate Rejects Tougher Abortion Restrictions 08 Dec 2009 The Senate on Tuesday rejected an effort by abortion opponents to tighten restrictions in the
Flu pandemic could be mildest on record 08 Dec 2009 With the second wave of H1N1 infections having crested in the United States, leading epidemiologists are predicting that the pandemic could end up ranking as the mildest since modern medicine began documenting influenza outbreaks. Experts warn that the flu is notoriously unpredictable, but several recent analyses, including one released late Monday, indicate that the death toll is likely to be far lower than the number of fatalities caused by past pandemics.
Corporate employers got scarce flu vaccine 07 Dec 2009 When the swine flu vaccine was most scarce, health officials gave thousands of doses to corporate clinics at Walt Disney World, Toyota, defense contractors, oil companies and cruise lines, according to a USA TODAY review of vaccine distribution data from three states. USA TODAY examined how state health departments distributed H1N1 vaccine after public outcry last month over Wall Street firms such as Goldman Sachs receiving doses while doctors and hospitals encountered shortages. The data show other companies got the vaccine in October and early November. [On the upside, maybe the defense contractors and Goldman Suchs executives received Baxter's batch.]
Millions in U.S. Drinking Dirty Water, Records Show 08 Dec 2009 More than 20 percent of the nation’s water treatment systems have violated key provisions of the Safe Drinking Water Act over the last five years, according to a New York Times analysis of federal data. That law requires communities to deliver safe tap water to local residents. But since 2004 [under Bush], the water provided to more than 49 million people has contained illegal concentrations of chemicals like arsenic or radioactive substances like uranium, as well as dangerous bacteria often found in sewage.
Offshore oil drilling gets go-ahead in Alaska's Arctic 07 Dec 2009 The Interior Department today gave the go-ahead for Shell Oil to begin drilling three exploratory wells in the Chukchi Sea, a move that opens the door for production in a new region of the Arctic. The Interior Department's Minerals Management Service signed off on a plan that allows Shell to drill up to three exploration wells during the July-to-October open-water drilling season. The Bush regime's five-year plan for oil and gas exploration off the U.S. coast is under review by the Obama administration. [There's as much chance of Obomba overturning Bush regime policy as a cat with a long tail in a room filled with rockers.]
Hudson Bay jail upgraded for wayward polar bears 07 Dec 2009 Manitoba is spending more money to upgrade a polar bear jail in Churchill. Conservation Minister Bill Blaikie says the province is spending $105,000 to improve the jail’s walls and main entrance. The compound is used to house wayward polar bears that get too close to the town or return to the community after being scared away.
U.S. leaves millions' worth of gear in Iraq --Pentagon eases rules 07 Dec 2009 Even as the U.S. military scrambles to support a troop surge in Afghanistan, it is donating passenger vehicles, generators and other equipment worth tens of millions of dollars to the Iraqi government. Under new authority granted by the Pentagon, U.S. commanders in Iraq may now donate to the Iraqis up to $30 million worth of equipment from each facility they leave, up from the $2 million cap established when the guidelines were first set in 2005. The new cap applies at scores of posts that the U.S. military is expected to leave in coming months as it scales back its presence from about 280 facilities to six large bases and a few small ones by the end of next summer.
'We're going to be in the region for a long time.' No Firm Plans for a U.S. Exit in Afghanistan 07 Dec 2009 The Obama administration sent a forceful public message Sunday that American military forces could remain in Afghanistan for a long time... In television interviews, Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and other top administration officials said that any troop pullout beginning in July 2011 would be slow and that the Americans would only then be starting to transfer security responsibilities to Afghan forces under Mr. Obama’s new plan. "We have strategic interests [opium and gas pipelines] in South Asia that should not be measured in terms of finite times," said Gen. James L. Jones, the president’s national security adviser, speaking on CNN’s "State of the Union." "We’re going to be in the region for a long time."
