US Iraq jail an 'al-Qaeda school' --'The Americans send those they want dead to extremist camps.' 12 Dec 2009 Extremists held in a US-run detention centre in Iraq were allowed to teach fellow detainees how to use explosives and become suicide bombers, a former inmate has told Al Jazeera. Adel Jasim Mohammed, a former detainee of Camp Bucca near Umm Qasr, said that US officials did nothing to stop radicals from indoctrinating young detainees at the camp. "Extremists had freedom to educate the young detainees. I saw them giving courses using classroom boards on how to use explosives, weapons and how to become suicide bombers," Mohammed said. "For the Americans we felt it was normal. They did not stop them [the radicals]."
Blackwater Loses a Job for the C.I.A. 12 Dec 2009 The Central Intelligence Agency has terminated a contract with the security company terrorist group formerly called Blackwater Worldwide that allowed the company to load bombs on C.I.A. drones in Pakistan and Afghanistan, intelligence officials said Friday. The contract gave employees with the company an operational role in one of the Central Intelligence Agency’s most significant covert programs, which has killed dozens of militants hundreds of civilians with Predator and Reaper drones. The company’s involvement highlighted the extent to which the C.I.A. had outsourced critical jobs to private companies since the 9/11 attacks.
Blackwater operating at CIA Pakistan base, ex-official says --Contractor said to be helping to load missiles 11 Dec 2009 The US contractor terrorist group Blackwater is operating in Pakistan at a secret CIA airfield used for launching drone attacks, according to a former US official, despite repeated government denials that the company is in the country. The official, who had direct knowledge of the operation, said that employees with Blackwater, now renamed Xe Services, patrol the area round the Shamsi airbase in Baluchistan province. He also confirmed that Blackwater employees help to load laser-guided Hellfire missiles on to CIA-operated drones that target 'al-Qaida' members suspected of hiding in the Afghanistan-Pakistan border regions, confirming information that surfaced in the US media in the summer.
Mercenaries? CIA Says Expanded Role for Contractors Legitimate --Blackwater, Other Firms Said to Be "Hired Guns" in Iraq, Afghanistan -- Combat Role Would Be Against U.S. Law 11 Dec 2009 The CIA and the military special forces have quietly expanded the role of private contractors, including Blackwater, to include their involvement in raids and secret paramilitary operations in Afghanistan, Pakistan and Iraq, four current and former U.S. military and intelligence officers tell ABC News. American law specifically prohibits the use of private soldiers or mercenaries in combat, according to Jonathan Turley, a professor of public interest law at George Washington University. "The United States Congress has never approved the use of private contractors for combat operations," Turley told ABC News in an interview.
Untouchable: Blair to give Iraq War evidence in secret --Former PM was happy to discuss invasion with Fern Britton on TV show – but the Chilcot inquiry will hear his crucial testimony behind closed doors 13 Dec 2009 Key parts of Tony Blair's evidence to the Chilcot inquiry into the Iraq War will be held in secret, sources close to the hearings revealed last night. His conversations with President George Bush when he was prime minister, and crucial details of the decision-making process that led Britain into war, will fall under the scope of national security and the protection of Britain's relations with the US. But there are also suggestions by well-placed sources that anything "interesting" will also be shrouded in secrecy, leaving his public appearance containing little more than is already known.
Iraq offers one of its choicest oilfields 12 Dec 2009 Iraq on Saturday offers up one of its choicest oilfields on day two of a contract auction, as the country emerges from the shadow of war and seeks to leap into the top ranks of oil producing nations. The West Qurna Phase Two oilfield, with a massive 12.9 billion barrels of reserves, is expected to produce fierce competition among the 30-odd international oil companies that braved the threat of violence and attacks to come to Baghdad. [What happened to the insurgency? Obviously, Blackwater is protecting these oil f*ckers.]
Iraq's West Qurna-2 Is Main Prize in Oil Bid Round's Final Day 12 Dec 2009 Iraq’s "super giant" West Qurna oilfield will be the focus of bidding today as the holder of the world’s third-largest oil reserves concludes its second auction of crude development rights to foreign investors. Iraq awarded two service contracts to develop fields holding 15 percent of its total reserves to groups led by Royal Dutch Shell Plc and China National Petroleum Corp. yesterday, during the first day of the auction in Baghdad.
Shell wins 'gold rush' Iraqi oilfield auction 12 Dec 2009 Royal Dutch Shell, the Anglo-Dutch energy company [terrorist group], won the right to develop Iraq's giant Majnoon oilfield yesterday, beating Total of France which had long coveted the prize. An Iraqi oil executive called this auction, which marks the re-entry of foreign companies 37 years after the nationalisation of the country's entire oil industry, the "second gold rush".
US soldier dies of non-combat related injuries in Iraq 13 Dec 2009 The United States military has announced that another one of its soldiers has lost his life in Iraq due to non-combat injuries. "A Multi-National Division-North soldier died, Dec. 11, from non-combat related injuries. The soldier was discovered unresponsive in his living quarters by a non-commissioned officer in the unit," according to a US military statement issued on Sunday.
US: Soldiers Forced to Go AWOL for PTSD Care By Dahr Jamail 11 Dec 2009 With a military health care system over-stretched by two ongoing wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, more soldiers are deciding to go absent without leave (AWOL) in order to find treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)... A 2008 Rand Corporation report revealed that at least 300,000 veterans returning from both wars had been diagnosed with severe depression or PTSD.
Obama Escalates War, Gets Peace Prize; Bush Can't Read, Gets Nobel For Literature Satire By R J Shulman 13 Dec 2009 In explaining President Barack Obama's award of the Peace Prize, Noble Committee Chairman Thorbjorn Jagland said, "We gave the prize to Obama in hopes it would shame him into stopping the war." So far this may not have had the desired effect. When he accepted the award, Obama said, "when they said you could not get the Nobel Peace Prize for sending more troops into battle, I said, 'yes I can.'"
Five Americans in Pakistani custody moved to Lahore, police say 12 Dec 2009 The five Americans arrested in Pakistan amid suspicion that they were plotting terrorist attacks were transferred on Saturday from the small town where they were seized to a more secure location in a larger city, police said. The U.S. citizens were taken from the town of Sargodha, where they were arrested at a home on Wednesday, to Lahore.
Imam claims innocence in NYC terrorism case 11 Dec 2009 An imam charged with lying in the investigation of an alleged terrorism plot against New York says he's a loyal American who was framed. Ahmad Afzali told reporters before a pretrial hearing in Brooklyn on Friday that he is innocent and hopes "justice will prevail." Afzali is charged with lying to the FBI about the investigation of Najibullah Zazi. The Colorado airport driver is accused of getting training from al-Qaida [al-CIAduh] to build homemade bombs to attack New York City.
Protester hits Berlusconi at Milan rally 13 Dec 2009 Italian Premier Silvio Berlusconi was punched in the face at the end of a rally today by a man holding a small statue in his hand, leaving the 73-year-old media mogul with a bloodied mouth and looking stunned, police said. The 42-year-old man accused of attacking Berlusconi in Milan as he signed autographs was immediately taken into custody.
Drug money saved banks in global crisis, claims UN advisor --Drugs and crime chief says $352bn in criminal proceeds was effectively laundered by financial institutions 13 Dec 2009 Drugs money worth billions of dollars kept the financial system afloat at the height of the global crisis, the United Nations' drugs and crime tsar has told the Observer. Antonio Maria Costa, head of the UN Office on Drugs and Crime, said he has seen evidence that the proceeds of organised crime were "the only liquid investment capital" available to some banks on the brink of collapse last year. He said that a majority of the $352bn (£216bn) of drugs profits was absorbed into the economic system as a result.
Venezuelan Bank Fraud Case: Three Executives Flee, Government Intervenes in Related Companies --The Public Prosecutor had already issued ten arrest warrants for banking executives and 19 prohibitions on leaving the country for involvement in organised crime and for banking law infractions. 09 Dec 2009 Following the government’s nationalisation of two banks and liquidation of two others for banking law infractions, three bank executives fled to the U.S., and the government intervened in food companies owned by currently detained bank owner, Ricardo Fernandez. Interior Relations Minister Tareck El Aissami announced on Tuesday that two Venezuelans implicated in the bank scandals flew to Atlanta, and one to Miami, and that a fourth person was captured while trying to board a plane to Miami.
New maritime security law will deputize U.S. officers "in every part of Canada" during integrated operations By Stuart Trew 12 Dec 2009 Bill C-60, the Keeping Canadians Safe (Protecting Borders) Act, is being sold by Van Loan and Nicholson as a way to "strengthen cooperative bilateral policing efforts to stem the flow of cross-border criminal activity in shared waterways and further protect community safety and security in Canada." It is the legislative face of a cross-border "Shiprider" agreement... signed this May by Van Loan and U.S. Homeland Security czar Janet Napolitano. But Bill C-60 will go further than coastal waters. Section 11 states: In the course of an integrated cross-border operation, every designated officer is a peace officer in every part of Canada and has the same power to enforce an Act of Parliament as a member of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.
Five Transportation Security underlings put on leave after airport screening files 10 Dec 2009 Five Transportation Security Administration underlings who put airport screening manuals online were put on administrative leave Wednesday, but the boss who ordered the posting has yet to be found. "I'd have to get back to you on that," David Heyman, assistant secretary for homeland security, told senators when asked who was to blame for the screwup.
'It looks like Guantánamo when you see it.' Protests in Copenhagen: Rights groups press for inquiry into police tactics 13 Dec 2009 Denmark may be breaching European law, Danish human rights groups claimed tonight as they called for their government to launch an immediate inquiry after police in Copenhagen used controversial kettling and mass preventative arrest tactics for the third day running. Following the arrest of 68 people on Friday, and 958 yesterday on Saturday, police today arrested 257 demonstrators, "kettling" a section of a march near Osterport station, and as they had done on Saturday, cuffed the protesters and put them onto buses transporting them to a detention centre... A protester from Germany, Chris, who asked not to give his surname, described the way that the detainees were made to sit: "With our legs on either side of the people in front of us, and then leaning on the person behind us, with our hands still cuffed behind our backs. It was very painful for the person behind you and you were in pain from the person in front of you. It looks like Guantánamo when you see it." He described being kept in cages, constructed by police for holding detainees: "You have a cold solid floor and four mesh walls and a mesh ceiling, and outside cops walking around with dogs."
Danish police arrest 1,225 protesters 13 Dec 2009 As heads of state begin arriving for climate talks in Copenhagen, jittery police have arrested 1,225 people during two days of demonstrations in the Danish capital, prompting criticism from activists and the press. On Sunday, 257 people were arrested after police found stones and gasmasks in a van connected to an unauthorized protest. On Saturday, 968 others were arrested at a mass demonstration that attracted more than 60,000 people. Most were released within a few hours but activists complained that the sweeping arrests were indiscriminate and heavy handed.
Copenhagen climate summit: 1,000 anarchists arrested --Nearly 1,000 people were arrested in Copenhagen yesterday as anarchists and left-wing activists fought running street battles with police in the Danish capital as negotiations continued at the climate summit. 12 Dec 2009 Cobble stones were thrown through the windows of the former stock exchange building and foreign office buildings in the city [by government agents], but police made a large number of pre-emptive arrests under a controversial anti-hooligan law. Suspected troublemakers were herded into a closed-off street, made to sit down and then tied up with plastic cuffs. They were then bused to a detention centre set up for the climate conference.
Climate Activists Around the Globe Send Message to Copenhagen Conference --Tens of thousands of protesters marched in the Danish capital Saturday. Some demonstrators dressed as polar bears - a species threatened by global warming. 12 Dec 2009 Tens of thousands of people staged protests in Copenhagen and around the world Saturday to push for stronger international commitments at the climate change conference in the Danish capital. The worldwide protests are being staged as international negotiators entered their sixth day of climate change talks in Copenhagen that are currently centered on targets for carbon emission cuts and financing for developing countries. In Australia, organizers said about 50,000 protesters marched in Sydney and other cities calling for stronger action.
Dispute over radioactive dirt going to S.J. Valley site 11 Dec 2009 Activists are protesting a decision by the California Department of Public Health that would allow the Boeing Co. [Grade A sociopaths] and NASA to send contaminated dirt from a nuclear accident site to a waste facility in the San Joaquin Valley that is not licensed to accept radioactive waste. The Department of Toxic Substances Control, which has the final say, has sent a letter to the agency requesting more information on its decision that the dirt "does not represent a public health threat" [!?!] and could be sent to the hazardous waste facility in Kettleman City.
US trying to dump 70 million doses of H1N1 vaccine 08 Dec 2009 The U. S. is preparing to offer swine flu shots to everyone who wants one [LOL] in the next few weeks, a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention official said Monday. About 70 million doses of the shot have been shipped to state and local health authorities in the U. S., Anthony Fiore, associate chief of policy and liaison activities at the CDC's National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases' Influenza Division, said in an interview. San Francisco-based McKesson Corp. is distributing the vaccine from manufacturers to four undisclosed sites and then on to 150,000 local sites, said Michael Angelastro of the U. S. Biomedical Advancement Research and Development Authority.
Injunction Granted in CCR Lawsuit on Behalf of ACORN --Historic Win for Constitutional Rights (CCR) 11 Dec 2009 Today, U.S. District Judge Nina Gershon granted a preliminary injunction against the United States for unconstitutionally withholding funds from ACORN. In its decision, the court found that there is a likelihood the plaintiffs will be able to show that Congress’ targeted defunding of ACORN violates the Constitution’s prohibition against Bills of Attainder, legislative acts which single out a specific person or group for punishment.
Senate passes 1.1T year-end spending bill 13 Dec 2009 The Senate on Sunday passed a $1.1 trillion spending bill with increased budgets for vast areas of the federal government including health, education, law enforcement and veterans' programs. The 1,000-page-plus package, one of the last essential chores of Congress this year, passed 57-35 and now goes to President Obama for his signature.
Previous lead stories: Obama reaffirms Bush opposition to verifying stockpiles of anthrax, smallpox --In 2001, the Bush administration abruptly withdrew from lengthy negotiations to create a verification regimen. 09 Dec 2009 The Obama administration plans to announce a new policy on Wednesday to curb the spread of biological weapons, but it will reaffirm the Bush regime’s opposition to an international regimen for verifying stockpiles of anthrax, smallpox and other agents. The policy, to be disclosed in a speech in Geneva by the undersecretary of state for arms control and international security, Ellen O. Tauscher, will focus on increasing health security to reduce the impact of outbreaks of infectious disease, whether natural or man-made, administration officials said Tuesday. The United States, these officials said, will pledge to strengthen the Biological Weapons Convention, a 1975 treaty barring the development, production and stockpiling of biological and toxin weapons. But Ms. Tauscher will declare that the Obama administration does not support efforts to create a mechanism for monitoring compliance with the treaty because, a senior administration official said, supplies of biological weapons are "too difficult to verify."
US rushing troops, supplies to Afghanistan By Dan De Luce 10 Dec 2009 Engineers are working furiously to prepare for a surge of troops and supplies into Afghanistan to carry out President Barack Obama's war plan, the top US military officer said. "The debate is over. The decision has been made. It is time to execute," Admiral Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told a press conference in Washington. Hundreds of Marines would be in southern Helmand province next week, tonnes of supplies were due to be delivered and the military was "accelerating deployment plans for the rest of the extended surge forces," Mullen said.
