CLG's
BREAKING NEWS and COMMENTARY
U.S.
Planning Big New Prison in Afghanistan --Pentagon
is planning to use $60 million in emergency construction funds
this fiscal year 17 May 2008 The Pentagon is moving
forward with plans to build a new, 40-acre detention complex on
the main American military base in Afghanistan, officials said,
in a stark acknowledgment that the United States is likely to
continue to hold prisoners overseas for years to come. The proposed
detention center would replace the cavernous, makeshift American
prison on the Bagram military base north of Kabul, which is now
typically packed with about 630 prisoners, compared with the 270
held at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba.
U.S.
Has Detained 2,500 Juveniles as Enemy Combatants 16 May
2008 The United States has imprisoned approximately 2,500 people
younger than 18 as illegal enemy combatants in Iraq, Afghanistan
and Guantanamo Bay since 2002, according to a report filed by
the Bush regime with the United Nations Committee on the Rights
of the Child. 2,400 of the juveniles were captured in Iraq after
the U.S.-led invasion in March 2003; 500 are still held in detention
facilities in that country. As of last month, 10 juveniles were
still being held in Bagram, Afghanistan.
Iraqi
police beat photographer, officials say --Reuters photographer
in stable condition after Iraqi police beat him with rifles
16 May 2008 An Iraqi photographer working for Reuters was hospitalized
Friday after police beat him at the scene of a bombing, officials
told CNN. The unnamed still photographer was in stable condition
after five Iraqi policemen struck him on the head with AK-47 rifles,
an Iraqi Interior Ministry official said. A police official said
the photographer was filming the aftermath of a 'suicide' bombing
in Fallujah when police approached him and asked him to stay back
for his own safety.
US
soldier refuses to serve in 'illegal Iraq war' 16 May
2008 Sergeant Matthis Chiroux... has served in Afghanistan, Germany,
Japan, and the Philippines before he was honorably discharged
and placed in the reserves. As a reservist, he was due to be deployed
next month in Iraq. On Thursday, he refused to go. "I stand before
you today with the strength and clarity and resolve to declare
to the military, my government and the world that this soldier
will not be deploying to Iraq," Chiroux said in the sun-filled
rotunda of a congressional building in Washington. "My decision
is based on my desire to no longer continue violating my core
values to support an illegal and unconstitutional occupation...
I refuse to participate in the Iraq occupation," he said, as a
dozen veterans of the five-year-old Iraq war looked on.
Tucson
soldier has been killed in Iraq 15 May 2008 The Department
of Defense has announced the death of an Arizona soldier. Army
Sgt. Victor M. Cota, 33, of Tucson died Wednesday in Baghdad of
wounds suffered Tuesday when his vehicle encountered an improvised
explosive device in Kadamiyah, Iraq.
U.S.
cuts off Chalabi for fourth time 15 May 2008 U.S. military
and diplomatic officials in Baghdad have cut off contact with
controversial Iraqi politician Ahmad Chalabi, a former Pentagon
favorite, because of his increasingly strained relationship with
U.S.-backed Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al Maliki, U.S. officials
in Baghdad and Washington told McClatchy. "That's it. He's out,"
one senior military official said. The U.S. decision is the fourth
time that the U.S. has ended an alliance with Chalabi, whom officials
in the Pentagon and Vice President [sic] Dick Cheney's office
once touted as a successor to [former CIA asset] Saddam Hussein.
[I think Chalabi is paid either way, whether Bush is f*cking
him at the time or not. --LRP]
U.S.
House sets Iraq troop pullout goal for end 2009 15 May
2008 The U.S. House of Representatives defied President [sic]
George W. Bush by passing legislation on Thursday that would set
the end of 2009 as the goal for withdrawing U.S. troops from Iraq.
By a vote of 227-196, the Democrat-controlled House approved the
measure that would start the pullout of U.S. combat troops from
Iraq within 30 days of enactment.
U.S.
sees need for "tangible action" on Iran: Israel 15 May
2008 The United States and Israel agree on the need for "tangible
action" to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons, Israeli
Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's spokesman said after a visit by U.S.
President [sic] George W. Bush. "We are on the same page. We both
see the threat ... And we both understand that tangible action
is required to prevent the Iranians from moving forward on a nuclear
weapon," Olmert spokesman Mark Regev said on Friday. Asked about
the option of using military force, Regev said: "Leaders of many
countries have talked about many options being on the table and,
of course, Israel agrees with that."
Tehran
accuses West of waging war on its turf 16 May 2008 Iran
is stepping up its own allegations that the U.S. and Britain were
behind a recent attack on a mosque in southern Iran. This week
judiciary spokesman Ali-Reza Jamshidi announced that Iran planned
to file international lawsuits against the U.S. and Britain for
backing insurgents terrorists allegedly involved in the
bombing of the mosque that killed 13 people during a religious
ceremony. So far authorities have arrested
15 people allegedly involved in the plot.
'Shiraz
bombers were promised $100,000' --Iran has accused
the US, UK, and Israel of funding suspects and providing them
with necessary expertise to make bombs 15 May 2008 Six suspects
among the 15 people detained over the explosion in Shiraz are
linked to a German-based monarchist weblog, a report says. The
six agents, two of them chemistry students, were in contact with
a blogger, belonging to the German-based Rahe Azadi (Way of Freedom)
weblog, via email, JAHAN reported. Earlier, they had detonated
bombs in Fars Province sabotaging the Sivand and another Dam in
return for a sum of over $20,000 from the blogger. The blogger
then requested the 'facilitators' to target two public places,
promising each bomber a $100,000 reward. A crowded mosque in Shiraz
was the site of the first blast, which left 14 people killed and
some 200 others injured on April 12.
Iranian
embassy employees shot in Baghdad 15 May 2008 Three employees
of the Iranian embassy and their Iraqi driver were shot and wounded
as they traveled Thursday to the Shiite Kadhemiyah Shrine in northern
Baghdad. As the Iranian men pulled into a Shiite area in Baghdad
on the way to the shrine, two men on a motorbike pulled up to
the vehicle and riddled their car with bullets, Iranian and Iraqi
officials said. "We don't know who did
this," said the spokesman, Manoucher Taslimi. [You
don't? I do - Blackwater.]
Obama
says Bush policies strengthened Iran, Hamas 16 May 2008
Democratic presidential front-runner Barack Obama said on Friday
President [sic] George W. Bush's "failed policies" had strengthened
U.S. enemies like Iran and Hamas. Responding to Bush's comment
on Thursday that those who want to talk to Iran were like Nazi
[aka Bush] appeasers before the Second World War, Obama accused
Bush of "exactly the kind of appalling attack that's divided the
country and that alienates us from the world."
How
Bush's grandfather helped Hitler's rise to power --Rumours
of a link between the US first family and the Nazi war machine
have circulated for decades. Now the Guardian can reveal how repercussions
of events that culminated in action under the Trading with the
Enemy Act are still being felt by today's president [sic]. 25
May 2004 George Bush's grandfather,
the late US senator Prescott Bush, was a director and shareholder
of companies that profited from their involvement with the financial
backers of Nazi Germany. The Guardian has obtained
confirmation from newly discovered files in the US National Archives
that a firm of which Prescott Bush was a director was involved
with the financial architects of Nazism. His business dealings,
which continued until his company's assets were seized in 1942
under the Trading with the Enemy Act, has led more than 60 years
later to a civil action for damages being brought in Germany against
the Bush family by two former slave labourers at Auschwitz and
to a hum of pre-election controversy. The evidence has also prompted
one former US Nazi war crimes prosecutor to argue that the late
senator's action should have been grounds for prosecution for
giving aid and comfort to the enemy.
Bush
bin Laden visits Saudi Arabia and Exxon Mobil makes a killing:
Oil
sets record near $128; pump price at high, too 16 May
2008 Oil prices shot to new highs again Friday as traders, unimpressed
by U.S. and Saudi efforts to boost supply, kept buying on the
belief that prices had more room to rise. Light, sweet crude for
June delivery jumped $2.17 to settle at record close of $126.29
on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Earlier in the session, prices
surged to $127.82 a barrel, also a new high.
Saudis
see no reason to raise oil production now
16 May 2008 Saudi Arabia's leaders made clear Friday they see
no reason to increase oil production until customers demand it,
apparently rebuffing President [sic] Bush amid soaring U.S. gasoline
prices. It was Bush's second personal appeal [Yeah, right!] this
year to King Abdullah, head of the monarchy that rules this desert
kingdom that is a longtime prime U.S. ally and home to the world's
largest oil reserves.
Pakistan
protests suspected U.S. missile strike on border village
16 May 2008 Pakistan is lodging a formal protest with "allied
forces" in neighbouring Afghanistan over a suspected U.S. missile
strike this week. Army spokesman Maj.-Gen. Athar Abbas says Pakistan
has concluded that Wednesday's attack on a house in Pakistan's
border region was launched by drones from Afghanistan. The missile
destroyed a house in Damadola, killing 14 people.
Pakistan
says coalition missile struck inside borders 17 May 2008
Pakistan says 'coalition' forces in Afghanistan had earlier this
week launched a missile strike into its tribal region, killing
14 people. Chief military spokesman Major General Athar Abbas
says Islamabad has conveyed its protest and is awaiting a response
from the coalition forces.
Huckabee
quips about gun aimed at Obama 16 May 2008 Republican
Mike Huckabee responded to an offstage noise during his speech
Friday to the National Rifle Association by suggesting it was
Barack Obama diving to the floor because someone had aimed a gun
at him. Hearing a loud noise and interrupting his speech, Huckabee
said: "That was Barack Obama. He just tripped off a chair. He's
getting ready to speak and somebody aimed a gun at him and he
-- he dove for the floor."
Edwards
rules out vice presidential run with Obama 16 May 2008
Former presidential contender John Edwards said on Friday he would
not be Democratic front-runner Barack Obama's running mate, but
did not rule out taking a role in an Obama administration.
Conyers:
'We're closing in on Rove' 15 May 2008 Just off the House
floor today, the Crypt overheard House Judiciary Committee Chairman
John Conyers tell two other people: "We're closing in
on Rove. Someone's got to kick his ass." Asked a few
minutes later for a more official explanation, Conyers told us
that Rove has a week to appear before his committee. If he doesn’t,
said Conyers, "We'll do what any self-respecting committee
would do. We'd hold him in contempt. Either
that or go and have him arrested." Conyers said
the committee wants Rove to testify about his role in the imprisonment
of former Alabama Gov. Don Siegelman, among other things. "We
want him for so many things, it's hard to keep track," Conyers
said.
House
panel rejects Rove's offer on Siegelman case 14 May 2008
Democrats on the House Judiciary Committee have rejected Karl
Rove's offer to provide written responses to questions about the
federal prosecution of former Alabama Gov. Don Siegelman. In a
letter to the former White House adviser's attorney, Committee
Chairman John Conyers and several other Democrats said Rove's
written responses would not allow for 'give-and-take' questioning.
They asked Rove to reconsider his refusal to testify in person
and under oath, asking him to respond by May 21.
Biden:
Bush's comments were 'bullshit' 15 May 2008 Sen. Joe Biden
(D-Del.), piling on to Democratic
complaints about President [sic] Bush’s speech
in Israel today: "This is bullshit, this is malarkey. This
is outrageous, for the president of the United States to go to
a foreign country, to sit in the Knesset ... and make this kind
of ridiculous statement."
Texas
officials sue US over border fence
16 May 2008 Texas mayors and business leaders filed a class-action
lawsuit Friday alleging Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff
hoodwinked landowners into waiving their property rights for construction
of a fence along the Mexican border. Members of the Texas Border
Coalition said Chertoff did not fairly negotiate compensation
with landowners for access to their land for six-month surveys
to choose fence sites.
Airline
fuel cuts concern pilots 16 May 2008 Airlines have reduced
the amount of spare fuel on airplanes in a money-saving effort
that is raising concerns among some pilots and a government watchdog.
Less fuel on planes increases the likelihood of diverted flights
because planes can't circle for as long over airports when a landing
is delayed, according to more than 20 pilots who filed complaints
in the past year with NASA's Aviation Safety Reporting System.
An
epidemic of extinctions: Decimation of life on earth 16
May 2008 The world's species are declining at a rate "unprecedented
since the extinction of the dinosaurs", a census of the animal
kingdom has revealed. The Living Planet Index out today shows
the devastating impact of humanity as biodiversity has plummeted
by almost a third in the 35 years to 2005.
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*****
What
Did Obama Promise Edwards?
--The Rec
Report By Michael Rectenwald 15 May 2008 John Edwards's endorsement
of Obama seems par for the course for Hillary. As soon as she
wins, superdelegates endorse the other guy. As soon as she wins,
backers endorse her opponent. The more she wins, the more media
decry her staying in the race. The better she does, the worse
she's made out to be. It's quite a staggering and stunning beating
that she's been taking from the liberal elite. [Note: This
essay does not reflect the views of CLG Editor, Lori Price.]
Big
Bear and Little Bear
U.S.-trained
forces reportedly helping Mexican cartels --U.S.-trained
Mexican security personnel have 'became assassins and recruiters
for the Mexican drug cartels.' 14 May 2008 As many as 200
U.S.-trained Mexican security personnel have defected to drug
cartels to carry out killings on both sides of the border and
as far north as Dallas, Rep. Ted Poe, R-Humble, told Congress
on Wednesday. The renegade members of Mexico's
elite 'counter'-narcotics teams trained at Fort Benning, Ga.,
have switched sides, contributing to a wave of violence that has
claimed some 6,000 victims over the past 30 months, including
prominent law enforcement leaders, the Houston-area Republican
told the House Foreign Affairs Committee... George Bush's blueprint
calls for $1.4 billion in training, equipment and 'law enforcement'
assistance to Mexico and Central America over three years.
Bush also is seeking $500 million in emergency assistance for
Mexico this year as part of the supplemental war spending measure.
Peace
Group Sues Bush Administration, Charging Iraq War Is Unconstitutional
(New Jersey Law Journal) 14 May 2008 An anti-war activist group
sued President [sic] Bush in U.S. District Court in Newark on
Tuesday, seeking a declaratory judgment that the war in Iraq is
illegal and unconstitutional. The suit, New Jersey Peace Action
et al. v. Bush, represented by the Constitutional Law Clinic
at Rutgers University Law School-Newark, alleges that the war
violates article I, section 8 of the U.S. Constitution, which
assigns to Congress the authority to declare war.
U.S.
House Blocks $163 Billion for War in Iraq 15 May 2008
The U.S. House of Representatives rejected a plan to spend $163
billion to pay for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan after anti-war
Democrats and Republicans who objected to Democratic tactics refused
to support the measure. Lawmakers defeated the measure by a 149
to 141 vote with more than 130 members voting "present."
House
Progressives STOP $163B for Iraq Occupation! By Bob Fertik
15 May 2008 We won!! 149 Members (147 Democrats and 2 Republicans)
voted against $163B in Iraq occupation funds, and only 141 Members
voted for it. Those 149 no votes were the result of your protests,
emails, and calls - congratulations!! [Click here
for Roll Call.]
McCain:
I will win Iraq, kill bin Laden and start President's Question
Time 16 May 2008 John McCain declared yesterday that within
four years of being elected president he would have won the Iraq
war, killed or captured Osama bin Laden, halted the nuclear ambitions
of Iran and North Korea and introduced British-style Prime Minister’s
Questions in Congress.

McCain
believes Iraq war can be won by 2013
15 May 2008
Republican Insane McCain declared for the first time Thursday
he believes the Iraq war can be won by 2013, although he rejected
suggestions that his talk of a timetable put him on the same side
as Democrats clamoring for full-scale troop withdrawals. "It's
not a timetable; it's victory. It's victory, which I have always
predicted. I didn't know when we were going to win World War II;
I just knew we were going to win," McLunatic said.
Iraq
army rounds up suspects in assault on Al-Qaeda
15 May 2008 Iraqi security forces carried out mass arrests in
the main northern city of Mosul on Thursday as a major crackdown
against Al-Qaeda [al-CIAduh] entered its second day, officials
said. Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, who travelled to Mosul on
Wednesday to spearhead Operation Mother of Two Springs [LOL!],
spent the night there and vowed to rid the province of Al-Qaeda
operatives, the interior ministry said.
Olbermann:
Bush interview unforgiveable 14 May 2008 Countdown’s Keith
Olbermann gives a Special Comment on President [sic] Bush’s recent
Politico interview. Pres. Bush suggested that electing a Democrat
as president means "another attack on the United States."
He also shows his empathy for the death of U.S. soldiers… by giving
up golf.
Reagan,
strike group preparing to deploy 15 May 2008 More than
7,000 sailors will leave home next week when the Ronald Reagan
Carrier Strike Group deploys from San Diego for a scheduled deployment
to the Western Pacific and Persian Gulf regions. The seven-ship
naval force, led by Rear Adm. James Wisecup, commander of Carrier
Strike Group 7 in San Diego, will leave next Monday, Navy officials
announced.
Aircraft
carrier Reagan to start 6-month deployment May 19
12 May 2008 The aircraft carrier Ronald Reagan will leave May
19 for a six-month deployment with its air wing and five San Diego-based
escort ships. More than 7,000 sailors are scheduled to deploy.
While the Navy typically doesn't reveal the destinations of its
carrier strike groups, the deployments usually include time in
the Persian Gulf.
Obama
blasts Bush over 'Nazi' comments 15 May 2008 Democratic
presidential candidate Barack Obama accused President [sic] Bush
on Thursday of launching a "false political attack" with a comment
about appeasing terrorists and radicals. The Illinois senator
interpreted the remark as a slam against him but the White House
denied that Bush's words were in any way directed at Obama, who
has said as president he would be willing to personally meet with
Iran's leaders and those of other governments the United States
has deemed rogue.
In
Speech Before Knesset, Bush Compares Democrats to Nazi Appeasers
15 May 2008 While delivering an address
before the Israeli parliament commemorating the 60th
anniversary of Israel, President [sic] Bush said that Sen.
Barack Obama and Democrats favor a policy of appeasement toward
terrorists. CNN reports that Bush was comparing Obama to "other
U.S. leaders back in the run-up to World War II who appeased the
Nazis." In his speech, Bush said, "As Nazi tanks crossed
into Poland in 1939 [much like shock & awe in Iraq in 2003],
an American senator declared: 'Lord, if I could only have talked
to Hitler, all this might have been avoided.' We have an obligation
to call this what it is – the false comfort of appeasement, which
has been repeatedly discredited by history." [Speaking
of appeasing Hitler, are the DemocRATs giving more money to Bush
for the Iraq occupation this week?]
Bush
suggests Obama wants 'appeasement' of terrorists 15 May
2008 In a particularly sharp blast from halfway around the world,
President [sic] Bush suggested Thursday that Sen. Barack Obama
and other Democrats are in favor of "appeasement" of terrorists
in the same way U.S. leaders appeased Nazis in the run-up to World
War II. "Some seem to believe we should negotiate with terrorists
and radicals, as if some ingenious argument will persuade them
they have been wrong all along," said Bush, in what White House
aides privately acknowledged was a reference to calls by Obama
and other Democrats for the U.S. president to sit down for talks
with leaders like Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
Bush
says world must not allow Iran to have nuclear weapon
15 May 2008 Visiting U.S. President [sic] George W.Bush on Thursday
said in an address delivered to Israeli Knesset (parliament) that
the world must not allow Iran to have a nuclear weapon. "Permitting
the world's leading sponsor of terror to possess the world's deadliest
weapon would be an unforgivable betrayal of future generations,"
the U.S. dictator said, adding that for the sake of peace, the
world must not allow Iran to have a nuclear weapon. ['The world's
leading sponsor of terror...' That would be Bush.]
UN
special rapporteur expresses concern over civilians' killing in
Afghanistan
15 May 2008 The United Nations Special Rapporteuron extra judicial
executions Philip Alston on Thursday expressed concern over civilians'
killing in Afghanistan and urged all warring sides in the country
to respect human rights. "In the past four months, hundreds of
civilians have been killed. They have died from bombs, missiles,
explosive devices, police fire, beheadings and domestic violence,"
Alston said in a statement handed out at a news briefing here.
Suicide
bomber kills 16 in Afghanistan: local governor 15 May
2008 A suicide bomber apparently wearing a burqa blew up in a
busy bazaar in southwestern Afghanistan Thursday, killing 16 people,
officials said, as eight rebels died elsewhere in the country.
New
bin Laden message coming on Israel: monitor 15 May 2008
A pending new message from al Qaeda [al-CIAduh] leader Osama bin
Laden has been announced on Islamist message boards and addresses
the 60th anniversary of the state of Israel, an Internet terrorism
monitor said on Thursday.
Verizon
Wins $678.5 Million Pact From US Homeland Security 14
May 2008 Verizon Communications Inc. said on Wednesday that it
will be the primary supplier of network equipment and services
[illegal surveillance] for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security
in a contract worth $678.5 million over the next two years. AT&T
was named as the secondary provider for the Homeland Security
Department.
New
blow to detention plan 15 May 2008 Gordon Brown's efforts
to persuade Labour MPs to back the 42-day detention of terrorist
suspects without charge suffered a fresh blow after the plan was
condemned as "fundamentally flawed" by a parliamentary committee.
Mr Brown appears to be heading for a humiliating Commons defeat
on the issue next month.
Accused
September 11 planners set for court on June 5 15 May 2008
Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, accused of masterminding the September
11 attacks, is tentatively due to appear before a U.S. war [kangaroo]
court judge at Guantanamo Bay for the first time on June 5, a
military official said on Wednesday.
Oil
cos. expect battles over polar bear listing 15 May 2008
The lawyers aren't clearing their calendars just yet, but the
oil industry is bracing for some courtroom battles to maintain
its stake in Alaska's oil-rich fields now that the Interior Department
has listed polar bears as a threatened species. [We'll be ready
to fight
Bush's corpora-terrorists.]
U.S.
Trusting Oil Companies to Safeguard Arctic Wildlife --Industry
Permit Plans Not Subjected to Required Peer-Review or Monitoring
15 May 2008 Federal agencies issued permits for oil exploration
in vast areas of the Arctic Ocean without verifying industry claims
or imposing required safeguards against damage to wildlife, according
to agency e-mails released today by Public Employees for Environmental
Responsibility (PEER). Intense political pressure to speed Arctic
leasing coupled with tardy industry submission of any data resulted
in official rubber-stamping of permit applications without review
or plans for follow-up.
U.S.
Using Food Crisis to Boost Bio-Engineered Crops
15 May 2008 The Bush regime has slipped a controversial ingredient
into the $770 million 'aid' package it recently proposed to ease
the world food crisis, adding language
that would promote the use of genetically modified crops in food-deprived
countries. The value of genetically modified, or bio-engineered,
food is an intensely disputed issue in the U.S. and in Europe,
where many countries have banned foods made from genetically modified
organisms, or GMOs.
Government's
bird flu drugs strategy is 'flawed' 15 May 2008 The Government's
strategy to defend the nation against a bird flu pandemic has
been called into question. The Department of Health has built
up millions of doses of Tamiflu, an antiviral drug, in preparation
for a [US
Army-engendered] pandemic of the kind that killed 50 million
people in 1918. However, a team at the Medical Research Council's
National Institute for Medical Research in London warned that
a mutation in the H5N1 strain of the virus could make it resistant
to the vaccine. The researchers found that when mutation occurred
in the H5N1 virus it became resistant to Tamiflu. [See: Bird
Flu Medicine Toxic for Teens
13 May 2008 Concerns are rising over side effect of bird flu drug
Tamiflu on teenagers. See: Rumsfeld's
growing stake in Tamiflu --Defense Secretary, ex-chairman
of flu treatment rights holder, sees portfolio value growing.
31 Oct 2005 Rumsfeld still holds a Gilead stake valued at between
$5 million and $25 million,
according to federal financial disclosures filed by Rumsfeld.]
Arizona
State University Decision Theater Tests Pandemic Flu Plans
14 May 2008 This year, the pandemic flu committee created what
is known to be the only tabletop exercise of its kind in the nation,
says Allan Markus, ASU’s director of campus health services and
co-chair of the pandemic flu committee. The exercise, which took
place April 10 in ASU’s Decision Theater, involved the university’s
pandemic flu planning committee and several senior administrators.
Mary Tyszkiewicz, a senior analyst at the Homeland Security Institute,
a think tank that supports the U.S. Department of Homeland Security,
seconded Markus’ observation.
Ex-Rival
Edwards Throws His Support to Obama 15 May 2008 John Edwards
gave his long-awaited endorsement to Senator Barack Obama on Wednesday,
bolstering Mr. Obama’s efforts to rally the Democratic Party around
his candidacy and offering potential help in his efforts to win
over working class white voters in the general election.
IRS
cites 'error' as 350,000 households missing out on tax rebate
15 May 2008 As many as 350,000 households are not getting the
$300 per child refund owed as part of economic stimulus rebate
payments, the Internal Revenue Service said Thursday.
General
Electric to Shed Appliance Unit, People Say 15 May 2008
General Electric Co. may sell or seek a partner for the unit that
makes refrigerators and washers, ending more than a century in
an industry that helped make GE a household name, people familiar
with the situation said.
Maine
power company sends disconnect notice to nearly 39 percent of
customers 14 May 2008 The disconnection notice is just
one of approximately 46,000 the electric company has issued this
year to its 118,000 customers, Kim Wadleigh, senior director of
customer operations at Bangor Hydro-Electric Co., said Wednesday.
Most of the disconnection notices were sent to residential purchasers,
she said.
California
Supreme Court Overturns Gay Marriage Ban 16 May 2008 Same-sex
couples have a constitutional right to marry, the California Supreme
Court ruled Thursday. The court’s 4-to-3 decision striking down
state laws that had limited marriages to unions between a man
and a woman makes California only the second state, after Massachusetts,
to allow same-sex marriages.
******
Air
Force Aims for 'Full Control' of 'Any and All' Computers
By Noah Shachtman 13 May 2008 The Air Force wants a suite of hacker
tools, to give it "access" to -- and "full control" of -- any
kind of computer there is. And once the info warriors are in,
the Air Force wants them to keep tabs on their "adversaries' information
infrastructure completely undetected." The government is growing
increasingly interested in waging war online. The Air Force recently
put together a "Cyberspace
Command," with a charter to rule networks the way its fighter
jets rule the skies. The Department of Homeland Security, Darpa,
and other agencies are teaming up for a five-year, $30 billion
"national
cybersecurity initiative."
Air
Force Colonel Wants to Build a Military Botnet By Kevin
Poulsen 12 May 2008 ...Col. Charles W. Williamson III is proposing
that the Air Force build its own zombie network, so it can launch
distributed denial of service attacks on foreign enemies. In the
most lunatic idea to come out of the military since the gay bomb,
Williamson writes
in the Armed Force Journal that the Air Force should deliberately
install DDoS code on its unclassified computers, as well as civilian
government machines. He even wants to rescue old machines from
the junk bin to enlist in the .mil botnet army.
U.S.
Forcibly Drugs Detainees --Sedation of deportees is
far more common than federal immigration officials have admitted.
14 May 2008 The U.S. government has injected hundreds of foreigners
it has deported with dangerous psychotropic drugs against their
will to keep them sedated during the trip back to their home country,
according to medical records, internal documents and interviews
with people who have been drugged. The government's forced use
of antipsychotic drugs, in people who have no history of mental
illness, includes dozens of cases in which the "pre-flight
cocktail," as a document calls it, had such a potent
effect that federal guards needed a wheelchair to move the slumped
deportee onto an airplane.
Italian
Trial of CIA Operatives Begins With Torture Testimony
15 May 2008 (Milan) A long-delayed trial of C.I.A. operatives
and former top Italian intelligence officials moved forward here
on Wednesday, as a judge ruled that Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi
could be called to testify about the abduction of a Muslim cleric
here in 2003. Testimony also began Wednesday. The cleric’s wife,
Ghali Nabila, said her husband, Hassan Mustafa Osama Nasr, known
as Abu Omar, was taken from Italy and transferred to a prison
in Egypt, where, she said, he was repeatedly tortured. "He
was tied up like he was being crucified. He was beat up, especially
around his ears. He was subjected to electroshocks to many body
parts." "To his genitals?" the prosecutors asked.
"Yes," she replied.
Italian
PM may be drawn into CIA abduction case 13 May 2008 An
Italian judge could decide on Wednesday to make Silvio Berlusconi
the first head of a government to testify in criminal proceedings
over secret CIA transfers of terrorism suspects. Prosecutors say
a CIA-led team kidnapped a Muslim cleric off the streets of Milan
and secretly flew him to Egypt. There, the terrorism suspect,
Hassan Mustafa Osama Nasr, says he was tortured under questioning
and held for years without charge before being released in 2007.
Bush:
Democratic presidency could lead to another terror attack on U.S.
13 May 2008 President [sic] Bush said on Tuesday he was disappointed
in "flawed intelligence" before the Iraq war and was concerned
that if a Democrat wins the presidency in November and withdrew
troops prematurely it could "eventually lead to another attack
on the United States." He acknowledged concerns about leaving
the unfinished [lost] Iraq war to a Democratic successor. Bush
said
his "doomsday scenario of course is that extremists throughout
the Middle East would be emboldened, which would eventually lead
to another attack on the United States."
US
Listed Palestine Hotel as Target Prior to Killing of Two Journalists:
Fmr.
Military Intelligence Sgt. (Democracy Now!) 13 May 2008
Last month marked the fifth anniversary of the US military shelling
of the Palestine Hotel in Baghdad. The attack killed two journalists:
Reuters cameraman Taras Protsyuk and Jose Couso, a cameraman for
the Spanish television network Telecinco. The Pentagon has called
the killings accidental, but in this broadcast exclusive Army
Sgt. Adrienne Kinne (Ret.) reveals she saw secret US military
documents that listed the hotel as a possible target. Kinne also
discloses that she was personally ordered to eavesdrop on Americans
working for news organizations and NGOs in Iraq.
Military
analysts named in Times exposé appeared or were quoted more than
4,500 times on broadcast nets, cables, NPR
13 May 2008 A New York Times article detailed the connection
between numerous media military analysts and the Pentagon and
defense industries, reporting that "the Bush administration has
used its control over access and information in an effort to transform"
media military analysts "into a kind of media Trojan horse --
an instrument intended to shape terrorism coverage from inside
the major TV and radio networks." A Media Matters review found
that since January 1, 2002, the analysts named in the Times article
-- many identified as having ties to the defense industry -- collectively
appeared or were quoted as experts more than 4,500 times on various
media outlets.
Two
suicide bombings kill over 20 Iraqis 15 May 2008 Two suicide
bombings left more than 50 people killed or injured on Wednesday
in Iraq. A suicide bomber blew himself up in a tent on a funeral
site at the Zaidan village of Abu Ghraib area, some 15 km west
of Baghdad, an Interior Ministry source said. The blast killed
at least 20 mourners and wounded about 30 others at the funeral,
the source said.
Kitty
Hawk air wing commander removed for 'loss of confidence'
[?] 11 May 2008 The U.S. Navy air wing commander for the USS Kitty
Hawk’s strike group was relieved of duty Friday after an admiral
said he lost confidence in the commander’s ability, according
to a Navy spokeswoman. Capt. Michael P. McNellis was relieved
as commander of Carrier Air Wing 5 by Rear Adm. Richard B. Wren,
commander of Commander Task Force 70, the Navy said in a news
release.
MI6
chief visits Mossad for talks on Iran's nuclear threat
04 May 2008 The head of MI6, Sir John Scarlett, is to visit Israel
later this month as Britain forges closer links with Mossad, the
Israeli intelligence service. Iran’s nuclear programme is expected
to be high on the agenda in an intelligence-sharing process described
by Israeli officials as a "strategic dialogue". It is
building on long-standing cooperation between MI6 and Mossad,
both of which have extensive spy networks in the Middle East.
Afghanistan
seeks $50 billion in aid
14 May 2008 Afghanistan will ask international donors next month
for $50 billion to fund a five-year development plan, a presidential
aide said, despite growing criticism that
aid money is being wasted. [Thanks to Bush,] Afghanistan
produces about 93 percent of the world's opium, the raw material
of heroin.
13
Taliban, 2 police killed in Afghanistan 14 May 2008 Clashes
in southern Afghanistan have left 13 Taliban militants and two
policemen dead, while a teacher was shot to death in the north
after giving a speech condemning suicide bombings, officials said
Wednesday.
Generals
dismissed over Afghan assassination bid 13 May 2008 Eight
senior generals have been suspended from Afghanistan's armed forces
and are being questioned over last month's failed assassination
bid on President Hamad Karzai. Mr Karzai survived the April 27
'Taliban' attack on a military parade, which left three other
people dead including an Afghan MP.
Jordan
convicts 3 of plotting to kill Bush 14 May 2008 Jordan's
military court convicted three militants Wednesday of plotting
to assassinate President [sic] Bush during a 2006 visit to the
kingdom and sentenced them to 15 years in jail. The Jordanian
men -- Nidhal Musleh al-Momani, Sattam al-Zawahrah and Tharwat
Darajs -- were arrested Nov. 28, 2006, the day before Bush landed
in the Jordanian capital Amman. [They couldn't get bail?]
Why
has the US dropped 9/11 charges? [Because Bush did
it.] 13 May 2008 The American government has given no reason
why charges against the man it has alleged was the "20th hijacker"
in the 11 September 2001 attacks on the US have been dropped...
The CCR said in a statement it believed the charges against him
had been dropped because Mohammad al-Qahtani had been tortured.
"The government's claims against our client were based on unreliable
evidence obtained through torture at Guantanamo," it said.
Police
warn editors on terrorism article 14 May 2008 (AU) Police
have issued formal warnings to six editors and an investigative
reporter over coverage of the Operation Eight terrorism investigation.
In what is believed to be a legal first, a police investigation
found that the seven journalists had a case to answer over an
alleged breach of Section 312K of the Crimes Act. The section
limits publication of information gathered using an interception
warrant. The Police investigation related to news reports published
in Fairfax Media newspapers and the Stuff website last November.
John
Edwards endorses Barack Obama for president 14 May 2008
John Edwards endorsed Barack Obama for president today, dealing
a major blow to Hillary Clinton's hopes for prolonging the Democratic
race into next month. Both Obama and Clinton had courted the 2004
vice-presidential nominee, paying personal visits to Edwards's
North Carolina home and vowing to carry on his agenda to end poverty
in the US.
NARAL
Pro-Choice America endorses Obama 14 May 2008 The group
NARAL Pro-Choice America just announced it has endorsed Democratic
Sen. Barack Obama's bid for the White House. "Sen. Obama has been
a strong advocate for a woman's right to choose throughout his
career in public office," NARAL President Nancy Keenan says in
a prepared
statement.
Tennessee
superdelegate endorses Clinton for president 14 May 2008
Tennessee superdelegate Vicky Harwell has decided to endorse Hillary
Clinton's bid for the Democratic nomination for president. Harwell,
the president of the Tennessee Federation of Democratic Women,
says in a statement that Clinton's overwhelming win in West Virginia
shows she is the best candidate to take on Republican nominee
John McCain in November.
W.Va.
blowout bolsters Clinton's resolve 13 May 2008 Hillary
Clinton crushed Barack Obama by more than 2-1 in the West Virginia
primary Tuesday -- a victory that was surely personally satisfying
but came as the Democratic presidential nomination is nearly in
the grasp of her rival. "There are some who have wanted to cut
this race short," Clinton told raucous, cheering supporters in
Charleston, but she left no doubt she plans to stay in the race
through the final contests.
Clinton
cruises to easy West Virginia win 13 May 2008 Hillary
Clinton scored a big victory over front-runner Barack Obama in
West Virginia on Tuesday, but it could be too little and too late
to stop his march to the Democratic presidential nomination.
Democrats
capture GOP seat in special Mississippi election
--Loss in solidly Republican area may spell trouble for party
in fall 13 May 2008 Travis Childers, a Democrat, won a special
election for a House seat in Mississippi on Tuesday night, defeating
Republican opponent Greg Davis and lengthening a string of Democratic
victories in solidly Republican congressional areas. The win by
Childers adds to potential trouble for the Republican party in
the fall.
Democrats
win again in a Republican stronghold 13 May 2008 Both
parties watched a special House election in Mississippi -- and
the results could not be worse for the GOP. For the third time
during the last few months, a Democrat triumphed in a House district
that long had been solidly Republican. In this case -- Mississippi's
1st congressional district -- Travis Childers bucked last-minute
intervention by Vice President [sic] Dick Cheney to win a seat
that the GOP had held, easily, since 1994. Cheney personally stumped
on behalf of the Republican candidate, Greg Davis, on Monday.
Polar
Bears Listed as Threatened Species in U.S. 14 May 2008
After delaying a decision for several weeks, the U.S. government
today listed the polar bear as threatened under the Endangered
Species Act (ESA), creating new protections for the bears in their
Alaskan habitat. But officials emphasized that the decision will
not be used to determine U.S. climate policy.
Polar
Bear Is First Species Protected Because of Climate Change
14 May 2008 The U.S. declared the polar bear a threatened species,
giving protected status for the first time to an animal because
of global warming.
Polar
bear listed as threatened but protection uncertain 14
May 2008 Defenders of Wildlife today welcomed the U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service (FWS) decision to list
the polar bear as a threatened species under the Endangered Species
Act (ESA). This move officially recognizes that polar bears are
threatened with extinction from global warming, which is melting
the Arctic sea ice where polar bears hunt for ringed and bearded
seals, their primary food source. Defenders cautioned, however,
that the Bush administration continues to be unwilling to address
global warming, which is the leading threat to the polar bear.
Bird
Flu Medicine Toxic for Teens
13 May 2008 Concerns are rising over side effect of bird flu drug
Tamiflu on teenagers. Tamiflu is Swiss-based Hoffman-La Roche's
antiviral for general influenza A and B but is also used to combat
bird flu. However, worries have surfaced about the possibility
of the medicine causing mental disorders among teenagers. [See:
Rumsfeld's
growing stake in Tamiflu --Defense Secretary, ex-chairman
of flu treatment rights holder, sees portfolio value growing.
31 Oct 2005 Rumsfeld still holds a Gilead stake valued at between
$5 million and $25 million,
according to federal financial disclosures filed by Rumsfeld.
House
votes to stop adding to [Bush's insane] oil stockpile
14 May 2008 The House of Representatives on Tuesday followed the
Senate in rejecting the Bush regime's policy of adding oil to
the country's Strategic Petroleum Reserve while fuel prices are
high. The Senate approved a similar measure earlier in the day.
Like the Senate's legislation, the 385-to-25 vote in favor of
the bill in the House was big enough to override a possible presidential
veto of the measure.
Toll
Hikes Used to Boost Foreign Company Profits --North
American motorists pay extra to cover the losses at a Spanish
toll road giant. 09 May 2008 Drivers in North America are
paying higher fees to cover the red ink of a Spanish infrastructure
firm. Global toll road giant Cintra announced yesterday that its
first quarter revenue had jumped 15.3 percent thanks in part to
toll hikes on roads in the US, Canada, Chile, Ireland and Spain...
American motorists are now paying significantly more as a result.
In 2005, Governor Mitch Daniels (R)
leased the Chicago Skyway to Cintra and the Australian tolling
firm Macquarie for the next 99 years.
The consortium hiked tolls 20 percent earlier this year, charging
motorists $3 each to drive the 7.8 mile route.
US
foreclosure filings surge 65 percent in April 14 May 2008
More U.S. homeowners fell behind on mortgage payments last month,
driving the number of homes facing foreclosure up 65 percent versus
the same month last year and contributing to a deepening slide
in home values, a research company said Tuesday.
*****
Short
Term Archives --recent news