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March  2009 

Bush official shifted insurer's billions into stocks just before crash  [ 03/31/09 ] "Just months before the start of last year's stock market collapse, the federal agency that insures the retirement funds of 44 million Americans departed from its conservative investment strategy and decided to put much of its $64 billion insurance fund into stocks. Switching from a heavy reliance on bonds, the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation decided to pour billions of dollars into speculative investments such as stocks in emerging foreign markets, real estate, and private equity funds ..."

ODD: Man chooses to rob cop in bathroom at police convention  [ 03/31/09 ] "Jerome Blanchett took a loaded handgun into the Holiday Inn-Harrisburg East on Friday, passing dozens of unmarked police cars in the parking lot and a sign at the hotel's entrance welcoming 300 officers to the Pennsylvania Narcotic Officers' Association conference, police said. Nevertheless, the 19-year-old Harrisburg man went into the men's room and waited to rob the next person who walked through the door, police said. Unfortunately for Blanchett, that person was John Comparetto, a retired New York City Police Department lieutenant ..."

OPED: Scared Cheney puts his head in the noose  [ 03/30/09 ] "Barack Obama’s most underrated talent is his ability to get his enemies to self-destruct. It takes a lot less energy than defeating them directly, and helps maintain Obama’s largely false patina of apolitical niceness. Obama is about as far from apolitical as you can get; and while he is a decent fellow, he is also a lethal Chicago pol [politician]. His greatest achievement in this respect was the total implosion of Bill Clinton around this time last year: Hillary was next. Then came John McCain, merrily strapping on the suicide bomb of Sarah Palin. With the fate of all these formidable figures impossible to miss, one has to wonder what possessed Dick Cheney, the former vice-presi-dent, to come lumbering out twice in the first 50 days of the Obama administration to blast the new guy on national television. Growling and sneering, Cheney accused the new president of actively endangering the lives of Americans by ending the detention and interrogation programmes of the last administration, and vowing to close Guantanamo Bay. It’s hard to overstate how unseemly and unusual this was ..."

OPED: Capitalist Incarnate: My interview with a vampire  [ 03/30/09 ] "While it’s a commonly held belief that “everyone has a nonbiological twin somewhere in the world,” I wonder if we all have an antithetical “anti-twin” as well. Because I recently met someone who could easily be mine. Ironically enough, it was at the public library, one of my favorite haunts. It’d been a particularly cold winter and the mercury had finally inched up to where it was light jacket weather, so I decided to spend a day prowling around an area called The Country Club Plaza, a Kansas City “landmark.” Picture the Plaza as a physical incarnation of the spiritual realm where all the souls of the “good” members of the bourgeoisie will transcend once they’ve run themselves to death in the race to acquire the most toys. Featuring rather exotic-looking architecture styled after that of Seville, Spain; retailers who demand credit approval and notarized validation of net worth exceeding six figures prior to entry into their establishment (so as to prevent “the rabble” from invading their luxurious fiefdoms); and restaurateurs whose appetizers cost enough to feed a family of four for a month, this “shopping district” is at the nexus of what some people refer to as Kansas City’s “old money.” Suffice it to say that the inhabitants of the palatial estates lining nearby Ward Parkway and State Line Road enjoy extensive insulation from the current “economic downturn.” [...]

Family now feels vindicated as their house is only one standing after Australian fires  [ 03/30/09 ] "They were labelled law breakers, fined $50,000 and left emotionally and financially drained. But seven years after the Sheahans bulldozed trees to make a fire break — an act that got them dragged before a magistrate and penalised — they feel vindicated. Their house is one of the few in Reedy Creek, Victoria, still standing. The Sheahans' 2004 court battle with the Mitchell Shire Council for illegally clearing trees to guard against fire, as well as their decision to stay at home and battle the weekend blaze, encapsulate two of the biggest issues arising from the bushfire tragedy ...."

New claim of MI5 involvement in torture  [ 03/30/09 ] "Claims that secret agents working for MI5 and MI6 watched and encouraged the torture of a second British resident held by the Americans must be investigated by the police, politicians, lawyers and human rights groups said last night. Fresh allegations in the High Court this week will increase pressure on the Government to open a judicial inquiry into collusion between the CIA and British security services in torture during the "war on terror" ..."

Major change in American policy toward Syria is clearly under way  [ 03/30/09 ] "American and foreign government officials, intelligence officers, diplomats, and politicians said in interviews that renewed Israeli-Syrian negotiations over the Golan Heights are now highly likely, despite Gaza and the elections in Israel in February, which left the Likud Party leader, Benjamin Netanyahu, at the head of a coalition that includes both the far right and Labor. Those talks would depend largely on America’s willingness to act as the mediator, a role that could offer Barack Obama his first—and perhaps best—chance for engagement in the Middle East peace process. A senior Syrian official explained that Israel’s failure to unseat Hamas from power in Gaza, despite the scale of the war, gave Assad enough political room to continue the negotiations without losing credibility in the Arab world. Assad also has the support of Arab leaders who are invested in the Israeli-Palestinian peace process. Sheikh Hamid bin Khalifa al-Thani, the ruler of Qatar, said last month when I saw him in Doha that Assad must take any reasonable steps he can to keep the talks going. “Syria is eager to engage with the West,” he said, “an eagerness that was never perceived by the Bush White House. Anything is possible, as long as peace is being pursued.”

Iraq Orders Sunni Gunmen In Baghdad Area To Disarm  [ 03/30/09 ] "U.S.-backed Iraqi forces swept through a central Baghdad slum Sunday, disarming Sunnis from a government-allied paramilitary group to quell a two-day uprising launched to protest the arrest of their leader." 

Pakistan’s President Praises Obama and Offers New Concession to the Opposition  [ 03/29/09 ] "President Asif Ali Zardari promised to ease domestic political turmoil and praised the Obama administration’s new policy to Pakistan as “positive change.”  Related:  Obama rules out US troop raids into Pakistan

A Gun Ban Gets Shot Down [ 03/29/09 ] "Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is now the second member of President Obama's cabinet to get shot down by the White House over the politically sensitive issue of assault weapons. After meeting with Mexican President Felipe Calderón, Clinton said that reinstating the U.S. ban on assault weapons—which was passed in 1994 and expired in 2004—is one step this country could take to curb the flow of guns to Mexico's drug cartels."

Biden Daughter In Cocaine Scandal?  [ 03/29/09 ] "A "friend" of Vice President Joseph Biden's daughter, Ashley, is attempting to hawk a videotape that he claims shows her snorting cocaine at a house party this month in Delaware ... This isn't the first brush with scandal for Ashley, who was arrested in 2002 when she yelled at a cop trying to arrest her disorderly friend outside a Chicago club, according to published report."

North Korea preparing for another missile test  [ 03/29/09 ] "North Korea is preparing to launch a short- or medium-range missile, possibly right after it carries out its plan to fire a long-range rocket in early April, a Japanese newspaper reported Sunday. North Korea says it will launch a communications satellite into orbit between April 4 and 8 as part of its space development program. Regional powers, however, suspect the North is using the launch to test long-range missile technology, and have warned it could face international sanctions under a 2006 U.N. Security Council resolution prohibiting ballistic activity by North Korea ... North Korea warned last week it would take "strong steps" if the Security Council even criticizes the launch, suggesting it will reverse the steps it has taken so far to disable its nuclear facilities if sanctions are levied. Under a 2007 deal with the U.S., South Korea, China, Russia and Japan, North Korea agreed to dismantle its nuclear program in exchange for aid. The process has been stalled, however, by a dispute over how to verify the North's accounting of its past nuclear activities ... South Korea's foreign minister said in an interview published Sunday that the U.N. ambassadors of South Korea, the U.S., China, Russia and Japan have begun discussing how to respond to North Korea's rocket launch. "We can't let it pass as if nothing happened if (the North) violates the Security Council resolution," Yu Myung-hwan was quoted as saying by the mass-circulation JoongAng Ilbo newspaper. "An appropriate U.N. measure based on the five countries' common stance will come out." Sankei said in a separate dispatch from Washington that 15 personnel from the Iranian satellite and missile development company Shahid Hemmat Industrial Group are staying in North Korea at the invitation of the North Korean government ....Quoting unnamed intelligence sources in Washington it said are close to North Korean affairs, Sankei said the Iranians are likely to join North Korean preparations for the launch and also observe it. The report said North Korea sent missile experts to Iran when it launched a satellite in February. North Korea is believed to have sold missiles to Iran, and Iran's Safir-Omid space launch vehicle owes much to the North's Taepodong missile." 

Spanish Court Weighs Inquiry on Torture for 6 Bush-Era Officials  [ 03/29/09 ] "A high-level Spanish court has taken the first steps toward opening a criminal investigation against six former Bush administration officials, including former Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales, on whether they violated international law by providing a legalistic framework to justify the use of torture of prisoners at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, an official close to the case said."

AIPAC espionage case becomes US trouble [ 03/29/09 ] "The American Jewish Committee and the Anti-Defamation League, two top Jewish lobby groups in the US, are demanding the Justice Department reconsider its case against Rosen and Weissman. The ADL has a history of protecting criminals." Related: Absurdity of spending US tax dollars on Israel while Americans struggle it's also illegal, now that Israel's nukes are open knowledge.

G20 summit: Thousands to protest in London  [ 03/29/09 ] "Up to 40,000 protesters are set to march through central London ahead of the G20 summit of world leaders."

Obama: Pakistan is now part of our war  [ 03/29/09 ] "More than seven years after America declared war on the Taleban, Afghanistan still stands on the brink of disaster, President Obama declared yesterday as he unveiled a new regional strategy to win the war in South Asia. An additional 21,000 US troops will be sent to Afghanistan and civilian aid to neighbouring Pakistan will be trebled, Mr Obama said in a speech that showed his desire to take full US ownership of the deepening conflict.  Related: Pakistan to Get $5 Billion From US Despite Oversight Concerns [ 03/28/09 ] "There is considerable concern at the lack of transparency for aid sent to the troubled south Asian nation, and serious questions over how much of the money thrown at Pakistan for “schools, roads and hospitals” will actually be used for those purposes and how much will be funneled to other purposes. The decision to ratchet up Pakistan’s aid also comes just days after US officials blamed the Pakistani government, and the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) agency in particular, for providing direct support to the Taliban in Afghanistan."

U.S. programs seen too late to stem commercial foreclosure wave [ 03/28/09 ] "The new federal programs to aid the U.S. financial markets will likely not fend off the impending wave of foreclosures on U.S. commercial real estate loans, experts said. U.S. Treasury Department officials unveiled this week more specifics of a program that will enable the federal government to help private buyers purchase toxic loans and asset-backed securities, including commercial mortgage-backed securities (CMBS). While there is much public debate about whether it will get the banking industry back on its feet, many real estate experts said that it won't prevent an approaching wave of defaults of current loans in the U.S. commercial real estate sector ..."

Congress eyes tax on health-care benefits to fund expansion of coverage [ 03/28/09 ] "Faced with mounting budget deficits and the enormous cost of reforming the nation's health-care system, Democrats and Republicans on Capitol Hill are expressing increasing openness to an idea that once seemed unthinkable—taxing some health-care benefits."  Note: Why don't they just shoot everyone now and get it over with. Taking away from something you're getting results in a net zero for you and money for them. So, what's really new? The end result is the same, regardless.

Only 'peace' protects 'freedoms' in post-9/11 world [ 03/28/09 ] "The post-9/11 world is now clearly drawn,” Reporters Without Borders said. “Destabilised and on the defensive, the leading democracies are gradually eroding the space for freedoms. The economically most powerful dictatorships arrogantly proclaim their authoritarianism, exploiting the international community’s divisions and the ravages of the wars carried out in the name of the fight against terrorism. Religious and political taboos are taking greater hold by the year in countries that used to be advancing down the road of freedom.” “The world’s closed countries, governed by the worst press freedom predators, continue to muzzle their media at will, with complete impunity, while organisations such as the UN lose all authority over their members,” Reporters Without Borders added. “In contrast with this generalised decline, there are economically weak countries that nonetheless guarantee their population the right to disagree with the government and to say so publicly ...."

Gov't transparency website faces private rival  [ 03/28/09 ]  "As critics slam the administration's Recovery.gov website for a lack of accessible data, a private company has launched a rival — Recovery.com. Onvia, a 12-year old consulting group, started Recovery.com with the goal of providing real-time data on spending that comes out of the $787 billion stimulus bill."

Most corrupt state: Louisiana ranked higher than Illinois [ 03/28/09 ]  "A couple of months ago, an obscure New Orleans tax assessor was ticketed for allegedly using flashing blue police lights illegally mounted on his car to weave his way through a traffic jam. As public corruption allegations in Louisiana go, it was strictly penny-ante stuff. This is, after all, a legendarily crooked state where a former governor has been keeping a federal prison cell warm for more than six years for extortion, racketeering and fraud; a recently defeated congressman is about to go on trial on allegations he stashed $90,000 in loot in his kitchen freezer; and a suburban New Orleans mayor is under scrutiny for receiving gift cards, a hunting bow and a gun cabinet bought with donations to a Toys for Tots Christmas fund ..."

ODD: Driver begs cops to shoot him after 130 mph chase [ 03/26/09 ]  "Police say an officer tried to stop the man on Ga. 400 for speeding about 1:45 a.m., but he sped away in his Mercedes C230. He left Ga. 400, went westbound in the eastbound lanes of Old Milton Parkway, forcing oncoming drivers off the highway. He sideswiped a police car, lost control and slammed into a tree. Police said he jumped from the car and started yelling, "Shoot me, shoot me."

ODD: Man locked inside bar after falling asleep [ 03/26/09 ]  "A patron at the I Don't Care Bar & Grill evidently didn't care about leaving until it was way past closing time and the door was locked. The man, whose name was not released, told police in western Kentucky that he fell asleep inside the bar and when he got up to leave he set off the alarm. Hopkinsville, Ky., police officers arrived a few minutes before 3 a.m. Friday to find him still locked inside the establishment and unable to find a way out. So they helped him leave the bar. No one was arrested. Evidently it's not a crime to be left behind after closing time at I Don't Care."

US deploys warships as North Korea prepares to launch missile [ 03/27/09 ]  North Korea is not testing a ballistic missile. They are launching a satellite into orbit. Yes, they are using a military missile to do so, but then the United States has used modified ICBMs as space launchers, including the Mercury and Gemini programs.

Hillary Clinton admits US role in Mexico drug wars   [ 03/27/09 ]  "Hillary Clinton has admitted that the US demand for illegal drugs and its consequent supply of weapons is fuelling the wave of violent killings in Mexico's drug wars. The US secretary of state yesterday distanced the new administration from those in Washington who have in the past suggested that the government of the Mexican president, Felipe Calderón, had lost control of parts of its territory ..."   Note: How about CIA involvement.

Montana Plane Crash Oddities and Ironies   [ 03/27/09 ]  "Some of you may have seen the major news story of the private plane that crashed into a Montana cemetery, killing 7 children and 7 adults. But what the news sources fail to mention is that the Catholic Holy Cross Cemetery owned by Resurrection Cemetery Association in Butte - contains a memorial for local residents to pray the rosary, at the 'Tomb of the Unborn'. This memorial, located a short distance west of the church, was erected as a dedication to all babies who have died because of abortion. What else is the mainstream news not telling you? The family who died in the crash near the location of the abortion victim's memorial, is the family of Irving 'Bud' Feldkamp, owner of the largest for-profit abortion chain in the nation. Family Planning Associates was purchased four years ago by Irving Moore "Bud" Feldkamp III, owner of Allcare and Hospitality Dental Associates and CEO of Glen Helen Raceway Park in San Bernardino. The 17 California Family Planning clinics perform more abortions in the state than any other abortion provider - Planned Parenthood included - and they perform abortions through the first five months of pregnancy. Although Feldkamp is not an abortionist, he reaps profits of blood money from the tens of thousands of babies that are killed through abortions performed every year at the clinics he owns. His business in the abortion industry was what enabled him to afford the private plane that was carrying his family to their week-long vacation at The Yellowstone Club, a millionaires-only ski resort. The plane went down on Sunday, killing two of Feldkamp's daughters, two sons-in-law and five grandchildren along with the pilot and four family friends. The plane, a single-engine turboprop flown by Bud Summerfield of Highland, crashed into the Catholic cemetery and burst into flames, only 500 ft. from its landing destination. All aboard were killed. The cause of the crash is a mystery. The pilot, who was a former military flier who logged over 2,000 miles, gave no indication to air traffic controllers that the aircraft was experiencing difficulty when he asked to divert to an airport in Butte. Witnesses report that the plane suddenly nosedived toward the ground with no apparent signs of a struggle. There was neither a cockpit voice recorder nor a flight data recorder onboard, and no radar clues into the planes final moments because the Butte airport is not equipped with a radar facility. Some speculate that the crash was due to ice on the wings, but this particular plane model has been tested for icy weather and experts have stated that ice being the cause is unlikely ..."   Related: Plane Crashes Into Montana Cemetery  

ODD: Life Sucks: Man fears leaving his home after publicity over vacuum sexcapade [ 03/26/09 ]  "The man caught "doing it" with a car wash vacuum hose says people now stare at him, he's afraid to come out of his house and he can't find a job. "It's been horrible," says Jason Savage, who is undergoing counseling. "I've been keeping my nose clean and staying out of trouble." (Saginaw News)" 

ODD: Indiana State Trooper in trouble over Facebook photos and statements   [ 03/26/09 ]  "Police say what 13 Investigates found on Trooper Chris Pestow's personal Facebook page is embarrassing and might even be against the law. Some of the entries showed Pestow with a .357 Magnum pointed at his head, drinking what he described as lots of beer with his buddies and lewd horseplay. Over the past several months, Pestow has used his Facebook page to brag of heavy drinking. He also posted pictures of a crash involving his ISP cruiser. And he isn't shy about sharing his views of police work, referring to himself as not a state trooper, but as a "garbage man." His Facebook page said, "I pick up trash for a living." Pestow also weighed in on the issue of people who resist arrest and threaten police officers. Referring to an incident in California in which Fresno Police officers punched a homeless man during his arrest, Pestow wrote: "Let someone, homeless or not, try and stab me with a pen, knife, spoon, etc, not only will he fail, he'll probably end up shot. These people should have died when they were young anyway, I'm just doing them a favor." [sic] Pestow isn't the only one who is now facing possible punishment. The man holding the gun to his head in one of the photos is also a police officer. Andrew Deddish works for the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department and officials there are not happy with the picture. "We're trained [that] we don't point firearms at anything we don't plan to shoot," said IMPD Sgt. Paul Thompson. Thompson said Deddish is now facing an internal investigation, because pointing a gun at someone is against state law and because he says a police officer should know better. Pestow did remove his Facebook page from the Internet that same afternoon, but not before 13 Investigates, State Police and IMPD had a very good look at it. ISP is currently in the process of drafting a Standard Operating Procedure for all department staff regarding posting information on personal web pages such as Facebook."

‘Israel treated its soldiers as guinea pigs’    [ 03/26/09 ]  "Israel has admitted to developing an anthrax vaccine through a secret research project involving tests on unaware army soldiers."  Note: The people of Israel, just like the people in the U.S., are at risk from a government who will sacrifice them in a heartbeat.  

FBI Director Asks Lawmakers to Renew Patriot Act Provisions   [ 03/26/09 ]  "FBI Director Robert S. Mueller III urged lawmakers to move swiftly to renew intelligence-gathering measures set to expire in December, calling them "exceptional" tools to help protect national security. Mueller told members of the Senate Judiciary Committee that he hoped that the reauthorization of two provisions contained in the Patriot Act would be far less "controversial" than in previous years. During the Bush administration, the law drove a wedge between investigators seeking to detect terrorist threats and advocates warning that it trampled on Americans' civil liberties ... Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. expressed at least moderate support for renewing the provisions that will sunset in December." 

Specter takes quarter million dollars from union buster in 2008 then turns back on workers  [ 03/26/09 ]  "Sen. Arlen Specter (R-PA) has spent a career crafting an image of independence and integrity. Yesterday he sacrificed both when he turned his back on the working people in his state. Specter announced that he would not vote to allow the Employee Free Choice Act to receive an up or down vote on the Senate floor; a move that some consider fatal to the legislation. In a statement on the Senate floor he waxed eloquent about his belief that a difficult economic climate is no time for workers to receive a living wage. Specter received $235,350 in 2008 from Blank Rome LLP a self described “union avoidance” law firm with offices in nine states and appropriately Communist China. Union busting law firms thrived after Ronald Reagan fired the PATCO workers, setting off a wave of union busting. The union busting consulting industry advises clients on strategies to prevent workers from forming unions and tactics to destroy existing union contracts. While they do not counsel clients to break the law, they inform them of the relatively minor consequences ..."   Related: Specter Can Kiss His Job Goodbye  "In what amounted to little more than a cowardly flip-flop, Pennsylvania Sen. Arlen Specter (R), yesterday (Mar. 24) announced he would side with big banks and corporations like Citigroup and Wal-Mart against working Americans. He announced he would help Senate Republicans filibuster the Employee Free Choice Act, a bill that would remove barriers to unionization. Although Specter had co-sponsored the bill when it was introduced in 2004 and voted for it in 2007, he caved to pressure from anti-worker right-wing groups that threatened to finance an expensive primary challenge against him in 2010." 

US tried to gag British man 'tortured' in Guantanamo  [ 03/26/09 ]  "The American government tried to force a British resident held at Guantanamo Bay to drop allegations of torture in return for his release, court documents published yesterday revealed. Binyam Mohamed, 30, held by the US for nearly seven years, was told by the American military that he could win his freedom if he pleaded guilty to terrorism charges, ended his High Court case to prove his claims of torture and agreed not to speak to the media about his ordeal. He rejected the deal ..."

Do the Secret Bush Memos Amount to Treason? Top Constitutional Scholar Says Yes  [ 03/26/09 ]  By Naomi Wolf  "I sought a reality check -- and a formal legal read -- from one of the nation's top constitutional scholars (and most steadfast patriots), Michael Ratner of the Center for Constitutional Rights, which has been at the forefront of defending the detainees and our own liberties  ... What is in the memos -- is law by fiat. I call it "Fuhrer's law." What those memos lay out means the end of the system of checks and balances in this country. It means the end of the system in which the courts, legislature and executive each had a function and they could check each other. What the memos set out is a system in which the president's word is law, and Yoo is very clear about that: the president's word is not only law according to these memos, but no law or constitutional right or treaty can restrict the president's authority. What Yoo says is that the president's authority as commander in chief in the so-called war on terror is not bound by any law passed by Congress, any treaty, or the protections of free speech, due process and the right to be free from unreasonable searches and seizures. The First, Fourth and Fifth amendments -- gone. What this actually means is that the president can order the military to operate in the U.S. and to operate without constitutional restrictions. They -- the military -- can pick you or me up in the U.S. for any reason and without any legal process. They would not have any restrictions on entering your house to search it, or to seize you. They can put you into a brig without any due process or going to court. (That's the Fourth and Fifth amendments.) The military can disregard the Posse Comitatus law, which restricts the military from acting as police in the the United States. And the president can, in the name of wartime restrictions, limit free speech. There it is in black and white: we are looking at one-person rule without any checks and balances -- a lawless state. Law by fiat. ...."

Khartoum: US bombed targets in Sudan  [ 03/26/09 ]  "Sudan has confirmed reports that the US Air Force conducted a strike against suspected arm smugglers killing scores of people on its soil." 

Giant Shipment of Weapons With No Serial Numbers Seized at Airport  [ 03/26/09 ]  "The guns were destined for a business located in Kentucky. Neither the shotguns nor pistols were found to have any serial numbers or markings." Someone's covert operation just got blown! 

Black box reports no icing problems in deadly Buffalo crash  [ 03/26/09 ]  "The National Transportation Safety Board said the data "shows that some ice accumulation was likely present on the airplane prior to the initial upset event, but that the airplane continued to respond as expected to flight control inputs throughout the accident flight." So, contrary to the "advertisements" on the TV news, something else brought that aircraft down."

IBM to shift 'large number' of US jobs to India  [ 03/26/09 ]  "Computer giant IBM plans to cut a "large number" of US employees in its business services unit and transfer their duties to India, the Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday. The newspaper, citing "people familiar with the situation," said that IBM generally avoids public disclosure of layoffs and the number of US jobs being eliminated could not be determined."

Japanese exports plunge nearly 50%  [ 03/26/09 ]  "Japan's exports nearly halved last month, the biggest decline on record, as car shipments to the US and Europe plummeted. Exports tumbled by 49.4%, the sharpest decline since Japan's ministry of finance began compiling trade figures in 1980. Japan's carmakers have been among the hardest hit by the global downturn. Shipments of cars

Tunisian pilot and co-pilot convicted for abandoning reason during flight, killing 16  [ 03/25/09 ]  "A stupid Tunisian pilot who, when faced with a simple in flight situation, abandoned all reason, paused to pray instead of taking emergency measures, and unnecessarily crash-landed his plane, killing 16 people, has been sentenced to 10 years in jail by an Italian court, along with his equally stupid co-pilot."  

Japanese man certified as double A-bomb victim  [ 03/25/09 ]  "A 93-year-old Japanese man has become the first person certified as a survivor of both U.S. atomic bombings at the end of World War II, officials said Tuesday. Tsutomu Yamaguchi had already been a certified "hibakusha," or radiation survivor, of the Aug. 9, 1945, atomic bombing in Nagasaki, but has now been confirmed as surviving the attack on Hiroshima three days earlier as well, city officials said. Yamaguchi was in Hiroshima on a business trip on Aug. 6, 1945, when a U.S. B-29 dropped an atomic bomb on the city. He suffered serious burns to his upper body and spent the night in the city. He then returned to his hometown of Nagasaki just in time for the second attack, city officials said."   Wow!, What a path!  

China Blocks Access to YouTube  [ 03/25/09 ]  "The block is reported to have stemmed from a recent round of videos depicting protests and police reactions in Tibet. According to the BBC, one particular video depicted a policeman beating Tibetan monks and protestors."

Russian subs 'to back Arctic claims'  [ 03/25/09 ]  "Russia considers deploying submarines armed with nuclear-capable cruise missiles in a bid to protect resources in the disputed Arctic region. Submarines from Russia's Northern Fleet could be involved in efforts to stake Russia's claim to the polar region, Vice Admiral Oleg Burtsev, deputy head of the Navy General Staff, told RIA Novosti." 

Lebanon: No direct talks with Israel [ 03/25/09 ]  "Lebanese President Michel Sleiman has ruled out holding direct talks with Israel, calling for a regional peace conference instead. "We have always refused to hold direct talks with the Israelis," Reuters quoted Sleiman as saying at the end of a three-day visit to France. "We have always said that we would be prepared to accept a peace conference based on the Madrid conference and also on the international legal texts," said the president, referring to a 1991 peace conference in Madrid ..." Related: Syria: War with Israel still on the go "Syria reasserts its opposition to Israel and the occupation of Palestinian land, ruling out any talks in default of a Tel Aviv climb-down." UN: Israel broke six-month truce in Gaza  "A new UN report exposes a bit of misinformation peddled by the US and Israel and shatters the Zionist illusion that the Gaza war was legal." Yemen sentences 'Mossad spy' to death 

Man wrongly jailed for 27 years walks free ... and is hit by a taxi [ 03/25/09 ] "The man released after spending 27 years in jail for a murder he did not commit has spent his first weekend of freedom in hospital after being hit by a taxi. Sean Hodgson needed stitches in his face after being struck by the cab as he was about to cross a busy road in London. His solicitor said the accident was just one example of how difficult it was for Mr Hodgson to adjust to life on the outside after nearly three decades behind bars."  Related: £46 award for innocent man's 27 years in prison   

US lawmaker: Iran 'threat' exaggerated [ 03/25/09 ]  "A US lawmaker says an Iranian missile 'threat' has been exaggerated as the White House moves to reconsider a defense shield in Europe." 

Republicans to give Cheney a wide berth [ 03/25/09 ]  "Republicans, who have found themselves increasingly at odds with Dick Cheney, have urged him to step aside and let them refurbish the party." 

New Mexico Becomes 15th State to Abolish Capital Punishment   [ 03/24/09 ]  "Though Democratic Gov. Bill Richardson of New Mexico has supported the death penalty in the past, he has chosen to abolish the practice, citing the fact that DNA evidence “had shown that innocent people had been sentenced to death in the past,” the BBC reported late last week. "Regardless of my personal opinion about the death penalty, I do not have confidence in the criminal justice system as it currently operates to be the final arbiter when it comes to who lives and who dies for their crime," Richardson said. Life imprisonment will replace the death penalty in the state on July 1."

UK: Civilian Force Of 60,000 Trained As “Terrorist” Spotters   [ 03/24/09 ]  "MI5 is currently training up to 60,000 UK citizens as part a civilian network of terrorist spotters, according to Prime Minister Gordon Brown and home secretary, Jacqui Smith. For several years now, reports have consistently emerged concerning the ongoing move to hand over new powers enacted under anti-terrorism legislation to town hall bureaucrats and lowly council workers. Last year it also emerged that state and private sector employees are being encouraged to apply for Home Office accreditation, which effectively arms them with sweeping police-style powers, allowing them to demand identification and hand out fines for a raft of offences, from dropping litter to riding a bike on the pavement. A similar strategy is even being implemented to deal with so called "green offences", as citizens snoopers are being employed to report litter louts, dog foulers and even people who fail to sort out their rubbish properly. Over 50% of councils have admitted to using anti-terror laws to spy on families suspected of putting their rubbish out on the wrong day. Privacy campaigners have compared the trend to the activities of the ‘Stasi’ - the infamous East German secret police." 

Kentucky e-voting fraud manipulated voters, not machines  [ 03/24/09 ]  "This past Friday brought news of a handful of indictments of elections officials in Kentucky who are alleged to have rigged elections in 2002, 2004, and 2006 by changing votes in electronic voting machines. The group of five officials (plus one non-official) is charged with a list of crimes including manipulating the vote totals in electronic voting machines, certifying elections that they knew to be rigged, and arranging for votes to be sold. Remarkably, the vote manipulation technique here was essentially an exploit of a simple UI design flaw, and involved no computer skills at all on the part of the alleged perpetrators."

British Court: US Asked Detainee To Drop Torture Claim In Exchange For Freedom  [ 03/23/09 ]  "U.S. authorities asked a Guantanamo Bay detainee to drop allegations of torture and agree not to speak publicly about his ordeal in exchange for his freedom, according to British court documents. A ruling by two British High Court judges, issued in October but released only on Monday, said the U.S. offered former detainee Binyam Mohamed a plea bargain last year _ six years after he was first detained as an enemy combatant ..."

Airport security technique debated  [ 03/23/09 ]  "Behavior detection is a touchy topic at the nation's airports. An October report by the National Research Council, an arm of the National Academy of Sciences, concluded that there is "no scientific consensus" that behavioral surveillance techniques like those employed by the TSA are an effective way to combat terrorism. It found they have "enormous potential for privacy violations." Some security experts and civil libertarians say the practice also invites ethnic profiling. But the agency defends the practice. Carl Maccario of the TSA helped develop the program known as Screening Passengers by Observation Techniques, or SPOT."

British Pubs May Be Becoming An Endangered Species  [ 03/23/09 ]  "Rural life is unrecognizable from 20 years ago and British drinking habits have undergone a sea change, as well. Both of these factors have led to a crisis for British pubs. Thirty-nine a week are going out of business forever. And the bad news is accelerating. The numbers were awful before the recession kicked in, but now they are brutal. In the last quarter of 2008 sales of beer were off by almost 10 percent in pubs, according to figures from the British Beer and Pub Association. Now politicians are becoming alarmed about the future of an industry that employs upwards of half a million people."

UK Pop Must Be Cut In Half - Brown Advisor   [ 03/23/09 ]  ".... what it was in late Victorian times, if it is to 'survive'..."

Gross brutality during British "terrorism" raid   [ 03/22/09 ]  "During what his counsel Phillippa Kaufmann described as a "prolonged and violent series of gratuitous assaults" the 34-year-old IT support analyst claims officers forced him into the Muslim prayer position before shouting "Where is your God now? … Pray to him." Kaufmann said: "The acts of the officers were ones of gross brutality, intended to humiliate and debase the claimant and to make him fear for his life. The officers engaged over a prolonged period in extreme, sadistic and dangerous acts of violence against an individual who was completely restrained and vulnerable. "This was an extremely serious abuse of power which is in no sense justified, nor was it excusable on the grounds that it was perpetrated in the heat of an arrest for terrorism." As the instruments of the state begin to reveal themselves, the instruments of the state will suppress their own doubts by becoming ever more brutal in an attempt to force the real world to conform to the beliefs they have been indoctrinated with; hence the forcing of the prisoner into the Muslim prayer position, even though such an act is totally inappropriate to the mission. The police cannot be wrong, therefore the state must be right. From this grossest of self-deceptions arises the fanaticism that can destroy a nation."

Ex-cops apologize for deadly drug raid ahead of sentencing   [ 03/22/09 ]  "Junnier and two other ex-officers, Arthur Tesler and Jason Smith, face prison in connection with the November 2006 drug raid that left 92-year-old Kathryn Johnston dead in a hail of gunfire. Investigators later determined the raid was based on falsified paperwork stating that illegal drugs were present in the home."

Death squad leader ‘was top CIA agent’ who encouraged genocide  [ 03/22/09 ]  "The late President Milosevic's secret police chief and organiser of Serb death squads during the genocidal ethnic cleansing of disintegrating Yugoslavia was the United States' top CIA agent in Belgrade, according to the independent Belgrade Radio B92. The claim that from 1992 until the end of the decade, Jovica Stanisic, head of Serbia's murderous DB Secret Police, was regularly informing his CIA handlers of the thinking in Milosevic's inner circle has shocked the region. Stanisic is said to have loyally served his two masters for eight years. He is facing war crimes charges at the International Criminal Court at The Hague. In the terrifying years of Yugoslavia's internecine wars, he acted as the willing "muscle" behind Milosevic's genocidal campaigns in Croatia, Kosovo and Bosnia, including Sebrenica."  Related: The long and sadistic history behind the CIA's torture techniques 

North Korea: 2 US Reporters Being Held For Crossing Border  [ 03/22/09 ]  "The United States has contacted representatives of North Korea about two detained American journalists and is waiting for a reply, a U.S. official said Saturday. North Korea confirmed earlier Saturday that it detained the two Americans for "illegally intruding" in its territory after crossing the border from China. Authorities are investigating the two women, who were seized Tuesday, the official Korean Central News Agency said in a brief report that gave no other details. The journalists' cameraman and guide reportedly escaped but were later detained by Chinese border guards. The arrests of the journalists, who were reporting on North Korean refugees, complicate already difficult ties between the North and the United States ..."

The Israel lobby gets its man—and tips its hand  [ 03/22/09 ]  "Charles Freeman Jr.’s withdrawal of his acceptance of a high-level intelligence position in the Obama administration was a national-security drama more riveting than an episode of “24.” The moral was clear: even a president who owes his job to a progressive movement in American politics could not support a longtime public servant who had made the mistake of criticizing Israel. Fierce advocates of the Jewish state, notably Sens. Chuck Schumer and Joe Lieberman and Reps. Eric Cantor and Steve Israel, played important roles in Freeman’s exit, while present and former officials of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee flitted in and out of the wings. The message to all office-seekers is obvious. “They want to kill the chicken to scare the monkeys. They want other people to be intimidated,” Freeman told The American Conservative just before he withdrew his name to be chairman of the National Intelligence Council. He went on, “If the administration does not stick with me, then it’s destroying the argument that the Israel lobby is only a mythic entity and does not control the public space. … It will show the world that it is not able to exercise independent thinking on these issues ...”

Seven medical labs accused of Medi-Cal fraud  [ 03/22/09 ]  "Seven private medical laboratories have defrauded the Medi-Cal program of hundreds of millions of dollars by systematically overcharging the state by as much as 400% for blood, urine and other lab tests, state Atty. Gen. Jerry Brown said Thursday ...."

Iran to U.S.: "You change, our behavior will change"  [ 03/21/09 ]  "Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said on Saturday U.S. President Barack Obama's offer of better ties was just a "slogan," but pledged Tehran would respond to any real policy shift by Washington. Khamenei, who has final say on all matters of state, added: "You change, our behavior will change." Indicating areas where Iran wants a different U.S. approach, he said the United States was "hated in the world" and should stop interfering in other countries' internal affairs. He also spoke of "oppressive sanctions" imposed on the Islamic Republic, Iranian assets frozen in the United States and Washington's backing of Israel, which Tehran does not recognize. Khamenei said a change of U.S. words was not enough and that Obama had "insulted" Iran and its government immediately after taking office, without elaborating ..."

Brain injuries most pervasive and untreated combat injury [ 03/21/09 ]  "The DoD finally admits that 360,000 Iraq and Afghanistan vets may have suffered serious brain injuries they previously dismissed as mild concussions."

Israel's right not to be criticised [ 03/21/09 ]  "How serious can the international community's commitment to eliminating racism be taken when it succumbs to Israeli pressure to boycott the Durban II conference, asks Amira Howeidy."

Iran responds to Barack Obama's video appeal with nuclear pledge [ 03/21/09 ]  "US President Barack Obama's appeal for a 'new beginning' with Iran has been met by a pledge to turn on the country's nuclear power plant this year."

KY Election Officials Arrested, Charged With 'Changing Votes at E-Voting Machines' [ 03/21/09 ]  "The (rather mentally challenged) Kentucky officials arrested and indicted today, "including the circuit court judge, the county clerk, and election officers" of Clay County, have been charged with "changing] votes at the voting machine" and showing others how to do it!"

California "tent city" for homeless to be closed  [ 03/21/09 ]  "The mayor of California's state capital unveiled plans on Thursday to shut down a sprawling "tent city" of the homeless that has drawn worldwide media attention as a symbol of U.S. economic decline."

2nd naval collision involving scores of nukes this year   [ 03/20/09 ]  "Two US navy vessels, including a nuclear-powered submarine, collided in one of the Middle East's key oil routes today lightly injuring 15 sailors and causing oil prices to rise. The collision in the strait of Hormuz, between Iran and the Arabian peninsula, occurred in darkness when the submarine was submerged. The craft, the USS Hartford, suffered no damage to its nuclear propulsion system, a spokesman for the 5th Fleet said. The other craft, the amphibious USS New Orleans, suffered a ruptured fuel tank, resulting in the spillage of 95,000 litres of diesel fuel. Both vessels were heading in the same direction when the collision occurred in the narrow strait and were subsequently heading to port for repairs, the spokesman said. In the first half of 2008, around 20% of all the oil traded globally passed through the strait of Hormuz. Some 17m barrels of oil passed through the strait each day in the period, accounting for 40% of all seaborne traded oil. However there was no disruption to shipping in the strait following the collision.

Soldier says rabid rabbis pushed "religious war" in Gaza  [ 03/20/09 ]  "Rabbis in the Israeli army told battlefield troops in January's Gaza offensive that they were fighting a "religious war" against gentiles, according to one army commander's account published on Friday. "Their message was very clear: we are the Jewish people, we came to this land by a miracle, God brought us back to this land and now we need to fight to expel the gentiles who are interfering with our conquest of this holy land," he said."

Philadelphia shopkeepers say plainclothes cops barged in, looted stores & stole cash  [ 03/20/09 ]  "When they later unlocked their store, the Nams allege, they discovered that a case of lighter fluid and handfuls of Zippo lighters were missing. The police said they seized $2,573 in the raid. The Nams say they actually had between $3,800 and $4,000 in the store. The Nams' story is strikingly similar to those told by other mom-and-pop store owners, from Dominicans in Hunting Park to Jordanians in South Philadelphia."

Gov. Nixon addresses national security conference  [ 03/20/09 ] (News leader, Springfield, MO) "Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano and Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon today addressed the federal, state and local officials attending the third annual National Fusion Center Conference in Kansas City, which took place March 10-12."  Backs up data below on 'fusion centers'.

Missouri Governor Stands Behind MIAC Smear Report  [ 03/20/09 ]  "Missouri Governor Jay Nixon has defended a report issued by the Missouri Information Analysis Center that smears Ron Paul supporters, people who have knowledge of the U.S. Constitution, and people who display political bumper stickers as potential domestic terrorists."  Related: Homeland Security 'Fusion Centers'

New Mexico governor to ban death penalty in state  [ 03/19/09 ]  "Gov. Bill Richardson says he will sign a bill repealing New Mexico's death penalty. The bill replaces the sentence of death by lethal injection with one of life in prison without the possibility of parole. The governor had until midnight Wednesday to decide whether to sign the bill lawmakers sent him last week. New Mexico is only the second state to ban executions since the U.S. Supreme Court reinstated the death penalty in 1976. It joins 14 other states that do not have capital punishment. New Mexico has executed nine men since 1933. The most recent execution was in 2001. There are two men on death row whose sentences are not affected by the repeal."

Big Technical Problem With America’s Story About The Iranian Drone Shoot-Down  [ 03/19/09 ]  "According to reports that began to emerge just a few days ago, the US air force claimed to have shot down an Iranian drone (unmanned aircraft) on 25 February 2009. Most reports say the drone was operating over an area some 60-70 miles northeast of Baghdad and was shot down after having operated over the area for 70 minutes. The US military identified the Iranian drone as an Ababil 3 unmanned aircraft. While the aircraft can be used as a type of flying bomb capable of delivering some 45kgs of explosives, its usual use is as a reconnaissance aircraft fitted out with cameras and other such equipment. Wearing my aeronautical engineers hat, here’s the problem with the story as the US is telling it: ..." 

OpEd: Popular state sovereignty bills draw comparison to Civil War posturing [ 03/18/09 ]  "The 'threat' is only implied, in more than two-dozen state sovereignty bills making the rounds in legislatures across the country, except for a New Hampshire bill where the authors didn't hold back. Any law infringing on the state's right to self govern would trigger the dissolution of the nation: "All powers previously delegated to the United States of America by the Constitution ... shall revert to the several states individually."

U.S. Moves to Replace Contractors in Iraq [ 03/18/09 ]  "The decision not to renew Blackwater Worldwide's security contract in Iraq when it expires in early May has left the State Department scrambling to fill a protection gap for U.S. diplomats and civilian officials there. Two other U.S. security contractors with a far smaller presence in Iraq -- DynCorp International and Triple Canopy -- have been asked to replace the ousted company, according to State Department and company officials. To meet time, training and security-clearance pressures, officials said, one or both of the firms are likely to undertake the task by rehiring some personnel now working for Blackwater. The Iraqi government refused to issue Blackwater a license to perform security services after a 2007 incident in which company guards on a diplomatic protection mission shot and killed 17 civilians in Baghdad. U.S. prosecutors have indicted five of the guards on charges of manslaughter. Blackwater (which recently changed its name to Xe) still has State Department contracts for air transport in Iraq and security for U.S. diplomats in Afghanistan." 

Academic 'discovers' six works by William Shakespeare  [ 03/18/09 ]  "An academic claims to have discovered six previously unrecognized works by William Shakespeare." 

Russia Orders Large-Scale Rearmament, Renewal Of Nuclear Arsenal [ 03/18/09 ]  "Russia's defense minister on Tuesday accused the United States of beefing up its military presence near Russian borders and poaching for mineral wealth there, signaling that Moscow could take a tough position in upcoming talks with Barack Obama's new administration. Anatoly Serdyukov's statement _ made alongside President Dmitry Medvedev at a meeting of the military's top brass _ reflected deeply entrenched Russian suspicions despite Obama's desire to improve relations with Moscow ... In the past year, we have transformed a whole range of combat units and formations by providing them with modern equipment, and in 2011 we will begin the large-scale rearmament of the army and navy ..."

U.S. rural economy holds fast in recession [ 03/18/09 ]  "The U.S. rural economy has weathered the global recession better than most sectors due to steady demand for agricultural products, stable land prices and healthy credit lines for farmers, executives at the Reuters Food and Agriculture Summit in Chicago said on Tuesday."

  US Airlines May Have Reached Limit on New Fees [ 03/18/09 ]  "It's been a long time coming, but it seems U.S. airlines finally may have reached a limit on new fees they can charge for in-flight perks that used to be included in the ticket price. After adding fees for things like bag checks, seat assignments, pillows and blankets, there simply aren't many more complimentary items and services airlines can pry loose from the base fare, experts say. That's welcome news for travelers who find the avalanche of new fees tedious. "If people knew that this was the extent to which this is going to go, that would make them feel better," said Kevin Mitchell, chairman of the Business Travel Coalition (BTC). "(But) they should also know that there's no reversing it." 

California Might Legalize Marijuana  [ 03/18/09 ] "Democratic state assemblyman Tom Ammiano introduced legislation last month that would legalize pot and allow the state to regulate and tax its sale — a move that could mean billions of dollars for the cash-strapped state. Pot is, after all, California's biggest cash crop, responsible for $14 billion a year in sales, dwarfing the state's second largest agricultural commodity — milk and cream — which brings in $7.3 billion a year, according to the most recent USDA statistics. The state's tax collectors estimate the bill would bring in about $1.3 billion a year in much needed revenue, offsetting some of the billions of dollars in service cuts and spending reductions outlined in the recently approved state budget."  Related: Under Obama, Drug War Tactics Poised to Shift | An American Pastime: Smoking Pot

HR 1388: Obama's Brown Shirt Legislation [ 03/17/09 ]  "It will create a Uniformed Force of 250,000 members, that’s a force greater than the number of troops we now have in Iraq, a virtual army. A force of 5,000 per state if evenly divided, more realistically the force will be deployed according to the size and population of each state. It talks about a volunteer force, yet speaks of 3 year obligations as in a Draft, and a pay scale of from $17,000 to $22,000. The bill mentions but does not elaborate in any detail exactly what its mission is or what authority it may have over any community in which it is deployed. It would apparently be controlled from the White House through the Cabinet, and would be another layer of government with powers that might usurp State Sovereignty relative to established organizations like Education, Conservation, Health, Natural Disasters, etc and Public Safety at City, County and State levels."

Texas Jail Was An Animal House, Authorities Say   [ 03/17/09 ] "... For months, perhaps longer, the Montague County Jail was "Animal House" meets Mayberry. Inside the small brick building across from the courthouse, inmates had the run of the place, having sex with their jailer girlfriends, bringing in recliners, taking drugs and chatting on cell phones supplied by friends or guards, according to authorities. They also disabled some of the surveillance cameras and made weapons out of nails. The doors to two groups of cells didn't lock, but apparently no one tried to escape _ perhaps because they had everything they needed inside ..."  

Germany: Chancellor Merkel Calling for Raids on Homes   [ 03/16/09 ] "Today, German Chancellor Angela Merkel demanded even tougher gun control measures relating to storage of firearms and ammunition in Germany. With an audacity that defies belief the former East German communist also called for 'unannounced raids on homes and offices of registered firearm owners'."  Note: All of this as a response to a recent German student who went off his psychiatric meds who shot people.  

Biden: "Gimme a fucking break"  [ 03/16/09 ] " ...the vice president said after a former Senate colleague referred to him as "Mr. Vice President."  

Fed-up Americans mobilize: More than 150 tea parties  [ 03/16/09 ] "A revolution is brewing as American patriots and advocates of the free-market system unite in protest against out-of-control government spending – with a wildfire movement of more than 150 nationwide tea parties."   Note: I remember Greenspan musing during an interview that he had been wrong for 40 years as an advocate of the free-market system being able to be stable in the stock market. These 'patriots' function within consensus reality, which is itself dysfunctional, so the outcome will also be dysfunctional, as opposed to an action based outside the box. Regardless, the nature of the game cannot be changed.

EU parliament issues new guidelines in bid to create 'gender-neutral' language  [ 03/16/09 ] "EU bans use of 'Miss' and 'Mrs' (and sportsmen and statesmen) because it claims they are sexist."

It's A Jungle Out There: "Sovereign" drunk-driver tells judge the law doesn't apply to him  [ 03/16/09 ] "Drunk-driving suspect Scott A. Witmer showed up in court wearing a Coors Light sweatshirt and explained that the law doesn't apply to him because he's a "sovereign man." "It means I live inside myself," he told the judge. "I don't live in the state of Pennsylvania." Related: Vt. hunter busted for bolting antlers on dead doe  | Man unwisely tries to rob Tae Kwon Do studio  

Pope asked to implement Holocaust studies in schools  [ 03/15/09 ] "Israel's religious leaders asked Pope Benedict to make Holocaust studies a required subject in Catholic schools, saying it could help combat anti-Semitism in future generations. The two sides resumed a dialogue that was interrupted by the case of a Holocaust-denying bishop, which brought Catholic-Jewish relations to their lowest point in half a century. The Israelis also asked that the Vatican take a strong stand against the draft final declaration of next month's U.N. conference on racism, a statement some countries view as hostile to Israel." 

Pakistan protesters clash with police  [ 03/15/09 ] "Police clashed with stone-throwing protesters today as opposition politician Nawaz Sharif defied a house-arrest order and denounced what he called the government's creation of a "police state."

CIA involvement with religious groups not a new charge  [ 03/15/09 ] "Accusations that the CIA is involved with various religious movements, including the Nurcilar movement of Pennsylvania-based Turkish moderate Islamist leader Fethullah Gulen and the Unification Church of one-time Korean Central Intelligence Agency (KCIA) operative Reverend Sun Myung Moon, follow a long history of suspicions that the U.S. intelligence agency is deeply involved with some religious movements. The CIA has also been accused of using foreign missionaries as espionage agents."

The mini-city the CIA built  [ 03/15/09 ] "WMR has obtained a copy of a CIA memo, dated April 8, 1971, which indicates the agency had a vested interest in the development of the Rosslyn, Virginia, office complex from its earliest days."

Odd News: Insemination fight ends in wife's arrest  [ 03/14/09 ] "A woman who allegedly intended to artificially inseminate her wife with her brother's semen has been charged with domestic assault and battery. Jennifer A. Lighten, 33, told police that Stephanie Lighten, her wife, was "all liquored up" when she returned to their Lincoln Street apartment, where the defendant then allegedly tried to use a syringe to inseminate her, according to a police report. Jennifer told investigating officers that Stephanie "has been talking about trying to impregnate (her) for some time," police said ...""

Sonny Bono 'assassinated' by hitmen  [ 03/14/09 ] "Sonny Bono, former husband and singing partner of superstar Cher, was clubbed to death by hitmen on the orders of drug and weapons dealers who feared he was going to expose them, a former FBI agent claims. Ted Gunderson, now a private investigator, has told the US Globe tabloid that Bono, who served as mayor of Palm Springs for four years, did not die after hitting a tree on a Nevada ski slope in January 1998 as everyone believed. "It's nonsense for anyone to now try to suggest that Bono died after crashing into a tree. There's zero evidence in this autopsy report... to show such an accident happened. Instead, there's powerful proof he was assassinated. "This was an evil plot that was carried out to almost perfection by ruthless assassins," Mr Gunderson told the paper. The former agent, who has been researching Bono's accident for the past decade, said top officials linked to an international drug and weapons ring feared the singer-turned-politician was about to expose their crimes - so they had him killed on the slopes. Bono, an experienced skier, was ambushed on the slopes by hired hitmen, who beat him to death and then staged a tree collision, Mr Gunderson said. He called for authorities to dig up Bono's remains and open a homicide investigation. His claims have reportedly been backed by top forensics experts who fear Nevada authorities were too quick to call the death a skiing accident. Investigator Bob Fletcher had also confessed he sent evidence of a 10-year study that linked top US government officials to arms and weapons dealers to Bono less than a month before his death, the Globe reported. "(Bono) was going to make it his No.1 priority... There's no doubt in my mind Sonny was murdered by someone who needed him silenced," Mr Fletcher told the paper."

Illinois Gov. to Propose 50% Increase in State Income Tax  [ 03/14/09 ] "Gov. Pat Quinn today acknowledged he plans to raise income taxes in the wake of a Chicago Tribune story that he is considering a 50 percent increase on individuals."  

88-year old shoots Realtor over payment dispute [ 03/14/09 ] "Police have arrested 88-year old South Carolinian Richard Blow and charged with shooting a Coldwell Banker real estate broker in a dispute involving deposit money relating to an investment property. The shooting took place at Coldwell Banker United in Rock Hill at around 2:20 PM on Wednesday. Police say that Mr. Blow walked and began arguing with 68-year-old Jerry O'Neill in the lobby of the office before shooting him in the stomach. He then reportedly waited in the parking lot for the police to arrive. According to media reports, Mr. Blow's car is decorated with a license plate that reads "Let me tell you about my grandchildren."

Pentagon plans blimp to spy from new heights [ 03/14/09 ] "Reporting from Washington -- The Pentagon said Thursday that it intends to spend $400 million to develop a giant dirigible that will float 65,000 feet above the Earth for 10 years, providing unblinking and intricate radar surveillance of the vehicles, planes and even people below."  Note: This is a re-cycled story! I remember it from about 2007, I think. It's here on the LEOnline somewhere. Besides, they already have the Astra flying triangular craft. Who cares about dirigibles?   

US Warships Head For South China Sea After Standoff  [ 03/14/09 ] "A potential conflict was brewing last night in the South China Sea after President Obama dispatched heavily armed American destroyers to the scene of a naval standoff between the US and China at the weekend. Mr Obama’s decision to send an armed escort for US surveillance ships in the area follows the aggressive and co-ordinated manoeuvres of five Chinese boats on Sunday. They harassed and nearly collided with an unarmed American vessel. Washington accused the Chinese ships of moving directly in front of the US Navy surveillance ship Impeccable, forcing its crew to take emergency action, and to deploy a high-pressure water hose to deter the Chinese ships. Formal protests were lodged with Beijing after the incident. On a day that Mr Obama and his senior officials met the Chinese Foreign Minister, Yang Jiechi, in Washington, Beijing showed no sign of backing down. Its military chiefs accused the unarmed US Navy ship of being on a spying mission ..."

Bush U.S. Attorneys Still Refusing To Leave  [ 03/14/09 ] "When President Bill Clinton took office, he fired all U.S. attorneys at once, provoking intense criticism in the conservative legal community and among career lawyers at the Justice Department. President George W. Bush took a different approach, slowly releasing several of the prosecutors but keeping in place Mary Jo White, the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, while she pursued terrorism cases and a politically sensitive investigation of Clinton's pardon of fugitive financier Marc Rich. Obama has not made clear how he will build his own corps of prosecutors, a group that shapes an administration's approach to law enforcement and is critical to its smooth operation. U.S. attorneys' offices handled more than 100,000 criminal cases and recovered $1.3 billion in forfeited cash and property in the past fiscal year, according to a prosecutors' trade group. The White House is under pressure from several fronts, both to appoint new prosecutors favored by members of Congress and, in other cases, to keep some U.S. attorneys from the Bush administration..." 

Several killed in Uganda air crash [ 03/14/09 ] "At least seven people have been killed in an aircraft crash in Uganda, including Burundian officers of the African peacekeeping force in Somalia, Burundian officials said ... Major Felix Kulaigye from the Ugandan army said witnesses reported seeing the aircraft catch fire in the air before it crashed into Lake Victoria ... The aeroplane was said to be carrying water purifiers, pipes and other equipment to be delivered to Ugandan peacekeepers in Somalia."

Ron Paul: Culprits Of Financial Collapse Should Be Arrested  [ 03/13/09 ] " Congressman Ron Paul says that the people responsible for the economic crisis should not be hailed as saviors and given more power to fix the problem that they created, but arrested and criminally prosecuted. Paul told the Alex Jones Show (Video Part 1  Part 2) that the only way the private Federal Reserve could be brought under control would come as a result of a mass uprising, noting that there is a lot more awareness in Washington about the Fed's contribution to the economic crisis. The Congressman has two bills before Congress, one to abolish the Fed altogether and another to audit the organization. "Today they're protected, they're in total secrecy and they're protected by the law - if 1207 is passed we have an audit and they have to answer the questions and I figure, if we ever get that far and get the exposure and get the transparency that we need then people will wake up and realize, why do we have them at all," said Paul. The Congressman's bill to audit the Fed is similar to another bill introduced by Bernie Sanders in the Senate which is aimed at getting the Fed to answer specific questions about where $2 trillion in bailout funds has gone, a subject that Bloomberg News sued the Fed simply to try and discover. Staggering scenes unfolded last week at a Senate budget Committee meeting when Bernanke arrogantly refused to state where any of the bailout money had gone despite repeated questioning by Sanders ..."

Homeland Security 'Fusion Centers": Ron Paul, Bob Barr, Chuck Baldwin, Libertarians are Terrorists  [ 03/12/09 ] " The Missouri Information Analysis Center (MIAC) is 'the mechanism to collect incident reports of suspicious activities to be evaluated and analyzed in an effort to identify potential trends or patterns of terrorist or criminal operations' within the state of Missouri. MIAC is part of the federal “fusion” effort now underway around the country. “As of February 2009, there were 58 fusion centers around the country. The Department has deployed 31 officers as of December 2008 and plans to have 70 professionals deployed by the end of 2009. The Department has provided more than $254 million from FY 2004-2007 to state and local governments to support the centers,” explains the Department of Homeland Security on its website. Missouri is mentioned as a participant in this federal “intelligence” effort. Last month, the ACLU issued a news release highlighting the activity of a fusion center in Texas as the “latest example of inappropriate police intelligence operations targeting political, religious and social activists for investigation,” in particular “Muslim civil rights organizations and anti-war protest groups.” The MIAC report does not concentrate on Muslim terrorists, but rather on the so-called “militia movement” and conflates it with supporters of Ron Paul, Chuck Baldwin, Bob Barr, the so-called patriot movement and other political activist organizations opposed to the North American Union and the New World Order. The MIAC document is a classic guilt by association effort designed to demonize legitimate political activity that stands in opposition to the New World Order and its newly enshrined front man, Barack Obama. In September of 2008, Missouri sheriffs and prosecutors organized truth squads to intimidate people opposed to Obama and threatened to arrest and prosecute anybody who ran “misleading television ads.” Missouri governor Matt Blunt eventually denounced the use of “police state tactics” on the part of the Obama-Biden campaign."

AFRICA:  Soldiers, Civilians Riot Against Mugabe For First Time, Police Open Fire  [ 03/12/09 ] ""The pot is now boiling," said an eyewitness. "We have never seen anything like this before, soldiers and ordinary people standing side by side and fighting the police." Related: South Africa: 'Corrective Rape' Spreads To 'Fix' Lesbians  minion 'logic and reason'.  Dumber than a bag of hammers.

UK Study: Decline in Lawyer IQs  [ 03/12/09 ] "A British study reports that the average IQ of lawyers has declined over the past 12 years, moving closer to the "average" range."  Note: Law does not require reasoning (indeed it often seems to intentionally reject the process), only rote memorization.

Worst collapse in UK manufacturing in four decades  [ 03/12/09 ] "The “horrendous” scale of Britain’s industrial recession has been laid bare by figures showing that manufacturing output is declining at the fastest rate since records began more than 40 years ago."

UK: Insane Housing Council spends £6,000 fitting sat-nav to its fleet of mowers   [ 03/12/09 ] "They're never going to have to deal with a difficult route across country, or conquer the maze of an inner city. In fact, the trickiest test of navigation they are likely to face is getting from one side of a field to the other. But that hasn't stopped council chiefs buying a set of sophisticated satnavs - for their fleet of lawnmowers ..."

A New Low in Drug Research: 21 Fabricated Studies  [ 03/12/09 ] "A prominent Massachusetts anesthesiologist allegedly fabricated 21 medical studies involving major drugs. Baystate Medical Center in Springfield, Mass., has asked several anesthesiology journals to retract the studies, which appeared between 1996 and 2008, the WSJ reports. The hospital says its former chief of acute pain, Scott S. Reuben, faked data used in the studies."

Europe hurries to tighten gun laws after attacks   [ 03/11/09 ] "Several European countries have restricted gun laws in the wake of school massacres, gang violence and other gun-related crimes ... European Union lawmakers proposed tighter gun control across the bloc last year, including guidelines saying that only people over 18 not deemed a threat to public safety could buy and keep guns. EU members have until 2010 to adopt the measures ..."   Related: Senators tell AG to back off on gun control

Chicago cop was "sleeper agent" for mob, feds say   [ 03/11/09 ] "Anthony "Twan" Doyle was convicted in the government's Family Secrets trial and is scheduled to be sentenced on Thursday afternoon by Judge James Zagel. In a motion for a stiff upward departure from the sentencing guidelines, Asst. U.S. Attorney Markus Funk is asking that the judge consider Doyle's decades-long role as "an Outfit associate and Outfit juice loan collector." Doyle, who changed his last name from Passafume so he would appear to be Irish, joined the historically-Irish Chicago Police Department merely as a cover for his role in the mob, according to prosecutors. "In his role as a 'sleeper agent,' Doyle continued to advance the Outfit's criminal interests by passing Outfit- related messages" from imprisoned mob bosses to their underlings on the outside, according to the court filing ..."

OP: Why the U.S. Under Obama Is Still a Dictatorship   [ 03/11/09 ] "When the Obama administration announced its decision to move al-Marri to the federal court system, Justice Department officials also asked the Supreme Court to dismiss the pending case as “moot,” and on Friday the justices agreed, although, to their great credit, they also made a point of vacating the horrendous decision made by the Fourth Circuit Appeals Court last summer. As a result, you may be thinking that the president no longer has the power to hold Americans without charge or trial as “enemy combatants,” but if this is the case then you may be — and should be — dismayed to learn that a previous ruling to this effect still stands, which was not addressed by the Supreme Court, and which has not been addressed by the Obama administration either ..." 

General: Drug cartels linked to terrorism  [ 03/11/09 ] "... The nature of the drug cartels along the Southwest border is becoming increasingly menacing, and the linkages between drug cartels through organized crime back to terrorist organizations cannot be disputed ..."  Note: Well, if the CIA is clearly connected to drug cartels, then ...

France calls for NATO Afghan pullout   [ 03/11/09 ] "French Defense Minister Herve Morin has requested that NATO set a timetable for the withdrawal of alliance forces from Afghanistan ... Afghan officials have also repeatedly called for the withdrawal of foreign troops. In August, Afghan lawmakers, who were against the presence of foreign forces in their country, called for a timetable for troops to pull out of Afghanistan in a letter to the UN Security Council." 

China reacts to 'illegal' US navy operations   [ 03/11/09 ] "China responds to US claims that its ship was harassed, accusing Washington of illegally surveying off its southern island of Hainan." 

Pentagon: Chinese Ships Harassed US Vessel [ 03/09/09 ] "The Obama administration vowed Monday to keep up military surveillance in waters off China and protested to China about what it called harassment of an American ship doing that work last week. The Pentagon charged that a Chinese intelligence gathering vessel and four others "shadowed and maneuvered dangerously close" to the USNS Impeccable surveillance ship in the South China Sea on Sunday, then threw obstacles in the water as it tried to leave. The Chinese vessels surrounded the Impeccable, and two got close enough for the crew to see people waving Chinese flags and telling the American ship to leave. In an odd twist, the unarmed Impeccable, which is operated for the Navy by civilian mariners, turned fire hoses on one vessel that came within 50 feet of it. The Chinese crew stripped to their underwear, then closed to within 25 feet. A Pentagon spokesman called that "immature" and said the Chinese behaved recklessly and in violation of international law. "We view these as unprofessional maneuvers," spokesman Bryan Whitman said ... The incident came just a week after China and the U.S. resumed military-to-military consultations following a five-month suspension over U.S. arms sales to Taiwan. And it came as Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi was due in Washington to meet with U.S. officials. In Beijing, Chinese officials did not immediately respond to voicemail messages and e-mail regarding the U.S. allegations. Pentagon officials said the incident followed "increasingly aggressive" acts by Chinese ships against the Impeccable on Wednesday and Saturday and against the USNS Victorious surveillance ship on Thursday while it operated in the Yellow Sea ... Impeccable crew radioed to tell the Chinese ships that it was leaving the area and requested a safe path to navigate, the Pentagon said. But shortly afterward, two of the Chinese ships stopped directly ahead of the Impeccable, forcing it to an emergency stop. The Chinese also dropped pieces of wood in the water in front of Impeccable's path. China views almost the entirety of the South China Sea as its territory. China's claims to small islets in the region have put it at odds with five governments _ the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan. Pentagon officials said the close encounter followed these other incidents last week: ....."  Note: For the US to send these ships in, knowing China's perspective, is a deliberate provocation, albeit while Clinton is flitting around Asia, creating a state of international ambiguity on many fronts.

Cocaine Production Surge Unleashes Wave Of Violence In Latin America [ 03/09/09 ] "Cocaine production has surged across Latin America and unleashed a wave of violence, population displacements and corruption, prompting urgent calls to rethink the drug war. More than 750 tonnes of cocaine are shipped annually from the Andes in a multi-billion pound industry which has forced peasants off land, triggered gang wars and perverted state institutions. A Guardian investigation based on dozens of interviews with law enforcement officials, coca farmers, refugees and policymakers has yielded a bleak picture of the "war" on the eve of a crucial United Nations drug summit ..."

Only Portrait Of Shakespeare Painted In His Lifetime Unveiled In London  [03/09/09 ]  Ah yes, the bard.

More Americans Say They Have No Religion [ 03/09/09 ] "A wide-ranging study on American religious life found that the Roman Catholic population has been shifting out o of the Northeast to the Southwest, the percentage of Christians in the nation has declined and more people say they have no religion at all. Fifteen percent of respondents said they had no religion, an increase from 14.2 percent in 2001 and 8.2 percent in 1990, according to the American Religious Identification Survey. Northern New England surpassed the Pacific Northwest as the least religious region, with Vermont reporting the highest share of those claiming no religion, at 34 percent. Still, the study found that the numbers of Americans with no religion rose in every state. "No other religious bloc has kept such a pace in every state," the study's authors said."

Every Dictator Needs An Enemy: North Korea orders military on combat alert [ 03/09/09 ] "North Korea put its military on combat alert Monday as US and South Korean forces started a major joint exercise which the communist nation has branded as a 'prelude to invasion'.

NYT Reports Programs to Track People Driving and Charge For Mileage are Being Tested [ 03/09/09 ] "A New York Times article about the different test studies being conducted as a precursor to the introduction of a CO2 or mileage tax admits that cars will contain tracking devices that will record where motorists have been. Obama's transportation secretary Ray LaHood recently caused controversy when he let slip that the administration was considering a “vehicles miles traveled” tax to replace the federal fuel tax .... ... The Times article concludes as all the best PR pieces for an expansion of government taxation and surveillance would be expected to, by proclaiming that the mileage tax is "inevitable" and that it will begin by all automakers installing the tracking devices in new cars as standard."  Note: The obvious fallacy is that not many can afford a new car equipped with this, so the program will never materialize.

UK: Cervical Cancer Jabs Forced on Over 700,000 - Adverse Effects Continue to Appear [ 03/09/09 ] "But Government health experts insisted the Cervarix vaccine was safe and that the total of 1,340 reports was to be expected, given that more than 700,000 girls were 'vaccinated' last year. Some have dubbed it the 'promiscuity jab' because it is given to girls to protect against the sexually-transmitted HPV virus which causes 70 per cent of cervical tumours." Note: A poorly thought out concept billed as protection against something that hasn't happened, and may never happen.

Turkey ready to mediate in Iran-US talks? [ 03/09/09 ] "Following a meeting with the US secretary of state, the Turkish foreign minister says he is ready to bridge the differences between the US and Iran." 

Mafia Cops Will Still Collect Pensions [ 03/09/09 ] "While the two former cops convicted of carrying out murders for the mafia were sentenced to life in prison yesterday, the two men will continue to receive thousands of dollars each month in pensions. Since Stephen Caracappa and Louis Eppolito were charged with their crimes after retiring in the early '90s, their families will continue to receive the pensions, which cannot even be seized and used towards the millions in fines they have to pay as part of their sentence. Yael Perlman, the daughter of a gem dealer killed by the pair, said yesterday, "That's sick." Attempts to overturn the statutes that are paying out pensions to 450 corrupt officials have gone nowhere. Last year City Councilman David Yassky said, "It's a world that rewards people who lie, cheat, steal, take bribes, betray the public trust and embezzle public funds."  Related: NYPD's 'Mafia Cops' Get Life In Prison For Killings [ 03/08/09 ] "Two former New York Police Department detectives were sentenced to life in prison without parole Friday for operating as Mafia hit men while employed by the NYPD. Louis Eppolito, 60, and Stephen Caracappa, 67, who spent a combined 44 years on the force and once worked as partners, were found guilty in April 2006 of engaging in racketeering. According to prosecutors, they were paid $4,000 a month by the Mafia and were personally paid $65,000 by Luchese crime family underboss Anthony "Gaspipe" Casso for killing another mobster during a phony traffic stop. Authorities said Casso regarded the officers as his "crystal ball," likely referring to their alleged involvement in relaying classified information to the Luchese family ..."

New York Fails To Revive Gun Lawsuit [ 03/09/09 ] "New York City on Monday failed before the U.S. Supreme Court to revive a lawsuit it filed against the gun industry. New York sued several gun manufacturers in 2000, arguing the companies violated a state public nuisance law with their marketing and distribution of the firearms products they sell. Among the companies sued were Beretta USA Corp., Smith & Wesson Holding Corp. (SWHC), Colt's Manufacturing Co. LLC, Sturm, Ruger & Co. (RGR) and Glock GmbH. A federal law enacted in 2005 sought to shield gun makers from lawsuits like the one New York filed, prompting a federal judge to throw the case out. The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New York in April 2008 upheld that ruling by a 2-1 vote."

International donors pledge billions for Palestinians   [ 03/09/09 ] "International donors pledged almost 4.5 billion dollars to the Palestinians and demanded the immediate lifting of Israel's blockade on Gaza."

Worried Wealthy People Buying 100 Ounce Gold Bars   [ 03/09/09 ] "For self-pummeling purposes. What else can you do with a $100,000 hunk of metal weighing six pounds, a little larger than a Hershey bar?  Says Joe Cool: "I’d like to retire someday. What else am I going to do to protect myself?”  Against what? Dying before your time in a different way than it would have been? Never happen.

Erectile oligopoly accused of cartel: No stiff opposition allowed [ 03/09/09 ] "Swiss antitrust officials have charged the three leading makers of erectile dysfunctional drugs of a price-fixing cartel. The three are Bayer (Levitra), Pfizer (Viagra), and Eli Lilly (Cialis). According to the Swiss officials, the three companies set and enforced similar "recommended prices" for their drug that resulted in no price competition, higher prices, and higher profits. The companies are denying it, and they have less than a month to answer the charges. Such subtle price-fixing is hard oo pursue, because setting parallel prices is a relatively subtle act that is hard to detect and harder to prosecute. On the other hand, if it turns out to be true, in Switzerland, it will likely be pursue by the EU and the US. Erectile function drugs form a very hot growth area, Eli Lilly and Pfizer sales have been rising steadily with each having well over a billion dollars in sales annually, while Bayer's Levitra has been losing ground, with annual sales around the $300 billion mark. The three form a very tight oligopoly, with few alternatives that match the efficacy and ease-of-use of these pills."

No Autism In Never-Vaccinated Children [ 03/09/09 ] " ... "A specter is haunting the medical and journalism establishments of the United States: Where are the unvaccinated people with autism?" ---Dan Olmsted 

Gaza aid convoy attacked in Egypt  [ 03/09/09 ] "Gaza-bound aid convoy 'Viva Palestina' has been attacked in Egypt on its way to break a long imposed Israeli blockade on the Gaza Strip."Related: George Galloway's Viva Palestina Convoy Nearing Gaza  [ 03/08/09 ] "Gaza is within touching distance and the dreams and aspirations of so many members of this magnificent adventure will be realised tomorrow when they enter Gaza carrying not only aid, but also the hopes of the millions to see the siege broken."   

Guantanamo inmate: MI5 fed my Moroccan torturers their questions   [ 03/08/09 ] " ... he was taken to Morocco aboard an illegal ‘extraordinary rendition’ flight by the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency, MI5 twice gave the CIA details of questions they wanted his interrogators to put to him, together with dossiers of photographs. At the time, in November 2002, Mohamed was being subject to intense, regular beatings and sessions in which his chief Moroccan torturer, a man he knew as Marwan, slashed his chest and genitals with a scalpel. Mohamed, 30, who returned to Britain last month from Guantanamo Bay after seven years detained without charge, said that he reached his lowest ebb the moment he realised that Britain was conniving in his torture. He said: ‘They started bringing British files to the interrogations - not one, but several of them, thick binders, some of them containing sheaves of photos of people who lived in London and places there like mosques."  Note: Since the entire 'war on terror' is a fabricated sham, what is seen in this story is yet another example of picking up people and intimidating them into admitting involvement with fabricated issues and events, which will justify the existence of the factions created to 'fight the war on terror'. The intelligence agencies in the world ARE the terrorists, largely. States terrorize. The state of the world is 'mostly' past the period when you have 'terrorists' unconnected with state hierarchies. The whole planetary control system is based on irrational shams.

Congress Approves Bill to Prevent Government Shutdown  [ 03/08/09 ] "The U.S. Congress approved a stopgap funding measure to keep the government from shutting down as lawmakers work to resolve last-minute disputes over a $410 billion “omnibus” spending package. President Barack Obama signed into law tonight the legislation extending through March 11 a resolution that funds most federal agencies." 

MI5 ‘colluded in scalpel torture’  [ 03/08/09 ] "Secret MI5 memos reveal how the intelligence service colluded in the torture of a British resident and former Guantanamo Bay prisoner, it was claimed last night. Binyam Mohamed, who returned to Britain after his release last month, said the MI5 memos showed that British spies orchestrated his questioning while he was being tortured with a scalpel in Morocco. He cited one MI5 memo which, he said, was headed “Request for further detainee questioning”. Speaking for the first time about his 6½ years held as a CIA terror suspect in prisons in Pakistan, Afghanistan, Morocco and Guantanamo Bay, Mohamed gave a graphic account of “nightmarish tortures” that led him to come “close to insanity”. He said one interrogator in Morocco took his penis in his hand and cut it up to 30 times."

John 'Torture' Yoo now says he'll be honest  [ 03/08/09 ] [1:07] "John Yoo is a disgrace to this nation for his actions in promoting torture in the Bush Administration. This answer in a Q&A session tells you all you need to know about his man."

Supreme Court Vacates Decision Giving President Indefinite Detention Power In Al-Marri Case  [ 03/08/09 ] "The U.S. Supreme Court today vacated a lower court decision giving the president the extraordinary power to seize and indefinitely detain U.S. citizens or residents without charge or trial. The case was brought by the American Civil Liberties Union on behalf of Ali Saleh Kahlah al-Marri, who, after being held for almost six years in military detention, was indicted last week in federal court and charged with two counts of material support for terrorism. In July 2008, the full U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit ruled in a fractured decision that the president had legal authority to imprison al-Marri indefinitely without charge. As one judge noted in dissent, however, to accept the government's claim of extraordinary detention power would have "disastrous consequences for the Constitution—and the country." The Supreme Court vacated that decision and dismissed the case as moot.." 

Putin: Obama “Idiot” For Adopting Socialism [ 03/08/09 ] "Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin has warned the Obama administration against adopting further socialism, saying Russian history clearly proves it is a recipe for failure. “Any fourth grade history student knows socialism has failed in every country, at every time in history,” said Putin. “President Obama and his fellow Democrats are either idiots or deliberately trying to destroy their own economy.” Economists say Putin’s comments serve to illustrate how worldwide markets have made even economic adversaries dependent on each other’s financial stability. An Obama spokesman dismissed Putin’s claim, saying, “We’re going to do socialism better.”  Related:  Chavez Calls On Obama To Follow Path Of Socialism

Alleged Arms Smuggler, Called The 'Merchant Of Death,' Says US Framed Him [ 03/08/09 ] "A Russian businessman who allegedly armed dictators around the world angrily accused the United States on Friday of framing him and pressuring Thailand to extradite him to face terrorism-related charges. Waving his hands and shouting, Viktor Bout described himself as a hapless victim who has been forced to endure for the past year "extremely inhumane" conditions in a Thai prison as he waits to hear whether he will be sent to the United States ... He was arrested in March 2008 during a sting operation in Thailand in which undercover U.S. agents posed as rebels from the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, known by its Spanish acronym, FARC."

Greg Ball, NY Politician, Finds Dead Goat With Note Attached Outside His Home [ 03/08/09 ] "A state assemblyman said he found a dead goat outside his suburban New York home and believes it represents a death threat against him. Republican Greg Ball said Friday he has been battling corruption in Putnam County and believes the threat comes from "entrenched interests" he would not name." 

Top US Cybersecurity Official, Resigns Amid Turf Battles [ 03/08/09 ] "The head of the nation's cybersecurity center has resigned amid persistent turf battles and confusion over the control and protection of the country's vast computer networks and systems."

Mexican violence a crisis: top U.S. military officer [ 03/07/09 ] "More than 1,000 people have been killed in Mexico in drug-related violence this year. In 2008, the toll doubled from the previous year to 6,290. Both the U.S. and Canada have warned that murders related to drug activity in certain parts of Mexico, particularly along the border with the U.S., raised the level of risk in visiting the country. There are signs the violent competition among Mexican drug and smuggling cartels is spilling across the border, as cities in Arizona report increases in such crimes as home invasions. More than 700 people were arrested as part of a wide-ranging crackdown on Mexican drug cartels operating inside the United States, the Justice Department said last month. Last weekend, Defence Secretary Robert Gates said he also saw opportunities for the U.S. military to help with military training, resources and intelligence ..."

Russia building anti-satellite weapons  [ 03/07/09 ] "Russia is working on anti-satellite weapons to match technologies developed by other nations and will speed up modernization of its nuclear forces, a deputy defense minister was quoted as saying today. The statement by Gen. Valentin Popovkin signaled the government's intention to pursue its ambitious plans to strengthen the military despite the money crunch caused by a worsening financial crisis. He said the military will procure enough new missiles to deploy near Poland if the US goes ahead with its European missile defense plans. Popovkin said Russia continues to oppose a space arms race but will respond to moves made by other countries, according to Russian news reports." 

"Political Leaders for 9/11 Truth" Officially Launches [ 03/07/09 ] "Political Leaders for 9/11 Truth (pl911truth.com) is today being launched as the latest formal group calling for a new investigation into the events of September 11, 2001. The organization is headed by Councilor (Senator) Yukihisa Fujita of Japan and former Senator Karen Johnson of Arizona. This initiative is formed around a petition asking President Obama "to authorize a new, truly independent, investigation to determine what happened on 9/11." Political Leaders for 9/11 Truth thus joins other concerned citizens’ groups calling for a new investigation, including Architects and Engineers for 9/11 Truth, Firefighters for 9/11 Truth, Lawyers for 9/11 Truth, Medical Professionals for 9/11 Truth, Pilots for 9/11 Truth, Religious Leaders for 9/11 Truth, Scholars for 9/11 Truth and Justice, and Veterans for 9/11 Truth."

Fox Admits To Planting Political Brainwashing In Popular TV Shows [ 03/07/09 ] "Rupert Murdoch's Twentieth Century Fox corporation has admitted to planting political brainwashing within its globally popular TV shows and indeed boasts that it is proud of the fact. A corporate video currently being showcased on another part of Murdoch's media empire, MySpace.com, shows Fox executives and stars of its universally recognized shows bragging about how they use the platform of hit shows that are broadcast globally to implant messages about the supposed threat of global warming ... Fox has embarked on a deliberate campaign, which could only have been done with the coordination of the script writers of each program, to force people to accept the pseudo-science of global warming by brainwashing them into accepting it as a reality. This has been achieved by weaving in messages about climate change and having popular characters in the TV shows embrace specific tenants of the global warming manifesto ..."

Conyers (D-MI) pushing bill to keep research from being publicly accessible  [ 03/06/09 ] "Recently, government-sponsored agencies like NIH have moved toward open access of scientific findings. That is, the results are published where anyone can see them, and in fact (for the NIH) after 12 months the papers must be publicly accessible. This is, in my opinion (and that of a lot of others, including a pile of Nobel laureates) a good thing. Astronomers, for example, almost always post their papers on Astro-ph, a place where journal-accepted papers can be accessed before they are published. John Conyers (D-MI) apparently has a problem with this. He is pushing a bill through Congress that will literally ban the open access of these papers, forcing scientists to only publish in journals. This may not sound like a big deal, but journals are very expensive. They can cost a fortune: The Astrophysical Journal costs over $2000/year, and they charge scientists to publish in them! So this bill would force scientists to spend money to publish, and force you to spend money to read them. Why would Conyers do this? Interestingly, if you look at the bill sponsors, you find that they received twice as much money on average in donations from journal publishers than Congresscritters who don’t sponsor the bill — though to be fair, the total amount is not large. Still, Conyers got 4 times as much."

Mexico: US corruption fuels drug trade  [ 03/06/09 ] "Corruption on the part of the US authorities is also fueling the trade of illegal drugs, Mexican President Felipe Calderon says."  Related: US military to help Mexican drug war  | Mexican Drug Cartels Load Up On US Bullets

Venezuela's Chavez seizes U.S. food giant unit [ 03/06/09 ] "President Hugo Chavez seized a unit of American food giant Cargill on Wednesday and threatened to take over Venezuela's largest private company, renewing a nationalization drive as the OPEC nation's oil income plunges. Chavez's clash with the food companies, demanding they produce cheaper rice, came less than three weeks after he won a referendum on allowing him to run for reelection and marked his first nationalization in seven months." 

Colombia offers expanded base access to US [ 03/06/09 ] "Colombia has offered the US military expanded access to its air bases, as Washington is looking for ways to replace a base in Ecuador."

Bolivia tells US to respect its coca tradition [ 03/06/09 ] "Bolivia is ready to normalize relations with the US only if the US government is willing to recognize the new place the coca leaf has in Bolivia's constitution."

  US, EU seek Iran help on Afghanistan  [ 03/06/09 ] "The new US administration reportedly plans to invite Iran to an international conference to discuss the worsening Afghan security situation."

The Precautionary Principle Under Attack From Chemical Industry [ 03/06/09 ] "The precautionary principle, a policy that says new chemicals should not be allowed on the market unless they're proven safe, has gained a strong foothold in Europe, and in recent years California has enacted measures applying the principle to several pollutants including, most recently, chemical flame retardants. Despite the fact that two-thirds of the public believes that such protections are in place already, the Bush Administration has opposed their realization here in the U.S."

World Trade Center Attack Litigants Win $500 Million in Legal Settlements [ 03/06/09 ] "Ninety-two families of victims of the 2001 terrorist attack on the World Trade Center in New York were paid about $500 million in legal settlements, according to a report approved today by a federal judge."

  U.S. senator wants Fed to name loan recipients  [ 03/06/09 ] "A U.S. senator berated Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke on Tuesday for refusing to name banks that borrow from the central bank and introduced legislation that would require public disclosure. In a testy exchange at a hearing before the Senate Budget Committee, Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, an independent who usually votes with the Democrats, said he found it "unacceptable" that the central bank risked taxpayer money without detailing where the funds went."

UK: Website to allow public to see local criminals  [03/05/09 ] "Members of the public will soon be able to type their postcode into a criminal justice website and find out who the convicted criminals are in their neighbourhood, the home secretary indicated yesterday. Jacqui Smith said the government was "working in the direction" of ensuring that every court in England and Wales would be able to put the outcome of their cases into the public domain to let people know about the consequences faced by those who break the rules. Ministers are also considering door-to-door leafleting campaigns publicising the conviction of local adult offenders on particular high crime problem estates ..." 

Oil producers running out of storage space  [03/05/09 ] "Supertankers that once raced around the world to satisfy an unquenchable thirst for oil are now parked offshore, fully loaded, anchors down, their crews killing time. In the United States, vast storage farms for oil are almost out of room ..." 

Puerto Rico plans to slash 30,000 government jobs  [03/05/09 ] "Puerto Rico Governor Luis Fortuno said on Tuesday he would slash 30,000 jobs, freeze salaries of government workers and raise some taxes, as he warned the U.S. Caribbean territory must confront "the reality of a bankrupt government." The government is Puerto Rico's main employer, with 218,000 people, or 21 percent of the work force on the island of 3.9 million inhabitants. Economic analysts have been advising Puerto Rico, which currently has a $3.2 billion budget deficit, to slash its sprawling public payroll for years. 'The government is too big and spends too much,' Fortuno said. 'Simply, the government has to be minimized.'

US, Russia satellite clash ‘no accident’   [03/05/09 ] "The last month collision of Russian and US satellites may have been intentionally manipulated by Washington, says a Russian ex-official ... According to the general, the collision that occurred on Feb. 10 could have been easily avoided since the Iridium 33 was equipped with a navigation system able to detect any targets that move toward it, send information to earth and allow the ground center to change its orbit ... If remarks by the former Russian general are correct, new US technology may send the world into a new era in which feuding countries stage wars in space. "

NY regulators frown on doctor's flat-fee system  [03/05/09 ] "A New York City doctor's flat-fee, $79-a-month medical practice has run afoul of state insurance regulators who have told him to shut it down. Dr. John Muney said Wednesday he's negotiating to try to keep the arrangement at his AMG Medical Group centers. The fee includes unlimited office visits, some tests and in-office surgeries. It doesn't cover treatment requiring hospitalization or specialized care. Dr. Muney sees it as a formula for making health care affordable and patient-friendly at a time when many people are losing jobs and medical benefits. But the state Insurance Department says Dr. Muney's system 'amounts to insurance' and 'requires a license'."

CA: 3 new S.F. rent laws in the works  [03/05/09 ] "A San Francisco supervisor is proposing laws intended to keep renters from being priced out of their homes during tough economic times. Three laws proposed by Supervisor Chris Daly on Tuesday would bar landlords from increasing rent to more than one-third of a tenant's income, would expand the rights of tenants who want to add roommates, and would limit the amount of so-called banked rent increases in which annual increases allowed under city laws are saved up and then imposed all at once. The laws would apply only to rent increases and would not help people who cannot afford their current rent. The proposals immediately drew praise from tenants groups, who said rents have stayed high in San Francisco even as they have dropped elsewhere. It was slammed by landlords, who argued that property owners already are struggling with a soft rental market and high vacancy rates. Daly and tenants advocates said that nearly two-thirds of San Franciscans are renters, and that as the federal government steps in to provide relief to homeowners facing foreclosure, governments also should help renters stay in their homes, particularly in a notoriously expensive city."

Report: 'Israel nears attacking Iran'  [03/05/09 ] "Top US politicians have reportedly said that Israel is seriously considering taking unilateral military action against Iran. As the dispute over Iran's nuclear program heats up, top US advisors and experts on Middle East affairs, released a report on Wednesday, saying "Israel's time frame for action (against Iran) is growing shorter."  Note: This would seem to out-of-synch with the statement by Liebermann, in the article below.

Lieberman: War on Iran unimaginable  [03/05/09 ] "Israeli hawkish politician Avigdor Lieberman says that the aftermath of military action against Iran over its nuclear program is unimaginable. "I think a military operation -- I think I don't even want to imagine the consequences of this step," he said in an interview with Washington Post on Sunday. Lieberman who was once a strong supporter of "bombing Tehran" plan is now opting for a solution based on diplomatic and economic sanctions. "I think we need sanctions -- really tough and very strong political and economic sanctions, as in the case of North Korea and Libya," Lieberman said." Related: Six powers offer direct talks with Iran 

Israel: "Iran: Our missiles can hit Israeli nukes" [03/05/09 ] Note: This Israeli propaganda runs counter to what Lieberman oddly says, above.

Pakistan declares: 'We are at war' [03/05/09 ] "Pakistan declared that it was in a "state of war" after masked gunmen ambushed the Sri Lankan cricket team as they were on their way to play a Test match, injuring six players and their English assistant coach as well as killing seven Pakistanis. The spectacular military-style raid in Lahore bore marked similarities to the assault in Mumbai last year, which left 172 people dead. Pakistani officials suggested the Islamist group, Lashkar-e-Taiba, responsible for the carnage in the Indian city, also carried out the attack in Lahore ..."

'Israel still arming Georgia' [03/05/09 ] "South Ossetian President Eduard Kokoity says Georgia has started to boost its military might, importing weapons from Israel and France." 

Stimulus Spurs Road Projects, Big and Small  [03/04/09 ] "Every state in the country, with the exception of a band stretching from the Dakotas down to Texas, is now shedding jobs at a rapid pace. And even that band has recently begun to suffer, because of the sharp fall in both oil and crop prices. Unlike the last two recessions — earlier this decade and in the early 1990s — this one is causing much more job loss among the less educated than among college graduates. Those earlier recessions introduced the country to the concept of mass white-collar layoffs. The brunt of the layoffs in this recession is falling on construction workers, hotel workers, retail workers and others without a four-year degree ..."  Related: MAP: See How The Stimulus Will Help Your State   

Australia: "Police get secret search powers and you won't even know" [03/04/09 ] "New South Wales Police are to be given covert search warrants, allowing them to search a property without informing the owners for up to three years. The warrants will be issued through the Supreme Court and limited to investigations of suspected serious offences punishable by at least seven years jail." 

Israel draws 'red lines' for Obama on Iran [03/04/09 ] "Israel prepares a set of red lines for Washington to inject into its Iran policy as the current US approach toward Tehran rankles Tel Aviv." Related: Israel to double up West Bank settlers  

CA: L.A. County spent $12,800 trying to collect $1,000  [03/04/09 ] "Los Angeles County officials spent more than $12,800 in legal fees trying to collect $1,000 from a grandmother who owed money to the county Probation Department, Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky said today. The woman's case is set to go to trial Wednesday. The county wants the woman, a Social Security recipient, to pay $25 per month for 40 months. Her lawyer asked Yaroslavsky to get involved. "This is absurd," the supervisor said. Though there is a moratorium on making the parents or guardians of juveniles on probation pay for various things, such as incarceration, Yaroslavsky expressed concern that others were also being unfairly billed." 

MD:  4 Tons of Fertilizer Stolen From Store  [03/04/09 ] "At least four tons of fertilizer was stolen over the weekend in Frederick, city police said. No motive had been determined. A ton of urea and three tons of other fertilizer were taken from the Southern States store on South Street between Saturday night and Sunday morning, police said. According to police, the fertilizer was contained for the most part in white 50-pound bags with a company logo. Fertilizer thefts have attracted increased attention from law enforcement officials in recent years because some types of fertilizer can be used in making explosives. It was not immediately clear whether the materials taken could be used for such a purpose. Lt. Clark Pennington said police have notified the FBI. As a matter of routine, a report of the theft was sent to a state coordinating center, which is to notify all interested federal agencies. He said detectives would work closely with those agencies in the inquiry, which was in its early stages."

UN Racism Conference: European, Muslim Nations Clash Over Israel  [03/04/09 ] "European Union countries Tuesday stepped up their opposition to Muslim attempts to shield Islam from criticism and attack Israel through a U.N. conference on racism ..."

Sarkozy Death Threat: Bullet Mailed To French President [03/04/09 ] "French President Nicolas Sarkozy and three top government ministers have been sent anonymous death threats in letters stuffed with bullets, a judicial official said Tuesday."

Madoff Attorney Receiving Death Threats  [03/04/09 ] "Bernard Madoff's criminal defense attorney, Ira Lee Sorkin has received death threats, hostile e-mails and now an anti-Semitic threat, ABC News has learned." Related: Madoff Agrees To Give Up His Business, Artwork

Family claims Denver-area charity did nothing to prevent suicide so that it could hold onto $100,000 donation  [03/03/09 ] "A family claims a Denver-area charity did nothing to prevent a suicide so that it could hold onto a $100,000 donation. The claim is contained in a lawsuit against Laradon Hall, a mental health facility for developmentally disabled children and adults."

CA: Naked Man Takes a Dump From Perch on Cross In Seven Hour Drama: Charged With Defacing Church  [03/03/09 ] "From 8 a.m. to around 3:15 p.m. yesterday, an unidentified nude twenty-something man, reported to be suicidal, sat 50 feet in the air atop the cross at West Bethel Presbyterian Church on La Brea Ave. between Wilshire and Olympic ... He finally came down after a seven hour confrontation with the fire and police departments ... A witness told KTLA that the man told her he was "protesting against Christianity." He apparently climbed up clothed, but stripped and threw is clothes down. His only request during the standoff was a towel to wipe his hands clean after wiping his waste on the cross. An officer told the TV station that one of the crimes he would be arrested for was defacing a church, which is a felony ... Last September in New York City, a naked man on a fire escape died after police tasered him. He fell 10 feet to the ground with nothing to catch him below. After it was announced that the taser use broke department rules, the officer who ordered the tasering killed himself and the officer who executed the action was promoted ..."  Includes Video clip. Note: It's religilous!

TX: $700 million eyed for toll projects  [03/03/09 ] "The Texas Department of Transportation has set aside more than $700 million in economic stimulus funds for toll road projects across the state, sparking criticism and questions about whether the pay-to-drive roads are an appropriate use of the federal dollars."  Note: 'pay to play' on the road

France calls for NATO Afghan pullout  [03/03/09 ] "There are currently more than 68,000 foreign troops in Afghanistan. French Defense Minister Herve Morin has requested that NATO set a timetable for the withdrawal of alliance forces from Afghanistan."

Obama denies offering Russia missile shield deal  [03/03/09 ] "U.S. President Barack Obama on Tuesday denied offering Russia a deal in which Washington would slow deployment of a missile defense shield in Europe in exchange for Moscow's help in a nuclear stand-off with Iran."

Russia rejects link between missile defence and Iran  [03/03/09 ] "Russian President Dmitri Medvedev on Tuesday showed willingness to discuss the US-planned missile defence system opposed by Moscow, but without "haggling" linking it to Iran. Medvedev was commenting during a visit to Spain on an alleged offer by US President Barack Obama to halt the defence system if Iran could be convinced to give up nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles ..."   Note: Russia is not falling for the US ploy, which is primarily a bluff, because the US can't afford to create this defense system, and it can't do anything 'about' Iraq.

Reports: Obama offers end of US missile shield for Kremlin's help on Iran [03/03/09 ] "Citing an unnamed White House official, Russian newspaper Kommersant reported Monday that President Obama has offered to scrap plans for a US missile shield in Europe if the Russian leadership will help restrain Iran's alleged nuclear ambitions. The offer was allegedly made in a letter to Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev. Moscow has reacted furiously to plans by the former administration of George W. Bush to place missile defence facilities in Poland and the Czech Republic, saying the move was directly aimed against Russia. "I am counting on the new US administration behaving on this question in a more creative and friendly way," Medvedev said Sunday in an interview with Spanish media, the transcript of which was published on the Kremlin website. "We have already received positive signals from our American colleagues. I am expecting that these signals will turn into concrete proposals," he added. Medvedev said he hoped that this issue would be discussed in his first meeting with Obama, expected to take place on the sidelines of the meeting of G20 countries in London on April 2 ..."  Note: So, they will scrap a defense system that does not work in exchange for Russia's help in getting rid of nuclear weapons that don't exist?

GOP senator Orrin Hatch's charity tied to massive pharmaceutical donations [03/02/09 ] "A charity founded by a senior Republican lawmaker who was a key ally to the pharmaceutical industry received more than $170,000 in 2007 from drugmakers, far in excess of campaign finance rules had the money been donated to him directly, leaked documents show."  

UK: Minority groups to get extra Government help to protect them from the recession [03/02/09 ] " ... Ethnic minorities could receive extra help during the recession following Government fears they will be hardest hit as the economy deteriorates. Work and Pensions Secretary James Purnell announced a controversial drive to ensure ethnic minority workers are not 'left behind"  

Canada: "NATO can't defeat Afghan insurgency", PM says [03/02/09 ] "The United States must come up with a viable Afghan exit strategy before asking Canada to rethink its plan to pull out of the country in 2011, Prime Minister Stephen Harper says ..."

Austrian Firm Knowingly Ships Contaminated Seasonal Flu Product Containing Various Live Bird Flu Viruses [03/02/09 ] "The contaminated product, a mix of H3N2 seasonal flu viruses and unlabelled H5N1 viruses, was supplied to an Austrian research company. The Austrian firm, Avir Green Hills Biotechnology, then sent portions of it to sub-contractors in the Czech Republic, Slovenia and Germany. The contamination incident, which is being investigated by the four European countries, came to light when the subcontractor in the Czech Republic inoculated ferrets with the product and they died. Ferrets shouldn't die from exposure to human H3N2 flu viruses ... While H5N1 doesn't easily infect people, H3N2 viruses do. If someone exposed to a mixture of the two had been simultaneously infected with both strains, he or she could have served as an incubator for a hybrid virus able to transmit easily to and among people. That mixing process, called reassortment, is one of two ways pandemic viruses are created. There is no suggestion that happened because of this accident, however. "We have no evidence of any reassortment, that any reassortment may have occurred," said Andraghetti." Note: It's absolutely true, as far as I have determined, that H5N1 does NOT easily infect humans. There is NOT a problem with that much publicized virus. Some people like to drum up drama about it. If you go to the Rense website, for example, you will note that they stupidly and irresponsibly squawk ALL THE TIME about H5N1, when in fact it's virtually irrelevant. Of course, Rense is all about fear propagation.

Reverse Migration Rocks Mexico [03/02/09 ] "With the U.S. economy contracting rapidly, Mexican migrants are heading back south. But they're finding the homecoming isn't quite what they imagined."

U.S. to Give $900 Million in Aid to Gaza [03/01/09 ] "The Obama administration intends to provide some $900 million to help rebuild Gaza after the Israeli incursion that ended last month, administration officials said Monday. In an early sign of how the administration plans to deal with Hamas, the militant Islamist group that controls Gaza, an official said that the aid would not go to Hamas but would be funneled through nongovernmental organizations."   Note: I wonder whether KBR or Halliburton, or any other of the contractors from the last decade, would get 'rebuilding contracts' .... some real irony would be if Israeli companies put in bids. 

Some want Supreme Court to decide the future of Tasers [03/01/09 ] "The recently released USA: Less than Lethal? report reviewed 334 deaths in the United States involving Tasers between 2001 and 2008. Of those deaths, 52 were in Florida. Six died in Broward and five in Miami-Dade. Researchers behind the study have called for greater regulation in the use of stun guns and further research. ''It should be considered a potentially lethal weapon and there hasn't been enough research yet,'' said Angela Wright, an Amnesty International researcher. ``There has to be strict control of their use.'' 

Anti-tax movement holds 'Tea Party' to protest Obama policies [03/01/09 ] "The extensive media coverage of the event was perhaps disproportionate to the actual size of the protests, which drew around 200 to 300 participants in most locations. The greatest turnout may have been in St. Louis, Missouri, where some 1000 people showed up."

Nationwide Ammunition Shortage Hits U.S. [03/01/09 ] "Much of the demand comes from continued high law enforcement demand, the same demand that led to shortages two years ago. Police agencies around the nation have become more militarized in recent years and two trends within this militarization have led to greater police ammunition demand."

Last bid for broad gov’t collapses in Israel [03/01/09 ] "Israel’s hawkish Benjamin Netanyahu and his centrist rival Tzipi Livni fail to resolve differences that stand in the way of a broad coalition. While the PM-designate says he has done everything possible, outgoing FM defends her position on the main obstacle for coalition, peace talks with Palestinians. Last-ditch efforts to form a broad-based Israeli coalition failed on Friday, paving the way for a rightist government and fuelling concerns about prospects for peace with the Palestinians."

Microsoft Vista voted tech world's top "Fiasco" [03/01/09 ] "It's official, Microsoft's Windows Vista operating system gets the prize for being the most over-hyped, underperforming information and communication technology (ICT) project. Windows Vista garnered 5,222 of 6,043 votes (86 percent) entered via the Web to snag top honors in the first-ever Fiasco Awards announced in Barcelona, Spain, beating out other contenders."

Prosecutors Lose Key Rulings in AIPAC Case [03/01/09 ] "Federal prosecutors in the national security case against two former pro-Israel lobbyists suffered legal blows this week that could affect their chances of winning or even lead the government to reconsider going forward with the case."

Canada: Indigenous people in legal challenge against oil firms over tar sand project [03/01/09 ] "Canada's Beaver Lake Cree Nation group say their traditional way of life is being devastated by the rush to extract oil from vast tar sand fields ..."

Germany pledges €1M aid for restoring Auschwitz  [03/01/09 ] "Berlin announces plans to donate €1 million to restore the deteriorating structures at the former Nazi concentration camp of Auschwitz." Note: Wait! What about 'never again'? Why not restore Gaza instead?

Spain probes Israel's 2002 Gaza bombing  [03/01/09 ] "Spain's Judge Fernando Andreu is set to go ahead with an investigation into crimes against humanity by top Israeli military officials." 

US 'to shoot down N Korean missile'  [03/01/09 ] "The US military is "fully prepared" to shoot down any North Korean ballistic missile, the head of the US Pacific Command says."  Note: More posturing on both sides. Related: 'N Korea rejected UN visit to test missile' | North Korea says it will put sat into orbit  

US newspapers hitting financial wall [03/01/09 ] "The Hearst group of newspapers announced in January that it plans to close its money-losing Seattle newspaper, the Post-Intelligencer, if a buyer cannot be found. Philadelphia Newspapers, owner of the Philadelphia Inquirer and the Philadelphia Daily News, filed for bankruptcy protection last Sunday. Tribune Co., owner of The Los Angeles Times, Chicago Tribune and six other dailies, filed for bankruptcy in December and a Minnesota newspaper, the Minneapolis Star Tribune, filed for bankruptcy in January." 

Study: Utah Leads Nation in Online Porn Purchases, Sales Higher in Right-Wing Religious Areas [03/01/09 ] "A study of the online porn purchases nationwide by Harvard Business School uncovered something surprising (or maybe not). Residents of right-wing religious areas purchase more porn than those in liberal areas..."