Citizens For Legitimate Government

CLG's BREAKING NEWS and COMMENTARY

Court Filing Shows Evidence Cheney Swayed White House Response to CIA Leak --Discussions of CIA Agent Listed in Filing 03 Jul 2009 A document filed in federal court this week by the Justice Department offers new evidence that former vice president [sic] Richard B. Cheney helped steer the Bush administration's public response to the disclosure of Valerie Plame Wilson's employment by the CIA and that he was at the center of many related administration deliberations. A list of at least seven related conversations involving Cheney appears in a new court filing approved by Obama appointees at the Justice Department. In the filing, the officials argue that the substance of what Cheney told special prosecutor Patrick J. Fitzgerald in 2004 must remain secret.

Obama pushes to delay release of CIA report --Agency's secret detention, torture program under scrutiny 02 Jul 2009 The Obama administration said Thursday that it needs two more months to review an internal CIA report on the agency's secret detention and interrogation program before making it public. The Justice Department had originally said it intended to release the report in June as part of a lawsuit, but department officials now say they 'need' until the end of August. [See: U.S. again [third time] delays releasing CIA torture report 02 Jul 2009; US wants to [again] delay release of CIA report 26 Jun 2009; Delay in Releasing CIA Report Is Sought 20 Jun 2009.]

Heads up! The Obusha pre-holiday Friday night environmental/human rights bad news dump is starting to dump a day early! Obama Administration to Involve NSA in Screening Civilian Agency Networks 02 Jul 2009 The Obama administration will proceed with a Bush-era plan to use National Security Agency assistance in screening government computer traffic on private-sector networks, with AT&T as the likely test site, according to three current and former government officials. President Obama said in May that government efforts to protect computer systems from attack would not involve "monitoring private sector networks or Internet traffic." Under a classified pilot program approved during the Bush regime, NSA data and hardware would be used to 'protect' the networks of some civilian government agencies. Part of an initiative known as Einstein 3, the pilot called for telecommunications companies to route the Internet traffic of civilian government agencies through a monitoring box that would search for and block malicious computer codes... The pilot was to have been launched in February. "To be clear, Einstein 3 development is proceeding," DHS spokeswoman Amy Kudwa said.

Al-Sadr demands full U.S. withdrawal from Iraq --About 131,000 US troops remain in Iraq, on bases and in outposts outside of population centers. 01 Jul 2009 The ongoing presence of U.S. troops in Iraq "shows that the (Iraqi) government and the occupation are not serious about the withdrawal," a key Shiite cleric in the country said Wednesday. Muqtada al-Sadr made the statement on his Web site a day after U.S. forces withdrew from Iraqi cities and towns in accordance with the security agreement between the United States and Iraq.

Saddam Hussein 'lied about WMDs to protect Iraq from Iran' 03 Jul 2009 Saddam Hussein told the FBI that he misled the world into believing Iraq still possessed weapons of mass destruction because he feared revealing his weakness to Iran, according to declassified interview transcripts. The late Iraqi president also told his interrogators that he regarded Osama in Laden as a "zealot" and had no contact with the al-Qaeda [al-CIAduh] leader or his organisation. Despite defeat in the Gulf War at the hands of the American-led coalition, Saddam still regarded Iran, with which Iraq fought a bloody war from 1980-88, as a greater threat than the US, the documents show.

Lawsuit accuses Xe contractors of murder, kidnapping, child prostitution 02 Jul 2009 A just-amended lawsuit alleges six additional instances of unprovoked attacks on Iraqi civilians by Blackwater mercenaries. Three people, including a 9-year-old boy, are said to have died. Also added to the suit is a racketeering count accusing Blackwater founder Erik Prince of running an ongoing criminal enterprise involved in, among other things, kidnapping and child prostitution. The latest charges, filed this week in U.S. District Court in Alexandria, bring to more than 60 the number of Iraqis allegedly killed or wounded since 2005 by armed Blackwater mercenaries guarding U.S. diplomatic personnel in Iraq. The Moyock, N.C.-based security company, since renamed Xe, earned more than $1 billion under that contract before the State Department, under pressure from the Iraqi government, let it lapse in May.

Senate Investigates Blackwater Subsidiary 01 Jul 2009 The Senate Armed Services Committee is investigating the mercenary firm Paravant LLC which provides contracted services to the U.S. Army in Afghanistan and Iraq. Paravant is a subsidiary of Xe, formerly known as Blackwater, owned by Erik D. Prince, president of The Prince Group. Steven McClain and Justin Cannon, two former Paravant security personnel stationed in Afghanistan, were involved in a fatal shooting incident that left one Afghan civilian dead and two others wounded in Kabul on May 5, 2009.

Guantanamo suspect to be tried in U.S. court in 2010 02 Jul 2009 The first detainee transferred from Guantanamo Bay to a U.S. civilian court will go on trial on September 13, 2010, a Manhattan federal court judge said on Thursday. Ahmed Khalfan Ghailani, a Tanzanian national, has been charged with conspiring in the 1998 bombings of U.S. embassies in Tanzania and Kenya that killed 224 people.

'I have to refer you to the Government of Israel.' U.S. Department of State Middle East Digest 01 Jul 2009 QUESTION: Erin Connors from Press TV. Former congresswoman Cynthia McKinney and members of the Free Gaza Movement were intercepted by the Israeli army when they were on a humanitarian mission over there. What’s being done about that? Are they on their way home? Will they be deported? What’s the next step there, and will their supplies ever get to where they’re going? IAN KELLY: On that last question, I don’t know the answer, actually. I think I have to refer you to the Government of Israel. We can confirm that the Israeli navy did arrest those on board this – the ship which is known as Spirit. We can't comment on any of the individuals or the number of individual American citizens on board because of Privacy Act concern. [OH, but you would comment from here to Armageddon if Ahmadinejad sneezed or you heard there were missing ballots in Tehran, right? Can you *imagine* what would happen if Iran or Venezuela intercepted a vessel and/or incarcerated a former congressperson and Nobel Prize winner? Instead of covering Neverland 24/7, Faux would be covering the US shock & awe bombardment of the offending nation. --LRP]

Activists Held by Israel for Trying to Break Gaza Blockade 03 Jul 2009 Nineteen foreign activists of the pro-Palestinian Free Gaza Movement were being held in Israel awaiting deportation on Thursday, two days after the Israeli Navy seized control of their boat off Gaza. A former United States Representative, Cynthia McKinney, and an Irish peace activist and Nobel laureate, Mairead Corrigan Maguire, were among those being held. Two additional Israeli activists were released without being charged on Wednesday, according to the group.

U.S. re-approves Israel loan guarantees program 30 Jun 2009 The United States has re-approved its Israel loan guarantees program, subject to meeting fiscal targets, the Finance Ministry in Jerusalem said Tuesday. The move comes amid tensions between Israel and the Obama administration over Jerusalem's settlement policy in the West Bank. In 2002, the U.S. provided a package of $9 billion in loan guarantees, where Israel could sell bonds internationally with the backing of the United States.

Merkel urges immediate halt to WB settlements 02 Jul 2009 German Chancellor Angela Merkel says the ongoing construction of Israeli settlements in the West Bank hampers efforts for a two-state solution with Palestinians. "I think it is now important to get commitments from all sides and that includes the issue of settlement building. I am convinced that there must be a stop to this. Otherwise we will not come to the two-state solution that is urgently needed," Merkel said in an address to the Bundestag lower house of parliament.

Britain fails on deadline for withdrawal of ambassadors from Tehran 03 Jul 2009 Britain was rebuffed last night in its attempt to secure an EU deadline for the withdrawal of the bloc's 27 ambassadors from Tehran if a local embassy employee in Iranian custody was not released. Representatives of the EU's foreign ministries offered a pledge of solidarity with the UK but officials said it was unlikely that more discussions today (FRI) would produce an ultimatum.

U.S. declares Iraq-based group foreign terrorist organization 02 Jul 2009 The U.S. government on Thursday said it has declared Kata'ib Hizballah a foreign terrorist organization, saying the group is linked to Lebanon's Hezbollah and has posed a threat to stability in Iraq. The designation means the Iraq-based militant group's assets will be frozen and Americans will be prohibited from providing it with any resources, the State Department said in a statement.

US soldier is snatched by same Afghan group who kidnapped reporters 03 Jul 2009 An American soldier who wandered off his remote position in eastern Afghanistan is believed to have been captured by the same 'insurgents' responsible for the kidnap last year of a New York Times reporter. [Xe?] Military officials said that the soldier disappeared from his base in Paktika province on Tuesday and was listed as "duty status whereabouts unknown" after he was found to be missing in a routine check.

US allied forces march into Taliban territory 02 Jul 2009 Taliban strongholds in southern Afghanistan have been infiltrated by US Marines who are part of a major operation under the imprimatur of President Barack Obama. As part of the president’s strategy to stabilise the country 4,000 marines have been sent in to destroy Taliban lairs.

Jones: U.S. plans coordinated response if North Korea fires missile 02 Jul 2009 If North Korea fires a missile at Hawaii on or around the July Fourth holiday, as Japanese reports have warned, the U.S. plans a measured response in coordination with Russia, China, Japan and South Korea. In an exclusive interview with McClatchy Newspapers, White House national security adviser James L. Jones said of North Korea and its leader Kim Jong Il: "Our reaction will be dependent on what it is they do over the next few days, few weeks, whatever it is."

North Korean rockets fired out to sea 02 Jul 2009 North Korea has test-fired two short-range missiles. The missiles were shot from an east coast base near the eastern port of Wonsan. Tensions have been recently been high in the region, due to North Korea remaining defiant after the UN condemned its long-range rocket launch on April 5th and its May 25th nuclear test.

Honduran coup leader a two-time SOA graduate 29 Jun 2009 The general who overthrew the democratically elected president of Honduras is a two-time graduate of the U.S. Army School of the Americas, an institution that has trained hundreds of coup leaders and human rights abusers in Latin America. Gen. Romeo Orlando Vásquez Velásquez toppled President Manuel Zelaya in a pre-dawn coup on Sunday, surrounding the presidential palace with more than 200 soldiers and tanks and tear-gassing a crowd outside. The president was abducted and taken to an Air Force base before being flown to Costa Rica.

Britain braces for 100,000 swine flu cases a day 02 Jul 2009 Britain faces a projected 100,000 new swine flu cases a day by the end of August and must revamp its flu strategy to cope, the nation's health minister said Thursday. Britain has officially reported 7,447 swine flu cases and three deaths, but officials acknowledge the real number of cases is far higher, since many with the virus have not been tested.

UK bans tell-all book on counter-terrorism 02 Jul 2009 UK government has banned a tell-all book about Metropolitan Police crackdown on terrorist written by former anti-terror chief. "The Terrorist Hunters" which is a memoir by retired assistant commissioner of the Metropolitan Police Andy Hayman banned the night before it was due to hit the shelves on Thursday. The attorney general's office announced the injunction just before midnight on Wednesday.

Blast hits Canadian gas pipeline --Police: 5th act of sabotage in region over past year 02 Jul 2009 A gas leak, at a pipeline in Canada's western British Columbia province, has been caused by a blast that police say is the fifth act of sabotage in the region over the past year. The oil and natural gas company informed the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) on Wednesday, after company employees noticed a loss in pressure in the pipeline close to Dawson Creek, in the northeast of the province.

Should linking be illegal? In a misguided attempt to aid newspapers, one of America's most influential judges is suggesting a new copyright law 01 Jul 2009 Those who wish to keep the internet free and open had best dust off their legal arguments. One of America's most influential conservative judges, Richard Posner, has proposed a ban on linking to online content without permission. The idea, he said in a blog post last week, is to prevent aggregators and bloggers from linking to newspaper websites without paying.

Oops! The PentaPost -- facilitators of the 2000 and 2004 GOP coups and enablers of Bush/Cheney's war crimes and treason -- is caught with its grubby little paws in the cookie jar! Amid Criticism, Post Drops "Appalling" Plan to Sell Access --Paper Reportedly Offered Lobbyists Private Meetings with Reporters, Editors for $25,000 02 Jul 2009 The Washington Post is nixing a reported plan to sell access to its newsroom staff and Obama administration officials to lobbyists and corporate interests, a spokeswoman for the paper said Thursday.

WaPo cancels lobbyist event amid uproar 02 Jul 2009 Washington Post publisher Katharine Weymouth said today she was canceling plans for an exclusive "salon" at her home where for as much as $250,000, the Post offered lobbyists and association executives off-the-record access to "those powerful few" -- Obama administration officials, members of Congress, and even the paper’s own reporters and editors. The astonishing offer was detailed in a flier circulated Wednesday to a health care lobbyist, who provided it to a reporter.

Jobless rate at 9.5% - worst since 1983 02 Jul 2009 The U.S. unemployment rate rose to 9.5 percent in June, a 26-year high, as employers continued to slash payrolls, according to a Labor Department report today that estimates 14.7 million Americans were out of work last month. Employers cut 467,000 jobs in June, as construction and manufacturing continued to suffer big losses.

Goldman Sachs Is A Vampire Squid, Rolling Stone Says 02 Jul 2009 In a riveting article in its July 9-23 issue, "Goldman Sachs: The Great American Bubble Machine," Rolling Stone describes the investment bank as a "great vampire squid wrapped around the face of humanity, relentlessly jamming its blood funnel into anything that smells like money." The author, Matt Taibbi, makes a strong case for why Goldman Sachs is partially, if not wholly, to blame for the Great Depression, the .com bubble, the subprime crisis, and last year's oil price spikes, through questionable practices such as laddering. He suggests that Goldman is poised to create a new bubble out of the nascent cap-and-trade markets.

US credit card companies jack up rates By Andre Damon 02 Jul 2009 Credit card companies have in recent months sharply raised the rates they charge customers, as credit card defaults have risen to record levels. Citigroup, the recipient of a $25 billion government bailout, has increased rates for millions of credit card customers by around one fourth. JPMorgan Chase & Co., the largest issuer of credit cards, also said it would raise its minimum payment rate from 2 to 5 percent for customers behind on payments. The hikes come amid news that default rates for personal credit cards have hit record high levels.

SC governor silent as clamor grows for resignation 02 Jul 2009 After days of soul-baring and often odd confessions and apologies about an adulterous affair, South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford (R) went silent as the clamor for his resignation grew. Sanford, who has said he won't resign, made no public appearances Wednesday, as he figures out how to salvage the last 18 months of his second and last term and his 20-year marriage.

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ACLU Says Government Used False Confessions 02 Jul 2009 The American Civil Liberties Union yesterday accused the Obama administration of using statements elicited through torture to justify the confinement of a detainee it represents at the U.S. military prison in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. The ACLU is asking a federal judge to throw out those statements and others made by Mohammed Jawad, an Afghan who may have been as young as 12 when he was captured. His attorney argued that Jawad was abused in U.S. custody, threatened and subjected to intense sleep deprivation. "The government's continued reliance on evidence gained by torture and other abuse violates centuries of U.S. law and suggests the current administration is not really serious about breaking with the past," said ACLU lawyer Jonathan Hafetz, who is representing Jawad in a lawsuit challenging his detention.

U.S. again [third time] delays releasing CIA torture report 02 Jul 2009 The U.S. government on Wednesday once again delayed the release of a full report on CIA's controversial interrogation program. The government had intended to complete its review of the 2004 report and release it two weeks ago. But continued interagency debate about how much of the secret report could be made public pushed back the deadline. [See: US wants to [again] delay release of CIA report 26 Jun 2009 and Delay in Releasing CIA Report Is Sought 20 Jun 2009.]

U.S. spy says just followed orders in Italy kidnap 30 Jun 2009 A former U.S. spy at the center of a kidnapping trial in Italy appeared to acknowledge a role in the abduction of a Muslim cleric but said he was only following orders, according to a rare interview published on Tuesday. Robert Seldon Lady is one of 26 Americans, almost all believed to have been working for the CIA, who are accused along with Italian spies of grabbing a terrorism suspect off the streets of Milan in 2003 and flying him to Egypt. There, Hassan Mustafa Osama Nasr says he was tortured and held for years without charge.

Army faces 20 more torture and abuse claims from Iraqi civilians --High Court to hear cases against soldiers accused of shootings and beatings 01 Jul 2009 The British Army faces 20 fresh claims of torture and abuse of Iraqi civilians in a series of damaging cases being prepared by human rights lawyers in the High Court in London. These new claims lend support to the accusation that the ill-treatment of scores of detainees in Iraq in the first four years after the invasion was systemic rather than the work of a few "rotten apple" soldiers.

Iraq Approves BP-Led Bid to Develop Rumaila Oil Field 01 Jul 2009 Iraq’s cabinet approved an offer by BP Plc and China National Petroleum Corp. to develop the Rumaila oil field after the group was awarded the contract yesterday, government spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh said. The government rejected all other bids made at an oil licensing round held in Baghdad yesterday after companies seeking to develop deposits declined to meet Iraq’s cost requirements, according to an e-mailed statement today.

Oil and the Iraq "withdrawal" By James Cogan 30 Jun 2009 It is fitting that today’s deadline for the withdrawal of US troops from Iraq’s cities coincides with a meeting in Baghdad to auction off some of the country’s largest oil fields to companies such as ExxonMobil, Chevron and British Petroleum. It is a reminder of the real motives for the 2003 invasion and in whose interests over one million Iraqis and 4,634 American and other Western troops have been killed. The Iraq war was, and continues to be, an imperialist war waged by the American ruling elite for control of oil and geo-strategic advantage.

Hussein Pointed to Iranian Threat --The former Iraqi president denounced Osama bin Laden as "a zealot" and said he had no dealings with al-Qaeda. 02 Jul 2009 Saddam Hussein told an FBI interviewer before he was hanged that he allowed the world to believe he had weapons of mass destruction because he was worried about appearing weak to Iran, according to declassified accounts of the interviews released yesterday. The former Iraqi president also denounced Osama bin Laden as "a zealot" and said he had no dealings with al-Qaeda [al-CIAduh]. Hussein, in fact, said he felt so vulnerable to the perceived threat from "fanatic" leaders in Tehran that he would have been prepared to seek a "security agreement with the United States to protect [Iraq] from threats in the region."

FEMA Administrator Meets Top Israeli Official to Discuss Emergency Management Issues 30 Jun 2009 Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Administrator Craig Fugate met today with Maj. Gen. Yair Golan of the Israeli Defense Forces Home Front Command (IDF/HFC), continuing to foster a working relationship with Israel... Administrator Fugate and Maj. General Golan will serve as co-chairs of an emergency management work group designed to discuss problems and issues and to exchange information on a variety of topics... The IDF/HFC partners with the Israeli National Emergency Management Authority (NEMA) on emergency management issues. IDF/HFC and NEMA work with FEMA under an emergency management work stream workgroup established under a 2007 Memorandum of Understanding with DHS.

McKinney still held on ship of activists detained by Israel 01 Jul 2009 Israel on Wednesday reportedly sent home two of the 21 people taken aboard a ship that attempted to break through a blockade and deliver supplies to Gaza. Authorities released an American filmmaker and a Danish human rights activist, according to freegaza.org, the web site of the Free Gaza Movement, which organized the voyage opposing the blockade. The other passengers remain in Israeli custody, among them former Georgia congresswoman Cynthia McKinney, and 1977 Nobel Peace Prize recipient Mairead Maguire, who co-founded a group that worked for peace in Northern Ireland.

CLG News and Action Alert: IDF Seizes Gaza Aid Ship Posted by Lori Price 01 Jul 2009 Israeli forces have boarded a ship trying to carry aid and pro-Palestinian activists to the Gaza Strip in defiance of Israel's blockade of the territory. The 20 passengers include former US congresswoman Cynthia McKinney and Nobel Prize winner Mairead Maguire. [Can you *imagine* what would happen if *Iran* intercepted a vessel with a former congressperson and Nobel Prize winner? It makes my head *spin* to think of how fast the US missiles would be flying! Click here for news and actions you can take - demonstrations, petitions.] (Updated with new Boston 02 July IAC action info)

UN: Israel does not deny running spy ring in Lebanon 01 Jul 2009 Israel does not deny accusations that dozens of men arrested recently in Lebanon were spying on its behalf, according to a report published by United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. Lebanese authorities in recent months claimed to have detained dozens of suspects in an espionage investigation, including several senior military officials.

'Interpol hunting for witness of Neda's death' 01 Jul 2009 Iran's Police Chief, Brig. Gen. Esmail Ahmadi-Moqaddam, says Interpol is searching for a man who witnessed the death of Neda Agha-soltan. Neda was shot dead in a central Tehran street on June 20, amid the post-election unrest in the capital city and her death has turned into a controversial issue. Iranian authorities say that security forces have not fired at protesters, adding that the incident was "a premeditated scenario" to defame Iran.

U.S. Marines Launch Major Operation in Afghanistan Poppies grown in this region account for half the world's supply of opium. 01 Jul 2009 Thousands of U.S. Marines descended upon the volatile Helmand River valley in helicopters and armored convoys early Thursday morning, mounting an operation that represents the first large-scale test of the U.S. military's new counter-insurgency 'strategy' in Afghanistan. The operation will involve about 4,000 troops from the 2nd Marine Expeditionary Brigade, which was dispatched to Afghanistan this year by President Obama to combat a growing Taliban insurgency in Helmand and other southern provinces. [Obama has to keep Bush's opium routes and gas pipelines flowing. See: U.S.-built bridge is windfall -- for illegal Afghan drug trade 28 Jun 2009.]

US seeks European funds, troops for Afghanistan 01 Jul 2009 Europe must commit more funds and troops to stabilise Afghanistan after the August presidential elections or risk staying in the country indefinitely, the US envoy to NATO Ivo Daalder said Wednesday. Daalder said the United States estimated 17 billion dollars was needed to train and equip the Afghan army and two billion dollars per year to sustain it.

UK Afghan civilian death payments 01 Jul 2009 The government has paid or is assessing compensation over 104 civilian deaths allegedly caused by the Army during operations in Afghanistan. Figures revealed after a Freedom of Information request by Channel 4 News show $200,000 (£120,000) compensation was paid in the last 18 months. Payouts range from $210 (£127) for a woman's death to $39,752 (£24,155) for a "multiple fatality" incident.

Pakistan elder killed by gunmen 01 Jul 2009 A key pro-government tribal elder has been shot dead along with two of his guards in Pakistan's tribal region of Khyber, officials say. They say that Malik Gali Khan was travelling in the Jamrud area when he was attacked by gunmen. The tribal leader was seriously wounded and died on his way to the hospital. As news of his death spread, incensed local tribesmen closed down the markets and also the Pakistan-Afghanistan highway through Torkham.

North Korea Shows No Sign of Imminent Missile Launch, U.S. Says 02 Jul 2009 The U.S. doesn't see any indication North Korea is poised to test-launch a long-range ballistic missile capable of landing near the Hawaiian Islands, according to four government officials. The officials, who are privy to information about North Korean launch preparations, said there are no signs of the work necessary to launch a long-range missile during the U.S. July 4 Independence Day celebration.

Does the US back the Honduran coup? The Obama administration's condemnation of the coup in Honduras has been lukewarm compared to the rest of the world By Mark Weisbrot 01 July 2009 The military coup that overthrew Honduras's elected president, Manuel Zelaya, brought unanimous international condemnation. But some country's responses have been more reluctant than others, and Washington's ambivalence has begun to raise suspicions about what the US government is really trying to accomplish in this situation.

1,500 National Guard Troops to Border 30 Jun 2009 1,500 National Guard volunteers will be used to support the existing 'counter'-drug program on the border with Mexico. That includes in Texas and New mexico. The plan is being finalized between the Defense Department and Homeland Security. The program would use guardsmen for surveillance, intelligence analysis, and aviation support. They would also supply ground troops who help at border crossings.

Swine flu cases reach over 77,000 worldwide: WHO 02 Jul 2009 About 77,201 people worldwide have caught swine flu, with 332 having died from it, latest statistics posted on Wednesday by the World Health Organisation show. The data indicates that 6308 new A(H1N1) cases were reported, including 21 deaths, since the last bulletin on Monday. The largest increase in caseload was reported by the United Kingdom, with 2288 new infections including two deaths, bringing its total to 6538 infections including three deaths.

WHO working on formulas to model swine flu spread 01 Jul 2009 The World Health Organization said Wednesday it is working to mathematically model the spread of swine flu in an attempt to better understand how the outbreak developed from a handful of cases to a global epidemic in less than two months. WHO brought together over 20 independent experts beginning Wednesday for the three-day meeting in Geneva. The meeting comes as it becomes clearer that actual case numbers may be far higher than the agency's tally of officially diagnosed infections. [See: Pandemic planning: Protect police forces from being hurt in civil disturbances 29 Jun 2009.]

Former Marine Claims Illness From Mystery Vaccine --Military Source Believes Experimental Shots May Have Been Given 08 May 2007 Clermont County, OH) Target 5 has discovered that an alarming number of U.S. troops are having severe reactions to some of the vaccines they receive in preparation for going overseas. "This is the worst cover-up in the history of the military," said an unidentified military health officer who fears for his job. A shot from a syringe is leaving some U.S. servicemen and women on the brink of death. "When the issue, I believe, of the use of the vaccine comes out, I believe it will make the Walter Reed scandal pale in comparison," said the health officer.

'This is the worst cover-up in the history of the military.' Target 5: Secret Shots --'The shot was never listed in his records... Suddenly, 'flu vaccine' appears on his record.' (wlwttv) 16 Jul 2007 All military personnel who are headed to combat are required to take vaccinations. Are these shots leaving some soldiers deathly ill? 'But a case of friendly fire, in the form of a syringe, would forever change his life. On November 28th of 2005, David's unit was lined up for what he says was an undisclosed shot... Three weeks later, Private Fey was back in Clermont County on his death bed at Clinton Memorial Hospital. His kidneys were failing... 'The people [sic] who administered the shot never told us what it was.' (YouTube video of NBC Target 5 report)

Rangel: Drug firms have been 'stealing' 01 Jul 2009 One of the principal authors of health care legislation taking shape in the House accused drug companies and other medical providers Wednesday of stealing, and said they are now offering concessions in the hopes the bill that emerges will not demand too much of them. "Everyone knows that people around the table are stealing, but they don't want to turn each other in if they're going to have to pay the full penalty," said Rep. Charles Rangel, chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee. Asked in an interview on MSNBC what he meant by stealing, the New York Democrat replied, "I mean stealing."

Lieberman: I Stand With The Small Minority of Americans Who Oppose Public Option By Brian Beutler 01 Jul 2009 The surfeit of polling data showing broad public support for the public option hasn't swayed Connecticut Sen. Joe Lieberman [R-Israel], who's joining conservative Democrats and moderate Republicans in staunch opposition. Check out this video from Paul Bass at the New Haven Independent.

It Came from Wasilla --As John McCain's top campaign officials talk more candidly than ever before about the meltdown of his vice-presidential pick, the author tracks the signs--political and personal--that Sarah Palin was big trouble, and checks the forecast for her future. By Todd S. Purdum August 2009 As Palin has piled misstep on top of misstep, the senior members of McCain’s campaign team have undergone a painful odyssey of their own. In recent rounds of long conversations, most made it clear that they suffer a kind of survivor’s guilt: they can’t quite believe that for two frantic months last fall, caught in a Bermuda Triangle of a campaign, they worked their tails off to try to elect as vice president of the United States someone who, by mid-October, they believed for certain was nowhere near ready for the job, and might never be.

CIA-Trained Blogger Disbursing Money to "Progressives" By Francis L. Holland 30 May 2009 Some of us have wondered what Markos C. Alberto Moulitsas Zúñiga (MAMZ) learned at the CIA during his two-year "training" period there. SourceWatch.Org covers Markos C.A. Moulitsas Zuñiga's (MAMZ) connections to the CIA. Well, now it's more clear than ever that his mission is to increase his influence and build "assets" in the "progressive" blogger community, the better to prevent blogging from getting out of control of the Government.

California taking rest of US on its way down [Thanks to Enron troll, Arnold Schwarzenegger] 01 Jul 2009 The aftershocks of the recession-induced paralysis in California's economy have started ripping through other states across the US. The flagging financial system of California, the world's eighth biggest economy, has affected Illinois and Pennsylvania whose economies are irreversibly interlaced to that of California. Despite rushing frenetically, neither of the states managed to meet the June 30 deadline to pass the budgets for the new fiscal year that ended on the day.

'I'll pay back': Schwarzenegger issues IOUs --California has about $4 billion of obligations that it cannot meet. 02 Jul 2009 The US state of California is in an economic state of emergency, and tomorrow it will begin issuing IOUs to pay its debt. The state is suffering huge declines in revenues because of the recession and the crash of the real estate market. As well, the Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger (R-Installed) and his legislature cannot come up with a balanced budget to address the crisis.

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Did leak from a laboratory cause swine flu pandemic? Same strain of influenza was released 'by accident' three decades ago 30 Jun 2009 It has swept across the world killing at least 300 people and infecting thousands more. Yet the swine flu pandemic might not have happened had it not been for the 'accidental' release of the same strain of influenza virus from a research laboratory in the late 1970s, according to a new study. Scientists investigating the genetic make-up of flu viruses have concluded there is a high probability that the H1N1 strain of influenza "A" behind the current pandemic might never have been re-introduced into the human population were it not for an accidental leak from a laboratory working on the same strain in 1977.

At least 29 killed unlawfully by Israeli drones in Gaza, report says 30 Jun 2009 At least 29 Palestinian civilians were unlawfully killed by missile-firing Israeli drones during its offensive in the Gaza Strip, a US human rights group said. A report by Human Rights Watch, published six months after the operation, said that Israel had failed to exercise proper caution "as required by the laws of war" in their use of drones. Mrac Galasco, a senior military analyst for Human Rights Watch, said that although 29 cases had been highlighted in the report, as many as 87 civilians could have been killed in drone attacks.

US withdrawal from cities brings joy to Iraq 30 Jun 2009 Iraq is filled with joy as American troops hand security duties over to Iraqi forces and end their presence on the streets of the country's towns and cities. Tens of thousands of Iraqi people rushed to the streets and held giant parties on Monday and Tuesday to mark the withdrawal of US soldiers. [Too bad the US doesn't withdraw from all the other countries it illegally occupies.]

Maliki reassures on security as car bomb kills 41 01 Jul 2009 A car bomb in the northern Iraqi oil hub of Kirkuk killed at least 41 people and wounded 120 others yesterday just as Nouri al-Maliki, prime minister, sought to reassure the country that Iraqi forces were capable of providing security. The blast, in the Aruba neighbourhood, occurred as US combat troops were completing their scheduled withdrawal from Baghdad and other large cities.

Four US soldiers killed during Iraq pull out 30 Jun 2009 Four US soldiers were killed in combat shortly before the American army completed a withdrawal from Iraq's cities. In the attack on Monday, the US army said the four soldiers who were killed served with the Multi-National Division-Baghdad but did not provide further details pending notification of their families. It said they died as a "result of combat related injuries".

US Iraq commander loses cool over troop numbers 30 Jun 2009 Tuesday was a day of celebration in Iraq as U.S. forces handed control of the cities to Iraqi authorities, but the top U.S. commander was less than joyous when pressed on how many of his troops would remain. Speaking via satellite from Baghdad, U.S. Army General Ray Odierno lost his cool at a briefing for Pentagon reporters when he was repeatedly questioned about the number of U.S. troops that would remain in the cities as advisers to Iraqi forces.

Oil companies reject Iraq's terms 30 Jun 2009 Only one of the bidders for the eight contracts to run oil and gas fields in Iraq has accepted oil ministry terms. Six oil fields and two gas fields were available in a televised auction that was the first big oil tender in Iraq since the invasion of 2003. BP and China's CNPC agreed to run the 17 billion barrel Rumaila field after Exxon Mobil turned it down. Iraq has asked the rest of the companies to consider resubmitting bids for the other seven contracts.

US Supreme Court delays decision on Uighur case 29 Jun 2009 The US Supreme Court on Monday discreetly delayed until October a decision on whether Chinese Uighurs who are being held at Guantanamo Bay prison can be released in the United States. Court aides told lawyers that no decision would be taken on the Uighurs "until October at the earliest."

Afghanistan: 800 civilians killed in conflict in January-May -- UN report 29 Jun 2009 Civilian deaths resulting from armed hostilities between insurgents, the US military, the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in Afghanistan and government forces have increased by 24 percent so far this year compared to the same period in 2008, according to a report by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon. In May alone, 261 non-combatants lost their lives in conflict in Afghanistan, John Holmes, UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, told members of the Security Council at a meeting on 26 June.

Hold on to your hats! Report: Major growth ahead for Minot AFB 30 Jun 2009 Hundreds of new positions will be added at Minot Air Force Base in the next fiscal year, according to an Air Force report... The report calls for the addition of several dozen military and civilian personnel at the Minot base as a result of bolstering the Air Force's nuclear enterprise. As a result of strengthening the Air Force's nuclear enterprise, the 5th Bomb Wing at Minot AFB gains 10 B-52H bombers as part of B-52 force structure, according to the report. [More to 'lose.']

U.S. Officials Had Contact with Honduran Military Before Coup 28 Jun 2009 According to reports broadcast during a special edition of the Mesa Redonda (The Round Table), transmitted on Cuban radio and television Sunday evening, U.S. officials had contact with right-wing members of the Honduran congress and military leaders just days before launching Sunday morning's coup. Moderator Randy Alonso read a report that confirmed diplomatic officials from the U.S. Embassy in Tegucigalpa met with congressional representatives and right-wing military top brass shortly before the military coup was carried out.

Journalists Briefly Detained By Troops In Honduras 30 Jun 2009 Honduran troops detained seven international journalists covering the aftermath of a military coup Monday, freeing them unhurt a short time later. The government also took at least two television stations off the air and interrupted the broadcasts of others. At least 10 soldiers, most with rifles drawn, arrived at the hotel where journalists from The Associated Press and the Venezuela-based television network Telesur were staying and unplugged their editing equipment in an apparent attempt to stop their coverage of protests in support of deposed President Manuel Zelaya. One of the Telesur journalists was speaking on a telephone at the time of the detention, and AP's Nicolas Garcia saw a soldier lightly slapping her hand so she would hang up. [See, in a *rightwing* coup, US media wh*res add words such as 'lightly' to describe physical force and 'briefly' to detainment. Now, if this was *Iran,* we'd hear that the journalists were imprisoned for six centuries and the AP journalist had her skull bashed in rather than her hand getting 'lightly slapped.' BTW, where are the insipid little puke green Tweets about this coup and the wall-to-wall Faux News coverage of same? --LRP]

Obama says coup in Honduras is illegal 29 Jun 2009 President Barack Obama said on Monday the coup that ousted Honduran President Manuel Zelaya was illegal and would set a "terrible precedent" of transition by military force unless it was reversed. "We believe that the coup was not legal and that President Zelaya remains the president of Honduras, the democratically elected president there," Obama told reporters after an Oval Office meeting with Colombian President Alvaro Uribe.

George W. Bush appointees buck Barack Obama on terror policies 30 Jun 2009 President Barack Obama’s claims of broad executive authority to carry out the war on terror are drawing fire from an unexpected source: federal judges nominated by President [sic] George W. Bush, who asserted the sweeping powers in the first place. In recent weeks, three different Bush appointees considering cases relating to war-on[of]-terror detainees have rejected arguments from Obama’s Justice Department, which adopted virtually unchanged the positions the Bush administration had staked out. In each case, the Bush-appointed judge said the executive branch was overstepping its authority and claiming more powers than the law allowed.

Police told: stop 'kettling' activists 29 Jun 2009 Police chiefs must rethink the controversial tactic of "kettling" participants of mass demonstrations, a report said today. The practice of holding people in one place for long periods, widely known as "kettling", cannot always be justified, a committee of MPs found. Members of the Home Affairs Committee said it is not acceptable to impose a blanket ban on movement and peaceful protesters should be allowed to leave.

Part 1 of 4: Were Nuclear Reactors the Cause of the WTC Destruction? By Barry Ball, Barbara Ellis, and Russ Hallberg --Portland 9/11 Legislative Alliance 23 Jun 2009 This is the first in a four-part series stemming from our organization’s crafting and presenting a proposed bill in late 2008 to nine members of the U.S. House. It urges an independent investigation by national and international experts in science/technology to determine which of the 14 major theories about primary causal agents—fire and thermite to directed energy weapons--destroyed the World Trade Center Twin Towers.

Warning: Britain faces new recession --Economy set to relapse into dreaded 'double-dip' downturn, say world's central bankers 30 Jun 2009 The world's central bankers have warned that the British economy faces relapsing into another recession -- the much-feared "double dip" downturn. A continuing drought in bank lending, evidenced in the latest figures from the Bank of England, and the threat that spiralling public borrowing will feed through to higher interest rates and inflation, are judged by international economists to be mortal dangers to a sustained recovery.

Franken Wins Senate Battle --Minn. Court Ruling Gives Democrats A 60-Seat Majority [that the cowards are afraid to assert] 01 Jul 2009 The Minnesota Supreme Court yesterday declared comedian-turned-politician Al Franken the winner of the state's U.S. Senate race, ending an eight-month-long election saga and giving Democrats a 60-seat majority that theoretically would allow them to block GOP filibusters... Gov. Tim Pawlenty (R) signed the election certificate declaring Franken the winner yesterday evening.

Court Rules Franken Has Won Senate Race; Coleman Concedes 30 Jun 2009 The Minnesota Supreme Court has just issued its long-awaited judgment in the Senate race, declaring that Democrat Al Franken is the winner. And Norm Coleman, his opponent, at 4 p.m., announced that he had conceded and contacted Mr. Franken. The 32-page unanimous decision by the state’s highest court was released after a seven-months long battle over the seat formerly ~~held~~ stole by Norm Coleman. On every ground, the judicial panel rejected Mr. Coleman’s claims of trial errors or constitutional violations, and decided that Mr. Franken’s election should be certified by the state as valid.

SC attorney general calls for investigation of governor 30 Jun 2009 South Carolina's attorney general is asking for an investigation into Gov. Mark Sanford's travels after he admitted seeing his mistress more times than previously disclosed. Attorney General Henry McMaster said Tuesday he has requested the State Law Enforcement Division to review all of Sanford's travel records to see if any laws have been broken.

Sanford tells AP he 'crossed lines' with other women 30 Jun 2009 South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford said Tuesday that he "crossed lines" with a handful of women other than his mistress -- but never had sex with them. The governor said he "never crossed the ultimate line" with anyone but Maria Belen Chapur, the Argentine at the center of a scandal that has derailed his once-promising political career. "This was a whole lot more than a simple affair, this was a love story," Sanford said.

EPA list shows dangerous coal ash sites found in 10 states 29 Jun 2009 The Environmental Protection Agency on Monday released a list of 44 coal-fired power plant waste sites in 10 states with a high hazard potential, including 12 sites in North Carolina, seven in Kentucky and a large storage pond in Pennsylvania. The list is the result of an investigation that the EPA ordered after the failure of a Tennessee Valley Authority coal ash pond in Kingston, Tenn., flooded more than 300 acres of land in December.

Boycott Kira Plastinina! Kira Plastinina, Take 2: Robertson Boulevard Shop Set to Reopen Today 18 Jun 2009 Not even bankruptcy can keep Kira Plastinina from her American dream -- the 17-year-old Russian designer, who infamously opened 12 US stores in quick succession last year, then closed them all seven months later, [burning all the workers by not paying them] is reopening two of her locations in LA. [See CLG's Russian Venture Capitalist Costs Workers Jobs and Income During Economic Meltdown 10 Dec 2009 Russian billionaire Sergei A. Plastinin has served himself a self-styled economic bailout by leaving the US with unpaid bills owed to construction firms and workers in New York, New Jersey, Connecticut and Pennsylvania, says Robert Carlton of TRC, Inc. in Harmony, Pennsylvania.]

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