CLG News

Congress begins investigating salmonella outbreak, egg recalls 23 Aug 2010 The House Energy and Commerce Committee requested documents and information Monday from Wright County Egg and Hillandale Farms of Iowa related to the recent salmonella outbreak and egg recalls, according to a news release from the office of the committee's chairman, Rep. Henry Waxman, D-California. Waxman and Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee Chairman Bart Stupak, D-Michigan, sent letters to the two Iowa-based egg producers asking for details on the contamination of their egg products, including when government officials and customers of the affected egg products were first notified of the contamination.

Group wants to end setting dogs on chained bears --'Bear baying' only allowed in South Carolina 23 Aug 2010 A declawed, defanged bear is chained to a stake as hunting dogs bark and snap, trying to force the bear to stand on its hind legs. The training exercise called bear baying is intended to make the bears easier to shoot in the wild and it's only allowed in South Carolina. Armed with new undercover video of four such events, the Humane Society of the United States is pressuring state officials to explicitly outlaw the practice, which the organization says is effectively banned in every other state.

US Drone strike kills 20 people in Pakistan 23 Aug 2010 Missiles fired from a U.S. pilotless drone aircraft killed 13 militants and 7 civilians in Pakistan's North Waziristan on Monday, Pakistani intelligence officials said. They said the missiles were fired at a militant hideout. Most of the militants killed were members of the Afghan Taliban. Four women and three children were among the dead, said the officials.

Michelle Obama, Laura Bush, at 9/11 event in Pa. 23 Aug 2010 Michelle Obama will join former first lady Laura Bush in ceremonies marking the ninth anniversary of the United Flight 93 crash [after Cheney's command to shoot it down] in Pennsylvania during the Sept. 11 attacks. Passengers aboard the flight are believed to have struggled with its hijackers before the jet crashed in a field near Shanksville, Pa., killing all aboard.

Conn. Town Considers Tracking Devices for Students 23 Aug 2010 In the tony town of New Canaan, students might someday get tracking tags along with their textbooks. No decisions have yet been made, but school officials plan to look into the possibility of adding radio frequency tags to student or staff ID cards, or place them on school property, like laptops, the New Canaan Advertiser reports. The company that makes the devices is SecureRF Corporation, based in Westport. It has applied for a $100,000 grant from the National Science Foundation to conduct science research and wants New Canaan High School to use the technology, the Advertiser reports.

Brad Pitt 'willing to look at the death penalty' in rant against BP 22 Aug 2010 Brad Pitt has waded into the Gulf oil spill controversy with an extraordinary veiled attack on BP. The Hollywood actor said he would consider the death penalty for those to blame for the ruptured well that gushed millions of gallons of oil into the ocean. Asked about the people responsible for the crisis, the 'Inglourious Basterds' star said: 'I was never for the death penalty before - I am willing to look at it again.'

U.S. Guantanamo judge says sees no torture of Canadian 21 Aug 2010 A U.S. military judge has ruled there is no credible evidence that a Canadian prisoner on trial in Guantanamo on murder and terrorism conspiracy charges was tortured into confessing after his capture in Afghanistan. In a written ruling released by the Pentagon on Friday, Army Colonel Patrick Parrish gave his arguments for rejecting a motion by lawyers of Omar Khadr requesting that confessions made by Khadr to U.S. interrogators should not used as evidence in his trial on grounds they were obtained through torture.

WikiLeaks' Assange Tells Aftonbladet He Never Forced Anyone to Have Sex 22 Aug 2010 Julian Assange, founder of the WikiLeaks website, says he has never had sex with anyone against their will, denying rape charges brought against him in Sweden, Aftonbladet reported today, citing an interview with Assange. "What I can say is that I have never, in Sweden or in any country, had sex with anyone in a way that hasn’t been based on voluntariness by both sides," Assange told the newspaper. Assange was arrested in absentia by a Swedish prosecutor on charges of rape and molestation. A second prosecutor later dropped the rape charges against him...

Floods Force Thousands From Homes in Pakistan 23 Aug 2010 Floodwaters surged deeper into areas of southern Pakistan on Sunday, forcing thousands more people to abandon their homes in haste and flee to higher ground. Attention has now focused on the province of Sindh as the floods that have torn through the length of the country for three weeks finally move toward the Arabian Sea... Nearly five million people have been displaced from the worst flooding ever recorded in Pakistan.

Iran unveils home-built combat drone 22 Aug 2010 Iran unveils its first domestically-manufactured long-range Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) in a ceremony marking Defense Industry Day in the country. The unveiling of the home-made drone, named Karrar, took place in the presence of Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and a number of defense officials. The Karrar UAV is capable of carrying a military payload of rockets to carry out bombing missions against ground targets.

Combat brigades in Iraq under different name --7 Advise and Assist Brigades, made up of troops from BCTs, still in Iraq 21 Aug 2010 As the final convoy of the Army’s 4th Stryker Brigade Combat Team, based at Fort Lewis, Wash., entered Kuwait early Thursday, a different Stryker brigade remained in Iraq. Soldiers from the 2nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team of the 25th Infantry Division are deployed in Iraq as members of an Advise and Assist Brigade, the Army’s designation for brigades selected to conduct security force assistance. So while the "last full U.S. combat brigade" have left Iraq, just under 50,000 soldiers from specially trained heavy, infantry and Stryker brigades will stay, as well as two combat aviation brigades.

'US might return to Iraq if asked' [LOL. Who, on God's green earth with the exception of Monsanto and Blackwater, would actually *ask* for USociopaths to occupy their nation?] 22 Aug 2010 The top US commander in Iraq says American troops would return to combat operations if the security situation worsens and if the Iraqi military asks. Declining to rule out his country's return to combat, he said, "If they ask us that they might want us to stay longer, we certainly would consider that," General Ray Odierno told CBS on Sunday. "That would obviously be a policy decision that would be made by the national security team and the president over time," he said.

Gulf claims chief says no-sue rule was his idea 22 Aug 2010 The new administrator BP wh*re for damage claims from Gulf oil spill victims said Sunday it was his idea, not BP's, to require that anyone who receives a final settlement from the $20 billion compensation fund give up the right to sue the oil giant. But Ken Feinberg told reporters that he has not yet decided whether the no-sue requirement will extend to other Feinberg also ran the government compensation fund created after the 9/11 attacks, and there was a similar no-sue provision.

Kelly pathologist demands inquest: Law chief to act after doctor insists 'I've got nothing to hide' 22 Aug 2010 The Attorney General, Dominic Grieve, will examine 'important new evidence' about the death of Dr David Kelly after the pathologist who examined his body called yesterday for a full inquest. Nicholas Hunt declared that a full and open hearing into the former weapons inspector's death is necessary to clear up once and for all whether he did commit suicide, as the Hutton Report ruled.

US delays missile-zapping laser test for 4th time 22 Aug 2010 An intercept test of a missile-destroying laser aboard a converted Boeing Co 747 aircraft has been postponed for a fourth time because of technical problems, the Pentagon's Missile Defense Agency said. The test involving the Airborne Laser Test Bed was to have taken place Sunday morning off the California coast. A new date for the experiment will be set for the coming week, the announcement said.

Egg salmonella cases spark lawsuits --To date, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says the outbreak has likely sickened 1,300. 23 Aug 2010 The companies at the center of a widening recall of eggs that may be contaminated with salmonella head into this week facing new lawsuits and more scrutiny over a reported history of legal and regulatory violations... One of the first lawsuits from the massive half-billion egg recall that began 10 days ago is in the works. [No worries. The High Wh*re Court will overturn the judgments, years down the road. That way, corporations are given the clear signal that they can keep killing, without any financial repercussions. Thanks, also, Obusha, for all your improvements to the food inspection laws and the implementation of new regulations... *not.*]

Facing Budget Gaps, Cities Sell Parking, Airports, Zoo --Hundreds more deals are being considered, analysts say. 23 Aug 2010 Cities and states across the nation are selling and leasing everything from airports to zoos--a fire sale that could help plug budget holes now but worsen their financial woes over the long run. About 35 deals now are in the pipeline in the U.S., according to research by Royal Bank of Scotland's RBS Global Banking & Markets... The deals are threatening credit ratings in some cases and affecting the quality and cost of basic utilities such as electricity and water. [Oh, great. Because the maggots running the US government forced their war-of-terror and multiple illegal wars on US taxpayers so Blackwater could get rich, BP sociopaths will be 'taking care' of polar bears at the zoos. The killers who own and operate the deadly salmonella-laden egg farms will be deciding whether or not to repair our roads. This is *nuts.* --LRP]

Four U.S. soldiers killed in Afghanistan 23 Aug 2010 Four U.S. soldiers were killed in Afghanistan in three incidents Sunday, raising the total casualties this month to 33 international troops, including 21 Americans, NATO officials said. Three of the soldiers were killed in 'insurgent' attacks in the south and east and one was killed by a homemade bomb in the south, NATO officials said.

Pentagon's $300 million air base expansions reflect long-term investment in Afghanistan 23 Aug 2010 Three $100 million air base expansions in southern and northern Afghanistan illustrate Pentagon plans to continue building multimillion-dollar facilities in that country to support increased U.S. military operations well into the future. Despite growing public unhappiness with the Afghan war -- and President Obama's pledge that he will begin withdrawing troops in July 2011 -- many of the installations being built in Afghanistan have extended time horizons. None of the three projects in southern and northern Afghanistan is expected to be completed until the latter half of 2011. All of them are for use by U.S. forces rather than their Afghan counterparts.

First US soldier killed in Iraq since withdrawal of combat troops 22 Aug 2010 An American soldier was killed by a rocket strike near Basra today, in the first US fatality since the last combat troops left Iraq. Details of the incident were not released, but Basra airport base, which is still home to about 4,000 US forces,.. Around 5,000 US troops will stay in the country until next year, focusing mainly on training Iraqi security forces, but the top US military commander in Iraq said today they could return to combat operations if 'needed.'

Anti-'Ground Zero mosque' protesters descend on downtown Park51 site 22 Aug 2010 Mosque hysteria reached fevered pitch Sunday as angry protesters opposed to building an Islamic center near Ground Zero squared off with supporters of the project. In mostly peaceful counter-demonstrations, hundreds braved the rain in Lower Manhattan to voice their position on the contentious project that has spiralled into a national political issue. Supporters of the proposed mosque two blocks from the Trade Center site said blocking it would be a victory for terrorism.

Toxic legacy of US assault on Fallujah 'worse than Hiroshima' --The shocking rates of infant mortality and cancer in Iraqi city raise new questions about battle By Patrick Cockburn 24 Jul 2010 Dramatic increases in infant mortality, cancer and leukaemia in the Iraqi city of Fallujah, which was bombarded by US Marines in 2004, exceed those reported by survivors of the atomic bombs that were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945, according to a new study. Iraqi doctors in Fallujah have complained since 2005 of being overwhelmed by the number of babies with serious birth defects... They said they were also seeing far more cancers than they did before the battle for Fallujah between US troops and insurgents.

Sweden clears WikiLeaks editor of rape 21 Aug 2010 Authorities in Sweden on Saturday withdrew a rape charge filed a day earlier against Julian Assange, the Australian-born founder of WikiLeaks, and canceled a warrant for his arrest. The move comes just ahead of the expected release of thousands more secret U.S. military documents by the online whistleblower group, causing its supporters to speculate that the charges of rape and molestation filed Friday were part of a smear campaign aimed at discrediting Assange and interfering with the release. A statement from Chief Prosecutor Eva Finné on the Swedish Prosecution Authority website said Finné "has come to the decision that Julian Assange is not suspected of rape" and the arrest warrant against him has been withdrawn.

Barak seeks to block aid ship to Gaza 22 Aug 2010 Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak has asked US and French officials to prevent the Lebanese aid ship Mariam from sailing to the besieged Gaza strip. In phone calls to US Secretary of State Hilary Clinton, US National Security Adviser James Jones, and French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner on Saturday, the Israeli defense minister asked them to stop the ship from setting sail.

Power protest injures 16 in Iraq 22 Aug 2010 At least 16 people have been injured as dozens of Iraqis in the southern city of Nasiriyah turned out in the streets protesting the shortage of power supplies. The protesters said the provincial government was not providing sufficient basic services, especially electricity, police spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Murtada al-Shahtur said.

Protesters demonstrate for, against 'Ground Zero' mosque 22 Aug 2010 Several hundred supporters and opponents of plans to build a mosque near the site of the September 11, 2001 attacks staged peaceful rival protests Sunday, some brandishing signs against Islam and others denouncing religious bigotry. Protesters from one side and the other began gathering in lower Manhattan under a fine rain at 10:00 am (1400 GMT), taking up positions about 100 meters and two streets away from each other, but also worlds apart.

Surge in Britons exported for trial --British courts have little power to challenge the warrants. 21 Aug 2010 The number of people in Britain seized under the controversial "no-evidence-needed" European Arrest Warrant rose by more than 50 per cent last year, figures obtained by The Sunday Telegraph show. In total, 1,032 people were detained and extradited by British police on the orders of European prosecutors in the 12 months to April, up from 683 in 2008-09. The Home Office expects a further 70 per cent rise, to 1,700 cases, next year.

Air Force plans to quadruple training airspace over Wyoming, Montana, Dakotas 22 Aug 2010 The U.S. Air Force issued a draft environmental impact statement on its plans to quadruple the airspace in which it can conduct training exercises with its B-1 and B-52 bombers stationed in the Dakotas. ...The expanded area would allow crews to operate closer to their bases as they practice bomb runs, defensive maneuvers and evasive actions that have been used in Iraq and Afghanistan, they have said.

Israel says Iranian reactor use 'totally unacceptable' 21 Aug 2010 Israel on Saturday denounced Iran's fueling up of its first nuclear power plant as "totally unacceptable" and called for more international pressure to force Tehran to cease any uranium enrichment. Israel, widely assumed to be the only Middle East country to have nuclear weapons, has said a nuclear-armed Iran would be a threat to its existence, raising concerns Israel could attack Iran's nuclear sites.

Reagan: Taliban 'moral equivalent of America's founding fathers' Posted by Lori Price 22 Aug 2010 'In 1982, Ronald Reagan dedicated the Space Shuttle Columbia to the resistance fighters [Taliban] in Afghanistan.' (Video) --Taliban still have Reagan's Stingers 26 Sep 2001 One of the most dangerous weapons Western pilots could face in Afghanistan is an anti-aircraft missile provided by the United States during the Reagan presidency. Some 1,000 Stingers were supplied to the mujahideen from 1986 onwards after Ronald Reagan overcame CIA objections that they were too dangerous to be given to the rebels.