Gates: 'No deadlines' on troop withdrawal --Afghanistan drawdown could take 2 to 3 years, defense secretary says 04 Dec 2009 The withdrawal of U.S. forces from Afghanistan, scheduled to begin in July 2011, will "probably" take two or three years, Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates said Thursday, although he added that "there are no deadlines in terms of when our troops will all be out." The Pentagon, meanwhile, quietly acknowledged slippage on the front end of the 30,000-troop deployment that President Obama authorized for the first half of 2010. [There is no deadline on when the troops will be out, but hopefully there *will* be one on when this Administration is out. And that will be November 2012. We need an actual progressive to run for president in 2012. --LRP]

Obama's speech on Afghanistan: A compendium of lies By Alex Lantier 03 Dec 2009 In his December 1 speech at West Point announcing the deployment of 30,000 more US troops to Afghanistan, President Barack Obama attempted to justify a major escalation of a deeply unpopular war on the basis of lies and distortions. That he had to resort to such falsifications reflects both the reactionary character of his policy and the fact that it is being imposed in violation of the popular will. To justify the escalation, Obama recycled the Bush administration’s myths about the "war on terror." He cynically presented the US as an altruistic power, forced into a global war for democracy by the terrorist attacks of 9/11. As he sought to frame US imperialist policy within the template of the "war on terror," however, his speech descended into utter incoherence. ['His speech descended into utter incoherence.' It began there. Then, it descended into deeper strata of incoherence.]

Hillary Clinton expects Nato Afghanistan troop pledges 04 Dec 2009 US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton says she is confident Nato countries will pledge extra troops to help efforts in Afghanistan. "The response has been positive," Mrs Clinton said as she headed to Brussels, where she is joining Nato talks. Nato officials said on Thursday that more than 20 countries plan to send more troops following a US decision to deploy an extra 30,000 in Afghanistan. But several European nations have been reluctant to commit more forces.

C.I.A. Is Expanding Drone Assaults Inside Pakistan [So is Blackwater.] 04 Dec 2009 The White House has authorized an expansion of the C.I.A.’s [killer] drone program in Pakistan’s tribal areas, officials said this week, to parallel the president’s decision, announced Tuesday, to send 30,000 more troops to Afghanistan. American officials are talking with Pakistan about the possibility of striking in Baluchistan for the first time... The drone program has enjoyed bipartisan support in Congress and was escalated by the Obama administration in January. More C.I.A. drone attacks have been conducted under President Obama than under President [sic] George W. Bush. The political consensus in support of the drone program, its antiseptic, high-tech appeal and its secrecy have obscured just how radical it is. For the first time in history, a civilian intelligence agency is using robots to carry out a military mission, selecting people for killing in a country where the United States is not officially at war.

Blackwater founder says he aided secret programs --CIA asset Erik Prince carried out secret missions as recently as two months ago 03 Dec 2009 The founder of Blackwater Worldwide acknowledged in an interview published Wednesday that he had helped the CIA with secret programs targeting top al-Qaeda leaders, a role he says was intended to give the agency "unattributable capability" in sensitive missions. Erik Prince, owner of the military contractor now known as Xe Services, told Vanity Fair magazine that he performed numerous "very risky missions" for the spy agency, some of which were improperly exposed in leaks to the news media. The magazine... said the former Navy SEAL had served a dual role for the CIA as both a contractor and an "asset," or spy, who carried out secret missions as recently as two months ago, when the Obama administration terminated his contract.

'It was designed to make punishment inevitable.' Military tribunals quietly resume at Guantanamo Bay 04 Dec 2009 Military tribunals at Guantanamo Bay, which President Obama suspended amid much fanfare immediately after taking office, quietly resumed this week with new signs of the legal complexities of the cases and the challenges for prosecutors. The military court had to grapple with determining where a defendant, Ibrahim Ahmed Mahmoud al Qosi -- and by extension other detainees prisoners -- stand under the new military commissions law enacted in October to provide more due process for detainees. Under the old system, Qosi and other detainees were called "unlawful enemy combatants," but the new law refers to them as "alien unprivileged enemy belligerents," a moniker that military prosecutors said is more in line with the Geneva Conventions. [During the Bush regime, detainees were called "unlawful enemy combatants." Under Obama, the law refers to them as "alien unprivileged enemy belligerents." Now, that's change we can believe in!]

Gitmo judge denies request to expand case 03 Dec 2009 A judge in Guantanamo Bay's war crimes court has denied a request by military prosecutors to expand their case against a Sudanese detainee prisoner accused of being a bodyguard for Osama bin Laden. Prosecutors wanted more specifications to be added to charges of conspiracy and providing support for terrorism against Ibrahim Ahmed Mahmoud al Qosi, who was one of the first prisoners brought to Guantanamo in 2002.

Hoon 'banned armed forces from preparing for Iraq war' --Ministers wanted public kept in dark over likelihood of invasion, Lord Boyce says 04 Dec 2009 Geoff Hoon held back military preparations for the Iraq invasion when he was Defence Secretary, because he wanted to keep the plans secret from the public, his armed forces chief has revealed. Admiral Lord Boyce, the former Chief of the Defence Staff, said that he was blocked from ordering equipment and mobilising troops for several months in the run-up to the Iraq war. Instead, he was limited to top secret "high-level" planning within the Ministry of Defence, meaning he was left with "some very short timelines" in which to prepare troops for the invasion.

US 'did not believe Britain would refuse to send forces to Iraq' --Former defence chief tells Iraq inquiry that US generals believed Britain would commit troops even if there were no attempts to solve the crisis through the UN 03 Dec 2009 The US believed that Britain would take an active part in the Iraq war even if there were no attempts to solve the crisis through the UN, the inquiry into the conflict heard today. During the first evidence so far from senior military and defence ministry figures, Admiral Lord Boyce, the chief of the defence staff from 2001 to 2003, told the inquiry panel that US generals and America's then-defence secretary [war criminal], Donald Rumsfeld, seemingly refused to countenance the possibility that Britain would not commit troops.

Clare Short's post Iraq war staff 'told to do nothing' 03 Dec 2009 UK development experts were told to sit in their tents and "not do anything" in the aftermath of the Iraq war, former defence chief Lord Boyce has claimed. He told the Iraq inquiry soldiers did much of the reconstruction, with the international development department "particularly unco-operative". They were not sure the Iraqis "were poor enough to deserve aid", he said. International Development Secretary Clare Short quit in protest at the lack of UN involvement in Iraq.

Iraq violence kills eight, including senior anti-terror cop 03 Dec 2009 Attacks in Iraq on Thursday killed eight people, including a senior anti-terror officer who led a key fightback against 'Al-Qaeda' in his province, police said. Lieutenant Colonel Ahmed al-Fahel, the head of the Saleheddin province anti-terror squad, and at least three of his bodyguards were among five people killed by a suicide bomber in Tikrit.

U.S. falls short in bid to gain support for Israel's settlement freeze 12 Dec 2009 The United States fell short in its efforts to gain a declaration of international support for Israel's temporary settlement construction freeze. The Americans were hoping that its partners in the Quartet - Russia, the European Union and the United Nations - would agree to such a declaration, but Moscow expressed a series of reservations and foiled Washington's effort.

Homeland Security chief warns of threat from al-Qaeda sympathizers in U.S. 03 Dec 2009 Al-Qaeda [al-CIAduh] followers are inside the United States and would like to attack targets here and in other countries, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano said Wednesday night. The secretary's comments... came one day after President Bush Obama, in announcing his decision to send 30,000 additional U.S. troops to Afghanistan, warned that extremists have been "sent here from the border region of Afghanistan and Pakistan to commit more acts of terror." "Home-based terrorism is here. And like violent extremism abroad, it will be part of the threat picture that we must now confront," Napolitano, addressing the American Israel Friendship League in New York, said. "Individuals sympathetic to al-Qaeda and its affiliates, as well as those inspired by the group's ideology, are present in the U.S., and would like to attack the homeland or plot overseas attacks."

U.S. likely to miss cargo deadline --Napolitano says officials will seek more time for screening systems 03 Dec 2009 The Department of Homeland Security is likely to miss a 2012 deadline to screen all cargo entering the United States by ship unless Congress devotes enormous new resources to the assignment, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano told senators Wednesday. Concerns were raised after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks that a nuclear device or other weapon of mass destruction could be smuggled into the country by sea. In response, Congress ordered that all cargo be screened before being placed on U.S.-bound ships.

Yahoo, Verizon: Our Spy Capabilities Would 'Shock', 'Confuse' Consumers By Kim Zetter 01 Dec 2009 Want to know how much phone companies and internet service providers charge to funnel your private communications or records to U.S. law enforcement and spy agencies? That’s the question muckraker and Indiana University graduate student Christopher Soghoian asked all agencies within the Department of Justice, under a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request filed a few months ago. But before the agencies could provide the data, Verizon and Yahoo intervened and filed an objection on grounds that, among other things, they would be ridiculed and publicly shamed were their surveillance price sheets made public. Yahoo writes in its 12-page objection letter, that if its pricing information were disclosed to Soghoian, he would use it "to 'shame' Yahoo! and other companies -- and to 'shock' their customers."

Secret Service agents could be fired for White House breach --3 agents placed on administrative leave 03 Dec 2009 Secret Service chief Mark Sullivan told a Congressional committee Thursday morning that the agents who admitted Tareq and Michaele Salahi through a White House checkpoint at last week's state dinner have been placed on administrative leave and could lose their jobs. Sullivan's testimony came during a hearing of the House Homeland Security Committee, at which he took full responsibility for the security failure. He said the agents face a range of disciplinary actions, including the possibility of being fired.

Nearly 800 in California hospitalized with H1N1 flu --It's the largest one-week total since flu cases began escalating this fall, state officials say. 04 Dec 2009 Nearly 800 people in California were hospitalized with the H1N1 flu last week, the largest one-week number of hospitalizations since flu cases began escalating this fall, state officials said Thursday. The number indicates that H1N1 flu, also known as swine flu, continues to be widespread throughout California and remains a significant threat to public health. Health experts have said there could be a second wave of cases in the coming months.

Third inmate dies of swine flu in Calif. prisons 03 Dec 2009 Health officials say a central California inmate who died last week was the prison system's third death from swine flu. The first two inmates died in mid-November at prisons in central and Southern California. The third inmate died Nov. 27. The receiver in charge of prison medical care says tests show the H1N1 virus killed all three inmates.

Palin: Obama birth certificate 'a fair question' 03 Dec 2009 Speaking to the conservative talker Rusty Humphries today, Sarah Palin left the door open to speculation about President Obama's birth certificate. "Would you make the birth certificate an issue if you ran?" she was asked. "I think the public rightfully is still making it an issue. I don't have a problem with that. I don't know if I would have to bother to make it an issue, because I think that members of the electorate still want answers," she replied. "Do you think it's a fair question to be looking at?" Humphries persisted. "I think it's a fair question, just like I think past association and past voting records -- all of that is fair game," Palin said.

GOP Senator blocks TSA confirmation over union dispute 03 Dec 2009 The nation's 50,000 airport baggage screeners - upgraded to "federal transportation officers" under the Bush administration - could get another title under the Obama administration: Union members. But not without a fight. Sen. Jim DeMint, R-Nuts-South Carolina, is blocking the confirmation of Erroll Southers to head the Transportation Security Administration, saying Southers would permit screeners to seek full union representation, a move DeMint says would weaken the effectiveness of the agency.

Watchdog Group Says Ties to Health Insurance Companies Make Sen. Joe Lieberman An 'Insurance Puppet' --Online advertising campaign in Connecticut and Washington, D.C. asks if health insurers are pulling the strings 02 Dec 2009 Public Campaign Action Fund, a national campaign finance watchdog group, named Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-Conn. Israel) its second "Insurance Puppet" in an online advertising campaign targeting Connecticut and Washington, D.C. "Senator Lieberman has received $448,066 in campaign contributions from the health insurance industry during his time in Washington," said David Donnelly, Public Campaign Action Fund's national campaigns director. "With so much money from the industry filling his campaign coffers, it's not surprising that Lieberman has spent the last year parroting any and all insurance industry talking points he could find."

£850bn: official cost of the bank bailout (and still RBS is demanding another £1.5bn in bonuses) 04 Dec 2009 Government support for Britain's banks has reached a staggering £850bn and the eventual cost to taxpayers will not be known for years, the public spending watchdog says today. The National Audit Office (NAO) revealed that £107m will be paid to City advisers called in to work on the rescue because the Treasury was too "stretched" to cope with the sudden financial crisis which broke in the autumn of last year. [See: Britain faces return to Victorian levels of poverty 30 Nov 2009.]

Bernanke defends Fed's leadership before Senate 03 Dec 2009 Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke on Thursday defended his record at the helm of the U.S. central bank before a skeptical Senate that is considering stripping the institution of its regulatory powers. At a hearing on his nomination for a second term as Fed chief, Bernanke admitted to some lapses in oversight but said maintaining hands-on expertise on bank supervision was crucial to the Fed's role as a custodian of financial stability. [I was hoping for a treason trial.]

Obama tells business leaders they are key to job growth 03 Dec 2009 President Obama kicked off a much-anticipated jobs summit Thursday, telling 130 business leaders and others summoned to the White House for the afternoon-long session that private business, not government, holds the key to future job growth. "Ultimately, true economic recovery is only going to come from the private sector," Obama said. Obama is hosting the forum amid increasing calls from lawmakers of his own party to develop a plan to combat the nation's highest unemployment rate in 26 years.

House votes to keep current estate tax rate 04 Dec 2009 The House approved a measure Thursday that would make the current estate tax rate permanent, setting it at 45 percent for individual estates worth more than $3.5 million. The bill passed 225 to 200, with 26 Democrats joining all Republicans present in voting no. If Congress does not act, the estate tax will disappear in 2010, then return in 2011 under the higher rates -- 55 percent and a $1 million exemption -- that existed before President [sic] George W. Bush took office.

Judge ends Enron shareholder lawsuit against banks 03 Dec 2009 Exactly eight years after Enron Corp filed for bankruptcy protection, a federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit by investors against banks they accused of helping the energy company commit fraud. U.S. Wednesday's dismissal by U.S. District Judge Melinda Harmon in Houston federal court came after Enron investors had already obtained $7.2 billion of settlements, a record for U.S. class-action litigation according to Cornerstone Research.

Copenhagen targets not tough enough, says Al Gore 04 Dec 2009 Even if a deal is reached at the UN climate change talks in Copenhagen next week it will only be the first step towards the far more radical cuts that are needed in global carbon emissions, Al Gore, the former US Vice-President, told The Times last night. Mr Gore said that to avoid the worst ravages of climate change world leaders would have to come together again to set more drastic reductions than those now planned.

Copenhagen climate change talks must fail, says top scientist --World's leading climate change expert says summit talks so flawed that deal would be a disaster 02 Dec 2009 The scientist who convinced the world to take notice of the looming danger of global warming says it would be better for the planet and for future generations if next week's Copenhagen climate change summit ended in collapse. In an interview with the Guardian, James Hansen, the world's pre-eminent climate scientist, said any agreement likely to emerge from the negotiations would be so deeply flawed that it would be better to start again from scratch. "I would rather it not happen if people accept that as being the right track because it's a disaster track," said Hansen, who heads the Nasa Goddard Institute for Space Studies in New York.

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Previous lead stories: President Obama's Secret: Only 100 al Qaeda Now in Afghanistan --With New Surge, One Thousand U.S. Soldiers and $300 Million for Every One al Qaeda Fighter 02 Dec 2009 As he justified sending 30,000 more troops to Afghanistan at a cost of $30 billion a year, President Barack Obama's description Tuesday of the al Qaeda "cancer" in that country left out one key fact: U.S. intelligence officials have concluded there are only about 100 al Qaeda [al-CIAduh] fighters in the entire country. A senior U.S. intelligence official told ABCNews.com the approximate estimate of 100 al Qaeda members left in Afghanistan reflects the conclusion of American intelligence agencies and the Defense Department. The relatively small number was part of the intelligence passed on to the White House as President Obama conducted his deliberations. [The *real* cancer is Blackwater and KBR.]

Breaking: Fort Hood Suspect Faces 32 More Charges --Charges Added to 13 Counts of Attempted Premeditated Murder Already Filed Against Hasan 02 Dec 2009 The Army has charged the Fort Hood shooting suspect with 32 counts of attempted premeditated murder. These charges are added to the 13 premeditated murder charges filed against Maj. Nidal Hasan in the wake of the Nov. 5 shooting massacre at Fort Hood. The Army said the attempted murder charges filed Tuesday were related to the 30 soldiers and two civilian police officers injured in the shooting at a soldier processing center on the central Texas post.

President Obama's Secret: Only 100 al Qaeda Now in Afghanistan --With New Surge, One Thousand U.S. Soldiers and $300 Million for Every One al Qaeda Fighter 02 Dec 2009 As he justified sending 30,000 more troops to Afghanistan at a cost of $30 billion a year, President Barack Obama's description Tuesday of the al Qaeda "cancer" in that country left out one key fact: U.S. intelligence officials have concluded there are only about 100 al Qaeda [al-CIAduh] fighters in the entire country. A senior U.S. intelligence official told ABCNews.com the approximate estimate of 100 al Qaeda members left in Afghanistan reflects the conclusion of American intelligence agencies and the Defense Department. The relatively small number was part of the intelligence passed on to the White House as President Obama conducted his deliberations. [The *real* cancer is Blackwater and KBR.]

Taliban vow to resist US surge in Afghanistan 02 Dec 2009 The Taliban vows to boost attacks against the US forces in Afghanistan, following Barack Obama's pledge to deploy thousands more troops to the war-torn country. Taliban spokesman Yousuf Ahamdi said in a statement on Wednesday that such moves would "provoke stronger resistance." "Obama will witness lots of coffins heading to America from Afghanistan," AFP quoted Ahamdi as saying. The statement also emphasized that the Americans would face the same fate as the Soviet troops when they retreated in defeat in the 1980s. "This is a colonizing strategy which is securing the colonizing interests of American investors, and it shows that America has dirty plans not only for Afghanistan but for the region," the statement read. [You know you're in trouble when... you realize that the Taliban makes much more sense than the US government. --LRP]

Out-Bushing Bush: US to increase troops in Afghanistan by 40% 02 Dec 2009 The US president has decided to raise the number of American troops in Afghanistan by some 40 percent, a move that would see Washington deploy another 30,000 soldiers. In a live televised speech at the US Military Academy at West Point, New York on Tuesday, Barack Obama said the troops would be deployed in the first part of 2010. "As commander in chief, I have determined that it is in our vital national interest to send an additional 30,000 US troops to Afghanistan," he told the cadets.

President Obama orders 30,000 troops to Afghanistan in major escalation of war 02 Dec 2009 President Barack Obama has ordered a major but temporary escalation of the war in Afghanistan, sending an additional 30,000 US troops within six months while pledging to a sceptical American public that he would begin bringing forces home in July 2011... The troop buildup will begin almost immediately, with 9,000 US marines expected to be in place by Christmas in Helmand for an offensive alongside British forces against Taliban strongholds, according to officials on both sides of the Atlantic.

NATO pledges 5,000 more troops to Afghanistan 02 Dec 2009 NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen says the alliance will send at least 5,000 more troops to fight militancy in Afghanistan. On Wednesday, Rasmussen told reporters in Brussels that the NATO member states were ready to throw their support behind US President Barack Obama's new Afghan strategy.

Canada's area of Afghan operations expands 02 Dec 2009 A river runs through it. So do the Taliban. And the rough, dust-blown Arghandab district north of Kandahar city now belongs to Canada. It's a gift from NATO, which has extended Ottawa's area of operations and put it in military command of some 1,600 U.S. and Afghan troops. The forces, already in the country, will have Canada at the helm in the new year and may be reinforced by another contingent.

Rudd to send more police and aid workers 02 Dec 2009 Australia will send more police trainers and aid workers to Afghanistan to help with civilian reconstruction, a core pillar of Barack Obama's new military strategy. Kevin Rudd, who met the President in Washington on Monday, ruled out sending more troops and did not give a number of police and aid workers.

Hoyer Says Bush Officials 'Turned Tail' in Afghanistan 01 Dec 2009 As President Barack Obama prepared to deliver a major speech on Afghanistan, House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) lashed out at the Bush regime’s handling of the country, accusing Bush officials of prematurely abandoning the effort there. "Frankly, they turned tail," Hoyer told reporters. "That’s pretty tough language, but I get angry when I hear Vice President [sic] Cheney talking about a job that they started but didn’t finish, and was worse in 2008 in December than it was six years previous, with a resurgent Taliban and a resurgent al Qaeda and a very difficult situation in Pakistan."

Guantanamo Detainee Seeks Dismissal of Charges, Cites Torture 01 Dec 2009 Lawyers for the first detainee from Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, to face prosecution in the U.S. asked a federal judge on Tuesday to dismiss the criminal charges against him, saying his lengthy detention overseas and the use of interrogation techniques "amounting to torture" violated his constitutional rights. In a motion Tuesday, lawyers for Ahmed Ghailani said the U.S. government made a "conscious and deliberate" decision to house him for two years at secret Central Intelligence Agency "black sites" and subject him to so-called "enhanced interrogation techniques" in an effort to make him an intelligence asset, rather than bring him to the U.S. in a timely manner to face trial.

Officials: Iraq likely to postpone election 02 Dec 2009 Iraq's scheduled January 'elections' may be postponed by more than a month because of a dispute over an election law, officials said Wednesday, a delay that could threaten the planned U.S. withdrawal of combat troops. It is unclear what a long delay would mean for the United States, which is scheduled to end combat missions in August. Former Prime Minister Ayad Allawi, who heads a small bloc in parliament, said a preliminary proposal from various political factions calls for moving the election to Feb. 27, but it also could be further pushed to March 1.

US military: airstrike kills 1 in northeast Iraq 02 Dec 2009 The U.S. military says an American airstrike killed one gunman after a joint U.S.-Iraqi patrol was attacked northeast of Baghdad. The military says five gunmen attacked the patrol Wednesday as it was searching a building in the town of Sadiyah in the volatile Diyala province.

US Dept of Defense - Iraqi Police Arrest 8 Terror Suspects 02 Dec 2009 Iraqi police arrested eight terrorism suspects today... military officials in Iraq reported. A Salahuddin provincial police unit and U.S. advisors searched two buildings in a rural area north of Baghdad for a suspected al-Qaida [al-CIAduh] in Iraq member coordinating suicide bombings in the region. Based on preliminary questioning and evidence discovered, police arrested four criminal suspects. In a separate operation near Sadiyah, northwest of Baghdad, Iraqi police arrested four suspected al-Qaida in Iraq members.

Iraq sees alarming rise in cancers, deformed babies --The use of depleted uranium in U.S. and coalition weaponry in the 1991 war and the 2003 Iraq invasion is well documented. 01 Dec 2009 ...The spotlight is on a stealth killer likely to stalk Iraqis for years to come. Incidences of cancer, deformed babies and other health problems have risen sharply, Iraqi officials say, and many suspect contamination from weapons used in years of war and accompanying unchecked pollution [depleted uranium] as a cause. "We have seen new kinds of cancer that were not recorded in Iraq before war in 2003 [when the US arrived], types of fibrous (soft tissue) cancer and bone cancer. These refer clearly to radiation as a cause," said Jawad al-Ali, an oncologist in Iraq's second city of Basra.

'In terms of size and potential, the Basra region remains one of the most attractive areas of future growth for the international oil industry.' Oil Companies Look to the Future in Iraq 01 Dec 2009 More than six and a half years after the United States-led invasion here that many believed was about oil, the major oil companies are finally gaining access to Iraq’s petroleum reserves. The companies seem to have calculated that it is worth their while to accept deals with limited profit opportunities now, in order to cash in on more lucrative development deals in the future, oil industry analysts say. [Will Iraq's (real) insurgency allow this corporaterrorism to continue?]

Blackwater founder cutting ties with company 02 Dec 2009 The man who built Blackwater USA into one of the world's most respected and reviled defense contractors will no longer be involved in the company's operations. A spokeswoman for the company, now called Xe, said Wednesday that Erik Prince will relinquish involvement in its day-to-day operations and give up some of his ownership rights. Prince had appointed a new president and chief operating officer in a management shake-up earlier this year.

Erik, Prince Of Spies: CIA Targeted Al Q in Germany Without Telling Germany by Marc Ambinder 02 Dec 2009 In a new Vanity Fair article, Blackwater CEO Erik Prince... offers details on the targeted assassination program that CIA Director Leon Panetta terminated earlier this year... According to Prince, the Blackwater team traveled to Germany, surveilled Al Qaeda financier Mamoun Darkazanli, and prepared to assassinate him. The CIA did not inform its own station chief that the team was in the country, and they did not inform the host country. What Prince describes is a serious violation of NATO intelligence sharing arrangements -- and certainly provides an example of why the CIA's association with Blackwater became so controversial within the agency... As recently as two months ago, Prince and a team were overseeing intelligence missions in one of the Axis of Evil countries -- Iran, probably -- from a location inside the United States.

Iran releases five British yachtsmen 02 Dec 2009 Iran has released five British nationals who were detained by Iranian naval forces after their yacht strayed into southern Persian Gulf waters. "Five Britons, who have been detained after their illegal entrance into the waters of the Islamic Republic near Siri island, were freed a few hours ago," Iran's Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) said on Wednesday.

Minot Missile wing now in Global Strike Command 02 Dec 2009 The men and women of the 91st Missile Wing at Minot Air Force Base became part of Air Force Global Strike Command Tuesday. Global Strike Command is the Air Force's newest major command and will oversee all of its nuclear forces. The nuclear-capable assets the intercontinental ballistic missiles of Air Force Space Command come under Global Strike Command as of Tuesday.

High court makes "historic" terrorism evidence ruling --The decision is another judicial defeat for ministers over security measures, beefed up after the September 11 attacks. 01 Dec 2009 London's High Court ruled against the British government on Tuesday over the use of secret evidence to deny terrorism suspects bail in what campaigners called an "historic" judgement. The government expressed disappointment at the "unhelpful" verdict, handed down over the case brought by two men suspected of terrorism-related activities... The court ruled that a person could not be denied bail solely on the basis of secret evidence.

Feds 'Pinged' Sprint GPS Data 8 Million Times Over a Year By Kim Zitter 01 Dec 2009 Sprint Nextel provided law enforcement agencies with customer location data more than 8 million times between September 2008 and October 2009, according to a company manager who disclosed the statistic at a non-public interception and wiretapping conference in October. The manager also revealed the existence of a previously undisclosed web portal that Sprint provides law enforcement to conduct automated "pings" to track users. Through the website, authorized agents can type in a mobile phone number and obtain global positioning system (GPS) coordinates of the phone.

Heads up! HHS lunatics want billion$ for US pharmaterrorists to make new vaccines using dog cells and genetically engineered E.Coli. U.S. health-threat response to be reviewed 02 Dec 2009 Citing the balky swine flu vaccination campaign and other shortcomings in the nation's medical defenses, a top Obama administration official has announced a major review of the government's efforts to develop new protections against pandemics, bioterrorism and other health threats. "Today, we face a wider range of public health threats than ever before in our history," Sebelius said. "It could be [Fort Detrick] anthrax delivered in an envelope. It could be a [Blackwater] dirty bomb set off in a subway car. It could be a new [Baxter] strain of flu that our bodies have no immunity to." [See: Baxter working on vaccine to stop swine flu, though admitted sending live pandemic flu viruses to subcontractor By Lori Price 26 Apr 2009. See: Killer flu recreated in the lab 07 Oct 2004.]

New US vaccine production techniques: Genetically modified insect cells, E. coli, caterpillar ovaries 24 Nov 2009 Spurred by $487 million in federal funding, a sprawling new vaccine factory is opening in North Carolina Tuesday that will produce shots using dog cells instead of chicken eggs. A Connecticut biotech company has also applied to sell a vaccine employing a radically different approach involving a genetically engineered virus infecting insect cells... Baxter International won approval last month to sell an H1N1 vaccine in Europe that uses a decades-old line of African green monkey kidney cells, and it is working on a vaccine for the United States. Protein Sciences of Meriden, Conn., has applied to the FDA for approval to sell a vaccine made by genetically engineering flu genes into a worm virus, which then infects cells from caterpillar ovaries to produce the necessary proteins to make vaccine. VaxInnate of Cranbury, N.J., for example, produced an experimental H1N1 vaccine using genetically engineered E.coli bacteria, and Vical of San Diego just won a $1.25 million contract from the Navy to develop an H1N1 vaccine that involves injecting DNA sequences from the virus directly into people.

The reality behind the swine flu conspiracy By Irina Galushko 26 Nov 2009 ...[T]he WHO may find itself coughing up explanations, as more and more scientists and health researchers, and even journalists, are starting to question the organization’s motives behind raising the alert so quickly. According to the Danish Daily Information newspaper, the WHO and pharmaceutical companies are suffering from the profit bug. Or, to put it simply, the chief health care organization in the world has teamed up with the drug makers to create a phantom monster -- and to rake in cash by selling a remedy for it.

Conn. AG probes flu drug prices 01 Dec 2009 Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal has begun asking major pharmacies for details about their Tamiflu pricing policies as part of an investigation into complaints of erratic and excessive prices for the flu drug. Blumenthal has asked CVS Caremark Corporation, Rite Aid Corporation and Walgreen Co., for immediate information, including details about their current prices and prices pre-dating the current H1N1 flu pandemic and ensuing Tamiflu shortage.

Seattle police shoot man suspected of killing police officers --Suspect shot and killed days after four officers died in execution-style ambush 01 Dec 2009 A lone policeman on routine patrol today shot and killed an accused child rapist at the centre of a huge manhunt after the murder of four other police officers in a Seattle-area cafe. Maurice Clemmons, 37, managed to elude the police for two days as law enforcement officials laid siege to an empty house and trawled the Seattle area. He was eventually confronted by an officer patrolling a working-class district of the city who spotted a stolen car in the early hours of Tuesday morning.

$24 million settlement reached over disabled parking permits --Texas settles class action lawsuit filed against Department of Transportation 02 Dec 2009 The State of Texas will pay $24 million to settle a class action lawsuit filed against the Department of Transportation more than a dozen years ago claiming that the $5 fee the state charged for disabled parking placards violated federal law. The settlement represents one of the largest -- if not the largest -- single checks the state has written to settle a legal claim, according to the comptroller's office.

Britain faces return to Victorian levels of poverty 30 Nov 2009 Labour's strategy for tackling poverty has reached the end of the road and Britain risks a return to Victorian levels of inequality, according to a major two-year study seen by The Independent.

FDIC: Quarter of U.S. households have limited or no access to banks 02 Dec 2009 One-quarter of American households -- about 60 million people -- have limited or no access to banks or other traditional financial services, with low-income and black families among the hardest hit, according to a government report released Wednesday. The report [a Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. survey] found that nearly 22 percent of black households and 71 percent of families earning less than $30,000 do not use banks.

New York state lawmakers vote against gay marriage 02 Dec 2009 New York state lawmakers voted against legalizing gay marriage on Wednesday, dashing hopes of gay rights activists that it would become the sixth U.S. state to allow same-sex couples to wed. The New York state senate voted down the legislation 38 votes to 24. Gov. David Paterson, a Democrat who supports gay marriage, had said he would sign the bill into law if it were passed.

America's Hottest Species: New Report Highlights America's 10 Most Global-warming Endangered Species as Decision-makers Gather in Copenhagen 01 Dec 2009 America’s top 10 endangered wildlife, birds, fish, and plants affected by global warming are highlighted in a new report released today by the Endangered Species Coalition. The report, America's Hottest Species, demonstrates ways that our changing climate is increasing the risk of extinction for 11 species on the brink of disappearing forever. "Global warming is like a bulldozer shoving species, already on the brink of extinction, perilously closer to the edge of existence," said Leda Huta, executive director of the Endangered Species Coalition.

Quick action! Help Polar Bears Protect their Home--Support Critical Habitat (NWF) 02 Dec 2009 The federal government just proposed designating more than 200,000 square miles of sea, ice and land as critical polar bear habitat. This could give polar bears a fighting chance against the global warming that's pushing this iconic species towards extinction. But, the U.S. Department of the Interior may allow more oil and gas drilling to occur in the same area, disturbing the habitats that polar bears need to raise their young, and increasing the risks of devastating oil spills. Send the message to the Department of the Interior to make sure they keep their commitment to protect polar bears!

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Previous lead stories: Chilcot inquiry hears Bush began Iraq war drumbeat three days after 9/11 --Blair foreign policy adviser David Manning says US president [sic] talked up possible links between Saddam and al-Qaida 30 Nov 2009 George Bush tried to make a connection between Iraq and 'al-Qaida' in a conversation with Tony Blair three days after the 9/11 attacks, according to Blair's foreign policy adviser of the time. Sir David Manning told the official inquiry into the war that Bush, speaking to Blair by phone on 14 September 2001, "said that he thought there might be evidence that there was some connection between Saddam Hussein and Osama bin Laden and al-Qaida."The prime minister's response to this was that the evidence would have to be very compelling indeed to justify taking any action against Iraq," Manning said. Blair followed up the conversation with a letter stressing the need to focus on the situation in Afghanistan, where the attacks originated. But by the time Blair went to visit Bush at his ranch in Crawford, Texas, in April 2002 the British were "very conscious that Iraq would be on the agenda", Manning said.

Breaking: Obomba holiday weekend bad news PentaPost leak: Troop deployment to begin shortly after Obama's war strategy speech Saturday 28 Nov 2009 3:56 PM [LOL!] Days after President Obama outlines his new war 'strategy' in a speech Tuesday, as many as 9,000 Marines will begin deploying to southern Afghanistan to renew an assault on a Taliban stronghold that stalled earlier this year amid a troop shortage and political pressure from the Afghan government, senior U.S. officials said. The extra Marines -- the first to move into the country as part of Obama's escalation of the Bush's eight-year-old war -- will double the size of the U.S. force in the southern province of Helmand and provide a critical test for Afghan President Hamid Karzai's struggling government and Gen. Stanley A. McChrystal's counterinsurgency strategy. The Marines will quickly be followed by about 1,000 U.S. Army trainers, who will deploy as early as February to speed the growth of the Afghan National Army and police force, military officials said. The revised plan, which faces a war-weary and increasingly skeptical American public, is expected to call for 30,000-35,000 new troops in a phased deployment over the next 12 to 18 months.

Black sites we can believe in: US Secret Prison Still Operating On Bagram Air Base --While two of the prisoners were captured before the Obama administration took office, one was captured in June of this year. 29 Nov 2009 An American military detention camp in Afghanistan is still secretly holding inmates for sometimes weeks at a time and without access to the International Committee of the Red Cross, according to human rights researchers and former detainees held at the site on the Bagram Air Base. The site, known to detainees prisoners as the black jail, consists of individual windowless concrete cells, each illuminated by a single light bulb glowing 24 hours a day. In interviews, former prisoners said that their only human contact was at twice-daily interrogation sessions... While Mr. Obama signed an order to eliminate so-called black sites run by the Central Intelligence Agency in January, that order did not apply to this jail, which is run by military Special Operations forces. Military officials said as recently as this summer that the Afghanistan jail and another like it at the Balad Air Base in Iraq were being used to interrogate high-value detainees. And officials said recently that there were no plans to close the jails.

Canada bill clears way to sue foreign torturers 26 Nov 2009 An opposition lawmaker unveiled Thursday proposed legislation that would allow victims of torture to sue the perpetrators, including foreign states and officials, in Canadian courts. "Our present legislation criminalizes torture, war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide -- the most heinous acts known to humankind," said opposition Liberal MP and former justice minister Irwin Cotler. "But Canadian law does not allow a civil remedy for the victims of such horrific acts. This legislation will: address the evil of such international crimes; target the impunity of those states and officials that perpetrate these crimes; remove the state immunity that operates to shield the perpetrators of such crimes; and finally allow Canadian victims to secure justice."

'Gatherings that may disturb the public order must not take place.' Denmark approves new police powers ahead of Copenhagen --Controversial legislation gives police sweeping powers of 'pre-emptive' arrest and extends custodial sentences for acts of civil disobedience 27 Nov 2009 The Danish parliament today passed legislation which will give police sweeping powers of "pre-emptive" arrest and extend custodial sentences for acts of civil disobedience. The "deeply worrying" law comes ahead of the UN climate talks which start on 7 December and are expected to attract thousands of activists from next week. Under the new powers, Danish police will be able to detain people for up to 12 hours whom they suspect might break the law in the near future. Protesters could also be jailed for 40 days under the hurriedly drafted legislation dubbed by activists as the "turmoil and riot" law. The Danish ministry of justice said that the new powers of "pre-emptive" detention would increase from 6 to 12 hours and apply to international activists... The Danish police also separately issued a statement in August applying new rules and regulations for protests at the climate conference, warning that "gatherings that may disturb the public order must not take place".

Wisconsin health officers can order guards be put on infectious people --Douglas County joins others in state with isolation and quarantine policy 27 Nov 2009 Wisconsin counties have a little-known policy that allows forced isolation or quarantine of people using armed law enforcement and deputized civilians. This is to help health officials in a worst-case scenario to contain outbreaks... The policy includes isolating people infected or even suspected of being infected with a contagious disease such as tuberculosis or in a flu pandemic. Douglas County Health Officer Deb Clasen says every county health officer in the state can now order that guards be put on infectious people. Washburn County Sheriff Terry Dryden says this is a tool that may be needed at flu vaccination clinics as well.

'U.S. Forces--Iraq' 'Multi-National' to drop from U.S. unit names in Iraq 28 Nov 2009 One of the last vestiges of the "coalition of the willing" [bribed] in Iraq will soon be retired. As part of a consolidation of its command structure ahead of next year’s planned troop reductions, the U.S. military will drop the "Multi-National" name from its unit designations starting in January. Under the plan, the top two levels of the U.S. command, known as Multi-National Forces--Iraq and Multi-National Corps--Iraq, will be merged and renamed U.S. Forces--Iraq. The U.S. command that oversees training of Iraqi forces will also fall into the new command.

Iraq War was legal but not 'legitimate' 28 Nov 2009 The Iraq War was legal but not "legitimate" for a democratic country, Britain's former UN ambassador said yesterday. Sir Jeremy Greenstock told the Iraq inquiry that the 2003 invasion did not have the backing of the UN or the majority of British people, "so there was a failure to establish legitimacy". He said he believed the US and the UK could establish legality under UN resolutions if Iraq was shown to have breached disarmament rules. But a "final" verdict was never likely to be made. [Right, just as the 9/11 terror attacks were carried out by Bush, to establish the legitimacy of his p_Residency. --LRP]

US lamestream media *finally* reports Chilcot inquiry: UK diplomat: US was 'hell bent' on Iraq invasion 27 Nov 2009 The United States was "hell bent" on a 2003 military invasion of Iraq and actively undermined efforts by Britain to win international authorization for the war, a former British diplomat told an inquiry Friday. Jeremy Greenstock, British ambassador to the United Nations from 1998 to 2003, said that President [sic] George W. Bush had no real interest in attempts to agree on a U.N. resolution to provide explicit backing for the conflict. The ex-diplomat, who served as Britain's envoy in Iraq after the invasion, said serious preparations for the war had begun in early 2002 and took on an unstoppable momentum.

Gordon Brown announces timetable for Helmand handover to Afghan control 28 Nov 2009 The countdown to handing back Helmand province to Afghan control began yesterday when Gordon Brown announced a detailed exit timetable. In a surprise move, the Prime Minister said two key districts of Helmand, where more than 200 British troops have been killed, could be handed back by the end of next year. Mr Brown will also formally commit to sending 500 more troops this week taking Britain's military presence in the country to 9,500.

Governor of Afghanistan's Kandahar survives bomb 27 Nov 2009 The governor of Afghanistan's southern Kandahar province survived a bomb strike on his motorcade while heading to prayers for the Muslim Eid al-Adha holiday on Friday, a spokesman said. The bomb shattered a window of the car that Governor Tooryalai Wesa was travelling in, but he was unhurt, spokesman Zalmai Ayoubi said.

Three bodies recovered from Afghan helicopter crash 27 Nov 2009 A US Air Force rescue team Friday recovered the bodies of three crew from the wreck of a helicopter that crashed in remote mountains in eastern Afghanistan. The three were believed to be Ukrainians reported missing after their helicopter disappeared in bad weather late Monday, US Air Force rescue team members said. The missing aircraft was operated by Supreme Global Services Solutions, according to NATO's International Security Assistance Force (ISAF).

Israeli agents operating at international airports 28 Nov 2009 Israeli spies have been found to be posing as airport security guards at international terminals, subjecting unsuspecting travellers to illegal interrogations and strip searches. A television network covering southern Africa recently aired a report, after an extensive undercover investigation, that revealed an elaborate Israeli secret service operation being carried out at Johannesburg International Airport.

Germany, UK warn Iran to accept West offer 28 Nov 2009 In what appears to be a last-ditch effort to force Tehran into accepting an IAEA draft proposal on fuel supply, Germany and Britain warn that world patience is running out with Iran. One day after World powers threw their weight behind a draft resolution condemning Iran's nuclear program, German Foreign Minister Guido Wersterwelle said that although time is pressing, the West "still has its hand extended" for the Tehran government.

US, Israel welcome IAEA resolution against Iran 27 Nov 2009 The US and Israel welcome a decision by the UN nuclear watchdog to censure Iran over the construction of its Fordo enrichment plant. "Our patience and that of the international community is limited, and time is running out," White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said in a stern warning to Tehran.

Bomb suspected as Russian train crash kills 39 28 Nov 2009 At least 39 people were killed and nearly 100 injured when a Russian express train came off the rails late last night in what the head of the national railway company said could have been a bomb attack. The Nevsky Express, carrying 661 passengers from Moscow to St Petersburg, was derailed at 9:34 p.m. (1834 GMT) near the village of Uglovka about 200 miles north of Moscow.

Homeland Suckyourity: Cuban migrants went undetected for hours at Turkey Point --More than 30 Cubans were dropped off close to the 'heavily guarded' [Yup, in quotes] Turkey Point nuclear power plant and remained undetected until they called for help hours later. 28 Nov 2009 More than 30 Cubans, dropped off by a smugglers' speedboat, spent up to eight hours on the off-limits grounds of the Turkey Point nuclear power plant on Thanksgiving Day, then called the plant's nuclear control room to say they were by the cooling canals. The utility, which boasts of tight security in the area, did not address why its security personnel apparently did not become aware of the Cubans' presence on Turkey Point for up to eight hours.

White House gatecrashers got all the way to the president 29 Nov 2009 Michelle and Barack Obama’s first state dinner at the White House will be remembered for its gatecrashers. The White House has been forced to admit that Michaele and Tareq Salahi, the Virginian couple auditioning for a television reality show, not only brazenly walked through layers of security to attend the event but actually met the president. A photograph released by the White House showed Michaele shaking hands with a beaming Obama as her husband looked on. It prompted an abject apology from the secret service.

Secret Service apologizes for ticketless couple's access --Questions linger over checkpoint breakdowns at White House dinner 28 Nov 2009 The White House said late Friday that Michaele and Tareq Salahi, the Virginia couple auditioning for a Bravo reality show, not only got past layers of experienced, executive-branch security but also shook the president's hand in the Blue Room of the White House during the Obamas' first state dinner... The security breach has caused hand-wringing inside the White House, bewilderment among Tuesday night's guests -- and late on Friday, prompted an apology from the Secret Service.

Anti-WTO protesters smash windows, burn cars in Geneva 28 Nov 2009 Anti-capitalism protesters smashed the windows of banks, shops and cafes in central Geneva and set cars on fire on Saturday during a demonstration against the World Trade Organisation. A Reuters reporter at the scene said some demonstrators were breaking the windows of every building they passed and setting off fireworks in the main shopping street.

Computer hacker Gary McKinnon to be extradited to US --Alan Johnson quashes last-ditch attempt to halt extradition 26 Nov 2009 Computer hacker Gary McKinnon, who has Asperger's syndrome, is at serious risk of suicide, relatives said today, after the home secretary rejected a last-ditch attempt to prevent his extradition to the US. In a letter today Alan Johnson ordered McKinnon's removal to the US on charges of breaching US military and Nasa computers, despite claims by his lawyers that extradition would make the 43-year-old's death "virtually certain".

U.S. journalist grilled at Canada border crossing --Officials demanded to know what she would say publicly about 2010 Olympics 26 Nov 2009 U.S. journalist Amy Goodman said she was stopped at a Canadian border crossing south of Vancouver on Wednesday and questioned for 90 minutes by authorities concerned she was coming to Canada to speak against the Olympics. Goodman says Canadian Border Services Agency officials ultimately allowed her to enter Canada but returned her passport with a document demanding she leave the country within 48 hours.

Police accused of preventing suspects accessing lawyers 27 Nov 2009 Defendants are being denied a fair trial because police pressure deters them from being represented by a lawyer after their arrest, a survey reveals today. Solicitors questioned by the National Audit Office (NAO) say they believe that the reason half of all suspects do not use their free services is a direct result of the action - or inaction - of the police.

FDA OKs Novartis Vaccine Against Seasonal Flu In Fast Review 27 Nov 2009 The Food and Drug Administration approved a new Novartis AG flu vaccine, Agriflu, in an accelerated process Friday. The vaccine to prevent disease caused by influenza virus subtypes A and B is for people age 18 and older. It does not prevent the H1N1 virus, also known as swine flu. The Swiss drug maker... on Tuesday opened a vaccine-manufacturing plant in North Carolina designed to make [deadly] flu vaccines without relying on decades-old technology that employs millions of chicken eggs to grow viruses. [See: New US vaccine production techniques: Genetically modified insect cells, E. coli, caterpillar ovaries 24 Nov 2009 Spurred by $487 million in federal funding, a sprawling new vaccine factory is opening in North Carolina Tuesday that will produce shots using dog cells instead of chicken eggs.]

Bacterial Disease Linked to H1N1 Flu Worries CDC 25 Nov 2009 The CDC is warning about a "worrisome" rise in the incidence of pneumococcal disease associated with the [lab-generated] pandemic H1N1 flu. "We're seeing increases in serious pneumococcal infections around the country," Anne Schuchat, MD, director of the CDC's National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, said at a briefing today.

The right reform for the Fed By Ben Bernanke 29 Nov 2009 Our [The Fed] financial statements are public and audited by an outside accounting firm; we publish our balance sheet weekly; and we provide monthly reports with extensive information on all the temporary lending facilities developed during the crisis. Congress, through the Government Accountability Office, can and does audit all parts of our operations except for the monetary policy deliberations and actions covered by the 1978 exemption. The general repeal of that exemption would serve only to increase the perceived influence of Congress on monetary policy decisions, which would undermine the confidence the public and the markets have in the Fed to act in the long-term economic interest of the nation. [Resign *now.*]

Bloomberg Spent $102 Million to Win 3rd Term 28 Nov 2009 To eke out an election victory over the city’s low-key comptroller, Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg spent $102 million of his own fortune -- or about $174 per vote -- according to data released Friday, making his bid for a third term the most expensive campaign in the city’s history. Mr. Bloomberg, the wealthiest man in New York City, shattered his own records: He poured $85 million into his campaign in 2005 (or $112 per vote) and $74 million into his first bid for office in 2001 ($99 per vote).

Canadian researcher says arctic ice is thinning 27 Nov 2009 The permanent Arctic sea ice that is home to the world's polar bears and usually survives the summer has all but disappeared, a Canadian researcher said Friday. University of Manitoba Arctic researcher David Barber said experts around the world believed the ice was recovering because satellite images showed it expanding, but the thick, multiyear frozen sheets have been replaced by thin ice that cannot support the weight of a polar bear.

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Previous lead stories: Signed In Blood: 2002 Blair-Bush Texas meeting sealed Iraq fate 27 Nov 2009 Saddam Hussein's fate as Iraqi leader was sealed at a secret meeting between Tony Blair and George Bush in 2002, it was claimed yesterday. The former Prime Minister allegedly "signed in blood" Britain's support for an attack on Baghdad when he got together with the US president [sic] at his Texas ranch. And Mr Blair deliberately linked Saddam to al-Qaeda in a bid to strengthen the case to topple Saddam, despite there being no evidence, the Iraq War inquiry heard. Former British Ambassador to the US Sir Christopher Meyer told the hearing the PM suddenly appeared to agree to the case for a regime change in Iraq after his Bush meeting. Talking about the meeting with Mr Bush, Sir Christopher said: "To this day I am not entirely clear what degree of convergence was, if you like, signed in blood at the Crawford ranch."

Iraq inquiry: Britain rejected regime change as illegal in 2001 --British officials discussed toppling Saddam Hussein in 2001 but rejected a policy of "regime change" as illegal under international law, the Iraq war inquiry has heard. 24 Nov 2009 On its opening day of public hearings, Sir John Chilcot’s public inquiry into the invasion heard that British diplomats heard the "drumbeat" of war emanating from Washington even before the September 11 terrorist attacks. The inquiry into the war, which cost 179 lives, opened yesterday with a promise from Sir John, a former Whitehall mandarin, to "get to the heart of what happened" and "not shy away" from criticising anyone who made mistakes.

'UK complicity is clear.' 'Cruel, illegal, immoral': Human Rights Watch condemns UK's role in torture --Pressure for inquiry grows as torturers themselves allege British complicity 24 Nov 2009 The attorney general was under intense pressure tonight to order a wider series of police investigations into British complicity in torture after one of the world's leading human rights organisations said there was clear evidence of the UK government's involvement in the torture of its own citizens. After an investigation spanning more than a year, Human Rights Watch (HRW) today condemned Britain's role in the torture of terror suspects detained in Pakistan as cruel, counter-productive and in clear breach of international law.

9/11 tragedy pager intercepts (WikiLeaks) 25 Nov 2009 From 3AM on Wednesday November 25, 2009, until 3AM the following day (US East Coast time), WikiLeaks is releasing over half a million US national text pager intercepts. The intercepts cover a 24 hour period surrounding the September 11, 2001 attacks in New York and Washington... Messages in the archive range from Pentagon and New York Police Department exchanges, to computers reporting faults to their operators as the World Trade Center collapsed.

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Breaking: 9/11 tragedy pager intercepts (WikiLeaks) 25 Nov 2009 From 3AM on Wednesday November 25, 2009, until 3AM the following day (US East Coast time), WikiLeaks is releasing over half a million US national text pager intercepts. The intercepts cover a 24 hour period surrounding the September 11, 2001 attacks in New York and Washington... Messages in the archive range from Pentagon and New York Police Department exchanges, to computers reporting faults to their operators as the World Trade Center collapsed.

Two NATO commanders wore Nazi regalia in Afghanistan 25 Nov 2009 It has just been discovered that two commanders of the Czech military working under NATO command used Nazi symbols on their helmets during their deployment in Afghanistan. The story was made public after Czech police serving in Afghanistan reported the case, the Russia Today website reported on Tuesday. According to the daily Mlada fronta Dnes, the soldiers, identified as Hynek Matonoha and Jan Cermak, wore the symbols of the 9th SS panzer division Hohenstaufen and the SS Dirlewanger brigade respectively, which were probably the most infamous SS combat units of World War II.

Iraq inquiry: Britain rejected regime change as illegal in 2001 --British officials discussed toppling Saddam Hussein in 2001 but rejected a policy of "regime change" as illegal under international law, the Iraq war inquiry has heard. 24 Nov 2009 On its opening day of public hearings, Sir John Chilcot’s public inquiry into the invasion heard that British diplomats heard the "drumbeat" of war emanating from Washington even before the September 11 terrorist attacks. The inquiry into the war, which cost 179 lives, opened yesterday with a promise from Sir John, a former Whitehall mandarin, to "get to the heart of what happened" and "not shy away" from criticising anyone who made mistakes.

Iraq inquiry: Bush administration 'discussing regime change two years before invasion' --Elements of the new US administration of President [sic] George Bush were already discussing ''regime change'' in Iraq two years before the invasion of 2003, the official inquiry into the war has been told. 24 Nov 2009 Sir Peter Ricketts, who was chairman of the Joint Intelligence Committee in 2001, said there was concern in both London and Washington that the strategy of ''containment'' of Saddam Hussein was ''failing''. Giving evidence at the first public hearings of the inquiry, he said a review of the Iraq policy was already under way in Whitehall in anticipation of the arrival of the new Bush administration. He said that, in discussions with Secretary of State Colin Powell, it appeared the Americans were ''thinking very much on the same lines''.

'UK complicity is clear.' 'Cruel, illegal, immoral': Human Rights Watch condemns UK's role in torture --Pressure for inquiry grows as torturers themselves allege British complicity 24 Nov 2009 The attorney general was under intense pressure tonight to order a wider series of police investigations into British complicity in torture after one of the world's leading human rights organisations said there was clear evidence of the UK government's involvement in the torture of its own citizens. After an investigation spanning more than a year, Human Rights Watch (HRW) today condemned Britain's role in the torture of terror suspects detained in Pakistan as cruel, counter-productive and in clear breach of international law.

'Operation Iraqi Freedom:' Iraq: TV commentator who criticized government is shot 24 Nov 2009 Baghdad is buzzing about the shooting Monday night of a prominent TV commentator who regularly criticized the government on his show "Without Fences" on the privately owned Al-Diyar TV station. Imad Abadi was shot in the head and neck by [Blackwater?] gunmen using a pistol equipped with a silencer at about 8 p.m. as he rode in his car in the Salhiya neighborhood not far from Baghdad's Green Zone. He managed to keep driving to an Iraqi checkpoint, and doctors today said his chances of recovery are good.

Iraq parliamentary election 'not possible in January' 24 Nov 2009 Iraq will not be able to hold parliamentary elections before the end of January as required by the country's constitution, electoral officials say. The head of the Independent Electoral Commission of Iraq, Faraj al-Haidari, said the possibility was now "over". The vote is seen as a prerequisite to the US meeting its goal of pulling out combat troops by August next year, and withdrawing fully by 2011.

Judge denies Halliburton's request to leave Iraq case 24 Nov 2009 A Houston judge ruled Tuesday that Halliburton must remain as a defendant in a lawsuit alleging it and its former subsidiary KBR knowingly sent civilian truck convoys into dangerous conditions the day six drivers were killed in 2004 in Iraq. U.S. District Judge Gray Miller found that Halliburton should remain in the case because plaintiffs have "numerous evidentiary examples of Halliburton's involvement in the allegations giving rise to this litigation."

Obama plans to send 34,000 more troops to Afghanistan 24 Nov 2009 President Barack Obama met Monday evening with his national security team to finalize a plan to dispatch some 34,000 additional U.S. troops over the next year to what he's called "a war of necessity" in Afghanistan, U.S. officials told McClatchy. Obama is expected to announce his long-awaited decision on Dec. 1, followed by meetings on Capitol Hill aimed at winning congressional support amid opposition by some Democrats who are worried about the strain on the U.S. Treasury and whether Afghanistan has become a quagmire, the officials said.

Fort Carson soldier killed in Afghanistan 24 Nov 2009 A Fort Carson soldier was killed in Afghanistan after insurgents attacked his unit, the Department of Defense said Tuesday. Spc. Jason A. McLeod, 22, of Crystal Lake, Ill., was killed Monday in a mortar attack west of Pashmul. He was assigned to the 704th Brigade Support Battalion, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division.

Afghan War: Realities on the Ground By Josh Mitteldorf 24 Nov 2009 Back in the 1980s When the Soviet Union had troops in Afghanistan, the US government was secretly funding the guerrillas who undermined the occupation. These people were passionate Muslims, opposed to intoxicants including poppy production that was the region's most lucrative export. They called themselves Taliban. Now that the Taliban is our enemy, we support them less directly... Lori Price, writing for Citizens for Legitimate Government charges that most of this money ends up in the hands of the Taliban. And reducing the poppy production increases profit margins for the CIA, which buys drugs for distribution back home.

Blackwater's Secret War in Pakistan By Jeremy Scahill 23 Nov 2009 At a covert forward operating base run by the US Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC) in the Pakistani port city of Karachi, members of an elite division of Blackwater are at the center of a secret program in which they plan targeted assassinations of suspected Taliban and Al Qaeda operatives, "snatch and grabs" of high-value targets and other sensitive action inside and outside Pakistan, an investigation by The Nation has found. The Blackwater operatives also assist in gathering intelligence and help direct a secret US military drone bombing campaign that runs parallel to the well-documented CIA predator strikes, according to a well-placed source within the US military intelligence apparatus.

Toll rises in Philippines massacre --Lead suspect is local mayor Andal Ampatuan Jr., political ally of unelected dictator (Bush ally) Gloria Arroyo 25 Nov 2009 Police investigating the massacre of a group of journalists and politicians in the southern Philippines have found another six bodies, taking the total death toll from the attack to at least 52. The bodies were dug out of a shallow pit on Wednesday, close to the scene in southern Maguindanao province where another 46 victims were found following what is believed to be the Philippines' worst politically-linked massacre.

Pentagon Probe Leaders Visit Fort Hood to Begin Investigation 24 Nov 2009 Leaders of a Pentagon-appointed task force charged with investigating what factors led to the Fort Hood massacre Nov. 5 and recommending policies to prevent future attacks began their review today, saying their job is not "to point fingers." Togo West, former Secretary of the Army and Secretary of Veterans Affairs during the Clinton administration, and former Chief of Naval Operations, Admiral Vernon Clark, are leading the review board. They arrived at the Fort Hood base today to begin what will be a 45-day investigation.

British police under fire over terrorism arrests 24 Nov 2009 The British government's terrorism watchdog on Tuesday criticised counter-terrorism police who arrested and then released without charge 12 men seized in April raids to foil a suspected al Qaeda plot. Lord Carlile, the government's independent reviewer of terrorism legislation, said Greater Manchester Police should have sought comprehensive advice from Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) lawyers about the operation in advance.

Easter shopping plot 'part of international terror network' 25 Nov 2009 A group of Pakistani students suspected of planning a terrorist attack on Easter shoppers was believed to be linked to 'al-Qaeda' and suspected of being part of a "very significant international plot", an independent report has found. Counter terrorism police had "no realistic alternative" but to arrest at least some of the suspected members of the group according to Lord Carlile, the independent reviewer of terrorism legislation. However, he criticised the police for failing to consult properly with prosecutors over the raids in Manchester and Liverpool which resulted in 12 arrests but no criminal charges.

U.S.-Canada to share refugees' biometric info 24 Nov 2009 Seeking to enhance its efforts to crack down on fraudulent refugee claims, the Harper government on Tuesday announced it has struck a deal to share fingerprint information on asylum seekers with the United States. Public Safety Minister Peter Van Loan made the announcement following a bilateral summit here with U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano. Under the protocol, the U.S. will join a biometric data-sharing initiative Canada had already launched last summer with the United Kingdom and Australia.

Canada's doctors told to stop using swine flu vaccine 24 Nov 2009 GlaxoSmithKline has advised doctors in Canada to stop using a batch of its swine flu vaccine, amid reports of severe side-effects in some patients. The batch of some 170,000 doses was put on hold because of the reported higher than usual number of patients having anaphylactic reactions. This may include breathing problems, raised heart rate and skin rashes.

GlaxoSmithKline advises Canadian doctors to stop using swine flu vaccines 25 Nov 2009 GlaxoSmithKline PLC said Tuesday that they have notified Canadian doctors to discontinue using a batch of 170,000 swine flu vaccines following six reports of serious allergic reactions among recipients. It was not immediately clear how many doses had been administered, although Tim Vail, the spokesman for Canada’s health minister, said the majority had been.

27 cases of adverse reaction to H1N1 vaccine reported 24 Nov 2009 (Singapore) The Health Sciences Authority said on Tuesday that 27 cases of adverse reactions suspected to be associated with the use of the H1N1 vaccine have been reported so far. But "these reactions are non-serious anticipated side effects such as fever, rashes, flu-like symptoms, headaches, nausea and vomiting", said an HSA spokesperson.

NJ suspends seasonal flu shot requirement for kids 24 Nov 2009 New Jersey is suspending its requirement that children attending child care or preschool facilities get a seasonal flu shot. Health Commissioner Heather Howard said Tuesday that the step was necessary because there's a shortage [?] of the seasonal flu vaccine.

Census worker in Kentucky killed self, officials conclude --Autopsy report is pending 24 Nov 2009 A U.S. Census worker found dead in a secluded Clay County cemetery killed himself but tried to make the death look like a homicide, authorities have concluded. Bill Sparkman, 51, of London, might have tried to cover the manner of his death to preserve payments under life-insurance polices that he had taken out. The policies wouldn’t pay off if Sparkman committed suicide, state police Capt. Lisa Rudzinski said.

Once again: Obama and the jobs crisis By Patrick Martin 24 Nov 2009 The Obama administration has flatly rejected appeals for the federal government to take any direct action to create jobs and alleviate the mounting toll of unemployment in the United States. Obama reiterated this position in his Saturday radio/Internet address... "In order to keep growing, we need to spend less, save more, and get our federal deficit under control," Obama said. "It is important that we do not make any ill-considered decisions--even with the best of intentions--particularly at a time when our resources are so limited," he concluded. "Limited resources" were not a consideration when it came to bailing out Wall Street. The US Treasury and the Federal Reserve made available trillions to the financial institutions. But when it comes to the working class, Obama has repeatedly demanded austerity measures.

Palin pimps self, ghostwritten 'Mantra of Whine' at Fort Bragg: Sarah Palin's book tour hits NC's Fort Bragg 24 Nov 2009 Sarah Palin brought her book-signing tour to North Carolina's Fort Bragg on Monday as thousands greeted the former Republican vice presidential candidate in a campaign-like gathering that tested broke military rules involving politicians. The Department of Defense typically prohibits politicians from using installations as a platform, so Palin didn't give a speech and simply thanked soldiers individually. She was allowed to hold the event as a private citizen who was not campaigning, a Fort Bragg spokesman said.

Judge orders New Haven to promote 14 white firefighters 24 Nov 2009 (CT) After a five year legal battle, 14 New Haven firefighters will receive their promotions. A U.S. District Court judge Tuesday ordered the city to promote 14 white firefighters, based on a Supreme Court decision. Twenty firefighters passed a promotional exam in 2004, but the city discarded the results because too few minorities scored high. The firefighters won a U.S. Supreme Court ruling to force the test results to stand.

The day ends in 'y,' so it's time for another AfPak bl*w job. US to give $38.7 million to 27 Afghan provinces to reduce poppy cultivation --A report published last month in The New York Times identified the brother of Afghan President Hamid Karzai as a CIA operative and a major opium dealer. He was also reported to have close ties with the Taliban. 24 Nov 2009 The US government has made a commitment to provide financial aid to Afghan provinces that have reduced or eliminated the production of opium. The United States signed a memorandum of understanding on Monday according to which it agreed to give $38.7 million to 27 Afghan provinces that eliminated or significantly reduced poppy production in the world's biggest supplier country, AFP reported. According to the MOU, the money will be handed over to Afghanistan's counter-narcotics ministry [Flush twice. It's a log way to the Afghan counter-narcotics Ministry.], which will disperse the cash to the 27 different provinces to finance development or alternative crops. [LOL. Am I the only one to observe that the US pays to *cultivate* Afghan opium poppies, while simultaneously paying to *reduce* them? Oh, but we can't get single-payer health care or the public option --too expensive.  --LRP]

Obomba poised for special Thanksgiving holiday 'bad news' dump: Afghanistan decision to come within days, White House says 26 Nov 2009 President Obama will announce within days whether he will send more troops to Afghanistan, the White House said after he met with his national security team Monday night. "After completing a rigorous final meeting, President Obama has the information he wants and needs to make his decision and he will announce that decision within days," White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said. [Right, Monday night, but the PentaPost leak will likely take place on Thanksgiving.]

Top Democrat warns Afghanistan will bankrupt domestic programs, threatens war surtax if Obama sends more troops 23 Nov 2009 David Obey came to Congress in 1969, a young Democratic congressman from Wisconsin, opposed to the Vietnam War and mindful of the funding it was draining from Lyndon Johnson's Great Society programs. Thirty years later, he is chairman of the House Appropriations Committee and adamant that Afghanistan is a similar quagmire that could bankrupt President Obama's domestic agenda. "There ain't going to be no money for nothing if we pour it all into Afghanistan," House Appropriations Chairman David Obey told ABC News. "If they ask for an increased troop commitment in Afghanistan, I am going to ask them to pay for it." Comparing Afghanistan to Vietnam, Obey said that both were long-standing civil wars and that, in each case, the United States found itself with an unreliable partner on the ground.

Bomb in water truck kills 3 in Afghanistan 24 Nov 2009 A remote-controlled bomb hidden in a water truck exploded in eastern Afghanistan on Tuesday, killing three people including two children, the Interior Ministry said. Another two children and one man were wounded in the attack in the eastern province of Khost, it said. Wazir Pacha, a spokesman for the provincial police chief of Khost, said authorities were investigating what the target might have been.

4 US soldiers killed in 24 hours in Afghanistan 23 Nov 2009 The International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) says that four American soldiers have been killed in the past 24 hours in Afghanistan. The military said on Monday that the soldiers were killed in separate attacks in the war-ravaged country.

Leaked documents reveal No 10 cover-up over Iraq invasion --Inquiry to hear how Blair hid true intentions for war 22 Nov 2009 Military commanders are expected to tell the inquiry into the Iraq war, which opens on Tuesday, that the invasion was ill-conceived and that preparations were sabotaged by Tony Blair's government's attempts to mislead the public. They were so shocked by the lack of preparation for the aftermath of the invasion that they believe members of the British and US governments at the time could be prosecuted for war crimes by breaching the duty outlined in the Geneva convention to safeguard civilians in a conflict, the Guardian has been told.

Does this picture show British soldiers broke Geneva Conventions? Public inquiry to be launched into allegations of abuse torture against Iraqi civilians at UK-run detention camp 24 Nov 2009 A photograph handed to The Independent claims to show Iraqi civilians captured in southern Iraq being mistreated by British soldiers in breach of international law and the Geneva Conventions. The incident is to be investigated at a public inquiry to be announced tomorrow by Defence Secretary Bob Ainsworth, which will also examine evidence of one of the worst atrocities ever carried out by the British Army. It is claimed that hours after the picture was taken, the four men were transferred to a UK-run detention camp where they were badly beaten and where 20 other civilians were murdered by British soldiers. The covering of a prisoner's face and rear handcuffing on the ground is a breach of Common Article 3 of the Geneva Conventions which prohibits the humiliating and degrading treatment of detainees.

U.S. soldier killed in Iraq 23 Nov 2009 An American soldier was killed in action south of Baghdad, the U.S. military said Monday. A Multi-National Division South (MND-S) soldier was killed on Sunday, a military statement said without providing further details.

Iraq national vote unlikely in January: official 24 Nov 2009 Iraq will be unable to hold a national 'election' in January as planned, a poll official said on Tuesday, heaping more uncertainty on a vote meant to cement democracy [?] and pave the way for a partial U.S. troop withdrawal. The general election was supposed to be held between January 18-23. "In all cases the possibility of holding the vote in January is over," said Faraj al-Haidari, head of the electoral commission.

KBR to bid for part of $3B Air Force contract 23 Nov 2009 Defense contractor [terrorists] KBR said Monday the U.S. Air Force has asked it to bid for future task orders under the Worldwide Environmental Restoration and Construction program. KBR is one of 23 companies that will compete for related contracts. The total value of the contract to be dispersed among participating contractors is $3 billion.

British man fighting extradition in KBR bribe case 20 Nov 2009 A British lawyer accused in the United States of helping a former Halliburton Co. subsidiary bribe Nigerian officials for construction projects has begun his fight against extradition in a London court. Federal prosecutors in Houston, Texas, say Jeffrey Tesler helped steer bribe money from Kellogg, Brown & Root LLC to officials of the Nigerian government to win more than $6 billion in contracts.

Day 2 of drill: Iran warns Israel against stupid mistake 23 Nov 2009 Tehran begins the second day of a sweeping aerial drill with a strong warning to Tel Aviv: Israeli warplanes 'will come tumbling down' if they step out of line. Israel routinely threatens to bomb Iran's nuclear sites, arguing that the country's enrichment activities are an existential threat to Tel Aviv, which ironically is reported to have an arsenal of 200 nuclear warheads at its disposal. The threats were repeated only last week when Gabi Ashkenazi, the chief-of-staff of Israel's armed forces, dropped heavy hints at an upcoming attack on Iran.

IDF planes attack Gaza arms depot and smuggling tunnels 24 Nov 2009 The Israel Air Force carried out three airstrikes in the Gaza Strip late Monday, targeting a weapons-manufacturing facility and weapons smuggling tunnels. The IDF said that the aerial assaults came in response to two rockets Palestinian militants fired at southern Israel from Gaza a day earlier. No one was injured by the rocket fire.

Gaza rocket hits Israel, despite Hamas moratorium on Qassams 23 Nov 2009 Militants in the Gaza Strip fired a Qassam rocket into southern Israel on Monday, despite a recent declaration by Hamas that militant groups in the coastal territory had reached an agreement to halt cross-border rocket fire. The rocket exploded close to a community in the Sha'ar Hanegev region, causing neither causalities nor property damage. On Saturday evening, Hamas' interior minister said the militant groups in Gaza had agreed to cease firing rockets into Israel so as to prevent retaliatory attacks.

IDF strip-searches troops at ceremony, fearing pro-settler protest 24 Nov 2009 Soldiers in the ultra-Orthodox battalion of the Nahal infantry brigade claim that they were strip-searched on Monday upon entrance to a battalion ceremony. The commanders searched the soldiers fearing they would protest settlement evacuations as soldiers from the Kfir Brigade did recently. The incident took place during a ceremony on Jerusalem's Mount Scopus, attended by the Deputy Defense Minister Matan Vilnai.

Secret files show UK courts were misled over 9/11 suspect --The Guardian has obtained classified documents produced by the FBI and anti-terrorist officials in the UK after the 9/11 attacks which shed new light on how the courts were misled. 22 Nov 2009 British prosecutors failed to disclose crucial evidence to the courts in the aftermath of the September 11 terrorist attacks in a case that resulted in an innocent pilot being jailed for five months, previously unseen documents reveal. Lotfi Raissi, an Algerian living in the UK, was the first person in the world to be arrested after the 2001 attacks in New York and Washington DC. Accused of being the "lead" instructor of the 9/11 hijackers, Raissi was held in Belmarsh high security prison awaiting extradition to the United States.

Atty: Fort Hood suspect may seek insanity defense 24 Nov 2009 An attorney for an Army psychiatrist accused of killing 13 people during an attack at Fort Hood says his client will likely plead not guilty and may pursue an insanity defense at his military trial. John Galligan, the Fort Hood-area civilian attorney for Maj. Nidal Hasan, told The Associated Press by phone Monday that the court must consider his client's mental status because the allegations against Hasan contradict his lifestyle and military career.

Death toll rises to 39 for Philippines killings 24 Nov 2009 At least 39 people are now known to have died in the southern Philippines on Monday, after more bodies were discovered in a shallow grave. Philippine President Gloria Arroyo has declared a state of emergency in two provinces on the island of Mindanao to allow police to search for the [Arroyo-hired] gunmen. The victims were killed as they were travelling to file nomination papers for elections next May.

12 journalists killed in Philippines massacre --Early reports said the gunmen were led by a supporter of the country's president [sic], Gloria Arroyo. 24 Nov 2009 Twelve journalists were among 24 people murdered yesterday in the Philippines in what is thought to be the greatest loss of life by news media in a single day. Several of the victims were beheaded in the massacre carried out by a huge force of [rightwing] gunmen.

'Terrorist network in S Waziristan dismantled' 24 Nov 2009 The Pakistani army claims it has succeeded in dismantling the terrorist network in South Waziristan. An army statement said on Monday that its soldiers killed 20 militants while many others were injured in Pakistan's South Waziristan tribal area and in the neighboring Hangu and Orakzai agencies over the previous 24 hours.

8 charged with running terror ring 24 Nov 2009 Federal authorities unsealed terrorism-related charges against eight men Monday, accusing them of recruiting at least 20 young Somali Americans from Minnesota to join an extremist Islamist insurgency in Somalia. The newly named suspects make up one of the largest alleged terrorist networks in the United States since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, analysts said.

'Police targeting people for their DNA' --Watchdog says quest for data undermines presumption of innocence 24 Nov 2009 Police forces have been arresting people simply to add them to the controversial DNA database as a result of lax rules that have developed with almost no public scrutiny, the Government's independent DNA watchdog warns today. The Human Genetics Commission (HGC) also says there is little evidence that the national DNA database, the largest of its kind in the world, is of any use in solving crimes. In its two-year report examining the database, published today, it concludes that allowing police to add anyone arrested to the DNA database damages the assumption of innocence.

New US vaccine production techniques: Genetically modified insect cells, E. coli, caterpillar ovaries 24 Nov 2009 Spurred by $487 million in federal funding, a sprawling new vaccine factory is opening in North Carolina Tuesday that will produce shots using dog cells instead of chicken eggs. A Connecticut biotech company has also applied to sell a vaccine employing a radically different approach involving a genetically engineered virus infecting insect cells... Baxter International won approval last month to sell an H1N1 vaccine in Europe that uses a decades-old line of African green monkey kidney cells, and it is working on a vaccine for the United States. Protein Sciences of Meriden, Conn., has applied to the FDA for approval to sell a vaccine made by genetically engineering flu genes into a worm virus, which then infects cells from caterpillar ovaries to produce the necessary proteins to make vaccine. VaxInnate of Cranbury, N.J., for example, produced an experimental H1N1 vaccine using genetically engineered E.coli bacteria, and Vical of San Diego just won a $1.25 million contract from the Navy to develop an H1N1 vaccine that involves injecting DNA sequences from the virus directly into people.

1918 RBD D225G in Lung Cases in Ukraine and Norway (Recombinomics) 21 Nov 2009 For the two 1918 HA variants, the South Carolina (SC) HA (with Asp190, Asp225) bound exclusively alpha2-6 receptors, while the New York (NY) variant, which differed only by one residue (Gly225), had mixed alpha2-6/alpha2-3 specificity, especially for sulfated oligosaccharides. The above description is from a paper analyzing receptor binding domain differences in sequences from the 1918 pandemic. The New York variant had D225G, the same change found in lung tissues from fatal swine H1N1 sequences in Brazil, Ukraine, and Norway. The above result clearly demonstrated a change in receptor specificity for D225G, which was present in A/New York/1/1918 and A/London/1/1919, demonstrating the same change I 1918 that has been described in 2009.

NSA helped with Windows 7 development 18 Nov 2009 The National Security Agency (NSA) worked with Microsoft on the development of Windows 7, an agency official acknowledged yesterday during testimony before Congress. "Working in partnership with Microsoft and elements of the Department of Defense, NSA leveraged our unique expertise and operational knowledge of system threats and vulnerabilities to enhance Microsoft's operating system security guide without constraining the user to perform their everyday tasks, whether those tasks are being performed in the public or private sector," Richard Schaeffer, the NSA's information assurance director, told the Senate's Subcommittee on Terrorism and Homeland Security yesterday as part of a prepared statement.

Rove: Shift of Blame to Dems Almost Complete --'This is surely some of my best work since I was able to convince millions of Americans that George W. Bush should be in the White House rather than the nut house.' By R J Shulman 24 Nov 2009 Karl Rove announced today on Fox News that the Republican strategy to shift the blame for all of America's woes from anything the Republicans may have caused to Obama and the Democrats is a complete success. Rove has been the mastermind of a new movement called the Shift of Blamers -- or SOBs -- who have replaced birthers, deathers, Tenthers, and teabaggers as the most successful anti-Obama group thus far. The SOBs are made up of prominent Republicans, Fox News and the vast majority of talk radio. (Satire)

Sanford Faces 37 Charges by State Ethics Board 24 Nov 2009 Gov. Mark Sanford of South Carolina will face formal ethics charges on 37 counts of using his office for personal financial gain, according to a list of allegations issued by the state ethics commission on Monday.

Over 100 icebergs drifting to N.Zealand: official 23 Nov 2009 More than 100, and possibly hundreds, of Antarctic icebergs are floating towards New Zealand in a rare event which has prompted a shipping warning, officials said on Monday. An Australian Antarctic Division glaciologist said the ice chunks, spotted by satellite photography, had passed the Auckland Islands and were heading towards the main South Island, about 450 kilometres (280 miles) northeast.

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Previous lead stories: Hostility between British and American military leaders revealed --The deep hostility of Britain’s senior military commanders in Iraq towards their American allies has been revealed in classified Government documents leaked to the Daily Telegraph. 22 Nov 2009 In the papers, the British chief of staff in Iraq, Colonel J.K.Tanner, described his US military counterparts as "a group of Martians" [Good one! Guess who was the Top Martian --aka Commander in Thief --in 2003?] for whom "dialogue is alien," saying: "Despite our so-called 'special relationship,' I reckon we were treated no differently to the Portuguese." Col Tanner’s boss, the top British commander in the country, Major General Andrew Stewart, told how he spent "a significant amount of my time" "evading" and "refusing" orders from his US superiors.