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May  2009 

 

 Boosting levels of vitamin D 'could cut cancer by up to 25%'  [ 05/31/09 ] "Giving everyone higher levels of vitamin D as part of a public health drive could cut the incidence of breast cancer by a quarter and bowel cancer by a third, scientists say. The finding is based on a review of 2,750 research studies involving vitamin D - which show that taking daily supplements could play a key role in cancer prevention ..."

 US to 'tackle global organized crime'  [ 05/30/09 ] "US Attorney General Eric Holder announced Friday the creation of a center to help galvanize efforts by law enforcement and prosecutors to target international organized crime. The International Organized Crime Intelligence and Operations Center (IOC-2) will gather resources and information from nine US law enforcement agencies and federal prosecutors to combat international criminal organizations, Holder said in Rome at a Group of Eight ministerial meeting. "The globalization of criminal networks and advances in technology have made international criminal organizations a significant threat to the safety and security of our nation," Holder said in a statement. "But we are answering that threat by developing a 21st century organized crime program that will be nimble and sophisticated enough to combat the danger posed by these criminals for years to come...."

 Netanyahu: "What the hell do they want from me?" [ 05/30/09 ] "Last night, shortly after U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton told journalists that the Obama administration "wants to see a stop to settlements -- not some settlements, not outposts, not natural growth exceptions," Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called a confidante. Referring to Clinton's call for a settlement freeze, Netanyahu groused, "What the hell do they want from me?" according to his associate, who added, "I gathered that he heard some bad vibes in his meetings with [U.S.] congressional delegations this week." In the 10 days since Netanyahu and President Barack Obama held a meeting at the White House, the Obama administration has made clear in public and private meetings with Israeli officials that it intends to hold a firm line on Obama's call to stop Israeli settlements. According to many observers in Washington and Israel, the Israeli prime minister, looking for loopholes and hidden agreements that have often existed in the past with Washington, has been flummoxed by an unusually united line that has come not just from Obama White House and the secretary of state, but also from pro-Israel congressmen and women who have come through Israel for meetings with him over Memorial Day recess. To Netanyahu's dismay, Obama doesn't appear to have a hidden policy. It is what he said it was..."

 CA: Schwarzenegger Would Close 220 State Parks To Cut Deficit  [ 05/30/09 ] "Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's budget cuts could mean the closing of up to 220 state parks, among them the home of the world's tallest tree and other attractions that draw millions of visitors. Schwarzenegger this week recommended eliminating $70 million in parks spending through June 30, 2010. An additional $143.4 million would be saved in the following fiscal year by keeping the parks closed ..."

 Petraeus: Abuse Violated Geneva Conventions  [ 05/30/09 ] " ...When we have taken steps that have violated the Geneva Conventions we rightly have been criticized, so as we move forward I think it's important to again live our values, to live the agreements that we have made in the international justice arena and to practice those ..."

 Colin Powell Aide: Cheney "Lonely, Paranoid, Frightened"   [ 05/30/09 ] "... former CIA analyst Michael Scheuer had sharp words for Cheney, too. "I think Mr. Cheney is a despicable, reptilian person," he said, drawing laughter from the crowd ..."   

 Corruption probe heats up on Capitol Hill   [ 05/30/09 ] "A federal grand jury has subpoenaed a Democratic congressman in a corruption probe, the first concrete indication that a long-simmering Justice Department investigation of a top lobbying firm also has the potential to seriously damage congressional careers. The probe focuses on the PMA Group, a now-defunct lobbying firm that specialized in securing federal contracts for defense firms from Visclosky, Rep. John Murtha, D-Pa., and others on the House Appropriations defense subcommittee that Murtha chairs. In his hometown of Johnstown, Pa., Murtha brushed aside questions Friday about one Pennsylvania defense contractor for whom he obtained $14.7 million in the last two years in congressionally directed funds called "earmarks." The Navy suspended the contractor a month ago for alleged fraud...."

ODD:  Boy's run for prom queen was a serious effort (and he won)  [ 05/30/09 ] "At first, "I didn't really know if the school approved. I thought 'Why can't I do it?'" says Sergio Garcia, 18. "I see myself as a boy with a different personality. ... I don't wish to be a girl; I just wish to be myself," he said. (Los Angeles Times)"  Man, 82, strangles girlfriend for the way she loads dishes  "Lillian Keller, 74, told deputies that her boyfriend got angry about her arrangement of the dirty dishes in the washer, so he choked her with his hands until she lost consciousness. " Newspaper apologizes for running ad that calls for Obama's death   "The Warren (Penn.) Times Observer says the ad "alludes to the wish that President Obama meet an untimely end by linking him with four assassinated presidents ...[and that] the ad representative didn't make the connection among the four other presidents mentioned and mistakenly allowed the ad to run." Daily Kos reports the ad reads, "May Obama follow in the footsteps of Lincoln, Garfield, McKinley and Kennedy!" (Warren Times Observer) " Mom has sex in car with her kids in back seat  "The 24-year-old woman told police she pulled over to have sex with her male companion (their mug shots) because they couldn't have sex at the friend’s house where they had been. Her kids, 1 and 3, were in the car during the quickie. (Dayton Daily News)" 

 Feds Probe Obama's Ex-Boss and Mayor Daley's Nephew  [ 05/30/09 ] "Federal law-enforcement authorities are probing the controversial investment of city employee pension fund dollars in a real estate firm involving Mayor Richard Daley’s nephew Robert Vanecko. A federal grand jury issued a subpoena Wednesday to the police pension fund, according to records obtained today by the Tribune. Prosecutors with U.S. Atty. Patrick Fitzgerald’s office are demanding fund officials turn over documents regarding their dealings with DV Urban Realty, which includes Vanecko and longtime Daley ally Allison Davis. The police fund’s board voted in 2006 to invest $15 million in DV Urban, part of a $68 million deal that also involved other local government pension funds. The federal subpoena is a virtual carbon copy of the subpoenas sent to four pension funds in March by City Hall’s inspector general, David Hoffman. But fund officials refused to comply with those requests, arguing that Hoffman’s office does not have the authority to investigate them ..."

 Nader: Avoiding Corporate Liability  [ 05/29/09 ] "Once upon a time early in the 19th century, corporations came into existence by state legislatures approving charters, which were granted for a limited period of time and for limited purposes. These corporations – producing textiles and other products in New England – raised capital in part because their investors had limited liability. That meant they could not lose any more than their investment if things went wrong ... Since corporations were artificial legal entities and not human, these lawmakers feared that without some strong leashes, they could be creating Frankensteins. Over the following two hundred years, these ever larger corporations and their attorneys have been driving relentlessly, dynamically to erect systems of privileges and immunities that give the corporations themselves limited liability. Their first big move was to take the chartering authority from the state legislature and place it inside an executive agency where chartering became automatic, shorn of the conditions the lawmakers once imposed. Once chartering became automatic, perpetual and open-ended, corporate lawyers moved to have the courts – not the legislatures – turn corporations into “persons” for purposes of constitutional rights. Their big breakthrough came with the Santa Clara case in 1886 when the U.S. Supreme Court allowed its summary headnotes to declare that the railroad in the case was a “person” for purposes of the 14th amendment. Through elaborations in later Supreme Court decisions, that meant that companies like Aetna, General Electric, Exxon and Lockheed had most of the same constitutional rights as real people like you ..."

 Cops Stop Ambulance On Way To Hospital And Fight With EMT  [ 05/29/09 ] "A scuffle between two highway patrol officers and an EMT was captured on video after the police pulled over an ambulance on route to the hospital. A scuffle between two highway patrol officers and an EMT was captured on video after the police pulled over an ambulance on route to the hospital with a patient on board. The incident occurred on Highway 62 near Boley in Okfuskee County, Oklahoma. The video begins with the patient's son, Mr Kenyada Davis, explaining "Highway Patrol have pulled my mom's ambulance over because he's mad we didn't pull over." The troopers were responding to a call of their own and were evidently annoyed that the ambulance did not yield and give way to them on the road. "He's trying to arrest the EMT taking my mother to the hospital." Davis explains. The video then shows one of the troopers pointing at the paramedic and yelling "You are under arrest, you are under arrest". As the patient begins to scream inside the ambulance, the EMT, Mr Maurice White, Jr., tries to explain that he is trying to get to the hospital. As he raises a hand in gesture, one of the troopers is seen to grab Mr White in an attempt to put him in an arm lock and cuff him. Mr White resists and a scuffle breaks out. Mr White attempts to get back into the ambulance, at which point the trooper grabs him by the throat. "I'm going to the hospital." Mr White again says, while Mr Davis pleads "he's a doctor". The troopers then relent and return to their vehicle. Watch the video ..."

 Prosecutor in anthrax, Blackwater cases resigns  [ 05/29/09 ] "The federal prosecutor who became the public face of the Justice Department's investigation into the 2001 anthrax attacks, the killing of Chandra Levy and the Blackwater Worldwide shooting is resigning."

 Exxon Mobil CEO tells shareholders to mind their own business  [ 05/29/09 ] "Exxon Mobil Chairman Rex Tillerson issued a ringing defense of the oil titan at the company’s annual meeting Wednesday, where 11 shareholder proposals, all opposed by management, were roundly defeated in a spirited gathering at the Morton H. Meyerson Symphony Center. Tillerson got complaints from shareholders, who variously alleged that the company is largely shunning the issue of global warming, needs to become more involved in renewable energy such as wind and solar power, should have a more independent board of directors and doesn’t provide sufficient avenues for shareholders to weigh in on issues such as executive pay. Tillerson strongly indicated that Exxon’s primary focus in coming decades will likely remain on its core businesses of oil and gas exploration and production, refining and chemicals. Mari Mather, speaking for Massachusetts-based NorthStar Asset Management, said that if Tillerson retires at 65 he could receive an "outrageous" retirement package of more than $600 million, including stock options. That prompted only an amused chuckle from Tillerson, who received $22.4 million in compensation in 2008, when Exxon rang up a net profit of $45.2 billion, the largest ever by a U.S. company. Tillerson’s predecessor as CEO, Lee Raymond, drew a retirement package of nearly $400 million." A dark individual for sure.

 Dubai Property Scandal Claim Emerges Amid Media Blackout [ 05/28/09 ] "Fake" pictures are at the heart of a property scandal that could harm the reputation of the once-booming real estate market in Dubai. A major property development firm with links to the ruling family of the UAE city-state, and the firm's marketing agency, are accused by investors, many of whom are UK citizens, of obtaining millions of pounds through the use of false construction photographs."  Note: Good. I remember that piece a couple months ago about the slavery they maintain to build these gaudy cities.

 27 Million Live in Slavery  [ 05/28/09 ] "Although slavery is illegal in most of the world, an estimated 27 million people live in bondage, according to a Washington D.C.-based non-profit group working to eradicate the phenomenon globally."

 Germany is losing the cream of its workforce to other countries  [ 05/28/09 ]  " ... Researchers at the independent Council of Experts on Integration and Migration have found that some 180,000 Germans have left their country in the past five years. And that, says Council chairman Klaus J. Bade, presents a national-scale "personnel problem.“ In order for the situation to change, Bade says it's crucial to take a new look at immigration laws. He suggests a system which would give priority to people who could offer Germany needed skills...." 

 Mafia Cash Increases Grip on Sinking Italy [ 05/28/09 ]  " ... Unlike overleveraged companies burned in the credit crisis, the Mafia and its cash-based, debt-free business model are breezing through economic hard times. With young, savvy leaders at the helm, organized crime is poised to expand as legitimate companies founder. “There’s a risk that Mafia organizations can profit from the current crisis by buying control of struggling businesses, infiltrating all regions of the country,” Italian President Giorgio Napolitano cautioned in May..." 

AFRICA: Swazi MP apologizes for HIV branding proposal   [ 05/28/09 ]  "A Swaziland parliamentarian has apologized after calling for HIV-positive people to be branded on the buttocks to stop the spread of the virus ravaging the country..."

 Employer Gets Whacked For $17.5 M For Stealing Employee's PC  [ 05/28/09 ]  But the government can take your PC without penalty. "Before Trealoff got fired, the company president Peter Liegl took Trealoff's laptop, stole the hard drive and deleted thousands of files. During the time he worked for Forest River, Trealoff used his spare time to develop a software program which kept track of sales data. That information was on the computer as was Trealoff's personal financial information. Trealoff got the computer back and tried to restore some of the files. None of it was usable ... Trealoff sued Liegl and Forest River alleging: breach of contract, fraud, conversion, and violation of a California statutory claim for improperly accessing a computer without the owner's permission. Forest River counter sued alleging that Trealoff took proprietary information in order to start his own business. It's important to note these points in the context of the case: Trealoff had no written agreement with Forest River regarding the terms of his employment. Forest River did not have a non disclosure agreement signed by Trealoff ... " Note: See the Ellen Simon's Employee Rights Post , the source for this article, for other ongoing issues in the world of employer-employee.

 Mandatory internet filter could become voluntary  [ 05/28/09 ] "The Federal Government appears to have changed its approach to the proposed mandatory internet filter, now claiming that internet providers could join a filtering scheme on a voluntary basis..."

 Psychologists Weigh In On 9/11: "Doubters of Gov't Version Must Be Mentally Ill"  [ 05/28/09 ] "A new article (below) in U.S. News & World Report quotes a couple of psychologists, one sociologist and one historian to argue that 'people who question the government's version of 9/11 are prone to false thinking'. Initially, remember that, while there are many honorable psychologists and psychiatrists, psychologists helped to create the U.S. torture program, and actively participated in it." The Inner Worlds of Conspiracy Believers "Shortly after terrorist attacks destroyed the World Trade Center and mangled the Pentagon on September 11, 2001, conspiracy theories blossomed about secret and malevolent government plots behind the tragic events. A report scheduled to appear in an upcoming Applied Cognitive Psychology offers a preliminary psychological profile of people who believe in 9/11 conspiracies..."  Note: These psychologists really believe they can dictate perception and reality to people --- that makes them delusional. Besides, if they want to pick at the concept of 'belief', they ought to take a look at themselves ... but they can't see the forest for the trees.  Talk about desperation!  Related: US Scholars: 9/11 and the architects of World War II  "Official accounts on 9/11 requires individuals to disregard every single piece of documentation unearthed by 9/11 scholars, independent investigative researchers and eyewitness accounts. Official accounts requires in individuals who are presented with such voluminous evidence, to totally disregard it, and to have "blind faith" in the architects of an aggressive war, now responsible in the deaths of over one million Iraqis alone, in addition to other innocent civilians in Afghanistan and Pakistan."  

 Government Motors [ 05/27/09 ] "In theory, a government bailout should provide a short-term infusion of cash to give a struggling company the chance to right itself. But in its aggressive dealings with U.S. automakers, most recently General Motors, the Obama administration is coming dangerously close to engaging in financial engineering that ignores basic principles of fairness and economic realities to further political goals. It is now clear that there is no real difference between the government and the entity that identifies itself as GM. For all intents and purposes, the government, which is set to assume a 50 percent equity stake in the company, is GM, and it has been calling the shots in negotiations with creditors. While the Obama administration has been playing hardball with bondholders, it has been more than happy to play nice with the United Auto Workers. How else to explain why a retiree health-care fund controlled by the UAW is slated to get a 39 percent equity stake in GM for its remaining $10 billion in claims while bondholders are being pressured to take a 10 percent stake for their $27 billion? It's highly unlikely that the auto industry professionals at GM would have cut such a deal had the government not been standing over them -- or providing the steady stream of taxpayer dollars needed to keep the factory doors open. ..."

 Low taxes: NH's recession buster [ 05/27/09 ] "The New England Economic Partnership's latest study, released last week, projected that Rhode Island would suffer the most in the current recession, New Hampshire the least. New Hampshire would not only come out of the recession sooner than the other states, but it would have the lowest unemployment throughout. Our peak unemployment is expected to hit 7.1 percent; Rhode Island's 10.9 percent. New Hampshire is expected to be the only New England state to maintain an unemployment rate lower than 8 percent during the recession..."

 UK: A Most Prolific Peasant Poet   [ 05/27/09 ] "John Clare, now recognized as one of the finest and most prolific of the English rural poets, spent the final 23 years of his life in an asylum, where he wrote more than 1,000 poems..."

ODD:  Man: My life is miserable, so I went out and slashed car tires  [ 05/27/09 ] "31-year-old man who admitted to slashing the tires of nearly 50 vehicles cited several reasons for doing it, including being forced to wear braces on his teeth. (Boulder Daily Camera) "  No jail time for driver, 72, who nodded off and killed pedestrian  "The judge decided that the best way to punish Lincoln Turner wasn't to send him to jail, but to send him out into the community to talk about the dangers of driving while fatigued. (Portland Press Herald) " Clown is sorry that kids saw her being taken away in cuffs   ""They were all hanging on me and saying, 'Don't take the clown,'" says Patricia Ingalls, who has been a clown for 17 years. Police say she was drunk and left the scene of the accident. (WTOV9.com) " Woman fatally stabs father after argument over dinner roll  [ 05/28/09 ] "Police say the dispute began after Ava Maria Gordon, 42, ate a roll that her father had marked with a note, asking her to not eat it. (Detroit Free Press) 

 "Israel to ignite all-out regional war?"   [ 05/26/09 ] "The Israeli military holds its most extensive nationwide drill, signaling its intentions for a possible attack on Iran which they admit can ignite an all-out war in the region. The nationwide exercise "Turning Point 3" will begin on May 31 and will last five days, Ynetnews reported. During the drill, Israeli forces and civilians will exercise a war against Hamas, Hezbollah, Syria and Iran and will also practice counterinsurgency tactics against Israeli Arabs..." Note: I can't wait for their  nationwide exercise in which the Samson Option is exercised.

 KZ-brothels: “Women for the industriously working prisoner”   [ 05/26/09 ] "In concentration camps the National Socialists operated brothels. The work of the obligation prostitutes should increase the productivity of the prisoners. A study dedicates itself to this so far little admitted chapters the Nazi terror...."   Translated, amusingly, sort of, from German to English

 Sweden's Taxes - The Hidden Costs of The Welfare State   [ 05/26/09 ] "Sweden is a nation with extraordinary high tax rates. The average worker not only pays 30 percent of her or his income in visible taxes, but, additionally, close to 30 percent in hidden taxes. The defenders of the punishing tax burden argue that it is needed to maintain Sweden’s generous welfare system. While this claim may seem reasonable on its surface, a deeper look suggests that it is based on flawed analysis. Some level of taxation is, of course, required to fund the public sector. At the same time, a high level of taxation does not necessarily translate into an equally high level of welfare:.." 

FL: Tampa woman stops armed carjacker with her own gun  [ 05/26/09 ] "A Tampa woman refused to be a carjacking victim when she was approached by an armed man who jumped into her car on Thursday. The woman, who only wants to be identified as Adrianna, pulled out her own gun. "I just leaned forward and punched him in the forehead with my gun," she said. The man "screamed like a girl and almost dropped his gun" as he ran away, she added."   Ha!

 Ahmadinejad Wants To Debate Obama  [ 05/26/09 ] "Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad proposed today that United States President Barack Obama contend to a face-to-face debate with him at the United Nations if he is re-elected next month as Iran’s president. “Of course this time, if I am elected as president by the great nation of Iran, I will extend that invitation [to President Obama] one more time for a debate at the UN headquarters,” President Ahmadinejad said on Monday. During his previous visit to the United Nations headquarters he invited former US President George W. Bush to join him in a debate on global issues..."  Note: Remember they're all members of the same club.

 911 Shock Opera: The Grand Finale That Wasn't  [ 05/26/09 ] "In a crime of this magnitude, with so much on the line, not just lives and careers and vast sums of wealth, but this was their one shot - the conspirators one chance to justify multiple illegal wars, a new doctrine of "pre-emptive aggression", the establishment of the "unitary executive" model, the passing of the Patriot Act, the creation of the Trans Afghan Pipeline, wholesale privatization of public assets and wealth, military contracts, and just basically complete and total world domination based really on the successful completion of one act of treasonous terrorism that would galvanize the American people long enough that they would allow all of these things to take place in their name without so much as a whimper - ..."

 Memorial Day: War Is Not Worth Celebrating  [ 05/26/09 ] "Of man’s 'achievements', there are many worth celebrating, worth memorializing. Warfare is not among them. Humanity has not been bettered by war, the spoils of which have been taken by the States, Churches, Tyrants, and Thieves who have convinced ordinary men to be extraordinarily evil...."

 Maliki: US-backed law 'unleashes terrorists in Iraq'  [ 05/25/09 ] "Iraq’s prime minister says a US-backed prisoner release law that aims for sectarian reconciliation has helped insurgents and corruption suspects get back on the streets. “Regrettably, the amnesty law has been changed from the conditions written by the government, and has led to the pardoning of many (accused of) corruption,” Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki said during a Saturday gathering of Sunni and Shia tribal leaders in Baghdad. “This will be amended and reviewed, on the basis that there is no protection for any corrupt (person) or terrorist in any legislation, or by any political power that is part of the government,” he vowed. “Because of the addition of one word to the law, whether because of a mistake or deliberately, major terrorists have been released, because the law says that a terrorist that is not responsible for direct killings should be pardoned,” Maliki said."  

 UK: 325 MPs to be swept away at next election  [ 05/25/09 ] "At least half of the House of Commons’ 646 MPs will be swept away at the general election, as voters take revenge on the political classes for the expenses scandal. The departure of 325 members of parliament as a result of forced resignations, retirement and defeat at the polls would represent the biggest clear-out of parliament since 1945. As many as 30 will be forced to resign directly because of the expenses scandal, while whips expect more than 200 to quit because they are unable to cope with continued public anger. Up to 90 MPs will be voted out in the election. Research conducted by The Sunday Times and Professor Colin Rallings, director of the elections centre at Plymouth University, suggests that about 170 Labour MPs will not defend their seats while 55 Conservatives are also expected to retire ..."  Related: Fury as Commons denied DNA database vote | Ex-SAS officer is expenses whistleblower "A former SAS officer who passed secret details of MPs’ expenses claims to The Daily Telegraph broke cover last night to insist he had “no regrets” about the leak that has rocked Westminster..." 

Feingold: Prolonged detention would ’set the stage for future Guantanamo’  [ 05/25/09 ] "Feingold announces in the letter that he plans to hold a hearing on the matter next month and asks for top Justice Department officials to testify. “While I appreciate your good faith desire to at least enact a statutory basis for such a regime,” Feingold writes, “any system that permits the government to indefinitely detain individuals without charge or without a meaningful opportunity to have accusations against them adjudicated by an impartial arbiter violates basic American values and is likely unconstitutional ..."

Billionaire club in bid to curb overpopulation  [ 05/25/09 ] "America's richest people meet to discuss ways of tackling a 'disastrous' environmental, social and industrial threat ..."  

WA: Cop Puts Innocent Man In Coma  [ 05/25/09 ] "Video released 05/21/09 shows a burly King County sheriff’s deputy slamming a man into a tiled wall earlier this month in what a sheriff’s spokesman said was “a tragic accident.” A lawyer for the family of 29-year-old Christopher Harris said the video and witness accounts show the Edmonds restaurant worker was a victim of excessive force by Deputy Matthew Paul, 26. As of late Thursday, Harris remained comatose and in critical condition at Harborview Medical Center, said Todd Keeling, his stepfather...." Note: At least six other cases of bizarre police behavior on this page.

Religion vs. Insanity  [ 05/25/09 ]  by Ryan Dawson "You can't even really tell the difference between insane and religious other than that the religion has been established as having it's own brand of insanity passed on to an idiot where as regular insanity at least requires some creativity on the part of the crazy person. In the modern world psychology has to give religion a pass because under any other context those same beliefs would constitute major schizophrenia, delusion, paranoia, and narcissism all at the same time. ..."  

Shareholder activists demanded that Royal Dutch Shell directors return their bonuses  [ 05/25/09 ] "The backlash against executive pay took a dramatic new turn this weekend ...."  

LaRouche: Obama Has Revived Hitler's Genocide Program  [ 05/24/09 ] "In October 1939, Nazi Leader Adolf Hitler issued an order, written in his own hand, ordering the extermination of those who were considered "unworthy of life." The order, entitled "The Destruction of Lives Unworthy of Life," stated that patients "considered incurable according to the best available human judgment of their state of health, be accorded a mercy death." ... Today, the Obama Administration is beginning to descend down that same road ... Think we're exaggerating? Take the case of a paper entitled "What Are the Potential Cost Savings from Legalizing Physician- Assisted Suicide?" It sounds like something that might have been written by Jeremy Bentham, or Aldous Huxley, or maybe Nazi doctor Karl Brandt, but it was actually co-authored in 1998 by "bio-ethicist" Ezekiel Emanuel, brother of White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel, a leading advisor to Obama's budget director Peter Orszag, and a member of the 15-person Federal Coordinating Council on Comparative Effectiveness Research, the group which has been designated to prepare the list of which medical procedures will henceforth be permitted, and which will not. Emanuel's co-author, Margaret Battin, has written other papers promoting suicide and selective refusal of medical treatment. The pair are really just echoing Karl Brandt's defense of euthanasia at Nuremberg: "Death can mean deliverance. Death is life—just as much as birth. It was never meant to be murder." But it was...." Related: Obama's Nazi Doctors and Their `Reforms'

25% Israelis To Leave 'If Iran Becomes Nuke Power'  [ 05/24/09 ] "The poll also shows that over 40 per cent of Israelis believe that their military forces should strike Iran's nuclear installations without waiting to see whether US President Barack Obama's plans for diplomatic engagement with Tehran work or not. The findings, in a study by the Centre for Iranian Studies at Tel Aviv University, uncover deep pessimism among Israelis on the issue, with 85 per cent of respondents expressing concern that Iran will acquire a nuclear weapon. If the findings accurately reflect public feeling, they suggest that an unprecedented demographic catastrophe could unfold in Israel should Iran obtain a warhead. The head of the Tel Aviv centre, David Menashri, blamed the heightened rhetoric of both sides for the findings. He said: "It seems that the violent language used by President Ahmadinejad and his assertions about wiping Israel from the page of history, in addition to Iranian advancement of its nuclear and ballistic programmes, created a real concern among Israelis." He added: "The Israeli public statements and talks of 'existential threat' used by Israeli leaders to alert the world of its concern could only lead to popular anxiety ..."   Related: Israel refuses to halt settlements

Cheney Seeking Book Deal... Wants More Than $2M Advance  [ 05/24/09 ]  "A person familiar with discussions Mr. Cheney has had with publishers said he was seeking more than $2 million for his advance. That sum may prove hard to get in this economic climate, especially given his generally low approval ratings, which publishers view as a potential — but not certain — harbinger for sales."   Related: Daughter: Cheney fears prosecution | Two Bush aides fire back at Cheney

Passer-By Pushes Potential Suicide Jumper From Bridge In China  [ 05/24/09 ]  "Chen Fuchao, a man heavily in debt, had been contemplating suicide on a bridge in southern China for hours when a passer-by came up, shook his hand _ and pushed him off the ledge. Chen fell 26 feet (8 meters) onto a partially inflated emergency air cushion laid out by authorities and survived, suffering spine and elbow injuries, the official Xinhua News Agency said Saturday. The passer-by, 66-year-old Lai Jiansheng, had been fed up with what he called Chen's "selfish activity," Xinhua said. Traffic around the Haizhu bridge in the city of Guangzhou had been backed up for five hours and police had cordoned off the area. "I pushed him off because jumpers like Chen are very selfish. Their action violates a lot of public interest," Lai was quoted as saying by Xinhua. "They do not really dare to kill themselves. Instead, they just want to raise the relevant government authorities' attention to their appeals."

U.S holds journalist without charges in Iraq  [ 05/24/09 ]  "Ibrahim Jassam is the latest journalist the U.S. has arrested and not presented evidence against. A media group notes such actions hurt U.S. standing when it speaks for press freedom and rule of law."

Nigerian troops launch attack on Nigerian Delta inhabitants [ 05/23/09 ]  Note: Sri Lanka's Israel-advised "final solution" against Tamil Tigers now being copied by Nigerian regime against anti-oil exploitation Delta rebels.  Related (Cheney): Halliburton: Police to quiz Former Nigerian President Obasanjo  "Embattled former president Chief Olusegun Obasanjo will soon be invited by the high powered security committee recently established by the Federal Government to probe the Halliburton bribery scandal, Daily Trust learnt in Abuja last night. The former ruler is expected to explain what he knew about the scandal . . . The committee is investigating how the $180 million Halliburton bribe was shared. Halliburton, a US construction firm was said to have given $180 million as bribes to top Nigerian politicians and government officials, including those of the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) to win the contract for the construction of the LNG plant. The bribe allegedly spanned the period from 1995 [when Cheney took over as Halliburton CEO] when the nearly $7 billion contract was awarded to 2004 and possibly beyond..."  Nigerian Senate probes N36bn Halliburton bribery scandal  Related: Carlyle Group buys failed BankUnited in Florida  Now they have their own bank.

Biden enters political waters in Lebanon  [ 05/23/09 ]   Note: Visits prior to parliamentary election in show of support to discredited Siniora government put into office by neocon interests in Washington and Paris. 

Former South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun commits suicide  [ 05/23/09 ] Note: First South Korean leader not to "kowtow" to America, reportedly threw himself off a cliff while hiking." 

Beating Big Brother Britain: Police told they can't keep pictures of arms trade activist  [ 05/23/09 ]  Appeal Court judges ruled yesterday that a law-abiding arms trade activist had his human rights breached when police took photos of him at a protest and kept them on file. The ground-breaking case marks another blow to 'Big Brother' surveillance tactics increasingly favoured by police. It follows last month's European Court ruling forcing the Home Office to stop indefinitely storing DNA profiles of people who are arrested but never charged. Forces across the UK have spent years amassing huge numbers of 'overt surveillance' pictures, and police photographers are a familiar sight at major gatherings. Mr Wood, backed by rights group Liberty, complained that taking and keeping photographs of him breached his right to privacy under European law. He lost his initial case last year but yesterday two out of three Appeal Court judges ruled in his favour, declaring the police tactics a 'disproportionate interference'..."

Cheney lied repeatedly in speech on closing Guantanamo, paper says  [ 05/23/09 ]  American newspapers don’t use the word “lied” as a matter of form — preferring the more innocuous “false statements,” which is supposed to be less biased. But a McClatchy newspaper article Friday says myriad elements of Cheney’s terrorism speech Thursday were tantamount to lies — positing that the former Vice President was guilty of “omissions, exaggerations and misstatements.” Most significant, notes McClatchy’s Warren Strobel and Jonathan Landay, are comments Cheney made about how valuable intelligence that was collected during “harsh interrogations” actually was. He quoted the Director of National Intelligence, Adm. Dennis Blair , as saying that the information gave U.S. officials a “deeper understanding of the al Qaida organization that was attacking this country.” In a statement April 21 , however, Blair said the information “was valuable in some instances” but that “there is no way of knowing whether the same information could have been obtained through other means. The bottom line is that these techniques hurt our image around the world, the damage they have done to our interests far outweighed whatever benefit they gave us and they are not essential to our national security.” A top-secret 2004 CIA inspector general’s investigation found no conclusive proof that information gained from aggressive interrogations helped thwart any “specific imminent attacks,” according to one of four top-secret Bush-era memos that the Justice Department released last month." Related:  Cheney's speech contained omissions, misstatements "Former Vice President Dick Cheney's defense Thursday of the Bush administration's policies for interrogating suspected terrorists contained omissions, exaggerations and misstatements....

Verizon Willing To Let 62-Year-Old Man Die Unless Cops Pay His $20  [ 05/23/09 ] "The cops got a call that the man was rampaging around his house and breaking windows. When they arrived, the man had fled, taking bottles of pills with them. The Sherriff contacted Verizon to ask them to turn the man's cellphone on so they could track his signal, but the operator said the missing man's bill would have to be paid first...."

Cigarette makers lose appeal in landmark case [ 05/23/09 ] "A federal appeals court on Friday agreed with the major elements of a 2006 landmark ruling that found the nation's top tobacco companies guilty of racketeering and fraud for deceiving the public about the dangers of smoking..."

Israel to US: We reserve 'right' to bomb Iran [ 05/22/09 ] "Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has told the Obama administration that Tel Aviv “reserves itself operational freedom” on Iran, according to an aide. The premier during his recent visit to Washington "clarified that Israel reserves itself operational freedom, and several of the most senior figures in the Obama administration said 'of course'," Netanyahu's national security advisor Uzi Arad told Israel Army Radio."   Note: Good thing there is a process in motion that will ultimately wipe the planet.

CIA agents lose bid to halt trial over rendition [ 05/22/09 ] "The landmark trial of American and Italian spies accused of abducting an Egyptian cleric in Milan will continue, a judge has ruled, rejecting a defence bid to end the proceedings. The ruling was a victory for prosecutors in the first trial to examine the "rendition" process, in which the CIA allegedly abducted suspects abroad and sent them to other countries for harsh interrogation. It benefits two former Italian spy chiefs by upholding a Constitutional Court judgment in March excluding evidence on state secrecy grounds. "The most important thing is the fact that the trial goes on, but it's clear that the court ruling has imposed some surgical cuts," the lead prosecutor, Armando Spataro, said. "We will have to see … which part of the interrogations we will be able to use ..."

The Usual Suspects Part 1: Richard Perle, Prince of Darkness [ 05/22/09 ] "This is the first installment of a series of articles in which I will introduce you to the cast of characters that pull most of the strings behind the neocon movement, The Usual Suspects. This group has had a long and sordid history of criminal activity and have shown a propensity for sacrificing U.S. national security for their own agendas. Today, I will introduce you to an infamous figure many of you already know: Richard Perle, the Prince of Darkness..."

ODD:  Cops: "Serial toy thief" had $7,000 in merchandise at his home  [ 05/22/09 ] "he 34-year-old man admitted stealing toys more than 300 times from South Florida stores. (South Florida Sun-Sentinel)"  Groom arrested at his wedding reception in saggy pants dispute  "The incident started when a police officer asked the groom's teen nephew (at left) to pull up his pants to comply with the venue's dress code. An argument followed. (New Orleans Times-Picayune) "  Man goes ballistic when he's not allowed to use store bathroom  "He made derogatory comments and kicked his feces-covered boot toward police. Officers Tasered and then arrested him. (Bellingham Herald) "   You can't escape jury duty by claiming extreme boredom  "Grant Michael Faber, 25, reported for jury dury, but left during the lunch break because -- he later told police -- he was extremely bored and couldn't take it any more. A warrant was issued for his arrest. (OregonLive.com) "                     

UK: Our man at Bilderberg - Let's salt the slug in 2010 [ 05/21/09 ] "Publicity is pure poison to the world's global power elite. So we should all turn up to its next annual meeting with a few more tubs of the stuff, writes Charlie Skelton ...Ten years ago, when Jon Ronson dared to report on Bilderberg, he found himself "chased by mysterious men in dark glasses through Portugal". He was scared for his safety. "When I phoned the British embassy and asked them to explain to the powerful secret society that had set their goons on me that I was essentially a humorous journalist out of my depth, I wasn't being funny. I was being genuinely desperate," he wrote. I know exactly how he feels. Only out of sheer desperation did I try to arrest one of the goons following me and then follow my flimsy leads up the Greek police ladder, finally catching one of the goons wet-handed in the lavatory of the department of government security. And only then did I know the extent of Bilderberg's paranoia: they had set the state police on me..." Related: Charlie Skelton's Bilderberg files

KBR Was Paid $83 Million in Bonuses for Work That Electrocuted US Soldiers [ 05/21/09 ] "The Department of Defense paid former Halliburton subsidiary KBR more than $80 million in bonuses for contracts to install electrical wiring in Iraq in 2007-2008. The award payment was for the very work that resulted in the electrocution deaths of US soldiers, according to Department of Defense documents revealed today in a Senate hearing. More than $30 million in bonuses were paid months after the death of Sgt. Ryan Maseth, a highly decorated, 24-year-old Green Beret, whose January 2008 electrocution death has been classified by DoD investigators as a “negligent homicide.” Maseth’s death had originally been labeled an “accident.” All of the bonuses were paid to KBR after DoD investigators had officially expressed concerns about the quality of KBR’s electrical work...."

US, Russia end first round of high-stakes nuclear talks  [ 05/21/09 ] "The United States and Russia on Wednesday concluded the first round of talks aimed at replacing a landmark Cold War-era nuclear disarmament treaty before it expires in December. Negotiators met behind closed doors to discuss a successor to the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START), in high-stakes talks whose outcome could have far-reaching implications for global security. A Russian foreign ministry source said that the initial two-day negotiating session had been "successful" and "constructive" and the next round would take place in Geneva next month, news agencies reported. "The talks have ended. We evaluate them as successful.... The meeting was conducted in a constructive tone," the source was quoted as saying by the Interfax news agency. Both Interfax and RIA-Novosti reported that negotiators had agreed to meet again in Geneva on June 1-3, but no other details were given about the talks which had begun one day earlier in Moscow. The Russian foreign ministry said earlier that both sides had agreed to stay quiet about the talks, which are expected to be difficult as negotiators seek to reach a deal before START expires on December 5. The effort to replace the 1991 treaty is a central element of US President Barack Obama's plan to "reset" badly strained ties with Russia...."

Max Keiser on Press TV: Insider Trading, SEC, Mossad, Bonds and 9/11 [ 05/21/09 ] [7:36]   

Meeting of America's Richest About 'Need,' Attendee Says [ 05/21/09 ] "Under a cloak of secrecy, some of the world's wealthiest people gathered in an unprecedented meeting early this month in New York City "to see how they can join together to do more," according to one attendee...." 

American brains are Canada's gain [ 05/21/09 ] "Cash-strapped families increasingly drawn to lower cost of studying north of the border - and this Canada's schools are cashing in ..." 

National Archives Loses Sensitive Data  [ 05/21/09 ] "A fiercely debated, nine-year investigation into Ireland's Roman Catholic-run institutions says priests and nuns terrorized thousands of boys and girls in workhouse-style schools for decades — and government inspectors failed to stop the chronic beatings, rapes and humiliation ..." 

Thousands beaten, raped in Irish reform schools   [ 05/20/09 ] "A fiercely debated, nine-year investigation into Ireland's Roman Catholic-run institutions says priests and nuns terrorized thousands of boys and girls in workhouse-style schools for decades — and government inspectors failed to stop the chronic beatings, rapes and humiliation. High Court Justice Sean Ryan on Wednesday unveiled the 2,600-page final report of Ireland's Commission to Inquire Into Child Abuse, which is based on testimony from thousands of former students and officials from more than 250 church-run institutions. More than 30,000 children deemed to be petty thieves, truants or from dysfunctional families — a category that often included unmarried mothers — were sent to Ireland's austere network of industrial schools, reformatories, orphanages and hostels from the 1930s until the last church-run facilities shut in the 1990s. The report found that molestation and rape were "endemic" in boys' facilities, chiefly run by the Christian Brothers order, and supervisors pursued policies that increased the danger. Girls supervised by orders of nuns, chiefly the Sisters of Mercy, suffered much less sexual abuse but frequent assaults and humiliation designed to make them feel worthless. "In some schools a high level of ritualized beating was routine. ... Girls were struck with implements designed to maximize pain and were struck on all parts of the body," the report said. "Personal and family denigration was widespread...."   Note: What a lovely time to eliminate all the Catholic institutions and occupants.

Israel Dumps Its Hazardous Waste in Palestinian West Bank   [ 05/20/09 ] "Israel has found a cheap and easy way to get rid of its waste, much of it hazardous: dump it into the West Bank. A few Palestinians can be bought, the rest are in no position to complain. "Israel has been dumping waste, including hazardous and toxic waste, into the West Bank for years as a cheaper and easier alternative to processing it properly in Israel at appropriate hazardous waste management sites," Palestinian Environmental Authority (PEA) deputy director Jamil Mtoor told IPS. Shuqbah, a village of 5,000, lies near the border of Israel and the Palestinian Authority, not far from Ramallah. Israeli companies have been using land owned by a Palestinian middleman in the village to dump tonnes of garbage for as little as 30 dollars per tonne, significantly cheaper than dumping it at Israeli waste sites. "For several years Israeli companies have been dumping solid and hazardous waste there," Mtoor told IPS. "The subsequent burning of toxic waste including items such as x-ray films releases carcinogens into the environment, and this has affected the population, with many people developing asthma and related illnesses." The Israelis earlier buried the carcasses of thousands of chickens infected with the avian flu virus near Nablus in the northern West Bank, said Mtoor. The PEA also uncovered 500 barrels of insecticide in Hebron in the southern West Bank. Again, a Palestinian middleman had been paid off to accept the barrels on his property...."

Atlanta Investigation Uncovers Deceptive 'Humane Society' Agenda  [ 05/20/09 ] "ABC News in Atlanta is taking a cue from us and following the money donated to the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS). And the results aren’t pretty. The animal rights industry leader with the misleading name gives less than 4 cents of every dollar of its budget to support local animal shelters. The rest of the money, as WSB-TV Channel 2 News confirmed? It funds the group’s activist projects and lobbying for vegetarian-minded legislation...."

Former White House lawyer: Cheney dares US to indict him  [ 05/20/09 ] "But … I have changed my mind about the need to indict former Vice President Dick Cheney for complicity in illegal torture.” His insistence on putting himself on multiple TV programs and conservative radio talk shows, not only defending torture but offering the defense that it worked, has changed my mind...."

Democratic fundraiser Norman Hsu convicted of corruption  [ 05/20/09 ] "Longtime fundraiser Norman Hsu was convicted Tuesday of violating campaign finance laws in a case that became an embarrassment to Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and other prominent Democrats he courted...."

Property slump worsens across the globe  [ 05/20/09 ] "The slump across global commercial property markets has accelerated since the turn of the year, with the emerging markets in particular struggling under the combination of capital value and rental falls. ..."

Study deems US missile shield in Europe ineffective  [ 05/20/09 ] "In a new study published on Tuesday, a group of US and Russian military and academic experts said that a proposed US missile shield in Eastern Europe would be ineffective against a missile attack from Iran...."  Note: It's not being there for that reason. Leverage.

U.S. will deploy missiles in Poland before 2010  [ 05/20/09 ] "The Patriot battery, armed with about 100 missiles, is to be temporarily based on the Polish soil until 2012 when it would be permanently based. The cooperation is expected to include deployment of, at least, one battery of US Patriot missiles. "We expect the Patriot battery to be deployed on Polish soil by the end of 2009, as initially agreed with the Americans...."

GOP "Headed For A Blowout" In 2012 If Cheney, Limbaugh, Palin Lead  [ 05/19/09 ]  Yep ... if time were to go on, it would get much, much darker.

Corruption and Mental Stagnation in Illinois: A majority of 1 can block bills  [ 05/19/09 ] "Under the strange rules of the Illinois House, an objection from just one lawmaker will kill any effort to release legislation that has been bottled up in committee, no matter how many other people support the idea. So Rep. Barbara Flynn Currie -- the No. 2 Democrat in the House -- is charged with standing up and objecting when Republicans file motions to release bills they feel should be debated...."   

'Robert Byrd Hospitalized With Temperature Spike' [ 05/19/09 ] Oh .... Gasp! (clutch pearls) That means he's living after all. If it gets too high, we'll call him "Mr Yeast" and see where that goes. Could be compost by next year.

12 Bush lawyers face disbarment complaints [ 05/18/09 ] "A group has filed disciplinary complaints in four states and the District of Columbia calling for the disbarment of twelve lawyers they say are associated with the Bush administration’s position on torture. The complaints — running more than 500 pages — enumerate in excruciating detail the case against key Bush officials that participated in defending “torture techniques” employed by the administration against alleged al Qaeda suspects. The complaints are posted online at disbartorturelawyers.com.

US journo claims Bhutto was killed on Cheney’s orders [ 05/18/09 ] "A special death squad assassinated Pakistan’s former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto on the orders of former US Vice-President Dick Cheney, an Arab TV channel has reported. “Cheney was the chief of the Joint Special Operation Command and he cleared the way for the US by exterminating opponents through the unit and the CIA. General Stanley was the in-charge of the unit,” The Nation quoted US columnist Seymour Hersh, as saying. The US death unit killed Bhutto because she had told Al-Jazeera TV about the assassination of Osama Bin Laden, Hersh said."

Paying To Subjugate Yourself: Where It Would Go Given Enough Time [ 05/18/09 ] "The next five years will determine what the US will look and be like, for the next fifty years. After Bush undermined the government’s revenue base by handing out $3.5 trillion in corporate tax breaks, he started a couple of wars that have, to date, cost an estimated $2.4 trillion. Factor in taxpayer hand outs of a few more trillions to the banks, and the republicans have finally realized their long term goal – breaking the U.S. Government. The day will come when a state is so broke it will ask the corporate banks for help. The help will be conditional of course. The state will be forced to privatize its government functions, which will involve the elimination of all social programs. All of its resources, natural or industrial, will be handed over to corporate management...."

UK: Children's database launched  [ 05/18/09 ] [children who would be adults, soon enough]  "A database which holds the details of every child in the UK has become operational. ContactPoint holds the name, ages, address and other information for an estimated 11 million youngsters in England for access by childcare professionals. The £224 million system was set up following the death of Victoria Climbie, who was abused by her great aunt and her boyfriend, but has been hit by a series of delays and fears over security. Technicians will start training around 800 practitioners including social workers, police and health care professionals to use the database..." Related: UK: Town halls hire citizen snoopers as young as seven to spy on neighbours and report 'wrongs' Note: Not only is Britain a screwed up place to live, but now every child given a warped perspective by the system can get back at adults for being mistreated in the highly stratified and anal British system by being a 'spy' and deliberately fucking with people, by becoming an extension of an insane system of paranoia and surveillance, contrived to monitor society for those who may be a threat to those immature power-hungry sequentialized incarnations who have shafted everyone in their lifetime tantrums. Whew! It's true. See, the Brits can get away with all this shit because they're a limited population on an island, without means of defense (no weapons) and directly under the 'wing' of the Draconian dynamic, and thanks to their German roots, they love taking and given orders and obeying those who threaten them with death, implicitly or otherwise, because socially they have no working immortality strategy that matters any more. So, we see what happens when tyrants feel existentially depressed and under threat.

Blind Traveler Asks Too Many Questions On Delayed Flight, Dragged Off, Jailed, Told He's Faking Blindness    [ 05/18/09 ] "As 61-year-old Belgian interpreter Nicola Cantisani, who is blind, sat for two hours waiting in the Brussels-bound U.S. Airways jet on the tarmac at Philadephia airport in early April, he wondered why no one was telling passengers about the reasons for the take-off delay. When he requested a glass of water he was shooed away by the crew. When he tried to ask the captain exactly why there was a delay, Cantisani was asked to disembark . When he refused to do so (why?), he was dragged off the plane by three police officers, pinned into a wheelchair, held by the throat, lost the cane he uses to navigate, held at the airport for five hours without food, water, or access to any phone, moved to a 6' x 7' police cell at 3 a.m., questioned by a psychiatrist, and detained for 16 hours. And it was only at the end of this ordeal that the police finally believed he wasn't faking his blindness...."

Obama to warn Israel's PM, Benjamin Netanyahu: 'No more blank cheques'   [ 05/18/09 ] "The President has already fired warning shots across the bows of the Israeli government to signal that he will not be pushed around by Mr Netanyahu's newly elected right-wing coalition. Many within Israel's government are openly hostile to two key aspects of American policy on the Middle East: statehood for the Palestinians and engagement with Iran. Martin Indyk, a former US ambassador to Israel, said: "Netanyahu is caught between a rock and a hard place, the rock being the president's determination to achieve a two-state solution and the hard place being his political base which opposes it. He's inching toward the Obama position but trying to avoid saying the words, 'two-state solution.'" Mr Netanyahu's political survival may depend on him sticking to his position. Avigdor Lieberman, the Israeli foreign minister whose right-wing party is essential to the survival of the Likud-led coalition, is forthrightly opposed to the creation of a Palestinian state. But Mr Obama's hand in confronting Mr Netanyahu was strengthened last week by a new Zogby poll revealing that voters who backed him in the election overwhelmingly support a policy which amounts to "get tough with Israel" - ending illegal Israeli settlements within Palestinian territory and establishing a Palestinian state. Jewish voters, 78 per cent of whom voted for Mr Obama, are among the strongest supporters of the plan. Mr Obama has already shocked Israeli officials by publicly declaring that a two state solution was in America's national interest - a clear sign that Washington will no longer automatically leap to support Israel regardless of the impact on the US. The Obama administration has also broken a long-standing taboo against discussing Israel's nuclear weapons, by calling for Israel to declare and give up its weapons arsenal, said to number around 50 warheads. A senior State Department official said the US wants Israel to sign the nuclear Non Proliferation Treaty and commit to disarmament. What he has not done yet, is query the $3 billion in military aid which US taxpayers send Israel every year, although that could yet happen given the straitened times. But Israel is meanwhile rattled by Mr Obama's willingness to attempt dialogue with Iran, seen by Mr Netanyahu and Mr Lieberman as the biggest threat to the Jewish state. As he scans the Oval Office for friendly faces, Mr Netanyahu's eyes may light on two of Mr Obama's most trusted advisers, the White House chief of staff and former congressman Rahm Emanuel and the Presidents chief political adviser, David Axelrod. Both men are veterans of Chicago's rough and tumble politics, where Mr Obama cut his teeth - and both are also closely connected to Americas Jewish community ...."

Finally An End To The Obnoxious Car Warranty Robo-call Scam?  [ 05/17/09 ] "An U.S. federal judge issued a temporary restraining order Friday shutting down a telemarketing campaign that made hundreds of millions of alleged deceptive “robocalls” promoting vehicle warranty contracts. The request for the restraining order granted by Judge John Grady of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois was filed by the Federal Trade Commission on Thursday. The FTC said the telemarketing scheme has prompted “tens of thousands of complaints from consumers who are either on the Do Not Call Registry or asked not to be called.” This is a violation of federal law. The pre-recorded, automated telemarketing calls made to cell phones and landlines have been deceiving consumers into thinking their car warranties are expiring, and pitching sales of service contracts falsely portrayed as extended warranties, the commission said. ...] In addition to the FTC’s restraining-order request, the commission would further impose an asset freeze on all the defendants and put two of the corporate defendants under the control of court-appointed receivers."  Related: AG sues over car warranty calls

Breakout: Suspected Drug Gang Frees 59 From Mexican Jail  [ 05/17/09 ] "Suspected members of a Mexican drug cartel disguised as federal police entered a state prison in the northern state of Zacatecas on Saturday and freed 59 inmates, police and army officials said. Most of the prisoners who escaped are believed to be members of the armed wing of Mexico's Gulf Cartel, one of the country's most powerful criminal organizations. Mexican President Felipe Calderon has staked his presidency on crushing the drug gangs that killed 6,300 people last year across Mexico . The United States is increasingly alarmed by the violence and concerned the fighting could spill across the border. Zacatecas has so far seen little of the drug-related violence that has rocked other northern states. The early morning jailbreak was carried out by heavily armed men dressed in the uniform of an elite federal police force. The men, who arrived in 15 vehicles and a helicopter, gained entry into the prison after claiming they had been ordered to transfer a prisoner to another location, state police officials said ..."  Note: All a prisoner transfer needs is three goons, not an army. That should have been the first clue. Ole! 

Primate Fossil Could Be Key Link In Explaining Evolution Of Modern Politicians  [ 05/17/09 ]  "A 47-million-year-old fossil was found in Germany ... A young female, had thumbs, may have walked ...." Note: Sounds like the blind date from hell. I had a 60 year old fossil for a teacher one time. Mrs. Green. Who else? Sigh. Guess who's the fossil now? Yep. But, she's dead. Lucky stiff. And, my barber dropped dead on May 10th. Go figure. Now, he'll be cuttin' hair in the big 'clip joint' in the sky.... Nice guy. Meanwhile ... 

CIA Contractors Played Big Role In Interrogations  [ 05/17/09 ] "Congressional testimony this week showed that private CIA contractors were a driving force behind harsh interrogations. Although there are lawsuits against military contractors involved in detainee abuse, there has been far less legal action against contractors who worked for the CIA. American Civil Liberties Union attorney Ben Wisner believes this is largely because of the secrecy that has surrounded the CIA's interrogation and detention program. "There simply have not been a lot of lawsuits related to the CIA's torture program against either the CIA or its contractors, because courts have almost universally been shutting these lawsuits down on the basis of overbroad secrecy claims made by the CIA," says Wisner. President Obama and Attorney General Eric Holder have said CIA agents who followed the Justice Department's legal advice won't be prosecuted criminally, but they have said nothing about contractors. Criminal or civil lawsuits against CIA contractors would present their own unique legal challenges ..."

Haliburton, KBR shareholders sue firms as proxy for Bush-Cheney cronyism  [ 05/17/09 ] "Remember how MBA George W. Bush was going to be our CEO president? How he was going to run the country like he would run a business? Well, on that promise, at least, he delivered. Americans frustrated by the lack of accountability of the Bush-Cheney White House may get some satisfaction from the knowledge that the administration ran the main businesses it was tied to the same way it ran the country — and there is some rich accountability taking hold in that realm ...."

New Book: Nazi Nexus: America's Corporate Connections to Hitler's Holocaust  [ 05/17/09 ] "Author: Edwin Black .......... About the Program .......... In his new book "Nazi Nexus," Edwin Black looks at the U.S. corporations that were directly involved with the Holocaust. He spoke at the Park East Synagogue in New York City.. Investigative reporter Edwin Black is the author of many books, including "IBM and the Holocaust," "War Against the Weak," and "The Plan."  

Depth of Corruption in Illinois: Comprehensive Report By U. Illinois at Chicago Dept Political Science  [ 05/17/09 ] PDF "Professor Dick Simpson and his colleagues at University of Illinois-Chicago wrote(66 Page PDF) an outstanding report on Illinois corruption .... Public corruption in Illinois has a long history dating from the first scandal involving Chicago aldermen and Cook County commissioners in the 1860s. At that time they participated in a crooked contract to paint city hall. Today, nearly a century and a half later, crooked contracts still cost the taxpayers millions of dollars a year and crooked politicians still go to jail. As we continue our study of public corruption, we have discovered that our original findings underestimated the level of corruption in recent years ..." 

Timothy Geithner Corrupt? Mr. Loophole [ 05/17/09 ] "From his time at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York to his turbulent four months so far at Treasury, Geithner has made a career out of seeking—and usually finding—ways to do what most people thought the rules wouldn’t allow. His nose for loopholes was critical to his orchestrating the bailout that sparked the bailout inferno: the March 2008 save of Bear Stearns. Similarly, his Treasury Department has wielded the Great Wall Street Bailout in ways Congress never imagined its law would be used. Even his hiring practices at Treasury involved finding narrow and dubious loopholes in President Obama’s ethics rules. Geithner admitted that it was his staff that requested the bonus loophole in the executive pay law—the loophole that allowed the AIG bonuses that sent Washington into convulsions for a week ..." 

Britain's expense scandal widens  [ 05/17/09 ] "Britain's expense scandal widened Friday with the suspension of a justice minister who claimed more than 65,000 pounds ($98,000) in housing costs over three years...." 

FL: 43 Kids Stun-Gunned At Miami Prisons' "Take Your Kids To Work Day"   [ 05/16/09 ] "A total of 43 children were directly and indirectly shocked by electric stun guns during simultaneous ''Take Your Sons and Daughters to Work Day'' events gone wrong at three state prisons, according to new information provided Friday by the Florida Department of Corrections. Also, a group of kids was exposed to tear gas during a demonstration at another lockup. Three prison guards have been fired, two have resigned and 16 more employees -- from corrections officers to a warden -- will be disciplined due to the incidents that unfolded April 23, said DOC Secretary Walt McNeil. An investigation is ongoing. None of the children in any of the incidents required medical attention or was notably harmed, McNeil said. He said the children, who ranged in age from 5 to 17, were all children of prison officials..."

Hersh: Children sodomized at Abu Ghraib, on tape  [ 05/16/09 ] "Seymour Hersh says the US government has videotapes of boys being sodomized at Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq. "The worst is the soundtrack of the boys shrieking," the reporter told an ACLU convention last week. Hersh says there was "a massive amount of criminal wrongdoing that was covered up at the highest command out there, and higher ... The outrages have cost us the support of moderate Arabs, says Hersh. "They see us as a sexually perverse society. The Telegraph and other news organizations described "a videotape, apparently made by US personnel, is said to show Iraqi guards raping young boys." The Guardian reported "formal statements by inmates published yesterday describe horrific treatment at the hands of guards, including the rape of a teenage Iraqi boy by an army translator.")"   Note: Sigh ... we couldn't get out of here soon enough. Related: Children Sodomized In Front Of Their Prisoner Mothers

Little Known Military Thug Squad Still Brutalizing Prisoners at Gitmo Under Obama "As the Obama administration continues to fight the release of some 2,000 photos that graphically document U.S. military abuse of prisoners in Iraq and Afghanistan, an ongoing Spanish investigation is adding harrowing details to the ever-emerging portrait of the torture inside and outside Guantánamo. Among them: "blows to [the] testicles;" "detention underground in total darkness for three weeks with deprivation of food and sleep;" being "inoculated … through injection with 'a disease for dog cysts;'" the smearing of feces on prisoners; and waterboarding. The torture, according to the Spanish investigation, all occurred "under the authority of American military personnel" and was sometimes conducted in the presence of medical professionals."

"Slave Next Door" Exposes U.S. Gov't Sanctioned Slavery   [ 05/16/09 ] "First Kuwaiti - and by association, the U.S. Department of State - were using slave labor to build the embassy. Taxpayers were footing the bill. The idea of a U.S. subcontractor trafficking enslaved workers into the country where we are waging a war to introduce freedom and democracy, is unthinkable. And yet, in case after case, the construction company hired workers, normally through sub-contractors, from India, Pakistan, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Sierra Leone, Egypt, Turkey, and the Philippines under false pretenses. Falsely promised work in Dubai, they were landed in a combat zone. Once in Iraq contractors confiscated the workers' passports, forced them to live in squalid conditions, and to work long hours for little or no pay."

"Our man at Bilderberg: "They're watching and following me, I tell you"   [ 05/16/09 ] "- Charlie Skelton is now being followed by the police and still hasn't done much more than eat a club sandwich. Global secret cabals have no sense of humour. I'll talk later about the strange secret circus of limousines, blacked-out windows, sirens, helicopters. No time to relate being detained for a SECOND time, for the crime of being half a mile from the Bilderberg hotel gates trying to take "arty" photographs of limousine wheels as they whisked past. Doing so little wrong that I was doing it while standing next to three policemen who were fine about it. Until the call came through on the radio and the motorbikes and squad cars squealed around me like a bad dream. I'll tell that story later. I have to talk now about what just happened...."

The Pledge of Allegiance: A Short History  [ 05/16/09 ] "Before WW2, the Pledge of Allegiance used the Hitler Salute!" Book  Note: Actually, pledges of allegiance with the arm have been a feature of this civilization from roman times, at least. It's just a pledge of external deference to a concept called 'the state', a sequential concept for control of large populations containing troublesome simultaneous shit disturbers.

As Religions Crumble : Former fundamentalist 'debunks' Bible  [ 05/16/09 ] "Critic: 'There's a touch of arrogance' about him"

Leon Panetta's mission: Stop Israel bombing Iranian nuclear plant  [ 05/16/09 ] "America’s spy chief was sent on a secret mission to Israel to warn its leaders not to launch a surprise attack on Iran without notifying the US Administration. As Binyamin Netanyahu, the Israeli Prime Minister, prepares to visit Washington, it emerged yesterday that Leon Panetta, the head of the CIA, went to Israel two weeks ago. He sought assurances from Mr Netanyahu and Ehud Barak, the Defence Minister, that their hawkish new Government would not attack Iran without alerting Washington. Concerns have been rising that Mr Netanyahu could launch a strike on Tehran’s atomic programme, in the same way that Israel hit Saddam Hussein’s Osirak reactor in 1981. Israel has been preparing for such an eventuality. It has carried out long-distance manoeuvres and is due to hold its largest civil defence drills this summer. The country’s leaders reportedly told Mr Panetta that they did not “intend to surprise the US on Iran ...”  Related: CIA chief in secret Israel talks on Iran  [ 05/15/09 ] "CIA chief Leon Panetta has held secret talks in Israel with top officials who assured him the Jewish state would not launch a surprise strike on Iran, a report said."

Ethics Group CREW Calls For Murtha To Resign Chairmanship Over Scandals  [ 05/16/09 ] "In light of continuing stories exposing Rep. John Murtha's egregious activities, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) called on Rep. Murtha to step down from his position as chairman of the House Defense Appropriations Subcommittee pending the outcome of a federal grand jury investigation into the lawmaker's earmarking practices. Although the congressman has repeatedly denied wrongdoing despite an ever-mounting number of stories exposing his habit of trading taxpayer dollars for campaign contributions and for using his position to financially benefit friends and family, the Washington Post has obtained documents showing that a contract to fund a biological materials detection test shifted to three companies over a ten-year period, but that companies in which Rep. Murtha's nephew, Robert Murtha, had an interest nevertheless maintained subcontracts on the project though they did little to no work. In addition, at Robert Murtha's insistence, some of the work was moved to Rep. Murtha's district...."

Mayor Daley Says No to Illinois Ethics Reform   [ 05/16/09 ] "Flanked by a cast of thousands, Mayor Daley turned up the heat today on the Illinois General Assembly to approve his Springfield agenda with one conspicuous omission: ethics reform. With one governor in prison and another impeached and indicted, reforming a state government mired in corruption and pay-to-pay politics is high on just about everybody's agenda. "We've done everything here. We're leading the way with our inspector general, office of compliance — all the things we've done. We're more transparent than any other government. Look at it. We're doing a tremendous job here. We lead by example," he said. Note: Leading by example means having your Water Department labeled as racketeering enterprise by Patrick Fitzgerald. You might find it strange that the Mayor of America's third largest city would honor a "high ranking made member" of the Chicago Mob..."

2 Yellowstone Workers Fired For Urinating In Geyser  [ 05/16/09 ] "Two seasonal Yellowstone National Park concession workers have been fired after a live webcam caught them urinating into the Old Faithful geyser. Park spokesman Al Nash says a 23-year-old man on Tuesday was fined $750 and placed on three years of unsupervised probation for urinating, being off trail in a restricted area and taking items from the area. The man also was banned from Yellowstone for two years. The park's dispatch center was called after someone watching a webcam on the geyser saw six employees leaving the trail and walking on Old Faithful on May 4. The geyser was not erupting at the time. Xanterra Parks & Resorts general manager Jim McCaleb says the former concession workers were hired at the Old Faithful Inn and that such incidents were rare...."

Mother of U.S. Marine Waterboarded by US Military Hits Latest Torture Excuse -- and Cheney  [ 05/16/09 ] "This week, I received a letter from a woman from Florida, mother of a young Marine, who has corresponded with me before about her military background and her son joining up, at Editor & Publisher. Her latest letter was extremely disturbing and also extremely relevant to the latest torture excuse. Here is it is, with her name omitted for obvious reasons. ..."   Note: They're doing people in military training.

Thriving Norway Provides an Economics Lesson  [ 05/15/09 ] "With a quirky contrariness as deeply etched in the national character as the fjords carved into its rugged landscape, Norway has thrived by going its own way. When others splurged, it saved. When others sought to limit the role of government, Norway strengthened its cradle-to-grave welfare state. And in the midst of the worst global downturn since the Depression, Norway’s economy grew last year by just under 3 percent. The government enjoys a budget surplus of 11 percent and its ledger is entirely free of debt."

Missouri Anti-Real ID Bill Passes the Senate in a Landslide  [ 05/15/09 ] "The bill is on its way to the Governor's desk to sign and Missourians are making phone calls to Governor Nixon to politely ask that he sign Representative Jim Guest's House Bill 361 which was unanimously passed in the Senate today."

GOP Senate Candidate Apologizes For Calling Sen. Schumer "That Jew"   [ 05/15/09 ] "Hendren said he doesn't remember the exact wording of his comment, but he was quoted by conservative blogger Jason Tolbert as calling Schumer "that Jew." "When I referred to him as Jewish, it wasn't because I don't like Jewish people."    Note:  Regardless, it's common knowledge that Mr. Schumer is what and who he is, and what he's done, and what he's doing ... and no one who cares to comment is really is just going to call him 'That Man", and not even "That Jew" -- not that there's anything wrong with That. It remains that Mr. Schumer is universally disliked by an incredible number of people because of his actions and behavior, and that's that.

CIA Denies Cheney Request To Release Intelligence Documents   [ 05/15/09 ] "The CIA said in a press release that it cannot comply with the request from former Vice President Dick Cheney to declassify and release interrogation documents. The process for Mandatory Declassification Review is governed by Executive Order 12958, as amended. That Order excludes from review information that is the subject of pending litigation. The two documents that former Vice President Cheney sought contain information that falls into that category." "For that reason--and that reason only--CIA did not accept Mr. Cheney's request for a Mandatory Declassification Review. The Agency simply followed the Executive Order. This request was handled in accordance with normal practice by CIA professionals with long experience in information management and release. It was for them a straightforward issue." Cheney claims the documents would prove "enhanced interrogation methods" were effective."  Related: Graham: CIA Gave Me False Information About Interrogation Briefings "In testimony that could bolster Speaker Nancy Pelosi's claim that the CIA misled her during briefings on detainee interrogations, former Senator Bob Graham insisted on Thursday that he too was kept in the dark about the use of waterboarding, and called the agency's records on these briefings "suspect." ... the general rule is that the executive is to brief the full committees of the House and Senate Intelligence committees about any ongoing or proposed action. The exception to that is what is called "covert action," where the president...only briefs the Gang of Eight, which is the four congressional leaders and the four intelligence committee leaders. Those sessions are generally conducted at an executive site, primarily at the White House itself. And they are conducted with just the authorized personnel, not with any staff or any other member of the committee.... Which leads me to conclude that this was not considered by the CIA to be a Gang of Eight briefing. Otherwise they would not have had staff in the room. And that leads me to then believe that they didn't brief us on any of the sensitive programs such as the waterboarding or other forms of excessive interrogation ..."| Nancy Pelosi: CIA Lied To Me  "House Speaker Nancy Pelosi bluntly accused the CIA on Thursday of misleading her and other lawmakers about its use of waterboarding during the Bush administration, escalating a controversy grown to include both political parties, the spy agency and the White House. "It is not the policy of this agency to mislead the United States Congress," responded CIA spokesman George Little, although he refused to answer directly when asked whether Pelosi's accusation was accurate. But the House's top Democrat, speaking at a news conference in the Capitol, was unequivocal about a CIA briefing she received in the fall of 2002. "We were told that waterboarding was not being used," the speaker said. "That's the only mention, that they were not using it. And we now know that earlier they were." She suggested the CIA release the briefing material."   

UN Watchdog Warns Of 10-20 New Nuclear States In Next Few Years   [ 05/15/09 ] "The IAEA director general is the custodian of a global arms control regime that is increasingly beleaguered. It was built around the 1970 nuclear non-proliferation treaty (NPT) and the goal of restricting membership of the nuclear club to five postwar powers. It has been under strain in the last four decades, with Israel, India, Pakistan and North Korea developing weapons outside the NPT. But now ElBaradei says the system is in danger of collapse, with an abrupt spread in nuclear weapons technology. "We still live in a world where if you have nuclear weapons, you are buying power, you are buying insurance against attack. That is not lost on those who do not have nuclear weapons, particularly in [conflict] regions." He predicted that the next wave of proliferation would involve "virtual nuclear weapons states", who can produce plutonium or highly enriched uranium and possess the knowhow to make warheads, but who stop just short of assembling a weapon. They would therefore remain technically compliant with the NPT while being within a couple of months of deploying and using a nuclear weapon..."

Donald Rumsfeld Loudly Harangued At White House Correspondents' Dinner (VIDEO) by Jason Linkins  [ 05/15/09 ] "This video has been making the rounds, but in case you haven't seen it, here's Donald Rumsfeld getting shouted at by Desiree Fairooz and Medea Benjamin of the ubiquitous protest organization known as Code Pink. I gather that the big takeaway is that, in Code Pink's estimation, Donald Rumsfeld is a "war criminal." But don't take my word for it! Maybe my impression is based in a flawed parsing of all this subtlety."

US detainee abuse 'unprecedented'   [ 05/14/09 ] "A former US official has accused the administration of George Bush, the former president, of authorising "unprecedented" acts of abuse during the interrogation of terror suspects. Phillip Zelikow told a US senate hearing on torture practices that the Bush administration was guilty of a "collective failure" over the interrogation of "war on terror" detainees. "The US government over the past seven years adopted an unprecedented programme in American history of cruelly calculated dehumanising abuse and physical torment to extract information," Zelikow said on Wednesday. "This was a mistake, perhaps disastrous one. It was a collective failure in which a number of officials and members of congress and staffers of both parties played a part, endorsing a CIA programme of physical coercion." The Bush administration has been widely criticised for allowing the use of "waterboarding", which simulates the sensation of drowning, sleep deprivation and other interrogation methods, all practices heavily criticised by human rights groups..."

EU slaps a record fine on Intel   [ 05/14/09 ] "Computer chipmaker Intel has been fined a record 1.06bn euros ($1.45bn; £948m) by the European Commission for anti-competitive practices. It dwarfs the 497m euro fine levied on Microsoft in 2004 for abusing its dominant market position. The Commission found that between 2002 and 2007, Intel had paid manufacturers and a retailer to favour its chips over those of Advanced Micro Devices (AMD).  Intel has announced that it will appeal against the verdict..."  Includes video.

ODD:  Real cop on his way to work gets pulled over by fake cop  [ 05/14/09 ] "We've seen this happen before. In the latest case, a 61-year-old man driving a Ford Crown Victoria Police Interceptor with red and yellow lights in the rear window was arrested. (Arizona Republic) "   "Old lady heroin dealers" just got caught up in the business  "An attorney says the sisters, 65 and 70, "got caught up in something that just kept rolling along." A total of 1,400 bags of heroin were found during searches of their homes. (Pocono Record) " Did you know that May was National Masturbation Month?   "The annual observance doesn't have a hugely high profile," says this story. That may be because it's "celebrated" year-around by so many people. (Philadelphia Weekly) " Home visitor bites off part of host's ear after being told to leave  "The host was helping the guy pack his stuff when the attack occurred. (Kenosha News) " Woman arrested for trying to slide on tarp at Wrigley Field  "It was during a rain delay, and she may have been "over served." (Chicago Sun-Times) " Hospital: Sorry for operating on the wrong side of your mouth  "A surgeon this week began operating on the wrong part of a child’s mouth during surgery to correct a cleft palate -- the fifth wrong-site surgery in Rhode Island since 2007. “This is an event that should absolutely never happen," says the head of an organization that accredits hospitals. "There just is absolutely no excuse for it." (Providence Journal)" Cash flies out of convertible on Berlin motorway   "A man lost 23,000 euros ($31,180) to the wind when an envelope with the money he had stuck in the passenger seat pocket of his convertible blew away during a test drive in northern Germany."  Emotional intelligence 'aids sex'   "A study of more than 2,000 female twins showed that those able to monitor their own and others' feelings and emotions, (had a higher) frequency of orgasm during masturbation and intercourse. "  Note: It's very true, however, it's true for both body genders, and also relates to the astrological capabilities relative to emotion and visualization, etc. Some are visually oriented, some language oriented, some a little of both ... some are useless. Ha!

Scientist arrested for smuggling vials used in Ebola research into US  [ 05/14/09 ] "According to US prosecutor Lynn Jordheim, Yao was detained for carrying unidentified biological materials in vials wrapped in aluminium foil inside a glove and packaged in a plastic bag, along with electrical wires, in the trunk of his car. Yao said in an affidavit he stole the vials, described as research vectors, from the Winnipeg lab on his last day of work there on January 21. He told US border guards he was taking them to his new job with the National Institutes of Health at the Biodefense Research Laboratory in Bethesda, Maryland. US authorities feared their contents could pose a terrorist threat. But tests later showed "they are not hazardous," said Jordheim..."

Pentagon Understates War Casualties, Says Veterans Group  [ 05/14/09 ] "The Pentagon is intentionally underreporting US casualties in Iraq and Afghanistan, according to a recent report by veterans' advocacy group Veterans for Common Sense."

Israeli Foreign Minister UK visit shrouded in secrecy  [ 05/14/09 ] "Foreign Minister (and former nightclub bouncer) Avigdor Lieberman's first official visit to London was shrouded in secrecy with no coverage at all in the British media on Wednesday and no press conference for British media journalists, only a closed briefing for Israeli journalists based in the UK.

ACLU: Human Gene Patents Infringe Speech By Restricting Research  [ 05/14/09 ] "The American Civil Liberties Union is suing the Patent and Trademark Office and a research company awarded exclusive rights to human genes known to detect early signs of breast or ovarian cancer. The group claims the patents violate speech by restricting research. The novel case, if successful, opens the door to challenges of a host of other patented genes: about one-fifth of the human genome is covered under patent applications and claims. The ACLU’s case is believed to be the first to challenge a patented gene under a civil rights allegation..."

Wolfram Alpha: What Google's New Rival Knows -- and Doesn't  [ 05/14/09 ] "Clever presentation, but a weak database: The soon-to-be-launched Wolfram Alpha search engine is already being touted as the "Google killer." SPIEGEL ONLINE has tested a preliminary version. The conclusion: It knows a lot about aspirin, a little about culture -- and it thinks German Chancellor Angela Merkel's political party is an airport..."

Ex-Powell aide: Why do 'Cheney lies' get 'so much air time'?  [ 05/14/09 ] "Former Vice President Dick Cheney showed up on Fox News Tuesday afternoon to defend the use of torture yet again. However, Colonel (ret.) Lawrence Wilkerson, who served in the Bush administration as chief of staff to then-Secretary of State Colin Powell, had nothing but contempt for Cheney’s arguments when he discussed them with MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow..."  Related: Dick Cheney: Why So Chatty All of a Sudden? | Bill Clinton: Cheney should stick to target practice

Senate Approves Coburn Gun Amendment…in Credit Card Bill  [ 05/13/09 ] "The Senate on Tuesday night easily passed an amendment to credit card reform legislation that would allow concealed weapons in national parks. The vote was 67 to 29. The question now is this: Will a controversial gun proposal attached to popular underlying legislation be the poison pill that sinks that larger bill?"

US Ships Near Somalia Ordered To Pack Heat  [ 05/13/09 ] "The U.S. Coast Guard will require U.S.-flagged ships sailing around the Horn of Africa to post guards and ship owners to submit anti-piracy security plans for approval, a Coast Guard official said on Tuesday. The new requirements, which respond to a surge of piracy off the coast of Somalia, allow ship owners to decide whether to use armed or unarmed guards, Coast Guard Rear Admiral James Watson told shipping industry representatives at a maritime security meeting in Fort Lauderdale, Florida..."

DOD Official Charged With Leaking Classified Information To China  [ 05/13/09 ] "A Defense Department official was charged Wednesday with feeding classified information to an agent for the Chinese government. A criminal complaint unsealed in federal court in Virginia accuses James Fondren Jr. of conspiring to relay classified information to a foreign agent. Authorities say Fondren was involved for years in what spy-hunters call a "false flag" operation _ believing he was feeding information to one government, when in fact his handler was working for another country. Court papers charge that Fondren, 62, provided information to a friend named Tai Shen Kuo, a naturalized U.S. citizen from Taiwan who lived primarily in Louisiana. FBI investigators say that unbeknownst to Fondren, Kuo was taking orders from the Chinese government. Officials say Fondren believed the information was being sent to Taiwan. Between 2004 and 2008, Fondren gave Kuo classified information through "opinion papers" he sold to Kuo for between $350 and $800 apiece, officials charge. Eight of the papers allegedly contained classified information, according to investigators. Fondren worked at the Pentagon, holding top secret clearance as the deputy director of the Washington liaison office for U.S. Pacific Command. He has been on administrative leave since February 2008. Fondren surrendered to authorities Wednesday. He faces a maximum of five years in prison if convicted. Kuo and a former Defense Department employee, Gregg Bergersen, were arrested in February 2008 on espionage charges. Bergersen and Kuo have both pleaded guilty to conspiracy in the case."

Jesse Ventura: "If I Waterboarded Cheney, He'd Confess To Murders"  [ 05/13/09 ] "Former Minnesota Governor and one-time professional wrestler Jesse Ventura went public on Larry King Live with some harsh criticisms of the Bush administration, as well as Senator Norm Coleman ..."  Video included. 

ODD:  Driver a little shook up after moose "falls from the sky"  [ 05/13/09 ] "Actually, the animal fell from a freeway overpass. "He landed on his head, and died right off," says a police chief. (Kennebec Journal)"   Tired of pot brownies? Get stoned on Rice Krispie Treats  "Two people, 38 and 44, were arrested when about a half-pound of suspected marijuana, much of which was baked into Rice Krispie Treats, was discovered during a vehicle stop for a defective taillight. (Manitowoc Times-Herald) " Amish guys traveling in a buggy caught drinking Busch beer   "A 17-year-old was arrested for drinking beer and his 22-year-old pal was busted for supplying the cans of Busch. (Buffalo News)" Felon chased by police heads to Taco Bell for one last burrito  "After leading police on a high-speed chase through two counties, Jermaine Askia Cooper was finally caught in a Taco Bell parking lot. He told officers he "knew he was going to jail for a while" and wanted to get one last burrito. (Fort Wayne Journal Gazette)." Nobody knows what was in the fridge that made people sick  "Hundreds of AT&T employees poured out to a parking lot, and a total of 50 firefighters and 18 emergency vehicles raced to the scene -- all because of the stench from a rotten refrigerator. (San Jose Mercury News)" Angry bank customer arrested after mentioning gun in phone call  [ 05/14/09 ] "The woman called Wells Fargo bank after money from her savings account was put into her overdrawn bank account. She allegedly told an employee if the funds weren't returned to her account, she'd be bringing a gun into the bank to get her money back. Police went to her apartment and arrested her. (Star Tribune) "  Teen does a real number on his passed-out party host  "The 18-year-old man admitted that he put makeup on the unconscious guy's face, then burned his leg with a lit candle. The 51-year-old victim was also arrested for giving beer to teens. (DailyTribune.com)  

Did newly announced top Afghan general run Cheney's assassination wing?  [ 05/13/09 ] "It was reported on Tuesday that Lieutenant General Stanley McChrystal will be taking over command of US forces in Afghanistan, pending Senate approval. McChrystal is presently director of the Joint Chiefs staff, but from September 2003 to August 2008, he headed the Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC), which oversees such elite units as the Army's Delta Force and the Navy SEALs. Famed investigative reporter Seymour Hersh recently described the JSOC as an "executive assassination wing" controlled for many years by the office of former Vice President Dick Cheney ... No one would have mentioned his name at all if President George W. Bush hadn't singled him out in public. Lt. Gen. Stanley McChrystal, West Point '76, is not someone the Army likes to talk about. He isn't even listed in the directory at Fort Bragg, N.C., his home base. That's not because McChrystal has done anything wrong—quite the contrary, he's one of the Army's rising stars—but because he runs the most secretive force in the U.S. military. That is the Joint Special Operations Command, the snake-eating, slit-their-throats "black ops" guys who captured Saddam Hussein and targeted Abu Mussab al-Zarqawi ... Rumsfeld is especially enamored of McChrystal's "direct action" forces or so-called SMUs—Special Mission Units—whose job is to kill or capture bad guys, say Pentagon sources who would speak about Special Ops only if they were not identified. But critics say the Pentagon is short-shrifting the "hearts and minds" side of Special Operations that is critical to counterinsurgency—like training foreign armies and engaging with locals ... McChrystal, however, may not be quite as much of a white knight as Newsweek made him out to be. A far less flattering impression of him is given by an Esquire article which ran at the same time as the Newsweek piece. This article details revelations by a military interrogator, "Jeff," about the use of torture "at a secret camp used by Task Force 121, the ultimate Special Ops team, the elite titanium tip of Donald Rumsfeld's spear." ... Fred Kaplan at Slate (story link) and Andrew Sullivan at The Daily Dish  (story link) have already noted Task Force 121's involvement in harsh interrogations and General McChrystal's apparent protection of the abuses. Hopefully, these questions about McChrystal will not be overlooked during his confirmation hearings."    Note: Take a look at the Slate article for initial backstory on the selection of McChrystal to replace command in Afghanistan.

UK/Argentina battle over mineral rights to huge area of South Atlantic seabed  [ 05/13/09 ] "A vast tract of the South Atlantic seabed – rich in oil and minerals – was formally claimed by the United Kingdom today in defiance of Argentinian opposition. The submission to the United Nations commission on the limits of the continental shelf has been issued two weeks after the government in Buenos Aires lodged its application to extend control over an almost identical area of underwater territory. The British claim is contained in a 63-page document that will be posted on the UN's website. It defines the precise limits of the extended continental shelf area around the Falkland Islands, South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands. The islands are all British overseas territories, although ownership is disputed by Argentina. The Foreign Office minister Lord Malloch-Brown said: "Successful completion of this process will confirm the boundaries of the UK's jurisdiction over its continental shelf, thus ensuring our sovereign rights to manage the shelf for future generations." The UK document deals concisely with the Argentinian counter-claim, stating: "The UK has no doubt about its sovereignty over the Falkland Islands, South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands and the surrounding maritime area." The submission is one of several last-minute claims for millions of square kilometres of the ocean floor that have arrived at the UN's New York office before an international deadline – 13 May – for demarcating possession of extended continental shelves. In the past two weeks, Ghana, Pakistan, Norway, South Africa, Iceland, Denmark, France, Vietnam, Nigeria, Sri Lanka, Kenya and others have delivered boxes of documents to the UN in the hope of securing valuable oil, gas and mineral resources around the world...."

Israel surrenders cluster bomb maps to Lebanon after 3 years  [ 05/13/09 ] " ... The UN Human Rights Watch has blasted the Israeli conduct as a violation of international humanitarian law through its 'indiscriminate and disproportionate' use of cluster bombs in Lebanon. According to the UN, Israel dropped about 4 million cluster bomblets during the month-long war, up to 1 million of which failed to explode and can detonate at the slightest disturbance ..."

Commando attack on Taliban stronghold leaves 800,000 homeless  [ 05/13/09 ] "The fighting is inflicting a mounting human toll. The army estimates that 800,000 people have been left homeless by the latest fighting, bringing the total number of displaced people in North West Frontier province to more than 1.3 million. About four-fifths of those are thought to be sheltering with friends or relatives, particularly in Mardan and Swabi districts, while about 130,000 are living in tents. While conditions in the hastily-erected camps are rough and hot, authorities have managed to ensure adequate food and water. But disgruntlement among the displaced is rising, and, combined with anger over civilian deaths caused by army shelling, analysts say the government is in danger of squandering a wave of public sympathy for the operation...."

Bush Failure To Disclose Waterboarding Appears To Violate Law  [ 05/13/09 ] "According to the testimony of two high-ranking Democrats and recently declassified CIA and Justice Department documents, the Bush White House failed to disclose the use of waterboarding until roughly half a year after it was first deployed. Other writers -- notably Marcy Wheeler -- have picked up on this timeline. But it is worth restating and highlighting again because, if accurate, it appears to constitute a violation of law by the former White House ..." 

Victoria Gotti Foreclosed On By JP Morgan  [ 05/13/09 ] "JP Morgan is foreclosing on the Long Island mansion owned by Mafia daughter Victoria Gotti. The 46-year-old reality star owes a whopping $650,000 on the property, according to the New York Post. The daughter of John "Dapper Don" Gotti hasn't made a mortgage payment since September 2006..." 

Night shift at Texas facility: Mentally Disabled Forced Into 'Fight Club' for Cellphone Videos   [ 05/13/09 ] "Terrified residents at a Corpus Christi, Texas, state school for the mentally disabled were forced to be part of a brutal "fight club" operated by night shift employees, who made videos of the sessions with their cell phones, the newly released videos show...." Note: I seem to remember the cliché: "Texas, it's a whole other country" .... Yep.

Police State Study Ranks US As 6th Worst In The World  [ 05/12/09 ] "A 2008 study ( PDF) designed to rank countries in terms of how aggressively they monitor their populations electronically, has placed the US as 6th and the UK as 5th on a global index ... In an Electronic Police State, every surveillance camera recording, every email you send, every Internet site you surf, every post you make, every check you write, every credit card swipe, every cell phone ping… are all criminal evidence, and they are held in searchable databases, for a long, long time. Whoever holds this evidence can make you look very, very bad whenever they care enough to do so. You can be prosecuted whenever they feel like it – the evidence is already in their database....  We will issue the 2009 report toward the end of Q1. We welcome input from any and all reliable sources. "  Note: In a galaxy game, this is the direction things go in a techno-sequentialized society ... More Info: Cryptohippie

Homeless Activist Treated Like Terror Suspect   [ 05/12/09 ] "Homeless Advocate Mike Rhodes was among those monitoring the homeless cleanup, and believes the city is trying to intimidate them. “When they are so concerned about our following up on local government activities that they classify us as terrorists and have us contacted by homeland security, that’s a little over the top.” Rhodes said...."   Related:  HR 2159 Seeks To Disarm Individuals The Government Suspects Of Being Terrorists  "The bill is HR 2159 or the Denying Firearms and Explosives to Dangerous Terrorists Act of 2009. This legislation is incredibly disturbing because since the 9/11 false flag terror attacks, the government has been utilizing the bogus war on terror as a pretext to label a myriad of people as domestic terrorists ..." 

ODD:  Man ticketed after going into store wearing wrestling-type mask  [ 05/12/09 ] "Employees feared he was going to pull a heist, so they evacuated the store. The guy and his wife thought it odd that nobody was in the place during business hours. (She was prepared to explain that her hubby was wearing a mask because he's ugly. (Denver)"  Feds: Woman charged up to $50,000/night for fun with hookers  "A Florida woman is accused of pocketing more than $8.5 million from an online prostitution business. Michelle Braun (left) – accused of charging clients $50,000 or more per night with a prostitute – is charged with money laundering and other offenses. (Orange County Register) ." "Biggest Loser" workouts unrealistic?   "You don't lose hundred of pounds in three months by doing a few jumping-jacks every day. One authority calls the TV show's marathon workouts an unrealistic example of "abusing people for having excess body fat." (St. Petersburg Times) ." Driver, 81, bumps pedestrian who wasn't walking fast enough  "Hey, get moving! The guy doesn't have that much time left on Earth. (La Crosse Tribune)." Play with me or I'll shoot!  "Police say an 11-year-old girl threatened her 7-year-old sister with a gun to force the younger child to play with her. The girl also pointed the .38-caliber pistol at her grandmother. (AP via WVGazette.com) 

NSA ‘Stellar Wind’ routinely eavesdropped on journalists and public officials [ 05/12/09 ] "The warrantless National Security Agency (NSA) electronic eavesdropping program known to only a handful of Bush administration officials by its code name, Stellar Wind, and by a few other Justice Department officials only as “The Program,” routinely intercepted the communications and transactional data, including credit card usage, of journalists and public officials, according to sources familiar with the program. The Stellar Wind program was considered so illegal by the Justice Department and FBI agents who knew about it, there was a belief that then-Attorney General John Ashcroft would be indicted for allowing the interception program to operate. Known also as the “Terrorist Surveillance Program,” the warrantless wiretapping was authorized by President George W. Bush in the wake of 9/11 and had to be recertified every 45 days. In March 2004, Deputy Attorney General James Comey, upon the determination of the Justice Department’s Office of Legal Counsel, decided that certification would not occur because the program was deemed illegal...."

IG Report: Waterboarding Was Neither "Efficacious Or Medically Safe" [ 05/12/09 ] (Cheney Lied) "A CIA inspector general's report from May 2004 that is set to be declassified by the Obama White House will almost certainly disprove claims that waterboarding was only used in controlled circumstances with effective results. On Monday, the Washington Post reported the impending release of a May 7, 2004 IG report that, the paper added, would show that in several circumstances the techniques used to interrogate terrorist suspects "appeared to violate the U.N. Convention Against Torture" and did not produce desired results. It is difficult, the report will conclude, "to determine conclusively whether interrogations have provided information critical to interdicting specific imminent attacks." A fury of speculation ensued among a host of reporter-bloggers, who viewed the forthcoming information as the strongest proof to date that proclamations of waterboarding's usefulness were overblown..."

Somali pirates guided by London intelligence team, report says [ 05/12/09 ]  "The Somali pirates attacking shipping in the Gulf of Aden and Indian Ocean are directed to their targets by a “consultant” team in London, according to a European military intelligence document obtained by a Spanish radio station ... Document obtained by Spanish radio station says 'well-placed informers' in constant contact by satellite telephone ... These London-based "consultants" help the pirates select targets, providing information on the ships' cargoes and courses. In at least one case the pirates have remained in contact with their London informants from the hijacked ship, according to one targeted shipping company...." Note: You know, that makes absolute sense. Who's inside at Lloyds of London?

CIA Refuses to Turn Over Torture Tape Documents to ACLU  [ 05/12/09 ]  "The CIA claims the integrity of a special prosecutor’s criminal investigation into the destruction of 92 interrogation videotapes will be compromised if the agency is forced to turn over to the American Civil Liberties Union detailed documents related to the purge, according to newly released court documents..."

US sacks top military commander in Afghanistan [ 05/12/09 ]  "The top US military commander in Afghanistan was sacked today after both the Pentagon and the White House decided that “fresh thinking” was needed to 'win the war'."  Note: Such delusional thinking. The last military commander to succeed in conquering and hanging onto Afghanistan was Alexander the Great .... and he only kept it for three years.

Suspected Nazi guard Demjanjuk on plane to Germany [ 05/12/09 ]  "Federal agents carrying John Demjanjuk in a wheelchair put him on a small jet Monday to be deported to Germany, where the retired autoworker is accused of being a Nazi death camp guard in World War II. Demjanjuk, 89, arrived in an ambulance at Cleveland Burke Lakefront Airport after spending several hours with U.S. immigration officials at a downtown federal building. Airport commissioner Khalid Bahhur confirmed Demjanjuk was on the plane and that its destination is Germany. The deportation came four days after the U.S. Supreme Court refused to consider Demjanjuk's request to block deportation and about 3 1/2 years after he was last ordered deported. Demjanjuk (pronounced dem-YAHN'-yuk) is wanted on a Munich arrest warrant that accuses him of 29,000 counts of accessory to murder as a guard at the Sobibor death camp in Nazi-occupied Poland. A German Justice Ministry spokesman, Ulrich Staudigl, said the retired autoworker was expected to be in Germany by Tuesday...."

Israel knows that peace just doesn't pay [ 05/11/09 ]  "Successive Israeli governments since 1993 certainly must have known what they were doing, being in no hurry to make peace with the Palestinians. As representatives of Israeli society, these governments understood that peace would involve serious damage to national interests ..."  Related: Israel: U.S. Foreign Assistance (2004 Congressional Briefing) [see also original PDF file] 

"A Secret E-Mail Argument Among Psychologists About Torture" [ 05/11/09 ]  "... As part of our report, we posted a listserv of internal emails between staff of the American Psychological Association and members of its "Psychological Ethics and National Security" task force. (Here’s the entire listserv.) That listserv offers a rare look into a process that led to the adoption of an influential and controversial policy for the world's largest professional organization of psychologists , which represents the profession of psychology in the United States. It also provides a window into a heated discussion among medical professionals grappling with their ethical obligations and their possible complicity in torture..."

Netanyahu meeting with Obama decides Mid-East’s future, says Abdullah of Jordan [ 05/11/09 ]  "President Obama’s critical meeting with Binyamin Netanyahu next week has become the acid test for the Administration’s commitment to peace in the Middle East, King Abdullah of Jordan said yesterday. The monarch does not conceal his feelings about the Israeli leader. He described their last encounter – 10 years ago when he had just come to the throne – as the “least pleasant” of his reign. But he, and President Mubarak of Egypt, are expected to meet the Israeli leader before his trip to Washington, where the future course of the region could be decided ..."

US raises 'terrorism alert' on Canada border [ 05/11/09 ]  "In a bid to block the influx of terrorists to the country the US is taking tough measures along the Canada border, similar to those taken along the southern frontiers. Following the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks the US launched a campaign to safeguard its borders -- mainly the southern borders with Mexico. However, now the security activities are quite tangible across the 3,987-mile frontier with Canada, something that according to a Los Angeles Times article has shocked residents especially on the Canadian side. "Those of us who grew up here never considered it to be a border," said Bernadette Secco, a communications consultant on the Canadian side of Niagara Falls who sometimes dines or shops in the US three times a day. "We're neighbors, not terrorists." The US security authorities fear that terrorists possibly exploit the relative calm along the US-Canada border, the longest around the world and infiltrate the country to conduct terrorist attacks ..."

U.S. puts October deadline on Iran talks [ 05/11/09 ]  "Several days ago, Jerusalem received a classified notice reporting on a meeting between a senior European official and the special U.S. envoy on Iran, Dennis Ross. The telegram stated that Ross said this autumn, probably October, was the target date for concluding the first round of talks."  Translation: look for some kind of military offensive against Iran this fall, unless Israel decides to stage a false flag operation earlier.

UK: Needed - One Million Rebellious Britons [ 05/11/09 ]  "The British Constitution Group’s call for Lawful Rebellion now moves up a notch and our campaign ‘Wanted – 1 million rebellious Britons’ has commenced, to be formally declared at our conference in London on the 13th June..."

Imminent Global Stock Market Crash to Support U.S. Dollar  [ 05/11/09 ]  "A world stock market collapse could be imminent as a source of dollar support. We wonder how low they will let the dollar go before they collapse the stock markets to chase people back into US treasuries, which have also broken down, with treasury interest rates on the rise despite various Fed purchases of treasuries in the hundreds of billions..."

Venezuela nationalizes 60 oil service companies  [ 05/11/09 ]  "The Venezuelan government on Friday started the process to nationalize 60 oil service contractors and place them under the control of the state oil company, Petroleos de Venezuela. President Hugo Chavez was greeted by workers dressed in red and waving the company's flags on the Lake of Maracaibo in the oil rich state of Zulia, as he toured the newly expropriated installations. "We are advancing the construction of socialism," Chavez told state television, as he spoke and shook hands with employees. "The profit will now stay with the workers," he added. Chavez said the takeover would lead to an "around-20-percent" cut in production cost as a result of better management and improved efficiency. With the move, 300 boats, several ports and more than 8,000 workers will now be absorbed by the state oil giant, according to Oil Minister Rafael Ramirez, who accompanied Chavez in touring around the facilities."

CIA Says It Briefed Congressional Leaders on Torture [ 05/10/09 ]  "Congressional leaders were briefed in detail about techniques used in the Central Intelligence Agency's interrogation program, according to a new intelligence document. The document appears to conflict with recent statements from House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who was then the top Democrat on the House intelligence committee. Ms. Pelosi has said she hadn't been told that the CIA was using the technique known as waterboarding, or simulated drowning. According to the document, Ms. Pelosi was one of the first lawmakers briefed on the interrogations in 2002..." See related PDF documents below:  Related: Democrats were routinely briefed on Bush ‘torture’ techniques, document shows

• CIA document chronicling congressional briefings on interrogations
• Letter from director of national intelligence to Rep. Hoekstra
• Letter from CIA director to Rep. Thompson
• Justice Department memo describing waterboarding of Abu Zubaydah 83 times in Aug. 2002

Under Restructuring, GM To Build More Cars Overseas [ 05/10/09 ]  "The U.S. government is pouring billions into General Motors in hopes of reviving the domestic economy, but when the automaker completes its restructuring plan, many of the company's new jobs will be filled by workers overseas."

Do you need to stock up the bunker? [ 05/10/09 ]  "In the 1950s and 1960s, bunkers were a feature of many American suburban homes, populated by families fearful of the prospect of nuclear war. That threat has subsided, but now many reasonable people are stocking up on essential supplies in preparation for a new cataclysm...."

Russia warns against 'adventures' [ 05/10/09 ]  "The Russian President Dmitri Medvedev has issued a stern warning to any countries considering what he called "military adventures".

CBS announcer: Any U.S. soldier would shoot Pelosi, strangle Reid [ 05/10/09 ]  "CBS Sports commentator David Feherty "From my own experience visiting the troops in the Middle East, I can tell you this, though: despite how the conflict has been portrayed by our glorious media, (* which David Feherty is a 'member of ) if you gave any U.S. soldier a gun with two bullets in it, and he found himself in an elevator with Nancy Pelosi, Harry Reid, and Osama bin Laden, there's a good chance that Nancy Pelosi would get shot twice, and Harry Reid and bin Laden would be strangled to death," Feherty wrote in an a D Magazine piece welcoming former President George W. Bush back to Dallas."

U.S. Used White Phosphorous in Afghanistan [ 05/10/09 ]  ""Colonel Gregory Julian, a spokesman for the commander of U.S. and NATO forces in Afghanistan, General David McKiernan, confirmed that Western forces in the country use the chemical."   Note: They used WP in Vietnam when I was there as a combat photographer, so they have used it for almost 50 years.... what's the surprise ... where do they think the Israeli's got it from?

Rand, MPA claim movie piracy supports terrorism [ 05/10/09 ]  "Its effects on the boxoffice might be the least of the concerns attached to India's No. 1 movie pirating operation. There is "substantial evidence" that D-Company -- the organized crime syndicate-turned-terrorist group controlled by India's most wanted criminal, Dawood Ibrahim -- "has used the proceeds from film piracy to fund its terrorist organization and activities in India," according to a Rand Corp. report shared Monday by the MPA. In addition to being on Interpol's most wanted list, Ibrahim was named a "global terrorist" by the U.S. government in 2003 because of his close links to Osama bin Laden..."  Note: Osama is dead, this is in India; to make further assumptions is insane.

MA: Big Dig company pleads guilty - Modern Continental over-billed and lied [ 05/09/09 ]  "The largest contractor on the Big Dig (Boston) pleaded guilty yesterday to 39 federal charges of over-billing and lying about construction defects on the project, but prosecutors dropped five other charges that had implicated the company in the fatal 2006 collapse of the ceiling of the Interstate 90 tunnel. "By today's pleas of guilty to 39 felonies, Modern has admitted its felony culpability in the mismanagement of the Big Dig construction project," the statement said. "Given its bankrupt status, the dismissal of particular charges, the government believes, will have no impact on the punishment that the court may impose." No one is going to jail in the case, he added, because corporations cannot go to prison and are generally punished only with fines."

US states mulling Google book-scan pact [ 05/09/09 ]  Related:  Justice Dept to take long hard look at Google Book deal " ...Google is facing an investigation by the US Justice Department, after signing a controversial deal with the Author's Guild, which will see it censoring books included in its digital archive in the same way it censors videos on YouTube. The details of the agreement reached with publishers gives Google monopoly rights on publishing books included in the deal - so if Google decides to delete a title it will effectively disappear. If Google labels a book "inappropriate", no one else can publish it online without risking being sued. There's no indication what Google might deem an "inappropriate" book. Perhaps they'll turn to the Vatican for guidance, the Catholic Church having some experience in these matters. The US Department of Justice is also looking at the deal, reached with the Author's Guild last October. Under the agreement Google pledged to establish a Books Right Registry - US copyright holders can get onto the register and get a cut of 63 per cent of Google's earnings from their work, or can ask for their work to be removed. If they don't receive an opt-out request, Google has the right to scan and offer for sale digital copies of books. DoJ interest does not automatically scupper the deal, which still needs court approval to go ahead. The deadline for objections to the court was to be 5 May - that's now been extended to 4 September. Justice Department lawyers have talked to opponents of the deal and are considering the anti-trust implications, according to anonymous sources. There has not yet been any official confirmation from the DoJ. The deal also controversially gives Google rights over "orphan works" - books written by people who cannot be traced. There's an interesting interview about this with New York Law School's Professor James Grimmelmann." Google settles Book Search suit for $125m  [2008]

Australia’s Massive Military Buildup and Evolving Common “Defense” Arrangements [ 05/09/09 ] "On March 2, 2009 the Australian Department of Defence released a 140-page white paper called Defending Australia in the Asia Pacific century: force 2030 (1), which announced $72 billion in new military spending for an island nation of barely 20 million inhabitants with no adversaries except those it chooses to make for itself. The document details the Australian government’s plans to acquire and expand a full spectrum - air, sea and land - arsenal of advanced weaponry in the nation’s largest arms buildup since World War II."  Note: For no practical reason.

A giant US military base emerges in Afghanistan   [ 05/09/09 ] "In the forbidding Afghan desert, US engineers are carving out a sprawling military camp as part of a dramatic American troop build-up designed to confront Taliban insurgents. The desolate plain in southern Helmand province that Afghans call the "desert of death" has turned into a hive of frenetic activity, underscoring President Barack Obama's decision to expand the US military commitment to the war."

U.S. May Add Shots for Swine Flu to Fall Vaccine Regimen    [ 05/09/09 ] "The Obama administration is considering an unprecedented fall vaccination campaign that could entail giving Americans three flu shots — one to combat annual seasonal influenza and two targeted at the new swine flu virus spreading across the globe. If enacted, the multibillion-dollar effort would represent the first time that top federal health officials have asked Americans to get more than one flu vaccine in a year, raising serious challenges concerning production, distribution and the ability to track potentially severe side effects. Memories of the nation’s earlier experience with a swine flu vaccine present another challenge. In 1976, hundreds of Americans developed neurological disorders after they were vaccinated for a swine flu strain. The public was asked to receive one of two vaccines developed to combat the strain.…The greater challenge will be tracking any adverse reactions as millions of Americans get multiple vaccinations in a matter of months this fall and winter.“There will be adverse effects to any vaccine. That’s just science,” said Michael Hattwick, who ran the CDC’s vaccine-tracking system during the last swine flu scare."

OPED: Criminalizing criticism of Israel is the end of free speech   [ 05/09/09 ] "On October 16, 2004, President George W. Bush signed the Israel Lobby’s bill, the Global Anti-Semitism Review Act. This legislation requires the US Department of State to monitor anti-Semitism worldwide. To monitor anti-Semitism, it has to be defined. What is the definition? Basically, as defined by the Israel Lobby and Abe Foxman, it boils down to any criticism of Israel or Jews. Rahm Israel Emanuel hasn’t been mopping floors at the White House. As soon as he gets the Hate Crimes Prevention Act of 2009 passed, it will become a crime for any American to tell the truth about Israel’s treatment of Palestinians and theft of their lands..."

OPED: UN Treaties Fail to Respect American Sovereignty and the Constitution   [ 05/09/09 ] "Much of the United Nations philosophy manifested through its charter and numerous organizations, as well as international treaties, fails to respect American sovereignty. In many cases, it runs contrary to the Constitution. Incrementally, the UN is gaining more power. The recent swine flu pandemic scare demonstrates the influence that it has over American domestic policy. A Gallup Poll conducted from February 9-12 of this year, found that 65% of Americans believe that the UN is doing a poor job. Under his tenure as Secretary-General, Kofi Annan was blamed for many of the UN’s problems and failures. Unfortunately, under the leadership of Ban Ki-moon, nothing has changed. He did promise reforms with a new era of transparency, accountability and better governance. The UN cannot be truly reformed as it is rotten to its very core. It is a bureaucratic nightmare, a cesspool of waste, mismanagement and corruption. More importantly is the danger it poses to American sovereignty. No one in government has been more consistent in their position regarding the UN and its continued threat to American sovereignty than Congressman Ron Paul. On February 24, he reintroduced H.R. 1146, the American Sovereignty Restoration Act. If passed, it would effectively pull the U.S. out of the UN. Membership in the UN only serves to undermine American sovereignty. The UN is guilty of dictating environmental, labor, trade, gun and health laws. Through its system of international treaties, the U.S. finds itself increasingly bound by UN agreements."

Senate Will Move on Hate Crimes Bill; Critics Claim Bill Simply Unnecessary  [ 05/09/09 ] "Critics of the measure contend that, if the bill becomes law, it will force local and state law enforcement to prosecute and sentence individuals not only for the crimes they commit, but also for their beliefs—a slippery slope which will take the country down the road toward eventually criminalizing the thoughts of the American people ..."

US Forces ‘black’ budget = 2nd biggest military on Earth  [ 05/09/09 ] "There’s controversy already in America regarding the first Obama administration detailed Defense budget plans, announced yesterday."

Media Censoring Lethal Side Effects Of Flu Remedies  [ 05/09/09 ] "Donald Rumsfeld’s Tamiflu pushers (just as they were in 2006) are set to be the big winners in the GSFS (great swine flu scare of 2009) lottery. Shares of Swiss drug-maker Roche Holding had fallen sharply after their latest cancer drug failure—but the GSFS came just in time to give their falling stocks a boost—just as the great bird flu scare of 2006 did. In November 2005, George W. Bush goaded Congress to pass $7.1 billion in “emergency funding” to prepare for the possible bird flu pandemic, of which $1 billion was solely dedicated to the purchase and distribution of Tamiflu ..."

ODD:  Man goes ballistic after woman fails to bring home cheese [ 05/09/09 ] "He kicked in the bathroom door and demanded to know where the cheddar cheese was. The woman said she went to her vehicle and the guy followed her. He broke a car window by punching it and broke off two door handles on the vehicle. "  TV station identifies woman seen romping with priest  "She darted out of her apartment building and got into her Toyota to escape the media. Florida business records show that Ruhama Canellis (at left) is licensed as a "body wrapper" and facial specialist." Some inmates want a new mug shot for sheriff's website  "They're a little self-conscious," says the sheriff." Cops "devastated" by D.A.R.E instructor's drug-related arrest  "The former detective who told kids to just-say-no allegedly obtained medically unnecessary prescriptions for oxycodone and hydro-codone from his nurse and then split the drugs with her. His former colleagues are having a tough time dealing with case. "It takes time for it to heal, but we will," says the chief." "Humiliated" woman sues gossip site for disclosing her herpes  ""It’s been completely humiliating," she says. An anonymous person posted a photo of the woman on thedirty.com with a mean-spirited message saying she has herpes, is fat, is sexually promiscuous and uses cocaine."  U.S. Government Funds $400,000 Study on Gay Sex in Argentina Bars  "The National Institutes of Health are paying researchers to cruise bars in Buenos Aires to find out why gay men engage in risky sexual behavior while drunk -- and what can be done about it."  Man allegedly uses 'cahier's check' at FBI office   "If you're going to buy something with a forged cashier's check, don't misspell "cashier's" or use an FBI office as your shipping address. Monroe police said they arrested 44-year-old man after he did both. He was held Friday on two counts of forgery and as a fugitive..."  Men beaten with golf club after urinating on car   "Police said two men suffered injuries after they were beaten after urinating on what they thought was an unoccupied vehicle on Friday morning. Police said the owner got out of the car and assaulted the two men with a golf club. One of the men suffered a possible arm fracture..." 

U.S. warns of consequences for North Korea nuclear test  [ 05/09/09 ] "North Korea faces consequences if it goes ahead with a second nuclear test, but little can be done to stop it, the U.S. special envoy to the communist state said on Friday ... Last month, North Korea said it was quitting the six-way talks and would restart a plant that separates plutonium from spent nuclear fuel rods in response to being punished by the United Nations for the April 5 launch of a long-range rocket. The six-way talks began in 2003 and involve the two Koreas, the United States, Japan, Russia and China. North Korea insists it sent a satellite into orbit and had the right to do so as a part of a peaceful space program. U.S. and South Korean officials said nothing was put into orbit and the launch was a disguised test of a long-range missile that violated U.N. resolutions."

Louis Caldera, White House Military Affairs Director, Resigns In Wake Of Air Force One Flyover  [ 05/09/09 ] "Louis Caldera, Director of White House Military Affairs, resigned today from his position in the wake of the Air Force One flyover photo-op over lower Manhattan two weeks ago. Caldera's office approved the photo-op, which cost $35,000 in fuel alone for the plane and two jet fighter escorts, the AP reports. The Air Force estimated the photo shoot cost taxpayers $328,835..."

House bypasses governor’s veto to claim Oklahoma’s sovereignty  [ 05/08/09 ] "Although Gov. Brad Henry vetoed similar legislation 10 days earlier, House members Monday again approved a resolution claiming Oklahoma’s sovereignty. Unlike House Joint Resolution 1003, House Concurrent Resolution 1028 does not need the governor’s approval. The House passed the measure 73-22. It now goes to the Senate. "We’re going to get it done one way or the other,” said the resolutions’ author, Rep. Charles Key, R-Oklahoma City. "I think our governor is out of step ..."

Crock O' Crap: Government To Condemn Land For Flight 93 Memorial  [ 05/08/09 ] "the government intends to take their land by eminent domain so the Flight 93 memorial can be built by the 10th anniversary of the terrorist attacks, property owners say they're disappointed and surprised by the plan. They also disputed that negotiations have taken place and said they've either not been made offers, or were only provided offers within the past week ... Condemnation is rarely used. The last time the park service used it, Sheriden said, was to acquire a tower at the Gettysburg battlefield. The tower wad demolished to return the battlefield to the way it looked in 1863 ..."

Blackmail and threats to avoid accountability [ 05/08/09 ] "At a hearing today with Attorney General Eric Holder, Republican members of the Senate Judiciary Committee suggested that any potential criminal investigation into the CIA's harsh interrogation methods might not easily be contained. Both Lamar Alexander of Tennessee and Richard Shelby of Alabama pressed Holder on the CIA's "rendition" program that moved terrorism suspects from one country to another. Didn't that happen during the Clinton administration? Yes, Holder said. "How many did you approve?" they asked. Holder said he'd check the record. The clear suggestion was, if any criminal investigation is opened, Republicans would push to get it expanded beyond events during the Bush administration. Alexander, for example, asked several times whether members of Congress, who were told about the interrogation methods, should also be investigated..."

ODD:  Cop fired after his probe of wife's stolen $16 goes too far [ 05/08/09 ] "The lieutenant and a number of deputies shut down a carwash after the cop's wife complained that $16 was stolen from her vehicle. The business was cordoned off with crime scene tape and closed for an hour as the lieutenant and deputies questioned employees about the theft. "  Man dining at TGI Friday's finds a snake head under his broccoli  "I could see these black, rotted eye sockets on the top," says the diner. The severed head also had bits of tendon and part of the spine attached. "I stopped eating. I told my girlfriend, 'I think this is a head.'" He has no plans to sue."    Fight breaks out at rally for priest caught frolicking on beach  "Jose Soler, 69, told whoever would listen that the priest used his popularity to manipulate followers and "hurt 'god'." Felix Claro, 81, then pushed Soler to the ground and the shouting crowd surrounded him, defending the priest. Police quickly intervened and removed Soler, who suffered a cut finger." Prison officer zaps children with 50,000-volt stun gun 'to show them what a day at work is like'  "Prison officer Walter Schmidt wanted to give his colleagues' children a taste of what their mums and dads get up to at work while showing them around a Florida jail. So to make the youngsters' experience all the more realistic as they toured Franklin Correctional Institution during the lock-up's 'Take our Daughters and Sons to Work Day', he decided to zap them with his 50,000-volt stun gun. The jolt sent at least two of them sprawling to the floor, crying out in pain and clutching at agonizing burns on their arms. One child ended up in hospital. But 37-year-old Schmidt told officials who later fired him that he had only been trying to show the children - whose parents all work at the jail near Tallahassee - what a typical day involves while handling unruly inmates."

Health care activists disrupt Senate Finance Committee hearing [ 05/07/09 ] "Health care activists disrupted a Senate Finance Committee hearing Tuesday, standing up one after the other as Chairman Max Baucus (D-Mont.) tried to restore order. As soon as police escorted one protester out of the room, another would stand up, criticizing the committee for convening a panel of 15 experts and excluding witnesses who support creating a Medicare system for all Americans. About eight were led out of the hearing. “We need more police,” Baucus said. The mini-protest was organized by Healthcare Now, Physicians for a National Health Program and Single Payer Action, all of whom support a single-payer, government-run health care system. “Single-payer needs to be on the table,” one of the protesters yelled. “This is political theater.” Baucus eventually restored order to the hearing, asking those who remained in the audience not to cause further disruptions...."

Great moments in fascist economics: Michelle Obama Announces $50 Million Fund for Nonprofits [ 05/07/09 ] "President Obama's budget for next year will include $50 million to help expand nonprofit programs across the country to promote national service, first lady Michelle Obama announced tonight at an event in New York."

School's Out Forever: 1,400 New York teachers still getting paid for doing nothing  [ 05/07/09 ] "It would seem like a pretty good gig: About 1,400 teachers in New York City are receiving full salaries and benefits even though they don't have permanent jobs. Two hundred and five of them have been without full-time work for three years. And they can continue receiving payments indefinitely even if they never secure new positions. These educators are members of what is called the Absent Teacher Reserve (ATR), a program in which unionized teachers are placed when they don't have jobs. They end up there after being displaced by school closings, program cuts, or voluntary transfers. Technically, they work as classroom substitutes, but, when they don't have temporary assignments, they spend their days in school offices, cafeterias, and break rooms. And they are not required to seek full-time positions. "Teach one year, get [displaced], never apply for another job, but, as long as you work as a sub at full salary, you can get tenure at the end of that," says Tim Daly, president of The New Teacher Project (TNTP), a New York-based education advocacy organization that monitors the reserve closely. And some ATR teachers, it seems, are content to stay right where they are. "I'm happy now," one such teacher told TNTP researchers. "I don't have to prep, I don't have to grade tests, I don't have my own class. I don't really have to do anything."

Case against Blago: 400 hours of taped calls, 1 million documents  [ 05/07/09 ] "There are an additional 300 boxes of documents Blagojevich's lawyers can go through, another 2 million documents involved in the case and at least another 500 hours of recorded phone calls that were deemed not pertinent, lawyers in the case say. The evidence was so voluminous, it came with a 185-page index."  Note:  Good luck with that.

Texas police shake down drivers, lawsuit claims [ 05/07/09 ] "motorists who have been stopped by Tenaha police are part of a lawsuit seeking to end what plaintiff's lawyer David Guillory calls a systematic fleecing of drivers passing through the town of about 1,000. Texas law allows police to confiscate drug money and other personal property they believe are used in the commission of a crime. If no charges are filed or the person is acquitted, the property has to be returned. But Guillory's lawsuit states that Tenaha and surrounding Shelby County don't bother to return much of what they confiscate...."    Link includes a Video clip on this story

Economic Meltdown: The Sub-Prime 25  [ 05/07/09 ] "These top 25 lenders were responsible for nearly $1 trillion of subprime loans, according to a Center for Public Integrity analysis of 7.2 million “high interest” loans made from 2005 through 2007. Together, the companies account for about 72 percent of high-priced loans reported to the government at the peak of the subprime market. Securities created from subprime loans have been blamed for the economic collapse from which the world’s economies have yet to recover."

GM details plans to wipe out current shareholders [ 05/07/09 ] "General Motors Corp on Tuesday detailed plans to all but wipe out the holdings of remaining shareholders by issuing up to 60 billion new shares in a bid to pay off debt to the U.S. government, bondholders and the United Auto Workers union. The unusual plan, which was detailed in a filing with U.S. securities regulators, would only need the approval of the U.S. Treasury to proceed since the U.S. government would be the majority shareholder of a new GM, the company said."

ODD:  Man arrested after hunting a hog to celebrate son's jail release [ 05/07/09 ] "Some people break out the bubbly when the kid's sprung from jail, but Guillermo Cabella goes out and shoots a pig."  No Father's Day presents this year for this bad dad A 41-year-old man was arrested for putting an electric dog collar on each of his four children -- 3, 6, 8 and 9 -- and shocking them. Todd Marcum said he did it "because he thought it was funny," according to a cop."   Man who secretly lived in family's attic for a week pleads guilty "Once in the home, Stanley Carter stole food, clothing and Christmas presents, including a laptop computer he used to write his own "Stanley Christmas list."   Woozy airplane passenger tries to bite flight attendant's leg  "The incoherent and disruptive female passenger was apparently woozy from a combination of pills, alcohol and lavatory hand soap. When she's not under the influence, the woman is "a very intelligent, charming woman," says her lawyer."  UK: Executive From Speed Camera Firm Gets Ticketed at 100mph  "A senior executive at a speed camera firm was banned from driving for six months Wednesday after admitting speeding at more than 100 mph on a 70 mph limit dual carriageway."

US Soldiers Being Told to “hunt people for jesus” in Afghanistan [ 05/06/09 ] Video "A day after the Pentagon accused Al Jazeera of being ‘irresponsible and inappropriate’ for broadcasting the ‘hunt for Jesus’ in Afghanistan footage, the network releases unedited tapes." Talk about some really delusional people.  Related: US army 'does not promote religion'  "The US's highest ranking military officer has said it is not the US military's position to promote any specific religion, after Al Jazeera revealed footage of troops apparently preparing to convert Afghans to their Christian faith. The US military has also confiscated Bibles that Christian US soldiers in Afghanistan had apparently intended to give to local Muslims, a military spokesman told Al Jazeera. In addition, some of the soldiers who appeared in the video have also been reprimanded, US government and military officials told Al Jazeera's James Bays. The video, shot about a year ago, appeared to show military chaplains stationed in the US air base at Bagram discussing how to distribute copies of the Bible printed in the country's main Pashto and Dari languages...."

Afghanistan's only pig quarantined in flu fear   More belief system havoc! What country has one pig? Ha! Now we know. 

Dom DeLuise dies at 75; actor was a 'naturally funny man' [ 05/05/09 ] "Dom DeLuise, the mirthful, moon-faced comic actor who was a regular on Dean Martin's television variety show in the 1970s and provided frequent comedic support in movies starring Mel Brooks and Burt Reynolds, has died. He was 75."

Ted Kennedy Pens New Book: "The Dream That Never Dies" [ 05/05/09 ] By definition, either a nightmare or an experiential loop.

Chinese workers urged to 'puff up economy by smoking' [ 05/05/09 ] "Chinese state employees are being asked to do their patriotic duty to support the local economy – by lighting up a cigarette. And no butts. In Gongan county in Hubei province, the order has come down from above that employees of all local government departments, organisations, service centres and corporations must consume at least 23,000 cartons of cigarettes this year. This translates into 400 cartons for most departments and state companies, and 140 cartons for each school. In a law which gives a whole new meaning to the phrase “the state picks up the tab”, cadres are required to smoke local brands, and anyone smoking other brands can be fined. The smoking allowance aims to boost the regional economy by encouraging more consumption of local cigarettes ... China has more smokers than any other country, with 350 million puffing away regularly. A million die of smoking-related diseases every year ..."

Illinois State Police Seize and Keep Desirable Cars for Personal Use  [ 05/05/09 ] "The Illinois State Police had a gem on its hands after a January 2007 traffic stop. Troopers seized a gleaming muscle car: a 2006 Dodge Charger, boasting a "Hemi" V-8 engine that blasts from zero to 60 in five seconds before topping out at 165 mph, with fewer than 12,000 miles. But instead of using the car to snare lead-footed drivers or selling it to raise money for the state budget, officials assigned it to the director of the State Police Merit Board, according to interviews and a review of records by The Associated Press ..." 

Merck Caught Creating Phony Peer-Review Journal To Falsely Promote Products  [ 05/05/09 ] "The Scientist has reported that, yes, it's true, Merck cooked up a phony, but real sounding, peer reviewed journal and published favorably looking data for its products in them. Merck paid Elsevier to publish such a tome, which neither appears in MEDLINE or has a website, according to The Scientist. What's wrong with this is so obvious it doesn't have to be argued for. What's sad is that I'm sure many a primary care physician was given literature from Merck that said, "As published in Australasian Journal of Bone and Joint Medicine, Fosamax outperforms all other medications...." Said doctor, or even the average researcher wouldn't know that the journal is bogus. In fact, knowing that the journal is published by Elsevier gives it credibility! These kinds of endeavors are not possible without help. One of The Scientist's most notable finds is a Australian rheumatologist named Peter Brooks who served on the "honorary advisory board" of this "journal" ..."  Note: Merck has suffered from a lack of integrity for literally hundreds of years, since it's origin in Germany.

Van Gogh's ear was cut off by friend Gauguin with a sword   [ 05/05/09 ] "He is known as 'the tortured genius who cut off his own ear' as he struggled with mental illness after the breakdown of his friendship with a fellow artist. But a new study claims Vincent Van Gogh may have made up the story to protect painter Paul Gauguin who actually lopped it off with a sword during an argument. German art historians say the true version of events never surfaced as the two men both kept a "pact of silence" – Gauguin to avoid prosecution and Van Gogh in a vain attempt to keep a friend with whom he was hopelessly infatuated...."

Nepal's prime minister resigns  [ 05/05/09 ] "South Asia's 'infant democracy' is rocked by the showdown between the prime minister and the country's president, who clashed over the firing of the head of the army."

UK: 'Longer life raises pension bill for taxpayers'  [ 05/05/09 ] "Longer life expectancy means taxpayers will have to find billions of pounds more to fund public sector pensions, consultants have warned...."  Note: Who wants to support a horde of aging sequentials as a 'reward' for their continuing quest for power and fortune?

Italy: Berlusconi faces divorce battle over £4.5bn fortune  [ 05/05/09 ] "Silvio Berlusconi is facing a titanic legal battle over his £4.5 billion fortune after his long-suffering wife announced she was finally divorcing him."  Note: Sigh .. what a piece of work. 

UK: Police forced to reveal budget for informers [ 05/04/09 ] "A police force whose officers were caught trying to spy on peaceful protestors has been ordered to reveal how much it spends on informants. Strathclyde police has been told by information commissioner Kevin Dunion it must release a breakdown for the last three financial years. The force has two weeks to hand over details of a bill thought to total hundreds of thousands of pounds..."

Gonzales says US should be open to torturing again  [ 05/04/09 ] "In an interview posted Monday, former Bush Attorney General Alberto Gonzales said that because use of torture “may be necessary” in the future, the Obama administration erred in disclosing the Bush administration’s “enhanced interrogation” techniques..."  Note: "Necessary For what?  Related: Cheney's Law PBS Frontline Program. "For three decades Vice President Dick Cheney conducted a secretive, behind-closed-doors campaign to give the president virtually unlimited wartime power. Finally, in the aftermath of 9/11, the Justice Department and the White House made a number of controversial legal decisions. Orchestrated by Cheney and his lawyer David Addington, the department interpreted executive power in an expansive and extraordinary way, granting President George W. Bush the power to detain, interrogate, torture, wiretap and spy -- without congressional approval or judicial review " | Offices of Illegal Counsel - Champions of Torture  VIDEO [9:21]

U.S. has a 45-year history of torture  [ 05/04/09 ] " ... One torture victim was Fernando Gabeira, a young reporter for Jornal do Brasil who was recruited by a resistance movement and later arrested for his role in the 1969 kidnapping of Charles Burke Elbrick, the U.S. ambassador. (Elbrick was released after four days.) In custody, Gabeira later told me, he was tortured with electric shocks to his testicles; a fellow prisoner had his testicles nailed to a table. Still others were beaten bloody or waterboarded. When Gabeira's captors said anything at all, they sometimes boasted about having been trained in the United States. ..."  Related: The Big Lie About Torture   "The Americans had used methods similar to those employed by the SS in Dachau." When abuse of German prisoners was investigated in the US-run Schwaebisch Hall prison near Stuttgart in 1945, " of the 139 cases examined, 137 had had their testicles permanently destroyed." (Picture) US soliders using "water torture" (now called waterboarding) on Philippino prisoners after the USA invaded that country .... It's been amply documented that the US has condoned, taught, and practiced torture since WWII. The military created a whole university to teach such things as electrocution, confining detainees in coffin-like boxes, kidnapping their parents, etc. The Phoenix program institutionalized torture in Vietnam. So what's all the current commotion about? Why are we so shocked, shocked? ATR will tell you why ...." Torture Was Used to Try to Link Saddam with 9/11 | 4th grader presses Rice on waterboarding 

Pakistan nuclear projects raise US fears [ 05/04/09 ] "Pakistan is continuing to expand its nuclear bomb-making facilities despite growing international concern that advancing Islamist extremists could overrun one or more of its atomic weapons plants or seize sufficient radioactive material to make a dirty bomb, US nuclear experts and former officials say. David Albright, previously a senior weapons inspector for the UN's International Atomic Energy Agency in Iraq, said commercial satellite photos showed two plutonium-producing reactors were nearing completion at Khushab, about 160 miles south-west of the capital, Islamabad. "In the current climate, with Pakistan's leadership under duress from daily acts of violence by insurgent Taliban forces and organised political opposition, the security of any nuclear material produced in these reactors is in question," Albright said in a report (pdf) issued by the independent Institute for Science and International Security in Washington ..."  Related: U.S. Coup Plans In Pakistan  " ... A flurry of visits to Washington by senior Pakistani military officers is underway, to be followed on May 6th-7th by visits by Pakistan President Zardari and Afghan President Karzai. Neither man is held in high regard in Washington. Indeed, a prime reason for the military visits is that Administration officials believe some form of military rule is likely to emerge in Islamabad in the foreseeable future...."

Iraq will not extend US withdrawal date  [ 05/04/09 ] "Iraq will not extend withdrawal deadlines for U.S. troops set out in a bilateral accord, ending months of speculation about whether U.S. combat troops would stay beyond June in bases in the restive northern city of Mosul. Government spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh said Iraq was committed to adhering to the withdrawal schedule in the pact, which took effect on January 1, including the requirement to withdraw U.S. combat troops from towns and cities by the end of June and a full withdrawal by the end of 2011 ..."  Related: Iraq bloodshed rises as US allies defect

Wolfram Alpha: An invention that could change the internet for ever  [ 05/04/09 ] "The biggest internet revolution for a generation will be unveiled this month with the launch of software that will understand questions and give specific, tailored answers in a way that the web has never managed before ...  The new system, Wolfram Alpha, showcased at Harvard University in the US last week, takes the first step towards what many consider to be the internet's Holy Grail – a global store of information that understands and responds to ordinary language in the same way a person does ... Wolfram Alpha will not only give a straight answer to questions such as "how high is Mount Everest?", but it will also produce a neat page of related information – all properly sourced – such as geographical location and nearby towns, and other mountains, complete with graphs and charts. The real innovation, however, is in its ability to work things out "on the fly", according to its British inventor, Dr Stephen Wolfram. If you ask it to compare the height of Mount Everest to the length of the Golden Gate Bridge, it will tell you. Or ask what the weather was like in London on the day John F Kennedy was assassinated, it will cross-check and provide the answer. Ask it about D sharp major, it will play the scale. Type in "10 flips for four heads" and it will guess that you need to know the probability of coin-tossing. If you want to know when the next solar eclipse over Chicago is, or the exact current location of the International Space Station, it can work it out. Dr Wolfram, an award-winning physicist who is based in America, added that the information is "curated", meaning it is assessed first by experts. This means that the weaknesses of sites such as Wikipedia, where doubts are cast on the information because anyone can contribute, are taken out. It is based on his best-selling Mathematica software, a standard tool for scientists, engineers and academics for crunching complex maths. "I've wanted to make the knowledge we've accumulated in our civilisation computable," he said last week. "I was not sure it was possible. I'm a little surprised it worked out so well." Dr Wolfram, 49, who was educated at Eton and had completed his PhD in particle physics by the time he was 20, added that the launch of Wolfram Alpha later this month would be just the beginning of the project. [Also see link above Online Media section near Pro Publica banner ]  Website Open May 09   Related: A Force For Good Or a New Propaganda Outlet?  Note: I am not sure that W.A. goes beyond just a relational database ... encoding moral judgments mathematically would be a task ...

NY: Cuomo Issues 100 Subpoenas in Pension Fund Inquiry  [ 05/04/09 ] "Attorney General Andrew M. Cuomo said on Friday that his office was issuing more than 100 new subpoenas to investment firms and intermediaries who brokered deals with public pension funds, in the latest expansion of his corruption investigation..."

Specter continues tradition of intentional ambiguity [ 05/03/09 ] Comment: "I went to his website the other day, it was one of the worst sites I've ever seen. I have no idea where he stands on anything."  Schmuck + Putz = Schputz    More Specter news 

NYPD Announces New Stop And Frisk Pilot Program [ 05/03/09 ] "After accusations of racial profiling, the New York City Police Department told the City Council Thursday that it is trying out a new Stop and Frisk program in certain neighborhoods. On the advice of the RAND Corporation, the department is now giving an explanation to pedestrians that officers stop in Harlem, the South Bronx, and East New York ..." Includes video.

Israeli tanks, bulldozers roll into Gaza again [ 05/03/09 ] "Israeli ground forces have launched an incursion into the Gaza Strip after the military jets bombed 'tunnels' beneath the border between the beleaguered sliver and Egypt."

Google Accidentally Offends Japanese Sensibilities  [ 05/03/09 ] "Google Earth posts old maps showing where Japanese outcasts lived, which could affect their descendants socially."  Note: The maps become a twisted force in time and space to be reckoned with. Related: Old Japanese maps on Google Earth unveil secrets  if they only knew, it would prove to haunt them.

ODD: Warning: Don't try this at home [ 05/03/09 ] "A Minnesota man has learned an important lesson: If you want your testicles removed, leave it to the professionals." Many Dutch prepare for 2012 apocalypse "Thousands of people in the Netherlands say they expect the world to end in 2012, and many say they are taking precautions to prepare for the apocalypse. "You know, maybe it's really not that bad that the Netherlands will be destroyed," Petra Faile said. "I don't like it here anymore. Take immigration, for example. They keep letting people in. And then we have to build more houses, which makes the Netherlands even heavier. The country will sink even lower, which will make the flooding worse."    Note: Seems simple to me. Ha! Gee, I thought all the 'light' people in Amsterdam would have mattered, and sort of 'balanced off' all the heavier things ... and these people want to 'survive' to breed. 

Biden to appear at AIPAC [ 05/02/09 ] "Policy Conference 2009 - May 3-5, Washington, D.C. Vice President Joe Biden will headline the American Israel Public Affairs Committee's annual conference, which begins tomorrow in Washington, D.C., a source at the group said. The announcement that Biden will speak Monday morning comes a day after a victory for the group and the pro-Israel community; the Justice Department decided to drop charges of mishandling classified information against two former AIPAC staffers." Related: OPED: Conference of Traitors

UK: Charities Forced To Axe Thousands Of Jobs [ 05/02/09 ] "Charities are axing thousands of jobs to cope with a collapse in donations as the recession deepens. After years of expansion, the voluntary sector is laying off staff, putting recruitment on hold and scaling back "non-essential" services. Earnings from investments have also fallen following cuts in interest rates. The value of major bequests has dropped because of tumbling property prices. The redundancies come as charities face greater pressure to help people who have lost their jobs and homes during the economic crisis .... Charities employed just over 500,000 staff in 2000 and the total rose to 624,000 at the end of 2004 and 724,000 last autumn."  Note: Sounds like the employees are the charity.  

Woman accused of taking 500 pounds of gold from job [ 05/02/09 ] "Call her the modern day Goldfinger. A New York woman was charged Wednesday with stealing as much as $12 million in gold bullion and jewelry over a period of six years, lifting the ill-gotten booty from her employer by concealing the stash in the lining of her pocketbook. The district attorney for New York City's borough of Queens said Teresa Tambunting, 50, was arraigned Wednesday on charges of first-degree grand larceny and first-degree criminal possession of stolen property from Jacmel Jewelry Inc. "The defendant is accused of establishing a virtual mining operation ... which siphoned off millions of dollars worth of the precious metal from her employer," Queens District Attorney Richard Brown said in a statement. In January, an inventory audit conducted at Jacmel revealed that nearly 850 pounds (386 kg) of gold merchandise worth about $12 million was unaccounted for, Brown's statement added...."

Legal U.S. Arms Exports May Be Source of Narco Syndicates Rising Firepower [ 05/02/09 ] "More Than $1 billion In Private-Sector Weapons Exports Approved For Mexico Since 2004. Mainstream media and Beltway pundits and politicians in recent months have unleashed a wave of panic in the nation linking the escalading violence in Mexico, and its projected spread into the U.S., to illegal weapons smuggling. The smokescreen being spread by these official mouthpieces of manufactured consensus is that a host of criminal operators are engaging in straw (or fraudulent) gun purchases, making clandestine purchases at U.S. gun shows or otherwise assembling small caches of weapons here in the states in order to smuggle them south of the border to the “drug cartels.” The Obama administration is now sending hundreds of additional federal agents to the border in an effort to interdict this illegal arms smuggling to reassure an agitated middle-America that Uncle Sam will get these bad guys. The cascade of headlines from mainstream media outlets printing drug-war pornography assures us in paragraphs inserted between the titillation that the ATF’s Operation Gunrunner and other similar get-tough on gun-seller programs will save America from the banditos of Mexico...."   Related: Plan Mexico and the politics of fear  

UK: Blacks bear brunt of rise in stop and search    [ 05/02/09 ] "Black people are almost eight times as likely as whites to be stopped and searched a decade after the Stephen Lawrence inquiry branded the police “institutionally racist”. Use of ordinary stop and search tactics in England and Wales rose sharply to more than one million in 2007-08, the highest figure since 1998. The rise has had a disproportionate impact on ethnic minorities. When Stephen Lawrence was murdered in 1993 black people were six times as likely to be stopped and searched as whites. By 2006/7, that had risen to seven times ..."

Feds drop charges against pro-Israel lobbyists   [ 05/02/09 ] "Prosecutors moved Friday to dismiss all charges against two former pro-Israel lobbyists accused of disclosing U.S. defense secrets, ending a four-year legal battle that promised to put former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and other Bush administration insiders on the witness stand. Critics of the prosecution of Steven Rosen and Keith Weissman of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee accused the government of trying to criminalize the sort of back-channel discussions between government officials, lobbyists and reporters that are commonplace in the nation's capital...."

Cap-And-Trade: Al Gore's Cash Cow   [ 05/01/09 ] "At the cap-and-trade hearings, it was revealed that not everyone will suffer from this growth-killing energy tax. A congresswoman wanted to know why sea levels aren't rising but Gore's bank account is. When Gore left office in January 2001, he was said to have a net worth in the neighborhood of $2 million. A mere eight years later, estimates are that he is now worth about $100 million. It seems it's easy being green, at least for some. Gore has his lectures and speeches, his books, a hit movie and Oscar, and a Nobel Prize. But Rep. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., was curious about how a man dedicated to saving the planet could get so wealthy so quickly..."

Netanyahu aides fear 'surprise' demands from Obama   [ 05/01/09 ] "Benjamin Netanyahu's aides fear that U.S. President Barack Obama will "surprise" the prime minister with unanticipated ideas and demands at the leaders' upcoming meeting in Washington on May 18. A political source in Jerusalem said that Netanyahu's associates have been recently discussing a scenario in which Obama makes unequivocal demands on issues like West Bank settlement construction, illegal outposts and negotiations with the Palestinians. The aides also fear a public clash between the two premiers, such as during a news conference or in comments the pair make, in which their differences will be aired ..."

US expert urges confronting Germany's influential pro-Israel lobby  [ 05/01/09 ] "Germany's powerful pro-Israel lobby has to be confronted by critics of the Jewish state, said a leading US political scientist here Wednesday evening. Malcolm Sylvers stressed in a speech about the role of the American pro-Israel lobby that the German pro-Israel lobby was also an "important issue." "One has to be active and one needs to study how the German pro-Israel lobby acts," said the retired professor who taught American history at Italy's Venice University for over three decades. "We don't know whether the German Central Council of Jews is a religious or a political organization and how it functions. And we may even be accused of being anti-Semitic," Sylvers added. German Jewish critics of Israel have reportedly accused the Central Council of Jews of being a mouthpiece of the Israeli embassy in Berlin and of being more loyal to the Jewish state than Germany ..."

Turkey drops Gaza 'war crimes' probe after the Justice Ministry refused permission to bring charges [ 05/01/09 ] "A crisis in Turkey-Israel relations that began during Operation Cast Lead in late December 2008 has come to an end: A Turkish prosecutor dropped an investigation into Turkish allegations that Israel committed genocide and crimes against humanity during the operation, AFP quoted a Turkish news agency as reporting Thursday ... The prosecutor said there were no grounds for prosecution after the Justice Ministry refused it permission to bring charges, the report said. Turkish law allows trying people for genocide or crimes against humanity even if the crimes were committed outside Turkey, but prosecutors need permission from the Turkish Justice Ministry before serving indictments. The investigation was launched in February following a complaint by the human rights association Mazlum-Der, which accused Israel of carrying out "direct attacks on civilians with the aim of annihilating them." Note: Israel shows its covert rule of the world.  Related: Israel warns EU to tone down its criticism "... The warning came ahead of a planned trip to Europe next week by Israel's foreign minister, (former night club bouncer) Avigdor Lieberman - his first official trip abroad..."

Karl Rove case witness killed in plane crash, sisters want answers [ 05/01/09 ]  "Shannon Connell of Madison says her brother Michael rarely talked about work. She knew he ran an Ohio company called New Media Communications that set up websites for Republicans including former President George H.W. Bush and Florida Gov. Jeb Bush. But it wasn't until after he died last December, when the small plane he was piloting crashed, that she learned via the Internet of his tie to a voter fraud case and to allegations that presidential adviser Karl Rove had made threats against him ..."

Anti-Torture Protesters Arrested In Droves Outside White House [ 05/01/09 ]  "Sixty-one anti-torture protesters were arrested outside the White House on Thursday in a planned act of mass civil disobedience at the end of an event organized by Witness Against Torture and Amnesty International. The protesters -- wearing black hoods and orange jumpsuits -- were part of a larger group of 150 that marched in a slow procession from the Capitol to Lafeyette Park across from the White House to protest the torture of detainees held in U.S. counter-terror efforts."  Story includes video clips.

Churchgoers more likely to back torture, survey finds [ 05/01/09 ]  "The more often Americans go to church, the more likely they are to support the torture of suspected terrorists, according to a new analysis."  Note: Yah ya! Christianity is a 'death'-torture-belief-enforcement system ... remember the Inquisition?

New Wrinkle On Avoiding Jury Duty [ 05/01/09 ]  There are probably better ways to avoid jury duty than the approach recently taken by a Montana man. After Erik Slye, 36, received a jury notice earlier this year, he filed a notarized affidavit seeking to be excused from serving on a District Court panel in Gallatin County. Slye's caustic affidavit, which he prepared with help from his wife Jennifer:     "Dear Judge: "Apparently you morons didn't understand me the first time. I cannot take time off from work. I'm not putting my family's well being at stake to participate in this crap. I don't believe in our 'justice' system and I don't want to have a goddam thing to do with it. Jury duty is a complete waste of time. I would rather count the wrinkles on my dog's balls than sit on a jury. Get it through your thick skulls. Leave me the fuck alone."   The document, of course, did not sit well with court officials and led a judge to threaten to jail Slye. But after being summoned to court, Slye apologized for the affidavit and avoided being cited on a criminal failure to appear rap. And he also was excused from serving on a jury." 

Afghan: Dad kills for family honor [ 05/01/09 ]  "A man shot dead his adult daughter and her boyfriend, who were both engaged to other people, after finding them in bed together, police said on Thursday. The first cousins were found together late Tuesday after the 21-year-old man entered the 20-year-old woman's bedroom in the northern province of Baghlan, a police spokesman said. 'The two were under the blanket, but still in their clothes, when the girl's angry father walked in with an AK-47 machine gun and shot them both dead,' spokesman Jawaid Basharat told AFP. A medical examination showed the pair had not had sex, he said. He fired about six bullets into the man and four into his daughter, Basharat said. The motive for the murders was likely to protect family 'honour.' Similar killings are common in rural Afghanistan but rarely reported. Islam and Afghan culture do not forbid marriage between first cousins but invoke severe punishment, including death, for adultery and extra-marital sex. Police reported in mid-April that the extremist Taleban had publicly executed a young couple who tried to elope in the southwestern province of Nimroz."  Note: Tribal social customs are not necessarily based on 'western' forms of logic and/or reason. It simply 'is' the nature of social reality in that place. Since those killed knew of the social provisions and customs ... it defaults to a chosen path wherein their death in this manner was acceptable to them. Related: Afghan Donkey 'Suicide' Bomber Used On Patrol  That's really getting ones ass blown up! Ha! 

Specter's 2001 Rule to Prevent Party Switching [ 05/01/09 ] Video [12:38] "This speech was given after Senator Jim Jeffords left the GOP. It's a smorgasbord of hypocrisy."

Accused 'Al Qaeda Sleeper Agent' Admits 'Role In 9/11 Attacks', Pleads Guilty [ 05/01/09 ]  "Al-Marri, a legal U.S. resident and native of Qatar, was arrested in late 2001 while studying at Bradley University in Peoria after federal authorities alleged he had "links to organizers of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks." The conspiracy charge carries a penalty of up to 15 years in prison. Sentencing was scheduled for July 30. The government says al-Marri met with Osama bin Laden in the summer of 2001 and was sent to the U.S. to help al-Qaida operatives carry out post-Sept. 11 attacks."  Note: After he has been tortured for more than seven years, they can get him to admit to anything, especially something that the Mossad and the CIA are instrumentally involved in, like 911. Another attempt by the government to 'rewrite history' with another lie.

British Official Blames Susan Boyle For Swine Flu In Bizarre Twitter Joke [ 05/01/09 ]  Note: I spent four years in England. I hope it sinks.

Condi Confronted About Authorizing Torture By Stanford Students [ 05/01/09 ]  "Condoleezza Rice was recently speaking at Stanford when students asked her an excellent question on waterboarding and torture. They have her answer on tape and it isn't pretty. Condi Rice absolutely pulls a Nixon."  Note: A dark, dark succubus ... who plays the piano and pretends she's relevant.

Singapore, Malaysia: Maximum fine for nudity [ 05/01/09 ]  "The pair of undergraduates who sauntered through Holland Village in the buff in January have paid for their prank. They were fined $2,000 each on Thursday, the maximum fine for an obscene act. In mitigation, their lawyer William Chan said they did try to check whether public nudity was an offence before their stunt. Philip, an exchange student at the National University of Singapore, looked up the Penal Code, which said obscene acts were illegal, but he did not realise that public nudity was considered obscene and hence, was an offence. He told Eng about his findings. But Mr Chan said their walk down Lorong Mambong, which has several restaurants and watering holes, took place 'at the spur of the moment'. Their lawyer also tried to explain their actions in the context of their experience of a different culture: 'While certain things are accepted overseas, they may not be in Singapore. They are students. Perhaps they were immersed in a different culture,' he said, adding that their act took place late at night, not in broad daylight or near where children were around." Note: Gasp! OMFG! Sigh .... ha! Ah, yes, it's in the handbook for Earth, of course .... "having fun with body id dynamic, in a heavily sequentialized/minionized society  ... several variations. Priceless.  Related: Couple caught having sex on Queen's lawn

Poll: Bush Getting Even More Unpopular Out Of Office [ 05/01/09 ]  "A new Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll found that former President Bush's popularity has dropped since he left office. When he left office in January, 31 percent of American's viewed him positively. That number has now dropped to 26 percent. President Barack Obama, meanwhile, is more popular than the past two presidents at this point during their first terms."  Note: And Obama's 'popularity' has dropped since he's entered office, as well. I think they would both make excellent septic tank salesmen.

ODD: Cops- "Old ladies" peddled $10,000 worth of heroin a week  [ 05/01/09 ]  "The sisters, 65 and 70, seemed to be nice, friendly women who lived modest lives in their mobile home park. "I couldn't believe it," one woman says after hearing her neighbor was busted for heroin. I never would have expected that from her because she's a nice person." (Allentown Morning Call) Note: Geeze, it has nothing to do with being nice or not nice - stupid pedantic patronizing fool ... it has to do with money and existence.  Ha! |Nude water-gun tag getting high school seniors in trouble |Eatery stops using grill after dimwit chef sees 'virgin mary' on it |

Torture In US Goes Un-prosecuted Beyond Gitmo [ 05/01/09 ]  "Finally, there's been a criminal indictment for acts of torture. No, this isn't a case involving CIA operatives waterboarding high-value detainees. It's a case involving a 16-year-old runaway in the town of Tracy, a dusty suburb of Stockton surrounded by the farms of California's central valley. Husband and wife Michael Schumacher and Kelly Lau Schumacher and two accomplices stand accused of keeping the teen shackled as a prisoner in their home, where he says he was starved, repeatedly beaten with a baseball bat, and burned with corrosive chemicals. This month a grand jury indicted the four suspects on seventeen counts, including kidnapping, aggravated mayhem, and torture. This June they will stand trial for their alleged crimes. If convicted, they face sentences of up to life in prison. The Tracy case reminds us--as if we needed a reminder--that torture is among the most serious crimes that one human being can inflict on another. It's on a par with rape, with slavery, or murder. The U.S. felony statute against torture calls for up to 20 years in prison for anyone committing the act, or conspiring to commit torture. Yet a number of well-documented cases of torture have gone unpunished ... The interrogation rooms of Guantanamo are a long way from the Schumacher's two-storey home in Tracy. But torture is torture. Shouldn't the law apply equally to all those who mete it out?" Note: Story includes Video, called "Torture on Trial," an original production of Link TV [29:51] "Torture on Trial" premieres on Link TV this Sunday, May 3rdat 10:00 p.m. ET/7:00 p.m. PT, and will be viewable in its entirety online at LinkTV.org.

12 Slain In Shooting At Azerbaijan Oil Academy [ 05/01/09 ]  Note: There's an 'Oil Academy'? Where one learns ... to be dark and slippery? What? ...... They had a date with destiny.

Jordanian Exorcist Scares Jinn Out Of Patients [ 05/01/09 ]  We call it something else. And, it reminds me of "Pinhead" horror flicks.

27 Suspects Stand Trial For Torture, Murder Of Young French Jew [ 05/01/09 ]  "Youssouf Fofana, 28-year-old presumed leader of a group of 10 young women and 17 young men, stands accused of a crime that shocked the nation. He is charged with premeditated murder, demanding ransom, and acts of torture and barbarism, and faces a possible maximum sentence of life imprisonment."  Note: Gasp! OMFG! Sigh .... it took 27 of them, huh ... and he was French, too! Je ne sais quois ... C'est la vie.