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November  2009 

Lord Monckton: "Shut Down The UN, Arrest Al Gore" [11/30/09] "Appearing on The Alex Jones Show yesterday, Lord Christopher Monckton went further than ever before in his vehement opposition to the elitists running the climate change scam, calling for the UN to be shut down and for fraudulent peddlers of global warming propaganda like Al Gore to be arrested and criminally prosecuted. Monckton said that those who are threatening to shut down economies, bankrupt nations, and deepen the problems of the third world by implementing draconian policies in the name of global warming should be indicted, prosecuted and imprisoned “for a very long time”. ..."  Note: Indeed.  

Likud activist: "Obama regime is anti-Semitic" [11/30/09] "Beit Ariyeh local authority head, Avi Naim, slammed the US administration for exerting pressure on Netanyahu. "The Obama regime is anti-Jewish and anti-Semitic; it's the worst," Ynet news quoted Naim as saying. ..."  Note:  If you feel that way, Avi, that's just fine; but you'll go right ahead and keep on accepting the checks and the military aid from the US, won't you?!? Just checking.

Israel: Former Meretz leader tells Ynet on 81st birthday that 'what we do in West Bank is worse than all pogroms' [11/30/09] "Former Meretz leader Shulamit Aloni told Ynet on her 81st birthday Sunday that she was dissatisfied with the condition of the State of Israel. "It's hard for me to say a kind word about the state today," she said. "We are in great distress morally and socially, as well as in the realms of politics and law."...She also condemned those opposed to a prisoner swap deal for the release of Gilad Shalit. "No one should be speaking this nonsense about 'blood on the hands'. Since 2000, with the launching of the second intifada, we have murdered thousands. We too have blood on our hands," she remarked... The former prominent politician added, "We are a nefarious people. What we are doing in the West Bank is worse than all the pogroms done to the Jews.".. ..."  Note: This is what everyone has been saying all along ... finally an admission from an Israeli. 

The Concentration Camp That Is Gaza [11/29/09] "...Over the years the Israelis have essentially turned The Gaza Strip from a Ghetto to a kind of Concentration Camp. In this small area today live more than 1 million Palestinians, a large number of whom have never been able to leave and reenter. Today the Gaza Strip is fully surrounded by an electrified fence with all entrances and exits controlled by the Israelis military. Call it an Israeli created Warsaw Ghetto, if you will, complete with a kind of kapo internal “VIP” police force today known as the “Palestinian Authority”. Tragically, it is through the use of this “Palestinian Authority” imagery in fact that the Israelis have been able to further implement their approach to the Palestinians of which Gaza is in a sense the model — the creation of isolated and surrounded concentration camps pocketing the landscape; the “autonomous Population Centers” supposedly “agreed” to at Oslo by the very Palestinian negotiators who today are the “VIPs”. ..."   

Democrats revolt over troop surge [11/29/09] "Barack Obama faces a backlash this week when he is expected to announce he is sending 30,000 more troops to Afghanistan ..."  

Higher Self Intervention: Child Escapes Car Crash [11/29/09]  VIDEO [0:27]  

UK: Pub 'fined £8k' for Wi-Fi copyright infringement because of patron download [11/29/09] "A pub owner has been fined £8,000 because someone unlawfully downloaded copyrighted material over their open Wi-Fi hotspot, according to the managing director of hotspot provider The Cloud. ..."  Note: We saw this coming. 

China Jails Radical US Environmentalist to 3 Years On Drug Charges [11/29/09] "An environmental activist from New Jersey who faces arson charges in the US has been sentenced to 3 years in prison in China on drug charges. Justin Solondz, 30, had been hiding out under a pseudonym in the mountainous town of Dali, which the New York Times describes as a "backpacker haven." Authorities say he had 33 pounds of pot buried in his yard and a drug lab inside his rented house. He pleaded guilty and has asked to be deported to the US. Whenever he does return to the US, Solondz faces charges for his role in a series of arson attacks in May of 2001 that caused $5 million in property damage in Seattle, Oregon, and California. Solondz, who is on the FBI's Most Wanted List, belonged to an offshoot of the radical Earth Liberation Front called the Family. His former girlfriend is now serving 6 years for her role in the fires.  ..."   

UK Pentagon Hacker to Be Sent to US for Trial [11/29/09] "A British man who hacked his way into Pentagon computers looking for information on UFOs has lost his final appeal against extradition. Gary McKinnon, who suffers from Asperger's syndrome, is now expected to be sent to the US for trial within weeks, the Independent reports. The 43-year-old Londoner could face up to 60 years in jail if found guilty of what US authorities call the biggest military hack in history. ..."    

Ireland: Pope remains silent on chilling abuse revelations [11/29/09] "Pope Benedict XVI has stayed silent over the devastating Dublin diocese abuse report more than 24 hours after publication of its sordid revelations that have shocked Mass-going Catholics and couples with young families. On Thursday, hours after the release of the chilling report, the Vatican chief spokesman, Fr Federico Lombardi, said issues such as abuse scandals were handled by the local Church rather than by the Holy See. But last night the Pope’s representative in Ireland gave an assurance to the Irish public that Pope Benedict was committed to rooting paedophile priests from the ranks of the Irish clergy. Apostolic Nuncio, Archbishop Giuseppe Leanza, told the Irish Independent that Pope Benedict had told all the Irish bishops during their meeting with him in Rome after the Ferns report of his abhorrence of child sexual abuse. The Pope had instructed the Irish bishops, headed by Cardinal Sean Brady and Archbishop Diarmuid Martin, to make every effort to cleanse the Irish church of the scourge of priestly paedophilia. The Dublin commission’s report revealed that two letters seeking information from the Nuncio had not been answered, and that a similar request to the Vatican Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith had told the Department of Foreign Affairs that the commission should use normal diplomatic channels. But the commission’s chairperson, Judge Yvonne Murphy, said that the commission was independent of the Government, and that she did not avail of the diplomatic post between the Department of Foreign Affairs and the Vatican. Asked for a specific comment on this reference to the Nunciature and the congregation, a spokeswoman for Archbishop Leanza said: “It is not the practice of a Nuncio to comment in public on Church-State relations in the country in which he is working on behalf of the Holy Father.” ..."  Note: Merry Fucking Christmas ... and not a mouse stirred in the house ...

Democracy Now's Amy Goodman felt ‘violated’ by Canadian border officials [11/28/09] "U.S. journalist Amy Goodman said she was stopped at a Canadian border crossing south of Vancouver on Wednesday and questioned for 90 minutes by authorities concerned she was coming to Canada to speak against the Olympics. Goodman says Canadian Border Services Agency officials ultimately allowed her to enter Canada but returned her passport with a document demanding she leave the country within 48 hours. Goodman, 52, known for her views opposing the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, told CBC News on Thursday that Canadian border agents asked her repeatedly what subjects she would cover at scheduled speaking engagements in Vancouver and Victoria ....  Goodman said she told them she planned to speak about the debate over U.S. health care reform and the wars in Asia. After much questioning, Goodman said the officials finally asked if she would be speaking about the 2010 Olympics. "He made it clear by saying, 'What about the Olympics?'" said Goodman. "And I said, 'You mean when President Obama went to Copenhagen to push for the Olympics in Chicago?'" "He said, 'No. I am talking about the Olympics here in 2010.' I said, 'Oh I hadn't thought of that,'" said Goodman. "He said, 'You're saying you're not talking about the Olympics?'" "He was clearly incredulous that I wasn't going to be talking about the Olympics. He didn't believe me," Goodman said. The CBSA declined comment on the incident Thursday ... Goodman said her car was searched and the officials demanded to look at her notes and her computer. Goodman is best known as the principal host of Democracy Now, a U.S. syndicated radio broadcast. She was coming to Canada as part of a tour to promote a new book, Breaking The Sound Barrier. "I am deeply concerned that as a journalist I would be flagged and that the concern – the major concern – was the content of my speech," said Goodman ..."  Note: 'This particular Canadian government is very un-Canadian and is still living out the Bush regime.'

Police Spying On Protesters Stirs Outrage in Britain [11/28/09] "Britain has long been famous for its surveillance state. There are security cameras everywhere you go. The country has the largest DNA database in the world. And a national identity card program is well underway. But new revelations that British police have been spying on domestic protesters have infuriated citizens all along the political spectrum. The spying came to light in a series of stories in The Guardian over the past month. In late October, the newspaper revealed that photographs of and personal details about thousands of activists who attend demonstrations, rallies and political meetings were being stored in secret national databases ... The spying came to light in a series of stories in The Guardian over the past month. In late October, the newspaper revealed that photographs of and personal details about thousands of activists who attend demonstrations, rallies and political meetings were being stored in secret national databases. In an eerily "1984"-esque twist, the protesters were labeled "domestic extremists" by the private organization -- the Association of Chief Police Officers (AcPO) -- that carried out the surveillance and which receives 9 million pounds annually in public funding. Equally chilling were the so-called "spotter cards" (like this one) used by police to identify individuals who might "instigate offenses or disorder" at demonstrations. Does that look like something out of "The Stasi Files" or what? Earlier this week, it also came to light that undercover police were secretly deployed at the G20 meetings in early April. Some 25 undercover City of London police were stationed around the Bank of England to gather intelligence on protesters. And there's more. Last month, the Guardian also broke a story on the government-sponsored-program Prevent. This 140-million-pound scheme was ostensibly designed to dissuade Muslim youth from engaging in violent extremism. But it was simultaneously gathering information on the political views and sexual practices of innocent Muslims not even suspected of terrorist activity. Surveillance can also lead to harassment. Protester A in the above "spotter card" describes how she was followed home from one meeting by a van full of riot police and photographed repeatedly while breastfeeding her young son. The Conservative party has picked up on this growing sentiment. The Tories have vowed to reverse the rise of the surveillance state with an 11-point plan calling for fewer databases and stronger powers to protect privacy. Even the government seems to be moving in that direction. Just yesterday, Her Majesty's chief inspector of the constabulary gave a blistering assessment of police activity during the G20 protests (where one person died from police brutality). He argued for a wholesale reform of the British police that would be "anchored in public consent." While the recommendations were aimed primarily at reducing aggressive police behavior, there was also a call to "shake up" AcPO and allow for more oversight and transparency. Gordon Brown has promised to follow suit. As an American living in London who grew up watching "The Avengers" and reading George Orwell, I will own up to a certain creepy fascination with this whole thing. But it's also giving me pause. The next time I'm invited to attend a march to defend the neighborhood post office or sign a petition to keep the local butcher in business, I may just think twice."  

NSA took part in the development of Windows 7 [11/27/09] "The National Security Agency (NSA) acknowledged having worked with Microsoft on the development of Windows 7, as testified on 17 November 2009 by Richard Schaeffer, the NSA’s information assurance director, before the U.S. Senate’s Subcommittee on Terrorism and Homeland Security. The cooperation between the NSA and Microsoft has been an open secret since a the judiciary agreement was reached between the U.S. Government and the computer giant. It is however the first time that official mention of this has been made. In terms of cyber security, over and above the issue of protection from external intrusions, the crux of the matter lies in who is the doorkeeper. In other words, while it is NSA’s prerogative to have sole security access control over the most-widely used software equipment inside the United States, the fact remains that Windows 7 is marketed globally. Undoubtedly, this opens up considerable opportunities for U.S. cyber espionage beyond its borders. As for Microsoft, while it has denied that the NSA has the possibility to access Windows 7, it is not in a position to guarantee it. To date, no state is known to have barred Windows 7 software in order to protect its citizens from U.S. espionage ..."  

GMO Scandal: The Long Term Effects of Genetically Modified Food in Humans [11/27/09] "One of the great mysteries surrounding the spread of GMO plants around the world since the first commercial crops were released in the early 1990’s in the USA and Argentina has been the absence of independent scientific studies of possible long-term effects of a diet of GMO plants on humans or even rats. Now the real reason has come to light: the GMO agribusiness companies like Monsanto, BASF, Pioneer, Syngenta and others prohibit independent research. ...An editorial in the respected American scientific monthly magazine, Scientific American, August 2009 reveals the shocking and alarming reality behind the proliferation of GMO products throughout the food chain of the planet since 1994. There are no independent scientific studies published in any reputed scientific journal in the world for one simple reason. It is impossible to independently verify that GMO crops such as Monsanto Roundup Ready Soybeans or MON8110 GMO maize perform as the company claims, or that, as the company also claims, that they have no harmful side effects because the GMO companies forbid such tests ..."     

U.S. shipped 989 munitions containers to Israel week before Gaza invasion [11/27/09] "In the dying days of the Bush administration, and a week before Israel launched an aerial bombing campaign, followed by a land invasion of the Gaza Strip, the U.S. military shipped 989 containers of munitions to Israel. Each container was 20-feet long with a total estimated net weight of 14,000 tonnes. The shipment reportedly reached Israel last month at Ashod, 40 kiometres north of Gaza. The huge arsenal of munitions will replenish those expended in the Gaza War. According to Amnesty International in the UK, the shipment included white phosphorous. The international organization says 300 of the containers had been unloaded at Ashod in March by a German cargo ship, Wehr Elb. "We are sure that the consignment contained arms and munitions." We have a strong suspicion that it contained white phosphorous which has been used against civilians in Gaza," Brian Wood, head of Arms Control Campaign at Amnesty International in London said late this week. "The cargo ship had been chartered and controlled by US Military Sealift Command. It left the USA for Israel on December 20, one week before the start of Israeli attacks on Gaza. The vessel was carrying 989 containers of munitions, each of them 20-feet long with a total estimated net weight of 14,000 tonnes," he said. "The world community including the Palestinians should be able to know where the remaining 680 containers on board the Wehr Elbe have gone and why the US is not transparent about the final destination of the dangerous cargo. "A Pentagon spokesperson confirmed to Amnesty International that "the unloading of the entire US munitions shipment was successfully completed at Ashdod on March 22," Wood pointed out. The spokesperson had said the shipment was destined for a US pre-positioned munitions stockpile in Israel, he said. Under a US-Israel agreement, munitions from this stockpile may be transferred for Israeli use if necessary. "There is a great risk that the new munitions may be used by the Israeli military to commit further violations of international law, like the ones committed during the war in Gaza," Wood said. "Legally and morally, this US arms shipment should have been halted by the Obama administration given the extent of the evidence showing how military equipment and munitions of this kind were recently used by the Israeli forces for war crimes. Arms supplies in these circumstances are contrary to provisions in US law," he said ..."   Note: So is everything else Obama has 'done' ... in a 'normal' world ... he would be impeached, arrested and imprisoned, along with most of Congress and thousands of people in the banking and military industrial complex ... all imprisoned on the island of Madagascar .. forever.

Flashback: How the other 0.00000003 percent lives [11/27/09] " Adam Turl examines the lives of the 10 richest people in the U.S.—and uncovers a rogue’s gallery of serial polluters, budget-slashers, CIA contractors, union-busters and right-wing nuts, concluding that we live in a society of obscene inequality ..."  

MEP Reprimanded For Exposing EU Dictatorship  [11/27/09] "An astounding exchange took place in the European Union Parliament earlier this week when MEP Nigel Farage was reprimanded for daring to expose the fact that the EU is an authoritarian dictatorship ruled by unelected bureaucrats to the detriment of national sovereignty. Farage effectively broke a tyrannical 1999 law that states it is illegal to criticize the EU ..."   

Study: Politicians share personality traits with serial killers [11/26/09] "Kouri, who's a vice president of the National Assn. of Chiefs of Police, has assembled traits such as superficial charm, an exaggerated sense of self-worth, glibness, lying, lack of remorse and manipulation of others. These traits, Kouri points out in his analysis, are common to psychopathic serial killers. But -- and here's the part that may spark some controversy and defensive discussion -- these traits are also common to American politicians. (Maybe you already suspected.) ..."  Note: Yes. The 6% ... 

Obama's Plans to Increase Afghanistan Troop Levels Would Leave USA With No Reserve [11/26/09] "President Barack Obama intends to announce next week that he will deploy tens of thousands of additional US troops to Afghanistan, according to numerous published reports citing unnamed administration officials, to fight an eight-year-old war that a majority of Americans do not support and numerous Democratic lawmakers say is no longer worth waging. Leaks coming out of the White House following Obama's final meeting Monday evening with top military officials, Vice President Joe Biden, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Defense Secretary Robert Gates, National Security Adviser Jim Jones, US. Ambassador to Afghanistan Karl Eikenberry and 12 other senior members of his administration, indicate that the president will send 34,000 additional troops to the region over the next nine months, far short of the 80,000 troops Army Gen. Stanley McChrystal recommended last August. Still, the surge would bring the total number of US soldiers in Afghanistan to about 100,000 and would severely strain an already stretched military. Indeed, as Spencer Ackerman noted last week in an investigative report published in The Washington Independent, "If President Obama orders an additional 30,000 to 40,000 troops to Afghanistan, he will be deploying practically every available US Army brigade to war, leaving few units in reserve in case of an unforeseen emergency and further stressing a force that has seen repeated combat deployments since 2002. "According to information compiled by the US Army for The Washington Independent about the deployment status of active-duty and National Guard Army brigades, as of December 2009, there will be about 50,600 active-duty soldiers, serving in 14 combat brigades, and as many as 24,000 National Guard soldiers available for deployment. All other soldiers and National Guardsmen will either be deployed to Iraq or Afghanistan already or ineligible to deploy while they rest from a previous deployment. "The shortage of available combat brigades means that an escalation of between 30,000 and 40,000 troops is 'not realistic‚'" and would leave the US with "no reserve in case you had a problem in Korea," Lawrence Korb, a former senior Pentagon official in the Reagan administration who now studies defense issues for the liberal Center for American Progress, told The Washington Independent. ..."   

Minions Afoot: Hindu sacrifice of 250,000 animals begins [11/26/09] "The world's biggest animal sacrifice began in Nepal today with the killing of the first of more than 250,000 animals as part of a Hindu festival in the village of Bariyapur, near the border with India. The event, which happens every five years, began with the decapitation of thousands of buffalo, killed in honour of Gadhimai, a Hindu goddess of power. With up to a million worshippers on the roads near the festival grounds, this year's fair seems more popular than ever, despite vocal protests from animals rights groups who have called for it to be banned. "It is the traditional way, " explained 45-year old Manoj Shah, a Nepali driver who has been attending the event since he was six, "If we want anything, and we come here with an offering to the goddess, within five years all our dreams will be fulfilled." . ..." Note:  Ha! The 'ultimate' group vs. group for minions. If they only knew. Related: 6,000 Australian Camels To Be Shot After Invading Town  "Australian authorities plan to corral about 6,000 wild camels with helicopters and gun them down after they overran a small Outback town in search of water, ...In August, the federal government set aside 19 million Australian dollars for a program to slash the wild camel population, including a possible mass slaughter ... Camels were first brought to Australia to help explorers travel through the desert, and now an estimated 1 million roam wild across the country."  Note: One of these days, very soon, it will be time for the planetary life force to retract and move on, and when it does, we will.

Brits in Iraq: US Military Bosses Were 'Like Martians' [11/26/09] "British military officers serving in Iraq in the early days found their American counterparts so uncommunicative they called them “a group of Martians” for whom “dialogue is alien." In documents leaked to the Daily Telegraph, the top British general says he didn't even have a secure line to Gen. Rick Sanchez, the US commander, he saw him only once in seven months, and he admits to spending "a significant amount of time" "evading" and "refusing" orders from American superiors. The UK commander's refusal to obey US orders even earned the British ambassador in Washington a diplomatic reprimand of the sort usually reserved for rogue states. UK leaders say American "arrogance" meant they weren't informed about decisions affecting them. In March 2004, when a US decision triggered an uprising throughout the British sector, "it was not coordinated with us and no one was told that it was going to happen,” says a UK commander. “The consequence was that my whole area of operations went up in smoke." ..."  

When Getting Beaten By Your Spouse Is "A Pre-Existing Condition" [11/26/09] "With the White House zeroing in on the insurance-industry practice of discriminating against clients based on pre-existing conditions, administration allies are calling attention to how broadly insurers interpret the term to maximize profits. It turns out that in eight states, plus the District of Columbia, getting beaten up by your spouse is a pre-existing condition. Under the cold logic of the insurance industry, it makes perfect sense: If you are in a marriage with someone who has beaten you in the past, you're more likely to get beaten again than the average person and are therefore more expensive to insure. In human terms, it's a second punishment for a victim of domestic violence. In 2006, Democrats tried to end the practice. An amendment introduced by Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.), now a member of leadership, split the Health Education Labor & Pensions Committee 10-10. The tie meant that the measure failed. The eight states that still allow it are Idaho, Mississippi, North Carolina, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota and Wyoming, according to a report by the National Women's Law Center. ..."   

Disillusioned Democrats Turning on Obama [11/26/09] "After just 10 months in office, President Barack Obama is facing a rebellion on several fronts from his natural base of liberal Democrats. And while it’s too early to measure the political cost, what is striking is how rapidly disaffection is growing. The most recent example of this fallout is the war in Afghanistan, which has alienated liberals who believed that Obama would quickly pull out from Iraq and close the terrorist detention facilities in Guantanamo. Instead, they are now looking at their once cherished candidate poised to announce that he is sending some 30,000 additional troops to Afghanistan. But the liberal critique of Obama is much broader. His supporters now feel betrayed on issues ranging from climate change, offshore oil drilling, gay marriage and government-run healthcare. On issue after issue, they’ve watched him backtrack from the lofty promises of the campaign trail. Even more worrisome for Obama, many are having doubts about his intelligence and decisiveness. The criticisms are not only coming from policy wonks but Hollywood, the nation’s urban elites and even grassroots groups who had gone gaga over America’s first African-American president.  ..."     

Nebraska, 37 other states, challenge Chicago handgun ban [11/26/09] "Nebraska and 37 other states are supporting a challenge to Chicago’s ban on handguns. The U.S. Supreme Court said earlier this fall that it would hear the lawsuit four people filed challenging the city ban. One of the plaintiffs, Otis McDonald of Chicago, said he wants to own a firearm within city limits so he can protect himself in his home. Nebraska Attorney General Jon Bruning says he and his fellow attorneys general want the high court to protect the constitutional right to bear arms and make it clear that cities and states have to follow the court’s earlier rulings. The goal of the Illinois lawsuit is to require state and local officials to follow the Supreme Court’s 2008 ruling that eliminated Washington, D.C.’s handgun ban. ..."  

Iraq Furious at Syria for Not Extraditing 'Saddamists' [11/26/09] "Member of Iraqi Parliament Hassan al-Sanid, a close ally of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, announced that Iraq may sever ties with the Syrian government if it continues to refuse extradition demands. Iraq and Syria recalled their respective ambassadors in August after Iraq issued demands for a large number of former Ba’athists believed to be living in exile in Syria. Iraq blamed the Ba’athists, and later the Syrian government itself, for a massive bomb attack in Baghdad in August. Syria denied the charges and said they could find no evidence that the people in question were even in Syria ...."   

Showdown Set Over Health Insurance Industry Antitrust Measure [11/25/09] "The insurance industry successfully fought off a Senate threat to revoke its antitrust exemption as part of health care reform, but the issue lives to fight one more battle in the conference committee negotiations that will take place between the two chambers. The issue surfaced in mid-October, shortly after the industry lobby, America's Health Insurance Plans (AHIP), pushed hard against the Democratic health care reform effort, claiming it would significantly raise premiums. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) responded by saying the industry should lose its cherished antitrust exemption -- implemented some 60 years ago by the McCarran-Ferguson Act -- and be forced to compete under the same rules as any other enterprise. "Insurance companies have become so large they dominate entire regions of the country," he said. "They have become so powerful they block start-up businesses from entering the market, and they put smaller companies out of business. They have become so dominant that they dictate business practices. They are so influential that they exert tremendous influence over public policy." House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) seconded Reid the next day, twisting the knife and adding that "it is well known to the public that the health insurance companies are the problem." The following day Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers announced a hearing and a committee vote on revoking the exemption. It passed and was included in the House health care bill that passed two weeks ago.  ..." 

Former US Prosecutor Helped Rub Out Witnesses For Gangster Clients, Ran Drugs And Call-Girls [11/25/09] "From federal prosecutor to accused violent gangster, pimp, and drug-dealer...That's the unusual career trajectory taken, say the Feds, by Paul Bergrin, who was indicted earlier this month in a 39-count racketeering indictment.
  ..."  

VeriChip Buys Steel Vault  [11/24/09] "VeriChip (CHIP), the company that markets a microchip implant that links to your online health records, has acquired Steel Vault (SVUL), a credit monitoring and anti-identity theft company. The combined company will operate under a new name: PositiveID. The all-stock transaction will leave PositiveID in charge of a burgeoning empire of identity, health and microchip implant businesses that will only encourage its critics. The most obvious criticism to be made of the deal is that it potentially allows PositiveID to link or cross-check patient health records (from the HealthLink chip) to people’s credit scores. One assumes that the company will put up firewalls to prevent that. PositiveID CEO Scott Silverman said: “PositiveID will be the first company of its kind to combine a successful identity security business with one of the world’s first personal health records through our Health Link business. PositiveID will address some of the most important issues affecting our society today with our identification tools and technologies for consumers and businesses.” Unless, of course, consumers don’t actually want to be implanted with chips, have their health records available over the internet, or have their medical records linked to their credit scores. ..."   

Fears over tough US anti-fraud legislation [11/24/09] "Foreign companies could be sued more easily in US courts under legislation working through Congress that has led to concerns in the European Commission. The Investor Protection Act (IPA), approved by the House financial services committee this month, contains a provision to make it easier for investors to sue public companies in the US even if they are based abroad and listed on overseas exchanges. ..."     

Israeli News: For Obama, the world doesn't revolve around Israel  [11/24/09] "One needed to hear Bruce Riedel last week to understand once again that Israel is not the center of the universe. Riedel, who spoke at the Institute for National Security Studies at Tel Aviv University, said that the most important subject on the foreign affairs agenda of President Barack Obama's administration is the situation in Afghanistan and Pakistan. ..."  

Chicago's Gun Ban As A Racketeering Enterprise [11/24/09] "In the culmination of what officials dubbed "Operation Family Secrets," a federal racketing indictment unsealed this morning took direct aim at Chicago's three dominant mob chapters: The Grand Avenue crew of Lombardo; the Melrose Park crew of brothers Jimmy and Michael Marcello, and the 26th Street crew of imprisoned mobsters Frank Calabrese Sr. and his brother, Nicholas, who has turned mob informant. ..."   

Would-be Mexican president accuses ‘mafia’ of usurping government [11/23/09] "Thousands of Mexicans rallied to show support for "shadow president" Manuel Lopez Obrador -- who believes his country's top job was stolen from him in 2006 -- at the mid-point of his would-be presidential term. A 56-year-old leftist former Mexico City mayor, Lopez Obrador's hopes of leading this country of about 106 million were dashed (but not for long) when official results showed he lost the 2006 race by just some 230,000 votes. He charges that a careful recount of the vote was carefully avoided by those who had the authority to duly pursue one. Poised to emerge as a potential alternative to the conservative PAN party of President Felipe Calderon in 2012, Lopez Obrador has pushed on, day after day, insisting that he is, in fact, Mexico's legitimate president. He works out of an elegant office in an old mansion in Mexico City, in front of a portrait in which he is pictured wearing the presidential sash. ..."  Note: Organized crime, the CIA .... and the Mexican drug world. What a surprise.  

Democrats 'Propose' Surtax to Cover War Costs [11/23/09] "Senior House Democrats have introduced legislation that would impose a surtax beginning in 2011 to cover the costs of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. ...The bill was unveiled late Thursday by David R. Obey of Wisconsin, chairman of the Appropriations Committee, and has the backing of John P. Murtha of Pennsylvania, chairman of the Defense Appropriations Subcommittee, and John B. Larson of Connecticut, chairman of the Democratic Caucus. Discussing the idea earlier this month, Murtha said he knew the bill would not be enacted and that advocates of a surtax were simply trying to send a message about the moral obligation to pay for the wars. .... "The only people who've paid any price for our military involvement in Iraq and Afghanistan are our military families," Murtha, Obey and Larson said in a joint statement. "We believe that if this war is to be fought, it's only fair that everyone share the burden.""  Note: Nope. NOT going to happen. 

Police confirm failed car bomb attack in N. Ireland [11/23/09] " ..."  Note: Now, with modern technology, they can trace the source of the 400 pound bomb at the police department building. If we never hear anything ... we know that government is the source of the bomb ... and they screwed up and it didn't detonate.

Sweeteners for the South [11/23/09] "Staffers on Capitol Hill were calling it the Louisiana Purchase. On the eve of Saturday's showdown in the Senate over health-care reform, Democratic leaders still hadn't secured the support of Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-La.), one of the 60 votes needed to keep the legislation alive. The wavering lawmaker was offered a sweetener: at least $100 million in extra federal money for her home state. And so it came to pass that Landrieu walked onto the Senate floor midafternoon Saturday to announce her aye vote -- and to trumpet the financial "fix" she had arranged for Louisiana. "I am not going to be defensive," she declared. "And it's not a $100 million fix. It's a $300 million fix." It was an awkward moment (not least because her figure is 20 times the original Louisiana Purchase price). But it was fairly representative of a Senate debate that seems to be scripted in the Southern Gothic style. The plot was gripping -- the bill survived Saturday's procedural test without a single vote to spare -- and it brought out the rank partisanship, the self-absorption and all the other pathologies of modern politics. If that wasn't enough of a Tennessee Williams story line, the debate even had, playing the lead role, a Southerner named Blanche with a flair for the dramatic.  ..."    Related: Democrats Try to Explain ‘$300 Million Dollar Bribe’ in Health Care Bill

"Sen. Lieberman remains key obstacle to health reform" [11/23/09] "Key Democratic allies in the US health care battle warned Sunday that a Senate bill required major changes if it was to earn their support and give President Barack Obama a crucial victory on his top domestic priority. A knife-edge ballot Saturday saw Democrats scrape the 60 votes needed for debate to begin November 30, but wavering senators Joe Lieberman and Ben Nelson sent a strong message that they would not back the bill as it stands. Lieberman, an independent senator from Connecticut who usually votes in line with the Democrats and did so on Saturday, opposes the creation of a government insurance program to compete with private firms, the so-called "public option." "We have a healthcare system that has real troubles, but we have an economic system that is in real crisis," said Lieberman, who fears the government program would be too expensive for the cash-strapped US economy. ..."  Related: Durbin, Feinstein insist on public option  "Centrist Democrats acted appropriately in supporting a healthcare reform bill with a public option, senior Democrats Dianne Feinstein (Calif.) and Dick Durbin (Ill.) said Sunday on NBC's "Meet The Press," vowing a vigorous fight until the end of the coming debate. On the heels of the Senate's 60-39 vote on Saturday night for the Democratic-written healthcare bill, Feinstein immediately adressed the concern among centrist Democrats that the bill's cost is too high ..."   

The former British police officer who wants to bring down Barack Obama [11/23/09] "Over the past year Sankey has been at the centre of some of the most aggressive efforts by the Birthers to unseat the president. At the end of last year he tried to block Obama's inauguration by contacting all 538 electoral college representatives who formally elect the president. More recently, he has carried out his own probe into Obama's personal identification history which has revealed, he believes, a suspicious multiplicity of social security numbers. Sankey says his fascination began with the realisation "that this man wasn't what he said he was. He wasn't an ordinary Democrat — he was far more extreme than that." So about a year ago he began reading blogs and websites that claimed to expose Obama's foreign roots, his spurious Hawaiian birth certificate and the $2m White House cover-up that has prevented the public finding out about the plot. His travels put him in touch with Orly Taitz, one of the most energetic and flamboyant of the Birther leaders. Of Moldovan extraction, she emigrated via Israel to California here she works as a dentist and lawyer. She has filed numerous legal suits around the country on behalf of serving US military personnel attempting to prevent their deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan on the grounds that they should not be taking orders from an illegally serving commander-in-chief. Sankey's journey from having worked in some of the most elite police units in Britain to taking part in a movement dedicated to the pursuit of a paranoid conspiracy theory may seem bizarre. But he insists it has been a natural progression. He joined the Hampshire force in 1961, and was seconded as a detective sergeant to Scotland Yard where he developed a specialism tracking leftwing political groups and the IRA. "We created an operation into what we called revolutionary criminality — monitoring leftwing bookshops and extremist literature, following the leftist fringe and the Marxist links of the IRA." In 1980 he moved to California, set up his agency, and became a naturalised American in 1985. Sankey contends that his police experience in England now informs his fight against Obama. "It's quite obvious to me — America is heading towards a socialised state just as has happened in Europe. Socialised medicine, everyone on the dole, and when everything collapses you tip the scales into Marxism." ..."  

Ex-Generals Cash in as Gov't 'Mentors' [11/22/09] "If you’re a general unhappy with your measly six-figure salary, just retire; the Pentagon will pay you millions to come back and consult, even if you’re also drawing a paycheck from a defense contractor. At least 158 retired admirals and generals are now on the Pentagon payroll as “senior mentors,” making $200 to $340 an hour—and 80% of them have financial ties to, and in some cases, better-paying gigs with, defense contractors as well, according to a USA Today investigation. As outside consultants, the retirees aren’t subject to government ethics rules, meaning they needn’t tell the Pentagon or anyone else who they’re working for. “This setup invites abuse,” says one contracting expert. “Everyone in this story is fat and happy. Everyone, of course, except the public.” One Marine general acknowledges that the mentors probably use their inside edge to help their companies, but says it’s unavoidable, unless the military wants to hire “amateurs.” ..."  

France Finds Monsanto Guilty of Lying [11/22/09] "France's highest court has ruled that U.S. agrochemical giant Monsanto had not told the truth about the safety of its best-selling weed-killer, Roundup. The court confirmed an earlier judgment that Monsanto had falsely advertised its herbicide as "biodegradable" and claimed it "left the soil clean." Roundup is the world's best-selling herbicide. French environmental groups had brought the case in 2001 on the basis that glyphosate, Roundup's main ingredient, is classed as "dangerous for the environment" by the European Union. In the latest ruling, France's Supreme Court upheld two earlier convictions against Monsanto by the Lyon criminal court in 2007, and the Lyon court of appeal in 2008, the AFP news agency reports. Monsanto already dominates America’s food chain with its genetically modified seeds. Now it has targeted milk production. Just as frightening as the corporation’s tactics, including ruthless legal battles against small farmers, is its decades-long history of toxic contamination. ..."   

McAfee warns about '12 Scams of Christmas' [11/22/09] "Retailers aren't the only ones gearing up for the holiday season. Criminals are also out in force ..."     

Alleged Saudi Royalty Accused of $95M Scam [11/22/09] "A real estate company claims that an alleged member of the Saudi royal family failed to honor a $94.9 million property purchase agreement and defrauded investors in a check-kiting scheme - and that some of the money may have been used "for activities hostile to the United States". Foundations Investment Group claims that Sultan Alshaie and Royal Holdings produced false government documents to promote themselves as "international business investors" who operated in prominent business circles. ..."    

Verizon Reaps $$ From Errors, Class Claims [11/22/09] "Verizon Wireless designed its cell phones to make errors inevitable and makes hundreds of millions dollars a month from a prominently placed data-transfer key that facilitates the mistakes, a class action claims in King County Court. Customers are charged $1.99 when they hit the data transfer key even if they cancel the request immediately and even if no data is transmitted, the complaint states. ..."   

Political Correctness [11/21/09] "Political Correctness (PC) is the communal tyranny that erupted in the 1980s. It was a spontaneous declaration that particular ideas, expressions and behaviour, which were then legal, should be forbidden by law, and people who transgressed should be punished. (see Newspeak) It started with a few voices but grew in popularity until it became unwritten and written law within the community. With those who were publicly declared as being not politically correct becoming the object of persecution by the mob, if not prosecution by the state. ..."  Note: The propagation of sequential thought patterns. 

US Yet To Sign United Nations Children’s Rights Treaty – 20 Years On [11/21/09] "It has been 20 years since the United Nations adopted a treaty aimed at protecting the rights of children around the world. The Convention for the Rights of the Children has been ratified by every country except Somalia which has not had a functioning government for most of the last two decades and the US. Barack Obama, the US president, has said he wants to change that, but he faces opposition from congress. Critics say the convention places the rights of children above their parents and is anti-family. Others cite sovereignty issues. But rights groups dismiss those criticisms as unfounded. ..."   

Mossad role in Turkey coup plot revealed [11/21/09] "Israel's national intelligence agency Mossad has been behind a failed coup in Turkey, the Turkish daily newspaper, Milliyet reports. A secret investigation into detained Ergenekon group members and other studies outside Turkey indicate that Mossad orchestrated the coup plot against the Turkish government, the report says. ..."  

Incompetent Texas Legislature, Flustered, Trying to Ban Gay Marriage, Mistakenly Bans All Marriage [11/20/09] ".. "This state or a political subdivision of this state may not create or recognize any legal status identical or similar to marriage. ..."   

Belgian PM named as EU president [11/20/09] "EU leaders have chosen the Belgian Prime Minister, Herman van Rompuy, to be the first permanent European Council President. The other top job created by the Lisbon Treaty - foreign affairs supremo - has gone to the EU Trade Commissioner, Baroness Catherine Ashton from the UK. ..."  

Secret CIA Prison Found At Horseback Riding Academy [11/19/09] "The CIA built one of its secret European prisons inside an exclusive riding academy outside Vilnius, Lithuania, a current Lithuanian government official and a former U.S. intelligence official told ABC News this week.  ...Where affluent Lithuanians once rode show horses and sipped coffee at a café, the CIA installed a concrete structure where it could use harsh tactics to interrogate up to eight suspected al-Qaeda terrorists at a time. A full report on the can be seen on ABC's World News with Charles Gibson tonight. "The activities in that prison were illegal," said human rights researcher John Sifton. "They included various forms of torture, including sleep deprivation, forced standing, painful stress positions." Lithuanian officials provided ABC News with the documents of what they called a CIA front company, Elite, LLC, which purchased the property and built the "black site" in 2004. "  Note: Sadistic people.

Court Filing Suggests Philadelphia Top Cop Lied About D.C. Mass Arrests [11/19/09] " In a sworn affidavit filed in D.C. federal court, a veteran city detective claims he was standing a few feet away from former Police Chief Charles Ramsey when he heard him order mass arrests of protesters. Ramsey has long said he did not order those arrests. ..."   

US Army Suicides Set Another Yearly Record [11/19/09] "Since January, 140 active-duty soldiers have killed themselves while another 71 Army Reserve and National Guard soldiers killed themselves in the same time period, totaling 211 as of Tuesday, Gen. Peter Chiarelli, U.S. Army vice chief of staff, told reporters at a briefing Tuesday. But he said the monthly numbers are starting to slow down as the year nears its end. "This is horrible, and I do not want to downplay the significance of these numbers in any way," Chiarelli said. For all of 2008, the Army said 140 active-duty soldiers killed themselves while 57 Guard and Reserve soldiers committed suicide, totaling 197, according to Army statistics. The Army is still trying to tackle why soldiers are killing themselves. "We still haven't found any statistically significant causal linkage that would allow us to effectively predict human behavior. The reality is, there is no simple answer -- each suicide case is as unique as the individuals themselves,"  ..."  Note: It's interesting that the Army "can't fathom" why these boys are doing themselves in. It never occurs to them that the whole reason d'etre for warfare involves insane sadistic behavior, and that it's NOT NORMAL for people to experience this stuff, much less for them to be forced to do it, over and over again, with little regard for their bodies or minds ... it just NEVER occurs to these people that it is harmful to people, because they're blind to it. 

UK Times: "Gun sales shoot up amid America’s fear of rising crime and terrorism" [11/19/09] " ..."  Note: They have over 200 comments on this article. A lot of people from the US have their say. Some interesting comments, especially those that compare life in the US to that in the UK. 

Police Officer Charged With Manslaughter For Killing Two Teens  [11/19/09] "Milford police released video today of a deadly collision that killed two teens in June. The dashboard cam of a police cruiser shows a speeding Officer Jason Anderson pass on the right side of the road and barrel into Ashlie Krakowski and David Servin as they made a left-hand turn. Servin died at the scene. Krakowski died later at the hospital. Anderson was driving 94 mph and did not have his lights or siren on. Even worse, the officer was not responding to a call and had no reason to be speeding. The officer has been charged with manslaughter but is on paid leave from the department. ..."  Note: This officer should be charged with a double homicide. Video with article of the incident. 

Secret Global Copyright Agreement will be Executive Order [11/18/09] "... What's particularly disturbing about this is the degree to which the administration has tried to keep negotiations secret. They did invite 42 people to review and comment on the document, subject to very strict nondisclosure agreements so they couldn't talk about what they had seen. Of those 42 people, 40 of them represent large corporate entities and 2 represent public interest groups. ..."    

Biden Security Detail In Car Crash; 3rd In A Week [11/18/09] "The advanced security detail for Vice President Joe Biden was involved in a car crash in New York today. According to NBC New York, three advance NYPD vehicles "were moving down 49th Street near 10th Avenue when they slammed into the back of a livery cab." Reports vary on whether Biden was in the motorcade at the time, with the New York Post claiming he was and NBC New York reporting that he was not. Reached for comment, an NYPD detective said that three people were injured in the collision. This is the third car accident involving Biden's motorcade or security detail in less than a week. On November 11th, a pedestrian was struck and killed by two Secret Service employees in Temple Hills, MD ..."  Note: Sounds like an interesting astrological profile.

US lies about war in Iraq, Afghanistan; continues crimes against humanity  [11/18/09] "Res ipsa loquitur translates in common use as “the facts speak for themselves.” I’m among hundreds of writers who document from our own government’s declassified information that all the reasons to go to war in Iraq and Afghanistan were known to be false at the time they were presented to the American public. Please verify this evidence for yourself here that your government “leaders” of both parties have lied and are lying about war in Iraq and Afghanistan. The act of war is the most vicious and evil thing a government can do, and is arguably treason when a government lies to do it ..."  Note: "Sadistic Militarism-for-Profit Continues Latest 100- Year Killing Spree"  Related: Global Warfare USA: The World is the Pentagon's Oyster  "Not only does one country account for the overwhelming plurality of world military expenditures, but that nation also has troops and bases on all six habitable continents (as well as a 54-year military mission in Antarctica, Operation Deep Freeze) and eleven aircraft carrier strike groups and six navy fleets that roam the world's oceans and seas at will. It is also expanding a global interceptor missile system on land, on sea, in the air and into space that will leave it invulnerable to retaliation." ..."   

London - CCTV Heaven:  Hundreds of children 'vanishing'  [11/18/09] "Hundreds of African boys have disappeared from London schools, police investigating the murder of a boy whose torso was left in the Thames have said. Scotland Yard asked London education authorities how many black boys aged four to seven had vanished from school. Between July and September 2001, 300 had disappeared, and police fear thousands may go missing annually. ..."    

U.S. "would veto" Palestinian state move: Senators [11/17/09] "The United States would veto a Palestinian declaration of statehood in the United Nations Security Council, U.S. senators visiting Israel said Monday. They said the threat by Palestinian officials to take the issue to a United Nations resolution was a waste of time and would go nowhere. They urged Arab states to stop it. "It would be D.O.A. - dead on arrival," Democratic Party Senator Ted Kaufman (DE) told a news conference in Jerusalem. "It's a waste of time." Senator Joseph Lieberman (CT), an independent, said "an essentially unilateral" declaration of statehood was the one thing that would not move the stalled peace process forward. ..."   

UK: Anti-war soldier faces 10 years in jail [11/17/09] "A British soldier who faces up to 10 years in jail for speaking out against the war in Afghanistan will go before a military judge this week to discover if he will remain in an army jail while he awaits trial. In an escalation of the Ministry of Defence's legal action against him, Lance Corporal Joe Glenton, 27, was arrested and charged last week with five counts of disobeying lawful commands and standing orders in relation to his public opposition to the war expressed at an anti-war rally last month. He had already been charged with desertion for refusing to return to fight in Afghanistan. His legal case worker, John Tipple, said the charges cited an interview in The Guardian in which he claimed troops on the ground had been confused about the purpose of their presence as far back as 2006, and that fellow soldiers had supported his cause after he called for a complete withdrawal of troops. ..."   

Lou Dobbs Was Forced Out Say Sources, CNN Insiders [11/17/09] "Sources close to Lou Dobbs and Insiders at CNN have indicated that the legendary anchorman was forced to resign from the network because his coverage was not “middle of the road” or “opinion-free” enough for the network. ..."   

Terror Campaign Against Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual And Transgender Iraqis Continues Unchecked By Iraqi Government [11/16/09] "The rise of fundamentalist groups in Iraq since the 2003 U.S. led invasion has proven deadly to LGBT Iraqis, who are now being forced to either hide or face the consequences. Using the internet as a means to track down new victims, militia members are now employing computer analysts to monitor traffic on gay dating and networking websites in the region. They work with internet café owners to single out people who frequent these sites and set up fake profiles in the attempt to lure them out. ..."   

"Some Fear Bush Administration Could Become Target in 9/11 Trial" [11/16/09] " ..."  Note: I would hope so, since they were instrumental in its perpetration. 

US Army Sends Infant to Protective Services, Mother to Afghanistan [11/15/09] "U.S. Army Specialist Alexis Hutchinson, a single mother, is being threatened with a military court-martial if she does not agree to deploy to Afghanistan, despite having been told she would be granted extra time to find someone to care for her 11-month-old son while she is overseas. Hutchinson's civilian lawyer, Rai Sue Sussman, told IPS, "The core issue is that they are asking her to make an inhumane choice. She did not have a complete family care plan, meaning she did not find someone to provide long-term care for her child. She's required to have a complete family care plan, and was told she'd have an extension, but then they changed it on her." Asked why she believes the military revoked Hutchinson's extension, Sussman responded, "I think they didn't believe her that she was unable to find someone to care for her infant. They think she's just trying to get out of her deployment. But she's just trying to find someone she can trust to take care of her baby." Hutchinson's mother has flown to Georgia to retrieve the baby, but is overwhelmed and does not feel able to provide long-term care for the child.  ..."  Note: Heartless people. It's part of the sequential mind set to linearly institute blanket rules without regard to actual conditions in peoples lives. 

Netherlands to levy 'green' road tax by the kilometre [11/15/09] "The Dutch government said Friday it wants to introduce a "green" road tax by the kilometre from 2012 aimed at cutting carbon dioxide emissions by 10 percent and halving congestion. "Each vehicle will be equipped with a GPS device that tracks how many kilometres are driven and when and where. This data will be then be sent to a collection agency that will send out the bill," the transport ministry said in a statement. ..."  Related:  Dutch Police State Spies on Motorists  "Suppose I were to tell you that in Holland you will be forced, by the government, to install a gps tracking device in your car. Every Dutch car will need to have one of these boxes installed, which will transmit information about your speed, whereabouts, the time you drove somewhere and the distance you drove. You’d think that I was a crazy conspiracy theorist…but actually this will be law in 2012 in Holland. Starting from that year Dutch drivers will need to pay 3 cents per kilometer in a tax to the government (rising to 6.7% in 2018). All in the name of countering heavy traffic and for the environment. While 2 other taxes on cars are abolished, no one seriously believes the government’s claim that it will keep tax revenue the same. This will constitute an enormous tax hike. Something which we already overtaxed Dutch people can hardly bear. Also the government assures us that they will not look at the information gathered by the boxes. No one seriously believes this either. Keep in mind, as bad as things are in America…they are worse over here. ..."  Translated From Dutch Into English: "Mileage Price" | "Cameras in the public domain" " This study showed inter alia that 20 percent of the municipalities made use of cameras and that many of those municipalities the effectiveness of the control (yet) been evaluated. ....Pending in the parliament a bill to amend the Municipalities Act, that camera to maintain public order get an explicit legal basis."     

Huge rise in birth defects in Falluja [11/15/09] "Doctors in Iraq's war-ravaged enclave of Falluja are dealing with up to 15 times as many chronic deformities in infants and a spike in early life cancers that may be linked to toxic materials left over from the fighting. The extraordinary rise in birth defects has crystallised over recent months as specialists working in Falluja's over-stretched health system have started compiling detailed clinical records of all babies born. Neurologists and obstetricians in the city interviewed by the Guardian say the rise in birth defects – which include a baby born with two heads, babies with multiple tumours, and others with nervous system problems - are unprecedented and at present unexplainable. ..."  Note: Depleted uranium and more. Terrible results on people. Video report on article page.

Evangelist Who Took Child ‘Brides’ Is Sentenced to 175 Years  [11/15/09] "Tony Alamo, an evangelist, was sentenced Friday to 175 years in prison for taking under-age girls across state lines for sex. Mr. Alamo, 75, was convicted in July on a 10-count federal indictment. Judge Harry F. Barnes of Federal District Court said Mr. Alamo had abused his status as father figure and pastor and threatened the girls with “the loss of their salvation.” “Mr. Alamo, one day you will face a higher, a greater judge than me,” Judge Barnes said. “May he have mercy on your soul.” The evangelist offered a brief statement to the court praising 'god', then adding, “I’m glad I’m me and not the deceived people in the world.” Mr. Alamo’s lawyers said they planned to appeal the sentence. A woman Mr. Alamo took as a child “bride” at age 8 challenged him from the witness stand on Friday to submit himself to 'god’s judgment'. Reading from lined notebook paper, she said Mr. Alamo had torn her family apart and described how she shook uncontrollably when he first molested her. “You preyed on innocent children,” she said, staring down Mr. Alamo, who wore yellow prison scrubs and a windbreaker for the hearing. “You have the audacity to ask for mercy,” she said. “What mercy did you show us?” ..."    Note: Another sequential bites the dust.

USA: No need to rule on torture claim [11/15/09] " The Obama Administration on Friday evening urged the Supreme Court to turn aside a test case by four former Guantanamo Bay detainees, and to do so without ruling on their claims of torture and religious discrimination by U.S. agents there. It is clear, Solicitor General Elena Kagan argued in the new filing, that the detainees had no legal basis for their claims at the time they were at Guantanamo — between early 2002 and March 2004. Thus, she contended, the officials sued are immune from the lawsuit. ..."  Note: Sadistic individuals at work. 

UK: No public probe into Iraq 'abuse'  [11/15/09] " Fresh allegations of abuse by the UK military in Iraq do not warrant a new public inquiry, the Armed Forces Minister Bill Rammell has said. He told the BBC the claims were taken seriously and would be investigated but that allegations did not mean facts. He said a special unit within the Ministry of Defence, overseen by him, had been set up to examine the claims. Lawyers for former Iraqi detainees want an inquiry into 33 abuse claims, which include the rape of a 16-year-old boy. ..."  Note:  Sadistic individuals at work. 

China dissidents 'detained ahead of Obama visit' [11/15/09] "China has detained several dissidents and campaigners ahead of US President Barack Obama's much-anticipated first visit to the country, their relatives and close contacts told AFP Saturday. ..."   

Boehner: 9/11 Show Trial an “Irresponsible Decision” [11/15/09] "Boehner and the Republicans want to make sure the population will never know if 'suspected terrorists' are 'guilty' or merely pawns in the neocon GWOT. In May, the U.S. House Republicans introduced H.R. 2294, the Keep Terrorists Out of America Act, which would block the transfer or release of the Guantanamo Bay terrorists into the United States. Boehner introduced the bill. Maybe Boehner will introduce a Make Sure Suspected Terrorists Never Get a Fair Trial bill soon. At any rate, Obama’s ploy to bring suspected terrorists to the United States and put them on trial is a parlor trick.  ..."  

George Bush Foundation Rewriting Their Version of the History of the Bush Administration [11/15/09] VIDEO [2:37]  Note: What a foolish waste or resources.

"Key 9/11 suspect" to be tried in New York [11/14/09] " ..."  Note: Of course, that's bullshit. They waterboarded the guy more than 80 times by very sadistic people. He was tortured. He had nothing to do with the 911 event at all, and they're somehow still thinking they can make this issue 'go away' simply by reiterating a fabrication. It's a show trial. Related:  A rigged game of show trials "So what we have here is not an announcement that all terrorism suspects are entitled to real trials in a real American court. Instead, what we have is a multi-tiered justice system, where only certain individuals are entitled to real trials: namely, those whom the Government is convinced ahead of time it can convict. Others for whom conviction is less certain will be accorded lesser due process: put in military commissions, to which most leading Democrats vehemently objected when created under Bush. Presumably, others still -- those who the Government believes cannot be convicted in either forum, will simply be held indefinitely with no charges, a power the administration recently announced it intends to preserve based on the same theories used by Bush/Cheney to claim that power. ..." Between the Lies (2009) VIDEO  [120:00] "Composed almost entirely of news broadcasts from 9/11, 9/12 and 9/13, this film shows the media lies that stuck with the public and more importantly, the truths that were quickly forgotten. Downloadable versions available below the fold. ..."  Note: Good research video. 

Unstable Marine reservist attacked Greek priest he 'mistook' for 'terrorist' [11/14/09] "Marine reservist Jasen Bruce was getting clothes out of the trunk of his car Monday evening when a bearded man in a robe approached him. That man, a Greek Orthodox priest named Father Alexios Marakis, speaks little English and was lost, police said. He wanted directions. What the priest got instead, police say, was a tire iron to the head ..."   Note: That's attempted murder right there. Stupid act.

Mexico's Shadow Government Has Audience but Can't Tax [11/13/09] "Like a lot of countries, Mexico has a federal government. It meets in a number of imposing colonial and modern buildings around the country. But Mexico has another body, the so-called "Legitimate Government," which claims to be running the republic, too. It meets here in the capital every 15 days in a former garage at 64 San Luis Potosí St. But while the leftist has faded from international headlines, he never really went away in Mexico. He went on to found a parallel executive branch of government that proposes new laws, issues statements, holds elections, officiates during Mexican Independence Day, and even circulates its own form of identification card for Mexicans (some 2.8 million Mexicans carry them, according to a Legitimate Government spokesman). Nowadays, Mr. López Obrador tours the country giving presidential speeches where he is introduced as the real McCoy. After three years of this, he will soon have visited all of Mexico's 2,438 municipalities. That would make him, he says, the first politician -- indeed, maybe even the first man -- ever to have done that. ..."    

Term Limits to Eliminate Lifetime Politicians [11/13/09] "Senator Jim Demint (R-SC) says he’ll be introducing a new Constitutional amendment that aims to impose term limits on US senators and representatives. ..."  Note: It's too late.

Dating Web Site Declares Britons Ugly [11/13/09] "Britons are among the ugliest people in the world, according to a dating website that says it only allows “beautiful people” to join.  ..."  Note: Small island. Small gene pool.  

US mosques and New York skyscraper seized over Iran links [11/13/09] "Federal investigators moved to seize four mosques in the US and a skyscraper in Manhattan yesterday over their alleged financial aid to Iran, in an extraordinary step likely to worsen relations between Washington and Tehran. Prosecutors in Manhattan filed a civil complaint in the federal court seeking the forfeiture of more than $500m in assets of the Alavi Foundation, which describes itself as a charitable foundation, and a company, Assa. The mosques are in New York City, Maryland, California and Texas. Prosecutors claim that the foundation and the company have been engaged in money laundering, with the cash sent back to Tehran. The move could be designed to punish the Tehran government at time when its relations with the US are already strained over Iran's alleged nuclear weapons programme. But the Obama administration also risks incurring the anger of American Muslims if the mosques, all Shia, are seized. The takeover of mosques would also raise constitutional questions around the right of freedom to religion. ..."     

Mex Businessmen Ask For UN Troops For Drug War [11/13/09] "The request from business groups in the border city of Ciudad Juarez raises the prospect of the sight of blue-helmeted soldiers more familiar in the setting of an African war zone patrolling the US border. It follows the failure of thousands of Mexican soldiers and special forces police to bring the bloodshed in the region under control ..."  Note: Will they come to the USA under another pretext?

The Global Oil Scam: 50 Times Bigger than Madoff [11/13/09] "$2.5 Trillion - That’s the size of the global oil scam. It’s a number so large that, to put it in perspective, we will now begin measuring the damage done to the global economy in "Madoff Units" ($50Bn rip-offs). That’s right - $2.5Tn is 50 TIMES the amount of money that Bernie Madoff scammed from investors in his lifetime, yet it is also LESS than the MONTHLY EXCESS price the global population is being manipulated into paying for a barrel of oil. ..."  

Reviving the War of Terror: Patsy framed in Secret Team psy-op to generate public support for wars [11/13/09] "Like a gigantic departure lounge for troops sent to America's war theaters, the base is the first and last port of call for thousands of troops returning from, and being sent (or resent) to, Iraq and Afghanistan. What took place there on the day Guy Fawkes is remembered for high treason, recalls similar incidents that take place all too frequently in the US. A gunman (or two or three or more) shot dead 13 and wounded 31 soldiers and support staff at one or more facilities on the base. Within 24 hours, the investigation was all but declared a wrap as media consensus crystalized around a single perpetrator; a US soldier. An army Major no less. A Muslim army Major. In fact, a Muslim soldier of Palestinian descent. ..."   

Bush torture ‘architect’ sits on court that will rule on another torture ‘architect’ [11/12/09] "John Yoo, the former Bush administration lawyer who gained notoriety for penning a number of the so-called "torture memos" justifying the use of "enhanced interrogation techniques" on terrorism suspects, has filed an appeal of a lawsuit against him with a court on whose bench sits another torture "architect" from the Bush administration. Yoo's lawyers have filed an appeal against a lawsuit by convicted terrorist supporter Jose Padilla to the US Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. One of the judges on that bench is Jay Bybee, who served early on in the Bush administration in the same Office of Legal Counsel where Yoo wrote the torture memos. ..."    

Irony: US Supreme Court justice, great protector of 'free speech', 'refuses to answer students' questions' [11/12/09] "Anthony Kennedy, a Supreme Court justice considered one of America's foremost champions of free speech, demanded copy approval on a report of his visit to a school where he refused to answer students' questions. Justice Kennedy is viewed by many as one of the foremost protectors of the First Amendment, which guarantees the right of free speech to Americans. ..."  

UK Report: War beneath the web [11/12/09] "Hacking websites used to be a way to show off. Now, as Charles Arthur reports in our series about online security, it's a lucrative crime – committed on an industrial scale. ..."   

Ron Paul’s son is on track to win the Republican senatorial nomination in Kentucky [11/12/09] "Former presidential candidate Ron Paul's son is borrowing a page from his father's playbook for his U.S. Senate bid, leaning heavily on Internet fundraising and tapping the enthusiasm of young Republicans on college campuses. The difference this time is that it could actually work. Eye surgeon Rand Paul, once ignored as a longshot, raised more than his main 2010 GOP primary opponent in the most recent fundraising period, and experts say he has a legitimate shot at winning the Senate seat being vacated by colorful Republican Jim Bunning ..."  

Chicago Judge Allows Prolific Arsonist Fire Fighter to Collect $50K Pension [11/12/09] "Hear ye, hear ye, Cook County Judge LeRoy Martin Jr. You've just been inducted into the judicial wing of the Chicago Way Hall of Fame. Martin's ruling, handed down late Friday afternoon -- when all bad political news oozes out -- involves the strange case of former Chicago Fire Department Lt. Jeffrey "Matches" Boyle, a prolific arsonist..."  

UK: School purposely traumatizes children as a 'lesson on problem solving' [11/11/09] "The pupils were shocked when they turned up at Foxhill Primary to find their teacher had been attacked in a violent break-in. But their parents were more appalled when they learnt the 'crime' had been staged by the school as part of a problem-solving exercise. ..."   

  Talking Blues: Gitmo Gets Harsher Under "Progressive" Rule [11/11/09] "Talk is cheap; actions speak volumes. And it seems Barack Obama is compiling quite a volume for himself at America's flagship concentration camp in Guantanamo Bay. As Andrew Wander reports, conditions for prisoners at Gitmo have grown worse since Obama took office: Guantanamo conditions 'deteriorate'. Of course, Gitmo is by no means the worst pit in America's worldwide gulag, which Obama has kept wide open for business, while fighting strenuously in court to retain all of Bush's authoritarian powers over the lives and liberties of anyone the president arbitrarily deems a suspected terrorist. And of course, he hasn't, uh, closed Gitmo, as he made a solemn promise to do within a year of his inauguration. But whether he eventually gets around to the PR show of shutting down this one camp, the fact that his administration has imposed an even harsher regime on its denizens of limbo is, literally, atrocious ..."  Related:  Guantanamo conditions 'deteriorate'  "Obama presidency. "Everyone was very hopeful; people were saying he was going to change things, that he would close the prison," Gharani, who was released in June, says. "Even the guards were telling us that if he won, things would improve for us." They were to be disappointed. A year after Obama's election win, Al Jazeera has learnt that despite the new president's pledge to close the prison and improve the conditions of detainees held by the US military, prisoners believe that their treatment has deteriorated on his watch. Authorities at the prison deny mistreating the inmates, but interviews with former detainees, letters from current prisoners and sworn testimony from independent medical experts who have visited the prison have painted a disturbing picture of psychological and physical abuse very much at odds with White House rhetoric on prisoner treatment  ..."  Guantanamo Prisoners   "Pentagon press secretary Geoff Morrell said that 74 people released from Guantanamo have "returned to the fight" - i.e., terrorism. The Roderick MacArthur Justice Center wants to see how Morrell knows that, in a FOIA complaint in DC Federal Court. ..."  Note: He can't know that, unless ....

Korean warships clash near disputed sea border [11/11/09] "A North Korean patrol boat was set ablaze after exchanging fire with South Korea's navy on Tuesday, Seoul officials said, as cross-border tensions rose a week before a scheduled US presidential visit. The two sides blamed each other for the clash, the first for seven years near the disputed Yellow Sea border. President Lee Myung-Bak called an emergency meeting of security ministers as his Prime Minister Chung Un-Chan accused the North of making a "direct attack" on a South Korean high-speed patrol craft. "There was no damage on our side while a North Korean patrol boat engulfed in flame sailed back (across the border)," Chung told parliament. He described the clash, which follows recent peace overtures from the North, as unplanned and urged people to stay calm. ..."   

  Suppressed report reveals archaeological treasures were dug up after Gulf war [11/11/09] "A secret report on the chequered history of priceless Aramaic bowls loaned to a leading university has exposed an apparent attempt to cover up UK academic connections to a potentially deadly trade in stolen Iraqi antiquities. The findings of the study, which was suppressed by a controversial legal agreement in 2007, have at last solved a long-standing archaeological mystery. Commissioned by University College London in 2005, it confirms the expert view that the bowls were stolen from the historical site of Babylon and should be returned to Iraq or handed over to the police. The report was completed in 2006 but suppressed a year later in a legal settlement made between the university and the putative owner of the bowls, the multimillionaire Norwegian collector, Martin Schøyen ..."  

US appellate court blocks lawsuit against extraordinary rendition and torture [11/11/09] "For the second time in two years a federal appellate court has denied Canadian citizen Maher Arar the right to sue former Attorney General John Ashcroft and other US government officials for money damages based on his "extraordinary rendition" to Syria, where he was imprisoned without due process and tortured for almost a year. On November 2, a divided panel of eleven judges from the Second Circuit Court of Appeals, which reviews decisions from United States district courts in New York, Connecticut and Vermont, voted 7-4 that neither the Torture Victim Protection Act (TVPA) nor the Constitution itself provides a remedy for someone illegally seized by US authorities while traveling through the United States and sent halfway around the world specifically to be tortured into a confession ..."    

Supreme Court Hears Arguments On Just What Is Patentable [11/11/09] "The Supreme Court heard arguments Monday on what constitutes a patentable product. One lawyer claimed almost any non-obvious idea could be patented, while the other said it had to have a basis in technology or science. ..."  

Defective People: 17% Want Their Children To Grow Up To Be Politicians [11/11/09]  Note: Don't forget that 6% are psychopaths and sociopaths. 

Rep Roskam: Why Do You Have To Criminalize People To Coax Them Into A "Good" Health Plan? [11/11/09] "He makes very good points ..." VIDEO [2:37]  Note:    "Interview with the President": Jail Time for Those without Health Care Insurance? “What I think is appropriate is that in the same way that everybody has to get auto insurance and if you don't, you're subject to some penalty, that in this situation, if you have the ability to buy insurance, it's affordable and you choose not to do so, forcing you and me and everybody else to subsidize you, you know, there's a thousand dollar hidden tax that families all across America are -- are burdened by because of the fact that people don't have health insurance, you know, there's nothing wrong with a penalty.” Note: Poor example, since people are NOT forced to own a car. Idiot.

UK: State to 'spy' on every phone call, email and web search [11/11/09] "All telecoms companies and internet service providers will be required by law to keep a record of every customer’s personal communications, showing who they have contacted, when and where, as well as the websites they have visited. Despite widespread opposition to the increasing amount of surveillance in Britain, 653 public bodies will be given access to the information, including police, local councils, the Financial Services Authority, the ambulance service, fire authorities and even prison governors ..."    

Reaction to Fort Hood–Stupidity Beyond Belief [11/11/09] "Last week a psychiatrist who had been ordered to Afghanistan went berserk and shot up the place. So happens he was a Muslim, a loner, deeply conflicted, subject to abuse from other soldiers who had been taught by our politicians and media that “Allah” is a dirty word. The stupidity beyond belief is that anyone is surprised at this, that it should be viewed by anyone as a brand of “terrorism,” or that hundreds or even thousands of people on the government payroll are now “investigating” or even “asking why.” The hand wringing by the media is particularly odious. Reports indicate that if the shooter is convicted and sentenced to death President Obama himself will sign the death warrant. ..."    

Report: 237 millionaires in Congress [11/11/09] "Talk about bad timing. As Washington reels from the news of 10.2 percent unemployment, the Center for Responsive Politics is out with a new report describing the wealth of members of Congress. Among the highlights: Two-hundred-and-thirty-seven members of Congress are millionaires. That’s 44 percent of the body – compared to about 1 percent of Americans overall. CRP says California Republican Rep. Darrell Issa is the richest lawmaker on Capitol Hill, with a net worth estimated at about $251 million. Next in line: Rep. Jane Harman (D-Calif.), worth about $244.7 million; Sen. Herb Kohl (D-Wis.), worth about $214.5 million; Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.), worth about $209.7 million; and Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.), worth about $208.8 million. All told, at least seven lawmakers have net worths greater than $100 million, according to the Center’s 2008 figures. “Many Americans probably have a sense that members of Congress aren’t hurting, even if their government salary alone is in the six figures, much more than most Americans make,” said CRP spokesman Dave Levinthal. “What we see through these figures is that many of them have riches well beyond that salary, supplemented with securities, stock holdings, property and other investments ..."     

Doc Says Clinic Experimented on Humans [11/10/09] "A doctor says she was fired for blowing the whistle on her clinic's use of human subjects in cancer research. Dr. M. Suzanne Stratton, former vice president of research for the Carle Clinic Association, says a clinic director told her that following regulations on human testing was not important because the cancer patients were "going to die anyway ..."   See PDF File

Bribery Alleged for O'Hare Contracts [11/10/09] "Federal prosecutors say a businessman bribed "an agent of the city of Chicago" to try to get restaurant contracts at O'Hare Airport. The "agent" is Chicago Alderman Ike Carothers, according to newspaper reports. Carothers helped nail the businessman "in the hopes of receiving a recommendation for a reduced sentence" on his own felony bribery charges, according to an FBI agent's affidavit. ..."   See PDF File

Intelligence Officials Deny Sitting on Information About Fort Hood 'Shooter' [11/10/09] "U.S. intelligence officials on Monday denied that the intelligence community "sat" on valuable information about the alleged Fort Hood shooter before last week's massacre, after one lawmaker questioned whether agencies like the CIA could have done more to warn military and government officials ..."  Note: In their haste to sell Major Hasan as the vilest villain since Osama Bin Laden, the intelligence boys have dug themselves into a real hole. Their entire smear campaign against Major Hasan is that the intelligence agencies were watching him, suspicious of him, concerned, aware that he was posting some questionable posts on the net, tried to connect with Al Qaeda, and most damning of all, was once inside the same building as one of the 9-11 suspects, albeit not at the same time. Of course, the police who have Major Hasan's laptop have reported there is nothing suspicious on it at all, and the reports that he frequented a strip club cast doubt on his newly-crafted image of fanatical Muslim jihadist. But here is the problem. We, the American people, have been told that we must accept the warrantless spying on our lives because it will make us safer. We are told that the government's reading of our emails, snooping through our computers, listening to our phone calls, are all necessary to keep us safe. Yet clearly, it did not work. Even in the case of Major Hasan, who we are told was spotted acting in a suspicious manner 6 months ago, the entire US Government security apparatus was unable to intervene and protect the soldiers at Fort Hood (setting aside the question of why, only mere months after John Russell's shooting rampage on that same base, they were not able to protect themselves). Of course, my information is that there was a firefight when an argument over refusing to deploy crossed over into a minor mutiny. Since the US Government cannot allow the rest of the military to know there was a revolt in the rank and file, there was a quick decision made to blame the dead Muslim, only it turns out he wasn't dead, and in typical shoot-from-the-hip fashion the propaganda stories are not being well thought out to see what the final implications of the claims really are.  Related:  US Army base gunman 'conscious'   "A US Army major suspected of shooting dead 13 people at military base has regained consciousness and is able to talk, officials have told the BBC. Maria Gallegos, a spokeswoman for the Brooke Army Medical Center, said Maj Hasan was in a critical but stable condition. However, she would not say what Maj Hasan had been talking to medical staff about, nor what treatment he was receiving. A spokesman at the hospital, Dewey Mitchell, told the Associated Press news agency Maj Hasan had been able to speak since Saturday, when he was taken off a ventilator. ..."  Fort Hood Shooting 'Oddities'  |  Hasan Computer Reveals No Terror Ties  "A preliminary review of the computer of Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan, the accused shooter in Thursday's rampage at Fort Hood in which 13 people were killed, has revealed no evidence of any connection to terror groups or conspirators, according to law enforcement officials. ..."  Note: Which directly contradicts the claims made by US Intelligence of "efforts to contact "Al Qaeda". 

Uruknet: Paid Lying - What Passes For Major Media Journalism [11/10/09] "Today's major media journalism is biased, irresponsible, sensationalist reporting that distorts, exaggerates or misstates the truth. It's misinformation or agitprop disinformation masquerading as fact to boost circulation, readership, viewers, or listeners, and on vital issues lie about or suppress uncomfortable truths to provide unqualified support for state and/or corporate interests - to the detriment of the greater good that's always sacrificed for profits and imperial aims. As a result, major media sources produce a daily propaganda diet and what Project Censored calls "junk food news," and get most people to believe it. In their landmark book, Manufacturing Consent, Edward Herman and Noam Chomsky explained the "propaganda model" that controls the public message by "filter(ing)" disturbing truths, "leaving (behind) only the cleansed residue fit to print" or air. Today the media is in crisis and a free and open society at risk at a time fiction substitutes for fact, news is carefully controlled, dissent marginalized, and on-air and print journalists support powerful interests as paid liars, or what famed journalist George Seldes (1890 - 1995) called "prostitutes of the press." As a result, imperial wars are called liberating ones. Civil liberties are suppressed for our own good. Major topics go unaddressed or are misrepresented. Government and business interests are endorsed wholeheartedly. America is always called "beautiful." Beneficial social change is considered heresy. The market works best, we're told, so let it, and patriotism means supporting lawlessness and corporate outlaws by shopping till we drop. ..."   

UK: Now 'safety police' want to check people's home smoke alarms [11/09/09] "Family homes could be invaded by health and safety inspectors checking that parents are keeping their children safe. Whitehall is recommending that inspectors make sure parents have fitted smoke alarms, stair gates, locks on medicine cupboards, windows and ovens, and temperature controls to stop bath water getting too hot. The proposed scheme was condemned by critics yesterday as a nightmarish intrusion into family life ... draft guidelines call for inspections of home safety to be carried out by trained staff from the NHS or councils ... There was a howl of protest over the proposals yesterday. Researcher Patricia Morgan said: 'This is a nightmarish prospect. This is vetting and barring extended to the home. It is a major step towards total state control. When state intervention creeps into your home, where does it end? Will you have to have cameras in your house?' Shami Chakrabarti, of Liberty, the human rights group, said: 'Why can't we have a public information campaign before we rush into creating databases and intrusion and introducing bureaucracy to the living room?' Simon Davies, of watchdog group Privacy International, said: 'The problem here is the additional powers that would go to government authorities. 'Anybody who stands in the way of inspections will be considered suspect. This represents a landmark expansion of government intervention in home life. It must be regarded with great concern and suspicion.' He added: 'If the database identifies you but you are unco-operative or you refuse to comply, the next step will be your door broken down at five in the morning. That will happen as surely as night follows day.'     

Netanyahu heads to U.S. under threat of Palestinian statehood declaration  [11/09/09] "Concerns are growing in Israel's government over the possibility of a unilateral Palestinian declaration of independence within the 1967 borders, a move which could potentially be recognized by the United Nations Security Council. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu recently asked the administration of U.S. President Barack Obama to veto any such proposal, after reports reached Jerusalem of support for such a declaration from major European Union countries, and apparently also certain U.S. officials. ..."  Note: The original United Nations partition plan created TWO states, a state of Israel and a state of Palestine. Israel, which coveted all the land for itself, rejected the UN partition plan (the first time they defied the United Nations) and Israel was simply declared to exist by David Ben Gurion. 24 hours later, under the prodding of Chaim Weizman, Harry S Truman recognized the new state of Israel. Israel then demanded all other nations in the region recognize its right to exist. Every other nation in the region agreed to do so, the moment Israel recognized Palestine's right to exist. Israel refused to do so, and there is the crux of the problem for the last 60 years. Israel demands for itself that which it refuses to its neighbors.

"Whining Joe" Lieberman Announces Senate 'Investigation' Into 'Fort Hood Shooting' [11/09/09] "Sen. Joe Lieberman announced Sunday that he intends to lead a congressional investigation into the 'mass shooting at Fort Hood', saying 'the attack' could qualify as a "terrorist act" 'rooted in Islamic radicalism' -- 'the worst since 9/11.'  ..."  Note: Joe, that you can't tell that you are perceived as the buffoon you are, is so funny.

Kucinich: Why is it we have Finite Resources for Health Care but Unlimited Money for War? [11/08/09] "“The inequities in our economy are piling up: trillions for war, trillions for Wall Street and tens of billions for the insurance companies. Banks and other corporations are sitting on piles of cash of taxpayer’s money while firing workers, cutting pay and denying small businesses money to survive. “People are losing their homes, their jobs, their health, their investments, their retirement security; yet there is unlimited money for war, Wall Street and insurance companies, but very little money for jobs on Main Street. “Unlimited money to blow up things in Iraq and Afghanistan, and relatively little money to build things in the US. ..."   

Pelosi: Buy a $15,000 Policy or Go to Jail [11/08/09] "Today, Ranking Member of the House Ways and Means Committee Dave Camp (R-MI) released a letter from the non-partisan Joint Committee on Taxation (JCT) confirming that the failure to comply with the individual mandate to buy health insurance contained in the Pelosi health care bill (H.R. 3962, as amended) could land people in jail. The JCT letter makes clear that Americans who do not maintain “acceptable health insurance coverage” and who choose not to pay the bill’s new individual mandate tax (generally 2.5% of income), are subject to numerous civil and criminal penalties, including criminal fines of up to $250,000 and imprisonment of up to five years. In response to the JCT letter, Camp said: “This is the ultimate example of the Democrats’ command-and-control style of governing – buy what we tell you or go to jail. It is outrageous and it should be stopped immediately. ..."  Note: @*&&(!(*!(*#!! 

Virtual Goods Start Bringing Real Paydays [11/08/09] "Silicon Valley may have discovered the perfect business: charging real money for products that do not exist. ..."  

The Media As Enablers of Government Lies [11/08/09] "Why do politicians so easily get away with telling lies? In large part, because the news media are more interested in bonding with politicians than in exposing them. Americans are encouraged to believe that the media will serve as a check and a balance on the government. Instead, the press too often volunteer as unpaid pimps, helping politicians deceive the public. In 1936, New York Times White House correspondent Turner Catledge said that President Roosevelt’s “first instinct was always to lie.” But the Washington press corps covered up Roosevelt’s dishonesty almost as thoroughly as they hid his use of a wheelchair in daily life. President Bill Clinton benefited from a press corps that often treated his falsehoods as nonevents — or even petty triumphs. Newsweek White House correspondent Howard Fineman commented that Clinton’s “great strength is his insincerity.... I’ve decided Bill Clinton is at his most genuine when he’s the most phony.... We know he doesn’t mean what he says.” ..."   

Fort Hood: DoD Experimental PTSD Therapy Backfires? [11/08/09] "[Major Hasan's] past training, paid for by the US Military, [was] at Virginia Tech University ... "...most likely” one of the US Department of Defenses top PSYOP training centers and where in April, 2007, it suffered the worst school massacre in US history....Even more interesting to note is that... [there] were three other “alleged” gunmen.... Major Hasan... [was] one of the originators of what is called the US Army's “Warrior Combat Reset Program” set up to help American soldiers ... [with PTSD], and which according to these reports led to his being at Fort Hood to “electronically prepare” an experimental group of US Soldiers for their return to the Iraq war zone.... So strong was the American Military and Intelligence establishments’ belief that only by “erasing” the previous “battle stained” memories of their Soldiers could they be made to continue killing and dying that in 2007 they contracted with Russia’s Psychotechnology Research Institute in Moscow to purchase a system [which] was used by the Soviet Military on Russian troops being redeployed to Afghanistan. Unfortunately for the Americans, ... the previous Soviet experiments... had a very dangerous side-effect of “triggering immediate battle memories” instead of “erasing” them and resulting in masses of Russian troops ... to “erupt” in “immediate violence” which left an estimated 37 of them dead when they began (for no apparent reason) to begin firing upon each other.... ..."   

Politico: Terrorism amendment dies in Senate [11/07/09] "The Senate rejected a move Thursday to block the Obama administration from using ordinary federal courts to prosecute those alleged to have plotted the Sept. 11 attacks. On a 54-45 vote, the Senate tabled an amendment from Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) that would have left military commissions as the only option for prosecuting Sept. 11 suspects. All 40 Republicans supported the amendment, along with Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) and four Democrats: Sen. Jim Webb (D-Va.), Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), Sen. Blanche Lincoln (D-Ark.) and Sen. Mark Pryor (D-Ark.) Graham said the measure, offered as an amendment to the annual appropriations bill for the Commerce and Justice Departments, was needed to head off what he said were plans by the Obama administration to send Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and others allegedly involved in the Sept. 11 plot to trials before civilian courts in the U.S. “These people are not criminals. They’re warriors — and they need to be dealt with in a legal system that recognizes that,” Graham said. “Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the mastermind of 9/11, did not rob a liquor store.” “The attacks of 9/11 were not a crime. They were a war crime,” Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) said.  ..."  Note: No, John McCain, it was a crime. All these 40 republicans should have been arrested and charged with aiding and abetting treason, too, but that's not going to happen.  Lindsey Graham is so creepy, too.

Everything About Nidal Malik Hasan Screams “Patsy” [11/07/09] "Shortly before the massacre, Hasan was caught on camera shopping at the convenience store located on the army base – laughing and joking. Is this the behavior of a man psychologically readying himself for the high-intensity horror of gunning down dozens of his colleagues, or someone unaware of what was to follow? We learn that Hasan “Showed no signs of worry or stress when he stopped at 7-Eleven for his daily breakfast of hash browns, said Jeannie Strickland, the store’s manager.” ” He came in (Thursday) morning just like normal,” she said, “nothing weird, nothing out of the ordinary.” ..."  Related: Ft Hood Shooter Was a Member of Obama’s Homeland Security Transition Team   "Incredibly, it appears that Maj. Malik Nidal Hasan, the alleged shooter in the massacre that resulted in at least 12 dead and 31 wounded at Fort Hood today, served on the Homeland Security Policy Institute’s presidential transition task force between April 2008 and January 2009 when Barack Obama was inaugurated as the nation’s 44th president. ..."    Imam says Fort Hood suspect didn't seem radical "Imam Faizul Khan says he knew Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan for more than 10 years. They first met at the Muslim Community Center in Silver Spring. Kahn says Hasan was quiet and reserved. They mostly discussed religious matters, but Khan says Hasan never seemed controversial. They rarely discussed politics ..."   Note: AP is reporting that Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan's internet postings were being monitored by the US Government for 6 month's before yesterday's attacks and that the posts attributed to him were a "cause for concern." Yet, the shooting still "happened". Cover-up: At least Three Gunman at Ft. Hood, Not just one | Surviving Fort Hood shooting suspect arrested at golf course, officer says "The man was surrounded for 25 to 30 minutes, until a convoy of vehicles arrived, led by a Ford Crown Victoria and carrying men in suits, and he was taken away, the senior officer said. ..." 

How many countries do you have to be at war with to be disqualified from receiving the Nobel Peace Prize? [11/07/09] "Five. Barack Obama has waged war against only Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iraq and Somalia. He's holding off on Iran until he actually gets the prize. Somalian civil society and court system are so devastated from decades of war that one wouldn't expect its citizens to have the means to raise serious legal challenges to Washington's apparent belief that it can drop bombs on that sad land whenever it appears to serve the empire's needs. But a group of Pakistanis, calling themselves "Lawyers Front for Defense of the Constitution", and remembering just enough of their country's more civilized past, has filed suit before the nation's High Court to make the federal government stop American drone attacks on countless innocent civilians. The group declared that a Pakistan Army spokesman claimed to have the capability to shoot down the drones, but the government had made a policy decision not to. ... The Obama administration, like the Bush administration, behaves like the world is one big lawless Somalia and the United States is the chief warlord. On October 20 the president again displayed his deep love of peace by honoring some 80 veterans of Vietnam at the White House, after earlier awarding their regiment a Presidential Unit Citation for its "extraordinary heroism and conspicuous gallantry". [2] War correspondent Michael Herr has honored Vietnam soldiers in his own way: “We took space back quickly, expensively, with total panic and close to maximum brutality. Our machine was devastating. And versatile. It could do everything but stop ... ..."  

No Sunset for Sweeping Patriot Act Powers  [11/07/09] "The USA Patriot Act, rushed into law by a panicky U.S. Congress in the aftermath of the terrorist attacks of Sep. 11, 2001, gave the government broad surveillance powers to spy on innocent citizens. But it also stipulated that three of its more controversial provisions should expire next month unless reapproved by lawmakers. And it appears that re-approval may be about to happen – evidently with a green light from the Barack Obama administration and over strong objections from human rights and civil liberties groups. .."   

Flashback: U.S. Spies Buy Stake in Firm That Monitors "Blogs", " Tweets" [11/07/09] "America’s spy agencies want to read your blog posts, keep track of your Twitter updates — even check out your book reviews on Amazon. In-Q-Tel, the investment arm of the CIA and the wider intelligence community, is putting cash into Visible Technologies, a software firm that specializes in monitoring social media. It’s part of a larger movement within the spy services to get better at using ”open source intelligence” — information that’s publicly available, but often hidden in the flood of TV shows, newspaper articles, blog posts, online videos and radio reports generated every day. Visible crawls over half a million web 2.0 sites a day, scraping more than a million posts and conversations taking place on blogs, online forums, Flickr, YouTube, Twitter and Amazon. (It doesn’t touch closed social networks, like Facebook, at the moment.) Customers get customized, real-time feeds of what’s being said on these sites, based on a series of keywords. “That’s kind of the basic step — get in and monitor,” says company senior vice president Blake Cahill . ..."   

Sen. Burris Cites 'Unwritten' Constitutional 'Health' Provision to Justify Forcing Americans to Buy Health Insurance [11/06/09] "When asked by CNSNews.com what specific part of the Constitution authorizes Congress to mandate that individuals must purchase health insurance, Sen. Roland Burris (D-Ill.) pointed to the part of the Constitution that he says authorizes the federal government "to provide for the health, welfare and the defense of the country." In fact, the word "health" appears nowhere in the Constitution. “Well, that’s under certainly the laws of the--protect the health, welfare of the country," said Burris. "That’s under the Constitution. We’re not even dealing with any constitutionality here. Should we move in that direction? What does the Constitution say? To provide for the health, welfare and the defense of the country.” James O’Connor, Burris’s communications director, later told CNSNews.com that although the word “health” does not appear anywhere in the Constitution, the senator was referring to the Preamble of the Constitution which says the following: “We the people of the United States, in order to form a more perfect union, establish justice, insure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.” ...Burris’s comment “indicates his belief that the term ‘general welfare’ can be interpreted to include the health and well-being of American citizens, and health care in general,” said O’Connor.  Note: What he believes doesn't matter.  Burris' interpretation is ludicrous. There is also a video clip on the article page.

Voters get rid of mayor along with speed cameras [11/06/09] "It was American democracy in its purest form: three towns voting overwhelmingly to get their hated police speed cameras torn down — and to eject from office a mayor who had opposed the move. Lost in all the analysis of what Republican wins in two gubernatorial elections on Tuesday meant for President Obama were three ballot initiatives — two in Ohio and one in Texas — to introduce a law ridding the towns of their traffic enforcement cameras. In College Station, Texas, voters succeeded in dumping the cameras despite the manufacturers of the devices spending $60,000 (£36,000) on a campaign to keep them in place. Voters in Chillicothe, southern Ohio, declared their opposition to the cameras by 72 per cent. The mayor of Heath, Ohio, who had been spotted removing anti-camera campaign posters from an intersection, lost his re-election bid..."   

"Our Dwindling Email Privacy" [11/06/09] "What sort of privacy do you expect when you send an email? As Americans increasingly rely on the Internet for communication, Justice Department lawyers increasingly argue that Americans have no right to privacy there—notwithstanding repeated congressional efforts to bolster these rights. A recent case out of Oregon shows how the privacy expectation associated with emails and other Internet communications is being frittered away. ..."  

12 Dead, 31 Injured On Texas Military Base: Suspect Upset About Deployment [11/05/09] "The Army Major identified as one of the shooters at Fort Hood was upset about his upcoming deployment to Iraq or Afghanistan..."  Another:  Malik Nadal Hassan: Key Details Emerge About Fort Hood Shooting Suspect  "Officials says it was not clear what Hasan's religion was, but investigators are trying to determine if Hasan was his birth name or if he may have changed his name and converted to the Islamic faith at some point."  This seems like a partially staged incident. Remember the Gleiwitz Deception? The German Government killed a polish prisoner and left the body to be found to point the finger of blame at Poland. Given how often the US government copies the Nazi playbook, I wonder if this Major is the sacrificial lamb to point the finger of blame at Muslims. Because the timing is just too close to the Goldstone debate at the UN, and the conviction of the CIA in Italy. Violence All Too Familiar at Fort Hood

Israeli military attacks and takes over Iranian ship [11/05/09] "An Iranian ship was attacked in international waters in the Mediterranean Sea by the Israeli navy early on Wednesday morning, while apparently on its way to Lebanon. ... According to Israeli media sources, no Cabinet meeting was held in advance of the decision to attack the ship, and a small number of Cabinet officials may have given the go-ahead for the attack ... Since the ship was in international waters when it was seized, the takeover could be considered as an act of war, but Israeli officials say that the Iranian ship was disguised as a humanitarian aid ship flying the flag of Antigua. For that reason, analysts say that a response by the Iranian government seems unlikely."   

Feds See Every 'Emergency' as an Opportunity [11/04/09] "Every emergency is an opportunity. The feds don't want to waste it. Instead, they swing into operation with a rescue plan. It will end up costing billions...hundreds of billions...or maybe even trillions. We don't know what they've got in mind. But we know what will come of it. It will end up extending the power and influence of the government. So far, the feds are the only real winners from any of these crises. Federal outlays, as a percentage of GDP have shot up from less than 20% of GDP in 2000 to more than 26% in 2009. ..."  

UCLA Medical Center Gives Yakuza Crime Boss Liver Transplant, Bypassing Americans in Need [11/04/09]  Note: See also the 12 minute CBS Investigative report on the Yakuza . Interesting. The Japanese don't practice organ donation.

Hillary’s Ill Will Tour: A most undiplomatic diplomat [11/03/09] "In what the Los Angeles Times described as "a fence-mending trip" to Pakistan, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton managed to tear down more fence posts than she repaired. Abrasive, arrogant, and condescending, she fired a series of verbal RPG volleys that nearly demolished what remained of good relations between the U.S. and its principal ally in the region. On the fight against al-Qaeda: "Clinton told a group of journalists in Lahore that she found it 'hard to believe that nobody in your government knows where they are and couldn’t get them if they really wanted to.’ Al-Qaeda, she said, 'has had a safe haven in Pakistan since 2002.’" It is astonishing that a U.S. diplomat would say this in a public forum – at a question-and-answer session with Pakistani journalists, no less. One U.S. official tried to justify this outburst with the "explanation" that "You’ve got to remember, she was a senator from New York on 9/11." But what has that got to do with the plausibility of Hillary’s contention that the government of Pakistan is holding out on us as to Osama bin Laden’s whereabouts? Exactly nothing... ..."   Related:   Pakistanis challenge Clinton over drone attacks, US bullying   "During a three-day visit to Pakistan last week, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton pressed Pakistan’s government and military to do even more to support the US drive to subjugate Afghanistan and secure a strategic foothold in oil-rich Central Asia. Specifically, she urged Islamabad to extend the current military offensive against Taliban-aligned militias beyond South Waziristan, a Pashtun-speaking tribal agency bordering Afghanistan... ..."  

War Crimes Commission Hears Graphic Accounts of US Torture From Former Detainees [11/03/09] "The Kuala Lumpur War Crimes Commission today heard harrowing testimonies about the atrocities committed against the Guantanamo Bay detainees, which included psychological torture and routine humiliation. A total of seven detainees including Sudanese journalist Sami Al’Hajj, and British nationals Moazzam Begg and Rahul Ahmed testified today about the atrocities that took place in the camps including how they were shackled, stripped naked in front of female soldiers, thrown naked into makeshift cells made with barbed wires, injected with substances and subjected to mental torture to the point they hallucinated.... ..."  

Outcry against 'colonial' takeover by BP of Rumaila oilfield in Iraq [11/03/09] "The British oil giant BP will today take control of Iraq’s biggest oilfield in the first important energy deal since the 2003 invasion. The move has created uproar among local politicians invoking resentful memories of their nation’s colonial past. Many Iraqi MPs say that the deal is illegal, and that the constitution should give them, not the Oil Minister, the final say over the country’s vast resources. BP will develop the field, believed to hold about 17 billion barrels of oil, with CNPC, a Chinese oil producer and supplier... ..." 

Reason TV: Ayn Rand’s relevance [11/03/09] VIDEO [3:51] "Few authors have ever achieved the popularity that the novelist and essayist Ayn Rand (1905-1982) did. With the publication of The Fountainhead in 1943 and Atlas Shrugged in 1957, Rand became a full-blown cultural phenomenon, selling millions of books and inspiring countless readers—ranging from former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan to Playboy founder Hugh Hefner to actress Angelina Jolie—with her moral defense of capitalism. A refugee from Soviet Russia, Rand argued that capitalism was the best way of organizing society not simply because it was more efficient than communism but because it allowed the individual to fill his or her potential. A self-declared "radical for capitalism," Rand emphatically rejected collectivism of all stripes and embraced "man as a heroic being, with his own happiness as the moral purpose of his life, with productive achievement as his noblest activity, and reason as his only absolute." Decades after her death, Rand's work is hotter than ever. In an age of massive government intervention into every aspect of the economy and personal lives, sales of her books are way up and a movie version of Atlas Shrugged is in the works. References to Rand are everywhere from Mad Men to The Colbert Report to The Simpsons and there's even a new critical appreciation, as evidenced by two new biographies, Ayn Rand And The World She Made and Goddess of The Market: Ayn Rand And The American Right. ..."  

Ayn Rand’s Revenge  [11/02/09] "A specter is haunting the Republican Party — the specter of John Galt. In Ayn Rand’s libertarian epic “Atlas Shrugged,” Galt, an inventor disgusted by creeping American collectivism, leads the country’s capitalists on a retributive strike. “We have granted you everything you demanded of us, we who had always been the givers, but have only now understood it,” Galt lectures the “looters” and “moochers” who make up the populace. “We have no demands to present you, no terms to bargain about, no compromise to reach. You have nothing to offer us. We do not need you.” ..."  Note: Uh huh. What if we just tell them to get fucked?

Annual Medicare Fraud: $60 Billion; Annual Profits of Top Ten Insurance Companies: $8 billion [11/02/09] "As 60 Minutes reported last week, Medicare fraud is rampant and has now replaced the cocaine (ahem) business as the major criminal activity in South Florida. Both 60 Minutes and the Washington Post report that Medicare fraud now costs American taxpayers roughly $60 billion a year. That may sound like a lot of money, but surely it pales next to the extraordinary profits of private insurance companies, right? Well, let's see.... Last year, the profits of the ten largest insurance companies in America were just over $8 billion -- combined. No single insurance company made even five percent of what Medicare reportedly loses in fraud. While we're making comparisons, in its real first ten years (2014-23), the Senate Finance Committee bill would cost $1.7 trillion. At the rate of last year's profits, the combined ten-year profits of America's ten largest insurance companies would be $83 billion -- five percent of the costs of the Senate Finance Committee bill. Eighty-three billion dollars may not buy you much in comparison with BaucusCare, but -- on the bright side -- that ten-year tally is somewhat more than what Medicare loses each year in fraud. So, the next time someone alleges that government-run health care is cheaper because of "lower administrative costs" -- a truly preposterous claim on its surface -- these numbers would be good ones to have at the ready: $60 billion in annual Medicare fraud, $8 billion in combined annual profits for America's ten largest insurance companies. ..."  

California targets out-of-state purchases for taxes [11/02/09] "As part of California's efforts to shore up its budget, roughly 184,000 business owners are getting letters from the state Board of Equalization, requiring them to register to pay a tax they might have overlooked. The letters deal with the use tax - a levy that businesses and consumers are supposed to pay when they purchase goods from out-of-state vendors who are not obligated to collect sales taxes because they have no offices or employees in California..."  Note: A different kind of 'equalization' is about to manifest in California ... and it's not about paying more taxes.

European Union Bureaucrats Wish To Ban Store Refunds on Shoddy Goods [11/01/09] "EU bureaucrats want to end the right of shoppers to get their money back for shoddy goods. This would end the 100 years of protection British consumers have enjoyed. For more than a century, shops have offered refunds to people who return unwanted or faulty goods. Plans by the European Union to “harmonise” consumer law will short-change them by removing that right and weakening safeguards. Ministers have vowed to fight the Consumer Rights Directive but the UK Government has no power to stop the change if it is backed by the majority of European Union states. Worse still, if the law is passed retailers will be banned from “gold-plating” the legislation by continuing to offer money- back guarantees. Lola Bello, senior policy advocate for Consumer Focus, said: “Our right to return shoddy goods helps keep industry on its toes ..."

The New Art of Alimony  [11/01/09] "Long viewed as payment for life, divorce settlements are facing strict new limits as some ex-spouses—primarily men—protest the endless support of a former partner. For richer, for poorer, forever? ... Paul and Theresa Taylor were married for 17 years. He was an engineer for Boston's public-works department, while she worked in accounting at a publishing company. They had three children, a weekend cottage on the bay and a house in the suburbs, on a leafy street called Cranberry Lane. In 1982, when they got divorced, the split was amicable. She got the family home; he got the second home. Both agreed "to waive any right to past, present or future alimony." But recently, more than two decades after the divorce, Ms. Taylor, 64, told a Massachusetts judge she had no job, retirement savings or health insurance. Earlier this year, the judge ordered Mr. Taylor, now 68 and remarried, to pay $400 per week to support his ex-wife. "This is insane," Mr. Taylor says, adding that the payments cut his after-tax pension by more than one-third. "Someone can just come back 25 years later and say, 'My life went down the toilet, and you're doing good—so now I want some of your money'?" The nature of marriage has changed dramatically over the decades. Women now make up almost half of the American work force. But alimony, a concept enshrined in ancient law, has remained remarkably constant. Now, the idea that a husband should continue to support his wife forever, even after the demise of their marriage—long a bedrock of divorce law—is being called into question. Pressures are mounting to change a practice that some see as outdated and unfair ...."  

Jon Stewart Gets Zionist Rage Mail After Palestinian Guests [11/01/09] "On 10/28/09, The Daily Show with Jon Stewart did what the mainstream media has failed to report about-the rapidly growing global nonviolent solidarity movement of resisters to the occupation of Palestine, by hosting a Palestinian politician and American Jewish scholar and activist author. The News Media should be interviewing Dr. Mustafa Barghouti & Anna Baltzer, Jon's job is to entertain us, but once again, he lead the mainstream media to where many of US already are. Jon also performed under duress from 'friends' who put him under pressure to censor the highly anticipated appearances of Dr. Barghouti and Baltzer. As of this writing on October 31, 2009, The Daily Show forum conversation regarding the BB show has attracted 21,059 reads to its first page and over 500 messages .... The show was overwhelmed with angry emails and phone calls prior to the appearance, and up until the last minute it seemed like they might cancel. During the taping the show had its only heckler in 11 years. The entire staff were very nervous and may come to regret the monumental decision (and not make it again) as they will surely be inundated now that the show has aired. .... BUT, 95% of Anna Baltzer's comments from the nationally televised broadcast were removed, because she was a Jew criticising Israel. ..."  Note:  Watch the Jon Stewart Extended Interview with Anna Baltzer and Mustafa Barghouti  

Berlusconi To Remain Italy Prime Minister Even If Convicted [11/01/09] "The law granting him immunity from prosecution has been lifted but Berlusconi insists forthcoming trials will not oust him ..."  Note: One piece of lead traveling 1300 feet per second could take care of this slimeball. No one in Italy has the balls to do it.

British nuclear expert’s 17th floor UN death plunge ‘was not suicide’ [11/01/09] "An initial autopsy concluded that there were ‘no suspicious circumstances’. But it is understood that Mr Hampton’s widow Olena Gryshcuk and her family were deeply unhappy with that verdict. Now a doctor who undertook a second post-mortem examination on behalf of the family believes she has found evidence that Mr Hampton did not die by his own hands. Professor Kathrin Yen, of the Ludwig Institute in Graz, Austria, which specialises in traumatology research, said she had more tests to complete on Mr Hampton, who had a three-year-old son with Ms Gryshcuk. But she said one possible theory was that Mr Hampton was carried to the 17th floor from his workplace on the sixth floor and thrown to his death."

Airport Backscatter x-ray machines "tear apart DNA" [11/01/09] "The latest airport security trend is the backscatter x-ray machine, touted as a powerful way to virtually frisk a traveler for contraband without the embarrassment of a strip search. While the conventional wisdom has held that so-called "terahertz radiation," upon which backscatter x-ray machines are based, is harmless because it doesn't carry enough energy to do cellular or genetic damage, new research suggests that may be completely wrong. Specifically, researchers have found that terahertz radiation may interfere directly with DNA. Although the force generated is small, the waves have been found to "unzip double-stranded DNA, creating bubbles in the double strand that could significantly interfere with processes such as gene expression and DNA replication."

Clinton warns Iran that patience has limits [11/01/09] "US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Saturday called on Iran to fulfill its obligations over its controversial nuclear programme, warning the Islamic republic that "patience has limits." ..."  Note: The only "limits" she is discussing are those imposed by Netanyahu earlier this year, who threatened that if the US couldn't take care of the (non-existent) threat of a nuclear armed Iran by the end of this year, Israel would take care of that with a military strike. It's the first of November, and the clock is ticking toward such a potential scenario. There's no deal here which has been cast in cement; it is completely reasonable that Iran wants more talks. This is a framework for a potential agreement only. Let us hope that the adults in the room in Tehran, Tel Aviv, Vienna, and Washington will find a win/win way to make this work. Otherwise, we may well be looking at a military confrontation which could spell the beginning of a world war, as Russia has made very clear upon whose side they would be fighting, should such a confrontation happen.

Missing GOP ballots counted in Nev. after months [11/01/09] "A group of disaffected Republicans says it feels vindicated after a Friday night count of missing ballots from the April 2008 gathering showed three delegates for U.S. Rep. Ron Paul should have been sent to the national convention. ..."   

Third-party runs are for real in N.J., N.Y. races [11/01/09] "Third-party candidates are shaking up two major races in elections Tuesday, and the success of those candidacies is a warning shot fired at both major parties by voters angry at government and disillusioned by politics as usual..." 

Hillary's Toxic Middle East Trip [11/01/09] "Israel is making "unprecedented" concessions on West Bank settlement construction, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said on Saturday after arriving in Israel in the latest U.S. bid to renew peace talks in the region. The Obama administration had previously demanded Israel halt all settlement building before negotiations could resume. But speaking at a joint press conference with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Clinton said there has never been such a precondition. ..."  Note: Is she on drugs or booze? ……The things she has been saying definitely indicate one or the other. Perhaps V I Ps should have their luggage checked before entering a country…. at least this one in particular. Hillary basically is giving Israel everything Israel wants and trying to make it look like it was her idea. Related: Palestinians Accuse Clinton Of Hurting Peace Talks "The Palestinians on Sunday accused U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton of undermining progress toward Mideast peace talks after she praised Israel for offering to curb some Jewish settlement construction..."  Clinton rejects PA settlements condition  "US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton on Saturday night rejected Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas's demand that Israel freeze all settlement activity as a precondition to negotiations. Stopping construction in the settlements "has never been a precondition, it has always been an in issue within the negotiations," Clinton said at a joint press conference with Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem. ..."  Note: The fact that these settlements are in violation of International Law doesn't seem to matter to Hill Bury Rod Ham Cunton.

1,600 are suggested daily for FBI's list [11/01/09] "Newly released FBI data offer evidence of the broad scope and complexity of the nation's terrorist watch list, documenting a daily flood of names nominated for inclusion to the controversial list. During a 12-month period ended in March this year, for example, the U.S. intelligence community suggested on a daily basis that 1,600 people qualified for the list because they presented a "reasonable suspicion," according to data provided to the Senate Judiciary Committee by the FBI in September and made public last week. FBI officials cautioned that each nomination "does not necessarily represent a new individual, but may instead involve an alias or name variant for a previously watchlisted person." The ever-churning list is said to contain more than 400,000 unique names and over 1 million entries. The committee was told that over that same period, officials asked each day that 600 names be removed and 4,800 records be modified. Fewer than 5 percent of the people on the list are U.S. citizens or legal permanent residents. Nine percent of those on the terrorism list, the FBI said, are also on the government's "no fly" list ..."

FBI documents reveal secret CIA prisoners ‘manacled to the ceiling’ [11/01/09] "In September of 2002, FBI officials visiting an overseas prison run by the CIA found prisoners 'manacled to the ceiling and subjected to blaring music around the clock', according to the documents. Handwritten notes attributed to Justice Department officials discuss the possibility of prosecuting CIA employees. Senior FBI officials questioned the legality and effectiveness of the CIA's interrogation methods and prison conditions. An interrogation involving threats with a gun and power drill was the focus of discussion in the notes, but Justice Department officials eventually declined to prosecute the CIA official. ..."  Note:  There are several obvious problems created when the US tortures prisoners of war. First, it effectively withdraws the US from every human rights treaty to which it has ever been a signatory. Second, US officials cannot lecture other countries with a straight face about American values of justice, human rights, and democracy when we torture. Third, the institutionalization of torture by the US government means that it ultimately will be used against US citizens, and that the Constitution and Bill of Rights have no bearing on the judicial process in the US any more. And last, if the US is torturing prisoners of war, this gives any foreign nation carte blanche to torture any American civilians or military personnel in their custody. Of course, the people who institute these policies bear no blowback themselves.

House Committee Investigates Jane Harman [11/01/09] "A House Democrat who once claimed to "live and breathe security" has been under investigation this year for allegedly promising to use her influence to gain leniency for two "pro-Israeli lobbyists" in exchange for support of her own effort to gain the chairmanship of the House Intelligence Committee, the Washington Post reported Friday. Rep. Jane Harman, an eight-term member from Venice, California is one of 30 representatives and several aides being investigated by the House Ethics Committee on issues that include defense lobbying and corporate influence peddling, according to the Post. She has come under the scrutiny of committee investigators due to wiretapped telephone conversations she had in 2005 with an "Israeli operative," in which she allegedly offered to intervene on behalf of the accused lobbyists in exchange for help in getting the coveted committee chair. The Post did not identify the lobbyists or say what they were accused of, but a Los Angeles Times story earlier this year referred to reports that "Harman was heard on a wiretap speaking to a suspected Israeli agent about two AIPAC (American Israel Public Affairs Committee) lobbyists accused of illegally passing classified information to foreign officials and reporters.".."   

Inadvertent disclosure of ethics committee inquiries sparks furor [11/01/09] "House leaders on Friday called for an "immediate and comprehensive assessment" of congressional cybersecurity policies, a day after an embarrassing data breach that led to the disclosure of details of confidential ethics investigations. Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Minority Leader John A. Boehner (R-Ohio) said they had asked the chief administrative officer of the House to report back to them on the policies and procedures for handling sensitive data as a result of the breach. The inadvertent disclosure of a House ethics committee document, obtained by The Washington Post, summarized the status of investigations into lawmakers' activities on subjects such as influence peddling and defense lobbying. ..."    

France: Jacques Chirac Ordered To Stand Trial In Alleged Corruption Scandal [11/01/09] "A French judge ordered former President Jacques Chirac to stand trial on embezzlement charges predating his presidency – a case that could mark the first time a former leader of modern France is forced to defend himself in court. Chirac is to be tried for embezzlement and breach of trust in a corruption case dating back to his tenure as mayor of Paris, a judicial official said Friday, speaking on condition of anonymity because the case is ongoing. A prosecutor can still appeal the judge's decision, and if so, the ensuing judicial deliberations could last months. Still, the judge's bold pursuit of Chirac, who lost his presidential immunity when his 12-year presidency ended in 2007, stunned many observers. Judges chased Chirac unsuccessfully in various corruption scandals for years, and prosecutors had requested that this particular case be dropped. ..."   

FBI Lets Barred Tycoon Visit U.S.  [11/01/09] "One of Russia's most powerful tycoons -- barred entry to the U.S. for years due to U.S. government concerns about possible ties to organized crime -- visited the country twice this year under secret arrangements made by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Aluminum magnate Oleg Deripaska met with FBI agents in August and earlier this month as part of a continuing criminal probe, according to two administration officials. The focus of that probe couldn't be learned. Mr. Deripaska used the opportunity of his recent U.S. visits to meet with top executives of U.S. investment banks Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs Group Inc. The aluminum giant he controls, UC Rusal, is preparing for an initial public offering, a vital part of Mr. Deripaska's efforts to save his debt-burdened business. ..."