The US federal government appears to be prohibiting the release of any information of a key person (David Coleman Headley) in the 2008 Mumbai India attacks.
Headley had previously been a DEA informant in Pakistan and had been working with the CIA. What is the US government hiding?
A spy unsettles US-India ties
By M K Bhadrakumar
News that the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) had reached a plea bargain with David Coleman Headley, who played a key role in the planning of the terrorist strike in Mumbai in November 2008 in which 166 people were killed, has caused an uproar in India.
The deal enables the US government to hold back from formally producing any evidence against Headley in a court of law that might have included details of his links with US intelligence or oblige any cross-examination of Headley by the prosecution.
Nor can the families of the 166 victims be represented by a lawyer to question Headley during his trial commencing in Chicago. Headley's links with the US intelligence will now remain classified information and the Pakistani nationals involved in the Mumbai attacks will get away scot-free. Furthermore, the FBI will not allow Headley's extradition to India and will restrict access so that Indian agencies cannot interrogate him regarding his links with US and Pakistani intelligence.
... the plea bargain confirms that Headley had a criminal record in the US from 1989 as a conspirator to import heroin and spent a total of six years in prison as a result of four convictions. He was later recruited as an agent by US drug-enforcement authorities, who after the 9/11 attacks in the US coordinated closely with the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA).
...
Thursday, March 25, 2010
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
Sweet: High Fructose Corn Syrup
Sickly Sweet: The Truth Behind High-Fructose Corn Syrup
by Nancy Witting
According to an article by Tara Parker-Pope in the New York Times (Oct. 30, 2008), a small study published in 2008 in the Journal of Nutrition suggests that fructose may make people fatter by bypassing the body's regulation of sugars, meaning it gets more quickly converted to fat than do other sugars.
A more recent article describes a Princeton study of high fructose corn syrup causing abnormal weight gain in rats.
A sweet problem: Princeton researchers find that high-fructose corn syrup prompts considerably more weight gain
by Hilary Parker
A Princeton University research team has demonstrated that all sweeteners are not equal when it comes to weight gain: Rats with access to high-fructose corn syrup gained significantly more weight than those with access to table sugar, even when their overall caloric intake was the same.
...
"When rats are drinking high-fructose corn syrup at levels well below those in soda pop, they're becoming obese -- every single one, across the board. Even when rats are fed a high-fat diet, you don't see this; they don't all gain extra weight."
...
by Nancy Witting
According to an article by Tara Parker-Pope in the New York Times (Oct. 30, 2008), a small study published in 2008 in the Journal of Nutrition suggests that fructose may make people fatter by bypassing the body's regulation of sugars, meaning it gets more quickly converted to fat than do other sugars.
A more recent article describes a Princeton study of high fructose corn syrup causing abnormal weight gain in rats.
A sweet problem: Princeton researchers find that high-fructose corn syrup prompts considerably more weight gain
by Hilary Parker
A Princeton University research team has demonstrated that all sweeteners are not equal when it comes to weight gain: Rats with access to high-fructose corn syrup gained significantly more weight than those with access to table sugar, even when their overall caloric intake was the same.
...
"When rats are drinking high-fructose corn syrup at levels well below those in soda pop, they're becoming obese -- every single one, across the board. Even when rats are fed a high-fat diet, you don't see this; they don't all gain extra weight."
...
More Intravenous Mercury
It's incredible the state of Washington is allowing medical material to contain even more mercury. It's unbelievable people willing allow this neuro-toxin to be injected into their blood streams.
State lifts limit on preservative in H1N1 vaccine
By Seattle Times staff
The state Health Department has lifted a temporary limit on the amount of a mercury preservative that can be used in the H1N1 swine-flu vaccine because there's an ample supply of the vaccine for anyone who wants to get it.
...
State lifts limit on preservative in H1N1 vaccine
By Seattle Times staff
The state Health Department has lifted a temporary limit on the amount of a mercury preservative that can be used in the H1N1 swine-flu vaccine because there's an ample supply of the vaccine for anyone who wants to get it.
...
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
Greece Economic Problems
It has been reported that Greece did off-balance-sheet transactions to qualify for inclusion the European Union. Now it is reported the government-owned bank, Hellenic Post Bank, actually made bets that would profit on Greece's economic problems.
Greece lied and cooked their books to participate in the euro. Now they have beet on their own economic collapse. If this was a fictional story, people wouldn't believe it could happen.
How much more of this behavior until everyone sees their government as the criminal?
TT bet against Greece
State-controlled Hellenic Post Bank (TT) spent nearly 1 billion euros last year to secure its positions against the possible bankruptcy of the Greek government, according to documents seen by Kathimerini.
In August, the bank bought credit default swaps (CDS) – a form of insurance on financial instruments – worth 950 million euros when the spread on the Greek five-year bond over the German Bund was at 135 basis points.
...
Greece lied and cooked their books to participate in the euro. Now they have beet on their own economic collapse. If this was a fictional story, people wouldn't believe it could happen.
How much more of this behavior until everyone sees their government as the criminal?
TT bet against Greece
State-controlled Hellenic Post Bank (TT) spent nearly 1 billion euros last year to secure its positions against the possible bankruptcy of the Greek government, according to documents seen by Kathimerini.
In August, the bank bought credit default swaps (CDS) – a form of insurance on financial instruments – worth 950 million euros when the spread on the Greek five-year bond over the German Bund was at 135 basis points.
...
Monday, March 22, 2010
Market Says US Debt Is Risky
Severak US companies are able to borrow cheaper than the US government. Jack Malvey calls this “exceedingly rare”. Jack Malvey was Lehman Brothers' chief fixed-income strategist. Since Jack Malvey helped bring about Lehman Brother's spectacular failure, Jack's opinion is worthless.
My opinion is this is a warning to the US government to stop the deficit spending.
Obama Pays More Than Buffett as U.S. Risks AAA Rating
By Daniel Kruger and Bryan Keogh
March 22 (Bloomberg) -- The bond market is saying that it’s safer to lend to Warren Buffett than Barack Obama.
Two-year notes sold by the billionaire’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc. in February yield 3.5 basis points less than Treasuries of similar maturity, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Procter & Gamble Co., Johnson & Johnson and Lowe’s Cos. debt also traded at lower yields in recent weeks, a situation former Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. chief fixed-income strategist Jack Malvey calls an “exceedingly rare” event in the history of the bond market.
...
My opinion is this is a warning to the US government to stop the deficit spending.
Obama Pays More Than Buffett as U.S. Risks AAA Rating
By Daniel Kruger and Bryan Keogh
March 22 (Bloomberg) -- The bond market is saying that it’s safer to lend to Warren Buffett than Barack Obama.
Two-year notes sold by the billionaire’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc. in February yield 3.5 basis points less than Treasuries of similar maturity, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Procter & Gamble Co., Johnson & Johnson and Lowe’s Cos. debt also traded at lower yields in recent weeks, a situation former Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. chief fixed-income strategist Jack Malvey calls an “exceedingly rare” event in the history of the bond market.
...
Baby Vaccine Pulled From Market
Since vaccines are required to be sterile, and this vaccine was not sterile, how was it a "difficult decision" to stop use of the vaccine? This should have been an easy decision by the FDA to protect consumer's health.
The vaccine is supposed to prevent diarrhea. A wildly exaggerated statement from the medical community, "... rotavirus is too serious a disease to ignore, said Dr. William Schaffner ...".
FDA Suspends Glaxo Rotavirus Vaccine as Precaution
U.S. health officials told pediatricians Monday to temporarily quit using one of two vaccines against a leading cause of diarrhea in babies, after discovering that doses of GlaxoSmithKline's Rotarix were contaminated with bits of an apparently benign pig virus.
...
But vaccines are supposed to be sterile, and because there is a competing vaccine against diarrhea-causing rotavirus that has tested clean — Merck's RotaTeq — the FDA decided to err on the side of caution.
...
"This was a difficult decision for us to make because there is no evidence at this time that there is a risk to patients who have received this vaccine, and we know there are real benefits for children to be vaccinated against rotavirus."
...
Hamburg said the pig virus DNA fragments have been found in Glaxo's cell bank, meaning they were present from the vaccine's earliest development.
...
Parents should switch to the Merck vaccine for now — it requires three doses instead of Glaxo's two — because rotavirus is too serious a disease to ignore, said Dr. William Schaffner, a vaccine specialist at Vanderbilt University who was briefed on FDA's decision.
...
CDC Vaccine Advisor Pockets $29 Million Promoting Vaccines
Monday, June 01, 2009 by: David Gutierrez, staff writer
(NaturalNews) Dr. Paul Offit of the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) received at least $29 million from his share of royalties for Merck's Rotateq vaccine after using his position with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to ensure that childhood vaccination with the vaccine became compulsory.
According to a report on the Web site "Age of Autism," a review of CHOP's royalties schedules reveals that Offit likely received between $29 million and $55 million for his work developing the Rotateq vaccine for rotavirus, which causes diarrhea in infants. ...
"Clearly, based on the distribution of income rights outlined in [CHOP's policies], Paul Offit had a greater personal interest in Rotateq's commercial success than any other single individual in the world," article authors Dan Olmsted and Mark Blaxill write. "And more than other individual in the world, he found himself in a position to directly influence that success."
Between 1998 and 2003, Offit sat on the U.S. government's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP). His involvement with development of Rotateq began before and ended after these dates.
...
"Unlike most other patented products, the market for mandated childhood vaccines is created not by consumer demand, but by the recommendation of an appointed body called the ACIP," Olmsted and Blaxill write. "In a single vote, ACIP can create a commercial market for a new vaccine that is worth hundreds of millions of dollars in a matter of months."
...
The vaccine is supposed to prevent diarrhea. A wildly exaggerated statement from the medical community, "... rotavirus is too serious a disease to ignore, said Dr. William Schaffner ...".
FDA Suspends Glaxo Rotavirus Vaccine as Precaution
U.S. health officials told pediatricians Monday to temporarily quit using one of two vaccines against a leading cause of diarrhea in babies, after discovering that doses of GlaxoSmithKline's Rotarix were contaminated with bits of an apparently benign pig virus.
...
But vaccines are supposed to be sterile, and because there is a competing vaccine against diarrhea-causing rotavirus that has tested clean — Merck's RotaTeq — the FDA decided to err on the side of caution.
...
"This was a difficult decision for us to make because there is no evidence at this time that there is a risk to patients who have received this vaccine, and we know there are real benefits for children to be vaccinated against rotavirus."
...
Hamburg said the pig virus DNA fragments have been found in Glaxo's cell bank, meaning they were present from the vaccine's earliest development.
...
Parents should switch to the Merck vaccine for now — it requires three doses instead of Glaxo's two — because rotavirus is too serious a disease to ignore, said Dr. William Schaffner, a vaccine specialist at Vanderbilt University who was briefed on FDA's decision.
...
CDC Vaccine Advisor Pockets $29 Million Promoting Vaccines
Monday, June 01, 2009 by: David Gutierrez, staff writer
(NaturalNews) Dr. Paul Offit of the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) received at least $29 million from his share of royalties for Merck's Rotateq vaccine after using his position with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to ensure that childhood vaccination with the vaccine became compulsory.
According to a report on the Web site "Age of Autism," a review of CHOP's royalties schedules reveals that Offit likely received between $29 million and $55 million for his work developing the Rotateq vaccine for rotavirus, which causes diarrhea in infants. ...
"Clearly, based on the distribution of income rights outlined in [CHOP's policies], Paul Offit had a greater personal interest in Rotateq's commercial success than any other single individual in the world," article authors Dan Olmsted and Mark Blaxill write. "And more than other individual in the world, he found himself in a position to directly influence that success."
Between 1998 and 2003, Offit sat on the U.S. government's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP). His involvement with development of Rotateq began before and ended after these dates.
...
"Unlike most other patented products, the market for mandated childhood vaccines is created not by consumer demand, but by the recommendation of an appointed body called the ACIP," Olmsted and Blaxill write. "In a single vote, ACIP can create a commercial market for a new vaccine that is worth hundreds of millions of dollars in a matter of months."
...
Sunday, March 21, 2010
Lehman Giggles About Losses
Taxpayer funds were used to bail out these obnoxious over-paid financial terrorists.
Former Lehman Executives ‘Giggle’ at ‘Nonprofessionals’ Who Think Losing Billions of Dollars Is a Big Deal
How do you think former Lehman Brothers executives felt about the recently released report on the firm's failure that reveals, among other things, the firm used a weird accounting practice known as "Repo 105" to move $50 billion of toxic mortgage assets off its books in order to make its balance sheet look healthier?
...
This morning's Post reports that former CEO Richard Fuld feels "vindicated" by the report, since Repo 105 is not illegal, but merely kind of skeazy. Others apparently feel the same way: "I'm like, whatever," a former managing director of Lehman London tells the Observer. "When I read this, I giggle a little bit, because $50 billion is a drop in the ocean."
Former Lehman Executives ‘Giggle’ at ‘Nonprofessionals’ Who Think Losing Billions of Dollars Is a Big Deal
How do you think former Lehman Brothers executives felt about the recently released report on the firm's failure that reveals, among other things, the firm used a weird accounting practice known as "Repo 105" to move $50 billion of toxic mortgage assets off its books in order to make its balance sheet look healthier?
...
This morning's Post reports that former CEO Richard Fuld feels "vindicated" by the report, since Repo 105 is not illegal, but merely kind of skeazy. Others apparently feel the same way: "I'm like, whatever," a former managing director of Lehman London tells the Observer. "When I read this, I giggle a little bit, because $50 billion is a drop in the ocean."
Forest Service Spying
The US Forest Service has been caught spying with a remote camera, and they don't want to talk about it.
US Forest Service admits putting surveillance cameras on public lands
Last month, Herman Jacob took his daughter and her friend camping in the Francis Marion National Forest. While poking around for some firewood, Jacob noticed a wire. He pulled on it and followed it to a video camera and antenna.
The camera didn't have any markings identifying its owner, so Jacob took it home and called law enforcement agencies to find out if it was theirs, all the while wondering why someone would station a video camera in an isolated clearing in the woods.
He eventually received a call from Mark Heitzman of the U.S. Forest Service.
...
US Forest Service admits putting surveillance cameras on public lands
Last month, Herman Jacob took his daughter and her friend camping in the Francis Marion National Forest. While poking around for some firewood, Jacob noticed a wire. He pulled on it and followed it to a video camera and antenna.
The camera didn't have any markings identifying its owner, so Jacob took it home and called law enforcement agencies to find out if it was theirs, all the while wondering why someone would station a video camera in an isolated clearing in the woods.
He eventually received a call from Mark Heitzman of the U.S. Forest Service.
...
SallieMae Loses Money & Makes It Up On Volume
SallieMae is the government backstop for student loans. SallieMae is providing lows at a lower rate than their cost of capital. This is a recipe for bankruptcy and another taxpayer bailout.
SLM Sells Debt at Higher Rate Than Students Pay: Credit Markets
...
Sallie Mae, as the company is known, sold $1.5 billion of 8 percent notes due in 2020 at a yield of 8.25 percent, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Stafford federal loans disbursed between July 1, 2009, and June 30, 2010, have a fixed interest rate of 5.6 percent, according to the company’s Web site.
...
SLM Sells Debt at Higher Rate Than Students Pay: Credit Markets
...
Sallie Mae, as the company is known, sold $1.5 billion of 8 percent notes due in 2020 at a yield of 8.25 percent, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Stafford federal loans disbursed between July 1, 2009, and June 30, 2010, have a fixed interest rate of 5.6 percent, according to the company’s Web site.
...
Saturday, March 20, 2010
Israeli Spying On USA
How are these people our friends, and why do we give them billions in aid every year?
New FBI Files Alleging AIPAC Theft of Government Property and Israeli Espionage Released
WASHINGTON, March 10 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Declassified files detailing an FBI investigation targeting the American Israel Public Affairs Committee are now available on the Internet. AIPAC was investigated after it acquired and circulated classified government information ...
FBI reports of Israelis circulating classified documents in the US Congress, "compromising" the authority of the U.S. President.
...
New FBI Files Alleging AIPAC Theft of Government Property and Israeli Espionage Released
WASHINGTON, March 10 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Declassified files detailing an FBI investigation targeting the American Israel Public Affairs Committee are now available on the Internet. AIPAC was investigated after it acquired and circulated classified government information ...
FBI reports of Israelis circulating classified documents in the US Congress, "compromising" the authority of the U.S. President.
...
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
Hank Paulson Says John McCain Bowed Down
Hank Paulson: John McCain Gave Me Anxious Days And Hours
...
Appearing on "Meet The Press," Paulson would go on to thank McCain for ultimately backing the TARP, despite that early skepticism.
...
...
In the end, of course, McCain did do more than a bit of grandstanding on the TARP. The Senator "suspended" his campaign to rush back to Washington to broker a compromise and nearly canceled on a presidential debate in the process.
...
...
Appearing on "Meet The Press," Paulson would go on to thank McCain for ultimately backing the TARP, despite that early skepticism.
...
...
In the end, of course, McCain did do more than a bit of grandstanding on the TARP. The Senator "suspended" his campaign to rush back to Washington to broker a compromise and nearly canceled on a presidential debate in the process.
...
Guantanamo Bay Truths
Lawrence B. Wilkerson was chief of staff to Secretary of State Colin Powell and writes of things the media and most Americans are completely unaware.
Guest Post by Lawrence Wilkerson: Some Truths About Guantanamo Bay
...
The first of these is the utter incompetence of the battlefield vetting in Afghanistan during the early stages of the U.S. operations there. Simply stated, no meaningful attempt at discrimination was made in-country by competent officials, civilian or military, as to who we were transporting to Cuba for detention and interrogation.
...
The second dimension that is largely unreported is that several in the U.S. leadership became aware of this lack of proper vetting very early on and, thus, of the reality that many of the detainees were innocent of any substantial wrongdoing, had little intelligence value, and should be immediately released.
But to have admitted this reality would have been a black mark on their leadership from virtually day one of the so-called Global War on Terror and these leaders already had black marks enough: the dead in a field in Pennsylvania, in the ashes of the Pentagon, and in the ruins of the World Trade Towers. They were not about to admit to their further errors at Guantanamo Bay.
...
The fourth unknown is the ad hoc intelligence philosophy that was developed to justify keeping many of these people, called the mosaic philosophy. Simply stated, this philosophy held that it did not matter if a detainee were innocent. Indeed, because he lived in Afghanistan and was captured on or near the battle area, he must know something of importance (this general philosophy, in an even cruder form, prevailed in Iraq as well, helping to produce the nightmare at Abu Ghraib).
...
Guest Post by Lawrence Wilkerson: Some Truths About Guantanamo Bay
...
The first of these is the utter incompetence of the battlefield vetting in Afghanistan during the early stages of the U.S. operations there. Simply stated, no meaningful attempt at discrimination was made in-country by competent officials, civilian or military, as to who we were transporting to Cuba for detention and interrogation.
...
The second dimension that is largely unreported is that several in the U.S. leadership became aware of this lack of proper vetting very early on and, thus, of the reality that many of the detainees were innocent of any substantial wrongdoing, had little intelligence value, and should be immediately released.
But to have admitted this reality would have been a black mark on their leadership from virtually day one of the so-called Global War on Terror and these leaders already had black marks enough: the dead in a field in Pennsylvania, in the ashes of the Pentagon, and in the ruins of the World Trade Towers. They were not about to admit to their further errors at Guantanamo Bay.
...
The fourth unknown is the ad hoc intelligence philosophy that was developed to justify keeping many of these people, called the mosaic philosophy. Simply stated, this philosophy held that it did not matter if a detainee were innocent. Indeed, because he lived in Afghanistan and was captured on or near the battle area, he must know something of importance (this general philosophy, in an even cruder form, prevailed in Iraq as well, helping to produce the nightmare at Abu Ghraib).
...
Romney Praises Obama
Avowed neo-con, and the person who signed into law Massachusett's socialized medicine, Mitt Romney praised Barrack Obama on Fox News with Chris Wallace.
Romney's praise of Obama's neo-con policies included, "But I can tell you that I am glad that the president reversed course in Iraq. He didn't pull our troops out like he said during the campaign. He likewise supported our surge efforts in
Afghanistan, having voted against the surge in Iraq. And I'mglad also that he has extended the Patriot Act."
Since Romney implemented socialized medicine in 2006 with his "RomneyCare", will he team up with the people pushing "ObamaCare"?
"Obama/Romney 2012"
Romney's praise of Obama's neo-con policies included, "But I can tell you that I am glad that the president reversed course in Iraq. He didn't pull our troops out like he said during the campaign. He likewise supported our surge efforts in
Afghanistan, having voted against the surge in Iraq. And I'mglad also that he has extended the Patriot Act."
Since Romney implemented socialized medicine in 2006 with his "RomneyCare", will he team up with the people pushing "ObamaCare"?
"Obama/Romney 2012"
Saturday, March 13, 2010
Social Security Administration's Socialist Heroe
The US government's social security administration recognizes German socialism on their website.
Otto von Bismarck served as chancellor of Germany from 1862 to 1890.
A portion of the SSA's website:
SSA History Archives.
Germany became the first nation in the world to adopt an old-age social insurance program in 1889, designed by Germany's Chancellor, Otto von Bismarck.
Bismarck would be called a socialist for introducing these programs, as would President Roosevelt 70 years later. In his own speech to the Reichstag during the 1881 debates, Bismarck would reply: ‘Call it socialism or whatever you like. It is the same to me.'
Otto von Bismarck served as chancellor of Germany from 1862 to 1890.
A portion of the SSA's website:
SSA History Archives.
Germany became the first nation in the world to adopt an old-age social insurance program in 1889, designed by Germany's Chancellor, Otto von Bismarck.
Bismarck would be called a socialist for introducing these programs, as would President Roosevelt 70 years later. In his own speech to the Reichstag during the 1881 debates, Bismarck would reply: ‘Call it socialism or whatever you like. It is the same to me.'
Friday, March 12, 2010
DUI Cop Still On Payroll
Multiple DUIs and the cop is still getting paid.
Anaheim cop notches three DUI arrests in a year – and is still on payroll
It’s the story of an Anaheim cop who hasn’t been to work since late 2008, is still on the department’s payroll, and notched his third DUI arrest in less than a year March 2.
Anaheim cop notches three DUI arrests in a year – and is still on payroll
It’s the story of an Anaheim cop who hasn’t been to work since late 2008, is still on the department’s payroll, and notched his third DUI arrest in less than a year March 2.
Record Cold Winter In Sweden
The record cold winter in Sweden is warming into Spring. Some parts of Sweden broke records for cold that dated to 1875.
Record sub-zero temperature suite broken
The recent thaw has loosened winter's stranglehold on Sweden with mild weather finally breaking a record long period of sub-zero temperatures in many parts of the country, according to the Meteorological Agency, SMHI.
...
The Härjedalen town of Sveg had until Sunday endured sub-zero temperatures from December 13th to March 6th - the longest consecutive period since records began in 1875.
In several areas of southern Sweden the sub-zero spell has been the longest since the 1980s, and in Växjö in southern Sweden, since the 1940s.
...
Record sub-zero temperature suite broken
The recent thaw has loosened winter's stranglehold on Sweden with mild weather finally breaking a record long period of sub-zero temperatures in many parts of the country, according to the Meteorological Agency, SMHI.
...
The Härjedalen town of Sveg had until Sunday endured sub-zero temperatures from December 13th to March 6th - the longest consecutive period since records began in 1875.
In several areas of southern Sweden the sub-zero spell has been the longest since the 1980s, and in Växjö in southern Sweden, since the 1940s.
...
Thursday, March 11, 2010
American Contractors Tortured In Iraq
American contractors attempted to blow the whistle on fraud and instead were detained and tortured in Iraq.
It is ironic that the "free press" in the USA will not report on these issues.
Americans Tortured in Iraq
Those Who Blow Whistle on Contractor Fraud in Iraq Face Penalties
by Deborah Hastings
...
One after another, the men and women who have stepped forward to report corruption in the massive effort to rebuild Iraq have been vilified, fired and demoted.
...
''It was a Wal-Mart for guns,'' he says. ''It was all illegal and everyone knew it.''
So Vance says he blew the whistle, supplying photos and documents and other intelligence to an FBI agent in his hometown of Chicago because he didn't know whom to trust in Iraq.
For his trouble, he says, he got 97 days in Camp Cropper, an American military prison outside Baghdad that once held Saddam Hussein, and he was classified a security detainee.
...
But in 2006, U.S. District Judge T.S. Ellis III overturned the jury award. He said Isakson and Baldwin failed to prove that the Coalition Provisional Authority, the U.S.-backed occupier of Iraq for 14 months, was part of the U.S. government.
...
It is ironic that the "free press" in the USA will not report on these issues.
Americans Tortured in Iraq
Those Who Blow Whistle on Contractor Fraud in Iraq Face Penalties
by Deborah Hastings
...
One after another, the men and women who have stepped forward to report corruption in the massive effort to rebuild Iraq have been vilified, fired and demoted.
...
''It was a Wal-Mart for guns,'' he says. ''It was all illegal and everyone knew it.''
So Vance says he blew the whistle, supplying photos and documents and other intelligence to an FBI agent in his hometown of Chicago because he didn't know whom to trust in Iraq.
For his trouble, he says, he got 97 days in Camp Cropper, an American military prison outside Baghdad that once held Saddam Hussein, and he was classified a security detainee.
...
But in 2006, U.S. District Judge T.S. Ellis III overturned the jury award. He said Isakson and Baldwin failed to prove that the Coalition Provisional Authority, the U.S.-backed occupier of Iraq for 14 months, was part of the U.S. government.
...
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
Spain: Heaviest Snow In 25 Years
The long winter continues, even in Spain.
Barcelona hit with heaviest snowfall in 25 years
Schools were closed, roads were blocked and power was knocked as Barcelona was hit with its heaviest snowfall in 25 years.
Barcelona hit with heaviest snowfall in 25 years
Schools were closed, roads were blocked and power was knocked as Barcelona was hit with its heaviest snowfall in 25 years.
Tuesday, March 09, 2010
Dam Removal
Rarely are large dams removed. The large dam in California that holds back the Klamath River will be dismantled.
American Rivers signs agreement for world’s biggest dam removal project
The dam removal will restore access to more than 350 miles of salmon habitat, resolve disputes over basin water and provide greater economic security for fishing, tribal and agricultural communities...
American Rivers signs agreement for world’s biggest dam removal project
The dam removal will restore access to more than 350 miles of salmon habitat, resolve disputes over basin water and provide greater economic security for fishing, tribal and agricultural communities...
Monday, March 08, 2010
Scandinavian Cooling
Are ferries stuck in ice in the Baltic Sea and a cold winter in Scandinavia examples of colder weather or warmer weather? The weather is colder, not warmer.
Thousands stuck in Baltic Sea freeze
...
Sweden has suffered an unusually harsh winter this year, with temperatures across the country almost continuously well below freezing since December.
With freezing winds whipping the Baltic over the past week, it was easy for ships to get caught in the ice, Lindvall said.
...
Thousands stuck in Baltic Sea freeze
...
Sweden has suffered an unusually harsh winter this year, with temperatures across the country almost continuously well below freezing since December.
With freezing winds whipping the Baltic over the past week, it was easy for ships to get caught in the ice, Lindvall said.
...
Saturday, March 06, 2010
What Change?
Obama voters thought they would get change, while Obama continues to vote the same as Bush.
Obama continues the Bush-era unconstitutional privacy incursions. Democrats had a field day protesting against Bush/Cheney. Where are the Democratic protesters now?
Obama signs one-year extension of Patriot Act
(AP) – Feb 27, 2010
WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama has signed a one-year extension of several provisions in the nation's main counterterrorism law, the Patriot Act.
Provisions in the measure would have expired on Sunday without Obama's signature Saturday.
...
Obama continues the Bush-era unconstitutional privacy incursions. Democrats had a field day protesting against Bush/Cheney. Where are the Democratic protesters now?
Obama signs one-year extension of Patriot Act
(AP) – Feb 27, 2010
WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama has signed a one-year extension of several provisions in the nation's main counterterrorism law, the Patriot Act.
Provisions in the measure would have expired on Sunday without Obama's signature Saturday.
...
Thursday, March 04, 2010
Boy Clears Planes For Takeoff
Child's play at JFK triggers investigation
Air traffic controllers suspended after boy clears planes for takeoff
By Steven Edwards, Canwest News Service
Price increases and flight delays caused by repair work at New York's John F. Kennedy airport may be the least of your worries as U.S. investigators confirm a child directed air traffic from a runway tower last month.
Recordings from Feb. 17 -- when local children were on a week-long school break -- reveal the voice of a boy making five transmissions to passenger-carrying jetliners.
"JetBlue 171. Cleared for takeoff," says the boy in one.
The pilots in all the exchanges respond according to procedure, but laugh and joke.
"That's what you get, guys, when the kids are out of school," says an adult presumed to be the boy's father. The JetBlue pilot responds by saying: "I wish I could bring my kid to work."
...
The other flight the boy directed involved an exchange with Aeromexico flight 403, to whose crew he concluded with the words: "Adios, amigos."
...
Air traffic controllers suspended after boy clears planes for takeoff
By Steven Edwards, Canwest News Service
Price increases and flight delays caused by repair work at New York's John F. Kennedy airport may be the least of your worries as U.S. investigators confirm a child directed air traffic from a runway tower last month.
Recordings from Feb. 17 -- when local children were on a week-long school break -- reveal the voice of a boy making five transmissions to passenger-carrying jetliners.
"JetBlue 171. Cleared for takeoff," says the boy in one.
The pilots in all the exchanges respond according to procedure, but laugh and joke.
"That's what you get, guys, when the kids are out of school," says an adult presumed to be the boy's father. The JetBlue pilot responds by saying: "I wish I could bring my kid to work."
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The other flight the boy directed involved an exchange with Aeromexico flight 403, to whose crew he concluded with the words: "Adios, amigos."
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Wednesday, March 03, 2010
Creating Afghanistan Enemies
The strategy of killing civilians to make peace will create more enemies.
NATO commander makes televised apology to Afghans
By DEB RIECHMANN and HEIDI VOGT
KABUL – The commander of U.S. and NATO forces in Afghanistan went on national television Tuesday to apologize for a deadly airstrike, an extraordinary attempt to regain Afghans' trust while a mass offensive continues against the Taliban in the south.
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NATO commander makes televised apology to Afghans
By DEB RIECHMANN and HEIDI VOGT
KABUL – The commander of U.S. and NATO forces in Afghanistan went on national television Tuesday to apologize for a deadly airstrike, an extraordinary attempt to regain Afghans' trust while a mass offensive continues against the Taliban in the south.
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Tuesday, March 02, 2010
Taxpayer Supported Banker Theft
The banks have been bailed out by the government (the people, the taxpayers). Banker are stealing the taxpayer's wealth through outrageous bonuses.
RBS paid £1.3bn bonuses on profit of just £1bn
Royal Bank of Scotland paid its investment bankers £1.3bn in bonuses for making just £1bn in profit last year, not the record £5.7bn declared last week.
By Philip Aldrick
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Stephen Hester, chief executive, used the performance to justify the £1.3bn bonuses paid to investment bankers, at least 100 of which received more than £1m.
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RBS paid £1.3bn bonuses on profit of just £1bn
Royal Bank of Scotland paid its investment bankers £1.3bn in bonuses for making just £1bn in profit last year, not the record £5.7bn declared last week.
By Philip Aldrick
...
Stephen Hester, chief executive, used the performance to justify the £1.3bn bonuses paid to investment bankers, at least 100 of which received more than £1m.
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Monday, March 01, 2010
Anti-War Creates War?
By calling a less aggressive stance as a prelude to war, this is calling for a NATA build-up. The people of Europe are calling for a pullout from America's wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, while European leaders are being pressured into a more aggressive war stance by American's leaders.
Robert Gates: Anti-War EU to Create a War
Wednesday, February 24, 2010 - by Staff Report
Gates Calls Europe Anti-War Mood Danger to Peace
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A perception of European weakness, he warned, could provide a "temptation to miscalculation and aggression" by hostile powers. The meeting was a prelude to the alliance's review this year of its basic mission plan for the first time since 1999. "Right now," Mr. Gates said, "the alliance faces very serious, long-term, systemic problems."
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Robert Gates: Anti-War EU to Create a War
Wednesday, February 24, 2010 - by Staff Report
Gates Calls Europe Anti-War Mood Danger to Peace
...
A perception of European weakness, he warned, could provide a "temptation to miscalculation and aggression" by hostile powers. The meeting was a prelude to the alliance's review this year of its basic mission plan for the first time since 1999. "Right now," Mr. Gates said, "the alliance faces very serious, long-term, systemic problems."
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Texas Steals Baby DNA
The State of Texas was illegally collecting DNA from babies and the state tried to cover up the program. Some of the DNA was cataloged by the federal government.
DNA Deception
by Emily Ramshaw
When state health officials were sued last year for storing infant blood samples without parental consent... They never said they were turning over hundreds of dried blood samples to the federal government to help build a vast DNA database...
A Texas Tribune review of nine years' worth of e-mails and internal documents on the Department of State Health Services’ newborn blood screening program reveals the transfer of hundreds of infant blood spots to an Armed Forces lab to build a national and, someday, international mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) registry. The records, released after the state agreed in December to destroy more than 5 million infant blood spots, also show an effort to limit the public’s knowledge of aspects of the newborn blood program, and to manage the debate around it. But the plaintiffs who filed the lawsuit never saw them, because the state settled the case so quickly that it never reached the discovery phase.
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Eventually, research proposals indicate, federal officials hoped to be able to share this data worldwide, “for international law enforcement and investigation in the context of homeland security and anti-terrorism efforts.”
...
DNA Deception
by Emily Ramshaw
When state health officials were sued last year for storing infant blood samples without parental consent... They never said they were turning over hundreds of dried blood samples to the federal government to help build a vast DNA database...
A Texas Tribune review of nine years' worth of e-mails and internal documents on the Department of State Health Services’ newborn blood screening program reveals the transfer of hundreds of infant blood spots to an Armed Forces lab to build a national and, someday, international mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) registry. The records, released after the state agreed in December to destroy more than 5 million infant blood spots, also show an effort to limit the public’s knowledge of aspects of the newborn blood program, and to manage the debate around it. But the plaintiffs who filed the lawsuit never saw them, because the state settled the case so quickly that it never reached the discovery phase.
...
Eventually, research proposals indicate, federal officials hoped to be able to share this data worldwide, “for international law enforcement and investigation in the context of homeland security and anti-terrorism efforts.”
...
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