From: CLG News <clgnews@gmail.com>
To: lori@legitgov.org
Sent: Thursday, 14 May, 2009 0:53:39
Subject: *People's Revolution* Obama U-turn on abuse photographs 13 May 2009
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Obama U-turn on abuse photographs 13 May 2009 US President Barack Obama has changed his mind and will now attempt to block the publication of photographs showing the abuse of prisoners by US soldiers. The US government had previously said it would not fight a court ruling ordering the release of the pictures. Mr Obama now believes the release of the photos would make the job of US troops in Iraq and Afghanistan more difficult, White House officials said.
Obama Reverses Stance and Seeks to Block Detainee Photo Release 13 May 2009 President Barack Obama has reversed his stance and is seeking to block release of photographs that show the treatment of prisoners in Iraq and Afghanistan by U.S. personnel, White House press secretary Robert Gibbs said. The president "did not feel comfortable with release of the photos" which military officials said might endanger troops, Gibbs said.
Obama threatens to limit US intel with UK over Guantanamo torture --Justice letter filed in court 12 May 2009 The Bush Obama administration says it may curtail Anglo-American intelligence sharing if the British High Court discloses new details of the treatment of a former Guantanamo prisoner. A court filing from the British Foreign Office released recently includes a letter from the U.S. government, identified as the "Obama administration's communication." At issue is whether the British courts will disclose a seven-paragraph summary of the treatment of Binyam Mohamed, a former prisoner who was released from Guantanamo Bay prison in February. Mr. Mohamed says he was tortured while in U.S., Pakistani and Moroccan custody.
Former Official: Treatment of Terror Suspects a 'Collective Failure' --Testimony comes amid calls for criminal prosecutions, disbarment or probe of former government officials and mercenaries for their activities during the Bush war on of terror 13 May 2009 Former State Department counselor Philip Zelikow told the first congressional panel convened to address allegations of torture that the Bush regime officials engaged in a "collective failure" on detention and interrogation of suspected terrorists. Fresh accounts today by Zelikow and retired FBI special agent Ali Soufan are likely to expose anew rifts within the highest levels of the Bush regime over the practices.
FBI Whistleblower Testimony: Gonzales Imposed Brutal Interrogation Tactics --Ali Soufan Also to Testify CIA Torture Program Architect Was Unqualified 12 May 2009 As President [sic] Bush's top lawyer, Alberto Gonzales pressed counterterror officials to use brutal interrogation techniques on terror suspect Abu Zubaydah in 2002, even when those techniques hindered Zubaydah's cooperation, a former FBI agent who was present is expected to testify Wednesday before Congress.
Graham threatens to pull Pelosi into torture probe 13 May 2009 Sen. Lindsey Graham (S.C.), an influential Republican member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, has threatened to call House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) before the Senate for an investigation of abusive interrogation techniques torture used during the Bush administration.
Inquirer defends the indefensible: A monthly column by torture architect John Yoo By Will Bunch 11 May 2009 Most famously, Yoo was known as the author of the infamous "torture memos" that in 2002 and 2003 gave the Bush and Cheney the legal cover to violate the human rights of terrorism suspects at Guantanamo Bay and elsewhere, based on the now mostly ridiculed claim that international and U.S. laws against such torture practices did not apply. Working closely with Dick Cheney, Cheney's staff and others, Yoo set into motion the brutal actions that left a deep, indelible stain on the American soul. Yet none of that was enough to prevent my colleagues upstairs at the Philadelphia Inquirer -- with none of the fanfare that might normally accompany such a move -- to sign a contract with Yoo in late 2008 to give him a regular monthly column.
Obama's Pakistan is Nixon's Laos: U.S. military, Pakistan carrying out Predator drone missions together --The Pakistanis have yet to use the drones to shoot at suspected militants and are ambivalent over using U.S. equipment to fire on their own people. 12 May 2009 The U.S. military has begun flying armed Predator drones inside Pakistan and has given Pakistani officers significant control over targets, flight routes and decisions to launch attacks under a new joint operation, according to U.S. officials familiar with the program. Under the new partnership, U.S. military drones will be allowed for the first time to venture beyond the borders of Afghanistan under the direction of Pakistani military officials, who are working with American counterparts at a command center in Jalalabad, Afghanistan. ['Partnership' aka 'bitchship.' Pakistan is the US's bitch. To continue to receive billions in US tax dollars, Pakistan is forced to bomb its own people.]
More than 80 girls hospitalised by 'poison gas attack' 12 May 2009 More than 80 Afghan teenagers have been admitted to a hospital for headaches and vomiting in the third apparent poison attack on a girls school in as many weeks. At least 98 patients in total were admitted from Aftab Bachi school, including the principal, 11 teachers and two cleaners. The apparent attack came a day after 61 schoolgirls and one teacher from a school in neighbouring Parwan province were admitted to a hospital after complaining of sudden illness. [My theory: The US did it, Obama learned that the US did it, and fired General McKiernan so that if this particular war crime was traced to the US, Obama's hands would be 'clean.' --LRP]
'Poison gas' puts 50 Afghan schoolgirls in hospital 12 May 2009 Nearly 50 teenagers have been admitted to hospital after a suspected mass poisoning at an Afghan girls' school [Ura Jalili Girls' High School], the second such incident in a month. The students in the northern town of Charikar were rushed out of their classrooms by the headmaster when they smelt an unusual odour and started feeling nauseous and dizzy. There have been no clues as to the type of gas used in either case. [Check CIA stockpiles.] Blood samples have been sent to the nearby US Bagram airbase but results have not yet come back from the first incident.
Several killed in Afghan bombing --Seven civilians killed, several wounded 13 May 2009 A suicide car bomb explosion near a US military base in eastern Afghanistan has killed seven civilians and wounded several others, the US military says. The attack took place near the eastern town of Khost. Meanwhile, the US military in Afghanistan says its forces mistakenly killed two civilians and wounded four others as they responded [?] to an 'insurgent' attack also in the east of the country.
Militants target govt sites in Afghanistan 12 May 2009 A group of Taliban suicide bombers attack several government buildings in the troubled eastern Afghanistan, killing nine and injuring 16 others. Nearly a dozen Taliban suicide bombers detonated their explosive-laden vehicles close to municipal building and the provincial governor's office in eastern Khost city.
Wounded UK officer dies in hospital 13 May 2009 The British Ministry of Defense has announced that an army officer who was wounded in southern Afghanistan over the weekend has died in the hospital. "He died as a result of a gunshot wound sustained during an incident in the vicinity of Haji Halem, Helmand Province, Afghanistan, on 9th May 2009," the ministry said in a statement.
US soldier in Iraq charged with 5 counts of murder 13 May 2009 A US soldier who has allegedly killed five of his comrades at a military base in Baghdad has been charged with five counts of murder, the US military says. In a statement issued on Tuesday, the military said that Sergeant John Russell was suspected of shooting the five soldiers at Camp Liberty, near Baghdad airport, on Monday.
US to give Iran talks 'only until October' 11 May 2009 With the US President planning a policy shift on Iran, a report says he will only give the much-awaited talks five months to resolve Tehran's nuclear dispute. According to the Israeli daily Haaretz, the United States has set October as its deadline for engaging Iran in the first round of talks over the country's nuclear activities.
Report: Iran deploys missiles in Persian Gulf --Deployment follows reports that US, Israel working on military strike plans against Iran's nuclear facilities 12 May 2009 Iran's Revolutionary Guards have begun deploying mobile launchers for surface-to-air and surface-to-sea missiles in the Strait of Hurmuz and other areas in the Gulf, it has been revealed. An Iranian official, quoted anonymously in the Saudi daily Al-Watan, said Iranian forces deployed the missile bases following secret reports that the United States and Israel were working on a military strike against Iran's nuclear facilities.
US reporter in Iran 'held secret report' 13 May 2009 A lawyer for US-born 'reporter' Roxana Saberi, freed this week from a Tehran jail, said on Wednesday the spy charges she had faced arose after she obtained a classified report on the US war on Iraq. "She had a report about the US attack on Iraq prepared by the strategic research centre at the (Iranian) presidency," Saleh Nikbakht told AFP. "The research centre deemed the report as classified. But she had not used it at all." Nikbakht did not say how Saberi had managed to gain access to the confidential report. [Notice how well a convicted spy was treated in Iran, compared to US detainees in Guantanamo Bay, Bagram and elsewhere? Sorry, but facts are facts.]
Galloway sues Canada over entry ban 12 May 2009 British anti-war lawmaker George Galloway is taking legal action against Canada because he was prevented from entering the country in March. The Department of Citizenship and Immigration Canada said in March that Galloway would not be allowed entry and referred to a catch-all legal clause.
Top Military, Homeland Security Officials Want WH to Establish Cyber Czar 13 May 2009 The nation's top military, intelligence and homeland security officials are recommending that President Obama establish a new White House cyber czar under the National Security Council with broad policy-setting authority for protecting both public- and private-sector computer networks, according to sources familiar with the discussions.
Five men convicted over plot to blow up Sears Tower 13 May 2009 A Florida jury last night convicted five men of conspiring to help al-Qa'ida blow up the Sears Tower in Chicago and launch attacks on other important buildings in the US at the end of a gruelling prosecution process that had twice before ended in mistrials. A sixth man was acquitted... The case became bogged down as two previous juries failed to reach a consensus on whether the men had the intent and wherewithal to carry out the attack on one of the most iconic buildings in the US.
Swine Flu May Be Human Error, Scientist Says --WHO wants to know whether evidence that the virus may have been developed in a laboratory can be corroborated 12 May 2009 The World Health Organization is investigating an Australian researcher's claim that the swine flu virus circling the globe may have been created as a result of human error. Adrian Gibbs, who collaborated on research that led to the development of Roche Holding AG's Tamiflu drug, said in an interview today that he intends to publish a report suggesting the new strain may have 'accidentally' evolved in eggs scientists use to grow viruses and drugmakers use to make vaccines. Lab Escape: Gibbs said his analysis supports research by scientists including Richard Webby, a virologist at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital in Memphis... His research found the rate of genetic mutation in the new virus outpaced that of the most closely related viruses found in pigs, suggesting it evolved outside of swine, Gibbs said. [See: US involved in bird flu conspiracy: Indonesia 20 Feb 2008 (Transcript from AM, Australia's ABC.) Peter Cave: Indonesia's Health Minister has suggested that the United States may be involved in a conspiracy to use the bird flu virus to develop biological weapons; US, Japanese Researchers Mix Samples of 1918 Flu Pandemic to Recreate Deadly Code 30 Dec 2008; Donald Rumsfeld makes $5m killing on bird flu drug 12 Mar 2006.]
WHO: Swine flu virus may face deadly mutation 12 May 2009 The conformation of new swine flu cases in different countries has caused WHO officials to announce the virus has the potential to cause a global pandemic. In a Tuesday statement, the WHO stressed that the new virus 'appears to be more contagious than seasonal influenza...' The report added that the new H1N1 flu virus has the potential to unpredictably mutate into a more virulent form, resulting in a pandemic that may circle the globe in at least two or even three waves.
Confirmed A/H1N1 flu cases in U.S. rise to 3352 14 May 2009 The number of confirmed human A/H1N1 cases has risen to 3352 in 45 U.S. states, with three deaths, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported Wednesday. The number of confirmed cases on Tuesday was 3009 in 45 states.
Worldwide swine flu cases soar past 5,000 12 May 2009 The global number of swine flu cases on Tuesday soared past 5,000, world health authorities said as the virus spread to three more countries in Europe, Asia and Latin America.
Most H1N1 patients do not need drugs to recover: WHO 12 May 2009 Most H1N1 flu patients do not require antiviral therapy to recover, but it remains important to develop a pandemic vaccine [!?!] as there is a risk of future drug resistance, a World Health Organization expert said on Tuesday.
Satire: Prejean to Run As GOP VP In 2012 --'Carrie has all the same qualifications for high office that Sarah Palin did before she began her amazing run.' By R J Shulman 13 May 2009 The GOP announced today that beauty queen and new rising star Carrie Prejean will be a shoe-in -- that is, a high-heeled shoe-in --for the vice presidential slot in the next national election. GOP spokesperson Stix Larsen said, "Ms. Prejean believes in the core conservative family values of gay bashing, liberal trashing, lying and breast augmentation." (Satire!)
Geithner: Small banks can apply for TARP funds 13 May 2009 Banks with assets of less than $500 million will be able to apply for capital injections from the Treasury's financial rescue package, Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner told a gathering of community bankers on Wednesday. Treasury has roughly $109.6 billion in funds left in its bank bailout package. However, Geithner said he expects to use funds repaid from large investment banks, in part, to pay for the new capital injections for smaller public and private community banks.
Antitrust: Commission imposes fine of €1.06 bn on Intel for abuse of dominant position; orders Intel to cease illegal practices 13 May 2009 The European Commission has imposed a fine of €1 060 000 000 on Intel Corporation for violating EC Treaty antitrust rules on the abuse of a dominant market position (Article 82) by engaging in illegal anticompetitive practices to exclude competitors from the market for computer chips called x86 central processing units (CPUs). The Commission has also ordered Intel to cease the illegal practices immediately to the extent that they are still ongoing. Throughout the period October 2002-December 2007, Intel had a dominant position in the worldwide x86 CPU market (at least 70% market share). The Commission found that Intel engaged in two specific forms of illegal practice.
Report: Senator Opposing Public Health Option Takes $2M From Health, Insurance Industries By Scott Nance 12 May 2009 Sen. Ben Nelson, over his three Senate campaigns, ranks fourth in the Senate in lifetime contributions from insurance interests, only trailing three senators who have run for president, according to a new report. Nelson -- who has received nearly $1.2 million in campaign contributions from these insurance interests alone, according to the nonpartisan Center for Responsive Politics -- finds himself in the crosshairs of progressives following remarks on the Senate floor in which the centrist Nebraska Democrat rejected a public option for healthcare reform.
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Previous lead stories: CIA and ISI together created Taliban: Zardari 11 May 2009 In a new revelation, Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari has said that the CIA of the United States and his country's ISI together created the Taliban. "I think it was part of your past and our past, and the ISI and CIA created them together," Zardari told the NBC news channel in an interview. In the interview, which was given to the NBC on May 7, Zardari also accused the US of supporting the military rule of Pervez Musharraf who was alleged to be taking sides of the Taliban.
Somali pirates guided by London intelligence team, report says --Document obtained by Spanish radio station says 'well-placed informers' in constant contact by satellite telephone 11 May 2009 The Somali pirates attacking shipping in the Gulf of Aden and Indian Ocean are directed to their targets by a "consultant" team in London, according to a European military intelligence document obtained by a Spanish radio station. The document, obtained by Cadena SER radio, says the team and the pirates remain in contact by satellite telephone. It says that pirate groups have "well-placed informers" in London who are in regular contact with control centres in Somalia where decisions on which vessels to attack are made. These London-based "consultants" help the pirates select targets, providing information on the ships' cargoes and courses.
McChrystal's Tillman memo contradicted citation --Pentagon had recommended that McChrystal be held accountable for his 'misleading' actions 04 Aug 2007 Just a day after approving a medal claiming former NFL player Pat Tillman had been cut down by "devastating enemy fire" in Afghanistan, a high-ranking general tried to warn President [sic] Bush that the story might not be true, according to testimony obtained by The Associated Press. Despite this apparent contradiction, Lt. Gen. Stanley McChrystal was spared punishment in the latest review of Tillman's shooting. On Tuesday, the Army overruled a Pentagon recommendation that he be held accountable for his "misleading" actions. In a sometimes contentious November interview under oath and via videoconference, Pentagon investigators sharply questioned McChrystal about the conflicting accounts, according to the testimony obtained by the AP under the Freedom of Information Act.
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CLG Managing Editor: Lori Price. Copyright © 2009, Citizens For Legitimate Government ® All rights reserved.
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