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Afghanistan
U.S. Seeks to Limit Warlords in Karzai Cabinet The Barack Obama
administration is talking tough to Afghan President Hamid Karzai
about the need for decisive action on corruption and governance
reform, but its main objective is to prevent particularly corrupt
and incompetent warlords from getting plum ministries as rewards for
helping clinch his fraudulent reelection, IPS has learned.
Documents Show U.S. Officials Worried Mullah Omar Was Growing Closer
to Bin Laden in 1998
Afghan minister accused of taking bribe The Afghan minister of
mines accepted a roughly $30 million bribe to award the country's
largest development project to a Chinese mining firm, according to a
U.S. official who is familiar with military intelligence reports.
Democrats propose 'Afghan war tax'
"Regardless of whether one favors
the war or not, if it is to be fought, it ought to be paid for," the
lawmakers, all prominent Democratic allies of Obama, said in a joint
statement on the "Share The Sacrifice Act of 2010."
40,000 Afghanistan Troops Could Cost $40 Billion..$1
Million Per Soldier, Per Year
Iraq
Iraq: US military contractor burns recyclables, violating contract
KBR was contracted to recycle cafeteria waste at Forward Operating
Base Warhorse. Such spotty accountability is coming under new
scrutiny; an Oct. 30 report reveals that transactions worth $10.7
billion are being audited.
Iraqi Minorities Dying Over Turf War Iraqi minority groups are
caught up in a power struggle between the country's Arab-dominated
central government and the Kurdish-controlled regional government
over the oil-rich Nineveh province - and they are paying with their
lives, according Human Rights Watch.
Rebuilding Its Economy, Iraq Shuns U.S. Businesses
U.S. Adviser to Kurds Stands to Reap Oil Profits Peter
W. Galbraith, a former U.S. ambassador, could earn millions as a
result of his ties to the Iraqi Kurds and a Norwegian oil company.
Pakistan
Pakistani nuclear scientist's accounts tell of Chinese proliferation
In 1982, a Pakistani military C-130 left the western Chinese
city of Urumqi with a highly unusual cargo: enough weapons-grade
uranium for two atomic bombs, according to accounts written by the
father of Pakistan's nuclear weapons program, Abdul Qadeer Khan, and
provided to The Washington Post.
Clinton: Hard to believe Pakistan can't find Al Qaeda
'Blackwater' tries to teach 'lesson' to (Pakistan's) TheNation's
staffer A photojo-urnalist of Nawa-i-Waqt remained into the
custody of police for more than 45 minutes on the directives of
high-ups of capital police only for taking snaps of a suspected
rented house of Backwater Sunday nig
Bomb hits Pakistan's spy agency in northwest
Africa
Africa In the Global Carbon Trade Carbon trading, as promoted by
the Kyoto Protocol's Clean Development Mechanism (CDM), has become a
key global strategy to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
SOMALIA: Pirates have seized a cargo ship loaded with weapons
Somali pirates have attacked a tanker loaded with weapons 1,000
nautical miles away from Mogadishu. The cargo was circumventing the
UN arms embargo around Somalia.
Helping Hand For Homophobia From U.S. Christians The
Anti-Homosexuality Bill under consideration in Uganda was sparked by
a conference in Kampala earlier this year at which fundamentalist
Christians from the U.S. identified homosexuality as a threat to
"family values".
Spain calls for blockade of Somali pirate ports Spain wants EU
naval forces to blockade three Somali ports used to launch pirate
attacks against ships in the Indian Ocean, Defence Minister Carme
Chacon said Wednesday.
African slavery apology 'needed' Traditional African rulers
should apologise for the role they played in the slave trade, a
Nigerian rights group has said in a letter to chiefs. |
Middle East
Hamas has many 60-km range missiles' Group test-fired Iranian
rocket that can reach Tel Aviv;
Hezbollah warns new government to avoid arms issue Hezbollah
chief Hassan Nasrallah has said he would cooperate with Lebanon's
new unity government but urged it to steer clear of the "big
issues," in reference to his group's notorious weapons stockpile.
Hezbollah snubs Arabic version of Anne Frank's diary
Yemen's Houthi rebels get Iran assurance, ask Saudis to stop strikes
The Houthis rebels waging an insurgency against Yemen's government
asked Saudi Arabia to stop its airstrikes against them. The Saudis
began the strikes after the Houthis crossed into their border.
Defiant Mousavi repeats call for new Iran election Iran's main
opposition leader and defeated presidential candidate Mir Hossein
Mousavi has repeated his call for a new election, after unrest this
month saw clashes between police and protesters, a reformist website
reported on Saturday
IAEA: We found 'nothing to worry about' at secret Iran nuke site
United Nations inspectors found "nothing to be worried about" in a
first look at a previously secret uranium enrichment site in Iran
last month, the International Atomic Energy chief said in remarks
released Thursday
IAEA report: Iran tested advanced nuclear warhead design
Portions of an IAEA report that were previously unpublished show
evidence that Iran may have experimented with a more advanced
nuclear warhead than thought.
Iran refuses to send enriched uranium abroad: MP
Report: Missing Iran general abducted by Mossad, being held in
Israel A former Iranian defense official who disappeared in 2006
was kidnapped by forces collaborating with the Mossad and is
currently being held in an Israeli prison, an investigative news
website in Iran claimed on Sunday in a report picked up by Army
Radio
Europe
Sweden, Finland okay Russia's Nord Stream pipeline After years
of procrastination, Sweden and Finland agreed on Thursday to allow
the Russian-led Nord Stream pipeline to pass through their waters in
the Baltic Sea, a crucial step for the project destined to supply
Europe with Russian gas.
EU to hand over financial transactions data to US government The
presidency of the European Union - currently held by Sweden as
represented through its Minister for European Union affairs, Cecilia
Malmstroem - on Wednesday presented a draft Council decision to the
Economic and Financial Affairs Council (ECOFIN) regarding an
agreement between the United States and the European Union. Titled
"Agreement between the European Union and the United States of
America on the processing and transfer of Financial Messaging Data
for purposes of the Terrorist Finance Tracking Program" it provides
mechanisms for the transfer of financial information from Europe to
US authoritie
Berlin bans fast-growing neo-Nazi group
Scientology faces torture allegations Australian PM considers
inquiry into allegations including forced abortions, assault and
blackmail
Germany drops probe linked to Litvinenko case German prosecutors
said Friday they have dropped an investigation of a Russian
businessman who had been suspected of transporting a radioactive
substance used in the fatal poisoning of a former Russian agent in
London in 2006.
Asia
China To Obama: Dalai Lama Was Slave Master
Toxic' US ship banned in India India bans a former US naval ship
heading for break-up at a scrap yard on its west coast, citing
environmental concerns.
India denies assisting militants India's foreign minister denies
charges by a Pakistani army official that his country helped
militants in South Waziristan.
China 'running illegal prisons'
The Americas
Chile: Any U.S. missile, radar deal under $665 million
Buenos Aires okays gay marriage in Latin America first
BRAZIL: Deforestation Down 45 Percent |
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US
Headlines |
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The Great Atomic Film Cover-Up In the weeks following the atomic
attacks on Japan 64 years ago, and then for decades afterward, the
United States engaged in airtight suppression of all film shot in
Hiroshima and Nagasaki after the bombings. This included footage
shot by U.S. military crews and Japanese newsreel teams. In
addition, for many years, many newspaper photographs were seized or
prohibited
Source: CA protesters jailed
without food, cops beat one
Update: Police break in at UC-Berkeley as talks break down
First U.S. marijuana cafe opens in Portland
U.S., Somalia Still Opt Out of Children's Treaty When the U.N.
children's agency (UNICEF) commemorates the 20th anniversary of its
landmark international treaty protecting the rights of children next
week, there will be two countries skipping the celebrations: the
United States and Somalia
Police Officer Uses Taser On 10-Year-Old Girl
Glenn Beck's Guest List Included White Supremacists, Other
Extremists
CNN Interviews 10-Year-Old Who Won't Say Pledge Over Gay Rights
UN investigator accuses US of shameful neglect of homeless
US: Lawsuit Probes Role of Psychologists in Terror War The state
board responsible for licensing - and disciplining - psychologists
in Louisiana is accused of turning a blind eye to serious
allegations of abuse against one of its members, including
complicity in beatings, religious and sexual humiliation, rape
threats and painful body positions during his service as a senior
advisor on interrogations for the U.S. military in Guantanamo Bay
and Abu Ghraib.
9/11 family members welcome, criticize civilian trials Some
family members of 9/11 victims welcomed the announcement that five
Guantanamo Bay detainees with alleged ties to the attacks will be
tried in a New York civilian court, while others blasted the
decision. But others -- including members of the September Eleventh
Families for Peaceful Tomorrows, some of whom spoke to reporters by
phone on Friday -- said a civilian trial allows for transparency,
noting that families of the victims could attend. Their access to a
military trial would be more limited, they said.
Judge: Corps' negligence caused Katrina flooding federal judge
has ruled that the Army Corps of Engineers' failure to properly
maintain a navigation channel led to massive flooding in Hurricane
Katrina
Fort Hood shootings: How often do soldiers kill soldiers?
Military officials say the shootings at Fort Hood were an 'isolated
incident.' But the stress of repeated wartime deployments has led to
several such incidents in recent years.
FEDS MOVE TO
SEIZE NEW YORK TOWER 'SECRETLY CONTROLLED' BY IRAN
Federal prosecutors took steps Thursday to seize four U.S. mosques
and a Fifth Avenue skyscraper owned by a nonprofit Muslim
organization long suspected of being secretly controlled by the
Iranian government.
Gates Bars Abuse Photos Release
Army suicides set new record,
general can't figure out why
US Army arrests mother who failed to turn up for Afghanistan
deployment
Al-Qaeda videos found in LeT man's home in US Videos recovered
from Pak-born Canadian Tahawwur Rana's house.
NORAD may ground costly 9/11 air
defense system
Economy
How
Goldman secretly bet on the U.S. housing crash A five-month
McClatchy investigation reveals how Wall Street colossus Goldman
Sachs peddled billions of dollars in shaky securities tied to
subprime mortgages on unsuspecting pension funds, insurance
companies and other investors when it concluded that the housing
bubble would burst.
Survey Shows Rise In First-Time Homebuyers ....Profile:
White, Married, And Paid $156,00
Hoodwinked: Former Economic Hit Man John Perkins Reveals Why the
World Financial Markets Imploded -- and How to Remake Them John
Perkins calls himself a former economic hit man. He has seen the
signs of today’s financial meltdown before. The subprime mortgage
fiasco, the collapse of the banking industry, the rising
unemployment rate—these are all familiar to him. Perkins was on the
front lines of monitoring and helping create these very events that
were once just confined to the Third World. From 1971 to 1981
Teen unemployment at record 27.6 percent
China brands US ‘protectionist’
Fed adopts strong rules blocking bank overdraft fees |
Politics
Millions will have to repay part of tax credit More than 15
million taxpayers may owe the government $250 or more because of how
the IRS last spring set up President Barack Obama's tax break that
was designed to help consumers spend the U.S. economy out of
recession
US: Rendition Redux? On the heels of a federal appeals court
ruling that only the U.S. Congress and the executive branch of
government - not the courts - can interfere with
government-sponsored "extraordinary rendition", a U.S. citizen from
New Jersey is asking another court to tell the government it wasn't
okay to secretly imprison and abuse him in three different African
countries over a period of four months.
USA: Govt has no precise number for contractors in Iraq, Afghanistan
The US government has no exact figure for how many contractors are
employed in Iraq and Afghanistan, inviting the risk of fraud and
security threats, a US commission has warned.
Kuwaiti company that supplies U.S. military accused of fraud
HHS: $47 Billion Paid In Suspicious Medicare Claims
Senator Calls for Investigation Into Report That Drugmakers Sharply
Raised Costs
In House Record, Many Spoke With One Voice: Lobbyists’ In the
official record of the historic House debate on overhauling health
care, the speeches of many lawmakers echo with similarities. Often,
that was no accident. Statements by more than a dozen lawmakers were
ghostwritten, in whole or in part, by Washington lobbyists working
for Genentech, one of the world’s largest biotechnology companies
Senate Bill
Covers 94% Of Americans... Includes Opt-Out Public Option...
Abortion
Language Doesn't Go As Far As Stupak...
READ THE
ABORTION COMPROMISE...Bill
Would Lower Deficit By $127 Billion Over Next Decade...
Scathing
Report Singles Out Treasury Chief For Bungled AIG Bailout
TARP Watchdog: Bailout Will 'Almost Certainly' Result In Loss For
Taxpayers
Majority Of Republicans Think Obama Didn't Actually Win 2008
Election -- ACORN Stole It
Rep. Jackie Speier's Tough Bank Amendment Passes With Room Nearly
Empty Don't sleep on Jackie Speier. The freshman Democrat from
California came into the House Financial Services Committee room
Thursday ready to fight for her long-shot amendment to limit the
leverage ratio for big banks.
Giant holes in new banking rules
Congressmen Denouncing U.N. Inquiry Receive Handsome Donations from
Pro-Israel Lobby
House of Representatives condemns UN report on Gaza war The US
House of Representatives has condemned the UN Goldstone report
(named after former South African judge Richard Goldstone, pictured)
as unfairly accusing Israel of war crimes in its war against Hamas
militants in the Gaza Strip.
Republicans Block Dodd's Effort to Protect Consumers from Credit
Card Rate Hikes
U.S. politician wants American Jews to buy West Bank homes An
influential Jewish community leader and Democratic State Assemblyman
from New York is currently heading a mission of about 50 Americans
through the West Bank and East Jerusalem to promote home purchases
in the area and to protest U.S. President Barack Obama's Middle East
policy
RNC health insurance plan covers abortions The Republican
National Committee's health insurance plan covers elective abortions
for its employees, an option Republicans strongly oppose in health
overhaul legislation that Democrats are trying to push through
Congress.
ACORN Suing U.S. Over "Unconstitutional" Defunding Bill
Conservative
candidate says ACORN stole NY election....VIRUS
in the VOTING MACHINES: Tainted Results in NY-23
Byron Dorgan’s Crystal Ball Senator
Byron Dorgan, Democrat of North Dakota, was one of eight senators
who stood up to oppose the repeal of the Glass-Steagall act in 1999.
That repeal, which was signed into law by President Clinton exactly
10 years ago today, broke down the barriers between commercial
banking and investment banking, and led to the growth of behemoth
financial firms that were able to take enormous risks with impunity,
because they were "too big to fail."
Science
New pathway for DNA damage from nano-particles: study Scientists
reported Thursday that nano-particles used in medical applications
can indirectly damage DNA inside cells by transmitting signals
through a protective barrier of human tissue.
Scans show PTSD effects Powerful scans are letting doctors watch
just how the brain changes in veterans with post-traumatic stress
disorder and concussionlike brain injuries, signature damage of the
Iraq and Afghanistan wars.
Did Neanderthals Have Sex with Modern Humans
Infant cries mimic parents' accents, German research finds |
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Connecticut
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Smart Choices Label To Be Removed From Food Packaging
A controversial food labeling program, which gave high nutritional
marks to Froot Loops cereal, ice cream and mayonnaise, is being
dropped by participating food manufacturers, state Attorney General
Richard Blumenthal announced Thursday.
State DOT Awards $1 Million Contract To Company Barred From Public
Jobs In Massachusetts The state Department of Transportation has
awarded a $1 million bridge contract to a Putnam-based contractor
that was barred from working on public projects in Massachusetts and
is under investigation by the Connecticut Department of Labor.
Two Hartford Officers Face Arrest In Prisoner Assault Complaint
CT Drug War
2 shot at Stratford housing complex
Conn. police make multi-million dollar drug bust Two accused
drug dealers have each been ordered held on $10 million bond after
police seized nearly $1 million in cash and 37 kilos of cocaine at a
suspected stash house in Stamford.
Hartford Police Officer, Shot Twice, Is Recovering
State Senator Ed Meyer: A New Lookat our Prisons Twenty-five
years ago, Connecticut had about 8,000 prison inmates. But today,
with virtually the same state population, we have about 19,000
prison inmates. That dramatic increase results largely from our
imprisonment of a variety of non-violent offenders for crimes such
as drug possession (not trafficking), probation violation, and
conduct associated with mental health disease. These types of prison
inmates cost us about $40,000 per year per inmate, but a prison term
does virtually nothing to change their lives. The result is a 60
percent recidivism rate. |
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United States |
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Security Issues
NORAD may ground costly 9/11 air
defense system
Al-Qaeda videos found in LeT man's home in US Videos recovered
from Pak-born Canadian Tahawwur Rana's house.
U.S.: Increasingly Isolated in Key Regions
More than a year after his election, President Barack
Obama appears to be dashing hopes both in the Arab world and in
Latin America that he would bring major changes in U.S. policy
toward their respective regions.
US Army arrests mother who failed to turn up for Afghanistan
deployment
Army
suicides set new record, general can't figure out why
Swine flu infection and vaccine, out of sync: official Swine flu
infections in the United States will be past their peak when (A)H1N1
vaccine becomes readily available, a top health official said
Wednesday.
Gates Bars Abuse Photos Release
CIA Said to Have Won Turf War Against Intel Chief
The CIA
has won a turf battle over which government agency controls U.S.
intelligence operations around the world.
US jails al-Qaeda sleeper agent
FEDS MOVE TO SEIZE NEW YORK TOWER
'SECRETLY CONTROLLED' BY IRAN Federal prosecutors took
steps Thursday to seize four U.S. mosques and a Fifth Avenue
skyscraper owned by a nonprofit Muslim organization long suspected
of being secretly controlled by the Iranian government.
Imam denies any role in alleged NYC terrorist bomb plot An imam
accused of lying to FBI agents investigating an alleged bomb plot
against New York City by a suspected Al Qaeda associate pleaded not
guilty yesterday.
Fort Hood shootings: How often do soldiers kill soldiers?
Military officials say the shootings at Fort Hood were an 'isolated
incident.' But the stress of repeated wartime deployments has led to
several such incidents in recent years.
Suspect in Fort Hood shooting, a Muslim, asked Army to discharge
him, aunt said
Militia movement resurfaces across nation
Courts
Judge: Corps' negligence caused Katrina flooding federal
judge has ruled that the Army Corps of Engineers' failure to
properly maintain a navigation channel led to massive flooding in
Hurricane Katrina
13 premeditated murder counts filed in shootings
Scalia uncomfortable saying if he'd support Brown v. Board of
Education
Court Rules CIA Did Not Violate Valerie Plame's First Amendment
Rights On Thursday, the US Court of Appeals for the Second
Circuit, in New York, ruled that the CIA did not violate Wilson’s
First Amendment rights when it refused to allow the former covert
CIA operative to reveal that she worked for the agency prior to 2002
in her memoir, “Fair Game: My Life as a Spy, My Betrayal by the
White House.”
9/11 family members welcome, criticize civilian trials Some
family members of 9/11 victims welcomed the announcement that five
Guantanamo Bay detainees with alleged ties to the attacks will be
tried in a New York civilian court, while others blasted the
decision. But others -- including members of the September Eleventh
Families for Peaceful Tomorrows, some of whom spoke to reporters by
phone on Friday -- said a civilian trial allows for transparency,
noting that families of the victims could attend. Their access to a
military trial would be more limited, they said.
Target, Kmart and Toys R Us agree to settle lead claims Three
major retailers have agreed to pay nearly half a million dollars to
settle a lawsuit stemming from the companies' sale of toys
containing excessive amounts of lead, the California attorney
general's office said Thursday.
Judge Deals Blow To Krayeske Suit On Inauguration Arrest
Ken
Krayeske, the free-lance journalist and political activist who was
arrested in 2007 after taking pictures of Gov. M. Jodi Rell at her
inauguration parade in Hartford, saw most of his federal lawsuit
over the incident thrown out Friday
Federal judges pursue judicial pay dispute in appeals court
Eight federal judges argue that Congress violated the Constitution
when it nixed scheduled judicial pay hikes. They want an appeals
court to overturn its own precedent or let the case move to the
Supreme Court.
U.S.: Supreme Court Punts on "Redskins" Case The ongoing drive
to purge derogatory American Indian nicknames and mascots from U.S.
sports and schools took a minor hit Monday when the U.S. Supreme
Court declined, without comment, to hear an appeal challenging the
trademark protecting the name of the National Football League's
Washington Redskins.
US: Lawsuit Probes Role of Psychologists in Terror War The state
board responsible for licensing - and disciplining - psychologists
in Louisiana is accused of turning a blind eye to serious
allegations of abuse against one of its members, including
complicity in beatings, religious and sexual humiliation, rape
threats and painful body positions during his service as a senior
advisor on interrogations for the U.S. military in Guantanamo Bay
and Abu Ghraib. |
UN investigator accuses US of shameful neglect of homeless
Officials: Major Hasan Sought "War Crimes" Prosecution of U.S.
Soldiers...Major
Hasan's E-Mail.....
Fort Hood gunman was bound for Afghanistan, not Iraq Maj. Nidal
Hasan, the Army psychiatrist suspected of killing 12 soldiers at
Fort Hood Thursday, was in the "deployment window" and was headed
for Afghanistan, not Iraq, as some sources had reported. Witnesses
said he shouted the traditional Muslim blessing "Allahu Akbar" as he
opened fire.
Greed
FBI makes 14 new arrests in Galleon case
Media
Student newspaper runs (white) supremacist ad The Lowell High
School student newspaper published Friday included a paid
advertisement for a white supremacist Web site, reportedly paid for
a group promoting a "campaign to inform, awaken and radicalize
Several (Unknown) Publishers to Start Testing New Pay Site System
Anywhere between five and 15 content providers will start beta
testing Journalism Online's system for paid content. None of the
participants were revealed and only vaguely categorized as
magazines, newspapers, online-only organizations and blogs from the
U.S. and abroad.
Google lets users see stored account data
Authors win Google book concession Book publishers and authors
in most countries outside the US won a significant concession as
Google and American book industry representatives agreed to make
changes to their landmark digital books settlement
Murdoch hints he will sue BBC and Google The 78-year old media
magnate indicates that his News Corp group will sue the broadcaster
over breach of copyright, saying it was ‘stealing’ material from his
newspapers
NYC papers' circulation offices raided A law enforcement
official says the New York Police Department raided circulation
offices at some of the nation's largest newspapers as part of a
union corruption probe.
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Science |
History Resources
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Infant cries mimic parents' accents, German research finds
Scans show PTSD effects Powerful scans are letting doctors watch
just how the brain changes in veterans with post-traumatic stress
disorder and concussionlike brain injuries, signature damage of the
Iraq and Afghanistan wars.
Did Neanderthals Have Sex with Modern Humans
Is hydrogen the future? This car goes 0 to 60 in 12 seconds. US
Energy Secretary Steven Chu has said that hydrogen-fueled cars will
not be pratical for a decade. But researchers at Hyundai-Kia Motors
in South Korea say they're on course to make them in six years.
Gene therapy beats back brain wasting disease: study
New pathway for DNA damage from nano-particles: study Scientists
reported Thursday that nano-particles used in medical applications
can indirectly damage DNA inside cells by transmitting signals
through a protective barrier of human tissue.
Chemical in plastic linked to sexual dysfunction
Stop Annual Mammograms, Govt. Panel Tells Women Under 50 |
The Great Atomic Film Cover-Up
In the weeks following the atomic attacks on Japan 64 years ago, and then
for decades afterward, the United States engaged in airtight
suppression of all film shot in Hiroshima and Nagasaki after the
bombings. This included footage shot by U.S. military crews and
Japanese newsreel teams. In addition, for many years, many newspaper
photographs were seized or prohibited.
CIA Unseals Documents Requested Two Decades Ago More than 20
years ago, in July 1989, the National Security Archive filed a
Freedom of Information Act request with the CIA, seeking documents
related to an Iranian-born businessman implicated in the Iran-Contra
affair.
JFK Library Releases New Evidence on Diem Assassination The John
F. Kennedy Presidential Library has just released new evidence on
United States collusion in the late 1963 coup d’etat in South
Vietnam that ended in the assassination of Saigon leader Ngo Dinh
Diem. This is a crucial new piece of the puzzle, for the release
includes actual tape recordings of White House meetings several
months earlier when President Kennedy initially considered requests
from South Vietnamese generals for U.S. backing in a coup attempt |
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Politics |
Political Resources |
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Senate
Senate rejects bid aimed at Sept. 11 terrorists The
Democratic-controlled Senate on Thursday turned back a GOP-led
effort to bar Sept. 11 terrorists from being prosecuted in civilian
federal courts
Republicans Block Dodd's Effort to Protect Consumers from Credit
Card Rate Hikes
Senator Asks About Troops' Meds Use
A U.S. senator wants to know if American warfighters are being
overmedicated in theater as a way to help them get through the
ongoing Afghan and Iraq wars. "The military appears to be using
antidepressants at a very high rate," said Sen. Benjamin L. Cardin,
D-Md., during an interview
House
House of Representatives condemns UN report on Gaza war The US
House of Representatives has condemned the UN Goldstone report
(named after former South African judge Richard Goldstone, pictured)
as unfairly accusing Israel of war crimes in its war against Hamas
militants in the Gaza Strip.
Congressmen Denouncing U.N. Inquiry Receive Handsome Donations from
Pro-Israel Lobby But on Wednesday, the House of Representatives
approved a non-binding measure denouncing a United Nations inquiry
that found that Israel committed scores of war crimes in its
three-week assault last year in Gaza. More than 1,300 Palestinians
were killed in the Israeli attack, many of whom were civilians,
according to
Amnesty International.
Rep. Jackie Speier's Tough Bank Amendment Passes With Room Nearly
Empty Don't sleep on Jackie Speier. The freshman Democrat from
California came into the House Financial Services Committee room
Thursday ready to fight for her long-shot amendment to limit the
leverage ratio for big banks.
Giant holes in new banking rules
Obama
Obama Urges Congress to Put Off Fort Hood Probe
Obama Orders Task Force to Fight Financial Crime
Treasury/Federal
Reserve/Bailouts/SEC/IRS
FBI says Florida fraud scheme could top $1 billion
FDIC closes Orion Bank, Naples, Fl and Century Bank, Sarasota Fl.
FHA runs low on cash, fueling bailout concerns The Federal
Housing Administration, which propped up the collapsing housing
market last year, acknowledged yesterday that it has drained its
cash reserves to dangerously low levels, heightening concerns that
it might need a taxpayer bailout.
Scathing Report Singles Out Treasury Chief For Bungled AIG Bailout |
Health Insurance
Senate Bill Covers
94% Of Americans... Includes Opt-Out Public Option...
Abortion Language
Doesn't Go As Far As Stupak...
READ THE ABORTION
COMPROMISE...Bill
Would Lower Deficit By $127 Billion Over Next Decade...
Uninsured ER patients twice as likely to die
In House Record, Many Spoke With One Voice: Lobbyists’ In the
official record of the historic House debate on overhauling health
care, the speeches of many lawmakers echo with similarities. Often,
that was no accident. Statements by more than a dozen lawmakers were
ghostwritten, in whole or in part, by Washington lobbyists working
for Genentech, one of the world’s largest biotechnology companies
Senator Calls for Investigation Into Report That Drugmakers Sharply
Raised Costs
Defense Spending
USA: Govt has no precise number for contractors in Iraq, Afghanistan
The US government has no exact figure for how many contractors are
employed in Iraq and Afghanistan, inviting the risk of fraud and
security threats, a US commission has warned.
Kuwaiti company that supplies U.S. military accused of fraud
GITMO/Bahgram/CIA-Blacksites
American alleges mistreatment by US officials A New Jersey man
alleged in a lawsuit Tuesday that U.S. officials were responsible
for falsely imprisoning him for several months in Africa on
suspicion of having ties to al-Qaida
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Economy
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Click for Economic Statistics |
Financial Crisis for Beginners |
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Billionaire Bill Gates says Wall St pay too high
China’s Role as U.S. Lender Alters Dynamics for Obama
Teen unemployment at record 27.6 percent
China brands US ‘protectionist’
Intel and AMD settle antitrust dispute
Hoodwinked: Former Economic Hit Man John Perkins Reveals Why the
World Financial Markets Imploded -- and How to Remake Them John
Perkins calls himself a former economic hit man. He has seen the
signs of today’s financial meltdown before. The subprime mortgage
fiasco, the collapse of the banking industry, the rising
unemployment rate—these are all familiar to him. Perkins was on the
front lines of monitoring and helping create these very events that
were once just confined to the Third World. From 1971 to 1981
IEA report sees oil price at $100 in 2020
Revealed: 50 oil tankers loitering off British coast as they lie in
wait for fuel price hikes
'PEAK GOLD': EARTH'S SUPPLY DRYING UP
Nation's Top Banker Blames
Banks For Continued High Unemployment
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Iraq
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Map of Iraq |
U.S. Adviser to Kurds Stands to Reap Oil Profits Peter W. Galbraith, a former U.S. ambassador, could earn millions as a
result of his ties to the Iraqi Kurds and a Norwegian oil company.
Huge rise in birth defects in Falluja 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
Accustomed to danger, Iraqi journalists now face legal attacks
Rebuilding Its
Economy, Iraq Shuns
U.S. Businesses
Iraqis claim torture
by British soldiers:
ministry |
Iraq: US military
contractor burns
recyclables,
violating contract
KBR was contracted
to recycle cafeteria
waste at Forward
Operating Base
Warhorse. Such
spotty
accountability is
coming under new
scrutiny; an Oct. 30
report reveals that
transactions worth
$10.7 billion are
being audited.
Iraqi Minorities
Dying Over Turf War
Iraqi minority
groups are caught up
in a power struggle
between the
country's
Arab-dominated
central government
and the
Kurdish-controlled
regional government
over the oil-rich
Nineveh province -
and they are paying
with their lives,
according Human
Rights Watch.
Iraq Kurds Willing
to Probe Ethnic
Abuse Claims
Iraq's Kurdish
regional government
said on Thursday it
is willing to probe
allegations that its
forces had abused
ethnic minorities,
but rejected claims
by Human Rights
Watch of widespread
abuse.
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Middle
East |
Map of the Middle East |
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Iran
<Click
for video and history>
Exile group: Iran making major security changes An Iranian
opposition leader said Thursday that the country is making sweeping
changes to its security apparatus in an effort to consolidate the
power of the elite Revolutionary Guard.
Report: Missing Iran general abducted by Mossad, being held in
Israel A former Iranian defense official who disappeared in 2006
was kidnapped by forces collaborating with the Mossad and is
currently being held in an Israeli prison, an investigative news
website in Iran claimed on Sunday in a report picked up by Army
Radio
Diplomats: Iran nuke plant 7 yrs old
Iran to try brother-in-law of opposition leader The
brother-in-law of Iran's top opposition leader will be put on trial
before the Revolutionary Court, months after his arrest in the
country's postelection crackdown, Tehran's top prosecutor said
Friday.
IAEA report: Iran tested advanced nuclear warhead design
Portions of an IAEA report that were previously unpublished show
evidence that Iran may have experimented with a more advanced
nuclear warhead than thought.
Iran refuses to send enriched uranium abroad: MP
IAEA: We found 'nothing to worry about' at secret Iran nuke site
United Nations inspectors found "nothing to be worried about" in a
first look at a previously secret uranium enrichment site in Iran
last month, the International Atomic Energy chief said in remarks
released Thursday
Defiant Mousavi repeats call for new Iran election Iran's main
opposition leader and defeated presidential candidate Mir Hossein
Mousavi has repeated his call for a new election, after unrest this
month saw clashes between police and protesters, a reformist website
reported on Saturday
Yemen
Yemen rebels say Saudi jets using phosphorus bombs Shiite rebels
in northern Yemen caught between a deadly government onslaught and
air raids from across the border on Monday claimed Saudi warplanes
were using phosphorus bombs against them.
Yemen's Houthi rebels get Iran assurance, ask Saudis to stop strikes
The Houthis rebels waging an insurgency against Yemen's government
asked Saudi Arabia to stop its airstrikes against them. The Saudis
began the strikes after the Houthis crossed into their border.
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Afghanistan
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Map of Afghanistan |
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40,000 Afghanistan Troops Could Cost $40 Billion..$1 Million Per Soldier, Per Year
Suicide bomber attacks US vehicles outside Kabul
Morale drops among US troops in Afghanistan: army
Afghanistan's Abdullah calls Karzai
confirmation 'illegal' Abdullah
Abdullah also said Wednesday that
President Karzai's government could not
effectively tackle corruption or fight
Afghanistan's insurgency.
Clean up Afghan corruption or lose aid,
Clinton warns
Afghan minister accused of taking bribe The Afghan
minister of mines accepted a roughly $30 million bribe to award the
country's largest development project to a Chinese mining firm,
according to a U.S. official who is familiar with military
intelligence reports.
Democrats propose 'Afghan war tax'
"Regardless of whether one favors
the war or not, if it is to be fought, it ought to be paid for," the
lawmakers, all prominent Democratic allies of Obama, said in a joint
statement on the "Share The Sacrifice Act of 2010."
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Nato soldiers 'believed drowned'
Nato blamed for Afghan air strike deaths The US military is
investigating reports that seven members of Afghanistan’s security
forces were killed in an air strike launched during an operation to
search for two missing American soldiers
‘Rogue’ Afghan policeman kills British troops
U.S. Seeks to Limit Warlords in Karzai Cabinet The Barack
Obama administration is talking tough to Afghan President Hamid
Karzai about the need for decisive action on corruption and
governance reform, but its main objective is to prevent particularly
corrupt and incompetent warlords from getting plum ministries as
rewards for helping clinch his fraudulent reelection, IPS has
learned.
'Afghan quagmire negates US-Iran war' Obama adviser Bruce Riedel
says Israel needs to understand the "huge drain on US resources."
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Pakistan |
Map of Pakistan |
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Clinton: Hard to believe Pakistan can't find Al Qaeda
Four militants killed in US drone missile strike in tribal region
Pakistani nuclear scientist's accounts tell of Chinese proliferation In
1982, a Pakistani military C-130 left the western Chinese city of Urumqi
with a highly unusual cargo: enough weapons-grade uranium for two atomic
bombs, according to accounts written by the father of Pakistan's nuclear
weapons program, Abdul Qadeer Khan, and provided to The Washington Post.
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North&South
Asia |
Map of Asia |
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Europe |
Map of Europe |
Germany drops probe linked to Litvinenko
case German prosecutors said Friday
they have dropped an investigation of a
Russian businessman who had been
suspected of transporting a radioactive
substance used in the fatal poisoning of
a former Russian agent in London in
2006.
Spain fines insurers for price-fixing
Spanish regulators said Thursday they
have fined six European insurance
companies a total of euro120.7 million
($180 million) for fixing prices on
building-defect coverage during the
Spanish housing boom.
Medvedev to set
out economic
reforms in
speech Medvedev's plans, which aim to
trim the government role in the economy,
would target Russia's "state
corporations" -- a key legacy of his
Kremlin predecessor, Vladimir Putin.
Putin tells EU of risk to gas supply via
Ukraine
Russian
Prime
Minister
Vladimir
Putin warned
the European
Union on
Sunday that
gas supplies
via Ukraine
may be
disrupted
because of a
payment
dispute with
Kiev, news
agencies
quoted his
office as
saying.
Putin
telephoned
his Swedish
counterpart
Fredrik
Reinfeldt,
whose
country
holds the
rotating EU
presidency,
to "draw his
attention to
signals,
including
those sent
through
official
channels to
Kiev,
concerning
possible
payment
problems for
the delivery
of Russian
gas," a
spokesman
was quoted
as saying.
Scientology
faces torture
allegations
Australian PM
considers
inquiry into
allegations
including forced
abortions,
assault and
blackmail
Transsexual
Prostitute
Linked To
Italian
Political Sex
Scandal Found
Burned To Death
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France's Sarkozy launches controversial national
identity debate President Nicolas Sarkozy's government
started a 'what is French?' website today.
Critics say the national identity debate is
intended to stir up anti-immigrant sentiment
ahead of national elections in the spring.
Apple, Orange drop exclusive iPhone sales:
regulator The proposal from the two
groups, to satisfy objections from the
competition authority, means the end of a
five-year deal giving exclusive distribution
rights in France to Orange.
Sweden, Finland okay Russia's Nord Stream
pipeline After years of procrastination,
Sweden and Finland agreed on Thursday to
allow the Russian-led Nord Stream pipeline
to pass through their waters in the Baltic
Sea, a crucial step for the project destined
to supply Europe with Russian gas.
EU to hand over financial transactions data to
US government The presidency of the European
Union - currently held by Sweden as represented
through its Minister for European Union affairs,
Cecilia Malmstroem - on Wednesday presented a
draft Council decision to the Economic and
Financial Affairs Council (ECOFIN) regarding an
agreement between the United States and the
European Union. Titled "Agreement between the
European Union and the United States of America
on the processing and transfer of Financial
Messaging Data for purposes of the Terrorist
Finance Tracking Program" it provides mechanisms
for the transfer of financial information from
Europe to US authoritie
Berlin bans fast-growing neo-Nazi group
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Africa |
Map of Africa |
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The Americas
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Map of North America and South America |
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Chile: Any U.S. missile, radar deal under $665 million
Colombia to return Venezuela national guard troops
Buenos Aires okays gay marriage in Latin America first
BRAZIL: Deforestation Down 45 Percent |