US to give $38.7 million to 27 Afghan provinces to reduce poppycultivation 24 Nov 2009
CLG_News
24 Nov 2009 http://www.legitgov.org All links are here:
http://www.legitgov.org/#breaking_news
The day ends in 'y,' so it's time for another AfPak bl*w job. US
to give $38.7 million to 27 Afghan provinces to reduce poppy
cultivation<http://www.legitgov.org/price_obusha_afpak_war_031009.html> --A
report<http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/28/world/asia/28intel.html>
published last month in The New York Times identified the brother
of Afghan President Hamid Karzai as a CIA operative and a major
opium dealer. He was also reported to have close ties with the
Taliban. 24 Nov 2009 The US government has made a commitment to
provide financial aid to Afghan provinces that have reduced or
eliminated the production of opium. The United States signed a
memorandum of understanding on Monday according to which it agreed
to give $38.7 million to 27 Afghan provinces that eliminated or
significantly reduced poppy production in the world's biggest
supplier country, AFP reported. According to the MOU, the money
will be handed over to Afghanistan's counter-narcotics ministry
[Flush twice. It's a log way to the Afghan counter-narcotics
Ministry.], which will disperse the cash to the 27 different provinces
to finance development or alternative crops. [LOL. Am I the only
one to observe that the US pays to *cultivate* Afghan opium poppies,
while simultaneously paying to *reduce* them? Oh, but we can't get
single-payer health care or the public option --too expensive.
--LRP]
Obomba poised for special Thanksgiving holiday 'bad news' dump:
Afghanistan decision to come within days, White House
says<http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/11/24/us.afghanistan/index.html> 26
Nov 2009 President Obama will announce within days whether he will
send more troops to Afghanistan, the White House said after he met
with his national security team Monday night. "After completing a
rigorous final meeting, President Obama has the information he wants
and needs to make his decision and he will announce that decision
within days," White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said. [Right,
Monday night, but the PentaPost leak will likely take place on
Thanksgiving.]
Top Democrat warns Afghanistan will bankrupt domestic programs,
threatens war surtax if Obama sends more
troops<http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/washington/2009/11/top-democrat-warns-
afghanistan-will-bankrupt-domestic-programs-threatens-war-surtax-if-obama-sen
ds-m.html> 23 Nov 2009 David Obey came to Congress in 1969, a young
Democratic congressman from Wisconsin, opposed to the Vietnam War
and mindful of the funding it was draining from Lyndon Johnson's
Great Society programs. Thirty years later, he is chairman of the
House Appropriations Committee and adamant that Afghanistan is a
similar quagmire that could bankrupt President Obama's domestic
agenda. "There ain't going to be no money for nothing if we pour
it all into Afghanistan," House Appropriations Chairman David Obey
told ABC News.
"If they ask for an increased troop commitment in Afghanistan, I
am going to ask them to pay for it." Comparing Afghanistan to
Vietnam, Obey said that both were long-standing civil wars and that,
in each case, the United States found itself with an unreliable
partner on the ground.
Bomb in water truck kills 3 in
Afghanistan<http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/11/24/A
R2009112400549.html> 24 Nov 2009 A remote-controlled bomb hidden
in a water truck exploded in eastern Afghanistan on Tuesday, killing
three people including two children, the Interior Ministry said.
Another two children and one man were wounded in the attack in the
eastern province of Khost, it said.
Wazir Pacha, a spokesman for the provincial police chief of Khost,
said authorities were investigating what the target might have been.
4 US soldiers killed in 24 hours in
Afghanistan<http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=111968§ionid=351020403>
23 Nov 2009 The International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) says
that four American soldiers have been killed in the past 24 hours
in Afghanistan. The military said on Monday that the soldiers were
killed in separate attacks in the war-ravaged country.
Leaked documents reveal No 10 cover-up over Iraq
invasion<http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2009/nov/22/iraq-invasion-no10-co
ver-up> --Inquiry to hear how Blair hid true intentions for war 22
Nov 2009 Military commanders are expected to tell the inquiry into
the Iraq war, which opens on Tuesday, that the invasion was
ill-conceived and that preparations were sabotaged by Tony Blair's
government's attempts to mislead the public.
They were so shocked by the lack of preparation for the aftermath
of the invasion that they believe members of the British and US
governments at the time could be prosecuted for war crimes by
breaching the duty outlined in the Geneva convention to safeguard
civilians in a conflict, the Guardian has been told.
Does this picture show British soldiers broke Geneva
Conventions?<http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/does-this-pi
cture-show-british-soldiers-broke-geneva-conventions-1826435.html>
Public inquiry to be launched into allegations of abuse torture
against Iraqi civilians at UK-run detention camp 24 Nov 2009 A
photograph<http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/does-this-pict
ure-show-british-soldiers-broke-geneva-conventions-1826435.html?action=Popup>
handed to The Independent claims to show Iraqi civilians captured
in southern Iraq being mistreated by British soldiers in breach of
international law and the Geneva Conventions. The incident is to
be investigated at a public inquiry to be announced tomorrow by
Defence Secretary Bob Ainsworth, which will also examine evidence
of one of the worst atrocities ever carried out by the British Army.
It is claimed that hours after the picture was taken, the four men
were transferred to a UK-run detention camp where they were badly
beaten and where 20 other civilians were murdered by British soldiers.
The covering of a prisoner's face and rear handcuffing on the ground
is a breach of Common Article 3 of the Geneva Conventions which
prohibits the humiliating and degrading treatment of detainees.
U.S. soldier killed in
Iraq<http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2009-11/23/content_12526156.htm> 23
Nov 2009 An American soldier was killed in action south of Baghdad,
the U.S.
military said Monday. A Multi-National Division South (MND-S) soldier
was killed on Sunday, a military statement said without providing
further details.
Iraq national vote unlikely in January:
official<http://www.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idUSTRE5AN1DO20091124>
24 Nov 2009 Iraq will be unable to hold a national 'election' in
January as planned, a poll official said on Tuesday, heaping more
uncertainty on a vote meant to cement democracy [?] and pave the
way for a partial U.S. troop withdrawal. The general election was
supposed to be held between January 18-23. "In all cases the
possibility of holding the vote in January is over,"
said Faraj al-Haidari, head of the electoral commission.
KBR to bid for part of $3B Air Force
contract<http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5illCBgqDEjORyicBYx
hyfz7PODQwD9C5HCHG1> 23 Nov 2009 Defense contractor [terrorists]
KBR said Monday the U.S. Air Force has asked it to bid for future
task orders under the Worldwide Environmental Restoration and
Construction program. KBR is one of 23 companies that will compete
for related contracts. The total value of the contract to be dispersed
among participating contractors is $3 billion.
British man fighting extradition in KBR bribe
case<http://www.bostonherald.com/business/general/view/20091123british_man_fi
ghting_extradition_in_kbr_bribe_case/> 20 Nov 2009 A British lawyer
accused in the United States of helping a former Halliburton Co.
subsidiary bribe Nigerian officials for construction projects has
begun his fight against extradition in a London court. Federal
prosecutors in Houston, Texas, say Jeffrey Tesler helped steer bribe
money from Kellogg, Brown & Root LLC to officials of the Nigerian
government to win more than $6 billion in contracts.
Day 2 of drill: Iran warns Israel against stupid
mistake<http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=111957§ionid=351020101> 23
Nov 2009 Tehran begins the second day of a sweeping aerial drill
with a strong warning to Tel Aviv: Israeli warplanes 'will come
tumbling down' if they step out of line. Israel routinely threatens
to bomb Iran's nuclear sites, arguing that the country's enrichment
activities are an existential threat to Tel Aviv, which ironically
is reported to have an arsenal of 200 nuclear warheads at its
disposal. The threats were repeated only last week when Gabi
Ashkenazi, the chief-of-staff of Israel's armed forces, dropped
heavy hints at an upcoming attack on Iran.
IDF planes attack Gaza arms depot and smuggling
tunnels<http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1130349.html> 24 Nov
2009 The Israel Air Force carried out three airstrikes in the Gaza
Strip late Monday, targeting a weapons-manufacturing facility and
weapons smuggling tunnels. The IDF said that the aerial assaults
came in response to two rockets Palestinian militants fired at
southern Israel from Gaza a day earlier. No one was injured by the
rocket fire.
Gaza rocket hits Israel, despite Hamas moratorium on
Qassams<http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1130130.html> 23 Nov
2009 Militants in the Gaza Strip fired a Qassam rocket into southern
Israel on Monday, despite a recent declaration by Hamas that militant
groups in the coastal territory had reached an agreement to halt
cross-border rocket fire.
The rocket exploded close to a community in the Sha'ar Hanegev
region, causing neither causalities nor property damage. On Saturday
evening, Hamas' interior minister said the militant groups in Gaza
had agreed to cease firing rockets into Israel so as to prevent
retaliatory attacks.
IDF strip-searches troops at ceremony, fearing pro-settler
protest<http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1130346.html> 24 Nov
2009 Soldiers in the ultra-Orthodox battalion of the Nahal infantry
brigade claim that they were strip-searched on Monday upon entrance
to a battalion ceremony. The commanders searched the soldiers fearing
they would protest settlement evacuations as soldiers from the Kfir
Brigade did recently. The incident took place during a ceremony on
Jerusalem's Mount Scopus, attended by the Deputy Defense Minister
Matan Vilnai.
Secret files show UK courts were misled over 9/11
suspect<http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2009/nov/22/lotfi-raissi-secret-files-ev
idence> --The Guardian has obtained classified documents produced
by the FBI and anti-terrorist officials in the UK after the 9/11
attacks which shed new light on how the courts were misled. 22 Nov
2009 British prosecutors failed to disclose crucial evidence to the
courts in the aftermath of the September 11 terrorist attacks in a
case that resulted in an innocent pilot being jailed for five months,
previously unseen documents reveal. Lotfi Raissi, an Algerian living
in the UK, was the first person in the world to be arrested after
the 2001 attacks in New York and Washington DC. Accused of being
the "lead"
instructor of the 9/11 hijackers, Raissi was held in Belmarsh high
security prison awaiting extradition to the United States.
Atty: Fort Hood suspect may seek insanity
defense<http://www.legitgov.org/attack_on_fort_hood_051109.html>
24 Nov 2009 An attorney for an Army psychiatrist accused of killing
13 people during an attack at Fort Hood says his client will likely
plead not guilty and may pursue an insanity defense at his military
trial. John Galligan, the Fort Hood-area civilian attorney for Maj.
Nidal Hasan, told The Associated Press by phone Monday that the
court must consider his client's mental status because the allegations
against Hasan contradict his lifestyle and military career.
Death toll rises to 39 for Philippines
killings<http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/8375588.stm> 24
Nov 2009 At least 39 people are now known to have died in the
southern Philippines on Monday, after more bodies were discovered
in a shallow grave. Philippine President Gloria Arroyo has declared
a state of emergency in two provinces on the island of Mindanao to
allow police to search for the [Arroyo-hired] gunmen. The victims
were killed as they were travelling to file nomination papers for
elections next May.
12 journalists killed in Philippines
massacre<http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/greenslade/2009/nov/24/press-freedom
-philippines> --Early reports said the gunmen were led by a supporter
of the country's president [sic], Gloria Arroyo. 24 Nov 2009 Twelve
journalists were among 24 people murdered yesterday in the Philippines
in what is thought to be the greatest loss of life by news media
in a single day. Several of the victims were beheaded in the massacre
carried out by a huge force of [rightwing] gunmen.
'Terrorist network in S Waziristan
dismantled'<http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=112034§ionid=351020401>
24 Nov 2009 The Pakistani army claims it has succeeded in dismantling
the terrorist network in South Waziristan. An army statement said
on Monday that its soldiers killed 20 militants while many others
were injured in Pakistan's South Waziristan tribal area and in the
neighboring Hangu and Orakzai agencies over the previous 24 hours.
8 charged with running terror
ring<http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/11/23/AR200911
2303999.html> 24 Nov 2009 Federal authorities unsealed terrorism-related
charges against eight men Monday, accusing them of recruiting at
least 20 young Somali Americans from Minnesota to join an extremist
Islamist insurgency in Somalia. The newly named suspects make up
one of the largest alleged terrorist networks in the United States
since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, analysts said.
'Police targeting people for their
DNA'<http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/crime/police-targeting-people-for-t
heir-dna-1826437.html> --Watchdog says quest for data undermines
presumption of innocence 24 Nov 2009 Police forces have been arresting
people simply to add them to the controversial DNA database as a
result of lax rules that have developed with almost no public
scrutiny, the Government's independent DNA watchdog warns today.
The Human Genetics Commission (HGC) also says there is little
evidence that the national DNA database, the largest of its kind
in the world, is of any use in solving crimes. In its two-year
report examining the database, published today, it concludes that
allowing police to add anyone arrested to the DNA database damages
the assumption of innocence.
New US vaccine production techniques: Genetically modified insect
cells, E.
coli, caterpillar
ovaries<http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/11/23/AR200
9112302277.html> 24 Nov 2009 Spurred by $487 million in federal
funding, a sprawling new vaccine factory is opening in North Carolina
Tuesday that will produce shots using dog cells instead of chicken
eggs. A Connecticut biotech company has also applied to sell a
vaccine employing a radically different approach involving a
genetically engineered virus infecting insect cells...
Baxter
International<http://www.legitgov.org/baxter_flu_vaccine_260409.html> won
approval last month to sell an H1N1 vaccine in Europe that uses a
decades-old line of African green monkey kidney cells, and it is
working on a vaccine for the United States. Protein Sciences of
Meriden, Conn., has applied to the FDA for approval to sell a vaccine
made by genetically engineering flu genes into a worm virus, which
then infects cells from caterpillar ovaries to produce the necessary
proteins to make vaccine. VaxInnate of Cranbury, N.J., for example,
produced an experimental H1N1 vaccine using genetically engineered
E.coli bacteria, and Vical of San Diego just won a $1.25 million
contract from the Navy to develop an H1N1 vaccine that involves
injecting DNA sequences from the virus directly into people.
1918 RBD D225G in Lung Cases in Ukraine and
Norway<http://www.recombinomics.com/News/11210902/D225G_1918.html>
(Recombinomics) 21 Nov 2009 For the two 1918 HA variants, the South
Carolina (SC) HA (with Asp190, Asp225) bound exclusively alpha2-6
receptors, while the New York (NY) variant, which differed only by
one residue (Gly225), had mixed alpha2-6/alpha2-3 specificity,
especially for sulfated oligosaccharides. The above description is
from a
paper<http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16343533?itool=EntrezSystem2.PEntrez
.Pubmed.Pubmed_ResultsPanel.Pubmed_RVDocSum> analyzing receptor binding domain
differences in sequences from the 1918 pandemic. The New York variant
had D225G, the same change found in lung tissues from fatal swine
H1N1 sequences in Brazil, Ukraine, and Norway. The above result
clearly demonstrated a change in receptor specificity for D225G,
which was present in A/New York/1/1918 and A/London/1/1919,
demonstrating the same change I 1918 that has been described in
2009.
NSA helped with Windows 7
development<http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9141105/NSA_helped_with_Wi
ndows_7_development> 18 Nov 2009 The National Security Agency (NSA)
worked with Microsoft on the development of Windows 7, an agency
official acknowledged yesterday during testimony before Congress.
"Working in partnership with Microsoft and elements of the Department
of Defense, NSA leveraged our unique expertise and operational
knowledge of system threats and vulnerabilities to enhance Microsoft's
operating system security guide without constraining the user to
perform their everyday tasks, whether those tasks are being performed
in the public or private sector," Richard Schaeffer, the NSA's
information assurance director, told the Senate's Subcommittee on
Terrorism and Homeland Security yesterday as part of a prepared
statement.
Rove: Shift of Blame to Dems Almost
Complete<http://www.legitgov.org/shulman_rove_blame_to_dems_241109.html>
--'This is surely some of my best work since I was able to convince
millions of Americans that George W. Bush should be in the White
House rather than the nut house.' By R J Shulman 24 Nov 2009 Karl
Rove announced today on Fox News that the Republican strategy to
shift the blame for all of America's woes from anything the Republicans
may have caused to Obama and the Democrats is a complete success.
Rove has been the mastermind of a new movement called the Shift of
Blamers -- or SOBs -- who have replaced birthers, deathers, Tenthers,
and teabaggers as the most successful anti-Obama group thus far.
The SOBs are made up of prominent Republicans, Fox News and the
vast majority of talk radio. (Satire)
Sanford Faces 37 Charges by State Ethics
Board<http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/24/us/24carolina.html> 24 Nov
2009 Gov.
Mark Sanford of South Carolina will face formal ethics charges on
37 counts of using his office for personal financial gain, according
to a list of allegations issued by the state ethics commission on
Monday.
Over 100 icebergs drifting to N.Zealand:
official<http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5g90cvSzRh7t3B5deK
ppCmnUzdtGw> 23 Nov 2009 More than 100, and possibly hundreds, of
Antarctic icebergs are floating towards New Zealand in a rare event
which has prompted a shipping warning, officials said on Monday.
An Australian Antarctic Division glaciologist said the ice chunks,
spotted by satellite photography, had passed the Auckland Islands
and were heading towards the main South Island, about 450 kilometres
(280 miles) northeast.
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06011-1142 Contributions to CLG are not tax deductible
Previous lead stories: Hostility between British and American
military leaders
revealed<http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/politics/defence/6631239/
Hostility-between-British-and-American-military-leaders-revealed.html>
--The deep hostility of Britains senior military commanders in Iraq
towards their American allies has been revealed in classified
Government documents leaked to the Daily Telegraph. 22 Nov 2009 In
the papers, the British chief of staff in Iraq, Colonel J.K.Tanner,
described his US military counterparts as "a group of Martians"
[Good one! Guess who was the Top Martian --aka Commander in Thief
--in 2003?] for whom "dialogue is alien," saying: "Despite our
so-called 'special relationship,' I reckon we were treated no
differently to the Portuguese." Col Tanners boss, the top British
commander in the country, Major General Andrew Stewart, told how
he spent "a significant amount of my time" "evading" and "refusing"
orders from his US superiors.
US 'helps build anti-Taliban militias' in
Afghanistan<http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5ipBTX6_vJUYaZq
cIjz3Z-eKovY9Q> 22 Nov 2009 The United States has begun helping a
number of anti-Taliban militias [death squads] in several parts of
Afghanistan in hopes for a large-scale tribal rebellion against the
radical Islamic movement, The New York Times
reported<http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/22/world/asia/22militias.html> late
Saturday. The newspaper said US and Afghan officials were planning
to spur the growth of similar armed groups across the Taliban
heartland in the southern and eastern parts of the country. The
officials say they are hoping the plan, called the Community Defense
Initiative, will bring together thousands of gunmen to protect their
neighborhoods from Taliban 'insurgents,' the report said. ['Community
Defense Initiative.' Gee, it even *sounds* like something straight
out of Nazi Germany or Joe Lieberman's Homeland Security Committee.
--LRP]
Army faces inquiry over 'Battle of Danny Boy' torture
claims<http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/iraq/article6926293.ece>
--Evidence indicating torture and mutilation allegedly includes
close-range bullet wounds, the removal of eyes and stab wounds,
human rights lawyers have claimed. 21 Nov 2009 Claims that British
soldiers tortured and murdered up to 20 prisoners after a battle
with Iraqi 'insurgents' are to be scrutinised at a public inquiry.
Concern that the Army covered up the most serious accusation of war
crimes that it has faced has prompted Bob Ainsworth, the Defence
Secretary, to order the independent inquiry. Mr Ainsworth is due
to tell MPs next week that the inquiry will centre on an incident
known as the Battle of Danny Boy. It took place in May 2004 and
involved soldiers from the Argyll and Southern Highlanders and the
Princess of Waless Royal Regiment... Iraqi families claim that some
of those killed had been captured alive before being tortured and
murdered by troops at Camp Abu Naji, a British base. Evidence
indicating torture and mutilation allegedly includes close-range
bullet wounds, the removal of eyes and stab wounds, human rights
lawyers have claimed.
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