World-News

Cutting off access altogether, massive fines and even jail time proposed for those who flout new laws

Steve Watson
Prisonplanet.com
Thursday, Dec 17, 2009

Internet censorship bills currently working their way into law in the UK, Australia and the U.S. legislate for government powers to restrict and filter any website that it deems to be undesirable for public consumption.

http://www.prisonplanet.com/death-of-the-internet-censorship-bills-in-uk-australia-u-s-aim-to-block-undesirable-websites.html

- Italie : La Cour d'Appel a jugé que le téléphone mobile était responsable de ses handicaps
http://www.next-up.org/pages/Justice.php#1

http://johnmcternansinsights.blogspot.com/2009/12/emergency-us-army-view-of.html


Informant: Dorothee Krien

Fünf Jahre Hartz IV: „Alles in allem wirkt die Reform positiv“, zieht das IAB Bilanz

„„Alles in allem wirkt Hartz IV positiv. An einigen Stellen hakt es aber noch“, erklärte der Direktor des Instituts für Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung (IAB), Joachim Möller, im Rahmen einer Bilanz des Forschungsinstituts zu fünf Jahren Hartz IV am Dienstag in Berlin…“ Presseinformation des Instituts für Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung vom 15.12.2009 http://www.iab.de/de/informationsservice/presse/presseinformationen/151209.aspx

Siehe dazu:

Wege aus der Grundsicherung. Befragung von Arbeitslosengeld-II-Beziehern

Die Studie von Juliane Achatz und Mark Trappmann als IAB Kurzbericht
28/2009 (pdf) http://doku.iab.de/kurzber/2009/kb2809.pdf


Der Arbeitsmarkt hat profitiert

Eine zusammenfassende Bilanz zu fünf Jahren Hartz IV von Joachim Möller, Ulrich Walwei, Susanne Koch, Peter Kupka und Joß Steinke als IAB Kurzbericht 29/2009 (pdf) http://doku.iab.de/kurzber/2009/kb2909.pdf


Fünf Jahre Hartz-Gesetzgebung: DGB warnt vor "Verhartzung’" der Gesellschaft

„Mit Hilfe von Hartz IV sollten Langzeitarbeitslose wieder in den Arbeitsmarkt eingegliedert werden. Stattdessen wurden Lohndumping und Niedrigstlöhnen Tür und Tor geöffnet, denn das Gesetz zwingt Arbeitslose, praktisch jeden noch so schlecht bezahlten Job annehmen…“ Kommentar von Annelie Buntenbach beim DGB http://www.dgb.de/2009/12/16_buntenbach_korrektur_hartz_iv/


Fünf Jahre Hartz IV: Forscher ziehen Bilanz. Nur wenigen Arbeitslosen gelingt der Ausstieg

„Das Institut für Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung (IAB) hat Bilanz zu fünf Jahren Hartz IV gezogen. Hartz IV sei besser als sein Ruf, so der Tenor der Nürnberger Arbeitsmarktforscher. Doch immer weniger Arbeitslosen gelingt die Rückkehr in ein normales Berufsleben. Viele ehemalige ALG-II-Bezieher finden nur noch Billigjobs. Immer mehr Arbeitnehmer kommen mit einer Stelle nicht über die Runden…“ Pressemitteilung der IG Metall vom 16.12.2009 http://www.igmetall.de/cps/rde/xchg/SID-0A456501-0D406A4B/internet/style.xsl/view_2798.htm


Die Weißwäscher aus Nürnberg

„Eine „grundsätzlich positive Einschätzung“ hat das Institut für Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung (IAB) nach fünf Jahren Hartz IV. Das ist nicht weiter erstaunlich, denn das IAB ist eine Abteilung der Bundesagentur für Arbeit und die BA hat „ihre Aufgaben, im Rahmen des für sie geltenden Rechts“ durchzuführen. Erstaunlich wäre allenfalls, wenn das IAB das geltende Recht der Hartz-Gesetze in Frage stellen würde. Das muss nicht heißen, dass die vorgelegten Zahlen falsch sind, aber bei ihrer Interpretation fungiert das IAB als Weißwäscher einer gescheiterten „Reform“…“ Artikel von Wolfgang Lieb bei den Nachdenkseiten http://www.nachdenkseiten.de/?p=4410


Soziale Sicherung bei Arbeitslosigkeit - insgesamt unzureichend. Plädoyer für eine neue Arbeitslosenhilfe

„Die Abschaffung der Arbeitslosenhilfe im Zusammenhang mit der »Hartz-IV«-Gesetzgebung war falsch. Der Beitrag plädiert für eine neue Arbeitslosenhilfe, die als hybrides Sicherungselement zwischen den Entgeltersatzleistungen des Versicherungssystems und den Fürsorgeleistungen der Grundsicherung für Arbeitsuchende anzusiedeln ist. Die Notwendigkeit sozialer Absicherung von Langzeiterwerbslosen lässt sich nicht auf Armutsvermeidung – gemessen am aktuellen Fürsorgeniveau – reduzieren. Das Sozialstaatsprinzip verlangt bei Eintritt sozialer Risiken weit mehr als lediglich Armutsprävention…“ Dokument von Johannes Steffen bei der Arbeitnehmerkammer (pdf) http://www.arbeitnehmerkammer.de/sozialpolitik/dukumente/2009-12-01%20Soziale%20Sicherung%20bei%20Arbeitslosigkeit.pdf


... mehr als drei Jahrzehnte. Sozialpolitische Chronik

Die Sozialpolitische Chronik bietet einen Überblick über die gesetzlichen Änderungen in der Arbeitslosen-, Renten-, Kranken- und Pflegeversicherung sowie bei der Sozialhilfe (HLU) und der Grundsicherung für Arbeitsuchende über die vergangenen Jahrzehnte. Die Neuauflage berücksichtigt die bis Ende der schwarz-roten Koalition verabschiedeten Neuregelungen. Sozialpolitische Chronik bei der Arbeitnehmerkammer (pdf) http://www.arbeitnehmerkammer.de/sozialpolitik/doku/02_politik/chronik/chronik_gesamt.pdf


Soziale Ungleichheit macht die Menschen glücklich. Die Initiative Neue Soziale Marktwirtschaft hat sich von Wissenschaftlern einen passenden Indikator für Glück und Zufriedenheit erstellen lassen

„Die Initiative Neue Soziale Marktwirtschaft, bekannt dafür, den Menschen im Auftrag der Industrie neoliberale Vorstellungen schmackhaft zu machen, hat eine neue Idee gehabt und einen Wissenschaftler, der als Kurator und Berater der Stiftung kaum unabhängig zu bezeichnen ist, beauftragt, einen ökonomisch ausgerichteten, aber über das BIP hinaus erweiterten "Lebenszufriedensindikator" (Glücks-BIP) zu erstellen. Wohl wenig überraschend kam er mit seinem [extern] Ergebnis den neoliberalen Vorstellungen des Auftraggebers zur "marktwirtschaftlichen Erneuerung unseres Wirtschafts- und Sozialsystems" nahe, was wohl auch der Sinn der Veranstaltung war…“ Artikel von Florian Rötzer in telepolis vom 16.12.2009 http://www.heise.de/tp/r4/artikel/31/31739/1.html

Siehe dazu die Anmerkung Martin Betzwieser zu den Hinweisen des Tages 17. Dezember 2009 bei den Nachdenkseiten: „Was für ein plumper Versuch, niedrige Arbeitskosten und die Privatisierung der Sozialversicherung zu rechtfertigen. Der Leiter der „Studie“ ist nicht nur Direktor des Instituts für Siedlungs- und Wohnungswesen an der Westfälischen Wilhelms-Universität Münster sondern auch Aktivist der Initiative Neue Soziale Marktwirtschaft; die Zusammenarbeit ist so reibungslos, dass sogar das identische Foto mit leicht verändertem Hintergrund verwendet wird.“ http://www.nachdenkseiten.de/?p=4413#h21

Aus: LabourNet, 17. Dezember 2009

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IAB zieht positive Hartz IV Bilanz

Das Institut für Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung (IAB) zieht eine positive Bilanz der Arbeitsmarktreform Hartz IV. In Berlin stellte der IAB-Direktor, Joachim Möller, die Ergebnisse vor. Möller konstatierte eine "verhalten positive Hartz-IV-Bilanz". In der Tendenz, so Möller, würden die gesteckten Ziele von Hartz IV erreicht. Doch was ist erreicht? Eine Kritische Bestandsaufnahme Lesen Sie weiter:

http://www.gegen-hartz.de/nachrichtenueberhartziv/iab-zieht-positive-hartz-iv-bilanz06612.php



http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Arbeitslos
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Grundsicherung
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Hartz+IV
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http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Lohndumping
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Niedriglohn
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http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=neoliberal
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Armut

ver.di legt Branchenanalyse Leiharbeit vor

„Eingebettet in die Kampagne "UNGLEICH KORRIGIEREN" hat ver.di eine Branchenanalyse Leiharbeit für ihren Organisationsbereich in Auftrag gegeben. Sie besteht aus einer Auswertung der einschlägigen Statistiken der von ver.di vertretenen Branchen und betrieblichen Fallstudien in den Bereichen Gesundheit und Pflege sowie Abfallwirtschaft. Im Kern lässt sich den statistischen Sonderauswertungen entnehmen, dass sich die Praxis im Dienstleistungssektor in vielerlei Hinsicht von der Gesamtwirtschaft unterscheidet. Sie verläuft etwa weit unabhängiger von konjunkturellen oder saisonalen Einflüssen. Anders ausgedrückt: Sie ersetzt in einem höheren Maße reguläre Beschäftigung. Autorin der Branchenanalyse: Dr. Sandra Saeed.“ Siehe dazu:

Die ver.di-Branchenanalyse zur Leiharbeit (pdf) http://www.hundertprozentich.de/images/stories/einhundertprozentich/pdfs/verdi_bro_branchenanalyse.pdf

ver.di-Newsletter zur Leiharbeit, Ausgabe vom Dezember 2009 (pdf) http://www.hundertprozentich.de/images/stories/Newsletter/newsletter_leiharbeit_12-09.pdf


Aspekte zur Zeitarbeit und Leiharbeit - Wanderarbeiter des Kapitals: Hungerlöhne - und in Folge auch keine auskömmliche Altersrente!

Artikel von Reinhold Schramm vom 4.12.09 bei scharf links http://www.scharf-links.de/48.0.html?&tx_ttnews[cat]=24&tx_ttnews[tt_news]=7859&cHash=20ca8c138c


Aktion runtime

„Ca 30 Aktivisten des Bremer Erwerbslosenverbandes und aus dem Mayday Bündnis führten heute eine halbstündige Aktion vor der Niederlassung Bremen von runtime services durch. Ziel war die Skandalisierung der häufig angewendeten Methode von runtime, im Raum Bremen Menschen nach dem Osttarif (6 bzw. 6,15 Euro Brutto Stundenlohn) des mit dem christlichen Gewerkschaftsbund abgeschlossenen Tarifwerks zu bezahlen. Beim Besuch innerhalb der runtime Geschäftsstelle sah sich die anwesende Mitarbeiterin nicht in der Lage Auskünfte zu erteilen. Vor der runtime Anwerbestelle für billige Arbeitskräfte wurden Transparente aufgestellt und zahlreiche Flugblätter verteilt…“ Pressemitteilung des Bremer ErwerbslosenVerbandes vom 09.12.2009 – dort auch Hintergründe http://www.bev-bremen.de/


Aus: LabourNet, 17. Dezember 2009

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Formen von Unfreiheit

Interview mit dem Althistoriker Egon Flaig über alte und neue Sklaverei.
http://www.heise.de/tp/r4/artikel/31/31712/1.html



http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Leiharbeit
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Zeitarbeit
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Erwerbslos
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Sklav

CounterPunch
by James Bovard

12/16/09

George W. Bush is gone from Washington but his legacy, like an abandoned toxic waste dump, lingers on. Like President Franklin Roosevelt before him, President Bush helped redefine American freedom. And like Roosevelt’s, Bush’s changes were perversions of the clear vision the Founding Fathers bequeathed to us...

http://counterpunch.org/bovard12162009.html


Informant: Thomas L. Knapp



http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Bush+legacy
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Founding+Fathers
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=James+Bovard

http://www.heise.de/tp/r4/artikel/31/31732/1.html

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Weihnachtsanzeige: Frieden - auch für Afghanistan
http://tinyurl.com/ye2j554

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Legal, illegal ... Deutsche Kriegspolitik in Afghanistan

IMI-Analyse 2009/046 von Claudia Haydt vom 16.12.2009. Dieser Text wird in der Graswurzelrevolution, Ausgabe Januar 2010 erscheinen. http://www.imi-online.de/2009.php?id=2058


Afghanistan-Krieg im neunten Jahr: Welche Chancen auf Frieden gibt es am Hindukusch?

Referat von Lühr Henken beim 16. Kasseler Friedensratschlag an der Universität Kassel am 5./6. Dezember 2009 (unkorr. Manuskript) http://www.uni-kassel.de/fb5/frieden/rat/2009/henken.html


Aus: LabourNet, 23. Dezember 2009



http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Afghanistan

http://www.commondreams.org/newswire/2009/12/16-14



http://omega.twoday.net/topics/Nanotechnologie/

http://www.commondreams.org/view/2009/12/16-3

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Corporate Greed Vs American's Health

By Cesar Chelala

An article published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) reveals that, even using a conservative definition, 62.1% of all bankruptcies in the U.S. in 2007 were due to medical reasons. Most medical debtors were well educated, were homeowners and had good jobs. Three quarters among them had health insurance. In spite of that, in 92% of cases high medical bills contributed to their bankruptcy.

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article24215.htm



Obama Double-Crossed Progressives on Health Care

By Matthew Rothschild

If you're a good progressive, and you wanted single-payer health care for all, or, second best, Medicare for All Who Want It, or third best, a robust public option, or fourth best, a paltry public option, now you've got nothing, nada, zippo.

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article24254.htm



Are the Democrats Fighting the Banks?

By Shamus Cooke

How pathetic. President Obama sat at a table surrounded by super rich bankers, pleading with them to lend money to small businesses and workers. The media mislabeled Obama's groveling as "encouraging," "imploring," and "pressing," but a man who refuses to take action is powerless; and powerless people can only beg.

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article24217.htm



Foreclose on the Banks

How to Give America Its Best Christmas Ever

By Ted Rall

Citibank is suspending foreclosures and evictions for 30 days, until after the holidays. Mighty white of them.

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article24228.htm



US banks failures hit 140

Seven more US banks have been shut down by regulators, bringing to 140 the number of failed American banks this year.

http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=114118&sectionid=3510213


From Information Clearing House

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Happy Holidays from America's Banks

Michael Winship, Truthout: "Never mind Barack Obama's Audacity of Hope. It's the audacity of the banks that takes your breath away. Mean old Mr. Potter in It's a Wonderful Life seems like Father Christmas by comparison."

http://www.truthout.org/1219092

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Dropping the Bomb on Health Care
http://www.lewrockwell.com/schiff/schiff64.1.html



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William J. Astore, TomDispatch.com: "When I was on active duty in the military, an Army friend used to remind me: 'Any day you're not being shot at is a good Army day.' Today's troops, especially if they're 'boots on the ground' in Iraq and Afghanistan, don't have enough good Army days. Many of them are on their fourth or fifth deployments to a combat zone. They're stressed out and tired; they miss their spouses and families. And often they've seen things they wish they'd never seen."

http://www.truthout.org/topstories/121609vh1



http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=deploy
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=William+J.+Astore

Andy Worthington, Truthout: "Reprieve, the legal action charity, the lawyers of which represent dozens of prisoners still held at Guantanamo, won a court victory in the case of British resident Shaker Aamer, which appears to draw on the organization's success in securing a judicial review in the case of another of their clients, Binyam Mohamed. Initiated in May 2008, this led, eventually, to a fast-track review of Mohamed's case by the Obama administration, and his return to the UK in February of this year."

http://www.truthout.org/1216091



The Guantanamo Lawyers: Inside a Prison, Outside the Law

Stephen Rohde, Truthout: "At once shocking, frustrating and inspiring, the book [The Guantanamo Lawyers: Inside a Prison, Outside the Law] chronicles the courageous and hard-working lawyers who took time from law firms, small and large, human rights organizations and military assignments to step up and provide legal aid to people whom the Bush administration was calling 'the worst of the worst' after 9/11."

http://www.truthout.org/topstories/121809vh2
[ http://www.vetvoice.com/showDiary.do?diaryId=3490
http://guantanamo.fromthesquare.org/ ]

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UK: Ministers in U-turn over torture documents for Guantanamo Briton
Independent [UK]

12/20/09

Ministers have agreed to the release of secret documents that could prove MI5 agents were present during the torture of a British resident held by the US government for eight years. Shaker Aamer, the last detainee at Guantanamo Bay to be recognised by the UK Government, claims he was tortured during his detention in Afghanistan. He also alleges that Britain colluded in that torture by sending agents to interview him. Lawyers for Mr Aamer went to the High Court to force the release of documents which they believe will help prove his case against the UK Government. In an important development last week the Government agreed to surrender the documents to Mr Aamer’s lawyers in the US...

http://tinyurl.com/yzce6fg



Britain posts details on US abuse of detainee

Winston-Salem Journal

02/11/10

The British government lost a protracted court battle yesterday to protect secret U.S. intelligence information about the treatment of a former Guantanamo Bay detainee, and immediately published details of what it called the ‘cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment’ administered to the prisoner by U.S. officials. The seven paragraphs published on the Foreign Office Web site summarized secret information provided by U.S. intelligence officials to Britain’s security service, MI5, on the treatment of Ethiopian Binyam Mohamed, 31. ...

http://tinyurl.com/yja8d6x


Informant: Thomas L. Knapp

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Binyam Mohamed Torture Evidence Must be Revealed, Judges Rule

By Richard Norton-Taylor

Three of Britain's most senior judges have ordered the government to reveal evidence of MI5 complicity in the torture of British resident Binyam Mohamed - unanimously dismissing objections by David Miliband, the foreign secretary.

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article24637.htm



Binyam Mohamed: Read the Secret Torture Evidence

By The Guardian

The government has published the seven paragraphs about the treatment of Binyam Mohamed after a ruling in the court of appeal.

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article24638.htm



Binyam Mohamed: text of letter which reveals court's criticism of 'deliberately misleading' security service

Here we publish a lawyer's letter detailing how the Master of the Rolls condemned MI5 for withholding intelligence from the foreign secretary and the courts over complicity in torture.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/feb/10/binyam-mohamed-torture-letter



Britain 'complicit in mistreatment and possible torture' says UN

Human rights report indicates clear evidence of UK role in secret detention of British Muslims.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/jan/27/britain-complicit-possible-torture-un



Top judge: Binyam Mohamed case shows MI5 to be devious, dishonest and complicit in torture

Legal defeat plunges Security Service into crisis over torture evidence, and it is revealed that judge removed damning verdict after Foreign Office QC's plea.

http://snipurl.com/uc8vs



UK details US torture of Ethiopian-born detainee

"Although it is not necessary for us to categorize the treatment reported, it could readily be contended to be at the very least cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment by the United States authorities," the text said.

http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=118355&sectionid=351020601



US: British disclosure may affect intelligence sharing

The White House warned Wednesday that a British court's order releasing once-secret details of the harsh interrogation of a terrorism suspect could affect US-British intelligence sharing.

http://snipurl.com/uc8wm



Pennsylvania: Student of Arabic Sues Over Detention

A Pennsylvania man sued the federal government Wednesday, alleging that he was abusively interrogated, handcuffed and detained for five hours at Philadelphia's airport in August because he carried a set of English-Arabic flashcards as part of his college language studies.

http://snipurl.com/uc8xi


From Information Clearing House



http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Obama
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=David+Miliband
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Afghanistan
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Guantanamo
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Rick Cabral, Truthout: "Richard Lee rolls down the street in his wheelchair, popping in on any number of his businesses located in the "Oaksterdam district" of downtown Oakland, California. Once known for the wild finishes of its roughhouse Raiders, the city has quietly evolved into the Amsterdam of America. And Mr. Lee is spearheading the charge."

http://www.truthout.org/1216096



http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Rick+Cabral

The creation of a 'Gitmo North' in Illinois is hardly a meaningful step forward. Shutting down Guantánamo will be nothing more than a symbolic gesture if we continue its lawless policies onshore.

http://www.aclu.org/national-security/creating-gitmo-north-alarming-step-says-aclu



Torture suit too hot to be heard, U.S. says

A lawsuit accusing a Bay Area flight-planning company of aiding an alleged CIA program of kidnapping and torturing terror suspects threatens national security and is too sensitive to discuss fully in a public courtroom, an Obama administration attorney argued Tuesday.

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2009/12/16/BA6H1B4L3P.DTL


From Information Clearing House

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Thomson Correctional Center to House Guantanamo Bay Detainees

Mary Susan Littlepage, Truthout: "President Barack Obama has directed the federal government to buy the Thomson Correctional Center in Thomson, Illinois, to house Guantanamo Bay terrorist detainees. News of the arrangement leaked out last week in a confidential memo obtained by the web site Big Government, and it became official on Tuesday."

http://www.truthout.org/1216093

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Relocating Gitmo

CounterPunch
by Paul Craig Roberts

12/22/09

Obama’s dwindling band of true believers has taken heart that their man has finally delivered on one of his many promises–the closing of the Guantanamo prison. But the prison is not being closed. It is being moved to Illinois, if the Republicans permit. In truth, Obama has handed his supporters another defeat. Closing Guantanamo meant ceasing to hold people in violation of our legal principles of habeas corpus and due process and ceasing to torture them in violation of US and international laws. All Obama would be doing would be moving 100 people, against whom the US government is unable to bring a case, from the prison in Guantanamo to a prison in Thomson, Illinois...

http://counterpunch.org/roberts12222009.html



Serious problems with Obama’s plan to move Guantanamo to Illinois

Future of Freedom Foundation
by Andy Worthington

12/21/09

Last Tuesday, in a letter to Illinois Governor Pat Quinn, five senior Obama administration officials — Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Attorney General Eric Holder, Defense Secretary Robert Gates, Director of National Intelligence Dennis Blair, and Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano — announced that ‘the president has directed, with our unanimous support, that the federal government proceed with the acquisition’ of Thomson Correctional Center, a maximum-security prison about 150 miles north-west of Chicago, to house prisoners from Guantanamo...

http://www.fff.org/comment/com0912h.asp



Guantanamo prison may “have” to stay open until 2011

Houston Chronicle

12/23/09

President Barack Obama’s commitment to close the U.S. detention center at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, by next month may be delayed until 2011 because it will take months for the government to buy an Illinois prison and upgrade it to hold suspected terrorists. The drawn-out construction timetable shows the political risk of Obama’s pledge, a delay that could even be extended by congressional opposition to funding the purchase and upgrades for the Thomson Correctional Center, an underused state facility about 150 miles west of Chicago...

http://tinyurl.com/ygbsu7d


Informant: Thomas L. Knapp

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Obama Could Solve The Gitmo Closure Problem; Try Suspects In Civilian Court, Or Release
http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2009/12/23-5



http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Obama
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The defense spending bill covers Pentagon operations through September 2010 for the passed by a vote of 395 to 34. It allots USD 128.3 billion directly to military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan.

http://snipurl.com/tq4va



Roll Call: How the House voted on a $636 billion defense bill

The 395-34 roll call Wednesday by which the House passed a $636 billion defense bill that includes funds for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and provides a 3.4 percent pay hike for military personnel.

http://www.courant.com/news/politics/sns-ap-us-house-rollcall-defense,0,1561933,full.story


From Information Clearing House



http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=spending+bill
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=defense+bill

By Andy Sullivan

The U.S. government must craft a plan next year to get its ballooning debt under control or face possible panic in financial markets, a bipartisan panel of budget experts said.

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article24206.htm



How Banks Fleece the Unemployed

By Barbara Koeppel

December 16, 2009 "Consortiumnews" -- While posting breathtaking profits in the last two quarters - Wells Fargo's $3.2 billion, Citigroup's $3 billion and Chase's $2.7 billion - U.S. banks have figured out a way to squeeze some extra dollars from those who can least afford it, the unemployed.

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article24199.htm



US House Passes Pro-Wall Street Banking Bill

By Barry Grey

Wall Street lawyers have helped draft the details of the House bill in closed-door meetings, while Obama and his top economic advisers have conferred repeatedly with the CEOs of the most powerful firms.

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article24204.htm



Congress set to raise borrowing limit by $2 trillion to $14 trillion

With the economy growing only sluggishly and Congress spending heavily on economic stimulus, two wars and extended unemployment benefits, the nation is running a deficit that hit a record $1.4 trillion in the latest fiscal year, adding to the national debt.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/34420565/ns/business-personal_finance/



U.S. gave up billions in tax money in deal for Citigroup's bailout repayment

The federal government quietly agreed to forgo billions of dollars in potential tax payments from Citigroup as part of the deal announced this week to wean the company from the massive taxpayer bailout that helped it survive the financial crisis.

http://snipurl.com/tq4wf



Obama holds stage-managed meeting with Wall Street bankers

The true nature of the event was not lost on its attendees. "It's a PR [public relations] stunt," an unnamed CEO flatly told Time magazine prior to the meeting.

http://www.wsws.org/articles/2009/dec2009/bank-d15.shtml



Growing Up Empty: The Hunger Epidemic in America

Most Americans may find it hard to accept that millions in this nation are suffering from hunger -- an affliction most often associated with war-torn Africa or flood-ravaged Bengal.

http://motherjones.com/media/2002/11/growing-empty-hunger-epidemic-america


From Information Clearing House



http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Obama
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=financial+crisis
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=financial+market
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=deficit
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=debt
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=bailout
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=stimulus
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Wall+Street
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Citigroup
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=taxpayer
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=unemploy
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Barbara+Koeppel
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Barry+Grey

By Cesar Chelala

More than one out of every five children are dead by the time they are five.
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article24201.htm



http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Afghanistan
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=casualties
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Cesar+Chelala

Statement Opposing the Iran Refined Petroleum Sanctions Act

By Ron Paul

Mr. Speaker, I am concerned that many of my colleagues opposing war on Iran will vote in favor of this legislation, seeing it as a step short of war to bring Iran into line with US demands. I would remind them that sanctions and the blockades that are required to enforce them are themselves acts of war according to international law.

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article24198.htm

--------

Leaking of dubious document spurs new wave of anti-Iran propaganda
http://www.ufppc.org/us-a-world-news-mainmenu-35/9223/



http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Ron+Paul
http://freepage.twoday.net/topics/Is+Iran+next/

http://groups.google.com/group/omeganews/t/4f44a7e42e237082?hl=de



http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=vaccin
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=swine+flu
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=bird+flu
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Novartis
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Baxter

http://www.lewrockwell.com/schiff/schiff63.1.html

Gulf Petro-Powers to Launch Currency in Latest Threat to Dollar Hegemony
http://www.lewrockwell.com/orig10/evans-pritchard15.html

Moody's Warns of 'Social Unrest’ as Sovereign Debt Spirals
http://www.lewrockwell.com/spl/moody-social-unrest.html



http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=U.S.+Economy
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=debt
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=currency
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=social+unrest
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=evans-pritchard
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Peter+Schiff
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=/schiff
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Jennifer+Schonberger

The real person of the year, Ron Paul, puts the record straight

Steve Watson
Infowars.net
Wednesday, Dec 16, 2009

Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke has been named TIME person of the year for 2009 and hailed as a saviour when in the real world he has overseen the worsening of the financial crisis, the looting of the American economy by foreign offshore banks and the destruction of the Dollar.

http://www.infowars.net/articles/december2009/161209Bernanke.htm

--------

The Most Powerful Man in the World
http://www.lewrockwell.com/spl/rp-bernanke-person-of-the-year.html

NIA Names Bernanke Villain of the Year 2009
http://www.lewrockwell.com/pr/nia-bernanke-villain.html

Few Cheers on Capitol Hill for Time's Ben Bernanke Pick
http://www.lewrockwell.com/spl/bernanke-rewarding-failure.html

Can Bernanke's Re-Coronation Be Blocked?
http://www.lewrockwell.com/spl/can-bernanke-be-blocked.html

SHTF: When the Rubber Dollar Hits Dr. Ben’s Helicopter
http://www.lewrockwell.com/calderwood/calderwood42.1.html

--------

Bernanke: Time's Man of the Year

Robert Borosage, The Campaign for America's Future: "Time Magazine's naming Ben Bernanke 'Man of the Year' is a little bit like celebrating an arsonist for his heroics in putting out a fire that he set. Bernanke has done creative and bold work in staving off a financial free fall. But he would also be on any list of the 10 people most responsible for creating the free fall."

http://www.truthout.org/topstories/121709vh2



http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=financial+crisis
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Bernanke
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Ron+Paul
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Federal+Reserve
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Sudeep+Reddy
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Jordan+Fabian
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=/calderwood
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Victoria+McGrane
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Robert+Borosage

- Relay antennas: "Bouygues Telecom sets its own standard: 20 V/m"
- 16 December 2009: Public Health and Electrosmog IMPORTANT WARNING

http://www.next-up.org/France/Bouygues_Telecom.php#1

http://www.paltelegraph.com/columnists/peter-eyre/3125-the-weapons-used-in-iraq-afghanistan-have-far-reaching-effects


Informant: Dorothee Krien



http://omega.twoday.net/topics/Depleted+Uranium+Poisoning+%28D.U.%29/

http://www.thenhf.com/vaccinations/vac_299.htm

Novartis Is Celebrating, Should We?
http://www.rense.com/general88/celeb.htm

BIG PHARMA’S CRIME SPREE
http://www.ahrp.org/cms/content/view/653/9/



Informant: Dorothee Krien



http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=swine+flu
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=H1N1
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=vaccin
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Big+Pharma
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Novartis
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Sherri+Tenpenny

http://www.organicconsumers.org/articles/article_19777.cfm


Informant: Dorothee Krien

--------

One million signatures for banning GMOs in Europe
http://www.i-sis.org.uk/banningGMOsInEuropePetition.php



http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=GMOs
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=contamination

fair-News.de (Pressemitteilung) Das Ergebnis: Einen Grenzwert für die "Verträglichkeit radioaktiver Strahlung" gibt es nicht. Bei der Auswertung umfangreichen Datenmaterials aus ...

http://www.fair-news.de/news/Atomkraftwerke+sind+Klima-Verheizer+und+Strahlenschleudern/42275.html

--------

Kohle- und Atomkraftwerke gehören zu Deutschlands größten Stromverbrauchern

http://www.heise.de/tp/blogs/2/147232



http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Atomkraftwerk

Crewe Chronicle

ANGRY campaigners have vowed to fight another bid by a mobile phone giant to put up a communications mast just yards from Pear Tree Primary School at ...

http://www.crewechronicle.co.uk/crewe-news/local-crewe-news/2009/12/16/stapeley-protesters-rally-against-phone-mast-proposal-96135-25397707/



http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=school+mast

http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2009/12/18-11

Civil Society Comes Together for 'Vigil of Survival'
http://www.commondreams.org/video/2009/12/18-2

Obama's Speech Disappoints and Fuels Frustration at Copenhagen
http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2009/12/18-0

Obama's Climate Sham[e]: Empty Rhetoric in Copenhagen Speech
http://www.commondreams.org/view/2009/12/18-5

Reaction to Obama Copenhagen Speech
http://www.commondreams.org/newswire/2009/12/18-5

Real People Will Pay Price of a Copenhagen Stalemate
http://www.commondreams.org/view/2009/12/18-3

Friends of the Earth - International: Copenhagen: A Disaster for World's Poorest
http://www.commondreams.org/newswire/2009/12/18-15

Report: Biodiversity Loss Puts Essentials of Life Under Threat
http://act.commondreams.org/go/549?akid=53.124981.qhE2Fd&t=4

--------

Fury and denunciation greet insubstantial climate accord in Copenhagen
http://www.ufppc.org/us-a-world-news-mainmenu-35/9230/

Democracy later, because climate change is too serious and humans too dumb?
http://www.ufppc.org/us-a-world-news-mainmenu-35/9497/

--------

More Old Forests, Less Industrial Agriculture, Key to Climate, Food and Water

ACTION ALERT

PLEASE SHARE WIDELY!

By ClimateArk Climate Change Portal http://www.climateark.org/ - a project of Ecological Internet December 16, 2009

Securing world food security while maintaining operable forests, global climate, water, ocean and terrestrial ecosystems – and human rights, justice and equity – is the biggest challenge facing humanity. Water and food are the next bubbles to burst -- expect severe shortages of both in the 2010s. It is long past time to get back to the land through protecting and restoring old forests and organic permaculture farming. Our survival depends upon being with land, collecting water, letting forests age and growing food.

TAKE ACTION HERE NOW: http://www.climateark.org/shared/alerts/send.aspx?id=protect_old_forests

Today industrial-style agriculture uses huge amounts of water, energy, and chemicals – replacing natural terrestrial ecosystems with toxic monocultures; while poisoning and displacing local peoples. Farms are large, highly specialized, and run like factories with large inputs of fossil fuels from pesticides, other synthetic chemicals and transportation fuels. Land degradation — the decline in the quality of soil, water and vegetation — is of profound importance for any serious negotiations upon climate change. A new study finds that 24% of the Earth‘s land is degrading, some of it formerly quite productive. Large scale biofuel/biomass production – particularly promoting monoculture tree plantations within the context of Copenhagen “solutions” – runs counter to urgently addressing climate change and threatens to cause more deforestation, human rights abuses, and degradation of soil, water and biodiversity. All biofuels based upon industrial agricultural practices worsen climate change and ecologically diminish soils and ecosystems, drive food prices up, and force more people worldwide into hunger and malnutrition. It is time to transform agriculture into an ecologically sustainable enterprise, based on systems which can be employed for centuries. To reduce the pressures upon the land and allow forests to undergo succession, we must promote organic, permaculture, low impact agriculture, agro-forest and other agro-ecological systems to meet human food needs, including major reduction in meat consumption. And protecting and restoring old forests where they historically occurred is vital as well.

MORE INFORMATION AND TAKE ACTION NOW:
http://www.climateark.org/shared/alerts/send.aspx?id=protect_old_forests

DISCUSS THIS ALERT: http://www.climateark.org/blog/



http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Obama
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Copenhagen
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=old+forest
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=George+Monbiot
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Suzanne+Goldenberg
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Allegra+Stratton
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Jamie+Henn
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=James+Lovelock

http://www.commondreams.org/view/2009/12/15-8

No War, but No Peace
http://www.commondreams.org/view/2009/12/15-0

Oxfam International: Climate Change Undermining Human Rights on an Unprecedented Scale
http://www.commondreams.org/newswire/2009/12/15-10



http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=George+Monbiot
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=David+Chater

http://thehill.com/blogs/e2-wire/677-e2-wire/71031-salazar-green-lights-shells-controversial-alaska-drilling


Informant: radtimes



http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Salazar
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Shell+oil
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Alaska
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=drilling

Palin's Climate "Epiphany"

Eugene Robinson: "Sarah Palin is such a cold-eyed skeptic about the Copenhagen summit on climate change that it's no surprise she would call on President Obama not to attend. After all, Obama might join other leaders in acknowledging that warming is a 'global challenge.' He might entertain 'opportunities to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.' He might even explore ways to 'participate in carbon-trading markets.'"

http://www.truthout.org/1215094



Palin the Pundit

William Rivers Pitt, Truthout: "Dealing with Sarah Palin, in the immortal words of Pee Wee Herman, is like unraveling a giant cable-knit sweater that someone just keeps knitting, and knitting and knitting. There is no end to it, no bottom to this ocean of idiocy, as evidenced by the latest iteration of the Palin phenomenon: out of the cold, clear blue sky, the former Alaska governor and internationally-renowned dunderhead, has declared herself an expert on global climate change in general, and on the Copenhagen summit in particular."

http://www.truthout.org/1218091



Roguishly Rouge: A Review of "Going Rouge: Sarah Palin - American Nightmare" Entirely in Quotes

Leslie Thatcher, Truthout Book Review: "I am having Sarah Palin nightmares. Few things draw in readers and garner clicks more reliably than articles (or, even better, pictures) of Sarah Palin. We can't look away. Like everyone else, I can barely take the waves of embarrassment that come from watching someone do something so badly. My cringe reflex is exhausted."

http://www.truthout.org/1223093



A Peek Inside Sarah Palin's Diary

Bernard Weiner, Truthout: "Dear Diary: It's been helter-skelter around here these days. Actually, there is no 'here.' I'm on the road every day, mostly at book signings for 'Going Rogue.' Turns out I'm real popular in the real America. You betcha."

http://www.truthout.org/1226091



Palin Failed to Lead on Oil and Gas Safety in Alaska

Dahr Jamail, Truthout: "There have been several recent oil spills and other environmental problems linked to the oil/gas production industry in Alaska. On December 23, a tugboat hit the Bligh Reef, the same reef struck by the Exxon Valdez 20 years ago. The recent grounding may have caused as much as 33,500 gallons of diesel fuel to spill into Prince William Sound."

http://www.truthout.org/105093

--------

Why I don’t write about Sarah Palin’s Facebook posts

Washington Independent
by David Weigel

12/23/09

The problem is that Palin has put the political press in a submissive position, one in which the only information it prints about her comes from prepared statements or from Q&As with friendly interviewers. This isn’t something most politicians get away with, or would be allowed to get away with. But Palin has leveraged her celebrity — her ability to get ratings, the ardor of her fans and the bitterness of her critics — to win a truly unique relationship with the press. She is allowed to shape the public debate without actually engaging in it...

http://tinyurl.com/yet3gwb



Palin rewrites history on “death panels”

Salon
by Alex Koppelman

12/23/09

Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin just can’t let go of her ‘death panels’ myth. After getting back on the subject — which Politifact recently named ‘Lie of the Year’ — on Twitter, on Wednesday Palin’s Facebook page played host to yet another missive about it. This time, she sought to rewrite her own history, rather incredibly asserting that what she was referring to when she first mentioned ‘death panels’ was an advisory board she claims would lead to healthcare rationing...

http://tinyurl.com/yjtc7u8



Palin uses PAC to buy her own book

ABC News

02/01/10

Sarah Palin has been using her political action committee to buy up thousands of copies of her book, ‘Going Rogue,’ in order to mail copies of the memoir to her donors, newly filed campaign records show. The former Alaska governor and 2008 Republican vice presidential candidate had her political organization spend more than $63,000 on what her reports describe as ‘books for fundraising donor fulfillment.’ The payments went to Harper Collins, her publisher, and in some instances to HSP Direct, a Virginia-based direct mail fundraising firm that serves a number of well-known conservative politicians and pundits...

http://tinyurl.com/yehu3mq


Informant: Thomas L. Knapp

--------

Palin, Fox, 'Jesus on Acid' and the End of the World

By Frank Schaeffer

She's all for unbridled US military action. She's for this because theologically speaking the more war the better, at least in the Middle East. Jesus needs war to fulfill "prophecy" so he can "come back"!

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article24394.htm



http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Palin
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Eugene+Robinson
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=William+Rivers+Pitt
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Leslie+Thatcher
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=David+Weigel
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Alex+Koppelman
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Bernard+Weiner
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Dahr+Jamail
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Frank+Schaeffer

Le Monde (Translation: Leslie Thatcher): "A study published in the International Journal of Biological Sciences demonstrates the toxicity of three genetically modified corn varieties from the American seed company Monsanto, the Committee for Independent Research and Information on Genetic Engineering (Criigen, based in Caen), which participated in that study, announced Friday, December 11."

http://www.truthout.org/1215091



Three Approved GMO's Linked to Organ Damage

Rady Ananda, Truthout: "In what is being described as the first ever and most comprehensive study of the effects of genetically modified foods on mammalian health, researchers have linked organ damage with consumption of Monsanto's GM maize."

http://www.truthout.org/article/three-approved-gmos-linked-organ-damage

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The Health Hazards of GM Corn

Video: The Health Hazards of GM Corn A study demonstrates the toxicity of genetically modified corn, which shows that it is neither sufficiently healthy nor proper to be commercialized.

http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2010/01/09/GM-Corn-Poses-Health-Hazard.aspx

--------

Health Scandal: Monsanto’s GMO Perversion of Food

by Byron Richards

In the 2010 growing season Monsanto plans to unleash its latest Frankenfood experiment on the American and Canadian public, a new version of genetically mutated corn with eight abnormal gene traits called Genuity SmartStax corn. It is the culmination of an astonishing scandal that has been steadily building over the past decade. During this time Monsanto’s mutated seeds have grown to 90% of the U.S. soy crop and 85% of the corn crop – and wheat is next on their agenda. Their efforts have been marked by.....

http://www.newswithviews.com/Richards/byron189.htm

--------

MONSANTO: PUBLIC ENEMY NUMBER ONE
http://tinyurl.com/ydu59cr

Monsanto: The World's Poster Child for Corporate Manipulation and Deceit
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jeffrey-smith/monsanto-the-worlds-poste_b_427035.html


Informant: Dorothee Krien



http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=GMOs
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=GM+maize
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=genetical+modified
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Frankenfood
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Monsanto
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Rady+Ananda
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=/byron

ALBA alliance forgoes US dollar

The member nations of the Bolivarian Alliance for the Americas, ALBA, have decided to give up the US dollar in trading between them. They will instead use the sucre conventional monetary unit.

http://english.ruvr.ru/2009/12/14/3024295.html



Gulf nations sign monetary pact

Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar and Saudi Arabia signed and ratified the pact on Tuesday, which will see them work towards setting up a joint central bank and implementing a single currency.

http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2009/12/20091215165750877447.html



US joblessness cripples Americans: poll

With unemployment driving foreclosures nationwide, a quarter of those polled said they had either lost their home or been threatened with foreclosure or eviction for not paying their mortgage or rent.

http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=113777&sectionid=3510203



The Decline: The Geography of a Recession

Watch the deteriorating transformation of the U.S. economy from January 2007 -- approximately one year before the start of the recession -- to the most recent unemployment data available today.



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RrP9qJmjIsA


From Information Clearing House



http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=U.S.+economy
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=recession
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=currency
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=foreclosure
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=mortgage
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=jobless
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=unemploy

Faith-Based Intelligence

Talk by Ray McGovern, 27-year Veteran of the CIA and co-founder of Veteran Intelligence Professionals for Sanity (VIPS).

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article24185.htm



Manufacturing Consent For Attack On Iran

US to drill Iranian attack scenario

A top Pentagon official said Monday that a US missile defense drill would simulate an Iranian attack - a departure from the usual scenario of a North Korean attack - according to Reuters.

http://snipurl.com/tplbd



Syria will defend Iran if Israel attacks

If Israel does attack Iran's nuclear facilities, it will undoubtedly result in a regional war after Iran and Syria signed a mutual defense agreement on Sunday.

http://www.israeltoday.co.il/default.aspx?tabid=178&nid=20166


From Information Clearing House



http://freepage.twoday.net/topics/Is+Iran+next/
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Manufacturing+Consent+For+Attack+On+Iran
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Syria
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=VIPS
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Ray+McGovern

UK government's former chief scientific adviser says Iraq war was about oil, not weapons of mass destruction - and warns there will be more 'resource wars' to come.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2009/feb/12/king-iraq-resources-war


From Information Clearing House

The Pentagon's 2010 budget request called for $534 billion, plus $130 billion to cover the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. It did not include the estimated $30 billion that will be needed to fund President Barack Obama's recent decision to send 30,000 more troops to Afghanistan.

http://www.defensenews.com/story.php?i=4416755


From Information Clearing House



http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Obama
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=DoD
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Afghanistan

http://www.ufppc.org/us-a-world-news-mainmenu-35/9221/

--------

Obama's Afghan Surge Will Rely Heavily On Private Contractors Mercenaries

As President Obama's escalation of the war in Afghanistan unfolds, the number of contractors will likely jump by between 16,000 and 56,000, adding up to a total of 120,000-160,000, according to an updated study from the Congressional Research Service.

http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2009/12/afghanistan_contractors_new_congressional_study.php



Congressman Grayson and Afghanistan Veterans Urge Congress Not to Fund Troop Surge

Congressman Grayson said, "The goals of expelling al-Qaeda and overthrowing the Taliban were accomplished years ago. The notion that an increase of 30,000 troops is necessary to ensure America's security is absurd.
http://www.commondreams.org/newswire/2009/12/15-9



Rep. Alan Grayson Reads Petition from 100,000 People

End the War Now



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ka55UikRrU&feature=player_embedded#


From Information Clearing House

--------

Report Reveals Scope of Government Contracting

Yana Kunichoff, Truthout: "According to a new government report, more than 50 percent of the Department of Defense workforces are military contractors and the Obama administration's troop surge in Afghanistan is set to only increase these numbers."

http://www.truthout.org/1217094



http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Obama
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Alan+Grayson
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=DoD
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Afghanistan
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=veterans
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=contractor
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=mercenaries
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=al-Qaeda
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Taliban
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Walter+Pincus
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Yana+Kunichoff

By Alex Hannaford

What has the most unpopular US President of all time been doing during his first year of retirement?

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article24190.htm



Unbearable Lightness of Obama

The Audacity of Retrenchment

By Robert S. Becker

How can the Obama who won the election, and the Peace Prize, by being not-Bush, match W.'s impulse to detach, delegate and default? And the final puzzle: how did a dense, inarticulate bully command his bully pulpit while the infinitely more articulate, tolerant newcomer fails to frame, let alone command key debates?

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article24193.htm



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By Chris Floyd
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article24194.htm



Father of Soldier Killed in Iraq Responds to Blair's BBC Interview

There is no one more qualified than Reg Keys -- whose son Tom was killed in Iraq -- to comment on Tony Blair's admission to the BBC that, if he hadn't used the non-existent weapons of mass destruction to justify a war crime, he would have found another "argument" -- that is, another lie.

Blair, Obama and the Narcissist's Defense
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article24208.htm



War Crime Case Against Tony Blair Now Rock-solid

A trial would be warmly welcomed by millions - so what happens next?

By Neil Clark

Going to war to change another country's regime is prohibited by international law, while the Nuremburg judgment of 1946 laid down that "to initiate a war of aggression", as Blair and Bush clearly did against Iraq, "is the supreme international crime, differing only from other war crimes in that it contains within itself the accumulated evil of the whole".

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article24207.htm



Is Blair trying to cash in on climate change?

Ex-PM arrives at summit to urge greenhouse gas deal.
http://snipurl.com/tqnln



Mystery of Tony Blair's money solved

A little-known loophole in UK company law is being used by Tony Blair to keep his finances secret, the Guardian can disclose.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2009/dec/17/mystery-tony-blairs-money-solved



Tony Blair's £1m-a-year paymaster seeks giant Iraqi oil deal

A Middle Eastern investment fund that pays Tony Blair about £1m a year as an international adviser is in talks to develop one of Iraq's biggest oilfields.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/iraq/article6973974.ece



Revealed: Jack Straw's Secret Warning to Tony Blair on Iraq

By Michael Smith

The document begins in a way that now appears eerily prophetic: "The rewards from your visit to Crawford will be few ... there is at present no majority inside the PLP [parliamentary Labour party] for any military action against Iraq."

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article24415.htm



Blair's £200,000 hedge fund pay-day

Tony Blair is to be paid at least £200,000 by a City firm accused of profiteering from the financial crisis that brought Britain's banks to their knees.

http://snipurl.com/u78rw


From Information Clearing House

--------

What Happens When We Can't Trust the Verifiers?

David Sirota: "This month, a British government report admitted that one of the major rationales for invading Iraq - the claim that Saddam could deploy WMDs in 45 minutes - probably came from a cab driver. Had the public originally been told about this sketchy sourcing, there may have been a more, ahem, forceful mass opposition to pre-emptive war in the Middle East. It's a good lesson about the need for transparency."

http://www.truthout.org/topstories/122609vh1

--------

The Nuremberg defense

Ayn R. Key
by Ayn R. Key

04/17/10

[T]he first line agents, the police for example, are only following orders and did not originate the command that ultimately results in a violation of rights. Their supervisors only gave the orders and neither originated the laws that resulted in the orders nor actually implemented the orders. The ultimate source of the laws, the politicians, neither give the orders nor obey the orders. All three links in the chain have found a way to absolve themselves of responsibility. All three of them are invoking a form of the Nuremberg defense...

http://aynrkey.blogspot.com/2010/04/nuremberg-defense.html


Informant: Thomas L. Knapp



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Over 6,600 Uninsured Veterans Will Die by 2013: Estimate

By Brad Jacobson

Even more shocking is that these are modest estimates.
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article24189.htm



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Propaganda, Destruction, and Madness

By Ali Jawad

As soon as the greatest military force in history stepped foot on Arabia - adamant to grab the will of Providence by the collar - flashpoints began to spark up left, right and centre. The scars and pains of millions were not to distract the emblem of freedom from its historic mission.

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article24187.htm



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