World-News

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


Informant: Dorothee Krien

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.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



http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Obama
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=healthcare
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=bankster
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=bank+failure
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Citigroup
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=corporate+greed
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=bankruptcies
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=foreclosure
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=homeowner
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Thom+Hartmann
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Cesar+Chelala
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Shamus+Cooke
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Michael+Winship
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Peter+Schiff
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=/schiff
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Matthew+Rothschild

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
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=MI5
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Binyam+Mohamed
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Shaker+Aamer
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=torture
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=detention
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=detainee
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=abuse
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=interrogat
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Andy+Worthington
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Stephen+Rohde
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Richard+Norton-Taylor

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
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=ACLU
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Guantanamo
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Gitmo
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=detention
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=detainee
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=torture
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=lawless+policies
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=national+security
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Mary+Susan+Littlepage
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Paul+Craig+Roberts
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Andy+Worthington
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=David+Dayen

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

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