Breaking News and Commentary

FBI offered me $4m: Lockerbie bomb witness 06 Oct 2007 A witness in the Lockerbie case has claimed he was offered $4 million (£2 million) by American investigators to lie to the trial judges. Edwin Bollier, head of the Swiss company MEBO that was said to have manufactured the timer used to detonate the Pan Am bomb, claims he was offered the money by the FBI at its Washington HQ in exchange for making a statement that supported the main line of inquiry - that Libya was responsible for the bombing.

Lockerbie evidence withheld from defence 02 Oct 2007 Fresh doubt has been cast over the conviction of the Lockerbie bomber after it emerged a document containing vital evidence about the bomb timer has never been shown to the defence. The Scotsman has learned that the failure to disclose the classified document, which concerns the supply of timers identical to the one said to have been used to blow up Pan Am Flight 103, led a review body that examined the case against Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed al-Megrahi to conclude a miscarriage of justice may have occurred.

Iraqis Say U.S. Targeted Civilians in Air Attack (AP) 05 Oct 2007 U.S. airstrikes killed at least 25 people Friday after troops met a fierce barrage... The military described the dead as fighters, but village leaders said the victims included children and men protecting their homes. In a separate incident, the U.S. military said it was investigating the deaths of three civilians shot by American sentries near an Iraqi-manned checkpoint. Iraqi officials said the victims were U.S.-allied guards and were 'mistakenly' targeted.

U.S. Confiscates AP Footage At Scene of Bloody Baghdad Bombing 03 Oct 2007 A daring ambush of bombs and gunfire left Poland's ambassador pinned down in a burning vehicle Wednesday before being pulled to safety and airlifted in a rescue mission by the embattled security firm [mercenaries] Blackwater USA. At least three people were killed, including a Polish bodyguard.

Rare march in Baghdad against new U.S. wall 06 Oct 2007 More than a thousand Iraqis marched in west Baghdad on Saturday in a rare public demonstration to protest against a wall they say the U.S. military is planning to erect around their neighbourhood. Carrying an Iraqi national flag and banners condemning the wall the marchers in the predominantly Shi'ite district of al-Washash chanted "No, no to the wall. No, no to America."

Iran has 43 cholera cases mainly near Iraq-report 06 Oct 2007 Iran said on Saturday it had 43 cholera cases, four times more than previously announced, and added they were mostly near Iraq where there has been an outbreak of the disease, an Iranian news agency reported.

Iran says oilfields 'too attractive' for France to quit 06 Oct 2007 Iran on Saturday rejected the possibility of a French investors' pullout of its oil and gas sector amid calls by Paris for tougher sanctions on Tehran over its nuclear programme, the ISNA news agency reported. "Iran's resources and market are too attractive for the French to give up," deputy oil minister Gholam Hossein Nozari said.

French diplomat summoned to Foreign Ministry 06 Oct 2007 On Wednesday, the Foreign Ministry summoned French charge d’affaires Jean Graebling to protest over remarks by French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner claiming Tehran could be seeking nuclear bomb. The Foreign Ministry Director for West European Affairs noted that France’s stance ran counter to Tehran’s agreement with the International Atomic Energy Agency on a timetable to answer outstanding questions about its nuclear activities.

Congress passes bill to govern private armies 06 Oct 2007 Despite strong opposition from the Bush regime, the House of Representatives has overwhelmingly approved a Bill that would make Blackwater and other private security contractors [mercenaries] in Iraq and other countries subject to US law.

Fired Blackwater mercenary found more work 05 Oct 2007 A senior House Democrat says the State Department may have withheld critical information from the Pentagon about a fired Blackwater USA terrorist. It's a misstep that may have allowed the man to find work in the Middle East two months after he allegedly killed an Iraqi security worker.

I survived Blackwater --A former U.S. official received the security company's services -- and witnessed its disregard for Iraqi lives. By Janessa Gans 06 Oct 2007 When the Iraqi government last month demanded the expulsion of Blackwater USA, the private security firm, I had one reaction: It's about time... The poor Iraqi driver frantically searched for a means of escape, but there was none. So the lead Blackwater vehicle smashed heedlessly into the car, pushing it into the barrier. We zoomed by too quickly to notice if anyone was hurt. Until that point I had never mentioned anything to my drivers about their tactics, but this time I could not contain myself. "Where do you all expect them to go?" I shrieked. "It was an old guy and a family, for goodness' sake. Was it necessary for them to destroy their poor old car?"

GI to her family: Ask many questions if I die; 'I made some enemies,' Durkin said 03 Oct 2007 Ciara Durkin was home on leave last month and expressed a concern to her family in Quincy: If something happens to me in Afghanistan, don’t let it go without an investigation. Durkin, 30, a specialist with a Massachusetts National Guard finance battalion, was found dead last week near a church at the Bagram Airfield in Afghanistan. She had been shot once in the head, the Army says.

Answers sought in death of soldier --Carmel woman says military didn't treat her son's injuries from explosion properly 06 Oct 2007 The mother of a Carmel soldier who died last month after being caught in an explosion in Iraq is upset about the treatment he received from the Army. Kay McMullen believes that Sgt. Gerald J. Cassidy's injuries never were treated properly.

Federal judge tells military to halt Watada court-martial 06 Oct 2007 The fate of 1st Lt. Ehren Watada, the first Army officer to face prison for refusing to deploy to Iraq, might be decided by a civilian judge rather than a military jury. In a rare, last-minute move, U.S. District Court Judge Benjamin Settle on Friday put Watada's Tuesday court-martial on hold. In the weeks ahead, Settle will decide whether this second trial should proceed, or be quashed as a violation of the officer's constitutional rights that protect against double jeopardy, or being tried twice for the same crime.

Guantánamo Prosecutor Quits in Pentagon Clash 06 Oct 2007 In the latest disruption of the Bush regime’s plan to try prisoners at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, for 'war crimes,' the chief military prosecutor on the project stepped down yesterday after a dispute with a Pentagon official. The prosecutor, Col. Morris D. Davis of the Air Force, was to leave his position immediately, a Defense Department spokeswoman said. Colonel Davis filed a complaint against General Hartmann with Pentagon officials this fall saying that the general had exceeded his authority and created a conflict of interest by asserting control over the prosecutor's office.

Bush denies CIA torture of suspects --Justice Department memos sanction disputed techniques such as simulated drowning. 06 Oct 2007 President [sic] Bush on Friday defended the CIA's harsh interrogation of terrorism suspects, saying its methods do not constitute torture and are necessary to protect America from attack. But Bush's declaration that the United States "does not torture people" did little to dampen the fallout from fresh evidence that his regime has used secret legal memos to sanction tactics that stretch, if not circumvent, the law.

Bush defends CIA detentions, says no torture 05 Oct 2007 Dictator George W. Bush on Friday defended the CIA's secret detention of terrorism suspects overseas and said interrogations were conducted by trained professionals who did not use torture. Bush made the comments amid disclosures that the Justice Department in 2005 had secretly endorsed harsh interrogation techniques [torture] such as simulated drowning, and that the CIA was again holding prisoners at "black sites" overseas.

East London Muslims Caged Guantanamo-Style 05 Oct 2007 Two British Muslims are locked-up in a cage, chained and hooded for 6 days and nights without basic amenities and comfort in a busy traffic junction corner on the Whitechapel Road (East London) ... Hidden Detainees, the organisers behind the event, hope to recreate the barbaric conditions of the Guantanamo Bay (Camp X-Ray) camp in Cuba, where over 775 suspects from around the world were illegally held as part of America’s 'War on Terror'.

Court blocks Musharraf's path to re-election as Pakistani president --Vote to proceed but judges delay result declaration --Ruling may result in general's disqualification 06 Oct 2007 Pakistan's supreme court kept General Pervez Musharraf on tenterhooks yesterday by allowing him to contest today's presidential election but denying him a widely expected victory.

Boycotts and Legal Fight Cloud Victory for Musharraf 06 Oct 2007 Gen. Pervez Musharraf easily 'won' the presidential election on Saturday, but an opposition boycott and pending hearings in the Supreme Court, which still has to decide on his eligibility to run for election in uniform, left him with an incomplete victory.

US searches for new 'anti'-drug air base 05 Oct 2007 The United States is moving cautiously to find a new air base for 'anti'-drug surveillance in South America in the face of vocal opposition to the idea in Peru and Colombia.

Bird flu virus mutates into a strain more infectious to humans 06 Oct 2007 The bird flu virus H5N1 has mutated into a form that makes it more infectious to humans, increasing the risk of a human pandemic, researchers have found. Scientists are agreed that, even if the H5N1 strain does not cause a human pandemic, it is likely that a future [US Army-created] strain will do so. [See: Scientists recreate 1918 flu virus 17 Jan 2007 and Killer flu recreated in the lab07 Oct 2004.]

FCC won't probe disclosure of phone records 05 Oct 2007 The head of the U.S. Federal Communications Commission declined to investigate reports that phone companies turned over customer records to the National Security Agency, citing 'national security' concerns, according to documents released on Friday.

Microsoft-loving (former) security czar calls for closed internet By Cade Metz 02 Oct 2007 Richard Clarke, the man who served President [sic] Bush as a special adviser for cyber security, has a five-point plan for saving the internet. Speaking at a Santa Clara University conference dedicated to "trust online," Clarke... laid out several means of righting the ship, including biometric IDs, government regulation, and an industry wide standard for secure software. He even embraces the idea of a closed internet - which seems to have sparked a death threat from net pioneer Vint Cerf.

SWAT-like inspections of juvenile facilities ordered 05 Oct 2007 Burned by substandard conditions at a privately run West Texas youth prison, Texas Youth Commission officials on Thursday ordered a special inspection of 17 other contract-care programs — the second such SWAT-like sweep of agency sites to curb potential abuse in seven months. The move came as Senate Criminal Justice Committee Chairman John Whitmire, D-Houston, announced a Senate investigation of all state corrections contracts held by Geo Group Inc., which until Monday ran the controversial West Texas lockup in Coke County, between Abilene and San Angelo.

Alleged Haggard Escort: 'Sen. Craig Visited Me' --'I've been with many politicians and all I can tell you is for a fact, that Larry Craig is a hypocrite.' 05 Oct 2007 The male escort responsible for the downfall of Christian evangelist leader Ted Haggard is now alleging that embattled Senator Larry Craig also came to see him. While promoting his new book during a radio interview with KNWQ-AM in Palm Springs Wednesday night, Mike Jones hesitated from making the allegation on the air. Jones is not alleging that he has had sex with Senator Craig but that he is alleging the senator came to see him.

Federal Prosecutor Accused In Sex Sting Commits Suicide 05 Oct 2007 John D.R. Atchison, the federal prosecutor who was arrested in an Internet sex sting after he allegedly traveled to Michigan from Florida to have sex with a 5-year-old girl, hanged himself in a Michigan federal prison Friday morning. Atchison, 53, of Pensacola, Fla., was put on suicide watch after he used a bed sheet in an attempted suicide in September.

Romney Is His Own Biggest Campaign Donor [That's because no one else can stand him, let alone contribute to his 'campaign.'] 05 Oct 2007 Mitt Romney is his presidential campaign's most generous supporter, lending $17.5 million from his personal fortune so far. His Republican rivals are bracing themselves for him to do it again. And again.

EPA OKs 1-year use of pesticide 06 Oct 2007 The Environmental Protection Agency gave the go-ahead for one-year use of a new agricultural pesticide Friday, saying its own scientific review overrides concerns expressed by more than 50 chemists and other scientists. [Spray it on Bush for hours on end - since it's 'safe,' ]

Interior official backs Western drilling 05 Oct 2007 The Bush regime foresees no letup in the aggressive pace for Western oil and gas drilling, despite some voter backlash from people tired of seeing more and more rigs in their Rocky Mountain states.

Agriterrorists avoid lawsuits by shutting down - imprison them! Topps Meat Shutting Down After Recall 05 Oct 2007 Topps Meat Co. LLC, the meat company responsible for the second-largest beef recall in U.S. history, said Friday it will close its plant in Elizabeth, N.J., and go out of business, effective immediately. Investigators think 30 people may have been sickened in Indiana and seven other states.

Sam's Club recalls Cargill-made hamburgers in U.S. 06 Oct 2007 Sam's Club is pulling frozen hamburgers made by agribusiness giant Cargill Inc. from its stores shelves across the United States as Minnesota health officials investigate four cases of E. coli associated with the burgers.

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[Previous lead stories:] Congress Seeks Secret Memos On Interrogation 05 Oct 2007 Democratic lawmakers assailed the Justice Department yesterday for issuing secret memos that authorized harsh CIA interrogation techniques [torture], demanding that the Bush regime turn over the documents. But officials refused and said the tactics did not violate anti-torture laws.

Opening of US Embassy in Iraq Delayed 04 Oct 2007 The opening of a mammoth, $600 million U.S. Embassy in Baghdad, which had been planned for last month, has now been delayed well into next year, U.S. officials said Thursday. The Vatican-sized compound, which will be the world's largest diplomatic mission [KBR blow job], has been beset by construction and logistical problems.

Iraqi judge: Corruption undermines Iraq's government, threatens future 04 Oct 2007 Iraq's top corruption fighter, who's seeking U.S. asylum because of death threats against him, told a congressional panel Thursday that rising corruption cost Iraq $18 billion over the past three years, with enormous sums of oil revenues ending up in the hands of Sunni and Shiite militias.

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