Spanish judge starts Guantanamo torture probe
A Spanish judge has started a criminal investigation into suspected torture of detainees in the base at Guantanamo and said he would target both US military personnel and those who issued their orders.
U.S. Senate joins House in backing $3.4 trillion budget
The Democratic-controlled U.S. Senate on Wednesday voted to approve the $3.4 trillion fiscal 2010 budget compromise, wrapping up a big political victory for President Bara
The State and Piracy
By Joshua Katz
It seems that piracy has, as it did a couple centuries ago, surfaced once again near the top of the official "things to fear" list. Admittedly, I’m a bit late – as I write, it is being replaced by flu. It’s always important, not just to keep the population in a state of fear, but to keep changing the items to be feared. This way, people will not fix their fear on a particular item, and then relax when that item is no longer reported. The goal is to keep us in a constant state of fear and dependence.
Secession Is in Our Future
By Clifford F. Thies
he Declaration of Independence of the United States of America invokes the self-evident truths that all men are created equal and are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights, that governments are formed to protect these rights and gain their just powers from the consent of the governed, and that when a government becomes abusive of these rights, it is the right no, it is the duty of the people to alter or abolish that government.
Flu panic sweeps Texas; Fort Worth orders schools closed
The Fort Worth school district shut down all 144 of its campuses until at least May 8 shortly before the first Tarrant County case of swine flu was confirmed at one of its campuses late Wednesday.
The storm yet to come
By The Mogambo Guru
"Millions more consumers will freeze up as their finances go over the cliff ... more bank losses will drag down even more so-called 'blue chip' retirement portfolios ... and the impact of the consumer bust will get 'multiplied' yet again. Millions more Americans could lose everything."
WHO raises flu threat level
The World Health Organisation said on Wednesday the world is at the brink of a pandemic, raising its threat level as the swine flu virus spread and killed the first person outside of Mexico, a toddler in Texas.
Mexico to shut down government in flu fight
Mexico's government is suspending all nonessential activity of the federal government and private business as the number of confirmed swine flu cases jumped.
House passes hate crimes bill
The House of Representatives passed a bill Wednesday expanding federal protection against hate crimes to disability, gender, and
sexual orientation.
Evidence Growing That Goss Camp Is Behind Harman Leak?
There seems to be an emerging consensus among smart people covering the Jane-Harman/AIPAC case that the sources for CQ's original report -- which revealed that Rep. Harman had been heard on a wiretap discussing a quid pro quo with a suspected Israeli agent -- were aligned with Porter Goss, the former CIA director.
Experts Study Differences in Flu's Severity
Health authorities raced yesterday to unravel the many mysteries about the ominous new swine flu spreading around the world, including how widely the virus might cause the severe form of illness that so far has been restricted to the epicenter of the outbreak in Mexico.
First Mexico fatal flu victim sought help for days
The 39-year-old woman who was the first to die in Mexico's swine flu epidemic spent the last eight days of her life going from clinic to clinic to find out what was wrong with her but doctors were baffled.
Egypt slaughters pigs to stop flu
Egypt has begun a mass slaughter of thousands of pigs in an effort to prevent swine flu spreading.
Indonesia floats idea of man-made swine flu
As swine flu continues to take its toll, claims surface that the deadly four-part flu virus could have been created for "bio-terror attacks."
Parents upset over FEMA coloring book
A page showing fire, severe weather, and flooding, all disasters that can have an impact on a family, especially children. All of these disasters were featured in a coloring book on the Federal Emergency Management Agency's website, designed to help children cope with disasters.
Army Iraq War Verteran/Soldier beaten at McCarran Airport
An Iraqi War veteran says Metro officers beat him at McCarran International Airport. Action News has video of the alleged beating two months ago. National guard Sergeant Mark England says the officers beat him with a nightstick and shot him with a taser after an argument with TSA agents at the airport.
Oppose the Inter-American Arms Convention Treaty
By Warren Mass
Speaking to reporters while standing alongside Mexico’s President Felipe Calderon in Mexico City on April 16, President Barack Obama said he would push the U.S. Senate to ratify a treaty called the Inter-American Convention against the Illicit Manufacturing of and Trafficking in Firearms, Ammunition, Explosives and Other Related Materials.
Fed Is Said to Seek Capital for at Least Six Banks
At least six of the 19 largest U.S. banks require additional capital, according to preliminary results of government stress tests, people briefed on the matter said.
U.S. economy shrinks 6.1% in Q1
The U.S economy shrank at a greater-than-expected 6.1 percent, the second-consecutive quarter with a decline of more than 6 percent as the nation remains firmly in the grasp of the global recession.
Lebanon releases four generals after tribunal decision
Lebanon released Wednesday four Lebanese generals who were held for nearly four years without charges over the 2005 assassination of former prime minister Rafik Hariri, shortly after Daniel Fransen, pre-trial judge at the special tribunal for Lebanon, called for their freedom.
Supreme Court Rules that Government Can Fine for 'Fleeting Expletives'
The Supreme Court said yesterday that the Federal Communications Commission may penalize even the occasional use of certain expletives on the airwaves but left for another day the question of whether such a policy is constitutional.
FBI E-Mail Says Bush Authorized Abuse Of Iraqis
Senior FBI agents stationed in Iraq in 2004 claimed in an e-mail that President George W. Bush signed an executive order approving the use of military dogs, sleep deprivation and other harsh tactics to intimidate Iraqi detainees.
Only 7 swine flu deaths, not 152, says WHO
A member of the World Health Organisation (WHO) has dismissed claims that more than 150 people have died from swine flu, saying it has officially recorded only seven deaths around the world.
New weapons of ethnic cleansing
GENETIC weapons capable of wiping out specific ethnic groups are no longer the stuff of science fiction, military and scientific advisers with the British and American governments have admitted.
U.S. reports first swine flu death
President Barack Obama said Wednesday that wider school closings in the U.S. may be necessary in an escalating global health emergency that claimed the first death in the United States and swept Germany onto the roster of afflicted nations. Obama said local schools across America should consider temporarily shutting down if conditions worsen.
Giving an update on a rising menace that has dominated health officials' time and caused spreading anxiety, Obama said, "Every American should know that the federal government is prepared to do whatever is necessary to control this virus."
Mandatory detention laws for flu sufferers in Australia
The Federal Government has increased its powers of surveillance, detention and disinfection to combat swine flu, as the number of possible Australian cases under investigation rises to 111.
Swine Flu Smoking Gun? CDC was Combining Flu Viruses in 2004
Last week, when what is now called a "swine flu" was first reported to be infecting and killing some people in Mexico, health officials noted it was a strain of flu never before seen. In fact, it is technically incorrect to call this simply a "swine" flu.
Claim: Mexico outbreak traced to 'manure lagoons' at pig farm
The first known case of swine flu emerged a fortnight earlier than previously thought in a village where residents have long complained about the smell and flies from a nearby pig farm, it emerged last night.
Leahy to keep with truth (whitewash) commission
Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Pat Leahy (D-Vt.) will continue to push for a “truth commission” to investigate the Bush administration’s detainee interrogation policy, including allegations of torture, despite the fact that another Senate panel has already begun a probe into the hugely controversial issue.
DHS Sets Guidelines For Possible Swine Flu Quarantines
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security has sent a memo to some health care providers noting procedures to be followed if the swine flu outbreak eventually makes quarantines necessary.
FAA Memo: Feds Knew NYC Flyover Would Cause Panic
Federal officials knew that sending two fighter jets and Air Force One to buzz ground zero and Lady Liberty might set off nightmarish fears of a 9/11 replay, but they still ordered the photo-op kept secret from the public.
The "Practical Politics" of a Presumed Plague
By William N. Grigg
A Pentagon planning document states that the military "is prepared to assist in `quarantining groups of people in order to minimize the spread of disease during an influenza pandemic' and aiding in `efforts to restore and maintain order.'" This offers yet another convenient detour around the much-ignored Posse Comitatus Act, and another promising avenue for those seeking the imposition of undisguised military rule.
FDA Approves Emergency Rules For “Mass Dosing” Of U.S. Citizens The threat of swine flu has prompted the FDA to approve emergency rules for certain antiviral drugs. Under the new rules, doctors will be able to use the drugs for a wider range of the population in case mass treatment is needed to deal with swine flu.
Swine flu: 'Scaremongering' public health adverts from 1976 outbreak
These public health commercials from 1976, when doctors feared that an outbreak of the virus in the US could become a pandemic, attempted to heighten fears of the disease to increase the take-up of vaccinations.
Federal court restores torture flight lawsuit
A federal appeals court on Tuesday reinstated a lawsuit against a San Jose-based company accused of participating in the CIA's so-called "torture flights,'' rejecting the Obama administration's argument that it would expose national security secrets.
Bank of America, Citi may need more capital
Bank of America Corp. and Citigroup Inc., which have each received $45 billion in government bailout funds, have been told by regulators that "stress test" results show they may need to raise additional capital, The Wall Street Journal said Tuesday.
