India releases names, details on Mumbai gunmen Police in India released the names of nine suspected Islamic militants killed during the three-day siege of Mumbai and said investigators had uncovered new details about them including their hometowns in Pakistan.
Musicians protest use of songs by US jailers
The auditory assault went on for days, then weeks, then months at the U.S. military detention center in Iraq. Twenty hours a day. AC/DC. Queen. Pantera. The prisoner, military contractor Donald Vance of Chicago, told The Associated Press he was soon suicidal.
The tactic has been common in the U.S. war on terror, with forces systematically using loud music on hundreds of detainees in Iraq, Afghanistan and Guantanamo Bay. Lt. Gen. Ricardo Sanchez, then the U.S. military commander in Iraq, authorized it on Sept. 14, 2003, "to create fear, disorient ... and prolong capture shock."
Deal reached for auto loans; GOP senators pledge to oppose plan
Congressional Democrats and the White House reached agreement Tuesday night on the outlines of a $15-billion rescue of General Motors Corp. and Chrysler LLC even as key Senate Republicans promised a filibuster of the draft proposal for not requiring more sacrifices from the UAW.
House Probe of FCC Finds "Egregious Abuses of Power"
A year-long Congressional investigation of Federal Communications Commission Chairman Kevin J. Martin found "egregious abuses of power," though it was unclear whether the nation's top telecommunications regulator broke any rules or laws during his leadership.
Bank of America Offers Loans to Republic for Workers
Bank of America Corp. will provide a “limited amount of additional loans” to shuttered Republic Windows & Doors LLC in Chicago to pay employees occupying a building after the bank ended the company’s line of credit.
Fourth night of riots sets stage for Greek general strike
A fourth night of violence pitting angry youths against riot police plunged Greece deeper into a social and political crisis hours ahead of a long-planned general strike Wednesday.
US Treasury 3-month bill yield below zero for first time
The yield on the three-month US Treasury bill Tuesday fell below zero for the first time as worried investors snapped up government bonds in search of shelter from the global financial firestorm.
The Great Sphinx of Giza reborn as a lion in the desert
The Sphinx in Egypt might have originally had the face of a lion, it is claimed. And it could be much older than previously thought, investigations led by a British geologist suggest.
The district chiefs’ authority over borrowing costs has been marginalized in the past two months as Chairman Ben S. Bernanke and the Fed Board of Governors in Washington made their own decisions on emergency measures to flood the economy with cash.
“The Board has usurped authority,” said William Poole, former president of the St. Louis Fed and now a senior fellow at the Cato Institute in Washington. “This dramatic change in policy direction has not been announced or even acknowledged.”
Science paves way for climate lawsuits
People affected by worsening storms, heatwaves and floods could soon be able to sue the oil and power companies they blame for global warming, a leading climate expert has said.
Mexico braces for fallout from Detroit
As Detroit pleads with lawmakers for a bailout package, Mexico is watching closely, keenly aware that failure of the Big Three to stave off bankruptcy could devastate auto workers south of the border – and reenergize the northward flow of illegal migrants.
Vote shifts Israel's Likud Party sharply right
In a blow to party leader Benjamin Netanyahu, members elect a slate of hard-liners for upcoming national elections. The move is a boost for Tzipi Livni's Kadima party.
Plea by Blackwater Guard Helps Indict Others
In the first public airing of an investigation that remains the source of fierce international outrage, the Justice Department on Monday unsealed its case against five private security guards, built largely around the chilling testimony of a sixth guard about the 2007 shootings that left 17 unsuspecting Iraqi civilians dead at a busy Baghdad traffic circle.
World’s Hungry Close to One Billion’
The food prices has pushed the number of hungry people in the world to almost 1bn, in what the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organisation described on Tuesday as a “serious setback” to global efforts to reduce mass starvation.
Leading U.S. lawyer accused of $100 million hedge fund scam
His legal lineage was impeccable. A Yale man with a law degree from Harvard, he was a litigation powerhouse, a leader at some of the more prominent firms at the New York bar who then started a top-shelf practice of his own.
A crash as historic as the end of communism
Most of us planning for the next few months are building the economic equivalent of bomb shelters: 2009 will be treacherous. We face a formal recession in most developed economies, and the contraction is highly likely to be more severe in the UK than almost anywhere else.
Internal Warnings Sounded on Loans At Fannie, Freddie
Internal Freddie Mac documents show that senior executives at the company were warned years ago that they were offering mortgages that could pose dangers to the firm, hurt borrowers and generate more risky loans throughout the industry.
European leaders call for closer cooperation on economic crisis
Gordon Brown, Nicolas Sarkozy and the European Commission president, José Manuel Barroso, on Monday called for more cooperation between European Union leaders to respond to the economic crisis.
Russia: Iran could not build A-bomb
A senior Russian diplomat says that even if Iran sought to make a nuclear weapon, it does not have the necessary "means" to do so.
Pak 'ready to repulse Indian attack'
Pakistan says it is fully prepared to defend itself should India engage in a military action against the country over the Mumbai attacks.
Plunging shipping costs send grains globetrotting
In some countries, it is now less costly to ship grain thousands of kilometers across the ocean rather than move supplies hundreds of kilometers by barge or railroad cars. But the phenomenon should be short-lived and the United States should remain the world's top exporter of corn, wheat and soybeans, according to specialists in the sector.
Regulators preparing rescue of credit unions: report
Federal regulators are preparing a rescue plan to shore up the finances of some large credit unions, using billions of dollars in new government borrowings, the Wall Street Journal reported.
Tortured 9/11 Patsies want to confess
Five detainees at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, say they want to confess to conspiracy charges for planning the September 11, 2001, attacks, a Pentagon spokeswoman said Monday.
Google Earth accused of aiding terrorists
An Indian Court has been called to ban Google Earth amid suggestions the online satellite imaging was used to help plan the terror attacks that killed more than 170 people in Mumbai last month.
House Panel to Ask for NSA Spying Probe
A congressional panel will ask the National Security Agency's internal watchdog to investigate whether the super-secret spy agency eavesdropped without warrants on a Muslim scholar and later hid that evidence in a 2005 terror prosecution that got him a life sentence.
State wipes smiles off driver's license
Hoosiers won't be saying "cheese" when they get their driver's license photos from now on. The Bureau of Motor Vehicles has imposed new restrictions on anything -- from smiling to wearing glasses and scarves and hats -- that would hamper facial recognition software from distinguishing one driver's looks from another's.
Pakistan won't hand suspects to India
Pakistan said last night it would not hand over to India any suspects in the Mumbai bombings, after 15 people were arrested, including a suspected ringleader.
Report: Major Cyber Security Overhaul Needed
A new report issued by the Center for Strategic and International Studies urges President-elect Barack Obama to create a new White House department aimed at protecting U.S. cyber interests from hackers and other foreign agents.
How Rahm Emanuel Made Mega-Millions and Bought His Way to Power
Since Rahm Emanuel was appointed the next White House chief of staff last month, ProPublica has been retracing his previous life as an investment banker, which earned him more than $18 million in less than three years.
Taliban in 72 pct of Afghanistan, think-tank says
The Taliban hold a permanent presence in 72 percent of Afghanistan, a think-tank said on Monday, but NATO and the Afghan government rejected the report, saying its figures were not credible.
Obama lines up Gore as environment chief
AL GORE was today in private talks with president-elect Barack Obama amid speculation he could be asked to join the new administration.
America Has No Means to Recover from a Depression
By Dustin Ensinger
Speaking in front of members of Congress on Tuesday, economist Peter Morici, a professor at the University of Maryland, said the job loss experienced in November "was much worse than was expected ... The threat of a widespread depression is now real and present." In case you haven't figured it out yet, the ruling elite don't want us to recover from a depression
US faces deep problems, OECD says
The US economy is still facing "sharp downside risks" to growth, according to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).
Mukasey’s ‘Nixon Defense’ of Bush
By Jason Leopold
When it comes to protecting George W. Bush and his administration, Attorney General Michael Mukasey is stretching legal arguments as far as his predecessor Alberto Gonzales ever did -- now even invoking the “Nixon Defense” for justifying presidential wrongdoing.
The Fed’s Exploding Balance Sheet: What It Means and Reviving the Revolution
By Michael S. Rozeff
The main idea behind all this lending is to prevent some large banks (and other financial institutions) from failing, shrinking, or restructuring. Behind this is the goal of maintaining the existing structure of banking and central banking. And behind that is the goal of maintaining government power and the existing political structure intact.
Illinois Gov. Blagojevich, chief of staff, arrested
Gov. Rod Blagojevich and his chief of staff, John Harris, were arrested by FBI agents on federal corruption charges Tuesday morning. One day after Illinois Democratic Governor Rod Blagojevich ordered the state to stop doing business with the Bank of America over its role in closure of a Chicago factory
Complaint hits Rezko land deal
A former Illinois bank official, now claiming whistleblower status, says bank officials replaced a loan reappraisal that he prepared for a Chicago property that was purchased by the wife of now-convicted felon Tony Rezko, part of which was later sold to next-door neighbor Barack Obama.
U.S. Could Take Stakes in Big 3
Congress and the White House inched toward a financial rescue of the Big Three auto makers, negotiating legislation that would give the U.S. government a substantial ownership stake in the industry and a central role in its restructuring.
Greek riots: police brace for more protests
Students protesting at the fatal shooting of a 15-year-old schoolboy rampaged through central Athens overnight, with their faces masked and wearing motorbike helmets. They hurled petrol bombs and chunks of rock at riot police, in the third night of unrest to hit the capital.
Nobel Winner: Internet Might Have Stopped Hitler
The spread of information on the Internet has given the world a new tool to forestall conflicts, Nobel literature prize winner Jean-Marie Gustave Le Clezio said Sunday.
Israel wants 'a united West' against Iran
Israeli President Shimon Peres urges the West to set aside any divisiveness and work toward a united front against Iran's nuclear drive.
Suspicious letters sent to at least 6 governors
Suspicious letters containing powdery substances addressed to governors were intercepted in at least six states on Monday, but tests indicated the powder in five of them wasn't harmful.
Blackwater guards charged in Iraq shooting
Five Blackwater security guards were charged on Monday with killing 14 unarmed civilians and wounding 20 others in a 2007 shooting in Baghdad that outraged Iraqis and strained U.S.-Iraqi relations.
Financial Times: And now for a world government
By Gideon Rachman
I have never believed that there is a secret United Nations plot to take over the US. I have never seen black helicopters hovering in the sky above Montana. But, for the first time in my life, I think the formation of some sort of world government is plausible.
Gun Control: Protecting Terrorists and Despots
By Ron Paul
Tragically, over the Thanksgiving holiday, the world was reminded how evil and cruel people can be. According to emerging accounts of the events in India, about a dozen well-armed and devastatingly well-trained terrorists laid siege on the city of Mumbai, killing almost two hundred people, and terrorizing thousands.
Credit Suisse Forecast: 8.1 million foreclosures by 2012
In a research note titled "Foreclosure Update: over 8 million foreclosures expected" (no link, hat tip Frank) updated last week, Credit Suisse analysts are now forecasting 8.1 million homes will be in foreclosure by the end of 2012, representing 16% of all households with mortgages.
World must prevent Islamist regime in Pakistan: Netanyahu
The international community must prevent the rise of a radical Islamist regime in Pakistan that would possess nuclear weapons, Israel's opposition leader Benjamin Netanyahu said on Monday.
Just $15B left in first $350B of gov't bailout
The government has just $15 billion left to spend from the first $350 billion pot of financial bailout money, the Treasury Department announced Monday.
Bush Says Saddam Hussein Was Not Connected to 9/11
Addressing the Saban Forum on December 5, President George W. Bush stated: "It is true, as I've said many times, that Saddam Hussein was not connected to the 9/11 attacks."
Flashback - Al-Qaeda is a front organization of CIA and MOSSAD : Mumbai based group of intellectuals and human rights activists
Mumbai based group alleged that Al-Qaeda is a front organization of CIA and MOSSAD. "There is enough evidence that the Al-Qaeda is a front organization of the CIA and MOSSAD. The Bush junta has used the bogey of terror and of Al Qaeda to justify his unending and ever expanding Global War on Terror, which is only a means of capturing the resources of the world and of establishing the sole hegemony of Israel in West Asia," said the group of activists and intellectuals.
Saving the Economy with the Constitution
Adherence to the Constitution is the ultimate solution to almost all of the problems that face America today. The overriding principle is that the Constitution is the law. As such, it must be followed by all citizens, Congress, and government officials.
Homeowners redefaulting after getting aid
More than half of mortgages modified in a bid to avoid foreclosure fell delinquent within six months, a top U.S. banking regulator said on Monday, casting doubt on a proposal to rewrite home loans en masse.
Tribune files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy
Tribune Co. said Monday that it filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection to restructure its nearly $13 billion debt load, a move that dramatically underscores the dire circumstances clouding the near-term future of the newspaper industry.
Pakistan arrests suspected plotter of Mumbai attacks
Pakistani security personnel have arrested the alleged planner of the November 26 Mumbai terrorist attacks in a raid on a suspected militant camp, media reports said on Monday.
India police stop Maoist attack.
Andhra Pradesh Police averted a Maoist attack with the arrest of three extremists from whom a large cache of explosives was seized on Andhra-Chattisgarh border.
Security services around the world are devising software to match CCTV photos of faces with image archives, to catch known criminals and terrorists. However, the technology struggles to overcome problems caused by variations in lighting and the position of people's faces between photos.
How the Government plans to record intimate information on every child in Britain
When police raided Tory MP Damian Green’s home, they ‘sheepishly’ asked whether children were present before ransacking it. His wife assumed they were being polite. But, under sinister new guidelines, officers must assess all children they encounter – including while ‘searching premises’ – for a police database called MERLIN.
EU presidency to boost ties with Israel
The EU's foreign ministers approved a significant upgrade in the body's diplomatic relationship with Israel on Monday, despite Palestinian opposition and some calls in Europe that this should be linked to developments on the ground.
Kosovo: A European Narco State
By Tom Burghardt
When three officers of Germany's foreign intelligence service the Bundesnachrichtendienst (BND), were arrested in Pristina November 19, it exposed that country's extensive covert operations in the heart of the Balkans.
It must be ‘1984': ‘Big Brother' snoops and Britons don't mind
In an era when security is the top concern for officials in many countries - reinforced by November's deadly attacks in Mumbai - it takes a lot to be labeled "the most surveilled democracy in the world." In the case of Britain, the label is not necessarily meant as a compliment. Some - including the European Court of Human Rights - fear that the snooping has run amok.
Freedom Under Surveillance, Part II
There's a lesson in the Aesopian tale of the man who wanted to cook a frog. When he tossed the amphibian into a pot of boiling water, it leapt out to safety. The thwarted cook then changed tactics. He placed the frog in cold water... and slowly brought up the heat.
Freedom Under Surveillance, Part III
My fellow Examiner J.D. Tuccille wrote a fascinating piece on how government officials in Florida want the right to enter residents’ homes in order to enforce neatness. If you’re found to be messy, the punishment is a $250 per day fine.
"Obama is merely a fop for the global elite"
Have you ever wondered how capitalism was pushed over the edge of the cliff just six weeks before the American presidential election?
Court won't review Obama's eligibility to serve
The Supreme Court has turned down an emergency appeal from a New Jersey man who says President-elect Barack Obama is ineligible to be president because he was a British subject at birth.
NATO scuttles US plan to encircle Russia
By F William Engdahl
North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) ministers in Brussels have decided to ignore the wishes of the United States and delay the admission of Georgia and the Ukraine, in effect indefinitely, in what the George W Bush administration is sheepishly trying to claim is a positive "compromise".
Greece rocked by third day of riots
Violent clashes between police and protesters erupted for a third day in Greece Monday as anger over the fatal police shooting of a teenager continued to rage through major cities.
Times Co. to borrow against building
The New York Times Company plans to borrow up to $225 million against its mid-Manhattan headquarters building, to ease a potential cash flow squeeze as the company grapples with tighter credit and shrinking profits.
Sept. 11 Suspects Offer to Plead Guilty ‘in Full’
Self-described Sept. 11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and four co-defendants today offered in a Guantanamo Bay courtroom to plead guilty to charges that could lead to the death penalty.
Bag the Fed!
By Jerry Mazza
Despite its name, the Federal Reserve System is not owned by the federal government. It is actually a private company of bankers with 12 branches or central banks that expand and contract our money supply as they have doing for nearly 100 years.
Chemical Used on Crops could Make You Fat
Many people who eat organic food and use natural products are trying to avoid pesticides that are linked to cancer and other diseases. Now Japanese researchers say there is another advantage to "going green" and avoiding toxins and chemical additives in the environment. A common pollutant has been found to have a potent effect on gene activity and could be contributing to the obesity epidemic.
Obama Warns Iran Over Nuke Policy
US President-elect Barack Obama says he is prepared to offer Iran economic incentives to stop its nuclear programme, but he also warned that sanctions could be toughened if it refuses.
Retail sales dropping like a rock
The worsening recession is now in a self-reinforcing downward spiral, as the weak economy leads to reduced spending and tighter credit, leading to further job losses and even less spending.
9/11: Newly released video of all 3 WTC collapses
An anonymous source has allowed the release of high quality DVD footage of all 3 WTC collapses. The North and South Tower & building 7. The source wishes to remain anonymous at this point
Fears of a million layoffs a month in corporate America
As many as a million American jobs could be lost every month by next spring as businesses struggle to raise capital in financial markets consumed by fear, according to a new analysis.
UN is told that Earth needs an asteroid shield
A group of the world's leading scientists has urged the United Nations to establish an international network to search the skies for asteroids on a collision course with Earth. The spaceguard system would also be responsible for deploying spacecraft that could destroy or deflect incoming objects.
UK plotting against Zimbabwe: Mugabe spoke
Zimbabwe's government has accused former colonial ruler Britain of using a cholera epidemic to rally Western support for an invasion of the collapsing southern African nation, a state-run newspaper said on Sunday.
In lean times, SoCal residents trade guns for eats
A program to exchange guns for gifts has brought in a record number of weapons this year as residents hit hard by the economy look under the bed and in closets to find items to trade for groceries.
More than 160 U.S., NATO vehicles burned in Pakistan
Militants torched 160 vehicles, including dozens of Humvees destined for U.S. and allied forces fighting in Afghanistan, in the boldest attack so far on the critical military supply line through Pakistan.
Venue fight: Blackwater guards plan Utah surrender
Five Blackwater Worldwide security guards indicted in Washington for the 2007 shooting of Iraqi civilians plan to surrender to the federal authorities Monday in Utah, people close to the case said, setting up a court fight over the trial site.
A Historic Moment: The Election of the Greatest Con-Man in Recent History
By James Petras
The entire political spectrum ranging from the ‘libertarian’ left, through the progressive editors of the Nation to the entire far right neo-con/Zionist war party and free market Berkeley/Chicago/Harvard academics, with a single voice, hailed the election of Barack Obama as a ‘historic moment’, a ‘turning point in American history and other such histrionics. For reasons completely foreign to the emotional ejaculations of his boosters, it is a historic moment: witness the abysmal gap between his ‘populist’ campaign demagoguery and his long-standing and deepening carnal relations with the most retrograde political figures, power brokers and billionaire real estate and financial backers.
Western Drive towards World Domination
By Richard C. Cook
The horrors of the George W. Bush administration may only have been one chapter, though it was the actions of Bush and his cronies—starting with 9/11— which removed all doubt that the intent of the Western ruling class is to dominate the world by any means possible.
Creating an "Arc of Crisis": The Destabilization of the Middle East and Central Asia
By Andrew G. Marshall
The recent attacks in Mumbai, while largely blamed on Pakistan’s state-sponsored militant groups, represent the latest phase in a far more complex and long-term “strategy of tension” in the region; being employed by the Anglo-American-Israeli Axis to ultimately divide and conquer the Middle East and Central Asia. The aim is destabilization of the region, subversion and acquiescence of the region’s countries, and control of its economies, all in the name of preserving the West’s hegemony over the “Arc of Crisis.”
Smoking Gun - Rockefeller Official Revealed NWO Plot In 1969
Our political and cultural "leaders" are accomplices in a plot to re-engineer humanity to serve the Judeo-Masonic central banking cartel. Wars, terrorism, depressions, political and social change, entertainment and fads are all contrived to gradually bring about an Orwellian police state. Many people have said this but last week, I learned of another "smoking gun."
The CIA in Greece
Thousands of Greeks were tortured and murdered by the CIA backed 'fascists'.
Study: Nearly half of world's jailed journalists come from Web
More than print, TV or any other medium, online journalists are now the most-jailed category of journalists worldwide. A study by the Committee to Protect Journalists said that the online reporters, editors and bloggers make up 45% of the 125 journalists it found behind bars, the first time the Web category has eclipsed print (42%) since the study began in 1997.
The FBI hero who joined the Mafia
He was an FBI hero who infiltrated the heart of the Mafia. Then John Connolly changed sides. Now he faces 33 years in jail for colluding with America's most wanted gangster
Ex-ISI chief Gul terms reports as nonsense
Former Inter-Services-Inetlligence chief Hamid Gul on Sunday dismissed as "nonsense" reports that Pakistan has agreed to arrest and hand him over to India in connection with the probe into the Mumbai terror attacks.
Hoax phone call 'almost took Pakistan to war'
A hoax telephone call almost sparked another war between nuclear-armed India and Pakistan at the height of last month's terror attacks on Mumbai, officials and Western diplomats on both sides of the border said today.
McCollum Memo - October 7, 1940
Perhaps one of the most interesting things to come out of the mouths of our military brass is this memo. Essentially it details an 8 step plan of economic warfare in order to provoke the Japanese to attack so that we may enter the war with popular support
Spying on pacifists, environmentalists and nuns
The case is the latest to emerge since the Sept. 11 attacks spurred a sharp increase in state and federal surveillance of Americans. Critics say such investigations violate constitutional guarantees of freedom of speech and assembly, and serve to inhibit lawful dissent.
OPEC: Get set for oil shock and awe
OPEC president Chakib Khelil says oil markets should prepare for a "surprise" output cut after the organization's Algeria meeting.
Day of the dead
Over the past two years almost 7,000 people have been slaughtered in a staggeringly brutal turf war between Mexico's police and the country's ruthless drug cartels. As the executions spiral out of control
Obama Pledges Public Works on a Vast Scale
President-elect Barack Obama promised Saturday to create the largest public works construction program since the inception of the interstate highway system a half century ago as he seeks to put together a plan to resuscitate the reeling economy.
Pentagon expanding number of foreigners recruited
The Pentagon plans to recruit more foreigners in a fresh effort to make up for chronic shortages of doctors, nurses and linguists available for wartime duty.
Pentagon preparing for Afghan surge
US military has started building new facilities in Afghanistan for 20,000 extra troops that will pour into the country early next year.
John Yoo under fire for White House memo
Berkeley's City Council will delve into national policy again next week when it votes whether to demand the United States charge Berkeley resident and former Bush adviser John Yoo with war crimes.
Yoo, a tenured professor at UC Berkeley's Boalt Hall School of Law, wrote the memos offering legal justification for torture while he worked for the White House from 2001 to 2003.
In Iraq, 'a Prison Full of Innocent Men'
Although U.S.-Run Detention Centers Have Vastly Improved Since the Abu Ghraib Scandal, No System Has Been Developed to Determine Who Is Guilty
Chinese tour groups go house-hunting in U.S.
The cash-rich visitors are looking for bargains in the plunging market. The trips are part of a broader trend of individuals and businesses in China seeking greater investment opportunities abroad.
'Al-Qaeda helps curb Saudi unrest'
Saudi security services have formed a military militia loyal to Saudi Arabia comprised of al-Qaeda members, according to opposition sources.
Argentine automakers to sell at cost, protect jobs
Argentine automakers will sell basic models at cost through state-subsidized loans in a plan to protect jobs in Latin America's third-biggest economy from the global economic slowdown, government officials said on Saturday.
History of the Federal Reserve
"The powers of financial capitalism had a far-reaching plan, nothing less than to create a world system of financial control in private hands able to dominate the political system of each country and the economy of the world as a whole...Their secret is that they have annexed from governments, monarchies, and republics the power to create the world's money..."
