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U.S. Navy Vet Sues Donald Rumsfeld for Torture in Iraq, Court Allows Case to Move Forward

Thu, 11 Aug 2011 00:00:00 -0700

Democracy Now - By Amy Goodman, Donald Vance, Andrea Prasow - Aug. 11 (News Report) - On Monday, a federal appeals court refused to dismiss a lawsuit filed by two U.S. citizens against former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and unnamed others for developing, authorizing and using harsh interrogation techniques against detainees in Iraq. Donald Vance and Nathan Ertel were working for a private U.S. government contractor, Shield Group Security, in 2006 when they witnessed the sale of U.S. government weapons to Iraqi rebel groups for money and alcohol. After they became FBI informants and collaborated with an investigation into their employer, the company revoked their credentials for entering Iraq’s so-called Green Zone, effectively barring them from the safest part of the country. Shortly afterward, they were arrested and detained by U.S. troops, moved to the U.S.-run prison at Camp Cropper, and subjected to extreme sleep deprivation, interrogated for hours at a time, kept in a very cold cell, and denied food and water for long periods.

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New Court Filing Reveals How the 2004 Ohio Presidential Election Was Hacked

Tue, 26 Jul 2011 00:00:00 -0700

truth-out.org - By Bob Fritakis - Jul. 26 (News Report) - A new filing in the King Lincoln Bronzeville v. Blackwell case includes a copy of the Ohio Secretary of State election production system configuration that was in use in Ohio's 2004 presidential election when there was a sudden and unexpected shift in votes for George W. Bush. The filing also includes the revealing deposition of the late Michael Connell. Connell served as the IT guru for the Bush family and Karl Rove.

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Did Saudi Arabia Attack Us on 9/11?

Tue, 19 Jul 2011 00:00:00 -0700

readersupportednews.org - By Anthony Summers, Robbyn Swan - Jul. 19 (Investigative Report) - 'Was there a foreign government behind the 9/11 attacks? A decade later, Americans still haven't been given the whole story, while a key 28-page section of Congress's Joint Inquiry report remains censored. Gathering years of leaks and leads, in an adaptation from their new book, Anthony Summers and Robbyn Swan examine the connections between Saudi Arabia and the hijackers (15 of whom were Saudi), the Bush White House's decision to ignore or bury evidence, and the frustration of lead investigators - including 9/11-commission staffers, counterterrorism officials, and senators on both sides of the aisle.' Anthony Summers, Robbyn Swan, Vanity Fair

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A Debate on Human Rights Watch's Call For Bush Administration Officials Be Tried For Torture

Tue, 12 Jul 2011 00:00:00 -0700

Democracy Now - By Amy Goodman - Jul. 12 (News Report) - Human Rights Watch has released a new report calling on the U.S. government to launch a broad criminal investigation into alleged crimes of torture committed by former President George W. Bush and other top officials under his administration. It comes on the heels of a Department of Justice investigation into alleged torture, abuse and murder during the interrogation of detainees in CIA custody. Earlier this month, the DOJ announced it would launch a full criminal investigation into the deaths of just two prisoners out of 101 cases under review, including one who died at the Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq. We speak to Kenneth Roth, executive director of Human Rights Watch, and to John Baker, professor emeritus at Louisiana State University Law School.

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Former CIA Agent Glenn Carle Reveals Bush Admin Effort to Smear War Critic Juan Cole

Wed, 22 Jun 2011 00:00:00 -0700

Democracy Now - By Amy Goodman - Jun. 22 (News Report) - Former top CIA counterterrorism officer Glenn Carle has revealed the Bush administration sought damaging personal information on Juan Cole, an academic and prominent critic of the Iraq war, in an attempt to discredit him. Carle says the Bush White House made at least two requests for intelligence about Cole, whose blog "Informed Comment" rose to prominence after the Iraq invasion. Carle refused to carry out the request. In a joint interview, Carle and Cole join us to discuss the explosive revelation and why Cole is now calling for a congressional investigation. "I think I was targeted because this was a propagandistic administration … full of people who thought they could pull the wool over the American people’s eyes," says Cole.

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Stricter Regulation of Formaldehyde Remains Uncertain Despite Carcinogen Ruling

Tue, 14 Jun 2011 00:00:00 -0700

ProPublica - By by Joaquin Sapien - Jun. 14 (Investigative Report) - by Joaquin Sapien Late last week, the Department of Health and Human Services classified formaldehyde as "a known carcinogen," adding its verdict to two similar reports released by key agencies since 2009. But despite the growing scientific consensus about how formaldehyde can affect human health, it remains to be seen if the studies will lead to tighter U.S. formaldehyde regulations. As we've previously reported, the Environmental Protection Agency has been trying to update its chemical risk assessment for formaldehyde since 1998, but has been stalled repeatedly by the chemical manufacturing industry. EPA assessments are the country's gold standard for how dangerous a chemical is. The formaldehyde assessment would undoubtedly influence the stringency of a rule the EPA is developing on how much of the chemical can safely be released from construction materials that contain it In 2009, Sen. David Vitter, R-La., maneuvered successfully to delay the assessment by putting a hold on the nomination of a key EPA appointee and forcing the agency to send its draft to the National Academy of Sciences for review. Vitter has received substantial campaign contributions from the nation's largest formaldehyde manufacturers and users. After the EPA agreed to send its assessment to the NAS, a top industry lobbyist, Charles Grizzle, threw Vitter a fundraising party, requesting donations of $1,000 a plate. The NAS finished reviewing the EPA assessment in April, sending back a long list of questions and advising the EPA not to finalize the document until it could show exactly how formaldehyde causes cancer, a biological mechanism known as the "mode of action." Dr. Peter Infante, a former director of the Office of Carcinogen Identification and Classification at the Occupational Trailers supplied by FEMA to Katrina survivors were found to have harmful levels of formaldehyde in them. Last week, the Department of Health and Human Services classified the chemical as 'a known carcinogen

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Republicans Want FDA Funding Back At 2008 Levels--when Spinach, Peanut Butter, And Tomato Outbreaks Sickened The Country

Mon, 14 Mar 2011 00:00:00 -0700

New Republic - By Jonathan Cohn - Mar. 14 (News Report) - Remember the salmonella-infected tomatoes of 2008? How about the tainted peanut butter of 2007? Or the bad spinach of 2006? These outbreaks sickened thousands and cost the produce industry hundreds of millions. Yet somehow the Republican Party has forgotten about them.

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Bush White House Violations: Political Briefings Reportedly Violated Hatch Act

Mon, 24 Jan 2011 00:00:00 -0800

Huffington Post - By Pete Yost - Jan. 24 (News Report) - The White House Office of Political Affairs during the George W. Bush administration violated the law by giving briefings to political employees, concludes a government report issued Monday. The report says the electoral success of the Republican Party and possible strategies for achieving it often were on the agenda at some 75 political briefings at 20 federal agencies from 2001 to 2007. Prohibited political activities were prevalent in the months running up to the 2006 midterm elections, according to the report.

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Controversial Drug Given to All Guantanamo Detainees Akin to "Pharmacologic Waterboarding"

Wed, 01 Dec 2010 00:00:00 -0800

TruthOut - By Jason Leopold, Jeffrey Kaye - Dec. 01 (Special Report) - The Defense Department forced all "war on terror" detainees at the Guantanamo Bay prison to take a high dosage of a controversial antimalarial drug, mefloquine, an act that an Army public health physician called "pharmacologic waterboarding."

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Obama and GOPers Worked Together to Kill Bush Torture Probe

Wed, 01 Dec 2010 00:00:00 -0800

Mother Jones - By David Corn - Dec. 01 (News Report) - A WikiLeaks cable shows that when Spain considered a criminal case against ex-Bush officials, the Obama White House and Republicans got really bipartisan.

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Fox Reporter on Florida Ballots: Burn Them or Shred Them?

Tue, 16 Nov 2010 13:32:15 -0800

FAIR - Nov. 16 (News Analysis) - Journalists are supposed to criticize government officials for suppressing information or destroying evidence-- not advocate such actions. If journalism is to contribute to a democratic society, it must frequently expose the country to unpleasant truths. But for Gibson, guest-hosting Fox's popular "The O'Reilly Factor" program, the point of journalism is to preserve the legitimacy of those in power: "George Bush is going to be president. And who needs to know that he's not a legitimate president? Al Gore? Jesse Jackson? His political opponents? How does it do any good for the country to find out that, by somebody's count, the wrong guy is president?"

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George Bush Book 'Decision Points' Lifted Passages From Advisers' Books

Fri, 12 Nov 2010 00:00:00 -0800

Huffington Post - By Ryan Grim - Nov. 12 (News Report) - Far from shedding light on how the president approached the crucial "decision points" of his presidency, the clip jobs illuminate something shallower and less surprising about Bush's character: He's too lazy to write his own memoir.

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US asked to begin criminal investigation following Bush publication

Wed, 10 Nov 2010 00:00:00 -0800

feeds.bignewsnetwork.com - Nov. 10 (News Report) - Amnesty International has urged a criminal investigation into the role of former US President George W Bush and other officials in the use of "enhanced interrogation techniques" against detainees held in secret US custody.

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Inside Job

Sun, 07 Nov 2010 00:00:00 -0700

Representational Pictures - By Charles Ferguson - Nov. 07 (Investigative Report) - From Academy Award® nominated filmmaker, Charles Ferguson (“No End In Sight”), comes INSIDE JOB, the first film to expose the shocking truth behind the economic crisis of 2008. The global financial meltdown, at a cost of over $20 trillion, resulted in millions of people losing their homes and jobs. Through extensive research and interviews with major financial insiders, politicians and journalists, INSIDE JOB traces the rise of a rogue industry and unveils the corrosive relationships which have corrupted politics, regulation and academia. Narrated by Academy Award® winner Matt Damon, INSIDE JOB was made on location in the United States, Iceland, England, France, Singapore, and China.

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24 year old Canadian Omar Khadr pleads guilty to war crimes

Mon, 25 Oct 2010 00:00:00 -0700

allvoices.com - Oct. 25 (News) - Canadian detainee Omar Khadr accepted a deal from the United States and pleaded guilty to all five counts of terrorism brought against him on Monday. Guantanamo Bay, Cuba - Seated beside

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I Was a Professor at the Horribly Corrupt American University of Iraq... Until the Neocons Fired Me

Fri, 08 Oct 2010 00:00:00 -0700

AlterNet - By John Dolan - Oct. 08 (Special Report) - Agresto was in charge of “reforming” the Iraqi education system on good Republican principles. To his credit, he wrote a reasonably honest book about the experience called Mugged by Reality. Unfortunately, the mugging didn’t take; Agresto has gone back to his right-wing roots, avoiding that disrespectful thug, Reality, as much as possible.

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9/11: Nine Years Later

Sat, 11 Sep 2010 00:00:00 -0700

The Daily Beast - Sep. 11 (News Report) - President Obama put a wreath at the Pentagon and Michelle Obama joined Laura Bush in Shanksville, PA to memorialize the victims of the terrorist attacks. President Obama marked the ninth anniversary of the September 11 terror attacks at the Pentagon, saying the U.S. would never hand victory to “a sorry band of men” with a twisted vision of Islam. "Today we declare once more we will never hand them that victory,” Obama said, “for our cause is just, our spirit is strong and our resolve unwavering." While honoring the 184 people who died when a plane smashed into the Pentagon, the president was resolute, saying the hijackers had hoped to “exploit our freedoms, but we will not sacrifice the liberties we cherish… They may wish to drive us apart, but we will not give in to their hatred and prejudice.” Obama said the U.S. would never be at war with Islam.

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So, who won the war in Iraq? Iran.

Mon, 30 Aug 2010 00:00:00 -0700

GlobalPost - By Mohamad Bazzi - Aug. 30 (News Analysis) - As the U.S. military concludes its combat role — which President Barack Obama will formally announce from the Oval Office on Tuesday — Iraq is indeed a dramatic example for the Middle East, but not in the ways that Bush and his administration envisioned. Iraq did not become a beacon of democracy, nor did it create a domino effect that toppled other dictatorial regimes in the Arab world. Instead, the Iraq war has unleashed a new wave of sectarian hatred and upset the Persian Gulf’s strategic balance, helping Iran consolidate its role as the dominant regional power.

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9/11 conspiracy theories

Sat, 21 Aug 2010 00:00:00 -0700

Wikipedia - Aug. 21 (Special Report) - 9/11 conspiracy theories allege that the September 11 attacks in 2001 were either intentionally allowed to happen or were a false flag operation orchestrated by an organization with elements inside the United States government.[1] A poll taken in 2006 by Scripps Howard and Ohio University showed that, "More than a third of the American public suspects that federal officials assisted in the 9/11 terrorist attacks or took no action to stop them so the United States could go to war in the Middle East."[2] The most prominent theory is that the collapse of the World Trade Center and 7 World Trade Center were the result of a controlled demolition rather than structural weakening due to fire.[3][4] Another prominent belief is that the Pentagon was hit by a missile launched by elements from inside the U.S. government[5] or that a commercial airliner was allowed to do so via an effective standdown of the American military.[6][7] Motives cited by conspiracy theorists include justifying the invasion of Afghanistan and Iraq, and geostrategic interests in the Mideast, including pipeline plans launched in the early 1990s by Unocal and other oil companies.[8] Published reports and articles by the U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), Popular Mechanics and mainstream media have rejected the 9/11 conspiracy theories.[9][10] The civil engineering establishment generally accepts that the impacts of jet aircraft at high speeds in combination with subsequent fires, rather than controlled demolition, led to the collapse of the Twin Towers.[11]

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Bush Social Security Privatization Plan: Could Increase Budget Deficit Up to $2 Trillion

Tue, 17 Aug 2010 00:00:00 -0700

About.com - By Sharon O'Brien - Aug. 17 (News Report) - To pay for setting up Bush’s partial privatization plan, the government would have to borrow up to $2 trillion dollars to replace payroll taxes that would be diverted into private accounts. The $2 trillion is an addition to the current budget deficit of more than $7.6 trillion dollars, which increases daily. It is estimated that the national debt increases an average of $2.56 billion every day.

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Human Experimentation at the Heart of Bush Administration's Torture Program

Mon, 07 Jun 2010 00:00:00 -0700

TruthOut - By Jason Leopold - Jun. 07 (News Report) - High-value detainees captured during the Bush administration's "war on terror" who were subjected to brutal torture techniques were part of a Nazi Germany-type program involving illegal human experimentation, the purpose of which was to collect research "data," according to a disturbing new report that calls on President Barack Obama, Congress and other government agencies to immediately launch inquiries and Attorney General Eric Holder to investigate the allegations.

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EXCLUSIVE VIDEO INTERVIEW: Ex-CIA Official Reveals New Details About Torture, Plame Leak

Wed, 12 May 2010 00:00:00 -0700

TruthOut - By Jason Leopold - May. 12 (Special Report) - In a wide-ranging video interview with Truthout, former CIA counterterrorism official John Kiriakou reveals new information about the capture and torture of "high-value" detainee Abu Zubaydah and discloses, for the first time, his role in the events that led to the leak of covert CIA operative Valerie Plame.read more

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Did the Bush administration hide the financial crisis from Congress?

Tue, 04 May 2010 00:00:00 -0700

Salon - By Alex Pareene - May. 04 (News Report) - When you were a child, did you ever accidentally break something while you were home alone? And did you just sort of put it back where it was before you broke it? And when your parents got home did you just not say anything about it? Even though you knew it was just a matter of time before they found it and you got yelled at and even though you'd have been in less trouble if you'd just fessed up? That, apparently, is what the Bush administration did with the economy.

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X-37B Orbital Test Vehicle

Mon, 26 Apr 2010 00:00:00 -0700

globalsecurity.org - Apr. 26 (News Report) - The 45th Space Wing successfully launched a United Launch Alliance-built Atlas V Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle from Space Launch Complex 41 at 7:52 p.m. (EDT) Thursday 22 April 2010. The Atlas V rocket carried the X-37B Orbital Test Vehicle (OTV), making its first space flight. As the first U.S. unmanned reentering space vehicle, the first of its kind, it has been remarkably easy to work with," said Lt. Col. Erik Bowman, 45th Launch Support Squadron Commander.

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Ravitch describes her change of heart

Sat, 10 Apr 2010 00:00:00 -0700

schoolboardnews.nsba.org - Apr. 10 (Not sure) - What’s made Ravitch’s latest work such a draw is that it details the negative effects of testing, the No Child Left Behind law, and the free-market effect on public schools brought on by reforms that were hailed by prominent experts—herself included—over the past two decades, despite the skepticism and frustrations of real-life educators. “This is a book that flies in the face of a lot of conventional wisdom,” she said. “I’ve advocated for things that I’m now telling you are not working.”

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