04 Feb 2008 Navy
Lt.
William Kuebler asked a military judge to throw out the charges
against Canadian defendant Omar Khadr, who was shot and captured
at age 15 in a firefight at a suspected al Qaeda [al-CIAduh] compound
in Afghanistan in 2002.
But a U.S. Department of Justice attorney, arguing for the prosecution,
said that if Congress intended to exclude juveniles from the
Guantanamo war court, it would have explicitly written that, because
lawmakers knew Khadr could face charges. Instead, Congress wrote
the law using the term "person," which legally refers to "anyone
born alive," Justice Department attorney Andy Oldham said.
New Operation to Put Heavily Armed Officers in Subways 02 Feb 2008
In the first counterterrorism strategy of its kind in the nation,
roving teams of New York City police officers armed with automatic
rifles and accompanied by bomb-sniffing dogs will patrol the citys
subway system daily, beginning next month, officials said on Friday.
Under a tactical plan called Operation Torch, the officers will
board trains and patrol platforms, focusing on sites like Pennsylvania
Station, Herald Square, Columbus Circle, Rockefeller Center and
Times Square in Manhattan, and Atlantic Avenue in Brooklyn.
Terrorism bill opens way for secret inquests 04 Feb 2008 The
government was yesterday criticised over plans to hold inquests
without juries [!], which campaigners fear could limit hearings
into the deaths of British soldiers and people shot by police. The
plans are contained in the new counter-terrorism bill published
last month and allow the home secretary to withhold intercept
evidence from the families of the deceased in the interests of
national security or the UK's relationship with another country or
"otherwise in the public interest".
Other CLG news
Fears over jury ban in 'secrecy' inquests 04 Feb 2008 A dispute has
broken out over government plans to remove juries from some inquests.
Provisions buried in last month's Counter-Terrorism Bill would also
allow home secretaries to replace coroners with their own officers.
The measures are designed to avoid sensitive details of secret
service activities, phone-taps and surveillance operations falling
into the hands of laymen sitting on juries. Critics warned against
"dangerous" tinkering with a centuries-old system.
FBI wants palm prints, eye scans, tattoo mapping 04 Feb 2008 The
FBI is gearing up to create a massive computer database of people's
physical characteristics, all part of an effort the bureau says to
better identify criminals and terrorists fill the coffers of another
corpora-terrorist. The bureau is expected to announce in coming
days the awarding of a $1 billion, 10-year contract to help create
the database that will compile an array of biometric information
-- from palm prints to eye scans.
Bush Boosts Defense Spending in $3.1 Trillion Budget 04 Feb 2008
President [sic] George W. Bush sent Congress a $3.1 trillion federal
budget that trims Medicare and health care programs, boosts military
spending and projects the deficit this year and next will hit
near-record levels. Pentagon spending would rise 7.5 percent to
$515 billion, the 11th consecutive year of increases, in the budget
blueprint for fiscal 2009.
Proposed Military Spending Is Highest Since WWII 04 Feb 2008 As
Congress and the public focus on more than $600 billion already
approved in supplemental budgets to pay for the wars in Iraq and
Afghanistan and for counterterrorism operations, the Bush administration
has with little notice approached a landmark in military spending.
The Pentagon on Monday will unveil its proposed 2009 budget of
$515.4 billion. If it is approved in full, annual military spending,
when adjusted for inflation, will have reached its highest level
since World War II.
Gates Urges Congress to Act on War Funds 04 Feb 2008 Defense Secretary
[war criminal] Robert Gates called on Congress Monday to approve
$102.5 billion in war funds that President [sic] Bush requested
last year. The money has been held up by Democrats' disagreements
with the White House over the conduct of the war in Iraq. That money
is in addition to another $70 billion in war funding that Bush
proposed Monday as part of his 2009 budget request.
Baghdad 'drowning in sewage' 04 Feb 2008 Baghdad is drowning in
sewage, thirsty for water and largely powerless, an Iraqi official
said today in a grim assessment of services in the capital five
years after the US-led invasion. One of three sewage treatment
plants is out of commission, one is working at stuttering capacity
while a pipe blockage in the third means sewage is forming a foul
lake so large it can be seen "as a big black spot on Google Earth,"
said Tahseen Sheikhly, civilian spokesman for the Baghdad security
plan.
Iraq to start talks with U.S. over long-term strategic ties 04 Feb
2008 Iraq will start talks with the U.S. later this month on an
agreement that would shape bilateral strategic relations, including
the long-term presence of U.S.
troops in Iraq, the Iraqi government said Monday. "The talks over
the long-term cooperation and friendship between the two sides will
start in the third week of the current month," government spokesman
Ali al-Dabbagh said without specifying a date.
For US war crimes in Iraq, no end in sight: Envoy: US troops to be
in Iraq into '09 02 Feb 2008 President [sic] Bush's top diplomat
in Iraq [Amb. Ryan Crocker] said Friday that the U.S. plans to keep
combat troops there into 2009, seen as the tipping point for
establishing the nation's long-term 'security,' and he offered no
deadline for a full withdrawal.
US raid kills nine Iraqi civilians 04 Feb 2008 Raids by American
forces against 'al-Qaeda' in Iraq south of Baghdad have accidentally
killed nine Iraqi civilians, including a child. The incident occurred
on Saturday near the town of Iskandariyah, 50km south of the Iraqi
capital, a US military statement said.
US Accidentally Kills 9 Iraqi Civilians 04 Feb 2008 The U.S. military
said Monday that it accidentally killed nine Iraqi civilians during
an operation 'targeting' al-Qaida in Iraq south of Baghdad. The
civilians were killed Saturday near Iskandariyah, 30 miles south
of the Iraqi capital, U.S. Navy Lt.
Patrick Evans told The Associated Press. Three more civilians were
wounded and taken to U.S. military hospitals nearby, he said.
National Guard Soldiers Told to Prepare For Iraq 04 Feb 2008 Nearly
400 Louisiana National Guard troops will be heading to Iraq. The
soldiers were told Friday that they'd be deploying to the Middle
East within the next year.
Revealed: British plan to build training camp for Taliban fighters
in Afghanistan 04 Feb 2008 Britain planned to build a Taliban
training camp for 2,000 fighters in southern Afghanistan, as part
of a top-secret deal to make them swap sides, intelligence sources
in Kabul have revealed. The plans were discovered on a memory stick
seized by Afghan secret police in December.
Internet problems continue with fourth cable break 03 Feb 2008
Internet services in Qatar have been seriously disrupted because
of damage to an undersea telecoms cable linking the Gulf state to
the UAE, the fourth such incident in less than a week. Qatar Telecom
(Qtel) said on Sunday the cable was damaged between the Qatari
island of Haloul and the UAE island of Das on Friday.
'It seems now to be way beyond the realm of coincidence that a
further 4th critical international communications cable should break
within seven days.' Flag plays down net blackout conspiracy theories
04 Feb 2008 Flag Telecom on Monday played down conspiracy theories
over the recent damage to undersea cables that has seriously disrupted
internet and international telecoms services across the region. Two
intercontinental cables connecting Europe and Asia were cut off the
coast of Egypt on Wednesday, followed by breaks in two more cables
off the UAE coast on Friday. Flag owns two of the affected cables.
The location of the breaks and short space of time in which they
have happened has sparked fears the cables were intentionally damaged
by the US and Israel to deprive Iran of internet access.
Disaster threatens US in cyber drill 01 Feb 2008 In the middle of
the biggest-ever Cyber Storm war game to test the nation's hacker
defenses, someone quietly targeted the very computers used to conduct
the exercise. The surprising culprit? The players themselves, the
same government and corporate experts responsible for detecting and
fending off attacks against vital computer systems, according to
hundreds of pages of heavily censored files obtained by The Associated
Press.
Hicks not a terrorist: Dick Smith 04 Feb 2008 'Convicted' terrorism
supporter David Hicks is a decent Australian who has never supported
terrorism, adventurer and businessman Dick Smith says. During Mr
Hicks' incarceration at Guantanamo Bay, Mr Smith campaigned for a
fair trial for the Adelaide man, who was transferred to a South
Australian jail last year, from which he was released in late
December.
MPs warn Hicks not to sell his story 01 Feb 2008 The federal
government expects legal authorities to take strong action against
David Hicks if the 'confessed' terrorism supporter breaks the law
by trying to profit from his story. Hicks is reportedly fielding
offers from about 30 media organisations worldwide to tell the story
of his capture in Afghanistan and his more than five years in
Guantanamo Bay.
Candidates Make Final Push Before Tuesday Vote 04 Feb 2008 As the
candidates began their final push before Super Tuesdays multistate
primary contests, Senator John McCain and Senators Hillary Clinton
and Barack Obama made campaign appearances in the Northeast on
Monday, while Mitt Romney set off on a coast-to-coast swing that
is to end with an evening appearance in California.
US Democrat battle 'is nearly too close to call' 04 Feb 2008 A
dramatic tightening of the Democratic race has been indicated as
Barack Obama surged to within striking distance of Hillary Clinton
in several polls as the rivals for their party's nomination prepared
for Super Tuesday.
Obama expands lead on Clinton in California 04 Feb 2008 Democratic
presidential contender Barack Obama opened narrow leads on Hillary
Clinton in California and Missouri one day before crucial "Super
Tuesday" nominating contests in 24 states, according to a
Reuters/C-SPAN/Zogby poll released on Monday.
Clinton, Obama, Insurance By Paul Krugman 04 Feb 2008 The principal
policy division between Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama involves
health care... You see, the Obama campaign has demonized the idea
of mandates -- most recently in a scare-tactics mailer sent to
voters that bears a striking resemblance to the "Harry and Louise"
ads run by the insurance lobby in 1993, ads that helped undermine
our last chance at getting universal health care. If Mr. Obama gets
to the White House and tries to achieve universal coverage, hell
find that it cant be done without mandates -- but if he tries to
institute mandates, the enemies of reform will use his own words
against him.
Activists want polar bear on endangered list 05 Feb 2008 Animal
activists have pressed the US government to add the polar bear to
the list of endangered animal species before the sell-off of oil
and gas drilling rights in Alaska begins in the coming days. The
US government is due on Wednesday to offer several million acres
of polar bear habitat in the Chukchi Sea [Polar Bear Seas] in Alaska
for sale for oil and gas exploration leases.
Chill the Drills - Protect Alaska's Polar Bear Seas (Sierra Club)
03 Feb 2008 At a time when the polar bear's future is literally on
thin ice, it's no time to add insult to injury by drilling in their
fragile Arctic habitat...
Alaska's Chukchi and Beaufort Seas - also known as the Polar Bear
Seas - could be opened to drilling as early as February. Please
help protect the bears from further harm by signing this petition
to Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne.
Sacramento River chinook salmon population falls precipitously 30
Jan 2008 The Sacramento River's fall chinook salmon population fell
by two-thirds in just one year and is headed for collapse, according
to data from the federal government. Experts say the fish's collapse
may be related to the damage that global warming is doing to oceans.
Turkey detects bird flu virus in poultry 03 Feb 2008 Turkey detected
bird flu virus in dead chickens found late last month in the northern
part of the country after it had started culling poultry due to
bird flu suspicions, the Agriculture Ministry said on Sunday.
Giants-Patriots Most-Watched Super Bowl 04 Feb 2008 The New York
Giants' thrilling win over New England was the most-watched Super
Bowl ever with 97.5 million viewers, a total that is second only
to the "M-A-S-H" finale audience, Nielsen Media Research said Monday.
Nobody's perfect -- Giants shock Patriots --Manning's late TD pass
cements N.Y. 3rd title; N.E. denied 19-0 season 04 Feb 2008 With
the Super Bowl on the line, look who had the perfection thing down
Pat: Eli Manning and the road-conquering New York Giants. And what
a beauty their 11th straight road victory was, a 17-14 Super Bowl
win Sunday that shattered the New England Patriots unblemished
season.
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