US warns North Korea against missile testing
• AFPThe United States warned North Korea against testing a ballistic missile, expressing concern about Pyongyang's ambitions but refusing to confirm reports of an imminent launch.
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House approves election-year Iraq resolution
• ReutersIn a vote charged with election-year politics, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a symbolic resolution that wrapped the Iraq conflict into the war on terrorism and rejected a deadline for U.S. troop withdrawal.
China makes ultimate punishment mobile
• USA TodayThe switch from gunshots to injections is a sign that China "promotes human rights now," says Kang Zhongwen, who designed the Jinguan Automobile death van
Pentagon Details Abuse of Iraq Detainees in Heavily Redacted Report
• Associated PressU.S. special operations forces fed some Iraqi detainees only bread and water for up to 17 days, used unapproved interrogation practices such as sleep deprivation and loud music and stripped at least one prisoner, according to a Pentagon report on inc
TIA Lives On - Minus Abuse Protections
• TPMmuckrackerHow could a program designed to monitor the minute data of millions of innocent Americans be any worse? By stripping its privacy protections and abuse safeguards, and opening the database up to browsers all over the national security community.
Sales calls push secret security hotline to Do Not Call list
• USA TodayMinner keeps the secret homeland defense hotline in her office for instant communication with Washington in case of a emergency. When her line rings, it's someone offering a time-share condominium or the latest deal on long-distance phone service
Congressman McKinney won't be charged with slugging a cop
• Associated PressA grand jury declined to indict Rep. Cynthia McKinney in connection with a confrontation in which she hit a police officer who tried to stop her from entering a House office building. [Prosecutor must have worked very hard to get this outcome.]
Disaster relief firm's 9/11 fraud not prosecuted
• APAs firefighters searched for survivors after the Sept 11 attacks, heat from the World Trade Center's smoldering ruins burned the soles off their boots. They needed new ones every few hours, and Chris Christopherson made sure they got them.
Secret FEMA Plan To Use Pastors as Pacifiers in Preparation For Martial Law
• InfoWars.comNationwide initiative trains volunteers to teach congregations to "obey the government" during seizure of guns, property, forced inoculations and forced relocation
Hell No, I Won't Go! - (video)
• Lieutenant Ehren WatadaOn Wednesday, June 7th U.S. Army First Lieutenant Ehren Watada became the first commissioned officer to publicly refuse deployment to the unlawful Iraq war and occupation. His unit is scheduled to deploy to Iraq in a few days.
Flashback - Plunge Protection Team
• Washington PostThis article dates back to 1997, but I had no idea that this "team" even existed. Bear(excuse the pun) in mind, the situation with the dollar, economy, inflation, unfunded mandates, government spending, war in Iraq, etc.
Uncle Scam
• Etherzone(Ed Henry)Most Americans do not realize that the national debt is divided into 2 parts, what the government calls "Public Debt" and "Intragovernmental Holdings"(IH). Without that understanding, they have no chance of realizing that the lat
Baghdad sees end to Al-Qaeda as more than 100 rebels killed
• AFPIraq said Al-Qaeda's reign of terror was nearing its end, as the US military announced the killing of 104 rebels since the slaying of the group's leader, al-Zarqawi. Information from Al-Qaeda documents seized in raids spelt "the beginni
Iraqi Vice President asks Bush for Troop Withdrawal Timeline
• Associated PressIraq's vice president has asked President Bush for a timeline for the withdrawal of foreign forces from Iraq, the Iraqi president's office said. Vice President Tariq al-Hashimi, a Sunni, made the request during his meeting with Bush, when the
House Democrats Clean Up After Themselves
• Associated PressHouse Democrats, determined to make an election-year point about ethics, voted 99-58 to strip Rep. William Jefferson of his committee assignment while a federal bribery investigation runs its course. The rank and file acted despite a last-minute ple
Bush lacks guts to close Guantanamo, wants Supremes to do it for him
• USA TodayPresident Bush said he'd like to close the US military-run prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, where 3 detainees committed suicide Saturday. He said he was awaiting a Supreme Court decision about how terrorism suspects there could be tried.
E-mails suggest Army Corps lied about Cheney role in Halliburton contract
• Raw StoryThe US Army Corp of Engineers may have publicly lied regarding the involvement of the Vice President's office in awarding a 2003 multi-billion dollar, no-bid contract to Kellogg Brown and Root, a subsidiary of Halliburton.
Pentagon confirms Iranian directorate as officials raise new concerns about war
• by Larisa Alexandrovna (Raw Story)Current military and former intelligence officials remain concerned about a US-led strike on Iran, despite the recent appearance of diplomacy on the part of the US State Department and the offer of an incentives package to Iran.
Hastert's $2 million land deal under scrutiny
• Chicago Sun-TimesHouse Speaker J. Dennis Hastert pocketed almost $2 million from real estate deals adjacent to his Plano home in booming Kendall County, one of the fastest growing areas in the nation. Hastert, who earmarked $207 million in federal dollars for the pro
White House: 'Everybody would like the war to be over now'
• Raw Story (video link)When asked about the landmark 2,500 US soldiers killed in Iraq today, White House Press Secretary Tony Snow claimed that "Everybody would like the war to be over now." He also said the 2,500 figure was a "number."
Pentagon talking points for war supporters
• Raw Story (wow!)An incredibly lengthy "prep book" for discussion of the Iraq war and US efforts to end terrorism has been issued to supporters in Congress. An election year guide for Republicans and Democratic supporters of the war, with many of the
Republicans defend Iraqi amnesty plan for insurgents who attacked US troops
• Raw Story5 Republican Senators today took to the chamber floor invoking Nelson Mandela, the Confederacy, and even the Japanese to defend an Iraqi government plan to grant amnesty for insurgents who have attacked US troops, or civilians.
Hamas Offers to Renew Truce With Israel
• Associated PressThe Hamas-led government offered to restore a cease-fire with Israel, several days after calling off the truce to protest a deadly explosion on a Gaza beach, but said the calm would depend on Israel's response. Hamas said it is ready to put pr
The shrapnel evidence that points to Israel's guilt
• The IndependentIsrael has dismissed continuing calls for an independent international inquiry into the beachfront explosion which killed 7 members of a Palestinian family in Gaza last Friday after its own investigation decided it was not responsible for the blast.
Neptune linked to asteroid swarms
• Space.comAstronomers have detected three new rocky bodies which share the same orbit as Neptune as it travels around the Sun. The finding brings the total number of the gas giant's asteroid companions, or “Trojans,” up to four.
American Revolution flags sell for $17.4 million
• USA TodayA bidder paid nearly $17.4 million, on Flag Day, for 4 rare flags from the American Revolution. The remarkably intact regimental standards captured by a British officer in 1779-80 were put up for auction by one of his direct descendants 225 years lat
US increasingly data mining its citizens
• Washington PostThe Pentagon pays a private company to compile data on teenagers it can recruit to the military. The Homeland Security Department buys consumer information to help screen people at borders and detect immigration fraud.
Mexican presidential elections: The firebrand on Bush's doorstep
• The IndependentMexico's Manuel Lopez Obrador may follow Hugo Chavez and Evo Morales as the next Latin leftist leader. And if he wins a bitterly contested election next month, this time the revolution will be just across the US border.
T-Shirt mask & bird flu
• Associated PressThe world may be unprepared for a bird flu pandemic, but U.S. researchers said on Wednesday they had come up with one low-tech answer to widespread shortages of medical equipment -- a mask made out of a T-shirt.
Google keeping its eye on the US government
• Associated PressGoogle wants to be a top source of information from the federal government. The company plans to announce a new product today that aims to be a one-stop site for searching the Web sites of government agencies.
