Archive for May, 2009
Classified Anti-Missile System Details Found on Used Hard Drive
May 7th, 2009Via: Guardian: Highly sensitive details of a key US missile defence system have been found on the hard drive of a computer that was disposed of in California. The information about defence contractor Lockheed Martin included a document detailing test launch procedures, blueprints of facilities and photos and personal daat about employees – including their […]
U.S. May Add Shots for Swine Flu to Fall Vaccine Regimen
May 7th, 2009Via: Washington Post: The Obama administration is considering an unprecedented fall vaccination campaign that could entail giving Americans three flu shots — one to combat annual seasonal influenza and two targeted at the new swine flu virus spreading across the globe. If enacted, the multibillion-dollar effort would represent the first time that top federal health […]
Australia’s Massive Military Buildup and Evolving Common “Defense” Arrangements
May 7th, 2009Here’s a lengthy analysis of Australia’s recently announced plan to massively increase military spending. Via: Global Research: On March 2, 2009 the Australian Department of Defence released a 140-page white paper called Defending Australia in the Asia Pacific century: force 2030 (1), which announced $72 billion in new military spending for an island nation of […]
Police to Severely Curtail Use of Stop and Search Powers
May 7th, 2009Via: Guardian: Police have bowed to mounting opposition and are to significantly reduce their use of controversial terrorism powers that allow them to stop and search people without reasonable suspicion, the Guardian has learned. Stop and search is one of the most draconian powers employed by police in the war on terror and a constable’s […]
Madoff Protecting Others
May 7th, 2009Via: New Zealand Herald: Bernard Madoff’s longtime secretary says the disgraced financier is not cooperating with authorities in order to protect others, and that he was a flirtatious boss who frequented massage parlors. Eleanor Squillari, Madoff’s secretary of more than 20 years, told The Associated Press she thinks her former boss carefully orchestrated his arrest […]
U.S. Airstrikes Kill More than 100 Civilians in Afghistan
May 7th, 2009Via: AFP: US-LED air strikes killed more than 100 civilians during operations against insurgents in Afghanistan, a provincial police chief said today, as the US military opened an investigation. “We confirm that in the military operation the other night more than 100 non-combatants have been killed,” Farah province police chief Abdul Ghafar Watandar told AFP, […]
Partially Completed Southern California Housing Tract Demolished
May 6th, 2009Breathtaking madness. Via: AP: A foreclosed tract of partially completed homes was demolished after the bank that owns the project deemed it a hazard and calculated that finishing and selling the dwellings would be a money-losing proposition, a bank official said Tuesday. The planned 16-unit tract on the fringes of a suburb about 65 miles […]
Almost a Quarter of U.S. Homeowners Are Underwater
May 6th, 2009Via: Bloomberg: A growing number of U.S. homeowners owe more than their properties are worth after prices extended their two-year decline in the first quarter, Zillow.com said. About 21.8 percent of all owners were underwater as of March 31, the Seattle-based real estate data service said in a report today. At the end of the […]
Oil Prices Jump to High for the Year
May 6th, 2009Related: Initial Oil Target Via: AP: Oil prices hit a new high for the year Wednesday after a government report showed that unused crude being placed in storage slowed a bit last week. Benchmark crude for June delivery rose $1.95 to $55.79 on the New York Mercantile Exchange, levels not seen since November. Demand for […]
U.S. Army Christians Were Encouraged to Proselytize in Afghanistan; They Were Preparing to Distribute Bibles in Local Languages
May 6th, 2009Via: Military.com: The U.S. military has confiscated Bibles that Christian U.S. Soldiers in Afghanistan had apparently intended to give to local Muslims, a military spokesman has said. Al Jazeera broadcast footage on Monday that showed troops apparently preparing to convert Afghans to their faith. Some of the Soldiers who appeared in the video have also […]
