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US Drone Strike Kills 13 in Pakistan

A missile strike by a US drone killed at least 13 people in a Pakistani tribal district bordering Afghanistan on Saturday, officials said.
The strike took place on a village 15 kilometers north of Khar, the main town of the restive Bajaur tribal district.

"I can confirm that 13 people were killed in the drone attack," a tribal administration official said.

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Obama signs bills for record Pentagon, Homeland Security spending

President Obama signed legislation Wednesday authorizing $680 billion for the Pentagon, the largest military budget ever. On Thursday, he signed a bill giving another $44 billion to the Department of Homeland Security, to strengthen state repression within the US.

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115 arrested so far in 18 cities to demand for health care for all
115 arrested so far in 18 cities to demand for health care for all
Total number who risked arrest today: 73 in 10 cities
Arrests include Matt Hendrickson, MD, a California doctor who is calling for real health care reform
Margaret Flowers, MD, will be risking arrest tomorrow at CareFirst insurance in Baltimore, Maryland

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The Cover-Up Continues

The Obama administration has clung for so long to the Bush administration’s expansive claims of national security and executive power that it is in danger of turning President George W. Bush’s cover-up of abuses committed in the name of fighting terrorism into President Barack Obama’s cover-up.

We have had recent reminders of this dismaying retreat from Mr. Obama’s passionate campaign promises to make a break with Mr. Bush’s abuses of power, a shift that denies justice to the victims of wayward government policies and shields officials from accountability.

Musicians Protest Use of Recordings in Gitmo Torture

A coalition of popular recording artists is calling on the military to disclose whether their songs have been used as part of the torture and harsh interrogation of prisoners at Guantanamo Bay. Bands including R.E.M. and Pearl Jam have endorsed Freedom of Information Act requests filed by the National Security Archives asking the Pentagon to disclose which artists’ music has been used.

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US, Israel Stage Joint Air Drill

The US, meanwhile, has launched a joint air force drill with the Israeli military. The drill has been described in Israel as a preparation for an attack on Iran. US Navy Rear Admiral John Richardson said the exercises would aid the Obama administration’s revamped missile defense program.

US Navy Rear Admiral John Richardson: “This exercise is not directly related to recent announcements about ballistic missile defense in Europe, but the lessons and the insights that we gain from this exercise will certainly relate to developing that capability.”

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Goldstone Challenges Obama to Explain Gaza Inquiry Objections

As the US challenges Sri Lanka, the head of a UN inquiry into the US-backed assault on Gaza is challenging the Obama administration to explain why it’s worked to minimize the inquiry’s findings that Israel committed multiple war crimes. In an interview with Al Jazeera, Judge Richard Goldstone said the White House had raised “concerns” about the report but hasn’t explained them.

Judge Richard Goldstone: “It seems to be still developing. It’s been ambivalent, I think. The Obama administration joined our recommendation calling for full, good-faith investigations, both in Israel and in Gaza, but said that the report was flawed. But I have yet to hear from the Obama administration what the flaws in the report that they’ve identified are. I mean, I’d be happy to respond to them, if and when I know what they are.”

Last week the US voted against a UN Human Rights Council resolution endorsing the report’s recommendations that both sides of the Gaza conflict probe war crimes allegations or face international prosecution. The resolution has been forwarded to the Security Council, where it’s expected to face a US veto.

As Talks Continue, Honduran Coup Regime Extends Media Crackdown

In Honduras, the coup regime has enacted a decree allowing it to close media outlets rather than revoking the measure as it had promised last week. Coup leaders have already shut down the opposition media outlets Channel 36 and Radio Globo. The measure threatens broadcasters with closure for airing reports that “attack national security.” On Saturday, police fired tear gas at hundreds of people rallying in support of the ousted President Manuel Zelaya.

Protester: “Here in Honduras, we will no longer put up with them beating us, with deaths and everything. We won’t put up with it anymore! We want these coup mongers out, for these soldiers not to beat us as if they didn’t also have mothers.”

The protests were held as Zelaya representatives continued to hold talks with the coup regime. Juan Barahona, a member of Zelaya’s delegation, said the negotiations had progressed, but not on the fundamental issue of Zelaya’s return.

Juan Barahona: “There has been some progress in the negotiations, in the discussion over an agreement. But I repeat, if there is no agreement in the main point—that is, Zelaya’s return—and when we get to that point, there is no progress, we go backwards again, until we’re back at nothing.”

UN Panel Warns of Growing Mercenary Presence in Honduras

An independent UN panel is raising alarm over the use of foreign mercenaries since Zelaya’s ouster. The UN says it’s received reports the coup regime has hired more than 120 mercenaries from across Latin America. An estimated forty former Colombian paramilitaries have also been hired to guard wealthy Hondurans and their properties.

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Obama Admin Expands Nuclear Weapons Production

As the US pressures Iran, the news agency Inter Press Service reports the US is going ahead with a Bush administration program increasing nuclear weapons production. The “Complex Modernization” initiative would expand two existing nuclear sites to produce new bomb parts. The administration is proposing to build new plutonium pits at the Los Alamos lab in New Mexico and expand enriched uranium processing at the Y-12 facility in Oak Ridge, Tennessee.

Taliban Claims Responsibility for World Food Program Bombing

Taliban militants have claimed responsibility for Monday’s deadly suicide bombing in Islamabad that killed five workers of the World Food Program. The Taliban said it carried out the bombing to avenge the August 5 slaying of their leader, Baitullah Mehsud, in a US drone attack.

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White House: No Plans to Withdraw from Afghanistan

The White House said Monday President Obama has no plans to walk away from the war in Afghanistan, which began eight years ago this week. Obama is expected to decide soon whether to send tens of thousands of more troops as requested by US commander General Stanley McChrystal.

Oklahoma Bombing Tapes Appear to Be Edited

A new controversy is surfacing over the disclosure of security tapes from the 1995 Oklahoma City bombings that appear to have been edited. A Salt Lake City attorney released the tapes after obtaining them under the Freedom of Information Act. The attorney, Jesse Trentadue, says tapes from four different cameras go blank right before the bombing took place. Trentadue has conducted his own inquiry into the bombings since his brother’s death in an Oklahoma City prison in 1995. Trentadue says his brother was beaten to death after FBI agents mistook him for a bombing suspect. Trentadue has accused the FBI of having prior knowledge of the bomb plot but doing little to prevent it.

US to Open Naval Bases in Panama

The US is reportedly set to announce an agreement to open two naval bases in Panama. The deal would mark the first large-scale US military presence in Panama since the closure of US bases there in 1999.

G-20 Concludes with Vague Pledges on Global Warming, Finance

The G-20 summit wrapped up in Pittsburgh Friday with pledges on a series of global issues. On climate change, world leaders vowed “strong action” but didn’t make specific commitments. The summit also called for a new era of balanced economic growth but didn’t offer much in the way of tangible steps toward that goal. On executive pay, G-20 leaders agreed to a deal that won’t cap bonuses but instead asks companies to stretch them out in deferred compensation. The final summit declaration also endorsed granting more voting rights to “underrepresented” countries at the IMF and World Bank. Around 200 people were arrested during the two-day summit. At one protest, unidentified law enforcement officers were filmed shoving a protester into a car and driving away. The officers were wearing army fatigues, but state officials say they weren’t military. The abducted protester is reportedly still behind bars.

Honduran Coup Regime Imposes Media, Protest Crackdown

The Honduran coup regime has intensified its grip on power in the face of growing pressure for restoring the elected President Manuel Zelaya. On Sunday, coup leaders issued a decree granting themselves broad authority to clamp down on free speech. Under the new rules, the regime can ban protests and suspend media outlets found to have committed “disturbances of the peace.” Meanwhile, the regime also refused entry to a delegation from the Organization of American States that had come to seek a negotiated solution to the crisis. Speaking from his hideout in the Brazilian embassy, Zelaya called for a massive national protest against the coup regime.

Honduran President Manuel Zelaya: “Today is the day in which we call for peaceful resistance, for demonstrations for twenty-four continuous hours. You, my dear Hondurans, can’t lose your rights because someone, or a coup, restricts public liberties, violates human rights, murders and detains.”

Zelaya has remained in the Brazilian embassy since defiantly returning to Honduras one week ago. Coup leaders have now given Brazil a ten-day deadline to hand over Zelaya or face the embassy’s closure. Brazil has rejected the ultimatum and says Zelaya will stay as long as he needs. The coup regime issued the threat as its soldiers continued to surround the embassy and limit the delivery of supplies. On Friday, the UN Security Council passed a resolution condemning the embassy siege.

UN Ambassador Susan Rice: “They condemned acts of intimidation against the Brazilian embassy and called upon the de facto government of Honduras to cease harassing the Brazilian embassy and to provide all necessary utilities and services, including water, electricity, food and continuity of communications.”

Zelaya supporters have continued to rally despite the government crackdown. On Saturday, hundreds marched in the capital demanding the coup regime’s ouster.

Protester: “There is an excitement in our people with hope that soon we will be able to reinstate constitutional order in the country. The people are constantly, permanently and positively mobilized, and, of course, peacefully.”

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Obama Won’t Seek New Indefinite Detention Authority

The Obama administration has announced it won’t ask Congress for new powers to jail terror suspects indefinitely and without charge. The White House will instead continue to use the indefinite-detention system established after the 9/11 attacks. Civil liberties groups have opposed the indefinite jailing but warned that a new system could have left prisoners with even fewer rights. Guantanamo Bay prisoners are currently able to challenge their imprisonment in US courts. Christopher Anders of the American Civil Liberties Union said, “Going to Congress with new detention authority legislation would only have made a bad situation worse.”

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Obama administration shields CIA torturers

In response to a public campaign by the CIA, the Obama administration has decided to further scale back an already narrow investigation of Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) torture during the Bush years that was announced last month by Attorney General Eric Holder.

In announcing the probe, Holder had made clear that it would be limited to CIA agents whose torture of alleged terrorists went beyond the bounds laid down by Bush administration directives. It would target neither the Justice Department lawyers who drew up findings providing a pseudo-legal justification for waterboarding, hanging prisoners from walls, placing them in boxes for hours on end, and similar crimes, nor the top Bush administration officials who ordered and oversaw such practices.

The CIA—including the current director and Obama appointee, Leon Panetta—and former Bush administration officials, led by former Vice President Dick Cheney, have denounced Holder’s token probe, claiming that it will hamstring US intelligence operations and give aid and comfort to the terrorists.

On Friday, seven former CIA directors sent a letter to President Obama demanding that he quash the Holder inquiry. Signing the letter were directors under both Democratic and Republican administrations: Michael Hayden, Porter Goss, George Tenet, John Deutch, R. James Woolsey, William Webster and James R. Schlesinger.

UN Body Urges Israel to Allow Nuclear Inspections

Overriding Western objections, a United Nations nuclear conference passed a resolution Friday directly criticizing Israel and its secret nuclear weapons arsenal. The UN body voted to urge Israel to accede to the Non-Proliferation Treaty and place all Israeli nuclear sites under UN inspections. The resolution cited “concern about the threat posed by the proliferation of nuclear weapons for the security and stability of the Middle East.” Israeli delegate David Danieli denounced the vote as “openly hostile to the state of Israel” and accused Iran and Syria of “creating a diplomatic smoke screen” to cover up their “pursuit of nuclear weapons.”

David Danieli: “The delegation of Israel deplores this resolution, which serves no purpose of the IAEA and its general conference. The state of Israel will not cooperate in any matter with this resolution, which is only aiming at reinforcing political hostilities and division lines in the Middle East region."

Iranian delegate Ali Asghar Soltanieh praised the UN vote.

Ali Asghar Soltanieh: “This is a very good news and a triumph of the oppressed nation of Palestine, that their voice was heard in the international community, in the IAEA, and action was made to let them know that they are not left alone, homeless, bombarded by Israelis, and being deprived from any basic rights.”

The UN meeting also adopted a resolution last week calling for a Mideast free of nuclear weapons in a near-consensus vote. Israel was the only nation to vote against the measure.

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CIA Expands Presence in Afghanistan

While the Pentagon is considering a further escalation of the war, the Los Angeles Times reports the CIA is deploying teams of spies, analysts and paramilitary operatives to Afghanistan as part of a broad intelligence “surge.” When complete, the CIA’s presence in Afghanistan is expected to rival the size of its massive stations in Iraq and Vietnam at the height of those wars.

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US President Barack Obama has extended the 47-year-old trade embargo against Cuba for another year.
In a statement, Mr Obama said that it was in the US national interest to extend the Trading With The Enemy Act which covers the trade embargo.