May 22 (Bloomberg) — The U.S. Senate approved a $91 billion spending bill that would fund President Barack Obama’s troop buildup in Afghanistan and block a lawsuit seeking to force the release of photos showing abuse of war prisoners.
Senators voted 86-3 yesterday to approve the legislation, setting up negotiations with the House over a compromise [...]
May 22, 2009
US Senate Approves $91 Billion Funding Bill for Iraq, Afghan Wars…
May 22, 2009
Obama: From anti-war law professor to warmonger in 100 days…
by Alexander Cockburn
Source: TheFirstPost.co.uk
How long does it take a mild-mannered, anti-war, black professor of constitutional law, trained as a community organiser on the South Side of Chicago, to become an enthusiastic sponsor of targeted assassinations, ‘decapitation’ strategies and remote-control bombing of mud houses at the far end of the globe?
There’s nothing surprising here. As far [...]
May 22, 2009
UN seeks $543 million for Pakistan war refugees…
Troops are encircling Taliban militants in their mountain base as well as the main town in the Swat Valley, a Pakistani general said Friday, as the U.N. appealed for $543 million to ease the suffering of some 2 million refugees from the fighting.
With skepticism growing about the progress of the month-old army offensive in the [...]
May 22, 2009
War Criminal Bush: It’s ‘liberating’ to be out of office…
It was a humbling moment for the former commander in chief: President George W. Bush was walking former first dog Barney in his new Dallas neighborhood when it stopped in a neighbor’s yard for relief.
“And there I was, former president of the United States of America, with a plastic bag on my hand,” he told [...]
May 22, 2009
Contractors say Blackwater supplied forbidden guns…
Two men who worked for the security firm formerly known as Blackwater say the company issued weapons to their employees in Afghanistan despite the military prohibiting workers from carrying guns.
Justin Cannon and Steven McClain were involved in a shooting earlier this month that killed an Afghan and injured two others.
They said Thursday they frequently asked [...]
May 22, 2009
Documentary – Monsanto: Patent For a Pig (42 mins.)
The American biotechnology firm, Monsanto, has applied for a patent for pig breeding in 160 countries. The patent is for specific parts of the genetic material of pigs which Monsanto’s genetic researchers have decoded. If this patent is granted, pig breeding would only be possible with the approval of the company.
May 22, 2009
Cheney speech reportedly refers to 9/11 25 times…
Former Vice President Dick Cheney continued his unprecedented attack on a young presidential administration Wednesday.
Even though Cheney’s predecessor, former Vice President Al Gore, waited a few years before hitting the Bush Administration, the media made sure to remind viewers that such instances were rare, and many hinted that he was wrong to do so, despite [...]
May 22, 2009
US keeps nuclear “don’t ask, don’t tell” -Israel aide…
JERUSALEM, (Reuters) – The U.S. administration of President Barack Obama will not force Israel to state publicly whether it has nuclear weapons, an Israeli official said on Thursday.
He said Washington would stick to a decades-old U.S. policy of “don’t ask, don’t tell”.
Obama’s bid to curb Iran’s nuclear programme through diplomacy has stirred speculation that, as [...]
May 22, 2009
US Military: Ex-soldier gets life in prison for Iraqi slayings…
An ex-soldier convicted of raping and killing an Iraqi teen and murdering her family has been sentenced to life in prison in a case that drew attention to the emotional and psychological strains on soldiers serving in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Steven Dale Green, 24, of Midland, Texas, was spared the death penalty Thursday after jurors couldn’t [...]
May 22, 2009
Israel holds drill simulating all-out war…
Israel Air Force squadrons took part in a large scale drill simulating war on all fronts over the past four days, Channel 10 reported Thursday.
Fighter jets, cargo planes and missile defense systems of the corps took part in the drill where defense from a simultaneous attack against Israel from the south and the north [...]
May 22, 2009
Iran to supply Pakistan with free electricity…
Iran plans to supply Pakistan with 100 megawatt electricity free of charge, says the Iranian Ambassador to Islamabad Mashaallah Shakeri.
“All the groundwork in this connection has been completed and the power supply would start as soon as Pakistan finalizes work on transmission lines,” said Shakeri in a meeting with Pakistani Federal Minister for Communications Arbab [...]
May 22, 2009
Brazil regulator approves second Monsanto GMO cotton seed…
SAO PAULO – Brazil’s biosafety regulator CTNBio has approved the use of Monsanto’s Bollgard 2 genetically modified cotton seed, the company said on Thursday.
The pest-resistant cotton variety must still be approved by Brazil’s Agriculture Ministry before it can be planted in the country.
U.S.-based Monsanto has a total of six genetically modified varieties of cotton, soybeans [...]
