About 150 forms questioned in Metro, Williamson County

At least five apparently bogus voter registration forms were submitted to the Metro Nashville election commission by a worker with ties to the Republican National Committee, and up to 150 other registrations have been called into question, The Tennessean has learned. (more…)

Washington D.C. — The Pentagon has confirmed that China has tested its anti-satellite laser and jammed a U.S. satellite but wouldn’t say which satellite was involved.

The U.S. has 30 Global Positioning Satellites that it relies on for a number of tasks. That ranges from military uses such as targeting bombs and finding enemy locations to consumer uses such as automobile navigation systems and bank automatic teller machines. (more…)

Exiles peddling shaky intelligence, advocacy groups pressing for regime change, neocons bent on remaking the Middle East. Sound familiar?

Exiles peddling back-channel intelligence, upstart advocacy groups pressing for regime change, administration hawks intent on remaking the Middle East—the scene in Washington is looking eerily familiar as the Iran standoff grows more tense. Instead of Ahmad Chalabi, we have the likes of Iran-Contra arms-dealer Manucher Ghorbanifar. A new Iran directorate inside the Pentagon features some of the same people who brought you the Iraq intel-cherrypicking operation at the Office of Special Plans. Whether calling for outright regime change or pushing “democracy promotion” initiatives to undermine the Iranian government, an expanding cast of characters has emerged to promote confrontation between the U.S. and Iran. What follows is an abridged list of the individuals and organizations agitating to bring down the mullahs. (more…)

Despite past objections about multiple requests for defense funds and inadequate justification for parts of the spending request, the defense bill that Congress approved Friday is no different. Either the clamor has not been loud enough or the American public hasn’t quite reckoned with the full consequences of fragmented and poorly justified defense spending not only for the fiscal health of the country, but also the vitality of the forces. (more…)

Ever since the passport issue came up, many of us have wondered when this invasion of privacy will end. Well, I’m here to tell you folks that it’s only beginning, and what is to come will be very intrusive, and invasive to all of our privacy; here in the US, and everywhere else. (more…)

Smile, you’re on police cameras.

Come next April, Toronto police will install 15 highly visible closed-circuit cameras in two of the city’s most crime-ridden areas in hopes of deterring unlawful activity. (more…)

A British soldier said yesterday that he saw the car of the ITN journalist Terry Lloyd burst into flames after being fired on by an American tank during the invasion of Iraq. (more…)

Geoff Hoon, the minister for Europe, has been attacked by an international delegation of European MPs for evading questions about claims that Britain co-operated with CIA torture flights across Europe.

The MEPs accused the Government of breaking international law by failing to investigate claims that Britain was used for “extraordinary rendition” flights taking suspects to secret jails and countries which used torture. (more…)

CAMP PENDLETON, Calif. — The Pentagon said Friday that it will investigate a Marine’s sworn statement that guards at Guantanamo Bay bragged about beating detainees and described it as a common practice. (more…)

Guantanamo guards described physically and mentally abusing detainees, including slamming one’s head into a cell door and denying them privileges merely to anger them, a U.S. Marine said in a document made public on Friday.

“Examples of this abuse included hitting detainees, denying them water, and removal of privileges for no reason,” the Marine Corps sergeant stated in a sworn affidavit sent to the Pentagon’s inspector general’s office for investigation. (more…)

Richard Ben-Veniste said the following to Condoleezza Rice the following question during her appearance before the 9/11 Commission:

“The extraordinary high terrorist attack threat level in the summer of 2001 is well documented, and Richard Clarke’s testimony about the possibility of an attack against the United States homeland was repeatedly discussed from May to August within the intelligence community, and that is well documented. You acknowledged that Richard Clarke told you that Al-Qaeda cells were in the United States.

(or watch the video).

The August 6, 2001 Presidential Daily Brief was entitled “Bin Laden Determined to Strike in US”. (more…)

President Bush has been telling a Hispanic audience that mass deportation is not the solution to illegal immigration. He declared, “You can’t kick 12,000,000 people out out of your country.”

The president’s remarks came at a White House observance of Hispanic Heritage Month. It also came 2 days after Bush signed a measure that calls for building up to 700 miles of new fencing along America’s southern border. (more…)

The September 2006 summit in Paris between Russia’s Vladimir Putin, French President Jacques Chirac and German Chancellor Angela Merkel, underscored the re-emerging of Russia as a major global power. The new Russia is gaining in influence through a series of strategic moves revolving around its geopolitical assets in energy—most notably its oil and natural gas. It’s doing so by shrewdly taking advantage of the strategic follies and major political blunders of Washington. The new Russia also realizes that if it does not act decisively, it soon will be encircled and trumped by a military rival, USA, for which it has little defenses left. The battle, largely unspoken, is the highest stakes battle in world politics today. Iran and Syria are seen by Washington strategists as mere steps to this great Russian End Game. (more…)

WASHINGTON — Congressional Republicans, already struggling against negative public perceptions of Congress, now face voters who say new scandals will significantly influence their vote in November.

From WRH: The Diebold machines, however, remain steadfast in their choices. (more…)

Despite 810,000 job injection…by a wide margin!

I kid you not. Today boasted the data release of ‘Non-farm Payrolls’ and the unemployment rate — two of the most intensely watched measures of U.S. economic health. This month showed that 51,000 jobs were created in the month of September — about 80,000 FEWER than the market expected. However, August’s job creation numbers were revised upwards by about 60,000 jobs. So the 2-month total came out slightly weaker than expected.

As expected, the Dollar dropped on that negative economic information — but wait! (more…)