Dire situation goes from bad to worse and provides only excuse for troops to stay

Former British Ambassador to the Central Asian Republic of Uzbekistan, Craig Murray, writes today that he suspects the ongoing sectarian violence in Iraq has been intentionally provoked and continued by US and UK special forces in occupation of the country. (more…)

KYODO — North Korea has informed China that it is prepared to conduct “as many as three additional tests” following the first nuclear experiment Oct. 9, CNN television reported Wednesday.

Quoting U.S. intelligence analysts and officials, CNN and Fox News said U.S. spy satellites have detected activities which could be preparations for nuclear explosion tests at three North Korean sites.

CNN also said that latest U.S. intelligence show that North Korea’s missile sites remain at a “very high state of readiness,” and Pyongyang could use them “in the next several days.” (more…)

Nothing says, “We’re reading your every word and listening to your every phone call” better than a $440m deal between HP and the US Department of Defense.

In desperate need of some good news, HP fed reporters a statement today detailing two data center wins with the US Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA). One deal for HP-UX systems could reach $250m, while another for Windows and Linux boxes could hit $190m over eight years, if HP meets certain requirements. Should HP score the whole payout, it will have won its largest “utility computing” deal in company history.

Along with selling hardware and software, HP will service the DISA pie. (more…)

As Electronic Arts says, “It’s in the game”

Games publishers like in-game advertising, but Electronic Arts may have one too far with its latest endeavour.

A Computer Gaming World podcast reveals how retail packages of Battlefield 2142 come with a blurb to inform the buyer that the game comes with monitoring software that will be tracking your online activities.

“When you use the software while connected to the Internet, the advertising technology may record your IP address and other anonymous information,” the packaging states. The technology then delivers adverts that may correspond to your tastes, depending on what the spyware learns about you. (more…)

NEW YORK — In today’s edition of the daily press briefing at the White House, Press Secretary Tony Snow appeared to suggest that the CIA’s “secret prisons” could be back in business – and closed a lengthy discussion of interrogation techniques by threatening to get “snarky” before deciding “that’s not worthy of me.”

The White House had acknowledged that the CIA secret prisons were emptied, under orders, when high-profile prisoners were transferred to Guantanomo, and presumably remained closed. But with the new terror interrogation law signed by the president today, Snow was asked if those prisons were still empty. He refused to answer, and hinted that perhaps the administration felt it was now free to change course, saying, “I am not at liberty to divulge any further details about what may have happened in the last two hours since the law was signed — or hour and a half.” (more…)

The US-backed special tribunal in Baghdad signalled Monday that it will likely delay a verdict in the first trial of Saddam Hussein to November 5. Why hasn’t the mainstream media connected the dots between the Saddam’s judgment day and the midterm elections?

Here’s how the story was reported pretty much everywhere: “An Iraqi court trying Saddam Hussein for the killing of Shi’ite villagers in the 1980s could deliver a verdict on November 5, officials said, a ruling which could send the ousted leader to the gallows…” (more…)

The commander of the British forces returning from Helmand said that his forces were having to make up for the time lost by the decision of the US and UK to invade Iraq instead of concentrating on post-Taliban Afghanistan.

“We could have carried on in 2002 in the same way we have gone about business now,” said Brigadier Ed Butler. “Have the interim four years made a difference? I think realistically they have. It doesn’t mean that we will not achieve what we set out to do.”

Stressing that he was speaking from a strictly UK perspective, and not for the international community, Brigadier Butler added: “So have we slipped back? I don’t think we have slipped back, we may have marked time and I think we are starting to make up for that time.”

Brigadier Butler continued that an international presence may be required in Afghanistan for the next 20 years, but he did not specify how long the British forces would have to remain. (more…)

BAGHDAD, Iraq - The U.S. military reported Wednesday that nine American troops had been killed in bombings and combat, raising to 67 the number of U.S. troops killed in October.

A roadside bomb killed a provincial police intelligence chief in southern Iraq early Wednesday, police said.

The eight U.S. soldiers and one Marine were killed by roadside bombs and enemy fire in and around Baghdad on Tuesday, the military reported. (more…)

A plan to tag air travellers with RFID chips to improve airport security by monitoring passengers as they kill time after check-in in airport coffee shops and departure lounges has been slammed by silicon.com readers as “another ill thought out idea”, “a solution looking for a problem” and even “dead in the water”.

Electrical engineers working on University College London’s ‘Optag’ project have designed a prototype RFID tag with a much greater range than a standard RFID chip - up to 20 metres. The new tags are to be trialled at an airport in Hungary next month and, if successful, could be rolled out to airports within two years, according to project lead Dr Paul Brennan. (more…)

This is a short video about the environmental catastrophe created by the aftermath of the collapse of the Twin Towers and Building 7. And about those who are now suffering tremendously as a result of Toxic Lies told to them about the air quality at Ground Zero. (more…)

A federal judge on Tuesday refused to toss out claims by thousands of emergency workers who sued New York City and about 150 private contractors after the workers were sickened by dust at the World Trade Center site.

Judge Alvin K. Hellerstein dismissed claims against Consolidated Edison Co. and companies controlled by developer Larry Silverstein, saying they did not have legal control over the area and therefore were not liable for damages.

Yeah, Silverstein just ordered the demolition of Building 7…no control whatsoever. (more…)

This is not a commentary. It is an obituary.

The United States, age 230, passed away yesterday following a short bout of internal complications.

Well, “passed away” isn’t quite the term for it. It was murdered – cynically cut down in what should have been its prime; assassinated by fear, slayed by ignorance, silenced by contempt, butchered by congressional cowardice and whacked by a venomous president. Rasputin himself died at the hands of fewer conspirators. (more…)

WASHINGTON — US military deaths in Iraq are the price of fighting for victory in the battle against terrorism, the White House said Wednesday, as the US military reported 10 soldiers killed in a single day. The casualties in a string of separate attacks Tuesday raised this month’s US death toll above 60, making October already one of the bloodiest months for US troops since the March 2003 invasion.

Asked by a reporter whether the latest deaths would prompt US President George W Bush to change strategy, White House spokesman Tony Snow said: “No, the strategy is to win.” (more…)

FBI Director Robert Mueller on Tuesday called on Internet service providers to record their customers’ online activities, a move that anticipates a fierce debate over privacy and law enforcement in Washington next year.

“Terrorists coordinate their plans cloaked in the anonymity of the Internet, as do violent sexual predators prowling chat rooms,” Mueller said in a speech at the International Association of Chiefs of Police conference in Boston. (more…)

Dear Media,

Within the last few months, you’ve given a lot of attention to the 9/11 Truth Movement. In rare circumstances, we’ve even gotten a “fair shake.”

However, your guests have consisted of Dylan Avery, Corey Rowe, Jason Bermas, James Fetzer, Kevin Barrett, Dave Von Kleist, Charlie Sheen, Alex Jones, Dr. Robert Bowman, Michael Berger, Paul Thompson and Dr. David Ray Griffin. We don’t know if you’re aware or not (you haven’t reported on it), but the original members of the 9/11 Truth Movement have been busy as of late.

On August 4th, 2006, 9/11 family members Lorie Van Auken, Patty Casazza, Mindy Kleinberg, and Monica Gabrielle released a statement that questioned the “entire veracity” of the 9/11 Commission’s report. (more…)