newslog – unfolding events – 28 Sep 2009

2009-09-29

Richard Moore


Obama at UN: reaffirming Bush policies
On Wednesday, President Barack Obama used his first address to the United Nations General Assembly to defend US wars in Afghanistan and Iraq and reiterate the American right to act unilaterally. At the same time, Obama implicitly appealed to foreign capitals to subordinate themselves to US geostrategic objectives. 
In a generally vacuous and hypocritical speech, Obama also threatened Iran, and declared Israel to be a “Jewish state.” 
The speech, like the Obama presidency itself, sought to present a changed image to the world. If the assembled heads-of-state and foreign ministers had expected Obama to repudiate the policies of the Bush administration, however, they were quickly disappointed. 
Chris Marsden: Obama gives Israel carte blanche on settlement construction
The weeks leading up to the tripartite meeting were dominated by Israeli announcements of a massive programme of housing construction involving 3,500 units on the West Bank and in East Jerusalem, contravening the official US position for a settlement freeze. 
But after repeated official statements of opposition and diplomatic visits by Middle East Envoy George Mitchell, Obama unceremoniously dumped the demand for a freeze.
Obama promises to cover up Israeli war crimes
The Obama administration will not allow the Goldstone report recommendations on Israel’s conduct in the Gaza war to reach the International Criminal Court. 

Wash Post: Obama to continue Bush’s illegal detention policies
The Obama administration has decided not to seek legislation to establish a new system of preventive detention to hold terrorism suspects and will instead rely on a 2001 congressional resolution authorizing military force against al-Qaeda and the Taliban to continue to detain people indefinitely and without charge, according to administration officials. 
Obama administration suspends limits on mercury in vaccines
Mercury limits law temporarily suspended 
Secretary of Health Mary Selecky has temporarily suspended Washington’s limit on the amount of mercury (thimerosal) in H1N1 (swine flu) vaccine allowed for pregnant women and children younger than three years old. The six-month suspension is effective September 23, 2009 through March 23, 2010 and applies only to H1N1 vaccines. It does not apply to seasonal flu vaccine.
ICC Facilitates US Covert War in Sudan
The United States promoted the International Criminal Court’s (ICC) indictment of Sudan’s President Omar al-Bashir for war crimes in Darfur, in order to justify continuing Western exploitation and military interventions in the resource-rich region. 
9/11 Commission Rejects own Report as Based on Government Lies
The 9/11 Commission now tells us that the official version of 9/11 was based on false testimony and documents and is almost entirely untrue. The details of this massive cover-up are carefully outlined in a book by John Farmer, who was the Senior Counsel for the 9/11 Commission.
Paul Joseph Watson: U.S. Troops Now Occupying America
Under the pretext of “helping” local communities short of police in difficult economic times, as well as preparations for a potential swine flu pandemic, U.S. troops are now occupying America as the country sinks into a state of de facto martial law. 
We have been inundated with reports over the last few weeks of uniformed soldiers and National Guardsmen running internal checkpoints all over the country as a frightening “Red Dawn” scenario unfolds not with a bang but with a whimper.
Troops are all over the place here in little ole KY for the annual Sorghum Festival.
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NY Times on Afghanistan: US complaining about resistance to occupation
American military and intelligence officials, who insisted on anonymity because they were discussing classified information, said the Taliban’s leadership council, led by Mullah Muhammad Omar and operating around the southern Pakistani city of Quetta, was directly responsible for a wave of violence in once relatively placid parts of northern and western Afghanistan. A recent string of attacks killed troops from Italy and Germany, pivotal American allies that are facing strong opposition to the Afghan war at home.
Classified McChrystal Report on Afghanistan: 500,000 Troops + Five Years
Global Research, September 25, 2009 
Embedded in General Stanley McChrystal’s classified assessment of the war in Afghanistan is his conclusion that a successful counterinsurgency strategy will require 500,000 troops over five years. 
This bombshell was dropped by NBC reporter Andrea Mitchell on MSNBC’s Morning Joe on Wednesday: 
The numbers are really pretty horrifying. What they say, embedded in this report by McChrystal, is they would need 500,000 troops – boots on the ground – and five years to do the job. No one expects that the Afghan Army could step up to that. Are we gonna put even half that of U.S. troops there, and NATO forces? No way.
Iranian enrichment plant: much ado about nothing
President Obama and his allies raced Friday to use their revelation of a secret Iranian nuclear enrichment plant as long-sought leverage against Tehran, demanding that the country allow highly intrusive international inspections and propelling the confrontation with Tehran to a new and volatile pitch.
Gordon Prather: US, not Iran, violates non-proliferation agreements
Before President Obama persuaded the UN Security Council to adopt his Resolution 1887, which prominently notes that “enjoyment of the benefits of the Treaty on Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons by a State Party can be assured only by its compliance with the obligations thereunder,” someone should have reminded him of an old American proverb that says “Give a man enough rope and he’ll hang himself.”
US launches experimental missile-defense satellites
A NASA-managed rocket launched two experimental satellites designed to track ballistic missiles Friday in a test flight for the United States Missile Defense Agency.
Violence escalates against peaceful protesters in Honduras
IFCO has received disturbing accounts from Honduras indicating that the level of aggression by the coup regime against Zelaya supporters is escalating throughout the country. 
Ammo shortage in US
The USA is suffering the most severe ammunition famine in living memory. Gun fanciers, fearing a Democrat crackdown on every American’s right to pack heat, are clearing shelves at ammo shops and hoarding cartridges.
satellite survey: thinning glaciers in Greenland & Antarctica
Global Research, September 25, 2009 
Guardian – 2009-09-23 
Satellite survey of Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets reveals extensive network of rapidly thinning glaciers that is driving ice loss in the regions.
“The majority of the thinning we see is not due to increased melting from higher atmospheric temperatures, but because the glaciers are flowing faster thanks to their interaction with the oceans,” said Prof David Vaughan, a co-author on the study. 

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