CIA Can Hide Torture Allegations, Court Rules By Ryan Singel 29 Oct 2008 The CIA can hide statements from imprisoned suspected terrorists that the agency tortured them in its set of secret prisons, a federal judge ruled Wednesday, Chief Judge Royce Lamberth of the Washington D.C. Circuit Court declined to review the government’s assertions that the allegations of torture from men held in the CIA’s black site prisons — whether truthful or not — would put the nation at risk of grave danger if allowed to be made public.
Fury sweeps Syria after US raid 29 Oct 2008 Souad Khousaim lay very still on her hospital bed and in a quiet voice wracked with pain told me she was one of the innocent victims of Sunday’s raid by US special forces. “I went outside to get my son and the Americans shot me,” she says. “They were very close, five metres away. I was screaming, terrified.” Her husband was among the seven Syrian men who died, but hospital officials have not told her this yet.
Demonstrations prompt closure of U.S. Embassy in Syria 29 Oct 2008 The U.S. Embassy in Damascus announced that it will be closed Thursday because of “increased security concerns” arising three days after a U.S. strike in Syria. Officials said the action was taken because of concerns over anti-U.S. demonstrations scheduled for Thursday over Sunday’s airstrike, which Syria claims left eight people dead near the Iraq-Syria border.
UN urges end to US Cuba embargo 30 Oct 2008 The United Nations General Assembly has voted to urge the US to lift its 46-year-old economic embargo on Cuba in a resolution adopted for the 17th consecutive year. The non-binding resolution was passed by assembly on Wednesday by 185 votes to three — US, Israel and Palau.
Minot AFB B-52s deployed to Guam take part in exercise 30 Oct 2008 Minot Air Force Base B-52 aircrews from Minot Air Force Base deployed to Guam recently finished a flying exercise this month over the Pacific Alaska Range Complex. The exercise tested their ability to defend against air threats. A 10-day joint exercise, Red Flag-Alaska 09-1, also included B-52s from Barksdale AFB in Louisiana, and F-16 Fighting Falcons from Kunsan Air Base in the Republic of Korea and Eielson AFB near Fairbanks, Alaska. KC-135s for air refueling from McConnell AFB, Kan., also participated, according to the 354th Fighter Wing Public Affairs at Eielson AFB.
Qaeda wants Republicans, Bush “humiliated”: Web video 30 Oct 2008 An al Qaeda [al-CIAduh] leader has called for President [sic] George W. Bush and the Republicans to be “humiliated,” without endorsing any party in the upcoming U.S. presidential election, according to a video posted on the Internet. “O God, humiliate Bush and his party, O Lord of the Worlds, degrade and defy him,” Abu Yahya al-Libi said at the end of sermon marking the Muslim feast of Eid al-Fitr, in a video posted on the Internet [LOL! But, we *all* want that!] Libi, one of the top al Qaeda commanders believed to be ‘living’ in Afghanistan or Pakistan [actually, dead but ‘reborn’ so we can bomb the sh*t out of them and kill as many civilians as possible], called for God’s wrath to be brought against Bush equating him with past tyrants in history. [He is.]
Bill Clinton joins Obama in Florida 30 Oct 2008 Bill Clinton and Barack Obama, the last Democratic president and the man Democrats hope will sweep them back to power, converged Wednesday night in Florida… to woo voters and pass the baton. “We can’t fool with this. Our country is hanging in the balance, and we have so much promise and so much peril,” Mr. Clinton told cheering supporters near Orlando. “This man should be our president.”
Obama takes 7-point lead on McCain 30 Oct 2008 Democrat Barack Obama has opened a 7-point lead over Republican rival John McCain with five days left in the race for the White House, according to a Reuters/C-SPAN/Zogby poll released on Thursday. Obama leads McCain by 50 percent to 43 percent among likely voters in the three-day national tracking poll, building on his 5-point advantage on Wednesday.
NC elections board allows early voting extension 30 Oct 2008 Early voting sites in North Carolina can stay open an extra four hours Saturday to help deal with record turnout, the state Board of Elections ruled Thursday. The decision highlights the long lines that have formed across the surprise swing state since early voting began two weeks ago. More than 1.7 million people cast ballots at one-stop sites through Wednesday night.
Satire: McCain to Give 30 Minute TV Closing Argument Called “Thanks For Nothing” By R J Shulman 30 Oct 2008 To counter Barack Obama’s unprecedented half-hour “Closing Argument to the Everyman” that aired on several networks, Senator John McCain announced that he will be airing his own closing argument on Fox tomorrow night. Entitled “Thanks for Nothing, You Ungrateful Whores,” the speech is basically a rant of all “the unfiltered straight talk the party bosses stifled me from saying for all these long months,” according to McCain. (Satire)
Exxon Mobil: Biggest profit in US history –Largest U.S. oil company surges past analyst estimates to post net income of $14.83 billion. 30 Oct 2008 Exxon Mobil Corp. set a quarterly profit record for a U.S. company Thursday, surging [‘surging’ – ironic, since that’s exactly what the ‘surge’ was for] past analyst estimates. Exxon Mobil, the leading U.S. oil company, said its third-quarter net profit was $14.83 billion, or $2.86 per share, up from $9.41 billion, or $1.70, a year earlier. The company’s prior record was $11.68 billion in the second quarter of 2008. The latest quarter’s net income equaled $1,865.69 per second, nearly $400 a second more than the prior mark. The company said its revenue totaled $137.7 billion in the third quarter.
ExxonMobil unveils record profits at $14.8bn 30 Oct 2008 ExxonMobil, the world’s biggest oil company, unveiled a 58 per cent surge in third-quarter profits on the back of soaring oil prices. Net income hit a fresh quarterly record of $14.8 billion (£9.1 billion) for the period from July to September, during which oil touched an all-time high of $147 per barrel. “Despite the continuing uncertainty in world financial markets Exxon has maintained a strong financial position,” said Rex Tillerson, Exxon chairman.
A Question for A.I.G.: Where Did the Cash Go? 30 Oct 2008 The American International Group is rapidly running through $123 billion in emergency lending provided by the Federal Reserve, raising questions about how a company claiming to be solvent in September could have developed such a big hole by October. Some analysts say at least part of the shortfall must have been there all along, hidden by irregular accounting. “You don’t just suddenly lose $120 billion overnight,” said Donn Vickrey of Gradient Analytics, an independent securities research firm in Scottsdale, Ariz.
Outrage over Adelaide Zoo bashing of blind flamingo 30 Oct 2008 The bashing of a blind flamingo at Adelaide Zoo has sparked statewide outrage and prompted calls to review laws preventing underage offenders from being named. AdelaideNow readers have vented their fury over Wednesday’s senseless attack on the 78-year-old flamingo – one of the zoo’s main attractions since the 1930s. Police arrested and charged four teenagers, including two aged 17, but their identities will not be revealed under laws that prevent alleged offenders being named if they are under 18.
Teens ‘bashed’ 78-year-old blind flamingo at Adelaide Zoo 30 Oct 2008 Four teenagers have been charged with beating a blind, 78-year-old flamingo at Adelaide Zoo The bird is believed to be one of the oldest of its kind in the world and keepers said it had been in a critical condition after yesterday’s alleged attack. The zoo said this morning that the bird was responding well to care and it was hoped he would pull through, AdelaideNow reports.