First Georgia Community Bank Closed, Boosting 2008 Toll to 23
First Georgia Community Bank of Jackson, with four offices southeast of Atlanta, was closed by regulators, becoming the 23rd U.S. bank failure this year amid losses tied to record mortgage delinquencies and foreclosures.
Mumbai attack: Act now, or we’ll act, America warns Pak
Condoleezza Rice has told Pakistan that there is ‘irrefutable evidence’ of involvement of elements in this country in the Mumbai Terror attacks and it had no option but to act urgently and effectively to avert a strong international response.
FBI assisting Mumbai terror probe; US has jurisdiction: AG
The FBI is assisting Indian investigative agencies in collecting evidence in the aftermath of the Mumbai attacks, the US attorney general has said as he insisted that his country has the jurisdiction to prosecute the terrorist captured during the deadly strikes. Michael Mukasey dubbed as "horrendous" the terror attacks which killed nearly 200 people, including six Americans.
Activist moves homeless into foreclosures
Max Rameau delivers his sales pitch like a pro. "All tile floor!" he says during a recent showing. "And the living room, wow! It has great blinds."
But in nearly every other respect, he is unlike any real estate agent you've ever met. He is unshaven, drives a beat-up car and wears grungy cut-off sweat pants. He also breaks into the homes he shows. And his clients don't have a dime for a down payment.
Civilisation in reverse
The townships of suburban Harare once boasted water and sewage systems that were the envy of Africa. They are now as broken as Zimbabwe itself.
Does the United States expect a new war?
The U.S. administration decided to insure American merchant vessels in the Black Sea against military risks until next March. Many analysts saw this as a sign of a possible early armed conflict in the Black Sea region.
RCMP let Air India bombers escape: report
RCMP investigators chose to let the real masterminds behind the Air India bombing escape, a new report on the terrorist attack by the Punjab Human Rights Organization says.
Crises expert urges EU banking system plan
The architect of a widely respected plan that solved Sweden’s banking crisis in the 1990s has said the European Union must implement a Europe-wide general guarantee for the banking system or risk tipping the region from recession into depression.
America's Second Great Depression Has Started
America's Second Great Depression is not a typical 20th century recession that happens to strike a bit harder or linger somewhat longer. Nor is it merely a fictional scenario conjured up by economists with a murky crystal ball.
In the US they are going to party like it's 1933
Tonight is the 75th anniversary of the end of Prohibition – of 5 December 1933 when Utah became the deciding 36th state to ratify the 21st amendment to the constitution
Flatulence tax could bankrupt farmers
Belching cows and pigs could start costing farmers money if a proposal to charge fees for air-polluting animals becomes law.
Farmers so far are turning their noses up at the notion, which is one of several put forward by the US Environmental Protection Agency after the Supreme Court ruled in 2007 that greenhouse gases emitted by belching and flatulence amounts to air pollution.
Unlocking The Mysteries Of Memory
Stop and think for a moment. What do you remember about your breakfast this morning? One part of your brain will recall the smell of coffee brewing, while another will remember your partner's smile while walking out the door. How does the brain weave together these fragments, and how does it bring them back to conscious life?
Mukasey Tries To Thwart Probes Into Torture, Domestic Surveillance
Attorney General Michael Mukasey has proven that he is cut from the same cloth as his predecessor, Alberto Gonzales, when it comes to protecting the Bush administration from evidence of wrongdoing.
Bankrupt G7 Print Money to Reflate Economies
As the G7 economies plunge over a cliff, the governments and central banks are taking turns at fire fighting in their respective economies.
Real Men Don't Torture
The experts on extracting information from enemy combatants say that torture doesn't work, and doesn't do much except create more enemies.
Toronto Bans Bottled Water Sales, but Junk Sodas Remain Legal
The road to Hell is paved with good intentions, they say. And to prove it, the city of Toronto has decided to outlaw the sale of bottled water in all municipal buildings, including local arenas.
Last Minute Rulemaking by Bush USDA Threatens Organic Farmers
Many media outlets, from the New York Times to the blogosphere, have tracked what has been dubbed the "corporate takeover" of organic farming. One of the hottest controversies in this rapidly growing $20 billion industry has been giant factory farms milking thousands of cows each in feedlots and masquerading as organic. Some of these industrial dairies are controlled by the nation's largest agribusinesses.
The Mumbai Attacks: More Than Meets the Eye
By Jeremy R. Hammond
Details have emerged regarding who was responsible for the recent terrorist attacks in Mumbai, India, with the evidence pointing to the Pakistani-based terrorist group Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT). But the trail doesn't end there.
Bush reported to be drinking heavily
By Wayne Madsen
With less than two months remaining in office, George W. Bush, witnessing a devastating defeat for the Republican Party, worse favorability ratings than those of Richard Nixon at the height of the Watergate scandal, and the most devastating economic situation since the Great Depression, is reported by a number of well-placed sources in Washington as drinking heavily.
'Ex-Pak Army officials, ISI trained Mumbai attackers'
Former Pakistan Army officers and those from the powerful ISI helped train the attackers who targeted Mumbai last week killing over 180 people, a media report said on Thursday quoting a former Pentagon official.
Fortress suspends redemptions as investors seek to pull $3.5 billion
Fortress, the New York-listed hedge fund, became the latest victim of the market crunch last night as it suspended redemptions on four of its flagship Drawbridge funds after investors moved to pull $3.5 billion (£2.4 billion) – almost half the funds’ assets.
Shares in Fortress, one of the few listed hedge funds, lost more than 25 per cent as it said that redemptions meant the assets managed by the four funds would fall to $3.65 billion by January.
The Big Brother state – by stealth
Personal information detailing intimate aspects of the lives of every British citizen is to be handed over to government agencies under sweeping new powers. The measure, which will give ministers the right to allow all public bodies to exchange sensitive data with each other, is expected to be rushed through Parliament in a Bill to be published tomorrow.
US, India: We've proof of ISI role in Mumbai attacks
India has proof that ISI was involved in planning the Mumbai terror attacks and training the terrorists who killed 183 people during a 60-hour siege of the country's financial capital, sources said.
CFR-Brookings report reveals Obama's Mideast strategy
Israelis and Palestinians alike should be in no doubt. The new report on the Middle East from the Brookings Institution and the Council on Foreign Relations is no mere straw in the wind: It spells out in considerable detail what the Obama administration's strategy and priorities for Iran and the Israeli-Arab peace process are going to be.
I Admire Your Tenacity - Fighting A Losing Battle on Immigration
By Frosty Wooldridge
Have American citizens lost their battle to remain a free and sovereign country? Have they lost their will to defend the United States of America? What does the future hold if Barack Obama, aided by Senator John McCain, succeeds in a massive amnesty given to 20 million illegal aliens?
Italian judge suspends CIA kidnapping trial
A Milan judge on Wednesday suspended the high-profile trial of U.S. and Italian agents suspected of a CIA kidnapping after Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi authorized witnesses to invoke state secrecy.
Freedom Under Surveillance, Part I
A gladiator match between freedom, technology, and government is being waged, and there’s no guarantee the America we know will survive it.
Scientists ask: Is technology rewiring our brains?
What does a teenage brain on Google look like? Do all those hours spent online rewire the circuitry? Could these kids even relate better to emoticons than to real people?
U.S. urged to boost its nuclear vigilance
A bipartisan panel cites 'growing risks' that the world will see an attack. Biological terrorism is called the greatest threat.
Russian Spies: Will Pay Cash or in Fajitas
Want a real life lesson about job choices? Robert Hanssen, the FBI agent who spied for the Russians, was paid $1.4 million in diamonds and cash for betraying his country. How much did the Russians offer American journalist Joshua Kucera for his services? About $300 or $400, Kucera writes, in his brief, but highly entertaining piece for the Atlantic.
Washington exploits Mumbai attack to promote “war on terror”
US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice flew to New Delhi Wednesday, ostensibly to deliver US condolences for the 173 people killed in the terrorist attacks that rocked Mumbai last week and express solidarity with the people of India.
Iran deploys 60-ship armada for massive war readiness maneuver
Wednesday, Dec. 3, the Iranian navy and air force began a six-day maneuver of marine and air might which Tehran radio said would cover an area of 50,000 square miles of the Persian Gulf, the Sea of Oman and the Strait of Hormuz. Tehran has threatened to block the narrow strait if attacked. Admiral Qasem Rostamabadi said its aim is to "increase the level of readiness of Iran's naval forces and test domestically-made naval weaponry."
Washington exploits Mumbai attack to promote “war on terror”
By Bill Van Auken
US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice flew to New Delhi Wednesday, ostensibly to deliver US condolences for the 173 people killed in the terrorist attacks that rocked Mumbai last week and express solidarity with the people of India.
Putin: no need for Cuban, Venezuelan bases
Russia does not need to build permanent naval bases in Cuba or Venezuela, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said on Thursday, speaking amid a Kremlin push to increase Moscow's influence in Latin America.
AIG May Double Some Salaries With Retention Payments
American International Group Inc., whose bonuses and perks drew fire from lawmakers after the insurer accepted a federal bailout, will make special retention payments that more than double the salaries of some senior managers, according to a person familiar with the matter.
Berlusconi plans to use G8 presidency to 'regulate the internet'
Italian president and media baron Silvio Berlusconi said today that he would use his country's imminent presidency of the G8 group to push for an international agreement to "regulate the internet".
The U.S. ‘infected’ the world with the crisis – Putin
Vladimir Putin has again put the blame for the global financial crisis on the outgoing U.S. administration. But speaking during his annual televised Q&A session with the public, the Prime Minister said that Russia can weather the economic storm.
US has 'major concerns' about Russia
The US sees Russia's presence in Georgia and Moldova and its suspension of Cold War era arm control agreements as major concerns.
The Bush-Obama National Security Strategy
By Harry Browne
This week the New York Times ran an an article by David E. Sanger about Obama’s new foreign-affairs team and priorities. The headline declared boldly that there will be “a sweeping shift in foreign policy”.
US FEDERAL RESERVE to buy US DEBT? WITH WHAT?
This doesn’t make any sense. The U.S. Government authorizes the Fed to create money out of thin air, which it will then use to buy up the debt of the U.S. Government that nobody else wants?
BBC: 6 gunmen shot and killed at New Delhi airport
The British Broadcasting Corp. is reporting that six gunmen have been shot and killed by Indian security forces at New Delhi's main international airport. The report on the BBC Web site Thursday was attributed to airport officials.
IDF preparing options for Iran strike
The IDF is drawing up options for a strike on Iranian nuclear facilities that do not include coordination with the United States, The Jerusalem Post has learned.
'Israel plans for solo attack on Iran'
The Israeli Army is preparing plans for a strike on Iran's nuclear facilities without any assistance from the US, an Israeli daily claims.
Russia may lease nuclear subs to India
Russia has a large fleet of nuclear-powered but conventionally armed submarines besides its force of strategic nuclear-armed vessels. Medvedev appeared to be referring to the former in an interview with Indian journalists.
Bernanke's Playbook
By Gary North
In the National Football League, a marginal player dreads the request that he report to the coach and bring his playbook. He figures he is going to be cut from the team. The coach makes sure the playbook does not leave with the player.
Retailers’ U.S. Sales Tumble in Worst Month in Four Decades
Sales at U.S. retailers tumbled in November, the worst monthly performance in almost four decades, after the Wall Street meltdown caused consumers to postpone shopping until the Black Friday holiday-sales kickoff.
U.S. troops may be deployed in Arizona, Southwest U.S.
U.S. Defense Department plans to deploy as many 20,000 U.S. troops within the U.S. for homeland security and anti-terrorism efforts could result in a significant number being placed or having some kind of presence in Arizona and the Southwest, according to security experts.
Big Three plead for $34 billion from Congress
The CEOs of GM, Ford and Chrysler are back on Capitol Hill asking for loans and trying to undo damage they did during the previous auto bailout hearings.
Bernanke: More foreclosure help needed
Fed chief says revitalized housing market key to economic recovery, preventing foreclosures needs more government attention.
Harvard Hit by Loss as Crisis Spreads to Colleges
Harvard University's endowment suffered investment losses of at least 22% in the first four months of the school's fiscal year, the latest evidence of the financial woes facing higher education.
AFRICOM China and Congo Resource Wars
By F. William Engdahl
Just weeks after President George W. Bush signed the Order creating a new US military command dedicated to Africa, AFRICOM, events on the mineral-rich continent have erupted which suggest a major agenda of the incoming Obama Presidency will be for the son of a black Kenyan to focus US resources, military and other, on dealing with the Republic of Congo, the oil-rich Gulf of Guinea, the oil-rich Darfur region of southern Sudan and increasingly the Somali ‘pirate threat’ to sea lanes in the Red Sea and Indian Ocean. The legitimate question is whether it is mere coincidence that Africa appears just at this time to become a new geopolitical ‘hot spot’ or whether it has a direct link to the formal creation of AFRICOM.
Canada's PM says bid to topple him is undemocratic
Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper on Wednesday condemned an opposition plan to gain power by ousting his government in a confidence vote, calling the effort undemocratic.
Prosecutor slain in violent Mexico border city
The No. 2 federal prosecutor in a violent Mexican border city near Texas has been shot dead. Jesus Martin Huerta is one of the highest ranking government officials killed in drug-fueled violence sweeping Ciudad Juarez.
Doctors Abandoning Vaccines That Don't Make Them Money
The results of two new surveys published in the medical journal Pediatrics reveal that many U.S. doctors are abandoning vaccines that don't make them money. Due to low reimbursements from insurance companies and government health care programs (Medicare, Medicaid), many doctors are simply refusing to offer such vaccines to children. About half of the doctors surveyed said they had delayed buying at least one vaccine due to the cost.
The experiment, in which volunteers were tricked into perceiving the bodies of other people or mannequins as their own, offers powerful new insights into how the brain constructs the sense of self. It also promises practical implications for treating body image disorders such as anorexia, for designing robotic technology and remote surgery tools, and even for developing better virtual reality games.
Hillary Clinton's Disdain for International Law -- Change We Can Believe In?
By Stephen Zunes,
For those hoping for a dramatic change in U.S. foreign policy under an Obama administration -- particularly regarding human rights, international law, and respect for international institutions -- the appointment of Hillary Clinton as Secretary of State is a bitter disappointment.
WMD attack on US may originate in Pak: Report
akistan is the weakest link in world security and the next terror attack in the US will originate in that country, said a high-powered bipartisan US Congressional commission, adding it is the ‘intersection of nuclear weapons and terrorism.’
With WMD Attack Likely, Can the U.S. Cope?
The recent report revealing a likely biological or nuclear terror attack on the United States by 2013 has left some national security experts questioning what, if anything, a government plan to station 15,000 military troops inside the United States might do to counteract a domestic catastrophe.
Military chiefs urge raid inside Pakistan
Pakistan was bracing last night for a retaliatory airstrike by India against the sprawling headquarters of the al-Qa'ida-linked Lashkar-e-Toiba terrorist organisation near Lahore.
India doesn't rule out military option against Pak
India on Tuesday said that it would not rule out military option to deal with continued terror threat emanating from Pakistan, in what marked a significant toughening of posture in the wake of the Mumbai attack.
India attack may have Pakistani roots: U.S.
The Bush administration has reason to suspect a group at least partly based in Pakistan for last week's attack in India, and revealed that the U.S. had warned the Indian government beforehand that terrorists appeared to be plotting an assault on Mumbai, officials said Tuesday.
Iran launches massive naval maneuver
Iran launched a large-scale, six-day naval maneuver in the Sea of Oman on Tuesday, the official news agency reported.
Tax activist's ad challenges Obama's eligibility for office
An anti-tax activist from upstate New York who is questioning whether President-elect Barack Obama is a "natural born citizen" eligible for the nation's top job said Tuesday that his non-profit group spent "tens of thousands of dollars" to get his message across in ads in the Chicago Tribune this week.
Robert L. Schulz, 69, chairman of We The People Foundation, took out ads Monday and Wednesday to raise questions about whether Obama's Hawaii certificate of live birth is authentic.
Paulson debates next $350 billion in bailout: report
Treasury secretary Henry Paulson is debating whether to ask Congress for the next $350 billion in the $700 billion U.S. bailout, the Wall Street Journal reported on its website on Tuesday.
'Iris recognition' checks a matter of time
"Eyeball recognition" technology could be introduced to Brisbane airport in the near future, according to Brisbane Airport Corporation's CEO Koen Rooijmans.
Feds to Judge: Don't 'Second Guess' Bush Domestic Spy Program
The Bush administration on Tuesday urged a federal judge to dismiss lawsuits against the nation's telecommunications companies accused of complying with the government's once-secret spy program adopted in the wake of the 2001 terror attacks on the United States.
'Human Terrain' Contractor Indicted as Saddam Spy
The Army's controversial Human Terrain program, already reeling from a murder investigation, is facing new allegations -- that one of its own worked as a spy for Saddam.
States Want $176 Billion Slice of Stimulus
When President-elect Barack Obama arrives at Philadelphia's Independence Hall today to meet with the nation's governors, the main question will be not whether he will deliver fast fiscal relief to the states, but how much?
Congressman: Obama's Senate Replacement Must Be Black
The race to replace Barack Obama as Illinois' junior senator heated up Tuesday as Rep. Bobby Rush, D-Ill., called on Gov. Rod Blagojevich to name a black man or woman to the seat.
Continuity Error: Guts, Goo and Obama's Imperial Dream
By Chris Floyd
Barack Obama's new "national security team" is a grim conglomeration of war criminals, warmongers and apologists for torture and empire who have been praised justly by some rightwingers as a continuation and validation of the Bush Regime's foreign policy. But despite the growing unease these choices have induced in some "progressive" quarters, they in no way constitute a "betrayal" on Obama's part. He has always made it abudantly clear that he stands squarely on the side of a militarist empire – expansive, dominating, brooking no challenge or hindrance to its actions or its preeminence. An empire conceived in bloodshed and dedicated to the proposition that no nation is created equal to the divine American state, whose "interests" – as self-servingly defined by whatever faction of the ruling elite holds temporary sway in Washington – must be pursued at any and every cost. A cost to be paid, of course, by the lesser breeds beyond the Homeland's borders, and, increasingly, by the American people themselves.
Fear Drives CDS to All-Time Wides, World-Wide
I'd like to say the only thing to fear is fear itself. But given that CDS are what has fueled most of the financial crisis, perhaps a more timely saying might be "The only thing to fear is credit default swaps"?
The truth about 'hate crimes' and the racial justice racket
On Thanksgiving morning, the top right-hand corner of this page quoted Mark Potok of the Southern Poverty Law Center on what he said was the reaction of hate groups to the dawning of the Age of Obama: "We've seen everything from cross-burnings on lawns of interracial couples to effigies of [President-elect Barack] Obama hanging from nooses to unpleasant exchanges in schoolyards. I think we're in a worrying situation right now."
EU to operate 'all over Kosovo'
The EU's police and justice mission will start deploying throughout Kosovo on 9 December, including to Serb-controlled areas, EU officials say.
Report warns Barack Obama to brace himself for a terrorist attack
Barack Obama should brace himself for a terrorist attack using nuclear or more likely biological weapons before 2013, a bi-partisan commission appointed by the United States Congress will warn on Wednesday. Iran asks The Hague group to probe how Saddam Hussein obtained chemical weapons
Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Mohammad-Ali Hosseini has called for the formation of a committee to investigate how the government of former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein gained access to chemical weapons. Hint: It was Donald Rumsfeld
Somalia: Another CIA-backed coup blows up
By Mike Whitney
Until a month ago, no one in the Bush administration showed the least bit of interest in the incidents of piracy off the coast of Somalia. Now that's changed and there's talk of sending in the Navy to patrol the waters off the Horn of Africa to clean up the pirates hideouts.
EU Police State Plans Gulags for Thought Crimes
In yet another direct violation of traditional civil liberties, the EU super state has announced that it will be introducing a range of thought crimes which include ‘racism, incitement to hatred, apology, denial or trivialisation of genocide’-punishable by up to three years in prison.
November Layoffs Hit Highest Level in 7 Years
November layoffs at U.S. firms surged to their highest monthly level in nearly seven years during November, led by the financial and auto sectors, according to separate reports released Wednesday.
Paulson: Feds to expand rescue
The federal government is reviewing applications from hundreds of banks seeking rescue funding and is "actively" developing new programs to right the nation's unsettled financial system, Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson said Monday.
Military contractor in Iraq holds foreign workers in warehouses
About 1,000 Asian men who were hired by a Kuwaiti subcontractor to the U.S. military have been confined for as long as three months in windowless warehouses near the Baghdad airport without money or a place to work.
Pak TV channel says 26/11 hatched by Hindu Zionists
Mumbai's 26/11 was actually a plan hatched by "Hindu Zionists" and "Western Zionists", including the Mossad, said a self-styled Pakistan security expert on a Pakistan news television show, uploaded on www.hotklix.com.
They look like Hindus. No Pakistani speaks the language they chatted in)," said Zaid Hamid while referring to the terrorists on the show Mujhe Ikhtilaf Hai (I differ) on Pakistan's News One channel.
Hamid said that it was a "badly planned" operation that had gone horribly wrong. (The Americans executed the 9/11 attack perfectly. They managed the media very well. The Indians tried to repeat the formula but goofed up. The idiots made a complete mess of it).
He said that the attackers wore saffron Hindu Zionist bands, which no Muslim would tie. Hamid also said that within the first 5 minutes of the attack, the three ATS policemen investigating the network of terror within India's security agencies and radical right were killed.
Doctors shocked at hostages's torture
The doctors who conducted the post mortem said the bodies of the terrorists were beyond recognition. "Their faces were beyond recognition."
College May Become Unaffordable for Most in U.S.
The rising cost of college — even before the recession — threatens to put higher education out of reach for most Americans, according to the biennial report from the National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education.
Police: Mumbai suspect admits Pakistan link
The attackers who carried out last week's siege in Mumbai spent the past three months in Pakistan carefully planning their strike on India's financial capital, according to the police official leading the investigation into the attacks.
Half of Afghan prisoners have not faced trial-U.N.
More Afghans are being detained without trial, with poor people or those without powerful connections, the most common victims, unable to pay bribes to secure their release, the United Nations said on Monday.
Iran questions story behind Mumbai terror
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has questioned the motive behind the prolonged seven-year Washington presence in Afghanistan.
Paulson To Prod China on Currency
Treasury Secretary Henry M. Paulson Jr. will urge China to maintain a strong currency during high-level talks this week as worries grow in the United States that Beijing may be exacerbating the global slowdown by deflating the value of the yuan to spur its own economy, Treasury officials said yesterday.
Metal prices fall further than during Great Depression
The price of key industrial metals has fallen further over the last four months than occurred during the worst years of Great Depression between 1929 and 1933, according to research by Barclays Capital.
Is Hillary ineligible to join Obama cabinet?
Senate Democrats were working on Tuesday to put together legislation making it possible for senator Hillary Clinton to become secretary of state despite a constitutional clause that some critics argue should bar her from joining the cabinet.
Paulson Debates Second Infusion
U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson is debating whether to ask Congress for the second installment of the $700 billion bailout package, concerned about competing demands for the funds and a potentially hostile reaction from lawmakers.
Pakistan refuses to hand over suspects
THE Pakistan President, Asif Ali Zardari, has risked worsening his nation's stand-off with India by indicating it will not comply with demands to hand over 20 terrorism suspects following the Mumbai attacks.
