30th NOVEMBER 2005

• EPA Plans to Test 9-11 Dust — The Environmental Protection Agency has offered its final plan for testing dust left from the World Trade Center collapse in Lower Manhattan. WNYC's Kathryn Herzog reports. The $7 million plan calls for testing of any dust lingering in private homes and businesses south of Canal Street and west of Pike and Allen streets. The tests are for asbestos, lead and other toxins left over from the World Trade Center attacks nearly four years ago.

• Iraq Misses Deadline on Torture Probe: Iraq's Government Misses Two-Week Deadline to Complete Investigation of Torture Allegations - Iraq's government missed a two-week deadline Wednesday to complete an investigation into torture allegations at an Interior Ministry lockup, a probe which Amnesty International warned may show a pattern of abuse of prisoners by government forces.

• While Americans snooze, a creeping police state grows - Almost imperceptibly, American freedoms are shrinking with only scant objections from a few voices in the proverbial wilderness. The modus: creating the fear of terrorism and the corresponding need for stringent new "national security" measures. Consider a U.S. Supreme Court decision this week. The court denied the appeal of a former FBI translator fired after complaining vital intelligence was poorly translated and that one colleague was engaged in espionage. Even the Justice Department's inspector general concluded the translator's allegations had merit. Yet, the high court's justices refused to listen to the translator's appeal for reinstatement because the FBI claimed—without a shred of proof—that "national security" was at stake and therefore the case shouldn't be heard.

• Zambia bans Brazilian church in satanism row - Zambia has banned the local branch of Brazil's Universal Church of the Kingdom of God after claims its leaders were satanists, the government said on Wednesday. "There are reports that two men within the Church had been painted and that the same church was practicing Satanism," Home Affairs Permanent Secretary Peter Mumba said in a statement.

• Straw quizzes US on 'CIA flights' - The foreign secretary has written to Washington over claims that the CIA has used EU airports to move suspects to other countries for torture. Jack Straw said the letter "expressed concern" on behalf of all EU countries and he was waiting for a response.

• Two in court over al-Jazeera 'bombing' memo - A civil servant and a former MP’s researcher appeared in court today charged with leaking an account of a conversation between Tony Blair and George Bush, in which the US President allegedly suggested bombing al-Jazeera, the Arab news network. David Keogh, 49, a former communications officer at the Cabinet Office, and Leo O’Connor, 42, a one-time researcher for the former Labour MP, Anthony Clarke, appeared at Bow Street Magistrates Court charged under the Official Secrets Act.

• Weldon rips 9/11 commission over intelligence failures - Still wearing his makeup from an appearance on CNN's "Lou Dobbs Tonight," U.S. Rep. Curt Weldon, R-7, of Thornbury, told a packed house at the township library Tuesday evening about his concerns regarding the 9/11 Commission. The congressman said the military intelligence unit Able Danger identified four Sept. 11 hijackers in 2000, more than a year before the attacks. He said the commission, charged with investigating intelligence failures, deliberately excluded the input from its July 2004 final report. Members of the commission have repeatedly denied the claims.

• Police Taser autistic teen at school: Boy charged in south Fort Myers incident - A 15-year-old autistic boy was shocked with a Taser at Cypress Lake High School in south Fort Myers after striking teachers, an officer and an assistant principal, police said. The teen was charged with disturbing the peace, interfering with a school function and resisting an officer without violence after the incident last week, according to the Lee County Sheriff's Office.

• 40% of child deaths Aids-related - HIV/Aids is the leading cause of death of South African children under the age of five. Diseases of poverty account for a further 30% of deaths in this age group, the Children's Institute (CI) has said. The HIV/Aids pandemic is first among a number of factors that are standing in the way of realising child rights in South Africa, and the country needs a comprehensive response to children infected and affected by the disease.

• Food regulator calls for release of cancer study data on aspartame - EU processors will have to wait longer to find out if they can continue to use aspartame, after the EU's food safety regulator said it had still not received evidence from an Italian research centre indicating that the artificial sweetener causes cancer. In a press statement the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) urged the Ramazzini Institute in Italy to release the data it had on aspartame. EFSA said it had first made its request in June after Ramazzini published its claims in a scientific journal. The request was renewed in September.

• Tanner to speak on topic of ‘New World Order’: Congressman frequent critic of administration’s handling federal budget, entitlement programs - Tennessee’s Eighth District U.S. Representative John Tanner will speak at the University of Tennessee at Martin at 4 p.m., Nov. 30, in Watkins Auditorium of the Boling University Center. His presentation, “The United States and the New World Order,” is open to the public.

29th NOVEMBER 2005

• Vanunu Speaks Out About 'Illegal Incarceration' and Harrassment by Israeli Authorities - Two weeks after Mordechai Vanunu, the Israeli nuclear whistle blower, was jailed for 36 hours on alleged parole violations he tells why he feels 'unfairly targeted' as well as telling why his freedom of speech and association rights are being disregarded. Even though he already spent 18 years in jail, it looks like authorities are looking 'for any little thing' to put him behind bars.

• Bishop apologizes to victims of abuse - The bishop of the Fairbanks Catholic Diocese published an open letter in Sunday's newspaper apologizing to victims of sexual abuse by church representatives. The Bishop Donald Kettler reaffirmed his promise to bring healing to those harmed by child sexual abuse and to update the diocese's efforts to prevent abuse from happening in the future.

• ACTIVIST JUDGE BETRAYS MILLION VOTERS, STABS PROPERTY OWNERS - Constitutional property rights are threatened by an Oregon activist judge. Oregon judges past and present have no intention of allowing voter approved measures to constrain illegal land use laws. The courts, sympathetic to the radical environmental movement, are euthanizing both the state and federal Constitution to accomplish their political agenda of land control without payment.

• Video airs of purported hostages in Iraq: Christian group says 4 aid workers kidnapped - The Arabic-language channel Al-Jazeera on Tuesday broadcast a video issued by an unknown group showing what it claimed were four hostages. The group, which called itself "the Swords of Justice," said the four were spies and claimed they worked under the cover of "the Christian Peace group," according to Al-Jazeera. CNN cannot independently verify the video's authenticity.

• Miami Police Take New Tack Against Terror - Police are planning "in-your-face" shows of force in public places, saying the random, high-profile security operations will keep terrorists guessing about where officers might be next. As an example, uniformed and plainclothes officers might surround a bank building unannounced, contact the manager about ways to be vigilant against terrorists and hand out leaflets in three languages to customers and people passing by, said police spokesman Angel Calzadilla. He said there would be no random checks of identification.

• Canadian Vote Means Ouster of Lower House - Canadian politicians will hit the campaign trail this holiday season after opposition parties seized upon a corruption scandal to bring down the minority government of Prime Minister Paul Martin in a vote of no confidence.

28th NOVEMBER 2005

• French quizzed on Di's death - A EUROPEAN court has reportedly ordered French authorities to answer questions about the car crash which killed Princess Diana. The European Court of Human Rights had given the French Government until February 6 to explain, among other things, why it took so long for Diana to reach hospital and why her body was embalmed, Britain's Daily Express newspaper reported.    (RELATED: See our popular 'Diana Assassination' Archive for more info).

• Indonesia deploys British arms against protesters - British military equipment is being used by the Indonesian authorities against civilians in remote parts of the country. Despite promises by Foreign Office ministers that UK arms exported to the country are not used for internal repression, a photograph seen by The Observer shows a British-made Tactica water cannon vehicle deployed in the troubled eastern province of West Papua.

• CIA accused of running secret prisons abroad - The US Central Intelligence Agency is alleged to have been running secret prisons in Asia and eastern Europe where it interrogates suspected al-Qaeda prisoners. Human Rights Watch, the US-based organisation, yesterday said there was strong evidence, including the flight records of CIA jets transporting prisoners out of Afghanistan, that Poland and Romania were among countries allowing the CIA to operate secret detention centres in their countries.

• Campaigners up the ante in ID card battle - CAMPAIGNERS fighting plans to introduce a national identity register and ID cards are bringing a biometrics roadshow to the Capital. The move by the NO2ID pressure group is aimed at highlighting some of the pitfalls of using biometrics to capture finger prints and facial images to be stored on the controversial ID cards.

• 50 babies a year are alive after abortion - The debate over abortion was reignited last night after it emerged that 50 babies survive botched terminations in Britain every year. The figures are the first to show the true scale of a problem thought to have been confined to just a handful of babies.

• 'Trophy' video exposes private security contractors shooting up Iraqi drivers - A "trophy" video appearing to show security guards in Baghdad randomly shooting Iraqi civilians has sparked two investigations after it was posted on the internet, the Sunday Telegraph can reveal. The video has sparked concern that private security companies, which are not subject to any form of regulation either in Britain or in Iraq, could be responsible for the deaths of hundreds of innocent Iraqis.

27th NOVEMBER 2005

• Secrets of the CIA: A video documentary courtesy of Google Video - click here to watch

• Pentagon Expanding Its Domestic Surveillance Activity: Fears of Post-9/11 Terrorism Spur Proposals for New Powers - The Defense Department has expanded its programs aimed at gathering and analyzing intelligence within the United States, creating new agencies, adding personnel and seeking additional legal authority for domestic security activities in the post-9/11 world.   (RELATED: See our 'Big Brother' archive for more background info)

• Slogan for German feelgood campaign was used by Nazis - The organisers of a €30m (£20m) mass media campaign designed to make Germans feel good about themselves were suffering acute embarrassment yesterday after it emerged that Adolf Hitler's Nazi party had got there first. Germany's media and publishing companies launched the campaign, entitled "Du Bist Deutschland" (You Are Germany), last September. The project, which shows moody photographs and television shots of sporting heroes and celebrities, aims to change Germans' traditionally pessimistic view of themselves.

• Britain gives approval to torture, claims Amnesty - Tony Blair has been accused of undermining decades of British campaigning for international human rights by using the war on terror to give a "green light" to torture. Amnesty International is to launch an unprecedented global campaign tomorrow against the British Government after ministers admitted they would use information gained by torture to prevent attacks on the United Kingdom.

• The leak that revealed Bush's deep obsession with al-Jazeera - The US president planned to bomb the Qatar-based channel - that was the remarkable claim made in a top-secret memo. Why is the world's most powerful man so worried about a TV station?

• Britain's gay, lesbian couples soon can walk down the aisle - Normally, a Wednesday in December would be a slow day for weddings at Brighton Town Hall. But there will be lots of confetti and rice on Dec. 21. Debra Reynolds and her colleagues who conduct civil ceremonies for Brighton and Hove City Council are booked starting at 8 a.m. for 16 sets of vows — all gay or lesbian couples entering into civil partnerships under a law passed last November.

• What did U.S. military know before 9/11?: Congress wants to hear more about allegations that four hijackers were identified before they acted - A top-secret military program set up six years ago to probe the Al-Qaida terrorist network is provoking fierce new debate about the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.

• Rights abuse 'worse than Saddam' - FORMER Iraqi prime minister Iyad Allawi says human rights abuse in the country is as bad, if not worse, than it was under Saddam Hussein. "People are doing the same as (in) Saddam Hussein's time and worse, " Dr Allawi told British Sunday newspaper The Observer. "These are the precise reasons why we fought Saddam Hussein and now we are seeing the same things."

26th NOVEMBER 2005

• Princess Diana's death still remains a mystery: Several years after the tragical day several facts made people look at the accident at a different angle - The tragedy happened on 31 August 1997 when Diana died in a crash in a tunnel under the Place dу l'Alma in the centre of Paris. At that time the most reasonable explanation was the intoxication of the driver and simple misfortune. But what did actually happen? Several years after the tragical day several facts made people look at the accident at a different angle.  (RELATED: See our popular 'Diana Assassination' Archive for more info).

• FBI WATCHES JOURNALISTS - Using powers granted by the U.S. Patriot Act, the FBI has stepped up surveillance on journalists in an effort to plug leaks from a Bush Administration paranoid of potential scandals. Justice Department sources say in reports that wiretaps, e-mail intercepts, and daily monitoring of reporters’ activities are just a few of the actions of a program authorized by Attorney General Alberto Gonzales. Surveillance of reporters is just part of increased federal efforts to monitor Americans’ daily activities.

• Referendum sought in fluoride debate - Residents opposed to a plan to add fluoride to Wangaratta and Wodonga drinking water are calling for a referendum on the issue. The Victorian Government says the introduction of fluoride will help prevent tooth decay and has widespread community support. But Wodonga resident Marilyn Edgar is circulating a petition aimed at blocking the move due to health concerns.

• An Innocent Man in the Hell of Guantánamo - He's forgotten nothing of the pain, the humiliation, the solitude. American investigators took a year to clear him. And another year to free him. Beyond the revolting injustice to which he was victim, former journalist Bader Zaman denounces the arbitrariness of American detention centers.

• Hospital to test ID chip in patients - A controversial device that can store security information and is the size of a grain of rice will make its way into the right arms of some 50 volunteering Arrowhead Regional Medical Center patients. But, its purpose here won't be to provide bank account or e-mail passwords to the Colton hospital's staff. The VeriMed microchip system will be used to store valuable information such as type of allergies and current medication so physicians can determine the safest treatment in the event someone is unconscious or unable to speak.

• How US Anthropoligists Planned "Race-Specific" Weapons Against the Japanese - During the Second World War, over two dozen anthropologists worked for the Office of Strategic Services (OSS), the institutional predecessor to the CIA, performing a variety of tasks ranging from covert-ops to desk-bound propaganda analysis.

• Writers Threatened by Australian Anti-Terror Laws: "These draconian Anti-Terrorism Laws will threaten free speech and the integrity of Australian teachers, researchers, schools and universities – and hence profoundly corrupt the next generation of Australians." - A vocal humanitarian writer and scientist, I have been publicly identified in an expert and humane submission to the Senate Committee Inquiry into the proposed Australian Anti-Terrorism Laws [1] as threatened by the “sedition” provisions of these laws on account of my recent broadcast on Australian complicity in Iraq mass mortality on ABC Radio National.

• VIDEO - White House Pushed UK to Kill al-Jazeera Bombing Story: Bush wanted to bomb Arab news network to prevent reports on Falluja attack - On Wednesday, Downing Street threatened The Daily Mirror with prosecution under the Britain's Official Secrets act for the disclosing a memo that indicated Blair had convinced Bush not to bomb the Arab language news network al-Jazeera.

• Fears raised on ID card proposals - Concerns of fraud, computer overload and the cost of identity cards have been raised with a committee of MPs. Security safeguards for the cards were "no more" than that for chip and pin bank cards, a London School of Economics academic told the committee.

• CREATING CRISES: Syria accuses US of launching lethal raids over its borders - Syria has accused the United States of launching lethal military raids into its territory from Iraq, escalating the diplomatic crisis between the two countries as the Bush administration seeks to step up pressure on President Bashar Assad's regime.   (RELATED: See our 'Problem > Reaction > Solution' for more background info)

25th NOVEMBER 2005

• Fury over gagging threat 'to spare Bush's blushes' - THE Attorney-General was accused last night of using the Official Secrets Act “big stick” to gag newspapers in an attempt to save President Bush from further embarrassment over Iraq. Lord Goldsmith threatened newspapers on Tuesday with prosecution under the Act if they published details from a record of a conversation between Mr Bush and Tony Blair from April last year, when the President is alleged to have suggested bombing al-Jazeera, the Arabic television network.

• Video catches Malaysian abuse of Chinese woman - Malaysian officials have launched an investigation into the alleged abuse of a Chinese woman in police detention. A video clip taken on a mobile phone apparently shows the woman being stripped and forced to do squats by a woman constable in a police station.

• Brazil's police 'execute thousands' - Hundreds, possibly thousands of people are shot by police every year in Brazil, a BBC investigation has found. The authorities say it is mainly criminals caught in military-style raids on drug gangs but according to a former senior official, new evidence suggests that many of the shootings are cold-blooded executions conducted by the police.

• US army cuts teeth on video game - America's Army is one of the most popular computer games on the planet and like many games, it is a shoot-em-up, get-the-bad guys kind of affair. But unlike other games, America's Army is truly a product of the US military. The Army first released the game a few years ago as a recruiting tool.

• Report drops Fallujah bombshell - The controversy over the American use of white phosphorus as a weapon of war in Fallujah deepened yesterday when it was revealed that a US intelligence assessment had characterised WP as a "chemical weapon".

24th NOVEMBER 2005

• Investigating the 'death metal' murders - One man's relentless search for his missing son led him to uncover one of the most shocking crimes in post-war Italy - a tale of satanism and violence that has gripped the country for more than a year.

• TiVo Sees RFID-enabled personal video recorders - TiVo Inc has a notion that RFID may be used, at some future point, in clothing, jewelry or under the skin in order to help a personal video recorder recognize the viewer and tailor content accordingly. The company recently filed an application for a patent with the US Patent and Trademark Office for a mobile personalization system that uses RF tags and a DVR.

• Utah Lawyer Hospitalized After Being Targeted by Homeland Security for Information Linking Five U.S. Supreme Court Justices With Bribery Over Bush v. Gore Decision - The head of a Chicago-based court reform group said the attorney, Paul Young, was targeted by 'American Gestapo Agents' posing as businessmen. Sherman Skolnick says he has been warned by a federal judge that he also is a target of a bogus Homeland Security probe that may land the 50-year 'judge busting' truth seeker in jail.

• Aspartame Causes Cancer in Rats at Levels Currently Approved for Humans - A statistically significant increase in the incidence of malignant tumors, lymphomas and leukemias in rats exposed to varying doses of aspartame appears to link the artificial sweetener to a high carcinogenicity rate, according to a study accepted for publication today by the peer-reviewed journal Environmental Health Perspectives (EHP).

• Legal gag on Bush-Blair war row - The attorney general last night threatened newspapers with the Official Secrets Act if they revealed the contents of a document allegedly relating to a dispute between Tony Blair and George Bush over the conduct of military operations in Iraq.

• Able Danger: Uncovering the 9/11 Cover-up: More Than Half of House Reps. Wants Hearings on Able Danger - Writing for the Wall Street Journal's opinion page, former FBI Director Louis Freeh has become the most recent critic of the 9/11 Commission's investigation into the terrorist attacks that killed 3,000 Americans. He also leveled criticism at the 9/11 Commission Report, which he says is flawed because it is incomplete.

23rd NOVEMBER 2005

• NO2ID: Poll shows 50:50 split on ID cards - Campaign group NO2ID today released the results of an ICM poll of 1,013 adults commissioned last week, which shows a continued drop in support for ID cards to 50% and a rise in public opposition to the Home Office scheme to 48%.

• Flu Drug is Killing People - The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is investigating reports that the deaths of 12 Japanese children may be linked to the anti-viral drug Tamiflu. The possibility has caused alarm, since millions of doses of the drug are currently being stockpiled for use in a potential flu pandemic. Dr. Mercola's Comment: "I swear this whole bird flu saga is something straight from some television mini-series or fiction novel. However, as you know, you couldn't make up a story like this tale of greed and political corruption..."

• Report: 9/11-Iraq link refuted days after attack: Magazine says administration refused to give key docs to Senate committed - Ten days after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, President Bush was advised that U.S. intelligence found no credible connection linking the attacks to the regime of Saddam Hussein, or evidence suggesting linkage between Saddam and the al-Qaida terrorist network, according to a published report.

• Al-Jazeera seeks answers over 'bombing' memo - Arabic TV news channel al-Jazeera has called on the US and UK governments to provide a "good explanation" for comments allegedly made by George Bush about a plan to bomb its Qatar headquarters. The comments, which surfaced in a leaked memo, alleged that the American president considered bombing al-Jazeera's offices in Doha, the capital of Qatar, at the height of last year's Iraqi insurgency in Falluja.

• Epidemic Rule Seeks Report of Travelers' Flu Symptoms - Travelers entering the U.S. with fever and other flu-like symptoms would be reported by the airline or ship that brought them, under new rules proposed today, a U.S. public-health official said.

• Protesters Arrested Near President Bush's Texas Ranch - A dozen war protesters were arrested Wednesday for setting up camp near President Bush's ranch in defiance of new local bans on roadside camping and parking. About four hours after the group pitched six tents and huddled in sleeping bags and blankets, McLennan County sheriff's deputies arrested them for criminal trespassing.

22nd NOVEMBER 2005

• Catholic Monsignor Arrested, Charged With Fondling Boys - The former vicar general of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Phoenix was arrested Monday on charges he fondled boys and young men and asked them prying questions about their sex lives that he pretended were part of confession.

• Torture still widely practiced in China - The UN special envoy on torture has said that his invitation to visit China indicates growing awareness in Beijing that the practice is still widely used. Manfred Nowak told the BBC he had been promised the freedom to see prisoners and investigate claims of torture.

• 9-11 Probers Leave Questions Behind - The private watchdog group formed by the former members of the 9-11 Commission is closing up shop. The announcement of its last media event—a December 5 briefing where the 9-11 Discourse Project "will issue its final assessment of progress on all 9/11 Commission recommendations"—came today.

21st NOVEMBER 2005

• CIA does not use torture: director - The CIA uses “unique and innovative ways” to obtain vital information from prisoners but strictly obeys laws against torture, CIA director Porter Goss said. He defended the organisation against allegations of torture, claiming there was a “huge amount of misinformation” swirling about on the subject of detainees.

• Council motion to oppose ID cards - On 22nd November, Bristol City Council will be voting on a motion designed to hinder the Government's controversial ID Cards Bill. Experts believe that the plan to collate all Government databases into the biggest database on citizens in the world may lead to a surveillance state similar to that of George Orwell's 1984.

• Internet may become powerful political tool - The Internet in China is heavily driven by entertainment but has the potential of becoming a powerful political weapon, according to a poll. The survey, directed by a Chinese professor and funded by a US foundation, showed that 84 percent of Internet users sought information on the Web, mostly pertaining to entertainment.

• Clarke 'sceptical' about arming police - The home secretary, Charles Clarke, said today that he remained "sceptical" about routinely arming police officers, saying there was evidence it encouraged criminals to carry guns.

• U.S. rebuffs talk of al-Zarqawi's death (again) - U.S. forces sealed off a house in the northern city of Mosul where eight suspected Al Qaeda of Iraq members died in a gunfight -- some by their own hand to avoid capture. Authorities were trying Sunday to determine whether one of the eight was terror leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, a U.S. official said.

• Report: Cheney advocated U.S. torture - The U.S. practice of using torture on terror detainees was rooted in Vice President Dick Cheney's office, a former senior State Department official claims. Retired U.S. Army Col. Larry Wilkerson, who served as former Secretary of State Colin Powell's chief of staff, made the allegation to CNN, and said it was possible the practice was still going on.

• British WWI Veteran Dies at Age 109 - Alfred Anderson, the last known survivor of the 1914 "Christmas Truce" that saw British and German soldiers exchanging gifts and handshakes in no man's land, died early Monday, his parish priest said. He was 109. His death leaves fewer than 10 veterans of World War I alive in Britain.

• Texas sues Sony BMG for spyware violations - Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott filed a civil lawsuit on Monday against Sony BMG Music Entertainment (6758.T: Quote, Profile, Research) for including "spyware" software on its media player designed to thwart music copying. According to the lawsuit filed in Travis County, several of the company's music compact discs require customers to download Sony's media players if they want to listen to the CDs on a computer.

• India introduces ID card system at ‘Chhoti’ transits: Report - India has unilaterally introduced compulsory identity card system for Nepalis entering India through 'Chhoti' transits, a newspaper report said on Monday. As per the new rule, Nepali nationals have to produce identity card or other documents identifying themselves while entering India from the transit point and inform Indian security officials where they are going and why.

20th NOVEMBER 2005

• Government tested AIDS drugs on foster kids: Children not provided with basic legal protection, review finds - Government-funded researchers tested AIDS drugs on hundreds of foster children over the past two decades, often without providing them a basic protection afforded in federal law and required by some states, an Associated Press review has found. The research funded by the National Institutes of Health spanned the country. It was most widespread in the 1990s as foster care agencies sought treatments for their HIV-infected children that weren’t yet available in the marketplace.

• Black magic, murder and madness in Satanist South Africa: The fixation with the occult dates back to apartheid, writes Gavin du Venage in Cape Town - A CHURCH custodian is murdered in the dead of night and his mutilated corpse, bearing vicious stab wounds to his head and side mimicking those of Jesus Christ on the cross, is left in front of the altar. On the ground, in the victim's blood, is written the word "Satun" (sic). 

• Secret death squads feared among Iraq's commandos - Among the varied armed security men on Baghdad's streets these days, you can't miss the police commandos. In combat uniforms, bulletproof vests and wrap-around sunglasses or ski masks, they muscle through Baghdad's traffic jams in police cars or camouflage-painted pickup trucks, clearing nervous drivers from their path with shouted commands and the occasional gunshot in the air.

• Government’s left and right hand disagree in public - As the pressure mounts in the debate over the Identity Cards project, Dame Stella Rimmington’s harsh criticisms of the scheme last night have prompted the Minister in charge, Andy Burnham, to make wild claims about the card’s benefits and capabilities.

• Jordan tightens security and speeds anti-terror laws - Jordan is tightening security and speeding up anti-terror laws to ensure the country is better protected against bombings, Interior Minister Awni Yarfas said on Saturday.  (RELATED: See our 'Problem > Reaction > Solution' for more background info)

• Washington Post Explains How the Nazi-Created CIA Protects Us: by Kurt Nimmo - Dana Priest of the Washington Post tells us the CIA has "joint operation centers in more than 2 dozen nations" and the agency’s job is "to track and capture suspected terrorists and to destroy or penetrate their networks." Never mind that the CIA created the Islamic Terror Network (along with MI6, Mossad, and other intelligence "services") and this is sort of like a cop selling drugs to a street corner pusher and then busting the dealer and his customers.

• Train more of us to use guns, say police - Thousands more police must be trained in the use of firearms, according to rank-and-file officers who joined politicians and police chiefs last night to urge immediate action to tackle the spread of Britain's gun culture.  (COMMENTARY: But I thought that guns are illegal in the UK, how can there still be guns on the streets?... I'm kidding of course!)

• Strange shrine leads to Satanism fears - EVIDENCE of what authorities have described satanic rituals has been discovered in the cemetery of St George Kontou in Larnaca. On Wednesday night, satanic symbols were placed at the entrance to the cemetery including an animal’s skull and skin. Other strange symbols were placed upon a map and candles had also been lit. The head of the cemetery Papaphilipos Zachariou, a priest, expressed his sadness over the incident, which is the first time since 1974 that evidence of satanism has been discovered on holy ground.

• American Christian Fundamentalist Leader Calls For Global War - If Christian fundamentalists are to be believed, America's invasion of Iraq and the consequent brutal slaughter of thousands of innocent civilians in that country are all part of a grand divine plan that will finally culminate in the 'second coming' of Jesus Christ. Establishing an empire that will extend all over the globe, Christ will rule like a powerful monarch, saving those who believe in him and dispatching non-believers, all non-Christians and non-conformist Christians, to everlasting perdition in hell.

19th NOVEMBER 2005

• Gatso 2: rollout of UK's '24x7 vehicle movement database' begins - A "24x7 national vehicle movement database" that logs everything on the UK's roads and retains the data for at least two years is now being built, according to an Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) strategy document leaked to the Sunday Times. The system, which will use Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR), and will be overseen from a control centre in Hendon, London, is a sort of 'Gatso 2' network, extending. enhancing and linking existing CCTV, ANPR and speedcam systems and databases.

• Iraqi says he was held with hundreds in secret jail - An Iraqi man told on Thursday how he was tortured along with hundreds of other detainees in an Interior Ministry building similar to a secret bunker at the center of a prisoner abuse scandal.

• More than 80 000 held by US since 9/11 attacks - The United States has detained more than 80 000 people in facilities from Afghanistan to Cuba since the attacks on the World Trade Centre four years ago, the Pentagon said on Thursday. The disclosure comes at a time of growing unease about Washington's treatment of prisoners in its "war on terror" and Europe's unknowing help in the CIA's practice of rendition.

17th NOVEMBER 2005

• Crimestoppers launches on the net - Crimestoppers is launching an FBI-style (Stasi) website aimed at tracking down Britain's most wanted suspected criminals. For the first time police will be able to post details of the most wanted crime suspects in the country online.

• Passport prices soar to £170 for family of four - The price of a standard passport is to leap by more than a fifth to fund controversial fingerprinting and face-scanning security checks, the Home Office has announced. The cost of the travel documents will rise from £42 to £51 for adults from December 1. Charges increased 27 per cent just two years ago.

• MS patients to be given cannabis spray drug - A cannabis-based medicine is being made available to British patients with multiple sclerosis for the first time following approval from the Home Office for its importation from Canada. The oral spray derived from the cannabis plant will be available on prescription for around £4 a day. Research indicates that it relieves the pain and spasticity associated with multiple sclerosis.

• Shocking pictures released of 'tortured' Iraqi prisoners - GRUESOME images of battered and bruised Iraqi prisoners allegedly tortured by Shiah militants inside a Baghdad jail were released today. The series of pictures show prisoners, both men and teenagers, with injuries which appear to have been caused by beatings. One man's leg appears to have been beaten to such an extent that his upper leg is just a mass of black and blue.

• Documents Show Nixon Deception on Cambodia - Even after Richard Nixon's secret war in Cambodia became known, the president persisted in deception. "Publicly, we say one thing," he told aides. "Actually, we do another."

• ALERT: EPA TO ALLOW PESTICIDE TESTING ON ORPHANS & MENTALLY HANDICAPPED CHILDREN: Public comments are now being accepted by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on its newly proposed federal regulation regarding the testing of chemicals and pesticides on human subjects. On August 2, 2005, Congress had mandated the EPA create a rule that permanently bans chemical testing on pregnant women and children. But the EPA's newly proposed rule, misleadingly titled "Protections for Subjects in Human Research," puts industry profits ahead of children's welfare.

• Believe 9-11 Was an Inside Job? Leave the Country! - Swanson frozen food heir, Tucker Carlson, host of MSNBC’s The Situation with Tucker Carlson, believes you should get out of America if you believe nine eleven was an inside job. Responding to a caller after Brigham Young University physics professor Steven E. Jones—who believes there were "pre-positioned explosives" in all three buildings at ground zero—appeared on his show, Carlson declared: "…if you really believe the U.S. government killed 3000 of its own citizens for no reason and lied about it and invaded Afghanistan as a result of something it did, you ought to leave the country… because that’s so terrible… so evil, that your tax dollars go in to support it make you complicit in it… if you really believe that, you ought to leave…"

16th NOVEMBER 2005

• CIA Accused of Using Airport in Mallorca: Spanish Court Gets Report Accusing CIA Used Airport on Mediterranean Island to Transfer Suspects — The National Court has received a prosecutor's report on allegations that the CIA used an airport on the Spanish island of Mallorca for a program of covert transfers of terror suspects, court officials said Monday.

• UNDERMINING THE FAMILY STRUCTURE: Head offering pregnancy tests to girls aged 11 - A school has been attacked for offering pregnancy tests to girls as young as 11 - without telling their parents it was setting up the scheme. The initiative is intended to reduce teenage pregnancies in the surrounding area, which has one of the highest rates in Britain.

• The Nazi Scientists of America: After the war, 118 German rocket scientists worked together at Fort Bliss, Texas. - The front page of The New York Times on November 17, 1945, bore a curiously vague headline: “88 German Scientists Reach Here, Reputedly With Top War Secrets.” The scientists had arrived on a converted ocean liner the day before—60 years ago today—and been immediately “whisked away” aboard a fleet of buses.

• NM Takes Steps To Ban Aspartame In Schools - As VRP reported in the October 2005 VR News President's Desk, the people of New Mexico spearheaded a movement to try to ban the sale and distribution of aspartame-containing foods in New Mexico. Stephen Fox's New Mexico Nutrition Council and the people of his state won a substantial victory when the New Mexico Environmental Improvement Board (EIB) agreed to hear the aspartame rule change proposal, which would ban its sale in that state. The Board voted 4-2 to convene five days of hearings in July.

• Call for ID cards to get smart - The idea of a UK identity card has stirred up controversy but it looks increasingly likely to become part of most people's wallets from 2008. The scheme faces a rocky ride through the Lords before it makes it onto the statute book, and critics are likely to continue arguing that the scheme is unnecessarily intrusive and offers few benefits.

• Strom Thurmond High School eliminates ID cards; deploys BIO-key's Biometric Identification software - A South Carolina high school has abandoned regular student ID cards, choosing instead to go with an ID system that would work with its current cafeteria and library software. The school chose something students couldn't lose or forget--biometric finger scanning from BIO-key.

• Ex-detainee says torture widespread in Iraq bunker - An Iraqi student who said he was held with prisoners in an Interior Ministry bunker described on Wednesday how he was hung blindfolded in excruciating positions and called a "Sunni dog" by his Shi'ite interrogators.

• The Al-Zarqawi 11/9 Amman Bombings: More Holes in the Official Story - by Michel Chossudovsky

15th NOVEMBER 2005

• Commuters face airport-style scans - Rail and London Underground passengers could soon face airport-style scanning techniques under new anti-terror plans, the transport secretary revealed today.

• 9/11 TRUTH NEWS - Professor Jones Exposes Controlled Demoltion of WTC on MSNBC - Tucker Carlson Visibly Shaken, Attemps to Keep Jones from Presenting Evidence.

• Invasion of privacy: Congress should curtail FBI powers under Patriot Act - Personal privacy, a bedrock principle of conservative political philosophy, is being invaded through a Patriot Act provision that allows the FBI to delve into the lives of ordinary Americans.

• 'Smart' CCTV could fight terrorist threat in stations - A SYSTEM of “intelligent CCTV” capable of alerting operators to packages left on trains and suspicious behaviour by passengers is being studied by rail chiefs, Alastair Darling, the Transport Secretary, said. Government scientists are working on the development of a 21st-century CCTV system and London Underground security experts are monitoring plans to put hundreds of the new generation of smart cameras on the New York subway.

• Who profited from Amman bombings: Israelis were evacuated hours before the attack - In the wake of recent bomb attacks targeting three hotels in the Jordanian capital Amman, the corporate media attempted to shape events to the liking of the Bushcons and the Israelis.

• PERSPECTIVE: Kate's Weekly Column - Article 32, 'ON TERROR AND TORTURE' By Kate Mucci

• Former 9/11 Commission Not Satisfied With Terror Response - The former 9/11 review committee does not believe the government is doing enough to keep nuclear weapons out of the hands of terrorists. The former commission's chairman Thomas Kean concludes that, "the most striking thing to us is that the size of the problem still totally dwarfs the policy response."

• DRONES 'TO FLY OVER CITIES' - HONEYWELL is developing a micro flying spy drone -- that would be used for civilian law enforcement! The device, a hovering robot carrying video cameras and other sensors, is being created and tested at HONEYWELL's Albuquerque, NM plant.

• Angry Libyans call for vengeance - ...In this case, the accused are five Bulgarian nurses and one Palestinian doctor. They have been charged with deliberately infecting the children as part of an Aids-related experiment.

14th NOVEMBER 2005

• France seeks to extend crisis law - The French cabinet is seeking to extend by three months a state of emergency aimed at controlling suburban unrest. Laws imposed last week to let councils impose curfews and ban rallies for 12 days are said to have been successful. Parliament is expected to approve the extension on Tuesday while police say the unrest appears to be declining.

• 9/11 'COCK-UP' THEORY: Ethics panel clears US senator in 9/11 leak probe - The Senate Ethics Committee has dropped its investigation of Sen. Richard Shelby regarding allegations he was the source of a media leak about how the National Security Agency handled messages before the Sept. 11 attacks.

• U.S. may have once detained Jordan bomber: Military says man with same name as one terrorist was held, then freed - American forces detained and later released an Iraqi with the same name as one of the suicide attackers who struck three hotels in Amman, Jordan, last week, the U.S. military said Monday.

• More Miraculous Or Perhaps Planted 9/11 Evidence Uncovered: A Wells Fargo Card From A Flight 11 Passenger Turns Up In Perfect Condition One Year After the Fact - The ATM card of Waleed Iskandar was returned to his parents, allegedly found by the Ground Zero Recovery Team on Sept. 11, 2002. Questions remain as to why it turned up a year later and how could such a flimsy card survive such a towering inferno?

• (Brainwashed) Jordanians mull (brainwashed) Iraqi woman's role in bombs - Some question confession, others ask: ‘What are these people made of’ - The televised confession of an Iraqi woman — accused of being the fourth would-be suicide attacker — set Jordanians buzzing Monday, with some expressing joy over her capture and others venting anger over her deadly plans.

• Printers and Privacy: Why Government-Sponsored Printer Identification Raises Serious Privacy Concerns - In my last column, I explained how the government now might be able to track us by using data generated by our cell phones. In this column, I will discuss another method of tracking - one that has been around far longer, but has gotten little publicity until recently.

• ANALYSIS: Did Al-Zarqawi Really Bomb Amman? - Al-Zarqawi was declared killed by the Americans during their invasion of Afghanistan. Then suddenly he re-appeared in Iraq to stage car bombings that killed only Iraqis rather than Americans, Al-Zarqawi’s real enemies. Now it is claimed that Al-Zarqawi’s terror is spilling over to the neighboring Arab countries. Al-Zarqawi is just a cover name for terror operations perpetrated by “American/Israeli/British Triad” to perpetuate its myth of “war against Islamic global terrorists” as a cover front for their war against the Arab World.

• The Jordan river of lies - There are all kinds of problems with the Official Story of the Jordanian bombings. I've mentioned some already, and here are some more...

• Revealed: UK wartime torture camp - The British government operated a secret torture centre during the second world war to extract information and confessions from German prisoners, according to official papers which have been unearthed by the Guardian. More than 3,000 prisoners passed through the centre, where many were systematically beaten, deprived of sleep, forced to stand still for more than 24 hours at a time and threatened with execution or unnecessary surgery.

• Officials not worried about privacy concerns: System would videotape scene when gunfire heard - Neither York Mayor John Brenner nor police Commissioner Mark Whitman are concerned about the possibility that some people could consider new shot-sensing cameras an invasion of privacy.

• AUDIO DOWNLOAD LINK: EX-NUN EXPOSES SATANIC RITUALS WITHIN THE ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH - AUDIO IN WMA COMING SOON

13th NOVEMBER 2005

• British man 'beats' HIV - A British man has allegedly become the first person in the world to beat HIV. A number of newspapers reported that Andrew Stimpson, 25, was diagnosed with the virus in 2002. He later tested negative in 2003. Chelsea and Westminster Healthcare NHS Trust, which carried out the tests, now want him to undergo more before it can be established how he apparently beat the disease. Mr Stimpson said he did not take any medication for HIV.

• It’s not a Blair police state we need fear, it’s his state police - Tony Blair was stung. In the middle of his Commons speech last Wednesday someone shouted: “Police state.” He erupted. “Did the right honourable gentleman say a ‘police state’?” he asked and bitterly denounced the charge.

• Al-Qaeda names Queen 'enemy of Islam' in video - AL-QAEDA has threatened the Queen by naming her as "one of the severest enemies of Islam" in a video message used to justify the July 7 bombings in London, it emerged last night. The warning has been passed by MI5 to the Queen's protection team after it obtained a version of a video issued by al-Qaeda after the 7/7 attacks.

• ID CARD: Blair faces fresh ID card rebellion: As the Prime Minister reels from his first defeat, a new study claims the scheme will cost £40bn and peers prepare to shoot down the bill - Tony Blair faces a fresh revolt over his flagship plans for identity cards which could, in effect, neuter the scheme, as new questions were raised over its cost to taxpayers. Peers are plotting to render the scheme toothless by blocking plans to make the cards compulsory for every citizen and sabotaging the requirement to make Britons store their personal details on a national register, which would underpin the cards.

• Jordan threatens action on terror supporters - Jordan’s King Abdullah II today threatened to crack down on supporters of terrorists following this week’s triple hotel bombings that killed at least 57 people. Abdullah also called for international cooperation to combat terrorism, which he called “a sick phenomenon that crosses borders.”   (COMMENTARY: Funny, I would say exactly the same thing about the NWO agenda which uses the 'Problem > Reaction > Solution' technique as a sick means to a sick end.)

• POLICE STATE RESOLUTION IN PARIS: No trouble as police guard Paris - Thousands of French police guarded the Eiffel Tower, the Champs Elysees and train stations, as part of emergency measures enacted in response to text messages and internet postings that called for "violent actions" in Paris. National Police Chief Michel Gaudin said police were taking "every precaution," including banning certain public gatherings, a day after the calls for "violent actions" on Saturday evening in Paris were posted on internet blogs and sent in text messages to mobile phones.

• CNSDU will be dealing with “privacy of correspondence” - The Council of the National Security and Defense of Ukraine (CNSDU) is ready to submit the set of their suggestions regarding the increase of the information security in the country. The suggestions are directed to human rights protection in the subject of special confidential communications, strict resistance to attempts of intrusion into privacy by means of wire-tapping, public control of this sphere.

• MORE INTERNET RESTRICTIONS IMPOSED: Malaysia gamers face night curfew - A Malaysian city is introducing a curfew for online gamers in a bid to stem a rise in the number of addicts. The authorities in Subang Jaya, near the capital Kuala Lumpur, say that from next year they will close down net cafes which allow patrons to play games late at night.

12th NOVEMBER 2005

• US Now 'Crating' Prisoners In Dog-Sized Cages - Flown On C-130s To Prisons In Eastern Europe Interrogated by US Personnel, Contractors/Ex-KGB, Ex-Stasi.

• IBM Calls For Global Identity System - International standards backed up by a UN body are needed to clear up the international identity-verification mess, according to a senior IBM Global Services executive.

• Who created Al Zarqawi myth? - Loretta Napoleoni, a terrorism expert and author of “Insurgent Iraq”, says that Abu Mus’ab Al Zarqawi, the alleged leader of armed groups in Iraq, is nothing but a myth created by the United States.

• IN MORE WAYS THAN ONE!: 'This Is Our 9-11' - For many Americans, this week's terrorist attack in Jordan may seem like just another horrible suicide bombing in the Middle East, where suicide bombings seem to happen every day. But for myself and other Jordanians, this attack was a shock like none other. This is our 9-11.

• Jordan Disputes Web Account of Bombings - Three "non-Jordanian" homicide bombers belonging to Al Qaeda in Iraq carried out Amman's triple hotel attacks that killed at least 57 people, Jordan's deputy premier said Saturday. Marwan Muasher said the three were males and that no females were among them, replying to claims by Jordanian-born militant Abu Musab al-Zarqawi's terror group that four Iraqis — including a husband and wife — carried out the bombings.

• CIA's enquiry method on 9/11 warned - A classified report issued last year by the Central Intelligence Agency's inspector general warned that interrogation procedures approved by the CIA after the September 11 attacks might violate some provisions of the international convention against torture, current and former intelligence officials say.

11th NOVEMBER 2005

• JORDAN BLAST PRIOR KNOWLEDGE: Scores dead in three Amman hotel bombings; Israelis evacuated before attack

• Facial Recognition Software in ATM Machines? - "My wife recently got a new credit card and asked me to go get a cash advance from the ATM so we could buy some crystals and other assorted orgonite ingredients from a source that only takes cash"...

• UK HELPED TERROR BOMBERS SAYS IRAN - BRITAIN is involved in bombings in southern Iran, the country's spy chief claimed yesterday. Intelligence Minister Gholamhossein Ejehi said: "Involvement of some terrorist networks and their foreign ties, especially with Britain, has been proved."    (RELATED: See our 'Problem > Reaction > Solution' archive for more background info')

• Foreign policy fuels extremism, admit government's own aides - BRITISH foreign policy is a "key contributory factor" in driving UK Muslims to extremism, the government's own advisers have concluded. Working groups set up in the wake of the 7 July atrocities said the government should learn from the impact of its foreign policies, particularly in the Middle East.

• US Army Article Confirms White Phosphorous Use In Fallujah - A March '05 publication by the US Army confirms that US soldiers used white phosphorus offensively in the Battle of Fallujah. This directly contradicts statements made by the U.S. Department of Defense and by the US State Department.

• MPs probe police 'politicisation' - Tony Blair faces the threat of a Commons investigation into claims the police were dragged into politics ahead of a vote on terror detention plans. The Tories want an inquiry into the way chief police officers were asked to lobby MPs for a new 90 day limit.

• Princess Diana's final fateful journey re-created for a new film - The movie, which tells the story of the stunning royal's life - will show the princess's (accidental) death crash in a Paris tunnel.  The film reportedly sticks close to the known facts of the accident, rather than drawing on the numerous theories which have surrounded Diana's death. It will be released next year.  (COMMENTARY: In an age where generations are intensely media reliant for info', fake video footage and false witness testimony is not even required.  All that we the sheep need to see is a heart-wrenching movie which gives us the false perception of 'what really happened' and we will base our false history on this.  Ask most people (myself included) about the downfall of Al Capone and they will probably have a primary image of what they saw in the movie 'The Untouchables'.)

• Cameras capture racist taunts of anti-riot police - Aggressive police making flippant remarks about teenagers' electrocution and a minister who talked of 'scum' are accused of inflaming the violence. THE exchange could hardly have been worse for the French police as they strive to allay their reputation as enemy of the ethnic estates.

• Search for leads in Jordan bombings turns up 9/11 numerical coincidence - The timing of the attacks on three hotels in Amman, Jordan, is triggering some interest. Jordanians have been sending each-other text messages, pointing out that Wednesday's date was 9/11. That's because in the Mideast, the day is listed before the month. A Jordanian government spokesman declined to speculate on any meaning it may have.   (COMMENTARY: Numerology?  Bizarre, but who has the obsession with numbers that would be behind the bombing?  See our 'Occult Numerology' archive.)

• Rep. Weldon Alleges Massive 'Cover-up' of Pre-9/11 Intel: Pentagon's 'Able Danger' could have prevented USS Cole bombing and 9/11 - CNN Reports on Weldon's Claim: 'Most Important Story of Our Lifetime' - While we are not certain of Representative Weldon's motives, he does manage to keep the "Able Danger" story in the news. In this interview with CNN's Lou Dobbs, Weldon asserts that intelligence from the "Able Danger" group could have prevented the bombing of the USS Cole and the attacks that took place on September 11, 2001.

• Al Qaeda branch claims responsibility for Amman bombings - A branch of the Al Qaeda network led by Abu Musab Zarqawi, whose insurgents in Iraq have directed numerous attacks on U.S. soldiers and Iraqis, claimed responsibility today for the suicide bombings at three Western hotels here that killed at least 57 people and wounded more than 100.

• Another 911 'Passport Miracle'!: Like the Unscathed Hijacker Passport Found Near Ground Zero, Now Comes Flight 77 Passenger's Perfectly Intact ID Card Found at Pentagon Meltdown - Never before revealed passport of Pentagon victim called by critics 'another piece of bogus evidence' planted by the FBI like the passport, hijacker luggage and other suspicious evidence quickly linking the 19 Arab hijackers to 9/11.

• Terror bill chilling for Muslims, Blair warned - The anti-terror bill will create a "significant chill factor" in the Muslim community, censor those who criticise British foreign policy and drive extremists further underground, the government's advisers warned yesterday.  (COMMENTARY: In other words, it will create further chaos... yeah, don't you think Tony knows that already?  They don't just teach you how to shake hands at the Studholme Lodge you know!)

• UNDERMINING THE FAMILY UNIT, DIVIDE AND RULE: Parents not best placed to advise children, court told - The idea that parents are always best placed to advise their children on contraception and abortion is out of out of date, the Family Planning Association told the High Court yesterday. The charity was appearing for the Government, which is facing a legal challenge from Sue Axon, who is divorced with five children, over the right of under-16s to have an abortion without their parents' consent or knowledge.

• Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) Chips Offer Security, Threaten Privacy; Mary Brown of Capella University Explores the Controversy and Offers Solutions for the Responsible Use of RFID Technology.

10th NOVEMBER 2005

• Rein In FBI Surveillance - Americans ought to be alarmed at the extraordinary expansion of FBI surveillance of their private lives under the USA Patriot Act. According to The Washington Post, the FBI now issues more than 30,000 national security letters a year, demanding bank, library and Internet records of people not suspected of any wrongdoing, but who may have had unwitting or casual contact with a terrorism suspect.

• Cost of ID card scheme questioned by Home Office consultants - Fresh questions over the government's costings for the introduction of the national ID card scheme were raised yesterday by its own consultants who doubt that the plastic cards will last for 10 years. A Home Office study by independent auditors KPMG also warned that the government may have overestimated the lifespans of the hi-tech biometric pods which contain the scanners needed to record every adult's fingerprints, irises and faces.

• Use of anti-terror law cause for real concern - Is the government monitoring your telephone calls? Are the authorities watching which Web sites you visit? Are the details contained in the e-mails that you send and receive ending up in an FBI database?

• Lying with intelligence: Who in the White House knew about DITSUM No. 044-02 and when did they know it? - That's the newly declassified smoking-gun document, originally prepared by the Defense Intelligence Agency in February 2002 but ignored by President Bush. Its declassification this weekend blows another huge hole in Bush's claim that he was acting on the best intelligence available when he pitched the invasion of Iraq as a way to prevent an Al Qaeda terror attack using weapons of mass destruction.

• How did Al Qaeda operatives escape Afghan jail? - The escape of four Al Qaeda operatives earlier this month from a U.S.-run Afghan jail created confusion and suspicion among the world leaders- How were the escapees, dressed in orange jumpsuit, able to break out of the top-security detention center in Afghan's Bagram air base near Kabul? How did they manage to cut across the giant military base with some 12,000 U.S. soldiers?

• Privacy advocates fight proposed medical-records network - Privacy advocates are battling moves in Congress to create an electronic network so physicians can obtain the medical histories of patients no matter where they are in the country.

• 2ND AMENDMENT: San Francisco Approves Gun, Military Recruiting Ban - Voters approved ballot measures to ban handguns in San Francisco and urge the city's public high schools and college campuses to keep out military recruiters. The gun ban prohibits the manufacture and sale of all firearms and ammunition in the city, and makes it illegal for residents to keep handguns in their homes or businesses.

• Science Classes In Kansas Will Now Question Evolution Theory: Board of Education votes to include challenges to Charles (Illuminati up one side and down the other) Darwin's widely accepted theory in curriculum - By a 6-4 margin, the Kansas Board of Education voted Tuesday to mandate that students learn about the "controversial" aspects of Charles Darwin's widely accepted theory of evolution. The move was seen as a victory for religious conservatives who question Darwin's theory in favor of one of "intelligent design," which suggests that life is too complex for evolution to have happened without the assistance of some higher power.

• Labour MPs have acquired a new taste for rebellion - Where does Tony Blair's humiliating defeat on the Terrorism Bill leave him? Downing Street insisted the issue was a "one-off" that would not reduce his ability to drive through reforms on education, health and welfare. Labour MPs saw very differently - and not just the 20 or so usual left-wing suspects. The danger for the Prime Minister is that he is starting to lose the support of the mainstream majority of the parliamentary Labour Party.  (COMMENTARY: The more you tighten your grip Blair... the more reforms will slip through your fingers!)

• THE EMPIRE WILL STRIKE BACK: Blair defeated over terror laws - Tony Blair says his authority is intact despite suffering his first House of Commons defeat as prime minister. He said he hoped MPs "do not rue the day" they rejected his call to allow police to detain terror suspects for up to 90 days without charging them.

• CIA report warned of agency's post 9/11 interrogation techniques: daily - A secret CIA report warned in early 2004 that some post September 11 interrogation techinques approved by the agency might violate an international agreement against torture, The New York Times said Wednesday. The report, issued at about the time the Abu Ghraib prison scandal broke, lists 10 techniques authorized in early 2002, including feigned drowning, that went beyond those used by the US military on prisoners of war.

• AL-CIA'DA: Al-Qaeda linked to bomb attacks on Jordan hotels - SUICIDE bombers struck at three luxury hotels in Amman yesterday, killing at least 57 people in attacks that bore all the hallmarks of an al-Qaeda strike on one of Washington’s closest allies in the Middle East.

09th NOVEMBER 2005

• Protestant pastor gets 3-year sentence – A prominent pastor in Beijing's underground Protestant church was sentenced to three years in prison yesterday for illegally printing and distributing Bibles and other religious books, in a case that has attracted attention from Christian groups in the United States and elsewhere.

• Call for child sex health openness - The Government is condemning family life to "secrecy and lies" by allowing under 16s to seek advice on contraception or abortion without the knowledge of their parents, the High Court has been told. The "undermining" influence of Department of Health guidelines was spelt out by a QC appearing for a mother of five who is battling for a parent's "right to know" if her teenage daughters seek advice or treatment.

• Vital to back police on terror: PM -  Prime Minister Tony Blair told MPs they had a "duty" to back controversial anti-terrorism legislation in a knife-edge vote on Wednesday afternoon. During stormy exchanges at Prime Minister's Questions in the House of Commons, Mr Blair urged MPs of all parties to be "responsible" in backing proposals for terror suspects to be held for up to 90 days without charge for questioning. The PM was speaking before voting begins in the report stage of the Terrorism Bill, which is being seen as a key test of Mr Blair's authority.

• Group of terror suspects arrested in Australia - Sixteen terror suspects arrested Tuesday in the largest anti-terrorism operation ever seen in Australia have been charged with planning a terrorist attack in Australia as Muslim leaders fear the arrests could spark hatred of Australian Muslims.   (Includes our own commentary)

• Ads for SSRI antidepressants are misleading, say researchers - Consumer ads for a class of antidepressants called SSRIs often claim that depression is due to a chemical imbalance in the brain, and that SSRIs correct this imbalance, but these claims are not supported by scientific evidence, say researchers in PLoS Medicine.

• Terror laws could damage academic freedom, UK universities warn London - British universities warned Tuesday warned that the government's new terrorism bill could undermine academic freedom, obstruct the teaching of science, the study of the Middle East and the sharing of information by librarians.

• Restive France Declares State of Emergency - The French government declared a state of emergency Tuesday after nearly two weeks of rioting, and the prime minister said the nation faced a ``moment of truth.'' The extraordinary security measures, to begin Wednesday and valid for 12 days, clear the way for curfews to try to halt the country's worst civil unrest since the student uprisings of 1968.

• French Riots: Plan Engineered by Globalists - France erupts as rampant immigration reaps its vengeance.

08th NOVEMBER 2005

• Met chief steps up terror warning - The UK's most senior police chief said there was "chilling" evidence of new terrorist plots as he urged support for new powers to detain terror suspects. Metropolitan Police chief Sir Ian Blair said police should be able to hold suspects without charge for 90 days. His warning came as the government said it was increasingly confident it would win an MPs' vote on the new time limit.   (COMMENTARY: In other words, as we say in England - "Do as we say or we're gonna unleash the bloody hounds on yer arse!...")

• VIDEO DOWNLOAD DOING THE ROUNDS ON THE NET: FALLUJAH - THE HIDDEN MASSACRE - 'STUNNING ITALIAN FILM ABOUT AMERICAN SLAUGHTER AND THE 'BATTLE' OF FALLUJAH: WHAT IS REALLY GOING ON IN IRAQ - THE HORRIFIC TRUTH IS OUT AT LAST AND THE WORLD ESPECIALLY AMERICA NEEDS TO KNOW - HERE IS AN ENGLISH VERSION - AN ABSOLUTELY MUST WATCH - PLEASE CIRCULATE AS WIDELY AS POSSIBLE'.  (Note: The site is in Italian, however in the upper section of the page, there is an option which allows you to download the video in English and in your desired format).

• US forces 'used chemical weapons' during assault on city of Fallujah - Powerful new evidence emerged yesterday that the United States dropped massive quantities of white phosphorus on the Iraqi city of Fallujah during the attack on the city in November 2004, killing insurgents and civilians with the appalling burns that are the signature of this weapon.

• PROBLEM > REACTION > SOLUTION: New powers to tackle French riots - The French Government has authorised a range of emergency powers in an effort to combat 12 nights of rioting. The move, announced by interior minister Nicolas Sarkozy, allows local authorities to impose curfews and lets police perform raids without warrants.

• Antiwar Sermon Brings IRS Warning - The Internal Revenue Service has warned one of Southern California's largest and most liberal churches that it is at risk of losing its tax-exempt status because of an antiwar sermon two days before the 2004 presidential election.

• Paris Riots Spread to Brussels, Berlin - The riots that started 12 days ago in the impoverished suburbs of Paris and spread to many regions in the country are already spreading to neighboring countries.

• Mother's plea over abortion law - A mother of two teenage daughters has asked the High Court to prevent parents being "undermined" by Government guidelines which allow girls under 16 to obtain abortions through "a culture of secrecy". Sue Axon, 51, a divorced single parent from Baguley, Wythenshawe, Manchester, urged a judge to declare that parents had "a right to know", except in exceptional cases, so that they could play their legitimate role as parents and help their children make "wise decisions".

• Rule out torture and secret prisons - THE BUSH administration is shredding what remains of its claim to endorse humane treatment of captives seized in its "war on terrorism." The president declared Monday, during a stop in Panama on the way back from a hemispheric summit, that "we do not torture." His assurance might have credibility if it were aligned with his administration's future policy with respect to the hundreds of prisoners detained by U.S. authorities since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. Unfortunately, it does not correspond with his threat to veto military-spending legislation if it includes a Senate-passed amendment to ban "cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment" of any detainee. Nor do Bush's soothing words make even minimally intelligible the personal appeal last week by Vice President Dick Cheney, to Republican senators, to exempt the CIA from the torture prohibition.

• College kids cram pills for exams: Some believe ADHD meds increase focus - Athletes aren't the only ones popping pills to gain a competitive edge these days. College students are turning to prescription stimulants such as Adderall and Ritalin to get them through late-night cram sessions, risking potential side effects and unknown long-term effects for a chance at a better grade.

• Second defence lawyer in Saddam trial shot dead - Gunmen killed a second defence lawyer acting in Saddam Hussein's trial on Tuesday, renewing questions over whether the former president can get a fair trial amid Iraq's daily violence. Another defence lawyer was slightly wounded in the attack on their car in Baghdad, police and defence team sources said. The shooting followed the murder of another defence lawyer who was shot the day after the televised start of proceedings on October 19.

• Paris Burning: How Empires End - The Romans conquered the barbarians - and the barbarians conquered Rome. So it goes with empires. And comes now the penultimate chapter in the history of the empires of the West. This is the larger meaning of the ritual murder of Theo Van Gogh in Holland, the subway bombings in London, the train bombings in Madrid, the Paris riots spreading across France. The perpetrators of these crimes in the capitals of Europe are the children of immigrants who were once the colonial subjects of the European empires.

• Telstra 'worst privacy invader' - TELSTRA, the NSW Government and senators Amanda Vanstone and Julian McGauran have been named as Australia's worst privacy invaders in national shame awards.

• Turkish PM links head scarf law to French riots - Turkish prime minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has linked the ban on the wearing of Muslim head scarves in French schools to the unrest inflaming poor suburbs of French cities, according to a press report Monday.

• COMMENTARY: Beware a 'Digital Munich' - It sounds like a Tom Clancy plot. An anonymous group of international technocrats holds secretive meetings in Geneva. Their cover story: devising a blueprint to help the developing world more fully participate in the digital revolution. Their real mission: strategizing to take over management of the Internet from the U.S. and enable the United Nations to dominate and politicize the World Wide Web. Does it sound too bizarre to be true? Regrettably, much of what emanates these days from the U.N. does.

• US soldiers up on abuse charges - Five United States members of an elite army unit have been charged with kicking and punching detainees in Iraq, the military said on Monday.

• Blair lobbies to win votes for terrorism law - Prime Minister Tony Blair lobbied on Tuesday to win support for plans to let police hold terrorism suspects without charge for up to 90 days as a key minister said he was confident the proposal would pass into law.

• Senators wary as FBI spying on e-mail soars - Lawmakers expressed concern Sunday that the FBI was aggressively pushing the powers of the anti-terrorist USA Patriot Act to get access to private phone and financial records of ordinary people. "We should be looking at that very closely," said Sen. Joseph R. Biden, D-Del., who is a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee. "It appears to me that this is, if not abused, being close to abused."

• Report: US Relied on False Information Linking Iraq, Al-Qaida - A published report says a top al-Qaida operative in U.S. custody gave false information later used by the Bush administration to support its contention that Iraq trained al-Qaida militants to use illegal weapons.

• CASHLESS SOCIETY CONTROL GRID: Pay By Fingerprint In Cincinnati, OH - "The other day I went grocery shopping at my local "Biggs" and couldn't believe my eyes when I read this on a sign near the entrance, "goodbye debit card, goodbye credit card, hello pay by touch".

07th NOVEMBER 2005

• Man gunned down on his doorstep - A man has been shot twice as he went to investigate a loud bang outside his home in south-east London. The 48-year-old opened his front door onto Bexley High Street, where he spotted a brick. But as he reached down to pick it up, a gunman fired at him.   Hey, I thought that guns were illegal in England now... how did this happen?

• Sony in storm over CD 'virus' - MUSIC giant Sony has been accused of using computer virus-style tactics on its anti-piracy CDs. The record label had to distribute a free software patch, which disabled a feature similar to those used by virus writers. The feature made its copy-protection device almost impossible to remove from home computers.

• Psychiatric Electro-Shock "Treatment" In West; Torture In East - ...Wang Waxing was forced to watch electric-shock “treatment” being performed on fellow inmates and he himself was forced to take antipsychotic drugs during his 13 year stay. Ironically, under the British Columbia Mental Health Act, the police can be ordered to apprehend anyone who in the opinion of another is considered to have a “mental disorder” that impairs their ability (a) to react appropriately to the person's environment, or (b) to associate with others. The person can then be forcibly removed from their home in handcuffs, taken to the nearest psychiatric unit where they can be restrained, possibly given electric-shock and forcibly drugged against their will. No different than the torturous treatment that happens to political dissenters in other countries in the East.    (FLASHBACK: '33-stone man sues over detention')

• NEW WORLD ORDER OUT OF CHAOS: Neo-Con/Fascist Provocateurs Behind French Riots? - As is the case with other European countries where fascist and Islamist fundamentalist forces have joined forces, there is increasing evidence that the riots that have swept France for a week and a half have been far more than spontaneous reactions to the electrocution at a Paris electrical sub-station of two Muslim teens who were escaping police.

• Diana interview sparked bid to sack BBC chief - It was one of the most extraordinary moments in television history - a programme which split the higher echelons of the BBC and threatened to severely damage the monarchy. Ten years have now passed since Martin Bashir's Panorama interview with Princess Diana, which was broadcast for the first time on 20 November 1995. But her words - 'There were three of us in this marriage, so it was a bit crowded' - remain among the most memorable in modern British history... 'The Princess and Panorama' is to be broadcast on BBC2 at 9pm on on Tuesday   (COMMENTARY: The Diana Panorama interview was really a key event in the 'constitutional mess' which existed between the public and the monarchy.  To understand the reasons (plural) why she was assassinated we do need to keep this interview and it's history in our archives.  Hopefully, tomorrow nights documentary (mentioned in the last paragraph of the Observer article) will not be a 'clean up' operation ten years later, on the part of the BBC.  How Diana went about in the making of the interview, how it was received by the public, what the reactions were 'up the food chain' are all a part of history and pretty key in the events that led up to Diana's death two years later.  I am recommending that everyone reading this, tape tomorrow nights BBC broadcast and keep these in your archives.  See our 'Diana Assassination' archive.

• Drifting towards a Police State - Did you know that under the terms of the new Patriot Act prosecutors will be able to seek the death penalty in cases where “defendants gave financial support to umbrella organizations without realizing that some of its adherents might eventually commit violence”? (NY Times; editorial 10-30-05) So, if someone unknowingly gave money to a charity that was connected to a terrorist group, he could be executed.

• 9/11 TRUTH MOVEMENT: Jimmy Walter, Philanthropist and 9/11 Truth-Seeker, Returns from Europe to Picket Outside New York Times Building in Week-Long Protest of Media Censorship. Returning from a self-imposed European exile due to FBI harassment, the outspoken American multi-millionaire again wants to 'turn up the heat' on the 9/11 truth movement.

• Document counters claims that Al Qaeda got training in Iraq: Republicans agree to name task force - A government document raises doubts about claims that Al Qaeda members received training for biological and chemical weapons in Iraq, as Senate Democrats yesterday defended their push for a report on how the Bush administration handled prewar intelligence.

• Government to tax the view from your house - Having a nice view or living next door to a golf course are going to cost householders more in council tax under Labour plans. Taxpayers are set to be charged hundreds of pounds extra a year if they are in a conservation area, next to an open space, have a swimming pool or tennis court or enjoy full or partial views of the sea, hills, mountains, lakes or rivers.

• New report claims cost of ID cards will be £500 each - THE cost of introducing a national identity card scheme could rise to almost £30 billion — almost £500 a card, the government will be warned this month.

• Whistleblower to sue health chiefs for £2m - AN NHS whistleblower is preparing to sue a Yorkshire health trust for around £2m after claiming that his treatment by managers and colleagues ruined his health and ended his career. Mike Tobin's role in revealing the poor standard of care and management at Mid Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust triggered a crisis which ended with the trust becoming the first in the country to be placed in "special measures". Dr Tobin, a former consultant gastroenterologist, has formally served notice on Mid Yorkshire and seven named ex-colleagues of his intention to seek damages for their alleged role in ending his lucrative career. He claims he suffered such severe depression as a result of his treatment by the trust and former colleagues that he has been unable to work since December, 2003 and has been forced to take retirement on ill-health grounds.

• Some Travelers to Be Screened for Diseases - The federal government will install a new quarantine station at Logan International Airport to evaluate travelers who may pose a health threat to the region, officials said. The quarantine area should be in place at Terminal E, which handles international arrivals, by the end of the year. It will have a five-person staff from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, who will also train airport and airline personnel on how to detect the symptoms of threatening health conditions.

• PERSPECTIVE: We need to be told - When journalists report propaganda instead of the truth, the consequences can be catastrophic - as one largely forgotten instance demonstrates. By John Pilger

06th NOVEMBER 2005

• AUSTRALIA: Labor leaders back Howard’s police-state laws - In the face of growing criticism from lawyers, civil liberties groups and even some Coalition backbenchers of the proposed new “anti-terrorism” laws, Prime Minister John Howard called a special media conference in Canberra on November 2 at which he gave the impression that his government had received information indicating that there was an imminent terrorist threat in Australia. “The government has received specific intelligence and police information this week which gives cause for serious concern about a potential terrorist threat”, Howard announced. He then said it was necessary for the parliament to pass an amendment to the existing anti-terrorism laws within 36 hours.

• Ridgely Residents Question Surveillance Cameras - The small Eastern Shore town of Ridgely is getting a closed-circuit camera surveillance system. The surveillance cameras, which will be installed in the next couple of weeks, were bought with a $7,000 federal grant from the Department of Homeland Security.

• Fuel's paradise? Power source that turns physics on its head: Scientist says device disproves quantum theory... Opponents claim idea is result of wrong maths - It seems too good to be true: a new source of near-limitless power that costs virtually nothing, uses tiny amounts of water as its fuel and produces next to no waste. If that does not sound radical enough, how about this: the principle behind the source turns modern physics on its head.

• UK: Army could stand in for police - SOLDIERS would have to take over policing duties and patrol the streets if a flu pandemic put Britain’s police forces out of operation, a senior commander gave warning yesterday. Alan Goodwin, Deputy Chief Constable of Derbyshire, said that if a pandemic became so severe and widespread that police and military manpower was drastically cut, the Government might have to appeal for help from foreign police forces which had not been affected by the infectious disease.

• Brown joked in e-mail as Katrina churned: Ex-FEMA head’s correspondence shows banter, trivialities before storm - In the days leading up to Katrina, former FEMA Director Michael Brown sent jocular e-mails to colleagues about his clothing, finding a dog-sitter and asking if he could quit, an investigation revealed.

05th NOVEMBER 2005

• Bush feels hand of God as ratings slump - America's faith in George Bush and in his decision to go to war in Iraq has plummeted in the wake of a White House intelligence scandal that went to court this week, according to a new poll.  Nearly six in 10 Americans, 58%, said they had doubts about the president's honesty, a 13% rise in 18 months. Only 32% believed Bush was handling ethical issues well, a significantly worse score than Bill Clinton achieved in his last scandal-besmirched year in office. His overall popularity has plunged to 39%, a new low for the Washington Post/ABC survey.

• Iraq war linked to terror: Meyer - A former British ambassador to the US believes the Iraq war has played a part in fuelling terror attacks in the UK. Sir Christopher Meyer told The Guardian "there is plenty of evidence" that "home-grown terrorism was partly radicalised and fuelled" by Iraq.

• Cheney seeks legalizing torture - The vice president’s remarks were only supported by lawmaker, Sen. Jeff Sessions of Alabama. Vice President Dick Cheney has appealed to Republican senators to allow CIA exemptions to the ban on use of torture against what the U.S. government calls “terror suspects”, participants in a closed-door session have revealed. Speaking at a regular weekly private meeting of Senate Republican senators, Cheney claimed that the United States doesn't use torture against detainees, however he said that exemption from any legislation banning "cruel, inhuman or degrading" treatment is needed to prevent a terrorist attacks, The Associated Press reported.

• Palestinians hit by sonic-boom air raids - Israel is deploying a terrifying new tactic against Palestinian civilians in the Gaza Strip by letting loose deafening "sound bombs" that cause widespread fear, induce miscarriages and traumatise children. The removal of Jewish settlers from the Gaza Strip opened the way for the military to use air-force jets to create dozens of sonic booms by breaking the sound barrier at low altitude, sending shockwaves across the territory, often at night. Palestinians liken the sound to an earthquake or huge bomb. They describe the effect as being hit by a wall of air that is painful on the ears, sometimes causing nosebleeds and "leaving you shaking inside".

• SATIRE: Blunkett orders his own detainment as ID card law introduced. - Home Secretary David Blunkett (left) has placed himself under house arrest on the day he was to introduce Identity (ID) Card legislation into Parliament, it has emerged. The move comes amid allegations of improper conduct by the Minister.

• Powell's ex-aide speaks of torture 'cabal' - A former top official in the Bush administration is making new allegations that Vice-President Dick Cheney and Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld approved the use of torture against al-Qaeda suspects and other foreign-held prisoners. "They began to authorize procedures in the armed forces that led to, in my view, what we've seen," said Col. Larry Wilkerson, who was chief of staff to former secretary of state Colin Powell. Wilkerson claims that Cheney and Rumsfeld formed what he called a "cabal" – a small secret group within the administration that tacitly approved torture.

04th NOVEMBER 2005

• Russia can become a prototype of a new world order: Metropolitan Kirill - There are East and West, religiosity and secularism coexisting in Russia and our country can become a prototype for a new world order, Metropolitan Kirill of Smolensk and Kaliningrad believes. ‘Russia can become a prototype of a new world order based not on an impersonal unity within standards imposed by force, which will certainly lead to a civilizational catastrophe, but on a harmonious combination of cultural experience based on externally diverse but essentially one perception of absolute moral values’, the metropolitan said in interview published this week by the Literaturnaya gazeta.

• Court: It does take a village when it comes to sexuality: Parents 'have no due process or privacy right to override the determinations of public schools' - The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled yesterday against parents who sued their local school district after their elementary-age children were given a sexually charged survey, saying there is "no fundamental right of parents to be the exclusive provider of information regarding sexual matters to their children."

• ANALYSIS: Privacy And RFID: Are The Tags Spy Chips? - In a wide-ranging interview, privacy-rights advocate Katherine Albrecht discusses her belief that unaccountable corporations and governments have nightmarish plans for RFID-chipping everything--and everyone.

• Bombers 'tracked before July 7' - All four July 7 London suicide bombers were tracked by intelligence services a year before the attacks, it was claimed today. Quoting unnamed police sources, the Mirror reported that field agents had Shehzad Tanweer, Jermaine Lindsay, Hasib Hussain and Mohammed Sidique Khan on a list of 100 feared religious fanatics before the watch was called off because they failed to "fit the preconceived terrorist profile".    RELATED: See our 'London Bombing' Archive.

03rd NOVEMBER 2005

• ANALYSIS: Censorship may soon become the norm - Hosty v. Carter is an appeals court case most of you haven’t heard of, but it’s a decision that could have profound implications for your future. The case, decided in June, allows university officials to censor student publications in whatever fashion they choose, as long as the university contributes financially to the newspaper. The court ruled the First Amendment right to free speech simply does not apply to students trying to voice their opinions through public forums. Why? Because the judges who reached this decision and the institutions that actively censor their student-run publications think we’re just kids. They think that we aren’t old enough or experienced enough to take direct responsibility for the words we put on our pages.

• Appeals court hears cases on Patriot Act - A federal appeals panel has suggested it might require the government to permit libraries, major corporations and other groups to challenge FBI demands for records under the Patriot Act.  Members of the three-judge panel of the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals were questioning lawyers in two cases about the government's secrecy requirements.

• Police plan weekend checkpoints - Pennsylvania State Police plan to hold a sobriety checkpoint between Friday and Sunday somewhere in the area. The checkpoint is the first of its kind run by Bethlehem-based Troop M conducting as part of the new Pennsylvania State Police Checkpoint Strike Force Initiative. Under the initiative, state police will conduct a sobriety checkpoint in Bucks, Lehigh or Northampton counties every weekend for the next year. In the event of inclement weather, police may conduct roving patrols for drivers under the influence of drugs or alcohol rather than a checkpoint. State police also plan to work with municipal police departments to promote anti-DUI enforcement activities.

• CIA violates Danish flight ban: The US Central Intelligence Agency continues its secret flights in Danish airspace despite the Danish government's request that they be stopped. An opposition party demands an explanation from the minister of foreign affairs - The US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) has violated Denmark's requests that the United States not use Danish airspace for secret flights, believed to breach international conventions. The opposition's Red-Green Alliance had already demanded that Minister of Transport Flemming Hansen explain why an aircraft used by the CIA to transport suspected terrorists around the world landed in Copenhagen earlier this year.

• ANALYSIS: Reading vs. Ritalin - Before rushing to Ritalin, or whatever else, for your child's "attention deficits," consider doing something about his reading deficits first. There's so much talk of "attention deficit disorder" in children today. The unquestioned, never disputed premise is that brain chemistry causes young people not to pay attention. Yet attention deficits were never such problems in earlier eras. What gives? A major factor is the lack of reading. Children are not encouraged to read, and parents don't read to their children. The prevalence of video games, computers and televisions means that reading has gone by the wayside. What are some of the advantages of reading?

• Canada urged to investigate its alleged role in torture - Canada needs to publicly investigate allegations its officials may be complicit in the torture of Canadian citizens in the Middle East, the United Nations Human Rights Committee says in a report that criticizes federal anti-terrorism measures.

• Unmanned Force to Expand... The Air Force plans a substantially bigger fleet of large unmanned aircraft in the near future, senior officers have said. Lt. Gen. Donald J. Hoffman, military deputy to the assistant secretary of the Air Force for acquisition, told attendees at a Capitol Hill symposium in September that USAF plans to acquire 51 Global Hawks, more than 100 Predator A models, and a large number of Predator B models. The service now has only a pair of production-model Global Hawks and a handful of Predator systems. Hoffman said the Global Hawks gradually will take over some of the mission of the U-2. The Global Hawk is a very high-flying aircraft that can surveil the ground with mapping radar and infrared sensors. The Predator is a lower-flying aircraft that can conduct video surveillance, designate targets for other aircraft, and carry light weapons. The two types of unmanned aircraft have been highly successful in Iraq and Afghanistan, Hoffman said, and he expects “other US agencies to buy them for domestic issues such as disaster relief and border security.”

• Stone shoots 9/11 film in New york - Director Oliver Stone has begun shooting one of the first Hollywood films about the September 11 2001 attacks in New York – without recreating the large-scale devastation all too familiar to people who lived through the outrage. After months of meetings with residents and family groups, producers of the untitled movie have promised to tread carefully on sensitive ground. Most of the major action portraying the World Trade Centre collapse will be shot on a Los Angeles sound stage. And although news footage of the towers themselves will be shown during the film, it will play on television screens in the background.  (COMMENT: I beg to differ, but this year's 'War of the Worlds' is the first Hollywood film about 9/11.  That aside, it will be interesting to see if this film carries a theme which questions the party line.  I have my doubts, despite the fact that this movie is from Oliver Stone, the director of 'JFK'.  It will more likely be a tear jerker with an agenda of reminding the terrorised sheeple what they can do to us in a 'New York Minute'.)

• Nevada town opposes federal Patriot Act - The Silver City Town Council voted 3-0 on Tuesday to condemn sections of the federal Patriot Act. The council's action was requested by American Civil Liberties Union of Nevada representatives Laura Mijanovich and Bob Tregilus, who urged council members to affirm the Bill of Rights and oppose any provisions of the Patriot Act that violate peoples' civil rights. Nearly 400 local governments, including Elko County and the cities of Elko and Sparks, had previously passed resolutions asking that the Patriot Act be revised to conform to the U.S. Constitution.

• Reports of Secret CIA Prisons Prompt Concern: Lawmakers and others say the U.S. should reassess its handling of terrorism suspects — The Bush administration should reevaluate its long-term plan for detaining suspected terrorists in light of reports that the CIA has a secret prison system, members of Congress and current and former intelligence officials say. Details of the post-Sept. 11 network of "black sites" were first reported in Wednesday's Washington Post, and the locations were confirmed by the Baltimore Sun. The report raised questions about how the CIA was treating its detainees in Thailand, Afghanistan and Eastern Europe.

• MPs 'shocked' in terror bill row - The Home Secretary, Charles Clarke, has been criticised after admitting that he did not know what the Lord Advocate thought of his anti-terror proposals. Mr Clarke said during the debate on the Terrorism Bill he did not know how his plans were viewed by Colin Boyd. Labour MP for Midlothian David Hamilton expressed his shock, as did other Scottish members.

02nd NOVEMBER 2005

• CIA accused over secret jails for terror suspects - America's Central Intelligence Agency is being accused of hiding and interrogating some of its most important al- Qaeda captives at a Soviet-era compound in Eastern Europe. The secret facility is part of a covert prison system set up by the CIA nearly four years ago that at various times has included sites in eight countries, including Thailand, Afghanistan and several democracies in Eastern Europe, as well as a small center at the Guantanamo Bay prison in Cuba, current and former intelligence officials and diplomats from three continents, have told The Washington Post.

• Senior al Qaeda captive escaped U.S. prison - official - Omar al-Faruq, one of al Qaeda's most senior global operatives, escaped from an American military prison in Afghanistan in July, a U.S. defence official said on Wednesday. The official, who asked not to be identified, confirmed to Reuters that the Kuwaiti, who was captured in Indonesia in 2002 and turned over to the United States, was among four prisoners who escaped from heavily fortified Bagram Air Base prison in July. He remains at large. The official did not explain why the United States did not state that Faruq was among the four who escaped until pressed by lawyers at a military trial in Texas this week. At the time of his capture in Indonesia in June 2002, Faruq was al Qaeda's most senior operative in Southeast Asia, according to intelligence officials.  (COMMENT: Funny how these things happen!)

• SWEDISH RITALIN IN CHILD SUICIDES - A search of the archives at the Swedish Medical Products Agency has revealed astonishing results: Papers showing that Ritalin, prescribed to children with the diagnosis ADHD, not only causes depression, but has led to suicides and suicide attempts. They also indicate that the MPA knew about these disastrous effects when it approved Ritalin in June of this year, yet no warnings were given to physicians or the public.

• Britons warned against possible attacks in coming months - Metropolitan Police Commissioner Ian Blair is warning Britons of more attempts to attack the country in the coming months. The police chief of Britain said of the threat as he battled for more powers to deal with suspected terrorists while members of parliament debate the Terrorism Bill.  (COMMENT: How do they know that more attacks 'are' coming, unless they are watching the events in preparation?)

• The '9/11 Truth Movement' raises questions about 9/11 attacks - Some Americans and people around the world are wondering more about the 9/11 attacks. Questions are being asked, information is surfacing and allegations are being made. The “9/11 Truth Movement” is a phrase being used to describe a wide range of people and organizations in the U.S. and internationally who are asking these questions and digging up information that appears, on the surface, to be quite serious, if true.

• Model Emergency Health Powers Act (MEHPA) Turns Governors into Dictators - Dr. Mercola's Comment: Since this is a bit of an unusual type of article I thought I would put my comment first. It appears some very dangerous legislation is being prepared to be implemented in the US. If this legislation passes, in brief: 1 - You will have a mandatory vaccination or you will be charged with a crime. 2 - You will get a mandatory medical exam, or you will be charged with a crime. 3 - Doctors will give the exam or you will be charged with a crime. 4 - Your property can be seized if there is 'REASONABLE CAUSE TO BELIEVE" that it may pose a public health hazard... it can be burned or destroyed and you will NOT have recourse or compensation.

• Source of problem must be discovered - With the news this week that drinking water in Millsboro and Dagsboro is contaminated with traces of trichlorethylene (TCE), residents of these areas need to be concerned about how the state and town is handling the problem. Moreover, they need to be concerned about what caused the problem in the first place -- illegal dumping or burying of hazardous waste could be the obvious answer.

• AUSTRALIA: Mike Steketee: These are draconian and unnecessary laws - IT appears that the premiers have succeeded in softening some of the harsh elements of the new anti-terror legislation, in particular to give those caught up in it greater access to courts. For this we must be grateful, though among some necessary measures - presumably including those rushed into federal parliament yesterday - many excesses continue to lurk. Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission president John von Doussa was moved on Monday to compare the stop, question and search provisions, which require no court warrant and already have been implemented by some governments, with those of a police state.

• To silence opposition to police-state measures: Australian government declares “urgent” terrorist threat - In a sinister bid to silence the opposition that has erupted to the police-state measures contained in his government’s Anti-Terrorism Bill 2005, Australian Prime Minister John Howard today suddenly called a media conference to declare that an imminent terrorist threat made it necessary to rush “urgent” parts of the Bill through parliament within 24 hours.  (COMMENT: As stated in our October archives, I can't help but think that we need to watch the police state ratcheting/activity going on in Australia at the moment. They haven't had a major terror attack yet. An increasing number of reports are now coming out about resistance to the police state there.  Knowing the dirty tricks of the globalists - a staged 7/7 type attack such as we had here in the UK might be pulled very soon).

• Zundel files suit against Ottawa - Holocaust denier Ernst Zundel is suing the federal government for $10-million, claiming he was unjustly held in solitary confinement and deported to Germany. In a statement of claim filed yesterday, Mr. Zundel said that his treatment at the hands of the government was illegal and unconstitutional.  (NOTE: No we aren't fellow 'Holocaust Deniers' before anyone sends us any hate mail for reporting on this!)

• Anti-terror laws face new hurdle - Planned new anti-terrorism laws are facing their first real test in the House of Commons as MPs begin detailed scrutiny of the proposals. The Tories and Lib Dems are expected to oppose plans to extend the time limit to detaining terrorism suspects without charge from 14 days to three months. An attempt to ban glorification of terror is also being debated. The Terrorism Bill cleared its first parliamentary hurdle last week by a majority of 378.

• Latest footage of London Bomber: More evidence of a frame up - One of the suicide bombers who attacked London on 7 July was filmed arguing with a cashier about being shortchanged hours before he blew himself up, The London Independent reported yesterday. A Metropolitan Police counter terrorist expert also told a seminar that the four terrorists - Mohammad Sidique Khan, 30, Shehzad Tanweer, 22, Germaine Lindsay, 19, and Hasib Hussain, 18, - did not fit the preconceived terrorist profile.

01st NOVEMBER 2005

• SOUTH AFRICA: Government puts Big Brother law into action - A new law will allow phones to be tapped and emails to be intercepted in the fight against crime, the department of justice says. Justice spokesperson Lesley Mashokwe said on Sunday that, while the Interception of Communications and Provision of Communication-related Information Act allowed for the lawful interception of communications, this could be done only after authorisation by a judge especially designated to perform that function. While justice minister Brigitte Mabandla is yet to appoint a judge, the act is already in effect.

• Campuses question government surveillance: Schools across the country will be subject to wiretapping as early as spring - Campuses across the country are now subject -- though many reluctantly -- to a federal statute enabling law enforcement agencies to monitor students' email and computer use. The statute, known as the Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act of 1994, which obligates communication service providers to cooperate with law enforcement agencies, was extended on Oct. 13 to encompass colleges and universities. By next spring, schools nationwide will have to restructure their computer systems to allow law enforcement agencies easier access to information.

• Former soldier wins landmark case over Gulf War Syndrome - A former guardsman suffering from Gulf War Syndrome has won a landmark legal case against the Ministry of Defence. Daniel Martin, 35, who has suffered from chronic fatigue syndrome, memory loss and impaired concentration since the 1991 conflict, will receive a disability award under the "umbrella term" of Gulf War Syndrome. He is one of 1,500 soldiers who made a claim for a disablement pension because of the syndrome, which, for the past 14 years, the MoD has said does not exist.

• Nazi 'Doctor Death' reported to have lived in Spain for 20 years - An Austrian doctor accused of killing hundreds of inmates at a Nazi concentration camp during World War II has been hiding in Spain for the last 20 years, a Spanish newspaper reported on Sunday. German authorities say they are hunting for Aribert Heim, 91, known as "Doctor Death." Heim worked in Mauthausen Concentration Camp in Austria and killed hundreds of inmates by lethal injection and torture, according to the Nazi-hunting Simon Wiesenthal Centre, which has also said Heim may be hiding out in Spain.

• Anti-torture measure protects U.S. troops - Although the Senate overwhelmingly approved an anti-torture amendment three weeks ago, the White House continues to insist that the CIA be exempted from the ban on abuse. The Senate should not budge from its principled and morally justifiable opposition to torture.

• Most Offspring Died When Mother Rats Ate Genetically Engineered Soy - The Russian scientist planned a simple experiment to see if eating genetically modified (GM) soy might influence offspring. What she got, however, was an astounding result that may threaten a multi-billion dollar industry. Irina Ermakova, a leading scientist at the Institute of Higher Nervous Activity and Neurophysiology of the Russian Academy of Sciences (RAS), added GM soy flour (5-7 grams) to the diet of female rats. Other females were fed non-GM soy or no soy at all. The experimental diet began two weeks before the rats conceived and continued through pregnancy and nursing.

• ID cards plans begin Lords test - Controversial plans for identity cards have begun what is expected to be a rocky ride in the House of Lords. Opening the second reading debate, Home Office Minister Baroness Scotland said the cards could help prevent terrorism, crime and illegal immigration. But Conservative spokeswoman Baroness Anelay of St Johns said the plans were intrusive and expensive.

• ANALYSIS: Devil's Advocate: Here comes 1984 - Will we be imprisoned for using encryption? Maybe I'm paranoid but that doesn't prove they aren't out to get me. These days, it seems as if the government plans to get us all well and truly under its thumb. If the ID cards are not enough, then the anti-terrorist legislation will be. Authoritarians like to dismiss the 'civil rights industry'. Odd really, since we know exactly what happens in countries like Uzbekistan where people don't have civil rights: arbitrary arrest, torture and imprisonment. Are the victims guilty? No one can ever know but probably not in many cases. Lack of proper legal procedure encourages false reports based on grudges.

• ARROGANT CRIMINALS THRIVE WITH CONFIDENCE IN A DISARMED SOCIETY: Man shot by 'trick or treat' gang - A gang wearing Halloween masks shouted "trick or treat" before shooting a man in the doorway of his home. Police said at least two men dressed in dark clothing called at a house on Acacia Avenue in Huyton, Merseyside. A woman answered the front door and was joined by a man, aged 31, who was then shot several times. He is critical but stable in hospital after surgery. Det Ch Insp Phil Scarth, of Merseyside Police, said: "We believe the address was targeted."