Secret CIA Flights to Greenland Reported

Secret CIA flights to Greenland reported 31 Jan 2008 Denmark will investigate claims that the CIA secretly used an airport on the Nordic country's remote Arctic territory of Greenland to transport prisoners in the U.S. war on [of] terror, the prime minister said Thursday.

Denmark to investigate reports of secret CIA prisoner flights landing in Greenland 31 Jan 2008 Denmark plans to investigate claims the CIA used an airport in Greenland to transport prisoners as part of its so-called "extraordinary rendition" program. A Danish TV documentary claims Denmark's Arctic territory was used in the program along with mainland Denmark's airports. The prime minister says the country plans to ask the Americans "for explanations," saying Denmark had informed the U.S. that such use of its airspace was "unacceptable."

Times Reporter Subpoenaed Over Source for Book 01 Feb 2008 A federal grand jury has issued a subpoena to a reporter of The New York Times, apparently to try to force him to reveal his confidential sources for a 2006 book on the Central Intelligence Agency, one of the reporter’s lawyers said Thursday. The subpoena was delivered last week to the New York law firm that is representing the reporter, James Risen, and ordered him to appear before a grand jury in Alexandria, Va., on Feb. 7. Mr. Risen’s lawyer, David N. Kelley, said in an interview that the subpoena sought the source of information for a specific chapter of the book "State of War."

Hicks could be paid $1m for story 01 Feb 2008 Former Guantanamo Bay prisoner, David Hicks, is fielding lucrative offers for his story and reportedly could be paid up to a million dollars in a major test of proceeds of crime laws. News Limited reports as many as 30 TV networks and publishers have made contact with his Adelaide-based lawyer. Hicks was freed from South Australia's Yatala prison on December 29, and remains under a US-imposed gag order until March.

U.S. defense spending seen peaking in Bush budget 01 Feb 2008 U.S. military spending may soon hit post-World War II highs in real terms, but analysts expect this to mark the end of an 11-year buildup no matter who wins the White House in November. President [sic] George W. Bush, in his final spending plan to be unveiled on Monday, is likely to seek about $515 billion for the Pentagon for fiscal 2009, up five percent in inflation-adjusted terms from the amount provided by Congress in the base 2008 budget, these experts say. In addition, the administration has said it will ask Congress for $70 billion to sustain operations war crimes in Iraq, Afghanistan and elsewhere in the early months of the new budget year that begins Oct 1.

Blackwater is a busy little bee in Baghdad! Handicapped bombers kill dozens in Iraq 01 Feb 2008 Remote-controlled explosives strapped to two mentally handicapped women detonated in a coordinated attack on pet bazaars Friday, police and Iraqi officials said, killing at least 73 people in the deadliest day since the U.S. sent 30,000 extra troops to the capital this spring.

Scores killed in Iraq market blasts 01 Feb 2008 At least 65 people have been killed and at least 149 have been injured by bomb blasts in two crowded markets in Baghdad, police have said. A female suicide bomber detonated explosives at about 10:20am (0720 GMT) at the al-Ghazl pet market in the centre of the Iraqi capital on Friday morning, killing 38 people, police said. Another bomb at a bird market in southeast Baghdad's al-Jadida neighbourhood killing at least 27 people, police said.

Germany rejects US troop request for southern Afghanistan 01 Feb 2008 German Defence Minister Franz Josef Jung said Friday that Berlin had no plans to deploy combat troops in battle-ravaged southern Afghanistan, after an urgent US request for NATO partners to do more to [de]stabilise the country. US Defense Secretary Robert Gates reportedly sent an "unusually stern" letter to Jung last month demanding combat troops, helicopters and paratroopers.

Sources: Al Qaeda's No. 3 man killed [LOL! Usually, it's a(nother) al-Qaeda No. 2] 31 Jan 2008 Abu Laith al-Libi, a wanted al Qaeda terrorist, was killed in Pakistan in a CIA strike, three U.S. officials told CNN Thursday. Al-Libi was thought to have been involved in the February 2007 bombing at Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan while Vice President [sic] Dick Cheney was visiting. The knowledgeable Western official said al-Libi was "not far below the importance of the top two [!] al Qaeda leaders" -- Osama bin Laden and Ayman al-Zawahiri.

Al-Qaida Web site was hosted in Phoenix 01 Feb 2008 A Web site used by al-Qaida [al-CIAduh] to recruit car bombers, encourage war on the West and provide a forum for Islamic militants went online from Phoenix this week. The site, a well-known and popular forum for Islamic terrorists and their sympathizers, was the first to report the death of senior al-Qaida leader Abu Laith al-Libi in Pakistan this week.

Poland says it has agreed to US shield 01 Feb 2008 Poland's foreign minister said Friday his country has reached an agreement in principle with the United States on plans to install a U.S. missile defense system in Polish territory.

U.S. Senator Wants to Revoke Funding From City for Vote to Boot Marines 01 Feb 2008 U.S. Sen. Jim DeMint, R-Nutjob-S.C., says the City of Berkeley, Calif., no longer deserves federal money. DeMint was angered after learning that the Berkeley City Council voted this week to tell the U.S. Marine Corps to remove its recruiting station from the city's downtown.

Berkeley gives Marines the boot --City Council says recruiting station not welcome 31 Jan 2008 Hey-hey, ho-ho, the Marines in Berkeley have got to go. That's the message from the Berkeley City Council, which voted 6-3 to tell the Marines that its Shattuck Avenue recruiting station "is not welcome in the city, and if recruiters choose to stay, they do so as uninvited and unwelcome intruders." In a separate item, the council voted 8-1 to give Code Pink a designated parking space in front of the recruiting station once a week for six months <g> and a free sound permit for protesting once a week from noon to 4 p.m.

Quids in: Blair on course to become richest ex-British PM 31 Jan 2008 Middle East envoy, adviser to a leading Swiss insurer and a blue-chip US investment bank, sought-after public speaker: Tony Blair has not dropped the pace since stepping down as British prime minister. This week Zurich Financial Services announced that Blair would advise them on a range of issues, including developments and trends in international politics and climate change.

Third undersea Internet cable cut in Mideast 01 Feb 2008 An undersea cable carrying Internet traffic was cut off the Persian Gulf emirate of Dubai, officials said Friday, the third loss of a line carrying Internet and telephone traffic in three days. Ships have been dispatched to repair two undersea cables damaged on Wednesday off Egypt. FLAG Telecom, which owns one of the cables, said repairs were expected to be completed by February 12.

WHO reports Tamiflu-resistant flu in U.S. and Canada 01 Feb 2008 The main flu virus circulating [created] in the United States and Canada has shown "elevated resistance" to the antiviral drug Tamiflu, in line with findings in parts of Europe, the World Health Organisation (WHO) said on Friday. A number of governments have been stockpiling Tamiflu, made by Switzerland's Roche Holding Ag and Gilead Sciences Inc of the United States, for use as a first line of 'defense' in case bird flu sparks a human influenza pandemic. [See: Rumsfeld's growing stake in Tamiflu 31 Oct 2005 Defense Secretary, ex-chairman of flu treatment rights holder, sees portfolio value growing. Donald Rumsfeld Rumsfeld served as Gilead (Research)'s chairman from 1997 until he joined the Bush administration in 2001, and he still holds a Gilead stake valued at between $5 million and $25 million, according to federal financial disclosures filed by Rumsfeld. The forms don't reveal the exact number of shares Rumsfeld owns, but in the past six months fears of a pandemic and the ensuing scramble for Tamiflu have sent Gilead's stock from $35 to $47.]

Exxon shatters profit records --Oil giant makes corporate history by booking $11.7 billion in quarterly profit; earns $1,300 a second in 2007. 01 Feb 2008 Exxon Mobil made history on Friday by reporting the highest quarterly and annual profits ever for a U.S. company, boosted in large part by soaring crude prices. Exxon, the world's largest publicly traded oil company, said fourth-quarter net income rose 14% to $11.66 billion, or $2.13 per share. That's up from $10.25 billion, or $1.76 per share, in the year-ago period. That topped Exxon's previous quarterly profit record of $10.7 billion, set in the fourth quarter of 2005, which also was a record for a U.S. corporation.

Exxon Posts Record Profit of $40.6 Billion For '07 --Exxon Mobil's 2007 net income of $40.61 billion sets new record for U.S. company 01 Feb 2008 Exxon's record fourth-quarter profit helped push the company to a new annual best, with earnings of $11.66 billion, topping the previous record, set in the fourth quarter of 2005, when the company saw earnings of $10.71 billion.

Exxon Mobil posts jaw-dropping $117 billion quarterly revenue, generates 14% profit growth 01 Feb 2008 Exxon Mobil on Friday reported its most lucrative quarter ever, as profit neared the $12 billion mark on a slight rise in adjusted oil production, capping off a year of record crude-oil prices. Earnings rose 14% to $11.66 billion, or $2.13 a share, for the final three months of 2007, from $10.25 billion, or $1.76 a share, earned in the year-earlier fourth quarter.

Chevron 4th-Quarter Profit Rises on Record Oil Prices 01 Feb 2008 Chevron Corp., the second-largest U.S. oil company, said fourth-quarter profit rose 29 percent as crude prices climbed to a record on their way to topping $100 a barrel last month. Net income increased to $4.88 billion, or $2.32 a share, from $3.77 billion, or $1.74, a year earlier, San Ramon, California-based Chevron said today in a statement.

Shell Rakes in $8.5 Billion in Three Months 31 Jan 2008 Royal Dutch Shell, the world's second-largest publicly traded oil company, today reported net income up 60 percent last quarter to a record $8.47 billion, thanks to the same rising crude oil prices that most observers expect will lift the profits of Exxon Mobil and Chevron tomorrow to nearly historic levels.

Karl Rove to join Fox News Channel 31 Jan 2008 ICN hears that Karl Rove will join Fox News Channel as a contributor and will likely be used throughout Super Tuesday coverage. ['Will join?' Rove has been advising Faux News for *years.*]

MoveOn Endorses Obama 01 Feb 2008 Senator Barack Obama has won the endorsement today from the membership of MoveOn. In a vote of the group’s members, Mr. Obama outpaced Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton 70 percent to 30 percent. The political action committee of MoveOn.org has 3.2 million members across the country, including 1.7 million members who live in the 22 states with Democratic primaries or caucuses on Tuesday.

Obama, Clinton agree: one of us to win White House 31 Jan 2008 Democratic U.S. presidential rivals Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton opened a crucial debate on Thursday by agreeing on one issue: one of them will become president in 2009.

Democrat Obama raises $32 million in January 31 Jan 2008 Barack Obama raised $32 million for his Democratic presidential nominating campaign in January, a huge haul that aides said will give him the ability to compete in a potentially long and costly race.

Bush Administration Hiding Documents Detailing Impacts of Oil and Gas Development Plans in Polar Bear Habitat --Conservation groups file suit to force disclosure (NRDC) 28 Jan 2008 Today conservationists moved to force the Bush administration to disclose thousands of pages of documents related to oil and gas development plans in prime polar bear habitat. The documents all relate to government plans to lease nearly 30 million acres of the Arctic Ocean for oil and gas drilling. Advocates asked the government for these documents for several months before resorting to a lawsuit.

Bush Administration Takes Aim at Wolves (NRDC) The Bush Administration has just issued a new rule that will allow the slaughter of hundreds of gray wolves in Greater Yellowstone and across the Northern Rockies – while they're still on the endangered species list. Both Wyoming and Idaho are planning to use aerial gunning, as well as baiting and trapping, to exterminate wolves. [Is there *any* species on the planet, safe from Bush? Tell Congress to Oppose the Mass Killing of Wolves!]

Bush Administration Strips Protections from America's Largest Forest --Pristine Areas Targeted for Logging 25 Jan 2008 Today, the Bush administration took its third swipe in recent weeks at opening protected areas in America’s national forests to logging before it leaves office. A Bush plan announced today puts a "for sale" sign on trees in vast swaths of the nation’s largest national forest – the Tongass rainforest in Alaska. This move by Bush officials to reverse roadless area protections joins two others made recently in the national forests located in Idaho and Colorado.

Microsoft Bids $44.6 Billion for Yahoo 01 Feb 2008 In a bold move to counter Google’s online pre-eminence, Microsoft said Friday that it had made an unsolicited offer to buy Yahoo for about $44.6 billion in a mix of cash and stock.

Employers cut 17,000 jobs in Jan.; 1st payroll cut in four years 01 Feb 2008 Nervous employers cut 17,000 jobs in January - the first such reduction in more than four years and a fresh trouble sign that the economy is in danger of stalling.

FBI targets senior bankers in far-reaching sub-prime fraud inquiry 31 Jan 2008 America's Federal Bureau of Investigation is investigating senior banking executives for insider dealing and fraud as part of a criminal inquiry into the sub-prime crisis, the agent leading the inquiry said yesterday.

Decline in Snowpack Is Blamed On Warming --Water Supplies In West Affected 01 Feb 2008 The persistent and dramatic decline in the snowpack of many mountains in the West is caused primarily by human-induced global warming and is not the result of natural variability in weather patterns, researchers reported yesterday.

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[Previous lead stories:] Bush asserts authority to bypass defense act --Bush asserted four sections of bill unconstitutionally infringe on his powers, so executive branch is not bound to obey them 30 Jan 2008 President [sic] Bush this week declared that he has the power to bypass four laws, including a prohibition against using federal funds to establish permanent US military bases in Iraq, that Congress passed as part of a new defense bill. Bush made the assertion in a signing statement that he issued late Monday after signing the National Defense Authorization Act for 2008.

Report: Military Unprepared for Domestic Threats 31 Jan 2008 The U.S. military's reserves and National Guard forces are not prepared to meet catastrophic threats at home and face an "appalling" shortage of forces able to respond to [Bush's] chemical, biological or nuclear strikes on U.S. soil, according to a congressional commission report released today.

U.S. Commanders in Iraq Favor Pause in Troop Cuts 31 Jan 2008 Senior U.S. military commanders here say they want to freeze troop reductions starting this summer for at least a month, making it more likely that the next administration will inherit as many troops in Iraq as there were before President [sic] Bush announced a "surge" of forces a year ago.

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CLG Newsletter editor: Lori Price, Manager. Copyright © 2008, Citizens For Legitimate Government ® All rights reserved. CLG Founder and Chair is Michael Rectenwald, Ph.D.