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David Shayler: spook or psychic?
For years, David Shayler has been a thorn in the flesh of Britain's intelligence establishment. An MI5 officer for six years, he went to jail after leaking secret documents to the press. In the last ten years he's been a novelist, a writer on security matters, and a political activist. But his latest role may be the most talked about yet - that of mystic. see video

Facebook - the CIA conspiracy
Facebook has 20 million users worldwide, is worth billions of dollars and, if internet sources are to be believed, was started by the CIA. The social networking phenomenon started as a way of American college students to keep in touch. It is rapidly catching up with MySpace, and has left others like Bebo in its wake. But there is a dark side to the success story that's been spreading across the blogosphere. A complex but riveting Big Brother-type conspiracy theory which links Facebook to the CIA and the US Department of Defence. see also

World shares fall on credit fears
Markets have fallen sharply again in Friday trading, a day after markets in the US and Europe suffered heavy losses amid fears of a global credit crunch. Billions of dollars were wiped off share values, affecting businesses and individual investors alike. In morning trade, the London share index fell 3.1%, the Paris index was down 3% and German shares fell 1.6%. Analysts say the crisis could make it harder for banks, firms and consumers to get access to loans and cash.

Pitching For More Dead Americans: A Neo-Con Fetish
Another feverish Neo-Con has come out of the closet and admitted to enjoying the fetish that he shares with scores of other Administration apologists - a deathwish for more terror and more dead Americans in order to unite the country behind Bush. 'One month from The Anniversary, I'm thinking another 9/11 would help America,' laments Stu Bykofsky in his Philadelphia Daily News column. 'Remember the community of outrage and national resolve? America had not been so united since the first Day of Infamy - 12/7/41. We knew who the enemy was then. America's fabric is pulling apart like a cheap sweater. What would sew us back together? Another 9/11 attack. It will take another attack on the homeland to quell the chattering of chipmunks and to restore America's righteous rage and singular purpose to prevail.'

Galloway to contest next election in Poplar and Limehouse
Respect MP George Galloway has announced he will stand again at the next general election. He will challenge Transport Minister Jim Fitzpatrick for the Poplar and Limehouse seat in London's East End. Mr Galloway, currently MP for Bethnal Green and Bow, said he had resolved to quit the Commons until his recent suspension prompted him to re-consider. He had been tipped to stand against Justice Secretary Jack Straw in Blackburn, Lancashire. But Mr Galloway, whose current constituency borders Poplar and Limehouse, said he wanted to remain in the East End.

Libya acknowledges medics' torture
Five foreign medics and a Palestinian medical doctor had been tortured while in detention, a son of Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi has told Al Jazeera. Saif al-Islam, however, denied that his country would face legal action for that. In an interview on Wednesday, Saif al-Islam said: 'Yes, they were tortured by electricity and they were threatened that their family members would be targeted. But a lot of what the Palestinian doctor has claimed are merely lies.'

Chávez condemns U.S. protection of terrorist Posada Carriles
The United States’ harboring of terrorist Luis Posada Carriles is one more example of how U.S. rulers are threatening the world, said Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez. The leader recalled, “It has been more than two years since we applied for the extradition of one of the worst terrorists in the history of the continent.” The U.S. has yet to agree despite the accumulation of evidence supporting the demand.
“He is a terrorist”, said Chávez, “The whole world knows it, and the U.S. government knows it better than any one else, yet it refuses to extradite him and has only charged him with the violation of immigration laws. Now he is freely walking the streets of Miami.”

A President in denial, a ravaged nation denied hope
Thabo Mbeki's stance on Aids has left South Africa with the world's worst HIV epidemic. Yesterday, he silenced the woman fighting to end the suffering of millions. The fight against Aids in South Africa, the epicentre of the global pandemic, has been dealt a devastating blow. Thabo Mbeki, the President, stunned and outraged campaigners yesterday by sacking the country's deputy health minister, the woman credited with ending a decade of Aids denialism at the heart of the South African political leadership.

China dollar attack would be 'foolhardy' : Bush
President George W. Bush on Wednesday said China would be 'foolhardy' to attempt to push down the dollar in retaliation for US pressure over Beijing's alleged currency manipulation. Bush said he had not seen the report that Beijing was hinting at such a move, in Britain's Daily Telegraph newspaper, but warned against any attempt by China to hit back at Washington using vast foreign currency reserves.

Russia sparks Cold War scramble
Russian bombers have flown to the US Pacific island of Guam in a manoeuvre reminiscent of the Cold War era. Two Tu-95 turboprops flew this week to Guam, home to a big US military base, Russian Maj Gen Pavel Androsov said, a story confirmed by the US. They 'exchanged smiles' with US pilots who scrambled to track them, he added. The sorties, believed to be the first since the Cold War ended, come as Russia stresses a more assertive foreign policy, correspondents say.

British losses soar as they prepare to leave Basra city
Two more British soldiers were killed in southern Iraq yesterday, raising the death toll in the UK's least successful military campaign since Suez in 1956. In both cases the British casualties were low but British forces wholly failed to achieve their objectives. Two Irish Guardsman were killed and two were seriously wounded in the early hours of yesterday when their convoy was hit by a roadside bomb near the Rumaila oilfields west of Basra. The deaths bring to 168 the number of British personnel who have died in Iraq since the invasion in 2003.

1,001 mercenaries have died in Iraq
More than 1,000 civilian contractors have been killed in Iraq since the U.S.-led invasion more than four years ago, according to Labor Department records made available Tuesday. In response to a request from Rep. Jan Schakowsky, D-Ill., the Labor Department revealed that 1,001 civilian contractors had died in Iraq as of June 30, including 84 during the second quarter of the year. So far in 2007, at least 231 contractors working for U.S. firms have died in Iraq.

Met scheme aims to identify Muslim extremists
Scotland Yard has drawn up plans for a 'safety foundation' which would identify extremists within Muslim communities across the UK and which could be up and running within six months. The project is the brainchild of Tarique Ghaffur, Britain's most senior Muslim officer, who is an assistant commissioner at Scotland Yard. He suggests the foundation will identify and combat extremism and act as a thinktank analysing 'the dynamics of disaffection'.

Ten-year climate model unveiled
Scientists say they have developed a model to predict how ocean currents, as well as human activities, will affect temperatures over the next decade. By including short-term natural events, such as El Nino, a UK team says it is able to offer 10-year projections. Models have previously focused on how the globe will warm over a century. Writing in Science, Met Office researchers project that at least half of the years between 2009 and 2014 are likely to exceed existing records.

Deaths due to invasion of Iraq exceed 1,000,000
It is at least 10 times greater than most estimates cited in the US media, yet it is based on the only scientifically valid study of violent Iraqi deaths caused by the U.S.-led invasion of March 2003. That study, published in prestigious medical journal The Lancet, estimated that over 600,000 Iraqis had been killed as a result of the invasion as of July 2006. Iraqis have continued to be killed since then. The graphic above provides a rough daily update of this number based on a rate of increase derived from the Iraq Body Count.

MoD issues gag order on armed forces
Sweeping new guidelines barring military personnel from speaking about their service publicly have been quietly introduced by the Ministry of Defence. Soldiers, sailors and airforce personnel will not be able to blog, take part in surveys, speak in public, post on bulletin boards, play in multi-player computer games or send text messages or photographs without the permission of a superior if the information they use concerns matters of defence.

9/11 Commission Ignored Firefighter's Account of Explosions Inside WTC
Astounding and compelling testimony from a brave 9/11 firefighter that was ignored by the 9/11 Commission has added further weight to the already overwhelming evidence that the twin towers were brought down by means of explosives. Firefighter John Schroeder, assigned to Engine Company 10 directly across the street from the World Trade Center complex, holds back tears and describes his first-hand experience on Sept. 11th in an emotive interview with We Are Change and Loose Change.

Musharraf's woes spark fears of state of emergency in Pakistan
The government of General Pervez Musharraf last night backed away from imposing a state of emergency amid a dramatic flurry of reports and speculation that highlighted the mounting political crisis facing Pakistan's leader. Hours after President Musharraf finished a meeting with key military and legal advisers, his deputy information minister, Tariq Azim, claimed while such a move remained an option, it was not to be introduced for now.

UK officer calls for US special forces to quit Afghan hotspot
Tension between British and American commanders in southern Afghanistan erupted into the open yesterday as a senior UK military officer said he had asked the US to withdraw its special forces from a volatile area that was crucial in the battle against the Taliban. British and Nato defence officials have consistently expressed concern about US tactics, notably air strikes, which kill civilians, sabotaging the battle for 'hearts and minds' and infuriating Hamid Karzai, the Afghan president.

Massacre by U.S. aircraft in Iraq
At least 30 people, including women and children, died in the city of Sadr, east of the capital as a result of an aerial attack by the U.S. Army, Prensa Latina reports. The operation carried out by the joint U.S. Iraqi forces to detain alleged members of the resistance began at daybreak and is the most deadly attack to date to be launched on this Iraqi neighborhood. The Shiite leader Asmaa al Mawsawi condemned the U.S. helicopter forces for bombing a poor residential area at dawn. “I don’t believe that there were any security threats that can justify this operation,” he said.

Peers want crackdown on web's 'wild west'
The government and police must act to improve online security and stop the internet becoming a 'playground of criminals', a parliamentary committee warns today. A report from the House of Lords science and technology select committee accuses both business and government of creating an image of the net as a 'wild west', with millions of internet users unnecessarily exposed to crime.

Dow, S&P lose nearly 3 pct as subprime ills spread
Stocks tumbled on Thursday, with the Dow and S&P down nearly 3 percent, after a French bank froze three funds that invested in U.S. subprime mortgages, prompting central banks to take steps to calm investors. Evidence the U.S. mortgage market crisis was having a global impact and spreading to other markets hammered financial stocks. Goldman Sachs Group dropped nearly 6 percent after a second fund managed by the investment bank was under pressure to sell assets after falling in value.

Welcome to America
Before I could approach to observe them doing this, the officer who had originally referred me to his supervisor was unzipping my suitcase and rummaging inside. For the first time, I raised my voice: 'How dare you touch my private things?' 'How dare you treat an American officer with disrespect?' he shouted back, indignantly. 'Believe me, we have treated you with much more respect than other people. You should go to places like Iran, you’d see a big difference.' The irony is that it is only 'countries like Iran' (for example, Cuba, North Korea, Saudi Arabia, Zimbabwe) that have a visa requirement for journalists. It is unheard of in open societies…'