Research links rise in Falluja birth defects and cancers to US assault
* Defects in newborns 11 times higher than normal
* ‘War contaminants’ from 2004 attack could be cause

by Martin Chulov

A study examining the causes of a dramatic spike in birth defects in the Iraqi city of Falluja has for the first time concluded that genetic damage could have been caused by weaponry used in US assaults that took place six years ago.

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Outgoing Democratic Congressman
John Hall Warns Citizens United Could Lead To ‘Fascism’

Rep. John Hall (D-N.Y.), who is leaving Capitol Hill after
being defeated by Republican challenger Nan Hayworth,
recently warned that with the massive changes to campaign
finance law prompted by the Supreme Court’s Citizens United
decision, the nation could soon descend into fascism.

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I didn’t hear about Obama’s joke, or the (as usual) hyena laughter of the press, when this went down in May. So here it is–since this appalling story is as timely now as it was then, atrociously enough.

MCM

US drone attacks are no laughing matter, Mr Obama
The president’s backing of indiscriminate slaughter in Pakistan can only encourage new waves of militancy
by Mehdi Hasan

Speaking at the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner in May, Barack Obama spotted teen pop band the Jonas Brothers in the audience. “Sasha and Malia are huge fans, but, boys, don’t get any ideas,” deadpanned the president, referring to his daughters. “Two words for you: predator drones. You will never see it coming.” The crowd laughed, Obama smiled, the dinner continued. Few questioned the wisdom of making such a tasteless joke; of the US commander-in-
chief showing such casual disregard for the countless lives lost abroad through US drone attacks.

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The TSA’s state-mandated molestation
The humiliations of the patdown policy, which Janet Napolitano wants to expand, are an Orwellian assault on American freedom
by Jennifer Abel

The holiday brought bittersweet news: unless the Transportation Security Authority disbands, I’ll never see a certain friend of mine again. His long-term unemployment finally ended, and next
month, he starts a great new job. But it’s in Texas, too far to drive; from my place in Connecticut to his new home in San Antonio is 2,000 miles – 500 more than separates London from Moscow.

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US to Vatican: Genetically Modified Food Is a “Moral Imperative”
by: Mike Ludwig, t r u t h o u t | Report

Secret United States diplomatic cables released by WikiLeaks detail efforts to promote genetically modified (GM) crops and biotechnology across the globe, including the Vatican, where US diplomats pushed the Roman Catholic Church to support biotech food in developing nations.

Cables from embassies in Spain, Austria and even Pakistan reveal the US diplomats have clearly sided with the biotech industry, even as court cases and public debates over GM food raged in the US and abroad.

In 2005, a US diplomat and a USAID official met with Catholic leaders in Rome to discuss biotech foods, according to a leaked cable. The diplomats reported that Catholic leaders said the science and safety of GM food would soon be a “non-issue” in the Vatican and signaled a cautious acceptance of biotech products despite active opposition among the faithful:

Preoccupation at the Vatican, they said, was tied more to economic arguments, as some fear that widespread use of GMO food in the developing world would subjugate its farmer population and become a form of economic imperialism simply serving to enrich multi-national corporations.

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If imprisoned or killed, Assange reportedly prepared to out CIA-linked Arab leaders

Middle Eastern leaders who’ve become friendly with the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) could face severe retribution from their local populations if WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange is killed or jailed for a lengthy amount of time.

That’s because, in a recent interview with Arabic news network Al Jazeera, Assange allegedly warned that he had a document which reveals the identities of officials who voluntarily cultivated relationships with the CIA.

“These officials are spies for the US in their countries,” he reportedly told the network.

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Lula disappointed with Obama’s LatAm policy

Relations between the United States and Latin America have not changed in any meaningful way under President Barack Obama, Brazilian head of state Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said here Monday.

“The truth is that nothing has changed and I view that with sadness,” the departing chief executive said during a breakfast with journalists at the presidential palace in Brasilia.

Lula, who leaves office Saturday after two four-year terms, said that despite his having several conversations with Obama about the need for “a change of vision” in Washington’s relations with Latin America, he is not confident the message has been received.

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For Those Who Want To Know

Project Censored specializes in covering the top stories which were subjected to censorship either by being ignored or downplayed by the mainstream media each year. The Project Censored research team is composed of over 200 university faculty, students, and community experts drawn from an international network of 30 colleges and universities. This capable team annually reviews up to 1,000 news story submissions for content, reliability of sources, and significance. The top 25 stories selected are submitted to a distinguished panel of judges who rank them in order of importance. The results are published each year in an excellent book available for purchase at their website, amazon.com, and major book stores.

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Federal Raids Against Immigrants on the Rise
By David Bacon

While the criminalization of undocumented people in Arizona
continues to draw headlines, the actual punishment of workers
because of their immigration status has become an
increasingly bitter fact of life across the country. The
number of workplace raids carried out by the Obama
administration is staggering. Tens, maybe even hundreds of
thousands of workers have been fired for not having papers.

According to public records obtained by Syracuse University,
the latest available data from the Justice Department show
that criminal immigration enforcement by the two largest
investigative agencies within the Department of Homeland
Security (DHS) has increased to levels comparable to the
highest seen during the Bush Administration. Homeland
Secretary Janet Napolitano announced that almost 400,000
people were deported last year, the highest number in the
country’s history.

But deportations are only part of the story. Much less
visible is the other arm of current immigration enforcement
policy — the firing of workers. The justification is brutal
– if immigrant workers can’t work, and therefore can’t eat,
pay rent, or provide for their families, they’ll have no
alternative but to leave the country.

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Rove Might Be Trying To “Pull A Siegelman” With Julian Assange
Fredrik Reinfeldt and George W. Bush

Is Karl Rove helping to export American-style political prosecutions to Scandinavia? Is “Bush’s brain” trying to fashion a bogus criminal case in Sweden against WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, much like the one he helped build against former Alabama Governor Don Siegelman?

The answer to both questions appears to be yes, based on arecent report by Andrew Kreig at Huffington Post. On top of that, we have information from Rove’s own Web site that confirms his close ties to Sweden, the subject of an earlier Legal Schnauzer post. And we have unearthed a video from Rove’s 2008 visit to Timbro, a “free market” think tank in Sweden.

Circumstantial evidence continues to build that Rove is behind, at least in part, the Assange case. If so, why? We will address that question in a moment.

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