David Dishneau | AP.com 

A fired Fannie Mae contract worker pleaded not guilty on Friday to charges he planted a virus designed to destroy all the data on the mortgage giant’s 4,000 computer servers nationwide, according to federal prosecutors.

If the virus had been released as planned on Saturday, the Justice Department said the disruption could have cost millions of dollars and shut down operations for a week at the largest U.S. mortgage finance company.

Rajendrasinh B. Makwana, 35, of Glen Allen, Va., pleaded not guilty Friday in U.S. District Court in Baltimore to one count of computer intrusion, the U.S. attorney’s office said.

Makwana’s federal public defender did not immediately return a call seeking comment on the allegation.

Makwana, a citizen of India, was fired early on the afternoon of Oct. 24 from his job at Fannie Mae’s data center in Urbana, about 35 miles from the company’s Washington headquarters, according to court records. An affidavit states he was fired for erroneously writing programming instructions two weeks earlier that changed the settings on high-speed computers called servers that are connected to multiple network users.

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Geov Parrish | Eat The State

Last issue, ETS! began its comprehensive look at Barack Obama’s cabinet-level appointments thus far, examining his inner circle, his environmental picks, and his financial team. This issue, we turn to Foreign Affairs and Security (generally awful), and to Social Services (generally pretty good). Here’s to hope in the next four years–tempered with a strong measure of clear-eyed realism.

Foreign Affairs and Security

Dept. of Justice: Eric Holder will unquestionably be an upgrade over anything puked up for this post by the Bush administration; the former Clinton appointee opposes torture (now, anyway; in 2002 he urged the Bush administration to disregard the Geneva Conventions) and is generally more decent on civil liberties than his predecessors. (So are my living room drapes.) But in a measure of how deeply stench is rooted in both parties in DC, Holder has his own skeletons, ranging from his involvement in several dubious Clinton pardons (e.g., Marc Rich) to his post-Clinton private lawyering for corporate clients such as Chiquita, who he defended against accusations the banana giant funded Colombian paramilitary death squads that assassinated numerous union leaders. And don’t expect Holder to, you know, prosecute any of the Bush era scofflaws, from Dubya on down. He might want to work for Chiquita again some day. Welcome to our very own banana republic. Grade: D+

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Obama’s promise of a civilian security force is set in motion

Steve Watson | Infowars.net

The Defense Department has established a “civilian expeditionary workforce” that will see American civilians trained and equipped to deploy overseas in support of worldwide military missions.

The move is seen by some as an initial step towards fulfilling president Obama’s promise to form a civilian national security force as powerful as the U.S. military.

The intent of the program “is to maximize the use of the civilian workforce to allow military personnel to be fully utilized for operational requirements,” according to a Defense Department report.

The program was officially implemented one week ago, on the 23rd January, when Deputy Defense Secretary Gordon England signed Defense Department Directive 1404.10 (PDF), which provides a summation of the duties the workforce will undertake.

The directive, which is effective immediately, states that civilian employees of the DoD will be asked to sign agreements stating that they will deploy in support of military missions for up to two years if needed.

Workforce members, who are divided into different designations under the directive, will serve overseas in support of humanitarian, reconstruction and, if necessary, combat-support missions.

“If the employee does not wish to deploy, every effort will be made to reassign the employee to a nondeploying position.” the DoD report states.

While the directive suggests that the DoD will at first seek volunteers to serve in the civilian workforce, section 4, subsection (e) paragraph (2) states:

Management retains the authority to direct and assign civilian employees, either voluntarily, involuntarily, or on an unexpected basis to accomplish the DoD mission.

In addition, the directive states that all workforce members will be subject to physical and psychological testing, both before and after deployment.
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Comcast channel 77/23 or LIVE web streaming  www.scantv.org Gaza was Israel’s Self-Defeat at 8:30 PM The world averted its gaze then took shocked notice.  Israel rain-down death on caged and starved refugees in Gaza for twenty-two – well-timed - days. Was it without mercy or justification?  If so, what must American voters demand?Ed Mast will discuss a turning point for Israel – and, hopefully, the USA.  He will explore Israel’s legitimacy to force, its preceding criminality and its shameful MORAL defeat in Gaza.

Naomi Wolf: Restoring Democracy at 8 PM A talk recorded at Town Hall Seattle October 3, 2008:  Nationally renowned author/speaker/activist Naomi Wolf spellbound her capacity audience.  Given were eerie parallels to early Nazi take-over of Germany – steps that were LEGAL and within the system before the goose-stepping.  All dictators - from her book research – follow the same ten steps and those ten steps always work!  America has experienced a COUP without headlines, she averred.  Observe for yourself whether those ten steps happened here!

Comcast channel 77/23 or LIVE web streaming www.scantv.org

Show Schedule Prime Time Friday 1/30/09

Naomi Wolf: Restoring Democracy at 8 PM

A talk recorded at Town Hall Seattle October 3, 2008:
Nationally renowned author/speaker/activist Naomi Wolf spellbound her capacity audience.

Given were eerie parallels to early Nazi take-over of Germany – steps that were LEGAL and within the system before the goose-stepping.

All dictators - from her book research – follow the same ten steps and those ten steps always work! America has experienced a COUP without headlines, she averred. Observe for yourself whether those ten steps happened here!

Gaza was Israel’s Self-Defeat at 8:30 PM

The world averted its gaze then took shocked notice. Israel rain-down death on caged and starved refugees in Gaza for twenty-two – well-timed - days.
Was it without mercy or justification? If so, what must American voters demand?
Ed Mast will discuss a turning point for Israel – and, hopefully, the USA. He will explore Israel’s legitimacy to force, its preceding criminality and its shameful MORAL defeat in Gaza.

Matthias Chang | GlobalResearch.ca 

INTRODUCTION

The disinformation by the global financial dailies in the last twelve months as to the cause of the global financial tsunami, serve the same purpose as the global mass media when they perpetuated the lies that lulled the people to support the war criminals Bush, Blair and Howard to launch the barbaric war against Iraq and Afghanistan which resulted in the genocide of millions, the mutilation of hundreds of thousands, physically and psychologically, and the devastation of an entire nation.

The wars unleashed thus far, specifically the “War on Terror” were launched to preserve the shadow money-lenders’ political and military power.

This War on Terror is the greatest military sideshow that distracted the American people from the financial rape and plunder of their economy and the destruction of their Constitution.

Since the Summer of 2007, we have witnessed a concerted effort by the world’s central banks and global commercial and investment banks to preserve the shadow money-lenders’ financial power, one that is founded on fraud and structured in every detail as in the infamous Ponzi scheme.

In the last seven years, the Ponzi scheme was globalised by the Shadow Money-Lenders, siphoning hundreds of billions from so-called sophisticated investors and sovereign wealth funds. At its peak, the Ponzi scheme was estimated to be worth over $500 Trillion, with the Credit Default Swap (CDS) portion just under $60 Trillion! 

Hidden behind the headlines of the financial destruction that is sweeping across the globe, lies another story – a dark tale of men who orchestrated the crisis and have amassed enormous wealth and power at the expense of the millions who are now unemployed and whose homes have been foreclosed. This select group of men is in absolute control of the unfolding events. Who are they?  THE 

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Timothy Williams | NYTimes.com 

Blackwater Worldwide, the security firm whose guards killed 17 Iraqi civilians on a crowded Baghdad street in 2007, will not receive an operating license from the Iraqi government, a decision that will likely force American diplomats here to make new arrangements for their personal protection, officials said Thursday.

Unlike many security contractors in Iraq, Blackwater has been operating without an Iraqi government license, although it had recently applied for one.

The request was turned down during the past few weeks by the Iraqi government, officials said.

“They presented their request, and we rejected it,” said Ala’a Al-Taia, an official with Iraq’s Interior Ministry. “There are many marks against this company, specifically that they have a bad history and have been involved in the killing of so many civilians.”

The decision was first reported in The Washington Post.

An official at the United States Embassy in Baghdad said Thursday that the decision was being studied. Blackwater provides personal security to American State Department employees in Iraq, including the ambassador.

“We have been informed that Blackwater’s private security company operating license will not be granted,” the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity because she lacked permission to discuss the topic to a reporter. “We don’t have specifics about dates. We are working with the government of Iraq and our contractors to address the implications of this decision.”

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Pauline Jelinek | AP, SeattleTimes.com 

Suicides among Army troops soared again last year and are at a nearly three-decade high, senior defense officials told The Associated Press on Thursday.

At least 128 soldiers killed themselves in 2008, said two officials who spoke on condition of anonymity because the data has not been formally released.

The final count likely will be considerably higher because more than a dozen other suspicious deaths are still being investigated and could also turn out to be self-inflicted.

The new figure of more than 128 compares to 115 in 2007 and 102 in 2006 - and is the highest since record keeping began in 1980.

It also calculates to a rate of 20.2 per 100,000 soldiers - which is higher than the adjusted civilian rate for the first time since the Vietnam War, officials said.

The Army plans to announce the figures at a news conference later Thursday.

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Anita Lee | SunHerald.com  

A Hurricane Katrina-recovery ambassador to President George W. Bush and the nation, Mayor Brent Warr says his work and the city’s will continue as prosecutors prepare a federal case against him and his wife, Laura, on 16 charges of Katrina fraud.

The Warrs cried quietly Wednesday in the corridor of the U.S. District courthouse just blocks from City Hall after they were each indicted on 16 charges: one count of conspiracy, one count of fraud, two counts of theft of public funds, four counts of making false statements, three counts of wire fraud and five counts of mail fraud.

The indictment says the Warrs reconstructed their beachfront mansion with $222,798 in ill-gotten gains from FEMA, HUD and Lexington Insurance Co. from September 2005 to March 2007. The Warrs received the maximum $150,000 HUD homeowners grant through the Mississippi Development Authority, $9,558 in FEMA funds and $88,440.10 from Lexington Insurance Co., the indictment says.

 Prosecutors contend they were not entitled to the federal money because they had not moved into the beachfront home before the Aug. 29, 2005, hurricane. The government also says they misrepresented their losses to Lexington.

The Warrs, their hands clasped in front of them, pleaded innocent to the charges before U.S. Magistrate Judge John M. Roper.

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Obama speaks to the Muslim world 

Justin Raimondo | Antiwar.com 

President Obama’s interview with al-Arabiya television is remarkable in several ways, but what strikes me the most is that it coincided with the first air strikes on Pakistan under his administration: 22 people were killed, including between four and seven Taliban/al-Qaeda bad guys.

In the Arabiya interview, Obama was at his charming best, and the easily charmed were bowled over. Andrew Sullivan, for example, fairly swooned, and announced it’s “about the same thing as inviting Rick Warren or supping with George Will: it’s about R-E-S-P-E-C-T.”

What would you say if the police came into your neighborhood to confront reported criminals, killed a few – and also managed to knock off 18 or so bystanders? Would you say this shows the policerespect the neighborhood?

All the sweet talk won’t drown out the protests of the elected president of Afghanistan, who wants us to stop bombing his people too. Yet, truth be told, Obama’s honeyed words are alluring:

“My job is to communicate the fact that the United States has a stake in the well-being of the Muslim world, that the language we use has to be a language of respect. I have Muslim members of my family. I have lived in Muslim countries.” ”Al-Arabiya: The largest one.” ”Obama: The largest one, Indonesia. And so what I want to communicate is the fact that in all my travels throughout the Muslim world, what I’ve come to understand is that regardless of your faith – and America is a country of Muslims, Jews, Christians, non-believers – regardless of your faith, people all have certain common hopes and common dreams.”

Even as he was speaking, American drones were snuffing out lives and his generals were planning a wider war. That seems to be the signature Obama style: cool, calm, and collected as he talks out of one side of his mouth, while he’s giving the order to kill out of the other. If that doesn’t scare you, then you’ve probably had a little too much of that sweet-tasting Obama-brand Kool-Aid.

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Anne Gearan | AP.com 

Emerging from his first Pentagon briefing as president, Barack Obama said Wednesday that his administration faces “difficult decisions” about Iraq and Afghanistan. But the new commander in chief offered no further details about his plans as the U.S. carries on wars in both countries.

“Our efforts to continue to go after extremist organizations that would do harm to our homeland is uppermost on our minds,” Obama told reporters after spending about two hours at the Defense Department’s headquarters.

Obama underscored that troops and their families have his support and said the U.S. military has carried out its mission under enormous pressure.

For both the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, Obama is in the midst of hearing from military commanders and advisers about how best to proceed.

The White House said earlier Wednesday that Obama’s review of how to wind down the war in Iraq will conclude soon.

At the Pentagon, Obama met with the four military service leaders, one more step toward fulfilling his promise of withdrawing all combat troops from Iraq. He has called for a 16-month withdrawal of troops from Iraq; he did not answer a reporter’s question about that matter.

“We’re going to have some difficult decisions that we’re going to have to make surrounding Iraq and Afghanistan,” the president said.

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Steve Watson | PrisonPlanet.net

Texas Congressman Ron Paul has warned that passing the latest proposed economic stimulus package would be akin to pouring kerosene on an already raging fire.

Paul, who is also a member of the House Financial Services Committee, warned that such measures will cause a recession to turn into a full scale depression possibly worse than that of the 1930s.

During a Television interview with CNN, Paul explained why he believes stimulus funding is such a destructive policy.

“It’s because the government is spending it. If the people were spending it it would be fine, but the government never does anything productive. They have to take money from productive individuals and spend it in non productive ways, so it’s just digging a bigger hole, getting us into bigger debt, and that is the problem.” Paul said.
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Paul joseph Watson | PrisonPlanet.com 

A new bill introduced in Congress authorizes the Department of Homeland Security to set up a network of FEMA camp facilities to be used to house U.S. citizens in the event of a national emergency.

The National Emergency Centers Act or HR 645 mandates the establishment of “national emergency centers” to be located on military installations for the purpose of to providing “temporary housing, medical, and humanitarian assistance to individuals and families dislocated due to an emergency or major disaster,” according to the bill.

The legislation also states that the camps will be used to “provide centralized locations to improve the coordination of preparedness, response, and recovery efforts of government, private, and not-for-profit entities and faith-based organizations”.

Ominously, the bill also states that the camps can be used to “meet other appropriate needs, as determined by the Secretary of Homeland Security,” an open ended mandate which many fear could mean the forced detention of American citizens in the event of widespread rioting after a national emergency or total economic collapse.

Many credible forecasters have predicted riots and rebellions in America that will dwarf those already witnessed in countries like Iceland and Greece.

With active duty military personnel already being stationed inside the U.S. under Northcom, partly for purposes of “crowd control,” fears that Americans could be incarcerated in detainment camps are all too real.

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thecrowhouse.com - Written and narrated by: Maxwell Egan      This is originally a 9 part Youtube video converted to a single video file thanks to thelasersshadow.com

Join our Meetup 

University Book Store

4326 University Way NESeattle, WA 98105(206) 543-6582 

his could be a good opportunity for outreach as well as questions for Mr. Carter As always be professional and courteous.

http://www.youtube.co…

Further info from the UW bookstore.

Wednesday • February 11 • 6:30pm

Jimmy Carter We Can Have Peace in the Holy Land: A Plan That Will Work Book Signing Signing tickets available by purchasing We Can Have Peace in the Holy Land: A Plan That Will Work from University Book Store, beginning January 20 2009.

Signing Guidelines This signing ticket is required to stand in the signing line. You will receive one signing ticket for each copy of We Can Have Peace in the Holy Land that you purchase from University Book Store, beginning January 20. Mr. Carter will sign up to four books per person. Mr. Carter will sign one backlist title for each copy of We Can Have Peace in the Holy Land he signs, up to four books per person. For example: if you purchase two copies of We Can Have Peace in the Holy Land, you may have two backlist titles signed. Mr. Carter will only sign books. He will not sign memorabilia, or any non-book item. Mr. Carter will not personalize. There are no posed photos. 

Signing guidelines are subject to change. 

Join our Meetup 

Town Hall Seattle

1119 Eighth Avenue(at Seneca Street)Seattle, WA 98101 

Join our Meetup

Feb. 19th, 7:30pm
Town Hall Seattle
1119 Eighth Avenue
(at Seneca Street)
Seattle, WA 98101

Investigative journalist and author Pratap Chatterjee (Corpwatch, Iraq Inc.) delves into the nebulous world of the Houston-based Halliburton Corporation, tracing its roots and path into the center of Washington power politics. Chatterjee’s new book, Halliburton’s Army: The Long, Strange Tale of a Private, Profitable, and Out-of-Control Texas Oil Company, marshals extensive evidence pointing to a disturbing record of corruption, political manipulation, and human rights abuses. Presented by the Town Hall Center for Civic Life, with Elliott Bay Book Company

“Halliburton’s War” is the first book to show, in shocking detail, how Halliburton really does business, in Iraq, and around the world. From its vital role as the logistical backbone of the U.S. occupation in Iraq–without Halliburton there could be no war or occupation–to its role in covering up gang-rape amongst its personnel in Baghdad, “Halliburton’s War” is a devastating bestiary of corporate malfeasance and political cronyism.

All Things Considered | NPR.com

Halliburton Corp. has announced it will pay out more than $560 million to the Justice Department and the Securities and Exchange Commission to settle a probe into bribery and bid-rigging in contracts around the world. Investigative journalist Lowell Bergman talks about the settlement.

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