“We only know these crimes took place because insiders blew the whistle at great personal risk. . . Government whistleblowers are part of a healthy democracy and must be protected from reprisal.” ~ Senator Barack Obama, 2008

“A fundamental principle of our legal system, indeed of our society, is that every citizen should be guaranteed due process without regard to personal means.” ~ Senator Barack Obama, February 6, 2006

“My Administration is committed to creating an unprecedented level of openness in Government. We will work together to ensure the public trust and establish a system of transparency, public participation, and collaboration. Openness will strengthen our democracy and promote efficiency and effectiveness in Government.” ~ President Barack Obama, January 21, 2009

Change.gov: The Obama-Biden Plan Protect Whistleblowers: Often the best source of information about waste, fraud, and abuse in government is an existing government employee committed to public integrity and willing to speak out. Such acts of courage and patriotism, which can sometimes save lives and often save taxpayer dollars, should be encouraged rather than stifled. We need to empower federal employees as watchdogs of wrongdoing and partners in performance. Barack Obama will strengthen whistleblower laws to protect federal workers who expose waste, fraud, and abuse of authority in government. Obama will ensure that federal agencies expedite the process for reviewing whistleblower claims and whistleblowers have full access to courts and due process.

Rights advocates, government watchdogs and supporters of alleged WikiLeaks whistleblower Bradley Manning say they're becoming increasingly alarmed that the conditions under which the 22-year-old Army private is being held could amount to torture. In the latest public pronouncements calling attention to Manning's plight, the Psychologists for Social Responsibility this week sent an open letter to Defense Secretary Robert Gates saying it is "deeply concerned" about Manning's confinement conditions at a military prison at Quantico, Va.

"As an organization of psychologists and other mental health professionals, PsySR is aware that solitary confinement can have severely deleterious effects on the psychological well-being of those subjected to it," the group said. "We therefore call for a revision in the conditions of PFC Manning’s incarceration while he awaits trial, based on the exhaustive documentation and research that have determined that solitary confinement is, at the very least, a form of cruel, unusual and inhumane treatment in violation of U.S. law."

The letter deplores the "needless brutality" of Manning's conditions and says they undermine his right to a fair trial.

Chris Floyd: Written on the Body: The Progressive Torture of Bradley Manning

Gulet Mohamed is an 18-year-old American citizen whose family is Somalian. His parents moved with him to the U.S. when he was 2 or 3 years old, and he has lived in the U.S. ever since. In March, 2009, he went to study Arabic and Islam in Yemen (in Sana'a, the nation's capital), and, after several weeks, left (at his mother's urging) and went to visit his mother's family in Somalia, staying with his uncle there for several months. Roughly one year ago, he left Somalia and traveled to Kuwait to stay with other family members who live there. Like many teenagers who reach early adulthood, he was motivated in his travels by a desire to see the world, to study, and to get to know his family's ancestral homeland and his faraway relatives. At all times, Mohamed traveled on an American passport and had valid visas for all the countries he visited. He has never been arrested nor -- until two weeks ago -- was he ever involved with law enforcement in any way, including the entire time he lived in the U.S.

The Justice Department on Thursday announced the indictment of a former Central Intelligence Agency officer who is accused of disclosing classified information to a reporter, in the latest example of a crackdown by the Obama administration on leaking to journalists. The former officer, Jeffrey Alexander Sterling, who worked at the C.I.A. from 1993 until he was fired in 2002, was arrested Thursday in St. Louis. He was indicted Dec. 22 on charges that he disclosed restricted information to a journalist about a clandestine program intended to impede the progress of unnamed countries’ weapons capabilities. While the indictment does not identify the journalist or the intelligence operation, its details make clear that prosecutors believe Mr. Sterling was talking to James Risen, a reporter for The New York Times. Mr. Risen wrote about a C.I.A. attempt to disrupt Iranian nuclear research in his 2006 book, “State of War: The Secret History of the C.I.A. and the Bush Administration.”

At least 6 people have been killed in the latest non-UN-sanctioned US drone attack in Waziristan tribal region in Pakistan. According to Press TV correspondent, the attack reportedly targeted an area near the Pakistani-Afghan border that [the US] considers a "militant" stronghold. Several others were wounded in the attack that took place on Friday.

More than 1,184 people were killed and hundreds injured in a barrage of non-UN-sanctioned US drone strikes in Pakistan in 2010 amid growing discontent over the operations. The yearly report of Conflict Monitoring Centre (CMC) says that at least 2,043 people, mostly civilians, have been killed in unauthorized US attacks in Pakistan's tribal regions in the past five years. The surge in unauthorized US drone attacks in Pakistan and NATO operations along the border has drawn criticism from Pakistani officials.

Prime minister defends nation's controversial media law, but says he will amend it if asked to by all members of the EU. Viktor Orban, Hungary's prime minister, has said his country is only prepared to change its much-criticised new media law if the European Union as a whole calls for it, and that it will not be dictated to by France and Germany. The new media law - a nearly 200-page document that Germany's Spiegel Online described in a headline as "A slow poison attacking democracy" - has been roundly criticised by European capitals, including Paris and Berlin, because of concerns about restrictions on media freedom. Orban made the comments in Budapest on Thurday where the EU's rotating presidency was handed from Belgium to Hungary at a ceremony in the capital's parliament.

"It's not up to the French or the Germans" to say whether the Hungarian law complies with EU regulations, Orban told foreign journalists ahead of the ceremony. "The EU should decide."

Al Jazeera's Tim Friend, reporting from Budapest, said that three journalists have already been suspended for voicing their protests against the new law.

“The European Union charter calls for respect for the rule of law, human rights, economic progress and media freedom," said Friend. "But some of his critics wonder if the Hungarian prime minister has read it before his country takes up the EU presidency."

WSWS: The European Union and freedom of the press

US firms complained in 2006 of corruption by Israeli officials at the Karni crossing into Gaza, then the Palestinian territory's main commercial transit point, a leaked US diplomatic cable showed Thursday. According to a cable from the US embassy in Tel Aviv and consulate in Jerusalem, US firms complained to embassy officials of a "lack of a clear and predictable truck registration system" which enabled "widespread corruption at Karni crossing." The companies included Coca Cola, Procter and Gamble, Caterpillar, Philip Morris, Westinghouse, Hewlett Packard, Motorola, Aramex and Dell.

"The deeply problematic procedures and allegations of endemic corruption at Karni terminal constitute a major non-tariff barrier to trade," the cable, posted online by Norwegian daily of reference Aftenposten, read.

Aftenposten: 14. 6. 2006: ALLEGED ISRAELI CORRUPTION AT KARNI IMPEDES U.S.

Israel's Supreme Court has issued a ruling permitting the separation of men and women on some buses serving minority ultra-Orthodox Jewish communities, but only if the passengers agree. Court spokeswoman Ayelet Filo says the approval is for a trial period of a year. Ultra-Orthodox practice forbids men from touching women, except for their wives. Men and women are separated in public. Recently on two bus lines serving their communities, women were instructed to sit in the back. Human rights and women's groups objected, filing a suit with Israel's Supreme Court. The court ruled Thursday that the arrangement is legal as long as it is voluntary. There have been several cases of women complaining that male passengers verbally abused or assaulted them when they refused to move back.

Malaysia News: Rabbi says women should not drive

PressTV: [2011] Israeli troops kill Palestinian in West Bank
Al Jazeera: Palestinian killed in [botched] Israeli raid
AnomalousNYC: Palestinians sing their beautiful song

Islam is considered a "threat" by millions of French and Germans, with the vast majority believing Muslims have "not integrated properly", a devastating new poll reveals today. The Le Monde/IFOP poll sampled 1600 adults - 800 in France and 800 in Germany - on issues relating to Muslim integration, during a single day last month. Le Monde newspaper runs the results under a headline which brands efforts to get different religious and cultural communities to live side-by-side as a "failure" ["Islam et intégration : le constat d'échec franco-allemand"]. It will be viewed with particular dismay in France and Germany, as the two countries have the biggest Muslim communities in Europe. Britain also has a sizable Muslim presence, with members often complaining of discrimination and prejudice.

In an exclusive January 2, 2011 50 minute video interview with Alfred Lambremont Webre on ExopoliticsTV, former Project Seagate whistleblower and Project Camelot witness Aaron McCollum has exposed an attempted recruitment by the organizers of the June 13-19, 2011 ‘Festival of Enlightenment’ at Evergreen, CO to enroll him into serving as a manipulator between purported extraterrestrials that would ‘decloak’ over the Festival and child participants in the Festival.

Mr. McCollum also cautions that the Festival, which is planning to attract 50,000 attendees and is negotiating with Sir Bob Geldof of Live Aid, could present an opportunity for a ‘Project Bluebeam’-type psychological warfare attack on participants and on the population at large. Mr. McCollum points out the isolated location of the Festival venue of Evergreen, CO and its triangulation and close proximity to three areas with U.S military bases: Fort Collins, Colorado Springs, and Denver, CO (with reported deep underground military bases) and render the Festival a fertile venue for a false flag Project Bluebeam type ‘ET encounter’.

The FBI agents and informants are reportedly working to frame US Muslims for acts of terrorism and similar crimes, American Muslim leaders warn. FBI agents “are not investigating to see if the individual is engaged, they are engaging the person in terrorist activities, in conspiracies, in plotting,” says Shaker Elsayed, Imam of Dar al-Hijrah Islamic Center in Falls Church, Virginia.

“Our experience here at al-Hijrah was very positive with the FBI leadership in Washington Field Office, until we found out that getting very close to the FBI came at a very serious price,” Elsayed pointed out in his interview with Press TV.

In two recent cases, two men were prompted and provided with fake explosives by undercover FBI agents to carry out attacks against Americans.

Jawaher Abu Rahmah

The Israeli peace movement is coming back to life, and it's a very courteous movement indeed. When activists find things marked "Made in USA" lying on the ground they deliver them directly to the U.S. ambassador to Israel.

The other night they returned a bunch of empty tear gas canisters, all marked "made in USA," fired by Israeli soldiers in the West Bank. They're used to break up nonviolent protests against the Israeli-built wall that is tearing Palestinian life apart. One canister made in the USA killed Jawaher Abu Rahmah, in the village of Bil'in, on the last day of 2010. Another one killed Jawaher's brother, Bassem, in April, 2009. Apparently the ambassador did not appreciate the courteous gesture. The police quickly arrived, broke up the action, arrested eleven people, and found a way to keep them jailed on trumped up charges.

But these canisters, and the Israeli soldiers who shoot them, don't discriminate against Palestinians. American-made tear gas canisters are used against American citizens too.

Patrick Mac Manus: The Death of Jawaher Abu Rahma: A Battleground

A massive effort by U.S. and NATO forces - including offensives in the insurgent heartland and targeted assassinations of rebel leaders - has failed to dent Taliban numerical strength over the past year, according to military and diplomatic officials. A NATO official said this week that the alliance estimates current number of insurgent fighters at up to 25,000, confirming figures provided earlier by several military officers and diplomats. That number is the same as a year ago, before the arrival of an additional 40,000 U.S. and allied troops, and before the alliance launched a massive campaign to restore government control in Helmand province and around the city of Kandahar, in southern Afghanistan. The U.S.-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) has kept official figures of enemy strength under wraps throughout the nine-year war. But non-U.S. military assessments have tracked the growth of the Taliban from about 500 armed fighters in 1993 to 25,000 in early 2010.

When an older friend or relative slows down people take notice—and often start to worry. Although walking pace is a seemingly basic measure to make, it has been gaining traction in the gerontology world as a reliable marker for overall health and longevity for those 65 and older. A new analysis of walking speed studies shows that—down to the tenth of a meter per second—an older person's pace, along with their age and gender, can predict their life expectancy just as well as the complex battery of other health indicators. So instead of a doctor assessing a patient's blood pressure, body mass index, chronic conditions, hospitalization and smoking history and use of mobility aids to estimate survival, a lab assistant could simply time the patient walking a few meters and predict just as accurately the person's likelihood of living five or 10 more years—as well as a median life expectancy.

ABC Good Morning America: Walking Speed Predicts Who Will Live Longer -Video
JetLib News: To Estimate Seniors’ Life Spans, Check Their Walking Speeds?
JAMA: Gait Speed and Survival in Older Adults

Mystery of mass animal death epidemic deepens after 8,000 turtle doves fall dead in Italy with strange blue stain on their beaks. Thousands of dead turtle doves rained down on roofs and cars in an Italian town in the latest in a growing spate of mass animal deaths across the globe. Residents in Faenza described the birds falling to the ground like 'little Christmas balls' with strange blue stains on their beaks. Initial tests on up to 8,000 of the doves indicated that the blue stain could have been caused by poisoning or hypoxia. A witness told The Examiner:

'We have no idea why this happened all of a sudden. 'The doves just started falling one-by-one then in groups of 10s and 20s.'

Hypoxia, a lack of oxygen, is known to cause confusion and illness in animals. It is also a common precursor to altitude sickness. Experts said results from tests on the doves will not be available for at least a week. [More here.]

Noticias Galaxiias: 100 Toneladas De Sardinas, Corvinas y Peces Gatos Encontrados Muertos En Brazil

The shooter, who appeared in a photograph aiming his gun at a local councilman moments before he was fatally shot in front of his family, has been arrested in his northern Philippine hide-out. The victim, Councilman Reynaldo Dagsa, took the picture as he was standing outside his house photographing his smiling wife, daughter and mother-in-law on New Year's Eve. The picture earlier led to the arrests of a second suspected gunman and an alleged accomplice.

Kenneth Feinberg, the “independent claims czar” overseeing payouts to compensate victims of the BP oil spill, says that about half of the $20 billion fund set up by the oil giant and the Obama administration will be adequate to compensate victims of the Gulf oil spill. Speaking on Bloomberg Television Tuesday, Feinberg said, “It remains to be seen, but I would hope that half that money would be more than enough to pay all the claims.” He said that BP had so far paid out only around $2.7 billion in compensation to about 170,000 people. Shares on UK-listed BP soared to a six-month high Tuesday on the news of Feinberg’s statements, adding as much as £5.1 billion (US$7.9 billion) to the company’s market share.

Dahr Jamail/Al Jazeera: Illnesses linked to BP oil disaster

There are over 4 million more Americans living in poverty than previously reported and poor people make up 15.7 percent of the population instead of 14.3 percent, according to new figures for 2009 released by the US Census Bureau on Wednesday. Utilizing a different formula than that employed to generate the official poverty statistics—one that takes into account living costs such as medical expenses, transportation and child care as well as non-cash benefits including Medicare, food stamps and low-income tax subsidies—the Census Bureau estimated there were 47.8 million people living in poverty in the US in 2009. The official estimate, released last September, was 43.6 million.

Any time you bring the two Pauls together in an interview, and start discussing items such as the debt ceiling, government spending, and monetary policy you know the results will be good. Sure enough, in this rare ABC interview with father and son, the sparks fly, and among the topic touched is the most popular story on Zero Hedge from yesterday, namely President Obama fabulous hypocrisy, who after bashing the debt ceiling as a senator 4 years ago, has bet the outcome of his entire economic policy on maxing out every single credit card available to him. Paul's response: "we have to face the fact that we are bankrupt and we can't pay our bills." Not exactly the kind of thing one wants to hear if one's name is Hu Jintao. That said you know the Paul-led interrogation of Bernanke will be something else, even if it is ultimately totally fruitless.