KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) -- Afghan President Hamid Karzai says 31 U.S. special forces and seven Afghan soldiers were killed in a helicopter crash in eastern Wardak province. - It's the highest number of casualties recorded in a single incident in Afghanistan. Karzai said in a statement on Saturday that he has sent condolences to President Barack Obama for the victims of the overnight crash. The Taliban have claimed responsibility, saying their fighters downed the helicopter in a battle with NATO troops.

NYT: Copter Downed by Taliban Fire; Elite U.S. Unit Among Dead

The United States lost its top-tier AAA credit rating from Standard & Poor's on Friday in an unprecedented blow to the world's largest economy in the wake of a political battle that took the country to the brink of default. - S&P cut the long-term U.S. credit rating by one notch to AA-plus on concerns about the government's budget deficit and rising debt burden. The action is likely to eventually raise borrowing costs for the American government, companies and consumers. "The downgrade reflects our opinion that the fiscal consolidation plan that Congress and the Administration recently agreed to falls short of what, in our view, would be necessary to stabilize the government's medium-term debt dynamics," S&P said in a statement. The outlook on the new U.S. credit rating is "negative," S&P said in a statement, indicating another downgrade was possible in the next 12 to 18 months. The move reflects the deterioration in the global economic standing of the United States, which has had a AAA credit rating from S&P since 1941, and it could have implications for the U.S. dollar's reserve currency status.

LA Times: China demands U.S. 'live within its means'
NYT: China Tells U.S. It Must ‘Cure Its Addiction to Debt’
Global Post: Global concern over Standard and Poor's US credit rating downgrade

Reuters: At least 10 killed in Somali refugee camp firefight

A joint undercover investigation by BBC Newsnight and the Bureau of Investigative Journalism has uncovered evidence that the Ethiopian government is using billions of dollars of development aid as a tool for political oppression. - Posing as tourists the team of journalists travelled to the southern region of Ethiopia. There they found villages where whole communities are starving, having allegedly been denied basic food, seed and fertiliser for failing to support Prime Minister Meles Zenawi. The investigation has also gathered evidence of mass detentions, the widespread use of torture and extra-judicial killings by Ethiopian government forces. Yet Western donors including Britain - which is the third largest donor to Ethiopia - stand accused of turning a blind eye by continuing to provide aid money despite being warned about the abuses. The aid in question is long-term development aid, not the emergency aid provided in response to the current drought in Ethiopia and its neighbours in the Horn of Africa. Government response: Ambassador Abdirashid Dulane, the Deputy Head of Ethiopia's UK Mission, has rejected the allegations saying that the Newsnight/Bureau report "lacked objectivity, even-handedness". "The sole source of the story was opponents of Ethiopia who have been rejected by the electorate, and time and again it has been shown that their allegations are unfounded".

Ron Paul hints at legal challenge to super-comittee: "There's no authority to have a super-Congress who takes over for what the House and Senate are supposed to do." - Republican presidential candidate Rep. Ron Paul (Texas) indicated on Thursday that he might challenge the creation of a new "supercommittee" in Congress aimed at finding $1.5 trillion in spending cuts over the next decade.

"I would challenge it in the courts and say that it is not a constitutional function," Paul said on CNBC Thursday. "There's no authority to have a super-Congress who takes over for what the House and Senate are supposed to do."

When asked specifically if he believes the committee is unconstitutional, Paul said, "I don't think there's any doubt about it.

A military judge sentenced a soldier accused of being part of a rogue Army "kill squad" that murdered civilians in Afghanistan to three years in military prison and to receive a bad-conduct discharge Friday. - At the opening of his court martial for allegedly killing civilians in Afghanistan, Army Specialist Adam Winfield pleaded guilty to manslaughter and use of an illegal controlled substance. Winfield is one of six soldiers from the 5th Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division who, while on assignment in Afghanistan, are accused of participating in illegal killings of civilians and covering up the alleged crimes by making it appear as if they were insurgents. An additional six soldiers are accused with lesser crimes in the case, including helping to cover up the killings. Winfield originally faced five charges including murdering three Afghan civilians, but Friday accepted a plea agreement with prosecutors to plead guilty to lesser charges and agree to testify against other soldiers in the case. He faced a maximum of 17 years behind bars. With time already served, Winfield will serve about two more years and will be demoted to the rank of private. He will also receive a bad-conduct discharge, rather than the more severe dishonorable discharge.

James Petras: Imperialism and Imperial Barbarism
Jerry White: Photos released of atrocities by US “kill team” in Afghanistan
AWIP: US soldiers 'killed Afghan civilians for sport and collected fingers as trophies'

[Salem News] I understood where Ken O'Keefe and his politics were coming from once I had read a few things about him. So far he has come across still as the real thing, never disappointed. That is so very rare in these nasty wars the human race address these days. Of course such people as Ken draw enemies because natural leaders, let alone those full of integrity and charisma, are not loved by, let's just call them "the bad guys" and as a result nasty stuff happens. Character assassination is one of the most common techniques used as I have said time and time again in the past. Once I found a site that had over 500 hate comments to KOK and I had to read them through. All I could figure was that KOK was doing something right because these commentators were pretty whiny and crude. And so they try again to bring Ken O'Keefe down, yet again.Those who know him won't be going anywhere. Here is Ken's rebuttal to various slanders and allegations made against him in the past few weeks. I also need mention that I am NOT the Noor referred to in these writings. ~ Tim King