Bolivian leader Evo Morales on Thursday accused the US government of encouraging drug-trafficking as he explained his decision to banish the US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA).
Morales, a staunch opponent of the Washington government, said the staff from the US agency had three months to prepare to leave the country, because "the DEA did not respect the police, or even the (Bolivian) armed forces."
"The worst thing is, it did not fight drug trafficking; It encouraged it," the Bolivian leader said, adding that he had "quite a bit of evidence" backing up his charges.
DEA complicit in drug trade, says Morales
Shell secures 25-year access to Iraq's oil, gas
A joint venture between Royal Dutch Shell and Iraq's state-owned South Gas Co. could give Shell a 25-year monopoly on production and exports of natural gas in much of southern Iraq - the biggest foreign role in Iraq's oil and gas sector in four decades.
The planned venture, spelled out in a 16-page document obtained by United Press International, goes well beyond descriptions provided by Iraqi and Shell officials on Sept. 22, when they held a public signing ceremony in Baghdad.
TVNL Comment: Saddam used the oil money to privide education and health care to the Iraqi people. You are wittnessing the theft of the people by the oil/war cartel.
US govt presses NY appeal on detainee photos
The U.S. government has asked an appellate court to reconsider its decision ordering the release of 21 pictures of detainees in Iraq and Afghanistan. In court papers made public Friday, the government says the photos must be withheld to protect American troops.
In September, a three-judge panel of the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ordered the U.S. to give the pictures to the American Civil Liberties Union. Now the government is asking the full appeals court to hear the case.
Bush officials moving fast to cut environmental protections
In the next few weeks, the Bush administration is expected to relax environmental-protection rules on power plants near national parks, uranium mining near the Grand Canyon and more mountaintop-removal coal mining in Appalachia.
60 Minutes Crew Gets Roughed Up Reporting On Electronic Waste Shipped Illegally From U.S.
When 60 Minutes correspondent Scott Pelley and his crew went to China to record the black market dismantling of electronic waste, or "e-waste," the experience was almost as hazardous for the 60 Minutes team as working with the toxic material is for poor Chinese workers.
Jumped by a gang of men overseeing the e-waste operations who tried to take the CBS team's cameras, Pelley’s crew managed to escape and bring back footage of the hazardous activities.
Judge Is Told 6 Algerians Should Remain Detained
A Justice Department lawyer yesterday urged a federal judge to continue the detention of six Algerians at the U.S. military prison in Guantanamo Bay, contending they would "take up arms" and attack Americans if released.
The government alleges that the six Algerians were planning to go to Afghanistan to fight U.S. forces. But the detainees' lawyers said the men are innocent, never should have been confined and, after nearly seven years of captivity, should be freed. The lawyers described the detainees as hardworking family men.
TVNL Comment: If you were held without charges for seven years by some foreign governtment, would you want to 'take up arms' against those who imprisoned you? Just asking....
FBI staff silenced over torture
AS EVIDENCE of prisoner mistreatment at Guantanamo Bay began to mount in 2002, FBI agents at the base created a "war crimes file" to document accusations against American military personnel, but were eventually ordered to close the file down, a Justice Department report has disclosed.
Migraines linked to lower breast cancer risk: study
Women who suffer from migraines also seem to gain a much lower risk of breast cancer, according to a study released Thursday.
The study is the first of its kind to look at the hormonal relationship between breast cancer and the severe throbbing headaches that can cause vomiting, nausea and sensitivity to light, sound and smells.
Just 3 ‘superbanks’ now dominate industry
Several of the nation's biggest banks have failed or been absorbed by healthier institutions, leaving three giant "superbanks" with an unprecedented concentration of market power: Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase and Wells Fargo.
While that may be good news for emerging giants and the failing companies they helped rescue, the new oligopoly raises troubling questions about regulation and competition, analysts and consumer advocates say.
TVNL Comment: It's all part of the plan. We have been pointing this out since the 90s.
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