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1. Soldier Who Found Rocket Launcher At WikiLeaks Scene Says No Attack Was Being Planned
The soldier in a now-famous WikiLeaks video, who found a rocket launcher at the scene of a controversial 2007 Apache helicopter attack, in Baghdad, said in a radio interview this week that he did not believe an ambush was imminent. The video shows 12 men, including two Reuters newsmen, standing on a street corner before being fired upon by the Apache's 30mm cannon, resulting in what appears to be an unprovoked massacre. The video caused an international outcry after it was leaked to the media by the government watchdog WikiLeaks. The presence of the rocket launcher was seized upon by defenders of the attack as proof that the attack was justified and that this was evidence of an impending ambush. The solider, Ethan McCord, said that although he relives his experiences in Iraq, as do many veterans, every day, part of his healing process has come from speaking out and letting people know about the atrocities which take place in war so that people might 'open their eyes'. McCord said the kinds of events depicted in the video happen 'almost every day' and that the only thing unusual about the events in the video is that 'America got to see what happened'.
Ralph Lopez, Truthout Report
Related Links:
* Collateral Murder
US military video depicting the indiscriminate slaying of over a dozen people in the Iraqi suburb of New Baghdad -- including two Reuters news staff
WikiLeaks
* How To Support WikiLeaks - Financial, Technical, Legal
Information Release, WikiLeaks
2. Clueless Commentators Think That It's Possible To Stop WikiLeaks
From the good-luck-with-that dept:
Marc Thiessen is a former Bush speechwriter, who seems to have tried to make a second career out of saying really clueless things as loudly as possible. Lately he's been on a rampage against Wikileaks, first suggesting that it somehow made sense to use US military power to track down and capture Wikileaks founder Julian Assange. This resulted in a reporter pointing out that Thiessen's response to Wikileaks is like the RIAA's response to Napster: destined to backfire due to a basic misunderstanding of the internet. Apparently Thiessen either didn't read or understand that response. Or, perhaps in the business of being loud and wrong, he just doesn't care. But, last Friday, Thiessen moved things up a notch on the RIAA-repeatifier, and suggested that with Assange's recent promise to release the remaining 15,000 documents in the recent collection -- after scrubbing them of identifying information -- the US should somehow "shut down" Wikileaks. Yeah, good luck with that. Kevin Poulsen, over at Wired, does a nice job educating Thiessen once again on what a clueless statement that is. You can't just shut down Wikileaks, and any attempt to do so would only get the material in question significantly more attention.
Mike Masnick, TechDirt
Related Links:
* WikiLeaks Refuses To Be Threatened By Pentagon
Keith Moore, Associated Press
* How WikiLeaks Is Changing The Face Of Journalism
Jane Bryant, The One Click Group
* Pentagon & US State Department Launch Unhinged War On WikiLeaks
Maximillian C. Forte, Counterpunch
* Rap News: WikiLeaks Vs. The Pentagon - The Internet Wars
Rap News
* Courage Is Contagious - How To Whistleblow Safely
Julian Assange, WikiLeaks
3. The Digital Surveillance State
Take a look at an excellent extended essay about surveillance in the USA, by Glenn Greenwald over at the Cato Institute. It's well worth reading the whole thing - it's a researched and scholarly piece. From the piece, two brief quotes: "There is no surveillance power too intrusive or unaccountable for our political class provided the word 'terrorism' is invoked to 'justify' those powers." And, "The Surveillance State already collects so much information about us, our activities and our communications — so indiscriminately and on such a vast scale — that it is increasingly difficult for it to detect any actual national security threats." Every day, collection systems at the National Security Agency intercept and store 1.7 billion e-mails, phone calls and other types of communications.
Alex Deane, Big Brother Watch
4. Diabetes Drugs Cause Increased Bone Fracture Risk
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- Postmenopausal women taking certain diabetes medications, including the popular drugs Avandia and Actos, may be at increased risk for bone fractures, according to a new study led by the University of Michigan Health System. The study of more than 3,000 patients showed risk for fractures was higher among patients who took thiasolidinediones, including rosiglitazone and pioglitazone. Men with diabetes taking both loop diuretics such as such as Lasix or Bumex and TZDs may also be at increased risk of fractures. The study was published online ahead of print in the Endocrine’s Society's Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism.
University of Michigan Health System
Related Links:
* After Avandia: Does The FDA Have A Drug Problem?
Massimo Calabresi with Alice Park, Time Magazine
5. UK Government Scapegoating The Sick & Disabled
Example: The shock plans, for ‘simplifying’ the work capability assessment for employment and support allowance (ESA) include docking points from amputees who can lift and carry with their stumps. Claimants with speech problems who can write a sign saying, for example, ‘The office is on fire!’ will score no points for speech and deaf claimants who can read the sign will lose all their points for hearing. In the end, if the government are determined to force these changes through in defiance of any advice they receive then can do so. But that’s not a reason to fail to put forward your objections both to the way the WCA is currently working and to the proposed changes. At the very least it will prove that there are thousands of people who are outraged by this increasingly cynical scapegoating of sick and disabled claimants and who are not afraid to speak out.
Steve Donnison, Benefits & Work
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