Citing the Obama administration’s evocation of the state secrets privilege, a divided federal appeals court agreed Wednesday to toss a lawsuit against a Boeing subsidiary accused of helping the CIA transport detainees to secret foreign prisons where they allegedly were tortured.

According to previously undisclosed estimates, the United States is planning to spend $6 billion annually on supporting Afghanistan’s military and police starting in 2011, an expense which given the weak Afghan economy will probably continue more or less forever.

But the estimate could also be unrealistically low, as the administration spent about $9 billion this year and is planning to spend $11.6 billion next year on this expense.

A Post-Dispatch reporter was allowed to review the corrosion report for about 40 minutes earlier this month. But officials refused to make it available for a second look the next day, citing national security concerns and saying it should not have been provided the first time.

A formal Freedom of Information Act request for the material is pending, but did produce some other documents.

Great video for the excellent anti-war song from Rise Against's last album. Lyrics show how many soldiers believe they will be heroes when they go to war but end up being the opposite.

This latest substance is being developed in a way that mimics Valium... this substance delivers all the inebriating effects of alcohol, but without the mood-altering and addiction side effects. Better still, he claims that drinkers will be able to flush their system almost immediately with an antidote. Need to drive home after a rager of a holiday party? No problem! Pop a pill and you'll soon be good to go.

Ft Worth police officer in the city jail slams a hand cuffed man's head into a wall and then slams his head into the concrete floor. And if that is not enough, I counted at least 5 additional police officers just standing around watching. This prisoner is laying on the floor bleeding from his head and no officers appeared to call for medical assistance. These six police officers should be fired immediately and locked up in cages for awhile. Other officers were coming and going in this hallway and they had to walk around this individual and did not stop to assist the injured man.

Its pretty obvious that if the US president did not have the amount of security he does cushioning him from the consequences of the decisions he makes then he’d be a great deal more cautious when it comes to the decisions he makes. Same comes for the British Prime Minister & many other heads of state. But its with the US president where the issue of security always seems a bigger deal & of course it’s US presidents (past & present) who embroil the US military in wars around the globe which have cost the US taxpayer far more then the direct cost of the US presidents security entourage.

The release of al Megrahi nothing to do with compassionate grounds but everything to do with what’s under Libyan ground

Is this a disinformation campaign, or the truth? Its been my experience that I'll read about breaking news via blogs or some other source BEFORE it hits the main stream media, but I first read this on CNN this morning. Hmmm.

The warrant for the arrest of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has been withdrawn, the Swedish Prosecution Authority has confirmed.