A News 8 investigation found that hundreds of aircraft mechanics have been brought into the United States to work at aircraft repair facilities. Insiders say the companies that are importing the mechanics are so eager to save money, they’re overstating their qualifications. The result may be a threat to safety, abetted by lax enforcement of immigration law. At daybreak any morning at San Antonio Aerospace, hundreds of workers amble through the gates for the day shift. They repair big jets like Airbuses, Boeing 757s and MD-11s. But, despite the fact that it's a huge facility in the middle of the San Antonio International Airport, a large number of the mechanics are only temporary workers from foreign countries. News 8 found they’re from Mexico, the Philippines and Chile, among other places. They have been brought specifically to the United States to work for San Antonio Aerospace (SAA).

A document filed in federal court this week by the Justice Department offers new evidence that former vice president Richard B. Cheney helped steer the Bush administration's public response to the disclosure of Valerie Plame Wilson's employment by the CIA and that he was at the center of many related administration deliberations. The administration's discussion of Wilson's link to the CIA was meant to undermine criticism by her husband of administration allegations that Iraq attempted to acquire uranium, a matter that her husband had probed for the CIA, according to testimony presented in a 2007 trial. A list of at least seven related conversations involving Cheney appears in a new court filing approved by Obama appointees at the Justice Department. In the filing, the officials argue that the substance of what Cheney told special prosecutor Patrick J. Fitzgerald in 2004 must remain secret.

The FBI has released reports on 20 interviews and five conversations conducted with Iraq’s deposed dictator Saddam Hussein before he was put to death, but none of the disclosed Q and A deals with the role of the Reagan administration in delivering key components for Iraq’s chemical and biological weapons in the 1980s. As the National Security Archive, a private non-profit group that obtained the documents under the Freedom of Information Act, wrote: “Not included in these FBI reports are issues of particular interest to students of Iraq’s complicated relationship with the U.S. – the reported role of the CIA in facilitating the Ba’ath party’s rise to power, the uneasy alliance forged between Iraq and the U.S. during the Iran-Iraq war, and the precise nature of U.S. views regarding Iraq’s chemical weapons policy during that conflict, given its contemporaneous knowledge of their repeated use against Iranians and the Kurds.” The gaps in the FBI reports also underscore the historical travesty that resulted from the Bush administration’s handling of Saddam Hussein after his capture on Dec. 13, 2003, near Tikrit, eight months after the U.S.-led invasion toppled his government. Instead of being turned over to the international criminal court at The Hague, where he could have been thoroughly interrogated, Hussein was kept under tight U.S. control until he was handed over to his Iraqi enemies on Dec. 30, 2006, for a chaotic hanging.

The Insurance Industry... Obama eloquently danced and weaved today as he sidestepped the most expensive & unnecessary cost in health care. It boggles the mind that a President can give a speech on the need for health reform and control cost and not address the largest portion of wasteful spending. The health insurance companies. They provide nothing. They make their money off denying care. The less they pay, the more they profit. 30% of every health care dollar. Compare that to the 3% for the government run system of Medicare. 100% more expensive to use private insurance companies. And, having the government collect and pool the health care dollars to pay for care isn't socialized medicine. It is government insurance with a private health care industry. Obama threw the single payer off the table and Congress won't even allow a single rep in on the discussion because they know damn well, if the public realizes the truth, everyone will want single payer. And, that will not do for the corporate insurance companies who have bought out our politicians. I saw no bold leadership today. I saw the same tepid (yet oh so diplomatically delivered) empty rheoteric that Obama has always shown on this life and death issue. Obama wants a public option, but hey, if we can't convince Congress the lobbyists will have won. Wow. Some leadership right there.

For the past four years, I have observed the military occupation of the high school where I teach science. Currently, Chicago's Senn High School houses Rickover Naval Academy (RNA). I use the term "occupation" because part of our building was taken away despite student, parent, teacher and community opposition to RNA's opening. Senn students are made to feel like second-class citizens inside their own school, due to inequalities. The facilities and resources are better on the RNA side. RNA students are allowed to walk on the Senn side, while Senn students cannot walk on the RNA side. RNA "disenrolls" students and we accept those students who get kicked out if they live within our attendance boundaries. This practice is against Chicago policy, but goes unchecked. All of these things maintain a two-tiered system within the same school building. This phenomenon is not restricted to Senn. Chicago has more military academies and more students in JROTC than any other city in the US. Note: Didn't a well-known Senator used to live in Chicago? On the Southside as I recall?

Congressman Dennis Kucinich (D-OH) today made the following statement regarding the announcement that U.S. troops have left the cities and towns of Iraq and turned over formal security to Iraqi security forces. “The withdrawal of some U.S. combat troops from Iraq’s cities is welcome and long overdue news. However, it is important to remember that this is not the same as a withdrawal of U.S. troops and contractors from Iraq. “U.S. troop combat missions throughout Iraq are not scheduled to end until more than a year from now in August of 2010. In addition, U.S. troops are not scheduled for a complete withdrawal for another two and a half years on December 31, 2011. Rather, U.S. troops are leaving Iraqi cities for military bases in Iraq. They are still in Iraq, and they can be summoned back at any time. “This is not a great victory for peace. Note: Dennis the voice of truth.

Sanford case shines a spotlight on the central paradox of marriage. South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford not only played fast and loose with the institution of marriage, but with email. However, help keeping affairs secret has arrived for not only politicians, but all of us. AshleyMadison.com just released apps for mobile phones and the Blackberry. Russ Wellen reports at Scholars & Rogues.

Christopher King argues that British soldiers should be guided by morality and the Nuremburg Principles when deciding whether to obey an order to fight in another country and, in consequence, must leave Afghanistan. ”Our politicians think as lightly of the deaths of men as they do the petty thievery of their expenses.” Britain has just had its first Armed Forces Day on 27 June, in honour of our armed forces. On 28 June a secret army report on the Iraq war, which is intended to be presented to the Iraq war inquiry, was published by the Mirror newspaper. It blames Anthony Blair for uncritically accepting flawed United States intelligence, leading to many deaths. This leak cannot be a coincidence. Someone in the army believes that Armed Forces Day is a cynical political ploy by Gordon Brown, who is also criticized in the report, to gain support for this unpopular war by trading on public support for the armed forces and sympathy for the dead, wounded and their families. Our politicians have sunk to new, previously unimagined depths. Let me say at this point that if it were a matter of defending my family and this country against an invader I would go to the army and ask for a rifle. Rather than fight in Iraq or Afghanistan, however, I would rather spend the rest of my life in prison.

President Obama appeared to rule out issuing an executive order to establish indefinite detention Thursday, nearly a week after White House officials first acknowledged that it was an option.

Hate TV, that is what I am going to call Fox News from this point on. Every single day this "news" outlet sells hate and incites violence. The latest is just unreal. Here is what Glenn Beck guest Michael F. Scheuer said: ""the only chance we have as a country right now is for Osama Bin Ladin to deploy and detonate a major weapon in the United States... only Osama can, can execute an attack which can force Americans to demand that their government protect them effectively, consistently and with as much violence as necessary." The guest saying this is not some random lone psychotic. Scheuer is the former head of Alec Station, a CIA OBL tracking group. He is a serious terrorism expert, which is why him saying this on a "news" show is incredibly dangerous and unethical. He is bringing the weight of his authority on a comment of this nature. Note: This is not hate talk. This is treasonous speech. And why is Murdock allowed to get away with this, that is the question to answer??

In a landmark decision that promises new rights to the gay, lesbian, and transgender populations of India, the Delhi High Court ruled today to abolish a 150-year-old law criminalizing homosexual sex. The ruling today only impacts New Delhi and it would take further action to decriminalize homosexual sex throughout all of India. While today's decision may provide the momentum needed for an effort of this sort, it may also result in an appeal of the decision by the central government to the Supreme Court.

At least, that was the answer that Grassley offered up at a town hall meeting in Waukon, Iowa on Tuesday after a constituent asked the senator why he is unable to find good, affordable health insurance like the kind senators get. Despite the fact that Grassley himself enjoys the benefits of the federal government's excellent public insurance policy, the senator has been a vocal opponent of including a public option in any health care plan. After sharing his family's personal struggle with the burden of high health care costs, an audience member asked, "My question is... why is your insurance so much cheaper than my insurance and so better than my insurance?" The question made Grassley cranky. He responded, first, by suggesting the questioner "go work for John Deere," since they "don't pay anything" for their insurance plan. When the questioner refused to let the senator wriggle out of answering the question, Grassley revealed how little he knew about his own insurance plan. Another audience member had to help the senator out by describing the details of the plan. After she finished, the original questioner again asked, "Okay, so how come I can't have the same thing you have?" Grassley's response: "You can. Just go work for the Federal government.

This cycle of perpetual war will continue until either citizens of the United States stop funding their Federal Government, which is clearly in the business of war, or until they completely dismantle and restructure this corporation which has been empowered, legally or not, to run the affairs of their republic. Unfortunately, since the likelihood of a serious change in foreign policy is very unlikely in the near future for the United States, anyone living in regions where the US is active and has interests should prepare themselves for the worst.

An economy that sustains itself on frivolous spending by consumers who do not have the means to buy the products they are buying is completely unsustainable and a recipe for disaster.

If only South Carolina's Latin Lothario had taken an extra day writing bad poetry, he might've been saved from the nail guns affixing his hide to the wall. Unfortunately, he returned from Tangoland straight into the arms of reporters pestering him with questions about where the hell he'd gone walkabout.

A diverse group of House members are pushing legislation for a complete overhaul of America's trade policies known as the Trade Reform, Accountability, Development and Employment Act (TRADE).

I've wondered often why people who go to "town meetings" held by campaigning politicians rarely ask fundamental questions. Here is one that should have been asked of presidential candidate Barack Obama: "If you get to the White House, will you appoint to top positions Americans who have a track record of making the right decisions in their respective fields?" "Of course, I will," Obama would have undoubtedly replied. Of course, he did not when it came to the collapse of the corrupt Wall Street casinos and the bailout of these gamblers by the American people. Obama chose the very Wall Streeters and Wall Street servants who were involved in, condoned, or profited from the speculative binges that led to the biggest government bailout scheme in world history. The President's explanation is that he wants experienced people who know how Wall Street works. Yeah, right! In reality, he wanted political cover. -- Something Very Important Is Missing When Even People Who Are Part Of The Ruling Establishment Are Ignored, Marginalized, Or Ridiculed Even Though Their Detailed, Public Warnings Prove To Be All Too Accurate.

The museum argues, among other things, that war, famine and natural disasters are to blame on belief in evolution. "It's sort of a monument to scientific illiteracy, isn't it?" said Jerry Lipps, professor of geology, paleontology and evolution at University of California, Berkeley. Daryl Domning, professor of anatomy at Howard University, held his chin and shook his head at several points during the tour. "This bothers me as a scientist and as a Christian, because it's just as much a distortion and misrepresentation of Christianity as it is of science," he said.

Hundreds of thousands of U.S. troops to remain stationed at dozens of U.S. military bases throughout the country. -- Reports confirm that U.S. tanks will continue to patrol the areas outside of the “green zone” and the airport in Baghdad. The streets of major cities will still be patrolled by U.S.-trained Iraqi soldiers manning checkpoints everywhere harassing people for ID. In addition, if the Iraqis “request help” from U.S. troops to undertake security procedures, they’ll be right back on the streets just as before. -- Iraqis themselves are not fooled by the charade. As the New York Times admits, the “celebrations” today “seemed contrived”, “Police cars were festooned with plastic flowers, and signs celebrating “independence day” were tied to blast walls and fences around the city. On Monday, night a festive evening celebration in Zahra Park with singers and entertainers drew primarily young men, many of them off-duty police officers,” according to the report. -- “There is no doubt this is not national sovereignty because the Americans will stay inside Iraq in military bases,” said Najim Salim, 40, a teacher in Basra. “But the government wants to convince the citizens that there is a withdrawal of foreign troops, although the government could not protect citizens in some cities in Iraq even with the presence of U.S. forces.” - According to Websters dictionary, “sovereignty” is defined as “freedom from external control”. -- Anyone who believes that Iraq is a sovereign country and has “freedom from external control,” or will ever achieve it while hundreds of thousands of U.S. troops are stationed at dozens of bases throughout the country, probably still believes that Saddam was hiding weapons of mass destruction.

Dear Al Gore: Your long-time work on climate destabilization has triggered a sea change in how our nation tackles the impending crisis of global warming. I deeply admire and appreciate your commitment to an urgent issue that transcends borders, and affects the fate of our children's future. As a father and grandfather raising a family in the great forests of the Appalachian coalfields, where my family has been rooted since the 1830s, I am writing you in a time of similar urgency. This spring, I waited anxiously during the entire debate over the historic American Clean Energy and Security Act--or Waxman-Markey bill--to hear one critical truth: That we cannot discuss the end result of burning coal--the greatest contributor of carbon dioxide emissions--without discussing the beginning process of extraction, cleaning and transportation of coal. -- That, in effect, the coalfields are ground zero in the climate change battle. If we are to be serious about addressing the "inconvenient truth," then banning mountaintop removal is a logical and required first step in capturing carbon and saving our forests.

a podcast interview with the teenager (and mother) whose First Amendment rights were trashed by her school - and by Sotomayor's Appellate Court, which upheld the schools actions

Conservation photographers set for expedition to British Columbia's Flathead Valley near Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park. Decades-long concerns over energy and mining development proposals near a UNESCO World Heritage Site on the Canada-U.S. border have prompted the agency to launch a fact-finding mission to investigate potential threats to the region The committee noted that potential coal mining and coalbed methane extraction within the unprotected Flathead Valley in British Columbia, which lies west adjacent to Waterton-Glacier, could threaten water supplies and the broader ecosystem spanning the area. "This ecosystem has the highest density of grizzly bears in the interior of North America, the highest diversity of plant species, with over 1,000 flowering plants alone. It's one of the most important grizzly bear and carnivore habitats in the Rocky Mountains," said Ryland Nelson, program coordinator with Wildsight, a southeastern B.C.-based conservation group.

YOung Turks report on Bernie Sanders plan

The complaint about Zelaya from the people who have taken over the country was that the legitimately elected president of Honduras wanted to hold an advisory referendum on whether to consider altering the constitution to allow elected executives to serve two terms. In order to prevent the referendum vote, the coup kidnapped an elected president, spirited him out of the country and installed a new unelected president. Then they suspended civil liberties. Outside of an Orwellian novel, or the mid-day slot on talk radio stations, some basic principles still apply: Getting elected. Organizing referendums. Proposing constitutional amendments. These are the sorts of things that happen in a country that is experiencing democracy. Kidnapping the president. Installing an unelected strongman who threatens to arrest his critics on charges of treason. Suspending civil liberties. These are the sorts of things that happen in a country that is experiencing a coup.

Now the chicken has come to roost. The effects of the militancy in the Niger Delta and the Federal Government's clampdown on them have shaken the foundation of the oil and gas industry. Yesterday, the government admitted that it had no more crude for its refineries to process for local consumption. Consequently, the Warri and Port Harcourt refineries have been shut. The Kaduna Refinery, though functioning, has no crude to process because the Warri plant, which feeds it is shut due to a damage to major pipelines. The only stock, which was reserved, will be exhausted in the next 15 days, the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) said yesterday.

The puppet government in Iraq has named June 30 as "National Sovereignty Day," and — without mentioning the hundreds of thousands of Iraqis maimed, killed, tortured or made refugees by the U.S. invasion and occupation — thanked the occupiers for placing them in power. "President" Jalal Talabani termed today "a glorious day," saying, "While we celebrate this day, we express our thanks and gratitude to our friends in the coalition forces who faced risks and responsibilities and sustained casualties and damage while helping Iraq to get rid from the ugliest dictatorship and during the joint effort to impose security and stability." Meanwhile the Iraqi "Prime Minister" Nouri al Maliki — clearly living in his Green Zone bubble — stated: "The national united government succeeded in putting down the sectarian war that was threatening the unity and the sovereignty of Iraq," adding, "Those who think that Iraqis are unable to defend their country are committing a fatal mistake." Perhaps Maliki has been hanging out too much by the swimming pools and cabanas in the Green Zone and missed these events:

(Research support for this article was provided by the Investigative Fund at the Nation Institute.) On May 1, at Fort Hood in central Texas, Specialist Victor Agosto wrote on a counseling statement, which is actually a punitive United States Army memo: There is no way I will deploy to Afghanistan. The occupation is immoral and unjust. It does not make the American people any safer. It has the opposite effect. Ten days later, he refused to obey a direct order from his company commander to prepare to deploy and was issued a second counseling statement. On that one he wrote, "I will not obey any orders I deem to be immoral or illegal." Shortly thereafter, he told a reporter, "I'm not willing to participate in this occupation, knowing it is completely wrong. It's a matter of what I'm willing to live with."

Bi-god, I think he's on to something. For indeed, the penguins in question, named Roy and Silo, were both males. This meant they were clearly in some sort of ungodly, aberrant homosexual relationship, mocking natural laws and defying God's will that all creatures only cohabitate with the opposite sex and buy microfiber sofas from Pottery Barn and eat their meals in silent resentment and never have sex. Worst of all, the book depicted this relationship, this "family," as perfectly OK, as no big deal, as even (shudder) normal. After all, Roy and Silo didn't seem to give much of a damn. Tango sure seemed happy, what with not being left for dead and all. As of this writing, the Central Park Zoo has yet to be swallowed into a gaping maw of sinful doom. Any minute now, I suppose.

Take a look at a short video about an organization that is doing great things in supporting our Iraq and Afghanistan veterans and troops. Regardless of our politics or our views on the war, our Veterans deserve our support. IAVA is helping to do just that. Check them out.

The Vatican is quietly conducting two sweeping investigations of American nuns, a development that has startled and dismayed nuns who fear they are the targets of a doctrinal inquisition. In the last four decades since the reforms of the Second Vatican Council, many American nuns stopped wearing religious habits, left convents to live independently and went into new lines of work: academia and other professions, social and political advocacy and grass-roots organizations that serve the poor or promote spirituality. A few nuns have also been active in organizations that advocate changes in the church like ordaining women and married men as priests. Some sisters surmise that the Vatican and even some American bishops are trying to shift them back into living in convents, wearing habits or at least identifiable religious garb, ordering their schedules around daily prayers and working primarily in Roman Catholic institutions, like schools and hospitals.