Category: United Kingdom

CIA Used Diego Garcia as 'Black Site,' for Rendition

  The Guardian (U.K.) 19 Oct 2007 @ 06:45 GMT | Permalink | Comments

Nothing unites fractious British MPs like a good scandal involing U.S. intelligence mishaps. A parliamentary committee in Britain has launched a formal inquiry into the use of Diego Garcia, a sovereign British territory, for extrajudicial interrogation and detention, The Guardian reports this morning. The 37-mile atoll in the Indian Ocean is widely believed to have been one of the destinations in Europe, Middle East and elsewhere for holding terror suspects, according to retired U.S. Gen. Barry McCaffrey. British officials so far have escaped complicity by saying they went by assurances from their U.S. counterparts.

Extraordinary renditions have been used by the CIA and others shuttle so-called "high value" suspects from one location to another--often without any judicial process. European officials are believed to have known (Le Monde) about these flights, the use of European airspace, Spanish territories, and some destinations, like Poland, even before newspapers and human rights organizations jumped into the fray.

Posted by Dayhawk Kim at 06:45 | Permalink | Comments (0)
TAGGED: CIA | Rendition | Secrets | Terrorism

Britain's Dirty Big Secret

26 Aug 2006 @ 12:18 GMT | Permalink | Comments

60 million rats are infesting the U.K., as Britons make it a habit to litter on the streets.

Britons' habit of throwing food on the streets has reportedly created a bigger, stronger, longer-living breed of "Super Rats" that are overrunning the country. Between 1998 and 2004, the estimated rat population has swelled 26 percent to 60 million, or one for every U.K. resident.

The increase coincides with a rise in binge drinkers who raid fast-food stores at night and toss leftover containers on the street, according to a British charity campaigning to "Keep Britain Tidy."

(If these rats are anything like mice, who are in fact 'hyper-intelligent, pan-dimensional beings that created Earth,' they could force the collapse of Tony Blair's scandal-plagued government.)

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Posted by Dayhawk Kim at 12:18 | Permalink | Comments (0)
TAGGED: Britain | Diseases | Rats | Trash

Bare It All: Flying Gets Ugly

16 Aug 2006 @ 16:12 GMT | Permalink | Comments

Many padded bras contain silicon gel which is banned from the cabin.

Women are being asked by the U.S. government to leave their gel bras at home although it is unclear whether airport security will feel them up to distinguish gel bras from silicon and their natural counterparts. After all, women make great terrorists, as did the "black widows."

Soon we may be flying naked and undergo mandatory cavity search.

But the benefits of the new restrictions may make flying more comfortable. You won't have to fight for a spot in the overhead storage bins. No one will spill Starbucks on your lap. Ubiquitous roll-on bags will not stub your feet. Travelers may try to wash their feet more.

There are downsides. The ban on toiletries and cosmetics could make travelers ugly and smelly -- especially on long-haul flights. Worse, the terrorists are winning.

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Posted by Dayhawk Kim at 16:12 | Permalink | Comments (0)
TAGGED: Bras | Gel | Liquid | Terrorism | Travel | U.K. | U.S.

Sperm: Britain Needs You!

30 Jul 2006 @ 15:38 GMT | Permalink | Comments

'Donate Sperm -- For Your Country!' is the message being circulated in Britain. A sperm drought is impacting not only infertile couples, but also the birth rate. It is still not as bad as Russia, where the country could become unsustainable soon.

In Oxfordshire, everyone's wondering about the only man who is donating sperm for the entire county, while Oxford students are being asked for semen. All of Scotland also has a single donor.

Only 10 donors are being recruited across Britain per month to serve between 1,000 and 2,000 women. As a result sperm production is being outsourced to the United States.

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Posted by Dayhawk Kim at 15:38 | Permalink | Comments (0)
TAGGED: Population | Shortage | Sperm | UK

London Overrun by 'Assassins'

25 Jul 2006 @ 15:15 GMT | Permalink | Comments

"StreetWars" started in London today and will last for three weeks. And police are getting nervous.

"StreetWars," the London edition, starts today, and police in the capital are on alert for "assassins" carrying water guns. They fear the role-playing game could ignite panic in a city already jittery over possible terrorist attacks.

The British Transport Police [BTP] urged players avoid the Tube, which was attacked in 2005, so as not to panic passengers. They warned that StreetWars players might be mistaken as criminals.

Criminals? With water guns? In fact, The Met and B.T.P. should make a simple announcement.

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Posted by Dayhawk Kim at 15:15 | Permalink | Comments (0)
TAGGED: BTP | London | Met | Scotland Yard | StreetWars