Monday 30 November 2009

News For November 30, 2009

Manufacturing Consent For Attack On Iran
Iran Threatens to Pull Out of Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty

By (Stringer/Reuters)

The chorus of fury came as world powers reacted with renewed concern at Iran’s announcement of plans to build ten new nuclear sites and Western leaders warned of imminent new sanctions to punish Tehran’s defiance. Continue


Iraq: The War Was Illegal

By Brian Brady

Then Attorney General Goldsmith was 'pinned to the wall and bullied into keeping quiet' while the Prime Minister kept the Cabinet in the dark. Continue


Regime Termination

The Truth of UK's Guilt Over Iraq

By Scott Ritter

President George Bush was able to disguise his blatant militarism behind the false sincerity of his ally Blair and his own secretary of state, Colin Powell. The president's task was made far easier given the role of useful idiot played by much of the mainstream media in the US and Britain, where reporters and editors alike dutifully repeated both the hyped-up charges levied against Iraq and the false pretensions that a diplomatic solution was being sought. Continue


All Politicians Are Alike
An Open Letter to President Obama from Michael Moore

By Michael Moore

Do you really want to be the new "war president"? If you go to West Point tomorrow night (Tuesday, 8pm) and announce that you are increasing, rather than withdrawing, the troops in Afghanistan, you are the new war president. Pure and simple. Continue


You Get What you Vote For!

By Cindy Sheehan

The so-called anti-war movement currently finds itself in somewhat of a quagmire: What to do when the man you raised money for, volunteered for, and yes, even voted for, actually fulfills one of his most repulsive campaign promises? Continue


Americans Are Deeply Involved In Afghan Drug Trade

By Glen Ford

The U.S. set the stage for the Afghan (and Pakistan) war eight years ago, when it handed out drug dealing franchises to warlords on Washington's payroll. Now the Americans, acting as Boss of All Bosses, have drawn up hit lists of rival, “Taliban” drug lords. “It is a gangster occupation, in which U.S.-allied drug dealers are put in charge of the police and border patrol.” Continue


United Against Spitting

By Gilad Atzmon

Three days ago the Israeli Right wing paper The Jerusalem Post published an exposé of the growing tendency of Orthodox Jews in Jerusalem to spit on their Christian neighbours’ Continue


Housing Meltdown, Ground Zero

The American home-owning dream on life support.

By Andy Kroll

The turnout was staggering: close to 45,000 desperate homeowners showed up during NACA's five-day stand at the Cow Palace for the chance to renegotiate their disastrous subprime mortgages or sky-high interest rates or interest-only payments. Continue


"Only The Super Rich Can Save Us"

Cindy Sheehan Interviews Ralph Nader

Click here to listen


Crisis in Dubai: The Nightmare Scenario

By Mike Whitney

Abu Dhabi wants to send its wastrel younger brother a wake-up-call by forcing Dubai to restructure its debt. That means that banks, bondholders and contractors will have to take a haircut, which is not surprising given the abysmal condition of the commercial real estate market. Continue


President Sarah Palin

By Margaret Kimberley

Smug Democrats love to imagine they are a species apart from Sarah Palin, the “pit bull with lipstick.” However, U.S. political history teaches us never to overestimate the intelligence of the American electorate, or trust a Democrat – many of whom were Republicans not very long ago. At root, Palin's supporters are “white nationalists,” the same people that adored Ronald Reagan and, yes, George Bush. So why is it so hard to imagine a Palin presidency? Continue


Addicted to Nonsense

By Chris Hedges

We are waiting for our cue to walk onstage and be admired and envied, to become known and celebrated. Nothing else in life counts. Continue


Afghan police say 27 Taliban killed in clash: Afghan border police said Sunday they had killed 27 Taliban-linked insurgents and captured a fighter from Chechnya in a fierce battle backed by coalition air support that lasted several hours.

6 Afghan policemen killed, 2 wounded: The incident -- the second time in two months that a police officer has turned on colleagues -- is a reminder of the steep challenge NATO troops face as they work to build a national police force that will be able to provide security and allow international forces to eventually leave.

Body of U.S. soldier found after 27 days in NW Afghanistan: - Body of a U.S. soldier who along with his colleague went missing in Badghis province northwest of Afghanistan early this month was found after 27 days, a private television channel Tolo broadcast Monday.

Obama issues Afghan war plan to military officials: President Obama ordered top military leaders to begin carrying out his new strategy for the war in Afghanistan, a move that is believed to include the deployment of more than 30,000 additional troops into the eight year old conflict, the White House confirmed Monday.

9,000 Newly Deployed Marines to Target Taliban Bastion: : The extra Marines will be the first to move into the country as part of Obama's escalation of the eight-year-old war. They will double the size of the U.S. force in the southern province of Helmand and will provide a critical test for Afghan President Hamid Karzai's struggling government and Gen. Stanley A. McChrystal's counterinsurgency strategy.

Brown confirms 500 more troops for Afghanistan : Brown told Parliament in London that the additional troops now had the sufficient level of supplies and equipment to be deployed in southern Helmand province from 'early December.'

West turned blind eye to corruption, former Afghan narcotics minister says: Corruption infecting the Afghan government's highest levels, coupled with unhelpful Western meddling along the way, crippled efforts to effectively battle the country's burgeoning opium trade, says the country's former counter-narcotics minister.

Pakistan: More than 60 militants killed in tribal region: Commandant Brigadier Fayyaz told a media conference on Monday that security forces had cleared the area of militants

Obama offers new role for Pakistan: President Barack Obama has offered Pakistan an expanded strategic partnership, including additional military and economic cooperation, while warning with unusual bluntness that its use of insurgent groups to pursue policy goals "cannot continue."

You’ve had eight years, now get us bin Laden, Brown urges Pakistan: Gordon Brown told Pakistan to “take out” Osama bin Laden yesterday as Western frustration at its failure to capture the al-Qaeda leader burst into the public glare.

Pakistan's president gives up control of nuclear weapons: Embroiled in a major crisis that threatens his political future, President Asif Ali Zardari has given up control of Pakistan's nuclear weapons and has pledged to relinquish his power to dissolve parliament.

Two people killed in Iraq's Diyala violence: A paramilitary member and a civilian were killed, three people injured, and eight others detained in separate incidents overnight and dawn across Iraq's volatile province of Diyala northeast of Baghdad

Lord Goldsmith 'warned Tony Blair Iraq war could be illegal' in 2002: Tony Blair was warned by his Attorney General eight months before the invasion of Iraq that war would be illegal, it has emerged.

Iraqis start tuning into new Saddam Channel: The late Iraqi dictator is lauded on a mysterious satellite channel that began broadcasting on the Islamic calendar's anniversary of his 2006 execution.

Salehi: Iran will construct 10 new enrichment sites, reaction to P5+1 move: "The West adopted an attitude toward Iran which made the Iranian government to pass the ratification on construction of ten sites similar to the Natanz enrichment facility," he added.

Iran's speaker: Don't gamble on nuclear issue: “I believe there is still room for diplomacy and it is useful for them [World powers] to adopt a diplomatic option,” Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani told reporters in a Monday press conference.

World powers threaten new sanctions against defiant Iran: World powers threatened new sanctions against Iran on Monday after Tehran defiantly pledged to build 10 more uranium enrichment plants, but Russia warned against further escalating the dispute.

Iran says building 10 new enrichment sites "not bluff": "They need to wait and see in the future that what we said was not bluff," Rahimi told reporters, referring to reports by western media that suppose the construction of 10 new nuclear enrichment plants in Iran is a bluff. "We need to get prepared for the reactors that produce nuclear fuel," he was quoted as saying.

Why is China opposed to raising pressure on Iran?: China and Russia supported the International Atomic Energy Agency's rebuke of Iran for building a uranium enrichment plant in secret, but both countries have long blocked the imposition of stringent economic sanctions on Iran.

Exclusive: Russia to start Iran nuclear plant in 2010: The United States previously criticized Russia's involvement in the project but has dropped its opposition and now says the station removes any need for Iran to have its own enrichment program.

Iran says Russia to get priority in power projects: Salehi, speaking after a briefing with Russian Energy Minister Sergei Shmatko who was on a visit to the Bushehr nuclear power plant, said Russia would get priority as Iran sought to build 20,000 megawatts of new generation capacity.

Russia to Build Petrochemical Plants in Iran: "It is possible to develop major chemical complexes here (in Iran) on the basis of oil and gas resources," Shmatko told reporters following an Iran-Russia joint economic commission meeting here in Tehran on Sunday.

Another Railway Blast in Russia : officials: "A railway was hit by an explosion before a train travelling from Tyumen to (Azerbaijan's capital) Baku passed. The train did not derail, though it dragged the wagons some 150 meters along the damaged rails," a local police official told Russian news agencies.

Israeli army storms NE Gaza Strip: A group of Israeli soldiers, backed by armored vehicles and two armored bulldozers stormed early on Monday an area east of Jabalia town in northern Gaza Strip, local sources and witnesses said.

Hamas 'on verge of Gaza war probe': In a rare interview, Ismail Haniya, the deposed Palestinian prime minister and the senior Hamas official in Gaza, told Al Jazeera's Zeina Awad what he would personally be willing to do for reconciliation with the rival Fatah movement. He also addressed allegations that Hamas tortured political opponents and suppressed their political rights.

Israel ready to release 1,000 Palestinians: First official confirmation of prisoner swap for Gilad Shalit captured in 2006

Honduras opposition claims victory in presidential vote: As Honduras is soaked in a political crisis, opposition candidate Porfirio Lobo claims he won a presidential election that has been condemned by Latin American leaders.

Senate Report: Bin Laden Was 'Within Our Grasp' In 2001: The report asserts that the failure to kill or capture bin Laden at his most vulnerable in December 2001 has had lasting consequences beyond the fate of one man.

Police killed in 'ambush' outside US Air Force base: Four police officers were shot dead in a cold-blooded ambush at a coffee shop on the edge of a US Air Force base in America’s Pacific Northwest on Sunday.

Tempers Flare At Anti-War Rally At Travis AFB: A Saturday rally led by anti-war activist Cindy Sheehan at Travis Air Force Base nearly ended in a brawl when a military veteran physically confronted the protesters.

Report: FBI paid controversial NJ blogger for help: A New Jersey blogger about to stand trial on charges he made death threats against federal judges apparently was paid by the FBI in its battle against domestic terrorism, according to a published report.

Release of secret reports delayed: President Obama will maintain a lid of secrecy on millions of pages of military and intelligence documents that were scheduled to be declassified by the end of the year, according to administration officials.

CIA pulls SWIFT one to get peak at your bank records: European Union governments have given in to the pressure and appear set to make a last-minute agreement with the United States to allow its intelligence agencies to monitor bank accounts and transactions across the bloc.

Food Stamp Use Soars: A program once scorned as a failed welfare scheme now helps feed one in eight Americans and one in four children.

The Poorest Immigrants Subsidize Healthcare for Everyone Else: Americans know it is wrong to discriminate based on immutable characteristics such as sex or race—but convincing them to protect the act of being an immigrant remains a challenge that cuts across social justice issues such as health reform.

Friday 27 November 2009

News For November 27, 2009

In Afghanistan and At Home, We're Being Driven Off a Cliff

By Ron Smith

President Obama made the war in Afghanistan his war. The anti-war people are silent because he's their man. Leading Democrats in the House are proposing a "surtax" on income to be used for paying the mounting costs of battling insurgents on the other side of the world. And we're reduced to shouting "C'mon man" as we are driven over that cliff. Continue


Three Trillion Dollars
The Hidden Cost of War

2 Minute Video

In 2003 Donald Rumsfeld estimated a war with Iraq would cost $60 billion. Five years later, the cost of Iraq war operations is over 10 times that figure. So what's behind the ballooning dollar signs? Continue


Deception Has Always Been The Name Of Zionism’s Game

By Alan Hart

Netanyahu is not stupid. He knows that some of us know he is not remotely interested in peace on terms the Palestinians could accept. So what then is his real game plan of the moment? Simple. He is seeking to make peace with the Obama administration. And its response suggests that with the help of the Zionist lobby and its stooges in Congress he’s got that matter firmly under control. Continue


A Letter to the Presidents of the Hemisphere

By Manuel Zelaya Rosales President of Honduras

At this moment in Honduras we are in a de facto State. There is no Constitution. Nor are there Constitutional powers because they have been destroyed by force by the military Coup d’Etat on that ominous day of June 28, 2009. Continue


The Great Marginalization

Planning for Poverty?

By Carl Ginsburg

The word from New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg at last week’s community meeting in the Bronx was disappointing, to say the least. After promising “good jobs” during a recent campaign, how could a man with so many billions, and now fresh from a re-election victory, oppose a $10-an-hour wage? Continue


The Economic Crisis And What Must Be Done

By Richard C. Cook

The United States does not control its own destiny. Rather it is controlled by an international financial elite, of which the American branch works out of big New York banks like J.P. Morgan Chase, Wall Street investment firms such as Goldman Sachs, and the Federal Reserve System. They in turn control the White House, Congress, the military, the mass media, the intelligence agencies, both political parties, the universities, etc. Continue


What Is Totalitarianism?

By Michael Kleen


If the United States came under the control of a totalitarian regime, would we recognize it? This question is of utmost importance today, when many of us harbor fears that some time in the near future ideas such as freedom, liberty, and privacy will be alien to our society. Continue


Pakistan kills 30 "militants" in tribal belt: Pakistani troops killed 30 militants in the country's lawless tribal region where a key anti-Taliban leader was assassinated in a bomb attack on Friday, officials said.

Pakistan's president facing military anger over his U.S. ties: Suspicions by Pakistan's powerful army that the country's civilian leadership is growing too close to the United States are fueling a political crisis that analysts here believe threatens the survival of the government and could divert attention from the battle against Islamic extremists.

8 Taliban militants killed in E Afghanistan: Eight militants were killed as Afghan and U.S.-led forces responded their attack in eastern Paktika province in Afghanistan, provincial administration spokesman said on Thursday.

Taliban reopen northern front in Afghanistan: The turnabout vividly demonstrates how security has broken down even in unexpected parts of Afghanistan.

Afghan children 'die from neglect': Afghan refugees who fled the war-torn south have claimed they are so neglected by government in Kabul that their children are dying from hypothermia for want of the most basic supplies.

9 Saudi soldiers missing as Yemen fighting rages: A Saudi defense ministry spokesman told the official SPA news agency on Thursday the Yemen-based fighters may have taken the soldiers prisoner, and that Houthis are 'entirely responsible for their wellbeing.'

IAEA censures Iran over atomic site: The UN nuclear watchdog's governing body has voted overwhelmingly to censure Iran for developing a uranium enrichment site in secret, and has demanded it freeze the project immediately.

Israel welcomes IAEA Iran decision: "The adoption of the decision by a large majority indicates that the international community has reached the conclusion that Iran's nuclear programme, which is advancing secretly through concealment and deception, is becoming an urgent and real danger to world peace.

Iran: IAEA resolution puts cooperation in jeopardy: Opposed by Malaysia, Venezuela and Cuba, the resolution also urges Iran to clarify what it calls the purpose and the chronology of the plant's construction. It also wants Iran to confirm it has no more hidden nuclear plants and no intentions whatsoever to build one.

Envoy Defends Iran's Peaceful N. Program at IAEA: Full text of Iranian Ambassadors statement in the Board of Governors meeting (Vienna, November 26-27), which focused on implementation of the NPT Safeguards Agreement in the Islamic Republic of Iran

U.S. says patience with Iran fading: The U.S. envoy to the U.N. nuclear watchdog said on Friday international patience with Iran was running out and a group of six world powers could not continue "round after round" of fruitless talks for talks' sake.

Iran nuclear crisis: are new sanctions on the way?: The IAEA resolution, censuring Iran's secret construction of another uranium enrichment plant, was supported by Russia and China. This does not mean they will join in a new round of international measures against Iran. But it does mean that Iran cannot count on them for diplomatic support.

'Iran less of a threat than North Korea': Iran is not as great a threat to global security as other nuclear-proliferating countries such as North Korea and Pakistan, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev told European Jewish leaders in a meeting in Moscow on Thursday afternoon.

Iran ‘expects Russian missiles within 2 months’: Iran expects Russia to deliver powerful S-300 air-defence missile systems within two months despite fierce objections from the United States and Israel, Tehran's ambassador to Moscow has said.

Israeli strike on Gaza Palestinian resistance squad kills one: army : The Israel Air Force bombed a group of Palestinian fighters who were about to fire a rocket at southern Israel Friday morning, killing one of the militants, a military spokesman in Tel Aviv said.

Israel police 'arrest Mossad spy on training exercise': The young trainee was spotted by a female passer-by as he planted a fake bomb under a vehicle in the city.

Israel okays 28 new settlement buildings, despite freeze: Defense Minister Ehud Barak on Thursday ordered the IDF to issue a temporary freeze order, but at the same time allowed the construction of 28 new public buildings in settlements.

Abbas says Netanyahu chose "settlement, not peace": Abbas accused Netanyahu of not committing to relaunching negotiations, which in the Palestinian leader's view would require putting an end to the construction of settlements altogether.

UN: US Block on Goldstone Report Must Not Defer Justice: Given its responsibility for forcing a deferral of the vote and its criticism of the mission led by Justice Richard Goldstone, the United States bears a special responsibility to ensure that Israel commences investigations that are credible, impartial and meet international standards

Honduras prepares for elections: Honduras prepares for election, but only US has said it will recognise the result.

No Fair Election In Honduras Under Military Occupation: As the Honduran election approaches this Sunday, let's be clear about the conditions under which it is taking place. Human rights abuses are rampant, freedom of speech is under attack, and the election process is in the hands of the very people who perpetrated the coup.

Brazil says won't recognize new Honduran government": Brazil will not recognize the winner of this weekend's election in Honduras as a legitimate president, Brazilian Foreign Minister Celso Amorim said on Thursday, setting the stage for a potential showdown with Washington.

Indian Newspaper: American Suspect Eyed In Chabad House Attack, Might Be A CIA Double Agent: The tantalising possibility that David Coleman Headley may have been a US undercover agent who turned rogue is vexing many here as American authorities keep the US-based Lashkar jihadi out of the reach of Indian investigators.

Four charged in 2d Hezbollah case: An alleged Hezbollah arms dealer was arrested in Philadelphia on Saturday, and U.S. Attorney Michael L. Levy said, "We are dealing with two different groups trying to buy M4s."

Dubai asks to delay paying creditors: The chairman of Dubai’s Supreme Fiscal Committee, stressed that the call to defer for at least six months at least some of $60 billion owed to creditors by Dubai World, the emirate’s chief investment arm, was “carefully planned” and aimed at taking decisive action.

Dubai debt triggers investor panic: Asian and European banks distance themselves from Dubai World fearing debt default.

UK: Recession 'is even worse than feared': Chancellor predicts steepest slump ever

Americans Toss Out 40 Percent of All Food: While some have plenty of food to spare, a recent report by the Department of Agriculture finds the number of U.S. homes lacking "food security," meaning their eating habits were disrupted for lack of money, rose from 4.7 million in 2007 to 6.7 million last year.

Who Needs God When We've Got Mammon?: The world's most prosperous (and happiest) countries are also its least religious, new research states.

Atheism and Diversity: Is It Wrong For Atheists To Convert Believers?: Is the very act of atheist activism (trying to persuade people that atheism is correct and working to change the world into one without religion) an act of attempted conformity? Are atheists trying to create a drab, gray, uniform world, where everyone else is just like them?

Thursday 26 November 2009

News For November 26, 2009

Manufacturing Consent For Attack On Iran
'US Warned China That Israel Could Bomb Iran'

By Jpost.com staff and ap

Two senior officials from the White House, Dennis Ross and Jeffrey Bader, made a trip to China on a "special mission" to garner support in Beijing over the Iranian nuclear program, according to a Thursday report in The Washington Post. The officials visited China two weeks before US President Barack Obama arrived in Beijing. Continue


Blair and Bush 'Agreed' on Iraq Regime Change in 2002

By Nicola Boden

Bush and Blair agreement 'signed in blood' in April 2002 - PM publicly speaks of regime change just 24 hours later - Condoleeza Rice mentioned Saddam Hussein on 9/11 - British support 'taken for granted' because of Blair. Continue


Obama's Fifth Category: The "Untriable"

By William Fisher,

The assertion that there are 75 detainees who are too dangerous to release, but can't be prosecuted, and therefore must be held indefinitely, defies common sense. Continue


Soaring Unemployment and Double-dip Recession?
Blame N.W.O. Larry


By Mike Whitney

Summers assignment is to bring the broader economy to its knees; to crush big labor by keeping unemployment high, to force state and local and governments to privatize more public assets and services, and to generate as much human misery as possible. Continue


A Surge in Demands on the Government for Jobs

By Ann Robertson and Bill Leumer

The banks have been lobbying intensely for their own interests, and their efforts have been met with stunning success. We working people need to mount a campaign to pressure the government to respond our needs. Continue


A Jane Goodall Thanksgiving

By Michael Winship

Give thanks. Because this isn't one of those Thanksgiving lists of things for which we should be grateful -- although health, family, friends, laughter, etc., would certainly all be on mine.And Jane Goodall. Continue


Pakistan: Ten militants killed in South Waziristan: Official sources said security forces and militants clashed in an area between Asman Manza Nand, Ladha Tehsil, leaving three militants dead and eight others injured. Security forces also fired artillery from Asman Manza at the hideouts of the militants at the Mushta area.

US firm 'runs covert Pakistan ops': A new report has accused the US private security firm formerly known as Blackwater of operating a covert assassination and kidnapping programme against suspected Taliban and al-Qaeda members in northwest Pakistan.

8 Taliban militants killed in E Afghanistan: "A group of Taliban militants attacked Afghan National Army (ANA) convoy in Sarhawza district late Wednesday," Hamidullah Jawak told Xinhua.

Afghanistan: A Taliban Message: The leader of Afghanistan’s Taliban has ruled out talks with President Hamid Karzai and called on Afghans to break off relations with his “stooge” administration. In a statement, the Taliban’s leader, Mullah Muhammad Omar, also insisted that foreign troops were losing the war in Afghanistan.

Afghanistan: German general fired over air strike that killed civilians: General Wolfgang Schneiderhan, one of Germany's top commanders, has been fired after he allegedly withheld details of an air strike that killed Afghan civilians in September.

‘12 killed’ as north Yemen battles rage: The casualties were inflicted in fighting between members of the Popular Army of pro-government volunteers and rebels in Malahidh, the source said, without giving a date.

Five killed in protest in Yemen: Five Yemenis died when security forces clashed with southern separatists on Wednesday, as southerners began more protests against a government already facing a revolt in the north

Houthis hit 'intruding' Saudi tanks: The fighters said on Thursday the Saudi military continued to attack positions within the Yemeni borders, saying the Saudi forces had fired more than 500 rockets on several cities in the northern Sa'adah province

Saudi Arabia denies military entered Yemen to hit rebels: A senior defence ministry official said media reports that Saudi forces had attacked the rebels inside Yemen were “lies” and “fabrications,” state news agency SPA reported early yesterday.

Yemen Sees ‘Mounting Evidence’ Iran Is Arming Rebels: Yemen, a U.S. ally, has steered clear of directly accusing Iran’s government of providing weapons to the insurgents

Foreign intervention in Yemen? : Is a local insurrection turning into a war between the region's strongest powers? Are we seeing the birth of another proxy war in the Middle East? and who is likely to come out on top?

Another Bloody day of US occupation : At least four killed, 36 injured in fresh Iraq violence: The three bombs struck at different neighbourhoods around the city, killing at least two people and wounding at least 12 others, the news agency reported.

Secret report: Blair misled public throughout 2002: Blair misled public throughout 2002Tony Blair covered up British military plans for a full Iraq invasion throughout 2002, claiming at the time that Britain's objective was "disarmament, not regime change." This and many other damning details are revealed in hundreds of pages of secret government reports obtained by The Sunday Telegraph

The key question – is Blair a war criminal?: When Bush tried to persuade President Chirac to go to war, Bush compared Saddam Hussein with Gog and Magog, obscure legendary figures named in the book of Ezekiel as enemies of the people of Israel. This sounds like a joke, but seems to be true.

Ex-envoy was 'antisemitic' on Iraq: Sir Oliver wrote in the Independent on Sunday that he was concerned that two out of five of the Iraq War inquiry committee members were Jewish, and questioned the balance of the committee.

Occupiers, root of terrorism: Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei: "The Middle East and North Africa were once colonized and humiliated for more than a century by the Western governments of Britain and France and subsequently by America; their natural reserves were plundered, their free spirit was trodden upon and their nations were taken hostage," the Leader added.

Manufacturing Consent For Attack On Iran: Pressure mounts on Iran at ElBaradei's final IAEA board: Pressure mounted on Iran Thursday at a meeting of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in Vienna, with six world powers aiming for a resolution that would censure Tehran for secretly building a new nuclear site.

Iran: new resolution will 'damage' IAEA cooperation: Iran has warned that a resolution against its nuclear program will 'jeopardize' the constructive atmosphere of its cooperation with the UN nuclear watchdog

Iran warned over nuclear 'dead end' by UN's El Baradei: Investigations into Iran's nuclear programme will reach a "dead end" unless Tehran starts to co-operate, the UN nuclear chief has warned.

Iran Guards see US pressure on Russia over missiles: Iran’s elite Revolutionary Guards yesterday blamed US and Israeli pressure on Russia for Moscow’s delay in delivering an advanced missile defence system to the Islamic Republic, a semi-official news agency reported.

Lebanon agrees Hezbollah right to arms: Lebanon's new cabinet has agreed to acknowledge the Islamic Hezbollah movement's right to use armed resistance against the Israeli acts of hostility.

Iran's Ahmadinejad, Venezuela's Chavez Denounce US 'Imperialism': Mr. Chavez also denounced U.S. ally Israel as a "murderous arm of the Yankee empire," in his words. He rebuked Israel's president for predicting Venezuelans and Iranians will make their leaders disappear. Mr. Chavez said he views Shimon Peres' recent comment as a threat.

Obama writes to Brazil's Lula about Iran, Honduras: US President Barack Obama wrote a letter to his Brazilian counterpart Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva to express his concern about the situation in Iran and Honduras, officials said Wednesday. The letter was sent Sunday, a day before Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad arrived in Brazil on the first leg of a South American tour that will also take him to Bolivia and Venezuela.

U.S. Policy on Honduras Puts Latin Ties at Risk, Brazilian Says: The United States risks souring relations with much of Latin America if it recognizes a presidential election in Honduras on Sunday, the foreign policy adviser to President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva of Brazil said in an interview on Wednesday.

U.S. praises Netanyahu plan: 10-month moratorium on new settlements in West Bank announced

Palestinian official described Israel's proposal as mere "propaganda".: He said that the temporary settlement suspension offer by Binyamin Netanyahu, Israel's prime minister, was aimed more towards appeasing the Americans than trying to reconcile with the Palestinians

Wednesday 25 November 2009

News For November 25, 2009

Afghanistan Is A "War Of National Resistance": Former CIA Agent

By Robert Baer

"The people that want their country liberated from the West have nothing to do with Al Qaeda," Baer says. "They simply want us gone because we're foreigners, and they're rallying behind the Taliban because the Taliban are experienced, effective fighters." Continue


Are Some Democrats Getting a Spine?

Editors Pick

Some Democrats are proposing, in the same way that we have to find the money for social programs, that if we want to continue and or escalate the war, we should find the money to pay for war. Continue


Get Ready for the Obama/GOP Alliance

By Jeff Cohen

With President Obama pushing a huge troop escalation in Afghanistan, history may well repeat itself with a vengeance. And it's not just the apt comparison to LBJ, who destroyed his presidency on the battlefields of Vietnam with an escalation that delivered power to Nixon and the GOP. Continue


Obama: Profile in Courage, or Cave-In?

By Ray McGovern

The 46th anniversary of John Kennedy's assassination passed by last Sunday virtually unnoticed. The unfortunate thing is this: his legacy on Vietnam is so widely misunderstood that it is easy to miss the relevance of his decision making in the early Sixties to the dilemma faced by President Barack Obama today as he decides whether to stand up to-or cave in to-the Pentagon's plans for escalating another misbegotten war in Afghanistan. Continue


The Khalid Sheikh Mohammed Show Trial

By J.R. Dunn

AG Eric Holder's statement that Khalid Sheikh Mohammed will remain in custody no matter the verdict in his upcoming Manhattan trial coupled with Obama's instructions to the jury that KSM be "convicted and executed" reveals the entire exercise as a show trial. Continue


Returning To A Secret Country

By John Pilger

I remember the boys dressed in army surplus, the girls in hessian, their silhouettes framed in beach shanties, staring across an abyss. You were not meant to talk about them. They were not counted in the census, unlike the sheep, and anyway were dirty and feckless and dying off. Continue


God Has Left The Building

By Sheila Samples

Anyone who has paid attention to the growing number of evangelical zealots over the past couple of decades must be aware that there is a growing chasm between Religion and Christianity. Today, the term, "religious Christians" is nothing if not oxymoronic. Continue


The Palin Paradox
Rehabilitating a Vengeful Rogue Going P.T. Barnum

By Robert S. Becker

Palin’s circus obeys Barnum’s model, “There’s a sucker born every minute.” Continue


A Dearth of Hypocrisy

By James Rothenberg

President Obama has been under media fire for kowtowing to China on his visit there, specifically for not publicly mentioning the host country’s human rights record. No wonder! Hypocrisy is the favored tool in foreign policy diplomacy, and here the President failed to utilize it. He gave it a day off. Continue


Still Doing God’s Work on Wall Street

By Robert Scheer

Is anyone ever going to be held accountable for the behind-the-scenes sweetheart deals that passed tens of billions of taxpayer dollars through the AIG shell game to the very banks that caused the financial meltdown? Or for the many other acts of double-dealing that left one out of three American homeowners owing much more than their houses were worth while the folks who swindled them were rewarded with hundreds of billions in public money? Continue


In Case We Missed It
In Debt We Trust

America Before the Bubble Bursts

By Danny Schechte

Why so many Americans are being strangled by debt. It is a journalistic confrontation with what former Reagan advisor Kevin Phillips calls "Financialization"--the "powerful emergence of a debt-and-credit industrial complex." Continue


39 "militants" killed in different areas of South Waziristan: Thirty-nine militants were killed by security forces in different areas of South Waziristan and Orakzai tribal regions and the adjacent Hangu district on Tuesday.

Taliban fighters escape Pakistani offensive, but to where?: Though the army has extended its reach and now controls much of the former Taliban fiefdom in South Waziristan , the threat that was supposed to be extinguished seems likely to persist.

Danish occupation force soldier killed in southern Afghanistan: The Army Operational Command says the 23-year-old member of a Danish scouting unit was flown to a field hospital for treatment following the Wednesday blast but was dead upon arrival.

Obama to announce Afghan plan Tuesday: In what will be the defining moment of Obama's young presidency, he is widely expected to send some 34,000 more troops into battle to try and quell an increasingly fierce Taliban insurgency.

Afghan Army Turnover Rate Threatens U.S. War Plans: One in every four combat soldiers quit the Afghan National Army (ANA) during the year ending in September, published data by the U.S. Defence Department and the Inspector General for Reconstruction in Afghanistan reveals.

Obama's delay over Afghanistan is hitting UK support for the occupation, says UK. Defence Secretary: The Defence Secretary said that as well as the “period of hiatus” in Washington, the deaths of British troops and the disputed Afghan elections had also played a part.

US lawmakers: New tax should pay for Afghan occupation: Influential US lawmakers on Thursday called for levying a new income tax to pay for the war in Afghanistan, warning its costs pose a mortal threat to efforts like a sweeping health care overhaul.

Mullah Omar rejects Karzai’s call for peace talks: ‘The people of Afghanistan will not agree to negotiation which prolongs and legitimises the invader’s military presence in our beloved country. Afghanistan is our home,’ a Taliban statement quoted Omar as saying.

Family of six among 11 killed in fresh Iraq violence: Men wearing the uniforms of Iraqi security forces burst into the family's home in the district of al-Tarmiya, north of Baghdad, early on Wednesday morning, and killed them all, Iraq's Yaqin News Agency reported.

The children of Falluja: Video: Doctors are dealing with an increase in chronic deformities in infants in Falluja, where heavy munitions were used in 2004

Blair told Saddam had no chemical weapons 10 days before invasion: Meanwhile, the inquiry heard that evidence of weapons of mass destruction (WMD) in Iraq was "pretty sparse.

Iraq inquiry: Britain rejected regime change as illegal in 2001: British officials discussed toppling Saddam Hussein in 2001 but rejected a policy of “regime change” as illegal under international law, the Iraq war inquiry has heard.

'Cruel, illegal, immoral': Human Rights Watch condemns UK's role in torture: One of the world's leading human rights organisations said there was clear evidence of the UK government's involvement in the torture of its own citizens.

Inside Israeli jails, the real victims of a cry for justice: Amid the growing media fever over a possible prisoner swap involving the release of Gilad Shalit, the Israeli soldier held by Hamas, another young captive has a less visible public profile – but personifies Israel’s chokehold on Palestinian self-expression.

US trying to 'trick' Iran over nuke deal: Larijani: The conservative who was Tehran's former chief nuclear negotiator also said Iranians must avoid falling prey to US "smiles" as the Americans carry "hidden daggers."

S-300 missile deliveries to Iran under review - Russian official: "The issue of S-300 deliveries [to Iran] is still under discussion. There are some technical and other problems," said Konstantin Biryulin, deputy director of the Federal Service for Military-Technical Cooperation.

Iran calls for end to Yemeni fighting: The parties involved in the conflict in Yemen should end their fight through peaceful dialogue, Iranian Foreign Ministry officials said.

Lynne Stewart: Casualty of the 'War on Terror': The clear message of the 125-page majority appellate panel opinion is that attorneys who zealously represent their clients in the post-9/11 era beware.

Obama administration will not sign land mine ban: A report this month by the International Campaign to Ban Landmines found that mines remain planted in the earth in more than 70 countries and killed at least 1,266 people and wounded 3,891 last year.

IMF warns second bailout would 'threaten democracy': The public will not bail out the financial services sector for a second time if another global crisis blows up in four or five years time, the managing-director of the International Monetary Fund warned this morning.

China banks' rush for billions could trip markets: Chinese banks, under government pressure to shore up their finances, are set to unleash a wave of billions of dollars in capital raising that could strain equity markets but also spur innovation in debt instruments.

Bank 'problem' list climbs to 552: Number at risk of failing soars in latest quarter. Deposit insurance fund slips into the red for first time since 1992.

FDIC insurance fund closes quarter $8.2 billion in debt: As the number of problem U.S. banks swells to the hundreds, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation is increasingly hard-pressed to fill in the gaps where institutions have put depositor's funds at risk.

Tuesday 24 November 2009

News For November 24, 2009

US in Back-channel Talks with Afghan Taliban

By Azaz Syed


After fighting a bloody war in Afghanistan for more than eight years, the United States appears to have undertaken a re-think of its policy and has started engaging the Taliban in negotiations through Saudi and Pakistani intelligence agencies, highly-placed sources told Dawn here on Monday. Continue


Civil War Spreads Across North West Pakistan

By James Cogan

The escalating violence, taking place on the dictates of Washington, can only have the most explosive political consequences. Barely 14 months after taking over the presidency, Zardari has plunged the country into a worsening civil war that has devastated the north west and is costing as much as $10 billion a year. Continue


Blackwater's Secret War in Pakistan

By Jeremy Scahill

At a covert forward operating base run by the US Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC) in the Pakistani port city of Karachi, members of an elite division of Blackwater are at the center of a secret program in which they plan targeted assassinations of suspected Taliban and Al Qaeda operatives, "snatch and grabs" of high-value targets and other sensitive action inside and outside Pakistan, an investigation by The Nation has found. Continue


Why They Hate Us : On Military Occupation

By Stephen M. Walt

The bottom line is that you don't need to be a sociologist, political scientist, or a student of colonialism or foreign cultures to understand why military occupation is such a poisonous activity and why it usually fails. If you're an American, you just need to read a bit about Reconstruction and reflect on how its effects -- along with the effects of slavery itself -- have persisted across generations. Continue


Manfacturing Consent For An Attack On Iran

Obama's Nuclear Spring

By Benny Morris

The talk in Israel, explicit and open – including in the country's leading daily, Haaretz, last week – is about a war in the coming spring or summer. Continue


"Who The F*** Does Netanyahu Think he Is?"

By Alan Hart

Netanyahu knows who he is – another Israeli prime minister who, with the assistance of the Zionist lobby and its stooges in Congress, has got another American president by the testicles. At least for the time being. Continue


The US Congressman who sold his soul to the Israel lobby

How Tom Perriello became a slave of Israel

By Adam Shapiro

Adam Shapiro tells the story of a hitherto principled friend and campaigner for justice and human rights, Tom Perriello, who ran for Congress and, once elected, betrayed all of his principles and became a mere tool of the pro-apartheid American-Israel Public Affairs Committee, AIPAC. Continue


Have Israeli Spies Infiltrated International Airports?

South Africa deports airline official after investigation

By Jonathan Cook in Nazareth

South Africa deported an Israeli airline official last week following allegations that Israel’s secret police, the Shin Bet, had infiltrated Johannesburg international airport in an effort to gather information on South African citizens, particularly black and Muslim travellers. Continue


The Memory Scrub About Why Ft. Hood Happened Is Almost Complete ...

If It Weren't for Archives

By Mark Ames

That Maj. Hasan tried to get a military discharge before the massacre is largely being erased -- we're supposed to keep focusing on the Muslim part. Continue


We Are All War Criminals

By Dahlia Wasfi

If we ask the people who are living the horrors, then maybe what happened at Ft. Hood isn’t so shocking at all. What is surprising is that we haven’t seen more of the same. Continue


A Trial That Will Convict Us All

By Paul Craig Roberts

Republicans and American conservatives regard civil liberties as coddling devices for criminals and terrorists. They assume that police and prosecutors are morally pure and, in addition, never make mistakes. Continue


The Resistance Of The Oppressed

By Paul Balles

If I die while killing 20 of my enemies, doesn't that serve my people in their war against oppression? Hasn't this been the justification for all soldiers dying in all wars? Continue


Towards Resolving Thanksgiving Contradictions

By Emily Spence

I will not discuss fatuous repugnant myths concerning Indians and Pilgrims when I sit down to my next Thanksgiving dinner with relatives who lives so many states away from mine. I will, instead, remember the suffering that transpired after the "New World" became seen as a land of opportunity. Continue


Social Security: The Hidden Problem

By Allen W. Smith

The trust fund holds no real assets. This was made clear by David Walker, Comptroller General of the GAO, in a speech given January 21, 2005. Walker said, “There are no stocks or bonds or real estate in the trust fund. It has nothing of real value to draw down.” Continue


American Casino:

By Mike Whitney

The truth behind the headlines, shining a light on the negligent regulators, the colluding Fed, the unscrupulous ratings agencies, the mercenary banks, the venal mortgage lenders, and the long daisy-chain of opportunists and fraudsters who gorged themselves on the spoils from the biggest swindle in history. This is this generation's big story. Continue


The Cost of Dying

By CBS 60 Minutes

Many Americans spend their last days in an intensive care unit, subjected to uncomfortable machines or surgeries to prolong their lives at enormous cost. Steve Kroft reports. Continue


Our Maniacal Optimism Is Ruining the World

By Anis Shivani

If you want to have a compliant populace, what could be better than to say that everyone has to think positively and accept that anything that goes wrong in their lives is their own fault because they haven’t had a positive enough attitude? Continue


Global Warming Rigged?

Here's the Email I'd Need to See

By George Monbiot

It's no use pretending this isn't a major blow. The emails extracted by a hacker from the climatic research unit at the University of East Anglia could scarcely be more damaging. I am now convinced that they are genuine, and I'm dismayed and deeply shaken by them. Continue


46 killed as Arroyo vows justice over massacre: Local media reports on Tuesday said that at least 46 people were believed to have been killed in the attack, up from an initial death toll of 22.

Pakistani troops kill 18 "militants" near Peshawar: : Pakistani forces killed at least 18 militants in an offensive launched on Tuesday against the rebels believed to be behind a recent wave of suicide bombings in the north-western city of Peshawar, a security official said.

New Pakistan tribal offensive kills 18: paramilitary: The operation was launched on intelligence information about Lashkar hideouts in Gurguri village, 12 kilometres (seven miles) northwest of Bara, the main town of Khyber which sits on the main NATO supply route into Afghanistan.

Clashes in north-west Pakistan 'kill six civilians': At least six civilians have been killed in clashes between troops and militants in the Khyber tribal region of north-west Pakistan, officials say.

UK complicit in torture of detainees-rights group: A human rights group on Tuesday accused Britain of being complicit in the torture of terrorism detainees in Pakistan and said it should hold an inquiry into the conduct of British security services.

Officials say 10 Afghan civilians killed in separate attacks: Six civilians including four children were killed Tuesday by a roadside bomb in eastern Afghanistan, and unknown gunmen also killed four people including two women, officials said.

6 militants killed in central Afghanistan: "Mullah Khairullah and five of his men were going from Gezab district to Charchino area when came under air attacks and killed yesterday (Monday) in Daikundi province," Tolo said in its news bulletin.

Four more US soldiers killed in Afghanistan: Four US soldiers died in three separate incidents in Afghanistan on Monday, as President Barack Obama’s “war council” is reportedly finalizing its plans to substantially increase the number of soldiers participating in the eight year old occupation.

Obama vows to 'finish the job' in Afghanistan: – President Barack Obama vowed Tuesday to "finish the job" in Afghanistan and promised to unveil a decision soon on sending tens of thousands more US troops to battle Al-Qaeda and the Taliban.

Holbrooke confirms talks with Taliban: The United States is not directly talking to the Afghan Taliban, US special envoy to Afghanistan and Pakistan Richard Holbrooke said on Monday.

Top Democrat warns Afghanistan will bankrupt domestic programs: Threatens war surtax if Obama sends more troops

Six people killed in fresh Iraq violence: At least six people, including a popular preacher at a mosque in Falluja, were killed in fresh violence across Iraq on Tuesday

Iraq inquiry: Bush administration 'discussing regime change two years before invasion': Elements of the new US administration of President George Bush were already discussing ''regime change'' in Iraq two years before the invasion of 2003, the official inquiry into the war has been told.

Military chiefs to accuse Blair of Iraq 'sabotage': British military commanders are expected to tell an inquiry into the Iraq war, which opens today, that the invasion was ill-conceived and that preparations were sabotaged by Tony Blair's government's attempts to mislead the public.

Does this picture show British soldiers broke Geneva Conventions?: Public inquiry to be launched into allegations of abuse against Iraqi civilians at UK-run detention camp

Italian TV Exposes Reality of Iraq War - Warning - Video depicts the reality and horror of war.

Russia says sanctions on Iran still premature: "We are counting on a positive reply from Tehran soon. In this connection, the issue of sanctions is not on the agenda," spokesman Andrei Nesterenko said.

Iran ends third day of military drill: "Advances in the defense capabilities of the air force and the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps [IRGC] … has enabled the country to counter attacks by state of the art missiles," Brigadier General Ali Moqiseh told reporters hours after Iranian servicemen completed the third day of the drill.

Iran gained $5 billion on shift from US dollar : Since late 2007, the Islamic Republic has received 85 per cent of its oil income in currencies other than the US dollar, English-language Press TV reported on its website.

Lula backs Iran's nuclear programme: Speaking at a joint news conference in the capital Brasilia on Monday after holding talks with Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, his visiting Iranian counterpart, Luis Inacio Lula da Silva said Brazil backed Iran's quest for "peaceful nuclear energy in full respect of international accords"

Ousted Honduran president urges int'l community not to recognize elections: Ousted Honduran President Manuel Zelaya on Monday again appealed to the international community not to recognize the Nov. 29 elections to be held by the post-coup government in Honduras.

Saudi, Yemeni forces attack Houthi fighters: The attacks on Tuesday were taking place in the border districts of Malahiz and Shada provinces. In the incursion, the Saudi army had been using all kind of weapons; land, air, tanks, and artillery, they added.

Wave of Debt Payments Facing U.S. Government : The government faces a payment shock similar to those that sent legions of overstretched homeowners into default on their mortgages.

California Students Protest 32% Tuition Hike: Massive fiscal problems confront California once again. Let's start with a look at California students hit with 32% hike in tuition.