News For March 01, 2010

Can Obama Assassinate Americans?

By Nat Hentoff

The executive branch alone decides who shall die instantly. And there are no defense attorneys to raise objections, even when an American citizen is marked for oblivion. Continue

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The Picture

By David Glenn Cox

I want you to look very closely at this picture and try and keep it in your minds eye. This was a perfectly healthy twenty two-year-old young man who in the service of his country got half of his head blown off. I think that’s important, I think that’s newsworthy. Continue

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Ralph Nader Was Right About Barack Obama

By Chris Hedges

We owe Ralph Nader and Cynthia McKinney an apology. They were right about Barack Obama. They were right about the corporate state. They had the courage of their convictions and they stood fast despite wholesale defections and ridicule by liberals and progressives.  Continue

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Calculating Life for a Dying Empire

$2000 per dead child!

By Francis Shor

The US military calculates what it will take to placate grieving Afghan parents.Continue

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We Murdered Our Children

By Jay Janson

We stand guilty of allowing a pathetic and desperate wealthy gang among us to mislead themselves and us into a frantic and immoral death causing materialism . Continue

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The Traitors Among Us

Sibel Edmonds Has Named Names. Why Isn't The Media Reporting The Story?

By Brad Friedman

Sibel Edmonds, a former FBI translator, claims that the following government officials have committed what amount to acts of treason. Continue

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Wall Street's Bailout Hustle

By Matt Taibbi

Goldman Sachs and other big banks aren't just pocketing the trillions we gave them to rescue the economy - they're re-creating the conditions for another crash. Continue

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The Case against Greenspan and Bernanke

By Mike Whitney

Greenspan and Bernanke are either criminally negligent in failing to execute their regulatory duties or complicit in aiding and abetting the banks and other financial institutions in the sale of fraudulent loans to investors and homeowners. Which is it? Continue

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US Banks Veto 'Socialist Pay' in Secret Talks

By Margareta Pagano

"Some of the US bankers were furious about attempts to reduce pay throughout the industry, arguing that any such move smacked of socialism and would be fiercely resisted," the source said on Friday. "It's not the way the Americans like to go about their business." Continue

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Hey, America: It's Time to Redefine the "Good Life"

By Kate Pickett and Richard Wilkinson

Although economic growth has been the most important driver of human progress in the past and still has a crucial role to play in improving lives in developing countries, we in the developed world must now look elsewhere for further improvements in the real quality of life. Continue

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Capitalism and Other Kids' Stuff

What Kind Of World Do We Want?
Video

Capitalism and Other Kids' Stuff tries to find answers to why we live the way we do and suggests possible alternatives. Continue

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Pakistan: 25 killed, dozens arrested: The security forces, in their ongoing operation against militants in FR Peshawar area, gunned down 25 "terrorists" besides arresting dozens and seized heavy weaponry including eight suicide jackets and several IEDs
At least 17 militants killed in Darra Adamkhel: As Operation Spring Cleaning enters its fourth day on Sunday, at least 17 militants have been killed and many others injured during clashes between security forces and militants in Darra Admakhel.
17 "Taliban militants" found dead in north-west Pakistan: The official declined to say who might have killed the militants, but human rights activists have suspected the government forces for extra-judicial killings of militants during security operations in various north-western districts.
Six killed in sectarian clashes in Pakistan: Pakistan authorities Sunday clamped curfew on a town following sectarian clashes between rival Sunni groups that left at least six people dead and 16 injured.
'Four killed in Pakistan suicide bombing': - Four people were killed and over two dozen wounded, most of them police officials, in a suicide car-bomb attack on a police station in northwest Pakistan Saturday, officials said.
Pakistan court blocks extradition of Baradar, others: He said interference of America and its intelligence agencies in our affairs was external intervention and was of contravention of the international right of independence of a State under the United Nations Charter.
Extradition of Taliban From Pakistan Blocked: A provincial high court in Pakistan's Punjab province on Friday blocked the Pakistani government from extraditing recently-arrested Taliban leaders — notably military chief Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar (left) — to the United States, Afghanistan, or any other country until the matter is heard further in court.
Pakistan Asserts Sovereignty: US Peeved: : "Defying U.S.", Pakistan Keeps Custody of Baradar : The refusal of Pakistani intelligence to turn over Taliban leader Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar and as many as six other top Taliban figures to the United States or the Afghan government has dealt a serious blow to the Barack Obama administration's hopes for Pakistani cooperation in weakening the Taliban.
Dead man talking? Video of Taliban commander leaves fate unclear: The Pakistani Taliban released a video of their militant chief, Hakimullah Mehsud, but his taped comments fail to prove he survived a U.S. missile strike earlier this year.
Propaganda war: Obama plan: $50M for friendly media in Pakistan: New US-sponsored Pakistani media will raise awareness and build a brand for America, according to sources in the international press.
US plans $1.4bn media aid for Pakistan: There is strong anti-American sentiment in Pakistan and the hope is this new assistance will help ease that tension.
11 civilians killed as roadside bomb struck minibus in S Afghanistan: "It occurred at 2:30 p.m. when a mini-bus ran over a mine planted by militants on a road in Nawzad district. As a result, 11 innocent civilians, including two children and two women, were killed," Ahmadi told Xinhua.
Armed men gun down 5 civilians in Afghan capital: Unknown armed men gunned down five members of a family in Afghanistan's capital Kabul Saturday night, a private television channel reported Sunday.
Roadside bomb kills 4 policemen in E Afghanistan: "A mine planted by rebels struck a van of Border Police in Haron Khil village of Ali Shir district this afternoon. As a result four policemen were killed," a senior police officer Shir Mohammad Kuchi told Xinhua.
Three NATO occupation force soldiers killed in Afghanistan: The NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) has announced the killing of its three soldiers in Afghanistan on Monday.
Foreign soldier killed in Afghanistan: NATO: A foreign soldier has been killed fighting insurgents in Afghanistan, NATO said, though the death was not associated with major military operations in the south of the country.
Nato draws up payout tariffs for Afghan civilian deaths: , Britain has paid an average of £7,300 for every civilian death in war, although the last figures available, for the year ending April 2009, show that figure had fallen to £2,900.
Germany's Left Party expelled from Bundestag: GERMANY’S LEFT Party was expelled from the Bundestag yesterday after its members held up signs bearing the names of Afghan civilians killed in a German-ordered airstrike last September.
Russia lashes out at NATO for not fighting Afghan drug production: The US refusal to destroy opium poppy crops in Afghanistan guarantees that raw drug sources there will be inviolable, leading to heavy drug use in Russia, the head of the Russian federal drug control agency said.
Two killed in car bombing in western Iraq: Two people were killed and three others injured in a car bomb explosion near a convoy of vehicles carrying out election campaign in a town in western Iraqi province of Anbar on Sunday, a provincial police source said.
US occupation force soldiers kill Iraqi tribal chief's son: U.S. soldiers killed an Iraqi tribal chief's son and wounded his wife in what the Americans on Saturday called a tragic accident, although local accounts of the incident differed.
Iraqi Christians protest over killings: At least eight Christians have been killed in the past two weeks in the volatile northern city of Mosul.
Iraq: Poor selling their votes for cash: “There are lots of people willing to sell their votes, and lots of people who want to buy them.”
In U.S., Barak signals Israeli autonomy against Iran: Washington's clout over its Middle East ally is under scrutiny after Israel's veiled threats to attack Iran preemptively if international "diplomacy" fails
Israel offers 'full intelligence picture' to get China to agree on Iran sanctions: A delegation led by Strategic Affairs Minister Moshe Ya'alon and central bank chief Stanley Fischer tried last week to persuade China to support sanctions on Iran by offering "the full intelligence picture available to Israel."
Clinton Departs for Tour of Latin America: Clinton visits Brazil on Wednesday. She plans to lobby Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva to support new sanctions against Iran.
British journalist warns of Israeli plot to draw US into war with Iran: It is a matter of immense regret that the US is weak when it comes to Israel and the Europeans as well as Arabs remain divided on the Issue, he added
Caterpillar moves to cut links with Iran: While the lobbyists have close connections with figures in the Obama administration and the Republican party, peace and human rights groups maintain that some campaigns act as a front for foreign policy hawks seeking to pursue a strategy of confrontation.
Iran says U.S. should be accountable over Rigi: In a footage shown by Press TV on Thursday, Rigi said that the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) had offered unlimited support to his Jundallah, an Iranian Sunni rebel group based in Pakistan.
Hamas calls for action over assaults on Al-Aqsa Mosque: Hamas has called on Arab and Muslim states to impose pressure on Israel to force it to stop the raids on the Al-Aqsa Mosque and to end its occupation of Palestine and its holy sites.
Universities worldwide mark 'Israeli Apartheid Week': A filmmaker, anthropologist and economic researcher are among those headlining events marking what pro-Palestinian organizers have declared as "Israeli Apartheid Week" - and all three speakers are Israeli.
39 army raids, 28 arrests: Just another day in the West Bank: "The year 2009 was the quietest for Israelis from the security point of view and the most violent for the Palestinians from the point of view of attacks by settlers in the West Bank."
SMH: Australia abandons Israel in UN vote: Australia has softened its traditionally staunch support for Israel in the United Nations but denied it was linked to tensions over the country's apparent use of forged Australian passports in an assassination in Dubai
Lethal drug killed Hamas commander: Police: According to Dubai Police, the operatives involved in the murder of killing of Hamas commander Mabhouh used Succinylcholine to first paralyse and then kill him eventually.
Protests Sweep Southern Yemen: A second day of protests swept the southern half of the country. The protesters are calling for secession from the Yemeni state, and for support from donor countries.,
4 killed in north Liberia: Liberia's government has imposed a curfew in the northern county of Lofa after religious clashes between Christian and Muslim nationals.
Militia orders UN agency to leave Somalia: Somalia’s hardline Islamist rebel group al Shabaab has ordered the UN food agency to halt all operations and leave the country, a statement from the rebels said today.
Chilean Military Takes Control of Quake-Hit Cities: Soldiers impose curfews and guard shops in attempt to control looters as death toll from disaster increases to more than 700
Robertson: “God Even Angrier with Chile than Haiti": Pat Robertson today argued that the 8.8 magnitude of the earthquake that struck Chile early this morning should serve as a warning to the population that “God is even angrier with them than he is with the people of Haiti.”
At least 51 killed in Europe storm: Officials said 45 people were killed in France, three in Spain and one each in Germany, Portugal and Belgium.
Deadly floods recede in Haiti: Fearing worse flooding to come, residents flee after waters kill at least eight.
Majority says government a threat to citizens' rights: A majority of Americans think the federal government poses a threat to rights of Americans, according to a new national poll.
Pound Could Collapse Within Weeks, Predicts Billionaire Financier Jim Rogers: Billionaire financier Jim Rogers, former George Soros partner, predicts GB Pound is on the brink of a collapse, foreshadowing a huge global economic shakedown, worse than 2008/9.
Pound under attack as debt worries grow: George Papandreou, the Greek prime minister, will hold talks with Angela Merkel, the German chancellor, on Friday. Their meeting comes amid a report that a German-led bailout for Greece will involve KfW, the state-owned development bank, buying or guaranteeing Greek government bonds.
Head of IMF Proposes New Reserve Currency: Dominique Strauss-Kahn, the head of the International Monetary Fund, suggested Friday the organization might one day be called on to provide countries with a global reserve currency that would serve as an alternative to the U.S. dollar.
California is a greater risk than Greece, warns JP Morgan chief: Jamie Dimon, chairman of JP Morgan Chase, has warned American investors should be more worried about the risk of default of the state of California than of Greece's current debt woes.
Kansas tax collections decline by 27 percent for February: The Department of Revenue reported Friday that Kansas collected $71 million less in tax revenues than expected this month, leading one lawmaker to call for additional cuts to the current state budget.
Massive Bank Failures Due, Says Oversight Panel: Close to 3,000 banks are currently classified as having a risky concentration of commercial real estate loans, according to a recent report by the Congressional Oversight Panel (COP). All of them are small to mid-sized banks, already weakened by the financial crisis.
FDIC closes bank in Nevada for year's 21st closure: Regulators have shut down Carson River Community Bank in Nevada, marking the 21st failure this year of a federally insured bank.
FDIC Auctions $610.5 Million in Loans From Failed U.S. Lenders: The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. is seeking bids for $610.5 million of unpaid loans it’s holding from failed U.S. lenders including IndyMac Bank, Silverton Bank and New Frontier Bank.
'Large wave of foreclosures' ahead?: Mortgage financier Freddie Mac reported today that a record 4 percent of its borrowers are at least three months behind on their loans and in danger of foreclosure.
Foreclosure crisis hits affluent towns: The foreclosure auction was still an hour away, but potential buyers were already circling the Baird home, snapping photos with their Blackberries.
Buy, Buy American Pie: Video: Humor? Uncle Sam points out the problems we have when we buy cheap products from China.