News For March 11, 2010

The Rogue Nation

By Philip Girald

The Pentagon will be developing a new generation of super drones that can stay airborne for long periods of time and can strike anywhere in the world and at any time to kill America’s enemies. The super drones will include some that can fly at supersonic speeds and others that will be large enough to carry nuclear weapons. Continue

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Palestinians Should Declare Statehood

By Cesar Chelala

A unilateral declaration of statehood is fraught with complications, although it would follow on the steps of Israel’s unilateral declaration of independence on 1948. Continue

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US / Israel: The Special Relationship?
An Entangled Alliance

Video Interview With Jeff Gates

To restore national security requires a reappraisal of the U.S.-Israeli “special relationship.” Continue

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The New McCarthyism

By Joe Conason

The values that most of us share include honesty and fairness — and this sleazy campaign violates both. Continue

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The Threatening Dangers

By Fidel Castro

No place on earth or in the sea, no matter how deep, is beyond reach of the current means of war. Continue

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Billionaires and Mega-Corporations Behind Immense Land Grab in Africa

By John Vidal

20+ African countries are selling or leasing land for intensive agriculture on a shocking scale in what may be the greatest change of ownership since the colonial era. Continue

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Tea Partyers Are White Nationalists, Pure and Simple

By Glen Ford

The continued appeal of a loud and boisterous White Nationalism threatens the prevailing American mythology, shared by the likes of corporate Democrat Barack Obama and corporate Republican John McCain: the myth that racism is not endemic to American life and history. Continue

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Decoding The Language Of Social Control

(Democracy Is Communism and Must Be Destroyed)

By Manuel Garcia Jr.

How did the corporate ideology social programmers manage to peel back a million years of human evolution to produce the “Tea Party” sideshows where people act at their limbic level, like monkey troops howling over the invasion of their banana groves? Let’s skip through history to piece together an answer. Continue

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At least 43 killed in Somalia attacks: Heavy fighting between Somali insurgents and pro-government troops has killed at least 43 people over two days, as African Union peacekeepers used tanks to help the beleaguered government beat back an insurgent attack, officials said Thursday.

Half of Somalia food aid diverted - UN report: The Monitoring Group found that WFP transportation contracts are the single largest source of revenue in Somalia and "just three contractors receive 80 per cent of that business", which weighed in at 200 million dollars in 2009.

UN: 90 Rwandan rebels killed in eastern Congo: Spokesman Madnodje Mounoubai said Wednesday that Hutu rebels from neighboring Rwanda were killed during a two-week Congolese army operation conducted with the support of U.N. peacekeepers.

US kills up to 16 in Pakistan: Two successive bombing raids by unmanned spy planes hit a building and vehicles late Wednesday in North Waziristan, a bastion of Taliban and Al-Qaeda-linked militants near Pakistan’s border with Afghanistan.

Child among five killed, 12 injured in suicide blast: Peshawar: Five persons including a child have been killed and 12 others sustained injuries when a suicide bomber blew himself up near Bara Qadeem check-post here on Thursday, police said.

Karzai in Pakistan, seeks talks with Taliban leaders: Afghan President Hamid Karzai says his government is ready to hold talks with Taliban leaders, including Mullah Mohammad Omar. "We have contacts [with the Taliban] as high as you wish to go," Karzai told reporters in Islamabad on Thursday.

Eight killed in Afghan attacks: Five Afghan civilians, four of them children, were killed in an explosion today, while gunmen shot dead a South African construction contractor and his Afghan colleague in a separate attack,. One member of the NATO occupation force (ISAF) was also killed in an explosion in the south of the country

US occupation forces kills 4 civilians: An American helicopter attacked two houses after shots were reportedly fired at US soldiers searching for Taliban militants. Four civilians, including two children aged 11 and 15. were killed in the shootout.

More Afghan Civilians Killed By US, NATO Forces Than Insurgents During Operation Moshtarak: : According to the Afghan Independent Human Rights Commission, U.S. and Allied forces have killed and injured more civilians than have the insurgents during Operation Moshtarak. Incredibly, the Pentagon continues to insist that this operation “protects the people.”

US lawmakers reject Afghan pull-out: Lawmakers routed the resolution in a 356-65 vote that saw 60 of Obama's Democratic allies and five of his Republican critics cast ballots to call home all US forces from what he has called the central front against extremism.

How They Voted : Directing the President, pursuant to section 5(c) of the War Powers Resolution, to remove the United States Armed Forces from Afghanistan

Patrick Kennedy: Media Doing "Despicable" Job Covering Afghanistan: "There's two press people in this gallery," Kennedy yelled during a debate over an anti-war resolution. "We're talking about Eric Massa 24-7 on the TV, we're talking about war and peace, $3 billion, 1,000 lives and no press? No press."

Sheehan turning attention to Obama, camping out at Washington Monument: . Her new coalition, Peace of the Action, is launching the Camp OUT NOW! tent city at the base of the Washington Monument next week in an effort to get President Barack Obama to pull troops out of Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan immediately.

3 policemen killed in attack in western Iraq: Three policemen were killed in a bomb explosion followed by gunfire in a village in Iraq's western province of Anbar on Tuesday, a provincial police source said.

US soldiers kill Iraqi couple in Baghdad: Iraqi interior ministry officials said that US soldiers opened fire on a civilian vehicle at around 1:00 p.m. (1000 GMT) Wednesday for reasons that are still under investigation.

Maliki, Allawi ahead in Iraq count : Thursday's results put al-Maliki's coalition ahead in Najaf and Babil provinces south of Baghdad, while Allawi leads in two provinces north and east of Baghdad.

Yemeni separatist protesters killed: Three southern Yemeni independence activists have been killed and another 13 wounded in clashes with security forces during anti-government demonstrations in the country's restive south.

Soldiers kill two as tensions run high in Nigeria massacre city: Days after an estimated 500 Christian villagers were massacred in raids by Muslim gangs, twitchy officers fired warning shots at a crowd and shot at a truck, killing two people.

Israel planning 50,000 housing units in East Jerusalem: . Saying the decision undermines peace talks, U.S. Vice President Joe Biden has publicly condemned the move, which the Interior Ministry announced during his visit to Israel.
PA: Peace talks off until East Jerusalem housing shelved: "We want to hear from [United States envoy George] Mitchell that Israel has cancelled the decision to build housing units before we start the negotiations," Erekat said.
In case you missed it: Joe Biden: "I am a Zionist": US Senator Joe Biden, speaks with Shalom TV on Israel and Jewish-related issues in this exclusive interview.
Analysis: Netanyahu outwits Obama again: There is almost certainly worse to come. The Israeli government has laid a series depth charges in the path of the peace process since blunting the idealism of Mr Obama's opening frenzy of diplomacy.

Does Israeli really want Peace in Palestine?: Fourteen years ago Clinton visited to Gaza in 1996, when the PLO and Fatah accepted Israel's existence and amended parts of their charter that had aimed at destroying Israel.

Poll: Half of Israeli high schoolers oppose equal rights for Arabs: Nearly half of Israel's high school students do not believe that Israeli-Arabs are entitled to the same rights as Jews in Israel, according to the results of a new survey released yesterday.

Ahmadinejad: Even war can not save Israel: "Today, it is clear that Israel is the most hated regime in the world… It is not useful for its masters [the West] anymore. They are in doubt now. They wonder whether to continue spending money on this regime or not," said Ahmadinejad.

Biden: Israel, US agree on need to impose sanctions on Iran: US Vice President Joe Biden said during an interview with al-Jazeera that Washington and Jerusalem agree on the need to impose more harsh sanctions on Iran and added that the Islamic Republic's pursuit of a nuclear program destabilizes the entire region.

Two IDF soldiers charged with using 9-year-old 'human shield' in Gaza war: The soldiers, who served as staff sergeants in the Givati Brigade during Operation Cast Lead, allegedly forced a 9-year-old Palestinian boy to open a number of bags they thought might contain explosive materials.

In case you missed it: Criminal State: A Closer Look at Israel's Role in Terrorism: With ongoing wars in Iraq and Afghanistan poised to expand to Iran and Pakistan, it is time to take a closer look at how conflicts are catalyzed—by way of deception.

New Zealand's internet filter goes live: Thomas Beagle, spokesperson for online freedom lobby Tech Liberty says he's "very disappointed that the filter is now running, it's a sad day for the New Zealand internet".

Nationwide strike brings Greece to a standstill: Public and private sector unions ground flights and halt services in a second national strike against government plans to cut spending and raise taxes to shrink the huge deficit and get Greece's faltering economy back on track.

Defaulted Loans May Haunt Seniors: A little–noticed law could soon result in smaller Social Security checks for hundreds of thousands of the elderly and disabled who owe the U.S. money from defaulted loans and other debts more than a decade old.

Canadian dollar likely to trump US greenback: experts: The Canadian dollar, or loonie as it is affectionately called here, is likely to soar above parity with the US greenback this year, experts at a Canadian bank said Wednesday.
Rob rich bankers and give money to the poor: Wall Street and the City did little to deserve their record profits. A Robin Hood tax is the only fair solution
Budget deficit sets record in February: The government ran up the largest monthly deficit in history in February, keeping the flood of red ink on track to top last year's record for the full year.
Schools to close in Kansas City, Mo., by fall: District votes to close 29 schools to address $50 million budget shortfall
Teen Hauled to Jail For Overdue Library DVD: What started as a routine traffic stop ended with a Colorado teen doing hard time. The offense? Not returning a "House of Flying Daggers" DVD to his local library. Come on, Colorado. You're better than that.