News For March 31, 2010

“Our President Is Deceiving the American Public”:

By Democracy Now!

Daniel Ellsberg, Pentagon Papers Whistleblower on President Obama and the Wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. Continue

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"Reporting" on Iran Should Seem Familiar

By Glenn Greenwald

Fox News currently has an article at the top of its website that is headlined:  "CIA: Iran Moving Closer to Nuclear Weapon."  The report, by DOD and State Department correspondent Justin Fishel, begins with this alarming claim: Continue

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Iran, Israel and an Obama Miscalculation in the Works?

By Alan Hart

Israel’s leaders and AIPAC are playing up the Iranian threat not because they truly believe that a nuclear armed Iran would pose a threat to the Zionist state’s existence, but because it, the asserted threat, is an effective way of limiting the White House’s freedom to pressure Israel. Continue

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Attention Deficit Democracy

By Ralph Nader

A society not alert to signs of its own decay, because its ideology is a continuing myth of progress, separates itself from reality and envelops illusion. Continue

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When It Comes to Innovation,
Is America Becoming a Third World Country?

By Arianna Huffington

A report by the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation looked at the progress made over the last decade in the area of innovation. Out of the 40 countries and regions it examined, the U.S. ranked dead last. Continue

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Hope is For little Kids and Tooth Fairies

By Joe Bageant

I am coming to understand that as Americans, we were born into a powerfully induced mass illusion. An infantile consciousness of "I-want-I want," which drives the machinery of war, waste and profits, and which colonizes our minds and souls from birth like a progressive disease. Continue

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Pakistan: 31 killed as Taliban attack army checkpoint: Pakistani troops repulsed a Taliban attack on a checkpoint close to the Afghan border today in fighting that killed six soldiers and 25 insurgents, the military said.
Afghanistan: At least 17 killed in in suicide blast A bomb concealed on a bicycle has exploded in a crowded village market in the southern Afghan province of Helmand, killing at least 17 people and injuring 45 others including eight children.
2 militants killed, 5 injured in W. Afghanistan: police: "The Taliban rebels stormed into a police base in Kushk-e-Kuhna district Tuesday, triggering gun battle which lasted until Wednesday noon during which two enemies were killed and five others sustained injuries," Dilawar told Xinhua.
Karzai holds first public talks with insurgents: Afghan President Hamid Karzai and representatives of the militant Hizb-i-Islami wrapped up a first round of peace talks Tuesday, reaching no final deal but pledging to continue a dialogue that if successful would split the ranks of the Taliban-led insurgency.
Corruption Deepens Poverty In Afghanistan - U.N. Report: Corruption is entrenched in Afghanistan, leaving the poor at the mercy of the powerful while security-obsessed international forces often turn a blind eye to abuses, a United Nations report charged on Tuesday.
U.S. War Zone Commanders Spend Billion Dollars a Year in Cash: How that money is spent is unclear, as generals have not been forced so far to account for all their CERP expenditures.
Allawi: Iran seeks to prevent me becoming Iraq PM: "Iran is interfering quite heavily and this is worrying," Allawi told the British broadcaster, accusing the Islamic republic of inviting all the major parties to Tehran apart from his bloc.
Iraqi PM fights to hold power, risks sectarian war: Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's postelection strategy suggests he is prepared for a long and bitter fight to hold on to power, even if it alienates the country's Sunni community and risks new sectarian warfare.
Sadrists: We want a Prime Minister with a Paternal Spirit: Shia religious leader Muqtada al Sadr confirmed that the Sadrist trend has reservations about the nomination of specific people to fill the post of prime minister and that it supports the idea of putting forward a number of candidates from each list that wants to nominate a representative for the premiership rather than committing to one candidate.
EXCLUSIVE: Iran Nuclear Scientist Defects to U.S. : Shahram Amiri Disappeared Last June in Saudi Arabia, Reportedly Now Resettled in the United States
Missing Iran N-scientist 'defected to US': On Wednesday, US security officials told ABC News on conditions of anonymity that Shahram Amiri has not only defected to the US, but is also assisting the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) in its longstanding plans to sabotage Iran's nuclear program.
Obama Wants Iran Sanctions In Weeks, Not Months: President Barack Obama, riding the crest of his historic domestic-policy success on health care, appeared to be reaching for a major foreign-policy achievement, saying Tuesday that he wants new sanctions on Iran in weeks, not months.
World powers agree to draw up new Iran sanctions: Six powers, including China, to start preparing a UN Security Council resolution in next days; Obama insists a nuclear Iran is unacceptable.
Iran's top nuclear negotiator to visit China: Iran's top nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili will head to China Thursday to discuss a range of issues, including Tehran's nuclear work, with the Beijing officials.
Iran Air goes on EU ‘black list’: In the European Union (EU) Commission’s latest list of airlines banned from European airspace published yesterday Iran Air’s operations to Europe are to be “restricted”.
AIPAC rallying pressure on Obama over Israel: The American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) has circulated a letter on Capitol Hill, urging members of Congress to pressure the administration of President Barack Obama to end its public criticism of Israeli policies.
UN chief says Israeli settlement activities illegal: UN Secretary General Ban Ki- moon said Israeli settlement activities are illegal and against the international law, stressing that they should come to an end.
Fatah official shuns Israeli court: "Abbas Zaki refused to appear in front of the military judge, refused to recognise the legitimacy of the military court in trying a senior Palestinian official for participating in a peaceful march."
US cannot rule the world alone, says Nicolas Sarkozy: Saying "there is no single country in the 21st century that can run the world alone", he urged the United States to join Europe in "inventing the rules for the economy of tomorrow".
Chechen rebel claims Moscow metro blasts: In a video message posted on a Chechen rebel website, Umarov said he had personally ordered the attacks which he described as an act of revenge for the killing of "poor Chechen and Ingush residents" by Russian security forces near Arshty on February 11.
Rail cops go great guns: Bleary-eyed New Yorkers began their work weeks with a morning rush hour that featured city cops in full military gear, including helmets, goggles, body armor, sidearms and M16 assault rifles.
Pope accused in new U.S. predator priest case: The Vatican and Pope Benedict XVI came under fire in the United States Tuesday for allegedly covering up for another predator priest and doing nothing to remove him from ministry.
Climate change leaked emails author, Exonerated by British House of Commons: Download the full report: “The disclosure of climate data from the Climatic Research Unit at the University of East Anglia.”
Past Decade Was Warmest on Record, Meteorological Agency Reports: The finding by the association, a United Nations agency, corroborates research by NASA’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies, which has already said that its measurements show that the period from 2000 to 2009 was the warmest since modern instrumental recording of temperatures began in the 1850s.
US oil company donated millions to climate sceptic groups, says Greenpeace: Report identifies Koch Industries giving $73m to climate sceptic groups 'spreading inaccurate and misleading information'
Obama to Open Offshore Areas to Oil Drilling for First Time: The Obama administration is proposing to open vast expanses of water along the Atlantic coastline, the eastern Gulf of Mexico and the north coast of Alaska to oil and natural gas drilling, much of it for the first time, officials said Tuesday.
Sell-off in US Treasuries raises sovereign debt fears: Investors are braced for a further sell-off in US Treasuries after dramatic moves last week raised fears that the surfeit of US government debt is starting to saturate bond markets.