News For April 14, 2010

Obama: Israel should sign NPT

By Yitzhak Benhorin

When asked about Israel's nuclear program, Obama at first refused to address the issue, instead insisting to talk about the US and its commitment to reducing American nuclear weapon stockpiles. Continue

---

America’s Loose Nukes in Israel
America has been incapable of securing its own nuclear materials

By Grant Smith

The U.S. must demand more than Israel’s entry into the NPT. Only by recovering all purloined nuclear materials can Obama win confidence in America’s own commitment to controlling loose nukes. Continue

---

76 US Senators Sign on to Israel Letter

By Ben Smith

More than three quarters of the U.S. Senate, including 38 Democrats, have signed on to a letter to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton implicitly rebuking the Obama Administration for its confrontational stance toward Israel. Continue

---

All Expense Paid
List Of US Generals and Admirals Who Have Accepted Free Trips to Israel

By JINSA

We, the undersigned, have traveled to Israel over the years with The Jewish Institute for National Security Affairs (JINSA). We brought with us our decades of military experience and, following unrestricted access to Israel's civilian and military leaders, came away with the unswerving belief that the security of the State of Israel is a matter of great importance to the United States. Continue

---

The Global Economic Crisis:
Riots, Rebellion and Revolution

By Andrew Gavin Marshall

Ratings Agency Predicts Civil Unrest: Moody’s is a major ratings agency, which performs financial research and analysis on governments and commercial entities and ranks the credit-worthiness of borrowers. On March 15, Moody’s warned that the US, the UK, Germany, France, and Spain “are all at risk of soaring debt costs and will have to implement austerity plans that threaten ‘social cohesion’.” Continue

---

Pakistan concedes strike killed 45 civilians: The Pakistan army acknowledged Wednesday that at least 45 civilians died in a military airstrike targeting Taliban leaders this past weekend, an admission that will likely fan domestic criticism of the U.S.-backed war effort against Islamic militants.
US attack kills 4 in Pakistan: Another strike by US-operated drones has killed at least 4 people and injured several others in Pakistan's northwestern tribal region.
US military playing expanded role in Pakistan: US and Pakistani officials worry that detailed disclosures about the role of Special Ops could compromise operational security, spark a backlash among Pakistanis against their government and fuel already high anti-American sentiment.
Sunni cleric, 4 others killed in Baghdad attacks: Gunmen killed a Sunni cleric outside a Baghdad mosque where he had just finished leading morning prayers in the latest wave of attacks in the Iraqi capital that left five people dead on Wednesday.
Three killed in violent attacks in northern Iraq: Three people were killed in unrelated violent incidents in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul, security forces said on Wednesday.
US 'needs to negotiate directly with Taliban leader Mullah Omar: Chief Afghan negotiator: Dr Ghairat Baheer said any political settlement would fail without direct negotiations with rebel leaders and military attempts to beat the Taliban were destined for failure.
U.S. Military Confidence Sinks on Winning Afghan War, Poll Finds: The military's confidence that it will win the Afghan war is declining, according to a new tracking poll showing only 60 percent of active-duty military personnel believe the U.S. can triumph.
Iran announces batch of higher enriched uranium: The uranium has been enriched from around 3.5 percent to 20 percent purity, needed to fuel a medical research reactor, Salehi said, according to the ISNA news agency. That level is far below the more than 90 percent needed to build a nuclear weapon
Iran says it is ready for uranium exchange if IAEA is guarantor: 'We are ready to deliver 1 ton of our 3.5-per-cent-enriched uranium to the IAEA,' the chief of Iran's Atomic Energy Organization, Ali-Akbar Salehi, told the ISNA news agency.
China cools US hopes of Iran sanctions breakthrough: China said Tuesday sanctions were not the answer to the Iranian atomic standoff, denting US President Barack Obama's hopes of sealing a deal to punish Tehran as he hosted a summit on nuclear arms.
China offered oil for sanctions deal over Iran: China is being privately reassured that its supplies of oil would be guaranteed in the event that it supports tough new UN sanctions on Iran, its third largest supplier of crude.
China to send Iran gasoline as UN mulls sanctions: - A state-owned Chinese refiner plans to ship 30,000 metric tons of gasoline to Iran after European traders halted shipments ahead of possible new U.N. sanctions, according to Singapore ship brokers.
Manufacturing Consent For Attack On Iran: US officials say Iran could get bomb in year: U.S. officials say Iran's accelerated nuclear program could produce one weapon in roughly a year, if the country decided to go that route.
Manufacturing Consent For Attack On Iran: Iran Could Block Oil-Transit Strait of Hormuz, Pentagon Says: Iran’s build-up of its defenses gives it the capability to block a major Persian Gulf oil- transit route and project military strength on its territory, the U.S. Defense Department’s intelligence director said.
McCain: Time to 'pull the trigger' with Iran: Senator John McCain says the United States has been backing away from a brewing fight with Iran, while that country moves ever closer to having nuclear weapons.
Obama doubtful on Middle East peace: Barack Obama, the US president, has admitted that Washington's power to influence stalled negotations between Israel and the Palestinians in limited.
Must watch: Israeli ID order set to criminalise Palestinians : Video - Al Jazeera's Jacky Rowland explains.
ElBaradei: Israeli occupation only understands force: Former IAEA chief expresses support for Palestinian resistance, calls Gaza 'world's biggest jail'
'Settlers' desecrate W Bank mosque: Palestinian and Israeli officials said on Wednesday that the suspects set fire to two cars outside the mosque in Huwara, near Nablus.
Be nice to America. Or we'll bring democracy to your country! : Video - Humor?
Army Lt. Col. Terry Lakin refuses deployment orders to Afghanistan; told he'll be court-martialed for disobedience: Lakin, in his 18th year of active uniform service, posted a video on the Internet two weeks ago asking President Barack Obama to produce a birth certificate, and he vowed to disobey orders until one was provided.
Kyrgyz president 'must stand trial': The leader of Kyrgyzstan's self-declared interim government has said that Kurmanbek Bakiyev, the president who fled the capital, Bishkek, following violence, must stand trial for "spilling blood" in last week's protests.
CIA Names New Deputy as Veteran Steps Down: The head of the agency's Intelligence Directorate, Michael Morell, will succeed Mr. Kappes. Kappes and Morell were part of the leadership team Mr. Panetta's predecessor recruited in 2006 when he sought to stabilize the beleaguered agency.
Mexico drug war kills almost 23,000: The report, leaked to media on Tuesday, indicated that security forces were involved in most of the violence
Obama's approval rating slides: Just 49 per cent of people approve of the job Obama is doing, and only 44 per cent like how he has handled health care and the economy.
Morgan Stanley Property Fund Faces $5.4 Billion Loss: Morgan Stanley has told investors in its $8.8 billion real-estate fund that it may lose nearly two-thirds of its money from bum property investments. That would likely make it the biggest dollar loss—$5.4 billion—in the history of private-equity real-estate investing.
Bernanke Warns: U.S. Debt Could Balloon to More Than 100% of GDP : 2 Minute Video
Fed Shouldn’t Reveal Crisis Loans, Banks Vow to Tell High Court: The biggest U.S. commercial banks will take their fight against disclosure of Federal Reserve lending in 2008 to the Supreme Court if necessary, the top lawyer for an industry-owned group said.
The Whistleblower They Ignored: You have probably never heard of him, but his testimony Friday before the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission, available on the commission’s website, is must reading for anyone trying to figure out why U.S. taxpayers had to bail out companies to the tune of hundreds of billions of dollars.
75% Of Homeowners In Obama's Loan Modification Plan Still Owe More Than Their Homes Are Worth: Over half of the roughly 170,000 distressed borrowers who have gone through the program are seriously underwater, meaning they have negative equity of at least 25 percent, the report shows, citing data through February. In other words, for every $1.00 their home is worth, they owe at least $1.25.
Mortgage programs not doing enough: 6 million families are currently 60 days past due and facing the possibility of foreclosure, and 200,000 families that are posted for foreclosure every single month.
Eating well on $68.88 a week? That's the food stamp budget for a family of 4: How well can a family of four eat on just $68.88 a week? For more than 38 million Americans, it's more than a matter of conjecture.