News For April 16, 2010

America and the Dictators
From Ngo Dinh Diem to Hamid Karzai

By Alfred W. McCoy

U.S. envoys had taken a huge gamble: rescuing this president from exile and political obscurity, installing him in the palace, and ousting a legitimate monarch whose family had ruled the country for centuries. Now, he repays this political debt by taunting America.  Continue

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Recovering From Empathy

By Robert C. Koehler

I remain stuck, churning in my own outrage and despair just as I have –- and so many millions of Americans have –- since the war on terror was launched amid all its lies and cowardly righteousness in 2001. For God’s sake, we’re killing people. We’re doing so in large numbers, with high-tech savagery. We aren’t even defending ourselves. Continue

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Kucinich: White House Assassination Policy Is Extrajudicial

By Jeremy Scahill

We are really putting our nation in jeopardy by pursuing this kind of policy." Continue

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Housing Crash Update:
There's A World of Pain Ahead

By Mike Whitney

8 million homeowners are behind on their payments! And, that's not all; mortgage applications dropped 9.6 per cent last week while the Refinance Index (refis) fell 9 per cent in the same period. So, mortgage apps are down even though the Firsttime Homebuyer Tax Credit is still in effect (it ends in two weeks) and, even though this is the "peak season" for home sales. Continue

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Can US Dollar Remain World's Currency?

By Real News

US dollar as world's reserve currency is great if you own a bank; not much good for Main St. Continue

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There Ain't Gonna Be No Revolution

By Joe Bageant

As I see it, there is no "will of the people" mandate. Hell, the people want more cable channels, fried chicken buckets and someone to tell them there really is a free lunch. Continue

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What Do We Get For Our US Tax Dollars?

By Steven Hill

We like to think of Europeans as poor overtaxed serfs but the benefits they receive show the shortcomings of the US system. Continue

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Withdraw Your Consent?

By James Ostrowski

The American people hold the keys to their own jail cells between their ears and can leave the prison of tyranny any time a sufficient number of them choose to be free. Continue

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Making A Killing?
The Untold Story of Psychotropic Drugging:

A Documentary – Video

Documentary rips the mask off psychotropic drugging and exposes a brutal but well-entrenched money-making machine. Continue

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Seven Britons killed in Kandahar: Two bomb explosions have ripped through Afghanistan's southern city of Kandahar, killing several people, including seven Britons, and injuring scores of others.

Contractor Deaths Accelerating in Afghanistan as They Outnumber Soldiers: The Pentagon reported 107,292 U.S.-hired civilian workers in Afghanistan as of February 2010, when there were about 78,000 soldiers. This is apparently the first time that contractors have exceeded soldiers by such a large margin.

Four German soldiers killed in Afghanistan: Four German soldiers were killed in Afghanistan Thursday and five wounded, Berlin said, in the latest bloodshed bound to fuel opposition to the unpopular mission.

U.S. doubles anti-Taliban special forces: The Pentagon has increased its use of the military's most elite special operations teams in Afghanistan, more than doubling the number of the highly trained teams assigned to hunt down Taliban leaders, according to senior officials.

5 Afghan UN workers missing in north: The United Nations said five of its Afghan employees were missing Friday amid reports their vehicles were hijacked in the same northern province where fierce fighting killed four German soldiers and three Afghan police the previous day.

Afghans 'abused at secret prison' at Bagram airbase: Afghan prisoners are being abused in a "secret jail" at Bagram airbase, according to nine witnesses whose stories the BBC has documented. The abuses are all said to have taken place since US President Barack Obama was elected, promising to end torture.

Feingold bill seeks end to ‘counterproductive’ war in Afghanistan: New legislation introduced by Sen. Russ Feingold (D-WI) and Reps. Jim McGovern (D-MA) and Walter Jones (R-NC) would require President Barack Obama to implement a flexible timetable to withdraw troops from Afghanistan and update Congress on its progress every three months.

At least 8 killed in Pakistan hospital blast: A television cameraman and a police officer were among those killed on Friday when the attacker detonated his explosives outside the gate of the Civic Hospital's emergency ward.

2 US attack kill 6 in Pakistan: On Friday, the US drones fired several missiles on the Toolkhel area near Miramshah in North Waziristan, Dawn news network reported.

Pakistan 'failed to protect Bhutto': The 2007 assassination of Benazir Bhutto, the former Pakistani leader, could have been prevented and Pakistani officials failed to properly investigate her murder, a United Nations commission has found.

Eight Iraqis killed in separate incidents in Mosul: Eight Iraqis, including an officer and two soldiers, were killed on Thursday in separate violent incidents in Mosul, northern Iraq.

Three killed in shoot-out near Baghdad airport: Iraqi troops on Thursday killed three men in a shoot-out near the main highway to Baghdad airport, while north of the capital police found the corpses of 14 Al-Qaeda kidnap victims, officials said.

Sudan: Nine killed as polls end: Two voters were killed when the southern army opened fire at a polling station at Riak in the southern Unity State, according to Capital FM based in Kenya.

Malaysia suspends gasoline supplies to Iran: The announcement of the suspension by Petronas came after Najib held talks with US President Barack Obama, who called for the world to move "boldly and quickly" on new Iran sanctions on the sidelines of a 47-nation nuclear security summit this week.

Hu, Singh Say Iran Sanctions Won’t Work, Amorim Says : The Chinese and Indian governments agree with Brazil that tougher United Nations sanctions against Iran won’t be effective at ending the country’s nuclear program and may be counterproductive, Brazilian Foreign Minister Celso Amorim said.

No Obama pressure on Israel over nuclear ambiguity: minister: "The policy of ambiguity is the foundation of Israel's security; it has always been and will continue to be. President Obama did not ask to change it in the current period," Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon told public radio.

Palestinian killed in Gaza clash: A Palestinian resistance fighter has been killed by Israeli gunfire during a firefight in the eastern Gaza Strip, the Israeli army and Palestinian medics have said.

Syria denies giving Scud missiles to Hizbullah: Israel ‘paving way for military action’
Ehud Olmert the 'prime suspect' in Holyland bribery case: Former Israeli prime minister denies taking massive bribes to approve major construction project
Goldstone banned by SA Zionists: Richard Goldstone, a former South African judge, has been effectively banned from attending his grandson's bar mitzvah which is to be held in Johannesburg next month.
UK: Counter-terrorism stop and searches up by 66%, new figures show: The number of people and vehicles stopped and searched in England and Wales under controversial counter-terrorism laws soared by two thirds in a year, according to figures published today.
U.S. Military Expands in Latin America : Following a cooperation deal with Colombia last year, the United States military this week announced plans to further expand its influence throughout Latin America, using agreements with various governments including Brazil and Peru.
Ex-CIA chief approved destroying torture tapes: report: Former CIA chief Porter Goss approved a 2005 decision by an aide to destroy hundreds of tapes showing US agents harshly interrogating two terror suspects, The New York Times reported Friday.
Veteran commits suicide in front of Dayton VA center: Jesse C. Huff, address unknown, was wearing full military fatigues and was armed with a military-style rifle, which he used to shoot himself twice in the head about 5:45 a.m. Friday, April 16, according to police and the Montgomery County Coroner’s Office.
Lobbyists and Lawmakers Bond During Springsteen Concerts : DeFazio’s aerie came with 18 tickets and a wet bar, televisions and a private bathroom. His campaign rented it for $2,220 from the American Trucking Associations (ATA), whose legislative agenda focuses heavily on the highway matters that pass before DeFazio’s subcommittee.
Miami Beach cops are paid up to $225K and face lawsuits galore: Maybe he has pulled you over. Maybe you have passed him at CVS, where until recently he worked late-night shifts. You probably don't remember him. But Chorens has secrets. For one, he's rich. In 2008, he pulled in $175,651.84.
Tea Party holds mass protests across US: More than 500 of the so-called Tea Party rallies have been held across the United States, including a massive demonstration in the capital.
All You Need to Know about Tea Baggers: 57% Still Support George Bush – And, Yes, Their Rage Is Fueled by Racism, Fox News
U.S. charges Goldman Sachs with civil fraud: The government has accused Goldman Sachs & Co. of defrauding investors by failing to disclose conflicts of interest in mortgage investments it sold as the housing market was faltering.
How Financial Reporters Create Illusion to Cover Up Wall Street's Scams: The corporate media's job is to sell confidence on Wall Street's numbers, rather than tempered or even depressed expectations, no matter how realistic they may be.
U.S. Cities In Free Fall: Cities in the "Sand States" of Florida, California, Arizona and Nevada, where overbuilding was rampant, are also in trouble, claiming nine of the top 10 spots in our list of cities in free fall. In Las Vegas, Riverside, Calif., and Phoenix, median home prices have fallen 50%, 44% and 37% from their respective peaks. Jobs are vanishing.
Foreclosure activity up sharply despite loan modification program: Banks were beginning to repossess properties at a faster clip despite the Obama administration's push to help borrowers.
California’s unemployment rate hits high of 12.6%: California’s unemployment rate reached a new high in March, hitting 12.6%, bolstering fears that unemployment will remain a persistent problem through at least the end of the year. The unemployment rate in February was 12.5%.
Vatican praised bishop who shielded paedophile priest from police: A controversy was brewing in France Friday after publication of a letter in which a high Vatican official praised a French bishop for shielding a paedophile priest from police.
America hates Atheists : "If 'Guess Who's Coming to Dinner' was remade today, the 'shocking' guest would no longer be a highly accomplished, educated and sophisticated black man (Sidney Poitier) but a highly accomplished, educated and sophisticated atheist."