News For May 07, 2010

What I Learned in Afghanistan - About the United States

By Dana Visalli

Do you want to spend your life paying for the death of people (executed by the US military) that you would probably have loved if you have met them? Do you want to spend your life paying for the arsenal of hydrogen bombs that could very well destroy most of the life on the planet. Continue

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The Downward Slope of Empire
Talking With Chalmers Johnson

By HARRY KREISLER

“Blowback” is a CIA term that means retaliation, or payback. It was first used in the after-action report on our first clandestine overthrow of a foreign government, the overthrow of Mossadegh in Iran in 1953. Continue

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Would You Put Up With What is Being Asked of the Greek People?

By Tony Bonsignore

Protestors argue that they are being made to pay for a crisis they did not cause, and which wealthy speculators are still profiting from. Continue

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15 Mind-Blowing Facts About Wealth And Inequality In America

By Gus Lubin

Real average earnings have not increased in 50 years. Continue

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Soldiers clash with Kashmir rebels, 7 killed: – Two Indian soldiers and five separatist guerrillas were killed in a fierce gun battle on Friday in Kashmir, an army spokesman said.

Gunmen kill 4 police at checkpoint in NW Pakistan: Authorities say gunmen have attacked a police checkpoint in northwest Pakistan, killing four officers.

India warns US against military aid to Pakistan: The warning came after the US in March said it would deliver unarmed drones to Pakistan and less than a month after it unveiled plans to transfer 600 million dollars to Islamabad to pay for anti-militant operations.

2 NATO occupation force troops, civilians killed in Afghanistan: It’s still unclear how many people died in the car traveling in Charkh district of Logar province. “We found shoes, a blue burqa and one mobile phone. We are using the phone to call relatives.”

One killed, 14 injured in two separate attacks in Iraq: One civilian was killed and three injured when an explosive device wrecked their car in Baghdad's western district of Abu Ghraib.

Iraq's two largest Shia blocs join to try to form government: The union forged between Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki’s State of Law bloc and the Iraqi National Alliance (INA) has 159 seats in the 325 member assembly, four short of the majority required to form a government. But the Kurdish bloc, which partnered the Shias in the outgoing government, is expected to contribute its 43 seats to achieve a solid majority.

Head of Atomic Agency Asserts Right to Scrutinize Iran: The new chief of the International Atomic Energy Agency on Thursday rejected Iran’s claim that international inspectors have no right to ask questions about research Tehran has conducted into missile technology and warheads.

Kremlin links Iran sanctions support with U.S. move: Russia expects the United States to lift bans on trade with four Russian companies if Moscow backs new sanctions against Iran, a senior Kremlin official said on Friday.

U.S. joins U.N. council at Iran dinner in New York: A council diplomat said the majority of the other 12 council members were sending their ambassadors to the dinner at the Iranian ambassador's residence. Journalists saw Chinese Ambassador Li Baodong enter the building.

Ahmadinejad's take on ties with US: Video "We are not afraid"

Iran's PG naval drills in phase 2: The second phase of the exercise involved the detection and subsequent destruction of marine and submarine targets as well as conducting rescue drills for chemical, biological and nuclear strikes, the spokesman said.

War, this summer?: The Israelis are ready to go to war to prevent another axis from rising in the region. They fear that the Iran-Syria-Hizbullah axis may match Israel's power and thus end its long-held sway over the region. For years the US made sure that Israel was the region's top military power, and now this guarantee may be coming to an end.

New Israeli order allows for mass expulsion from West Bank : The "infiltrator" order could affect thousands of Palestinians in the occupied West Bank who were born in Gaza -- or those who had their ID documents issued in Gaza -- but moved years ago to live in the West Bank where they now have families and where their employment and educational facilities are based.

Why won't Israel allow Gazans to import coriander?: The Defense Ministry is refusing - on security grounds, it says - to reveal why Israel prohibits the import into the Gaza Strip of items such as cilantro, sage, jam, chocolate, french fries, dried fruit, fabrics, notebooks empty flowerpots and toys, while allowing cinnamon, plastic buckets and combs.

General 'tried to cover up truth about death of Rachel Corrie': Seven years after the American activist Rachel Corrie was killed by an Israeli army bulldozer in Gaza, evidence has emerged which appears to implicate Israel's Gaza commander at the time, in an attempt to obstruct the official investigation into her death.

UK election results: New Labour RIP, 1992-2010: Since the Iraq invasion went wrong, New Labour was always living on borrowed time

George Galloway out of Westminster as he loses fight for seat : George Galloway has lost his battle to remain as an MP after coming third in the Poplar and Limehouse constituency.

Chalmers Johnson: Another battle of Okinawa: Despite protests, the U.S. insists on going ahead with plans for a new military base on the island.

Ecuador water law sparks protests: Police in Ecuador have used tear gas and batons in clashes with protesters trying to reach the national assembly in the capital, Quito.
Passenger surrenders after long siege on bus: Bomb report sparks N.H. police standoff: “The scariest part was seeing the police cruisers surround the bus, and they all had machine guns,’’ said Everett, who was on her way to Boston, where she had planned to catch a train to Plymouth. Her possessions, and everyone else’s, were left on the bus.
Times Square suspicious package contained only water bottles: New York police have determined that a suspicious package that prompted a midday evacuation Friday of three blocks in the heart of Times Square contained only water bottles.
Demonizing the Internet? US-born cleric inspired Times Square bomber Faisal Shahzad: The ideological thrust may have come from an American cleric now on the CIA hit list. The bombmaking expertise and funding possibly came from the Pakistani Taliban or other extremist groups in Pakistan.
New U.S. Push to Regulate Internet Access: The decision, by Federal Communications Commission Chairman Julius Genachowski, is likely to trigger a vigorous lobbying battle, arraying big phone and cable companies and their allies on Capitol Hill against Silicon Valley giants and consumer advocates.
Radicalization of Times Square suspect was gradual, investigators say: The suspect in the attempted Times Square bombing appears to have been acting out of anger toward the United States that had accumulated over multiple trips to his native Pakistan, culminating in a lengthy recent stay in which he committed to the bombing plot while undergoing training with elements of the Pakistani Taliban, U.S. officials said Thursday.
Shahzad on U.S. Travel Security List Since 1999: Would-be Times Square bomber Faisal Shahzad appeared on a U.S government travel travel lookout list - Traveler Enforcement Compliance System (TECS) - between 1999 and 2008 because he brought approximately $80,000 cash or cash instruments into the United States.
Terror Watch List Counter: A Million Plus: Why are there so many names on the U.S. government's terrorist list?
The backlash begins: A new state law has galvanised Latinos nationwide, and others too
Humor: Video: Daily Show Jason Jones profiles Arizona Tequila drinkers: Whenever this issue comes up I think how cool it would be for police to sweep the next Tea Party rally and demand proof of citizenship from all participants. I think we would soon find out what the guns are for! Cops!
Northern Arizona University to Monitor Students with Chipped ID cards: The larger issue being overlooked is the growing use of tracking devices in the U.S., and how willing most people are to be tagged and set loose in the “wild” where their movements and spending habits are monitored, recorded and filed away for someone’s future use.
New recycling bins with tracking chips coming to Alexandria: New larger recycling carts equipped with computer microchips, which will allow the city to keep tabs on its bins and track resident participation in the city's recycling program.
Grand jury subpoena to Times reporter over book: The lawyer for Risen, Joel Kurtzberg, said that the Justice Department is seeking information regarding Risen's sources about a CIA effort to disrupt Iranian nuclear research, according to a story on the subpoena dispute that appeared in Wednesday's Times.
Romania braces for austerity: ROMANIA braced on Friday for a wave of protests after the president unveiled austerity cuts in public sector wages and pensions to meet a deficit target set by the IMF and avoid a Greek emergency scenario.
Plan for Congressional Audits of Fed Dies in Senate: Last-minute maneuvering in the Senate allowed the Federal Reserve to sidestep legislation that would have exposed its interest-rate decision-making to congressional auditors.
U.S. Food Prices ‘Spiraling Out of Control’: U.S. food prices jumped by 2.4 percent in March 2010 in the largest monthly leap in more than 26 years, and the sixth consecutive monthly increase.
Food-stamp tally nears 40 million, sets record: The Agriculture Department said 39.68 million people, or 1 in 8 Americans, were enrolled for food stamps during February, an increase of 260,000 from January. USDA updated its figures on Wednesday.
Unemployment rate rises to 9.9%: Some 800,000 workers reentered the job market last month. Many of them did not find jobs, so the unemployment rate increased from 9.7 to 9.9 percent.
Broader U-6 Unemployment Rate Increases to 17.1% in April: The U.S. jobless rate rose to 9.9% in April, the first increase in three months, but the government’s broader measure of unemployment ticked up for the third month in a row, rising 0.2 percentage point to 17.1%.
Unemployment insurance system is in crisis: A record 20 million Americans collected unemployment benefits last year, and twenty-six states have run out of funds and been forced to borrow from the federal government, raise taxes, or cut benefits.