News For May 1, 2010

Afghan Escalation Funding
More War, Fewer Jobs, Poor Excuses

By David Swanson

The fact is that military spending is destroying the U.S. economy.  An excellent report from the National Priorities Project, “Security Spending Primer," provides a summary of research that supports these basic and well-documented facts: Continue

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Stranger Than Fiction?
Georgetown Professor: 'Drones Are Not Killing Innocent Civilians' in Pakistan

By Jeremy Scahill

Some estimates, most of which are indeed Pakistani sources, suggest that the vast majority of Pakistanis killed are civilians. In an Op-Ed [1] for The New York Times last year, David Kilcullen and Andrew Exum, called for a moratorium on the strikes, saying they had "killed some 700 civilians. Continue

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Is the War Coming Home?

By Patrick J. Buchanan

Looking at America's wars in Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan, Maj. Hasan, Abdulmutallab and Shahzad decided that what we call the war on terror was in reality a war on Islam. Continue

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A Historic Breakthrough for U.S. Billionaires

By Sam Pizzigati

In 2010 America, schools, students, and teachers share the pain. The heirs to our mega rich, meanwhile, don’t have to share anything. Continue

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Euro-Bankers Demand of Greece
The wealthy won’t pay their taxes, so labor must do so.

By Michael Hudson

Financial lobbyists are using the Greek crisis as an object lesson to warn about the need to cut back public spending on Social Security and Medicare. Continue

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“The People of Greece Are Fighting for the Whole of Europe”:

By Tariq Ali and Mark Weisbrot

'People are asking, in Greece and elsewhere, “How come we are being victimized? All the cuts in public spending affect us; they don’t affect the rich. And why are the bankers not being punished? Well, why is this system, the system created by neoliberalism, of deregulation, of actually legalizing financial speculation, why is this not being stopped?” Continue

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Miran-Duhhhhh!

By Matt Taibbi

Memo to those Tea Party activists out there who’ve been howling about those liberal wusses in the Obama Justice Department who read Faisal Shahzad his Miranda rights: congratulations. You’ve just opened the door for a major new expansion of government power. Continue

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U.S. attack killed at least 14 people in Pakistan: "Three missiles hit a vehicle and three militants sitting in it were killed," said an intelligence agency official in the region, who declined to be identified. The drones then fired about 12 missiles at a nearby militant compound, killing at least 11 more, according to a second security official who said the death toll may rise.

At least 11 militants killed in Orakzai Agency: At least 11 suspected militants were killed in the latest assault as the military operation continued in the Orakzai Agency on Tuesday.

Two NATO occupation force soldiers among 22 killed in Afghanistan : Two NATO soldiers were killed Tuesday by a roadside bomb in southern Afghanistan while two militiamen and 18 Taliban were killed in combat in the north, officials said.

Red Cross confirms 'second jail' at Bagram, Afghanistan: Nine former prisoners have told the BBC that they were held in a separate building, and subjected to abuse.

Factbox: A look at costs of Afghan war to U.S. taxpayers: President Barack Obama's request in February for more money to pay for the war in Afghanistan is still snarled in Congress as lawmakers work on other priorities and deal with scarce budget resources.

Iraq Boosts Security after 119 Killed in Attacks: The sheer breadth of the attacks, stretching from cities in the north to the normally peaceful southern port of Basra, was a blow after recent victories against insurgents and raised questions about the militants' enduring strength.

Iraqi forces blamed after mass nationwide attacks: The government pinned the blame on Al-Qaeda while Iraq's deputy interior minister announced that an inquiry was under way and appeared to concede that the nation's security apparatus had been comprehensively undermined.

Allawi warns of sectarian war: Mr Allawi, who led the country for nine turbulent months in 2004 as a US-appointed transitional prime minister, warned that unless the US and its allies safeguarded Iraq's nascent democracy, renewed conflict could spread around the region

US reconsidering pace of Iraq troop withdrawal: Worries over violence fueled by Iraq's political instability have forced U.S. commanders to reconsider the pace of a major pullout this summer

Several killed in fresh Yemeni violence: The violence erupted when soldiers ambushed a top Houthi leader in his vehicle in Yemen's Harf Sufyan district of Amran Province on Monday.

Pakistan Envoy Hurt, 2 Guards Die in Tehran Attack, Arabiya Says: Pakistan’s ambassador to Iran was hurt and two of his bodyguards were killed in an attack on his car in Tehran, al-Arabiya television said without providing further details.

Iran: Brazil and Turkey make new nuclear proposal: Iran said Tuesday that Brazil and Turkey have offered a promising new proposal for a nuclear fuel deal as Tehran steps up a diplomatic push to stave off new U.N. sanctions over its disputed nuclear program.

Iranian navy warns off US surveillance aircraft: The Fars news agency quotes army chief Gen. Ataollah Salehi as saying the aircraft was trying to observe the naval war games Monday but left the area after a warning from Iranian forces. The report gave no details.

Israel halts care for dead militant's relative: Israel has barred a cousin of an assassinated Hamas operative from entering from Gaza for medical care, security officials said Tuesday, though the man's doctors warn his life is in danger.

Understanding Gaza's electricity crisis: It may appear quiet these days in Gaza... no major Israeli military operations, no airstrikes, no daily rocket attacks... but by no means has the humanitarian situation got better for the people here.

Largest naval protest yet to sail against Gaza blockade: A six-ship flotilla carrying 500 protesters is planned in the largest yet naval protest against the Israeli naval blockade on the Hamas controlled Gaza Strip, Channel 10 reported Tuesday.

U.S. Jews 'proud' of Obama Supreme Court nominee: "As American Jews, we also take special pride in seeing another member of our community nominated to the highest court in the land,"

Obama's Supreme Court Nominee Elena Kagan Will Move the Court to the Right: During her confirmation hearing for solicitor general, Kagan agreed with Senator Lindsey Graham that the president can hold suspected terrorists indefinitely during wartime, and the entire world is a battlefield.

Pakistani man with bomb residue on hands arrested in Chile: A 28-year-old Pakistani man with explosive residue on his hands was arrested at the U.S. Embassy in Chile, national police said.

Air Passenger's Massage Shoes Mistaken For Bomb: Was it a terrorist intent on destroying an airplane? Or was it a passenger armed only with battery-powered "massage shoes" to comfort aching feet, who found himself cooling his heels in jail?

Incendiary Device Explodes Outside Florida Mosque: The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) reported today that an incendiary device exploded Monday evening outside a Jacksonville, Fla., mosque.

Greg Palast | Behind the Immigration Law (Video): “The law doesn’t say we are busting you if you’re not a citizen, the law says we’re busting you if you don’t have your papers.”

Drones could begin flying over Texas in a matter of months: Customs and Border Protection has said it intends to increase unmanned aircraft systems across the country this year, and it expects a complete network of the unmanned planes all along the border by 2015.

Judge Rules Torture Doesn’t Violate Due Process: In a ruling that anticipates how the government will ignore torture as it tries alleged detainees in civilian court, Judge Lewis Kaplan rejected Ahmed Khalfan Ghailani’s efforts to get his indictment for contributing to the 1998 embassy bombings dismissed because he was tortured while in US custody.

UK's Labour 'on brink of defeat': The Labour party's talks with the Liberal Democrats on forming Britain's next government have come to an end, raising the prospect that David Cameron, the Conservative party leader, could soon become prime minister.

UK: Unions warn of Greek-style riots : Unions today sent a chilling warning of Greek-style strikes and protests after winning a major legal victory for civil servants made redundant.
Is It Already Too Late to Save Greece?: The International Monetary Fund and the European Union are coming to Greece's aid with a financial commitment worth billions. But is it already too late to rescue the cash-strapped country?
US Fed to ship dollars to Europe: Central banks can lend the dollars out to banks in their home countries that are in need of dollar funding to prevent the European crisis from spreading further.
Congressman Ron Paul: Greece and the American Taxpayer: Video: Ron Paul points out that the Fed opening its swap lines to Europe violated its promise to Congress not to do so. Paul also says the bailout will help lead to the destruction of all fiat paper currencies, ensuring that "gold will rule the roost".
Fannie Mae Needs $8.4 Billion More: Fannie Mae asked the U.S. government for an additional $8.4 billion in aid after posting an $11.5 billion net loss for the first quarter, the latest sign that the bailout of the mortgage investor and its main rival, Freddie Mac, is likely to be the most expensive legacy of the U.S. housing-market bust.
Amateur Video Of Gulf Oil Slick - Worse Than BP Admits : Officials have stopped guessing at the amount of oil leaking although some speculate it may be closer to 1 million gallons per day.
George Monbiot: I'm not quite ready to climb the Dark Mountain: To sit back and wait for the collapse of industrial civilisation is to conspire in the destruction of everything greens value
Archbishop of Vienna accuses one of Pope’s closest aides of abuse cover-up: Open warfare broke out in the Vatican over the clerical sex abuse scandal at the weekend as Cardinal Christoph Schönborn, the Archbishop of Vienna, accused one of Pope Benedict XVI’s closest aides of covering up past scandals.