News for June 28, 2010

Report: US Warships Stationed Off Iranian Coast

By Daniel Tencer

As unconfirmed reports of an imminent Israeli strike on Iran's nuclear facilities pick up steam in the Middle Eastern media, a US-based strategic intelligence company has released a chart showing US naval carriers massing near Iranian waters. Continue

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Another Of Israel's Useful Idiots
Palin: Obama administration selling out Israel

By Yitzhak Benhorin, AP

Sarah Palin on Sunday painted President Barack Obama's administration as a cowering giant intent on surrendering the nation's mantle as a superpower and willing to sell out its allies. Continue

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The Last Post:
McChrystal's Bleak Outlook

By Jonathan Owen and Brian Brady

President Obama lost patience with Runaway General's failed strategy: Continue

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Why Petraeus Won't Salvage This War

By Gareth Porter

Pro-war Republicans, led by John McCain, are hoping that Petraeus will now insist that the July 2011 time frame be eliminated, creating an open-ended commitment to a high and perhaps even rising level of U.S. military presence in Afghanistan. Continue

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Corruption Suspected in Airlift of Billions in Cash From Kabul

By Matthew Rosenberg

U.S. investigators believe top Afghan officials and their associates are sending billions of diverted U.S. aid and logistics dollars and drug money to financial safe havens abroad. Continue

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Honduras Resistance Strong Despite US-Supported Coup

By Bill Quigley and Laura Raymond

One year ago, on June 28, 2009, Honduran President Manuel Zelaya was awakened by gunfire. A coup was carried out by US-trained military officers, including graduates of the infamous US Army School of the Americas (WHINSEC) in Georgia. President Zelaya was illegally taken to Costa Rica. Continue

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The Third Depression

By Paul Krugman

We are now, I fear, in the early stages of a third depression. It will probably look more like the Long Depression than the much more severe Great Depression. But the cost — to the world economy and, above all, to the millions of lives blighted by the absence of jobs — will nonetheless be immense. Continue

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Live from Planet Norte
America's Totalitarian Democracy and the Politics of Plunder

By Joe Bageant

The uniformity on Planet Norte is striking. Each person is a unit, installed in life support boxes in the suburbs and cities; all are fed, clothed by the same closed-loop corporate industrial system. Everywhere you look, inhabitants are plugged in at the brainstem to screens downloading their state approved daily consciousness updates. Continue

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When Companies Place Profit Before People

Australian TV Report

60 Minutes BP Oil Spill Video. Continue

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Police official says: NATO Force Kill 8 Civilians: An Afghan police official said on Monday that eight civilians were killed in a NATO raid in the southern province of Kandahar, but the alliance claimed the victims were Taliban fighters.
8 Civilians Killed in Roadside Bombing in Afghanistan: A roadside bomb in eastern Afghanistan has killed eight civilians. Officials say women and children were among the victims of Monday's blast in Ghazni province.
Britain will not defeat Taliban and should open talks, says head of Army: -General Sir David Richards said he believed the time had come for negotiations with Nato’s enemies to pave the way for the eventual withdrawal of troops.
Four Pakistani soldiers killed in Taliban attack': Armed militants attacked the troops during a patrol in the border town of Kharaki, 25 kilometres (16 miles) north of the lawless region's main town Khar, local administration chief Mohammad Jamil told AFP.
Eight killed in Baghdad attacks: Eight people have died in a shooting and a bombing attacks in Iraq, including two teenage girls suspected of prostitution who were killed by gunmen in a raid on their Baghdad home, Iraqi police said.
Turkish warplanes bomb northern Iraq: Turkish warplanes bombed northern Iraq on Monday, the rebel Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) and an Iraqi Kurdish official said, as Ankara stepped up its riposte to increased fighting with the rebels.
Sen. Robert Byrd dies at 92: The West Virginia lawmaker was the longest-serving member of Congress in U.S. history and cast more votes than any other member since taking office in 1959.
Robert Byrd's prescient Iraq war speeches: The outcome was already apparent when the Senate began its official debate over the authorization of the Iraq war in October 2002.
Iran freezes nuclear talks for two months: President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said on Monday that Iran will penalise world powers by freezing nuclear talks for two months as he laid down several conditions for resuming the negotiations.
Russia alarmed by CIA view of Iran's weapons: "As to this information -- it needs to be checked," Medvedev told reporters in Toronto, where he was attending the Group of 20 summit of rich and emerging nations.
US 'waging psycho war against Iran': Iran says the US allegation about the military nature of Tehran's nuclear program is "a psychological war" aimed at creating a negative attitude towards the country.
'Iran will retaliate if ships inspected': "We reserve the right of retaliation for ourselves... we are able to defend our rights," Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said in a Monday press conference, when asked about the possible inspection of Iranian ships under new UN sanctions against the country.
Massive Iranian military reinforcement near the Gulf region: Informed Iranian sources were quoted as saying on Monday that Tehran reinforced the presence of the army and the Revolutionary Guards near the coast of the Persian Gulf, following the U.N. decision to impose tougher sanctions, including the threat of international inspections of Iranian vessels.
'G8 in no position to lecture Iran': Larijani went on to blast the group's reference to the issue of human rights in Iran and highlighted the civilian death toll of the US-led war in Afghanistan as well as the notorious US prisons in Iraq and Cuba.
Turkey closes skies to Israeli military: Amid tense relations prompted by Israel's deadly attack on a Turkish-flagged aid convoy, the government in Ankara takes a step to impose certain restrictive measures against the Israeli military.
Israeli air strike kills a member of Palestinian resistance: Palestinian medics said the latest strike struck near the Jebalya refugee camp in northern Gaza, and that the man killed was active with the Palestinian Front for the Liberation of Palestine, a militant group.
Conflicting reports on Iran ship: Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister for Arab Affairs Reza Shibani said Sunday that Iran will send a ship with humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip, denying reports that the Iranian flotilla had been canceled, Israel Radio reported.
Russia warns Kyrgyzstan could implode after vote : Kyrgyzstan voted on Sunday in a landmark referendum aimed at creating Central Asia's first parliamentary democracy, only two weeks after an explosion of ethnic bloodshed killed hundreds. The country's leader said voters approved the change.
Honduran president 'fears new coup': A year after the coup that ousted Honduras' former president, Manual Zelaya's successor has expressed concerns that he too could be toppled.
Noriega goes on trial for laundering Colombian drug moneyi n France: Noriegia has denied taking money from the cocaine dealers and claims the funds were from his brother's inheritance, his wife's fortune and payments made to him by the CIA.
As Canada's Democracy Trembles, a New Global Architecture Emerges: Nearly 600 people were arrested as global leaders and elites met behind a fortified perimetre during the G8 and G20 Summits in Huntsville and Toronto this weekend.
Ohio 6-Year-Old Turns Up on Terror Watch List: Transportation Security Administration,used to check only international passengers' names against the no-fly list, but since earlier this month has been checking domestic passengers as well.
The Devil Is In The Details: Department of Howeland Security Monitoring Web : DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano said that in the future there will be "increased" Internet monitoring of U.S. citizens due to the dangers of homegrown terrorism. Napolitano remarked on how "wrong" it is to believe that if "security" is embraced, that liberty will be sacrificed.
US Supreme Court deals pedophilia blow for Vatican: Allowing a federal appeals court ruling to stand, the decision means Vatican officials including theoretically Pope Benedict XVI could face questioning under oath related to a litany of child sex abuse cases.
Illinois inmate bleeds to death as guards ignore him, offer no medication at all for weeks: For days before he died from internal bleeding in a federal prison, Adam Montoya pleaded with guards to be taken to a doctor, pressing a panic button in his cell over and over to summon help that never came.
IRS wants taxes from BP payments for lost wages": The Internal Revenue Service says oil spill victims who receive BP payments for lost wages will have to pay up come tax time.
Huge tent city takes root: Homeless camps cover 50 acres, from Waipio Point, around Middle Loch to Pearl City
Governments ranked as having the highest percentage probabilities of defaulting on payments to bondholders: Illinois is perceived as such a risk of default that we're having to squander millions in additional interest payments to get people to buy our bonds.