Monday 19 July 2010

News For July 19, 2010

UK Official - Troops out of Afghanistan by 2014

By Jonathan Owen and Brian Brady

A communiqué containing a blueprint for British troops to pull out from Afghanistan in four years' time has been leaked ahead of a major international conference this week Continue

Hopes and Prospects, By Noam Chomsky

By Johann Hari

Chomsky is trying to rescue crimes from the memory-hole. He explains that Ronald Reagan – the great hero of the US right – was a great champion of jihadism. It was Reagan who encouraged Pakistan simultaneously to become fundamentalist, and acquire nuclear weapons. Continue

Top Secret America
A Hidden World, Growing Beyond Control

By Dana Priest and William M. Arkin

The top-secret world the government created in response to the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, has become so large, so unwieldy and so secretive that no one knows how much money it costs, how many people it employs, how many programs exist within it or exactly how many agencies do the same work. Continue

Iranian Scientist Would Not Play Curveball

By Ray McGovern

Useful insights often must be seen through a glass darkly. But some can be pulled through the smoke and mirrors shrouding the wanderings of Iranian scientist Shahram Amiri, who is now back home in Iran after 14 months in the U.S. as guest of the CIA. Continue

Bibi Unmasked
Caught On Tape: What The Israelis Really Think Of Us

By Justin Raimondo

It’s odd when you think about it: why would the mightiest empire the world has ever seen – a nation that spends more on its military establishment than all other nations of the world combined – kowtow before a country barely the size of Delaware? Continue

Israel Set to Force all Citizens to Swear Oath to Jewish State

By Catrina Stewart

"It's another step in the direction of getting the Arabs out of Israel," said Uri Avnery, a former MP and founder of the Israeli Gush Shalom peace movement. "Parliament has become a lynching mob." Continue

Calling All Future-Eaters

By Chris Hedges

Modern industrial warfare in the 20th century took at least 100 million lives, most of them civilians. And now we sit passive and dumb as corporations and the leaders of industrialized nations ensure that climate change will accelerate to levels that could mean the extinction of our species. Continue

Haiti: Six Months On

Video Report By Al Jazeera

One-and-a-half million people remain displaced, many living under tents and tarps. Rubble removal is slow, and rebuilding has yet to begin. The chasm between Haiti's poor majority and the foreign organisations that say they are here to help seems as wide as ever. Continue

Misguided U.S. Economic Policies Drive Many Mexicans to Come Here

By Manuel Pérez-Rocha

Most immigrants would prefer to stay at home with their families and live their own culture, eat their own food, and listen to their own music. Continue

Buying Venezuela’s Press With U.S. Tax Dollars

By Jeremy Bigwood

Until now, the State Department has hidden its role in funding the Venezuelan news media, one of the opposition’s most powerful weapons against President Hugo Chávez and his Bolivarian movement. Continue

375 Killed In Sudan: More than 300 fighters from Darfur's rebel group Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) have been killed by Sudan's army in recent clashes and 75 of its own soldiers also died, state media reported on Saturday.
Sudan brutally surpresses dissent: Amnesty Intl: Amnesty International on Monday accused Sudan of using arrests and torture to brutally suppress dissent, days after an international court filed charges of genocide against President Omar al-Bashir.
50 killed in attacks near Baghdad: At least 50 people were killed Sunday in attacks west of Baghdad, including a double suicide bombing against Sunni paramilitary members waiting to receive their paychecks outside a military base.
Attack on British "security" firm in Iraq kills 4: A suicide car bomber ploughed into a convoy of a British security company in northern Iraq on Monday, killing four foreigners and wounding five Iraqi civilians, Iraqi security officials said.
Allawi pulls out of talks with al Sadr: Ayad Allawi, the narrow winner of the Iraqi elections, pulled out of a weekend trip to Syria during which he had been expected to hold talks with the influential Shiite cleric Muqtada al Sadr.
Pakistan: Forty-two militants killed in Orakzai, Kurram: According to official sources, fighter jets targeted various militant hideouts in Upper Orakzai. As a result of the bombing, 20 militants were killed and 15 injured. Four militant hideouts were also destroyed.
US Buys right to kill Pakistani citizens: US announces new Pakistan aid: The US government has announced a major new aid package for Pakistan, with hundreds of millions of dollars to be spent on projects in Pakistan's energy and water sectors.
22 "Taliban militants" killed in W Afghanistan: Twenty-two Taliban insurgents, including two commanders, were killed as aircraft pounded their hideout in Farah province west of Afghanistan on Monday, police said.
6 police and two US troops killed in Afghan occupation: : Bomb attacks have killed two US occupation force soldiers and six policemen in Afghanistan on the eve of an international conference in the Afghan capital of Kabul.
4 British occupation force troops killed in Afghanistan : Three British service members were killed in Helmand Province and the fourth died in a traffic accident near Camp Bastion on Saturday, the main British military base, Reuters reported quoting the British Ministry of Defense.
Gurkha soldier removed from duty for beheading dead Taliban commander during battle: The Nepalese private decapitated the dead man with the intention of returning to base with the head so the Taliban fighter could be identified by senior officers as a 'high value target'.
Afghanistan suicide bombing kills at least 3: The target of the attack in Kabul, which killed civilians, is unclear. The bombing comes two days before a major international donor conference.
Taliban call to kill collaborators: Mullah Omar, the leader of the Afghan Taliban, has reportedly issued a new directive in which he calls on his fighters to capture and kill any Afghan working for foreign forces.
US military build-up in Kandahar will bolster Taliban, warns security monitor: Nato's counterinsurgency tactic shows no signs of success, says Afghanistan NGO Security Office
Another official report says "things just getting worse" in Afghanistan: The ANSO report also reveals that June saw a record number of Taliban attacks - up 51 per cent on the previous year to 1,319 operations.
Scientist Says U.S. Wanted to Swap Him for Hikers: “They told me that if I confess to being an Iranian intelligence agent, they could trade me with the three spies who were caught near the Iraqi border,” Mr. Amiri told the interviewer, who then asked him whether the United States agents had specifically used the term “spy” to describe the hikers.
Ahmadinejad: US behind terror attacks: "The puppeteers pulling the strings in this show will get nothing", President Ahmadinejad said. "Such aggressive policies will only fuel public hatred", he underscored.
Iran urges US to drop 'cowboy logic' over nuclear issue: Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on 15 July Mr Ahmadinejad says he is for negotiations over his country's nuclear programme
'Israel convinces US with Credible military plan on Iran': Have Israel’s efforts to convince the US to threaten Iran with a credible military option paid off? According to recent media reports, the answer might be yes.
Israel re-arms ready for war with Iran: Israel has successfully re-armed its air force with long-range F-151 and F-161 strike aircraft, supported by an upgraded fleet of tanker aircraft.
Demands for release of nuclear whistleblower as Israel holds Vanunu in solitary confinement: Amnesty International is calling for Vanunu’s immediate release and his brother, Meir, contacted the Sunday Herald to express fears over Vanunu’s wellbeing after being the first person to visit him in seven weeks.
EU calls for opening Gaza borders: "The position of the EU is very clear. We want to see the opportunity for people to be able to move around freely, to see goods not only coming in to Gaza but exports coming out of Gaza," Ashton said on Sunday during a visit to Palestinian territory.
PNA aided Israel in arresting Hamas militants: Hamas: The Palestinian security services in the West Bank "are no more than a wing of the Zionist security services," Hamas spokesman Salah Al-Bardaweel said.
Israeli 'loyalty oath' approved: The Israeli cabinet has approved a provision that would require all prospective citizens living in Israel illegally to swear allegiance to a "Jewish democratic state".
IDF soldier who shot British peace activist to be released from jail: IDF committee cuts sentence of former soldier Taysir Heib who was found guilty of manslaughter in the 2003 death of British peace activist Thomas Hurndall in the Gaza Strip.
Alleged Mossad agent fights extradition to Germany: Uri Brodsky, suspected of involvement in Hamas chief killing in Dubai, appeals Polish court decision that he be extradited to Germany.
Armed men shoot up Mexican party: Suspected drug gang hitmen armed with machine guns stormed a private party in the northern Mexican city of Torreon, killing at least 17 people in one of the deadliest attacks in Mexico's drug war, police have said.
Schwarzenegger mobilizes National Guard to border: Obama asked California to deploy 224 Guard members for as long as a year, but California National Guard spokesman Lt. Patrick Bagley said as many as 260 soldiers and airmen will head to the border by Oct. 1.
List sends chill through Utah's Latino community: An anonymous letter naming 1,300 purported illegal immigrants sparks investigations and a wave of worry.
Engineers Detect Seepage Near BP's Capped Oil Well: Engineers monitoring BP's damaged well in the Gulf of Mexico detected seepage on the ocean floor that could mean problems with the cap that has stopped oil from gushing into the water, the U.S. government's top oil spill official said on Sunday.
BP oil leak threatens to bust bedrock: The US government has ordered oil giant BP to offer a plan for opening the capped oil well in the Gulf of Mexico, after a seep was found threatening to leak into the bedrock.
Concern raised about methane at oil spill site: There are signs of continuing tension between the government and BP executives amid concerns about a seep and possible methane near the busted oil well in the Gulf of Mexico.
Moody's downgrades Irish government debt: Moody's said Monday that it is concerned about the government's loss of financial strength, weaker prospects for growth in the economy and liabilities in the banking system.
Obama: Lawmakers should extend jobless benefits: U.S. President Barack Obama sought Monday to pressure Republicans to pass an extension of unemployment benefits that he says is crucial to help middle-class families hit by the recession.
Poverty-stricken U.S. cities have HIV epidemics: In a study of rates of HIV across the United States, researchers from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) found that poverty is the single most important factor linked to HIV infection among inner-city heterosexuals.

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