News For July 21, 2010

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Iran Tells Lawmakers to Respond to Fuel Sanctions

By Reuters

Iran's parliament approved a law yesterday calling on the government to retaliate against any countries that inspect the Islamic state's ships and aircraft or refuse to provide fuel to its aircraft as part of foreign sanctions, the semi-official Fars news agency reported. Continue

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The Other Tragedy

By Fidel Castro

The topic that has absorbed most of my efforts –the imminent risk of a war that would be the last in the prehistory of our species-, to which I have devoted 9 Reflections since June 1st, is a problem that becomes more and more serious by the day. Continue

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On The Israeli Right's New 'Peace' Agenda

By Gilad Atzmon

Zionist ideology is on its last leg. Israel has come to realise its inevitable end. And amidst its terminal conditions Israel tries to buy time. Continue

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In Abu Zubaydah’s Case,
Court Relies on Propaganda and Lies

By Andy Worthington

In the history of the “War on Terror,” few stories are as disturbing as that of Abu Zubaydah. Continue

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Corporate Media Discover Private Spies.
In Other News, No WMD in Iraq

By Jeremy Scahill

Stop the presses and call the government spokespeople back from Martha's Vineyard.   The corporate media have discovered that the United States is radically outsourcing national security and sensitive intelligence operations. Cable news channels breathlessly report on the "groundbreaking," "exclusive" Washington Post series. Continue

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In The Land Of The Free
COINTELPRO and the Omaha Two

By Angola 3 News

This top-secret and illegal operation was a dirty war on the entire US Left, including the civil rights & Black liberation movements. Continue

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Shutdown of Blogging Site Sparks Dispute

By STEVE LOHR

A free blogging site, Blogetery.com, went dark less than two weeks ago, and its disappearance is stirring controversy about the obligations of Internet services and threats to free speech on the Web. Continue

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Another Senate Charade

By Matt Taibbi

This is a classic example of how the Senate works. If the public understood better how rigged this game is, and how few issues are actually left to an honest vote in the legislature, I'm pretty sure the pitchfork factor would be twice even what it is now. Continue

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The Jobless Effect:
Is the Real Unemployment Rate 16.5%, 22%, or. . .?

By Pallavi Gogoi

Ginsburg says the biggest source of undercounting comes from people who can't find a full-time job that they're qualified to do, for instance recent college graduates who take part-time jobs at fast-food joints or retail stores. Today, the Labor Department estimates that 8.6 million people are in this category. Continue

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Labor Fights Back for Living Wages and Jobs For All

By Shamus Cooke

Employers are exploiting fears of joblessness by demanding workers take wage cuts and reductions or eliminations in benefits. The millions of unemployed are giving corporations an excuse to slash wages, since desperate workers will work for almost anything. Continue

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At least 49 killed in north Yemen clashes: Fighting in mountainous north Yemen between Shia rebels and army-backed tribes over the past four days have left at least 49 people dead, threatening a fragile truce, tribal and rebel sources said on Wednesday.
Fierce confrontations break out between government forces and al-Houthi rebels: Local sources said that the confrontations reached the peak on Wednesday noon adding that the army launched artillery and missile offensive from different military sites located in Harf Sufyan of Amran province.
U.S. cleric warns Yemen could be next Iraq, Afghanistan: A U.S.-born Muslim cleric " linked to al Qaeda" and wanted dead or alive by Washington warned U.S. President Barack Obama that he risked getting the United States bogged down in Yemen as it was in Iraq or Afghanistan.
Clash kills one soldier, 30 militants in Pakistan: At least one soldier and 30 militants were killed Wednesday in clashes between Pakistani security forces and Islamic insurgents in the restive north-western region, officials said.
Insurgents behead 6 Afghan police : The military coalition said the militants attacked a number of government buildings Tuesday in Baghlan province's Dahanah-ye Ghori district. The attackers overran the checkpoint and decapitated the six policemen, NATO said.
Two US-led troops die in Afghan blasts: A Canadian female soldier died in a bomb blast near the city of Kandahar on Wednesday, with the Canadian Defense Ministry confirming the death.
Danish soldier killed in Afghanistan: A Danish soldier was killed and another injured by a roadside bomb in Afghanistan, the Danish military command said Wednesday.
We will thrash Taliban: Obama: He also told that the terrorists trained in Afghanistan and the tribal regions of Pakistani border have killed civilians in US and UK.
NATO Diplomats Tune Out the Bad News in Afghanistan: NATO foreign ministers heard only what they wanted to hear on Tuesday in Kabul as they sought to reassure the world that withdrawal can take place in 2014. The reality, however, is quite different.
Car bomb kills 28 in northern Iraq: A car bomb near a mosque in the city of Baquba, north of Baghdad, killed 28 people and wounded 46 on Wednesday, security officials said
Three dead, six injured in series of attacks in Iraq: Three people, including two unidentified al-Qaeda leaders, have been killed and six others injured in unrelated attacks in Iraq, police sources said Wednesday.
Ex-MI5 chief blasts Iraq invasion: THE former head of MI5, Britain's Security Service, has delivered a devastating critique of the invasion of Iraq, saying it substantially increased the threat of terrorist attacks in Britain and was a significant factor behind the radicalisation of young Muslims.
Former MI5 chief demolishes Blair's defence of the Iraq war: Tony Blair's evidence to the Chilcot Inquiry that toppling Saddam Hussein helped make Britain safe from terrorists was dramatically undermined by the former head of MI5 yesterday.
Nick Clegg angers Tory partners by saying war in Iraq was illegal: The Deputy Prime Minister hit out at former foreign secretary Jack Straw during heated exchanges at Prime Minister's Questions over public spending.
Seven Turkish soldiers killed by Kurdish rebels: Separatist Kurdish rebels killed seven soldiers in Turkey's east and along the Iraqi border, officials said yesterday, underscoring the mounting violence in the 26-year insurgency.
Man killed and child injured by Israeli attack on Gaza: An Israeli tank shot at a group of Palestinians approaching the fence that separates Gaza from Israel, an Israeli military spokesman said
IDF destroys West Bank village after declaring it military zone: Since 1967, Israel has prevented the growth of Palestinian communities in the Jordan Valley by cutting off their water supply or declaring large areas as live fire zones.
Iron Dome a 'historic' success, but can it protect all of Israel?: The U.S. Congress passed Obama's initiative to provide Israel with a $205 million grant to procure Iron Dome batteries, but defense experts say more funding is needed.
Spending Bill Will Not Have Money To Prevent Teacher Layoffs, Aide Says: House Democratic leaders will accept the Senate’s plan to pass a stripped-down supplemental spending bill for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, while seeking another vehicle for money to prevent the layoffs of some 140,000 teachers, a well-informed House aide said Monday.
EU preps new Iran sanctions UN sanctions ‘bind missiles’: European Union foreign ministers will adopt tighter sanctions against Iran next week, including measures to block oil and gas investment and curtail its refining and natural gas capability, EU diplomats said.
Iran to retaliate for UN sanctions: Iran's parliament has adopted a bill authorizing tit-for-tat retaliation against countries that inspect Iranian ships and aircraft as part of the latest set of UN sanctions slapped on Tehran.
New sanctions crimp Iran's shipping business as insurers withhold coverage: Dozens of Iranian vessels that transport crude oil, industrial equipment and other goods and supplies in and out of the Islamic Republic have been denied insurance coverage for weeks, insurance company representatives said.
'Mossad agents' expelled from Mauritius: Israeli men arrested upon arrival on island by officers claiming they came to spy on Dubai citizens
Stranger than fiction: Israel jails Arab for 'deceit rape': An Arab living in Israel has been sentenced to 18 months in prison for having consensual sex with an Israeli woman who apparently believed he was Jewish.
US imposes new sanctions on N Korea: She said the sanctions would be aimed at the sale or procurement of arms and related goods as well as the procurement of luxury items.
Bashir defies warrant on Chad trip: Omar al-Bashir, the president of Sudan, arrived in Chad on his first trip to a member state of the International Criminal Court (ICC) that demands his arrest for war crimes and genocide, officials and media reports have said.
National Security Inc.: Washington Post Investigation: The Post investigation uncovered what amounts to an alternative geography of the United States, a Top Secret America created since 9/11 that is hidden from public view, lacking in thorough oversight and so unwieldy that its effectiveness is impossible to determine.
U.S. Deports Guantanamo Prisoner to Possible Torture or Death: Even though 35 year-old Abdul Aziz Naji said he’d rather stay at Guantanamo than be deported to his home country of Algeria, the Obama administration forcibly deported him anyway.
Mexican drug cartels' newest weapon: Cold War-era grenades made in U.S.: - Grenades made in the United States and sent to Central America during the Cold War have resurfaced as terrifying new weapons in almost weekly attacks by Mexican drug cartels.
Words fail me: Woman allegedly mocked during airport strip search: She said the women made her bend over a table, open her legs, and squat and cough. They asked her personal questions, like when she last had sex, Flynn said.
Haitian Farmers Reject Monsanto Earthquake Relief Donation and Burn GMO Seeds: In an attempt to backdoor GMO seeds into a new market, Monsanto has taken the opportunity to donate hundreds of tons of GMO seeds to Haiti and is calling it an effort to help the people in Haiti with earthquake relief. However, Monsanto's "generosity" is being met with skepticism and outright rejection.
All immigrants face mandatory language test: Her first language is English. Yet like all other skilled immigrants applying to settle in Canada, the American corporate lawyer must now take a language test to prove her English is good enough to settle here.
LatAm nations bid to join Mexico in Arizona case: Seven other Latin American countries want to join Mexico in supporting a lawsuit challenging Arizona's immigration enforcement law.
Gulf oil leak 'from other wells': The man overseeing the US government's response to the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico has said seepage detected three kilometres from BP's capped well head is coming from another well.
'Static kill' growing as option to end Gulf oil spill drama: BP wants to try a 'static kill' in the Gulf oil spill – similar to the failed 'top kill' – to stopper the top of the well until relief wells kill it from below.
BP testimony: Officials knew of key safety problem on rig: BP officials knew about a problem on a crucial well safety device at least three months before the catastrophic April 20 explosion in the Gulf of Mexico but failed to repair it, according to testimony Tuesday from the company's well manager
Senior EPA Analyst: "Government [Agencies] Have Been Sock Puppets for BP In This Cover Up": Corexit is one of a number of dispersants, that are toxic, that are used to atomize the oil and force it down the water column so that it’s invisible to the eye. In this case, these dispersants were used in massive quantities, almost two million gallons so far, to hide the magnitude of the spill and save BP money.
America's AAA Rating Is Cut in Land of Bubbles: While Moody’s and S&P ignore the wreckage that America’s finances have become, Beijing-based Dagong Global Credit Rating Co. is uncorrupted by the system that enables developed-world debt addicts to appear fiscally clean. It rates U.S. debt AA, two levels below the top grade.
Top Chinese Economists Call For Government To Ditch U.S. Treasuries And Buy Gold: A former advisor to the Chinese central bank, and influential economist, has called for his nation to diversify away from U.S. treasury holdings. This comes after China cut its U.S. treasury holdings by $32.5 billion in May
Senate breaks GOP opposition on unemployment benefits: Democrats on Tuesday broke Republican-led opposition to a bill that would extend unemployment benefits to 2.5 million jobless Americans, but the vote only hardened the political divide and almost assured that any further domestic aid before November will be all but impossible.
California Official's $800,000 Salary in City of 38,000 Triggers Protests: Hundreds of residents of one of the poorest municipalities in Los Angeles County shouted in protest last night as tensions rose over a report that the city’s manager earns an annual salary of almost $800,000.
Social Security Under Attack: Cuts Proposed, Higher Retirement Age Suggested: The attacks on Social Security have steadily intensified in the past few months. House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer recently called for a higher retirement age, and House Minority Leader John Boehner suggested raising the retirement age to seventy.