News For August 26, 2010

An Exciting New Muslim Country To Drone Attack

By Glenn Greenwald

There is anti-Americanism and radicalism in Yemen; therefore, to solve that problem, we're going to bomb them more with flying killer robots, because nothing helps reduce anti-American sentiments like slaughtering civilians and dropping cluster bombs from the sky.  Continue

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The U.S.-Made Mess in Somalia

By Gwynne Dyer

The U.S. decision in 2006 to send Ethiopian troops into Somalia was one of the stupidest moves in a very stupid decade. This week, some of the chickens spawned by that decision came home to roost. Continue

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Obama's US Assassination Program?

By Chuck Norris

That's right. No arrest. No Miranda rights. No due process. No trial. Just a bullet. Continue

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Treasury Makes Shocking Admission:
Program for Struggling Homeowners Just a Ploy to Enrich Big Banks

By Zach Carter

The Treasury Dept.'s mortgage relief program isn't just failing, it's actively funneling money from homeowners to bankers, and Treasury likes it that way. Continue

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Corporate America, it's Time to Spread the Wealth

By Michael Hiltzik

Businesses are sitting on a record hoard of cash, but they're not using it to hire workers or pay existing ones better wages. Broadly distributing the fruits of economic growth is the only way to sustain that growth. Continue

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Why Democrats Should Propose a “People’s Tax Cut”

By Robert Reich

Republicans are calling the Democrat’s proposal to end the Bush tax cuts on the richest 3 percent a “tax increase,” and demagoging that it will hurt the economy and small business. This is baloney, to put it politely. Let me count the ways: Continue

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Third World America:
'Fast-Tracking to Anarchy'

By Janet Tavakoli

Much of poor America, especially in our major cities, has been Third World America for decades. Soon the urban middle classes and even upper classes will become better acquainted with that world. Continue

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Taliban Kill Eight Police in Afghan North: Governor: Taliban rebels killed eight Afghan police officers on Thursday in northern Kunduz, an official said, stepping up strikes in what was once a relatively secure part of Afghanistan.

US-led troops killed in dispute over veil: A media report says that an Afghan soldier killed two US-led soldiers in a shoot-out when they tried to remove an Afghan woman's veil by force.

Army: Soldiers plotted to kill Afghan civilians: But eventually, Gibbs formed what one called a "kill team" to randomly execute Afghan civilians while on patrol, the documents said. No motive was discussed.
Karzai aide accused of corruption is on CIA payroll: Report: An aide to Afghan President Hamid Karzai who is under investigation for corruption is on the payroll of the Central Intelligence Agency, The New York Times reported on Wednesday.
At least 80 dead in Somalia after three days of attacks: Fighting in Somalia’s capital flared for a third straight day yesterday, killing eight people and pushing the week’s death toll past 80 as insurgents tried to force government troops back toward the presidential palace, officials said.
U.S. Weighs Expanded Attacks in Yemen: Such a move would give the Central Intelligence Agency a far larger role in what has until now been mainly a secret U.S. military campaign against militant targets in Yemen and across the Horn of Africa. It would likely be modeled after the CIA's covert drone campaign in Pakistan.
Yemen says US officials exaggerate Qaeda threat: Sanaa insists that fighting terrorism in Yemen remains responsibility of Yemeni forces.
CIA wants to cover up US war crimes in Yemen: A missile strike on December 17 in Yemen last year that killed 41 people including 21 children and 14 women was most likely the result of a US cruise missile strike — an opening shot in a US military campaign that began without notice and has never been officially confirmed.
Eight Killed In Latest Insurgent Attack In Iraq: Iraqi insurgents killed eight members of a government-backed militia near Baghdad on Thursday, a day after a wave of attacks killed at least 60 people and wounded hundreds just as the U.S. is drawing down its military presence.
Son of prominent Iraqi tribal leader assassinated: Gunmen killed the son of a prominent tribal leader in Iraq in a pre-dawn attack Thursday as fresh blasts targeted more police stations, security sources said.
'Five rebels, two guards' killed in Iran clashes: Five rebels and two members of the Revolutionary Guards have been killed in clashes in Iran's Kordestan province near the Iraqi border, government newspaper Iran reported on Thursday.
Peres warns IAEA chief of Iran nuclear threat: 'It is impossible to separate Iran's nuclear plans from the nature of its regime,' president tells Yukiya Amano in Jerusalem.
Israel Orders Massive Military Fuel Stocks: Three weeks ago the US Defence Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) published a notice, as it is legally required to do, announcing that Israel has ordered massive quantities of various fuels suitable for military use, and in the case of the order for JP-8 jet fuel, suitable only for military use.
Leaked CIA memo cites U.S. Jews among exporters of terrorism: Wikileaks releases a CIA memo titled 'What if Foreigners See the United States as an Exporter of Terrorism?' in which American Jews in Israel was one of four groups mentioned.
France deports hundreds of Roma: Police escorted four busloads of Roma men, women and children to Charles de Gaulle airport in Paris, the capital, on Thursday, where they boarded planes bound for Romania, the AFP news agency reported.
Am I an Activist for Caring About My Grandchildren's Future? I Guess I Am: Concerted action to tackle climate change will happen only if the public demands it for the sake of future generations
Slain MI6 spy, Gareth Williams, a man of mystery : DETECTIVES investigating the murder of a British spy found stuffed into a sports bag are focusing on his private life in search of a motive.
FBI paid informant in Bronx synagogue bomb plot $97K, who provided terror suspects with fake bombs: Defense lawyers contend that without the informant - who they say entrapped the suspects - their bumbling clients would never have tried to blow up two synagogues in Riverdale
Police: Cab Driver Stabbed By Passenger Who Asked "Are You Muslim?": Police say the passenger asked the driver, "Are you Muslim?" When the driver said yes the passenger pulled a knife and slashed him in the throat, arm and lip.
California mosque vandalized, Ground Zero mentioned: The signs read “No Temple for the God of terrorism at Ground Zero. ANB,” “Wake up America, the Enemy is here. ANB” and “American Nationalist Brotherhood.”
9/11 families, others rally in favor of NYC mosque: The planned mosque and Islamic center blocks from ground zero got a new boost Wednesday from a coalition of supporters that includes families of Sept. 11 victims.
Anti-Latino Hate Crime is Spreading, Says Report: On the heels of a horrific anti-Muslim attack in New York City on Tuesday night, there’s new disturbing evidence that hate crimes are on the rise across the country for Latinos.
Stepped-up efforts by U.S., Mexico fail to stem flow of drug money south: The drug traffickers and their Colombian suppliers smuggle $20 billion to $25 billion in U.S. bank notes across the southwest border annually.
Johann Hari: Violence breeds violence. The only thing drug gangs fear is legalisation: A chief of the Mafia Cruenza, one of the biggest drug gangs in the 1980s, was recorded expressing his gratitude for the war on drugs as 'good for business'
Building a Nation of Know-Nothings: It’s not just that 47 percent of Republicans believe the lie that Obama is a Muslim, or that 27 percent in the party doubt that the president of the United States is a citizen. But fully half of them believe falsely that the big bailout of banks and insurance companies under TARP was enacted by Obama, and not by President Bush.
USA a failed state? It may be closer than you think: There’s only one common factor in the failure of great nations: Mismanagement. The USA is heading down a well traveled road to its own Armageddon. Rome, China, Russia, the British Empire and others have all been there before
S&P Says US Should Act to Protect AAA-Rating: Report: The United States government needs to take steps to preserve its top AAA-rating, a Standard & Poor's Ratings (S&P) official told Dow Jones newswire in an interview published on Thursday.
Fed in Emergency Bid to Put Bailout Ruling on Hold: The Federal Reserve asked a U.S. appeals court to delay implementing a ruling that would force the central bank to disclose details of its emergency lending programs to banks during the financial crisis.
For America's Middle Class, the Hits Just Keep on Coming: Americans are making due with less and don't have the money to put into stock funds, and many are taking money out of their investments to pay for basic necessities like food, clothing and shelter.
28% of Ga. mortgages underwater: 11 million, or 23 percent, of all residential properties with mortgages in the United States were in negative equity at the end of the second quarter
One in 10 with a mortgage face foreclosure: One in 10 American households with a mortgage was at risk of foreclosure this summer as the government's efforts to help have had little impact stemming the housing crisis.
Report: Rich no more: 700,000 wealthy people wiped out by the credit crunch: It also highlights how hard the recession has hit the value of savings and investments, which may take decades to recover their value.