News For August 27, 2010

The Soul of the 'Land of the Pure'

By Robert Grenier

Only the flint-hearted could be left unmoved by this. The heart aches for Pakistan. Continue

---

Hawks Box in Obama on Afghan Occupation

By Ray McGovern

The Obama administration’s reluctance to discipline senior generals for comments bordering on insubordination seems to have encouraged the generals to believe they can speak their mind with impunity about President Obama's management of the Afghan conflict. Continue

---

Mass Assassinations
Lie at the Heart of America's Military Strategy in the Muslim World

By By Fred Branfman

Greatly expanded U.S. military Special Ops teams, U.S. drone strikes and private espionage networks run by former CIA assassins create a threat to our security. Continue

---

'The War on Democracy'

Video By John Pilger

"The film tells a universal story," says Pilger, "analysing and revealing, through vivid testimony, the story of great power behind its venerable myths. It allows us to understand the true nature of the so-called war on terror". Continue

---

Wikileaks Red Cell CIA Release - Say What?
CIA Perception Management - How the World Sees the United States

By Michael Collins
Other nations allow the US to violate their sovereignty to kidnap and torture their citizens as a result of asymmetrical power. The US can crush these nations militarily and financially. The US also offers financial inducements to the leaders of some nations involved. Therefore, they cooperate. Continue

---

Death of the First Amendment
The Nazification of the United States

By Paul Craig Roberts

Encouraged by its success in breaking the law, the executive branch early this year announced that the Obama regime has given itself the right to murder Americans abroad if such Americans are considered a “threat.” Continue

---

Psywar:
The Real Battlefield is the Mind

Must Watch Video Documentary

This film explores the evolution of propaganda and public relations in the United States, with an emphasis on the “elitist theory of democracy” and the relationship between war, propaganda and class. Continue

---

How a Hero Was Arrested, Labeled a Terrorist and Imprisoned

By Democracy Now!

Five years ago, Hurricane Katrina struck New Orleans. Abdulrahman Zeitoun, a Syrian-born New Orleans building contractor, stayed in the city while his wife and children left to Baton Rouge. He paddled the flooded streets in his canoe and helped rescue many of his stranded neighbors. Continue

---

Bernanke Ponders the "Nuclear Option"

By Mike Whitney

Just months ago, 57 out of 57 economists surveyed predicted that the economy would avoid a double dip recession. Now they're not so sure. Stock market gains have been wiped out and the S&P 500 has dropped 14 percent from its high in April. Continue

---

NATO kills 6 Afghan children : 'Six children were killed by NATO warplanes in Kunur province Thursday while they were collecting scrap metal in a mountainous area when aircraft dropped bombs,' provincial police chief Khalilullah Ziayee said.
5 killed in Afghanistan market bombing: - A roadside bomb tore through a crowded market in Afghanistan's increasingly volatile north, killing three policemen and two civilians, a police official said today
Afghan war kills 3 more US occupation force soldiers: The latest deaths bring to 35 the number of fatalities among American soldiers in war-ravaged Afghanistan this month.
'Death toll in Pakistan floods to rise': Pakistani officials warn of a significant increase in the death toll from the heavy flooding in the worst affected areas which currently stands at 1,600.
One million flee south Pakistan: As many as one million people have been displaced in Pakistan's Sindh province since Wednesday, as the country's devastating floods sweep southward.
Video: Flood leaves Pakistan doctors helpless:
Iraq: At least 14 killed in another bloody day of US occupation: : It was another day of bloodshed in Iraq on Friday as at least 14 people were killed and 23 were injured in separate attacks across Iraq mostly directed at security forces.
Bullshi*: US soldiers back from Iraq made 'America safer': Obama: US President Barack Obama in a YouTube message on Friday thanked US troops back from Iraq for their "dedication" and "courage" that "has made America safer."
Fort Carson soldiers' killing spree after Iraq combat: Seventeen US soldiers from a Colorado military base who mostly served in Iraq have been linked to violent killings and attempted killings since their return to US soil.
Poll: Most Americans Say Iraq War Was a Mistake: Fifty-seven percent now say the war is going well for America, including majorities of Democrats, Republicans and independents. That reflects improved perceptions since July 2007, when just 22 percent said things were going well. Thirty-eight percent say things are going badly.
More like 1.5 million civilians killed: Iraq war inquiry 'ignoring 100,000 civilian deaths': The official inquiry into the Iraq war has been accused of ignoring the deaths of the estimated 100,000 Iraqi civilians who have been killed since the 2003 invasion.
UK: Muslims 'being turned into terrorists in jail': Britain faces a "new wave" of home-grown terrorist attacks led by up to 800 Muslim ex-prisoners who have been radicalised by jihadists while serving their sentences, a think-tank has warned.
U.S. troops in Iraq will keep combat pays: “Iraq (land and airspace) is included in the list of designated hostile fire or imminent danger pay areas (effective since Sep 17, 1990),” said Defense Department spokeswoman Eileen Lainez in an e-mail. “These pays are based upon a location's designation as a combat zone or direct support area. Therefore, the pays won't change Sept. 1.”
Yemeni Colonel killed in "Al Qaida" attack: A senior security official died after being seriously injured in an assassination attempt carried out by Al Qaida suspects in Mareb province east of Yemen, an official statement said on Friday.
Yemen officials, rebels reach peace deal in Qatar: Yemen's government and northern rebels have agreed to bolster a fragile truce and start political dialogue to end a civil war that has raged on and off since 2004.
Somali fighters attack capital: Government forces have said they are still in control of the airport, sea port and the presidential palace, adding that attacks on the presidential palace have been resisted.
Iran bank assets withdrawn from Europe: central bank chief: "The Central bank ... has transferred the (Iranian) banks' assets from Europe. Currently there is no problem in regards to blocking of assets of the Iranian banks by the European Union," Mahmoud Bahmani was quoted as telling the Fars news agency.
Hamas: PA can't give up Jerusalem in direct Mideast peace talks: Speaking at fast-breaking meal in Gaza, Hamas PM Haniyeh says Palestinians worldwide do not support 'absurd talks with Israel.'
Boats reach Gaza despite blockade: Two vessels carrying 46 international human rights activists have reached the Gaza Strip, despite Israel's strict 14-month siege of the Palestinian territory.
NIGER: Almost 200,000 displaced by floods: Further heavy rains in Niger have caused the number of people displaced by flooding to soar from 111,000 last week to 198,740 this week, says the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), which is calling on donors and aid agencies to urgently send shelter materials, blankets and mosquito nets.
Niger Update: "People are so poor it's hard to tell who is suffering the most": "Four of my children died," said Hadjo, "They did not have enough food and I had no way to feed them. This is the third year in a row we have had very little. Some days we go to bed without eating anything at all."
Too little, too late for Niger: This is the front line of what has been called "Africa's world war". More than five-million people have died, mainly from hunger and disease.
Collapse of ancient Ellesmere ice shelf stuns scientists: The breakup points to the profound change underway in the Arctic and the accelerating loss of a unique and “majestic” part of Canada’s landscape, says John England, University of Alberta earth scientist.
ACLU: ‘Pain ray’ in California prison amounts to ‘torture’ of US prisoners: "The idea that a military weapon designed to cause intolerable pain should be used against county jail inmates is staggeringly wrongheaded,"
One in 10 with a mortgage face foreclosure: More than 2.3 million homes have been repossessed by lenders since the recession began in December 2007, according to foreclosure listing service RealtyTrac Inc. Economists expect the number of foreclosures to grow well into next year.
Blockbuster to file bankruptcy in September: Source says that video retailer could close 500 to 800 of its stores