News For September 08, 2010

The American Occupation of Afghanistan
The Birth of a National Liberation Movement

By Prof. Marc W. Herold

The Taliban inherited a devastated country, torn apart during six years of warlord in-fighting. Few state structures or institutions existed. Moreover, the background of the Taliban hardly prepared them for national governance. Continue

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Sept. 11: A Day Without War

By Amy Goodman

The ninth anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks on the United States should serve as a moment to reflect on tolerance. It should be a day of peace. Yet the rising anti-Muslim fervor here, together with the continuing U.S. military occupation of Iraq and the escalating war in Afghanistan (and Pakistan), all fuel the belief that the U.S. really is at war with Islam. Continue

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No-Drama, No Storyline Obama Tragedy

By Robert S. Becker

If this White House cannot find a gripping narrative to justify its power, then – rest assured – wingnuts in the wings will reprise their perfectly coherent storyline. Brace for new and improved wedge-driven crusades against sham enemies, domestic and foreign. Continue

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The Art of Talking Middle East Peace with a Forked Tongue

By Rizwan A. Rahmani

Hamas is the golden goose that Israel doesn't want to kill: they get to create a struggle for power between the two occupied territories, keeping Fatah's power in check. Continue

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Eye Witness - The Nakba

3 Minute Video

The myths and realities of the 1948 war and the birth of the Palestinian refugee problem. Continue

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During War There Are No Civilians

By Nora Barrows-Friedman

Sitting in on the Rachel Corrie trial alarmingly reveals an open Israeli policy of indiscrimination towards civilians. Continue

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Ultra-Rich in Finance Are Meaner Than Rest of Us

By Matthew Lynn

At a conference in Zurich last week, the head of Barclays Wealth Management’s private-banking unit, Gerard Aquilina, appeared to issue a red alert about the richest of clients. Continue

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The United States of Inequality

By Timothy Noah

All my life I've heard Latin America described as a failed society (or collection of failed societies) because of its grotesque maldistribution of wealth. - But according to the Central Intelligence Agency (whose patriotism I hesitate to question), income distribution in the United States is more unequal than in Guyana, Nicaragua, and Venezuela, and roughly on par with Uruguay, Argentina, and Ecuador. Continue

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Lie Like a Rug

By Becky Akers

I don’t know which is more offensive, these breathtaking lies or the utter insult to our intelligence. Continue

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US attack kill 14 "militants" in Pakistan: More than 1,040 people have been killed in 122 drone strikes in Pakistan since August 2008, including a number of senior militants. However, the attacks fuel anti-American sentiment in the conservative Muslim country.

Two killed in Balochistan blast: At least two people were killed and several injured on Wednesday in a blast in the Balochistan province of southern Pakistan.

Somalia: Eleven killed in Mogadishu battles: At least 11 people including civilians died on Wednesday in fighting between African Union troops backing the Somali government and Islamist rebels, officials and witnesses said.

'Slow genocide' in Somalia's capital Mogadishu: Residential areas frequently come under heavy, indiscriminate shelling, corpses litter the alleyways, and neither side seems to be gaining the upper hand.

Suicide attack rocks northern Afghanistan, killing 3: A suicide bomber blew himself up Wednesday morning in Afghan northern Baghlan province, killing two policemen and leaving two others wounded, provincial police spokesman said.

NATO occupation force soldier killed; suicide bomber targets Afghan militiamen: A NATO soldier was killed in a Taliban attack in southern Afghanistan on Wednesday, while a suicide bomber targeted pro-government militiamen in the north, killing one, officials said.

Inside the mind of a suicide bomber: Pacha Khan, a 25-year-old Taliban fighter from Logar in Afghanistan, has announced that he is ready to become a suicide bomber. "God willing, our leaders have prepared everything for me, I am now waiting for my orders," he said

Britain's Afghan envoy resigns: Britain's special representative to Afghanistan and Pakistan is quitting with immediate effect, London said Wednesday, following a reported clash with NATO and US officials on fighting the Taliban.

Five dead in Iraq attacks: A spate of bomb attacks and shootings in Iraq on Wednesday killed five people, including a TV presenter, as Baghdad imposed a ban on motorbikes before the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Fitr.

Iraqi soldier kills 2 U.S. troops: An Iraqi soldier opened fire on American troops and killed two on Tuesday, U.S. and Iraqi officials said. They were the first American servicemen killed since the U.S. declared an official end to combat operations in the country last week.

Iraq police arrest brother of US soldiers' killer: Police on Wednesday detained the brother of an Iraqi soldier killed after gunning down two American troops and wounding nine others, the first US deaths since combat operations were declared over.

Gunmen Kill Second Iraqi TV Journalist: Iraqi police say gunmen have killed an Iraqi television journalist, the second journalist slain in that country over the past two days.

Baghdad to Damascus, a road with no way back: As a member of an insurgent group that worked the west side of the Iraqi capital, she had fought a guerrilla war against American troops for two years, often disguised as a poor street vendor as she helped to set bombs to blow up their patrols.

Human Rights Violations in Yemen under the Pretext of Combating Terrorism: The Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies strongly condemns the Yemeni army's shelling in the Lawdar district in the Abyan province, Southern Yemen, which has severely harmed the civilian population located there.
US expands military training in Yemen, reflecting a broader counterterror program: The scope and amount of the military training in Yemen has grown slowly, reflecting the Pentagon's intention to tackle the terror threat while still being sensitive to fears that a larger American footprint in Yemen could help fuel the insurgency.
Misquoted, misinformed or slandering Ahmadinejad?: Fidel tells Iranian president to stop slandering Jews: “This went on for maybe two thousand years,” he said. “I don't think anyone has been slandered more than the Jews. I would say much more than the Muslims. They have been slandered much more than the Muslims because they are blamed and slandered for everything. No one blames the Muslims for anything.”
In case you missed it: Does Iran's President Want Israel Wiped Off The Map - Does He Deny The Holocaust?: An analysis of media rhetoric on its way to war against Iran - Commenting on the alleged statements of Iran's President Ahmadinejad .
PA official: We won't recognize Israel as a Jewish state: Senior Palestinian negotiator Nabil Shaath says recognizing Israel as a Jewish state would harm Israeli Arabs and negate the right of return of Palestinian refugees.
Who is reading your email: Foreign report: Israel has one of world's largest 'eavesdropping' intel bases: According to the report, the base has 30 antennas and satellite dishes of different sizes and types, capable of eavesdropping on telephone calls and accessing the e-mail of "governments, international organizations, foreign companies, political groups and individuals.
'Mind-reading machine' can convert thoughts into speech: A mind reading machine is a step closer to reality after scientists discovered a way of translating people's thoughts into words.
War criminal: Blair Cancels Second Event Promoting Memoir Amid Iraq War Protest Threats: “It is sad in a way because you should have the right to sign books or see your friends if you want to,” Blair told ITV’s This Morning program today.
Land Grabs in Poor Countries Set to Increase: After weeks of rumours sparked by the leaking of a draft World Bank position paper on so-called land grabs in poor countries, the international financial institution has officially released its report on the surge in farmland purchases and leasing which have elicited controversy for over two years.
Federal court: 4th Amendment standard does not always apply to mobile phone location data: : 4th Amendment standard does not always apply to mobile phone location dataLaw enforcement can still be required to obtain a search warrant for access to citizens' mobile phone location data, but police need not uphold the traditional Fourth Amendment standard of "probable cause" in the process of such an investigation, a federal appeals court ruled Tuesday.
Florida pastor says going ahead with Koran burning: An obscure U.S. Christian pastor whose plan to burn copies of the Koran on Sept. 11 has sparked an international outcry said on Wednesday he will still go ahead with the event despite U.S. official warnings it will endanger American troops in Afghanistan and Iraq.
Religious Leaders Condemn Growing Islamophobia: Leaders of some three dozen mainstream U.S. religious denominations Tuesday condemned what many commentators have called a rising tide of Islamophobia touched off by the recent controversy over the construction of a Muslim community centre in Lower Manhattan
Should US government debt be rated junk?: While investors are willing to accept little in the way of return to own U.S. government debt and the U.S. has retained its AAA credit rating, the metrics by which we use to evaluate the balance sheet of the United States continue to deteriorate.
Health Insurers Plan Hikes: Health insurers say they plan to raise premiums for some Americans as a direct result of the health overhaul in coming weeks, complicating Democrats' efforts to trumpet their signature achievement before the midterm elections.