News For October 04, 2010

"Everyone Just Wants to Kill People at any Cost"
U.S. soldiers accused of killing civilians in Afghanistan

By Mark Benjamin

"The Army really let me down when I thought I would come out here to do good maybe make some change in this country I find out that its all a lie (sic)." Continue

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Mission Creep In Afghanistan / Pakistan

By Eric Margolis

The failing government in Islamabad is caught between two fires. Pakistanis are furious and humiliated by the American attacks. Continue

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War on Terror Logic

By Glenn Greenwald

The very idea that we're going to reduce Terrorism by more intensively bombing more Muslim countries is one of the most patently absurd, self-contradicting premises that exists. Continue

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Obama’s Cave-In To Israel

By Jonathan Cook

The disclosure of the details of a letter reportedly sent by President Barack Obama last week to Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, will cause Palestinians to be even more sceptical about US and Israeli roles in the current peace talks. Continue

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US Army Embeds Active-duty PSYOPS Soldiers at Local TV Stations

By John Cook

The relationship between PSYOPS, Training With Industry, and television news operations has stirred controversy in the past. In 2000, after a Dutch newspaper reported that PSYOPS troops had been placed in CNN's newsroom under the program, CNN discontinued the internships and admitted that they had been a mistake. Continue

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Surveillance, America’s Pastime

By Stephan Salisbury

If A Hall of Shame of State Snooping, Prying, and Informing Aimed at Destroying the Fabric of Civil Society Continue

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Tyranny’s Last Stand: The Tipping Point is Here

By Michael Edwards

The enemies are the banking consortium; the global Elite born and bred from mega-wealth; the academics and economists who disconnect ideas from reality; and the scientific and military minds who are so compartmentalized by design that they rarely know what sort of dictatorship to which they are making their contributions.  Continue

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Bank of America Suspends Foreclosures in 23 States

By Carrie Bay

The nation’s largest bank has halted foreclosures in certain states after evidence was disclosed that it too had ill-famed “robo-signers” rubber-stamping approvals of foreclosure cases without verifying their validity. Continue

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Corporatism: The Cyborg Amongst Us

By Aetius Romulous

Unlike humans, the corporate cyborg has no ethics, morals, or social responsibilities - its simple, binary purpose is solely to maximize profits at the complete expense of every other issue. Corporations have developed their own legal standing as ruthless profit harvesting individuals before the law. Continue

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Somalia: 'At least 15' killed in intense fighting: At least 15 people were killed and 50 injured on Monday during intense fighting between Islamic insurgents and transitional government forces supported by African Union forces, according to a report by Radio Shabelle

13 civilians, two NATO soldiers killed in Afghan violence: Seven members of one family died when a roadside bomb ripped through a civilian vehicle in Yahyakhail district of eastern Paktika province on Saturday, provincial spokesman Mukhlis Afghan told AFP.

Nato strike kills three Afghan civilians: The raid comes only a day after another air strike by foreign forces targeting insurgents in Helmand which Afghan police said killed civilians.

U.S. Military Apologizes for Civilian Deaths in Afghanistan: One of the dead was an 8-year-old girl. Two boys, ages 6 and 9, were wounded, he said. The American military issued a statement apologizing for the deaths.

3 NATO occupation troops killed in Afghanistan: Two NATO service members were killed by bombings in southern Afghanistan on Monday and an insurgent attack killed another in the east, raising the coalition's death toll to 10 in the first four days of October.

Ex-UN official says Taliban infiltrating Afghan forces: The Taliban have infiltrated the Afghan army and police, a recently-retired United Nations official has warned.

Pakistan won't act against the Taliban: Most Pakistani soldiers see the Afghan Taliban as Pashtun freedom fighters combating a foreign occupation

12 killed as 28 NATO oil tankers attacked in Pakistan: According to the report, nine unknown militants riding on motorcycles opened fire at a NATO convoy nearby the DHA Phase II area of Rawalpindi, a city which is only about half-an-hour ride south of Islamabad. The attackers also pulled out of the people from the trucks and shot them dead, said eyewitnesses.

US Attack Kills 4 People In Pakistan: : A US drone Monday fired two missiles on a "militant" compound in the remote Pakistani region of North Waziristan, killing four rebels, security officials said.. Two US drone strikes on Saturday killed 15 militants in North Waziristan, which is a renowned hideout for Taliban and Al-Qaeda linked militants.

Three US ‘spies’ killed in Pakistan: The bullet-riddled bodies of three men were found Sunday by a road in Pakistan's restive northwestern tribal region, killed by suspected Pakistani Taleban militants in apparent retaliation for recent US drone strikes in the area, officials and a villager said.

Foreign Minister shows deep concern over border violations by NATO forces : The Foreign Minister said that Pakistan would only reopen the supply route for coalition troops in Afghanistan once public anger eases and security improves. “Unless the reaction cools down and we make sure that the supply line is secured, we cannot reopen it,” the Foreign Minister added.

NATO head regrets killing Pakistani soldiers: Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen spoke in person with Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi at a meeting in Brussels.

Death Squads, Porn, Hashish And Killing For Kicks … It’s Not Just A Few “Bad Apples”: For as long as Americans continue to believe that their country is "the shining city on the hill" that they are the "good guys" and are entitled to do "whatever it takes" this sort of barbarity will take place and Americans, all of them will be associated with it in the minds of Muslims throughout the world

Six killed in Iraq violence: Six people were killed in violence in Baghdad and central Iraq on Monday, including a journalist for a US-funded television station, medical and security officials said.

Washington Moves to Thwart Sadrist Role in a New Iraqi Government: The US has officially adopted a posture of neutrality toward the outcome of the governmental horse trading in Iraq, but former officials and the media have made clear Washington’s hostility to the Sadrists gaining a political foothold.

Iraqiya says 'no' to a Maliki government: The secular Iraqiya slate won't take part in an Iraqi government led by Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, a spokeswoman for the alliance said.

Britain held secret war talks with U.S. general 11 months before Iraq invasion: Details of the classified meeting, held at RAF Brize Norton, Oxfordshire, suggest Tony Blair’s Government was involved in detailed discussions about toppling the Iraqi dictator earlier than previously disclosed.

Spinmaster Chalabi Strikes Again: "The issue was never weapons of mass destruction," he insisted. "It was the repression of Saddam against the Iraqi people, and the threat that Saddam constituted against the Iraqi people."

The Iraq war: Success or blunder? : George Galloway: Was toppling Saddam Hussein's regime worth the enormous cost paid by millions of Iraqis? And where do Iraqis go to seek justice and compensation for this illegal war waged by Bush and Blair?

Interview with Robert Fisk: we preach democracy yet befriend dictators: There is a great understanding in the Middle East of what history has done to it and what we [the West] have done in history. So I’m not really sure that they always want to buy our products, like human rights or democracy ñ because we have not always demonstrated them to them. Very often we’ve bombed them, in fact.

Palestinian Worker Shot Dead By Israeli Policeman Near Jerusalem: A Palestinian laborer was shot and killed, on Monday at dawn, by an Israeli policeman, who reportedly shot him at point blank range in occupied East Jerusalem. The policeman was placed under house arrest for five days.

Israeli extremists set mosque ablaze: A group of Israeli extremists stormed a mosque in the town of Beit Fajjar overnight, burned copies of the Muslim holy book and set fire to carpets in the building, Ma'an news agency quoted locals as saying on Monday.

Israeli troops used boy as shield: Two Israeli soldiers have been convicted of using a nine-year-old Palestinian boy as a human shield during last year's Gaza war.

Two Israeli soldiers ‘take fall’ for Gaza offensive : The signs point to the conviction being a sacrificial sop designed to take the heat off even more serious cases which will never see the light of a courtroom, let alone result in real justice being done

Hundreds of activists from Muslim countries planning new Gaza-bound flotilla: The Turkish charity IHH, which sponsored a Gaza-bound flotilla that Israeli commandos boarded in a deadly raid last spring, say some 500 activists from Pakistan, Iran, Syria and Turkey aim to break blockade by December 27.

Milking the US cow: Israel Considers 60 Day Settlement Freeze: The Obama administration is reported to have offered Netanyahu a package of favors and aid in exchange for the freeze.

Jewish population in Israel is declining: Despite a million immigrants over the past two decades, the percentage of Jews in the Israeli population is declining.

Pa. homeland security boss quits over Israeli firm: Pennsylvania's homeland security director quit in the wake of revelations that he hired an Israeli-American agency that reported peaceful protests as potential terrorist threats.

Art sellers or Mossad spies?: ABC report: Wild speculation after Utah residents claim Israeli 'art students' selling paintings asked suspicious questions about national security site

In case you missed it: Israel Is Spying In And On The U.S.? : U.S. investigators believe that there are Israelis again very much engaged in spying in and on the U.S., who may have known things they didn't tell us before September 11.

Iran opens airspace to China warplanes: The Islamic Republic of Iran has reportedly opened its airspace to Chinese warplanes taking part in joint military maneuvers with Turkey, Press TV reported.

China Invests Quarter Billion Euro in Tehran subway system project: China has boosted economic cooperation with Iran through investment in the country's subway and highway projects, an Iranian official announced

Germany plays down terror warnings: No reason to be ‘alarmist’: The German government played down on Monday U.S. and British warnings about the heightened risk of terrorist attacks on Europe, with Berlin saying there were no immediate signs of a threat against Germany.

Guatemala fury over US sex disease tests: Initially, the researchers infected female Guatemalan commercial sex workers with gonorrhea or syphilis, then allowed them to have unprotected sex with soldiers or prison inmates.

ABB pays out $58m over bribery charges: Kickbacks paid to secure deals in Iraq and Mexico

Court: NSA can keep mum if it wiretapped Gitmo lawyers: The Supreme Court won't make the super-secret National Security Agency divulge whether it has records of the warrantless wiretapping it did of lawyers representing Guantanamo Bay inmates.

200,000 "liberals" rally in US : Billed as "One Nation Working Together", organisers said the event was to draw attention to civil rights issues, economic policies and education reforms.

China offers to buy Greek debt: Prime minister Wen Jiabao says his country will support Greece and rest of euro zone to overcome financial crisis.

Peter Schiff: Race to the Bottom: While the US will probably "win" the currency war, we will definitely lose the far more important battle to improve our quality of life.