Friday 30 April 2010

News For April 30, 2010

Report: Still Not Enough Troops For Afghanistan Operations

By Jeff Schogol

Despite the addition of more than 50,000 U.S. troops to Afghanistan over the past year, there still aren’t enough forces to conduct operations in the majority of key areas, according to a congressionally mandated report released Wednesday on progress in Afghanistan. Continue

Demonizing Ahmadinejad
Hillary Clinton Calls Ahmadinejad Anti-semitic President

By Press Trust of India

Describing Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad as “anti-Semitic”, US secretary of state Mrs Hillary Clinton today said that Tehran with its hostile nuclear ambitions posed a threat not only to Israel but to the region. Continue

Can You Pass The Iran Quiz

By Jeffrey Rudolph

What can possibly justify the relentless U.S. diplomatic (and mainstream media) assault on Iran ? Continue

Beyond Belief?
Feeling the Hate in New York

Video Report

On April 25, over 1000 New York-area Jewish extremists gathered in midtown Manhattan to rally against the Barack Obama administration’s call for a freeze on construction in occupied East Jerusalem and to demand unlimited rights to colonize the West Bank. Continue

Justice Department Opens Goldman Sachs Criminal Investigation

By Zachary A. Goldfarb and Jerry Markon

It is rare for the government to indict a company, and even the threat of criminal prosecution can doom a business. A criminal investigation destroyed the Wall Street firm Drexel Burnham Lambert in the 1980s even though the firm settled with authorities. Continue

Deficit Reduction: Argument By Authority

By Dean Baker

The deficit hawks are going into high gear with their drive to cut social security and Medicare. Continue

Angry Americans March on Wall Street

Video Report - RussiaToday

The largest anti-Wall Street rally since the credit crunch has taken place in New York. Thousands of workers and trade union leaders marched in anger over lost jobs and ruined lives, demanding answers from the source of the trouble - the banks. Continue

Dems Spark Alarm With Call For National ID Card

By Alexander Bolton

Democratic leaders have proposed requiring every worker in the nation to carry a national identification card with biometric information, such as a fingerprint, within the next six years, according to a draft of the measure. Continue

Past Statement Tells Truth About Immigration Law's Goals

By David Sirota

"Insurance companies profile for risk. That is what I am asking that we continue to do - we need to profile for risk," he thundered, adding that using ethnicity as a risk factor "is very legitimate - I think it is smart." Continue

Not Just Arizona:
Immigration Enforcement Out of Control on Federal Level

By Bill Quigley

While people protest the terrible Arizona state law that uses local law enforcement to target immigrants, the federal government is expanding its efforts to use local law enforcement in immigration enforcement and has launched a major PR campaign to defend it. Continue

Warning Shots
How Many Do You Need?

By Guy McPherson

Better days lie ahead for those of us who desire to see the living planet make a comeback. But if you believe life is not worth living in the absence of empire — in the absence of our unrelenting intent and ability to destroy every non-industrial culture and non-human species — why wait? Why not take the Hemingway out now, while you still can get a decent imperial funeral? Continue

'Hundred killed' in Chad clashes: Chad's government says the army has killed 105 insurgents and beaten back a new attack near the Sudan border, but the rebels have denied the claims.
10 killed, 20 hurt in Somalia clashes: - Clashes between the Somali "al-Qaida affiliate" al-Shabaab and pro-government forces killed at least 10 people and injured more than 20, authorities said.
US must consider all options in Somalia: With hindsight, America’s decision to back corrupt warlords in a bid to keep Islamic Courts Union forces from taking power in Som-alia was a mistake. Thwarting the group, which at least had moderate people in positions of leadership, opened the way for extreme fundamentalists to thrive.
France admits killing Afghan kids: The French army has admitted killing four children with a missile strike in a Taliban-controlled area of Afghanistan.
US-led troops kill 3 Afghan civilians: A raid by US-led troops has killed two women and a child in southern Afghanistan amid rising public opposition to the presence of foreign forces there.
NATO occupation forcew soldier killed in Afghanistan: ISAF: An improvised explosive device killed a soldier serving with NATO's International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in Afghanistan, the military announced Friday.
Afghanistan forces face four more years of combat, warns Nato official: Nato's top civilian official in Afghanistan warns of further deaths in 'very tough year' for British and other foreign troops
Does This Video Show Afghan Cops Killing UN Guard?: Germany’s Stern has obtained video of the incident that seems to suggest that Afghan police deliberately shot and killed Louis Maxwell, an American citizen who was working as a UN security guard
16 killed in NW Pakistan: At least 15 militants and one security personnel were killed Thursday in latest clashes in Orakzai tribal agency, northwest of Pakistan.
Pakistan: 8 people gunned down in Karachi: At least 8 people, including a policeman, have been killed and 3 others injured in separate incidents in Pakistan's violence-plagued city of Karachi.
Kidnapped human rights activist killed: The body of a Pakistani human rights activist has been found in the North Waziristan tribal area, several weeks after he was kidnapped there.
Three killed, five injured in two separate blasts in Iraq: An explosive device went off in a market in al-Karma area, northern Falluja, leaving two civilians dead and five injured, a local police source told the German Press Agency dpa.
Life is Hell for Iraqis....: Layla Anwar : A 2mn video of a widow in Adhamiya...hope am not taking too much of your precious time with a 2mn and 7 bloody years of freedom and democracy
Dagestan: Police killed in suicide blast: A suicide bomber has blown up an explosives-laden car at a checkpost in Russia's restive North Caucasus region of Dagestan, killing two police and wounding 17 other people.
Russia: Bombing Suspect Is Killed: Russian authorities announced on Thursday that they had killed a militant who they said assisted in the March 29 suicide bombings in Moscow’s metro.
Turkey, Brazil brokering Iran nuclear deal: - Turkey and Brazil are trying to revive a stalled atomic fuel deal with Iran in an attempt to help the Islamic Republic avoid new U.N. sanctions over its nuclear program, Western diplomats said on Friday.
Support for Tehran is growing: By avoiding emotional arguments, Iran is building a stronger case for its rights
US to soften stance on Iran?: The Washington Times reported Thursday that US President Barack Obama is pressing Congress to waive sanctions on the companies that are based in “cooperating countries,” which are proven to be in full compliance with the administration's Iran strategy.
Iran sanctions may be 'unavoidable': Lavrov: "There are few examples where sanctions have produced truly positive results," said the Russian minister, whose country is considering whether to back further United Nations sanctions against Iran.
ElBaradei says sanctions on Iran will fail: In rare interview, former head of UN nuclear agency says sanctions in Iran are likely, but doomed.
Clinton: We support Israel against Syria, Iran: In a speech to the American Jewish Committee, Mrs Clinton underlined her commitment to peace in the region, and condemned the transfer of weapons from Syria to terrorists in Gaza and to Hizbollah in Lebanon.
Tehran warns Israel against attack on Syria as arms tension mounts: Iranian vice-president declares solidarity with Damascus after Clinton intervenes in Middle East missile row
US Will Continue to Back Israel in UN: United States officials who spoke to the pan-Arab paper Al-Sharq il-Awsat denied Thursday that America would stop using its United Nations veto to help Israel. The New York Times had reported that US President Barack Obama warned that America would no longer veto anti-Israel resolutions in the UN Security Council
Who Are the Jews Behind Palin in 2012?: Her recent high-profile jabs at the president have earned her support from some of the most prominent Jewish conservatives today.
As Britain votes, Liberal Democrats’ record on Israel draws scrutiny: With the possibility looming that the ruling party will form a coalition with the Liberal Democrats, British Jews are preoccupied with the party’s record on Israel.
Knesset speaker hints at one-state: Reuven Rivlin, the speaker of Israel's Knesset, has said that he would rather accept Palestinians as citizens of one country than divide Israel and the West Bank into two separate states.
Belgian politicians pass veil ban: The vote in the lower house of the federal parliament saw 136 deputies back a nationwide ban on clothes or veils that do not allow the wearer to be fully identified.
In response to critics, Arizona tweaks new immigration law: Lawmakers have removed “lawful contact” from the bill and replaced it with “lawful stop, detention or arrest.” In an explanatory note, lawmakers added that the change “stipulates that a lawful stop, detention or arrest must be in the enforcement of any other law or ordinance of a county, city or town or this state.”
D.C. Council bill opposes immigrant fingerprint checks: Some D.C. Council members are planning to propose legislation that would prevent police from joining a federal program designed to catch illegal immigrants by matching fingerprints of arrestees against a database, officials said.
Govt declares national disaster as oil reaches Louisiana coast: Oil from a giant slick hit the US Gulf Coast on Thursday evening, prompting Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal to declare a state of emergency and call for the federal government’s help in averting an environmental disaster
Big Oil continues to see big profits, pollution while Americans get robbed at the pump: Big Oil is once again riding high oil prices to large profits (see below) while American consumers get stuck with a $2.7 billion gasoline bill in the first quarter of 2010 due to higher oil prices.
Goldman Sachs Shares Slide; BofA-Merrill Cuts Rating: The stock is down almost 20% from where it was trading prior to the fraud charges filed by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission two weeks ago, though it had recovered somewhat, closing above $160 on Thursday.
Goldman fraud case goes to the next level: The noose is tightening around the neck of Goldman Sachs Group Inc. Will clients continue to hold the firm up?
Stranger than fiction? Pentagon Confirms It Gave $1.4 Billion in No-Bid Fuel Contracts to Mysterious Companies: The Pentagon's main supply agency has acknowledged awarding $1.4 billion in no-bid contracts to two foreign companies whose ownership and management seem extremely mysterious
Workers march on Wall Street, protest big banks: Thousands of workers and union leaders marched on Wall Street on Thursday to express their anger over lost jobs, the taxpayer-funded bailout of financial institutions and questionable lending practices by big banks.
Foreclosures: Salt Lake hardest hit in mortgage crisis: Owners of 5,155 local properties received a foreclosure-related notice in the first quarter, 101 percent higher than the same period in 2009, according to RealtyTrac, a company that tracks foreclosures nationally.
$1 Rent for Billionaire Broad: Los Angeles: City Councilwoman Jan Perry and others were involved in secret negotiations to lease billionaire Eli Broad a piece of choice, taxpayer-owned property next to Walt Disney Concert Hall for $1 a year.

Thursday 29 April 2010

News For April 29, 2010

Drone Pilots Could Be Tried for ‘War Crimes,’ Law Prof Says

By Nathan Hodge

“Under the legal theories adopted by our government in prosecuting Guantánamo detainees, these CIA officers as well as any higher-level government officials who have authorized or directed their attacks are committing war crimes.” Continue

A US-Sponsored Terror Network
Death Squads in Afghanistan

By Francis Shor

From the attack on a bridal shower in Gardez on February 12, 2010 that killed numerous civilians, including two pregnant women, to the growing list of executions of insurgents in the Kandahar area, Special Forces have become the US military version of death squads. Continue

What's At Stake in the Issue of Iran

By Noam Chomsky

"Iran is perceived as a threat because they did not obey the orders of the United States. Militarily this threat is irrelevant. This country has not behaved aggressively beyond its borders for centuries. Israel invaded Lebanon with the blessing and help of the U.S. five times in thirty years. Iran has not done anything like this" Continue

Atrocity and War

By Camillo Mac Bica

For the apathetic and for those who trumpet and champion war’s necessity from a safe distance, war is a distraction, bleak, dire, and unpleasant, from their consumer driven lives, better left for others and for other peoples’ children to fight. Continue

The Military Occupation of Our Minds

By Tom Hayden

As Congress weighs Afghanistan funding, the military is escalating what it calls the "war of perceptions" at home and abroad. The question is whether the American media and Congress will collaborate in the Pentagon's press strategy or retain a critical edge. Continue

Arizona: Truck Driver Forced to Show Birth Certificate Claims Racial-profiling

By Alicia E. Barrón

He provided his commercial driver’s license and a social security number but ended up handcuffed. Continue

15 killed in Pakistan attacks: Five Arabs die in N Waziristan clash; six militants killed in Orakzai
Pakistan Taliban militants 'reappear' in Swat valley: Taliban militants have resumed targeted killings of local leaders in Pakistan's troubled Swat valley, officials have told the BBC.
Pakistan Taliban chief Hakimullah Mehsud is alive, says spy agency: Exclusive: Setback for CIA after Pakistan intelligence official admits drone attack failed to kill the Pakistan Taliban commander
Pakistan denies reports on troop shift: Pakistan Thursday denied US reports that it has shifted 100,000 troops from its eastern border with India to its western frontier with Afghanistan, terming the reports 'baseless, ridiculous and misleading'.
Govt to file murder case against Musharraf: Badar: Central Secretary of Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Jehangir Badar has said that a case will be lodged against Pervez Musharraf by the state in the wake of UN Report on the assassination of Ms Benazir Bhutto.
French occupation force troops killed 4 Afghan civilians by mistake: French troops mistakenly killed four Afghan civilians and seriously wounded one during a clash with insurgents east of Kabul, the French military said Thursday after concluding an investigation into the bloodshed.
Nato 'kills Afghan MP relative' in raid: A prominent Afghan MP says Nato troops stormed her home and shot dead one of her relatives in an overnight raid.
Afghan Taliban getting stronger, Pentagon says: A Pentagon report presented a sobering new assessment Wednesday of the Taliban-led insurgency in Afghanistan, saying that its abilities are expanding and its operations are increasing in sophistication, despite recent major offensives by U.S. forces in the militants' heartland.
Report: Afghans still skeptical of new government: Only 29 of 121 districts in Afghanistan identified as "key terrain" support or sympathize with the Kabul government, the report concluded.
U.S. seeks to prop up Kandahar governor: "Wesa is a weak governor," said Rahmatullah Raufi, a former general and Kandahar governor. "If Ahmed Wali Karzai wants him to die, he will die. If he says, 'Live,' he'll live."
Five killed in attacks on Iraq checkpoints: Five people were killed and 10 wounded, including several police officers, when two suspected suicide car bombers attacked police checkpoints in southern Baghdad yesterday, police said.
Mosul in revolt over torture claims at ‘al Maliki’s secret jail’: fficials in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul have threatened a campaign of civil disobedience against the government and the army after allegations of torture and abuse at a secret prison controlled by the office of the prime minister, Nouri al Maliki.
Baghdad recount to take 2-3 weeks: Recounting all the ballots from Baghdad province will take two to three weeks, Iraq's election commission said Thursday, further delaying the formation of a new government. There are 68 seats in Baghdad up for grabs in the new 325-seat parliament.
Egyptian forces pumps gas into cross-border smuggling tunnel, killing 4 Palestinians: The Hamas Interior Ministry said in a statement the gas used to try to clear the tunnel was poisonous. Besides those killed, six people were injured, it said.
IDF troops kill Gazan at "border" protest: A 20-year-old Palestinian died Wednesday afternoon after being critically wounded by IDF gunfire during a morning protest against a buffer zone being built between the eastern Gaza Strip and Israel, Gaza medical officials said.
Settlers attack Palestinian village to protest police crackdown: Far-rightists from the West Bank settlement of Yizthar on Thursday marched through a neighboring Palestinian village and attacked local homes, to avenge a series of arrests by Israel Police earlier in the day.
Poll: Majority of Israel's Jews back gag on rights groups: More than half of Jewish Israelis think human rights organizations that expose immoral behavior by Israel should not be allowed to operate freely, and think there is too much freedom of expression here, a recent survey found.
Report: Obama promised Abbas a Palestinian state within two years: Obama promised Abbas that the United States would make great effort to help see that Palestinian goal achieved, the official told the London-based newspaper
Israel: US seeks closer ties with minister held responsible for controversial construction decision: Interior Minister Eli Yishai has been officially invited to visit the White House. The decision is apparently the result of the US Administration's desire to forge closer ties with the minister they perceive to be behind the east Jerusalem construction turmoil during Vice President Joe Biden's visit in Israel.
Palestinians Defending Their Homes: 5 Minute Video - Around 50 Palestinians and internationals had managed to stop the work of the bulldozers for several hours in the village of Al Walaja, on 25.04.2010. - The Israeli soldiers used stun grenades and tear gas canisters directly at people, as well as pepper spray. One Palestinian got arrested and several were injured. Once completed the Wall will totally surround the village.
Hezbollah: Egyptian jailings 'unjust and politicised': "The verdicts that were issued... against the mujahideen who were providing support for the mujahideen in Gaza are political and unjust... against these honourable mujahideen," he was quoted as saying.
Another conflict with Lebanon?: Jordan's King Abdullah has recently disclosed that he believes an Israel-Hezbollah-Lebanon conflict is “imminent.” The fact that Israeli authorities are handing out gas masks and have launched a media campaign stressing their importance lends credibility to the monarch's chilling prediction.
William Hague: I have Iran in my sights: "It's the Iranian nuclear programme," he says. "We have consistently been the party arguing for tough sanctions and a strong European approach over the last few years, and are very frustrated that this hasn't emerged strongly enough."
Eni to pull out of Iran oil field: Italy's Eni says it will not extend its contracts to develop an Iranian oil field as it may lead to US sanctions against the oil firm.
US Navy has encounter with Iranian jet: The official says "there was nothing threatening about the aircraft itself or how it presented itself."
MI5 files on 7/7 attacks 'impossible' to access: It would be "impossible" to reveal secret MI5 files about the 7/7 London terror attacks, a court has been told.
Detainee transfer documents buried in Canadian military shipping containers: Records of Afghan detainee transfer orders showing whether Canadian military commanders took the risk of torture into account are buried in sea shipping containers and "may take years" to locate, the Military Police Complaints Commission was told Tuesday.
'US seeks deal' in Guantanamo case: Plea bargain reportedly offered to Canadian detained in Afghanistan at age 15.
Obama administration defies congressional subpoena on Fort Hood documents: The Obama administration said Tuesday it would provide more information to Congress about the Fort Hood shootings but continued to defy a subpoena request for witness statements and other documents.
Truck driver forced to show birth certificate claims racial-profiling : 3TV caught up with Abdon after he was released from the Immigration and Customs Enforcement office in central Phoenix. He and his wife, Jackie, are still upset about what happened to him.
Stranger than fiction? Install microchips in illegal immigrants, GOP candidate says: Instead of building a border fence to help stem illegal immigration, the U.S. government should implant microchips into immigrants before deportation, much like what is done with pets, Pat Bertroche, an Urbandale physician and one of seven Republicans running in the 3rd District Congressional primary, said Monday.
Exposing the Christian Right's New Racial Playbook: A diversity summit at Jerry Falwell's Liberty University reveals that the religious right's survival depends on the black and the brown.
Colorado Cops To Use Biometric Iris Scanners For Suspects, Kids And Seniors : 2 Minute Video Report
Laura Bush suggests poison at summit: FORMER US first lady Laura Bush writes in her forthcoming autobiography that she and her husband George W. Bush may have been poisoned when they became ill at a summit in Germany in 2007.
Eurozone edges closer to endgame as Greek contagion hits Portugal: Parallels with Lehman's collapse in 2008 as markets predict that Greece will default on debt
California Governor's plan to sell state buildings would cost a bundle, report says: The state's plan to make some quick cash by selling office buildings and other properties and leasing them back would cost taxpayers a bundle over the long haul, according to a new state report.

Wednesday 28 April 2010

News For April 28, 2010

In Washington-Speak,
“Palestinian State” Means “Fried Chicken”


By Noam Chomsky

The U.S. and Israel have been acting in tandem to extend and deepen the occupation. Continue

Sowing Hate and Reaping Death

By Rami Elhanan

My name is Rami Elhanan. Thirteen years ago, on the afternoon of Thursday the fourth of September 1997, I lost my daughter, my Smadar, in a suicide attack on Ben-Yehuda street in Jerusalem. A beautiful sweet joyous 14 year old girl. Continue

Loyalty to Israel vs. US

Video

Exclusive interview with Colonel Larry Wilkerson on US interests and the question of loyalties, and more:

Wake The President

By Simon Johnson

Most days we can coast along, confident that tomorrow will be much like yesterday. On a very few days we need to look hard at the news headlines, click through to read the whole story, and then completely change a large chunk of how we thought the world worked. Today is such a day. Continue

Frauds And Scandals Follow The Collapse Of The Financial System

By Bob Chapman

As the world faces an ongoing sovereign debt debacle we see an attempt to defuse an oncoming scandal involving Goldman Sachs, Paulson and perhaps others. Continue

Carl Levin vs. Lloyd Blankfein:
"How much of that shi**y deal did you sell to your clients?"

Video

Sen. Carl Levin (D-Mich.) was grilling Goldman Sachs executive Dan Sparks during a hearing by the Senate panel investigating the causes of the nation's financial crisis. Continue

The Big Six Banks are Shorting the American Dream

By Jerry Mazza

Financial regulators are not enough to deal with the Big Six banks, whose employees are very smart people, very hungry for financial opportunity, legit or not legit. Thus, very often regulators are sucked into large investment banks or affiliated financial institutions like the distinguished Michael Oxley, co-author of the Sarbanes Oxley Act. Oxley has joined the financial industry, along with some 124 former other members of Congress and their aides. Continue

The Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty:
Last Gasp of a Moribund Civilization

By Prof. John Kozy

Can the expansion and enforcement of the NPT succeed? Doubtful! The knowledge of how to build atomic weapons is widespread; it can no longer be contained. So the policy now is to maintain control of the fissionable material needed to make the bombs. Continue

The Insanities of Our Time

By Fidel Castro Ruz

“The greatest contradiction of our time is the ability of our species to destroy itself, and its inability to govern itself.” Continue

Arizona Legalizes Racial Profiling

By Marjorie Cohn

This law unconstitutionally criminalizes “walking while brown” in Arizona. Continue

Satire
U.S. Flag Recalled After Causing 143 Million Deaths

By The Onion

"I would like to strongly urge all U.S. citizens: If you have an American flag hanging in your home or place of business, please discontinue using it immediately." Continue

Twelve civilians among twenty four people killed in Afghan attacks: A roadside bomb in south-eastern Afghanistan killed 12 civilians on Wednesday, while two Afghan soldiers and 10 Taliban militants were killed in the country's north, officials said
Afghanistan: U.N. Report on Attack Cites Friendly Fire: A United Nations investigation has found that four of the body’s staff members killed during a suicide attack on a Kabul guesthouse last October may have died because of friendly fire from Afghan security forces, United Nations officials said
Afghanistan: U.N. Pulls Workers: The United Nations withdrew most of its local staff members from Kandahar on Tuesday and instructed its local Afghan employees there to stay home in the coming days because of what it called the “deteriorating” security situation in the southern city,
Stranger than fiction? US man admits helping al-Qaeda: A US man faces up to 15 years in prison after admitting to sending waterproof socks, ponchos and sleeping bags to al-Qaeda fighters in Afghanistan.
14 Killed In Somalia : At least 14 civilians have been killed during a battle between government soldiers and al-Qaeda-linked fighters, witnesses say.
Pakistan: 6 killed in North Waziristan clash: The casualties took place when militants attacked the ISA check post in North Waziristan. Four militants, which included three Uzbeks and a German, were also killed in the clash.
Five policemen killed in Pakistan car bomb attack: - A Taliban bomber rammed his car into a police checkpost in Pakistan's northwest Wednesday, killing five policemen, in an attack a militant spokesman said was revenge for military offensives.
U.S. occupation force soldier killed in bomb attack in Iraq's Diyala: A military statement said that the soldier assigned to United States Division-North (USD-N) was killed on Tuesday, without giving further details.
Iraq: Detainees Describe Torture in Secret Jail: Detainees in a secret Baghdad detention facility were hung upside-down, deprived of air, kicked, whipped, beaten, given electric shocks, and sodomized, Human Rights Watch said today. Iraq should thoroughly investigate and prosecute all government and security officials responsible, Human Rights Watch said.
Allawi Calls for Interim Iraqi Government: The front-runner in Iraq's recent parliamentary elections on Wednesday called for the formation of an impartial, internationally supervised caretaker government to prevent the country from sliding into violence and counter what he says are efforts to change the vote results.
Rights activists killed in Mexico: Two human rights activists have been killed in a paramilitary attack on an aid convoy travelling to a breakaway region of southern Mexico, the convoy's organisers have said.
One person killed as Thai red shirt protests turn deadly: The clashes on Wednesday came after police and soldiers opened fire with rubber bullets and live ammunition in an attempt to halt a convoy of red shirts headed for a rally on the outskirts of Bangkok.
Manufacturing Consent For Attack On Iran : Elliot Abrams: U.S. must address Iran’s threat to Israel: "If the world does not act, I believe Israel will act, and I hope the U.S. will.”
'Israel must sign the NPT': Egypt has declared that turning the Middle East into a nuclear weapons-free zone is the key to solving the dispute over Iran's nuclear program and said Israel must sign the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).
Mayor pledges more Jewish homes in east Jerusalem: Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat pledged that more Jewish homes will be built in east Jerusalem, despite US calls for a freeze there in a bid to boost prospects for Middle East peace.
Hezbollah vows to continue amassing 'arms of resistance': "There is a big difference between arms which only serve invasions, occupations and aggressions, such as those of the United States and its ally Israel ... and the arms of a resistance which defends, protects, and liberates," Fadlallah said.
How To: Risk World War III, and Blow Billions Doing It: The Pentagon’s plan to fire ballistic missiles at terrorists isn’t just a nuclear Armageddon risk. It’s a ludicrously expensive way to accidentally start World War III: each weapon could cost anywhere from a few hundred million to $1 billion.
.French judge rules against Noriega: A Paris judge has ruled that Manuel Noriega, the former military leader of Panama, will remain behind bars in France, pending a money laundering charge.
BP earns £463 a second... as motorists suffer record petrol prices: Motorists paying record prices at the pumps reacted with fury at news of a 135per cent rise in profits by oil giant BP - earning a massive £463 a second.
Oil Giant Shell Pumps Out £3.2bn Profit: Anglo-Dutch oil company Shell has announced profits of £3.2bn for the first quarter of 2010 - up more than 48% year on year.
Oil Slick Could Become Worst In US History: The slick covers an area 48 miles long and 39 miles wide, close to the Mississippi Delta.
Cuts to Debt Rating Stir Anxiety in Europe: Greece’s credit rating was lowered to junk status Tuesday by a leading credit agency, a decision that rocked financial markets and deepened fears that a debt crisis in Europe could spiral out of control.
Now Spain has its credit rating downgraded: Rating agency Standard & Poor's cut the status of Spanish debt one notch to AA from AA-plus and said the outlook was "negative" in a sign further downgrades could follow.
Goldman executives: 'No regrets' for deals that accelerated crisis: Goldman Sachs traders who helped the firm rack up billions of dollars in profits from secret bets against the housing market told a Senate investigating panel Tuesday that they'd done nothing wrong.
States Bristle as Investors Make Wagers on Defaults: As U.S. cities and towns wrestle with financial problems, investors are finding a new way to profit on their misery: by buying derivatives that essentially bet municipalities will default.

Tuesday 27 April 2010

News For April 27, 2010

Why Soldiers Get A Kick Out Of Killing

By John Horgan

Surveys of WWII infantrymen carried out by U.S. Army Brig. Gen. S.L.A. Marshall found that only 15 to 20 percent had fired their weapons in combat, even when ordered to do so. Marshall concluded that most soldiers avoid firing at the enemy because they fear killing as well as being killed. Continue

Iran a Threat? I Mean, Really?

By Ray McGovern


First, on the chance you missed it, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has said publicly that Iran "doesn't directly threaten the United States." Her momentary lapse came while answering a question at the U.S.-Islamic World Forum in Doha, Qatar, on Feb. 14. Continue

Manuel Noriega - From US Friend to Foe

By Mark Tran

Noriega was recruited as a CIA informant while studying at a military academy in Peru. He received intelligence and counterintelligence training at the School of the Americas at Fort Gulick, Panama, in 1967, as well as a course in psychological operations at Fort Bragg, North Carolina. He was to remain on the CIA payroll until February 1988. Continue

America Is Losing Its Imperial Status
IMF As Grim Reaper of Austerity?

By Washington's Blog

The IMF has already performed a complete audit of the whole US financial system, something which they have only previously done to broke third world nations. Continue

The Shrinking Influence of the US Federal Reserve

By Gabor Steingart in Washington

Ben Bernanke, the chairman of the United States Federal Reserve Bank, faces a general investigation by the International Monetary Fund. Just one more example of the Fed losing its power. - No Fed chief in US history has been forced to submit to the kind of humiliation that Ben Bernanke is facing. Continue

Financial Reform: Empower the People

By Ralph Nader

Anyone modestly familiar with the history of regulatory failures knows that the gross disparity of power and organized advocacy between big business and consumers outside of government leads to an absence of fair standards and law enforcement. Continue

Democrat: Arizona Law Like 'Nazi Germany'

By KASIE HUNT

“It is absolutely reminiscent of second class status of Jews in Germany prior to World War II when they had to have their papers with them at all times and were subject to routine inspections at the suspicion of being Jewish,” Continue

Lawmakers: Military Could Quell Chicago Violence

By The Associated Press

Two Illinois lawmakers say violence has become so rampant in Chicago that the National Guard must be called in to help.Continue

Why Americans Are So Lonely

By Bill McKibben

Access to cheap energy made us rich, wrecked our climate, and made us the first people on earth who had no practical need of our neighbors -- that has to change. Continue

Pakistan: Thirteen militant suspects killed in Orakzai: Officials say Pakistani troops have killed 13 suspected insurgents in the Orakzai tribal region near Afghanistan.
Pakistan: Key militant commander 'among six killed in Swat': A key militant commander was killed along with five other militants in Pakistan's northwestern Swat district on Monday, a security official said, quoted by DawnNews on Tuesday. One security man was also wounded in the action, according to the report.
3 Afghan civilians, NATO occupation force soldier killed in attacks: The nationality of the soldier, who died of wounds from insurgents' small arms fire, was not revealed in the statement issued by the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF).
Two university students killed, one injured in Iraq shooting: Two university students were killed and a third was injured Tuesday in a drive-by shooting in the northern city of Kirkuk, police said.
US military escalates its dirty war in Afghanistan: The New York Times reported Sunday that American special forces units are operating in and around the Afghan city of Kandahar, assassinating or capturing alleged leaders and militants of the Taliban resistance ahead of the major US-NATO offensive scheduled for June.
Mortars kill 2 Iraqi soldiers, injure 14 in Baghdad: Two Iraqi soldiers were killed Tuesday in an overnight mortar attack on a security station in a Shiite neighborhood in northern Baghdad, police and hospitals officials said.
Election Ruling in Iraq Favors Prime Minister: Seven weeks after Iraqis went to the polls, a special elections court disqualified a winning parliamentary candidate, most likely reversing the narrow defeat of Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki’s alliance and possibly allowing him the first chance to form a new coalition government.
Iran hopes nuclear fuel swap in near future: FM: Iran's Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki said here on Tuesday that Iran hopes a nuclear fuel swap will be implemented in the near future.
Iran hardliner issues Strait of Hormuz warning to U.S.: The head of a hardline Iranian political party warned the United States Tuesday against attacking Iran, saying it could hit back by choking "the West's throat" at a waterway crucial for global oil supplies.
Obama meets with Israeli defense minister: President Barack Obama assured a top Israeli official Monday that the U.S. has an unshakable commitment to Israel's security despite recent tension over Jewish settlement construction in East Jerusalem.
AIPAC: The Voice of America — Video: The Orange and the Pea : The discrepancy between the power AIPAC wields, compared to the rest of the American population, is immense, and that power benefits one nation: Israel.
Chaos marks Ukraine base debate: Opponents hurled eggs and detonated smoke bombs inside the parliament chamber, disrupting Tuesday's debate over the agreement. Thousands of protesters also gathered outside the parliament building to demonstrate against the deal, which will allow Russia to keep its Black Sea fleet in Ukraine until 2042.
Colombia's "Genocidal Democracy" May Have Claimed Over 150,000 Lives: . Given that the U.S. has aided the Colombian military with over $7 billion in military assistance since 2000, all the while knowing the military's close collaboration with the murderous paramilitaries, the U.S. itself is complicit in the paramilitaries' crimes.
U.S. Advises Security Apprenticeships in Colombia : "Colombia's success against terrorists and narco-traffickers does offer a lot of opportunities for them to share their expertise. We certainly would like to see . . . other countries take advantage of Colombia's strengths."
Coca Cola's Role in the Assassinations of Union Leaders Explored in Powerful New Documentary: "The Coca-Cola Case" explores allegations of tragedy at bottling plants in Colombia, trade union murder capital of the world.
Welcome to the New Honduras, Where Right-Wing Death Squads Proliferate: The new regime in Honduras is assassinating union leaders, teachers and journalists. Why does the U.S. support it?
US extradites Noriega to France: The former army general and one-time CIA informant, now 76-years-old, was taken from his jail cell and put on board an Air France flight from Miami which was due to arrive in Paris on Tuesday morning.
In case you missed it: The Panama Deception: This film shows how the U.S. attacked Panama and killed 3,000 or 4,000 people in an invasion that the rest of the world was against. (Sound familiar?) It won the Academy Award for best documentary.
CIA chief promises spies 'new cover’ for secret ops: CIA Director Leon Panetta told employees today that the spy agency is going to give undercover operatives more ways to avoid exposure overseas.
For $10 Billion of "Promises" Haiti Surrenders its Sovereignty: This “better” Haiti envisions some 25,000 farmers providing Coca-Cola with mangos for a new Odwalla brand drink, 100,000 workers assembling clothing and electronics for the U.S. market in sweatshops under HOPE II legislation, and thousands more finding jobs as guides, waiters, cleaners and drivers when Haiti becomes a new tourist destination.
Brit MP George Galloway: Should he be allowed into Canada?: Controversial British MP George Galloway will have to wait until Wednesday to try to have his ban from visiting Canada overturned in Federal Court.
Will George Galloway earn Respect victory in Poplar and Limehouse?: Bangladeshis form 35% of votes in this newly redrawn seat. The former Labour MP argues he is the person who can represent their interests best
Protests over Immigration Law : CBS: Video report: Arizona's controversial new immigration law allows police to ask anyone for documents proving they're in the state legally. Supporters of both sides continued to protest, John Blackstone reports.
Mexico leader condemns Arizona law: Felipe Calderon, the Mexican president, has criticised a new immigration law in the US state of Arizona which permits authorities to question and detain suspected illegal immigrants even if they are not believed to have committed a crime.
Look, it's an illegal, right?: Arizona's anti-immigration law looks like it will take racial profiling to work.: If Arizona's Republican legislators weren't so dumb, they'd be dangerous. Or maybe they're dangerous because they're dumb.
More American Expatriates Give Up Citizenship: “Before, no one would dare mention to other Americans that they were even thinking of renouncing their U.S. nationality. Now, it is an openly discussed issue.”
Goldman Sachs faces new accusations: More evidence has been found that the investment bank Goldman Sachs developed a strategy to profit from the housing meltdown at the expense of clients, US senate investigators say.
Goldman's White House connections raise eyebrows: While Goldman Sachs' lawyers negotiated with the Securities and Exchange Commission over potentially explosive civil fraud charges, Goldman's chief executive visited the White House at least four times.
G.O.P. Blocks Debate on Financial Oversight Bill: vote was 57 to 41, as Democrats fell short of the 60 votes needed to cut off a filibuster of the motion to proceed to the bill. One Democrat, Senator Ben Nelson of Nebraska, sided with Republicans apparently out of concern over a provision related to tightening the rules on derivatives trading.
US court strikes blow to Wal-Mart in sex bias suit: A landmark sex-discrimination lawsuit against Wal-Mart Stores Inc (WMT.N) may proceed as a class-action case, a federal appeals court said, dealing the retailer a major blow and exposing it to billions of dollars of potential damages.
Supreme Court to Decide if Big Business Can Judge Itself: The ever-more business friendly Supreme Court will hear oral arguments today in a case that has the potential to shut a whole lot of regular Americans out of the justice system.

Monday 26 April 2010

News For April 26, 2010

U.S. Nuclear Option on Iran Linked to Israeli Attack Threat

By Gareth Porter
The Barack Obama administration's declaration in its Nuclear Posture Review (NPR) that it is reserving the right to use nuclear weapons against Iran represents a new element in a strategy of persuading Tehran that an Israeli attack on Iranian nuclear sites is a serious possibility if Iran does not bow to the demand that it cease uranium enrichment. Continue

Egypt A Ticking Time Bomb

By Eric Margolis

After three decades under Mubarak, Egypt has become a political and cultural backwater. In a telling incident, Mubarak recently flew to Germany for gall bladder and colon surgery. After billions in U.S. aid, Mubarak could not even trust a local hospital in the Arab world’s leading nation. Continue

Gaza's Calm Determination

Norman Finkelstein

A young hijab-clad guide sitting next to me on a bus one night casually mentioned that her fiance had been killed on the last day of the invasion, and then punctuated her statement by staring, dry-eyed, into my pupils. It was neither an accusation nor an appeal for pity. It was as if Israel's periodic depredations were now experienced as a natural disaster to which people had grown accustomed. Continue

Can The U.S. Beat Israel At Their Game?

By Jeff Gates

For a skilled agent provocateur, an anticipated reaction can become a powerful weapon in the arsenal of the provocateur. In response to a mass murder on American soil, even a moderately competent game theorist could foresee that the U.S. would dispatch its military to avenge that attack. Continue

Is the CIA behind Mexico's Bloody Drug War?   
  
By Mike Whitney

The militarization of the war on drugs has been a colossal disaster which has accelerated the pace of social disintegration. Mexico is quickly becoming a failed state, and Washington's deeply-flawed Merida Initiative, which provides $1.4 billion in aid to the Calderon administration to intensify military operations, is largely to blame. Continue

Behind the Arizona Immigration Law:
GOP Game to Swipe the November Election

By Greg Palast

Don't be fooled. The way the media plays the story, it was a wave of racist, anti-immigrant hysteria that moved Arizona Republicans to pass a sick little law, signed last week, requiring every person in the state to carry papers proving they are US citizens. Continue

The New Secessionists

By Chris Hedges

“The U.S. government has lost its moral authority,” he went on. “It is corrupt to the core. It is owned, operated and controlled by Wall Street and corporate America. Its foreign policy is controlled by the Israeli lobby. It is unsustainable economically, socially, morally, militarily and environmentally. It is ungovernable and therefore unfixable." Continue

Hell Yes, Secesh!
Don’t Let The Door Hit You On The Way Out


By David Michael Green

It is a measure of the sheer poverty of our national politics that the notion of secession is in the air again. Hey, just like those happy days of slavery and civil war again! Continue

Will Goldman Sachs Prove Greed is God?

By Matt Taibbi

The investment bank's cult of self-interest is on trial against the whole idea of civilization – the collective decision by all of us not to screw each other over even if we can. Continue

What Really Triggered the Financial Crisis?
The Shadow Banking System Blew Up

By Mike Whitney

Do you understand the root-cause of the financial crisis? Not many people do, which is why congress' attempt to regulate the system will probably fail and there will be another crisis in couple of years. Continue

Studies Reveal Americans’ Declining Living Standards and Increasing Anger

By Hiram Lee

The restructuring of society taking place, in the direct interests of the corporate-financial elite and at the expense of the working population, is not occurring unnoticed. Continue

55 killed in Darfur border clashes: At least 55 people were killed and 85 wounded in fighting between the south Sudan forces and Arab nomads from the western region of Darfur, a tribal chief said on Sunday
Pakistan: 29 killed in attacks: A suicide car bomber attacked a prison van while gunmen torched six NATO oil tankers in separate strikes Saturday that killed four Pakistani police officers and wounded 10 others, authorities said.
US Kills 7 In Pakistan: Suspected US predators have fired three missiles in Markikhel area of North Waziristan Agency, killing seven people and injuring as many, a report said on Saturday.
3 police officers killed in Pakistan: Three police officers were killed and a fourth was wounded in an attack on a convoy of NATO oil tankers near Talagang, Pakistan, authorities said.
Militants attack police check post in Nasirabad, three killed: According to official sources militants equipped with modern weapons opened indiscriminate fire on the Rabee police check post which left three policemen dead. The militants managed to escape unhurt from the spot.
20 militants killed in Afghan raids: : Afghan security forces backed by NATO troops and air power killed around 20 Taliban insurgents in a region of northern Afghanistan that is becoming increasingly restive, officials said.
Two killed as triple blast hits Kandahar: A series of explosions killed two people in Kandahar on Monday, the latest in a series of attacks launched ahead of a major US operation to secure Afghanistan's second-biggest city.
Taliban shadow governor, advisors killed in Afghanistan: A senior Taliban commander who was also the shadow governor for the northern province of Kunduz was killed along with at least two advisors by a NATO airstrike on Monday, officials said.
Three deaths fuel protesters' anger in Afghanistan: Protesters angered by killings during an early morning military operation set fire to NATO supply vehicles in Logar province on Sunday, amid differing claims about whether the men killed were civilians or insurgents.
Army Ranger from Farmingville killed in Afghanistan: Sgt. Jason A. Santora was one of two U.S. Army soldiers killed in an overnight gun battle in the volatile Logar province south of the capital, according to the U.S. Department of Defense.
NATO helicopter 'shot down': Taliban militants say they have shot down a NATO helicopter in the troubled western Afghanistan amid rising causalities. The incident took place in Farah Province on Saturday. The Taliban say at least 13 foreign soldiers were killed in the incident.
Kandahar push depends on politics: Afghan official: Afghanistan will not allow foreign troops to move against the Taliban in Kandahar unless they guarantee that civilians will be protected and governance pushed into target areas, an official said Sunday.
Afghan spy chief: 'I told MI5 that prisoners were being tortured': UK forces are accused of handing over Taliban detainees to Kandahar interrogators despite claims of ill-treatment
Iraq: Five factory workers killed, eight injured in Irbil blast: Five metal factory workers were killed and eight others injured in an explosion west of Irbil, in northern Iraq.
52 Iraqi candidates have votes invalidated: An Iraqi review panel has invalidated the votes of 52 candidates of last month's election, possibly wiping out the slim lead of a Sunni-backed alliance.
Iraq Official: 2 Winning Candidates Disqualified: Includes Member of Coalition Led by Opponent of Prime Minister al-Maliki; Further Mars March 7 Election
Widow of Iraqi killed by US troops in video ‘accepts apology’ after letter: The widow of an Iraqi killed in a notorious US helicopter attack yesterday accepted an apology from two of the soldiers involved. The two wrote an open letter after footage of the 2007 incident was leaked on the internet.
18 veterans commit suicide each day: Seven percent of the attempts are successful, and 11 percent of those who don’t succeed on the first attempt try again within nine months.
Feeling Warehoused in Army Trauma Care Units: Last August, Specialist Crawford attempted suicide with a bottle of whiskey and an overdose of painkillers. By the end of last year, he was begging to get out of the unit.
Flags, Crosses & Circuses... And Apathy!!: Visit any church parking lot in my town, during Sunday services, and count the flags, yellow ribbons and bumper stickers that in reality support the occupations of Iraq and Afghanistan. Would Jesus condone what our country is doing?
Iran 'remains open' to nuclear swap: Iran's foreign minister has said that Tehran is still interested in a UN-drafted nuclear fuel swap swap, despite little apparent progress on the proposal at a meeting with the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
Israel Has Promised Not to Attack Iran in 2010: The promise was made after a request by the Obama admnistration that Israel give sanctions against Iran "time to work".
Chernobyl Radiation Killed Nearly One Million People: New Book: "For the past 23 years, it has been clear that there is a danger greater than nuclear weapons concealed within nuclear power.
Palestinian Authority approves July elections in West Bank: The Palestinians last held local elections in 2005, shortly before a legislative election in which Hamas defeated Fatah.
Ritual terrorism: Hating Obama as a new form of religion: When I was young, I was taught that the purpose of religion was to foster compassion through lovingkindness, to seek peace by example, to perform with human hands the work of angels. Then I moved to the Holy Land.
Ghadafi to Arab MKs: I'm against Zionism, not Jews: During the meeting, Gadhafi stressed the importance with which he viewed the delegation's visit, and said: "We are not against Jews, but against Zionism.
UK diplomat escapes Yemen attack: A suspected suicide bomber has blown himself up near the convoy of the British ambassador in Sanaa, the Yemeni capital, police said.
Judge Rules Yemeni’s Detention at Guantánamo Based Solely on Torture: As a demonstration of how to produce false confessions to incriminate insignificant prisoners at Guantánamo, it would be hard to find a document that more perfectly expresses the brutal pointlessness of the “War on Terror” than this opinion.
Launch of secret US space ship masks even more secret launch of new weapon: Somewhere above earth is America’s latest spaceship, a 30ft craft so classified that the Pentagon will not divulge its mission nor how much it cost to build.
US moving towards 'high-altitude' weaponry era with Falcon, X-37B launches: One part of the program aims to develop a reusable, rapid-strike Hypersonic Cruise Vehicle (HCV), and the other is for the development of a launch system capable of accelerating a HCV to cruise speeds, as well as launching small satellites into Earth orbit.
Hypersonic Cruise Missile: America's New Global Strike Weapon: The mission: Attack anywhere in the world in less than an hour. But is the Pentagon's bold program a critical new weapon for hitting elusive targets, or a good way to set off a nuclear war?
90,000 Protest U.S. Base on Okinawa: More than 90,000 Okinawans rallied Sunday to oppose the relocation of an American air base on their island, adding to the pressure on Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama to resolve an issue that has divided Tokyo and Washington.
China's $20 Bln Loan To Venezuela To Be Paid With Oil: - Venezuela will send resource-hungry China 100,000 barrels a day of crude oil for the next 10 years to pay for a $20 billion loan agreed to over the weekend, Venezuela Oil Minister Rafael Ramirez said Thursday.
The ash cloud that never was: How volcanic plume over UK was only a twentieth of safe-flying limit and blunders led to ban
People Walk By Hero Bleeding To Death: Tale-Yax had reportedly protected a woman from an attack, and was stabbed several time in the chest. Dozens walked by the dying man on the sidewalk. One ever stopped to snap a picture of the man on his cameraphone.
Police beating of Maryland student caught on video: McKenna, 21, sustained head injuries resulting in a concussion. He required eight stitches and was badly bruised all over his body
U.S. Shuts 7 Banks; Year’s Failures Rise to 57: Regulators shut down seven banks in Illinois on Friday, putting the number of bank bankruptcies this year at 57.
Districts Warn of Deeper Teacher Cuts: Districts in California have given pink slips to 22,000 teachers. Illinois authorities are predicting 17,000 job cuts in the public schools. And New York has warned nearly 15,000 teachers that their jobs could disappear in Jun