Sunday 30 May 2010

News For May 30, 2010

Gaza Flotilla Drives Israel Into a Sea of Stupidity

By Gideon Levy

The propaganda operation has tried to sell us and the world the idea that the occupation of Gaza is over, but in any case, Israel has legal authority to bar humanitarian aid. All one pack of lies. Continue

The Freedom Flotilla

Video

Witness what happens on board the boats. Watch our videos everyday. Continue

The Brazilian/Turkish Initiative
Rebalancing The World

By Richard Falk

Outside of Western diplomatic circles it is already widely appreciated that the May 17th agreement reveals the exciting reality of a new geopolitical landscape in which the countries of the global South are now beginning to act as subjects, and no longer content to be mere objects in scenarios devised in the North. Continue

U.S. To Plan Pakistan Strike

By GREG MILLER


White House eyes retaliation if Taliban pull off major strike inside U.S. Continue

Dollar Primed for Collapse by End June: Charts

By: Daryl Guppy | CNBC Contributor

The dollar index suggests the greenback will continue to stengthen until the end of June, with a target near $0.89-$0.91, before it collapses to a downside target of $0.81. Continue

Is the U.S. Government Planning War to Quell the Tide of Economic Unrest?

By Gary D. Barnett

United States wars are virtually all wars of aggression, so it is quite evident that U.S. wars are “fought” for reasons other than self-defense. Continue

U.S. Defence Spending Far Outpaces Rest of the World

By Amanda Bransford

The U.S. Navy can carry twice as many aircrafts at sea as the rest of the world put together, he said, and the navy's overall power is estimated to exceed that of the next 13 most powerful navies combined. This extreme dominance exists in all branches of the armed forces. Continue

In Case You Missed It
Dick Cheney’s Song of America

By David Armstrong

The Plan is for the United States to rule the world. The overt theme is unilateralism, but it is ultimately a story of domination. It calls for the United States to maintain its overwhelming military superiority and prevent new rivals from rising up to challenge it on the world stage. It calls for dominion over friends and enemies alike. It says not that the United States must be more powerful, or most powerful, but that it must be absolutely powerful. Continue

Memorial Day:
Celebrating Militarism and the Weapons of War

By Camillo "Mac" Bica

Sadly, Americans need to be reminded that Memorial Day is not about sales at the mall, barbecues, and picnics. Neither is it a time to celebrate militarism, the machinery of war, or entice young people, through highly manipulative and deceptive practices, into enlisting in the military. Continue

Pakistan: 44 militants, two soldiers killed in Orakzai: Forty-four militants and two soldiers were killed in clashes and shelling in upper Tehsil of Orakzai Agency on Saturday, sources said.
Six women among 19 killed in Pakistan clashes near Afghan border: At least 19 people, mostly Taliban militants but also six civilians, died on Saturday in clashes between Islamist insurgents and troops in Pakistan's tribal region along Afghan border, security officials and media reports said.
Suspected militants kill three policemen in Lahore: The attack occurred a day after heavily-armed terrorists stormed two mosques of the minority Ahmedi sect, killing 95 people and injuring over 100.
NATO airstrike kills 25 insurgents in northern Afghanistan: “At least 25 Taliban were killed in the airstrike,” he said, citing intelligence report provided to him from the area. He said two rebel commanders were also among those killed.
Seven police killed in Afghan blast - report: A roadside bomb struck a police patrol Sunday in the remote northeastern Afghan province of Badakhshan, killing seven officers, officials said, in the latest violence blamed on the Taliban.
US reprimands six drone operators for killing 23 Afghan civilians : A US military investigation said the order to attack was based on inaccurate information from the crew monitoring the convoy from an Air Force base in Nevada and on flawed analysis by Nato commanders.
Taliban Fighters Seize District In East Afghanistan: Taliban insurgents overran a remote district in eastern Afghanistan after days of heavy fighting in the area, a provincial police official said on Saturday.
Ahmed Wali Karzai — From waiter to ‘King of Kandahar’: With ties to his brother's government and links to local warlords and drug kingpins, Ahmed Karzai has become patron and a powerbroker on a grand scale.
Three killed as Turk forces clash with Kurd rebels: Three members of Turkey's security forces were killed and two soldiers were wounded in clashes with Kurdish rebels in southeast Turkey, military sources told Reuters on Saturday.
Maliki rejects calls to quit: Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Al Maliki said yesterday his party would not compromise on its choice of government leader, resisting pressure from potential coalition partners for him to step aside.
Iraq gov’t bank managers arrested, $360m missing: hree managers of state-owned Iraqi banks have been arrested on suspicion of using bogus transfers to siphon off billions of dollars of government money to invest in private business.
Official: Girl killed in Iranian shelling over northern Iraq: A 14-year-old Iraqi girl was killed Sunday and dozens of families fled their homes to escape Iranian artillery shells in northern Iraq, according to a Kurdish Regional Security Forces spokesman.
Manufacturing Consent For Attack On Iran: U.S. General Accuses Iran of Helping Taliban in Afghanistan: The top U.S. commander in Afghanistan, General Stanley McChrystal, says there is "clear evidence" that Iran is providing weapons and training to Taliban fighters in the war-torn country.
Israel stations nuclear missile subs off Iran: The submarines of Flotilla 7 — Dolphin, Tekuma and Leviathan — have visited the Gulf before. But the decision has now been taken to ensure a permanent presence of at least one of the vessels.
Turkish PM says West unfair, insincere in Iran row: report: Turkey's prime minister Saturday accused Western powers of lacking a "fair and sincere" approach on Iran in a mounting row over a nuclear swap deal with Tehran, Anatolia news agency reported.
Israel rejects Middle East nuclear talks plan: Israel says it will not take part in a conference aimed at achieving a nuclear-arms free Middle East, proposed at a UN meeting in New York. Nearly 200 nations, signatories of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), backed plans for the meeting in 2012.
Israel rejects new drive to ban nukes from Mideast: An Army Radio reporter traveling with Netanyahu in Toronto said his office unsuccessfully lobbied the U.S. to block the resolution ahead of Friday's vote.
U.N. Nuke Meet Ends with Good Intentions and Empty Promises: "This is an action plan for treading water," said Jackie Cabasso, executive director of the Western States Legal Foundation, which monitors U.S. nuclear weapons programmes and policies.
Gaza aid flotilla 'leaves Cyprus': A flotilla of ships sailing towards Gaza with aid and activists on board has left Cyprus and will reach its destination on Monday, organisers say.
Gaza Strip facing humanitarian tragedy, warns UN expert : There are 1.1 million refugees in the Strip, 320,000 of whom are living beneath the poverty line. According to UNRWA, 7,000 of those families are among the poorest in the world. Unemployment is 45 per cent.
Hamas leader says group has no problem with US: Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal said his Palestinian group had no problem with the United States, but called Israel "the obstacle" to peace in the Middle East.
China refuses to criticise N Korea: The Chinese prime minister, gave no sign China is ready to back United Nations Security Council action against its ally over the sinking, that killed 46 South Korean sailors.
Did an American Mine Sink South Korean Ship?: In the recent U.S.-China strategic talks in Shanghai and Beijing, the Chinese side dismissed the official scenario presented by the Americans and their South Korean allies as not credible
Japan party quits coalition over US base: Japan's Social Democratic Party, SDP, has decided to leave the ruling coalition government amid a row over the controversial presence of the US military in the country.
Colombia begins national poll vote: Voters in Colombia have begun voting on Sunday in a national election that will see the end of eight years of conservative leadership under current president Alvaro Uribe.
Rotting bodies pile up in island capital Kingston: JAMAICA'S leader is facing growing criticism over a near week-long assault on a slum to capture a powerful drug don as decomposing bodies of civilians lay unclaimed for days.
Jamaicans see little to choose between drug gangs and bloodstained soldiers: Support for Kingston's war on crime ebbs after failure to capture drug baron and claims of extra-judicial executions
Gitmo ’suicides’ torture gone wrong?: In an appearance Thursday on Fox News' Freedom Watch, Horton stated that the only real question in his mind is whether the men's deaths were deliberate murders or were "negligent homicides" resulting from "some sort of procedure that was performed on them."
BP abandons 'top kill' effort: Oil giant says latest attempt to end worst spill in US history has failed.
Oil to spill into Gulf 'for at least two more months': Millions of gallons of oil could be gushing into the Gulf of Mexico for at least the next two months, as Barack Obama's top energy adviser said the spill was the biggest environmental disaster in US history.
Oil spill threatens 'total destruction': An ominous report by Russia's Ministry of Natural Resources warned of the impending disaster resulting from the British Petroleum (BP) oil and gas leak in the Gulf of Mexico, calling it the worst environmental catastrophe in all of human history, the European Union Times reported.
US stockpile of money shrinks in Q1: New data presented by M3 Money Supply shows the stock of money in the United States has fallen from 14.2 to 13.9 trillion dollars in the first quarter of 2010.
When Rivers Flow Upstream: International Capital Movements in the Era of Globalization: Most developing nations receive, on net, little or no capital from rich nations, and many are large exporters of capital to the rich nations.
Five More Banks in U.S. Are Shut: State and federal regulators closed five banks in Florida, California and Nevada, bringing the nationwide total of failed institutions so far this year to 78, with 13 in Florida, six in California and two in Nevada.
The Canadian ‘good banks’ myth: We are, according to the IMF, actually the third worst of the G7 countries, behind the US and Britain, in terms of financial stabilization costs.
How and Why We Lie to Ourselves: Cognitive Dissonance: A classic 1959 social psychology experiment demonstrates how and why we lie to ourselves. Understanding this experiment sheds a brilliant light on the dark world of our inner motivations.

Thursday 27 May 2010

News For May 27, 2010

US Demands Crackdown on Pakistan Taliban Within Weeks

By KIMBERLY DOZIER

The US has put Pakistan "on a clock" to launch a new intelligence and counter-terrorist offensive against the group, which the White House says was behind the Times Square bomb attempt, according to the official. Continue

The American Century Is So Over

By Dilip Hiro

Obama’s propensity to retreat at the first sign of resistance shows that he lacks both guts and the strong convictions that are essential elements distinguishing statesmen from politicians. Continue

NYT's Friedman Rejects Iran Nuke Deal

By Robert Parry

In his new belligerent column on Iran, Friedman makes clear that he isn’t really interested in nuclear safeguards; instead, he wants the United States to do whatever it can to help Iran’s internal opposition overthrow President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Iran’s Islamic-directed government.
Continue

The Arms Circus
Israel Keeping The World In Turmoil

By Gordon Duff

Israel has made a laughing stock of America, robbing America blind while living off our welfare.  Israel is the consummate “welfare Cadillac state.” Continue

Humanitarian Flotilla Vs Israel's Evil Navy

By Gilad Atzmon

By stopping the flotilla Israel attempts to maintain its regional  status as an omnipotent super power that controls the land, the air and the sea.  On the other hand, the Jewish state pathetically also  wants to evoke sympathy for being  ‘sensitive’ to humanitarian issues  and the Palestinian plight. Continue

Forget Dialogue

By Mary Rizzo

Abandoning the failed “peace movement” after recognition of it as a Zionist instrument of domination frees our energies. Or at least it did until we got sucked into the “dialogue movement”. Continue

Neocon Vampires Sink Their Fangs Into the Tea Parties

By Ira Chernus

“This is the playbook for the resurgence of the conservative movement,” says none other than Dick Cheney, on thebook jacket. It’s “a must-read for conservatives who want our movement to dominate,” exclaims a blurb from Karl Rove. Continue

Credit Storm in Europe; Politics on Capital Hill  
                
By Mike Whitney

Wall Street has won this round. The window for real reform has closed, and now it's "business as usual" until the next catastrophe. Continue

The Cult of Subprime Central Bankers

By Dean Baker

People don't need economists to tell them that times are bad. However, what the public may not recognize is that the same people who caused this disaster are still calling the shots. Continue

Cooking The Books?
Banks Trim Debt, Obscuring Risks
.
By MICHAEL RAPOPORT And TOM MCGINTY

The practice, known as end-of-quarter "window dressing" on Wall Street, suggests that the banks are carrying more risk most of the time than their investors or customers can easily see. Continue

Deepwater Horizon: This Is What the End of the Oil Age Looks Like

By Richard Heinberg

The cheap, easy petroleum is gone; from now on, we will pay steadily more and more for what we put in our gas tanks—more not just in dollars, but in lives and health, in a failed foreign policy that spawns foreign wars and military occupations. Continue

Taleban kill tribal elder, wife and son in Pakistan: Taleban armed with rockets and grenades stormed the home of a pro-government Pakistani tribal elder on Thursday, killing him, his wife and son before blowing up the house, officials said.
Three killed, three wounded in an attack on Pakistani police: A policeman and two assailants were killed on Thursday and three were wounded in an attack on police mobile van in a northern Pakistani remote district, said police.
Nato soldier killed in southern Afghanistan: A bomb favoured by the Taliban has killed a foreign soldier in southern Afghanistan, Nato said Thursday, bringing the number of international troops killed in the country this year to 219, reports AFP.
Pakistani Taliban Leader Killed in Afghan Clash : A top leader of Pakistan's Taliban has been killed in a clash with Afghan forces near the border, a top Afghan police officer said
Senate rejects exit timetable for Afghanistan: The Senate rejected a proposal on Thursday to require President Barack Obama to submit a timetable for pulling U.S. forces out of Afghanistan, despite unease among some members of his own party over the nine-year-old war.
Turkish soldier killed by rebels: Turkish soldiers clashed with Kurdish rebels in southeast Turkey near the border with Iraq overnight in fighting which left one soldier dead and three wounded, military sources said today.
Report: 19 "Kurd rebels" killed in attack last week: A Turkish airstrike on Kurdish rebels hideouts in northern Iraq last week killed 19 Kurdish guerrillas and left several others wounded, the state-run Anatolia news agency reported.
Iraq vote results face another possible delay:" Iraq's Supreme Court asked election officials on Thursday to clear up legal issues surrounding an appeal against a candidate, a move that could further delay the certification of March 7 election results.
Fact or fiction? Secret Saudi Document Shows Kingdom Linked with Al-Qaeda Terror: The Buratha news service published what it said it is a secret document disclosing how much money the Saudi kingdom has transferred to Al-Qaeda in Iraq. The kingdom reportedly sends explosives and weapons to terrorist groups in Iraq.
Turkey blames US in Iran row, urges support for swap deal: Turkey insisted Thursday that rejecting a nuclear swap deal with Iran would be “unreasonable” and said that a US push for fresh sanctions on Tehran was creating an “absurd situation.”
Russia vows support for Iran fuel swap: "If it (Iran) strictly abides by them, Russia will actively support the scheme proposed by Brazil and Turkey," AFP quoted Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov as saying on Thursday
Iran and Russia clash in worst row for years: In unusually strong criticism of Russia, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad admonished the Kremlin for bowing to what he said was U.S. pressure to agree sanctions and bluntly warned President Dmitry Medvedev to be more cautious.
Iran Navy detects US nuke sub in PG: Iranian naval forces have detected a US nuclear submarine in the Persian Gulf waters, amid growing concerns over the safety of one of the most important energy routes in the world.
Israeli war game rehearses 'Iran attack': Israel has joined forces with Greece to conduct an aerial maneuver to practice long-range missions and mid-air fueling, a report says.
Amnesty: U.S., Europe shielding Israel over Gaza war crimes: In its annual report, the rights group accuses Israel of continually violating human rights in Gaza with its ongoing economic siege.
Britain vows to change policy allowing U.K. to arrest Israeli politicians: British Foreign Secretary William Hague says it is unacceptable for Israeli politicians to feel like they can't visit for fear of being arrested.
Obama extends fence-mending invitation to Netanyahu: The President's chief of staff Rahm Emanuel delivered the invitation in person to Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem yesterday, while on a family visit.
Gideon Levy: If Israel is democratic, why not elect an Arab PM?: The thought that an Arab citizen could ever lead the state is far beyond the boundaries of any public discourse in Israel.
Bashir begins new Sudan term: Al-Bashir, the world's only sitting head of state wanted for war crimes by the International Criminal Court (ICC), was inaugurated on Thursday in a ceremony attended mostly by African leaders.
Amnesty report slams global abuses: China, Russia and US among states criticised for human rights record in annual report.
Terror Attacks Against U.S. At All-Time High: The pace and number of attempted terror attacks against the U.S. over the past nine months has surpassed the number of attempts during any previous one-year period, according to an internal Department of Homeland Security report issued on Friday, May 21.
Apple 'world's biggest tech firm': Apple Inc has become the world's biggest technology company by market value, overtaking rival Microsoft Corp on the back of the successes of the iPhone and Macbook laptops.
Concern over human cost overshadows iPad launch: The American electronics giant Apple was investigating damaging allegations last night that Chinese workers making its new iPad device were subjected to such "inhumane" treatment that some of them took their own lives by jumping off factory roofs.
New, giant sea oil plume seen in Gulf: Marine scientists have discovered a massive new plume of what they believe to be oil deep beneath the Gulf of Mexico, stretching 22 miles from the leaking wellhead northeast toward Mobile Bay, Alabama.
Matt Simmons: "Theres another leak, much bigger, 5 to 6 miles away: Video
Spain approves austerity measures: Spain's parliament has approved an $18bn austerity package by just one vote, narrowly avoiding what could have been an embarrassing defeat for the government.
French protest retirement age plan: French labour unions have staged a day of strikes and street rallies to protest against plans by Nicolas Sarkozy, the president, to raise the retirement age beyond 60 years.
Dubai unit seeks debt push-back": Dubai International Capital (DIC), an investment company owned by the ruler of Dubai, has requested a three month delay on repayment of part of its reported $2.6bn debt.
US money supply plunges at 1930s pace as Obama eyes fresh stimulus: The M3 money supply in the United States is contracting at an accelerating rate that now matches the average decline seen from 1929 to 1933, despite near zero interest rates and the biggest fiscal blitz in history.
Both parties packing pork into war-funding bill: The bill has grown into a nearly $200 billion grab bag of unfinished business that includes $1 billion for summer-jobs programs, $1.5 billion in aid to farmers who had crops damaged and $4.6 billion to settle two long-running lawsuits against the government, one by black farmers claiming discrimination and one by American Indians over the government's management of their land.
The War is Making You Poor: Next year's budget allocates $159,000,000,000 to "contingency operations," to perpetuate the occupations of Afghanistan and Iraq. That’s enough money to eliminate federal income taxes for the first $35,000 of every American's income each year, and beyond that, leave over $15 billion that would cut the deficit.
Cooking the books? Banks Trim Debt, Obscuring Risks: The practice, known as end-of-quarter "window dressing" on Wall Street, suggests that the banks are carrying more risk most of the time than their investors or customers can easily see. This activity has accelerated since 2008, when the financial crisis brought actions like these under greater scrutiny, according to the analysis

Wednesday 26 May 2010

News For May 26, 2010

US Special Forces Pave the Way for a Military Strike on Iran

By Giles Whittell and Michael Evans

Such plans “are always going to be under serious consideration,” Anthony Cordesman, of the Centre for Strategic and International Studies, said, “because you are dealing with a serious threat” Continue

General Petraeus's Secret Ops

By Robert Dreyfuss

If President Obama knew about this, authorized it and still supports it, then Obama has crossed a red line, and the president will stand revealed as an aggressive, militaristic liberal interventionist who bears a closer resemblance to the president he succeeded than to the ephemeral reformer that he pretended to be in 2008, when he ran for office. Continue

Iran, Brazil, Turkey and the Ghost of Lord Palmerston

By Conn Hallinan

If the U.S. thinks the Russians are going to have a falling out with the Turks over the Iran sanctions, then delusion is the order of the day in Washington. Continue

$1 Trillion for Wars Makes No Sense By Any Measure

By Mary Zerkel

What is $1 trillion really worth? - What is $1 trillion worth? NPP explains it this way: if you made a million dollars a year, it would take you a million years to earn $1 trillion. Continue

Nuremberg: It's Lessons For Today!
The Film The Pentagon Doesn't Want You To See!

CBC Video Report

Warning - These videos may contain images depicting the reality and horror of war/violence and should only be viewed by a mature audience. Continue

Why Did North Korea Do It?

By Kevin Drum

May. 26, 2010 "Mother Jones" - -I haven't been posting about the North Korean situation, but I've been following it with considerable interest ever since the start. And the biggest question all along has been: Why? Even by North Korean standards, torpedoing a South Korean ship is nuts. What on earth were they thinking? Continue

How The Global Oil Watchdog Failed Its Mission
The IEA was silenced about the future of global oil production.

By Lionel Badal

12 years ago, the International Energy Agency (IEA) discovered that Peak Oil would threaten the prosperity and stability of our societies. Yes, they knew it. While some IEA officials tried to inform the world about this game-changing event, it appears that others had different priorities. Continue

Marc Faber: "The Banks Are Gone"

Video

"The banks are gone," according to Marc Faber, and are only being kept alive by European Central Bank and government aid programs. Continue

Are You Unemployed Because You Are Lazy?

By Dave Johnson

Are you still unemployed? Obviously it is because you are lazy. At least, many members of Congress think so, anyway. Continue

9 killed as Pakistan Taliban 'attack eastern Afghan district': Police in the eastern Afghan province of Nuristan have called for help after fierce clashes with hundreds of Taliban fighters they say are from Pakistan.
British soldier killed in southern Afghanistan: Ministry of Defence says serviceman from 4th Regiment the Royal Artillery was shot as he conducted joint foot patrol
'Pak intelligence backs attacks in Afghanistan'?: Afghanistan has accused Pakistan's ISI of plotting all explosions and terror attacks on its soil, including a recent suicide bombing that killed 18 people, six of them NATO soldiers.
16 Taliban militants killed in Pak: Sixteen Taliban militants, including a top commander, were killed by Pakistani security forces during operations in the restive Swat valley and the Orakzai tribal region yesterday, officials said.
Three killed in shootout in Pakistan's Lahore: A gang of five gunmen Wednesday attacked the police near a district court in the eastern Pakistani city of Lahore, killing at least three including a lawyer, police said
Pak intelligence warns of 'major terror attack' on US mission: Two stolen vehicles, one belonging to an army officer and another owned by the Pakistan Navy, could be used in the potential attack against the US embassy, Urdu daily Aaj Kal quoted unnamed sources as saying.
Pakistan says 'no evidence' president took Swiss kickbacks: Babar Awan said there was no proof the president had deposited millions of dollars in Swiss banks he allegedly received as kickbacks for contracts.
Red Cross in Afghanistan gives Taliban first aid help: An ICRC statement said the organisation had provided basic training and first aid kits to about 70 members of the "armed opposition" last month.
Six dead, 23 arrested in string of attacks in Iraq: Three policemen were killed in clashes with militants in the area of Sinjar, just outside of Mosul. Police arrested eight of the militants.
Airstrike kills ‘mediator’ in Yemen, tribes hit pipeline US diplomat declines to say if US involved: An airstrike in Yemen targeting al-Qaeda missed its mark on Tuesday and killed a mediator by mistake, prompting members of his tribe to blow up a crude oil pipeline in clashes that followed, a provincial official said.
US Using Surveillance Aircraft to Fight Yemeni Al-Qaeda: The United States military and spy agencies have reportedly stepped up intelligence gathering efforts using surveillance aircraft, satellites and signal intercepts to track al-Qaeda targets in and around their base in Yemen.
American hostages freed after prisoner released: Two American tourists taken hostage this week were released by tribal kidnappers yesterday after Yemen’s president agreed to free a prisoner held by the state, security and tribal officials said.
Jamaica shoot-out death toll 'rises to 44': Correspondents say the high casualty figure does raise questions about the heavy-handedness of the operation, which has involved thousands of security officials.
Israelis open fire on Palestinians Gaza: Hours after 16 people were wounded by Israeli warplanes; Israeli soldiers have opened fire on Palestinians, wounding three workers in the Gaza Strip.
Visiting MEPs decide to visit Gaza and ignore Israelis: Israeli government officials canceled meetings with a group of 15 members of the European parliament visiting Israel, after the MEPs canceled meetings with Israeli NGOs and decided to focus on visiting Gaza, Israel Radio reported on Wednesday
Large aid flotilla to test Israeli blockade of Gaza: Eight ships are sailing toward Gaza with 10,000 tons of humanitarian aid to challenge Israel's blockade of the Palestinian territory. In a legal challenge, an Israeli group wonders why chocolate and other foods bound for Gaza are a security risk.
What is Gaza's legal status?: The United Nations and the international community continue to consider the strip to be occupied by Israel, along with the West Bank and occupied Arab East Jerusalem. Why then does Israel insist that the occupation of Gaza has ended?
Settlement Policy Wrong Say European Jews: Prominent Jewish intellectuals living in Europe have begun denouncing the Israeli policy of allowing settlements to come up on Palestinian territories as "morally and politically wrong.’’
Hamas' Turn to Demolish Palestinian Homes: On Sunday approximately 150 Palestinians from 20 families were driven out of their homes in Rafah, in the southern Gaza strip, by heavily armed police and soldiers who menaced them with clubs.
PA's Abbas slams Iran: "We, the Palestinian people, are like a hijacked airplane," he said. "The decision-making power is not in our hands, but rather, in the hands of the Iranians. For that reason, the Palestinian people's unity, just like the plane, is also hijacked."
Ahmadinejad: Obama must seize 'historic opportunity' for improved Iran cooperation: Mahmoud Ahamdinejad also issued a stern warning to Russia, saying Moscow's support for the U.S.-led push for a new round of United Nations sanctions against Iran was contrary to the two countries' neighborly and friendly relations.
Chomsky: Iran 'not to bow to US oppression': Prominent American scholar Noam Chomsky says Washington cannot apply its policy of oppression to Tehran, saying it is not in Iran's nature to follow orders.
John Bolton's North Korea plan: Bomb Iran!: John Bolton, among other neocon psychos, has long been obsessed with the idea that the single biggest mistake the Bush administration ever made was taking North Korea off the "state sponsors of terrorism" list.
In S. Korea, Clinton Denounces North's "Provocations": U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton visited South Korea on Wednesday amid rising tensions with the North, calling on Pyongyang to halt its provocations and announcing plans for joint military exercises with the South "to ensure readiness and to deter future attacks."
Inter-Korean crisis: Propaganda fight: South Korea has resumed propaganda operations against North Korea, amid a crisis in relations. Seoul has blamed its communist neighbour for the sinking of a warship in March, but Pyongyang denies this.
Poland hails US missile battery amid Russian criticism: The battery will be rotated in and out of Poland for the next two years, along with dozens of US troops who will train Polish counterparts to operate it.
Alarm over Apple factory suicides: The Chinese government has expressed concern over a series of employee suicides at a factory which makes electronic products including Apple's iPod and iPad. - Critics have said employees at the factory are forced to work extended hours for low pay in sweatshop conditions.
Obama orders 1,200 Guard troops to border: Obama will also request $500 million for border protection and law enforcement activities, according to lawmakers and administration officials.
Arizona immigration law blamed for death of Hispanic man: Tension surrounding the passage of Arizona's tough new law cracking down on illegal immigration contributed to the slaying of an Hispanic man, allegedly shot by a white neighbor, a representative of the dead man's family said Friday.
US Citizen Born In Puerto Rico, Detained As Illegal Immigrant: Despite presenting identifying documents and even his birth certificate, Caraballo was held by federal immigration authorities over the weekend and threatened with deportation, according to an NBC Chicago report
What BP Does Not Want You To See: Oil Spill Cam From Gulf Seabed: Cousteau Jr.: 'This Is a Nightmare... a Nightmare': Video: Philippe Cousteau Jr. and Sam Champion take hazmat dive into Gulf's oily waters.
Oil reaches Louisiana shores: Over one month after the initial explosion and sinking of the Deepwater Horizon oil rig, crude oil continues to flow into the Gulf of Mexico, and oil slicks have slowly reached as far as 12 miles into Louisiana's marshes.
White House admits BP disaster worst spill in US history: The admission from the Obama administration came after Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal announced on Monday that 70 miles of coastline had been contaminated by heavy crude oil. “That is more than the seashore line of Maryland and Delaware combined,” he said.
Deepwater Horizon survivors allege they were kept in seclusion after rig explosion, coerced into signing legal waivers: According to two surviving crew members of the Deepwater Horizon, oil workers from the rig were held in seclusion on the open water for up to two days after the April 20 explosion, while attorneys attempted to convince them to sign legal documents stating that they were unharmed by the incident.
Libor Spike Is Rekindling Fears Of Another Financial Crisis: A recent spike in the rate banks charge each other for short-term borrowing is reviving investor fears that the market is returning to the abyss of the credit crisis.
Falling home prices stir fears of new bottom: "It looks a little like a double-dip already," economist Robert Shiller said in an interview. "There is a very real possibility of some more decline."
Food stamp fraud fight heats up in Michigan: Critics fear some of the reforms, like drug testing food stamp recipients and putting their photo IDs on the state-issued Bridge Cards used to receive those benefits, would run counter to federal regulations, stigmatize welfare recipients and cost the state more than what would be recovered.
Stranger than fiction? RFID chip implanted into man gets computer virus: Researchers have found that implanted identity chips can pick up computer viruses.

Tuesday 25 May 2010

News For May 25, 2010

'US to Send Secret Military Teams to Iran'
U.S. Is Said to Expand Secret Actions in Mideast

By MARK MAZZETTI

Officials said the order also permits reconnaissance that could pave the way for possible military strikes in Iran if tensions over its nuclear ambitions escalate. Continue

U.S. Moves Goalposts On Iran And Changes Uranium Details

By ROGER COHEN

I believed Obama was ready to think anew on Iran. It seems not. Presidents must lead on major foreign policy initiatives, not be bullied by domestic political considerations, in this case incandescent Iran ire on the Hill in an election year. Continue

Former CIA Officer on Iran: Brazil and Turkey are Vital Checks and Balances

By Graham E. Fuller

Shouldn’t the world welcome the actions of two significant, responsible, democratic, and rational states to intervene and help check the foolishnesses of decades of US policy on Iran? Continue

Ruled by Paranoia

By Paul Balles

Barack Obama, the pre-emptive Nobel Prize Winner as New York Times columnist Maureen Dowd referred to him, will eventually have to decide on whether to keep or scrap the Bush doctrine. Israel and its supporters in America desperately want it misused against Iran. Continue

U.S. Night Raid In Afghanistan Elicits Outrage

By Laura King

The father's eyes reddened with tears as he hefted an English textbook that had belonged to his ninth-grade son, Habibuddin. The boy, along with eight other people, was shot dead this month when American special-operations forces swooped down on the family's remote mud-brick compound in the dead of night. Continue

Afghans Believe US is Funding Taliban

By Daniella Peled

It's near-impossible to find anyone in Afghanistan who doesn't believe the US are funding the Taliban: and it's the highly educated Afghan professionals, those employed by ISAF, USAID, international media organisations – and even advising US diplomats – who seem the most convinced. Continue

Children Taunted In Iraq: U.S. Soldier Under Investigation

Video

An Alaska-based soldier is under investigation for a video on his Facebook page that taunts smiling Iraqi children by asking if they're gay, if they engage in certain sex acts and if they would grow up to be terrorists. Continue

Grayson's Smart Calculus Makes War Cost Real for Taxpayers

By John Nichols

“What George Orwell wrote about in 1984 has come true. What Eisenhower warned us about concerning the ‘military-industrial complex’ has come true,” the congressman argues. “War is a permanent feature of our societal landscape, so much so that no one notices it anymore.” Continue

Warning: Crash Dead Ahead. Sell. Get liquid. Now.

By Paul B. Farrell, MarketWatch

Main Street lost 20% last decade ... yet like sheep keep going back. Continue

Long-Term Unemployment: No Help For The 99ers

By Arthur Delaney

Hundreds of thousands of people have exhausted their extended unemployment benefits. In some states, laid-off workers can receive checks for 99 weeks -- and that's all they're going to get. This bill isn't for the "99ers" and there's no proposal on deck to give them additional weeks of benefits. Continue

Gulf Oil Disaster
Interior Probe Finds Fraternizing, Porn and Drugs at MMS Office in La.

By NOELLE STRAUB

Federal officials who oversaw drilling in the Gulf of Mexico accepted gifts from oil companies, viewed pornography at work and even considered themselves part of industry, the Interior Department inspector general says in a new report. Continue

Revealed: How Israel Offered to Sell South Africa Nuclear Weapons

By Chris McGreal

Exclusive: Secret apartheid-era papers give first official evidence of Israeli nuclear weapons. Continue

The Greeks Get It

By Chris Hedges

Here's to the Greeks. They know what to do when corporations pillage and loot their country. Continue

Merkel's Savage Blitz through Euroland

By Mike Whitney

Do the Euro leaders really think they're smart enough to pull the wool over Wall Street's eyes? Wall Street invented fraud; they're not about to be duped by prissy politicians in tweed suits. Continue

Memorial Day 2010
Corporations Profit from Permanent War

By Bill Quigley

Boeing's directors include a former U.S. Secretary of Commerce, a former White House chief of staff, a former vice chair of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, and a former U.S. Ambassador and U.S. Trade Representative. It hosts the 10th largest political action committee, giving away more than one million dollars to federal candidates in 2009. Since 1998, it has spent $125 million lobbying Congress. Continue

Pakistan: Over 100 militants killed in Orakzai blitz: Over 100 militants, including four commanders, were killed and their seven hideouts destroyed when jet fighters blitzed targets in upper parts of Orakzai Agency on Sunday, official and tribal sources said.
Two killed in Quetta rickshaw blast: Two persons were killed and 14 others, including three females and seven children, were injured — some of them seriously — in a powerful bomb explosion in a rickshaw parked on the Airport Road here on Monday.
13 Taliban killed in attack in Ghazni, Afghanistan: Foreign and Afghan forces killed 13 Taliban in an attack involving an air strike on Monday in an area of Ghazni province, an official said.
Elder, five civilians killed in Afghanistan: A bomb ripped through a minibus in western Afghanistan on Monday, killing five civilians and wounding another eight, some critically, the interior ministry said. The Toyota Coaster bus had been taking passengers from the district of Pusht Rod in Farah province to Khaki Safed district.
Two NATO occupation force soldiers killed in Afghanistan: "An ISAF servicemember died following a small-arms attack in eastern Afghanistan today," a statement from the alliance said. NATO had earlier announced another soldier had been killed by a roadside bomb of the type used by the Taliban in the country's south.
Afghanistan: US troop numbers surpass Iraq: The Pentagon has announced that more US forces are now serving in Afghanistan than in Iraq for the first time since the US-led invasion of Iraq in 2003. The Pentagon said on Monday that 94,000 troops had been deployed in Afghanistan compared to 92,000 soldiers in Iraq.
Jamaica drug raid toll reaches 27: At least 27 people, almost all civilians, have died in gun battles in Jamaica, police have said, as the hunt continues for a suspected drug lord.
Jamaica : Defiant residents vow to die for reputed druglord Christopher Coke: A BBC correspondent said bodies were in the street. Four police stations and a school were reportedly ablaze. At least two cops were dead.
Jamaica attacks reveal ties between gangsters and politicians: The Jamaica attacks this week, which saw militants aligned with alleged drug trafficker Christopher 'Dudus' Coke assault a downtown Kingston police station, show how strong Jamaica's gangs have grown thanks to their involvement in local politics.
Gunmen kill 14 in Baghdad gold heist - police: Police said at least ten gunmen armed with pistols, bombs and Kalashnikov assault rifles attacked five goldsmiths and a money exchange on a bustling shopping street in the Bayaa district of southwest Baghdad.
Sunni official’s death may destabilize Iraq: Gunmen in northern Iraq killed a newly elected lawmaker from a Sunni-backed list that narrowly won Iraq’s March elections, officials said, in a slaying certain to rattle the fragile political system.
'Secret Ops' cause of US deaths in Iraq: Speaking to Press TV on Saturday, Director of the War and Peace Foundation Kevin Sanders said the fact that the US soldiers are killed off-base in Iraq shows that the US is violating certain restrictions.
CIA wanted to create fake Saddam Hussein sex video: The CIA's Iraq Operations Group considered creating a video that would the then-Iraqi leader having intercourse with a teenage boy.
Five killed as communist rebels attack in Philippines: Five people were killed as communist rebels facing an intensified government offensive attacked a group of soldiers in the southern Philippines, the military said Tuesday, reports AFP.
Iran 'ready for new chapter of co-operation' - UN envoy: In an interview Tehran's ambassador to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) urged the UN Security Council to respond positively.
China still opts for diplomacy on Iran: Amid US-led efforts to gain support for new UN Security Council (UNSC) sanctions against Iran, China says diplomacy can still work to resolve Tehran's nuclear issue.
Israel threatens to block Gaza solidarity fleet: Israel warned Tuesday that it would block a fleet of nine ships carrying some 700 international pro-Palestinian activists and supplies from reaching the Gaza Strip later this week.
Turkey urges Israel to let in humanitarian convoy: Turkey urged Israel on Tuesday to lift its blockade of Gaza and allow a Turkish-led convoy of ships carrying humanitarian aid to enter the Hamas-controlled enclave.
Israel favors 'crippling' Iran sanctions: Israeli Deputy Prime Minister Dan Meridor says Tel Aviv favors the imposition of more 'crippling' UN sanctions against Iran over its nuclear program.
Manufacturing Consent For Attack On Iran: Netanyahu: Radical Islam with nukes – danger to mankind: Netanyahu tells Russian-speaking journalists, 'Great tragedies occurred when dangers were not recognized in time'; calls on Moscow to help efforts to curb Iran's nuclear ambitions
'Israeli Retaliation Must Include Major Muslim Sites': A new paper from the BESA Center for Mideast Security and Policy says any Israeli response to a non-conventional attack from Arab countries must include an attack on sites of “major symbolic importance for the Muslim world”.
Australia expels Israeli diplomat over Dubai hit: Australia's government said on Monday it had ordered the expulsion of an Israeli diplomat over the use of fake passports in the assassination of a top Hamas militant in Dubai in January.
Australia intelligence chief in Israel: Australian intelligence chief has visited Israel to investigate Tel Aviv's role in an alleged identity theft in the case of a senior Hamas commander's murder in Dubai.
A Right-Wing Zionist Threat: Vandals Strike Tikkun Editor’s Home: Please try to raise awareness in your communities that this sort of thing is happening in the Jewish world to people who critique Israeli policies.
N. Korea severs all ties with rival S. Korea: The announcement was a tit-for-tat response to Seoul's imposition of sanctions on the North for (allegedly) sinking one of its warships.
North Korea puts military on combat readiness - Yonhap: North Korean leader Kim Jong-il has ordered his military to be on a combat footing, South Korea's Yonhap news agency said on Tuesday.
South Korea resumes psychological warfare with North: South Korea blared propaganda broadcasts into North Korea on Tuesday after a six-year halt and Pyongyang said its troops were bracing for war as tensions spiked on the divided peninsula over the sinking of a warship.
Arrest warrant for former Thai PM: He is accused of financing recent red-shirt protests in the Thai capital that left 88 people dead and thousands wounded following a military crackdown.
EU monitors slam Ethiopia polls: The European Union's chief election observer in Ethiopia has said that last weekend's poll was conducted on an "uneven playing field" that favoured the party of the prime minister.
U.S. oil drilling regulator ignored experts' red flags on environmental risks: The federal agency responsible for regulating U.S. offshore oil drilling repeatedly ignored warnings from government scientists about environmental risks in its push to approve energy exploration activities quickly, according to numerous documents and interviews.
Satellite Image Of Oil Spill:
Why Is BP Controlling Louisiana’s Cops?: Mother Jones reporter Mac McClelland spent two days recently trying to get out to the Elmer’s Island Wildlife Refuge, “stymied at every turn” by law enforcement officials who claim they’re getting their marching orders from BP.
Spain must make wide ranging reforms, weak recovery-IMF: "The challenges are severe: a dysfunctional labor market, the deflating property bubble, a large fiscal deficit, heavy private sector and external indebtedness, anemic productivity growth, weak competitiveness, and a banking sector with pockets of weakness," the IMF said in an annual report on Spain.
Home prices fell 0.5 percent from February to March: The Standard & Poor's/Case-Shiller index showed that prices of single-family homes were down 0.5 percent between February and March, the sixth consecutive month-over-month decline in prices.
Home Prices Are Falling Again: The decline came even as the government and the Fed threw the kitchen sink at the housing market, an effort that included the Treasury paying people to buy houses and the Fed buying more than $1 trillion in mortgage bonds.
Stranger than fiction: Man faces jail for recording out of control cop
Killed for shoplifting crayons and toothpaste?: Investigators decide shoplifting suspect's death was accidental: Ann Marie Balboa paced up and down a Little Village alley sobbing Monday as she searched for the precise spot where her ex-husband was choked to death after he shoplifted crayons and toothpaste from a pharmacy over the weekend.

Sunday 23 May 2010

News For May 23, 2010

Drones and Democracy

By Kathy Kelly and Joshua Brollier

On May 12th, the day after a U.S. drone strike killed 24 people in Pakistan's North Waziristan, two men from the area agreed to tell us their perspective as eyewitnesses of previous drone strikes. Continue

Obama's Drone Blitz
They Seek Them Here, They Bomb Them There ...


By Brian Cloughley

Let us imagine that Spain invaded Mexico in similar fashion to the US invasion of Afghanistan in 2001 because Madrid suffered a terrorist atrocity that was planned by a Saudi Arabian fanatic living in Chihuahua. Continue

America's Exalted Capacity for Murder

By Pankaj Mishra

The west's war now stretches from Waziristan to Connecticut. There will be no victors in this desert of bewilderment. Continue

Obama Wins the Right to Detain People with no Habeas Review

By Glenn Greenwald

Few issues highlight Barack Obama's extreme hypocrisy the way that Bagram does. Continue

It's Time to Rid the World of Nuclear Weapons

By Desmond Tutu

Sceptics may say a nuclear-free world is an impossible dream, but they said that about slavery and apartheid too. Continue

City fears of 'Great Depression Mark II'

By Edmund Conway

Leading City experts have started raising the prospect of "Great Depression II" amid worries that the European economic crisis could trigger a deeper bout of chaos. Continue

The Million Dollar Questions

Must watch 2 minute video

John Clarke and Bryan Dawe calculate the cost of the European debt crisis. Continue

Latin America’s New Middle Class Rulers
Stabilization, Growth and Inequality

By James Petras

The new rising middle class used its past leftist and social connections to the mass movements to rise to power; it consolidates power via its control over the state and subsidies to movement leaders. Continue

Tea Party Candidates Are Owned By Israel?
Rand Paul and Israel:

By By Philip Klein

I've obtained a document that the Rand Paul campaign is circulating to those interested in his views on Israel, and it's interesting to see how the positions he's taking as a Republican Senate candidate in Kentucky differ from those adopted by his father, Rep. Ron Paul, a harsh critic of U.S.-Israel ties. Continue

Liberated from Libertarianism:
Rand Paul Runs and Hides from... Rand Paul

By David Michael Green

I mean, if you guys are just going to practice deceit and hypocrisy, why bother taking over the Republican Party? Continue

30 killed in Pakistan: : Thirty alleged "Taliban fighters" were killed and around 35 more injured when helicopter gunships pounded militant positions in several parts of the restive Orakzai tribal region in northwest Pakistan on Sunday.
US Attack Kills Women and Children In Pakistan: The airstrike in North Waziristan Friday night allegedly killed two children, two women and five men, Pakistani intelligence and administrative officials said
Pakistan holds six over US bomb attempt: The co-owner of a catering company that organised events for the US Embassy is among six men detained by Pakistan for allegedly helping the failed Times Square bombing suspect, a Pakistani intelligence official said
Pak detainees’ proud of their link in failed Times Square bombing: Two Pakistani men belonging to upper strata of society who were arrested for their alleged links to the attempted Times Square bombing have admitted playing a role in the botched attack and are unrepentant for their action. One of them angrily accused Pakistani interrogators of “siding with the infidels”, a senior intelligence official said.
15 Somalis die in presidential palace attack: Islamist militants attacked Somalia's presidential compound and other government positions in the capital Sunday, and at least 15 people were killed and 30 others wounded, officials and witnesses said.
Four civilians, two soldiers killed in Afghanistan: Two Afghan army troops were killed and five others were wounded when their patrol were hit by roadside bombs in southern provinces of Kandahar, Helmand and Zabul on Sunday
Afghan official: Helicopter gunship kills 10 after 2 insurgents shot; NATO: 4 dead in south: An Afghan official, district chief Gulab Shah, says at least a dozen people have been killed south of the capital after U.S. troops spotted two insurgents trying to plant bombs. He said the two were shot dead in Paktia province.,
16 killed in Afghan violence: Three foreign soldiers and one civilian working with Nato’s International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) were killed in two separate incidents in southern Afghanistan Saturday
Taliban Attack Kandahar Airfield : Militants fired rockets and launched a ground attack on NATO's main base in southern Afghanistan on Saturday evening
British defence minister on Afghan visit calls for troop withdrawal : Senior British officials, including new Foreign Secretary William Hague arrived in Afghanistan Saturday with a warning that Britain wants to withdraw its troops as soon as possible.
Crack inUK cabinet on Afghanistan: Hours before meeting the Afghan president, Hamid Karzai, yesterday, Liam Fox, the Tory defence secretary, risked insulting his host by referring to Afghanistan as “a broken 13th-century country”
Taliban: Afghan Government is Not Honest : The Taliban Council accused the Afghan government of being dishonest in its peace talks with the armed anti-government groups
Four killed in Turkish air strikes on Kurdish rebels: Four fighters of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party were killed in Turkish air strikes on rebel targets in northern Iraq earlier this week, the separatist group said yesterday.
2 US Soldiers Killed in Iraq: The U.S. military in Iraq says two American soldiers were killed in separate incidents in the country's north.
White House Official Says US Actively Seeking American-born "Terrorist": Al-Awlaki is alleged to have been a mentor of Fort Hood shooter, Major Nidal Malak Hasan, who killed 13 people at the Texas base. He is also alleged to have been in contact with Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, who tried unsuccessfully to blow up a Detroit-bound airliner on Christmas Day.
Israeli troops demolish biggest UNRWA summer camp in Gaza: Israeli armed troops Sunday attacked one of the largest camps set up by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) on the shores of Gaza Strip.
Aid convoy sets off for Gaza: Nine ships under the banner, Freedom Flotilla, began their journey to Gaza on Saturday, despite warnings from Israel that they will be stopped for "breaching Israeli law".
Most of Gaza remains in ruins 16 months after Israeli assault: About three quarters of the damaged buildings and infrastructure have still not been repaired, according to a United Nations report released on Sunday.
Qatar's offer to help rebuild Gaza is snubbed by Netanyahu: Israel has turned down an offer from Qatar for a reopening of diplomatic contacts between the two countries in return for the Gulf state being allowed to import supplies to Gaza to carry out a series of badly needed reconstruction projects.
'Shame on you, democracy,' Vanunu yells as he returns to prison: "I survived 18 years - I could survive another six," Vanunu called out outside the Jerusalem District Court. "Are you trying to discipline me? You cannot take my freedom of expression away"
Iran sends letter to IAEA on swap deal: Iran Sunday handed over a letter to International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) chief Yukiya Amano on a nuclear swap deal reached with Brazil and Turkey, the Iranian state-run Press TV reported.
Iran will ditch fuel plan if new sanctions - speaker: - Iran will abandon an offer to ship some of its uranium stockpile abroad if the United States imposes new sanctions, its parliament speaker said on Sunday.
AP source: US, China still at odds on NKorea, Iran: A senior U.S. official says the United States and China are still at odds about how to deal with North Korea over the sinking of a South Korean warship and the specifics of U.N. sanctions to slap on Iran over its suspect nuclear program.
Stranger than fiction: : Probe concludes torpedo sank South Korea ship: report: The metallic debris and chemical residue appear to be consistent with a type of torpedo made in Germany, indicating the North may have been trying to disguise its involvement by avoiding arms made by allies China and Russia, Yonhap quoted the official as saying.
Clinton to wage digital war on Kim for sinking ship: The plans include using mobile phone, MP3 and internet technology to spread dissident messages as well as cold-war tactics such as leaflets sent into North Korea by balloons and radio broadcasts.
Iran renews offer to help on US oil spill: Mehran Alinejad, the head of special drilling operations at NIDC, pointed to the experience gained by Iranian experts in containing huge oil leaks during the eight-year Iraqi-imposed war in the 1980s, and said, "Iranian technical teams have had major achievements in oil well capping and the Gulf of Mexico oil rig is not a great feat in comparison."
5 Reasons You Won’t See the Worst of the Gulf Oil Spill: Chemical Dispersant Cover-Up: Despite the fact that nobody is sure exactly how toxic the stuff is, or how being deployed on such a large scale will effect ecosystems, it will have at least one effect: it will delay public outrage by masking the apparent extent of the spill’s damage.
How Much Oil's Spilling? It's Not Rocket Science: Basically, the method for determining oil spillage boils down to common sense and high school (or even middle school) geometry, specifically the formula for the volume of a cylinder.
El NiƱo could make 2010 the hottest year ever: CLIMATE scientists have warned that 2010 could turn out to be the warmest year in recorded history.
UK duchess in newspaper scandal: Sarah Ferguson, Britain's Duchess of York, has allegedly been caught in a newspaper sting carried out by Britain's News of the World.
32 States Have Borrowed from the Federal Government to Make Unemployment Payments; California Has Borrowed $7 Billion: EconomicPolicyJournal.com has learned that 32 states have run out funds to make unemployment benefit payments and that the federal government has been supplying these states with funds so that they can make their payments to the unemployed
Las Vegas Unemployment Rate At 14.2 Percent: Seasonal hiring did little to improve the jobless crisis in Las Vegas last month. In fact, despite adding 2,500 jobs, the city’s unemployment rate soared to a new record of 14.2 percent.
A perfect storm for unemployment in June: While there is plenty of talk about the economic recovery, there is barely a whisper about what is just a few weeks ahead. It's not any one thing. It's a combination of three (and possibly four) different events that will deliver devastating body-blows to the economy.
Central Falls Rhode Island - Bankrupt - Goes Into Receivership: City officials Wednesday persuaded a Superior Court judge to appoint a receiver to take over municipal finances, a process that could end up with new contracts imposed on the city’s unions and vendors.