Questions About "Hamas-Fatah Reconciliation"

By Ali Abunimah

At this point, neither side has published the text of an agreement - and certainly Palestinians have a right to see one; they have had enough of secret deals and understandings. Continue

---

U.S. Politicians Line Up to Castigate Palestinian Unity Deal

By Alex Kane

Democrats and Republicans are lining up to demand the cut-off of U.S. aid to the Palestinian Authority as a response to the reported unity deal between Hamas and Fatah.  Expect the Obama administration to take heed and agree with Congress–especially with the 2012 elections approaching. Continue

---

AIPAC
Is Israel's Rightwing in Eric Cantor's District?

By David Swanson

Cantor is listed on Maplight.org as the top recipient of campaign money from "pro-Israel" groups in the U.S. House of Representatives, having taken in over $200,000. Continue

---

Petraeus: Can He Tell It Straight?

By Ray McGovern

The news that President Barack Obama has picked Gen. David Petraeus to be CIA director raises troubling questions. Continue

---

Blindness Toward War Easy for Americans

By John R. MacArthur

To understand the utter absurdity of America’s intervention in the Libyan civil war, I recommend a visit to the Museum of Modern Art in New York to see its new exhibition of German Expressionism. Continue

---

Obama's Inconsistency Doctrine on the Arab Spring

By P.J. Crowley

Although Obama seemed to embrace the concept of “responsibility to protect” in intervening in Libya and calling for Muammar Gaddafi to step down from power, he has not done the same in Syria. Continue

---

Financial Heist of the Century:
Confiscating Libya's Sovereign Wealth Funds

By Manlio Dinucci

U.S. and European ruling circles focused on these funds, so that before carrying out a military attack on Libya to get their hands on its energy wealth, they took over the Libyan sovereign wealth funds. Continue

---

From Democracy to Plutocracy

By Jim Hightower

Busting unions, unleashing corporate money in politics, restricting access to courts, and gutting financial and environmental regulation--all of these and more are about supplanting our democracy with their plutocracy. Continue

---

Grand Theft Benny

By Mike Whitney

It's the biggest flim-flam in the nation's history. But, thanks to Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders, the scam has been exposed and the public can now get a good look at the type of swindle that passes as monetary policy. Continue

---

Federal Reserve For Dummies

Video

The Anti-Bernank gives visual commentary on the Fed Chairman's recent press conference. Continue

---

33 militants killed in NW Pakistan: Security forces backed by gunship helicopters bombarded militants hideouts and killed at least 27 insurgents.

Obama remakes Afghan war "braintrust": President Barack Obama will Thursday unveil new military and diplomatic commanders for the increasingly unpopular US Afghan war effort, in a sweeping reshuffle of his national security team.

18 killed as deadly blast devastates Marrakesh cafe: Authorities suspect explosion which killed 18 at tourist hangout in Moroccan city was the work of a suicide bomber.

At least 16 killed in Iraq: A suicide bomber has attacked a Shiite mosque in central Iraq, killing 10 people amid nationwide violence that left 16 dead, including senior police and army officers.

15 killed in Yemen violence: The deadliest clashes erupted in Sanaa as troops opened fire to break up protests, killing 12 people and wounding more than 130, medical sources said.

Armed government opponents attacks checkpoint in southern Yemen, clash with Republican Guard: Yemeni government opponents clashed with police Thursday in the southern province of Aden, as tens of thousands of protesters rallied nationwide to denounce a deadly government crackdown and demand the president’s ouster.

NATO Kills 12 Libyan Enemy Combatants in Misrata: At least one NATO warplane attacked a rebel position on the front lines of this besieged city Wednesday, a rebel commander said, killing 12 fighters and wounding five others in what he called an accident that could have been avoided.
Gaddafi forces regain Libyan border crossing: Muammar Gaddafi's forces have regained control of the strategically important Dehiba-Wazin Crossing, and now have control of the entire border with Tunisia, Al Jazeera has learned.
Gadafy forces 'seize' town of Kufra: Forces loyal to Muammar Gadafy seized control of the town of Kufra in the remote southeastern desert, state television reported today.
U.S. helps Libyan Enemy Combatants as Gaddafi open new fronts: - The United States threw a financial lifeline to rebels controlling eastern Libya while forces loyal to Muammar Gaddafi harried insurgent strongholds in the west and far southeast of the country.
Oil for guns: US eases oil sanctions to help fund Libyan rebel fighters: The United States on Wednesday authorized Americans to buy oil from Libyan rebels, easing sanctions to open a stream of funding to opponents of Libyan strongman Moamer Kadhafi.
Black propaganda: US: Libya death toll could be as high as 30,000: Gene Cretz, the U.S. ambassador to Libya, said it is very hard to gauge how many people have died in strongman Moammar Gadhafi's crackdown on protesters and the subsequent fighting between rebels and pro-government forces.
More bull: Gaddafi Troops Raping, Issued Viagra: U.S. Envoys : In a closed-door Security Council meeting, Susan Rice said that Qaddafi was "issuing Viagra to his soldiers so they go out and rape" women, without providing evidence to support the assertion
"Dictator" gives guns to citizens? Libya's Gaddafi trains volunteer army to fight NATO: Libyan officials have said in recent weeks that they had begun arming and training civilians across government-controlled western Libya, in an effort to put the country's tribes at the forefront of the fight against NATO attacks.
British troops could be deployed to Tunisia: British troops could be deployed to the Libyan border to "guard refugees" fleeing the Gaddafi regime, Liam Fox signalled yesterday.
Dozens killed in Syrian protests: At least 42 people were killed, including 15 in the march on Daraa, according to witnesses and a human rights group.
'Terrorists' attack military post in Syria: Syria's state-run television says "armed terrorists" have attacked a military post in the southern city of Daraa, killing four soldiers and capturing two.
US aims financial hits at Syrian officials, Iran: – The Obama administration on Friday imposed financial penalties against three top Syrian officials, Syria's intelligence agency and Iran's Revolutionary Guard over the violent crackdown on demonstrators in Syria.
Muslim Brotherhood backs Syria protests: – The Muslim Brotherhood called on Syrians to take to the streets ahead of Friday prayers and help the besieged city of Deraa, where a rights group said civilian deaths from a tank-backed army attack rose to 50.
Tread lightly on Syria, Russia warns UN Security Council: Russia weighed in on the debate, warning the council that any outside interference in Syria’s domestic conflict could pose a risk to regional security.
Bahrain issues four death sentences: Bahrain's military court has sentenced four anti-government protesters to death, in a move to further crush the ongoing revolutionary movement in the small Persian Gulf country.
Bahrain 'torture service' official to attend royal wedding: Ambassador to UK was previously in charge of Bahraini agency that is accused of electric shocks and beatings
Whats the difference between diplomacy and hypocrisy? Syrian ambassador's royal wedding invitation withdrawn: Foreign Office decides ambassador's presence at ceremony would be 'unacceptable' at a time when UK is at loggerheads with Damascus over Syria's crackdown on protesters
Gaza civilians wounded in Israeli attack: At least four Palestinians, including two children, are injured in an Israeli tank fire on central Gaza.
Egypt breaks Israels siege of Gaza: Egypt FM: Gaza border crossing to be permanently opened: Egyptian FM tells Al-Jazeera that preparations are already underway to permanently open Rafah border crossing, which would allow goods and people in and out of Gaza with no Israeli supervision.
Palestinian prime minister Salam Fayyad must go, Hamas insists: Islamist faction makes demand as part of Palestine unity pact with Fatah, set to be signed in Cairo next week
Egypt sending team to Gaza to help implement Palestinian deal : The deal provides for the creation of a non-factional professional security force which would be subject to scrutiny by the Palestinian legislature.
Peres: Palestinian unity deal could be barrier to statehood: President calls burgeoning Fatah-Hamas reconciliation agreement a 'fatal mistake,' saying he expected a future Palestinian vote to result in Hamas' rule of the West Bank.
Ashrawi urges intl support for unity: "The division between Fatah and Hamas has been enormously destructive and self-defeating for Palestinians. This agreement represents a positive step towards Palestinian reconciliation and national unity, which are absolutely crucial to the success of our struggle,"
Gilad Atzmon: Drama in London: This event is promising to be a turning point -- The relentless attempts by Jewish political bodies to gate-keep the discourse needs to be confronted and exposed.
Poll: Only one in five Egyptians have a positive view of US : A majority (54% to 36%) would like to annul the peace treaty with Israel.
Telegraph names alleged rape victim in full Guantánamo release: One of the documents published by the Telegraph today includes the full name of a boy detained at Guantánamo who, according to the file, was raped at the age of 15, just prior to being transferred to the camp.
Dennis Kucinich : PR Stunt on Pfc. Manning, Pentagon Offers No Answers, Only Contrivance: Instead of answers and accountability for the potential mistreatment of Pfc. Manning, the Department of Defense only offers fake transparency in the form of a guided tour of his new prison.
Write to Bradley Manning in Fort Leavenworth: Write directly to Bradley Manning, send some kind words
FBI serves Grand Jury subpoena likely relating to WikiLeaks: so appears clear that the DOJ is strongly considering an indictment under the Espionage Act -- an act that would be radical indeed for non-government-employees doing nothing other than what American newspapers do on a daily basis (and have repeatedly done in partnership with WikiLeaks).
Special report: The day America took leave of its senses: One moment, we were watching a property magnate, with one eye on the presidency, the other on his reality TV show ratings, and puffed up like a bullfrog, rejoicing on an airport tarmac in New Hampshire that America's President of two years had finally made public his birth certificate.
2016: when China overtakes the US: After more than a century as the world's largest economy, the US will need to adjust to its declining global hegemony
Wal-Mart: Our shoppers are 'running out of money': Wal-Mart's core shoppers are running out of money much faster than a year ago due to rising gasoline prices, and the retail giant is worried, CEO Mike Duke said Wednesday.
One Million Exhausted Jobless Benefits in Past Year: Roughly 1 million people in the U.S. were unable to find work after exhausting their unemployment benefits over the past year, Labor Department data released Thursday suggest..
Minimum wage anyone? : McDonald’s Hires 62,000 During National Event: McDonald’s and its franchisees hired 62,000 people in the U.S. after receiving more than one million applications. A McDonald’s spokeswoman declined to disclose how many of the jobs were full- versus part-time. The number of applications for unemployment benefits in the U.S. rose last week, a sign that progress in the labor market may be fading.