To Libya With God On Our Side

By Saul Landau and Nelson Valdes

Grabbing other people’s land and interfering in their affairs became as American as apple pie before the annexation of Texas, and “Manifest Destiny” as the engine of U.S. foreign policy. Continue

---

US Military Holds Terror Suspects in Secret Jails

By KIMBERLY DOZIER

The secrecy under which the U.S. runs that jail and about 20 others is noteworthy because of President Barack Obama's criticism of the old network of secret CIA prisons where interrogators sometimes used the harshest available methods, including the simulated drowning known as waterboarding. Continue

---

Latin America Shakes Off the US Yoke

By Mark Weisbrot

The current spat with Ecuador is symptomatic of Washington's failure to grasp that it no longer exercises regional hegemony. Continue

---

War on Palestinian Memory
Israel Resolves Its Democracy Dilemma

By Ramzy Baroud

Currently estimated at a fifth of the population of today’s Israel, Palestinians with Israeli citizenship have endured appalling treatment for decades. Continue

---

Will Iceland Vote “No” Or Commit Financial Suicide?

By Michael Hudson

A landmark fight is occurring this Saturday, April 9. Icelanders will vote on whether to subject their economy to decades of poverty, bankruptcy and emigration of their work force. Continue

---

Why Do People Hate John Maynard Keynes?

By Mike Whitney

It's not a question of Big Government "soaking the rich" to create a socialist Utopia. That's bunkum. It's a matter of recognizing the inherent shortcomings of the system and finding ways to make it operate more efficiently. Continue

---

Obama Hails Deal to Impose Record Cuts in Social Spending

By Patrick Martin

Obama twice boasted that he had signed on to “the largest annual spending cut in our history.” Eager to send a signal that this deal was only a down-payment on far more sweeping cuts in social programs to come in the fiscal year 2012 budget. Continue

---

Ivory Coast: 100 killed as Gbagbo troops regain ground: The Ivory Coast's defiant president Laurent Gbagbo regains ground in Abidjan, as UN human rights workers find more than 100 bodies in 24 hours.

Ivory Coast: Gbagbo fights back (Video): Although he is holed up in a bunker at the presidential residence, his troops have regrouped and are well armed. They are launching a new fight against forces loyal to Alassane Ouattara

Ivory Coast: French helicopters launch rockets at Gbagbo's palace: French helicopter gunships launched rocket attacks on President Laurent Gbagbo’s palace in Ivory Coast’s main city Abidjan on Friday night, according to witnesses.

Gbagbo forces fire at French envoy home-France: Mortar rounds and one rocket were fired at the residence of the French ambassador in Ivory Coast on Friday by forces loyal to Laurent Gbagbo, the French embassy said.

Pakistan air raids kill dozens of 'rebels': At least 54, including four soldiers, dead in exchanges between army, backed by helicopters, and gunmen in tribal belt.

At least 37 killed on Friday in Syria -rights group: - A Syrian rights group said on Saturday that security forces killed at least 37 people during Friday's demonstrations across the country.

Syria says 19 police killed in southern city: Daraa was the site of a mass demonstration Friday by thousands of anti-government protesters. Witnesses and human rights groups said security forces opened fire to disperse the gathering.

Syrian rights group says funeral comes under fire in southern city: Further details on the shooting were not immediately available. Telephone calls to Daraa were not going through, and the Syrian government has placed severe restrictions on media coverage in the country.

17 Palestinians killed in Israeli airstrikes in three days: At least 17 Palestinians, six of them civilians, have been killed in the Israeli pounding of the Hamas controlled Gaza Strip since Thursday in the bloodiest escalation since the two sides agreed to an informal ceasefire more than two years ago.

Gaza-Israel attack rages on as 4 killed: Israel killed four Palestinian resistance members and wounded half a dozen others as it pursued air attacks in Gaza for a third day on Saturday

Hamas warns Israel: Halt air strikes on Gaza or we'll intensify rocket fire: Spokesman for Hamas blames Israel for escalation in violence, says Gaza militants must fire rockets to protect Palestinian citizens

Hamas declares security alert in Gaza: "The interior ministry has decreed a state of alert. All security forces must work 24 hours in 24, even civil defence and medical services, to protect and save the people targeted by the Zionist occupiers," ministry spokesman Ihab al-Ghussein said.

Hamas says didn't mean to target Israeli school bus: "It was not known that the bus targeted on the outskirts of Gaza carried schoolchildren," spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri told Reuters

MK Herzog: Israel May Reoccupy Gaza: In a meeting with the party's young guard, Herzog said: "We are closer to conquering Gaza than we are to a lull...

Israeli Embassy in Cairo Under Siege: Demands: Embassy Closure and Withdrawal from The Camp David Accords in Wake of Renewed Attacks on Gaza

Do The People Of Egypt Want The Blockage On Gaza To Be Lifted?: Over one million Egyptian protesters in Cairo’s Liberation Square demanded their military rulers to abandon Israel and lift the blockade on the besieged Gaza Strip on Friday.

Wikileaks : US Embassy Cables: : Lieberman's pick for PA president: Arafat's economic adviser: He described Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas as “weak and corrupted, and no longer relevant” and suggested that the United States and Israel find a more suitable partner for dialogue in the PA leadership. His candidate: Mohammed Rashid, “although he is no Woodrow Wilson.

Wikileaks : US Embassy Cables: 'Hezbollah expected to launch 100 missiles a day at Tel Aviv': Israel expects next war against Hezbollah to be much more painful, leaked cables reveal, with 24,000 to 36,000 rockets and missiles expected to be launched at Israel.

Wikileaks : US Embassy Cables: : Netanyahu's 'friend' Sarkozy tried to dodge the PM: In their report of a June 2009 meeting between the French president and the Israeli premier - who claim to be friends - French officials said Sarkozy tried to avoid a tete-a-tete with his guest.
It's all about the money: : Settler leader downplays comments on West Bank evacuation: WikiLeaks cable quoting the "settler" leader saying that settlers would agree to evacuate West Bank for 'the right price.'
WikiLeaks: The Israel file: In the months that have passed since the original publication, rumors have spread to the effect that Assange had worked hand in hand with Israel to prevent exposure of embarrassing material about it. Proponents of such a conspiracy theory held that Assange is in fact a Mossad agent, or that he met ?(in Geneva, in November 2010?) with Mossad people and plotted the intrigue with them.
At least 14 protesters shot in Yemen: Police fired volleys of live rounds at demonstrators in Taez on Saturday, in what local residents said was some of the worst violence since anti-regime protests broke out in Yemen in January.
Yemen Pulls Envoy from Qatar in Row over Gulf Plan: Yemen called home its envoy from Qatar amid a dispute over a Gulf Arab plan for Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh to step down, as anti-government protesters again marched in Aden and Taiz on Saturday.
Ten killed as Iraq military storms Iran exiles' camp: Tensions boiled over this week when the Iraqi army moved troops near Camp Ashraf, prompting its residents to pelt soldiers with stones and throw themselves in front of military vehicles. The army stormed the camp yesterday, hurling smoke bombs at a crowd of about 100 masked people.
Seven gunmen, one civilian killed in Iraq violence: Seven gunmen and one civilian were killed in two separate attacks in Iraq, police sources said on Saturday.
Gates Says Some Troops May Remain in Iraq for Years: Some American troops could stay in Iraq for years, well beyond the scheduled withdrawal of all United States forces at the end of 2011, Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates said Friday.
Al Sadr threatens action if US forces remain in Iraq: Eight years to the day after former dictator Saddam Hussein was ousted, cleric Muqtada al-Sadr issued a statement to his followers that stopped just short of calling for violent action against U.S. forces. He accused "the occupation" of inciting panic, corruption and unrest among Iraqis.
UN: Iraq's leaders must address protest demands: -- The U.N. envoy to Iraq urged the country's leaders Friday to address the legitimate demands of protesters for jobs, services and accountability.
Eight rebels killed in fighting in Libya's Misrata: Libyan rebels fighting troops loyal to Muammar Gaddafi in the city of Misrata said eight of their fighters had been killed in clashes along a road leading to the rebel-controlled port on Saturday.
Gaddafi's tanks and heavy artillery are pushing ahead to retake Ajdabiya : Coming under heavy shelling, the rebels had retreated from the outskirts of Brega and were struggling to hold their ground.
Libya "rebels" vent frustration on Nato and a silent leadership: Benghazi rebels feel they are being denied the promised air power and kept in the dark by revolutionary council
EU ready for Misrata mission with UN backing: EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton has contacted U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to share her concerns over Misrata, one official said. The mission might require military backing, but it would not go beyond strictly providing assistance for humanitarian action.
Libya: American troops on the ground?: Gen. Carter F. Ham, commander of the U.S. Africa Command told Congress an international ground force might be needed to help the Libyan rebels and that U.S. troops might be involved
Libya opposition asks U.S. Treasury for Gaddafi assets: Ali Aujali, who resigned in February as Libya's ambassador to the United States and now represents Libya's most prominent rebel organization in Washington, in a letter to U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said the humanitarian conditions have deteriorated in areas held by the rebels.
UK: Special Forces scandal as officers are held 'for trying to leak secrets': The unprecedented arrests came as members of the SAS and SBS were deployed in Libya in preparation for airstrikes and to liaise with rebels and identify stranded British oil workers for rescue.
Military kills six Egyptian protesters: The death toll from a security crackdown on Egyptian protesters in Cairo's Liberation Square has risen to six after some seriously injured people died in hospitals.
Clashes erupt around Cairo's Tahrir Square: By 7am (local time) on Saturday morning, army and central security troops appeared to have withdrawn, leaving the square to protesters who set vehicles on fire and began setting up barricades made of furniture and left-behind barbed wire.
Bahrain police detain, beat prominent rights activist : Authorities in Bahrain on Saturday detained and beat a prominent human rights activist in part of widespread crackdown on the opposition in this tiny Gulf nation, a Bahraini human rights group and his relatives said.
Saudis hold second day of protests: In Saudi Arabia, hundreds of people have demonstrated to denounce the presence of Saudi forces in Bahrain, where they help the Al Khalifa monarchy to crack down on anti-government protesters.
Iran-Pakistan fallout over Bahrain: Diplomatic relations between Pakistan and Iran are under a cloud after the Iranian government protested recruitment of Pakistani military officials into the Bahraini police forces.
Bahrain's secret Mossad ties revealed?: New Wikileaks cables expose classified documents that include evidence of alleged cooperation between Persian Gulf state and Israeli intelligence agency
US Army clears “kill team” brigade commander of responsibility: An Army investigation into officers in charge of the brigade involved in murdering Afghan civilians for sport last year concluded that its commander had no responsibility for the atrocities.
Cuban "ex-CIA" agent acquitted in perjury case: Luis Posada Carriles, 83, declared not guilty of lying to customs about how he sneaked into the US in 2005. In 1976, he was arrested for planning the bombing of a Cuban airliner that killed 73 people.
Japan bans planting rice in radioactive soil: Fears of radiation spread to rice as the planting season began in Japan, prompting the government to ban its cultivation in contaminated soil as fallout leaking from a tsunami-damaged nuclear plant dealt another blow to the national diet.
Japan earthquake and tsunami debris floats across the Pacific toward the US west coast (27Pics)
One helluva boost: JPMorgan CEO sees compensation jump 1,500 per cent to $20.8million: He has piloted America's second biggest bank through the financial crisis and come out the other side relatively unscathed. And now Jamie Dimon, CEO of JPMorgan Chase & Co, is being extremely well rewarded for his efforts.
Johnson & Johnson fined for bribing doctors: US authorities fined cosmetics and drugs giant Johnson & Johnson $70 million on Friday for bribing doctors in Europe and paying kickbacks for contracts under a UN relief program in Iraq.
Banks in Ill., Nev. fail; makes 28 closed in 2011: Regulators on Friday shut down small banks in Illinois and Nevada, lifting the number of U.S. bank failures so far this year to 28 after 157 succumbed in 2010 to the gutted economy and mounting bad loans.
Debt Jumped $54.1 Billion in 8 Days Preceding Obama-Boehner Deal to Cut $38.5 Billion for Rest of Year: Since the beginning of the fiscal year on Oct. 1, 2010, the national debt has increase by $653.4 billion.
New home sales are at lowest level in almost 50 years: Americans are on track to buy fewer new homes than in any year since the government began keeping data almost a half-century ago. Sales are just half the pace of 1963 — even though there are 120 million more people in the U.S.