be just

Press TV - Israeli soldiers admit 'murdering' Gazans : "Israeli soldiers have confessed to wanton killing of Palestinian civilians and behaving immorally during the Operation Cast Lead in Gaza. The soldiers who fought in the Gaza war told a post-operation conference that they had killed Palestinian civilians and intentionally destroyed their property under permissive rules of engagement. 'When we entered a house, we were supposed to bust down the door and start shooting inside and just go up story by story... I call that murder. Each story, if we identify a person, we shoot them. I asked myself - how is this reasonable?', an Israeli soldier said. The testimonies includes killing of a Palestinian mother and her two children by an Israeli sharpshooter and the case of an elderly Palestinian woman who was killed as she was walking 100 meters (yards) from her home."

UN envoy: Gaza op seems to be war crime of greatest magnitude - Haaretz - Israel News : "A Palestinian human rights group has released the names of 1,417 Gazans it says were killed in Israel's recent war on the Palestinian territory's Hamas rulers. The Palestinian Center for Human Rights said Thursday that of those killed, 926 were civilians, 236 were combatants and 255 were members of the Palestinian security forces. Most of the policemen were killed in a series of Israeli bombing attacks on Hamas security compounds on December 27, the first day of the war. The group says it has investigated every civilian death. The list is posted on the center's Web site. Israeli government spokesman Mark Regev disputes the findings. He says Israel is working on its own list and contends that most of those killed were combatants or legitimate targets. Thirteen Israelis were killed during the 22-day Gaza operation."

Baghdad's water still undrinkable 6 years after invasion BAGHDAD — The stench of human waste is enough to tell Falah abu Hasan that his drinking water is bad. His infant daughter Fatma's continuous illnesses and his own constant nausea confirm it. "We are the poor. No one cares if we get sick and die," he said. "But someone should do something about the water. It is dirty. It brings disease." Everybody complains about the water in Baghdad , and few are willing to risk drinking it from the tap. Six years after the U.S. invaded Iraq , 36 percent of Baghdad's drinking water is unsafe, according to the Iraqi Environment Ministry — in a good month. In a bad month, it's 90 percent. Cholera broke out last summer, and officials fear another outbreak this year. "Even if the water is good today, no one would trust it," grocer Hussein Jawad said. He said that about 40 percent of his business was ...

ei: Palestinian mother's solidarity with 40 adopted prisoners : "Adopting more children seemed to be an unusual thing to do for Handoma Wishah, known as Umm Jaber, as she had already raised six children of her own and got most of them into college. Yet she says it was easy to make what could have been a tough decision. Umm Jaber 'adopted' about 40 adult men of several Arab nationalities without hesitation. The story began in the 1980s, after four of her sons were jailed by the Israeli army. Yasir, then 20, was sentenced to three years, Basem, 24, to a year and a half, Ziad, 38, to two years and Jaber, 35, to life -- all of them for charges that they jeopardized Israel's 'security.' Despite the hardship of having four sons imprisoned, she maintained her composure and like other mothers of detained Palestinians, went to visit them."

CIA Kidnap Trial to Resume in April : "An Italian judge says the trial of 26 U.S. agents and seven Italians accused of kidnapping a terrorism suspect will resume next month, after the Constitutional Court clarifies key rulings in the case. Wednesday’s hearing in Milan was postponed to April 22. The defense claimed victory last week after the Constitutional Court ruled that state secrets had been violated in the case against the Americans. The court is expected to rule by April 22 on whether prosecutors can use any state evidence said to violate secrecy provisions. The defendants, including the former head of Italy’s military intelligence agency Nicolo Pollari, are accused of kidnapping an Egyptian imam from Milan and flying him to Egypt. The cleric, Osama Moustafa Hassan Nasr, also known as Abu Omar, says he was imprisoned, interrogated and tortured outside Cairo. The Americans are being tried in absentia. The Italian government has not asked for their extradition, and the CIA has...

Shoes thrown to protest Bush | Herald Sun : "THREE Canadians were arrested and others threw shoes in protest against George W. Bush today when he gave his first post-presidential speech in western Canada's oil patch. The footwear was tossed at an effigy of the 43rd US president outside a Calgary conference centre where Mr Bush was to speak to 1500 people at a luncheon, said Colette Lemieux of the Canadian Peace Alliance. Some 200 protesters from across the country had gathered for the demonstration against Mr Bush's invasion of Iraq and rendition of terror suspects, she said."

National debt hits record $11 trillion - Manu Raju - POLITICO.com The eye-popping national debt surpassed $11 trillion Monday, the largest in U.S. history. The new Treasury Department figures on the national debt were released as the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office is expected to project that the annual budget deficit will be higher than previously estimated by the White House's Office of Management and Budget. The debt, which refers to the cumulative amount of money the government owes, hit $10.9 trillion on Friday.

‘Zee’ End of Blackwater? -- In These Times To distance itself from ongoing controversies, lawsuits and canceled contracts, Blackwater Worldwide, the private security firm known for its mercenary work in Iraq and Afghanistan, has changed its name to Xe (pronounced “zee”). The company announced this linguistic detoxification after the U.S. State Department refused to renew its contract to protect diplomats in Iraq. On March 2, Blackwater founder Erik Prince resigned as CEO, a move that followed the recent departures of the vice chairman, chief operating officer, president and executive vice president.