be just

Research links rise in Falluja birth defects and cancers to US assault | World news | The Guardian : "A study examining the causes of a dramatic spike in birth defects in the Iraqi city of Falluja has for the first time concluded that genetic damage could have been caused by weaponry used in US assaults that took place six years ago. The research, which will be published next week, confirms earlier estimates revealed by the Guardian of a major, unexplained rise in cancers and chronic neural-tube, cardiac and skeletal defects in newborns. The authors found that malformations are close to 11 times higher than normal rates, and rose to unprecedented levels in the first half of this year – a period that had not been surveyed in earlier reports. - Sent using Google Toolbar"

Assange: Many Top Arab Officials Are CIA Spies -- News from Antiwar.com : "In an interview with the Arabic-language version of al-Jazeera, WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange revealed that a large number of the documents that his organization is in possession of prove that top officials across the Arab world have been spying on their own governments on behalf of the CIA. - Sent using Google Toolbar"

allAfrica.com: Somalia: 17 Dead in Mogadishu Clashes, Aweys Praises Al Shabaab : "At least 17 people were killed in the Somali capital Mogadishu during Tuesday clashes, as Islamist leader Sheikh Hassan Dahir Aweys publicly declared his support for the merger of Al Shabaab and Hizbul Islam insurgent factions, Radio Garowe reports. The fighting started overnight Monday and continued into Tuesday, with Somali government forces and allied African peacekeepers (AMISOM) repelling attacks by Al Shabaab insurgents. - Sent using Google Toolbar"

ei: The Gaza massacre and the struggle for justice : "Omar/MaanImages) The Gaza massacre, which Israel launched two years ago today, did not end on 18 January 2009, but continues. It was not only a massacre of human bodies, but of the truth and of justice. Only our actions can help bring it to an end. The UN-commissioned Goldstone Report documented evidence of war crimes and crimes against humanity committed in an attack aimed at the very 'foundations of civilian life in Gaza' -- schools, industrial infrastructure, water, sanitation, flour mills, mosques, universities, police stations, government ministries, agriculture and thousands of homes. Yet like so many other inquiries documenting Israeli crimes, the Goldstone Report sits gathering dust as the United States, the European Union, the Palestinian Authority and certain Arab governments colluded to ensure it would not translate into action. - Sent using Google Toolbar"

Gilad Atzmon - Writings - 1933 - Zionists sign a deal with Hitler - The Transfer Agreement : "- Sent using Google Toolbar"

2011: Prospects for Humanity? : Information Clearing House: ICH : "December 28, 2010 'Information Clearing House' -- During the 1950s I grew up in a family who rooted for the success of African Americans in their just struggle for civil rights and full legal equality. Then in 1962 it was the terror of my own personal imminent nuclear annihilation during the Cuban Missile Crisis that first sparked my interest in studying international relations and U.S. foreign policy as a young boy of 12: “I can do a better job than this!” With the escalation of the Vietnam War in 1964 and the military draft staring me right in the face, I undertook a detailed examination of it. Eventually I concluded that unlike World War II when my Father had fought and defeated the Japanese Imperial Army as a young Marine in the Pacific, this new war was illegal, immoral, unethical, and the United States was bound to lose it. America was just picking up where France had left off at Dien Bien Phu...

Informed Comment: Thoughts on the Middle East, History and Religion : "‘ WSJ: Some American officials have spoken about contingency plans being drawn now in Washington for the possibility that some American troops will stay after 2011. Do you know about these contingency plans, and do you need troops? Mr. Maliki: I do not care about what’s being said. I care about what’s on paper and what has been agreed to. The withdrawal of forces agreement [Status of Forces Agreement or SOFA] expires on Dec. 31, 2011. The last American soldier will leave Iraq. - Sent using Google Toolbar"

Caught in a Lie: Despite Denials, US Refused to Help in Dubai Probe -- News from Antiwar.com : "The Obama Administration has been caught out in yet another lie by the release of a WikiLeaks cable, in this case relating to the January 2010 Dubai assassination of Mahmoud al-Mabhoh, a top Hamas member. - Sent using Google Toolbar"

Gaza Doctor Sues Israel Over Daughters’ Killing -- News from Antiwar.com : "While enormous numbers of civilians were killed in the Gaza Strip over the course of the 2008-09 Israeli invasion, none garnered so much attention internationally nor within Israel itself as the deaths of the three daughters of Dr. Ezzeldeen Abu al-Aish and his niece. - Sent using Google Toolbar"

The ‘Subsidy’: How a Handful of Merrill Lynch Bankers Helped Blow Up Their Own Firm - ProPublica : "The group, created in 2006, accepted tens of billions of dollars of Merrill's Triple A-rated mortgage-backed assets, with disastrous results. The value of the securities fell to pennies on the dollar and helped to sink the iconic firm. Merrill was sold to Bank of America, which was in turn bailed out by taxpayers. What became of the bankers who created this arrangement and the traders who took the now-toxic assets? They walked away with millions. Some still hold senior positions at prominent financial firms. - Sent using Google Toolbar"

allAfrica.com: Somalia: Harakat Al-Shabaab 'Gobbles Up' Hizbul Isam (Page 1 of 2) : "On December20, Hizbul Islam (H.I.) folded its tent and migrated under the encampment of Harakat al-Sbababb Mujahiden (H.S.M.), leaving H.S.M. with a monopoly over armed opposition to Somalia's Western-backed Transitional Federal Government (T.F.G.) supported by the African Union peacekeeping mission, AMISOM. The dissolution of H.I. as an independent organization and its absorption into H.S.M. was preceded by H.I.'s retreat to its last stronghold on the outskirts of Mogadishu, the Afgoe distrinct, having been militarily defeated in the strategic town of Burhakabe on the road from Mogadishu to Baidoa, and in its heartland, the Lower Shabelle region, apart from the Mogadishu suburbs. - Sent using Google Toolbar"

Chashme Buddoor (1981) Songs, Chashme Buddoor (1981) Lyrics, Chashme Buddoor (1981) Videos, Download MP3 Songs, Hindi Music - Dishant.com

My FDL | Blog | Bradley Manning Speaks About His Conditions : "Sign the letter to the Commanding Officer of Bradley Manning’s brig urging for Bradley’s unnecessary POI order to be lifted Bradley Manning, the 23-year-old Army private accused of leaking classified information to Wikileaks, has been held in the brig at Quantico Marine Corp Base for five months in inhumane conditions, with severe restrictions on his ability to exercise, communicate, or even sleep. Manning has not been convicted of any crime. Nor is there a date certain for any court hearing. - Sent using Google Toolbar"

UN Envoy: Spectacular Attacks in Offing in Afghanistan -- News from Antiwar.com : "“We are detecting from the anti-government elements an attempt to show, on their side, spectacular attacks,” Mistura insisted, adding that a political settlement with the Taliban was vital to the stability of Afghanistan. - Sent using Google Toolbar"

Julian Assange Furore Deepens as New Details Emerge of Sex Crime Allegations : Information Clearing House: ICH Others showed similar reservations. WikiLeaks supporter, the historian Tariq Ali, said that it was possible to separate Assange the man and the allegations from the cables. "WikiLeaks is an organisation and he [Julian] is one of them. So I am very glad he is out and all that, but WikiLeaks would go on even without him and that is important to stress." Investigative journalist John Pilger believes it is necessary to defend Assange. "He is an innocent man until proven otherwise," he said. "It is clear that in Sweden the presumption of innocence has been publicly torn up by those whose duty was to safeguard it. This has encouraged a vicious campaign in the US, including incitement to murder Assange, and secret planning to stitch him up as some sort of terrorist."

US behind Ethiopia invasion in Somalia - Wiki leaks dispatch | Ethiopian Music, News, Video - Addis Live! : "ADDIS ABABA) — A WikiLeaks’ leaked diplomatic cables exposed Ethiopia and the US government secret agreement to invade Somalia. However, the report indicated that Ethiopia had no intention to the invasion and said the US was behind the plot and was sponsored by the United States government. - Sent using Google Toolbar"

US water has large amounts of likely carcinogen: study - Yahoo! News : "WASHINGTON (AFP) – A US environmental group has found that drinking water in 35 American cities contains hexavalent chromium, a probable carcinogen, The Washington Post reported Sunday. - Sent using Google Toolbar"

Declassified CIA files have revealed that US intelligence officials went to great lengths to protect a Ukrainian fascist leader and suspected Nazi collaborator from prosecution after the Second World War and used him to stir up trouble inside the Soviet Union from an office in New York.

Italian court ups sentences for 23 CIA agents : Information Clearing House: ICH December 15, 2010 " AFP " -- ROME — An Italian court on Wednesday upped the sentences for 23 CIA agents convicted in absentia of abducting an Egyptian imam in one of the biggest cases against the US "extraordinary rendition" programme. The 23 CIA agents, originally sentenced in November 2009 to five to eight years in prison, had their sentences increased to seven to nine years on appeal in what one of the defence lawyers described as a "shocking blow" for the US. They were also ordered to pay 1.5 million euros (2.0 million dollars) in damages to the imam and his wife for the 2003 abduction.

The Charade of Israeli-Palestinian Talks -- In These Times : "Washington’s pathetic capitulation to Israel while pleading for a meaningless three-month freeze on settlement expansion—excluding Arab East Jerusalem—should go down as one of the most humiliating moments in U.S. diplomatic history. In September the last settlement freeze ended, leading the Palestinians to cease direct talks with Israel. Now the Obama administration, desperate to lure Israel into a new freeze and thus revive the talks, is grasping at invisible straws—and lavishing gifts on a far-right Israeli government. - Sent using Google Toolbar"

It’s Payback Time! by Justin Raimondo -- Antiwar.com : "It’s “unclear” only to those whose vision is blurred by State-worship. For the rest of us, it’s all too clear who was and is responsible for the online thuggery directed at WikiLeaks and its supporters. The same people who believe they have a God-given “right” to carpet-bomb civilians and murder foreigners “terrorists” en masse are now launching virtual attacks on web sites whose owners have violated no known laws and are publishing exactly the same materials being printed by the New York Times, the Guardian, and Der Spiegel. The online version of the TSA hasn’t taken down the web sites of the legacy media, at least not yet, but make no mistake – they’re next. - Sent using Google Toolbar"

Wikileaks: Discussion with Woyanne intelligence chief | Ethiopia : "1. (S) In a rare meeting with the elusive head of the Ethiopian National Intelligence and Security Service (NISS) and main hardliner within the powerful executive committee of the ruling Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) party, Ambassador and NISS chief Getachew Assefa discussed a wide range of regional and bilateral issues. Getachew made clear during the four hour private meeting that Ethiopia sought greater understanding from the U.S. on national security issues vital to Ethiopia, especially Ethiopia’s concerns over domestic insurgent groups like the Oromo Liberation Front (OLF) and Ogaden National Liberation Front (ONLF). He spoke at length about former Addis Ababa Mayor-elect Berhanu Nega XXXXXXXXXXXX; VOA’s biased reporting; the dangers of former defense minister Seeye Abraha’s growing authority within the opposition; Ethiopia’s views on democracy and human rights; Eritrea’s role as a ...

Nigeria Files Corruption Charges Against Dick Cheney, May Issue Bench Warrant Through Interpol | Sahara Reporters : "Former US Vice President, Dick Cheney, may soon have a 'red notice' issued for his arrest as the Nigerian authorities today officially filed corruption charges against him before a Federal Capital Territory High Court judge in Abuja. Prosecutors in the Federal Attorney General's office, led by Godwin Obla, confirmed to Saharareporters from the Office of the Minister of Justice that Nigeria has officially filed 16 -count charges to bring Dick Cheney to trial for corruptly enriching Nigerian officials when he led Halliburton, an oil services firm that distributed over $180 million to top Nigerian officials in order to obtain juicy contracts from the Nigerian government. - Sent using Google Toolbar"

Nigeria Files Corruption Charges Against Dick Cheney, May Issue Bench Warrant Through Interpol | Sahara Reporters : "Former US Vice President, Dick Cheney, may soon have a 'red notice' issued for his arrest as the Nigerian authorities today officially filed corruption charges against him before a Federal Capital Territory High Court judge in Abuja. Prosecutors in the Federal Attorney General's office, led by Godwin Obla, confirmed to Saharareporters from the Office of the Minister of Justice that Nigeria has officially filed 16 -count charges to bring Dick Cheney to trial for corruptly enriching Nigerian officials when he led Halliburton, an oil services firm that distributed over $180 million to top Nigerian officials in order to obtain juicy contracts from the Nigerian government. - Sent using Google Toolbar"

Tension grows between Calif. Muslims, FBI after informant infiltrates mosque : "'This is Farouk al-Aziz, code name Oracle,' he said into the keys as he sat in his parked car in this quiet community south of Los Angeles. 'It's November 13th, 4:30 a.m. And we're hot.' The undercover FBI informant - a convicted forger named Craig Monteilh - then drove off for 5 a.m. prayers at the Islamic Center of Irvine, where he says he spied on dozens of worshipers in a quest for potential terrorists. - Sent using Google Toolbar"

Over 40 prominent Israeli rabbis – some of them public servants – yesterday targeted the country's million-plus Arab minority with a religious edict warning their congregations not to rent property to non-Jews. The letter, which provoked immediate protests from civil rights activists, left-wingers and Arab politicians, is the latest in a series of moves by elements of both the secular and religious Israeli right which have helped to inflame mounting inter-ethnic tensions over the last two years. - Sent using Google Toolbar"

James Moore: I Am Julian Assange : "I am Julian Assange. I want information so that I can hold my government accountable. If my country acts improperly and in my name, I want the proof. I want to know if there actually is no evidence proving weapons of mass destruction. I want to know if America is working with Israel to overthrow Iran's leadership. I want data that has not been spun by reporters that work for publishers and broadcasters with political and business goals that conflict with the facts. I want to know. - Sent using Google Toolbar"

The Cable Guy: Julian Assange Becomes US's Public Enemy No. 1 - SPIEGEL ONLINE - News - International : "He may be on the short list for Time magazine's 'person of the year,' but many Americans consider Julian Assange to be a criminal and a terrorist. The WikiLeaks founder has been fighting a battle on several fronts since the publication of the diplomatic cables. He has now been arrested in London. - Sent using Google Toolbar"

Former Aussie PM Pressed US to Prepare to Attack China -- News from Antiwar.com : "A WikiLeaks released cable from March 2009 related a conversation between Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and former Australian Prime Minister (currently Foreign Minister) Kevin Rudd on the issue of China. Incredibly, it included the Aussie PM urging the US to prepare for an aggressive war against the world’s most populous nation. - Sent using Google Toolbar"

Poll: Afghans Losing Faith in US, Increasingly Back Insurgents -- News from Antiwar.com : "A new poll conducted by a myriad of international media outlets, including ABC News, BBC, ARD and the Washington Post showed huge pessimism amongst Afghans, a strong trends moving against support for the US occupation forces and in favor of supporting the insurgency. The poll shows confidence in the NATO occupation eventually being successful down to only 36 percent, from 48 percent last year, and only 43 percent view the US favorably, the lowest in six years. - Sent using Google Toolbar"

WikiLeaks founder denied bail in UK - Europe - Al Jazeera English : "A London court has denied bail to Julian Assange, the founder of WikiLeaks, and ordered that he remain in custody for a week, after he was arrested on an extradition warrant. The 39-year-old Australian, who handed himself into authorities in the British capital on Tuesday, is wanted in Sweden on allegations of sex crimes. Howard Riddle, the presiding judge at the City of Westminster Magistrate's Court, refused bail for Assange on the grounds that there was a risk he would fail to surrender. - Sent using Google Toolbar"

Clinton: Saudis World’s Largest Terror Funders -- News from Antiwar.com : "A new flurry of WikiLeaks cables may prove embarrassing to Saudi Arabia, as the documents show US allegations that the nation is the “world’s largest source” for funding to al-Qaeda, the Taliban, and other Sunni terror groups. - Sent using Google Toolbar"

Helen Thomas says Zionists control U.S. foreign policy - KansasCity.com : "DETROIT | Helen Thomas said Thursday that she stands by her comments about Israel she made earlier this year that led to her resignation as a national columnist. And she went further, saying that Zionists control U.S. foreign policy and other institutions. The local Jewish community condemned her remarks. In an interview, Thomas, 90, said that criticizing Israel led to her resignation and ostracism in Washington. “I can call a president of the United States anything in the book, but I can’t touch Israel, which has Jewish-only roads in the West Bank,” Thomas said. “No American would tolerate that — white-only roads.” - Sent using Google Toolbar"

YouTube - Helen Thomas on Her Resignation and Middle East : "- Sent using Google Toolbar"

Cable Viewer : ¶ 3. (S) Turning to the Mujahedin el Khalkh (MEK), the Ambassador urged Maliki not to take any provocative actions prior to the elections. Maliki took this point on board, but replied by asking what outcome the USG sees, and how long this situation can go on. Ambassador stressed that a.) the situation "won't go on forever," b.) the USG has sent a "stern message" to the MEK that they must deal directly with the GOI, not the USG, and c.) the U.S. base near the MEK camp will eventually be closing. The USG has urged the Europeans to take a similar stance, and is seeking greater United Nations involvement in treating the MEK as refugees. Maliki replied that the GOI "has to do something" so that it can say it has started the process. Otherwise, he said, this issue will be used against him in the elections. In Maliki's view, "whoever wants to return to their country can do so." The rest, he said, should be relocated away from the ...

Is AIPAC a Wikileaks Operation? | Informed Comment : "One of the supreme pieces of hypocrisy in Washington right now is all the politicians crying treason and death penalty on Wikileaks founder Julian Assange, when many of them are up to their gills in money arranged for them from the American Israel Public Affairs Committee. - Sent using Google Toolbar"

African migrants dying in Yemen border town - Haaretz Daily Newspaper | Israel News : "Thirty African migrants, some of them among thousands deported by Saudi Arabia, have died in recent weeks along Yemen's border where a humanitarian crisis is growing, an aid agency said on Friday. Saudi Arabia has been expelling illegal migrants, mainly from Ethiopia, Somalia or Sudan, who reach the oil-exporting kingdom after a long and hazardous journey across the Horn of Africa seeking a better life in the Gulf or beyond, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) said. - Sent using Google Toolbar"

Wikileaks and the El-Masri case: : Information Clearing House: ICH : "Khaled El-Masri is a German citizen, a father of six who the CIA kidnapped by mistake, then sent off to receive months of torture in Afghanistan. When they realized he was innocent, he was flown to Albania and dumped on a back road without so much as an apology. El-Masri's futile efforts at receiving justice in the U.S. are well-known, but cables recently leaked by Wikileaks reveal that the U.S. also warned German authorities not to allow a local investigation into his kidnapping. The nearest he's gotten to justice is an arrest warrant for 13 CIA agents issued by prosecutors in Spain, which they entered on forged passports. In this video, originally part of the Witness.org documentary OUTLAWED, El-Masri relates his experiences. OUTLAWED website: http://www.witness.org/ Posted December 02, 2010 - Sent using Google Toolbar"

WikiLeaks: Experts Explain America's Role In Afghanistan Corruption : Information Clearing House: ICH : "“We know that Ahmed Wali Karzai, President Hamid Karzai’s half-brother and the man who effectively controls Kandahar province, is getting paid by the CIA and that thousands of other officials are being paid off. That, in my mind, is corruption,” said Pratap Chatterjee, an author and columnist for the Guardian. “A lot of the biggest money in Afghanistan is U.S. military and State Department contracts.” - Sent using Google Toolbar"

Misseriya forms alternative government for Abyei - Sudan Tribune: Plural news and views on Sudan : "December 04, 2010 (KHARTOUM) – Chieftains of Al-Misseriya tribe has established an alternative government to supplant the current administration of the oil-producing area of Abyei, Al-Sahafah daily newspaper reported on Thursday. - Sent using Google Toolbar"

Egypt lobbied for south Sudan referendum to be delayed – leaked US report - Sudan Tribune: Plural news and views on Sudan : "December 4, 2010 (KHARTOUM) – Last year Sudan’s northern neighbor, Egypt, lobbied to the United States to postpone southern Sudan’s self determination referendum by four to six years as it feared that the new nation could put its share of the Nile’s water in jeopardy according to a leaked US diplomatic cable. In the cable, Cairo said southern secession in 2011 could have 'fatal implications'. Egypt believes that the south’s independence could destabilize the region causing an increase in migrants into Egypt. - Sent using Google Toolbar"

allAfrica.com: Somalia: 35 Killed As Insurgents Fight Govt And Each Other : "At least 35 people were killed Thursday as intense violence continued in the Somali capital Mogadishu, with reports saying two insurgent factions fought each other in Bay region northwest of Mogadishu, Radio Garowe reports. - Sent using Google Toolbar"

WikiLeaks : "WikiLeaks is a non-profit media organization dedicated to bringing important news and information to the public. We provide an innovative, secure and anonymous way for independent sources around the world to leak information to our journalists. We publish material of ethical, political and historical significance while keeping the identity of our sources anonymous, thus providing a universal way for the revealing of suppressed and censored injustices. - Sent using Google Toolbar"

Debunked: "Julian Assange is a Traitor (U.S.)" | WL Central : "The Falsehood: Wikileaks' release of 250K diplomatic cables constitutes an act of treason against the United States, and renders Julian Assange and other Wikileaks staffers liable to charges punishable by capital punishment. The Explanation: This falsehood is quite straightforward, and has become a talking point in the mainstream media since Cablegate broke. It finds form in the belief that Julian Assange is a 'traitor,' or is involved in 'treason,' or that, more generally, Wikileaks is involved in treason. The falsehood can only be held along with a profound ignorance of the law of treason, or of the relevant facts. - Sent using Google Toolbar"

Ron Paul stands up for Julian Assange - Andy Barr - POLITICO.com : "Rep. Ron Paul (R-Texas) is taking a stand as one of Julian Assange’s few defenders in Washington, arguing that the WikiLeaks founder should get the same protections as the media. Attorney General Eric Holder said this week that the Justice Department is examining whether Assange can be charged with a crime for posting hundreds of thousands of leaked government intelligence documents and diplomatic cables. - Sent using Google Toolbar"

Lebanon 'gave Israel army tips' - Middle East - Al Jazeera English : "Lebanon's defence minister offered advice to Israel in 2008 on how they might defeat Hezbollah, the Shia group based in southern Lebanon, according to US diplomatic cables released by WikiLeaks. The memo, published in Lebanese daily Al-Akhbar, showed Elias Murr telling US officials that areas under Hezbollah control would not receive Lebanese forces' protection from attacks. 'If Israel has to bomb all of these places in the Shia areas as a matter of operational concern, that is Hezbollah's problem,'' Murr reportedly said. - Sent using Google Toolbar"

Assange 'facing death threats' - Europe - Al Jazeera English : "The founder of whistleblowing website WikiLeaks has said that he is taking precautions against death threats following the publication of hundreds of leaked US diplomatic cables. Julian Assange, who is also wanted for questioning by Swedish police over alleged sex offences, was answering readers' question on the website of the UK's Guardian newspaper on Friday, despite lying low since the documents began to appear on the group's website on Sunday 'The threats against our lives are a matter of public record, however, we are taking the appropriate precautions to the degree that we are able when dealing with a superpower,' he was quoted as saying on the newspaper's website. - Sent using Google Toolbar"

Jahanpour: US following Israeli 5-Point Plan on Iran: Wikileaks | Informed Comment : "In view of the fact that the United States is arming its “allies” with billions of dollars worth of the most sophisticated weapons, its protestations about Iran’s military threat sounds hollow. According to The Financial Times, the US plans to reinforce Arab military power by selling an unprecedented amount of USD 123 billion to four Persian Gulf littoral states. Saudi Arabia’s share stands at nearly $67 billion, the UAE at $40 billion, Oman at $12 billion and Kuwait at $7 billion, according to the business daily. - Sent using Google Toolbar"

Now we know. : Information Clearing House: ICH : "The problem is that for decades, Middle East potentates have been threatening to chop off the heads of snakes, serpents, rats and Iranian insects – the latter a favourite of Saddam Hussein who used US-supplied 'insecticide' to destroy them, as we all know – while Israeli leaders have called Palestinians 'cockroaches' (Rafael Eitan), 'crocodiles' (Ehud Barak) and 'three-legged beasts' (Begin). Tears of laughter, I have to admit, began to run down my face when I read the po-faced US diplomatic report from Bahrain that King Hamad – or 'His Supreme Highness King Hamad' as he insists on being called, in his Sunni dictatorship with a Shia majority and a kingdom slightly larger than the Isle of Wight – had announced that the danger of letting the Iranian nuclear programme go on was 'greater than the danger of stopping it'. - Sent using Google Toolbar"

Wikileaks : US Cable Confirms US Killed Women and Children In Yemen : Information Clearing House: ICH : "By Michael Isikoff National investigative correspondent November 30, 2010 'NBC News' -- The U.S. media paid scant attention in June when Amnesty International released a report charging that U.S. cruise missiles carrying cluster bombs had struck the village of al Majalah in southern Yemen on Dec. 17, 2009, killing 41 civilians, including 14 women and 21 children. Pentagon officials declined to discuss the matter at the time. But accusations of direct U.S. participation in that bombing and others in Yemen that reportedly caused civilian casualties quickly became a principal theme of al-Qaida propaganda. - Sent using Google Toolbar"

ei: Why NGO Monitor is attacking The Electronic Intifada : "NGO Monitor has launched a campaign targeting a Dutch foundation's financial support to The Electronic Intifada, accusing the publication among other things of 'anti-Semitism.' NGO Monitor is an extreme right-wing group with close ties to the Israeli government, military, West Bank settlers, a man convicted of misleading the US Congress, and to notoriously Islamophobic individuals and organizations in the United States. NGO Monitor's campaign of public defamation against The Electronic Intifada has focused on a grant the publication receives from the Dutch foundation ICCO. NGO Monitor has pressured the Dutch government, which subsidizes ICCO, to end its support for The Electronic Intifada. Dutch Foreign Minister Uri Rosenthal has apparently already lent public credence to NGO Monitor's campaign against The Electronic Intifada, an independent publication established in February 2001 and read by thousand...

The World's 10 Worst Dictators | Parade.com : "Despite King Abdullah’s talk of reform, Saudi women still need permission from male guardians to work, study, travel, marry, or even obtain an ID card. The government opened a women’s branch of its Human Rights Commission, but only men serve on its board. There is no Saudi penal code, and trial defendants often cannot question witnesses. U.S. link: Dependence on Saudi oil—the U.S. imported $50 billion worth in 2008— has caused our leaders to overlook the royal family’s abysmal human-rights record.

The Day the Dollar Died : Information Clearing House: ICH : "The Day the Dollar Died Video A hypothetical look at how the collapse of the US dollar may affect the world. - Sent using Google Toolbar"

Gaza as Israel’s Gimp | Informed Comment : "What is truly disgusting is not only that the Israelis pursue this beastly policy toward Palestinian children and other civilians. It is that the major world powers are complicit in it. If the United Nations Security Council amounted to anything, it would order (and I mean order) the Israelis to desist. And don’t get me started about the US government, which is playing Zed to Israel’s Maynard in abusing the captive Gimp. - Sent using Google Toolbar"

Russia offered Israel $1 billion for drone technologies to cancel deal to supply Iran with S-300 missiles - PanARMENIAN.Net : "PanARMENIAN.Net - Russia offered Israel $1 billion for advanced drone (automatic aircraft) technologies, and in addition offered to cancel the deal to supply Iran with S-300 missiles, according to an official cable published Sunday via WikiLeaks. The cable was sent by U.S. Under Secretary of State for Arms Control and International Security Ellen Tauscher after meeting Director of Policy and Political-Military Affairs at the Defense Ministry Amos Gilad. - Sent using Google Toolbar"

Maan News Agency: Leaked cable: Israel consulted PA prior to Gaza war : "GAZA CITY (Ma'an) -- Israel approached the PA and Egypt about potentially assuming control of the Gaza Strip following a theoretical 'defeat' of Hamas before Israel's winter war on Gaza, a leaked US diplomatic cable revealed Sunday. - Sent using Google Toolbar"

ei: Letter from prison: I have a lot of energy to struggle : "The lighthouse, al-fanar in Arabic, is an inspiration. I have built a lighthouse here in jail. It has been built in my mind because I am not allowed to use the space, but my mind is totally mine. Al-fanar became part of my vision and dream for freedom and human dignity. The lighthouse is out of prison, while the role of the anchor is to be rooted and safe. In fact, I need both -- al-fanar to give direction to my vision, while the role of the anchor is to understand where I currently am. I need to be balanced and realistic to act within a totally unbalanced reality. I need to challenge and to change. I need, and we need to change. The anchor is needed in order to act. The lighthouse shows how and where and for what. - Sent using Google Toolbar"

South Sudan braces for trouble - Features - Al Jazeera English : "The scene after dark in this lively market in the northernmost tip of southern Sudan is more reminiscent of the Middle East than of East Africa, but both regions are represented here. Northern Sudanese men in jalabiyas and skullcaps smoke shisha alongside lanky, dark-skinned southerners. Ethiopians serve roast chicken in an outdoor restaurant next to a tea shop run by Darfuris. Drawing New Lines: Border Issues in South Sudan from Pete Muller on Vimeo . - Sent using Google Toolbar"

Solidarity Movement for a New Ethiopia : "No one has ever been brought to justice in Ethiopia for the massacre of 424 Anuak in Gambella, Ethiopia on December 13-16, 2003, and genocidal massacres that killed one thousand more Anuak in 2004. Investigations by Genocide Watch in early 2004 revealed the Ethiopian government’s planning, execution and cover-up of these massacres. Please see the following link for the Anuak Genocide Evidence . Since then, the Ethiopian government, under Prime Minister Meles Zenawi, has continued to commit more crimes against humanity throughout Ethiopia and in Somalia. The killings in the Ogaden are genocidal. A culture of impunity exists. Investigation by the High Commissioner for Human Rights is critical. - Sent using Google Toolbar"

FBI Thwarts Its Own Plot in Portland by Larisa Alexandrovna -- Antiwar.com : "FBI Thwarts Its Own Plot in Portland - Sent using Google Toolbar"

WikiLeaks Archive — Iran Armed by North Korea - NYTimes.com : "Secret American intelligence assessments have concluded that Iran has obtained a cache of advanced missiles, based on a Russian design, that are much more powerful than anything Washington has publicly conceded that Tehran has in its arsenal, diplomatic cables show. Iran obtained 19 of the missiles from North Korea, according to a cable dated Feb. 24 of this year. The cable is a detailed, highly classified account of a meeting between top Russian officials and an American delegation led by Vann H. Van Diepen, an official with the State Department’s nonproliferation division who, as a national intelligence officer several years ago, played a crucial role in the 2007 assessment of Iran’s nuclear capacity. - Sent using Google Toolbar"

Saudi King Pressing for US War Against Iran -- News from Antiwar.com : "Among the first major revelations of the massive release of WikiLeaks diplomatic cables comes from Saudi Arabia. Saudi King Abdullah has been repeatedly pressing the United States government to launch a unilateral attack on his long-standing rival, Iran. The calls to attack are nominally presented as about Iran’s civilian nuclear program but seem to center around the king’s belief that Iran is uniquely “evil” and needs to be stopped to save the region. Given that the Saudi King and the Iranian Supreme Leader are extremely influential in two rival sects of Islam, the effort seems more aimed around getting the US involved in a Holy War of sorts than stopping Iran’s modest civilian enrichment program. - Sent using Google Toolbar"

The Big Dump by Justin Raimondo -- Antiwar.com : "They won’t be the same because the release speaks volumes about the vulnerability and sheer incompetence of a government that cannot even keep its own internal communications secure. That such an enormous cache has been made public – basically the secret history of American diplomacy for the past decade or so – mocks our inflated view of ourselves as the last superpower, or, as the French put it, the “hyper-power.” The hapless hyper-power is more like it. There are endless fascinating details to be savored, such as the behavior of a member of the British royal family deemed “inappropriate” by American diplomats, and US-Israeli discussions of dual citizenship and its relation to technology theft, but – so far – the smokiest gun to come out of all this material appears to be held by Hillary Clinton. - Sent using Google Toolbar"

Iran: West behind scientist's death - Middle East - Al Jazeera English : "Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the Iranian president, has accused Israel and Western governments of being behind the killing of a prominent Iranian nuclear scientist. Assailants on motorcycles attached bombs to the cars of two nuclear scientists as they were driving to work in Tehran on Monday, killing one and wounding the other, Iranian officials say. Ahmadinejad said that “undoubtedly the hand of the Zionist regime and Western governments is involved'' in the killing. But he said the assassination won't stop Iran from pursuing its nuclear programs. Ali Akbar Salehi, Iran's nuclear chief, said the man killed was involved in a major project at the country's chief nuclear agency, though he did not give specifics. - Sent using Google Toolbar"

F.B.I. Says Oregon Suspect Planned Attack of ‘Grand Scale’ - NYTimes.com : "PORTLAND, Ore. — A Somali-born teenager who thought he was detonating a car bomb at a packed Christmas tree-lighting ceremony downtown here was arrested by the authorities on Friday night after federal agents said that they had spent nearly six months setting up a sting operation. The bomb, which was in a van parked off Pioneer Courthouse Square, was a fake — planted by F.B.I. agents as part of the elaborate sting — but “the threat was very real,” Arthur Balizan, the F.B.I.’s special agent in charge in Oregon, said in a statement released by the Department of Justice. An estimated 10,000 people were at the ceremony on Friday night, the Portland police said. - Sent using Google Toolbar"

The Health Insurance Industry’s Vendetta Against Michael Moore : "Michael Moore, the Oscar-winning documentary filmmaker, makes great movies but they are not generally considered “cliff-hangers.” All that might change since a whistle-blower on the “Democracy Now!” news hour revealed that health insurance executives thought they may have to implement a plan “to push Moore off a cliff.” The whistle-blower: Wendell Potter, the former chief spokesman for health insurance giant Cigna. He was quoting from an industry strategy session on how to respond to Moore’s 2007 documentary “Sicko,” a film critical of the U.S. health insurance industry. Potter told me that he is not sure how serious the threat was but he added, ominously, “These companies play to win.” - Sent using Google Toolbar"

Ambulance service: 4,200 Somalis killed in 2 years | Antiwar Newswire : "Maj. Barigye Bahoku, the spokesman for the 7,000-strong African Union force in Mogadishu, said he could not comment on the ambulance service report because he had not read it. Human rights groups and Mogadishu residents have repeatedly accused the African Union of indiscriminately targeting populated areas of the city with artillery fire after insurgents fire mortars toward AU troops. Bakara is the most popular market. The executive director of CIVIC, the U.S.-based Campaign for Innocent Victims in Conflict, said civilians bear the brunt of war in Somalia, Iraq and Afghanistan. But she said Somalia may be the most dangerous because neither side abides by obligations under international law to avoid civilian casualties, as U.S. and international forces in Iraq and Afghanistan are required to. 'Al-Shabab hides out in civilian markets, blasts the government or AMISOM (African Union) bases and then runs, so b...

Ethiopia PM warns of Nile war - Africa - Al Jazeera English : "Locked talks Egypt, Ethiopia and seven other countries through which the Nile river passes have been locked in more than a decade of contentious talks driven by anger over the perceived injustice of a previous Nile water treaty signed in 1929. Ethiopia, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda and Kenya signed a new deal to share the waters in May, provoking Egypt to call it a 'national security' issue. Meles said he was not happy with the rhetoric coming from the Egyptians but dismissed the claims of some analysts that war could eventually erupt. 'I am not worried that the Egyptians will suddenly invade Ethiopia. 'Nobody who has tried that has lived to tell the story. I don't think the Egyptians will be any different and I think they know that,' Meles said. - Sent using Google Toolbar"

For white Americans, things aren't what they used to be | Gary Younge | Comment is free | The Guardian : "Pity George Bush. Scanning eight years of calamity for the lowest point in his presidency could not have been easy. Among the top contenders: Abu Ghraib; failing to act on threats of an al-Qaida attack before 9/11 or find WMD in Iraq; helping to collapse the economy; being forced to withdraw a supreme court judge choice; and failing on immigration reform. But no. According to his recent memoir, the nadir came when Kanye West, a black singer, accused him of racial neglect in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. West said: 'America is set up to help the poor, the black people, the less well off as slow as possible … George Bush doesn't care about black people.' - Sent using Google Toolbar"

92% of Afghans Never Heard of 9/11: Think tank: : Information Clearing House: ICH : "92% of Afghans Never Heard of 9/11: Think tank: By Daniel Tence November 20, 2010 'Truthdig' -- Fewer than one in 10 Afghans are aware of the 9/11 attacks and their precipitation of the war in Afghanistan, says a study from an international think tank. A report (PDF) from the International Council on Security and Development (ICOS) shows that 92 percent of those surveyed had never heard of the coordinated multiple attacks on US soil on September 11, 2001. It also shows that four in 10 Afghans believe the US is on their soil in order to 'destroy Islam or occupy Afghanistan.' - Sent using Google Toolbar"

What If NATO Is Defeated In Afghanistan? : Information Clearing House: ICH : "America’s rational for invading Afghanistan was to destroy al-Qaida. But CIA chief Leon Panetta recently admitted there were no more than 50 al-Qaida operatives left in Afghanistan. The rest – no more than few hundred - fled to Pakistan years ago. So what are 110,000 US troops and 40,000 NATO troops doing in Afghanistan? Certainly not nation-building. Most reports show Afghanistan is in worse poverty and distress than before the US invasion. While the platitudes and synthetic optimism flowed thick at Lisbon, giant US Army bulldozers, demolition teams and artillery were busy leveling wide swathes of Afghan homes around the Pashtun stronghold, Kandahar. In 2006, US Marines conducted a similar ruthless campaign to crush the rebellious Iraqi city of Falluja. - Sent using Google Toolbar"

Matt Taibbi on Deluded Tea Partiers, Ayn Rand and How the U.S. Is Like the Soviet Union | Tea Party and the Right | AlterNet : "Matt Taibbi: Sure and I was part of that. The campaign press are trained to cover politics like a sports story because it’s a successful way to bring eyeballs to television. You present it as an ongoing conflict between these two great parties, red and blue, conservative and liberal, and the rhetoric is more and more heated with each successive electoral cycle. And we present it like a World Wrestling Entertainment smack-down showdown. Even if you watch the actual political shows, they’re even structured exactly like ESPN’s football analysis programs, where you have the anchor guy on one side and there are four commentators, two from each team. That’s the way we do the news; that’s the way we do politics, and we’re not really trained to look at a deeper, more nuanced story. That’s the reason we missed this finance thing because it doesn’t fit into that fo...

Tibi: For Israel, the life of an Arab has less value - Haaretz Daily Newspaper | Israel News : "By handing light sentences to IDF soldiers who knowingly risked the life of a non-combatant Palestinian child, an Israel Defense Forces court has conveyed a message that the lives of Arabs have less value than the lives of Jews, Deputy Knesset Speaker Ahmed Tibi said Sunday. - Sent using Google Toolbar"

23 people killed in Somalia weekend fighting | Antiwar Newswire : "The residents said the Islamist militia al-Shabab abandoned Wardhumale village, leaving the government-allied Ahlu Sunnah Wal Jama militia in charge. Spokesmen for both sides claimed victory. - Sent using Google Toolbar"

Airport staff 'exposed woman's breasts, laughed' | News.com.au : "A WOMAN is suing over an incident where airport staff allegedly pulled down her top and joked about her breasts in public view. The 23-year-old traveller, from Amarillo, US, is suing the US Government for the emotional distressed she says the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) agents caused. - Sent using Google Toolbar"

Al-Qaeda’s Christian Massacre — Aiding and Abetting the Occupation of Palestine. : Information Clearing House: ICH : "November 19, 2010 'Information Clearing House' -- If we are to believe the voice on those Osama bin Laden tapes, the elusive al-Qaeda leader cares deeply about Palestine. Yet the actions of the terrorist network he supposedly still directs all too often belie its statements of concern for their “brothers” under Israeli occupation. The massacre of Iraqi Christians at Our Lady of Salvation Church in Baghdad also makes one wonder about claims that the group has “a great sense of timing.” The slaughter of Catholic Mass-goers occurred just one week after church leaders from across the Middle East had forcefully condemned Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territories. More than 200 members of 14 different churches had gathered in Rome for a papal synod to address concerns about Christian emigration from the region. However, as one commentator observed, “T...

Nearly 1 in 5 Americans Had Mental Illness in 2009 : Information Clearing House: ICH : "November 19, 2010 'Reuters' -- CHICAGO - More than 45 million Americans, or 20 percent of U.S. adults, had some form of mental illness last year, and 11 million had a serious illness, U.S. government researchers reported on Thursday. Young adults aged 18 to 25 had the highest level of mental illness at 30 percent, while those aged 50 and older had the lowest, with 13.7 percent, said the report by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration or SAMHSA. The rate, slightly higher than last year's 19.5 percent figure, reflected increasing depression, especially among the unemployed, SAMHSA, part of the National Institutes of Health, said. 'Too many Americans are not getting the help they need and opportunities to prevent and intervene early are being missed,' Pamela Hyde, SAMHSA's administrator, said in a statement. 'The consequences for indi...

Pentagon Blows up Thousands of Homes in Afghanistan : Information Clearing House: ICH : "“One of the most fearsome tools is the Miclic, the M58 Mine-Clearing Line Charge, a chain of explosives tied to a rocket, which upon impact destroys everything in a swath 30 feet wide and 325 feet long. The Himars missile system, a pod of 13-foot rockets carrying 200-pound warheads, has also been used frequently for demolition work. “Often, new military roads go right through farms and compounds, cutting a route that will keep soldiers safe from roadside bombs. In Zhare District alone, the 101st Airborne’s Second Brigade has lost 30 soldiers since last June, mostly to such bombs.” - Sent using Google Toolbar"

: Information Clearing House: ICH

BlogPost - Mosque protests reach new level of surreal : "Mosque protests reach new level of surreal By Melissa Bell A Christian church in Phoenix has had to make a presidential-type denial: It is not Muslim. The building under construction will feature a domed ceiling, and protesters have taken that as a sign the church is not what it says it is. The leaders have hung up a sign saying, 'We are building a Christian house of worship,' the Atlantic reports. The front of the building also says Luz Del Mundo Iglesia, which is Spanish for Light of the World Church. 'I have nothing against Islamic people,' Carlos Montemayor, the pastor of the church, said in a phone interview. But local commentary had been growing, saying that the building was a mosque and an investigation should be launched into the church. He put the sign up to stop the comments. 'They should be happy that we are putting something beautiful by the freeway, but they're not,' he said. - Sent u...

Mystery of Who Funded Right-wing "Radical Islam" Campaign Deepens : Information Clearing House: ICH : "November 18, 2010 'Salon' - - In the heat of the 2008 presidential election, an obscure nonprofit group called the Clarion Fund made national news by distributing millions of DVDs about radical Islam in newspaper inserts in swing states. The DVDs, 28 million in all, were a boost to Republican candidates who were trying to paint Democrats as weak on terrorism -- and they arguably helped fuel the anti-Muslim sentiment that boiled over in the 'ground zero mosque' fight last summer. The film, 'Obsession: Radical Islam's War With the West,' was widely criticized for its cartoonish portrayal of Muslims as modern-day Nazis. But who put up the money to send out all those millions of DVDs? - Sent using Google Toolbar"

Eric Cantor and the Provoking of American Anti-semitism : Information Clearing House: ICH : "Eric Cantor and the Provoking of American Anti-semitism By Lawrence Davidson November 18, 2010 'Information Clearing House' - - Zionists of all stripes incessantly complain about antisemitism. They tell us that it is on the rise and that is why Israel is so important. They warn that when antisemitism inevitably reaches lethal levels Israel will be the only safe haven left for world’s Jews, including those oh so comfortable ones in the United States. The flip side of this alarmism is that the same Zionists are forever striving to turn the warning into a self-fulfilling prophecy. For instance, Israeli governments have behaved in such a brutal and illegal fashion toward the Palestinians that no self-respecting ethical human being can help but be indignant and angry. And, because of Zionist insistence that Israeli nationalism and Judaism are one in the same, half the world...

AFP: Twenty-one civilians 'killed by shelling in Mogadishu' : "MOGADISHU — Artillery shelling and gunfire between African Union troops and Islamist insurgents killed at least 21 civilians in Somalia's capital Mogadishu Wednesday, witnesses and medical sources said. Most were killed in Bakara, Mogadishu's biggest market, when African Union troops started shelling the area after an explosive device hit one of their convoys, witnesses said. 'The medical teams got an emergency alert and they rushed to Bakara market where they have collected around 16 dead bodies of civilians who were killed in the shelling,' said Ali Muse, head of Mogadishu ambulance service. Another five civilians were killed in crossfire after a roadside bomb and an ambush hit an African Union convoy, witnesses said. - Sent using Google Toolbar"

This Is More About Money Than It Is Security : Information Clearing House: ICH : "The former secretary of Homeland Security, Michael Chertoff, represents Rapiscan, the company which is selling these scanners to his former department. Rep. John J. Duncan Jr., former Chairman of the House Aviation Subcommittee and the current top Republican on the House Subcommittee on Highways and Transit, blasts TSA's invasive 'pat downs' during a speech on the floor of the House of Representatives on November 17, 2010. Duncan also questions the role of lucrative government contracts in TSA's new naked body scanning machines. - Sent using Google Toolbar"

Srebrenica massacre suspect held - Europe - Al Jazeera English : "Authorities in Bosnia and Herzegovina say police have arrested a suspect accused of taking part in the systematic execution of thousands of male civilians at the end of Bosnia's 1992-95 war. The state prosecution office said on Monday that 38-year-old Dragan Crnogorac was arrested in the northwestern city of Banja Luka. - Sent using Google Toolbar"

Tomgram: Juan Cole, The Asian Century? | TomDispatch For Barack Obama, midterm 2010 has already been written off as a crushing Republican triumph, but that’s hardly the full story. After all, approximately 29 million Americans who voted for him in 2008 didn’t bother to stir for him or the Democrats in 2010. Think of it this way: he’s less a man who lost to the opposition than a man who lost his own dispirited base, much of which is by now thoroughly disappointed, if not mad as hell, and evidently not particularly interested in supporting him anymore. Like many presidents in defeat, he promptly left town (or "the bubble ," as he’s taken to calling it) for places as far east as possible, in this case all in Asia. In the wake of an electoral blowout, this previously planned diplomatic journey of goodwill was quickly recast as a search for American jobs. A little late to launch that search, of course, and India may not be the perfect fit either. After all, a...

The Forty First New York City Marathon on a chilly Sunday brought us warmness. The men's marathon was packed with top athletes, including Haile Gebreselassie running for the first time and a rookie Ethiopian 26-year-old Gebre Gebremariam who won many long distance running this year but was a debutant to marathon which he won and surprised himself and the world. The elite runners packed together among them Haile Gebreselassie and the defending champion Meb Kiflezgie until Queens Borough Bridge, the 16-mile mark. Haile was forced to back down because of a knee injury. Haile told New Yorkers on starting lineup that he had "minor" inflammation on his knee and promised to do his best. It was at Queens Borough Bridge Haile Gebreselassie and Gebre Gebremariam met, Haile said, "Go Gebre! You can not stay far behind" and I am done; the call that motivated Gebre like Mamo Wolde at 1968 Mexico Olympics when Abebe Bikila couldn...

PressTV - AI wants Bush on trial over torture : "The London-based Amnesty International (AI) has called for a criminal investigation into former US President George W. Bush's admission of torture. The rights group's call comes after Bush confirmed in his recently released memoirs, Decision Points, that he authorized the use of 'enhanced interrogation techniques' against detainees held in secret US custody. Exactly six days after the September 11 attacks, Bush authorized the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) to set up secret detention facilities outside the US. Amnesty claims multiple human rights violations were committed against detainees in the name of the so-called 'war on terror.' Additionally, in an 8 November 2010 interview with Matt Lauer on NBC, Bush stated that he had authorized the use of 'water boarding' and other 'enhanced interrogation techniques' against alleged 'high-value detainees.' During the interview, Bush focused...

If Olbermann's Donations Are Bad, What About GE's? : Information Clearing House: ICH : "November 06, 2010 'Fair' - - MSNBC host Keith Olbermann has been placed on indefinite suspension without pay in the wake of a Politico report (11/5/10) that revealed Olbermann had donated $7,200 to three Democratic candidates, in violation of NBC's standards barring employees from making political contributions. A journalist donating money to a political candidate raises obvious conflict of interest questions; at a minimum, such contributions should be disclosed on air. But if supporting politicians with money is a threat to journalistic independence, what are the standards for Olbermann's bosses at NBC, and at NBC's parent company General Electric? According to the Center for Responsive Politics, GE made over $2 million in political contributions in the 2010 election cycle (most coming from the company's political action committee). The top recipient w...

VP Biden pledges unwavering support for Israel - Yahoo! News : "NEW ORLEANS – After meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Vice President Joe Biden told Jewish groups on Sunday that the U.S. under the Obama administration remains a steadfast and unwavering ally to Israel. Biden met for about an hour with Netanyahu to discuss the Mideast peace negotiations, a move seen as a possible sign of movement for the troubled diplomatic process between Israel and the Palestinians. The peace talks broke down in late September over renewed Israeli settlement construction in the West Bank. - Sent using Google Toolbar"

Armenia: Yerevan Still Bitter over Biden Comments | EurasiaNet.org

The Obama Postmortem : Information Clearing House: ICH November 04, 2010 " Information Clearing House " --It’s the day after the Republican sweep we all knew was coming. If Obama had any dignity, if he was honest with himself and with us, he would resign. It’s abundantly clear that he isn’t up to the job. But you don’t become president by being honest or dignified. So now it’s wound-licking time. The President and his cronies are comforting each other. “It’s not your fault the economy sucks,” a Yes Man reassures Obama, sinking his heels into the new Oval Office carpet. “It was like that when we got here.” Do they scratch him behind his ears? They should. It feels nice. “It was the poor economy—not the wisdom of the Republicans’ ideas or the brilliance of their tactics—that assured they would retake control of the House,” coos MarketWatch’s Rex Nutting. Which is true. And doesn’t matter...

ei: Boycott victory: Africa Israel suspends settlement construction Africa Israel, the flagship company of Israeli billionaire Lev Leviev, announced this week that it is no longer involved in Israeli settlement projects and that it has no plans for future settlement activities. Africa Israel subsequently denied that this was a political decision. However, in the last few years numerous organizations, firms, governments and celebrities have exerted pressure and severed their relationships with Leviev and his companies over their involvement in settlement construction and other human rights abuses, in response to a boycott campaign initiated by Adalah-NY.

Iraqi Christians Seek Autonomous Region in Nineveh Province -- News from Antiwar.com : "An organization representing Iraqi Christians today issued a call for the Iraqi government to accept the establishment of an autonomous region for the nation’s Christian minority, carving out part of the Nineveh Province and bordering Iraqi Kurdistan, the first such autonomous region. Iraqi Christians have an ancient history but have come under growing attack since the 2003 US invasion. As many as half of the nation’s Christians are believed to have died or fled into exile. The region in question includes a large number of Iraqi Christians, but has also been singled out as a target of annexation for the Kurds. - Sent using Google Toolbar"

Tea Party backing Candidate who Allegedly Shot Unarmed Iraqis 60 Times : Information Clearing House: ICH : "Thirty-nine-year-old Ilario Pantano, who is running for North Carolina's 7th congressional district as a Republican, was charged with the premeditated murder of two Iraqi civilians in 2005 while serving as a second lieutenant with the US Marines. In April of 2004, Pantano and his platoon stopped and detained two Iraqi men in a car near Falluja. While the majority of his platoon was away, he and two others ordered the detained Iraqis to search their own car for weapons and then allegedly unloaded two full magazines of his M16A4 rifle into them. Sergeant Daniel Coburn, who was 27 at the time and one of the three soldiers at the incident, recalled wondering 'when the lieutenant was going to stop, because it was obvious that they were dead.' - Sent using Google Toolbar"

The Tariq Aziz Sentence : Information Clearing House: ICH : "The unprovoked, unjustified, criminal invasion of Iraq (and other nations around the world over the past 100+ years), and the blood of millions of innocents are upon America's conscience, and the conscience of its immoral leaders. The crimes of Henry Kissinger and George W. Bush (and a host of other individuals walking around free, giving speeches and enjoying the American way like nothing is the matter) are grievous by far than anything the arrogant victors append upon their victims. Yet, the ways of the mighty are strange, indeed! The very tyrants and war criminals behind some of the most ghastly mass killings committed by human beings, thereafter sit in judgment of their victims- in complete disregard for humanity and civilization. This is surreal, this is unreal, this is truly an upside-down world. This is, plain and simple, the way of imperialism and tyranny. It is in this context that I must regi...

Girls killed by Islamist firing squad in Somalia | World news | The Guardian : "An Islamist militia in Somalia has publicly shot dead two teenage girls by firing squad after accusing them of spying for the government, it emerged today. The victims – reported to be 18 or younger – were killed in front of hundreds of residents in Beledweyne, near the border with Ethiopia. The town is controlled by the hardline al-Shabaab rebel movement, which has become notorious for its extreme form of punishment, including stonings and cross-amputations, for various crimes, usually adultery and theft. The killings, which happened on Wednesday, are believed to the first instance of any females in Somalia being executed for spying. The girls' relatives denied they were guilty of the charge. - Sent using Google Toolbar"

How Has Mladic Managed to Evade Capture? - NYTimes.com : "Q. Is this a critical moment in the hunt for Mr. Mladic? A. Yes, it is. The first arrest warrant against Mladic was issued 15 years ago, in 1995. Mladic is one of the last two fugitives, the other being Goran Hadzic. The time for the Tribunal is running out and if we want to see Mladic tried before the I.C.T.Y., his immediate arrest is of paramount importance. In order to achieve this arrest, we have strongly recommended Serbian authorities to undertake a review of investigative strategy to deploy more people and adopt a multidisciplinary approach. Look, more needs to be done. Time is running out. This tribunal will close in the near future. We want to give a wake-up call that more can be done and needs to be done. We have not said that no efforts are being made to improve cooperation with my office. The arrival of Mladic diaries and related materials was seen as a very positive sign. What has been most instrumental in secu...

Iraq war files document more deaths than US count | Antiwar Newswire : "Military documents laid bare in the biggest leak of secret information in U.S. history suggest that far more Iraqis died than previously acknowledged during the years of sectarian bloodletting and criminal violence unleashed by the American-led invasion in 2003. The accounts of civilian deaths among nearly 400,000 purported Iraq war logs released Friday by the WikiLeaks website include deaths unknown or unreported before now — as many as 15,000 by the count of one independent research group. The field reports from U.S. forces and intelligence officers also indicate U.S. forces often failed to follow up on credible evidence that Iraqi forces mistreated, tortured and killed their captives as they battled a violent insurgency. - Sent using Google Toolbar"

Leaker of Pentagon Papers Joins WikiLeaks in Rebuking U.S. - NYTimes.com : "LONDON — Julian Assange, the WikiLeaks founder, and Daniel Ellsberg, who leaked the Pentagon Papers, lashed out together on Saturday at the Obama administration’s aggressive pursuit of whistle-blowers, including those responsible for the release of secret documents on the Iraq war. - Sent using Google Toolbar"

Google admits copying computer data - Yahoo! News UK : "The company collected the information from wireless networks when its vehicles drove around residential streets taking photographs for its worldwide Street View product, which was launched in 2008. Anti-surveillance campaigners have described the error as 'outrageous' and the privacy watchdog has launched an investigation. It is not yet known whether UK homes were affected by the security breach. - Sent using Google Toolbar"

WikiLeaks and Assange Honored : Information Clearing House: ICH : "October 25, 2010 'Information Clearing House' --' You are not likely to learn this from the “mainstream media,” but WikiLeaks and its leader Julian Assange have received the 2010 Sam Adams Associates for Integrity in Intelligence (SAAII) award for their resourcefulness in making available secret U.S. military documents on the Iraq and Afghan wars. If the WikiLeaks documents get the attention they deserve, and if lessons can be learned from the courageous work of former CIA analyst Sam Adams – and from Daniel Ellsberg’s timely leak of Adams’s work in early 1968 – even the amateurs in the White House may be able to recognize the folly of widening the war from Afghanistan to adjacent countries. That leak played a key role in dissuading President Lyndon Johnson from approving Gen. William Westmoreland’s request to send 206,000 more troops – not only into the Big Muddy, but also into countries...

Iraq war logs: Apache helicopters kill 14 civilians in hunt for insurgents | World news | guardian.co.uk : "War logs examined by the Guardian reveal that a bigger incident with a greater number of casualties occurred in a neighbouring part of Baghdad four days later on 16 July 2007. This time the Apaches were aided by unmanned surveillance drones and two F-16 fighter-bombers as US ground troops stepped up operations in densely populated eastern Baghdad against militants loyal to the anti-occupation cleric Moqtada al-Sadr. When it was over a local Iraqi informer told a US army interpreter that 14 civilians were dead, according to a military intelligence report. - Sent using Google Toolbar"

Jimmy Carter says Palestinians live in a 'cage' : Information Clearing House: ICH : "October 19, 2010 'AP' -- - DAMASCUS, Syria — Former President Jimmy Carter said Tuesday that Palestinians are 'living in a cage' in Gaza and that the militant group Hamas must be included in all major efforts for peace. - Sent using Google Toolbar"

Candidate who Shot Iraqis Brags about Gun Skills : Information Clearing House: ICH : "October 21, 2010 'War Room' - - North Carolina Republican House candidate Ilario Pantano isn't the first politician to hold a fundraiser at a gun range. But he probably is the first who became famous for shooting two unarmed Iraqi prisoners at close range up to 60 times with an assault rifle. - Sent using Google Toolbar"

End Federal Tax Subsidies to Fox! | Informed Comment : "In response to Jim DeMint, Michelle Malkin, Bill O’Reilly, and other wingnuts who are calling for an end of Federal government support for National Public Radio because it fired commentator Juan Williams for hate speech against Muslim-Americans, I am calling for the Federal government to close all those loopholes whereby Rupert Murdoch essentially usurps our taxpayer money and uses it to finance his massive airwave pollution projects. - Sent using Google Toolbar"

Saudi prince jailed for life in UK - Europe - Al Jazeera English : "A Saudi prince has been jailed for life by a British court after he was found guilty of murdering his male servant in a brutal attack at a London hotel. Saud Abdulaziz bin Nasser al-Saud, the grandson of Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah, was ordered to serve a minimum of 20 years in prison by a judge at London's Central Criminal court on Wednesday. 'It is very unusual for a prince to be in the dock on a murder charge. No one in this country is above the law,' David Bean, the judge, told Saud as he handed down the sentence. 'It would be wrong for me to sentence you either more severely or more leniently because of your membership of the Saudi royal family,' he added. On Tuesday the court convicted 34-year-old al Saud of beating and strangling Bandar Abdullah Abdulaziz to death at London's Landmark hotel in February this year. 'Sexual element' The prosecution had argued that the 32-ye...

Israeli Taliban Torch Palestinian Girls’ School, Destroy Olive Trees | Informed Comment : "Israeli Taliban Torch Palestinian Girls’ School, Destroy Olive Trees Posted on October 20, 2010 by Juan 3Share The phrase “ethnic cleansing” conjures up a swift, comprehensive act of expulsion. But in reality, moving a large population off its land is the death of a thousand cuts, a slow, inexorable process of stealing property, harassment, forcing people into a condition of malnutrition. The Native Americans in the Americas, the Aborigines in Australia, and the Palestinians in Israel/Palestine were only sometimes forced off their land suddenly and en masse. The gradual processes told, in the long run. The amazing thing about what is being done to the Palestinians in the Palestinian West Bank by Israeli illegal aliens is that it is happening in full view of the world, reported on by wire services, and yet remains invisible to Western publics. The world reacts in horror when the Taliban in Af...

Helen Thomas Cries, Denies Anti-Semitism, Calls President Obama 'Reprehensible' (AUDIO) : "MARION, Ohio — In a radio interview, former White House correspondent Helen Thomas acknowledges she touched a nerve with remarks about Israel that led to her retirement. But she says the comments were 'exactly what I thought,' even though she realized soon afterward that it was the end of her job. 'I hit the third rail. You cannot criticize Israel in this country and survive,' Thomas told Ohio station WMRN-AM in a sometimes emotional 35-minute interview that aired Tuesday. It was recorded a week earlier by WMRN reporter Scott Spears at Thomas' Washington, D.C., condominium. Thomas, 90, stepped down from her job as a columnist for Hearst News Service in June after a rabbi and independent filmmaker videotaped her outside the White House calling on Israelis to get 'out of Palestine.' She gave up her front row seat in the White House press room, where she had ...

PLO Official Offers Trade: Recognition of Israel as ‘Jewish State’ for 1967 Borders -- News from Antiwar.com : "Long-standing Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) official Yasser Abed Rabbo today said the group would be willing to recognize Israel as a “Jewish State” or indeed as whatever it wants provided they are presented with a map of the future Palestinian state that includes all territory seized by Israel in their 1967 invasion. - Sent using Google Toolbar"

An education in inequality - Features - Al Jazeera English : "Expressing his support for the controversial loyalty oath bill - legislation that will require non-Jews to pledge allegiance to Israel 'as a Jewish and democratic state' - Binyamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, remarked: 'Zionism established an exemplary national state, a state that balances between the national needs of our people and the individual rights of every citizen in the country.' But a look at the Israeli education system offers a very different picture. Rawia Aburabia, an attorney with the Association for Civil Rights in Israel (ACRI), says that schools attended by Palestinian citizens of Israel are missing '9,000 classes, 300 [officials who enforce school attendance], 200 psychologists, and 250 educational consultants'. As a result, the dropout rate for Palestinian citizens of Israel is almost double that of their Jewish counterparts. Classes in the Arab school system are al...

Heroin addiction reaching epidemic levels in Ethiopia | Ethiopia : "Just a couple of decades ago Khat (ጫት) consumption was limited to a small area of Ethiopia, mainly eastern and south eastern of the country. Today, Khat use is pervasive in all parts of Ethiopia, except the Tigray region where it is outlawed. As a result, currently a growing number of Ethiopian youth are addicted to khat, causing most of them to be less productive citizens who walk around like zombies. The ruling party doesn’t want to control khat — although it knows about its debilitating effect on the society — because many of its officials are deeply involved in the khat trade It is estimated that the khat market in Ethiopia alone generates well over one hundred million dollars per year. - Sent using Google Toolbar"

A New Study Shows that Americans are Idiots : Information Clearing House: ICH : "A New Study Shows that Americans are Idiots By Jill October 11, 2010 'Brilliant at Breakfast' - - Remember how Democrats always refuse to fight back against smears because 'The American people are too smart to fall for that'? No, they aren't. In fact, Americans are no longer capable of arriving at opinions through actual thought: Americans have a more negative view of government today than they did a decade ago, or even a few years ago. Most say it focuses on the wrong things and lack confidence that it can solve big domestic problems; this general anti-Washington sentiment is helping to fuel a potential Republican takeover of Congress next month. But ask people what they expect the government to do for themselves and their families, and a more complicated picture emerges. A new study by The Washington Post, the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation and Harvard...