be just

Kurdish Militia: All Syrian Kurds Must Resist Islamist Rebels -- News from Antiwar.com

Al-Qaeda Unleashed Against Syria and Iraq With Acceptance of the West Al-Qaeda Unleashed Against Syria and Iraq With Acceptance of the West By Pepe Escobar July 26, 2013 " Information Clearing House  -   The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant – the official denomination of al-Qaeda in Iraq – does not even pretend to be not responsible for the relentless bombing, political assassination and mostly sectarian horror unleashed across Iraq during Ramadan. But this is exactly what they’re doing, with relish; throwing arrays of crude bombs made with fertilizer enhanced with ball bearings, manipulating a small army of foreign suicide bombers. Most of these, by the way, crossed the desert from Syria.

Narrow Defeat: Amash Amendment to Block NSA Surveillance Fails -- News from Antiwar.com  The amendment failed, unfortunately, but the 205-217 vote showed that many in the House were willing to buck party leadership in favor of the American public’s demands to see the NSA powers curbed.

On the Death of Helen Thomas July 23, 2013 " Information Clearing House  -  Helen Thomas, the renowned journalist, died on 20 July 2013 at the age of 92. She was the first woman journalist to cover the White House and did so for an unprecedented 50 years. She lasted in that job despite always asking the tough questions. It was a glorious run besmirched only late in her career by opportunistic attacks by Zionist American ideologues. When that happened, as described below, I wrote a piece in her defense. It was originally put online on June 23, 2010, but is here represented in an updated form. 

There Will Never Be Another Helen Thomas » CounterPunch: Tells the Facts, Names the Names

"The Act of Killing": New Film Shows U.S.-Backed Indonesian Death Squad Leaders Re-enacting Massacres The film is set in Indonesia, where, beginning in 1965, military and paramilitary forces slaughtered up to a million Indonesians after overthrowing the democratically elected government. That military was backed by the United States and led by General Suharto, who would rule Indonesia for decades. 

A Rough Guide to Life in the United States of Zimmermanm, the US of Z In the US of Z the law allows people to hunt each other, and feel no remorse for killing someone. By William Boardman July 17, 2013 " Information Clearing House -   The most important thing about the Zimmerman verdict is that it's a clear demonstration of how the American legal system is only about law. It is not about justice. It is not even about the consequences of killing another person. The verdict demonstrates that, despite the protestations of the law that it is about justice, that's only a pretense to cover the reality: that when the law produces justice, it's a fluke, an accident, a surprise. The law is only about the law. And it's no wonder, when you stop to think about who makes laws and why. Justice is one of the last things on the legislative mind, if it ever gets there at all.

By Thomas Hedges July 12, 2013 " Information Clearing House  - " Salon "---  John Kiriakou, the former CIA officer who blew the whistle on Bush’s torture program and is now in prison, sent an open letter to Edward Snowden last week warning him not to trust the FBI. “DO NOT,” Kiriakou wrote, “under any circumstances, cooperate with the FBI. FBI agents will lie, trick, and deceive you. They will twist your words and play on your patriotism to entrap you. They will pretend to be people they are not – supporters, well-wishers, and friends – all the while wearing wires to record your out-of-context statements to use against you. The FBI is the enemy; it’s part of the problem, not the solution.”

PRISM & ‘Purity’: NSA Follows Nazi Tradition July 09, 2013 " Information Clearing House  - " RT "---  The NSA in America is following in the Nazi tradition in its attempt to discriminate based on data collection, modeled around their belief system - which justifies trashing the Constitution in pursuit of ‘pure’ data. DNA is data. Thanks to the scientific work of Watson and Crick and their discovery of the double-helix and all its component parts in the DNA strands that make up all living cells, we know that humans are made up of data. To microbiologists and bio-engineers, this information means the development of drugs and treatments for illnesses - leading to more healthy, better lives. 

For Egypt’s Islamists, War Is Now a Legitimate Option Why? Because those who deservedly and miserably lost to the Islamists in 2012 did not care to wait for the next election to try to defeat Morsi. Those in the West who have contended that some Muslims are not capable of democracy have been proven right, although the proof lies in the behavior of those pro-democracy Egyptians the West praises and supports. Egypt’s Islamists, on the other hand, played by the political game’s rules and—if the military’s diktat holds—they have lost and war is now their main option.

Arab Oil Cash to Kill Democracy in Egypt July 11, 2013 " Information Clearing House  -  In order to determine whether the turmoil in Egypt is in the best interests of the mass of ordinary Egyptians, we should use the trusted maxim - follow the money.

The Dictionary of the Global War on You (GWOY) by Tom Engelhardt -- Antiwar.com In the months after September 11, 2001, it was regularly said that “everything” had changed. It’s a claim long forgotten, buried in everyday American life. Still, if you think about it, in the decade-plus that followed – the years of the PATRIOT Act, “ enhanced interrogation techniques ,” “ black sites ,”  robot assassination campaigns , extraordinary renditions , the  Abu Ghraib photos , the Global War on Terror, and the first cyberwar  in history – much did change in ways that should still stun us. Perhaps nothing changed more than the American national security state, which, spurred on by 9/11 and the open congressional  purse strings  that followed,  grew in ways  that would have been alien even at the height of the Cold War, when there was another giant, nuclear-armed imperial power on planet Earth........

Tuesday Terror: 86 Iraqis Killed, 234 Wounded -- Antiwar.com Coordinated violence took place across Baghdad today, as bomb after bomb exploded in neighborhoods across the city. The bloodshed extended deep into Shi’ite southern Iraq, which has been relatively quiet compared to restive northern Iraq. Overall, at least  86 Iraqis were killed and 234 were wounded .

Glenn Greenwald: New bombshell coming - Hadas Gold - POLITICO.com

Spy Chief Clapper ‘Apologizes’ for Lying to Congress -- News from Antiwar.com When the NSA surveillance scandal first came to light last month, Director of National Intelligence James Clapper was extremely defiant about having been caught lying to Congress, bragging that he gave the “ least untruthful ” lie he could think of.

Obama: Spying on Europeans ‘Standard Practice’ -- News from Antiwar.com Speaking today from Der es Salaam, President Obama  defended the mass surveillance of European diplomats, saying the practice is “standard” throughout the world and would continue despite complaints.

German Prosecutors May File Charges Over US, British Surveillance -- News from Antiwar.com Recent revelations about the NSA’s broad surveillance of German phone and Internet communications have fueled major concerns in the country, as Federal Prosecutors say they are  preparing criminal charges against US and British spies  involved.