Headlines for October 21 - October 27

A Stand For Justice


Dollar Drops to 15-Year Low Versus Yen as Fed Cites 'Modest' U.S. Recovery



Anti-Muslim crusaders make millions spreading fear
Emerson is a leading member of a multimillion-dollar industry of self-proclaimed experts who spread hate toward Muslims in books and movies, on websites and through speaking appearances.


Such a Parcel o’ Rogues in a Nation by Philip Giraldi
No one is found guilty for starting an unnecessary war that has killed 4,425 Americans and many thousands of Iraqis. No one is punished or even tarnished by his or her role. On the contrary, all are, in fact, richly rewarded for their presumed dedication to their country. A must read on where the principle architects of the Iraq war are now. Why have none of them been held accountable for deliberately deceiving the American people into going to war with a nation that had nothing to do with 911, and had zero weapons of mass destruction (as we were led to believe)?


Iraq secret files detail shadow war between US, Iran



.WikiLeaks says logs show 15,000 more Iraq deaths



Google Exploits Tax Loophole that Costs US $60 Billion Annually
The United States has one of the highest corporate tax rates in the developed world at 35 percent. In the UK, meanwhile - Google's second-largest market by revenue, Bloomberg said - the corprate tax rate is 28 percent.

Google isn't alone in the practice, said the report. Other technology companies such as Facebook and Microsoft also take advantage of Irish tax laws which allow corporations "to legally shuttle profits into and out of subsidiaries there, largely escaping the country’s 12.5 percent income tax," Bloomberg reported.

The newswire service said Google hasn't been accused of violating tax laws but rather the company was merely taking advantage of loopholes that other corporations also use.

Bloomberg said such "income shifting" costs the U.S. government some $60 billion in tax revenue annually. And the reason that this goes on is the same reason why it would take a bloody revolution to really affect change with respect to our government officials. Who really owns us? I'll let George Carlin give you the answer to that in this 2007 clip of the late comedian.


Ross warns Israel failed talks could imperil its security
he primarily focused on Iran in his address, which he described as a preeminent threat to America.

He said that US President Barack Obama “has consistently devoted more time to this issue than almost any other national security challenge.” Read that sentence again. Who really feels threatened by Iran? Not America. So why is this the nearly number one concern of our AMERICAN president? Because AIPAC made it his concern. To OUR detriment.


Israel PM praises troops who raided Gaza flotilla
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, on a special visit to a military base, told the men they acted "heroically" and "ethically" in an attempt to stop "people who sought to kill you."

The Israelis have a museum exhibit dedicated to praising the attack on the USS Liberty which killed 34 American men and wounded 170 others. Read about it in the article Friendless Fire.


Civilians in the Crossfire
680 civilians, including pregnant women and the mentally ill, killed for coming too close to checkpoints and patrols


Food Stamp Usage Soars Among Working Families



Oil could hit $100 a barrel soon, JP Morgan predicts
Chinese demand could push crude to $100 a barrel soon, according to JP Morgan, with the weaker dollar and restocking of French oil inventories once strikes end also helping to drive up oil prices.


Mikhail Gorbachev: Victory in Afghanistan is 'Impossible'



US-led strike kills four Afghan civilians
Amid growing discontent over the rising number of civilian deaths in Afghanistan, a US-led airstrike has resulted in the death of four more civilians the country.


Afghans hold anti-US demonstration
Afghan people have staged an anti-US rally after American troops killed two students and injured another one in Maidan Wardak province in central Afghanistan.


UN calls for probe into US inaction on torture
The United Nations' point man on torture is calling on the Obama administration to open a full investigation into newly-released documents that suggest the US may have turned a blind eye to torture in Iraq.


Report: Iraq, Afghanistan among most corrupt
An international watchdog group says Afghanistan remains the world's second most corrupt country, and Iraq is not far behind.




’Child cancer skyrocketing in Iraqi city’
A suspected source of the afflictions is the depleted uranium (DU) used by the invading forces.


Retired and broke: Why retirees are declaring bankruptcy
For more and more seniors, retirement doesn’t mean a debt-free life of leisure. An increasing number of Americans aged 65 and older are declaring bankruptcy, according to a recent study by John Pottow, professor of law at the University of Michigan Law School.


Peace with Palestinians would help U.S. on Iran: Peres
"We fought alone, but we cannot exist alone. For our existence we need the friendship of the United States of America. It doesn't sound easy, but this is the truth," Peres said in a speech to Jewish leaders broadcast by Israel Radio.

"As the United States is trying to understand the security needs of Israel, we Israelis ourselves must understand the security needs of the United States," he said, speaking in English in an address made on Thursday evening.




Defense Secretary Gates apologizes for U.S. attack that killed 3 Pakistani soldiers



Syria spurns U.S. bid to mend ties



Report: Israel planned explosion at Iranian missile site
An explosion that killed 18 members of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard on October 12 was ordered by the Mossad, French newspaper Le Figaro suggested on Monday. Another cause for the blast mentioned by the paper was a targeted Israeli air raid.


Israel is Relieved Not to be The Only War Criminal
The voice of joy, the voice of rejoicing is heard in Israel: The Americans and British have also committed for war crimes, not only us. WikiLeaks' revelations have inflamed all our noisy propagandists: Where is Goldstone, they rejoiced, and what would he have said? They were relieved. If the Americans are allowed to do it, so are we. Case in point (see related post in this news batch).


The final reasons for going to war are being swept away
We have become just like Israel. I'm sure they're pleased.


The Shaming of America
The "evidence" of Iranian involvement in bomb-making in southern Iraq was farmed out to The New York Times's Michael Gordon by the Pentagon in February 2007. The raw material, which we can now read, is far more doubtful than the Pentagon-peddled version. Iranian military material was still lying around all over Iraq from the 1980-88 Iran-Iraq war and most of the attacks on Americans were at that stage carried out by Sunni insurgents. The reports suggesting that Syria allowed insurgents to pass through their territory, by the way, are correct. I have spoken to the families of Palestinian suicide bombers whose sons made their way to Iraq from Lebanon via the Lebanese village of Majdal Aanjar and then via the northern Syrian city of Aleppo to attack the Americans.......

The Americans scored no better last time round. In Kuwait, US troops could hear Palestinians being tortured by Kuwaitis in police stations after the liberation of the city from Saddam Hussein's legions in 1991. A member of the Kuwaiti royal family was involved in the torture. US forces did not intervene. They just complained to the royal family. Soldiers are always being told not to intervene. After all, what was Lieutenant Avi Grabovsky of the Israeli army told when he reported to his officer in September 1982 that Israel's Phalangist allies had just murdered some women and children? "We know, it's not to our liking, and don't interfere," Grabovsky was told by his battalion commander. This was during the Sabra and Chatila refugee camp massacre.

The quotation comes from Israel's 1983 Kahan commission report – heaven knows what we could read if WikiLeaks got its hands on the barrels of military files in the Israeli defence ministry (or the Syrian version, for that matter).


The Israel Lobby: Targeting Democrats for Election Day Defeat
One, they are tired of even Obama's timid pressure on settlements and (2) they want a President who will give Israel permission to bomb Iran. George W. Bush said "no" to that scheme as has Obama. But President Palin or Huckabee? They know that they would say "bombs away" in a heartbeat.

That is why they are running these ads. That is why the American Jewish Committee has become a Republican cutout. It's all about the Middle East: preventing Israel from achieving peace with its neighbors and preventing Iran from getting nuclear weapons, not through diplomacy but war.


And Now, Here's The First 11 State Pensions Funds That Will Run Out Of Money



'US, Israel and Iran have approached the end game'
“One problem today when you think about [Israeli] restraint,” he said, “is that Israelis don’t see the United States preparing for a credible threat to use military action, and it’s heightened their sense of isolation.”




Mideast sides eye US midterms and impact on talks
Animating the discussion is the startling fact that the United States has failed, despite emphatic public appeals by Obama and weeks of increasingly frustrating diplomacy, to persuade Israel to extend the settlement–building slowdown that expired on Sept. 26.

...If Congress tilts Republican it could have a "positive impact" on Israeli concerns, one Netanyahu adviser told The AP – an allusion to avoiding pressure for concessions. With the Democrats weakened, Israel's friends in Congress – both Democrat and Republican – "would be able to have a stronger voice if the administration should embark on a policy that is less favorable to Israel," he added.

U.S. foreign policy is set by the White House, not Congress. But Congress can influence it in the course of the day–to–day political horse trading that goes on between the executive and legislative branches.

For example, when Republicans controlled the House of Representatives during Netanyahu's first term in the late 1990s, the Israeli leader was able to marshal the support of the party's conservative wing in a faceoff with President Bill Clinton over stepped–up settlement construction and Israeli troop pullbacks in the West Bank.

Traditionally, both branches have been bastions of support for Israel no matter which party is in charge


Schools, stipends trigger Israeli religious battle
"If they want to live in a ghetto, fine, but why should the state pay for it? As long as the state is paying, it has to have a say," said Yossi Sarid, a former education minister.

And they seem to be keen on getting the American taxpayer to fund their schooling here too. See related news in this batch.


Pope seeks religious liberty in Muslim Mideast
At least 3.5 million Christians of all denominations live in the Gulf Arab region, the birthplace of Islam and home to some of the most conservative Arab Muslim societies in the world.

The freedom to practice Christianity –– or any religion other than Islam –– is not always a given in the Gulf and varies from country to country. Saudi Arabia, which applies an austere form of Sunni Islam, has by far the tightest restrictions.




US-Saudi arms deal ripples from Iran to Israel
"This equipment is primarily to give (Israel) a better feeling facing the Iranian threat. It is not related to Israeli–Arab relations," said Inbar. "Ironically, in the current situation, Saudi Arabia is in the same strategic boat as Israel is in facing the Iranian threat."




For Jews, a Permanent Stake in the Immigration Debate
An ideologically-based citizenship — a fundamental principle of this nation’s birth — offers the best source of national cohesion. Emphasizing shared ideals and the rich commonalities of the American experience is where the Jewish stake in the contemporary immigration debate is anchored.

Again, more of the same hypocrisy on the part of American Jews. For, not anyone can just immigrate to Israel. One has to be Jewish under the so-called Law of Return. Yet America is to retain a liberal immigration policy to make sure she stays amenable to Jews worldwide (oh, and others too), should they need to seek refuge.

The excerpt above from this article contrasts sharply with the new legislation in Israel enforcing people to swear allegiance to Israel as a Jewish state. This is the height of hypocrisy.


The Associated Press American al-Qaida spokesman urges attacks in US
"It is the duty of everyone who is sincere in his desire to defend Islam and Muslims today, to take the initiative to perform the individual obligation of jihad ... by striking the Zio–Crusader interests," he said, referring to Western and Jewish interests.




Iran, Saudi leaders talk after $60b. arms deal advances
Jerusalem did not object to the weapons sale to the Saudi government, perhaps influenced by its own deal to receivedthe US the F-35 Joint Strike stealth fighters from the US as a reassurance against an Iranian attack.

"This equipment is primarily to give (Israel) a better feeling facing the Iranian threat. It is not related to Israeli-Arab relations,"


Austerity and Defense
Aside from more sharp pangs of nostalgia for the Empire that they must be causing him, the real problem Boot has with Britain’s military spending cuts is that it will make it much harder for Britain to participate in and lend political legitimacy to the next unnecessary war that Boot and other hawks are interested in starting


Private Security Contractors in Afghanistan Fueling the Taliban, Senate Report Concludes
To meet their security concerns, the contractors have turned to “warlords and strongmen linked to murder, kidnapping [and] bribery.” The report also documents incidents in which contractors have tendered payments to the Taliban.


War Should Be an Election Issue
Just days away from crucial midterm elections, WikiLeaks, the whistle-blower website, unveiled the largest classified military leak in history. Almost 400,000 secret Pentagon documents relating to the U.S. invasion and occupation of Iraq were made available online. The documents, in excruciating detail, portray the daily torrent of violence, murder, rape and torture to which Iraqis have been subjected since George W. Bush declared “Mission Accomplished.” The WikiLeaks release, dubbed “The Iraq War Logs,” has been topping the headlines in Europe. But in the U.S., it barely warranted a mention on the agenda-setting Sunday talk shows.


Tony Blair 'to be called back' to Iraq war inquiry to answer questions about 'gaps' in his evidence
He denied he took the country to war on the basis of a 'lie' over the dictator's supposed weapons of mass destruction.




Nine Stories The Press Is Underreporting -- Fraud, Fraud And More Fraud



US to check whether Venezuela-Iran deals violate sanctions
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez signed on Wednesday several memorandums of understanding (MoU) with his Iranian counterpart President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad focused on energy cooperation.


Ralph Nader: Ten Questions for Tea Partiers



Iran Needs Stern Lessons in Freedom
Just because we're covertly infiltrating and interfering in virtually every Muslim country on the planet -- and just because we're actively aiding rebel groups inside their specific country -- is no reason to suspect Americans who illegally enter their country of espionage.


Rights of Return and Recognition Cannot Be Swapped
“Though recognition of Israel as the Jewish state would not shield us from further assaults or pressure, it would prove that the Palestinians are serious about peace.”

Come again? How would it prove that? If it is not a shield against violence, what is its value? Yes, it would be nice were the Palestinians to acknowledge what everyone in the world knows, that Israel is, as a matter of obvious fact, the Jewish state


And again.


Attacks From the Jewish Right Continue in Pennsylvania
Joe Sestak, the Democratic Pennsylvania senatorial candidate, just can’t seem to shake off attacks from right-wing Jewish groups.

First he was targeted by the Emergency Campaign for Israel in TV ads questioning his support for Israel, mainly because of his decision to join a letter calling for easing the Israeli siege on Gaza. Later he was hammered in newspaper ads, sponsored by the Republican Jewish Coalition, that took issue with funding he received from J Street.





Obama aide: Iran prefers defiance and secrecy to transparency and peace



Obama’s Still Popular With Ex-Generals
Obama’s handling of the Iran nuclear crisis is even more unpopular: 46% disapprove, while only 43% approve. Nearly three quarters believe there’s little or no chance that diplomacy or sanctions will stop Iran from getting nukes, and 59% would support a U.S. military strike to prevent it. That’s a huge change from two years ago, in September 2008, the final months of the Bush administration, when Jews opposed U.S. military action by 47% to 42%.

By the way, I think the poll numbers with respect to ISrael's importance vs the importance of the economy to Jews polled are misleading. Support for Israel is a given on Capitol Hill, and thus is largely a non-issue. The economy however is neither of those things.


Chavez visits Syria on tour to counter US sway
Chavez arrived in Syria on Wednesday from Tehran, where he and Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said they are united in efforts to establish a "new world order" that will eliminate Western dominance over global affairs.




Oath of Loyalty to What?
To ask non-Jews to declare loyalty to a “Jewish and democratic state,” it is claimed, is an inherent contradiction, since no country can be considered democratic if it demands of prospective citizens that they swear allegiance to what excludes them.

Just more of the same with respect to Israel as a 'democracy', which it clearly is not. It's a theocracy, which is why it demands to be seen as a Jewish state.


One Nation, Under Various Divinities
She points to the example of the landmark 1962 school prayer case, Engel v. Vitale, in which five Long Island families, all Jewish or with Jewish backgrounds, brought suit opposing school prayer. “They suffered terrible repercussions, including hate mail,” she said.

This, Mellowes said, is an example of how Jews “have clearly contributed in a major way to the tremendous religious vitality and diversity in America and also been at the forefront of pressing for religious freedom.”


Do you see the irony and hypocrisy in the preceding excerpt and the entire article? See also the article with respect to the battle fuming in upstate NY over the Orthodox school issue. Then also realize just how much taxpayer money flows to Israel, a JEWISH state, and realize that on the one hand American Jews seek to keep religion out of state at all costs yet demand that the United States continue to fund Israel- - a state based on RELIGIOUS SUPREMACY. Israel is not a democracy. Israel is a THEOCRACY. Do these Jews demand that Israel keep religion out of ITS schools and government? NOPE. Hypocrisy of the highest order. And look in the mirror folks, you get to fund it ALL.


Boxer-Fiorina Race Redefines ‘Negative’
The visit to Eretz Yisrael was billed as a “personal trip.” But unlike most personal pilgrimages to the Holy Land, Fiorina’s was financed and arranged by the RJC and led straight to high-level meetings with President Shimon Peres, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Knesset opposition leader Tzipi Livni. Netanyahu’s office told the Forward, “The prime minister and Fiorina discussed the Israeli and world economies and events in the region.” Netanyahu, as a representative noted, via e-mail, “believes strongly in the importance of the Israeli-American relationship being above partisan party politics. [H]e therefore makes every effort to meet with political leaders from both major parties whenever they visit Israel.”




Schools Fight Stokes Anger At Orthodox Jews in N.Y. Suburb
Some non-Orthodox community members allege that the Orthodox members of the board support the religious schools at the expense of the public school system — claims that the Orthodox board denies. But people on both sides agree that anger over the issue is running high.




With Friends Like These, II
Some supporters of Israel see in the latest Wiki-leak the opportunity to bury the Goldstone Report (PDF) and attendant international criticism of Israel’s war in Lebanon. Israeli MK Michael Ben Ari, of the Kahane strain, would bury along with it those former (and no longer useful) American high officials whose expenditure in American blood–largely to rid Israel of a hostile neighbor–continues:


The Rhetoric Turns Red Hot as Election Day Approaches
In Illinois’ 9th District, indefatigable Republican Joel Pollak kept on going after incumbent Democrat Jan Schakowsky, claiming she was not supportive of Israel. It’s a theme that has been taken up against several Jewish Democrats by Republican challengers, or by the Republican Jewish Coalition on their behalf.

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