tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-78597989427987745392024-03-13T21:45:41.049-04:00Whose WarLatest news about the neoconservatives and their influence on American foreign policy in the Middle EastPale Riderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02275892742258409916noreply@blogger.comBlogger374125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7859798942798774539.post-80587866743499977262011-10-15T22:10:00.000-04:002011-10-15T22:11:43.436-04:00Headlines for July 14 - July 20<a href="http://www.astandforjustice.org">A Stand For Justice</a><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article28599.htm">Top CIA Officer: Israel Will Probably Attack Iran in Sept.</a> <br />Baer added that Netanyahu is "also hoping to draw the United States into the conflict, and in fact there's a warning order inside the Pentagon to prepare for conflict with Iran."<br /><br />The retired senior CIA officer predicted a scenario in which Israel would attack the Natanz nuclear facility as well as "a couple of others to degrade their capabilities."<br /><br />"The Iranians will strike back were they can and that will be in Basra and in Baghdad," where the US has a diminished troop presence, Baer said, adding "we've started to look at Iran's targets in Iraq and across the border." <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.astandforjustice.org/2011/07/07-20-01.htm">Economic gaps widening in affluent Israel</a> <br />A month ago, Israel's central bank raised its official 2011 growth forecast to 5.2 percent, more than twice the International Monetary Fund's estimate released in June for real GDP growth for advanced economies. Unemployment in Israel has fallen to 5.8 percent, its lowest level in decades.<br /><br />The current government "has had significant economic achievements," Finance Minister Yuval Steinitz boasted in a television interview on Tuesday. <b>Why are we going broke giving Israel billions of our taxpayer dollars and other perks?</b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.astandforjustice.org/2011/07/07-20-05.htm">Lawmaker: Iran shot down unmanned US spy plane</a> <br />Lawmaker Ali Aghazadeh Dafsari said the drone was flying over the Fordo uranium enrichment site near the holy city of Qom in central Iran, the state TV–run Youth Journalists Club said. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.astandforjustice.org/2011/07/07-20-03.htm">US spares Pakistan aid but keeps pressure</a> <br /> <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.astandforjustice.org/2011/07/07-17-03.htm">Hezbollah warns Israel over Med gas</a> <br />Last week, Lebanon's Foreign Minister Adnan Mansur said the maritime border as proposed by Israel posed a threat to regional security.<br /><br />The proposed frontier cuts through Lebanon's economic zone, he said, adding that Beirut would "turn to the United Nations." <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.commondreams.org/view/2011/07/18-12">The Corporate Supreme Court by Ralph Nader</a> <br />Never have I urged impeachment of Supreme Court justices. I do so now, for the sake of ending the Supreme Court's corporate-judicial dictatorship that is not accountable under our system of checks and balance in any other way. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.astandforjustice.org/2011/07/07-11-11.htm">U.S. may act unilaterally vs Iran-armed Iraq militias</a> <br />Panetta, who as CIA director helped oversee the covert raid that killed Osama bin Laden, said his number one priority since becoming defense secretary was to defeat al Qaeda. He has estimated there are around 1,000 al Qaeda fighters in Iraq.<br /><br />In language reminiscent of the Bush era, he appeared to link the Iraq war to the September 11, 2001 attacks in his comments to troops. <b>Huh?</b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.astandforjustice.org/2011/07/07-18-02.htm">Confidential: New biography says Hollywood producer worked as Israeli spy, arms dealer</a> <br />"When the Israelis were first informed of the investigation by Assistant Secretary of State Richard W. Murphy earlier this year, they apparently were not aware of the export licensing requirements for Krytrons," Time wrote. "Prime Minister Shimon Peres last week told a U.S. television interviewer that Israel's close relationship with the U.S. obviates any need to smuggle out sensitive technology."<br /><br />Indeed, LAKAM itself was closed in 1986 following revelations that it had recruited an American naval researcher, Jonathan Pollard, to spy for Israel against the United States, causing the largest crisis in the history of U.S.–Israeli relations. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2011/07/19-3">No Early End to Libyan War Expected</a> <br />Pluralities and majorities of respondents in numerous polls taken here since March have said that Washington should "not be involved" in military operations in Libya. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.amconmag.com/blog/2011/07/15/dying-at-home-to-win-in-afghanistan/">Dying At Home to Win In Afghanistan by Philip Giraldi </a> <br />The neoconservatives truly seem to inhabit a world that differs significantly from the place where the rest of us dwell. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.astandforjustice.org/2011/07/07-19-03.htm">Iran may deploy warships in Atlantic</a> <br /> <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/sandp-warns-that-chance-of-downgrading-us-credit-rating-is-50-percent/2011/07/14/gIQAvUzwEI_story.html">S&P warns that chance of downgrading U.S. credit rating is 50 percent</a> <br />Standard & Poor’s said late Thursday that it could downgrade the U.S. credit rating as soon as this month, and there is a 50 percent chance it will do so within three months, if Washington fails to come to an agreement over the nation’s debt. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.forward.com/articles/140053/">Amid Murdoch Scandal, Some Fear Pro-Israel Media Voice Will Be Muted</a> <br />Murdoch’s sudden massive reversal of fortune – with 10 top former staffers and executives under arrest in Britain for hacking into the phones of public figures and a murdered schoolgirl, and paying off the police and journalists – has supporters of Israel worried that a diminished Murdoch presence may mute the strongly pro-Israel voice of many of the publications he owns.<br><br>...“Murdoch said he didn’t see what the Palestinians’ problem was and James said it was that they were kicked out of their f—ing homes and had nowhere to f—ing live,” the account in The Guardian said. Murdoch chided his son for using foul language in the prime minister’s home.<br /> <b>Rupert Murdoch is a Christian Zionist and is thus a staunch Israel-supporter. And his Fox News network reflects that. I am not heartbroken in the least at the news of this scandal. Ladies and gentlemen, Karma is served.</b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.astandforjustice.org/2011/07/07-16-06.htm">Iran, China ink $4 bn in infrastructure deals</a> <br />China and Iran have become major economic partners in recent years, partly thanks to the withdrawal of Western companies in line with sanctions against the Islamic republic over its contentious nuclear drive. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.astandforjustice.org/2011/07/07-19-06.htm">Iraq, Iran issue border demands after clashes</a> <br /> <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.astandforjustice.org/2011/07/07-14-03.htm">Ron Paul's new TV ad opposes raising debt limit</a> <br />President Barack Obama has said that if a deal to raise the debt ceiling is not passed by Aug. 2, the U.S. government could default on its loans, creating a financial crisis. Paul and some conservative Republican members of Congress reject that conclusion and have insisted on spending cuts. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/fast-fix/fast-fix-pac-ed-gills-092909836.html">The Fast Fix PAC-ed to the gills</a> <br />What makes these PACS "super" is that they can raise unlimited amounts of money from almost any source.<br /><br />They came into existence after a landmark Supreme Court ruling in 2010 that did away with the ban on corporations and labor unions from spending unlimited sums directly advocating for the election or defeat of candidates. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.astandforjustice.org/2011/07/07-16-03.htm">Turkey jails 14 over alleged anti-U.S. attack plan</a> <br />A Turkish court has jailed 14 people pending trial on charges of al Qaeda membership for allegedly planning an attack on the U.S. embassy in Ankara, state media said on Saturday. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.forward.com/articles/139998/">Silver and Koch Spar Over Weiner Seat</a> <br />Koch recently called on Jews to defect to the GOP to send a message of disapproval to President Barack Obama over his handling of relations with Israel.<br /><br />Silver conceded that Jews may be unhappy with the president’s stance, but insisted that sending a Republican to Congress from the heavily Democratic district would only make things worse.<br /><br />“What we need is more Democrats who will go to bat for Israel, notwithstanding what a president may think,” Silver told the News.<br /><br /> <b>It's always about Israel.</b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.astandforjustice.org/2011/07/07-18-07.htm">Jews: Argentina and Iran both failed in bomb probe</a> <br /> <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://original.antiwar.com/giraldi/2011/07/13/apparently-we-are-all-belarusians/">Apparently, We Are All Belarusians</a> <br />On Tuesday the Tom Lantos Human Rights Hearing convened to discuss what to do about the Syrian regime, which may or may not be engaging in wholesale repression depending on who you believe. Lantos is dead, but while he lived he was considered a major conduit for illegal passage of classified information to the Israeli government. It is nice to see that his spirit lives on in the 112th Congress, particularly as Syria is a front line state that is considered an enemy by Tel Aviv. The Lantos meeting is co-sponsored by Congressman Frank Wolf of Virginia, who is a major recipient of AIPAC funding. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.amconmag.com/blog/2011/07/18/new-man-in-tel-aviv/">New Man in Tel Aviv by Philip Giraldi </a> <br />Now some of us old fashioned types have long believed that an American ambassador is supposed to represent US interests, but that is apparently no longer the case, at least when Israel is involved. Even assuming that Obama is dissimulating just a tad to burnish his pro-Israeli credentials, the assertion that Israel’s security is job number one should be producing some indigestion somewhere in the media or punditocracy, but, alas, I cannot find it. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.astandforjustice.org/2011/07/07-15-02.htm">Former US official derides Palestinian UN effort</a> <br />Bolton is in Israel along with other members of the Friends of Israel Initiative, a group founded last year by former Spanish Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar.<br /> <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article28613.htm">Neocons Fume Over US Boat to Gaza By Ray McGovern </a> <br />It certainly appears that the Likudniks, the U.S. neocons and some of the “Harvards” are running scared as Israel’s growing extremism and anti-Muslim bigotry becomes harder to perfume over with every passing day. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.astandforjustice.org/2011/07/07-16-05.htm">Iran 'ready to cooperate' over attack on Argentine Jews</a> <br />Israel has pointed the finger at the Lebanese Shiite militia Hezbollah for carrying out the attacks, which the Jewish state believes were masterminded by Tehran. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/christian-zionists-unite-in-d-c-to-express-support-for-israel-1.374161">Christian Zionists unite in D.C. to express support for Israel</a> <br />The prime minister encouraged the conference attendees to not only think of Israel as an ally of the Unites States, but as indistinguishable from it <b>This is the main problem with Israel-supporters. And it's why when I say I don't support Israel, they call me a traitor. They do not see Israel and the United States as two separate entities. It's why they feel the US should fight Israel's enemies (Iraq, now Iran). It's why the US Congress works tirelessly on their behalf - due to the efforts of the powerful Israeli lobby.</b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.astandforjustice.org/2011/07/07-17-01.htm">Murdoch faces calls for break-up of media empire</a> <br /> <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.astandforjustice.org/2011/07/07-17-02.htm">US Republican hopeful backs right to ban synagogues</a> <br />Republican presidential hopeful Herman Cain on Sunday said US communities that want to ban synagogues have a right to do so, as he backed opponents of a synagogue being built in Tennessee.<br /><br />"Judaism is both a religion and a set of laws –– Talmudic laws. That's the difference between any one of our traditional religions where it's just about religious purposes," Cain told Fox News Sunday. <b>Imagine if he had said that? The uproar. It's only ok to do this to Muslims, evidently.</b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.astandforjustice.org/2011/07/07-15-01.htm">32 killed in Syria protests, Damascus moves: activists</a> <br />Syrian forces killed at least 32 civilians on Friday, including 23 in the capital Damascus, in an intensifying crackdown on protests against President Bashar al–Assad, activists said. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article28595.htm">War With Iran? US Neocons Aim to Repeat Chalabi-Style Swindle</a> <br />Why would some of the most vocal advocates for prosecuting the war on terror now take an Islamic terrorist group under its wing and persistently lobby the State Department and the US Congress to have the group removed from terrorist list? Simply put, they say the enemy of the enemy is our friend. Maryam Rajavi, the MEK leader and self-proclaimed president of Iran, is their new Chalabi. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.albawaba.com/main-headlines/assad-offer-presidential-election-homs-death-toll-rises-383951">Assad to offer presidential election as Homs death toll rises</a> <br /> <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.commondreams.org/view/2011/07/19-8">How to Liberate America from Wall Street Rule</a> <br />Over the past 30 years, virtually all the benefit of U.S. economic growth has gone to the richest 1 percent of Americans. Effective tax rates for the very rich are at historic lows and many of the most profitable corporations pay no taxes at all. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.astandforjustice.org/2011/07/07-18-03.htm">Assad loyalists kill 10 in attacks in Homs</a> <br />A 12–year old boy was among those killed in Homs on Monday the Local Coordination Committees said, adding that the attacks focused on the al–Khalidiya district of the city. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.astandforjustice.org/2011/07/07-14-01.htm">Crackdown escalates in east Syria, protesters killed</a> <br />Syrian forces shot dead two pro–democracy protesters on Thursday in eastern provincial capital Deir al–Zoran, residents said, as a crackdown escalated against dissent in the tribal region bordering Iraq's Sunni heartland. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.astandforjustice.org/2011/07/07-18-09.htm">Indonesian Muslim group forms anti-terror squad</a> <br />An Indonesian Islamic youth group has set up a unit to counter radicalism in Muslim communities and even help police defuse homemade bombs, its chairman said Monday. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.astandforjustice.org/2011/07/07-01-02.htm">Iran 'hangs' child sex murderer: report</a> <br />Iran has hanged a man convicted of raping and murdering a five–year old girl in a village near the southern port city of Bandar Abbas, the ISNA news agency reported on Sunday. <b>We should do that HERE.</b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.astandforjustice.org/2011/07/07-16-02.htm">Syrian opposition forms council to counter Assad</a> <br /> <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.astandforjustice.org/2011/07/07-14-05.htm">U.N. nuclear agency brings Syria to Security Council</a> <br />The U.N. nuclear watchdog brought allegations of covert atomic work by Syria before the Security Council on Thursday, but the 15–nation body took no immediate action amid divisions among key powers.<br /> <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article28616.htm">The Secrecy of the Obama Administration - James Bamford Unplugged!</a> <br /> <b></b><br><br><br /><br><hr><br>Pale Riderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02275892742258409916noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7859798942798774539.post-50543485602534970292011-07-24T12:36:00.000-04:002011-07-24T12:37:29.225-04:00Headlines for July 7 - July 13<a href="http://www.astandforjustice.org">A Stand For Justice</a><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.astandforjustice.org/2011/07/07-13-04.htm">Iran prepares for nuclear work in bunker: sources</a> <br />diplomatic sources say <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.astandforjustice.org/2011/07/07-13-05.htm">Russia lays out "step-by-step" approach on Iran</a> <br />Russia on Wednesday laid out a "step–by–step" approach under which Iran could address questions about its nuclear program and be rewarded with a gradual easing of sanctions.<br /><br />The proposal, described by Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov after talks with President Barack Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, seeks to revive negotiations to put to rest Western suspicions that Iran may be seeking nuclear arms. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.astandforjustice.org/2011/07/07-13-06.htm">Taming deficit means pain for middle class, poor</a> <br />the spending cuts and tax hikes that are on the table would have a major impact on most Americans–especially members of the middle class and the poor. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.forward.com/articles/139620/">House Threatens To Cut Off Palestinian Aid Over Statehood Move</a> <br />The American Israel Public Affairs Committee was urging its activists as late as Wednesday to press Congress, mired in budget debates, to pass the resolution.<br /><br />In the end, only six lawmakers – three Republicans and three Democrats –voted against.<br /><br /> <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://original.antiwar.com/giraldi/2011/07/06/alls-fare-in-war/">All’s ‘Fare’ in War by Philip Giraldi</a> <br />The other side of Lawfare, as the name indicates, is using the law itself as a weapon of war. The Israelis and American supporters of Israel have caught on to the potential of the legal weapon and are using lawsuits to tie up opponents.<br><br>....The lawsuit was filed with the assistance of the Shurat HaDin or Israel Law Center, which has been established as a Non-Government Organization intended to use the law against groups that are critical of Israel. The objective is to harass such groups with litigation so they become ineffective or, even better, bankrupted by legal costs. <br><br>....Any group deemed to be hostile to Israel will be attacked and litigated against. Many of the charges will be frivolous but those who are sued will have to waste time and resources defending themselves, which is precisely what is intended.<br><br>....Canadian legislators are already considering making any criticism of Israel a hate crime, and once the idea takes hold here in the United States something similar is sure to follow, creating yet another basis for litigation <b>Wow. Is this America or the USSR?</b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.amconmag.com/blog/2011/07/12/panetta-spins/">Panetta Spins by Philip Giraldi </a> <br />The issue of Iranian support for Shi’a militias is more serious in that it can be considered to be a casus belli, i.e. “they are killing our troops.” It also ties into a recent comment by Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Admiral Mullen and a reported statement by senior State Department official in Iraq Thomas Nides. Nides admitted that there was no actual proof that Iran was involved, only “classified intelligence.” In other words, “I can’t tell you but I think it’s true.”<br /><br />I have been following this issue ever since it was first surfaced in 2005, when it was claimed that Iranian supplied improvised explosive devices (IEDs) were being used in Iraq, and, later, in Afghanistan. The evidence for the Iranian involvement has always been on the thin side, particularly as it was subsequently discovered that many of the weapons were being manufactured in a former bicycle factory in Iraq. They are definitely low tech and the need for Iranian involvement was always somewhat suspect. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.astandforjustice.org/2011/07/07-11-03.htm">US isn't world's moral arbiter: Iranian FM</a> <br />The United States cannot be the world's moral arbiter, a top Iranian official said here Monday, dismissing charges that Tehran is involved in smuggling weapons to insurgents in Iraq and Afghanistan.<br /><br />The United States "has been making such statements for 30 years. We don't consider the US to be able to rule on what is right and what is wrong," Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi told a news conference in the Slovenian capital. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article28515.htm">US Caught Off-guard by Iran Sanctions</a> <br />The decision by Iran's Parliament (Majlis) to impose sanctions on and indict 26 US officials who have perpetrated war crimes and violated human rights has come as a great surprise to the US government that has always accused independent nations such as Iran of violating human rights and supporting terrorism. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.astandforjustice.org/2011/07/07-12-03.htm">Ron Paul announces retirement from Congress</a> <br />Texas Republican Rep. Ron Paul made a surprise announcement Tuesday that he will not seek re–election to Congress, spelling an end to a nearly 24–year House career amid his third run for president. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.astandforjustice.org/2011/07/07-11-10.htm">Iran denies US claims it armed Iraq rebels</a> <br /> <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.astandforjustice.org/2011/07/07-11-01.htm">U.S. may act unilaterally vs Iran-armed Iraq militias</a> <br />U.S. officials blame Shi'ite militias armed by Iraq's Shi'ite neighbor Iran for most of the recent attacks and U.S. military explosives experts showed reporters traveling with Panetta pieces of rockets used for attacks in Iraq that they linked to Iran. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.astandforjustice.org/2011/07/07-07-03.htm">Oil rises to above $97 after US crude supply drop</a> <br />Oil prices rose to above $97 a barrel Thursday in Asia as a report showed U.S. crude supplies fell more than expected for a second week, suggesting demand is improving. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2011/07/08-3">House Passes $649B Defense Spending Bill</a> <br />The House on Friday overwhelmingly passed a $649 billion defense spending bill that boosts the Pentagon budget by $17 billion and covers the costs of wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2011/07/11">US Cancels Millions in Aid to Pakistan Military</a> <br />Despite billions of dollars in American aid since the attacks on Sept. 11, 2001, the relationship has long been tense because of Pakistan's reluctance to target Taliban militants on its territory who stage cross-border attacks against NATO troops in Afghanistan. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.payvand.com/news/11/jul/1109.html">US Official: No Tangible Evidence at Hand to Prove Iran's Aid to Iraqi Militants </a> <br />Speaking to FNA in Iraq's Northern Kurdish city of Erbil on Monday, US Deputy Secretary of State for Management and Resources Thomas Nides repeated his country's earlier claims against Iran, but admitted that the US has no "strong and tangible evidence" to prove the claim. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.amconmag.com/blog/2011/07/07/the-establishment-in-panic/">The Establishment in Panic by Patrick J. Buchanan </a> <br />The Republican Party has not said it will refuse to raise the debt ceiling. It has an obligation to do so, and will.<br /><br />The House has simply said it will not accept new taxes on a nation whose fiscal crisis comes from overspending. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.astandforjustice.org/2011/07/07-10-05.htm">Israel recognizes South Sudan, offers economic aid</a> <br />Israel recognized South Sudan Sunday, offering the new state economic help after it seceded from the mainly Arab Muslim north, which has no relations with the Jewish state. <b>Israel, a prosperous country, recipient of the largest share of US taxpayer foreign aid is offering economic assistance to SOME OTHER COUNTRY? How about they GIVE US OUR MONEY BACK? We give them BILLIONS in taxpayer dollars each year. These are NOT LOANS. These are grants given at the beginning of the year so that Israel can further gain by the interest on the money. As US schools close, teachers are laid off, states, towns and villages are having to make severe cuts in order to balance their budgets, Israel sits high on the hog and is eager to dole out OUR MONEY.</b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.astandforjustice.org/2011/07/07-13-09.htm">Israel approves work on controversial museum</a> <br />Israel has approved the start of work on a controversial Museum of Tolerance that will be built on the site of an old Muslim cemetery in Jerusalem, a spokeswoman said on Wednesday. <b>This would be headlines in the US and Congress would pass at least one resolution condemning the act if it were MUSLIMS that were building ANYTHING on a JEWISH cemetery.</b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.astandforjustice.org/2011/07/07-10-04.htm">Lebanon warns Israel against sea border move</a> <br />"President Michel Sleiman warns against any unilateral decisions Israel may take on maritime borders which would be a breach of international law, as is Israel's habit," Sleiman's office said in a statement. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.haaretz.com/news/middle-east/lebanon-lawmakers-approve-hezbollah-backed-government-1.371975">Lebanon lawmakers approve Hezbollah-backed government</a> <br /> <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.astandforjustice.org/2011/07/07-11-07.htm">Iran threatens to attack rebels across Iraq border</a> <br />"The terrorists will not be allowed to take sanctuary in Iraq's territory and attack Iran with the support of America and the Zionist regime," the official said. "Action will be taken against these terrorists." <b>The Israelis trained the Kurds, according to UK news sources.</b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.astandforjustice.org/2011/07/07-10-07.htm">Interpol issues warrants for Hariri killing suspects</a> <br /> <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.astandforjustice.org/2011/07/07-10-06.htm">For Israel, a Balkan bloom despite Palestine chill</a> <br />The Israeli leader, a free–market champion who is quick to celebrate his country's hi–tech advances and endurance through global economic doldrums, made no secret of wanting to exploit recent off–shore natural gas discoveries as strategic exports.<br /><br />"Because we need very little of this, we intend basically to lay a pipeline or create a shipping lane. We can be a big supplier in the natural gas field," he said. <b>Israel is FAT from the US taxypayer welfare checks that we HAND them every year. Billions, kids. And there are tons more peripheral perks that they receive such as the US Security Council veto at the UN, defense agreements, numerous pieces of legislation, and the action taken in the Middle East by the US military.</b><br><br><br /><a href="http://forward.com/articles/139630/">Leon Panetta, a Defense Secretary With a Long History of Cooperation with Israel</a> <br />During his recently completed stint as CIA director, Panetta worked closely with Israeli intelligence, which reportedly has shared information about Iran and about terror threats.<br /><br />“It is important to understand that despite differences on Middle East policy, the military and intelligence relations between the U.S. and Israel were extremely strong,” said Jim Colbert, policy director of the Jewish Institute for National Security Affairs. “Director Panetta was closely involved on these issues.”<br /><br /> <b>This really means that America is in BIG trouble. We will be attacking Iran before long, no doubt.</b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.astandforjustice.org/2011/07/07-13-03.htm">U.N. council split likely on Syria atomic issue: U.S.</a> <br /> <b>Notice how the issue is about what Syria MIGHT have been doing and NOT the fact that Israel violated international law by bombing Syria without any provocation.</b><br><br><br /><a href="http://forward.com/articles/139688/">Lawyer Who Promotes Anti-Sharia Laws Publishes New Study on Islamic Extremism</a> <br />Four years in the making, and part of a project costing hundreds of thousands of dollars, Yerushalmi’s study is titled “Shari’a and Violence in American Mosques” and was co-written by Mordechai Kedar, a professor of Middle East studies at Israel’s Bar-Ilan University. It is published in the current issue of the Middle East Quarterly, the flagship publication of the conservative think tank, the Middle East Forum.<br /><br />The study has been strongly criticized by liberal organizations but seized upon by conservative publications, such as FrontPage Magazine and National Review Online, as proof that Islam constitutes a grave threat to national security. Writing in National Review Online, Andrew McCarthy said the results proved that, “what we wishfully call ‘radicalism’ is in fact the Islamic mainstream.”<br><br>...Yerushalmi did say that one of the study’s funders was the Center for Security Policy, a neoconservative think tank devoted to opposing what it perceives to be the growing threat of radical Islam in the United States.<br /><br /> <b>Put forth by Israelis and pushed forward by neocons, are you surprised?</b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.astandforjustice.org/2011/07/07-11-06.htm">Syria says Clinton's remarks on Assad "provocative"</a> <br /> <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.astandforjustice.org/2011/07/07-11-05.htm">Tug-of-war over Iraqi Jewish trove in US hands</a> <br />There are claims of Jewish pressure to prevent the return of the collection, and questions about why the U.S. didn't prevent the looting of Arab and Islamic treasures during the invasion but was able to bring the Jewish collection to safety in America. <b>That's a good point. Americans need to learn what the term 'philosemitism' means, and its implications. This country via our government seems to be suffering from it, and suffering for it.</b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.astandforjustice.org/2011/07/07-11-02.htm">U.S. slams Syria for 'outrageous' embassy attack</a> <br />The United States on Monday condemned Syria for refusing to protect the U.S. embassy in Damascus from an "outrageous" attack by government loyalists it said were seeking to divert attention from Syria's internal political crisis. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.astandforjustice.org/2011/07/07-12-01.htm">US says Assad failed to prove himself legitimate</a> <br /> <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.astandforjustice.org/2011/07/07-13-02.htm">West piles pressure for UN action on Syria</a> <br /> <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.astandforjustice.org/2011/07/07-08-06.htm">Bolstered by support, Syrians pour into streets</a> <br />Hundreds of thousands of Syrians poured into the streets of the opposition stronghold Hama on Friday, bolstered by a gesture of support from the American and French ambassadors who visited the city where a massacre nearly 30 years ago came to symbolize the ruthlessness of the Assad dynasty.<br /><br />The visit by U.S. Ambassador Robert Ford drew swift condemnation from the Syrian government, which said the unauthorized trip was proof that Washington was inciting violence in the Arab nation. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.commondreams.org/view/2011/07/05-6">Debating Taboos by Ralph Nader</a> <br />The first nationally televised debate (C-SPAN) on the subject of mandatory voting, or voting duty, occurred in Washington D.C. on June 27, 2011 (watch it at: http://www.c-spanvideo.org/program/DebateonMa). Why did it take so long? Because discussing this topic has been a taboo in electoral, legislative and main media arenas. <b>Hmm. That's an interesting concept.</b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.commondreams.org/view/2011/07/11-14">Corporate Tax Escapees and You</a> <br /> <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.brecorder.com/world/europe/20040-france-slams-russia-china-block-on-un-syria-vote.html">France slams Russia, China block on UN Syria vote</a> <br /> <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.amconmag.com/blog/2011/07/13/paul-caps-his-congressional-career/">Paul Caps his Congressional Career</a> <br /> <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.amconmag.com/blog/2011/07/08/who-knew-bachmann-was-a-social-conservative/">Bachmann Looks for Social Conservative Support</a> <br />As Michael Dougherty wrote in the cover story of TAC‘s June issue, “the Tea Party, confusedly hailed by the media as a grassroots libertarian spasm, turns out on inspection to be the religious right wearing a tricorn hat and talking about Obamacare.”<br /><br />Dougherty continues: “Neoconservatives who call for confrontation with Iran, a closer relationship with Israel, and pressing the War on Terror are not echoed by religious conservatives—they’re drowned out by them.” <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.astandforjustice.org/2011/07/07-10-03.htm">Turkish FM to visit Iran</a> <br />Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu will visit Iran on Sunday to discuss a wave of unrest shaking Middle East countries, a senior Turkish diplomat said. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.astandforjustice.org/2011/07/07-12-06.htm">Lebanon's Hariri slams Hezbollah over UN court</a> <br />Lebanon's opposition leader Saad Hariri on Tuesday defended a UN–backed court that has indicted Hezbollah members in the 2005 murder of his father against "misleading accusations" by the Shiite group <b></b><br><br><br /><br><hr><br>Pale Riderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02275892742258409916noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7859798942798774539.post-60435006164003994712011-07-19T22:27:00.000-04:002011-07-19T22:28:15.357-04:00Headlines for June 30 - July 6<a href="http://www.astandforjustice.org">A Stand For Justice</a><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.astandforjustice.org/2011/07/07-05-08.htm">Oil up past $96 on higher price forecast</a> <br />Oil prices bounced back above $95 a barrel Tuesday on the back of forecasts for more expensive crude in 2012, though gains were limited by the dollar's rise and doubts about global demand. <b>Speculators strike again. Treason.</b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.astandforjustice.org/2011/06/06-30-06.htm">Israeli minister: Don't take eyes off Iran</a> <br />Britain believes Tehran has conducted at least three secret tests of medium–range ballistic missiles since October, amid an apparent escalation of its nuclear program and increased scrutiny from the International Atomic Energy Agency. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.commondreams.org/view/2011/07/06-9">The Tea Party and Goldman Sachs: A Love Story</a> <br />The whole point of the tea party is to focus concern over our stagnant economy on something called “big government” while ignoring the big corporations that have bought the government as an accessory to their marketing strategies. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.commondreams.org/view/2011/07/06-6">The US Must End Its Illegal War in Libya Now by Dennis Kucinich</a> <br />the war is illegal under the United States constitution and our War Powers Act, because only the US Congress has the authority to declare war and the president has been unable to show that the US faced an imminent threat from Libya. The president even ignored his top legal advisers at the Pentagon and the department of justice who insisted he needed congressional approval before bombing Libya. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://thehill.com/news-by-subject/defense-homeland-security/169551-think-tank-shrink-ground-forces-end-counterinsurgency-missions-for-savings">Think tank: Shrink ground forces, end counterinsurgency missions for savings</a> <br />To help heal the nation’s economic sores, Washington could free up billions annually by drastically altering how it uses the U.S. military and shaving the size of the Army and Marine Corps, according to a new study. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://original.antiwar.com/giraldi/2011/06/29/winners-and-losers/">Winners and Losers by Philip Giraldi</a> <br />Bolton, a leading neoconservative, has been calling for attacking Iran for a number of years. As part of his argument, he always maintains that Iran’s acquisition of a nuclear weapon is imminent. He never explains why it hasn’t happened yet, making one suspect that his warnings are baseless and politically motivated. Even the United States intelligence community, in its recently concluded review of the National Intelligence Estimate of 2007, has stated its belief that there is no evidence that Iran has restarted the nuclear weapons program that it abandoned in 2003. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.astandforjustice.org/2011/07/07-06-02.htm">As recovery lags, corporations prosper–and lobby for more</a> <br />So to recap: This recovery is among the weakest since World War Two. But three years after the financial industry caused the economy to tank, corporations are doing better than ever, without using their profits to hire people. Meanwhile, they're lobbying for more tax breaks, which would make the deficit problem worse.<br /> <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.astandforjustice.org/2011/07/07-02-02.htm">Hezbollah leader rejects Hariri court indictments</a> <br />He also portrayed the head of the court, Antonio Cassese, as a friend of Israel who is hostile to Hezbollah and said many of its officials had links to U.S. intelligence.<br /><br />"This investigation, and this court... as far as we are concerned is American and Israeli," he said. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.astandforjustice.org/2011/07/07-04-05.htm">U.N. prosecutor says Hezbollah should help Hariri probe</a> <br />Footage aired by Nasrallah on Saturday included scenes of a conference in Israel at which the U.N. Lebanon tribunal's president Antonio Cassese was praised as a friend of Israel.<br /><br />Nasrallah also showed pictures of documents which he said showed that 97 computers used by investigators had been shipped out of Lebanon via Israel, instead of directly from Beirut's airport or seaport, to the tribunal's headquarters in the Netherlands. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.astandforjustice.org/2011/06/06-30-04.htm">U.S. urges Lebanon to act on Hariri indictments</a> <br /> <b>Of course the US urges Lebanon to do so - at Israel's urging of course. This was a complete setup from day one to turn the Lebanese against Hezbollah. It has Israeli false flag operation written all over it.</b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.sj-r.com/opinions/x177089615/Letter-AIPAC-a-big-Kirk-supporter">Letter: AIPAC a big Kirk supporter</a> <br />Such a plan provides a powerful suggestion that Kirk is in someone’s back pocket. It also brings to mind a February 2010 report on the TPMMuckraker website that states that the senator received $1,025,000 from pro-Israeli Pacs — AIPAC, in particular.<br /><br />After that, he called for the U.S. Navy to assist the Israeli navy to intercept the next Gaza relief flotilla on the high seas <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/cifamerica/2011/jun/30/fbi-terrorism">The FBI's synagogue bomb plot</a> <br />Throughout the sentencing, Judge McMahon remained firm: this case was a government invention. The men in question did not agree to carry out the crime due to ideology. They had no allegiance to, or even knowledge, of the terrorist group Jaish-i-Mohammed, in whose name they allegedly acted. They were not motivated to criminal behaviour by their allegiance to Allah. They were motivated, purely and simply, by money; as such, they were criminals deserving punishment, but not terrorists. As Judge McMahon repeatedly stated, these men were not equivalent to the 2010 Times Square bomber, Faisal Shazad, or other ideologically motivated terrorists. <b>It's not the entrapment that bothers this reporter but rather the potential for the spread of anti-Semitism. Ok.</b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.truth-out.org/14-propaganda-techniques-fox-news-uses-brainwash-americans/1309612678">Fourteen Propaganda Techniques Fox "News" Uses to Brainwash Americans</a> <br />Take the enormous amount of misinformation that is taken for truth by Fox audiences: the belief that Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction (WMD) and that he was in on 9/11, the belief that climate change isn't real and/or man-made, the belief that Barack Obama is Muslim and wasn't born in the United States, the insistence that all Arabs are Muslim and all Muslims are terrorists, the inexplicable perceptions that immigrants are both too lazy to work and are about to steal your job. <b>The pro-Israelis use the same methods.</b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.astandforjustice.org/2011/07/07-02-01.htm">Hezbollah chief defends Hariri suspects in Lebanon</a> <br />Nasrallah said the suspects named in the indictment are brothers "who have an honorable history in resisting Israeli occupation." He went on to cast doubt on the U.N.–backed tribunal investigating the crime and said it was biased. <b>Awful strange that those fingered were Israel's enemies, eh? Can you say false flag?</b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.astandforjustice.org/2011/07/07-05-06.htm">Syrian forces shoot dead 14 in Hama: activists</a> <br /> <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.amconmag.com/blog/2011/07/06/the-peasants-are-revolting/">The Peasants Are Revolting by Philip Giraldi</a> <br />Brooks appears to be bothered most by the fact that the Tea Partiers are so common. How dare they not pay attention to “scholars and intellectual authorities,” which undoubtedly includes David Brooks himself. Brooks seems unaware that it is precisely folks like him and his scholarly buddies who have gotten the rest of us in a mess that appears to have no exit door. His invocation of the “ancient habits of our nation” appears to accept running up catastrophic debts while fighting a series of wars of choice, which he, of course, chose and even cheerleaded. That is not so much an ancient habit as a recent one, brought to us courtesy of Brooks and his friends over at The Weekly Standard, The Wall Street Journal, and the American Enterprise Institute. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.commondreams.org/view/2011/07/01-14">Movement to Abolish Corporate Personhood Gaining Traction</a> <br />Throughout the country people have responded by organizing against “corporate personhood,” a court-created precedent that illegitimately gives corporations rights that were intended for human beings. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.jpost.com/Headlines/Article.aspx?id=228029">Russia criticizes US over abuses in wars abroad</a> <br /> <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.commondreams.org/view/2011/07/05-6">Debating Taboos by Ralph Nader</a> <br />Make your own list of public taboos. For example, in all the talk about debts, deficits and taxes, notice the near total silence about a huge revenue producer, with a ready base of popular support, a Wall Street securities transaction tax--often called a tax on high volume financial speculation. In President Obama's 70 minute news conference last week, not one reporter asked his position on this proposed tax. Moreover, no President has been asked this question in public for at least the last 40 years. Yet several countries have such a tax and the U.S. had such a tax until about fifty years ago. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-07-01/pandit-to-get-80-million-drop-in-the-bucket-old-lane-cash.html">Pandit’s Payouts Climb Toward $200 Million as Top Bailout Recipient Slips</a> <br />“Pandit, his $1 pay notwithstanding, cannot be considered modestly paid,” said Graef Crystal, a compensation expert and Bloomberg News consultant based in Las Vegas. “Taxpayers saved this bank, and he’s getting a bundle while shareholders are getting shortchanged on the stock price.” <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.amconmag.com/blog/2011/07/01/mccain-lieberman-keep-up-interventionist-rhetoric/">McCain & Lieberman Keep Up Interventionist Rhetoric</a> <br /> <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.amconmag.com/blog/2011/07/05/is-default-inevitable/">Is Default Inevitable? by Patrick J. Buchanan </a> <br />Administrations of both parties contributed to this rise in the federal share of gross domestic product. But the GOP committed itself in 2010 to rein it in, without raising taxes. On that pledge the GOP triumphed and should keep its commitment. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.amconmag.com/blog/2011/07/05/america-indebted-to-war/">America: Indebted to War</a> <br />The most significant Republican proposal to actually reduce spending to a degree in tune with the severity of our problem was put forth by Sen. Rand Paul. Paul introduced a plan in March that would balance the budget in five years and reduce the debt by $4 trillion. Paul’s plan sought not simply to stop or reform spending—but to cut it—the very thing virtually every Republican claims to support and agrees must happen. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.astandforjustice.org/2011/07/07-01-01.htm">Syrian forces kill 24, protesters tell Assad to go</a> <br />The assaults concentrated on the northern section of Jabal al–Zawya region, home to 15,000 people, many of whom are trying to flee to Turkey, which already has 10,000 refugees from attacks in Idlib earlier this month. <b></b><br><br><br /><br><hr><br>Pale Riderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02275892742258409916noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7859798942798774539.post-16670395130377732372011-07-17T21:27:00.001-04:002011-07-17T21:27:52.450-04:00Headlines for June 23 - June 29<a href="http://www.astandforjustice.org">A Stand For Justice</a><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.astandforjustice.org/2011/06/06-29-04.htm">Cost of war at least $3.7 trillion and counting</a> <br />The final bill will run at least $3.7 trillion and could reach as high as $4.4 trillion, according to the research project "Costs of War" by Brown University's Watson Institute for International Studies. (http://www.costsofwar.org) <b>Send the bill for the Iraq war to the <a href="http://www.amconmag.com/article/2003/mar/24/00007/">neocons who pushed for it based on cooked intel</a>. They should be jailed for treason.</b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.theatlanticwire.com/global/2011/06/cell-phone-links-bin-laden-pakistan-intelligence/39222/">A Cell Phone Links Bin Laden to Pakistan Intelligence</a> <br />The most compelling piece of evidence that the Pakistani government was complicit in the harboring of Osama bin Laden came today in a New York Times report about a cell phone recovered from Osama bin Laden's courier. The phone reveals contacts with Harakat-ul-Mujahadeen, a militant group established by Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence agency. Making matters worse for Pakistan, longtime affiliates with the ISI told the Times "they were convinced that the ISI played a part in sheltering Bin Laden." <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.astandforjustice.org/2011/06/06-23-05.htm">Justice Dept.: 2 arrested in Seattle terror plot</a> <br />"Mujahidh admitted that he was planning on carrying out an attack at the MEPS for the purpose of killing United States military personnel in order to prevent them from going to Islamic lands and killing Muslims," the complaint said. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.npr.org/2011/06/25/137414737/among-the-costs-of-war-20b-in-air-conditioning">Among The Costs Of War: Billions A Year In A.C.?</a> <br /> <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.astandforjustice.org/2011/06/06-29-01.htm">Iran says U.S. exploits Syria uprising to save Israel</a> <br />"As interests of America and its allies are endangered in the region ... they are trying to shift the crisis by creating problems for independent countries (like Iran and Syria)." <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.amconmag.com/blog/2011/06/29/shoot-first-diplomacy/">Shoot First Diplomacy by Philip Giraldi </a> <br />Once upon a time the Secretary of State was supposed to protect Americans overseas, particularly when the Americans are not doing anything illegal. But that was before Israel and its Lobby decided what American citizens can and cannot do. A good friend of mine Ray McGovern, who is on the American vessel, is a deeply religious former CIA senior analyst. He has friends on the National Security Council who informed him last week that the US government would let the Israelis do whatever they want to the flotilla and would, in fact, approve of any action taken. In the aftermath, the State Department would do nothing to help any US citizen killed, injured, or arrested. Except possibly have them arrested a second time. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://original.antiwar.com/giraldi/2011/06/22/something-rotten-this-way-comes/">Something Rotten This Way Comes by Philip Giraldi</a> <br />It is indisputable that Israel and its friends in the White House and Defense Department played a major role in creating the lies and generating the momentum in the drive to war against Iraq in 2002, a conflict that continues to claim American casualties and which has left Iraq in ruins. Now the push is on to “do something” about Iran. There have been a number of bills in Congress that stop just short of declaring war on the Mullahs and there are signs that the Israeli government might be planning a military action before the end of the summer. Does anyone doubt that the United States would immediately be drawn into such a conflict, with disastrous consequences in terms of a terrorist response and energy prices that would skyrocket? <b>Wow. Read on for more groveling to Israel by US politicians, pundits and would-be presidents.</b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.forward.com/articles/139260/">U.S. Senate Passes Resolution Threatening To Suspend Palestinian Aid</a> <br />The United States Senate has passed a resolution threatening to suspend financial assistance to the Palestinian Authority if its leaders “persist in efforts to circumvent direct negotiations by turning to the United Nations or other international bodies,” and called on U.S. President Barack Obama to veto a UN vote on unilateral recognition of a Palestinian state. <b>Capitol Hill once again working for Israel, not America.</b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.astandforjustice.org/2011/06/06-27-01.htm">Elderly woman has to remove diaper for pat-down</a> <br />A gravely ill 95–year–old woman had to remove her wet diaper at an airport so that she could be patted down by security screeners and nearly missed her flight, her daughter said Monday. <b>Wow.</b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.astandforjustice.org/2011/06/06-23-01.htm">Iran in 'alarming' breaches of UN sanctions: envoys</a> <br />The United States, France and Britain also stepped up demands for the publication of a UN Security Council expert report on Iran sanctions which is being blocked by Russia. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.astandforjustice.org/2011/06/06-25-01.htm">Iran's supreme leader accuses US of terrorism</a> <br />Iran's supreme leader on Saturday accused the United States of supporting terrorism, pointing to American drone strikes in Pakistan and Afghanistan that he said have killed scores of civilians. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.astandforjustice.org/2011/06/06-23-06.htm">Obama declares beginning of end of Afghan war</a> <br />President Barack Obama Wednesday ordered all 33,000 US surge troops home from Afghanistan by next summer and declared the beginning of the end of the war, vowing to turn to nation building at home. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.astandforjustice.org/2011/06/06-27-07.htm">Supreme Court to review warrantless GPS tracking</a> <br />The Supreme Court will weigh in on an important privacy issue for the digital age: whether the police need a warrant before using a global positioning system device to track a suspect's movements. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.commondreams.org/view/2011/06/23-9">Obama Leaves Door Open to Long-Term U.S. Afghan Combat </a> <br />And in a section of the speech that must be interpreted in the context of his past policy decisions on Iraq, Obama appeared to support the desire of Defense Secretary Robert Gates and General David Petraeus to keep a substantial number of combat troops in Afghanistan beyond the publicly announced "transition" in 2014. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.amconmag.com/blog/2011/06/23/a-war-the-neocons-lost/">A War the Neocons Lost by Patrick J. Buchanan</a> <br />the people who should be indicted by history are not those who, after half a trillion dollars and a decade of bleeding, decided to cut America’s losses, but those who stampeded this country into two of the longest and least necessary wars in the history of the republic. <b>Amen, Mr. PJB.</b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article28348.htm">Obama Financial Supporters Get Top Jobs</a> <br />like other presidential aspirants, Obama relied heavily on mega-donors to propel his campaign across the finish line and many fundraisers have shared in the spoils of victory. Some took jobs in pivotal federal agencies such as the Department of Justice, Department of Energy and the Federal Communications Commission, while others have served on influential advisory commissions and boards that meet periodically to help formulate policy. Two dozen have been appointed ambassadors to foreign countries. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.forward.com/articles/139241/">GOP's Pawlenty Blames Obama for Mideast Deadlock</a> <br />“It breaks my heart that President Obama treats Israel, our great friend, as a problem, rather than as an ally,” Pawlenty said. “Today the president doesn’t really have a policy toward the peace process. He has an attitude. And let’s be frank about what that attitude is. He thinks Israel is the problem. And he thinks the answer is always more pressure on Israel.”<br /><br /> <b>That is in fact the answer. Cutting off all aid to that nation until it can abide by international law would do wonders for the peace process.</b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.astandforjustice.org/2011/06/06-28-05.htm">Brooklyn Hasid charged with felony hate crime after attacking neighbor</a> <br />"F–––ing Arabs! F–––ing terrorists!" Schwartz screamed when he grabbed his neighbor, Selda Turan, 27. He shoved the woman against her car and poured beer on her head, a police source said.<br /><br />Turan's husband of 13 months, Mustafa Turan, rushed out of their house to protect his wife, but Schwartz punched him in the face, the source said.<br /><br />Neighbors said the Turans moved into the heavily Jewish neighborhood about a month ago. They said the victims were from Turkey; it wasn't clear if they were Muslim. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.astandforjustice.org/2011/06/06-28-02.htm">Iran fires 14 missiles in 2nd day of war games</a> <br />"Except America and the Zionist regime, we do not feel a threat from any other country," <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.commondreams.org/view/2011/06/27-7">Gone With the Papers</a> <br />The death of journalism, the loss of reporters on the airwaves and in print who believed the plight of the ordinary citizen should be reported, means that it will be harder for ordinary voices and dissenters to reach the wider public. The preoccupation with news as entertainment and the loss of sustained reporting will effectively marginalize and silence those who seek to be heard or to defy established power. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.astandforjustice.org/2011/06/06-26-01.htm">Israel adopts tougher Iran sanctions</a> <br />The measures, which do not need further parliamentary approval, were taken after a committee found in March that, despite years of calling for tough international action against arch–foe Iran, Israel's existing legislation did not live up to public policy.<br /> <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.israpundit.com/archives/37150">Israpundit » Blog Archive » Michelle Bachmann For President</a> <br /> <b>Bachmann grovels and kowtows to Israel and its US supporters. Repulsive. For which country is she seeking to serve? Bachmann is dead wrong on Israel and America sharing the same values. America is a nation that affords liberty and justice FOR ALL. Bachmann is also LYING when she said that Americans support her view on Israel. She evidently didn't see <a href="http://againsttheinsidiouswiles.blogspot.com/2011/01/23-of-americans-say-take-no-side-in.html">these two polls from 2010 which state that only 2/3 of the American people want to take Israel's side in that conflict. </a></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.astandforjustice.org/2011/06/06-27-10.htm">Lebanon expects Hariri indictments soon</a> <br />The long–awaited indictments are expected to accuse members of Shi'ite group Hezbollah of involvement in the killing and have already triggered a political crisis which brought down the government of Hariri's son, Saad al–Hariri, in January. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://euobserver.com/9/32544">Former CIA officer questions EU motives in Syria</a> <br />EU and US intervention in Syria is designed to harm Iran and to protect Israel and Lebanese Christians, not Syrian people, according to Robert Baer, a retired CIA officer with experience of the region. <b>Robert Baer, one of the good guys.</b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/palestinianauthority/8597559/US-could-withdraw-funding-from-UN-if-Palestine-state-is-recognised.html">US 'could withdraw funding from UN if Palestine state is recognised'</a> <br />Susan Rice, the American ambassador to the UN, said there was "no greater threat" to US support and funding of the UN than the prospect of Palestinian statehood being endorsed by member states. <b>I doubt the rest of the world cares at this point. We've obstructed justice long enough, thanks to the efforts of the Israeli lobby.</b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.amconmag.com/blog/2011/06/23/whats-a-neoconservative/">What’s a Neoconservative?</a> <br /> <b>A neocon is someone who believes in Israel First!, and who cloaks that sentiment in American patriotism.</b><br><br><br /><a href="http://abclocal.go.com/kabc/story?section=news/national_world&id=8211660">House rejects measure to continue US role in Libya</a> <br />Shortly after that vote, the House turned back a Republican-led effort to cut off money for military hostilities in the Libyan war. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2011/06/what-neocons-dont-know-about-war/240956/">What Neocons Don't Understand About War</a> <br />In National Review, The Weekly Standard, and the Washington Post, leading War on Terror hawks are expressing outrage at the timeline President Obama set for troop reductions in Afghanistan <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.astandforjustice.org/2011/06/06-25-03.htm">The American Police State is the 'New Normal'</a> <br />According to The New York Times, the FBI just raided a data center in Virginia and seized many of its servers, causing websites owned by "tens of clients" to go offline –– including those belonging to people who hadn't broken a law, and were not suspected of any crime. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.astandforjustice.org/2011/06/06-26-02.htm">Activist: Syria kills 2 protesting after funerals</a> <br />Syrian activists say 20 people were killed in Friday demonstrations across Syria, including two children aged 12 and 13. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.astandforjustice.org/2011/06/06-27-05.htm">Iran unveils new underground missile silo: state tv</a> <br /> <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.astandforjustice.org/2011/06/06-25-02.htm">Syrian forces kill 5 civilians in clampdown</a> <br /> <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.astandforjustice.org/2011/06/06-24-03.htm">Syrian forces kill 15 protesters, activists say</a> <br /> <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2008231/How-youve-EVER-said-internet-seen-employers-government-approves-Social-Intelligence-Corp.html">How anything you've EVER said on the internet could be seen by employers as Feds approve firm that dishes dirt on applicants</a> <br /> <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.astandforjustice.org/2011/06/06-29-02.htm">Iran denies British nuclear missile claim</a> <br />Iran denied Wednesday testing a missile capable of carrying a nuclear warhead as Britain says. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.astandforjustice.org/2011/06/06-29-06.htm">Syria tank assault kills 11 near Turkey border</a> <br />Syrian troops shot dead 11 villagers on Wednesday, residents said, as authorities pressed on with a tank–led assault that has driven thousands of refugees across the northwest border with Turkey. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.astandforjustice.org/2011/06/06-27-06.htm">Russia: Iran's nuclear plant to start up in August</a> <br />A top Russian diplomat reportedly says Iran's first nuclear power plant will finally start up in August. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article28421.htm">Cash and Cyberware on the US Offensive</a> <br />Among other things, the State Department is financing the creation of stealth wireless networks that would enable activists to communicate outside the reach of governments in countries like Iran, Syria and Libya, according to participants in the projects. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://america-hijacked.com/2011/06/24/jinsa-john-bolton-tells-congress-to-bomb-iran-support-mek/">‘JINSA John’ Bolton Tells Congress to Bomb Iran, Support Terrorist MEK</a> <br />“I’ve argued for [military strikes against Iran] for about three and a half years,” John Bolton told the House Foreign Affairs Committee today. “Absent military action against Iran’s nuclear weapons program, Iran will have weapons much sooner rather than later,” Bolton said. “It’s a big mistake to conclude, as I believe the Administration has, that a nuclear Iran can be contained and deterred.”<br /><br />Even as Bolton called for bombing Iran, President Bush’s controversial former Ambassador to the UN received a warm reception from Republicans and many Democrats on the House Foreign Affairs Committee. The Chairwoman of the committee, Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, even went so far as to say “I love John Bolton.” <b>Israel's cheering squad in full display. Repulsive.</b><br><br><br /><br><hr><br>Pale Riderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02275892742258409916noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7859798942798774539.post-4699894929734414262011-07-12T21:41:00.000-04:002011-07-12T21:42:30.543-04:00Headlines for June 16 - June 22<a href="http://www.astandforjustice.org">A Stand For Justice</a><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2011/jun/22/time-to-end-federal-reserve-secrecy/">PAUL: Time to end Federal Reserve secrecy</a> <br />Among the facts that the Federal Reserve would rather you didn’t know is that at the height of the financial turmoil in 2008, when average Americans were just beginning to suffer, the institution was passing out sweetheart deals to protect the powerful and well-connected. Among the beneficiaries were foreign banks, Wall Street giants and even the company that then owned MSNBC. <b>Take time to read this article, written by Ron Paul.</b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.astandforjustice.org/2011/06/06-19-02.htm">Israel asks US to let spy attend father's funeral</a> <br />The U.S. defense establishment is considered hostile to the idea of clemency, claiming Pollard caused huge, but largely undisclosed, damage. <b>Yes he did. This man should thank God he's allowed to live. In other countries, he'd have been shot or hung for his treacherous actions. I have zero sympathy for him, and I believe that those 'Americans' that argue on his behalf are themselves just as treacherous.</b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.upi.com/Business_News/Security-Industry/2011/06/17/Israel-hits-72-billion-in-arms-exports/UPI-68871308336978/?spt=hs&or=si">Israel hits $7.2 billion in arms exports - UPI.com</a> <br />The Americans remain uneasy about Israeli defense links to China, in particular about the Chengdu J-10, China's new air force fighter, which reputedly involves technology from the joint U.S.-Israeli Lavi fighter project of the 1980s.<br /><br />The delta-winged Lavi, being developed by IAI, was canceled in 1987 under political pressure from Washington because of soaring costs....<br><br>Six years after the Pentagon blocked Israel from advanced military technology over concerns about leaks to China, Washington is once again funding Israeli high-profile air-defense missile systems development.<br><br>....Iron Dome is being built by Rafael Advanced Defense Systems of Israel. The U.S. Congress authorized $205 million to support the Iron Dome program in early 2011.<br /><br />India has expressed interest in the Arrow but given extensive funding provided by the United States, such sales might be problematical. In March, The Jerusalem Post reported that the Defense Ministry was discussing possible Iron Dome sales to European NATO states.<br /><br /> <b>More Israeli treachery: the transfer of US technology to China, to later be used against us, no doubt.</b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/israel-s-un-ambassador-tells-u-s-jews-prepare-for-september-vote-on-palestinian-state-1.368773">Israel's UN ambassador tells U.S. Jews: Prepare for September vote on Palestinian state</a> <br />Prosor stressed before the Jewish leaders that they must take advantage of the Jewish community's connections with decision makers in order to get results. <b>Who owns this place anyway?</b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.astandforjustice.org/2011/06/06-19-03.htm">Gates: Iran supplying arms to Iraqi Shiite groups</a> <br />Defense Secretary Robert Gates says Shiite extremists, not al–Qaida terrorists, are to blame for most of the recent U.S. military deaths in Iraq, and they're "clearly getting some fairly sophisticated and powerful weapons" from Iran. <b>Setting the stage for war?</b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.astandforjustice.org/2011/06/06-21-02.htm">Iran invites U.N. atom chief to see its nuclear sites</a> <br /> <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.astandforjustice.org/2011/06/06-19-01.htm">Iraq hunting $17 billion missing after U.S. invasion</a> <br />Iraq's parliament is chasing about $17 billion of Iraqi oil money it says was stolen after the 2003 U.S.–led invasion and has asked the United Nations for help to track it down.<br /> <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2011/06/17/paul-packs-them-in-at-major-gop-conference/">Paul packs them in at major GOP conference</a> <br />And those supporters loudly applauded Paul throughout his address, as he preached against American involvement in overseas wars and alliances by saying, "Americans are sick and tired of no-win wars around the world." <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://original.antiwar.com/giraldi/2011/06/15/la-nation-building-du-jour/">La Nation Building du Jour by Philip Giraldi,</a> <br />Tea Partiers who are resistant to government overspending are right to do so, but they fail to come to grips with the underlying cause of the sorry state of the US economy, which is the constant wars that have been fought since 2001. The wars have sucked trillions of dollars out of the US economy and, as they are unending, they are fated to claim trillions more in the decade to come, a legacy that derives from both Bush and Obama. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.astandforjustice.org/2011/06/06-19-06.htm">States look to Internet taxes to close budget gaps</a> <br />State governments across the country are laying off teachers, closing public libraries and parks, and reducing health care services, but there is one place they could get $23 billion a year if they could only agree how to do it: Internet retailers such as Amazon.com. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://original.antiwar.com/paul/2011/06/20/strange-definitions-of-war-and-peace/">Strange Definitions of War and Peace by Rep. Ron Paul</a> <br />Last week I joined six Republican and three Democratic colleagues to file a lawsuit against the Obama administration over its illegal war against Libya. Now that more than 90 days have passed since the president began bombing Libya, no one can seriously claim that the administration has complied with the clear requirements of the 1973 War Powers Resolution. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.campaignforliberty.com/article.php?view=1459">Fixing America Begins With Foreign Policyby Philip Giraldi</a> <br />If overseas interventionism has worked there is little evidence to support that view. It is up to those who advance an imperial America agenda and an intrusive national security state to explain to all of us what has been gained from all the foreign adventures and sacrifice of constitutional freedoms over the past ten years. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.astandforjustice.org/2011/06/06-15-03.htm">Libya mission to cost $1.1 bln by Sept 30 -White House</a> <br /> <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article28395.htm">Kerry, McCain Come to Obama’s Rescue Over Libya</a> <br />Hoping to head off growing insurgencies in both major parties over Washington’s participation in NATO’s military campaign against Libya, two key senators Tuesday unveiled a resolution that would give President Barack Obama the authority to continue operations there for up to one year. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/u-s-israeli-missile-defense-system-can-protect-our-mideast-bases-1.368755">U.S.: Israeli missile defense system can protect our Mideast bases</a> <br />General Patrick said that the multi-layered defense system being developed by Israel – comprised of Iron Dome and Magic Wand systems on the lower levels and Arrow 2 and 3 systems on the atmospheric level and above – will strengthen the ability of the U.S. to protect its forces in the Middle East. <b>Are we ever getting out of the Middle East?</b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/06/20/us-mayors-afghanistan_n_880370.html">U.S. Mayors Pass Resolution To Bring 'War Dollars' Home </a> <br />That resolution will now become official policy of the mayors' organization -- a small symbol of growing opposition to the war in Afghanistan. The mayors are asking that money spent on wars abroad be used in the United States to develop cities and towns. The last time the conference approved a resolution like this was during the Vietnam War. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/world/2011-06/22/c_13942345.htm">Iran slams NATO's "deadly strikes" on Libya</a> <br />Iran's Deputy Foreign Minister for European Affairs Ali Ahani on Tuesday condemned the deadly strikes by NATO on Libya, saying the attacks are "killing innocent people and destroying the country's economic infrastructure," the English language satellite Press TV reported. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.astandforjustice.org/2011/06/06-20-05.htm">Oil falls to below $92 amid stronger US dollar</a> <br />A strengthening U.S. dollar has helped drag crude down from almost $115 early last month. A rising dollar makes commodities such as oil more expensive for investors with other currencies.<br /> <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://forward.com/articles/138846/">Jews and Latinos Form a Pragmatic Congressional Alliance</a> <br />The Jewish community would like to see its Latino counterparts become more active on issues relating to Israel, a tall order for a community whose immediate political challenges in this country leave little time for foreign policy concerns, much less concern about the Middle East.<br /><br />The Latino community, meanwhile, wishes to see Jewish lawmakers help push through comprehensive immigration reform, which is all but stuck in Congress. <br><br>...Over the past decade, the Jewish organizations have increased their outreach to Latino communities on both the local and national levels. Jewish groups have taken Latino leaders on trips to Israel and tried to join forces in discussing domestic policy issues.<br><br>....Meanwhile, expectations on the Jewish side of the coalition, focus, among other things, on the recent move by several Latin American countries to recognize a Palestinian state. <b>Now you know who is pushing the amnesty for illegals program and why.</b><br><br><br /><a href="http://forward.com/articles/139007/">Jewish Seat Threatened By Growing Latino Bloc</a> <br />Though Berman and Sherman have similar voting records, Berman’s reputation as a pro-Israel heavyweight with a nuanced view on foreign affairs has established him as the higher-profile Jew in Congress. “He is a cardiac case,” said Doug Bloomfield, former legislative director of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, the pro-Israel lobby. “His support for Israel keeps his blood pumping.”<br /><br /> <b>Really now.</b><br><br><br /><a href="http://forward.com/articles/139012/">Decline of Jews On Capitol Hill Could Mean a Loss of Power</a> <br />One of the possible consequences of New York Rep. Anthony Weiner’s Twitter-gate affair is another decline in the number of Jewish representatives in Congress.<br /><br /><br />The massive overrepresentation of Jews on Capitol Hill, long a source of pride for the community, has been shrinking in recent years and could drop in the coming election cycle from 41 to the mid 30s, a level last seen 15 years ago.<br><br>....“At the end of the day, it won’t matter much in terms of the Jewish agenda,” said Kurt Stone, political science professor at Florida Atlantic University and author of two books on Jews in Congress. On the issue of Israel, Stone explained, there is almost a wall-to-wall consensus in Congress<br /><br /> <b>Straight from the horse's mouth, kids. Doesn't really matter anyway if the representative is Jewish or not - that's why they have AIPAC, which has almost all of Congress in its back pocket.</b><br><br><br /><a href="http://forward.com/articles/138661/">Are Jews Warming to the Tea Party?</a> <br />Within the Tea Party, Bachmann is at the forefront of those making Israel a key part of her agenda. In her speech at the high-profile Faith & Freedom Conference held in Washington in early June, Bachmann termed Obama’s call for a two-state solution to the Israel-Palestinian conflict based on Israel’s 1967 boundaries and mutually agreed land swaps “shocking.” She followed up by buying ads on Jewish websites reiterating this message.<br /><br />Bachmann is not alone. Attacks on Obama’s Israel policy have come from former Alaska governor Sarah Palin, known as the Tea Party’s biggest draw. Pundit Glenn Beck, a vocal critic of the Obama presidency, has been devoting much of his airtime lately to the issue of Israel.<br /><br />Read more: http://forward.com/articles/138661/#ixzz1QhoCSsFU<br /> <b>Run now from this phony 'Tea Party', patriots. They are wolves in sheep's clothing who have a passionate attachment to a nation other than this one- Israel, something George Washington warned about in his Farewell Address.</b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/obama-tells-jewish-donors-that-u-s-israel-disagreements-are-only-tactical-1.368864">Obama tells Jewish donors that U.S.-Israel disagreements are only 'tactical'</a> <br />President Obama took part tonight at two Democratic fundraisers at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel in Washington, DC, for the Obama Victory Fund. The first was a dinner with Americans in Support of a Strong U.S.-Israel Relationship. The second was dinner with the Mid-Atlantic Finance Committee, for about 100 participants. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article28367.htm">Experts Fear Israeli Design to Balkanise Arab States</a> <br />"The western campaign against Libya wasn't undertaken to protect human rights or foster democracy," said al-Sakhawi. "It was launched with the aim of breaking Libya up politically so as to prevent the unification of three revolutionary Arab states - Egypt, Libya and Tunisia - which together might pose a threat to Israeli regional dominance."<br /> <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article28374.htm">Gaza and American ‘Security’ By Ray McGovern </a> <br />I also have been cautioned by a source with access to very senior staffers at the National Security Council that not only does the White House plan to do absolutely nothing to protect our boat from Israeli attack or illegal boarding, but that White House officials “would be happy if something happened to us.” ....<br><br>..former CIA specialist on al-Qaeda, Michael Scheuer, who had the audacity to state on C-SPAN: “For anyone to say that our support for Israel doesn’t hurt us in the Muslim world … is to just defy reality.”<br /><br />The Likud Lobby had already succeeded in getting Scheuer fired from his job at the Jamestown Foundation think tank for his forthrightness, and the Israeli media condemned his C-SPAN remarks as “blatantly anti-Semitic.” There can be a high price to pay for candor on this neuralgic issue.<br><br>...An unusually candid view of the dangers accruing from the U.S. identification with Israel’s policies appeared several years ago in an unclassified study published by the Pentagon-appointed U.S. Defense Science Board on Sept. 23, 2004. Contradicting President George W. Bush, the board stated:<br /><br />“Muslims do not ‘hate our freedom,’ but rather, they hate our policies. The overwhelming majority voice their objections to what they see as one-sided support in favor of Israel and against Palestinian rights.” <b>Ray McGovern is a former CIA analyst.</b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.truth-out.org/us-neocons-new-overtures-irans-mko-recall-history-resistance-and-co-opting-part-2/1308161726">US Neocons' New Overtures to Terrorist Opposition Group in Iran, Part 2 Truthout</a> <br />MKO's latest alliance is with the American neoconservatives and the Israel lobby in the United States. Rajavi and MKO believe that, with the help of American neoconservatives, they will eventually come to power. Over the past several months, six conferences sponsored by US neoconservatives and their allies have been held in Europe and the United States to prop up MKO as the leading alternative to the Islamic Republic. Such infamous neoconservative figures as John Bolton and former CIA director R. James Woolsey support MKO. The neocons also channel their support for MKO through right-wing groups such as the Iran Policy Committee (IPC). An investigation published by Jim Lobe's LobeLog in September 2010 revealed that the IPC has shared an address, accountants and some staff with multiple organizations that either fronted for or had direct ties to Iraqi conman Ahmad Chalabi's Iraqi National Congress - the same body that fabricated much of the bogus intelligence that neocons used to garner support for the US-led invasion of Iraq in 2003. <b>The neocons want war with Iran. Bad.</b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.astandforjustice.org/2011/06/06-20-06.htm">Obama tells Jewish donors he strongly backs Israel</a> <br />Obama made the comments at a high–dollar fundraiser at a Washington hotel hosted by Americans in Support of a Strong U.S.–Israel Relationship. <b>This is why campaign financing should be abolished.</b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.astandforjustice.org/2011/06/06-22-01.htm">Israeli leaders test nuclear bunker in defense drill</a> <br />Israeli leaders holed up in a new underground nuclear bunker on Wednesday as part of annual maneuvers to prepare for a possible missile war with Iran, Syria and their Lebanese and Palestinian guerrilla allies.<br /> <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/israel-reveals-it-has-returned-dozens-of-kilograms-of-nuclear-waste-to-u-s-1.368746?localLinksEnabled=false">Israel reveals it has returned dozens of kilograms of nuclear waste to U.S.</a> <br />The U.S. stopped supplying enriched uranium for the Sorek reactor as early as 1977 following a law passed by the U.S. Congress and because Israel was not a signatory to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), Haaretz reported at the time. However, according to some Israeli sources, Israel still has an adequate stock of enriched uranium, supplied by the U.S. before the embargo and the prohibition of the sale of enriched uranium was put in place, to keep the Sorek reactor operating on the part-time basis that it has been for years. According to American data, the U.S. provided between 1960-1975, 19 kilograms of highly enriched uranium to fuel the reactor. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.amconmag.com/blog/2011/06/21/more-bin-laden/">More bin Laden by Philip Giraldi</a> <br /> <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.amconmag.com/blog/2011/06/16/when-america-comes-home/">When America Comes Home by Patrick J. Buchanan</a> <br />Gates’ patience with the Europeans is, understandably, just about exhausted. Two decades after the Soviet Union disintegrated and the Red Army went home, America is still carrying 75 percent of the NATO burden for the defense of Europe. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article28384.htm">The Plan to Destabilize Syria</a> <br />The central idea was to foment unrest in a well circumscribed area and to proclaim the establishment of an Islamic emirate that would serve as a platform for the dismemberment of the country. The choice of the Daraa district can be explained by its proximity to the Jordanian border and the Israeli occupied Golan Heights. This layout would make it easy to funnel supplies to the secessionists. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.astandforjustice.org/2011/06/06-19-04.htm">Russia's Medvedev opposed to U.N. vote on Syria: report</a> <br /> <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.astandforjustice.org/2011/06/06-15-04.htm">Ahmadinejad joins China, Russia leaders at summit</a> <br />Returning to his past claims that a conspiracy could have been behind the September 11 attacks on the United States, Ahmadinejad added:<br /><br />"Have any of our countries played a part in the creation of 9/11 under whose pretext Afghanistan and Iraq were invaded and more than one million people have been killed or wounded?" <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://original.antiwar.com/justin/2011/06/21/the-war-against-%E2%80%98isolationism%E2%80%99/">The War Against ‘Isolationism’ by Justin Raimondo -- Antiwar.com</a> <br /> <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.astandforjustice.org/2011/06/06-19-05.htm">Syrian forces prevent refugees fleeing to Turkey</a> <br />the mass killings of Syrian Sunnis have made Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan increasingly critical of Assad.<br /><br />Erdogan has warned Syria against repeating a brutal campaign of repression in the 1980s that killed thousands. He has also sent his foreign minister and the head of Turkey's land forces to tour the border refugee region in the last several days. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.astandforjustice.org/2011/06/06-17-03.htm">Syrian forces open fire on protesters; 16 killed</a> <br />Syrian security forces fired on thousands of protesters Friday, killing a teenage boy and at least 15 other civilians as accounts emerged of more indiscriminate killing and summary executions by the autocratic regime of President Bashar Assad, activists said. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2011/06/16">Ex-Spy Alleges Bush White House Sought to Discredit Critic</a> <br />Glenn L. Carle, a former Central Intelligence Agency officer who was a top counterterrorism official during the administration of President George W. Bush, said the White House at least twice asked intelligence officials to gather sensitive information on Juan Cole, a University of Michigan professor who writes an influential blog that criticized the war. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.aclu.org/blog/technology-and-liberty/youre-going-need-warrant-officer">You're Going to Need a Warrant For That, Officer</a> <br /> <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.astandforjustice.org/2011/06/06-22-03.htm">Asia surpasses Europe in millionaires and wealth</a> <br />Powered by fast–growing China and India, the Asia–Pacific region's millionaire ranks rose 10 percent to 3.3 million, second only to the 3.4 million residing in North America and inching ahead of Europe, which had 3.1 million. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.astandforjustice.org/2011/06/06-16-02.htm">Russia, China warn West against Arab interference</a> <br />Russia and China oppose outside interference in the unrest in the Arab world, the two presidents said on Thursday in a declaration, as the West seeks their support for increasing pressure on Syria. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.astandforjustice.org/2011/06/06-17-02.htm">Angelina Jolie visits Syrian refugees in Turkey</a> <br /> <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.astandforjustice.org/2011/06/06-18-01.htm">Ron Paul wins 2012 Republican straw poll in New Orleans</a> <br />Representative Ron Paul easily won a Republican Leadership Conference straw poll of the party's 2012 presidential contenders on Saturday, with former U.S. envoy to China Jon Huntsman finishing second. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/timstanley/100092834/republican-maverick-ron-paul-wins-a-second-straw-poll-and-reminds-the-critics-why-he-matters/">Republican maverick Ron Paul wins a second straw poll and reminds the critics why he matters</a> <br />why won’t Paul go away? His followers will tell you that Ron Paul keeps on winning because he is right on the issues. And he has certainly been vindicated on the subjects upon which he has built his reputation – fiscal policy and war. He was right to predict that the 2008 bailout would distribute public money to irresponsible private institutions and prolong the recession. At the time he was a lone voice. But his “throw ‘em to the wall” philosophy is now Tea Party orthodoxy, and the Republican leadership likes to pretend that it said that all along too. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.astandforjustice.org/2011/06/06-18-02.htm">Refugee crisis mushrooms as Syrian army attacks</a> <br /> <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.commondreams.org/view/2011/06/11-4">'The War You Don't See': A Film You Won't See</a> <br /> <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.astandforjustice.org/2011/06/06-20-03.htm">AP Interview: Israel says Assad's prospects dim</a> <br />Barack said Israel was also in the final stages of testing the David's Sling ballistic missile defense system, which would defend against medium–range ballistic missiles and cruise missiles. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.astandforjustice.org/2011/06/06-20-04.htm">"Disappointed" EU prepares to expand Syria sanctions</a> <br /> <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.astandforjustice.org/2011/06/06-21-07.htm">Seven protesters killed in Syria during rallies</a> <br /> <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://forward.com/articles/138720/">Will Weiner’s Jewish District Hit The Political Chopping Block?</a> <br />The 2012 federal redistricting process mandates that New York state must lose two seats in the House of Representatives next year. Weiner’s District 9 — which encompasses parts of Queens and Brooklyn — was originally considered a safe seat. But Weiner’s follies have put his district at risk. State and federal Democrats could decide to chop up District 9, allocating pieces of it to adjacent Congressional territories. The dissolution of Weiner’s district would mean the dissolution of one of the most solidly Jewish Congressional blocs in the country<br><br>....Weiner embodies a particular blend of traits common to many Jewish politicians: He votes left on social issues and right — in Weiner’s case, hard right — on Israel policy.<br /><br /> <b></b><br><br><br /><br><hr><br>Pale Riderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02275892742258409916noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7859798942798774539.post-86431250827583825212011-06-23T20:16:00.001-04:002011-06-23T20:16:38.142-04:00Headlines for June 9 - June 15<a href="http://www.astandforjustice.org">A Stand For Justice</a><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.astandforjustice.org/2011/06/06-13-06.htm">More than $6 billion in Iraq reconstruction funds lost</a> <br />The Iraqi and U.S. governments have been unable to account for a substantial chunk of the billions of dollars in reconstruction aid the Bush administration literally airlifted into the country. If the cash proves to have been stolen, the heist could represent "the largest theft of funds in national history," according to a report in the Los Angeles Times. <b>Wow.</b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.commondreams.org/newswire/2011/06/15-6">End Excessive Oil Speculation Now</a> <br />Even Goldman Sachs suggests that legal speculation may be adding 65-70 cents to the price of a gallon of gasoline.<br /><br />Speculators, in other words, are imposing a private tax on us. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.astandforjustice.org/2011/06/06-12-02.htm">Asking too much of U.S. consumers</a> <br /> <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.astandforjustice.org/2011/06/06-15-02.htm">Turkey's Erdogan presses Assad's envoy over unrest</a> <br />Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan held crisis talks with an envoy of Syria's president on Wednesday as Ankara pressed its once well–regarded neighbor to end a crackdown on protesters that it has called "savagery." <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.theatlanticwire.com/national/2011/06/new-powers-fbi-just-granted-itself/38763/">The New Powers the FBI Just Granted Itself</a> <br />The Federal Bureau of Investigations has rewritten its own operations manual, giving its agents more autonomy than ever to conduct low-level searches without a paper trail. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.astandforjustice.org/2011/06/06-12-05.htm">Secret U.S. effort aims to help dissidents: report</a> <br />The State Department is also financing creation of stealth wireless networks to enable activists to communicate beyond the reach of governments in countries like Iran, Syria and Libya, the Times said, citing participants in the projects <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.astandforjustice.org/2011/06/06-11-01.htm">Russia, China snub U.N. council talks on Syria: envoys</a> <br />Russia and China dislike the idea of any council discussion of Syria and have suggested they might use their veto power to kill the resolution. Lebanon, India, Brazil and South Africa have also said they have problems with the text. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.astandforjustice.org/2011/06/06-12-04.htm">Russia objects to US warship in Black Sea</a> <br />Russia's Foreign Ministry issued a statement Sunday saying Russia "has repeatedly stressed that we will not leave unnoticed any elements of U.S. strategic infrastructure in the immediate vicinity of our borders and will consider any such steps as a threat to our security." <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.astandforjustice.org/2011/06/06-13-10.htm">Phone taps convict three more of insider trading</a> <br />Three former securities traders were convicted on Monday on all counts of fraud and conspiracy to commit insider trading on pending mergers, in another victory for prosecutors in their probe of suspicious trading on Wall Street. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.astandforjustice.org/2011/06/06-14-05.htm">US Congress votes against Libya funding</a> <br /> <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.astandforjustice.org/2011/06/06-10-02.htm">Fed prepares for last spurt of easy money flood</a> <br />The Fed said it will buy $50 billion of Treasuries, the final series of government bond purchases that marks the last phase of the $600 billion program it launched in November 2010 to prevent another recession.<br /><br />As a result, once the purchases are concluded on June 30, the financial sector will receive only a fraction of the roughly $100 billion a month in easy money it has been getting from the Fed. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.astandforjustice.org/2011/06/06-14-04.htm">6 killed, tanks near Iraq as Syria faces backlash</a> <br />Forces stationed in Jisr al–Shugur shot dead a family of four on Monday, London–based rights activist Rami Abdel Rahman said. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://original.antiwar.com/smith-grant/2011/06/14/aipac-pushes-hard-for-war-with-iran/">AIPAC Pushes Hard for War With Iran</a> <br />The overarching problem is the Israel lobby’s subversion of American governance through election fraud, the evasion of tax regulations and laws regulating foreign lobbies, and the systematized, ongoing infiltration of operatives into key government posts to advance the interests of a foreign state. Unfortunately for AIPAC, the Americans gathering to challenge it cross party lines. Whether they wear American flag pins on their suit lapels or Birkenstocks over wool socks is of ever declining significance. <b>Thank God for that. But Americans need to get in the know and take action at a quicker pace, before it's too late.</b><br><br><br /><a href="http://original.antiwar.com/giraldi/2011/06/08/target-iran/">Target: Iran by Philip Giraldi</a> <br />An ‘article’ by Seymour Hersh that appeared last week in the New Yorker reveals some details of the still classified 2011 National Intelligence Estimate (NIE) on Iran. To put it succinctly, there is no actual evidence that Iran has a nuclear weapon program. None. Hersh’s article elicited a response from a number of anonymous White House sources who disputed the article’s conclusions, suggesting very clearly that the Obama Administration embraces the Iranian threat narrative, if only to be able to cite Tehran as the reason for the repeated American failures in the region. Hersh also reported that the NIE had been delayed for four months because the White House had wanted a harsher judgment on Iran’s likely intentions. The intelligence community, having been burned once over Iraq, refused to comply. <b>Read on for the legislation put forth by Israel-firsters on Capitol Hill.</b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.amconmag.com/blog/2011/06/10/obamas-dilemma-and-ours/">Obama’s Dilemma — and Ours by Patrick J. Buchanan</a> <br />We overextended ourselves. We bankrupted ourselves.<br /><br />We undertook the defense of nations all over the world having little to do with our vital national interests. We fought unnecessary wars. We doled out trillions in foreign aid to ingrates, incompetents, opportunists and thieves. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/activists-cry-foul-over-fbi-probe/2011/06/09/AGPRskTH_story.html">Activists cry foul over FBI probe</a> <br />The apparent targets, all vocal and visible critics of U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East and South America, deny any ties to terrorism. They say the government, using its post-9/11 focus on terrorism as a pretext, is targeting them for their political views....<br><br>All 23 of the activists invoked their right not to testify before a grand jury, defying U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald, whose office is spearheading the investigation. <b>Patrick Fitzgerald, now a stoolie to the neocons, rather than a prosecutor thereof. Sad.</b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.presstv.ir/detail/184016.html">Ex-CIA officer: Israel spies on US</a> <br />An example, Giraldi said, is the Chinese Chengdu Jet J-10 that has been built with technologies that originally came from the US.<br /><br />This is despite the fact that Israel relies heavily on the US for political and military support.<br /><br />“It should almost be seen as an act of war,” Giraldi emphasized. <b>Please take a few minutes to give a listen to former counterterrorism officer, Philip Giraldi.</b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.astandforjustice.org/2011/06/06-10-01.htm">Import prices rise for 8th straight month</a> <br />Import prices rose for an eighth straight month in May despite a drop in fuel costs, with the year–on–year increase reaching its highest level in nearly three years, according to data on Friday.<br /> <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/politics/general_politics/june_2011/just_26_favor_continued_military_action_in_libya">Just 26% Favor Continued Military Action in Libya</a> <br />A plurality of voters now opposes further U.S. military action in Libya, and most say President Obama needs congressional approval to continue those operations. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://rt.com/usa/news/us-economy-cuts-fail-spending/">US must make cuts or risk economic failure</a> <br />Author and well known international investor Jim Rogers said the US is in terrible trouble. Congress should act swiftly to cut spending dramatically to save the economy. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-13722786">Iraq will ask US troops to stay post-2011, says Panetta</a> <br /> <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/pakistan/American-held-for-spying-on-Pak-N-facilities-to-be-deported/articleshow/8831703.cms?intenttarget=no">American held for spying on Pak N-facilities , to be deported</a> <br /> <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.truth-out.org/new-documents-claim-intelligence-bin-laden-al-qaeda-targets-withheld-congress-911-probe/1307986777">EXCLUSIVE: New Documents Claim Intelligence on Bin Laden, al-Qaeda Targets Withheld From Congress' 9/11 Probe</a> <br />the Bush administration was fully aware the terrorist organization had set its sights on those structures prior to 9/11 and, apparently, government officials failed to act on those warnings. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.astandforjustice.org/2011/06/06-10-05.htm">US congressman says Iraq should repay war costs</a> <br /> <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0611/56776.html">Iraqis: We won't repay U.S.</a> <br />Rep. Dana Rohrabacher, a Republican from California, suggested during a trip to Baghdad with fellow lawmakers Friday that once Iraq becomes a rich and prosperous country, it could repay the United States.<br /><br />Read more: http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0611/56776.html#ixzz1PxaVydCZ<br /> <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/jun/15/pakistan-usa">CIA's Osama bin Laden informants arrested by Pakistan – report</a> <br />Some in Washington see the arrests as another sign of the disconnect between US and Pakistani priorities in the fight against extremists, the newspaper reported. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/13/us/13fbi.html?_r=1">F.B.I. Agents Get Leeway to Push Privacy Bounds</a> <br />Some of the most notable changes apply to the lowest category of investigations, called an “assessment.” The category, created in December 2008, allows agents to look into people and organizations “proactively” and without firm evidence for suspecting criminal or terrorist activity. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2011/06/14-8">Syria: 'They Shot People Who Were Trying to Get Away'</a> <br /> <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.amconmag.com/blog/2011/06/12/american-diplomacy-101/">American Diplomacy 101 by Philip Giraldi </a> <br />It seems that Rohrabacher and some fellow wingnuts to include Ileana Ros Lehtinen, the committee chairman, have a soft spot in their hearts for MEK because it is an enemy of the Mullah regime in Tehran. They have tried a number of times to get it delisted as a terrorist organization. Not coincidentally, the congressmen who are fond of MEK are also passionate supporters of Israel. My enemy’s enemy… <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.amconmag.com/blog/2011/06/09/noninterventionist-conservatives-go-mainstream/">Non-Interventionist Conservatives Go Mainstream?</a> <br /> <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2011/06/09-2">Debate Rages over US Withdrawal</a> <br />"I would hope that (the withdrawal) is very small," the 2008 Republican presidential candidate, Sen. John McCain, told the Financial Times this week. "I would hope that it is 3,000. We need another fighting season (against the Taliban)." <b>McCain wants to keep our troops over there so that they can protect Israel. <a href="http://www.jpost.com/International/Article.aspx?id=103164">McCain: Iraq troop pullout bad for Israel</a></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article28294.htm">Iran and the Issue of Nuclear Weapons</a> <br />Israeli politicians are addicted to the Iran threat. Iran serves, alongside the Palestinians, as the latter day ruthless anti-Semite who would destroy the Jews. Zionists seem to need this kind of “existentialist” enemy. This is the equivalent of the Islamic fundamentalist taking the place of the hateful communist as the great enemy that the United States also seems to need. The Israeli lobby is more influential in formulating U.S. foreign policy toward Iran than all of the nation’s intelligence services put together. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.amconmag.com/blog/2011/06/13/whos-an-isolationist/">Who’s an Isolationist?</a> <br /> <b>Neocons not happy when anyone dare oppose their war plans.</b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article28341.htm">America for Sale: Is Goldman Sachs Buying Your City? </a> <br />it's coming to a city near you -- it may already be there. We're talking about the sale of public assets to private investors. You may have heard of one-off deals, but what we'll be exploring with the Huffington Post is the scale and scope of what is a national and organized campaign to shift the way we govern ourselves. In an era of increasingly stretched local and state budgets, privatization of public assets may be so tempting to local politicians that the trend seems unstoppable. Yet, public outrage has stopped and slowed a number of initiatives. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.astandforjustice.org/2011/06/06-14-03.htm">Why Google Earth Pixelates Israel</a> <br />Israel's low–resolution e–presence can be traced back to the 1997 National Defense Authorization Act. Tucked inside the 2,870–page bill is a two–bullet point section titled "SEC. 1064. PROHIBITION ON COLLECTION AND RELEASE OF DETAILED SATELLITE IMAGERY RELATING TO ISRAEL" (page 2653). Below, the full–text: <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.astandforjustice.org/2011/06/06-09-02.htm">Syrians flee as troops mass, West concern grows</a> <br />Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu on Thursday said 2,400 people had already crossed into Turkey. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.astandforjustice.org/2011/06/06-13-02.htm">Lebanon gets Hezbollah-led cabinet after 5-month lag</a> <br />Lebanon's Prime Minister Najib Mikati announced Monday a long–delayed government dominated by Iranian–backed Hezbollah and its allies, which is likely to cause alarm among Western powers at a time of regional turmoil. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.astandforjustice.org/2011/06/06-13-03.htm">Key US lawmaker urges aid cut-off for Lebanon</a> <br />A key US lawmaker called Monday for cutting all US aid to Lebanon's new government, in which Hezbollah and its allies hold the majority, and to any Palestinian government in which Hamas is a partner.<br /><br />"The US should immediately cut off assistance to the Lebanese government as long as any violent extremist group designated by the US as foreign terrorist organizations participates in it," said House Foreign Affairs Committee Chair Ileana Ros–Lehtinen, a Republican and frequent White House critic. <b>Ros-Lehtinen is one of Israel's top shills on Capitol Hill.</b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.israel-palestinenews.org/2011/06/israelists-schumer-lieberman-chertoff.html">The Missing Headlines Israelists Schumer, Lieberman, Chertoff turning U.S. into Islamophobic police state</a> <br />In an interview last year with a Jewish radio talk show in New York, Senator Schumer said he believed that HaShem(an Orthodox Jewish term for “God”) gave him the name “Schumer” — which means “guardian” — so that he could fulfill his “very important” role in the U.S. Senate as a “guardian of Israel.” Presumably, Schumer’s God-given role also includes turning the country he is actuallypaid to represent — the United States — into an Islamophobic police state. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.smartmoney.com/news/ON/?story=ON-20110608-000647&cid=1259">Pentagon Sees Libya Military Costs Soar - FT</a> <br />U.S. military operations in Libya are expected to cost hundreds of millions of dollars more than the initial $750 million outgoing defense secretary Robert Gates estimated last month, the Financial Times reported on its website Thursday, citing figures it obtained. <b>And for what? And is not Syria's Assad doing exactly the same thing Ghaddafi was allegedly doing to his people? And the US takes no action against Syria. Why? Because Israel prefers Assad.</b><br><br><br /><a href="http://forward.com/articles/138463/">The Republicans Heart Netanyahu</a> <br />Republicans see an opportunity to seize on the distance between a recalcitrant, right-wing Israeli regime and a liberal Democratic American president for their own political gain. What’s more, the party’s base is increasingly dominated by the conservative Christian Zionists, whose love for Israel is, according to their interpretation of Scripture, commanded by the Almighty.<br /><br /> <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.astandforjustice.org/2011/06/06-13-09.htm">Most Americans think Congress is unethical</a> <br /> <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.forward.com/articles/138492/">Israel’s ‘Mr. Security’ Goes Rogue</a> <br />In a series of semi-public talks with academics, journalists and a Knesset committee, Dagan has been arguing since January that Iran is further from gaining a nuclear weapon than Israel’s leaders claim and that the notion of attacking Iran’s nuclear installations, a cornerstone of Benjamin Netanyahu’s defense strategy, is “stupid.” He says that an attack wouldn’t succeed in eliminating Iran’s dispersed, heavily fortified nuclear sites. It would, however, spark a regional war which could threaten Israel’s existence. Moreover, he says, issuing military threats in order to deter Iran and stiffen Western resolve has the perverse effect of spurring Iran to speed up its efforts, in self-defense.<br /><br />Read more: http://www.forward.com/articles/138492/#ixzz1Q337ki5s<br /> <b>Thank you for your honesty and cojones, Mr. Dagan. While you are looking out for your country, I am looking out for mine.</b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2011/06/12/ftn/main20070698.shtml">Graham: Now is the time to take action in Syria</a> <br />"If it made sense to protect the Libyan people against Qaddafi - and it did, because they were going to get slaughtered if we hadn't sent NATO in when he was on the outskirts of Benghazi -the question for the world is, have we gotten to that point in Syria?" asked Graham. "We may not be there yet but we're getting very close."<br /><br /> <b>Well, at least he is not a hypocrite. At least, not on this issue.</b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.astandforjustice.org/2011/06/06-09-01.htm">Fleeing Syrians tell of revolt, mutiny and mayhem</a> <br />As more than 2,400 Syrians streamed across the open Turkish borders on Thursday ahead of tanks and troops who surrounded their hometown, they brought with them the first accounts of a week of revolt, mutiny and mayhem in Jisr al–Shughour. The streets were deserted, leaving no resistance against a regime equipped for all–out battle. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.astandforjustice.org/2011/06/06-10-03.htm">Helicopter gunships fire on Syrian protesters</a> <br /> <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.astandforjustice.org/2011/06/06-13-01.htm">Mitt Romney, Ron Paul clash on Afghanistan pullout</a> <br /> <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.haaretz.com/news/international/iran-urges-world-community-to-pressure-israel-into-joining-non-proliferation-treaty-1.367228">Iran urges world community to pressure Israel into joining Non-Proliferation Treaty</a> <br />"The world community should put pressure on the Zionist regime (Israel) to join the NPT and allow inspections by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)," Iranian Foreign Minister Ali-Akbar Salehi said. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.amconmag.com/blog/2011/06/15/ron-paul-won-the-debate/">Ron Paul Won the Debate</a> <br />The reason foreign policy wasn’t discussed for most of the debate is because the 2012 GOP’s first concern—like much of the country—is the economy. But in 2008, Paul was already warning of the current economic crisis. In fact, Paul’s argument has always been that America is going bankrupt due in large part to an expensive and detrimental foreign policy. The questions related to foreign policy asked Monday were far more sympathetic to Paul’s long held views than that of any other Republican candidate in 2008. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/news/goldman-investigated-over-16331m-libyan-bribe-2295344.html">Goldman investigated over £31m Libyan 'bribe'</a> <br />Goldman Sachs' dealings with Muammar Gaddafi's regime have come under scrutiny from US regulators investigating whether they broke anti-bribery laws. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Middle-East/2011/0613/Syrian-Army-deserter-We-were-ordered-to-shoot-on-the-people">Syrian Army deserter 'We were ordered to shoot on the people'</a> <br /> <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.astandforjustice.org/2011/06/06-10-04.htm">Syrian troops sweep through north; unrest kills 32</a> <br />Elite Syrian forces moved swiftly through the country's restive north on Friday, raining tank shells on rebellious towns, torching farmland and shooting protesters who tried to tear down a poster of President Bashar Assad, activists and refugees said. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://forward.com/articles/138472/">New Square: Where Tradition And the Rebbe Rule</a> <br />Among other things, New Square residents must walk streets strictly divided by gender, with women on one side and men on the other, as Yiddish signs posted on telephone poles lining those streets dictate. Women are not allowed to drive<br><br>....This is not New Square’s first turn in the spotlight in connection with a scandal. In January 2001, President Bill Clinton commuted the sentences of four New Square officials who had been convicted earlier in a multi-million dollar federal Pell Grant scandal. This was shortly after the village overwhelmingly voted for Clinton’s wife in the November 2000 Senate campaign.<br /><br /> <b>What? Guess where this takes place? Yes, good old America. Who owns this place? Wait, I thought we were in danger of Sharia Law here?</b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article28307.htm">Bank Bailouts Explained:</a> <br /> <b></b><br><br><br /><br><hr><br>Pale Riderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02275892742258409916noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7859798942798774539.post-64959797183208277422011-06-16T21:40:00.000-04:002011-06-16T21:41:09.601-04:00Headlines for June 2 - June 8<a href="http://www.astandforjustice.org">A Stand For Justice</a><br><br><br /><a href="http://amarillo.com/opinion/opinion-columnist/guest-opinion-columnist/2011-06-05/cooper-us-israel-shove-uss-liberty-under-rug">Cooper: US, Israel shove USS Liberty under rug</a> <br />All of the facts about the attack on the USS Liberty need to be aired in public before a congressional panel. It is astounding that Congress has found time to conduct hearings into just about everything under the sun but our elected representatives have not been able to delve into the sneak attack on a U.S. naval vessel.<br /><br />It is time for the voices of the Liberty's dead to be heard. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.news-leader.com/article/20110608/OPINIONS03/106080340/Attack-ship-not-forgotten">Attack on ship not forgotten</a> <br />For the last two decades, the Liberty survivors and some current high-ranking military and U.S. government officials have asserted the attack was intentional, and have been embroiled in a battle of words with supporters who claim the attack was a case of "mistaken identity." Many have continuously lobbied for a U.S. congressional investigation into the attack and the subsequent cover-up, but without success. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://arabnews.com/middleeast/article450581.ece">USS Liberty hero dies without seeing justice</a> <br />With the encouragement of his wife, Mary Ann, John Hrankowski dedicated much of his personal time to telling Americans about the Liberty and the US cover-up that continues to this day.<br /><br />He was one of the most active and committed members of the Liberty Veteran’s Association. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.columbian.com/news/2011/jun/03/letter-lest-we-forget/">Letter: Lest we forget</a> <br />June 8 is the 44th anniversary of the attack on the USS Liberty during the 1967 Six-Day War. With bombs, napalm and torpedoes, 34 Americans were killed, 171 wounded and the lightly armed ship was damaged beyond repair. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.salem-news.com/articles/june082011/liberty-anniversary-eh.php">Re-open the USS Liberty Case 44 years after attack, US Politicians still cover for Israel</a> <br />According to the ‘Independent Commission of Inquiry into the Attack on the USS Liberty’, this accidental air and naval attack lasted two hours “during which time unmarked Israeli aircraft dropped napalm canisters on the Liberty’s bridge, and fired 30mm cannons and rockets, causing 821 holes, more than 100 of which were rocket size; survivors estimate 30 or more sorties were flown over the ship by a minimum of 12 attacking Israeli planes which were jamming all five American emergency radio channels.”<br /><br />This ‘accident’ happened after only eight, yes eight, hours of aerial surveillance, on the Liberty, which had unmistakable American markings. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.sungazette.com/page/content.detail/id/564371/Supervisor-insists-roads-not-holding-up.html?nav=5014">Supervisor insists roads not holding up</a> <br />* Adopted a resolution to declaring June 8 "Remember the USS Liberty Day," and ordered that flags be flown at half staff that day to honor the memories of the 34 men who died and 172 wounded June 8, 1967, when the ship was torpedoed by Israeli forces during the six day Arab-Israeli war. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.examiner.com/crime-in-norfolk/the-cover-up-of-israel-s-crime-against-the-uss-liberty-crewmen-continues">The cover-up of Israel’s crime against the USS Liberty crewmen continues</a> <br />Despite the official Israeli story of mistaken identity, two Israeli pilots radioed base and clearly identified the ship as American. They were ordered to attack the ship anyway, both refused. The pair was immediately arrested upon returning to base.<br /><br /> <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://neocon-watch.blogspot.com/2011/06/june-8-1967-americans-have-no-idea-what.html">June 8, 1967 - Americans have no idea what happened on this date </a> <br />It's when Israel killed 34 Americans in an attack by air and by sea that lasted for 75 minutes. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702304906004576369801913947130.html">U.S. Plans Private Guard Force for Iraq </a> <br />The State Department is preparing to spend close to $3 billion to hire a security force to protect diplomats in Iraq after the U.S. pulls its last troops out of the country by year's end. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/report-14-palestinians-shot-dead-in-syrian-refugee-camp-1.366496">Report: 14 Palestinians shot dead in Syrian refugee camp</a> <br />Palestinian security guards reportedly killed 14 Palestinians Monday in the Yarmouk refugee camp in Syria. According to witnesses, an angry crowd of mourners began to charge toward leaders of Palestinian factions, prompting their security guards to open fire. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.astandforjustice.org/2011/06/06-05-01.htm">Army's 101st pays high price for Afghan surge year</a> <br />Campbell described those losses in military lingo. "We had some very, very kinetic events," he said after arriving home at Fort Campbell. But he said the hardships bonded the troops in an indelible way.<br /> <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://original.antiwar.com/giraldi/2011/06/01/the-tie-that-binds/">The Tie that Binds by Philip Giraldi</a> <br />Completely frustrated by his experience as peace negotiator, George Mitchell resigned shortly before Netanyahu appeared in Washington to attend the AIPAC conference and also to lecture President Obama. Obama’s eagerly awaited speech on the Middle East delivered the night before Netanyahu’s arrival was actually reviewed by the Israeli Prime Minister before it was given, demonstrating clearly whose foot was on whose neck. Netanyahu reportedly responded angrily to any mention of the 1967 borders in a phone conversation with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and the speech was delayed for forty minutes while the president and his staff worked in other rewrites demanded by the Israeli Prime Minister. <b>Another great article by former CIA counterterrorism officer, Philip Giraldi.</b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.astandforjustice.org/2011/05/05-31-06.htm">Americans Demand Justice Department Regulate AIPAC as Israeli Foreign Agent [Video, Documents]</a> <br />According to 2010 civil court filings AIPAC obtained classified annual U.S. arms transfer data, secret U.S. policy accords with Saudi Arabia, classified signals intelligence flows that were used in lobbying Congress, National Security Decision Directives, Justice Department investigation files and troves of other government classified information. Petitioners argue that AIPAC is trafficking classified U.S. government secrets for the same reason its parent organization laundered overseas funds into the U.S. during the 1960s–to serve the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs–where AIPAC's founder worked until 1951.<br /> <b>Wow. Read on.</b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.astandforjustice.org/2011/06/06-08-01.htm">AP Sources: Bin Laden documents sharpen US aim</a> <br />The U.S. is tracking possible new terror targets and stepping up surveillance of operatives previously considered minor al–Qaida figures after digging through the mountain of correspondence seized from Osama bin Laden's hideout, officials say. The trove of material is filling in blanks on how al–Qaida operatives work, think and fit in the organization, they say. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.forward.com/articles/138469/">Israeli Firm’s Trade With Iran Proves Awkward for Activists Pushing Sanctions</a> <br />Adding to the drama is the fact that the owners of Ofer Brothers have close, personal connections to the top echelon of Israel’s political, military and economic leadership. After one of the founding brothers, Sammy Ofer, died June 3, Netanyahu issued a statement calling him “a true Zionist.”<br /><br /> <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bMgcJoas9P0&playnext=1&list=PL6B232E7D92ED2EE3">About Israel & 9/11: Caller is Correct, Politician is Wrong </a> <br /> <b>Wow. Listen to Congressman Garamendi lie about the real reason for 911: our support for Israel. The 911 Commission did include that fact in its report. And also it was the reason given by the mastermind of 911, Khaled S. Mohammed. Watch the rest of this video which includes footage of the 911 Commission, among other things.</b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.astandforjustice.org/2011/06/06-02-01.htm">Debt fight continues despite Wall St. warning</a> <br />Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner has told Congress that without an increase in the $14.3 trillion debt limit by Aug. 2, the government will be forced into its first–ever default, with potentially catastrophic results for the economy. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.veteranstoday.com/2011/06/08/phil-giraldi-spills-the-beans-on-israeli-espionage-in-america/">Phil Giraldi Spills Beans on Israeli Espionage in America</a> <br />An Israeli company was caught monitoring a Department of Defense telecommunications system to obtain classified information, while other Israeli entities targeted avionics, missile telemetry, aircraft communications, software systems, and advanced materials and coatings used in missile re-entry. The GAO concluded that Israel “conducts the most aggressive espionage operation against the United States of any US ally.”.....It would be nice to think that the Pentagon wants to keep the maintenance in American hands to preserve jobs during these tough economic times, but the Defense Department has never cared about US workers before when the issue is Israel.The real reason for the standoff is that Lockheed-Martin and the Pentagon both know that Israel will steal whatever it can if it gains access. It would then use the technology to market its own products at a price below that of US defense contractors.<br /><br />The result would be a triple whammy for Uncle Sam <b>Extorting billions each year from the American taxpayers evidently isn't enough for Israel.</b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.astandforjustice.org/2011/06/06-05-03.htm">Israeli troops battle protesters in Syria, 20 dead</a> <br />Israeli troops on Sunday battled hundreds of pro–Palestinian protesters who tried to burst across Syria's frontier with the Golan Heights, killing a reported 20 people and wounding scores more in the second outbreak of deadly violence in the border area in less than a month. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article28233.htm">The WH/Politico Attack on Seymour Hersh</a> <br />Seymour Hersh has a new article in The New Yorker arguing that there is no credible evidence that Iran is pursuing nuclear weapons; to the contrary, he writes, "the U.S. could be in danger of repeating a mistake similar to the one made with Saddam Hussein's Iraq eight years ago -- allowing anxieties about the policies of a tyrannical regime to distort our estimates of the state's military capacities and intentions." Th <b>Hat's off once again to Sy Hersh.</b><br><br><br /><a href="http://staugustine.com/opinions/2011-05-28/guest-column-netanyahu-lied-congress-yet-drew-applause">Guest column: Netanyahu lied to Congress yet drew applause</a> <br />Netanyahu began by declaring that "America has no better friend than Israel." Congress stood and applauded.<br /><br />That's the same Israel that attacked the USS Liberty in international waters and tried to sink it with all hands aboard in 1967, and then lied about it. The same Israel that prompted the FBI to declare Israel the second most aggressive nation mounting espionage operations in the U.S., and the Justice Department head of internal security to say, "those of us who worked in the espionage area regarded Israel as being the second most active foreign intelligence service in the United States." China was first. <b>Thank you, Ron Estes, for speaking out, my hat's off to you, Sir.</b><br><br><br /><a href="http://thehill.com/blogs/floor-action/house/164187-kucinichs-libya-resolution-pulled-from-house-schedule">Kucinich's Libya resolution pulled from House schedule</a> <br />A resolution calling for the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Libya was withdrawn from the House schedule this week, prompting sponsor Dennis Kucinich (D-Ohio) to charge that House leaders were afraid it might have passed. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/iran-sends-submarines-to-red-sea-in-move-that-could-anger-israel-1.366500">Iran sends submarines to Red Sea in move that could anger Israel</a> <br /> <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.commondreams.org/view/2011/06/06-5">Gen. Keane Keen on Attacking Iran</a> <br />It was like waving a red flag before a four-star bull. “What’s your question?” he barked.<br /><br />I asked: “Why do you join with those neoconservatives who have such difficulty distinguishing between the strategic needs of Israel on the one hand and those of the U.S. on the other? Why do you keep claiming the Iranians ‘are acquiring nuclear weapons,’ when you know that this is not true. How can you keep a straight face in telling us that Iran is our ‘main strategic enemy?’ That is also not true, and you know it.” <b>God love ya, Mr. McGovern.</b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article28231.htm">US Spying Detects No Iranian Nukes</a> <br />The former Director-General of the International Atomic Energy Agency(IAEA) said in a new published report that he had not seen “a shred of evidence” that Iran was “building nuclear-weapons facilities and using enriched materials.”....El Baradei’s remarks are contained in an article by Hersh titled “Iran And The Bomb,” published in the June 6 issue of The New Yorker magazine.<br /><br />Hersh points out that the last two U.S. National Intelligence Estimates (N.I.E.s) on Iranian nuclear progress “have stated that there is no conclusive evidence that Iran has made any effort to build the bomb since 2003.”....Hersh quotes W. Patrick Lang, a retired Army intelligence officer and former ranking Defense Intelligence Agency(DIA) analyst on the Middle East as saying that after the disaster in Iraq, “Analysts in the intelligence community are just refusing to sign up this time for a lot of baloney.” <b>Thank God for that, Mr. Lang. Kudos to our intel community.</b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.thepilot.com/news/2011/jun/05/israel-really-staunch-ally/">Is Israel Really A Staunch Ally</a> <br />And, lest we forget, Israel’s unprovoked June 8, 1967, attack, in neutral waters, on the USS Liberty by Israeli aircraft and torpedo boats, killing 34 U.S. sailors and extensively damaging our flag-flying ship.<br /><br />With “staunch allies” like this, who needs enemies? <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://rt.com/news/us-nuclear-weapon-iran/">US government knows there are no weapons in Iran – journalist — RT</a> <br />RT: But the Obama administration disagrees with your assessment<br />SH: Oh yeah. I mean big deal. I am doing my job when the White House is mad at me. And by the way these guys, from my point of view, they are no straighter with us than the Bush White House was. That is a shocking thing to say but they are pretty much the same <b>The neocon viewpoint is still prevailing.</b><br><br><br /><a href="http://ifamericansknew.org/us_ints/ussliberty.html">The USS Liberty</a> <br /> <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.amconmag.com/blog/2011/06/02/obama-in-a-dream-world/">Obama in a Dream World by Patrick J. Buchanan</a> <br />This is not the peaceful, prosperous America of 1947, with half the world’s production, that could cobble together Marshall Plans and ship wealth abroad to rebuild nations devastated by World War II.<br /><br />Today, America is herself in need of repair and rebuilding. Yet her leaders are living in yesterday. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.amconmag.com/blog/2011/06/06/non-interventionism-is-right-again/">Non-Interventionism Is Right Again by Patrick J. Buchanan </a> <br />George W. Bush got congressional approval for the invasion of Iraq by declaring that Iraq possessed weapons of mass destruction it did not have. We went to war for nothing. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.amconmag.com/blog/2011/06/07/remembering-iraq/">Remembering Iraq by Philip Giraldi</a> <br />Does anyone remember how the US media and the Bush Administration were excoriating Saddam Hussein for the hideous dictatorship he was running and it later turned out that not only did he have no WMD but news coverage after the invasion made it clear that many Iraqi households had an AK-47 or two lying somewhere around the house. It rather suggested that Saddam was less oppressive and consequently less afraid of his own people than had been assumed. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2011/06/08-4">Most Americans Blame Wars For Federal Debt</a> <br />By a wide margin, more Americans think the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have inflated the national debt than the percentage who blame domestic spending or the tax cuts enacted in the past decade for doing the same, according to a Pew poll released Tuesday. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://finance.yahoo.com/news/State-local-governments-set-cnnm-4227360729.html">State, local governments set to see record job cuts, layoffs</a> <br />State and local governments are forecast to shed up to 110,000 jobs in the third quarter, the first time the blood-letting has risen into the triple digits, according to IHS Global Insight. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2011/06/02-12">Lawmakers Introduce Reality-Based Plan to Achieve “Freedom From Oil”</a> <br />“Here’s the harsh reality: The United States is never going to have control over world oil supplies or gas prices through drilling,” said Task Force member Rep. Lois Capps (D-CA). “We simply don’t have the oil supplies, no matter how much we drill. What we do have is the ability to control prices by lowering our consumption and giving American families new transportation choices.” <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.astandforjustice.org/2011/06/06-03-02.htm">Moody's sounds alarm over U.S. debt limit and deficits</a> <br />Ratings agency Moody's warned on Thursday it would consider cutting the United States' coveted top–notch credit rating if the White House and Congress do not make progress by mid–July in talks to raise the debt limit. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.astandforjustice.org/2011/06/06-02-06.htm">Goldman Sachs gets subpoena from Manhattan DA</a> <br />Goldman Sachs Group received a subpoena from New York prosecutors seeking information on the investment bank's role leading into the global financial crisis, a person familiar with the matter said on Thursday. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.commondreams.org/newswire/2011/06/07-2">Over 4,100 Citizens Stand Up for Tom Drake</a> <br />Drake discovered the NSA's use of a data collection program that was costly, threatening to Americans’ privacy rights, and wholly undeveloped, despite the availability of a cost-effective, functional alternative that respected Americans’ privacy. He did everything by the book, raising concerns through official channels first -- including senior NSA management, the Defense Department's inspector general, and Congress. His concerns were ignored. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://mondoweiss.net/2011/06/weiner-repeatedly-lied-about-israel-and-palestine-does-anyone-care.html">Weiner repeatedly lied (about Israel and Palestine– does anyone care)</a> <br />Here are five of those lies: There is no Israeli occupation of the West Bank, the Goldstone Report was not based on the laws of war, Israel is at war with 20 neighbors, American progressives should support the absence of free speech in Israel when it comes to its character as a Jewish state, and Egypt is an Islamic state. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://uk.ibtimes.com/articles/156505/20110602/why-are-the-libyan-rebels-seeking-israel-s-support.htm">Why are the Libyan Rebels seeking Israel's support?</a> <br />"The main point was that the future Libyan regime would be moderate and anti-terrorist and will be concerned with justice for the Palestinians and security for Israel," <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.monstersandcritics.com/news/middleeast/news/article_1643158.php/Israel-s-Netanyahu-thanks-France-for-intervening-in-Libya">Israel's Netanyahu thanks France for intervening in Libya</a> <br />Meeting visiting French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe, Netanyahu noted that Gaddafi had 'was never a friend of Israel or the Jewish people and Israel will not be sorry to see him disappear from the map.' <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.myfoxphilly.com/dpps/news/house-rejects-bill-to-defund-nato-operations-in-libya-dpgonc-20110602-ch_13499573">House Rejects Bill to Defund NATO Operations in Libya</a> <br />The US House of Representatives narrowly defeated an amendment to the Homeland Security Appropriations bill Thursday which would have prevented funds from being used to support US operations in the NATO-led air campaign in Libya. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.commondreams.org/video/2011/06/03-0">Video - Seymour Hersh: Despite Intelligence Rejecting Iran as Nuclear Threat, U.S. Could Be Headed for Iraq Redux</a> <br /> <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://walt.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2011/06/03/do_the_american_people_support_the_special_relationship">Do the American people support the 'special relationship?' Stephen M. Walt</a> <br />a survey conducted by the Anti-Defamation League in 2005 found that 78 percent of Americans believed that Washington should favor neither Israel nor the Palestinians. A 2010 survey by the Brookings Institution found similar results: although 25 percent of Americans thought the United States should "lean toward Israel" in its efforts to resolve the conflict, a healthy 67 percent believed the United States should "lean toward neither side." <b>I'm glad somebody besides myself drove this point home. Americans by and large want the US to take no side in that conflict, according to numerous polls over the years. Yet Congress does not reflect that. We have a serious problem here. The Congress does not reflect the will of the people. And that needs to change, folks.</b><br><br><br /><a href="http://english.people.com.cn/90001/90777/90854/7398885.html">Three soldiers killed by "terrorist group" in Syria </a> <br /> <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article28257.htm">Israeli Stealth Ships in Raids on Iran</a> <br />Last week Richard Silverstein, an American blogger who specialises in breaking Israeli defence secrets, claimed Mossad, Israel’s national intelligence agency, used Ofer Group cargo ships to smuggle its agents into Iran.<br /><br />Last year Mossad agents allegedly assassinated Mahmoud al-Mabhuh, a senior Hamas militant, in his Dubai hotel room. It is now believed some of the agents left Dubai hidden in one of Ofer’s ships.<br /> <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1394901/Iran-produce-nuclear-weapon-months-claimed-U-N-atomic-watchdog-reveals-concerns.html">'Iran could produce a nuclear weapon within two months' it is claimed as UN atomic watchdog reveals concerns</a> <br />Amano said the U.N. agency had received 'further information related to possible past or current undisclosed nuclear-related activities that seem to point to the existence of possible military dimensions to Iran's nuclear programme'.<br /><br />The Japanese later told a news conference, without disclosing the source of the information<br /><br /> <b>I bet we all can guess from which nation they received this new 'information', hmm? Starts with an 'I', ends in 'L'.</b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.amconmag.com/blog/2011/06/03/a-conservative-foreign-policy-comeback/">A Conservative Foreign Policy Comeback?</a> <br />President Obama’s intervention in Libya—pardon me, “NATO’s” intervention in Libya—has become a moment of reflection for conservatives. Whereas the Right gave the last Republican president carte blanche on foreign policy despite cries from the Left about abuse of power, many conservatives now mimic those complaints by demanding that our current Democratic president follow the rule of law. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://neocon-watch.blogspot.com/2011/06/glenn-beck-israel-never-shot-protesters.html">Glenn Beck: Israel never shot protesters like the Syrians - an outright lie</a> <br /> <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.astandforjustice.org/2011/06/06-02-05.htm">Ex-Israeli spymaster takes swipe at Netanyahu</a> <br />Just days after his retirement, an Israeli newspaper quoted him as saying Israel "should not hurry" to attack Iran. Last month, he was quoted as saying a military strike on Iran would be "stupid." <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.astandforjustice.org/2011/06/06-03-01.htm">34 Syrians dead in restive city after troops fire</a> <br /> <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://walt.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2011/06/07/war_crimes_and_double_standards">Do as We Say, Not as We Do Stephen M. Walt</a> <br /> <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.astandforjustice.org/2011/06/06-02-02.htm">China under suspicion in U.S. for Lockheed hacking</a> <br />a U.S. official familiar with progress on the investigation said there was increasing suspicion the Lockheed hack originated with "someone in China." <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.astandforjustice.org/2011/06/06-06-01.htm">Attack kills 120 Syrian forces; crackdown feared</a> <br />Opposition activists were skeptical of the official casualty toll, saying the authorities were setting the stage for a new onslaught. But even they acknowledged there was fighting, although it was not clear who was involved. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.astandforjustice.org/2011/06/06-02-03.htm">Syrian troops pound central town; at least 43 die</a> <br />The bombing of the town of Rastan in central Syria started on Tuesday and has killed at least 43 people so far, according to Rami Abdul–Rahman, director of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.astandforjustice.org/2011/06/06-06-04.htm">Syria says forces lost control after deadly ambush</a> <br /> <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://america-hijacked.com/2011/06/08/de-borchgrave-netanyahus-conundrum/">DE BORCHGRAVE: Netanyahu’s conundrum</a> <br />ex-Mossad chief Meir Dagan is a dagger in Mr. Netanyahu’s body politic. And Mr. Dagan is not alone. Several former intelligence chiefs are lined up with him. They also know firsthand how anxious Mr. Netanyahu is to detract from Palestinian pressure for their own state in the West Bank and Gaza – by bombing Iran ‘s nuclear installations.<br /><br />As Mr. Dagan put it, “This would mean regional war and in that case, you would give Iran the best possible reason to continue its nuclear program.”...<br><br>Mr. Dagan, Yuval Diskin, head of Shin Bet, the internal security agency, and Gen. Gabi Ashkenazi, the military chief of staff, all stepped down this year. Mr. Dugan made clear he and his retiring colleagues served as a brake on the gung-ho Mr. Netanyahu and Defense Minister Ehud Barak.<br /><br />According to Israeli media reports, a week before retiring, Mr. Dagan tried to send a message to the Israeli public to warn about Mr. Netanyahu’s plans for an attack on Iran . But military censorship blocked any reporting of Mr. Dagan’s views. No sooner officially retired than he evaded the censors <b>Really.</b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.jta.org/news/article/2011/06/06/3088039/weiner-acknowledges-inappropriate-relationships">Weiner admits to lying about underwear photo</a> <br />Weiner, who is Jewish and an ardent pro-Israel lawmaker, said none of the relationships had ever become physical, nor had he met any of the women. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.forward.com/articles/138211/">What Is Really Happening in New Square?</a> <br />This incident came to mind after the recent events in New Square in which eighteen-year-old Shaul Spitzer, a yeshiva student and attendant to the community’s grand rabbi, attempted to firebomb the house of a dissident member of the community. He ended up inflicting third-degree burns on over 50% of the body of Aron Rottenberg, whose home was the target of the attack. Rottenberg’s crime: he prayed at the wrong synagogue. Instead of the main synagogue, which belongs to grand rabbi David Twersky, Rottenberg attended services at a synagogue a short distance outside the village.<br /><br /> <b>Sounds like something that Islamic extremists would do. If it in fact was perpetrated by Islamic extremists, this story would have been plastered all over the news by now. Not so.</b><br><br><br /><a href="http://news.yahoo.com/s/usnw/20110606/pl_usnw/DC14951">Several former U.S. Government officials spoke to the need for the Obama Administration to focus more on the Persian Spring</a> <br /> <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2011/06/03-3">Back Toward Double Dip</a> <br /> <b></b><br><br><br /><br><hr><br>Pale Riderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02275892742258409916noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7859798942798774539.post-40757975520732995872011-06-09T22:00:00.001-04:002011-06-09T22:00:35.513-04:00Headlines for May 26 - June 1<a href="http://www.astandforjustice.org">A Stand For Justice</a><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.astandforjustice.org/2011/05/05-27-04.htm">Obama signs 4-year Patriot Act extension in France</a> <br />With Obama currently in France, the White House said the president would use an autopen machine that holds a pen and signs his actual signature. It is only used with proper authorization of the president. Minutes before the midnight deadline, the White House said Obama had signed the bill.<br /> <b>The founding fathers roll in their graves.</b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.thedailybeast.com/blogs-and-stories/2011-05-28/memorial-day-how-america-screws-its-soldiers/">How America Screws Its Soldiers</a> <br />Here at last we come to the dirty little secret that underlines all the chatter about “supporting the troops.” The people in charge don’t really believe that the burdens borne by our soldiers will ever end and they are not really looking for ways to do so. As for the rest of us, well, we’re OK with that. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.astandforjustice.org/2011/05/05-26-03.htm">War-weary lawmakers send Obama a message</a> <br />War–weary Republicans and Democrats on Thursday sent the strongest message yet to President Barack Obama to end the war in Afghanistan as the commander in chief decides how many U.S. troops to withdraw this summer. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.hindustantimes.com/News-Feed/world/Osama-raid-an-act-of-war-Musharraf/Article1-701769.aspx">Osama raid was an act of war: Musharraf</a> <br /> <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.rawstory.com/rawreplay/2011/05/sen-rand-paul-responds-to-accusations-of-supporting-terrorists/">Rand Paul to Harry Reid: I support the Constitution, not terrorists</a> <br />Republican Senator Rand Paul (KY) said in a speech on the Senate floor Wednesday that questioning the constitutionality of the PATRIOT Act was not equivalent to supporting terrorists. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.wsvn.com/news/articles/world/22004462484917/">Syrian troops attack southern town, 8 killed</a> <br />Syrian troops have shelled a southern town with tanks and artillery, killing at least eight people, including an 11-year-old girl, in the latest crackdown by President Bashar Assad's regime, a human rights activist said Wednesday.<br /><br />Read more: http://www.wsvn.com/news/articles/world/22004462484917/#ixzz1Opbq7ImP<br /> <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.astandforjustice.org/2011/05/05-31-04.htm">US 'to view major cyber attacks as acts of war'</a> <br />The Pentagon has adopted a new strategy that will classify major cyber attacks as acts of war, paving the way for possible military retaliation, the Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.astandforjustice.org/2011/05/05-31-05.htm">U.S. wealthy exit Swiss bank accounts: study</a> <br />Wealthy U.S. individuals have already pulled most of their money from Swiss private banks and could exit altogether as a global clampdown on tax evasion and banking secrecy benefits onshore rivals, a report showed.<br /> <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2011/05/secret-patriot-act/">There’s a Secret Patriot Act, Senator Says</a> <br /> <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.astandforjustice.org/2011/05/05-29-02.htm">Raid on bin Laden compound avenged CIA deaths</a> <br />For a small cadre of CIA veterans, the death of Osama bin Laden was more than just a national moment of relief and closure. It was also a measure of payback, a settling of a score for a pair of deaths, the details of which have remained a secret for 13 years.<br /><br />Tom Shah and Molly Huckaby Hardy were among the 44 U.S. Embassy employees killed when a truck bomb exploded outside the embassy compound in Kenya in 1998. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.astandforjustice.org/2011/05/05-26-02.htm">Harry Reid, Rand Paul’s Patriot Act showdown goes public</a> <br />Paul and Reid have been publicly sparring all week over the proposed extension of the anti–terrorism law, first passed in the wake of the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.astandforjustice.org/2011/05/05-27-02.htm">Gas tanks are draining family budgets</a> <br /> <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.astandforjustice.org/2011/06/06-01-01.htm">Bill would allow $500 million emergency oil sale</a> <br />A request by the Obama administration to sell $500 million in crude from the U.S. emergency oil stockpile was included in a spending bill released on Wednesday by the House Appropriations Committee, with a spring 2012 deadline to sell the crude. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/opinion/obama-s-new-security-staff-may-approve-attack-on-iran-1.365251">Obama's new security staff may approve attack on Iran</a> <br />The conclusion is that between the end of June and Gates' retirement, and the end of September and Mullen's retirement, the danger that Netanyahu and Barak will aim at a surprise in Iran is especially great, especially since this would divert attention from the Palestinian issue. As the Supreme Court explained to Moshe Katsav's lawyers, some plans for summer vacations might be canceled. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.astandforjustice.org/2011/05/05-26-05.htm">Obama pushes Europe not to support Palestinians' U.N. statehood bid</a> <br />A week after ratcheting up pressure on Israel's government to restart peace talks with Palestinians, President Obama launched a campaign to persuade European leaders not to endorse a separate Palestinian bid for statehood. But his appeal to Britain's prime minister, David Cameron, won only a noncommittal response. <b>The United States ought to stop doing Israel's bidding, heed the wonderous words in George Washington's Farewell address.</b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.astandforjustice.org/2011/05/05-31-03.htm">U.S. arms makers said to be bleeding secrets to cyber foes</a> <br />Top Pentagon contractors have been bleeding secrets for years as a result of penetrations of their computer networks, current and former national security officials say.<br /> <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2011/05/30-1">After Years of War, House Holds Votes to Check Military Action</a> <br />An increasingly war-weary House will vote this week on legislation that would halt the U.S. military intervention in Libya. The vote comes just days after lawmakers nearly approved a measure to expedite the American withdrawal from Afghanistan. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2011/05/27-5">Judge: Corporate Donations Ban Unconstitutional</a> <br />A judge has ruled that the campaign-finance law banning corporations from making contributions to federal candidates is unconstitutional, citing the Supreme Court's landmark Citizens United decision last year in his analysis. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2011/06/01-10">House Blocks Vote on Kucinich Libya Bill Over Fears It Might Pass</a> <br /> <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://blogs.wsj.com/economics/2011/05/31/share-of-population-on-food-stamps-grows-in-most-states/">Share of Population on Food Stamps Grows in Most States</a> <br />Nearly 44.6 million received food stamps in March, up more than 11% from the same time a year ago, the Department of Agriculture said Tuesday <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://tribune.com.pk/story/177673/wikileaks-france-uk-voiced-concern-about-pakistan-nuclear-security/">WikiLeaks: France, UK voiced concern about Pakistan nuclear security</a> <br /> <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.myfox9online.com/dpp/news/national/foxnews/Longer-Libyan-Commitment-Sets-Up-Showdown-With-Congress_07973275">Longer Libyan Commitment Sets Up Showdown With Congress</a> <br /> <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.mercurynews.com/nation-world/ci_18147064?source=rss&nclick_check=1">Russian opposition to Libya campaign causes G-8 rift</a> <br /> <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.commondreams.org/view/2011/05/27-4">Taking the Side of the Billionaires</a> <br />the battle lines of America’s “class warfare” are getting more sharply drawn. The conflict is now over the Right’s determination to concentrate even more money and power in the hands of the rich by hobbling any government capability to protect the people’s general welfare. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.astandforjustice.org/2011/05/05-31-01.htm">China says UN resolution on Syria unhelpful</a> <br />At least 15 people were shot dead on Sunday and Monday in Rastan and Talbisa, towns in the flashpoint central region of Homs, an activist told AFP, declining to be identified for security reasons. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article28208.htm">Who Cares in the Middle East What Obama Says? By Robert Fisk</a> <br />There was an interesting linguistic collapse in the president's language over those critical four days. On Thursday 19 May, he referred to the continuation of Israeli "settlements". A day later, Netanyahu was lecturing him on "certain demographic changes that have taken place on the ground". Then when Obama addressed the American Aipac lobby group (American Israel Public Affairs Committee) on the Sunday, he had cravenly adopted Netanyahu's own preposterous expression. Now he, too, spoke of "new demographic realities on the ground." Who would believe that he was talking about internationally illegal Jewish colonies built on land stolen from Arabs in one of the biggest property heists in the history of "Palestine"? <b>A great read by seasoned journalist Robert Fisk.</b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.npr.org/2011/05/09/135854490/inside-the-united-states-secret-sabotage-of-iran">Inside The United States' Secret Sabotage Of Iran</a> <br />in the last year, much has become known about intelligence operations in Iran, says Bruce Riedel, a former CIA official who is now an analyst with the Saban Center at the Brookings Institution.<br /><br />"There's little doubt that there's a covert war under way against Iran," he says. "There are at least two players in it: the United States and Israel." <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.salon.com/news/opinion/glenn_greenwald/2011/05/24/israel/index.html">Great American Patriots</a> <br />What makes this more remarkable still is that this foreign leader whom they were cheering so boisterously and continuously just completed a public, ugly conflict with the American leader and has a long record of demonstrated indifference to American interests; yet the super-patriots of the American Right sided so brazenly and publicly with this foreign leader over their own country's President. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://forward.com/articles/138114/">Don’t Make Us Choose</a> <br />No one wants to choose between the President and the Prime Minister, between America’s interest and Israel’s. No matter who is in the White House, no matter who is in charge of the government in Jerusalem, Jews here like to see consensus, a smooth connection, the enunciation not just of shared values, but a shared approach to geopolitical challenges.<br /><br /> <b>Really?</b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.astandforjustice.org/2011/05/05-27-05.htm">Roadside bomb in Lebanon wounds 6 UN peacekeepers</a> <br />A roadside bomb ripped through a U.N. convoy carrying Italian peacekeepers in southern Lebanon on Friday, wounding six of them in the first such attack since 2008, officials said. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.amconmag.com/blog/2011/05/26/democratic-dawn-or-darkness/">Democratic Dawn — or Darkness? by Patrick J. Buchanan </a> <br /> <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.amconmag.com/blog/2011/05/30/12702/">What Must America Defend? by Patrick J. Buchanan</a> <br />Retrenchment is rarely attractive. But what is apparent today to almost all is that this country is now and has been for at least a decade living far beyond her means.<br /><br />We borrow hundreds of billions annually from allies, to defend those allies. We borrow hundreds of billions annually from our children’s future to maintain our present lifestyle. Our leaders have yet to show the toughness and maturity the new times demand <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.amconmag.com/blog/2011/05/28/waging-war-gets-easier/">Waging War Gets Easier by Philip Giraldi </a> <br />The authorization also expands the understanding of what constitutes an “enemy” since anyone can be so designated. The new rule will be that an enemy is anyone so identified by the president because of his or her “hostility” towards the United States. That also means that there will be no judicial process for those accused and they can safely be whisked off to Guantanamo Prison for further processing or not as the case might be. The new law is not yet in place but there is every indication that the president will sign it. Its first victim is likely to be suspected Hezbollah official Ali Mussa Daqduq even though Hezbollah had nothing to do with 9/11. Five Republican senators have already demanded that Daqduq be tried at Guantanamo rather than in a federal court. <b>Hezbollah too? Well, we are Israel's bitch.</b><br><br><br /><a href="http://original.antiwar.com/giraldi/2011/05/25/the-book-of-netanyahu/">The Book of Netanyahu by Philip Giraldi</a> <br /> <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.forward.com/articles/138130/">Republicans Use Israel To Attract Jewish Voters — And Jewish Money</a> <br />At the recent annual gathering of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, pro-Israel activists found themselves courted both by Republicans critical of Obama’s Israel policy and by Democratic lawmakers seeking to distance themselves from the president.<br /><br /> <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.forward.com/articles/138115/">As Bibi Slouches Toward September</a> <br />he had an ugly head-butt with President Obama at the White House, but this just reinforces his street cred, solidifies his coalition and dispirits his critics. Besides, while the run-in ruffled feathers in the administration, it was Obama who ended up running to AIPAC to clear the air.<br /><br />For icing on the cake, he put Democrats on the defensive. They were forced to play catch-up, with Harry Reid publicly rebuking Obama and congressional Democrats leaping to their feet every few sentences throughout Bibi’s grant-no-quarter speech so as not to appear disloyal.<br /><br /> <b>Who says Israel doesn't have any control over America? What's this lobby you speak of?... Quite interesting the last few paragraphs. So you finally fear the retribution, do you? After years of making sure America is dragged into your BS, NOW the chickens are coming home to roost. And Americans, like me a few years ago when I first caught wind of the truth of all of this are going to be PISSED. Good luck with it.</b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.astandforjustice.org/2011/05/05-30-03.htm">Armed residents put up resistance to Syrian army</a> <br />Residents used automatic rifles and rocket–propelled grenades to repel advancing government troops in central Syria on Monday, putting up a fierce fight for the first time in their two–month–old revolt against President Bashar Assad's autocratic regime. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.astandforjustice.org/2011/05/05-27-03.htm">US judge rules against corporate contribution ban</a> <br />"(F)or better or worse, Citizens United held that there is no distinction between an individual and a corporation with respect to political speech," Cacheris wrote in his 52–page opinion. "Thus, if an individual can make direct contributions within (the law's) limits, a corporation cannot be banned from doing the same thing." <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article28225.htm">Pat Robertson: Muslims are the New Nazis</a> <br /> <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.astandforjustice.org/2011/05/05-30-02.htm">Israel minister: Strike on Iran could be necessary</a> <br /> <b>Chicken Little at it again.</b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2011/05/27-0">Egyptians Gather for Second 'Day of Anger' </a> <br />Egyptian activists are gearing up for nationwide rallies on Friday to protest against the ruling military council's handling of the post-revolution phase, in a call that has exposed political divisions. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.amconmag.com/blog/2011/05/31/a-nobel-economist-says-globalism-is-costly-for-americans/">A Nobel Economist Says Globalism Is Costly For Americans</a> <br />Among the serious consequences of off-shoring are the dismantling of the ladders of upward mobility that made the US an “opportunity society,” an extraordinary worsening of the income distribution, and large trade and federal budget deficits that cannot be closed by normal means. These deficits now threaten the US dollar’s role as world reserve currency. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.goupstate.com/article/20110526/ZNYT03/105263010/1051/news?Title=Libya-effort-is-called-violation-of-war-act&tc=ar">Libya effort is called violation of war act</a> <br /> <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4073769,00.html">Iran to 'impose sanction' on US 'human rights violators'</a> <br />The Iranian parliament has compiled a blacklist of more than 20 US officials who have, in the state's opinion, violated human rights and are to be sanctioned. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.amconmag.com/blog/2011/05/31/the-patriot-act-is-not-conservative/">The Patriot Act Is Not Conservative</a> <br />Tea Party favorites like Senators Rand Paul and Mike Lee and Congressmen Ron Paul, Justin Amash, Allen West and others, all voted against the Patriot Act. To varying degrees, each of these GOP representatives questioned the act’s effectiveness and legality. But unfortunately, most Republicans still won’t ask any questions. <b></b><br><br><br /><br><hr><br>Pale Riderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02275892742258409916noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7859798942798774539.post-81070550899646736742011-06-02T18:30:00.000-04:002011-06-02T18:31:14.836-04:00Headlines for May 19 - May 25<a href="http://www.astandforjustice.org">A Stand For Justice</a><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2011/05/14-1">Speculation Explains More about Oil Prices Than Anything Else</a> <br />Feel like you're being robbed every time you fill the gas tank? Not sure who to blame? Try Wall Street. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://america-hijacked.com/2011/05/19/distinguished-panel-will-question-military-aid-to-israel/">Distinguished Panel will Question Military Aid to Israel</a> <br /> <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.commondreams.org/newswire/2011/05/24-6">Constitution Project Urges Congress to Reform Patriot Act Now, Not to Simply Reauthorize Expiring Provisions</a> <br />All three expiring provisions, the "business/library records," "roving wiretaps," and "lone wolf," should be allowed to sunset unless significant reforms are made to protect the rights of Americans. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.astandforjustice.org/2011/05/05-21-02.htm">Worrying gap between US military, civilians: Mullen</a> <br />The US military's top officer warned Saturday about a worrisome disconnect between civilians and troops, saying soldiers are becoming isolated from the rest of American society. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://original.antiwar.com/giraldi/2011/05/18/some-questions-for-bibi/">Some Questions for Bibi by Philip Giraldi</a> <br />Speaking of attacking, you rocketed, strafed, and torpedoed a US Naval vessel the USS Liberty in international waters in 1967, killing 34 of the crew and injuring 174. The attack was both unprovoked and brutal, intended to sink the ship and kill everyone on board. You claim it was an accident but have never given American investigators access to your government records. It sounds like a cover-up and many Americans are wondering whether you will ever come clean on what happened that day. Will you ever open up your records relating to the Liberty? <b>Excellent questions by former CIA counterterrorism officer, Philip Giraldi.</b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.astandforjustice.org/2011/05/05-21-07.htm">Netanyahu lectures Obama in Oval Office</a> <br /> <b>Lectured like an insolent child for daring to cross Israel.</b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.jta.org/news/article/2011/05/24/3087855/bibi-to-congress-no-compromise-on-jerusalem-refugees-or-jordan-river-presence">Bibi to Congress: No compromise on Jerusalem, refugees or Jordan River presence</a> <br />Netanyahu received a warm reception from Congress, including more than two dozen standing ovations, and made a forceful case highlighting the commonalities between Israel and America and explaining Israel’s security challenges. He talked about the threat of Iran’s nuclear program and said the Palestinian Authority must end its agreement with Hamas, which he called “the Palestinian version of al-Qaida.”<br /><br />The Israeli prime minister had an informal delivery, cracking several jokes and twice turning around to address Vice President Joe Biden. When a heckler interrupted Netanyahu at one point, Congress tried to drown her out with a standing ovation, much as the pro-Israel crowd at the annual banquet of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee did the previous evening for the Jewish state's leader. <b>Our own president doesn't get this many ovations when he speaks to Congress. Netanyahu is the real leader of Congress, and he knows it. Israel's wishes trump the wishes of the American people, 2/3 of whom want the US to take no side in that conflict.</b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.commondreams.org/newswire/2011/05/24-3">Center for Constitutional Rights Launches Case Seeking U.S. Knowledge of and Role in Deadly Israeli Attack on Humanitarian Flotilla to Gaza</a> <br />said Center for Constitutional Rights Senior Staff Attorney, Katherine Gallagher. “A U.S. citizen was killed and the U.S. has not conducted an independent investigation into his killing in international waters by a foreign military. Indeed, the State Department did not even mention the killing of Furkan Doğan in its recently released Human Rights report on Israel. We need to know what our government is doing to protect us – and hold those to account who harm U.S. citizens.” <b>If the killers are Israelis, our govenrment does NOTHING.</b><br><br><br /><a href="http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703509104576331661918527154.html?mod=googlenews_wsj">Jewish Donors Warn Obama on Israel - WSJ.com</a> <br />One top Democratic fund-raiser, Miami developer Michael Adler, said he urged Obama campaign manager Jim Messina to be "extremely proactive" in countering the perception in the Jewish community that Mr. Obama is too critical of Israel. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article28169.htm">Obama and the Israel Lobby</a> <br /> <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.newsmax.com/DougWead/ronpaul-barack-obama-middleeast/2011/05/20/id/397095">Ron Paul to Obama: Stop Dictating to Israel</a> <br /> <b>Patriotic Americans to Israel: stop dictating to America.</b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.astandforjustice.org/2011/05/05-22-04.htm">Obama vows to stand up to Hezbollah over 'assassination'</a> <br />"Iran continues to support terrorism across the region, including providing weapons and funds to terrorist organizations," Obama said in a speech to the pro–Israel lobby, the American Israel Public Affairs Committee. <br><br>"So we will continue to work to prevent these actions, and will stand up to groups like Hezbollah who exercise political assassination, and seek to impose their will through rockets and car bombs," Obama said. <b>Obama basically stating: 'we will continue to be Israel's bitch'.</b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.astandforjustice.org/2011/05/05-22-02.htm">Obama eases Israeli anger on Mideast peace vision</a> <br />Obama's speech to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) also served as a reminder his peace formula could cost him support among Jewish and pro–Israel voters and donors as he runs for re–election in 2012. Some prospective Republican presidential challengers have already accused him of betraying Israel, Washington's closest ally in the region. <br><br>...While Obama won the Jewish vote overwhelmingly in 2008, some prominent Jewish Americans were rethinking their support for his re–election after this week's events. <br><Br>Some Israelis have never felt entirely comfortable with Obama, unnerved by his early attempts to reach out to Iran and his support for Arab revolutions that have unsettled Israel. <br /> <b>Oh dear.</b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.astandforjustice.org/2011/05/05-24-04.htm">Netanyahu: Militant Islam threatening the world</a> <br />Israel's prime minister, in an address to Congress on Tuesday, held out the threat of a military strike against Iran's nuclear facilities, saying the only time Iran halted its nuclear program was when it feared such an attack. <b>Sorry Bibi, but militant Zionism (backed by hundreds of nukes) with its visions of Greater Israel, and its total control over both houses of Congress, is a greater threat.</b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.astandforjustice.org/2011/05/05-19-06.htm">Judge awards $300M in each of 2 suicide bombings</a> <br />The other award was made to American citizen Seth Haim, his father and his brother. They were injured in the 1995 bombing of a bus in the Gaza Strip by the Iranian–supported Shaqaqi Faction of the Palestine Islamic Jihad.<br /><br />U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth said he was making the awards – which will be difficult, perhaps impossible, for the families to collect – in the interest of deterring future terrorist attacks. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.amconmag.com/blog/2011/05/25/israel-and-the-right/">Israel and the Right</a> <br />For most traditional conservatives of Reagan’s era, support for Israel did not necessarily mean unconditional support for absolutely everything Israel did. This is generally not true of the neoconservatives. If the US condemned Israel for attacking Iraq in 1981, it was not a shock that by the time the neoconservative Bush administration came to power two decades later America and Israel would more often begin to share the same enemies. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://rt.com/politics/spy-israel-russia-attache/">Israeli attaché expelled from Russia over spying allegations</a> <br />The Russian Foreign Ministry on Thursday confirmed that Leiderman had been expelled. He was caught “red-handed after he received classified information from a Russian citizen in Moscow on May 12,” it said. The ministry expressed its protest and declared the Israeli citizen persona non grata over activities “incompatible with his diplomatic status.” He was given 48 hours to leave Russia. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://salem-news.com/articles/may202011/morris-press-tv.php">Israel Pushing Obama Toward War with Iran</a> <br /> <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2011/05/19-2">Activists Decry Probe Revealed by Found FBI Papers</a> <br />Kelly said agents went through thousands of files at his house, emptied drawers and cabinets and took away boxes of materials. When his partner was recently looking through a file cabinet, she came across the FBI documents, Kelly said.<br /><br />FBI spokesman Steve Warfield said most of the papers appeared to be legitimate FBI documents and were left behind by mistake. <b>It may happen to these activists now. But who will it be next, hmm?</b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article28141.htm">Former Netanyahu Aide Leaked Secret Nuclear Project with U.S.</a> <br />The leak, published by several media organizations last July, asserted that the United States and Israel had reached substantive understandings in secret talks on the civilian nuclear issue. Washington was furious and demanded an investigation into the source of the leak. Netanyahu complied, and the culprit eventually proved to be Arad.<br /><br />The secret talks took place in June 2010, shortly after Obama infuriated Israel by backing a resolution on a nuclear-free Middle East at the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty review conference. A month later, reports on the secret talks appeared simultaneously in Haaretz, on Channel 2 television and on Army Radio. According to these reports, the United States had given Israel unequivocal guarantees that its "strategic capabilities" in the nuclear field would be preserved and strengthened. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/russia-israel-s-military-attache-arrested-while-receiving-secret-information-1.362816">Russia: Israel's military attaché arrested while receiving secret information</a> <br />Russia said on Thursday it expelled Israel's military attache last week after catching the diplomat spying. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Politics/2011/0519/Was-Obama-s-speech-too-tough-on-Israel-Republican-criticism-mounts">Was Obama's speech too tough on Israel Republican criticism mounts.</a> <br />Several GOP presidential contenders slammed Mr. Obama’s comments on Israel. “President Obama has thrown Israel under the bus,” said former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney, in a statement. “He has disrespected Israel and undermined its ability to negotiate peace.”<br /><br />Congressional Republicans picked up similar themes. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.astandforjustice.org/2011/05/05-21-01.htm">Top Jewish Americans ponder support for Obama</a> <br />Morton Klein, president of the Zionist Organization of America, wrote an open letter to the American Israeli Public Affairs Committee, or AIPAC, calling on it to cancel a scheduled address by Obama to the lobby group on Sunday. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.astandforjustice.org/2011/05/05-19-01.htm">Russia sabotaged Iran nuclear programme: report</a> <br />The leaked documents, which were not immediately available on either the Yediot or Wikileaks websites, purportedly detail talks between the head of Israel's Atomic Energy Commission and then–US ambassador to Israel Richard Jones. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.astandforjustice.org/2011/05/05-22-03.htm">Many in US-Israel lobby wary of Obama peace push</a> <br />"Most of us are very disappointed in Obama's comments," Cheryl Rosenbaum, an AIPAC delegate from Glenview, Illinois, a suburb outside of Obama's hometown Chicago, told AFP. <br><br> "I need a safe and secure Israel," she said, <br><Br>...AIPAC will use its clout to burnish the US–Israel relationship, and pressure lawmakers in some 500 meetings Tuesday to pledge that they have Israel's back. <b>Hey that's nice. But the rest of Americans want a safe and secure AMERICA. And AMERICA'S interests ought to come FIRST.</b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.forward.com/articles/137997/">Bibi and Obama Now Set To Battle for Congress, Public Opinion</a> <br /> <b>Guess who won? Who got the 25 standing ovations? Not Obama.</b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article28131.htm">Imperial Secrecy By Stephen M. Walt </a> <br />as both Joseph McCarthy and Dick Cheney understood, the easiest way to convince people to give up their civil liberties is to magnify foreign threats. Once people are sufficiently scared, they will be more than happy to compromise civil liberties, especially if they think this is necessary for their protection (see under: Patriot Act). <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://battleland.blogs.time.com/2011/05/17/veteran-u-s-diplomat-we-are-becoming-the-ussr/?xid=rss-topstories&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed:+time/topstories+%28TIME:+Top+Stories%29">Veteran U.S. Diplomat: We Are Becoming the USSR</a> <br /> <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.commondreams.org/view/2011/05/19-11">US Actions, Not Obama's Words Tell Story of US Middle East Policy by Dennis Kucinich</a> <br />These wars, along with the conflicts over Pakistan, Yemen and Libya will continue to cost the American people hundreds of billions of dollars and add trillions to the deficit, diverting resources from pressing domestic needs in health care, education, job creation and retirement security. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.astandforjustice.org/2011/05/05-25-01.htm">Venezuela fumes at U.S. oil sanctions over Iran</a> <br />Venezuelan officials from Chavez down condemned the measures against state oil company PDVSA, announced by the U.S. government as punishment for two shipments to Iran of an oil blending component worth $50 million.<br /> <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.thedailybeast.com/blogs-and-stories/2011-05-22/the-911-commissions-unfinished-business-what-did-iran-know/">The Iran-9-11 Connection</a> <br />The lawsuit, they say, may offer the best hope of getting to the truth about whether Iranian government officials had advance knowledge of the plot and worked with al Qaeda to make it easier for several of the hijackers to travel undetected in the year before the attacks.<br /><br />The suit, brought in the United States District Court in Manhattan on behalf of the families of dozens of 9/11 victims, is promising testimony from three Iranian defectors, all of them identified as former members of Iran's central spy agency, who will implicate Iran and its terrorist proxies in Lebanon in the Sept. 11 attacks. <b>Here we go, folks. I wonder how much bribing it took of these defectors to concoct this story.</b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.astandforjustice.org/2011/05/05-21-06.htm">Shootings in Syria push death toll above 900</a> <br />Syrian security forces opened fire on a funeral procession for slain anti–government protesters Saturday, pushing the number of people reported killed in a two–month uprising to more than 900 and making it one of the deadliest of the Arab Spring. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.astandforjustice.org/2011/05/05-24-01.htm">Fear in Syria: Secret Police Swarm Damascus, Say Residents</a> <br /> <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.amconmag.com/blog/2011/05/23/bibi-votes-republican/">“Bibi” Votes Republican by Patrick J. Buchanan</a> <br />Obama, however, was lectured like some schoolboy in the Oval Office in front of the national press and a worldwide TV audience.<br /><br />And two days later, he trooped over to the Israeli lobby AIPAC to walk back what he had said that had so infuriated Netanyahu.<br /><br />“Bibi” then purred that he was “pleased” with the clarification. <b>Who owns this place, folks?</b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.forward.com/articles/137826/">Congress Wielding Foreign Aid Budget in Effort to Influence Shape of New Middle East</a> <br />The discussion over foreign aid to the Middle East is being conducted against the backdrop of increasing calls for austerity and against reluctance among lawmakers to approve any new budgetary expense. And while Israel, with an annual aid package of $3 billion, has been reassured that American funding is safe, its neighbors in the region are faced with both economic and political hurdles in Congress when seeking a share of foreign aid from the United States.<br><br>...Israel enjoys other foreign aid perks, including the ability to spend parts of the military aid in Israel rather than use it all to purchase American-made defense goods. It also enjoys early disbursement of the aid that enables Israel to earn interest on the funds throughout the year. <br><br>Calls for budget cuts, an Israeli diplomat dealing with the issue said, has caused some alarm among pro-Israel activists, but “we were assured very quickly that our aid is safe,” the diplomat said.<br /><br /> <b>As jobless Americans lose their homes, go hungry and as schools close all over the country, so long as Israel has its billions. Israel, with its prosperous economy...</b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article28180.htm">US Politicians Kowtow to a Foreign Leader</a> <br />Yet, as I am not the first to point out, there was nothing new in what the President said about the 1967 borders. That didn’t matter to Obama’s critics, however: so quick were they to pick up the latest party line from Tel Aviv that they didn’t even bother to acknowledge this, but were only concerned with echoing every jot and tittle of the Israeli position. Not since the heyday of the old Communist Party USA, when the Daily Worker was adept at not only defending but anticipating the line handed down by the Kremlin, have we seen such a phenomenon: the kowtowing before a foreign leader by American politicians. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.forward.com/articles/138032/">AIPAC Hits Capitol Hill With Hard Line Message on Palestinian Authority</a> <br />AIPAC delegates, as they embark on lobbying meetings on Tuesday, will ask their representatives to support resolutions in the House and Senate that reaffirm the American opposition to a unilateral Palestinian move at the U.N. and threaten the P.A. with cutting American aid if it moves forward with the Hamas unity agreement.<br /><br /> <b>More resolutions on behalf of Israel that have no import for the vast majority of Americans. Who owns Congress?</b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.forward.com/articles/138130/">Republicans Use Israel To Attract Jewish Voters — And Jewish Money</a> <br />While a majority of AIPAC members and activists, according to a former staffer, are Democrats — as are most members of the Jewish community — strong supporters of the group are more likely to make political decisions based on the candidate’s views on Israel.<br /><br /> <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://america-hijacked.com/2011/05/16/nsa-tom-donilon-addresses-the-washington-institute-aipac-spin-off-think-tank/">NSA Tom Donilon Addresses The Washington Institute (AIPAC spin-off Think Tank)</a> <br />Speaking before an audience of more than 400 policymakers, diplomats, journalists, and members of the Institute’s board of trustees, he offered a behind-the-scenes look at the operation against Usama bin Laden, reiterated the White House’s commitment to prevent Iran from achieving a nuclear weapons capability, and discussed the depth and breadth of the U.S.-Israel strategic relationship. <b>The WINEP is a part of Israel's lobby in the US.</b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.presstv.ir/detail/180700.html">'Israel pushing Obama into war with Iran'</a> <br />Morris said it was worrying that Obama's National Security Advisor Tom Donilon has called on the Washington Institute for Near East Affairs to take stronger actions against Iran. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.amconmag.com/blog/2011/05/19/israel-in-a-post-american-era/">Israel in a Post-American Era by Patrick J. Buchanan</a> <br />And what happened Sunday on the 63rd anniversary of Israel’s independence and the Palestinian “nakba,” or “catastrophe,” where 700,000 fled or were driven into exile, is perhaps the most ominous portent of all.<br /><br />Palestinian protesters approached the fence separating Lebanon and Israel and climbed the fence on the Israeli-occupied Golan heights to come and reclaim Palestinian lands. Fifteen to 20 were shot to death and scores were wounded by Israeli troops. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.amconmag.com/blog/2011/05/22/the-enemy-of-my-enemy/">The Enemy of My Enemy . . .</a> <br />Then there’s his position on foreign assistance. Ron Paul has raised the specter of the “Israel Lobby,” voted against condemning the United Nations for its scurrilous Goldstone Report on the 2008 Gaza war, and declared America should be neutral between Israel and the Palestinians. Rand Paul simply says sorry, we can’t afford the aid. “We can’t give away money to any country, even to our allies,” he told me. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.amconmag.com/blog/2011/05/22/bibi-rides-again/">Bibi Rides Again by Philip Giraldi </a> <br />Benjamin Netanyahu reacts furiously to the mention of 1967, berating Hillary Clinton over the phone before the speech, seeking to have the date removed. Interestingly, Netanyahu’s intervention means he received a copy of the speech before it was given <b>I found that fact interesting too.</b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.astandforjustice.org/2011/05/05-23-01.htm">EU significantly extends sanctions against Iran</a> <br />The European Union significantly extended its sanctions against Iran Monday, reflecting mounting frustration over a lack of progress in nuclear talks with Tehran. <b></b><br><br><br /><br><hr><br>Pale Riderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02275892742258409916noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7859798942798774539.post-43081169821582568792011-05-30T11:23:00.001-04:002011-05-30T11:23:29.663-04:00Headlines for May 12 - May 18<a href="http://www.astandforjustice.org">A Stand For Justice</a><br><br><br /><a href="http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/politics/2015050930_apusobama.html?syndication=rss">Politics Obama announces steps to speed US oil production</a> <br />Facing continued public unhappiness over gas prices, President Barack Obama is directing his administration to ramp up U.S. oil production by extending existing leases in the Gulf of Mexico and off Alaska's coast and holding more frequent lease sales in a federal petroleum reserve in Alaska. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.commondreams.org/newswire/2011/05/18-14">President Urged to Seek Congressional Approval for Military Action in Libya</a> <br />Today, members of The Constitution Project's bipartisan War Powers Committee, including its co-chairs, former Members of Congress Mickey Edwards (R-OK) and David Skaggs (D-CO), as well as war powers expert Louis Fisher, urged President Obama to immediately seek congressional approval if he plans to continue America's military operations in Libya. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.haaretz.com/news/international/iran-bushehr-nuclear-power-plant-successfully-launched-1.362560">Iran: Bushehr nuclear power plant 'successfully launched'</a> <br />Iran's nuclear power plant in Bushehr has been put online, Iranian Foreign Minister said on Wednesday, adding that the plant would become fully operational within several weeks. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2011/05/16-4">Israel Hunts Syria Infiltrators After Day of Bloodshed</a> <br />In Lebanon, Syria and the Palestinian territories, people gathered to mourn the 14 people killed when Israeli troops opened fire on thousands of protesters who sought to breach its northern borders. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.astandforjustice.org/2011/05/05-12-03.htm">Israel burnishes missile shield as Mideast churns</a> <br />Partly funded by the United States, Arrow III is envisaged as the future Israeli bulwark against Iran and Syria, with shorter–range interceptors providing protection against rockets favored by neighboring Lebanese and Palestinian guerrillas. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/11136/1146916-84-0.stm?cmpid=nationworld.xml">Treasury to tap pensions to keep goverment afloat</a> <br />The Obama administration will begin to tap federal retiree programs to help fund operations after the government loses its ability today to borrow more money from the public, adding urgency to efforts in Washington to fashion a compromise over the debt.<br /><br />Read more: http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/11136/1146916-84-0.stm?cmpid=nationworld.xml#ixzz1NnCrPLTX<br /> <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.koat.com/r/27922147/detail.html#ixzz1MdoLic15">Warrants Let Agents Enter Homes Without Owner Knowing</a> <br />These search warrants don’t involve knocking on doors or any type of warning at all. Delayed-notice search warrants, or "sneak-and-peek" warrants, allow federal agents to enter your home without telling you they’ve been there until months later.<br /><br /> <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2011/05/18-0">After 2 Months, No End in Sight to Libyan Air Campaign</a> <br /> <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/may/12/iraq-dossier-case-for-war">Iraq dossier drawn up to make case for war – intelligence officer</a> <br />In hitherto secret evidence to the Chilcot inquiry, Major General Michael Laurie said: "We knew at the time that the purpose of the dossier was precisely to make a case for war, rather than setting out the available intelligence, and that to make the best out of sparse and inconclusive intelligence the wording was developed with care." <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/world/2011-05/18/c_13881250.htm">15 Syrian army personnel killed in clashes: paper</a> <br />The death toll of Syrian army members and security forces killed in clashes with "armed terrorist gangs" in the towns of Tal Kalakh and Daraahas has risen to 15, the state-run al-Baath daily reported Wednesday. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.astandforjustice.org/2011/05/05-13-01.htm">Tea party godfather Ron Paul running for president</a> <br />As far back as 2007, long before people were evoking the fabled Boston Tea Party to symbolize their disgust with an overtaxing central government, Ron Paul was hosting a "Tea Party Fundraiser" aboard a shrimp boat near Galveston.<br /><br />Organizer and Paul campaign volunteer Elizabeth Day remembers that supporters wore period dress and rolled fake barrels of tea into the waters of the Gulf of Mexico. <b>Can't stand the fact that the mainstream media only grudgingly give Paul attention - and they continue to tar and feather him as a 'nut' when they do. His views are not offbase, not by a long shot. His views are right on par with the Founding Fathers of this nation. Unfortunately, he stands alone on Capitol Hill with his beliefs. So comparatively speaking, compared to the rest on Capitol Hill that are beholden to foreign and corporate interests - sure, his views I guess could be seen as radical. As radical as the views that our Founding Fathers had in their day.</b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2011/05/13-6">Corporate Demands, Federal ‘Reform,’ Keep Shifting Healthcare Costs to Workers</a> <br />GE’s demands are particularly obscene because it is sitting on $25 billion in savings and is threatening to close more U.S. plants, i.e. move more jobs to Mexico, China and elsewhere. And they're particularly dangerous because GE is modeling bad behavior for other corporations to emulate. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://thehill.com/homenews/house/160745-house-committee-authorizes-nearly-700b-in-defense-spending">House panel authorizes nearly $700 billion in Defense spending</a> <br /> <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://thehill.com/blogs/floor-action/house/160419-democrats-protest-gops-plans-for-permanent-war-against-taliban-al-qaeda">House Dems protest GOP's plans for permanent war against terror</a> <br />"By declaring a global war against nameless individuals, organizations and nations 'associated' with the Taliban and al Qaeda, as well as those playing a supporting role in their efforts, the Detainee Security Act would appear to grant the president near unfettered authority to initiate military action around the world without further congressional approval," Democrats wrote. "Such authority must not be ceded to the president without careful deliberation from Congress." <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.commondreams.org/newswire/2011/05/13">ACLU Sues Homeland Security Over Seizure Of Activist's Computer</a> <br /> <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.astandforjustice.org/2011/05/05-12-01.htm">With heavy hearts, Christians leave Baghdad</a> <br /> <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://politicalcorrection.org/print/fpmatters/201104260003">Those Irrepressible Neocons</a> <br />Jennifer Rubin, on the other hand, was just one of those plugging along in Kingdom Neocon (she was a contributing editor to Commentary and its blog, Contentions) until recently, when the neocon editor of the Washington Post editorial page, Fred Hiatt, plucked her from obscurity and brought her to the Post.<br /><br />Beyond their Commentary roots, the two are almost ideologically identical. And that means that they are both driven, above all other considerations, by dedication to the concept of Greater Israel (a concept which is taken more seriously inside the Beltway than it is in Israel itself). <br><br>....So let's not hear from this crowd about the poor Iranians or Syrians or Libyans, or whatever other group they suddenly profess to care about. Better they should think about those thousands of Americans, along with the hundreds of thousands of Iraqis, who perished as a consequence of the horrific war they enthusiastically agitated for. Don't they have enough to atone for without adding more deadly U.S. military interventions? <b>Beautiful piece.</b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.amconmag.com/blog/2011/05/16/pollard-again-2/">Pollard Again By Philip Giraldi </a> <br />The Lobby has been active lately in the lead-up to the AIPAC conference. A letter calling on Obama to free Pollard has been circulating since January and has attracted a number of endorsements including George Shultz. Last week 36 congressmen signed on to a letter originated by Rep. Steve Israel (no irony intended) calling on the Turkish government to stop the next aid flotilla planned for Gaza, which will likely depart next month. The letter implies that there will be dire consequences, and rightly so, if the ships are allowed to sail. Today the White House press secretary all but commended Israel for killing twenty protesters along the Syrian and Lebanese borders during demonstrations on Sunday, praising the “restraint” and noting that it was a proper remedy for “unauthorized border crossing.” <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://pewglobal.org/2011/05/17/arab-spring-fails-to-improve-us-image/2/">Arab Spring Fails to Improve U.S. Image </a> <br />for the most part, Obama’s handling of issues in the Muslim world, including the recent uprisings in the Middle East, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Iran and Afghanistan, are met with disapproval. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.forward.com/articles/137697/">Israel’s Security Elite Joins the Opposition</a> <br />It probably won’t surprise you to hear that the leaders of Israel’s security establishment, the people who’ve led the fight against the state’s enemies for decades, are more frightened now than they’ve been in a long time. You might be shocked, though, to hear what’s got them in a panic.<br /><br /> <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.astandforjustice.org/2011/05/05-16-03.htm">'Catastrophic' picture emerges of Syrian town</a> <br />At least eight people were killed Sunday in Talkalakh – the most recent casualties from a government crackdown that already has killed 850 people nationwide since mid–March, according to the National Organization for Human Rights in Syria. A town of about 70,000 residents, Talkalakh has been under a military siege since last week. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://forward.com/articles/137655/">The Jewish Roots of Madoff's Crime</a> <br />Madoff’s $50 billion fraud, which landed him in jail for the rest of his life; decimated hundreds, perhaps thousands, of investors, and left his own family in ruins, was not a Jewish crime — it was too far-flung and globalized to deserve that narrow description. It was a crime perpetuated by someone who happened to be Jewish. But now, two and a half years after Madoff’s arrest, Henriques’s work makes it evident that this was a crime enabled by Jewish businessmen like Chais, Shapiro, Levy and Picower; by Jewish power brokers like Ezra Merkin, and by Jewish institutions that gave into the allure of easy, reliable, bountiful money without doing the due diligence they owed their clients, donors and causes.<br /><br /> <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://en.rian.ru/russia/20110518/164090529.html">Medvedev says Russia 'won't back' UN Syria resolution</a> <br />Britain, France and Germany have been pushing for the UN Security Council to condemn Syria's crackdown on pro-democracy protests. Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has been using tanks and troops to crush the dissent. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/05/17/us-syria-france-idUSTRE74G4S620110517">France says gaining support for U.N. Syria resolution</a> <br />French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe said on Tuesday France and Britain were close to getting nine votes for a resolution on Syria at the U.N. Security Council, but Russia and China were still threatening to use their veto. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/u-s-accuses-syria-of-inciting-israel-border-clashes-1.362125">U.S. accuses Syria of inciting Israel border clashes</a> <br />White House spokesman Jay Carney expressed regret for the loss of life in confrontations on Israel's frontiers with Syria, Lebanon and Gaza on Sunday but said Israel "has the right to prevent unauthorized crossing at its borders." <b>We're still Israel's bitch.</b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article28124.htm">The People vs. Goldman Sachs</a> <br />A Senate committee has laid out the evidence. Now the Justice Department should bring criminal charges <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://original.antiwar.com/giraldi/2011/05/11/osama-bin-laden-transfigured/">Osama bin Laden Transfigured by Philip Giraldi</a> <br />amidst the euphoria over the death of America’s great enemy, many Americans have, perhaps surprisingly to some, not embraced the more war all the time agenda and instead are seeing the death of bin Laden as an opportunity to restore some measure of normality and sanity to our fractured foreign and defense policies. President Obama has scored a great success in the eyes of most Americans <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.astandforjustice.org/2011/05/05-14-01.htm">Scores of Syrians flee violence to Lebanon</a> <br /> <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.astandforjustice.org/2011/05/05-17-02.htm">US, EU ready new sanctions on Syria</a> <br /> <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2011/05/13-5">US Middle Class Disappearing Into Abyss?</a> <br /> <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article28129.htm">One Lawman With the Guts to Go After Wall Street</a> <br />Eric Schneiderman will probably fail, as did his predecessors in that job; the honest sheriff doesn’t last long in a town that houses the Wall Street casino. But decent folks should be cheering him on. Despite a mountain of evidence of robo-signed mortgage contracts, deceitful mortgage-based securities and fraudulent foreclosures, the banks were going to be able to cut their potential losses to what was, for them, a minuscule amount. <b></b><br><br><br /><br><hr><br>Pale Riderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02275892742258409916noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7859798942798774539.post-38265955137863306972011-05-27T20:57:00.001-04:002011-05-27T20:57:22.319-04:00Headlines for May 5 - May 11<a href="http://www.astandforjustice.org">A Stand For Justice</a><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.armytimes.com/news/2011/05/gannett_troops-morale-plunges-in-afghanistan_050911/">Morale plunges among troops in Afghanistan</a> <br />“We’re an Army that’s in uncharted territory here,” said Gen. Peter Chiarelli, Army vice chief of staff, who has focused on combat stress. “We have never fought for this long with an all-volunteer force that’s 1 percent of the population.” <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.astandforjustice.org/2011/05/05-06-01.htm">Bin Laden death sparks new talk over Patriot Act</a> <br /> <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2011/05/06-0">Thousands of Syrians Take to Streets for ‘Day of Defiance’</a> <br />Syrian security forces opened fire on hundreds of protesters on the outskirts of the capital Friday as thousands of people joined demonstrations across the country calling for an end to President Bashar Assad's regime, witnesses and activists said. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.astandforjustice.org/2011/05/05-06-04.htm">The cost of bin Laden: $3 trillion over 15 years</a> <br />By conservative estimates, bin Laden cost the United States at least $3 trillion over the past 15 years, counting the disruptions he wrought on the domestic economy, the wars and heightened security triggered by the terrorist attacks he engineered, and the direct efforts to hunt him down. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.campaignforliberty.com/article.php?view=1438">Let the Patriot Act Expire by Philip Giraldi</a> <br />Broadly speaking, the Patriot Act was designed to make it easier for law enforcement to investigate US citizens and permanent residents by easing legal restraints on records and activities that were hitherto considered private or required a judge's order to access. The Act has enjoyed bipartisan support since 2001. <b>Amen.</b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.astandforjustice.org/2011/05/05-05-03.htm">Pakistan pays U.S. lobbyists to deny it helped bin Laden</a> <br />Alarmed by lawmakers' demands to cut off billions of dollars of U.S. aid after bin Laden was found living in a Pakistani safe house for six years, President Asif Ali Zardari has ordered a full–court press to quell mounting accusations that it helped the al Qaeda leader avoid capture. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.astandforjustice.org/2011/05/05-06-03.htm">Oil prices higher after jobs report, gas dips</a> <br /> <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.astandforjustice.org/2011/05/05-05-05.htm">Oil drops below $100 on worry of weaker US demand</a> <br />Oil plunged nearly 9 percent to settle below $100 per barrel. Investors who had ridden a months–long rally fled the market Thursday because of concerns about weakening demand for fuel in the U.S. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.commondreams.org/view/2011/05/05-9">Obama Administration Plans Corporate Tax Cut In Year Of Record Profits</a> <br />In the first quarter of 2011, Exxon-Mobil, the world’s biggest and most profitable corporation, raked in $10.7 billion. That’s a 69 percent increase over the same quarter last year, and the highest quarterly profit since 2008. This is happening during a time when citizens are searching underneath the couch cushions to scrape together enough change in order to fill their gas tanks so they can go file for unemployment benefits. <br><br>Exxon also happens to be one of US Uncut’s top targets. The oil giant uses offshore subsidiaries in the Caribbean to avoid paying taxes in the United States. The company paid zero U.S. income tax in 2009, while enjoying billions in taxpayer-funded subsidies and its CEO’s total compensation reached over $29 million <b>Corporate and foreign interests own this country, folks.</b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.astandforjustice.org/2011/05/05-08-02.htm">Child reported killed as Syrian forces crack down</a> <br /> <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.astandforjustice.org/2011/05/05-05-04.htm">Pakistan's army warns US not to stage more raids</a> <br />Pakistan's army broke its silence Thursday over the U.S. commando raid that killed Osama bin Laden, acknowledging its own "shortcomings" in efforts to find the al–Qaida leader but threatening to review cooperation with Washington if there is another similar violation of Pakistani sovereignty. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.news.com.au/world/killed-in-syria-protests-activist-says/story-e6frfkyi-1226051546531">30 killed in Syria protests, activist says News.com.au</a> <br /> <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://groups.yahoo.com/group/cpthebron/message/1425">AL-KHALIL/HEBRON: The dayafter Bin Laden died.</a> <br />I was in Hebron on September 11, 2001. I remember old men approaching me on the street, eyes full of tears, telling me that God would help me and my fellow citizens. Other Palestinian friends called us, sobbing, as they described what they were watching on TV......I asked a Hebronite friend what most Palestinians in Hebron were saying about Bin Laden's death. Most, he said, do not care. A small minority were upset about the killing. A much larger minority, himself included, thought Bin Laden deserved his fate. <b>A member of the Christian Peacekeeper Teams in Hebron offers Palestinian perspectives that you won't find in mainstream American media</b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/former-mossad-chief-israel-air-strike-on-iran-stupidest-thing-i-have-ever-heard-1.360367">Former Mossad chief: Israel air strike on Iran 'stupidest thing I have ever heard'</a> <br />When asked about what would happen in the aftermath of an Israeli attack Dagan said that: "It will be followed by a war with Iran. It is the kind of thing where we know how it starts, but not how it will end." <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.astandforjustice.org/2011/05/05-05-02.htm">Israel defense minister: Iran won't bomb us</a> <br />Israel's defense minister says even if Iran develops nuclear arms, it is unlikely to bomb Israel. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.astandforjustice.org/2011/05/05-08-03.htm">Bin Laden vows no US security in final tape: website</a> <br />Addressing US President Barack Obama, he said: "America will not be able to dream of security until we live in security in Palestine. It is unfair that you live in peace while our brothers in Gaza live in insecurity."<br /><br />"Accordingly, and with the will of God, our attacks will continue against you as long as your support for Israel continues," he warned in a message posted on Shamikh1.net, a conduit for Al–Qaeda communications. <b>Wait, I thought they 'hated us for our freedoms'?...</b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.astandforjustice.org/2011/05/05-06-02.htm">Gas prices could slow job growth this year</a> <br />Average gas prices have risen for 44 straight days. Consumers are spending more to fill the tanks, leaving them with less to spend elsewhere. As a result, many companies are feeling less certain about the economy's health. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.presstv.ir/detail/178898.html">'Bin Laden dead long before US raid'</a> <br />Iran's intelligence minister says the country has reliable information that former head of the al-Qaeda terrorist group Osama bin Laden died of disease some time ago. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.commondreams.org/newswire/2011/05/10-11">Kucinich Calls for Real Troop Reductions from Afghanistan, Renews Call to End War </a> <br />“It is time to start taking care of things here at home: health care, child care, education, social security, job security, retirement security and creating a manufacturing policy that focuses on steel, automotive, aerospace and rebuilding our national infrastructure,” said Kucinich. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.commondreams.org/view/2011/05/10-0">'The Worst I've Seen By Far:' Budget Cuts Meet Poverty in the Heartland</a> <br /> <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2011/05/11-7">House Republicans Shred Constitution With Backdoor Proposal of Permanent War</a> <br /> <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2011/05/11-9">Dem Senators Defend Big Oil Against Own Party</a> <br />Democratic Sens. Mark Begich and Mary Landrieu, who represent Alaska and Louisiana, respectively, each took to the Senate floor Wednesday to decry their party's attempt to strip tax breaks from the top oil companies. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2011/05/11-3">Exxon Mobil Dodges the Tax Man</a> <br />More striking still is the discrepancy between Exxon Mobil's rates and those of most American breadwinners. The company’s effective rate of 17.6 percent is nearly 16 percent below the average individual federal tax rate, which according to the Congressional Budget Office was 20.4 percent as of 2007. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/05/11/iraq-withdrawal-2011-delay_n_860188.html">Iraq Withdrawal Date For U.S. Troops May Be Pushed Back Beyond 2011</a> <br />Pentagon spokesperson Elizabeth Robbins confirmed to The Huffington Post that U.S. forces could stay beyond 2011 to help the Iraqi Security Forces fill the "gaps" in their operations. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.thepeninsulaqatar.com/middle-east/151381-russia-slams-libya-contact-group-.html">Russia slams Libya contact group </a> <br />Russia yesterday criticised a Western-led grouping that has pledged aid to the Libyan rebels fighting Muammar Gaddafi’s forces, warning that it must not seek to usurp the authority of the UN Security Council. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article28032.htm">Pakistan Military Knew About Bin Laden Raid Well In Advance Of Attack</a> <br /> <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.cato-at-liberty.org/record-number-of-americans-targeted-by-national-security-letters/">Record Number of Americans Targeted by National Security Letters</a> <br />The latest report to Congress on the Justice Department’s use of foreign intelligence surveillance powers has just been released, and it shows a truly stunning increase in the number of Americans whose sensitive phone, Internet, and banking records were obtained by the FBI — without judicial oversight — pursuant to National Security Letters <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.commondreams.org/newswire/2011/05/11-18">Congressional Staffers Fear Retaliation if They Displease Lobbyists, New Public Citizen Survey Shows</a> <br /> <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.amconmag.com/blog/2011/05/05/vanishing-american-footprint/">Vanishing American Footprint by Patrick J. Buchanan</a> <br />Why is America’s footprint shrinking in that part of the world?<br /><br />First, Americans have never been less popular there, and one demand of every revolution is for a new government, independent of the United States, that will defend the national sovereignty.<br /><br />Second, we are broke. We can no longer afford the bases. We can no longer afford the wars. We can no longer afford the aid. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.astandforjustice.org/2011/05/05-08-01.htm">Ex-Israeli spymaster opposes Iran attack</a> <br />Former spymaster Meir Dagan told a weekend conference that an effective attack on Iran would be difficult because Iranian nuclear facilities are scattered and mobile, Israeli media reported.<br /><br />Dagan also cautioned that a strike would be liable to trigger war with Iran and possibly Syria. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.amconmag.com/blog/2011/05/08/doing-bin-laden/">Doing bin Laden by Philip Giraldi </a> <br /> <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.salon.com/news/neoconservatism/index.html?story=/politics/war_room/2011/05/06/bolton_single_issue">John Bolton: I care about things besides bombing Iran</a> <br />Bolton is, of course, a single-issue guy. His issue is bombing Iran. That is the only reason why anyone has expressed any interest in him as a candidate: He is the man who promises to bomb Iran. Every foreign policy issue of our time looks like a nail to John Bolton, and his hammer is bombing Iran. <b>John Bolton = Israel-firster and neocon extraordinaire.</b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article28056.htm">Your Taxes Fund Anti-Muslim Hatred</a> <br />The poison of this rhetoric was on display a few days ago when a trustee of City University of New York blocked the playwright Tony Kushner, who is Jewish, from receiving an honorary doctorate because of Kushner’s criticism of Israel’s treatment of the Palestinians. The trustee, Jeffrey S. Wiesenfeld, labeling Kushner “an extremist,” told The New York Times that the Palestinians “who worship death for their children are not human.” <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.astandforjustice.org/2011/05/05-11-02.htm">Syrian shelling kills 18, evokes 1982 crackdown</a> <br />The Syrian army shelled residential areas and unleashed gunmen Wednesday, and a human rights group said at least 18 people were killed, including an 8–year–old boy. The shelling of neighborhoods evoked memories of the Assad regime's brutal, 40–year legacy of crushing dissent. <b>No action on the part of America is taken because Israel wants Assad to stay in power, as opposed to the action we took with Libya for its gunning down of protesters.</b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.amconmag.com/blog/2011/05/09/osamas-undying-reach/">Osama’s Undying Reach by Patrick J. Buchanan </a> <br />Some yet argue that Osama and al-Qaida attacked us because they hate our freedoms. Why, then, did they fight the Russians? Did they hate the freedoms enjoyed by Soviet citizens in Leonid Brezhnev’s time?<br /><br />In his 1998 declaration of war, Osama gave three reasons. Americans, he said, had deployed their infidel troops on sacred Saudi soil. Americans were strangling a crushed Iraqi people with murderous sanctions. Americans were enabling Zionists to oppress and rob Palestinian Arabs of their lands. <b>His reasons for attacking us were available online at one point. But most Americans still believe - because they've been willfully deceived by government leaders - that we were attacked because of our freedoms. Lie.</b><br><br><br /><a href="http://original.antiwar.com/giraldi/2011/05/04/war-is-a-sticky-business/">War is a Sticky Business by Philip Giraldi</a> <br />And just to demonstrate that Washington continues to live in a complete fantasy world, wars four and five just might be hovering on the horizon. Last week Senators John McCain, Joe Lieberman, and Lindsey Graham all called on the Obama Administration to get tough with Syria. They had better check first with their minders in Israel since it is by no means clear whether Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu would welcome the removal of Syrian President Bashar Assad, who is, at least, predictable compared to whatever kind of regime would succeed him. And then there is Iran, always the enemy of choice, with a constant drumbeat from Tel Aviv and Washington. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://news.yahoo.com/s/yblog_theticket/20110506/pl_yblog_theticket/ron-paul-raises-more-than-1-million-in-24-hours">Ron Paul raises more than $1 million in 24 hours</a> <br /> <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://america-hijacked.com/2011/05/05/petraeus-can-he-tell-it-straight/">Petraeus: Can He Tell It Straight? By Ray McGovern</a> <br />Iran will continue to loom large as a target for intelligence analysis during Petraeus’s tenure at CIA. What is disconcerting on that front is that Petraeus has been eager to serve up “intelligence” to portray Iran in the worst light. One rather strange but instructive example comes to mind. It involved a studied, if disingenuous, effort to blame all the troubles in southern Iraq on the “malignant” influence of Iran.......<br><br>Though Petraeus’s testimony might strike many of us as a no-brainer, not so for the neocons. They resist any suggestion that Israeli intransigence regarding peace talks on Palestine contributes to the dangers faced by American soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan or by the American people from possible acts of terrorism at home. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.commondreams.org/view/2011/05/05-0">With Liberty and Justice for… Corporations?</a> <br />In a statement after the ruling, Deepak Gupta, a lawyer with the public interest group Public Citizen who argued the case on behalf of the Concepcions, called the decision a “crushing blow to American consumers and employees, ruling that companies can ban class actions in the fine print of contracts. Now, whenever you sign a contract to get a cell phone, open a bank account or take a job, you may be giving up your right to hold companies accountable for fraud, discrimination or other illegal practices. Class actions are an essential tool for justice in our society. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/05/08/us-syria-attack-workers-idUSTRE7472E220110508">Armed gang kill 10 Syrian civilians: state agency</a> <br />An armed gang shot dead ten Syrian civilian workers on their way back from Lebanon in a bus ambush near the Syrian city of Homs Sunday, the official state news agency said. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Middle-East/2011/0506/Amid-Syria-s-turmoil-Israel-sees-Assad-as-the-lesser-evil/%28page%29/2">Amid Syria's turmoil, Israel sees Assad as the lesser evil</a> <br />"I prefer the political extremism of Assad over religious extremism," says Ayoub Kara, a parliament member from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's Likud party. "We don’t want religious extremism on the border." <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article28036.htm">The Defeat of the United States by Al Qaeda</a> <br />The goal is also for the U.S. government, in response, to stay bogged down in endless wars in the Islamic world, radicalizing people there and causing them to see the U.S. as a crusader army — in the meantime wearying and demoralizing the U.S. population and bankrupting the government. To paraphrase the late Mr. Bin Laden, it’s only necessary for a couple of brothers with “Al Qaeda” written on a piece of cloth to show themselves in Antarctica, and the President will send Marines to fight the penguins there “so we won’t have to fight them here.” <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article28035.htm">US Military Support of Foreign Governments Increases Terror Attacks on US Citizens: Study</a> <br /> <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://english.aljazeera.net/indepth/opinion/2011/05/20115512172861777.html">US-Israeli relations: Obama back on top? </a> <br />President George W Bush, surrounded by neocon advisers who viewed Arabs the same way the Israeli right did, was happy to conflate 9/11 and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The Israelis became us and the Palestinians became al Qaeda. Yasser Arafat, the Palestinian leader who had recognised Israel and worked with Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin to thwart terrorism, instantly became Osama bin Laden. <b></b><br><br><br /><br><hr><br>Pale Riderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02275892742258409916noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7859798942798774539.post-21705731170930247392011-05-22T19:45:00.002-04:002011-05-22T19:48:03.877-04:00Headlines for April 28 - May 4Apologies for the tardiness. I will try and get caught up in the days to follow.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.astandforjustice.org">A Stand For Justice</a><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.commondreams.org/newswire/2011/05/02-0">9/11 Victims’ Family Members React to the Killing of Osama Bin Laden</a> <br /> <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2011/05/02/3205828.htm">Taliban vow revenge for bin Laden's death</a> <br /> <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.astandforjustice.org/2011/05/05-02-03.htm">Fears of Qaeda vengeance after U.S. kills Osama</a> <br />World leaders warned of revenge attacks after Osama bin Laden was killed in a U.S. assault in Pakistan on Monday that brought to a dramatic end the long manhunt for the al Qaeda leader who had become the most powerful symbol of Islamist militancy. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0511/54151.html">Osama bin Laden raid yields trove of computer data</a> <br />The assault force of Navy SEALs snatched a trove of computer drives and disks during their weekend raid on Osama bin Laden’s compound, yielding what a U.S. official called “the mother lode of intelligence.”<br /><br />Read more: http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0511/54151.html#ixzz1N2Z83oOH<br /> <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://forward.com/articles/137232/">Prosperous but Unequal: OECD Report Spotlights Alarming Trend</a> <br />Growing by 7.8% last year, the Israeli economy ranked fifth highest in growth among the group’s 34 members. Israel’s growth outstripped that of the United States, Britain, Japan, Germany and France.<br /><br /> <b>Read that again. We are giving Israel BILLIONS of American taxpayer dollars each year. These are not loans. Meanwhile, across America, cities, towns and villages are having to make drastic budget cuts as Israel PROSPERS (at our expense. WHY? Ask your Congressman.</b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2011/04/28-5">Exxon Profit Up 69 Percent as Gas and Oil Prices Boost Top Five Oil Companies </a> <br />Exxon Mobil and Royal Dutch Shell today reported first-quarter profit increases of 69 percent and 30 percent, respectively, from the same period last year. With rising gas and oil prices, analysts expected the five biggest oil companies -- with Exxon as the largest -- to report that they are swimming in revenue. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="https://rt.com/politics/syria-russia-united-nations-protests/">Tread lightly on Syria, Russia warns UN Security Council</a> <br /> <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.astandforjustice.org/2011/05/05-03-01.htm">Gaza demonstrators condemn death of bin Laden</a> <br />About 25 people holding pictures and posters of bin Laden rallied outside a Gaza City university. The crowd included al–Qaida sympathizers as well as students who said they opposed bin Laden's ideology, but were angry at the U.S. for killing him and consider him a martyr. <b>I will remind you that there are over 1 million Palestinians in Gaza, and another couple million in the West Bank. Predictably, this headline was put on the front page of Yahoo as was the case when in the immediate aftermath of 9/11, the handful of Palestinians passing out candy was aired alongside footage of the carnage. Nah, there's nobody in the media that wants you to hate all Palestinians or anything..</b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.astandforjustice.org/2011/04/04-29-04.htm">Syria: 4 soldiers killed in attack on army post</a> <br />Syria's state–run television says "armed terrorists" have attacked a military post in the southern city of Daraa, killing four soldiers and capturing two. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.astandforjustice.org/2011/05/05-02-06.htm">Oil falls below $113 after bin Laden killed</a> <br /> <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.astandforjustice.org/2011/04/04-29-02.htm">Syrian forces kill 62, U.S. toughens sanctions</a> <br />A medical source told Reuters soldiers in Deraa killed 19 people when they fired on thousands of protesters descending from nearby villages in a show of solidarity with the southern city where Syria's uprising broke out six weeks ago. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.astandforjustice.org/2011/05/05-02-04.htm">Brotherhood: U.S. troops should now quit Iraq, Afghan</a> <br />Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood said on Monday that U.S. soldiers should be withdrawn from Afghanistan and Iraq after the killing of Osama bin Laden, the mastermind of the September 11 attacks that led to two U.S.–led wars. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.astandforjustice.org/2011/05/05-02-05.htm">Bin Laden's Death: What This Means for Pakistan's ISI</a> <br />That bin Laden had been living in a specially constructed compound less than an hours' drive from Pakistani military HQ, and in the same town as the country's premier military academy, makes the near constant denials by Pakistan's intelligence agencies that the terror group leader was in the country difficult to swallow. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.astandforjustice.org/2011/05/05-04-01.htm">America’s Middle Class Crisis: The Sobering Facts</a> <br />The bottom line is simple says Schwenninger: The middle class is shrinking, which threatens the social composition and stability of the world's biggest economy. "I worry that we're becoming a barbell society – a lot of money wealth and power at the top, increasing hollowness at the center, which I think provides the stability and the heart and soul of the society... and then too many people in fear of falling down." <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://original.antiwar.com/giraldi/2011/04/27/whats-in-it-for-us-mr-obama/">What’s In It for Us, Mr. Obama? by Philip Giraldi</a> <br />That Washington has become a victim of the internal politics of the Middle East is largely due to manipulation by Israel and its lobby, which has turned all Americans into enablers of Israeli policies, no matter how short-sighted or ill-conceived. It is the US national interest that has been sacrificed in the process. That is the point<br><br>....Several congressmen, including Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, chairman of the House Foreign Affairs committee, and House Majority Leader Eric Cantor explicitly stated their opposition to any reduction in aid to Israel. But the real surprise came in the final spending bill. Israel not only was not cut in its assistance level, it received $205 million in additional funding for its Iron Dome defensive missile development, which competes with US defense firm Raytheon’s Patriot system. <b>Read that excerpt again, folks. As schools are being closed in YOUR towns and cities, we're still shoveling billions to Israel in order for it to continue to pillage and plunder Palestine.</b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.astandforjustice.org/2011/05/05-03-02.htm">Palestinian factions sign unity deal in Cairo</a> <br />Abbas said Israel does not wish to see the Palestinians united because it thrives on their divisions. <b>Divide and conquer is a strategy employed in the Middle East to lessen any threats, and so too is it employed here in the US. If everyone is at each other's throats here because of party line issues, then they aren't paying attention to the real problem in this country.</b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.lockheedmartin.com/news/press_releases/2011/110428ae_c130j-israel.html">Israel Acquires Additional Lockheed Martin C-130J Super Hercules Lockheed Martin</a> <br />Israel ordered its first C-130J in April 2010 and will receive that aircraft in spring 2013. The next two aircraft will be delivered in late 2013 and late 2014 respectively. The contract also covers a number of items to meet Israel’s unique operational requirements. The Israeli Air Force’s new Super Hercules are the longer fuselage or "stretched" variant of the C-130J. <b>At US taxpayers' expense, no doubt.</b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.astandforjustice.org/2011/05/05-02-02.htm">Iranian state TV carries report of Israeli build-up</a> <br />Iranian state television ran a report Monday saying Israeli military aircraft were massing at a U.S. air base in Iraq for a strike on Iran. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.astandforjustice.org/2011/05/05-02-01.htm">Iran: US should leave Mideast with bin Laden death</a> <br />The United States has no excuse to keep troops in the Middle East after killing al–Qaida leader Osama bin Laden, a senior Iranian official said Monday. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.pennlive.com/midstate/index.ssf/2011/05/osama_bin_ladens_death_wont_en.html">Osama bin Laden's death won't end Afghan mission, U.S. and NATO officials say</a> <br /> <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.commondreams.org/view/2011/05/04-6">US Silences on the Arab Spring are Deafening</a> <br />While Washington intervened in Libya to protect civilians from Muammar Gaddafi's attacks, it's responding to uprisings in Bahrain, Yemen, and Iraq with a particular quiescence. The Obama administration has hardly said a peep about the need for democracy in Saudi Arabia or the other oil-rich states of the Gulf, even as those regimes are cracking down on the small but growing number of democracy activists in their midst. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2011/05/04-1">Pressure Builds to End Afghan War</a> <br />A weariness about the Afghanistan war had set in well before bin Laden’s killing. A March poll by ABC News and The Washington Post found that nearly two-thirds of those responding no longer think the war is worth fighting. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2011/05/02/fbi-using-persistent-spyware-to-track-suspects-online/">FBI using surveillance software to track suspects online</a> <br />The documents show that software called the Computer and Internet Protocol Address Verifier (CIPAV) was used by the FBI since at least 2001. The software allows the FBI to collect a variety of information from a computer every time it connects to the Internet, including the IP address, Media Access Control (MAC) address, open communication ports, list of the programs running, URLs visited, and more. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.economist.com/blogs/dailychart/2011/05/exchange_rates?fsrc=scn/tw/te/dc/fortyyearsofhurt">Forty years of hurt </a> <br />THE dollar’s recent decline has taken it to new lows. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.astandforjustice.org/2011/04/04-29-01.htm">US aims financial hits at Syrian officials, Iran</a> <br />President Barack Obama authorized the action for repression and human rights abuses committed by Syrian authorities seeking to quell six weeks of protests. Activists say more than 500 people have been killed, 42 on Friday alone. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.astandforjustice.org/2011/04/04-29-05.htm">5 banks fail in Fla., Ga., Mich.; makes 39 in '11</a> <br />The FDIC expects the cost of resolving failed banks to total around $52 billion from 2010 through 2014. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.astandforjustice.org/2011/04/04-28-01.htm">IAEA chief: Syria tried to build nuclear reactor</a> <br />Suggesting that Amano had erred in making the public comments, the IAEA later put out a statement that he "did not say that the IAEA had reached the conclusion that the site was definitely a nuclear reactor." <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.amconmag.com/blog/2011/04/27/kill-the-doll-ar-kill-the-dolll-ar/">“Kill-the-Doll-ar…Kill-the-Dolll-ar…!”</a> <br />Cue Ride of the Valkyries. Ben Bernanke is pre-flighting the helicopter. He explained today it’s become necessary to Destroy the Dollar in Order to Save It <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.amconmag.com/blog/2011/04/29/constant-conservative-ron-paul/">Constant Conservative Ron Paul</a> <br />Paul’s conservative consistency remains true, even when—and perhaps especially when—his fellow conservatives disagree with him. When conservatives attack Paul for his non-interventionist foreign policy views, the Texas congressman is quick to remind them that it is mathematically impossible to reduce the debt or deficits without addressing Pentagon spending. Cutting NPR, Planned Parenthood and earmarks will do nothing to effectively reduce the debt, no matter how much each might excite conservatives emotionally. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.astandforjustice.org/2011/05/05-01-02.htm">Middle East politics at play in passport dispute</a> <br />when the mother asked that her son's passport and other documents indicate that he was born in Israel, State Department officials refused, citing longstanding U.S. policy to refrain from expressing an official view about Jerusalem's status. Israel has proclaimed the once–divided city as its capital; the U.S. and most nations do not recognize Jerusalem as the capital.<br /><br />A lawsuit followed. The dispute over Menachem's passport, a mix of the thorny politics of the Middle East and a fight between Congress and the president over primacy in foreign policy, has landed at the Supreme Court. The justices could say as early as Monday whether they will hear the case.<br /> <b>Another waste of taxpayer dollars.</b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.thedailybeast.com/blogs-and-stories/2011-05-04/mike-huckabee-for-president-2012-what-his-holocaust-gaffe-reveals/">Mike Huckabee for President 2012 What His Holocaust Gaffe Reveals - The Daily Beast</a> <br />Huckabee usually gets away with this sort of thing because he is pro-Israel, if by pro-Israel one means unequivocally supporting Israeli irredentism. Unlike the majority of American Jews, he opposes a two-state solution, and in February he said Palestinians in the West Bank and East Jerusalem should be resettled in “a territory that [is] in the hands of Muslims, in the hands of Arabs,” which might make him the first modern American presidential aspirant to openly champion ethnic cleansing. <br><br>...Huckabee even leads group tours of evangelicals to Israel for about $4,500 a person; naturally, one of the stops is Megiddo, or, in Greek, Armageddon <b>He sounds like a real genius...</b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.amconmag.com/blog/2011/05/01/death-in-the-desert/">Death in the Desert by Philip Giraldi</a> <br />I am not suggesting for a second that the recent bombing is in any way faked, but it is easy to forget what Ghadafi is really like and what he is capable of. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article27991.htm">Is Israel's Rightwing in Eric Cantor's District?</a> <br />Cantor is listed on Maplight.org as the top recipient of campaign money from "pro-Israel" groups in the U.S. House of Representatives, having taken in over $200,000. These groups, most of them affiliated with AIPAC, dump tens of millions of dollars into U.S. elections each cycle. And they certainly appear to get what they pay for. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.commondreams.org/view/2011/04/23-0">Surprise, Surprise! Iraq War Was About Oil by Ray McGovern</a> <br />Former Prime Minister Tony Blair spoke publicly about Israel’s input into the all-important Bush-Blair deliberations on Iraq in Crawford, Texas, in April 2002. Inexplicably, Blair slipped up on his propensity for hiding important facts from the public and told some truth, though his indiscretion got little attention in America’s FCM. Blair said:<br /><br />“As I recall that [April 2002] discussion, it was less to do with specifics about what we were going to do on Iraq or, indeed, the Middle East, because the Israel issue was a big, big issue at the time. I think, in fact, I remember, actually, there may have been conversations that we had even with Israelis, the two of us [Bush and Blair], whilst we were there. So that was a major part of all this.” <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article27998.htm">Panic From the Houses of Congress and Aipac? </a> <br />Netanyahu, the conferees were told, wants Congress to flex its muscle with the White House and deliver a strong message to President Obama that his political future is tied to Israel’s. Hence the current “America needs Israel more than ever stupid!” campaign wafting from the Israel Lobby across the talk radio airwaves. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.astandforjustice.org/2011/04/04-30-01.htm">Syrians protest from rooftops after army action</a> <br /> <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.amconmag.com/blog/2011/05/02/mission-accomplished-2/">Mission Accomplished</a> <br />This is the perfect moment for the president to declare victory in the Global War on Terror (I’m ready to play along) and announce our expedited withdrawal from Iraq and Afghanistan. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://english.eluniversal.com/2011/05/04/us-to-examine-possible-sanctions-against-venezuela.shtml">US to examine possible sanctions against Venezuela </a> <br />Rep. Connie Mack, R-Fla, who is the Chairman of the House Western Hemisphere Subcommittee, has accused Venezuela of violating the Comprehensive Iran Sanctions Accountability and Disinvestment Act of 2010 imposed by the United States against Iran <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://finance.yahoo.com/retirement/article/112640/states-pensions-public-sector-247">10 States Where Pensions Are Running Out of Money</a> <br /> <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.commondreams.org/view/2011/05/03-8">World is Drowning in Corporate fraud</a> <br />Two years after the biggest financial crisis in history, fueled by unscrupulous behavior by the biggest banks on Wall Street, not a single financial leader has faced jail. When companies are fined for malfeasance, their shareholders, not their CEOs and managers, pay the price. The fines are always a tiny fraction of the ill-gotten gains, implying to Wall Street that corrupt practices have a solid rate of return. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2011-05-01-bills-terror-cases-defense-attorney-general_n.htm">Bills would transfer oversight of terror cases</a> <br />A bill in the House of Representatives, sponsored by Rep. Bobby Shilling, R-Ill., would require terrorism suspects, including those arrested in the United States, to be placed in military custody unless the Defense secretary rules otherwise. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.amconmag.com/blog/2011/05/03/have-we-forgotten-911">Have We Forgotten 9/11?</a> <br />Government officials now say there are less than 100 Al-Qaeda members in Afghanistan where we have 100,000 troops. We now know Saddam Hussein had nothing to with Bin Laden and yet 50,000 troops remain in Iraq. Prominent hawks like Sen. John McCain are calling for more intervention in Libya and relatively new hawks like Sen. Marco Rubio want to see stronger U.S. action in Syria. Both senators also believe we should stay in Iraq and Afghanistan indefinitely. None of this has anything to do with fighting Al-Qaeda. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.amconmag.com/blog/2011/05/01/let%E2%80%99s-declare-victory/">Let’s Declare Victory</a> <br />The most profound effect of bin Laden’s death will be on Americans. Since September 11, 2001, we have waged two (three?) wars in the name of stopping bin Laden’s brand of Islamic terrorism. This is as close to a clear cut victory that we are ever going to get. That also makes it out best chance of getting American soldiers out of Afghanistan. <b></b><br><br><br /><br><hr><br>Pale Riderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02275892742258409916noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7859798942798774539.post-41402428155651661072011-05-20T20:32:00.000-04:002011-05-20T20:33:38.159-04:00Headlines for April 21 - April 27Apologies for the tardiness. I will try and get caught up in the days to follow.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.astandforjustice.org">A Stand For Justice</a><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article27961.htm">Wall Street Is Behind High Food-Oil Prices That's Causing Arab Instability</a> <br /> <b>Wall Street speculators raping the world by driving up not just food prices, but oil prices as well.</b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.astandforjustice.org/2011/04/04-23-01.htm">Second Syrian lawmaker quits in protest at killings</a> <br />A second Syrian lawmaker told al–Jazeera television on Saturday he was resigning from parliament in protest at the killing of demonstrators. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.astandforjustice.org/2011/04/04-25-01.htm">Syria seals border with Jordan: Amman</a> <br />Thousands of Syrian troops backed by tanks swept into Daraa, around five kilometres (three miles) from the Jordanian frontier, firing on residents and leaving bodies lying in the streets, activists and witnesses said <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.astandforjustice.org/2011/04/04-24-01.htm">Syria targets activists in pinpoint raids</a> <br />The rising level of violence – more than 120 people dead since Friday – brought calls from the watchdog group Human Rights Watch for a U.N. inquiry. But Sunday's tactics also suggest a government effort to head off the round of protest marches. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.astandforjustice.org/2011/04/04-21-01.htm">US to probe spiking gasoline prices</a> <br />Pointing the finger at "speculators," Obama said a new Justice Department task force would "root out any cases of fraud or manipulation" that may have caused higher prices. <b>It's about time.</b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2011/apr/19/libya-mission-military-advisory-team">The Libyan mission is creeping, no doubt</a> <br />Britain is now publicly doing what it expressly said it would not do when the no-fly intervention began: putting boots on the ground in Libya. France is taking similar action. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.americablog.com/2011/04/us-to-send-25-million-of-non-lethal.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed:+Americablog+%28AMERICAblog%29">US to send $25 million of non-lethal equipment to Libya </a> <br /> <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2011/04/scotus-gps-monitoring/">Feds to Supreme Court: Allow Warrantless GPS Monitoring</a> <br />The Justice Department, saying “a person has no reasonable expectation of privacy in his movements (.pdf) from one place to another,” is demanding the justices undo a lower court decision that reversed the conviction and life sentence of a cocaine dealer whose vehicle was tracked via GPS for a month without a court warrant. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/04/24/us-iraq-protests-idUSTRE73N21C20110424">Iraqis rally against extending U.S. troops presence</a> <br /> <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.france24.com/en/20110423-sniper-kills-at-least-three-at-protesters-funerals#">Mourners killed as snipers fire on funeral marches </a> <br />Syrian snipers shot dead at least 12 mourners on Saturday as funeral processions were underway for scores of anti-government protesters killed the previous day, witnesses and activists said. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.amconmag.com/blog/2011/04/25/when-dictators-fall-who-rises/">When Dictators Fall, Who Rises? by Patrick J. Buchanan</a> <br />The secular despot Saddam Hussein protected the Christians. But the U.S. liberation brought on their greatest calamity since the time of Christ. Scores of thousands of those Iraqi Christians fleeing terrorism and persecution after 2003 made their way to Syria, where they received sanctuary from President Bashar Assad.<br /><br />Now, as the FT and Washington Post report, the Christians of Syria, whose forebears have lived there since the time of Christ, are facing a pogrom should the Damascus regime fall. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.astandforjustice.org/2011/04/04-25-05.htm">Tanks storm Syrian flashpoint town, 25 dead: activists</a> <br /> <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.astandforjustice.org/2011/04/04-23-03.htm">Obama sees no magic bullet to push down gas prices</a> <br />Barack Obama told Americans on Saturday there is no "magic bullet" to bring down high gasoline prices and said he wants to end what he called $4 billion in taxpayer subsidies to oil and gas companies. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.amconmag.com/blog/2011/04/26/ron-paul-runs/">Ron Paul Runs</a> <br /> <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.astandforjustice.org/2011/04/04-25-04.htm">Oil near $113 as damaged fields shut Libya output</a> <br /> <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.astandforjustice.org/2011/04/04-22-01.htm">Dozens killed in bloodiest day of Syria uprising</a> <br />Among the dead were a 70–year–old man and two boys ages 7 and 10, Amnesty International said. In the southern town of Izraa, a man ran carrying the body of a young boy, whose hair was matted with blood from a gaping wound on his head, as another child wept and shouted, "My brother!" Footage of the scene was posted on the protest movement's main Facebook pace. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.astandforjustice.org/2011/04/04-22-02.htm">Obama condemns 'outrageous' Syria violence, Iran aid</a> <br /> <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.astandforjustice.org/2011/04/04-25-03.htm">Iran says it has uncovered second cyber attack</a> <br />Gholam Reza Jalali, the head of an Iranian military unit in charge of combatting sabotage, said that experts discovered the "espionage virus," which he called "Stars." <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.astandforjustice.org/2011/04/04-26-01.htm">European governments condemn Syria</a> <br />International criticism of Assad's crackdown, now in its sixth week, was initially muted but escalated after the death of 100 protesters on Friday and Assad's decision to storm Deraa, which echoed his father's 1982 suppression of Islamists in Hama. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.brecorder.com/top-news/109-world-top-news/12675-more-than-230-ruling-baath-members-resign-in-syria.html">More than 230 ruling Baath members resign in Syria</a> <br />Another 203 members of Syria's ruling Baath party announced their resignation Wednesday in protest at the deadly crackdown on protesters, raising the number to 233, according to lists seen by AFP. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/news/haaretz-wikileaks-exclusive-netanyahu-agreed-to-join-olmert-s-government-if-israel-attacked-iran-1.357113">Haaretz WikiLeaks exclusive / Netanyahu agreed to join Olmert's government if Israel attacked Iran</a> <br /> <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article27947.htm">Disincentives to Peace: US Weapons Sales to Israel</a> <br />Israel may be forgiven for failing to realize the current fiscal woes of the United States. After all, U.S. military aid to Israel not only sailed unscathed through last week's passage of the 2011 budget, but reached the record level of $3 billion.<br /><br />The United States additionally provided Israel $415 million for procurement, research and development of joint U.S.-Israeli missile defense projects, including $205 million to fund Israel's newly-deployed Iron Dome system.<br><br>...From 2000-2009, the United States licensed, paid for, and delivered to Israel more than 670 million weapons and related equipment, valued at nearly $19 billion, through three main weapons transfer programs (Foreign Military Sales, Direct Commercial Sales, and Excess Defense Articles). These weapons transfer programs accounted for nearly 80 percent of the more than $24 billion in military aid appropriated to Israel during these years. <b>Think about that the next time you see the effects of the severe budget cuts most cities and towns of America are now facing.</b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article27978.htm">U.S. Needs its Own ‘Arab Spring’ to Counter Power of Pro-Israel Lobby</a> <br />An interim step we can take to ease the way for congresspersons overly dependent on lobbyists and their contributions is to counter the outsized and outdated influence of AIPAC. That’s why more than 100 peace and justice groups have taken a page from the Arab playbook and launched a people-power movement of our own, called “Move Over AIPAC: Building a New Middle East Policy.” We will meet to discuss alternative views and make those views known as AIPAC convenes in Washington DC’s Convention Center. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.forward.com/articles/137094/">House Newcomer Defies GOP Leaders on Israel, From the Right</a> <br />For those who know him, it was no surprise when freshman Rep. Michael Grimm broke ranks with his party and became the first House Republican to call for the release of Jonathan Pollard.<br /><br />The freshman member from New York has made Israel a key element of his political work. And while the Republican House leadership has thus far refrained from speaking out in favor of a commutation of Pollard’s life sentence for spying for Israel, Grimm pays small heed to political consensus.<br /><br /> <b>Oh great, another traitor.</b><br><br><br /><a href="http://forward.com/articles/137176/">Stand Firm Against Unilateral Statehood Push</a> <br />Sadly, it is doubtful that reasoned arguments such as these will sway most members of the U.N., many of which have little regard for any sort of rule of law. But those countries are not the initial audience that Israel needs to convince.<br /><br />Israel must first mobilize its supporters in the United States — which include the majority of both parties in Congress. The United States needs to send a clear message that any push for Palestinian statehood at the U.N. would not only poison American relations with the Palestinians but would also serve to delegitimize the U.N. itself.<br /><br /> <b>The Zionistas are getting more hysterical as the drums beat louder for a Palestinian state. Notice again who rules Congress, straight from the horse's mouth.</b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.amconmag.com/blog/2011/04/27/abc-ron-paul-and-trump-on-the-fringe/">ABC: Ron Paul and Trump on the “Fringe”</a> <br /> <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.csmonitor.com/Commentary/Opinion/2011/0427/Who-s-to-blame-for-rising-oil-prices-Speculators">Who's to blame for rising oil prices Speculators</a> <br />So why have oil prices risen from around $36 dollars per barrel in December 2008 to $110 dollars per barrel now? And what can be done to lower them? Speculation in oil markets, which has little to do with oil demand and supply, is a key part of the problem, and it can be stemmed with several regulatory steps. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.amconmag.com/blog/2011/04/25/different-views-of-guantanamo/">Different Views of Guantanamo by Philip Giraldi </a> <br /> <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.astandforjustice.org/2011/04/04-23-02.htm">Iran on edge as ally Syria fights for survival</a> <br />Should Assad's regime fall, it could rob Iran of a loyal Arab partner in a region profoundly realigned by uprisings demanding more freedom and democracy. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article27959.htm">From Russia, With Dire Warnings on Libya</a> <br />Lavrov said that NATO’s rush to assist rebel leaders may give a dangerous message, and actually help foment civil war in other parts of the world. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2011/04/26-4">Analysis: Banks Play Shell Game with Taxpayer Dollars</a> <br />“This report confirms that ultra-low interest loans provided by the Federal Reserve during the financial crisis turned out to be direct corporate welfare to big banks,” <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article27977.htm">Shadow of Syrian Conflict Stretching into Lebanon</a> <br /> <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article27941.htm">Libya: Another Neocon War</a> <br />That agenda fit perfectly with the plans of Washington insiders, such as those who famously spelled out their intentions in the reports of the thinktank called the Project for the New American Century. The fierce Iraqi and Afghan resistance didn’t fit at all. Neither did the nonviolent revolutions in Tunisia and Egypt. But taking over Libya still makes perfect sense in the neoconservative worldview. And it makes sense in explaining war games used by Britain and France to simulate the invasion of a similar country. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.voanews.com/english/news/usa/US-Senators-Urge-Non-Military-Intervention-in-Syria-120569589.html">US Senators Urge Non-Military Intervention in Syria</a> <br /> <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.astandforjustice.org/2011/04/04-25-02.htm">US treads warily in Syria, considers sanctions</a> <br />Israel and its U.S. backers do not want to be seen as opposing the forces of reform sweeping the region – which have toppled autocratic rulers in Egypt and Tunisia and weakened those in Yemen, Libya, Jordan and Bahrain – particularly if they deliver a blow to Israel's archenemy, Iran.<br /><br />But although Syria is despised in Israel for its close alliance with Iran and support for the Iranian proxies Hamas and Hezbollah, the Syrian leadership has meticulously enforced quiet along the countries' shared border and has expressed willingness in the past to talk peace with Israel. There is widespread worry is Israel and Washington that if Assad does not survive, any successor could be far more extreme, Islamist and belligerent. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.agi.it/english-version/world/elenco-notizie/201104261550-cro-ren1058-amnesty_claims_at_least_393_killed_in_syria_so_far">AMNESTY CLAIMS AT LEAST 393 KILLED IN SYRIA SO FAR</a> <br /> <b></b><br><br><br /><br><hr><br>Pale Riderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02275892742258409916noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7859798942798774539.post-82809721743789852942011-04-30T21:20:00.000-04:002011-04-30T21:21:22.415-04:00Headlines for April 14 - April 20<a href="http://www.astandforjustice.org">A Stand For Justice</a><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.astandforjustice.org/2011/04/04-17-04.htm">Saudi slashes oil output, says market oversupplied</a> <br /> <b>It's the speculators on Wall Street that are bidding the price up for no real reason whatsoever. They then collect the rewards. All the while, the American taxpayers go or stay broke, jeopardizing an already delicate economic recovery.</b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/u-s-senate-urges-un-to-rescind-goldstone-s-gaza-report-1.356124">U.S. Senate urges UN to rescind Goldstone's Gaza report</a> <br />The U.S. Senate unanimously passed a resolution on Thursday calling on the United Nations Human Rights Council to rescind the Goldstone Commission's report on the Gaza war, in light of its author's expressed regret for some of its claim. <b>Further proof that Israel runs Capitol Hill.</b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2011/04/19-6">Wikileaks: 'US Helped Israel with UN Gaza War Probe' </a> <br />The online foreign affairs magazine cited exclusive WikiLeaks cables, detailing moves by Washington's UN ambassador Susan Rice to prevent a more thorough UN investigation of alleged abuses in the conflict. <b>The United States is Israel's bitch.</b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article27924.htm">Bachmann: America ‘Cursed’ By God ‘If We Reject Israel’</a> <br />At a Republican Jewish Coalition event in Los Angeles last week, Rep. Michele Bachmann offered a candid view of her positions on Israel: Support for Israel is handed down by God and if the United States pulls back its support, America will cease to exist. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://original.antiwar.com/giraldi/2011/04/13/goldstone-recants-gaza-dies/">Goldstone Recants, Gaza Dies by Philip Giraldi</a> <br />The United States has long been on the receiving end of Israeli misbehavior. Israel invades Lebanon or Gaza, the US vetoes UN Security Council resolutions condemning civilian deaths and destruction of infrastructure, and Washington winds up taking the blame for condoning Tel Aviv’s recklessness. Repeat that twenty times and it is no surprise that most of the world regards the United States as the enabler of Israel’s oppression of the Palestinians. Osama bin Laden has repeatedly cited American support of Israeli repression as one of his reasons for attacking the United States. <b>The United States is Israel's bitch.</b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.newsfrommiddleeast.com/?new=76522">Goldstone's shameful U-turn</a> <br />Just weeks ago, Israeli military intelligence announced it had created a special unit to monitor, confront, and possibly hunt down, individuals and bodies suspected of "delegitimizing" Israel abroad. In light of this, perhaps quite a few of the faint-hearted felt standing up to Israel was not worth it. <b>Really now. Watch who you confront, boys. Some of us aren't your usual 'fish in a barrel', hmm?</b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.thedailybeast.com/blogs-and-stories/2011-04-19/gabrielle-giffords-plea-for-brain-injured-soldiers/">Giffords' Plea for Brain-Injured Soldiers</a> <br /> <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.amconmag.com/blog/2011/04/18/are-we-allied-to-a-corpse/">Are We Allied to a Corpse? by Patrick J. Buchanan </a> <br /> <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.youtube.com/user/RussiaToday#p/u/10/xGLeMFJx9s0">Video: Former CIA Michael Scheuer appears on Russia Today to discuss Libya</a> <br /> <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.itnews.com.au/News/254647,china-accused-of-stealing-terabytes-of-us-data.aspx">China accused of stealing 'terabytes' of US data</a> <br />The cable revealed how the US traced systems breaches -- colourfully code-named "Byzantine Hades" by investigators -- to the Chinese military. An April, 2009 cable even pinpoints the attacks to a specific unit of China's People's Liberation Army. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.commondreams.org/newswire/2011/04/18-7">Kucinich: U.S. Foreign Policy Should Be Consistent and Honest </a> <br />“The United States has no right to interfere in the internal affairs of any other nation, just as no other nation has the right to interfere in the internal affairs of the United States,” said Kucinich.<br /><br />Today, we learned that the United States was financing the political opposition in Syria at the same time that the Administration was pursuing a policy of engagement with the Syrian government, sending an ambassador to Syria for the first time in six years. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2011/04/19/china-urges-u-s-to-protect-creditors-after-sp-warning/">China urges U.S. to protect creditors after S&P warning</a> <br />China's Foreign Ministry said on Tuesday that the United Statesmust take "responsible" measures to protect investors in its debt after Standard & Poor's threatened to lower its credit rating on the United States due to a bulging budget deficit. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article27896.htm">U.S., UK, France: Libya War Will End When Gadhafi Goes</a> <br />For the first time, NATO leaders have tethered the war to Gadhafi’s departure, a line that U.S. generals have been loath to cross. And they still don’t explain how the bombing campaign, now in its fourth week, will lead to his downfall. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.alternet.org/newsandviews/article/555216/u.s._military_spending_has_almost_doubled_since_2001/">U.S. Military Spending Has Almost Doubled Since 2001</a> <br />U.S. military spending has almost doubled since 2001. The U.S. spent an astounding $698 billion on the military last year, an 81% increase over the last decade. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.astandforjustice.org/2011/04/04-14-02.htm">US senators unveil resolution against Libya conflict</a> <br />US military strikes on Libya are "not in the vital interests of the United States" and further action should require congressional approval, under a symbolic senate resolution unveiled Thursday. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/apr/15/nato-libya-rasmussen-medvedev-criticism">Nato rejects Russian claims of Libya mission creep</a> <br /> <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.astandforjustice.org/2011/04/04-20-01.htm">Poll: Americans strongly oppose some deficit proposals</a> <br />Despite growing concerns about the country's long–term fiscal problems and an intensifying debate in Washington about how to deal with them, Americans strongly oppose some of the major remedies under consideration, according to a new Washington Post–ABC News poll. <b>Too bad foreign aid isn't on the chopping block. Instead, schools are being closed and other major cuts to education are being implemented. Yet, Israel is still rewarded with billions of dollars a year to steal another people's land and occupy their territory. The wars fought on their behalf are also a major drain on the American budget.</b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.astandforjustice.org/2011/04/04-19-02.htm">Syrian security forces open fire on sit-in</a> <br />Syria issued a stern warning to the nation Tuesday to stop protesting, hours after security forces opened fire with live ammunition and tear gas on hundreds of anti–government demonstrators during a pre–dawn raid that killed at least one person, witnesses said. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://blogs.forward.com/sisterhood-blog/136989/">Why Christian Women Are Sporting Jewish Jewelry</a> <br />On her trip last month to Israel, during which she met with Prime Minister Netanyahu and visited sites like the Kotel, Palin was seen sporting a sizeable silver Magen David. According to David Brog, the Jewish director for Christians United For Israel — see the Forward’s story on the organization here — Palin’s choice in jewelry is an increasingly common one for American evangelical Christians.<br /><br /> <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.astandforjustice.org/2011/04/04-19-03.htm">Syria lifts hated law, but protesters unimpressed</a> <br />Syria did away with 50 years of emergency rule Tuesday, but emboldened and defiant crowds accused President Bashar Assad of simply trying to buy time while he clings to power in one of the most repressive regimes in the Middle East. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.astandforjustice.org/2011/04/04-18-01.htm">US official: US opposes Syria for UN rights body</a> <br />The Obama administration will oppose Syria's candidacy to the United Nations' top human rights body, an official said Monday, calling the Arab country's attempt to gain a seat in the organization "hypocritical" while it uses violence to try to silence protests against President Bashar Assad's authoritarian regime. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.astandforjustice.org/2011/04/04-17-01.htm">Super rich see federal taxes drop dramatically</a> <br /> <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9215901/Iranian_general_accuses_Siemens_of_helping_U.S._Israel_build_Stuxnet">Iranian general accuses Siemens of helping U.S., Israel build Stuxnet</a> <br />An Iranian military commander Saturday accused the German electronics giant Siemens with helping U.S. and Israeli teams craft the Stuxnet worm that attacked his country's nuclear facilities. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/fbi-counterterror-official-al-qaeda-thrives-dictators-fall/story?id=13386531">FBI Counter-Terror Official: Al Qaeda 'Thrives' After Dictators Fall</a> <br />Giuliano made the comments at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy <b>WINEP is an arm of AIPAC, the Israeli lobby.</b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.astandforjustice.org/2011/04/04-15-01.htm">Brand Ahmadinejad rights abuser: US senators</a> <br /> <b>At Israel's urging, no doubt.</b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.amconmag.com/blog/2011/04/14/obama-blows-up-the-bridge/">Obama Blows Up the Bridge by Patrick J. Buchanan</a> <br />Where is the Fed going to borrow the $125 billion a month to finance this year’s deficit of $1.65 trillion, and another of comparable size in 2012? <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.astandforjustice.org/2011/04/04-14-01.htm">House leader to ask Netanyahu to speak to Congress</a> <br /> <b>Israel = Congress' real leader.</b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.astandforjustice.org/2011/04/04-19-01.htm">US helped Israel contain UN Gaza war probe: report</a> <br />The United States worked behind the scenes to help Israel contain UN probes into possible war crimes committed during the 2008–2009 Gaza war, Foreign Policy reported Tuesday. <b>The US is Israel's bitch.</b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.commondreams.org/view/2011/04/18-4">Sarah Palin: The Koch Brother’s Union Maid</a> <br /> <b></b><br><br><br /><br><hr><br>Pale Riderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02275892742258409916noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7859798942798774539.post-83299251697099808132011-04-21T20:05:00.001-04:002011-04-21T20:05:53.276-04:00Headlines for April 7 - April 13<a href="http://www.astandforjustice.org">A Stand For Justice</a><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.haaretz.com/news/international/western-allies-libya-cease-fire-must-meet-un-conditions-1.355371">Western allies: Libya cease-fire must meet UN conditions</a> <br /> <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.astandforjustice.org/2011/04/04-08-05.htm">Russia begins refuelling Iran nuclear plant: report</a> <br /> <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.astandforjustice.org/2011/04/04-10-04.htm">Israel ruled out Iran strike in 2005: Wikileaks</a> <br />Another telegram a month later, detailing talks between a US congressman and the then deputy chief of Israel's Atomic Energy Commission, Ariel Levite, offered a stronger suggestion that Israel considered a strike on Iran's facilities unfeasible. <b>That's why they want us to do it for them.</b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.astandforjustice.org/2011/04/04-08-01.htm">Oil settles above $112 as dollar falls</a> <br />Oil surged above $112 per barrel Friday following a drop in the dollar and continued jitters about shipments from the world's major oil suppliers. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.campaignforliberty.com/article.php?view=1409">Guilty Until Proven Guilty By Philip Giraldi</a> <br />. If Khalid Sheikh Mohammed was truly Usama bin Laden's chief of operations over a period of fifteen years there should be plenty of information available to convict him on terrorism charges in a properly constituted civilian court before a jury. Trying him in a United States Federal court in New York City or some other location was the right way to go <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/the-invisible-division-us-soldiers-are-seven-times-as-likely-as-uk-troops-to-develop-posttraumatic-stress-2264849.html">The invisible division: US soldiers are seven times as likely as UK troops to develop post-traumatic stress</a> <br /> <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-13016843">Syrian city of Deraa hit by deadly clashes</a> <br />At least 23 protesters have been killed during anti-government rallies in the southern Syrian city of Deraa, witnesses have told the BBC. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.commondreams.org/view/2011/04/08-5">The Koch Brothers: All the Influence Money Can Buy</a> <br />what is most disturbing is how rapidly they are growing. In 2004, the CPI found, the Kochs spent a "mere" $857,000 on lobbying. In 2008, that had grown to $20m dollars. Over the next two years, they then spent a further $20.5m. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2011/04/06-2">Koch’s Web of Influence</a> <br />At an EPA hearing last summer, representatives from Koch Industries argued that moderate levels of the toxic chemical dioxin should not be designated as a cancer risk for humans. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.cnionline.org/obamas-fateful-abuse-of-war-powers/">Obama’s Fateful Abuse of War Powers by former Congressman Paul Findley</a> <br />Obama’s abuse of war powers stands the Constitution on its head. He should be ashamed, and so should our complacent Congress for letting it happen. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://original.antiwar.com/giraldi/2011/04/06/humanitarian-interventionism-by-the-numbers/">Humanitarian Interventionism by the Numbers by Philip Giraldi</a> <br />By any metric Israel should be attacked first to prevent massacres of civilians as it has killed thousands of Arabs in internationally recognized war crimes carried out in Lebanon and Gaza. That Israel is untouchable on humanitarian grounds raises the inevitable question about Washington’s hypocrisy. A friendly Saudi Arabia too has demonstrated that it is more than willing to use force to maintain its autarchic rule. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/news/haaretz-wikileaks-exclusive-israel-ruled-out-military-option-on-iran-years-ago-1.355024">Haaretz WikiLeaks exclusive / Israel ruled out military option on Iran years ago</a> <br /> <b>which is why they've been trying to get us to do it.</b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/apr/07/israeli-wikileaks-cables-julian-assange">Latest WikiLeaks cables reveal Israel's fears and alliances</a> <br />The cables show intimate co-operation between US and Israeli intelligence organisations. Israel's preoccupation with Iranian nuclear ambitions is well known and the US cables detail the battering on the subject that diplomats repeatedly receive from Tel Aviv. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.astandforjustice.org/2011/04/04-12-02.htm">Witnesses say Syrian gunmen attack 2 villages</a> <br /> <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.astandforjustice.org/2011/04/04-08-06.htm">Syria says 19 police killed in southern city</a> <br />State–run Syrian television says 19 police officers and members of the security forces have been killed in the southern city of Daraa.<br /><br />Witnesses in Daraa earlier said there were 16 people killed there – all of them anti–government protesters. The discrepancy could not immediately be reconciled. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.astandforjustice.org/2011/04/04-08-03.htm">NY senators clash over panel testimony on Muslims</a> <br />Sen. Greg Ball, a Hudson Valley Republican, angered some Muslims and civil liberties groups by inviting Nonie Darwish and Frank Gaffney to discuss "the culture of jihad," or Muslim holy war, at a daylong hearing that was otherwise devoted to the nuts and bolts of homeland security preparedness. <b>Gaffney is a neocon of the highest order.</b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.astandforjustice.org/2011/04/04-10-01.htm">Milwaukee County Sheriff going to Israel</a> <br />The American Israel Educational Foundation is paying for the trip. <b>Thus does the Israelification of America continue.</b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.haaretz.com/news/international/ahmadinejad-u-s-seeking-to-divide-jordan-to-form-palestinian-state-1.354191">Ahmadinejad: U.S. seeking to divide Jordan to form Palestinian state</a> <br />Ahmadinejad was quoted by the Iranian Mehr news agency as saying that a Western plot was in motion to divide Jordan, geared at saving "the Zionist regime from annihilation and tell the world that an independent state of Palestine has been formed" <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.astandforjustice.org/2011/04/04-13-02.htm">Amnesty urges Lebanon to trace civil war missing</a> <br /> <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.astandforjustice.org/2011/04/04-10-02.htm">New Israeli system alters war against Gaza rockets</a> <br />Israeli officials say the $200 million "Iron Dome" has performed beyond all expectations, raising hopes the military has finally found a way to rob Hamas militants of their most potent weapon: the short–range rockets that have made life miserable for large swaths of the population over the past decade.<br /> <b>American taxpayers footed the bill for this system.</b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.astandforjustice.org/2011/04/04-08-02.htm">Obama condemns "abhorrent violence" of Syrian government</a> <br /> <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.astandforjustice.org/2011/04/04-13-01.htm">Syria uprising broadens as women, students protest</a> <br />Women, children and students took to the streets in Syria on Wednesday, lending their voices to a monthlong uprising that President Bashar Assad insists is the work of a foreign conspiracy. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.astandforjustice.org/2011/04/04-09-02.htm">Syrian activists call for daily protests</a> <br /> <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.astandforjustice.org/2011/04/04-10-07.htm">Witnesses: 4 protesters killed in key Syrian city</a> <br /> <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.jpost.com/MiddleEast/Article.aspx?id=216013">'Five people killed in renewed Syrian clashes'</a> <br /> <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article27873.htm">We Ain’t Got Time To Bleed By Jesse Ventura</a> <br /> <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.haaretz.com/news/international/iran-stops-providing-fuel-to-european-aircraft-in-retaliatory-move-1.355721">Iran stops providing fuel to European aircraft in retaliatory move</a> <br />Iran has stopped providing fuel to European aircraft in retaliation for their refusal to fuel Iranian aircraft, the state-run Iran newspaper quoted a senior official as saying on Wednesday. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.amconmag.com/blog/2011/04/07/how-much-of-your-taxes-pay-for-war/">How Much of Your Taxes Pay for War?</a> <br /> <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.amconmag.com/blog/2011/04/07/lindsey-grahams-war-on-freedom">Lindsey Graham’s War on Freedom</a> <br />No less an authority than the former head of the CIA’s Bin Laden unit Michael Scheuer notes: “On no other foreign policy issue since the Cold War’s end has the truth been so easy to establish on the basis of hard facts but so hard for Americans to see … that Muslim hatred is motivated by U.S. interventionism more than any other factor.” <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.amconmag.com/blog/2011/04/08/is-tribalism-the-future/">Is Tribalism the Future? by Patrick J. Buchanan</a> <br /> <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.amconmag.com/blog/2011/04/09/powell-doctrine-redux/">Powell Doctrine Redux by Philip Giraldi </a> <br />Now that the president of the United States has indicated that Washington is willing to fight wars based on humanitarian principles and furthermore that president prerogatives make it unnecessary to go to congress for a proper declaration of war, it is possible that more interventions will take place as the administration becomes more comfortable with throwing its weight around overseas. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.amconmag.com/blog/2011/04/11/scoop-obama-2/">Scoop Obama</a> <br />what was conservative Republican Bill Kristol doing when he reportedly advised President Obama on both his Libyan policy and the speech he made back on March 28 — and then bragged about it thereafter? It would seem an odd thing for a conservative Republican to do <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.amconmag.com/blog/2011/04/12/was-obama-stampeded-into-war/">Was Obama Stampeded into War? by Patrick J. Buchanan </a> <br />Was Obama stampeded into war by hysterical talk of impending atrocities that had no basis in fact?<br /><br />That is the issue raised by columnist Steve Chapman, that ought to be raised by a Congress that was treated almost contemptuously, when Obama launched a war without seeking its authorization. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.astandforjustice.org/2011/04/04-08-07.htm">Syrian protests turn deadly; 32 reported killed</a> <br />At least 32 protesters were killed nationwide, according to human rights activists. The bloodshed lifted the death toll from three weeks of protests to more than 170 people, according to Amnesty International. <b></b><br><br><br /><br><hr><br>Pale Riderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02275892742258409916noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7859798942798774539.post-28179559329590012532011-04-13T21:41:00.001-04:002011-04-13T21:41:59.934-04:00Headlines for March 31 - April 6<a href="http://www.astandforjustice.org">A Stand For Justice</a><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.commondreams.org/view/2011/03/31-8">The Awful, Unsaid Truth: We’re Heading Back Toward a Double Dip</a> <br /> <b>How much does the cost of gasoline weigh in this? Isn't that the real cause of the economic downturn of 2008, when gasoline was at the price it is now? If the money Americans would normally spend on goods and services here at home is being shipped overseas to OPEC nations, then that is a big problem, particularly when that number is in the range of billions of dollars. Quite obviously our economy suffers. And the OPEC nations get richer.</b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2011/04/01-5">UN Staff Killed in Afghanistan Amid Protests over Qur'an Burning</a> <br />Provincial police spokesman Sherjan Durrani said the demonstrators poured out of mosques in the city in the early afternoon, shortly after Friday prayers where worshippers had been angered by reports that a Florida pastor had burned a copy of the Qur'an. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.astandforjustice.org/2011/04/04-04-04.htm">US to withdraw strike jets from Libya mission</a> <br />The U.S. military was pulling its warplanes from front–line missions Monday and shifting to a support role in the Libyan conflict, officials said.<br /><br />Britain, France and other NATO allies will now provide the fighter jets for intercept and ground–attack missions that enforce a no–fly zone over this North African country. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.astandforjustice.org/2011/04/04-06-03.htm">Rising oil prices beginning to hurt US economy</a> <br />The higher costs have been driven by unrest in Libya and other oil–producing Middle East countries, along with rising energy demand from a strengthening U.S. economy. <b>Hey I know. Let's pour a couple more trillion into the Middle East.</b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/u-s-committed-to-ending-anti-israel-bias-on-un-council-envoy-says-1.354455">U.S. committed to ending anti-Israel bias on UN council, envoy says</a> <br />Rice said on Wednesday that she wanted the controversial report to "disappear" but did not think it could be amended despite Goldstone's admission that some of his assessments may have been wrong.<br /><br />Israel has urged the United Nations to cancel the 2009 report to the U.N. Human, however, Rice told a congressional hearing that she is "not sure it [the report] can be amended." <b>The US is Israel's bitch.</b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.astandforjustice.org/2011/04/04-02-01.htm">Anger over Quran burning spreads in Afghanistan</a> <br />Anger over the burning of the Muslim holy book at a Florida church fueled a second day of deadly violence half a world away in Afghanistan, where demonstrators set cars and shops ablaze Saturday in a riot that killed nine protesters, officials said. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.astandforjustice.org/2011/04/04-01-02.htm">Future jobs won’t support decent living standard: Report</a> <br /> <b>Hey I know. Let's pour more money into the defense industry and the Middle East.</b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.astandforjustice.org/2011/04/04-04-03.htm">Geithner warns U.S. to hit debt ceiling by May 16</a> <br />The United States will hit the legal limit on its ability to borrow no later than May 16, Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said on Monday, ramping up pressure on Congress to act to avoid a debt default.<br /> <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.astandforjustice.org/2011/04/04-05-02.htm">Late Easter, gas prices hit U.S. store sales</a> <br />Low consumer confidence and higher food and gasoline prices appear to be tempering any major recovery, even though shoppers have started to see improving economic data, including last week's reports that the unemployment rate dipped to 8.8 percent and nonfarm payrolls rose again. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://original.antiwar.com/giraldi/2011/03/30/what-the-patriot-act-does-for-you/">What the Patriot Act Does For You by Philip Giraldi</a> <br />With the Patriot Act, any objection to Washington’s foreign policy can be construed as an act of terrorism. We have empowered the police to read our private communications, place wiretaps into our homes and places of work, look into our finances and medical histories, and even search our houses without a warrant. We no longer have the right to associate freely and our property can be seized by the government while we are being investigated. The Patriot Act opens the door to fishing expeditions by the government that violate the rights of every American citizen. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.catholicnews.com/data/stories/cns/1101275.htm">At least 40 civilians killed in 'humanitarian' airstrikes, bishop says</a> <br /> <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article27831.htm">Budget Deal Would Give Pentagon Extra Funds In Exchange For Social Program Cuts</a> <br /> <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.amconmag.com/blog/2011/04/04/who-are-we-fighting-for/">Who Are We Fighting For? by Patrick J. Buchanan</a> <br />In short, our ally seized this opportunity to rub America’s nose in what the Rev. Jones did, as though the U.S. government, whose highest civilian and military officials had condemned Jones, is morally culpable for not preventing his Quran-burning and not punishing him for it. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2011/04/06-7">America's Costliest War</a> <br />The tax dollars being spent on Afghanistan are enough to offset the $100 billion per year that House Republicans are seeking to cut from next year's budget, or enough to fill the projected budget gaps of the 44 states that expect to run deficits in 2012. In other words, if the Afghan war ended and the funds allocated for it were returned to the states, no state in America would run a deficit next year. This would save millions of jobs of teachers, police, firefighters and other public employees while holding the line on basic services like Medicaid and income support for families in poverty. This would in turn be good for the economy as a whole. Military spending creates fewer jobs than virtually any other form of expenditure, from education to housing to transportation. So shifting funds away from war spending will result in a net increase in jobs nationwide. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://english.people.com.cn/90001/90777/90853/7341702.html">Russia warns against new UN approval on use of force without clarifications </a> <br />Russia could oppose the UN Security Council in adoption of any new resolution approving use of military force without clarification, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov warned on Tuesday <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.amconmag.com/blog/2011/04/01/a-community-organizer-goes-to-war/">A Community Organizer Goes to War by Patrick J. Buchanan</a> <br />If our objective was to spare the defenseless people of Benghazi from slaughter, why, mission accomplished, did we not stop bombing? Why are we plunging deeper in?<br /><br />Did Gaddafi attack us? Did he attack a NATO country, thereby triggering Article 5 of the treaty requiring us to go to war? Have his forces carried out massacres of such magnitude in recaptured towns and cities as to morally mandate our humanitarian intervention? <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.csmonitor.com/Commentary/Opinion/2011/0401/Cost-of-US-free-trade-collapse-of-two-centuries-of-broadly-shared-prosperity">Cost of US 'free' trade collapse of two centuries of broadly shared prosperity</a> <br />It’s time to face a brutal truth about the American economy: Even if rising gas and food prices don’t hasten a double-dip recession, our 200-year tradition of broadly shared prosperity is over.<br /><br /><br />That’s because the great American job machine has been destroyed by a reckless free-trade policy. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.astandforjustice.org/2011/03/03-31-01.htm">Israeli map shows nearly 1,000 Hezbollah sites</a> <br />The Israeli military on Thursday released a map detailing what it says are nearly 1,000 underground bunkers, weapons storage facilities and monitoring sites built by the militant Hezbollah guerrillas in southern Lebanon. <b>Oh!! It was ISRAEL that provided the map. Oh OK. That means we know it's legit. AHAHAHAHAHA. Hilarious!</b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.astandforjustice.org/2011/04/04-06-02.htm">Lebanon-Israel Tensions Rise over Offshore Oil and Gas</a> <br />Key to the tensions over the potential gas bonanza is that the maritime border between Israel and Lebanon has never been delineated because the two states are still technically at war. <b>Since when does Israel care about crossing borders and stealing other people's property? It's been going on for 60 years.</b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.astandforjustice.org/2011/03/03-30-05.htm">US lawmakers urge support for Syrian opposition</a> <br />Republican Senator John McCain and Independent Senator Joe Lieberman said Obama's effort to engage rather than shun Damascus had "little to show for it" and declared it was time to back protesters against Assad's rule. <b>Here we go again. And it's 2 of Israel's top shills, no less.</b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/u-k-didn-t-always-feel-safe-to-share-intelligence-with-israel-1.353348">'U.K. didn't always feel safe to share intelligence with Israel'</a> <br />Dearlove added, saying that he had frequent discussions "with Robin Cook as Foreign Secretary about what should or shouldn't be passed to our Israeli colleagues - and there are obvious reasons for that, because we could never guarantee how the intelligence might or would be used by the state of Israel." <b>The Israelis are terrorists. The Brits were their first victims. Menachem Begin had a bounty on him. Do the research.</b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2011/03/31-0">Neo-Cons Target Assad Regime</a> <br />Indeed, the notorious 1996 "Clean Break" memo that was prepared for then-incoming Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu by several prominent neo-conservatives who, seven years later, would take senior posts in the Bush administration, depicted the overthrow of Saddam Hussein as one crucial step in a larger strategy designed to destabilise Syria. <b>Neocon foreign policy - always about Israel.</b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.commondreams.org/view/2011/04/06-3">Military Tribunal May Keep 9/11 Motives Hidden</a> <br /> <b>The motive? US support for Israel. Read the 911 Commission report. Poltiicans and media alike ignore this fact.</b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.amconmag.com/blog/2011/04/04/liberals-and-libya">Liberals and Libya</a> <br />Today, as most conservatives (including Hannity) either oppose or are highly skeptical of Obama’s “humanitarian” Libyan intervention, those most in favor of it are either the same neoconservatives who were the most enthusiastic about Iraq—and liberals most loyal to Obama. Said neoconservative godfather and Weekly Standard editor William Kristol on FOX News of Obama: “his sound policies are more like the policies people like me have been advocating for quite a while, I’m happy to support them. He’s a born-again neo-con.” <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://america-hijacked.com/2011/03/23/us-approaching-insolvency/">US Approaching Insolvency but there’s always money for Israel</a> <br /> <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://forward.com/articles/136634/">HRW Founder Charts Another Way To Probe Human Rights</a> <br />underneath this new mandate, the clear motivating factor for Bernstein’s new initiative is his concern for Israel. It rises to the surface as soon as he is asked about the point of starting yet another human rights organization: Israel, as a democratic, open society, should not be under constant investigation by human rights groups, he said. The country and the way it wages war need to be better explained and defended.<br /> <b>Read the first 3 paragaraphs. Expect this to be an(other) organization that refuses to call Israel out on its violations of humanitarian and international law. Israel's minions on Capitol Hill and in the mainstream media will shamelessly promote this new 'human rights organization'.</b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.astandforjustice.org/2011/04/04-02-03.htm">Syrian authorities make arrests following protests</a> <br />At least seven people were killed Friday as security forces cracked down on demonstrations, bringing the death toll from two weeks of protest to at least 79. Authorities began arresting people, mostly in and around the capital, Damascus, in the hours after the protests broke up and into early Saturday, activists said. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.amconmag.com/blog/2011/04/01/the-patriot-act-endures/">The Patriot Act Endures</a> <br /> <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.commondreams.org/view/2011/04/05-1">The Sad Defeat of Our Constitution</a> <br />what does it say about the solemn capabilities of our Department of Justice if it is left to "subcontract out" its duties and responsibilities to the Department of Defense? We should all think about that scary notion for a bit. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.amconmag.com/blog/2011/03/31/double-standards-and-support-for-terror/">Double Standards and Support for Terror</a> <br />It has also become apparent that the Libyan rebels we are ostensibly supporting have ties to al-Qaeda, according to Libyan rebel commanders as well as top U.S. officials. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.astandforjustice.org/2011/04/04-01-03.htm">Koran-burning pastor says not responsible for UN deaths</a> <br />An evangelical pastor whose church burned a Koran last month said he was "devastated" but did not feel responsible for the killings Friday of seven UN workers in a violent protest in Afghanistan <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.astandforjustice.org/2011/04/04-04-01.htm">Egypt ready to re-establish Iran diplomatic ties</a> <br />Egypt has long been an ally of the United States and Israel but since Mubarak was toppled there have been signs of warming ties between Cairo and Tehran <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article27840.htm">Is America Addicted to War? By Stephen M. Walt</a> <br /> <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/03/31/middle-east-protests-al-qaeda_n_843019.html">Anwar al-Awalaki, U.S.-Yemeni Cleric, Calls Arab Unrest An Opportunity For Al Qaeda </a> <br />Anwar al-Awlaki write in a new edition of al-Qaida's online magazine that any new governments will be weaker than the regimes they are replacing, and that will create opportunities for al-Qaida and its allies to operate with more freedom. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2011/04/06-2">Koch’s Web of Influence</a> <br />The money that Koch (pronounced “coke”) has spent on lobbying in Washington has soared in recent years, from $857,000 in 2004 to $20 million in 2008. The Kochs then spent another $20.5 million over the next two years to influence federal policy, as the company’s lobbyists and officials sought to mold, gut or kill more than 100 prospective bills or regulations. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2011/04/01-8">Exposed: The US-Saudi Libya deal</a> <br />You invade Bahrain. We take out Muammar Gaddafi in Libya. This, in short, is the essence of a deal struck between the Barack Obama administration and the House of Saud. Two diplomatic sources at the United Nations independently confirmed that Washington, via Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, gave the go-ahead for Saudi Arabia to invade Bahrain and crush the pro-democracy movement in their neighbor in exchange for a "yes" vote by the Arab League for a no-fly zone over Libya - the main rationale that led to United Nations Security Council resolution 1973. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://forward.com/articles/136630/">Washington Turns Toward Iran as Revolutions Spread in the Middle East</a> <br />One sign that these approaches are evolving was a March 20 video address for the Iranian New Year of Nowruz by President Obama in which he pointedly highlighted the plight of Iranian dissidents.<br /><br />Another indication of change was the formation 10 days later of a nongovernmental policy task force focused on developing and building backing for policies that would encourage democracy and respond to human rights abuses in Iran. The task force’s members include one current staffer and another former official with the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, Washington’s leading pro-Israel lobbying group.<br /><br><Br>..“No one has been more critical of Obama than I have, but you have to recognize good news,” said Michael Ledeen, a prominent neoconservative writer.<br><br>....Israel and its supporters remain focused on increasing the pressure on Iran and ensuring that Washington maintains a credible military threat against Tehran. Speaking at a New York fundraising event for Friends of Israel Defense Forces, Israel’s defense minister, Ehud Barak, said that “it is essential to shift towards crippling and paralyzing sanctions while all options [are] on the table.”<br /> <b>Read on for the other members of the new task force - including more pro-Israelis, not surprisingly. They are the ones in charge of our foreign policy, folks. Read the entire article for the proof, and it's coming straight from the horse's mouth.</b><br><br><br /><br><hr><br>Pale Riderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02275892742258409916noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7859798942798774539.post-32473449904568014452011-04-06T21:40:00.000-04:002011-04-06T21:41:18.980-04:00Headlines for March 24 - March 30<a href="http://www.astandforjustice.org">A Stand For Justice</a><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.astandforjustice.org/2011/03/03-28-01.htm">So far, most of tax cut is going down the gas tank</a> <br />Americans are earning and spending more, but a lot of the extra money is going down their gas tanks. Gas prices have drained more than half the extra cash Americans are getting this year from a cut in Social Security taxes. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://blog.amnestyusa.org/middle-east/syria-protesters-killed-and-scores-detained-including-children/">Syria: Protesters Killed and Scores Detained Including Children</a> <br />The Syrian government has responded by imprisoning peaceful protesters, creating a cycle of injustice. At least 21 people went missing after Wednesday’s protest and another 33 people could face up to fifteen years in prison for taking part in the protests. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.astandforjustice.org/2011/03/03-24-07.htm">US foreign aid faces cuts as China's reach grows</a> <br />The Obama administration has sought to step up its engagement in Asia, the Pacific, Africa, Central Asia and Latin America. Development aid is a key plank of its strategy. The State Department argues it is "as central to advancing America's interests as diplomacy and defense."<br /><br />But that aid, like all federal spending, is under pressure as lawmakers debate how to reel in the government's deficit, forecast at $1.5 trillion this year. Much of the red ink is financed by China. <b>The lion's share of foreign aid goes to Israel, despite the fact that Israel is not an impoverished nation. To the contrary, Israel's economy is flourishing. We're going broke to maintain that, to the detriment of our national interest - in more ways than one.</b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.channel4.com/news/syria-more-protests-in-deraa-as-number-of-dead-rises">Syria: more protests in Deraa as number of dead rises</a> <br />At least 25 people are now thought to have been killed during violent clashes in Deraa. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.astandforjustice.org/2011/03/03-30-02.htm">AP-GfK Poll: Americans souring more on economy</a> <br />"It's in a poor state," said Billy Shirley, 74, a Democrat from Commerce, Ga. "Everything's going to the bad. Everyone's spending more on gas, food, everything. The prices on everything are going up, and that's hurting the nation." <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.astandforjustice.org/2011/03/03-28-03.htm">Army: Photos of soldiers with corpses 'disturbing'</a> <br />The U.S. Army on Monday apologized for any distress caused by recently published photos of American soldiers posing with dead Afghans, calling their content "disturbing" and "in striking contrast" to the Army's standards and values. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.astandforjustice.org/2011/03/03-30-03.htm">Exclusive: Obama authorizes secret help for Libya rebels</a> <br /> <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2011/03/23/us/AP-US-Afghan-Probe.html">US Soldier Gets 24 Years for Murders of 3 Afghans</a> <br />A U.S. soldier who pleaded guilty Wednesday to the murders of three Afghan civilians was sentenced to 24 years in prison after saying "the plan was to kill people" in a conspiracy with four fellow soldiers. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://original.antiwar.com/giraldi/2011/03/23/neocon-foreign-policy/">Neocon Foreign Policy by Philip Giraldi</a> <br />Mike Huckabee, Haley Barbour, and Mitt Romney were all recently in Israel where they pledged undying affection for Bibi Netanyahu and all his political progeny while Sarah Palin is doing the same this week. Comments about facing down the Iranian nuclear threat are obligatory. Netanyahu himself recently upped the ante regarding Iran by declaring that military action will have to be taken against the country if sanctions do not end its nuclear program. As sanctions are unlikely to accomplish that, it amounted to a demand that war should be the next phase. Netanyahu even expressed a preference for who should do the attacking: the United States. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.astandforjustice.org/2011/03/03-24-02.htm">Ex-White House economists issue debt warning</a> <br />Ten former White House economists on Thursday called for US politicians of all stripes to get serious about tackling the country's spiraling debt, warning of a looming crisis "that could dwarf 2008." <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.amconmag.com/blog/2011/03/28/obama-goes-to-war/">Obama Goes to War by Patrick J. Buchanan </a> <br />Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman thinks so. As he said in Paris: “The same principles, activities, the Western world has taken in Libya … I hope to see those regarding the Iranian regime and the Syrian regime.”<br /><br />Is Libya the dress rehearsal for Syria and Iran?<br /><br />Neocons could not be giddier. Weekly Standard editor William Kristol is ebullient: “Despite his doubts and dithering, President Obama is taking us to war in another Muslim country. Good for him.”<br /><br />Perhaps. But will bloodying another Muslim country be good for America? <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2011/03/29-4">Pentagon: Cost of Libya Mission at $550 Million</a> <br /> <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.haaretz.com/news/international/russia-libyan-people-not-foreign-meddling-should-bring-about-democracy-1.352955">Russia: Libyan people, not foreign 'meddling', should bring about democracy</a> <br /> <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.astandforjustice.org/2011/03/03-25-01.htm">Netanyahu plays up Iran threat in Russia</a> <br />Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday played up the global danger of Iran as he sought to persuade Russia to scale down its cooperation with Israel's foes in the increasingly volatile region. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.astandforjustice.org/2011/03/03-29-02.htm">Israel not eager to see Syria's Assad go</a> <br />"That has been the working assumption in Israel for years: Better the devil you know than the devil you don't," said Eyal Zisser, director of the Middle East Studies department at Tel Aviv University. "(Syria) scrupulously maintained the quiet. And who knows what will happen now – Islamic terror, al–Qaida, chaos?"<br /> <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.astandforjustice.org/2011/03/03-27-01.htm">Clinton rules out U.S. Syria involvement</a> <br />Syria, if it chose, could cause trouble for the United States in many ways, increasing its support for Hezbollah in Lebanon, providing greater backing to anti–Israel Palestinian groups such as Hamas or possibly moving against Israel itself, the United States' closest ally in the Middle East.<br /> <b>To hell with freedom, if it endangers Israel.</b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2011/mar/27/lieberman-precedent-syrian-intervention/">Lieberman: ‘Precedent’ for Syrian intervention</a> <br />“There is a precedent now … we’re not going to allow Assad to slaughter his own people.” <b>Lieberman doesn't give a rat's ass about the Syrian people.</b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.astandforjustice.org/2011/03/03-26-01.htm">Syrians detain 2 Americans during demonstrations</a> <br /> <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.astandforjustice.org/2011/03/03-24-05.htm">Thousands chant "freedom" despite Assad reform offer</a> <br />President Bashar al–Assad made a rare public pledge to look into granting Syrians greater freedom on Thursday as anger mounted following attacks by security forces on protesters that left at least 37 dead. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.astandforjustice.org/2011/03/03-26-03.htm">Troops open fire as protests explode across Syria</a> <br />The scenes of chaos and violence shocked many in this tightly controlled country where protests are usually confined to government–orchestrated demonstrations in support of the regime, and political discussions are confined to whispers, mainly indoors.<br /> <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4048564,00.html">Syria arrests US national 'for spying for Israel' </a> <br /> <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.jpost.com/Headlines/Article.aspx?id=213710">Russians still intend to go through with Syria missile sale</a> <br />The Russian sale of Yakhnot anti-ship cruise missiles to Syria is a "done deal," and Moscow has no intention of scuttling it, the Kremlin told Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu Thursday in Moscow Thursday, according to a senior Israeli diplomatic source. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.forward.com/articles/136421/">Anti-Semitism Has No Place in Islam</a> <br />The work we are doing is reinforced by our scriptures and by our American vision of pluralism and diversity. As Muslims, we must understand that there is absolutely no place for anti-Semitism in Islam, and we must speak out against all instances of anti-Semitism, wherever they may occur.<br /><br /> <b>It also bears repeating that criticism of Israel is not anti-Semitism, no matter how hard pro-Israelis try to make it so.</b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.astandforjustice.org/2011/03/03-30-01.htm">Nightly News stays mum on GE’s $0 tax bill</a> <br /> <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.amconmag.com/blog/2011/03/24/how-killing-libyans-became-a-moral-imperative/">How Killing Libyans Became a Moral Imperative by Patrick J. Buchanan </a> <br />Until the modern era, the idea of sending armed forces across oceans to kill and die for moral or humanitarian causes would have been seen as an insult to the Founding Fathers, an abandonment of a vital American tradition, and ruinous to the national interest.<br /><br />Why are we in Libya? Why are U.S. pilots bombing and killing Libyan soldiers who have done nothing to us? <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.amconmag.com/blog/2011/03/24/impeach-barack-obama/">Impeach Barack Obama</a> <br />Many Tea Party candidates and paleoconservative and libertarian Republicans, such as Rep. Ron Paul, won office by declaring their high regard for the Constitution. Rep. Paul stated in advance of the attack on Libya that a Congressional declaration of war was necessary according to the provisions of the Constitution before an assault could proceed. If these Republicans do not act now to begin impeachment following the lead of the very principled Dr. Paul, their words meant nothing, and they should be turned out of office. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.amconmag.com/blog/2011/03/30/unredeemable-thugs/">Unredeemable Thugs?</a> <br />Washington and the establishment media tend to categorize Middle Eastern regimes in two camps: either their autocratic rule smacks of unredeemable thuggery and must be disposed of, or their dictatorial grip on power maintains so-called stability and must be lavishly supported. Apparently Bahrain, Yemen, Jordan, Pakistan and Egypt (before Mubarak’s ouster) reside in the latter category. Libya, and now perhaps Syria, apparently belong in the former category of disposable regimes. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.alternet.org/economy/150387/2_3rds_of_us_corporations_pay_zero_federal_taxes:_us_uncut_movement_builds_to_make_them_pay_up/?page=entire">2/3rds of US Corporations Pay Zero Federal Taxes: US Uncut Movement Builds to Make Them Pay Up</a> <br /> <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2011/03/29-6">GE 'Zero' US Tax Furor Reignites Calls for Reform </a> <br /> <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://money.cnn.com/2011/03/24/pf/financial_crisis_outcome/index.htm">Household wealth down 23% in 2 years - Fed</a> <br /> <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article27786.htm">Obama Lacks Clarity on Afghan War </a> <br />in his March 2009 speech – and the one on Dec. 1, 2009, at West Point announcing the additional troop buildup – Obama was following the interests of the pro-war political/media Establishment that still dominates Washington. It remains almost as influential inside his administration as it was inside Bush’s. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.astandforjustice.org/2011/03/03-24-01.htm">UN creates human rights investigator on Iran</a> <br /> <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.astandforjustice.org/2011/03/03-27-02.htm">Gangs of armed young men roam Syrian seaside city</a> <br />The scenes in Latakia, a Mediterranean port once known as a summmer tourist draw, were a remarkable display of anarchy in what had been one of the Mideast's most tightly controlled countries. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2011/mar/24/fears-rise-that-japan-could-sell-off-us-debt/">Fears rise that Japan could sell off U.S. debt</a> <br />Some lawmakers and market analysts are expressing rising concerns that a demand for capital by earthquake-ravaged Japan could lead it to sell off some of its huge holdings of U.S.-issued debt, leaving the federal government in an even tighter financial pinch. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.astandforjustice.org/https://www.commondreams.org/view/2011/03/19-5">George Carlin Knew Why They Call it 'The American Dream'</a> <br />"You know what they want? They want more for themselves and less for everybody else. I'll tell you what they don't want. They don't want a population of citizens capable of critical thinking — well-informed, well-educated people capable of critical thinking. That doesn't help them. That's against their interest. They want obedient workers, people who are just smart enough to run the machines and do the paperwork and just dumb enough to passively accept all these increasingly (bleep) jobs with the lower pay, the longer hours, the reduced benefits, the end of overtime and the vanishing pension that disappears as soon as you come to collect it." <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.amconmag.com/blog/2011/03/28/mark-levins-constitution/">Mark Levin’s Constitution</a> <br />When Obama decided to go to war with Libya some Capitol Hill leaders in both parties decided to question whether the President had the authority to do so. When George W. Bush was president Obama once posed the same question, stating in 2007: “The President does not have power under the Constitution to unilaterally authorize a military attack in a situation that does not involve stopping an actual or imminent threat to the nation.” <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.commondreams.org/view/2011/03/25">General Electric: King of the Tax Dodgers</a> <br />Recent filings show that in 2010, General Electric reported global profits of $14.2 billion, claiming $5.1 billion from U.S. operations.<br /><br />How much did it pay in U.S. corporate taxes? Zero. Actually, less than zero. We taxpayers paid G.E. $3.2 billion. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1367780/Pentagon-overpaid-billionaire-oil-tycoon-Harry-Sargeant-200m.html">Pentagon overpaid billionaire oil tycoon by up to $200million</a> <br />A Pentagon audit has revealed that the federal government overpaid a billionaire oilman up to $200million.<br /><br />The audit found that Harry Sargeant III was overpaid on several military contracts worth nearly $2.7billion.<br /><br /> <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2011/03/201132975114399138.html">Syrian cabinet resigns amid unrest </a> <br /> <b></b><br><br><br /><br><hr><br>Pale Riderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02275892742258409916noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7859798942798774539.post-39001324682318416662011-03-31T19:41:00.000-04:002011-03-31T19:42:27.365-04:00Headlines for March 17 - March 23<a href="http://www.astandforjustice.org">A Stand For Justice</a><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article27708.htm">Military action against Gaddafi 'within hours' of UN vote</a> <br />A source at UN headquarters in New York said military forces could be deployed "within hours" of a new security council resolution calling for states to protect civilians by halting attacks by Muammar Gaddafi's forces by air, land and sea. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.astandforjustice.org/2011/03/03-04-01.htm">Oil prices hit highest level since Sept. 2008</a> <br />Benchmark West Texas Intermediate crude for April delivery gained $2.51 to settle at $104.42 per barrel in New York, the highest level since Sept. 26, 2008. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article27738.htm">US Army 'Kill Team' in Afghanistan Posed for Photos of Murdered Civilians</a> <br /> <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2011/03/20">West Pounds Libya, Kadhafi Vows 'Long War'</a> <br />The US military said the first stage of coalition raids under a UN Security Council remit to enforce a no-fly zone over Libya had been "successful" and Kadhafi's offensive on the rebel stronghold of Benghazi stopped in its tracks. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.campaignforliberty.com/article.php?view=1366">A Tangled Web By Philip Giraldi</a> <br />Virtually all of the government growth came out of the perception that there was an ominous foreign threat that had to be dealt with by creating more government, which means in turn that civilian government in the United States has largely become an instrument to sustain a bloated military budget to fight a war that will quite likely last forever, not unlike the constant warfare against shifting enemies featured in George Orwell's novel 1984. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.astandforjustice.org/2011/03/03-17-01.htm">Military action if Iran sanctions fail: Netanyahu</a> <br />Netanyahu said if military action was taken, he would prefer that it be lead by the United States. <b>They got us to attack Iraq for them (by way of their minions, the neoconservatives - Feith, Perle, Wolfowitz, etc).</b><br><br><br /><a href="http://arabnews.com/world/article325573.ece">China calls for immediate cease-fire in Libya</a> <br /> <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://thehill.com/news-by-subject/defense-homeland-security/151139-republican-says-libya-attack-is-an-affront-to-the-constitution">Republican says action in Libya is an 'affront' to the US Constitution</a> <br /> <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/commentators/fisk/robert-fisk-palestinians-understand-gaddafi-better-than-we-do-2239799.html">Robert Fisk: Palestinians understand Gaddafi better than we do</a> <br />There was a time when this kind of drivel would be ignored but it is now part of an increasingly dangerous narrative in which charity is turned into evil, in which the one institution supplying help to perhaps 95 per cent of almost five million Palestinian refugees is to become a target. And since UNRWA in Gaza did appear to become a target in the 2008-9 bloodbath, this is pretty frightening stuff. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.amconmag.com/blog/2011/03/22/a-foolish-and-unconstitutional-war/">A Foolish and Unconstitutional War by Patrick J. Buchanan</a> <br />“The president does not have power under the Constitution to unilaterally authorize a military attack in a situation that does not involve stopping an actual or imminent threat to the nation.”<br /><br />So said constitutional scholar and Senator Barack Obama in December 2007 — the same man who, this weekend, ordered U.S. air and missile strikes on Libya without any authorization from Congress. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article27743.htm">Obama Claims Gadhafi is a Danger to U.S.</a> <br />To summarize, the argument goes something like this: Gadhafi quells the rebellion, causing Libyans to flee to other countries like Egpyt, causing unspecified "instability" that would in turn cause damage to unspecified national security interests of the U.S. Therefore we can't let Gadhafi quell the rebellion. How many members of Congress or the public is that going to convince? <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.astandforjustice.org/2011/03/03-03-03.htm">Years after vanishing in Iran, US man proven alive</a> <br /> <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article27703.htm">Revealed: US Spy Operation That Manipulates Social Media</a> <br /> <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2011/03/17-3">U.N. Reported Only a Fraction of Civilian Deaths from U.S. Raids</a> <br /> <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.upi.com/Top_News/World-News/2011/03/20/Russia-calls-for-halt-to-Libya-attack/UPI-75211300649571/">Russia calls for halt to Libya attack</a> <br />"The reports say that during air raids on Libya strikes were also delivered on non-military facilities. ... As a result, 48 civilians are reported dead and over 150 wounded," the Foreign Ministry said in a statement carried by the RIA Novosti news agency.<br /><br /> <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2011/03/20/bill-kristol-calls-for-u-s-ground-forces-in-libya/">Bill Kristol calls for U.S. ground forces in Libya</a> <br /> <b>Neocons got their coveted attack on Libya.</b><br><br><br /><a href="http://original.antiwar.com/giraldi/2011/03/16/a-farewell-address/">A Farewell Address by Philip Giraldi</a> <br />After seven years and hundreds of billions of dollars invested, one might note that perfection is also something that costs a lot. As ex-Trotskyites, neocons can be unyielding in their understanding that freedom doesn’t come cheap or easy, even if they have been able to avoid the fighting and paying on any personal level. They know that that’s why you have government and a professional army – to make someone else actually bear the pain and cough up the cash. <b>I'll sit with you at the tomb for the reading, Mr. Giraldi. I know how you feel.</b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2011/03/22-1">Obama Leaves Door Open to Regime Change in Libya</a> <br />U.S. President Barack Obama reiterated his prior calls for regime change in Libya on Monday during a televised press conference from Chile, the second stop of his three-country visit to Latin America this week. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.astandforjustice.org/2011/03/03-23-04.htm">Syrian forces shoot protesters, kill 6 in mosque</a> <br />At least four youths were killed when the security forces intercepted them at the northern entrance of Deraa, witnesses said. Their bodies were seen at a clinic in the city. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.astandforjustice.org/2011/03/03-20-01.htm">US politician Sarah Palin visits Israel</a> <br /> <b>Stay there, Sarah.</b><br><br><br /><a href="http://forward.com/articles/136248/">The ‘Other Muslim’ in Congress</a> <br />Carson, who visited Israel last August and met with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and opposition leader Tzipi Livni, has a solid voting record on Israel and attended the annual conference of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee last year. After the Gaza military operation of 2008, Carson supported a resolution backing Israel, a vote that triggered some criticism against him from pro-Palestinian activists.<br /><br /> <b>So in other words, Carson is an 'Uncle Tom' Muslim.</b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.thedailybeast.com/blogs-and-stories/2011-03-21/the-2012-calculus-behind-sarah-palins-trip-to-israel/">What's Palin Doing in Israel?</a> <br />For the former Alaska governor, the trip offers a chance to distinguish herself as more pro-Israel than other American politicians and, perhaps, to make amends for her “blood libel” gaffe in January that angered many Jews. Palin has already pointed out that President Obama has yet to visit Israel during more than two years in office. At a meeting with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, she was expected to distance herself from the position of some fellow Tea Partiers—chiefly Sen. Rand Paul—in favor of cutting aid to Israel. <b>You can be sure that Sarah is going to need some Kleenex to wipe the Israeli feces off of her nose.</b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.playboy.com/articles/helen-thomas-playboy-interview/index.html?page=1">Helen Thomas: Playboy Interview</a> <br />THOMAS: I knew I’d hit the third rail. You cannot say anything about Israel in this country. But I’ve lived with this cause for many years. Everybody knows my feelings that the Palestinians have been shortchanged in every way. Sure, the Israelis have a right to exist—but where they were born, not to come and take someone else’s home. I’ve had it up to here with the violations against the Palestinians. Why shouldn’t I say it? I knew exactly what I was doing—I was going for broke. I had reached the point of no return. You finally get fed up. <b>God love her for never backing down, despite the overwhelming vitriol aimed at her. And kudos to Playboy for this interview. What happened to Helen Thomas is yet further proof that you can say anything you want in this country about Christians or Muslims, but don't you dare criticize Israel (or Jews), you're done for.</b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/report-u-s-considering-strategic-outreach-to-hezbollah-1.350032">Report: U.S. considering strategic outreach to Hezbollah</a> <br /> <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/wikileaks-lebanon-army-seized-hezbollah-arms-truck-during-2006-war-1.350581">WikiLeaks: Lebanon army seized Hezbollah arms truck during 2006 war </a> <br />According to the WikiLeaks cable, the Christian leaders told then U.S. envoy to Lebanon Jeff Feltman and Assistant Secretary of State David Welch that they would approve of another week or two of Israeli attacks against Hezbollah if it meant those actions would weaken the militant group. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.amconmag.com/blog/2011/03/19/sarah-palin-the-end-of-the-affair/">Sarah Palin: The End of the Affair</a> <br />At a minimum, we can assume that Kristol’s core operatives such as Randy Scheunemann and Michael Goldfarb will be with Palin for the long haul. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.astandforjustice.org/2011/03/03-22-02.htm">Sarah Palin dines with Netanyahu, skips Bethlehem</a> <br />As expected, the former Alaska governor had dinner Monday night with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, becoming the fourth 2012 hopeful in the last three months to sit down with the top Israeli leader. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article27740.htm">What Intervention in Libya Tells us About the Neocon-liberal Alliance</a> <br />So if you're baffled by how Mr. "Change You Can Believe In" morphed into Mr. "More of the Same," you shouldn't really be surprised. George Bush left in disgrace and Barack Obama took his place, but he brought with him a group of foreign policy advisors whose basic world views were not that different from the people they were replacing <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.commondreams.org/view/2011/03/23">Be Consistent—Invade Saudi Arabia</a> <br /> <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.commondreams.org/view/2011/03/23-9">The Manipulative Pro-War Argument in Libya</a> <br />my real question for Judis (and those who voice the same accusations against Libya intervention opponents) is this: do you support military intervention to protect protesters in Yemen, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and other U.S. allies from suppression, or to stop the still-horrendous suffering in the Sudan, or to prevent the worsening humanitarian crisis in the Ivory Coast? Did you advocate military intervention to protect protesters in Iran and Egypt, or to stop the Israeli slaughter of hundreds of trapped innocent civilians in Gaza and Lebanon or its brutal and growing occupation of the West Bank? <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.amconmag.com/blog/2011/03/17/defund-npr-what-about-fox/">Defund NPR? What About Fox?</a> <br /> <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.amconmag.com/blog/2011/03/21/obamas-libyan-war/">Obama’s Libyan War</a> <br />Will is right, and it is typically unforeseen circumstances that perpetuate the excuses for perpetual war. US forces remain in Iraq today precisely because we fear what kind of regime might arise in our absence—yet there was very little discussion of this important issue before the invasion. After taking the fight to the Taliban in 2001 as payback for 9/11, we remain in that country a decade later out of fear of a resurgent Taliban. Much of the discussion concerning Afghanistan today is whether we can ever leave due to this eternal concern <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.amconmag.com/blog/2011/03/18/obamas-irrelevance/">Obama’s Irrelevance by Patrick J. Buchanan</a> <br /> <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/0,1518,751508,00.html">US and Germany Offer 'Feeble Opposition' to Bahrain Crackdown</a> <br />A government-led crackdown in Bahrain led to three protester deaths on Wednesday. Though the situation appeared calmer on Thursday, German editorialists criticize Saudi Arabia's decision to send troops in to help suppress the demonstrations and urge Western nations to not abandon the protestors. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.commondreams.org/view/2011/03/17-8">Wisconsin Senators "Sell Out" to Corporate Interests as DC Crowds Pick Up the Chant: "Recall!" </a> <br />Wisconsin Republican state Senators, fresh from passing draconian anti-labor and privatization legislation, jetted into Washington, D.C., Wednesday night to collect tens of thousands of dollars in contributions from the one constituency group that approves of what Governor Scott Walker and his GOP allies are doing: corporate lobbyists. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.commondreams.org/newswire/2011/03/21-0">Court Reinstates ACLU Lawsuit Challenging Unconstitutional Spying Law</a> <br />The American Civil Liberties Union and the New York Civil Liberties Union filed the lawsuit in July 2008 to stop the government from conducting surveillance under the FISA Amendments Act (FAA), a statute that gives the executive branch virtually unchecked power to collect Americans' international e-mails and telephone calls. The appeals court today ruled that the plaintiffs in the case could challenge the FAA without first showing with certainty that they had been spied on under the statute. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.astandforjustice.org/2011/03/03-06-02.htm">Crowd in NYC rallies against hearing on US Muslims</a> <br /> <b>I apologize that some of the links in this newsbatch are a few weeks old.</b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article27748.htm">U.S. Court Validates Spying Fears of Journalists, Activists</a> <br /> <b></b><br><br><br /><br><hr><br>Pale Riderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02275892742258409916noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7859798942798774539.post-66987679249712266102011-03-23T20:12:00.002-04:002011-03-23T20:15:19.750-04:00Headlines for March 10 - March 16<a href="http://www.astandforjustice.org">A Stand For Justice</a><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.amconmag.com/blog/2011/03/11/to-the-shores-of-tripoli/">To the Shores of Tripoli</a> <br />Around 400 US Marines have been dispatched to a US base in Greece ahead of deployment on warships off Libya, an American military spokesman said today. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.astandforjustice.org/2011/03/03-12-01.htm">China says Middle East should solve problems itself</a> <br />While China supported a United Nations resolution for an arms embargo and other sanctions targeting Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi and his inner circle, it has so far been cool to the idea of a no–fly zone over that country. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.astandforjustice.org/2011/03/03-08-02.htm">Israeli PM: Military must remain in West Bank</a> <br />Barak also told the newspaper that Israel might seek an additional $20 billion in U.S. military aid to help it deal with potential threats arising from the turmoil in the Arab world. <b>Are your communities seeing draconian budget cuts? Do you know how many trillions of dollars we have given, yes given over to the Middle East? This is why we are having to make budget cuts, including cuts to schools. Strange how we don't have to hand Britain billions each year to be our 'ally'.</b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2011/03/15-3">Thousands Rally in Gaza, West Bank for 'Unity'</a> <br /> <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2011/03/15-0">Battle for Control Rages in Libya </a> <br /> <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://articles.sfgate.com/2011-03-09/world/28674887_1_iaea-probe-weapons-program-nuclear-weapons">US envoy backs UN view on Iran nuke arms program</a> <br /> <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.astandforjustice.org/2011/03/03-12-03.htm">US Muslims find defending themselves exhausting</a> <br /> <b>You would think that Muslims are the only ones that commit crimes in this country. You have more of a chance of being victimized or even killed in America by a non-Muslim, and that's a fact.</b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fGARJGA7ET4">Video: Pat Buchanan interviewed about American Intervention in Libya</a> <br /> <b>Great interview with Mr. Patrick J. Buchanan, one of the most experienced and knowledgeable political commentators in America. Love him.</b><br><br><br /><a href="http://original.antiwar.com/giraldi/2011/03/09/the-j-street-scam/">The J Street Scam by Philip Giraldi</a> <br />J Street really only differs from AIPAC in tone, not in substance. It advocates continued and unlimited United States support for Israel, militarily, economically, and politically. J Street wants Israel to have an overwhelming military advantage over its Arab neighbors and it wants that margin to be provided by Washington. It wants Republicans and Democrats together to provide political cover for Israel when it attacks Lebanon or bombs the Gazans. It does not object when Israel exercises a military option against its neighbors. In spite of the fact that the United States is in deep trouble economically while Israel is one of the richest countries in the world and is enjoying an economic boom, J Street was one of the first organizations to complain when Senator Rand Paul called for an end to all foreign aid. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.astandforjustice.org/2011/03/03-07-01.htm">Egypt swears in new post-Mubarak Cabinet</a> <br />Egypt's military rulers on Monday swore in a new Cabinet that includes new faces in key ministries, responding to protesters' demands that the new government be free of stalwarts of ousted President Hosni Mubarak. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.astandforjustice.org/2011/03/03-16-03.htm">Republicans in Congress aim to cut foreign aid</a> <br /> <b>But yet not one dime will be cut from our aid to Israel, the most flagrant violator of international law on earth.</b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.astandforjustice.org/2011/03/03-13-01.htm">Thousands in Beirut demand Hezbollah disarm</a> <br />a slew of billboards has popped up in Beirut lately, saying "Israel also wants Hezbollah disarmed" – a clear message that Hezbollah sees its weapons as a necessary safeguard against its enemies.<br /> <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://thedailynewsegypt.com/region/2-us-warships-cross-egypts-suez-canal.html">2 US warships cross Egypt's Suez Canal </a> <br />US military officials have ordered warships into the Mediterranean in case they are needed for Libya-related operations ranging from humanitarian assistance to possible military action. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article27675.htm">The 'Beacon That Is Israel'</a> <br />Koch's claim that the Arab protests point only to repressive Arab regimes denies the 63 years of repressive policies carried out by Israel against the Palestinian people <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article27682.htm">David Horowitz's Displays His Hatred Of Palestinians And Muslims In General.</a> <br /> <b>He would appear to be an utterly delusional and prejudiced individual. And angry to boot. He writes for the neocon/pro-Israel FrontPageMag.</b><br><br><br /><a href="http://mondoweiss.net/2011/03/the-history-of-the-camp-david-accords-reveals-that-the-president-is-incapable-of-standing-up-for-the-palestinians.html">The history of the Camp David Accords reveals that even a sympathetic president could not stand up for the Palestinians</a> <br />To recall this history is to recognize that so long as the Israel lobby is more powerful than the justice lobby, the United States is constitutionally incapable of being an honest broker in the Middle East. This unpalatable fact has asserted itself repeatedly, with Carter, Brzezinski and Vance, with George H.W. Bush and James Baker, and with Presidents Clinton and Obama. If a trend can be observed, it is that the United States has become even less able to stand up to Israel with each passing decade. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.astandforjustice.org/2011/03/03-14-02.htm">Report: Iran's paramilitary launches cyber attack</a> <br />Gen. Ali Fazli, acting commander of the Basij, was quoted by state–owned IRAN paper as saying Iran's cyber army is made up of university teachers, students and clerics. He said its attacks were a retaliation for similar attacks on Iran, according to the semi–official Mehr news agency. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.amconmag.com/blog/2011/03/15/peter-kings-radical-ignorance/">Peter King’s Radical Ignorance</a> <br />King and his allies on this issue are indeed right that the problem of domestic Islamic terrorism is a concern—but their ongoing blindness toward the primary cause of their concern prevents them from even attempting to examine this issue comprehensively <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.commondreams.org/view/2011/03/11-8">Koch Brothers and US Chamber: Polluting Our Earth and Our Democracies</a> <br /> <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.haaretz.com/jewish-world/rabbi-decries-u-s-congressional-hearing-for-profiling-muslims-1.348423">Rabbi decries U.S. congressional hearing for 'profiling Muslims'</a> <br />An Orthodox rabbi in New York is leading a coordinated public relations campaign against a House of Representatives Homeland Security Committee hearing on the "radicalization of the Muslim community in the U.S." that commenced on Thursday. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.amconmag.com/blog/2011/03/11/the-tea-party-vs-gop-hypocrisy/">The Tea Party vs. GOP Hypocrisy</a> <br />Needless to say and despite their rhetoric, the vast majority of Republicans are wholly unwilling to do anything to substantively address our big government woes, including some who’ve carried the Tea Party banner. The chasm between voters’ desires and the establishment’s will remains wide as ever, reflecting the same disconnect that has long frustrated Americans from across the ideological spectrum with Washington politics. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.amconmag.com/blog/2011/03/11/after-the-revolution/">After the Revolution by Patrick J. Buchanan </a> <br />The National Endowment for Democracy was established for this quintessentially neoconservative end and meddles endlessly in the internal affairs of nations in a fashion Americans would never tolerate. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.astandforjustice.org/2011/03/03-10-02.htm">Emotions run high at hearing on US Muslims</a> <br />Testimony reached an early emotional peak when Democrat Keith Ellison, the first Muslim elected to Congress, broke down in tears as he warned against "scapegoating" and told the story of a Muslim–American paramedic who died in the attacks on the World Trade Center.<br /> <b></b><br><br><br /><br><hr><br>Pale Riderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02275892742258409916noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7859798942798774539.post-91322867379394658462011-03-21T18:36:00.001-04:002011-03-21T18:36:36.543-04:00Headlines for March 3 - March 9<a href="http://www.astandforjustice.org">A Stand For Justice</a><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.astandforjustice.org/2011/03/03-08-01.htm">Child air-strike deaths stir fury in Afghanistan</a> <br /> <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article27643.htm">Obama's New Gitmo Policy Is A Lot Like Bush's Old Policy</a> <br /> <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2011/03/09-3">Targeted Civilian Killings Spiral in Afghan War: UN </a> <br /> <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.astandforjustice.org/2011/03/03-06-01.htm">Special US prison units fill with Muslims</a> <br />US federal prisons for the past three years have housed special units filled disproportionately with Muslim inmates whose every communication with the outside world is strictly monitored. <b>Israel firsters are pleased.</b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article27638.htm">How Many Afghan Children Can We Kill Before It Makes The News? </a> <br />It is often said that Afghanistan is largely a forgotten war--a critique usually meant as a comment on the lack of attention paid to the hardships of U.S. military personnel. Far less consideration is granted to the Afghans who are suffering in far greater numbers. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.astandforjustice.org/2011/03/03-09-01.htm">Testimony doesn't match furor over terror hearing</a> <br />The remarks are scheduled to be delivered as part of the House Homeland Security Committee's hearing on Islamic radicalization Thursday. Plans for the hearing touched off days of protests from critics who liken it to McCarthyism and the era of communist witch hunts. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.amconmag.com/blog/2011/03/07/its-libyas-war-not-ours/">It’s Libya’s War, Not Ours by Patrick J. Buchanan</a> <br />what are U.S. senators doing issuing blank checks for war eight years after George W. Bush cashed the last one to commit the historic blunder of invading Iraq? Do these people learn at all from history? <b>Another excellent article.</b><br><br><br /><a href="http://rt.com/news/libya-intervention-double-standard/">Obama orders Gaddafi to step down, reasons with air force</a> <br />Libya has the largest proven oil reserves in Africa and European energy companies have invested a lot in the country, so calls of the international community to stop violence in Libya have more of a business tone than one of human rights protection. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article27642.htm">Where were the calls for a no-fly zone when Israel attacked Gaza, asks George Galloway </a> <br />As Western powers look for an excuse to intervene in Libya, George Galloway, interviewed by the BBC, asks where were the calls for a no-fly zone when Israel attacked Gaza. Would the West call for a no-fly zone to support the rebels if there was a revolution in Saudi Arabia? <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://tpmcafe.talkingpointsmemo.com/2011/03/03/why_is_israel_aid_exempt_from_cuts/">Why Is Israel Aid Exempt From Cuts?</a> <br />It no longer comes as much of a surprise that the average Democrat or Republican will rule that Israel aid cuts are off the table -- while supporting cuts in programs like Head Start, which educates poor children, or WIC, which provides nutrition assistance to disadvantaged women and their infants. (See this list of the proposed GOP aid cuts for the rest of FY2010). <br><br>...AIPAC produced a letter for the Republican first-termers to sign in which they pledged that, no matter what else they cut, Israel would be exempt. And almost immediately, 65 of the 87 Republican freshmen signed on. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2011/03/03-3">Pennsylvania Cuts 40,000 From Low-Income Insurance Program </a> <br /> <b>Meanwhile, the billions in US taxpayer dollars flow freely each year to Israel.</b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.amconmag.com/blog/2011/03/04/do-neocons-want-democracy/">Do Neocons Want Democracy?</a> <br />Maintaining the window dressing for their racket is always job one, even ahead of their Israel-first ideology. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article27608.htm">Mubarak Regime ‘Provoked’ Attacks on Christians</a> <br />Analysts say there is growing evidence that Egyptian security forces planned attacks on Christian churches and clergy, or allowed them to happen. The apparent purpose of the attacks was to reinforce the idea to sympathetic Western governments that without Mubarak, radical Islamist groups would gain a foothold in Egypt and wage a holy war on its Christian community. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://news.yahoo.com/s/yblog_thecutline/20110308/ts_yblog_thecutline/npr-appalled-by-former-execs-comments">NPR ‘appalled’ by former exec’s comments -</a> <br />Also, Ron Schiller doesn't appear to interject when the two men make outlandish comments about Jews controlling the media and laughs when they jokingly refer to NPR as "National Palestinian Radio." <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.forward.com/articles/135833/">Former AIPAC Staffer Loses Lawsuit</a> <br />In his civil suit, Rosen sought to prove that receiving secret government information and distributing it was regarded as acceptable practice by AIPAC and therefore that the lobby’s claim that when Rosen did so he acted beneath AIPAC’s standards was defamatory. To prove this point Rosen listed other cases in which AIPAC officials allegedly received classified information.<br /><br />R <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.astandforjustice.org/2011/03/03-03-01.htm">Israel to 'finally' impose sanctions on Iran</a> <br /> <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.amconmag.com/blog/2011/03/08/democracy-in-egypt/">Democracy in Egypt</a> <br />I actually don’t have a problem with recognizing and promoting US interests in the region, but my concern is, inevitably, that it will turn out to be all about Israel yet again given the conjunction of McCain, Lieberman, and Kagan. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2011/03/07/AR2011030702491.html">Kissinger asks Obama to release spy for Israel</a> <br />Former U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger is urging President Barack Obama to release an American convicted of spying for Israel 24 years ago.<br /><br />In a letter obtained by The Associated Press, Kissinger wrote to Obama, "I believe justice would be served by commuting" Jonathan Pollard's life sentence. <b>This story was evidently removed at the time of this writing.</b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.thedailybeast.com/blogs-and-stories/2011-03-09/peter-king-boasts-of-white-house-support-for-american-muslim-hearings/">Peter King Boasts of White House Support for American Muslim Hearings</a> <br /> <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2011/02/27">Gorbachev: The US Must Take Blame for Fanning Islamic Fundamentalism</a> <br /> <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.monstersandcritics.com/news/middleeast/news/article_1623776.php/Tens-of-thousands-march-in-Bahrain-demand-cabinet-resignation">Tens of thousands march in Bahrain, demand cabinet resignation</a> <br /> <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://articles.latimes.com/2011/mar/07/opinion/la-oe-rodriguez-king-20110307">The loyalty dance</a> <br />The U.S. has a history of forcing minorities to try to prove their patriotism, something almost impossible to do. Yet, Rep. Peter T. King is about to begin such a dog-and-pony show with American Muslims. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article27639.htm">Why is Hillary Not Defending the Rights of Saudi Protesters?</a> <br /> <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.amconmag.com/blog/2011/03/03/robert-gates-neo-isolationist/">Robert Gates, Neo-Isolationist? Patrick J. Buchanan </a> <br /> <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://original.antiwar.com/giraldi/2011/03/02/uncle-ned-comes-calling/">Uncle NED Comes Calling by Philip Giraldi</a> <br /> <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.amconmag.com/blog/2011/03/08/gop-slogan-for-2012-who-lost-the-empire/">GOP Slogan for 2012: Who Lost The Empire?</a> <br /> <b></b><br><br><br /><br><hr><br>Pale Riderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02275892742258409916noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7859798942798774539.post-9187178643305584802011-03-09T19:33:00.000-05:002011-03-09T19:38:18.958-05:00Headlines for February 24 - March 2<a href="http://www.astandforjustice.org">A Stand For Justice</a><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2011/02/25-0">19 Killed in Iraq's 'Day of Rage' Protests</a> <br />Security forces used tear gas, water cannons, sound bombs and at times live bullets to disperse the crowds <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.astandforjustice.org/2011/02/02-24-02.htm">Study says US wasted billions in Iraq, Afghanistan</a> <br />The report found that "criminal behavior and blatant corruption" were responsible for much of the waste related to the nearly $200 billion spent since 2002 on US reconstruction and other projects in the two countries. <b>We need to withdraw from Iraq and Afghanistan NOW.</b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2011/02/24-1">Lobbyists: Obama White House Hides Meetings Off-Site</a> <br />It allows the Obama administration to keep these lobbyist meetings shielded from public view — and out of Secret Service logs collected on visitors to the White House and later released to the public. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article11828.shtml">Israel investing $1.6 million in new media warriors</a> <br />In early February, military spokesperson Avi Benayahu announced that approximately $1.6 million would be invested to train more than a hundred Israeli "media warriors," who would use social media tools to disseminate Israeli propaganda to audiences around the world. <b>Beware, my fellow Americans, this is aimed at YOU. For, without American taxpayer dollars and the use of the American veto at the UN Security Council, Israel would be finished. All they care about is that the American people remain brainwashed into believing that Israel is good, and a victim.</b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.astandforjustice.org/2011/02/02-24-01.htm">Iran warships dock in Syria, Israeli fears dismissed</a> <br />The ships arrived on Wednesday night after passing through the Suez Canal into the Mediterranean, the first Iranian navy vessels to do so since Iran's 1979 Islamic Revolution.<br /> <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.jpost.com/IranianThreat/News/Article.aspx?id=210282">Israel: Pressure must be mounted on Iran</a> <br />The officials were responding to a confidential document leaked over the weekend that signaled the UN body’s growing frustration at Iran’s lack of cooperation. <br><br>....<br />Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu has conveyed this message in recent days during private meetings, including one on Sunday with a congressional delegation <b>Now you know why McCain and Lieberman were over there.</b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.haaretz.com/jewish-world/obama-talks-mideast-peace-with-jewish-leaders-at-white-house-1.346626">Obama talks Mideast peace with Jewish leaders at White House</a> <br />U.S. President Barack Obama held a meeting with a 50-member delegation of Jewish leaders at the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations at the White House on Tuesday, stressing Washington's support for Israel and its security. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.amconmag.com/blog/2011/02/25/how-the-system-works/">How the System Works by Philip Giraldi </a> <br />It is reassuring to note that at a time when governments are toppling left and right Ros-Lehtinen has the time to assure her fellow GOPers that some things will never change. I wonder, however, why her letter had absolutely zero content relating to the national interest of the United States. Surely Ros-Lehtinen understands the giving $3 billion to Israel every year makes the United States a safer, though somewhat poorer, place?<br /><br />Possibly connected to Ros-Lehtinen’s effort is an announcement posted on the AIPAC website that boasts that all 67 freshman GOP congressmen have signed a letter pledging “no cuts” in aid to Israel. So much for any change coming from the Tea Parties. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://original.antiwar.com/giraldi/2011/02/23/the-veto-from-hell/">The Veto from Hell by Philip Giraldi</a> <br />Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen criticized the resolution: "Support for this anti-Israel statement is a major concession to enemies of the Jewish State and other free democracies. Offering to criticize our closest ally at the UN isn’t leadership, it’s unacceptable." And just to make sure that Israel will have the money to expand its settlements, last Wednesday sixty-seven freshmen Republican House members sent a letter to their party’s leadership supporting full funding of aid to Israel. The letter cited the lawmakers’ "recognition that the national security of the United States is directly tied to the strength and security of the State of Israel." <b>Congress = Israeli occupied territory (to the detriment of all Americans).</b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.astandforjustice.org/2011/03/03-02-02.htm">Student files lawsuit over FBI's GPS tracking</a> <br /> <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-12571648">Saudi held on Texas terror charge</a> <br /> <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.amconmag.com/blog/2011/02/25/is-isolationism-on-the-rise/">Is Isolationism on the Rise?</a> <br />To suggest that we should just give up these ever-changing entanglements as a practical matter is disparaged as “isolationist” and therefore unfathomable, the experts tell us.....According to pollster Scott Rasmussen, his most recent data reveals that “most Americans (67%) say the United States should leave the situation in the Arab countries alone. Just 17% say the United States should get more directly involved in the political situation there, but another 17% are not sure.” A Reuters poll in January produced similar results, showing that 73% of Americans support eliminating all foreign aid. <b>That is great news, my fellow Americans. Now, let us make it happen! Congress is not listening to us.</b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.astandforjustice.org/2011/02/02-27-01.htm">Mullen Mideast trip shows US 'worry': Iran general</a> <br />Mullen was in the Middle East last week on a tour during which he accused Iran of fomenting instability in the region, but said Tehran was not behind the popular protests in several regional countries. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.amconmag.com/blog/2011/02/24/manufacturings-dismal-decade/">Manufacturing’s Dismal Decade by Patrick J. Buchanan</a> <br />The U.S. trade deficit in 2010 worsened by 33 percent, rising from $375 billion to $498 billion, the largest percentage increase in a decade. If Obama keeps this up, he may prove as big a disaster for U.S. manufacturing as his predecessor, although these are big shoes to fill. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article27560.htm">Another Runaway General as Army Deploys Psy-Ops on U.S. Senators</a> <br /> <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.chicagobreakingnews.com/news/local/chibrknews-farrakhan-mideast-uprisings-will-come-to-us-20110227,0,1665375.story">Farrakhan: Mideast uprisings will come to US</a> <br />“What you are looking at in Tunisia, in Egypt … Libya, in Bahrain … what you see happening there … you’d better prepare because it will be coming to your door,” Farrakhan said in a booming voice, thousands of followers cheering in his wake.<br /> <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/africaandindianocean/libya/8354737/Libya-Russia-China-join-France-in-opposing-military-action-against-Gaddafi.html">Libya: Russia, China join France in opposing military action against Gaddafi </a> <br /> <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://original.antiwar.com/justin/2011/03/01/the-protocols-of-the-learned-elders-of-opec/">The Protocols of the Learned Elders of OPEC</a> <br />According to this report, paid for by the Pentagon and “declassified” so that Washington Times “national security expert” Bill Gertz could hyperventilate over it, the uptick in oil prices is also part of an Ay-rab plot. The Pentagon “study,” authored by one Kevin D. Freeman, cites neocon nutball Walid Phares, a Christian Falangist of Lebanese extraction and paid propagandist for the Israeli-connected Foundation for the Defense of Democracies <b>Conspiracy theories aside, America needs to get itself off of the foreign oil supply IMMEDIATELY. We cannot let our economic prosperity be dictated by the events in the Middle East or elsewhere. It has to be remedied NOW. We will continue to face one economic crisis after another unless we address this issue now.</b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article27594.htm">Airstrikes In Libya Did Not Take Place - Russian Military : </a> <br />The reports of Libya mobilizing its air force against its own people spread quickly around the world. However, Russia's military chiefs say they have been monitoring from space -- and the pictures tell a different story.<br /> <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.alternet.org/rss/breaking_news/509985/clinton_warns_latin__american_over_ties_with_iran/">Clinton warns Latin American over ties with Iran</a> <br />The United States will take action if Venezuela violates international sanctions against Iran, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton warned Tuesday as she defended outreach to the Cuban people. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2011/03/02-5">Spy Bloggers Not ‘Friending’ U.S. Targets, Centcom Says</a> <br />The U.S. Central Command says its new “Persona” social media "infiltration" software is designed to cozy up to extremist bloggers overseas, not law-abiding Americans chatting on Facebook or similar sites. <b>Hahahahahaha!</b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.commondreams.org/view/2011/03/02-2">How the Rich Soaked the Rest of Us</a> <br />One conclusion is clear and obvious: the richest Americans have dramatically lowered their income tax burden since 1945, both absolutely and relative to the tax burdens of the middle income groups and the poor. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2011/03/01-8">West Edges Closer to Libya Military Action </a> <br />US and European leaders weighed the use of NATO air power to impose a no-fly zone, with the aim of stopping Gaddafi using air power against his own people to crush the insurrection against his four decades of iron rule. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.commondreams.org/newswire/2011/02/28-12">U.S.Government Rarely Suspends or Debars Those Responsible for Billions in Tax Dollars Lost to Fraud, Waste, Abuse in War Zones</a> <br />In 2009, the Government Accountability Office found 25 instances in which companies and individuals suspended or debarred for committing serious offenses were awarded new contracts, Amey said. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-12582869">Middle East protests: Jordan sees biggest reform rally</a> <br /> <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/news/u-s-lawmaker-syria-s-assad-working-to-renew-peace-talks-with-israel-1.345303">U.S. lawmaker, Syria's Assad working to renew peace talks with Israel</a> <br />Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has been briefed on Kerry's talks with Assad, opposes the plan, since he does not believe Assad is serious about making peace with Israel. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.astandforjustice.org/2011/02/02-25-01.htm">Diplomats: Syria evades nuke probe</a> <br />IAEA chief Yukiya Amano had directly asked Syria's foreign minister in November to allow a new visit — in an unprecedented direct request. But a senior diplomat said Friday the foreign minister's response avoided mention of that site, promising only cooperation in vague terms.<br /><br />Other diplomats said that amounts to a rejection of the request <b>Say, I wonder from which country those other diplomats would hail?</b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article27572.htm">U.S.:Neo-Con Hawks Take Flight over Libya</a> <br />In a distinct echo of the tactics they pursued to encourage U.S. intervention in the Balkans and Iraq, a familiar clutch of neo-conservatives appealed Friday for the United States and NATO to "immediately" prepare military action to help bring down the regime of Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi and end the violence that is believed to have killed well over a thousand people in the past week.<br><br>Two prominent senators whose foreign policy views often reflect neo-conservative thinking, Republican John McCain and Independent Democrat Joseph Lieberman, called Friday in Tel Aviv for Washington to supply Libyan rebels with arms, among other steps, including establishing a no-fly zone over the country. <b>Leiberman and McCain were in Tel Aviv, where US foreign policy in the Middle East is dictated.</b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/russia-to-sell-anti-ship-rockets-to-syria-1.345838">Russia to sell anti-ship rockets to Syria</a> <br />Russia will press ahead with plans to sell anti-ship cruise missiles to Syria despite Israeli concerns, Defence Minister Anatoly Serdyukov was quoted as saying on Saturday. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.haaretz.com/weekend/week-s-end/israel-could-still-strike-iran-despite-mideast-unrest-1.345608">Israel could still strike Iran, despite Mideast unrest</a> <br /> <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.commondreams.org/view/2011/03/02-9">Republicans and Democrats Agree: Cut Aid for Poor People, Not Israel</a> <br />Paul's fellow Tea Partiers aren't any better. Of the 87 freshmen House Republicans elected on platforms of cut-baby-cut, at least three-fourths have now signed a letter declaring that, “As Israel faces threats from escalating instability in Egypt” – where have we heard that line of argument before? – “security assistance to Israel … has never been more important.” Subsidies are for militaries, you see, not poor people. <b>Get with the program, Tea Partiers.</b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article27597.htm">America Blows It on Bahrain</a> <br />The Obama administration’s continued support of the autocratic monarchy in Bahrain, in the face of massive pro-democracy demonstrators, once again puts the United States behind the curve of the new political realities in the Middle East <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.forward.com/articles/135639/">High-Profile Law Professor Dershowitz Joins WikiLeaks’ U.S. Defense Team</a> <br /> <b>Dershowitz is a noted Israel firster. Given that, would his decision to represent Assange be because Assange's release of Wikileaks information somehow bolstered Israel's position on some issues?</b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.forward.com/articles/135629/">For Israel, a Lonely Day at Turtle Bay</a> <br />Israel, of course, says it’s all the Palestinians’ fault. It says their U.N. gambit is just the latest move in their campaign to isolate and delegitimize Israel, proving again that they won’t accept Israel’s existence. Israel has no choice but to resist their assault using the tools at its disposal, including the American veto.<br /><br /><br /> <b>This coming straight from the horse's mouth : the Jewish Forward, a well respected newspaper that has been around for nearly 100 years, basically telling you that Israel runs the show here, folks. Believe it.</b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article27595.htm">Unverified Misreporting on Libya </a> <br /> <b>Neocons are supportive of deposing Ghadaffi, so, that explains a lot.</b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.astandforjustice.org/2011/02/02-28-02.htm">Tiny spy planes could mimic birds, insects</a> <br />Besides the hummingbird, engineers in the growing unmanned aircraft industry are working on drones that look like insects and the helicopter–like maple leaf seed. <b>The truth is stranger than fiction.</b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.csmonitor.com/Commentary/Opinion/2011/0225/Arab-revolt-is-a-tidal-wave.-Does-the-West-get-what-s-really-behind-it">Arab revolt is a tidal wave. Does the West get what's really behind it</a> <br />This tidal wave is not about Islam, nor Israel, nor the West. It is an internally driven demand for rights and freedoms from a new generation of Arabs who see the way their societies have been stolen by their own rulers. The institutions of democracy may have been denied for decades, but the human spirit’s demand for freedom remains universal and unchanged. This is what our prudent intelligence analysis and policy constructs fail to understand. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.astandforjustice.org/2011/02/02-25-02.htm">US imposes sanctions on Libya</a> <br />The Obama administration is freezing assets held by Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi and four of his children in the United States. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://articles.cnn.com/2011-03-01/world/libya.venezuela.chavez_1_moammar-gadhafi-libyan-government-venezuelan-leader?_s=PM:WORLD">Chavez: U.S. distorting situation in Libya 'to justify an invasion'</a> <br />"Let's not get carried away by the drums of war, because the United States, I am sure that they are exaggerating and distorting things to justify an invasion," Chavez said Monday, according to Venezuelan state media. <b></b><br><br><br /><br><hr><br>Pale Riderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02275892742258409916noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7859798942798774539.post-74600406873987259392011-03-02T21:21:00.000-05:002011-03-02T21:22:27.824-05:00Headlines for February 17 - February 23<a href="http://www.astandforjustice.org">A Stand For Justice</a><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.astandforjustice.org/2011/02/02-23-03.htm">Oil prices hit $100 per barrel</a> <br /> <b>America needs to get off the Middle Eastern immediately. If we want to return to the greatness we once were, we need to pick up stakes in the Middle East, quit pouring trillions of dollars therein, and get back to the business of taking care of AMERICA - before it's too late.</b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.mailonsunday.co.uk/news/article-1357934/Colin-Powell-lied-used-George-Bush-add-credibility-invasion-Iraq.html">Colin Powell 'was lied to and used by George Bush to add credibility to invasion of Iraq'</a> <br />The claims were made by Lawrence Wilkerson, Powell’s former chief of staff, in an angry and revealing interview.<br /><br />Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1357934/Colin-Powell-lied-used-George-Bush-add-credibility-invasion-Iraq.html#ixzz1FIYMzZoa<br /> <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.linktv.org/about/blog/post/618/us-remains-silent-on-violence-in-bahrain">U.S. Remains Silent on Violence in Bahrain</a> <br />In Bahrain, anti-government protests have entered their third day. Bahrain is the home of the U.S. Navy's Fifth Fleet, making it a key strategic ally for the United States. While President Obama openly criticized Iran's crackdown on protesters February 15, he said nothing critical about Bahrain where two protesters have been killed since Monday. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.astandforjustice.org/2011/02/02-23-06.htm">Separate but unequal: Charts show growing rich-poor gap</a> <br />the American economy is also plagued by a less–noted, but just as serious, problem: Simply put, over the last 30 years, the gap between rich and poor has widened into a chasm.<br /> <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.amconmag.com/blog/2011/02/17/fox-fixes-cpac/">Fox Fixes CPAC</a> <br />There was just too much cheering when Ron Paul was announced as the winner of CPAC’s straw poll this year, so Fox News aired a clip from last year, when room full of disappointment Romneyites jeered Paul’s first victory. Fox has since apologized and said the tapes got mixed up <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.astandforjustice.org/2011/02/02-22-02.htm">Israel, US successfully test Arrow missile</a> <br />Israel and the U.S. carried out a successful test of the Arrow anti–missile system off the coast of California, Israel's Defense Ministry said Tuesday. <b><a href="http://www.truth-out.org/israel-seals-unprecedented-weapons-deals-with-us64373">Guess who is paying for Israel's Arrow Missile System</a>? Are you an American taxpayer like me? Look in the mirror for the answer to my first question. As budgets are slashed around the country, the billions upon billions flow freely to Israel to help her keep her ill-gotten gains, and help her oppress a once largely agrarian people.</b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.astandforjustice.org/2011/02/02-18-01.htm">Oil prices rise as Middle East clashes continue</a> <br />Instability in the Middle East was the biggest worry for most energy traders on Friday. Troops in Bahrain confronted thousands of protesters calling for an end to the country's monarchy. In Libya, Moammar Gaddafi's regime deployed security forces and warned citizens against joining the unrest in which dozens of protesters have been killed. Protests also continued in Yemen for an eighth day. <b>America needs to get off the Middle Eastern immediately.</b><br><br><br /><a href="http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2011/02/201121714223324820.html">Clashes rock Bahraini capital </a> <br /> <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.commondreams.org/newswire/2011/02/17-3">Veterans For Peace Demands Apology From Secretary of State</a> <br />Ray McGovern, a 71-year old veteran, and former CIA analyst was violently grabbed and forcibly removed from the auditorium in direct view of Mrs. Clinton. <b>Mr. McGovern is one of the good guys.</b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.astandforjustice.org/2011/02/02-22-01.htm">Israel: Iranian naval vessels are provocation</a> <br /> <b>Oh I see. But when Israelis attack vessels in international waters - such as the the Turkish <br /><br />ship last year, or the USS Liberty - killing unarmed individuals some of whom were AMERICAN , that's not a provocation?<br /><br /> <br /><br />Double standard always applies to po little Israel.</b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.amconmag.com/blog/2011/02/17/a-middle-east-without-america/">A Middle East Without America? by Patrick J. Buchanan</a> <br />What vital interest of a United States staring at bankruptcy would be imperiled if we got out of the way, stopped fighting these countries’ wars and paying these countries’ bills and let these people determine their own future for good or ill? <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://news.cnet.com/8301-31921_3-20033717-281.html">Internet 'kill switch' bill gets a makeover</a> <br />"It still gives the president incredible authority to interfere with Internet communications," ACLU legislative counsel Michelle Richardson said today. If the Department of Homeland Security wants to pull the plug on Web sites or networks, she said, "the government needs to go to court and get a court order."<br /><br /> <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2011/02/22-11">Priorities? GOP Governors Shift Burden To Poor, Middle Class To Pay For Tax Breaks For Rich, Corporations </a> <br /> <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2011/02/23-4">More Evidence Wall Street Pay at Near Record Levels</a> <br /> <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/02/17/us-iraq-usa-damages-idUSTRE71G2T820110217">Baghdad wants U.S. to pay $1 billion for damage to city</a> <br />Iraq's capital wants the United States to apologize and pay $1 billion for the damage done to the city not by bombs but by blast walls and Humvees since the U.S.-led invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.amconmag.com/blog/2011/02/22/an-end-to-foreign-aid/">An End to Foreign Aid</a> <br />Senate Democrats wrote Paul a letter stating: “These remarks are alarming and aim to weaken the decades-long bipartisan consensus on U.S. support for Israel…” Republicans like Sen. Jim DeMint, who is usually a reliable fiscal hawk and generally an ally of Paul, responded that it would be a “real mistake to suggest we might reduce support to Israel.” Sen. Lindsey Graham was even more blunt, saying of Paul’s proposal: “Over my dead body!” <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article27554.htm">A False Friend in the White House By Stephen M. Walt</a> <br />As these commentators recognize, the real reason for Obama's misguided decision was the profound influence of the Israel lobby. Indeed, few observers have missed this simple and obvious fact. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/news/egypt-is-no-longer-committed-to-an-alliance-with-israel-against-iran-1.344482">Egypt is no longer committed to an alliance with Israel against Iran </a> <br />Bolstered with Congressional support, Netanyahu forced U.S. President Barack Obama into the veto - which he had avoided using to date. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/news/israel-and-chile-cooperated-to-spy-on-iran-wikileaks-reveals-1.344685">Israel and Chile cooperated to spy on Iran, WikiLeaks reveals</a> <br /> <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.astandforjustice.org/2011/02/02-16-04.htm">Top US lawmaker assures Israel of US support</a> <br />Boehner's meeting and comments came amid worries in the US Congress that the ouster of longtime Egypt president Hosni Mubarak, as well as protests in Bahrain and throughout the region, could ultimately endanger Israel. <b>A disgusting display. Once again, I will reminder readers of the <a href="http://againsttheinsidiouswiles.blogspot.com/2011/01/23-of-americans-say-take-no-side-in.html">polls of 2010</a> that demonstrate that 2/3 of Americans want the US to take no side in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, yet - as many articles in this news batch and throughout my archives demonstrate - Congress is wholly and staunchly pro-Israel, to the detriment of the American national interest.</b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.commondreams.org/view/2011/02/17">Mubarak's Ouster: Good for Egypt, Good for Israel</a> <br />Ironically, most of the prominent American pundits and politicians claiming that the overthrow of the Mubarak dictatorship would threaten Israel are the very politicians who have encouraged Israel's wars on civilian populations in Lebanon and the Gaza Strip and other policies which have helped create extremist elements that really do threaten Israel. Similarly, those now claiming that Egypt's nonviolent indigenous struggle against Mubarak will result in a repressive Iranian-backed anti-Israel fundamentalist regime are some of the very people who supported the U.S. invasion of Iraq -- which has resulted in a repressive Iranian-backed anti-Israel fundamentalist regime. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://original.antiwar.com/giraldi/2011/02/16/did-someone-lose-egypt/">Did Someone Lose Egypt? by Philip Giraldi</a> <br />nd then there is Israeli security, the proverbial six hundred pound gorilla in the room as US concern for Egypt appears to really be all about Israel. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.astandforjustice.org/2011/02/02-20-02.htm">Israeli PM: Iran exploiting regional instability</a> <br />Israel's prime minister on Sunday accused Iran of trying to exploit the recent instability in Egypt by sending two warships through the Suez Canal into the Mediterranean, saying he views the move "with gravity." <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.astandforjustice.org/2011/02/02-17-02.htm">Fox faces fallout over misleading footage before Ron Paul interview</a> <br /> <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.astandforjustice.org/2011/02/02-21-01.htm">Iran not behind Mideast protests: Mullen</a> <br /> <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2011/02/mus.html?lanow">UC Davis faculty members want charges dropped against Muslim students who disrupted speech at UC Irvine [Updated]</a> <br />About 20 current and retired faculty members at UC Davis have joined a group of 100 UC Irvine faculty members in asking the Orange County district attorney to drop criminal charges against 11 Muslim students who disrupted a speech by the Israeli ambassador to the United States.<br><br>....The letter stated that the criminal charges will have a “chilling effect” on free speech. “To respond to such an act with criminal prosecution is excessive,” <b>These people were ARRESTED for heckling an Israeli ambassador. We all know who was behind the charges there. Fascist a%%holes.</b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2011/02/17">A New Sense of Populist Empowerment Grips the Middle East</a> <br />as populist rebellions spread across the Middle East, many old formulas of suppressing them are faltering, with protesters relentlessly defying their regimes in what amounts to a collective psychological realignment in the region. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.opednews.com/articles/Ray-McGovern-Assaulted-Bl-by-Rob-Kall-110217-781.html">Ray McGovern Discusses Brutal Arrest at Secretary Clinton's Internet Freedom Speech</a> <br /> <b>This brutal assault on a 71-year old former CIA analyst and US veteran is an assault on all Americans.</b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-12512536">Libya protests: 84 killed in growing unrest, says HRW</a> <br />The number of people killed in three days of protests in Libya has risen to 84, according to the New York-based group Human Rights Watch. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article27523.htm">Wisconsin: The First Stop in An American Uprising?</a> <br />In Wisconsin, public employees and their supporters are drawing the line at Governor Scott Walker’s plan to eliminate collective bargaining and unilaterally cut benefits. School teachers, university students, firefighters, and others descended on the capital in the tens of thousands, and even the Superbowl champion Green Bay Packers have weighed in against the bill. Protests against similar anti-union measures are ramping up in Ohio. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2011/02/18/revealed-air-force-ordered-software-to-manage-army-of-fake-virtual-people/">Revealed: Air Force ordered software to manage army of fake virtual people</a> <br />Though many questions remain about how the military would apply such technology, the reasonable fear should be perfectly clear. "Persona management software" can be used to manipulate public opinion on key information, such as news reports. An unlimited number of virtual "people" could be marshaled by only a few real individuals, empowering them to create the illusion of consensus. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2011/02/17-12">Cables Illuminate US Relations with Bahrain, Potential for Unrest</a> <br />The cables claim that Bahrain worked with the U.S. government to monitor financial transactions from Iran. And perhaps even more importantly, Manama expressed interest in creating a broader alliance of countries in the Gulf and the region to resist Iran, the cables claim. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.csmonitor.com/Commentary/Opinion/2011/0220/US-and-Iran-could-become-strategic-allies-with-India-s-help">US and Iran could become strategic allies – with India's help</a> <br /> <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.astandforjustice.org/2011/02/02-23-05.htm">Saudi Arabia opens its wallet to stave off protests</a> <br />As Saudi Arabia's 86–year–old monarch returned home from back surgery, his government tried to get ahead of potential unrest in the oil–rich country Wednesday by announcing an unprecedented economic package that will provide Saudis interest–free home loans, unemployment assistance and sweeping debt forgiveness. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://forward.com/articles/135486/">Jewish Groups Scramble To Adjust to New Mideast Reality</a> <br />Israel has only a handful of Arab-language specialists dealing with public diplomacy aimed at the Arab world, a number that pales in comparison with the battalions of foreign service staffers serving in the same role in the United States and Europe.<br /><br /> <b>You know why that is, don't you? Egypt isn't forking over the billions of dollars to Israel like the US taxpayers are. Israel needs to keep that money flowing. It wouldn't need that money flowing if it learned to make peace with its neighbors (ie, stop stealing land and driving the natives out).</b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.astandforjustice.org/2011/02/02-19-03.htm">Libyan forces kill dozens, Muslim leaders urge end to "massacre"</a> <br /> <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.astandforjustice.org/2011/02/02-19-02.htm">Ex-officials call for easing stance on Iran group</a> <br /><br />The U.S. has listed the MEK as a terror group since 1997, though the European Union removed it from its own terror list in 2009. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/news/egypt-is-no-longer-committed-to-an-alliance-with-israel-against-iran-1.344482">Egypt is no longer committed to an alliance with Israel against Iran</a> <br />Egypt is signaling that it is no longer committed to its strategic alliance with Israel against Iran, and that Cairo is now willing to do business with Tehran. This is precisely what Turkey has done in recent years under Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan. <b>One by one the puppet regimes fall. And one day, hopefully as soon as possible, the foreign policy on Capitol Hill will reflect the will of the people (view polls mentioned by this writer in this news batch).</b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.theatlanticwire.com/opinions/view/opinion/Assessing-the-Koch-Connection-in-Wisconsins-Union-Uproar-7066">Assessing the Koch Connection in Wisconsin's Union Uproar The Atlantic Wire</a> <br />The New York Times reported on Monday that advocates from Americans for Prosperity are on the ground in Wisconsin to voice support for Republican Governor Scott Walker's budget, which is widely viewed as a union-busting measure. Americans for Prosperity receives funding from the Koch brothers, and their conglomerate Koch Industries was a major contributor to Walker's election campaign. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://blogs.forward.com/mitz-vote/135428/">Attacking the Straw [Poll] Man, Ron Paul</a> <br />The National Jewish Democratic Council issued a statement blasting the choice of Paul and arguing that he has been at odds with the Jewish community on many key issues including aid to Israel.<br /><br /> <b>The Pauls seem to not curry favor with the pro-Israeli community. Why? Because they dare to put America's interests FIRST. Imagine.</b><br><br><br /><a href="http://blogs.forward.com/mitz-vote/135478/">A New Move to Sever U.S. Business From Iran</a> <br />Two Republicans and two Democrats joined forces today to introduce a new piece of legislation meant to keep the pressure on the regime in Tehran. The Iran Transparency and Accountability Act is co-sponsored in the Senate by New York Democrat Kirstin Gillibrand and Illinois Republican Mark Kirk, and in the House by Indiana Republican Dan Burton and Florida Democrat Ted Deutch.<br><br>The motivation for such legislation, which was backed by pro-Israel advocacy groups <b>'Pro-Israel advocacy groups' bark orders, Congresspersons jump.</b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.astandforjustice.org/2011/02/02-23-02.htm">Suit claims FBI violates Muslims' rights at mosque</a> <br />The civil rights groups allege that former FBI informant Craig Monteilh violated Muslims' freedom of religion by conducting indiscriminate surveillance because of their faith. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/feb/17/curveball-iraq-wmd-bush-neocons?INTCMP=SRCH">letters Bush, the neocons and the fantasies of Curveball</a> <br />Even if Curveball with his wild fantasies had not existed (Defector who triggered war on Iraq admits: 'I lied about WMD', 16 February), George W Bush and his neoconservative appointees would have invented someone of his ilk to help convince a sceptical public that Saddam was a threat to the strategically important Middle East. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Middle-East/2011/0218/From-Libya-to-Bahrain-Mideast-autocracy-under-fire">From Libya to Bahrain, Mideast autocracy under fire</a> <br />"Never, in our wildest imaginations, did we think this uprising would come from the people. Whatever happens, this ... is something no one can take away from them, or from us. It has been embedded in our memories." <b></b><br><br><br /><br><hr><br>Pale Riderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02275892742258409916noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7859798942798774539.post-35713523210674805392011-02-23T21:59:00.001-05:002011-02-23T21:59:39.036-05:00Headlines for February 10 - February 16<a href="http://www.astandforjustice.org">A Stand For Justice</a><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.usatoday.com/money/industries/technology/2011-02-15-kill-switch_N.htm">'Kill Switch' Internet bill alarms privacy experts</a> <br />Just as the Egyptian government recently forced the Internet to go dark, U.S. officials could flip the switch if the Protecting Cyberspace as a National Asset legislation becomes law, say its critics. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-12469362">House votes to extend Patriot Act surveillance powers</a> <br /> <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/feb/15/curveball-cia-europe-chief-vindicate">Curveball admissions vindicate suspicions of CIA's former Europe chief</a> <br />Tyler Drumheller, who says he warned the head of the US intelligence agency before the 2003 invasion of Iraq that Curveball might be a liar, said the confession would be a final wake-up call for the hawks who continued to believe that there had been WMD but that the CIA had been "too stupid" to find them. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.foxnews.com/world/2011/02/16/israel-warns-act-iranian-warships-passing-suez-canal/">Israel Warns It Might Act on Iranian Warships Passing Through Suez Canal</a> <br /> <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.astandforjustice.org/2011/02/02-14-01.htm">Mullen: US depends on military ties with Israel</a> <br />Adm. Mike Mullen, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, discussed the instability in Egypt with Israeli President Shimon Peres on Monday. He said the American–Israeli alliance is "something we both depend on." <br /><br /> <b>Malarkey.</b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.amconmag.com/blog/2011/02/15/a-marc-too-far/">A Marc Too Far by Philip Giraldi </a> <br />Hillary Clinton has appointed Marc Grossman her special AfPak representative to replace Richard Holbrooke. Readers of TAC might well recall the Grossman saga as related by FBI whistleblower Sibel Edmonds. Per Edmonds, Grossman was involved in suspected illegal activity connected to the Turkish and Israeli governments and was under investigation by the FBI. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://original.antiwar.com/giraldi/2011/02/09/lets-go-to-plan-b/">Let’s Go to Plan B by Philip Giraldi</a> <br />Apart from wanting to prop up a dubious arrangement whereby Israel’s most powerful neighbor is neutralized, the United States has no vital interest whatsoever in talking nice to Egypt. The claim that a hostile Egypt might close the Suez Canal is nonsensical as the country relies heavily on the income that it generates, whoever is in charge. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.jta.org/news/article/2011/02/10/2742933/uci-faculty-ask-student-charges-be-dropped">Irvine faculty members seek dropping of student charges</a> <br />During the Feb. 8, 2010 speech by Michael Oren, the 11 defendants stood one by one and shouted at the ambassador, calling him a “mass murderer” and a “war criminal,” among other insults. The disruptions, organized to protest Israeli actions in Gaza, prompted Oren to walk off the stage twice.<br /><br />The Simon Wiesenthal Center on Tuesday commended the district attorney for charging the students. <b>They were charged with a crime for heckling the Israeli ambassador? Is this not America? Look at the fascists applauding the charges.</b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.astandforjustice.org/2011/02/02-11-02.htm">Mubarak exit sets off celebrations across Mideast</a> <br />In Gaza, hopes were rising that a nearly four–year–old blockade of the Hamas–ruled territory might be coming to an end. Egypt had helped Israel enforce the blockade, which has kept some 1.5 million people confined to the tiny territory. <br /><br />Across Gaza, many thousands rushed into the streets late Friday. Gunmen fired in the air and women distributed candy. "God bless Egypt, it's a day of joy and God willing all corrupt leaders in the world will fall," said Radwa Abu Ali, 55, one of those handing out sweets. <br /><br /> <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.astandforjustice.org/2011/02/02-14-02.htm">US sends Twitter messages to Iranians</a> <br />In a third tweet, it said "US calls on Iran to allow people to enjoy same universal rights to peacefully assemble, demonstrate as in Cairo." <br /><br /> <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://blogs.forward.com/mitz-vote/135300/">In Budget-Cut Theater, Israel's a Prime Plot Device</a> <br />Aid to Israel is seen in the political system as a given and is spared the debate that almost all other budget expenses are subject to.<br /><br />Rand Paul has now put aid to Israel in the spotlight. And even though his call to cut the funding will not cause Israel to lose a penny from the assistance it receives from America, it will make people look again. Here’s an easy exercise: Try to remember, when was the last time the media reported on legislation providing aid to Israel? Hard to remember. The $3 billion package usually gets a couple of lines in the Congressional newspapers and a brief notice in the Jewish media.<br /><br /> <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://english.aljazeera.net//news/middleeast/2011/02/20112158387191255.html">Deaths reported in Iran protest</a> <br />Two people were killed at a banned opposition rally in Iran, a member of parliament has told the<br />Iranian Students' News Agency. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1357230/US-veterans-sue-Pentagon-rape-sexual-abuse-comrades.html">U.S. veterans sue Pentagon 'after they were raped and sexually abused by comrades'</a> <br />Fourteen U.S. veterans who say they were raped and abused by their comrades today accused the Pentagon of ignoring their claims.<br /><br /> <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.commondreams.org/newswire/2011/02/16-14">Kucinich: “Freedom Isn't Free and We Shouldn't Freely Give Our Freedoms Away”</a> <br />Congressman Dennis Kucinich (D-OH), today took to the House floor to continue his defense of civil liberties and his attack on the PATRIOT Act. He delivered the following remarks during debate on an extension of expiring provisions that passed the Senate yesterday: <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/israel-urges-u-s-to-reaffirm-support-in-light-of-egypt-unrest-1.342467">Israel urges U.S. to reaffirm support in light of Egypt unrest</a> <br />Defense Minister Ehud Barak on Wednesday stressed the importance of U.S. support for Israeli security in light of the political unrest in Egypt, while Ambassador Michael Oren urged the Obama administration to reaffirm its commitment to that regard. <br><br>....The U.S. officials stressed their country’s “unshakeable commitment to Israel’s security, including through our continued support for Israel’s military, and the unprecedented security cooperation between our two governments,” the White House said in its statement.<br><br>....“I think [cutting aid to Israel is] unlikely to happen. When there are deficits, it’s very easy to start talking about cutting foreign aid, because most people don’t care about foreign aid, but there is strong bipartisan support for Israel at the Congress”, said Engel. <b>Israel says to US: "Jump!". The US replies: "How high?"</b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.astandforjustice.org/2011/02/02-11-04.htm">Gas pump prices highest ever for this time of year</a> <br /> <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.astandforjustice.org/2011/02/02-16-03.htm">Iraqi: I'm proud my WMD lies led to war in Iraq</a> <br /> <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.astandforjustice.org/2011/02/02-15-01.htm">Panel: FBI overstated science in anthrax probe</a> <br />Federal investigators overstated the scientific case against the late Army researcher blamed for the 2001 anthrax attacks that killed five people, but the evidence is also consistent with the government's finding that Bruce Ivins was behind the mailings, a panel of scientists said Tuesday. <br /><br /> <b>You might also want to read <a href="http://www.wrmea.com/archives/sept-oct02/0209018.html">this</a>.</b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2011/02/11/108562/obama-assertion-fbi-can-get-phone.html">Obama assertion: FBI can get phone records without oversight</a> <br />"It's wrong that they're withholding a legal rationale that has to do with the authorities of the FBI to collect information that affects the rights of American citizens here and abroad," said Michael German, a former FBI agent of 16 years who now works for the American Civil Liberties Union. "The law should never be secret. We should all understand what rules we're operating under and particularly when it comes to an agency that has a long history of abuse in its collection activities."<br /><br />Read more: http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2011/02/11/108562/obama-assertion-fbi-can-get-phone.html#ixzz1Ejt6ZxQT<br /> <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.astandforjustice.org/2011/02/02-16-01.htm">Egypt-inspired protests gain pace across region</a> <br /> <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.lobelog.com/bbc-persian-report-on-iranium/">BBC Persian report on “Iranium” « LobeLog.com</a> <br />BBC Persian has an excellent report on another piece of propaganda: the neoconservative-dominated “Iranium” documentary from the Clarion Fund.<br /><br />The BBC Persian piece notes that the film’s writer and director, Alex Traiman, is an ideological Israeli settler who lives in the West Bank; it is critical of many of the facts and figures in the film. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.astandforjustice.org/2011/02/02-12-01.htm">Egypt army commits to power transfer, Israel peace</a> <br /> <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.lobelog.com/apns-friedman-on-ajcs-harris-linkage-denial/">APN’s Friedman on AJC’s Harris Linkage-denial</a> <br />Lara Friedman, of Americans for Peace Now, has a great post up on Huffington in which she debunks the many claims of American Jewish Committee Chief David Harris.<br /><br />Friedman takes on Harris’s attempt to debunk ‘linkage,’ the concept that the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is a burden on U.S. policy-making in the Middle East. This has been a neoconservative effort of late, which has been mostly absurd, and sometimes from Israel itself, on the dime of a pretty far right-wing Israel lobby group. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.astandforjustice.org/2011/02/02-11-01.htm">Ahmadinejad: Egyptian protests herald new Mideast</a> <br /> <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.astandforjustice.org/2011/02/02-11-05.htm">Iranians Support Egypt During Celebration of Their Revolution</a> <br />"The sword will bring you down from your palaces of oppression with the help of God," Ahmadinejad told the crowd. "Very soon, the new Middle East will have no Israel and no America. The new Middle East will have no superpowers." ( <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.haaretz.com/news/international/u-s-embassy-to-jordan-reiterates-u-s-support-of-king-abdullah-amidst-regional-unrest-1.343211">U.S. Embassy to Jordan reiterates U.S. support of King Abdullah amidst regional unrest</a> <br />This endorsement comes mere days after Abdullah swore in a new government led by Marouf Bakhit, who has promised to widen public freedoms in response to the anti-government protests that have swept the region. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4027149,00.html">WikiLeaks: Suleiman vowed to prevent Hamas rule in Gaza </a> <br />According to the memo, the then-Egyptian intelligence minister told Israeli defense official Amos Gilad during a meeting six years ago that he would "do all in his power to sabotage the Gaza elections in order to prevent a Hamas victory. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article27455.htm">Politics and Nonsense on Egypt</a> <br />There was no doubt that the events in Cairo were momentous and, therefore, deserving of response. In the case of most US political leaders, however, struggling to come up with the right TV sound bite didn't require actually knowing anything about Egypt. All that was needed was to frame the issue through either the prism of partisanship or that of unbending loyalty to Israel. The result was a string of comments, some bizarre, others dangerous. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://thecable.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2011/02/16/ron_paul_seeks_vote_to_end_foreign_aid_to_egypt_israel_jordan_and_pakistan">Ron Paul seeks vote to end foreign aid to Egypt, Israel, Jordan, and Pakistan</a> <br />"Borrowing money from China -- or printing it out of thin air -- to hand out overseas in [an] attempt to purchase friends has been a failing foreign policy, as we see most recently in Egypt where there is not even a government in place!" Paul wrote in his Dear Colleague letter. "We should seek friendly relations and trade overseas, but we cannot justify lavish gifts to foreign leaders when American taxpayers are increasingly feeling the pain of our economic crisis." <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/israel/8314051/Israel-rejects-William-Hagues-belligerent-claim.html">Israel rejects William Hague's 'belligerent' claim </a> <br />While there is broad acceptance that President Hosni Mubarak could remain in office until September as a transition to democracy is engineered, there is little sympathy with Israel's view that he must be shored up at all costs. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/2011/0210/Watching-unrest-in-Egypt-US-Jews-voice-many-concerns-some-hopes">Watching unrest in Egypt, US Jews voice many concerns, some hopes</a> <br />“We don’t feel they should be rushing into elections because it’s likely they would get the same results that Hamas got in Gaza,” Klein says. “They won fair and square but is that good for the world and the region? We must say, no.” <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4027245,00.html">Fireworks in Beirut over Mubarak's resignation</a> <br /> <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.lobelog.com/russia-no-new-iran-sanctions-no-attack/">russia No New Iran Sanctions, No Attack</a> <br />According to the Associated Press, Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov said yesterday in Europe that his country wouldn’t take part in more sanctions aimed solely at crippling Iran’s broader economy.<br /><br />What’s more, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Sergei Ivanov swore off the “threat of” and the “use of force” as “effective tool(s)” against Iran. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.theatlanticwire.com/opinions/view/opinion/Liberal-Activists-Target-Tea-Party-Koch-Brothers-6789">Liberal Activists Target Tea Party Koch Brothers</a> <br /> <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.amconmag.com/blog/2011/02/15/conservatives-hijack-cpac">Conservatives Hijack CPAC</a> <br />After Ron Paul won the 2011 Conservative Political Action Conference’s straw poll, many observers said that the poll didn’t matter this year because it was “hijacked” by a passionate “fringe,” unique to the event. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-12443463">Yemen rocked by third day of protests</a> <br /> <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://blogs.forward.com/mitz-vote/135355/">Barely a Minyan For Allies of Israel </a> <br />Israel has many friends in Congress. In fact, any pro-Israel letter or resolution easily gains hundreds of supporters in the House and a large majority in Senate.<br /><br />But on Wednesday night, supporters of Israel managed to fill only half a room in one of the congressional office buildings at the Allies of Israel Caucus reception on Capitol Hill. <br><br>..“Israel is yet to find a partner for peace,” said Rep. Engel at the event. “We cannot want peace more than anyone else.” The new Republican co-chair of the caucus, Trent Franks of Arizona — who is also the new chairman of the House Judiciary Committee’s Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights, and Civil Liberties — stressed that “when America stands with Israel, it blesses America and it blesses Israel.”<br /><br /> <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://forward.com/articles/135333/">Our Fallen</a> <br />In the Jewish community, there is often more focus on those Americans who enlist in the Israel Defense Forces than those who have chosen to fight under the stars and stripes. It’s an unspoken, uncomfortable truth: the IDF is the Jewish military. About 650 of the “lone soldiers” currently serving in the IDF are dual American-Israeli citizens, and there are untold numbers of foreign volunteers.<br /><br />By contrast, of the U.S. troops in Afghanistan and Iraq, only 1,500 are Jewish, 1% of the total currently deployed there.<br /><br /> <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.amconmag.com/blog/2011/02/11/bravo-egypt/">Bravo, Egypt</a> <br />The first question of many Americans is “what does it mean for Israel?” Well, I’m pretty sure Egypt won’t cooperate too much longer in Israel’s ugly siege of Gaza, and that has to be good for the Palestinians. Since Israel is now in a self-defeating downward spiral, based on the belief that it can get away, forever, with crushing the aspirations of Palestinians, what the Egyptians have achieved is likely to be good for Israel too. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=54416">Muslims and Christians Protest as One</a> <br /> <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.astandforjustice.org/2011/02/02-11-06.htm">U.S. Preparing Aid Package For Egypt Opposition</a> <br /> <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://news.antiwar.com/2011/02/16/israeli-fm-threatens-war-with-iran-over-suez-warship-claim/">Israeli FM Threatens War With Iran Over Suez Warship Claim</a> <br />Though the threat appeared to be taken all too seriously in financial circles, it should be pointed out that Lieberman tends to make idle threats and his influence on Israeli foreign policy appears to be extremely minimal. Likewise, it doesn’t seem the two warships could even theoretically pose an offensive threat to Israel, though they might well be offered as defensive backup if, as is often threatened, Israel starts new wars in the region.<br /><br /> <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.theatlanticwire.com/opinions/view/opinion/read-more-6964">Quote of the Day Ron Paul Kicked Out of Conservative Group</a> <br />Jordan Marks, of the prominent conservative group Young Americans for Freedom, on kicking out Tea Party favorite Rep. Ron Paul for his anti-war views. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://articles.latimes.com/2011/feb/07/opinion/la-ed-irvine-20110207">Overkill in Orange County</a> <br />he decision last week by Orange County Dist. Atty. Tony Rackauckas to bring criminal conspiracy charges against the students now, a year after the fact, is completely disproportionate. There is no good reason to take these college students to court, threaten them with as much as six months in jail and jeopardize their futures and careers over a nonviolent protest that didn't, ultimately, prevent the ambassador from speaking. <b>Fascist pro-Israelis win again.</b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.astandforjustice.org/2011/02/02-03-01.htm">US response to Egypt draws criticism in Israel</a> <br /> <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.lobelog.com/mubaraks-departure-may-offer-face-saving-solution-for-israels-iran-hawks/">Mubarak’s Departure May Offer Face Saving Solution for Israel’s Iran-Hawks</a> <br />While some hawks have warned that the Egyptian revolution could be co-opted by the Muslim Brotherhood, Benn sees the revolution as a largely secular movement. But that doesn’t mean that the new Egyptian leadership will be helpful in backing Israeli attempts to pressure Iran or supportive of a military strike. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/news/mubarak-s-departure-thwarted-israeli-strike-on-iran-1.343012">Mubarak's departure thwarted Israeli strike on Iran</a> <br /> <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.astandforjustice.org/2011/02/02-12-03.htm">Joint Chiefs chairman to reassure Jordan, Israel</a> <br /> <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.csmonitor.com/Commentary/Global-Viewpoint/2011/0204/US-can-blame-itself-for-anger-in-the-Middle-East-and-start-making-peace">US can blame itself for anger in the Middle East, and start making peace</a> <br />is it perhaps all about Israel? Yet why should that state constitute the seeming touchstone of everything that we do in the region? After all, Israel is overwhelmingly the most powerful military state in the Middle East, acts at will in the Middle East under the protection of American veto, manipulates our own domestic politics in its favor, and is now run by the most inflexible and ultra-right-wing government in Israeli history, while soaking up more American foreign aid per capita than any other state. The US still backs Israel against the Palestinians in an Israeli occupation now into its fifth decade. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://counterpunch.org/christison02162011.html">The US as Israel's Enabler in the Middle East</a> <br /> <b></b><br><br><br /><br><hr><br>Pale Riderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02275892742258409916noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7859798942798774539.post-66853730003347942462011-02-16T22:02:00.001-05:002011-02-16T22:02:30.648-05:00Headlines for February 3 - February 9<a href="http://www.astandforjustice.org">A Stand For Justice</a><br><br><br /><a href="http://original.antiwar.com/giraldi/2011/02/02/how-about-a-clean-break-with-israel/">How About a Clean Break – with Israel? by Philip Giraldi</a> <br />That Israel is able to control many aspects of America’s relationship with foreign nations is clear and the hubristic Israel Lobby makes virtually no effort to hide what it is doing. On January 18th, Senator Kirsten Gillibrand of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee wrote a letter to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton calling on the United States to veto any resolution in the United Nations condemning the Israeli settlements policy......Joined by 15 other senators as cosignatories, Gillibrand maintains fatuously and falsely that any criticism of the settlements "hurts the prospects for a peace agreement and is not in the interest of the United States." In reality, as she well knows, it is US acquiescence in the settlements that damages the US standing in the world.<br><br>.....Senator Gillibrand’s excursion into fantasy, Rand Paul’s experience in opening Pandora’s box, and the developing situation in Egypt together illustrate how Israel is a United States national security liability and always has been. <br><br>Its leading politicians have even bragged about how the United States does its bidding. This has done extreme damage to the United States, which has initiated at least one war as a result, and has been engaged in what must be described as a nearly continuous and escalating conflict with the entire Muslim world on behalf of Israel. This has trashed America’s reputation and has come at a real cost of trillions of dollars and thousands of lives. The benefit to the American people has been zero.<br><br>In accomplishing its strategic objective of making the United States its permanent protector, Israel and its lobby have also corrupted both Congress and the White House and have created a permanent distortion in how Washington sees the world and responds to it. Israel’s enemies, even if they do not threaten the United States in any way, have become America’s enemies. <br><br>That Washington will define its own interests in the Middle East largely in terms of whether they are compatible with those of Israel is nothing short of betrayal of the Constitution, which established a national government that would benefit the American people and make them both safe and prosperous. One hesitates to borrow rhetoric from the neoconservatives, but sometimes even they get something right. It is indeed time for a clean break, but this time with Israel. <b>Another great article by former CIA counterterrorism officer, Philip Giraldi.</b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2011/02/03-3">Pentagon Paid Billions To Contractors Suspended For Fraud</a> <br />The military paid a total of $285 billion to more than 100 contractors between 2007 and '09, even though those same companies were defrauding taxpayers in the same period, according to a new Defense Department report. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article27406.htm">The FBI “Kamikaze Pilots”</a> <br /> <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article27424.htm">US to Jewish Leaders: We Won't Recognize Muslim Brotherhod</a> <br />The White House is seeking to reassure Jewish leaders concerned about the turmoil in Egypt, telling them in a conference call late Wednesday that US policy is not to deal with the Muslim Brotherhood.<br /><br />Many in the pro-Israel community have been concerned that the waning position of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and his regime will empower the Muslim Brotherhood and are fearful that the US could contribute to its rise by viewing the Islamic group as a legitimate Egyptian political player. <b>We don't support freedom or democracy if it displeases Israel or her supporters. This is not lost on the Arab world (and beyond).</b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.jpost.com/MiddleEast/Article.aspx?id=206357">‘We know that Netanyahu cannot sleep now’</a> <br />“We know the revolution will change this and that’s that, we see every day what Israel is doing with the Palestinians.” <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.astandforjustice.org/2011/02/02-09-02.htm">U.S. terror threat at highest since 9/11: Napolitano</a> <br /> <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.astandforjustice.org/2011/02/02-09-04.htm">Israel's Barak in U.S. for talks amid Egypt crisis</a> <br />Barak's visit is expected to focus on Egypt, where unprecedented protests against the 30–year rule of President Hosni Mubarak have raised fears the unrest may lead to Islamist radicalization that could threaten Cairo's 1979 peace agreement with Israel and its role in Middle East peace efforts. <br /><br /> <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://voices.washingtonpost.com/44/2011/02/gop-freshmen-help-derail-patri.html">GOP freshmen help derail Patriot Act extension</a> <br />The House is likely to bring the extensions back up before the end of the month under regular procedures, when a simple majority would suffice to send it to the Senate. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2011/02/09-2">WikiLeaks Cables: Saudi Arabia Cannot Pump Enough Oil to Keep a Lid on Prices</a> <br />The cables, released by WikiLeaks, urge Washington to take seriously a warning from a senior Saudi government oil executive that the kingdom's crude oil reserves may have been overstated by as much as 300bn barrels – nearly 40%. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.astandforjustice.org/2011/02/02-09-01.htm">New drilling method opens vast oil fields in US</a> <br />Companies are investing billions of dollars to get at oil deposits scattered across North Dakota, Colorado, Texas and California. By 2015, oil executives and analysts say, the new fields could yield as much as 2 million barrels of oil a day – more than the entire Gulf of Mexico produces now. <br /><br />This new drilling is expected to raise U.S. production by at least 20 percent over the next five years. And within 10 years, it could help reduce oil imports by more than half, advancing a goal that has long eluded policymakers. <br /><br /> <b>We need to get off the Middle Eastern oil NOW.</b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.astandforjustice.org/2011/02/02-07-02.htm">Israeli prime minister says peace can come apart</a> <br />Israel's prime minister is warning that peace treaties can be canceled, hinting at his concern over the turmoil in Egypt over anti–government protests. <br /><br /> <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.astandforjustice.org/2011/02/02-09-03.htm">Mideast allies: 'US go easy on Egypt'</a> <br /> <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.csmonitor.com/Commentary/Global-Viewpoint/2011/0208/Egypt-s-Muslim-Brotherhood-is-a-democratic-partner-not-Islamist-threat">Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood is a democratic partner, not Islamist threat - CSMonitor.com</a> <br />The Muslim Brothers began in the 1930s as a legalist, anti-colonialist, and nonviolent movement that claimed legitimacy for armed resistance in Palestine against Zionist expansionism during the period before World War II. The writings from between 1930 and 1945 of Hassan al-Banna, founder of the Brotherhood, show that he opposed colonialism and strongly criticized the fascist governments in Germany and Italy. He rejected use of violence in Egypt, even though he considered it legitimate in Palestine, in resistance to the Zionist Stern and Irgun terror gangs. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.amconmag.com/blog/2011/02/05/everybodys-talkin-at-me/">Everybody’s Talkin’ at Me…</a> <br />Mike Huckabee is on FOX, speaking from Israel, lamenting Mubarak’s–and Israel’s–betrayal by the US.<br /><br />Mubarak deserves a defense and we would do well to hear one, if only to temper the giddy rush to celebrate Egypt’s impending chaos; but the Reverend Huck? Here he is now an apologist for Arab despotism. I didn’t hear him mention the plight of Egypt’s Christians, already under siege before the present uprising. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article27402.htm">Blood and fear in Cairo's streets as Mubarak's men crack down on protests</a> <br /> <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2011/02/02/AR2011020206283.html">U.S. reexamining its relationship with Muslim Brotherhood opposition group</a> <br />U.S. officials have acknowledged the political reality that the Muslim Brotherhood is poised to assume at least a share of power should Egypt hold free and fair elections in the coming months. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/feb/03/egypt-regime-death-toll-tahrir">US hatches Mubarak exit strategy as Egypt death toll mounts</a> <br /> <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.astandforjustice.org/2011/02/02-08-01.htm">Egypt protests draw biggest crowd yet</a> <br />"Yesterday, one man in his 60s said: 'We were cowards. We kept quiet all these years, but you've done it.' It's inspiring. It's a rebirth," he said. "I never thought I'd sleep on asphalt with rain on my face and feel happy." <br /><br /> <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article27430.htm">WikiLeaks: Israel Long Viewed Egypt VP as Preferred Mubarak Successor</a> <br />According to an August 2008 cable released by WikiLeaks and published by the Daily Telegraph newspaper on its website, a senior adviser from the Israeli Ministry of Defense told U.S. diplomats in Tel Aviv that the Israelis believe Suleiman would likely serve as "at least an interim president if Mubarak dies or is incapacitated." <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2011/02/09-0">HRW: Egypt-Inspired Protests Across Middle East Meet Violent Clampdown</a> <br />The security forces' clampdown is part and parcel of regular prohibitions on public gatherings in Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Syria, the United Arab Emirates, the West Bank, and Yemen. These governments curtail free expression and assembly despite the fact that almost all of the region's countries have signed international agreements protecting both rights, Human Rights Watch said. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.forward.com/articles/135149/">Jewish Groups Clash Over Response to Fox Host’s On-Air Holocaust Rhetoric</a> <br /> <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article27419.htm">It's Not Radical Islam That Worries The US – It's Independence</a> <br /> <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.commondreams.org/view/2011/02/07-1">Corporate Control? Not in These Communities </a> <br />it is part of a (so far) quiet municipal movement making its way across the United States in which communities are directly defying corporate rule and affirming the sovereignty of local government. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2011/02/07">Check, Please: Huffington Post Sold to AOL for $315m</a> <br /> <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-12348746">Shell annual profits double to $18.6bn</a> <br /> <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.forward.com/articles/135153/">Three Years Old, J Street Still Struggles For Acceptance</a> <br />As J Street approaches two significant milestones — the third anniversary of its launch and its second national conference — the group is still spending time and energy defending itself from critics who say that it isn’t sufficiently pro-Israel. <br><br>...Asked in a February 1 interview with the Forward whether he still views J Street as pro-Israel, Ackerman responded: “They have done many things that are pro-Israel, but asking to refrain from vetoing a condemnation of Israel is not a pro-Israel action.” He expressed hope that J Street would reconsider its position on the issue.<br /><br /> <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://blogs.forward.com/mitz-vote/135009/">Ackerman Breaks With J Street – A Sign of Trouble Ahead for Dovish Lobby?</a> <br />J Street has lost one of its key supporters in Congress, as New York Democrat Gary Ackerman announced he is disassociating himself from the group because of their stance on condemning Israel’s settlement activity in the UN General Assembly.<br><br>...Gary Ackerman is one of the top authorities in the House on all things relating to Israel. He chaired the subcommittee on Middle East (and will now be the ranking Democrat on it) and has strong ties with leaders from Israel and Arab countries.<br /><br /> <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.amconmag.com/blog/2011/02/07/ideology-vs-the-national-interest/">Ideology vs. the National Interest by Patrick J. Buchanan </a> <br />if free and fair elections are held and the new government of Egypt, in Bush’s words, responds “to the will of the people, and not the will of an elite,” Egypt will become more Islamic, more hostile to us and Israel, and more supportive of Iran. <b>That's really none of our business, that's the business of the Egyptian people. Americans would never stand for anyone meddling in our affairs. Well, they wouldn't provided they knew about it (Israel's overwhelming influence over Capitol Hill. I'm trying to change the fact that most Americans are completely clueless so that maybe we can do something about that).</b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.forward.com/articles/135180/">The Gipper’s Gift: A Pro-Israel GOP</a> <br />Reagan gave pro-Israel neoconservatives, such as Jeane Kirkpatrick and Elliott Abrams, prominent roles in his administration. Kirkpatrick, in particular, defended Israel from her perch as American ambassador to the United Nations.<br><br>...A visit to Israel is now a rite of passage for prospective GOP presidential candidates (which is remarkable given that so few Jews vote in the Republican primaries), with Mitt Romney recently undertaking such a pilgrimage.<br /><br /> <b>Did this Forward author ever get a gander at <a href="http://againsttheinsidiouswiles.blogspot.com/2011/01/23-of-americans-say-take-no-side-in.html">these 2 recent polls</a>? I guess it doesn't matter what most Americans want as long as Congress is staunchly pro-Israel?</b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.forward.com/articles/135055/">Israel's Stakes, Egypt's Streets</a> <br />Hawks in Netanyahu’s government will almost certainly argue that Jerusalem is wise not to get too deeply involved in a peace process which could require it to make territorial concessions that it might regret tomorrow, in a very different Middle East. Others — myself included — would counter that the very absence of a peace process could encourage the next rulers of Egypt and possibly Jordan to turn their backs on Israel tomorrow.<br /><br /> <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.amconmag.com/blog/2011/02/08/be-careful-what-you-wish-for/">Be Careful What You Wish For</a> <br />Many on both the Left and Right who opposed the invasion of Iraq instinctively knew that the neoconservatives were simply using 9/11 as an excuse to start a war they’d been aching for as far back as the Clinton administration. All the talk about spreading “freedom” and “democracy” in Iraq was just that–talk. As many in the loop at that time now attest, high ranking Bush officials were trying to somehow link Saddam Hussein to the 9/11 attacks literally days after the World Trade Center fell. A permanent US footprint in Iraq was the goal since day one, and any “WMD,” “mushroom cloud” or democratic rhetoric necessary to sell the American people on this would do. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.forward.com/articles/135183/">Why It Makes Sense To Single Out Glenn Beck</a> <br />In a letter to The Wall Street Journal, Jeffrey Wiesenfeld reminds us that Roger Ailes and Rupert Murdoch are responsible for News Corporation’s financial support of the Jewish Community Relations Council of New York and the Anti-Defamation League. These are good men, I’ve been told repeatedly. Friends of the Jews.<br /><br /><br /> <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.astandforjustice.org/2011/02/02-07-01.htm">Cables: Israel favored Egypt's VP Suleiman</a> <br />A U.S. diplomat who classified the cable, Luis Moreno, wrote that although he deferred to the Embassy in Cairo for Egyptian succession scenario analysis, "there is no question that Israel is most comfortable with the prospect of" Suleiman. <br /><br /> <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.astandforjustice.org/2011/02/02-08-02.htm">Arabic Studies Proposal Causes Uproar in Mansfield, Texas</a> <br /> <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.amconmag.com/blog/2011/02/03/the-american-way-of-abandonment-2/">The American Way of Abandonment by Patrick J. Buchanan</a> <br />A dictator, yes, but also our man in the Arab world. Yet a few hundred thousand demonstrators in Cairo’s streets caused us to abandon him. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.amconmag.com/blog/2011/02/04/strange-bedfellows-on-egypt/">Strange Bedfellows on Egypt</a> <br /> <b></b><br><br><br /><br><hr><br>Pale Riderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02275892742258409916noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7859798942798774539.post-66399190445818017262011-02-09T22:16:00.000-05:002011-02-09T22:17:03.000-05:00Headlines for January 27 - February 2<a href="http://www.astandforjustice.org">A Stand For Justice</a><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.facebook.com/notes/if-americans-knew/us-democrats-and-pro-israel-lobbies-slam-republican-senators-call-to-halt-israel/10150166164137166">US Democrats and pro-Israel lobbies slam Republican Senator's call to halt Israel aid</a> <br />"You have to ask yourself, are we funding an arms race on both sides? I have a lot of sympathy and respect for Israel as a democratic nation, as, you know, a fountain of peace and a fountain of democracy within the Middle East. But at the same time, I don't think funding both sides of the arm race, particularly when we have to borrow the money from China to send it to someone else. We just can't do it anymore. The debt is all- consuming and it threatens our well-being as a country,” Paul said. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.amconmag.com/blog/2011/01/29/rand-paul-speaks/">Rand Paul Speaks by Philip Giraldi </a> <br />For his audacity, Senator Paul has been attacked by the Israel Lobby and by both Democrats and Republicans. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://feeds.bignewsnetwork.com/?sid=737887">U.S. presidential hopefuls hit the campaign trail in Israel</a> <br /> <b>Because they know THAT'S who they'll be answering to.</b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.astandforjustice.org/2011/02/02-01-02.htm">Canada-U.S. pipe would cut Mideast oil imports: study</a> <br />Oil from Saudi Arabia is among the world's cheapest to produce. Crude from Canada's oil sands is more expensive because companies must use a lot of energy to separate usable crude from sticky grit. <br /><br /> <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.astandforjustice.org/2011/01/01-31-05.htm">Oil hits $101 a barrel as Egypt protests mount</a> <br />Oil prices smashed through $100 a barrel Monday for the first time since the 2008 economic crisis, as traders worried that unrest in Egypt could disrupt oil flows through the Suez Canal. <br /><br /> <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.thestar.com/news/world/article/928526--no-proof-iran-is-building-nuclear-weapons-medvedev">No proof Iran is building nuclear weapons: Medvedev</a> <br />Russian President Dmitry Medvedev says the international community has no proof that Iran is building nuclear weapons. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.astandforjustice.org/2011/01/01-27-01.htm">Russia says awaiting Iranian response on fuel swap</a> <br /> <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://original.antiwar.com/giraldi/2011/01/26/the-road-to-national-suicide/">The Road to National Suicide by Philip Giraldi</a> <br />One of these wars, in Afghanistan, is costing the US taxpayer $10 billion a month and is tying up more than 100,000 American soldiers. Casualties are rising, most of Afghanistan has become insecure in spite of the effort, corruption and drug cultivation are rampant, and there is no end in sight. To put the cost of the war in some kind of perspective, Afghanistan’s gross domestic product for 2009 was $22 billion, meaning that it is costing nearly six times more to "defend" each year than its total economic activity. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2011/02/01-7">Report: Afghan Civilian Deaths Hit Record Levels In 2010</a> <br />The report blamed armed opposition groups (AOGs) for 63 percent of the civilian deaths and U.S.-NATO coalition forces for 21 percent of them. It criticized "AOGs for their deliberate killing and harassing of civilian communities and the US-NATO for their labeling of almost every war casualty as being 'suspected insurgent.'" <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://news.yahoo.com/s/atlantic/20110131/cm_atlantic/videorandpaulwantscutforeignaidtoeveryone6773">video Rand Paul Wants Cut Foreign Aid to Everyone</a> <br /> <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article27397.htm">US Embassy Cables: FBI Hunts The 9/11 Gang That Got Away</a> <br /> <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.presstv.ir/detail/162280.html">'NATO must probe cyber attack on Iran'</a> <br />Dmitry Rogozin said the Stuxnet virus could have sparked a new "Chernobyl tragedy," by causing the centrifuges producing enriched uranium at the Bushehr power plant to spin out of control. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.amconmag.com/blog/2011/01/27/sputnik-moment-or-gm-moment/">Sputnik Moment or GM Moment? by Patrick J. Buchanan</a> <br />The day after the president spoke, the Congressional Budget Office estimated the deficit this fiscal year at $1.5 trillion, largest in peacetime history and 10 percent of the entire U.S. economy. Almost 40 percent of the budget will be financed this year by borrowing from our own citizens and foreign countries, China foremost among them. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2011/01/27-0">Thousands of Yemenis Urge President to Quit</a> <br />Thousands of Yemenis, apparently inspired by events in Tunisia and Egypt, staged a mass demonstration on Thursday calling on President Ali Abdullah Saleh to quit after being in power since 1978. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.astandforjustice.org/2011/02/02-28-01.htm">GOP senator favors cutting US aid to Israel</a> <br />The steadfast support for Israel is widespread in Congress and Paul's proposal is certain to face strong opposition. In a fresh example of that support, six senior members of the House sent a letter to President Barack Obama imploring him to promise a veto of a pending U.N. resolution that condemns Israel and urging him to pressure Palestinian leaders to negotiate directly with Israel. <br /><br /> <b>God forbid Capitol Hill puts our interests first.</b><br><br><br /><a href="http://news.antiwar.com/2011/01/28/wikileaks-cables-detail-egyptian-repression-torture/">WikiLeaks Cables Detail Egyptian Repression, Torture</a> <br /> <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.astandforjustice.org/2011/02/02-01-06.htm">Muslim dignitaries pay their respects at Auschwitz</a> <br /> <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1q4LAzN4q9k">YouTube - Ron Paul U.S foreign Policy AIPAC Israel greatest obstacle no respect for the constitution</a> <br /> <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://news.antiwar.com/2011/01/28/thousands-protest-against-jordanian-govt/">Thousands Protest Against Jordanian Govt</a> <br />The pro-democracy protests spreading across the Middle East have found some eager supporters in Jordan, where thousands took to the street of Amman to demand that Prime Minister Samir Rifal step down and that a new, elected government be allowed to take its place. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.astandforjustice.org/2011/02/02-01-05.htm">Senate Dems reject call to cut Israel aid</a> <br /> <b>Capitol Hill is Israeli-occupied territory.</b><br><br><br /><a href="http://salem-news.com/articles/january262011/emanuel-palestine.php?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+Salem-news+%28Salem-News.com%29&utm_content=My+Yahoo">Rahm Emanuel's Father specialized in bus bombings in Palestine</a> <br />British MI-6 files contain information on the elder Emanuel's participation in the terrorist activities of Irgun Zvai Leumi, a Jewish terrorist organization that targeted British forces, UN officials, and Palestinian Arabs in the lead up to Israeli independence in 1948. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.astandforjustice.org/2011/01/01-29-02.htm">Protesters across US offer support to Egyptians</a> <br /> <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.astandforjustice.org/2011/02/02-02-04.htm">Israeli PM says Iran wants 'another Gaza' in Egypt</a> <br />Israel's prime minister on Wednesday said Iran wants to take advantage of the chaos in Egypt to create "another Gaza" there, run by Islamic fundamentalists. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.astandforjustice.org/2011/01/01-31-02.htm">Israel worried about Islamic takeover in Egypt</a> <br />Merkel and nine of her Cabinet ministers were in Israel for a special joint session, highlighting the two nations' strong bond six decades after the Holocaust, when Nazi Germany killed 6 million Jews. <br /><br /> <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/jan/28/wikileaks-cairo-cables-egypt-president">WikiLeaks cables show close US relationship with Egyptian president</a> <br /> <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.astandforjustice.org/2011/01/01-31-03.htm">Israel agrees to some Egyptian troops in Sinai</a> <br /> <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.commondreams.org/view/2011/01/31-9">Why Washington Clings to a Failed Middle East Strategy </a> <br /> <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.astandforjustice.org/2011/01/01-30-01.htm">Face of Mideast unrest: young and hungry for jobs</a> <br />The pledges–under–siege have something else in common: an acknowledgment that the unprecedented anger on Arab streets is at its core a long–brewing rage against decades of economic imbalances that have rewarded the political elite and left many others on the margins. <br /><br /> <b>Hmm.. that sounds vaguely familiar...</b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.astandforjustice.org/2011/02/02-01-03.htm">Egyptians dream of future freedom and opportunity</a> <br /> <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.astandforjustice.org/2011/01/01-31-04.htm">Egyptian protesters are conflicted over US role</a> <br />"The Americans believe in democracy. Now they have to show us," <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.astandforjustice.org/2011/01/01-28-01.htm">Egypt's Crisis: Israel Has Faith Mubarak Will Prevail</a> <br /> <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.astandforjustice.org/2011/02/02-02-01.htm">Dutch Jews want fast punishment for anti-Semitism</a> <br />Rising anti–Semitism "can be attributed to the rise of influence of Islam in the Netherlands," said Freedom party member of parliament Joram van Klaveren during the debate. "The more Islam, the more anti–Semitism." <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.astandforjustice.org/2011/01/01-28-03.htm">Davos panel sees huge Iranian response to attack</a> <br />A diverse panel of decision–makers and experts from the United States, Europe and the Middle East found common ground on just one thing when it comes to dealing with the Iranian nuclear program Friday: A military strike could well spark a devastating counterattack. <br /><br />In the debate at the World Economic Forum, former top U.S. diplomat Richard Haass said there were no good options should diplomacy fail, but stood apart from the others in advocating force as a viable option. He sparred repeatedly with Saudi Arabia's Prince Turki al–Faisal, who urged the United States to instead pressure Israel to quit its own reported nuclear weapons as a way of coaxing Iran to drop its suspected weapons program as well. <br /><br /> <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://news.yahoo.com/s/yblog_thecutline/20110202/ts_yblog_thecutline/cnns-cooper-describes-attack-in-egypt-pandemonium">CNN’s Cooper describes attack in Egypt ‘pandemonium’</a> <br />CNN's Anderson Cooper, who was attacked by pro-Mubarak protesters Wednesday, described his crew's experience on CNN's "American Morning"<br /><br /> <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.astandforjustice.org/2011/01/01-28-02.htm">As Egypt Clashes Continue, Fear of Islamists Paralyzes the U.S.</a> <br /> <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.astandforjustice.org/2011/01/01-29-01.htm">Israel watches Egypt uprising with fear</a> <br /> <b>They will lose a key puppet regime (not ours).</b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4022102,00.html">Could US abandon Israel too? </a> <br />"In addition, the American public opinion is on our side – some two thirds of the public supports Israel, and in the congress the biggest agreement is over issues revolving Israel," he concluded. <b>Wow. That's a complete lie. 2/3 of Americans actually want our government to take NO SIDE in that conflict, according to <a href="http://againsttheinsidiouswiles.blogspot.com/2011/01/23-of-americans-say-take-no-side-in.html">2 recent polls</a>.</b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.amconmag.com/blog/2011/01/27/double-slap-at-vets-in-sotu/">Double Slap at Vets in SOTU</a> <br />I already described not only how brief the President’s remarks on national security/foreign policy were on Tuesday night (I counted the word “veteran” twice in the 7,000-word speech, for example), but how his characterization of the military “progress” in Afghanistan was perilously close to being a bald-faced lie. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1352104/Anti-government-activist-arrested-planning-blow-Michigan-mosque.html">'Anti-government' activist arrested after planning to blow up Michigan mosque</a> <br /><br />A man has been charged with making a terrorist threat and carrying explosives after targeting one of the biggest mosques in the U.S.<br /><br />Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1352104/Anti-government-activist-arrested-planning-blow-Michigan-mosque.html#ixzz1DKhAEbba<br /> <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article27387.htm">Where's the Protest at Home? </a> <br />where are the protests in our country? Where is the leadership connecting the dots... between the financial meltdown, the record profits and bonuses on Wall Street, the continuing collapse of home equity, the joblessness, and the assault on public services in the name of budgetary prudence? <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.commondreams.org/newswire/2011/02/01-17">CCR Warrantless Wiretapping Case Dismissed By Federal Judge</a> <br />CCR v. Bush was filed against President George W. Bush, the head of the National Security Agency (NSA), and the heads of the other major security agencies, challenging the NSA's warrantless surveillance of people within the United States. As was widely reported, the NSA, for more than four years and with the approval of President Bush, engaged in a widespread program of warrantless electronic surveillance of telephone calls and emails in violation of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA). <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2011/01/31-0">EFF Uncovers Widespread FBI Intelligence Violations</a> <br /> <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2011/01/justice-department-web-surfing-tracked/">Justice Department seeks to have all web surfing tracked</a> <br /> <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.astandforjustice.org/2011/02/02-02-02.htm">Muslims seek change in their Hollywood story</a> <br /> <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.forward.com/articles/134962/">The Chinese Discover Jews and Israel and Can’t Seem To Get Enough</a> <br />A few days after the academics returned home, it was announced that China Central Television has just produced, in cooperation with Israel’s embassy in Beijing, a 12-part series intended to introduce Chinese audiences to the history of Israel and the Jewish people.<br /><br />The Israel Project, a Washington-based advocacy group, has proposed building on this interest to create a strong base of support for Israel in China. Last year it conducted a focus group on opinions toward Israel in Shanghai.<br /><br /><br /> <b>Now that the US has gone broke fighting wars in the Middle East (which are thanks in part to our support for Israel, the number one motivation for 911 given by the mastermind, Khaled S. Mohammed), Israel seeks a new host and benefactor, naturally the next rising superpower: China.</b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.amconmag.com/blog/2011/02/01/winners-and-losers-from-a-pharaohs-fall/">Winners and Losers From a Pharaoh’s Fall by Patrick J. Buchanan </a> <br />No, the United States is not hated across the region because of the freedoms we enjoy or even because of the lectures on democracy we do not cease to deliver. We are hated because we are perceived as hypocrites who say one thing and do another. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.amconmag.com/blog/2011/01/31/eyeless-in-gaza-and-elsewhere/">Eyeless in Gaza (and Elsewhere) by Philip Giraldi </a> <br /> <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2011/01/31-5">Israel Urges World to Curb Criticism of Egypt's Mubarak</a> <br />Israel called on the United States and a number of European countries over the weekend to curb their criticism of President Hosni Mubarak to preserve stability in the region. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.amconmag.com/blog/2011/01/31/the-middle-easts-new-normal/">The Middle East’s New Normal</a> <br />The days of the Middle Eastern autocrats, allied with the U.S. and open to some sort of co-existence with Israel — in fact, of the entire American hegemonic project in the Middle East — may be numbered. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/jan/28/egypt-police-brutality-torture-wikileaks">US reported 'routine' police brutality in Egypt, WikiLeaks cables show</a> <br />The batch of US embassy cables paint a despairing portrait of a police force and security service in Egypt wholly out of control. They suggest torture is routinely used against ordinary criminals, Islamist detainees, opposition activists and bloggers. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.astandforjustice.org/2011/01/01-31-01.htm">Israel shocked by Obama's "betrayal" of Mubarak</a> <br /> <b>Oh dear.</b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.ledger-enquirer.com/2011/01/31/1440918/former-president-carter-guesses.html">Former President Carter guesses Egypt's Mubarak 'will have to leave'</a> <br />“The United States wants Mubarak to stay in power, but the people have decided,” Carter said.<br /><br /> <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2011/02/01-3">Jordan's King Abdullah Sacks Cabinet, PM Quits Amid Street Protests </a> <br />King Abdullah's move comes after thousands of Jordanians took to the streets, inspired by widespread riots in Tunisia and Egypt, calling for the resignation of Prime Minister Samir Rifai. <b>Pro-Western Arab governments are falling all over the place, or are in danger of falling.</b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.commondreams.org/view/2011/02/01">Inequality Drives Egyptians to Streets, But Ours Worse</a> <br />While 22 million were searching for jobs in the US this week, Goldman Sachs tripled Chief Executive Lloyd Blankfein's base salary and awarded him $12.6 million of stock, a 42 percent increase from '09. The billionaire Koch brothers threw a lavish secret party for their looter cronies, to talk about their election plans. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.theday.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20110124/NWS09/301249955/-1/nws">Groton Guard detachment is heading to Egypt</a> <br />Connecticut National Guard Detachment 2, Company I, 185th Aviation Regiment of Groton has mobilized and will deploy to the Sinai Peninsula, Egypt, to support the Multinational Force and Observers. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/without-egypt-israel-will-be-left-with-no-friends-in-mideast-1.339926">Without Egypt, Israel will be left with no friends in Mideast</a> <br />From now on, it will be hard for Israel to trust an Egyptian government torn apart by internal strife. Israel's increasing isolation in the region, coupled with a weakening United States, will force the government to court new potential allies. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.astandforjustice.org/2011/02/02-02-03.htm">A Model of Middle East Democracy, Turkey Calls for Change in Egypt</a> <br />As unrest spreads across the Middle East, many have pointed to Turkey's successful melding of a largely Muslim population with an officially secular and working democracy as a role model for what might come next <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/africaandindianocean/egypt/8289686/Egypt-protests-Americas-secret-backing-for-rebel-leaders-behind-uprising.html">Egypt protests: America's secret backing for rebel leaders behind uprising</a> <br />The US government has previously been a supporter of Mr Mubarak’s regime. But the leaked documents show the extent to which America was offering support to pro-democracy activists in Egypt while publicly praising Mr Mubarak as an important ally in the Middle East. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.commondreams.org/view/2011/01/28">Egypt's Day of Reckoning</a> <br />you don't need to read the papers to see what has gone wrong. The filth and the slums, the open sewers and the corruption of every government official, the bulging prisons, the laughable elections, the whole vast, sclerotic edifice of power has at last brought Egyptians on to their streets. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.veteranstoday.com/2011/01/29/matthew-rothschild-u-s-ambassador-to-the-u-n-goes-after-richard-falk/">U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Goes After Richard Falk</a> <br /> <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.commondreams.org/view/2011/02/02-6">In Solidarity With the Egyptian People and the Soldiers Refusing to Repress Them</a> <br />As veterans and friends and families of veterans and active-duty members of the US military, we stand in solidarity with the courageous Egyptian people and the brave members of the Egyptian military who have refused to repress the people, and in some cases, joined them. <b></b><br><br><br /><a href="http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article27398.htm">Crunch Time Coming for America in the Middle East?</a> <br />If more and more Arabs breach the wall of fear that has prevented them for decades from demanding their rights, expressing their rage at the corruption and repression of their governments and at regime impotence in the face of Israel’s arrogance of power, there’s one question above all others America’s policy makers will have to ask themselves. Who do we need most if America’s own real interests are to be best protected – the Arabs or Israel? <b>Israel's minions on Capitol Hill won't allow us to do what's in our own best interests, not when it comes to Israel.</b><br><br><br /><br><hr><br>Pale Riderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02275892742258409916noreply@blogger.com0