Bush & Obama? Israeli assassinations and US Presidents Featured

Alison Weir

On January 13th the Atlanta Jewish Times featured a column by its owner-publisher suggesting that Israel might someday need to “order a hit” on the president of the United States.

In the column, publisher Andrew Adler describes a scenario in which Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu would need to “give the go-ahead for U.S. based Mossad agents to take out a president deemed unfriendly to Israel.”

The purpose? So that the vice president could then take office and dictate U.S. policies that would help the Jewish state “obliterate its enemies.”

Adler writes that it is highly likely that the idea “has been discussed in Israel’s most inner circles.”

Numerous Jewish leaders quickly condemned Adler, who has now apologized for the column, resigned, and there are some reports that he plans to put the newspaper up for sale. An Israeli columnist noted that the hatred being stirred up against Obama is similar to conditions in Israel that led to the murder of Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin by a Jewish extremist.

Many of those criticizing Adler claim that he had defamed Israel by suggesting that it would ever do such a thing. Abe Foxman, head of the Jewish Anti-Defamation League (ADL) proclaimed: “There is absolutely no excuse, no justification, no rationalization for this kind of rhetoric. It doesn’t even belong in fiction.”

In reality, however, Adler’s expectation that Israel’s inner circles have explored such a course of action, and would be willing to undertake it, may be entirely accurate. The fact is that Israel has killed and plotted to assassinate people throughout the world; a number have been Americans. One alleged plot was chillingly similar to Adler’s suggestion.


Consensus 9/11: Seeking Truth, Dispelling Lies

Stephen Lendman

9/11 was the defining event of our time. Multiple wars followed. More are planned. Global terror wars rage, another on truth, democratic values, rule of law principles, social justice, and freedom.

Consensus 9/11 seeks "best evidence" proof to dispel official story falsehoods. It is founded on:

(1) The opinions of respected authorities, based on professional experience, descriptive studies, and reports of expert committees.

(2) Physical data in the form of photographs, videotapes, court testimony, witness reports, and FOIA releases.

(3) Direct rather than circumstantial evidence.

Determining "best evidence" depends on "integrating individual professional expertise with the best available documentary and scientific evidence."

Simplified Delphi methodology is followed. It's often used "where published information is inadequate or non-existent." As a result, experts use "best evidence" to determine truth.


Saboteur: An interview with a domestic insurgent

William T. Hathaway

From the Book
RADICAL PEACE: People Refusing War
By William T. Hathaway

I first met the man we'll call Trucker in 1970 at a rally against the Vietnam War. Our demo was going to start on the Berkeley campus and continue with a march down Telegraph Avenue. This was shortly after the National Guard and police had murdered six demonstrators at Kent State and Jackson State, so the mood was extremely tense. The Berkeley city government had denied us a permit to march and called in police reinforcements from Oakland. The Oakland cops had a reputation for brutality (based on their treatment of the black population), and we were expecting an ugly and possibly violent confrontation. Out of fear, many people decided not to march, but others of us argued that marching was now more important than ever. We needed to defy the government's attempts to scare us into silence.

After speeches and music in front of Sproul Hall, we marched off the campus and were met by a wall of police sealing off Telegraph Avenue. Some of our hard-cores in front tried to break through the barrier but were clubbed down. Cops began firing what looked liked shotguns, and people started screaming and running in panic, but it turned out to be tear gas.

A demonstrator wearing a biker helmet, swim goggles, and a cloth around his face picked up a gas canister with gloved hands and hurled it back at the police -- a classic scene of a brave individual defying tyranny. Inspired, I pulled off my old green beret that I'd been wearing and used it to protect my hands as I scooped up a hot canister and threw it back where it came from. I thought about all the grenades I'd thrown in Vietnam and felt much better about this one.

The first line of cops, those who were firing, wore gas masks, but those behind didn't, and I felt a surge of triumph seeing them run from their own gas. But the ones in masks kept advancing and firing, looking like robots.


Targeting AIPAC

Stephen Lendman

On January 23, Occupy AIPAC announced plans to confront the powerful Israeli Lobby in Washington from March 2 - 6. More on what's planned below.

Since last September, OWS inspired affiliate groups. Among others they include Occupy Together, Occupy Everything, Occupy Arrests, Occupy Police, Occupy Marines, Occupy Veterans, Occupy Writers, Occupy Filmakers, Occupy Schools, Occupy the World Wide Web, Occupy Freedom, Occupy NATO, Occupy Congress, Occupy the White House, and Occupy Your State Capital America.

Many communicate online through social networks like Facebook. They spread information globally and hopefully inspire others to join a worldwide movement for change.

From March 4 - 6, AIPAC will hold its annual Washington conference. Deferentially, politicians, presidents, their hangers-on, media scoundrels and others show up to pay homage to its influence and the government it represents.

AIPAC's an unregistered foreign agent. Calling itself "America's Pro-Israel Lobby," it's represented Israeli interests since founded in 1953. In 1963, it was incorporated as a division of the American Zionist Council (AZC), its precursor.

Virtually no one in Congress confronts it. Doing so is a career-ender. Notably, it has virtual veto power over war and peace, trade and investment, multi-billion dollar arms sales, enormous handouts to Israel, and all Middle East policies affecting the Jewish state under Democrat and Republican administrations alike.


Europe's Losing Game

Stephen Lendman

Partnering with America has consequences. Europe's paying by shooting itself in the foot.

On January 23, EU representative for foreign and security affairs, Catherine Ashton, broke the news. She announced an "unprecedented" anti-Iranian oil embargo, effective July 1 and immediately from new contracts.

The ban covers crude oil, petroleum and petrochemical products, oil related business, equipment and technology, selling Tehran refined products, new investments, and dealing with its central bank.

Europe buys up to 20% of its oil from Iran. Ending it means greater strain on economically stressed countries. Making up lost volume won't be easy. Putting lipstick on this pig doesn't wash.

Alternatives are few and far between. Claiming Saudi Arabia can compensate is false. Iran's reserves are third largest globally. No combination of Gulf states can replace its shipments.


The Amman fiasco

Khalid Amayreh


Jordan's King Abdullah with Mahmoud Abbas (Abu
Mazen), the illegitimate[*] president of the Palestinian
Authority. Mahmoud Abbas is not rightful leader of
the Palestinians in the West Bank, much less in Gaza,
where Ismail Haniyeh of Hamas was democratically
elected in 2006. Abbas is Israel's puppet & enforcer.

It seems the Jordanian-moderated talks between Zionist and Palestinian negotiators in Amman are going nowhere. Some observers argue the talks were doomed from the very beginning as the apartheid Israeli regime continued to refuse freezing settlement expansion.

The talks, dubbed as "exploratory" by some Palestinian Authority (PA) officials never really had the slightest chance of success, given Israel's determined and stubborn refusal to end her military occupation of the West Bank, Gaza Strip and East Jerusalem as well as allow for the repatriation of millions of uprooted Palestinians back to their homes and villages in what is called now "Israel."

These are the most elementary and minimalist Palestinian demands that must be met if a peace deal can ever be salvaged.

However, it is amply clear that the so-called peace talks are being held, not for the sake of pursuing genuine peace but rather for the sake of keeping the sides busy with something and also for the sake of satisfying demands by the Quartet which would like to have a feeling, however false and disingenuous, that some thing is going on and that the train of peace is not hopelessly stuck at station.

This is what the eternally and justifiably frustrated Palestinian negotiators are saying, namely that Israel, which never stops stealing Palestinian land and demolishing Palestinian homes, is not really seeking a dignified peace agreement but is rather trying to liquidate the Palestinian cause.

This is the message PA representatives got from the chief Zionist representative to the talks Yitzhak Molcho who briefed the Palestinians about Israel's vision of a final territorial "compromise" in the West Bank.


BIG BROTHER INTERNET

Paul Craig Roberts

Dear friends: I am pleased to bring to you Gerald Celente’s assessment of the threats posed to Internet freedom. Celente’s Trends Journal is one of the most insightful publications of our era. PCR

Do you remember the Safe-Cyber instructions they taught you in the mandatory Computer Ed class (operated by the National Institute of Standards and Technology)? First you fire up your Secured Computing Device (SCD) and its hardware token authenticator.

Then you enter the six-digit algorithmically generated password displayed (a new one flashes every 60 seconds) and are asked to supply your biometric identifier. You place your thumb on the built-in fingerprint pad, click, and wait for the Internet connection to begin. But it doesn’t.

Instead, the screen goes black for a second before the dreaded words appear: “Malware has been detected on this SCD. As mandated by federal law, it has been placed in quarantine.” Then the machine shuts down.

This is not just conjecture, but an imminent scenario. Policies, such as the White House proposed “National Strategy for Trusted Identities in Cyberspace,” which will transform the character, culture and freedom of the Internet, are already in place. The 20 cybersecurity-related bills introduced in the Senate in 2011, and the dozen introduced in the House of Representatives, have wound their way through committees and, according to Senator Harry Reid, are scheduled to be voted on in the first quarter of 2012. Almost all of them, with the blessing of the White House, would make the Department of Homeland Security the overseer of private-sector networks.


Washington's War on Syria

Stephen Lendman

On January 28, Arab League monitors suspended operations in Syria. In early February, they'll decide whether to end them altogether. League Secretary-General Nabil Elaraby blamed Assad for "resort(ing) to escalating the military option in complete violation of (his) commitments."

In fact, he's contesting a Western-generated insurgency. League despots support it. They also condoned NATO's Libya war, including massacres too great to ignore.

They back NATO's plan to colonize, occupy and plunder Middle East states, including Iraq, Libya, Syria and Iran, as well as ongoing atrocities in Bahrain, Yemen, Somalia, Palestine, and elsewhere in the region.

On December 26, Arab League observers began monitoring Syrian cities. Sudanese General Mohammed Ahmed Mustafa al-Dabi led them. Instead of delivering the goods as planned, he called Assad "cooperative."

Ergo, end the mission. Initiate Plan B.

At issue is regime change and isolating Iran, not democracy and peace. America deplores both and won't tolerate them at home or abroad.

After ravaging Libya and toppling Gaddafi, Syria was next. For months, Western-backed insurgents killed thousands. No one knows how many. UN estimates lack credibility by pointing fingers the wrong way.

Washington wants Assad vilified, delegitimized, weakened and toppled. Tactics include violence, propaganda, and attempts to pass Security Council measures, inching closer to intervention. More on that below.


How Ron Paul Could Win

Paul Craig Roberts

In the Soviet Union common criminals were punished less harshly and received better treatment than political prisoners. A person who had committed a violent crime had more rights than someone who expressed criticism of the government and could be portrayed as having acted against the government. We now have the same situation in the US.

In a recent case the Supreme Court overturned the sentence of a drug dealer who was convicted on the basis of a warrantless 28-day search by having a GPS device affixed to his car. In other words, a common criminal still has privacy rights under the Constitution, but not US citizens who are suspected of vague and nebulous “terrorist support."

Both Republicans and Democrats have demonstrated disregard for the civil liberty protections guaranteed by the US Constitution. Among the visible candidates for president, only Ron Paul has respect for the Constitution. As it is now possible for the executive branch to take away the life and liberty of a US citizen without due process of law, the Constitution is for all practical purposes lost. Tyranny looms, and Ron Paul is the only candidate who stands against tyranny.

This is why I have written that Ron Paul is our last chance and encouraged his libertarian handlers to be flexible enough for the electorate to elect Ron Paul. I agree that Ron Paul, if elected president, would be hamstrung by the Establishment, but the other candidates offer no hope whatsoever.

What is at stake is not libertarianism, but the US Constitution. Unfortunately, not many libertarians see that. Neither do many progressives. If truth be known, Americans are too divided and in opposition to one another to be able to unite against tyranny.


Torture and Abuse in Libya

Stephen Lendman

NATO's alleged "responsibility to protect" was subterfuge. Months of terror bombings left Libya a charnel house.

Africa's most developed country was ravaged. Tens of thousands were killed, multiples more injured, and millions left on their own sink or swim.

When is war not war? It's when mass killing and destruction are called the right thing. It's also when terrorizing and traumatizing an entire population goes unaddressed.

Add horrific torture to other crimes and abuses, according to Amnesty International (AI), Doctors Without Borders, and Human Rights Watch (HRW). In its World Report 2012: Libya, HRW said Post-Gaddafi prison conditions are

"sub-standard, with overcrowding, inadequate food and water, and consistent reports about abuse, including beatings [and] use of electric shock."

Investigator Sidney Kwiram said HRW documented "ongoing torture" used "to force confessions or for punishment."

HRW left unaddressed that most held are pro-Gaddafi political prisoners. Doing so is lawless repression. It's also more proof of NATO and its puppet NTC regime's contempt for human rights.


Why All The Robo-Signing? Shedding Light On The Shadow Banking System

Ellen Brown

The Wall Street Journal reported on January 19th that the Obama Administration was pushing heavily to get the 50 state attorneys general to agree to a settlement with five major banks in the “robo-signing” scandal. The scandal involves employees signing names not their own, under titles they did not really have, attesting to the veracity of documents they had not really reviewed. Investigation reveals that it did not just happen occasionally but was an industry-wide practice, dating back to the late 1990s; and that it may have clouded the titles of millions of homes. If the settlement is agreed to, it will let Wall Street bankers off the hook for crimes that would land the rest of us in jail – fraud, forgery, securities violations and tax evasion.

To the President’s credit, however, he seems to have shifted his position on the settlement in response to protests before his State of the Union address. In his speech on January 24th, President Obama did not mention the settlement but announced instead that he would be creating a mortgage crisis unit to investigate wrongdoing related to real estate lending. “This new unit will hold accountable those who broke the law, speed assistance to homeowners, and help turn the page on an era of recklessness that hurt so many Americans,” he said.


Selling War

Stephen Lendman

To this day, lies launch [wars]. They're all based on lies to get people to go along with what wouldn't be possible otherwise.

Throughout its history, America glorified wars in the name of peace. From inception, they're perpetuated against one or more domestic or foreign adversaries.

They include mass killing, assaults and abuse. Pacifism's called sissy or unpatriotic. Propaganda insists America's peace-loving. In fact, more than ever today, it's addicted to permanent war and violence.

Nonetheless, initiating them requires public support. Famed US journalist Walter Lippmann coined the phrase "manufacture of consent." It's a euphemism for mind control.

In 1917, George Creel first used it successfully to turn pacifist Americans into raging German-haters. It works the same way now. In 1916, Woodrow Wilson was reelected on a pledge of: "He Kept Us Out of War." Straightaway, he began planning US involvement.

In April 1917, he established the Committee on Public Information (CPI or Creel Committee). It operated through August 1919. Its mission was enlisting public support for war and undermining opposition sentiment.


Profile of a Rogue State

Stephen Lendman

America is unmatched globally. However, pound for pound, based on size, its policies, and regional threat, Israel stands out. Daily, its crimes against humanity continue.

On January 23, Jerusalem police arrested two Palestinian officials, Khaled Abu Arafeh and Mohammed Totah.

Police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said both men were wanted for unspecified "Hamas activities" with no further comment.

Hamas, of course, is Palestine's legitimate government. Israel and America spuriously call it a terrorist organization. Hamas spokesman Mushir al-Masri said arresting both men was a "Zionist crime." Palestine's parliament hasn't functioned since Hamas and Fatah split in 2007.

Both men were arrested at the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) Sheikh Jarrah offices. For the past 18 months, they sought refuge there protesting Israel's illegal deportation orders after their ID cards were revoked.

Abu Arafah served as Hamas minister for Jerusalem affairs. Totah's a Hamas PLC representative. Months earlier, Hamas legislator Mahmoud Atoun was arrested. He also sought ICRC refuge.

Hamas parliamentarians are repeatedly targeted. Around two dozen remain imprisoned. Twenty are uncharged under administrative detention. At one time, 40 Hamas PLC members were lawlessly incarcerated for belonging to the wrong party, not any crimes they committed.


No prison time for Marine charged in Haditha massacre

Naomi Spencer

As part of a plea deal, Staff Sergeant Frank Wuterich, leader of a Marine squad responsible for the 2005 slaughter of 24 Iraqi civilians, will spend no time in a military prison. Wuterich, 31, pleaded guilty on January 23 to a single charge of negligent dereliction of duty for his role in the massacre in Haditha and its subsequent cover-up.

The Marine faced a sentencing hearing Tuesday at Camp Pendleton, California. Previously indicted on unpremeditated murder charges in 19 of the 24 civilian deaths, counts carrying a maximum sentence of 152 years in prison, Wuterich was allowed to walk free. He still faces possible reduction in pay and rank. During proceedings Monday, the court did not discuss a discharge for Wuterich, who has remained on active duty since the massacre.

The Haditha case was the longest running criminal prosecution against military personnel involved in the Iraq War and Wuterich was the last man among the original eight facing charges in the case. Six other Marines had charges dismissed, and one Marine was acquitted.

The plea agreement of Wuterich brings the three-and-a-half-week long court martial to a close, thereby suppressing more details about the killings, one of the worst atrocities committed by US soldiers against civilians since the My Lai massacre in Vietnam.

As in other atrocity cases related to the US occupations of Iraq and Afghanistan—among them the Abu Ghraib torture case, the Blackwater killings of Baghdad’s Nisour Square, the Afghan “kill team,” and others—the outcome of the Haditha killings absolves higher level military and government figures of any responsibility for the consequences of policies that low-ranking military personnel carry out. Like the massacre itself, the outcome of the case underscores the criminal character of the wars and the political establishment behind them.

Wuterich pleaded guilty to the minor charge of negligent dereliction of duty for ordering the squad to “shoot first and ask questions later” on the night of November 19, 2005. Although the rampage began after a convoy in which the Marines were traveling was struck by a roadside bomb, testimony of the men make clear that Wuterich and others were knowingly slaughtering innocent bystanders with no provocation.


Obama's Failed State of the Union

Stephen Lendman

It was typical Obama, taking credit for what should be condemned. He's a fraud, a crime boss, a war criminal multiple times over, a moral coward, and serial liar.

His State of the Union address was beginning-to-end doublespeak, duplicity, coverup, and denial of failed policies complicit with Wall Street crooks, war profiteers, and other corporate favorites while popular needs go begging.

Not according to fawning New York Times writers, however. Suppressing truth and full disclosure, Helene Cooper headlined, "Obama Speech Makes Pitch for Economic Fairness," saying:

Obama "pledged on Tuesday night to use government power to balance the scale between America's rich and the rest of the public....toward an economy 'built to last' and what he called irresponsible policies of the past that caused economic collapse."

Fact check

Throughout his tenure, Obama transferred trillions of dollars to Wall Street, other corporate favorites, and America's rich already with too much. In the process, he deepened a Main Street Depression. As a result, half of US households are impoverished or bordering on it. Hunger and homelessness grow. Nothing's done to help. Unaddressed human need is incalculable.

Over 25 million remain unemployed. Job creation is nil except for low wage/no benefit temp or part-time ones. Inequality in America is unprecedented. Obama supports austerity when massive stimulus is needed. Rich elites never had it so good at the expense of ordinary people left out. Obama's Failed State isn’t fit to live in for growing millions.

Nonetheless, an accompanying Times editorial headlined, "The State of the Union in 2012," saying:

"A year ago....we applauded" Obama's plan to "put millions of struggling people to work (and his support for) wrestl(ing) down the deficit (by requiring) the wealthy (to pay) a fairer share of taxes."

Applause continued, ignoring Obama's duplicitous Tuesday address and agenda.


Independent Libyan Fact-Finding Mission

Stephen Lendman

A joint report was released by the Arab Organization for Human Rights (AOHR), Palestinian Center for Human Rights (PCHR), and International Legal Assistance Consortium (ILAC).

Their mission investigated alleged widespread international law violations since mid-February 2011. Its mandate included investigating those committed by:

the former government;
NATO; and
insurgents.

It also sought to identify human rights issues, requiring Lybian and international attention.

Investigators included "leading international jurists and lawyers with expertise in international human rights law, international humanitarian law, international criminal law, transitional justice, and the development of legal systems in post-conflict environments."

Information obtained from witnesses, victims, and other parties were kept confidential unless already revealed and available.

Investigations weren't meant to be comprehensive. Rather, the mission tried "to convey the considered observations of its members, in order to facilitate, and prompt, the work of other bodies and authorities."


Jewish Imperial News

Gilad Atzmon

This last weekend brought with it some vile manifestations of Jewish politics in its most horrific forms.


The muzzle of the Israeli Military Industries (IMI) Galil
Sniper Rifle ("Galil T'zalaphim"/GalaT'z ), the modified
version of the Galil 7.62 mm Assault Rifle (AR).

United Against the Goyim

In the USA, the owner and publisher of the Atlanta Jewish Times, Andrew Adler, suggested that Israeli Prime Minister Benyamin Netanyahu should consider ordering a Mossad hit team to assassinate U.S. President Barack Obama so that his successor will defend Israel against Iran.

Actually, it wasn’t just Obama whom Adler suggested to eliminate, the Atlanta Jewish Times listed three lethal options to help Israel counter Iran’s nuclear capability. The first, to launch a pre-emptive strike against Hamas and Hezbollah, the second to attack Iran’s nuclear facilities and the third is to assassinate the current American president.

Devastatingly, Adler’s murderous attitude towards politics is wholly consistent with some Biblical and Talmudic anti-gentile teaching. It recalls clearly certain Old Testament genocidal verses such as Leviticus 26:7-8:

‘You will chase your enemies, and they shall fall by the sword before you. Five of you shall chase a hundred, and a hundred of you shall put ten thousand to flight; your enemies shall fall by the sword before you.’

It is also consistent with the appalling way in which Palestinians are abused by the Jewish State. But it is also consistent with the Jewish cultural wrath towards the dissenting Jesus and towards dissent in general. May I remind readers that the word Yeshu – Jesus in Hebrew – is the abbreviation of the Hebrew phrase

“may his name and memory be blotted out”.

Without comparing president Obama to Jesus, Adler’s homicidal inclination is somewhat similar. Seemingly, some Jews have yet to forgive Jesus – or President Obama.


Deepening Global Financial Trouble

Stephen Lendman

Government crackdowns and internment camps await dissenters challenging the system. Blackwater and other paramilitaries may patrol city streets. There may be far greater trouble ahead.

Desperate times call for desperate measures, especially for troubled Eurozone economies. Trapped under euro straightjacket rules, everything tried so far failed, despite hooplas announcing each new plan.

On December 21, the big overnight news highlighted demand for long-dated European Central Banks (ECB) loans drawing 489 billion euros, more than expected. A total of 523 banks borrowed money. In response, Capital Economics' chief European economist Jonathan Loynes said:

"While this might help to address recent signs of renewed tensions in credit markets and support bank lending, we remain skeptical of the idea that the operation will ease the sovereign debt crisis as banks use the funds to purchase large volumes of peripheral government bonds."

“Does it solve problems? Clearly not. Italy and Spain have serious deficits,” said Rathbone Brothers fund manager David Coombs.

FXPro Group's chief economist Simon Smith said "(m)ore important than the size of the (injection) is what banks do with this cash." Don't expect added lending to follow or other actions to ease crisis conditions.

According to Royal Bank of Scotland's chief economist Jazques Cailloux, "it's not going to bring about a turning point in this crisis." Societe Generale's Sebastien Galy agreed in a statement highlighting Europe's unresolved "deep-seated" problems.

In fact, overnight ECB loans show tight interbank lending problems. They also reveal how banks are pressured to buy sovereign government bonds in an attempt to lower rates at a time their own solvency is shaky.

Injecting more liquidity instead of addressing problems responsibly does little more than provide a short-lived sugar rush. It won't last as major problems are unresolved and worsening.

Most of all, European banking is in crisis at a time six or more troubled Eurozone countries teeter on collapse.


America's Great Divide Between Rich and Poor

Stephen Lendman

In 1962, Michael Harrington's "The Other America" exposed the nation's dark side, saying:

"In morality and in justice, every citizen should be committed to abolishing the other America, for it is intolerable that the richest nation in human history should allow such needless suffering."

"But more than that, if we solve the problem of the other America we will have learned how to solve the problems of all of America."

Jack Kennedy was concerned enough to ask Walter Heller, his Council of Economic Advisor chairman, to examine the problem.

In his January 8, 1964 State of the Union address, poverty levels also got Lyndon Johnson to say his administration

"today, here and now, declares unconditional war on poverty in America."

In fact, he barely scratched it. However, he got Congress to enact measures helping America's poor.

Inequality then was severe. Today, it's unprecedented and growing. Wealthy elites are richer than ever. Census data show around half of US households impoverished or bordering on it.

In fact, government data consistently over-estimate good news and understate the bad. As a result, unprecedented numbers of US households are impoverished under protracted Main Street Depression conditions.


Obama’s State of the Union address: War and wage-cutting

Patrick Martin


A comic strip [sic!] depicting the Abottabad compound in
Pakistan where Osama bin Laden allegedly was killed. To
date, no proof of his murder has been offered by Obama
and, incredibly, none has been demanded by the MSM.

In his conclusion, Obama returned to his vision of a society run along military lines when he again invoked the raid that killed bin Laden. For Barack Obama, the cohesion of a team of trained assassins is the highest form of human solidarity.

The State of the Union Speech delivered by Barack Obama Tuesday night was memorable only as a further milestone in the decay of American democracy.

While billed in advance by the White House and media pundits as a “populist appeal” by the Democratic president, effectively kicking off his reelection campaign, there was virtually nothing in the speech that even acknowledged the acute social crisis in America, let alone offering any solution.

The annual presidential addresses to a joint session of Congress have taken on an increasingly empty and ritualistic character—the same empty phrases, the same perfunctory ovations, the same gimmick of individuals placed in the First Lady’s box to serve as cameos, the laundry list of proposals, either insignificant or overtly reactionary, the sickening appeals to national unity and militarism.

Four years after the official onset of recession, three years after the biggest financial collapse since the Great Depression, the US economy remains mired in slump and the world economy is rapidly approaching a new cataclysm. Yet neither Obama nor his Republican opponents can acknowledge the overriding fact being experienced by hundreds of millions of working people: the desperate crisis of the capitalist system.

The Wall Street crash of 2008 plunged the country into a social crisis: mass unemployment, increasing poverty, the collapse of local and state government budgets, the shutdown of public services, the spread of hunger and homelessness. Yet for both Obama and the Republicans, the only solution proposed is to increase the profits of American corporations at the expense of the working class. Every so-called “job-creation” measure proposed by Obama was, in reality, a tax break or government subsidy for corporate America.


Drowning In Hypocrisy

Paul Craig Roberts

The US government is so full of self-righteousness that it has become a caricature of hypocrisy. Leon Panetta, a former congressman who Obama appointed CIA director and now head of the Pentagon, just told the sailors on the USS Enterprise, an aircraft carrier, that the US is maintaining a fleet of 11 aircraft carriers in order to project sea power against Iran and to convince Iran that “it’s better for them to try to deal with us through diplomacy.”

If it requires 11 aircraft carriers to deal with Iran, how many will Panetta need to project power against Russia and China? But to get on with the main point, Iran has been trying “to deal with us through diplomacy.” The response from Washington has been belligerent threats of military attack, unfounded and irresponsible accusations that Iran is making a nuclear weapon, sanctions and an oil embargo. Washington’s accusations echo Israel’s and are contradicted by Washington’s own intelligence agencies and the International Atomic Energy Agency. Why doesn’t Washington respond to Iran in a civilized manner with diplomacy? Really, which of the two countries is the greatest threat to peace?

Washington sends the FBI to raid the homes of peace activists and puts a grand jury to work to create a case against them for aiding a nebulous enemy by protesting Washington’s wars. The Department of Homeland Security unleashes goon cop thugs to brutalize peaceful Occupy Wall Street demonstrators. Washington fabricates cases against Bradley Manning, Julian Assange, and Tarek Mehanna that negate the First Amendment by equating free speech with terrorism and spying. Chicago mayor and former Obama White House chief-of-staff, Rahm Israel Emanuel, pushes an ordinance that outlaws public protests in the City of Chicago. The list goes on. And in the midst of it all Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and other Washington hypocrites accuse Russia and China of stifling dissent.

Washington’s grotesque hypocrisy goes unremarked by the American “media” and in the debates for the Republican presidential nomination. The corrupt Obama “Justice” Department turns a blind eye while goon cop thugs commit gratuitous violence against the citizens who pay the goon cop thugs’ undeserved salaries.


The Armenian Genocide

Stephen Lendman

Raphael Lemkin defined genocide as:

"the destruction of a nation or of an ethnic group" that corresponds to other terms like "tyrannicide, homicide, infanticide, etc." (It) does not necessarily mean the destruction of a nation, except when accomplished by mass killings....It is intended....to signify a coordinated plan (to destroy) the essential foundations of the life of national groups" with the intent to eradicate or substantially weaken or harm them. "Genocidal plans involve the disintegration....of political and social institutions, culture, language, national feelings, religion, economic existence, personal security, liberty, health, dignity, and" human lives.

In legal terms, the 1948 Genocide Convention used the same definition. They're binding principles. Nonetheless, America, Israel, and rogue NATO partners violate them with impunity.

On May 28, 1948, the UN War Crimes Commission prepared a report on "The Massacres of the Armenians in Turkey," saying: On May 28, 1915, France, Britain and Russia denounced Turkey's "crimes against humanity and civilization." A key passage reads:

"In the presence of these new crimes of Turkey against humanity and the civilization, the allied Governments (know) that they will be held personally responsible for the so-called crimes of all members of the Ottoman Government as well as those of the officers who would be involved in such massacres."

The 1920 peace Treaty of Sèvres with Turkey required it "hand over to the Allied Powers the persons responsible for the massacres committed during the continuance of the state of war on territory which formed part of the Turkish Empire on the 1st August 1914." The Treaty of Sèvres was never ratified.


European Union imposes oil embargo on Iran

Peter Symonds


Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu praises
EU oil sanctions on Iran.
(Amsterdam, January 18.)

Using Iran’s nuclear programs as a pretext, the US is escalating its confrontation with Iran. Both US and Israel have repeatedly made clear their preparedness to unilaterally attack Iran on the basis of unsubstantiated claims that it is acquiring nuclear weapons.

European Union (EU) foreign ministers meeting in Brussels yesterday imposed far-reaching economic sanctions on Iran, including an embargo on Iranian oil imports that will come into full force in July. The embargo is an act of economic war that heightens the danger of a slide into military hostilities in the Persian Gulf.

The EU sanctions are comprehensive, hitting every aspect of Iran’s oil industry. The 27 member countries will halt the signing of any new oil contracts with Iran immediately, and end existing ones by July 1. The ban will cover imports of crude oil, petroleum products and petrochemical products, and will extend to the export of equipment and technology to, and new investment in, Iran’s energy sector.

The EU has also targetted Iran’s central bank, freezing the bulk of its assets in Europe. There are limited exceptions to allow for what is still regarded as legitimate trade. The European measures complement legislation signed into law by President Barack Obama on December 31 providing for penalties against any company, including foreign corporations, having business dealings with Iran’s central bank. The US measures seek to block all Iranian oil sales internationally, crippling the country’s economy.

Last year, the European Union purchased nearly a quarter of Iran’s exported oil. Several southern European countries—Greece in particular—have been heavily dependent on oil imports from Iran and resistant to the imposition of a full embargo. They have been pulled into line with the vague promise of a review by May 1 of any adverse economic impact from the sanctions.

If implemented, the embargo will have a severe impact on the Iranian economy, which relies substantially on oil exports. Iran’s currency has dropped 14 percent in value against the US dollar since Friday, adding to high levels of inflation inside the country.


The British National Health Service - Is It Safe With the Tories?

Adnan Al-Daini

The British people are rightly proud of their NHS and will campaign to save it from confused, misinformed and ideologically driven changes.

Long ago in the late fifties, in Iraq, as an eleven year old boy, I developed osteomyelitis after a fall from a bicycle.  My poor parents had to borrow the money to pay for many doctors’ visits before the correct diagnosis was made. They then needed to borrow more money to pay for an operation without which my leg would have had to be amputated, or I probably would have died.  Many families in the village who were poorer than my family would not have been able to borrow the money, and had it happened to their son he would have almost certainly died.  My poor family had to suffer a few years of hardship to repay the loans.  I will always be grateful and humbled by my family’s sacrifice.

The year 1970/71 I spent in Russia, which was under communism at the time.  In a discussion with some Russian friends about Russia versus the UK, they conceded that when it came to consumer goods, washing machines, cars ...etc. the people of Britain were far better served than their counterparts in Russia, but they continued, “If we are ill or have an accident, however, we do not have to worry about medical bills”.  I said, “Neither would you if you were a British citizen; Britain has the NHS”. That came as a complete surprise to them; it was never reported in their government controlled media.

The National Health Service is just about all that is left from the mixed economy that characterised Britain not long ago.  Utilities (gas, water, electricity) have all been privatised, sold cheaply with enormous profits to multinational corporations.  Social (council) housing all but disappeared under Margaret Thatcher’s “right to buy” scheme, selling council houses at an enormous discount.  The railways were fragmented and sold, with commuters frequently now packed in like sardines, often having to stand for hours and paying a fortune for the privilege. All these sell-offs happened under Conservative governments.


Violence Rages in Libya

Stephen Lendman


Africans in US-NATO occupied Libya have been arrested,
beaten, tortured and killed by the CIA, MI-6 trained counter-
revolutionary rebels. The armed groups have targeted dark-
skinned people for liquidation.
(Pan-African News Wire)

Occupied Libya isn't pretty. Libya SOS said its government "recognize(d) the presence of the forces belonging to 14 different nationalities in the country under the umbrella of the training, assistance and advice."

In mid-January, 12,000 US troops sent to Malta readied to occupy Libya. Around 6,000 or more now guard oil facilities. Perhaps contingents from other nations guard other strategic locations. People needs aren't addressed. Exploiting, not helping, them is planned.

On January 5, London's Independent headlined, "Libya's leader warns of civil war after Tripoli gun battles," saying:

Mustafa Abdul Jalil, Washington's man in Libya, commented after rival militia gun battles left "a trail of dead and injured."

According to Jalil:

"We are now between two bitter options. We deal with these violations by brigades strictly and put the Libyans in a military confrontation which we don't accept, or we split and there will be civil war. If there's no security, there will be no law, no development and no elections."

At issue are turf battles, anger about being left out of NTC plans, and promises made, then ignored or broken.


More On Ron Paul

Paul Craig Roberts


If Ron Paul’s libertarian handlers and support base could escape their ideology, Ron Paul could be much better positioned to win the Republican nomination. Here are some suggestions.

Ron Paul should be making the point that Social Security and Medicare are threatened by multi-trillion dollar wars that are funded by debt, by bailouts of a deregulated banking system, and by money creation to keep the banks afloat. Libertarians support deregulation, but their position has always been that deregulated industries must not be bailed out with public subsidies, much less subsidies that are so extensive that they threaten government solvency and the value of the currency.

Instead of hitting hard on the serious threat to Social Security and Medicare posed by Obama and Republican candidates for the nomination, all of whom serve Wall Street, the military/security complex, and the Israel Lobby, Ron Paul has been positioned both by his supporters and his opponents as the danger to Social Security and Medicare. This is an amazing strategic mistake by the Ron Paul campaign.

The mistake is somewhat understandable. Ron Paul’s supporters are mainly among the young. The importance to them of Social Security and Medicare will not register for many years, but for the vast majority of the population Social Security and Medicare are essential for survival. A candidate who is positioned as the destroyer of what scant economic protection the American elderly have is not positioned to win an election for president.


UK Government Suppresses Truth

Stephen Lendman

Press TV broke the news headlining, "Ofcom revokes Press TV's UK license," saying:

In a questionable move and without offering a valid response to the Press TV CEO's letters, the British Office of Communications (Ofcom)" pulled the plug disgracefully.

After threatening it for months, it "removed the channel from the Sky platform."

Britain's decision came at its highest levels. Likely Prime Minister David Cameron was involved. Suppressing truth burnished Britain's credentials as a reliable axis of evil partner, together with America and Israel. Expect much worse ahead from all three.

Revoking Press TV's license was clear irresponsible censorship. Doing so suppressed truth. UK television viewers were deprived of real news, information, commentary and analysis.

Fortunately, they have options. They can still follow Press TV online, through below listed web sites, or by satellite.


"Jewish state" is euphemism for Jewish fascism

Khalid Amayreh in occupied Palestine

Benyamin Netanyahu, the notorious liar-prime minister of the apartheid Zionist regime, has been regurgitating his characteristic racist venom of late. He has been quoted as saying that the root-cause of the Palestinian question is "the persistent Palestinian refusal to accept a Jewish state."

Speaking at a synagogue in the Netherlands during a recent visit during which he reportedly discussed "mounting international hostility to Israel," Netanyahu argued that Israel was a "beleaguered democracy, confronting great threats and challenges.

"There are those who cast Israel as a pariah state every time we exercise the inherent right of self defense."

Well, for those people who are closely aware of the basic realities of the Israeli-Palestinian situation, Netanyahu's words are tantamount to fornicating with words and truth.

The fact that Netanyahu's mendacious words find their way to publication in the media doesn't alter this fact. A publicized big lie is still a big lie, even if and when uttered and repeated by famous people.

The truth of the matter is that Israel is a huge crime against humanity, a thoroughly deformed entity that is based on genocidal ethnic cleansing, brash racism, sheer brutality, oppression and mendacity. It is a psychotic country that views every conceivable crime and violation of international laws and norms as "legitimate self-defense."


Ten NATO troops killed in Afghanistan

Alex Lantier

The deep popular opposition to imperialist occupation is finding reflection in a wide-ranging breakdown of relations between NATO and its Afghan proxy forces.

At least ten NATO soldiers were killed in two separate incidents in Afghanistan, when a transport helicopter carrying six US Marines crashed in Helmand province late Thursday, and an Afghan army soldier killed four French soldiers Friday at the Gwam training base in Kapisa province. Fifteen French soldiers were wounded in the attack, eight seriously.

US officials said the causes of the helicopter crash were under investigation, but they denied that enemy fire had shot down the aircraft, which they identified as a CH-53 Super Stallion transport helicopter. However, Taliban spokesman Qari Yousuf Ahmadi told CNN: “A [CH-47] Chinook was shot down in Zubari Karez area, between Musa Qala and Zamin Dawar in southern Helmand province, and a number of foreigners traveling in it were killed.”

It was the deadliest US crash in Afghanistan since last August, when Taliban forces hit a US helicopter with a rocket-propelled grenade. Eight Afghan and 30 US troops aboard were killed, including 17 Navy Seal Special Forces.


The West’s Attempt to Dominate the International Satellite News Spectrum

Wayne Madsen

There is a clear attempt by Western governments and their surrogates, especially Qatar, to dominate the spectrum of international network news outlets. It all began when Qatar-based Al Jazeera became the primary enemy of the Bush administration in its attempt to influence news reporting from war zones like Afghanistan and Iraq.

The United States was never really happy with Al Jazeera’s Arabic service, having militarily attacked the network’s office in Kabul in November 2001 and its Baghdad bureau in April 2003. A leaked 10 Downing Street memorandum from 2005 indicated that President George W. Bush wanted to bomb Al Jazeera’s broadcast center in Doha in 2004.

But when Al Jazeera English began broadcasting in 2006, what was a nuisance to U.S. propaganda efforts on military battlefields abroad became a problem for the United States at home. Although U.S. cable companies did their best to ban Al Jazeera English from cable television offerings, the network was being carried over a television broadcast channels in the Washington, DC area. Moreover, Al Jazeera English’s web site began attracting more and more Internet surfers. Al Jazeera’s independent reporting on the news – which was far and above that of any U.S. news network, including the one-time standard for international cable news broadcasting, CNN – was being referenced by more and more journalists and political leaders.

By the time the Barack Obama administration took over the reins of power in Washington, a new policy was adopted, one that would seek to co-opt news networks like Al Jazeera rather than attack them on the battlefield and censor them in the corporate news rooms of the United States.


Human rights groups charge NATO with war crimes in Libya

Bill Van Auken

There is strong evidence that NATO carried out war crimes in its eight-month war for regime-change in Libya, according to a report released Thursday by Middle East human rights groups.

The United Nations resolution authorizing “all necessary measures” to protect civilians was utilized as the justification for military actions against civilian targets in which many Libyans were killed and wounded, according to the groups’ investigation.

The report is based upon a fact-finding mission to Libya conducted by the Arab Organization for Human Rights, together with the Palestinian Center for Human Rights and the International Legal Assistance Consortium. The investigators conducted extensive interviews with victims of war crimes as well as witnesses and Libyan officials. The mission carried out on-site field investigations in and around Tripoli, Zawiya, Sibrata, Khoms, Zliten, Misrata, Tawergha and Sirte.

While the investigation concluded that the government of Col. Muammar Gaddafi used excessive force against protesters, the report also states: “There does not appear to have been a clear demarcation between peaceful protests and armed opposition, and the Mission received credible information indicating that protestors took up arms in the early stages of the revolution.”

In terms of NATO’s role, the report cites evidence that in addition to NATO air strikes, the US-led alliance deployed troops on the ground, which coordinated the offensive of the so-called “rebels” with the bombing campaign.

“NATO participated in what could be classified as offensive actions undertaken by the opposition forces, including, for example, attacks on towns and cities held by Gaddafi forces,” the report states. “Equally, the choice of certain targets, such as a regional food warehouse, raises prima facie questions regarding the role of such attacks with respect to the protection of civilians.”

Among civilian sites visited by the mission that had been struck by NATO bombs and missiles were schools and colleges, a Zliten regional food warehouse, the Office of the Administrative Controller in Tripoli, and private homes.


Israel Claims Syria/Hamas-Connected Terror Cells Uncovered

Stephen Lendman

Here we go again. We've seen it before strategically timed. Weigh all Israeli claims skeptically. On its face, this one lacks credibility.

Cui bono? Not Syria embroiled for months battling an externally generated insurgency and threats of foreign intervention.

Why provide greater cause while trying to defuse crisis conditions, cooperate with Arab League observers, enlist outside support, and offer opposition elements places in a broad-based government along the lines of a national unity one.

At the same time, Hamas and Fatah plan May elections for unity governance. They both want conflict resolution, not confrontations.

Nonetheless, Israel connects Syria and Hamas with West Bank terror cells.

On January 19, Haaretz headlined, "IDF exposes Syria-funded Islamic Jihad terror cell in West Bank," saying:

"Israeli security forces have recently discovered an Islamic Jihad terror cell which was planning attacks against Israeli soldiers," according to defense officials. "10 Islamic Jihad militants were arrested near Jenin in recent months."

Israel claims connections to Syria-based Islamic Jihad (IJ). Large money transfers went for weapons and other operations. Israel also alleges IJ ties to Gaza and the so-called Islamic Union in Jerusalem. According to Shin Bet (Israel's security service), attacks on IDF soldiers and settlements were planned. In addition, abducting Israelis were involved. Suspects were charged with membership in an illegal organization, transferring funds from abroad, contact with foreign agents, illegal weapons possession, and conspiracy to trade arms and military equipment.


Wisconsinites v. Governor Scott Walker

Stephen Lendman

Union Busting in America
Spreading Activism for Change

Reactionary Extremism in Wisconsin and Ohio
Wisconsin Supreme Court Reinstates Anti-Union Law
Wisconsin: Ground Zero to Save Public Worker Rights
Wisconsin's Spirit: Courage for Other States to Emulate
Battleground Wisconsin: Corporate Power v. Worker Rights

Last winter's epic battle between Wisconsin public workers and Republican Governor Walker ended badly for social justice. Nonetheless, struggling for it continues.

As issue was old-fashioned union busting. It included eroding collective bargain rights before ending them altogether. In addition, draconian wage and benefit cuts were imposed.

Brazen politicians conspired with corrupt union bosses. Rank and file interests lost out. Wealth and power ones prevailed. It's the same story nationwide at federal, state and local levels.

After draconian Wisconsin legislation passed, collective bargaining's only permitted on wage issues. In addition, health insurance and pension contributions doubled. Things got tougher for workers already hard pressed to make ends meet. Wage cuts ranged from 8 - 20% ahead of more coming.

The epic battle ended along party lines after State Assembly members passed Walker's bill 53 - 42, following the Senate voting 18 - 1 with no debate. The measure read in part:

"This bill authorizes a state agency to discharge any state employee who fails to report to work as scheduled for any three unexcused working days during a state emergency or who participates in a strike, work stoppage, sit-down, stay-in, slowdown, or other concerted activities to interrupt the operations or services of state government, including specifically purported mass resignations or sick calls. Under the bill, engaging in any of these actions constitutes just cause for discharge."

In addition, the governor may unilaterally declare "state of emergency" authority to fire striking workers, and under the section titled, "Discharge of State Employees:"

"The Governor may issue an executive order declaring a state of emergency for the state or any portion of the state if he or she determines that an emergency resulting from a disaster or imminent threat of a disaster exists."

In other words, he can dictatorially do what he wants, especially regarding public worker rights and job security. They're gone unless resurrected by mass action, including statewide shutdowns for rights too important to lose.


Will PSC rise to the Challenge?

Nahida Izzat, Exiled Palestinian


Israel's attack dog, Tony Greenstein, operates
from within the pro-Palestinian movement. He
pretends to be anti-Israel but people who have
studied him know better. He leaves a trail of
destruction behind him wherever he goes.

“In the true spirit of anti-racism we call on PSC to examine all links with all Jews-only campaigning groups” ~ The deLIBERATION team

As the AGM of Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC) approaches, the drive to control, fragment, agitate and to steer away PSC from its fundamental core issues is at all times high.

The crusade against PSC was ignited by Zionists from outside the movement beginning in September, following an article published on the Zionist hate-website Harry's Place (HP), and a letter from the Board of Deputies of British Jews” (BODBJ), accusing PSC and its branches of publishing anti-Semitic articles and linking to Holocaust denial websites, which arguably is a crude lie. However, the crusade was sustained, promoted and amplified by insiders with questionable loyalty, who roam freely within the Palestine solidarity movement.

Following those attacks and demands by BOD of British Jews, certain elements inside the solidarity movement picked up where Zionists stopped. Since then they have initiated a campaign of defamation against Palestinian activists (including myself) and numerous other supporters.

The smear and defamation campaign, ignited by BODBJ and its mouthpiece HP, is destined to divide and curtail the Palestine solidarity movement. It shrouds itself with a veneer of “ethicality” by invoking bogus concerns about “racism”, while the result is the expulsion of anti-racist activists including Palestinians, and the fragmentation of the Palestine solidarity movement at large, its campaigns being debased, its efficiency being crippled.


Beating Up on Chavez

Stephen Lendman

Since inaugurated in February 1999, he's faced open US hostility, including by go-along major media scoundrels.

New York Times writer Simon Romero is among them. On January 6, he and William Neuman played both Chavez and Iranian cards headlining, "Increasingly Isolated, Iranian Leader Set to Visit Allies," saying:

President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's visiting "some of the United States' most ardent critics: Venezuela, Nicaragua, Cuba and Ecuador."

Chavez "is Mr. Ahmadinejad's most vociferous ally in the region." Central University of Venezuela Professor Elsa Cardozo said his visit gave Chavez a chance to "project his own style and radical message. His core supporters are very radical and he doesn't want to lose them."

Indeed they're radical for social justice. Chavez delivers so they support him. Imagine the difference from America. Poverty's unprecedented. Recent Census data show half US households impoverished or bordering on it. Millions have no jobs and can't find one. Homelessness and hunger keep growing. When need's greatest, austerity drives people to the edge.

In contrast, Venezuelans get free education to the highest levels, quality healthcare at no cost, subsidized food, affordable electricity and cooking gas, gasoline at 7 cents a gallon, and other social benefits. Moreover, unemployment's 6%. Homelessness is low. Attention Centers help them. So do rehab facilities to get them productive again.

Venezuela is far from perfect. Problems plague the country, including high inflation and blackouts. However, positive steps are taken to improve things. For example, poverty's half its level since Chavez took office, and deep poverty fell from 25% to 7%. In America's, the world's richest country, it's skyrocketing.

Why? Because the business of America is war and grand theft. People are increasingly on their own sink or swim. Duopoly power governs. Rigged elections defile democratic governance. Banker bailouts, imperial wars, policies favoring wealth and power, and repressive police state laws define their agenda.


Creating American "Terrorists"

Philip Giraldi

Defenders of the recently passed National Defense Authorization Act, which declares the entire world to be a “battlefield” against terrorism and authorizes the U.S. military to detain indefinitely anyone suspected of being a terrorism supporter, have claimed that the White House will only use its new power carefully and with due process. Opponents note that the White House has never hesitated to use any new authority, no matter how outrageous, and that the trend of law enforcement and security agencies is to expand on powers granted, not to rein them in or limit them. The track record of the Obama administration on civil liberties is particularly bad, as it has broadened its definition of war powers, reneged on its promise to close Guantánamo Prison, and supported numerous dubious terrorism prosecutions. It has also become adept at silencing critics through the repeated exploitation of the state-secrets privilege, which effectively dismisses any case accusing the government of abuse or malfeasance.

So let us accept that the government now has the power to send a team of military police to anyone’s home in any state in the Union and can demand that that person surrender without any recourse to a lawyer or judicial due process. The military can then detain the individual incommunicado for any length of time and can presumably send him to Guantánamo for special confinement, claiming that the reason for the detention is support of terrorism, which can be almost anything, including a letter to the editor of the local paper complaining about the goonery of the Transportation Security Administration. Once in detention, the suspect only has such options as are granted to him by the military. He cannot see a lawyer, cannot invoke habeas corpus or other constitutional privileges, cannot confront any witnesses against him, and cannot challenge any information prejudicial to him even if it is hearsay or fabricated. In other words, the accused can be arrested for no reason and held indefinitely without any protections that enable him to push back against being detained. Most people would consider a criminal justice system that permits such detention ipso facto a police state.


SOPA, PIPA and the freedom of the Internet

Andre Damon

The American ruling class sees open communication and the spread of information online as a grave threat, and it is deeply committed to the drive to establish greater control of the Internet.

Millions of people signed online petitions Wednesday against two Internet censorship bills currently under consideration by the US Congress. The petitions were driven by appeals from thousands of websites, some of which, including Wikipedia and Reddit, shut down for the day in protest.

The protests and petitions were aimed against the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) in the US House of Representatives, and its counterpart in the Senate, the Protect IP Act (PIPA).

The immediate target of the measures would be violators of intellectual property laws, and the acts have been heavily backed by movie and music producers. However, the more fundamental driving force behind these laws is the desire by the US ruling class to create a pseudo-legal and technical mechanism for significantly expanding the power of the US government to regulate the Internet.

While their ultimate form, if they are enacted, remains to be determined, both SOPA and PIPA would grant the US attorney general the power to seek a court order that would effectively shut down access to entire domains. Search engines and other websites would be required to eliminate links to the site in question, and firms such as PayPal would cut off finances. Targeted websites would have effectively no basis of appeal, meaning that they would be denied basic free speech rights without any due process.


Postponing Joint US/Israeli Exercises

Stephen Lendman

Last November, Haaretz said Washington and Israel planned holding their "largest" and "most significant" ever joint military exercise, involving over 5,000 US and Israeli troops. Assistant Secretary of State Andrew Shapiro for Political-Military Affairs confirmed it.

On January 5, Associated Press headlined "Israeli and US troops gear up for major missile defense drill after Iran maneuvers," saying:

As tensions with Iran escalate, "Austere Challenge 12" is "designed to improve defense systems and cooperation between the US and Israeli forces." It follows Iranian naval exercises near the Strait of Hormuz.

Admiral Habibollah Sayyari said they displayed "Iran's military prowess and defense capabilities in the international waters, convey(ed) a message of peace and friendship to regional countries, and test(ed) the newest military equipment among other objectives."

On January 10, Press TV said Ground Forces commander General Ahmad Reza Poursastan announced plans to use Iran's most advanced military equipment in more planned drills.

Scheduled sometime after mid-February, weapons and ground tactics will be evaluated. Objectives include bolstering security along Iran's eastern border, assessing defense and combat capabilities, and giving young officers more experience.

Originally scheduled for April, joint US/Israeli exercises are postponed. According to an Israeli defense official, Washington wants regional tensions cooled. Media reports suggest Israel plans strikes against Iran's nuclear facilities. Washington may object over timing and tactics. Likely also is concern over Israel acting preemptively unannounced. Last fall, Joint Chiefs head General Martin Dempsey expressed alarm, telling Obama it's possible.


Protesting Internet Censorship

Stephen Lendman

On May 12, 2011, Senator Patrick Leahy (D. VT) introduced "S. 968: Preventing Real Online Threats to Economic Creativity and Theft of Intellectual Property Act of 2011 (PROTECT IP)." Referred to the Judiciary Committee, May 26 hearings were held. Debate's scheduled for next week.

On October 26, 2011 Rep. Lamar Smith (R. TX) introduced "HR 3261: Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA): To promote prosperity, creativity, entrepreneurship, and innovation by combating the theft of US property, and for other purposes" Referred to the House Judiciary Committee, markup continues.

Leahy, Smith, and congressional supporters claim the measures protect corporate investments against online piracy. In fact, they're about censorship and subverting Internet freedom.

If enacted, Internet service providers (ISPs), search engines, and other information location tools will have to block user access to sites accused (rightly or wrongly) of very loosely defined copyright infringement.

In other words, they'll blacklist and shut them down arbitrarily to silence them. Media giants will have unprecedented powers. So will Congress and the administration. Internet freedom will be jeopardized. So will a free and open society.

Provisions empower the Attorney General to cut off access and funding for alleged "parasite" foreign and domestic sites. An Internet czar will decide if US interests are harmed. Courts will enforce police state rulings.

Both bills are so deeply flawed, they can't be fixed. Killing them is the only option.


Quand Israël attaquera-t-il l’Iran ? Il y a deux ans…

Alain Gresh

Interrogé il y a quelques jours pour savoir quand Israël attaquerait l’Iran, Patrick Clawson, chercheur au Washington Institute for Near East Policy (Winep), un think-tank lié au lobby pro-israélien, répondait : « Il y a deux ans » (cité par Scott Shane, « Adversaries of Iran Said to Be Stepping Up Covert Actions », The New York Times, 11 janvier).

Cette déclaration venait après le meurtre à Téhéran d’un jeune physicien nucléaire, qui faisait lui-même suite à plusieurs autres meurtres « mystérieux », dont on s’étonne qu’ils aient été si peu dénoncés par les défenseurs des droits humains — une pétition circule toutefois pour les condamner, « Petition against the Murder of Iranian Scientists »). L’Iran a aussi été victime ces derniers mois de cyber-attaques par le virus Stuxnext (lire Philippe Rivière, « Cyber-attaque contre Téhéran », Le Monde diplomatique, mars 2011).

Cette escalade est incontestablement le fait d’Israël, qui ne cherche même pas à démentir. En revanche, il est plus difficile de saisir quelle est la stratégie du président Obama. Au moment même où l’administration américaine affirme, haut et fort, sa solidarité totale avec Israël et sa détermination à empêcher l’Iran de se doter de la bombe atomique, les manœuvres militaires entre Israël et les Etats-Unis sont reportées et les explications avancées pour ce report sont loin d’être claires ; Hillary Clinton condamne fermement le meurtre du chercheur à Téhéran ; les services de renseignement « occidentaux » (en fait américains) faisaient filtrer des informations sur la responsabilité du Mossad dans les meurtres des scientifiques iraniens (Karl Vick and Aaron J. Klein, « Who Assassinated an Iranian Nuclear Scientist ? Israel Isn’t Telling », Time Magazine, 13 janvier) ; parallèlement, ils divulguaient des informations sur des agents israéliens qui tentent de se faire passer pour des membres de la CIA afin de recruter des combattants sunnites opposés au régime iranien (Mark Perry, « False flags », Foreign Policy, 13 janvier). Enfin, les Etats-Unis ont lancé une sévère mise en garde à Téhéran contre tout blocage du détroit d’Ormuz et mobilisent leurs alliés pour arrêter les achats de pétrole iranien. Comment expliquer ces contradictions ?


The Wondering Jesse

Gilad Atzmon
For Jesse

This week, Jesse Lieberfeld an11th-grade American Jewish teenager won the Dietrich College’s 2012 Martin Luther King, Jr. Writing Awards for composing a beautiful piece about his own moral awakening and journey away from Judaism.

“I once belonged to a wonderful religion. I belonged to a religion that allows those of us who believe in it to feel that we are the greatest people in the world—and feel sorry for ourselves at the same time,” says young Jesse. However, it seems that it didn’t take too long before Jesse found out for himself that what he was part of was neither flattering or glorious.

To read Jesse's text click here.

Jewish tribal cultural indoctrination is a full-on, comprehensive process. “Although I was fortunate enough to have parents who did not try to force me into any one set of beliefs, being Jewish was in no way possible to escape growing up”, says Jesse. “It was constantly reinforced at every holiday, every service, and every encounter with the rest of my relatives.”

Inherent to the culture and its maintenance is self-love. “I was forever reminded how intelligent my family was, how important it was to remember where we had come from, and to be proud of all the suffering our people had overcome in order to finally achieve their dream in the perfect society of Israel.”

Jewish ideological and cultural ‘programming’ is rather sophisticated. It is a unique dynamic pattern practiced in both a collective and an individual way. But those who carry the message aren’t themselves fully aware of their role within the tribal ideology they aim to maintain.

Of course Jews hold many different, and even contradictory, political beliefs. But however diverse their views may be somehow, those who are identified as Jews politically always unite against any attempt to criticise the cultural and ideological foundation of their tribal bond. Young Jesse is clearly aware of this. On the surface, it was the crimes against the Palestinians that provoked his ethical sense. “I grew more concerned. I routinely heard about unexplained mass killings, attacks on medical bases, and other alarmingly violent actions for which I could see no possible reason. ‘Genocide’ almost seemed the more appropriate term, yet no one I knew would have ever dreamed of portraying the war in that manner; they always described the situation in shockingly neutral terms.”


Economic, military pressures on Iran escalate global tensions

Bill Van Auken

The march towards an oil embargo against Iran and continuing military threats against the country from both the US and Israel are escalating global tensions.

Having recently doubled the number of US aircraft carrier battle groups within striking distance of the Persian Gulf, the Obama administration reportedly used back channels last weekend to deliver a threatening ultimatum to the Iranian government. It identified “red lines”, which, if Iran crosses them, would trigger a US attack.

Chief among these is Tehran making good on a threat made last month to close the Strait of Hormuz, through which at least a fifth of the world’s oil must pass, in retaliation for what amounts to a looming US-European sanctions blockade designed to strangle the Iranian economy and permit “regime change” in this country of 70 million people.

Washington and its European allies claim that such economic warfare is necessary to halt Iran’s development of nuclear weapons. Tehran insists that its nuclear program complies with international treaties, that it has taken no steps to weaponize uranium at its nuclear plants, and that it is developing its nuclear capacity solely as a source of power.

Direct US threats have grown in tandem with Israel’s increasingly provocative actions. The Sunday Times published a detailed investigative piece on January 15, citing multiple Israeli sources as confirming that the January 11 car bomb assassination of Iranian nuclear scientist Mostafa Ahmadi-Roshan in Tehran was the work of Mossad, the Israeli intelligence agency, which had prepared the murder through extensive surveillance by multiple agents working in the Iranian capital.

US officials formally distanced themselves from the killing. “We were not involved in any way with regards to the assassination that took place there,” claimed US Defense Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta, who did allow that he had “some idea” of who was behind it.

In reality, the line of demarcation between the covert operations against Iran carried out by Mossad and those conducted by the CIA is decidedly murky. This was made clear in an article in Foreign Policy magazine last week entitled “False Flag,” in which military analyst Mark Perry cites US intelligence officials as saying that Mossad agents have posed as CIA agents while recruiting members of the Sunni Islamist group Jundallah for terrorist operations inside Iran.


Israel Plans Major Gaza "War"

Stephen Lendman


Photo: Israel plans more "war". This is what the
Zionists in Tel Aviv call "war". The world at large
however would consider it to be mass murder.
Anyway, the Zionists want more of it. Much more.

Israel already threatens war on Iran. It's also involved with Washington, Turkey, Jordan, and other rogue Arab states behind Syria's externally generated insurgency.

Gaza's also threatened. On January 1, Haaretz writer Amos Harel headlined "Will 2012 bring another Israeli war against Hamas in Gaza?" saying:

Repeated Israeli air strikes and incursions target Gaza. Perhaps they precede a broader offensive. Israel's IDF chief Benny Gantz "said on Army radio that 'Operation Cast Lead was carried out in a professional, determined manner, and significantly strengthened Israel's deterrent strength.' "

At the same time, he suggested another round of fighting is likely. "Particularly worrisome (are the alleged) weapons smuggl(ed) into the Gaza Strip. Hamas and Islamic Jihad have....many thousands of rockets; hundreds" able to reach central Israel, said Harel.

As a result, "the IDF is preparing itself for the possibility of a land operation in another few months."

On January 16, Jerusalem Post writer Yaakov Katz headlined, "IDF preparing for major Gaza action within months," saying:

"The IDF General Staff has ordered the Southern Command to prepare for a possible large Gaza operation that could occur within the next few months, the Jerusalem Post has learned."

If true, preparations have been ongoing much longer. Three years ago, Southern Command head General Yoav Galant trained forces for two years prior to Cast Lead. Plans involved inflicting major damage while limiting Israeli casualties.

Now, said Katz, operational plans are being finalized and distributed to IDF units to be deployed against Gaza.


Wikipedia shuts down to protest censorship bills

Andre Damon

Wikipedia, the free online encyclopedia, is shutting down for 24 hours today to protest internet censorship bills currently being considered by the US Congress.

The Wikipedia Foundation announced its plan to make the English-language Wikipedia “go dark” in a press release posted on its site Monday. The move will coincide with similar actions by a number of sites, including Reddit, the link sharing site, and BoingBoing, a technology blog.

The protest is aimed against two bills, the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA), currently under consideration in the US House of Representatives, and its counterpart in the Senate, the Protect IP Act (PIPA). The laws would increase the government’s power over the Internet and its ability to shut down sites in the name of enforcing copyright law. They have strong support from both Democrats and Republicans

“If passed, this legislation will harm the free and open Internet and bring about new tools for censorship of international websites inside the United States,” the Wikimedia foundation, Wikipedia’s parent organization, said in its statement Monday.

The bills would give the US government and major corporations the power to shut down access to web sites on the basis of court orders sought by the office of the Attorney General, which is subordinate to the White House. The court orders would force other companies, including search engines, to halt financial transactions and disable any links to the relevant sites.

In their current forms, the bills would allow sites to be removed from domain name registrars (which connect Internet addresses such as www.google.com with particular computer servers) and be blocked by Internet service providers.

The laws would allow the government to prosecute the owners of websites that link to any site providing copyrighted material, including search engines. They would also encourage web hosts and payment providers to extra-judicially blacklist websites they suspect of providing copyrighted content.


Boko Haram – An Overview on America’s Latest ‘Threat’

Jason Ditz


Boko Haram Leader, Mohammed Yusuf.

Heavy-Handed Policy Turns Loopy Sect Into Terrorist Powerhouse

US officials have repeatedly made a point to emphasize the “threat” posed by Nigerian militant outfit Boko Haram to American interests. It is unsurprising, as Nigeria is one of America’s largest suppliers of oil and the campaign against the faction has turned much of the nation’s northeast into a no-go area.

To that end US officials have pledged major support for the Nigerian government, with the belief that their usual anti-terror policy of large scale military operations against the affected regions will provide a solution. Always unspoken, of course, is that this strategy doesn’t seem to be working for the US anywhere else.

But Boko Haram is interesting not so much for what it is — another militant faction using the the same strategy of violence against rivals and suicide bombings — but for what Boko Haram was: a mostly irrelevant Luddite sect.

The group’s name, Boko Haram, is a combination of the Hausa word “Boko” meaning Western education, and the Arabic word “haram” used to refer to religiously forbidden or sinful things, usually seen in the context of Muslim dietary laws. The group was founded in 2002 by Mohammed Yusuf, a Western educated cleric, and was virtually unknown for several years.

Yusuf’s faction was reportedly something of a laughingstock early on, with some claiming that Boko Haram was originally a term of ridicule for the group’s backwards belief system. In an interview with the BBC, Yusuf claimed that the idea that the Earth was round was “heretical” and also mocked the idea that rain was the result of condensation, insisting that it was clearly a miracle instead.

The group’s membership also eschewed firearms for the most part, arming themselves with bows and arrows and machetes on the grounds that there was no mention of guns in the Qu’ran.


Abusing East Jerusalem Children

Stephen Lendman

Last July, B'Tselem published a report titled, "No Minor Matter: Violation of the Rights of Palestinian Minors by Israel on Suspicion of Stone-Throwing." It discussed their abusive treatment.

From 2005 through 2010, "at least 835 Palestinian minors were arrested" and faced military court trials for alleged stone-throwing. Thirty-four were aged 12 - 13, 255 aged 14 - 15, and 546 aged 16 -17.

All except one were convicted. Due process and judicial fairness were denied. In violation of international law, Israel treats children like adults. Some aged 10 or younger are arrested, intimidated, tortured, or otherwise abused.

In fact, on January 12, Al Haq reported "a new line crossed" after Israeli security forces harassed, blindfolded, arrested, and detained a seriously ill six-year old boy for seven hours. Obviously, his parents were frantic.

Soldiers usually make middle-of-the-night arrests. Children are taken away alone. Parents can't accompany them. Abusive interrogations follow. Enough food and water, bathroom privileges and proper sleep are denied. Nearly always, convictions and detentions follow.

Defense for Children International/Palestine Section (DCI/Palestine) covers their ill-treatment and torture during arrest, transfer, interrogation, detention, and for some, solitary confinement isolation. Case studies explain the traumatizing effects. More on them below.

DCI/Palestine says about 700 Palestinian children are prosecuted annually in Israeli military tribunals affording them no rights. Conviction rates are 99%. Those charged are guilty by accusation.

Children like 12-year old Bashar M. was arrested pre-dawn. His hands were painfully bound behind his back. He was blindfolded, placed on a military vehicle floor, verbally abused, slapped on the face, kept blindfolded at Al Mascobiyya interrogation center, strip-searched on arrival, struck again, denied bail or legal representation, traumatized, and told either confess (to stone throwing) or be imprisoned for a very long time.

Other children report similar or worse treatment including pre-trial isolation, torture, and other forms of abuse.


Washington Moves The World Closer To War

Paul Craig Roberts

Since my January 11 column The Next War on Washington’s Agenda and the news alert posted on January 14, more confirmation that Washington is moving the world toward a dangerous war has appeared. The Obama regime is using its Ministry of Propaganda, a.k.a., the American media, to spread the story that President Obama, Pentagon chief Panetta, and other high US officials are delivering strong warnings to Israel not to attack Iran.

For someone as familiar with Washington as I am, I recognize these reports for what they are. They are Br’er Rabbit telling Br’er Fox “please don’t throw me in the briar patch.”

If you don’t know the Uncle Remus stories, you have missed a lot. Br’er Rabbit was born and raised in the briar patch.

What these “leaked” stories of Washington’s warnings and protests to Israel are all about is to avoid Washington’s responsibility for the war Washington has prepared. If the war gets out of hand, and if Russia and China intervene or nukes start flying, Washington wants the blame to rest on Israel, and Israel seems willing to accept the blame. Nikolai Patrushev, who heads Russia’s Security Council, has apparently been deceived by Washington’s manipulation of the media. According to the Interfax news agency, Patrushev condemned Israel for pushing the US towards war with Iran.

You get the picture. The helpless Americans. They are being bullied by Israel into acquiescing to a dangerous war. Otherwise, no more campaign contributions.

The facts are different. If Washington did not want war with Iran it would not have provided the necessary weapons to Israel. It would not have deployed thousands of US troops to Israel, with a view toward the American soldiers being killed in an Iranian response to Israel’s attack, thus “forcing” the US to enter the war. Washington would not have built a missile defense system for Israel and would not be conducting joint exercises with the Israeli military to make sure it works.

If Washington did not want Israel to start the war, Washington would inform the Israeli government in no uncertain words that an Israeli strike on Iran means that the US will NOT veto the UN’s denunciation of Israel and the sanctions that would be placed on Israel as a war criminal state. Washington would tell Israel that it is good-bye to the billions of dollars that the bilked American taxpayers, foreclosed from their homes by fraudulent mortgages and from jobs by offshoring, hand over by compulsion to Israel to support Israel’’s crimes against humanity.


Occupy the Neighborhood: How Counties Can Use Land Banks and Eminent Domain

Ellen Brown

An electronic database called MERS has created defects in the chain of title to over half the homes in America. Counties have been cheated out of millions of dollars in recording fees, and their title records are in hopeless disarray. Meanwhile, foreclosed and abandoned homes are blighting neighborhoods. Straightening out the records and restoring the homes to occupancy is clearly in the public interest, and the burden is on local government to do it. But how? New legal developments are presenting some innovative alternatives.

John O’Brien is Register of Deeds for Southern Essex County, Massachusetts. He calls his land registry a “crime scene.” He is mad as hell and he isn’t going to take it anymore. A formal forensic audit of the properties for which he is responsible found that:

Only 16% of the mortgage assignments were valid.
27% of the invalid assignments were fraudulent, 35% were “robo-signed,” and 10% violated the Massachusetts Mortgage Fraud Statute.
The identity of financial institutions that are current owners of the mortgages could be determined for only 287 out of 473 (60%).
There were 683 missing assignments for the 287 traced mortgages, representing approximately $180,000 in lost recording fees per 1,000 mortgages whose current ownership could be traced.

At the root of the problem is that title has been recorded in the name of a private entity called Mortgage Electronic Registration Systems (MERS). MERS is a mere place holder for the true owners, a faceless, changing pool of investors owning indeterminate portions of sliced and diced, securitized properties. Their identities have been so well hidden that their claims to title are now in doubt. According to the auditor:

What this means is that . . . the institutions, including many pension funds, that purchased these mortgages don’t actually own them . . . .


The Gulag That Is Gitmo

Marjorie Cohn

Travelers to Cuba and music lovers are familiar with the song “Guantanamera” — literally, the girl from Guantánamo. With lyrics by José Martí, the father of Cuban independence, “Guantanamera” is probably the most widely known Cuban song.

But Guantánamo is even more famous now for its U.S. military prison. Where “Guantanamera” is a powerful expression of the beauty of Cuba, “Gitmo” has become a powerful symbol of human rights violations — so much so that Amnesty International described it as “the gulag of our times.”

That description can be traced to January 2002, when the base received its first 20 prisoners in shackles. General Richard B. Myers, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, warned they were “very dangerous people who would gnaw hydraulic lines in the back of a C-17 to bring it down.”

We now know that a large portion of the 750 plus men and boys held there posed no threat to the United States. In fact, only five percent were captured by the United States; most were picked up by the Northern Alliance, Pakistani intelligence officers, or tribal warlords, and many were sold for cash bounties.

The Guantánamo story starts in 1903, when the U.S. Army occupied Cuba after its war of independence against Spain. The Platt Amendment, which granted the United States the right to intervene in Cuba, was included in the Cuban Constitution as a prerequisite for the withdrawal of U.S. troops from the rest of Cuba.

That provision provided the basis for the 1903 Agreement on Coaling and Naval Stations, which gave the United States the right to use Guantánamo Bay “exclusively as coaling or naval stations, and for no other purpose.”

In 1934, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed a new treaty with Cuba that allows the United States to remain in Guantánamo Bay until the U.S. abandons it or until both Cuba and the United States agree to modify their arrangement. According to that treaty, “the stipulations of [the 1903] agreement with regard to the naval station of Guantánamo shall continue in effect.”

That means Guantánamo Bay can be used only for coaling or naval stations. Additionally, article III of the 1934 treaty provides that the Republic of Cuba leases Guantánamo Bay to the United States “for coaling and naval stations.” Nowhere in either treaty did Cuba give the U.S. the right to utilize Guantánamo Bay as a prison camp.


Under a False Flag

Justin Raimondo


Israel's "rebel group" in Iran, Jundallah, threatened to
execute 16 Iranian security workers, June 19, 2008.

Will Israel succeed in dragging us into war with Iran?

If not, it won’t be for lack of trying. Their influential lobby in the US has been agitating for a US strike since the last year of the Bush presidency, when they almost succeeded in pulling it off: fortunately for us, Bush demurred, perhaps because he didn’t want his legacy to be two unwinnable and disastrous wars instead of just one.

Israel was to be the spearhead, with the US providing back up support, as the Guardian reported at the time:

“Israel gave serious thought this spring to launching a military strike on Iran’s nuclear sites but was told by President George W Bush that he would not support it and did not expect to revise that view for the rest of his presidency, senior European diplomatic sources have told the Guardian.”

Deterred from firing the first shots of World War III, the Israelis didn’t give up. Instead, they turned to other less direct means to achieve their goal. As Mark Perry reports on foreignpolicy.com:

“Buried deep in the archives of America’s intelligence services are a series of memos, written during the last years of President George W. Bush’s administration, that describe how Israeli Mossad officers recruited operatives belonging to the terrorist group Jundallah by passing themselves off as American agents. According to two U.S. intelligence officials, the Israelis, flush with American dollars and toting U.S. passports, posed as CIA officers in recruiting Jundallah operatives – what is commonly referred to as a ‘false flag’ operation.”

You bet those memos are buried deep – lest Americans discover that their faithful “allies” are trying to implicate them in war crimes.

Jundallah is a terrorist organization, Sunni-oriented and linked to al-Qaeda, that has murdered Iranian civilians in bombings and other attacks within Iran: their ostensible goal is to “liberate” Iranian (and Pakistani) Baluchistan. According to the memos, the Israelis recruited these terrorists right out in the open in London, where Mossad operatives – posing as CIA officers – met with Jundallah officials. “It’s amazing what the Israelis thought they could get away with,” Perry quotes one intelligence officer as saying. “They apparently didn’t give a damn what we thought.”

Of course not – and why should they? After all, we’ve given them a pass every time: when Jonathan Pollard stole what US officials described as the intelligence community’s “crown jewels” and passed them off to the Russians; when they stole our trade and military secrets and passed them off to China: when they were tracking the 9/11 conspirators and didn’t tell us what Mohammed Atta and his crew were up to. They took our “foreign aid” with one hand, and stabbed us in the back with the other.


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