The danger of political violence in America comes overwhelmingly from one direction -- the right, not the left. The vitriolic, anti-government hate speech that is spewed on talk radio every day -- and, quite regularly, at Tea Party rallies -- is calibrated not to inform but to incite.

[Editor's Comment:] The danger of political violence comes overwhelmingly from the top -from the Government. -Overwhelmingly. A "threat" from the left is non-existent and the one from the right is there alright and certainly not to be sneezed at. They see themselves as "grassroots" but they're not. The danger they represent in itself is picturesque in a loony sort of way, quaint & low-grade and they're not a force to be reckoned with except as an army of useful idiots. If we ignore their authoritarian mindset for a moment (almost impossible), we can easily see that they fundamentally have nothing whatsoever in common with the elite that actually govern them and control them expertly from minute to minute, day after day.

When I was a child, Ireland was a Catholic theocracy. If a bishop came walking down the street, people would move to make a path for him. If a bishop attended a national sporting event, the team would kneel to kiss his ring. If someone made a mistake, instead of saying, "Nobody's perfect," we said, "Ah sure, it could happen to a bishop." The expression was more accurate than we knew.

Four non-violent demonstrators were shot at close range with live ammunition by Israeli soldiers during six simultaneous protests throughout the Gaza Strip commemorating “Land Day”. Three of those injured come from Khoza’a, a village east of Khan Younis in Gaza’s south. The fourth, from Deir al Balah, was participating in a peaceful demonstration east of Meghazi, central Gaza. In Gaza: Israeli invasion into southeastern Gaza kills 4, injures 8, destroys a home and ravages farmland.

Nearly two of every three male juveniles arrested in Afghanistan are physically abused, according to a study based on interviews with 40 percent of all those now incarcerated in the country's juvenile justice system. The study, carried out by US defense attorney Kimberly Motley for the international children's rights organization Terre des Hommes, reveals a justice system that subjects juveniles, many of whom are already innocent victims, to torture, forced confessions and blatant violation of their rights in court. Motley, who may be the only practicing Western defense attorney in Afghanistan, told IPS that the study shows the need for alternatives to introducing juveniles into what she calls the "injustice system".

Watson was asked to come to the foreign ministry to receive a formal objection from the ministry's director concerning the leak of profiles of high-ranking Icelandic officials to website WikiLeaks.org. The profiles, of Icelandic Prime Minister Johanna Sigurdardottir, Foreign Minister Ossur Skarphedinsson, and Icelandic ambassador to the US Albert Jonsson, were briefing documents destined to US officials visiting Iceland. The documents, marked confidential, appeared on WikiLeaks Monday and contain information such as biographical notes about the officials, descriptions of their personalities and working styles and milestones in their political careers.

United Nations inspectors found "nothing to be worried about" in a first look at a previously secret uranium enrichment site in Iran last month, the International Atomic Energy chief said in remarks released Thursday. Mohammed ElBaradei also told the New York Times that he was examining possible compromises to unblock a draft nuclear cooperation deal between Iran and three major powers that has floundered over Iranian objections. The nuclear site, which Iran revealed in September three years after diplomats said Western spies first detected it, added to Western fears of covert Iranian efforts to develop atom bombs. Iran says it is enriching uranium only for electricity.

[Editor's Comment:] No surprise there. However, there is in fact another country in the Middle East that actually has nuclear weapons. That country is "a clear & present danger" to everyone, not only in the region, but to the whole world. Maybe it's about time the United Nations inspectors looked into that a wee bit and left Iran alone...

US and NATO forces will begin the most important phase of Barack Obama's military surge in June when the battle for Afghanistan moves to the Taliban heartland of Kandahar. US officials yesterday revealed the date of the long-awaited operation to reclaim Afghanistan's second-biggest city, just hours after the US President made an unannounced visit to US forces and put more pressure on Afghan leader Hamid Karzai to root out corruption in his administration.

South Korea's President ordered the military on alert yesterday for any moves by rival North Korea after the Defence Minister said last week's explosion and sinking of a South Korean ship could have been caused by a North Korean mine. The blast ripped the 1200-tonne ship apart last Saturday during a routine patrol mission near Baengnyeong Island, along the tense maritime border west of the Korean Peninsula. Fifty-eight crew members, including the captain, were plucked to safety; 46 remain missing with dim prospects for finding any further survivors. The Joint Chiefs of Staff said the exact cause was unclear, and US and South Korean officials said there was no outward indication of North Korean involvement.

The United Nations has accepted a request by the Pakistani government to postpone the publication of a report on the murder of ex-premier Benazir Bhutto. The decision came as a UN inquiry panel was expected to present its findings about Bhutto's killing to UN chief Ban Ki-moon on Wednesday. The UN says the report will be released by April 15. "The secretary general has accepted an urgent request by the president of Pakistan to delay the presentation of the report... until April 15," UN spokesman Martin Nesirky told a press briefing.

[Editor's Comment:] Benazir Bhutto may have been shot by either an ISI military intelligence agent or the CIA/Blackwater. The suicide attack was a cover for this assassination. We can be reasonably certain that this had been ok'ed by the American government. In all likelihood the CIA & Blackwater did this. The US wanted Benazir Bhutto out of the way so that it would be easier to destabilize Pakistan. The US probably has gotten the UN report to blame Benazir Bhutto's husband, Asif Ali Zardari for her murder. He is the current president of Pakistan and this probably is why Pakistan now needs more time. However, this crisis cannot be delayed indefinitely and Pakistan as we know it will be destroyed.

American Israel Public Affairs Committee circulates letter urging White House to 'reinforce' relationship with Israel. America's main pro-Israel lobby group is mobilising members of Congress to pressure the White House over its "bitter public confrontation" with Binyamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister.

[Editor's Comment:] There was no confrontation at all. Obama simply capitulated.

AWIP: Treason by Members of the United States Congress -VIDEO

Nearly two-thirds of Americans say the health care overhaul signed into law last week costs too much and expands the government's role in health care too far, a USA TODAY/Gallup Poll finds, underscoring an uphill selling job ahead for President Obama and congressional Democrats. Those surveyed are inclined to fear that the massive legislation will increase their costs and hurt the quality of health care their families receive, although they are more positive about its impact on the nation's health care system overall.

The world's biggest atom smasher last night collided particles at record power, mimicking conditions close to the "Big Bang" [There was no single origin of the universe. There have been countless big bangs. The "theory" of Big Bang is religion in disguise.] and opening a new era in the quest for the secrets of the universe. Scientists at the Large Hadron Collider unleashed the unprecedented bursts of energy on the third attempt, as beams of protons thrust around the 27km accelerator collided at close to the speed of light. EclipTV: Large Hadron Collider sets high-energy record at CERN -Video.

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton slammed Canada Monday for not inviting Sweden, Finland, and Iceland for the Arctic summit held near Ottawa and made an early exit from the gathering. Attended by foreign ministers of Canada, Denmark, Russia, the US and Norway, the summit was organized to discuss the future of the resource-rich Arctic region which contains one fourth of the world's oil and gas reserves as well as unfathomed mineral wealth. Upset over Canada's decision not to invite Sweden, Finland and Iceland, Hillary Clinton didn't attend the closing news conference and left.

MI6 suspects that airline staff working for Mossad may have copied passports of Britons flying to Israel, News of the World reports, adding authorities also concerned about security searches carried out on British officials attending terrorism conference in country last September. News of the World: Israel 'stole thousands of Brit IDs': Airline staff working for secret service may have copied passports, chiefs fear.

“The ink has not yet dried on the health care reform bill, and already some deplorable health insurance companies are trying to duck away from covering children with pre-existing conditions. This is outrageous.”

Elected in 2008 and taking office in 2009, it has taken just over a year in which to lose the trust so vital to a successful presidency.

This brief review of the presidency since the end of the last Great Depression brings us now to a present-day Depression if judged by the growing numbers of unemployed and to a president who has forced a health care “reform” of Medicare on Americans, more than half of whom manifestly opposed it.

The tripling of the national debt generated the spontaneous creation of Tea Party organizations to oppose him and a growing wave of derision for his arrogance, his dependence on TelePrompters, and his treatment of the nation’s traditional allies, England, France, and Israel. The book of history is written one day at a time, but it is clear that Obama has already run out of time, having lost the vital component of trust for the remaining 1,000-plus days of his term. Ignoring the public will, he can still do a great deal more damage to the republic.

A renowned environmentalist, known for his advocacy of population reduction as a means of offsetting climate change, has called for “a more authoritative world” where freedom comes second to tackling what he sees as the devastating effects of global warming. Futurist James Lovelock, tells the London Guardian that he believes “It may be necessary to put democracy on hold for a while,” in order to save humanity.

Only one third of TV weathercasters believe that there is a scientific consensus on climate change. Despite the strong scientific consensus among climate scientists, almost two-thirds (61%) of TV weathercasters think there is a lot of disagreement among scientists about whether or not global warming is happening. Perhaps partly as a result, 79% of our respondents indicated that coverage of climate change science must reflect a “balance” of viewpoints just as coverage of political or social issues are covered. Prior research conducted by others, however, has shown that “balanced” news coverage about climate change is misleading in that it tends to give audience members the false impression that there is a lot of disagreement among scientists about whether or not global warming is happening.

"We are of the view that sanction is not a healthy path and... that the best route is diplomacy." Erdogan then wondered why the international community refused to impose sanctions against the Middle East's sole nuclear weapons power, in an apparent allusion to Israel. "We are against nuclear weapons in our region. But is there another country in our region that has nuclear weapons? Yes, there is. And have they been subjected to sanctions? No," Erdogan said.

Former head of NSA calls for the internet to be "re-engineered" so as to eliminate anonymity and track down contributors to sites like WikiLeaks.

The west's acclaim of a democratic dawn rings hollow as long as Allawi and Maliki refuse to observe the rule of law. The idea that elections are the be-all and end-all of democracy is naive at best. At worst they are a shallow and unsustainable justification for the carnage that followed invasion and regime change. Iraq's new ruling elite was brought back to the country by US and British troops; they are now presiding over a country that has repeatedly gone to the polls but received precious little beyond politically motivated violence, widespread corruption and now a flagrant disregard for the rule of law by their elected politicians. AntiWar: Move Could Ban Six Allawi MPs From Office. The Independent: Links to Ba’athists could end Allawi’s hopes of seizing power.

Thousands of homeless people are being forced off the streets of South Africa to hide the scale of poverty there from World Cup fans. More than 800 tramps, beggars and street children have already been removed from Johannesburg and sent to remote settlements hundreds of miles away. And in Cape Town, where England face Algeria on June 18, up to 300 have been moved to Blikkiesdorp camp where 1,450 families are crammed in a settlement of tin huts designed for just 650 people.

Russian death squads ‘pulverise’ Chechens - Elite commandos have broken their silence to reveal how they torture, execute and then blow captives to atoms to obliterate the grisly evidence

So I guess this war is enough like the Iraq War that President Obama, like his predecessor, can only visit the troops at night, in secret. And the whiff of triumphalism is familiar, too: "we never quit". Really? Lebanon 1984 didn't happen? Vietnam came out differently than we remember? Still, the most jarring part of the Obama fly-in to Bagram was the part of the base he (apparently) didn't visit: the secret prison we've been running there for years. It's Gitmo on steroids. AWIP/Bill van Auken: Obama’s visit underscores US crisis in Afghanistan.

Anthony Lawson sets out the implications of the recent US Congressional letter signed by half of its members endorsing blind support of the racist, worse-than-apartheid state of Israel. “Putting considerations for a foreign power ahead of considerations for the safety of the United States and its citizens has to be treason. It could not be anything else.”

Corrie was killed by an Israeli bulldozer while trying to protect Palestinian homes. Her family has been met with hostility while pursuing a civil suit after calling the investigation a 'whitewash.'

In 2010, Jews in Israel and around the world will celebrate Passover beginning on March 30th. Passover is the seven-day holiday of the Feast of Unleavened Bread commemorating the ancient Hebrews' escape from enslavement in Egypt. (In Israel, March 30th is also Land Day: the day when Palestinians commemorate and protest the confiscation of their lands by the Israeli government; but that’s another story.)

My Jewish sisters and brothers, you can continue to look away as Israel claims to speak and to act in your name. It kills and maims in your name. It dispossesses and occupies in your name. It talks peace and wages war in your name. If you turn a deaf ear to their mourning again this year, if you harden your heart again this year, if your voice is not raised this year in protest – then you are acquiescing in the ongoing ethnic cleansing of another people, in your name. If you cannot see Palestinians as fully human now, you will hear them trying to give voice to their humanity in your nightmares, year after year, until you can see and until you can hear.

Did you know that for the last three years until today Israel has been completely blocking all shipments of clothes and shoes to the Gaza Strip?

The banking giant HSBC removed two companies involved in carbon trading from its Climate Change Index on Monday because they had lost too much value. Analysts from HSBC said the cause was mainly that governments had failed to come up with a timetable for a global climate deal at the United Nations summit in Copenhagen in December.

Concern is growing that the United Kingdom's Liverpool Care Pathway, intended to ease the comfort of patients whose death is inevitable, is being misused to railroad elderly patients onto a path toward early death. "While we've been preoccupied with the moral pluses and minuses of living wills, assisted suicide and euthanasia, legalized execution of some of society's most vulnerable has become available, most probably at a hospital near you," writes Telegraph columnist Liz Hunt. "How did we let this happen?"

The European Commission has proposed that websites containing child pornography should be blocked across the European Union and that maximum sentences of five to ten years should be imposed on human traffickers.

Democrats said their health care legislation would provide greater medical security to those in need. But it appears to fall short on protecting arguably the most vulnerable demographic: sick children. Insurance companies wasted no time after the bill was passed to unearth a loophole that allowed them to deny coverage to children with pre-existing illnesses for the next four years. According to the New York Times, "Insurers agree that if they provide insurance for a child, they must cover pre-existing conditions. But, they say, the law does not require them to write insurance for the child and it does not guarantee the 'availability of coverage' for all until 2014."

KANDAHAR, Mar. 29 -A blast on later Monday night killed or wounded as many as 13 American troops in Kandahar's Zhari district. The report states the U.S. invaders were about to carry out a search of house where explosives had already been placed by Mujahideen; the detonation occurred as soon as the enemy entered the building, Mujahideen official said. The witness said the explosions was so powerful as to collapse the building completely, while the parts of the bodies of the Americans, their caps and other outfits were seen lying scattered around the area. Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan: U.S.-led coalition troops take deadly losses in Helmand.

The US Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan has been hit by rockets during an official visit by President Barack Obama to the war-torn country. Afghan officials told Press TV on Monday that three rockets targeted the airfield. No damages or casualties have been reported; however, Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid, who claimed responsibility for the attack, said there were serious casualties inside the base. PressTV: Obama makes surprise visit to Afghanistan.

Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan: More missiles strike Bagram airfield.

PARWAN, Mar. 29 - Bagram airbase, situated 20 kilometers north of Kabul, was, once again, attacked by Mujahideen of the Islamic Emirate in the late night hours of Monday. According to the report, at least three missiles struck the U.S. military bases inside the airfield in the late night operation, most likely to cause the enemy deadly losses. Indeed, the attack on the airbase came as the president Obama, after a shot visit to Afghanistan, was about fly to America from the airbase. The report adds [that] shortly after the attack on the airbase, mortar rounds were fired by the enemy at a nearby area known as Qala Band, but caused no one any harm.

Fars: Ex-Prisoner Unveils Abuse in Bagram:

An Afghan national, recently released from the US army jails in Bagram Air Base, said that Muslim prisoners are brutally mistreated by the US forces at the base.

Huge explosions during morning rush hour in two subway stations in central Moscow killed more than 33 people on Monday, officials said, raising fears of a renewal of terrorism here. Firefighters and Interior Ministry officers working near the entrance of the Lubyanka metro station after an explosion during rush hour in The causes of the blasts were not immediately clear, but the government said it suspected suicide bombers, Russian news agencies reported. The subway system, one of the world’s most extensive, had been subjected to attacks related to the separatist war in Chechnya in the early part of the last decade. PressTV: Twin blasts kill 35 in Moscow metro. Boston.com: Double suicide bombings kill 37 on Moscow subway. Daily Mail: Two bombs, 40mins apart, detonated during morning rush hour. PressTV: Russian leaders vow "retaliation" after Moscow blasts. LifeNews.ru: Pictures from the Russian Subway [Warning: Graphic]

Mine workers became trapped in the Wangjialing coal mine in China's Shanxi Province on Sunday when underground water gushed into the mine, the official Xinhua news agency reported, citing the provincial work safety supervision administration. More than 100 workers were rescued from the mine, officials said. The cause of the flooding was not immediately known.

For all those Green morons calling on us to turn off our lights Saturday evening from 8:30 PM to 9:30 PM to celebrate "Earth Hour", this is what it looks like every night in North and South Korea. The North is in the grip of a Stalinist dictator and the South is a thriving democracy. Like fire, electricity is truly a gift of the gods. It is the difference between the Dark Age and the present age...but not for everyone. Much of Africa is in darkness. too. People who hate civilization and the humans who created it are welcome to live out in the wilderness or in some primitive backward country where they burn dung to cook their meals. AWIP/WUWT: Earth Hour in North Korea a stunning success...

A leaked CIA report says: Public apathy enables leaders to ignore voters. The report is discussing apathy among the French and German people to their countries' involvement in the war in Afghanistan, but the same is true to the apathy of Americans towards the Iraq and other wars as well.

Likud Official Says Govt Will 'Liquidate' Hamas, Occupy Strip. Though he balked at setting any timeline for when it would happen, Israeli Finance Minister Yuval Steinitz promised that Israel would “sooner or later” invade and reoccupy the Gaza Strip, liquidating Hamas in the process.

Israeli soldiers detained a thirteen-year- old girl from her home in the Old City of Hebron on Tuesday the 23rd of March. At about 5:45 PM, CPTers followed four soldiers as they entered the girl’s home and ordered the entire family to the roof. Once on the roof, a fifth soldier from a permanent post on a neighboring Israeli settler home ordered the family’s three teenage daughters to one side of the roof. The soldier singled out the thirteen-year- old and accused her of throwing a stone.

The Obama administration is ratcheting up its war threats against Iran in a calculated effort to provoke a crisis with Tehran that could produce a general war in the Middle East. In multiple venues—planted articles in the press, the release of a think tank study on military options, speeches at the pro-Israel lobby AIPAC, and congressional declarations—Washington is building a case for a new eruption of US military aggression. The appearance of two articles in the Sunday edition of the New York Times underscored this campaign. The paper published a front-page lead reporting CIA and State Department allegations that Iran is accelerating its nuclear development; as well as the summary of a war game based on an Israeli air strike against Iran, published in the Week in Review section.

Selections from documentaries produced by Americans For A Just Peace In The Middle East. www. ajpme.org. Part 2. Part 3. Part 4.

In the predawn hours of Friday, February 12, two pregnant women, a teenage girl and two local officials were shot to death in their home in Afghanistan. The first person to die in the assault was Commander Dawood, 43, a long-serving, popular and highly-trained policeman who had recently been promoted to head of intelligence in one of Paktia’s most volatile districts. His brother, Saranwal Zahir, was a prosecutor in Ahmadabad district. He was killed while he stood in a doorway trying to protest their innocence. Three women crouching in a hallway behind him were hit by the same volley of fire. Bibi Shirin, 22, had four children under the age of 5. Bibi Saleha, 37, had 11 children. Both of them, according to their relatives, were pregnant. They were killed instantly.

As a 21-year-old, Ric Johnstone drove 150 miles daily across the scorching vastness of the Australian outback to work. A motor mechanic in the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF), he spent 1956 servicing military vehicles in the Great Victorian Desert. He lived with 300 other men in a tent town, eating dinners of bullied beef with the occasional vegetable. Johnstone described his first six months as similar to being a prisoner in a chain gang: “There was no church, no women, no entertainment, nothing.” But half a year later, Johnstone’s problems were very different.

As a follow-on to my post yesterday, I’ve been working on two charts using data from the International Institute of Strategic Studies to compare U.S. military spending with that of our European allies. I’m grateful to Charles Zakaib for his help crunching the numbers. I think that the charts are pretty evocative.

[This] chart shows changes in defense spending per capita over the same period. I’ve always thought this figure more instructive than spending as a percent of GDP. You can see that Americans are spending much more on our military over the past 10 years, whereas most of our European allies have made only modest increases. [This chart] aren’t perfect because there are some inconsistencies in the data. Different countries include different things under “defense” and this can lead to misunderstating what they spend relative to others, including the United States. For example, the figures for France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Greece, Belgium and Portugal include military pensions, but other countries do not. The stats for other countries (Turkey, Albania, Canada, Denmark, Estonia, Iceland, Luxembourg, Romania and Slovenia) count coast guards and/or gendarmerie (aka national police) under defense spending, but in the United States some of those costs are covered under the Department of Homeland Security (especially the Coast Guard; we obviously don’t have a federal police force).

Striking gold in Quebec: Will the gold rush bring with it wealth and opportunity for locals in Malartic? Or will history repeat itself once again? MALARTIC, Canada — Canada’s gold rush is in full swing. It’s boom time in Malartic, a sleepy, one-horse town in northwestern Quebec. Prospectors have struck gold and are digging an open-pit mine of monster proportions. With demand for the precious metal hitting new highs, the mine is expected to bring jobs, people and life to the depressed town (population 4,000). People who were sitting on billions of dollars worth of gold have been uprooted to a new residential area. The Osisko Mining Corporation speaks of a “win-win” scenario. Yet, the mood in the so-called boom town seems decidedly downbeat. Locals trudge past shabby corrugated iron buildings with grim resolve, seemingly oblivious to the untold wealth beneath their feet.

Dr. Costella’s study has been widely accepted by all sides of the global warming debate as a faultless assessment. Climategate publicly began on November 19, 2009 allegedly pointing to a conspiracy to fraudulently bolster greenhouse gas theory. The British mainstream media, more than any other nation, have widely reported on the scandal. The Australian physicist documents, step by step, flawed scientific procedure, over-arching concerns with personal and professional interests and how an elite of climatologists discussed immorally securing ‘research’ funding and evading tax payments. The emails cover correspondence between international climatologists over a 13-year period up to November 2009.

Palestinian officials warn that more than 20,000 Palestinian homes in Jerusalem al-Quds could soon face demolition orders from Israeli municipal authorities. Ahmad Ruweidi, the Palestinian Authority's legal advisor on al-Quds affairs, said Israeli courts will soon hand demolition orders to Palestinian homeowners over what Tel Aviv calls violation of construction rules over the past 10 years and the requirement of renewable licenses. The figure does not include homes whose owners have already received final demolition orders from Israeli courts or the Israeli municipality in al-Quds, Ruweidi noted. This means that all owners will live in a state of fear that at any moment their homes could be demolished or a family member may be found homeless on the street, he cautioned.

US president is in Afghanistan on his first trip as president to a country where tens of thousands of US troops are being deployed this year. US President Barack Obama arrived at Bagram airfield, the US airbase north of the capital, early Sunday morning. Obama held a meeting with Afghan President Hamid Karzai in the presidential palace after holding talks with Gen. Stanley McChrystal, the commander of Western forces in Afghanistan, and US Ambassador Karl Eikenberry at the base. Obama is also due to meet with Afghan cabinet members and American troops in the country.

Other U.S. presidents have bonded with foreign leaders, but Obama so far has no such ties. Does that matter? "It really is striking about Obama: Most presidents have had a special or close relationship with a foreign leader they could turn to," says Thomas Henriksen, a US foreign-policy scholar at the Hoover Institution in Stanford, Calif. "But it appears to be his nature or personality, the so-called no-drama-Obama thing."