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.”