Another strike by US-operated drones has killed at least 4 people and injured several others in Pakistan's northwestern tribal region. Media reports say a US drone fired two missiles at a car in the area on Wednesday. The strike took place about 25 kilometers (15 miles) west of Miranshah, the main town in North Waziristan region. Pakistani officials confirmed the fatal incident, saying that all those killed in the strike were "militants."

STATE TERROR: US drone attack kills 5 PEOPLE in Pakistan: At least five people have been killed in a US drone attack in the troubled North Waziristan tribal region of Pakistan on the Afghan border. Several more people were injured when two missiles hit a nearby compound in Boya village, located about 20 kilometers (12 miles) west of Miranshah. Since last year, the US has carried out many such attacks on Pakistan's tribal areas. Washington claims its airstrikes target militants. Most of the attacks, however, have killed civilians. AWIP: 11th Drone Strike of 2010: Latest US Attack Kills Six in North Waziristan: AFP: 11 killed in US missile strikes in NW Pakistan: officials. AntiWar: US Drone Fired Missile Into a Crowd of "Suspects," Killing 13 Afghans. TANSW: Pakistan Taliban deny US drone strike killed top leader. This comes on top of this Nobel Peace Prize winner Kills at Least 15 in North Waziristan and this Civilians Slain as Latest US Drone Strike on North Waziristan, Kills Five and this US Drones Kill 12 in North Waziristan: Third TERROR Strike in 24 Hours in Tribal Area and this U.S. Drones Kill 15 People Near Border in Pakistan and summing up all of 2009, this: 44 US drone hits in Pakistan killed 700 civilians in 2009. + AWIP: No assent given to US drone attacks: Pakistan. The Guardian: The 'Obama doctrine': kill, don't detain -George Bush left a big problem in the shape of Guantánamo. The solution? Don't capture bad guys, assassinate by drone.

If you’re like me, now that we’re in the week that federal income taxes are due, you are finally starting to collect your records and prepare for the ordeal. Either way, whether you are a procrastinator like me, or have already finished and know how much you have paid to the government, it is a good time to stop and consider how much of your money goes to pay for our bloated and largely useless and pointless military. The budget for the 2011 fiscal year, which has to be voted by Congress by this Oct. 1, looks to be about $3 trillion, not counting the funds collected for Social Security (since the Vietnam War, the government has included the Social Security Trust Fund in the budget as a way to make the cost of America’s imperial military adventures seem smaller in comparison to the total cost of government). Meanwhile, the military share of the budget works out to about $1.6 trillion.

At least 400 people have been killed after a strong earthquake struck China's western province of Qinghai, officials and state media said. Another 8,000 people were believed to have been injured as homes collapsed leaving residents of the remote mountainous area trapped under the rubble.

The quake, measured at magnitude 7.1 by the China Earthquake Administration and at 6.9 by the US Geological Survey (USGS), struck the ethnic Tibetan town of Yushu on the Tibetan plateau, on Wednesday morning. Troops were dispatched to the area amid fears that many residents could be left without shelter in freezing temperatures. State-run Xinhua news agency quoted Zhuo Huaxia, a local official, as saying that more than 85 per cent of houses had collapsed near the epicentre of the quake. Part of a vocational school had also collapsed and "a lot of students are buried underneath", he added. Daily Mail: Powerful earthquake in western China kills at least 400 people and injures 10,000. Al Jazeera: Timeline: Recent major earthquakes.

The Russian embassy in Kyrgyzstan is concerned over increasing interethnic tensions threatening the safety of Russian citizens, an embassy diplomat said on Wednesday. Protests against Kyrgyz President Kurmanbek Bakiyev and his government began April 6 in the country's northwest and grew violent, spreading to other regions of the country, including the capital Bishkek. More than 80 people were killed and some 1,500 were injured. The opposition formed an interim government. Bakiyev fled Bishkek and is in the country's south - his traditional stronghold. Describing the current situation, Viktor Kharchenko said Russians in Kyrgyzstan ask diplomats if they need to leave because of the unrest in the country and say they are afraid of staying.

[He will recant, humiliate himself & grovel.] President Barack Obama managed to avoid Israel’s nuclear program nearly entirely for the high profile nuclear summit, but was unable to successfully dodge a question at the closing press conference about Israel’s non-membership in the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). So far Israel’s government has yet to respond to Obama’s latest call, but the predictable reaction will be negative, as the government is loathe to even admit it has nuclear weapons, let alone to subject them to international oversight. AWIP/Edward S. Herman & David Peterson: The Iran Threat in the Age of Real-Axis-of-Evil Expansion.

Mother Jones and Colbert go after Wikileaks. Activists intent on releasing evidence of crimes committed by a powerful government are harassed and followed by police and intelligence agents: a restaurant in which they are meeting comes under surveillance, and, subsequently, one of their number is detained by the police for 21 hours. Their leader is followed on an international flight by two agents: and, in a parking lot of foreign soil, one of their number is accosted by a "James Bond character" and threatened. Computers are seized, and on the group’s Twitter account the following message appears: "If anything happens to us, you know why … and you know who is responsible."

Laments that Watchdog Will 'Not Be Held Accountable'. With growing concerns over the massive number of civilians being killed in America’s assorted wars, Secretary of Defense Robert Gates took time out to publicly condemn Wikileaks for its release of a July 12, 2007 video showing US helicopters massacring civilians in Iraq. AWIP: Gates Defends Soldiers in Iraq Shooting Video.

[Editor's Comment:] The problem is not that Wikileaks is "irresponsible" or that it "not [can] be held accountable", like Gates says. There's nothing wrong with Wikileaks. Quite the opposite. It is being responsible and should of course never be held to account for speaking the truth. Wikileaks has done a very good job here and has made a big difference in terms of greater transparency and of holding the authorities accountable for their misdeeds. We should all be greatful for that. -The real problem rather is that war criminals (like Gates & others) currently are not being held accountable. They now can commit any atrocity & war crime with total impunity. That is, in our view, the real problem. And Wikileaks is part of the solution.

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad says that he has sent a letter to US President Barack Obama, the contents of which will be made public in the near future. He said that Iran is the “only chance” for Obama to realize his change motto. “What formula can he propose to make any development in Palestine that could be considered a victory for him and could strengthen his position in the US?” Ahmadinejad asked. “He can't do anything in Iraq or Afghanistan either because the situation is so complicated there that he can't create a tangible change there that could be considered a victory,” IRNA quoted the Iranian president as saying. Ahmadinejad also noted that Obama will not be able to improve the US economy through a miracle.

"With respect to sanctions, I think that we have a strong number of countries on the Security Council who believe this is the right thing to do. But I think these negotiations can be difficult," Obama said at the close of his Nuclear Security Summit. AntiWar: China Reiterates Opposition to Iran Sanctions… Again. PressTV: US:No breakthrough on Iran sanctions.

The two presidents yesterday agreed to work together on sanctions that could potentially punish Iran for its rogue nuclear program during discussions on the sidelines of the nuclear security summit in Washington. But last night, the Chinese government issued a statement from Beijing, saying that sanctions "cannot fundamentally solve" the Iran nuclear issue. Khaleej Times: UN action on Iran must help diplomacy: China.

World leaders at a landmark nuclear summit in Washington DC have agreed to secure all vulnerable nuclear materials around the globe within four years. The pledge came after summit host Barack Obama warned that nuclear material the "size of an apple" would be enough to kill thousands of people if it fell into the hands of "terrorists."

What They Don't Tell You About Israel part 2 of 4
What They Don't Tell You About Israel part 3 of 4
What They Don't Tell You About Israel part 4 of 4

Since 1973, Israel has cost the United States about $1.6 trillion. If divided by today's population, that is more than $5,700 per person. This is an estimate by Thomas Stauffer, a consulting economist in Washington. For decades, his analyses of the Middle East scene have made him a frequent thorn in the side of the Israel lobby. For the first time in many years, Mr. Stauffer has tallied the total cost to the US of its backing of Israel in its drawn-out, violent dispute with the Palestinians. So far, he figures, the bill adds up to more than twice the cost of the Vietnam War.

Tzomet Sfarim stops distribution of The National Left after right-wing sources put pressure on management. Book contains harsh criticism of settlers, settlement enterprise. Shulamit Aloni: Settlers do whatever they want

A report on Ireland’s economy has stated the country is on its way out a recession as consumers spend more. The Economic and Social Research Institute reported the Irish economy is stabilizing with consumers spending more and house prices stabilizing. While consumers are still cautious, the beginning of a move out of the worst recession experienced by Ireland since World War II is being seen. The economy is forecast to contract 0.5% in 2010 but expected to grow by 2.5% in 2011. Unemployment is expected to remain high at 13.75% but will improve slightly to 13.0% in 2011.

But it is the reason why unemployment levels are expected to improve that has caused some consternation and discussion throughout the nation. Unemployment levels are predicted to improve because of the expected numbers of emigrants. Projections are for 60,000 people to emigrate in 2010 and a further 40,000 to leave the country by April 2011. Opposition parties have called on the government to create a strategy for jobs creation rather than hoping for people to emigrate to solve the unemployment problem.

At least 19 people, many of them civilians, have been killed in an outburst of fighting in the divided Somali capital Mogadishu. Thirteen people died when African Union peacekeepers and government forces hit back after a militant attack on a military ceremony. Reports say the AU forces used heavy artillery in densely populated areas in what was the worst shelling in months. Another six people were killed by roadside bombs near Mogadishu airport.

"It was indiscriminate shelling," Ali Muse, head of Mogadishu's ambulance services, told AFP news agency. "Our teams collected the bodies of 16 civilians, while 55 others were injured in the shelling. Several children are among the dead." The shelling started in the afternoon when Islamist fighters fired mortars at the presidential palace and airport during a ceremony commemorating the 50th anniversary of the country's national army. Government troops backed by the AU reportedly responded with heavy artillery fire.

Meteorological events that happened on April 14:

A new Israeli military policy could result in the eviction of tens of thousands of Palestinians from the occupied West Bank. They even risk being jailed. Amendments to the existing 1969 order on preventing infiltration could apply to Palestinians living in the West Bank without official ID cards issued by Israel. The Israeli army says the order was designed to "facilitate a process of judicial review of the extradition of illegal residents in the region". But Palestinian and Israeli human rights organisations have condemned the order. Al Jazeera's Nour Odeh reports from Ramallah in the occupied West Bank. AWIP: Israel's military has issued new orders that could lead to the expulsion of tens of thousands of Palestinians from the West Bank. + Israel forces out Palestinians from WB. Al Jazeera: Israeli W Bank ID policy criticised.

Eating lots of nuts, fish and poultry while cutting down on red meat and butter could reduce the risk of Alzheimer’s disease, research suggests. A study of more than 2,000 pensioners in New York found that those who went on to develop dementia were more likely to eat diets rich in high-fat dairy products. One dietary pattern was significantly associated with a reduced risk of the disease, according to the Columbia University study, published in the journal Archives of Neurology. You Tube: Nutrition & Health - the big picture.

People with dented smiles run a greater risk of dying of heart disease than those who still have all their pearly whites, a Swedish researcher says. "Cardiovascular disease and, in particular, coronary heart disease is closely related to the number of teeth" a person has left, Anders Holmlund said yesterday, explaining the results of a study to be published in the Journal of Periodontology. "A person with fewer than 10 of their own teeth has a seven times higher risk for death by coronary heart disease than a person of the same age and of the same sex with more than 25 teeth left," Professor Holmlund said.

Scientists using a remote-controlled submarine have discovered the deepest known volcanic vent and say the superheated waters inside could contain undiscovered marine species and perhaps clues to the origin of life. Experts aboard the RRS James Cook said they found the underwater volcanic vent more than 5km beneath the surface of the Caribbean in an area known as the Cayman Trough, a deep-sea canyon that served as the setting for James Cameron's underwater thriller The Abyss. Geologist Bramley Murton, the submersible's pilot, said exploring the area was "like wandering across the surface of another world".