06/30/11

Permalink Pakistan: US told to leave Shamsi airbase

Pakistan told the United States to leave a remote desert airbase used as a hub for covert CIA drone attacks, Defence Minister Ahmed Mukhtar said Wednesday. - His remarks are the latest indication of Pakistan attempting to limit US activities since a clandestine American military raid killed Osama bin Laden on May 2 and plunged ties between the anti-terror allies into chaos.

“We have told them (US officials) to leave the airbase,” Mukhtar told a group of journalists in his office. “This trust deficit with US could be reduced by sitting together and taking joint actions,” he added.

Jason Ditz: Pakistan Tells US to Leave Drone Base
Ryan McCarl: Use of Predators Sets Dangerous Precedent
EuroNews: Pakistan ends U.S. use of base for drone attacks


Permalink Junta in Constitution Square

MY DEAR GREEK BROTHERS AND SISTERS! Organize your resistance efficiently, like the Egyptians did. Fight in 2 or 3 shifts and keep the pressure up onto these Police-THUGS 24 hours 7 days a week. You are many, they have very limited man-power, and after 3 or 4 days of hard pressing they are completely burnt out and exhausted. God bless you, solidarity with Greece! PEOPLE OF THE WORLD UNITE AND SUPPORT YOUR GREEK BROTHERS AND SISTERS NOW! [Η Χούντα της 21ης Απριλίου 1967 = The Junta of April 21]

You Tube: ΔΕΝ ΦΕΥΓΟΥΜΕ ΑΠ' ΤΗΝ ΠΛΑΤΕΙΑ [We'll (never) leave the (Constitution) square]
Peter Schwarz: Greek austerity package: Social counterrevolution in Europe
[ICH: Iceland Declares Independence from International Banks]
The American Dream: Austerity Riots - A Glimpse Of America's Future?


Permalink 11 Killed as Syrian Tanks Attack Border Villages Near Turkey

Crackdown Continues, But So Do Massive Protests - At least 11 villagers have been killed today in the Jabal al-Zawya region of Syria, just south of the border with Turkey. The deaths came when Syrian troops attacked the region, with a number of tanks backing them up. The troops reportedly were carrying out searches in the region following anti-regime sit-ins staged by lawyers. The attacks spurred calls for major protests on Thursday, in addition to the massive protests held regularly held on Friday. The latest deaths add an additional layer of intrigue over the prospect of a “national dialogue” early in July, and has convinced more and more protesters that the offer is not sincere. The Syrian government’s offers for reform and dialogue have not slowed their crackdowns.


Permalink Saudi Police Crack Down On Women’s Driving Protest

Saudi Arabia's religious police have begun arresting women who are protesting against their country's ban on female driving by getting behind the wheel. But advocates of women's right to drive say the arrests won't stop them. - According to the Times, police arrested five women on Tuesday. Four were riding in a car together — they were forced to sign an agreement never to drive again. A fifth was driving with her brother in a different neighborhood — they were both arrested, and remain in custody. All were apparently participating in a protest movement launched last month to advocate for a women's driving rights and the safety and freedom that might come with them.


Permalink From the grave: Bill Hicks on Barack Obama

Bill Hicks talks about the real leaders of the United States (circa 1993) ‘The Elite’ from "Rant in E Minor"

You Tube: Bill Hicks - "The Elite"
AWIP: Bill Hicks - Pick up the Gun


Permalink Police ticket cars, citizens claim harassment - Video

Remember Rochester police arresting a woman for videotaping a police traffic stop on her front lawn? Now, the police come back A DAY later to ticket parked cars owned by her supporters because they were a few inches more than 12 inches from the curb. - A group of Rochester citizens meeting to show support for a woman arrested while video taping a police traffic stop claim police harassment. Members of the group IndyMedia say several police officers converged on Clarissa Street late Thursday afternoon and began ticketing their parked cars for being more than 12 inches from the curb. A member of the group video taped the incident and posted the video on line. The pictures show police using a pink ruler to measure the distance from the curb to the wheels, and then issuing parking tickets. Spokeswoman Dawn Zuppelli says this was obvious retaliation. "This was a clear intimidation tactic. And I'm outraged about it. It was an appalling use of city (police) resources. They told us it was citizen complaints about how the cars were parked, and I don't believe it for a second. I absolutely think we're being targeted. They're leaving us a message that they are angry about this. It's gotten international coverage at this point, the misconduct of the RPD and they want to let us know that they're not happy about it," Zuppelli said. Zuppleii says their meeting was well publicized on all the social media networks. Four police cars showed up within 20 minutes of the meeting starting.

AWIP: Police Officer Arrest Woman in Her Front Yard for Filming the Cops


Permalink Welcome to the United Jewish Kingdom: Britain accused of collaborating with Israel over Salah arrest

Arab Israelis and Palestinians have accused the British government of collaborating with Israel in detaining Sheikh Raed Salah, the leader of the Islamic Movement in Israel. - Ibrahim Sarsur, a United Arab List member of the Knesset, the Israeli parliament, described the arrest of Salah as "strange". He said: "Sheikh Salah is one of the leading figures in the Arab Israeli community. He travelled to the UK legitimately, and he had no knowledge of any ban on his entering the UK, so we are surprised and disappointed by this illegitimate procedure."


Permalink Arthur Billy: Requiem for the Dead of Gaza

Introduction by Gilad Atzmon: This is a pretty extensive and devastating presentation of the Israeli crime in Gaza. I met Arthur Billy last month in San Francisco. Billy, born in pre 1948 Palestine is a nuclear scientist and an incredibly kind human being. The combination of the music and the images is very powerful, yet, bear in mind that Billy is not a film maker. As far as I am aware he assembled this presentation using Power Point. He had a very limited editing capacity. Yet, the spirit is there, the aesthetic is there and the impact of Israeli barbarism is there all the way through. Thanks Arthur for your time, effort and care.

Arthur Billy & William A.Cook: This presentation is a Memorial and a Requiem for the Dead of Gaza, Honouring the Valiant Palestinian People and a Monument to the People of Gaza. May this requiem force the Israelis and all who view this testament to share the suffering and the pain of the Palestinian people with all the compassion the souls of humans everywhere should feel for one another. Should the United States of America House of Representatives, and the Senate care to spend two hours in rapt meditation witnessing the reality of the slaughter they supported in Israel's invasion of Gaza, even their gold plated hearts would melt at the brutality, the ruthlessness, the absolute mercilessness of the state they support with such sanctimonious sentiments when they slither up the AIPAC carpet to seek their favor and forget the consequences to their immortal souls. http://mycatbirdseat.com/2010/06/tel-aviv-on-the-potomac


Permalink ANOTHER ship to Gaza sabotaged by Israeli agents - Video

Irish Ship to Gaza SABOTAGED by israeli agents in Turkish waters.

Freedom Flotilla News: SABOTAGE OF M.V. SAOIRSE IN TURKEY
[Freedom Flotilla News: Gaza-bound ship “Juliano” found sabotaged in Greek port]


Permalink Flotilla: Even state officials say Netanyahu, IDF spread lies

The top story in two of Israel’s leading daily papers yesterday was a bombshell: The IDF unveiled plans by flotilla passengers to kill soldiers trying to stop the ships from getting to Gaza... The reports of the murderous intentions of the flotilla activists traveled around the country and across the world. Not for the first time, a group of unarmed European and American activists traveling on old yachts was presented as a threat to the security of the region’s superpower. The only question is: for how long will the world continue to buy these kind of stories?

Stephen Lendman: Israeli Anti-Freedom Flotilla II Propaganda

Robert Stevens: Israel threatens violence against Gaza aid convoy On Monday Benjamin Netanyahu’s cabinet ordered the Israeli Defence Force to “act resolutely” to stop the flotilla. - A concerted campaign of disinformation and lies has been mounted to portray the aid flotilla as an armed invading force. Haaretz said senior Israeli defence officials told a press briefing Monday that two activists linked to Hamas are on-board the convoy. Hamas, an Islamist group, has been classified as a terrorist organisation by Israel.


Permalink US Senate passes resolution of unequivocal NO to Palestinian state

In an expected but nonetheless unbelievable move, the US Senate passed resolution 185 late Tuesday, which states that if the Palestinian Authority goes ahead with its plan to seek unilateral recognition as a state, the US would suspend its financial aid. - The resolution, backed by 87 senators, reasons that US policy is committed to a two-state solution through negotiations and thus any unilateral action by the Palestinians is counterproductive. As the resolution states:

Reaffirming the commitment of the United States to a negotiated settlement of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict through direct Israeli-Palestinian negotiations, reaffirming opposition to the inclusion of Hamas in a unity government unless it is willing to accept peace with Israel and renounce violence, and declaring that Palestinian efforts to gain recognition of a state outside direct negotiations demonstrates absence of a good faith commitment to peace negotiations, and will have implications for continued United States aid.

This is a ridiculously insulting double standard. Israel has been taking unilateral actions for decades with impunity, actions which have drastically changed facts on the ground and continue to undermine the very notion of negotiations. Can you imagine the US making aid to Israel contingent on anything it does?


Permalink Osama Bin Laden's Son Doubts His Father Is Dead

Osama bin Laden's son is reportedly in doubt that his father was killed after U.S. President Barack Obama decided not to publish photographs taken during the raid.

According to Reuters Canada, Omar bin Laden reportedly says that he is not convinced his father was killed in the U.S. military operation in Abbottabad, Pakistan, in May. He is also unsure whether his father had lived for five uninterrupted years at the compound where the raid took place.

"Why hasn't the U.S. shown the photos? "If we haven't seen the body, we can't be completely sure," he said.

NYT [May 10, 2011]: Statement From the Family of Osama bin Laden - I Omar Ossama Binladin and my brothers the lawful children and heirs of the Ossama Binladin (OBL) have noted wide coverage of the news of the death of our father, but we are not convinced on the available evidence in the absence of dead body, photographs, and video evidence that our natural father is dead. Therefore, with this press statement, we seek such conclusive evidence to believe the stories published in relation to 2 May 2011 operation Geronimo as declared by the President of United States Barrack Hussein Obama in his speech that he authorized the said operation and killing of OBL and later confirmed his death.

[Editor's Comment:] There is no independent or conclusive evidence that Osama bin Laden was executed in Abbottabad. The one extant image of marines dumping a white-clad body in the sea does not in itself prove that this must have been bin Laden's body. The world at large simply do not at this point in time know for certain that bin Laden has been killed. Neither do we know for certain whether he is dead or not.

Paul Craig Roberts: Creating the bin Laden Reality
Paul Craig Roberts: Americans Are Living In 1984


Permalink Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez postpones summit amid health concerns

The mystery surrounding the medical condition of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez deepened with the postponement of a major regional summit. - Chavez perhaps seemed to have lost some weight but was acting his usual animated self, raising the obvious question of why a summit still a week away had to be scrapped. The president "is in the midst of a strict process of recovery and medical treatment," the Venezuelan foreign ministry said in a statement on the postponement, without providing further details.


06/29/11

Permalink Cost of America's wars: $3.7 trillion and counting

NEW YORK (Reuters) - When President Barack Obama cited cost as a reason to bring troops home from Afghanistan, he referred to a $1 trillion price tag for America's wars. - Staggering as it is, that figure grossly underestimates the total cost of wars in Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan to the U.S. Treasury and ignores more imposing costs yet to come, according to a study released on Wednesday. The final bill will run at least $3.7 trillion and could reach as high as $4.4 trillion, according to the research project "Costs of War" by Brown University's Watson Institute for International Studies. (http://www.costsofwar.org) In the 10 years since U.S. troops went into Afghanistan to root out the al Qaeda leaders behind the September 11, 2001, attacks, spending on the conflicts totaled $2.3 trillion to $2.7 trillion.

Stephen Lendman: The Business of America is War


Permalink NATO airstrike kills 8 civilians in W Libyan town

A NATO airstrike killed eight civilians and injured some others Tuesday at a market in the town of Tawragha, 300 km east of the Libyan capital Tripoli, said Libya's official news agency. - While confirming the eight victims were all civilians, the Libyan Jana news agency quoted a military source as saying that some of the injured are in critical condition. Also on Tuesday, a Xinhua reporter saw NATO fighter jets were hovering over Tajura, a town 20 km east of Tripoli, and heard six huge explosions. The Tajura town has been attacked for the third consecutive day. According to a military source, these attacks caused huge damage to local infrastructure, yet it gave no details of the destruction.

PressTV: NATO airstrike kills 8 Libyan civilians


Permalink 250,000 Afghans fled their homes due to NATO air strikes and home raids

More than 250,000 people have been displaced in the last two years of fighting in Afghanistan, and "local police" programmes sponsored by NATO have exacerbated the problem by arming militias, according to a new report from Refugees International. - Most of the internally displaced persons (IDPs) fled "international and Afghan military forces' operations against the Taliban," the report found. It also concluded that many IDPs are not receiving adequate assistance from the Afghan government or the United Nations. Displacement is nothing new in Afghanistan, where millions have fled their homes during decades of war and conflict. But the Refugees International report argues that the pattern of displacement has changed. "Now, people are increasingly unwilling to return home because they fear their villages are no longer safe," the report states.


Permalink Israel passes draft law requiring Palestinians to pay for their own home demolitions

Israeli Knesset (Parliament) passed a first draft of a law that will require that Palestinians whose homes are destroyed by Israeli forces pay the Israeli government for the demolition costs." - The law will now be passed to the full Knesset for a final reading, where it is expected to pass due to the current makeup of the Knesset. Since 1967, Israeli forces have demolished 24,813 Palestinian homes. 90% of these homes were destroyed for 'administrative' reasons – because they either lacked a permit or were in an area designated for expansion by the Israeli military. No permits have been issued by Israeli authorities for Palestinian construction in the Occupied Territories since 1967. The remaining 10% of the demolitions have been 'punitive' demolitions of the homes of Palestinians accused of attacking Israel, or of their families' homes. In the first five months of 2011, Israeli forces demolished more Palestinian homes than in the entire year of 2010, rendering homeless 706 Palestinians, including 341 minors. This is according to the most recent numbers released by the Israeli Civil Administration.


Permalink Robert Kiyosaki: An Economic Collapse Is Coming

Even Robert Kiyosaki is warning that an economic collapse is coming. In fact, Kiyosaki and his team of financial experts are encouraging Americans to stock up on food, guns and precious metals. This is yet another sign of just how close we are to the total collapse of the U.S. Economy. Kiyosaki, who once co-authored a book with Donald Trump entitled "Why We Want You To Be Rich" is now a full-fledged prepper. As even more prominent Americans start warning that an "economic collapse" is coming do you think that the American people will finally wake up and start paying attention? The statements that Robert Kiyosaki makes in the video posted above are absolutely jaw-dropping.

The Economy Collapse: Economic Recovery?
The Economy Collapse: The State Of The Economy


Permalink Senate committee votes to authorize limited U.S. role in Libya

The Senate Foreign Relations Committee passed a resolution Tuesday authorizing U.S. involvement in the NATO-led mission in Libya, a small step forward for those in Congress seeking a path out of a stubborn legal stalemate with the White House. - The resolution would give approval to U.S. engagement in the mission for up to one year, but puts new restrictions on expanding the U.S. role. Four Republicans joined the Democratic majority to pass the measure on a 14-5 vote. It’s a resolution that President Obama has declared he would “welcome" but which he also insists he does not need under law — a point on which many in Congress, including Democrats, disagree.


Permalink Senate Hearing Centers on Railing at Pakistan

A Senate Armed Services Committee centering on Pakistan was held today, leading a number of top Senators, including committee chair Carl Levin (D – MI) to rail against the Pakistani government, and accuse them of harboring terrorists. - Sen. Lindsey Graham (R – SC) questioned Vice Admiral William McRaven, who headed the raid against the Pakistani city of Abbotabad, about the presence of Mullah Omar in the country, leading McRaven to say that not only did the military believe Omar is in Pakistan, but that he believes that the Pakistani government “know” he is. This led to further speculation about Pakistan’s Inter-Service Intelligence (ISI) agency knowingly keeping the locations of US-sought militants a secret. This led to more calls from the Senators to withdraw aid from the Zardari government, following up demands from Secretary of State Hillary Clinton for “changes” if the government wanted to continue receiving US aid.


Permalink The Prospect of a Greek Military Coup

[RT] The Greek government is prepared to vote on austerity measures on Wednesday, June 29. The vote will take place in the midst of a general strike launched by the unions to oppose cuts that would most impact minimum wage earners and Greeks who are struggling the most in the current economic conditions.

Talk has been circulating on whether a military coup might happen if austerity measures pass. In a message from an “Independent Movement of Military People” to the Minister of Defence Panagiotis Beglitis, the army chided him for making false promise and creating a wealthy network of strong patronage ties. A number of US State Embassy cables have been released by WikiLeaks in recent months. The Greek newspaper Ta Nea has been covering revelations in the cables. One cable from June 2008 addresses the military-to-military relationship between Greece and the US by looking at “the Good, the Bad and the Necessary.” A section shows how the Greek military has depended on the patronage of the US:

The Greeks are disappointed that U.S. International Military Education and Training (IMET) funds for Greece have been drastically reduced from USD 540,000 in 2008 to USD 100,000 in 2009. U.S. military training is a highly valued commodity with Hellenic armed forces personnel and is probably the most effective of our defense cooperation activities. We expect Greece to send more military personnel to other countries for training, with a probable concomitant increase in those nations' influence with the Greek armed forces.

BBC: Greece Passes Austerity Measures - Video
Stefan Steinberg: Greek parliament adopts new austerity in face of mass opposition
Stefan Steinberg: Germany contemplates “nuclear option” for Greece


Permalink Rabbi Ya’akov Yosef Expected To Be Arrested For Justifying The Killing Of Non-Jews

The Torat Hamelech, published November of 2009, is a 230-page commentary written by Rabbis Yitzhak Shapira and Yosef Elitzur, who live an illegal West Bank settlement of Yitzhar. The commentary states the commandment of “Thou shall not kill” only applies to a Jew killing another Jew. Its preface states that it is forbidden to kill a non-Jew but later outlines the context in which it is permissible to kill a non-Jew, according to Haaretz Daily Newspaper. Any non-Jew considered an enemy of the state of Israel is justified under Jewish law to be killed according to the Torat Hamelech. It justifies the killing of babies that represent one of Israel’s enemies since “it is clear that they will grow to harm us,” a quotation from the Torat Hamelech.


Permalink Cancer surges in body scanner operators; tsa launches cover-up

Fearful of provoking further public resistance to naked airport body scanners, the TSA has been caught covering up a surge in cases of TSA workers developing cancer as a result of their close proximity to radiation-firing devices, perhaps the most shocking revelation to emerge from the latest FOIA documents obtained by the Electronic Privacy Information Center. After Union representatives in Boston discovered a “cancer cluster” amongst TSA workers linked with radiation from the body scanners, the TSA sought to downplay the matter and refused to issue employees with dosimeters to measure levels of exposure.


06/28/11

Permalink The Zionist Story (must watch)

The Zionist Story, an independent film by Ronen Berelovich, is the story of ethnic cleansing, colonialism and apartheid to produce a demographically Jewish State.

Ronen successfully combines archival footage with commentary from himself and others such as Ilan Pappe, Terry Boullata, Alan Hart and Jeff Halper. "I have recently finished an independent documentary, The Zionist Story, in which I aim to present not just the history of the Israeli/Palestinian conflict, but also the core reason for it: the Zionist ideology, its goals (past and present) and its firm grip not only on Israeli society, but also, increasingly, on the perception of Middle East issues in Western democracies. These concepts have already been demonstrated in the excellent 'Occupation 101′ documentary made by Abdallah Omeish and Sufyan Omeish, but in my documentary I approach the subject from the perspective of an Israeli, ex-reserve soldier and someone who has spent his entire life in the shadow of Zionism.

I hope you can find a moment to watch The Zionist Story and, if you like it, please feel free to share it with others. (As both the documentary and the archived footage used are for educational purposes only, the film can be freely distributed). I have made this documentary entirely by myself, with virtually no budget, although doing my best to achieve high professional standard, and I hope that this 'home-spun' production will be of interest to viewers." - Ronen Berelovich.


:: Next >>

Health topic page on womens health Womens health our team of physicians Womens health breast cancer lumps heart disease Womens health information covers breast Cancer heart pregnancy womens cosmetic concerns Sexual health and mature women related conditions Facts on womens health female anatomy Womens general health and wellness The female reproductive system female hormones Diseases more common in women The mature woman post menopause Womens health dedicated to the best healthcare
buy viagra online