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.

At least 29 people were slain and an unknown number of others wounded today in a pair of US drone strikes against South Waziristan Agency, Pakistan. The first strike targeted a vehicle, killing eight people in Shawwal. - The second strike hit a home full of tribesmen in Mandoi, killing the 21 people inside and wounding a number of people surrounding the area. The toll in Mandoi is expected to continue to rise through the evening, as people were continuing to be pulled from the rubble. The attacks were the latest in a flurry of escalating attacks launched by the US since early May. In June alone the death toll is now nearly 100 killed, with all termed “suspects” but none conclusively identified as an actual militant, including one “confirmed” kill that was later retracted. Pakistan’s government has repeatedly demanded that the US halt all drone strikes against the tribal areas.

Workers across Greece walked off the job on Tuesday, kicking off a crippling 48-hour strike with a mass protest in the capital, Athens, as parliament debated a new austerity plan. Police fired tear gas in clashes with protesters. - Greece ground to a halt Tuesday as angry workers launched a 48-hour general strike against an austerity drive ordered by its bankruptcy-threatened government in exchange for a European bailout. Crowds converged early on Syntagma Square, where parliament will vote on sweeping spending cuts as planes, ships and most public transport came to a halt. Europe's economic tsar Olli Rehn in Brussels warned that Greece faced "a critical juncture" and the austerity programme was the "only way to avoid immediate default."

But that view was not shared by protestors, determined to block passage of the package.

"We don't want your money Europe," Iamando, 36, told AFP on the square where police were already out in force at 11:00 am (0800 GMT). "Leave us alone -- please, please, please."

You Tube: New round of clashes in Greece
BusinessInsider: Greek Police Using Teargas On Protesters And Riots Are Breaking Out

Stephen Lendman: Banker Occupation of Greece
Dan O'Brien: Greece: a borderline failed state
Alex Andreou: Democracy vs Mythology – The Battle in Syntagma Square

If the Fed stops QE, confidence in the US dollar would rise. Money would flow into US investments, both supporting the US stock market and helping to finance the large US budget deficit. Gold and silver prices would decline. Negative dollar expectations would be squeezed out of oil and grain prices, although drought, flood, and supply factors would continue to impact grain prices and the Obama Administration’s wars can impact oil prices. If a halt to QE coincided with more European sovereign debt problems, the dollar might regain a lot of the ground that it has lost. Looked at from this perspective, the Fed should halt its bond purchases, and people should bail out of their bullion investments and commodity speculations. But there are other factors in play

A raging wildfire in Los Alamos on Monday briefly entered the property of the nation's preeminent nuclear facility, Los Alamos National Laboratory, a vast complex that houses research laboratories and a plutonium facility.

A mandatory evacuation has been ordered for the town of Los Alamos, which has a population of about 12,000. Firefighters were able to douse the flames on the one-acre "spot fire" just inside the southwestern boundary of the lab site, about 25 miles outside Santa Fe, authorities said. Buildings still have not been touched by flames, and authorities said there was little threat to sensitive areas of the 28,000-acre complex. The laboratory's plutonium facility is on the northeast side of the complex, while the fire seems to be moving south and east, said another lab spokesman, Kevin Roark.

The Las Conchas fire grew from a couple thousand acres on Sunday to 44,000 acres overnight, destroying 30 structures in the Cochiti Mesa and Tent Rock areas. Evacuations for nearby White Rock are still voluntary, but residents have been advised that could change, and Los Alamos evacuees have been told not to go there for shelter. The laboratory, which ensures the safety and reliability of the U.S. nuclear stockpile, is a national security research facility located in the Jemez mountains of northern New Mexico. It was set up in 1943 as part of the Manhattan project to create the first atomic bomb and still maintains the nation's largest nuclear weapons arsenal.

CBC News: New Mexico blaze threatens nuclear lab

Israel has declared that the Freedom Flotilla 2 will not be allowed to enter into the besieged Gaza Strip by sea. Israeli and Egyptian officials have agreed that the Flotilla will be allowed to unload its cargo at the Egyptian port El-Arish, where the humanitarian goods will be transferred by land into Gaza after being checked by Israeli officials.

The Free Gaza Movement: Gaza, we are coming
Google/AP: Gaza activists say ship sabotaged in Greece

You Tube: Irish Ship Responds to "Terrorism" Accusation - It was predictable that Israel would come out with the "terrorist" line in relation to Freedom Flotilla 2. Meet some of the Irish members and make your own mind as to who the terrorists are. Ireland and the wider world is starting to see through the spin and excuses for violence and oppression perpetrated by Israel against the Palestinian people.

This week the second international Freedom Flotilla will embark to Gaza from several ports in Europe. The flotilla represents an act of non-violent civil disobedience aimed at ending Israel's four-year-long illegal blockade of the tiny strip of land populated by 1.6 million Palestinians. - At least ten ships carrying dignitaries, doctors, professors, artists, journalists, and activists as well as construction supplies and humanitarian aid are expected to sail. The New York Times and CNN are among several outlets sending journalists to cover the event. Critics of the flotilla contend that it is an unnecessary provocation — more of a political statement than a relief mission — because Israel has lately been allowing more goods into Gaza and Egypt has, since the revolution, intermittently opened its side of the border. Even if that is true — even if the need is somewhat less urgent — the blockading of Gaza should be protested as illegal, as are all forms of collective punishment. Take a look at these tweets from Joshua Treviño, who was formerly a speechwriter in the Bush administration. He condemns Palestinians as morally depraved and deserving of any evil that befalls them. However, Treviño, a veteran and a former aide to Bush's HHS secretary, goes much farther than that. He openly calls for the Israelis to kill any of his fellow Americans who get in their way. "Dear IDF: If you end up shooting any Americans on the new Gaza flotilla -- well, most Americans are cool with that. Including me."

Amnesty International (AI) has criticized the US for its handling of prisoners, calling for an immediate end to decades-long solitary confinement of two inmates. - AI has called for an immediate end to the isolation of two US prisoners held in solitary confinement for about 40 years in Louisiana. Albert Woodfox, 64, and Herman Wallace, 69, have been held in solitary at Louisiana State Penitentiary ever since they were convicted of murdering a prison guard in 1972, according to the London-based human rights group. The men were held in cells measuring two meters (6.5 feet) by three meters for 23 hours a day, and have never been allowed to work or have access to education, it explained. They are allowed to exercise in an outdoor cage three times a week, for an hour, if weather permits.

AWIP: Four Decades of Cruelty and Inhumanity to U.S. Political Prisoners

The U.S. Supreme Court refused to revive a lawsuit that accused two military contractors of abusing inmates at the Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq, turning away an appeal by 26 onetime prisoners.

The inmates sought to sue CACI International Inc. (CACI), which helped interrogate prisoners at the facility, and Titan Corp., which provided translation services. Titan has since been renamed and is now part of L-3 Communications Holdings Inc. (LLL)

The inmates, who were civilian detainees, said they were subjected to abuses by CACI and Titan employees including beatings, sexual humiliation, exposure to extreme temperatures and rape. In court papers, the inmates said some prisoners were tortured into unconsciousness and several were murdered.

Abu Ghraib became an international embarrassment for the U.S. in 2004, when photographs surfaced showing guards mistreating inmates.

Thousands of residents in Minot, North Dakota have been forced to double up with friends and relatives or sleep on cots at Red Cross shelters as floodwaters from the Souris River hit record levels Sunday. More than 4,000 homes and 300 businesses have been inundated, displacing nearly a third of the city’s 41,000 residents. - Many homes were under nearly a dozen feet of water Monday with flood levels receding only five inches. A mile-long levee protecting thousands of other homes remains in danger of being overrun and health officials have issued order to boil water because of contamination dangers in the water and sewerage system. The National Weather Service said water levels would drop just two feet by midweek and areas could remain flooded until mid to late July.

It's time for your daily Syntagma (not to be confused with Stigmata...yet) square live video feed, where things already are starting to have a far more violent tone compared to the primarily peaceful protests so far this year, courtesy of a substantially larger police presence as over 5,000 cops are expected to join the festivities. The protest marks the first day of the previously reported 48 hour general strike which will culminate with tomorrow's decision on the 5 year mid-term austerity plan.

Michele Bachmann, the House member from Minnesota and a tea party favorite, is winning positive reviews for her performance at Monday night's debate among Republican candidates for president. We've been fact-checking Bachmann since 2009. We've rated 23 statements on the Truth-O-Meter. Here's how the tally breaks down:

True 1
Mostly True 0
Half True 2
Barely True 4
False 9
Pants on Fire 7

Bachmann earned her first True for a statement she made Monday night about President Barack Obama's position on the debt ceiling. She said that when Obama was a U.S. senator, he "refused to raise the debt ceiling because he said President Bush had failed in leadership." Obama's voting record and remarks in the Congressional record showed that to be the case.

PolitiFact: Michele Bachmann says Barack Obama has "released all of the oil from the Strategic Oil Reserve"
PolitiFact: Schieffer asks Bachmann about her record for accuracy