[صور جديده تنشر لأول مرة عن مجزرة حماة 1982 ][Source] In the memory of the 24th year since the massive massacre of Hama, and in the light of the detailed analysis of the tragedy which in the city: place, people and history, and the influence of this tragedy on Syria: the country and citizens. We (the Syrian human rights committee) have no alternative but to confirm that the Syrian regime have committed this horrible massacre preceded by determined plans and observations and the regime had the intention to commit a crime of genocide against the citizens of the city and its construction aiming to change the state of the city geographically and demographically.

Uruknet: Hama massacre, July 31, 2011 : A Video Roundup (I)
2011: The Syrian army destroys Syria in order to save it

Israel struggles with free speech issues. "public support for free-speech rights is declining in Israel and that more than one in three Israelis now say there is 'too much' free speech." - A string of new laws passed this year by Israel's right-leaning Knesset has triggered an unusually rancorous debate here over where to draw the line on free speech, exposing shifting sentiments about a core democratic ideal. The latest battle erupted with the approval this month of a law that created civil and financial penalties against those who voice support for boycott campaigns targeting Israel or its institutions, including West Bank settlements that many in Israel and around the world oppose as an obstacle to peace. Free-speech advocates blasted the law as an unprecedented assault on the right to criticize the government, while proponents praised it as a patriotic defense of Israel's image.

Congress and the White House were closing in on a deal on Sunday to head off huge market falls and the prospect of America defaulting on Tuesday for the first time in its history. The Senate is scheduled to vote around 1pm (1800 BST) on a compromise thrashed out over the weekend between the Democratic leader in the Senate, Harry Reid, and his Republican counterpart, Mitch McConnell. McConnell, interviewed on CNN on Sunday, said: "We are very close. We had a good day yesterday. Both the president and vice-president called me … and they understand we have to come together." The deal would then have to go to the House of Representatives, which could be more problematic given the Republican majority.

Paul Craig Roberts: Are We Being Had?

'Eco-pirate' Paul Watson is in danger of losing his boat. Sea Shepherd flagship impounded in Scottish port after Maltese tuna fishery sues for £850,000 in damages. - The world's most radical conservationist, Watson is being sued for $1.4m (£850,000) by a Maltese fishing company, Fish and Fish, one of Europe's leading tuna processors. The law suit against Watson's Sea Shepherd Conservation Society was filed last year after activists aboard the Steve Irwin freed 800 bluefin tuna from a pen in the Mediterranean. Watson has just 10 days to raise the bond required to release the boat, which was named after the late Australian conservationist. It has been impounded in the harbour at Lerwick ever since the company sued him for damages. By last night, the society had raised about $500,000, after a global Twitter campaign and appeals to celebrities who have helped Watson in the past. A co-founder of Greenpeace, Watson was picking up volunteer crew and restocking the Steve Irwin in preparation for a trip to protest against whaling in the Faroe Islands when he was served with the writ. The tuna cage that had been intercepted 40 miles off the Libyan coast in June last year held an estimated 35 tons of fish. After a fracas in which there was hand-to-hand fighting between the two crews, Sea Shepherd sent in divers to release the 800 tuna.

Prominent international forensic experts have strongly condemned the UK intelligence officers for the ways they use to investigate detainees abroad, which include hooding and torture.

A group of 33 experts published a joint article in the scientific journal, Torture, in which they have attested that hooding is associated with a number of physical and psychological effects that constitute torture.

The experts are members of the International Forensic Expert Group established by the International Rehabilitation Council for Torture Victims (IRCT). The British government is being challenged in the High Court on its guidance to spies on the detention and interviewing of detainees overseas, particularly in Iraq.

The practice of hooding typically involves covering the head of a detainee in some manner. Hooding practices may vary and the effects of hooding may depend on a number of factors related to the application and context of its use. Meanwhile, mock executions, beatings and other methods of torture are often practiced in conjunction with hooding to maximize the infliction of physical and psychological pain.

An Iranian man who was ordered to be blinded for carrying out an acid attack on a woman has been pardoned by his victim. - Ameneh Bahrami had demanded qisas, a rarely used retributive justice under Sharia law, but the report said she had forgone that right at the last minute. A court had backed Ms Bahrami's demand in 2008 that Majid Movahedi be blinded. He attacked Ms Bahrami in 2004 after she had refused his offer of marriage, leaving her severely disfigured. Rights group Amnesty International had lobbied against the sentence, calling it "cruel and inhuman punishment amounting to torture".

While shutting down schools and hospitals for lack of money, Romanian government spends hundreds of millions of euro to build a gargantuan cathedral "of national redemption".

The House passes Speaker Boehner's plan for raising the federal debt ceiling and the Senate quickly votes it down, starting on its own solution that might win bipartisan support.

Reporting from Washington— The House passed Speaker John A. Boehner's plan for raising the federal debt limit Friday, but attention quickly shifted to the Democrat-controlled Senate where the rough outlines of a compromise to avert a possible economic crisis were emerging through the fog of partisan anger and tension. The Republican plan passed 218-210, with no Democratic votes. The Senate promptly voted down the measure Friday night 59-41 and is continuing work on its own solution that might win bipartisan support. The likely compromise would be similar to major elements of Boehner's plan but would drop his requirement that Congress go through another potentially protracted debate over the debt ceiling in a matter of months.

The Guardian: US disarray hits global stock markets
The Diplomat: China Blasts US on Debt Ceiling
PressTV: US Senate rejects Republican debt plan
Paul Craig Roberts: Are We Being Had?
Paul Craig Roberts: The Unintended Consequences of Debt Ceiling Intransigence
Stephen Lendman: Debt Ceiling Roulette

Western media outlets portray the Norwegian terrorist, Anders Behring Breivik, as a right-wing fundamentalist to divert attention away from his Zionist connections, an analyst says. - “There's no question at all that [Breivik] was a very devout Christian Zionist with strong links to Israel and he had visited there several times,” Middle East consultant Peter Eyre told Press TV. He went on to say that Western media outlets are using “a diversionary tactic” to picture Breivik as a far-right extremist instead of highlighting his links to Zionism. “There is a very strong Zionist lead there,” Eyre said, adding that the massacre “is certainly showing a sign of being an inside job with Zionist interference”.

Stefan Steinberg: The ideological roots of the Oslo atrocity - Since the attacks carried out in Oslo last Friday, there has been a concerted campaign by the bourgeois establishment in Europe to deny that the murderous rampage conducted by Anders Behring Breivik was motivated by anti-Islamist prejudices with deep roots in mainstream politics. Following an outburst of public outrage against a man who cold-bloodedly gunned down dozens of young people and children, leading politicians and media commentators have gone to extraordinary lengths to play down their own role in encouraging the climate of xenophobic hatred which provided the background to Breivik’s attack.

Charles Hawley: Europe's Right-Wing Populists Find Allies in Israel - Islamophobic parties in Europe have established a tight network, stretching from Italy to Finland. But recently, they have extended their feelers to Israeli conservatives, enjoying a warm reception from members of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's coalition. Some in Israel believe that the populists are Europe's future.

"Islamic terrorism is a problem in Scandinavia, they just closed their eyes to it?" - Many users of social media Facebook and Twitter have in recent days expressed strong dissatisfaction against what they believe are disrespectful and directly misleading coverage of the terrorist attacks in Norway in the U.S. news channel Fox News. Fox is one of the leading channels in the cable news market in the United States, and disseminates news with a conservative republican and patriotic approach. Even after it was known that the 32-year old ethnic Norwegian Anders Behring Breivik was arrested for the actions, continued to channel to refer to "Islamic terrorism" and Norway's alleged bagatellisering of the international threats against the country.

The Guardian: Embrace freedom, says Norway PM

From mass arrests to surveillance, confidence in the Metropolitan police is at an all-time low

Can confidence in the Metropolitan police sink any lower? Even before the past few weeks revealed the possibility of their complicity in the News of the World hacking scandal, and the past few months their brutal attitude towards the policing of students and other protesters, there were many who already had reason to mistrust those who claim to be "working together for a safer London".

Take Ann Roberts, a special needs assistant, who was recently given the go-ahead in the high court to challenge the allegedly racist way in which stop-and–search powers are used: her lawyers claim statistics indicate that a black person is more than nine times more likely to be searched than a white person.

Or take the family of Smiley Culture, still waiting for answers after the reggae singer died in a police raid on his home in March this year. They are campaigning on behalf of all those who've died in police custody. Inquest, a charity which deals with contentious death, particularly in police custody, reports that more than 400 people from black and ethnic minority communities have died in prison, police custody and secure training centres in England and Wales since 1990.

Several airstrikes have targeted central Tripoli as the NATO-led campaign against Libyan ruler Muammar Gaddafi continues. - At least 10 powerful blasts were heard in the city center at 10:00 p.m. (2000 GMT) on Friday near Gaddafi's residence, AFP reported. On Thursday, Libya's Transitional National Council said the military commander-in-chief of the revolutionary forces, Abdel Fattah Younes, was shot dead in Benghazi. The former interior minister had defected from the Libyan regime to become the military leader of the revolutionaries. In April, he criticized NATO for failing to prevent regime forces from killing civilians.

Stephen Lendman: Daily NATO War Crimes in Libya
Robert Morgan: WikiLeaks documents shed light on US-backed intervention in Libya
Mahdi Darius Nazemroaya: The Old Imperialist Project to Divide Libya in Three Has Been Executed

When news outlets reported this morning on the death of Libyan rebel commander Abdel Fattah Younes, they generally focused on the mystery that had surrounding the incident since rumors of his demise began swirling yesterday, and especially after rebel leader Mustapha Abdul Jalil didn't identify the "gunmen" or have possession of the military chief's body when he announced Younes' death. Had Muammar Qaddafi's forces killed Younes, a former interior minister, for defecting to the opposition in February? Or had the rebels carried out the assassination because they suspected Younes of collaborating with Qaddafi? Could military rival Khalifa Hifter have orchestrated the attack as part of an internal power struggle?

The Daily Beast: Libyan Rebels Lose a Leader
LA Times: Libyan rebel faction blamed in commander's slaying

Outraged at the decision to sue a Czech high school student for €5 million for running a site linking to pirated material, the Czech Pirate Party has launched Tipnafilm.cz, a linking site of its very own. With the new site, "we unequivocally declare open war on the Anti-Piracy Union," said Czech Pirate Party Vice President Mikuláš Ferjencik.

The new site links to, but does not host, pirated films, just as the student-operated site did. However, Ferjencik is claiming at least one difference: the new site has ten times more links. The site is operating under the slogan "linking is not a crime"; the Czech Pirate Party believes that mere linking to infringing content is not a crime under Czech law, though this claim is yet to be tested in the Czech courts.

Gilad Atzmon: Read it for yourself. Israelis show their real face. If psychopathy is defined as a severe lack of empathy, we are clearly dealing here with a psychotic collective.

Israelis Debate on the Web: Did Norway Get What It Deserved? - The Norway massacre has touched off a nasty war of words on the Israeli Internet over the meaning of the event and its implications for Israel. And I do mean nasty: Judging by the comments sections on the main Hebrew websites, the main questions under debate seem to be whether Norwegians deserve any sympathy from Israelis given the country’s pro-Palestinian policies, whether the killer deserves any sympathy given his self-declared intention of fighting Islamic extremism and, perhaps ironically, whether calling attention to this debate is in itself an anti-Israel or anti-Semitic act.

The Office of the US Trade Representative, USTR, has refused an investigation into Israel's theft and use of classified US industrial data. - In May, the Institute for Research Middle Eastern Policy, IRmep, submitted a 62-page petition to the USTR, seeking $4.6 billion in damages from Israel over theft of classified trade data, Business Wire reported. The petition claimed that Israeli exporters' access to data has materially harmed the US industry. The USTR argued that the IRmep is not in a position to represent victimized US industry organizations. It also denied IRmep's argument that the industry data theft constituted an "act, policy or practice of … Israel that might be actionable." However, the USTR did not question the veracity of the IRmep's evidence based on a series of FBI files. The FBI files revealed that in 2009, an Israeli cabinet minister admitted to obtaining the classified information and even passing it on to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, AIPAC, for lobbying and public relations in the US.

PressTV: US voices 'strong commitment' to Israel

Norway police called off their search of waters
around Utøya island following the discovery of
the body of Georgian student Tamta Liparteliani.

Officers call off search after finding body of final victim, while more anti-Muslim internet postings by Breivik discovered.

Police in Norway released the identities of another 24 people killed by Anders Behring Breivik as they ended their search for bodies in the waters surrounding the island where he shot 68 of his 76 victims.

The youngest victim was Johannes Buø, 14. All but one were shot by Breivik on Utøya. The other died in the bomb attack in Oslo.

Officers called off their search after finding the body of a young Georgian woman, Tamta Liparteliani, who had been at the youth camp on Utøya. The girl's parents had travelled to Norway in the hope of finding her alive but it was announced her body was found on the bottom of the lake with gunshot wounds in her back.

The police have named 41 of those killed and say more names will be released every day at 5pm as identities are confirmed. Details of the latest victims emerged as anti-fascist organisation Searchlight said it had found more postings on anti-Muslim and far-right forums thought to be from Breivik stretching back to 2008.

Catholicos-Patriarch of All Georgia Ilia II: A Prayer to the Most Holy Mother of God

Global population is expected to hit 7 billion later this year, up from 6 billion in 1999. Between now and 2050, an estimated 2.3 billion more people will be added—nearly as many as inhabited the planet as recently as 1950. New estimates from the Population Division of the Department of Economic and Social Affairs of the United Nations also project that the population will reach 10.1 billion in 2100.

Appalling cruelty, including cigarettes being stubbed out on the faces of pigs, has been revealed in secret filming inside a slaughterhouse. - The footage of pigs being burned, punched and smacked across the head with sharp paddles was captured by animal welfare campaigners. They reveal the shocking truth of the casual brutality inside one of the country’s biggest abattoirs. Despite the clear evidence, the Government, through the Food Standards Agency, has refused to prosecute those involved. The decision has been condemned by Animal Aid, which carried out the secret filming. It says it is evidence that ministers are putting the commercial interests of the meat industry above welfare.

It was seen as one of the most distressing effects of climate change ever recorded: polar bears dying of exhaustion after being stranded between melting patches of Arctic sea ice. But now the government scientist who first warned of the threat to polar bears in a warming Arctic has been suspended and his work put under official investigation for possible scientific misconduct. Charles Monnett, a wildlife biologist, oversaw much of the scientific work for the government agency that has been examining drilling in the Arctic. He managed about $50m (£30.5m) in research projects.

Israel has said it will not apologize for killing nine Turkish activists onboard the Gaza-bound aid flotilla in international waters last year. - Israel's cabinet minister Moshe Yaalon said he has recently held three rounds of talks with Turkey, and that they are demanding an apology. “We are not ready to apologize,” Yaalon said. However, he did hint that there might be a change in their stance as there are some disputes over the issue within the Israeli cabinet.

Derrick Miller shot man after stopping him for questioning when he walked through defensive perimeter in Afghanistan. - A US Army National Guardsman has been sentenced to life in prison with the chance of parole for the murder of an Afghan civilian. Sgt Derrick Miller of Maryland shook hands with several soldiers in his unit after the 10-member military jury delivered the sentence at Fort Campbell after two hours of deliberation. The 27-year-old was found guilty of premeditated murder.

Debt ceiling vote postponed; for John Boehner, 'it's all on the line'. - John Boehner faces the biggest test of his speakership Friday morning as he tries to resuscitate a monumental debt-limit bill that was forced from the floor Thursday night because Republican leaders hadn’t lined up enough votes to pass it. On the line: The outcome of a debt-limit increase that has consumed Washington and New York for months, Boehner’s standing in the Republican Conference, and the balance of power between the House GOP and the Democrats who control the White House and the Senate. Republican leaders hoped to put the bill back on the floor Friday, either in its current form or in a slightly altered state, and some in the GOP worried that Thursday night’s failure to move the bill could disrupt markets.

The federal government is planning to introduce new behavior detection techniques at airport checkpoints as soon as next month, Transportation Security Administration chief John Pistole said Thursday. - TSA already has "behavior detection officers" at 161 airports nationwide looking for travelers exhibiting physiological or psychological signs that a traveler might be a terrorist. However, Pistole said TSA is preparing to move to an approach that employs more conversation with travelers—a method that has been employed with great success in Israel.

Army Private Naser Jason Abdo, arrested earlier today with bomb-making materials in a motel room, has confessed to plotting a bombing attack on Fort Hood, according to federal officials. - Abdo was arrested after an employee for Guns Galore, a local gun store, reported he was acting suspiciously. “The kid was downright rude,” noted the employee, who said Abdo bought six pounds of gun powder. Abdo had successfully fought for concientious objector status in 2010, but his discharge was put on hold when officials decided to go through his computer because of “radical statements” he had made and reported he was in possession of child pornography. Abdo insisted the charge was false and revenge for his high profile fight for objector status. Abdo was said to have not been planning to attack the fort itself but instead was planning to use the bombs, which he had yet to actually make, to target a restaurant popular with troops from the base.

Libyan rebel commander Gen. Abdel Fatah Younis was killed on Thursday after having been arrested on suspicion of remaining strategic ties with the Gadhafi regime. Younis had previously headed the interior ministry under Moammar Gadhafi before defecting to the rebels in February, and was assassinated by pro-Gadhafi assailants just before being questioned on the charges.

Recent reports have claimed that Younis was arrested for allegedly dealing with and smuggling arms to Gaddafi loyalists. Two of his aides – Col Muhammad Khamis and Nasir al-Madhkur – were also killed in the attack. The head of rebel council, Mustafa Abdul-Jalil, announced the assassination at a news conference, but many details have not been revealed. He did say that the head of the group believed to be responsible for the killings has been arrested.

Having been arrested early on Thursday and then killed by Gadhafi loyalists just before arriving for questioning about his alleged betrayal, leads to questions about what his killers did not want him revealing to the rebels’ Transitional National Council.

Guantánamo Bay continues to wreck lives, despite President Obama's pledge to shut the notorious prison. RT spoke to one former prisoner, Murat Kurnaz, who says the US has not issued even a simple apology for his years of torment.

John Tirman, Executive Director and a Principal Research Scientist at MIT’s Center for International Studies, discusses his article “1 Million Dead in Iraq? 6 Reasons the Media Hide the True Human Toll of War — And Why We Let Them” at AlterNet; the reputable studies done in Iraq to arrive at the approximately 1 million “excess death” toll; why the media consistently low-balls with a “tens of thousands” figure; and the powerful argument (to some) at stake: that at least Iraq is “better off now than under Saddam.” MP3 here. (24:25)

Jason Ditz: US Warplanes Attack Vehicle in Southern Iraq

KABUL — Three Afghan civilians were shot dead and three wounded when a French soldier opened fire on their vehicle in Kapisa province, north of the capital, the French military and the Afghan presidency said. The incident happened late Tuesday night when the driver of the car approached a French military convoy and failed to stop despite requests, said the French military's spokesman in Kabul, Lieutenant Colonel Eric de Lapresle. "A night mounted patrol found itself blocked by an obstacle in the road. A soldier in the last vehicle saw a car coming and motioned him to stop with a green laser. The car did not stop and a soldier opened fire," he said. The dead were one woman, a man and a child, and one woman and two men were wounded, he said. The presidency said the woman who was killed had been pregnant.

WASHINGTON - House Republicans began coalescing yesterday around House Speaker John Boehner’s plan to avoid default on the national debt, saying the very future of their party was at stake in the fight, even as Senate Democrats said the bill stands no chance of passing their chamber. - A day after Boehner’s plan encountered stiff resistance from conservatives in his own party, House Republicans held an emotional closed-door meeting where leadership pressured members to vote for the speaker’s proposal when it comes to the floor today. The legislation would raise the debt ceiling in two steps, now and early next year, and make offsetting spending cuts over the next decade. In a caucus that is divided between Tea Party-backed insurgents who want more cuts and more moderate Republicans who want to project a united front, Boehner had a blunt message for dissenters in his party: “I can’t do this job unless you’re behind me.’’ “There is no other alternative, really, for Republicans at this point,’’ said Representative Peter King, a New York Republican.

Reuters: Republican debt plan faces close vote in US Congress
timesunion.com: Debt ceiling tango goes on
Patrick Martin: Wall Street steps up pressure for deal on budget cuts
ZeroHedge: Boehner: To Cut $91.7 Billion Each Year For A Decade, Buys 4 Months Before Next Debt Ceiling Hike

More Blame Wars than Domestic Spending or Tax Cuts for Nation's Debt. Jobs Are Top Economic Worry, Deficit Concerns Rise.

Far more Americans say that the cost of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan has contributed a great deal to the nation’s debt than say that about increased domestic spending or the tax cuts enacted over the past decade.

Six-in-ten (60%) say the cost of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan has contributed a great deal to the size of the debt. About four-in-ten (42%) say the same about the condition of the national economy.

By comparison, just 24% say increased spending on domestic programs has contributed greatly to the nation’s debt and even fewer (19%) cite the tax cuts enacted over the past decade. While half or more say spending and the tax cuts contributed at least a fair amount to the debt, 31% say increased domestic spending did little or nothing to increase the debt and 38% say the same about the tax cuts.

The latest national survey by the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press, conducted May 25-30 among 1,509 adults, finds widespread opposition to number of proposals aimed at reducing the deficit and the national debt, including reducing funding for the states for education and roads (73% disapprove) and gradually raising the Social Security retirement age (59%).

However, several deficit-reduction proposals attract majority support, aside from the traditionally popular idea of reducing U.S. assistance to foreign countries (72% approve of this proposal. Two-thirds (67%) approve of making more of high earners’ income subject to Social Security tax, and nearly as many approve of raising taxes on incomes of over $250,000 (66%), reducing military commitments overseas (65%) and limiting tax deductions for large corporations (62%). Notably, Republicans (62% approve) are as likely as Democrats (58%) to approve of limiting corporate tax deductions; while 63% of Democrats approve of reducing foreign military commitments, 56% of Republicans agree.

While officials from the Obama Administration raised their rhetoric over the weekend about the possibility of a debt default if the debt ceiling isn't raised, they privately have been telling top executives at major U.S. banks that such an event won’t happen, FOX Business has learned. In a series of phone calls, administration officials have told bankers that the administration will not allow a default to happen even if the debt cap isn't raised by the August 2 date Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner says the government will run out of money to pay all its bills, including obligations to bond holders. Geithner made the rounds on the Sunday talk shows saying a default is imminent if the debt ceiling isn't raised, and President Obama issued a similar warning during a Friday press conference after budget negotiations with House Republicans broke down.

All Libyan diplomats have been told to leave the UK as part of efforts to show Col Gaddafi his "legitimacy has come to an end", William Hague has said. - He said Gaddafi-regime embassy staff were being expelled and the rebel National Transitional Council (NTC) invited to take their place. The foreign secretary said the UK now recognised the NTC as the "sole governmental authority in Libya". Libyan ambassador to the UK Omar Jelban was expelled in May. Libyan rebels and pro-Gaddafi forces are still locked in battle, five months after an uprising began against Muammar Gaddafi's 42-year rule, as Nato continues to enforce a UN-backed no-fly zone over the country.

Robert Morgan: WikiLeaks documents shed light on US-backed intervention in Libya - US diplomatic cables released by WikiLeaks expose some of the real reasons and diplomatic tensions behind NATO’s ongoing bombardment of Libya. Far from initiating a “humanitarian” intervention to protect civilians against Muammar Gaddafi’s government, Washington backed the NATO intervention for one reason only—the installation of a regime that better serves the strategic interests of the US, as well as the operations of the giant oil and gas companies. As the cables show, as recently as August 2009, US Senator John McCain led a high-profile bipartisan congressional delegation to meet with Gaddafi. McCain characterised the “overall pace of the bilateral relationship as excellent”. Senator Joe Lieberman said “we never would have guessed ten years ago that we would be sitting in Tripoli, being welcomed by a son of Muammar al-Qadhafi,” before calling Libya an “important ally in the war on terrorism.” It comes as no surprise that the cables refer to Libya’s “hydrocarbon producing potential” and the “high expectations” among international oil companies. Significantly, the Gaddafi regime held out to Washington the prospect of even greater riches. According to a September 2009 cable, then acting head of Libya’s National Oil Corporation (NOC), Ali Sugheir, told the US embassy that major “sedimentary basins with oil and gas resources had been discovered in Libya,” with seismic data indicating “much more remained to be discovered across the country.”

Top US General Martin Dempsey, the likely next Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman, today threatened unspecified “reactions” from the United States against Iran to punish the nation because violence is rising in neighboring Iraq. - The comments, made to a Senate committee, reiterated the claims that Iran is “sponsoring” Iraqi Shi’ite militias in the growing number of attacks against US forces. As with past claims by other officials, Dempsey’s claims did not include any actual evidence. This is entirely unsurprising, as the State Department admitted earlier this month that no evidence to back up the allegations actually exists, and that the claims are simply based around what top officials believe to be true.

As part of an ongoing investigation into "coordinated cyber attacks against major companies and organizations" by members of the hacktivist collective "Anonymous," the FBI is investigating 12 individuals suspected of participating in cyber attacks against business websites operated by Koch Industries. - Koch Industries owners Charles and David Koch were being targeted by the group, an open letter from February stated, for their attempts "to usurp American Democracy." The two were chief financiers of the tea party movement and supporters of Wisconsin Republican Governor Scott Walker. According to a confidential FBI affidavit obtained by The Smoking Gun, the 12 suspects allegedly participated in distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks on Koch Industries sites in February and March. The attacks attempt to disrupt sites availability by overwhelming them with meaningless web traffic, slowing the site down and sometimes knocking it offline entirely.

Throughout the history of agriculture across the globe, farming has always been a diversified sector of the economy. Small, self-sustaining, family farms were the order of the day in most cultures. Even as small farms grew larger and more specialized over time, many of them still saved seeds or purchased them from other farmers, which kept control of farming in the hands of the people.

But today everything has changed, as large chemical and agribusiness firms have acquired or merged with seed companies and other agricultural input companies. They have successfully gained a foothold on genetically-modified (GM) crops with transgenic traits. These primary factors and several others have facilitated a crescendo towards the global domination of agriculture by corporations, and thus the world's food supply.

Islamophobia is promoted in the mainstream media to create general hatred of Muslims in order to make it easier for Jews to kill people and steal land in the Middle East. Full stop. It is a conspiracy to fool and deceive us so that evil may be done, unhindered. That is all you need to know about it.

CNN: My Take: Christians should denounce Norway's Christian terrorist - "If you devote your life to spewing anti-Islamic hatred, you should not be surprised if someone comes along and kills in the name of that hatred. In fact, you should expect it."

If Muslims were involved it would have been terrorism…..If it was a ‘Christian’ zionist, it’s insanity….Norway massacre suspect appears to be insane, his lawyer says.

UNBELIEVABLE! Their ‘camp’ seems to be growing daily. Their philosophy could make for a good chuckle if it wasn’t so dangerous. And dangerous it is as can be seen in the recent events in Norway.

Threatening to burn the Koran is one thing, shooting down children in a summer camp is quite another thing …. but, those are the manifestations of hatred and ignorance. And, all in the name of Jesus to boot. Some examples of their madness follows….

[Editor's Comment:] The 'insanity defense' has been suggested by Mr. Breivik's lawyer. It is not at all clear at this point in time whether the defendant will accept this type of defence or not. However the charge of 'Crimes against Humanity' now is being considered by the prosecuting authority. The defendant clearly seems to be a psychopath and in full possession of whatever faculties he has (compos mentis) and thus responsible for his actions. These are early days though. - We'll follow up on this.

Raw Story: Glenn Greenwald: U.S. media equates terrorism with Muslims - Video

This is a very important conference!!!

Palästina-Tage Freiburg
September 10-11, 2011
Freiburg, Germany

Freedom of speech and expression are recognised by many as primary human rights. However, when it comes to discussion on topics concerning Palestine, Israel and Germany we often face rigid and concrete boundaries that clearly suppress free and creative discourse. We somehow grasp what we are allowed to say but are also conscious of a variety of thoughts we better keep unsaid.

Yearning for humanism and willing to bring a change about, the conference seeks to liberate the contemporary ideological, spiritual, cultural and political discourse. We will try to identify the mechanisms that stifle freedom of speech, with the hope that sometime soon, we will be able to say what we think and to mean what we say.

The conference 'Palestine, Israel and Germany - Boundaries of Open Discussion' will elaborate on some 'contentious' topics such as suppression of truth, history, narration, mainstream-media complicity and media coverage, Islamophobia, anti-Semitism vs. criticism of Israel and responsability. We will also try to show practical solutions for Palestinian self-determination.

Issues to do with boundaries of discourse will be located as key elements in a long overdue consciousness shift.

A NATO airstrike killed seven people in a hospital in Zlitan, western Libya, on Monday, according to locals and government officials. Medical equipment was visible among the twisted wreckage of the building, the Associated Press reports, after being taken on a government tour of the site. “In this whole area there is no military,” an ambulance driver told the AP. A NATO airstrike killed seven people in a hospital in Zlitan, western Libya, on Monday, according to locals and government officials. Medical equipment was visible among the twisted wreckage of the building, the Associated Press reports, after being taken on a government tour of the site. “In this whole area there is no military,” an ambulance driver told the AP.

Forbes: NATO: An Alliance That Divides Rather Than Unites

Anders Behring Breivik told a Norwegian judge on Monday his bombing and shooting rampage that killed scores aimed to save Europe from a Muslim takeover, and said that "two more cells" existed in his organisation. - Breivik's remarks at the closed-door custody hearing were relayed by the judge, Kim Heger, at a news conference. The killer has previously said he acted alone and police had earlier said they were trying to confirm this. But after Breivik's claim about other cells, police attorney Christian Hatlo said "we cannot completely rule out" the possibility that others were involved in Friday's attacks. Police revised the death toll downwards to 76 from 93, saying eight people were now known to have died in the bomb blast in central Oslo, and 68 on the island of Utøya.

Herald Sun: Norway police drop death toll to 76

Keith Olbermann blasted former Fox News host Glenn Beck on his “Worst Persons” segment Monday night for saying the youth camp attacked in Norway was ‘like the Hitler Youth.’

“Note please what Beck thinks is disturbing,” Olbermann said. “Not the Islamophobic monster thinking he’s wiping out the next generation of liberals in his country.” “This afternoon, many in the Right Wing blogosphere supported those words of Beck’s because they believe truth is a defense — that a politically-oriented camp for teenaged kids is like the Hitler Youth.”

Olbermann noted that the ultra-conservative John Birch Society ran overnight summer camps for teenagers for more than 30 years. “Let’s just face this: Glenn Beck is a seriously disturbed human being. And he’s today’s Worst Person In The World.”

A journalism student at the University of Nevada at Las Vegas who used the online alias "No" and "MMMM" faces 15 years in prison and $500,000 in fines if she is convicted of hacking charges related to the group "Anonymous." - The Rebel Yell reported that the FBI arrested 20-year-old Mercedes Renee Haefer last week for allegedly participating in distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks against PayPal’s website. In a campaign known as "Operation Payback," members of "Anonymous" succeeded in taking down the online operations of PayPal, MasterCard Worldwide, Visa, Swiss bank PostFinance and others after the companies dropped their financial services to WikiLeaks.

The following post will discuss a disturbing trend among Libya's rebel fighters, revealed in videos they themselves recorded and shared on social media sites, especially Youtube and Facebook. These have persisted despite a general ban on violent and gory images, perhaps for the posters' stated aims of supporting the rebel cause and freedom. Consider the inset screen capture from a video of at least four dead government soldiers being driven around Misrata, chased and insulted by the crowd.

Law enforcement continues to adopt new technologies in an effort to make their jobs easier and keep us safer. The latest gizmo attaches to officers’ iPhones and turns them into biometric face scanners. The scanners have already been street tested in Massachusetts. Pretty soon cops all across the US will be using them to ID "suspects". - The gizmo, called MORIS–Mobile Offender Recognition and Information System–has a built in iris scanner and biometrics analysis software. The officer holds the scanner about 5 or 6 inches away and it automatically detects the iris and takes a high-resolution image. Like other iris scanners, the MORIS system identifies 235 distinctive features in each iris. It’s like a fingerprint for the eye–assumedly no two are alike. An algorithm is then used to search for a match with the signatures of others in a database. Pictures of faces can also be used. The picture is snapped from about 2 to 5 feet away and about 130 unique features on the face are identified and metrics are recorded such as the distance between the eyes. Again the database is accessed to see if there’s a match.

A row has broken out in southern India over whether schoolchildren should be obliged to learn a Hindu religious text in the classroom, with the state's education minister further fanning the flames by saying those who objected to the plan should leave India. - In a dispute that has raised questions about secularism in a country where religion is a part of everyday life for hundreds of millions of people, opposition parties and minority groups have said children should not be forced to study the Bhagavad Gita. They say the move infringes their constitutional rights and could trigger disharmony between religious communities.

A toddler was yesterday pulled from the wreckage of a rail carriage almost 21 hours after two trains collided in eastern China, sending one plunging off a bridge and killing at least 43 people.

The unconscious, four-year-old girl was found early yesterday evening as rescuers were clearing one of the train cars, Xinhua News Agency reported, quoting a firefighter on the scene. A bullet train was travelling south from the Zhejiang provincial capital of Hangzhou on Saturday evening when it lost power in a lightning strike and stalled. It was hit from behind by the second train. The first four cars of the moving train fell about 20 to 30 meters off the viaduct onto the ground below.

Eight more bodies were recovered yesterday from damaged train cars, bringing the death toll to 43. Two foreigners were among the dead but their nationalities were unclear. A total of 211 people were injured. Three railway officials were fired after the crash and will be subject to investigation, the Ministry of Railways announced. The crash has raised safety concerns about the country's fast-expanding high-speed rail network.

In an effort to rid the country of Monsanto's GMO products, Hungary has stepped up the pace. This looks like its going to be another slap in the face for Monsanto. A new regulation was introduced this March which stipulates that seeds are supposed to be checked for GMO before they are introduced to the market. Unfortunately, some GMO seeds made it to the farmers without them knowing it. Almost 1000 acres of maize found to have been grown with genetically modified seeds have been destroyed throughout Hungary deputy state secretary of the Ministry of Rural Development Lajos Bognar said. The GMO maize has been ploughed under, said Lajos Bognar, but pollen has not spread from the maize, he added. Unlike several EU members, GMO seeds are banned in Hungary.

BREAKING NEWS UPDATE: The man who confessed to the twin attacks that killed 93 people in Norway will be arraigned in court for the first time Monday and has requested an open hearing so that he can explain his massacre to the public. - A Norwegian court says the prosecution will request eight weeks of pretrial detention for the suspect in the country's terror attacks. Prosecutors will also ask for his hearing to be closed to the public and media. Anders Behring Breivik has his first court appearance Monday after being arrested in an Oslo bombing and island shooting spree that killed 93 people. Oslo District Court spokeswoman Irene Ramm says government lawyers want eight weeks to prepare their case.

Reuters: Norway mass killer wants time in court to tell why
Nation + World: Suspect in Norway terrorism wanted European crusade against Muslims - Oslo, Norway • The man blamed for killing at least 93 people during terrorist attacks on Norway’s government headquarters and an island retreat for young people wanted to trigger an anti-Muslim revolution in Norwegian society, his lawyer said Sunday. A chief surgeon treating the wounded from Friday’s mass shooting, meanwhile, said he believes the attacker used special "dum-dum" bullets that cause massive internal injuries. The doctor told The Associated Press that the killer’s chosen ammo "exploded inside the body." The manifesto that 32-year-old suspect Anders Behring Breivik published online ranted against Muslim immigration to Europe and vowed revenge on those "indigenous Europeans" whom he deemed had betrayed their heritage. The document said they would be punished for their "treasonous acts."

New Norway violence critically injures kills 1 - Reports say two men in military fatigues knocked on his door, broke into the house and carried out the shooting. Police are looking for the two suspects.
NRK: 27-åringen døde av skuddskadene

NYT: A Right-Wing Monster
PressTV: Norway terrorist London connections
[Fox News: French Police Raid Norway Suspect's Father's Home]

Three generations from now, when our great-grandchildren are sitting barefoot in their shanties and wondering how in the hell America turned from the high-point of civilization to a third-world banana republic, they will shake their fists and mutter one name: George Effin' Bush. Ironically, it won't be for any of the things that liberals have been harping on the Bush Administration, either during or after his term in office. Sure, misguided tax cuts that destroyed the surplus, and lax regulations that doomed the economy, and two amazingly awful wars in deserts half a world away are all terrible, empire-sapping events. But they pale in comparison to what it appears the Republican Party did to get President Bush re-elected in 2004.

"A new filing in the King Lincoln Bronzeville v. Blackwell case includes a copy of the Ohio Secretary of State election production system configuration that was in use in Ohio's 2004 presidential election when there was a sudden and unexpected shift in votes for George W. Bush," according to Bob Fitrakis, columnist at http://www.freepress.org and co-counsel in the litigation and investigation.

If you recall, Ohio was the battleground state that provided George Bush with the electoral votes needed to win re-election. Had Senator John Kerry won Ohio's electoral votes, he would have been elected instead. Evidence from the filing suggests that Republican operatives — including the private computer firms hired to manage the electronic voting data — were compromised.