Stocks resumed their downward slide in early trading Wednesday as investors retreated from the initial Foggy wall -- justin lane epa optimism that greeted the Federal Reserve's decision the day before to keep interest rates low. - The Dow Jones industrial average was down more than 400 points within half an hour of the opening bell and was recently trading down 407.52 points, or 3.6%, at 10,832.25. The broader Standard & Poor's 500 index was down less sharply. The slide comes hard on the heels of one of the market's best recent days. The Dow soared nearly 500 points before the close Tuesday after the Fed announced its intention to keep interest rates low and to consider using additional policy tools to prop up the economy.

The Street: Fed's QE3 [printing money] Is the Drug the Market Craves
Wall Street Journal: US Stocks Plummet, Nearly Erasing Tuesday's Gains
ABC News: US Stocks Drop, Attention Returns to Weak Economy

This why they're rioting. An interview with Darcus Howe, a West Indian Writer, that the BBC will never play again.

BBC: Clear up begins in Clapham after riot - Video
The Mirror: NO evidence that Mark Duggan opened fire at police officers before he was shot dead
PressTV: British violence toll reaches 4
BBC: London riots: Increased police numbers to remain - Video
Reuters: London riots point to much wider risks of youth unrest
The Guardian: Manchester riots: 110 arrested after rampages in city centre and Salford
Al Jazeera: Speculations circle as to why the London riots have become so big, but the answer is quite obvious

William Bowles: Back to the future - Exactly thirty years ago Brixton exploded with rage against the de facto occupation of Brixton by the Met police. And, as I write this, all kinds of madness is going down in various parts of London and elsewhere. Predictably, the politicians and the police have been alleging that it was “criminal elements from the outside” or, “copycat criminal activity” that caused the ‘lootin’ anna burnin’ in Tottenham and elsewhere over this past weekend. How true this is or what relevance it has to this working class North London community is not explained. And what does ‘outside’ mean anyway? [W]e’ve been here before, many times. Back at the beginning of the 1980s when under the Thatcher government Brixton, Toxteth in Birmingham, Tottenham and other communities exploded with rage, against the ‘sus laws’[2], used primarily against young black people and the deaths of black people at the hands of the police.

Reuters: London rioters point to poverty and prejudice - London rioters point to poverty and government corruption. "Everyone's heard about the police taking bribes, the members of parliament stealing thousands with their expenses. They set the example. It's time to loot" "It's us versus them, the police, the system," said an unemployed man of Kurdish origin in his early 20s, sitting at the entrance to a Hackney housing estate with four Afro-Caribbean friends who nodded in agreement. "They call it looting and criminality. It's not that. There's a real hatred against the system," he added, listing what he saw as the police prejudice, discrimination and lack of opportunity that led him and his friends to loot shops, torch bins and hurl missiles at police on Monday.

The Guardian: The UK riots: the psychology of looting - The shocking acts of looting may not be political, but they nevertheless say something about the beaten-down lives of the rioters. I think it's just about possible that you could see your actions refashioned into a noble cause if you were stealing the staples: bread, milk. But it can't be done while you're nicking trainers, let alone laptops.

The death toll from a non-UN-sanctioned US drone strike in Pakistan's northwestern tribal belt has climbed to 21. - Local media say more bodies have been pulled out of the rubbles of a house targeted near Miranshah, center of northwestern tribal area of North Waziristan Agency, a Press TV correspondent reported. A US unmanned aircraft fired two missiles at the house early on Wednesday. Local media reports indicate that the attack by American drones took place as residents of the house were having their pre-dawn meal before a day-long fasting in the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. Local people say all the slain people were local tribesmen. The US often carries out such attacks on Pakistan's tribal regions, claiming to target anti-US militants. But locals say civilians have been the main victims of the non-UN-sanctioned aerial strikes. The issue of civilian casualties has strained relations between Islamabad and Washington with the Pakistani government repeatedly objecting to the bombing campaign. The aerial attacks, initiated by former US president George W. Bush, have been escalated under President Barack Obama. Islamabad has repeatedly condemned the attacks, saying they violate Pakistan's sovereignty.

Special US commandos are deployed in about 75 countries around the world - and that number is expected to grow. - Somewhere on this planet a US commando is carrying out a mission. Now, say that 70 times and you're done ... for the day. Without the knowledge of much of the general American public, a secret force within the US military is undertaking operations in a majority of the world's countries. This Pentagon power elite is waging a global war whose size and scope has generally been ignored by the mainstream media, and deserves further attention. After a US Navy SEAL [allegedly] put a bullet in Osama bin Laden's chest and another in his head, one of the most secretive black-ops units in the US military suddenly found its mission in the public spotlight. It was atypical. While it's well known that US Special Operations forces are deployed in the war zones of Afghanistan and Iraq, and it's increasingly apparent that such units operate in murkier conflict zones like Yemen and Somalia, the full extent of their worldwide war has often remained out of the public scrutiny.

Cypriot Ambassador to Israel Dimitris Hatziargrou tells "Globes" about the flourishing ties between the two countries.

Ministry of National Infrastructures director general Shaul Tzemach is promoting an initiative for Israel and Cyprus to hold a joint campaign across the US to attract large investors for the two countries' developing natural gas industry. As in every successful relationship, each side in this promising partnership has advantages that complement each other: Israel brings (relative) economic stability, the ability to protect the reserves and offshore facilities, and a capital market hungry to raise capital for gas and oil companies. Cyprus brings international connections, political stability under EU protection, available land, and an attractive tax regime that has never heard the name Eytan Sheshinski. Such an idea would have been fantastical not long ago: Israel has never considered Cyprus to be a hostile country, but neither has it considered it an ally. The fact that the initiative is seriously being considered is an indication of how tight relations between Israel and its Greek speaking neighbor across the sea have become.

Arutz Sheva: Israel’s Palestine's Tamar gas field discovery gets bigger every day. It is estimated to be the world’s largest find in 18 months and is valued at $8 billion

AWIP: The Issue of Territorial Waters: Gaza's Offshore Gas Fields
AWIP: Israel is sitting on top of a 1-billion-barrel oil field [stolen from Palestine]

HAMA, Syria (AP) — Syrian troops seized control of the eastern flashpoint city of Deir el-Zour Wednesday following intense shelling and gunfire, an activist said, as the international community intensified its pressure on the country's president to end the deadly crackdown. - The activist in Deir el-Zour said the city's eastern Mattar Qadim neighborhood was the last to fall on Wednesday. The city has been under attack by President Bashar Assad's forces for four days.

"They are shooting anything that moves," the activist said, speaking to The Associated Press by telephone on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisals. "The situation is terrible. Bakeries and pharmacies are closed, while food and baby formula are scarce."

The crackdown was a continuation of a troubling pattern in the country, with Syrian forces using heavy force to try to quell an uprising that has dragged on for five months. Syrian officials blame the unrest on what they say are terrorists and criminal gangs, while protesters say they are unarmed and simply looking for reforms. Rights groups say about 1,700 people have been killed since March, and an aggressive new military campaign that began with the Muslim holy month of Ramadan a week ago has killed several hundred. Attacks on flashpoint cities killed more than 20 people on Tuesday. With the situation growing bleaker in the country, the international community has stepped up pressure on Assad.

Uruknet: Syria Protests August 9, 2011 : A Video Roundup
Deutsche Welle: Saudi criticism of Syria shows waning regional support

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has warned of an alarming rise in attacks on medical facilities and personnel in conflict zones. - The ICRC report, Healthcare in Danger, lists 600 attacks worldwide on doctors, nurses, ambulances and hospitals from mid-2008 to the end of 2010. It covers 16 nations, including Libya, Afghanistan, Somalia and Colombia. The report notes that while some attacks are accidental, many deliberately target healthcare workers. The right of those wounded in war to receive medical treatment - and the right of medical workers to move freely - are enshrined in the first Geneva Convention. But, almost 150 years after the convention was adopted, it is being violated on a regular basis, says the ICRC's director-general Yves Daccord. "Clearly there is a trend in terms of no respect of healthcare… and more importantly for us, nobody seems to care about it," he told the BBC. "A few years ago, when an ambulance was shelled, or a hospital was taken by armed people, or doctors were arrested, there was an outcry. But now nobody - people, governments, armed groups - seems to be interested anymore."

The head of Libya's rebel movement has sacked the entire executive committee which functions as a cabinet. It follows the assasination of the commander of opposition forces last month. Members of the National Transitional Council, Libya's highest rebel authority, support the re-shuffle saying they hope it will stem any crisis in their ranks. Meanwhile, NATO is continues its attacks on the country. Officials in Tripoli claim 85 people have been killed in airstrikes in the west of the country. Stephen Lendman, author and blogger says it's obvious there's no agreement in the rebel government, and NATO is losing the war in the country.

Rayisse: US-NATO attack an ambulance in Brega - Video

Stephen Lendman: Daily NATO War Crimes in Libya
Stephen Lendman: Planned Regime Change in Libya
Stephen Lendman: Libyan Rebels Killing Civilians in Benghazi
Stephen Lendman: NATO Using Nuclear Weapons in Libya
Stephen Lendman: Libya's Great Man-Made River
Robert Morgan: WikiLeaks documents shed light on US-backed intervention in Libya

A South Korean defence ministry official said the shells landed in the waters off Yeonpyeong island on Tuesday but it was not clear whether it was inside the South's territorial waters. Yonhap news agency said South Korea fired back with its artillery. It said the shelling started at around 2pm local time (0500 GMT). "Three shots were heard. One shell landed near the Northern Limit Line," Yonhap quoted a military official as saying. The incident took place near the disputed Northen Limit Line (NLL), the scene of several skirmishes over the past decade. Last November four South Koreans - two civilians and marines - were killed on the island when the North shelled part of Yeonpyeong. And in March 2010, a South Koren navy ship, Cheonan, was ripped into two by an explosion, killing 46 sailors. Pyongyang denied any involvement but international investigators suggested the North bore responsibility for the incident.

CBC News: S. Korea opens fire after North artillery shelling

An Amazon tribe that was believed to have had no previous contact with modern civilization may have gotten its first introduction last week – courtesy of a group of drug dealers. - Brazilian officials who keep tabs on the region's so-called "uncontacted" inhabitants from afar fear that the tribe was forced to flee the area as a result of the apparent interaction, or may have even been wiped out by the suspected drug dealers. The worries began late last week after a government-run guard post in the area was attacked by a group of armed men believed to have been smuggling drugs between Peru and Brazil, the BBC reports. Since the attack, officials have found no sign of the tribe, which was first photographed from the air three years ago. Carlos Lisboa Travassos, the head of Brazil’s Isolated Indians Department, told local media that the guards found a broken arrowhead in one of the attacker’s backpacks that was left behind, suggesting the armed men had made contact with the tribe.

[Gilad Atzmon:] My new book, “The Wandering Who? A Study Of Jewish Identity Politics”, is scheduled for release in six weeks time and it seems that the usual suspects -- Zionists and their collaborators within the marginal 'left' -- are already in a state of panic. In the last few days, my publishing house, my editors and I have been subjected to immense and intense pressure that included harassment, intimidation, and even anonymous threats, as the demands mounted on my publisher to pull the book.

Leading the harassment campaign were the openly pro-war Zionist Islamophobes from “Harry’s Place”, who wrote “more now than ever, strong opposition to Atzmon and his politics is needed.”

Within minutes of the “Harry’s Place” post, Andy Newman joined in with their futile attempt at an intimidation campaign, writing on Socialist Unity “I am concerned to learn that the anti-Semite, Gilad Atzmon, is writing a book on Jews for the Zero Press.”(Andy Newman is the “Socialist” who for years appeared to spend much of his energy engaged mainly in gate-keeping anti-Israeli discourse within the British 'left'.) Predictably enough, staunch Iraq war advocate and Israeli Hasbara author David Aaronovitch was also very quick to join in the campaign on the notorious Jewish Chronicle’s pages.

The question must be asked: why are these people so afraid of Gilad Atzmon? Why are they afraid of Atzmon’s writing and ideas? Why are they so desperate to stop the book, even going so far as to attempt to intimidate the author, the editor and the publishing company? Be assured that I have collected all the relevant information about the individuals who have attempted to launch an intimidation campaign against me and my publisher, and I will publish it all in due time -- but the most important factor to observe here is -- how is it that the openly Islamophobic “Harry’s Place” and pro-war David Aaronovitch are caught together with the armchair ‘progressive’ “Socialist Unity”, united in the same cause of trying to stop my work from being published ?

I believe that my new book provides the answers. I disclose the horrifying continuum between Zionists and so called Jewish ‘anti’ Zionists. I also explore the deep Islamophobia within the left. Without referring to ethnicity or race, I unveil some fundamental issues at the core of Jewish Identity politics. You can now pre-order the book on Amazon.com or Amazon.co.uk. Gilad Atzmon's articles @ AWIP HERE

A former Central Intelligence Agency operative has confirmed that the United States has been torturing "terror suspects" as an established method for interrogation. - “The law and the system of the government have been usurped. Torture is now discussed as enhanced interrogation technique - the euphemism has replaced the clear understanding of the term,” a Press TV correspondent in Washington quoted Glenn Carle as saying on Tuesday. Carle became a CIA interrogator in 2002 and has been intimately involved in intelligence gathering and controversial interrogation tactics. That is not the America that I took note to preserve and protect or that most of us imagined we live in. Even today, I think that is the case,” the retired CIA agent said. Referring to interrogation methods used by the CIA, Carle insisted that “they are all unacceptable… [and] contradict the conventions against torture in the Geneva Conventions.” In a recent book entitled The Interrogator: An Education, Carle discusses "black sites" outside the US where detainees were interrogated, the methods of which amount to torture.

KIEV, Ukraine — A judge on Monday declined to release Yulia V. Tymoshenko, the Ukrainian opposition leader who was jailed last week on contempt of court charges, even as a few thousand of her supporters protested on the streets outside the courtroom. - Many in the crowd waved the white and red flags of Ms. Tymoshenko’s political party, while loudspeakers blared Ukrainian folk music. The scene, a swirl of people and political placards, boxed in by lines of riot policemen on the sidewalks, was evocative — though on a much smaller scale — of the street protests here in 2004 that brought Ms. Tymoshenko to prominence. While most in the crowd were members of her political party, others said they showed up to oppose what they called a challenge to Ukraine’s young democracy. A smaller counterprotest supporting President Viktor F. Yanukovich was also under way Monday, just down the street.

Ms. Tymoshenko, a former prime minister and leader of Ukraine’s Orange Revolution, was arrested Friday in a Kiev courtroom where she stood accused of exceeding her authority as prime minister, a charge her supporters dismiss as politically motivated. The judge ordered her arrested for contempt after she refused to rise for the judge, saying the trial was political, and she was accused of mocking witnesses. Ms. Tymoshenko had apparently not cooled off after the weekend in jail, again refusing on Monday to rise to address Judge Rodion Kireyev.