Taliban militants claim they have shot down an unmanned US reconnaissance drone in the eastern Afghan city of Jalalabad. - Taliban spokesman Zabihollah Mojahed claimed that the militants gunned down the aircraft late on Saturday. Witnesses told Press TV that they saw the drone catching fire mid-air and crashing into a civilian house. Earlier this week, another US drone crashed due to technical problems in eastern Ghazni Province, NATO said in a statement. The Taliban spokesman had claimed that the militants shot down the unmanned plane.

With liberty and justice for all are famous words from the pledge of allegiance of the United States, however, with a country that has 25 percent of the world's prisoners and only 5 percent of the world's population, some people may beg to differ about how free and just the United States of America really is. This edition of News Analysis reviews the issue with Press TV's gusts Ken O'Keefe, Human Rights Activist in London, Stephen Lendman, Author and Radio Host in Chicago and Abdul Alim Musa, Imam of Majid al-Islam in Washington.

Stephen Lendman: Filling Prison Beds for Profit

When congressional cost-cutters meet later this year to decide on trimming the federal budget, the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq could represent juicy targets. But how much do the wars actually cost U.S. taxpayers? Nobody really knows. Congress has allotted $1.3 trillion for war spending through fiscal year 2011 just to the Defense Department. Long Pentagon spreadsheets outline how much of that was spent on personnel, transportation, fuel and other costs. In a recent speech, President Barack Obama assigned the wars a $1-trillion price tag. But all those numbers are incomplete.

Dozens were arrested at the White House Saturday as protesters began a two-week sit-in expected to draw over 2,000 opponents of a proposed pipeline from Canada to the US Gulf Coast. - President (Barack) Obama can stop this climate-killing disaster with the stroke of a pen," said Bill McKibben, spokesman for Tar Sands Action, the environmental group that organized the protest. Tar Sands said on its website that more than 70 people were arrested Saturday. "This is the most important environmental test that President Obama has faced. He has to decide whether or not to grant permission for this giant pipeline," said McKibben. A total of 2,200 people from all 50 states are expected to take part in the event, which is designed to pressure Obama to deny a permit for the $13 billion Keystone XL pipeline project due to stretch across 1,700 miles (2,700 kilometers).

Several weeks ago, a New York Times article by Noam Cohen examined the case of Aaron Swartz, the 24-year-old copyright reform advocate who was arrested in July, after allegedly downloading academic articles that had been placed behind a paywall, thus making them available for free online. Swartz is now being prosecuted by the DOJ with obscene over-zealousness. Despite not profiting (or trying to profit) in any way -- the motive was making academic discourse available to the world for free -- he's charged with "felony counts including wire fraud, computer fraud, unlawfully obtaining information from a protected computer and recklessly damaging a protected computer" and "could face up to 35 years in prison and $1 million in fines."

Speaking today at Soroka Hospital, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared that the PRC leaders slain in yesterday’s bombing attack on the Gaza city of Rafah were responsible for the Thursday attacks inside southern Israel. He also said they were “only the beginning.” “We have a policy of extracting a very high price from anyone who causes us harm,” insisted Netanyahu, who thanked the military and Shin Bet for “wiping out the leaders” of the Popular Resistance Committees (PRC) in the attack. The PRC has denied responsibility for the attacks.

Khalid Amayreh: Zionism will bring about lasting disaster unto Jews

“Israel is sorry for the deaths of Egyptian policemen during the attack along the Egyptian-Israeli border,” Defense Minister Ehud Barak said yesterday in an e-mailed statement. Foreign Ministry spokesman Yigal Palmor said by phone that “Israel expresses deep regret” for the Egyptian loss. While Israel’s statement is a positive step, it doesn’t meet the seriousness of the event or the anger of the Egyptian people, Information Minister Osama Heikal said in a statement early today after the Cabinet met in Cairo. Egypt earlier said it was withdrawing its ambassador to Israel until an apology was made.

Reuters: Egypt says Israeli response to deaths insufficient

Ten year old boy allegedly attacked by masked assailants near Ramat Migron outpost; police apprehend 13 suspects so far. - A ten year old Palestinian child was seriously injured after being beaten in an apparent attack by settlers near the West Bank outpost of Ramat Migron. The Israel Defense Forces received a report of the incident on Saturday afternoon. The boy, who was found suffering from head injuries and cuts to his head, was sent to Ramallah hospital by the Red Cross. He told security forces that his attackers were wearing masks. Police and military forces that arrived at the scene opened an investigation and chased after the suspects. So far thirteen people suspected of involvement in the incident have been apprehended.

PIC: A gang of Jewish settlers attack Palestinian boy with iron bars