[English Statement starts at 2:39] Palestine has become a full member of the UN cultural and educational agency in a move that the United States and other opponents say could harm renewed Middle East peace efforts. - The US had threatened to withhold roughly $80m (£50m) in annual funding to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (Unesco) if it approved Palestinian membership. The United States provides about 22% of Unesco's funding. Huge cheers went up in Unesco after delegates approved the membership by 107 votes to 14 with 52 abstentions. Eighty-one votes were needed for approval in a hall with 173 Unesco member delegations present. "Long live Palestine!" shouted one delegate, in French, at the unusually tense and dramatic meeting of Unesco's general conference. [Video Hat Tip(s): S. Dowell]

PIC: Hamas appreciates admitting Palestine as full-fledged UNESCO member
PIC: Lieberman renews call for invading Gaza to topple Hamas
PIC: Hamas holds Israel fully responsible for its hostile actions against Gaza
Miami Herald: US cuts funding as first U.N. agency recognizes Palestine
Ma'an News Agency: Israel demolishes Palestinian homes in Jerusalem
Ynet News: Israel mulling response to PA's UNESCO gambit
The Guardian: Palestine granted full Unesco membership - VIDEO
telegraphtv: Celebrations as Unesco vote to give Palestinians full member
NYT: Unesco Approves Full Membership for Palestinians
UNESCO: General Conference admits Palestine as UNESCO Member State

US Congressmen want freed Palestinians on terror list. - 33 lawmakers submit petition to Clinton; move comes after US State Department tells Israel some freed security prisoners pose a threat. Thirty-three US congressmen on Friday petitioned Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and FBI Director Robert Mueller to put Palestinian terrorists freed by Israel in exchange for Sgt. First Class Gilad Schalit on the US terrorist watch list, the American political journalism organization Politico reported.

Anthony Lawson/AWIP: Anthony Lawson: The Death of American Democracy - VIDEO

An American assassination drone has targeted an area in southeastern Somalia, claiming the lives of 19 people, Press TV reports. - Witnesses said on Monday that more than 46 others were wounded in the attack carried out between the towns of Kismayo and Jilib. The attack came a day after Kenyan jets bombed Somalia's southern region, killing at least one dozen civilians, while injuring many more. The attacks took place in the southern Somali region of lower Juba at two locations in Gilib, 98 kilometers (61 miles) south of Kismayo. Speaking on condition of anonymity, Somali officials also confirmed to Press TV that two British warships have reached waters off the coast of Kismayo seaport on Monday morning to join US and Kenya military operations against Somalia's al-Shabab group.

Military.com: US Quietly [?] Assumes Military Posture in Africa

Cricket legend and opposition politician Imran Khan railed against the government and its alliance with the U.S. before more than 100,000 flag-waving supporters on Sunday, establishing himself as a force in Pakistani politics.

Khan, 58, entered politics 15 years ago when he founded Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, or the Movement for Justice Party, but up to now he has struggled to translate his fame into votes. The rally in the eastern city of Lahore indicated his message may have found new resonance at a time when Pakistanis are fed up with the country's chronic insecurity and economic malaise.

"I have come here to register my hatred against this corrupt system," said 29-year-old Nadeem Iqbal, who attended the rally.

A poll conducted by the U.S.-based Pew Research Center in June found Khan, the captain of Pakistan's 1992 world champion cricket team, to be the most popular political figure in the country. Khan's rising popularity could be a concern for the U.S., given his harsh criticism of the Pakistani government's co-operation with Washington in the fight against Islamist militants.

Jason Ditz: Massive Rally in Lahore: Imran Khan Leads Calls for Pakistan to End US Alliance

WASHINGTON -- Congress appropriated a whopping $54.6 billion for classified intelligence operations in 2011, an increase over the previous two years. - Director of National Intelligence James Clapper -- whose office was created after the 9/11 attacks to oversee the government's 16 intelligence agencies -- made the disclosure in a dry news release Friday. The top line number represents the aggregate amount of money lawmakers doled out for the National Intelligence Program's black budget last year. "Any and all subsidiary information concerning the NIP budget, whether the information concerns particular intelligence agencies or particular intelligence programs, will not be disclosed," Clapper said, adding, "such disclosures could harm national security." Congress appropriated $53.1 billion in 2010 to secret intelligence operations. That was a steep increase from 2009, when the intelligence community got $49.8 billion. The Obama administration has requested $55 billion for civilian intelligence in the 2012 budget.

The US' reconstruction project in Iraq could be described as a giant money pit. Tens of billions of US dollars have been invested in rebuilding the country and from what experts say, with loose accountability. - This week about 7 billion dollars that was once feared lost was supposedly found in Iraq's Central Bank. Iraq and the US pointed fingers at each other. Wayne Madsen who has been following the Coalition Provisional Authority and its role in Iraq development says even though an amount of money may have been found--it's paltry by comparison. The massive amount of taxpayer dollars spent in Iraq indicates money was stolen, misappropriated, or simply lost. The reconstruction of Iraq was the largest nation-building program in US history. The cost to the US taxpayer is more than $63 billion and counting. Even after troops leave, the US will be paying excessive amounts to shape the country for a geopolitical advantage. The details on how much money may have been gone missing may never REALLY be known. Some of the records have been sealed for decades.

AWIP: Billions Lost in Secret Federal Reserve Funding of Iraq War

The US military has begun flying drone aircraft from a base in Ethiopia, as part of its fight against Islamist militants in neighbouring Somalia. - US officials have confirmed to the BBC that the base, in the southern city of Arba Minch, is now operational. But they stressed that the remotely-piloted drones were being used only for surveillance, and not for air strikes. It is part of a growing counter-terrorism presence in the region as the US pursues groups with al-Qaeda links. The US military has reportedly spent millions of dollars upgrading the remote, civilian airport - from which Reaper drones are now being flown. The remotely-piloted aircraft can be equipped with missiles and satellite guided bombs. News of the drone deployment was first reported by the Washington Post late on Thursday. US officials confirmed to the BBC that aircraft were now in Ethiopia. However, the officials added [the lie] that the drones were flying unarmed because their use is considered sensitive by Ethiopia's government.

These mosquitoes are genetically engineered to kill — their own children. - Researchers on Sunday reported initial signs of success from the first release into the environment of mosquitoes engineered to pass a lethal gene to their offspring, killing them before they reach adulthood. The results, and other work elsewhere, could herald an age in which genetically modified insects will be used to help control agricultural pests and insect-borne diseases like dengue fever and malaria. But the research is arousing concern about possible unintended effects on public health and the environment, because once genetically modified insects are released, they cannot be recalled.

More than 3.2m homes and businesses across the north-east US have been left without power after a freak snowstorm killed at least eight people and disrupted transport across the region. - From Maryland to Maine, officials said it would take days to restore electricity, even though the snowfall ended on Sunday. The storm smashed record snowfall totals for October and worsened as it moved north. Communities in western Massachusetts were among the hardest hit. Snowfall topped 68.6cm (27in) in Plainfield, and 66cm in nearby Windsor. The storm was blamed for at least six deaths, and states of emergency were declared in New Jersey, Connecticut, Massachusetts and parts of New York.

Hartford Courant: Conn. Governor Declares State of Emergency; More Than 820,000 Without Power In Historic Storm

In the centre of Kazakhstan's new capital, Astana, jostling for attention amid gleaming skyscrapers built on profits from the country's vast oil and gas fields, a glass pyramid stands on a hill overlooking the Presidential Palace. Designed by the British architect Norman Foster, the £36m "Palace of Peace and Reconciliation" is the brainchild of Kazakhstan's autocrat president, Nursultan Nazarbayev, who commissioned a building where religious leaders from around the world could meet and find common ground. The irony of the building's construction was not lost on local human rights activists who have documented an increasingly hostile attitude towards religious groups in Kazakhstan – and raised serious questions about the recruitment by Mr Nazarbayev of Tony Blair as an adviser to the nation.

[October 2003] Results of a new poll commissioned by the European Commission show that Israel is believed by Europeans in 15 countries to be the greatest threat to world peace, greater than North Korea, Iran or Afghanistan. - While the European Commission will release the full results of the poll on Monday, the International Herald Tribune reported that the 7,500 people polled living in the European Union (500 in each of the 15 E.U. member states) were presented with a list of 15 countries and asked if these countries present a threat to world peace. Shockingly, Israel was rated first.

The Guardian: Israel outraged as EU poll names it a threat to peace [2 November 2003]
The Electronic Intifada: EU poll: "Israel poses biggest threat to world peace" [3 November 2003]
Israeli anger over EU 'threat' poll [3 November 2003]

[Editor's Comment:] This was eight years ago. There's not a word on the Internet about such a poll conducted since 2003. Clearly, Israel has gone from bad to worse in these years but this is not being reflected in any polling activity on the part of the EU. This would indicate that the Zionist Jews now have gotten the EU under control.

A man lies in the street, blood dripping from a serious head wound. As demonstrators rush to his aid, police officers standing only yards away casually toss a tear gas canister in their direction. It explodes, within inches of his head. Then there's a scream: "Medic!" The man was Scott Olsen, a 24-year-old member of the "Occupy" movement which has installed itself in dozens of US city centres. The location was Oakland, which on Tuesday night resembled a war zone as riot police made a heavy-handed and ultimately futile attempt to clear protesters from their streets. Yesterday, Mr Olsen was with his parents in the Californian city's Highland General hospital, with a fractured skull and swollen brain. After being unconscious for 12 hours, he is now awake, but still having trouble speaking. Doctors upgraded his condition from "critical" to "fair".

Bill Van Auken: Growing anger over state repression of anti-Wall Street protests
Business Insider: Marine Says Oakland Used Crowd Control Methods That Are Prohibited In War Zones
AWIP: Scott Olsen injuries prompt review as Occupy Oakland protests continue
Washington's Blog: Reward Offered for the Identity of the Police Officer Who Shot Marine Vet Scott Olsen - Video
Yahoo: For a second time, a Nashville night judge dismissed arrest warrants of arrested protesters
Nashville Scene: Night Court Magistrate Throws the Book at Haslam, Troopers Over Occupy Nashville Arrests
Global Post: 51 Occupy protestors in San Diego and 29 protestors in Nashville were arrested early Friday morning

Britain's top directors condemned as "elite greedy pigs" after a 49% pay rise last year, while average workers failed even to keep up with inflation. - Unions exploded with fury after the publication of figures that showed how boardroom pay soared in the last financial year, thanks to rising salaries, bonuses and in particular the swelling value of directors' long-term share plans. The statistics, compiled by Incomes Data Services, provide an annual snapshot of executive remuneration, as reported in companies' most recent reports to shareholders, and show that the chief executives of the FTSE 100 largest companies earned an average of £3,855,172 last year. That is an average 43 per cent rise and, adding in other directors, total earnings rose by an average 49 per cent.

KABUL, Afghanistan — At least 13 American soldiers and four Afghans were killed when a Taliban suicide car bomber attacked an armored shuttle bus in Kabul on Saturday, a Western military official said. - It was the single most deadly attack for American or other NATO troops in the capital since the war began, military officials said, and follows brazen Taliban assaults on the American Embassy and NATO headquarters in the capital last month. Such high-profile attacks have been seen as a shift in Taliban strategy as they struggle against a surge in American troops that has loosened the militants’ grip on the Taliban heartland in the South and compromised the ability to stage more conventional attacks on NATO forces. American officials see the latest assaults as the Taliban’s attempt to shake confidence in the Afghan government, which is taking over security from NATO in Kabul and other areas of the country. The deaths on Saturday represented the largest loss of American lives in Afghanistan since 30 Americans died in an Aug. 6 attack on a helicopter.

PressTV: In Afghan war, 16 US-led soldiers killed

In response to Yedioth Ahronoth article claiming Netanyahu, Barak seemingly pushing for military action against Iran, policy and political-military affairs director stresses importance of prioritizing Iran threat. - Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Ehud Barak are extremely concerned by the Iranian threat, and Defense Ministry Director of Policy and Political-Military Affairs Amos Gilad believes the matter must be a top priority. "You need to know what issues to prioritize. In my opinion – it's the Iranian front," he told students at the Ashkelon College. His statements were made in response to a Yedioth Ahronoth article claiming that Netanyahu and Barak were seemingly pushing for action against Iran.

Gilad Atzmon: Israel, the Greatest Threat To World Peace - It looks as if Israel are preparing the ground for an attack on Iran that would probably escalate into a vile world conflict. Israeli leadership seems to fail to grasp the meaning of it all. This leadership has managed to buy itself the reputation of being impervious to the notion of culpability and responsibility. It basically fails to understand the consequences of it is actions. But far more devastating is the idea that Jewish Lobbies around the world are also far from being responsible to their actions. Liam Fox who resigned last week from being the British Defence Secretary, was heavily supported by the Jewish Lobby. He was also an enthusiastic advocate of an attack on Iran. Whether Fox was a ‘Mossad agent’, a ‘Jewish lobby’s puppet’ or even just a ‘useful idiot’ is yet to be decided. However, he was clearly serving Israeli interests in our midst. But he wasn’t alone, at the moment 80% of our leading party are Conservative Friends of Israel. Isn’t the time ripe to drift as far as possible from Jerusalem and its stooges?

PressTV: US tightening noose around Iran neck?

It's official. The country has seen over a quarter of a million farmers’ suicides between 1995 and 2010. The National Crime Records Bureau’s latest report on ‘Accidental Deaths & Suicides in India’ places the number for 2010 at 15,964. That brings the cumulative 16-year total from 1995 — when the NCRB started recording farm suicide data — to 2,56,913, the worst-ever recorded wave of suicides of this kind in human history. Maharashtra posts a dismal picture with over 50,000 farmers killing themselves in the country's richest State in that period. It also remains the worst State for such deaths for a decade now. Close to two-thirds of all farm suicides have occurred in five States: Maharashtra, Karnataka, A.P., Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh.

Brian Willson’s Memoir of Transformation from Vietnam Vet to Radical Pacifist - Today we spend the hour with a man who put his life on the line twice: once when he served in the Vietnam War and again when he came back. On September 1, 1987, Brian Willson took part in a nonviolent political action outside the Concord Naval Weapons Station in California. He sat down on the train tracks along with two other veterans to try to stop a U.S. government munitions train sending weapons to Central America during the time of the Contra wars. The train didn’t stop. Willson suffered 19 broken bones, a fractured skull and lost both of his legs. "Before, I had spent many months in Nicaragua in the war zones, and I had been to El Salvador talking to guerrillas and talking to human rights workers, understanding the incredible extent of murders that were going on and maimings and displacements, because of fear of being murdered," Willson said. He decided, "I have to at least escalate my own nonviolent occupation, if you will, of the tracks." In retrospect, Willson added, "I regret that I lost my legs, but I don’t regret that I was there. I did what I said I was going to do... Following orders, I discovered, is not what I’m about." Today, he is traveling the country visiting solidarity protests with Occupy Wall Street, where some of his fellow protesters are also veterans. He’s also been talking about his new memoir, "Blood on the Tracks: The Life and Times of S. Brian Willson." On the West Coast, he completed much of the tour on his handcycle (includes rush transcript). [Part 1 of 3] [Part 2 of 3] [Part 3 of 3] [Hat Tip: The Healing Project]

Occupy Nashville got rousted from their encampment at Legislative Plaza in Nashville in the middle of the night by 100 State Troopers obeying orders from their police state bosses. This was a result of a new 'policy' put out yesterday by the state requiring time limits and permits with daily fees to protest on state (people owned) property. Whether one agrees or not with Occupy Nashville and their limited demands, it is obvious that the current Tennessee state administration thinks they can make up the rules as they go along and put in place police state policies that run contrary to 1st amendment rights. Not that we expected anything different from the slugs in charge.

The United States has been secretly flying armed Reaper drones on bombing missions from a remote civilian airport in southern Ethiopia as part of a rapidly expanding proxy war against in East Africa. The new base is one of a number of new drone bases the Obama administration has built throughout the region in order to wage war from the skies without having to go to Congress or the American people to ask them to commit to another ground war. The Reapers, equipped with Hellfire missiles and satellite-guided bombs, have been targeting the militant group al Shabaab in Somalia, and may have used the base for the mission that assassinated US-citizen Anwar al Awlaki in Yemen.

Jason Ditz: Drones, Cash, and Advisers: US Escalates Role in Africa

In a hearing that was vaguely related to the alleged DC assassination plot, a number of former officials and general war enthusiasts discussed ways to further escalate a covert war against Iran, including making the war more overt. Retired Gen. Jack Keane condemned the international community for not already having started a war with Iran, saying the US should “go without ‘em” and that the US should kill members of the Revolutionary Guard as part of the escalation. Former CIA agent Reuel Marc Gerecht downplayed calls for additional sanctions and covert cyber attacks, saying “I don’t think you’re going to really intimidate these people, get their attention, unless you shoot somebody.” Secretary of State Hillary (“we came, we saw, he died”) Clinton, who was not testifying but was giving an interview with BBC Persian, insisted that the plot was proof that the Iranian military is becoming “more reckless” and that it was a great opportunity to change Iran’s behavior. Perhaps a testimony to how confused US officials are about the whole situation, however, Secretary Clinton also conceded “we’re not quite sure who makes decisions anymore inside of Iran.”

17 martyrs today, 10 martyrs in Homs including two children: one is 4 years old and the other one is one and a half years old with her father, a 12 years old child in Douma in Damascus Suburbs,three martyrs in Saraqeb among them is a 10 years old boy, two martyrs in Jobar in Damascus Suburbs, and a martyr in Bokamal.

How the Legal System Was Deep-Sixed and Occupy Wall Street Swept the Land - As intense protests spawned by Occupy Wall Street continue to grow, it is worth asking: Why now? The answer is not obvious. After all, severe income and wealth inequality have long plagued the United States. In fact, it could reasonably be claimed that this form of inequality is part of the design of the American founding -- indeed, an integral part of it. Income inequality has worsened over the past several years and is at its highest level since the Great Depression. This is not, however, a new trend. Income inequality has been growing at rapid rates for three decades. It is now clearly understood that, rather than apply the law equally to all, Wall Street tycoons have engaged in egregious criminality -- acts which destroyed the economic security of millions of people around the world -- without experiencing the slightest legal repercussions. Giant financial institutions were caught red-handed engaging in massive, systematic fraud to foreclose on people’s homes and the reaction of the political class, led by the Obama administration, was to shield them from meaningful consequences. Rather than submit on an equal basis to the rules, through an oligarchical, democracy-subverting control of the political process, they now control the process of writing those rules and how they are applied. Today, it is glaringly obvious to a wide range of Americans that the wealth of the top 1% is the byproduct not of risk-taking entrepreneurship, but of corrupted control of our legal and political systems.

Oakland's police review body looks into clashes between officers and protesters after Iraq war veteran suffered fractured skull. - Oakland's independent police review body will examine the clashes between riot officers and protesters that left an Iraq war veteran in a critical condition as Occupy protestors prepare to rally at the same spot for a third night of protests. Police battled protesters following an Occupy Oakland march to demonstrate against the closing of two occupations in the city in the early hours of Tuesday morning. More than 100 people have been arrested in Oakland since police cleared a camp in Frank Ogawa plaza. Scott Olsen, 24, suffered a fractured skull and brain swelling after he was allegedly hit in the head by a police projectile during the clashes on Tuesday. A spokesperson for Highland hospital in east Oakland confirmed he was critically ill after being admitted on Tuesday night.

Business Insider: Veteran Scott Olsen Could Be The First Person To Die At A Wall Street Protest
SFGate: Occupy Oakland protesters regroup - Iraq vet hurt
Citizens of Legitimate Government: General Strike: November 28, 2011!

ANSWER: VIDEO: Police brutally attack Occupy Oakland Solidarity actions across U.S. - Police have stepped up their attacks to crush the Occupy actions across the country. Police forces in a number of cities have conducted mass sweeps and arrests of peaceful protesters. From the mass false arrest of more than 700 on the Brooklyn Bridge on Oct. 1 to mass arrests in Chicago, Atlanta, Oakland and beyond, the police forces have made clear their role as the servants of the 1 percent. In Oakland, the police viciously attacked Occupy Oakland with tear gas, flash grenades and projectile weapons. Scott Olsen, an Iraq war veteran, was shot in the head by the police with a projectile. Scott is reported to be in critical condition. As the video vividly shows, the Oakland police directly targeted those protesters who bravely tried to give aid to the injured. We must all stand together. Let’s continue to organize, occupy and protest in the coming days and weeks. This is a global grassroots movement for justice and change. We won’t be pushed back by police violence.

Sirte all but flattened. Thousands killed. - What's so humanitarian
about that? Wasn't the UN Resolution 1973 (2011) about "the
protection of civilians" and the Security Council's "strong commit-
ment to the sovereignty, independence, territorial integrity and
national unity of the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya"? Did the UN do
anything whatever to stop the vicious US-NATO attack on Libya?

SIRTE, Libya Oct 27 (Reuters) - Residents of Muammar Gaddafi's home town of Sirte are struggling to come to terms with the destruction and humiliation of their city, a former fishing village which once had aspirations to be the "capital of Africa".

After rebels captured swathes of Libya, Gaddafi sought sanctuary in the city he had groomed as an international hub with its own grand conference centre. During an eight-week siege, much of Sirte was reduced to rubble in fighting between Gaddafi loyalists and fighters of the new interim government.

"We never expected such destruction," said a resident who gave his name as Abu Abdul-Rahman, pointing to his bullet-riddled television and broken furniture. "Is this what they call a revolution? We chose to flee instead of fighting and still they destroyed our homes." [He added:] "They treated us like animals who didn't deserve to be protected."

Many in Sirte resent the soldiers of Libya's new leaders, who they blame for Gaddafi's humiliating capture and death last week and for what they say was the deliberate destruction of the city.

"We lived with Gaddafi for 42 years. He never attacked our houses with his army," [said another Sirte resident, sitting in his damaged house.] "Muammar lived and died like a man," he added, Gaddafi's green flag still hoisted atop his house.

The gruesome display of Gaddafi's body in a cold room in the neighbouring city of Misrata has infuriated members of his tribe and many Sirte residents.

Seumas Milne: If the Libyan war was about saving lives, it was a catastrophic failure