Chairman of the U.S. Senate Armed Services Committee says blockade should precede military action, in bid to pressure Iran to cease its drive for nuclear weapons. - An international naval blockade of Iranian oil exports should be considered before any resort to air strikes against the country's disputed nuclear program, the chairman of the U.S. Senate Armed Services Committee said on Friday. "That's, I think, one option that needs to be considered" to boost pressure on Iran to curb its nuclear program in line with UN Security Council resolutions, Democratic Senator Carl Levin said in an interview taped for C-SPAN's "Newsmakers" program.

Jason Ditz: Sen. Levin Pushes Naval Blockade of Iran
PressTV: Iran oil ban to hit 10 nations hardest

12 Palestinians, Including Secretary-General of the Popular Resistance Committees, Killed and 11 others Wounded. (Detailed report on the latest Israeli Military escalation against the Gaza Strip). - The Palestinian Center for Human Rights (PCHR) condemns the military escalation initiated by Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) against the Gaza Strip since Friday evening, 09 March 2012, in the context of which 12 Palestinians, including the Secretary-General of the Popular Resistance Committees, have been killed and 11 others, including 6 civilians, were wounded as a result of a series of air strikes. According to investigations conducted by PCHR, at approximately 16:15 on Friday, 09 March 2012, and Israeli warplane fired a missile at a blue Opel car that was traveling in the League of Arab States Street in the southwest of Gaza, in which two leaders of the Popular Resistance Committees were traveling.

PCHR: 12 Palestinians Killed and 11 Others Wounded
IMEMC: Two Palestinian Killed; 14 In Less Than 24 Hours
PIC: IOF soldiers kill two more Palestinians, fire at funeral

Thirty-five people have been killed in the latest non-UN-sanctioned US assassination drone strikes in Yemen and Pakistan.

On Friday, US drones fired several missiles targeting areas in Yemen's southeastern province of al-Bayda, killing 20 people, while 15 people were killed in attacks in Pakistan's northwestern tribal areas. Speaking on condition of anonymity, a local security official said that the number of casualties announced in the Jabra area of Yemen’s al-Bayda governorate was based on an initial security report from the targeted area. The official added that more than two US drones were still striking several areas in three villages outside al-Bayda city. In Pakistan, at least 15 people were killed and three were injured in the Shaktoi area of South Waziristan, which borders Afghanistan. Some sources said missiles fired from the US aircraft landed on a vehicle, while others said they targeted a house. Dozens of people have lost their lives in CIA-operated assassination drone attacks in Pakistan since the beginning of 2012.

Reported US Air Strikes Kill 20 in Southern Yemen
US Drone Strike Kills 13 in South Waziristan

Pakistanis have condemned the United States over its interference in the country’s southwestern province of Balochistan, Press TV reports. - On Friday, thousands of activists held a demonstration in Islamabad to condemn US policies and a proposed US House of Representatives’ resolution advocating “self-determination” for Balochistan province. The non-binding resolution was proposed by three Republicans, Dana Rohrabacher, Louie Gohmert, and Steve King, in February. US flags were burned at the demonstration, which was organized by the Defense of Pakistan Council, an alliance of 40 religious and political groups.

Wayne Madsen: Next Stop is Pakistan
Bill van Auken: US threatens wider war in Pakistan

NaturalNews can now report that James Stewart and Sharon Palmer are victims of an outrageous, almost unprecedented campaign of government terrorism against private citizens that's playing out across two counties today: Ventura County and Los Angeles County. There, officials have secretly made a pact to "destroy" James and Sharon, regardless of what laws and rights have to be broken in the process. As you will see below, the DA's offices in these two counties now harbor rogue, criminal elements who are using the power of the state of California to wage personal vengeance campaigns against innocent farmers.

In the New Yorker article, Jane Mayer quotes you as saying, "I actually had hopes for Obama." What’s your opinion on the Obama administration’s stated support for whistle-blowers and, more generally, his counterterrorism record?

Worse than Bush. I have to say that. I actually voted for Obama. It’s all rhetoric for me now. As Americans we were hoodwinked. He’s expanding the secrecy regime far beyond what the Bush even intended, interestingly enough. I think Bush is probably like, "Whoa."

Russia Today: Obama signs anti-protest Trespass Bill
AWIP: HR 347: One more step towards Neo-Feudalism

■ Obama Plans More War
■ Obama's Legacy of Shame
■ Obama Year One: Betrayal and Failure (Part I)
■ Obama Year One: Betrayal and Failure (Part II)
■ Obama Year Two: Continued Betrayal and Failure (Part I)
■ Obama Year Two: Continued Betrayal and Failure (Part II)
■ Obama Year Three: Continuing His Rogue Agenda

The Obama administration hailed the February jobs report, released by the Labor Department’s Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Friday morning, although the 227,000 net new jobs made only a slight dent in the army of nearly 13 million unemployed in America, including 5.5 million unemployed for more than six months. At this rate of net job creation, and with 125,000 people entering the job market each month, it would require 130 months—nearly 11 years—to put all those currently unemployed back to work. That is without taking into account future economic shocks from the US and world financial system. A more detailed breakdown of the jobs report suggests the flimsy character of the supposed economic recovery.

Paul Craig Roberts: No Jobs For Americans - Today (March 9, 2012) the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) announced that 227,000 new nonfarm payroll jobs were created by the economy during February. Is the government’s claim true? No. Statistician John Williams (shadowstats.com) reports that 44,000 of these jobs or 19% consist of an add-on factor derived from the BLS’s estimate that 44,000 more unreported jobs from new business start-ups were created than were lost by unreported business failures. The BLS’s estimate comes from the bureau’s “birth-death model,” which works better during normal times, but delivers erroneous results during troubled times such as the economy has been experiencing during the past four years.

Israeli violations of international law and humanitarian law in the OPT continued during the reporting period (01 – 07 March 2012):

Shooting: During the reporting period, two Palestinian children were killed and 3 civilians, including a child, were wounded by the explosion of a suspicious object in Hebron. Additionally, a Palestinian civilian was seriously wounded by IOF north of Ramallah. ■ On Tuesday afternoon, 06 March 2012, two Palestinian children were killed and three others were wounded when a suspicious object left by the Israeli military exploded in Wad Al-Reem area to the east of Sa'ir village, northeast of Hebron. According to medical reports and observations by a PCHR fieldworker, the two children who were killed sustained serious injuries and burns throughout the body. Their bodies were dismembered as the shrapnel penetrated the head, the chest and the face. Immediately following the incident, the Palestinian police opened investigations into the incident. The police announced that the explosion was caused by a mortar shell which had been left by the Israeli military. The shell exploded in a pile of wastes. At approximately 15:20 on the same day, Israeli occupation forces moved into the area to check the explosion and search neighboring farms. ■ During the reporting period, IOF used excessive force to disperse peaceful demonstrations organized in protest to Israeli settlement activities and the construction of the annexation wall in the West Bank. As a result, a Palestinian civilian was seriously wounded by a tear gas canister to the head near ‘Attara checkpoint, north of Ramallah. Dozens of Palestinian civilians and international human rights defenders suffered from tear gas inhalation.

PIC: Occupation re-arrest liberated captive Khaled al-Makhamreh

Moody’s Investors Service has declared Greece in default on its debt, despite an announcement by the Greek government that a large number of private creditors had signed on to a debt exchange plan. - The US-based credit rating agency issued a statement on Friday, saying that “even as 85.8 percent” of the holders of Greek government bonds had agreed to the plan, the “exercise of collective action clauses that Athens is applying to its bonds will force the remaining bondholders to participate.” “According to Moody’s definitions, this exchange represents a 'distressed exchange' and therefore a debt default. “The exchange amounts to a diminished financial obligation relative to the original obligation,” the statement added. Moody’s also said the debt swap deal “has the effect of allowing Greece to avoid payment default in the future.” On Friday, the Greek government announced that a large majority of private creditors had signed on to a debt exchange plan expected to cancel about 107 billion euros (143 billion dollars) in Greek government bonds.