“If the U.S. believes in the rule of law, it should not be hindering advocacy of claims against the CIA for wrongful death and injury.” Shahzad Akbar, a Pakistani lawyer and co-founder of the Pakistan based legal advocacy organization Foundation for Fundamental Rights (FFR) has been campaigning for the past several years on behalf of civilians who have been killed and maimed as part of the CIA’s covert drone warfare program in NW Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. The drone campaign, which continues to be conducted without oversight and accountability, is documented to have taken a horrendous toll on the civilian population of these regions, the magnitude of which has only come to light through the efforts of grassroots activists such as Akbar.

The man who carried out a bomb and gun attack in Norway last year that left 77 people dead has gone on trial in Oslo.

Anders Breivik attacked a summer youth camp organised by the governing Labour party on the island of Utoeya, after setting off a car bomb in the capital. He has confessed to the killings, but denies criminal responsibility. The court must decide whether Breivik is criminally insane and should be committed to psychiatric care, or mentally stable and sent to prison. In the latter case, he faces a sentence of 21 years, which could be extended to keep him behind bars for the rest of his life. Dressed in a dark suit, Breivik smiled as he entered the courtroom and a guard removed his handcuffs. He then gave a closed-fist salute. He later told the lead judge, Wench Elizabeth Arntzen: "I do not recognise the Norwegian courts. You have received your mandate from political parties which support multiculturalism. I do not acknowledge the authority of the court."

Prableen Kaur: Helvete på Utøya / Hell on Utøya Island
Russia Today: Horror show: Breivik claims murder of 77 'self-defense' - PHOTOS
BBC: Norway's mass killer Breivik declared sane
AWIP: West media hide Breivik Zionist links
AWIP: Inspiration, interests, initiation and investments in Breivik’s world
Justin Raimondo: Anders Behring Breivik, Mystery Man

LiveLeak: Norwegian killer made this video (confirmed by Norwegian media) - We do not want to embed this nauseating LiveLeak video here at AWIP. It consists of a jumble of non-connected slogans, statements and allegations, deceptively joined together by streams of low key, misty music to hide the stunning lack of internal coherence of the words. In our opinion, this video reveals a superficial and deranged mind. This kind of thinking however also is a product of a vast network, a web connecting very authoritarian and aggressive people. In this sense, Breivik did not act alone at all. He is the end result of ideology; of an unseen collective of warped minds, displaying a profound lack of empathy and compassion. Breivik claims to be a Christian, but "his" ideas are the very opposite of what Jesus stood for and gave his life to make us understand. - Editor

Doug Saunders: The Political Thinking of Anders Behring Breivik [SCRIBD] - These are the collected writings of Anders Behring Breivik, accused of killing more than 84 young people at a Labour Party gathering in Norway and at least seven in a car bombing in Oslo. These are comments he posted on the right-wing site document.no Thanks to my Norwegian friends for translating this.

The Hindu: Anders Breivik & Europe's blind right eye [July 25, 2011] - In the media, Breivik has been characterised as a deranged loner. Nothing could be further from the truth. Breivik's acts were entirely consistent with others by European fascists. More importantly, Breivik's ideas firmly reflect mainstream right-wing discourse. [...] The Norwegian terrorist's 1,518-page pseudonymous testament, 2083: A European Declaration of Independence, promises his new “Knights Templar” order will “seize political and military control of Western European countries and implement a cultural conservative political agenda.” He threatens an apocalyptic war against “traitors” enabling a Muslim takeover of Europe: a war, he says, will claim up to “45,000 dead and 1 million wounded cultural Marxists/multiculturalists.”

WILMINGTON, Del. (CN) – Monsanto, Philip Morris and other U.S. tobacco giants knowingly poisoned Argentinean tobacco farmers with pesticides, causing “devastating birth defects” in their children, dozens of workers claim in court. - The farmers, on their own behalf and for their injured children, sued Altria Group fka Philip Morris Cos., Philip Morris USA, Carolina Leaf Tobacco, Universal Corporation fka Universal Leaf Tobacco Company, Monsanto, and their affiliates and Argentine subsidiaries, in New Castle County Court. The farmers grow tobacco on small family-owned farms in Misiones Province and sell it to U.S. tobacco distributors. Most of Argentina’s tobacco is grown in Misiones, a rural northeastern province. The farmers claim the tobacco companies asked them to use herbicides, pesticides and other toxic products made and distributed by Monsanto, and assured them the products were safe. They say the defendants “wrongfully caused the parental and infant plaintiffs to be exposed to those chemicals and substances which they both knew, or should have known, would cause the infant offspring of the parental plaintiffs to be born with devastating birth defects.” Birth defects cited in the 55-page complaint include cerebral palsy, psychomotor retardation, epilepsy, spina bifida, intellectual disabilities, metabolic disorders, congenital heart defects, Down syndrome, missing fingers and blindness.

Russia Today: The perfect drug? Monsanto hooks Nepal on GMO corn

Unprecedented Latin American opposition to sanctions on communist Cuba put more pressure on President Barack Obama at the Summit of the Americas on Sunday and threatened to further weaken U.S. and Canadian influence in the region. - Cuba has been excluded from Organization of American States (OAS) summits due to opposition from the United States and Canada, both of whom refused to back down from their positions despite protest from Latin American countries. The controversy at the summit added to strain on the Washington-dominated system of hemispheric diplomacy that was built around the OAS but is struggling to evolve with changes in the region.

A classified NATO report on the bombing campaign in Libya shows the alliance is dependent on the US to wage its wars. But, even with Washington’s help, the much-praised Operation Unified Protector had military shortcomings. - NATO’s air strikes against Muammar Gaddafi’s forces were carried out mostly by Canadian and European air forces. But American troops provided crucial parts of the operation, including collecting intelligence, reconnaissance, planning sorties and refueling aircraft. The problem encompasses both a lack of technical capability and trained personnel for such tasks, says The New York Times, after studying the report. NATO’s reliance on the US during the operation is labeled “disproportionate”. One particular area, in which the alliance is dependent on the US, is the supply of precision munitions. Virtually all the 7,700 bombs and missiles dropped or fired on Libya were American. This is nothing new – this trend has been evident as early as during the Balkan wars two decades ago. Even with the American help, the alliance had only about 40% of the aircraft needed to intercept electronic communications. That drawback hindered the campaign’s effectiveness. Participating members also had difficulties sharing information about Libyan targets due to “classification or procedural reasons,” the report said.

TREVISO, Italy — On New Year’s Eve, Antonio Tamiozzo, 53, hanged himself in the warehouse of his construction business near Vicenza, after several debtors did not pay what they owed him. - Three weeks earlier, Giovanni Schiavon, 59, a contractor, shot himself in the head at the headquarters of his debt-ridden construction company on the outskirts of Padua. As he faced the bleak prospect of ordering Christmas layoffs at his family firm of two generations, he wrote a last message: “Sorry, I cannot take it anymore.” The economic downturn that has shaken Europe for the last three years has also swept away the foundations of once-sturdy lives, leading to an alarming spike in suicide rates. Especially in the most fragile nations like Greece, Ireland and Italy, small-business owners and entrepreneurs are increasingly taking their own lives in a phenomenon some European newspapers have started calling “suicide by economic crisis.”

The Israeli military says it has suspended a senior military officer filmed assaulting an unarmed activist protesting Israeli occupation policies in the West Bank. In the video, Lt. Col. Shalom Eisner is seen smashing the Danish activist in the face with his M16 rifle.

The military said Monday that Eisner would be suspended while the incident is investigated. The assault was posted on the Internet and broadcast on Israeli TV on Sunday. It further tarnished Israel's image the same day the government suppressed a mass fly-in of pro-Palestinian protesters who had hoped to draw world attention to the Israeli occupation. Dozens, if not hundreds, of activists were barred from boarding flights to Tel Aviv and dozens of others were denied entry after landing.

+972: WATCH: IDF Lt. Col. rams rifle in face of activist (UPDATED)
Russia Today: Israeli officer hits unarmed protester in the face with rifle - VIDEO

Gilad Atzmon: Rabbis For Violence, Brutality and Abuse - Ynet reports today that Israel leading rabbis rally to the aid of Lieutenant-Colonel Eisner, an IDF hooligan officer who attacked Danish peace activist yesterday. Several prominent rabbis expressed their support for the religious Lieutenant-Colonel who was caught on camera brutally attacking a peace activist with his rifle. The Rabbis insist that the military’s decision to suspend the Lieutenant-Colonel was impetuous. Lieutenant-Colonel Eisner expressed remorse over his action, saying that while he should not have flung his weapon at the activist, the video footage released depicted only “60 seconds out of a two-hour event.” This is indeed a winning Talmudic spin. Rather than dealing with factuality and truth of the matter, we are asked to engage with the ‘unknown’, the ‘missing footage’ so to say. [...] Sooner or later, Israel and its Rabbis will have to make a very painful decision. They will have to face the horrific moral and ethical consequences of maintaining a racist, nationalist and expansionist Jewish State.

Israel detained dozens of international activists as they landed at its main airport on Sunday, preventing them from entering the country to participate in a planned solidarity mission with Palestinians in the West Bank. - Israel said the activists, part of an umbrella group called "Welcome to Palestine," were provocateurs who posed a security threat. But organizers said the event, meant to draw attention to Israeli travel restrictions on Palestinians, was nonviolent, and they accused Israel of using heavy-handed tactics to stamp out legitimate protest. Israel is jittery about the prospect of a large influx of foreign protesters arriving because of deadly confrontations with pro-Palestinian activists in the past. In the worst instance, Israeli naval commandos clashed with activists on board a flotilla trying to break Israel's blockade of the Gaza Strip in May 2010, killing nine activists.

IMEMC: 470 Of Passengers Marked As Activists, Had Nothing To Do With “Welcome To Palestine”

Freedom of expresssion in Israel: Israeli police destroy a
banner saying 'Welcome to Palestine' at Ben Gurion airport
near Tel Aviv. ( Photo: Uriel Sinai/Getty Images)

Dozens of international pro-Palestinian activists have been refused entry into Israel in a large-scale security operation that ensured a high profile for the protesters' attempted show of solidarity with the people of the West Bank.

About 650 police officers, some in plain clothes, patrolled Ben Gurion airport on Sunday ready "to prevent disturbances and disruption", according to police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld.

Around 50 passengers had been detained and interrogated by mid-afternoon, with many more flights expected during the early evening. Nine people were immediately deported, and a small number were allowed entry to Israel. Those suspected of being pro-Palestinian activists were taken first to a smaller terminal, with a "Welcome to Israel" sign above its doors, for interrogation and from there to a nearby prison. At least four Israeli sympathisers who unfurled a banner reading "Welcome to Palestine" in the arrivals hall were arrested.

PressTV: Israel arrests 40 pro-Palestine activists at Ben Gurion Airport

STP: Israel to pro-Palestine deportees: ‘There are other worthy choices to protest’ - For a country that calls itself the “Middle East’s sole democracy”, political thought and expression means nothing unless it conforms exactly to the government’s idea of things. The contract, first published by +972 Magazine, is explicit in saying that pro-Palestinian sentiments are not welcome. In fact, they are cause for deportation.

Ynet News: Activists accuse Israel, Air France of racism - French organizers of fly-in claim one female passenger wasn't allowed to depart from Nice as she was neither an Israeli citizen nor a Jew. Israel refused to allow a total of 78 foreign activists to the country Israel on Sunday. Only a few pro-Palestinian activists managed to overcome airport scrutiny and reach Bethlehem. The activists include 51 French citizens, 11 Brits, six Italians, five Canadians, two Spanish citizens and citizens from the US, Portugal and Switzerland. Some of the activists have already been sent back to their countries of origin and more than 50 were taken to the Givon holding facility for illegal aliens. More than 30 of the detainees are French and the rest are from Canada, Italy, Britain and other countries.

1600 Palestinian political prisoners, held by Israel, declared they will be starting an open-ended hunger strike on April 17th in protest to their illegal detention, and demanding basic rights.

Palestinian Minister of Detainees in the West Bank, Issa Qaraqe’, stated that the situation of the detainees in Israeli prisons is very difficult, and dangerous, especially amidst the ongoing Israeli violations and attacks against them. Qaraqe’ added that the detainees are fighting a battle to defend their dignity and to improve their living conditions. He further called for massive solidarity campaigns, and called for declaring April 17, the Palestinian Prisoners Day, as a day for solidarity and massive nonviolent protests in all parts of the occupied territories. The Maan News Agency reported that a committee formed by the Israeli Prison Authority, headed by Yitzhak Gabai, visited a number of detention facilities, listened to the demands of the detainees, and “promised” respond to these demands this coming week. Some of the demands presented by the detainees are;

1. Ending Administrative Detention.
2. Ending Solitary Confinement.
3. Reinstating the right to education.
4. Halting all invasions targeting detainees’ rooms and sections.
5. Allowing family visitations, especially to detainees from the Gaza Strip.
6. Improving medical care to ailing detainees.
7. Halting the humiliation, and body-search of the families of the detainees.
8. Allowing the entry of books and newspapers.
9. Halting all sorts of penalties against the detainees.

Taliban-led insurgents Afghans opened a spring offensive Sunday with a wave of coordinated suicide missions, firing at embassies and government offices from seized buildings in Kabul and attacking U.S. bases and police stations in three eastern provinces. - The strikes, which seemed to catch U.S.-led forces and Afghan authorities by surprise, sparked fierce firefights in Kabul and two other cities that underscored the insurgency's lethality as U.S. combat troops gird for the second phase of a withdrawal due to end in 2014. "This is the start of the spring operations," Zabihullah Mujahid, a Taliban spokesman, declared in a cellphone interview with McClatchy. "This is just the beginning."