Several U.S. tourists report being asked by airport security personnel for access to their personal email accounts. - Israel's Shin Bet security service has been demanding access to personal email accounts of visiting tourists with Arab names, according to the testimony of three U.S. citizens who were interrogated at Ben Gurion Airport and subsequently refused entry into Israel in May... Ronit Eckstein, a spokesperson for the Israel Airports Authority, told Haaretz that the Interior Ministry is responsible for the entry of tourists to Israel, and that the security officials who interrogated the women were not employed by the Airports Authority or by Ben Gurion Airport. The Interior Ministry said in response that the security checks are the responsibility of the Shin Bet security service.

Police in Aurora, Colo., searching for suspected bank robbers stopped every car at an intersection, handcuffed all the adults and searched the cars, one of which they believed was carrying the suspect.

Police said they had received what they called a “reliable” tip that the culprit in an armed robbery at a Wells Fargo bank committed earlier was stopped at the red light. “We didn’t have a description, didn’t know race or gender or anything, so a split-second decision was made to stop all the cars at that intersection, and search for the armed robber,” Aurora police Officer Frank Fania told ABC News. Officers barricaded the area, halting 19 cars.

Speaking at a joint press-conference with his Chinese counterpart Hu Jintao, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that the two nations had pledged closer cooperation and were united in opposing Western intervention against Syria and Iran. - Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Weiman said that the two nations are calling for an end to violence in Syria on both sides and want to start a political dialogue between Assad and the rebels. The comments are a harsh rebuke to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s comments over the weekend. Clinton demanded that Russia immediately endorse regime change in Syria, saying that it was time to oust Assad.

Tony Cartalucci: US Attempts to Mass-Murder Its Way to Victory in Syria

lor="#3D2B1F">● US planned Syrian sectarian violence since at least 2007.
● US willfully arming sectarian extremists to perpetuate violence.
● US using violence of its own creation to pressure nations into accepting "regime change."

As revelations emerge that the violence in Syria has been premeditated by Western planners years before the Arab Spring unfolded, and as the facade of "democratic aspirations" collapse in the face of a sectarian-driven bloodbath, US officials and Western think-tank policy makers speaking with Bloomberg have stated that their final message to Russia in order to begin regime change is essentially this: the violence will continue to be purposefully escalated until regime change is accomplished - Russia can capitulate now and have a say in how a transition occurs, or capitulate later and suffer exclusion as was the case in Libya.

Yahoo: Syria expels US, European "diplomats"

A NATO airstrike in the eastern Afghan province of Logar has killed 17 people, including women and children, local officials report. A NATO spokesperson said a team had been deployed to investigate the claims of civilian casualties.

Afghan authorities say the pre-dawn attack aimed at militants in the area hit a wedding. An AP photographer at the scene reported seeing the bodies of five women, seven children and six men piled in vans. AFP news agency also released a photo with victims piled into the back of a vehicle. Local villagers are now reportedly driving the bodies to the capital of Logar province to protest the NATO strike which they say hit a house in the district of Baraki Barak. NATO says it has received no reports of civilians killed in the pre-dawn operation targeting a Taliban leader. Civilian casualties mounting: Reports of NATO actions in Afghanistan causing civilian casualties are not rare. In the end of May, local officials from the eastern province of Paktia claimed that a coalition strike killed an Afghan family, including six children. In February Afghan President Hamid Karzai accused NATO of killing seven children in a strike in the north-east of the country. The casualties, however, do not always come from air strikes. In March an alleged shooting rampage by a NATO soldier resulted in 17 civilian deaths in the province of Kandahar. Staff Sgt. Robert Bales, who was accused of the massacre, was whisked out of the country to a US detention center. Civilian deaths resulting from US-led coalition actions have been a bone of contention in Afghanistan for quite some time. Karzai has regularly condemned such events, saying the strategic partnership is meaningless if the lives of Afghan people are not safe. Last year saw more than 3,000 Afghan civilians killed in violence according to a UN report. The document attributed 14 per cent of these deaths to actions by international and Afghan troops.

Four separate eyewitnesses inside the Westfields Marriott hotel in Chantilly Virginia told London Guardian writer Charlie Skelton that Mitt Romney was in attendance at Bilderberg 2012, suggesting the Republican candidate could be the elite’s pick for the upcoming U.S. presidential election.

“Four eyewitnesses on the hotel staff told me Willard Mitt Romney was here at Bilderberg 2012. My four eyewitnesses place him inside. That’s one more than Woodward and Bernstein used. Romney’s office initially refused to confirm or deny his attendance as Bilderberg is “not public”. They later said it was not him,” writes Skelton. The London Guardian writer adds that the fact Romney’s name did not appear on the official list of attendees is meaningless. Numerous power brokers, including Bill Gates, were photographed arriving at the event yet were not included on the list of participants, as is routinely the case.

An invite to the Bilderberg conference has routinely proven beneficial to future Presidents and Prime Ministers. Four years ago during a heated battle on the campaign trail, Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton gave reporters the slip to attend the 2008 Bilderberg meeting at the same hotel. On precisely the same weekend as the confab was taking place, the Washington Post announced that Hillary was withdrawing from the presidential race and would support Obama. Bill Clinton and Tony Blair were both groomed by the secretive organization in the early 1990′s before rising to prominence. Portugal’s Pedro Santana Lopes and Jose Socrates attended the 2004 meeting in Stresa, Italy before both going on to become Prime Minster of Portugal. Bilderberg also played a key role in selecting John Edwards and John Kerry’s running mate in 2004 and Bilderberg luminary James A. Johnson also hand-picked Joe Biden as VP in 2008.

Congratulations to the Guardian for exposing the workfare scandal that took place during the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Celebrations — and, specifically, the £12m river pageant that took place on Sunday, when, in torrential rain, a flotilla of boats, including one carrying the Queen and other members of the Royal Family, travelled along the River Thames from Hammersmith to Tower Bridge. For my previous take on workfare, see The Tories’ Vile Workfare Project, and How It Has Now Infiltrated the NHS.

Robert Stevens: The Diamond Jubilee: A glorification of wealth and privilege

New Zealand has signed a deal with Nato to boost cooperation in areas such as terrorism, military training, disaster relief and intelligence. - The deal was signed by NZ Prime Minister John Key and Nato Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen. The agreement came as the Nato chief is due to visit Australia as part of efforts to bolster ties with non-Nato nations engaged in Afghanistan. Mr Key says the deal formalises and builds on the relationship with Nato. "The relationship and engagement between New Zealand and Nato has developed considerably over the past 10 years, mainly through our involvement in the Nato-led ISAF mission in Afghanistan,'' Mr Key said in a statement. New Zealand first sent troops to Afghanistan in 2003 and currently has less than 200 troops remaining in the country. They are due to pull out next year. There are currently about 130,000 Nato troops serving in Afghanistan from 50 contributing nations, the International Security and Assistance Force says. The agreement with Nato, signed in Brussels on Monday, came as New Zealand is seeking a non-permanent seat on the United Nations Security Council from 2015-16.

Looking a bit like an old Civil War Ironclad, the $7 billion DDG 1000 USS Zumwalt will focus on land attacks, relying heavily on its advanced stealth technology to slip in close to shore before unleashing its massive onboard arsenal.

A new take on the Zumwalt was published today by the Eric Talmadge at the Associated Press who points out that in addition to the ship's wide array of conventional weapons the Zumwalt will eventually carry the Navy's much anticipated "railgun". The railgun is an electrically powered artillery weapon that launches massive projectiles at high speeds without the use of gunpowder or explosives. Instead, an electric current is run through the artillery shell, the current interacts with the magnetic fields in the rails and pounds the shell from the barrel. The Navy successfully tested the railgun in February, but it has not yet been fielded for service. The Zumwalt was originally estimated to cost about $3.8 billion, but so much technology crammed on board that its cost has nearly doubled, and after the first three are built, production will stop. Including the exhaustive research and development required by each vessel to total cost jumps to $7 billion apiece. In addition the Zumwalt will be built to receive the Navy's new electromagnetic rail-gun that can fire projectiles at over five times the speed of sound. All this new technology adds up. Defense analyst Jay Korman says "They were looking to introduce so many new technologies at once, and the cost ballooned."

Trois sous-marins ont été construits dans un chantier naval allemand pour Israël, qui seront suivis de trois autres à venir. Selon des informations dont Der Spiegel a eu connaissance Tel-Aviv équipe en carène ces sous-marins de missiles de croisière à tête nucléaire. Le gouvernement fédéral allemand avait connaissance depuis des décennies du programme nucléaire d’Israël en dépit de ses dénégations officielles. - L’Allemagne aide Israël à développer ses capacités nucléaires militaires, a appris Der Spiegel. Selon des recherches approfondies menées par le magazine, Israël est en train d’équiper les sous-marins qui ont été construits dans le nord de l’Allemagne à Kiel et ont été en grande partie payés par le gouvernement allemand, de missiles de croisière équipés d’ogives nucléaires. Les missiles peuvent être lancés à l’aide d’un système d’éjection hydraulique précédemment secret. Le Ministre israélien de la Défense, Ehud Barak, a déclaré à Der Spiegel que les Allemands devraient être "fiers" d’avoir sécurisé l’existence de l’Etat d’Israël "pendant de nombreuses années."

Der Spiegel: Israel bestückt U-Boote aus Deutschland mit Atomwaffen - Fotos
Der Spiegel: Helping Israel "Defend Itself" Is "Germany's Duty"

A mystery computer virus discovered last month and deployed in a massive cyberattack chiefly against Iran sought to steal designs and PDF files from its victims, a Russian firm said. Kaspersky Lab, one of the world's biggest producers of anti-virus software, announced last month the discovery of the Flame virus, which it described as the biggest and most sophisticated malware ever seen. In the latest update on Kaspersky's analysis of the virus, released late Monday, the firm's chief security expert, Alexander Gostev, said the malware's creators had focused on file formats such as PDF and AutoCAD, a software for computer design and drawing. "The attackers seem to have a high interest in AutoCAD drawings," Gostev said in a statement. The malware also "goes through PDF and text files and other documents and makes short text summaries", he added. "It also hunts for e-mails and many different kinds of other 'interesting' (high-value) files that are specified in the malware configuration."

He confirmed that Iran was by far the biggest target with a count of 185 infections, followed by 95 in Occupied Palestine and the Palestinian Territories, 32 in Sudan and 29 in Syria. The discovery of Flame immediately sparked speculation that it had been created by U.S. and Zionist intelligence services to steal information about Iran's nuclear program. Intriguingly, Kaspersky said that hours after the existence of the virus was first announced on May 28, "The Flame command-and-control infrastructure, which had been operating for years, went dark." It gave no further information over the possible perpetrators of the mystery attack, though it identified about 80 domains that appear to belong to the Flame infrastructure, in locations from Hong Kong to Switzerland.

Russia Today: 'End of the world as we know it': Kaspersky warns of cyber-terror apocalypse - Doomsday scenarios are a common occurrence in 2012, but coming from a steely-eyed realist like Eugene Kaspersky, his calls for a global effort to halt emerging cyber threats should raise alarm bells. A global Internet blackout and crippling attacks against key infrastructure are among two possible cyber-pandemics he outlined.

"It's not cyber war, it's cyber terrorism, and I'm afraid the game is just beginning. Very soon, many countries around the world will know it beyond a shadow of a doubt,” Kaspersky told reporters at a Tel Aviv University cyber security conference. “I'm afraid it will be the end of the world as we know it," he warned. "I'm scared, believe me."

Canada is failing to live up to its international obligations to stop torture. Last week, the UN Committee against Torture released its concluding observations from a review of Canada’s record on preventing, punishing and remedying torture and ill-treatment. It’s a review that comes around periodically, the last one in 2005, by virtue of the fact that Canada signed on to the UN Convention against Torture and Other Forms of Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment 25 years ago. The committee lays out a solid framework of recommendations for action by the federal government. Key now is for the government to promptly implement those recommendations. Doing so will uphold the rights of individuals who have experienced torture or ill-treatment through the action, inaction or complicity of Canadian officials. It will also position Canada as a forceful leader in the campaign to eradicate torture worldwide.

It’s unusual for a PMO to work against its own MPs’ motions and private members’ bills but Stephen Harper’s Conservatives are anxious to avoid association with any legislative activity that could be characterized by opponents as re-opening the debate over abortion. - MPs are privately being reminded that support for fellow Conservative Stephen Woodworth’s motion would be considered a vote against Mr. Harper’s wishes. Word being spread in the Commons lobby recently by senior Tories – not the PMO – went even further, saying a vote for Mr. Woodworth’s motion is a vote against Mr. Harper. This informal coaxing is focused on those who are not considered to have taken firm positions in what has become a polarized debate, including rookie Tory MPs elected for the first time last year as well as fence-sitters and those with strong ambitions to rise in the caucus. The conflict is over Motion 312, a bid by Mr. Woodworth, MP for Kitchener-Centre, to spur a parliamentary committee that would review the legal definition that a fetus only becomes a human being once it has fully emerged from the mother’s birth canal.

L'oligarchie ça suffit. On veut une vraie democratie maintenant. /
We've had enough of oligarchy. We want a real democracy now.

Students and labor activists marched through downtown Toronto in support of Quebec students, who have held nightly protests for months trying to head off a tuition increase.

Between 250 and 300 people gathered in the city center before a short march to a rally at Ryerson University in support of the three-month strike by students in Canada’s mostly French-speaking province. “We’ve all been very inspired by the example of the Quebec student movement and we think, why not here?” said protest organizer Hugh Goldring. Fred Hahn, the president of CUPE Ontario union marched in the protest and said he had encouraged other union members to join in. “What is happening in Quebec is really about social justice, and it’s about people standing up for the kind of community that we all deserve,” he said. Hahn said that members of CUPE Ontario had recently decided to donate $10,000 towards legal efforts after they heard from a Quebec student protester at a provincial convention. Many of the protesters on Tuesday night wore red felt squares, a symbol adopted by the Quebec student movement. Some marchers went further by donning red shirts and bandanas.

Earlier this year Norman Finkelstein gave a notorious interview to Frank Barat in which Finkelstein attacked the boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) movement as a “cult,” accused prominent Palestinians of lying about their goals – which he characterized as the destruction of Israel – and demanded that Palestinians recognize Israel, effectively, as a Jewish state. - Finkelstein was apparently so disturbed by the negative reactions to this interview (although they were entirely postive among many Zionist fanatics) that he tried unsuccessfully to scrub the video from the Internet. Now, months later, Ms. Goodman brings this divisive attack back to the table during an interview plugging Finkelstein’s latest book, ‘Knowing Too Much’. Is she trying to play the devil’s advocate or has she lost the compassion she once displayed for the Palestinian people by re-airing Finkelstein’s ‘way off views’ on the situation. Ali Abunimah of the Electronic Intifada ends the following report with one question … As for Democracy Now, will it allow Palestinians an opportunity to respond to Finkelstein’s misleading attacks?

Calls for 'banking union' to save euro after Paris and Brussels support Spain's plea for EU rescue of its beleaguered banks. - Europe's leaders appear to be edging towards an ambitious and controversial new blueprint for a federalised eurozone after Paris and Brussels threw their weight behind Spain's pleas for an EU rescue of its beleaguered banks. At the start of three weeks likely to be crucial to the survival of the euro, the new French government and the European commission voiced strong backing for a new eurozone "banking union" to save the single currency. The plan could see vast national debt and banking liabilities pooled – and then backed by the financial strength of Germany – in return for eurozone governments surrendering sovereignty over their budgets and fiscal policies to a central eurozone authority.

Six people, including three US nationals, were detained Monday after police discovered a large cache of illegal arms from their vehicles. - According to police sources, the “suspicious cars” were stopped for a routine check at the Peshawar Motorway toll plaza when the weapons were discovered. Police sources told Dawn.com that the weapons included 4 M4 assault rifles with 36 magazines and 4 pistols with 30 magazines. US Consul General Mary Richard also reached the police station where the Americans were detained for questioning, urging officials to seize weapons but not to detain the foreigners. The US Consul General however refused to give any comments on the arrests when approached by our reporter. Reuters news agency reported a US embassy official as saying: “These officials were returning from a visit to Malakand University where they were preparing for an English education event for underprivileged children. They had all proper permissions but were stopped when returning to Peshawar.”