Germany's equivalent of MI5 has found itself at the centre of a deepening intelligence service scandal after it was confirmed yesterday that its agents had destroyed files containing vital information about a neo-Nazi terrorist gang hours before the material was due to be handed to federal prosecutors. The case concerns the National Socialist Underground, a neo-Nazi group responsible for Germany's worst acts of far-right violence since the Second World War. Its members murdered a policewoman, shot dead nine immigrants, mounted two bomb attacks and robbed 14 banks to finance their operations.

On Wednesday, US Republican Senator Scott Brown had called on Holder to resign, accusing him of misleading Congress, saying “he can’t effectively serve the president.” - “For the best interest of the country, I think he should step down and resign. He’s lost the confidence of the American people. Certainly, he’s lost the confidence of Congress. He misled Congress. They have a right to know,” Brown added. Democrats accused Oversight Committee Chairman Darrell Issa and other Republican lawmakers of taking political advantage out of targeting Holder.

It wasn't easy, finding Jim Traficant. Without the help of the American Free Press, (AFP), we never would have found him. Traficant of Youngstown Ohio was running for his old Congressional seat. What sort of campaign could he be running? After all, we'd seen the Greta von Susteren Fox News interview (Sept. 9, 2009, just a few days after Traficant was released from prison). Here's some of what Traficant had said, "I believe that Israel has a powerful strangle hold on the American government. They control...the House and Senate. They have us involved in wars of which we have little or no interest. Our children are coming back in body bags. Our nation is bankrupt over these wars, and if you open your mouth, you get targeted. And if they don't beat you at the polls, they'll put you in prison... It's an objective assessment that no one will have the courage to speak about. They're controlling much of our foreign policy. They're influencing much of our domestic policy. Wolfowitz as Under Secretary of Defense manipulated President Bush #2 back into Iraq. They pushed definitely, definitely to try and get Bush, before he left, to move into Iran. We're conducting expansionist policy of Israel and everybody's afraid to say it. They control much of the media..."

After successive high-profile attacks by the Syrian rebel militias this week, some are claiming they are increasing in effectiveness. But the opposition is still an unorganized mess, its just that now the arms they’re receiving are facilitating more carnage. - The rebels on Thursday bombed the Palace of Justice as well as a police station in downtown Damascus. The day before, militias attacked a pro-Assad television station, killing a number of civilians. And late on Monday, the so-called Free Syrian Army bombed the barracks of the Republican Guard close to the palace of President Bashar al-Assad. The opposition is still a disparate, rag tag group of localized militias with conflicting agendas and many of whom are Sunni extremists or have ties to al-Qaeda. They are increasingly to blame for massacres of civilians as well. Nothing has changed, except that the weapons being funneled to them by the US, European Union, Turkey, and the Gulf Arab states are being put to use.

Turkish Prime Minister Erdogan called Syria a threat to Turkey and unveiled new rules of engagement for the military this week. If Syrian troops approach the border, they will now be targeted, writes Cengiz Candar. But the size and scope of this vaguely-defined area leaves the final decision to Turkey. - NATO stands with Turkey. It strongly denounced the Syrian regime and stated that the shooting down of the Turkish plane was unacceptable. This is the only thing that came out of the NATO meeting, which was called after Turkey invoked Article 4 [of NATO’s founding document]. Nothing else was expected. But, since NATO long ago declared that an intervention — like the one that took place in Libya — would be impossible in Syria, the only option left for NATO was to condemn Syria verbally and express solidarity with Turkey. However, as an added benefit, NATO’s involvement in the situation shows that Turkey is firmly anchored within the NATO system, despite earlier suspicions that Turkey might be acting autonomously, or even reorienting its political axis. At the outset of the Libya crisis, Prime Minister Erdogan’s first reaction was: “What is NATO doing there?” Today, however, when Turkey rang NATO’s doorbell when it conflicted with Syria, Turkey seems to be openly happy with NATO’s solidarity. These two reactions come from the same government.

A Palestinian civilian holds a demolition order of his home
issued by the Israeli municipality of Jerusalem, which also
ordered the demolition of another 4 houses in the area

Israeli violations of international law and humanitarian law in the OPT continued during the reporting period (21 – 27 June 2012):

● During the reporting period, IOF killed 8 Palestinians, including one civilian, and wounded 32 others, including two women and a child, in the Gaza Strip. In the West Bank, two Palestinian civilians were wounded by IOF.
● In the Gaza Strip, on 22 June 2012, a member of the Palestinian resistance was killed when an Israeli drone fired a missile at a number of members of the Palestinian resistance in al-Boreij refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip.
● On the same day, another member of the Palestinian resistance was killed and two others were wounded when an Israeli drone fired a missile at them in the northern Gaza Strip.
● On 23 June 2012, an Israeli warplane fired a missile at a training site of the ‘Izziddin al-Qassam Brigades (the armed wing of Hamas) in the northern Gaza Strip. As a result, 8 Palestinian civilians living nearby houses, including a woman and a child, sustained bruises. Additionally, 5 houses were damaged.
● On the same day, an Israeli warplane fired a missile at the maintenance center in al-Saraya security compound in the center of Gaza City. As a result, 10 Palestinians, including 4 civilians, were wounded, and a number of buildings and shops were damaged.
● On the same day, an Israeli warplane fired a missile at a training site of the Palestinian resistance in Deir al-Balah town in the central Gaza Strip. As a result, 3 Palestinian civilians, including a woman, were injured, and 6 houses and two cars were damaged. [...]

Noam Sheizaf: The profitable occupation, and why it is never discussed

WikiLeaks founder claims he will ignore note as 'asylum law takes precedence over extradition law' - WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has said he will 'almost certainly' ignore a surrender notice issued to him by Scotland Yard. Assange has been inside the Embassy of Ecuador in London for nine days since seeking political asylum as part of his bid to avoid extradition to Sweden, where he is wanted for questioning about alleged sex offences. Assange told the BBC's Newsnight programme that he will not be heeding the note delivered by officers from the Metropolitan Police yesterday morning, telling him to attend Belgravia police station at 11.30am today.

Jason Ditz: Assange ‘Almost Certainly’ Won’t Go to London Police Station for Extradition

A spokesman for U.S. Special Operations Command (USSOCOM) has provided statements to publications in New Hampshire and Oregon indicating that information regarding domestic drone activities provided by Public Intelligence is inaccurate, despite confirmations from the offices of two U.S. Senators. Following our publication last week of a map of current and proposed Department of Defense drone activities within the U.S., several journalists with local publications around the country wrote articles regarding drone activities that were listed in their area. David Brooks of the Nashua Telegraph wrote about the listing of New Hampshire’s Mt. Washington as the site of a USSOCOM drone activity involving small unmanned aerial vehicles including the Raven and Wasp. Corey Pein of the Willamette Week wrote about a planned USSOCOM drone activity in Portland that was listed as utilizing the same types of drones.

House officials have some words of wisdom for the TSA: Don't pat down Beyonce. Seriously. After all, "she's not going to blow a plane up," says Rep. Mike Rogers, who heads the House Homeland Security Transportation Subcommittee. "There are certain people that are just so well-known that you've just got to use your common sense," he added during a meeting yesterday. Others cited as deserving of a free pass: Donald Rumsfeld and Henry Kissinger, the Los Angeles Times reports.

In the era of remote-controlled drones, invisible planes and microwave guns, no military innovation should come as a surprise. But among the array of new weapons none are more satisfying than a cannon that allows you to unleash bolts of lightning. - The Laser-Induced Plasma Channel (LIPC) cannon is currently being tested at Picatinny Arsenal, a key US Army research complex in New Jersey. "We never got tired of the lightning bolts zapping our simulated targets," says George Fischer, who heads the research team. The charge is created by emitting a laser pulse that charges the air, and forms a hugely destructive bolt of lighting. Engineers are now working on turning the prototype into a mobile cannon that can be mounted on aircraft and trucks, but the US Army has not yet ordered any devices. It is possible that despite the intimidation factor and its design elegance, the man-made lightning bolt will remain a prototype – at least for now.