The lawyer defending Bradley Manning against charges that he "aided the enemy" by disclosing state secrets to the whistleblower website WikiLeaks, is arguing that US soldiers are being treated more harshly in application of the law than terrorists. - David Coombs, the civilian lawyer who has been representing the soldier for the past two years after he was arrested in Iraq on suspicion of being the WikiLeaks source, will be pressing his case in a military court next week. In a motion that he has lodged with the court as part of the lead up to a full court martial, he warns that unless the "aiding the enemy" charge is clarified it would leave Manning in a more onerous legal position than terrorists facing exactly the same count. "It defies all logic to think that a terrorist would fare better in an American court for aiding the enemy than a US soldier would," Coombs writes in the motion.

Glenn Greenwald: There Is Nothing Brave About Murdering Innocents by Remote Control. - The Pentagon is considering awarding a Distinguished Warfare Medal to drone pilots who work on military bases often far removed from the battlefield...[Army Institute of Heraldry chief Charles] Mugno said most combat decorations require “boots on the ground” in a combat zone, but he noted that “emerging technologies” such as drones and cyber combat missions are now handled by troops far removed from combat. The Pentagon has not formally endorsed the medal, but Mugno’s institute has completed six alternate designs for commission approval. The proposed medal would rank between the Distinguished Flying Cross and the Soldier’s Medal for exceptional conduct outside a combat zone. So medals would be awarded for sitting safely ensconced in a bunker on U.S. soil and launching bombs with a video joystick at human beings thousands of miles away. Justifying drone warfare requires pretending that the act entails some sort of bravery, so the U.S. military is increasingly taking steps tocreate the facade of warrior courage for drone pilots: The Air Force has been working to bridge the divide between these two groups of fliers. First off, drone operators are called pilots, and they wear the same green flight suits as fighter pilots, even though they never get in a plane. Their operating stations look like dashboards in a cockpit.

This year's budget deficit will exceed $1 trillion for the fourth straight year. - The US budget deficit grew by nearly $60 billion in June, and is on track to exceed $1 trillion for the fourth straight year. By the end of this fiscal year, which ends on Sept. 30, the full budget deficit will total $1.17 trillion, according to the Congressional Budget Office. Congress and the Obama administration spend too much in every dimension, but paying for the warfare state makes up an enormous chunk of these massive deficits. The financial cost of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan alone account for more than $4 trillion. The Pentagon estimated in February of last year that the war in Afghanistan costs $300 billion every day. That’s more than the average American earns in his lifetime, for a war that was fought for political repute and which is collectively recognized as an utter failure. More than a quarter of what Washington spends money on every year is spent on the warfare state. That’s about 65% of all discretionary spending.

The US Navy has unexpectedly dispatched a fourth aircraft carrier to the Persian Gulf, along with a fleet of underwater drones in what is being considered just the latest move in a series of escalations leading towards a potential war with Iran.

The deployment of dozens of small, unmanned submarine-like watercraft was confirmed by the Los Angeles Times this week, which cites military officials speaking on condition of anonymity. This particular type of craft, unmanned SeaFox submersible, are reported to be sent to the Gulf so that the US military can detect and destroy any mines that may be planted in the waterway by Iranian officials if they escalate efforts to block the Strait of Hormuz, a strategically important narrow stretch of water that exists as an immensely important conduit for any resources being moved in or out of the Middle East. The Times says that the subs, at only 4 feet long and fewer than 100 pounds apiece, can move at speeds up to six knots at depths of 300 feet. The price-tag is reported to be $100,000 each, which includes an intricate waterproof television camera and a homing sonar system. The US rush-ordered a shipment in May in a deal with Germany under the direct of Marine Gen. James Mattis, the top US commander in the Middle East. It is reported that a fleet of SeaFox subs were deployed overseas several weeks back, but has only been confirmed now. The United States has already sent three massive aircraft carriers to the waterways outside of Iran, including the USS Enterprise, the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower and the USS Abraham Lincoln, and will now add the USS John C Stennis to that fleet in August. Unlike these behemoth ships equipped with billions worth of weaponry and service personnel, America’s other new addition to the battlefront is invisible to those on land and can be controlled from anywhere in the world.

Jerusalem Post: Israeli Deputy PM Demands US Toughen Stance on Iran
Press TV/ICH: US Geo-political Wars May Lead to WWIII Video + Transcript
Jason Ditz: US Announces More Iran Sanctions, Sparking War Fears
Stephen Lendman: Pressure Building for More Middle East War

Syrian security forces have reportedly confiscated weapons, some of them Israeli-made, from armed groups in the country’s violence-hit city of Hama, Press TV reports. - The arms were caught up in al-Treimseh neighborhood on Thursday, an unnamed source said. An unnamed official said that the armed groups have committed a massacre of people in the same area. The residents of the area called on the army to put an end to the crimes committed by the armed groups. On Thursday, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Gennady Gatilov said Moscow will veto a Western-proposed draft resolution on Syria at the United Nations which will impose sanctions against Damascus. The United States and its European allies are seeking to impose diplomatic and economic sanctions on Damascus through the United Nations. Syria has been the scene of violence by armed groups since March 2011. The violence has claimed the lives of hundreds of people, including many security forces. Damascus blames “outlaws, saboteurs, and armed terrorist groups” for the unrest, asserting that it is being orchestrated from abroad.

PressTV: Terrorists committed al-Treimseh carnage: Syria
Russia Today: Up to 200 reported killed in Syrian village - Syrian opposition claims government forces stormed a village in the province of Hama on Thursday, killing up to 200 people. Numerous reports cite rebel activists who themselves quote local witnesses. State TV puts the blame on “terrorists”.

UN and government helicopter gunships have opened fire on suspected rebel positions in eastern DR Congo. - The attack against the M23 rebels took place north of the town of Goma, close to the border with Rwanda, the UN said. Correspondents say that it is rare for the UN to go on the offensive, and appears to be a sign they are running out of patience with the rebels. Last week, the rebels overran a UN base on the Ugandan border, killing one peacekeeper and forcing an evacuation. The Tutsi-led rebels, who took up arms in April as part of a mutiny led by Bosco "Terminator" Ntaganda, began taking positions north of Goma approximately a week ago. They have withdrawn from several towns they took over the weekend, but have threatened to retake them should civilians perceived to be aligned to them continue to be attacked. The rebels are accused by the UN and Congo of being backed by Rwanda.

The truth is, the anti-Semites got it right. We Jews have something planted in each one of us that makes us completely different from every group in the world. - July 12, 2012 "Times Of Israel" -- We Jews are a funny breed. We love to brag about every Jewish actor. Sometimes we even pretend an actor is Jewish just because we like him enough that we think he deserves to be on our team. We brag about Jewish authors, Jewish politicians, Jewish directors. Every time someone mentions any movie or book or piece of art, we inevitably say something like, “Did you know that he was Jewish?” That’s just how we roll. We’re a driven group, and not just in regards to the art world. We have, for example, AIPAC, which was essentially constructed just to drive agenda in Washington DC. And it succeeds admirably. And we brag about it. Again, it’s just what we do.

A New York-based Israeli is sentenced to prison for buying kidneys from vulnerable people in the Occupied Territories and selling them to patients in the US, while making USD millions in the process. - Israeli male, Levy Izhak Rosenbaum, who resides in Brooklyn, was sentenced to 30 months in jail on Wednesday by US District Judge Anne Thompson in Trenton, New Jersey for organ trafficking. “It’s a kind of trading in human misery,” Thompson said, adding that Rosenbaum “charged a fee” for kidneys and “used a complicated web of transactions” to finance his business. The justice also sentenced Rosenbaum to three years of supervised release and a fine of USD 5,000. She also ordered him to forfeit USD 420,000 that he had earned from the black-market kidney sales. US Attorney Paul J. Fishman, whose office prosecuted the case, said Rosenbaum was the first person to be convicted under the federal statute involving the black-market sales of kidneys from paid donors.

"A black market, where the moneyed sick can buy replacement parts from the less fortunate, is not only grim, it apportions lifesaving treatments unfairly, insults donor dignity, and violates the law," he said in a statement following the sentencing. "Prison is an appropriate punishment for Levy Rosenbaum's illegal capitalization on others' desperation. Although, Rosenbaum painted himself as a benevolent kidney matchmaker, the criminal profits went right into his pocket," Fishman added.

Failed Messiah: Haredi Man Gets 2 1/2 Years In Prison For Human Organ Trafficking
PressTV: Israelis run organ trafficking network
Daily Business Post: Israelis charged with human organ sales
Palestine Chronicle: [Another] Israeli Organ-trafficking Ring Busted (08/08/10)

A very rare melanistic or black tiger has been photographed in the core area of the Similipal National Park in Odisha. "We have physical evidence on existence of black tiger inside the core area of the tiger reserve in the Similipal National Park," Forest and Environment minister Debi Prasad Mishra has said.

Explaining the difference between an ordinary tiger and a black one, Regional Chief Conservator of Forest, Similipal, Anup Nayak said "The melanistic tiger also belongs to the Royal Bengal Tiger species and same in size as yellow ones." "The difference between the black and common type of tigers is that the former has wide black patches, while the black colour is prominent in the melanistic tiger," he said.

The state government in consultation with National Tiger Conservation Authority, Ministry of Environment and Forest has [...] decided to raise a Similipal Tiger Protection Force, the minister said. The force would comprise an assistant conservator of forest, three forest rangers, 19 foresters and 90 special tiger forest guards, he said. Out of the 90 special tiger forest guards, 63 would be regularly recruited and 27 from among local forest dwellers. The age of the forest guards to be deployed for protection of tigers would be below 40 years of age, Mishra said. The meeting also decided on improvement of eco-tourism, elephant habitats and flora and fauna of Similipal. Steps were also being taken to shift four villages located in the core area of the tiger reserve, the minister said in reply to a question.

Hundreds of food outlets at Olympic venues have been forced to take chips off the menu, because of a demand from sponsor McDonald's. - Olympic chiefs have banned all 800 food retailers at the 40 Games venues across Britain from dishing up chips because of 'sponsorship obligations.' The only loophole in the agreement, announced in a memo to staff, is that chips can be served with fish - safeguarding Britain's most famous dish. But is seems the bosses have predicted an outrage about the decision, emphasising that the move was not backed by the food retailers. The memo reads: 'Due to sponsorship obligations with McDonalds, Locog have instructed the catering team they are no longer allowed to serve chips on their own anywhere within the Olympic park. 'The only loophole to this is if it is served with fish.'

'Bus passengers were treated like terrorists and passing cars detained for hours as bomb squads, police and sniffer dogs descended on the M6 Motorway in England today. The culprit for this huge “terror scare” turned out to be an electronic cigarette.'

Stephen Lendman: UK Democracy in Terminal Decline