What is key here is not just shooting at targets, but hearing how we fight every day to protect the Jewish state.

Norman Solomon is a 65-year-old real estate agent from Los Angeles, a world away from the West Bank settlement firing range where he is spending the day learning to shoot a gun. "We came to show the kids how the Israelis protect themselves and to have a good time," he tells AFP in between shots at white target paper and photos of men sporting the chequered keffiyeh scarf worn by many Palestinians. Solomon, a Jewish American, is spending a couple of hours of his holiday at the Caliber 3 shooting school in the West Bank settlement bloc of Gush Etzion, south of Jerusalem. The school was set up in 2002 and has for years provided weapons training to security professionals including soldiers and bodyguards. But in the past three years it has also opened its doors to civilians, offering a two-hour "tourist course" to those seeking an unusual holiday experience. The company says it offers "the values of Zionism with the excitement and enjoyment of shooting which makes the activity more meaningful." Its website touts the course as a "special encounter that can not be experienced anywhere else except on the battlefield." It's a major draw for American tourists, with hundreds flocking to the site near the settlement of Efrat for a swift theoretical introduction to handling firearms followed by a hands-on shooting session supervised by instructors. "It's a fun experience for the whole family," said Rachel Frogel, a young mother holding a baby in her arms.

Caliber 3: Exciting new program for tourists

The National Security Agency is storing all electronic communications and analyzing them in real time, according to former NSA employee turned whistleblower William Binney, who warns that the federal agency has a Google-style capability to search all conversations for keywords. - Since 2008, the NSA has had the legal power to intercept all phone calls, emails and text messages sent by American citizens without probable cause. However, although long suspected, the agency has never admitted that it is analyzing the content of such messages, conceding only that persons, dates and locations are part of the snooping process. However, in a recent sworn declaration to the United States District Court for the Northern District of California, Binney, a former NSA employee with the signals intelligence agency within the DoD, divulges that the federal agency, “has the capability to do individualized searches, similar to Google, for particular electronic communications in real time through such criteria as target addresses, locations, countries and phone numbers, as well as watch-listed names, keywords, and phrases in email.”

NetworkWorld: NSA Building Dossiers on Every American

Almost immediately after a bus full of Israeli tourists exploded outside of the airport in Burgas, Bulgaria, both Israel and the United States began hurling accusations that Iran was behind the violence. According to the Bulgarian Foreign Ministry, at least six people were killed and approximately thirty were wounded. In a formal statement, President Barack Obama condemned what he called “today’s barbaric terrorist attack on Israeli’s in Bulgaria.” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu went much further in his condemnation and stated that “All signs point to Iran.” While there was no immediate statement from Iran, Netanyahu was quick to point out that the Bulgarian bus explosion came on the 18th anniversary of a bombing that took place in Buenos Aires, Argentina, at the Argentine Jewish Center that killed 85 people. Argentine prosecutors also blamed this attack on Iran. Netanyahu further stated that “Over the last few months we have seen Iran’s attempts to attack Israelis in Thailand, India, Georgia, Kenya, Cyprus, and other countries.”

Stephen Lendman: Israel Likely Behind Bulgaria False Flag

Russia and China have vetoed a United Nations Security Council resolution that threatened Syria with more sanctions.

It was the third time in nine months that Russia and China used their powers as permanent members of the 15-nation council to block resolutions on Syria. There were 11 votes in favor of the resolution. Russia and China voted against it, while South Africa and Pakistan abstained from voting. Addressing the council, Russian Representative to the UN Vitaly Churkin accused the Western members of the UNSC of attempting to "fan the flames of confrontation in the Security Council."

"The draft resolution which was voted on was biased. The threat of sanctions was leveled exclusively at the government of Syria, and does not reflect the realities in the country today. It's especially ambiguous in light of what happened with the grave terrorist attack that took place in Damascus", Churkin added.

British Foreign Secretary William Hague, who drafted the resolution, earlier said the worsening crisis confirmed "the urgent need for a Chapter 7 resolution of the UN Security Council on Syria." Chapter 7 allows the 15-member council to authorize actions ranging from diplomatic and economic sanctions to military intervention. US officials have said they are talking about sanctions on Syria, not military intervention, but Russia and China strongly believe allowing such a resolution to pass could create a repeat of the so-called 'Libya scenario.' A Russia-backed resolution was scheduled to be presented to the UNSC as well, but Churkin said the draft will not be put to a vote, after some members of the Council refused to even discuss it.

Testimony of UN Expert 'Irrelevant' Insists Judge. - Manning’s lawyer, David E. Coombs, argued that Manning’s mistreatment, including nearly a year in solitary confinement, was broadly unlawful, and promised to file a 100-page motion detailing the conditions suffered at Quantico. But military Judge Denise Lind blocked Coombs’ effort to call a key witness to that effect, UN torture investigator Juan Mendez. Mendez had tried to get unrestricted access to Manning in 2011, but was blocked by the military. Judge Lind called Mendez’ testimony as an expert on torture “irrelevant” to the question of whether or not the military’s treatment of Manning was actually “unlawful” under military rules. This will force Coombs to rely on other evidence about Manning’s mistreatment in the case, but might suggest Lind is disinterested in this line of argument.

Jason Ditz: Manning Prosecutors Change Tack Again: Harm ‘Not Relevant’

Omar Suleiman, Egypt's former spy chief and a confidant of deposed leader Hosni Mubarak, has died in the U.S., months after his unsuccessful presidential bid to restore the old guard to power following a national revolution, state TV reported Thursday.

"He was fine. It came suddenly while he was having medical tests in Cleveland," Hussein Kamal, a Suleiman aide who did not give a cause of death, told Reuters. Suleiman, 76, epitomized the police state that repressed Egypt for three decades. He was a Washington ally on countering terrorism and a key negotiator with Palestinians and Israelis. Hastily named vice president in the final days of Mubarak's rule, Suleiman was overwhelmed, failing to grasp the ideals of the uprising that ultimately forced the military to seize power in February 2011. Aftert that, Suleiman disappeared from public view for months, resurfacing as a presidential candidate in a race polarized by Islamists and remnants of the Mubarak regime. His campaign ended in April when the national election commission ruled that he lacked enough authorized petition signatures on his registration form. Much of his campaign centered on warning that Islamists wanted to turn Egypt into a religious state. Mohamed Morsi, a candidate for the Muslim Brotherhood, was elected president in June. A well-tailored spy who was credited with saving Mubarak's life in a 1995 assassination attempt in Ethiopia, Suleiman had been criticized by human rights groups for allowing his vast intelligence network to torture suspected Islamic militants. He had close relations with the CIA, especially following the 9/11 attacks in America.

American defense officials are reportedly in talks with their Israeli counterparts plotting to overthrow the government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. - The New York Times reported on Wednesday that US officials worked on contingency plans for a collapse of the Syrian government, focusing particularly on the chemical weapons that “Syria is thought to possess.” The talks focused on whether Israel might move to "destroy Syrian weapons facilities," two US administration officials said. An unnamed White House official also said US President Barack Obama’s national security adviser, Thomas Donilon, was in Israel over the weekend to discuss the Syrian unrest. This is while Russia and China on Thursday blocked a UN Security Council resolution against Syria, which has been the scene of violence since March 2011.

PressTV: US violates UN charter by arming Syrian gangs - Video

The House of Representatives on Thursday approved $606 billion in "defense" spending for next year after two days of debate that saw lawmakers from both parties line up to condemn the ongoing war in Afghanistan as a waste of lives and money. - Lawmakers in the Republican-dominated House voted 326-90 to approve the annual defense appropriations bill, which includes a Pentagon base budget of $518 billion plus $87.7 billion in spending for the Afghanistan war and other overseas operations, according to the House Appropriations Committee.

Jason Ditz: House Approves Massive $606 Billion Military Spending Bill
Stop$30Billion.org: Spend Our Money At Home, Not on the Israeli Military