A walkout by the public school teachers of Chicago demanding fair contracts and higher wages is in week two and Chicago's mayor seeks a court order to end the strike action. Press TV has conducted an interview with Stephen Lendman, writer and radio host in Chicago about the legitimacy of the strike and the sell off to corporations that prioritizes profit over kids' education. What follows is an approximate transcript of the interview.

Press TV: Does Rahm Emanuel have a case here against the striking teachers?
Lendman: He has no case whatever. Thank you so much, this is a big issue for me, not just because I live in Chicago, this is going on around the country and I'm in touch with people close to the teachers. This is an issue of a combination of study bosses, union bosses and corporate bosses waging a multi-decade war on labor. So we have a teacher issue in Chicago. Last year we had a public worker issue in Wisconsin. Wisconsin public workers rallied for two months during the winter of 2011 and that battle still goes on, it hasn't been resolved yet. A court threw out a law that was passed that ignited the workers.

What we have is a situation in Chicago and the media here and the national media in America; they simply mis-portray what's going on.

An armada of US and British naval power is massing in the Persian Gulf in the belief that Israel is considering a pre-emptive strike against Iran’s suspected nuclear weapons programme. - Cruisers, aircraft carriers and minesweepers from 25 nations are converging on the strategically important Strait of Hormuz in an unprecedented show of force as Israel and Iran move towards the brink of war. Western leaders are convinced that Iran will retaliate to any attack by attempting to mine or blockade the shipping lane through which passes around 18 million barrels of oil every day, approximately 35 per cent of the world’s oil traded by sea. A blockade would have a catastrophic effect on the fragile economies of Britain, Europe the United States and Japan, all of which rely heavily on oil and gas supplies from the Gulf. The Strait of Hormuz is one of the world’s most congested international waterways. It is only 21 miles wide at its narrowest point and is bordered by the Iranian coast to the north and the Oman to the south. In preparation for any pre-emptive or retaliatory action by Iran, warships from more than 25 countries, including the United States, Britain, France, Saudi Arabia and the UAE, will today begin an annual 12-day exercise.

Israeli Prime Minister has been granted air-time to dictate US foreign policy to American viewers in the latest indication that interests other than those of the American people drive American destiny. Make no mistake however, Netanyahu is not in America to represent the Israeli people, but rather the same corporate-financier interests of Wall Street and London that created and sustain him politically. [...] PM Netanyahu's latest propaganda tour of the US is nothing less than a blatant conspiracy against world peace - the premeditated fabrication of a war that puts at risk hundreds of millions of people and the survival of both Israel and Iran itself. Netanyahu and his corporate-financier compatriots hope that fear, terror, and ignorance prevail long before all the myths, lies, and propaganda wear off and the populations of the respective nations involved, Iran, America, and Israel, come to their senses and identify their real enemy - the corporate-financier elite who have driven half a century of conflict with the Iranian people. When these myths wear off, it will not be wars and the pursuit of hegemony that guide the hands of each nation's respective people, but a drive to both free themselves from the monopolies of these corporate-financier interests, and the pursuit of progress on their own terms, for their own benefit rather than for a manipulative elite.

Tony Cartalucci: Naming Names: Your Real Government
PolicyMic: Netanyahu Meet the Press Interview

A child has been questioned by the authorities solely because of his support for libertarian Ron Paul. Let alone that the video earned Justin Hallman an A+ with his teacher in his American Government class.

Here are the details of the case: Hallman put together the video, which focuses on Ron Paul, Anonymous, military drills taking place in American cities, and free speech for his high school government class. One month later, he was at his family home when FBI agents knocked on the door saying to Hallman's mother that "We need to talk to your son."

"They wanted me to be an informant, to possibly put my life in danger, to help them arrest and gain intel on occupy protesters and hackers."

The authorities also asked him about his support for Ron Paul and the Illuminati secret society. "They also asked me why I had talked to my teacher about the Illuminati. I told them it was just harmless talk about the 1776 Illuminati that formed from the enlightenment era. I said my teacher said they are/were terrorists and not to talk about them (this caused the FBI agents to look puzzled and they changed the subject very fast to Anonymous). In the end they finally left for an “important meeting,” he said. For Ron Paul supporters, the incident serves as yet another example of what the Paul campaign has faced all year long: threats, harassment, intimidation, verbal abuse, and silencing by the Republican establishment, mainstream media, and the government in an effort to put down the insurgent movement. Ron Paul supporters have long warned of the dangers of a police state (and regularly talk about the surging TSA budget in the aftermath of 9/11), so the FBI incident comes as no surprise. [Video]

In the past three years, IDF Chief of Staff Gabi Ashkenazi noted, US taxpayers have contributed more to the Israeli defense budget than Israeli taxpayers. - Since 2009, that amount is more than $11 billion. Explaining why money needs to be stolen from US taxpayers and given to the only nuclear state in the Middle East, despite the fact that Israeli leaders work directly against US interests – especially when they try to pressure us to launch discretionary wars – is getting harder even for hawks to do.

Before he was involved in the making of a noxious video that provided an excuse for anti-American riots in the Middle East, and before he was convicted of federal bank fraud, Nakoula Basseley Nakoula was arrested on charges relating to the making of phencyclidine (PCP). In recent days, we've learned that Nakoula used 14 different aliases in a complex check kiting scheme. We've learned that Nakoula was sentenced to 21 months in federal custody for the affair. According to The Smoking Gun, Nakoula was released from the the United States Penitentiary in Lompoc, California in September, 2010... The punishment was relatively gentle, even though it wasn't Nakoula's first encounter with the law. That's because Nakoula had decided to become a federal informant.

The recent anti-Islam film insulting the prophet of Islam has caused Muslims' anger across the globe. Muslims throughout the world have staged protests to condemn the provocative blasphemous movie. The producer of the sacrilegious movie had reportedly been financially supported by a group of Jews. Press TV has conducted an interview with Dr. Webster Griffin Tarpley, author and historian to further discuss the topic.

Patrick Henningsen: 'Mohammed Film is a PR stunt designed to polarize cultures' - Video - "Sam Bacile"'s enraging "Mohammed film" has caused an uproar in Libya, Egypt and the Middle East region, but Patrick Henningsen, analyst from the UK Column outlines to where this film has originated from, and what its true function really is - a sophisticated and expensive piece of cointelpro PR, a film which was financed to the tune of millions of dollars. The byproduct of this film is that the so-called 'clash of civilizations' narrative has been bolstered, which will give globalists more ammunition to institute a 'divide and rule' policy internationally.

Lizzie Phelan: How imperialists have succeeded with an Islamophobic film in diverting attention from their crimes
Glenn Greenwald: US media angrily marvels at the lack of Muslim gratitude

German government has dismissed Israeli pressure to obstruct the probable sale of two attack submarines to Egypt, saying no country is entitled to ‘veto’ Berlin’s decisions. - "No country in the world has the right of veto to decisions taken by the German government," Defence Minister Thomas de Maiziere told the German daily Frankfurter Rundschau on Saturday when asked to comment on Israel’s pressure on Berlin to cancel the deal. He said the transaction to sell the two Type 209 attack submarines to Egypt could not be affected by ‘instability’ in the North African country that is experiencing the first months of its fledgling democracy with Mohamed Morsi at the helm. The remarks come two weeks after commander in chief of the Egyptian Navy Osama al-Gindi first revealed the agreement to buy two conventional diesel-electric submarines from Germany, sparking outrage in Tel Aviv.

AWIP: Israel gets its 4th German-made nuke-capable submarine (05/04/12)

The US Navy is leading its largest-ever war games in the Persian Gulf, with warships from 25 countries being deployed in the region. Tehran, in return, is preparing for its biggest air defense war game in the history of Islamic Republic next month. - The countries that deployed the largest number of warships for the 12-day training mission are the US, Britain, France, Saudi Arabia and the UAE. The exact number of aircraft carriers, battleships and submarines taking part is unclear. Three American aircraft carriers out of the four currently in commission are reportedly gathering in the Persian Gulf for the training. USS Enterprise, USS John C. Stennis, USS Dwight D. Eisenhower have reportedly arrived. The USS George Washington is believed to be on patrol in the Pacific Ocean but its exact whereabouts are a mystery. It was sighted near the island of Guam one week ago, and the air carrier’s Facebook page claims that it is still in the Pacific. But since the ship can travel at over 30 knots, it could be on its way to the Persian Gulf.

Before he died on Sept. 8, Adnan Farhan Abdul Latif had spent close to 4,000 days and nights in the American prison at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba. He was found unconscious, alone in his cell, thousands of miles from home and family in Yemen.

Eleven years ago, he found himself in Afghanistan at the wrong place and the wrong time. It was an unusual set of events that took him there. Years earlier Mr. Latif had been badly injured in a car accident in Yemen. His skull was fractured; his hearing never quite recovered. He traveled to Jordan, seeking medical treatment at a hospital in Amman; then, following the promise of free medical care from a man he met there, journeyed to Pakistan, and eventually to Afghanistan. Like so many men still imprisoned at Guantánamo, Mr. Latif was fleeing American bombing — not fighting — when he was apprehended by the Pakistani police near the Afghan border and turned over to the United States military. It was at a time when the United States was paying substantial bounties for prisoners. Mr. Latif, a stranger in a strange land, fit the bill. He was never charged with a crime. [...] Three months ago, the Supreme Court declined to hear the appeals of Mr. Latif and six other detainees, who pleaded for the court to restore its promise of meaningful review of their cases. But what is unsaid in all of the court rulings is that Mr. Latif was imprisoned not by evidence of wrongdoing, but by accident of birth. In Guantánamo’s contorted system of justice, the decision to detain him indefinitely turned on his citizenship, not on his conduct. With Mr. Latif’s death, there are now 56 Yemenis who have been cleared for release by the Guantánamo Review Task Force since 2009 but who remain in prison. President Obama, citing general security concerns, has imposed a moratorium on any and all transfers to Yemen, regardless of age, innocence or infirmity. It is fair, and regrettable, to assume that some of these detainees will die there as well.

France Says No to Genetically Modified Crops, No to Fracking: the ban specifically targets Monsanto's MON810 maize, as it is the only GMO currently allowed in Europe. - France will maintain its ban on genetically modified crops [GMOs] and will ban fracking, politicians announced during an environmental conference held in Paris Friday and Saturday. "The government is keeping its moratorium on the cultivation of GMO seeds currently authorized in the European Union," Prime Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault told the conference in Paris on Saturday. Reuters reports that the ban specifically targets Monsanto's MON810 maize, as it is the only GMO currently allowed in Europe. The ban was originally enacted in 2008, was overturned by a French court in 2011, and was reinstated in March.

But its thought another condom, submitted by the second alleged victim, does. - In a 100-page document shown to Assange’s lawyers, it was revealed that the torn prophylactic, having been examined by staff at two forensic laboratories, did not bear conclusive evidence that Assange had ever worn it, the Daily Mail reported on Sunday. Assange’s lawyers said the lack of DNA evidence on the condom, which was allegedly used during a supposed August 2010 sexual assault, indicates that a fake one could have been submitted. The woman in question, now aged 33, claims to have been molested by Assange at her flat in Stockholm. She says that at one point he deliberately broke a condom in order to have unprotected sex with her.

The Register: Key evidence in Assange case dissolves
SMH: Forensic experts have failed to find crucial DNA evidence in the sexual assault case against Julian Assange

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has been offered an Aboriginal Nations passport in an inner-city Sydney ceremony after he was "abandoned" by Australian authorities. - His father, John Shipton, accepted the document at a celebration in Darlington today. He said his son had been jilted by the Australian government, and the passport ceremony - which follows Ecuador's decision to grant Mr Assange diplomatic asylum - was a show of solidarity. "Australian governments of every colour are happy to abandon their citizens when they're in difficult situations overseas," he said. Mr Shipton said his son had requested a change to the wording of the document but embraced the cause. "Julian has always expressed the desire that the Aboriginal people of Australia be recognised as sovereign," he said. "It is a point of view that is becoming more accepted."

The US and European elite rarely hide their annoyance at the growing scale of Chinese investment in the developing world but in Nicaragua, it is being welcomed with open arms. This week a visit by officials from a state owned Chinese satellite manufacturer concluded with announcements from the firm and Nicaraguan agencies, that the central American country could soon be in possession of the region's only satellite.