Bev Harris talks to Lew Rockwell about why they need to be delegitimized.

Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney told Ohio voters Tuesday he would win the November election, despite a new poll that shows his rival with a significant lead in the Buckeye State. Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine (R) said he didn't believe the margin between the candidates was so wide. "It's going to end up close," DeWine said. [Right, they're confident they can steal the 2012 'election' through dirty money from corpora-terrorists' PACs, GOP voter-suppression laws, and rightwing thuggery from 'True the Vote' sociopaths at the polls. Not that the Lord of the Killer Drone, Barack 'Chains We Can Believe In NDAA' Obama, is much better - he's not. --LRP]

The MEK is a private army used by the CIA and the Mossad to fight a covert terrorist war against Iran. - Its position on the American official list of terrorist organizations was an annoyance to MEK leaders, but has had no effect on the MEK's ability to commit violence against innocent Iranians. The Official Story accepted by both Right and Left in Washington is that the MEK was able to buy its way off the list by hiring expensive lobbyists. Expensive lobbyists were indeed hired, a collection of the vilest players hanging around American politics. How do you think the poor MEK managed to pay these many millions of dollars? No doubt money from the CIA and/or State Department. [...] The biggest joke of all is that the MEK hates the American government only slightly less than it hates the Iranian government, and will doubtless start attacking Americans again as soon as it is convenient.

The drone war has given rise to "anxiety and psychological trauma among civilian communities".

A new report by researchers at the Stanford and NYU schools of law has found that the drone program is “terrorizing” the people of Pakistan and that it is having “counterproductive” effects. The report’s conclusions are based on nine months of intensive research – including two on-site investigations in Pakistan, more than 130 interviews with victims and their relatives, eye-witness and expert accounts, and a deep review of media reporting. The US drone war in Pakistan not only kills and injures civilians, the report finds, but it traumatizes the population and has led people to keep their children home from school and to avoid any large grouping of people, however innocent. It also says the drone war has helped recruitment efforts of extremist groups like al-Qaeda. The report also finds that there is strong evidence that drone strikes have targeted rescuers running towards bombed sites in follow-up attacks, something Christof Heyns, UN special rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions, has said would constitute war crimes.

AWIP Google Search: pakistan drone
Medea Benjamin: Obama and Drone Warfare: Will Americans Speak Out?
Bill Van Auken: Obama’s role in the selection of drone missile targets

Terence Bunch: Afghanistan - the United States, and the Drone War in Pakistan - To date [21st December 2011] there have been over 300 separate remote attacks against the sovereign state of Pakistan by the United States with little or no evidence that the United States is actually pursuing a security agenda. In its 'drone war' against Pakistan, the United States continues to struggle with major and chronic intelligence failures that originate from the core failed ideology of the so-called War on Terror. Here, the United States is at war with an entity it can neither identify, control, manage nor influence. And it exploits these difficulties ruthlessly. In this image, a small child is recovered from the wreckage of a drone strike. To date, 175 children have been killed by the United States war-nexus in Pakistan and on each occasion, United States diplomatic staff have elected simply to lie about their identities, confirming an ultra-nationalist agenda deep in the heart of US foreign policy.

Last Friday, Pakistani police and paramilitary forces violently broke up protests by hundreds of thousands of people called by the Pakistani government against the anti-Islamic Innocence of Muslims video. Police left 23 dead and injured more than 200. The protests in Pakistan came as outrage erupted throughout the Muslim world over this video. The mass response to the protests reflected the seething anger among the Pakistani people against American imperialism. Washington is occupying Afghanistan and since 2009 has expanded the war into neighbouring Pakistan, with the collaboration of the Pakistani government in Islamabad. [...] In the past several months, Islamabad has been busy mending fences with the US after the diplomatic spat the followed the US killing of Pakistani soldiers last November. On Monday, Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari met US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. A senior spokesman told the media that the situation was “moving upwards, in a positive direction.” Similarly, last week Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar made an official four-day visit to Washington to discuss improving US-Pakistani relations with Clinton.

Helen Thomas: "Mr. President, do you know of any country in the Middle East that has nuclear weapons?"
Israel stooge Obama: "With respect to nuclear weapons, I don't want to speculate. [...]"

From New York, US President Barack Obama told the United Nations General Assembly that he advocates a diplomatic resolution to the Iranian nuclear conflict and condemns the anti-Islamic film that has sparked violent protests overseas.

Tuesday morning’s speech before the General Assembly marked President Obama’s last scheduled international address before he is up for re-election in November, and he used the opportunity to solidify the United States’ stance on several foreign policy issues while also clarifying his take on the Iranian nuclear conflict and the American-made movie that continues to fuel fiery rallies across the Muslim world.

President Obama began his address with words of admiration for Chris Stevens, the US ambassador slain earlier this month at a consulate building in Benghazi, and told the United Nations that while Mr. Steven’s diplomatic work represented America’s ideals as a whole, his execution has also affected those tied to not just the United States, but the United Nations as well.

John Glaser: Obama to UN: US 'Will Do What [Israel Says] It Must' on Iran
Bill Van Auken: Obama uses UN speech to threaten war against Iran

The Water Authority has approved a large rise in the quota for agriculture in 2013. - The Water Authority has approved a large, 25 million cubic meter, increase in the water quota for agriculture in 2013, from 455 million cubic meters to 480 million cubic meters. The Water Authority said that the increase was possible because Israel was emerging from its water crisis of the past decade. "Efficient management of the water sector, on the basis of the large increase in the amounts of desalinated water, continuing conservation by the public, and the extraordinary amounts of treated water recycled for agriculture, has enabled the Water Authority Council to make these decisions, which indicate the improvement and gradual emergence of the water sector from the crisis it has been in for the past decade," said the Water Authority in a press release. The Water Authority Council also approved another large increase, of tens of percent, in water allocated for nature to 25 million cubic meters in 2013.

[Editor's Comment:] "What they're after is the Litani River and the Bekaa Valley. Both will they take by force. They will divert the Litani, fill Lake Tiberias and strengthen the Jordan River. Their ill-gotten land will stretch from the Nile in the West to the Euphrates in the East. The Kingdom of Jordan will be forced to cede land – all of the Jordan Valley will be taken from this fated kingdom. War with Lebanon and Syria is inevitable." (09/2009)

Jason Godesky: Israel’s Water Wars
AWIP: Israel hogging Gaza water sources
AWIP: Gaza water too contaminated to drink, say charities
Mitchell Prothero & Peter Beaumont: Israel Will Go to War over Water

Insurgents in the Syrian capital Damascus have attacked Press TV staff, killing the Iranian English-language news network’s correspondent Maya Naser, and injuring its Damascus Bureau Chief Hosein Mortada. - Naser came under attack while reporting on air just hours ago. He was shot and killed by a sniper. Press TV and Al-Alam Damascus Bureau Chief Hosein Mortada also came under attack and was injured.

“We hold Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Qatar, who provide weapons and militants to kill civilians, military personnel and journalists, responsible for killing Maya,” Press TV’s News Room Director Hamid Reza Emadi said. “Press TV will pursue the matter of the murder of Maya and would not let those who killed the correspondent feel like they can kill the media people and get away with it,” he emphasized.

PressTV: Press TV, Al-Alam Damascus bureau chief injured in Damascus

Yesterday after the Syrian Army cleaned al-Arqoub area in Aleppo of Islamist's terrorists, and Damascus countryside, I posted a vedio for Iblis Adnan Al-Aroor which was nothing more than a desoerate call to his thugs in Syria to "Kill 1, 2 3 ...or 4 ...burn Damascus ...burn the villages ...!", begging the Syrian army to defect. Today a twin blasts hit Damasucs near the headquarters of the army general staff in Umayyad Square. The attacks are nothing but a desprate attempt to cover-up the daily defeats in Aleppo, its also a bloody message to national Syrian opposition meeting in Damascus. Minister Al-Zoubi pointed out that the terrorist act took place in an important site but the terrorists as usual failed to achieve their goals, asserting that the aggressive project targeting Syria is integral and has its tools, means and persons therefore we should expect such kind of barbarian acts as we are facing a war...

Lebanese army has intercepted a vehicle laden with military equipment which was destined for the anti-government insurgents in Syria. - The army said on Tuesday that the vehicle was seized at a checkpoint near the al-Qaa border crossing in east Lebanon. Five Syrian nationals, who had been illegally residing in Lebanon, were also on board. The equipment seized includes hand grenades and communication hardware. Since the beginning of unrest in Syria, Lebanese army has seized a large number of consignments of weapons and ammunitions bound for insurgents in Syria. In April, Lebanese authorities held a Sierra Leone-registered ship, which was carrying weapons for Syrian insurgents. Damascus has repeatedly said that the arms used by insurgents are being smuggled from Lebanon into the country.

Tony Cartalucci: NATO Terrorists Bomb School in Syria
Chris Floyd: In Aleppo Once: Old Allies Reunite in Syria to Foment Future War

President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has called for a total structural overhaul of the United Nations Security Council in order to facilitate the observance of the rule of law in international interactions. - Ahmadinejad made the remarks at the high-level meeting of the 67th session of the General Assembly.

“Today, we see that some veto holders remain silent over the atomic bombs of the fake Zionist regime or support the regime, but at the same time they hinder the scientific achievements of other nations,” Ahmadinejad noted. “By making false reference to the UN Charter and by misusing (the concept of) liberty, they remain silent over insults to the sanctities of humanity and the divine prophets or they lend support to offenders, infringe on the freedom of others, and allow insults against sanctities and people,” the Iranian president added.

Ahmadinejad censured the hegemonic powers for imposing their will on nations and violating the inalienable rights and liberties of the people of the world under the pretext of defending freedom and international security. He went on to say that all governments must be treated equally and should be committed to international law. The Iranian president also enumerated 10 proposals of the Islamic Republic of Iran for the better observance of the rule of law in international relations.

PressTV: UN beyond repair; Let NAM take over

Madrid riot police have cleared Plaza de Neptune of protesters, with about 200 officers securing the surrounding blocks. At least 60 people have been injured and 26 arrested as police used batons and rubber bullets to disperse the crowd.

Local emergency services have confirmed that at least 60 people, including eight policemen, were injured in clashes between police and protesters, El Pais reports. One of the wounded is believed to be in critical condition, while one of the injured policemen suffered a severe concussion. Riot police dispersed the protesters, dragging some who had tried to get through police lines by their arms and legs. An uneasy order was restored and reinforcements were brought in to try and disperse the crowd.

Thirteen of those arrested have been detained after a group of protesters tried to break through the police barrier for the first time. Further arrests were carried out during the following clashes, bringing the total number of arrests to some 60, El Pais reported. Authorities estimate that about 6,000 people took part in Tuesday’s protest. Over 1,300 riot police officers were deployed in the capital, which is more than a half the country's riot police force. Protests organizers have decided to repeat the protest and block the Parliament once again on Wednesday.

Thousands of activists have congregated in Madrid’s Plaza de Neptune, 100 meters from the Congress building, to protest Spanish austerity measures. The demonstrators pledged to march around the building, and called for new elections. Metal barriers have been placed around the building to block access from every possible direction. Demonstrators waved banners with the slogan ‘No’ written on them, in reference to the austerity policies of the Spanish government. Protesters said that today is a key day to level criticism against politicians and the Spanish government. The city stationed armored police vehicles bumper-to-bumper around the parliament building, and announced that around 1,300 police would be deployed to counter the protesters.

Reuters: Spain prepares more austerity, protesters battle police
PressTV: Spain’s economy shrinks quickly in third quarter