Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) said on Tuesday that he plans to introduce a resolution authorizing war with Iran if “nothing changes” regarding the Islamic Republic’s nuclear program by the end of the year. “If nothing changes in Iran, come September, October, I will present a resolution that will authorize the use of military force to prevent Iran from developing a nuclear bomb,” Graham told a “cheering” audience at a conference put on by the right-wing group Christians United for Israel, according to CQ Roll Call.

kenny's SideShow: Help Me Lord For I Am Insane - Did Lindsey Graham actually say that during a confession at the Christians United For Israel summit? Did his schizophrenic, multi-personality, sociopathic, psychopathic zionist self have a slip of the tongue and reveal his most secret innermost thoughts? It's too late Lindsey. You are well past the point of no return. No self respecting god will ever help you. There are about 1 in 300 people in this country who say they are members of CUFI or at least that's what the organization says. That's sort of scary. How did this ever happen? This is a fairly big cult that certainly acts against the best interests of humanity. Our government puts the little cults like the compound at Waco under siege and ends up burning most of them alive but the John Hagee faux christian/jewish cult church of wars for Israel and the bankers gets a pass. Cultists are sure judged differently in the zionist world.

In a virtually uninhabitable section of South Australia, a discovery has been made which could rock the world. Some are calling it the biggest discovery of oil in 50 years. Earlier this year, a company called Linc Energy announced that tests had revealed that there was a minimum of 3.5 billion barrels of oil equivalent sitting under more than 65,000 square kilometres of land that it owns in the Arckaringa Basin. But that is the minimum number. It has been projected that there could ultimately be up to 233 billion barrels of recoverable oil in the area. If that turns out to be accurate, the oil sitting under that land is worth approximately 20 trillion dollars, and it would be roughly equivalent to the total amount of oil sitting under the sands of Saudi Arabia. In essence, it would be a massive game changer.

Central planning in this country is getting completely and totally out of control. These days, you can hardly do anything without running into a suffocating web of red tape. For example, a small-time magician from Missouri that does magic shows for kids was absolutely horrified when he learned that the Obama administration is requiring him to submit a 32 page “disaster plan” for the rabbit that he uses in his shows. Yes, this is actually true. His name is Marty Hahne, and he thought that it was bad enough when the U.S. Department of Agriculture busted him for not having a “license” for his rabbit. He went out and acquired the proper “license” for his rabbit, but he never dreamed that eventually he would also have to submit a 32 page “disaster plan” for the same rabbit.

■ Israel has the highest poverty rate in the developed world, Haaretz concludes based on a new study by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). ■ The newspaper notes that with a poverty rate of 20.9 percent, Israel scores lowest out of 34 economically developed countries. The country also has one of the biggest gaps between its rich and poor in the developed world. ■ In the new report on income inequality, the OECD writes that data indicate economic crises have lowered incomes and capital in most countries. In addition, the organization concludes that inequality has increased more in the past three years than in the previous 12. ■ Only Chile, Mexico, Turkey and the U.S. precede Israel when it comes to income inequality rates, the study indicates. Nordic and Central European countries have the least income inequality. ■ The results of the study were released days after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu sparked criticism for lavish expenditures made with taxpayers' money. The AP reported on Monday that Netanyahu's expenses had risen nearly 80 percent since taking office in 2009. On a recent trip to London, the Israeli leader reportedly spent $127,000 in public funds for a sleeping cabin. ■ Ire toward the Israelis leader comes as the government is set to push through a series of severe austerity measures. The AP notes that the new national budget increases taxes while cutting family subsidies and medical benefits. The director of Israel's National Insurance Institute told Haaretz that the cuts in benefits are likely to cause more families to fall into poverty.

■ On July 19, 2013 in the Federal District Court in Washington, DC, Federal Judge Rosemary Collyer heard arguments concerning a constitutional challenge to the drone strike killings of three U.S. citizens which occurred in Yemen in 2011. The lawsuit was filed last July by the Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR) and the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) on behalf of the relatives of the three US citizens who were killed. ■ Nasser al-Awlaki, the father of Anwar al-Awlaki and grandfather of Abdulrahman al-Awlaki, and Sarah Khan, the mother of Samir Khan, charged that the US government violated the Constitution and international law when it targeted Anwar al-Awlaki for extrajudicial killing and carried out the execution by means of drone-fired missiles on September 30, 2011 in Yemen. ■ Samir Kahn, who was reportedly not on the Obama administration’s “kill list” and not targeted, died in the attack on Awlaki, along with two other people. Abdulrahman al-Awlaki, Anwar al-Awlaki’s 16-year-old son, was killed in a separate drone attack on October 14, 2011 that killed seven people in another part of Yemen. ■ The suit argues that all three killings of US citizens were unlawful because, apart from war, the US Constitution and international law prohibit killing without due process, “except as a last resort to avert a concrete, specific, and imminent threat of death or serious physical injury,” conditions that did not apply to any of the victims. ■ In response to this lawsuit the Justice Department filed a motion to dismiss the case, asserting that the “political questions” doctrine and national security issues bar judicial review.

Following intense pressure from the Obama administration and top intelligence officials, the US House of Representatives defeated an amendment that would have placed constraints on the National Security Agency’s powers to spy on the American people. ■ The amendment to the Department of Defense Appropriations Act would have blocked funding for the NSA to collect phone “metadata” that is not related to a specific investigation. Among the programs exposed by whistle-blower Edward Snowden is one in which the government obtains and stores the records on nearly every phone call placed in the United States. This allows the state to construct a detailed social and political profile of every individual swept up in the program. ■ The House voted 217-205 Wednesday evening to reject the amendment, which was introduced by Michigan Republican Justin Amash. The vote was an opportunity for congressmen to posture as critics of the unpopular and illegal spying programs, with the votes pro and con carefully calibrated to ensure that the measure was defeated. ■ The Obama administration intervened extremely aggressively to block the amendment in its early stages. Even if it had passed in the House, it would still have had to be passed by the Senate and signed by President Obama to become law.

■ Former Assistant Treasury Secretary Paul Craig Roberts says, “The country is not being run by the President. It is being run by spy agencies and private interest groups, Wall Street and military security complex...They run the country. The President is a puppet, a figurehead.”
■ Dr. Roberts contends, “If you are a lawless state, which the United States is, it obeys no international law. It does not obey the Geneva Convention...It tortures people. It doesn’t obey the Constitution. It doesn’t obey anything. It does what it wants...If you are a lawless state, you disguise yourself as a democracy.”
■ Former President Jimmy Carter agrees. Just last week, Carter said, “The U.S. has no functioning democracy at this moment.”
■ Why hasn’t the mainstream media picked up this astounding comment from a former Democratic President? Dr. Roberts says, “Five firms now own what used to be a large dispersed independent media. Nobody can open their mouth, they’d get fired. They have become a propaganda ministry for government and corporations.”
■ Dr. Roberts goes on to say, “My prediction or expectation is by winter, the second downturn of the Great Recession will be in place. Unemployment will explode, more foreclosures are coming. It’s going to be worse than the Great Depression.” Join Greg Hunter as he goes One-on-One with economist Dr. Paul Craig Roberts.

Paul Craig Roberts: Role Reversal: How the US Became the USSR
PressTV: US govt. unaccountable to people, law: Ex-Treasury official - VIDEO

Russia’s Immigration Service may grant entry permission to NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden, who has been stranded at a Moscow airport since last month. ■ Snowden, who had been living in the transit zone of Sheremetyevo Airport since the day he arrived from Hong Kong on June 23, applied for temporary asylum in Russia last week. His request followed weeks of searching for a way to leave the country, which he intended to pass briefly on his way to another destination and where he was stranded because the US revoked his travel passport. ■ It usually takes the Russian immigration authorities up to seven days for an initial assessment of an asylum request, according to Snowden’s Russian lawyer Anatoly Kucherena. If they choose to proceed with the process, Snowden would be issued provisional documents to that effect. “When he gets those documents in his hands, he will be released from his temporary home at Sheremetyevo Airport and will be able to go freely about the Russian Federation,” explains RT’s Lindsay France, who is at the airport among the journalists waiting for the decision to be announced. It can take up to three months to either grant or reject the asylum request. If granted, temporary asylum would allow Snowden to remain in Russia for one year and be renewed annually. If the request is rejected by the Immigration Service, Snowden may appeal the decision in court.

Stephen Lendman: Snowden Wins Whistleblower Award - In America, he's a wanted man. He's a fugitive. He's a world hero. He connected the dots for millions. He told people what they need to know. Doing the right thing is its own reward. Transparency International Germany gave him its Whistleblower Award. He's "(t)his year's winner," it said. In 1999, it was established. It's sponsored by the Association of German Scientists (VDW) and the German branch of the International Association of Lawyers Against Nuclear Arms (IALANA). He'll receive 3,300 euros (about $4,400). He's seeking Russian asylum. Since June 23, he's been in Moscow limbo. He's living in Sheremetyevo Airport's transit zone. He awaits provisional documents to enter Russia. They're expected soon. Perhaps today. He'll be allowed to travel freely.

Three American and four Afghan soldiers and an interpreter were killed Tuesday morning in Wardak Province after an insurgent riding a donkey detonated a bomb in one of the most hotly contested districts in the country, officials said. - The attack occurred around 8:30 a.m. as the Americans and Afghans were conducting a joint patrol in a violent stretch of Sayadabad District, close to the main highway leading to Kabul, the capital. At least three more American soldiers were wounded in the bombing, which the Taliban claimed responsibility for.

Russia Today: CIA scales down Afghanistan operations amid troop pullout

CIA could begin continue shipping arms in the coming weeks after clearance from House and Senate intelligence committees.

The CIA could begin shipping arms to Syria in the coming weeks, after two US congressional panels cleared the way for the controversial transfer of weapons. The White House announced in June that it would provide limited military support for vetted rebel groups, which have recently been struggling in their campaign against President Bashar al-Assad. Republicans and Democrats on the House and Senate intelligence committees have expressed concerns that arms could end up in the hands of Islamist militants fighting in the region – or not do enough to tip the balance in the civil war attack on Syria.

Pepe Escobar: Meet a moderate Syrian insurgent
Jason Ditz: At Least 49 "Syrian" "Rebels" Killed in Ambush Near Damascus

■ In the late evening hours of July 22, several Blackhawk helicopters flew low over central areas of the city of Chicago without any lights, startling a number of residents who were not aware of the scheduled military helicopter training exercises.
■ A July 10 Chicago Tribune article on fresh exercises planned in the nearby suburb of Tinley Park cited Tinley Park Emergency Management Agency Director Pat Carr on helicopter exercises planned for July 23 and 24, but there was no indication of where these would be taking place.

Jerry Burch of New York wrote on NBCChicago.com: “These drills desensitize the public. The article calls them routine, we shouldn’t have routine urban warfare drills in a free or peaceful country. Having all these military and paramilitary drills with black vehicles is nothing but intimidation of the public using our own tax dollars. Why is this urban warfare practice so important? There seems to be zero accountability here.”

Craig Kegger wrote: “Who do they think they're kidding? Training for overseas? They are training for civil unrest here.”

■ By early 2013 a long-term strategic goal of the U.S. foreign policy became clear. The goal is to create two economic unions to confront the growing power of the BRICS member countries and form two large markets under the control of the United States in the Atlantic and Pacific areas without the participation of China and Russia. ■ The Trans-Atlantic and Trans-Pacific Partnership aim at creating an "economic" NATO, Transatlantic Free Trade Area (TAFTA) between the United States and the European Union. The defense budget of its member countries amounts to approximately 58 percent of global military spending. ■ The outline of the economic agreement in the Pacific version with the participation of traditionally inflexible Japan is not clearly defined, but given the enormous influence of the U.S. in the largest countries of the region and surrounding areas such as Australia, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines and others, it is safe to assume that the degree of integration will be at least as high as TAFTA.

Visible in green within the shattered walls of Fukushima nuclear
power plant, the storage pool is dried up, exposing nuclear fuel
rods to the air. AHB (Photo: AP)

The operator of Japan's crippled Fukushima nuclear plant has admitted for the first time that the site’s reactors are leaking highly contaminated water into the Pacific Ocean.
■ Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO), the operator of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant, admitted the leakage to the ocean for the first time since a catastrophic earthquake and tsunami damaged the plant’s reactors in 2011. The operator made the acknowledgement after steam was seen at one of the plant's reactors on Tuesday. ■ TEPCO has come under criticism for its delay in the announcement, since experts had harbored strong suspicions about a possible leak for a long time. Previously, the company had denied reports suggesting that contaminated water was leaking into the ocean.
■ TEPCO spokesman Masayuki Ono said that radioactive water leaking from the wrecked reactors is likely to have run into the underground water system, before joining the ocean, and might therefore be the result of initial leaks to the underground system spotted in 2011.

Japan Daily Press: TEPCO admits radioactive groundwater is leaking into the sea at Fukushima
Bloomberg: Tepco Says Toxic Water Leaked to Sea From Fukushima Plant
Stephen Lendman: Multiples Worse than Chernobyl [03/21/11]
Stephen Lendman: Coverup and Denial in Japan [03/15/11]
huliq.com: Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant Skipped Inspections [03/22/11]
Washington's Blog: Government Reacts to Fukushima Radiation Crisis By Raising Acceptable Radiation Standards … Instead of Fixing Anything [04/15/13]

Russian officials have slammed US ‘double standards’ over routinely disregarding Moscow’s extradition requests of suspected terrorists and criminals. ● Representatives from Russia’s Ministry of Interior and the prosecutor general’s office issued separate statements on Monday criticizing the United States for long rejecting the Kremlin’s extradition requests, while pressing for the repatriation of NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden. ● Washington has refused repeated extradition requests on about 20 Russian suspects over the last 10 years, including those for Ilyas Akhmadov, a former leader of the Chechen movement, and Tamaz Nalbandov, who is accused of kidnapping and extortion, said Andrey Pilipchuk, a spokesman for the Interior Ministry. ● Meanwhile, US President Barack Obama called his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin to convince him to extradite Snowden, but Putin has so far refused the request and said Washington has trapped the former spy agency contractor in Moscow.

Obama administration alarmed by vote on 'Amash amendment' aimed at blocking blanket surveillance of phone records. - The Obama administration has forcefully urged the defeat of a legislative measure to curb its wide-ranging collection of Americans' phone records, setting up a showdown with the House of Representatives over domestic surveillance. A statement from the White House press secretary Jay Carney late on Tuesday evening capped an extraordinary day of near-revolt on Capitol Hill concerning the secret National Security Agency surveillance programes revealed by ex-NSA contractor Edward Snowden and published by the Guardian and Washington Post. The White House urged House members to vote against a measure from Representative Justin Amash, a Michigan Republican, that would stop the NSA siphoning up the telephone records of millions of Americans without suspicion of a crime.

Russia Today: NSA holds emergency hearing to fight off anti-surveillance amendment in Congress

The Onion: White House sources confirmed that after hearing a gentle tap on his window Thursday evening, President Barack Obama stepped out onto the Truman balcony to meet with the predator drone that appears outside his bedroom every night at 9 p.m. “Ah, there you are, old friend; almost thought you weren’t coming tonight,” the President reportedly said to the unmanned aerial vehicle before affectionately patting its antenna dome, telling the drone that it was “truly good” to see it, and asking about who it killed that day. “You’re the only one that gets me, the only one I trust. It’s just you and me from here on out, old pal. You’re my best friend in the whole world.” After leaning in, sharing a private joke with the remotely controlled vehicle, and laughing heartily, sources confirmed that the president said “Go get ’em!” and quietly watched the drone fly off into the night sky.

● The US military’s use of depleted uranium in Iraq has led to a sharp increase in Leukemia and birth defects in the city of Najaf – and panicked residents are fearing for their health. Cancer is now more common than the flu, a local doctor told RT. ● The city of Najaf saw one of the most severe military actions during the 2003 invasion. RT traveled to the area, quickly learning that every residential street in several neighborhoods has seen multiple cases of families whose children are ill, as well as families who have lost children, and families who have many relatives suffering from cancer. ● Speaking on the rooftop of her house instead of her laboratory, Dr. Sundus Nsaif says the city has seen a “dramatic rise” in cancer and birth defects since the 2003 US-led invasion of Iraq. Nsaif said the alternative location was chosen because there is an active push by the government not to talk about the issue, perhaps in an effort not to embarrass coalition forces. ● “After the start of the Iraq war, rates of cancer, leukemia and birth defects rose dramatically in Najaf. The areas affected by American attacks saw the biggest increases. We believe it’s because of the' illegal' weapons like depleted uranium that were used by the Americans. When you visit the hospital here you see that cancer is more common than the flu," Nsaif told RT's Lucy Kafanov.

Helen Thomas, one of the last truth tellers, died last Saturday. Thomas was the longest serving White House correspondent, she grilled 10 USA presidents in an astonishing career that started in 1943. She was 92. - The heroic lady survived 10 American presidents but was cornered by a single Rabbi who videotaped her suggesting that Israelis should "get out of Palestine" and "go home" to Poland, Germany and America. This truthful comment brought down widespread condemnation that ended Thomas’ White House career. The way in which Thomas was treated was just another indication of the power of the Jewish Lobby and the manner in which it interferes with freedom of speech and other elementary freedoms. I met Thomas last year in Washington DC, she attended an event with Norton Mezvinsky and myself that was organised by The Washington Report. Thomas was very weak but her brightness and humanism were shining.

Spain’s Popular Party (PP) Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy faces growing public anger over his alleged involvement in the Bárcenas corruption scandal. ■ Under these conditions calls for his resignation by the opposition Socialist Party (PSOE) have been joined by ones from Rajoy’s own party, from members concerned that the scandal is detracting from the imposition of austerity measures demanded by the European Union. ■ Calls for Rajoy’s resignation have grown after fresh evidence emerged last week showing that, despite previous denials, he remained in close contact with Luis Bárcenas, the PP former treasurer, currently on remand in jail charged with tax fraud, bribery and other crimes. ■ From 1990, Bárcenas worked in the PP’s accounts department, rising to the post of treasurer in 2008. During these years he amassed a fortune worth tens of millions of euros hidden in foreign bank accounts, which were used to channel illegal payments between leading businessmen and PP politicians in return for government contracts.

The CDC has quickly removed a page from their website, which is now cached here, admitting that more than 98 million Americans received one or more doses of polio vaccine within an 8-year span from 1955-1963 when a proportion of the vaccine was contaminated with a cancer causing polyomavirus called SV40. It has been estimated that 10-30 million Americans could have received an SV40 contaminated dose of the vaccine. SV40 is an abbreviation for Simian vacuolating virus 40 or Simian virus 40, a polyomavirus that is found in both monkeys and humans. Like other polyomaviruses, SV40 is a DNA virus that has been found to cause tumors and cancer.

David Swanson: Murder Is Legal, Says US Attorney General Eric Holder - Attorney General Eric Holder on Monday explained why it’s legal to murder people — not to execute prisoners convicted of capital crimes, not to shoot someone in self-defense, not to fight on a battlefield in a war that is somehow legalized, but to target and kill an individual sitting on his sofa, with no charges, no arrest, no trial, no approval from a court, no approval from a legislature, no approval from we the people, and in fact no sharing of information with any institutions that are not the president.

The European Union has put what it calls the military wing of the Lebanese resistance movement, Hezbollah, on its terror blacklist. - The decision was made unanimously after hours of discussions by the EU's 28 foreign ministers at their monthly meeting. It came after prolonged diplomatic pressure from Washington and Israel. The blacklisting would mean imposing visa bans on individuals and asset freezes on organizations associated with the group. It could take up to two weeks before names of individuals and organizations within Hezbollah are added to the list, as officials would have to unravel the links between the different wings of the organization.

PressTV: EU blacklisting Hezbollah an act of terrorism: Senior cleric

Stephen Lendman: EU Shamelessly Declares Hezbollah a Terrorist Organization ■ Hezbollah's no terrorist organization. It never was one. It's not one now. It's a legitimate political party. It maintains a military wing. It's for defense, not offense. EU nations know it. They bowed to pressure. They claimed otherwise. They disgraced themselves in the process. It didn't surprise. It's not the first time. It won't be the last. Rogue states operate that way. Hezbollah's one of two Lebanese parties representing Shia Muslims. It enjoys broad support. It's for good reason.

Christof Lehmann: ■ The United States highest-ranking military officer, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Martin Dempsey, has said that the USA is deliberating whether it should or should not use military force in Syria, and that various scenarios, including “kinetic strikes” are being prepared. ■ The information correlates with recent intelligence, according to which US Special Forces in Jordan are training “rebels” for ground assistance during U.S. air raids against high profile military and political targets in Syria. A major, internationally backed, political and military campaign against Syria is expected in August and September.

The army targeted the concentration camps of the armed rebels in M’asaran town of Ma’areh al-Naman region in Reef Idlib on Friday, during which 6 Turkish officers and ringleader of the Northern Shield terrorist group known as Ahmad Asaf were killed, FNA dispatches said. 6 Free Syrian Army (FSA) commanders were also killed during an air raid on rebels' concentration centers in Reef Idlib on Friday. An American reporter was also among those killed during the Syrian army’s attack on terrorists’ hideouts in Reef Idlib. Syria has been experiencing unrest since March 2011 with organized attacks by well-armed gangs against the Syrian police, border guards, statesmen, army and the civilians being reported across the country. Thousands of people have been killed since terrorist and armed groups turned protest rallies into armed clashes.

The United States has agreed to extradite Aafia Siddiqui - a Pakistani woman it had abducted and jailed - to her country under a prisoner exchange deal. - The US has offered Islamabad an agreement in which both sides will release each other’s inmates. The US government agreed to send back Siddiqui after finalizing the deal. The terms of the deal demand that Pakistan accept the ruling of a US court, in which Siddiqui was convicted on terror-related charges. The Pakistani woman also has to complete the remaining of her prison term in Pakistan. The swap deal is likely to be signed soon. Pakistan’s Interior Ministry has formed a task force to follow up on the US offer. Siddiqui was sentenced to 86 years in prison after she was convicted of grabbing a US soldier’s assault rifle and trying to shoot a group of FBI agents and soldiers at an Afghan police compound in July 2008. She denied the charge against her during the trial.

Information about Aafia Siddiqui on Another World Is Possible