Israel has always been snooping on the US government and Capitol Hill is overrun with Israeli spies, an American columnist says. ● “The current news that CIA releasing a report that Israel is the third most aggressive espionage threat against the US is really kind of an old story,” Jim Dean told Press TV on Sunday. Newsweek reported on Friday the Central Intelligence Agency has ranked Israel as the third most aggressive “intelligence service” working against the US, a leaked document shows. The National Security Agency document, obtained by American whistleblower Edward Snowden, was revealed by journalist Glenn Greenwald in line with the publication of his book, No Place to Hide: Edward Snowden, the NSA and the US Surveillance State. The spying “continues on and it’s not only military intelligence, but actually political intelligence, which is very important,” the Veterans Today columnist said. “Capitol Hill is overrun with Israeli spies. They have them on staff. They have congressmen working very closely with Israeli intelligence, helping them get anything they want. They literally sometimes can put orders in for things that the Pentagon will not share with them. That’s a horrible national scandal.”

Senate: Which Groups Are We At War With? Admin: That’s Classified. The Senate’s Committee on Foreign Relations held a hearing today on renewing the Authorization for the Use of Force (AUMF) in Iraq and Afghanistan. Senators repeatedly asked representatives from the Department of Defense which groups we are at war with. And the DOD refused to answer.

Joseph Kishore: Obama administration asserts unlimited war powers without Congressional authorization

Ukip will win the European elections and the Liberal Democrats will be left back in fifth place, pollsters have predicted. ● The prediction, based on a poll of 6,124 adults over the last two days by YouGov for The Sun, is that Nigel Farage's Ukip will gain most votes with 27%, despite him being involved in a number of racist and homophobic controversies in the lead up to election day. Labour is projected to come second with 26%, the Tories third with 22% of the vote, followed by the Greens on 10% and the Lib Dems with 9%. The poll suggests that Ukip and Labour will both have 22 MEPs, an increase of nine each on the last elections in 2009. The Conservatives are expected to get 16 of the 70 European Parliament seats being voted on in England, Scotland and Wales, 10 fewer than before, while the Greens will get four - an increase of two.

Stefan Molyneux ■ During Putin's two day visit in Shanghai, Russia and China took another small step to undermine U.S. monetary hegemony when Russia’s second biggest financial institution, VTB, signed a deal with the Bank of China to bypass the dollar and pay each other in domestic currencies. Many experts are referring to the move as symbolic. The banking deal is very small in the scheme of things, however it is a signal of intent. Both China and Russia are looking to a future where the U.S. dollar is no longer the world reserve currency, and they aren't content to wait for that future to arrive. They are working to help it along. While this particular banking deal may not be incredibly significant in and of itself, there is another deal that is in the works that could have a much wider impact. According to Reuters, the BRICS block (Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa) aim to finish preparations for a new international development bank by this July. The bank, which has been in the works for several years now, aims to provide an alternative to the IMF (The United States is currently the dominant shareholder of the IMF).

MoA: Russia's "Isolation" (links)

German Foreign Minister Steinmeier had a complete fit of rage when he was interrupted during a speech by anti-Fascist demonstrators who were accusing the German regime of supporting Fascists in the Ukraine. See for yourself for his reaction.

The good news is that this incident clearly shows that more and more people understand the nature of the conflict in the Ukraine and that more and more people are willing to stand up and protest what is being done in their name.

Ukraine mini-SITREP May 22th, 00:14 UTC/Zulu: "Ukie attack appears imminent" (UPDATED!)

Ukraine mini-SITREP May 21th, 20:42 UTC/Zulu

Michael Burke ■ Who will benefit from the IMF's $17bn bailout of Ukraine? Not its people || In return for the latest $17bn bailout of Ukraine the IMF insists on dramatic measures in five main areas of the economy: a sharp currency devaluation, which will increase the cost of all imported goods, a government-funded bailout for domestic banks, government spending cuts, measures to regulate money laundering and a sharp increase in energy prices. The latter are particularly ironic, since the widespread story in the west is that it is the Russian oil giant Gazprom that is threatening price hikes. The IMF calls for energy prices to be increased by between 240% and 425% over the next four years. No wonder Ukrainian prime minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk says he will be "the most unpopular prime minister in the history of my country". [...] The effect of the IMF intervention, then, acting as it does in the interest of western creditors rather than the Ukrainian people, will be only to further impoverish the population of Ukraine.

The White House will reportedly comply with a court order to reveal a secret memo describing its legal justification mumbo jumbo for using drones to kill US citizens suspected of terrorism overseas. The Justice Department had been weighing whether to appeal a court order to disclose the memo but informed the White House on Tuesday that it would not, the official said. The decision came on the eve of a Senate vote on President Obama’s nomination of David J. Barron, one of the memo’s authors, to a federal appeals court judgeship. The documents will be released later, pending court approval.

HuffPo: Obama Administration To Reveal Justification For Drone Strikes On U.S. Citizens

Huffington Post has posted an article crashing the notion of the "American Dream." Journalists have interviewed hundreds of people who have earned master's degree, went to college, who work various jobs and still are below the poverty line. How did that happen that the US has turned from the country where everyone came to achieve a dream into a country where despite all the efforts, people can still barely feed their families and cannot live normally struggling financially, not being able to afford simple things?

Security footage apparently showing two unarmed Palestinian teenagers being shot dead by Israeli soldiers has emerged. The film, shot from nearby office buildings, was taken during a lull in a stone-throwing clash on 15 May in the West Bank city of Beitunia. Nadeem Siam Nawara, 17, sustained a fatal gunshot wound to the chest, while Mohammad Mahmoud Odeh, 16, was shot in the back, the NGO Defence for Children International Palestine (DCIP) reports. “The images captured on video show unlawful killings where neither child presented a direct and immediate threat to life at the time of their shooting,” Rifat Kassis, executive director of DCIP told the Electronic Intifada. “These acts by Israeli soldiers may amount to war crimes, and the Israeli authorities must conduct serious, impartial, and thorough investigations to hold the perpetrators accountable for their crimes.” The boys were participating in a demonstration near Ofer military prison to mark Nabka Day and express solidarity with hunger striking prisoners. The protest reportedly began peacefully but turned violent when Israeli forces clashed with the Palestinian youths.

Gilad Atzmon ■ Is it Nakba 2.0 or Nakba 1.9? || The Jewish State is not an apartheid apparatus! it is actually far worse. Israel doesn’t attempt to exploit the Palestinians, it wants them gone. Israel puts into action Nazi-like (Lebensraum) ethnic cleaning tactics because Jewish nationalism is an expansionist ideology driven by judeo-centric racist supremacy. The truth is simple and devastating. However, the Diaspora Jewish Left attempt to conceal it all is actually embarrassing, yet, symptomatic.