By Chris Rossini | Ron Paul Institute | December 28, 2013

Breaking News Libya – December 27, 2013
Libyan War Truth
Today about 3pm Libyan time, 9 missiles were fired upon a Libyan military base called Al Watia base (west from Tripoli ..close with Tunisian boarders) . The missiles were fired from offshore (exact words – “they came from the sea”) The place that was hit housed Al Qaeda, Muslim Brotherhood factions.

One month ago, to the day, we looked at a fascinating bit of interaction, billed as a HARDtalk interview, between Glenn Greenwald and a British government stooge who broadcasts propaganda on the BBC, Stephen Sackur, the voice of Establishment Group Think.

Part Four: Advanced Strategies and Review
What are the results of knowing and using the skills of the Trivium Method of critical thinking in conjunction with the skills of using Voluntary Communication, also known as Non-Violent Communication (or NVC)?

This show concludes a series about Merging the Trivium Method with Voluntary Communication or NVC, and developing strategies for better interpersonal connections. Darrell Becker will be co-hosting all episodes in this series.

Discussed Today: (Darrell's Notes)

Part Four: Advanced Strategies and Review
What are the results of knowing and using the skills of the Trivium Method of critical thinking in conjunction with the skills of using Voluntary Communication, also known as Non-Violent Communication (or NVC)?

This show concludes a series about Merging the Trivium Method with Voluntary Communication or NVC, and developing strategies for better interpersonal connections. Darrell Becker will be co-hosting all episodes in this series.

Discussed Today: (Darrell's Notes)

Part Four: Advanced Strategies and ReviewWhat are the results of knowing and using the skills of the Trivium Method of critical thinking in conjunction with the skills of using Voluntary Communication, also known as Non-Violent Communication (or NVC)?This show concludes a series about Merging the Trivium Method with Voluntary Communication or NVC, and developing strategies for better interpersonal connections.

December 30, 2013 (Tony Cartalucci) - Singapore's "The Straits Times" reports in their article, "Thai protests: 'Red shirts' plan to hit back Leader warns of retaliation if Yingluck government is forced to cede power," that: 

Just received more news from Brian a few minutes ago.First, the correction - the cardiologist will be doing an Angiogram where they insert a tube into the aorta to clear the minor blockage, instead of and angioplasty which is a repair.The procedure is scheduled for Friday, January 3rd.  He'll be in hospital at least until the following Monday for post-op observation.  Lets hope everything goes well.Brian has his Blackberry with him but the hospital has no wi-fi internet capability.  If anyone would like to contact him please email me at passio

Kinsella on Liberty Podcast, Episode 110. I appeared recently on the Canadian libertarian podcast Ed and Ethan: The Voice of Liberty in Canada (Dec. 29, 2013) (I was a guest last year as well). We discussed the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) and other matters. This is my segment only; for the full show, go to Ed and Ethan’s […]

At the heart of the climate change movement is the belief that we will be punished for our sins.

Ma’an – 30/12/2013

GAZA CITY – Hamas are a vital component of the Palestinian nationalist struggle and should not abandon their ideology, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine said Monday.
The statement from the leftist group was in response to a recent call by the PLO for Hamas to dissociate itself from the Muslim Brotherhood.

Agence France-Presse
December 28, 2013
Libya releases four US detained military personnel
WASHINGTON: Four US military personnel have been freed after a brief detention by the Libyan government, a US official said late on Friday.
The four were released just two hours after the US State Department announced their detention, the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

UPDATE BELOW Another day in Volgograd. Another bombing. Gotta admit this morning's news was surprising even to me. Very brazen, two bombing in 24 hours.  (First one: Man and/or woman likely to be involved in Volgograd terror bombing) Something that we have read about in Syria, sure.But then is Russia so different then Syria, really?

Anti-war essays, poems, short stories and literary excerpts

Voltaire: Armies composed of well disciplined hirelings who determine the fate of nations

The back-to-back bombings in Volgograd come on the heels of Saudi intel chief Bandar bin Sultan’s reported threats to Putin earlier this year to sponsor terror attacks around the Sochi Olympics if Russia refused to allow military intervention in Syria.

A friend, who apparently doesn't read this blog, just called me astounded that this week 1.3 million Americans would be losing their unemployment benefis. He had just found out. "What are they going to do," he asked. I mentioned something about turning their anger, in a decidedly non-electoral way towards the individual conservatives in Congress, who have authored their impending misery.

January 8, 2009

1) In the Middle East it is always the Arabs who attack first and always Israel that is defending themselves. This defense is called a reprisal.
2) The Arabs, Palestinian or Lebanese have no right to kill civilians. That is called “terrorism.”
3) Israel has the right to kill civilians. That is called “legitimate defense.”
4) When Israel kills civilians en masse, the western powers claim that it is more measured. This is called “reaction of the international community.”

Late last night I received the unbelievable news that NTS had been admitted to hospital due to chest pains he began suffering day before yesterday.Saturday, we briefly spoke on the phone at which time I detected in his voice that he did not sound like the happy, jovial person he is usually.  He seemed to be struggling just to speak, plus he said he was experiencing a lot of pressure in the chest.  He’s been dealing with cold and sinus issues for several months so I was concerned that he might have bronchitis or even pneumonia. Initially, E.R.

I’m feeling a bit out of sorts today – actually, quite rocky – so what you’re reading isn’t an actual column. However, I just want to note for the record that the big story everyone is talking about – the New York Times piece detailing the real on-the-ground story of what happened in Benghazi – […]

No one who watches global events could forget the January 2011 democracy protests in Cairo, so big and massive that Western mainstream media were sending reporters in droves. For days, we watched in awe as young Egyptians took to the streets in their major cities, literally putting their lives on the line for a new […]

As has been widely reported, the American Studies Association, the umbrella organization of academics devoted to the study of US literature, history and culture, recently voted to join the movement to boycott Israeli academic institutions. In the days since that historic vote, numerous high-profile US supporters of the Jewish state have vehemently decried the scholarly […]

I wish I could say that of course Bernie is focused on the real issues of economic equality that plague most working families. After all, he went to James Madison High School in Brooklyn, just like Ken and I did. But that "of course" would be less than accurate. Norm Coleman was also a student there-- and so was Wall Street shill Chuck Schumer. At Madison the only kind of elitism that was encouraged was intellectual elitism-- not the kind of economic and social elitism that has since we all graduated pushed the U.S.

At least 29 people were killed and 55 others were wounded in attacks that targeted mostly Iraq security forces.

[We continue our encore presentation of Noah's Idiocracy series.

You may have noticed that the latest polls show have completely turned around from October when voters were furious at Republicans for shutting down the government and were reporting 50-42% that they planned to back Democrats in 2014. Republicans have now opened a 49-44% lead over Democrats in this generic polling.

Illinois is also home to new laws prohibiting unmanned aerial drones.

This is just a partial list. We expect THOUSANDS of new laws to take effect via your “do nothing” Congress (cough)
USA Today
If you’re a pale 17-year-old in Illinois, get your indoor tanning sessions in now. Starting Wednesday, they’re strictly forbidden.

Dishonest US-funded propagandists forced to disclose funding in 2011 have since failed to update their financial ties or disclose them to their Thai readers. December 30, 2013 (Tony Cartalucci) - According to it's "about us" page, Prachatai claims to be:

by Judith Curry [P]utting adaptation and mitigation issues into the broader context of competing needs and limited resources raises moral problems that cannot be easily dismissed. – Hillerbrand and Ghil On a recent thread, someone posted a link to this paper, which … Continue reading →

Are we looking at a solo woman bomber, a so called black widow? Was this a duo of perpetrators, two individuals who may have been  part of a larger terror group?Or.....did the woman serve as the distraction while the man set off the explosives?

South East Asia–Middle East–Western Europe 4 (SEA-ME-WE 4) optical fiber submarine communications cable

Press TV – December 29, 2013

The US National Security Agency (NSA) has collected sensitive data on key undersea optical fiber telecommunications cables between Europe, North Africa and Asia.

Maybe it was a little unfair of me to include William Warfield's performance of "Ol' Man River" from the 1966 Music Theater of Lincoln Center revival of Show Boat in Friday's selections (though he was only 46, the voice showed heavy signs of wear), but I couldn't resist.

U.S. Army
December 27, 2013
5-7 Air Defense Artillery Soldiers assume responsibilities in Turkey
By Staff Sgt. John Zumer
GAZIANTEP, Turkey: After months of hard training and expectation, the rubber finally hit the road in Turkey for the 5th Battalion, 7th Air Defense Artillery Regiment, 10th Army Air and Missile Defense Command.

Alaska Public Radio
December 18, 2013
Greely Missile-Defense Base Prepares For More Interceptors
By Tim Ellis, APRN Contributor

Ground-based midcourse defense missile launch

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Anti-war essays, poems, short stories and literary excerpts
Thomas Mann: Dirge for a homeland wasted by war
Thomas Mann: William Faulkner’s love for man, protest against militarism and war

Vying for a Supreme Court appointment? US District Judge William H. Pauley III ruled that the NSA’s massive spying program is legal.

There are now 117 congressmembers cosponsoring H.R. 3361, the John Sensenbrenner and John Conyers-penned USA Freedom Act introduced at the end of October.

By Inayat Bunglawala | The News | February 12, 2009

He was a self-confessed al-Qaida insider who in the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks was interviewed by all the major news networks eager to hear his fiery rhetoric.
Following the 7/7 bombings, he told us that he had now recognised the error of his ways and was committed to countering “Islamism”. He was going to spill the beans in a keenly anticipated book called Leaving al-Qaida relating how he had gone about recruiting British Muslims to go overseas and fight.

December 29, 2013 (Tony Cartalucci) - Failing to defend the legitimacy of upcoming sham elections, the regime's minister of foreign affairs (and deputy prime minister), Surapong Tovichakchaikul, has instead decided to invoke the common fallacy of appealing to authority, by claiming "53 nations" have backed upcoming polls that will essentially see the current regime of unelected dictator, Thaksin Shinawatra and his Puea Thai Party run unopposed. 

If you want to know what Jewish men are like just ask a Jewish woman.  Years ago I read a book by rabbi Moshe Schoenfeld in which he accused the state of Israel of great immorality. He said they were teaching Jewish women to read!

I'm not saying there aren't better Blu-ray players on the market, but my eerily compact, incredibly inexpensive region-free Orei BDP-A3 does everything I can imagine asking it to do and is working just fine, thank you! The remote control too.

At least 33 people were killed and 52 more were wounded in fresh violence. In the most chilling event, Iraqi forces arrived at the home of a member of parliament to arrest him.

[We continue our encore presentation of Noah's Idiocracy series.

Webster G. Tarpley, Ph.D. TARPLEY.net – World Crisis Radio December 28, 2013 [download audio]  

 
By Ali Abunimah     
 Electronic Intifada
This video shows Israeli occupation forces shooting Palestinian woman Manal Tamimi with a rubber-coated steel bullet at close range.

 
By Finian Cunningham
 
(PRESS TV) – The latest deadly attack in Lebanon’s capital Beirut is yet another desperate attempt to destabilize not only that country, but the entire Middle East to precipitate all-out sectarian war.

If you're following the narrative on the blog with any regularity over the week, you probably noticed we've been taking a close look at Stephen Kinzer's brilliant new book, The Brothers, an intense look at the two worst and most destructive arch-villains in 20th Century American history.

Barring a last-minute frantic call from the White House, CBS’s “Face the Nation” will interview whistleblowers Thomas Drake (ex-senior executive at the National Security Agency) and Jesselyn Radack (ex-ethics adviser at the Justice Department). Michael Hayden, who headed the NSA and CIA and now is a chief NSA defender on CNN and Fox News, will also be interviewed this Sunday.

Press TV – December 28, 2013

In an era of bipartisan agreement on austerity cuts to vital services and workers’ benefits, US military-industrial-complex spending will continue into the new year untouched.