No one knows exactly why Obama got a Nobel Peace Prize before he had done anything other than run for president as a vaguely pro-peace candidate, unless it was just the Nobel committee trying to express their relief that Bush was out of the White House. I wonder how embarrassed they are about their selection now?So what's new on the peace front? Well...
By Rosa Schiano | International Solidarity Movement | June 17, 2013
Gaza, Occupied Palestine – Friday afternoon, June 14, 2013, Muhareb Abu Omar, a Palestinian farmer aged 48, was wounded by Israeli army fire in the Deir El Balah, in the center of the Gaza Strip.
Omar was irrigating his land in the village of Wadi As-Salqa, 600 meters from the barrier that separates Israel from the Gaza Strip.
Ma’an – 17/06/2013
JERUSALEM – Two Palestinian women are pressing charges against an Israeli man after being assaulted in Jerusalem on Friday.
Layali al-Sayyad, 23, and Anwar Abu Rmooz, 21, told Ma’an that they were attacked by an Israeli man in his twenties while buying a ticket for the Jerusalem Light Rail near the central bus station in West Jerusalem.
Ministry of Defence of Georgia
June 16, 2013
Basic Mountain Training Summer Course
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Anti-war essays, poems, short stories and literary excerpts
Jules Romains: Selections on war
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Jules Romains
From Verdun: The Prelude (1938)
Translated by Gerard Hopkins
You never know what's going to actually happen in a low turn out, late summer primary special election. Who will even show up at the polls? Polling shows a big preference among New Jersey Democrats for the much-hyped Newark Mayor, Cory Booker. Last week Monmouth University released a poll that confirms what all the other polls show-- Booker leads his opponents.
Al-Manar | June 17, 2013
Two of Turkey’s main trade unions started a nationwide strike on Monday after police cleared protests from Istanbul protest park.
The KESK and DISK trade unions, who together represent hundreds of thousands of workers, called a one-day stoppage to object to the police violence against anti-government protesters, and said they planned to hold demos in the late afternoon.
If you eat food. If you care about your health. You need to watch this. HT Noor @ Snippets & Snappets
The Catcher in the Rye. Since it’s publication in 1951, it has become an iconic work of American literature. In its gritty idiomatic style, it has captured the imagination of generations of disaffected young boys. But is there something more to the novel than young teenage angst? Today on the program we explore the appearance of this book in the assassination of John Lennon and the attempted assassination of Ronald Reagan. We also explore the real roots of Holden Caufield’s angst in childhood sexual abuse.
President Obama announced late last week that the US intelligence community had just determined that the Syrian government had used poison gas on a small scale, killing some 100 people in a civil conflict that has claimed an estimated 100,000 lives. Because of this use of gas, the president claimed, Syria had crossed his “red [...]
As happens with so much news these days, the Edward Snowden revelations about National Security Agency (NSA) spying and just how far we’ve come in the building of a surveillance state have swept over us 24/7 – waves of leaks, videos, charges, claims, counterclaims, skullduggery, and government threats When a flood sweeps you away, it’s [...]
I have some personal business to take care of today, which accounts for the lack of a column. I’ll be back on Wednesday. NOTES IN THE MARGIN You can check out my Twitter feed by going here. But please note that my tweets are sometimes deliberately provocative, often made in jest, and largely consist of [...]
James Corbett appears on Al-Etejah TV to discuss the NSA spying scandal. He points out that the Edward Snowden “revelations” are actually just the latest in a string of data that proves that the NSA is collecting all communications. He also talks about how wiretapping represents total power over the political system as a whole.
Last week, Florida politics expert Steve Schale had a cautiously optimistic analysis of how his state's electorate has changed since 2006 and what it portends for the future.
Room 641A at 611 Folsom st in San Francisco had a splitter that copied all the data using Israeli equipment from the Israeli company Narus. The other company involved was Verint which worked with Verizon and was also an Israeli company. All of these data centers have splitters so everything is copied.
The media is portraying this as if only names and phone numbers are copied and not the content as well.
On Friday, the House passed Buck McKeon's tragically flawed National Defense Authorization Act, 315-108. All but 18 Republicans voted YES. The Democratic minority was much more split.
A surge in attacks that began last month resumed after several days of relatively light violence. Shi'ites were targeted in today's hostilities. Because several of the bombings occurred in southern cities unaccustomed to daily or even weekly attacks, the violence was likely coordinated. Overall, at least 43 Iraqis were killed and 149 more were wounded.
Compiled by Niqnaq | June 10, 2013
Partial List of NGOs Involved in BDS and Their Funders
NGO Monitor, Jul 14 2011
(Originally produced Apr 7 2010, updated Jul 14 2011)
Xymphora | June 16, 2013
Here we go: “NSA admits listening to U.S. phone calls without warrants”:
It is Sunday again, and time for my weekly rant about exactly what the hell is happening in our sick world....First and foremost.... Today is of course Father's Day, and I want to send out a Happy Father's Day to all the dads out there.... We do indeed do a lot, and put up with a lot.... It is nice to have one day for us....My father passed away almost 13 and 1/2 years ago due to the ravages of Alzheimer's Disease... He was in the last stages of Dementia, and his mind was finally shutting down. It was sad to have to pull the plug on him and watch him pass away, though peacefully.
Kinsella on Liberty Podcast, Episode 068. From the shownotes: “Why Man Made Law Is Slavery! In this video I talk to Stephan Kinsella of https://www.stephankinsella.com We talk about man made law and how it is better to just have contracts with one another.” Youtube: Original:
Stars and Stripes
June 16, 2013
US to keep some F-16s, Patriot missiles in Jordan post exercise
Henrick Simoes
A detachment of F-16s and U.S. Patriot missiles dispatched to Jordan for the joint Eager Lion military exercise will remain in the country after the exercise ends, the Pentagon has announced.
MEMO | June 14, 2013
The chief of Israel’s military intelligence, General Aviv Kochav, has said that the chaos in the Arab world favours Israel and is something that he believes should continue. Speaking at the Herzliya Conference for Intelligence Studies, Gen. Kochav pointed out that the changes around Israel have fundamental implications for its security.
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Anti-war essays, poems, short stories and literary excerpts
Henri Barbusse: Selections on war
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Henri Barbusse
From Light (1918)
Translated by Fitzwater Wray
When the College of Cardinals elects the new Pope, they don't have a magic wand to give him-- and he's stuck with an entrenched, conservative Curia. And like all conservatives-- very corrupt. There's been a lot in the news lately about Pope Francis remarking on the "gay lobby" (or, more accurately, a gay subculture) in the Vatican. That's not really the story though.
Press TV – June 16, 2013
A former French foreign minister says Britain had been planning a war against Syria some two years before to the unrest broke out in the Arab country.
The statement by Roland Dumas came during a recent interview with French Parliamentary TV network, LCP.
This video is part of an extended interview with writer Yossi Gurvitz [ http://ygurvitz.net ] – transcribed & translated from Hebrew to English by Dena Shunra
Press TV – June 16, 2013
Turkey’s European Union minister has warned that Turkish police will consider protesters in Istanbul’s Taksim Square as members or supporters of terrorist groups.
“I request our citizens who supported the protests until today kindly to return to their homes,” Egemen Bagis said in a late Saturday interview with Turkish channel A Haber.
by KenNormally I wouldn't try to write about a show like USA's Graceland after only two episodes, especially when I'm so conflicted about it. It's always possible, for example, that once I've absorbed all the characters and circumstances piled on us in these early episodes, it will all fit together more credibly and interestingly.
Fresh attacks left 21 Iraqis dead and 12 wounded. Two Iranians were also killed, and 40 more were wounded.
I am back... And again I do feel that I must apologize for those that have been expecting more articles at this blog... This last week I have had to split my time between both business and family concerns, and thus this blog has fallen by the way-side....
Rightists through history-- always looking for easy scapegoats for a policy of divisiveness-- have been obsessed with homosexuality. This week we saw Florida's Tea Party junior senator, Marco Rubio, shrilly threatening to scuttle his own immigration bill if it includes protections for LGBT families.
No, I have not fallen off the face of the Earth for the last few days... I have been busy taking care of some personal business and family concerns.....I will try to post up some new material later tonight when I return to my place of residence....In the meantime, as I usually say.... Take a close look at the articles that are put up by those who I consider the finest bloggers that I know... They are listed in the left hand column of this blog...I will be back shortly.... Until then, as I usually say....More to comeNTS
Webster G. Tarpley Ph.D. TARPLEY.net – World Crisis Radio June 15, 2013 [download audio]
UN justice champion Richard Falk targeted (again)
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It's been a dozen years but on Thursday the House finally voted to end the war in Afghanistan.
RIA Novosti | June 14, 2013
WASHINGTON – US President Barack Obama will attempt to convince Russian President Vladimir Putin in their planned meeting Monday that it is in Moscow’s interest to support the removal of Syrian President Bashar Assad from power, a White House official said Friday in the wake of fresh US claims that Syria has used chemical weapons.
If you read Ken's preview of the Iranian presidential election Friday night, you probably got the impression Hasan Rowhani was the guy we should be rooting for.
So, when did it all become 'history'? Two years ago the world was told that Osama bin Laden was assassinated by U.S. Navy SEALS and his body buried at sea. Many disbelieved and mocked. But now? Lest Orwell's warning go unheeded, we take a second look: "And if all others accepted the lie which the Party imposed — if all records told the same tale — then the lie passed into history and became truth." (For show notes, please visit TheMindRenewed.com)
By Gilad Atzmon | June 15, 2013
The Lab is a new groundbreaking Israeli documentary film that redefines our entire understanding of the Jewish State, its aims, its identity and its global destructive role. I honestly believe that this film is the deepest and most important commentary on Israel.
Al-Akhbar | June 15, 2013
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Saturday any attempt to enforce a no-fly zone over Syria using F-16 fighter jets and Patriot missiles from Jordan would violate international law.
Russia, which has vetoed three UN Security Council resolutions aimed at pressing for a no-fly zone in Syria, vehemently opposes any foreign military intervention in the Syrian conflict.
