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June 28, 2015
|
===
The
Pentagon Slush Fund
By Mel Gurtov |
 |
The Pentagon
is forever complaining that
China has no reason to keep
increasing its military
spending. It needs to look
in the mirror. -
Continue |
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===
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Greece –
The Delphi Declaration
By Peter Koenig – on behalf
of The Delphi Initiative |
 |
The world
must realize that the
so-called troika – IMF,
European Central Bank and
European Commission, is
literally blackmailing
Greece and subjecting her to
outright economic torture. -
Continue |
===
At least 146 civilians killed as ISIL on
24-hour 'killing rampage' in Syria's
Kobane:
Women and children were among the slain
civilians whose bodies were found in
their homes and in the streets, the
UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human
Rights said.
60 killed as
Kurds secure Kobani after ISIS attack:
Kurdish fighters said they fully secured
the Syrian border town of Kobani
Saturday and killed more than 60 ISIS
militants, two days after the hardline
group attacked it with suicide bombers.
ISIS raids kill
40 Syrian troops in central Syria:
activists:
ISIS militants have killed at least 40
Syrian government forces in consecutive
attacks on three checkpoints in central
Syria, activists said Saturday.
Erdogan says
Turkey not to allow Kurdish state in
northern Syria:
“I am appealing to the whole world. We
will never allow the establishment of a
state in Syria’s north and our south. We
will continue our fight in this regard
no matter what it costs. They want to
complete the operation to change the
demographic structure of the region. We
will not turn a blind eye to this,”
Erdogan said
Iraqi forces kill
80 Daesh militants in Kirkuk:
Thirty-five militants were killed in
Bashir district, 25 kilometers south of
Kirkuk. Meanwhile, 45 Daesh militants,
including one reported Daesh commander,
were killed in Riyadh district and
Rusuliyah town, both in the southeastern
part of the city, which is populated by
a Sunni Arab majority.
24 killed in
airstrikes, clashes with Daesh in Iraq:
In Anbar province, at least 12 Daesh
militants were killed when an Iraqi
aircraft carried out an airstrike on a
Daesh position in the town of Qaim, near
the Iraqi-Syrian border, a provincial
security source told Xinhua on condition
of anonymity.
Bomb blasts in
Iraqi capital leave 12 dead, dozens
wounded:
A series of attacks targeting public
places killed 12 people in Baghdad on
Saturday, said Iraqi authorities, as the
prime minister announced the arrest of
an aide to Saddam Hussein.
Iraqi General
Killed In Arizona Plane Crash:
The body of an Iraqi general killed when
his military fighter jet crashed into
the Arizona desert during a night
training mission has been found near the
U.S.-Mexico border, U.S. officials said
June 26.
Look at Shiite
mosque attacks claimed by upstart IS
branch:
An Islamic State affiliate that calls
itself Najd Province said it was behind
a deadly bombing at a Shiite mosque on
Friday in Kuwait City, the third in a
string of attacks that the previously
unknown group has claimed responsibility
for in wealthy Saudi Arabia and Kuwait.
Aden oil refinery
ablaze as Yemen rebels shell port:
- Fire erupted at Aden's oil refinery
Saturday when rebels shelled the nearby
port to prevent a Qatari ship carrying
aid for Yemen's devastated second city
from docking, officials told AFP.
Hundreds of Saudi
Soldiers and Artillery Commander Join
Yemeni Popular Forces: Report:
300 Saudi soldiers and an artillery
commander have joined the Yemeni forces,
a senior Yemeni politician announced on
Friday.
Palestinian
hunger striker 'close to death': lawyer:
A Palestinian prisoner held in an
Israeli jail and on hunger strike for 53
days is in a critical condition and
could die "at any moment", his lawyer
said Saturday.
Freedom Flotilla
III Is Sailing To Open The Port Of Gaza:
The
Israeli government claims that there are
‘unauthorized boatstrying to illegally
enter Israeli territorial waters’. There
are no ‘unauthorized boats’, only an
illegal and inhumane blockade; theUN has
recently called to end it and Freedom
Flotilla III sails to challenge it,
without any need or desire to enter
Israeli territorial waters
16 killed in DR
Congo rebel raid:
Five civilians and three soldiers were
killed in an attack by rebels on a
Congolese army camp near Beni in the
restive east of the country.. An AFP
photographer saw the bodies of the
victims as well as those of eight
alleged guerilla fighters killed by the
army after the raid on Friday at May-Moya
in North Kivu province.
6 Killed As
Gunmen Attack Mali Military Camp:
Suspected Islamist fighters attacked a
military camp in western Mali near the
border with neighboring Mauritania
before dawn on Saturday, leaving up to
six people dead, including two soldiers
and four attackers, a town resident and
an army nurse said.
Borno: Four
killed in twin suicide bombings:
Twin suicide bombers yesterday suspected
to have been targeting a locally
established market in Molai village at
the outskirts of Maiduguri detonated
their explosives at the main gate of the
missionary Leprosy and general hospital
Molai killing two passersby
Suicide bombers
kill at least three in northeast Nigeria:
Two suicide bombers killed at least
three people and injured 16 in the
capital of the northeastern Nigerian
state of Borno on Saturday, the latest
in a string of deadly attacks by
suspected Islamist militants.
9 Taliban rebels
killed in Nangarhar:
Provincial police officials confirmed
killing of nine rebels. Police sources
said that three others were also injured
in the gunfight, adding that police and
civilians suffered no casualties.
Pakistan: 9 Armed
Militants Killed In Drone Attack In
Nooristan:
At least nine rebels including 4
Pakistani were killed in a drone attack
in Nooristan province.
US Arms Sales to
E Asia Spike Amid Chinese Aggression -
Former DoD Official:
China’s expansion across disputed
territory in the South China Sea is
driving up demand for US heavy weapons
and military aircraft from Beijing’s
neighbors, former US Defense Department
official Dov Zakheim .
Euro ministers
reject Greek bid for bailout extension:
Eurogroup finance ministers say Athens'
bailout programme will expire on
Tuesday, regardless of Greek referendum.
Greeks Line Up at
Banks and Drain ATMs as Tsipras Calls
Vote:
Two senior Greek retail bank executives
said as many as 500 of the country’s
more than 7,000 ATMs had run out of cash
as of Saturday morning, and that some
lenders may not be able to open on
Monday unless there was an emergency
liquidity injection from the Bank of
Greece.
New NSA
whistleblower suspected behind French
president surveillance leak:
American and European security agencies
are reportedly investigating a possible
new whistleblower behind the WikiLeaks
publication that exposed alleged NSA
spying on top French officials,
including three presidents.
Ecuador Protests:
Calm in Quito, Anti-Gov't March in
Cuenca
: In Ecuador, a vociferous opposition is
rallying against the current government
in what some are calling a soft coup.
Before President Correa, the South
American country had a tumultuous
political history with regular coups.
Thousands march
in Honduras to demand resignation of
president:
Some 25,000 protesters chanted slogans
against Hernandez as they marched to the
presidential palace from a poor
neighborhood in the capital, past a
commercial zone filled with malls.
Unsolved murders
of indigenous women reflect Canada's
history of silence:
As spotlight returns to decades-long
violence against native women and girls,
calls for national inquiry have been
rebuffed but groups refuse to give up
Fourth of July
terror warning issued by FBI, Homeland
Security:
While there was no specific or credible
threat of attack, the official said the
intelligence bulletin prepared by the
Department of Homeland Security and the
FBI alerted local colleagues to the
ongoing threats posed by the Islamic
State and other homegrown extremists.
The official was not authorized to
comment publicly.
White Americans
bigger terror threat than Islamic
extremists – study:
White Americans are the biggest terror
threat in the United States, having
killed more people in attacks than
Muslims or any other group in the last
14 years, according to a new study.
Activist pulls
down Confederate flag in front of South
Carolina statehouse:
. Newsome was halfway up the 30ft pole
when police demanded that she climb back
down, but she continued upward and
removed the flag.
Donald Trump Paid
Actors To Attend Rally : Video
- Now Donald
Trump announced he’s running for
president recently and gave a ridiculous
and pompous speech. He mentioned the
crowds there. You’re going to love this
story
|
June 26, 2015
|
Neocons
Urge Embrace of Al Qaeda
By Daniel Lazare |
 |
Neocons
pushing for an explicit
alliance with Al Nusra are
thus attempting to plunge
the U.S. ever more deeply
into a growing sectarian
war. -
Continue |
Greece –
The Way Out
By Peter Koenig |
 |
What the
troika is doing to Greece
these days is the pinnacle
of financial terrorism. It
is economic waterboarding.
-
Continue |
Islamic State
kills at least 145 civilians in Syria's
Kobani
: Islamic State fighters
killed at least 145 civilians in an
attack on the Syrian town of Kobani and
a nearby village, in what a monitoring
group described on Friday as one of the
worst massacres carried out by the
hardline group in Syria.
Suicide car
bombing kills 20 Syrian troops in
Kurdish city:
Syria's official news agency and
activists say a suicide bombing has
targeted a security building at the
northeastern, mostly Kurdish city of
Hassakeh.
EXCLUSIVE VIDEO:
Pitched battle in southern Syria as
rebels advance:
Jordan promises 'response' after
cross-border missile fire hits busy
street during offensive involving rebels
from FSA and al-Nusra Front
Islamic State
sold 42 Yazidi females, some with kids,
to fighters in Syria, monitor reports:
The women were being treated as “slaves”
by the jihadis and were sold “for
between $500 (€447) and $2,000
(€1,785)”. The women were kidnapped last
year in the Sinjar region of northern
Iraq where Islamic State had launched a
wide offensive, the Britain-based
monitor said
25 killed in ISIS
attack on Kuwait mosque:
The Islamic
State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) has
claimed on Friday the deadly bombing on
a Kuwaiti mosque, which left at least 25
people killed and 202 wounded, according
to the interior mosque.
18 killed in air
strikes, clashes with IS militants in
Iraq:
At least 18 people were killed and 36
wounded on Wednesday in battles with the
Islamic State (IS) militants in
Salahudin province and air strikes on
suspected IS positions in the western
province of Anbar, security sources
said, APA reports quoting Xinhua.
At Least 10
Civilians Killed in Saudi-Led Coalition
Airstrikes in Yemen:
The Saudi-led coalition carried out five
airstrikes on Yemen's Northern city of
al-Hazm, killing 10 civilians and
injuring scores of others, a source in
the city confirmed.
Hezbollah attack
kills 9 militants outside east Lebanon
border town:
Hezbollah-planted land mines and mortar
attacks left at least nine Nusra Front
militants dead outside an east Lebanon
border village Friday
Lebanese Army
kills 2 militants on northeast border:
“The Army targeted a terrorist group
infiltrating the town of Arsal, killing
two and seizing weapons, ammunition,
military equipment, two cellphones and
four hand grenades in their possession,”
the military said.
Netanyahu warns
of attack against Iran;
US says deal deadline may 'slip':
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin
Netanyahu said Thursday that Israel is
still considering an attack on Iran's
nuclear facilities, even if Tehran and
world powers sign a historic deal to
curtail Iran's nuclear program next
week.
Vatican signs
first treaty with Palestine, Israel
angered:
The treaty, which made official the
Vatican's de facto recognition of
Palestine since 2012, angered Israel,
which called it "a hasty step (that)
damages the prospects for advancing a
peace agreement." Israel also said it
could have implications on its future
diplomatic relations with the Vatican.
Elkin Calls on
French Jews to Come to Israel:
Immigrant Absorption Minister Ze'ev
Elkin on Friday called on French Jews to
make aliyah to Israel following the
beheading attack in the country. "Come
home! Anti-Semitism is growing,
terrorism is on the rise and the sickly
ISIS activists carry out murders in the
light of day. We are prepared to accept
the Jews of France with open arms," he
said.
US Secretary of
State Kerry's Israeli connection:
Kerry owns million-dollar stake in Noble
Energy Corp., which is currently
fighting for the right to maintain a
duopoly with Delek Group over Israel's
natural gas fields.
Israel Project
urges Drexel to withdraw honor for
anti-Israel activist Chomsky:
The U.S.-based Israel education group
The Israel Project (TIP) on Friday sent
an email asking supporters to sign a
petition urging Philadelphia’s Drexel
University, “Don’t honor hate. Withdraw
your award to hateful extremist Noam
Chomsky.”
Foreign
investment in Israel drops by almost
half in 2014:
One of the report's authors suggested
the sharp decline could be down to the
2014 Gaza war and an international
boycott campaign
At least 37
killed as gunmen attack beach outside 2
tourist hotels in Tunisia:
A beach outside two hotels in central
Tunisia have been attacked, with at
least 37 dead and 36 injured, and panic
being reported at the scene. Two gunmen
armed with Kalashnikov rifles reportedly
penetrated a private area and opened
fire.
Dozens Killed as
Somali Shebab Overrun African Union
Base:
Witnesses: Witnesses said they had seen
as many as 50 bodies but the reports
were impossible to independently
confirm. Some bodies had been reportedly
beheaded.
Egypt's
imprisonment of journalists at all-time
high::
Egypt is holding the highest number of
journalists behind bars since record
keeping began, using the pretext of
national security to crack down on press
freedoms, the Committee to Protect
Journalists said on Thursday.
At least 18
Chinese killed in China's western
Xinjiang province:
At least 18 people are dead after ethnic
Uighurs attacked police with knives and
bombs at a traffic checkpoint in China's
western Xinjiang region, Radio Free Asia
reported on Wednesday.
The Pentagon’s
Fight Over Fighting China:
The Joint Chiefs keep ordering up
ambitious new war plans. But their
biggest battle might be with each other.
NSA Chief: Don’t
Assume China Hacked:
The U.S. military’s top cyber warrior
says it’s merely an “assumption” that
the Chinese government was behind the
recent hack at the Office of Personnel
Management, or OPM — and not necessarily
one he shares.
Propaganda:
Putin not done in eastern Ukraine,
NATO's top general says:
Force levels on Russia's side of the
border had not changed much in recent
months, Breedlove said, but U.S.
military officials had observed in
Russia a "stocking of important
supplies, ammunition, etc, to levels
that would support operations".
Goading Russia:
US Marine unit to be sent to Bulgaria to
"reassure allies":
A U.S. Marine Corps unit equipped with
tanks, light armored vehicles and
artillery will be sent to Bulgaria this
fall as part of American plans to help
reassure NATO allies worried by Russia's
involvement in Ukraine, a top commander
said Thursday.
Bear-baiting
Defence: US to
boost its military presence in Central
and Eastern Europe:
The US has announced plans to deploy
heavy weaponry in several Central and
Eastern European nations. Officials say
they want to calm concerns among NATO
allies who feel threatened by a
resurgent Russia.
NATO Publics
Blame Russia for Ukrainian Crisis, but
Reluctant to Provide Military Aid:
Many also see Russia as a military
threat to other neighboring states. But
few support sending arms to Ukraine.
Moreover, at least half of Germans,
French and Italians say their country
should not use military force to defend
a NATO ally if attacked by Russia.
Pentagon Says It
Needs $270 Billion to Upgrade Nuclear
Arsenal:
"The only existential threat to our
nation is a nuclear attack. Nuclear
weapons remain the most important
mission we have," he added. Work
explained that keeping the country's
nuclear enterprise modernized is
especially important in light of the
advancements made by Russia and China.
Man Beheaded By
ISIS at Chemical Plant in France:
France has begun a terror investigation
after a decapitated body was found at
the scene of a suspected Islamist attack
on a US-owned gas factory near the
south-eastern city of Lyon. President
Francois Hollande said the aim was to
blow up the factory.
Terror trial
collapses after fears of deep
embarrassment to security services:
The prosecution of a Swedish national
accused of terrorist activities in Syria
has collapsed at the Old Bailey after it
became clear Britain’s security and
intelligence agencies would have been
deeply embarrassed had a trial gone
ahead, the Guardian can reveal.
Tsipras Cites
Blackmail as Merkel Prods Greece to Take
Offer:
Tsipras, who has been negotiating all
week in Brussels, said he’ll defend the
EU’s founding principles of “democracy,
solidarity, equality, mutual respect” as
he pursues an accord. “These principles
were not based on blackmails and
ultimatums, and especially in these
crucial times no one has the right to
put in danger these principles,” he told
reporters.
EU agrees to
relocate 40,000 migrants:
The plan, announced after lengthy talks
in Brussels early on Friday morning,
aims to speed up the relocation of
40,000 migrants from Italy and Greece
over two years. Another 20,000 people
now living outside of the EU and found
in need of protection will also be
resettled under the plan.
US Ranked
94th/162nd in the Global Peace Index:
With a shockingly low score of 2.038,
the United States was ranked in 94th
place on the survey. The most violent
country in the world is currently Syria,
which was placed in 162nd place.
Pentagon rewrites
‘Law of War’ declaring ‘belligerent’
journalists as legitimate targets:
The Pentagon has released a book of
instructions on the “law of war,”
detailing acceptable ways of killing the
enemy. The manual also states that
journalists can be labeled “unprivileged
belligerents,” an obscure term that
replaced “enemy combatant.”
Guantanamo
prisoner on long hunger strike to be
sent home:
A prisoner who has been on a nine-year
hunger strike to protest his confinement
at the U.S. base at Guantanamo Bay,
Cuba, can now return to his native Saudi
Arabia, a government review board said
Friday.
Pentagon Admits
60,000 Black Soldiers Used in Human
Experiment:
The U.S. Government used Black soldiers
as human guinea pigs in chemical
experiments during World War II,
according to a new NPR report.
China criticises
US human rights record:
It said that US intelligence had used
"indiscriminate" torture against
terrorist suspects, while "violating
human rights in other countries" with
drone strikes and mass surveillance
programmes.
Tell the Justice
Department: Investigate This #AmericanTortureStory:
Near drownings, mock executions, men
hung nude wearing diapers and immersed
in ice water. Dick Cheney says he'd "do
it again in a minute." 5 minutes of your
day could help prevent the US from
burying the truth on torture.
The Real Story Behind the Fort Dix Five
Terror Plot:
Beyond the sensational headlines is the
story of paid FBI informants with long
criminal histories who spent a year
working to befriend the brothers and
enlist them as terrorists. This effort,
both expensive and time-consuming,
nevertheless failed to convince the Duka
brothers to take part in a violent
attack.
Luke Somers's
mother on kidnapping: I blame the US
more than I do al-Qaida :
“We were treated so badly,” said Paula,
with Jordan adding: “These people had so
little tact, so little compassion or
sympathy.”
US Supreme Court
Backs Same-Sex Marriage:
The Court ruled 5-to-4 that states must
allow same-sex couples to marry and they
must recognize the marriages that take
place outside of the states.
Bernie Sanders
Proposes Tax on the US Wealthy :,
The Sanders bill would lower the tax
exemption amount from US$5 million to
$3.5 million on an individual’s estate. |
JUNE
26, 2015
|
Are
Armenian Protests Aimed At
Russia?
By Paul Craig Roberts |
 |
By using
“color revolutions” or, as
in the case of Ukraine,
regime change via an
outright coup, Washington
removes governments friendly
to Russia and replaces them
with its vassals.
-
Continue |
30 killed in
clashes with IS in Iraq's Anbar
province:
A total of 30 people were killed and 47
others wounded on Thursday in clashes
with Islamic State (IS) militants in
Iraq's western province of Anbar,
security source said.
5 ISIL Suicide
Bombers Killed in Iraq's Mosul:
The Iraqi Kurdish forces clashed with
the ISIL terrorists in the Northern city
of Mosul and killed 5 suicide bombers of
the Takfiri group.
Syria: 20 people
killed by ISIS south of Kobane:
ISIS fighters have killed 20 civilians,
including some who took up arms against
them, in an attack on Berxbutan village
some 35km south of Kobane, the Syrian
Observatory for Human Rights says.
Erdogan denies IS
launched attack on Syria’s Kobane from
Turkey:
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan
on Thursday dismissed as “propaganda”
accusations that Islamic State fighters
had been allowed to cross from Turkey
into Syria to launch a fresh assault on
the symbolic battleground town of Kobane.
19 IS fighters
killed in failed attack on Syria Alawite
village:
“At least 19 Islamic State members were
killed… along with three National
Defence Force fighters, and six people
were wounded, including a child and two
women.”
Syrian rebel
fighters launch campaign to take Deraa:
Syrian rebels launched an offensive
Thursday to capture government-held
neighborhoods in the southern city of
Deraa, setting off fighting that killed
dozens of people, including a man struck
by a mortar bomb that slammed into a
nearby Jordanian border town.
Rocket fired from
Syria kills one in Jordan: govt source:
A rocket fired from Syria hit a city in
northern Jordan Thursday, killing one
person and wounding four, a government
source said, without indicating who may
have been responsible.
US Murders 9
alleged militants' in Yemen:
The latest strike by a drone hit a
vehicle in Rafadh, a town in the
southern Shabwa province, killing all
five suspected militants, a local
official and tribesmen there told AFP.
Snowden Documents
Suggest UK Intelligence Support For US
Murders In Yemen:
New details of a drone strike in Yemen,
conducted under the United States'
targeted killing program in the country,
reveal the scope of U.K. intelligence
involvement, leading to calls for
transparency in the operations of
Britain’s top spy agency.
New Snowden docs
show how US cooperates with allies in
drone killings:
The documents also discuss how the
strike was a product of the joint
program between the US, British and
Australian intelligence agencies. The
Guardian described the program,
codenamed “Overhead,” as operation based
on “satellite, radio and some phone
collection of intelligence.”
Saudi-led
airstrikes, rebel shelling kills 9
civilians in Yemen:
They said five civilians were killed
Thursday when airstrikes targeted Shia
rebels, also known as Houthis, in a
market in the northern province of Jawf.
At least four civilians were killed when
the Houthis shelled a residential area
in the southern port city of Aden.
UN Warns Yemen
'collapsing' as Qaeda Seizes Army Camp:
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon warned
Thursday that Yemen was falling apart
and called for action to avert chaos, as
Al-Qaeda fighters overran an army camp
and seized heavy weaponry.
UN warns of
impending famine in conflict-torn Yemen:
The Houthi-controlled Interior Ministry
said that some 20 civilians were killed
Tuesday by Saudi-led air raids.
Three Saudi
soldiers, 1 Emirati killed on Yemen
border:
Three Saudi soldiers and an Emirati have
been killed on Saudi Arabia's border
with Yemen, where Riyadh is a leading a
bombing campaign against Iran-backed
rebels, state media said Thursday.
Palestine submits
file to ICC over Israeli war crimes:
ICC prosecutor to decide if there is
evidence to open full-scale probe into
Israeli crimes on Palestinian territory.
Israel’s Arab
citizens fight for a roof over their
heads;
The Israeli authorities razed his home
for the second time in two months last
week. He is now under house arrest,
confined to a friend’s home and
separated from his wife and children.
15 Boko Haram
fighters killed in Niger:
Fifteen Boko Haram fighters were killed
and 20 others arrested by Defence and
Security Forces (FDS) during clashes in
the Diffa region of Niger, near the
Nigerian border, defence ministry
announces.
Five people
killed in 'Boko Haram' attack in
southeast Niger:
Suspected Boko Haram militants killed
five people and injured four others in
an attack in southeast Niger Tuesday
night, state radio announced Thursday.
Nigeria: 10 dead,
30 injured in Boko Haram suicide attack
by suspected 12 year-old girl bomber:
Ten people were killed at a market in
northeast Nigeria when a girl thought to
be aged just 12 detonated explosives she
was carrying, a relative of one of the
injured victims and a health worker
said.
Emails to Hillary
contradict French tale on Libya war:
French spies secretly organized and
funded the Libyan rebels who defeated
Moammar Gadhafi, according to
confidential emails to Hillary Clinton
that were made public on June 22.
15 Emails Missing
From Hillary Clinton Cache, State Dept.
Says:
The emails all predate the Sept. 11
assault on the U.S. diplomatic facility
and include scant words written by
Clinton herself, the officials said.
They consist of more in a series of
would-be intelligence reports passed to
her by longtime political confidant
Sidney Blumenthal, the officials said.
Putin calls Obama
to discuss Ukraine, ISIS, Iran nuclear
deal: White House:
The US said earlier this week it would
deploy heavy weapons in central and
eastern Europe for the first time. The
US announcement followed promises by
Nato on Monday to step up its military
presence in eastern Europe, against the
backdrop of the conflict in Ukraine.
Poroshenko inks
permission for foreign troops in Ukraine:
The Ukrainian president has sealed
amendments to the law that allow foreign
troops to be present in Ukraine as part
of an international peacekeeping force.
The legislation also potentially allows
the presence of weapons of mass
destruction in the country.
No deal for
Greece, creditors; top-level talks
resume Saturday:
Greece failed again to clinch a deal
with its international creditors on
Thursday, setting up a last-ditch effort
on Saturday to either avert a default
next week or start preparing to protect
the euro zone from financial market
turmoil.
France, Up In
Arms Over NSA Spying, Passes New
Surveillance Law:
Top-secret documents provided by
WikiLeaks to, Mediapart and Libération,
showed that the NSA had access to
confidential conversations of France’s
highest ranking officials, including the
country’s current president, François
Hollande; the prime minister in 2012,
Jean-Marc Ayrault; and former presidents
Nicolas Sarkozy and Jacques Chirac.
U.S., European
authorities investigate possible new
leaker: sources:
U.S. and European security authorities
are investigating whether a previously
unknown leaker provided sensitive
intelligence documents to WikiLeaks
about alleged U.S. spying on French
politicians, according to sources
familiar with the matter.
France cracks
down on Uber service after protests:
France's interior minister has ordered a
ban on the low-cost car-sharing service
UberPOP after a day of nationwide
protests by taxi drivers. Bernard
Cazeneuve said the service was "illegal"
and ordered police and prosecutors to
enforce its closure.
Chrome update
turns browsers into covert listening
tools:
The default behavior of hotword, a new,
black-box module in Chrome (and its
free/open cousin, Chromium) causes it to
silently switch on your computer's
microphone and send whatever it hears to
Google.
Apple’s
co-founder: We’re all going to be
robots’ pets one day:
Fast forward hundreds of years to when
robots are in charge. At that time,
humans will probably be treated in a
similar fashion to dogs, Wozniak said
during an event at the Freescale
Technology Forum 2015 in Austin, Texas.
Are We on the
Verge of a Nuclear Breakdown?:
Air Force officers at America's nuke
sites work 24-hour-shifts in antique
underground capsules launching fake
attacks straight out of 'Strangelove' —
and they're ready to blow
If the war is
over, why am I still here?:
One of Guantanamo's long-term hunger
strikers talks about his painful
everyday reality.
Hackers Stole
Secrets of U.S. Government Workers’ Sex
Lives:
Infidelity. Sexual fetishes. Drug abuse.
Crushing debt. They’re the most intimate
secrets of U.S. government workers. And
now they’re in the hands of foreign
hackers.
Clinton suddenly
in a tight battle with Sanders in NH:
Less than two months ago, former
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton held
a 21 percentage point lead over her
nearest competitor in the New Hampshire
Democratic presidential primary
campaign. Now, her edge is down to 8
percentage points over Vermont U.S. Sen.
Bernie Sanders.
Interview with
Green Party’s Jill Stein
: Dr. Jill Stein officially launches her
campaign as a Green Party candidate for
the 2016 presidential race. "I have a
people-powered campaign," Stein notes.
"I am running with the only national
party that does not take corporate
funding.
|
June 25, 2015
Propaganda
Reigns In The West
By Paul Craig Roberts |
 |
Putin
responds to threats, to
illegal sanctions, and to
incessant propaganda with
statements that governments
need to respect each other’s
national interests and to
work together for common
benefit.
-
Continue |
Airstrikes kill
100 in Yemen:
Ground fighting and Saudi-led airstrikes
targeting Yemen's Shi'ite rebels have
killed nearly 100 people as negotiators
in neighbouring Oman tried to reach a
truce, Yemeni security officials say.
UN warns of
impending famine in conflict-torn Yemen:
- The U.N. special envoy for Yemen
warned Wednesday that the conflict-torn
Middle East nation is "one step" from
famine, with 31 million people in need
of humanitarian assistance compared with
just 7 million two years ago.
19 IS fighters
killed in failed attack on Syria Alawite
town: monitor:
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights
said three pro-government militants were
also killed repelling the attack on the
village of Jub al-Jarahred with just 7
million two years ago.
ISIS suicide
bombers kill 10 Syria soldiers: monitor:
Two suicide bombers from the Islamic
State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) group
have killed 10 Syrian soldiers in the
northeastern city of Hasakeh, the Syrian
Observatory for Human Rights said
Wednesday.
14 killed in Iraq
suicide bombing claimed by ISIS:
A suicide bomber detonated a car bomb at
a gathering of Iraqi Sunni tribal
leaders, killing 14 people in an attack
claimed Wednesday by the Islamic State
group, police said.
Iranian militias,
U.S. personnel sharing Iraqi military
base:
Two senior officials from the Obama
administration confirmed that the
Taqqadum military base in Anbar is being
shared by each nation, Bloomberg News
reported Monday.
GOP senator
erupts at report the US is sharing a
military base with Iranian-backed forces:
"Many American soldiers lost their lives
to Iran's proxies and Iranian-supplied
bombs," he added. "Further, Iran is the
leading state sponsor of terrorism and
has been attacking the United States for
decades.
10 Must-Read
Saudi Cables on Iraq:
Here are ten of the most insightful
leaked cables concerning Iraq:
France to study
building nuclear reactors in Saudi
Arabia:
France said Wednesday it will look into
building two nuclear reactors in Saudi
Arabia as the two countries announced
deals worth $12 billion (10.7 billion
euros).
85 "militants"
including Taliban key commander killed
in N. Afghanistan:
"In the wake of launching a surprise
counter-offensive and taking back
Chardara district early today, the
security forces begun chasing Taliban
insurgents and so far 85 armed
insurgents including a key commander
Mawlawi Rahmatullah nicknamed Mawlawi
Mohammad have been killed,"
Afghan forces
recapture key district from Taliban:
Afghan government forces regained
control of a key district near the
northern city of Kunduz on Tuesday,
after Taliban fighters had threatened to
capture a provincial capital for the
first time since being driven from power
in 2001.
10 Militants
Killed in Pakistan:
At least 10 militants were killed by the
Pakistan Rangers during two
intelligence-based operations in the
Sindh province, media reported on
Wednesday.
40 killed in
suspected Boko Haram attacks in Nigeria:
witnesses:
About 40 people have been killed by
suspected Boko Haram militants who
torched houses and shot people as they
fled in two villages in northeast
Nigeria's Borno state, witnesses told
Reuters on Wednesday.
9 killed in bomb
blast in the Somali capital:
A Somali police officer says nine people
have been killed after a suicide bomber
blew himself up on Wednesday as he tried
to ram his explosives-laden car into a
convoy of vehicles carrying foreign
officials in the Somali capital.
Sisi’s invite to
the UK: A terrible message to the world:
David Cameron is sending a terrible
message to the Middle East by inviting
Egyptian President Abdel al-Sisi to
Britain
Russia’s Caucasus
Islamists ‘pledge allegiance’ to ISIS:
Islamist militants in four regions of
Russia’s Caucasus have pledged
allegiance to the Islamic State of Iraq
and Syria (ISIS) group, according to a
recording which was welcomed by ISIS
after being posted online.
Preparing for attack on
Russia?
NATO to boost
special defense forces to 40,000 -
Stoltenberg:
The announcement was made in Brussels
ahead of a meeting of NATO defense
ministers.The current strength of the
Spearhead Force is 13,000
troops.Secretary General Stoltenberg
said the threefold increase in troops
was “substantial.”
|
Putin extends
Western food ban for one year :
Russian President Vladimir Putin on
Wednesday extended a ban against most
Western food imports for a year after EU
foreign ministers agreed to prolong
sanctions against Moscow over the
Ukraine conflict until January 2016. "We
are extending our retaliatory measures
by one year beginning from today."
Turkey says 6
migrants drown off Greek island of Kos :
The Izmir governorship said Wednesday
that six coast guard vessels and a
helicopter were involved in a rescue of
migrants off a sinking ship early
Tuesday. Turkey's coast guard says it
rescued 70 migrants from the ship,
including a five-year-old girl.
EU migrant quota
plan 'not going to fly,' officials say:
European Union officials say that member
countries will never agree at the EU
summit opening Thursday to plans that
will oblige them to share thousands of
refugees arriving in Greece and Italy.
Greece slams
creditors as hopes dim for debt deal:
Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras
lashed out at his country's creditors
ahead of critical talks Wednesday,
denting hopes of a final debt deal to
prevent Athens from defaulting and
leaving the euro.
PM Tsipras says
Greek creditors didn’t accept reform
plan:
Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras said the
international creditors didn’t accept
the new Greek proposals prior to another
round of negotiations on Wednesday.
Fears are escalating Greece could
default and leave the eurozone.
WikiLeaks: NSA
spied on French presidents for years:
WikiLeaks has published a report on how
the NSA had spied on three French
Presidents. French President Hollande
called an emergency meeting for
Wednesday.
France summons US
ambassador over 'unacceptable' spying:
France’s president, François Hollande,
has described reported spying by the US
on senior French officials as
unacceptable and said Paris would not
tolerate actions that threaten its
security.
US says 'We do
not and will not' spy on France :
The White House insisted on Tuesday it
is not targeting French President
Francois Hollande's communications and
will not do so, after documents released
by the online whistleblower WikiLeaks
showed the United States wiretapped
three French leaders, including him.
Wikileaks: Saudi
Arabia has bailed out failing Middle
East media organizations in exchange for
pro-Saudi coverage :
In many ways, the cables paint a picture
of a Saudi Arabia taking advantage of
media outlets struggling to survive to
champion its policies or criticize its
foes, including Iran, Lebanon's
Iranian-backed Hezbollah or the regime
of Syrian President Bashar Assad.
Snowden papers
suggest possible UK role in U.S. drone
strike :
Two global newspapers say documents
provided by former NSA contractor Edward
Snowden raise questions about whether
British intelligence played a role in a
2012 U.S. drone strike in Yemen.
Modern humans and
Neanderthals 'interbred in Europe';
Modern humans and Neanderthals interbred
in Europe, an analysis of
40,000-year-old DNA suggests. The study
suggests an early Homo sapiens settler
in Europe harboured a Neanderthal
ancestor just a few generations back in
his family line.
This Shadow
Government Agency Is Scarier Than the
NSA:
Its investigations go far beyond
traditional security “vetting”; NSAC
scours certain select government
employees, contractors and their
affiliates, examining multiple layers of
connected relatives and associates.
New York City to
settle Muslim surveillance lawsuit for
spying on mosques, student groups and
workplaces:
Muslim community leaders, charities and
mosques said their constitutional
religious rights were being violated and
city lawyers claimed both parties
reached a settlement, the Associated
Press reported.
Alabama gov.
orders Confederate flags removed from
Capitol grounds
: With no fanfare,
Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley ordered the
removal of four Confederate flags from a
memorial at the Alabama State Capitol on
Wednesday amid a growing controversy
over their official display in the wake
of the killing of African Americans at a
South Carolina church.
Republicans Awash
In White Supremacist Money
: "The leader of a rightwing group that
Dylann Roof allegedly credits with
helping to radicalise him against black
people before the Charleston church
massacre has donated tens of thousands
of dollars to Republicans such as
presidential candidates Ted Cruz, Rand
Paul and Rick Santorum.
Here Are Some Top
New York Times Editors Joking About Mass
Killings
: It’s interesting to see in two leaked
photos that the paper’s brass has a
sense of humor behind its respectable
front—even if that humor veers into
“making light of mass killings”
territory.
Hawkish Hillary
Clinton and Her Israel-First Political
Sugar Daddy Haim Saban:
Hillary Clinton’s greatest billionaire
backer has been Haim Saban, a dual
United States-Israel citizen and
hardline supporter of Israel, who has
openly commented, “I’m a one-issue guy,
and my issue is Israel…
Trump on the
Issues, in 13 Putrid Quotes:
"You know, it doesn't really matter what
(the media) write as long as you've got
a young and beautiful piece of ass."
June
23, 2015
China
Syndrome
By Mike Whitney |
 |
The “show
of force” drills are
designed to harass and
intimidate China. They
have no other purpose.
-
Continue |
Europe's Malpractice of
Greece
By James K. Galbraith |
 |
The Greek
patient is in a bad way
and needs a potent
remedy to make a swift
recovery, but Europe's
financial hospital seems
to have forgotten its
Hippocratic Oath.
-
Continue |
Mass grave
found in Tal Afar and several homes
detonated in Mosul:
“On the outskirts of Tal Afar,
locals found a mass grave of 70
Iraqi army soldiers on Monday,”
Saeed Mamuzini, a media officer for
the Kurdistan Democratic Party’s (KDP)
17th branch in Mosul, told Rudaw.
Carter,
Dempsey paint bleak picture of Iraq
situation:
Defense Secretary Ashton Carter
conceded that the U.S. did not move
quickly enough to arm Iraqi Security
Forces in their struggle against
ISIS, and disclosed that the U.S.
will train just 7,000 of the 24,000
Iraqi troops it had expected to by
the fall due to a lack of recruits.
'Iraq is no
more': Congress, Pentagon coming to
terms with 3-way split:
Carter said the Defense Department
does consider a future that involves
three Iraqs, not one. The nation
could be split into a Kurdish, Sunni
and Shiite territory
New Isis
video shows hostages decapitated,
blown up or drowned
: Isis has released gruesome footage
claiming to show the murder of more
than a dozen men by drowning,
decapitation and using a
rocket-propelled grenade as it seeks
to boost morale among its fanatical
supporters.
Kurds
'capture Syrian town north of Raqqa':
Kurdish fighters in northern Syria
say they have captured a key town
from Islamic State, just 50km (30
miles) from the group's headquarters
at Raqqa. The Kurds' rapid advance
through Raqqa province continued on
Monday with the fall of Brigade 93,
a base which IS captured from the
Syrian military last year
Pentagon pays Syrians $400
per month to fight ISIL:
The Pentagon has begun paying modest
stipends to the Syrian
mercenaries it hopes to field
in the fight against Islamic State
militants, the military confirmed
Monday.
Syria Asks
Western Countries Like US Not To
Shed ‘Crocodile Tears’ For Its
People:
Syria accused the United
States and some of its European
allies of a double standard for
demanding a halt to airstrikes on
Aleppo. The Syrian Foreign Ministry
accused the West of ignoring the
fact Syria is fighting extremists
and "shedding crocodile tears" for
the people of Syria.
Druzi
Minority Blocks Transfer of
Terrorists Wounded in Syrian Battles
for Treatment in Israel:
The Druzi youth in Syria's Golan
Heights stood up to the Israeli
forces and blocked the road to the
Israeli army ambulances carrying the
terrorists injured in battles in
Syria for treatment in Israel.
One Syrian
killed in Druze attack on IDF
ambulance carrying wounded rebels:
One Syrian militant was beaten to
death and one was wounded in very
serious-to-critical condition after
Druze protesters attacked Monday
night an Israel Defense Forces
ambulance in northern Israel
carrying Syrian members of armed
militias wounded in the civil war
there. Two Israeli soldiers were
lightly wounded.
39 killed,
dozens wounded in south Yemen
clashes:
In Aden, Yemen's second city, seven
civilians killed and 94 were wounded
after Shiite Huthi rebels fired
rockets on neighbourhoods controlled
by troops loyal to exiled President
Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi, the city's
health chief Al-Khader Laswar told
AFP.
Israeli
forces shoot, injure 2 Palestinians
in southern Gaza:
Israeli forces were reported to have
opened fire intermittently on
Palestinian civilians near the
border
“Balance” in
UN Gaza report can’t hide massive
Israeli war crimes:
There can be no surprise that the UN
Human Rights Council’s independent
investigation of Israel’s assault on
Gaza last summer found evidence of
massive and systematic war crimes.
In Israel, we
walk amongst killers and torturers:
In our homes, our streets and our
places of work and entertainment,
there are thousands of people who
killed and tortured thousands of
other people or supervised their
killing and torture
France
suggests U.N. peace plan, Israel
unequivocally objects:
The French peace proposal reportedly
would have three components: a
return to direct Israeli-Palestinian
talks, a committee of
representatives from world and
regional powers to facilitate the
negotiations, and a United Nations
Security Council resolution that
would set a timetable for the
process.
Abbas to
French FM: Only those who 'recognize
the state of Israel' allowed in
unity government
: "[Abbas] told me this government
of national unity could only include
women and men who recognize Israel,
renounce violence and who are in
agreement with the principles of the
Quartet," Fabius said at a press
conference in Ramallah.
Hundreds of
Ethiopian-Israelis clash with police
in Tel Aviv protest:
Demonstrators protest 'police
racism,' and deride decision to
close criminal investigation into
police officer who manhandled an
Ethiopian-Israeli soldier.
WikiLeaks
'Saudi Cables': Gulf States were
willing to pay $10bn for Mubarak's
release:
An undated cable, labeled “top
secret,” quotes an unnamed Egyptian
official saying the Muslim
Brotherhood would agree to release
Mubarak in exchange for $10 billion
"since the Egyptian people will not
benefit from his imprisonment."
Egyptian
Forces Kill 22 Suspected Militants
Outside Mosque In North Sinai:
Security forces killed 22 suspected
militants in North Sinai on Monday,
security sources said, adding that
those killed planned to target
security forces.
Nigeria: Bomb
at fish market kills at least 20;
At least 20 people have been killed
after female suicide bombers
attacked a fish market in Nigeria's
north-eastern city of Maiduguri,
eyewitnesses have told the BBC.
Nigeria's
Buhari says government is short of
money:
Nigeria's treasury is "virtually
empty", President Muhammadu Buhari
has said. He vowed to recover
billions of dollars "stolen" under
previous administrations.
Airstrike
kills 15 IS affiliates in Libya's
Sirte:
"A warplane attacked a location of
IS militants in Noflia town, some
120 km east of Sirte, killing 15
militants and injuring 10 others," a
source for the 166 Battalion militia
of the Islamist militant Libya Dawn
told Xinhua.
Migrant
killed and another injured after
‘Libyan patrol boat’ opens fire on
crowded vessel
: One migrant was killed and another
seriously injured after unidentified
persons opened fire on their rubber
dinghy while travelling in Libyan
waters, according to reports.
Rwanda angry
over London arrest of spy chief
Karenzi Karake:
The Rwandan
government has branded the arrest of
its intelligence chief Karenzi
Karake as "an outrage". Gen Karake,
54, was arrested at Heathrow Airport
on Saturday, accused of ordering
massacres in the wake of the 1994
Rwanda genocide.
Ebola Returns
to Sierra Leone Capital After Weeks
of No New Cases:
Two new cases of the deadly Ebola
virus have been recorded in Sierra
Leone’s capital city of Freetown,
about three weeks after the most
recent new cases were found,
underscoring the difficulty of
ridding the region of the disease.
Afghanistan:
14 insurgents killed in raids:
Ministry of Interior (MoI) said that
Afghan National Police (ANP) in
collaboration with Afghan National
Army (ANA) and National Directorate
of Security (NDS) has conducted
clearance operations against
insurgents in different areas of
Uruzgan, Farah, Kunduz and Helmand
provinces. In these operations 14
rebels were eliminated and eight
others injured.
7 gunmen
killed as Taliban attack Afghan
parliament:
All seven Taliban militants who
staged a spectacular attack on the
Afghan parliament on Monday were
killed in a battle with security
forces that also left 21 people
wounded.
US kills six
people in Afghanistan:
At least six suspected Taliban
fighters, including an alleged
commander have been killed in a U.S.
drone airstrike in eastern
Afghanistan’s Nangarhar province, a
provincial police official said
Monday.
Taliban has a
major northern Afghan city within
its grasp for the first time since
2001:
Taliban forces converge on Kunduz:
The government in Kabul has
dispatched reinforcements, including
Afghan special forces and their U.S.
advisers and trainers, to try to
repel the insurgents and rescue
about 75 soldiers and police
officers trapped inside their
district base.
Afghanistan's
security on the brink of collapse:
The Taliban attacks on the Afghan
parliament and the northern city of
Kunduz are a reflection of the
fragile security situation
prevailing in the country. DW
examines.
Pakistan
heatwave: Emergency measures as toll
nears 700:
Pakistan's prime minister has called
for emergency measures as the death
toll from a heatwave in southern
Sindh province reached nearly 700.
The army is also being deployed to
help set up heat stroke centres,
with temperatures reaching 45C
(113F).
Australia
prepares new citizenship laws:
Australia says it will reveal new
laws stripping citizenship from dual
nationals engaged in terrorism. The
laws would also strip citizenship
from dual nationals who engaged in
terrorism inside Australia. The
government said changes to the
Australian Citizenship Act would be
introduced to parliament on
Wednesday.
NATO May
Station 40,000 Troops Near Russian
Border; US To Supply Aircraft,
Weapons:
The proposal would mark a
significant increase in the number
of NATO troops in the region, as
there were just 4,000 troops there
in 2014
US deploying
250 military vehicles 'including
Abrams tanks' to Europe near Russian
border:
Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia,
Lithuania, Poland, and Romania will
be hosting the new hardware, and it
will be possible to move it around
for exercises, Carter said as he
stood with his Estonian, Latvian and
Lithuanian counterparts on a visit
to Tallinn.
Pro
war propaganda:
US nuclear missile commander says
Vladimir Putin's actions echo those
of Nazi Germany in the 1930s
: “Some of the actions by Russia
recently we haven’t seen since the
1930s, when whole countries were
annexed and borders were changed by
decree.”
EU extends
Russia sanctions to 2016:
"Russia naturally considers these
sanctions groundless, unlawful. And
we have never been the initiators of
the sanction measures," President
Putin's press secretary was quoted
as saying by Russia's Echo Mosvky
radio station.
Boeing’s 747
Jumbo Boosted by $7.4 Billion Order
From Russia:
Boeing Co. said it struck a $7.4
billion deal to sell 747-8
freighters to Russia’s Volga-Dnepr
Group, providing a much-needed boost
to the jumbo-jet program amid
flagging demand for four-engine
aircraft.
Greece: The
ball is in Europe's court on debt
deal:
Tsipras presented a proposal on
Monday that was expected to be
reviewed by Thursday when all 28 EU
leaders will meet to consider the
offer.
Greece
defends 'harsh' reforms it promised
creditors:
Greece's government defended Tuesday
the billions worth of "harsh" new
budget savings it has offered in
talks with creditors, as some of the
governing party's own lawmakers
spoke out against them.
Over 2,700
migrants rescued in Mediterranean -
Italy coast guard:
Ships patrolling the Mediterranean
plucked more than 2,700 migrants
from overcrowded and unsafe boats on
Monday and rescue operations are
continuing, Italy's coast guard said
on Tuesday.
Calais
migrants seek to exploit port strike:
A strike has forced the suspension
of services through the Channel
Tunnel between the UK and France, as
hundreds of migrants try to board
UK-bound lorries amid the chaos.
UK: Children
fleeing warzones illegally held in
adult detention centers,
investigation finds:
Vulnerable children fleeing warzones
in the Middle East are being wrongly
classified as over-18s and
imprisoned in adult detention
centers, despite the government
having outlawed child detention, a
report has said.
'Epidemic of
food riots' could trigger society
collapse by 2040, warn scientists:
With the global demand for food on
the rise, our society could collapse
as soon as in 2040 due to fatal food
shortages and "unprecedented
epidemic of food riots," if counter
measures are not taken, researchers
have warned.
Corporations Win Again:
Senate Passes Obamatrade Fast-Track
Bill:
Union leaders warn enabling
Fast-Track prematurely would
"compound its expected negative
impacts, leaving U.S. workers in the
lurch and depriving the U.S.
manufacturing sector of vital tools
necessary to combat unfair trade."
Trump Surges
in Popularity in N.H., Taking Second
Place in Suffolk Poll
: The New York developer and reality
television star is second among 2016
presidential candidates in a new
Suffolk University poll of New
Hampshire Republicans – behind only
former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush.
Green Party’s
Jill Stein Announces She Is Running
for President:
"I am running with the only national
party that does not take corporate
funding." Stein, a physician and
activist who first ran in 2012,
outlines her platform
|
June 21, 2015
|
The
Odd American View of
Negotiation
By Paul R. Pillar
|
 |
Negotiation is an
encounter between
diplomats in which the
United States makes its
demands—sometimes
expressed as “red
lines”—and the other
side accepts those
demands
-
Continue |
|
Oren:
Obama Abandoned Israel
By Times of Israel staff |
 |
According
to Oren, Israeli leaders
typically received
advance copies of major
American policy
statements on the Middle
East and could submit
their comments.
-
Continue |
|
Trump
for President?
By Paul Craig Roberts |
 |
A “con
man” they say, but what
else is the President of
the United States? Do
you think you weren’t
conned by Clinton,
George W. Bush, and
Obama?
-
Continue |
More than 42
people killed across Syria:
At least 42 people have been killed
in violence across Syria, including
20 rebel fighters battling the
Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant
group in a suburb of the northern
city of Aleppo, a monitoring group
said.
35 ISIL
Terrorists Killed in Iraqi
Airstrikes:
Iraq's Ministry of Defense issued a
statement on Sunday, saying that the
Iraqi fighter jets pounded the
hideouts of the ISIL Takfiri group
in the district of Al-Karma, Western
Baghdad, claiming the lives of more
than 35 militants.
Iraq: Eight
German nationals were among the 22
jihadists killed in airtrikes
: The official told DPA that US-led
alliance jets had bombarded the
village of Aski Mosul, in territory
held by the extremist militia, but
would not say when the strikes took
place.
Bombings kill
at least 5 people near Iraqi
capital, Baghdad:
A police officer says a bomb went
off today in an outdoor market in
the town of Mahmudiyah, about 30
kilometres south of Baghdad, killing
three civilians and wounding nine.
Israel bombs
Lebanon to destroy own downed drone
- reports:
A blast has been reported near the
town of Saghbein in a remote area of
Lebanon's western Bekaa, sources
told agencies. Hezbollah-run Al
Manar TV said, an Israeli drone was
downed in the area and the airstrike
was Israel’s attempt to destroy it.
Lebanese
police seen beating prisoners in
leaked videos:
Videos leaked on social media have
revealed police officers beating and
torturing several prisoners held in
Lebanon's Roumieh prison, prompting
the justice minister to call for an
investigation into the incidents.
Saudi-led
coalition air raids kill 15 across
Yemen:
The dead included five women and two
children in attacks on Saada and
Marib provinces, the agency said.
Yemen: Al
Houthi shelling in Aden kills three
civilians:
Al Houthi
shelling of residential areas in
Yemen’s Aden killed at least three
civilians on Sunday, as air strikes
by the Saudi-led coalition hit
suspected Al Houthi targets in the
southern city, medics and witnesses
said.
Yemeni rebels
persist even as their heartland is
destroyed in war:
Yemen’s Houthi rebels are enduring
fierce bombing raids in their
northern strongholds, as a Saudi-led
campaign pounds neighborhoods,
markets and power facilities,
according to residents and aid
workers.
Yemeni Troops Seize Control
of Saudi Military Base:
According to Arab media outlets, the
Ansarullah forces supported by the
army soldiers took over Saudi
Arabia's al-Makhrouq military base
in the city of Najran in a
retaliation attack. The reports
added that the Saudi soldiers fled
the region after the military base
came under the Yemeni forces'
control.
First
Pro-Independence Armed Movement
Emerges in Saudi Najran:
The first political and armed
movement against Riyadh has formally
announced its existence in the
strategic city of Najran near the
Saudi border with Yemen, media
reports said.
Buying
Silence: How the Saudi Foreign
Ministry controls Arab media:
Saudi Arabia controls its image by
monitoring media and buying
loyalties from Australia to Canada
and everywhere in between.
Afghanistan:
12 Soldiers Killed in Ongoing Kunduz
Clashes:
"About 70 other soldiers are
surrounded by the Taliban insurgents
and clashes still continue in the
city. The insurgents are moving
forward after taking control of
Chardara," he said.
6 Afghan
policemen killed in shootout with
Taliban:
Six Afghan police forces have been
killed in a shootout with a group of
Taliban militants who attacked a
security checkpoint in the
central-eastern part of the
war-ravaged country, APA reports
quoting XInhua
Isis in
Afghanistan: Terrorist group
executes three Taliban militants
/ Pics: Just days after receiving a
letter from the Taliban warning them
to stay out of Afghanistan, Isis
fighters executed three militants
accused of defecting. The letter
allegedly told the terrorist group
there is only room for "one flag,
one leadership" as the turf war
escalates.
ISIS Plans To
Launch Terror Attacks Across India:
The Salafi jihadi militant group –
controlling over territory occupied
by 10 million people in Iraq and
Syria, and some areas in Libya and
Nigeria – has already activated its
sympathisers in India.
Militiamen
kill dozens of Daesh fighters in
Libya:
Dozens of fighters from the Daesh
group were killed in Libya on
Saturday as militiamen sought to
dislodge them from a neighbourhood
in the eastern city of Derna, Libyan
news agency Lana reported.
Somalia: four
Islamist gunmen killed during
intelligence agency attack, say
security officials:
Officials showed bullet-ridden
bodies to the media, which they
claimed were the al-Shabaab gunmen.
Tuareg Rebels
Sign Historic Peace Deal With Malian
Government :
A coalition of Tuareg-led rebels
signed a historic peace deal with
the Malian government Saturday,
after securing more autonomy from
Bamako.
3 killed as
clashes grip Ukraine ahead of talks:
Ukraine on Sunday reported the death
of two soldiers, while pro-Russian
rebels accused Kiev's forces of
killing a civilian as fresh clashes
preceded peace talks aimed at ending
the 15-month war.
Ukraine’s
Right Sector rejects Minsk deal,
calls for renewed offensive in E.
Ukraine:
The ultranationalist Right Sector
political party has once again
rejected the Minsk ceasefire
agreement, calling on President
Petro Poroshenko to renew the
military offensive in the eastern
part of the country.
US preparing
to counter Russian ‘aggression’:
US Secretary of Defence Ashton
Carter will visit his European
counterparts this week to take stock
of cooperation with Nato in the wake
of Russian aggression in Crimea and
Ukraine. ”This month the US and Nato
have achieved their highest
operational tempo of training and
exercises since Cold War,” a US
defence official said Friday.
McCain: US
will supply gas to Ukraine, Europe
in 2 yrs:
The US will be able to supply
natural gas to Ukraine and Europe
within two years, Senator John
McCain pledged in Kiev. The American
politician believes that only gas
reliance prevents European countries
from hardening sanctions against
Russia.
Creditors
offer Greece six-month bailout
reprieve as Tsipras weighs response:
Deal may also include up to €18bn in
rescue funds, and later debt relief,
but EU officials stress Greek prime
minister must make concessions.
Greece offers
new proposals ahead of emergency
summit:
Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras
made a new offer on a reforms
package to foreign creditors on
Sunday, signalling 11th-hour
concessions to break a deadlock that
has pushed Greece to the brink of
bankruptcy.
Greeks Rally
in Support of Syriza Ahead of EU
Summit
: On the eve of an emergency meeting
of the European Union, thousands
took to the streets of Athens to
support the left-wing governments
anti-austerity positions with
European lender.
IMF 'Trained'
Greek Journalists in DC to Promote
Its Position in the Media:
Greece's former representative to
the International Monetary Fund
(IMF) said that Greek journalists
were "trained" to promote the
policies the IMF and the European
Commission had toward the country's
debt.
In pictures:
‘250k people’ march in central
London End Austerity Now demo
: Organisers of the End Austerity
Now march on Whitehall estimate that
a quarter of a million people have
come out for the demonstration,
which our reporter Kate Nelson
describes as ‘very lively’ and full
of ‘happy’ protesters.
Symbolic
funeral in Berlin to protest
treatment of migrants:
Demonstrators in Berlin hold a
symbolic funeral and clash with
police to protest the EU treatment
of migrants crossing the sea from
Africa. Diane Hodges reports.
UN's outgoing
humanitarian chief: 'I feel a sense
of shame':
It is a time of almost unprecedented
suffering. The UN is dealing with
more people displaced, forced to
flee from their homes, than at any
time since the Second World War - in
total more than 50 million people.
Saudi Arabia
warns against sharing 'faked'
cables:
Saudi Arabia has urged its citizens
not to distribute "documents that
might be faked" in an apparent
response to WikiLeaks' publication
on Friday of more than 60,000
documents it says are secret Saudi
diplomatic communications.
Propaganda:
Sctland Yard
told: look into Snowden:
SCOTLAND YARD has been urged to
investigate Edward Snowden, the
fugitive American whistleblower,
after it emerged that the government
believes secret material he stole
from British and US intelligence
agencies has fallen into the hands
of Russia and China.
Earth
'entering new extinction phase' - US
study:
"If it is allowed to continue, life
would take many millions of years to
recover and our species itself would
likely disappear early on," said the
lead author, Gerardo Ceballos.
10 Hurt After
Men With Shotgun Open Fire on Block
Party in West Philadelphia;
Witnesses told police that two
unknown males opened fire on the
block with a shotgun. The suspects,
according to witnesses, then got
into a car and fired more shots,
possibly with a handgun. Suspect are
described as a black males in their
20’s
Sanders
delivers blistering condemnation of
business, billionaires:
Breathing a progressive political
fire, Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders
ignited Colorado supporters with a
blistering condemnation of
billionaires and corporations,
drawing a crowd of nearly 5,000 to
Denver — the largest of his
Democratic presidential campaign
since the May kickoff.
Three Issues
Candidate Sanders Didn’t Address at
His L.A. Fundraiser:
The independent socialist said a lot
of the right things, but he avoided
the topics of foreign policy and
Edward Snowden. Also, what’s his
real motivation for running?
Ralph Nader:
Trump for President? Giving GOP
nightmares:
If he is still campaigning by Labor
Day, watch out Republicans! He will
be a big nightmare for Republican
contenders – from Jeb Bush to Ted
Cruz, from John Kasich to Scott
Walker.
Media
Uncritically Report Jeb Bush's
"Nonsense" Economic Policies:
Several media outlets parroted
Republican presidential candidate
Jeb Bush's economic message after he
claimed his administration would
oversee 4 percent economic growth
and the creation of up to 19 million
new jobs. But economists argue that
his goals are unrealistic, and
question the impact any single
president can have on "decades-long
trends."
Jobless rate
jumps in 25 states
: Rates fell in nine states and
Washington, D.C., and were unchanged
in 16 states, the Labor Department
said Friday.
If
Chemotherapy Fails 97% Of The Time,
Why Do Doctors Recommend It?:
Chemo drugs are unique in that the
doctors purchase them from the
pharmaceutical company and then sell
them to patients at a profit.
|
40 IS militants killed in
clashes, air strikes in central Iraq:
A total of 40 Islamic State (IS) militants were
killed on Saturday in U.S.-led coalition air
strikes and clashes with Iraqi security forces
and allied militias in Iraq's western province
of Anbar and north of the capital Baghdad, Iraqi
defense ministry said, APA reports quoting
Xinhua.
5 alleged terrorists
killed by US-led airstrike in northern Fallujah:
“The aerial bombing resulted in killing 5 ISIS
elements and the destruction of a container and
booby-trapped vehicles.”
Why the US military
opposed new combat roles in Iraq:
News Analysis - The story
published in the Washington Post on 13 June
shows how the US military service chiefs -
prefer an inconclusive war with IS and existing
constraints on US involvement, to one with even
the most US limited combat role.
500 detained in Iraq
after mass arrests near Baghdad, reports:
“They arrested a huge number of people without
giving any reason,”
ISIL claims car blast in
Sanaa as air strikes hit Aden:
At least two people killed and 16 others wounded
following a blast outside a Shia mosque in
Yemeni capital.
Leaks from Saudi ministry
appear to show extent of influence over regional
media:
Documents, the first of 500,000 to be released
by WikiLeaks, appear to show Foreign Ministry
planning to buy media influence.
Dozens Killed in Attack
on Islamic State in Libya:
Dozens of fighters from the Islamic State group
were killed in Libya Saturday as militiamen
sought to dislodge them from a neighbourhood in
the eastern city of Derna, Libyan news agency
Lana reported.
Five Libyan troops killed
by mortar:
At least five Libyan troops were killed late on
Friday when a mortar landed in the eastern city
of Benghazi where pro-government forces have
been fighting against a mix of Islamist militant
brigades, a medical source said.
Roadside bomb kills 18
civilians in Afghanistan:
At least 18 civilians were killed and six others
have been wounded when their vehicle struck a
roadside bomb in Afghanistan's southern Helmand
province, a local official told Al Jazeera.
Confusing U(kraine)-Turn:
Yanukovych Ousting Was Illegitimate - Poroshenko:
Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko appealed to
the country’s constitutional court, asking the
court to recognize the ousting of former
President Viktor Yanukovych in February 2014 as
illegitimate.
War criminal:
US Senator McCain slams
European stance on Ukraine:
: U.S. Sen. John McCain has said during a visit
to Ukraine that it is shameful that Washington's
European allies have not done more to assist
Ukrainian forces in their quest to defeat
Russian-backed separatists in the east.
Putin criticizes US but
offers to cooperate on global crises:
Putin blamed the United States for ignoring
Russia's interests and trying to enforce its
will on others, but he also sent conciliatory
signals, saying that Moscow wants a quick
settlement to the Iranian nuclear standoff and a
peaceful political transition in Syria.
Putin: Russian pipeline
project to help Greece pay its debt:
Russian President Vladimir Putin said after
Friday's talks with Greek Prime Minister Alexis
Tsipras that a prospective Russian natural gas
pipeline should help Greece service its debt,
but the Kremlin said the question of direct
Russian financial aid to Greece was not
discussed.
IMF Programs a 'Failure'
in Greece, Ukraine, says Fund Director:
International Monetary Fund executive director
Paulo Nogueira Batista admitted that the
institution has had “mixed” results with its
policies in both Europe and developing countries
and that programs in Greece and Ukraine in
particular have been a “failure,” he said in an
interview with RT on Friday.
Yanis Varoufakis: A
pressing question for Ireland before Monday’s
meeting on Greece:
‘Perhaps the most telling remark by any finance
minister in that eurogroup meeting came from
Michael Noonan’
London: 250,000 March In
Anti-austerity protest:
Hundreds of thousands of people have marched
through London protesting against the
Conservative government’s austerity measures.
“It will be the start of a campaign of protest,
strikes, direct action and civil disobedience up
and down the country,” said Sam Fairbairn of the
People's Assembly.
The Inside Information
That Could Have Stopped 9/11
Revealed: How DOJ Gagged
Google over Surveillance of WikiLeaks Volunteer:
The Obama
administration fought a legal battle against
Google to secretly obtain the email records of a
security researcher and journalist associated
with WikiLeaks.
Possible Manifesto of
Charleston Killer Dylann Roof
: The
manifesto expresses need for action over racial
dynamics in the U.S. and vilifies Black, Jewish
and Latin American people.
Will Republican lawmakers
remove Confederate flag from S.C. capitol?:
Bipartisan support for legislation to have the
Confederate flag removed from state house
grounds gains traction in South Carolina.
Court Orders Feds to Find
and Return Deported Mother and Daughter from
Guatemala:
A U.S. Court of Appeals judge has ordered U.S.
officials to intercept a mother and her
12-year-old daughter on plane Friday being
deported to Guatemala and immediately return
them to the United States.
June 19, 2015
The Partition of 'Syraq'
By
Pepe Escobar |
 |
“Syraq” fully debilitated, war on
two fronts, Iran on the defensive,
and the fake Caliphate establishing
partition facts on the ground. -
Continue |
Prelude to a
Quagmire
By
Barry R. Posen |
 |
The
addition of 450 new U.S. military
trainers to Iraq is the next step
down a slippery slope.
-
Continue |
In the USA – “I
Cannot Write!”
By
Andre Vltchek |
 |
The citizens of the Empire were
eager to describe themselves as
“victims”. Did the same spectacle
appear in Nazi Germany in the
1930’s? Most likely yes!
-
Continue |
171 killed in Iraq:
At least 163 Daesh militants, along with eight
civilians, were killed across Iraq on Thursday
and Friday in clashes that remain ongoing,
according to Iraqi security officials.
15 killed in mortar
attacks, air strike in Iraq's Anbar:
A total of 15 people were killed and 36 others
were wounded on Thursday in mortar attacks and
an air strike targeting a position of the
Islamic State (IS) militants in the volatile
province of Anbar, APA reports quoting Xinh
Syrian rebels set eyes on
divided Aleppo:
The prospect of a rebel offensive in the city is
a stark sign of the turn of momentum against
President Bashar al-Assad's government, which
has lost swathes of territory to fighters in
recent months in the northwest, east and south
of the country.
Putin reiterates support
for Syria's Assad:
"Our fear is that Syria could plunge into the
same situation as Libya and Iraq," Putin said on
Friday in response to questions at Russia's
annual economic forum in St Petersburg.
DIA Director sees Iraq as
'quagmire,' but strikes term from testimony:
U.S. Marine Corps Lieutenant General Vincent R.
Stewart, the agency’s director, personally
agreed with Mideast analysts on his staff who
used the word “quagmire” to describe the state
of the U.S.-led effort against ISIS
Heavy airstrikes across
Yemen kill 10 civilians:
Yemeni officials and witnesses say heavy
airstrikes by Saudi-led coalition warplanes
pounded positions of Shiite rebels and allied
forces, killing not only rebel fighters but at
least 10 civilians in northern Yemen
Yemen peace talks in
Geneva collapse:
The Yemen peace talks in the Swiss city of
Geneva have collapsed, with the foreign minister
of the government-in-exile blaming the Houthi
representatives of refusing to meet with them.
Yemen war ripping society
apart:
Burnt out tanks and armored personnel carriers
stand amid the concrete skeletons of apartment
blocks, hollowed out by weeks of shelling and
gun battles.
MoD confirms Britain is
arming Saudi Arabia in Yemen conflict:
An MoD spokesperson said the UK’s assistance to
Saudi Arabia includes providing “precision
guided weapons,” but added the British
government had been assured they will be used in
compliance with international law.
U.N.
needs $1.6 billion for Yemen aid, warns of
'looming catastrophe':
"Over 21 million people or 80 percent of the
population are now estimated to be in need of
some form of humanitarian aid and or
protection," U.N. spokesman Jens Laerke told a
news briefing.
US blasts Yemen for
terror financier's role in peace talks:
The U.S. is criticizing Yemen's government for
including an accused al-Qaida financier among
its delegation to U.N.-brokered peace
negotiations. The U.S. added him to a terror
blacklist in 2013 for financing Al-Qaida in the
Arabian Peninsula and helping expand its
foothold in Yemen.
Three Hezbollah fighters
killed in Syria:
Two of the fighters fell while battling
militants in the border region of Qalamoun.The
death of the two Hezbollah fighters in Qalamoun
raised the number of the party’s dead since the
operation began on May 4 to at least 41
ISIS commanders,
militants killed in Hezbollah attack:
Two ISIS commanders and at least 7 other
militants were allegedly killed during two
separate Hezbollah attacks on the outskirts of a
northeastern Lebanese border town Friday, Al-Manar
reported.
Sisi to Lebanese: Prepare
for fall of Assad:
The Egyptian president warned “of dramatic
developments that could suddenly hit Syria,”
saying that the regime is in “bad shape” as
evidenced by the latest military developments on
the ground
Turkish police arrest 3,
seize radioactive material:
Turkish news agencies say that authorities have
arrested two Georgian citizens who tried to
enter the Turkey with radioactive material,
including cesium. Cesium-137 is a highly
radioactive substance that is a waste product
from nuclear reactors. It is used for scientific
purposes, but could also be used by terrorists
in a dirty bomb to disperse deadly radiation
with explosives.
Palestinian shoots
Israeli dead near illegal, West Bank squatters
homes:
A Palestinian opened fire on two Israeli men
near a West Bank settlement on Friday, killing
one and wounding the other, authorities said, in
what appeared to be yet another lone-wolf
attack.
Netanyahu denounces UN's
Ban over Gaza children remarks:
- Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on
Friday denounced what he called the "hypocrisy"
of the United Nations after UN chief Ban Ki-moon
demanded Israel protect the lives of children in
Gaza.
Saeb Erekat: PLO should
consider retracting recognition of Israel:
Chief Palestinian negotiator says recognizing
Israel should be conditioned on a "reciprocal
recognition" of a Palestinian state by
Jerusalem.
At least 70 killed in
week of Burundi political violence:
“We have identified 70 people killed, mostly by
bullets but also grenades ... the majority are
civilians, as well as police and soldiers,” said
Pierre-Claver Mbonimpa, who heads the Burundi
rights group Aprodeh.
Four Somalian soldiers
killed in Al-Shabaab attack:
Local official Ashor Geasey told Xinhua that the
offensive began after militants from the Al-Shabaab
attacked military positions of government forces
in the region’s Ged-Wayn district.
Qaeda in North Africa
denies US strike killed ex-chief:
Al-Qaeda
in North Africa has denied reports its former
leader Mokhtar Belmokhtar was killed in a US air
strike last week in Libya, in a statement posted
online overnight.
Pakistan: 20 alleged
'militants' killed in army air strikes:
Army say they targeted militant hideouts in part
of Pakistan's northwestern tribal belt
Afghanistan: Eight
militants killed in Nangarhar air strike:
Four dead bodies, whose identities are yet to be
ascertained, have been taken to the district
office of Mohmand Dara District from the site.
Putin says Russia
weathering sanctions, lectures West:
President Vladimir Putin boasted on Friday that
Russia had found the "inner strength" to prevent
sanctions causing a deep economic crisis, and
told the West to stop using "the language of
ultimatums."
Putin: Unilateral US
withdrawal from ABM treaty pushing Russia toward
new arms race:
“Not military conflicts but global decisions
like the US unilateral withdrawal from the
Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty lead to a Cold
War,” Putin said. “This more in fact pushes us
to a new round of the arms race, because it
changes the global security system.
Ukraine conflict can
become as dangerous as Cuban missile crisis:
Video report: Stephen Cohen, Professor Emeritus
of Russian Studies
NATO flexes muscles in
Poland war games:
Around 2,100 soldiers from nine NATO states
grouped in the Very High Readiness Joint Task
Force (VJTF) took part in the Noble Jump 2
exercises at the Zagan training range
north-western Poland. "After tens of years of
peace, that peaceful period after the Cold War
is now over," Defence Minister Tomasz Siemoniak
told reporters in Zagan.
Moscow will respond in
kind to seizure of its assets abroad - FM Lavrov:
Lavrov was commenting on the seizure in Belgium
and France of Russian state-owned assets. The
arrest were made on request of beneficiaries of
the now-defunct oil giant Yukos, who were
awarded damages from Russia by an arbitration
court in The Hague. Russia is in the process of
challenging the ruling.
Russian crisis threatens
40,000 Swiss jobs: study:
The Russian economic crisis, fuelled by tensions
from the war in Ukraine, threatens more than
40,000 jobs in Switzerland and 2.5 million jobs
across Europe, according to a study conducted
for three Swiss newspapers and journals from
three other countries.
Putin Meeting with Greek
Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras:
Prime Minister of Greece Alexis Tsipras
(retranslated): Mr President, it is a great
pleasure and honour for us, for myself and the
members of my government and our delegation, to
be here in St Petersburg, your native city, and
to attend this important forum.
Eurozone leaders to hold
emergency summit on Greece:
Finance ministers of 19-nation currency bloc
summoned to meet on Monday as Greece's bailout
talks remain deadlocked.
Yanis Varoufakis:
Greece’s Proposals to End the Crisis:
My intervention at today’s Eurogroup: The only
antidote to propaganda and malicious ‘leaks’ is
transparency. After so much disinformation on my
presentation at the Eurogroup of the Greek
government’s position, the only response is to
post the precise words uttered within. Read them
and judge for yourselves whether the Greek
government’s proposals constitute a basis for
agreement.
EU shouldn’t view itself
as ‘hub of universe’ – Greek PM:
Europe
shouldn’t view itself as a “hub of the universe”
and it has to understand that the center of
world economic development is shifting to other
regions, said Greek Prime Minister Alexis
Tsipras, speaking at St. Petersburg
International Economic Forum
Greek PM predicts his
nation's 'Grexit' will cause the COLLAPSE of
Europe's currency
: Russia today said it was ready to consider the
question of giving financial aid to Greece.
60 Million people fleeing
chaotic lands, UN says:
Nearly 60 million people have been driven from
their homes by war and persecution, an
unprecedented global exodus that has burdened
fragile countries with waves of newcomers and
littered deserts and seas with the bodies of
those who died trying to reach safety.
WikiLeaks publishes more
than 60,000 leaked diplomatic cables from Saudi
Arabia:
The organization, which began releasing U.S.
diplomatic cables in 2010, said it had obtained
email communications between Saudi Arabia's
foreign ministry and other countries as well as
confidential reports from other Saudi
ministries.
Assange marks 3rd
anniversary in London’s Ecuador embassy:
His room is divided into an office and a living
area. He has a treadmill, shower, microwave and
sun lamp and spends most of his day at his
computer, AFP reports.
Venezuela's Maduro Slams
Trump's Attacks on Mexican People
: Maduro
told Trump to back off Mexicans, saying the U.S.
has already “persecuted and exploited” them
enough.
Anger
among British Muslims after PM says some Muslims
'quietly condone' IS group:
Prime Minister David Cameron charged Friday that
some British Muslims quietly condone the radical
ideology of the Islamic State group, prompting
accusations that he is scapegoating the large
and diverse community.
Worst year for American
Muslims since 9/11:
News Analysis - If Ramadan is a time to reflect,
then let us reflect on what it means to be
Muslim in America today. Based on a number of
events in 2015 already, our community is facing
the most hostile environment since 9/11
Charleston shooter wanted
to start a ‘civil war’:
As local, state, and federal law enforcement
investigates this possible hate crime, the
roommate of the suspect said he was planning
something like this — he wanted to start a civil
war.
This is American
terrorism: White supremacy’s brutal,
centuries-long campaign of violence:
News Analysis - The evidence is clear. The
reports are in. There is no other conclusion.
It’s 2015, and Black people in America are under
a sustained and lethal terrorist attack.
Charleston and the
South's sordid history of attacks on black
churches:
The massacre called to mind the long history of
racially-motivated attacks on black churches in
the South, which have been targeted precisely
because of their role as not just houses of
worship but also sanctuaries from racism and a
gathering space for community action.
Tensions run high after
man makes threats outside of Richmond church:
“I’m gonna kill all you and all you are gonna
get killed tonight,” is what witnesses said he
was yelling as he banged on a door to the
church.
Milwaukee Cop Brutally
Punches Woman Caught on Police Dash Cam:
The city of Milwaukee has settled a civil rights
lawsuit filed in 2014 by a woman who was punched
in the face and dragged from a patrol vehicle by
an out of control officer- on video. Now
taxpayers are stuck with the check, locked in a
battle to fire the officer.
VA to grant benefits for
Agent Orange exposure:
After years of battling the Veterans Affairs
Department for health care and compensation for
illnesses related to Agent Orange exposure from
aircraft flown after the Vietnam War, a group of
up to 2,100 Air Force personnel and reservists
finally will receive service-connected benefits.
Drug companies donated
millions to California lawmakers before vaccine
debate:
Critics of Senate Bill 277, which would
eliminate the personal belief and religious
exemptions for schoolchildren, accuse the
measure’s supporters in the Legislature of doing
the bidding of donors who make vaccines and
other pharmaceuticals.
June
18, 2015
Who’s Behind
Asia-Pacific’s Growing Tensions?
By
Tony Cartalucci |
 |
It’s
very clear then that tensions in
Asia Pacific, amid which the US
attempts to pose as an indispensable
mediator of, are in fact the
intentional, premeditated
consequences of long-standing,
well-documented US foreign policy.
Continue |
The Five
Pillars Of Islamophobia
By
David Miller, Narzanin Massoumi, Tom
Mills, and Hilary Aked |
 |
Vague categories like ‘extremist’
and ‘radicalisation’ are trawling
Muslims in a very large
‘counter-terrorism’ net.
Continue |
America
Prosecutes the World
By
Margaret Kimberley |
 |
“Nearly every policy enacted by our
government is meant to diminish the
rights of individuals and other
nations and to increase the power of
the American state and
corporations.“ -
Continue |
Saudi-led strikes on
Yemen convoy kill 31 civilians:
Saudi-led airstrikes hit a convoy of civilians
fleeing violence in southern Yemen on Wednesday,
killing at least 31 people, medical officials
said, making it among the deadliest single
attacks since the air campaign against Shia
rebels and their allies began nearly three
months ago.
Islamic State-claimed
Yemen bombings kill at least 4 people:
A series of Islamic State-claimed bombings in
Yemen's rebel-controlled capital killed at least
four people and wounded 60 Wednesday night amid
the country's raging war.
CIA didn’t know strike
would hit al-Qaeda leader:
The CIA is permitted to fire based on patterns
of suspected militant activity even if the
agency does not know the identities of those who
could be killed.
Melee erupts at Yemen
peace talks, underscoring rifts:
A fistfight erupted on the sidelines of peace
talks in Geneva Thursday between supporters of
different warring factions in Yemen, underlining
the divisions that have thwarted United Nations
efforts broker a truce in the near three-month
conflict.
15 killed in mortar
attacks, air strike in Iraq's Anbar:
- A total of 15 people were killed and 36 others
were wounded on Thursday in mortar attacks and
an air strike targeting a position of the
Islamic State (IS) militants in the volatile
province of Anbar, a provincial security source
told Xinhua.
Carter: Not enough Iraqi
or Syrian recruits to train for ISIL fight:
Iraq is providing too few recruits for the U.S.
training program in the fight against the
Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant, while the
U.S. is also having trouble recruiting enough
“moderate” Syrians to join the opposition force
that President Barack Obama eventually wants to
deploy across the border, Defense Secretary Ash
Carter warned .
House rejects bid to
force troop withdrawal in Iraq, Syria:
The measure was defeated, 288-139. It would have
directed that troops be withdrawn within 30 days
of passage, or by the end of the year, if
Congress fails to authorize the fight against
Islamic State militants.
Rebel fire kills 8 as
insurgents push into Aleppo:
Rebel fire killed eight people in Syria’s second
city Aleppo on Thursday, the latest in a spate
of civilian deaths in government-held districts
this week, a monitoring group said.
Rebel fighters advance in
Syria's Aleppo:
Several factions pushed into government-held
Khaldiyeh neighbourhood, sources say, but state
TV denies.
2 dead, 6 wounded in
south Lebanon refugee camp clash:
Two men were killed and at least 11 people were
wounded when a personal dispute escalated into
violent clashes between two militias in the
south Lebanon refugee camp of Ain al-Hilweh.
Footage allegedly shows
IDF sniper killing Palestinian 'without cause'
(VIDEO):
A video posted online purports to show an
Israeli sniper shooting dead an unarmed
Palestinian in the occupied West Bank village of
Silwad. The soldier is shown aiming at the
faraway figure, then a shot rings out and the
person collapses.
UN chief criticizes
Israel over deaths of children in Gaza:
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Thursday
criticized Israel for the death and suffering of
Palestinian children during last summer's
conflict in Gaza, reiterating his demand for the
Israeli government to take immediate steps to
prevent such killings.
Israeli officer: Shelling
Gaza clinic used by Hamas raised soldiers’
morale:
An Israel Defense Forces officer who fired
shells at a clinic in Gaza during last summer’s
war said in a radio interview that the action
had served to “raised morale” of the battalion.
Maj. (res.) Amihai Harach told Galei Yisrael
radio on Tuesday that the action was also an act
of revenge for the killing of one of the
battalion’s officers.
Jewish extremists torch
revered Christian site in northern Israel:
The Church of the Multiplication at Tabgha on
the shores of the Sea of Galilee is where many
Christians believe Jesus fed the 5,000 in the
miracle of the five loaves and two fish.
New Flotilla to Gaza set
to sail:
Boats carrying pro-Palestine activists arrive in
Mediterranean ports ahead of departure to
blockaded coastal enclave.
UN: 129 Sudan Children
Killed In A Month:
A United Nations agency says at least 129
children were killed during a government
offensive against rebel forces in South Sudan
last month.
Boko Haram kills at least
30 in attacks on Niger villages: sources:
- Boko Haram militants attacked two villages in
southern Niger's Diffa region overnight, killing
at least 30 civilians, two security sources said
on Thursday.
Chad bombs Boko Haram
positions in Nigeria:
N'Djamena carries out raids in retaliation for
Monday's suspected Boko Haram attacks and bans
the full-face veil.
Four killed as Somalia
foils suicide attack:
Security
forces prevented a suicide attack against a
political conference in central Somalia on
Thursday, killing three gunmen and the driver of
a car packed with explosives, police said.
11 Police, Army Dead in
Taliban Attack: Afghan Officials:
The officials said today that four soldiers and
seven police officers were killed with the
insurgents overran Musa Qala which has shifted
between government and Taliban control for years
Russia to construct new
gas pipeline to Germany via Baltic Sea – Gazprom:
Gazprom is planning to construct two threads of
a new gas pipeline with a capacity of 55 billion
cubic meters per year. Shell, E.On and OMV have
been invited to participate, said the company.
This could double direct supplies of Russian gas
to Europe.
Russia examines Brussels'
legal move to seize state assets:
One Russian government minister said such moves
would be unfriendly and another said they would
be illegal.
France freezes Russian
state assets, Moscow plans to appeal:
French law enforcement has frozen the accounts
of Russian companies operated by the French
subsidiary of VTB, Russia’s second-largest bank,
officials told RBC TV channel. Diplomatic
accounts were briefly frozen as well, but have
since been unlocked.
'A true friend': Ukraine
president asks Tony Blair to take on advisory
role:
Unclear whether former British PM will take up
offer by Petro Poroshenko, as Blair meets other
key figures in Kiev hosted by oligarch Viktor
Pinchuk
Can Russia solve Greece's
problems?:
Greece's Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras is in
Russia to meet President Vladimir Putin as time
runs out for Athens to reach a deal with its
international creditors. Ivor Bennett looks at
what he can achieve in a country where EU
sanctions over Ukraine have just been extended.
Greek debt talks end with
no deal: EU:
Crunch talks to resolve a five-month standoff
between Greece and its EU-IMF creditors ended
Thursday without a deal, Valdis Dombrovskis, the
European Commission vice-president for the euro,
said on Thursday.: Greek Finance Minister Yanis
Varoufakis also raised the issue of
restructuring the country`s huge debt during the
meeting, a red line for Greece`s European
partners.
A new documentary asks:
Did the British state collude with Northern
Irish terrorists?:
"If ordinary Catholics were shot, nobody was too
worried about it," John Weir, a former RUC
sergeant, says that "security services, army
intelligence, special branch" were linked to the
Dublin-Monaghan bombings and that many were
fearful (or perhaps hopeful) of an all-out civil
war breaking out.
Swedish Prosecutor
Cancels Assange Interview Last Minute
: Swedish
prosecutor Marianne Ny cancelled her appointment
to interview Julian Assange Wednesday, in a move
he characterized as “reckless.” Ny was due to
visit the embassy to take Assange’s statement,
four-and-a-half years after he was detained.
Pope Francis:
'Revolution' needed to combat climate change:
Pope Francis warned Thursday that a broad sweep
of human activities -- from a blind worship of
technology to an addiction to fossil fuels and
mindless consumerism -- has brought the planet
to the "breaking point."
9 Killed As White Man
Hunted After Black Church Shooting
: Police
have released the first images of the suspect
being hunted after nine people were killed in a
mass shooting at a church in Charleston, South
Carolina. Charleston Police Chief Gregory Mullen
said there is "no doubt" it was a hate crime
These Are The Victims Of
The Charleston Church Shooting:
Pictures:
Race-hate massacre
suspect CAPTURED:
'He just said: "I have to do it. You rape our
women and you're taking over our country. And
you have to go",' Sylvia Johnson said.
Despite Charleston
killings, Obama sticks to fundraising schedule:
President speaks out but continues to
$33,400-a-plate DNC event
Video: White Cop Grabs
Black Tween by Her Neck—And Slams Her Against
His Squad Car:
The police say they were just doing their
jobs—and besides, the 12-year-old attacked them.
But a 911 call by a pool employee reveals
concerns over race.
Top officials charged
with violating constitution with 9/11 detainee
abuse:
Under policy implemented by former attorney
general John Ashcroft and other justice
department officials, detainees were held and
abused for months. A US appeals court on
Wednesday reinstated a claim against former
attorney general John Ashcroft and other justice
department officials, stemming from the abuse of
Arab and Muslim men
Jeb Bush joins Republican
backlash against pope on climate change:
The energy industry also turned on the pope,
with the lobbyist for one of America’s biggest
coalmining companies sending out an email blast
on Tuesday, rebuking the church leader for
failing to promote fossil fuels as a solution to
global poverty.
Hollywood Reporter:
Donald Trump Campaign Paid Actors $50 To Cheer
On His Announcement:
The casting notice, obtained by the Reporter,
asked actors to wear T-shirts and hold signs for
a “big announcement.” The pay was listed as $50
for fewer than three hours of work.
The 47 Funniest Things
About Donald Trump:
As judged by people on Twitter. Only most of the
list involves his hair.
Americans Have Lost
Confidence ... in Everything:
The growing number of presidential candidates
for 2016 will have a difficult time instilling
confidence in a skeptical electorate that they
have the answers to the country's problems.
June
17, 2015
44
killed in air strikes, clashes in Iraq:
A total of 44 people were killed Tuesday in the
U.S.-led coalition air strikes and clashes
between Iraqi forces and Islamic State (IS)
militants in Iraq, security sources said.
Islamic State kills five
policemen near Iraq's Baiji refinery:
Islamic State has killed five policemen in a
town near Iraq's biggest refinery, in an attack
that may help ease pressure on some of its
fighters trapped in the strategically important
facility, a security official said on Wednesday.
Back to Iraq: No really,
these troops are just here to advise:
News Analysis -Words seem
to mean different things in the Middle East.
“Training” is a new term for escalation, and
“Iraq” seems more and more like the Arabic word
for Vietnam
Syria: At least 33 killed
in army and rebel attacks in Damascus:
No fewer than 33 people have died in retaliatory
attacks by the Syrian army and rebels in areas
near and inside Damascus, state media and
activists reported on Wednesday.
Syria: Rebels launch
Quneitra offensive:
A rebel alliance in southern Syria has begun an
offensive against government forces in Quneitra
province, near the Israeli-occupied Golan
Heights
Rebels surround Druze
village in Syria's Golan: activists:
The advance came a day after Israel, which has a
significant Druze population, said it was
preparing for the possibility that refugees
fleeing fighting in the area might seek to cross
to the Israeli-occupied side of the strategic
plateau.
Four car bombs rock
Yemeni capital, at least 31 killed:
Four car bombs hit three mosques and the
political headquarters of the Houthi movement in
the Yemeni capital Sanaa Wednesday, a security
official said, killing at least 31 people.
Al Qaeda kills two Saudis
accused of spying for America: residents:
Al Qaeda militants in Yemen killed two alleged
Saudi spies on Wednesday, residents said,
accusing them of planting tracking devices which
enabled the assassination of the group's leader
in a suspected U.S. drone strike last week.
Palestinian unity
government resigns:
The resignation came after it emerged that the
Gaza Strip's rulers Hamas held separate indirect
talks with Israel.
Hamas rejects unilateral
dissolution of Palestinian govt:
"Hamas rejects any one-sided change in the
government without the agreement of all
parties," - "No one told us anything about any
decision to change and no one consulted with us
about any change in the unity government. Fatah
acted on its own in all regards."
The Rise and Rise of
Israeli Ultra-Nationalists
: Video -
Boko Haram bombs kill 63
in northeast Nigeria:
Civilian self defence fighters say a sack of
home-made bombs found at an abandoned Boko Haram
camp exploded, killing 63 people in a town in
northeast Nigeria's Borno state.
Egypt army says it foiled
attack, killed 7 terrorist
suspects:
Egypt’s army says it has killed seven suspected
terrorists who were were planning to carry out a
major attack, the military spokesman said in a
statement Wednesday.
Somali Islamists kill at
least three soldiers in roadside blast:
Somali Islamist militants detonated a roadside
bomb, killing at least three soldiers passing in
a military vehicle southwest of the capital on
Tuesday, a military officer and the rebel group
said.
Libya: Widespread Torture
in Detention: HRW:
Libya’s internationally recognized government
and its allied forces are responsible for
widespread arbitrary detentions and for torture
and other ill-treatment in detention facilities
that they control in Eastern Libya.
Afghanistan: About 20
Soldiers Killed in Helmand Clashes Over Past
Four Days:
In addition, 15 security force members have been
captured by Taliban insurgents, officials said.
Russia Dismayed at NATO
Escalation, Promises Symmetrical Response:
If NATO tanks appear at Russian borders, Moscow
will provide the Pentagon with an ‘adequate’
response.
Immigration crisis in EU
caused by West’s interference in Middle East:
"The current crisis near the southern borders of
the EU is in many ways a byproduct of forcible
interference of some Western powers in the
Middle East and Africa," Russian delegation's
spokesman said
Greek central bank warns
of 'painful' euro and EU exit:
"Failure to reach an agreement would... mark the
beginning of a painful course that would lead
initially to a Greek default and ultimately to
the country's exit from the euro area and, most
likely, from the European Union," the Bank of
Greece said in a report.
Greek Debt Committee Just
Declared All Debt To The Troika "Illegal,
Illegitimate, And Odious":
All the evidence we present in this report shows
that Greece not only does not have the ability
to pay this debt, but also should not pay this
debt first and foremost because the debt
emerging from the Troika’s arrangements is a
direct infringement on the fundamental human
rights of the residents of Greece.
NatWest and RBS customers
are panicking after thousands of payments went
'missing' overnight
: RBS has alerted customers that up to 600,000
overnight payments may be 'missing' from bank
accounts at NatWest, Coutts and Ulster Bank due
to a technical glitch, sparking a string of
complaints over "yet another Natwest blunder".
Spain, US agree to make
US force at Spanish base permanent:
The deal approved allows for the U.S. to station
up to 3,000 troops at the Moron air base, up
from a current 850.
New NASA data show how
the world is running out of water:
The world’s largest underground aquifers – a
source of fresh water for hundreds of millions
of people — are being depleted at alarming
rates, according to new NASA satellite data that
provides the most detailed picture yet of vital
water reserves hidden under the Earth’s surface.
California Water Cuts
Leave City Days Away From Running Out Of Water:
The community of Mountain House is days away
from having no water at all after the state cut
off its only water source. Anthony Gordon saves
drinking water just in case, even though he
never thought it would come to this.
Why we fight for the
living world: it's about love, and it's time we
said so:
Op-Ed: Pope Francis reminds us that our
relationship to the natural world is about love,
not just goods and services.
The bloody origins of the
Dominican Republic’s ethnic ‘cleansing’ of
Haitians:
There is an artificial line that splits the
island of Hispaniola in two. On one side is
Haiti, and on the other is the Dominican
Republic.
RNC
Official Awkwardly Refuses To Denounce Trump’s
Anti-Immigrant Screed:
Hours after Donald Trump launched into an
anti-immigrant tirade during his presidential
campaign announcement and claimed that Mexican
immigrants are rapists and drug dealers, a top
Republican party official has done nothing to
denounce those comments.
Mexico Says Donald Trump
is 'Absurd and Prejudiced':
“I will build a great, great wall on our
southern border and I will have Mexico pay for
that wall,” Trump said, but did not provide
details on how he would get Mexico to agree.
200
Migrants Protest Death of Mexican in US
Detention Center
: The 200 began a hunger strike after a Mexican
migrant was beaten, locked in solitary
confinement and died in an Arizona immigration
detention center.
Extrajudicial
killing:
Stress Drives Off Drone
Operators:
The Air Force plans to trim the flights by the
armed surveillance drones to 60 a day by October
from a recent peak of 65 as it deals with the
first serious exodus of the crew members who
helped usher in the era of war by remote
control.
Veterans Urge Drone
Operators to Refuse Orders to Fly:
An increasing number of United States military
veterans are counseling United States military
drone operators to refuse to fly drone
surveillance/attack missions – the veterans are
even helping sponsor prime time television
commercials urging drone operators to “refuse to
fly.”
Senate passes torture ban
despite Republican opposition:
More than 20 Republican senators rejected a ban
on the use of cruel and degrading treatment of
prisoners on Tuesday, voting against an
ultimately successful measure to permanently
prevent a repeat of the CIA’s once secret and
now widely-discredited torture program.
New York Man Accused Of
Plotting To Explode Pressure Cooker Bombs:
Officials also say that Saleh told a
confidential informant introduced into the case
in May, that he was "trying to do an op" in New
York.
Man Faced 20 Years in
Prison For Clearing Web Browser History:
Matanov could be locked in a cage for 20 years
because he cleared his browser history in the
days following the attacks..
Anonymous backs new
encrypted social network to rival Facebook:
At first glance, Minds.com appears similar to
any other social network. It provides a person's
followers with the latest updates, allowing
their friends to comment and promote posts.
Sanders surges in New
Hampshire poll:
Sen.
Bernie Sanders is surging in New Hampshire,
where one poll shows him just 10 percentage
points behind Hillary Clinton and tied with the
front-runner among self-identified liberals.
Bernie Sanders: 'I'm Not
a Great Fan' of Benjamin Netanyahu:
It's unusual for a U.S. presidential candidate
to criticize Israel.
House Democrats endorse
former President Clinton’s paid speeches:
Critics of the speeches, including former
Clinton administration official Robert Reich and
others, are a distraction, say the Democrats,
who argue that voters don’t care how the former
president makes his money.
Politicians Use “Rent a
Crowd” Company to Give Illusion of Support:
Look no further than a company called “Crowds on
Demand“, a company who hires multi-talented
actors who are experts of improvisational
theatre to provide the illusion of support for a
candidate. Nothing draws a crowd, like a crowd.
After Cutting Taxes On
The Rich, Kansas Will Raise Taxes On The Poor To
Pay For It:
Kansas lawmakers concluded the longest
legislative session in state history Friday
night by approving a slate of regressive tax
hikes that will balance the state’s budget by
targeting low-income workers and their families.
June
16, 2015
Syria: a Serious
Situation for Us All
By Roya Arab |
 |
I really
wonder are human lives,
cultures and histories of so
little value that they can
be violated, dismantled and
erased intentionally in so
many places around the globe
without it reverberating?
Continue |
Samantha
Power: Liberal War Hawk
By Robert Parry |
 |
Liberal interventionist”
hawks like Power and neocons
like Nuland – with Obama in
tow – have chosen
confrontation and have used
extreme propaganda to
effectively shut the door on
negotiation and compromise.”
Continue |
Rebel shelling
kills 43 people in Syria's Aleppo:
At least 43 people killed,190 others
injured by opposition rocket fire in
city of Aleppo, monitoring group says.
Syrian air force
strikes kill 16 in southern province -
monitor:
At least 16 people, including 13 younger
than 18 years old, were killed when
Syrian air force jets bombed a town in
the southern province of Deraa on
Tuesday, the Syrian Observatory for
Human Rights said.
IS suffers
'biggest setback' as Kurds take Syria
border town:
Kurdish fighters seized control Tuesday
of a key border town from the Islamic
State group, cutting a major supply line
in the biggest setback yet for the
jihadists in Syria.
Bloodshed
persists in Iraq as 44 killed in air
strikes, clashes:
A total of 44 people were killed Tuesday
in the U.S.-led coalition air strikes
and clashes between Iraqi forces and
Islamic State (IS) militants in Iraq,
security sources said, APA reports
quoting Xinhua.
71 Killed In
Airstrikes, Clashes With IS In Iraq:
At least 71 people were killed on Monday
in US-led coalition airstrikes and
clashes between the Iraqi security
forces and militants of Islamic State
(IS) group in the provinces of Anbar,
Nineveh and Salahudin, authorities said.
Saddam's former
army is secret of Baghdadi's success
: Where Iraq's rulers could not prevent
the 2003 U.S.-led invasion that
delivered the country into the hands of
Shi'ites, and were unwilling to mount a
jihad against Alawite minority rule in
Syria, much less deliver Jerusalem from
Israel, Islamic State will now lead the
way.
Yemeni al-Qaeda
leader confirmed dead in US strike:
al-Qaeda spokesman
: In the video posted online on Tuesday,
Khaled Omar Baterfi said the group has
assigned its military chief, Qassim al-Raymi,
as its new leader.
Palestinian
cabinet to be dissolved, formed in
several days:
Abbas announced that the government
would resign within the next 24 hours,
several senior Fatah officials attending
the conference told AFP, with the new
government formation expected to be
carried out in a matter of several days.
Al-Qaeda leader
not listed among dead from US Libya
strike:
Libyan militants have released a list of
names of those they say were killed in a
U.S. airstrike over the weekend that
does not include the raid's main target,
Al-Qaeda-linked commander Mokhtar
Belmokhtar.
Egypt court
upholds Morsi death sentence:
Earlier on Tuesday, the same court
sentenced Morsi, the country's first
democratically elected president, to
life in prison on charges of spying for
the Palestinian Hamas movement,
Lebanon's Shia Hezbollah, and Iran.
Two soldiers
killed in separatist east as fighting
spreads:
Ukraine military: Two Ukrainian
serviceman have been killed and five
wounded in separatist eastern
territories in the past 24 hours as
fighting extended along a large stretch
of the frontline, the Ukrainian military
said on Tuesday.
Russia warns of
'new military confrontation' in Europe:
The Russian Foreign Ministry issued the
warning on Monday after the New York
Times and other media organizations
reported that the U.S. had offered to
store military equipment for up to 5,000
troops – including battle tanks and
heavy weapons -- in allied eastern
European countries.
Putin: 40+ ICBMs
targeted for 2015 nuclear force boost:
“This year, our nuclear forces are going
to get more than 40 intercontinental
ballistic missiles capable of
penetrating all existing, even the most
advanced missile defenses,” the Russian
president said, adding that the state
would persist in paying specific
attention to realization of a massive
military rearmament program and
modernization of the defense industry,
Putin said.
Putin says Russia
would be forced to aim armed forces at
any aggressors:
Russian President Vladimir Putin said on
Tuesday that Russia would be forced to
aim its armed forces at any countries
which might threaten it and that it was
concerned about an anti-missile defense
system near its borders.
Russian Pivot:
Greek PM Schedules Putin Meeting Ahead
Of "Lehman Weekend":
Earlier this month, we reported that
Greece is prepared to sign an MOU of
political support for Gazprom’s Turkish
Stream Pipeline, when Alexis Tsipras
visits St. Petersburg for the
International Economic Forum this week.
The deal is a blow to Washington, which
attempted to persuade Athens to support
an alternative pipeline.
Greek PM tears
into lenders, euro zone prepares for 'Grexit':
Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras lashed out
at Greece's creditors on Tuesday,
accusing them of trying to "humiliate"
Greeks, as he defied a drumbeat of
warnings that Europe is preparing for
his country to leave the euro.
Juncker rebukes
Greek government for mis-stating EU
proposals:
"The debate in Greece and outside Greece
would be easier if the Greek government
would tell exactly what the Commission
... is really proposing. I am blaming
the Greeks (for telling) things to the
Greek public which are not consistent
with what I’ve told the Greek prime
minister."
Britain to scrap
Royal Navy rescue operations as
Mediterranean migrant crisis escalates:
The UN warns the resulting refugee
crisis is the most serious the world has
seen since 1945.
Pope urges
changes to avoid 'unprecedented damage'
from climate change:
The Pope paints an apocalyptic picture
in which the world’s poorest are the
biggest victims of a web of
environmental, human, financial and
ethical degradation that puts the entire
planet at risk.
Puerto Rico’s
Dance With Debt: Puerto Rico is mired in
debt and facing default.
And US colonialism is one of the main
culprits.
Correa Delays Tax
Vote, Calls for National Debate on
Wealth Redistribution:
According to the head of state, the
decision is rooted in the best interest
of the people, to launch a debate and
avoid violence.
Sunday Times
levels copyright charges at Greenwald
after he debunks Snowden report:
In his disproving report for the
Intercept, Greenwald used a screengrab
of the Sunday Times subscription-only
article – and that is what the paper is
now angry about. The paper says this
violates the copyright of “the
typographical
CIA director
Brennan denounced by profs at his alma
mater over torture scandal:
Some professors call honoring him a
‘stain’ on the Jesuit university
US civil rights
activist quits after race dispute:
Resignation of US rights advocate Rachel
Dolezal comes week after parents said
she is a white woman posing as black.
Jeb Bush launches
'optimistic' campaign for president:
"We keep dependable friends in this
world by being dependable ourselves. I
will rebuild our vital friendships and
that starts by standing with the brave
democratic state of Israel," he told the
crowd, which erupted in cheers.
In case
you missed it:
‘Frauds-R-Us’ -
The Bush Family Saga
- "While opportunism isn’t new in U.S.
politics, never did so many in one
family extract so many dollars from
taxpayers as when George Bush senior was
president a decade ago" -- David E.
Scheim, author of Contract on America.
The $9 billion
man? Donald Trump set to announce 2016
plans:
The Donald, as he is known as a
celebrity, will announce his 2016
intentions on Tuesday at a Manhattan
skyscraper that bears his name.
Trans fat is not
safe and must be removed from food: US:
- Partially hydrogenated oils, known as
artificial trans fats, are not safe to
eat and must be removed from the food
supply in the next three years, US
regulators said Tuesday.
June 15, 2015
Russia Says Will
Retaliate if US Weapons Stationed on its
Borders
By Reuters
A plan by Washington to station tanks
and heavy weapons in NATO states on
Russia's border would be the most
aggressive U.S. act since the Cold War,
and Moscow would retaliate.
Continue
Putin's Ukraine
Strategy Explained by Top Russian
Politician
Video and Transcript
Why Putin doesn't recognize Donetsk and
Lugansk republics and why they have to
stay within Ukraine.
Continue
The
Anglo-American Insanity
By Finian Cunningham
The diabolical shame is that these
insane people are capable of bringing
cataclysm upon millions of innocent
human beings.
Continue
Break the
"Defense" Industry Across the Knee of
Democracy
By William Rivers Pitt
People in the US have been hypnotized
into thinking war is some magical
nowhere-land where soldiers win glory
for the Stars and Stripes ...
Continue
Don’t Honor the
Troops
By Fred Reed
Patriotism? “Love of country” is an
after-market add-on, good for a drink or
a pat on the back at the Legion–nothing
more.
Continue
The Semantics of
Terrorism
By Edward S. Herman
US power has been so great that it has
been able to use massive terror against
countries such as Iraq and Serbia under
the cover of international authority,
while protecting the terrorism of its
client states such as Indonesia and
Israel.
Continue
Why Are
Journalists Surprised That Israel Kills
Children?
By Amena Saleem
The BBC, true to form, goes one step
further in the esteem in which it holds
the Israeli army.
Continue
The Evil That
Dare Not Speak Its Name: Israel’s
Apartheid
By Sandy Tolan
The A-word, we have been told, unfairly
singles out the Jewish state and its use
is perhaps even anti-Semitic.
Continue
'Unknown, Unnamed
Cowards' - Greenwald on NYT Article
Sources
By Glenn Greenwald
“It’s not journalism; it’s acting as
subservient stenographers for the
government,”
Continue
Death Penalty:
The Ultimate Corrupt, Big Government
Program
By Ron Paul
Until the death penalty is abolished, we
will have neither a free nor a moral
society.
Continue
Syriza: Plunder,
Pillage and Prostration.
(How the ‘Hard Left’ embraces the
policies of the Hard Right)
By James Petras
Syriza’s political decision to ‘embed’
in the EU and the Eurozone, at all
costs, signals that Greece will continue
to be vassal state.
Continue
Syria says at
least 23 killed in rebel shelling in
Aleppo:
More than 23 civilians were killed by
heavy insurgent shelling on
government-controlled areas of the
Syrian city of Aleppo, including near a
mosque where children were taking
religious lessons, state television said
Monday.
Kurds accused of
"ethnic cleansing" by Syria rebels:
More than a dozen Syrian rebel groups on
Monday accused the country's main
Kurdish militia of deliberately
displacing thousands of Arabs and
Turkmens as it pushes deeper into
Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS)
strongholds in northern Syria, amid
reports the Kurdish fighters were now
inside the strategic border town of Tal
Abyad.
Syrian Kurds
seize control of main road, encircle
ISIS town: spokesman:
The Syrian Kurdish YPG militia said
Monday it had encircled the
ISIS-controlled town of Tal Abyad, the
nearest border town to the militant's de
facto capital of Raqqa city.
Israel reportedly
plans buffer zone in Syria:
Israel intends to create a humanitarian
buffer zone inside Syria, along its
border, in order to help that country's
Druze, according to the Walla News web
site. Israel is in contact with the Red
Cross and various countries regarding
the buffer zone.
17 Killed in
Battles Near Iraq's Baiji Refinery:
Seventeen people were killed in Iraq
today in clashes between Islamic State
militants and pro-government forces in a
town close to the country's biggest
refinery, a focal point in efforts to
counter the ultra-hardline Sunni group.
Awakening: ISIS
Crowds with uniforms and vehicles of
Iraqi army headed from Mosul to Anbar:
“Conveys includes many of the Iraqi army
vehicles carrying Iraqi flags includes
fighters from ISIS terrorist gangs
disguised in the Iraqi army uniforms
headed yesterday across the desert from
Nineveh to Anbar,” Ashour Al -Hammadi
told Shafaq News.
Death Toll In
Yemen’s Jawf, Ta’iz Strikes Rises To 35:
According to official figures, Sunday’s
attacks killed 18 people and wounded
dozens more in al-Hazm, the capital of
the northern province of al-Jawf. Saudi
warplanes also targeted residential
areas south of the Yemeni southwestern
province of Taiz, killing 17 people,
including five women.
What is the value
of an innocent life, Mr. Obama: $100K in
a plastic bag?:
We will be haunted for as long as we
live by Obama's drones, by the sight of
our charred loved ones, by our
communities shattered.
Israel blocks
visit of UN human rights envoy:
Israel has blocked a visit to the
Palestinian territories by a UN rights
envoy, an official said Monday, just
ahead of the publication of a United
Nations report on last year’s attack on
Gaza.
Daesh, Taliban
clashes continue in Nangarhar, seven
more Taliban killed:
Mashouq, the governor of Shirzad
District said that Haqyar, a Taliban
commander, was among the seven fighters
of Taliban killed during the clashes.
Fact or
propaganda?
Iran backs Taliban with cash and arms:
Tehran is betting on the Afghan
Taliban’s rise and is providing the
ultraorthodox militia with arms and
training to secure leverage over it, The
Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported on
Saturday.
Suicide attacks
in Chad kills 23:
Attackers on motorcycles blew themselves
up outside two police buildings, say
witnesses. A government minister blamed
Nigeria's militant Islamist group Boko
Haram in an address on state TV, Reuters
news agency reports.
10 killed in
explosions in northeast Nigeria:
The separate blasts took place on
Monday. An attacker, who had been
arrested after being suspected of theft,
killed eight vigilantes after detonating
his explosives.
US kills seven
people in Libya
: One of the victims of the raid, which
happened at 2am this morning, was the
Algerian Mokhtar Belmokhtar, former
leader of Al-Qaeda in the Islamic
Maghreb (AQIM) who was accused of
organising the January 2013 attack on
Algeria’s desert Im-Amenas gas
processing plant, in which 39 hostages
and an Algerian guard died.
Fate of jihadi
Mokhtar Belmokhtar unclear after US air
strike in Libya:
Libyan media says strike left 33 dead
and many wounded
Militant says
500-pound U.S. bombs missed one-eyed
terrorist leader with a history of
dodging death:
Belmokhtar wasn’t at the site of the
U.S. airstrike. He said the strike
killed four Ansar Shariah members in
Ajdabiya, some 850 kilometres east of
the Libyan capital, Tripoli.
Libyan Islamists
claim to drive ISIS from port
stronghold:
A Libyan Islamist militant alliance said
it had largely driven ISIS fighters out
of their stronghold city of Derna Sunday
after declaring war on the rival group
last week.
3 Tunisia Police,
Jihadist Killed in Clashes: Interior
Ministry:
"The national guard attempted to ambush
at dawn two terrorists on a motocycle in
Sidi Ali Ben Aoun after obtaining
information that (they) were about to
launch an operation," ministry spokesman
Mohamed Ali Aroui told AFP.
Wanted Sudan
leader Bashir flies out of South Africa:
Sudan's President Omar al-Bashir, who is
wanted for war crimes, has left South
Africa, pre-empting a court ruling over
an international warrant for his arrest.
A South African judge, Dunstan Mlambo,
said the failure to arrest Mr Bashir had
violated the country's constitution.
Two soldiers
killed as Ukraine warns of escalating
violence in east:
Two Ukrainian soldiers have been killed
and twenty wounded in the past 24 hours,
the Ukrainian military said on Monday,
describing near-constant shelling by
pro-Russian rebels in certain parts of
separatist eastern territories
Sanctions
Rebellion? Putin to Meet With Western
Oil Executives:
The chief executives of BP, Shell and
Total are scheduled to meet with Putin
later this week at the St. Petersburg
International Economic Forum
BP and Rosneft to
make $700mn deal despite sanctions – FT:
Russian oil major Rosneft and BP are
close to signing a $700 million deal for
BP to acquire a 20 percent stake in the
Taas-Yuriakh Siberian oilfield, reports
the FT. The deal could be announced this
week at the St. Petersburg International
Economic Forum.
Russia just
slashed interest rates to 11.5%:
Immediately after the decision, the
dollar dropped, down about 0.75% against
the ruble.
Top German
Banker: Russia and China Will Defeat US
Hegemony:
Folker Hellmeyer, chief economist at
Bremer Landesbank, has no doubts about
the future of the global economic
system: The axis Moscow-Beijing-BRICS
will prevail against the old hegemon
USA.
Return of the
Russians: Why the bear is back in
Vietnam:
The renewed Russian presence in Vietnam
has predictably set the alarm bells are
ringing in the Pentagon, with the
Commander of the U.S. Army in the
Pacific confirming that Russian
strategic bombers circling the massive
American military base in Guam are being
refueled at Cam Ranh Bay
In case
you missed it:
WikiLeaks cables
reveal secret Nato plans to "defend"
Baltics from Russia:
Nine Nato divisions – US, British,
German, and Polish – have been
identified for combat operations in the
event of armed aggression against Poland
or the three Baltic states.
US, China strike
deal, set to hold joint military drills:
The US and China have signed a rare
agreement to strengthen ties and develop
a more productive military relationship.
However, mistrust still remains, with
Beijing saying progress can only be made
if Washington respects China’s South
China Sea ambitions.
Calls grow for
Australian boat payment inquiry:
Pressure is growing for an inquiry into
whether Australian officials used tax
payers' money to turn back a boat
carrying asylum seekers.
Greece crisis: PM
Tsipras tells creditors to 'get real':
Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras has
said his government will wait patiently
for international creditors to become
"realistic", after talks on a debt deal
in Brussels failed. One European
Commissioner said it was time to plan
for an emergency.
Syriza Left
demands 'Icelandic' default as Greek
defiance stiffens:
Greek premier Alexis Tsipras threatens
Europe's creditors with a "big no"
unless they yield on debt servitude
Colombian ELN
commander 'killed by army':
Jose Amin Hernandez Manrique, known as
Marquitos, was killed in the
north-western province of Antioquia, the
army said. He led 13 ELN units in
Antioquia and Bolivar provinces,
according to the military.
US Allocates
'Democracy Funds' for Cuba
: The US Committee on Appropriations
approved on Friday US$30 million for
“programs to promote democracy and
strengthen civil society in Cuba, of
which not less than US$8,000,000 shall
be for NED,” as quoted from the
committee report.
Bolivian
President Evo Morales urged European
countries to release themselves from the
“shackles of the North American Empire”
by turning their backs on the
International Monetary Fund. Morales
equated the IMF with U.S. “imperial
dominance,” and suggested that the EU
join forces with Latin America to become
independent.
Poor Families to
Bear Brunt of UK Austerity, Report:
Cuts to the CTC will “weigh very heavily
on low-income families,” while barely
touching the rich. According to research
from the think tank, a working family
with two children would be expected to
lose up to £1,690 (US$2,619) a year due
to the cutback.
Swedish
prosecutors ask to question Assange in
London within days:
Sweden has asked British and Ecuadorean
authorities if prosecutors can talk to
the Australian as early as later this
month
Timing of claims
that British spies were withdrawn over
Edward Snowden documents is 'extremely
convenient', say campaigners:
Andrew Mitchell, the former
international aid secretary, agreed it
was ‘no accident’ that the claims
concerning the impact of Mr Snowden’s
actions had emerged in the wake of Mr
Anderson’s report and the revival of the
Government’s “snoopers’ charter”
legislation on communications
interception.
CIA torture
appears to have broken spy agency rule
on human experimentation:
Exclusive: Watchdogs shocked at
‘disconnect’ between doctors who oversaw
interrogation and guidelines that gave
CIA director power over medical ethics
US Industrial
Production Weakest Since January 2010,
Flashes Recessionary Red Flag:
US Industrial production has missed
expectations for 4 of the last 5 months
(not seen outside recession) and has not
seen notable MoM gains for 6 months in a
row (not seen outside recession).
Hillary Clinton
team denies Daily Mail reporter access
to campaign coverage:
The feud between Hillary Clinton’s
presidential campaign and the news media
escalated on Monday, when the reporter
designated by the traveling press to
cover Clinton’s events here was denied
access.
Washington
revolving door speeds up as Obama
officials head for lobbying jobs:
A rash of senior White House staff
jumping ship for well-paid lobbying jobs
at some of America’s biggest and most
controversial companies could pose a
threat to open government, governance
and transparency campaigners have
warned.
Police Admit
They’re ‘Racist’ During Arrest of Black
Walmart Shoppers Who Were ‘Walking Too
Slow’:
Video - The man in the video was
arrested for nothing short of
maintaining his right while he continued
to legally shop. He had not violated any
of the store’s policies, and Walmart’s
corporate policy does not reserve the
right to kick out shoppers, in stores
open to the public, for any reason they
deem fit.
June14, 2014
US Bombs Libya
Reuters / John
Philip Wagner
The Pentagon has announced it conducted
an airstrike in Libya targeting a
mid-level Al-Qaeda-associated militant,
but could not be completely sure that it
succeeded.
Continue
The Sunday Times’
Snowden Story is Journalism at its Worst
— and Filled with Falsehoods
By Glenn Greenwald
The entire report is a self-negating
joke. It reads like a parody I might
quickly whip up in order to illustrate
the core sickness of western journalism.
Continue
Spewing Hatred, Pandering to Ignorance
and Tribalism!
Rudy Giuliani:
“The Ayatollah Must Go”
Video
Giuliani said: "He and Rouhani and
Ahmadinejad and all of the rest of them
should be put on trial for crimes
against humanity for the thousands and
hundreds of thousands of people they
have killed, and it is about time we
stop ignoring it.
The Silly Season:
Reflections From Iowa
By Paul Street
The election spectacle is a racket. It’s
a way of deterring and taking the risk
out of democracy and bamboozling the
populace.
Continue
Happy Birthday
Magna Carta
By Paul Craig Roberts
Governments unaccountable to law are
tyrannies whatever they might call
themselves, no matter how exceptional
and indispensable they declare
themselves to be.
Continue
Wages of
Rebellion
Chris Hedges
Today, with the unprecedented level of
global wealth inequality and the power
of corporate and government elites to
make decisions that negatively impact
the mass of people on the planet, the
imperative for revolt is greater than
ever.
Continue
74 Daesh
militants, 17 Iraqi forces killed in
clashes:
Lieutenant General Raed Shaker Jawdat
from central police, told Anadolu Agency
that his forces in Saladin "targeted a
group of Daesh militants that tried to
sneak by boats through Tigris River. At
least 10 were killed and the boats were
destroyed."
13 killed as ISIL
launches new suicide attacks in Iraq's
Fallujah:
The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant
(ISIL) group has killed 13 Iraqi
soldiers in a triple suicide car bombing
at an army base south of Fallujah,
military sources said. The attack came a
day after a quadruple suicide bombing
claimed by ISIL near Beiji killed at
least 11 Iraqi security personnel.
Ten killed in
Baghdad car blast:
Police officials say the attack took
place tonight when the car bomb hit a
market and shops in Baghdad’s Qahira
neighbourhood. At least 20 people were
wounded in the attack.
Three Syrian
officers killed as IS downs helicopter:
Three Syrian officers were killed when
their helicopter was downed by Islamic
State (IS) militants in the northern
province of Aleppo, a monitor group
reported on Saturday.
Kurds clash with
ISIS at gates of key Syrian border town:
commander:
"The clashes are ongoing now on the
eastern edges of Tal Abyad, 50 meters
from the town. We are fighting for
control of the first checkpoint," said
Hussein Khojer, a commander with the
Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG).
Turkey takes in
Syrians fleeing battle:
Hundreds cross border from al-Raqqa as
Kurdish forces and allies prepare to
wrest town of Tel Abyad from ISIL.
Clashes break out
in eastern Yemen, 15 Houthi fighters
killed:
Fifteen Shia Houthi militants and two
fighters loyal to Yemen’s exiled
president have been killed in clashes in
the eastern province of Marib.
8 Killed in Yemen
in Fresh Saudi Airstrikes:
- Eight people have been killed in fresh
Saudi Arabian airstrikes on residential
areas in Yemen’s northwestern Sa'ada
province.
Houthi forces in
Yemen seize provincial capital near
Saudi border: residents:
Houthi forces and their army allies in
Yemen seized the capital of a large
desert province on the border with Saudi
Arabia Sunday, residents said, an
important victory for the group ahead of
peace talks in Geneva Monday.
Palestinian
killed during clashes with Israeli
troops:
Israeli soldiers killed a Palestinian
man Sunday by hitting him with their
jeep after shooting him during clashes
in the eastern Ramallah village of Kafr
Malik, Palestinian medical sources told
Ma'an.
Video: Israeli
soldiers brutally beat Palestinian:
Video - This video shows Israeli
soldiers brutally beating and taunting a
Palestinian man near
Jalazone refugee camp
near Ramallah in the occupied West Bank
on Friday.
Doctors balk at
bill to force-feed Palestinian
prisoners:
Israeli doctors have been instructed to
not comply with legislation approved by
the cabinet Sunday that would enable
prison authorities to force feed
hunger-striking Palestinian inmates.
Whitewashing war crimes:
Israel issues its
own Gaza war report, pre-empting U.N.
inquiry:
- Israel issued a report on Sunday
arguing its 2014 Gaza offensive was
lawful, a move aimed at pre-empting the
release of findings of a U.N. war crimes
investigation that Prime Minister
Benjamin Netanyahu scorned as a waste of
time.
Israel reprimands
officer over beating of Palestinian:
Footage of Friday's incident, at
Jelazoun refugee camp in the occupied
West Bank, showed troops striking the
Palestinian civilian with their fists
and a rifle butt.
Pandering to ignorance:
Rudy Giuliani:
“The ayatollah must go”
: Giuliani said: "The
ayatollah must go. He and Rouhani and
Ahmadinejad and all of the rest of them
should be put on trial for crimes
against humanity for the thousands and
hundreds of thousands of people they
have killed, and it is about time we
stop ignoring it.
Niger: 18
migrants found dead in Sahara desert:
They were part of a wave of migrants
trying to reach Libya to board
smugglers' boats across the
Mediterranean Sea into Europe. "This
tragedy highlights a feared but hitherto
little-known danger too many migrants
face long before they risk their lives
at sea," said William Lacy Swing, the
IOM's director general.
13 killed as
Somali Islamists attack military base in
Kenya:
Eleven Somali al Shabaab militants and
two Kenyan soldiers were killed when the
al Qaeda-linked fighters attacked a
military base on Kenya's northern coast
near to the Somali border on Sunday, a
local official and a military spokesman
said.
Libya says
Algerian militant Belmokhtar killed in
U.S. strike:
- Libya's recognized government said on
Sunday veteran Algerian militant Mokhtar
Belmokhtar had been killed in a U.S. air
strike inside Libya as part of
counter-terrorism cooperation.
Tunisians seized
in Libya in new kidnapping:
Unknown kidnappers take eight people
working in Tripoli, just days after 10
Tunisian consular staff were kidnapped.
Sudan president
barred from leaving South Africa:
A court in South Africa has issued an
order preventing Sudan’s president, Omar
al-Bashir, from leaving the country as
calls are made for his arrest over
alleged war crimes.
Taliban shadow
governor for Kunar among 15 killed in
airstrike:
Omar Zadran is identified as the The
Taliban shadow governor who was killed
along with two other senior Taliban
commanders and 12 fighters in the
attack. The other two commanders are
identified as Mawlawi Asghar who had led
a terrorist attack on Dangam District a
few months before and Mawlawi
Shahabuddin another prominent Taliban
commander.
China confirms
test of new hypersonic strike vehicle
'Wu-14':
The strategic strike weapon is extremely
advanced and can travel at 10 times the
speed of sound, or 12,231.01kph. US
missile defenses can only counter
ballistic missiles and warheads that
have predictable trajectories. The Wu-14
is capable of maneuvering during flight
while travelling at the edge of space,
and so is extremely difficult to shoot
down.
One Ukraine
soldier killed, 21 hurt in clashes with
separatists:
Last week more than 35 people died as
intense mortar and artillery fire
returned to previously quiet eastern
regions of the former Soviet state.
Pentagon 'poised
to send heavy weapons, troops to Eastern
Europe':
The "New York Times" has reported that
the Pentagon is "poised" to station
heavy weapons for up to 5,000 US troops
in several Eastern European countries.
The move would escalate tension with
Russia.
'West' is Not the
Charity Business: There'll Be Hell to
Pay for Ukraine:
While Kiev declares that it would not
repay Russia's $3 billion loan or even
seize Russia's assets in Ukraine, such
moves may deal a heavy blow to the very
foundations of international law, US
economist Michael Hudson warned.
IMF Confirms It
Will Support Ukraine Whether It Defaults
or Not:
Open letter from IMF chief Christine
Lagarde makes clear the IMF will
continue to provide funding to Ukraine
regardless of whether or not Ukraine’s
Western creditors agree to restructuring
Fact or fiction?
Snowden leaks
forced British spies’ pullout from
Russia, China - report:
The British MI6 secret service had to
suspend operations of its field agents
due to imminent exposure in “hostile”
countries such as Russia and China. The
Sunday Times alleges that both Moscow
and Beijing have succeeded in cracking
top-secret encrypted documents leaked by
Snowden and thus learnt MI6’s methods.
Computer in
Merkel's office hit by cyber attack:
report:
A computer in German Chancellor Angela
Merkel's legislative office was hit by a
cyber attack that targeted the country's
lower house of parliament in May, the
Bild newspaper reported on Sunday.
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