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Pakistan's future tied to the oval office
Dr. Tariq Amin-Khan: Will Obama or McCain represent a new policy toward Pakistan? Part 5
The US military has increased the frequency of drone attacks inside Pakistani territory, resulting in high numbers of civilian casualties. Though Obama was the first to call for these kinds of operations within Pakistani borders, Dr. Amin-Khan believes that Obama is more likely to change this failed policy than is McCain. Obama provides the potential for a broader approach to easing tensions in the region than the military-only approach, embraced by Bush and McCain, that has only made things worse. Identifying the lack of economic development as the greatest source of the conflict, Dr. Amin-Khan believes that the only US policy which can realistically improve the situation in Pakistan is a new Marshall Plan.
Tariq Amin-Khan is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Politics and Public Administration at Ryerson University. In addition to a PhD in Social and Political Thought from York University in Toronto, he holds a Master’s degree in South Asian Studies from the University of Toronto, and a Bachelor of Law from the University of Karachi in Pakistan. The title of his doctoral thesis is Theorizing the Post-Colonial State in the Era of Capitalist Globalism.
See Part 1 at: http://current.com/items/89339338_pakistan_on_the_brink
See Part 2 at: http://current.com/items/89351852_is_pakistan_s_zardari...
See Part 3 at: http://current.com/items/89361227_global_meltdown_pakis...
See Part 4 at: http://current.com/items/89373446_what_do_the_taliban_w... Dr. Tariq Amin-Khan: Will Obama or McCain represent a new policy toward Pakistan? Part 5 ... more -
LA TRAGEDIA DEL 911 ANTICIPATA SEI MESI DA UNA SERIE TV!
LA TRAGEDIA DEL 911 ANTICIPATA SEI MESI DA UNA SERIE TV!
Il 4 Marzo 2001 (potete verificare la data ovunque) andò in onda sui network televisivi americani, il telefilm "The Lone Gunmen", i cui protagonisti principali sono i "consulenti" di Fox Mulder in "The X-Files", Langly, Byers e Frohike, i cosidetti "Pistoleri Solitari".
Ebbene in questo "spin-off" di X-Files, nella prima puntanta intitolata "Pilot" si trova la "profezia" di un atroce evento che sarebbe avvenuto qualche mese dopo. Nella puntata pilota si vede un Boeing 747 di una comune linea aerea, pieno di passeggeri, dirottato sul... Word Trade Center. Inoltre l’aereo è dirottato “da remoto” sfruttando il pilota automatico e la natura dei mandanti dell’attentato.
Nel telefilm l’attacco sarebbe organizzato da alcuni settori del Governo Federale allo scopo di “giustificare l’aumento delle spese militari e l’attacco ad un paese con un regime non affine agli Stati Uniti“.
E' solo una coincidenza oppure c'è davvero un sospetto (legittimo o meno che sia) che dietro le idee di Chris Carter (ideatore della serie "X Files" e di "The Lone Gunmen") ci sia la supervisione di qualche ente governativo e di "intelligence" USA?
Sopra alcuni spezzoni del telefilm RILEVANTI (in inglese con i sottotitoli in italiano) rispetto ai tragici eventi che sarebbero realmente accaduti 6 mesi dopo...
Commenti? LA TRAGEDIA DEL 911 ANTICIPATA SEI MESI DA UNA SERIE TV! ... more -
Soldier Songwriter
Iraqi war vet, now singer-songwriter, Joshua Morrison sits down talk about his music, his inspiration, and his duty as a soldier.
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Israel Channel 2News:Peace Now Org threatened, Bomb Injures Professor/Activist
"A prize of 1.1 million shekels ($500,000) is offered to anyone who kills a member of Peace Now." This was the opening line of a flyer found near the Jerusalem home of Professor Zeev Sternhell, who was injured by a pipe bomb early Thursday morning.In the wake of the bombing Israeli police dispatched a detail to protect Peace Now Director General Yariv Oppenheimer, and a special task force was formed to find those responsible. Israeli police suspect a right-wing Jewish terrorist group.
Peace Now is not being targeted by chance, Professor Galia Golan said Thursday. "The settlers target Peace Now because we are the most active group in society who bring the whole [range of] settler activities to the public eye... They definitely see us as harmful to their cause," she said. Former Education Minister Yossi Sarid echoed this assessment. "Peace Now is undergoing a renaissance," he wrote in Haaretz. "All those wondering where the movement is today, where it has disappeared to, have received a thundering Zionist answer. The movement is here, alive and well and exerting an influence - and it's really bothering someone up there on the hilltops."
Condemnations of the incident were issued by politicians across the political spectrum.
Outgoing Prime Minister Ehud Olmert condemned the act of terrorism in strong terms at yesterday's cabinet meeting: "It is impossible not to see a direct line between the murder of Emil Grunzweig [who was killed at a 1983 Peace Now demonstration], the awful murder of Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and the attack on Prof. Sternhell," said Olmert. "An evil wind of extremism, of hatred, of malice, of violence, of running amok, of breaking the law, of contempt for the institutions of the state is blowing through certain sections of the Israeli public and threatens Israeli democracy, the ability of those entrusted by the State of Israel to make decisions and the ability to freely express one's views without fear of being attacked by wild, violent law-breakers, who disregard all frameworks of proper, democratic life," he added.
Defense Minister Ehud Barak responded to Thursday's attack quickly, saying that "this is a case where an intellectual came under attack because of his views. We are returning to a dark period."
"We won't allow anyone, of any dark corner of Israeli society, harass people," Barak added.
Statements like these were not accepted at face value by some observers. "Let no one tell us stories or try to sell us a load of nonsense," wrote Eitan Haber in Friday's Yedioth Ahronoth. "Since 1967, there has never been any prime minister or defense minister who sought to confront Israeli lawbreakers in Judea, Samaria and Gaza. The opposite is true: every prime minister, Likud and Labor alike, ignored and made light of the reports that were laid on their desks about illegal organizations and rioting. In the war against the Israeli lawbreakers in the territories, some prime ministers and ministers were the first to blink. The sad truth: they were afraid of the people in the territories."
Haber continues: "Israeli residents of the territories deliberately killed Palestinian children and youths, destroyed their homes and trees and even organized for terrible underground activity—and not one of them is behind bars today. ----more at links BELOW------------
http://www.peacenow.org/mepr.asp?rid=&cid=5416
This video is in Hebrew....
here is some more of the story and english version of this video report...for some reason, it would not load.....
http://peacenow.org/video.asp?rid=&cid=5405
and the story http://www.peacenow.org/mepr.asp?rid=&cid=5416 yopu can start to read it here...... "A prize of 1.1 million shekels ($500,000) is offered to anyone who kills a member of Peace Now." This was the opening line ... more -
The View From Over There
Has America's image been tarnished by the last eight years? Democrats seem to think so, and increasingly so do some Republicans. Collective Journalism contributors around the world work to gauge America's image abroad, as US policymakers struggle to maintain positive feeling in spite of ongoing wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
"The View From Over There" takes in an depth look at American foreign policy and how it affects America's image abroad. In this show, we feature a look at how other countries view the US, especially in the wake of Sept 11, the War on Terror, and the War in Iraq. We also hear from citizens of other countries about who they prefer in this year's US election. And finally, we show a unique perspective on the issue of how to handle Iran - an Iranian perspective.
Collective Journalism, Current's citizen journalism program, works by combining perspectives from contributors like you around the world. All month until Election Day, CJ will be airing special investigations into the most important issues of this election. Has America's image been tarnished by the last eight years? Democrats seem to think so, and increasingly so do some Republicans. ... more -
10 Most Powerful Computers of All Time
“Intelligent” Super Computers Put to the Turing Test
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Iran 'forces down foreign plane', Reports say is US Military
A foreign aircraft has been forced to land in Iran after violating Iranian airspace, Iranian news agencies say.
The semi-official Fars said the plane was a US Falcon, while state TV said it belonged to a European aid agency.
The Pentagon denied any of its planes had been involved in such an incident, saying none had landed in Iran.
The Iranian reports said those on board were freed a day later, but did not say when the event took place. It is not clear what happened to the aircraft.
The Fars report said the aircraft entered Iranian airspace from Turkey, flying at low altitude to avoid radar.
It said the plane was intercepted by Iranian fighter jets and forced to land at an unspecified airport.
The reports said its occupants were released after it became clear they had entered the country unintentionally.
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other reports say it is a US Military plane and the US denies this report A foreign aircraft has been forced to land in Iran after violating Iranian airspace, Iranian news agencies say. ... more -
Iran fighter jets 'force Western plane down'
An Iranian news agency reported today that an aeroplane had been forced to land in Iran after unintentionally flying into it's airspace. Initial reports suggested the plane was a US fighter jet but it later emerged the plane was a Falcon passenger jet. The five people on board were interrogated but released the next day when the Iranian authorities were satisfied their trespass was a mistake. An Iranian news agency reported today that an aeroplane had been forced to land in Iran after unintentionally flying into it's ai... more
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George Bush - A gifted leadership
A new book praises George Bush's leadership skills. It begins with these words: "George Bush may not hold himself out as a genius, but as the book closed on the 2002 midterm elections, it became abundantly clear that he is a brilliant leader."
Authors Thompson and Ware point out that Bush named his campaign plane Accountability, and that he said: "There is a concept that you are responsible for your behaviour. You can't shirk off your problems on somebody else." They remind us that Bush is just like Albert Einstein. "For Einstein," they explain, "intuition was more important than knowledge." A new book praises George Bush's leadership skills. It begins with these words: "George Bush may not hold himself out as a ... more -
Israel TV News: Massacre in Jenin, The Horrible Genocide by Israel
Israel TV Reports Israel army killing several people in Palestine Muslim genocide killing. Now, even Israeli TV, all three of their major networks are beginning to question their government.
Despite Israeli military trying to suppress this video, it was able to leak and the Israeli governments answer was "..contrition".
How horrible these cruel acts are being carried out under the guise of looking for weapons and terrorists. Israel should be held accountable for their crimes against humanity.
In a Washington Post article, The United Nations condemned Israel in a vote 156 to 7 for "indiscriminate and disproportionate use of force" in its military offensive in Gaza, during an emergency session that provided scores of U.N. members with a familiar platform to excoriate the Jewish state's policies in the region. Six countries abstained. (was the USA one fo them?)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/20...
I ask that people of all race, religions and nationality to email world leaders and ask them: "We ask that your country speak up against the horrible genocide no going on in the Mideast. Isael has already been condemned by the United Nations for cruel acts among many other act that defy the laws of Humanity and moreover, defy the law the UN enacted: The Universal Declaration of Human Rights":
http://www.un.org/Overview/rights.html
Here are emails for most world leaders, some names may be different, but the emails should be the same:
PDF: http://www.matrixmasters.com/pdf/World_Leader_Email_Add...
WORD: http://www.matrixmasters.com/assets/Email%20Addresses%2...
If we all take 15 minutes, copy the emails and write one letter in your style, maybe we can begin to get more attention to this problem. I remember reading somewhere that the holocaust was not believed by many people, including the Pope in Italy despite it all happening under their noses! Finally, people began to stand up and hollar what was happening and then the world was able to take the regime down. Is this is what is needed for Zionist Israel? I have no problem with Jews having their own land, but Zionist Jews are going way out to own everything they can. The believe they are the supreme race over Palestine.
Let's begin to "Hollar" lounder and put an end to this. I have a funny feeling the world will be a better place then. Israel TV Reports Israel army killing several people in Palestine Muslim genocide killing. Now, even Israeli TV, all three of their ma... more -
Turkey bombs PKK targets in Iraq
Turkish warplanes launched airstrikes on 21 PKK bases inside and across the border of northern Iraq following clashes that killed 15 Turkish soldiers last Friday. The Turkish military released a statement reporting on the mission and the safe return of the warplanes to their bases, but didn't disclose any other details. This is the fourth raid on PKK bases since the attack last week. Turkish warplanes launched airstrikes on 21 PKK bases inside and across the border of northern Iraq following clashes that killed 15 T... more
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The Invisible Holocaust
First, however, imagine if you will the Roman Catholics or Southern Baptists declaring for themselves a "state" within the U.S., in which they will recognize the human rights of only members of their own religion, and in which they intend to seize homes, lands, orchards, properties and water rights belonging to others, and then drive out the residents who had previously resided in and around their newly claimed "state." Such a situation would not be permitted because it is clearly illegal.
The creation of a "homeland" for Zionists did not happen overnight. Zionist Israel did not simply erupt into existence in 1948. Instead, its plans were drafted and crafted on various papers in England, dating back to the early 1900s. In a 2002 interview with BBC News, previous UK Foreign Secretary, Jack Straw, blamed much of the current and ongoing Arab-Israeli conflict on the activities of "Britain's imperial past." It was the "Balfour Declaration" of 1917, in which England "gave" the land of the Palestinians to the Zionists.
(1) (2) Zionist Israel was born, one might say, as the product of explosives. In the early 1900s, Dr. Chaim Weizmann discovered a way to use industrial fermentation to facilitate the manufacture of cordite. This proved to be immensely helpful to British war efforts, and when he was asked how he wished to be compensated for the services he rendered to Britain, Weizmann reportedly answered, "There is only one thing I want-a national home for my people." Specifically, he desired Palestine. The Balfour Declaration would soon be written, and Dr Weizmann would eventually become the first president of a new state called "Israel."
(3) With the Balfour Declaration, one nation promised a nation not yet in existence the land already inhabited by a third nation. The third nation was not consulted. Balfour would later write, "For in Palestine we do not propose even to go through the form of consulting the wishes of the present inhabitants of the country" and, he further wrote of Palestine, "Zionism, be it right or wrong, good or bad, is rooted in age-long tradition, in present needs, in future hopes, of far profounder importance than the desire and prejudicies of the 700,000 Arabs who now inhabit that ancient land." With his own personal prejudices, Lord Balfour put pen to paper and ultimately ruined the lives of human beings now numbering in the millions. He apparently failed to realize that many of the Palestinians had been living on their ancestral lands in Palestine for a thousand years, or longer. Giving ancestral Palestinian homes and land to the Zionists and Jewish settlers from all other countries around the globe, gave Jewish immigrants a new home if they desired to have one, but it turned all of the Palestinians into refugees in their own land. The outrage and despair of such an inhumane "declaration" has led to sixty years of violence throughout Palestine, much of which the world knows nothing about, because the situation and the Palestinians, themselves, remain largely invisible to us.
(4) As the fighting escalated when Israel declared itself a state within Palestine in 1948, Count Folke Bernadotte, a Swedish diplomat, was sent there in an attempt to establish rules of fairness that would hopefully bring peace. This is what Bernadotte had to say about Israel: "A Jewish State called Israel exists in Palestine and there are no sound reasons for assuming that it will not continue to do so." He devised a plan that would limit the borders of Israel within Palestine, and would also allow the Palestinian refugees-who had fled in terror from the heavily armed Israeli military-to return to their homes. After writing the plan, the Count was ambushed and assassinated by outraged Zionist terrorists.
-----------------More at link, or read the comment for continuation First, however, imagine if you will the Roman Catholics or Southern Baptists declaring for themselves a "state" within the U... more -
30-Second Sarah
All you need to know about Sarah Palin in 30 seconds, from the editing room of Sim Sadler.
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Israel's plan to attack Iran confirmed
Last week, the Guardian newspaper confirmed that Israel was actively considering a military strike against Iran’s nuclear facilities last spring. It reported that when Israel’s then prime minister, Ehud Olmert, raised this during US President George W. Bush’s visit to Israel last May, Bush vetoed it.
The Guardian’s veteran Middle East commentator, Jonathan Steele, cited senior diplomatic personnel working for a European head of government who met Olmert some time after Bush’s visit.
According to the Guardian’s sources, the talks were so sensitive that they were held in private, with no note-takers in attendance. They said that Olmert “took it [the refusal of a US green light] as where they were at the moment, and that the US position was unlikely to change as long as Bush was in office.”
Bush’s refusal to sanction an attack was apparently based on several factors. Firstly, the US was concerned that such an attack would provoke Iran to retaliate, which would probably include a wave of attacks on US military and contract personnel in Iraq, and Afghanistan and US shipping in the Gulf. Iraq’s Shiite-dominated government, installed by the US, retains close ties with and is dependent upon Tehran.
Secondly, it was unlikely that an Israeli air raid—even with dozens of aircraft—would succeed in knocking out Iran’s nuclear facilities, which are widely dispersed in fortified underground locations throughout the country.
Furthermore, the shortest route to Natanz, Iran’s uranium enrichment plant, is more than 700 miles from Israel and would entail flying over Iraq’s airspace, which is controlled by the US. So it would be impossible for Israel to launch such an attack without explicit US approval.
This would have left the US unable to officially deny knowledge of the attack. Iran would have every reason to assume that Bush had concurred with such an act of war, and to retaliate.
Iran has repeatedly said it would defend itself against any attacks on its nuclear facilities, which it maintains are for civilian purposes only. An air strike would precipitate a full-scale war, going far beyond Iran, underlining Washington’s increasing isolation in the region. It would precipitate attacks by Hezbollah on Israel and even terrorist attacks within the US itself.
One official said, “It is over 10 years since Hezbollah’s last terror attack outside Israel, when it hit an Argentine-Israel association building in Buenos Aires [killing 85 people].” “There is a large Lebanese diaspora in Canada which must include some Hezbollah supporters. They could slip in the US and take action,” he continued.
--------------------more at link.
It's rumored that this plan will happen right before the US Elections. This can theoretically put the USA in a national emergency, thus putting off the elections for a year or, more scarier, several years..and that means several years of Bush again. We all know he wants the oil. Not for Americans, but for his greedy hands and buddies. Last week, the Guardian newspaper confirmed that Israel was actively considering a military strike against Iran’s nuclear facilities l... more -
Russia Bolivia ink helicopter deal
Forrest Hylton: There used to be a recognition of US spheres of influence - all that is over.
Russia and Bolivia strengthened their ties this week. With Moscow concluding a deal with La Paz to purchase five Russian civil defence helicopters. The deal also forms part of a strategy of Latin American integration, sidelining the United States, as countries like Venezuela, Brazil, and Argentina among others, attempt to re assert control over their own progress. Forrest Hylton states that "there used to be a recognition of spheres of influence all that is over."
Forrest Hylton is the the author of Evil Hour in Colombia (Verso, 2006), and with Sinclair Thomson, co-author of Revolutionary Horizons: Past and Present in Bolivian Politics (Verso, 2007). He is a regular contributor to New Left Review and NACLA Report on the Americas. Forrest Hylton: There used to be a recognition of US spheres of influence - all that is over. ... more -
The encirclement of Russia
Chalmers Johnson: "We have to back down unless we are looking for real confrontation with Russia". Part 3
Chalmers Johnson: "It's amazing that we have gone this far pushing the Russians around ... They are the only people on earth who could literally destroy us."
Chalmers Johnson taught from 1962 to 1992 at the Berkeley and San Diego campuses of the University of California. From 1968 until 1972 he was a consultant to the Office of National Estimates of the Central Intelligence Agency. He has written 17 books. His most recent releases are “Blowback: The Costs and Consequences of American Empire” (Metropolitan Books, 2000) and “The Sorrows of Empire: Militarism, Secrecy, and the End of the Republic” (Metropolitan, 2004) and his newest book, “Nemesis: The Last Days of the American Republic" (Metropolitan, 2007). Chalmers has been a frequent contributor to the Los Angeles Times, the London Review of Books, Harper’s Magazine, and The Nation among others, he appears in the 2005 prize-winning documentary film "Why We Fight".
See Part 1 at: http://current.com/items/89370666_massive_us_military_b...
See Part 2 at: http://current.com/items/89373406_last_days_of_the_amer... Chalmers Johnson: "We have to back down unless we are looking for real confrontation with Russia". Part 3 ... more -
Americans and reality
Robert Parry: The Reagan presidency further detached Americans from world reality. Part 3
Robert Parry is an American investigative journalist. He was awarded the George Polk Award for National Reporting in 1984 for his work with the Associated Press. In 1995, he established Consortium News as an online ezine dedicated to investigative journalism. From 2000 to 2004, he worked for the financial wire service Bloomberg. Major subjects of Parry's articles and reports on Consortium News include the presidency of George W. Bush, the career of Army general and Bush Secretary of State Colin Powell (with Norman Solomon), the October Surprise controversy of the 1980 election, the Nicaraguan contra-cocaine investigation, the efforts to impeach President Clinton, right-wing terrorism in Latin America, the political influence of Sun Myung Moon, mainstream American media imbalance, United States Defense Secretary Robert Gates, as well as international stories . Parry has written several books, including Lost History: Contras, Cocaine, the Press & "Project Truth." (1999) and Secrecy & Privilege: Rise of the Bush Dynasty from Watergate to Iraq (2004).
See Part 1 at: http://current.com/items/89369029_america_pays_the_pipe...
See Part 2 at: http://current.com/items/89370644_america_pays_the_pipe... Robert Parry: The Reagan presidency further detached Americans from world reality. Part 3 ... more -
The Secret Behind the Surge
Bob Woodward's final book on the Bush years in Iraq, The War Within, reports that top secret American targeting and assassination operations--extra-judicial killings--were "very possibly" the biggest factor in reducing violence in 2006-07, even more than the so-called troop surge itself.
He writes that the "groundbreaking" operations were carried out as Special Access Programs or under the Special Compartmentalized Information effort.
Woodward and his editors consider this strategy of summary executions of "key individuals in extremist groups" so ultra-sensitive that they chose not to reveal "the state secrets that have been so beneficial to Iraq."
"Because disclosing the details of such operations could compromise their ongoing use," Woodward writes, "I have chosen not to include more here."
The programs were considered "awesome" by President Bush and were effective enough to give "orgasms" to the top intelligence adviser to Gen. David Petraeus, Derek Harvey.
As he has in the past, Woodward chooses to keep significant and explosive news a secret out of deference to the Pentagon and White House. The media is no longer independent, but part of the national security apparatus. (The New York Times, for example, held the story on FISA/domestic wiretapping for one year.)
Thus far no mainstream media writer has sought to uncover the whole story, and why it was withheld since being launched in May 2006.
No member of Congress has raised a question either. Most lawmkers, however well-intentioned, know little about counterinsurgency doctrine, the actual role of counterterrorism units, and the vast gulags that already hold some 100,000 Iraqis and Afghans in detention without charges or lawyers.
Some immediate questions:
• Since the Iraqis on the receiving end presumably know about these tactics, why keep them secret from the American public, Congress and media?
• How are the operations consistent with US constitutional law and international human rights standards?
• Are they joint US-Iraqi operations, or only US operations?
• Are those targeted for execution carrying out any military action at the time, or do their names only have to appear on target lists?
• Did the target lists come from Iraqi informants or official sources, and how were they verified?
• Why were the targets killed instead of being detained?
• How many targeted individuals were killed or made to disappear?
• Who in the Administration, Congress and upper echelons of the media have known, and for how long?
This is the essence of a dirty war, and could well be the updated "global Phoenix program" recommended by Petraeus adviser David Kilkullen in 2004.
The shame is the utter silence with which the news is being met. Bob Woodward's final book on the Bush years in Iraq, The War Within, reports that top secret American targeting and assassination... more -
British army officer says U.S. can't win in Afghanistan
Some blunt remarks by a senior British army officer have again raised the issue of divergent views among North Atlantic Treaty Organisation allies about the mission in Afghanistan. Some blunt remarks by a senior British army officer have again raised the issue of divergent views among North Atlantic Treaty Organis... more
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