Warning signs of an Israeli strike on Iran

Bush’s legacy would be best served by taking dramatic diplomatic action to prevent a war with Iran. He should publicly warn Israel that the United States will use its air power to prevent it bombing Iran, while announcing that he is sending Rice to Tehran to start negotiating a grand bargain whereby all sanctions would be lifted if Iran forgoes the nuclear weapons option.

United States leads world in loss due to murder

The U.S. registered an estimated loss of up to $45.1 billion in terms of economic productivity because of violent crimes, said the report by the U.N. Development Program and the Geneva-based Small Arms Survey.

Russia 'could destroy NATO ships in Black Sea within 20 minutes'

"Despite the apparent strength, the NATO naval group in the Black Sea is not battle-worthy, Admiral Eduard Baltin said. If necessary, a single missile salvo from the Moskva missile cruiser and two or three missile boats would be enough to annihilate the entire group. Within 20 minutes the waters would be clear," he said, stressing that despite major reductions, the Black Sea Fleet still has a formidable missile arsenal."

Russia may push forward with S-300 sales to Iran

"The U.S. and Israel were alarmed by media reports, which started circulating as early as 2005, on the possible delivery of S-300 surface-to-air missiles to Iran, as these systems could greatly improve Iranian defenses against any air strike on its strategically important sites, including nuclear facilities."

'US, Israel two sides of same coin'

"The US and its protégé, Israel, are two sides of the same coin in their brutal killing of innocent people," said the prominent Lebanese cleric in his weekly Friday prayer sermon delivered from the Imamayn Hassanayn Mosque in Haret Hreik.

Brzezinski Says Bush Should Dissuade Israel From Attack on Iran

"In an interview on Bloomberg Television's "Political Capital with Al Hunt,'' Brzezinski said an armed conflict between Israel and Iran would widen to include the U.S. as Iran struck back against American forces in Iraq and Afghanistan."

Not to mention what will happen to the world's economy because of skyrocketing oil prices. And, regardless of what Brzezinski claims about Iran's ability to retaliate, I'd hate to be an Israeli after Iran is attacked...

US airstrike kills 11 Pakistani soldiers

"A Pakistani army statement said the clash in the Mohmand tribal region "had hit at the very basis of cooperation" between the two countries in the war on terror."

Israel to get "smarter" US-made bombs than Saudis

"The United States has agreed in principle to provide Israel with better "smart bombs" than those it plans to sell Saudi Arabia under a regional defence package, senior Israeli security sources said on Sunday."

How the Mossad Tricked US into Bombing Libya

"By the end of March, the Americans were already intercepting messages broadcast by the Trojan, which was only activated during heavy communication traffic hours. Using the Trojan, the Mossad tried to make it appear that a long series of terrorist orders were being transmitted to various Libyan embassies around the world (or, as they were called by the Libyans, Peoples' Bureaus). As the Mossad had hoped, the transmissions were deciphered by the Americans and construed as ample proof that the Libyans were active sponsors of terrorism. What's more, the Americans pointed out, Mossad reports confirmed it."

Why American is both loved and hated

"Immediately after the 9/11 attacks against the United States, President George W. Bush and many other perplexed, angry and often ignorant Americans asked a question: "Why do they hate us?" Then they made a statement: "You're either with us or against us." This week, those Americans who are actually interested in answering the question and exploring the validity of the statement have a very good opportunity to grasp precisely why most people around the world admire the US but also detest many aspects of its foreign policy."

UK living standards outstrip US

"LIVING standards in Britain are set to rise above those in America for the first time since the 19th century, according to a report by the respected Oxford Economics consultancy."

Welcome to Third World, U.S.A.

"The United Nations publishes a Human Development Index that ranks countries in terms of life expectancy, literacy, education and standard of living. The latest published data were based on 2005 statistics. The U.S., despite its vast wealth and power, placed only in the 12th position among industrial countries."

US, Israel to "upgrade" ties

Israeli Prime Minster Ehud Olmert, left, meets with President George Bush, before the peace parley in Annapolis, Md. on Nov. 26, 2007.

"Israel seems set to start 2008 with a major foreign policy achievement: During U.S. President George W. Bush’s visit here next week, Israel and the United States are expected to announce a significant upgrading of diplomatic, economic and military ties."

Upgrade? The way Israel is controlling Bush now, I wonder how much more "upgrading" can be done. I guess Bush has decided to go ahead and give Israel the keys to the White House and the launch codes to the US's nuclear arsenal.

The Post-Bush Regime: A Prognosis

"In order to understand anything about American political affairs, it is necessary to have some understanding of who it is that really makes the decisions behind the scenes, and what their interests are. In this way we have some hope of identifying the hidden agendas being served by government actions and programs, and some hope of identifying the longer-term strategies that are in play."

China leaves the US and India trailing

"In an audacious swoop, China has beaten off rivals from the US, Canada and Russia to secure a US$4 billion copper project in Afghanistan, leaving India to build hospitals and schools. And this week, China Petroleum Corporation sealed a $2 billion oil and gas development project in Iran, just as Delhi - at Washington's bidding - slapped banking restrictions on Tehran."

Israel accepts 90 - 95% of US's intelligence on Iran

"Israel, which was surprised by the National Intelligence Assessment on Iran released last week, initiated the meeting. Defense Minister Ehud Barak approved the idea of a meeting, reportedly preferring lower-level talks that would avoid involving diplomatic positions or organizational responsibility for the meaning or interpretation of the data."

Former Mossad Head: "Israel must be in on US-Iran talks"

"Highlighting new indications that the US government will directly engage with Iran in the near future on all issues including its nuclear program, former Mossad head Efraim Halevy said Tuesday that Israel must ensure that it is a direct participant in such contacts. Otherwise, he warned, the future of the region will be determined in a forum from which Israel is excluded."

Death squads, disappearances and torture

"The world is made up, as Captain Segura in Graham Greene's 1958 novel Our Man in Havana put it, of two classes: the torturable and the untorturable. "There are people," Segura explained, "who expect to be tortured and others who would be outraged by the idea.""

Castro: US could assassinate Chavez

"The Cuban President warns his Venezuelan counterpart, Hugo Chavez, that the US could assassinate him or wage a civil war in Venezuela."

“Thousands” Illegally Rendered By Bush Administration for Interrogation, Torture

"In violation of international and U.S. law, “thousands” of alleged terrorists have been victims of “extraordinary rendition” by the Bush Administration since 9/11, two legal scholars say. “Instead of working to bring those committing crimes against the United States to justice in U.S. courts, the Bush Administration seems intent on doing exactly the opposite---keeping such individuals away from U.S. courts, hidden in a web of secret prisons, underground interrogation cells, and in the hands of cooperative governments,” write Margaret Satterthwaite and Angela Fisher. Satterthwaite is an assistant professor of clinical law at NYU School of Law and Fisher served as assistant research scholar with the Center for Human Rights and Global Justice."