Who are the Palestinian refugees?

"Palestinian refugees are the indigenous inhabitants of Palestine, the majority of whom were dispossessed, were forced to run away or were expelled when the state of Israel was created in 1948. This dispossession and expulsion has continued since with the second largest such event in Palestine taking place during the 1967 war, which Israel launched on its Arab neighbors and which resulted in the occupation of the Gaza Strip and the West Bank."

And, I bet you thought the Arabs attacked Israel, didn't you?

Amazon.com has just reclassified "The Israel Lobby" by Harvard and Chicago U profs as a "conspiracy theory" book

Amazon can reclassify "The Israel Lobby" anyway they want, it won't put the sh*t back inside the horse.

Test of Faith at Oral Roberts University

""I'm sure there is corruption everywhere," said freshman Ben Conners, one of a number of people interviewed before the resignation. "But if you're holding students to such a high standard, making them sign an honor code and live by these strict principles, I expect the administration to be living an even stricter set of principles. To see something like this, it feels empty, like an elaborate masquerade party.""

Islamic Academy Under Attack

"On Nov. 15, a dozen U.S. senators, including Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., and Jon Kyl, R-Ariz., wrote a letter to the State Department urging it to act on the commission's recommendations. And on Tuesday, Reps. Frank Wolf, R-Va., and Steve Israel, D-N.Y., introduced legislation to write the commission's recommendations regarding the academy into law."

The usual Zionists suspects are at it again. They won't be satisfied until every Arab/Muslim everywhere is pissed with the US.

Rising Rates to Worsen Subprime Mess

"Now the real crest of the reset wave is coming, and that promises more pain for borrowers, lenders and Wall Street. Already, many subprime lenders, who focused on people with poor credit, have gone bust. Big banks and investors who made subprime loans or bought securities backed by them are reporting billions of dollars in losses."

Good riddance to John Howard

"Like most foreign elections, the humiliating defeat of Australia's Prime Minister, John Howard, was driven largely by their own domestic concerns, and it had little (though not nothing) to do with the U.S. Still, it is worth celebrating Howard's defeat in light of how pernicious a presence he was, as one of the very few remaining world leaders who loyally supported the worst and most war-loving aspects of the Bush/Cheney foreign policy."

Giuliani's Critics Point to Cronyism

William J. Bratton, now Los Angeles police chief, clashed with Giuliani over who should get credit for a drop in New York crime. Photo Credit: By Lauren Victoria Burke -- Associated Press

""Surround Yourself With Great People" was the title of a chapter in "Leadership," Rudolph W. Giuliani's best-selling celebration of his management style, but to critics of his performance in two terms as mayor of New York, it was an admonition he too often ignored."

Eyes Will Be on Bush At Talks on Mideast

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice joins President Bush in his meeting at the White House with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas. Photo Credit: By Charles Dharapak -- Associated Press

"When the Middle East peace conference kicks off Tuesday in Annapolis, President Bush will deliver the opening speech and also conduct three rounds of personal diplomacy with Israeli and Palestinian leaders. Such an active role is notable for a president who has never visited Israel while in office, who has made only one trip to Egypt and Jordan to promote peace efforts, and who has left the task of relaunching the peace process largely in the hands of his secretary of state, Condoleezza Rice."

US to arm Pak tribes to fight al-Qaeda

"The US is planning to enlist tribal leaders in Pakistan's border regions to allegedly fight against al-Qaeda and Taliban militants."

Howard's reign in Australia is over

Australian Prime Minister John Howard walks past a campaign poster promoting his opposition, Labor Party leader Kevin Rudd, outside a polling station before casting his ballot at a suburban Sydney school in the federal election Saturday, Nov. 24, 2007. (AP Photo/Rick Rycroft)

"Labor Party leader Kevin Rudd earned a sweeping victory in Australia's elections Saturday, ending an 11-year conservative era and promising major changes to policies on global warming and the Iraq war."

One by one the "coalition of the willing" is falling like dominoes as "another one bites the dust."

Finding Mandela

"Several years ago, a high-level Israeli official asked me to tell him everything I could about how the Israelis might find their Palestinian Mandela. His question was interesting and appropriate but also troubling because the Afrikaners didn’t really “find” Mandela. It took several months before the answer came to me. Show me the Palestinian to whom you Israelis are willing to lose, and I will to show you your Palestinian Mandela. My friend had overlooked the fact that Mandela and the African National Congress had won in South Africa."

Censored Images of War

"What US citizens should not see."

Apartheid Israel - A Call To Action for Black Folks

"Johnathan Scott in a piece entitled the “Niggerization of Palestine” asks “how Americans might respond politically if they came to know that a significant portion of their tax dollars is funding the most brutal system of racial oppression the world has seen since American Jim Crow and apartheid in South Africa.”"

$100 oil: the terrible truth

"As the price of crude oil sets records almost daily, the British government remains stunningly complacent. With the $100 barrel a real and constant threat, the prime minister's website blithely proclaims "the world's oil and gas resources are sufficient to sustain economic growth for the foreseeable future". Officials refuse to define what is meant by "foreseeable", but it is clear they suffer from extreme myopia, or worse."

Gaza's Reality

"Could you live like this?"

An endless pool of prisoners

"Why is Israel releasing 440 Palestinian prisoners specifically ahead of the Annapolis conference, and not 500 or 300, or 2,000 as the United States had expected? The impression is that no one is exercised by the security risk entailed in releasing prisoners - aside from politicians who want to make political capital off of it - and that all the wheeling and dealing revolves around the question of how many prisoners "are worth wasting" on this or that event."

Israeli settlers claim they will not budge, no matter what’s decided in Annapolis

"“The only viable solution is to leave security fully in the hands of the Israelis from the Mediterranean to the Jordan River. Jews have a historical and religious right to be here," said Dayan. "This is the heart of the Jewish homeland ... To uproot Jews from here would break the backbone of Jewish society and end the country's reason for being.""

Richard Perle: ‘I Don’t Believe I Was Wrong’ About Iraq

"Appearing on BBC’s Hardtalk with Stephen Sackur this weekend, Iraq war architect Richard Perle attempted, on the one hand, to distance himself from the failures of the Iraq war, and on the other hand, to claim it was a fantastic success."

Facts regarding Israel's Fuel and Electricity Cuts to the Gaza Strip

"Israel's claim that it can cut electricity without harming hospitals and other vital services is inconsistent with the facts on the ground. In Gaza, main lines of electricity serve hospitals, water wells, pumping stations, treatment plants, schools, pharmacies, and local clinics, as well as ordinary homes and buildings, without differentiation. As a result, when power is cut to the main lines, ensuing electricity outages also impact essential public services."

Britain's Brown on a down after bruising week

"British Prime Minister Gordon Brown faced more discouraging polls Saturday after a bruising week that brought his honeymoon period to a grinding halt. A string of setbacks have rocked his government and surveys suggest his initial burst of popularity since taking over from Tony Blair in June is well and truly over."

Exit polls point to Australian gov't defeat

"The Sky News poll also points to a humiliating defeat for Prime Minister John Howard in his own seat of Bennelong in Sydney."

Looks like another one is about to bite the dust!

The Financial Tsunami: Sub-Prime Mortgage Debt is but the Tip of the Iceberg

"Even experienced banker friends tell me that they think the worst of the US banking troubles are over and that things are slowly getting back to normal. What is lacking in their rosy optimism is the realization of the scale of the ongoing deterioration in credit markets globally, centered in the American asset-backed securities market, and especially in the market for CDO’s—Collateralized Debt Obligations and CMO’s—Collateralized Mortgage Obligations. By now every serious reader has heard the term “It’s a crisis in Sub-Prime US home mortgage debt.” What almost no one I know understands is that the Sub-Prime problem is but the tip of a colossal iceberg that is in a slow meltdown."

Paul Expects to Raise More Than $12 Million in Fourth Quarter

"Paul said he has begun "spending generously'' in key early- primary states. He is competing in New Hampshire, Iowa, South Carolina and Nevada, and said he expects to have money to campaign through Super Tuesday, Feb. 5, when at least 22 states may hold primaries and decide the nomination."

Ron Paul: Smear Attempts Reflect "Frightened," "Insecure," "Panicking" Establishment

""I think they represent a philosophical position which is diametrically opposed to us and our interpretation of the Constitution - I think it's serious business when people strike out like that and start using names like Islamic fascism - they're working on fear," the Congressman told the Alex Jones Show this week."

Six Imams kicked off flight win a round in court

"Six Muslim imams arrested on a U.S. Airways jet in Minneapolis last November after a passenger raised suspicions about their pre-flight prayers and boarding activities won an early victory Tuesday in their federal lawsuit against the airline and the Metropolitan Airports Commission."

No More Holocaust Reparations, Says German Finance Minister

Steinbrück pays his respects at the Yad Vashem memorial

"Finance Minister Peer Steinbrück said in Jerusalem Thursday that Germany had no plans to renegotiate a Holocaust reparations deal signed with Israel in 1952."

No, No, No! You CAN"T refuse! You MUST feel guilty and pay reparations until WE say you can stop.

Study claims Jewish poverty rate in the U.S. is higher than in Israel

"Every day at 6 P.M. 72 Jews come to the Ezra Center in Chicago's Uptown neighborhood. They come to eat dinner. Although the meal is provided by a respectable caterer and served in a place called Uptown Cafe, this is unmistakably a soup kitchen."

E-mail snub to Israel by Prince Charles' aides sparks furor

"Senior aides to Britain's Prince Charles said there is "no chance" the prince would ever visit Israel as such a visit would boost Israel's international image. The aides wrote the comments, in August E-mails, after outgoing Israeli ambassador to Britain Zvi Heifetz extended an invitation to the prince via principal private secretary Sir Michael Peat and deputy private secretary Clive Alderton."

Robert Fisk: Darkness falls on the Middle East

"In Beirut, people are moving out of their homes, just as they have in Baghdad."

Sleight of Hand Surge

"The neocons are making hay out of the reduced number of roadside bomb attacks, despite that fact that on November 12th four American soldiers were killed by a roadside bomb. That same day, an American soldier was killed while conducting combat operations in Anbar, but that didn't stop the neocons from continuing to chortle how well things are going in that province. You'll also hear congratulatory rumblings about how well Iraq's security forces are progressing, despite six Iraqi policemen in a town outside Mosul being gunned down in front of their own police station recently. The gunmen? They got away, of course. How's that for police work?"

Hands Off Iran

"This war, and especially Iranian retaliatory strikes on American targets, will be used to silence domestic dissent and abolish what is left of our civil liberties. It will solidify the slow-motion coup d'état that has been under way since the 9/11 attacks. It could mean the death of the Republic."

We fret over Europe, but the real threat to sovereignty has long been the US

"American influence has had far more portentous consequences. As Timothy Garton Ash recently remarked on these pages, people in Britain are subject to some of the most extensive official surveillance in the world. One excuse for this is the threat from terrorism. Would this threat be as great without our participation in the Iraq war? And would Britain have participated in that war had it not been so accustomed to following Washington's foreign-policy lead?"

Weekly Report: On Israeli Human Rights Violations in the Occupied Palestinian Territory

Na’el al-Kurdi, 21, who died on 17 November 2007 as Israeli occupation forced denied him access to medical treatment outside the Gaza Strip.

20,000 vets' brain injuries not listed in Pentagon tally

"At least 20,000 U.S. troops who were not classified as wounded during combat in Iraq and Afghanistan have been found with signs of brain injuries, according to military and veterans records compiled by USA TODAY."

Decpetion as Truth

"This week the forces of good will assemble in the city of Ann, the Queen who presided over her colonies, an apt gesture as the Israeli colonialist state meets to consider the fate of its Palestine colony, the one carefully preserved behind its apartheid wall of infamy, to attempt once again the fraud perpetrated on the American people and the United Nations that Israel is sincere in wanting peace. The moguls that control our press and TV channels sing the praises of Ehud Olmert and the Israeli Knesset as custodians of peace seeking to bring justice to the war weary peoples of Palestine. Thus are sown the seeds of discord that will reap the whirlwind of bitter disappointment, followed by the weeping and gnashing of teeth by these perpetrators of deceit."

Envoy: Iran's UN referral 'illegal'

"Iran's IAEA envoy says ElBaradei's new report proves that the Islamic Republic's referral to the UN Security Council was illegitimate."

Yea, but so was the war in Iraq but that didn't stop Bush and the gang.

Admiral 'perplexed' by snub at Hong Kong

In this photo provided by the U.S. Navy, the USS Kitty Hawk, home-ported in Yokosuka, Japan, transits in formation during a multinational exercise that includes naval forces from India, Australia, Japan, Singapore, and the United States, Wednesday, Sept. 5, 2007, in the Bay of Bengal, near India. Thousands of sailors aboard the USS Kitty Hawk and its carrier battle group had to mark the Thanksgiving holiday at sea after they were denied entry to Hong Kong for a port call that had been planned months in advance, U.S. Navy officials said Friday, Nov. 23, 2007. (AP Photo/U.S. Navy, Seaman Stephen W. Rowe, HO)

"The top U.S. military commander in the Pacific said he's "perplexed and concerned" by China's last-minute decision to deny a U.S. aircraft carrier entry to Hong Kong for a previously scheduled port visit."

Well, like grandma use to say, "you can't give folks your behind to kiss and expect to be welcomed at Sunday dinner."

Rightist manifesto: Settler evacuation is 'crime against humanity'

Former Yesha Council spokeswoman Emily Amrusi

"About 150 right-wing activists, including academics and Israel Defense Forces reserves officers, have signed a manifesto to be published Friday calling on security forces to refuse evacuating West Bank settlers on the grounds that it is a "crime against humanity." "

Can you believe this? These Israelis are claiming it's a "crime against humanity" to stop them from committing "crimes against humanity."

An unwinnable war

"Six years on and there is a real danger that the Taliban could retake Kabul, and large parts of Afghanistan caught in all-out civil war, with reach well beyond the country's fragile borders to the Asian republics to the north, Pakistan to the south, and Iran to the west."

Bush's Plame-gate Cover-up

"In early fall 2003, George W. Bush joined in what appears to have been a criminal cover-up to conceal the role of his White House in exposing the classified identity of covert CIA officer Valerie Plame Wilson."

Law and Resistance: The Republic in Crisis and the People’s Response

"After September 11, 2001 the United States of America has vilified and demonized Muslims and Arabs almost to the same extent that America inflicted upon the Japanese and Japanese Americans after Pearl Harbor . As the Nazis had previously demonstrated with respect to the Jews, a government must first dehumanize and scapegoat a race of people before its citizens will tolerate if not approve their elimination: Hiroshima and Nagasaki . In post-9/11 America we are directly confronted with the prospect of a nuclear war of extermination conducted by our White Racist Judeo-Christian Power Elite against People of Color in the Muslim and Arab worlds in order to steal their oil and gas. The Crusades all over again. But this time nuclear Armageddon stares all of humankind right in the face!"

Radioactive Ammunition Fired in Middle East May Claim More Lives Than Hiroshima and Nagasaki

"By firing radioactive ammunition, the U.S., U.K., and Israel may have triggered a nuclear holocaust in the Middle East that, over time, will prove deadlier than the U.S. atomic bombing of Japan."

Manufacturing Consent for World War III

“All the ideological signposts for attacking Iran are in place. The country has been thoroughly demonized because it is not nice to women, to gays, or to Jews. That in itself is enough to neutralize a large part of the American ‘left’. The issue of course is not whether Iran is nice or not – according to our views – but whether there is any legal reason to attack it, and there is none; but the dominant ideology of human rights has legitimized, specifically in the left, the right of intervention on humanitarian grounds anywhere, at any time, and that ideology has succeeded in totally sidetracking the minor issue of international law.” - Jean Bricmont (2007)

First Woman, First Black, First Latino, or First Honest President?

"The phrase honest politician has become an oxymoron. We should not be impressed by the prospect of having the first woman, first black or first Latino president. What would be far more radical would be to have the first honest president, if not ever, certainly in a very long time."

IDF Major charged over bid to spy for Iran, Hamas

David Shamir, indicted over espionage charges, at Tel Aviv District Court on Friday. (Motti Kimche)

"Tel Aviv District Court on Friday indicted over espionage charges a psychiatric doctor who serves as a Major in the Israel Defense Forces reserves for offering information to Iran, Russia and Hamas."

US storm over book on Israel lobby

"The power of America's "Jewish lobby" is said to be legendary."

Cheering for Ron Paul

"Given that the overall defense budget is now double what it was when President Bush's father presided over the end of the cold war--even though we don't have a militarily sophisticated enemy in sight--you have to wonder how this president has managed to exceed cold war spending levels. What has he gotten for the trillions wasted? Nothing, when it comes to capturing Osama bin Laden, bringing democracy to Iraq or preventing oil prices from tripling and enriching the ayatollahs of Iran while messing up the American economy."

NATO Insists Their Killings of Civilians 'Not Equivalent' to Taliban's Killings of Civilians

"Gen Scheffer appealed for understanding on this issue and said there was no moral equivalent between the civilians killed by the Taleban and those killed by Nato."

I'm not sure the subtle difference being discussed here matters a helluva lot to those civilians who have been killed. Or, to their family members who have now joined the Taliban to get some pay-back.

UN official says Israel's siege of Gaza breeds extremism and human suffering

"A senior United Nations official has issued an unprecedented appeal to British MPs to use their influence to try to alleviate the impact of "indiscriminate" and "illegal" Israeli sanctions in Gaza which display "profound inhumanity" and are "serving the agenda of extremists"."

No, NO! You have it all wrong! The Palestinians don't hate us because we are taking their land, destroying their crops and homes, putting their children in prison, and mudering them. They hate us because we are good and free. If you don't agree with that, you are ANTI-SEMITIC!

Wingnut Awareness Week

"You know that feeling people get when they drive past a car accident? It’s clear that the wreckage is terrifying, but they can’t bring themselves to look away. That’s how I felt wandering into DePaul University’s Cortelyou Commons on a rainy Chicago night in mid-October to attend “War With Iran?”"

US media poodles

"Despite bouts of superficial self-criticism, when it comes to war, the US media excel at following the White House line."

Very true. The best journalist on cable news anymore is Keith Olbermann. The most disappointing is Hardball's Chris Matthews.

The CIA’s Detention, Interrogation, and Rendition Program

Excellent video series.

Iran warns of domino effect of nuclear attack

"Iran's newly installed chief negotiator, Saeed Jalili, said today that a slide to war would lead to a backlash against the West across the region, including in Iraq and Afghanistan, where American leads an international military coalition."

Well, like I keep saying, the "West" meaning the US can't say they weren't warned. I don't now about you, but I really don't think the Iranians are bluffing. The US may be selling wolf-tickets but the Iranians are deadly serious.

‘US ready to face any Iranian threat’

"The United States military machine is undiminished after four years of fighting in Iraq and is more prepared than ever to face any threat from Iran, one of the US military’s most senior officials said. Admiral Timothy Keating, head of US military operations in 41 countries, was speaking in Bahrain days after Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad labelled the US army “shabby”, and said his Western foes had “rusty and disabled weapons.”"

The United States military machine is undiminished? What has this guy been smoking? The United States military machine is broken and it will take years to fix it. Oh well, like my dad use to say, "sometimes a good old fashion ass-whipping is the best lesson."

A plan to attack Iran swiftly and from above

"Massive, devastating air strikes, a full dose of "shock and awe" with hundreds of bunker-busting bombs slicing through concrete at more than a dozen nuclear sites across Iran is no longer just the idle musing of military planners and uber-hawks.

Like General Powell said, "these guys are fu*king nuts!"

Dems Bill on Iraq Wouldn't End War

"The Democrats' flagship proposal on Iraq is aimed at bringing most troops home. Yet if enacted, the law would still allow for tens of thousands of U.S. troops to stay deployed for years to come."

The Joke in Annapolis: How to Get Out?

"Bush is bankrupt. In order to succeed at Annapolis, he would have to exert intense pressure on Israel, to compel it to take the necessary steps: agree to the establishment of a real Palestinian state, give up East Jerusalem, restore the Green Line border (with some small swaps of territory), find an agreed-upon compromise formula for the refugee issue. But Bush is quite unable to exert the slightest pressure on Israel, even if he wanted to. In the US, the election season has already begun, and the two big parties are bulwarks standing in the way of any pressure on Israel. The Jewish and Evangelistic lobbies, together with the neocons, will not allow one critical word about Israel to be uttered unpunished."

Yep! That about sums things up.

Interest Group Foreign Policy

"Of course, the 800-pound gorilla of interest-group directed foreign policy is Israel. There's an obvious affinity between the U.S. and Israel, and that is reflected by strong support from many Jews and some Christians. The interest of the former is understandable and obvious. The latter tend to reflect a strained and minority eschatological vision – which basically assumes that Jews must be gathered together in Israel and slaughtered before Jesus Christ can return."

What Antiwar Activists Have to Be Thankful For

"Six reasons for holiday cheer..."

Iran: West should rectify its policies

"Iran's Deputy Foreign Minister for Legal and International Affairs calls on the West to rectify its policies on Iran's nuclear issue."

India's VP blames US for terrorism

"Vice President of India Shri M. Hamid Ansari says the foreign policy adopted by the US is fueling the flames of terrorism in the world."

Rudy Giuliani's Al Qaeda Connection?

"Following earlier reports that Giuliani was still getting paid by the consulting firm he created, Mary Jacoby of the Wall Street Journal sheds light on some potentially problematic sources of Giuliani's private income."

NYC Fire Chief: Giuliani 'Not a Hero' 'He Ran That Day'

"Rudy is now "trumpeting his leadership in the wake of 9/11 in campaign mailings to voters in Iowa and New Hampshire" despite claiming all along that he wasn't running on his 9/11 record. Dan Abrams has on FDNY Deputy Fire Chief Jim Riches, whose group, 9/11 Firefighters and Families, vows to not let Giuliani get away with it."

I keep telling you Rudy Giuliani is a lying sleavebag.

Annapolis, as seen from Gaza

"To quote Palestinian national poet Mahmoud Darwish, "The siege will last in order to convince us we must choose an enslavement that does no harm, in fullest liberty!""

The Problem in Pakistan

"...what’s missing in most of the media reports is a clear sense of why Musharraf is unpopular. It’s not because of his emergency rule, or because he has denied power to the established politicians who represent a feudal elite comprised of 22 families (including Bhutto’s) who own 60% of the land in Pakistan — many of the reports coming from Pakistan’s cities suggest that the majority of the population remains largely unmoved by the showdown between Musharraf and the political opposition.

No, the most important reason for Musharraf’s poor standing in the eyes of his population — as the Washington Post has finally let on — is because of his willingness to support the U.S. "war on terror.""

"A matter of revenge": Israel denying medical treatment to Gaza

21-day-old Ahmad Abu Nada with his mother in the intensive care unit of the Gaza Children's Hospital. (Rami Almeghari)

"We had been waiting for an urgent referral to an outside hospital for the past six days, until he died today," said Dr. Ismail Yassin Monday, in response to the death of one more patient at the Gaza Children's Hospital.

And, the world stands by in silence because the prepetrators of these crimes against humanity are "God's Choosen People."

Only in Israel

"If something as simple as a mother’s right to live and travel with her own children cannot be taken for granted, one can only imagine how many more injustices this so-called “Middle East democracy” is capable of."

Israeli: Syrian Site Hit Not a Reactor

"A Syrian site bombed by Israel in September was probably a plant for assembling a nuclear bomb, an Israeli nuclear expert said Thursday, challenging other analysts' conclusions that it housed a North Korean- style nuclear reactor."

In other words, they don't know what the hell was hit...

Wounded Soldier: Military Wants Part Of Bonus Back

"The U.S. Military is demanding that thousands of wounded service personnel give back signing bonuses because they are unable to serve out their commitments."

Well, the contract specifically says, "must serve out commitment." There are no provisions or loop-holds for the wounded. My advice ~ next time read the small print. Senior Busch Admin Saurce

Lest We Forget: Israel Charged with Systematic Harassment of U.S. Marines

"It was 12 years ago, on March 14, 1983, that the commandant of the Marine Corps sent a highly unusual letter to the secretary of defense expressing frustration and anger at Israel. General R.H. Barrow charged that Israeli troops were deliberately threatening the lives of Marines serving as peacekeepers in Lebanon. There was, he wrote, a systematic pattern of harassment by Israel Defense Forces (IDF) that was resulting in “life-threatening situations, replete with verbal degradation of the officers, their uniform and country.”"

And, I bet you thought it was all about Hezbollah - didn't you?

Publisher: McClellan doesn't believe Bush lied

President George W. Bush listens as his Press Secretary, Scott McClellan, announces his resignation at the White House April 19, 2006 in Washington, DC

The President does not lie. However, there are times when the facts cannot be accurately represented. - Senior Busch Admin Saurce

The Nuclear Cowboys

"The Bush administration's decision NOT to share its intelligence on the Syrian site with the IAEA, and thereby encourage and support the international agency's aggressive inspection and evaluation of this alleged threat to peace, was another demonstration of the contempt in which the present US administration holds the UN Organization.," wrote former Central Intelligence Agency analyst Ray Close, in an e-mail to IPS.

The Bush administration's decision NOT to share its intelligence on the Syrian site with the IAEA, is also a demonstration of the possibility that there was NO intelligence to share in the first place.

Congressman Accuses Police Of Racial Profiling

We thought they were TERRORISTS! They looked Arab from a distance.

Dubai Police Chief: US created al-Qaeda

"We (Arabs) are charged with terrorism no matter how much we try to reassure them (the Americans)," Lieutenant General Dhahi Khalfan Tamim, Dubai's Police Chief said.

Closed Israeli borders squeeze Gaza farmers

Palestinian farmers take part in a protest calling for the end of Israeli sanctions on Gaza November 22, 2007. REUTERS/Suhaib Salem (GAZA)

"On Wednesday, under heavy pressure from European nations and Israeli businesses, the Israeli government announced that it would allow Gaza farmers to export strawberries and flowers— the first real export of Gaza goods in nearly six months. But carrying out the decision could prove impossible."

Strawberries are not the only things being squeezed. The Israelis are also squeezing the life out of over 1.4 million of Gaza's residents. It's interesting how the Israelis "makes decisions" with no intention to actually carry them out.

Taliban controls 54% of Afghanistan

"The Taliban has a stable presence in 54% of Afghanistan which puts it in grave danger of falling into Taliban hands, says a report."

Holocaust Denial, American Style

"Institutionally unwilling to consider America's responsibility for the bloodbath, the traditional media have refused to acknowledge the massive number of Iraqis killed since the invasion."

Not only since the invasion. Iraqis have died in large numbers as a direct result of American influence and pressure since the Iran/Iraq war. Millions of Iraqi children and babies died of preventable diseases and malnutrition during the 12-years of santions which was primarily pushed by the US.

Why AIPAC Took Over Brookings

"AIPAC’s influence in the US news media leads to curious and generally unnoticed subsidiary alumni reunions. On June 14, 2007, following a Hamas takeover of Palestinian installations in Gaza, Wolf Blitzer invited Dennis Ross into the CNN situation room to give his perspective on the instability. Customarily, Dennis Ross’s new book and WINEP affiliation were mentioned; AIPAC and the pervasive Israel connection were not. Equally unmentioned were Wolf Blitzer’s former career as a reporter and editor of the Near East Report (AIPAC’s newsletter) in the 1970s or his authorship of a comprehensive apologia downplaying the damage caused to the US by Jonathan Pollard’s spying for Israel in his book Territory of Lies."

THE AFTERMATH OF THE FIRST THANKSGIVING

"1st Thanksgiving: praying to a Christian god in front of Indians who saved them from starvation."

The EU's Palestinian botch-up

"One of the most incisive comments I have heard about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict was delivered during a UN-sponsored conference in Brussels a few months ago. "It is futile," a Palestinian solidarity activist argued, "to ask me to achieve reconciliation with somebody who is sitting on my head.""

This sounds a lot like something another "terrorist" said back in 1961 before he was locked away for 27 years on Robbins Island.

"There are many people who feel that it is useless and futile for us to continue talking peace and non-violence — against a government whose only reply is savage attacks on an unarmed and defenceless people..." - Nelson Mandela, 1961

In identifying those trying to kill us, we should choose our words carefully

"What should we call the people who want to kill us? Islamofascists? Islamists? Jihadists? Or just plain murderers?... Take, for comparison, the last major terrorist threat we faced in Britain. Clearly it made a huge difference whether we described the people bent on blowing us up as "the Irish", "Catholics", "Irish Republicans", "Catholic terrorists", "nationalist extremists", "the Provos" or simply "the IRA". On the whole, and fortunately, we stuck with "the IRA". That helped us to win, after a long struggle."

The Annapolis illusion

"Forecasting the failure of the Annapolis meeting is more than speculation. It is a realistic assessment of an event that is not intended to be successful, even if the declared desire suggests otherwise. Indeed, apart from the pleasantries which are meant to create positive atmospherics, Israel and the PA have failed to reach any modicum of agreement on the core issues that define the Palestinian problem."

What is a Jewish state?

"Israel simply wants to obtain from the Palestinian leadership a recognition that it has a legal and moral right to carry out ethnic cleansing of its Christian and Muslim citizens..."

Yea, that sounds about right....

Who Would Do More To Isolate America: Rudy Giuliani or Ron Paul?

"A common charge against Congressman Ron Paul is that he does not take the threat of terrorism seriously and seeks to "isolate" America from the rest of the world. Rudy Giuliani, on the other hand, is praised by Republican elites and many average voters as being "strong," "tough," and somebody who would "take on the terrorists." Giuliani is seen as the candidate who will spread American greatness and keep America safe, while Paul is portrayed as a "crazy old uncle" who wants to ignore the rest of the world and leave the nation vulnerable to attack. Which characterization is actually closer to the truth?"

Zogby Analyst: Ron Paul Timing "Almost Perfect"

"He has the momentum and a lot of money in his pocket," Wenzel said, adding that he would be a 'stronger candidate' than any of the other three GOP contenders among Democrat voters."

U.K. radical left wing sees one-state solution to Israel-Palestinian conflict

"Over a decade after the Israeli right in effect abandoned the vision of a Greater Israel, the radical left in both Israel and Britain has come to favor the idea with a few essential changes."

Zogby Analyst Says Ron Paul Strongest Contender to Beat Hillary

"Texas Congressman's popularity amongst Democrats, Independents outstrips Giuliani, Romney, Thompson, Paul is only chance of smashing Bush-Clinton power monopoly."

What can I add? RON PAUL IS MY HERO!

Is U.S. gov't infested with terrorist moles?

Yes, but with the current Director of Homeland Security "Chertoff" being an Israeli, you've never know the moles are from Israel.

Israeli Child Killers: Documentary Proof

"Children have been shot in other conflicts I have covered--death squads gunned them down in El Salvador and Guatemala, mothers with infants were lined up and massacred in Algeria, and Serb snipers put children in their sights...in Sarajevo--but I have never before watched soldiers entice children like mice into a trap and murder them for sport," Hedges wrote. His account, coolly factual yet full of passionate intensity, was written not for his own paper but for Harper's Magazine, which sent Hedges to Gaza on his vacation." The Nation, March 11, 2002

But, But, the Israeli's are "God's Choosen People." Those children MUST have been TERRORISTS...

No equitable Mideast peace with US policies

"The US is not interested in peace; it is interested in controlling the Middle East. If it can achieve this control peacefully, of course it would prefer this option. But so long as the United States is making the decisions, there will never be a peace with justice."

ElBaradei set to defend Iran progress at IAEA meet

This is really gonna piss-off Israel and, of course, the US.

Russian president lashes out at West

Russian President Vladimir Putin addresses the crowd during a parliamentary campaign rally, at a stadium in Moscow, Wednesday, Nov. 21, 2007. Thousands of people gathered in a sports arena Wednesday to show their support for Putin ahead of parliamentary elections, the latest in a series of choreographed events that have cast the popular president as an indispensable leader. (AP Photo/Ivan Sekretarev)

"Regrettably, there are those inside the country who feed off foreign embassies like jackals and count on support of foreign funds and governments, and not their own people."

The man's got a 70% approval rating so he must be doing something right.

A look at AP photographer Bilal Hussein

"This is an April 8, 2005 file photo of Associated Press photographer Bilal Hussein in Baghdad, Iraq. The U.S. military plans to seek a criminal case in an Iraqi court against the award-winning photographer but is refusing to disclose what evidence or accusations would be presented. Hussein has already been imprisoned without charges for more than 19 months. A U.S. military public affairs officer notified the AP on Sunday, Nov. 18, 2007 that the military intends to submit a written complaint against Hussein that would bring the case into the Iraqi justice system as early as Nov. 29." (AP Photo/Jim MacMillan, File)

The Bilal Hussein Travesty

"Bilal Hussein is the AP photojournalist in Iraq who was detained by the U.S. military in April, 2006 and has been imprisoned ever since without charges of any kind."

President Rudy's War Council

"GOP presidential hopeful Rudy Giuliani recently named Norman Podhoretz, godfather of neoconservatism and former editor of Commentary magazine, and Daniel Pipes, director of the neoconservative Middle East Forum, to his foreign policy team. The following scene imagines a conversation between Podhoretz and Pipes at Giuliani's victory party. Each line of dialogue is a real quote from either Podhoretz or Pipes."

It's not the "Islamofacists" I fear. It's the "ZioNazis." These guys are scary, very scary.

Britain is a US client state and should not forget it, says the neocons' oracle

America's dogs wear America's collar OR else! And, America wears Israel's collar.

US general says Iran helping stop Iraq bloodshed

"Lieutenant General James Dubik, who is in charge of training Iraqi security forces, said Tehran was keeping to its pledge of stopping the smuggling of weapons to Iraqi extremists."

Shsss, not so loud - we don't want the American public to think that Iran can actually be trusted to keep her word. - Senior Busch Admin Saurce

Likudnik Hawks Work to Undermine Annapolis

"Hard-liners associated with the American Enterprise Institute and Freedom's Watch, a bountifully funded campaign led by prominent backers of the Republican Jewish Coalition, among other like-minded groups, are mounting a concerted attack against next week's meeting which they fear could result in pressure on Israel to make territorial concessions."

And, it's all the Palestinian TERRORISTS fault... - Senior Busch Admin Saurce

Islamofascism, the Imaginary Adversary

"The proper use of names and words is essential to rational argument, and the proliferation of nonsense terms and thought-policing labels is fatal. Use of propagandistic terms like “Islamofascism” and “Islamophobia” is an attempt to wield power through confusion and intimidation: they aim to mislead about the nature of our actual enemies on the one hand and invent new heresies against “tolerance” on the other. The debasement and cheapening of language are assaults on the quality of thought and discourse, and they are intended to prevent the proper, sober understanding of the realities of the Islamic world and our policies overseas."

Bravo! Bravo! Give that man cigar!

Look Who's Downplaying Iran's Nuclear Threat

"Imagine Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice telling a group of leading U.S. policymakers that Iran's nuclear weapons program does not pose a direct threat to U.S. security, or former CIA Director George Tenet making the same kind of argument in a public forum. Imagine also that their views are reported in front-page news stories in the Washington Post and the New York Times."

Looks like reason and sanity are fianlly starting to prevail. The Neocons must be in an all-out uproar.

A bitch for president

The rise of Clinton as the first female frontrunner proves the word remains as incendiary as ever.

Pak nukes already under US control: Report

In a stunning disclosure certain to stir up things in Washington's (and in Islamabad and New Delhi's) strategic community, the journal Stratfor reported on Monday that the "United States delivered a very clear ultimatum to Musharraf in the wake of 9/11: Unless Pakistan allowed US forces to take control of Pakistani nuclear facilities, the United States would be left with no choice but to destroy those facilities, possibly with India's help."

I really don't know about this one. If it's true the Good General is more of a puppet that I realized - and, a very foolish puppet at that!

The general has no uniform

Pakistani leader Pervez Musharraf is poised to be sworn in as a civilian president after eight years as a military ruler. In that time, especially in the past months, he has been the United States' loyal servant in the region's "war on terror". In following the agenda of the Bush administration, though, Musharraf is losing not only his uniform, he is losing his hold on the country. - Syed Saleem Shahzad

Another one "bites the dust."

Olbermann on McClellan's Revelations

Looks like Cheney was indeed "The Man." And, Bush knew all along. Now, don't that just fill you with pride in your country and trust in your president?

Israel OKs Armored Vehicles for Abbas

Hmmm, you mean, the President of one nation needs the permission of the President of a hostile nation to protect himself? Well, but then we're talking Israel and Palestine, so...

West's "rusty" weapons won't defeat Iran: president

You know, there is some truth to what he says...

Clinton mocks Obama's childhood experience

Obama Says He Drank, Tried Drugs As Teen

At least Obama is straight up about it. He's not trying to side-step the issue like a previous Clinton we all know with a corny line like "I didn't inhale."

Oil Prices Rise Above $99 a Barrel

Former Aide Blames Bush for Leak Deceit

In this Friday, May 5, 2006, file photo, White House press secretary Scott McClellan smiles after finishing his last news briefing. In an excerpt from his forthcoming book, McClellan blames President Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney for efforts to mislead the public about the role of White House aides in leaking the identity of a CIA operative. (AP Photo/Ron Edmonds)

Well, you don't say...