Italy's
prime minister sidestepped calls from business for new measures aimed
at reviving the stagnant economy, and blamed the sharp jump in borrowing
costs for his country on broader global troubles.
Dow Snaps 8-Day Skid
The blue chips overcame a steep morning drop to finish up 29 points.
China Central Bank Chief Warns on U.S. Debt
China's
central bank governor welcomed the passage of a bill to raise the U.S.
debt ceiling but also called on the U.S. to adopt "responsible measures"
to manage its debt issues.
2 • What's News— 3 • Japan's Noda Adds to Intervention Talk 4 • China Aims to Look More Transparent • China Lets Price of Cooking Oil Rise • Seoul, Tokyo Lawmakers Stir Up Island Dispute 5 • Mubarak Pleads Not Guilty at Trial • U.N. Condemns Syria as Tanks Reach Central Hama • Arab World Sees Warnings in Mubarak Trial 6 • Turkey's Seen Tackling Lira's Slide • CAPITAL: U.S. Economy Needs a New Business Model • Prospect of Defense Cuts Tests GOP 7 • Why India Ranks Low in Big Mac Index 8 • Cold Calculus of Arctic Mining Sends a Swedish Town Packing
FRONT SECTION 14 Amazon Battles States Over Sales Tax
Amazon,
the world's largest online retailer, hasn't charged sales tax in most
states since its founding in 1994. And it has taken some extreme
measures to keep it that way.
16 • German Growth Slows Down
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The US Dictatorship and
its White House Servant ‘President’
By Finian Cunningham
URL of this article: www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=25853
Global Research, August 1, 2011
If there is one thing that the office of President
Barack Obama demonstrates it is that democracy does not exist in the
United States. This may seem a rather outlandish statement. For many
people, the fact that the 44th president is the first black man to
preside over the White House – with its American colonial-style
architecture – is a tribute to the triumph of US democracy.
But many other more telling facts indicate that Obama
is but a figurehead of an unelected government in the US. This
unelected power of corporate elites – commercial, financial, military –
governs with the same core policies regardless of who is sitting in the
White House. Whether these policies are on social, economic or foreign
matters, the elected president must obey the direction ordained by the
unelected elite. That kind of untrammeled power structure conforms more
closely in practice to dictatorship, not democracy.
As Michael Hudson and Ellen Brown reveal in their
analyses of the US budget debacle, Obama is pathetically doing the
bidding of Wall Street – much like an errand boy [1] [2].
Brown writes: “The debt crisis was created, not by a
social safety net bought and paid for by the taxpayers, but by a banking
system taken over by Wall Street gamblers. The gamblers lost their bets
and were bailed out at the expense of the taxpayers; and if anyone
should be held to account, it is these gamblers.
“The debt ceiling crisis is a manufactured one,
engineered to extort concessions that will lock the middle class in debt
peonage for decades to come. Congress is empowered by the Constitution
to issue the money it needs to pay its debts.”
Obama’s servile toeing of Wall Street’s line is not
the behavior of a free leader boldly defending the interests of the
people and the greater good. Rather, his behaviour is that of one doing
what he is told to do – and doing it with grateful deference.
In this way, of course, Obama is hardly different
from his predecessors. But of difference is just how blatant the White
House is now appearing to function as a mere tool of the rich and
powerful elite.
The irony is that Obama’s election was presented as a
potent symbol of American democracy; the truth is that the two-party
system has become a threadbare cover for immense feebleness when it
comes to serving the diktat of elite power as opposed to the good of the
people. “The most powerful office in the world” would be more
accurately referenced as “the most feeble purveyor of elite interests”.
Obama’s presence in the White House indulges a
superficial moral/political correctness while the masters whip us all
into austere servitude.
The US “war on terror” is another illustration of
America’s dictatorship of the elite – and Obama’s pathetic servile role
of carrying out the masters’ orders in defiance of the will of the
people.
Recall that Obama’s bid for presidential election in
2008 was avowedly based on ending the US-led wars in Afghanistan and
Iraq. He also denounced his incumbent rival George W Bush over the use
of special powers that enabled such aberrations as the Guantanamo Bay
concentration camp and a host of draconian home security policies
infringing on civil rights
Obama also signaled in his inaugural speech –
reiterated again soon after in Cairo – that under his watch the US was
resetting foreign policy – turning away from the militarist policies of
Bush to a more enlightened approach for settling conflicts with the
Muslim World and Iran in particular. “If they unclench their fist, we
will extend our hand,” Obama declared with seemingly heartfelt
eloquence.
But on every count, Obama has reneged on his supposed
opposition to the US “war on terror”. Indeed, under his watch, the US
has expanded its militarist foreign policy – which is apparently
predicated on the belief that “western democracy is threatened by
Islamic extremism”. Obama has done nothing to roll back draconian home
security policies, indeed appears to have extended them. And he
continues his predecessor’s deception of conflating Iran and its alleged
nuclear ambitions as part of this phony “Islamic extremists” narrative.
To perform such a disgraceful U-turn on so many
election promises, the presidency of Barack Obama is clear proof that
the holder of office in the White House is not the one who is setting
policy – rather, he is following policy that is set by unelected others.
When news broke about the massacre in Norway where
more than 70 people were killed in a twin bomb and gun attack, Obama
reacted like an automaton of the unelected power system, instead of like
an independent, reasonable political leader. Even though it was clear
within hours of the atrocity that the perpetrator was a blond-haired
Norwegian with fascist and deeply Islamophobic views, nevertheless Obama
reacted immediately to present it as an act of Islamic terrorism.
Speaking from the White House, Obama said: “It's a
reminder that the entire international community has a stake in
preventing this kind of terror from occurring, and that we have to work
co-operatively together both on intelligence and in terms of prevention
of these kinds of horrible attacks.”
The president may not have used the words “Islamic
terrorism” but it is clear that he was invoking the massacre as part of
the “war on terror” which is predicated on the notion of Islamic
terrorism.
In this mindset, Obama was not alone. British Prime
Minister David Cameron moved into action stations, saying that British
intelligence would help their Norwegian counterparts to track down the
culprits – again implying that the perpetrators were part of an
international organization – which in war on terror code means an
Islamic organization.
The US and British news media also jumped to the
conclusion that the Norwegian attacks must have something to with Al
Qaeda or some other “Jihadist” group.
That such a widespread and erroneous reflex response
from Western political leaders and news media – the so-called free press
– can be elicited so uncritically shows how trenchantly the war on
terror and its Islamophobic mindset are embedded.
The consequences of this are deeply disturbing. For a
start, such a mindset of the Western political and media establishment
can only lead to further Islamophobia in these societies. There were
reports of hate attacks against ordinary Muslims across Europe
immediately after the Norway atrocity, no doubt caused by the malign and
erroneous way that politicians and the media attributed the incident to
Islamists.
Even more disturbing is that the war on terror
mindset fomented by Western governments and media over the past 10 years
has led to the creation of lunatic fascist psychopaths like Anders
Behring Breivik who carried out the Norway mass murder. Breivik and
others like him think that Europe and the US must be defended from some
kind of Muslim threat. This kind of logic does not conjure from thin
air. It is rather the logical conclusion of the war on terror mindset
that Western governments and news media have pushed down the throats of
their citizens for a decade.
The sad part is that the majority of Western citizens
are not convinced by the phony crusading of their governments and
media, nor of the alleged threat of Islamic extremists. Most people
realize that whatever Islamic extremists operate, they are either a
creation of Western intelligence or a backlash against Western
imperialism. That is why Obama’s avowed election promises to end
America’s criminal wars and reset foreign policy on a more reasonable,
democratic footing got him elected.
The even sadder part is that as Obama’s ineffectual
election shows, the US (and its Western lackeys) is being driven further
and further into bankrupting, criminal wars of aggression that will
cause more victims of violence and social mayhem at home and abroad. And
it’s all because democracy in the US (and elsewhere in the West) is
non-existent. The US is a dictatorship. And Mr Obama is too ineffectual
(save for the masters) and irrelevant to be even loosely called its
dictator.
Finian Cunningham is a Global Research Correspondent based in Belfast, Ireland.
NOTES
http://www.aish.com/jw/s/The_Jewish_Tribe_in_Uganda.html
Prepared for the
Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations
by the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs View this page at www.dailyalert.org
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August 3, 2011
In-Depth Issues:
Egyptians Turn Against Liberal Protesters - Yaroslav Trofimov (Wall Street Journal)
Mobs of ordinary Egyptians joined with soldiers to drive the hard core of the pro-democracy protesters from Tahrir Square in Cairo on Monday.
Hundreds of Egyptian army troops and central security police attacked the tent city on the square, shooting in the air and shouting "Allahu Akbar," God is Great.
Protesters' belongings were dumped into garbage trucks. The soldiers beat the activists with truncheons and arrested dozens. The protesters who ran into surrounding streets encountered a hostile mob that included local shopkeepers and business owners.
Squeezed between an assertive military and the country's resurgent Islamist movement, many pro-democracy activists are finding it increasingly hard to remain relevant in a post-revolutionary Egypt.
"The liberal and leftist groups that were at the forefront of the revolution have lost touch with the Egyptian people," says Shadi Hamid, director of research at the Brookings Institution's Doha Center.
Maintaining Israel's Qualitative Military Edge - Joshua Teitelbaum (Hoover Institution-Stanford University)
In July, Der Spiegel reported that Germany was set to sell 200 advanced main battle tanks, the Leopard Type 2A7+, to Saudi Arabia.
From Israel's perspective, the golden mean on arms sales in the region has always been maintaining Jerusalem's qualitative military edge (QME).
During talks with U.S. defense officials in 2006, Israel expressed its concerns about the loss of QME with respect to Saudi Arabia in a secret non-paper that stressed fears for Saudi stability and objected to the stalking by two Saudi F-15s of Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's flight to the Sharm el-Sheikh summit on February 8, 2005.
Israel and Germany have a long and largely secret military relationship, including a reported project code-named Bluebird, involving a long-range, high-resolution target-discrimination sensor that would help Israel distinguish incoming nuclear missiles.
In May it was reported that Israel would purchase a sixth Dolphin class submarine from Germany.
Hamas, Hizbullah Threaten Israeli Ports and Undersea Drilling Rigs - Amos Harel (Ha'aretz)
Brig.-Gen. Yaron Levi, the Israel Navy's intelligence chief, said Tuesday that terrorist groups close to Israel are in possession of missiles capable of hitting all Israeli ports and offshore infrastructure such as oil rigs.
In addition, a large part of Israel's strategic infrastructure is concentrated in a narrow strip along the coast.
He said Hizbullah has Iranian-made surface-to-sea missiles, and may also obtain Russian-made rockets from Syria.
These missiles, he said, have a range that "covers all of Israel's ports, our economic waters and a large part of the shipping lanes to Israel."
Hizbullah's model "is being copied today to Gaza. In the future, we will have to deal with missiles, torpedoes, mines, above-surface weapons and underwater ones, both in Gaza and Lebanon."
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News Resources - North America, Europe, and Asia:
- Palestinian Authority Dismisses Israeli Peace Proposal - Phoebe Greenwood and Adrian Blomfield
Israeli officials say they are prepared to accept a package to be proposed by the U.S. and its negotiating partners under which talks for the creation of a Palestinian state would be based on the 1967 ceasefire lines. Israel insists, however, that adjustments would have to be made to allow it to annex some of its larger settlements in the West Bank in exchange for land in Israel. The Palestinians have conducted negotiations on that basis in the past.
Officials in Jerusalem have said that the offer only stands if the Palestinians are prepared to recognize Israel as a Jewish state and retract their application for recognition of an independent Palestinian state, which is to be submitted to the UN General Assembly next month.
The Palestinian Authority has dismissed this potential Israeli concession on the future borders of a Palestinian state as a ploy, dealing a setback to hopes for a swift resumption of peace talks. "What I have read so far is a masterpiece of PR and linguistics," said Saeb Erekat, a leading Palestinian negotiator. (Telegraph-UK)
See also 1967 Lines as International Baseline for Talks, But No Israeli Endorsement - Herb Keinon and Hilary Leila Krieger
Jerusalem, while not endorsing the 1967 lines, would agree to language that would say that Israel recognizes that this is the position of the international community. The willingness to show this degree of flexibility, the official said, would be contingent on the Palestinians demonstrating flexibility of their own and endorsing language nodding at recognition of Israel as a Jewish state. (Jerusalem Post) - Hosni Mubarak, Bedridden, Wheeled into Egyptian Courtroom - Ernesto Londono and Leila Fadel
Ousted Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, bedridden and looking sickly, was wheeled into the cage of a Cairo courtroom Wednesday to be put on trial for allegedly ordering the killing of protesters earlier this year. Mubarak, 83, who ruled Egypt for three decades, had not been seen in public since he delivered a defiant speech on Feb. 10, vowing he would not resign. Mubarak is being tried alongside his sons Gamal and Alaa, who are charged with corruption. (Washington Post) - U.S. Seeks Pressure on Syria, But Options Are Few - Steven Lee Myers and Neil MacFarquhar
The Obama administration is facing intensifying calls to punish Syria more forcefully for its bloody crackdown on protests, but officials say that without broader international support they have few options to increase pressure on President Bashar al-Assad's government. (New York Times)
See also Amb. Ford: New Congressional Syria Sanctions Probably Won't Have Impact - Josh Rogin (Foreign Policy)
- U.S. Recognizes Settlement Blocs, Prime Minister Says - Shlomo Cesana
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee on Monday that he had reached a written agreement with the Obama administration according to which Israel would not be required to return to the 1967 borders in any future peace deal with the Palestinians. In addition, any future peace talks would take into account established "realities on the ground" - a term generally used in reference to Israel's large settlement blocs of Ariel, Maale Adumim and Gush Etzion. Netanyahu's statements would mean an effective American ratification of a letter sent in 2004 by former U.S. President George W. Bush to former Prime Minister Ariel Sharon which guaranteed that the settlement blocs would remain a part of Israel in any future peace agreement with the Palestinians.
The Prime Minister's Office views the agreement with the Obama administration as an achievement. Prime Minister's Office spokesman Gidi Shmerling clarified on Monday that the understanding with the U.S. does not include an Israeli agreement to return to the 1967 borders. Rather, the U.S. has acknowledged that any future talks would take into consideration the changes on the ground as well as Israel's security concerns. (Israel Hayom) - EU Trying to Get PA to Soften UN Resolution - Herb Keinon
European diplomats are trying to convince the Palestinian Authority to significantly water down the statehood recognition resolution it's expected to bring to the UN in September to ensure consensus EU support, senior diplomatic officials told the Jerusalem Post Tuesday. According to the officials, the EU is not interested in seeing a resolution that would split the EU and highlight disunity when the EU is interested in projecting the perception of a body that has a single, unified foreign policy.
In November 2009 the EU split at the General Assembly over whether to vote in favor of adopting the Goldstone Commission Report on Israel's Gaza operation earlier in the year, with five EU countries voting for the resolution, seven against, and 15 abstaining. In the intervening two years, Israel's relations with Cyprus and Malta have improved dramatically, largely as a result of the deterioration in ties with Turkey. (Jerusalem Post) - Palestinian Terrorist Convicted in Fogel Family Murder - Chaim Levinson
The Samaria Military Court on Tuesday convicted Hakim Awad, 18, of helping stab to death five members of the Fogel family in Itamar in the West Bank in March. (Ha'aretz)
- Syrian Army Shows Growing Signs of Strain - Jeffrey White
The demonstrations in Syria are widespread, persistent, and growing in size, forcing the regime to conduct a "360 degree defense." No area of the country seems secure except perhaps the Alawi heartland in the northwest. With the important exception of Aleppo - Syria's second-largest city - disturbances have erupted in more than fifty localities. Even in Damascus, recurring demonstrations and security operations have been reported in neighborhoods and suburbs.
So far, the Syrian regime has retained the allegiance of its large and formidable internal security apparatus. But the security forces have not been able to permanently secure any area and have had to shuttle personnel from one flashpoint to another, sometimes over considerable distances. The loyalty of the army is increasingly in doubt. As a conscript force in which largely Alawite officers lead largely Sunni soldiers, the army is ill suited for the internal security missions it is now being given.
There are signs that army units are increasingly identifying with protestors, especially where security forces are employing violence against unarmed demonstrators. Repression alone is not working for the regime. Damascus does not have a viable political formula for swaying the protestors, much less ending the turmoil. (Washington Institute for Near East Policy) - Turkey's Islamic Revolution - Benny Morris
The Turkish Islamists, who took control of the country after democratic elections in 2002, are well on their way to completing a revolution. This weekend, they ticked another important "V" with the mass resignation of the country's top military brass and their immediate replacement by Islamist-friendly generals.
The Turks may soon find an emulator in Egypt, where Islamists seem set to take over the state by democratic means. The Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood and other Islamist parties may be expected to follow the same Turkish paradigm, in which a state is gradually subordinated to Islam and removed from the West's orbit by a slow, incremental process which the West finds itself unable to counter. (National Interest) - Perennial Palestinian Pawns - Julia Pettengill
As the Palestinian Authority (PA) begins to suffer from a shortfall in foreign aid, it seems increasingly clear that the PA's efforts to forge a more assertive diplomatic approach to Israel - namely, through entering into a reconciliation agreement with Hamas and its intention to pursue recognition of statehood at the UN this September - may well prove disastrous. In the case of the Fatah-Hamas reconciliation agreement, which has partially informed the U.S. Congress' recent threat to withdraw the $500 million in U.S. aid, the PA also stands to lose the international credibility it earned as a result of PM Salam Fayyad's state-building efforts.
Israel has been the reliable straw man of most Middle Eastern autocrats for the past sixty years, who have deflected international attention and domestic anger at their own dysfunctional states onto the Zionist bogeyman. The Palestinians - best served by a peaceful settlement with the Israelis and the creation of a prosperous, secure Palestinian state - appear poised to be the losers in a very familiar regional game. The writer is a research fellow at the Henry Jackson Society. (Standpoint-UK)
- The options for Israel and the Palestinians basically can be boiled down to these: a permanent agreement, an interim agreement, a de facto interim agreement, and a situation of no agreement. The best possible option - a permanent agreement - is not operable at this time and is the least probable.
- Since the leaderships of Israel and the Palestinians are faced with the reality of a no-solution situation, one in which a permanent solution is not workable, both sides will have to do what people often do in life - they settle for less, settle for something which is less permanent, less perfect. There will have to be an interim solution.
- In the year 2000 I paid a clandestine visit to the Temple Mount in Jerusalem, to what is called Solomon's Stables, where I saw beautiful, 2,000-year-old columns. They do not exist anymore because they were destroyed by the Muslims, believing that if they destroyed the remnants of the Temple area, they would destroy Jewish rights there.
- There can only be an ultimate reconciliation between Israelis and Palestinians if there is a mutual acceptance of rights. I believe we have a right to Jericho, and they believe they have a right to Jaffa. I would say that if they recognize my right, I will recognize their right, and now let's see how we can live together.
- It
is a mistake on our part to cringe every time the Palestinians say they
are going to do something unilaterally. The end of all this might be a
de facto dual unilateral process. After the UN vote in September, the PA
will say that Israel is now an army of occupation in a sovereign state.
Let them go to the International Court of Justice and, in the meantime,
Israel will not cooperate. Israel needs a bit of stamina, strong
nerves, and not to take them all that seriously. We should exercise more
self-respect.
Efraim Halevy, currently Head of the Shasha Center for Strategic Studies at the Hebrew University, served as National Security Advisor and Head of the National Security Council (2002-2003) and Head of the Mossad - the Israel Intelligence Service (1998-2002).
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La
valise diplomatique
Le
Congrès américain adopte l'accord sur la dette publique
Les trois échecs de M. Barack Obama
Entamé sous des auspices encourageants, le mandat de M. Barack Obama
ressemble de plus en plus à une succession d'épreuves. En particulier pour les
partisans du président des Etats-Unis. L'accord que ce dernier vient de
parrainer avec la majorité républicaine de la Chambre des représentants (en
dépit de leur déroute électorale de novembre dernier, les démocrates conservent
le contrôle du Sénat) est mauvais à au moins trois titres :
1) Il constitue une capitulation de la Maison Blanche sur un point sensible, celui d'un éventuel relèvement des impôts. M. Obama a en effet accepté que la totalité de la réduction envisagée du déficit budgétaire américain intervienne sous la forme d'amputations de crédits publics, civils et militaires. Il y a seulement trois mois, même les républicains les plus optimistes n'auraient jamais envisagé une telle issue. Pourtant, le niveau d'imposition aux Etats-Unis atteint presque son plus bas niveau historique (en particulier pour les grosses fortunes) alors que, dans un contexte économique difficile, avec un chômage important (9,2 %), les dépenses sociales représentent un filet de sécurité plus que jamais nécessaire (surtout pour les familles modestes et les classes moyennes). Là, les sacrifices vont - une fois de plus - épargner les privilégiés. Il est vrai que ce sont aussi ceux qui financent les campagnes électorales.
2) L'accord entériné par les deux chambres du Congrès américain témoigne par ailleurs de la perte d'autorité et de stature du président des Etats-Unis, au moment où se prépare l'élection présidentielle de novembre 2012. Après avoir laborieusement négocié avec ses adversaires politiques, après s'être situé à leur niveau, M. Obama leur cède sur l'essentiel. (...)
1) Il constitue une capitulation de la Maison Blanche sur un point sensible, celui d'un éventuel relèvement des impôts. M. Obama a en effet accepté que la totalité de la réduction envisagée du déficit budgétaire américain intervienne sous la forme d'amputations de crédits publics, civils et militaires. Il y a seulement trois mois, même les républicains les plus optimistes n'auraient jamais envisagé une telle issue. Pourtant, le niveau d'imposition aux Etats-Unis atteint presque son plus bas niveau historique (en particulier pour les grosses fortunes) alors que, dans un contexte économique difficile, avec un chômage important (9,2 %), les dépenses sociales représentent un filet de sécurité plus que jamais nécessaire (surtout pour les familles modestes et les classes moyennes). Là, les sacrifices vont - une fois de plus - épargner les privilégiés. Il est vrai que ce sont aussi ceux qui financent les campagnes électorales.
2) L'accord entériné par les deux chambres du Congrès américain témoigne par ailleurs de la perte d'autorité et de stature du président des Etats-Unis, au moment où se prépare l'élection présidentielle de novembre 2012. Après avoir laborieusement négocié avec ses adversaires politiques, après s'être situé à leur niveau, M. Obama leur cède sur l'essentiel. (...)
Lire
la suite de cet article inédit :
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1. Pollard 'In Severe Pain,' Wife Told
by Gil Ronen
Esther Pollard, Jonathan Pollard's wife, received information from prison officials Wednesday that her husband has undergone surgery and is now conscious but suffering from severe pain.
Pollard said she hoped she could talk to him on the phone as quickly as possible.
"Since yesterday, people keep calling with concern for the fate of Jonathan," she said. The fact that he came through the surgery safely gives some temporary relief but it's not a solution. He must come home and get the medical treatment and rehabilitation he so needs. After 26 years [in jail] he is very weak and is in constant danger. "
The Committee for Pollard said that "We warned months ago it was only a matter of time before the next medical crisis. Soon dozens of lawmakers will arrive in Israel – Americans who support Israel. We urge the Prime Minister and the President to ask them to put all their might into ending this tragedy before it's too late."
Earlier in the day, a Jerusalem Post reporter who covered the accreditation of the new U.S. ambassador called out to him and asked, "Why did not Did you report to Esther where her husband was taken to?" The Ambassador reportedly just shrugged and said nothing.
Pollard was taken to urgent surgery from prison Tuesday. His medical condition has been deteriorating recently. He has been in U.S. jail for longer than 25 years, for the crime of spying for Israel.
Comment on this story
by Gil Ronen
Esther Pollard, Jonathan Pollard's wife, received information from prison officials Wednesday that her husband has undergone surgery and is now conscious but suffering from severe pain.
Pollard said she hoped she could talk to him on the phone as quickly as possible.
"Since yesterday, people keep calling with concern for the fate of Jonathan," she said. The fact that he came through the surgery safely gives some temporary relief but it's not a solution. He must come home and get the medical treatment and rehabilitation he so needs. After 26 years [in jail] he is very weak and is in constant danger. "
The Committee for Pollard said that "We warned months ago it was only a matter of time before the next medical crisis. Soon dozens of lawmakers will arrive in Israel – Americans who support Israel. We urge the Prime Minister and the President to ask them to put all their might into ending this tragedy before it's too late."
Earlier in the day, a Jerusalem Post reporter who covered the accreditation of the new U.S. ambassador called out to him and asked, "Why did not Did you report to Esther where her husband was taken to?" The Ambassador reportedly just shrugged and said nothing.
Pollard was taken to urgent surgery from prison Tuesday. His medical condition has been deteriorating recently. He has been in U.S. jail for longer than 25 years, for the crime of spying for Israel.
Comment on this story
2. Netanyahu: Populism Sweeping Country
by Gil Ronen
Speaking in the Knesset plenum Wednesday, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu addressed the large housing protests and said that "a wave of populism has been sweeping the country" in recent weeks. "There is a serious statement about problems, and there are much less serious statements about the solutions," Netanyahu said, sticking a pin into the press-inflated protest balloon.
The special Knesset session to discuss the protests was proposed by the Opposition and held under the heading "the failure of the Netanyahu government in diplomatic, economic and social spheres."
Netanyahu compared the economy to a tree. "The tree yields fruit and one may pick them," he explained. Three years down the line, if you have finished picking but you have not been hoeing and watering, then the tree withers up and gradually yields less, until it gives nothing at all."
Netanyahu noted that Israel's economy can boast of great successes, including ones on an international scale, and problems that need to be solved. However, this needs to be done in a responsible manner, he went on. "The solutions must be given while preserving the tree – the free economy – and providing solutions to social problems at the same time."
"The worst option is that you not only neglect to water the tree, but you cut it down – because that is how you reach an avalanche. You cannot cut down the tree if you want to enjoy its fruit." Some European economies, he said, are like forests that have been cut down – or are almost at that stage.
The Knesset voted to accept the Prime Minister's statement 52:42.
Comment on this story
by Gil Ronen
Speaking in the Knesset plenum Wednesday, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu addressed the large housing protests and said that "a wave of populism has been sweeping the country" in recent weeks. "There is a serious statement about problems, and there are much less serious statements about the solutions," Netanyahu said, sticking a pin into the press-inflated protest balloon.
The special Knesset session to discuss the protests was proposed by the Opposition and held under the heading "the failure of the Netanyahu government in diplomatic, economic and social spheres."
Netanyahu compared the economy to a tree. "The tree yields fruit and one may pick them," he explained. Three years down the line, if you have finished picking but you have not been hoeing and watering, then the tree withers up and gradually yields less, until it gives nothing at all."
Netanyahu noted that Israel's economy can boast of great successes, including ones on an international scale, and problems that need to be solved. However, this needs to be done in a responsible manner, he went on. "The solutions must be given while preserving the tree – the free economy – and providing solutions to social problems at the same time."
"The worst option is that you not only neglect to water the tree, but you cut it down – because that is how you reach an avalanche. You cannot cut down the tree if you want to enjoy its fruit." Some European economies, he said, are like forests that have been cut down – or are almost at that stage.
The Knesset voted to accept the Prime Minister's statement 52:42.
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3. State of Washington Upholds Kosher Slaughter
by Tzvi Ben Gedalyahu
An animal rights group lost its appeal in the State of Washington, where a court ruled that a law allowing ritual slaughter is constitutional.
The decision came several weeks after Holland passed a bill, which has not yet been signed into law, prohibiting kosher slaughter and requiring that the “stunning” method be used. The measure faces another vote in the Dutch Senate and, if passed, a probable appeal to the European court on its legality.
The Washington appeal court ruled against Pasado’s Safe Heaven, which claimed that the state law favors religion because it requires humane slaughter by stunning or “in accordance with the ritual requirements” of a religion.
Jewish and Muslim slaughter requires that an animal be killed by severing the carotid artery, a method that independent researchers have often said is more humane than stunning.
Concerning Pasado’s argument that the state law favors religion, the court ruled that it (the court itself) cannot take legislative authority by invalidating part of Washington’s Humane Slaughter Law.
The Orthodox Union, whose OU kosher symbol is the most widely known trademark for certifying food as kosher, responded, “We appreciate the Washington State court’s ruling. Kosher slaughter has been targeted by various fringe activists, but it is a necessary component of our community’s religious life."
“We appreciate that elected officials, such as those in the Washington legislature, recognize the humane nature of shechita [kosher slaughter], and ensure its protection and thereby the flourishing of Orthodox Jewish life.”
Comment on this story
by Tzvi Ben Gedalyahu
An animal rights group lost its appeal in the State of Washington, where a court ruled that a law allowing ritual slaughter is constitutional.
The decision came several weeks after Holland passed a bill, which has not yet been signed into law, prohibiting kosher slaughter and requiring that the “stunning” method be used. The measure faces another vote in the Dutch Senate and, if passed, a probable appeal to the European court on its legality.
The Washington appeal court ruled against Pasado’s Safe Heaven, which claimed that the state law favors religion because it requires humane slaughter by stunning or “in accordance with the ritual requirements” of a religion.
Jewish and Muslim slaughter requires that an animal be killed by severing the carotid artery, a method that independent researchers have often said is more humane than stunning.
Concerning Pasado’s argument that the state law favors religion, the court ruled that it (the court itself) cannot take legislative authority by invalidating part of Washington’s Humane Slaughter Law.
The Orthodox Union, whose OU kosher symbol is the most widely known trademark for certifying food as kosher, responded, “We appreciate the Washington State court’s ruling. Kosher slaughter has been targeted by various fringe activists, but it is a necessary component of our community’s religious life."
“We appreciate that elected officials, such as those in the Washington legislature, recognize the humane nature of shechita [kosher slaughter], and ensure its protection and thereby the flourishing of Orthodox Jewish life.”
Comment on this story
4. New US Ambassador to Israel: Shalom and Salaam
by Tzvi Ben Gedalyahu
Daniel Shapiro, a personal appointment of President Barack Obama and who speaks both Arabic and Hebrew, was happily welcomed Wednesday by President Shimon Peres, known as Israel's Number One seeker of peace agreements. Shapiro's political and Jewish backgrounds fit the visions of Presidents Peres and Obama.
The Israeli president has used his usual ceremonial position to actively work behind the scenes for his dream of a peace treaty with the Palestinian Authority.
Shapiro incorporated the slogan ”Jewish and democratic State of Israel” in his comments, diplomatic jargon for a future Israel that is devoid of a Jewish presence in most of Judea, Samaria and Gaza, a view shared by Presidents Peres and Obama.
Israel expelled more than 9,000 Jews frm Gaza and withdrew all military presence in the terrorist-infested region six years ago, under the premise that it would end rocket attacks on the rest of the country. After Hamas escalated attacks and launched missiles that reached the southern edge of metropolitan Tel Aviv, President Peres said he could not understand why Hamas continued to attack Israeli civilians and soldiers.
The new ambassador was sworn into office last month in Washington and repeated President Obama’s view that security depends on Israel’s security.
As director for the Middle East and North Africa at the National Security Council and a senior adviser to President Obama, Shapiro, like Obama, defines “security” by Israel's granting the Palestinian Authority independent status with a capital in Jerusalem and sovereignty over Judea and Samaria.
Shapiro, who indentifies with the Conservative stream of Judaism, earned a degree in Jewish Studies from the liberal Brandeis University and studied for one year at Hebrew University in Jerusalem, where he met Arab as well as Jewish students.
"I consider President Barack Obama…a friend of the Jewish people and the State of Israel," President Peres said at Wednesday’s ceremonial reception of the new ambassador. I am happy that you were appointed ambassador, and you know thoroughly the wide range of issues that stand as the basis for Israeli-American relations.”
Shapiro told the President, “The relations between the United States and Israel are the most important and strongest in the world. We have common interests and values that unite us as two democracies, and we are struggling against the same threats.”
Shapiro added that the United States and Israel “cooperate excellently in intelligence.”
The ”common threat” is Iran’s nuclear development program, and the common interest is a peace treaty with the Palestinian Authority. President Peres told Shapiro that PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas made a “mistake” in trying to approach the United Nations for a resolution recognizing the PA as an independent country based on its political and territorial demands.
He said the move will cause damage both to Israel and the Palestinian Authority and will not answer basic problems, which he said include the increased use of smuggling tunnels for terror and Iran’s attempt to reach capability of delivering a nuclear weapon.
Comment on this story
by Tzvi Ben Gedalyahu
Daniel Shapiro, a personal appointment of President Barack Obama and who speaks both Arabic and Hebrew, was happily welcomed Wednesday by President Shimon Peres, known as Israel's Number One seeker of peace agreements. Shapiro's political and Jewish backgrounds fit the visions of Presidents Peres and Obama.
The Israeli president has used his usual ceremonial position to actively work behind the scenes for his dream of a peace treaty with the Palestinian Authority.
Shapiro incorporated the slogan ”Jewish and democratic State of Israel” in his comments, diplomatic jargon for a future Israel that is devoid of a Jewish presence in most of Judea, Samaria and Gaza, a view shared by Presidents Peres and Obama.
Israel expelled more than 9,000 Jews frm Gaza and withdrew all military presence in the terrorist-infested region six years ago, under the premise that it would end rocket attacks on the rest of the country. After Hamas escalated attacks and launched missiles that reached the southern edge of metropolitan Tel Aviv, President Peres said he could not understand why Hamas continued to attack Israeli civilians and soldiers.
The new ambassador was sworn into office last month in Washington and repeated President Obama’s view that security depends on Israel’s security.
As director for the Middle East and North Africa at the National Security Council and a senior adviser to President Obama, Shapiro, like Obama, defines “security” by Israel's granting the Palestinian Authority independent status with a capital in Jerusalem and sovereignty over Judea and Samaria.
Shapiro, who indentifies with the Conservative stream of Judaism, earned a degree in Jewish Studies from the liberal Brandeis University and studied for one year at Hebrew University in Jerusalem, where he met Arab as well as Jewish students.
"I consider President Barack Obama…a friend of the Jewish people and the State of Israel," President Peres said at Wednesday’s ceremonial reception of the new ambassador. I am happy that you were appointed ambassador, and you know thoroughly the wide range of issues that stand as the basis for Israeli-American relations.”
Shapiro told the President, “The relations between the United States and Israel are the most important and strongest in the world. We have common interests and values that unite us as two democracies, and we are struggling against the same threats.”
Shapiro added that the United States and Israel “cooperate excellently in intelligence.”
The ”common threat” is Iran’s nuclear development program, and the common interest is a peace treaty with the Palestinian Authority. President Peres told Shapiro that PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas made a “mistake” in trying to approach the United Nations for a resolution recognizing the PA as an independent country based on its political and territorial demands.
He said the move will cause damage both to Israel and the Palestinian Authority and will not answer basic problems, which he said include the increased use of smuggling tunnels for terror and Iran’s attempt to reach capability of delivering a nuclear weapon.
Comment on this story
5. Eldest Son: ‘Baba Elazar’ Was a Giant among Giants
by Tzvi Ben Gedalyahu
Rabbis Pinchas Abuhatzeira, eldest son of the slain ‘Baba Elazar”, says his father was “a giant among giants” but will accept an appointment to replace him.
Rabbi Elazar Rabbis Abuhatzeira was stabbed to death late Thursday night by a mentally disturbed attacker who later told police he “worshipped” the rabbi but was upset by marital problems on which the rabbi had advised him.
The seven-day mourning period, known as shiva, ends Thursday morning. Rabbi Pinchas Abuhatzeira, speaking with the Hebrew-language newspaper Yisrael HaYom, said he was told shortly before his father’s funeral that he had been appointed to take his spiritual position.
“I am too small to do so,” the son said. “He was a giant among giants, and I am so small.”
He related that he was studying Torah early Friday morning when a student called him to come outside, where he told the rabbi that his father had been stabbed.
“I rushed outside and reached the ambulance,” Rabbi Abuhatzeira said, “but after 15 minutes, I was informed that he had died. This is a terrible blow. He was at the height of spiritual strength."
Rabbi Elazar Abuhatzeira, son of the renowned “Babi Sali,” was very strict on himself concerning modesty, his eldest son said. “He was very self-demanding. He did not sleep in an orderly way and did not eat well. He spent hours in the synagogue and at home studying but always inquired about every detail concerning his children. He gave us everything.”
Rabbi Pinchas Abuhatzeira said he will not dress like his father, who hid his face out of modesty and used an underground tunnel to arrive at yeshiva from his home.
“No one becomes steeped in Kabbalh in two days,” the new “Baba Pinchas” said. He said he is taking it upon himself to learn for many years and noted that the merits of his father live from generation to generation.
Comment on this story
by Tzvi Ben Gedalyahu
Rabbis Pinchas Abuhatzeira, eldest son of the slain ‘Baba Elazar”, says his father was “a giant among giants” but will accept an appointment to replace him.
Rabbi Elazar Rabbis Abuhatzeira was stabbed to death late Thursday night by a mentally disturbed attacker who later told police he “worshipped” the rabbi but was upset by marital problems on which the rabbi had advised him.
The seven-day mourning period, known as shiva, ends Thursday morning. Rabbi Pinchas Abuhatzeira, speaking with the Hebrew-language newspaper Yisrael HaYom, said he was told shortly before his father’s funeral that he had been appointed to take his spiritual position.
“I am too small to do so,” the son said. “He was a giant among giants, and I am so small.”
He related that he was studying Torah early Friday morning when a student called him to come outside, where he told the rabbi that his father had been stabbed.
“I rushed outside and reached the ambulance,” Rabbi Abuhatzeira said, “but after 15 minutes, I was informed that he had died. This is a terrible blow. He was at the height of spiritual strength."
Rabbi Elazar Abuhatzeira, son of the renowned “Babi Sali,” was very strict on himself concerning modesty, his eldest son said. “He was very self-demanding. He did not sleep in an orderly way and did not eat well. He spent hours in the synagogue and at home studying but always inquired about every detail concerning his children. He gave us everything.”
Rabbi Pinchas Abuhatzeira said he will not dress like his father, who hid his face out of modesty and used an underground tunnel to arrive at yeshiva from his home.
“No one becomes steeped in Kabbalh in two days,” the new “Baba Pinchas” said. He said he is taking it upon himself to learn for many years and noted that the merits of his father live from generation to generation.
Comment on this story
6. Knesset Push to Build in Yesha
by Gavriel Queenann
Just hours after Israel's High Court ruled the government must destroy the community of Migron a group of 42 MKs petititioned Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu to solve Israel's 'housing crisis' by building in Judea and Samaria.
According to the petition, "to solve the housing shortage throughout the country, we, members of the Knesset, the undersigned, urge you to include, among other solutions taken by the government, housing for tens of thousands of citizens in Judea, Samaria and Jerusalem. "
"We are in days of protest over a housing shortage, and we, as a lobby, have something to say about it," MK Zeev Elkin said.
"Judea and Samaria has enormous potential to solve the housing problem. We turn here, named 42 ministers, deputy ministers and Knesset members who signed the appeal to the Prime Minister to act," Elkin added.
The petition was presented at a meeting of the Land of Israel Lobby and was also attended by Justice Minister Yaakov Neeman, the Minister of Science and Technology, Daniel Hershkowitz and Knesset Speaker Reuven Rivlin.
"Zionism is essentially a settler movement," Knesset Speaker Rueven Rivlin said. "Without the Golan or the Negev, who knows what would happen to Israel. Since we returned here as a people, settlement was a sign of our way of returning to our country."
"We must show faith with those who settle Israel," MK Daniel Herskovitz said. "I was in Migron today and they tell me the verdict is that their community be destroyed by March. The Zionist movement does not uproot, it plants. It tore my heart, and I hope you find a way to avert the evil decree."
MK Yulia Shamalov-Berkovitz said, "Time to apply Israeli sovereignty over Judea, Samaria and the Jordan Valley."
Signatories included ministers Michael Eitan, Yuli Edelstein, Daniel Hershkowitz, Moshe Kahlon, Yossi Peled, and deputy ministers Danny Ayalon, Menachem Eliezer Moses, Leah Ness and Ayoub Kara, and numerous Knesset members from Kadima, Likud, Israel Our Home, Shas, National Union and the Jewish Home.
Comment on this story
by Gavriel Queenann
Just hours after Israel's High Court ruled the government must destroy the community of Migron a group of 42 MKs petititioned Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu to solve Israel's 'housing crisis' by building in Judea and Samaria.
According to the petition, "to solve the housing shortage throughout the country, we, members of the Knesset, the undersigned, urge you to include, among other solutions taken by the government, housing for tens of thousands of citizens in Judea, Samaria and Jerusalem. "
"We are in days of protest over a housing shortage, and we, as a lobby, have something to say about it," MK Zeev Elkin said.
"Judea and Samaria has enormous potential to solve the housing problem. We turn here, named 42 ministers, deputy ministers and Knesset members who signed the appeal to the Prime Minister to act," Elkin added.
The petition was presented at a meeting of the Land of Israel Lobby and was also attended by Justice Minister Yaakov Neeman, the Minister of Science and Technology, Daniel Hershkowitz and Knesset Speaker Reuven Rivlin.
"Zionism is essentially a settler movement," Knesset Speaker Rueven Rivlin said. "Without the Golan or the Negev, who knows what would happen to Israel. Since we returned here as a people, settlement was a sign of our way of returning to our country."
"We must show faith with those who settle Israel," MK Daniel Herskovitz said. "I was in Migron today and they tell me the verdict is that their community be destroyed by March. The Zionist movement does not uproot, it plants. It tore my heart, and I hope you find a way to avert the evil decree."
MK Yulia Shamalov-Berkovitz said, "Time to apply Israeli sovereignty over Judea, Samaria and the Jordan Valley."
Signatories included ministers Michael Eitan, Yuli Edelstein, Daniel Hershkowitz, Moshe Kahlon, Yossi Peled, and deputy ministers Danny Ayalon, Menachem Eliezer Moses, Leah Ness and Ayoub Kara, and numerous Knesset members from Kadima, Likud, Israel Our Home, Shas, National Union and the Jewish Home.
Comment on this story
7. Protest Groups Lay Out Demands: Lower Taxes, More Govt. Help
by David Lev
The groups purporting to represent protesters demanding affordable housing and lower costs of living on Tuesday drafted a document, in which they laid out specific demands for the changes they expected the government to undertake in order to keep the cost of living down. The demands will be passed around residents of the tent city on Rothschild Boulevard in Tel Aviv.
Among the demands in the letter are a reduction of indirect taxes, especially VAT (value added tax), currently 16%; a law requiring that money collected by tax authorities be used for current needs, and not held until the next fiscal year; the withdrawal by the government of the Housing Committees law, which the Knesset is set to vote on for its second and third reading Wednesday; more assistance for homebuyers from the Housing Ministry; free education and day care for children three months old and beyond; adding positions to hospitals and raising doctors' salaries, in line with demands by striking doctors; and a halt in the government's selloff of health and welfare institutions to private hands, along with a promise to stop using workers from “manpower” agencies who are not eligible for benefits given to regular government workers.
The groups drew up the document at a day-long meeting in Tel Aviv, and agreed that they would not adopt it as an official position paper until “the public” had a chance to review and comment on it, a process organizers said they hoped would be completed within days. Organizers on Tuesday night led a march from Rothschild Boulevard to the Hatikvah neighborhood, where they called on residents to come out of their homes and discuss the document. Organizers said they would hold other such “public meetings” in the coming days.
A major rally is planned for Wednesday outside the Knesset, where MKs will be discussing the Housing Committee law. The law is opposed by protest groups for a number of reasons, among them that the committees, which the government says will remove bureaucratic roadblocks and allow faster authorization of land for housing construction, will actually damage the environment, as it will allow the rezoning of public and agricultural land for housing construction without input from the Committee for the Preservation of Open and Agricultural Lands, as is currently the law. Other groups said that the law was too general, and that they feared that it was being passed in order to mollify the public, but would not bring about any substantial change.
Protesters said they would demand that the Knesset halt proceedings on the law as a “sign of good will” that MKs were interested in satisfying the demands of protesters.
?
Comment on this story
by David Lev
The groups purporting to represent protesters demanding affordable housing and lower costs of living on Tuesday drafted a document, in which they laid out specific demands for the changes they expected the government to undertake in order to keep the cost of living down. The demands will be passed around residents of the tent city on Rothschild Boulevard in Tel Aviv.
Among the demands in the letter are a reduction of indirect taxes, especially VAT (value added tax), currently 16%; a law requiring that money collected by tax authorities be used for current needs, and not held until the next fiscal year; the withdrawal by the government of the Housing Committees law, which the Knesset is set to vote on for its second and third reading Wednesday; more assistance for homebuyers from the Housing Ministry; free education and day care for children three months old and beyond; adding positions to hospitals and raising doctors' salaries, in line with demands by striking doctors; and a halt in the government's selloff of health and welfare institutions to private hands, along with a promise to stop using workers from “manpower” agencies who are not eligible for benefits given to regular government workers.
The groups drew up the document at a day-long meeting in Tel Aviv, and agreed that they would not adopt it as an official position paper until “the public” had a chance to review and comment on it, a process organizers said they hoped would be completed within days. Organizers on Tuesday night led a march from Rothschild Boulevard to the Hatikvah neighborhood, where they called on residents to come out of their homes and discuss the document. Organizers said they would hold other such “public meetings” in the coming days.
A major rally is planned for Wednesday outside the Knesset, where MKs will be discussing the Housing Committee law. The law is opposed by protest groups for a number of reasons, among them that the committees, which the government says will remove bureaucratic roadblocks and allow faster authorization of land for housing construction, will actually damage the environment, as it will allow the rezoning of public and agricultural land for housing construction without input from the Committee for the Preservation of Open and Agricultural Lands, as is currently the law. Other groups said that the law was too general, and that they feared that it was being passed in order to mollify the public, but would not bring about any substantial change.
Protesters said they would demand that the Knesset halt proceedings on the law as a “sign of good will” that MKs were interested in satisfying the demands of protesters.
?
Comment on this story
8. Russia Caught Withholding Information About Raoul Wallenberg
by Aryeh ben Hayim
It has long been suspected that Russia has deliberately concealed information on the fate of Raoul Wallenberg, the courageous Swedish diplomat who rescued thousands of Hungarian Jews during the Holocaust.
Wallenberg was arrested in Budapest after Soviet troops entered the city in 1945 and never seen again.
The Soviet Union claimed alternatively that he had died or had been executed shortly afterwards. Former Soviet prisoners testified that they saw him alive during the 1980s when he was merely identified by number rather than by name.
Additional proof has now surfaced that the Russians have been less than candid. A researcher conducting a study on the KGB's SMERSH (death to spies) counterespionage organization located material detailing the interrogation of Willy Rodel, a German POW who shared a cell with Wallenberg in Moscow's infamous Lefortovo prison.
The material shows that the FSB, the KGB's successor, deliberately suppressed 57 pages from the Rodel file and then denied having it.
The researchers are certain that those and other papers in the file had information on Wallenberg and could shed light on his fate.
Comment on this story
by Aryeh ben Hayim
It has long been suspected that Russia has deliberately concealed information on the fate of Raoul Wallenberg, the courageous Swedish diplomat who rescued thousands of Hungarian Jews during the Holocaust.
Wallenberg was arrested in Budapest after Soviet troops entered the city in 1945 and never seen again.
The Soviet Union claimed alternatively that he had died or had been executed shortly afterwards. Former Soviet prisoners testified that they saw him alive during the 1980s when he was merely identified by number rather than by name.
Additional proof has now surfaced that the Russians have been less than candid. A researcher conducting a study on the KGB's SMERSH (death to spies) counterespionage organization located material detailing the interrogation of Willy Rodel, a German POW who shared a cell with Wallenberg in Moscow's infamous Lefortovo prison.
The material shows that the FSB, the KGB's successor, deliberately suppressed 57 pages from the Rodel file and then denied having it.
The researchers are certain that those and other papers in the file had information on Wallenberg and could shed light on his fate.
Comment on this story
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------------------------------------------------------------------------ EX-DICTATOR IN THE DOCK ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Middle East Reigns in New Era with Mubarak Trial Egypt ushered in a new era on Wednesday by becoming the first Arab country to put its former ruler on trial without foreign intervention. The sight of Hosni Mubarak lying on a hospital bed inside a courtroom cage should serve as a warning to other despots. http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/0,1518,778256,00.html#ref=nlint ------------------------------------------------------------------------ THYSSENKRUPP CEO ON GERMANY'S ENERGY REVOLUTION ------------------------------------------------------------------------ 'An Effort Comparable to Reunification' In a SPIEGEL interview, ThyssenKrup CEO Heinrich Hiesinger discusses his plans to radically restructure the steelmaking firm. He says the traditional German company is deeply concerned about the European debt and currency crisis as well as Chancellor Angela Merkel's expensive plans for an energy revolution. http://www.spiegel.de/international/spiegel/0,1518,777944,00.html#ref=nlint ------------------------------------------------------------------------ THE WORLD FROM BERLIN ------------------------------------------------------------------------ 'The Biggest Loser is the Average American' One day after US President Barack Obama signed a bill raising the country's debt ceiling and avoiding a possible national default, financial leaders and markets around the world are weighing the future of the world's largest economy. German commentators are expressing their concern about the financial situation in the US, and what it means for Europe and the world. http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/0,1518,778178,00.html#ref=nlint ------------------------------------------------------------------------ WAGE DISPUTE ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Court Forbids German Air Traffic Control Strike A labor court in Frankfurt has forbidden German air traffic controllers from staging a planned six-hour strike on Thursday. Unless it is overturned at the last minute, the ruling will avert massive travel disruption in the middle of the holiday season. But the controllers' union may yet appeal the decision. http://www.spiegel.de/international/business/0,1518,778265,00.html#ref=nlint ------------------------------------------------------------------------ 'DO YOU WANT TOTAL WAR?' ------------------------------------------------------------------------ German Politician in Trouble for Using Goebbels Phrase Borrowing historically loaded phrases from the Nazi era is a big no-no in Germany. The latest perpetrator is veteran politician Heiner Geissler, who posed the rhetorical question, "Do you want total war?". The term was used by Joseph Goebbels in a famous 1943 speech. http://www.spiegel.de/international/germany/0,1518,778210,00.html#ref=nlint ------------------------------------------------------------------------ RUNWAY WRANGLING ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Thailand Pledges to Settle Dispute Over Prince's Jet Thailand has signaled it may settle a dispute over outstanding debts in a case that prompted a German court to impound the personal jet of the Thai crown prince. A German insolvency lawyer showed resourcefulness and cunning in his curious fight with the Thai government -- and may end up getting his way. http://www.spiegel.de/international/germany/0,1518,778125,00.html#ref=nlint ------------------------------------------------------------------------ ARMBANDS AGAINST ASSAULT? ------------------------------------------------------------------------ New Initiative Aims to Keep Young Women Safe at Oktoberfest This year, female visitors at Oktoberfest will be offered green armbands on which to put their contact information and names. Organizers of the initiative hope it will help young women to find their way back to where they are staying, and in the process cut down on the annual number of sexual assaults. http://www.spiegel.de/international/germany/0,1518,778148,00.html#ref=nlint ------------------------------------------------------------------------ PICTURE THIS ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Fireworks and Fasting http://www.spiegel.de/international/0,1518,778247,00.html#ref=nlint
Neues Deutschland Franz-Mehring-Platz 1 10243 Berlin +++ Werbung in eigener Sache: Veranstaltungstipp Buchvorstellung: "OHNE DIE MAUER HÄTTE ES KRIEG GEGEBEN" Der 13. August 1961 gilt als Chiffre für die Errichtung der Berliner Mauer. In diesem Jahr liegt das Ereignis 50 Jahre zurück. Viele werden sich mit unterschiedlichen Motiven daran erinnern. Die beiden Autoren Heinz Keßler und Fritz Streletz tun es ebenfalls. In ihrem Buch analysieren die beiden Zeitzeugen und ranghohen Militärs der DDR die militärstrategische und politische Lage jener Zeit, die zum Weltereignis führte. Moderation: Olaf Koppe, ND-Geschäftsführer 10. August 2011, Beginn: 18.30 Uhr IN KOOPERATION MIT DER EULENSPIEGEL VERLAGSGRUPPE 10243 BERLIN, FRANZ-MEHRING-PLATZ 1 MÜNZENBERGSAAL, EINTRITT 2 Euro Liebe Leserinnen und Leser, hier erfahren Sie, welche Themen im ND vom 04.08.2011 behandelt werden. +++ Inland: »Der Himmel so blau wie bei der Aschewolke« Für heute Morgen rief die Gewerkschaft der Flugsicherung flächendeckend zum Streik Von Jörg Meyer --> http://www.neues-deutschland.de/artikel/203689.der-himmel-so-blau-wie-bei-der-aschewolke.html Kinderarmes Deutschland Bundesrepublik altert weiter / Armut unter Minderjährigen bleibt konstant Von Katja Herzberg --> http://www.neues-deutschland.de/artikel/203686.kinderarmes-deutschland.html Regierung will Ärzte auf dem Land fördern Wohnortnahe medizinische Betreuung soll gesichert werden Von Ulrike Henning --> http://www.neues-deutschland.de/artikel/203687.regierung-will-aerzte-auf-dem-land-foerdern.html Der Gesetzentwurf --> http://www.neues-deutschland.de/artikel/203688.der-gesetzentwurf.html Demokratisches Design Ein Architekt hat Möbel entworfen, die jeder nachbauen darf. Nun zeigt er Interessierten, wie man das macht. Von Fabian Lambeck --> http://www.neues-deutschland.de/artikel/203655.demokratisches-design.html Auf Abruf Christoph Steegmans - der Vize-Regierungssprecher soll gehen Fabian Lambeck --> http://www.neues-deutschland.de/artikel/203650.auf-abruf.html Schiefergas-Förderung am Ende? Dirk Jansen (BUND) über das Moratorium für Fracking-Projekte --> [für Abonnenten] http://www.neues-deutschland.de/artikel/203654.schiefergas-foerderung-am-ende.html Sinti-Denkmal: Der Bund solls richten Der Künstler bemängelt die Bauausführung - nun will der Kulturstaatsminister vermitteln --> [für Abonnenten] http://www.neues-deutschland.de/artikel/203656.sinti-denkmal-der-bund-solls-richten.html Neuer Streit um die Pflegereform Die Union will eine Kapitalrücklage aufbauen und steht damit in der Kritik --> [für Abonnenten] http://www.neues-deutschland.de/artikel/203657.neuer-streit-um-die-pflegereform.html Verkehr zurück auf der Straße Die Bundesregierung will den Fernverkehr für Buslinien öffnen, die Autos und Schiene Konkurrenz machen Von Ines Wallrodt --> http://www.neues-deutschland.de/artikel/203658.verkehr-zurueck-auf-der-strasse.html »Ohne Alternative« und »Symbol des Scheiterns« Nach dem Dokument der Historischen Kommission der LINKEN gibt es nun zwei weitere Papiere zum Mauerbau aus der Partei Von Velten Schäfer --> http://www.neues-deutschland.de/artikel/203659.ohne-alternative-und-symbol-des-scheiterns.html Dämpfer für den Musterschüler Analyse der LINKEN: Sachsen ist im Sozialbereich höchstens Mittelfeld Von Hendrik Lasch, Dresden --> [für Abonnenten] http://www.neues-deutschland.de/artikel/203660.daempfer-fuer-den-musterschueler.html Die NPD steht kurz vor dem Abgrund Verfassungsschutz attestiert der Neonazi-Partei Ratlosigkeit nach ihrer Misserfolgsserie --> http://www.neues-deutschland.de/artikel/203661.die-npd-steht-kurz-vor-dem-abgrund.html Arme kleine rauchfreie Kneipe Vor einem Jahr kämpften die Bayern für und wider das strengste Nichtraucherschutzgesetz Deutschlands Von Rudolf Stumberger, München --> [für Abonnenten] http://www.neues-deutschland.de/artikel/203662.arme-kleine-rauchfreie-kneipe.html Flickenteppich im Korridor Ein Teil des Grünen Bandes verläuft zwischen Bayern und Tschechien – die Bilanz ist gemischt Von Uwe Kraus, Grafenau --> [für Abonnenten] http://www.neues-deutschland.de/artikel/203628.flickenteppich-im-korridor.html Teurer Abfall Sachsen-Anhalt muss 735 000 Impfdosen vernichten --> http://www.neues-deutschland.de/artikel/203629.teurer-abfall.html Namen auf Tontafeln Junge Forscher im Gefangenenlager Sandbostel Von Dieter Sell, epd --> [für Abonnenten] http://www.neues-deutschland.de/artikel/203630.namen-auf-tontafeln.html Debatte um Flughäfen Sächsischer Politiker stellt Airport Dresden in Frage --> http://www.neues-deutschland.de/artikel/203647.debatte-um-flughaefen.html Hafen der Rekorde Der JadeWeserPort soll 2012 als Umschlagplatz für die größten Containerschiffe eröffnet werden Von Vera Jansen, dpa --> [für Abonnenten] http://www.neues-deutschland.de/artikel/203648.hafen-der-rekorde.html Selbst Gott hat nicht die Bestnote Auf einer Internet-Plattform bewerten Gemeindemitglieder die Arbeit der Oberhirten Von Brigitte Vordermayer, epd --> [für Abonnenten] http://www.neues-deutschland.de/artikel/203649.selbst-gott-hat-nicht-die-bestnote.html +++ Ausland: Mubarak in Kairo vor Gericht Ägyptischer Ex-Präsident wegen Anordnung von Gewalt gegen Demonstranten angeklagt --> http://www.neues-deutschland.de/artikel/203692.mubarak-in-kairo-vor-gericht.html UN sucht Syrien-Lösung Russland fordert Dialog aller Beteiligten --> http://www.neues-deutschland.de/artikel/203681.un-sucht-syrien-loesung.html Glückloser »Sweet Micky« Haitis Staatspräsident Michel Martelly fehlt noch immer eine Regierung Von Hans-Ulrich Dillmann --> [für Abonnenten] http://www.neues-deutschland.de/artikel/203682.glueckloser-sweet-micky.html Putschplan in Niger Präsident ließ zehn Militärs inhaftieren --> [für Abonnenten] http://www.neues-deutschland.de/artikel/203683.putschplan-in-niger.html Israel ließ 350 Häuser abreißen UNRWA kritisiert weitere Vertreibungen --> [für Abonnenten] http://www.neues-deutschland.de/artikel/203684.israel-liess-350-haeuser-abreissen.html »Das ist unser Platz!« Madrider Polizei ging gegen Protestcamper auf Puerta del Sol vor --> http://www.neues-deutschland.de/artikel/203685.das-ist-unser-platz.html Juristischer Feldzug gegen Ungarns Sozialisten? Regierungschef Orbán würde seine Vorgänger gerne vor Gericht sehen Von Gábor Kerényi, Budapest --> [für Abonnenten] http://www.neues-deutschland.de/artikel/203617.juristischer-feldzug-gegen-ungarns-sozialisten.html Lebenslänglich für Militärs in Guatemala --> [für Abonnenten] http://www.neues-deutschland.de/artikel/203618.lebenslaenglich-fuer-militaers-in-guatemala.html Vater Le Pen verdirbt seiner Tochter das Konzept Frankreichs Rechtsextreme verharmlosen Anschläge in Norwegen Von Ralf Klingsieck, Paris --> http://www.neues-deutschland.de/artikel/203619.vater-le-pen-verdirbt-seiner-tochter-das-konzept.html Norwegens Rechte bedauern – ihre Worte Politologe Marsdal: Fortschrittspartei bleibt Auffangbecken für Ausländerhasser Von André Anwar, Stockholm --> [für Abonnenten] http://www.neues-deutschland.de/artikel/203620.norwegens-rechte-bedauern-ihre-worte.html Stürme, Wellenberge, Einsamkeit ... Holländerin Laura Dekker startete vor genau einem Jahr zur Weltumseglung --> [für Abonnenten] http://www.neues-deutschland.de/artikel/203636.stuerme-wellenberge-einsamkeit.html Ungereimtheiten um den Todesflug AF 447 Ermittler der französischen Untersuchungsbehörde stehen im Kreuzfeuer der Kritik --> [für Abonnenten] http://www.neues-deutschland.de/artikel/203637.ungereimtheiten-um-den-todesflug-af-447.html »Geheimaktion Groß-Moskau« Vizebürgermeister der russischen Hauptstadt: Von so einer Chance kann jede andere Metropole nur träumen Von Ulf Mauder, dpa --> [für Abonnenten] http://www.neues-deutschland.de/artikel/203638.geheimaktion-gross-moskau.html +++ Wirtschaft/Soziales: Ein Tablet-Computer für jeden Schüler Kontroverse in Thailand über das Wirtschaftskonzept »Thaksinomics 2.0« der neuen Regierung Von Michael Lenz, Bangkok --> http://www.neues-deutschland.de/artikel/203631.ein-tablet-computer-fuer-jeden-schueler.html Notenbank flutet die Märkte Schweiz reagiert auf Franken-Aufwertung --> [für Abonnenten] http://www.neues-deutschland.de/artikel/203632.notenbank-flutet-die-maerkte.html Preis für Baumwolle halbiert --> http://www.neues-deutschland.de/artikel/203633.preis-fuer-baumwolle-halbiert.html Berlusconi redete nach Börsenschluss Italienische Regierung beginnt, auf steigende Anleihezinsen zu reagieren --> [für Abonnenten] http://www.neues-deutschland.de/artikel/203634.berlusconi-redete-nach-boersenschluss.html Toprating für USA wackelt Obama richtet nach Schuldendeal den Fokus auf Arbeitslosigkeit --> http://www.neues-deutschland.de/artikel/203635.toprating-fuer-usa-wackelt.html +++ Feuilleton: Notizen aus Venedig Von Gunnar Decker --> http://www.neues-deutschland.de/artikel/203644.notizen-aus-venedig.html Totale Öffentlichkeit Jürgen Amendt über Heiner Geißler, ein Rundfunkinterview und den »totalen Krieg« Von Jürgen Amendt --> http://www.neues-deutschland.de/artikel/203645.totale-oeffentlichkeit.html Täglich gesund leben! Nach einer Umfrage --> http://www.neues-deutschland.de/artikel/203646.taeglich-gesund-leben.html Sangerhausen im Konjunktiv Lutz Seiler und sein Gedichtband »im felderlatein« Von Kai Agthe --> [für Abonnenten] http://www.neues-deutschland.de/artikel/203625.sangerhausen-im-konjunktiv.html Grimmiges Vergnügen Von Irmtraud Gutschke --> http://www.neues-deutschland.de/artikel/203626.grimmiges-vergnuegen.html Ins Innen, ins Bodenlose Gregor Sander erzählt von Aufbrüchen Von Werner Jung --> [für Abonnenten] http://www.neues-deutschland.de/artikel/203627.ins-innen-ins-bodenlose.html +++ Berlin/Brandenburg: Wasserbetriebe suchen weiter --> [für Abonnenten] http://www.neues-deutschland.de/artikel/203674.wasserbetriebe-suchen-weiter.html Noch keine Ruhe über dem Müggelsee 13 000 Unterschriften gegen geplante Flugrouten / Wowereit will Alternativen prüfen lassen Von Nissrine Messaoudi --> http://www.neues-deutschland.de/artikel/203675.noch-keine-ruhe-ueber-dem-mueggelsee.html Jeder zehnte sieht Mauerbau positiv --> http://www.neues-deutschland.de/artikel/203676.jeder-zehnte-sieht-mauerbau-positiv.html Zur Wahl: Jede Menge Papier --> http://www.neues-deutschland.de/artikel/203677.zur-wahl-jede-menge-papier.html 250 Millionen für intakte Straßen Wirtschaft warnt vor maroder Substanz und fordert Verdreifachung der Mittel für Instandsetzung Von Jenny Becker --> http://www.neues-deutschland.de/artikel/203678.250-millionen-fuer-intakte-strassen.html NPD will mit 40 Trupps stadtweit Plakate kleben --> http://www.neues-deutschland.de/artikel/203679.npd-will-mit-40-trupps-stadtweit-plakate-kleben.html Riefenstahl steigt bei Dietrich ein Festival und neue Spielzeit in der Schaubude Von Lucía Tirado --> http://www.neues-deutschland.de/artikel/203668.riefenstahl-steigt-bei-dietrich-ein.html Jugend zieht andere Saiten auf Rund 1400 Musiker treffen sich beim Festival Young Euro Classic Von Volkmar Draeger --> http://www.neues-deutschland.de/artikel/203669.jugend-zieht-andere-saiten-auf.html Exportschlager Berlinale-Idee --> http://www.neues-deutschland.de/artikel/203670.exportschlager-berlinale-idee.html Sichtbares und Unsichtbares --> [für Abonnenten] http://www.neues-deutschland.de/artikel/203671.sichtbares-und-unsichtbares.html Berliner Festspiele feiern Jubiläen --> [für Abonnenten] http://www.neues-deutschland.de/artikel/203672.berliner-festspiele-feiern-jubilaeen.html Kritik an »Adels-Kult« --> [für Abonnenten] http://www.neues-deutschland.de/artikel/203673.kritik-an-adels-kult.html Geschichte(n) auf der Wäscheleine Verschwunden und vergessen: Ausstellung über DDR-Flüchtlingslager im alten West-Berlin Von Andreas Heinz --> http://www.neues-deutschland.de/artikel/203693.geschichte-n-auf-der-waescheleine.html Wahlkampftour durch Marzahn und Hellersdorf --> http://www.neues-deutschland.de/artikel/203694.wahlkampftour-durch-marzahn-und-hellersdorf.html CDU schämt sich nicht Partei war in der DDR »keine Heldenbewegung« --> http://www.neues-deutschland.de/artikel/203663.cdu-schaemt-sich-nicht.html Radeln für die Umwelt Etappen der Tour de Natur durch Brandenburg Von Peter Nowak --> [für Abonnenten] http://www.neues-deutschland.de/artikel/203664.radeln-fuer-die-umwelt.html Zwei Seiten der Medaille bei den Spielen 1936 Im Olympischen Dorf in Elstal wird am Sonnabend eine neue Ausstellung eröffnet --> [für Abonnenten] http://www.neues-deutschland.de/artikel/203665.zwei-seiten-der-medaille-bei-den-spielen-1936.html Enteignung am Groß Glienicker See angestrebt --> [für Abonnenten] http://www.neues-deutschland.de/artikel/203666.enteignung-am-gross-glienicker-see-angestrebt.html Keine Bewerber für freie Lehrstellen Weniger Schulabgänger, unbesetzte Ausbildungsplätze und gestiegene Jugendarbeitslosigkeit Von Wilfried Neiße --> http://www.neues-deutschland.de/artikel/203667.keine-bewerber-fuer-freie-lehrstellen.html +++ Sport: Carolin Nytra muss WM absagen Leichtathletik: Sorgen bei den Läufern, Aufschwung bei den Springern --> [für Abonnenten] http://www.neues-deutschland.de/artikel/203639.carolin-nytra-muss-wm-absagen.html Kittel schafft Hattrick Polen-Tour: Erfurter sprintet in die Weltelite Von Manuel Schwarz, dpa --> [für Abonnenten] http://www.neues-deutschland.de/artikel/203640.kittel-schafft-hattrick.html Löw fischt im Trüben Bundestrainer benennt Kader für Brasilien-Test --> [für Abonnenten] http://www.neues-deutschland.de/artikel/203641.loew-fischt-im-trueben.html Auf der Suche nach Kaltschnäuzigkeit Mainz will heute beim rumänischen Klub Medias den Sprung in die Europa League schaffen Von Detlef Rehling, dpa --> http://www.neues-deutschland.de/artikel/203642.auf-der-suche-nach-kaltschnaeuzigkeit.html Simak trifft bei Rückkehr 3. Liga: Jena besiegt Burghausen mit 1:0 --> [für Abonnenten] http://www.neues-deutschland.de/artikel/203643.simak-trifft-bei-rueckkehr.html +++ Meinung/Kolumne: Unten links --> http://www.neues-deutschland.de/artikel/203690.unten-links.html Ein Pharao am Boden Standpunkt von Roland Etzel Von Roland Etzel --> http://www.neues-deutschland.de/artikel/203691.ein-pharao-am-boden.html Kampf gegen Windmühlen Kommentar von Martin Ling --> http://www.neues-deutschland.de/artikel/203651.kampf-gegen-windmuehlen.html Kein »AAA« für Obama Kommentar von Kurt Stenger Von Kurt Stenger --> http://www.neues-deutschland.de/artikel/203652.kein-aaa-fuer-obama.html Falscher Ansatz Kommentar von Ulrike Henning Von Ulrike Henning --> http://www.neues-deutschland.de/artikel/203653.falscher-ansatz.html Ferner Schrecken Tobias Riegel über Umfragen zur Berliner Mauer --> http://www.neues-deutschland.de/artikel/203680.ferner-schrecken.html +++ Kino & Film: Malochen für den Brautpreis Der Albaner von Johannes Naber Von Caroline M. Buck --> [für Abonnenten] http://www.neues-deutschland.de/artikel/203621.malochen-fuer-den-brautpreis.html Ende und Anfang einer Ehe Blue Valentine von Derek Cianfrance Von Alexandra Exter --> [für Abonnenten] http://www.neues-deutschland.de/artikel/203622.ende-und-anfang-einer-ehe.html Das Schlupfloch Im Bazar ... Von Caroline M. Buck --> [für Abonnenten] http://www.neues-deutschland.de/artikel/203623.das-schlupfloch.html STARporträt Kyle Chandler --> http://www.neues-deutschland.de/artikel/203624.starportraet.html
| VA NEWS JOBS EDUCATION VA LOAN CENTER BENEFITS |   August 03, 2011 |
 | 9/11: "No Planes" v. Planes and Controlled Demolition "If one scratches the surface of the commission report, one finds huge holes in the official story. Read More »» |
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RFE/RL Headlines
8/3/2011 8:03:38 PM
A daily digest of the English-language news and analysis written by the staff of Radio Free Europe/Radio LibertyRFE/RL is looking for guest bloggers, preferably writing from and about our broadcast region. If you're interested, drop us a line at webteam@rferl.org. |
Features
Belarus Opposition Leaders Hail U.S. Senators' Tough Stance On Lukashenka
Leading opposition figures in Belarus have welcomed a letter by a bipartisan group of U.S. senators urging the Obama administration to oppose an International Monetary Fund bailout request from the government of President Alyaksandr Lukashenka. More 
Mubarak Trial A Shock To The Egyptian System
Less than a year ago, the idea of Hosni Mubarak going on trial would have been a surreal fantasy to Egyptians. But the unthinkable has become the reality, with the once all-powerful president in the dock six months after the revolution that toppled him. More 
Moldova's Gagauz Region Struggles To Find Common Language With Chisinau
About 10 percent of the graduating students in the Gagauz Autonomous Region of Moldova failed their final exams in Romanian language and literature this year. The poor showing sent tremors through the fault lines separating the tiny Gagauz minority from the rest of the country. More 
Interview: Kosovo's President Defends Decision To Control Northern Border
Tensions remain high along Kosovo's northern border with Serbia following a move by the Kosovar government last month to establish control over checkpoints there. More 
UN Condemns Syria As Assad Troops Take Hama Square
The UN Security Council has condemned the Syrian government's crackdown on antigovernment protesters in a move taken as reports of further bloodshed continued from the besieged city of Hama. More The trial of Hosni Mubarak began today in Cairo, where the former Egyptian ruler and some of his top security officials face charges that they conspired to kill people protesting against the regime. Mubarak and his two sons also face charges of corruption. More 
Sons' Drug Ties Make Family Outcasts
Ghoib Qurbonov, 72, from the village of Qavoq in the Shuroobod district, said he and his family have been wandering for several days in Danghara and Kulob because of the warning. He admitted that his four sons had been engaged in illegal drug deals with Afghan smugglers, but he said all were eventually arrested and one has died in prison. More 
Tatarstan: Ex-Paratroopers Run Riot
The celebration of Paratroopers Day in the Tatar capital Kazan briefly turned violent on August 2 when Russian ex-soldiers attacked some foreign workers. More 
Tajik Mosque Ban For Kids Takes Effect
The controversial law, which was proposed by President Emomali Rahmon in December and adopted recently by parliament, holds the parents of underage children attending Friday Prayers legally responsible for allowing them to do so. More 
Hepatitis Scare Closes Tajik Dentists
Dushanbe city council has closed down 12 private dental clinics after residents claimed they had contracted hepatitis while undergoing treatment there. More 
Family Questions Kyrgyz Soldier 'Suicide'
The family has hired a lawyer and asked the NGO Soldiers' Mothers to investigate the circumstances of the death of Erlan Mamytov, who died while serving in a border-guard unit. More 
Tajik First Deputy Prime Minister Dies
Tajikistan's first deputy prime minister, Asadullo Ghulomov, has died suddenly at the age of 57, reportedly of a stroke. More 
UN: AIDS Spreading Rapidly In Kyrgyzstan
Kyrgyzstan is among the 25 countries worldwide where HIV/AIDS is spreading most rapidly. More 
Iranian Scholar Begins Prison Term
Iranian religious scholar Ahmad Ghabel has begun his prison term for spreading antistate propaganda and insulting the supreme leader. More 
Good Harvests Ease Armenian Inflation
Consumer inflation in Armenia continued to fall last month amid a seasonal drop in the prices of domestic agricultural products. More 
Ukraine Nationalists Lose 'Hero' Status
Ukraine's High Administrative Court has ruled that former President Viktor Yushchenko illegally bestowed "hero" status on two Ukrainian independence leaders from the World War II era. More 
Belarusian Inmate's Supporters Held
About 20 supporters of jailed Belarusian activist Zmitser Dashkevich have been detained for holding a protest near the prison in eastern Belarus where he is jailed. More 
Free Speech Comes to Eurovision
Several Azerbaijani rights organizations have launched a public campaign about rights violations in the country ahead of Baku's hosting of the 2012 Eurovision Song Contest. More 
Silly Season In St. Petersburg
St. Petersburg Governor Valentina Matviyenko's path to the Federation Council speakership looks more and more ridiculous by the day. More 
Iran, Where A Water Fight Can Land You In Prison
Yet again, a number of young people have been arrested in the Iranian capital. Their crime: engaging in a water fight. The evidence: water guns and bottles. The accusations against them: violating Islamic principles and norms. More 
Armenian Opposition Ups The Ante
Meeting on July 26 with representatives of Armenia's ruling coalition, the opposition Armenian National Congress (HAK) proposed that President Serzh Sarkisian schedule an early presidential election for mid-October. More |
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Putting Americans to Work
The 10-year-old Bush tax cuts are clearly an economic failure that has made our country fiscally weaker, write Michael Linden and Michael Ettlinger.More: The Bush Tax Cuts Are the Disaster that Keeps on Giving
From the Cartoonist Group.August 3, 2011
Tomgram: Nick Turse, Uncovering the Military's Secret Military
In “
Getting bin Laden,” Nicholas Schmidle’s New Yorker report on the assault on Osama bin Laden’s compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan, here’s the money sentence,
according to Noah Shachtman of Wired Magazine’s
Danger Room blog: “The Abbottabad raid was not DEVGRU’s maiden venture
into Pakistan, either. The team had surreptitiously entered the country
on ten to twelve previous occasions, according to a special-operations
officer who is deeply familiar with the bin Laden raid.” DEVGRU is the
acronym for the Naval Special Warfare Development Group, better known as
SEAL Team Six (think “
SEAL-mania”), the elite special operations outfit that killed bin Laden.
His assassination -- and Schmidle’s piece makes clear that his capture was never an objective -- brought on a blitz of media coverage. But without reading that single, half-buried sentence, who knew that the same SEAL team had been dropped into Pakistan to do who knows what 10 to 12 times before the bin Laden mission happened? Not most Pakistanis, nor 99.99% of Americans, myself included. Keep in mind that this was only a team of 23 elite troops (plus a translator and a dog). But there are now about 20,000 full-time special operations types, at least 13,000 of them deployed somewhere abroad at this moment. In other words, we simply don’t know the half of it. We probably don’t know the tenth of it -- neither the breadth or number of their missions, nor the range of their targets. According to Schmidle again, on the day of the bin Laden raid, special operations forces in nearby Afghanistan conducted 12 other “night raids.” Almost 2,000 of them have been carried out in the last couple of years.
These are staggering figures. And since we didn’t know that U.S. special operations forces were secretly conducting Pakistan missions in such numbers, it might be worth asking what else we don’t know. Former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, speaking to the press in 2002 about the lack of evidence linking Saddam Hussein’s Iraq to the 9/11 attacks, made a famous (or infamous) distinction among “known knowns,” (things we know we know), “known unknowns” (things we know we don’t know), and “unknown unknowns” (things we don’t know we don’t know). How apt those “unknown unknowns” turn out to be when it comes to the ever-expanding special operations forces inside the U.S. military.
Think of them, in fact, as the unknown unknowns of twenty-first century American warfare. Fortunately, thanks to TomDispatch regular Nick Turse, we now have a far better idea of the size and scope of the global war being fought in our name by tens of thousands of secret warriors fighting “in the shadows.” Tom
His assassination -- and Schmidle’s piece makes clear that his capture was never an objective -- brought on a blitz of media coverage. But without reading that single, half-buried sentence, who knew that the same SEAL team had been dropped into Pakistan to do who knows what 10 to 12 times before the bin Laden mission happened? Not most Pakistanis, nor 99.99% of Americans, myself included. Keep in mind that this was only a team of 23 elite troops (plus a translator and a dog). But there are now about 20,000 full-time special operations types, at least 13,000 of them deployed somewhere abroad at this moment. In other words, we simply don’t know the half of it. We probably don’t know the tenth of it -- neither the breadth or number of their missions, nor the range of their targets. According to Schmidle again, on the day of the bin Laden raid, special operations forces in nearby Afghanistan conducted 12 other “night raids.” Almost 2,000 of them have been carried out in the last couple of years.
These are staggering figures. And since we didn’t know that U.S. special operations forces were secretly conducting Pakistan missions in such numbers, it might be worth asking what else we don’t know. Former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, speaking to the press in 2002 about the lack of evidence linking Saddam Hussein’s Iraq to the 9/11 attacks, made a famous (or infamous) distinction among “known knowns,” (things we know we know), “known unknowns” (things we know we don’t know), and “unknown unknowns” (things we don’t know we don’t know). How apt those “unknown unknowns” turn out to be when it comes to the ever-expanding special operations forces inside the U.S. military.
Think of them, in fact, as the unknown unknowns of twenty-first century American warfare. Fortunately, thanks to TomDispatch regular Nick Turse, we now have a far better idea of the size and scope of the global war being fought in our name by tens of thousands of secret warriors fighting “in the shadows.” Tom
A Secret War in 120 Countries
The Pentagon’s New Power Elite
By Nick Turse
Somewhere on this planet an American commando is carrying out a mission. Now, say that 70 times and you’re done... for the day. Without the knowledge of the American public, a secret force within the U.S. military is undertaking operations in a majority of the world’s countries. This new Pentagon power elite is waging a global war whose size and scope has never been revealed, until now.
After a U.S. Navy SEAL put a bullet in Osama bin Laden’s chest and another in his head, one of the most secretive black-ops units in the American military suddenly found its mission in the public spotlight. It was atypical. While it’s well known that U.S. Special Operations forces are deployed in the war zones of Afghanistan and Iraq, and it’s increasingly apparent that such units operate in murkier conflict zones like Yemen and Somalia, the full extent of their worldwide war has remained deeply in the shadows.
Last year, Karen DeYoung and Greg Jaffe of the Washington Post reported that U.S. Special Operations forces were deployed in 75 countries, up from 60 at the end of the Bush presidency. By the end of this year, U.S. Special Operations Command spokesman Colonel Tim Nye told me, that number will likely reach 120. “We do a lot of traveling -- a lot more than Afghanistan or Iraq,” he said recently. This global presence -- in about 60% of the world’s nations and far larger than previously acknowledged -- provides striking new evidence of a rising clandestine Pentagon power elite waging a secret war in all corners of the world.
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