Hard News
Afghanistan: 17 "rebels" killed in Nangarhar operation, police:
At least 17 government armed oppositions were killed during a clearance operation launched by the Afghan security forces in some areas of eastern Nangarhar province, an official said Thursday
15 killed in Afghan suicide bomber attack:
A suicide bomber in a car attacked a convoy of foreign troops in Kabul on Thursday, killing at least 15 people including six Americans, Afghan and foreign officials said, in one of the worst attacks in the Afghan capital in months.
NATO driver killed in northwest Pakistan near Afghan border:
Gunmen in Pakistan's northwestern tribal region near the Afghan border have attacked a NATO truck transporting goods for the foreign forces in Afghanistan, killing the driver and wounding another person on the truck
DR Congo clashes kill at least 21:
Violent clashes between rebels and government troops in the restive eastern Democratic Republic of Congo have left at least 21 people dead, a military official said Thursday.
At least 14 killed as three market blasts rock Baghdad:
Two car bombs exploded in busy markets in Sadr City, north-eastern Baghdad and killed at least 11 people and wounded another 18. The third explosion targeted a small market in Kamaliya district, killing three more, police said.
2 soldiers killed in suicide car bombing in northern Iraq:
Two soldiers were killed and four wounded when a suicide bomber blew up his explosive-laden car near the entrance of an Iraqi army base in Sumer neighborhood in southeastern Mosul
Sunni tribal forces fight with Iraqi troops: -
Tribal security forces in Anbar province will launch attacks on Iraqi forces if those forces aren't withdrawn immediately, a Sunni elder said Thursday.
Human Rights Watch Slams Iraqi Government for Hawija :
HRW called for a transparent investigation into how more than 50 people were killed and 180 wounded in the raid on April 23, 2013, by the Iraqi army on a square in Hawija (180 kilometers or 112 miles north of Baghdad), where protesters were holding a sit-in.
UN: 1st group of 14 Iranian exiles moved from Iraq to Albania:
In a statement Thursday, U.N. envoy Martin Kobler said 14 members of the Mujahedeen-e-Khalq arrived in Albania late Wednesday, the first of 210 residents accepted by the Albanian government.
Each injured soldier to cost the US $2 million:
For every one of the 866,181 soldiers officially counted injured casualties in Iraq and Afghanistan, the government is expected to spend some $2 million in long-term medical cost. The total of $1.7 trillion is based on a widely cited March 2013 paper by Linda Bilmes at Harvard's Kennedy School.
Iraqi officials: Extremist groups seek to fuel sectarian conflict in Syria:
Al-Qaeda-linked Jabhat al-Nusra (JAN) in Syria is aiming to divide communities and incite sectarian crises in the country in the same way al-Qaeda did in Iraq in past years, Iraqi officials and Sahwa leaders told Mawtani.
Syrian Minister: Removal Of Assad Means Destruction Of Syria: Audio -
Melissa Block talks with Syria's Vice Minister for Foreign Affairs, Faisal Mekdad, about the upcoming international conference on Syria in Geneva and about the Syrian government's view of the civil war.
Al-Qaida-linked rebels execute 11 "soldiers" : - Video - Warning -
Islamist militants with black flags shouted "God is great" as each man was shot. The executioner returned to some victims, firing more bullets into them to make sure they were dead.
Syria Civilians Come Under Fire From "Rebels" - Video -
The demonstrators were predominantly Syrian Palestinians, many from the Yarmouk district of Damascus who had fled when it was taken over by opposition forces eight months ago. Syria This resident insisted the rebel fighters were not Syrian nationals
Jabhat al-Nusra faces al-Qaeda sanctions at UN under Anglo-French proposal:
Once the move is approved by a committee of the UN Security Council, al-Nusra will be subject to a broad range of sanctions, including an arms embargo, travel ban and assets freeze.
al-Qaeda changes name in Syria:
New Rebel Army Forms in Eastern Ghouta led by (al-Qaeda) Jabhat al Nusra and Ahrar al-Sham - Video -
UN urges support for Syria rebels; Russia opposed:
General Assembly passes resolution condemning Syrian President Bashar Assad's forces; Russia warns resolution could hinder Syria conference.
'Counterproductive': UN General Assembly votes on Qatari-drafted resolution condemning Assad's forces in Syria war:
The final vote tally: 107 in favor, 12 against and 59 abstentions. Russia, China, Syria, Iran and North Korea were among 12 countries to oppose the resolution, while South Africa, India and Brazil were among the dozens who abstained.
Senate Majority Leader Won't Block Obama On Syria No-Fly Zone:
While Reid is wary of getting more involved in Syria, if the President wants to go to war, Reid said he won't need Senate authorization to do it.
Syrian rebels demand weapons before talks:
Khalid Saleh, a spokesman for the Syrian Opposition Coalition, said Thursday that his group is pushing for "serious arming" of the rebels ahead of the U.S.- and Russian-backed negotiations.
US backtracks on Syria peace meet:
The strategic community and the Cold Warriors are up in arms in the US at the prospect of a US-Russia concord on Syria. The nasty interview given by the old war horse from the Council of Foreign Relations Stephen Sestanovich suggests that the Obama administration is caving into the pressure to revert to its blueprint for regime change in Syria.
Engineering Consent For Attack On Syria?
BBC shown 'signs of chemical attack':
A BBC correspondent who visited the northern town of Saraqeb was told by eyewitnesses that government helicopters had dropped at least two devices containing poisonous gas. The government has vehemently denied claims it has used chemical agents.
Jabhat Al-Nusra Photographed With "Chemical Weapons"
These containers shown, below in photographs from Sheikh Maqsoud and videos from Saraqeb appear to be an as yet unidentified gas grenade
Jabhat Al Nusra with 'chemical weapons';
The white canister on the belt if this Nusra member has been in the news a lot lately. Usually seen in evidence bags as proof of chemical weapons used by Assad.
Obama: Chemical weapons used in Syria: Obama:
"We have seen evidence of the use of chemical weapons inside of Syria. It is important to us to make sure that we're able to get more specific information. .. But separate from chemical weapons... we know that tens of thousands are being killed."
The other red line: The prospect of al-Qaeda getting chemical weapons is drawing closer:
Jabhat al-Nusra, the most powerful rebel faction and the one with closest links to al-Qaeda, reportedly came very close to capturing a stockpile near Aleppo earlier this year
Obama: Chemical weapons' used in Syria: :
'The intelligence community has agreed with varying levels of confidence that chemical weapons were used in small amounts in at least two instances in Syria,' Under Secretary of State Wendy Sherman told US lawmakers on Wednesday.
Obama says US diplomatic, military options remain open in Syria crisis:
President Barack Obama said on Thursday he reserves the right to resort to a range of both diplomatic and military options if he receives conclusive proof that the government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad had used chemical weapons in the country's civil war.
Germany Fears US Intervention in Syria:
The German government is starting to worry about parallels between the Iraq war 10 years ago and the Syrian conflict. The Foreign Ministry believes that mounting concern over the possible use of chemical weapons by the Assad regime could prompt the US government to launch a military intervention.
Israel Hints at New Strikes, Warning Syria Not to Hit Back:
"If Syrian President Assad reacts by attacking Israel, or tries to strike Israel through his terrorist proxies," the official said, "he will risk forfeiting his regime."
Iran's FM: Assad 'Unimpressed' by Israeli Attacks:
Iran's Foreign Minister says Assad plans to retaliate the next time Israel attacks in Syria.
Netanyahu to Putin: 'Your missile sales to Assad could trigger war':
PM says sophisticated S-300 system has no relevance for Syrian regime's civil-war battles, but that its delivery by Moscow could prompt an Israeli response, Channel 2 reports
Russian warships enter Mediterranean Sea:
Five Russian warships entered the Mediterranean Sea on Thursday and are scheduled to dock in Limassol, Cyprus. Russian news sources reported that the ships would bolster the country's new regional task force. Russia currently has a naval base in Tartous, Syria.
Craig Murray: The Mavi Marmara Murders: Op-Ed:
I can claim to have had a small hand in instigating the legal complaint to the International Criminal Court by the Comoros Islands against the murders by Israeli troops on the Mavi Marmara. The Washington Post writes:
Israel recognizes four illegal West Bank outposts:
"The intention to legalize outposts as new settlements is no less than a slap in the face of Secretary Kerry's new process and is blatant reassurance to settler interests," Peace Now said in a statement. "The... government is indicating it is not committed to peace nor to a two-state solution."
Church of Scotland agrees to reword report on Israeli settlements:
The Church of Scotland has moved to defuse a furious row with Jewish leaders and the Israeli government after agreeing to change a controversial report on Israeli settlements.
From Petrodollar To Petrogold:
The US Is Now Trying To Cut Off Iran's Access To Gold: The US is moving to broaden its 'blockade' efforts of Iran to the movement of pure gold into the Islamic Republic. The US-led embargo of Iranian crude succeeded in slowing the flow of petrodollars into the nation but as Foreign Affairs committee chairman Edward Cohen remarked, there is "no question that there is gold going from Turkey to Iran."
Egypt 'suffering worst economic crisis since 1930s':
Former finance minister and economist say Egypt is in dire predicament as foreign investment and tourism collapse
This is an outrage:
Critical health fears as Gitmo strike marks Day 100:
Five critical, 30 force-fed, 102 to 130 taking part - data that makes for grim reading as the Guantanamo hunger strike enters its 100th day. More information on their ill health has been made public as detainees' lawyers speak out.
100 Days of Hunger Strike: US no closer to Gitmo shutdown: - Video -
Around thirty hunger-strikers are being subjected to force-feeding - a controversial tactic condemned by the UN and the international medical community as inhumane. And all those numbers are only likely to grow.
Rights Groups Ask Pentagon To Stop Force-Feeding Gitmo Hunger Strikers:
The American Civil Liberties Union, Center for Victims of Torture, Human Rights Watch and 17 other groups wrote the Pentagon on Monday ... [calling] Guantánamo's force-feeding process "inherently cruel, inhuman, and degrading."
Pentagon Spec Ops Chief Sees '10 to 20' More Years of War Against al-Qaida:
The war in Afghanistan may be winding down. But the Pentagon's chief of irregular warfare still sees a war against al-Qaida that will last decades, all over the world - a prospect that prompted astonishment and constitutional debate in the Senate.
Boston bomb suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev penned confession in boat: report:
The note was written in pen on a bullet-riddled wall of the cabin, and reportedly said America's military involvement in Iraq and Afghanistan was the reason behind the deadly April 15 bombings at the Boston Marathon.
If this man was Arabic, would he be a terrorist?
Man shoots AK-47 at police after running a red light - Video - Warning -
Gilkerson fired 37 rounds from an AK-47 rifle on March 10, and that the two officers fired back with 54 rounds of their own, killing the Mentor-on-the Lake man.
Holder has memory loss at hearing about AP investigation:
During one heated exchange, Rep. F. James Sensenbrenner Jr., Wisconsin Republican, suggested Mr. Holder travel to the President Harry S. Truman Library in Independence, Mo., where he could take a picture of the famous sign that sat on Mr. Truman's desk that read: "The buck stops here."
Rep. Cohen Tears Into AG Holder On Marijuana : Video -
Holder scolds Issa for 'shameful' demeanor: Video -
The tension between the two men was on full display Wednesday, when Holder flatly labeled Issa's conduct during a hearing of the House Judiciary Committee "shameful."
In a world gone crazy:
Arizona Man Winds Up Jailed, Unemployed and Homeless After Photographing Courthouse :
Raymond Michael Rodden was bored this week, so he drove to downtown Phoenix and began walking around, snapping photos of the federal courthouse and the state capitol with his iPhone. The 33-year-old man ended up jailed, unemployed and homeless; his iPhone, iPad and Macintosh laptop confiscated as "evidence."
City sues 'Robin Hood' group over parking meter payments:
The city of Keene, New Hampshire, is suing a group of do-gooders for allegedly topping off parking meters of strangers.
US Defense Department to furlough 650,000 civilian workers:
US Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel on Tuesday announced plans to impose 11 days of unpaid leave for most of the Pentagon's 800,000 civilian employees beginning in July.
Evidence mounts on slower U.S. economic growth:
The U.S. economy showed fresh signs of slower growth in the second quarter, with factory activity slipping in the mid-Atlantic region while groundbreaking declined at home construction sites.
Wal-Mart U.S. sales weak; outlook below analysts' forecast:
Wal-Mart Stores Inc (WMT.N) posted weaker-than-expected quarterly earnings on Thursday due to poor U.S. sales and said its profit for this quarter might also miss Wall Street's forecast.
Food Stamp Cuts Pursued By GOP, Despite Shrinking Deficit:
The deficit-obsessed House GOP wanted a $16 billion cut to food assistance last year, when the deficit topped $1 trillion, and now wants a $20 billion cut this year, when the deficit is expected to be $642 billion. What gives?
Chicago teachers union heads to court to stop school closings:
The Chicago Teachers' Union filed two complaints in federal court Wednesday trying to stop the city from closing 53 elementary schools, arguing that the closures disproportionately affect African American students and would also cause great harm to special education students.
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"Let us be peace and joy"
Tom Feeley
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