Hard News
55 killed in Nigerian Islamist raid:
Boko Haram gunmen killed 22 police officers, 14 prison officials, two soldiers and four civilians, while 13 of the group's own members died, military spokesman Sagir Musa said.
Kenya: 10 killed as mobs mete out justice:
At least 10 people have been lynched and six murdered in Nairobi in the last three days.
18 killed in twin Pak blasts targeting poll campaign:
At least 18 people were killed and over 50 injured today in two bombings targeting politicians campaigning in north-west Pakistan for the 11 May general elections, a day after a powerful bomb ripped through a political rally in the country, claiming 24 lives.
Imran Khan Vows to Shoot Down US Drones If Elected: .
Speaking at a rally in Swabi in the province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Khan, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chairman said that if U.S. drones entered Pakistani airspace, he would order the Pakistani Air Force (PAF) to shoot them down.
After suffering fall, Imran issues video message:
A few hours after the fall, Imran reportedly announced that planned rallies will be held as per schedule, but the party later announced that all events scheduled for Tuesday and Wednesday were cancelled.
Afghanistan, Pakistan in a new border clash:
The latest deterioration between US allies days before general election
Four militants killed, four hurt in Afghanistan:
Four Taliban militants have been killed and four injured in joint operations carried out by Afghan forces and the Nato-led coalition troops within the last 24 hours.
Bangladesh collapse toll tops 700 as survivors demand pay :
Hundreds of survivors of last month's collapse of a building housing garment factories in Bangladesh protested for compensation Tuesday, as the death toll from the country's worst-ever industrial disaster passed 700.
Bombs, mosque attack kill 17 in Iraqi capital, say police:
At least 17 people were killed by three bombs and a grenade attack on a mosque in the Iraqi capital Baghdad
Father of Iraqi allegedly murdered by UK soldiers gives evidence to inquiry:
His son Ahmed had "gunshots on the side of his stomach ... his hand was broken [and] the bag was full of blood", Khazaal al-Helfi told the inquiry on Monday
Number displaced inside Syria hits 4.25 million - UN:
"Movement by internally displaced persons continues to be large-scale and fluid, as many Syrians are displaced multiple times," said Jens Laerke, spokesman for the Office of the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.
Senate Bill Pushes Aid For Syrian "Rebels":
U.S. Democratic Senator Robert Menendez , the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, introduced legislation yesterday to allow for the United States to arm Syrian rebels - the latest shift to step up intervention against the brutal crackdown by Bashar al-Assad's regime.
U.S. will 'shortly' be arming Syrian rebels: Key senator:
The United States will "shortly" begin arming Syrian rebels, looking to boost moderate factions over al-Qaida-affiliated extremists whose rise would be a national security "nightmare," the top Republican on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee told CBS News on Tuesday.
US official: Syrian rebels lack 'ability or intent' to use chemical weapons:
A member of the U.N. human rights commission, speaking to Swiss and Italian television a day earlier, had spoken of "concrete suspicions" that the rebels had used chemical weapons.
Al Qaeda's track record with chemical weapons:
It is a worrisome fact that al Qaeda in Iraq is the only al Qaeda franchise ever to have actually used chemical weapons.
Reminder: The U.S. Government Lies About Who Uses Chemical Weapons in the Mideast:
Even beyond the bogus case for the invasion of Iraq, the U.S. government has a long history of lying about this subject.
Syrian Rebels Holding U.N. Peacekeepers In Golan Heights:
The United Nations says four peacekeepers have been detained by armed men while patrolling on the Golan Heights in an area separating Syria and Israel.
Assad: Air strikes reveal Israel involvement in Syria war:
President Bashar Assad said Tuesday Israel's air strikes in Damascus reveal the extent of the Jewish State's involvement in the ongoing crisis in Syria.
Israeli strikes served to boost rebels' morale: Hezbollah:
"The bombing was an attempt to give terrorists and Takfiris who are fighting to destroy Syria from the inside a morale booster," Hezbollah's number two said Tuesday..
Assad says Syria army capable of confronting Israel:
Syrian president describes alleged Israeli airstrikes on his country as "an act of terrorism" that his army is able to confront, during a meeting with Iranian Foreign Minister Salehi in Damascus.
Iran FM: Arabs should respond to Israeli strikes:
Salehi warns of 'serious repercussions from a political vacuum' should regime collapse
Fact or fiction?
Russia Not to Tolerate Further Israeli Attacks on Damascus:
Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, while in Shanghai, was given a sharp dressing-down by Russian President Vladimir Putin, a warning that Russia would not tolerate further Israeli attacks on Damascus and would respond.
Syria-based Palestinian group says Assad regime has given nod for attacks on Israel:
President Bashar Assad's regime has given a Palestinian militant group the go-ahead to set up missiles to attack Israel in the wake of recent Israeli airstrikes on the Syrian capital, a spokesman for the group said Tuesday.
Palestinian source tells Haaretz: Assad's green light to strike Israel merely symbolic:
In interview with Haaretz, PFLP-GC source casts doubt on report in Alawite Syrian newspaper alleging that the Assad regime encouraged response attacks against Israel; source says escalation unexpected to ensue, as both sides likely to exercise restraint.
Land grab: Israeli govt backs bill to forcibly relocate up to 40,000 Bedouin villagers:
Israeli Cabinet ministers backed a draft law to demolish Bedouin villages in the country's Negev Desert and move its residents to government-approved settlements in the area. If adopted by the Knesset, it will affect tens of thousands of Bedouins.
Settlement plans 'obnoxious,' says Czech foreign minister:
In exclusive interview, Karel Schwarzenberg says bid to call Hezbollah a terror group is pointless propaganda, won't back Israeli airstrikes on Syria or Iran, and calls for settlement goods to be labeled; Jerusalem says Czechs are good enough friends that they can be candid
Libyan defence minister Barghathi retracts resignation:
Mohammed al-Barghathi earlier said he had decided to step down in the wake of the recent sieges by armed groups of the justice and foreign ministries.
Guantanamo detainees' lawyer describes force feeding: Audio:
Click on part 2: There's never been a hunger strike of this scope or duration before at Guantanamo," lawyer says
Outcry over Guantanamo grows, as does hunger strike:
Free them or put them on trial. Thus urges a petition to President Barack Obama over the prisoners held at Guantanamo, jailed and in limbo for more than a decade.
Australia: 'Catholic mafia' hindered priest probe, special commission of inquiry into child sex abuse hears :
During 2005-6, Detective Fox also claimed to have written two internal reports calling for a police task force to be established to investigate a possible pedophile ring operating within the Catholic Church in Newcastle and the Hunter Valley
Mississippi : Is An Innocent Man Going To Die?:
A Mississippi death row inmate is just hours from execution as his attorneys urge the state to conduct DNA testing the lawyers say may prove Willie Jerome Manning is innocent.
Man arrested over alleged Minnesota 'local terror plot':
Federal agents in Minnesota say they have foiled a terror plot after arresting a man with pipe bombs, guns and Molotov cocktails in his home. Buford Rogers, 24, was arrested on Friday and faces one charge of being a convict in possession of a weapon.
40 Years in Jail for Landlords Renting to Legal Pot Dispensaries?!:
There's a massive new federal crackdown on legal marijuana sales.
Jon Stewart on the NRA Convention 2013:
Video
Study: 1 in 5 Youth at Risk for Suicide Have a Gun at Home:
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, suicide is the third leading cause of death of people between the ages of 10 and 24.
United States of Insanity: Government gunmen burst into school and spray blanks at teachers in 'mock massacre':
Two masked men wearing hoodies and wielding handguns burst into the Pine Eagle Charter School in this tiny rural community on Friday. Students were at home for an in-service day, so the gunmen headed into a meeting room full of teachers and opened fire.
Va. Boy Suspended for Pointing Pencil Like Gun:
Christopher Marshall apologized for the incident, but the school has a zero tolerance policy when it comes to weapons or threats of weapons. The boy's father is furious.
N.Y. to sue Bank of America, Wells Fargo over alleged violations of mortgage deal:
New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman on Monday threatened to sue Bank of America and Wells Fargo for allegedly failing to help struggling homeowners under the $25 billion national mortgage settlement.
Banks sued for flagrant violations: Video -
New York State Attorney General Eric Schneiderman about why, after a multibillion dollar settlement, banks are still not living up to rules about mortgages and refinancing.
Debt-Repair Firm Charged in First CFPB Criminal Referral;
A debt-settlement company was accused by the U.S. of defrauding more than 1,200 people struggling with credit-card debt, in the first criminal referral from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
The cost of hand-to-mouth living:
A silent, dark underbelly of economic pain is stalking America's current 'recovery'
Young Americans Lack Jobs:
The United States has quietly surpassed much of Europe in the percentage of young adults without jobs. It's not just Europe, either. Over the last 12 years, the United States has gone from having the highest share of employed 25- to 34-year-olds among large, wealthy economies to having among the lowest.
Student debt, job market creating 'generation of wage slavery':
Americans now owe more money on student loans than on credit cards, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York: Students are borrowing twice as much as they did ten years ago (after adjusting for inflation). Lawmakers in Congress have given lenders, including the government, unprecedented collection power.
===
"Let us be peace and joy"
Tom Feeley
| 
