| Hard News
Death toll after Lebanon blasts climbs to 45, wounds 358 - report:
At
least 45 people were killed and hundreds more wounded after two
explosions hit Lebanon's northern city of Tripoli on Friday.
Israel strikes Lebanon after rocket attack:
The
raid, which the Lebanese army said caused no casualties or damage,
nonetheless drew condemnation from the Lebanese government as a
violation of its sovereignty after it had vowed to hunt down the
perpetrators of Thursday's rocket fire.
Peace with Israel would end Palestinian land claims, says Mahmoud Abbas:
Palestinian president makes apparent move to reassure Israelis after expressing frustration at talks' lack of progress
Abbas: We'll renounce claims to Jaffa, Haifa for peace:
If
offered a just agreement, the Palestinian Authority would agree to a
final end to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and "will not demand in
the future to return to Jaffa, Acre or Haifa," Palestinian Authority
President Mahmoud Abbas told a group of left-wing MKs who visited his
Ramallah office on Thursday.
PA official says US team not taking part in negotiations as promised:
Abed
Rabbo was quoted by official Palestinian news agency WAFA as saying
that the the Americans had not participated in the talks because of "an
Israeli stance and demand," adding that "this is one sign of how and
where the talks are heading if the US is not able now to assert itself
in the peace process."
Israel forced to apologise to Japan over offensive Hiroshima comments:
"I
am sick of the Japanese, 'Human Rights' and 'Peace' groups the world
over holding their annual self-righteous commemorations for the
Hiroshima and Nagasaki victims," Seaman wrote on his Facebook page.
"Hiroshima and Nagasaki were the consequence of Japanese aggression.
You reap what you sow."
Suicide bombing in park, attacks kill 36 in Iraq:
A
suicide bomber attacked a park in northern Baghdad crowded by cafe-
and restaurant-goers Friday night, the bloodiest attack in a day of
violence that killed at least 36 people across the country, authorities
said.
Materials implicating Syrian govt in chemical attack prepared before incident - Russia:
The
Damascus chemical attack accusations indicate the launch of "another
anti-Syrian propaganda wave" and, in this context, the calls on the UN
Security Council to immediately use force in Syria "heard from some EU
capitals" are "unacceptable", Lukashevich said.
U.N. Blocking Its Own Chemical Weapons Investigation In Syria:
Kevin
Kennedy, a retired U.S. Marine colonel who heads the U.N. Department
of Safety and Security, told a small group of reporters at U.N.
headquarters on Friday that he hasn't given the inspection team a green
light to visit the site of the supposed attacks. His office is still
carrying out a security assessment to see if it is safe enough to go.
Israel says world paying 'lip service' to alleged Syria gas attacks:
Israel
said on Thursday it believed Syrian forces had used chemical weapons
in the killing of hundreds of people in the rebel-held suburbs of
Damascus, and it accused the world of turning a blind eye to such
attacks.
Assad regime responsible for Syrian chemical attack, says UK government:
Chance of Damascus killings being opposition conspiracy 'vanishingly small' says William Hague
Syrian rebels preventing probe into alleged chemical attack - Russian FM:
"It is directly preventing an objective investigation into the possible use of chemical weapons in Syria."
Syrian activists smuggle 'proof' of chemical attack to UN:
Syrian
activists are smuggling body tissue samples from victims of the
alleged chemical massacre to UN inspectors staying in a nearby hotel.
Galloway: Israel Gave Al Qaeda Chemical Weapons: Video -
The
Respect Party MP for Bradford West claimed that Israel had given rebel
groups affiliated with Al Qaeda chemical weapons for use against
Syrian civilians.
Brzezinski: Saudi Arabia, Qatar, their western allies orchestrated Syria crisis:
"In
late 2011 there are outbreaks in Syria produced by a drought and
abetted by two well-known autocracies in the Middle East: Qatar and
Saudi Arabia," Zbigniew Brzezinski said in an interview with The
National Interest
Egypt army says 78 militants killed in Sinai, 203 arrested: -
Raids
in the Egyptian Sinai by combined security and armed forces have so
far led to the killing of 78 militants and the arrest of 203 people,
accused of being behind attacks on vital installations and state forces
themselves in northern Al-Arish.
Egypt's bruised Brotherhood fails to show street power:
Mass
protests called by Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood mostly failed to
materialise on Friday as the movement reeled from a bloody army
crackdown on followers of ousted President Mohamed Morsi.
Anti-coup protesters march in Cairo:
Thousands
of Egyptians protesting against military rule have gathered in several
areas of Cairo after Friday prayers, despite tight security. Security
and military forces deployed around the capital, closing off traffic in
some major thoroughfares and in the city centre.
Egyptians rally in DC for General Sisi, rattling off conspiracy theories recycled from Islamophobes:
After
explaining to me that the hundreds of supporters of deposed President
Mohamed Morsi killed by Egyptian security forces in the past week were
actually shot in the back by Muslim Brotherhood gangs that also use
children for human shields (like Hamas in Gaza, I was told)
Suicide bomb kills two soldiers in Yemen: military:
A
suicide bombing killed two soldiers and wounded six others in eastern
Yemen on Friday, a military official said, blaming Al-Qaeda militants
for the attack.
2 US-led occupation force soldiers killed in E Afghanistan:
Two
foreign soldiers serving with the US-led International Security
Assistance Force (ISAF) have been killed by an improvised explosive
device (IED) explosion in the troubled eastern Afghanistan, the Western
military alliance says.
U.S. soldier who killed 16 Afghans gets life:
An
American soldier was sentenced on Friday to life in prison without the
possibility of parole for killing 16 Afghan civilians on their family
compounds in a nighttime rampage last year.
Libyan army colonel gunned down in Benghazi: security:
Gunmen
killed a Libyan army colonel in a drive-by shooting on Friday after he
left a mosque in the eastern city of Benghazi, a security source told
AFP.
NSA paid millions to cover Prism compliance costs for tech companies:
Top-secret files show first evidence of financial relationship - Prism companies include Google and Yahoo, says NSA
Police say Miranda material was 'highly sensitive':
"That
which has been inspected contains, in view of police, highly sensitive
material the disclosure of which would be gravely injurious to public
safety and thus the police have initiated a criminal investigation,"
Jonathan Laidlaw said.
Exclusive: UK's secret Mid-East internet surveillance base is revealed in Edward Snowden leaks:
Britain
runs a secret internet-monitoring station in the Middle East to
intercept and process vast quantities of emails, telephone calls and
web traffic on behalf of Western intelligence agencies, The Independent
has learnt.
Obama administration ordered to stop surveillance of innocent Americans:
The
Obama administration has given up more of its surveillance secrets,
acknowledging that it was ordered to stop scooping up thousands of
internet communications from Americans with no connection to terrorism.
Spying Scandal Engulfs Other U.S. Agencies:
A
former prosecutor believes he and his colleagues may have been
unwitting pawns in the federal government's effort to deceive
defendants and the court system, thereby violating citizens'
constitutional rights.
WATCH: Full Extended Interview With Manning's Attorney After 35-Year Sentence:
Watch
the complete interview conducted Wednesday by independent journalist
Alexa O'Brien with Pfc. Bradley Manning's attorney, David Coombs-his
first time speaking to the media after Manning was sentenced to 35
years in prison,
Fukushima leak is 'much worse than we were led to believe':
A
nuclear expert has told the BBC that he believes the current water
leaks at Fukushima are much worse than the authorities have stated. -
He says water is leaking out all over the site and there are no
accurate figures for radiation levels.
Fukushima facts that you have not been told about:
"As
far as Fukushima goes, the only thing that matters now is if world
leaders and experts join forces to help fix this situation. Regardless
of what agendas they are trying to protect or hide, how much it will
cost, the effect on Japan or the world's economy, or what political
chains this will yank.The nuclear industry needs to come clean."
Fort Hood shooter found guilty on all counts, qualifies for death penalty:
Maj.
Hasan, 42, was found guilty by a military jury on Friday for the 13
murders he committed during an outburst almost four years ago.
Additionally, a panel of the Army psychiatrist's peers also elected to
convict him on each of the 32 counts of attempted murder he was up
against as well.
Dzhokhar Tsarnaev's wounds contradict original police arrest version:
Initial
reports stated that police fired at Tsarnaev using rubber bullets
(which is debunked through the audio of the video below), however once
photos of the boat riddled with bullet holes emerged, police retracted
that story replacing it with allegations that Tsarnaev was armed and
firing at police.
US gun culture is 'corrupting the world,' Australia ex-deputy PM says after Okla. slaying:
Furious
at the killing of an Australian college baseball player in Oklahoma, a
senior figure in the victim's home country blamed the "gun culture" of
United States for the death, saying it was "corrupting the world."
NYC Council overturns Bloomberg's veto on 'stop-and-frisk':
The
End Discriminatory Profiling Act, passed by a vote of 34-15,
establishes an enforceable ban on profiling and discrimination by the
NYPD and broadens the categories of communities protected to include
age, gender, gender identity and expression, sexual orientation,
immigration status, disability, and housing status, in addition to race,
ethnicity, religion, and national origin.
US income has declined by 7.2% since 2000: Report:
Current
US median household income is 6.1 percent below the $55,480 that the
median household took in when the recession began in December 2007.
===
"Let us be peace and joy"
Tom Feeley
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