Hard News
280 people killed as Malaysian jet 'shot down' in Ukraine:
The Boeing 777, flying from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur, was brought down by a buk ground-to-air missle, an interior ministry adviser said. "280 passengers and 15 crew members have been killed,"
Putin Says Ukraine 'Bears Responsibility' for Malaysia Flight Jet Crash:
Russian President Vladimir Putin Thursday blamed the Ukrainian government for the crash of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17, saying the state bears some responsibility for fighting that may have led to the jet's apparent downing by a surface-to-air missile.
22 bodies counted at Ukraine plane crash site:
As plumes of black smoke rose up near a rebel-held village of Hrabovo, an Associated Press journalist counted at least 22 bodies at the wreckage site 40 kilometers (25 miles) from the Russian border.
As it happened: Malaysian plane crash in Ukraine: Video -
A scene from hell.
Watch: MH17 wreckage of Malaysia Airlines crash:
Video -
Reports that Putin flew similar route as MH17,:
"I can say that Putin's plane and the Malaysian Boeing intersected at the same point and the same echelon. - The presidential jet was there at 16:21 Moscow time and the Malaysian aircraft - 15:44 Moscow time," a source told the news agency on condition of anonymity.
Ukraine alleges: Air Force jet shot down by air-to-air missile from Russian plane; rebels hit 2nd jet:
A Ukrainian fighter jet was shot down by an air-to-air missile from a Russian plane and Ukrainian troops were fired upon by missiles from a village inside Russia, a spokesman for Ukraine's Security Council said Thursday.
Kiev deployed powerful surface-to-air missile systems to E. Ukraine ahead of the Malaysian plane crash - reports:
The Ukrainian military reportedly deployed a battery of Buk surface-to-air missile systems, capable of bringing down high-flying jets, to the Donetsk region the day before the Malaysian passenger plane crashed in the area.
More Ukrainian soldiers killed as fighting rages in east, peace move flops:
Ukraine's military said 11 more troops were killed in the space of 24 hours, mostly in clashes near the frontier.
Ukraine rebels reclaim village on Russian border:
Rebels said they retook a village near the Russian border from government forces Wednesday as both sides pressed to claim territory in eastern Ukraine. Sergei Kavtaradze, a spokesman for separatists in Donetsk, said one rebel militiaman was killed and 15 others injured in fighting in the village of Marinivka.
Russia's Putin Says U.S. Sanctions Are Leading to 'Dead End':
"As a rule, a sanctions regime has a boomerang effect, and without doubt, in this case, leads Russian-American relations to a dead end," Putin told reporters in Brasilia after taking part in a summit of emerging market powers. "They will hurt the national, long-term strategic interests of the American state and the American people."
Russia: US sanctions revenge for Ukrainian failure, Moscow may retaliate:
"The outrageous and groundless desire to blame Russia for the civil war in a neighboring country, which was caused by a deep internal crisis and already resulted in the loss of many lives, proves that the US and its clients in Kiev have failed to pacify the wide public dissent," the ministry said.
Putin denies Russia to reopen Soviet-era spy post in Cuba:
Speaking from Brasilia, the latest stop on a Latin American tour and site of a summit of BRICS emerging market leaders, Putin denied the report and said Russia had no plans to resume the Lourdes signals intelligence facility.
Gaza Invasion: Inside Israel's Ground Operation: Video -
Chertoff Group CEO Chad Sweet and Strategas Research Partners' Jason Trennert discuss the crash of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 and the Israeli ground invasion of Gaza with Trish Regan on "Street Smart." (Source: Bloomberg)
CBS: U.S. Foreign Policy Spiraling Out Of Control : Video: "
We Are In A Very Dangerous Time"
10 killed, including 7 children, in Israeli attacks on Gaza:
Ten Palestinians including three children from the same family were killed and many others were injured in renewed Israeli airstrikes on the Gaza Strip on Thursday. The deaths brought the total number of Palestinians killed in 10 days of hostilities to over 240 and at least 1,770 injured.
US State Department blames Hamas for Israel's murder of Gaza children:
The US State Department absolved Israel of responsibility for the murder of four Palestinian children in Gaza on Wednesday, placing the blame squarely on Hamas.
Israeli strike kills three children playing on Gaza roof:
Brothers Jihad and Wissam were playing on the roof of their Gaza apartment with their cousin Fulla, when an Israeli strike came from the blue skies above and killed them.
Israel orders ground offensive in Gaza:
"We are moving from Iron Dome to an iron fist," Bennett said, referring to an anti-missile system that has intercepted many of the rockets in 10 days of warfare.
Israeli tanks shelling Gaza rehab hospital: director:
Israeli tanks are shelling Gaza's Al-Wafa hospital, whose 14 patients include some who are paralysed or in a coma, and several people have been hurt, the facility's director said Thursday.
Israeli defense expert says Israel vastly inflating Hamas rockets:
Prize-winning Israeli defense expert says numbers inflated by as much as 90%, Israel says Hamas makes sophisticated long-range rockets in Gaza.
Wave of protests worldwide demand end to Gaza slaughter: Video -
Rallies in support of the Palestinian victims of Israel's military onslaught were held across the world's major cities this week. Thousands marched in France, Germany, Argentina, the US, the UK and other countries.
'Israel attacks are collective punishment!' Nick Clegg slams Gaza op:
?Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg has lashed out at the Gaza military operation, urging Israel to cease its offensive
Senate panel approves another $350 million in Iron Dome funding:
The defense subcommittee of the Senate Appropriations Committee on Tuesday approved the $620 million missile defense package for Israel, which includes $350 million for Iron Dome, a short-range missile interceptor that is being credited with keeping Israelis safe during the current Israel-Gaza conflict.
US kills 20 people in N. Pakistan:
According to state television Pakistan Television (PTV), the unmanned aircraft targeted a house and a vehicle in Dattakhel area and fired four missiles in the latest attack killing twenty people.
US sentences Britons for supporting Taliban:
Connecticut judge sentences two men for providing material to support the Taliban through print and online publications
Ninety killed by Islamist attack on Syrian gas field -monitor:
Militant group Islamic State seized a Syrian gas field and killed at least 90 people on Thursday in one of the bloodiest clashes between the al Qaeda offshoot and President Bashar al-Assad's forces, a monitoring group said.
Syria Kurds impose military service amid civil war:
Sweeping successes by Islamic State in conquering territory are worrying Kurdish defensive forces
Pentagon Asks for $500M to Train "Rebels" To Kill Syrians:
Top Pentagon officials argued Wednesday for $500 million to train "moderate" Syrian rebels along with $53.4 billion in Afghan war funding at a Congressional hearing.
11 killed in two Iraq bomb attacks:
At least 11 people have been killed in two bomb attacks in and outside the Iraqi capital, Baghdad, as Takfiri ISIL militants continue targeting civilian areas in the country
Australian kills three in Iraq bombing - reports:
The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIS) claims a man named Abu Bakr al-Australi set off an explosive vest at a Shiite mosque in the city, with more than 90 people injured.
14 Tunisian soldiers killed in attack near Algerian border:
At least 14 Tunisian soldiers have been killed in a militant attack near the Algerian border with at least 20 others wounded, the defence ministry says. They say gunmen, armed with rocket-propelled grenades and rifles, raided two checkpoints near Mount Chaambi
2 people killed in Somalia attacks:
At least two people have been killed in Somalia in separate attacks, including a car bombing in the capital Mogadishu, officials and witnesses said on Thursday.
Libya asks UN Security Council for help protecting oil, airports:
Libya asked the U.N. Security Council on Thursday for help protecting its oil installations, oil export ports and civil airports, warning that without more international assistance the North African oil producer could become a failed state.
14 peopler killed across Pakistan:
Nine of them are militants killed in northeast #Pakistan and others are civil people in northwest of the country
Afghanistan: 4 Militants Killed After Attack On Kabul Airport:
Militants armed with rocket-propelled grenades attacked Kabul Airport in the Afghan capital on Thursday in one of the most audacious assaults on the facility, used by both civilians and the military.
Why Julian Assanage Won't Ever Get A Fair Trial In The USA:
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Edward Snowden should not face trial, says UN human rights commissioner:
The United Nations's top human rights official has suggested that the United States should abandon its efforts to prosecute Edward Snowden, saying his revelations of massive state surveillance had been in the public interest.
'Snowden should be praised, not prosecuted' - UN rights watchdog:
"Those who disclose human rights violations should be protected: we need them," Commissioner Navi Pillay told reporters on Wednesday. "I see some of it here in the case of Snowden, because his revelations go to the core of what we are saying about the need for transparency, the need for consultation," she said.
Guantánamo judge's secret order on secret motion is so secret defense lawyers can't see it:
Only the prosecutors know what the war court judge has ordered, but they won't discuss it because it's a secret.
The UK Ministry of Defence Says Life in 2045 Will Be Unequal and Violent:
The major changes we can expect to see: an increase in population of three billion, scarcity of resources, increased vulnerability of overpopulated cities, and so forth. "Inequality will endure, and the world will remain fraught with conflict and complexity,".
Ban neonicotinoids now - to avert another silent spring:
This pesticide is destroying life across the natural world: the evidence cannot be denied. Only a global moratorium will stop it
'The Collapse of Western Civilization' - A View From The Year 2393:
What is science fiction today will someday be the history of real, live people - billions of them.
Irish gov confirms 2,000 babies illegally sent to US for adoption:
The Irish government has confirmed that the remains of almost 500 "unclaimed" infants were used for medical examinations and nearly 2,000 were put up for adoption in the United States.
Protesters carry AR rifles, flags in march against Central American teens coming to Vassar:
More than 50 people from across Michigan turned out to protest the possibility that a Vassar facility could house Central American children and teens who have fled into the country.
Good News:
Judge rules against California death penalty:
California death penalty ruled unconstitutional by a US federal judge and described as "dysfunctional".
Microsoft Announces Biggest Layoff in Company History:
The software giant said it would cut 18,000 jobs within the next year - about 14% of the company's 125,000 employees. That's by far the largest round of layoffs in the company's history.
"Let us be peace and joy"
Tom Feeley
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