Roberto Abraham Scaruffi

Monday 8 December 2014

UN Reveals Israeli Links With Syrian Rebels

By Barak Ravid

The reports, detail regular contacts held on the border between IDF officers and soldiers and Syrian rebels.


Israel Acts as ISIS' Air Force ... Repeatedly Bombs Syria

By WashingtonsBlog

Why Are We Fighting On the Same Side As Terrorists?


Ukraine Receives New Weapons

By Eric Zuesse

The official announcement of this ceremony said that the new weapons will "help Ukrainian warriors win and liberate the Ukrainian territories from the occupants."


The Rise of German Imperialism and the Phony "Russian Threat"

By James Petras

The "Russian Threat" has become the war cry for cringing vassals - the phony justification for imposing frightful sacrifices to serve their imperial 'padrones' in Berlin and Washington.


Russia Today and the new Information Wars

By Matt Carr

I don't see RT - or any other media outlet for that matter - as the 'voice of truth'.


Release of Six Detainees After Twelve Years Highlights the Historic Evil of Guantánamo

By Glenn Greenwald

One significant reason these six detainees were released today is because Uruguay's President, Jose Mujica, publicly shamed the U.S. into doing so.


Stifling Dissent on the Upper East Side

By Todd E. Pierce

Modern U.S. counterinsurgency doctrine doesn't just target people in faraway lands where the U.S. military is battling some uprising. It also takes aim at Americans whose dissent might undermine those wars.


Another Fabricated Jobs Report

By Paul Craig Roberts

A new aristocracy of wealth has been created along with a militarized police state to defend the aristocracy's interests.


We Are A Society Of Captives

By Chris Hedges

The bodies of the incarcerated poor fuel our system of neo-slavery.


When Fascism Came To America

By digby

... it was wearing a black robe.


Ten Reasons Why I Don't Have a Credit Card

By Ralph Nader

I still do not have a credit card or a signature-based debit card. There are ten relevant reasons for my preferring cash or checks over plastic.

 


   

Hard News
    



Coalition pledges more troops for Iraq:
The US-led coalition fighting Islamic State (IS) militants has pledged to send an additional 1,500 troops to Iraq, a top US commander said on Monday. Lt Gen James Terry who is co-ordinating efforts against IS said the soldiers would be in addition to 3,100 US soldiers already promised.


Iraqi Army Discovers Huge Depots of Israel-Made Weapons, Ammunition:
The Iraqi army has discovered nearly a dozen depots of Israeli-made arms and ammunition in Diyala province, local officials disclosed on Monday.


Syria: Al-Nusra detains 150 Free Syrian Army fighters:
Al-Nusra, which controls most of Idlib province's countryside, has charged the Free Syrian Army fighters of not only attacking their group, but also being involved in alleged corruption.


'Heinous crime': Syria urges UN to sanction Israel over attack on Damascus:
Syrian officials demanded the UN impose sanctions on Israel after Tel Aviv conducted airstrikes near Damascus Airport. They say the attack was a heinous crime against their sovereignty by a country which doesn't hide its policy of supporting terrorism.


Russia Demands Explanation from Israel for 'Aggressive Action' in Syria:
In a letter to the United Nations, Russia denounced Israel's "aggressive action" in Syria this weekend. Russia has demanded an explanation from Israel regarding the air strikes


Syria, Iran condemn Israel over Damascus airstrikes:
Jewish state denounced as being 'in the same trench' as Islamists; Tehran warns warmongering will backfire'


Syria strike said to target advanced air-defense missiles:
The paper also claimed that the relatively small explosions seen during the attacks - there were no reports of injuries - were an indication that the missions failed to destroy their targets.


New Evidence Suggests Israel Is Helping Syrian Rebels in the Golan Heights:
Israel continues to interact with Syrian rebels in the Golan Heights and allow them to cross the border, according to a new UN report


Top Putin aide: Mossad training ISIS terrorists in Iraq, Syria:
A top aide to the Russian president accuses Israel and the US of training the Islamic State in order to undermine Moscow's interests in the Middle East.


Yemen: Woman and child among 13 killed by failed US raid:
Six other people from the same southern Yemen tribe also died, the reports said, although they could not be immediately verified.


Civilians killed in US raid: tribesmen:
"We call on the government in Sanaa to consider the case of seven civilians killed and that of a woman and child who were wounded for reparations," Daghari told AFP.


White House 'Does Not Regret' Botched Raid :
"The president does not at all regret ordering this mission to try to rescue Mr. Somers," White House press secretary Josh Earnest said Monday, adding that it was "apparent" the captors planned to execute the freelance photojournalist within hours.


Family of killed US hostage criticise failed raid:
The British relatives of the US hostage killed by al-Qaeda during a rescue attempt in Yemen criticised the raid on Monday, saying they would have preferred negotiations.


The Appallingly High Number of Unidentified People Killed in America's Drone War:
A new study says that U.S. Drones kill 28 unidentified people for every intended target.


Clashes kill 8 in Libya's Zawiya:
Eight members of the Islamist militant group Libya Dawn were killed on Sunday in clashes against the national army near Zawiya city, according to military sources.


Libya's budget income falls sharply as oil prices plunge:
Libya's budget income fell to around $15 billion in the period from January to November from $45 billion a year before, the central bank said on Monday.


Kenya police admit 'extrajudicial killings':
Officers tell Al Jazeera they are involved in assassination programme targeting suspected Muslim radicals. Britain and the US have provided millions of dollars to Kenya's police, and officers claim Western security agencies know about the killings.


Canada closes Cairo embassy over security fears:
Canada has shut its embassy in Cairo due to "security concerns", a day after the UK closed its own diplomatic mission in the Egyptian capital.


Canada's military police to help Ukraine boost security and defenses:
Canada will send its military police to Ukraine as a part of a security cooperation agreement signed Monday that aims to help the government and security forces to protect the country's territorial integrity.


Purported Islamic State video calls for attacks on Canadians: Video -
 A former university of Ottawa student now a Muslim convert spends six minutes on camera railing against the Canadian government and promising his former countrymen will be "indiscriminately targeted". Vassy Kapelos reports.


Pakistan: 'Key commanders' among 30 rebels killed in raid:
Pakistani airstrikes have killed at least 30 militants including a local warlord's "important commanders" in the country's restive northwest where the military launched a major offensive this year, officials and militant sources said on Monday.


Five killed in Afghanistan as Taliban storm Kandahar police station:
Taliban fighters backed by a suicide bomber attacked a police headquarters in southern Afghanistan on Monday, killing five people as the insurgents step up attacks


Clashes erupt in Pakistan 'shut down' protest:
Supporters of Imran Khan clash with police as they heed his call and attempt to shut down Faisalabad city.


US seeks to overthrow political leadership in Russia - Foreign Ministry:
 "Behind the formally-declared aim to make us alter our position towards Ukraine, [we] see the [US] plan to form social and economic conditions to change leadership in Russia," said Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov.


Russia must face 'consequences' for violating Ukraine's sovereignty, says Merkel:
Russia's actions toward neighboring Ukraine cannot go unpunished, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said in an interview published Sunday by the Welt am Sonntag weekly.


Ukraine says Russia will resume gas flows on December 11:
Ukraine transferred $378 million to Russia's Gazprom on Friday to buy one billion cubic meter (bcm) of Russian gas in December. A Gazprom spokesman said the Russian giant monopoly had received the money from Ukraine and was ready to start pumping gas.


Head of Gazprom: The Role of Ukraine as a Gas Transporter Will Go Down to Zero:
 "Nord Stream" and a Turkey pipeline will make the transit of gas through Ukraine meaningless, announced the head of Gazprom Alexey Miller in an interview to the TV program "Vesti on Saturday with Sergey Brilev": "Yes, in fact, the role of Ukraine as a transit country is reduced to zero," - said Miller.


UNICEF declares 2014 a devastating year for children:
As many as 15 million children are caught up in violent conflicts in the Central African Republic, Iraq, South Sudan, the State of Palestine, Syria and Ukraine - including those internally displaced or living as refugees. Globally, an estimated 230 million children currently live in countries and areas affected by armed conflicts.


US intelligence fears violence, deaths abroad after CIA torture report release:
The 480-page report on Central Intelligence Agency's interrogation techniques after 9/11 is to be to be released next week. The document is a summary of a larger 6,000-page study, which still remains classified.


Bush and C.I.A. Ex-Officials Rebut Torture Report:
A long-awaited Senate report condemning torture by the Central Intelligence Agency has not even been made public yet, but former President George W. Bush's team has decided to link arms with former intelligence officials and challenge its conclusions.


Six men released from Guantanamo, gulag arrive as free men in Uruguay:
Uruguay said it had agreed to received the men - four Syrians, a Tunisian and a Palestinian - as a humanitarian gesture. The six men were detained 12 years ago for alleged ties with al-Qaeda but never charged. President Jose Mujica said they had been subjected to "an atrocious kidnapping".


The NYPD Cop Who Put Eric Garner In A Chokehold Has A History Of Allegedly Violating Black Men's Rights:
This isn't the first time that Pantaleo has been accused of violating the rights of a black man. Three previous lawsuits allege that he and other NYPD officers falsely arrested black men.


Dollar surge endangers global debt edifice, warns BIS:
 Off-shore lending in US dollars has soared to $9 trillion and poses a growing risk to both emerging markets and the world's financial stability, the Bank for International Settlements has warned.


McDonalds Implodes, Reports Worst US Sales In Over A Decade:
 Showing the worst US comp store sales in nearly 12 years at -4.6%, one does wonder if following America's inability to even pay for sub-$1 meals, mass starvation will follow?