Roberto Abraham Scaruffi

Friday 20 March 2015

Op-Ed Articles
 
The CIA Just Declassified the Document That Supposedly Justified the Iraq Invasion

By Jason Leopold

For the first time, the public can now read the hastily drafted CIA document that led Congress to pass a joint resolution authorizing the use of military force in Iraq.


US Threatened Germany Over Snowden, Vice Chancellor Says

By Glenn Greenwald

The U.S. government threatened to cease sharing intelligence with Germany if Berlin offered asylum to NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden.


Canadian Minister: Chris Alexander Delivers a Troubling Speech on Ukraine

Video and Transcript

Vladimir Putin is behaving like a terrorist.


The Middle East Oil/Nuclear Puzzle

By Pepe Escobar

Loud applause may be heard in corridors ranging from Tel Aviv to Riyadh.


Netanyahu Unmasks Israel

By Robert Parry

For years, U.S. politicians have rejected allegations of Israeli racism and excused mistreatment of the Palestinians as a temporary necessity that would be fixed by a two-state solution. But Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu has destroyed those arguments in his panic to keep his job.


Netanyahu's Win Is Good for Palestine

By YOUSEF MUNAYYER

Mr. Netanyahu's re-election has convincingly proved that trusting Israeli voters with the fate of Palestinian rights is disastrous and immoral.


Netanyahu's Victory: Now What President Obama?

By Alan Hart

Obama now as only two options.


New York Times Published Piece About Netanyahu's Racism, Then ewrote All Of It

By Ben Norton

The New York Times, is notorious for its pro-Israel slant. It scarcely hides it. And even when it tries, it's found out.


The New American Order

By Tom Engelhardt

A new culture, a new kind of politics, a new kind of governance is being born right before our eyes.


It's What Jesus Would Do, Right?

By Raúl Ilargi Meijer

My problem is, I don't want to live in this kind of world. It doesn't just degrade Greece's, and San Francisco's, and the world's, poor, it degrades me too.
   
      

Hard News
    



Middle East

Airstrikes kill 3 ISIL leaders in Iraq:
The Iraqi Ministry of Defense said Thursday that US-led coalition airstikes hit ISIL targets in Fallujah and Anbar province, killing three field commanders of the militant group.


Show us the evidence:
Kerry: US disturbed by reports of chlorine attack in Syria:
We are looking very closely into this matter and considering next steps," he said. "While we cannot yet confirm details, if true, this would be only the latest tragic example of the Assad regime's atrocities against the Syrian people"


Some U.S. allies may send troops to Syria with trainees: Army chief:
Odierno said the allies would be cautious about where the troops were inserted and what operations they initially undertook.


White House: We Don't Need New Authorization to Use Military Force to Fight ISIS :
 A new AUMF would allow the US to fight ISIS and any "associated forces" partnering with the group or any "closely-related successor entity." It does not establish any geographical boundaries, nor does it fully prevent the use of ground troops, such as Special Forces.


Ramzy Baroud: 'Islamic State' as a Western Phenomenon: Op-Ed:
Reimagining the IS Debate: there is a stubborn insistence on using IS as a springboard for more interventionism in the Middle East, thus feeding the cycle of violence, without confronting its roots.


6 killed in clashes at Yemen airport:
 At least six people were killed and dozens wounded Thursday in fierce clashes in and around the airport in Aden, a port city in Yemen, officials said.
Other Stories Supporters of President Abdu Rabu Mansour Hadi were fighting with rebel special forces, according to local officials.


Yemen president evacuated as airstrikes target palace:
Unidentified warplanes attack residence in southern city of Aden, forcing President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi to flee.


U.S. says to impose more sanctions if no Iran nuclear deal:
The Obama administration will work with Congress to impose further sanctions on Iran if a nuclear deal is not reached, a senior U.S. Treasury official said on Thursday, just weeks before a deadline for a political accord.


As an Israeli, I am ashamed that my prime minister is a racist: Op-Ed:
This week, we saw how things really work. How our prime minister really thinks. What he's willing to do, how far he's willing to go, how many of us he's willing to sell out, slander, abuse, for the sake of hanging on to the thing that matters to him more than anything: his job.


Spitting in the face of Israel's Arab citizens: Op-Ed:
 Nearly one quarter of Israeli voters cast their ballots for a prime minister whose central message to the public on election day was that Arab citizens of Israel are the enemy.


Obama criticises Netanyahu's 'divisive rhetoric':
"Many people are saying that it's a kind of threat to the prime minister." "They're saying that the US could go to the UN security council, or not block action against Israel in the International Criminal Court."


Propaganda?
 U.S. support for Israel at the U.N. is in jeopardy, White House says:
Netanyahu's comments about Arabs voting "made people recoil." Obama in particular found the comments disturbing, a second senior official said.


U.S. Could Back UN Resolution on Palestine, White House Official Says: Op-Ed:
The Obama administration might be open to lending its support to the UN Security Council's resolution that would define the principle for a two-state solution as based on Israel's 1967 borders.


UK: Deputy Prime Minister : Time to back Palestine state:
Nick Clegg suggested that unless the Israeli leader backed down the UK should follow through on an indicative vote by MPs last October and formally recognise Palestine.


World reacts to Israel's choice of Netanyahu for a fourth term :
Canada's Prime Minister Stephen Harper tweeted that Canada is looking forward to working with the Israeli government, once it is formed. "Israel has no greater friend than Canada," Harper tweeted.


Spy cables expose Mossad South Africa operations. :
"It is a known modus operandi of the Mossad to utilise the Jewish community around the world ... in its intelligence activities. The contact between [agent] and these members of the South Africa Jewish community can be an indication that the Mossad utilised them in its covert collection activities."


Saudi Arabia to stop issuing visas to Swedes after criticism:
The official said the decision is in response to Swedish Foreign Minister Margot Wallstrom's recent criticism of Saudi Arabia's record on human and women's rights.


Africa


Boko Haram recaptures Gamboru, kills 20 in raid:
There are indications that terrorist group, Boko Haram, have retaken Gamboru Ngala, Borno State, where they were recently pushed out by Chadian troops.


Boko Haram 'slaughter wives' in NE Nigeria: witnesses:
Dozens of Nigerian women who were forced to marry Boko Haram fighters were reportedly slaughtered by their "husbands" before a battle with troops in the northeast town of Bama, multiple witnesses said Thursday.


Boko Haram 'driven out' of northeastern Nigerian town:
Niger and Chad troops liberate Damasak as regional campaign moves ahead to take control of territories from armed group.


Islamic State claims deadly museum attack in Tunisia:
It praised the two attackers whom the recording said were "knights of the Islamic State" who were armed with machineguns and bombs.


Asia


Pakistan: 44 "militants" killed in Tirah:
Forty-four militants were killed and several others sustained injuries when Pakistan Air Force (PAF) fighter aircraft pounded their hideouts in the Tirah Valley of Khyber Agency on Wednesday, official sources said.


11 Afghan Taliban killed in 24 hours:
"A total of 11 armed Taliban rebels have been killed during operations which conducted in Kunar, Kandahar, Uruzgan, Logar, Ghazni, Herat, Farah and Helmand provinces over the past 24 hours," the statement said.


U.S. kills 3 people on Afghan-Pakistan border:
A U.S. drone strike killed a "Pakistani Taliban leader" and two others on the Afghanistan-Pakistan border, the Taliban said on Thursday, in the latest attack by an unmanned aircraft targeting the Afghan bases of Pakistani Taliban leaders.


Afghan police chief killed by Taliban suicide bomber:
Fighting the Taliban made Matiullah Khan a millionaire - but this week, it also cost him his life, when a suicide bomber dressed in a burqa assassinated him in Kabul.


Afghan woman killed for burning Koran:
Afghanistan police say a mob of thousands of people have beaten a woman to death after she apparently burned a copy of the Koran.


"Under The Dome" Documentary on China's Pollution Video -
Chai Jing's groundbreaking documentary on China's Pollution


Europe


Putin signs treaty integrating South Ossetia into Russia:
Under the agreement signed Wednesday in the Kremlin, South Ossetia's military and economy are to be incorporated into Russia's. The treaty also promises to make it easier for South Ossetians to get Russian citizenship, and to raise salaries for civil servants and state pensions.


Russian treaty with South Ossetia breaks international law: NATO:
"This so-called treaty is yet another move by the Russian Federation that hampers ongoing efforts by the international community to strengthen security and stability in the region," Stoltenberg said in a statement, adding that NATO did not recognize the treaty.


US to train special police forces in Ukraine:
Arsen Avakov, head of the Ukrainian Ministry of Internal Affairs (MVD) announced that Kiev is working with Washington to create a unified special police force analogous to American SWAT teams. Following its American counterpart, KORD will consist of "assault teams" that execute high-risk police actions with a 15-to-20-minute response time.


British military begin training Ukrainian army - media:
A group of 35 trainers of British military personnel have already begun training members of the Ukrainian army fighting pro-Russian rebels, the BBC learned.


Deadlock over Greek debt crisis could play into Russia's hands:
Greece's battle to stay solvent and in the eurozone is becoming a game of dangerous brinkmanship. Beyond the war of words between Athens and Berlin, the dark arts of diplomacy are also being played.


Americas


Brazil: Ex-Wife Insists Nisman Was Killed over Misappropriated Money :
Nisman's former wife, Sandra Arroyo Salgado, has attempted to pin Nisman's death on Diego Lagomarsino, a computer technician hired by Nisman to work on the case. According to Arroyo, Lagomarsino killed Nisman over money issues


Bolivia: A Country That Dared to Exist :
The movement toward decolonization in the Andes is as old as colonialism itself, but the process has taken a novel turn with the administration of Morales, Bolivia's first indigenous president.


Hundreds Arrested in Mexican Rural Laborers Protest
The workers, who are demanding a salary of US$20 per day, say contractors are currently paying them less than US$10.


Obama set to veto any cuts to Pentagon war machine:
The Obama administration is prepared to veto any cuts to the 2016 Pentagon budget, Defense Secretary Ashton Carter told the House Armed Services Committee in testimony Wednesday.


CBS Reports Over $200 Million Donated By Foreign Govts & NGOs To Clinton Foundation: Video -


Can you S.P.O.T. a terrorist? : Video -
The TSA thinks it can spot a terrorist from our involuntary facial expressions.


Some Northern California Farmers Not Planting This Year:
Will Sell Water To Los Angeles At $700 Per Acre Foot: