Roberto Abraham Scaruffi

Friday 29 May 2015

Op-Ed Articles
  
Patrolling The Hood From (China) Sea To Shining Sea

By Pepe Escobar

This South China Sea exceptionalist adventurism could alarmingly get out of hand.


Pivot Insanity
Why is Obama Goading China?

Mike Whitney

US powerbrokers know that bullying China involves significant risks for themselves and the world.


The US And China Can Avoid A Collision - if the US Gives Up Its Empire

By John Glaser

The problem isn't China's rise, but rather America's insistence on maintaining military and economic dominance right in China's backyard.


US Cries FIFA Foul to Penalise Russia

By Finian Cunningham

The real motive, - has little to do with American authorities stamping out corruption in sporting finances.


'Now, We Have a Democratically Elected Totalitarian Government'

By Arundhati Roy

"How have the other 'developed' countries progressed? Through wars and by colonising and usurping the resources of other countries and societies," she says. "India has no option but to colonise itself."


US Sending Weapons To Iraq To Use Against Weapons US Previously Sent To Iraq

By DS Wright

It's almost like war is a business.


Secularists vs. Suicide Bombers

By Patrick J. Buchanan

Why do all the martyrs seem to be on their side? And why is it our side that, all too often, shows "no will to fight"?


Resurgence of the 'Surge' Myth

By Ray McGovern

Official Washington loves the story - the Iraq War was failing until President George W. Bush bravely ordered a "surge" in 2007 that won the war, but President Obama squandered the victory, requiring a new "surge" now.


The Biggest Crime You've Never Heard Of

By Ian Sinclair

What if our own government has been responsible for genocide-level suffering, without the media raising the alarm and therefore leaving the general public in a state of ignorance?


How NATO Deliberately Destroyed Libya's Water Infrastructure

By Nafeez Mosaddeq Ahmed

Critical water installations bombed - then blamed on Gaddafi.


US Rebukes Israel While Showering it with Arms and Favors

By Jonathan Cook

Just as the White House gears up for another 18 months of humiliation and sabotage from Netanyahu and his government, Obama is showering Israel with gifts, as part of its long-standing "security" doctrine.


GOP Presidential Candidates Go to Israel and Return With Fairy Tales

By Zaid Jilani

Israel is playing a greater role in the Republican presidential race than perhaps ever before.


A New Age Of Revolt And Rebellion
The Implosion of Global Capitalism

By Chris Hedges

Chris Hedges delivers a stark and urgent apprisal of the worldwide catastrophe that's sure to come if the current system isn't confronted and forced to change.


The Coming Crash & The Recession That Never Ended

By Richard Wolff and Thom Hartmann

How the Crash Will Come About.
   
Hard News    


Over 32 ISIL Terrorists Killed in Iraqi Army Operations in Samarra:
Iraqi ArmyThe Iraqi Army raided ISIL's positions in Samarra, in Salahuddin province, which resulted in the killing of at least 32 fighters, the Iraqi Defense Ministry announced.


15 killed in Baghdad hotel bombings:
The double bombing occurred late on Thursday when the bombs went off in the car parks of the Cristal, formerly Sheraton, and Babil hotels. Initial reports said 10 people were killed and 27 wounded, but the casualty figures rose overnight.


Pentagon looking at ways to train and equip Sunni forces faster:
"I think one particular way that's extremely important is to involve the Sunni tribes in the fight. That means training and equipping them. So those are the kinds of things that the team back home is looking at," he during a press briefing en route to Singapore.


Let them eat bombs:
 'Chaotic picture' as funding gap threatens WHO operations in Iraq:
More than 3 million refugees and displaced Iraqis could be denied life-saving healthcare as the World Health Organization (WHO) scrambles to secure $60 million to fund their operations in the country to the end of the year.


Extremist militants kill 31 Syrian forces in captured town:
The extremist militant groups killed as many as 31 Syrian forces in the northwestern town of Ariha, which fell in the hands of the militants on Thursday, a monitor group said Friday.


Syrian insurgents advance in areas around captured town: activists:
The "Army of Fatah" alliance which includes al Qaeda's Syria wing Nusra Front, the Islamist Ahrar al-Sham group and other factions, captured Ariha town Thursday night as the Syrian military pulled back.


Syria's Al-Nusra plans for Damascus take over, removal of Assad:
"The orders from Dr. Ayman al-Zawahiri (current al-Qaida leader) are we should not attack the West from Syria, because it won't help us, and it may complicate the situation," Abu Mohammad al-Golani said Wednesday in a rare interview.


Video purports to show Turkish intelligence shipping arms to Syria:
A Turkish newspaper published video footage on Friday which it said showed security forces discovering weapons parts being sent to Syria on trucks belonging to the MIT state intelligence agency.


Coalition strikes, fighting kill 40 rebels in Yemen's Aden:
Saudi-led coalition strikes against Iran-backed Shiite rebels in Yemen's second city Aden Thursday and ground clashes killed at least 40 Houthis and their allies, the city's deputy governor said.


Houthi rebels kill Sanaa's governor, claim relatives:
Yemen's Houthi rebels, under fire from a Saudi-led coalition, have killed the capital's governor in clashes that erupted during an attempt to detain him, his relatives said on Friday.


Yemen strikes target border, kill two Saudis:
Two Saudi border guards were killed and five wounded by shells fired from Yemeni territories, an Interior Ministry spokesman said yesterday, as the United Nations said the war's death toll was close to 2,000.


Islamic State claims blast killing four at Saudi mosque: -
Islamic State claimed responsibility for a bombing that killed four people at a Shi'ite Muslim mosque in eastern Saudi Arabia on Friday, the second attack claimed by the Sunni militant group in a week in the world's top oil-exporting country.


U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham vows 'violent pushback' to protect Israel in UN:
As the United States awaits his official declaration that he plans to contend for the Republican Party's presidential nomination, Sen. Lindsey Graham came to Israel to reinforce his relations with the new government.


UN considers leaving Israel off child's rights violators list, would compare IDF to Boko Haram :
At issue is an annex to the report, which would place Israel on a list with terror organizations and states that are considered to be among the world's worst human rights abusers.


Netanyahu: Effort to hurt Israel will destroy FIFA:
Prime minister warns global soccer organization and Blatter that Israel would resist Palestinians' suspension proposal 'unequivocally'.


Palestine drops motion to suspend Israel from FIFA:
The motion had been included on the agenda at the FIFA Congress but PFA president Jibril Rajoub said he had been persuaded to back down. "I decided to drop the suspension but it does not mean that I give up the resistance," he said.


Who the Jewish Billionaires Are Backing for 2016:
A quick look at the list of top political donors for 2014 reveals a striking fact: At least a third of the most generous 50 mega-givers were Jewish. In fact, contributions from Jewish billionaires and multi-millionaires dominated the top 10 spots on the list.


Boko Haram clash kills 37: army:
A clash between Chad's army and Boko Haram on a Lake Chad island has killed four soldiers and 33 Islamists, a military spokesman said Friday.


Borno: 10 killed, several others injured after suicide bomber blows herself up:
A wedding at Tashan Alade in Hawul local government area of Borno state on Friday turned bloody when a female suicide bomber was detonated a bomb, killing herself and 10 other guests.


U.S. ready to send military trainers to Nigeria in Boko Haram fight:
The United States is prepared to send military trainers to Nigeria to help new President Muhammadu Buhari's armed forces improve their intelligence gathering and logistics, a senior State Department official said on Friday.


IS seizes control of airport in Libya`s Sirte: Tripoli govt:
The Islamic State jihadist group has seized control of the airport in the city of Sirte after forces of a Tripoli-based Libyan government withdrew, a spokesman said Friday.


Libya PM Thinni escapes assassination attempt: Spokesman:
"The prime minister's car was hit by bullets when armed men opened fire as it was leaving an area where a session of parliament was held" in the eastern city of Tobruk, Hatem El Ouraybi told AFP.


Pakistan: 7 Killed in Gun Battle:
At least two soldiers and five militants were killed today in a gun battle in Pakistan's northwestern tribal region near the Afghan border, an official said.


Majority of US Citizens Support Drone Murders Conducted Abroad - Poll:
Close to 60 percent of US citizens are in favor of Washington conducting drone strikes against terrorists in foreign countries such as Yemen, Pakistan and Somalia, a poll from Pew Research Center found.


US takes dangerous gamble in S.China Sea :
Some Chinese scholars hold that the US is merely flying a kite. It's testing China's determination and strategy to counterstrike US provocation. It's probable that the US military and diplomatic circles haven't yet reached a consensus. Washington will make the decision after assessing China's reaction.


U.S. says China has placed mobile artillery on reclaimed island:
The United States said on Friday that China had placed mobile artillery weapons systems on a reclaimed island in the disputed South China Sea, a development that Republican Sen. John McCain called "disturbing and escalatory."


China castigates Abe over latest military comments:
Japanese leaders should act in a way that is more conducive to regional peace and stability, a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson said on Friday, after Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe indicated possible support for foreign forces in the South China Sea.


Putin concerned over shelling of civilian facilities by Ukrainian servicemen:
"The Russian side stressed its concern in connection with more frequent incidents of shelling by the Ukrainian army of civilian facilities that resulted in deaths of civilians," Kremlin reported


NATO Breaks Treaty to Establish Permanent Forces in Baltic:
 NATO is set to break a 1997 treaty it signed with Russia by establishing permanent forces in Latvia, as it piles in more troops to the Baltic States.


US embassy in Estonia spying on locals with consent from Tallinn - report:
The Estonian Postimees media outlet reported on Friday that a team of five spooks have been tracking ordinary people passing by within several hundred meters from the American embassy in Tallinn.


Belgium launches investigation into German and US spying:
Belgian media said Friday Germany's BND intelligence agency and the U.S. National Security Agency (NSA) had intercepted communications from Belgium and other countries.


UN report: Encryption crucial for human rights:
"Encryption and anonymity enable individuals to exercise their rights to freedom of opinion and expression in the digital age and, as such, deserve strong protection," says the report, from the UN's Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights.


NSA's Mass Surveillance Started By 1999 Or Earlier:
Diane Roark - the congressional staffer in charge of overseeing the NSA for the Republicans on the House Intelligence Committee - says that NSA's mass surveillance started by 1999 or earlier ... but NSA hid it from Congress:


Assange on the Untold Story of the Grounding of Evo Morales' Plane During Edward Snowden Manhunt:
During the U.S. hunt for Snowden, Bolivian President Evo Morales's plan was forced to land in Austria for 14 hours after Spain, France, Portugal and Italy closed their airspace under pressure from the United States over false rumors Snowden was on board


New Evidence Shows Police Did Massacre 42 in Michoacan, Mexico:
Cuevas accounts suggest there were no illegal activities going on at the ranch and that the people working there were executed and not killed during a shootout as federal police had reported.


A drug war made in Mexico?
US drug policy has spelt nothing but trouble for Mexico.


Planned new U.S. Embassy in Mexico a "fiasco":
Cost overruns in Afghanistan are over $150 million, and the new embassy in London could top $1 billion. It is an embassy that was supposed to cost $577 million to build, but the construction estimate has gone up by one third -- and the State Department hasn't even broken ground yet.


Corruption is leading indicator for political unrest, study finds:
Corruption is a leading indicator for political instability and 64 countries where fraud and bribery are widespread risk falling into violent upheaval, a global think tank said in a new report.


Former US House Speaker Dennis Hastert indicted on federal charges:
The Illinois Republican, who left office in 2007, was charged with structuring the withdrawal of $952,000 in cash in order to evade the requirement that banks report cash transactions over $10,000, and lying to the FBI about his withdrawals, the U.S. Attorney's Office said in a statement.


U.S. Households Under Pressure: Stagnant Incomes, Rising Basic Expenses: News Analysis -
How do you support a consumer economy with stagnant incomes for the bottom 90%, rising basic expenses and crashing employment for males ages 25-54? Answer: you don't.


Privacy concerns over facial recognition test program:
For the next three months, U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents will test facial recognition technology, but CBS News correspondent Kris Van Cleave says the trial has some people worried that anonymity could become a thing of the past.


Why did the US Army ship live anthrax?:
Live samples of one of the deadliest biological warfare agents were sent in FedEx packages all over the United States.