Month: May 2010

Refusing to take yes for an answer, US obtains votes from the other permanent security council members for Iranian sanctions: US Answer to Iran Nuclear Swap: Overnight Deal on Sanctions (Christian Science Monitor) “[H]e was most definitely tortured and Canada … ‘in a sneaky and illegal fashion, participated in the abuse’”: Robert Fisk: Silenced for…

A “policy of neither confirming nor denying that Israel even possesses nuclear weapons has allowed the U.S. to deliver the lion’s share of its foreign assistance budget to Israel, despite clear legal prohibitions imposed by the Glenn and Symington amendments to the Foreign Assistance Act: Declassified GAO Report Exposes Fatally Flawed Israel Investigations (Antiwar) “The…

Although the agreement still must be approved by the IAEA, the principles of the deal are very similar to the US offer except Iran will exchange nuclear material directly for medical fuel rods with Turkey: Iran Agrees Nuclear Swap with Turkey (Guardian) At the center of the largest US led military operation in Afghanistan, a farmer complains,…

“Now Palestinians are looking at the success of their boycott as evidence that a campaign focused on peaceful protest, rather than violent struggle, could finally yield results”: Palestinians Turn to Boycott of Israel in West Bank (Washington Post) With about 100 gag orders per year, how many Palestinians are denied due processes and disappear from…

Despite “an ‘independent stream’ of evidence that the Pakistani Taliban were behind the attempt and has admitted helping Faisal Shahzad, [o]fficials familiar with the investigation cautioned about inconsistencies” … Pakistan Arrests Man with Militant Ties Who Says He Aided Times Square Bomb Suspect (Washington Post) … and friends of the main suspects family insist that…

Although the State Department was promised a “thorough, credible and transparent investigation”: General ‘Tried to Cover Up Truth About Death of Rachel Corrie’ (The Independent) For “Indonesia’s top counterterrorism official, the clash over al-Munawwarah Mosque” shows “that community leaders are willing to oppose radical ideas,” but “that radical groups are very active in propagating their…

The botched Times Square attack has drawn world attention “to the seriousness of the fighting” Pakistan’s northwest that last year sent “3.1 million refugees running for their lives”… The Vicious War That Sent Shahzad to Times Square (Counter Punch) … Meanwhile, a Somali immigrant who thought his English was too poor to call 911 but alerted…

Capitalizing on 9/11, Ergun Caner quickly rose on the evangelical ladder by falsely claiming to be a former jihadist turned preacher: Christian Right’s Favorite Muslim Convert Exposed as Jihadi Fraud (Alternet) “Now in its third year, Palfest overcomes the restrictions on movement in the West Bank by sending its writers themselves on tour – and,…

Holder signals a willingness to compromise the rights of suspects in the face of criticism from those who imagine we can trade liberty for security … Obama Administration Looks into Modifying Miranda Law in the Age of Terrorism (Washington Post) … Despite the successful capture and interrogation of the prime prime suspect in the failed…