'If
you think there is freedom of the press in the United States, I tell
you there is no freedom of the press... They come out with the cheap
shot. The press should be ashamed of itself. They should come to both
sides of the issue and hear both sides and let the American people make
up their minds' - Bill Moyers
Without
an unfettered press, without liberty of speech, all of the outward
forms and structures of free institutions are a sham, a pretense -- the
sheerest mockery. If the press is not free; if speech is not
independent and untrammeled; if the mind is shackled or made impotent
through fear, it makes no difference under what form of government you
live, you are a subject and not a citizen - William E. Borah
"The
foulest damage to our political life comes not from the 'secrets'
which they hide from us, but from the little bits of half-truth and
disinformation which they do tell us. These are already pre-digested,
and then are sicked up as little gobbits of authorised spew. The
columns of defence correspondents in the establishment sheets serve as
the spittoons." - E. P. Thompson, British historian
"The
role of the U.S. in the new world corporate order is going to be to
export security. That means endless wars and weapons in space. The
Pentagon will send our kids off to foreign lands to suppress opposition
to corporate globalization. How will we ever end America's addiction
to war and violence as long as our communities are dependent on
military spending for jobs?" - Bruce Gagnon
 | ||||
Russia's
government scrubbed Pussy Riot's videos from the Internet, and
continues its assault on free speech. Here's our response.
|
||||
Dear L.J.,
Last night, Amnesty activists rocked out for human rights in Washington, DC, steps from the Russian Embassy. We gathered to mark the one-year anniversary since Pussy Riot performed a protest song in Moscow's main Orthodox cathedral -- the performance that landed two members of the feminist punk group in prison. We came together for Pussy Riot and freedom of expression in Russia. We were LOUD. The Russian authorities would love to sweep us under the rug. But they can't hide the government's continuing assault on human rights -- and they can't hide us. Be loud. Tell the Russian government to respect free speech and free Pussy Riot! Hundreds of thousands have called on the Russian authorities to release Maria "Masha" Alekhina and Nadezhda "Nadya" Tolokonnikova of Pussy Riot, immediately and unconditionally. And thousands around the world have taken up Pussy Riot's case and joined our solidarity world map, including famous rockers like Sting, Roger Waters and Pearl Jam. But Masha and Nadya still need our help, especially now. Sent to brutal penal colonies hundreds of miles from their families, both women face a difficult two-year imprisonment. Nadya is currently in the hospital for a chronic illness, and Masha has been threatened by other inmates. Russia's authorities seem to think they can scrub Pussy Riot away. While Pussy Riot's performance one year ago was caught on video, the Russian authorities banned it as "extremist," based on a loosely worded law intended to crack down on dissent and freedom of expression. The group's videos have disappeared from the Russian Internet. We can't let the Russian authorities just erase Pussy Riot's story. Last night, when crowds recreated Pussy Riot's performance in full sight of the Russian Embassy, we showed that we will NOT be silenced. We're turning up the volume to 11 for Pussy Riot and freedom of expression in Russia, and we intend to keep it there! Free Pussy Riot! Sincerely, Jasmine Heiss Campaigner, Individuals and Communities at Risk Amnesty International USA P.S. We'll be headed back to the Russian Embassy on March 4 to make a big statement with our Pussy Riot solidarity world map on the 1st anniversary of Pussy Riot's arrest. We need as many people as possible to stand up and be counted for Pussy Riot -- join the map now and share with your friends! | ||||
Carnage
53 Killed In Syria Courtesy of US Allies
By Daniel McAdams
No doubt this bombing against a
government building will be blamed on the Syrian government in the
Western media, adding to the phony UN body count.
The Power Of Propaganda
99% of Americans Consider Iranian Nukes a Threat
By Haviv Rettig Gur
The Gallup poll found that 99
percent of Americans believe the Islamic Republic's nuclear program is a
threat "to the vital interests of the United States in the next 10
years," with 83% saying it was a "critical threat"
'Building momentum for regime change': Rumsfeld's Secret Memos
By Michael Isikoff
Declassified documents show
that Bush administration officials wanted Saddam Hussein out of Iraq
and were ready to start a war in order to achieve it.
2.3 Trillion Dollars Missing from DOD Day before 9/11 2001
Must Watch 4 Minute Video
"you could say it's a matter of life and death" - Donald Rumsfeld.
The Moral Decoding of 9-11:
Beyond the U.S. Criminal State, The Grand Plan for a New World Order
By Prof. John McMurtry
Who had the most compelling
motives for the event? Who had the means to turn two central iconic
buildings in New York into a pile of steel and a cloud of dust in
seconds?
How the Mossad Works: The Mystery of Israel's 'Prisoner X'
By Ulrike Putz
An Israeli agent commits suicide in his prison cell. Was he a
traitor? The mysterious case of "Prisoner X," reported to be
Australian-born Benjamin Zygier, provides an insight into the workings
of the Mossad.
Al Qaeda's Top Recruiting Tool: The CIA
By Jamie Dettmer
After being tortured by American interrogators, a Libyan freedom fighter became a top terror leader.
Emails Prove JPMorgan Committed Massive Mortgage Fraud
Bloomberg reports
The court documents make clear that JPMorgan employees were well
aware of these flaws and even exchanged emails about them. For example,
after a review finding that at least 1,154 mortgages were delinquent,
JPMorgan told investors that only 25 loans were delinquent.
Democracy For Sale
Justices Take Case on Overall Limit to Political Donations
By ADAM LIPTAK
The Supreme Court on Tuesday agreed to hear a challenge to federal
campaign contribution limits, setting the stage for what may turn out
to be the most important federal campaign finance case since the
court's 2010 decision in Citizens United.
Minimum Wage
Obama Going Backward Into The Future
By Ralph Nader
Thirty million US workers make less today than what workers made 45 years ago in 1968, inflation adjusted?
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article34044.htm
Incarceration Rate For African-Americans Now Six Times The National Average
Incarceration Rate For African-Americans Now Six Times The National Average
By RT
The incarceration rate for American-Americans is so high that young
black men without a high school diploma are more likely to go to jail
than to find a job.
"Rational' Totalitarianism
By Gui Rochat
The socialization process for US children is strictly slanted to
bourgeois standards and geared towards security, consumption and
materialist competition. It is a yoke not easily shed.
The Corporation State
Obey: The Routine Of Obedience
Must Watch - Video
It charts the rise of the Corporate State, and examines the future
of obedience in a world of unfettered capitalism, globalisation,
staggering inequality and environmental change.
Hard News
Syria: Rebels kill 53 with huge car bomb:
The car bombing was the deadliest attack inside Damascus in nine
months and within hours, two other bombings and a mortar attack on the
military compound followed.
Saudi Arabia, Qatar press for more help to Syrian rebels:
The two Gulf Arab states rooting for President Bashar al-Assad's
overthrow appear to be chafing at Western pressure to keep out of the
fight, arguing that building ties through aid and advice to favored
opposition groups is the only way to ensure other, hardline Islamist
factions are sidelined.
$100m Qatar aid to Syrian opposition:
Close on the heels of a decision to hand over the Syrian Embassy in
Qatar to the Syrian opposition, Qatar provided financial support worth
$100m to the National Coalition for Syrian Revolutionary and
Opposition Forces.
Syrian opposition says Assad cannot be part of deal:
The opposition Syrian National Coalition is willing to negotiate a
peace deal under U.S and Russian auspices to end the country's civil
war but President Bashar al-Assad cannot be a party to any settlement, a
document drafted for an opposition meeting said.
Libya transporting weapons and fighters to Syria:
Among the non-Syrians reported to be fighting alongside the rebel
forces are Americans, Syrians, Moroccans, Libyans, Egyptians, Bosnians,
and others.
Who just started arming Syria rebels?:
In one of the most strangely neglected stories in the two-year
Syria conflict, beginning on January 1, four new weapon models began
appearing in large quantities in Daraa province, none used at any time
by the Syrian military.
Yemen army kills six protesters:
Security forces opened fire to disperse secessionist protesters in
the south Yemen port of Aden and a nearby town on Thursday, killing at
least six people, medical sources and witnesses said.
4 killed in Iraq attacks:
At least four people were killed on Thursday in two separate
attacks north of the Iraqi capital Baghdad, said police, amid rising
sectarian and political tensions in the country.
Explosions kill 20, wound 52 in India:
The explosive devices were installed on bicycles and went off just
after dusk in the Dilsukh Nagar area of Hyderabad in a market place,
AFP reports. The area is a crowded neighborhood of cinema halls, shops,
restaurants and a fruit and vegetable market.
Afghanistan: Officials claim of killing 15 Taliban killed:
The dead included two Taliban commanders identified as Qari
Muhammad Ilyas and Muhammad Omari, four Pakistani nationals and two
would-be suicide bombers, a Laghman press office statement available
with the Afghan Islamic Press (AIP) said.
Afghanistan: 6 killed in raid on house:
NATO officials said they were unable to confirm the details
regarding the operation, but the military alliance said two Afghan-NATO
joint operations took place in Kunduz province.
Pakistan: Peshawar mobile market blast, one killed, 18 injured:
Sources added, that the bomb was a timed device that used between 1
and 1.5 kilograms of explosive material. According to police officials
a CD shop was the target of the blast.
Senator says US drones killed 4,700 people:
"Sometimes you hit innocent people, and I hate that, but we're at war."
Gunmen kill 7 in Indonesia:
Unidentified gunmen have shot and killed seven people in separate
attacks against the Indonesian army in the restive easternmost province
of Papua.
Iran resumed conversion of higher-grade uranium for fuel production in December - IAEA:
Tehran's stockpile of 20% enrichment uranium reached 167 kilograms
this month after production was resumed in December, says the
International Atomic Energy Agency. Iran has also begun installing
advanced enrichment centrifuges, according to the report.
Propaganda:
France confirms 'substantial' new offer to Iran:
France on Thursday confirmed that world powers will make a
"substantial" new offer to Iran in a bid to resolve the dispute over
its nuclear programme at talks next week in Kazakhstan.
'Iran halted military nuke program for diplomacy';
Iran halted its military nuclear plans due to diplomatic pressures
when the US - posturing for war back in 2007 - claimed it was trying to
develop a nuclear weapon, former chairman of the national intelligence
council Thomas Fingar tells RT.
Iran nuke would not start arms race in Mideast:
RIYADH Fears that an Iranian nuclear weapon might trigger an atomic
arms race across the Middle East are overplayed, a US security
thinktank has said, arguing that countries such as Saudi Arabia face
big disincentives against getting the bomb.
Israel: Iran closer than ever to nuclear bomb:
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addresses the weekly
cabinet meeting in Jerusalem on February 17, 2013. Iran is "closer than
ever" to the ability to build a nuclear bomb, Israel said on Thursday,
as a new UN report said Tehran has begun installing next-generation
equipment at one of its main nuclear plants
Report: Zygier was not alone in Mossad recruitment:
Two other Australian-Israelis, Paul Y. and David Z., were working
for Mossad out of a Milan base, which specialized in the sale of
satellite communications technology, and a front for the Israel foreign
intelligence service Mossad.
Bulgaria did not request EU blacklist Hezbollah: envoy:
Bulgarian Charge d'Affaires to Lebanon Plamen Tzolov said Thursday
his government did not request that Hezbollah be blacklisted as a
terror organization when it submitted its report to the European Union
into the 2012 Burgas bus bombing that killed five Israeli citizens.
'Friends of Hamas': My role in the birth of a rumor:
A Daily News reporter explains how he inadvertently created the myth that Chuck Hagel spoke to a non-existent group.
Republican senator Rubio in Israel:
Speaking with President Peres, Rubio affirmed his commitment to Israel's security.
More than 60 injured in West Bank protests over hunger strikes:
One of those being held, Samer Issawi, has been on a hunger strike
for more than 200 days, reported BBC. He is said to weigh less than
50kg (110lbs).
Israeli "settlers" torch Palestinian cars:
Armed settlers attacked a village south of Nablus overnight
Thursday and torched six cars, a Palestinian Authority official said.
Collaboration between IDF, "settlers" reaching point of no return:
Israeli "democracy" is being severely compromised by the army's
collaboration with the settlers, and the fact that more and more Israeli
citizens now see the occupation as the natural order of things.
Oscar-nominated Palestinian filmmaker Emad Burnat detained, questoned at Los Angeles airport:
A Palestinian filmmaker on his way to the Academy Awards said on
Wednesday he was held at Los Angeles International Airport and
threatened with deportation before being allowed into the United
States.
Israel approves oil drilling in the occupied Golan Heights:
Israel has given permission for an American based energy company to
drill for oil in the Golan Heights, a plateau it captured from Syria
in 1967.
Kenya: 10 killed as gunmen open fireat mosque near Somalia border;
Villagers told the BBC that 10 gunmen opened fire as people were leaving the mosque after early morning prayers.
Mali rebels fighting in Gao; car explodes in Kidal;
Islamic extremists clashed with military in Mali's northern city of
Gao, a military official said Thursday, as French forces continued
their push to eliminate remnants of al-Qaida-linked fighters who had
controlled northern Mali.
In a world gone crazy:
French President François Hollande awarded UNESCO peace prize:
"Having assessed the dangers and the repercussions of the situation
on Africa, and on Mali in particular, as well as on the rest of the
world, the Jury appreciated the solidarity shown by France to the
peoples of Africa," Mr. Chissano said after the Jury's meeting in
Paris.
Morsi set to call for presidential elections in April: Reuters;
Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi will call parliamentary elections
starting in April, a presidential source told Reuters on Thursday,
adding that the vote would be held in three or four stages.
US is to launch unprecedented counter-attack on Chinese hackers accused of stealing state secrets:
A series of personal attacks on Chinese hackers is to be launched,
with the US naming perpetrators and bringing lawsuits and fines.
'Not based in fact': China angrily denies being behind widespread US hacking:
China's military on Wednesday responded angrily to accusations by
an American computer security company of systematic hacking of U.S.
business and military interests, arguing it "lacked technical proof and
was "not based on fact."
Putin warns Obama:
"Any kind of direct or implicit interference with Russia's home
affairs, all sorts of pressure being exerted on our country and our
allies - is absolutely unacceptable."
Aaron Swartz files reveal how FBI tracked internet activist:
Firedoglake blogger Daniel Wright publishes once-classified FBI
documents that show extent of agency's investigation into Swartz
White House targets WikiLeaks and LulzSec in cyber-espionage report;
Amid a growing call for new cybersecurity protections in the United
States, the US government has issued a report that reconfirms
Washington's interest in shutting down WikiLeaks and other underground
information-sharing organizations.
Haiti's 'Baby Doc' Duvalier avoids appearing in court:
Haiti's former ruler Jean-Claude "Baby Doc" Duvalier has been
ordered to appear in court in Port-au-Prince after failing to attend a
hearing. Relatives of some of those allegedly killed or tortured by his
militias in the 1970s and 1980s want him charged with crimes against
humanity.
HRW: Mexico security forces colluded in disappearances:
The group has documented almost 250 disappearances during the term of former President Felipe Calderon.
Towns to pay $3.5M in deadly cop raid: -
Five years ago, a heavily armed
special weapons and tactics team charged into a small ranch home in
Easton -- guns drawn and flash grenades exploding -- and killed a
Norwalk man who was quietly watching porn on TV in the den.
JPMorgan Chase Hid Mortgage Flaws From Investors, Emails Suggest:
JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon
has tried his best to suggest that the financial crisis was someone
else's fault. But a batch of court documents released this week
undermine this claim, indicating that the bank knew the mortgage
investments it sold were seriously flawed.
Zombie foreclosures:
Borrowers hit with debts that
won't die: Borrowers are discovering that their foreclosed homes are
coming back to haunt them -- long after they have moved out.
Wal-Mart: "Families Are Adjusting To A Reduced Paycheck And Increased Gas Prices":
February sales started slower
than planned, due in large part, to the delay in income tax refunds. We
began seeing increased tax refund check activity late last week in our
stores
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