Guantanamo Detainee Deaths: Responding to the Defense Department’s Whitewash
by Stephen Lendman
February 11, 2010 – On December 7, 2009, under the direction of Professor Mark Denbeaux, Seton Hall University School of Law’s Center for Policy & Research (CP&R) published its 15th GITMO report titled, “Death in Camp Delta,” covering three simultaneous deaths on June 9, 2006 in the maximum security Alpha Block. The detainees were found hanged in separate cells shortly after midnight on June 10, unobserved for at least two hours, rags stuffed down their throats, despite constant surveillance by five guards responsible for 28 inmates in a lit cell block monitored by video cameras. One of them was scheduled for release in 19 days, so why would he commit suicide?…

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‘Anti-Semitic’ – the Label that Stops Criticism
Dr. Paul Balles
February 11, 2010 – If you indulge in ad hominem attacks (attacking the person rather than the issue), you can expect the same in return. The issues related to the anti-Semitic label are many. First, the expression “anti-Semitic” is a misnomer. It’s defined as “hating Jews or Judeophobia.” The label “anti-Semitism” is wrong because not all Jews are Semites, and many Arabs are. In 2004, the US Congress passed the Global Anti-Semitism Review Act. The Act defines a person as being anti-Semitic for holding any of a number of beliefs. My comments follow each of the 14 items supposedly revealing anti-Semitism…

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30 hours in Gaza
Mohamed Madi
February 11, 2010 – One of my first glimpses of the Gaza Strip was a youth on a motorcycle who threw me his red kuffiyeh. “Remember me!” he shouted, before disappearing in a sea of flags. With a certain irony, it was the members of the Viva Palestina aid convoy who ended up playing the role of war victims as we finally rolled into Gaza on 6 January. We were still reeling from a clash with Egyptian police that left 60 injured the night before. The thousands who braved the night cold to greet us provided the perfect tonic for the cracked heads and stitched faces. What seemed like a swarm of a thousand motorcycles, each with two, sometimes three people on the back, raced alongside us, colliding in their eagerness to keep up as we drove from Rafah to Gaza City…

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Mutlak and Ani Are Banned: Miscarriage of Justice in Iraq
Reidar Visser
February 11, 2010 – In his characteristic way, Ali al-Lami of the de-Baathification board late Thursday night, at the beginning of the Iraqi weekend, informed a small number of news agencies that two of the top Iraqiyya candidates, Salih al-Mutlak and Zafir al-Ani, have been barred from standing as candidates in the 7 March election after their appeals were rejected by the special appeals court for de-Baathification cases. Few new details are known, but enough information about these cases is already in the public domain to label this act as a straightforward miscarriage of justice: -The whole key to understanding what is going on is the realisation that there is not a single law that governs the de-Baathification process..

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Muqtada Al-Sadr & other Shiite Assassins.
Layla Anwar
February 11, 2010 – …And if there is one article/document that you need to save and thoroughly read, it is this one: Death Squads in Iraq – An in depth, albeit partial study with VERY graphic pictures. This study was presented to Ban Ki Moon of the U.N in 2007. I am sure you will still find it shelved there, in the offices of the U.N. The U.N and other bodies were fully aware of the role of Iran and its death squads in the ethnic cleansing of Iraq and they did nothing. Do you think anyone will do anything for the second round of ethnic cleansing that is taking place now in Baghdad and its provinces, before the up-coming elections ? I doubt it…

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Iraqi panel issues final ruling barring 2 prominent Sunni politicians from running in election
By Qassim Abdul-Zahra (CP)
February 11, 2010 — An Iraqi panel issued a final ruling Thursday to bar two prominent Sunni politicians from running in next month’s elections, a move that is likely to raise tensions between the Shiite-led government and Sunnis who claim they are being politically undermined. The back-and-forth over a decision to blacklist hundreds of candidates from the March 7 vote because of ties to Saddam Hussein’s former Baathist regime has threatened to mar the balloting process, which U.S. officials hope could be a milestone in reconciliation among Iraq’s rival religious groups. Ali al-Lami, head of the Shiite-led political vetting committee that drafted the blacklist, told The Associated Press he had been informed by the court of its decision against Sunni lawmakers Saleh al-Mutlaq and Dhafir al-Ani…

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Increased Hostility Towards Reporters In West Bank
Saed Bannoura
February 11, 2010 – Palestinian reporters, either working for local or international agencies, were repeatedly subjected to attacks by the Israeli army, but recently such attacks witnessed a sharp increase leading to injuries, damage to equipment, and to preventing them from performing their duty. Two of the reporters, Ata Oweisat and Mahmoud Oleyyan, work for the al Quds newspaper. Another wounded journalist, Ahmad Gharabely, works for the French Press Agency…

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Israeli website publishes list of 13 top Hamas wanted activists
Ma’an News
February 11, 2010 – The Israel-based self-described intelligence and security news service debkafile published a list of 13 Hamas leaders allegedly “Israel’s next targets for liquidation” on their website Friday. The service said the list was distributed by de facto government security services to members following the alleged assassination of Hamas military wing founder Mohammad Al-Mabhouh in Dubai on 19 January, citing “counter-terror sources.”

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What Did Blackwater Pay For?
Amy Davidson
February 11, 2010 – There is a tough contest for absurd national-security note of the day: is it Blackwater allegedly hiring a Filipino prostitute with taxpayer money, or the Transportation Security Administration apparently detaining a student because he was carrying Arabic flash cards? Let’s look at the nominees. Brad and Melan Davis, former employees of Blackwater—the company has renamed itself Xe, as in Xena the Warrior Princess—have filed a suit under a statute that allows a whistleblower to get a cut when they catch people people stealing the federal government’s money…

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Iran: Live blog – 22 Bahman – Anniversary of 1979 Revolution – Thursday, 11 February 2010
Homylafayette Iran News
February 11, 2010 – …Mohammad Taghi Karroubi, son of opposition leader Mehdi Karroubi, spoke to BBC Persian about the attack on his father near Second Sadeghiyeh Square: ‘A rock was thrown at him and it hit him on his head and the police directly shot tear gas at him. Someone offered to drive him away and the security forces savagely attacked the car. He is now at home and he is ailing. His head has been injured and he has a hard time breathing. His eyes are completely swollen shut. One of our brothers was arrested today. I don’t know how this matter will be resolved with this kind of behavior on the part of the government.’..

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Mahmoud Ahmadinejad declares Iran a ‘nuclear state’
Catherine Philp
February 11, 2010 – President Ahmadinejad declared Iran a “nuclear state” today, saying that scientists had produced the first batch of highly enriched uranium, a leap towards the production of weapons-grade fuel. Mr Ahmadinejad told crowds of cheering supporters that Iran was capable of going all the way to weapons grade but would not do so because “we do not believe in manufacturing a bomb”. “When we say we do not manufacture the bomb, we mean it, and we do not believe in manufacturing a bomb,” he proclaimed. “If we wanted to manufacture a bomb, we would announce it.”..

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Greek public sector workers strike against austerity measures
World Socialist Web Site
February 11, 2010 – Schools, universities, public offices and the airport in Athens were shut down by yesterday’s 24-hour strike. Hospitals ran an emergency-only service, while buses operated a limited timetable. All flights were grounded as air traffic controllers and aviation electronics engineers joined the walkout. Meanwhile, the farmers’ blockade of the Athens-Salonika main motorway is continuing. The protests are directed against the austerity programme of the Papandreou government, which has been dictated by the European Union and the international banks. Greece is being forced to cut its deficit from 12.7 percent to below three percent in just two years…

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Row over plan to build Jewish museum of tolerance on site of Muslim cemetery
Rory McCarthy
February 11, 2010 – A group of Palestinians descended from 15 of Jerusalem’s oldest Arab families lodged a protest with the UN today in a fresh effort to prevent the construction of a “Museum of Tolerance” on the site of an ancient Muslim cemetery. The project, run by the Simon Wiesenthal Centre in Los Angeles, has been dogged by controversy since its launch in 2004. Islamic groups and individual Palestinians complained that the site, in west Jerusalem, was the ancient cemetery of Ma’man Allah, also known as Mamilla, which housed thousands of graves dating back hundreds of years and where even today there are still many gravestones and tombs…

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Israeli airstrike, artillery fire kills one, injures 4 in central Gaza
Ma’an News
February 10, 2010 – An Israeli airstrike at midday killed one and injured a second, hours after Israeli artillery fire injured three children in Johur Ad-Dik, in central Gaza on Thursday. Dr Muawiya Hassanein, head of ambulance and emergency services in Gaza, said shrapnel from Israeli artillery fire in the early morning caused injury to three children identified as Afaf Ismail At-Tarabin, 13, and her sisters Ahlam, 11, Muna, 5. They were all transferred to the Ash-Shuhada Al-Aqsa hospital in Gaza…

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Urgent News: Hunted
Layla Anwar
February 11, 2010 – I have urgent news. Yesterday, 10th February 2010 in various districts of Baghdad, 25 Baathists have been gunned down with silencers, silent guns by the Badr Brigades of Ammar Al-Hakeem (ISCI) of Iran. Sunni areas in Baghdad are being evacuated.: Amiriya is practically empty now, people are getting very scared because a lot of the men are being arrested. Again yesterday at 6.30 pm, 12 Baathists have been arrested in Sammara by Badr Brigades…

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Palestinian Christian priests call for non-violent resistance
By Daoud Kuttab
February 11, 2010 – The voice of Father Jamal Khader coming over the waves of Radio Mawwal in Bethlehem was soothing and confident. A caller asked him to explain the words of Jesus, “to love your enemy”, in light of the occupation and walls built by Israel and the injustice against Palestinians. Father Khader, who was being interviewed along with Rifaat Kassis, the coordinator of a new initiative by 16 Jerusalem-based Christian leaders, said that Christians are committed to these words without reservation…

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2 ex-employees say Blackwater billed government for prostitute
By Carol D. Leonnig,Washington Post
February 11, 2010 – Two former employees of Blackwater Worldwide have accused the private security contractor of defrauding the government for years with phony billing, including charging for a prostitute, alcohol and spa trips. In newly unsealed court records, a husband and wife who once worked for Blackwater said they had personal knowledge of the company falsifying invoices, double-billing federal agencies and charging the government for personal and inappropriate items whose real purpose was hidden. They said they witnessed “systematic” fraud on the company’s security contracts with the Department of State in Iraq and Afghanistan, and with the Department of Homeland Security and Federal Emergency Management Agency in Louisiana after Hurricane Katrina…

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Palestinian Youth Suffers Broken Leg After Being Attacked By Israeli Soldiers
Saed Bannoura
February 11, 2010 – Undercover forces of the Israeli army violently attacked a 17-year-old youth in Abu Dis town, in East Jerusalem, and broke his leg. The youth was transferred to an Israeli hospital before he was moved to the Etzion detention center. Local sources reported that Mohammad Halabiyya was walking in Abu Dis when he was attacked by a number of undercover Israeli soldiers…

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Israel raids ISM media office for the second time
International Solidarity Movement
February 11, 2010 – Nine Israeli soldiers kicked in the door of the ISM media office and demanded the passports of the internationals present. The soldiers confiscated a desktop computer used by ISM volunteers. Two internationals, Ryan Olander of the U.S. and Nick Bryer of the U..K., were awoken from their night’s rest as nine Israeli soldiers barged through the door at 4am brandishing M16 fully-automatic assault rifles. Luckily, the door had not yet been repaired from a previous raid on Sunday morning. This facilitated their entry and reduced the damaged they inflicted upon the apartment…

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Military Resistance 8B5: A Shot In The Foot – 10 February 2010
Thomas F. Barton
“A Shot in the Foot”: 60 Minutes Does Rambo In Afghanistan.
“The Quiet Professionals,” a January 31 60 Minutes profile of Green Berets in Afghanistan, garnered mixed reviews from the polloi. Some observers found the segment to be an unabashed piece of pro-war propaganda. Others thought CBS purposely set out to do a hatchet job on the military in general and Special Forces in particular. Both perspectives have merit. Overall, the piece gave one the distinct impression that neither CBS nor the military’s Strategic Communication Directorate (yes, they really call it that) in Afghanistan knew what they were doing.

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Palestinians detained near Gaza-Israel border
Ma’an News
February 11, 2010 – Israeli forces detained at least six Palestinians in northern Gaza on Thursday, witnesses said and the army confirmed. Onlookers said 10 Palestinian men scavenging for iron girders northeast of Beit Lahiya were seized and dragged into Israel by soldiers patrolling the border. They were rummaging through the rubble of buildings, and were loaded into military vehicles and taken to an undisclosed location, the witnesses said…

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