Cross-Posted from DeSmogBlog

On December 20, both chambers of the U.S. Congress passed a little-noticed bill to expedite permitting for hydraulic fracturing ("fracking") on public lands in the Bakken Shale basin, located predominantly in North Dakota. And on December 26, President Obama signed the bill into law. 

Arms Airlift to Syrian Rebels Expands With C.I.A. Aid, Size of the Shipments and Degree of Distributions are Voluminous - NYTimes.com

Syrian Jihadist Fighters Getting Western Anti-tank Weapons Meant for FSA groups - VOA

Russia Seeks to Join Probe of Syria Chemical Attack Reports - RIA Novosti

Defected Syrian pilot says he made trips to Russia and Iran to ‘collect cash’ - Alarabiya.net 

Rebel mortar fire hits Damascus killing at least two people, army gunners retaliate - Reuters

U.N. to move some staff out of Syria after mortar blasts near hotel - Reuters

Jordan closes main border crossing with Syria - Reuters

Residents of Syria's Aleppo sell belongings to survive - Ahram Online

Tunisian Jihadists fighting in the ranks of Jabhat al-Nusra and FSA, According to newspapers they are funded by Qatar and trained in Libya -  Al-Monitor

VIDEO: Rebels target Syrian State TV & Radio With Rockets - LiveLeak.com

VIDEO: A new toy for Syrian rebels: U.S. ACOGs? - LiveLeak.com

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Syrian rebel army founder's leg blown off by car bomb - Reuters

VIDEO (GRAPHIC): FSA founder Riad al-Asaad in Turkish hospital having his shredded leg amputated - YouTube

PHOTO: Photo showing Riad al-Asaad's amputated leg - LiveLeak.com

VIDEO: FSA founder Ryad El Asaad crying "I want to die" after becoming amputee - YouTube

VIDEO (Arabic): Riad Al-Asaad praising the indepedence and fighting spirit of Jabhat Al Nusra and condemning the political hacks and opportunists who are controlled by foreign powers - YouTube

VIDEO (Arabic): FSA statement about assassination attempt on al Asaad - LiveLeak.com

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Syria rebels win Arab League seat despite rifts - AFP

Iraq: Giving Syria seat at AL to Doha Coalition violation of Charter - SANA, Syria

Syria's Alkhatib to address Doha meeting despite quitting - Reuters

VIDEO (Arabic): Opposition leader Michel Kilo accuses the Muslim Brotherhood and Sabbagh’s Qatari-backed faction of choosing PM Hitto in a non-consensual manner - Youtube

VIDEO (Arabic): Ghassan Hitto, Syrian National Coalition PM visits Aleppo - YouTube

To contact Bartolo email peaceloversingle@gmail.com

Syria to discuss Brahimi peace proposals with Russia - Yahoo! News

Syria National Coalition chief: Keeping the regime and Assad in place until 2014 – with or without powers – is totally unacceptable — arabsaga

US, Russia Hope for Syrian Power Transfer in Feb. - Israel National News

Turkey objects to transition with Assad - todayszaman

Turkey confirms Syria's Assad asked Venezuela for asylum - todayszaman

Peace envoy Brahimi meets Syrian internal opposition tolerated by the regime - Ahram Online

Russian Warships Gather in Mediterranean for Drills - RIA Novosti

Former Al Jazeera Correspondent Suggests Network Run by Qatar Foreign Policy - Algemeiner.com

Pope in Christmas plea on Syria calls for dialogue and a political solution  — www.bbc.co.uk 

VIDEO: Pope calls for peace in Syria in Christmas Day message.... - YouTube

VIDEO: Senior Syrian Military Official Defects to Rebels - YouTube

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Senior Israeli officials confirm: Netanyahu met Jordan king for secret talks on Syria chemical weapons - Haaretz Daily Newspaper

Israel Says No Proof Poison Gas Used in Syria - VOA

Did Syria Use Chemical Weapons Against Rebels? — www.thetrumpet.com 

Lavrov To RT: The Biggest Threat Is Rebels Taking Control Of Chemical Weapons In Syria - The Sacramento Bee

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FSA fears being edged out of uprising by secular and Islamist extremists - Yahoo! News

VIDEO: Al Nusra Group Declares War on the FSA - LiveLeak.com

Jabhat Al-Nasra Reportedly In Lebanon - Al-Monitor

Syrian Rebel Group Linked to Al-Qaeda Declared Jihad on Hezbollah (VIDEO) - Algemeiner.com

Syria: Interview with Official of Islamist Militia Jabhat Al-Nusra - TIME.com

Syrian Kurds demand Barzani to intervene to save them from siege and slow death: "what increases our suffering is the presence of those armed groups claiming its affiliation to the Syrian revolution" - ekurd

VIDEO: Aleppo Residents are Resisting the Hardships Brought by FSA - LiveLeak.com

To contact Bartolo email peaceloversingle@gmail.com

The Real Blame for Deaths in Libya

Editor Note: Rep. Darrell Issa and the Republicans are making political hay from last month’s killings in Libya of Ambassador Christopher Stevens and three other Americans. But the real blame traces back to Official Washington’s endless interventions in the Middle East.

By Ray McGovern

If you prefer charade to reality, inquisition to investigation, trees over forest – the House Government Oversight Committee hearing last Tuesday on “Security Failures of Benghazi” was the thing for you.

The hearing was the latest example of the myopic negligence and misfeasance of elected representatives too personally self-absorbed – and politically self-aggrandizing – to head off misbegotten wars and then too quick to blame everyone but themselves for the inevitable blowback.

By Linn Washington, Jr.

One week before a Pennsylvania court judge upheld that state’s controversial Voter ID law by concluding the measure’s impact was “neutral and nondiscriminatory,” critics of that law released a disturbing study documenting the law’s discriminatory impact on voters in Philadelphia.

Iran’s Phantom Menace

Editor (Consortiumnews.com) Note: For years, a propaganda drumbeat has been rising to justify a war to stop Iran from building a nuclear bomb, though U.S. intelligence agencies say Iran isn’t building one and Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei has decried nukes as a “great sin.” But nothing has stopped the drumbeat, ex-CIA analyst Ray McGovern notes.

By Ray McGovern

Last Thursday, I took part in a panel discussion on “Targeting Iran: Sanctions and War” at California State University, Fresno. The panel discussion took place against the backdrop of all-too-familiar warnings to Iran that it has one “last chance” to stop doing what the CIA and pretty much all serious intelligence agencies say it is not doing — namely, working on a nuclear weapon.

GOP Presidential candidate Herman Cain serves as front man for the billionaire Koch brothers in a way rarely, if ever, seen in modern times for a prominent U.S. major party candidate.

That relationship should be a huge campaign story. It’s arguably far more important in its implications for voters than the sex allegations raised against Cain two weeks ago that I’ve been covering in Washington, or last week’s Rick Perry “Oops” gaffe in a debate.

That’s because the secretive brothers are using Cain to sell their overall agenda to transform the United States in ways that could mean poverty resulting in premature death for many by destruction of the safety net along with support for the war culture.

Obama, Tell Netanyahu – Don’t Mess With Flotilla to Gaza

Ed. Note: The U.S. boat, “The Audacity of Hope,” will depart for Gaza next month with 50 on board, including Ray McGovern, who wrote this open letter to President Barack Obama after watching his speech Thursday on the Middle East. Speaking for passengers and crew, McGovern asks the President to serve notice on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu Friday that Obama will hold him accountable for ensuring safe passage.

May 19, 2011

Dear Mr. President:

Your speech on the Middle East earlier today emboldens me to claim your protection as we set out to put flesh on your rhetoric. Fifty of your fellow citizens will be sailing on “The Audacity of Hope” to Gaza in June.

The intrepid journalists at ThisCantBeHappening! have obtained and exclusive: documentary proof from the White House that President Obama is actually a Democrat and has been since he turned 18. See the president's actual 1979 Democratic Party registration, at www.thiscantbehappening.net Finally we can put this canard to rest...

America's Stay-at-Home Ex-President

By Ray McGovern

As the news broke on Saturday that former President George W. Bush had abruptly canceled his scheduled appearance this week in Geneva to avoid the risk of arrest on a torture complaint, my first thought was — how humiliating, not only for Bush but, by extension, for all Americans.

However, those who might have expected Bush to be down in the mouth and sulk about the embarrassment were disabused of that notion as the TV cameras caught him and Condoleezza Rice -- his former national security adviser and Secretary of State -- in seats of honor at Sunday’s Super Bowl in Dallas.

Doomed to become America’s first better-stay-at-home former president, Bush could still take consolation in getting scarce tickets to big sports events – he also attended high-profile Texas Rangers baseball games last year – and he can expect to hear some folks cheer for him, so long as he stays in Texas.

The U.S. Prepares for Conflict, 2001

Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, and President George W. Bush. (Source: Department of Defense)

U.S. Sets "Decapitation of Government" As Early Goal of Combat

Talking Points for Rumsfeld-Franks Meeting in November 2001 Outline Policy Makers’ Aims for the Conflict and Postwar Rule of Iraq

Declassified Documents Show Bush Administration Diverting Attention and Resources to Iraq Less than Two Months after Launch of Afghanistan War

National Security Archive Electronic Briefing Book No. 326

Posted - September 22, 2010

Powell Document

13 September 2010 - U.S. had "Absolutely No Inclination" to Negotiate with Taliban September 2001; Pakistan Disagreed, Claimed "Real Victory" Only Through Talks

Washington's Immediate 9/11 Demands to Islamabad

Net Neutrality Threatened - by Stephen Lendman

This article follows two previous ones, accessed through the following links:

http://sjlendman.blogspot.com/2009/11/struggle-for-net-neutrality.html

http://sjlendman.blogspot.com/2010/07/under-threat-free-and-open-interne...

Free Press.net is a national, nonpartisan, nonprofit organization working for media reform through education, organizing and advocacy - Net Neutrality its defining issue, keeping it free and open, letting users access all content without restrictions, limitations, or discrimination, an online level playing field for everyone, the essence of democratic free speech. Without it, consumer choice will be lost, stolen by corporate predators, making the Internet look like cable TV, letting them decide what web sites, content and applications are available at what cost.

On August 4, New York Times writer Edward Wyatt headlined, "Google and Verizon Near Deal on Web Pay Tiers," saying:

America's "Houdini Recovery" Under IMF-Type Austerity
By Stephen Lendman

It's what economist David Rosenberg calls recovery given plenty of supportive evidence, including:

• over five million homeowners behind on their mortgage payments;
• at record levels, foreclosures are alarmingly high; moreover, "the foreclosure pipeline is enormous;"
• "housing, the quintessential leading indicator," turning lower again in starts, sales and prices;
• instead of a normal 5 - 6 months home supply, the market has a 21 month overhang, including shadow inventory from the foreclosure pipeline;
• mortgage applications for new home purchases down 13.9% on top of last year's 29.4%;
  

Leahy: Bush Era Memos Justified Torture
Senate Committee Says Harsh Interrogation Tactics Were "Means to an End"
Associated Press | CBS

"Mr. Margolis decided this matter without interference from the attorney general, the deputy attorney general or any other department official, and his decision represents the department's final action," Grindler told the committee. "No attorney general or deputy attorney general has ever overturned the conclusion of the career official in such circumstances."

Two lawyers in the Bush Justice Department were justifying torture when they approved harsh interrogations of suspected terrorists, the Senate Judiciary Committee chairman said Friday.

That advice "was designed to achieve an end," Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., said at a hearing where lawmakers for the first time received detailed testimony from a Justice official about a department inquiry that found the lawyers showed bad judgment but committed no misconduct.

Defending the investigation, acting Deputy Attorney General Gary Grindler told the committee, "Although some may disagree with our conclusions, we are confident that the department followed an appropriate process." The No. 2 Justice official was the lone witness. Read more.

SEC suit: Bank of America failed to disclose ’staggering financial losses’ to shareholders
By Associate Press | Raw Story

Federal regulators sued Bank of America Corp. on Tuesday, accusing the company of failing to disclose "staggering financial losses" at Merrill Lynch before shareholders approved a combination of the companies.

The lawsuit filed by the Securities and Exchange Commission in U.S. District Court in Manhattan sought an order requiring Bank of America to pay a civil penalty for not telling shareholders it was losing $15.3 billion in the fourth quarter of 2008.

Bank of America spokesman Robert Stickler called the charges "totally without merit."

He said the company believes it provided sufficient and appropriate disclosure to shareholders prior to their vote approving the combination.

"We look forward to presenting the facts in court," Stickler said. "What we would note is that there were no charges against individuals and no charges of fraud. We were pleased with that." Read more.

Bill Moyers Journal: The Good Soldier

As America prepares to observe Veterans Day and President Obama weighs sending more troops to fight in Afghanistan, BILL MOYERS JOURNAL broadcasts a powerful documentary about the impact on soldiers of learning to kill – or be killed. THE GOOD SOLDIER follows four veterans – one from World War II, two from Vietnam, and the fourth from Iraq – as they reveal how the experiences of battle changed their lives. Watch a preview here.

"Daybreak: Undoing the Imperial Presidency and Forming a More Perfect Union," by David Swanson is due in stores September 1st, but the publisher has it now and you can get it straight from Seven Stories Press.

By Dave Lindorff

In December 2001, an appellate judicial panel in the state of New York ruled that Yonkers City Court Judge Edmund G. Fitzgerald had to step down from his bench and leave his position following his disbarment for allegedly “misusing” $9000 in a client’s account prior to his election as a judge. In 2007, the North Carolina courts faced something of a dilemma when state judge James Ethridge, who had been disbarred the prior October by the North Carolina State Bar for “swindling an older woman of her house and savings” as an attorney six years earlier, refused to quit his judicial position. Under state law in North Carolina, judges are required to be licensed lawyers, so Judge Ethridge was barred from holding court or signing court orders, but he continued to collect his salary. Only the state’s Judicial Standards Commission, or the state legislature, through an impeachment, could remove him from his job.

by Linda Milazzo

(Photo by Linda Milazzo)

There are adjectives that come to mind when describing famed former prosecutor and renowned author, Vincent Bugliosi, who for forty years has set the standard for prosecutorial skill in America. Some are intrepid, brave, independent, brilliant, driven, indomitable, respected, focused, relentless and confident. Each fits perfectly well. But after interviewing Mr. Bugliosi at his California home, and reading his latest book, "The Prosecution Of George W. Bush For Murder," I am compelled to add two more adjectives to that already formidable list: PATRIOTIC and ENRAGED. Beyond all other characterizations one may ascribe to Vincent Bugliosi, the principal descriptors TODAY for this inherently honorable man are PATRIOTIC and ENRAGED - emanating equally from his love for his nation.

Of course, there's another descriptor that has long been associated with Vincent Bugliosi. That descriptor is JUSTICE, to which Bugliosi has devoted his life. Yet not until now - not until George W. Bush caused the murders of over 4,000 Americans and countless innocent Iraqi men, women, children and babies, has JUSTICE assumed an even greater role for Bugliosi - arguably this nation's preeminent prosecutor. JUSTICE has morphed from a noun to a verb - enacted by Bugliosi with a vengeance - fueled by his intense love of nation, his profound knowledge of law, and his unparalleled ability to dispense it. Vincent Bugliosi is a man of action. While others speak of JUSTICE, Bugliosi creates the ways to achieve it - and he has done so in this book.

View original

April 08, 2006
By PHILIP C. RESTINO
COMMUNITY VOICES

On Monday, March 27, The New York Times ran a story on the "White House Memo" which detailed the two-hour meeting between President Bush and British Prime Minister Tony Blair held in the Oval Office on Jan. 31, 2003, where they discussed ways to mislead the public and government officials of their respective countries into supporting President Bush's pre-determined plan to invade Iraq.

Believing the evidence fell short, Bush discussed with Blair the possibility of inciting a conflict with Iraq, British author says.
By John Daniszewski, Los Angeles Times

LONDON — It was the end of January 2003. Secretary of State Colin L. Powell was five days away from giving a critical speech at the U.N. Security Council, laying out the case that Iraq was hiding weapons of mass destruction and posed a danger to world peace.

Peter Rothberg at the Nation has a blog about the White House Memo.

Democrats.com Offers $1,000 Reward to Any Reporter Who Will Ask Follow-Up Question to Bush

At a White House press conference on June 7, 2005, Steve Holland of Reuters asked President Bush and Prime Minister Blair the $1,000 question: (1)

Paul Joseph Watson & Alex Jones, Prison Planet.com

This week's revelations that George W. Bush and Tony Blair considered staging a war provocation by painting a US spy plane in UN colors and flying it over Iraq, in the hope that Saddam would order it shot down, illustrates a desperate depth of criminality only rivaled by previous notorious historical examples.

http://thinkprogress.org/2006/02/04/british-memos/

The Independent confirms a report by the Guardian on a newly-revealed British memo. The memo claims that Bush made the decision to attack Iraq two months prior to the war. Furthermore, the memo states that Bush was thinking about baiting Iraq into a breach of UN resolutions by “flying U2 reconnaissance aircraft with fighter cover over Iraq, painted in UN colors.

IRAQ: BUSH VOLEVA 'PROVOCARE' SADDAM PER SCATENARE LA GUERRA
LO RIVELA PHILIPPE SANDS NELLA NUOVA EDIZIONE DEL SUO 'LAWLESS WORLD'
Londra, 3 feb. (Adnkronos) - Il 31 gennaio 2003 George Bush, pronto a muovere guerra all'Iraq anche in assenza di una seconda risoluzione Onu, discusse con Tony Blair dell'ipotesi di 'fabbricare' il pretesto per attaccare Saddam facendo sorvolare ad un aereo da ricognizione U2 con i colori Onu il paese nella speranza che il dittatore iracheno lo abbattesse. A rivelarlo e' Philippe Sands, avvocato ed esperto di diritto, autore di una nuova edizione di 'Lawless World' in cui cita un Memorandum della Casa Bianca in cui si riferisce il contenuto del colloquio.

By Rosemary Bennett and Michael Evans, Times of London

PRESIDENT BUSH had plans to lure Saddam Hussein into war by flying an aircraft over Iraq painted in UN colours in the hope he would shoot it down, a book reveals.