Facility 1391: Israel's secret prison

It has been removed from maps and airbrushed from aerial photographs. But Facility 1391 certainly exists - you just have to ask the Palestinians and Lebanese who have been imprisoned and tortured there.

Facility 1391 has been airbrushed from Israeli aerial photographs and purged from modern maps. Where once a police station was marked there is now a blank space. Sometimes even the road leading to it has been erased. But Israel's secret prison, inside an army intelligence base close to the main road between Hadera and Afula in northern Israel, is real enough. For 20 years or more it has been housed in a large, imposing, single-storey building designed by a British engineer, Sir Charles Taggart, during the 1930s as one of a series of garrison forts designed to contain growing unrest in Palestine. Today, the thick concrete walls and iron gates are themselves protected by a double fence overseen by watchtowers and patrolled by attack dogs.

U.N. calls U.S. human rights record "deplorable"

The United Nations has released a new report on accountability for human rights abuses by the United States, focusing mostly on transgressions during the Bush administration's so-called war on terror. In a word, accountability in the U.S. has been "deplorable."

The May 26, 2009, report by Australian law professor Philip Alston, the U.N. special rapporteur on extrajudicial executions, does praise the United States for establishing compensation payments for civilians accidentally killed by U.S. forces in the heat of battle. But Alston quickly adds the following: "However, there have been chronic and deplorable accountability failures with respect to policies, practice and conduct that resulted in alleged unlawful killings -- including possible war crimes -- in the United States' international operations."

Obama 49

New report appears to directly contradict White House denial on abuse photos
A new report appears to directly contradict denials by the White House and the Pentagon that abuse photographs the Obama administration has withheld are worse than previously known.
In a posting Friday, an American reporter says he’s confirmed allegations printed in British newspapers that unreleased photographs of US servicemembers abusing prisoners include graphic images of rape, sexually explicit acts, sodomy and forced masturbation.

Obama 48

Casa Blanca solicita a tribunal que bloquee divulgación de fotos de torturas
El gobierno de Obama solicitó formalmente la censura de centenares de fotos de torturas cometidas en las prisiones de Estados Unidos en el extranjero. El jueves, el gobierno solicitó a una corte federal de apelaciones que bloqueara la divulgación de las fotos aduciendo que incitarían a la violencia contra las tropas estadounidenses. En la solicitud interpuesta ante la justicia, se citan dos declaraciones secretas de los destacados generales estadounidenses David Petraeus y Ray Odierno, quienes ejercieron presión para impedir la divulgación de las fotos.

Gobierno niega que fotos muestren violaciones y abusos sexuales
La presentación del recurso se hizo al otro día de que el jefe de la investigación de Abu Ghraib, el mayor general Antonio Taguba, afirmara que entre las fotos hay imágenes de violaciones y abusos sexuales sufridos por prisioneros iraquíes, y cometidos por soldados estadounidenses. Robert Gibbs, Secretario de Prensa de la Casa Blanca, negó las acusaciones.

Robert Gibbs dijo: “Creo que el Pentágono fue muy claro al declarar que la historia es falsa. Quiero referirme en forma general a algunos informes que vi durante los últimos años en los medios de comunicación británicos y, de alguna manera, estoy sorprendido de que se hayan filtrado".

Activistas en contra de torturas reclaman divulgación de fotos y procesamientos
Mientras tanto, en Nueva York, activistas en contra de la tortura integrantes del grupo World Can’t Wait (cuya traducción en español sería “el mundo no puede esperar”) se manifestaron en la Gran Estación Central, para reclamar la divulgación de las fotos. Los manifestantes vistieron trajes color naranja y capuchas negras, similares a las de los prisioneros de Guantánamo. Samantha Goldman, de World Can’t Wait, rechazó el argumento utilizado por el gobierno de Obama para justificar la censura de las fotos.

Samantha Goldman dijo: “Lo que enciende el sentimiento anti-estadounidense son las bases militares de nuestro país en todo el mundo, las torturas, que es lo que en realidad vamos a hacer allí, eso es lo que exacerba el sentimiento anti-estadounidense. Para enjuiciar a los criminales es necesario publicar las fotos; para poder procesar realmente a los criminales de la era Bush, habría que poder presentar las fotos como prueba”.

Obama 47

The Pentagon is prepared to leave fighting forces in Iraq for as long as a decade despite an agreement between the United States and Iraq that would bring all American troops home by 2012, the top U.S. Army officer said Tuesday.

Gen. George Casey, the Army chief of staff, said the world remains dangerous and unpredictable, and the Pentagon must plan for extended U.S. combat and stability operations in two wars.

How Many Secret Prisons Does Israel Have?

The United Nation’s watchdog on torture has criticised Israel for refusing to allow inspections at a secret prison, dubbed by critics as “Israel’s Guantanamo Bay”, and demanded to know if more such clandestine detention camps are operating.

In a report published on Friday, the Committee Against Torture requested that Israel identify the location of the camp, officially referred to as “Facility 1391”, and allow access to the International Committee of the Red Cross.

Findings from Israeli human rights groups show that the prison has in the past been used to hold Arab and Muslim prisoners, including Palestinians, and that routine torture and physical abuse were carried out by interrogators.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Supreme Court ruled on Tuesday that police,
under certain circumstances, can initiate an interrogation of a suspect without
the defendant's lawyer being present.
By a 5-4 vote, the conservative majority overruled a 23-year-old Supreme Court
decision that barred the police from initiating questioning after a defendant
asserted the right to an attorney at an arraignment or similar proceeding.
The 1986 decision held that once a defendant invoked the right to counsel, only
the suspect, and not the police, can initiate the contact.
The ruling was the latest in a recent string by conservative justices expanding
the power of police to question suspects.

Ex-Officer: Blocked Photos Showed Rape, Sexual Abuse at Abu Ghraib

The former Army officer in charge of investigating the Abu Graib scandal says the photos recently blocked by President Obama include images of rape and sexual abuse. In an interview with the Daily Telegraph, Major General Antonio Taguba said at least one picture shows a US soldier raping a female prisoner while another shows a male translator raping a male prisoner. Taguba says other photographs show sexual assaults with objects including a truncheon, wire and a phosphorescent tube. The Obama administration recently drew criticism when it reversed a pledge to allow the photographs’ release.

Ex oficial: Las fotos no publicadas mostraban violaciones y abusos sexuales cometidos en Abu Ghraib

El ex oficial del Ejército a cargo de la investigación del escándalo de Abu Ghraib dice que las fotografías que el Presidente Barack Obama recientemente decidió no publicar incluían imágenes de violaciones y abusos sexuales. En una entrevista con el Daily Telegraph, el Mayor General Antonio Taguba dijo que al menos una fotografía muestra a un soldado estadounidense violando a una prisionera y otra muestra a un traductor violando a un prisionero. Taguba dice que en otras fotografías se pueden ver abusos sexuales con objetos tales como porras, alambres y un tubo fosforescente. El gobierno de Obama recientemente fue criticado cuando se retractó de una promesa de permitir la publicación de dichas fotografías.

Netanyahu: Israel continuará expandiendo los asentamientos

El Primer Ministro Benjamin Netanyahu afirmó el domingo que Israel continuará construyendo viviendas en los asentamientos ya existentes en Cisjordania; de esta manera, desafiará los pedidos de Estados Unidos de que detenga su crecimiento.

Obama 46

The real reason behind Obama’s reversal of a decision to release the torture photos has been almost completely ignored by the corporate media - the fact that the photos show both US and Iraqi soldiers raping teenage boys in front of their mothers.

The Obama administration originally intended to release photos depicting torture and abuse of detainees in Afghanistan and Iraq by the end of May, following a court order arising out of a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit first filed by the ACLU in 2004.

However, a reversal of Obama’s decision was announced this week, after he “changed his mind after viewing some of the images and hearing warnings from his generals in Iraq and in Afghanistan that such a move would endanger US troops deployed there,” according to a Washington Post report.

In response, the ACLU charged that Obama “has essentially become complicit with the torture that was rampant during the Bush years by being complicit in its coverup.” The Obama administration has also sought to protect intelligence officials involved in torture from prosecution at every turn.

The primary reason why Obama is now blocking the release of the photos is that some of the pictures, as well as video recordings, show prison guards sodomizing young boys in front of their mothers, both with objects as well as physical rape.

Obama 45

Obama considera “detención preventiva” para encarcelamientos indefinidos

El gobierno de Obama, mientras tanto, está considerando la posibilidad de implantar un sistema de “detención preventiva” que pondría indefinidamente en la cárcel a sospechosos de terrorismo en Estados Unidos, sin procesarlos. El New York Times informa que Obama debatió la propuesta en una reunión con defensores de los derechos humanos, que tuvo lugar en la Casa Blanca.

Obama 44

US Continues to Imprison Reuters Photographer in Iraq

The United States is continuing to imprison at least one journalist without charge. Ibrahim Jassam, a freelance photographer for Reuters, has been held in Iraq since September despite objections from the Iraqi government, Committee to Protect Journalists and Reporters Without Borders and Reuters. Unlike Saberi’s case, Jassam’s imprisonment has received little news attention in the United States.

Obama 43

Missing Bush E-Mails Wont Be Released, Court Says

A federal appeals court ruled Tuesday that the office that has records about millions of possibly missing e-mails from the Bush White House does not have to make them public.

The appeals court in Washington ruled that the White House Office of Administration is not an agency subject to the Freedom of Information Act, allowing the White House to keep secret documents about an e-mail system that has been plagued with problems.

Obama 42

Afghan Lawmakers Protest Civilian Deaths
Afghan lawmakers walked out of parliament Monday to protest the latest civilian casualties at the hands of US-led forces. Lawmakers are demanding legal restrictions be placed on US and coalition forces to prevent further civilian deaths.

US Drone Strike Kills Eight in Pakistan
In Pakistan, at least eight people have died after a US drone blew up a house in the South Waziristan district, near the Afghan border.

Obama 41

Democrats won't fund Guantanamo closing
President Barack Obama's allies in the Senate will not provide funds to close the Guantanamo Bay prison next January, a top Democratic official said Tuesday.
With debate looming on Obama's spending request to cover military and diplomatic operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, the official says Democrats will deny the Pentagon and Justice Department $80 million to relocate Guantanamo's 240 detainees.

Interrogators May Have KIlled Dozens

United States interrogators killed nearly four dozen detainees during or after their interrogations, according a report published by a human rights researcher based on a Human Rights First report and followup investigations.
In all, 98 detainees have died while in US hands. Thirty-four homicides have been identified, with at least eight detainees - and as many as 12 - having been tortured to death, according to a 2006 Human Rights First report that underwrites the researcher's posting. The causes of 48 more deaths remain uncertain.

Israel bans books, music and clothes from entering Gaza

Israel allows only food, medicine and detergent into the Gaza Strip. Thousands of items, including vital products for everyday activity, are forbidden.
Altogether only 30 to 40 select commercial items are now allowed into the Gaza Strip, compared to 4,000 that had been approved before the closure Israel imposed on Gaza following the abduction of Gilad Shalit, according to merchants and human rights activists.

Mueren mil sospechosos de ser combatientes Talibán en Pakistán
Las Fuerzas Armadas pakistaníes ahora aseguran que mataron a más de mil sospechosos de ser combatientes Talibán en la frontera afgana. Pakistán está considerando extender su ofensiva a las afueras del Valle de Swat. El Presidente pakistaní Asif Ali Zardari le dijo al Sunday Times de Londres lo siguiente: “Swat es simplemente el comienzo. Hay una guerra más grande por pelear”. La ofensiva militar en el Valle de Swat ya ha desplazado a más de un millón de personas.

Mueren 29 personas en ataque con avión no tripulado estadounidense en Pakistán
Mientras tanto, Estados Unidos llevó a cabo otro ataque con un avión no tripulado en Pakistán, lo que provocó la muerte de 29 personas el sábado en Waziristán del Sur.

El hermano del Presidente afgano sobrevive ataque
En Afganistán, hombres armados atacaron el convoy del hermano del Presidente Hamid Karzai hoy temprano. Ahmad Wali Karzai sobrevivió al ataque, pero uno de sus guardaespaldas fue asesinado.

Guardias de Blackwater dispararon contra vehículo civil en Afganistán
Cuatro contratistas estadounidenses que dependen de la empresa antiguamente conocida como Blackwater dispararon contra un vehículo civil que se aproximaba a ellos en Kabul a principios de este mes, hiriendo a por lo menos dos civiles afganos. En ese momento los contratistas no estaban en servicio y presuntamente habían estado bebiendo.

Obama 40

Se envían Fuerzas Especiales de Estados Unidos a Pakistán
El Wall Street Journal informa que Estados Unidos está enviado Fuerzas Especiales a Pakistán para entrenar al denominado Cuerpo Fronterizo de Pakistán, una fuerza paramilitar que lucha contra los combatientes Talibán y de Al Qaeda. Entre 25 y 50 miembros de las Fuerzas Especiales están siendo desplegados en dos nuevos campos de entrenamiento en Baluchistán, un bastión Talibán en la frontera entre Afganistán y Pakistán. Un alto oficial militar estadounidense dijo que esperaba que Islamabad permita gradualmente que Estados Unidos expanda sus fuerzas de entrenamiento dentro de las fronteras de Pakistán.

Obama 39

Little Known Military Thug Squad Still Brutalizing Prisoners at Gitmo Under Obama

The 'Black Shirts' of Guantanamo routinely terrorize prisoners, breaking bones, gouging eyes, squeezing testicles, and 'dousing' them with chemicals.

The force is officially known as the the Immediate Reaction Force or Emergency Reaction Force, but inside the walls of Guantánamo, it is known to the prisoners as the Extreme Repression Force. Despite President Barack Obama's publicized pledge to close the prison camp and end torture -- and analysis from human rights lawyers who call these forces' actions illegal -- IRFs remain very much active at Guantánamo.

Obama 38

El presidente de Estados Unidos, Barack Obama, sopesa detener a sospechosos de forma indefinida en suelo estadounidense y, según se supo, trasladar los juicios de presos recluidos en Guantánamo a territorio nacional, lo que empaña su promesa de cerrar ese penal.
Si al final se decanta por esas opciones, Obama podría crear en una base militar de su país un sistema de detenciones y juicios que no diferiría mucho del establecido en Guantánamo, la base naval estadounidense en la isla de Cuba, por su predecesor, George W. Bush.

Obama 37

Nuevo comandante vinculado a grupo secreto que perpetraba asesinatos
El nuevo comandante en la guerra con Afganistán, Stanley McChrystal, es considerado un experto en artes militares de contrainsurgencia y guerrillas. Como director de Operaciones Especiales (que respondían directamente al vicepresidente Dick Cheney), McChrystal supervisó un programa secreto para buscar y asesinar a sospechosos de terrorismo o peligrosos para EEUU, en todo el mundo. Según el periodista de investigación Seymour Hersh, el Comando Conjunto de Operaciones Especiales perpetró asesinatos en una docena de países. El año pasado, los legisladores postergaron el nombramiento de Stanley McChrystal para un cargo clave debido a las interrogantes sobre el abuso de prisioneros por parte de las fuerzas que él dirigía. Al menos 64 miembros del servicio—pertenecientes o asignados a las unidades de Operaciones Especiales—recibieron sanciones disciplinarias por cometer abusos contra prisioneros, perpetrados entre principios de 2004 y fines de 2007. El Secretario de Defensa, Robert Gates, anunció el cambio ayer, y dijo que el Teniente General David Rodríguez será el responsable del manejo diario de la guerra en Afganistán.

Robert Gates dijo: “Yo considero que McChrystal y Rodríguez son un equipo. Ambos aportan habilidades extraordinarias en diversas áreas que son muy pertinentes para el tipo de combate que tenemos en Afganistán. Y pienso que la unión de sus habilidades nos brinda nuevas oportunidades para el futuro”.

El Teniente General McChrystal dirigió operaciones especiales bajo el mando del General David Petraeus, durante la implementación de la estrategia del aumento del número de soldados en Irak. Fred Kaplan, de la revista electrónica Slate, escribió: “La destitución de McKiernan marca un giro drástico en la estrategia estadounidense respecto a la guerra en Afganistán. Y significa que la guerra ahora es, inequívocamente, ‘la guerra de Obama’”.

New Commander Tied to Secret Assassination Team
The new commander, Stanley McChrystal, is viewed as an expert on counterinsurgency and guerrilla warfare. As head of Special Operations (that responded directly to Vicepresident Dick Cheney), McChrystal oversaw a secretive program to hunt down and assassinate suspected terrorists or dangerous to the US, around the globe. According to investigative reporter Seymour Hersh, the Joint Special Operations Command carried out assassinations in a dozen countries. Last year, lawmakers delayed Stanley McChrystal’s nomination for a key position because of questions about prisoner abuse by forces under his command. At least sixty-four service personnel assigned or attached to Special Operations units were disciplined for prisoner abuse between early 2004 and the end of 2007. Defense Secretary Robert Gates announced the change yesterday and said Lt. Gen. David Rodriguez will take responsibility for the day-to-day management of the war in Afghanistan.

Robert Gates: “The way I look at this is as McChrystal and Rodriguez as a team. They each bring tremendous skills in a variety of areas that are very pertinent to the kind of fight that we have in Afghanistan. And it is their combined skill set that I think gives us some fresh opportunities, looking forward.”

Lt. Gen. McChrystal ran special operations under General David Petraeus during the surge in Iraq. Fred Kaplan of Slate writes, “McKiernan’s ouster signals a dramatic shift in US strategy for the war in Afghanistan. And it means that the war is now, unequivocally, ’Obama’s war.’”

CIA terror suspects 'kept awake for 11 days'

More than 25 of the CIA's war-on-terror prisoners were subjected to sleep deprivation for as long as 11 days at a time during the administration of former president George Bush, according to The Los Angeles Times.

At one stage during the war on terror, the Central Intelligence Agency was allowed to keep prisoners awake for as long as 11 days, the Times reported, citing memoranda made public by the Justice department last month.

TVNL Comment: Sure...you will get real accurate information from someone who has not slept in a week. The reason for this this was to make people confess to 9/11 even though it was an inside job. The Bush administration had to create the terrorists that did not exist! They had to create the al Qaeda myth!

Israel Has Secret Plan to Thwart Division of Jerusalem

The Israeli government and settler organizations are secretly working to surround East Jerusalem with nine national parks, pathways and sites, drastically altering the geography of the city and to strengthen Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. Israel captured East Jerusalem in 1967 and later annexed it, a move not recognized by the international community. The Guardian newspaper reports, under an eight-year plan, a series of nine national parks, trails and tourist sites based on apparent Jewish historical spots would be established, most under the control of settler groups working together with the Israeli government. The sites would also create a link to Jewish settlements in East Jerusalem and the West Bank. Both Israelis and Palestinians claim Jerusalem as their capital. The Israeli organization Peace Now says the secret plan for East Jerusalem might prevent the ability to reach a two-state solution.

Israel tiene plan secreto para frustrar división de Jerusalén
El gobierno israelí y organizaciones de colonos de ese país están trabajando secretamente para rodear Jerusalén Oriental con nueve parques nacionales, caminos y sitios turísticos, lo que modificaría drásticamente la geografía de la ciudad, con el propósito de fortalecer a la ciudad como capital de Israel. Israel se apoderó de Jerusalén Oriental en 1967 y posteriormente la anexó, una medida no reconocida por la comunidad internacional. El periódico The Guardian informa que, conforme a un plan de ocho años de duración, se establecerían nueve parques nacionales, sendas y sitios turísticos en lo que serían lugares históricos para los judíos, la mayoría de ellos bajo el control de grupos de colonos que trabajan en conjunto con el gobierno israelí. Los lugares también crearían un vínculo con los asentamientos judíos de Jerusalén Oriental y Cisjordania. Tanto israelíes como palestinos reivindican a Jerusalén como su capital. La organización israelí “Peace Now” afirma que el plan secreto para Jerusalén Oriental podría impedir que se alcanzara una solución de dos estados.

Obama 36

Obama Renews Sanctions Against Syria
President Obama has renewed economic and diplomatic sanctions against Syria. The sanctions were first put in place by President Bush four years ago.
Obama renueva sanciones contra Siria
El Presidente Obama renovó las sanciones económicas y diplomáticas contra Siria. Las sanciones fueron implementadas por el Presidente Bush hace cuatro años.

Obama 35

US Rejects Karzai’s Request to Halt Air Strikes in Afghanistan
President Obama’s National Security Adviser, General James Jones, said Sunday that the US will continue carrying out air strikes in Afghanistan despite criticism from the Afghan government. During an interview on Meet the Press, Afghan president Hamid Karzai said the strikes are undermining US efforts in Afghanistan
Hamid Karzai: “Our villages are not where the terrorists are. And that’s what we keep telling the US administration, that the war on terrorism is not in the Afghan villages, not in the Afghan homes. Respect that. Civilian casualties are undermining support in the Afghan people for the war on terrorism and for the relations with America. How can you expect a people who keep losing their children to remain friendly?”

US Accused of Firing White Phosphorus in Afghanistan
Meanwhile, US and NATO forces have been accused of using white phosphorus munitions in Afghanistan. In one incident reported by Human Rights Watch, an eight-year-old Afghan girl was severely burned by white phosphorus in March. Her father said NATO forces had fired the rounds that caused her injuries.

Estados Unidos rechaza el pedido de Karzai de detener los ataques aéreos en Afganistán
El Asesor de Seguridad Nacional del Presidente Barack Obama, el General James Jones, dijo el domingo que Estados Unidos seguirá llevando a cabo ataques aéreos en Afganistán a pesar de las críticas del gobierno afgano. Durante una entrevista en el programa Meet the Press, el Presidente afgano Hamid Karzai dijo que los ataques están socavando los esfuerzos estadounidenses en Afganistán.
Hamid Karzai dijo: “Nuestras aldeas no son el lugar en donde están los terroristas. Y eso es lo que le seguimos diciendo al gobierno estadounidense. Que la guerra contra el terrorismo no es en las aldeas afganas ni en los hogares afganos. Se debe respetar eso. La muerte de civiles está socavando el apoyo del pueblo afgano a la guerra contra el terrorismo y a las relaciones con Estados Unidos. ¿Cómo pueden pretender que un pueblo que sigue perdiendo a sus hijos sea amistoso?”.

Estados Unidos es acusado de utilizar fósforo blanco en Afganistán
Mientras tanto, las fuerzas estadounidenses y de la OTAN fueron acusadas de utilizar municiones de fósforo blanco en Afganistán. En un incidente informado por Human Rights Watch, en marzo una niña afgana de ocho años sufrió quemaduras graves con fósforo blanco. Su padre dijo que las fuerzas de la OTAN habían disparado municiones que provocaron sus heridas.

Obama 34

Docenas de civiles afganos asesinados en bombardeos estadounidenses

Docenas de civiles fueron asesinados el martes, en un bombardeo estadounidense en Afganistán. Testigos afirman que los aviones de combate bombardearon veintenas de viviendas durante los enfrentamientos con los combatientes talibanes en la provincia occidental de Farah. Según se informa, los aldeanos llevaron camiones cargados de cadáveres a la oficina del gobernador de la provincia. La Cruz Roja afirma que docenas de civiles fueron asesinados, incluidos muchas mujeres y niños. Las estimaciones de la cifra de fallecidos oscilan entre 30 y 150 personas. El ataque se produjo al tiempo que el presidente afgano Hamid Karzai se encuentra en Washington, para su primera reunión en la Casa Blanca desde que asumió el Presidente Obama. El martes, Karzai dijo que las relaciones entre Estados Unidos y Afganistán eran fuertes, a pesar de las tensiones provocadas por el bombardeo de civiles afganos.

Obama 33

Justice Dept. Torture Memo Probe Rules Out Prosecution

Prospects are dimming for the prosecution of Bush administration lawyers who authorized the torture of foreign prisoners. In a draft report, Justice Department investigators say the lawyers—John Yoo, Jay Bybee and Steven Bradbury—shouldn’t face criminal charges for authoring memos that backed a range of abuses including waterboarding and physical assault.

Dozens of Afghan Civilians Killed in US Bombings

Dozens of civilians were killed Tuesday in a US bombing in Afghanistan. Witnesses say US warplanes bombed scores of homes during clashes with Taliban fighters in the western province of Farah. Villagers reportedly brought truckloads of bodies to their provincial governor’s office. The Red Cross says dozens of civilians were killed, including many women and children. Estimates of the dead range from thirty to as many as 150. The attack comes as Afghan President Hamid Karzai is in Washington for his first White House meeting sine President Obama took office.

BAN KI-MOON'S MORAL FAILURE

For the UN secretary-general, Israeli bombing is good --
although he would like perhaps to see a little bit less.
But, in tune with his political masters, he considers
Palestinians to have no right to any form of self-defense
against the Israeli occupation, constant aggression and
the Israeli, internationally-supported, deadly siege, with
whatever means they have at their disposal.

Obama 32

Gates Hints at Continued Indefinite Jailing of Gitmo Prisoners
Defense Secretary Robert Gates has indicated up to 100 foreign prisoners could end up jailed without trial in the US once the Guantanamo Bay prison is closed. Testifying before the Senate Appropriations Committee, Gates said, “What do we do with the fifty to 100—probably in that ballpark—who we cannot release and cannot try?” Gates said he’s requested some $50 million in supplemental funding in case the Obama administration decides to quickly build a new jail.

61 Arrested Protesting Torture Outside White House
Gates’s comments came as sixty-one protesters were arrested outside the White House Thursday to call for the closure of Guantanamo and the prosecution of Bush administration officials who authorized torture there. The arrests followed a march of more than 150 people. Dozens wore black hoods and orange jumpsuits similar to those worn by Guantanamo prisoners. The protest was organized by Witness Against Torture and Amnesty International.

New evidence of a secret torture prison

It has long been clear that the CIA used the Szymany military airbase in Poland for extraordinary renditions. Now there is new evidence of a secret torture prison nearby.
It was apparently here, just under an hour's drive from Szymany airport, that Sheikh Mohammed was tortured exactly 183 times with waterboarding -- an interrogation technique that simulates the sensation of drowning -- in March 2003 alone. That averages out to eight times a day. And all of this happened right here in Europe.
Over six years later, these acts of torture are putting President Obama under intense pressure. On the one hand, he released four memos in which his predecessor George W. Bush had legalized such interrogation methods. On the other hand, he decided not to prosecute the torturers. And he initially neglected to launch investigations into these "special interrogation methods."

Iran say terror acts used to justify occupation of Iraq

Foreign Ministry spokesman Hassan Qashqavi on Friday condemned the recent terrorist attacks in Iraq, saying such heinous incidents are actually being carried out to justify continuation of the U.S. occupation of the country.

Obama 31

Obama marks Armenian 'atrocity'
Barack Obama has refrained from calling the
killing of Armenians by Turks in World War I
"genocide" despite using the term during his
election campaign.

Iraqi Tally: 87,000 Dead Since 2005

A newly disclosed Iraqi government tally shows at least 87,000 Iraqis have been killed in violent attacks since 2005. An Iraqi government official provided the figure to the Associated Press. Studies have estimated anywhere between 500,000 to one million Iraqis have died as a result of the US invasion in 2003.

The CIA's use of waterboarding to interrogate terrorism suspects was approved by Condoleezza Rice as early as 2002, a senate report reveals.

As national security adviser, Ms Rice consented to the harsh interrogation of al-Qaeda suspect Abu Zubaydah, the Senate Intelligence Committee found.
Memos released last week show that he and another key detainee were subjected to waterboarding 266 times.
Former Vice-President Dick Cheney has said the techniques produced results.
The latest details were revealed in a timeline of the CIA's interrogation programme produced by the US Senate Intelligence Committee.
It shows Ms Rice and other top Bush administration officials were first briefed about "alternative interrogation methods, including waterboarding", in May 2002.

Obama 30

UN Special Rapporteur on Torture Says Obama Violating International Law

The UN special rapporteur on torture, Manfred Nowak, has said President Obama is in violation of international law for declining to prosecute CIA agents who used torture. Nowak said the US is bound by the UN Convention Against Torture, which requires prosecution in all cases in which there is evidence of torture.

CIA Used Waterboarding 266 Times

A footnote in one of the newly declassified torture memos has revealed that CIA interrogators used waterboarding far more than had been previously reported. In August 2002, the CIA waterboarded Abu Zubaydah eighty-three times. The CIA also used waterboarding 183 times in March 2003 against Khalid Sheikh Mohammed. In 2007, a former CIA officer publicly claimed that Abu Zubaydah had undergone waterboarding for only thirty-five seconds before agreeing to tell everything he knew.

Khalid Sheikh Mohammed Was Waterboarded 183 Times in One Month

Note, the information comes from the CIA IG report which, in the case of Abu Zubaydah, is based on having viewed the torture tapes as well as other materials. So this is presumably a number that was once backed up by video evidence.
The same OLC memo passage explains how the CIA might manage to waterboard these men so many times in one month each (though even with these chilling numbers, the CIA's math doesn't add up).
So: two two-hour sessions a day, with six applications of the waterboard each = 12 applications in a day. Though to get up to the permitted 12 minutes of waterboarding in a day (with each use of the waterboard limited to 40 seconds), you'd need 18 applications in a day. Assuming you use the larger 18 applications in one 24-hour period, and do 18 applications on five days within a month, you've waterboarded 90 times--still just half of what they did to KSM.
The reason the Bush administration used torture was to complete the legend of 9/11. They needed to create culprits where there were none...or at least in placed other than their own administration.

Estudio: mujeres y niños iraquíes representan la mayoría de las víctimas de ataques aéreos estadounidenses

Un nuevo estudio sostiene que la gran mayoría de las víctimas iraquíes identificables de los ataques aéreos dirigidos por EE.UU. son mujeres y niños. Según el grupo “Irak Body Count” (recuento de víctimas iraquíes), las mujeres y niños iraquíes representan el 85% de las víctimas de sexo o edad conocidos. El estudio abarcó una muestra de más de 60.000 fallecidos durante un período de cinco años desde que comenzó la invasión en 2003.

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Obama da marcha atrás en divulgación total de memorandos sobre tortura

El gobierno de Obama, según se informa, decidió censurar parte de los tres memorandos secretos sobre tortura elaborados por el gobierno de Bush que había prometido difundir. El objetivo de estos memorandos del Departamento de Justicia fue dar sustento legal al programa de interrogatorios de la CIA. El Wall Street Journal informa que el gobierno de Obama dará a conocer los nombres de los prisioneros y detalles de las técnicas específicas utilizadas. Se prevé que el gobierno divulgue la información en el correr del día de hoy, en cumplimiento de un plazo impuesto judicialmente ante una demanda iniciada por la Unión por las Libertades Civiles (ACLU, por su sigla en inglés).

Obama Backtracks on Full Release of Torture Memos

The Obama administration has reportedly decided to censor portions of three secret Bush administration torture memos it had previously vowed to release. The Justice Department memos were written to give legal backing to the CIA’s interrogation program. The Wall Street Journal is reporting the Obama administration will redact the prisoners’ names as well as details on how particular techniques were used. The administration is expected to make the announcement later today under a court-imposed deadline in a case brought by the ACLU.

Obama 28

Un ex prisionero de Guantánamo dijo que las condiciones en la prisión empeoraron luego de que el Presidente Obama asumió el mando. Binyam Mohamed hizo este comentario en una entrevista publicada en el sitio web CagePrisoners.com website.

Binyam Mohamed dijo: “Comenzaron a ser más represivos, y es como si hubieran empezado a implementar normas, normas degradantes que nos obligaron a la mayoría de nosotros a iniciar huelgas de hambre, y si se fijan en los registros, antes de que asumiera el nuevo gobierno solamente había diez o veinte personas en huelga de hambre y justo después de que el nuevo gobierno asumiera el mando, esta cifra aumentó a cuarenta y pico de personas que son alimentados a la fuerza y otras cien que están en huelga de hambre”.

Binyam Mohamed fue liberado de Guantánamo a fines de febrero tras haber estado detenido siete años por Estados Unidos. Mohamed dice que fue torturado reiteradas veces mientras estuvo detenido en una prisión secreta de la CIA y en Guantánamo.

Obama 27

El Washington Post informa que el gobierno de Obama aparentemente mantendrá su decisión de boicotear la Conferencia Mundial contra el Racismo que se llevará a cabo la semana que viene en Ginebra, a pesar de los esfuerzos por moderar las expresiones críticas de Israel en el esbozo del documento de la conferencia. Israel y varios grupos de defensa judíos exhortaron a Estados Unidos y a otros países a que no participaran en la conferencia. No obstante, otros grupos, entre ellos TransAfrica y el Fondo de Defensa Legal de la Asociación Nacional para el Progreso de la Gente de Color, están instando al gobierno de Obama a que participe en la conferencia. Imani Countess de TransAfrica dijo: “Era de esperarse que el Presidente Bush no participara, pero que el gobierno de Barack Obama no participe es una decepción. Envía el mensaje de que estos asuntos no son importantes”.

Obama 26

El Presidente Barack Obama ordenó a su gobierno que autorice los viajes y transferencias de dinero ilimitadas de los estadounidenses cubanos a sus familias en Cuba, pero se rehusó a levantar el embargo comercial que hace casi 50 años pesa sobre la isla. El lunes, el Secretario de Prensa de la Casa Blanca Robert Gibbs anunció la nueva política con respecto a Cuba.

Obama 25

El Presidente Obama se alineó con el ex gobierno de Bush al afirmar que los prisioneros retenidos por las tropas estadounidenses en el extranjero no tienen derechos legales en Estados Unidos. El viernes, el Departamento de Justicia apeló la sentencia de un juez federal que otorgaba a tres detenidos en la prisión militar estadounidense de Bagram, en Afganistán, el derecho a impugnar su detención en los tribunales estadounidenses.

687 civiles paquistaníes asesinados por aviones no tripulados de EE.UU. desde 2006

El periódico paquistaní The News informa que 687 civiles paquistaníes han muerto víctimas de los bombardeos estadounidenses desde 2006. Durante ese período, aviones no tripulados de Estados Unidos realizaron 60 ataques en el interior de Pakistán, pero sólo 10 de ellos dieron en los blancos reales.

Israeli high court rules in favor of further home demolitions in Jerusalem

Just a few days after ruling to force Palestinian homeowner Darwish Hijazi off his land to allow Israeli expansion in his home and property, the Israeli high court has issued a ruling on the cases of two more families who challenged the Israeli demolition orders placed on their homes.
The demolition orders are part of a larger Israeli settlement plan, which the Israeli Mayor of Jerusalem and the city planners have called the 'E1 Plan’, to tear down thousands of Palestinian homes in East Jerusalem to make way for Disney-like theme parks based on biblical themes.

Please tell me, where is Israel headed?

So Israel will continue expanding its settlements in the West Bank. In fact, the Israeli press is reporting that Netanyahu and Lieberman agreed in their negotiations to form a government that Israel would build 3,000 housing units in an area between Jerusalem and Maale Adumim (a huge settlement bloc) known as E-1. Once that is accomplished, Israel will have effectively cut the West Bank in half, making it almost impossible to create a viable Palestinian state. This deal was supposed to be secret, because the United States is opposed to Israel building in the E-1 area.

Obama 24

Barack Obama goes ahead with missile defence shield despite disarmament pledge

"He sounded like George W Bush saying that we should be afraid in order to justify missile defence."
Gary Samore, a White House adviser on arms control, indicated that Mr Obama's call for ridding the world of nuclear weapons should not be taken too literally. "In terms of a nuclear-free world, we recognise this is not a near-term possibility," he said. Rather, the call was an attempt to "seize the moral high ground" in order to increase pressure on countries such as North Korea and Iran.

Obama 23

Estados Unidos aumentará el uso de aviones no tripulados en Pakistán

El New York Times informa que funcionarios del gobierno de Obama proponen intensificar el uso de aviones no tripulados para atacar Pakistán y comenzar a bombardear objetivos que se encuentran en el interior del país.

Obama 22

Following Bush lead, Obama moves to block challenge to wiretapping program

President Barack Obama invoked "state secrets" to prevent a court from reviewing the legality of the National Security Agency's warantless wiretapping program, moving late Friday to have a lawsuit that challenged the program dismissed.
The move -- which holds that information surrounding the massive eavesdropping program should be kept from the public because of its sensitivity -- follows an earlier decision in March to block handover of documents relating to the Bush Administration's decision to spy on a charity. The arguments also mirror the Bush Administration's efforts to dismiss an earlier suit against AT&T.

TVNL Comment: Still think "change" means what you thought it meant?

Massive US Arms Sale to Israel Disclosed

Amnesty International has revealed that the United States has sent a massive new shipment of arms to Israel despite evidence that US weapons were misused against civilians in the Gaza attacks. Amnesty said a German cargo ship carrying about 14,000 tons of arms docked in late March at the Israeli port of Ashdod, about twenty-five miles north of Gaza. The ship left for Israel on December 20, a week before the start of Israel’s attacks on Gaza.

Gazan fishermen abducted by Israeli forces

Gazan fishermen abducted by Israeli forces
ISM Gaza Strip

http://fishingunderfire.blogspot.com/

Since Friday 13th March 2009, 16 fishermen from the Gaza Strip have been abducted by the Israeli Navy.
12 were abducted while fishing off the coast of Beit Lahia;
Zaki Mostafa Tarowsh, 44; Ismaeen Zaki Tarowsh, 16; Thaher Mahmoud Zayad, 45; and Nedal Thaher Zayad, 23 were abducted on Friday 13/02/2009.
Kamel Deeb Alankah, 57; and Yoness Deeb Zayal, 36 were abducted on Wednesday 18/03/2009.
Ramzy Mostafah Alsultan,36; Anes Mohammed Alsultan, 20; Ashraf Hossan Alsultan, 34; Mohammed Hossan Alsultan, 23; Mahmoud Mohammed Zayad, 23; and Fahme Salah Abu Reash, 18 were all abducted on Thursday 19/03/2009.
4 were abducted on Wednesday 25th March while fishing near Rafah;
Mohammed Abulah An Najjar, 26; Khalil abdullah an najjar, 20 ;Yousif Abdullah An Najjar, 18 ; and Ali Hasan an Najjar,18.
The fishermen were forced at gunpoint to strip naked and swim from their boats to the Israeli warships. After being taken to Ashdod they were all released within 24 hours. The Israeli Navy have however impounded all of their boats - 7 in total.
International law, and various agreements to which Israel is a signatory indeed recognise that the Fishermen from Gaza have a right to fish at least 12 miles from shore at a bare minimum. In practice however a “law of the gun” has been enforced by the Israeli Navy, and this right has been denied to them.
According to numerous reports from the international media the Israeli Navy were enforcing a no fishing zone 6 miles from shore prior to the wholesale attacks on the population of the Gaza Strip. It has been commonly reported that in the wake of these attacks, this limit has been reduced to 3 miles.
The fishermen abducted from Beit Lahia however say that this is not the whole story, and that for them, the limit has been reduced to a mere 200m. Were this not bad enough, all of them were actually within this limit when they were abducted. Several of them say that whilst in captivity, when they told Israeli investigators where they had been abducted from, the investigators expressed surprise and told them “… but that is not a forbidden area.”
It is unclear what the Israeli military regard as the official “forbidden” area. There are no official channels of communication open between the Israeli Navy and the fishermen from Gaza. All the information regarding this that the fishermen have is delivered at gunpoint, and is inconsistent with the actions of the gunboat crews. Experience informs the fishermen that at any moment any portion of Gaza’s territorial waters can be deemed “prohibited” by the gunboat crews, no matter how close to shore, and irrespective of what the gunboat commanders have previously decreed (the status of these decrees as both arbitrary and illegal in the context of international law should also be noted).
This uncertainty is further compounded by what the fishermen say are unusually high levels of aggression by the gunboats. On the 17th March 2009 a gunboat crew shot Deeb Alankah, in the arm and the back. He was less than 200m from shore near Beit Lahia, and says that no warning was given to him nor demand made before he was shot. Other fishermen confirm that typically when the Israeli gun boats begin shooting at them, they now do so without warning.

Deeb’s father Kamel Deeb Alankah was one of the fishermen abducted on the day after his son was shot. He says of his interrogation;
“A colonel in the intelligence said “We shot Deeb by mistake.”
I told him “why did you shoot at us, on the sands and the small boats, you killed us.”
He said all of this was done by mistakes, I said “no its not by mistake, when the shots hit a boat 3 meters long? Is that by mistake?””
Israel is refusing to return the 7 fishing boats - the sole means of income for fishermen already greatly impoverished by the siege on the Gaza Strip.

Active Thermitic Material Discovered in Dust from the 9/11 World Trade Center Catastrophe

We have discovered distinctive red/gray chips in significant numbers in dust associated with the World Trade Center destruction. We have applied SEM/XEDS and other methods to characterize the small-scale structure and chemical signature of these chips, especially of their red component.
Based on these observations, we conclude that the red layer of the red/gray chips we have discovered in the WTC dust is active, unreacted thermitic material, incorporating nanotechnology, and is a highly energetic pyrotechnic or explosive material.

Obama 21

Mr Obama, who is in London for the G20 summit, has telephoned Mr Netanyahu to congratulate him on his new coalition government, the White House said.

"The president said he looked forward to working closely with Prime Minister Netanyahu and his government to address issues of mutual concern, including Iran and Arab-Israeli peace," its statement added.

Obama 20

Pentágono solicita envío de 10.000 soldados más a Afganistán
Comandantes militares estadounidenses solicitaron al gobierno de Obama el envío el año que viene de 10.000 soldados más a Afganistán. Esta cantidad de efectivos se sumaría a los 21.000 soldados adicionales que el Presidente Obama ha autorizado desde que asumió el cargo. El General David Petraeus dio a conocer la información al prestar declaración el jueves ante el Comité de Servicios Armados del Senado.
El General David Petraeus dijo: “No habrá nada fácil en el camino a seguir en Afganistán o Pakistán, o en muchas de las otras tareas que habrá que llevar a cabo en la zona del Comando Central. Nos espera un arduo trabajo, pero resulta evidente que lograr los objetivos de estas misiones es de vital importancia, y es igualmente claro que estos empeños requerirán un compromiso sustancial y continuo y la unidad del esfuerzo de todos los involucrados”.
Si Obama aprueba la solicitud en el correr del otoño, la ocupación estadounidense de Afganistán aumentaría a unos 70.000 efectivos.

Israeli soldier shot American activist in face with tear gas can

An American activist who participated in a Palestinian solidarity demonstration is in serious condition Saturday after an Israeli soldier shot him in the face with a high-velocity tear gas canister. He underwent surgery early Saturday.
Even as the rescue operation commenced, more tear gas rained down on the demonstrators as soldiers allegedly delayed ambulance access.
Tristan Anderson, 38, of Oakland, Calif., was wounded Friday in the West Bank village of Naalin, during a protest against Israels separation barrier, reported the Associated Press. In the past year, four Palestinians have been killed and scores injured by Israeli troops putting down weekly stone-throwing protests against the barrier, which cuts off Naalin from 300 acres of olive groves.
The Israeli soldiers were standing on the hill looking over us firing tear-gas canisters Ulrike Anderson, who was with Tristan when he was hit, told the International Herald-Tribune. Tristan was hit and fell to the ground. He had a large hole in the front of his head. I tried to stop the bleeding. He was bleeding heavily from the nose.
Tristan was shot by the new tear-gas canisters that can be shot up to 500 meters, said Teah Lunqvist with the International Solidarity Movement, according to Californias IndyBay. I ran over as I saw someone had been shot, while the Israeli forces continued to fire tear-gas at us. When an ambulance came, the Israeli soldiers refused to allow the ambulance through the checkpoint just outside the village. After 5 minutes of arguing with the soldiers, the ambulance passed.
Other ISM activists killed or injured by Israeli forces: Rachel Corrie, killed by a bulldozer in 2003; Brian Avery, shot in the face in 2003; and Tom Hurndall, shot to death in 2004, the site notes.

Obama 19

Obama to Order Additional 4,000 Troops to Afghanistan
President Obama is expected to unveil today a major expansion of US military efforts in Afghanistan and Pakistan. Following a two-month review, Obama will reportedly order an additional 4,000 troops to Afghanistan on top of the 17,000 new combat troops authorized last month. The Washington Post reports Obama’s plan will require a 60 percent increase to the $2 billion in monthly US military costs in Afghanistan. Administration officials also say they’ll impose new “benchmarks” on their allies in the Afghan and Pakistani governments. The plan will also reportedly include reconciliation efforts aimed at low-level Taliban fighters while shunning top leaders. On Thursday, National Intelligence Director Dennis Blair estimated some two-thirds of pro-Taliban groups are motivated by basic concerns such as inadequate water supplies or access to education.

Obama ordenará envío de 4.000 soldados más a Afganistán
Se espera que el Presidente Obama revele hoy una ampliación muy importante de los esfuerzos militares estadounidenses en Afganistán y Pakistán. Luego de una revisión de dos meses, Obama ordenaría el envío de 4.000 soldados más a Afganistán, además de los 17.000 nuevos efectivos de combate autorizados el mes pasado. El Washington Post informa que el plan de Obama requeriría un 60% de aumento de los costos militares de Estados Unidos en Afganistán, que ascienden a 2 mil millones de dólares mensuales. Los funcionarios de la administración también afirman que impondrán nuevos “parámetros” a sus aliados en los gobiernos afgano y paquistaní. El plan también tendría previstos esfuerzos de reconciliación que se entablarían con combatientes talibanes de bajo nivel y dejarían de lado a los altos líderes. El jueves, el director nacional de Inteligencia Dennis Blair estimó que a unos dos tercios de los grupos a favor de los talibanes los mueven preocupaciones básicas como los problemas en el suministro de agua o acceso a la educación.

Obama 18

El gobierno de Obama apoya prohibición contra erudito extranjero
El gobierno de Obama aparentemente decidió continuar con la política del ex Presidente George W. Bush de prohibir el ingreso de los eruditos extranjeros en virtud de las leyes antiterroristas. En una audiencia llevada a cabo el martes en un tribunal federal de apelaciones, un abogado del gobierno argumentó a favor de mantener la prohibición contra un destacado intelectual musulmán al que se le impidió aceptar un trabajo como docente en Estados Unidos. Este erudito, Tariq Ramadan, recibió una propuesta para trabajar en la Universidad de Notre Dame en Ohio en el año 2004. El gobierno de Bush inicialmente prohibió su ingreso al país sin dar explicaciones y luego dijo que había tomado esta decisión porque en una ocasión Ramadan le había donado dinero a una organización benéfica palestina. La Asociación Estadounidense por las Libertades Civiles (ACLU, por su sigla en inglés) está impugnando está prohibición en nombre de Ramadan.

Obama Admin Backs Ban on Foreign Scholar
The Obama administration has apparently decided to continue the former President George W. Bush’s policy of banning foreign scholars under anti-terror laws. In a federal appeals court hearing Tuesday, a government lawyer argued in favor of maintaining a ban on a prominent Muslim intellectual barred from a teaching job in the United States. The scholar, Tariq Ramadan, was offered a position at the University of Notre Dame in Ohio in 2004. The Bush administration initially barred his entry without explanation and then said it was because he once gave money to a Palestinian charity. The American Civil Liberties Union is challenging the ban on Ramadan’s behalf.

Funcionario de Naciones Unidas acusa a Israel de crímenes de guerra en Gaza

El relator especial de derechos humanos en los territorios palestinos de Naciones Unidas, Richard Falk, acusó el lunes a Israel de haber cometido crímenes de guerra en Gaza. Falk reclamó una investigación independiente para analizar posibles crímenes de guerra cometidos por Israel y Hamas.
Richard Falk dijo: “La proporción total de fallecidos, 1.434 del lado palestino, 13 del lado israelí, sugieren la unilateralidad del choque militar y proporciona una base para impugnar la legalidad de iniciar un ataque militar con armamento moderno contra una sociedad esencialmente indefensa”.
Richard Falk también acusó a Israel de impedir que civiles palestinos huyeran de la agresión militar.
Richard Falk afirmó: “Esta crítica a las tácticas israelíes se ve fuertemente reforzada por una característica de las operaciones militares que es exclusiva de la guerra contemporánea: concretamente, confinar a la población civil de Gaza en forma coercitiva a la zona de combate durante las operaciones militares israelíes. En los hechos, esto privó a todos los palestinos de Gaza de la posibilidad de convertirse en refugiados. Este tipo de política bélica debería ser tipificado como un crimen nuevo y diferenciado contra la humanidad y debería ser reconocido formalmente como tal, y explícitamente prohibido".
Israel desestimó el informe de Falk argumentando que era parte de un intento de demonizar a Israel llevado adelante por Naciones Unidas. El relator especial del derecho a la alimentación de Naciones Unidas Olivier de Schutter también criticó el ataque israelí a Gaza y sugirió que los funcionarios israelíes podrían ser juzgados fuera de Israel si este país no investiga los posibles crímenes de guerra.

UN Official Accuses Israel of War Crimes in Gaza

The United Nations special rapporteur on human rights in the Palestinian territories, Richard Falk, accused Israel Monday of committing war crimes in Gaza. Falk called for an independent inquiry to examine possible war crimes committed by both Israel and Hamas.
Richard Falk: “The overall ratio of deaths—1,434 on the Palestinian side, thirteen on the Israeli side—is suggestive of the one-sidedness of the military encounter and provides a basis for challenging the legality of initiating a military assault with modern weaponry against an essentially defenseless society.”
Richard Falk also accused Israel of preventing Palestinian civilians from fleeing the military assault.
Richard Falk: “This indictment of Israeli tactics is strongly reinforced by a feature of the military operations that is unique in contemporary warfare: namely, coercively confining the Gazan civilian population to the combat zone during the Israeli military operations. This effectively denied to all Palestinians in Gaza the option of becoming refugees. Such a war policy should be treated as a distinct and new crime against humanity and should be formally recognized as such and explicitly prohibited."
Israel dismissed Falk’s report, saying it was part of a pattern of demonizing Israel by the United Nations. The UN’s special rapporteur on the right to food, Olivier de Schutter, also criticized Israel’s attack on Gaza and suggested Israeli officials could be tried outside of Israel if Israel does not investigate possible war crimes.

Documents: Reagan Officials Knew of Guatemalan Abuses

Newly declassified material has provided further evidence the Reagan administration knowingly supported the Guatemalan government’s human rights abuses in its crackdown on guerrillas and leftist dissidents. The National Security Archive has released documents showing State Department officials directly reported that Guatemalan forces targeted anyone suspected of involvement with guerrillas or dissident groups. In 1984, then-US Ambassador Frederic Chapin also reported labor activists were being “rounded up” for interrogation. More than 200,000 people died under the US-backed Guatemalan military between 1960 and 1996.

Bush Admin Aide: US Knowingly Jailed Innocents Seized in Afghanistan

A former Bush administration official says the US has continued to jail many Guantanamo Bay prisoners seized in Afghanistan despite knowing of their innocence. In an interview with the Associated Press, Lawrence Wilkerson, the former chief of staff to then-Secretary of State Colin Powell, said the US held onto the innocent prisoners in the hopes they could one day provide helpful intelligence. Describing the Bush administration mentality, Wilkerson said, “It did not matter if a detainee were innocent. Indeed, because he lived in Afghanistan and was captured on or near the battle area, he must know something of importance.” Wilkerson continued, “We need to put those people in a high-security prison like the one in Colorado, forget them and throw away the key. We can’t try them because we tortured them and didn’t keep an evidence trail.” Wilkerson says former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and Vice President Dick Cheney fought efforts to improve vetting of Afghan prisoners.

Israel Arrests 10 Hamas Officials in West Bank

Meanwhile, Israel has arrested ten Hamas officials in the occupied West Bank. Hamas is calling the move a blackmail attempt to pressure it for the release of the captured Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit. Talks on a prisoner exchange broke down this week in part over an Israeli demand that hundreds of the freed prisoners be arrested or deported upon their release. Israel has seized and jailed some forty elected Hamas lawmakers since Shalit’s capture in June 2006.

Israeli Soldiers Recount Killings of Unarmed Palestinians

In Israel and the Occupied Territories, several Israeli soldiers have provided new accounts of human rights violations during Israel’s attack on the Gaza Strip. The Israeli newspaper Haaretz published testimony from soldiers recounting the firing on unarmed Palestinian civilians and the intentional destruction of their property. The Israeli military says it will investigate.

Obama 17

Obama Admin Seeks to Double Afghan Forces
The Obama administration is drafting a plan to double Afghanistan’s national security forces. According to the New York Times, senior administration officials say the US is seeking a force of about 400,000 Afghan troops and police officers.

Obama 16

Obama: US Can Detain Prisoners Indefinitely Without Charge
Dick Cheney’s comments came days after the Obama administration said it will no longer consider prisoners at Guantanamo Bay to be enemy combatants. Despite abandoning the label, the administration claims it still has the right to hold prisoners indefinitely without charge even if the individual is captured far from any battlefield and has not directly participated in hostilities.

Red Cross Report: US Committed Torture at CIA Black Sites
The International Committee of the Red Cross concluded in a secret report two years ago that the Bush administration’s treatment of prisoners “constituted torture” in violation of the Geneva Conventions. The findings were based on interviews with prisoners once held in the CIA’s secret black sites. The Red Cross said the fourteen prisoners held in the CIA prisons gave remarkably uniform accounts of abuse that included beatings, sleep deprivation, extreme temperatures and, in some cases, waterboarding. The author Mark Danner published parts of the secret Red Cross report in the New York Review of Books. Danner said the Red Cross’s use of the word "torture” has important legal implications. Danner said, “It could not be more important that the ICRC explicitly uses the words ‘torture’ and ‘cruel and degrading.’ The ICRC is the guardian of the Geneva Conventions, and when it uses those words, they have the force of law.”

Cheney: Obama Policies Are Making US Less Safe
Hours after excerpts of the Red Cross report were published, former Vice President Dick Cheney appeared on CNN. He was asked whether he believed President Obama was making Americans less safe by abandoning some of the Bush administration’s counterterrorism techniques.
Dick Cheney: “I do. I think those programs were absolutely essential to the success we enjoyed of being able to collect the intelligence that let us defeat all further attempts to launch attacks against the United States since 9/11. I think that’s a great success story. It was done legally. It was done in accordance with our constitutional practices and principles. President Obama campaigned against it all across the country. And now he’s making some choices that, in my mind, will in fact raise the risk to the American people of another attack.”

Obama 15

US President Barack Obama has extended sanctions against Iran for one year, saying it continues to pose a threat to US national security.
In a message to the US Congress, Mr Obama said Iran was acting contrary to US interests in the region.
The sanctions, which ban US companies from investing or trading with Iran, have been renewed annually since 1995.
The US fears Iran's nuclear programme is a cover to build atomic weapons, a charge Iranian officials deny.
Enriched uranium can be used in nuclear power plants, but can also be used to make atomic weapons.
Although the Obama administration is reviewing its policy towards Iran, not extending the sanctions would have constituted a major break with the past, says BBC state department correspondent Kim Ghattas in Washington.
Barack Obama
Iran faces other punishing international measures, including three sets of UN sanctions, over its refusal to freeze its uranium enrichment activities.
The US sanctions against Iran would have lapsed without Mr Obama's formal notice of renewal.
"The actions and policies of the government of Iran are contrary to the interests of the United States in the region and pose a continuing and unusual and extraordinary threat," Mr Obama's message to Congress said.
Mr Obama has talked of engagement with Iran but has not made clear how that might take place.
Shortly after coming to office in January, Mr Obama said "if countries like Iran are willing to unclench their fists, they will find an extended hand from us".

Hersh: administración Bush dirigió “anillo ejecutivo de asesinatos”

El periodista de investigación Seymour Hersh reveló que la administración Bush dirigió un “anillo ejecutivo de asesinatos” que estaba bajo las órdenes directas del ex vicepresidente Dick Cheney. Hersh afirma que en los operativos estadounidenses, realizados secretamente dentro de distintos países, se ejecutaba a personas que integraban una lista de sospechosos. La operación era aparentemente dirigida por el Comando Conjunto de Operaciones Especiales, que estaba por fuera de la ley y era supervisado únicamente por la Casa Blanca. Hersh hizo las revelaciones en un discurso que dio el martes en la Universidad de Minnesota.

Obama 14

Obama condiciona ayuda a Palestina al reconocimiento del “derecho a existir” de Israel
En Israel y los Territorios Ocupados, la administración Obama anunció que retirará la totalidad de los 900 millones de dólares de ayuda prometidos si el gobierno de unidad palestino pendiente de formación no reconoce el “derecho a existir” de Israel. Según se informa, la advertencia fue realizada por la Secretaria de Estado Hillary Clinton al Presidente palestino Mahmoud Abbas la semana pasada. Clinton informó a Abbas que el Congreso de Estados Unidos no aprobará la ayuda a Palestina a menos que su gobierno renuncie a la violencia. No se han impuesto condiciones de este tipo a Israel. El gobierno israelí se niega a renunciar a la violencia y nunca reconoció el derecho de Palestina a existir. Los palestinos también criticaron la exigencia de que reconozcan el “derecho a existir” de Israel porque los obliga a ir más allá de reconocer a Israel dentro de fronteras seguras, pero de hecho afirma la legitimidad de su despojo y ocupación continuada.

Obama Conditions Palestinian Aid on Recognizing Israel’s “Right to Exist”
In Israel and the Occupied Territories, the Obama administration has announced it will withdraw its entire $900 million aid pledge if the pending Palestinian unity government doesn’t recognize Israel’s “right to exist.” The warning was reportedly delivered by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas last week. Clinton told Abbas the US Congress won’t approve Palestinian aid unless the Palestinian government also renounces violence. No such conditions have been imposed on Israel. The Israeli government refuses to renounce violence and has never recognized the right of Palestine to exist. Palestinians have also criticized the demand they recognize Israel’s “right to exist” because it forces them to go beyond recognizing Israel within secure borders, but in fact affirm the legitimacy of their dispossession and ongoing occupation.

Obama 13

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has restated "unshakeable" support for Israel, whatever type of government emerges from current coalition talks.
Mrs Clinton is on her first visit to the region as the top diplomat of Barack Obama's US administration.

The Israeli government has plans to build at least 73,000 new homes for Jews in the occupied West Bank, the anti-settlement group Peace Now says

If the plans are implemented in full it would double the number of settlers in the West Bank outside east Jerusalem, according to the Peace Now website.
Israeli officials said the plans referred to potential construction and only a small number had been approved.
Continued settlement work is seen as a major barrier to Palestinian statehood.
Correspondents say the information indicates Israel's next coalition government, currently in the process of being formed by Likud leader Benjamin Netanyahu, has a wide choice of projects for settlement expansion.
If coalition negotiations force him into a strongly pro-settlement right-wing government, the plans could put him in collision course with the new US government, they add.
The Palestinian Authority, which has been engaged in a revived negotiated process since November 2007, has warned Israel that it must choose between peace and settlements, but it cannot have both.
"The completion of these projects will make the plan of creating a Palestinian state next to Israel totally unrealistic," Peace Now head Yariv Oppenheimer said in a radio interview.
Housing ministry spokesman Eran Sidis insisted in an interview with the AFP news agency that the plans "refer only to potential construction" and "in practice only a very small part of these urbanism projects are implemented".
All Jewish settlements in the Palestinian territory are regarded as illegal under international law, although Israel disputes this.
More than 400,000 Jewish settlers live in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, areas which were captured by Israeli in the 1967 war.

La CIA destruyó 92 cintas de vídeos de interrogatorios a presuntos terroristas

La CIA admitió que destruyó 92 cintas de vídeo con grabaciones de interrogatorios a presuntos terroristas, según documentos judiciales registrados en la Corte del Distrito Sur de Nueva York por el fiscal Lev Dassin.
En un documento de dos páginas, publicada por la Unión Americana de Libertades Civiles (ACLU) que exigió en 2007 por vía judicial que la CIA publicara esa información, Dassin informa al juez federal Alvin Hellerstein que la Agencia Central de Inteligencia (CIA) destruyó 92 cintas, cantidad muy superior a la admitida con anterioridad.
En un comunicado, la ACLU señaló que esta información "confirma que la agencia trató sistemáticamente de ocultar pruebas de sus interrogatorios ilegales".
El fiscal prevé que el tribunal pida a la CIA que entregue listados en el que identifique y describa cada una de las cintas destruidas, incluya resúmenes, transcripciones, memorandos de las grabaciones y reconstrucciones de los contenidos, y revele la identidad de cualquier testigo que pudiera haber visto o guardado los vídeos antes de su destrucción.

Obama 12

Director de CIA respalda ataques de Pakistán y entrega de prisioneros

Mientras tanto, Panetta reiteró el compromiso de la administración Obama de continuar con varias políticas propias de la administración Bush en la denominada “guerra contra el terrorismo”. El Director de la CIA dijo a los periodistas que Estados Unidos continuará con sus polémicos ataques de aviones no tripulados contra Pakistán, ataques en los que ya han muerto cientos de civiles. También dijo que Estados Unidos continuará con la práctica de la denominada “rendición”, que consiste en el secuestro y envío de sospechosos extranjeros a otros países. Y agregó que, si bien los interrogadores deberán observar las pautas del Manual de Campo del Ejército, el presidente Obama puede usar sus poderes de tiempos de guerra para aprobar técnicas más severas.

CIA Director Backs Pakistan Attacks, Rendition

Meanwhile, Panetta reiterated the Obama administration’s commitment to continue several Bush administration policies in the so-called war on terror. Panetta told reporters the US will continue controversial drone attacks in Pakistan that have killed hundreds of civilians. He also said the US will continue to practice “rendition”—the kidnapping and sending of foreign suspects to other countries. And he said that while interrogators will have to abide by the Army Field Manual, President Obama can still approve harsher techniques using wartime powers.

Palestinians Appeal for Global Opposition to Israeli Settlements

In Israel and the Occupied Territories, Palestinian leaders in the occupied West Bank are appealing for international pressure to halt ever-expanding Israeli settlements. On Tuesday, the Fatah-led Palestinian Authority led foreign diplomats on a tour of Palestinian areas carved up by settlement activity. Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad said the settlements are destroying what slim chances remain for a peaceful two-state solution.

Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad: “This is a project entitled ‘E1,’ which, if seen through, will destroy the possibility of establishing a Palestinian state in the occupied Palestinian territory. It will separate the northern West Bank from southern West Bank and will completely isolate Jerusalem from the West Bank.”

The Obama administration has yet to voice any public opposition to the expanding Israeli settlements.

Amnesty International: Gaza white phosphorus shells were US made

White phosphorus bombs used by Israeli forces in the Gaza Strip were produced and supplied by American arms manufacturers, according to an Amnesty International report that called for a comprehensive arms embargo on Israel.
Donatella Rovera, who headed the Amnesty fact-finding mission, said that the group had systematically collected and catalogued shells across Gaza, and traced serial numbers back to factory production lines in the US.
"All of the evidence points to the failure of America to exercise due oversight of what they sell to Israel, which is in breach of their own laws... which require that weapons will not be sold to a country where they will be misused. And the manner in which these weapons were used in Gaza is a war crime."
The human rights group said that weapons experts in Gaza found white phosphorus artillery shells marked M825 A1 – a US-made munition – throughout the coastal strip. The Times published photographic evidence that Israel was using the M825 A1 shells on January 8. At that time, Israeli military spokesmen denied that the weapon was being used, saying: "This is what we call a quiet shell – it has no explosives and no white phosphorus".
After the Gaza conflict, Israel acknowledged using white phosphorus in a manner "according to international law". Israeli media reported that the military was investigating the incident on January 15, when several white phosphorus artillery shells hit a UN headquarters in Gaza City, destroying tens of tons of humanitarian aid. Amnesty said that they had found shells with the marking PB-91K018-035, a lot number which indicates that they were assembled by Pine Bluff Arsenal (PB) in October 1991.

Obama 11

Obama continúa con postura de Bush al oponerse a la publicación de correos electrónicos de la Casa Blanca
El gobierno de Obama nuevamente se alineó con el Presidente George W. Bush respecto a un caso que involucra secretos de Estado. La Casa Blanca continuó con la postura de Bush en lo que refiere a intentar desechar una demanda presentada por personas que fueron detenidas por la CIA y a evitar que un tribunal federal revea el programa de espionaje sin órdenes judiciales del gobierno de Bush. Ahora también se niega a revertir la postura del gobierno de rechazar una demanda para acceder a millones de mensajes de correo electrónico de la Casa Blanca que desaparecieron durante los dos períodos de Bush en el poder. Los grupos Ciudadanos por la Responsabilidad y la Ética en Washington y el Archivo de Seguridad Nacional quieren que estos mensajes se hagan públicos.

Obama Mirrors Bush in Opposing Release of White House Emails
The Obama administration has again sided with former President George W. Bush on a case involving government secrecy. The White House has already continued Bush stance’s on seeking dismissal of a lawsuit by former CIA detainees and to prevent a federal court from reviewing the Bush administration’s warrantless spying program. Now it’s refusing to reverse the government position on opposing a suit seeking access to millions of missing White House emails over Bush’s two terms in office. The groups Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington and the National Security Archive want the emails publicly released.

Obama 10

Obama Backs Bush Policy on Bagram Detainees
The Obama administration has embraced another key argument of former President Bush’s counterterrorism policy. In a court filing on Friday, the Justice Department told a federal judge that prisoners held at the US Air Force base at Bagram in Afghanistan have no legal rights to challenge their imprisonment. Human rights groups say they are becoming increasingly concerned that the use of extra-judicial methods in Afghanistan could be extended under the new US administration. Bagram Air Base is about to undergo a $60 million expansion to provide enough space to house five times as many prisoners as remain at Guantanamo.

Obama respalda política de Bush sobre detenidos en Bagram
La administración Obama se hizo eco de otro argumento clave de la política contra el terrorismo del ex presidente Bush. En una comparecencia ante un tribunal el viernes, el Departamento de Justicia sostuvo ante un juez federal que los prisioneros retenidos en la base aérea estadounidense de Bagram, Afganistán, no tienen el derecho legal de impugnar su encarcelamiento. Los grupos de defensa de los derechos humanos están cada vez más preocupados por la posibilidad de que la utilización de métodos extrajudiciales en Afganistán se extienda bajo la nueva administración estadounidense. En la base aérea de Bagram se realizarán ampliaciones por valor de 60 millones de dólares con el propósito de disponer del espacio suficiente para albergar cinco veces más prisioneros que los que actualmente se encuentran en Guantánamo.

Israel blocks pasta shipment to Gaza, and tensions boil

For more than seven weeks, the international aid group Mercy Corps has been trying to send 90 tons of macaroni to the isolated Gaza Strip as part of a global campaign to help the 1.4 million Palestinians there rebuild their lives after Israel's recent devastating 22-day military operation.
Israel, which controls most of what goes into and out of Gaza, has said no repeatedly.

Israeli murder justifications

How does Israel explain the executions, the shooting of Palestinians point blank in cold blood? How does it justify Israeli soldiers shooting Kassab Shurrab with five bullets across the chest as he came out of his car with his hands to his side, especially as one of the Palestinian hostages sitting blindfolded by the soldiers heard the commander tell the soldier in Hebrew to shoot the civilians that were driving down the road. What about the two daughters of Khaled Abed Rabbo, Amal, age 2, and Suaad, age 7, murdered by an Israeli soldier using a semi automatic rifle before their father 's eyes as the other Israeli soldiers ate chips and chocolate? Let us not forget about Sameer Rashid Mohammad Mohammad, a 43 year old UNRWA worker, who was separated from his family by Israeli soldiers and taken to a separate room and shot in the chest? For four days after killing Sameer, Israeli soldiers held his family hostage and would make the family prepare the murdered Sameer food. Only when the Israeli soldiers left their home, did Sameer's children see that their father was executed and by their father's dead and bleeding body were piles of food. How about Farah al-Halo, 1.5 years of age, who was shot in the stomach when her family was forced to evacuate from their home at 6:30 PM by Israeli soldiers who assured them of their safety? Only 50 meters down the road they were shot at by other Israeli soldiers. Farah, with her intestines spilling from her stomach, died on the side of the road a few hours later as the same soldiers that had assured their safety watched. (more in http://whatreallyhappened.com/WRHARTICLES/justifyinggaza.php)

9/11

Statements from Beverly Eckert - the 911 widow who died in the suspicious plane crash in Buffalo NY - about why she refused a payoff from the 911 fund and why she chose to sue:
I've chosen to go to court rather than accept a payoff from the 9/11 victims compensation fund. Instead, I want to know what went so wrong with our intelligence and security systems that a band of religious fanatics was able to turn four U.S passenger jets into an enemy force, attack our cities and kill 3,000 civilians with terrifying ease. I want to know why two 110-story skyscrapers collapsed in less than two hours and why escape and rescue options were so limited.
I am suing because unlike other investigative avenues, including congressional hearings and the 9/11 commission, my lawsuit requires all testimony be given under oath and fully uses powers to compel evidence.

Obama 9

The Obama administration, siding with the Bush White House, contended Friday that detainees in Afghanistan have no constitutional rights.
In a two-sentence court filing, the Justice Department said it agreed that detainees at Bagram Airfield cannot use U.S. courts to challenge their detention. The filing shocked human rights attorneys.

Gaza photo slideshow -- click HERE / AQUI

Obama 8

Obama dispone envío de 17.000 soldados a Afganistán
En la decisión militar más importante adoptada hasta el momento, el presidente Obama ordenó el envío de 17.000 soldados estadounidenses más a Afganistán. La decisión da cumplimiento a una promesa de la campaña electoral de aumentar la ocupación estadounidense. Los nuevos despliegues tendrán lugar en mayo y aumentarán las fuerzas de ocupación de Estados Unidos a 55.000 efectivos, lo que significa un aumento del 50. Además, hay 32.000 soldados no estadounidenses de la OTAN en Afganistán. La noticia sale a luz en momentos en que las Naciones Unidas informaron que las víctimas civiles afganas aumentaron casi un 40 en el último año. Las fuerzas lideradas por Estados Unidos fueron las causantes de casi el 40% de esas muertes, ya que asesinaron a 828 de las 2.100 bajas denunciadas.

Obama Orders 17,000 Troops to Afghanistan
In his most significant military decision to date, President Obama has ordered an additional 17,000 US troops to Afghanistan. The move fulfills a campaign pledge to increase the size of the US occupation. The new deployments will take effect in May, increasing the US occupation force to 55,000—a 50 percent rise. Another 32,000 non-US NATO troops are also in Afghanistan. The news came as the UN said Afghan civilian casualties jumped by nearly 40 percent last year. US-led forces were responsible for nearly 40 percent of the deaths, killing 828 people out of a reported 2,100 casualties.

Israel Seizes 425 Acres in West Bank for New Settlement Homes
Israel has seized 425 acres of Palestinian land in the occupied West Bank in order to build 2,500 new homes as part of a major expansion of the Efrat settlement. This settlement is particularly sensitive given that it would help complete a ring of hilltop settlements in Efrat that threaten to cut Arab East Jerusalem off from the West Bank and undermine prospects that East Jerusalem could serve as the capital of a Palestinian state.


Israel toma 170 hectáreas de Cisjordania para construir nuevas viviendas
Israel tomó 170 hectáreas de tierra palestina en el territorio ocupado de Cisjordania para construir 2.500 nuevas viviendas como parte de una gran expansión del asentamiento de Efrat. Este asentamiento es particularmente conflictivo dado que ayudaría a completar una serie de asentamientos en la cima de Efrat que amenazan con separar la región árabe de Jerusalén Oriental de Cisjordania y socavar la posibilidad de que Jerusalén Oriental pueda convertirse en la capital de un Estado palestino.

US Drone Attacks Kill 61 in Pakistan
A pair of US missile strikes over the past three days have killed sixty-one people in Pakistan. On Saturday, a remote-controlled US drone bombed three compounds in South Waziristan, killing thirty. Earlier today, another US drone struck the Kumman tribal region, killing thirty-one people. The US has now struck Pakistan at least three times since President Obama took office.

Sen. Feinstein: US Using Pakistani Base for Drone Attacks
The attacks come days after Senator Dianne Feinstein, the chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee, became the first US politician to publicly state that the US is using a Pakistani base to carry out the strikes. During a congressional hearing, Feinstein said, “As I understand it, these are flown out of a Pakistani base.” Until now, the Pakistani government has attempted to distance itself from the US air strikes.

Ataques con aviones no tripulados estadounidenses matan a 61 personas en Pakistán
Dos ataques con misiles estadounidenses que tuvieron lugar durante los últimos tres días provocaron la muerte de 61 personas en Pakistán. El sábado, un avión no tripulado manejado por control remoto de Estados Unidos bombardeó tres recintos en Waziristán del Sur y causó la muerte de 30 personas. Hoy temprano, otro avión no tripulado estadounidense atacó la región tribal de Kumman y mató a 31 personas. Estados Unidos ha atacado Pakistán al menos tres veces desde que el Presidente Obama asumió el poder.

Senadora Feinstein: Estados Unidos está utilizando base pakistaní para ataques con aviones no tripulados
Estos ataques tuvieron lugar días después de que la Senadora Dianne Feinstein, Presidenta del Comité de Inteligencia del Senado, se convirtió en la primera política estadounidense en declarar públicamente que Estados Unidos está utilizando una base pakistaní para llevar a cabo los ataques. Durante una audiencia del Congreso, Feinstein dijo: “Según entiendo, salen de una base pakistaní”. Hasta el momento, el gobierno pakistaní había intentado distanciarse de los ataques aéreos estadounidenses.

Obama 7

Obama's Justice Department backs Bush secrecy on renditions suit
ACLU 'shocked and deeply disappointed'
An attorney for President Obama's Department of Justice has told the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals that it supports the Bush administration's controversial state secrets defense in a lawsuit over the prior president's "extraordinary rendition" program.
"The case involves five men who claim to have been victims of extraordinary rendition -- including current Guantanamo detainee Binyam Mohamed, another plaintiff in jail in Egypt, one in jail in Morocco, and two now free," reports ABC News. "They sued a San Jose Boeing subsidiary, Jeppesen Dataplan, accusing the flight-planning company of aiding the CIA in flying them to other countries and secret CIA camps where they were tortured."
"Under the Bush administration, the U.S. government used false claims of national security to dodge judicial scrutiny of extraordinary rendition," Ben Wizner, an ACLU staff attorney, said in a Monday media advisory. "This case presents the first test of the Obama administration's dedication to transparency and willingness to act on its condemnation of torture and rendition. The administration should unequivocally reject the Bush administration's abuse of the state secrets privilege and permit this case to go forward. Victims of extraordinary rendition deserve their day in court."

Gitmo Detainee’s ‘Genitals Were Sliced With A Scalpel,’ Waterboarding ‘Far Down The List Of Things They Did’»
binyamweb2.jpgLast week, two British High Court judges ruled against releasing documents describing the treatment of Binyam Mohamed, a British resident who is currently being held at Guantanamo Bay. The judges said the Bush administration “had threatened to withhold intelligence cooperation with Britain if the information were made public.”
But The Daily Telegraph reported over the weekend that the documents actually “contained details of how British intelligence officers supplied information to [Mohamed’s] captors and contributed questions while he was brutally tortured.” In fact, it was British officials, not the Americans, who pressured Foreign Secretary David Miliband “to do nothing that would leave serving MI6 officers open to prosecution.” According to the Telegraph’s sources, the documents describe particularly gruesome interrogation tactics:
The 25 lines edited out of the court papers contained details of how Mr Mohamed’s genitals were sliced with a scalpel and other torture methods so extreme that waterboarding, the controversial technique of simulated drowning, “is very far down the list of things they did,” the official said.
Another source familiar with the case said: “British intelligence officers knew about the torture and didn’t do anything about it.”
“It is very clear who stands to be embarrassed by this and who is being protected by this secrecy. It is not the Americans, it is Labour ministers,” former shadow home secretary David Davis said. But one unnamed U.S. House Judiciary Committee member told the Telegraph that if President Obama “doesn’t act we could hold a hearing or write to subpoena the documents. We need to know what’s in those documents.”
Mohamed remains at Guantanamo Bay and “is currently on hunger strike.” “All terror charges against him were dropped last year,” the Telegraph reported.

Israel Deports Passengers After Reportedly Attacking Gaza Aid Ship
In Israel and the Occupied Territories, the Israeli government has deported ten passengers aboard a Lebanese ship trying to deliver aid supplies to the Gaza Strip. The ship’s owner, Mohammed Yousseff, said Israeli forces opened fire on the passengers and assaulted them after coming aboard.
Mohammed Yousseff: “We contacted the ship, and we’ve been told by the captain what happened, that it was stopped by Israelis, and it was fired upon, and soldiers boarded the ship and attacked the captain, passengers and crew. I appeal to the United Nations and the European countries to protect the people on board the ship and the ship and also to send all the aid supplies on the ship to the people in Gaza. And we are calling on the people to help the Palestinians get rid of this blockade."
Another eighteen passengers are believed to still remain in Israeli custody. The Brotherhood ship was carrying sixty tons of supplies, including medical aid, food and books.

Israel deporta a pasajeros tras presuntamente atacar una embarcación con ayuda para Gaza
En Israel y los Territorios Ocupados, el gobierno israelí deportó a diez pasajeros que viajaban a bordo de una embarcación libanesa que intentaba suministrar provisiones de ayuda a la Franja de Gaza. El dueño de la embarcación, Mohammed Yousseff, dijo que las fuerzas israelíes abrieron fuego contra los pasajeros y los atacaron tras subir a bordo.
Mohammed Yousseff dijo: “Nos pusimos en contacto con la embarcación y el capitán nos dijo lo que sucedió. Que los israelíes detuvieron la embarcación y luego abrieron fuego contra la misma, y los soldados subieron a bordo y atacaron al capitán, a los pasajeros y a la tripulación. Le pido a las Naciones Unidas y a los países Europeos que protejan a las personas a bordo de la embarcación y al barco, y que envíen las provisiones que se encuentran en el barco a los habitantes de Gaza, y le pedimos a las personas que ayuden a los palestinos a librarse de este bloqueo”.
Se cree que otros 18 pasajeros siguen en custodia de Israel. El barco Brotherhood transportaba sesenta toneladas de provisiones, que incluían insumos médicos, alimentos y libros.

Report: Israel Fires on, Storms Lebanese Aid Ship

The Al Jazeera news network is reporting Israeli forces have fired on a Lebanese aid ship off the coast of Gaza. Witnesses say Israeli troops then stormed the boat, beat passengers and destroyed communication equipment. The boat is carrying more than sixty tons of desperately needed aid for Gaza. Israel has forcibly denied several aid ships trying to break its blockade of Gaza, almost forcing one to sink last month.

Informe: Israel disparó contra una embarcación libanesa de ayuda y luego la asaltó

La cadena de noticias Al-Jazeera informa que las fuerzas israelíes le dispararon a una embarcación libanesa que transportaba ayuda cerca de la costa de Gaza. Los testigos dicen que los soldados israelíes luego asaltaron la embarcación, golpearon a los pasajeros y destruyeron el equipo de comunicación. Esta embarcación transportaba más de 60 toneladas de ayuda extremadamente necesaria para Gaza. Israel ha prohibido por medio de la fuerza el ingreso de varias embarcaciones con ayuda que intentaban romper el bloqueo de Gaza, incluso prácticamente provocó que una embarcación se hundiera el mes pasado.

Los ataques dirigidos por Estados Unidos provocaron un tercio de las muertes afganas

Nuevas cifras indican que el número de civiles afganos muertos aumentó a más de 2.100 el año pasado. Más de un tercio de las víctimas fueron asesinadas por soldados afganos o dirigidos por Estados Unidos. El martes, el Presidente afgano Hamid Karzai critico nuevamente los letales ataques estadounidenses.

El Presidente afgano Hamid Karzai dijo: “Nuestras exigencias son claras y son las siguientes: que los allanamientos de viviendas de los afganos, los arrestos de los afganos y la muerte de civiles deben cesar. Y ellos (Estados Unidos y los países de la OTAN) nos están presionando para que nos mantengamos callados y nos retractemos de esta declaración. Eso no es posible”.

Estados Unidos ha ignorado las crecientes críticas de Karzai, incluso su exigencia de que se establezca una fecha límite para la retirada de todos los soldados extranjeros. El Presidente Obama se prepara para enviar aproximadamente 17.000 soldados más a Afganistán este año.

US-Led Attacks Account for 1/3 of Afghan Deaths

New figures show Afghan civilian casualties rose to more than 2,100 last year. More than a third were killed by Afghan and US-led troops. On Tuesday, Afghan President Hamid Karzai renewed criticism of deadly US attacks.

Afghan President Hamid Karzai: “Our demands are clear: house searches of Afghans, arrests of Afghans, and civilian casualties must cease. And the US and NATO countries are naturally putting on pressure to make us silent and retract from this claim. This is not possible.”

The US has ignored growing criticism from Karzai, including his demand for a timetable for the withdrawal of all foreign troops. President Obama is preparing to send around 17,000 additional troops to Afghanistan later this year.

Israel continues pounding Gaza

Israeli warplanes have attacked the northern town of Jabaliya in the Gaza Strip shortly after pounding the southern areas of the sliver.
Israeli warplanes attacked the city hours after striking the Rafah border region in southern Gaza Strip, according to a Press TV correspondent in the area.
Defense Minister Ehud Barak, who was addressing the annual Herzliya Conference at the time of the attack, informed the audience that the military "is currently operating in the Gaza Strip."
Tel Aviv had recently stopped an all-out war on the densely-populated area, but resumed the attacks shortly after realizing that it failed to achieve its primary goals set against the Hamas government.
Israel's 23-day long Operation Cast Lead killed almost 1,400 people in the Gaza Strip, but eventually failed to destroy Hamas's military power.
As Israel continues to BREAK THE CEASE FIRE, the American media and American politicians continue to pretend that it is not happening. They continue to lie to the American people about reality.

Iraq's Shocking Human Toll: About 1 Million Killed, 4.5 Million Displaced, 1-2 Million Widows, 5 Million Orphans

This gruesome figure makes sense when reading of claims by Iraqi officials that there are 1-2 million war widows and 5 million orphans. This constitutes direct empirical evidence of total excess mortality and indirect, though confirming, evidence of the displaced and the bereaved and of general insecurity. The overall figures are stunning: 4.5 million displaced, 1-2 million widows, 5 million orphans, about 1 million dead -- in one way or another, affecting nearly one in two Iraqis.

Israeli military refuses water filtration system for Gaza

The French Foreign Ministry said Friday that Israel has refused to allow the French government from bringing the filtration system to Gaza, where people have been without clean water for weeks.
In some parts of Gaza, sewage is flooding streets and homes after the three-week long Israeli assault that ended last week when Israeli officials declared a ceasefire.
The Israeli military has violated the ceasefire seven times since then, including an attack yesterday that wounded a number of primary school students in Khan Younis. Palestinian fighters killed one soldier who was invading southern Gaza in violation of the ceasefire.
Meanwhile, the Israeli imposed closure of the Gaza Strip remains in place, and Palestinians have been unable to even clean the racist graffiti and feces smeared on their walls by the Israeli military, due to the lack of water.

Envoy to Australia: Gaza op shows Israel 'ready to engage' on Iran threat

Israel's ambassador to Australia told leaders of the Sydney Jewish community on Sunday that, "Israel's efforts in Gaza were to bring about understanding that we are ready to engage in a decisive way" over Iran and its nuclear aspirations.
The three-week Gaza operation was merely a "pre-introduction" to the challenge Israel would face from Iran, which will become a nuclear power within a year, Yuval Rotem said.
According to Australia's Channel 7 television, Rotem made the statement at a meeting with leaders of the Sydney Jewish community, having first asked that the cameras be switched off.
While being filmed before the discussion, Rotem said, "The best thing to do is to have a very open dialogue if there are no reporters or journalists here," before telling the cameraman to stop filming.
"He said that Israel's recent military offensives were a pre-introduction to the challenge Israel expects from a nuclear-equipped Iran within a year," Channel 7 reporter Sarah Cummings said.
Before the cameras were turned off, Rotem said there was room to build new alliances to face Iran, which he called the strategic threat facing all of us. He said Qatar moved toward Iran in 2009, along with radical Islamic elements, seeming to believe no one will prevent Iran from going nuclear.
Asked to clarify his statements, Rotem said Israel was committed to the diplomatic and economic effort to stop Iran, but that like the Americans, it considers nuclear weapons to be a strategic threat. Uranium enrichment by Iran must be stopped. Period, said Rotem.

Obama 6

Obama decide continuar con el programa de rendiciones extraordinarias
El Los Angeles Times informa que el gobierno de Obama decidió no poner fin a la controvertida política de rendiciones extraordinarias que le otorga autoridad a la CIA para secuestrar a cualquier persona en cualquier parte del mundo y transferirla secretamente a otro país. Actuales y antiguos funcionarios de la inteligencia estadounidense dijeron que el programa de rendiciones está preparado para jugar un papel más amplio en los esfuerzos para combatir el terrorismo. Un funcionario del gobierno de Obama dijo: “Obviamente se deben conservar algunas herramientas, aún se debe perseguir a los delincuentes”. El Parlamento europeo condenó este programa, al que calificó como un “instrumento ilegal utilizado por Estados Unidos”.

Obama Decides Not to End Extraordinary Rendition Program
The Los Angeles Times reports the Obama administration has decided not to end the controversial policy of extraordinary rendition, which gives the CIA authority to abduct anyone throughout the world and secretly transfer them to another country. Current and former US intelligence officials said the rendition program is poised to play an expanded role in counterterrorism efforts. One Obama administration official said, “Obviously you need to preserve some tools. You still have to go after the bad guys.” The European Parliament has condemned renditions as an "illegal instrument used by the United States.”