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Syria News May 1
VIDEO: On Syrian chemical weapons, we need "the facts," Obama says - CBS News Video
POLL: American Public Opposes Action in Syria and North Korea - NYTimes.com
VIDEO: Syrian UN envoy Bashar Ja'afari on the situation in Syria - LiveLeak.com
Iran says use of chemical arms by anyone in Syria is "red line" - Yahoo! News
No agreement yet on chemical weapons probe in Syria: UN - Xinhua | English.news.cn
VIDEO: Aftermath of the Sheikh Maqsoud alleged chemical attack - globalpost.com
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Hezbollah Leader Nasrallah Hints at Possible Syria Intervention - ABC News
VIDEO: Lebanon Hezbollah leader Nasrallah hints at possible Syria intervention - YouTube
Lebanon's Hezbollah faithful ready to die in Syria - FRANCE 24
Lebanon condemns deadly bombings in Damascus - PressTV
VIDEO: Interview With Lebanese Fighters of Hezbollah On The Borders | Syria War - YouTube
Israeli reserves called up for Syrian, Lebanese borders. Military drill starts Sunday - DEBKAFILE
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Deadly blast rocks central Damascus (VIDEO) - AFP
Russia Bans Commercial Flights Over Syria To Avoid To Be Targeted By Rebels - RIA Novosti
Religious leaders push for kidnapped bishops’ release - The Washington Post
Battle over army helicopter base in northern Syria kills 15 rebels, activists say - Fox News
European outlets report journalists missing in Syria - Committee to Protect Journalists
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VIDEO: Salafi extremists torture Alawi civilian.... He was found beheaded - YouTube
Syrians deserting the FSA: Faust wants his soul back - openDemocracy
Albanian Islamists Join Syrian War - Al-Monitor
To contact Bartolo email peaceloversingle@gmail.com
Two degrees of Separation: Tsarnaev Brothers had a CIA Connection
By Dave Lindorff
Let’s do a little exercise. Forget nationalities and identities for a moment.
Another woman detained by TSA over false positive
I suppose we can say it till we’re blue in the face and it still won’t make a dent.
The so-called explosives trace detection machines, like the strip-search scanners, alarm on false positives all the time. All the time.
Simpson-Bowles 2.0
Simpson-Bowles 2.0
by Stephen Lendman
Both men represent the nation's ruling class. They want more wealth transferred from ordinary people to corporate America and privileged elites like themselves. They're back with plan B. More on that below.
Syria: Upping the Stakes
Syria: Upping the Stakes
by Stephen Lendman
Things appear heading closer toward full-scale US intervention. The fullness of time will have final say.
On April 28, The New York Times headlined "Lawmakers Call for Stronger US Action in Syria," saying:
Syria News Apr 30
Obama calls Putin, tells him concerned over Syria chemical arms - AFP
White House Says "Much More" Work Needed to Verify Syria Chemical Use - Bloomberg
Hagel: "Wait to get the facts" before acting on Syria - CBS News
Republicans urge Obama to enforce Syria 'red line,' oppose deploying troops - Fox News
France FM says Syria's use of chemical arms "uncertain" - China.org.cn
Syria chemical weapons: British MPs demand evidence of sarin use by Assad - Telegraph
Israel takes pressure off Obama to act on 'red line' for Syria - The Hill's Global Affairs
Strike on Syria chem weapons `very complex’: Israel envoy - zeenews
Syria access essential for credible chemical weapons inquiry - U.N - Reuters
Syria poses challenges for chemical weapons inspectors, expert says - AFP
Expert: Doubt cast Syrian chemical attack (VIDEO) - 3 News
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U.S. Analysis of Syria's Russian-Made Air Defenses - WSJ
Pentagon steps up planning for potential military intervention in Syria - CNN.com Blogs
Syria's neighbours cautious about U.S.-led intervention - Reuters
Syrian troops recapture villages near strategic city of Qusayr - McClatchy
Assad's Army, Militias Go On the Offensive - Israel National News
Lebanese in Syria border towns defending themselves: Ambassador to Lebanon Ali - THE DAILY STAR
Russia denies urging Hezbollah to withdraw from Syria - THE DAILY STAR
Russia and Japan Stress on Dialogue for Finding Political Solution to Crisis in Syria - SANA, Syria
Examining Qatar's Arab Spring Largesse - VOA
Guardian Twitter accounts hacked by the Syrian Electronic Army - Naked Security
The Syrian Electronic Army: Bashar al-Assad's shadow warriors - The Guardian
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Syrian prime minister survives assassination attempt, several killed state media says - Fox News
VIDEO: Blast Misses Syrian PM al-Halqi, Next to a School in Mazzeh Area of Damascus - LiveLeak.com
Oil Wars in Syria—Nusra's Expanding Reach—Syrian Taliban - Syria Comment
Conversations with the FSA General - Foreign Policy
Sheikh Assir Declares Arrival of His Mujahideen in Syria - Al Akhbar English
To contact Bartolo email peaceloversingle@gmail.com
The Revolution That's Not Being Televised
Hundreds gathered in Dallas to reject the Bush Lie Bury, and three went to jail. I flew from Dallas to Syracuse, where hundreds protested Obama's drone-murder program, and 32 went to jail and are still there (and will stay until trial unless bail can be raised) -- some of them risk major jail time because they violated a protective order that the commander of a U.S. military base gained to protect himself from nonviolent peace activists. Another drone protester in Missouri, Brian Terrell, is just finishing a six-month sentence. Climate activist Tim DeChristopher just got out. The people locked in Guantanamo are refusing to eat, and groups around the world are making plans to fast with them. The people of Vieques are rallying on May 1st to demand that the U.S. military truly depart their island. Big plans are being made to rally for Bradley Manning on June 1st. This week I'm heading to the National War Tax Resistance Coordinating Committee's meeting in North Carolina, after which -- just over in Tennessee -- three courageous activists go on trial, facing major time in prison, for having entered and protested a nuclear weapons facility.
The revolution will not be televised.
Oak Ridge, Tenn., was created during World War II as a secret city (actually two, it was segregated by race) for producing nuclear weapons. Nuclear weapons have a history that marches hand-in-hand with U.S. human experimentation programs. I just had a chance to read Susan Griffin's A Chorus of Stones, and she recounts a nuclear test in 1957, when the U.S. government was still marching Marines to various distances from nuclear explosions in Nevada to find out what would become of them. Marines with their eyes closed saw the bones in their hands. They died of leukemia years later, but not before speaking about what else they saw: 10 or 12 people in a stockade formed by chain link fence and barbed wire, their faces and hands deformed, their hair falling out, their skin peeling off. Or this: men on the ground in agony, the smell of burning flesh, blood running from mouth, ears, and nose, a man trying to tear away wires that had been attached to his head.
In the late 1960s, Oak Ridge Associated Universities did radiation experiments on cancer patients, children of military personnel. NASA provided the funding, wanting to know how much radiation would produce nausea, in preparation for sending astronauts to the moon. And, boy, having sent astronauts to the moon has sure allowed us to take care of poverty and illness and environmental destruction. I don't know how we'd survive at all if we hadn't killed those children to send astronauts to the moon.
On July 28, 2012, Michael R. Walli (63), Megan Rice (82), and Greg Boertje-Obed (57) entered the Y-12 nuclear weapons plant in Oak Ridge undetected. You can't walk down the street without being filmed, but these three senior citizens were able to walk at night right up to a nuclear weapons facility. They hung up banners that read "Transform Now Plowshares" and "Swords into Plowshares Spears into Pruning Hooks–Isaiah." They strung up red crime tape. They hammered on the cornerstone of the newly built Highly-Enriched Uranium Manufacturing Facility (HEUMF), splashed human blood and left four spray-painted tags on the recent construction which read: "Woe to the empire of blood," "The fruit of justice is peace," "Work for peace not for war," and "Plowshares please Isaiah." When finally confronted by guards, they offered the guards bread and roses. They sang while forced to kneel for a long period of time.
"We come to the Y-12 facility because our very humanity rejects the designs of nuclearism, empire and war," the activists said in a statement. "Our faith in love and nonviolence encourages us to believe that our activity here is necessary; that we come to invite transformation, undo the past and present work of Y-12; disarm and end any further efforts to increase the Y-12 capacity for an economy and social structure based upon war-making and empire-building."
Vigils and other events are planned in Knoxville as the trial begins.
While the revolution is not televised, there is a calendar of events: http://warisacrime.org/content/upcoming-events
US False Flag Pretext for War on Syria
US False Flag Pretext for War on Syria
by Stephen Lendman
Obama abhors peace. He prioritizes war. His appetite exceeds his predecessors and then some. It's insatiable.
He's currently waging multiple direct and proxy wars. He plans more in Africa. He destroyed Libya. He's ravaging Syria.
Israel's War on Fishing Rights
srael's War on Fishing Rights
Israel wages war on humanity. It persecutes Palestinians many ways. It does so with impunity.
Collective punishment is prohibited. Fourth Geneva's Article 33 states:
"No protected person may be punished for an offense he or she has not personally committed. Collective penalties and likewise all measures of intimidation or of terrorism are prohibited."
America's Addiction: Waging War on Humanity
America's Addiction: Waging War on Humanity
by Stephen Lendman
America's business is war. Permanent wars reflect official US policy. They're glorified in the name of peace.
One nation after another is ravaged. Former White House chief of staff Rahm Emanuel called it being "cold-blooded about the self-interests of your nation."
Obamacare: Unaffordable Coverage
Obamacare: Unaffordable Coverage
by Stephen Lendman
Physicians for a National Health Program (PNHP) co-founders Steffie Woolhandler and David Himmelstein examined evidence on "skimpy health insurance among low-income, insured Americans."
A PNHP press release said:
Syria News Apr 28
Syria: Chemical weapons used by rebels came from Turkey - The Times of Israel
Syria: Terrorists used projectiles filled with chemicals in Damascus - SyriaNews
Syrian sarin claims undermined by eyewitness account - The Observer
Netanyahu orders ministers to keep mum on Syria - The Times of Israel
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Report: Six Hizbullah Fighters Killed in Qusayr Battles - Naharnet
Syria: National Defense Forces at Forefront of Qusayr Fighting - Al Akhbar English
VIDEO: Rebel leader Captain Basil in Al-Qusayr badly wounded by SAA - LiveLeak.com
Lebanese family releases eight Alawite Syrians - Alarabiya.net
Iran 'directly involved' in recruiting Iraqis to fight in Syria: officials - Al-Shorfa
Syria Rebels Say Plane from Iraq Bombed Eastern City - NYTimes.com
Iraq PM points to Syria over deadly 'sectarian' unrest - .hurriyetdailynews
Lavrov says Patriot deployment in Turkey could be directed at Iran - sundayszaman.com
Qatar 'playing with fire' as it funds Syrian Islamists in quest for global influence - Telegraph
Fire Kills 4 Brothers at Camp for Syria Refugees - NYTimes.com
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Pan-Muslim body urges release of captive Syria bishops - NOW
European Union Calls For Immediate Release Of Abducted Syrian Bishops - rttnews.com
To contact Bartolo email peaceloversingle@gmail.com
Palestinian Prisoner Diaries
Palestinian Prisoner Diaries
by Stephen Lendman
Israel's gulag is one of the world's worst. Palestinian political prisoners fill it. Their crime is wanting to live free from occupation. It's longstanding. It's ruthless. It's illegal.
Heading towards a police state: Destroying Ourselves
By Dan DeWalt
Has the "land of the free and home of the brave" decided to roll over in fear and concede defeat to terrorism?
Creating a Pretext for War on Syria
Creating a Pretext for War on Syria
by Stephen Lendman
What's ongoing now bears eerie resemblance to events preceding Bush's Iraq war. Obama's replicating a familiar scenario.
Waging war requires a pretext to do so. When none exists, it's invented. It's easy. Lies substitute for truth. Claims about Syria using chemical weapons don't wash. Repetition gets people to believe them. We've seen it all before.
Fukushima's Catastrophic Aftermath Continues
Fukushima's Catastrophic Aftermath Continues
by Stephen Lendman
In her book titled "No Immediate Danger: Prognosis for a Radioactive Earth," nuclear power/environmental health expert Rosalie Bertell (1929 - 2012) said:
Syria News Apr 27
Investigators collecting Syria chemical weapons evidence, UN says - NOW
UN Chief Urges Syrian Access for UN Chemical Team - ABC News
Syrian Officials Deny Use Of Chemical Weapons - NPR
Damascus claims Al-Qaeda used chemical rocket in Aleppo attack - RT News
U.S. Lawmakers Cautious on Syria - WSJ.com
EU: Lack of definitive evidence on chemical weapons in Syria - ANSAMed.it
Cameron: Evidence of Syria chemical weapons use serious - NOW
Israel urges U.S. action over Syrian chemical weapons - Yahoo! News
VIDEOS: Aftermath of Possible Chemical Attack in Syria - NYTimes.com
VIDEO: U.S. Seeks Definite Evidence on Syria, Carney Says - Bloomberg
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Troops backed by militia battle rebels around Damascus - FRANCE 24
Syria: Rebels and Kurds clash in Aleppo - GlobalPost
FSA chief: After Qusayr, Hezbollah fighters reach Idlib and Aleppo - Alarabiya.net English
Iran Told Hezbollah to Join Syrian War, Says Ex-Leader - Bloomberg
Does the Free Syrian Army have no room for non-Islamists?
German Officials Fear Return of Islamist Fighters in Syria - SPIEGEL ONLINE
U.S. Wary As Qatar Ramps Up Support Of Syrian Rebels : NPR
VIDEO: Al-Otaybah Damascus Countryside Under Syrian Army Control - LiveLeak.coml
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No sign of Orthodox bishops' release, fears of political blackmail grow - Asia News
To contact Bartolo email peaceloversingle@gmail.com
FBI Responsibility for US Terror Plots
FBI Responsibility for US Terror Plots
by Stephen Lendman
Boston's marathon bombings leave disturbing questions unanswered. Official accounts lack credibility. Mounting evidence suggests FBI responsibility. It doesn't surprise.
Torture Remains Official US Policy
Torture Remains Official US Policy
by Stephen Lendman
International law is clear and unequivocal. Torture is illegal at all times, under all circumstances with no allowed exceptions.
It violates constitutional protections. They include the 8th Amendment's guarantee against "cruel and unusual punishments."
Libyan Door to Syrian Door to Iran
"Our intelligence community does assess with varying degrees of confidence that the Syrian regime has used chemical weapons on a small scale in Syria, specifically the chemical agent sarin."
I do assess with varying degrees of horror (some of the varying degrees rather high even) that a lot of people are going to die. And how dare they die from chemical weapons when they should be dying from hellfire missiles and cluster bombs and napalm and depleted uranium and white phosphorous. We have a responsibility to protect these people from dying of the wrong type of weapon and in too small numbers.
I'm in Dallas protesting the rehabilitation of our last criminal president because of the precedents he set for our current criminal president. So, precedents are on my mind. One precedent for an illegal humanitarian NATO war on Syria is, of course, the illegal humanitarian war on Libya two years ago. And the pair of precedents (Libya and Syria) will put the target of the neocon/neoliberal cooperative war project squarely on Iran.
Syria will suffer, of course. There will be no more an example of a humanitarian war that actually benefitted humanity after Syria than before. The precedent will not be one of having accomplished something, but of having gotten away with something.
For some truly illuminating background on what was done to Libya, and some relevant discussion of what awaits Syria (if we don't prevent it), I recommend Francis Boyle's new book, Destroying Libya and World Order.
Boyle served as a lawyer for the government of Libya repeatedly, over a period of decades, more than once successfully preventing a military assault by the United States and the United Kingdom. Boyle details the aggression toward Libya of the Reagan administration: the lies and false accusations, the sanctions, the provocations, the assassination attempts, the infiltration, the blatant disregard for international law.
Boyle's history brings us up to and through the 2011 assault, and traces its precedents to a very similar war over a decade earlier in Bosnia. Boyle finds the unconstitutional and illegal assault on Libya a clear impeachable offense for President Obama. And why would we think otherwise? Only because we let Clinton and Bush get away with everything they got away with. It would seem unfair now to impeach Obama for a crime his predecessors committed as well.
But past, as well as current, presidents can be impeached, censured, prosecuted, and/or publicly shamed. Five of them came to Dallas today; there shouldn't be any trouble finding them. And the criminal attack on Libya can be treated as the crime it was. The excuse of protection was used to quite openly pursue the overthrow of a nation's government, bombing large numbers of civilians in the process, while arming brutal thugs and creating predictable blowback in neighboring nations as well.
In contrast, in Bahrain, nonviolent pro-democracy activists are left to their own devices as a U.S.-backed dictatorship jails, tortures, and murders them.
In Syria, the United States has worked against peace and for violence. That violence is not a justification for further and heightened violence. And every member of an intelligence "community" that announces that Syria might possibly have used a chemical weapon should be doing community service for the people of Fallujah and Basra and Baghdad, not prodding the world's only stupor power into another genocide.
Syria News Apr 26
White House: We don’t know if Syria red line has been crossed - The Cable
White House Letter on Syria Sent to Congress - NYTimes.com
U.N. to investigate claims of the use of chemical weapons in Syria - UPI.com
Blood samples of dead Syrians to be tested in Jordan for chemical weapons - The National
Strategically, why would Syria have used chemical weapons on a 'small scale'? - FP Passport
Qatari prime minister: Bashar used chemical weapons - FP Passport
VIDEO: State Dept. says inspectors pre-deployed near Syria - NBCNews.com
At the UN US Worried by Al Nusra, Russia Says They'll Get EU Oil Money - Inner City Press
Syria seen as security risk to Europe - UPI.com
Terror attacks in Europe rise by a quarter as EU citizens fight in Syria – Europol - RT News
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Syria army shifts to "war of highways" - NOW
Syrian government's capture of town a 'big blow to the opposition,' group says - Fox News
Syria accuses “Chechen terrorists” of bishops' abduction - NOW
Assad still has backers among Syrian refugees - The Washington Post
Syria expects more financial aid from Russia, Iran - AFP
Exiled Muslim Brotherhood plans return to Syria - The Washington Post
PHOTOS: Funeral of Driver of Kidnapped Bishops - LiveLeak.com
VIDEO: Leaked Video Shows Scud Launches By The 155th Brigade In Syria - Brown Moses Blog
To contact Bartolo email peaceloversingle@gmail.com
"We Can Make Change"
by Debra Sweet On April 18, 2013, Rochester Indymedia interviewed Debra Sweet, an anti-war organizer and director of The World Can't Wait. She will be going to Syracuse, NY on April 26-28th for the “Resisting Drones, Global War and Empire" convergence (see the Facebook event).
Craft International Services hired guns at the Boston Marathon: Why Such Secrecy about Private Military Contractor’s Men Working
By Dave Lindorff
Speaking as an investigative reporter with almost 40 years’s experience, I can say that when government officials won’t talk, they’re generally hiding something embarrassing or worse.
Obama Heads Closer to War on Syria
Obama Heads Closer Closer to War on Syria
by Stephen Lendman
Protests planned for Bush "Lie-bury
by Debra Sweet Protests planned for Bush “Lie-bury” dedication this week at SMU in Dallas:
The Bush Legacy
The Bush Legacy
Throughout his tenure, media scoundrels were largely supportive. They ignored his 2000 electoral theft. In 2004, they did so again.
They backed his imperial wars. They turned a blind eye to police state injustice. They ignored torture on a global scale. They mischaracterized the measure of the man.
America's War on Terror 2.0
America's War on Terror 2.0
by Stephen Lendman
Post-Boston bombings, expect Obama and Congress to take full advantage. Perhaps more war is planned. Big lies launch them. Fear-mongering enlists public support. Anything ahead is possible.
A previous article discussed dubious allegations of Syria's chemical weapons use. They resemble fabricated claims about Saddam's nonexistent WMDs. It's similar to false charges against all US enemies.
Syria News Apr 25
Minaret of landmark mosque in Syria destroyed - UTSanDiego.com
Syrian army seizes strategic town near capital - Reuters
Syrian regime shoring up hold on capital, coast - SFGate
Syrian Army Regains Several Areas in Qusayr, Damascus Countryside - almanar.com
Syria: National Defense Forces at Forefront of Qusayr Fighting - Al Akhbar English
VIDEO: Syria fighting in Aleppo destroys UNESCO site Aleppo mosque - YouTube
VIDEO: FSA founder Riad al-Asaad speaks from hospital bed - LiveLeak.com
VIDEO: 'Kidnappers cut off my finger' says Syrian victim - YouTube
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Syria crisis: UN to study soil samples for proof of sarin gas - guardian.co.uk
Syria says it would not use chemical arms, 'even against Israel' - Haaretz Daily Newspaper
Free Syrian Army general: ‘Clear proof chemical weapons used’ - CNN.com Blogs
US, Jordan Form Command Center to Watch Syria - Military.com
Jordan’s Salafists Provide Lifeline to Syrian Opposition - Al-Monitor
Syria: Al Nusra to Hezbollah, get out or Beirut will burn - ANSAMed.it
Hundreds of Europeans fighting in Syria, says EU expert - BBC News
William Hague warns of threat to Britain from Syria fighters - Telegraph
Spain backs Syrian national unity government - Alarabiya.net English
Algeria cracks down on Syria recruiting networks - Magharebia
Brahimi suggests U.N. arms embargo on both sides of the Syria conflict - Alarabiya.net English
To contact Bartolo email peaceloversingle@gmail.com
Hunting for the Boogie-Man: 4-19, the Day It All Came Together
By John Grant
“In order to get our message before the public with some chance of making a lasting impression, we’ve had to kill people.”
--Ted Kaczynski, The Unabomber Manifesto, 1995
TSA-style gropes at Coachella Music Festival, by Lisa Simeone
As some of us have been saying for years, and taking no end of sh*t for it from know-nothing observers, it was only a matter of time before the tactics of the TSA moved from the airport to other venues. And now that day is here.
Read the rest at TSA News.
