Middle East

Kuwait police use stun grenades against protest

"Kuwaiti riot police used stun grenades and smoke bombs against thousands of demonstrators who blocked a major road south of the capital on Sunday as the emir met four leading opposition figures. After elite special forces and police completely sealed off the original protest site in Kuwait City, organisers told supporters via Twitter to gather instead at Mishref, some 20 kilometres (12 miles) south of the capital. The government had vowed to use force if necessary to prevent the march, saying that processions and demonstrations are illegal without a permit." Continue reading →

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Israel admits to 1988 Mossad assasination of ‘PLO No.2 Abu Jihad’

"Israel has for the first time admitted assassinating the PLO’s former number two, Abu Jihad, in a raid on the movement’s Tunis headquarters in 1988, a newspaper reported on Thursday. The report, published in Israel’s top-selling Yediot Aharonot, said the operation was planned by the Mossad spy agency and carried out by the Sayeret Matkal elite commando unit. Abu Jihad, whose real name was Khalil al-Wazir, was shot dead in the early hours of April 16, 1988 in a commando raid on the PLO headquarters by what was presumed to be Israeli agents." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingIsrael admits to 1988 Mossad assasination of ‘PLO No.2 Abu Jihad’

Marijuana industry in Israel grows with government support

"The medical marijuana industry in Israel is growing rapidly — with no organized government or religious opposition to be found. Today, there are more than 10,000 Israelis who have the government’s go-ahead to use medical marijuana, a major jump from just a few hundred in 2005. Next year, marijuana may be available in pharmacies, a step just a few other countries have made. The lack of opposition means Israel is poised to keep moving forward on research." Continue reading →

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Western Media’s Pravda-Like Lies on Syria Bombing

"Considering the insurgents' tactics have been consistently to explode bombs in major city centers — just last Sunday rebels blew up Catholics trying to attend Mass in the Old Quarter in Damascus — one might assume that major mainstream news outlets like CNN might be capable of actually reporting what happened without applying propaganda spin to reflect the policy of the US government. One would be wrong." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingWestern Media’s Pravda-Like Lies on Syria Bombing

Glenn Greenwald: Joe Klein’s sociopathic defense of drone killings of children

"Obama has led all sorts of progressives and other Democrats to be the most vocal supporters of unrestrained aggression, secret assassinations, and 'crippling' the Iranian people with sanctions. It is completely unsurprising that the most sociopathic defense of drones comes from one of the most committed Obama supporters, and that it's now left to a former GOP Congressman to raise objections. As much as anything, that is the Obama legacy. Those who cheer for the unchecked power to assassinate in secret because it's Obama who currently wields that power will be the ones fully responsible for future abuses." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingGlenn Greenwald: Joe Klein’s sociopathic defense of drone killings of children

US ‘Secret’ Drone Base and Ron Paul’s Foreign Policy

"It is from this massive, 500 acre base run by the Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC), that virtually all the non-Afghan war drones are launched. It is the center of the US drone war against al-Qaeda (except for those al-Qaeda elements in Libya and Syria with which the US administration is allied -- think of those as Eastasia). Appropriately, the base, called Camp Lemonnier, is located on grounds used earlier by the French Foreign Legion -- the non-French arm of the French military used to keep the French colonial empire in line. In Lemonnier we see both under one roof cash to those who do what they are told and drones for those who do not." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingUS ‘Secret’ Drone Base and Ron Paul’s Foreign Policy

Former cricket captain turned politician Imran Khan detained and ‘interrogated over drone views’ by U.S. immigration

"Imran Khan, the former Pakistan cricket captain turned politician, was taken off an international flight from Canada to New York and questioned by US immigration officials over his views on drone strikes and jihad. Khan, who has been at the forefront of a high-profile campaign as leader of the Pakistan Movement for Justice party (PTI) to end US drone strikes in northern Pakistan, had been in Canada to give a speech and was on his way to a fundraising dinner in the US on Friday." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingFormer cricket captain turned politician Imran Khan detained and ‘interrogated over drone views’ by U.S. immigration

U.S. ‘coordinates weapon deliveries’ to Syria rebels: Russia

"'Washington is aware of the deliveries of various weapons to illegal armed groups active in Syria. Moreover, judging by the declarations of US officials published in US media, the US coordinates and provides logistical assistance in such deliveries,' the foreign ministry said in a statement. Russia’s top general Nikolai Makarov on Wednesday said rebels fighting against Bashar al-Assad’s army in Syria are using US-made Stingers, a type of shoulder-launched missile systems also known as MANPADs. State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland promptly denied that the US is delivering any such, or any other, weapons to the rebels." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingU.S. ‘coordinates weapon deliveries’ to Syria rebels: Russia

Turkish gold trade booms to Iran, via Dubai

"The sums involved are enormous. Official Turkish trade data suggests nearly $2 billion worth of gold was sent to Dubai on behalf of Iranian buyers in August. The shipments help Tehran manage its finances in the face of Western financial sanctions. The sanctions, imposed over Iran's disputed nuclear program, have largely frozen it out of the global banking system, making it hard for it to conduct international money transfers. By using physical gold, Iran can continue to move its wealth across borders. Turkish trade data confirms the gold is being transported to Dubai by air." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingTurkish gold trade booms to Iran, via Dubai