Welfare Nation Alert: Disability Fund To Run Out Of Cash In Two Years
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2015-03-28/welfare-nation-alert-disability-insurance-trust-fund-run-out-cash-two-years
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Tuesday, March 31, 2015
Welfare Nation Alert: Disability Fund To Run Out Of Cash In Two Years
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2015-03-28/welfare-nation-alert-disability-insurance-trust-fund-run-out-cash-two-years
Finally The "Very Serious People" Get It: QE Will "Permanently Impair Living Standards For Generations To Come"
Finally The "Very Serious People" Get It: QE Will "Permanently Impair Living Standards For Generations To Come"
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2015-03-28/finally-very-serious-people-get-it-qe-will-permanently-impair-living-standards-gener
Republicans Blast Hillary: "Not Even Nixon Destroyed The Tapes"
Republicans Blast Hillary: "Not Even Nixon Destroyed The Tapes"
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2015-03-29/republicans-blast-hillary-not-even-nixon-destroyed-tapes
A Saint Who Knew Loneliness
A Saint Who Knew Loneliness
Carmelite Author Talks About Gemma Galgani
http://www.zenit.org/en/articles/a-saint-who-knew-lonelinessWho Spies for Israel in Washington’s Nuclear Negotiations? by James Petras
Who Spies for Israel in Washington’s Nuclear Negotiations?
by James Petrashttp://dissidentvoice.org/2015/03/who-spies-for-israel-in-washingtons-nuclear-negotiations/
Barney Frank's Biggest Bombshell: His Shocking Anecdote About the Financial Crisis
Barney Frank's Biggest Bombshell: His Shocking Anecdote About the Financial Crisis
http://www.alternet.org/economy/barney-franks-biggest-bombshell-his-shocking-anecdote-about-financial-crisis
America: The "Nursing Home" Economy
America: The "Nursing Home" Economy
A Nuclear Deal Won’t Bridge the Divide Between Iran and the U.S.
http://blogs.wsj.com/washwire/
A Nuclear Deal Won’t Bridge the Divide Between Iran and the U.S.
By Haleh Esfandiari
Wall Street Journal
March 31, 2015
After years of wrangling, a nuclear agreement between Iran and world powers would not dramatically change Iran’s relationship with the United States–but it would make substantial changes:
A deal that lifts sanctions, even gradually, would boost Iran’s
economy, and Tehran would gain access to its substantial assets
currently frozen in foreign banks. Iranian oil exports,
almost halved by sanctions, would rise again. Petrochemical and other
stalled projects could be completed. Iranian banks and businesses would
regain access to the international banking system. Foreign investment,
particularly in Iran’s cash-starved energy industry, could flow in
again.http://blogs.wsj.com/washwire/2015/03/31/a-nuclear-deal-wont-bridge-the-divide-between-iran-and-the-u-s/?mkt_tok=3RkMMJWWfF9wsRonuazBc%2B%2FhmjTEU5z17e4tUaag38431UFwdcjKPmjr1YIFRMtjI%2BSLDwEYGJlv6SgFSLHMMa12z7gLXxI%3D
Whose side is the US on in the Mid-East?
Whose side is the US on in the Mid-East?
http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/opinion/whose-side-is-the-us-on-in-the-mid-east
Just Say No Why the United States can’t kick the bad habit of repeating failed campaigns in its war against terror.
INTERVENTIONISTS ANONYMOUS:
The never-ending “war on terror” is looking more and more like the disastrous U.S. “war on drugs,” writes FP’s Stephen Walt: Read morehttp://foreignpolicy.com/2015/03/31/just-say-no-us-war-on-terror-yemen-iraq/?utm_source=Sailthru&utm_medium=email&utm_term=*Editors%20Picks&utm_campaign=2014_EditorsPicksRS3%2F31
Just Say No
Why the United States can’t kick the bad habit of repeating failed campaigns in its war against terror.
The never-ending “war on terror” is looking more and more like the disastrous U.S. “war on drugs,” writes FP’s Stephen Walt: Read morehttp://foreignpolicy.com/2015/03/31/just-say-no-us-war-on-terror-yemen-iraq/?utm_source=Sailthru&utm_medium=email&utm_term=*Editors%20Picks&utm_campaign=2014_EditorsPicksRS3%2F31
How to Decipher Yemen, Where the Enemy of Your Enemy Is Also Your Enemy
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/
Yemen, like Afghanistan, has a long reputation as a quagmire for foreign invaders. Saudi Arabia could break its teeth there if the US does not constrain it. Astonishingly, Yemeni events have now conspired to bring about the supposed intervention of some ten regional powers in one of the most hyped events in the Arabian Peninsula of recent times.
Most of this proxy war makes little sense: the threats emanating from Yemen are distorted and exaggerated, the stakes are actually relatively low (except for Yemenis), any imposed settlement is highly elusive, and the costs to those engaged may be high. For the US it can be once again something of a lose-lose situation and where the enemy of my enemy is often also my enemy.http://www.huffingtonpost.com/graham-e-fuller/decipher-yemen_b_6965564.html
How to Decipher Yemen, Where the Enemy of Your Enemy Is Also Your Enemy
Graham E. Fuller, March 30, 2015Yemen, like Afghanistan, has a long reputation as a quagmire for foreign invaders. Saudi Arabia could break its teeth there if the US does not constrain it. Astonishingly, Yemeni events have now conspired to bring about the supposed intervention of some ten regional powers in one of the most hyped events in the Arabian Peninsula of recent times.
Most of this proxy war makes little sense: the threats emanating from Yemen are distorted and exaggerated, the stakes are actually relatively low (except for Yemenis), any imposed settlement is highly elusive, and the costs to those engaged may be high. For the US it can be once again something of a lose-lose situation and where the enemy of my enemy is often also my enemy.http://www.huffingtonpost.com/graham-e-fuller/decipher-yemen_b_6965564.html
Soros says ready to invest $1 billion in Ukraine if West helps
Soros says ready to invest $1 billion in Ukraine if West helps:
George
Soros is ready to invest $1 billion in Ukraine if Western countries
help private investment there, and sees a 1 in 3 chance Greece will
leave the euro, the billionaire financier told Austrian newspaper Der
Standard.
Show Me the Money, Hillary! Clintonesque Entitlement Should Be Shunned
Show Me the Money, Hillary!
Clintonesque Entitlement Should Be Shunned
By Philip Giraldi
The Clinton's are singular in terms of both their greed and their hubristic sense of entitlement.
McCain Suggests Israel "Go Rogue," Blow Up Iran Negotiations By Starting War
McCain Suggests Israel "Go Rogue," Blow Up Iran Negotiations By Starting War
By Zaid Jilani
During a
floor speech he gave on March 24th, the senator suggested that Israel
"go rogue" and that if they don't they may not survive the next 22
months of the Obama presidency:
CAIR Calls for Evacuation of U.S. Citizens Trapped in Yemen
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CAIR Calls for Evacuation of U.S. Citizens Trapped in Yemen Muslim civil rights group says American Muslims, others seek help in leaving combat zone (WASHINGTON, D.C., 3/31/15) – The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the nation's largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, today called on Secretary of State John Kerry "to take immediate action to facilitate the evacuation of U.S. citizens and permanent residents trapped in Yemen." In a letter to Secretary Kerry, CAIR National Communications Director Ibrahim Hooper wrote in part: "We have already received reports of U.S. citizens seeking escape from Yemen because of the increasingly deadly situation.SEE: Why isn't America evacuating its citizens in Yemen? (PRI) Yemen Evacuation Shows Chinese Navy's Growing Role (NY Times) India Sends 5 Ships, 4 Planes to Evacuate Indians Stranded in Yemen CAIR is America's largest Muslim civil liberties and advocacy organization. Its mission is to enhance the understanding of Islam, encourage dialogue, protect civil liberties, empower American Muslims, and build coalitions that promote justice and mutual understanding. - END - CONTACT: CAIR National Communications Director Ibrahim Hooper, 202-744-7726, ihooper@cair.com; CAIR Communications Manager Amina Rubin, 202-341-4171, arubin@cair.com |
S. Korea not in dilemma over rivalry between US, China: FM
S. Korea not in dilemma over rivalry between US, China: FM
http://www.koreatimesus.com/s-korea-not-in-dilemma-over-rivalry-between-us-china-fm/
If Shi’ite militias beat Islamic State in Tikrit, Iraq will still lose
http://blogs.reuters.com/
If Shi’ite militias beat Islamic State in Tikrit, Iraq will still lose
By Maria Fantappie and Peter Harlinghttp://blogs.reuters.com/great-debate/2015/03/30/if-shiite-militias-beat-islamic-state-in-tikrit-iraq-will-still-lose/Happy Easter from Little Sisters of the Poor: From Indifference to Compassion Holy Week 2015
This final reflection in our series on Pope Francis' Lenten theme, From Indifference to Compassion, brings us to Holy Week and the Easter Triduum, the highpoint of our year as Christians.
But
for those who are seriously ill, who may be weighed down with pain, and
who are perhaps homebound, will this be a special week at all? And what
about caregivers, who have so much to do, and who may not even have
time to think about attending Holy Week services?
This
sacred time need not be complicated. The heart of the Easter Triduum is
the Cross of Christ and the Love with which he gave his life upon it,
for each and every one of us! We can access the graces of Holy Week
simply by meditating on the Cross as the proof of God's love.
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Find
a few minutes for quiet prayer. Take out your rosary, or pause before
the crucifix in your home. Let these words of two Popes penetrate deep
into your heart...
"You are the crucified Christ amongst us.
It is one thing to look at a Crucifix, it is another to look at a sick
man, woman or child who is crucified within their disease: you are
Christ's living flesh."
These
words were spoken by Pope Francis to a group of sick people in Naples,
Italy, on March 21. They communicate incredible reverence for the
dignity of each and every sick person:
YOU ARE THE CRUCIFIED CHRIST AMONG US!
Your
life and your sufferings have tremendous meaning. Don't ever doubt
that. You are a special presence of Christ for everyone you know. Thank
you for allowing us to accompany you on your own very personal way of
the Cross.
For
caregivers, you are Simon of Cyrene and Veronica to the sick for whom
you care with so much compassion. Thank you for your example in
accompanying the sick, and in doing so, for attesting to the dignity of
the human person, especially in his weakness and vulnerability.
"Man
is worth so much to God that he himself became man in order to suffer
with man in an utterly real way - in flesh and blood - as is revealed to
us in ... Jesus' Passion."
Commenting
on this insight of Pope Benedict XVI another author wrote, "The price
Christ paid to redeem us was inestimable: his own life, and the shedding
of his own blood, down to the last drop. We are worth all the blood of
Christ."
You are worth all the blood of Christ, just as you are, in all your weakness and pain.
YOU ARE THE CRUCIFIED CHRIST AMONG US.
YOU ARE WORTH ALL THE BLOOD OF CHRIST.
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For more information, contact the Publications Office:
serenity@littlesistersofthepoor.org | 410-744-9367 | www.littlesistersofthepoor.org
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Here are the members of the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen and what they're contributing
Here are the members of the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen and what they're contributing
http://www.businessinsider.com/members-of-saudi-led-coalition-in-yemen-their-contributions-2015-3?utm_source=alerts&nr_email_referer=1
China's new development bank is becoming a massive embarrassment for Obama
China's new development bank is becoming a massive embarrassment for Obama
http://www.businessinsider.com/us-allies-joining-asian-infrastructure-investment-bank-aiib-embarrassment-2015-3?utm_source=alerts&nr_email_referer=1
Germany's Deceptive Calm: The Hidden Rifts in Merkel's Consensus
February 2015 report by Paul Hockenos, Germany's Deceptive Calm: The Hidden Rifts in Merkel's Consensus.
Germany's Deceptive Calm: The Hidden Rifts in Merkel's Consensus
By Paul Hockenos, Feb. 3, 2015
On
the surface, today’s Germany appears a model of harmony and consensus.
Led by Chancellor Angela Merkel, who is beloved by the citizenry,
Germany boasts the eurozone’s strongest economy, which has flourished
even during the financial crisis and Europe-wide recession. Merkel, 60,
heads up the country’s most popular party, the Christian Democratic
Union (CDU), and has no serious challenger in sight. The current “grand
coalition,” elected in 2013, is an affable partnership with the
center-left Social Democrats; the trade unions and industry get along
well, too. Many experts and journalists, such as George Packer in a recent profile in The New Yorker,
envision Merkel’s reign—already in its 10th year—enduring well into the
future, perhaps even outlasting those of her eminent conservative
predecessors, Konrad Adenauer and Helmut Kohl.
Many
observers, including Packer, label Merkel as visionless and
risk-adverse, a benevolent caretaker gently guiding a Germany set on
autopilot. Yet in doing so, they overlook her historic role as an
energetic modernizer of German—and indeed European—Christian democracy,
as well as the deep rifts that this course has opened up in Germany. At a
time when conservatism in some countries, from the United States to
Hungary, looks ever more retrograde,
Merkel has incrementally sculpted a conservatism fit for the 21st
century. It is, however, exactly this feat that divides German
conservatives. Many of the most relevant fault lines in the Federal
Republic today run straight through the CDU and its Bavarian sister
party, the Christian Social Union (CSU). These and other divisions—over
the eurozone, for instance—threaten the social consensus Merkel has
built.
READ THE REST ON THE SITEhttp://www.worldpoliticsreview.com/articles/14998/germany-s-deceptive-calm-the-hidden-rifts-in-merkel-s-consensus?utm_source=Weekly+Headlines&utm_campaign=071765078c-free-to-weekly-033115&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_6e36cc98fd-071765078c-62711729
Global Health Ebola Update 3/31
EBOLA
------------------------------
Tracking the Missing Funds
What happened to more than half of the $18 million allocated by the Sierra Leone government to fight Ebola?
The question is the subject of an investigation into mishandling of funds set aside to respond to the Ebola epidemic, which killed more than 3,700 in Sierra Leone.
According to IRIN, an audit (http://www.auditservice.gov.
The Quote: “It makes one wonder how a serious humanitarian crisis was used as money-making machine,” said Ibrahim Tommy, coordinator for Sierra Leone’s Centre for Accountability and Rule of Law.
IRIN (http://www.irinnews.org/
MSF Reflects: Q&A with Joanne Liu, Part II
This second half of a Q&A with Joanne Liu, president of Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), focuses on lessons learned in the 2014 Ebola crisis in West Africa.
Liu explains how everybody in the response effort was somehow late in the response to Ebola, and she emphasizes that West Africans shouldered most of the burden.
“I want people to understand that there is a lot of rewriting history about Ebola underway, and some of it strikes a very self-promotional tone. Let’s not fool ourselves. As in any major crisis around the world, the people who act and respond to those crises are first and foremost local people,” she said.—Dayna Kerecman Myers, associate editor.
In case you missed it last week, you can read the first part here (http://www.globalhealthnow.
Global Health NOW (http://www.globalhealthnow.
Related: Guinea’s Border Closed Over Ebola Fears – The New York Times (http://www.nytimes.com/2015/
Related: Sierra Leone Ebola lockdown exposes hundreds of suspected cases – Reuters (http://www.reuters.com/
Related: A look at Ebola chronicled through photography –
Al Jazeera America (Video) (http://america.aljazeera.com/
Related: Recovering from the Ebola Crisis – UNDP ReliefWeb (http://reliefweb.int/report/
------------------------------
Tracking the Missing Funds
What happened to more than half of the $18 million allocated by the Sierra Leone government to fight Ebola?
The question is the subject of an investigation into mishandling of funds set aside to respond to the Ebola epidemic, which killed more than 3,700 in Sierra Leone.
According to IRIN, an audit (http://www.auditservice.gov.
The Quote: “It makes one wonder how a serious humanitarian crisis was used as money-making machine,” said Ibrahim Tommy, coordinator for Sierra Leone’s Centre for Accountability and Rule of Law.
IRIN (http://www.irinnews.org/
MSF Reflects: Q&A with Joanne Liu, Part II
This second half of a Q&A with Joanne Liu, president of Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), focuses on lessons learned in the 2014 Ebola crisis in West Africa.
Liu explains how everybody in the response effort was somehow late in the response to Ebola, and she emphasizes that West Africans shouldered most of the burden.
“I want people to understand that there is a lot of rewriting history about Ebola underway, and some of it strikes a very self-promotional tone. Let’s not fool ourselves. As in any major crisis around the world, the people who act and respond to those crises are first and foremost local people,” she said.—Dayna Kerecman Myers, associate editor.
In case you missed it last week, you can read the first part here (http://www.globalhealthnow.
Global Health NOW (http://www.globalhealthnow.
Related: Guinea’s Border Closed Over Ebola Fears – The New York Times (http://www.nytimes.com/2015/
Related: Sierra Leone Ebola lockdown exposes hundreds of suspected cases – Reuters (http://www.reuters.com/
Related: A look at Ebola chronicled through photography –
Al Jazeera America (Video) (http://america.aljazeera.com/
Related: Recovering from the Ebola Crisis – UNDP ReliefWeb (http://reliefweb.int/report/
J Street Welcomes Congressional Letter Reaffirming Support of Two-State Solution
J Street Welcomes Congressional Letter Reaffirming Support of Two-State Solution
MARCH 31ST, 2015
J
Street Vice President of Government Affairs Dylan Williams released the
following statement today regarding the letter sent by Congressman
Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) and 78 of his colleagues to President Obama
concerning the US-Israel special relationship http://jstreet.org/blog/post/j-street-welcomes-congressional-letter-reaffirming-support-of-twostate-solution_1
The Great Game in Afghanistan (Twenty-First-Century Update)
The Great Game in Afghanistan (Twenty-First-Century Update)
And the U.S. Is Losing Out
By Dilip Hiro
Call it an irony, if you will, but as the Obama administration struggles to slow down or halt its scheduled withdrawal from Afghanistan, newly elected Afghan President Ashraf Ghani is performing a withdrawal operation of his own. He seems to be in the process of trying to sideline the country’s major patron of the last 13 years -- and as happened in Iraq after the American invasion and occupation there, Chinese resource companies are again picking up the pieces.
Click here to read more of this dispatch.http://www.tomdispatch.com/post/175975/tomgram%3A_dilip_hiro%2C_afghanistan%27s_china_card/#more
"Hillary Clinton's Email Scandal"
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Join Judicial Watch for a panel discussion:
"Hillary Clinton's Email Scandal" Watch live online beginning at 1pm ET at www.judicialwatch.org/live
In
response to revelations about the secret email accounts used by Hillary
Clinton and other top State Department officials to conduct official
government business, Judicial Watch announced it will host an educational panel discussion: "Hillary Clinton's Email Scandal."
Panelists
include Joseph E. diGenova, former U.S. Attorney, Independent Counsel
and founding partner of the Washington, D.C., diGenova & Toensing,
LLP; Daniel J. Metcalfe, founding director of the Office Justice
Department's Office of Information and Privacy, adjunct professor of
law, American University; and Paul Orfanedes, who has litigated hundreds
of Freedom of Information Act lawsuits and serves as director of
litigation for Judicial Watch.
Confirmed Panelists:
Joseph E. diGenova
Founding Partner, diGenova & Toensing, LLP
Daniel J. Metcalfe
Adjunct Professor of Law, American University
Paul Orfanedes
Director of Litigation, Judicial Watch
Moderator:
Tom Fitton
President, Judicial Watch
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The Middle Eastern Balance of Power Matures
The Middle Eastern Balance of Power Matures
By George Friedman
Last week, a coalition of predominantly Sunni Arab countries, primarily from the Arabian Peninsula and organized by Saudi Arabia, launched airstrikes in Yemen that have continued into this week. The airstrikes target Yemeni al-Houthis, a Shiite sect supported by Iran, and their Sunni partners, which include the majority of military forces loyal to former President Ali Abdullah Saleh. What made the strikes particularly interesting was what was lacking: U.S. aircraft. Although the United States provided intelligence and other support, it was a coalition of Arab states that launched the extended air campaign against the al-Houthis.
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Three things make this important. First, it shows the United States' new regional strategy in operation. Washington is moving away from the strategy it has followed since the early 2000s — of being the prime military force in regional conflicts — and is shifting the primary burden of fighting to regional powers while playing a secondary role. Second, after years of buying advanced weaponry, the Saudis and the Gulf Cooperation Council countries ...
Read more »https://www.stratfor.com/weekly/middle-eastern-balance-power-matures?utm_source=freelist-f&utm_medium=email&utm_term=Gweekly&utm_campaign=20150331&mc_cid=15c6e5c7ea&mc_eid=52511177bc
Sunday, March 29, 2015
Syria is Rapidly Heading for De Facto Long-Term Partition: Idlib, the Stalemate and the Grand Bargain
Syria is Rapidly Heading for De Facto Long-Term Partition: Idlib, the Stalemate and the Grand Bargain
http://mebriefing.com/?p=1596&There are clearer signs now that Syria is heading for a long term de facto partition. Several factors lead to that prediction: The emergence of an increasing trend towards unification among the Syrian opposition groups; the mounting coordination between Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Qatar and the UAE to work out a common ground for their different policies towards Syria; Iran’s intensification of aid to the regime of Bashar Al Assad; the expected failure of next month’s Moscow conference; and the total paralysis of the international community.
America’s not a force for good: The truth about our most enduring — and harmful — national myth
America’s not a force for good: The truth about our most enduring — and harmful — national myth
Our exceptionalism is a lie, and only an honest accounting of our actual history will allow us to chart a new path
http://www.salon.com/2015/03/29/americas_not_a_force_for_good_the_truth_about_our_most_enduring_and_harmful_national_myth/?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=socialflow
Saturday, March 28, 2015
Hillary Clinton’s Presidential Campaign Is Now Effectively Over?
Wall Street Warns Dems Not to Choose Senator Elizabeth Warren
http://www.washingtonsblog.com/2015/03/hillary-clintons-presidential-campaign-now-effectively.html
http://www.washingtonsblog.com/2015/03/hillary-clintons-presidential-campaign-now-effectively.html
IRS Scandal Deja Vu: Hillary Clinton's Email Server "Wiped Clean"
IRS Scandal Deja Vu: Hillary Clinton's Email Server "Wiped Clean"
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2015-03-28/irs-scandal-deja-vu-hillary-clintons-email-server-wiped-clean
Obama in the Middle East: Condominium Or Equilibrium?
Obama in the Middle East: Condominium Or Equilibrium?
March 28, 2015
by Jim LobeIn the last 48 or so hours, U.S. warplanes began bombing Islamic State (ISIS or IS) targets in and around Tikrit in support of the Iran-backed and Shi’a-led Iraqi government. At the same time, Washington provided unspecified intelligence and logistical support to a Saudi-led attack (if not invasion) against Houthi forces in Yemen. Coincidence? Very possibly. But it is also perhaps a demonstration of Obama’s very challenging efforts to establish an “equilibrium” between Shia and Sunni forces throughout the Middle East region, especially in the Gulf.
Obama explicitly made such equilibrium a strategic aim in the region in his famous interview with The New Yorker’s David Remnick 14 months ago.
It would be profoundly in the interest of citizens throughout the region if Sunnis and Shias weren’t intent on killing each other. And although it would not solve the entire problem, if we were able to get Iran to operate in a responsible fashion—not funding terrorist organizations, not trying to stir up sectarian discontent in other countries, and not developing a nuclear weapon—you could see an equilibrium developing between Sunni, or predominantly Sunni, Gulf states and Iran in which there’s competition, perhaps suspicion, but not an active or proxy warfare.Of course, that was at best an overly optimistic take on prospects at the time. The interview came before IS forces swept from their Syrian bases into Iraq and eventually to the outskirts of Baghdad and Erbil, prompting Tehran to rush military aid and advisers in support of the Baghdad government. It also happened well before the Houthis, in alliance with Yemen’s powerful (and extremely wealthy) ex-president, Ali Abdullah Saleh, ousted the U.S.- and Saudi-backed government of interim President Abdu Rabbu Mansour Hadi, eventually marching to the very gates of Aden. This Houthi offensive prompted the military intervention of the Saudi-led and U.S.-backed coalition forces, which according to Riyadh’s account, will eventually include at least 10 other Sunni-led nations.http://www.lobelog.com/obama-in-the-middle-east-condominium-or-equilibrium/
MJ Rosenberg The US-Israel Relationship Has Changed Permanently
MJ Rosenberg The US-Israel Relationship Has Changed Permanently
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mj-rosenberg/us-israel-relationship_b_6854930.html
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mj-rosenberg/us-israel-relationship_b_6854930.html
Cardinal Turkson Explains Hopes to Help 16,000 Ebola Orphans
Cardinal Turkson Explains Hopes to Help 16,000 Ebola Orphans
Pontifical Council President Shares Details of Holy See's New Fund to Aid Epidemic Stricken Nations
http://www.zenit.org/en/articles/cardinal-turkson-explains-hopes-to-help-16-000-ebola-orphans"A Religious Leader Who Preaches Violence is Neither A Leader Nor Religious"
"A Religious Leader Who Preaches Violence is Neither A Leader Nor Religious"
Andrea Riccardi, Founder of SantEgidio Community Speaks to ZENIT on the Need For Interreligious Dialogue
A conference was held yesterday in the Hall of Congresses of the Sant’ Egidio Community, which gathered representatives of the Catholic Church and Shi’ite institutions. The participants addressed the topic of the “responsibility of believers in a global and plural world” and dialogue for the building of peace, at an historical moment marked by many crises and conflicts on the international scene.Speaking to ZENIT, Professor Andrea Riccardi, founder and former president of Sant’Egidio Community, said: “I think that between different worlds we must discover one another: today either there is friendship or there is conflict, It’s no longer possible to ignore one another.”
During his intervention at the end of the conference, Riccardi asserted: “a religious leader that preaches violence is neither a leader nor religious.”
http://www.zenit.org/en/articles/a-religious-leader-who-preaches-violence-is-neither-a-leader-nor-religious
Archbishop Coutts Relaunches Appeal for Christians To Not Seek Revenge
Archbishop Coutts Relaunches Appeal for Christians To Not Seek Revenge
In Light of Attacks in Lahore, Leader of Pakistani Bishops Explains Where There's Tension, Hope
http://www.zenit.org/en/articles/archbishop-coutts-relaunches-appeal-for-christians-to-not-seek-revengeHoly See Statement at Human Rights Council on Syria
Holy See Statement at Human Rights Council on Syria
"The right to a legal identity, to an adequate education and to a family are key elements and specific requirements in a comprehensive system of protection for children."
http://www.zenit.org/en/articles/holy-see-statement-at-human-rights-council-on-syria
Hong Kong actively seeking to join Asian infrastructure bank, says financial secretary
Hong Kong actively seeking to join Asian infrastructure bank, says financial secretary
City's
multiple strengths stand it in good stead, top officials say amid a
flurry of international interest in joining proposed regional lender
http://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1748567/hong-kong-actively-seeks-join-asian-infrastructure-bank-says?utm_source=edm&utm_medium=edm&utm_content=20150328&utm_campaign=scmp_today
White House will go after AIPAC next — Newsweek
White House will go after AIPAC next — Newsweek
By Philip WeissAs the Iran talks go to the wire, we can only marvel at the political fireworks we are seeing. Newsweek follows up on the the Wall Street Journal report that Israel was spying on the US talks and leaking details to friendly members of congress. “I’m betting there are going to be some willing leakers now about stories such as AIPAC’s operations against Congress,” a former US intelligence operative predicts.
Read in browser »http://mondoweiss.net/2015/03/after-aipac-newsweek?utm_source=Mondoweiss+List&utm_campaign=6f53b2599d-RSS_EMAIL_CAMPAIGN&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_b86bace129-6f53b2599d-398529985
Busted Stuff: America’s Disastrous Iran Policy
http://goingtotehran.com/
Busted Stuff: America’s Disastrous Iran Policy
By Flynt Leverett and Hillary Mann Leverett
Posted on March 27th, 2015
Stakes
in the nuclear talks between Iran and the P5+1 couldn’t be higher for
the countries involved—especially for the United States. After nearly a
decade and a half of disastrously
self-damaging wars, “counter-terrorism campaigns,” and military
occupations in the Middle East, the dysfunction and incoherence of U.S.
policy is now on full display, from Iraq to Libya, Syria, and now
Yemen. To recover, Washington must accept on-the-ground
realities: U.S. efforts to dominate the region have failed and the
Islamic Republic of Iran is now a rising power with which America must
come to terms.
But
President Obama has yet to explain why the United States—for its own
interests, not as a favor to Iran, or simply because Americans are
war-weary—needs rapprochement with the Islamic
Republic. Absent such advocacy, his administration may still reach a
nuclear deal with Iran. But it will lose the political fight at home
over a new Iran policy, squandering the chance for a broader strategic
opening with Tehran and locking the United States
into increasingly steep strategic decline in the Middle East and
globally.http://goingtotehran.com/snatching-defeat-from-the-jaws-of-victory-the-case-for-u-s-iranian-rapprochement-that-obama-must-still-make-leveretts-in-the-national-interest
What George Washington Would Have Said About Netanyahu
http://www.politico.com/
By MARK PERRY
March 26, 2015
Early in the afternoon of Monday, February 23–the day following the anniversary of George Washington’s birth—North Dakota Republican John Hoeven rose from his seat, walked to the podium of the U.S. Senate, and began to read George Washington’s “Farewell Address.” In his seminal good-bye to the nation, the first president condemned the rise of political parties because they “distract the public councils and enfeeble the public administration,” and warned against “a passionate attachment of one Nation for another,” which “produces a variety of evils.”
What's striking about the latest recitation of the Farewell Address—a tradition followed in the Senate since 1896—is how little has changed since Washington wrote it (helped by Madison and Hamilton). The ills and controversies that so beset the father of the nation are still on full display in early 2015, dogging the 44th man in succession, Barack Obama. President Washington was lamenting the inordinate influence and arrogance of a French diplomat he had come to detest, known as “Citizen Genet,” who had rallied cheering American supporters into backing the French war against the British and had played havoc with U.S. foreign policy. President Obama is now lamenting the inordinate influence of one Citizen Netanyahu, who according to some Obama administration officials is up to pretty much the same mischief. And very gingerly, Obama appears to trying to pry America away from its “passionate attachment” to Israel.http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2015/03/what-george-washington-would-have-said-about-netanyahu-116428.html#.VRa1zmaKI-9
What George Washington Would Have Said About Netanyahu
America’s first president warned us against ‘passionate attachments.’ We didn’t heed him.By MARK PERRY
March 26, 2015
Early in the afternoon of Monday, February 23–the day following the anniversary of George Washington’s birth—North Dakota Republican John Hoeven rose from his seat, walked to the podium of the U.S. Senate, and began to read George Washington’s “Farewell Address.” In his seminal good-bye to the nation, the first president condemned the rise of political parties because they “distract the public councils and enfeeble the public administration,” and warned against “a passionate attachment of one Nation for another,” which “produces a variety of evils.”
What's striking about the latest recitation of the Farewell Address—a tradition followed in the Senate since 1896—is how little has changed since Washington wrote it (helped by Madison and Hamilton). The ills and controversies that so beset the father of the nation are still on full display in early 2015, dogging the 44th man in succession, Barack Obama. President Washington was lamenting the inordinate influence and arrogance of a French diplomat he had come to detest, known as “Citizen Genet,” who had rallied cheering American supporters into backing the French war against the British and had played havoc with U.S. foreign policy. President Obama is now lamenting the inordinate influence of one Citizen Netanyahu, who according to some Obama administration officials is up to pretty much the same mischief. And very gingerly, Obama appears to trying to pry America away from its “passionate attachment” to Israel.http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2015/03/what-george-washington-would-have-said-about-netanyahu-116428.html#.VRa1zmaKI-9
America in the Middle East: blind man's buff
America in the Middle East: blind man's buff
Summary: as Washington’s Palestine and Iran assumptions change, it is taking less of a leadership role, and in the prevailing Sunni/Shia conflicts finds itself on both sides.
An assessment issued by Stratfor the US consultancy close to the Pentagon and the CIA immediately after the Saudi attack on Yemen ends with the presumably sarcastic sentence "welcome to the new reality of the Middle East!" What do they mean?
The assessment describes the role given to the US in the Saudi-led Sunni operation in Yemen, "logistical and intelligence support", on the same day that the US provided air support to an Iranian-led operation in the Sunni bastion of Tikrit in Iraq. "The United States is no longer the first responder to crises in this region, although it continues to play a critical logistical role from the back seat."
Behind the hot issues of which the new Yemen war is one are two long-term issues in which fundamental changes are taking place. The first is the Palestine problem. Benjamin Netanyahu's flip-flop over the acceptance of a Palestine state has accelerated and exacerbated a change in relations between the US and Israel, for decades described as America's most reliable ally in the region. This change follows Netanyahu's speech to the U.S. Congress, regarded by the administration as out of order, and is confirmed by a flow of new stories: one is the decision by the White House chief of staff Denis McDonough to address the moderate US Zionist organisation J Street for the first time and tell them that the United States expects the next Israeli government to end nearly 50 years of occupation and clear the way for a Palestinian state. A second is the revelation that Israel has not only been spying on US negotiations on the Iran nuclear issue but using the product to brief US congressman to oppose their own government. A third is the release by the Pentagon of a 1987 report which for the first time includes information about the world's worst kept secret, Israeli nuclear weapons.http://us7.campaign-archive1.com/?u=2820afb1fbae0c99e88fb6f52&id=23cdfaba53&e=672f0b89c4
Summary: as Washington’s Palestine and Iran assumptions change, it is taking less of a leadership role, and in the prevailing Sunni/Shia conflicts finds itself on both sides.
An assessment issued by Stratfor the US consultancy close to the Pentagon and the CIA immediately after the Saudi attack on Yemen ends with the presumably sarcastic sentence "welcome to the new reality of the Middle East!" What do they mean?
The assessment describes the role given to the US in the Saudi-led Sunni operation in Yemen, "logistical and intelligence support", on the same day that the US provided air support to an Iranian-led operation in the Sunni bastion of Tikrit in Iraq. "The United States is no longer the first responder to crises in this region, although it continues to play a critical logistical role from the back seat."
Behind the hot issues of which the new Yemen war is one are two long-term issues in which fundamental changes are taking place. The first is the Palestine problem. Benjamin Netanyahu's flip-flop over the acceptance of a Palestine state has accelerated and exacerbated a change in relations between the US and Israel, for decades described as America's most reliable ally in the region. This change follows Netanyahu's speech to the U.S. Congress, regarded by the administration as out of order, and is confirmed by a flow of new stories: one is the decision by the White House chief of staff Denis McDonough to address the moderate US Zionist organisation J Street for the first time and tell them that the United States expects the next Israeli government to end nearly 50 years of occupation and clear the way for a Palestinian state. A second is the revelation that Israel has not only been spying on US negotiations on the Iran nuclear issue but using the product to brief US congressman to oppose their own government. A third is the release by the Pentagon of a 1987 report which for the first time includes information about the world's worst kept secret, Israeli nuclear weapons.http://us7.campaign-archive1.com/?u=2820afb1fbae0c99e88fb6f52&id=23cdfaba53&e=672f0b89c4
Friday, March 27, 2015
Is the F-35 fighter jet a trillion-dollar fiasco?
Is the F-35 fighter jet a trillion-dollar fiasco?:
The
F-35 is a product of the most expensive weapons program in U.S.
history. According to one Pentagon report, the price tag will reach
$1.4 trillion.
Leave Facebook if you don't want to be spied on, warns EU
Leave Facebook if you don't want to be spied on, warns EU:
The
European Commission has warned EU citizens that they should close
their Facebook accounts if they want to keep information private from
US security services, finding that current Safe Harbour legislation
does not protect citizen's data.
The Marine Corps wanting to put flawed new fighter jets into service is the biggest F-35 story right now
The Marine Corps wanting to put flawed new fighter jets into service is the biggest F-35 story right now
http://www.businessinsider.com/sandra-i-erwin-the-f-35-story-that-nobodys-talking-about-2015-3?nr_email_referer=1&utm_source=Sailthru&utm_medium=email&utm_term=Business%20Insider%20Select&utm_campaign=BI%20Select%20%28Wednesday%20Friday%29%202015-03-27&utm_content=BISelect
The battle for the Middle East's future begins in Yemen as Saudi Arabia jumps into the abyss
The battle for the Middle East's future begins in Yemen as Saudi Arabia jumps into the abyss
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/the-battle-for-the-middle-easts-future-begins-in-yemen-as-saudi-arabia-jumps-into-the-abyss-10140145.html
Is a New Political System Emerging in This Country?
http://billmoyers.com/2015/03/
Have you ever undertaken some task you felt less than qualified for, but knew that someone needed to do? Consider this piece my version of that and let me put what I do understand about it in a nutshell: based on developments in our post-9/11 world, we could be watching the birth of a new American political system and way of governing for which, as yet, we have no name.
And here’s what I find strange: the evidence of this, however inchoate, is all around us and yet it’s as if we can’t bear to take it in or make sense of it or even say that it might be so.
Let me make my case, however minimally, based on five areas in which at least the faint outlines of that new system seem to be emerging: political campaigns and elections; the privatization of Washington through the marriage of the corporation and the state; the de-legitimization of our traditional system of governance; the empowerment of the national security state as an untouchable fourth branch of government; and the demobilization of “we the people.”
Whatever this may add up to, it seems to be based, at least in part, on the increasing concentration of wealth and power in a new plutocratic class and in that ever-expanding national security state. Certainly, something out of the ordinary is underway and yet its birth pangs, while widely reported, are generally categorized as aspects of an exceedingly familiar American system somewhat in disarray.
1. One Percent Electionshttp://billmoyers.com/2015/03/25/new-american-order/
Is a New Political System Emerging in This Country?
March 25, 2015
by Tom EngelhardtHave you ever undertaken some task you felt less than qualified for, but knew that someone needed to do? Consider this piece my version of that and let me put what I do understand about it in a nutshell: based on developments in our post-9/11 world, we could be watching the birth of a new American political system and way of governing for which, as yet, we have no name.
And here’s what I find strange: the evidence of this, however inchoate, is all around us and yet it’s as if we can’t bear to take it in or make sense of it or even say that it might be so.
Let me make my case, however minimally, based on five areas in which at least the faint outlines of that new system seem to be emerging: political campaigns and elections; the privatization of Washington through the marriage of the corporation and the state; the de-legitimization of our traditional system of governance; the empowerment of the national security state as an untouchable fourth branch of government; and the demobilization of “we the people.”
Whatever this may add up to, it seems to be based, at least in part, on the increasing concentration of wealth and power in a new plutocratic class and in that ever-expanding national security state. Certainly, something out of the ordinary is underway and yet its birth pangs, while widely reported, are generally categorized as aspects of an exceedingly familiar American system somewhat in disarray.
1. One Percent Electionshttp://billmoyers.com/2015/03/25/new-american-order/
WPR Articles March 23, 2015 - March 27, 2015
WPR Articles March 23, 2015 - March 27, 2015Despite Falling Energy Prices, Arctic Oil Exploration Likely to ContinueBy: The Editors | Trend Lines
The U.S. Department of the Interior is due
to decide this week if Royal Dutch Shell can restart drilling for oil
off the coast of Alaska after it was forced to shut down operations in
2012. In an interview, Robert Huebert, an associate professor at the
University of Calgary, discussed Arctic drilling amid the slump in
global oil prices.
The Italian Plan: EU Mulls Overseas Asylum Centers in Migrant PolicyBy: Maria Savel | Trend Lines
The EU intends its recently launched
European Agenda on Migration to be a comprehensive new policy approach
to trafficking, labor migration and asylum issues. But the potential
inclusion of overseas asylum centers, proposed by Italy, has many
concerned about the human rights and legal ramifications.
International Pressure Could Still Turn the Tide on Mekong DamsBy: Richard P. Cronin | Briefing
Last year, Laos announced it would go
ahead with the second of two massive dams on the Lower Mekong River over
the objections of its neighbors. Despite these contentious decisions,
however, the widespread fear that up to 11 ecologically devastating dams
are inevitable is looking less and less certain.
Venezuela Sanctions Undo Gains of U.S. Policy of RestraintBy: Frida Ghitis | Column
Venezuela is one country where U.S.
foreign policy under President Barack Obama had struck the right
tone—until a few weeks ago. The Obama administration has issued an
executive order targeting top Venezuelan officials for sanctions,
playing directly into President Nicolas Maduro’s hands.
Nile Deal Signals Regional Reset Among Egypt, Sudan and EthiopiaBy: Alex de Waal | Briefing
A preliminary agreement between Egypt,
Sudan and Ethiopia on sharing the Nile is about a lot more than water.
It may signal a seismic shift in the politics of northeastern Africa and
could lead to a new axis of cooperation to manage, it not resolve,
conflicts in one of the world’s most turbulent regions.
MoreCan the U.N. Deliver for Obama on Iran, Israel-Palestine Deals?By: Richard Gowan | Column
Barack Obama’s influence on the future of
U.S. foreign policy is shrinking as he nears the end of his presidency.
But he might use his leverage over U.N. diplomacy to push through deals
on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and Iran’s nuclear program. If he
does, the U.N. could struggle to deliver.
Term-Limit Tensions Raise Stakes for Togo’s Presidential BallotBy: Kamissa Camara | Briefing
On April 15,
Faure Gnassingbe will be seeking a third term as Togo’s president.
Though permitted by Togo’s constitution, his candidacy is contested by
the opposition, concerned by what it calls the “confiscation of power”
by a man whose family has ruled the country for over 40 years.
Hidden Cruelties: Prison Conditions in Sub-Saharan AfricaBy: Martin Schönteich | Feature
As in other parts of the world, most
prison systems in sub-Saharan Africa are abusive. This article looks at
examples from Uganda, Sierra Leone, Namibia and South Africa in order to
better understand the challenges facing the continent’s prison systems
and the possible paths to reform.
Spoilers Emerge as Iran Nuclear Talks Reach Delicate EndgameBy: Richard Weitz | Column
With the deadline for a framework
agreement on Iran’s nuclear program fast approaching, critical players
have been expressing opposition to a deal they perceive as too lenient.
In this context, the role played by Russia and China in the negotiations
could prove critical for the success of any deal.
To Secure FARC Deal, Colombia’s Santos Must Face Down UribeBy: Michael Shifter | Briefing
Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos
appears to be in the final stretch toward reaching a peace agreement
with the FARC. The main concern now is that Santos’ immediate
predecessor, former President Alvaro Uribe, has been relentless in his
opposition to an eventual accord.
For Iran Nuclear Deal, All Scenarios Amount to Leap of FaithBy: Nikolas Gvosdev | Column
Will there be a draft of a final agreement
to end the standoff over Iran’s nuclear program by the self-imposed
deadline at the end of this month? Moreover, is such an agreement a good
idea? How one answers these questions depends on one’s perception and
tolerance of risk.
Labor, Human Rights Concerns Make Satellite Campuses a Risky ChoiceBy: The Editors | Trend Lines
A professor from New York University was
recently barred from entering the United Arab Emirates, where the school
has a new campus, after he criticized the country’s labor practices. In
an interview, Stephen Wilkins of Plymouth University discussed the
challenges facing Western satellite campuses.
CAR Still Haunted by Ethnic Divisions as It Tries to Build PeaceBy: The Editors | Trend Lines
In the wake of recent violence in the
Central African Republic, the United Nations announced today that it is
sending an additional 1,000 peacekeepers to the war-torn country. In an
interview, the Brookings Institution's Amadou Sy discussed the political
and security situation in CAR.
Like It or Not, U.S. Needs Iran to Stabilize the Middle EastBy: Judah Grunstein | Briefing
Differences between the U.S. and Israel
over a deal on Iran’s nuclear program reflect how recent changes in the
Middle East have created a fundamental divergence of U.S. and Israeli
strategic interests. Far from being transient, the resulting disconnect
is destined to be enduring.
Staffing the Future U.S. Military Will Require Thinking Outside the BoxBy: Steven Metz | Column
Since the creation of the all-volunteer
force in 1973, finding enough recruits has been a constant challenge for
the U.S. military. While the problem has been unfolding for several
years, the military now faces an impending crisis as the services find
it harder and harder to fill their ranks.
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