Britain's Status as a Trading Nation Ties It to Europe By Mark Fleming-Williams

Britain's Status as a Trading Nation Ties It to Europe

By Mark Fleming-Williams

At some point in the next two years, British voters will decide whether to remain a part of the European Union. This will be the first time Britons have been consulted on the subject since 1975, when 67 percent voted to stay in. If it does decide to leave, the United Kingdom will become the first country to leave the European Union since it was created in 1957. The repercussions would be felt not just in the United Kingdom but also across the Continent and indeed across the world. To predict the eventual result of this vote, it is first important to understand the factors that have kept the United Kingdom in the union this long.

The story starts with geography. Britain is a relatively small island situated off a large but historically divided continent. It is narrow, with navigable rivers, and it is blessed with natural resources and fertile land. This combination of factors has various implications for the country's development. Its island status and narrow dimensions mean that the coast is always nearby, making a large proportion of the population maritime; add an ample supply of wood, and conditions are ripe for the construction of a strong navy. The fertile soil allows for a stable population, while resources such as coal, metals and sheep (for wool), along with navigable rivers, facilitate strong international trade. From the United Kingdom's perspective, the divisions in the Continent both reduced its threats — limiting Continental powers' ability to build a navy strong enough to invade — and increased its opportunities, as British traders found ways to insert themselves between countries that were often at war. Thus, once the island's basic needs of safety and nourishment were satisfied, Britain's geography enabled it to become a maritime trading power.

Changing British Fortunes

The 19th-century historian John Seeley described Britain as having acquired its empire in a "fit of absence of mind." Britain's merchants led it to conquer the world. The wool trade flourished for a time, but the arrival of cotton superseded it, and it became important for Britain's textiles industry to have sources of the material in warmer climates. This drove it to ...

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How Neocons Destabilized Europe

September 7, 2015 | https://consortiumnews.com/2015/09/07/how-neocons-destabilized-europe/

Exclusive: The neocon prescription of endless “regime change” is spreading chaos across the Middle East and now into Europe, yet the neocons still control the mainstream U.S. narrative and thus have diagnosed the problem as not enough “regime change,” as Robert Parry reports.
By Robert Parry https://consortiumnews.com/2015/09/07/how-neocons-destabilized-europe/

http://www.lobelog.com/the-iran-deal-and-american-jews/#more-30875

The Iran Deal and American Jews

by Naomi Dann
September 7th, 2015
Far too much of the analysis of the nuclear deal with Iran has focused on what the American Jewish community and Israeli leaders think, as if those opinions were more important than those of the other Americans, Iranians, and international community at large who are also affected by the deal.
Nevertheless, one of the few bright sides of the media spotlight on American Jewish opinion on the deal has been that the loud and highly publicized infighting has proven quite incontrovertibly that there is no such thing as a Jewish consensus, on anything. As the saying goes: two Jews, three opinions. Unfortunately, when it comes to Israel the institutional American Jewish community has long claimed to represent Jewish Opinion, enclosing the boundaries of debate within a very narrow frame.

https://consortiumnews.com/2015/09/06/israels-bitter-anti-iran-fight/

Israel’s Bitter Anti-Iran Fight

September 6, 2015

Israeli leaders put on a full-court press to coerce U.S. lawmakers to line up behind Prime Minister Netanyahu instead of President Obama on the Iran nuclear deal. The Israel ploy appears to not only have failed but to have exposed deep divisions in the Jewish community, writes Lawrence Davidson.

By Lawrence Davidson

Extremism Grows in Yemen’s Civil War

Extremism Grows in Yemen’s Civil War

Posted by: Farea Al-Muslimi Monday, September 7, 2015 | http://carnegieendowment.org/syriaincrisis/?fa=61210&mkt_tok=3RkMMJWWfF9wsRons6TKZKXonjHpfsX57uQsW6Sg38431UFwdcjKPmjr1YIITsp0aPyQAgobGp5I5FEIQ7XYTLB2t60MWA%3D%3D

In mid-June, al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) announced the assassination of its leader Nasir al-Wuhayshi in a drone strike on the city of al-Mukalla. This is the most severe blow suffered by AQAP since its establishment by Wuhayshi and Saudi member Said al-Shahri in 2009, when the two men merged the Yemeni and Saudi branches of al-Qaeda into a single group. The assassination occurred as a Saudi-led international coalition continued operations in Yemen. Weeks later, Abu Hajer al-Hadrami, al-Qaeda’s famous religious singer, was also killed in a similar drone strike, one of many that have led to the death of several prominent AQAP leaders.
Wuhayshi’s assassination may represent a turning point for AQAP. In its obituary announcing Wuhayshi’s death, AQAP was keener on explaining the details of Qasim al-Rimi’s appointment—as Wuhayshi’s successor and new leader of the group—by members of the AQAP’s Shura Council than on clarifying the circumstances of his predecessor’s killing. The successor’s appointment took place remarkably quickly in a meeting of “as many Shura people as possible” according to the statement, seemingly anticipating objections from within to Rimi’s appointment by explaining the difficult circumstances under which the choice was made. http://carnegieendowment.org/syriaincrisis/?fa=61210&mkt_tok=3RkMMJWWfF9wsRons6TKZKXonjHpfsX57uQsW6Sg38431UFwdcjKPmjr1YIITsp0aPyQAgobGp5I5FEIQ7XYTLB2t60MWA%3D%3D

How the Vatican investigates miracles

http://nypost.com/2015/09/06/how-the-vatican-investigates-miracles/

Why Christianity needs its own Yad Vashem

PLUS: Big-picture impressions on anti-Christian persecution

http://www.cruxnow.com/faith/2015/09/05/why-christianity-needs-its-own-yad-vashem/

Could Resurrecting a Neo-Arab Nationalism Defeat Jihadist Extremism?

Could Resurrecting a Neo-Arab Nationalism Defeat Jihadist Extremism?

A debate is currently going on in academic circles interested in Middle East affairs in the West and in the region about the question of identity. The main point of discussion is the region's defense mechanisms against extremism. http://mebriefing.com/?p=1904&utm_source=MEB+VOL+-+II_+Issue+93+September+2015&utm_campaign=VOL+II+-+Issue+93&utm_medium=email

King Salman in Washington: New Security Arrangement for the Gulf and Questions for the Rest

King Salman in Washington: New Security Arrangement for the Gulf and Questions for the Rest

King Salman's visit to Washington is a sign that US-Saudi relations are indeed recovering from a long period of tension. But while the visit is expected to be the launching point of a new security arrangement for the Gulf region, ...View full schedule. http://mebriefing.com/?p=1902&utm_source=MEB+VOL+-+II_+Issue+93+September+2015&utm_campaign=VOL+II+-+Issue+93&utm_medium=email

The Saudi Problem

Paul R. Pillar

September 3, 2015 | http://nationalinterest.org/blog/paul-pillar/the-saudi-problem-13776?page=showSaudi King Salman visits Washington this week amid disagreement between the United States and Saudi Arabia on a broad range of issues. Moreover, the disagreements are rooted in fundamental characteristics of the anachronistic Saudi regime. Many regimes around the world, and the political and social systems of which they are a part, are markedly different from what is found in the United States, but the Saudi polity is one of the most different. The anachronism that is Saudi Arabia represents a major problem for U.S. foreign policy, both because of the impact Saudi-related matters have on the Middle East and beyond and because of the close association between Saudi Arabia and the United States that has come to be taken for granted. http://nationalinterest.org/blog/paul-pillar/the-saudi-problem-13776?page=show

And when Abbas goes?

Exclusive 4 September, by Nadia Hijab and Alaa Tartir | http://mondediplo.com/blogs/and-when-abbas-goes

The Palestinian National Council (PNC) is expected to meet this month in its first session since 2009 to accept the resignation of Mahmoud Abbas as chairman of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), along with more than half the Executive Committee’s 18 members. The PNC does of course have the option of rejecting some or all of the resignations, and in any case Abbas still wears several hats: he remains head of state, President of the Palestinian Authority, commander-in-chief, and head of the Fatah political party. Moreover, all those who resign are free to stand again. http://mondediplo.com/blogs/and-when-abbas-goes

Three Rich Treasury Secretaries Laugh It Up Over Income Inequality

Three Rich Treasury Secretaries Laugh It Up Over Income Inequality

America’s silent-but-deadly billionaires: How our tight-lipped overlords are waging stealth campaigns against the middle class - Salon.com

America’s silent-but-deadly billionaires: How our tight-lipped overlords are waging stealth campaigns against the middle class - Salon.com

The Iran Deal and the End of the Israel Lobby

http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2015/09/iran-deal-and-the-end-of-the-israel-lobby.html

Fiorina: US Warplanes Should ‘Escort’ Chinese Ships Near Bering Strait

by Ian Hanchett
4 Sep 2015 | http://www.breitbart.com/video/2015/09/04/fiorina-us-warplanes-should-escort-chinese-ships-near-bering-strait/
Republican presidential candidate Carly Fiorina stated that when China’s ships approach the Bering Strait “our warplanes ought to go out and escort them,” and the US should talk with China “about perhaps asking them to play by the same rules in our marketplace that they force us to play by in their marketplace” on Friday’s broadcast of the Fox Business Network’s “Varney & Co.”
Fiorina said that while she wouldn’t cancel the state visit of Chinese President Xi Jinping, she “wouldn’t make it a huge photo op,” but rather a “serious negotiation.”
She continued, “now is the time to put pressure on China in all kinds of ways,” and that there is “no question” China is a “rising adversary,” cheated on trade deals, and engaged in cyber espionage and attacks.http://www.breitbart.com/video/2015/09/04/fiorina-us-warplanes-should-escort-chinese-ships-near-bering-strait/

All the Ways Hillary Clinton Did Not Make News in Her Andrea Mitchell Interview

For political reporters, even Clinton’s most mundane answers can qualify as headline news.

http://www.nationaljournal.com/twentysixteen/2015/09/04/all-ways-hillary-clinton-did-not-make-news-her-andrea-mitchell-interview

Clintons personally paid State Department staffer to maintain server

http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/clintons-personally-paid-state-department-staffer-to-maintain-server/2015/09/04/b13ab23e-530c-11e5-9812-92d5948a40f8_story.html

Plunging 5.1% Unemployment Rate Belies Record Low Labor Participation Economic Populist

Plunging 5.1% Unemployment Rate Belies Record Low Labor Participation Economic Populisthttp://www.economicpopulist.org/content/plunging-51-unemployment-rate-belies-record-low-labor-participation-5835

The day after Abbas: Will it make a difference?

The day after Abbas: Will it make a difference?

By Nadia Hijab and Alaa Tartir

The Palestinian National Council is expected to meet this month to accept the resignation of Mahmoud Abbas as chairman of the Palestine Liberation Organization. Palestinians at home and in exile don’t know whether to laugh or cry at the unfolding spectacle, which may herald a succession process. The 80-year-old Abbas appears to have hand-picked Saeb Erekat to handle the international community and the intelligence chief Majid Faraj to control internal affairs. Erekat was revealed in the leaked Palestine Papers to have bent over backwards to accommodate Israel, including largely giving up the refugees' right of return to their homes and land. As for Faraj, he has used an iron fist to stabilize the West Bank and he oversees the hated security collaboration with Israel that keeps Palestinians occupied and subjugated.

Read in browser »http://mondoweiss.net/2015/09/after-abbas-difference?utm_source=Mondoweiss+List&utm_campaign=914909862b-RSS_EMAIL_CAMPAIGN&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_b86bace129-914909862b-398529985

Muslim Memories of West’s Imperialism

https://consortiumnews.com/2015/09/04/muslim-memories-of-wests-imperialism/

ttp://www.nytimes.com/2015/09/06/opinion/sunday/israeli-terrorists-born-in-the-usa.html?smid=fb-share&utm_content=buffer1be4b&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=buffer&_r=0

Israeli Terrorists, Born in the U.S.A.

By SARA YAEL HIRSCHHORNSEPT. 4, 2015
Jerusalem — ON July 31, in the West Bank village of Duma, 18-month-old Ali Dawabsheh was burned alive in a fire. All available evidence suggests that the blaze was a deliberate act of settler terrorism. More disturbingly, several of the alleged instigators, currently being detained indefinitely, are not native-born Israelis — they have American roots.http://www.nytimes.com/2015/09/06/opinion/sunday/israeli-terrorists-born-in-the-usa.html?smid=fb-share&utm_content=buffer1be4b&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=buffer&_r=0

1 of 40 Refugee Crisis grows: Please Help!

Urgent refugee crisis It is with a heavy heart that I am reaching out today. It is likely you have seen the tragic story and equally heartbreaking photos of young Aylan Kurdi, a 3-year-old Syrian who perished in the Aegean Sea, along with his mother and 5-year-old brother, during their attempt to flee from violence in their Syrian home to the Greek island of Kos.   Urgent Refugee Crisis Give Now! To date, more than 11.5 million Syrians have been displaced by violence. Worldwide, nearly 60 million people have been driven from their homes by similar humanitarian crises. Many have applied for legal acceptance into other countries, but have resorted to paying smugglers thousands of dollars to risk unsafe voyages across water and land when those applications are rejected. The United Nations estimates that some 2,500 people have lost their lives on these risky journeys, including young Aylan, his brother Galip and their mother Rehan. Catholic Relief Services is responding. In close coordination with our international partners, CRS is responding to the European migrant crisis with immediate assistance including food, water, and access to sanitation and medical care in countries including Jordan, Lebanon, Egypt, Turkey, Iraq, the Balkans, Ukraine and others. Today, won't you give a gift to help out these families? May blessings overflow, Dr. Carolyn Y. Woo President & CEO Catholic Relief Services Top photo by Dino Mujanovic for CRS

Between Iraq and a Hawk Base

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/09/06/magazine/between-iraq-and-a-hawk-base.html?smprod=nytcore-ipad&smid=nytcore-ipad-share

G.O.P. presidential candidates are struggling to craft a foreign policy that can please the gung-ho and win in 2016 — without overpromising military force.http://www.nytimes.com/2015/09/06/magazine/between-iraq-and-a-hawk-base.html?smprod=nytcore-ipad&smid=nytcore-ipad-share&_r=0

EXCLUSIVE: Kentucky Clerk: 'This is a fight worth fighting'

http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2015/09/03/kentucky-clerk-am-prepared-to-go-to-jail.html?intcmp=hpbt3

Can Religion Reform Cultures of Corruption? Lessons from the Philippine Catholic Church

Can Religion Reform Cultures of Corruption? Lessons from the Philippine Catholic Church

by Beatriz Paterno

During his visit to the Philippines earlier this year, Pope Francis called on the Philippine government to put an end to corruption in the country, and challenged citizens “at all levels of society, to reject every form of corruption which diverts resources from the poor.” While the Pope’s admonishment may seem like mere rhetoric to some, his call to action may have more significant political implications in a country where nearly 83% of the population identifies as Catholic, and where the Church plays a major institutional role in the nation’s culture and government.

In his 2010 piece “’Good News’ in the Fight Against Corruption,” and more recently in a June 2014 working paper on systemic corruption, Professor Roberto Laver highlighted the role religion plays as a cultural force in society, which in turn may impact how societies respond to corruption in government. Religion can affect ethical behavior in obvious ways, but it can also affect how public power and authority are arranged within society. Professor Laver argued that religion, which is often overlooked as a resource for anticorruption efforts, should be used as an “entry point” for a “second generation of reforms” to battle entrenched cultures of corruption.

Assuming Professor Laver is correct that religious institutions are not playing a large enough role in anticorruption efforts worldwide, the Philippine Catholic Church may be an exception to that rule. The Church has been at the center of numerous political debates for decades, and, if the Pope’s speech earlier this year is any indication, it will continue to play a major role in issues involving development, poverty, and corruption. The Philippine example highlights the essential role an institution like the Catholic Church can play in addressing systemic corruption. And by the same token, it demonstrates the costs that come with entrusting that power to religious institutions and leaders.

Read more of this posthttp://globalanticorruptionblog.com/2015/09/04/can-religion-reform-cultures-of-corruption-lessons-from-the-philippine-catholic-church/#more-3672

The upper middle class is ruining all that is great about America.

The upper middle class is ruining all that is great about America.

Hillary Clinton Just Picked Sides With the Democrats’ Warren Wing Against the Rubin Wing

Hillary Clinton Just Picked Sides With the Democrats’ Warren Wing Against the Rubin Wing

Why Tax Havens Will be at the Heart of the Next Financial Crisis

http://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2015/09/why-tax-havens-will-be-at-the-heart-of-the-next-financial-crisis.html

ObamaCare to Crapify Health Insurance at 26% of Employers with “Cadillac Tax”

http://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2015/09/obamacare-to-crapify-health-insurance-at-26-of-employers-with-cadillac-tax.html

Can Religion Reform Cultures of Corruption? Lessons from the Philippine Catholic Church

http://globalanticorruptionblog.com/2015/09/04/can-religion-reform-cultures-of-corruption-lessons-from-the-philippine-catholic-church/

The Week With IPS 9/4

Click here for the online version of this IPS newsletter
	Europe Invaded Mostly by “Regime Change” Refugees Thalif Deen The military conflicts and political instability driving hundreds of thousands of refugees into Europe were triggered largely by U.S. and Western military interventions for regime change – specifically in Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya and Syria (a regime change in-the-making). The United States was ... MORE > >
	Opinion: Can Nuclear War be Avoided? Gunnar Westberg The Canberra Commission on the Elimination of Nuclear Weapons had as members former leading politicians or military officers, among others a British Field Marshal, an American General, an American Secretary of Defence and a French Prime Minister. The commission unanimously agreed in its report ... MORE > >
	Sustainable Settlements to Combat Urban Slums in Africa Busani Bafana Slums are a curse and blessing in fast urbanising Africa. They have challenged Africa's progress towards better living and working spaces but they also provide shelter for the swelling populations seeking a life in cities. Rural Africans are pouring into towns and cities in search of jobs and ... MORE > >
	Two Indigenous Solar Engineers Changed Their Village in Chile Marianela Jarroud Liliana and Luisa Terán, two indigenous women from northern Chile who travelled to India for training in installing solar panels, have not only changed their own future but that of Caspana, their remote village nestled in a stunning valley in the Atacama desert. “It was hard for people to accept ... MORE > >
	Opinion: Women in the Face of Climate Change Renee Juliene Karunungan After surviving the storm surge wreaked by Typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines in November 2013, women in evacuation centres found themselves again fighting for survival … at times from rape. Many became victims of human trafficking while many more did anything they could to feed their families ... MORE > >
	Who Will Pay the Price for Australia’s Climate Change Policies? Neena Bhandari Rowan Foley has spent many years as a ranger and park manager, caring for Uluru–Kata Tjuta National Park Aboriginal lands in the spiritual heart of Australia’s Red Centre in the Northern Territory. He has been observing the effects of soaring temperatures and extreme weather events on his people, ... MORE > >
	Urban Farming Mushrooms in Africa Amid Food Deficits Jeffrey Moyo There is a scramble for unoccupied land in Africa, but this time it is not British, Portuguese, French or other colonialists racing to occupy the continent’s vacant land – it is the continent’s urban dwellers fast turning to urban farming amid the rampant food shortages that have not spared ... MORE > >
	Strong Words, But Little Action at Arctic Summit Leehi Yona After a one-day summit in the U.S. Arctic’s biggest city, leaders from the world’s northern countries acknowledged that climate change is seriously disrupting the Arctic ecosystem, yet left without committing themselves to serious action to fight the negative impacts of global warming. The Aug. ... MORE > >
	Local Development, the Key to Legitimising Amazon Hydropower Dams Mario Osava In the case of the Belo Monte hydroelectric dam in Brazil, the projects aimed at mitigating the social impacts have been delayed. But in other cases, infrastructure such as hospitals and water and sewage pipes could improve the image of the hydropower plants on Brazil’s Amazon rainforest rivers, ... MORE > >
	Stop Food Waste – Cook It and Eat It Silvia Boarini A new grassroots initiative born in the northern England city of Leeds has set itself the ambitious goal of ending food waste, once and for all. Founded in December 2013, ‘The Real Junk Food Project’ (TRJFP), is the brainchild of chef Adam Smith. It consists of a network of ‘Pay As You Feel’ ... MORE > >
	Activists Criticise Offshore Drilling as Obama Prepares for Arctic Summit Leehi Yona A one-day summit taking place here on Aug. 31 hopes to bring Arctic nations together in support of climate action against a backdrop of criticism of offshore oil drilling in the region. The meeting on ‘Global Leadership in the Arctic – Cooperation, Innovation, Engagement, and Resilience ... MORE > >
	Will New Sri Lankan Government Prioritize Resettlement of War-Displaced? Amantha Perera The new Sri Lankan government that was voted in on Aug. 17 certainly didn’t inherit as much baggage as its predecessors did during the nearly 30 years of conflict that gripped this South Asian island nation. 3But six years into ‘peacetime’, the second parliament of President Maithripala Sirisena ... MORE > >
	Disarmament Conference Ends with Ambitious Goal – But How to Get There? Ramesh Jaura A three-day landmark U.N. Conference on Disarmament Issues has ended here – one day ahead of the International Day Against Nuclear Tests – stressing the need for ushering in a world free of nuclear weapons, but without a consensus on how to move towards that goal. The Aug. 26-28 conference, ... MORE > >

Bernie Sanders details views on war, Iran nuclear deal

http://www.desmoinesregister.com/videos/news/elections/presidential/caucus/2015/09/03/71648340/

Europe Rethinks the Schengen Agreement

Forecast

• Rising immigration and fragile economic recovery in Europe will reduce political support for the Schengen Agreement, which eliminates border controls among member states.
• The Schengen Agreement will likely be reformed to make room for countries to tighten their border controls more frequently.
• Friction between Schengen members and other countries will remain, as will tension within the bloc itself.

 
When France, West Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg signed the Schengen Agreement in 1985, they envisioned a system in which people and goods could move from one country to another without barriers. This vision was largely realized: Since its implementation in 1995, the Schengen Agreement eliminated border controls between its signatories and created a common visa policy for 26 countries.

The treaty was a key step in the creation of a federal Europe. By eliminating border controls, member states gave up a basic element of national sovereignty. The agreement also required a significant degree of trust among its signatories, because it put the responsibility for checking foreigners' identities and baggage on the country of first entry into the Schengen area. Once people have entered a Schengen country, they can move freely across most of Europe without facing any additional controls.

The Schengen Agreement was implemented in the 1990s, when the end of the Cold War and the prospect of permanent economic prosperity led EU members to give up national sovereignty in many sensitive areas. The creation of the eurozone is probably the most representative agreement of the period. But several things have changed in Europe since then, and member states are beginning to question many of the decisions that were made during the preceding years of optimism.

The most important change in the past six years ...

Read more »https://www.stratfor.com/analysis/europe-rethinks-schengen-agreement?utm_source=freelist-f&utm_medium=email&utm_term=article&utm_campaign=20150903&mc_cid=eb7dcd6d78&mc_eid=52511177bc

ObamaCare’s Narrow Networks, and Who To Blame When “There Is No Alternative”

http://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2015/09/obamacares-narrow-networks-blame-no-alternative.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+NakedCapitalism+%28naked+capitalism%29

More 9/11-related, cover-up lies, these from an ex-CIA Director and a “journalist”

http://non-intervention.com/1798/more-911-related-cover-up-lies-these-from-an-ex-cia-director-and-a-journalist/

ISIS, Again Graham E. Fuller

ISIS, Again Graham E. Fuller, 01 Sep 08:23 PM ISIS, Again 1 September 2015 The West remains transfixed with ISIS (Islamic State, Da’ish) and the debate about its character goes on. In one sense this discussion is totally understandable, given the movement’s seeming sudden appearance on the public screen not much more than a year ago (although its roots were long since there), combined with its theatrical brutality, and extreme views and actions that make it impossible to ignore. Over time, this debate seems to center around three key issues: -Is ISIS driven essentially by theological and religious motivations? Or pragmatic political considerations? -Is ISIS essentially a medieval movement in character—or a “modern” movement? -Is the movement durable? Or is it a transient, radical, ultra-reactionary spasm in the tortured evolution of Iraq—a country still coming to terms with the US destruction of the country’s political and social infrastructure? And in Syria feeding off the tragic breakdown of order under Asad’s gross and... Read Morehttp://grahamefuller.com/isis-again/

Cheney: Obama Leading US to Nuclear War

Cheney: Obama Leading US to Nuclear War

Dick Cheney: Hillary Clinton's email scandal 'very serious' - Business Insider

Dick Cheney: Hillary Clinton's email scandal 'very serious' - Business Insider

Russia, China building US intelligence 'database' - Business Insider

Russia, China building US intelligence 'database' - Business Insider

Hillary Clinton’s email choice was not business as usual Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/hillary-clintons-email-choice-was-not-business-as-usual-2015-9#ixzz3kWQzzfMR

Hillary Clinton’s email choice was not business as usual

Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/hillary-clintons-email-choice-was-not-business-as-usual-2015-9#ixzz3kWQzzfMR

http://www.businessinsider.com/hillary-clintons-email-choice-was-not-business-as-usual-2015-9?nr_email_referer=1&utm_content=BISelect&utm_medium=email&utm_source=Sailthru&utm_campaign=BI%20Select%20%28Tuesday%20Thursday%29%202015-09-01&utm_term=Business%20Insider%20Select

Why the mainstream media is still ignoring Max Blumenthal’s excellent book on Gaza

http://mondoweiss.net/2015/08/mainstream-blumenthals-excellent

Why the mainstream media is still ignoring Max Blumenthal’s excellent book on Gaza

US Politics

James North on August 31, 2015 

Once you finish Max Blumenthal’s gripping, indispensable, first-hand account of last year’s Israeli attack on Gaza, you can better understand why the mainstream U.S. media is afraid to review it. The 51 Day War: Ruin and Resistance in Gaza repudiates the conventional history so decisively that readers of the New York Times, the Washington Post, and other major outlets would be stunned into asking some pointed questions about the myths they are being fed.

Blumenthal was brave enough to actually travel inside Gaza during part of the ferocious Israeli air and land assault, (accompanied by Dan Cohen, one of this site’s colleagues), and his eyewitness testimony and chilling, wrenching interviews with Palestinians will form a valuable part of the historical record.http://mondoweiss.net/2015/08/mainstream-blumenthals-excellent

http://www.lobelog.com/the-effort-to-destroy-the-iran-agreement-chapter-two/#more-30761

The Effort to Destroy the Iran Agreement: Chapter Two

by Paul R. Pillar
Anyone tired of hearing about the agreement to restrict Iran’s nuclear program is not going to get relief soon, despite the Congressional voting this month that is supposed to decide the matter. It now appears likely that even if the Republican-controlled Congress enacts a resolution of disapproval, any such resolution would not survive a presidential veto, which means the agreement itself will come into force. It also is possible that opponents will fail to get the 60 votes needed to get such a resolution through the Senate in the first place, in which case the outcome would be decided even earlier. If the Iranian nuclear issue were one that people with honestly expressed substantive differences had been addressing consistently in a sober and well-reasoned fashion, one might expect that those on the losing side of that outcome would accept the result and turn their attention to how they can participate effectively in vigorous oversight of the agreement’s implementation. There are indeed substantial opportunities for Congress to exercise such oversight. But debate on this matter has had a deficit of sobriety and honesty. Some of the principal sources of opposition to the agreement have involved wanting the Iranian nuclear issue to fester indefinitely or for the Obama administration to fail in its efforts to do something about it.http://www.lobelog.com/the-effort-to-destroy-the-iran-agreement-chapter-two/#more-30761

Obama's Real Achievement With the Iran Deal

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/trita-parsi/obamas-real-achievement-w_b_8070428.html

Obama's Real Achievement With the Iran Deal
Trita Parsi & Resa Marashi
September 1, 2015

One cannot help but feel sorry for President Barack Obama. After twenty months of painstaking negotiations with Iran and America's coalition partners, hours of hearings on Capitol Hill, countless closed briefings for lawmakers, and scores of articles and opinion pieces about the nuclear deal, few if any have taken note of the President's real achievement: Yes, he has blocked all of Iran's pathways to a bomb. But more importantly, he has proven to America that security is better achieved through diplomacy than through militarism.http://www.huffingtonpost.com/trita-parsi/obamas-real-achievement-w_b_8070428.html

The Believer: Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi, Leader of the "Islamic State"

The Believer: Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi, Leader of the "Islamic State"

http://www.brookings.edu/research/essays/2015/thebeliever?utm_campaign=brookings-essay&utm_source=hs_email&utm_medium=email&utm_content=21719798&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-9kS8jfm44D0np_uxeXwKwaQH3GHQNvd_DE7ZjvaeaU58JT864OIYNNpYxcHg9z6Td8cpy5DB6n8tcyT1kUNxrX75nTl6ck_T1TqdAGh8La5Pf5WgY&_hsmi=21719798

STRENGTH FOR THE WEEK

STRENGTH FOR THE WEEK O God, All Creation Worships You

When one muses about vacation many scenes may come to mind: white sandy beaches, clean salt air, a fresh countryside, a pine forest and beautiful clear lakes. In the encyclical Laudato Si’, Pope Francis reflects on just such experiences as these: “Standing awestruck before a mountain, he or she cannot separate this experience from God, and perceives that the interior awe being lived has to be entrusted to the Lord…” The Pope says, “The universe unfolds in God, who fills it completely. Hence, there is a mystical meaning to be found in a leaf, in a mountain trail, in a dewdrop, in a poor person’s face.” In the pages of Laudato Si’, Pope Francis expounds the principles that would allow such beauty to continue to exist today, both for us, for our children and future generations. Today, both Orthodox and Catholic Churches unite for the World Day of Prayer for the Care of Our Common Home, to remind each one of us to be “credible and effective” witnesses by being committed, “to honor what God has created and to take responsibility for its care.” The new encyclical states the need for responsibility regarding, among many things, climate change, water, pollution, our throw away culture, bio diversity, global inequality, the decline in the quality of human life and a way of life that can lead to serious dilemmas. The Pope is appealing to each one of us. “Humanity still has the ability to work together in building our common home,” he says. This encyclical welcomes dialogue with everyone so that together we can seek paths of liberation. It is recommended for people of all faiths and for everyone who is seeking a solution to the betterment of our global environment. Pope Francis continues, “I would like from the outset to show how faith convictions can offer Christians, and some other believers as well, ample motivation to care for nature and for the most vulnerable of their brothers and sisters. If the simple fact of being human moves people to care for the environment of which they are a part, Christians in their turn realize that their responsibility within creation, and their duty toward nature and the Creator, are an essential part of their faith. It is good for humanity and the world at large when we believers better recognize the ecological commitments which stem from our convictions.” Let us unite our prayers with those of the Holy Father and the entire Church for this intention. Sr. Barbara Gerace, FSP

Here is a prayer written by Pope Francis that we can say today for the World Day of Prayer for the Care of Our Common Home (excerpted from Laudato Si’): Father, we praise you with all your creatures. They came forth from your all-powerful hand; they are yours, filled with your presence and your tender love. Praise be to you! Son of God, Jesus, through you all things were made. You were formed in the womb of Mary our Mother, you became part of this earth, and you gazed upon this world with human eyes. Today you are alive in every creature in your risen glory. Praise be to you! Continue Reading ›

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Published on September 1st, 2015 | http://www.lobelog.com/new-survey-indicates-majority-support-for-iran-deal/#more-30749

New Survey Indicates Majority Support for Iran Deal

by Jim Lobe 
After assessing detailed arguments for and against the pending Iran deal, as well as alternatives proposed by its critics, a majority of a representative sample of registered voters concluded that Congress should approve the July 14 agreement if it comes to a vote next month, according to a major new survey released Tuesday.
Fifty-five percent of respondents ultimately came out in favor of the deal, according to the survey, which polled 702 voters on August 17-20.