Israel Has the Right to Defend Itself

Syrian state TV says at least 20 people have died and 220 more wounded after Israeli forces opened fire along the frontier to disperse pro-Palestinian demonstrators attempting to breach the border.

The reported deaths, including that of a 12-year-old boy, occurred as the protesters marching from the Golan Heights approached the border on Sunday, a day observed as "Naksa Day" or "Day of Defeat", marking the 44th anniversary of the 1967 war, when Israel occupied the area.

[...]

Protesters, most of them young men, eventually managed to cut through coils of barbed wire marking the frontier, entering a buffer zone and crawling towards a second fence guarded by Israeli troops.

Every so often, demonstrators were seen evacuating a dead or wounded protester.

[...]

The US state department expressed its concern over the clashes, saying: "We are deeply troubled by events that took place earlier today in the Golan Heights resulting in injuries and the loss of life.

"We call for all sides to exercise restraint. Provocative actions like this should be avoided."

The US statement emphasised that "Israel, like any sovereign nation, has a right to defend itself".

  

From unarmed men and boys walking – and crawling – across a border.

I guess the Israelis don’t have deportation border buses like we do.

....but hey, do what you want....you will anyway.

Debt Games

The Colbert Report
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Bernie Lays It Out

Congress and the White House are now focused on how we deal with our huge deficit -- a crisis brought about over the last 10 years by two wars, tax breaks for the rich, the Wall Street bailout and a prescription drug program -- all unpaid for. The deficit also increased as a result of the declining tax revenues during a current recession, caused by the greed and illegal behavior of Wall Street.

[...]

Further, the United States now has the most unequal distribution of wealth of any major country with the top 400 individuals owning more wealth than the bottom 150 million.

  HuffPo

Uh-oh, he’s going to start talking communism, isn’t he?

[The majority of Americans polled] do not believe that the deficit should be reduced solely on the backs of working families, the elderly, children, the sick and the poor -- many of whom are already suffering as a result of the recession. Unfortunately, that is exactly what the Republicans have proposed.

The Republicans passed a budget in the House that is breathtaking in its degree of cruelty. It would end Medicare as we know it by giving senior citizens inadequate vouchers to buy health insurance from private companies. The result is that seniors would, on average, see their out-of-pocket expenses more than double -- increasing by over $6,000 a year. It would also cut, over 10 years, $770 billion from Medicaid, vastly increasing the number of uninsured Americans, and threatening the long-term care of the elderly who live in nursing homes.

The Republican budget would also make savage cuts in education, nutrition, affordable housing, infrastructure, environmental protection and virtually every program that low- and moderate-income Americans depend upon.

[...]

[They] do not ask the wealthiest people in this country, whose tax rates are now the lowest on record, to contribute one dime more for deficit reduction. Nor do they propose to do away with any of the loopholes that enable extremely profitable corporations (like General Electric, Bank of America, Exxon-Mobil, Chevron and many more) to pay little or no federal income taxes. Quite the contrary! The Republican budget actually provides $1 trillion more in tax breaks over the next 10 years for the very rich.

Sounds very Republican to me.

The question is, however: Where are the Democrats? Where is President Obama? [... As] he has done within the last year, will he give Republicans almost everything they want at the expense of ordinary Americans?

[...]

Instead of ending Medicare as we know it and making savage cuts to community health centers and children's health care programs, we must ask the top 2 percent of income earners, who currently pay the lowest upper-income tax rate on record, to start paying their fair share of taxes. Instead of making it harder for working families to send their kids to college, we must end the foreign tax shelters that enable the wealthy and large corporations to avoid paying tens of billions in U.S. taxes. Instead of making major cuts in job creating programs in infrastructure, public transportation and sustainable energy we must do away with a wide variety of loopholes that allow Wall Street executives, whose profits and compensation packages are soaring, to have a lower tax rate than middle class workers.

That Bernie. He’s a dreamer, isn’t he?

....but hey, do what you want....you will anyway.

More of the Same in Pakistan

A suspected US drone attack in Pakistan has reportedly killed a senior al-Qaeda leader, thought to be linked to the deadly Mumbai attacks in 2008.

  alJazeera

Three “maybe yes-maybe no” statements in one sentence. How’s that for news you can use?

Okay, here’s some “official” news about the incident:

The drone attack targeted a group of armed fighters 20km from South Waziristan's main city of Wana, an official told the BBC Urdu service.

The official said the attack killed nine people and injured three others.

[...]

A spokesman for the Pakistani Taliban, which has strong ties to al-Qaeda, denied the reports and said Kashmiri was still alive.

[...]

Al Jazeera's Imtiaz Tyab, reporting from the Pakistani capital, Islamabad, said that while the drone strike had been confirmed, its victims had not yet been officially named.

"If he has indeed been killed in this drone strike than it certainly is a major development and a huge success for the US and the drone programme, which is deeply unpopular in Pakistan," Tyab said.

I wonder why.

This is not the first time Kashmiri has been suspected as the victim of a drone attack, as he was reported to have been similarly killed in September 2009.

More fun like we used to have with the one-legged Iraqi menace who was killed at least three times under George W’s reign.

....but hey, do what you want....you will anyway.

Operation Unified Protector

"Attack helicopters under NATO command were used for the first time on 4 June 2011 in military operations over Libya as part of Operation Unified Protector," NATO said in a statement.

[...]

But on Saturday, Sergei Lavrov, the Russian foreign minister, warned that the NATO operation in Libya was "sliding towards" a land campaign, the RIA Novosti news agency reported.

"We know that France and Britain intend to use military helicopters. We have given our view of NATO's actions," Lavrov said.

"We consider that what is going on is either consciously or unconsciously sliding towards a land operation. That would be very deplorable," he added.

  alJazeera

That seems a little nitpicky to me. It would be deplorable to have foot soldiers in country, but slamming them from the skies is okay.

Not to mention that we've seen they're on the ground already.

....but hey, do what you want....you will anyway.

It's Good to Be King

Waging a war for 74 days without Congressional approval is illegal enough. Doing so when there is a growing bipartisan movement in Congress to compel an end to the war -- rather than approve it -- is even worse. And note the individuals on whom Obama is now relying to protect him from this bipartisan effort to put an end to his illegal war: "GOP House leaders" -- John Boehner and Eric Cantor, who refused to allow [a bill requiring Obama to remove all troops from Libya within 15 days] to come up for a vote despite ample support among conservative members of their caucus as well as numerous liberal House members.

  Glenn Greenwald

....but hey, do what you want....you will anyway.

Okay, Texans, Listen Up

This is serious.

It's obvious that Governor Goodhair's "pray for rain" strategy is not working. We are in dire straits, so I have a proposal that will be at least as effective. Tomorrow, June 3...

All smokers: go to a bus stop and light up

Non-smokers with vehicles: wash your vehicle at your local carwash

Anyone who doesn't fit into those two categories: rain dance at the capitol, 8pm

....but hey, do what you want....you will anyway.

Speaking of Obscene Laws & Morals

Everyone knew the pregnancy wasn't viable, that it couldn't be viable given the amount of blood I was losing, but it still took hours for anyone at the hospital to do anything. The doctor on call didn't do abortions. At all. Ever. In fact, no one on call that night did.

[...]

Truth is, I don't know who designed the human reproductive system, but I would like to punch Him or Her right in whatever junk they possess. Even under the best of circumstances, there are a million ways for this to go haywire and almost kill you/the baby/both, and when that happens, it is imperative you not have simpleminded nitwits attending you who think their personal "conscience" issues override their duty to save your life.

  First Draft

....but hey, do what you want....you will anyway.

Sixteenth Journalist Murdered in Pakistan Since Jan 2010

Saleem Shahzad, a 40-year-old father of three [and Pakistani investigative journalist], vanished after leaving home in Islamabad to appear on a television talk show, two days after writing an article about links between rogue elements of the navy and Al-Qaeda.

[...]

Shahzad's body was found Tuesday, about 150 kilometres (93 miles) southeast of Islamabad. Police said it bore marks of torture.

[...]

In 2006, he was kidnapped by the Taliban in southern Afghanistan, accused of being a spy. He was set free after seven days.

  Raw Story

I’m guessing the Pakisani navy doesn’t restrict itself to Taliban mores.

Alameda, Ca: Don't Go in the Water

Police and firemen in Alameda, California watched a man drown on Monday after realizing they did not have proper certifications for water rescue, leaving them open to possible lawsuits if they attempted to save him.

  Raw Story

Let’s see….lawsuit….dead man….law suit….dead man….boy, that’s a tough call.

After the man had drowned, authorities couldn’t even go into the surf to retrieve the body. They instead recruited a passer-by for the job.

....but hey, do what you want....you will anyway.

Of Course

Because every third world country deserves a third world government.

Under pressure from Congress, the Obama administration is backing away from a plan to make millions of acres of undeveloped land in the West eligible for federal wilderness protection.

Interior Secretary Ken Salazar said in a memo Wednesday that his agency will not designate any of those public lands as "wild lands." Instead Salazar said officials will work with members of Congress to develop recommendations for managing millions of acres of undeveloped land in the West.

  Star Tribune

Work with members of Congress, oil execs and timber barons.

....but hey, do what you want....you will anyway.

Who Does He Think He Is?

President or something?

[Afghan president Hamid] Karzai said at a news conference in Kabul: "This should be the last attack on people's houses. Such attacks will no longer be allowed."

His call was viewed as mainly symbolic. Western military officials cited existing cooperation with Afghan authorities and pledged to continue consultations, but said privately that Karzai's presidential authority does not include veto power over specific targeting decisions made in the heat of battle.

  LA Times

As I said, we may have to replace Karzai soon. Either that, or we let him stay as long as he knows he can only pretend to try to make us stop.

....but hey, do what you want....you will anyway.