21 December 2011 — CIA won’t disclose involvement in OWS crackdowns — RT
With demonstrators suspecting governmental assistance in the crackdowns clobbering Occupy Wall Street encampments, the CIA is trying to distance itself from divulging any incriminating evidence regarding their role in the raids.
21 December 2011 — In Libya, death and disappearance still stalk the land — RT
People are vanishing in broad daylight in Libya, as the country’s new rulers continue to settle accounts with their opponents. Widespread insecurity means the families of the kidnapped can do no more than hope that their loved ones are still alive.
Libya’s conflict is over, and the man who stood in the way of Western-style democracy is dead. Yet atrocities against Muammar Gaddafi’s loyalists continue. The images emerging from Libya are disturbing.
Against this distressing background, Russia is demanding a probe into civilian casualties in Libya caused by NATO bombings.
21 December 2011 — In Libya, death and disappearance still stalk the land — RT
People are vanishing in broad daylight in Libya, as the country’s new rulers continue to settle accounts with their opponents. Widespread insecurity means the families of the kidnapped can do no more than hope that their loved ones are still alive.
Libya’s conflict is over, and the man who stood in the way of Western-style democracy is dead. Yet atrocities against Muammar Gaddafi’s loyalists continue. The images emerging from Libya are disturbing.
Against this distressing background, Russia is demanding a probe into civilian casualties in Libya caused by NATO bombings.
21 December 2011 — Black Agenda Report – News, commentary and analysis from the black left
Georgia Prison Strike, One Year Later: Activists Outside the Walls Have Failed Those Inside the Walls
by BAR managing editor Bruce A. Dixon
In December 2010 inmates in up to a dozen Georgia prisons either refused to leave their cells for work assignments, or were pre-emptively locked down by prison officials. They demanded wages for work, access to educational programs, fairness in release decisions, along with decent food and medical care. An ad hoc coalition sprung up to negotiate with state officials, and gained privileged access to Smith and Macon State Prisons. But the coalition has long since withered and died, without even issuing reports from its December 2010 fact finding visits. What happened? And what happens next?
Read more
21 December 2011 — Youtube
A masterpiece video, the music is an old patriotic song from the operetta “Shehrzad” composed by Sayed Darwish in 1920s. Its title is “the best armies in the world are ours”. The scenes are those of security forces cracking down on the protests in front of the parliament.
21 December 2011 — End the Lie
[I see from my log that this essay, written in 2011, is getting some readership. He didn’t get it right, did he? WB, 25/6/16]
One of the things that one learns from any deep immersion in the affairs of the European Union is the power of theatrics.
21 December 2011 — CCR
This week, CCR and co-counsel filed briefs in our cases on behalf of dozens of Iraqis challenging private military contractor impunity for war crimes and torture at Abu Ghraib and other detention centers in Iraq. Continue reading
21 December 2011 — CCR
On Sunday, The New York Times featured a powerful op-ed, Why Is the N.Y.P.D. After Me?, authored by Nicholas K. Peart. Nicholas submitted a declaration in support of our recently filed motion for class certification in Floyd v. the City of New York. In the piece, he shares his experiences being stopped and frisked repeatedly by the New York City Police Department. Nicholas writes,
“For young people in my neighborhood, getting stopped and frisked is a rite of passage. We expect the police to jump us at any moment. We know the rules: don’t run and don’t try to explain, because speaking up for yourself might get you arrested or worse. And we all feel the same way — degraded, harassed, violated and criminalized because we’re black or Latino. Nicholas is not alone. Hundreds of thousands of people are stopped each year by the NYPD.”
Have you been stopped as well? CCR is currently interviewing people who have been stopped by the NYPD. Contact us: stopandfrisk@ccrjustice.org or 347.574.7723 to set up an interview. This collection of stories will appear in an upcoming report that documents the impact of stop-and-frisk on peoples’ lives. Learn more at ccrjustice.org/stopandfrisk.
21 December 2011 — Russian navy in Syria: Thorn in US side — RT
The US-based intelligence-gathering firm Stratfor says most of the claims by the Syrian opposition about the seriousness of the country’s crisis are untrue. The company insists protesters are exaggerating, to win support from powers like the US.
Dr. Paul Craig Roberts, a former Reagan administration official, told RT he believes Washington is doing more than simply backing the rebels diplomatically.
21 December 2011
Well 2011 has been nothing if not eventful but frankly, in spite of all the #Occupy this and #Occupy that, it’s not been a good year for us progresssives or the planet. The Empire acts with increasing, not decreasing impunity, desperate now to try and keep ahead of events lest events take control of it.
21 December 2011 — williambowles.info
The Arab Winter: Violence from a US-backed Egyptian military junta
GlobalResearch.ca Yesterday at 15:47
For more details, please click on the link to read the article.
19 December 2011 — Enews
Thom Hartmann talks with Paul Gunter, Director, [Beyond Nuclear’s] Reactor Oversight Project, regarding the latest on the Fukushima nuclear power plant. […]
21 December 2011 — williambowles.info
Witness in WikiLeaks case says Manning confessed to him
Los Angeles Times
Other prosecution witnesses testified that messages on Manning’s personal laptop computer indicated he could have communicated with WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange. Mark Johnson, an Army forensic analyst, testified that Manning and a person he …
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-manning-hearing-20111221,0,3065361.story
21 December 2011 — williambowles.info
Bradley Manning Accuser Adrian Lamo Takes the Stand
ABC News (blog)
Adrian Lamo, the former computer hacker who first identified Bradley Manning to federal authorities as the source of hundreds of thousands of classified documents leaked to Wikileaks, was challenged by the Army private’s defense over his history as a …
http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/politics/2011/12/bradley-manning-accuser-adrian-lamo-takes-the-stand/
21 December 2011 — williambowles.info
21 December 2011
In WikiLeaks Case, Bradley Manning Faces the Hacker Who Turned Him In
Wired News
20, 2011, for a military hearing that will determine if Army Pfc. Bradley Manning should face court-martial for his alleged role in the WikiLeaks classified leaks case. Manning’s online correspondent was Adrian Lamo, a former hacker, who gave the chat …
http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2011/12/adrian-lamo-bradley-manning/
19 December 2011 — Fairness & Accuracy In Reporting
The Sunday New York Times (12/18/11) featured a powerful investigation of civilian casualties resulting from the NATO war in Libya–casualties that, to hear NATO officials tell it, maybe don’t even exist.
21 December 2011 — williambowles.info
21 December 2011
US and Client States Used Weapons of Mass Destruction on Libya
Mathaba News Briefing (Alerts) Today at 08:43
Each of these may have carried 3.41 kilograms of depleted uranium.
20 December 2011 — VTJP
News
International Middle East Media Center
New Government Will Not be Formed Before Dec. 26
IMEMC – Member of the Political Bureau of the Hamas movement, Izzat Al-Rishiq, stated that the Palestinian factions met on Tuesday to discuss the implementation of the Unity Agreement, and decided that general elections will not be held before December 26th. …
21 December 2011 — williambowles.info
Maybe updated as the day wears on…
21 December 2011
US and Iran: From enemies to partners
Asia Times Online Today at 11:00
The United States and Iran are closer to the brink of a dangerous confrontation, as a result of which it is fair to describe the situation as ‘pre-war’. One advantage of this potentially ruinous scenario is that it could spur actions to sue for peace, if only the protagonists would realize the need to create viable scenarios for this to happen. – Kaveh L Afrasiabi (Dec 21, ’11)
21 December 2011 — Stop NATO
The New Dark Age 
