HAIFA, Israel (Reuters) – Israel struggled to contain a huge and deadly forest fire that raged on for a third day on Saturday, despite the efforts of firefighting planes from half a dozen countries. A fire fighter tries to save a burning house after a forest fire hit the area of Ein Hod, near the northern city of Haifa December 4, 2010. (REUTERS/Nir Elias) The worst inferno in Israel’s history has killed 41 people, forced 17,000 to…
Continue reading …Chris Matthews on Friday made the absurd claim the “compassionate” Left is too soft on Republican wrongdoers, and that by contrast the Right puts it's “heel into the back of the guy's head when he's down.” The “Hardball” host – with a straight face no less – said this to guests Ron Reagan and Politico's Roger Simon with reference to how the “right-wing press played up [Charlie] Rangel's censure” (video follows with transcript and commentary): read more
Continue reading …Surveillance video shows a 92-year-old Oregon man being pick-pocketed during a trip to the grocery store. Police say the men who stole his wallet planned their crime. (Dec. 4)
Continue reading …Sure looks like a large and concerted intimidation campaign against WikiLeaks supporters. In addition to this, law students at Boston University were warned not to link to WikiLeaks, or even read it online, because it might keep them from getting a security clearance for a federal job. Oh, and soldiers trying to read from Iraq get a popup warning them they’re about to break the law . Can you say “whack-a-mole”, Mr. Constitutional Law Professor? From Democracy Now! with Glenn Greenwald: AMY GOODMAN: I’m going to interrupt, because I want to get to some memos that we’ve been getting from around the country that are very important and interesting. University students are being warned about WikiLeaks. An email from Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs, that we read in headlines, reads-I want to do it again-quote, “Hi students, “We received a call today from a SIPA alumnus who is working at the State Department. He asked us to pass along the following information to anyone who will be applying for jobs in the federal government, since all would require a background investigation and in some instances a security clearance. “The documents released during the past few months through Wikileaks are still considered classified documents. He recommends that you DO NOT post links to these documents nor make comments on social media sites such as Facebook or through Twitter. Engaging in these activities would call into question your ability to deal with confidential information, which is part of most positions with the federal government. “Regards, Office of Career Services.” That’s the email to Columbia University students at the School of International and Public Affairs. Now, I want to go on to another memo. Democracy Now! has obtained the text of a memo that’s been sent to employees at USAID. This is to thousands of employees, about reading the recently released WikiLeaks documents, and it comes from the Department of State. They have also warned their own employees. This memo reads, quote, “Any classified information that may have been unlawfully disclosed and released on the Wikileaks web site was not ‘declassified’ by an appopriate authority and therefore requires continued classification and protection as such from government personnel… Accessing the Wikileaks web site from any computer may be viewed as a violation of the SF-312 agreement… Any discussions concerning the legitimacy of any documents or whether or not they are classified must be conducted within controlled access areas (overseas) or within restricted areas (USAID/Washington)… The documents should not be viewed, downloaded, or stored on your USAID unclassified network computer or home computer; they should not be printed or retransmitted in any fashion.” That was the memo that went out to thousands of employees at USAID. The State Department has warned all their employees, you are not to access WikiLeaks, not only at the State Department, which they’ve blocked, by the way, WikiLeaks, but even on your home computers. Even if you’ve written a cable yourself, one of these cables that are in the trove of the documents, you cannot put your name in to see if that is one of the cables that has been released. This warning is going out throughout not only the government, as we see, but to prospective employees all over the country, even on their home computers.
Continue reading …Republicans have used a filibuster to deny Democrats the chance to cut taxes for those making less than $250,000 a year. A 53 to 36 vote in favor of the cut failed to overcome the stead Republican opposition to any selective tax breaks that didn’t include the mega-rich.. —JCL The LA Times: In a rare Saturday session, Senate Democrats and Republicans remained at loggerheads over whether to extend the George W. Bush-era tax cuts to all taxpayers, ratcheting up the pressure on lawmakers to try to reach agreement before the tax cuts expire at the end of the year. With Republicans unified in opposition, Democrats, as expected, fell short of the votes needed to overcome a filibuster and extend the tax cuts for all but the very wealthy. An extension of the tax cuts to families earning less than $250,000 a year was defeated, 53-36, short of the 60 needed to limit debate. An extension of the 2001 and 2003 tax cuts to those earning less than $1 million annually was rejected, 53-37. Read more Related Entries December 3, 2010 Ailing Spanish Economy Seeks a Cure December 2, 2010 Those Dreadful Geico Commercials Are About to Get Quieter
Continue reading …More juicy stuff from the WikiLeaks mine: Lebanon’s defense minister aided Israel in 2008 by offering advice to Israeli officials on how best to combat the Shiite paramilitary group inside Lebanon. —JCL Al-Jazeera English: Lebanon’s defence minister offered advice to Israel in 2008 on how they might defeat Hezbollah, the Shia group based in southern Lebanon, according to US diplomatic cables released by WikiLeaks. The memo, published in Lebanese daily Al-Akhbar, showed Elias Murr telling US officials that areas under Hezbollah control would not receive Lebanese forces’ protection from attacks. “If Israel has to bomb all of these places in the Shia areas as a matter of operational concern, that is Hezbollah’s problem,’’ Murr reportedly said. Read more Related Entries December 3, 2010 Ailing Spanish Economy Seeks a Cure December 2, 2010 Those Dreadful Geico Commercials Are About to Get Quieter
Continue reading …News that the 2018 World Cup will be played in Russia is stirring some alarm, as a rise in neo-Nazi activity and racist killings in the country have led many soccer fans of color to wonder aloud if Russia is an appropriate place to host the international tournament. —JCL The Guardian: Russia’s football authorities, who will host the 2018 World Cup, have ignored a surge in race-related incidents around the sport, according to campaigners. Their warnings come amid a rise in racist murders and neo-Nazi activity in the country that could deter thousands of non-white football fans from attending the tournament. Rafal Pankowski, who monitors racist activity at Russian football matches with the backing of the European football body Uefa, accused the Russian Football Union of downplaying racist chants and far-right activity in its stadiums. Read more Related Entries December 3, 2010 Ailing Spanish Economy Seeks a Cure December 2, 2010 Those Dreadful Geico Commercials Are About to Get Quieter
Continue reading …During press conference at Haifa University, Netanyahu calls Carmel wildfire ‘a unique event,’ says foreign aid ‘heartwarming’. He vows to purchase fleet of firefighting aircraft, help restore damages caused by fire ‘without foot-dragging’
Continue reading …In an electoral equivalent of the game of chicken taken to the extreme, two candidates for the Ivory Coast presidency have both sworn themselves in, claiming the post for their own and sparking a major political crisis in the West African country. —JCL The BBC: The incumbent Laurent Gbagbo took the oath to serve a new term, but within hours Alassane Ouattara also laid claim to the presidency. The US, UN and France say Sunday’s run-off poll was won by Mr Ouattara. [Ouattara] was declared the winner by the electoral body, but this was overturned by the Constitutional Council, which is led by an ally of Mr Gbagbo. Read more Related Entries December 3, 2010 Ailing Spanish Economy Seeks a Cure December 2, 2010 Those Dreadful Geico Commercials Are About to Get Quieter
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