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Yemeni forces fire on protesters, kill 2

Yemeni protesters
Yemeni regime forces have opened fire on protesters, killing two people (file photo)
Yemeni security forces have opened fire on anti-regime protesters in the western port city of Hudaydah, killing two and injuring 50 people.

The armed crackdown on protesters took place late on Sunday, when thousands of Yemenis held a demonstration against Ali Abdullah Saleh on the 33rd anniversary of his reign, condemning what they described as the application of collective punishment by the regime.

They say the government has cut off supplies of oil and gas for domestic use, disrupting the daily life of the people, a Press TV correspondent reported.

Anti-regime protesters have been continuing street demonstrations on an almost daily basis in Yemen's major cities since late January, calling for an end to the regime of Ali Abdullah Saleh, the country's beleaguered dictator who is currently in Saudi Arabia.

War Whore

Libya is a Rich Man's War!


On Friday evening, June 24, 2011, a forum entitled, "Eyewitness Libya," was held in Washington, D.C., at the Festival Center.

It featured Brian Becker, National Coordinator of the ANSWER Coalition. The event was sponsored by the ANSWER Coalition.

To learn more, go here.

War Whore

The Blood on Murdoch's Hands

Nailing Rupert Murdoch for his employees' phone tapping or bribery would be a little like bringing down Al Capone for tax fraud, or George W. Bush for torture. I'd be glad to see it happen but there'd still be something perverse about it.

I remember how outraged Americans were in 2005 learning about our government's warrantless spying, or for that matter how furious some of my compatriots become when a census form expects them to reveal how many bathrooms are in their home.

I'm entirely supportive of outrage. I just have larger crimes in mind. Specifically this:
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights:
Article 20
1. Any propaganda for war shall be prohibited by law.

Star of David

An Israeli welcome

The episode of the 'flytilla' and the treatment meted out to those who managed to reach Ben Gurion airport brought to mind the experience of someone I first met 3 years ago.

H is from a western country and before her retirement she had a long career as a nurse. She is a firm Christian and her views on Israel/Palestine would probably have placed her very close to the Christian Zionist camp.

I met her through a mutual friend when she was visiting Bethlehem. She told me she was working, as a volunteer, in a home for elderly Holocaust survivors, somewhere in northern Israel. It was clear she had little sympathy for the Palestinian cause although it was also clear that she is a person of compassion for anyone in need.

A year later, to my surprise, I bumped into her again in Bethlehem.

Handcuffs

British Police Arrest Rebekah Brooks in Phone Hacking

Brooks
© Leon Neal/Agence France-Presse - Getty ImagesRebekah Brooks, the former Chief Executive of News International,on July 1, 2011, at Wimbledon
London - The British police on Sunday arrested Rebekah Brooks, the former head of Rupert Murdoch's media operations in Britain, according to a former associate at News International, the newspaper group at the heart of a phone-hacking scandal convulsing the Murdoch empire, the British political elite and the police.

The timing, two days before a separate parliamentary inquiry into the crisis, drew a skeptical response from opposition lawmakers who said the arrest might inhibit Ms. Brooks' ability or readiness to testify before the panel while she is the subject of police inquiries.

David Wilson, a lawyer representing Ms. Brooks, said she "maintains her innocence, absolutely."

Dollar

The size of Greece's debt

The Greek public debt is forecast to hit more than $500bn.

Meanwhile, plans for a second bailout for the country are being discussed by senior EU ministers.

Al Jazeera's Gerald Tan takes a look at the actual size of Greece's debt.


USA

American Karma - The Boomerang of Death

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When you look at the carnage in our world..not the accidental or incidental episodes, but the state sponsored mega death rituals we continually watch, don't you wonder?

Who can stomach this kind of senseless murder and maiming of innocents? We're told there's this marauding band of super evil terrorists just waiting to inflict harm on "us innocent bystanders". (Remember, this is all according to what we're told.)

So what's the apparent response?

Inflict senseless murder and maiming of innocents as "collateral damage" to arrest this vast charge of invading murderers.

Sound fishy To You?

Yeah, obviously. But does anyone say anything anymore? And if so, who and how many? And do you even hear about it?

Che Guevara

Activists Demonstrate in al-Quds Against Israeli Occupation


As many as 2000 activists showed up for a demonstration in East Jerusalem al-Quds against Israel's occupation of Palestine. The demonstration, was peaceful in nature, and the largest against the Israeli occupation in the city in many years. Some even said the largest in over two decades.

Demonstrators first gathered outside one of the western gates of the old city of Jerusalem al-Quds and then began their march towards Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood chanting along the way only free people can negotiate and together we march to liberate Palestine.

Star of David

Palestinians Protest Construction of Separation Wall

Palestinians from the village of Bil'in in West Bank, along with international peace activists demonstrated against the construction of the separation wall and nearby settlements built on confiscated Palestinian land.


The demonstration turned into a confrontation after occupation forces fired tear gas canisters and rubber coated bullets at the demonstrators, injuring some protestors.

Palestinian young protestors said they retaliated by throwing stones at the occupation forces.

Dollar

U.S. national debt: dancing on the brink of a world crisis

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© AFP/ Nicholas KammU.S. President Barack Obama
Budget and debt problems are once again racking America. Barack Obama has failed to persuade the Republican majority in Congress to raise the national debt ceiling. That much is nothing new, and similar attempts will be unlikely to succeed in the future. Since July 10, the White House has been holding daily consultations on raising the ceiling. The current ceiling of $14.3 trillion must be raised by several hundred billion, or the Department of the Treasury will run out of money by August 2.

Looming crisis

The Americans raise their debt ceiling on a regular basis. Since 1993, they have come close to defaulting 16 times. In 1995, the government even shut down for a week. In the past, the world perceived these exercises as a matter of course, whereas now the unwritten rule of the U.S. budget is increasingly becoming a sore subject.