Puppet Masters
Norwegian gunman Anders Behring Breivik has been taken back to the island of Utoya to stage a reconstruction of the massacre which left 69 people dead there three weeks ago and showed "no remorse".
The 32-year-old confessed killer was shackled and on a leash as he toured the site of the mass slaughter on Saturday detailing his actions to police.
"He was not unaffected by being back at the scene," reported the police prosecutor in charge of the case. "But he didn't show any remorse."
Police said the killer retraced his steps during an eight-hour visit to Utoya, providing insight into the shooting spree that would be used as evidence in the case against him as well as showing survivors and relatives exactly what happened.
"He provided us with a lot of new information which we didn't have before, despite 50 hours of (previous) interrogation," said Paal-Fredrik Hjort Kraby, prosecutor.
"We feel we now have a fairly good overview of how everyone died or was shot, even though there are still details to fill in," he said.
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The violence struck from the northern city of Kirkuk to the capital of Baghdad to the southern Shiite cities of Najaf, Kut and Karbala, and emphasized the persistent ability of insurgents to wreak havoc at a time when Iraqi officials are weighing whether they are able to protect the country without the assistance of American troops.
The blasts were coordinated to go off in the morning and included a combination of parked car bombs, roadside bombs and a suicide bomber driving a vehicle that rammed into a police station.
The scope of the violence - seven explosions went off in different towns in Diyala province alone - emphasized the still dangerous ability of insurgents to coordinate and carry out attacks despite repeated crackdowns by Iraqi and U.S. forces.
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The 12-page strategy (PDF), which outlines ways to respond to violent extremism, promises that: "We will continue to closely monitor the important role the Internet and social-networking sites play in advancing violent extremist narratives."
President Obama said in a statement accompanying the report that the federal government will start "helping communities to better understand and protect themselves against violent extremist propaganda, especially online."
While much of the White House document is focused on al Qaeda--which The Washington Post recently reported is on the "brink of collapse"--it also talks about domestic terrorists, neo-Nazis, anti-Semitic groups, and a broad "range of ideologies" that promote radicalization.
© Reuters
When Monsanto wins, the rest of the planet loses.
When Monsanto wins, the rest of the planet loses.
You keep trying to make us believe you are "committed to sustainable agriculture" with your canny advertisements on American Public Media, even as you force-feed farmers your lab-grown Frankenseeds that expire every year (which are, let's be honest, opposite of sustainable).
But we shouldn't be surprised by the mixed message, should we? After all, you've been doing this for decades. With long-running corporate sponsorships, like Disney's Tomorrowland, building reserves of goodwill as you spray us with DDT, it's clear you're entitled to send out products into the world with nary an environmental or health concern - just as long as you spend a bit of that hard-earned cash convincing us otherwise.
On that note, let's take a quick look at some of the biotech giant's most dubious contributions to society over their past century in business.
© Reuters
Egyptian police.
Egyptian police.
Egypt's Attorney General on Sunday referred a Jordanian and an Israeli to an emergency court on charges of "spying for a foreign country with the purpose of harming Egyptian national interests," Egyptian media reported.
Bashar Ibrahim Abu Zeid, a Jordanian telecommunications engineer, was detained in Egypt last April after intelligence information allegedly showed he was spying for the Mossad, Israel's intelligence body. According to reports, Ofir Herari, who was named as a Mossad officer, is to be tried in absentia.
© Dylan Martinez / Reuters
To suggest that these mindless yobs arranged all of this by mobile phone, Facebook and Twitter is laughable considering that all such means of communication are monitored by the government's security apparatus. Every keystroke on your computer, including all data entered on the likes of Facebook etc., every email you send, every text message and every phone call you make are recorded. You have no privacy in this society and have had none for many years.
London has more CCTV cameras than any other city in the world and Britain is the most surveilled country on the planet bar NONE. To think that anyone can ransack a shop or commit any act of violence in London and not be identified and/or tracked street by street to their home is farcical.
© American Israel Public Affairs Committee
US and Israeli flag intertwined
81 US lawmakers in Israel on 'tour' sponsored by Zionist lobbying group
US and Israeli flag intertwined
81 US lawmakers in Israel on 'tour' sponsored by Zionist lobbying group
One-fifth of the US Congress is currently in Israel on a free trip sponsored by the American Israel Educational Foundation, an affiliate of the largest Zionist lobby in the US: the American Israel Public Affairs Committee.
The Congress members, led by Representative Steny Hoyer, will receive briefings from Israeli government officials, tour historic religious sites and receive a guided tour around Israel by Israeli tour guides intent on promoting Israeli policies in the region.
© Eric Thayer / The New York Times
Former Massachusetts Gov. and Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney greets attendees at the Iowa State Fair in Des Moines, Iowa, Aug. 11, 2011.
Former Massachusetts Gov. and Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney greets attendees at the Iowa State Fair in Des Moines, Iowa, Aug. 11, 2011.
Mitt Romney got a lot of press for telling a heckler at the Iowa State Fair that "corporations are people." He did not go on to sing that Patti Smith song, People Have the Power.
But corporate "people" certainly do. Their power was on display this week, both in Washington and among the Republicans campaigning for the nomination.
Ordinary People
Here's Romney's quote in context:
"Corporations are people, my friend... of course they are. Everything corporations earn ultimately goes to the people. Where do you think it goes? Whose pockets? Whose pockets? People's pockets. Human beings, my friend."
© Reuters
The radical Palestinian group Hamas controls the Gaza Strip
The radical Palestinian group Hamas controls the Gaza Strip
USAID is halting humanitarian assistance to the Gaza Strip over alleged meddling by the radical Palestinian group Hamas, a US official has said.
"We deeply regret that USAID-funded partner organisations operating in Gaza are forced by Hamas's actions to suspend their assistance work," the official said.
"USAID assistance programmes were put on hold effective August 12," he added.
"Hamas, through a series of measures it has imposed over the past months, has created an environment which jeopardises the ability of non-governmental organisations to provide assistance to Gazas most vulnerable residents," the official said.
He said all US partner organisations would suspend their activities funded by the United States until these are able "to operate without interference or harassment from Hamas."
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The Republican Jewish Coalition is the same organization that recently hired former Sen. Norm Coleman. Bachmann's appearance on Feb.1 is part of a whirlwind of national events for Bachmann in February. Next up: she's keynoting the Take Back Washington North Dakota event in Bismarck this Friday night.
Here's a transcript of some of her remarks at the RJC event:
Comment: Michelle Bachmann won the Iowa Straw-Poll just beating Ron Paul into second place.