Former defense secretary Donald Rumsfeld has always answered his detractors by claiming that history will one day judge him kindly. But as he waits for that day, a new group of critics—his administration peers—are suddenly speaking out for the first time. What they’re saying? It isn’t pretty.
AND HE SHALL BE JUDGED
Condemning the Israeli occupation is not anti-Semitic
Defaming Judaism and Holocaust denial are indeed anti-Semitic. However, criticising Israel and revealing the ugliness of its occupation of Palestine is nothing at all near anti-Semitism. In his Aftonbladet’s article (17/08), the swedish photographer and freelance journalist Donald Boström, neither criticized any religion nor denied any genocide. All what he mentioned is a crime, he witnessed, about involvement of the Israeli army in illegal killing for Palestinians and harvesting their organs.
Carter: Israel wants bi-national state
We found a growing sense of concern and despair among those who observe, as we did, that settlement expansion is continuing apace, rapidly encroaching into Palestinian villages, hilltops, grazing lands, farming areas and olive groves. There are more than 200 of these settlements in the West Bank.
An even more disturbing expansion is taking place in Palestinian East Jerusalem. Three months ago I visited a family who had lived for four generations in their small, recently condemned home.
Doctor: 90% of war casualties at Gaza hospital were civilians
Ninety percent of casualties brought to Gaza's main hospital during Israel's winter offensive against Hamas were civilians, according to a new book by one of Norway's most famous and controversial physicians, Dr. Mads Gilbert.
The book, scheduled to be published this month under the title "I in Gaza," recounts Gilbert's experiences as a volunteer at Shifa Hospital in Gaza City and focuses on individual stories by patients and medical staff.
For Your Health, Froot Loops
A new food-labeling campaign called Smart Choices, backed by most of the nation’s largest food manufacturers, is “designed to help shoppers easily identify smarter food and beverage choices.”
The green checkmark label that is starting to show up on store shelves will appear on hundreds of packages, including — to the surprise of many nutritionists — sugar-laden cereals like Cocoa Krispies and Froot Loops.
New Afghan 'poll frauds' emerge
Further evidence has come to light of widespread fraud during the recent Afghan presidential election. One tribal elder has admitted to the BBC that he tampered with hundreds of ballots in favour of incumbent President Hamid Karzai.
More than 600 serious complaints are being investigated, but the deadline for new complaints has now passed.
Visitor logs show Bush meetings with super-lobbyist, religious right
“The Obama administration has proven its pledge to usher in a new era of government transparency was more than just a campaign promise,” CREW Executive Director Melanie Sloan said. “The Bush administration fought tooth and nail to keep secret the identities of those who visited the White House. In contrast, the Obama administration – by putting visitor records on the White House web site – will have the most open White House in history.”
Michael Hirsh: Madoff Report Indicts Entire Regulatory System
The scariest thing about the report, perhaps, is that it isn't about what happened in the past as much as it's an indicator of what our future looks like. The Madoff Ponzi scheme was a relatively simple scam: all anyone in enforcement ever had to do over the years was to obtain documents showing that wily old Bernie wasn't doing any trading at all. They never did. This is the same agency, slightly tweaked, that we're going to depend on to root out fraud in the mind-bogglingly complex world of over-the-counter derivatives that is even now resuming its old habits.
Belgium offers asylum to Guantanamo detainee
Belgium on Friday became the latest European country to offer asylum to a Guantanamo Bay detainee, announcing that it would resettle a captive now at the prison camps who has been cleared of prosecution by a U.S. court.
The announcement follows similar deals between the Obama administration and France and Portugal, which last month took in two Syrians for resettlement. Ireland has also agreed to take two detainees seeking third-country asylum.
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