Rand Paul: Obama’s ISIS War Is Illegal

Boko Haram suspected in suicide bomb at Nigeria school, 48 dead

Political Bunraku
For those who are not familiar, Bunraku is an old form of Japanese puppet theater, its distinctive characteristic being that the puppeteers are on the stage with their puppets, dressed in black so that the audience can pretend not to see them.

Sen. Rand Paul: Obama’s ISIS War Is Illegal
The president is subverting the Constitution—and America’s latest undeclared war in the Middle East is just the latest example.

ISIS is America’s Dream Rebel Army
US policy paper reveals desire for construction of full-scale extraterritorial army to invade Syria. Such an army is being built in Iraq and Turkey and it’s called “ISIS.”

Dozens of U.S. troops on ground in Iraq’s restive Anbar province

Iraq Airstrikes and Clashes Leave 215 Dead

Iraq is a game ..Sam

The video of an Israeli cop shooting an Arab citizen that has rocked the country

Netanyahu Is a National Security Risk – and Washington Knows It
An anonymous U.S. official caused a dustup when he called the Israeli prime minister “chickenshit.” Others might have said worse

UN envoy meets President Assad in Damascus
Staffan de Mistura in Syria to push for plan that would “freeze” fighting in some areas, including Aleppo.

Iran confirms building missile manufacturing plants in Syria

Hezbollah blames Israel in death of 5 nuclear technicians in Syria
The deaths of five nuclear scientists Sunday in an ambush outside Damascus has raised anew suspicions about whether Israel is conducting an assassination campaign intended to blunt Iran’s nuclear ambitions.

Will the Blackmail of British Jewish Funders Backfire?

Syrian rebel leader: US-led attacks on Isis are undermining anti-Assad forces
Hadi al-Bahra claims Syrians see US-led coalition turning a blind eye to Assad’s forces while failing to liaise with Free Syrian Army

Islamic State: Egyptian militants pledge loyalty
A jihadist group which has carried out a series of attacks on security forces in Egypt’s Sinai peninsula has pledged allegiance to Islamic State (IS).

Russia’s Vulnerability to EU – US Sanctions and Military Encroachments
The restoration of Russian power engineered by Vladimir Putin is compromised by the economic war waged against him by the United States and the European Union. Western aggression, observes Professor James Petras, will compel Russia to either eliminate the oligarchs on whom it has relied so far or die.

How Our People Do Their Extermination-Jobs in Ukraine
…the Ukrainian civil war carrying out part of the Ukrainian Defense Minister, Mikhail Koval’s, extermination plan, which was injudiciously described by him right after a press conference.

Ten lies we’re told to justify the slaughter of 20 million in the First World War
Dominic Alexander debunks ten myths being used by politicians and historians to rebrand World War I in the centenary of its outbreak.

“Death to Iran” Over Airline Passenger Safety

Obama Vows Broad New Regulations to Ensure ‘Free Internet’
Move Couched as Enforcing Net Neutrality, But Will FCC Stop There?

Gary Webb and Media Manipulation

Ukraine president calls rebel vote a ‘farce’
Petro Poroshenko’s condemnation comes as separatist leader Alexander Zakharchenko claims victory, citing exit polls.

In Ukraine, A Tale of Two Elections
The US government loves to “promote democracy” overseas, often at the barrel of a gun. Strangely enough, however, it often “deplores” actual elections being held in such places.

Exit poll: Rebel chief Zakharchenko to win eastern Ukraine vote
Alexander Zakharchenko, the main rebel leader in Ukraine’s largest separatist region, is due to win a disputed election, according to an exit poll. Kyiv and Western governments say they won’t recognize the results.

Thousands gather in Burkina Faso to denounce ‘military coup’
Protest against rule by Lieutenant Colonel Isaac Zida after power struggle following resignation of President Blaise Compaoré

Burkina Faso crisis: Army promises ‘transition body’
Burkina Faso’s military has said it will install a transitional government, days after it seized power as President Blaise Compaore resigned.

Why is there such an explosion of violence across the Middle East?
Here’s an alternative view…

Syrian rebels use US supplied anti-tank missiles
US backed Syrian rebels, seen here using anti-tank missiles to destroy two regime planes, have reportedly surrendered to al-Qaeda, raising fear those weapons have fallen into the terror groups hands

US-backed forces in Syria suffer big setback
Al Qaida-backed militants Saturday stormed the base of the most prominent civilian commander in the U.S.-backed Syrian rebel force, forcing him and his fighters to flee into hiding in the Jebal al Zawiya mountains of northern Syria.

Canada launches first airstrikes on ISIS in Iraq

Over 6,700 Killed in Iraq during October; 205 Killed on Saturday

US Officials: Iraq Preparing for ‘Spring Offensive’ Against ISIS

Hamas: Closure of Gaza crossings ‘collective punishment’
Senior Hamas official Mousa Abu Marzouq early Sunday condemned an Israeli decision to close crossings into Gaza, calling it “collective punishment.”

Abdullah: We will block ‘unilateral’ moves by Israel on Jerusalem
In speech to parliament, King of Jordan vows to protect Christian and Muslim holy sites in Jerusalem, ‘where the blood of our martyrs soaks the earth.’

Pentagon’s plans for a spy service to rival the CIA have been pared back

If Nuclear Negotiations With Iran Fail, US Will Be Blamed

AP Exclusive: Ferguson no-fly zone aimed at media

FBI demands new powers to hack into computers and carry out surveillance
Agency requests rule change but civil liberties groups say ‘extremely invasive’ technique amounts to unconstitutional power grab

Netanyahu insists he is ‘under attack for defending Israel’ after remarks from US official
Quotes from senior Obama administration figures damn Israeli prime minister as ‘chickenshit’ over stance on settlements and peace with Palestinians

Gary Webb and Media Manipulation
Many Americans still count on the mainstream media to define reality for them, but too often the MSM spins false narratives that protect the powerful and diminish democracy, as happened in the long-running denial of cocaine trafficking by President Reagan’s beloved Nicaraguan Contra rebels, writes Beverly Bandler.

The Battle for Palestine

The Battle for Palestine
You can’t understand the worsening Mideast violence without knowing the modern history of Palestine, a story that begins with European anti-Semitism causing Zionists to claim Palestine for the Jews and to expel the Arabs, wrote retired U.S. diplomat William R. Polk in the first of three parts.

The Battle for Palestine — Part Two

The Battle for Palestine — Part Three

Jordan warns settlements may ‘imperil’ treaty with Israel
Jewish construction, Israeli change to religious status of al-Aqsa mosque is ‘incompatible with international law’, says Jordan’s ambassador to Israel.

Abbas asks US to stop Israeli ‘escalations’ in East Jerusalem
Urgent missive to Washington comes as Jordan warns that changes to status quo at al-Aqsa Mosque could endanger peace treaty

Israel Apartheid? Palestinians to be banned from West Bank settlers’ buses
Israeli Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon has decided Palestinians working in Israel should only be able to return home to West Bank via a single crossing and should not be allowed to ride the same buses as settlers.

Ya’alon launches scathing assault on US policy in the Middle East
In Washington Post interview, ‘without naming names,’ defense minister batters the administration over Palestinian conflict, Iran talks and overall regional approach

Using the Holocaust to Justify War
Since bursting onto the U.S. foreign policy stage in the 1980s, the neocons have been masters of “perception management,” devising emotional (and often false) messaging to justify aggressive war, as Maidhc Ó Cathail sees in recent Holocaust-themed propaganda against Syria’s government.

Israeli president’s diagnosis — ‘Israel is a sick society’
— doesn’t go viral in the U.S.

Did you hear that the president of Israel said Israel is a “sick society”? Reuven Rivlin, a Likudnik, said this over the weekend. There’s been lots of coverage in Israel, but as Sullivan points out, the declaration hasn’t gotten much attention stateside. I should think it would be viral.

Rivlin: Violence an epidemic in Israeli society

Cross-Canada Anti-War Demonstrations This Weekend

Canadian government seizes on Ottawa shooting to promote militarist, anti-democratic agenda

The True History of Blowback in One Sentence

Kenyan soldiers kill over 80 militants in Somalia

As Executions Rise, Allies Must Focus More Closely on Warring Anti-IS Forces
In many respects the situation in Saudi Arabia is getting worse rather than better, as if the government feels it must compete with the IS

ISIS Expulsion From Iraq Town Leads to Revenge Killings
Shi’ite Militias Summarily Execute Captives

No direct combat for Iraqi Kurds in Kobani, ISIS loses ground in Iraq

After victory in key Iraqi town, time for revenge

Missiles of ISIS May Pose Peril for Aircrews

ISIS sends Chechen commander to Kobane
The Islamic State leadership has ordered a prominent Chechen commander to Kobane, according to a Rudaw source inside ISIS-controlled territory.

Kurds ‘repulse ISIL push’ in Syria’s Kobane
Kurdish fighters endure fourth day of ISIL attempts to take border crossing into Turkey, despite US-led air strikes.

Oil Gives Kurds a Path to Independence, and Conflict With Baghdad

More than 800 killed in 40 days of clashes in Syrian city of Kobani

U.S.: Rebel force in Syria to be built from scratch

Obama Still Does a Good Imitation of Bush
We really should be used to this by now. After almost six years in office, President Obama is far more like George W. Bush in national-security matters than he led the American people to believe.

Stand Tall America, We’re #1!
(When It Comes to Our Military Budget, Knocking Off Wedding Parties, Military Bases, etc.)

Putin lashes out at US, West for destabilizing world
Vladimir Putin lashed out at the United States and the West for destabilizing the world order of checks and balances for its own gains. He also accused the West of inflaming the situation in Ukraine and said Russia is not interested in building an empire.

Putin Warns Of Risk Of Major Conflict, Says Dollar Losing Reserve Currency Status

Western Sponsors Liable for Kiev Basket Case
Since Washington and Brussels shunted the geopolitical tracks in the first place to create the financial train wreck that is now manifestly the Ukraine, you would think that there might be a sense of obligation on Western governments to salvage the mess. Not a bit of it, it seems.

China not to join sanctions against Russia

Citizenfour’s Escape to Freedom in Russia
An international community of resistance has formed against pervasive spying by the U.S. National Security Agency with key enclaves in Moscow (with NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden) and in London (with WikiLeaks’ Julian Assange), way stations visited by ex-CIA analyst Ray McGovern.

‘Google grown big & bad’: Assange reveals company & its founder’s links to US govt

Israel Beats Out US for $525 Million Arms Sale to India