https://docs.google.com/View?id=dhbvr2gz_18gk9wt8gt

Note: the below was created from OCRing screencaps of a Flash based chatroom. Excuse the mistakes.

Xaq Fixx 3:39 pm
Alright… Question 1:
Political Identified Profile field, when will it return

Lee Doren
As soon as I get confirmation to add it back—it was my intention to add at asap Friday, but then it was unclear what my authority was to do so
The only reason why it was removed was so I could add something else asap
Like an open-ended political affiliation
Read More…

http://www.presstv.ir/…

The soldiers who fought in the Gaza war told a post-operation conference that they had killed Palestinian civilians and intentionally destroyed their property under permissive rules of engagement.

“When we entered a house, we were supposed to bust down the door and start shooting inside and just go up story by story… I call that murder. Each story, if we identify a person, we shoot them. I asked myself – how is this reasonable?”, an Israeli soldier said.

The testimonies includes killing of a Palestinian mother and her two children by an Israeli sharpshooter and the case of an elderly Palestinian woman who was killed as she was walking 100 meters (yards) from her home.

“We had taken over the house” and the family was released and told to go right. A mother and two children got confused and went left. “The sniper on the roof wasn’t told that this was okay and that he shouldn’t shoot”, a soldier said.

“I don’t know whether she was suspicious, not suspicious, I don’t know her story. . . I do know that my officer sent people to the roof in order to take her out” It was cold-blooded murder.”

Their testimony contradicts the Israel Defense Forces’ claims that its troops had “observed a high level of moral behavior during the operation”.

Tel Aviv launched Operation Cast Lead on the Gaza Strip on December 27. Three weeks of ensuing airstrikes and a ground incursion killed around 1,350 Palestinians and injured nearly 5,450 people – mostly civilians.

The carnage also inflicted more than $1.6 billion in damages on the Gazan economy.

Update:

Found this on LRC too:

“Dead Palestinian babies and bombed mosques–IDF fashion 2009″

“Racist and sexist Israeli military shirts show the mindset that led to war crimes in Gaza”

Update 2:

And this:

The latest news about the only “Democracy” in the Middle East the United States supports with taxpayer money and weapons:

“Rabbis in the Israeli army told battlefield troops in January’s Gaza offensive they were fighting a “religious war” against gentiles, according to one army commander’s account published Friday.”Their message was very clear: we are the Jewish people, we came to this land by a miracle, God brought us back to this land and now we need to fight to expel the gentiles who are interfering with our conquest of this holy land,” he said.”

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/…

The White House warned Iran last night that military action is still one of its options despite the “hand of friendship” offered by President Obama.

Officials moved to cool fevered expectations – and assuage lingering European concerns – about plans to thaw a 30 year freeze in US relations.

Robert Gibbs, the White House press secretary, reiterated that any talks held with the Iranian leadership would not necessarily be with President Ahmadinejad and would involve careful preparations beforehand.

Asked if the use of force was still possible, he replied: “The President hasn’t changed his viewpoint that he should preserve all his options.” Mr Gibbs added that the US needed to address Iran’s sponsorship of terrorism and its threats against Israel, as well as an “illicit nuclear programme”.

It’s sad that so many supposed anti-war liberals were taken in by those who now make up the Obama administration. What is even worse is the fact that most of them will excuse much of their behavior.

• Taxes
  • “Obama will ask the wealthiest two percent of families to give back a portion of the tax cuts they have received over the past eight years to ensure we are restoring fairness and returning to fiscal responsibility.”
  • “ask”? Really? That means they can say no correct?
• Foreign Policy
  • Afghanistan and Pakistan: send more troops, send more money, fight the drug trade. If they don’t do what the US government wants… threaten them.
  • Iran: they do what the US government wants or “economic pressure and political isolation” increase. Meaning people will starve like when that happened to Iraq and the Iranians will radicalize against the US more and more.
  • Israel: Continue sending them money. Ignore any violation of the Palestinians rights.
  • Spend a bunch of money on things that spending money on doesn’t help.
• Family
  • Force businesses to pay employees a minimum amount.
  • Force businesses to provide paid sick days.
  • “Encourage” states to offer paid-leave programs.
• Civil rights
  • Expand racist hate crime laws
  • Spend tax payer money on training ex-addicts
  • Further infringe on business owner’s property rights
  • Oppose a ban on same sex marriage but not support it.
  • Work towards a separate but equal status for gays
  • Spend money on trying to stop the spread of AIDS

There are plenty of other things I can point out but these grabbed my attention. Change indeed.

First, last night Scott Horton of AntiWar Radio was interviewed by Free Talk Live. Skip to 1 hour, 59 minutes.

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FTL2009-01-12.mp3

Second, a news report you surely won’t see on US television: