Pravda: America Is Still Dead?

"Greetings: If you are reading this, the President of the United States has declared you to be a terrorist or enemy combatant. As a result, you will be detained without charge or trial, tortured, and/or extra-judicially executed. You are not entitled to any legal due process, you have no civil rights, and there is absolutely no need for the United States government to prove any of the allegations it has made against you, even if you are a citizen of the United States. Sincerely, Barack Obama! Throughout much of its history, America had a Bill of Rights that protected the fundamental freedoms of its citizens, as well as a "check-and-balance" system that ensured no government institution, branch or individual would ever obtain unbridled power, but all that is ended with the recent extrajudicial execution of American citizen Anwar al-Awlaki in Yemen, and while most politicians are opportunistically applauding al-Awlaki's death, a few perceptive Americans are growing increasingly concerned about the unprecedented powers the executive branch of government is assuming. Under those powers, American citizens can now be illegally detained, even within America's own borders, as was illustrated in the case of Abdullah al-Kidd, who, despite never being charged with a crime, was held for more than two weeks in high security cells and repeatedly strip-searched and shackled!

The Telegraph:The Palestinians Have Eight Security Council Votes!

The Palestinians have secured eight Security Council "yes" votes for their UN membership bid, just one short of the nine they need, according to their foreign minister. On Thursday, Riyad al-Maki said that Nigeria and Gabon had also promised they would vote in favor of the Palestinian bid for full state membership at the UN, possibly giving them a ninth and a tenth vote. Mr. Malki told reporters in Ramallah that the Palestinians have assurances of "yes" votes from Lebanon, Russia, China, India, South Africa and Brazil, in addition to the new confirmations from Nigeria and Gabon. "We are working on Bosnia, Columbia and Portugal," he added, saying he was scheduled to visit Bosnia, Columbia and Portugal," he added, saying he was scheduled to visit Bosnia shortly. Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas will make stops in Columbia, Portugal, Honduras and the Dominican Republic in October. Mr. Abbas will also deliver an address in Strasbourg in October 6, Mr. Malki said. The Palestinians need to secure at least nine Security Council votes in favor of their membership bid for it to be approved and advanced to the General Assembly.

Harriet Sherwood: Israeli Occopation Hitting Palestinian Economy!

Israel's occupation of the West Bank and Gaza deprives the Palestinian economy of an enormous sum, equivalent to about 85% of the nominal gross domestic product of Palestine, according to a report published in Ramallah. As well as its detrimental effect on the Palestinian economy, the
"occupation enterprise" allows the state of Israel and commercial firms to profit from Palestinian natural resources and tourist potential, the report said. "No matter what the Palestinian people achieve by our own efforts, the occupation prevents us from achieving our potential as a free people in our own country," said Hassan Abu Libdeh, economy minister in the Palestinian Authority, introducing the report on Thursday. "It should be clear to the international community that one reason for Israel's refusal to act in good faith as a partner for peace is the profits it makes as an occupying power." Without the occupation, the Palestinian economy would be almost twice as large as it is, and would be able to reduce its independence on donor funding from the international community, according to the report. Compiled jointly by the economy ministry and the independent "think-tank" Applied Research Institute, the report was the first attempt to quantify the annual cost of the occupation to the Palestinian economy.

Eric Walberg: Turkey Redraws Sykes-Picot!

A new Bermuda Triangle has been spotted, but this one is in the eastern Mediterranean, between Turkey, Cyprus and Israel, observes Eric Walberg. Turkey's foreign policy shift is now in full gear. Having kicked out the Israeli ambassador and rejected the UN Palmer Report, Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu says that Turkey plans to make its case against Israel's blockade of Gaza to the International Court of Justice, not alone, but with the support of the Arab League, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation and the African Union. "The process will probably reach a certain point in October, and we will make our application." Israel's refusal to say "I apologize" has already proved to be very expensive, and will continue to reverberate, not just in the hollow halls of the ICC, but off the shores of Israel itself, as Turkish warships accompany flotillas breaking the siege, and when Turkey begins drilling for gas in waters that Greek Cyprus and Israel claim for themselves. It will echo when Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who was "like a rock star", crosses the Rafah border to visit Gaza. No one can mistake Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu or Cypriot President Dimitris Christofias for Elton John. There are many reasons for the deterioration of the once smooth relations between Israel and Turkey. First, both nations have moved away from their secular roots. Turkey with the return of Islam as a guiding principle in political life under the Justice and Development Party (AKP) in 2002, Israel with the rise of Likud in 1977, ending the long reign of Labour. Turkey is naturally returning to its traditional role under the Ottoman Caliphate as regional Muslim hegemon, while the Zionised version of Judaism has ended any pretense of the Jewish state being interested in making peace with the indigenous Muslims.

Jason Ditz: US Struggles to Balance Reassurance in Pakistan

Anti-US Protests break out in major Pakistani cities: With US officials railing against Pakistan on a daily basis for weeks, and the prospect of a ground invasion looking extremely serious, anti-US protests were reported across several major cities in Pakistan, perhaps the first inkling the Obama Administration got that they may have gone a little overboard in their rhetoric. The Administration responded with a reassurance from an unnamed top official that a ground invasion was not in the offing, and Admiral Michael Mullen, at the forefront of making accusations, insisting relations with Pakistan are "vital". Perhaps the most perplexing comments, however, came from Obama himself, who addressed the growing row with claims that the putative relationship between Pakistan's military and the Haqqani Network was "unclear". "Unclear," after Admiral Mullen presented the claim that the Haqqani Network is an "arm" of Pakistan's military as a known fact, might seem a little surprising. Obama insisted "Mike's testimony expressed frustration over the fact that safe havens exist". This seems to be a strange way of admitting that the testimony was flat out fabricated.

Jason Ditz: Libyan Rebels Accused of Torture, Revenge Killings!

Libya's National Transitional Council (NTC) is coming under growing scrutiny today, not just for its growing internal faction fighting, but for the behavior of its fighting force. Replacing Moammar Gadhafi sets the bar pretty low for human rights, one would think, but the rebels seem to be struggling to meet even this standard. Torture has become increasingly common among rebel fighters, who summarily arrest anyone suspected of supporting the old regime, and Human Rights Watch issued a statement today urging the NTC to stop its fighters from beating and shocking detainees. Human rights groups are also expressing disquiet about the growing evidence of revenge killings, against not just defeated regime forces, but suspected supporters as well. This is not a new problem, but a growing one. The rebel military forces have been dumping bodies "en masse" for awhile, and being black has been probable cause for arrest virtually since the rebels took over the west. There seems to be little interest among the NTC leadership to change any of this, but as it continues, it remains to be seen how long NATO can turn a blind eye to their "allies" on the ground.

Ernesto Londono: Iran's Hosting of Taliban Reflects Desire for Greater Role!

Kabul: Iran quietly hosted a delegation of Taliban members in Tehran this month in a powerful and unusual signal of its ambition to shape the trajectory of the Afghanistan conflict, as US troops begin to withdraw. Iranian officials had apparently hoped to facilitate a meeting between the delegation and Burhanuddin Rabani, a former Afghan president and leader of the country's reconciliation efforts, who was attending the same conference in Tehran, his associates said. Although that did not happen, the presence of the Taliban members suggests Iran has cultivated deeper ties with the insurgent group than was previously known, and is stepping up efforts to influence its eastern neighbor as the US role recedes. The relationship between Iran and the Taliban's central leadership has long been deeply fraught; when the Taliban was running Afghanistan in the 1990s, the two countries came to the brink of war. US officials have for years accused Iran of fueling the Afghanistan war.