Israelis killed in West Bank attack on eve of peace talks 01 Sep 2010 Four Israelis were killed last night in a West Bank shooting presumed to be the work of Palestinian militants little more than 24 hours before President Barack Obama hosts a dinner summit to start the first direct peace negotiations for 20 months. The attack near the Jewish settlement of Kiryat Arba, outside the Palestinian city of Hebron, followed a lengthy period of relative calm.

Israel gave 'licence to kill' on Gaza ship: Israeli Arab MP 31 Aug 2010 Outspoken Arab Israeli MP Haneen Zuabi on Tuesday told a UN human rights inquiry into Israel's deadly raid on a Gaza-bound aid flotilla that its commandos had a "licence to kill." "I told the UN investigators in Amman that the Israeli attack was violent from the start and that the Israelis had a clear licence to kill, and they did not even try to avoid the bloodshed," Zuabi told AFP. She was a passenger on the Mavi Marmara ferry trying to bust Israel's blockade of the Gaza Strip when nine Turkish activists were killed on May 31 in an Israeli commando raid.

It All Adds Up: This Was New York’s Hottest Summer 01 Sep 2010 With one final, fitting blast of 96-degree heat on Tuesday, the summer of 2010 went down in the National Weather Service’s record books as the hottest ever in New York City. Hotter than the previous high of 77.3 degrees set in 1966, when more than 1,100 deaths were attributed to heat that repeatedly exceeded 100 degrees...  In this record-breaking season -- defined by the Weather Service as June through August --  the temperature averaged 77.8 degrees.

Obama Marks End of U.S. Combat Mission in Iraq, Salutes Bush 31 Aug 2010 President Obama praised President [sic] Bush's commitment to U.S. troops Tuesday as he announced a close to combat operations in Iraq that he said cost America a "huge price." While not explicitly crediting Bush for shepherding the 2007 troop surge... Obama highlighted Bush's commitment to U.S. security. "It's well known that he and I disagreed about the war from its outset," Obama said. "Yet no one could doubt President Bush's support for our troops, or his love of country and commitment to our security [except when Dick Cheney ordered NORAD to stand down on 9/11 and had anthrax sent from Fort Detrick so the Patriot Act would sail through Congress]. As I have said, there were patriots who supported this war, and patriots who opposed it..." [As a member of the 'professional left,' my sincere hope is that the Birthers find or fabricate evidence that Obama wasn't born in the US so that he can't run for re-election in 2012. --LRP]

Murkowski concedes GOP Senate race in Alaska 31 Aug 2010 Sen. Lisa Murkowski conceded her hard-fought race against Republican [Teabagger] challenger Joe Miller in Alaska's GOP primary, telling supporters late Tuesday that she did not see a path to victory in the vote count. Her concession to the Fairbanks attorney came as the state reached roughly the halfway point in counting thousands of outstanding ballots in the state's GOP primary.

Israeli Arab MK Zuabi: IDF boarded Gaza flotilla ships with intent to kill 31 Aug 2010 Israeli Arab MK Hanin Zuabi testified before a United Nations panel probing Israel's deadly raid on a Gaza-bound aid flotilla in May, telling the panel that commandos who boarded the ships intended to kill, Army Radio reported on Tuesday. A UN inquiry team began hearings on Monday with Jordanian activists about the May 31 Israeli raid on a Turkish ship trying to break an Israeli naval blockade of the Gaza Strip. Nine Turkish activists were killed in the raid. "It was evident from the beginning that the commandoes viewed all of us activists as terrorists," Zuabi told The Associated Press after her testimony before a three-member UN team headed by Karl Hudson-Phillips, former judge of the International Criminal Court in The Hague.

Guantanamo trial of Canadian to resume in October 31 Aug 2010 The trial of the youngest detainee prisoner at Guantanamo Bay will resume in October following a two-month delay caused by the sudden illness of his attorney, a Pentagon spokeswoman said Tuesday. The same jury panel of seven U.S. military officers will return to the U.S. Navy base in southeastern Cuba to pick up the proceedings against Omar Khadr on Oct. 18, according to Army Maj. Tanya Bradsher, the spokeswoman.

'I think having 20,000 or 10,000 security personnel on the Iraqi ground is a serious violation of the Iraqi sovereignty.' US embassy shadow govt. in Iraq? --The most infamous among contractors is private security contractor Blackwater, currently known as Xe Services, LLC. 01 Sep 2010 US plans to fortify its embassy in Iraq have raised new suspicion about the diplomatic outpost's purpose in the politically-gridlocked country. The White House has reduced the number of its troops in Iraq to around 50,000 and said it would take all its forces out of the country by the next year. But Washington has also announced plans to increase the number of American security contractors, tasked with securing American diplomats and diplomatic facilities.

Obama addresses nation, declares 'Operation Iraqi Freedom is over' [No sh*t. It ended the day the US invaded.] 31 Aug 2010 President Barack Obama declared the official end of U.S. combat operations in Iraq on Tuesday night, despite plans to leave 50,000 U.S. troops stationed there for now and questions surrounding the stability in the years to come. "Operation Iraqi Freedom is over, and the Iraqi people now have lead responsibility for the security of their country," he said. The Oval Office address -- only the second one Obama has delivered from that chamber -- followed a day of ceremonies and speeches designed to mark the official end of the U.S. combat mission in Iraq.

Greenpeace 'shuts down' Arctic oil rig --Environmental campaigners slip through security boats to scale Cairn Energy oil rig in dawn raid 31 Aug 2010 Greenpeace claims to have shut down offshore drilling by a British oil company at a controversial site in the Arctic after four climbers began an occupation of the rig just after dawn. The environment campaigners said the four protesters evaded a small flotilla of armed Danish navy and police boats which have been guarding the rigs in Baffin Bay off Greenland since the Greenpeace protest ship Esperanza arrived last week.

More US-led troops die in Afghan war --Deaths bring number of American troops killed in Afghanistan since Friday to 22 31 Aug 2010 At least six more US-led soldiers have lost their lives in separate incidents in the troubled eastern and southern areas of Afghanistan. NATO issued a statement on Tuesday, announcing that four American soldiers were killed in a bombing attack in eastern parts of Afghanistan. In a separate incident, a fifth US soldier died in a militant attack in southern Afghanistan.

U.S. files new suit on Ariz. immigration issue 31 Aug 2010 The Justice Department filed another lawsuit against immigration practices by Arizona authorities, saying Monday that a network of community colleges acted illegally in requiring noncitizens to provide their green cards before they could be hired for jobs. The suit against the Phoenix area Maricopa Community Colleges was filed less than two months after the Justice Department sued Arizona and Gov. Jan Brewer (R) over the state's new immigration law...

Oregon veterans suit against KBR can continue 31 Aug 2010 A federal magistrate has ruled that a lawsuit by Oregon Army National Guard veterans against contractor [terrorist group] Kellogg Brown & Root can continue. U.S. District Magistrate Paul Papak denied KBR's second motion to dismiss the suit on Monday. In 2009, 26 Oregon Guard veterans sued KBR, saying its managers downplayed or dismissed the presence of a toxic chemical.

John Cusack Calls for 'Satanic Death' of Fox News, GOP Leaders 31 Aug 2010 Actor John Cusack went on a caustic Twitter rampage Sunday evening, attacking former House Majority Leader Dick Armey, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich and Fox News. "I AM FOR A SATANIC DEATH CULT CENTER AT FOX NEWS HQ AND OUTSIDE THE OFFICES ORDICK ARMEYAND NEWT GINGRICH-and all the GOP WELFARE FREAKS," Cusack tweeted. [Right, why should Sharron Angle be the only one entitled to Second Amendment 'remedies?'What's good for the rightwing goose is good for the leftwing gander.]

Authorities Were on High Alert for Possible Hijack Attempt --Air Marshals On Board Suspects' Flight to Amsterdam 31 Aug 2010 The arrests of two men in Amsterdam for questioning in a terrorism investigation comes at a time U.S. law enforcement officials have been on a heightened state of alert to a possible hijacking of U.S. carrier flights from the Middle East, according to one senior U.S. official. In response, in the past several weeks, authorities have greatly ramped up the number of Federal air marshals on overseas flights, especially to Dubai, the official said. As a result, air marshals were onboard a Chicago-Amsterdam flight yesterday and kept a close watch on two suspicious passengers who had triggered security alarms, but were allowed to travel for "investigative purposes," law enforcement sources told ABC News. [In other words, there's a whiff of false flag in the air. --LRP]

Airline Passengers Held on Fears of Terrorist Plot 01 Sep 2010 Two United States residents of Yemeni descent who flew from Chicago to Amsterdam on Sunday night were detained by the Dutch police after landing on Monday in a bizarre episode that American officials feared might be a dry run for a terrorist plot. The Dutch National Prosecutor’s office said in a statement on Tuesday that the men were being held on suspicion of conspiracy to commit acts of terrorism and that prosecutors would decide "in a few days" whether to charge them or not.

East Coast Should Prepare for Hurricane Earl: FEMA --Feds advise residents to shore up homes, store water and food, and monitor radio, TV for info on risks and evacuation. 31 Aug 2010 Residents of the U.S. East Coast need to take steps to prepare for Hurricane Earl, say Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) officials. Puerto Rico and northeast Caribbean islands were lashed with winds, rain and waves Monday and the hurricane, now a powerful Category 4 storm, is on a projected path to the East Coast.

CBO: US war in Iraq costs $709bn 31 Aug 2010 Figures released by the US Congressional Budget Office (CBO) show the cost of the US-led war stands at $709 billion in the past 8 years. The cost, published in the CBO's Budget and Economic Outlook, comprises of military expenditure, including training of Iraqi forces and diplomatic operations. According to the CBO, 2008 was the most expensive year for the war in Iraq, with $140 billion spent that year alone.

Afghanistan bomb attacks kill twenty-one US soldiers in 48 hours 31 Aug 2010 Twenty-one American troops have been killed in Afghanistan since Friday in one of the bloodiest periods of the summer. A series of bomb attacks have badly hit US troops in eastern and southern Afghanistan in the past 48 hours. The death toll among in the Nato-led coalition has reached 484 this year and is predicted to far surpass 2009's total of 521.

NATO reports 8th casualty in a day 31 Aug 2010 NATO has announced the death of an eighth soldier in a day of concentrated violence in war-torn Afghanistan. NATO's International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) said in a statement on Tuesday that an eighth soldier was killed on Monday in a bomb attack in southern Afghanistan. The soldier was killed in a day that seven US troops lost their lives in two separate bomb attacks in the south.