Solving the Fiscal Impasse Starts and Ends at the Pentagon

A speech by Rep. Barbara Lee on January 9, 2013

“As Afghan President Hamid Karzai returns to the United States this week, he will meet President Barack Obama at a time when the overwhelming majority of the American people and a strong bipartisan coalition of Congress believe it is long past time to bring the war to a safe and expedited close. Most Americans realize that instead of spending billions of dollars extending our military presence in Afghanistan, we need to commit to a political settlement, bring all of our troops safely home and invest in jobs as well as nation-building here at home.

Yet for too long, we have given the Pentagon blank checks while neglecting our crumbling roads, our aging water systems and our struggling schools. From 2000 to 2010, overall spending on the base defense budget rose from $300 billion to $700 billion. That massive increase in spending, combined with $1.4 trillion (and counting) spent on two wars, and the projected hundreds of billions in costs to care for our returning veterans, were all committed even as we passed tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans. This is an unprecedented and disastrous policy course that led directly to the debt problem we have today.

After a decade of tax giveaways and extravagant defense spending, Congress has passed more than $1.7 trillion in spending cuts to critical domestic programs on which all American families rely. Most of this came in the summer of 2011 as part of a deal to raise the debt ceiling without any revenue. Now, with the fiscal cliff deal behind us, the coming weeks will bring even more heated debate surrounding our budget, across-the-board cuts called sequestration and how to continue growing our economy by protecting the American dream for all. Here is what we should do:

Brings our troops home: Last month, almost 100 bipartisan members of the House of Representatives joined me and the overwhelming majority of the American people in reaffirming our strong conviction to bring the war in Afghanistan to a safe and expedited close. It is long past time to hand over security responsibility to the Afghans and ensure a seamless transition for our brave troops from active duty to civilian life. Doing so would save tens of billions of dollars this year alone.

Focus on job creation: The poor and middle class already bear a disproportionate share of the nation’s economic pain. Taking account what was passed into law as part of the fiscal cliff deal, a fiscally responsible and balanced approach would secure an additional $1 trillion in new revenue to match the massive cuts to domestic programs we have already made in recent months. Doing so would allow us to make robust investments in smart and targeted economic growth, provide a 21st-century education for every child in America and create a renewable green energy technology future that will end our dependence on foreign oil, protect our environment and kick-start a new manufacturing base here in America. After all, the best way to reduce our deficit is to focus on job creation here at home.

Achieve sensible cuts to out-of-control Pentagon spending: In 2011, the U.S. government spent about $718 billion on defense and international security assistance — more than it spent on Medicare and more than the next 13 nations spent on defense combined, including China, Russia, the United Kingdom and France. There are many proposals from a wide variety of groups from across the political spectrum that detail defense savings on par with or beyond the cuts called for under the sequestration portion of the Budget Control Act of 2011. The Project on Defense Alternatives, CATO Institute, Taxpayers for Common Sense, Center for American Progress, and Bowles-Simpson Commission have all called for deep cuts in defense spending ranging from $350 billion to $590 billion beyond the cuts already in place. Making sensible cuts would help create a cost-effective military aligned with 21st-century threats.
Audit the Pentagon: Financial responsibility must not stop at the doors of the Pentagon. Almost 60 cents of every federal discretionary dollar now goes toward defense spending. By the Pentagon’s own admission, it cannot properly account for how the money is spent. There is no doubt these circumstances have contributed to instances of waste, fraud and abuse at the Pentagon. We must stop the culture of reckless spending at the Pentagon by demanding that every program at the Defense Department pass independent audits.

Securing new revenue as well as achieving significant cuts to and transparency in defense spending, while also ending the war in Afghanistan, will prevent the fiscal burden from being shifted onto the backs of poor and working families or making unnecessary benefit cuts to Medicare, Medicaid or Social Security. Our priority right now must be jobs to build up our economic strength and lift millions out of poverty, the true measure of our nation’s security.

Democratic Rep. Barbara Lee represents California’s 13th District. She also co-chairs the Congressional HIV/AIDS Caucus.
 
LINK TO SPEECH HERE.

More evil from the US government

From The Guardian (UK): Iran unable to get life-saving drugs due to international sanctions

Hundreds of thousands of Iranians with serious illnesses have been put at imminent risk by the unintended consequences of international sanctions, which have led to dire shortages of life-saving medicines such as chemotherapy drugs for cancer and bloodclotting agents for haemophiliacs.  .... "Sometimes companies agree to sell us drugs but we have no way of paying them. On one occasion, our money was in the bank for four months but the transfer repeatedly got rejected," Naser Naghdi, the director general of Darou Pakhsh, the country's biggest pharmaceutical company, told the Guardian, in a telephone interview from Tehran.

In my opinion, this is pure evil. Iran has every right to nuclear power, and there is no indication that Iran is pursuing nuclear weapons. And yet, the USA has made them suffer grievously, while they have done NOTHING to hurt our country. The point of these sanctions is the same as the point of the Iraq sanctions – to make them weak, so that one day the US government can declare war on them and control their oil. It is pure evil. Everyone in the US government who supports this has innocent blood on their hands – lots of it.

Who'll stop the rain?

Long as I remember
The rain been comin' down.
Clouds of myst'ry pourin'
Confusion on the ground.
Good men through the ages,
Tried to find the sun;
And I wonder, still I wonder,
Who'll stop the rain.

I went down Virginia,
Seekin' shelter from the storm.
Caught up in the fable,
I watched the tower grow.
Five year plans and new deals,
Wrapped in golden chains.
And I wonder, still I wonder
Who'll stop the rain.

Heard the singers playin',
How we cheered for more.
The crowd had rushed together,
Tryin' to keep warm.
Still the rain kept pourin',
Fallin' on my ears.
And I wonder, still I wonder
Who'll stop the rain.

Violence in the US and US violence abroad

Tom Dispatch:  “In late December 2001, not long after Washington’s second Afghan War began, there was that wedding celebration in eastern Afghanistan in which 110 of 112 villagers were reportedly killed by American B-52 and B-1B bombers using precision guided weapons. Then there were the more than 40 Iraqi wedding celebrants (27 from one extended family, including 14 children) who died when U.S. planes struck their party at a village near the Syrian border back in May 2004, and the Afghan bridal party of 70 to 90 who were taken out by a U.S. airstrike on a road near the Pakistani border in July 2008. (The bride and 46 of those accompanying her died, according to an Afghan inquiry, including 39 women and children.) Added to this list should be the 24 unarmed Iraqi men, women, and children, ranging in age from 3 to 76, murdered by U.S. Marines in November 2005 in the long-forgotten Haditha massacre. And the 14-year-old girl whom American soldiers gang-raped and murdered along with her family in Mahmudiya, south of Baghdad, the next year. Let’s not forget either the 12 Iraqis, including two Reuters employees, shot dead (and two children badly wounded) on a Baghdad street in July 2007 by the laughing crew of an Apache helicopter, as revealed in an infamous video released by WikiLeaks. There were also the 60 children (and up to 30 adults) who died in the Afghan village of Azizabad on an August night in 2008 while attending a memorial service for a tribal leader who had been, villagers reported, anti-Taliban. That, too, was thanks to air strikes. There were also those three (or more) Afghan civilians hunted down “for sport” in the summer of 2010 by a self-appointed U.S. “kill team” who were collecting trophy body parts. And there were the 10 boys, including two sets of brothers, collecting wood for their families in Afghanistan's Kunar Province early in 2011, who were attacked by U.S. helicopters. Only one wounded boy survived. Or most recently, the 11 Yemeni civilians, including women and children, in a Toyota truck killed by a U.S. airstrike and initially labeled “al-Qaeda militants.”

Yes, the American people are killing people around the planet and they don’t give a shit. They don’t know because they don’t want to know. There will be no memorials, no special rites, and no solemn ceremonies for these victims of US violence. The suffering Americans have brought these people we make war on is immense and incalculable. The overall numbers killed are staggering. Only the victims of US violence who happen to be Americans stand a chance of being recognized and remembered, and for the most part, not even then. We are a nation of thoughtless and heedless killers, who engage in killing on a daily basis. It is no wonder that our homicide rate is so much higher than other developed countries (see above graphic - and it is for guns only!). We are drenched in blood and we don’t care about anyone’s suffering beyond our own. The above listing of foreign killings hardly begins to cover it. And no matter how much Americans suffer from poverty, natural disasters and violence; it does not hold a candle to the suffering they have caused in foreign lands.

Afghan Peace Volunteer says drones bury beautiful lives

Upcoming events for the week of January 13, 2013

This graphic came from an email from IPS.

UPCOMING EVENTS

01/14/13 MOVE TO AMEND BUNCOMBE COUNTY MEETING
This meeting will take place in the lower level (Religious Education Space) of the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Asheville on Charlotte and Edwin Streets. Time for the meeting is 7 PM and all are welcome.

01/15/13 TRANSITION ASHEVILLE PERMACULTURE POTLUCK SERIES
Time is 5:30 PM and location is the Community Action Opportunities at 25 Gaston Street. Free and open to the public. For more information contact Dylan at livingvision@yahoo.com.

01/15/13 SAFE CAROLINAS PRESENTATION
This is a great opportunity to learn about the radioactive waste issue that still plagues our country. Please join us as we hear from the experts about the landmark lawsuit won by Blue Ridge Environmental Defense League. We will also hear about what Congress is up to on this waste, how it affects WNC and our next steps for civic participation. Lou Zeller, Executive Director, Blue Ridge Environmental Defense League, and Mary Olson, Southeast Director, Nuclear Information Resource Services, will speak. Location is North Asheville Library at 7 PM.

01/17/13 MLK: A YOUTH CELEBRATION
A youth celebration to honor Martin Luther King, Jr. will be held at Lipinsky Auditorium at UNCA. Free. Time is 4 PM.  More information at www.mlkasheville.org. This will include a candlelight service. This is hosted by the Martin Luther King, Jr. Association of Asheville and Buncombe County.

01/17/13 VETERANS FOR PEACE DISCUSSION GROUP
Third Thursday of month, Veterans For Peace Chapter 99 offers a discussion group on subjects concerning peace, starting at 6:30 PM at its headquarters in the Courtyard Gallery in the Phil Mechanic Studios, 109 Roberts St., Asheville. Free (donations gratefully accepted) and open to the public. 828-258-1800.

01/17/13 COMMUNITY RACE DISCUSSION GROUP
A monthly discussion group jointly sponsored by the Firestorm Collective and our friends at the YWCA to tackle the challenges of race and racism in our community.  Time is 5:30 PM and location is Firestorm Café and Books.

01/18/12 WNC PHYSICIANS FOR SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY MEETING
The next WNC PSR monthly meeting will be at a private home near the VA Hospital.  Brown Bag lunch at noon with meeting from 12:30 to 2 PM. Everyone is welcome.  Please go to www.wncpsr.org  for more information, which includes how to get there and other details.

01/19/13 MARTIN LUTHER KING PRAYER BREAKFAST
The Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Association of Asheville and Buncombe County will hold its 32nd annual Prayer Breakfast at the Grove Park Inn on Saturday, January 19, 2013. Tickets can be ordered by telephone at 828-335-6896 or 828-301-8968, or by email at editor@myowneditor.com.

01/20/13 POTLUCK GATHERING AND FUNDRAISER FOR BEN SCALES
On the evening of January 20th, you are invited to join Occupy Asheville for a potluck dinner and celebration at Rosetta's on Lexington Avenue, in honor of Ben Scales and his work for justice and freedom. We will begin the evening at 5:30 PM, and are asking everyone to bring a vegetarian dish to share. Rosetta's Kitchen restaurant will be hosting the event although the kitchen is closed on Sundays. There will not be food available for purchase, but there will be various tasty drinks offered for purchase. In addition to a delicious meal and good company, we are also planning some fun musical surprises and much more throughout the night! Hope to see you there! Time is 5:30 PM.

01/20/13 ETHICAL SOCIETY OF ASHEVILLE
“Emancipation Proclamation – one hundred and fifty years of words and deeds, progress and setbacks, and a continuing march toward justice” will be presented at the Sunday, January 20th meeting of the Ethical Society of Asheville, 2:00-3:30 PM at the Friends Meeting House, 227 Edgewood Road, Asheville. In honor of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s Birthday a panel of members of the Ethical Society of Asheville will discuss how the generations-long struggle for equality under the law and in society at large has impacted their lives. Discussion follows the presentation. All are welcome! For more information contact: asheville@aeu.org.

01/21/13 PEACE MARCH AND RALLY FOR JUSTICE IN HONOR OF MLK
The Peace March and Rally begin at 11:30 a.m. on Monday, Jan. 21 – the official King holiday – with a brief service at St. James AME Church on Hildebrand Street at Martin Luther King Boulevard downtown. Participants march to City-County Plaza at noon, where speakers and musicians join in a Rally for Justice. Occupy Asheville will participate and will meet at St. James AME Church at 11 AM.

01/21/13 SUPPORT THE ARC OF JUSTICE RALLY AND PARADE IN DC
http://www.stopthesewars.org/support-the-arc-of-justice-rally-and-parade/

01/21/13 to 01/25/13 MLK WEEK AT UNCA
Check http://msp.unca.edu/mlk2013 in January for a full list of activities.

01/22/13 THE PARCHMAN HOUR

Remembering the Past: Freedom Writer Vignettes. In the fiery first months of America's Civil Rights movement, waves of college students rode buses into the heart of the Deep South. Many were brutally attacked, arrested and imprisoned in Mississippi's notorious Parchman Farm Penitentiary. To help them endure, they invented "The Parchman Hour," a live variety show inspired by radio and TV programs. The Parchman Hour, a Mike Wiley production, brings to the stage powerful oral histories and conversations from the Freedom Riders including Stokely Carmichael, Martin Luther King Jr. and Robert Kennedy. Time is 8 PM and the location is Lipinsky Auditorium at UNCA. Free.

01/23/13 MLK WEEK KEYNOTE SPEAKER AT UNCA
“Looking to the Future” by Gwendolyn Boyd. Time is 7 PM and location is Lipinsky Auditorium. Free. Gwendolyn Boyd illustrates the relevance of Dr. King’s work today by combining science, education and service to create concrete change in her community and the world. She became the first African-American woman to earn an M.S. in mechanical engineering at Yale University. In the spirit of Dr. King, Boyd inspires change appropriate to our times. She is a prominent advocate for women’s equality and the recruitment of African Americans into science and engineering. Boyd has been recognized as one of the 100 Most Important Blacks in Technology by the Black Engineer of the Year Awards.

01/24/13 WNC ALLIANCE GLOBAL WARMING CHANGING COURSE CLASS
Register for WNCA’s new course! Global Warming: Changing Course is a six-session discussion course book exploring the history and science of global warming, personal values and habits as they relate to climate change, and personal actions to curb the effects of global warming. Introductory class on 1/24/13 followed by five more classes.  Cost is $35 for members, $40 for non-members. This will happen at the Battery Park Book Exchange & Champagne Bar. To register please call course leader, Rachel Moore, at 828-258-8737 or email rachel@wnca.org by Jan. 18.

01/25/12 HOMELESS NETWORK PARADE IN ASHEVILLE
This event is in defense of the rights of our homeless brothers and sisters here in Asheville and a rejection of the criminalization of homelessness the City has overseen throughout the past three-four years. The Parade will begin at Pritchard Park at 2 PM and march to Vance Memorial where speakers from the homeless community will speak.

01/28/13 to 03/15/13 BUILDING BRIDGES SEMINAR
The Mission of Building Bridges is to enable our community to confront and overcome racism through a continuing process of changing attitudes and hearts through education, consciousness-raising, nurturing, and ongoing support. Our goal is to be intentional in respecting diversity within our community. This seminar is an introduction to the dynamics of racism and is an opportunity to explore how race has impacted our relationships, communities and institutions. Past participants are welcome. Time is 7 PM to 9 PM on Monday evenings, and location is MAHEC at 121 Hendersonville Road in Asheville.  Cost is $30. Registration is limited; please call 828-777-4585 for an application form.

01/28/13 PUBLIC SAFETY MEETING
Public Safety meeting regarding Asheville City Council member Cecil Bothwell’s civil liberties resolution Monday Jan 28th at 3PM.  This is at Asheville Fire Station, downtown, on the 2nd floor. This resolution states that Asheville police will not comply with federal statutes regarding targeting and arrest of undocumented workers.

02/01/13 ASHEVILLE-BUNCOMBE FOOD POLICY COUNCIL MEETING
The Asheville-Buncombe Food Policy Council (A/B FPC) collaborated with the Sustainability Advisory Committee on Energy and the Environment (SACEE) to create the first City of Asheville Food Action Plan. To find out more about this, or to help them with their goal of improving the city’s food security, please come to the meeting at the Mountain View Room at the UNCA Sherrill Center. Meeting is from 4 to 6 PM.

02/04/13 GREEN PARTY MEETING
The Buncombe County GREEN Party's business meeting is open to the public. It is held on the first Monday of the Month. It will be held at 6 PM in the Fortune Building (upstairs), at 729 Haywood Rd., West Asheville. Parking in back and on the street. Contact Ronald @ 828-LUCK-180 or Larry @ 828-225-4347 for more information.

02/06/13 SIERRA CLUB MEETING

02/07/13 VETERANS FOR PEACE MEETING
Time is 6:30 PM and location is VFP HQ at the Phil Mechanic Studios: 109 Roberts Street in Asheville. VFP Chapter 099: http://vfpchapter099wnc.blogspot.com/

02/14/13 ONE BILLION RISING IN ASHEVILLE
On V-Day’s 15th Anniversary, 2.14.13, we are inviting ONE BILLION women and those who love them to WALK OUT, DANCE, RISE UP, and DEMAND an end to violence against women.. ONE BILLION RISING will move the earth, activating women and men across every country. V-Day wants the world to see our collective strength, our numbers, our solidarity across borders. This event will take place from 7 to 10 PM and location will be the YWCA on South French Broad Avenue in Asheville.

*******************************************
ONGOING EVENTS
*******************************************
MONDAY
Occupy Asheville Weekly Meeting at 6:30 PM at First Congregational Church of Christ.

TUESDAY
Veterans for Peace have a weekly vigil at 4:30 PM at Pack Square, Vance Monument

WEDNESDAY
Haywood Peace Vigilers have a weekly vigil at 4 PM at Haywood Country Courthouse in Waynesville.

THURSDAY
Asheville Homeless Network meeting at 2 PM at Firestorm Cafe.
Anti-racism Group Discussion at 5:30 PM on the third Thursday of the month at Firestorm Cafe.
Veterans for Peace Discussion group on the third Thursday of the month at the Phil Mechanic Studio on Roberts Street, Asheville. Time is 6:30 PM.

FRIDAY
Women in Black have a vigil at 5 PM at Pack Square (Asheville) on the first Friday of the month.
Women in Black have a weekly vigil at noon at the City Hall in Hendersonville
Homeless Network Parade on the last Friday of the month at 2 PM at Pritchard Park.

SATURDAY
Transylvanians for Peace and WNC Physicians for Social Responsibility have a weekly vigil at noon in front of the courthouse in Brevard.
Occupy Asheville General Assembly on the first Saturday of the month. 4 PM at Pritchard Park.
Really, Really Free Market on the last Saturday of the month from 11 to 3 PM at Aston Park.

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ACTIONS AND READINGS
*******************************************
Friends of the Appalachian Mountains,

This March, you are invited to join us in Appalachia for Mountain Justice Spring Break!
www.mountainjustice.org

Since 2007, Mountain Justice Spring Break has been offering students and young people an exciting, fun, low-cost alternative spring break in Appalachia. Mountain Justice Spring Break is a chance to learn more about how extractive industries like coal, hydro-fracking for natural gas and nuclear energy have sucked billions of dollars in resources from the land, while leaving behind environmental and social problems and a ravaged land.

At Mountain Justice Spring Break you will:
-Learn about and take action against the destructive effects of the dirty life-cycles of coal and natural gas!
-Stand in solidarity with the communities in Virginia, West Virginia and southwest Pennsylvania facing the ongoing destruction of coal mining and hydraulic fracturing!
-See mountaintop removal coal mining and hydraulic fracturing natural gas extraction up close!
-Take direct action against the dirty coal industry!

Mountain Justice Spring Break (MJSB) will bring together coalfield residents, college students, environmentalists and concerned citizens. You don’t have to be an expert about coal mining or fracking or Appalachia - our program will teach you the intricacies of resource extraction and you will leave with a better understanding of why Appalachia is a rich land with poor people.

******************

On the death of Aaron Swartz

From the official statement of Swartz's family:
"Aaron's death is not simply a personal tragedy. It is the product of a criminal justice system rife with intimidation and prosecutorial overreach. Decisions made by officials in the Massachusetts US Attorney's office and at MIT contributed to his death. The US Attorney's office pursued an exceptionally harsh array of charges, carrying potentially over 30 years in prison, to punish an alleged crime that had no victims. Meanwhile, unlike JSTOR, MIT refused to stand up for Aaron and its own community's most cherished principles."

Gun (lobby) safety

Pay Attention

Upcoming events for the week of January 6, 2013

UPCOMING EVENTS

01/08/13 JUSTICE FRIENDS’ NIGHT
Kicking off a regular social event to be held at Firestorm Cafe. This is an informal gathering of Greens together with other folks in the Asheville community, people with an activist mindset who are interested in topics related to justice. This is a discussion group and a social event. Time is 7 PM.

01/08/13 PUBLIC LECTURE ON THE EMANCIPATION PROCLAMATION
The Autumn Players will commemorate the 150th anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation with a presentation by retired foreign service officer Patrick Killough at the Swannanoa Library.  Time is 4 PM and this event is open to all and is free. More info at 250-6486.

01/09/13 NC UTILITIES COMMISSION PUBLIC HEARING
Support solar power (near Black Mountain) by coming to the NC Utilities Commission public hearing on Jan 9 at 7 PM at District Courtroom 1 in the basement of the Buncombe County Courthouse, 60 Court Plaza, Asheville.

01/11/13 MARCH ON WASHINGTON DC AGAINST GUANTANAMO
Orange jumpsuits optional. http://www.witnesstorture.org
   “They are artists of torture,
   They are artists of pain and fatigue,
   They are artists of insults and humiliation.
   Where is the world to save us from torture?
   Where is the world to save us from the fire and sadness?
   Where is the world to save the hunger strikers?”
   -Adnan Latif (found dead in his cell at Guantanamo, Sept. 8, 2012)

01/12/13 PROTEST DRONE BOMBINGS
This will be held at CIA headquarters in Virginia.  

01/12/13 WEST BUNCOMBE HARD-TO-RECYCLE EVENT
Aaron’s at 1298 Patton Avenue, Asheville from 11 to 3 PM. No early or late drop offs. Snow date is 01/19/13. If you can give them a hand, call Gail at 298-0538. ACCEPTED ITEMS: hard plastics, books, cardboard, electronics ($6 handling fee for tabletop TV’s 32” or smaller & CRT’s), printer cartridges, batteries, Styrofoam and packaging, small appliances, metals, wire, used cooking oil, usable and unusable clothing, pet/animal sanctuary items, plastic storage bins, empty shoeboxes, cat & dog crates, spices, beef & chicken bouillon, prescription eyeglasses, personal care/beauty item containers, toothpaste tubes/pumps, lotion & other soft tubes; lipstick & other hard tubes, powder & other plastic cosmetic cases, chip and snack bags.

01/15/13 TRANSITION ASHEVILLE PERMACULTURE POTLUCK SERIES
Time is 5:30 PM and location is the Community Action Opportunities at 25 Gaston Street. Free and open to the public. For more information contact Dylan at livingvision@yahoo.com.

01/15/13 SAFE CAROLINAS PRESENTATION
We have arranged a great opportunity for you to learn about the radioactive waste issue that still plagues our country. Please join us as we hear from the experts about the landmark lawsuit won by Blue Ridge Environmental Defense League. We will also hear about what Congress is up to on this waste, how it affects WNC and our next steps for civic participation. Lou Zeller, Executive Director, Blue Ridge Environmental Defense League, and Mary Olson, Southeast Director, Nuclear Information Resource Services, will speak. Location is North Asheville Library at 7 PM.

01/17/12 YOUTH CELEBRATION, PEACE MARCH AND RALLY
This will include a candlelight service.  The Youth Celebration begins at 4 PM at Lipinsky Auditorium. This is hosted by the Martin Luther King, Jr. Association of Asheville and Buncombe County.

01/18/12 WNC PHYSICIANS FOR SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY MEETING
The next WNC PSR monthly meeting will be at a private home near the VA Hospital.  Brown Bag lunch at noon with meeting from 12:30 to 2 PM.  Everyone is welcome.  Please go to www.wncpsr.org  for more information, which includes how to get there and other details.

01/19/13 MARTIN LUTHER KING PRAYER BREAKFAST
The Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Association of Asheville and Buncombe County will hold its 32nd annual Prayer Breakfast at the Grove Park Inn on Saturday, January 19, 2013. The guest speaker is Dr. Tyrone Bledsoe. Dr. Bledsoe is founder and Executive Director of the Student African American Brotherhood (SAAB), a national organization that works on behalf of African American and Latino males in middle schools, high schools, colleges, and universities. The former Vice President for Student Life and Special Assistant to the President at the University of Toledo, he has served at a guest lecturer at the Oxford University Roundtable Institute in Oxford, England. Tickets to the breakfast cost $30 for adults; $15 for children 12 and under; and $35 for patrons. The breakfast begins at 8:30 AM.  Tickets can be ordered by telephone at 828-335-6896 or 828-301-8968, or by email at editor@myowneditor.com.

01/20/13 OCCUPY ASHEVILLE PARTY AND FUNDRAISER
This will be a potluck at Rosetta’s Kitchen and will start at 5 PM. It is also a fundraiser for Ben Scales, Attorney, who has helped many of the Occupy people who were arrested. More details to come.

01/21/13 PEACE MARCH AND RALLY FOR JUSTICE IN HONOR OF MLK
The Peace March and Rally begin at 11:30 a.m. on Monday, Jan. 21 – the official King holiday – with a brief service at St. James AME Church on Hildebrand Street at Martin Luther King Boulevard downtown. Participants march to City-County Plaza at noon, where speakers and musicians join in a Rally for Justice. Occupy Asheville will participate.

01/21/13 SUPPORT THE ARC OF JUSTICE RALLY AND PARADE IN DC
http://www.stopthesewars.org/support-the-arc-of-justice-rally-and-parade/

01/21/13 to 01/25/13 MLK WEEK AT UNCA
Check http://msp.unca.edu/mlk2013 in January for a full list of activities.

01/23/13 MLK WEEK KEYNOTE SPEAKER AT UNCA
“Looking to the Future” by Gwendolyn Boyd. Time is 7 PM and location is Lipinsky Auditorium. Free. Gwendolyn Boyd illustrates the relevance of Dr. King’s work today by combining science, education and service to create concrete change in her community and the world. She became the first African-American woman to earn an M.S. in mechanical engineering at Yale University. In the spirit of Dr. King, Boyd inspires change appropriate to our times. She is a prominent advocate for women’s equality and the recruitment of African Americans into science and engineering. Boyd has been recognized as one of the 100 Most Important Blacks in Technology by the Black Engineer of the Year Awards.

01/25/12 HOMELESS NETWORK PARADE IN ASHEVILLE
This event is in defense of the rights of our homeless brothers and sisters here in Asheville and a rejection of the criminalization of homelessness the City has overseen throughout the past three-four years. The Parade will begin at Pritchard Park at 2 PM and march to Vance Memorial where speakers from the homeless community will speak.

01/28/13 to 03/15/13 BUILDING BRIDGES SEMINAR
The Mission of Building Bridges is to enable our community to confront and overcome racism through a continuing process of changing attitudes and hearts through education, consciousness-raising, nurturing, and ongoing support. Our goal is to be intentional in respecting diversity within our community. This seminar is an introduction to the dynamics of racism and is an opportunity to explore how race has impacted our relationships, communities and institutions. Past participants are welcome. Time is 7 PM to 9 PM on Monday evenings, and location is MAHEC at 121 Hendersonville Road in Asheville.  Cost is $30.  Registration is limited, please call 828-777-4585 for an application form.

02/01/13 ASHEVILLE-BUNCOMBE FOOD POLICY COUNCIL MEETING
The Asheville-Buncombe Food Policy Council (A/B FPC) collaborated with the Sustainability Advisory Committee on Energy and the Environment (SACEE) to create the first City of Asheville Food Action Plan. To find out more about this, or to help them with their goal of improving the city’s food security, please come to the meeting at the Mountain View Room at the UNCA Sherrill Center.  Meeting is from 4 to 6 PM.

02/14/13 ONE BILLION RISING
Global protest against violence directed at women. Rumors of a local event at YWCA. http://www.onebillionrising.org/pages/about-one-billion-rising

02/17/13 CLIMATE ACTION DAY IN DC
Click here to RSVP to tell the President to join us: act.350.org/signup/presidentsday

02/22/13 THE PARCHMAN HOUR AT UNCA
“Remembering the Past:  Freedom Rider Vignettes” at 8 PM at Lipinsky Auditorium. Free. In the fiery first months of America's Civil Rights movement, waves of college students rode buses into the heart of the Deep South. Many were brutally attacked, arrested and imprisoned in Mississippi's notorious Parchman Farm Penitentiary. To help them endure, they invented "The Parchman Hour," a live variety show inspired by radio and TV programs. The Parchman Hour, a Mike Wiley production, brings to the stage powerful oral histories and conversations from the Freedom Riders including Stokely Carmichael, Martin Luther King Jr. and Robert Kennedy.

*******************************************
ONGOING EVENTS
*******************************************
TUESDAY
Veterans for Peace have a weekly vigil at 4:30 PM at Pack Square, Vance Monument

WEDNESDAY
Haywood Peace Vigilers have a weekly vigil at 4 PM at Haywood Country Courthouse in Waynesville.

THURSDAY
Asheville Homeless Network meeting at 2 PM at Firestorm Cafe.
Anti-racism Group Discussion at 5:30 PM on the third Thursday of the month at Firestorm Cafe.

FRIDAY
Women in Black have a vigil at 5 PM at Pack Square (Asheville) on the first Friday of the month.
Women in Black have a weekly vigil at noon at the City Hall in Hendersonville

SATURDAY
Transylvanians for Peace and WNC Physicians for Social Responsibility have a weekly vigil at noon in front of the courthouse in Brevard.
Occupy Asheville General Assembly on the first Saturday of the month. 4 PM at Pritchard Park.
Really, Really Free Market on the last Saturday of the month from 11 to 3 PM at Aston Park.

Veterans for Peace Demand to Keep Troops Out of Africa

From National Veterans for Peace:
Newly publicized U.S. plans to send troops into 35 African nations should result in red flags being raised from the U.S. public, the Congress, and active-duty members of the U.S. military. Though these plans call for small, short-term deployments to serve in an advisory and training capacity, Veterans For Peace is concerned that the creation of AFRICOM in general, and these deployments in particular, represent the proverbial nose of the camel under the tent.

The creation of the United States Africa Command (AFRICOM) in 2007 completed the set of U.S. military unified combatant commands, joining EUCOM, NORTHCOM, SOUTHCOM, CENTCOM and PACOM to ensure total global military domination. The U.S. has over 700 military bases across the world in more than 150 countries. In 2007, Chalmers Johnson likened the U.S. military presence to the British Empire in 1898 and the Roman Empire in 117 AD.

The U.S. Congress has not formally declared war on any country in Africa, nor has the United Nations authorized any U.S. military actions. U.S. military actions thus far have worked against peace and against the well-being of Africans. Mali has been destabilized in part by NATO's actions in Libya, and yet the threat of Mali to further destabilize its region is being used as a justification to repeat the West's mistakes there. The threat of terrorist groups already strengthened across Western Asia and parts of Africa by counterproductive U.S. war making, including drone strikes, is being used to justify sending troops into Kenya and Somalia, with disastrous results tragically predictable.

There is not a country on the planet that would give any African country a reference letter in support of U.S. military intervention. Africans have not requested it. What Africa needs is freedom from debt, reparations for the damage of past interference, and freely given aid in developing sustainable economies and eradicating diseases.

What appears to be driving the agenda of AFRICOM is Washington's desire to control regions rich in oil and other natural resources, including cheap labor. Were U.S. intentions honorable and humanitarian, it would cease its support for brutality in Bahrain, Gaza, Yemen, Afghanistan, Somalia, and elsewhere. It would halt the practice of attacking nations with drones and other missile strikes, a form of warfare that has now proven itself to increase, rather then decrease, hostility and violence. It would end sales of weaponry abroad, end the use of private mercenaries, and abandon the training of foreign militaries.
The United States is spending $170 billion per year already to station troops abroad. That price tag will only increase with the establishment of a major U.S. presence in the majority of the nations of Africa. The level of funding expended in recent years on wars that have not benefitted the people of Iraq, Afghanistan, and Libya could have been used far more humanely and beneficially to provide every person in those nations and the rest of the world with life-sustaining resources. U.N. Millennium Development Goals could be met for the world at a cost of about 10% of U.S. military spending.* That such an opportunity has been consciously passed by becomes painfully clear when we consider that U.S. military spending has doubled in the past 12 years.

The United States could do much for the world by example rather than coercion. Our nation is the most violent among the so-called developed nations, and yet the most eager to impose itself on others for their supposed benefit. Our nation is the most unequal and suffers the greatest poverty among the wealthy nations of the world, and yet our government intends to help the poor of the world by sending in soldiers and guns. Our nation has the most expensive and one of the least effective of healthcare industries, but claims the moral authority to impose armed control on sections of the world in desperate need of healthcare.

Veterans For Peace demands a reprioritization of our public resources. Veterans For Peace demands that all U.S. troops stay out of Africa, that all U.S. military bases on foreign soil be closed, and that the U.S. cease creating new military bases outside of its own borders. AFRICOM, as well as the other five geographical unified combatant commands should be dismantled, not enlarged.

Israel and Iran - A Love Story

Bugger the Bankers and Politicians

December 2012 News

2012 is the deadliest year for Journalists since Reporters Without Borders started tracking this. 88 journalists and 47 citizen journalists killed. http://fr.rsf.org/IMG/pdf/bilanannuelgb.pdf

Congo –M 23 Rebels in DR Congo pull out of Goma. December 2, 2012.  [They will be back.]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-20565711

Congo – Rwanda has been charged with “sponsoring, arming and commanding the insurgent M23 forces” in the DR Congo. More than 500,000 people fled their homes in the ensuing unrest.  Rwanda is interested in Congo territory which is rich in valuable minerals. [And Susan Rice covers up the US support for this.] http://therealnews.com/t2/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=31&Itemid=74&jumival=9234 and http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-20585179

USA – Pentagon is planning on doubling the size of its worldwide spy network and report to the CIA. [Here’s hoping they spy on the CIA and FBI.] http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/dec/02/pentagon-double-spy-network-cia

USA – Now it is officially okay to kill children. US military approves bombing children. http://www.thenation.com/blog/171582/us-military-approves-bombing-children

CIA – Looks like the Bay of Pigs history may not remain secret, even though the CIA and Justice Department argued that release of draft history would “confuse the public”.  http://www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/news/20121207/

USA – Obama administration formally recognizes Syrian rebels as legitimate representative of the Syrian people, and they will move arms to use against the Assad regime.  [Recommended reading – they are delusional!] http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/middle_east/dozens-killed-in-attack-in-central-syria/2012/12/11/021d3440-43d6-11e2-8061-253bccfc7532_story.html

USA – While Judge rules that what the US government is actually doing in Guantanamo should remain a secret [http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2012/12/12-7], a European court ruled that the CIA was guilty of torture and rape (sodomy) of an innocent man. http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/feedarticle/10571296

USA – US to sell Israel munitions to renew stock after Operation Pillar of Defense. [First, they are giving them the money to “buy” the munitions and calling it “foreign aid”.] http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/u-s-to-sell-israel-munitions-to-renew-stock-after-operation-pillar-of-defense.premium-1.484114

USA – HSBC bankers get no jail time for massive terrorist financing while Somali immigrant sentenced for small charity donation that unknowingly reached terrorists. In December 2010, Yusuf was one of four Somalis being prosecuted for giving money to people in Somalia. Local Somalis skeptical of the prosecutions, like Bashir Hassan, expressed the feeling that the government was criminalizing Muslims.

http://dissenter.firedoglake.com/2012/12/16/hsbc-executives-get-no-jail-time-for-terrorist-financing-while-somali-sentenced-for-giving/

USA – State Department very concerned about air bombing of Palestinians –AS LONG AS THEY ARE IN SYRIA. [In Gaza, not so much.] http://www.state.gov/r/pa/prs/ps/2012/12/202109.htm

USA – The Torture Chronicles.  A classified US Senate Intelligence Committee report shows the futility of “enhanced interrogation techniques”.

http://www.theamericanconservative.com/articles/the-torture-chronicle/

USA – It is official now – the Obama administration, like the Bush administration before him, does kidnapping.  But these lucky guys will at least get a trial after they were abducted and brought to the USA. http://www.thebureauinvestigates.com/2012/12/22/missing-british-somali-man-reappears-in-new-york-court/

USA – Suicide is now the second leading cause of death in the US military. http://timemilitary.files.wordpress.com/2012/07/msmrsuicide2012-06.pdf

USA – Thirty percent of our population is white guys, yet they are accountable for 70% of all shootings in the last few decades. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/12/24/david-sirota-don-lemon-mass-shooter-black-male-thug-muslim-terrorist_n_2359605.html

USA – Deportations of undocumented immigrants in 2012 is new US record. [The fact is – we are a nation of immigrants. These policies show extreme moral rot.]  http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/2012/1224/Deportations-of-illegal-immigrants-in-2012-reach-new-US-record

USA – Senate approves military spending bill. [December 21, 2012 – no austerity for them!] http://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/22/us/senate-approves-military-spending-bill.html

USA – The US House of Representatives and Senate have agreed to fully finance building the capacity of the Afghan army and police by approving an amount of USD 5.7bn. http://www.wadsam.com/us-parliament-approves-usd-5-7bn-for-strengthening-afghan-forces-2341/

USA – FBI documents just obtained by the Partnership for Civil Justice Fund (PCJF) pursuant to the PCJF’s Freedom of Information Act demands reveal that from its inception, the FBI treated the Occupy movement as a potential criminal and terrorist threat even though the agency acknowledges in documents that organizers explicitly called for peaceful protest and did “not condone the use of violence” at occupy protests. http://www.justiceonline.org/commentary/fbi-files-ows.html

USA – HSBC is a banking giant that laundered nine billion dollars in drug money.  In our two-tiered justice system, they get a slap on the wrist. http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2012/dec/12/hsbc-prosecution-fine-money-laundering

USA – Your government is watching you!  http://www.allgov.com/news/top-stories/congress-at-last-minute-drops-requirement-to-obtain-warrant-to-monitor-email-121225?news=846578

USA – FISA extended! Again! http://rt.com/usa/news/senate-spying-intelligence-foreign-025/

USA – Massive sinkhole in Louisiana.  http://io9.com/5967858/the-bayou-corne-sinkhole-a-massive-oil-and-gas-disaster-youve-probably-never-heard-of/gallery/1

Africa – US deploying troops to 35 African countries. http://rt.com/usa/news/us-deploying-troops-order-749/

Canada – IDLE NO MORE.  Important protest movement from Native People to protect their rights and to protect the environment.  Many are joining in around the world.  http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/kevin-grandia/idle-no-more-theresa-spence_b_2360127.html

UK – Government pays Libyan dissident’s family over $2 million for MI6-aided rendition to Gaddafi.  The US was also involved in this rendition, torture and imprisonment.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2012/dec/13/libyan-dissident-mi6-aided-rendition

Pakistan – Four killed in US drone strike.  They were reportedly al Qaeda. [December 1, 2012] http://www.moneycontrol.com/news/wire-news/al-qaeda-cadre-among-4-killedus-drone-attackpakistan_789609.html

Pakistan – Three killed in US drone strike. Pakistani intelligence says they are suspected militants.  http://www.democracynow.org/2012/12/6/headlines

Pakistan – Gunmen shot dead five female health workers who were immunizing children against polio on Tuesday, causing the Pakistani government to suspend vaccinations in two cities and dealing a fresh setback to an eradication campaign dogged by Taliban resistance in a country that is one of the disease’s last global strongholds. [December 18, 2012] http://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/19/world/asia/attackers-in-pakistan-kill-anti-polio-workers.html

Pakistan – Three more anti-polio campaigners shot dead in Pakistan. [This is a tragedy, and it is the US government’s fault.] http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/dec/19/pakistan-polio

Pakistan – Drone kills four in North Waziristan. [December 21, 2012] http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2012\12\22\story_22-12-2012_pg7_10

Pakistan – Drone kills four in Waziristan. [December 28, 2012] http://tolonews.com/en/afghanistan/8884-4-insurgents-killed-in-us-drone-strike-in-pakistan

Pakistan – Twenty members of a tribal police force are kidnapped and killed. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-20865888

Pakistan – “US drones killed our grandmother” http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-20660443

Pakistan – Seventeen dead in car bomb attack in Peshawar.  http://www.latimes.com/news/world/worldnow/la-fg-wn-pakistan-car-bomb-kills-17-20121217,0,3550236.story

Jordan – Jordan’s Intelligence Service is helping rebels smuggle arms into Syria. http://english.farsnews.com/newstext.php?nn=9107123264

Environment – Carbon Dioxide emissions hit record level in 2011.  http://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/03/world/emissions-of-carbon-dioxide-hit-record-in-2011-researchers-say.html?hp

Environment – 2012 is the hottest, most extreme year in weather in US history.  http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2012/12/10/1307221/2012-is-the-hottest-most-extreme-year-in-us-history/?mobile=nc

Syria – Al Qaida-linked group that Syrian rebels once denied is key to anti-Assad victories.  Jabhat al Nusra, which U.S. officials believe has links to al Qaida, has become essential to the frontline operations of the rebels fighting to topple Assad. On a trip to Syria that spanned most of the month of November, a journalist found Nusra’s fighters on every frontline he visited. “When we finish with Assad, we will fight the U.S.!” one Nusra fighter shouted in the northeastern Syrian city of Ras al Ayn when he was told an American journalist present. He laughed as he said it and then got into a van and drove off, leaving the journalist unable to ask whether it had been a joke. [This group used to work in Iraq to kill Iraqis and US troops.] http://www.kansascity.com/2012/12/02/3945001/al-qaida-linked-group-syria-rebels.html

Syria – Turkish forces kill 13 Kurdish militants near Syria border.  December 5, 2012 http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2012/12/5/worldupdates/2012-12-05T111511Z_1_BRE8B40EV_RTROPTT_0_UK-TURKEY-KURDS-PKK&sec=Worldupdates

Syria – Lots of countries, including the USA, are accusing Assad of having chemical weapons and are accusing Assad’s father of using chemical weapons thirty years ago.  Both claims are pure lies.

Syria – Bashar al-Assad, Syria, and the truth about chemical weapons.  http://www.independent.co.uk/voices/comment/bashar-alassad-syria-and-the-truth-about-chemical-weapons-8393539.html

Syria – Parts of Damascus destroyed.  December 9, 2012. http://uk.reuters.com/video/2012/12/09/syrian-town-in-ruins-following-bombardme?videoId=239763487&videoChannel=117759

Syria – Syria’s war is anything its fighters want it to be. It is a class war of the suburban proletariat against a state army financed by the bourgeoisie. It is a sectarian war in which the Sunni Arab majority is fighting to displace an Alawi ruling class. It is a holy war of Sunni Muslims against all manifestations of Shiism, especially the Alawite variety. The social understandings on which Aleppo prided itself are unraveling. Muslim fundamentalists have targeted Christian churches and Shiite mosques. Arabs have fought Kurds. Iraqi Shiites and Sunnis have crossed the border to fight each other in Syria.  http://www.nybooks.com/articles/archives/2012/dec/20/aleppo-how-syria-being-destroyed/

Syria – Some terrorists in the FSA posted a video of child beheading unarmed officers in the regular Syrian army.  Video was quickly taken down.  http://rt.com/news/syria-weapons-opposition-us-746/  See also http://www.moonofalabama.org/2012/12/why-does-the-west-support-beheaders.html 

Syria – Interior ministry hit by explosives, including a car bomb. [The terrorists strike again – and those terrorists are the guys the Obama administration is supporting.] http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-20701263   

Syria – Head of new US-backed Syrian coalition endorse al Qaida-linked rebel faction. [So, the US government is friends with al Qaeda again! And the war on terror can continue forever! Long live terror!] http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2012/12/12/177244/head-of-new-us-backed-syrian-coalition.html 

Syria – 125 people reported killed in one day. December 12, 2012 http://rt.com/news/syria-village-killed-assad-880/

Syria – 159 people reported killed in one day. December 14, 2012 http://en.trend.az/news/politics/2098956.html

Syria – The United States and Germany are sending Patriot missiles and troops to the Turkish border, a warning to Syria's besieged President Assad. http://www.cnn.com/2012/12/14/world/meast/syria-civil-war/index.html 

Syria – Weeks before the Obama administration and other Western nations recognized a new Syrian opposition coalition as “the legitimate representative” of the Syrian people, Syrian rebels were receiving training in the use of light and heavy weapons with the backing of the Jordanian, British and U.S. governments, participants in the training have told McClatchy. The training took place as far back as October and involved hundreds of rebels. …  By November, another rebel said, the training had expanded to anti-tank weapons and Stinger anti-aircraft missiles. [What could go wrong?]  http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2012/12/14/177474/syrian-rebels-say-americans-britons.html 

Syria – Fighters from as many as 29 countries have filtered into Syria to join a civil war that has split along sectarian lines, increasingly pitting the ruling Alawite community against the majority Sunni Muslims, UN human rights investigators said today. http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/foreign-fighters-fuel-the-sectarian-flames-in-syria-8427986.html

Syria – Rebels big on looting.  http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/dec/27/syrian-rebels-scramble-spoils-war

Egypt – The IMF and World Bank and US government are leading efforts to lend a lot of money to Egypt and other neighboring states. [They want to see them under a huge crippling load of debt in order to control them.] http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/despite-turmoil-major-lending-effort-aims-to-boost-egypt-arab-neighbors/2012/12/10/117d16b4-3f2e-11e2-bca3-aadc9b7e29c5_story.html?hpid=z2

Egypt – Widespread claims of voting irregularities in the constitution election. Also claims of low turnout. http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/low-turnout-egypts-vote-raises-questions-18001316#.UM_aDHfNmSo

Turkey – NATO has approved the deployment of Patriot anti-missile batteries along Turkey's border with Syria. The long-expected move emerged from a meeting of Nato foreign ministers in Brussels, and amid growing fears that Syria could use chemical weapons. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-20590129

Afghanistan – British forces led a counter-insurgency operation in Afghanistan during which a 12-year-old boy and three teenagers were shot dead while they were drinking tea. http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2012/dec/04/british-forces-accused-killing-teenagers

Afghanistan – NATO forces stormed into a health clinic causing heavy damage, and then used it as a jail and command center.  Clinic was run by Swedish charity. [Geneva Conventions, anyone?] http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/dec/06/nato-forces-attacked-afghan-health-clinic

Afghanistan – 2012 was the year of the drone in Afghanistan. http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2012/12/2012-drones-afghanistan/

Afghanistan – Over 200 teenagers have been detained in the Afghan war by US troops. Average age was 16. http://seattletimes.com/html/nationworld/2019857959_apususafghanistanteensdetained.html

Afghanistan – The Obama surge was a failure.  http://www.defense.gov/news/1230_Report_final.pdf

Afghanistan – Nine girls killed by landmine. They were searching for firewood. [December 17, 2012] http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/10-afghan-girls-killed-by-blast/2012/12/17/dc50c214-482a-11e2-b6f0-e851e741d196_story.html

Afghanistan – The real center of the U.S. drone campaign is in plain sight — on the hot and open battlefield of Afghanistan. The American military has launched 333 drone strikes this year in Afghanistan. That’s not only the highest total ever, according to U.S. Air Force statistics. It’s essentially the same number of robotic attacks in Pakistan since the CIA-led campaign there began nearly eight years ago. In the last 30 days, there have been three reported strikes in Yemen. In Afghanistan, that’s just an average day’s worth of remotely piloted attacks. And the increased strikes come as the rest of the war in Afghanistan is slowing down. http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2012/11/drones-afghan-air-war/

Afghanistan – An Afghan policewoman walked into a high-security compound in Kabul Monday and killed an American contractor with a single bullet to the chest, the first such shooting by a woman in a spate of insider attacks by Afghans against their foreign allies. http://news.yahoo.com/afghan-policewoman-kills-us-adviser-kabul-110131144.html

Afghanistan – A British prince kills an Afghan Taliban commander in October. [And history repeats itself.] http://www.channel24.co.za/Gossip/News/Prince-Harry-kills-Taliban-chief-20121224

Afghanistan – Seventeen Afghan police killed while asleep. Eight killed by a teenage boy they kept “for sexual purposes”. [No wonder the Afghans think the Taliban are better than the police!] http://www.twincities.com/national/ci_22271460/betrayed-while-asleep-17-afghan-policemen-killed

Afghanistan – Overall violence is down, and insider attacks are up. Violence is still higher than before the “surge”, however. http://bigstory.ap.org/article/afghan-violence-falls-2012-insider-attacks

Afghanistan – Record number of Afghan soldiers killed (over 1,000) in 2012. NATO is aiming to train up 350,000 Afghan soldiers and police by the end of 2014 to ensure stability in Afghanistan, but challenges remain in the transition process. Desertions, poor re-enlistment rates and low morale are among the key problems troubling Afghan and NATO commanders. http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/International/2012/Dec-30/200375-record-number-of-afghan-soldiers-killed-in-2012.ashx#ixzz2GZwHEQuj

Afghanistan – UN appeals for Afghan refugee aid as harsh winter proves deadly. At least two children have already died from cold in camps for tens of thousands internally displaced. [Last year, more than 100 children died in the camps from the cold.] http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/dec/31/un-appeals-afghan-refugee-aid

Libya – Weapons sent to Libyan Rebels with US Approval [and] Fell Into Islamist Hands. [Guess the US likes helping al Qaeda!] http://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/06/world/africa/weapons-sent-to-libyan-rebels-with-us-approval-fell-into-islamist-hands.html

Libya – Libya in need of complete rebuilding. In short, as a veteran Libyan activist said, the ordinary people are losing faith in both rebels and leaders who can’t sort out the chaotic state of the country.

http://gulfnews.com/news/region/libya/libya-in-need-of-complete-rebuilding-1.1120203

Israel – The UN calls on Israel to open nuclear facilities to inspection and join the NPT.  http://www.boston.com/news/world/middle-east/2012/12/04/calls-israel-open-nuclear-facilities/YMgLIbPvX9jwbkPplJAXMP/story.html

Israel – Continues with East Jerusalem building plan. [5,000 new homes in occupied territory!] http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/israel-evict-settlers-hebron-homes-17996683#.UM_ZgnfNmSo

Israel – What ceasefire?  Israeli soldiers shoot five Palestinians in latest in series of violations. http://mondoweiss.net/2012/12/ceasefire-palestinians-violations.html  

Israel – Israel's policy on issuing guns is restrictive, and armed guards at its schools are meant to stop terrorists, not crazed or disgruntled gunmen, experts said Monday, rejecting claims by America's top gun lobby that Israel serves as proof for its philosophy that the U.S. needs more weapons, not fewer. http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/israel-rejects-us-gun-lobby-claims-security-18057515#.UNz6IHfNmSp

Israel – Suicide is the primary cause of death in the IDF for the past three years. [In 2012, US soldier suicides outnumbered combat deaths.] http://www.haaretz.com/news/national/idf-suicide-is-the-primary-cause-of-death-among-israeli-soldiers.premium-1.491086

Bahrain – Government strips citizenship from protestors. Protests continue.

Yemen – Thousands rally against US meddling and drone strikes in their country.  This happens almost every week. http://www.strategic-culture.org/news/2012/12/08/thousands-yemenis-rally-saada-protest-against-us-meddling.html  

Yemen – When US drones kill civilians, Yemen’s government tries to conceal it. Furious tribesmen tried to take the bodies to the gates of the presidential residence, forcing the government into the rare position of withdrawing its assertion that militants had been killed. [38 drones strikes in 2012 in Yemen.]  http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/middle_east/when-us-drones-kill-civilians-yemens-government-tries-to-conceal-it/2012/12/24/bd4d7ac2-486d-11e2-8af9-9b50cb4605a7_print.html

Yemen - At least five people were killed in two drone strikes in south Yemen on Monday [December 24] in what security and local officials said were attacks on suspected Al Qaida-linked insurgents. [In Syria and Lybia, the US is arming, funding and training al Qaida-linked insurgents.]  http://gulfnews.com/news/gulf/yemen/5-killed-in-drone-strikes-1.1123427

Yemen – Two more killed in drone strikes in eastern region of Hadramout. [December 28, 2012] http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2012/12/29/worldupdates/2012-12-28T154505Z_1_BRE8BR0CR_RTROPTT_0_UK-YEMEN-DRONE&sec=Worldupdates

Yemen – Yet another drone strike, the fourth this week.  Three killed, allegedly al Qaeda. This makes a total of 53 drone strikes in 2012. 

http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2012/12/20121230657116703.html

Yemen – The number of American airstrikes in Yemen, largely carried out by unmanned drones, has surged over the past year, as much as tripling in frequency in comparison with 2011. “They’re having a huge effect in how people see the U.S.,” said Intisar al Qadhi, a political activist who’s the daughter of a prominent tribal leader from the province of Mareb, the site of numerous drone strikes. “When we think about America, we see an image of a plane, dropping bombs on our people.”

http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2012/12/27/178476/us-drone-strikes-in-yemen-increase.html 

Yemen – At least 223 people killed by 40 US drone strikes in 2012. http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/regions/middle-east/121231/us-drone-strikes-kill-223-yemen-this-year

Lebanon – Sectarian clashes continue for sixth day. This is a spill-over from Syria. December 9, 2012 http://uk.reuters.com/video/2012/12/09/clashes-rage-in-lebanons-tripoli?rpc=401&videoId=239761402&feedType=VideoRSS

Lebanon – North Lebanon clashes kill 17. http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Local-News/2012/Dec-09/197791-higher-defense-council-addresses-north-lebanon-clashes.ashx#axzz2Efvxdm4K

Lebanon – The patchwork of Sunni Muslim and Shiite villages arrayed along the northern border with Syria are heavily embroiled in the protracted struggle there, but with a distinctive twist. Fighters from Hezbollah, the militant Lebanese Shiite movement, cross the frontier to fight for Syria’s president, Bashar al-Assad, who is Alawite and whose sect dominates the government. Sunni Muslims sneak over to join the opposition. Once back home in the Bekaa Valley in Lebanon, however, both sides observe an uneasy truce. [This war is going to spread.] http://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/20/world/middleeast/lebanons-shiites-and-sunnis-fight-in-syria-but-not-at-home.html?hpw&_r=0

Iraq – More than two dozen dead in second day of Iraq violence. [December 17, 2012]

http://news.blogs.cnn.com/2012/12/17/24-killed-in-iraq-attacks/

Iraq – Massive rallies in Sunni dominated areas against the current government. They are claiming sectarian policies and a lack of civil rights. This has been going on for at least a week. http://www.aljazeera.com/news/europe/2012/12/2012122875346526845.html

Iraq – Series of bombings kill 22 and wounds many more across Iraq. [December 31, 2012] http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-20873875

Mali – UN Security Council has authorized an African-led military force to try to oust Islamists from northern Mali. [And so the war on Mali begins. Another country will be destroyed.] http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-20801094

Mexico – More than 20,000 missing in Mexico in past six years.  http://bigstory.ap.org/article/more-20000-missing-mexico-past-6-years

Sudan – Fighting between South Sudan's army and a militia led by a self-proclaimed prophet killed 24 people in an eastern region where France's Total and other foreign oil groups are hoping to explore large concessions, the military said. http://www.news24.com/Africa/News/24-killed-in-South-Sudan-clashes-20121219 

UAE – Eight online activists arrested in UAE. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-20768205

CAR – Rebels in Central African Republic take city of Sibut in their march toward the capital of Bangui.  http://www.aljazeera.com/news/africa/2012/12/20121229162438891450.html

And a Happy New Year!