Link: http://www.independent.org:80/newsroom/article.asp?id=2531

Barack Obama’s reaction to the mass protests and violence in Iran shows he is following through on his pledge to be more like George H.W. Bush rather than his son, George W. Bush. Obama has admired the father’s realism and has criticized the idealistic neo-conservatism of the son. But is realism a better foreign policy for the United States?

Link: http://onlinejournal.com/artman/publish/article_4853.shtml

On June 17, the House Appropriations Subcommittee on State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs held a “mark-up” session on the budget. The subcommittee came under pressure from an antiwar group that sought to suspend or condition foreign aid over Israel’s use of US weapons which left 3000 Palestinians dead during the Bush administration. The subcommittee held its session in a tiny Capitol room denying activists and members of the press access. The budget quickly passed and is now before the full House Appropriations Committee. Israel enjoys “unusually wide infinite latitude in spending the [military assistance] funds,” according to the Wall Street Journal.

Link: http://haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1096322.html

A West Bank checkpoint managed by a private security company is not allowing Palestinians to pass through with large water bottles and some food items, Haaretz has learned. HaAretz: Red Cross: Israel trapping 1.5m Gazans in despair. ICRC: Gaza: 1.5 million people trapped in despair.

Link: http://www.uruknet.com/?p=m55547&hd=&size=1&l=e

"A forensic examiner found that he (the prisoner) had essentially been crucified; he died from asphyxiation after having been hung by his arms, in a hood, and suffering broken ribs," the magazine's Jane Mayer writes in the magazine's June 22nd issue. "Military pathologists classified the case a homicide." The date of the murder was not given.

Link: http://www.andyworthington.co.uk/2009/06/27/mohammed-el-gharani-guantanamos-youngest-prisoner-speaks-to-al-jazeera/

Speaking for the first time since his release from Guantánamo after seven years’ imprisonment without charge or trial, following a successful habeas corpus appeal in January, Mohammed El-Gharani, now a free man in Chad, told Mohamed Vall of al-Jazeera, in an exclusive interview, how he felt about being imprisoned from the age of 14 to the age of 21.

Link: http://www.wsws.org/articles/2009/jun2009/inde-j29.shtml

The Obama administration is drafting an executive order that would give the US president the power to arrest without charge, and imprison indefinitely without trial, foreign nationals it accuses of being terrorists, according to several senior government officials who spoke with the Washington Post and a reporter for non-profit news source ProPublica on condition of anonymity. The order, should it be released, would likely reuse arguments made by the previous administration of George W. Bush that the laws of war allow the executive branch to disregard the established judicial system and domestic laws and rights, such as those guaranteed in the Bill of Rights.

Link: http://www.venezuelanalysis.com/analysis/4554

The text message that beeped on my cell phone this morning read "Alert, Zelaya has been kidnapped, coup d'etat underway in Honduras, spread the word." It's a rude awakening for a Sunday morning, especially for the millions of Hondurans that were preparing to exercise their sacred right to vote today for the first time on a consultative referendum concerning the future convening of a constitutional assembly to reform the constitution. Aangirfan: CIA TOPPLES HONDURAN PRESIDENT TO PROTECT DRUGS TRADE? Rebel Report: Live report from Tegucigalpa, Honduras (Video). + A Few Thoughts on the Coup in Honduras.

Link: http://www.russiatoday.com/Top_News/2009-06-16/Billionaire_Madoff_tied_to_intelligence_agencies.html?fullstory

Wayne Madsen Report spoke to a former close aide to Madoff who related how he handled a number of transactions personally for Madoff. The source said that Madoff was running a special type of "pump and dump" scheme. The source said Madoff would "pump money out of the system and dump it out to another place." When asked what that "other place" was, the source replied, "Israel."

Link: http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2009/jun/29/bernard-madoff-fraud-court

The 71-year-old fraudster faces up to 150 years in prison over $65bn Ponzi fraud. Bernard Madoff will face some of his victims today before being sentenced to up to 150 years in prison for his $65bn (£39.5bn) fraud. The convicted fraudster will learn his fate at a hearing in New York scheduled to start at 10am local time (3pm BST). Assistant US attorney, Marc Litt, said the "scope, duration and nature" of Madoff's activities mean the disgraced 71-year-old should receive the maximum sentence of 150 years, or failing that an effective life sentence.

Link: http://trifter.com/asia-pacific/pakistan/kashmir-where-nature-sits-in-the-lap-of-lord/

“If there is to be heaven on earth, it is here” said the poignant Mughal king Akbar commenting on the picturesque landscape of Kashmir. Kashmir evokes awe-inspiring response from an incessant flurry of tourists. The place is covered with such natural splendor that it may take many lives to soak it entirely. With the mighty Himalayas looming over it and the hills of Karakoram and Nanda Devi adding to the effect, the place looks seeped in beauty. River Lidder, Jhelum and Chenab augment the impact of beauty.