Link: http://rawstory.com/08/news/2009/08/18/israelis-furious-over-swedish-papers-claim-of-palestinian-organ-theft/

The claims were so offensive to Israeli officials, they ordered the nation’s embassy in Stockholm to demand the Swedish government condemn the paper, according to published reports. According to an Israeli press report, Donald Boström, a Palestinian man who writes for the daily Swedish newspaper Aftonbladet, claimed he was told of the atrocities by more than one unnamed United Nations official while working in the Gaza Strip. He further claims there may be a war crimes investigation in the works. Israeli publication Haaretz quoted a translated passage: “Our sons are used as involuntary organ donors,’ relatives of Khaled from Nablus said to me, as did the mother of Raed from Jenin as well as the uncles of Machmod and Nafes from Gaza, who all had disappeared for a few days and returned by night, dead and autopsied.” The story includes a ghastly photo, allegedly of a Palestinian man named Bilal Ahmad Ranian, who the writer claims was shot numerous times then rushed away, only to be returned to his family five days later, cut from chin-to-navel and stitched back up. Aftonbladet: ”Våra söner plundras på sina organ”: "Jag är vad ni kan kalla en ”matchmaker”, sa Levy Izhak Rosenbaum från Brooklyn, USA, i en hemlig inspelning med en FBI-agent som han trodde var en kund. Tio dagar senare, i slutet på juli i år arresterades Rosenbaum i samband med att en stor korruptionshärva avslöjades i New Jersey: rabbiner, folkvalda och betrodda tjänstemän hade i åratal sysslat med pengatvätt och illegal organhandel, vilket nu rullades upp likt ett Sopranos nätverk. Rosenbaums matchmaking handlade allltså inte om romantik, utan om att köpa och sälja njurar från Israel på svarta marknaden. Enligt egen utsago köper han organen från mindre bemedlade människor i Israel för 10 000 dollar och säljer dem till desperata patienter i USA för 160 000 dollar. Den lagliga väntetiden för njurar är i medeltal nio år." Google Automatic translation services were "unable" to piece together a legible English recounting. ("Sorry, we are unable to translate the page you requested.") -How convenient for Zionist-controlled Google! But (lo & behold) here's what Stars21 came up with: "I am what you might call a "match maker," said Levy Izhak Rosenbaum from Brooklyn, USA, in a secret recording with an FBI agent he thought was a customer. Ten days later, at the end of July this year Rosenbaum was arrested in connection with a large tangle of corruption uncovered in New Jersey: rabbis, elected and trusted officials had for years engaged in money laundering and illegal organ [traffic], which was now [being rolled] up like a Soprano network. Rosenbaums matchmaking was [therefore] not about romance but about buying and selling kidneys from Israel on the black market. According to its own statement, he buys bodies from the needy people in Israel for 10 $ 000 and sells them to desperate patients in the U.S. for 160 $ 000. The legal waiting time for kidneys is an average of nine years."

Link: http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/iraq/article6801571.ece

In the deadliest attack in Iraq this year, and the most audacious one in the capital for several more, truck and car bombs and mortar fire were directed against the main centres of power. The targets included the ministries of finance, foreign affairs, health and housing, as well as the Parliament and Cabinet buildings. Also hit was a checkpoint on the approach roads to the fortified Green Zone. Mission accomplished...

Link: http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5ik3FeeyI7bBJ_dR-u6FLPnuMbb0gD9A5905O0

A three-day tour of Israel, hosted by a far-right group of religious nationalists, is taking Huckabee to some of the most contentious hotspots in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict including a West Bank settlement outpost that even Israel's hard-line government considers illegal and an east Jerusalem housing project that the Obama administration has demanded be halted. Huckabee's opposition to a Palestinian state puts him at odds with the accepted wisdom of both Democrats and Republicans — and to some degree even with conservative Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has come out in favor of some form of Palestinian independence. Speaking to a small group of foreign reporters in Jerusalem, Huckabee, seen as a possible Republican presidential candidate in 2012, said the international community should consider establishing a Palestinian state some place else. The People's Voice: Israel threatens Lebanon and Obama.

Link: http://www.wsws.org/articles/2009/aug2009/econ-a19.shtml

Stock markets in the US and internationally declined sharply Monday before recouping some of their losses on Tuesday. The volatility reflects concerns that despite recent gross domestic product (GDP) growth registered by several major economies, the global economic crisis continues to deepen.

Link: http://www.philly.com/philly/news/homepage/20090818_Man_Tasered_in_stop_by_state_cops_dies.html

A Philadelphia man who was Tasered during a traffic stop Friday after he and his female companion allegedly assaulted state troopers, died from unknown causes Sunday morning at Crozer-Chester Medical Center. Inspired: 14 yr old Girl Tasered in the Head by Police Chief in New Mexico.

Link: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/aug/18/arctic-sea-hijacked-ship-russia

But the mystery surrounding the odyssey of the 4,000-tonne vessel, which vanished from radar three weeks ago after passing through the English Channel, deepened as the hijack saga petered out with no shots fired and no resistance apparent. The Russian defence minister, Anatoly Serdyukov, called it an act of piracy, but maritime experts questioned the official account, amid claims of a cover-up.

Link: http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article10719.shtml

Amnesty International has announced today that it will abstain from any involvement in the Leonard Cohen concert in Tel Aviv and will not be party to any fund that benefits from the concert's proceeds. A number of media accounts had reported that Amnesty International was to manage or otherwise partner in a fund created from the proceeds of Cohen's concert in Israel that would be used to benefit Israeli and Palestinian groups. Amnesty International's announcement today followed an international outcry over the human rights organization's reported involvement in the Leonard Cohen concert fund, and an earlier international call for Cohen to boycott apartheid Israel.

Link: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/aug/19/afghanistan-media-blackout-ordered

It was unclear how the government intended to enforce the ban and Rachel Reid, the Afghanistan researcher for Human Rights Watch, said freedom of expression is enshrined in the Afghan constitution. The head of the Afghan Independent Journalists' Association (AIJA) said the decrees would not stop Afghan and foreign journalists from providing information to the public during the crucial election period. "It shows the weakness of the government and we condemn such moves to deprive people from accessing news," Rahimullah Samander said. NYT: "Gunmen" In Bloody Kabul Siege on Eve Of PHONEY Afghan Election. EM / TPV: The US Denounces Iran While running fake elections in Afghanistan.

Link: http://www.economyincrisis.org/articles/show/3288

Niall Ferguson, a Harvard professor and economic historian, once coined the term “Chinamerica” (or sometimes “Chimerica”) to describe the intricately linked relationship between the United States and the People’s Republic. However, for nearly one year Ferguson has been discussing not the interlocking of the two countries, but rather their separation.

Link: http://www.economyincrisis.org/articles/show/3259

Let's have a look at the reported decline in the rate of unemployment. Do you believe that the U.S. auto industry added 28,000 jobs in July amidst the GM bankruptcy, sell-off and close-down of GM auto divisions, and demise of GM suppliers? No? Well, that's what the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported.

Link: http://blog.buzzflash.com/analysis/884

It turns out they're making more than just broilers and bacon on your local factory farm; they're growing germs that are resistant to antibiotics. And don't think your commitment to organics or vegetarianism will save you: Your exposure to these superbugs could depend on actions as innocuous as driving behind a truck bound for a Tyson slaughterhouse.

Link: http://kucinich.us/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=2806&Itemid=76

Kucinich: "I need your help to spread the word and rally the nation around true healthcare reform which covers everyone and maintains fiscal integrity without breaking our nation's bank! Your contribution will empower our efforts to continue to fight for the single-payer, not-for-profit health care bill, HR676 "Medicare for All," which I co-authored with John Conyers.. The bill now has 85 sponsors in the House."

Link: http://www.uruknet.com/?p=m57040&hd=&size=1&l=e

The US military has admitted that the Afghan resistance is spreading across the country. McChrystal [has] said that the occupation needs a "very significant expansion" of the Afghan army. There are currently some 100,000 foreign troops in the country. But the occupation needs to build the Afghan army to 400,000 troops—four times its current size. Global Research / The People's Voice: Surging towards a US-NATO Military Disaster: Obama's Escalating War in Central and South Asia. + STRUGGLE FOR KABUL: THE TALIBAN ADVANCE.

Link: http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0809/26173.html

As the Obama administration presses Israel to cease settlement expansion as part of a renewed push for a Middle East peace deal — a course of action that many Israelis have interpreted as evidence of the president’s favoritism towards Palestinians — Israelis have increasingly focused their disappointment not on Obama, but rather on his chief of staff, Rahm Emanuel.

Link: http://www.time.com/time/photogallery/0,29307,1903919.html

Photographer Tomas van Houtryve gets an extraordinarily unfilitered view of life inside the reclusive Asian nation.