Link: http://www.uruknet.com/index.php?p=m60750&hd=&size=1&l=e

The Public Committee Against Torture in Israel (PCATI) released today [2 December 2009] a new report which exposes the shifts in Israel's combat doctrine as evidenced in the prosecution of operation "Cast Lead" and from numerous public oral and written statements made by high ranking military officers and senior Israeli government officials. Download the full report (.pdf).

Link: http://www.jbs.org/jbs-news-feed/5705-patriot-act-renewal-moving-forward

Renewal of two controversial Patriot Act provisions set to expire at the end of the year have been approved by House and Senate Committees over the past month, and appear headed for floor votes in both bodies. President Obama has endorsed extending the provisions.

Link: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-469983/Britain-protecting-biggest-heroin-crop-time.html#ixzz0YambevQE

The key question is this: what are our servicemen dying for? There are glib answers to that: bringing democracy and development to Afghanistan, supporting the government of President Hamid Karzai in its attempt to establish order in the country, fighting the Taliban and preventing the further spread of radical Islam into Pakistan. But do these answers stand up to close analysis? In six years, the occupation has wrought one massive transformation in Afghanistan, a development so huge that it has increased Afghan GDP by 66 per cent and constitutes 40 per cent of the entire economy. That is a startling achievement, by any standards. Yet we are not trumpeting it. Why not? The answer is this. The achievement is the highest harvests of opium the world has ever seen.

The Taliban had reduced the opium crop to precisely nil. I would not advocate their methods for doing this, which involved lopping bits, often vital bits, off people. The Taliban were a bunch of mad and deeply unpleasant religious fanatics. But one of the things they were vehemently against was opium. The People's Voice: Afghan drug trafficking brings US $50 BILLION a year.

Link: http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=112821&sectionid=3510203

Democratic congressman Dennis Kucinich has severely reprimanded US President Barack Obama for sending additional troops to Afghanistan. Kucinich said in a statement on Thursday that extending the Afghan war would destabilize the United States at home. "We are deeply in debt. Our GDP is down. Our manufacturing is down. Our savings are down. The value of the dollar is down. Our trade deficit is up. Business failures are up. Bankruptcies are up," his statement read. LA Times: Obama's folly: Rather than trying to salvage Bush's policy in Afghanistan, the president should show real courage and just pull the plug. WSWS: Obama’s speech on Afghanistan: A compendium of lies. Empire Burlesque: Savvy to a Fault: Coming to Terms With Imperial Power. Online Journal: Instead of disengaging from Afghanistan, Obama escalates war.

Link: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/04/world/asia/04drones.html?_r=2&ref=world

Two weeks ago in Pakistan, Central Intelligence Agency sharpshooters assassins killed eight people suspected of being "militants" of the Taliban and "Al Qaeda", and wounded two others in a compound that was said to be used for "terrorist" training. Then, the job hit in North Waziristan done, the C.I.A. officers could head home from the agency’s Langley, Va., headquarters, facing only the hazards of the area’s famously snarled suburban traffic. PressTV: Obama to expand [drone strikes] assassinations in Pakistan. Uruknet: Turbulent Pakistan presents a conundrum for Barack Obama: Anti-US feeling running high as CIA drones take a civilian toll.

Link: http://abc.com.au/news/stories/2009/12/04/2762770.htm

A top UN panel is to probe claims that British scientists sought to suppress data backing climate change sceptics' views, its head said ahead of the the landmark Copenhagen summit.

Link: http://wattsupwiththat.com/2009/12/03/gore-cancels-on-copenhagen-lecture-leaves-ticketholders-in-a-lurch/

I wonder how many people have shelled out $1200 to shake Al’s hand? Maybe not enough and he couldn’t cover the expenses for his private jet? Former U.S. vice president has canceled his event, more than 3,000 Danes have purchased a ticket. Looks like they will get a refund though. Might be worth more as a collectors item in ten years though.

Link: http://wattsupwiththat.com/2009/12/03/you-wouldnt-accept-that-at-a-grade-9-science-fair-cbc-finds-a-moment-of-clarity/

Wow, just wow. What an editorial. The CBC’s Rex Murphy on Climategate.

Link: http://marcovilla.instablogs.com/entry/veiled-voices/

“Veiled Voices” is a documentary into the lives of three women - one Lebanese, one Syrian, one Egyptian - and as with “Beirut Diaries” it lets these women speak for themselves.

Link: http://pewresearch.org/pubs/1428/america-seen-less-important-china-more-powerful-isolationist-sentiment-surges

U.S. Seen as Less Important, China as More Powerful. In the midst of two wars abroad and a sour economy at home, there has been a sharp rise in isolationist sentiment among the public. For the first time in more than 40 years of polling, a plurality (49%) says the United States should "mind its own business internationally" and let other countries get along the best they can on their own. AntiWar: Poll: Americans Turn Sharply Against Interventionism.

Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2i0YhrPTUDs

What is going to happen to all those Afghanistan soldiers being trained and armed by the US? The endless catastrophes of idiot imperialism. A video from Freedomain Radio.

Link: http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601116&sid=a.cgBZL1nWhs

Israel Army Unit Waging Internet Battle After Gaza Criticism. Israel first began seriously using the Internet as a public-relations tool during a three-week military initiative in the Gaza Strip that began on Dec. 27 to stop rocket attacks on its southern towns and cities. The army launched a YouTube channel that month and broadcast footage of air force attacks on Gaza targets, including one of a missile aborted once officers realized civilians were in the area.

Link: http://www.cannabisculture.com/v2/content/canadian-senate-passes-bill-c-15

One of the saddest days in Canadian history - "The Senate Committee studying C-15, a bill that would bring mandatory minimum prison sentences for marijuana to Canada, has given its approval with minor amendments."