Wednesday, November 15, 2017

Common Dreams:
"Millions on Brink of Death in Yemen, But Members of Congress Can't Be Bothered With Questions. Despite warnings about the intensifying humanitarian crisis in war-ravaged Yemen, members of the U.S. Congress dodged questions from an Intercept reporter this week about why lawmakers haven't voted on U.S. support for the Saudi-led military coalition that is bombing the impoverished country while also imposing a blockade of urgently needed aid. ...

As Fang [Intercept reporter] notes in his related article, while the coalition battles Houthi rebels, 'Saudi Arabia relies heavily on the U.S. military for intelligence sharing, refueling flights for coalition warplanes, and the transfer of American-made cluster bombs, rockets, and other munitions used against targets in Yemen' - which continues in spite of the fact that 'coalition warplanes have repeatedly struck crowded markets, hospitals, power plants, and other civilian targets.' ...

Meanwhile, about 20 humanitarian agencies and the U.N. are warning of a 'nightmare scenario,' as Common Dreams reported Wednesday, after the Saudi-led coalition closed all air, land, and sea ports to the country, cutting off millions of civilians from life-saving aid."

-->The empire's media doesn't cover genocide when it is being committed by US allies, Saudi Arabia and Israel. Maybe the American people wouldn't put up with it if they knew.

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The Guardian UK:
"Ex-Israeli PM introduced Harvey Weinstein to former Mossad spies.
Ehud Barak admits referring movie mogul to private investigators who reportedly helped to suppress sexual abuse allegations. ...

On its website, Black Cube describes itself as a 'select group of veterans from the Israeli elite intelligence units that specializes in tailored solutions to complex business and litigation challenges'.

Barak’s statement coincides with dates in the New Yorker article which claims that Weinstein approached Black Cube in autumn 2016, to seek their assistance in silencing the emerging sexual abuse allegations against him."

-->The NYT doesn't like printing stories that make Israel look bad. Ehud Barak and the Black Cube didn't make it into print.

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Common Dreams:
"Nation That Says It Can't Afford Medicare for All Has Spent $5.6 Trillion on War Since 9/11. Because, as new study notes, wars force the question: 'What we might have done differently with the money spent?' A new analysis offers a damning assessment of the United States' so-called global war on terror, and it includes a 'staggering' estimated price tag for wars waged since 9/11—over $5.6 trillion.

The Costs of War Project at Brown University's Watson Center says the figure—which covers the conflicts in Iraq, Syria, Afghanistan, and Pakistan from 2001 through 2018—is the equivalent of more than $23,386 per taxpayer.

The 'new report,' said Paul Kawika Martin, Peace Action's senior director for policy and political affairs, 'once again shows that the true #costofwar represents a colossal burden to taxpayers on top of the tremendous human loss.' "

-->The NYT didn't think this report warranted media attention. Its readers didn't find out about the empire's staggering military costs.