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Purveyor's JournalIran Intelligence ‘Arrests CIA Spy’
By Agence France-Presse
Saturday, December 17, 2011
Tehran has arrested an alleged US Central Intelligence Agency spy of Iranian origin before he could complete his mission of infiltrating the intelligence ministry, media quoted the ministry as saying on Saturday.
“Based on the scenario, he was supposed to infiltrate the intelligence ministry … and feed it deceptive information on a large scale and spy on it,” said a statement reported by the ISNA news agency.
“The Iranian-origin CIA agent received complex training, had worked as an analyst and also worked with the US military in Iraq and Afghanistan,” the statement added, without identifying him.
The man was first identified at Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan and arrested in Iran, the statement said, without identifying the man or saying when he was seized.
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http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2011/12/17/iran-intelligence-arrests-cia-spy/
Secret EU Paper Aims To Tackle Israel's Treatment Of Arab Minority
The European Union should consider Israel's treatment of its Arab population a "core issue, not second tier to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict," according to a classified working paper produced by European embassies in Israel, parts of which were obtained by Haaretz.
This is an unprecedented document in that it deals with internal Israeli issues. According to European diplomats and senior Foreign Ministry officials, it was written and sent to EU headquarters in Brussels behind the back of the Israeli government.
Other issues the document deals with include the lack of progress in the peace process, the continued occupation of the territories, Israel's definition of itself as Jewish and democratic, and the influence of the Israeli Arab population.
The original document also included suggestions for action the EU should take, but these were removed from the final version at the insistence of several countries.
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http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/news/secret-eu-paper-aims-to-tackle-israel-s-treatment-of-arab-minority-1.401678
New Research Demonstrates Lean Beef is Good for Heart Health
CENTENNIAL, Colo., Dec. 15, 2011 --
As Part of a Heart-Healthy Diet, Eating Lean Beef Daily Can Help Lower Cholesterol
CENTENNIAL, Colo., Dec. 15, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- A new study published in the January 2012 edition of American Journal of Clinical Nutrition shows that beef can play a role in a cholesterol-lowering diet, despite commonly held beliefs. The study found that diets including lean beef every day are as effective in lowering total and LDL "bad" cholesterol as the "gold standard" of heart-healthy diets (DASH, Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension).
The Beef in an Optimal Lean Diet (BOLD) clinical study (Effects on Lipids, Lipoproteins and Apolipoproteins),(1) conducted by The Pennsylvania State University (PSU) researchers, evaluated adults with moderately elevated cholesterol levels, measuring the impact of diets including varying amounts of lean beef on total and LDL cholesterol levels. Study participants experienced a 10 percent decrease in LDL cholesterol from the start of the study, while consuming diets containing 4.0 and 5.4 oz. of lean beef daily.
"This research sheds new light on evidence supporting lean beef's role in a heart-healthy diet. Study participants ate lean beef every day and still met targets for saturated fat intake," says Penny Kris-Etherton, PhD, RD, distinguished professor of nutrition at PSU and the study's principal investigator. "This study shows that nutrient-rich lean beef can be included as part of a heart-healthy diet that improves risk factors for cardiovascular disease."
The Research The study used a rigorously designed Randomized Controlled Clinical Intervention Study to investigate the effects of cholesterol-lowering diets with varying amounts of lean beef. Thirty-six participants (adults ages 30-65 with moderately elevated cholesterol) were randomly assigned to a treatment order and consumed a total of four diets for five weeks each. The cross-over design allowed each participant to serve as his or her own control, reducing any errors associated with biological variation.
Read more: http://www.sacbee.com/2011/12/15/4124732/new-research-demonstrates-lean.html#ixzz1giy1hA4v
Feds: 'Excessive Force' By Seattle Cops Must Stop
SEATTLE - An 11-month investigation by the U.S. Justice Department has found the Seattle Police Department "engages in a pattern of unnecessary and excessive force" in "violation of the Fourth Amendment," federal officials announced Friday.
Assistant Attorney General Thomas Perez, who heads the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division, flew to Seattle on Thursday to announce the findings at a news conference alongside U.S. Attorney Jenny Durkan.
According to the Justice Department report, Seattle police use force in an "unconstitutional manner nearly 20 percent of the time."
The investigation was launched last spring following the deadly shooting of a homeless Native American woodcarver and other incidents of force used against minority suspects.
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http://www.komonews.com/news/local/Justice-Dept-Excessive-force-by-Seattle-cops-must-stop---or-else-135740783.html
Congress Getting Failing Marks on Economy in Year of Gridlock
By Laura Litvan - Dec 16, 2011 12:01 AM ET
Congress is ending what may be its least productive year on record after government shutdown threats, the collapse of debt-reduction talks and little action to fix the worst U.S. economy since the Great Depression.
Just 62 bills were signed into law through November this year, meaning that 2011 may fall short of the 88 laws enacted in 1995, the lowest number since the Congressional Record began keeping an annual tally in 1947. In 1995, as in this year, a new House Republican majority fought a Democratic president’s agenda.
This year’s partisan battles have brought the U.S. to the brink of a government shutdown four times, caused a two-week furlough of Federal Aviation Administration workers and led Standard & Poor’s to lower the nation’s credit rating after it said lawmakers didn’t do enough to reduce the federal deficit.
“It’s been one of the worst Congresses in modern history,” said Representative Jim Cooper, a Tennessee Democrat. “We have failed to meet our minimum standards of competency and endangered America’s credit rating. We have failed to pass key legislation on time. And there is very little hope for improved behavior.”
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http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-12-16/congress-getting-failing-marks-on-economy-in-year-of-gridlock.html
Right-Wing Legislation Stirs Democracy Debate In Israel
JERUSALEM (Reuters) – Legislation promoted by right-wing lawmakers in Israel is raising concern that democratic values are under threat in a country that has long billed itself the only democracy in the Middle East.
One bill could potentially paralyze dovish Israeli advocacy groups by imposing sharp limits on funding they receive from foreign governments, while others could deal a blow to the independence of the Supreme Court, an institution seen in Israel as a watchdog over civil rights.
Nothing has been passed into law and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, under international pressure to quash some of the measures proposed by members of his Likud party, has moved to stall one of the more controversial bills.
But critics of the legislation say damage to some democratic rights and the nation’s image has already been done, pointing at three other laws passed in the past year widely seen as anti-Arab and attempts to quash dissent against government policy.
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http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2011/12/16/right-wing-legislation-stirs-democracy-debate-in-israel/
Will Israel Declare War on Violent Settlers?
By Jeffrey Goldberg
The Israeli Defense Forces are increasingly confronting a truth that many Palestinians learned awhile ago: A not-insignificant number of the Israelis who have settled on the West Bank are unhinged zealots who, in their self-righteousness, myopia and contempt for those with whom they disagree, comprise a kind of Jewish Hamas.
The Israeli army deploys a great deal of manpower to protect settlers from Arab terrorism. There is no conceivable way the settlers would be alive today without the protection of Israel’s soldiers, many of whom object to settlements but are doing their duty.
Yet the army has now become a target of a violent band of settlers called the Hilltop Youth. These “youth,” many in their 20s and even 30s by now (and guided by rabbis in their 70s and 80s), are the offspring of the first and second generation of religious settlers. They reject what they see as their parents’ bourgeois lifestyle and despise the government in Jerusalem to which their parents are more or less loyal.
The Hilltop Youth became a source of great anguish in Israel this week after a gang of 50 settlers stormed an army base adjacent to the Kedumim settlement in the northern West Bank and threw rocks at both soldiers and Palestinians. The commander of the army’s Ephraim Brigade was struck in the head with a rock.
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http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-12-16/will-israel-declare-war-on-violent-settlers-jeffrey-goldberg.html
Obama Concerned That Iran is on Verge of Underground Nuclear Enrichment
The Obama administration is concerned Iran is on the verge of enriching uranium at a facility deep underground near the Muslim holy city of Qom, a move that may strengthen those advocating tougher action to stop Iran’s suspected atomic weapons program.
Iranian nuclear scientists at the Fordo facility appear to be within weeks of producing 20 percent enriched uranium, according to Iran analysts and nuclear specialists in close communication with U.S. officials and atomic inspectors. Enriched uranium is used to fuel power plants and reactors, and may be further processed into atomic weapons material.
Administration officials, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue, worry Iran’s actions may bolster calls for a military response and ratchet up pressure to limit Iran’s oil exports, which might send oil prices soaring.
“Senior advisers to President Obama privately express concern that Israel might see Iran’s commencement of the Fordo facility” as a justification for a military strike, said Karim Sadjadpour, an Iran analyst at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace in Washington who has frequent discussions with U.S. officials.
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http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-12-15/u-s-worried-iran-on-verge-of-nuclear-enrichment.html
Anonymous Donors Pay Off Kmart Layaway Accounts
(12-15) 15:23 PST Omaha, Neb. (AP) --
The young father stood in line at the Kmart layaway counter, wearing dirty clothes and worn-out boots. With him were three small children.
He asked to pay something on his bill because he knew he wouldn't be able to afford it all before Christmas. Then a mysterious woman stepped up to the counter.
"She told him, `No, I'm paying for it,'" recalled Edna Deppe, assistant manager at the store in Indianapolis. "He just stood there and looked at her and then looked at me and asked if it was a joke. I told him it wasn't, and that she was going to pay for him. And he just busted out in tears."
At Kmart stores across the country, Santa seems to be getting some help: Anonymous donors are paying off strangers' layaway accounts, buying the Christmas gifts other families couldn't afford, especially toys and children's clothes set aside by impoverished parents.
Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2011/12/15/national/a140932S97.DTL#ixzz1geUTUHbp
Brooklyn D.A. Refuses To Name (85) Child Sex Abusers
Law enforcement officials, legal experts, advocates and politicians have questioned why Brooklyn’s District Attorney arrested 85 Orthodox adults on child sex abuse charges but refuses to release their names.
In just three years, District Attorney Charles Hynes has arrested 83 Orthodox men and two women on charges including sexual abuse, attempted kidnapping and sodomy.
Unnamed: District Attorney Charles Hynes, center, says that a state law prevents him from giving up the names of those arrested. Legal experts disagree.
Kings County District Attorney's Office
Unnamed: District Attorney Charles Hynes, center, says that a state law prevents him from giving up the names of those arrested. Legal experts disagree.
But when asked to reveal names — even of the 14 abusers who were convicted of sex crimes — Hynes refuses.
“Under the Civil Rights Law of New York State, we cannot release the names of any victim of sexual assault or any information that would tend to identify them,” said a spokesman for Hynes’s office. Yet, on December 14, Hynes issued a press release announcing the sentencing of Gerald Hatcher, 47, to 72 years in prison for raping his girlfriend’s 11-year-old daughter. Hatcher “was living with his girlfriend and her daughter in their Bedford-Stuyvesant home,” the D.A.’s statement said. The neighborhood is largely non-Jewish.
Read more: http://forward.com/articles/147922/?utm_
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