The inquiry into the death of Baha Mousa is due to report by the end of the year. It will detail how Mousa died in Iraq in September 2003, allegedly brutalised by British soldiers in a "free for all"; and how it was that he and nine other men in the same incident were allegedly hooded, forced into painful stress positions, and deprived of sleep, food and water.

Ongoing since its May 14, 1948 "Declaration of Independence," Israel systematically reigned terror against Palestinians and neighboring states, always claiming self-defense - bogus then, bogus now, historian Ilan Pappe describing Israel as a "settler Prussian state: a combination of colonialist policies....manifested in the dominance of the army over political, cultural and economic life," then adding:

Much was made of al-Qaeda's training camps in Afghanistan, the target of American bombers. But these were kindergartens compared with the world's leading university of terrorism at Fort Benning in Georgia. Known until recently as the School of the Americas, it trained some 60,000 Latin American soldiers, policemen, paramilitaries and intelligence agents. Forty per cent of the Cabinet ministers who served in the genocidal regimes of Lucas Garcia, Rios Montt and Mejia Victores in Guatemala are graduates.

Opposition Leader Tony Abbott is refusing to back the deal made between the Federal Government and the resources sector over its redesigned resources tax.

Mr Abbott is not rescinding his calls for a new tax on the mining industry to be dumped and has declared that the next election will be a referendum on it.

The Government has backed down on several key areas in a bid to end the damaging stoush with the resources sector, dumping its Resource Super Profits Tax for the Minerals Resource Rent Tax (MRRT).
...

Opposition Treasury spokesman Joe Hockey says the new regime will be the most complicated in the world.

The Federal Government has agreed major concessions with the mining industry in a redesign of its controversial super profits tax.

The changes, announced by Prime Minister Julia Gillard this morning, include reducing the headline rate of the tax from 40 per cent to 30 per cent.

Former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair is to receive a prestigious US medal and $100,000 (£67,000) prize for his work in conflict resolution.

The National Constitution Centre is awarding him its Liberty Medal for "steadfast" efforts to broker peace in Northern Ireland and the Middle East.

Previous winners include Nelson Mandela and former US presidents Bill Clinton and George Bush senior.

Mr Blair said he was driven by values of "freedom, liberty and justice".

Mr Clinton, the centre's chairman, will present the medal in Philadelphia on 13 September.

'Dedication and creativity'

Well folks, here we have it .... the nation's number one scumbag, 'phoney tony', giving himself a boost for single-handedly orchestrating the demise of citizen Kevin Rudd, whilst arrogantly making the empty boast that 'the coalition would have defeated Labor at the next election'.

Now I'm not going to try & argue that Abbott's outrageous public hyperbole; his outright lies about the Labor government .... indeed his own acknowledgement that he can't lie straight in bed ..... don't form part of what we have come to accept in this country as a normal part of politics.

A few weeks ago the Jewish Chronicle published a list of Jewish MPs in the UK parliament. It named 24 in total, encompassing 12 Conservatives, 10 Labour, and two Liberal Democrats. Author and peace activist Stuart Littlewood elaborated on these figures and presented the following analysis:

Our Action Contract

The question that should still be asked of Labor is: 'What do you stand for, and what can you actually deliver?'

This will be the key question for the forthcoming election, because Australians need a government with the capability and conviction to deliver on its promises.

The Coalition is determined to offer a clear alternative to the Australian people.

Last August, the presidential press corps followed Barack Obama and his family to Martha's Vineyard for their brief vacation. The coverage focused on summery fare - a visit to an ice cream parlor, the books the president had brought along. Nearly everyone mentioned his few rounds of golf, including his swing, and the enthusiasm of onlookers.

What caught my eye, though, was the makeup of his foursome. The president was joined by an old friend from Chicago; a young aide; and Robert Wolf, Chairman and CEO, UBS Group Americas. In a decidedly incurious piece, a New York Times reporter made light of Wolf's presence:

picture by Gus (c 1960s). Diego Suarez now known as Antsiranana

Germany's new radar satellite, TanDEM-X, has returned its first images.

The spacecraft was launched from Kazakhstan on Monday on a mission to make the most precise 3D map of the Earth's surface.

The pictures demonstrate the platform is in excellent health and ready to team up with the TerraSAR-X satellite launched in 2007.

from Crikey .....

Fresh calls from Nile to ban the burqa

Margot Saville writes: