riverScrap

Pro-Israel lobby: Obama supports 'ethnic cleansing'

President Obama has come under fire from a hardline
pro-Israel group in America which is accusing him of supporting "ethnic cleansing" of Jews.

The Israel Project, which includes 20 members of Congress on its advisory board, issued a confidential report in January outlining how supporters can influence US public opinion during the new Obama term.

Marked "not for distribution or publication," the document tells activists that anyone who opposes settlement expansion on Palestinian land should be told they are supporting "ethnic cleansing to remove all Jews".

What mercy for Lockerbie victims?

As evidence of trade deals with Colonel Gaddafi emerge, Britain releases a Libyan mass murderer from jail on "compassionate grounds". But who gave mercy to the victims of Flight 103?

The release of Abdel Baset al Megrahi, the man responsible for the murder of 270 civilians in Lockerbie in 1988, is directly linked to oil negotiations with former British Prime Minister Tony Blair.

That's according to Seif al Islam, the son of the Libyan leader, who told state television that the "liberation" of the mass murderer – who is terminally ill with prostate cancer – was a direct consequence of top-level trade deals between his father and the former Labour Party administration.

Britain vehemently denied suggestions of a quid quo pro deal with Libya, insisting the release was handled solely by the devolved Scottish parliament. But with mass murderer al Megrahi receiving a hero's welcome in Tripoli, what mercy is there for the families torn apart by the atrocity?

US ‘didn’t torture’ Al Qaeda leader, 183 times

Suspected 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed was “not tortured” on 183 separate occasions in March 2003, according to a newly released memo from the Bush-era Justice Department.

The declassified document confirms that interrogators used waterboarding – a controversial technique that simulates drowning – about six times a day for one month following the terror leader’s arrest.

President Obama authorised the release of the top secret memo on Thursday, citing its “exceptional circumstances”. Unlike Mr Bush, he views waterboarding as torture and has signed an executive order banning it.

Limbaugh stoops to new low with 'Barack Ogabe' slur

Conservative political commentator Rush Limbaugh, no stranger to controversy, has come under fire for appearing to compare Barack Obama with brutal African dictator Robert Mugabe.

Aside from their similar skin tone, little unites the US president and his Zimbabwean counterpart. One is a democratically elected leader with a 64 per cent approval rating, while the other is a murderous thug.

But that didn't stop Mr Limbaugh "confusing" the two men during a radio diatribe about free market economics, in which he sarcastically referred to the Zimbabwean leader as "Barack Ogabe".

Ann Coulter: Who cares about our grandkids?

Outspoken conservative commentator Ann Coulter has pipped her own record for rabid incoherence, this time by saying that people who worry about global warming should tell their kids to "get their own planet".

Ms Coulter was speaking to fellow Republican commentator Sean Hannity on Fox News when she took umbrage to his suggestion that President Obama's economic strategy is "robbing our kids' and grandkids' future".

Interrupting Mr Hannity while he decried the impact of the $825 billion stimulus package, the aging succubus gnashed: "Oh forget our grandkids, who cares about them? I care about me and the money in my bank account."

Congressman becomes latest Twitter blunderer

A Republican congressman has attracted scorn for using the micro-blogging service Twitter to broadcast his every move during a secret diplomatic visit to Baghdad.

After touching down in the Iraqi capital on February 5, Pete Hoekstra noted that he had BlackBerry service. "Just landed in Baghdad," he tweeted. "I believe it may be the first time I've had bb service in Iraq."

The hapless congressman then detailed his itinerary across the country in real time, notifying his followers of the precise moment that he landed in the Green Zone as well as the timing of his return to America.

US steps up pressure on Israel over war crimes

America's new envoy to the UN has told Israel to investigate allegations that it violated international law during its recent assault on the Gaza Strip.

A shift in tempo had been widely expected after the apparent favouritism of former president George Bush, who was criticised for his unwillingness to restrain the Jewish state over the course of its bloody 23-day war.

Making her debut speech before the UN Security Council, US ambassador Susan Rice set the new mood by saying that while some allegations lacked credibility, others had more substance and must be investigated.

Cracks emerge in 'Jihad rehab' proposal for Gitmo

Barack Obama appears to be stuck between a rock and a hard place after terrorism experts rejected a Saudi initiative that had been billed as the solution to the Guantanamo Bay problem.

The president took a crucial step towards reconciling America with the rest of the world when he confirmed that the US naval base in Cuba - where high-value Al Qaeda prisoners were tortured - will close within one year.

Outlining plans for the detainees, advisers had favoured a Saudi rehabilitation scheme that hinged on religious re-education. But experts are now warning that the programme may be ill-suited for Gitmo.

Fox News airs racist slur against Barack Obama

American cable TV network Fox News has found itself at the centre of yet another political storm - this time over the airing of racist comments targeted at Barack Obama.

In spite of its slogan Fair & Balanced, the Murdoch-owned station has long been derided for its alleged right-wing bias and unrelenting penchant for sensationalism.

But even longstanding critics of the network will be taken aback by its latest faux pas, in which editors aired remarks texted in by one Fox viewer who labelled the next president of the US a "magic negro".

Dick Cheney: 'No idea' why people don't like me

American vice president Dick Cheney has insisted that he has absolutely no idea why his approval rating is so low.

The 67-year-old has been vilified by critics for years, often being likened to the Penguin in the 1960s TV series Batman. Just 29 per cent of Americans believe he is doing a good job.

But speaking exclusively to hometown Wyoming newspaper The Caspar Star-Tribune, Mr Cheney has once again astounded pundits by revealing his utter ignorance about the cause of his unpopularity.