A car bomb has exploded outside the French embassy in the Libyan capital Tripoli, wounding two French guards and several residents.

The blast in Tripoli destroyed the embassy’s ground-floor reception area and perimeter wall, as well as damaging neighbouring homes and shops.

French President Francois Hollande called on Libya to act swiftly over this “unacceptable” attack.

It is the first major attack on a foreign embassy in the Libyan capital.

Tuesday’s explosion happened shortly after 07:00 (05:00 GMT) in a smart residential area of Tripoli.

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Sen. Greg Ball on Monday again doubled down on his stance on torturing Boston Marathon bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, defending himself in a series of no fewer than five media interviews ranging from New York City radio to a pair of appearances on Fox News.

Ball’s tweet—where he wondered “who wouldn’t use torture” on the surviving Tsarnaev brother if it can save lives—even picked up a mention on The Daily Show.

But the interview that had social media channels buzzing was his showdown with Piers Morgan on the eponymous CNN show.

Ball, R-Patterson, Putnam County, quickly turned combative as Morgan pressed him on how he would torture the bombing suspect, considering Tsarnaev is an American citizen who will be tried in a U.S. court.

“Dude, you’re talking to the guy that supports the death penalty for cop killers, terrorists,” Ball said. “I’m talking about me. If you want to talk to the president of the United States about his policies the next time you golf or go play basketball with him, you can ask him.”

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ATLANTA, Georgia, April 6, 2013 - Today at the Atlanta Music Liberty Fest, Derrick Grayson of Stone Mountain, Georgia announced the formation of his Senatorial campaign exploratory committee. The move is the first official action taken by Grayson in anticipation of a potential run to fill the Senate seat currently occupied by Republican Senator Saxby Chambliss, who announced earlier this year that he would not seek re-election. Mr Grayson also known as “TMOT” (The Minister Of Truth) among grass roots supporters, gave his speech as part of the music event held at Atlanta’s Center Stage Theater.

Derrick Grayson

Before a crowd of several hundred at the music festival, which had liberty and freedom as a theme, Mr Grayson spoke about his time in prison, and how the experience helped to open his eyes to the loss of civil liberties and individual freedoms by many Americans today. The Atlanta based network engineer made reference to the lack opportunity for the middle class and the need to break the dependency on government programs. Grayson also noted the need to reduce the size and scope of government, limiting its powers to those afforded to it by the Constitution.

After the  announcement at the music festival event attended by Republicans, Libertarians, Independents, and Democrats, Grayson commented, “After receiving numerous appeals to run as a public servant, representative, and voice for the people of the Great State of Georgia, and the United States, I have decided to take the initial step of forming an exploratory committee. The purpose of this committee is to fully consider and explore the viability of a potential campaign, raise the necessary resource, and build the organization that will be required to run a potential Senate campaign.

The native Georgian added, “I very much look forward to continuing the dialogue with the people in order better understand their concerns, and to determine the best approaches to solving some of the challenges of not only my fellow Georgians, but of all Americans regardless of their social or economic background, and without undue focus on any special interest groups.”

During his speech, Grayson also announced the launch of the Grayson Exploratory Committee official website: www.GraysonCommittee.com. The formation of an exploratory committee will allow Grayson to raise money and hire campaign staff in anticipation of a run for the U.S. Senate.

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As countries like Greece and Spain struggle under massive debts that are impoverishing its people, the elites around the world are getting richer and richer. This report looks at the ever widening gap.

“There are customers that have all the way up to 100 vehicles in their garage.” Torsten Muller-Otvos from Rolls Royce tells us. Each one costs about half a million and last year Rolls Royce sold more cars than ever before in their 100-year history, but then the luxury industry knows no crisis. Since 2009 the rich have become on average 6 percent richer. So while one in six Americans now has no health insurance, Manhattan’s 58 billionaires have gotten richer. As Manuel Koch points out the ratio of return expected by the rich has totally shifted, “People used to be happy making three million profit. Today companies like Apple account for 6 billion profit. That’s profit! Not turnover.” But despite their greater income the super-rich aren’t too happy about the idea of their tax loopholes being closed. In their minds they give back, even if its not through taxes. “I know a lot of rich friends who have charities…when they reach a certain level they give back to the community. So I think less tax is always better than too much.” But as the world struggles through a financial crisis and the globe-trotting elite continue to grow wealthier, there’s not much evidence they have their communities interests at heart.

From criminal conflicts of interest in politics, to unregulated corporate power, to a news media in the hands of multi-national conglomerates, to a military industrial complex that effectively owns our government.

We cannot fix our system until we know how it works.

Ethos looks at the systemic issues that work against democracy, the environment, democracy, justice and our own personal liberty.

However, it is not all bad news. Ethos offers a solution. A simple but powerful way that you can have your voices heard as they have never been heard before. Watch the film, spread the word, change the world.

Woody Harrelson Presents: Ethos (2011) Director: Pete McGain

Ethos on IMDb http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1707818/

Concentrated info which gives a big picture very fast even if the picture is even more big and way worse.

Harrelson is a supporter of the 9/11 truth movement and has supported reopening an investigation into the September 11 terrorist attacks. Along with other “truthers,” like Martin Sheen and Ed Asner, he will be appearing in a movie, September Morn, that will reflect such concerns.

~source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Woody_Ha…

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WASHINGTON (AP) STEVEN R. HURST — President Barack Obama heads into his second term weighed down by an American government snarled in partisan gridlock, but also by an unproductive relationship with the leader of Israel, the bedrock U.S. ally in the tumultuous Middle East.

And the puzzle that is the U.S.-Israeli relationship under Obama and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is only growing more complex.

“It’s troubled. It’s the greatest dysfunction between leaders that I’ve seen in my 40 years in watching and participating,” said Aaron David Miller, a scholar at the Woodrow Wilson Center who served under six secretaries of state in both Republican and Democratic administrations. He was deeply involved in negotiations involving Israel, Jordan, Syria and the Palestinians.

“I don’t think we are headed for a showdown,” he said, “but the relationship will continue to be dysfunctional.”

Even so, the United States routinely backs Israel when much of the world is deeply critical of the Jewish state. For example the U.S. was among the few nations opposing the Palestinians’ successful bid for upgraded status at the United Nations and did not criticize Israel’s bombardment of Gaza late last year in retaliation for rocket attacks from the tiny Palestinian enclave.

Still, an array of issues muddies the alliance.

Netanyahu likely will win re-election on Jan. 22, two days after Obama is sworn in for a second term. Netanyahu is a hardliner on making peace with the Palestinians, a goal that Obama said was foremost on his foreign policy agenda at the beginning of his first term. Beyond that, Netanyahu has been pressing Washington to adopt policy specifics that would trigger a military strike if Iran does not pull back on its nuclear program — widely believed to be aimed at building an atomic bomb. Iran claims its program is for generating electricity.

A further complication is Obama’s nomination of former Republican Sen. Chuck Hagel as defense secretary.

Known as a maverick when he represented Nebraska in the upper chamber, Hagel is viewed by many in Washington and Israel as insufficiently supportive of the Jewish state. He has castigated what he called the “Jewish lobby” in the U.S., prompting some to label him anti-Semitic. While he voted for billions in aid for Israel, he has also called for engagement with its Hamas and Hezbollah enemies.

What’s more, he opposed unilateral American sanctions on Iran’s nuclear program, which the Netanyahu government believes is an existential threat to Israel.

Netanyahu’s office refused comment on Hagel when contacted by The Associated Press in Jerusalem. But Reuven Rivlin, parliament speaker and member of Netanyahu’s Likud party, told AP that Israelis are worried because of Hagel’s “statements in the past, and his stance toward Israel.”

But Ori Nir, a spokesman for Americans for Peace Now, a Jewish group that pushes for an Israeli-Palestinian peace agreement, said fears of Hagel are wrongheaded.

“Talk of anti-Semitism is unjust and over-the-top,” Nir said.

Republican lawmakers’ opposition to Hagel is the latest in the partisan battles that have snarled the U.S. government.

Disputes over the budget almost led to major tax increases that neither party wanted. Other fights are pending over spending cuts and the government’s borrowing authority — both with potentially dire consequences for the economy. The newly elected Congress, with a Republican-led House of Representatives and a Democratic-led Senate, is similar to the previous one, which passed fewer laws than any Congress since the end of World War II.

While most of the partisan disputes have been on domestic issues, Republicans have continually accused Obama of not doing enough to support Netanyahu’s government.

Bad blood between Obama and Netanyahu

The bad blood between Obama and Netanyahu began early.

In their first public appearance together at the White House in 2009, Netanyahu pointedly rebuffed Obama’s call for Israel to stop building Jewish housing on land the Palestinians want in a future state. Obama dropped the issue after it became obvious that it was a waste of political capital at home and that Netanyahu would not budge. Netanyahu’s government has continued to announce plans for new settlements in the Palestinian West Bank.

During the presidential campaign, Netanyahu hosted Obama opponent Mitt Romney in Israel as if he were already a world leader. Netanyahu denied backing either candidate, but his words and actions clearly showed favoritism for Romney.

On Iran, Netanyahu called at the United Nations in September for the United States to draw a “red line” on Iran’s nuclear program, beyond which Iran would face military action. Obama continues to insist there is time for diplomacy, but has said he would not countenance a nuclear-armed Iran.

“The more Netanyahu believes Obama is serious about preventing Iran from getting a bomb, the better they will manage their relations,” said David Makovsky of the Washington Institute for Near East Policy. “If not, the issue of an Israeli first strike on Iran becomes more likely.”

Miller, of the Woodrow Wilson Center, said Obama will be too consumed with battling Congress on the budget, gun control legislation and other issues to spend much time on disagreements with Netanyahu.

“Is he going to go after Israel-Palestinian peace talks or war with Iran given all his domestic challenges?” Miller asked. “He will go to extreme lengths to avoid war with Iran.”

He said the two leaders are moving further apart on the Palestinian issue, but have found some consensus on Iran. “For the next six to eight months, I don’t think the president is going to push on those issues.”

But Nir, of Peace Now, says time is running out for a peace deal with the Palestinians and Israel could face another armed uprising like the one that bloodied the region in 2000.

“There’s more and more an atmosphere among Palestinians that there is no political horizon,” he said, “a feeling that diplomacy doesn’t work.”

MONTPELIER, Ohio – The Montpelier Exempted Village Schools Board of Education has approved the carrying of handguns by its custodial staff.

The 5-0 vote of the board Wednesday night to allow handgun training for four custodians to be able to tote weapons at the K-12 campus at the Williams County school came after last month’s deadly shooting rampage at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut.

School officials say that having armed personnel – believed to be the first for any school system in Ohio – is designed to thwart incidents of violence and prevent what happened in Newtown, Conn., from occurring here.

“Sitting back and doing nothing and hoping it doesn’t happen to you is just not good policy anymore. There is a need for schools to beef up their security measures,” Supertendent Jamie Grime told The Blade today. “Having guns in the hands of the right people are not a hindrance. They are a means to protect.”

Montpilier School Board President

School board President Larry Martin said that while the school distict [sic] began looking into arming employees about six months ago, the board didn’t announce the concept publicly until Wednesday’s monthly meeting.

He said the Dec. 14 massacre of 20 children and six staff at Sandy Hook heightened the decision to put the resolution on the board agenda.

“Our main goal is to offer safety for our students while they are in the classrooms and in the buiding,” Mr. Martin said. “We have to do something and this seems like the most logical, reasonable course to go with.”

Before voting on the resolution, which was approved 5-0, village Police Chief Jeffrey Lehman met with the board and superintendent in executive session to provide advice, suggestions, and his professional opinion, said Mr. Martin, a school board member for 20 years.

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Few if any articles that I’ve written produced as much backlash as my 15 December 2010 column reporting on the oppressive and inhumane conditions of Bradley Manning’s detention, the first time that story was reported. The anger at my article primarily came not from right-wing venues but from the hardest-core Obama supporters, who (as they always do since 20 January 2009) reflexively defended the US government. Led by former Obama campaign press aide and now MSNBC contributor (the ultimate redundancy) Joy Reid, these particularly fanatical Democratic partisans literally adopted the anti-Manning rhetoric from the further right-wing precincts and repudiated the liberal tradition of defending whistleblowers and opposing oppressive detention conditions – all in order to insist that Manning was being treated exactly how he should be (this warped reaction was far from unanimous, as many progressives protested Manning’s treatment).

Since then, an internal investigation by the Marine Corps – which operates the brig in which he was held – found that Manning’s jailers violated their own policies in imposing oppressive conditions. The Obama administration’s own State Department spokesman, PJ Crowley, denounced the detention conditions as “ridiculous and counterproductive and stupid” and was then fired as a result. Amnesty International called for protests over Manning’s treatment. The UN’s highest torture official formally concluded after an investigation that the US government was guilty “of cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment towards Bradley Manning” and “that the US military was at least culpable of cruel and inhumane treatment in keeping Manning locked up alone for 23 hours a day over an 11-month period in conditions that he also found might have constituted torture” – exactly what I reported at the end of 2010.

And now, on Tuesday, the military judge presiding over Manning’s court-martial found, as the Guardian’s Ed Pilkington reports, “that he was subjected to excessively harsh treatment in military detention” and is thus entitled to a reduction of his sentence if he is found guilty. Pilkington notes:

“[The military judge's] ruling was made under Article 13 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice that protects prisoners awaiting trial from punishment on grounds that they are innocent until proven guilty. The recognition that some degree of pre-trial punishment did occur during the nine months that the soldier was held in Quantico marks a legal victory for the defence in that it supports Manning’s long-held complaint that he was singled out by the US government for excessively harsh treatment.”

This is far from a real victory for Manning. He was seeking dismissal of all charges, or a far greater sentencing reduction, based on claims of unlawful detention. And the judge, while accepting some, rejected many of his claims of abuse on the grounds that there was no intent to punish him before trial. But that’s hardly surprising: this is, after all, a military judge presiding over a case where an Army Private is accused of “aiding and abetting al-Qaida.” The entire proceeding is stacked against Manning: a military judge presiding over a military tribunal in this case is about the least objective and trustworthy arbiter on these questions.

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