Shimon Peres Tells IAEA Chief That Iran Is A Danger To The Entire World
Israeli President Shimon Peres told International Atomic Energy Agency chief Yukiya Amano during a recent visit to Israel that Iran’s renegade nuclear program is a threat to the whole world. "Iran jeopardizes Israel and the rest of the world, as it threatens to use nuclear weapons," Haaretz quoted Peres as saying.

Netanyahu Proposes Format For Talks With The Palestinians
The Jerusalem Post reported on Friday that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will propose bi-weekly meetings between him and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, with smaller teams hammering out the details of major agreements in between, at next week’s opening meeting. "Serious negotiations in the Middle East [require] direct, discreet and continuous talks between the leaders on the key issues."

"Torturer Of Tehran" Loses His Untouchable Status
With a frightening reputation and friends in high places, Said Mortazavi for years appeared to have the untouchable status that bred impunity and led his enemies to label him the "torturer of Tehran." As a judge and prosecutor, he shut down more than 60 newspapers, detained scores of journalists and political activists, and was even implicated in the murder and torture of Iranian-Canadian photojournalist Zahra Kazemi, who died in the custody of interrogators in 2003.

Palestinian Authority Cracks Down On Opposition To Direct Talks
Palestinian Authority security forces, trained and equipped by the US, moved aggressively on Wednesday to crush opposition by Palestinian protesters opposed to the resumption of direct talks with Israel scheduled to start Sep. 2 in Washington. The protesters, led by a group called the National Conference Against Direct Talks, had gathered in a building in Ramallah for a press conference but before it got started the PA Police officers turned off the lights in the building, then stormed it.

French Announce Plans To Beef Up Security For Middle East Allies
French President Nicolas Sarkozy told a meeting of the French diplomatic corps that France would keep its troops in Afghanistan as long as necessary and would also defend its friends and allies in the Middle East from the threat posed by an aggressive Iran.

Analysts: Obama’s Perceived Faith is a Political Barometer
The religious faith of America's leaders often is of the utmost importance to their political success. President Barack Obama has used the fact that his father was a Muslim to foster better relations with the Islamic world. And analysts say that a recent public opinion poll showing that nearly 20 percent of people believe the president is a Muslim suggests that Americans are increasingly confused about the president's spirituality.

Karzai: Obama’s 2011 Pullout Timetable "Boosting Enemy Morale"
Afghan President Hamid Karzai has criticized a plan by U.S. President Barack Obama to begin withdrawing troops from Afghanistan next July. Mr. Karzai told a visiting U.S. congressional delegation Thursday that Mr. Obama's July 2011 deadline for the start of a troop pullout has given insurgents a "morale boost."

US Gross Domestic Output Revised Lower
New figures show that contrary to initial estimates, the U.S. economy grew at a much slower pace between April and June. The Commerce Department says Gross Domestic output (GDP) in the second quarter grew at a sluggish 1.6 percent, down sharply from the previous estimate last month of 2.4 percent. The new reading adds to growing concerns about the pace of economic recovery.

Cyber Attacks Againts US Military Computers Increase Sharply
A top U.S. defense official has revealed new details about a major cyber attack in 2008, the most significant compromise of military computers known to date. The details of the attack, published this week in the bi-monthly magazine Foreign Affairs, not only outlines government efforts to counter that attack, but ongoing efforts by the U.S. military to create a broader cyber security strategy.

Footprints on the Internet
It's called behavioral marketing, but it might just as well be called virtual profiling. Websites, search engines, advertising agencies and Internet data collectors - they're all using relatively basic technology to record what you're looking at, how much you like it, and most importantly, what you might want to buy online. "Advertisers are building large, complex profiles on customers," says Ginger McCall with the Electronic Privacy Information Center.

Passing Laws Blindly
TruthNews Commentary
Democratic Senator Max Baucus of Montana, who pushed Obamacare through the Senate, has admitted that he hasn't read the bill. On a visit to Libby, Montana with Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius, Baucus was asked by one Judy Matott, "if either of you read the health care bill before it was passed and if not, that is the most despicable, irresponsible thing."