Stay true to the dreams of thy youth

Below are several articles I found to be interesting in my browsing over the last week. You can see other links I've highlighted at http://www.diigo.com/user/andrewghelms

• Pakistan: CIA drones have broader list of targets - latimes.com

  "The CIA received secret permission to attack a wider range of targets, including suspected militants whose names are not known, as part of a dramatic expansion of its campaign of drone strikes in Pakistan's border region, according to current and former counter-terrorism officials. The expanded authority, approved two years ago by the Bush administration and continued by President Obama, permits the agency to rely on what officials describe as "pattern of life" analysis, using evidence collected by surveillance cameras on the unmanned aircraft and from other sources about individuals and locations."

• Gaza taxes rise as Hamas battles cash crisis  "The Hamas government in the Gaza Strip is increasing taxes and introducing a string of levies to fight what officials and business leaders say is a mounting financial crisis in the Palestinian territory.The Islamist group this month sharply raised taxes on cigarettes and tobacco products, in some cases trebling levies on certain brands. Fuel taxes have also been increased, as have administrative charges for granting licences to shop owners and businesses. Operators of smugglers’ along the Gaza-Egypt border say Hamas is now taxing the import of almost all goods brought in underground."

•  

• Obama and Israel: President still has room to maneuver - latimes.com

  Not a great article, but talk about the pro-Israel lobby is definitely increasing in the US. "President Obama's altercations with the Israeli government have brought protests from U.S. groups that staunchly support Israel. But the administration retains substantial overall support among American Jewish voters, and that appears to be giving him political running room to ply his approach to the issue."

• BP’s oil containment problem is unprecedented - latimes.com

  "The problem with the April 20 spill is that it isn't really a spill: It‘s a gush, like an underwater oil volcano. A hot column of oil and gas is spurting into freezing, black waters nearly a mile down, where the pressure nears a ton per inch, impossible for divers to endure. Experts call it a continuous, round-the-clock calamity, unlike a leaking tanker, which might empty in hours or days."

• Casios are jihadists' watch of choice

• W.H. launches Israel P.R. offensive - Laura Rozen - POLITICO.com

  "The White House is engaged in an aggressive effort to reassure Jewish leaders that the tense relationship between the Obama administration and the Israeli government that has played out in public in the past few months does not signify any fundamental change in U.S. policy. "

• Has Chuck Schumer EVER Criticized Israel or its Leadership in the Way He Just Unloaded on Obama? - The Washington Note

  "Schumer's screed gets to the edge of sounding as if he is more a Senator working in the Knesset than working in the United States Senate. This is the 2nd time I know of that Schumer has publicly crossed the line when it came to zealously blaming his own government and colleagues in delicate matters of US-Israel-Palestine policy. "