Studies show that US coverage is Israeli-centric. The main bureaus for CNN, Associated Press, Time, etc. are located in Israel and often staffed by Israelis. The son of the NY Times bureau chief is in the Israeli army;"pundit" Jeffrey Goldberg served in the IDF; Wolf Blitzer worked for AIPAC. Because the U.S. gives Israel over $8 million/day - more than to any other nation - we feel it is essential that we be fully informed on this region. Below are news reports to augment mainstream coverage.

Friday, December 31, 2010

Israeli parliament approves 2 billion to settlements in the new year's budget

IMEMC- The Israeli Knesset approved its 2011-2012 budget on Wednesday, which includes two billion shekels (approx. US$ 564 million) to settlements construction, services and security, Israeli daily Haaretz reported.

...In addition, the state will compensate the loss incurred by exporters from settlements to the European Union with NIS 22 million, due to settlement produce no longer recognized as from Israel by the E.U., and thus losing free trade status under the Euro-Mediterranean Agreement.

The budget also shows a contradiction between the information provided by the Central Bureau of Statistics and the World Zionist Organization, due to while the first organization indicates 120 official settlements in the West bank, the WZO claims 136 "communities", which indicates that the WZO could support at least 16 illegal outposts. Read more
at 12/31/2010 12:06:00 PM