I'm feeling a little dismayed at how none of this UPS bomber stuff makes any sense at all and yet our politicians are pumping up the BS rhetoric about the War on Terror.
If the bombs were meant to blow up the airplane, why address them to synagogues?
It's a simple question without a good answer.
This reuters article makes little sense, because of that fact the pompous politcal rhetoric of an Obama or a Cameron even less.
From Reuters.
(Reuters) - Yemeni forces on Saturday arrested a woman believed to be involved in sending explosive packages bound for the United States that triggered a global security alert, Yemeni security officials said.
The arrest was the first in the case, in which two air freight packages containing bombs -- both sent from Yemen and addressed to synagogues in Chicago -- were intercepted in Britain and Dubai...
...Britain said the device found on a cargo plane at its East Midlands airport was big enough to down an aircraft.
"We believe the device was designed to go off on the aeroplane. We cannot be sure about the timing when that was meant to take place," Prime Minister David Cameron told reporters at Chequers, his country residence outside London.
Besides that, saying that the bomb on board could have brought down the plane seems ludicrous with the little smudge of white powder seen in pictures of the bomb. This material also tested negative for explosives in the first news reports which have since changed to "Explosives found in suspicious packages packed powerful punch."
Dubious indeed.
Not to mention Yemen denies that the planes came from them.
Saturday, October 30, 2010
No U.S. Commercial or Private Plane left Yemen to the U.S. over last 48 hours; Yemeni Official
Surprise, surprise...
From Prison Planet or Yemen Post.
A Yemeni official told Yemen Post that no U.S. cargo aircraft of any American company flew out of Yemen over the last 48 hours. "Whether UPS, Fed Ex, DHL or any other U.S. cargo company left Yemen over the last 48 hours."
See Also: Suspicious Package to U.S. not from Yemen; Yemenia Air Cargo Director
And: UAE rejects US claims on Flight 201
The Guardian's "official version" however makes somewhat different claims.
From Prison Planet or Yemen Post.
A Yemeni official told Yemen Post that no U.S. cargo aircraft of any American company flew out of Yemen over the last 48 hours. "Whether UPS, Fed Ex, DHL or any other U.S. cargo company left Yemen over the last 48 hours."
See Also: Suspicious Package to U.S. not from Yemen; Yemenia Air Cargo Director
And: UAE rejects US claims on Flight 201
The Guardian's "official version" however makes somewhat different claims.
Packages Harmless...Or Not Harmless...
An article from the Maine Public Broadcasting Network explains that initial reports were that all these "terror packages" are actually harmless. Obama however is calling them a "credible threat." Someone else is saying this was just a test run. Why do a test run at all? Some have been saying the idea is just to make a scare, even if a harmless one. Why is Obama making a big deal out of it then which only would help the originators of the plan in creating havoc? None of this makes much sense.
I'd place my bets on pre-election PSYOP.
Of course it will also bring on some new Homeland Security Measures, including "advanced imaging technology" like those body scanners Homeland Security has been trying to sell everyone on.
See Also: Obama's UPS Bomber Linked To Dubious Terror Cell
I'd place my bets on pre-election PSYOP.
Of course it will also bring on some new Homeland Security Measures, including "advanced imaging technology" like those body scanners Homeland Security has been trying to sell everyone on.
See Also: Obama's UPS Bomber Linked To Dubious Terror Cell
The Big Lie on Fraudclosure
From The Big Picture and Cryptogon.
Yesterday morning, I had The Misinformation Hour on TV as I got dressed for work. One of the comments that was made – “No one was wrongly thrown out of their home” — was repeated or ignored by hosts and guests alike.
This is patently demonstrably false, and yet no one challenged it.
The banks have gotten the Big Lie technique down to a science: State a lie so colossal that no one could believe anyone “has the impudence to distort the truth so infamously.” In practice, adding factually accurate, but irrelevant or misleading color, helps push the lie on unsusp0ecting rubes.
Yesterday morning, I had The Misinformation Hour on TV as I got dressed for work. One of the comments that was made – “No one was wrongly thrown out of their home” — was repeated or ignored by hosts and guests alike.
This is patently demonstrably false, and yet no one challenged it.
The banks have gotten the Big Lie technique down to a science: State a lie so colossal that no one could believe anyone “has the impudence to distort the truth so infamously.” In practice, adding factually accurate, but irrelevant or misleading color, helps push the lie on unsusp0ecting rubes.
Obama's UPS Bomber Linked To Dubious Terror Cell
A Reuters article links the recent UPS bomber plot to Al-Qaeda in The Arabian Peninsula, and the Christmas Bomber. Everything about Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula seems suspect, like their obviously phony magazine, Inspire, with headlines like "Make A Bomb In The Kitchen Of Your Mom." The Christmas Bomber was very dubious since witnesses claimed he was helped on the plane by a customs official. A spokesperson for the State Department also revealed that his visa was purposely NOT revoked after protests from a U.S. intelligence agency when the State Department attempted to revoke it before the bombing.
That doesn't mean that there isn't danger. It means who the danger is coming from, is an open question.
That doesn't mean that there isn't danger. It means who the danger is coming from, is an open question.
Thursday, October 28, 2010
The scary actual U.S. government debt
From Globe and Mail.
Boston University economist Laurence Kotlikoff says U.S. government debt is not $13.5-trillion (U.S.), which is 60 per cent of current gross domestic product, as global investors and American taxpayers think, but rather 14-fold higher: $200-trillion – 840 per cent of current GDP. “Let’s get real,” Prof. Kotlikoff says. “The U.S. is bankrupt.”
Boston University economist Laurence Kotlikoff says U.S. government debt is not $13.5-trillion (U.S.), which is 60 per cent of current gross domestic product, as global investors and American taxpayers think, but rather 14-fold higher: $200-trillion – 840 per cent of current GDP. “Let’s get real,” Prof. Kotlikoff says. “The U.S. is bankrupt.”
William Black Tears Larry Summers Apart, Again Calls Out Obama To Place Bank Of America In Receivership
From Zerohedge.
William Black continues with his campaign to not only bring sanity and transparency to an administration wrapped in secrecy, legacy cover ups and fraud, but to finally do what had to be down two years ago: bring down the big banks, force a balance sheet restructuring at the TBTFs, and force a systemic reset which is the only thing that could bring the much promised "change for good" to this country. " Don't talk about doing the right thing -- do it -- and do it to a major contributor. Don't do it because it's a contributor, but because a bank that commits tens of thousands of frauds should immediately be placed in receivership." We once again hope that more people like Bill Black (if not he himself) will decide to run for president, and make the difficult choices necessary to begin the impossible task of truly fixing the mess this country finds itself in.
William Black continues with his campaign to not only bring sanity and transparency to an administration wrapped in secrecy, legacy cover ups and fraud, but to finally do what had to be down two years ago: bring down the big banks, force a balance sheet restructuring at the TBTFs, and force a systemic reset which is the only thing that could bring the much promised "change for good" to this country. " Don't talk about doing the right thing -- do it -- and do it to a major contributor. Don't do it because it's a contributor, but because a bank that commits tens of thousands of frauds should immediately be placed in receivership." We once again hope that more people like Bill Black (if not he himself) will decide to run for president, and make the difficult choices necessary to begin the impossible task of truly fixing the mess this country finds itself in.
The Tipping Point has Arrived
From Zerohedge.
I believe we have finally breached the tipping point in the socio-political landscape of the United States of America. There will be no going back from here. Everyone on all levels of society including the elites must make a choice. Will you stand for real reform and an end of the feudalistic rule of the oligarchs and their paid-off puppets that line the streets of Washington D.C., or will you keep your mouth shut and play the old and dying game in the context of a completely different cultural environment?
While many will disagree with what I am about to say, I believe the oligarchs and the Federal Reserve have already lost...
I believe we have finally breached the tipping point in the socio-political landscape of the United States of America. There will be no going back from here. Everyone on all levels of society including the elites must make a choice. Will you stand for real reform and an end of the feudalistic rule of the oligarchs and their paid-off puppets that line the streets of Washington D.C., or will you keep your mouth shut and play the old and dying game in the context of a completely different cultural environment?
While many will disagree with what I am about to say, I believe the oligarchs and the Federal Reserve have already lost...
Halliburton Knew Cement for BP Unstable, Report Finds (Update2)
From Bloomberg.
Oct. 28 (Bloomberg) -- Halliburton Co. knew cement it mixed for BP Plc’s doomed Macondo well was unstable as much as two months before the April blowout that triggered the worst U.S. oil spill, a report to a presidential commission found. Halliburton dropped the most in almost two years in New York trading...
Oct. 28 (Bloomberg) -- Halliburton Co. knew cement it mixed for BP Plc’s doomed Macondo well was unstable as much as two months before the April blowout that triggered the worst U.S. oil spill, a report to a presidential commission found. Halliburton dropped the most in almost two years in New York trading...
Halliburton Drops Most in 23 Months on BP Well Report (Update1)
Oct. 28 (Bloomberg) -- Halliburton Co., the world’s second- largest oilfield-services provider, fell the most in almost two years after a government report said cement the company recommended to seal BP Plc’s Gulf of Mexico well was unstable and may have contributed to the largest U.S. offshore oil spill...
Wednesday, October 27, 2010
Iraq's Secret War Files
An excellent documentary blasts the Iraq War with details from the new Wikileaks documents.
From Youtube
From Youtube
Assange and Greenwald Identify The New York Times As Having Bad Character
Down with the Times. My parents being loyal readers of the Times point out that now and then there is an anti-war article in the Times. Nice, but the main force of the Times is pro-war, pro-Pentagon, helped start the wars for the Bush administration with it's propaganda, and has blood on it's hands. I'm not the only one who has noticed.
From Yahoo
...Burns, a Pulitzer Prize-winning war correspondent and current London bureau chief, pushed back against Assange's contention that the Times engaged in "tabloid activity" when reporting a profile that Assange calls a error-ridden "hit piece."
Assange said Monday at London's Frontline Club that he wasn't surprised by the Times' recent coverage of him, given what he considers the paper's "absolutely disgusting" August profile of Bradley Manning, the 22-year-old army private suspected of supplying the classified documents to WikiLeaks. The Manning piece, Assange said, "removed all higher-level political motivations from him and psychoanalyzed him down to problems in his childhood and a demand for attention."
The WikiLeaks chief also questioned whether the Times simply employs "journalists with extremely bad character" or whether coverage of him and his whistleblower organization is influenced by the "realpolitik that [Times executive editor] Bill Keller has to go through in order to get out any story that depicts the U.S. military in a negative way."
...Burns said he doesn't "recall ever having been the subject of such absolutely, relentless vituperation" following a story in his 35 years at the Times. He said his email inbox has been full of denunciations from readers and a number of academics at top-tier schools such as Harvard, Yale, and MIT. Some, he said, used "language that I don't think they would use at their own dinner table." Such heated reactions to the profile, Burns said, shows "just how embittered the American discourse on these two wars has become."
In the 2,000-word piece — "WikiLeaks Chief On Run, Trailed By His Notoriety" — Burns and reporter Ravi Somaiya described Assange as the secretive and brilliant driving force behind the global document clearing house. But they also wrote how "some of his own comrades are abandoning him for what they see as erratic and imperious behavior, and nearly delusional grandeur unmatched by an awareness that the digital secrets he reveals can have a price in flesh and blood." They also noted the recent sexual assault allegations that two women in Sweden brought against Assange.
Salon's Glenn Greenwald called the profile a "sleazy hit piece" and wrote Sunday that it was "filled with every tawdry, scurrilous tabloid rumor" about the WikiLeaks founder. Greenwald likened Burns to the "Nixonian henchmen" who plotted against Pentagon Papers leaker Daniel Ellsberg and described him as "one of the media's most enthusiastic supporters of the occupation of Iraq." (Burns has also received much praise for his years as the paper's Baghdad bureau chief, and I profiled him upon his leaving that position in 2007).
"The Iraq War is John Burns' war, and for the crime of making that war look bad, Julian Assange must have his character smeared and his psychiatric health maligned," Greenwald wrote. "Burns — along with his co-writer Ravi Somaiya — is happy to viciously perform that function."
See also: Iraq War Logs Out, Pathetic New York Times Tries To Make Pro-War Spin
And:
The New York Times Continues To Use The Dubious "Zabiullah Mujahid" As Convenient Source For Anti-Wikileaks Propaganda
From Yahoo
...Burns, a Pulitzer Prize-winning war correspondent and current London bureau chief, pushed back against Assange's contention that the Times engaged in "tabloid activity" when reporting a profile that Assange calls a error-ridden "hit piece."
Assange said Monday at London's Frontline Club that he wasn't surprised by the Times' recent coverage of him, given what he considers the paper's "absolutely disgusting" August profile of Bradley Manning, the 22-year-old army private suspected of supplying the classified documents to WikiLeaks. The Manning piece, Assange said, "removed all higher-level political motivations from him and psychoanalyzed him down to problems in his childhood and a demand for attention."
The WikiLeaks chief also questioned whether the Times simply employs "journalists with extremely bad character" or whether coverage of him and his whistleblower organization is influenced by the "realpolitik that [Times executive editor] Bill Keller has to go through in order to get out any story that depicts the U.S. military in a negative way."
...Burns said he doesn't "recall ever having been the subject of such absolutely, relentless vituperation" following a story in his 35 years at the Times. He said his email inbox has been full of denunciations from readers and a number of academics at top-tier schools such as Harvard, Yale, and MIT. Some, he said, used "language that I don't think they would use at their own dinner table." Such heated reactions to the profile, Burns said, shows "just how embittered the American discourse on these two wars has become."
In the 2,000-word piece — "WikiLeaks Chief On Run, Trailed By His Notoriety" — Burns and reporter Ravi Somaiya described Assange as the secretive and brilliant driving force behind the global document clearing house. But they also wrote how "some of his own comrades are abandoning him for what they see as erratic and imperious behavior, and nearly delusional grandeur unmatched by an awareness that the digital secrets he reveals can have a price in flesh and blood." They also noted the recent sexual assault allegations that two women in Sweden brought against Assange.
Salon's Glenn Greenwald called the profile a "sleazy hit piece" and wrote Sunday that it was "filled with every tawdry, scurrilous tabloid rumor" about the WikiLeaks founder. Greenwald likened Burns to the "Nixonian henchmen" who plotted against Pentagon Papers leaker Daniel Ellsberg and described him as "one of the media's most enthusiastic supporters of the occupation of Iraq." (Burns has also received much praise for his years as the paper's Baghdad bureau chief, and I profiled him upon his leaving that position in 2007).
"The Iraq War is John Burns' war, and for the crime of making that war look bad, Julian Assange must have his character smeared and his psychiatric health maligned," Greenwald wrote. "Burns — along with his co-writer Ravi Somaiya — is happy to viciously perform that function."
See also: Iraq War Logs Out, Pathetic New York Times Tries To Make Pro-War Spin
And:
The New York Times Continues To Use The Dubious "Zabiullah Mujahid" As Convenient Source For Anti-Wikileaks Propaganda
American Election Devolves Into Brutality And Fraud
Of course not everyone behaves like the people in these videos, but nonetheless the handwriting is on the wall. The trend is set as a frustrated and uninformed population searches for scapegoats for it's failings.
The hate of some on the right for liberals turns easily nasty. But to be fair, sometimes as in the last election, it can be the Ron Paul supporter who gets beaten by mainline Republicans and their security.
Meanwhile, the voting machines will probably decide the election in many cases. Which brings us back to the real enemy. The power of big money corporations. This is where libertarian Rand and Ron Paul have disappointed me with their pro-corporation attitude. Where is the corruption coming from? Where the power is. Where is the power in American society? In the big money corporations and rich elite. So giving more "freedom" to them, will only make you less free. Freedom should be for people, not corporations. Is that so hard to understand?
The hate of some on the right for liberals turns easily nasty. But to be fair, sometimes as in the last election, it can be the Ron Paul supporter who gets beaten by mainline Republicans and their security.
Meanwhile, the voting machines will probably decide the election in many cases. Which brings us back to the real enemy. The power of big money corporations. This is where libertarian Rand and Ron Paul have disappointed me with their pro-corporation attitude. Where is the corruption coming from? Where the power is. Where is the power in American society? In the big money corporations and rich elite. So giving more "freedom" to them, will only make you less free. Freedom should be for people, not corporations. Is that so hard to understand?
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
U.S. Falls in Annual Corruption Survey
The top ten (least corrupt) countries are Denmark, New Zealand, SIngapour, Finland, Sweden, Canada, Netherlands, Australia, Switzerland, Norway,
From The New York Times
PARIS — Perceptions of corruption in the United States have worsened over the past year, knocking it out of the top 20 in global rankings released Tuesday by the watchdog group Transparency International in Berlin.
From The New York Times
PARIS — Perceptions of corruption in the United States have worsened over the past year, knocking it out of the top 20 in global rankings released Tuesday by the watchdog group Transparency International in Berlin.
Monday, October 25, 2010
Assange: "The Pentagon's Public Statements Are About As Credible As North Korea's"
The interview CNN's Anita Shubert lost when she decided to do the wishes of her corporate bosses and the Pentagon and try to smear Assange with his personal life. He walked out, and Russia Today does a much more professional interview.
From Russia Today.
From Russia Today.
Saturday, October 23, 2010
Time Magazine Lies About Number Of Iraq Civilian Casualties Exposed by Wikileaks. 66,000 Civilians Dead Magically Becomes 15,000
An article in Time Magazine today by Tara Kelly clearly misrepresents the number of civilians killed in Iraq exposed by Wikileaks.
The article reads:
At a packed press conference held in hotel in Central London Saturday, WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange declared, "This disclosure is about the truth. We hope to correct some of that attack on the truth that occurred before the war, during the war, and which has continued on since the war officially concluded." Added the tall, wan, Australian-accented Assange: "There are approximately 15,000 civilians killed by violence in Iraq. That tremendous scale should not make us blind to the small human scale in this material. It is the deaths of one and two people per event that killed the overwhelming number of people in Iraq."
Watch a clip from the press conference yourself below. You can clearly hear (at 1:35 on video) that the real statement of Julian Assange is that "We have seen that there are approximately 15,000 never previously documented or known cases of civilians who have been killed by violence in Iraq."
Just a few seconds earlier at 1:20 you can hear Julian Assange say that they have discovered the number of civilian casualties in Iraq documented in the reports to be some 66,000 people.
The article reads:
At a packed press conference held in hotel in Central London Saturday, WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange declared, "This disclosure is about the truth. We hope to correct some of that attack on the truth that occurred before the war, during the war, and which has continued on since the war officially concluded." Added the tall, wan, Australian-accented Assange: "There are approximately 15,000 civilians killed by violence in Iraq. That tremendous scale should not make us blind to the small human scale in this material. It is the deaths of one and two people per event that killed the overwhelming number of people in Iraq."
Watch a clip from the press conference yourself below. You can clearly hear (at 1:35 on video) that the real statement of Julian Assange is that "We have seen that there are approximately 15,000 never previously documented or known cases of civilians who have been killed by violence in Iraq."
Just a few seconds earlier at 1:20 you can hear Julian Assange say that they have discovered the number of civilian casualties in Iraq documented in the reports to be some 66,000 people.
The New York Times Continues To Use The Dubious "Zabiullah Mujahid" As Convenient Source For Anti-Wikileaks Propaganda
Not only is a recent article in the New York Times on Julian Assange a carefully prepared piece of propaganda which tries to play down his great recent successes against the military industrial complex of America and instead present him as a strange failure, but it might also be using a purposely fictional Taliban source in an attempt to incriminate Assange and Wikileaks.
From The New York Times.
A Taliban spokesman in Afghanistan using the pseudonym Zabiullah Mujahid said in a telephone interview that the Taliban had formed a nine-member “commission” after the Afghan documents were posted “to find about people who are spying.” He said the Taliban had a “wanted” list of 1,800 Afghans and was comparing that with names WikiLeaks provided.
“After the process is completed, our Taliban court will decide about such people,” he said.
So who is this useful contact of the New York Times behind Taliban lines, Zabiullah Mujahid?
Writers on Wikipedia have this to say about him:
Shortly after the CNN interview was broadcast, with highlights shared on the CNN web page on May 5, 2009, some jihadi web sites carried denials, some attributed to Mujahid himself, saying the person Robertson interviewed was not Mujahid. [3] [4]
Zabihullah Mujahid is described to be about 30 years old, with a beard, and is little over 6 feet (1.8 m) tall.[2] Although his association with Taliban leader Mullah Omar is not confirmed, it is suggested that Mujahid may be representing the Haqqani network or Gulbuddin Hekmatyar and the Hezb-e-Islami political party of Afghanistan.[5] The dialect of Pashto language spoken by the man CNN claims was Mujahid during the interview with Robertson is similar to that of Hezb-e Islami, which belongs to the area covering Kunar, Laghman, Nangarhar, and Paktia.
Zabihullah Mujahid may possibly be a number of individuals who assume the persona of the "Taliban Spokesman" when contacting western and middle eastern reporters. His claims of Taliban victories and US and coalition failings are often cited uncritically by several reporters who have developed a close working relationship with "Zabihullah". For example, after an attack on Bagram Air Base in May 2010, CNN reporter Atia Abawi revealed on the air that she received phone calls directly from Zabihullah claiming credit for this and earlier attacks, and repeated his casualty claims, later shown to be gross exaggerations, as being "spot on." [6]
Sounds like a patsy/puppet/agent used by the military-industrial complex for the purpose of disinfo to me.
UPDATE: I found this old CNN interview allegedly with Mujahid. Comments point out that the room has several decorative calendars with photos of enemies of the Taliban. Wouldn't that be an odd place for a Taliban leader to go for an interview?
From The New York Times.
A Taliban spokesman in Afghanistan using the pseudonym Zabiullah Mujahid said in a telephone interview that the Taliban had formed a nine-member “commission” after the Afghan documents were posted “to find about people who are spying.” He said the Taliban had a “wanted” list of 1,800 Afghans and was comparing that with names WikiLeaks provided.
“After the process is completed, our Taliban court will decide about such people,” he said.
So who is this useful contact of the New York Times behind Taliban lines, Zabiullah Mujahid?
Writers on Wikipedia have this to say about him:
Shortly after the CNN interview was broadcast, with highlights shared on the CNN web page on May 5, 2009, some jihadi web sites carried denials, some attributed to Mujahid himself, saying the person Robertson interviewed was not Mujahid. [3] [4]
Zabihullah Mujahid is described to be about 30 years old, with a beard, and is little over 6 feet (1.8 m) tall.[2] Although his association with Taliban leader Mullah Omar is not confirmed, it is suggested that Mujahid may be representing the Haqqani network or Gulbuddin Hekmatyar and the Hezb-e-Islami political party of Afghanistan.[5] The dialect of Pashto language spoken by the man CNN claims was Mujahid during the interview with Robertson is similar to that of Hezb-e Islami, which belongs to the area covering Kunar, Laghman, Nangarhar, and Paktia.
Zabihullah Mujahid may possibly be a number of individuals who assume the persona of the "Taliban Spokesman" when contacting western and middle eastern reporters. His claims of Taliban victories and US and coalition failings are often cited uncritically by several reporters who have developed a close working relationship with "Zabihullah". For example, after an attack on Bagram Air Base in May 2010, CNN reporter Atia Abawi revealed on the air that she received phone calls directly from Zabihullah claiming credit for this and earlier attacks, and repeated his casualty claims, later shown to be gross exaggerations, as being "spot on." [6]
Sounds like a patsy/puppet/agent used by the military-industrial complex for the purpose of disinfo to me.
UPDATE: I found this old CNN interview allegedly with Mujahid. Comments point out that the room has several decorative calendars with photos of enemies of the Taliban. Wouldn't that be an odd place for a Taliban leader to go for an interview?
Wikileaks defends Iraq logs publication; Wikileaks Press Conference
From BBC.
The founder of whistleblowing website Wikileaks has defended its decision to publish thousands of secret US military documents on the Iraq war.
Julian Assange told reporters at a news conference: "This disclosure is about the truth".
The documents suggest US commanders ignored evidence of torture by the Iraqi authorities, and are said to reveal more than 15,000 previously unreported civillian deaths.
A US Department of Defense spokesman dismissed the logs as raw observations by tactical units, which were only snapshots of tragic events.
Wikileaks Press Conference Videos Part 1 Part 2 Part 3
The founder of whistleblowing website Wikileaks has defended its decision to publish thousands of secret US military documents on the Iraq war.
Julian Assange told reporters at a news conference: "This disclosure is about the truth".
The documents suggest US commanders ignored evidence of torture by the Iraqi authorities, and are said to reveal more than 15,000 previously unreported civillian deaths.
A US Department of Defense spokesman dismissed the logs as raw observations by tactical units, which were only snapshots of tragic events.
Wikileaks Press Conference Videos Part 1 Part 2 Part 3
Oh Yes Hillary, Condemn Condemn.
Where do you find yourself now Hillary? Defending the Pentagon/Bush war machine of course. Just like all the rest of the spineless democrats. I'm REALLY glad I'm not YOU.
From BBC.
From BBC.
Iraq war logs: Frago 242 – a licence to torture
From The Guardian.
How the newly released US military files reveal an instruction to ignore detainee abuse by Iraqi authorities; what that meant on the ground; and just how far up the chain of command the order went
How the newly released US military files reveal an instruction to ignore detainee abuse by Iraqi authorities; what that meant on the ground; and just how far up the chain of command the order went
WikiLeaks Releases Iraq War Logs Which Detail Over 100,000 Deaths, Show US Ignored Torture, Expose Routine Friendly Fire
From Zerohedge.
The new logs detail how:
US authorities failed to investigate hundreds of reports of abuse, torture, rape and even murder by Iraqi police and soldiers whose conduct appears to be systematic and normally unpunished.
A US helicopter gunship involved in a notorious Baghdad incident had previously killed Iraqi insurgents after they tried to surrender.
More than 15,000 civilians died in previously unknown incidents. US and UK officials have insisted that no official record of civilian casualties exists but the logs record 66,081 non-combatant deaths out of a total of 109,000 fatalities.
Sure enough, the Pentagon has immediately responded (via The New York Times):
The new logs detail how:
US authorities failed to investigate hundreds of reports of abuse, torture, rape and even murder by Iraqi police and soldiers whose conduct appears to be systematic and normally unpunished.
A US helicopter gunship involved in a notorious Baghdad incident had previously killed Iraqi insurgents after they tried to surrender.
More than 15,000 civilians died in previously unknown incidents. US and UK officials have insisted that no official record of civilian casualties exists but the logs record 66,081 non-combatant deaths out of a total of 109,000 fatalities.
Sure enough, the Pentagon has immediately responded (via The New York Times):
Bravo Julian, Boo Anita (establishment media puppet).
This is how you deal with the nonsense U.S. corporate media mafia.
Link to CNN Video.
Update: A more professional interview by Russia Today.
Link to CNN Video.
Update: A more professional interview by Russia Today.
Friday, October 22, 2010
Iraq War Logs Out, Pathetic New York Times Tries To Make Pro-War Spin
I come from New York. I am disgusted at what this newspaper has become. The New York Times is now nothing more then a pro-war propaganda rag that tries to spin this immense leak into pro-war, anti-Iranian propaganda. Just google Iraq war logs and see what you get around the world. The world finds in the leaks a condemnation of the wars, but the New York Times for the most part tries to spin them into more propaganda.
Le Monde: Iraq: the ordinary horror revealed by Wikileaks
The Guardian: Iraq war logs: How friendly fire from US troops became routine
Secret order that let US ignore abuse
Iraq war logs: secret files show how US ignored torture
LA Times: WikiLeaks releases sensitive documents on Iraq war
Hundreds of thousands of U.S. military documents about the Iraq war are made public in one of the largest leaks of classified material in American history. The most explosive documents are reports suggesting that U.S. forces knew about but failed to stop numerous cases of prisoner abuse.
Even the USA Today has the courage to be critical: Iraq war leaks: No U.S. investigation of many abuses
But not the NYT.
And what does the Times have to say about it? Read all about it. The first thing they find to say is to blame Iran. Another is to blame Iraq. Not much about America, oh no. We are the good guys, of course.
Leaked Reports Detail Iran’s Aid for Iraqi Militias
Detainees Fared Worse in Iraqi Hands, Logs Say
The New York Times even makes a point of writing their article about civilian deaths something about Iraqis killing Iraqis. Nice spin. Who started the war idiots? You did.
You! New York Times. You are the ones. Not the Iranians. Not the Iraqis. You are the ones who reported about Saddam's WMD's that didn't exist, the falsehood which began the war.
In the build up to the 2003 war the New York Times published a number of stories claiming to prove that Iraq possessed WMD. One story in particular, written by Judith Miller helped persuade the American public that Iraq had WMD
Hats off to Wikileaks. Shame on the New York Times. Because of real journalism from Wikileaks, we now know how many people you and your supporters have murdered. More then 100,000.
Le Monde: Iraq: the ordinary horror revealed by Wikileaks
The Guardian: Iraq war logs: How friendly fire from US troops became routine
Secret order that let US ignore abuse
Iraq war logs: secret files show how US ignored torture
LA Times: WikiLeaks releases sensitive documents on Iraq war
Hundreds of thousands of U.S. military documents about the Iraq war are made public in one of the largest leaks of classified material in American history. The most explosive documents are reports suggesting that U.S. forces knew about but failed to stop numerous cases of prisoner abuse.
Even the USA Today has the courage to be critical: Iraq war leaks: No U.S. investigation of many abuses
But not the NYT.
And what does the Times have to say about it? Read all about it. The first thing they find to say is to blame Iran. Another is to blame Iraq. Not much about America, oh no. We are the good guys, of course.
Leaked Reports Detail Iran’s Aid for Iraqi Militias
Detainees Fared Worse in Iraqi Hands, Logs Say
The New York Times even makes a point of writing their article about civilian deaths something about Iraqis killing Iraqis. Nice spin. Who started the war idiots? You did.
You! New York Times. You are the ones. Not the Iranians. Not the Iraqis. You are the ones who reported about Saddam's WMD's that didn't exist, the falsehood which began the war.
In the build up to the 2003 war the New York Times published a number of stories claiming to prove that Iraq possessed WMD. One story in particular, written by Judith Miller helped persuade the American public that Iraq had WMD
Hats off to Wikileaks. Shame on the New York Times. Because of real journalism from Wikileaks, we now know how many people you and your supporters have murdered. More then 100,000.
Stimulus Swindle: Los Angeles Spent $70 Million in Stimulus Funds to Create 7.76 Jobs
From Cryptogon.
A new piece of evidence has emerged in the debate over the effectiveness of President Obama’s 2009 stimulus package, and it’s not good for Democrats. According to two newly released audits performed by the Los Angeles controller, L.A. spent enormous portions of the $594 million in stimulus funds it received on projects that created or saved just a handful of jobs. All told, the audits — available here and here [pdf] — examined $111 million in stimulus spending by the city’s Department of Transportation and Department of Public Works, and found that the money went to projects that created or retained just 54 jobs. That works out to roughly $2 million per job...
A new piece of evidence has emerged in the debate over the effectiveness of President Obama’s 2009 stimulus package, and it’s not good for Democrats. According to two newly released audits performed by the Los Angeles controller, L.A. spent enormous portions of the $594 million in stimulus funds it received on projects that created or saved just a handful of jobs. All told, the audits — available here and here [pdf] — examined $111 million in stimulus spending by the city’s Department of Transportation and Department of Public Works, and found that the money went to projects that created or retained just 54 jobs. That works out to roughly $2 million per job...
Major WikiLeaks announcement in Europe at 10am tomorrow.
Some dramatic messages are on the Wikileaks Twitter page.
From Wikileaks On Twitter
Major WikiLeaks announcement in Europe at 10am tomorrow. LAST CHANCE to book [press only] email sunshine.booking@mail.be
18 minutes ago via web
Major WikiLeaks press conference in europe coming up; to book [press/NGO only], mail sunshine.booking@mail.be
4:07 AM Oct 21st via web
WikiLeaks communications infrastructure is currently under attack. Project BO move to coms channel S. Activate Reston5.
9:41 AM Oct 20th via web
Now is a good time to mirror this WikiLeaks 'insurance' backup http://bit.ly/bRaiYF
10:48 AM Oct 19th via web
From Wikileaks On Twitter
Major WikiLeaks announcement in Europe at 10am tomorrow. LAST CHANCE to book [press only] email sunshine.booking@mail.be
18 minutes ago via web
Major WikiLeaks press conference in europe coming up; to book [press/NGO only], mail sunshine.booking@mail.be
4:07 AM Oct 21st via web
WikiLeaks communications infrastructure is currently under attack. Project BO move to coms channel S. Activate Reston5.
9:41 AM Oct 20th via web
Now is a good time to mirror this WikiLeaks 'insurance' backup http://bit.ly/bRaiYF
10:48 AM Oct 19th via web
Ratigan Slams Tea Party Borg Hive
From Infowars.
Kurt Nimmo
Infowars.com
October 21, 2010
Less than two weeks out from the dog and pony show called mid-term elections and Dylan Ratigan wants to know what happened to the Tea Party. He correctly observes that the hitherto grassroots movement was sold down the river and absorbed by the Republican Party. Karl Denninger of FedUpUSA tells Ratigan the movement has devolved into territory safe for the establishment — Guns, gays, God. The threat to the bankster system has been effectively neutralized...
Kurt Nimmo
Infowars.com
October 21, 2010
Less than two weeks out from the dog and pony show called mid-term elections and Dylan Ratigan wants to know what happened to the Tea Party. He correctly observes that the hitherto grassroots movement was sold down the river and absorbed by the Republican Party. Karl Denninger of FedUpUSA tells Ratigan the movement has devolved into territory safe for the establishment — Guns, gays, God. The threat to the bankster system has been effectively neutralized...
W. Virginia Senate Candidate Questions “Foreknowledge” of WTC7 Collapse in Live TV Debate
Go to the Prison Planet link to watch a video of the candidate speaking about 9/11
From Prison Planet.
Constitution Party Candidate Jeff Becker Questions WTC 7 Collapse in US Senate Debate; Calls for New Senate Investigation of 9/11 on Campaign Website
Aaron Dykes
Infowars.com
October 22, 2010
Jeff Becker, running for Senate in West Virginia in the Constitution Party, raised questions about the “foreknowledge” of WTC Building 7′s collapse on September 11th during a live televised debate that was carried nationally on C-SPAN. Indeed, even Becker’s campaign website announces proudly at the very top of his homepage that he “calls for new Senate investigation of 9/11.”
During the October 18 debate for the special election to replace the deceased Sen. Robert Byrd, Jeff Becker responded to a question about the “continued build-up of troops in Afghanistan” by telling the audience that “We need to first take a look at what happened on 9/11. There were actually three buildings that collapsed on September 11th.”
From Prison Planet.
Constitution Party Candidate Jeff Becker Questions WTC 7 Collapse in US Senate Debate; Calls for New Senate Investigation of 9/11 on Campaign Website
Aaron Dykes
Infowars.com
October 22, 2010
Jeff Becker, running for Senate in West Virginia in the Constitution Party, raised questions about the “foreknowledge” of WTC Building 7′s collapse on September 11th during a live televised debate that was carried nationally on C-SPAN. Indeed, even Becker’s campaign website announces proudly at the very top of his homepage that he “calls for new Senate investigation of 9/11.”
During the October 18 debate for the special election to replace the deceased Sen. Robert Byrd, Jeff Becker responded to a question about the “continued build-up of troops in Afghanistan” by telling the audience that “We need to first take a look at what happened on 9/11. There were actually three buildings that collapsed on September 11th.”
Thursday, October 21, 2010
Al-Qaeda Mastermind Invited To Pentagon After 9/11
My Dinner With Anwar. The Pentagon wines and dines its so called enemies. Pinch me, I'm so surprised.
From Prison Planet.
Al-Qaeda terror mastermind Anwar Al-Awlaki, the man who helped plot the aborted Christmas Day bombing, the Fort Hood shooting, the Times Square bombing attempt, and who also preached to the alleged September 11 hijackers, dined at the Pentagon just months after 9/11 documents obtained by Fox News show.
From Prison Planet.
Al-Qaeda terror mastermind Anwar Al-Awlaki, the man who helped plot the aborted Christmas Day bombing, the Fort Hood shooting, the Times Square bombing attempt, and who also preached to the alleged September 11 hijackers, dined at the Pentagon just months after 9/11 documents obtained by Fox News show.
Google 2.4% Rate Shows How $60 Billion Is Lost to Tax Loopholes
From Bloomberg.
Oct. 21 (Bloomberg) -- Google Inc. cut its taxes by $3.1 billion in the last three years using a technique that moves most of its foreign profits through Ireland and the Netherlands to Bermuda.
Google’s income shifting -- involving strategies known to lawyers as the “Double Irish” and the “Dutch Sandwich” -- helped reduce its overseas tax rate to 2.4 percent, the lowest of the top five U.S. technology companies by market capitalization, according to regulatory filings in six countries.
Oct. 21 (Bloomberg) -- Google Inc. cut its taxes by $3.1 billion in the last three years using a technique that moves most of its foreign profits through Ireland and the Netherlands to Bermuda.
Google’s income shifting -- involving strategies known to lawyers as the “Double Irish” and the “Dutch Sandwich” -- helped reduce its overseas tax rate to 2.4 percent, the lowest of the top five U.S. technology companies by market capitalization, according to regulatory filings in six countries.
Currency War Can Be Solved With U.S. Austerity, Faber Says
From Bloomberg
“The currency war can be solved one way: with austerity in the U.S.,” Faber told reporters at a Russian investment conference today in London. “The U.S. needs to redirect the economy to R&D, education and infrastructure expenditure, but instead they want to get spending going again.”
“The currency war can be solved one way: with austerity in the U.S.,” Faber told reporters at a Russian investment conference today in London. “The U.S. needs to redirect the economy to R&D, education and infrastructure expenditure, but instead they want to get spending going again.”
Wednesday, October 20, 2010
Chicago Sheriff Won’t Enforce Foreclosures for BofA, JPMorgan, and GMAC/Ally Financial Unless They Are Proven to Be Legal
From Cryptogon.
Two of the largest U.S. mortgage servicers have said they will resume home foreclosures, but a big-city sheriff has news for them: he won’t enforce their foreclosure evictions.
The sheriff for Cook County, Illinois, which includes the city of Chicago, said on Tuesday he will not enforce foreclosure evictions for Bank of America Corp, JPMorgan Chase and Co. and GMAC Mortgage/Ally Financial until they prove those foreclosures were handled “properly and legally.”
Two of the largest U.S. mortgage servicers have said they will resume home foreclosures, but a big-city sheriff has news for them: he won’t enforce their foreclosure evictions.
The sheriff for Cook County, Illinois, which includes the city of Chicago, said on Tuesday he will not enforce foreclosure evictions for Bank of America Corp, JPMorgan Chase and Co. and GMAC Mortgage/Ally Financial until they prove those foreclosures were handled “properly and legally.”
Will the Federal Reserve Cause a Civil War?
From Time.
What is the most likely cause today of civil unrest? Immigration. Gay Marriage. Abortion. The Results of Election Day. The Mosque at Ground Zero. Nope.
Try the Federal Reserve. November 3rd is when the Federal Reserve's next policy committee meeting ends, and if you thought this was just another boring money meeting you would be wrong. It could be the most important meeting in Fed history, maybe.
What is the most likely cause today of civil unrest? Immigration. Gay Marriage. Abortion. The Results of Election Day. The Mosque at Ground Zero. Nope.
Try the Federal Reserve. November 3rd is when the Federal Reserve's next policy committee meeting ends, and if you thought this was just another boring money meeting you would be wrong. It could be the most important meeting in Fed history, maybe.
Trades Hall president Kevin Bracken calls 9/11 'conspiracy'
From The Daily Telegraph.
THE president of the Victorian Trades Hall has sparked outrage after controversially claiming the September 11 2001 World Trade Centre attacks were a conspiracy, not the result of terrorist activity.
Kevin Bracken, who is also the secretary of the Maritime Union of Australia, sparked a flood of angry calls after calling into ABC talk-back host Jon Faine's program this morning.
"I believe the official story is a conspiracy theory that doesn't stand up to scientific scrutiny," Mr Bracken said.
"In my mind the buildings were imploded."
THE president of the Victorian Trades Hall has sparked outrage after controversially claiming the September 11 2001 World Trade Centre attacks were a conspiracy, not the result of terrorist activity.
Kevin Bracken, who is also the secretary of the Maritime Union of Australia, sparked a flood of angry calls after calling into ABC talk-back host Jon Faine's program this morning.
"I believe the official story is a conspiracy theory that doesn't stand up to scientific scrutiny," Mr Bracken said.
"In my mind the buildings were imploded."
Shots fired at two of Pentagon's windows
From The Washington Times.
Someone fired shots at the Pentagon early Tuesday in what security officials described as "a random event."...
An internal search of the iconic structure found fragments of two bullets still embedded in two windows one on the third floor and one on the fourth. The bullets had shattered but did not penetrate the windows, Mr. Calvery said. The windows were part of offices that are being renovated and they were unoccupied at the time.
Someone fired shots at the Pentagon early Tuesday in what security officials described as "a random event."...
An internal search of the iconic structure found fragments of two bullets still embedded in two windows one on the third floor and one on the fourth. The bullets had shattered but did not penetrate the windows, Mr. Calvery said. The windows were part of offices that are being renovated and they were unoccupied at the time.
UPDATE 1-Pentagon cautions news media on WikiLeaks documents
I especially like this bit:
"The concern is that WikiLeaks as an organization should not be made more credible by having credible news organizations facilitate what they're doing,"
For the Pentagon being credible means being a puppet of them, in other words, not credible.
From Reuters
WASHINGTON, Oct 18 (Reuters) - The Pentagon urged news organizations on Monday not to publish classified U.S. documents due to be released by WikiLeaks as U.S. officials brace for a mass disclosure of leaked Iraq war files by the whistle-blower website...
"News organizations should be cautioned not to facilitate the leaking of classified documents with this disreputable organization known as WikiLeaks," Lapan said.
"The concern is that WikiLeaks as an organization should not be made more credible by having credible news organizations facilitate what they're doing,"
For the Pentagon being credible means being a puppet of them, in other words, not credible.
From Reuters
WASHINGTON, Oct 18 (Reuters) - The Pentagon urged news organizations on Monday not to publish classified U.S. documents due to be released by WikiLeaks as U.S. officials brace for a mass disclosure of leaked Iraq war files by the whistle-blower website...
"News organizations should be cautioned not to facilitate the leaking of classified documents with this disreputable organization known as WikiLeaks," Lapan said.
Monday, October 18, 2010
Rice Meets with Obama, then Defends Regime
From Cryptogon.
The former secretary of state and onetime national security adviser met one-on-one with President Obama at the White House on Friday afternoon, after a week of television appearances promoting “Extraordinary, Ordinary People,” her memoir about her parents. The White House said Obama wanted to discuss a range of foreign policy issues with her.
Later, at an evening appearance at the Aspen Institute, Rice said she and Obama “covered the waterfront.” “Despite the fact there are changes and tussles, there is still a foreign policy community that believes that foreign policy ought to be bipartisan,” she said. “It was really great that he reached out in that way.”
The former secretary of state and onetime national security adviser met one-on-one with President Obama at the White House on Friday afternoon, after a week of television appearances promoting “Extraordinary, Ordinary People,” her memoir about her parents. The White House said Obama wanted to discuss a range of foreign policy issues with her.
Later, at an evening appearance at the Aspen Institute, Rice said she and Obama “covered the waterfront.” “Despite the fact there are changes and tussles, there is still a foreign policy community that believes that foreign policy ought to be bipartisan,” she said. “It was really great that he reached out in that way.”
Pharmaceutical company ethics Protected by the White House, the FDA and Congress
From Brasschecktv.com
Bayer knowingly sold contaminated medicine.
This is the level of protection you can expect from the FDA, the Congress, and the White House.
Another story that came and went and never stuck.
Bayer knowingly sold contaminated medicine.
This is the level of protection you can expect from the FDA, the Congress, and the White House.
Another story that came and went and never stuck.
Sunday, October 17, 2010
Sister of "Falling Man" Is An Actress Who Does "FEMA Commericials"
The documentary "Falling Man" includes the testimony of the sister of the alleged "falling man," a man who fell from the WTC.
She happens to be an actress. Here is her resume.
From Let's Roll Forum.
I checked out Gwendolyn Briley-Strand's website at seethefruits.com.
Her acting resume is here. http://www.seethefruits.com/resume.htm
If you look at her resume, under commercials, she has her 911 acting on there!
There is no such thing as a 911 FEMA Commercial. I've looked everywhere.
She has done a bunch of Government Commercials.
She may have even thought she was acting in a Commercial. After all, she's not doing a very good job with the coverup by putting it on her resume.
She happens to be an actress. Here is her resume.
From Let's Roll Forum.
I checked out Gwendolyn Briley-Strand's website at seethefruits.com.
Her acting resume is here. http://www.seethefruits.com/resume.htm
If you look at her resume, under commercials, she has her 911 acting on there!
There is no such thing as a 911 FEMA Commercial. I've looked everywhere.
She has done a bunch of Government Commercials.
She may have even thought she was acting in a Commercial. After all, she's not doing a very good job with the coverup by putting it on her resume.
9/11 Flight Paths & Stewart Air Base
This is also old, but interesting...
From 9/11 Anomalies
What happened at 8:36am on 9/11/01?
American Airlines Flight 11 and United Airlines Flight 175 were the two airplanes that hit the World Trade Center Towers, on September 11th, 2001. The 9/11 Commission Report published the flight paths of both airplanes. The flight paths originate from Boston, and cross paths once before their paths meet again in New York City.
When comparing the flight paths, it shows the unique location both planes passed on their way to New York City...
Directly From USA Today:
The two hijacked jets that demolished the World Trade Center nearly crashed into each other while heading to their target, according to a Federal Aviation Administration employee at a regional control center. “The two aircraft got too close to each other down by Stewart” International Airport in New Windsor, N.Y., about 55 miles north of New York City, the employee told The Telegraph of Nashua.
From 9/11 Anomalies
What happened at 8:36am on 9/11/01?
American Airlines Flight 11 and United Airlines Flight 175 were the two airplanes that hit the World Trade Center Towers, on September 11th, 2001. The 9/11 Commission Report published the flight paths of both airplanes. The flight paths originate from Boston, and cross paths once before their paths meet again in New York City.
When comparing the flight paths, it shows the unique location both planes passed on their way to New York City...
Directly From USA Today:
The two hijacked jets that demolished the World Trade Center nearly crashed into each other while heading to their target, according to a Federal Aviation Administration employee at a regional control center. “The two aircraft got too close to each other down by Stewart” International Airport in New Windsor, N.Y., about 55 miles north of New York City, the employee told The Telegraph of Nashua.
How propaganda is disseminated: WikiLeaks Edition
From Salon.
This is how the U.S. government and American media jointly disseminate propaganda: in the immediate wake of some newsworthy War on Terror event, U.S. Government officials (usually anonymous) make wild and reckless -- though unverifiable -- claims. The U.S. media mindlessly trumpets them around the world without question or challenge. Those claims become consecrated as widely accepted fact. And then weeks, months or years later, those claims get quietly exposed as being utter falsehoods, by which point it does not matter, because the goal is already well-achieved: the falsehoods are ingrained as accepted truth...
This is how the U.S. government and American media jointly disseminate propaganda: in the immediate wake of some newsworthy War on Terror event, U.S. Government officials (usually anonymous) make wild and reckless -- though unverifiable -- claims. The U.S. media mindlessly trumpets them around the world without question or challenge. Those claims become consecrated as widely accepted fact. And then weeks, months or years later, those claims get quietly exposed as being utter falsehoods, by which point it does not matter, because the goal is already well-achieved: the falsehoods are ingrained as accepted truth...
9/11 Hijacker Ziad Jarrah "talked freely" about plans to learn to fly in America; CIA denies being informed
The last post is of course just one in a myriad of cases where the intelligence agencies looked away as terror was being planned. Have a look at this old 9/11 info.
(Video at 1:35) He had "pasted a page of the Koran in his passport." That's what a patsy does, giving obvious information to later be discovered as proof. Of course he isn't detained.
The video says the CIA was informed but that they denied that they were informed. However other sources show that the CIA were actively monitoring militants passing through Dubai airport.
In any case, the US consulate in Jeddah was used to bring militants into the US at least in the 80s. According to Head US Consular Official Michael Springmann "the Jeddah consulate was run by the CIA and staffed almost entirely by intelligence agents. This visa system may have continued at least through 9/11, and 11 of the 19 9/11 hijackers received their visas through Jeddah (see November 2, 1997-June 20, 2001), possibly as part of this program (see October 9, 2002 and October 21, 2002)."
Of course the video above also mentions Able Danger's warnings to the Pentagon about Mohammed Atta and his gang (video 8:10), but no action was taken.
Action is being taken by Pentagon authorities however to make sure a new book on Able Danger is censored from public view.
(Video at 1:35) He had "pasted a page of the Koran in his passport." That's what a patsy does, giving obvious information to later be discovered as proof. Of course he isn't detained.
The video says the CIA was informed but that they denied that they were informed. However other sources show that the CIA were actively monitoring militants passing through Dubai airport.
In any case, the US consulate in Jeddah was used to bring militants into the US at least in the 80s. According to Head US Consular Official Michael Springmann "the Jeddah consulate was run by the CIA and staffed almost entirely by intelligence agents. This visa system may have continued at least through 9/11, and 11 of the 19 9/11 hijackers received their visas through Jeddah (see November 2, 1997-June 20, 2001), possibly as part of this program (see October 9, 2002 and October 21, 2002)."
Of course the video above also mentions Able Danger's warnings to the Pentagon about Mohammed Atta and his gang (video 8:10), but no action was taken.
Action is being taken by Pentagon authorities however to make sure a new book on Able Danger is censored from public view.
FBI warned years in advance of Mumbai attacker’s terror ties
From ProPublica
NBC news reports that US officials were warned not once but twice about a US businessman who was planning to launch terrorist attacks against targets in Mumbai. But unlike the first warning, the second was never passed on to the FBI.
The second warning, which came from David Coleman Headley's second wife, came less than a year before the Mumbai attacks of November, 2008. Those attacks involved a series of coordinated bombings of at least 10 locations over three days and resulted in 166 deaths injuries in India's largest city. The first warning came two years earlier, from Headley's ex-wife.
NBC news reports that US officials were warned not once but twice about a US businessman who was planning to launch terrorist attacks against targets in Mumbai. But unlike the first warning, the second was never passed on to the FBI.
The second warning, which came from David Coleman Headley's second wife, came less than a year before the Mumbai attacks of November, 2008. Those attacks involved a series of coordinated bombings of at least 10 locations over three days and resulted in 166 deaths injuries in India's largest city. The first warning came two years earlier, from Headley's ex-wife.
The Disappearance of Gary Devore
From Cryptogon.
As he drove through the small hours of the Californian night, Gary Devore insisted to his wife Wendy: “I’m pumping pure adrenaline.”
“This was not a normal phone call… I felt he was warning me,” Wendy later recalled. “I love you,” she had said, expectantly.
“See you later,” Gary mumbled. It was the last time Wendy Oates-Devore would ever speak to her husband, the 55-year-old Hollywood screenwriter who’d worked on major projects with stars such as Kurt Russell, Christopher Walken and Arnold Schwarzenegger. He had vanished. Swallowed, it seemed, by the desert highway.
But for me the most interesting part of the linked article from ForteanTimes is the end which mentions the CIA planting real information in Hollywood scripts. Information which will later turn out to become a real event.
In the mid-1990s, the Agency established its entertainment liaison office, headed by Chase Brandon, supposedly as part of its more ‘open’ remit. In truth, the CIA’s role in Hollywood remains decidedly clandestine. In the case of CIA-assisted productions like Bad Company (2002), 24 (2001–), and Spy Game (2001), not even isolated comments exist from anyone involved to indicate what happened on set (although we do know the CIA withdrew its endorsement from the latter). Others are less bashful, as with Alias (2001–6) star Jennifer Garner, who appeared unpaid in a recruitment ad for her friends at Langley.
The CIA may even have used entertainment for psychological warfare purposes and to develop real-world scenarios, as Texas State Professor Tricia Jenkins heard in a series of sensational interviews for her forthcoming book For Our Spies Only. Michael Frost Beckner, creator of the TV series The Agency (2001–03), recalls that Brandon phoned him to suggest a plotline involving biometric identification technology. When Beckner questioned Brandon on the story’s realism, Brandon told him to “put it in there, whether we have it or not. Terrorists watch TV too. It’ll scare them.” For another episode, Brandon suggested using a Predator drone outfitted with a Hellfire missile to kill a Pakistani general, asking Beckner to “see how it plays out, how you could make it work”. One month after the show aired, the CIA assassinated a Pakistani general using Hellfire missiles from a Predator drone. “I’m not a big conspiracy theorist,” says Beckner, “but there seems to have been a unique synergy there.”
Could one of the best examples of this be the prediction of 9/11 which aired on the Lone Gunmen episode of March 4, 2001?
As he drove through the small hours of the Californian night, Gary Devore insisted to his wife Wendy: “I’m pumping pure adrenaline.”
“This was not a normal phone call… I felt he was warning me,” Wendy later recalled. “I love you,” she had said, expectantly.
“See you later,” Gary mumbled. It was the last time Wendy Oates-Devore would ever speak to her husband, the 55-year-old Hollywood screenwriter who’d worked on major projects with stars such as Kurt Russell, Christopher Walken and Arnold Schwarzenegger. He had vanished. Swallowed, it seemed, by the desert highway.
But for me the most interesting part of the linked article from ForteanTimes is the end which mentions the CIA planting real information in Hollywood scripts. Information which will later turn out to become a real event.
In the mid-1990s, the Agency established its entertainment liaison office, headed by Chase Brandon, supposedly as part of its more ‘open’ remit. In truth, the CIA’s role in Hollywood remains decidedly clandestine. In the case of CIA-assisted productions like Bad Company (2002), 24 (2001–), and Spy Game (2001), not even isolated comments exist from anyone involved to indicate what happened on set (although we do know the CIA withdrew its endorsement from the latter). Others are less bashful, as with Alias (2001–6) star Jennifer Garner, who appeared unpaid in a recruitment ad for her friends at Langley.
The CIA may even have used entertainment for psychological warfare purposes and to develop real-world scenarios, as Texas State Professor Tricia Jenkins heard in a series of sensational interviews for her forthcoming book For Our Spies Only. Michael Frost Beckner, creator of the TV series The Agency (2001–03), recalls that Brandon phoned him to suggest a plotline involving biometric identification technology. When Beckner questioned Brandon on the story’s realism, Brandon told him to “put it in there, whether we have it or not. Terrorists watch TV too. It’ll scare them.” For another episode, Brandon suggested using a Predator drone outfitted with a Hellfire missile to kill a Pakistani general, asking Beckner to “see how it plays out, how you could make it work”. One month after the show aired, the CIA assassinated a Pakistani general using Hellfire missiles from a Predator drone. “I’m not a big conspiracy theorist,” says Beckner, “but there seems to have been a unique synergy there.”
Could one of the best examples of this be the prediction of 9/11 which aired on the Lone Gunmen episode of March 4, 2001?
FBI agent says WikiLeaks could have been used to stop 9/11 | FOX
Of course if 9/11 had been stopped, that wouldn't have been so good for Gates and his like at the Pentagon though would it have? No bases in Iraq and Afghanistan, no excess military funding, no wars, no Homeland Security, no Patriot Act.
Saturday, October 16, 2010
The War on Terror: What’s It All About?
From Prison Planet.
PAUL CRAIG ROBERTS
Prisonplanet.com
Oct 16, 2010
Does anyone remember the “cakewalk war” that would last six weeks, cost $50-$60 billion, and be paid for out of Iraqi oil revenues?
Does anyone remember that White House economist Lawrence Lindsey was fired by Dubya because Lindsey estimated that the Iraq war could cost as much as $200 billion?
Lindsey was fired for over-estimating the cost of a war that, according to Joseph Stiglitz and Linda Bilmes, has cost 15 times more than Lindsey estimated. And the US still has 50,000 troops in Iraq.
Does anyone remember that just prior to the US invasion of Iraq, the US government declared victory over the Taliban in Afghanistan?
Does anyone remember that the reason Dubya gave for invading Iraq was Saddam Hussein’s weapons of mass destruction, weapons that the US government knew did not exist?
Are Americans aware that the same neoconservarives who made these fantastic mistakes, or told these fabulous lies, are still in control of the government in Washington?
The “war on terror” is now in its tenth year. What is it really all about?
PAUL CRAIG ROBERTS
Prisonplanet.com
Oct 16, 2010
Does anyone remember the “cakewalk war” that would last six weeks, cost $50-$60 billion, and be paid for out of Iraqi oil revenues?
Does anyone remember that White House economist Lawrence Lindsey was fired by Dubya because Lindsey estimated that the Iraq war could cost as much as $200 billion?
Lindsey was fired for over-estimating the cost of a war that, according to Joseph Stiglitz and Linda Bilmes, has cost 15 times more than Lindsey estimated. And the US still has 50,000 troops in Iraq.
Does anyone remember that just prior to the US invasion of Iraq, the US government declared victory over the Taliban in Afghanistan?
Does anyone remember that the reason Dubya gave for invading Iraq was Saddam Hussein’s weapons of mass destruction, weapons that the US government knew did not exist?
Are Americans aware that the same neoconservarives who made these fantastic mistakes, or told these fabulous lies, are still in control of the government in Washington?
The “war on terror” is now in its tenth year. What is it really all about?
The Toyota Hilux: The Vehicular Equivalent of the AK-47
From Cryptogon
October 16th, 2010
We visited a very reputable used car dealership—that handles lots of Japanese used vehicles—and asked the owner: Why are there so few utes (pickups) available?
The owner of the used car dealership told us, “Well heeled Pakistanis are pretty much outbidding everyone at the used vehicle auctions in Japan. The utes are winding up in Iraq and Afghanistan. It’s because of the war.”
—New Zealand Update: Big Nerd, Little Car (2006)
Via: Newsweek
As the war in Afghanistan escalated several years ago, counterinsurgency expert David Kilcullen, a member of the team that designed the Iraq surge for Gen. David Petraeus, began to notice a new tattoo on some insurgent Afghan fighters. It wasn’t a Taliban tattoo. It wasn’t even Afghan. It was a Canadian maple leaf.
When a perplexed Kilcullen began to investigate, he says, he discovered that the incongruous flags were linked to what he says is one of the most important, and unnoticed, weapons of guerrilla war in Afghanistan and across the world: the lightweight, virtually indestructible Toyota Hilux truck.
“In Afghanistan in particular,” he says, “[the trucks are] incredibly well respected.” So well respected, in fact, that some enterprising fraudsters thought them worthy of ripping off. The imitations, Kilcullen says, had flooded the market, leaving disappointed fighters in their wake. But then “a shipment of high-quality [real] Hiluxes arrived, courtesy of the Canadian government,” he explains. “They had little Canadian flags on the back. Because they were the real deal, and because of how the Hilux is seen, over time, strangely, the Canadian flag has become a symbol of high quality across the country. Hence the tattoos.”
October 16th, 2010
We visited a very reputable used car dealership—that handles lots of Japanese used vehicles—and asked the owner: Why are there so few utes (pickups) available?
The owner of the used car dealership told us, “Well heeled Pakistanis are pretty much outbidding everyone at the used vehicle auctions in Japan. The utes are winding up in Iraq and Afghanistan. It’s because of the war.”
—New Zealand Update: Big Nerd, Little Car (2006)
Via: Newsweek
As the war in Afghanistan escalated several years ago, counterinsurgency expert David Kilcullen, a member of the team that designed the Iraq surge for Gen. David Petraeus, began to notice a new tattoo on some insurgent Afghan fighters. It wasn’t a Taliban tattoo. It wasn’t even Afghan. It was a Canadian maple leaf.
When a perplexed Kilcullen began to investigate, he says, he discovered that the incongruous flags were linked to what he says is one of the most important, and unnoticed, weapons of guerrilla war in Afghanistan and across the world: the lightweight, virtually indestructible Toyota Hilux truck.
“In Afghanistan in particular,” he says, “[the trucks are] incredibly well respected.” So well respected, in fact, that some enterprising fraudsters thought them worthy of ripping off. The imitations, Kilcullen says, had flooded the market, leaving disappointed fighters in their wake. But then “a shipment of high-quality [real] Hiluxes arrived, courtesy of the Canadian government,” he explains. “They had little Canadian flags on the back. Because they were the real deal, and because of how the Hilux is seen, over time, strangely, the Canadian flag has become a symbol of high quality across the country. Hence the tattoos.”
Gen. Hugh Shelton: Clinton Official Suggested Letting U.S. Plane Be Shot Down To Provoke War With Iraq
From 9/11 Blogger.
Huffington Post Reporting
10/15/10
In the publicity sheet that St. Martin's Press has been sending out to spur interest in General Hugh Shelton's new memoir, Without Hesitation: The Odyssey of an American Warrior, the last highlight is a doozy: "A high-ranking cabinet member suggests intentionally flying an American airplane on a low pass over Baghdad so as to guarantee it will be shot down, thus creating a natural excuse to reltaliate and go to war."
Turns out the incident took place during the Clinton administration, and Shelton's response to the suggestion...well, let's just say it more than lives up to the title of the memoir.
Over at Salon's War Room, Justin Elliott has the specifics:
'Shelton sets the scene at a "small, weekly White House breakfast" that served as regular "informal" meetings that "encouraged brainstorming of potential options on a variety of issues."
At one of my very first breakfasts, while Berger and Cohen were engaged in a sidebar discussion down at one end of the table and Tenet and Richardson were preoccupied in another, one of the Cabinet members present leaned over to me and said, "Hugh, I know I shouldn't even be asking you this, but what we really need in order to go in and take out Saddam is a precipitous event -- something that would make us look good in the eyes of the world. Could you have one of our U-2s fly low enough -- and slow enough -- so as to guarantee that Saddam could shoot it down?"
The hair on the back of my neck bristled, my teeth clenched, and my fists tightened. I was so mad I was about to explode. I looked across the table, thinking about the pilot in the U-2 and responded, "Of course we can ..." which prompted a big smile on the official's face.
"You can?" was the excited reply.
"Why, of course we can," I countered. "Just as soon as we get your ass qualified to fly it, I will have it flown just as low and slow as you want to go."'
Huffington Post Reporting
10/15/10
In the publicity sheet that St. Martin's Press has been sending out to spur interest in General Hugh Shelton's new memoir, Without Hesitation: The Odyssey of an American Warrior, the last highlight is a doozy: "A high-ranking cabinet member suggests intentionally flying an American airplane on a low pass over Baghdad so as to guarantee it will be shot down, thus creating a natural excuse to reltaliate and go to war."
Turns out the incident took place during the Clinton administration, and Shelton's response to the suggestion...well, let's just say it more than lives up to the title of the memoir.
Over at Salon's War Room, Justin Elliott has the specifics:
'Shelton sets the scene at a "small, weekly White House breakfast" that served as regular "informal" meetings that "encouraged brainstorming of potential options on a variety of issues."
At one of my very first breakfasts, while Berger and Cohen were engaged in a sidebar discussion down at one end of the table and Tenet and Richardson were preoccupied in another, one of the Cabinet members present leaned over to me and said, "Hugh, I know I shouldn't even be asking you this, but what we really need in order to go in and take out Saddam is a precipitous event -- something that would make us look good in the eyes of the world. Could you have one of our U-2s fly low enough -- and slow enough -- so as to guarantee that Saddam could shoot it down?"
The hair on the back of my neck bristled, my teeth clenched, and my fists tightened. I was so mad I was about to explode. I looked across the table, thinking about the pilot in the U-2 and responded, "Of course we can ..." which prompted a big smile on the official's face.
"You can?" was the excited reply.
"Why, of course we can," I countered. "Just as soon as we get your ass qualified to fly it, I will have it flown just as low and slow as you want to go."'
New York Magazine: Evan Dando, formerly of Lemonheads, believes WTC was "blown up by bombs"
From 9/11 Blogger and NYMAG
Dando uses both hands to pick up his piece of the World Trade Center. “Open the window,” he commands. “The towers were right there. That morning really fucked me up. The second plane was so close, it went shoom, right over my head.” He pauses and absentmindedly pats the pack of Marlboro Lights in his shirt pocket. “Because I was so close, I know what really happened,” he says. “I shouldn’t get into it, because I’m not a political person, but they were blown up by bombs. They were not taken out by those airplanes. Those fires were going out and then the buildings blew up. What I saw and heard that day was a crime, and not by the people they’re saying. That’s all I’ll say.” He pauses. “I’m worried about our country. But then again I’ve been worried about America my entire life.”
Dando uses both hands to pick up his piece of the World Trade Center. “Open the window,” he commands. “The towers were right there. That morning really fucked me up. The second plane was so close, it went shoom, right over my head.” He pauses and absentmindedly pats the pack of Marlboro Lights in his shirt pocket. “Because I was so close, I know what really happened,” he says. “I shouldn’t get into it, because I’m not a political person, but they were blown up by bombs. They were not taken out by those airplanes. Those fires were going out and then the buildings blew up. What I saw and heard that day was a crime, and not by the people they’re saying. That’s all I’ll say.” He pauses. “I’m worried about our country. But then again I’ve been worried about America my entire life.”
Friday, October 15, 2010
WikiLeaks to Release 400,000 Secret Documents as Funding Concerns Loom
From Mashable
Wikileaks is expected to release over 400,000 sensitive documents on Monday in what will be the largest intelligence leak since the Afghan War reports.
The Pentagon is bracing itself for the potential fallout of the release of secret documents detailing the inner workings of the Iraq War. According to multiple reports, the Pentagon has been sifting through the database where the documents originated. A Pentagon spokesperson said that it set up a 120-person task force several weeks ago to determine the potential implications and damage of the military reports being leaked.
The documents are expected to be released simultaneously by The New York Times, The Guardian and Der Spiegel, the same three media organizations that worked with WikiLeaks on the Afghan War Diary in July...
Wikileaks is expected to release over 400,000 sensitive documents on Monday in what will be the largest intelligence leak since the Afghan War reports.
The Pentagon is bracing itself for the potential fallout of the release of secret documents detailing the inner workings of the Iraq War. According to multiple reports, the Pentagon has been sifting through the database where the documents originated. A Pentagon spokesperson said that it set up a 120-person task force several weeks ago to determine the potential implications and damage of the military reports being leaked.
The documents are expected to be released simultaneously by The New York Times, The Guardian and Der Spiegel, the same three media organizations that worked with WikiLeaks on the Afghan War Diary in July...
WikiLeaks and 9/11: What if?
From The Los Angeles Times
Frustrated investigators might have chosen to leak information that their superiors bottled up, perhaps averting the terrorism attacks.
By Coleen Rowley and Bogdan Dzakovic
October 15, 2010
If WikiLeaks had been around in 2001, could the events of 9/11 have been prevented? The idea is worth considering.
The organization has drawn both high praise and searing criticism for its mission of publishing leaked documents without revealing their source, but we suspect the world hasn't yet fully seen its potential. Let us explain.
There were a lot of us in the run-up to Sept. 11 who had seen warning signs that something devastating might be in the planning stages. But we worked for ossified bureaucracies incapable of acting quickly and decisively. Lately, the two of us have been wondering how things might have been different if there had been a quick, confidential way to get information out.
One of us, Coleen Rowley, was a special agent/legal counsel at the FBI's Minneapolis division and worked closely with those who arrested would-be terrorist Zacarias Moussaoui on an immigration violation less than a month before the World Trade Center was destroyed.
Following up on a tip from flight school instructors who had become suspicious of the French Moroccan who claimed to want to fly a jet as an "ego boost," Special Agent Harry Samit and an INS colleague had detained Moussaoui. A foreign intelligence service promptly reported that he had connections with a foreign terrorist group, but FBI officials in Washington inexplicably turned down Samit's request for authority to search Moussaoui's laptop computer and personal effects.
Those same officials stonewalled Samit's supervisor, who pleaded with them in late August 2001 that he was "trying to keep someone from taking a plane and crashing into the World Trade Center." (Yes, he was that explicit.) Later, testifying at Moussaoui's trial, Samit testified that he believed the behavior of his FBI superiors in Washington constituted "criminal negligence."
The 9/11 Commission ultimately concluded that Moussaoui was most likely being primed as a Sept. 11 replacement pilot and that the hijackers probably would have postponed their strike if information about his arrest had been announced.
WikiLeaks might have provided a pressure valve for those agents who were terribly worried about what might happen and frustrated by their superiors' seeming indifference. They were indeed stuck in a perplexing, no-win ethical dilemma as time ticked away. Their bosses issued continual warnings against "talking to the media" and frowned on whistle-blowing, yet the agents felt a strong need to protect the public.
The other one of us writing this piece, Federal Air Marshal Bogdan Dzakovic, once co-led the Federal Aviation Administration's Red Team to probe for vulnerabilities in airport security. He also has a story of how warnings were ignored in the run-up to Sept. 11. In repeated tests of security, his team found weaknesses nine out of 10 times that would make it possible for hijackers to smuggle weapons aboard and seize control of airplanes. But the team's reports were ignored and suppressed, and the team was shut down entirely after 9/11...
Read the rest of the article at The Los Angeles TImes...
Frustrated investigators might have chosen to leak information that their superiors bottled up, perhaps averting the terrorism attacks.
By Coleen Rowley and Bogdan Dzakovic
October 15, 2010
If WikiLeaks had been around in 2001, could the events of 9/11 have been prevented? The idea is worth considering.
The organization has drawn both high praise and searing criticism for its mission of publishing leaked documents without revealing their source, but we suspect the world hasn't yet fully seen its potential. Let us explain.
There were a lot of us in the run-up to Sept. 11 who had seen warning signs that something devastating might be in the planning stages. But we worked for ossified bureaucracies incapable of acting quickly and decisively. Lately, the two of us have been wondering how things might have been different if there had been a quick, confidential way to get information out.
One of us, Coleen Rowley, was a special agent/legal counsel at the FBI's Minneapolis division and worked closely with those who arrested would-be terrorist Zacarias Moussaoui on an immigration violation less than a month before the World Trade Center was destroyed.
Following up on a tip from flight school instructors who had become suspicious of the French Moroccan who claimed to want to fly a jet as an "ego boost," Special Agent Harry Samit and an INS colleague had detained Moussaoui. A foreign intelligence service promptly reported that he had connections with a foreign terrorist group, but FBI officials in Washington inexplicably turned down Samit's request for authority to search Moussaoui's laptop computer and personal effects.
Those same officials stonewalled Samit's supervisor, who pleaded with them in late August 2001 that he was "trying to keep someone from taking a plane and crashing into the World Trade Center." (Yes, he was that explicit.) Later, testifying at Moussaoui's trial, Samit testified that he believed the behavior of his FBI superiors in Washington constituted "criminal negligence."
The 9/11 Commission ultimately concluded that Moussaoui was most likely being primed as a Sept. 11 replacement pilot and that the hijackers probably would have postponed their strike if information about his arrest had been announced.
WikiLeaks might have provided a pressure valve for those agents who were terribly worried about what might happen and frustrated by their superiors' seeming indifference. They were indeed stuck in a perplexing, no-win ethical dilemma as time ticked away. Their bosses issued continual warnings against "talking to the media" and frowned on whistle-blowing, yet the agents felt a strong need to protect the public.
The other one of us writing this piece, Federal Air Marshal Bogdan Dzakovic, once co-led the Federal Aviation Administration's Red Team to probe for vulnerabilities in airport security. He also has a story of how warnings were ignored in the run-up to Sept. 11. In repeated tests of security, his team found weaknesses nine out of 10 times that would make it possible for hijackers to smuggle weapons aboard and seize control of airplanes. But the team's reports were ignored and suppressed, and the team was shut down entirely after 9/11...
Read the rest of the article at The Los Angeles TImes...
If WikiLeaks had been active in 2001, would 9/11 have ever happened?
From MaxKeiser.com
"Pentagon spokesman Marine Colonel David Lapan told reporters today the military is concerned that WikiLeaks, as early as Monday, might be releasing thousands of tactical-level military documents from Iraq." More
MK: With the growing overlap between banks, defense contractors, foreign interests and the justice department; colluding openly now to dismantle the common wealth, WikiLeaks stands as the last, best hope of this generation.
"Pentagon spokesman Marine Colonel David Lapan told reporters today the military is concerned that WikiLeaks, as early as Monday, might be releasing thousands of tactical-level military documents from Iraq." More
MK: With the growing overlap between banks, defense contractors, foreign interests and the justice department; colluding openly now to dismantle the common wealth, WikiLeaks stands as the last, best hope of this generation.
CBS Report On 9/11: Ground Level Explosion Caused WTC To Collapse
And as the empire declines...the truth leaks out for those who care at all...
Of course for me the best evidence of explosives in the WTC is still the scientific evidence already discovered.
Interesting also in the CBS video below is the surrounding chatter: A brief mention of a world meeting to gather support for Israel in it's "battles with the Palestinians," a coming IMF meeting where massive protests were expected, and also that President bush would launch a "full scale investigation to hunt down these terrorists."
From Prison Planet.
Paul Joseph Watson
Prison Planet.com
Friday, October 15, 2010
Yet another 9/11 video that NIST tried to block from being released has emerged discussing bombs in the World Trade Center that led to the collapse of the twin towers, indicating once more that the organization attempted to preside over a cover-up to hide evidence of secondary explosives.
Of course for me the best evidence of explosives in the WTC is still the scientific evidence already discovered.
Interesting also in the CBS video below is the surrounding chatter: A brief mention of a world meeting to gather support for Israel in it's "battles with the Palestinians," a coming IMF meeting where massive protests were expected, and also that President bush would launch a "full scale investigation to hunt down these terrorists."
From Prison Planet.
Paul Joseph Watson
Prison Planet.com
Friday, October 15, 2010
Yet another 9/11 video that NIST tried to block from being released has emerged discussing bombs in the World Trade Center that led to the collapse of the twin towers, indicating once more that the organization attempted to preside over a cover-up to hide evidence of secondary explosives.
Moneybookers Is Pentagon Puppet.
Update: A look at the Wikipedia page for Investcorp, the corporation behind Moneybookers, reveals interesting Rockefeller, Iraq and Middle East connections.
From News.com.
WHISTLEBLOWING website WikiLeaks claims its funding has been blocked and that it is the victim of financial warfare by the US government.
The Guardian reported that Moneybookers, a British-registered internet payment company, reportedly closed WikiLeak’s account on August 13.
It claims the organisation had been put on a US government watchlist and an official Australian blacklist.
The blacklisting came a few days after the US publicly expressed its anger at WikiLeaks and its founder, Julian Assange, for releasing classified military documents about the war in Afghanistan.
Assange, a Sweden-based Australian citizen, told The Guardian that he learned of the apparent blacklisting after he emailed the Moneybookers e-commerce manger for the Nordic region, Daniel Stromberg, asking why his account was suspended.
"When I did my regular overview of my customers, I noticed that something was wrong with your account and I emailed our risk and legal department to solve this issue," Mr Stromberg's email read.
"Below I have copied the answer I received from them: 'Hi Daniel, you can inform him that initially his account was suspended due to being accessed from a blacklisted IP address. However, following recent publicity and the subsequently addition of the WikiLeaks entity to blacklists in Australia and watchlists in the USA, we have terminated the business relationship.'"
Assange predicted that the blocking of funds would "likely to cause a huge backlash against Moneybookers".
"Craven behavior in relation to the US government is unlikely to be seen sympathetically."
Read more at the Guardian.
Thursday, October 14, 2010
U.S. is currency war's "tomb maker": China economist
From Reuters.
The United States fired the first shot in the currency war and the rest of the world must be on guard for its deliberate strategy to devalue the dollar, a Chinese economist said in an official newspaper on Thursday.
The United States fired the first shot in the currency war and the rest of the world must be on guard for its deliberate strategy to devalue the dollar, a Chinese economist said in an official newspaper on Thursday.
Wednesday, October 13, 2010
Real World or Fake Establishment World?
You could say this video demonstrates how there are really two worlds today. The fake establishment world where the media sucks up to all the establishment politicians and protects them, and the real world where people ask real questions that challenge the phony plastic corporate shell of establishment politicians.
And if you think what this man does is ambush journalism, well, in my opinion that's what journalism sometimes should be, and today is forced to be. What the mainstream people do is just PR for the powerful.
As Big Journalism notes, We’ve often said that the media “protects” President Obama but this video from WIND radio host and Big Blogs contributor William Kelly shows this allegation literally.
Is America In Decline? 24 Statistics About The United States Economy That Are Almost Too Embarrassing To Admit
From The Economic Collapse
The following are 24 statistics about the United States economy that are almost too embarrassing to admit....
#1 Ten years ago, the United States was ranked number one in average wealth per adult. In 2010, the United States has fallen to seventh.
#2 The United States once had the highest proportion of young adults with post-secondary degrees in the world. Today, the U.S. has fallen to 12th.
#3 In the 2009 "prosperity index" published by the Legatum Institute, the United States was ranked as just the ninth most prosperous country in the world. That was down five places from 2008.
#4 In 2001, the United States ranked fourth in the world in per capita broadband Internet use. Today it ranks 15th.
#5 The economy of India is projected to become larger than the U.S. economy by the year 2050.
#6 One prominent economist now says that the Chinese economy will be three times larger than the U.S. economy by the year 2040.
#7 According to a new study conducted by Thompson Reuters, China could become the global leader in patent filings by next year.
#8 The United States has lost approximately 42,400 factories since 2001. Approximately 75 percent of those factories employed at least 500 workers while they were still in operation.
#9 The United States has lost a staggering 32 percent of its manufacturing jobs since the year 2000.
#10 Manufacturing employment in the U.S. computer industry is actually lower in 2010 than it was in 1975.
#11 In 1959, manufacturing represented 28 percent of all U.S. economic output. In 2008, it represented only 11.5 percent.
#12 The television manufacturing industry began in the United States. So how many televisions are manufactured in the United States today? According to Princeton University economist Alan S. Blinder, the grand total is zero.
#13 As of the end of 2009, less than 12 million Americans worked in manufacturing. The last time that less than 12 million Americans were employed in manufacturing was in 1941.
#14 Back in 1980, the United States imported approximately 37 percent of the oil that we use. Now we import nearly 60 percent of the oil that we use.
#15 The U.S. trade deficit is running about 40 or 50 billion dollars a month in 2010. That means that by the end of the year approximately half a trillion dollars (or more) will have left the United States for good.
#16 Between 2000 and 2009, America's trade deficit with China increased nearly 300 percent.
#17 Today, the United States spends approximately $3.90 on Chinese goods for every $1 that China spends on goods from the United States.
#18 According to a new study conducted by the Economic Policy Institute, if the U.S. trade deficit with China continues to increase at its current rate, the U.S. economy will lose over half a million jobs this year alone.
#19 American 15-year-olds do not even rank in the top half of all advanced nations when it comes to math or science literacy.
#20 Median household income in the U.S. declined from $51,726 in 2008 to $50,221 in 2009. That was the second yearly decline in a row.
#21 The United States has the third worst poverty rate among the advanced nations tracked by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.
#22 Since the Federal Reserve was created in 1913, the U.S. dollar has lost over 95 percent of its purchasing power.
#23 U.S. government spending as a percentage of GDP is now up to approximately 36 percent.
#24 The Congressional Budget Office is projecting that U.S. government public debt will hit 716 percent of GDP by the year 2080.
Please share these statistics with as many family members and friends as you can. It is time to get real. It is time to admit that we have some really big problems.
America is in decline and the situation is getting worse by the day. If we are not willing to admit how bad things really are, then we are never even going to have a chance to find the solutions that we need.
The following are 24 statistics about the United States economy that are almost too embarrassing to admit....
#1 Ten years ago, the United States was ranked number one in average wealth per adult. In 2010, the United States has fallen to seventh.
#2 The United States once had the highest proportion of young adults with post-secondary degrees in the world. Today, the U.S. has fallen to 12th.
#3 In the 2009 "prosperity index" published by the Legatum Institute, the United States was ranked as just the ninth most prosperous country in the world. That was down five places from 2008.
#4 In 2001, the United States ranked fourth in the world in per capita broadband Internet use. Today it ranks 15th.
#5 The economy of India is projected to become larger than the U.S. economy by the year 2050.
#6 One prominent economist now says that the Chinese economy will be three times larger than the U.S. economy by the year 2040.
#7 According to a new study conducted by Thompson Reuters, China could become the global leader in patent filings by next year.
#8 The United States has lost approximately 42,400 factories since 2001. Approximately 75 percent of those factories employed at least 500 workers while they were still in operation.
#9 The United States has lost a staggering 32 percent of its manufacturing jobs since the year 2000.
#10 Manufacturing employment in the U.S. computer industry is actually lower in 2010 than it was in 1975.
#11 In 1959, manufacturing represented 28 percent of all U.S. economic output. In 2008, it represented only 11.5 percent.
#12 The television manufacturing industry began in the United States. So how many televisions are manufactured in the United States today? According to Princeton University economist Alan S. Blinder, the grand total is zero.
#13 As of the end of 2009, less than 12 million Americans worked in manufacturing. The last time that less than 12 million Americans were employed in manufacturing was in 1941.
#14 Back in 1980, the United States imported approximately 37 percent of the oil that we use. Now we import nearly 60 percent of the oil that we use.
#15 The U.S. trade deficit is running about 40 or 50 billion dollars a month in 2010. That means that by the end of the year approximately half a trillion dollars (or more) will have left the United States for good.
#16 Between 2000 and 2009, America's trade deficit with China increased nearly 300 percent.
#17 Today, the United States spends approximately $3.90 on Chinese goods for every $1 that China spends on goods from the United States.
#18 According to a new study conducted by the Economic Policy Institute, if the U.S. trade deficit with China continues to increase at its current rate, the U.S. economy will lose over half a million jobs this year alone.
#19 American 15-year-olds do not even rank in the top half of all advanced nations when it comes to math or science literacy.
#20 Median household income in the U.S. declined from $51,726 in 2008 to $50,221 in 2009. That was the second yearly decline in a row.
#21 The United States has the third worst poverty rate among the advanced nations tracked by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.
#22 Since the Federal Reserve was created in 1913, the U.S. dollar has lost over 95 percent of its purchasing power.
#23 U.S. government spending as a percentage of GDP is now up to approximately 36 percent.
#24 The Congressional Budget Office is projecting that U.S. government public debt will hit 716 percent of GDP by the year 2080.
Please share these statistics with as many family members and friends as you can. It is time to get real. It is time to admit that we have some really big problems.
America is in decline and the situation is getting worse by the day. If we are not willing to admit how bad things really are, then we are never even going to have a chance to find the solutions that we need.
Tuesday, October 12, 2010
Israeli MP: Shoot child rock throwers
From Press TV
An Israeli lawmaker has backed the shooting of Palestinians that throw rocks at settler cars, saying even children should be targeted if they appear “life-threatening.”
“Even a child, if he is endangering someone’s life, should be shot at,” said Michael Ben Ari on Monday during a meeting of the Israeli parliament (Knesset) Committee for Rights of the Child, the Jerusalem Post reported.
The committee had called for an emergency session about the issue of Palestinian minors throwing rocks at cars in East al-Quds (Jerusalem), following an incident on Friday where a settler car hit and injured two stone-throwing boys in Silwan before it sped away.
Arab Israeli lawmaker Ahmed Tibi lashed out at Ari for his remarks, calling the committee members “a group of sociopaths” that do not have any empathy for the minors injured in the Silwan incident.
An Israeli lawmaker has backed the shooting of Palestinians that throw rocks at settler cars, saying even children should be targeted if they appear “life-threatening.”
“Even a child, if he is endangering someone’s life, should be shot at,” said Michael Ben Ari on Monday during a meeting of the Israeli parliament (Knesset) Committee for Rights of the Child, the Jerusalem Post reported.
The committee had called for an emergency session about the issue of Palestinian minors throwing rocks at cars in East al-Quds (Jerusalem), following an incident on Friday where a settler car hit and injured two stone-throwing boys in Silwan before it sped away.
Arab Israeli lawmaker Ahmed Tibi lashed out at Ari for his remarks, calling the committee members “a group of sociopaths” that do not have any empathy for the minors injured in the Silwan incident.
Hey Gullible Public, Al-Qaeda Has A Scary Mag And It Says To Attack Restuarants!
Oh yes, those big baddies, Al Qaeda, that the CIA used to, or still does fund...yeah those guys. They have a fancy english magazine did you know? In it with titles like "Make A Bomb In The Kitchen Of Your Mom" it will surely inspire a whole load of Pentagon, uh I mean Islamic radicalism!
A recent Daily News article says in the latest issue of Inspire, the "terrorists" are now threatening to attack Washington area eateries! Now that goes right to the heart of America. Take away Americans food and God knows what will happen. They also have some groovy advice about how to build people-mowing machines with blades mounted on pick-up trucks. Scary! All in one issue!
You can have a look at the previous issue of this fake "terrorist" propaganda magazine online here.
As pointed out in one article the magazine has already been found to contain passages taken from a cupcake recipe book!
Now that isn't to say that there might actually be a shoot-out coming in a Washington area restuarant, but if there is, it will be coordinated by the real makers of these obviously fake propaganda magazines. And I doubt the people that made these magazines have much to do with Islam, or Yemen for that matter. Their agenda is fear, and war, and making lots and lots of money.
By the way, the group which the Daily News claims makes this mag, the Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, are supposedly also the group which claimed responsibilty for a very dubious terror attack....The Christmas (or Underwear) Bomber, that's the one who tried to light his underpants on fire. The group also has links to another dubious plot, the Times Square Bomber, that's the guy who bought the wrong firecrackers and the wrong fertilizer to make a bomb.
In any case the Daily News cite as a source for this mag, SITE, the Rita Katz organization known for disinfo and propaganda. Fox news sources the Middle East Media Research Institute, which has on its board of directors, ex-FBI, Defense Department individuals and even Elliot Abrams, from the Bush White House.
You have to be a fool to believe these people.
A recent Daily News article says in the latest issue of Inspire, the "terrorists" are now threatening to attack Washington area eateries! Now that goes right to the heart of America. Take away Americans food and God knows what will happen. They also have some groovy advice about how to build people-mowing machines with blades mounted on pick-up trucks. Scary! All in one issue!
You can have a look at the previous issue of this fake "terrorist" propaganda magazine online here.
As pointed out in one article the magazine has already been found to contain passages taken from a cupcake recipe book!
Now that isn't to say that there might actually be a shoot-out coming in a Washington area restuarant, but if there is, it will be coordinated by the real makers of these obviously fake propaganda magazines. And I doubt the people that made these magazines have much to do with Islam, or Yemen for that matter. Their agenda is fear, and war, and making lots and lots of money.
By the way, the group which the Daily News claims makes this mag, the Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, are supposedly also the group which claimed responsibilty for a very dubious terror attack....The Christmas (or Underwear) Bomber, that's the one who tried to light his underpants on fire. The group also has links to another dubious plot, the Times Square Bomber, that's the guy who bought the wrong firecrackers and the wrong fertilizer to make a bomb.
In any case the Daily News cite as a source for this mag, SITE, the Rita Katz organization known for disinfo and propaganda. Fox news sources the Middle East Media Research Institute, which has on its board of directors, ex-FBI, Defense Department individuals and even Elliot Abrams, from the Bush White House.
You have to be a fool to believe these people.
Jobless America threatens to bring us all down with it
From The Telegraph
A depression may have been averted, but nothing has been fixed. This is the depressingly downbeat message that came across loud and clear from last weekend's annual meeting of the International Monetary Fund.
By Jeremy Warner, Assistant Editor
Published: 7:40PM BST 11 Oct 2010
The destructive trade and capital imbalances of the pre-crisis era are back, banking reform appears stuck in paralysing discord, public debt in many advanced economies remains firmly set on the road to ruin, and the spirit of international co-operation that saw nations come together to fight the crisis has largely disappeared.
This was not where we were meant to be in tackling the underlying causes of the crisis and returning the world to sustainable growth. Yet beneath this sense of frustration at lack of progress – and at international organisations such as the IMF and the G20 to bring it about - there is an underlying truth that's often left unspoken; many of the problems in the world economy right now are not international at all, but US specific and can only really be solved by America itself.
I don't want to belittle the difficulties faced by some of the peripheral eurozone nations, but in the scale of things they are a sideshow alongside the malaise which has settled on the world's largest economy.
Ignoring the troubled fringe, Europe as a whole is to almost universal surprise starting to look in reasonable shape again, and for reasons that I will come to, Europeans are in any case not nearly as fixated by high unemployment as their American peers...
A depression may have been averted, but nothing has been fixed. This is the depressingly downbeat message that came across loud and clear from last weekend's annual meeting of the International Monetary Fund.
By Jeremy Warner, Assistant Editor
Published: 7:40PM BST 11 Oct 2010
The destructive trade and capital imbalances of the pre-crisis era are back, banking reform appears stuck in paralysing discord, public debt in many advanced economies remains firmly set on the road to ruin, and the spirit of international co-operation that saw nations come together to fight the crisis has largely disappeared.
This was not where we were meant to be in tackling the underlying causes of the crisis and returning the world to sustainable growth. Yet beneath this sense of frustration at lack of progress – and at international organisations such as the IMF and the G20 to bring it about - there is an underlying truth that's often left unspoken; many of the problems in the world economy right now are not international at all, but US specific and can only really be solved by America itself.
I don't want to belittle the difficulties faced by some of the peripheral eurozone nations, but in the scale of things they are a sideshow alongside the malaise which has settled on the world's largest economy.
Ignoring the troubled fringe, Europe as a whole is to almost universal surprise starting to look in reasonable shape again, and for reasons that I will come to, Europeans are in any case not nearly as fixated by high unemployment as their American peers...
Monday, October 11, 2010
US Drops From First To Seventh In Average Wealth Per Adult, Behind Singapore, Sweden, And... France
Seems some of those "evil european socialists" actually are doing pretty well...you know...with their high taxes, and bleeding those stones and giving everyone a free ride...you know those "bankrupt welfare states"....
From Zerohedge.
As if we needed more warnings that the US is rapidly losing its position as the world's superpower and wealth aggregator, is the following chart from Credit Suisse, which ranks the top 10 countries in the world in terms of average wealth per adult. While the US was #1 10 years ago, due to an abysmal growth rate of only 23%, by far the lowest of all the ranked countries, the US has now dropped from first to seventh, falling behind such countries as Sweden and France. At the top - such perennially voted "top places to live" as Switzerland and Norway. Hopefully the US can fix its ever-expanding black hole of problems soon, as once the wealthiest decide they have had it here and move away, look for this number to drop ever faster until the US drops out of the ranking altogether...
From Zerohedge.
As if we needed more warnings that the US is rapidly losing its position as the world's superpower and wealth aggregator, is the following chart from Credit Suisse, which ranks the top 10 countries in the world in terms of average wealth per adult. While the US was #1 10 years ago, due to an abysmal growth rate of only 23%, by far the lowest of all the ranked countries, the US has now dropped from first to seventh, falling behind such countries as Sweden and France. At the top - such perennially voted "top places to live" as Switzerland and Norway. Hopefully the US can fix its ever-expanding black hole of problems soon, as once the wealthiest decide they have had it here and move away, look for this number to drop ever faster until the US drops out of the ranking altogether...
Leading article: The weight of mendacity
From The Independent
There was a dull sense of inevitability as David Cameron announced yesterday the "deeply regrettable" news that Linda Norgrove was not after all killed when one of her captors detonated a suicide vest but probably by an American grenade.
How often have we been here before? The wedding party bombed in July 2008: the US claimed there were no civilian victims, but an Afghan commission revealed that 47 had died; the seven children killed by Task Force 373 in an unprovoked and secret attack in June 2007, their deaths hushed up until revealed by Wikileaks; the three women, two of them pregnant, shot dead in February this year "by militants" it was claimed, until former Independent correspondent Jerome Starkey revealed that they had been killed by Nato forces. The list goes on.
Why this compulsion to mislead? The accumulated weight of mendacity, the insistence that the enemy is evil incarnate and our boys invariably heroic, is merely sickening. The attempt by US forces to rescue Linda Norgrove may or may not have been as urgent as claimed; it is impossible to judge. We cannot doubt that it was difficult and dangerous, and if they had pulled it off we would have been as glad as anyone. But why the need to obscure the truth about how it ended? Why go to such lengths to spell out the alleged cause of Linda's death when the miserable truth was bound to emerge? ...
There was a dull sense of inevitability as David Cameron announced yesterday the "deeply regrettable" news that Linda Norgrove was not after all killed when one of her captors detonated a suicide vest but probably by an American grenade.
How often have we been here before? The wedding party bombed in July 2008: the US claimed there were no civilian victims, but an Afghan commission revealed that 47 had died; the seven children killed by Task Force 373 in an unprovoked and secret attack in June 2007, their deaths hushed up until revealed by Wikileaks; the three women, two of them pregnant, shot dead in February this year "by militants" it was claimed, until former Independent correspondent Jerome Starkey revealed that they had been killed by Nato forces. The list goes on.
Why this compulsion to mislead? The accumulated weight of mendacity, the insistence that the enemy is evil incarnate and our boys invariably heroic, is merely sickening. The attempt by US forces to rescue Linda Norgrove may or may not have been as urgent as claimed; it is impossible to judge. We cannot doubt that it was difficult and dangerous, and if they had pulled it off we would have been as glad as anyone. But why the need to obscure the truth about how it ended? Why go to such lengths to spell out the alleged cause of Linda's death when the miserable truth was bound to emerge? ...
NIST Cumulus Video - Sounds (and Reports) of Explosions
From 9/11 Blogger
Looking through the newly released batch of videos from NIST and I found some interesting stuff in the folder "Richard Peskin." I have a edited together bits from four of the clips in that folder where you can hear what sound like explosions (after both towers have fallen), and the videographer (presumably Richard Peskin) saying that he's heard even more. They seem to be located around... Building 7. It all starts moments after the second tower collapsed.
The files I used were: Peskin 25.avi, Peskin 28.avi, Peskin 29.avi, and Peskin 30.avi.
See also: REVEALING NEW VIDEO: 9/11 Fireman Talk of Multiple Explosions, Black Plane
Looking through the newly released batch of videos from NIST and I found some interesting stuff in the folder "Richard Peskin." I have a edited together bits from four of the clips in that folder where you can hear what sound like explosions (after both towers have fallen), and the videographer (presumably Richard Peskin) saying that he's heard even more. They seem to be located around... Building 7. It all starts moments after the second tower collapsed.
The files I used were: Peskin 25.avi, Peskin 28.avi, Peskin 29.avi, and Peskin 30.avi.
See also: REVEALING NEW VIDEO: 9/11 Fireman Talk of Multiple Explosions, Black Plane
Dissent in the age of Obama & FBI targets US Palestine Activists
Dissent in the age of Obama
From Aljazeera
Peace activists had high hopes of an Obama presidency only to face the harsh realities of FBI raids and intimidation.
Cindy Sheehan 09 Oct 2010 20:20 GMT
The welfare of the people in particular has always been the alibi of tyrants, and it provides the further advantage of giving the servants of tyranny a good conscience.” - Albert Camus
Recently, the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) raided the homes of at least eight anti-war/social justice activists here in the US.
I happen to be a prominent anti-war activist myself, and have joked that I am a “little hurt” that I was not raided and perhaps I should try harder. Even though, we have the urge to try and be light-hearted in this time of an increasing police state, with civil liberties on the retreat, it really isn't funny considering that the activists could face some serious charges stemming from these raids.
I have felt this harassment on a smaller scale myself and I know that defending oneself against a police state that has unlimited resources, time and cruelty, can be quite expensive, time consuming and annoying.
There is nothing noble about an agency that has reduced itself to being jackbooted enforcers of a neo-fascist police state, no matter how much the FBI has been romanticised in movies, television and books.
For example, in one instance, early in the morning of September 24, at the home of Mick Kelly of Minneapolis, the door was battered in and flung across the room when his partner audaciously asked to see the FBI’s warrant through the door’s peephole. At Jessica Sundin’s home, she walked downstairs to find seven agents ransacking her home while her partner and child looked on in shock.
These raids have terrifying implications for dissent here in the US.
First of all, these US citizens have been long-time and devoted anti-war activists who organised an anti-war rally that was violently suppressed by the US police state in Minneapolis-St. Paul, during the 2008 Republican National Convention. Because the Minneapolis activists have integrity, they had already announced that they would do the same if the Democrats hold their convention there in 2012.
I have observed that it was one thing to be anti-Bush, but to be anti-war in the age of Obama is not to be tolerated by many people. If you will also notice, the only people who seem to know about the raids are those of us already in the movement. There has been no huge outcry over this fresh outrage, either by the so-called movement or the corporate media.
I submit that if George Bush were still president, or if this happened under a McCain/Palin regime, there would be tens of thousands of people in the streets to protest. This is one of the reasons an escalation in police state oppression is so much more dangerous under Obama - even now, he gets a free pass from the very same people who should be adamantly opposed to such policies.
Secondly, I believe because the raids happened to basically ‘unsung’ and unknown, but very active workers in the movement, that the coordinated, early morning home invasions were designed to intimidate and frighten those of us who are still doing the work. The Obama regime would like nothing better than for us to shut up or go underground and to quit embarrassing it by pointing out its abject failures and highlighting its obvious crimes.
Just look at how the Democrats are demonising activists who are trying to point out the inconvenient truth that the country (under a near Democratic tyranny) is sliding further into economic collapse, environmental decay and perpetual war for enormous profit.
Barack and Joe, the commandantes of this police state, say that those who have the temerity to be critical are “asleep” and just need to “buck up". White House spokesperson, Robert Gibbs, recently stated that we on the “professional left” need to be “drug tested” if we are not addicted to the regimes’ own drug: the Hopium of the Obama propaganda response team.
It seems like, even though some of those that have been nailed to the cross of national security do activism around South America, most of the activism is anti-war and pro-Palestinian rights. Being supportive of any Arab or Muslim, no matter how benign or courageous is a very dangerous activity here in post-9/11 America.
The Supreme Court just decided (Wilner v. National Security Agency) that the National Security Agency (NSA) did not have to disclose if it was using warrantless wiretapping to spy on attorneys representing the extra-legal detention of prisoners in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Obtaining warrants, with cause, and attorney-client privilege were important principles of the US justice system, but even the neo-fascist Supreme Court is undermining the law - talk about “activist” judges!
Not only have activists been targeted here in the States, but Obama has ominously declared himself judge, jury and executioner of anyone that he deems a national security “threat". These are the actions of a tyrant and another assault against our rights and against the rule of law from a person who promised “complete transparency” from his administration.
We have learned that Obama’s first victim under his presidential execution programme is Anwar al-Awlaki, a US-born Muslim who is now in Yemen. Without showing proof of al-Awlaki’s so-called executionable offenses and without a trial in a court of law, Obama has unloosed his hit squads on Awlaki. Is there anyone out there reading this who does not believe, or fear, that this programme could quickly descend into summary executions within the borders of the US?
Al-Awlaki’s father has filed a motion in federal court to stay the execution of his son until he gets his constitutionally guaranteed rights to due process, but Obama’s justice department has refused to cooperate stating that to do so would ‘undermine’ that fabled, exploited and ephemeral ‘national security'.
When Obama behaves like Bush, only on steroids, he amply demonstrates why other people hate our country so much. Persons in other countries are not nearly as blind as Americans. They know that even though Obama went to Cairo to blather about building understanding between the US and the Muslim world, actions speak louder than words and Obama’s actions drip with carnage and pain.
Obviously, the suppression of dissent here in the US, while outrageous and inexcusable, has not reached the level of the McCarthy witch hunts of the 1950’s - yet.
The longer we Americans remain silent in the face of these injustices, the more they will continue to occur and escalate.
Make your voice heard!
Cindy Sheehan is the mother of Specialist Casey A. Sheehan who was killed in Iraq on April 4, 2004. Since then, she has been a tireless activist for peace and human rights; has published five books, has her own Internet radio show: Cindy Sheehan’s Soapbox, and has been nominated in the past for the Nobel Peace Prize. Cindy lives in Oakland, Ca and loves to spend time with her three grandbabies in her spare time.
You can learn more about Cindy's activism and events at Peace of the Action.
The views expressed in this article are the author's own and do not necessarily reflect Al Jazeera's editorial policy.
FBI targets US Palestine activists
From Aljazeera
Searches, subpoenas, but no charges for anti-war activists 'providing support to terrorists' in Colombia and Palestine.
Chris Arsenault 03 Oct 2010 07:32 GMT
Tracy Molm sometimes has a hard time paying rent, so it came as a surprise when American security forces banged on her door at 7am one morning, and searched her apartment under suspicions she provided material support to a terrorist organisation.
Warrants indicate that investigators believe Molm and at least seven other activists from the Minnesota anti-war committee and other groups provided material support to the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) and rebels from the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), groups the US considers terrorist organisations.
"My assumption is that material support means money and guns, but they [police] wouldn't explain anything," Molm told Al Jazeera. "I think the real thing is that they are trying to intimidate those of us who are standing in solidarity with the people of Palestine and Colombia."
Activists from Minneapolis and Chicago have been subpoenaed to appear before a grand jury investigation in October, after coordinated police raids on September 24.
No charges
Despite the searches and seizures of computers, cheque books, mobile phones, documents and photographs, Molm and other activists have not been charged with committing a crime.
"The searches were conducted pursuant to a warrant issued by a federal judge," Royden Rice, a special agent with US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) in Chicago, told Al Jazeera.
"No arrests have been made or charges filed in connection with this investigation," he said, leading activists to call the searches a trolling expedition targeting Americans who object to their government's foreign policy ventures.
More than 200 people demonstrated in Minnepolis on Monday, denouncing the raid, according to the Minnesota Daily, while at least 100 rallied in Chicago on Tuesday to support the anti-war activists. More demonstrations are planned in other American cities and activists expect the numbers to increase drastically, as they only had three days to plan the first round of protests...
From Aljazeera
Peace activists had high hopes of an Obama presidency only to face the harsh realities of FBI raids and intimidation.
Cindy Sheehan 09 Oct 2010 20:20 GMT
The welfare of the people in particular has always been the alibi of tyrants, and it provides the further advantage of giving the servants of tyranny a good conscience.” - Albert Camus
Recently, the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) raided the homes of at least eight anti-war/social justice activists here in the US.
I happen to be a prominent anti-war activist myself, and have joked that I am a “little hurt” that I was not raided and perhaps I should try harder. Even though, we have the urge to try and be light-hearted in this time of an increasing police state, with civil liberties on the retreat, it really isn't funny considering that the activists could face some serious charges stemming from these raids.
I have felt this harassment on a smaller scale myself and I know that defending oneself against a police state that has unlimited resources, time and cruelty, can be quite expensive, time consuming and annoying.
There is nothing noble about an agency that has reduced itself to being jackbooted enforcers of a neo-fascist police state, no matter how much the FBI has been romanticised in movies, television and books.
For example, in one instance, early in the morning of September 24, at the home of Mick Kelly of Minneapolis, the door was battered in and flung across the room when his partner audaciously asked to see the FBI’s warrant through the door’s peephole. At Jessica Sundin’s home, she walked downstairs to find seven agents ransacking her home while her partner and child looked on in shock.
These raids have terrifying implications for dissent here in the US.
First of all, these US citizens have been long-time and devoted anti-war activists who organised an anti-war rally that was violently suppressed by the US police state in Minneapolis-St. Paul, during the 2008 Republican National Convention. Because the Minneapolis activists have integrity, they had already announced that they would do the same if the Democrats hold their convention there in 2012.
I have observed that it was one thing to be anti-Bush, but to be anti-war in the age of Obama is not to be tolerated by many people. If you will also notice, the only people who seem to know about the raids are those of us already in the movement. There has been no huge outcry over this fresh outrage, either by the so-called movement or the corporate media.
I submit that if George Bush were still president, or if this happened under a McCain/Palin regime, there would be tens of thousands of people in the streets to protest. This is one of the reasons an escalation in police state oppression is so much more dangerous under Obama - even now, he gets a free pass from the very same people who should be adamantly opposed to such policies.
Secondly, I believe because the raids happened to basically ‘unsung’ and unknown, but very active workers in the movement, that the coordinated, early morning home invasions were designed to intimidate and frighten those of us who are still doing the work. The Obama regime would like nothing better than for us to shut up or go underground and to quit embarrassing it by pointing out its abject failures and highlighting its obvious crimes.
Just look at how the Democrats are demonising activists who are trying to point out the inconvenient truth that the country (under a near Democratic tyranny) is sliding further into economic collapse, environmental decay and perpetual war for enormous profit.
Barack and Joe, the commandantes of this police state, say that those who have the temerity to be critical are “asleep” and just need to “buck up". White House spokesperson, Robert Gibbs, recently stated that we on the “professional left” need to be “drug tested” if we are not addicted to the regimes’ own drug: the Hopium of the Obama propaganda response team.
It seems like, even though some of those that have been nailed to the cross of national security do activism around South America, most of the activism is anti-war and pro-Palestinian rights. Being supportive of any Arab or Muslim, no matter how benign or courageous is a very dangerous activity here in post-9/11 America.
The Supreme Court just decided (Wilner v. National Security Agency) that the National Security Agency (NSA) did not have to disclose if it was using warrantless wiretapping to spy on attorneys representing the extra-legal detention of prisoners in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Obtaining warrants, with cause, and attorney-client privilege were important principles of the US justice system, but even the neo-fascist Supreme Court is undermining the law - talk about “activist” judges!
Not only have activists been targeted here in the States, but Obama has ominously declared himself judge, jury and executioner of anyone that he deems a national security “threat". These are the actions of a tyrant and another assault against our rights and against the rule of law from a person who promised “complete transparency” from his administration.
We have learned that Obama’s first victim under his presidential execution programme is Anwar al-Awlaki, a US-born Muslim who is now in Yemen. Without showing proof of al-Awlaki’s so-called executionable offenses and without a trial in a court of law, Obama has unloosed his hit squads on Awlaki. Is there anyone out there reading this who does not believe, or fear, that this programme could quickly descend into summary executions within the borders of the US?
Al-Awlaki’s father has filed a motion in federal court to stay the execution of his son until he gets his constitutionally guaranteed rights to due process, but Obama’s justice department has refused to cooperate stating that to do so would ‘undermine’ that fabled, exploited and ephemeral ‘national security'.
When Obama behaves like Bush, only on steroids, he amply demonstrates why other people hate our country so much. Persons in other countries are not nearly as blind as Americans. They know that even though Obama went to Cairo to blather about building understanding between the US and the Muslim world, actions speak louder than words and Obama’s actions drip with carnage and pain.
Obviously, the suppression of dissent here in the US, while outrageous and inexcusable, has not reached the level of the McCarthy witch hunts of the 1950’s - yet.
The longer we Americans remain silent in the face of these injustices, the more they will continue to occur and escalate.
Make your voice heard!
Cindy Sheehan is the mother of Specialist Casey A. Sheehan who was killed in Iraq on April 4, 2004. Since then, she has been a tireless activist for peace and human rights; has published five books, has her own Internet radio show: Cindy Sheehan’s Soapbox, and has been nominated in the past for the Nobel Peace Prize. Cindy lives in Oakland, Ca and loves to spend time with her three grandbabies in her spare time.
You can learn more about Cindy's activism and events at Peace of the Action.
The views expressed in this article are the author's own and do not necessarily reflect Al Jazeera's editorial policy.
FBI targets US Palestine activists
From Aljazeera
Searches, subpoenas, but no charges for anti-war activists 'providing support to terrorists' in Colombia and Palestine.
Chris Arsenault 03 Oct 2010 07:32 GMT
Tracy Molm sometimes has a hard time paying rent, so it came as a surprise when American security forces banged on her door at 7am one morning, and searched her apartment under suspicions she provided material support to a terrorist organisation.
Warrants indicate that investigators believe Molm and at least seven other activists from the Minnesota anti-war committee and other groups provided material support to the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) and rebels from the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), groups the US considers terrorist organisations.
"My assumption is that material support means money and guns, but they [police] wouldn't explain anything," Molm told Al Jazeera. "I think the real thing is that they are trying to intimidate those of us who are standing in solidarity with the people of Palestine and Colombia."
Activists from Minneapolis and Chicago have been subpoenaed to appear before a grand jury investigation in October, after coordinated police raids on September 24.
No charges
Despite the searches and seizures of computers, cheque books, mobile phones, documents and photographs, Molm and other activists have not been charged with committing a crime.
"The searches were conducted pursuant to a warrant issued by a federal judge," Royden Rice, a special agent with US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) in Chicago, told Al Jazeera.
"No arrests have been made or charges filed in connection with this investigation," he said, leading activists to call the searches a trolling expedition targeting Americans who object to their government's foreign policy ventures.
More than 200 people demonstrated in Minnepolis on Monday, denouncing the raid, according to the Minnesota Daily, while at least 100 rallied in Chicago on Tuesday to support the anti-war activists. More demonstrations are planned in other American cities and activists expect the numbers to increase drastically, as they only had three days to plan the first round of protests...
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