http://www.sott.net Signs of the Times, featuring news and commentary on world events. Never wavering in our unending search for the light of truth in a pathocracy driven world! en-us Original content Copyright 2009 by Signs of the Times. For other content, see our Fair Use Policy at www.sott.net Fri, 20 Nov 2009 13:24:42 -0500 http://www.sott.net/images/sottlogo_rss.jpg SOTT.net http://www.sott.net http://www.sott.net/articles/show/197399-CIA-secret-torture-chamber-confirmed-outside-Vilnius-Lithuania The CIA built one of its secret European prisons inside an exclusive riding academy outside Vilnius, Lithuania, a current Lithuanian government official and a former U.S. intelligence official told ABC News this week. Where affluent Lithuanians once rode show horses and sipped coffee at a café, the CIA installed a concrete structure where it could use harsh tactics to interrogate up to eight suspected al-Qaeda terrorists at a time. "The activities in that prison were illegal," said human rights researcher John Sifton. "They included various forms of torture, including sleep deprivation, forced standing, painful stress positions." Lithuanian officials provided ABC News with the documents of what they called a CIA front company, Elite, LLC, which purchased the property and built the "black site" in 2004. Lithuania agreed to allow the CIA prison after President George W. Bush visited the country in 2002 and pledged support for Lithuania's efforts to join NATO. "The new members of NATO were so grateful for the U.S. role in getting them into that organization that they would do anything the U.S. asked for during that period," said former White House counterterrorism czar Richard Clarke, now an ABC News consultant. "They were eager to please and eager to be cooperative on security and on intelligence matters." http://www.sott.net/articles/show/197399-CIA-secret-torture-chamber-confirmed-outside-Vilnius-Lithuania Fri, 20 Nov 2009 13:24:08 -0500 http://www.sott.net/articles/show/197395-Iran-knows-that-Israel-faked-the-Francop-arms-stunt Israeli photos depicting shipping documents pointing to an alleged Iranian arms delivery to Hezbollah are forgeries, Iranian media claims. The Israeli army in early November said it unloaded 36 containers of weapons at the Israeli port of Ashdod from the Antigua-flagged vessel Francop. Thirty tons of weapons, rockets, missiles, hand grenades and ammunition were hidden behind thousands of plastic polyethylene bags, the army said. Israel claimed the Iranian- and Russian-made arms were due to be unloaded in the Syrian port of Latakia and from there transferred to Hezbollah in Lebanon. http://www.sott.net/articles/show/197395-Iran-knows-that-Israel-faked-the-Francop-arms-stunt Fri, 20 Nov 2009 12:53:10 -0500 http://www.sott.net/articles/show/197350-The-Illusion-of-Democracy-in-the-Modern-World Most of the 'terrorist' bomb attacks of the past sixty years have been false-flag attacks that were actually committed by the Israeli Mossad, the CIA, and British intelligence. For six decades the allied Western intelligence agencies have been carrying out an ongoing campaign to frame Muslims for bombings which were actually perpetrated by the Western intelligence agencies themselves. The attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon on 9/11/2001 were a joint CIA/Pentagon/Mossad false-flag operation that was intended to provide an excuse for the subsequent US-led Coalition invasions and occupations of Afghanistan and Iraq. The Western nations are not unique in their use of false-flag bombings to inspire public support for a government policy of aggression. The Russian government blamed Chechen 'terrorists' for perpetrating the horrific Moscow apartment bombings of the summer of 1999, but agents of the Russian FSB were seen placing military-grade explosives in the basement of an apartment building in Ryazan, near Moscow. http://www.sott.net/articles/show/197350-The-Illusion-of-Democracy-in-the-Modern-World Fri, 20 Nov 2009 07:32:04 -0500 http://www.sott.net/articles/show/197313-U-S-Moves-to-Seize-4-Mosques-and-Skyscraper-Tied-to-Iran Federal prosecutors took steps Thursday to seize four U.S. mosques and a Fifth Avenue skyscraper owned by a nonprofit Muslim organization long suspected of being secretly controlled by the Iranian government. In what could prove to be one of the biggest counterterrorism seizures in U.S. history, prosecutors filed a civil complaint in federal court against the Alavi Foundation, seeking the forfeiture of more than $500 million in assets. Comment: Note how easily mere "suspicions" turn into the "biggest counterterrorism seizures" in the mainstream media. The assets include bank accounts; Islamic centers consisting of schools and mosques in New York City, Maryland, California and Houston; more than 100 acres in Virginia; and a 36-story glass office tower in New York. http://www.sott.net/articles/show/197313-U-S-Moves-to-Seize-4-Mosques-and-Skyscraper-Tied-to-Iran Thu, 19 Nov 2009 15:23:50 -0500 http://www.sott.net/articles/show/197271-Global-Warfare-USA-The-World-is-the-Pentagon-s-Oyster On January 20, a changing of the guard occurred in the United States White House with two-term president George W. Bush being replaced by former freshman senator Barack Obama. Bush had continued the policies of his predecessor Bill Clinton in relation to the Balkans, Iraq and Latin America - with troops and a massive military base in Kosovo, regular bombings of Iraq and a monumental expansion of military aid to Colombia - and in addition launched two wars of his own, those against Afghanistan in 2001 and Iraq two years later. Obama, so thoroughly does U.S. polity predetermine individual administrations' policies, entered office by intensifying the deadly drone missile attacks in Pakistan begun by Bush in late 2008 and announced that he was doubling the number of American troops in Afghanistan. http://www.sott.net/articles/show/197271-Global-Warfare-USA-The-World-is-the-Pentagon-s-Oyster Thu, 19 Nov 2009 08:49:12 -0500 http://www.sott.net/articles/show/197252-AIPAC-Received-Classified-US-Trade-Docs-from-Israeli-Embassy-IRmep A FBI file reveals the Israeli embassy passed stolen classified US government information to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC). In 1984 Israel and AIPAC jointly lobbied Congress to secure preferential Israeli access to the US market against widespread American industry opposition. The declassified FBI report may be downloaded from the Israel Lobby Archive at: http://www.irmep.org/ila/economy/03071986INTERVIEW.pdf The FBI file, kept secret for 25 years, was recently released to the Institute for Research: Middle Eastern Policy (IRmep) through Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests. The declassified files, their historical context, and long term impact on jobs and exports are detailed in the new book Spy Trade: How Israel's Lobby Undermines America's Economy. Spy Trade also analyzes AIPAC's long history of guidance and material support from the Israeli government. http://www.sott.net/articles/show/197252-AIPAC-Received-Classified-US-Trade-Docs-from-Israeli-Embassy-IRmep Thu, 19 Nov 2009 01:56:47 -0500 http://www.sott.net/articles/show/197249-Israel-Settlements-are-fertile-ground-for-Jewish-terror The parade of the self-righteous got underway Sunday night: Yaakov Teitel was described as a "foreign element," "wild thorn" and "rotten apple." Even if he acted alone, spoke and hallucinated in English, even if he was mentally disturbed, as his attorney claimed, it does not change the fact that Jack the Ripper from the West Bank settlement of Shvut Rachel - contrary to his predecessor in London - acted on ground that was fertile like no other. Yes, the settlements and especially the illegal outposts where Teitel lived and hid his weapons, along with the Kahanist settlement of Kfar Tapuah where he got his start - these are the places for such dangerous nuts. This is their refuge, where they can hide arms without being bothered and go on hate-filled killing sprees without being seen. It is no coincidence that a terrorist or killer has never risen from within Peace Now, Gush Shalom or Yesh Gvul. However, with God's help, we have already seen two murderous terrorists from Shvut Rachel. Never has a leftist called for the death of someone who disagrees with him - and we must always remember this when we speak of left and right. http://www.sott.net/articles/show/197249-Israel-Settlements-are-fertile-ground-for-Jewish-terror Thu, 19 Nov 2009 01:37:26 -0500 http://www.sott.net/articles/show/197243-Bonaparte-Blair-Co-Follow-the-Blood-Trail Gordon Brown urged European Socialist leaders last week to appoint Tony Blair as the European President. "Get real", he told them, "This is a unique opportunity to get a strong progressive politician to be the president." Brown is obviously correct, nothing could be more refreshing, innovative 'real' and 'progressive' than assigning the job to a man who has more blood on his hands than any other person in Europe. It may also be right to argue that there is just one living person on this planet with more blood on his hands than Blair. That man dwells in Texas, his name is George and actually unlike our Bonaparte figure, he keeps relatively quiet. Unlike George, our Boney is craving for recognition, he cannot live without a crown or an official title. Someone should remind Boney that he already made it into history, he can really take a break. With more than one million fatalities in Iraq, he is not far behind Hitler and Stalin. http://www.sott.net/articles/show/197243-Bonaparte-Blair-Co-Follow-the-Blood-Trail Thu, 19 Nov 2009 00:54:39 -0500 http://www.sott.net/articles/show/197237-The-US-And-Israel-Want-A-War-With-Iran-And-Another-Conflict-With-Gaza Gaza - Anyone with an ounce of intelligence can see that the writing is on the wall for more trouble in the Middle East. They cannot see the bigger picture that this could spark off a major war in the region or maybe this is exactly what they want. We again see nice calm words coming from the lips of IAEA Director General Mohamed ElBaradei when he made it very clear that Iran was nothing to worry about. Amidst this calm of the IAEA Director General we again see the US rallying up support for more decisive actions against Iran. One could ask the question why insist on sending in the experts from the IAEA but not waiting for their report. Why is Obama so aggressive in his mannerism towards Iran......could it be that he really does want conflict and is just waiting for an excuse in much the same way as his predecessor? http://www.sott.net/articles/show/197237-The-US-And-Israel-Want-A-War-With-Iran-And-Another-Conflict-With-Gaza Wed, 18 Nov 2009 23:45:16 -0500 http://www.sott.net/articles/show/197234-Full-text-of-Netanyahu-s-speech-at-Jewish-Federations-of-North-America-GA Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addressed the Jewish Federations of North America General Assembly on Monday. The following is the full text of his address: Thank you all. My dear friends, leaders of the Jewish communities of North America, The history of the Jewish people has been marked by a paradox. We are at once both small and great. We are few in number but luminous in achievement. In the ancient world, the Jews were a small people on the foothills of Asia touching the Mediterranean. But in Alexandria some 2200 years ago, the Bible was translated into Greek, and the world has never been the same since. http://www.sott.net/articles/show/197234-Full-text-of-Netanyahu-s-speech-at-Jewish-Federations-of-North-America-GA Wed, 18 Nov 2009 23:08:34 -0500 http://www.sott.net/articles/show/197166-Obama-says-Israeli-settlement-building-dangerous Barack Obama has put fresh pressure on Israel to stop its settlement projects, saying continued building could lead to a dangerous situation with the Palestinians. The White House has expressed dismay over Israeli approval to expand its Gilo settlement near Jerusalem. 900 homes are being built on West Bank land occupied in the 1967 Arab-Israeli war. The US President told Fox News: "I think that additional settlement building does not contribute to Israel's security, I think it makes it harder for them to make peace with their neighbours. I think it embitters the Palestinians in a way that could end up being very dangerous." http://www.sott.net/articles/show/197166-Obama-says-Israeli-settlement-building-dangerous Wed, 18 Nov 2009 11:19:17 -0500 http://www.sott.net/articles/show/197128-Britain-must-de-Zionise-Itself-Immediately On Monday the British TV broadcaster, Channel 4 screened "Inside Britain's Israel Lobby", a devastating expose of the Jewish lobby in the UK*. 'We couldn't find a conspiracy' affirmed Peter Oborne the Daily Mail's political commentator behind the film. He was right. After running the show for so many years, the Jewish lobby's purchasing of British politicians and media presence is in the open. The Guardian reported today that two years ago a controversial study by American academics Stephen Walt and John Mearsheimer explored the influence of the Israel lobby over US foreign policy "but Britain's pro-Israel organisations have been subjected to far too less scrutiny." This is indeed the case, and as Oborne disclosed, both British politicians and Zionist pressure groups enjoy it to the max. In the film Sir Richard Dalton, a former ambassador to Libya and Iran, said: "I don't believe, and I don't think anybody else believes these contributions come with no strings attached." I would suggest that 'strings attached' is a very gentle way of putting it. 'Chained to submission' would be far closer to the truth. http://www.sott.net/articles/show/197128-Britain-must-de-Zionise-Itself-Immediately Tue, 17 Nov 2009 16:21:06 -0500 http://www.sott.net/articles/show/197127-Dispatches-Inside-Britain-s-Israel-Lobby Dispatches investigates one of the most powerful and influential political lobbies in Britain, which is working in support of the interests of the State of Israel. Despite wielding great influence among the highest realms of British politics and media, little is known about the individuals and groups which collectively are known as the pro-Israel lobby. Political commentator Peter Oborne sets out to establish who they are, how they are funded, how they work and what influence they have, from the key groups to the wealthy individuals who help bankroll the lobbying. He investigates how accountable, transparent and open to scrutiny the lobby is, particularly in regard to its funding and financial support of MPs. The pro-Israel lobby aims to shape the debate about Britain's relationship with Israel and future foreign policies relating to it. Oborne examines how the lobby operates from within parliament and the tactics it employs behind the scenes when engaging with print and broadcast media. [ Click here to watch the video ] http://www.sott.net/articles/show/197127-Dispatches-Inside-Britain-s-Israel-Lobby Tue, 17 Nov 2009 16:13:27 -0500 http://www.sott.net/articles/show/197118-Paying-Off-the-Warlords-Anatomy-of-an-Afghan-Culture-of-Corruption An Introduction by Tom Engelhardt: It's now a commonplace of the Afghan War. Western leaders in London, Berlin, Amsterdam, and Washington, as well as on flying visits to Kabul or even Kandahar, excoriate Afghan President Hamid Karzai for the "corruption" of his government. In return for their ongoing support, they repeatedly demand that he take significant action to "step up efforts to root out crime and corruption," that he, in fact, "arrest and prosecute corrupt officials." Can there be any question that there is a plethora of corrupt officials to arrest? The president's brother, Ahmed Wali Karzai, reportedly on the CIA payroll, is also, as it's politely put in the press, a "suspected player in the country's booming illegal opium trade." Ahmad Rateb Popal, the president's cousin and another figure long linked to the drug trade, runs a local security company protecting American supply convoys that, according to Aram Roston of the Nation magazine, is involved in an industry-wide protection scam, using American Army money to pay off the Taliban not to attack. In addition, American arms and ammunition are clearly ending up in Taliban hands. The recent presidential election was a spectacle of fraud; the Afghan Army, despite years of training, may hardly exist (as Ann Jones reported for this site in September); the ill-paid, ill-trained Afghan police are known to operate on the principle of corruption; and a surprisingly small percentage of foreign reconstruction funds actually makes it out of the pockets of big private contractors and western specialists, as well as security firms, and into Afghan hands. And then, of course, there's Kabul's "Obama market." (In the period when the Soviets ruled Kabul, it was the "Brezhnev market" in honor of the Russian leader, and decades later the "Bush market.") This "notorious bazaar" is "full of chow and supplies bought or stolen from the vast U.S. military bases," according to Jay Price of the McClatchy newspapers, who calls the name "a modest counterweight to [Obama's] Nobel Peace Prize." His description includes the following: "One shop offered an expensive military-issue sleeping bag, tactical goggles like those used by U.S. troops and a stack of plastic footlockers, including one stenciled 'Campbell G Co. 10th Mtn Div.' Another had a sophisticated 'red-dot' optical rifle sight of a kind often used by soldiers and contractors." http://www.sott.net/articles/show/197118-Paying-Off-the-Warlords-Anatomy-of-an-Afghan-Culture-of-Corruption Tue, 17 Nov 2009 12:27:31 -0500 http://www.sott.net/articles/show/197083-CIA-still-funding-Pakistan-s-ISI The Central Intelligence Agency is still secretly providing hundreds of millions of dollars in funding to Pakistan's spy service. The financial support accounts for as much as one-third of the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) agency's budget, and the CIA says it also includes money paid for the capture or killing of wanted militants, the Los Angeles Times reported on Sunday. The CIA continues its clandestine financial program well aware of the fact that ISI is maintaining ties and providing support for the Afghan Taliban militants and other extremists. Top US officials have repeatedly expressed concern about ISI-Taliban ties. The payments were first approved by former president George W. Bush and have continued under President Barack Obama, the report stated, adding that a fierce debate has now started within the US government. Compared to the vast amount of publicly declared military and civilian aid to Pakistan, in defense CIA officials told the paper that their payments were a bargain. http://www.sott.net/articles/show/197083-CIA-still-funding-Pakistan-s-ISI Mon, 16 Nov 2009 23:26:03 -0500 http://www.sott.net/articles/show/197080-Inquiry-into-rape-and-torture-by-UK-troops-as-Iraqis-lawyer-claims-32-cases-are-tip-of-the-iceberg Fresh claims that British soldiers abused Iraqi prisoners are to be investigated by the Ministry of Defence. They include allegations of rape and torture, some by female British soldiers. But hundreds more alleged cases could remain buried for ever, the lawyer representing the Iraqi complainants said yesterday. http://www.sott.net/articles/show/197080-Inquiry-into-rape-and-torture-by-UK-troops-as-Iraqis-lawyer-claims-32-cases-are-tip-of-the-iceberg Mon, 16 Nov 2009 22:33:21 -0500 http://www.sott.net/articles/show/197064-Manufacturing-a-Terror-Threat-in-Latin-America Latin America may soon become the next front in Washington's so-called "War on Terror." Rep. Eliot Engel (D-NY) , Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on the Western Hemisphere, held a hearing on Oct. 27 to investigate his "serious concerns about expanded Iranian influence in the region." Engel believes Iran's diplomatic and commercial relations with a number of Latin American countries is a threat to the region's, and more importantly the U.S.´s security and stability. Testimony heard at the hearing repeatedly singled out Ecuador, Venezuela, Bolivia, Nicaragua, and to a lesser extent Brazil. Despite Iran not having any military presence in the region, Norman A. Bailey, former head of intelligence for Cuba and Venezuela under the Bush Administration, told members of Congress that, "It is becoming increasingly clear that one of the principal motivations of all this activity [by Iran] is to be able to retaliate against the United States if it is attacked." http://www.sott.net/articles/show/197064-Manufacturing-a-Terror-Threat-in-Latin-America Mon, 16 Nov 2009 19:10:07 -0500 http://www.sott.net/articles/show/197056-US-blocks-release-of-Iraq-Afghanistan-torture-photos US Secretary of Defense Robert Gates has blocked the release of new photographs showing prisoners in Afghanistan and Iraq being abused by their Americans captors. Gates said that public disclosure of the photos would endanger US citizens, US armed forces, and employees of the US government deployed outside the US. The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) had sued for the release of 21 color photos under the Freedom of Information Act. http://www.sott.net/articles/show/197056-US-blocks-release-of-Iraq-Afghanistan-torture-photos Mon, 16 Nov 2009 17:42:33 -0500 http://www.sott.net/articles/show/197055-The-shadow-behind-US-Israeli-war-games "We're here for some very specific reasons, some specific threats that the Israelis are interested in, that we're interested in. And that's as far as I want to go down that road." Com Carl Meuser of the US Navy destroyer Higgins was interrupted at this point by an anxious public affairs officer. The scenario neither wanted to discuss with the circle of visiting journalists aboard his ship was this: Israel bombs Iranian nuclear facilities - and Iran hits back. In that case, Israel would definitely need the missile shield - sophisticated long-range radars and Patriot anti-missile devices - being tested in joint war games this week. http://www.sott.net/articles/show/197055-The-shadow-behind-US-Israeli-war-games Mon, 16 Nov 2009 17:40:15 -0500 http://www.sott.net/articles/show/197049-A-Nation-Of-Destroyers-What-You-Didn-t-Know-About-The-War Warning. This video contains images that depict the reality and horror of war. http://www.sott.net/articles/show/197049-A-Nation-Of-Destroyers-What-You-Didn-t-Know-About-The-War Mon, 16 Nov 2009 17:00:23 -0500 http://www.sott.net/articles/show/197008-Secret-Team-sets-up-meetings-between-Saudi-king-CIA-director-and-Russian-equivalent-to-exchange-pleasantries-and-discuss-their-dirty-war-against-the-people-of-Yemen Saudi Arabia's King Abdallah receives the director of the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), as both countries become more involved in the deadly war in Yemen. The meeting between King Abdallah Bin Abd Al-Aziz Al Saud and CIA Director Leon E. Panetta took place in Riyadh on Sunday, the Saudi Press Agency reported. Apparently, King Abdallah also held another meeting on the same day with the Head of Russian Federal Commission of Military and Technical Cooperation Michael Dimitriv. The report, however, did not include any specific details about the topics that were discussed during the two meetings, simply announcing that there was an exchange of greetings between the king and US President Barack Obama through the CIA director. http://www.sott.net/articles/show/197008-Secret-Team-sets-up-meetings-between-Saudi-king-CIA-director-and-Russian-equivalent-to-exchange-pleasantries-and-discuss-their-dirty-war-against-the-people-of-Yemen Mon, 16 Nov 2009 07:08:42 -0500 http://www.sott.net/articles/show/196992-U-S-Official-Says-IAEA-Has-Evidence-Iran-Sought-Atomic-Warhead A U.S. arms-control official said today there is "strong evidence" Iran sought to develop the means to put a nuclear weapon on a missile prior to 2003 and perhaps afterward. Robert Einhorn, the State Department's special adviser for nonproliferation and arms control, said the United Nations' International Atomic Energy Agency in Vienna will report on the issue next week. The IAEA will "address Iran's continuing failure to cooperate with the IAEA's investigation of the possible military dimensions of its nuclear program, including strong evidence that it has done work on a missile warhead for delivering nuclear weapons," Einhorn said. http://www.sott.net/articles/show/196992-U-S-Official-Says-IAEA-Has-Evidence-Iran-Sought-Atomic-Warhead Sun, 15 Nov 2009 22:27:19 -0500 http://www.sott.net/articles/show/196991-IDF-Chief-Rabbi-Troops-who-show-mercy-to-enemy-will-be-damned- The Israel Defense Forces' chief rabbi told students in a pre-army yeshiva program last week that soldiers who "show mercy" toward the enemy in wartime will be "damned." Brig. Gen. Avichai Rontzki also told the yeshiva students that religious individuals made better combat troops. Speaking Thursday at the Hesder yeshiva in the West Bank settlement of Karnei Shomron, Rontzki referred to Maimonides' discourse on the laws of war. That text quotes a passage from the Book of Jeremiah stating: "Cursed be he that doeth the work of the Lord with a slack hand, and cursed be he that keepeth back his sword from blood." http://www.sott.net/articles/show/196991-IDF-Chief-Rabbi-Troops-who-show-mercy-to-enemy-will-be-damned- Sun, 15 Nov 2009 21:40:23 -0500 http://www.sott.net/articles/show/196968-Hackers-Post-Private-E-mails-of-Historian-and-Accused-Holocaust-Denier A group identifying themselves as "anti-fascist hackers" broke into the web site and AOL e-mail account of controversial British historian and accused Holocaust-denier David Irving and obtained his private communications as well as attendee lists for his current U.S. speaking tour. The hackers posted Irving's e-mail correspondence online, as well as the user name and password for his web site account and AOL e-mail account, which shared the same password. The hackers also posted the e-mail addresses and other personal information - such as names, phone numbers and shipping and credit card billing addresses - of people who made donations through his web sites, purchased his books or bought tickets for his appearances. Irving's username and password for his Authorize.net account, which handles the credit card transactions on his web site, were also exposed. The data was posted on the WikiLeaks site Friday evening in advance of Irving's Saturday speaking engagement at the Catholic Kolping Society of America in New York City. The organization reportedly canceled the event on Friday after someone contacted it. http://www.sott.net/articles/show/196968-Hackers-Post-Private-E-mails-of-Historian-and-Accused-Holocaust-Denier Sun, 15 Nov 2009 13:07:48 -0500 http://www.sott.net/articles/show/196955-Is-Israel-too-strong-for-Barack-Obama- As America drops its demand for a total freeze on the building of Israeli settlements in the West Bank, angry Palestinians say there is no scope for resuming talks Five months after Barack Obama went to Cairo and persuaded most of the Arab world, in a ringing declaration of even-handedness, that he would face down Israel in his quest for a Palestinian state, American policy seems to have run into the sand. The American president's mediating hand is weaker, his charisma damagingly faded. From the Palestinian and Arab point of view, his administration - after grandly setting out to force the Jewish state to stop the building of Jewish settlements on Palestinian land as an early token of good faith, intended to bring Israelis and Palestinians back to negotiation - has meekly capitulated to Israel. The upshot is that hopes for an early resumption of talks between the main protagonists seem to have been dashed. Indeed, no one seems to know how they can be restarted. The mood among moderates on both sides is as glum as ever. Mr Obama's secretary of state, Hillary Clinton, made matters worse by actually praising Israel's prime minister, Binyamin Netanyahu, for promising merely to "restrain" Israel's building rather than stop it altogether, as he was first asked to do. Previously Mrs Clinton had insisted that stop meant stop. There should be no "organic growth" of existing settlements and no exceptions for projects under way. Nor did she specifically exempt East Jerusalem, which Palestinians view as their future capital but which many Israelis see as theirs alone. And she had earlier castigated Israel for demolishing Palestinian houses in the city's eastern part. Now, in Israel on October 31st, she changed her tune, seeming to acquiesce in Mr Netanyahu's refusal to meet those earlier American demands and congratulating the prime minister on his "unprecedented" offer to build at a slower rate than before. http://www.sott.net/articles/show/196955-Is-Israel-too-strong-for-Barack-Obama- Sun, 15 Nov 2009 11:16:09 -0500 http://www.sott.net/articles/show/196919-Anti-Zionist-Ilan-Pappe-silenced-in-Munich Left-wing groups enraged by Germany municipality's decision not to allow anti-Zionist Israeli historian to speak at governmental institution. Pappe writes to Munich mayor his policy reminiscent of Nazi Germany Anti-Zionist historian Prof. Ilan Pappe, one of the most important "New Historians", was scheduled to speak last weekend at the Pedagogical Institute of Munich. But a letter received from the "Israeli-German association of Munich", claiming that Pappe's lecture would turn into "an anti-Israeli propaganda show," led the Munich Municipality to reconsider the event. The municipality eventually did not let Pappe use the room, claiming its decision was prompted by fears of violent clashes breaking out in the area. The Munich police insisted that there was no danger of fear for the security of those attending the lecture. http://www.sott.net/articles/show/196919-Anti-Zionist-Ilan-Pappe-silenced-in-Munich Sat, 14 Nov 2009 20:27:59 -0500 http://www.sott.net/articles/show/196917-Noam-Chomsky-Dilenttante-Extraordinaire Just my two cents..... At one time I was impressed every time Noam Chomsky spoke. Seeing his name on lists endorsing political actions was most encouraging.... but NOT seeing him participate in those actions sort of put a damper on the situation. In recent days he has been very vocal about the situation in Gaza. He speaks of International Solidarity as a new phenomena in People's Struggles. Did he never hear of the International Brigades that went to Spain to fight Franco? Did he not hear of the worldwide movement to eliminate apartheid in South Africa? Does he think Cuba could have survived as a free nation all these years without the support of International Support Groups? Chomsky overlooks the movements of Palestinians within Gaza and the Occupied West Bank. He gives the impression that without his endorsements, nothing will change. So typical of so many 'ivory tower' dwellers. The problem with these people is that their views of reality are often obstructed and they never really see the entire picture of a situation. http://www.sott.net/articles/show/196917-Noam-Chomsky-Dilenttante-Extraordinaire Sat, 14 Nov 2009 20:15:46 -0500 http://www.sott.net/articles/show/182259-Khalid-Sheikh-Mohammed-Was-Waterboarded-183-Times-in-One-Month I've put this detail in a series of posts, but it really deserves a full post. According to the May 30, 2005 Bradbury memo, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed was waterboarded 183 times in March 2003 and Abu Zubaydah was waterboarded 83 times in August 2002. On page 37 of the OLC memo, in a passage discussing the differences between SERE techniques and the torture used with detainees, the memo explains: The CIA used the waterboard "at least 83 times during August 2002" in the interrogation of Zubaydah. IG Report at 90, and 183 times during March 2003 in the interrogation of KSM, see id. at 91. http://www.sott.net/articles/show/182259-Khalid-Sheikh-Mohammed-Was-Waterboarded-183-Times-in-One-Month Sat, 14 Nov 2009 20:09:02 -0500 http://www.sott.net/articles/show/196900-Israel-s-Pathology Nobody seems to know just what Barack Obama said to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu when the two met recently at the White House. In fact, when it comes to Middle East policy, nobody seems to know much of anything about what goes on inside the White House. I've heard more than one Washington insider say that this administration is totally tight-lipped on the subject. From the outside, it looks like Obama and his advisers are drifting without a rudder, unable to guide themselves, much less the Israelis and Palestinians, toward the peace the president says he's committed to. Pundits chalk it up to the administration's ineptitude or the power of the Israeli lobby or the chaotic state of Palestinian politics, or all of the above. Perhaps, though, none of these factors ultimately make much difference. Perhaps it matters not a whit what the US or the Palestinians do, because the Israeli government and the bulk of Jewish Israeli voters are just too sick to move toward a just peace. At least that's one man's opinion. The Jewish Israeli body politic is diseased, that one man writes, because it has not adjusted to the Jews' reentry into history with a state of their own. Too many Jews are still stuck in the ancient feeling of powerlessness and victimhood. http://www.sott.net/articles/show/196900-Israel-s-Pathology Sat, 14 Nov 2009 18:44:48 -0500 http://www.sott.net/articles/show/196877-Spy-Wars-Primacy-of-CIA-station-chiefs-confirmed-ending-interagency-row National security adviser James L. Jones has decided that CIA chiefs of station in countries across the world will continue also to represent the office of the director of national intelligence, ending a brief turf battle between the heads of the two spy organizations, according to U.S. intelligence officials. At issue was a May directive by Director of National Intelligence Dennis C. Blair, who as head of the 16 agencies that make up the intelligence community, including the CIA, asserted that in "rare circumstances," he could select someone other than a CIA station chief to be his representative to foreign governments or international organizations. The directive provided that, in "virtually all cases globally," the representative would be a CIA station chief and that, before the appointment of anyone else, CIA Director Leon E. Panetta and the local U.S. ambassador would be consulted. http://www.sott.net/articles/show/196877-Spy-Wars-Primacy-of-CIA-station-chiefs-confirmed-ending-interagency-row Sat, 14 Nov 2009 17:16:16 -0500 http://www.sott.net/articles/show/196869-No-justice-Obama-fires-Greg-Craig-avoids-Guantanamo-torture-trials The resignation of Greg Craig as White House counsel is a sad day for civil liberties in America. Craig, who was a member of the Irish Voice Legal 100 group this year, was a fearless proponent of exposing those who ordered torture of prisoners in American custody. The first set of torture abuse photos got out because of Greg Craig and no one else. Isn't it interesting that his resignation is followed by a major publicity offensive about the upcoming trial of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and those from 9/11? http://www.sott.net/articles/show/196869-No-justice-Obama-fires-Greg-Craig-avoids-Guantanamo-torture-trials Sat, 14 Nov 2009 16:52:56 -0500 http://www.sott.net/articles/show/196847-Israeli-portable-pain-ray-raises-fears-of-non-lethal-weapons-proliferation 'Torture at the touch of a button' Israeli researchers have developed a portable device that causes excruciating sensations of burning and can be built for just $250,000, raising fears that even the world's poorest, most oppressive governments will now be able to use advanced non-lethal weapons on their civilian populations. The Man-Portable Active Denial System, developed by researchers at the College of Judea and Samaria, can beam a microwave ray that causes skin surface to heat up to 130 degrees Fahrenheit, causing the nerve cells in the skin to think they're on fire. http://www.sott.net/articles/show/196847-Israeli-portable-pain-ray-raises-fears-of-non-lethal-weapons-proliferation Sat, 14 Nov 2009 13:16:39 -0500 http://www.sott.net/articles/show/196830-Will-Israel-Ensure-that-History-Repeats-Itself- The lead-up to the first U.S.-Iran talks in three decades saw a replay of the same modus operandi that induced the U.S. and its allies to invade Iraq in March 2003. Then as now, the invasion of Iran is consistent with a regime change agenda for Greater Israel described in a 1996 strategy document prepared by Jewish-Americans for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. As with Iraq, the threat of weapons of mass destruction is again marketed as a causa belli. As with Iraq, the claim is disputed by weapons inspectors and intelligence analysts. The Iraqi program had been shut down a dozen years before the invasion. In Iran, there is no evidence that uranium is being enriched beyond the low levels required for energy and medical purposes. Reports of a "secret" processing plant failed to note that Iran suspended uranium enrichment from 2003 until 2005. Seeing no change in the political climate except more sanctions and more Israeli threats to bomb its nuclear sites, Iran began building and equipping a new facility. As with Iraq, there is no direct threat to the U.S. As with Iraq, mainstream U.S. media focused not on Israel - the only nation in the region known to have nuclear weapons - but on Iran. Enrichment is relatively easy compared to the steps required to design, build and reliably deliver a nuclear warhead. Activity around each of those steps can be readily detected. http://www.sott.net/articles/show/196830-Will-Israel-Ensure-that-History-Repeats-Itself- Sat, 14 Nov 2009 10:01:40 -0500 http://www.sott.net/articles/show/196828-At-What-Cost-the-Israel-Lobby- More than 46 years ago, President John F. Kennedy sought to preclude a nuclear arms race in the Middle East. In June 1963, he wrote the last in a series of insistent letters to Israeli Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion. Those letters sought what Israel now demands of Iran: international inspections of its nuclear facilities. The key difference: Kennedy knew for certain that Israel, while portraying itself a friend and ally, repeatedly lied to Kennedy about its nuclear weapons development at the Dimona reactor in the Negev Desert. Best estimates point to sometime between 1962 and 1964 when Israel produced its first weapon in what is now a vast nuclear arsenal estimated at 200-400 warheads. Kennedy's letter to Ben-Gurion was anything but friendly. The words he chose were drawn not from diplomacy but from the instructions that a judge gives a jury on criminal culpability. In that brusque letter, the U.S. commander-in-chief insisted that this purported ally prove "beyond a reasonable doubt" that the Zionist enclave was not developing nuclear weapons. http://www.sott.net/articles/show/196828-At-What-Cost-the-Israel-Lobby- Sat, 14 Nov 2009 09:54:57 -0500 http://www.sott.net/articles/show/196825-Tel-Aviv-Peace-and-the-Obama-Prize The Nobel Committee again piqued the interest of those who marvel at the impact of an annual ritual of global branding that in 1973 labeled Henry Kissinger a peace laureate! As with many aspects of unconventional warfare, what emerges in the foreground often obscures behavior that remains concealed in the background. Anyone paying attention knows that pro-Israelis manipulated the intelligence that induced the U.S. to invade Iraq. That same source is now hoping to expand this war to Iran - without being detected. In an irony of epic proportions, this award may enable that deceit. Pundits charge that Barack Obama was given the 2009 peace prize for Not Being Bush. The Nobel Committee cited Obama's multilateralism in contrast to Bush's unilateralism. Yet the same pro-Israeli networks that deployed phony intelligence to manipulate decision-making in the Bush presidency remain active inside the Obama presidency. At least Bush had the mass murder of 9-11 to rationalize his choices. The manipulation of consensus beliefs discredited the U.S. when it went to war on fixed intelligence. A similar mental manipulation generated consensus support for trade and financial policies that systematically devastated the U.S. economy. The challenge for Tel Aviv is how best to continue its agenda for Greater Israel now that the manipulation of public opinion has grown more transparent - and when entire communities, reeling from the impact of massive financial frauds, are aware that something fundamental is amiss. http://www.sott.net/articles/show/196825-Tel-Aviv-Peace-and-the-Obama-Prize Sat, 14 Nov 2009 09:41:48 -0500 http://www.sott.net/articles/show/196823-Irredeemable-war-criminals-AshkeNazi-threatens-Gaza-with-another-little-holocaust- There seems to be a perfect conformity between Gabi Ashkenazi and his last name. The Israeli chief of staff is considered one of the main Israeli war criminals responsible for the virtual genocide against the Gaza Strip during the past winter. On his murderous hands, he carries tons of innocent blood, including that of more than 340 children, killed in Israel's pornographic bombing of civilian neighborhood. Last week, Ashkenazi was quoted as saying that Israel was likely to wage another quasi holocaust on Gaza, adding that the Israeli occupation army would enter the innermost corners and streets of the coastal territory. As a nefarious mass murderer, Ashkenazi, like the rest of Israeli war criminals, ought to be in the Hague preparing his defense against charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity. After all the crimes he perpetrated put him on equal footing with Nazi war criminals who had stood trial for their own crimes against humanity during the Second World War. http://www.sott.net/articles/show/196823-Irredeemable-war-criminals-AshkeNazi-threatens-Gaza-with-another-little-holocaust- Sat, 14 Nov 2009 03:24:58 -0500 http://www.sott.net/articles/show/196822-Israel-Lobby-Routs-Obama-As-Dollar-Dies It did not take the Israel Lobby long to make mincemeat out of the Obama administration's "no new settlements" position. Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu is bragging about Israel's latest victory over the US government as Israel continues to build illegal settlements on occupied Palestinian land. In May President Obama read the Israelis the riot act, telling the Israeli government that he was serious about ending the Israeli conflict with the Palestinians and that a lasting peace agreement required the Israeli government to abandon all construction of new settlements in the occupied West Bank. http://www.sott.net/articles/show/196822-Israel-Lobby-Routs-Obama-As-Dollar-Dies Sat, 14 Nov 2009 03:09:09 -0500 http://www.sott.net/articles/show/196818-Beliefs-The-Power-Behind-Unending-Warfare In unconventional warfare, manipulated beliefs are used to displace inconvenient facts. When waging war by way of deception, false beliefs are an oft-deployed weapon. Recall Iraqi weapons of mass destruction? Iraqi ties to Al Qaeda? Iraqi mobile biological weapons laboratories? Iraqi meetings in Prague with Al Qaeda? Iraqi purchases of yellowcake uranium from Niger? All these claims were reported as true. All were later proven false or, worse, fabricated. Yet all were widely believed. Only the yellowcake uranium was conceded as bogus before the invasion of Iraq. As the U.S. crafted its response to the provocation of a mass murder on U.S. soil, those widely shared beliefs shaped a consensus to wage war on a nation that had no hand in it. A similar deception - traceable to the same source - is now working to expand this war to Iran. Based on fast-emerging events, the next conflict could include Pakistan. The modern battlefield has shifted. Ground warfare is now secondary. Likewise air strikes, combat troops, naval support and even covert operations. Those physical operations are all downstream of information operations. Manipulated beliefs come first. Psyops precede bombs and bullets. Hardware ranks a distant third. First and foremost are the consensus shapers and thought manipulators who target perceptions and opinions until a critical mass of agreement is reached. Then comes war. Those skilled at such duplicity induced coalition troops to war in Iraq. Knowledge was their target. Manipulate thought and all else was downstream. http://www.sott.net/articles/show/196818-Beliefs-The-Power-Behind-Unending-Warfare Fri, 13 Nov 2009 22:00:33 -0500 http://www.sott.net/articles/show/196740-Israeli-Terrorism-Against-America-INCONCEIVABLE- What? What?? Whaaaaat?!?!?! No, this can't be. According to an article appearing in one of Israel's biggest mainstream news outlets - Haaretz - Israeli Military Intelligence is AT THIS VERY MOMENT trying to "figure out" what went wrong in 1954 with something known as the "Lavon Affair", described by the news outlet as a "sabotage operation" by Israel in "bombing theaters, post offices and U.S. and British institutions, and making it seem as though Egypt was behind the bombings". Ohhhh, this simply can't be, or as the character Vizzini infamously said over and over again in that adorable movie the Princess Bride - "INCONCEIVABLE". Israel - the apple of God's eye - deliberately bomb American buildings with the intention of blaming it on her Arab enemies in order to achieve a desired political outcome? Deliberately put innocent civilian life in jeopardy with an overt act of state terrorism? She would NEVER do something like this, and especially not to her bestest buddy in da whole-wide woyld, America. After all, the Jews are God's chosen people, and something like this would be a sin and they - the Jewish people - don't sin. In a word - INCONCEIVABLE. http://www.sott.net/articles/show/196740-Israeli-Terrorism-Against-America-INCONCEIVABLE- Fri, 13 Nov 2009 19:31:28 -0500 http://www.sott.net/articles/show/196797-Many-Still-Believe-That-Saddam-Hussein-Was-Behind-9-11-and-Now-We-Have-Some-Idea-Why President Obama has had a hard time dislodging misperceptions about his health care proposal - those stubborn beliefs that there are death panels and free care for illegal aliens that don't actually exist in the legislation. Recent research about the way people defend their faith in false information, though, suggests calling out the inaccuracies may not be all that effective in converting the suspicious. Sociologists at the University of North Carolina and Northwestern University examined an earlier case of deep commitment to the inaccurate: the belief, among many conservatives who voted for George W. Bush in 2004, that Saddam Hussein was at least partly responsible for the attacks on 9/11. The rest came up with an array of justifications for ignoring, discounting or simply disagreeing with contrary evidence - even when it came from President Bush himself. Of 49 people included in the study who believed in such a connection, only one shed the certainty when presented with prevailing evidence that it wasn't true. http://www.sott.net/articles/show/196797-Many-Still-Believe-That-Saddam-Hussein-Was-Behind-9-11-and-Now-We-Have-Some-Idea-Why Fri, 13 Nov 2009 16:27:43 -0500 http://www.sott.net/articles/show/196749-Blackwater-paying-off-Iraqi-officials-angry-at-civilian-deaths Former top executives at Blackwater have said the security firm sent $1 million to its Iraq office with the intention of paying off officials in the country who were angry about the fatal shootings of 17 civilians by Blackwater employees, The New York Times reported. Four former executives described the plan under the condition of anonymity, the newspaper said. Iraqis had long complained about ground operations by the North Carolina-based company, now known as Xe Corp even before the shooting by Blackwater guards in Baghdad's Nisoor Square in September 2007 left 17 civilians dead, further strained relations between Baghdad and Washington and led US prosecutors to bring charges against the Blackwater guards involved. http://www.sott.net/articles/show/196749-Blackwater-paying-off-Iraqi-officials-angry-at-civilian-deaths Fri, 13 Nov 2009 10:35:52 -0500 http://www.sott.net/articles/show/196717-This-is-NOT-satire-Investigate-Goldstone-not-Israel-says-Peres Richard Golstone, the celebrated war crimes prosecutor who lead UN inquiries on Rwanda, Yugoslavia and Gaza, is obsessed with Israel and cares little for justice, according to Israeli President Shimon Peres. "Goldstone is a small man, devoid of any sense of justice, a technocrat with no real understanding of jurisprudence," Peres was quoted as telling Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva on Wednesday. The Israeli daily newspaper Haaretz reported on Thursday that Peres termed Goldstone's UN-backed fact-finding inquiry on alleged war crimes committed in Gaza was "a one-sided mission to hurt Israel... If anyone should be investigated, it should be him." http://www.sott.net/articles/show/196717-This-is-NOT-satire-Investigate-Goldstone-not-Israel-says-Peres Fri, 13 Nov 2009 01:09:06 -0500 http://www.sott.net/articles/show/196713-How-the-US-army-protects-its-trucks-by-paying-the-Taliban On October 29, 2001, while the Taliban's rule over Afghanistan was under assault, the regime's ambassador in Islamabad gave a chaotic press conference in front of several dozen reporters sitting on the grass. On the Taliban diplomat's right sat his interpreter, Ahmad Rateb Popal, a man with an imposing presence. Like the ambassador, Popal wore a black turban, and he had a huge bushy beard. He had a black patch over his right eye socket, a prosthetic left arm and a deformed right hand, the result of injuries from an explosives mishap during an old operation against the Soviets in Kabul. But Popal was more than just a former mujahedeen. In 1988, a year before the Soviets fled Afghanistan, Popal had been charged in the United States with conspiring to import more than a kilo of heroin. Court records show he was released from prison in 1997. http://www.sott.net/articles/show/196713-How-the-US-army-protects-its-trucks-by-paying-the-Taliban Thu, 12 Nov 2009 23:48:34 -0500 http://www.sott.net/articles/show/196710-Christian-Groups-To-Protest-For-The-Right-To-Gay-Bash The Christian Anti-Defamation Commission plans to protest the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act, which President Obama signed into law last month, by preaching outside of the Justice Department. Pastor Paul Blair is apparently concerned that the law will infringe on Christians' constitutional rights to act out their bigotry. On November 16, 2009, at 1:30 PM, an ad hoc coalition of concerned ministers from various denominations will be holding a Press Conference and Rally for Religious Freedom in front of the Department of Justice. A group of ministers including Rick Scarborough of Vision America, Gary Cass of the Christian Anti Defamation Commission, Bishop Earl Jackson of STAND America, Paul Blair and Steve Kern of Reclaim Oklahoma, Pat Mahoney of the Christian Defense Coalition, Brad Cranston of Iowa Baptists for Biblical Values and Jim Garlow, a leader in the Prop 8 battle in California will join together with others and boldly preach Biblical truth concerning the subject of homosexuality. If believing and proclaiming the Bible is considered a Hate Crime, then they are willing to be arrested, if necessary, in order to stand for the guaranteed First Amendment right to free speech for all ministers of the Gospel. http://www.sott.net/articles/show/196710-Christian-Groups-To-Protest-For-The-Right-To-Gay-Bash Thu, 12 Nov 2009 22:13:58 -0500 http://www.sott.net/articles/show/196682-US-defense-contractors-pay-insurgents-millions-report-says US defense contractors are funding insurgents in Afghanistan, to the tune of tens of millions of dollars, according to a report in The Nation published Thursday. The report, by veteran investigative correspondent Aram Roston, asserts that US military contractors charged with assisting US forces in Afghanistan are actually funding the groups killing American soldiers. Roston describes a protection racket similar to that of the mafia, in which contractors pay the Taliban "protection money" not to attack them. http://www.sott.net/articles/show/196682-US-defense-contractors-pay-insurgents-millions-report-says Thu, 12 Nov 2009 14:03:40 -0500 http://www.sott.net/articles/show/196674-Scahill-Obama-may-be-afraid-of-Blackwater Despite news reports that the security contractor formerly known as Blackwater has seen its contracts dry up and its influence wane, the company continues to do brisk business in Iraq and Afghanistan -- and the Obama administration may be too afraid of the firm to do anything about it, says investigative reporter Jeremy Scahill. "You know who's guarding Hillary Clinton in Afghanistan right now? Blackwater," Scahill told MSNBC's Rachel Maddow Tuesday night. "You know who guards members of Congress? Blackwater. They have half a billion dollars in contracts in Afghanistan right now. CIA, State Department, Defense Department. Why is President Obama keeping these guys on the payroll? There has never been a company in recent history that made the case that corporations are corrupt, evil organizations [better] than Blackwater." Scahill was on The Rachel Maddow Show discussing the New York Times' revelation that senior Blackwater executives allegedly arranged for bribes of up to $1 million for Iraqi politicians in a bid to retain its contracts and silence criticism of the company in the wake of the Nissour Square massacre in 2007, in which 17 Iraqi civilians died after Blackwater guards opened fire. Though the Times report stated that it's unknown if the approved bribes ever reached their targets -- Iraqi politicians -- Scahill drew a connection between the alleged bribes and the fact that, after the Nissour Sqaure massacre, the Iraqi government first decided to bar Blackwater from operating in the country, and then reversed its position. "You had the Iraqi government saying Blackwater was banned from that country, then suddenly doing an about face, and Blackwater remains in Iraq to this day," Scahill said. http://www.sott.net/articles/show/196674-Scahill-Obama-may-be-afraid-of-Blackwater Thu, 12 Nov 2009 11:59:30 -0500 http://www.sott.net/articles/show/196659-A-Morally-Bankrupt-Military-When-Soldiers-and-Their-Families-Become-Expendable The military operates through indoctrination. Soldiers are programmed to develop a mindset that resists any acknowledgment of injury and sickness, be it physical or psychological. As a consequence, tens of thousands of soldiers continue to serve, even being deployed to combat zones like Iraq and/or Afghanistan, despite persistent injuries. According to military records, over 43,000 troops classified as "nondeployable for medical reasons" have been deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan nevertheless. The recent atrocity at Fort Hood is an example of this. Maj. Nidal Hasan had worked as a counselor at Walter Reed, hearing countless stories of bloodshed, horror and death from dismembered veterans from the occupations of Iraq and Afghanistan. While he had not yet served in Iraq or Afghanistan, the major was overloaded with secondary trauma, coupled with ongoing harassment about his being a Muslim. This, along with other factors, contributed towards Hasan falling into a desperation so deep he was willing to slaughter fellow soldiers, and is indicative of fissures running deep into the crumbling edifice upon which the US military stands. http://www.sott.net/articles/show/196659-A-Morally-Bankrupt-Military-When-Soldiers-and-Their-Families-Become-Expendable Thu, 12 Nov 2009 07:03:22 -0500 http://www.sott.net/articles/show/196658-Propaganda-Alert-Hasan-Wanted-to-Die-a-Muslim-Martyr Comment: Fact-twisting in the mainstream media is becoming more blatant every day. The article below is a prime example of how a story is morphed to implement the PTB's sinister goals. While the meaningless yet deadly wars the American empire is currently waging are losing support from within and without, the PTB will go the extra mile - paved of lies and propaganda - to make the populace believe that "the enemy is out there to get us". Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan is the proverbial canary in the mine. Gunning down 12 soldiers and one civilian, and wounding 30 was not a random act of violence by an Army psychiatrist who was slated to deploy to Afghanistan, an evil war in his mind, where American infidels are killing good Muslims. As the Virginia-born major told a female neighbor in his apartment complex, "I'm going to do good work for God." Hasan wanted, in his mind, to die a martyr, killing American soldiers who had been killing Muslim soldiers in Iraq or Afghanistan, or would soon be doing so. Comment: How can anyone presume to know what was in Hasan's mind? Several of the earliest, raw stories talk of two or three shooters. There are many unexplained aspects to the Ft. Hood mystery here. First is the report the perpetrator was dead and then hours later the revelation that he was still alive. Exactly how long does it take to determine if a person is dead or alive? Could it be no one knew whom the shooter or shooters were and a story had to be concocted for public consumption? What happened to the two other "suspects" that were detained? What did they do to qualify as suspects and more importantly, what information surfaced that led to their release? One of the suspects reportedly stated he "was with the shooter." Second is the number of victims from a single shooter. Let us not forget this shooting did not occur at the mall, it occurred on a military installation where the victims had been trained in military tactics and some were combat veterans. We are to believe they did nothing to stop a single shooter and he was allowed to reload several times and continue shooting and the only thing that stopped him was the arrival of a police officer after the gunman had gunned down over 40 people? And how so very convenient for the state, a perpetrator who was both anti-war and a Muslim; just doesn't get any better than that. Could this be an example of following the philosophy of Rahm Emanuel on dealing with a crisis? Third was the shutting down of communications in and around Ft. Hood for hours. While the Army and the media will explain this in various scenarios, it also provided the Army with a chance to create whatever story it was they wanted to provide the public on the terrible tragedy. Of course we all know the Army would never distort or lie about the facts involving the deaths of innocents. Well, there is that My Lai thing. People on the ground have told me cell phone towers were jammed to prevent unauthorized dissemination of information after the shooting. Again, the Army would not want any information contrary to the company line emerging from this disaster. http://www.sott.net/articles/show/196658-Propaganda-Alert-Hasan-Wanted-to-Die-a-Muslim-Martyr Thu, 12 Nov 2009 04:23:27 -0500 http://www.sott.net/articles/show/196649-What-is-Israel-s-Role-in-the-Destabilization-of-Pakistan- When waging war "by way of deception," the motto of the Israeli Mossad, well-timed crises play a critical agenda-setting role by displacing facts with what a target population can be deceived to believe. Thus the force-multiplier effect when staged crises are reinforced with pre-staged intelligence. In combination, the two often prove persuasive. That duplicity was on display when U.S. lawmakers were induced to invade Iraq in response to the mass murder of 9-11. That crisis alone, however, was insufficient. Military mobilization required a "consensus" belief in Iraqi WMD, Iraqi ties to Al Qaeda, Iraqi mobile biological weapons, Iraqi meetings in Prague, and so forth. Though all were false, those "facts" proved sufficient to induce an invasion of Iraq. Such agent provocateur operations typically include collateral incidents as pre-staging for the intended main event. Ongoing incidents suggest a follow-on operation is underway. Recent history suggests we'll see an orgy of evidence that plausibly indicts a pre-staged Evil Doer. Though Iran is an obvious candidate, Pakistan is also a possibility where outside forces have been destabilizing this nuclear Islamic nation with a series of violent incidents. Will it be coincidence if the next war - like the last - is consistent with the expansive goals of Jewish nationalists? http://www.sott.net/articles/show/196649-What-is-Israel-s-Role-in-the-Destabilization-of-Pakistan- Wed, 11 Nov 2009 23:06:34 -0500 http://www.sott.net/articles/show/196635-Denying-Responsibility-for-the-Wars-One-Cheers-On The NYT columnist who has supported 4 wars on Muslims in 6 years decries the Islamic disregard for human life. David Brooks' column today perfectly illustrates what lies at the core of our political discourse: namely, self-loving tribalistic blindness laced with a pathological refusal to accept responsibility for one's actions. Brooks claims there is a unique evil that one finds in the "fringes of the Muslim world": Most people select stories that lead toward cooperation and goodness. But over the past few decades a malevolent narrative has emerged. That narrative has emerged on the fringes of the Muslim world. It is a narrative that sees human history as a war between Islam on the one side and Christianity and Judaism on the other. This narrative causes its adherents to shrink their circle of concern. They don't see others as fully human. They come to believe others can be blamelessly murdered and that, in fact, it is admirable to do so. This narrative is embraced by a small minority. But it has caused incredible amounts of suffering within the Muslim world, in Israel, in the U.S. and elsewhere. With their suicide bombings and terrorist acts, adherents to this narrative have made themselves central to global politics. They are the ones who go into crowded rooms, shout "Allahu akbar," or "God is great," and then start murdering. But Brooks himself was a vehement, vicious advocate for the attack on Iraq, which caused this: http://www.sott.net/articles/show/196635-Denying-Responsibility-for-the-Wars-One-Cheers-On Wed, 11 Nov 2009 18:48:35 -0500