Puppet Masters

Netanyahu's Gift to Obama: Tale of a Persian Plot

Reuters
Tue, 06 Mar 2012 00:00 UTC

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu handed President Barack Obama a gift on Monday that spoke volumes about Israel's tensions with Iran - an ancient Hebrew tome about a Persian plot to annihilate Jews.

It's called the Scroll of Esther, a tale of palace intrigue featuring a Jewish beauty who charms a Persian king into foiling an evil adviser's genocidal plans for her people some 2,500 years ago.

"Then too, they wanted to wipe us out," Netanyahu told Obama, according to an Israeli official.

Jewish faithful gather in synagogues on Wednesday to read the parchment text, popularly known as the Megillah, on the eve of the Jewish costume holiday of Purim, a celebration of salvation and of turning the tables on one's foes.

"And the Jews smote all their enemies with the stroke of the sword, and with slaughter and destruction, and did what they would unto them that hated them," one of the verses says.

ACLU: Obama's extra-judicial killings raise 'profound legal and moral questions'

Stephen C. Webster
Raw Story
Tue, 06 Mar 2012 10:53 UTC

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) is strongly objecting to a speech given Monday by U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder at Northwestern University's law school, during which he offered a public acknowledgement that the Obama Administration believes it has the right to kill U.S. citizens anywhere in the world without judicial review.

Speaking to Raw Story on Monday night, Hina Shamsi, director of the ACLU's national Security Project, said that Holder's explanation "raises profound legal and moral questions," and poses a grave threat to American liberties should a future president decide to seize upon the precedent for more nefarious purposes.

So far, only three American citizens have been killed by targeted drone strikes overseas, and in each instance the Administration insisted they were participating in terrorist activities and therefore were enemy combatants. Speaking to law students Monday night, Holder insisted that Congress gave the executive branch blanket authority to safeguard national security in the wake of the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks - meaning they have the right to do as they see fit, with nobody to second guess them.

'Exceptionalism' in America

Lawrence Davidson
Consortium News
Fri, 02 Mar 2012 22:20 UTC

Banner for Mitt Romney's neoconservative foreign policy white paper, "An American Century"

American politicians forever talk about the nation's "exceptionalism," a special greatness that sets the U.S.A. apart from all others. But this jingoism requires whitewashing much of U.S. history and ignoring much of the present, too, says Lawrence Davidson.

Everyone wants to be exceptional, to be special, to be great at something. Parents spend a lot of time assuring their children that they are indeed exceptional, even though they often know that the their offspring will spend their working lives selling mattresses or cars.

When it comes to individuals there is a very wide range of achievements that can make you stand out. Everyone can be exceptional in some way or other. Yet it is not only individuals who need to feel themselves exceptional or great.

The Saga of Bradley Manning, Julian Assange, and Wikileaks, to be put to ballad and film

William Blum
The Anti-Empire Report
Mon, 05 Mar 2012 16:40 UTC

"Defense lawyers say Manning was clearly a troubled young soldier whom the Army should never have deployed to Iraq or given access to classified material while he was stationed there ... They say he was in emotional turmoil, partly because he was a gay soldier at a time when homosexuals were barred from serving openly in the U.S. armed forces." (Associated Press, February 3)

It's unfortunate and disturbing that Bradley Manning's attorneys have chosen to consistently base his legal defense upon the premise that personal problems and shortcomings are what motivated the young man to turn over hundreds of thousands of classified government files to Wikileaks. They should not be presenting him that way any more than Bradley should be tried as a criminal or traitor. He should be hailed as a national hero. Yes, even when the lawyers are talking to the military mind. May as well try to penetrate that mind and find the freest and best person living there. Bradley also wears a military uniform.

Here are Manning's own words from an online chat: "If you had free reign over classified networks ... and you saw incredible things, awful things ... things that belonged in the public domain, and not on some server stored in a dark room in Washington DC ... what would you do? ... God knows what happens now. Hopefully worldwide discussion, debates, and reforms. ... I want people to see the truth ... because without information, you cannot make informed decisions as a public."

Is the world to believe that these are the words of a disturbed and irrational person? Do not the Nuremberg Tribunal and the Geneva Conventions speak of a higher duty than blind loyalty to one's government, a duty to report the war crimes of that government?

Murder Is Legal, Says US Attorney General Eric Holder

David Swanson
War is a Crime
Mon, 05 Mar 2012 16:26 UTC

Attorney General Eric Holder on Monday explained why it's legal to murder people -- not to execute prisoners convicted of capital crimes, not to shoot someone in self-defense, not to fight on a battlefield in a war that is somehow legalized, but to target and kill an individual sitting on his sofa, with no charges, no arrest, no trial, no approval from a court, no approval from a legislature, no approval from we the people, and in fact no sharing of information with any institutions that are not the president. Holder's speech approached his topic in a round about manner:

"Since this country's earliest days, the American people have risen to this challenge - and all that it demands. But, as we have seen - and as President John F. Kennedy may have described best - 'In the long history of the world, only a few generations have been granted the role of defending freedom in its hour of maximum danger.'"

Holder quotes that and then immediately rejects it, claiming that our generation too should act as if it is in such a moment, even if it isn't, a moment that Holder's position suggests may last forever:

"Half a century has passed since those words were spoken, but our nation today confronts grave national security threats that demand our constant attention and steadfast commitment. It is clear that, once again, we have reached an 'hour of danger.'

"We are a nation at war. And, in this war, we face a nimble and determined enemy that cannot be underestimated."

So, if I were to estimate that Al Qaeda barely exists and is no serious threat to the Homeland formerly known as the United States, I would not be underestimating it? If I were to point out that no member of that horrifying outfit has been killed in Afghanistan this year, that fact would not contribute to an unacceptable underestimation? What fun it is to fight the most glorious of wars in the hour of maximum danger against an enemy so pitiful that it literally cannot be underestimated.

Greece Pulls Out from EU Anti-Piracy Force Due to Crisis

Reuters
Mon, 05 Mar 2012 00:00 UTC

Athens - Greece has recalled its warship from the European Union's anti-piracy task force in the Indian Ocean to save money as it struggles to meet fiscal targets set by international lenders in return for a bailout package.

Greece, struggling with its worst economic crisis since World War Two, is cutting 400 million euros from the defense budget this year as it fights to stave off bankruptcy.

The frigate will return one month earlier than scheduled, on March 8 instead of April 4 and will not take part in the mission during the second half of the year, the Defense Ministry said on Monday.

2 British journalists accused of spying in Libya

YNet News
Mon, 05 Mar 2012 15:42 UTC

© Reuters
Faraj al-Swehli, commander of the Swehli Brigade, shows a picture of one of the two British journalists arrested on suspicion of being spies in Tripoli

Reporters, employed by Iran's Press TV, detained after they were found in possession of IDF-issued medical supplies

Two British journalists working for Iran's Press TV who were detained late last month in Libya are suspected of being spies, the head of the militia which is holding them said on Sunday.

Faraj al-Swehli, commander of the Swehli brigade, said his men had found among the journalists' possessions official Libyan documents, equipment used by the Israeli military and footage of them firing weapons.

"We believe they are spies," Swehli said in Tripoli. He said it was too early to say what country they were spying for, but that this would be established by their investigation.

McCain calls for U.S.-led airstrikes in Syria

Olivier Knox
The Ticket
Mon, 05 Mar 2012 00:00 UTC

Saying "the time has come for a new policy" in Syria, veteran Republican Senator John McCain called Monday for U.S.-led airstrikes on President Bashar al-Assad's forces in an effort to protect civilians from a bloody year-long crackdown by the regime.

"The United States should lead an international effort to protect key population centers in Syria, especially in the north, through airstrikes on Assad's forces," McCain, the top Republican on the Senate Armed Services Committee, said in a speech on the Senate floor.

"To be clear: This will require the United States to suppress enemy air defense in at least part of the country," said McCain, who has repeatedly called in recent weeks and months for a stepped-up U.S. effort to protect Syrian civilians.

Assad has waged a year-long, deadly crackdown on opposition to his regime, drawing fierce criticism from Washington and other world powers, though Moscow and Beijing blocked a UN Security Council resolution aimed at halting the bloodshed.

The White House has sharply criticized Russia and China, but has resisted calls to arm the Syrian opposition as premature.

Putin Wins Presidential Election Despite US Govt. and Western Media Interference

Joe Quinn
Sott.net
Mon, 05 Mar 2012 05:51 UTC

© AFP/Dmitry Astakhov
"I promised you we would win. We have won. Glory to Russia," Vladimir Putin said Sunday after a landslide victory in Russia's presidential election.

Let's face it, most people don't have the time, energy or inclination to try to separate truth from lies in our world today. The ability to do so is, however, crucial for many reasons. For over ten years, we here at Sott.net have been analysing and writing on what passes for the 'news' and we've come to a conclusion that may be of help to those who can't, or won't, do their own digging for the truth.

The conclusion is that you can, with a reasonable degree of certainty, assume that the truth about any major political event can be found more or less 180 degrees from what politicians or the media (especially US and European politicians and media) claim. Try it out. To do this, you have to do it consciously. So take any current major political news item in the media and, in your mind, flip it 180 degrees. When reading the headline or summary of a news item, simply reverse the statement that it makes. I can assure you that this 180 version will be a lot closer to the truth.

Take for example Vladimir Putin's recent election victory. Check the headlines from major Western 'news' corporations and you'll see that they all smear, subtly and not so subtly, Putin's win with allegations of 'corruption'. Rupert Murdoch's Sky News went so far as to put 'scare quotes' around the words 'wins election'. Virtually all other media outlets carried the same disparaging headline in one form or another, which is not surprising since there are about 3 or 4 actual Western 'news' agencies that report on events and then simply share the information with their subsidiaries. In this case, our 180 degree approach works rather well.

Media Blackout On Bill AB2019 Threatening Vaccine Rights

Sayer Ji
GreenMedInfo
Mon, 05 Mar 2012 10:00 UTC

On Feb. 23rd, 2012, an assembly bill (AB 2109) was submitted to the California Legislature by state assemblyman and pediatrician, Dr. Richard Pan (D-Sacramento), which will make it harder for parents to refuse to vaccinate their children. The bill is sponsored by the California Medical Association (CMA), the American Academy of Pediatrics, and the California Immunization Coalition.

Right now in California if a child is enrolled in school their parents are legally required to have them vaccinated. However, exemptions may be obtained by parents who object for religious or philosophical reasons if they sign the portion of the immunization record that says immunizations are contrary to their beliefs and that they understand that in the case of an outbreak of a 'vaccine-preventable' disease the child may be temporarily excluded from attending school/child care institutions "for his/her protection."

If Bill AB 2109 passes, by July 1st, 2013, parents who wish to opt out will be required to bring with them on the day of enrollment a written statement from a medical doctor or conventional "health care practitioner" that states they have been informed of the benefits and risks of vaccines and the communicable disease they are said to prevent. The parent would also be required to submit a written statement that indicates that he or she received the information from the health care practitioner.

Comment: Similar legislation proposed in Australia.

Australian-Government-Moves-To-Quickly-Pass-Laws-To-Sterilize-Electroshock-And-Restrain-Children-Without-Parental-Consent

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Puppet Masters

Netanyahu's Gift to Obama: Tale of a Persian Plot

ACLU: Obama's extra-judicial killings raise 'profound legal and moral questions'

'Exceptionalism' in America

The Saga of Bradley Manning, Julian Assange, and Wikileaks, to be put to ballad and film

Murder Is Legal, Says US Attorney General Eric Holder

Greece Pulls Out from EU Anti-Piracy Force Due to Crisis

2 British journalists accused of spying in Libya

McCain calls for U.S.-led airstrikes in Syria

Putin Wins Presidential Election Despite US Govt. and Western Media Interference

Media Blackout On Bill AB2019 Threatening Vaccine Rights

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