Puppet MastersS


Star of David

Gilad Atzmon on Ken O'Keefe's Middle East

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Part 1

Atzmon and O'Keefe scrutinize the role of language in political discussion and Palestine solidarity discourse in particular. In this segment they examine Zionism, Israel, Jewish tribalism and the usage of the 'J word'.


Red Flag

France sends military to deal with another 'ex'-colony, Central African Republic, under pretext of intervening in 'humanitarian crisis' it helped create

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© APFrench Special Forces race through Bangui, Central African Republic, Thursday, Dec. 5, 2013. They have been given a carte blanche by President François Hollande to beat down the rebels and secure the country's resources for French nuclear industrialists "by any means necessary"
Resolution passed authorising French and African troops to use force to protect civilians amid reports of dozens killed in Bangui

A major French military intervention in the Central African Republic (CAR) is expected within days after the UN security council authorised French and African troops Thursdayto use force to protect civilians as the world races to prevent a sectarian war.

At least 105 people were killed during the heaviest clashes for months between rival militias in the capital, Bangui, according to Reuters. Family members crowded into a mosque in the capital where 53 bodies were laid out, most of which appeared to have been clubbed or hacked to death.

The CAR has been heading towards sectarian warfare since March when mainly Muslim rebels, aided by mercenaries from Chad and Sudan, seized power in a coup in this predominantly Christian nation.

Crackles of gunfire erupted at around 6am in Bangui on Thursday and could still be heard sporadically nearly three hours later close to the city's international airport. There were other reports of arms fire from suburbs north and east of the city. Even the president's and prime minister's homes were looted.

Sylvain Groulx of Médecins Sans Frontières, said he had seen more than 20 bodies lying on a street and a further eight in a hospital morgue. His staff were treating up to 70 casualties "and that tally is going up". He said: "I'm worried what kind of reprisals there will be later. Nobody is moving and it's a real ghost town."

Snakes in Suits

And the rich get richer: Government leaders conclude new WTO deal for the benefit of corporations

The World Trade Organisation has sealed its first global trade deal after almost 160 ministers who had gathered on the Indonesian island of Bali agreed to reforms to boost world commerce.

The agreement, which was criticised by anti-poverty charities, came after intense lobbying by India over measures to protect its poorest farmers. A last-minute compromise between the US and Cuba was also needed over references in the final draft to the continuing trade embargo of the Caribbean island.

Activists protest at WTO conference in Bali

Pistol

Newtown, Connecticut 911 tapes: 'They're still running, they're still shooting'


"I think there's somebody shooting in here," says an unidentified woman calling from inside the school.

"What makes you think that?" a 911 dispatcher asks.

"Because somebody's got a gun, I saw a glimpse of somebody running down the hallway," she replies, her voice shaking. "They're still running, they're still shooting."

Harrowing 911 calls made from Sandy Hook Elementary School to police in Newtown, Conn., were released Wednesday, giving the public a small but chilling window into the mass shooting that killed 26 people, including 20 children, last December.

Authorities released seven audio-enhanced calls made as 20-year-old gunman Adam Lanza shot his way into the school and began his killing spree.

Newtown police dispatchers can be heard urging school administrators to take shelter amid the massacre.

"Keep everyone down, keep everyone away from the windows," a female dispatcher calmly tells a teacher. "Try to lock down the school."

A male dispatcher stayed on the line for several minutes with Rick Thorne, the school's custodian.

"There's still shooting going on, please!" Thorne shouts. "I keep hearing shooting. I keep hearing popping." The sound of gunshots can be heard in the background.

The dispatcher picks up several calls in a row while keeping the custodian on the line for updates on the shooting.

"Guys, we've got a shooting in Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown," the dispatcher says to his colleagues. "That's why 911 is ringing off the hook right now."

Stephen Sedensky III, a state's attorney, fought against the release of the calls, arguing that the tapes - which were "being made on the murder of children as it occurs" - were too gruesome for residents to bear.

House

Epidemic Evictions: As rent soars, longtime San Francisco tenants fight to stay

San Fransisco
© Curtis Fry/FlickerIn San Francisco, demand for apartments is booming, but for low and middle-income tenants, this means it's hard to find an affordable place to rent
San Francisco has long been a desirable place to live - and that's even more true today as the city is basking in the glow of another tech boom. But the influx of new money and new residents is putting a strain on the city's housing market.

The city has the highest median rent in the nation, and evictions of longtime residents are skyrocketing.

Ground zero for San Francisco's eviction crisis is the Inner Mission District. Until recently, this edgy neighborhood was home to a mix of working-class Latinos, artists and activists.

Tom Rapp, an airport building maintenance worker, rents a modest second-story flat that he has called home for 15 years. He says a lot of his neighbors have been evicted over the past couple of years. Then bad news came knocking on his door, too.

"We received an eviction notice at the end of August," he says.

"But we've gotten like three different ones, right?" adds his roommate, Patricia Kerman.

Kerman, a senior on a fixed income, has lived in this flat for 27 years.

The two are fighting to stay in their rent-controlled apartment as their landlord tries to evict them under what's known as the Ellis Act. It's a state law that allows an eviction if the landlord wants to pull the building out of the rental market, usually with a plan to sell the units.

"They found this loophole where they're now able to get people out of their rent-controlled apartments, and it's just becoming an epidemic," Rapp says.

Bad Guys

EU fueling the protests: EU delegation urges Ukraine protesters to seek referendum

Kiev protests
© RIA Novosti/Alexey KudenkoSupporters of Ukraine's EU integration in Kiev's Independence Square.
Ukraine should hold a referendum to decide its political course, Alexandra Thein, the German MEP from the EU-delegation to Ukraine told RT. The politician believes it is normal to support protests in the streets, if it doesn't incite violence.

A delegation of Members of the European Parliament descended on Ukraine on Saturday, to meet with the opposition leaders and address the crowd in the streets of Kiev, fueling the protest further.

Jacek Saryusz-Wolski, a European Parliament member from Poland expressed full support for the protesters' demand for an early election, calling the situation "unacceptable" when "the choice of the majority of Ukrainians, millions of people, is being put aside."

However, speaking with RT, German MEP Alexandra Thein, said that the "unofficial" visit of the European politicians was all about democracy and the Ukrainian people's desire to associate with Europe, and not the ousting of a democratically elected government which just recently survived a no confidence vote.

RT: We've seen scores of EU politicians come mingle with the protesters in Kiev. Why aren't they letting Ukraine's elected leaders democratically decide?

Alexandra Thein: I think it is not against Ukraine's leadership. I think they just show their solidarity with the protesters and I think we want the Association Agreement with the EU signed and therefore we assist them.


Comment: So now the EU in the name of democracy fuels the protests in another country and talks directly to the crowds???? What is wrong with presenting the views to those people elected by the people themselves? Isn't that how democracy works?

How would it be if Chinese or Russian or Iranian or African delegations start coming to Europe and address the protesters there directly and fuel them on to continue protesting for their rights? If you think that it is not a problem as there are no protests right now, think again as the austerity measures taken, soon will make the population come out in the streets across Europe.


Comment: In the EU, important matters, which are not supported by the people, are not put out to referendum, matters such as joining the euro or not.
In Syria a referendum was held regarding a new constitution and it was supported by 90% with a voter turn out of 60%. Yet the EU did not recognize this result, as it didn't fit with the EU policy of regime change.

Syria: Democracy vs. foreign invasion. Who is Bashar Al Assad?


Megaphone

Anti-fracking clashes in Romania as activists break into Chevron site

Anti fracking protest in Romania
© AFP Photo / Daniel MihailescuRomanian protesters tear down the fence of the exploring perimeter of US energy giant Chevron in Pungesti, Romania on December 7, 2013.
Hundreds of protesters have broken into a Chevron site after the US oil giant resumed its search for shale gas in northeast Romania. RT's Lucy Kafanov reports from the scene, where clashes ensued as riot police started streaming in.

Some 250 people gathered on Saturday in the village of Pungesti. RT's Lucy Kafanov reports that the demonstration kicked off quite peacefully with the protesters chanting "Chevron go home."

"The situation then escalated. Some people had run across the road towards the Chevron property, there was a bit of a commotion, and we saw the protesters run into the property; the surrounding perimeter fences were taken down," Kafanov reports. Local media said people were able to tear down fences to 20 acres of land owned by the company.

Comment: You have to see it to believe it: What it's like to have fracking in your backyard
Texas man sued for defamation by fracking company that contaminated his water supply
Unwelcome experiment: Neighbors of frac sand mine wait for someone to monitor toxins
Global frackdown! World prepares for protest against shale gas production


Sheriff

Sheriff's Department hired officers with histories of misconduct

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© Irfan Khan / Los Angeles TimesLos Angeles County Sheriff Lee Baca.
Despite background investigations that revealed wrongdoing, incompetence, or poor performance, the department still hired dozens of problem applicants in 2010, internal records show.

The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department hired dozens of officers even though background investigators found they had committed serious misconduct on or off duty, sheriff's files show.

The department made the hires in 2010 after taking over patrols of parks and government buildings from a little-known L.A. County police force. Officers from that agency were given first shot at new jobs with the Sheriff's Department. Investigators gave them lie detector tests and delved into their employment records and personal lives.

The Times reviewed the officers' internal hiring files, which also contained recorded interviews of the applicants by sheriff's investigators.

Ultimately, about 280 county officers were given jobs, including applicants who had accidentally fired their weapons, had sex at work and solicited prostitutes, the records show.

For nearly 100 hires, investigators discovered evidence of dishonesty, such as making untrue statements or falsifying police records. At least 15 were caught cheating on the department's own polygraph exams.

Camera

What has a shadowy US government spy agency just shot into space? Top-secret group that boasts 'nothing is beyond our reach' blasts classified rocket into orbit

Despite ongoing anger about how the U.S. government is snooping on people around the world, one agency is still keen to boast about its spying - with a creepy cartoon octopus and an alarming logo.

A top-secret rocket carrying spy satellites for the National Reconnaissance Office launched from the central California coast late on Thursday, and it had a large badge emblazoned on the side

The new logo features a huge and sinister octopus, with just one angry eye visible, as it wraps its tentacles round the globe. Written underneath is: 'Nothing Is Beyond Our Reach.'

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Creepy? The spy rocket launched on Thursday featured a logo with an angry octopus encircling the globe and the phrase: 'Nothing Is Beyond Our Reach.'

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Destination unknown: Very few details were revealed about the top secret spy satellite launching on an Atlas 5 rocket

Beer

Police wiretap evidence indicates 'conservative' crack-smoking Toronto mayor Rob Ford is also involved in heroin, bribery and murder


Information released Wednesday from police wiretaps has Toronto Mayor Rob Ford facing a host of new accusations and revelations.

The allegations, from a police investigation called Project Brazen 2, are unproven and have not been tested in court.

Here are some of the allegations in the documents:

Heroin use:

When Ford admitted after months of denials to having smoked crack cocaine once likely during one of his "drunken stupors," he said he "has nothing left to hide."

But wiretap interceptions from the Toronto police investigation suggest crack cocaine may not have been the only drug the mayor has used.

During an April 20 phone conversation between Liban Siyad and Abdullahi Harun, Harun claims he has multiple photographs of Ford "doing the hezza," or heroin.