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Incompetence or worse? How the U.S. 'screwed up' in the fight against Ebola

Brendan Greeley and Caroline Chen
Business Week
Thu, 25 Sep 2014 19:42 UTC
brantly
© Pete Souza/White House
President Obama meets with Kent Brantly and his wife, Amber, in the Oval Office on Sept. 16
It was a small victory in a grim and runaway catastrophe. In July, Kent Brantly and Nancy Writebol, both American medical workers in Liberia, became stricken with Ebola hemorrhagic fever after treating dozens suffering from the disease, which has a mortality rate of 50 percent to 90 percent. They were rushed doses of an experimental cocktail of Ebola antibodies called ZMapp, flown home via a Gulfstream III on separate flights on Aug. 2 and 5, and each isolated inside a special tent called an "aeromedical biological containment system." The U.S. Department of State and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) coordinated the flights, operated by Phoenix Air, a private transport company based in Georgia. Cared for in a special ward at Emory University in Atlanta, they recovered within the month and later met with President Obama. It appeared to be a win for the White House.

Mapp Biopharmaceutical, the San Diego company that developed ZMapp, is also in a way a White House project. It's supported exclusively through federal grants and contracts that go back to 2005. The antibody mixture hadn't yet passed its first phase of human clinical trials, but after the two Americans were infected with Ebola, the Food and Drug Administration granted emergency access to ZMapp.

It's too early to say whether ZMapp was vital to the Americans' survival. There were a limited number of doses available. Mapp ran out after having given doses to the two Americans, a Spanish priest, and doctors in two West African countries, although it declined to say how many. And that raised fair questions: Why hadn't the promising treatment gone through human clinical trials sooner, and why were there so few doses on hand?

Comment: At the very least, the story of ZMapp demonstrates what the authors above allege: gross incompetence and wrong priorities. However, that is not the only possibility. First, we need to know if the drug is actually effective or not. If it is, was its development deliberately obstructed?

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War Whore

Traitors: Anyone who opposes or refuses to support US/CIA/NATO policies

Jacob G. Hornberger
Information Clearinghouse
Wed, 24 Sep 2014 00:00 UTC
constitution flames
Ever since the post-World War II grafting of the national-security apparatus onto America's governmental structure, the assumption of the Pentagon, the CIA, and the NSA has been that Americans who oppose national-security state policies and practices are "subversives" or even traitors.

We experienced this phenomenon throughout the Cold War. U.S. officials were spying on Americans who believed in communism or socialism, tapping their telephones, keeping secret files on them, infiltrating their organizations, and doing whatever they could to destroy, humiliate, or ruin them.

Why were they doing such things? Because they believed that Americans who believed in communism or socialism were subversives and even traitors.

It was the same mindset during the Vietnam War, when U.S. officials secretly monitored the activities of American citizens who were protesting the war. Anyone who wasn't "supporting the troops" was considered a subversive, a bad guy, a traitor. Anyone who refused a conscription order to go fight in Vietnam was criminally prosecuted as a draft resister.

Comment: The plain truth is that the US government is controlled by a Secret Team whose plan for global domination has been in the planning stages for decades, if not longer. Anyone who dares to oppose the state mandated plan must perforce be branded a 'terrorist'. There is no room for dissent.

World War 3 in the offing? US-NATO Geo-Political policy will lead to exactly that

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Camera

Germany and France to send drones to Ukraine?


RT
Tue, 16 Sep 2014 14:35 UTC
Image
© Reuters
German soldiers stand behind an unmanned Luna reconnaissance drone
German drones may soon be flying over Ukraine as part of the OSCE mission to monitor the truce between Kiev forces and militia fighters. The German Defense Ministry has sent a team to southeastern Ukraine. France is also considering sending drones.

The ministry announced its readiness to fulfill the OSCE's request in an official statement published on Bundeswehr's (Germany's armed forces) website.

Comment: Maybe this is a good idea. However, using drones to monitor the "situation" does not sound so peaceful; especially considering the fact that France and Germany are inextricably linked with the Western powers. Who is watching the watchers in this scenario?

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Binoculars

Kurdish leader: ISIS has INCREASED its presence in northern Syria since US-led bombardment


english.al-akhbar.com
Wed, 24 Sep 2014 12:20 UTC
Image
© AP
ISIS militants patrol in Fallujah, June 21, 2014
The Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) has reinforced fighters who are battling Kurdish forces for control of a Syrian town at the border with Turkey, a redeployment triggered by US-led airstrikes on the group elsewhere, a Kurdish military official said.

Ocalan Iso, deputy leader of the Kurdish forces defending the town of Kobani at the Turkish border, said more ISIS fighters and tanks had arrived since the US-led coalition began air strikes on the group on Tuesday.

"The number of their fighters has increased, the number of their tanks has increased since the bombardment of Raqqa," Iso told Reuters by telephone. He repeated calls for the US-led coalition to expand its airstrikes to ISIS positions near Kobani, which is also known as Ayn al-Arab.


Comment: Kobani (Ayn al-Arab) is located on the Turkish border which is being used by terrorists as their main route into Syria. US/NATO and their allies planned to create a buffer zone in northern Syria for some time, which would allow terrorists to launch attacks deeper into Syria.

For an in depth analysis, see:

US-led airstrikes on Syria: Behind the smokescreen


"Kobani is in danger," he said.

The US-led airstrikes on ISIS in Syria, without the consent of Damascus, have so far targeted the provinces of Raqqa, Deir al-Zor and Hasakah.

ISIS launched a major offensive against Kobani last week, forcing nearly 140,000 Syrian Kurds to flee across the border into Turkey within days - the largest and fastest exodus of civilians since the Syrian conflict began in 2011.

Iso said ISIS fighters had advanced to within 8 km (5 miles) from the southern periphery of Kobani - closer than they have been at any stage in the latest offensive.

"We call on American forces to hit their positions. They are 8 km from Kobani. They were 25 km away before," he said.

A group of several dozen Syrian Kurds who had fled the fighting watched from a hillside on the Turkish side of the border as Kurdish fighters battled ISIS militants in a cluster of villages called Siftek. The sound of sporadic artillery and gunfire echoed around the hills.

Comment: To understand the real reason of US bombing of Syria, see:

US starts bombing Syria - Real target is Assad

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Sherlock

US-led airstrikes on Syria: Behind the smokescreen

Brandon Turbeville
Activist Post
Wed, 24 Sep 2014 13:17 UTC
Image
© Tim Anderson
Same front group, new name
With the recent and ongoing airstrikes launched against Syria by the United States and its "regional" and NATO allies, a number of questions have arisen from a variety of quarters who remain entirely confused as to the ongoing angles of the players involved in the Syrian crisis. Confusion, of course, is a natural state resulting from the mainstream media's attempt to conceal the fact that the United States and NATO/GCC are entirely responsible for the Syrian crisis to begin with as well as for the massive seizure of territory across Iraq and Syria by ISIS militants. These same media outlets have also played a major role in the obfuscation of the understanding of the crisis by providing false delineations and name changes bound to confuse an American population already afflicted with a short attention span.

With even the basic facts surrounding the Syrian crisis forced into obscurity by mass ignorance of their existence, the facts surrounding the recent US bombing of Syria have also given way to more questions.

For that reason, a number of points must be made regarding the recent events and those that will unfold in the future inside Syria.

Information Does Not Equal Coordination

The recent airstrikes by the United States and its allies allegedly against ISIS positions in Syria have been soundly condemned by both Iran and Russia . Both countries have accurately pointed out that the airstrikes were a violation of Syria's national sovereignty and a violation of international law. Syria, however, has refrained from outrage and has even stated that the United States informed it of the attacks before they took place.

Syria's reaction has caused many to believe one of two things: First, that the United States truly is focused on eliminating ISIS; and, second, that the United States and Syria are now working together to achieve this end.
Despite Syria's forbearance, however, the truth is far from either of these ideas. The United States is in no way interested in destroying its own proxy army nor is it interested in working with the secular Assad government. After all, Assad and the Syrian government are the ultimate target of the West to begin with.

Comment: See also:



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Star of David

Israel supports ISIL terrorists - Syria


Press TV
Tue, 23 Sep 2014 10:53 UTC
Image
© Tim Anderson
Syria has once again slammed the Israeli regime's support for the Takfiri ISIL militants operating inside the Arab country.

A Syrian military official, whose name was not mentioned in the reports, made the comments on Tuesday after Tel Aviv said earlier in the day that it had shot down a Syrian warplane as it attempted to fly over the ceasefire line into the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights.


Comment: Helping terrorists: Israeli military shot down Syrian warplane over Golan Heights


The official confirmed the shooting down and underlined that the move was based on Tel Aviv's policy of supporting ISIL Takfiris.

The aircraft was apparently a MiG-21 fighter jet which was downed by a surface-to-air Patriot missile, the Army radio said, adding that the wreckage landed on the Syrian side of the plateau.

However, an unnamed Israeli military official identified the downed aircraft as a Sukhoi Su-24 Russian fighter plane.

The development comes amid heavy clashes on the Syrian side of the Golan Heights. The Syrian government has been hitting back at the foreign-backed militants there with frequent airstrikes.

Syria has been gripped by deadly violence since March 2011.


Comment: Ever since the US/NATO and their allies staged the so-called "Arab Spring," by bringing in death squads to create a humanitarian crisis and then blaming the government to justify interventions.

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Bomb

'Hooray! We're finally slaughtering Syrians directly!' U.S. airstrikes kill 5 civilians in Syria


Press TV
Thu, 25 Sep 2014 10:54 UTC
syria bombings

Syrians check a damaged house (maybe their own?) hit by U.S.-led coalition airstrikes on Tuesday

US airstrikes meant to hit ISIL targets in Syria have killed at least five civilians, says a foreign-backed Syrian opposition group.

The civilians, including one child, were killed in the airstrikes on ISIL positions in northeastern Hasakeh, said the so-called Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

The group said fourteen militants have also been killed in the raids on the eastern province of Deir Ezzor.

Observatory director Rami Abdel Rahman said at least one militant checkpoint was hit during the overnight attacks. The raids targeted oil facilities captured by the ISIL.

Comment:
US starts bombing Syria - Real target is Assad
Out Bush-ing Bush: Syria is 7th mostly Muslim country bombed by 2009 Nobel Peace winner Obama
Where is the outrage! Facts: Syria is 7th (Muslim) country bombed by 2009 Nobel peace prize winner
Pepe Escobar: From Afghanistan to 'Syraq'

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Newspaper

Diplomat: The crisis in Ukraine was caused by US and EU interference


ITAR TASS
Mon, 22 Sep 2014 10:40 UTC
Image
© EPA/HELMUT FOHRINGER
Andrei Kelin talks to reporters
The crisis in Ukraine was caused by the blatant interference of the United States and the European Union in its affairs, Russian Permanent Representative to the OSCE, Andrei Kelin, said on Monday.

"The Ukrainian crisis was provoked by the US and EU interference. It was the United States that grossly but customarily interfered in Ukraine's internal affairs, breaching the Helsinki principles and the UN Charter," Kelin said at the Warsaw Human Dimension Session of the 2014 OSCE Review Conference.

"It was the United States that encouraged the state coup in Kiev in February and the punitive operation in the east of the country, which left 3,000 people killed and made hundreds of thousands flee their homes," the diplomat said.
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Pirates

Islamic jihadists 'retaliate' against French invasion of Iraq by beheading French tourist in Algeria

Howard Koplowitz
International Business Times
Wed, 24 Sep 2014 09:34 UTC
Jund al-Khilafa, an ISIS-aligned militant group in Algeria, released a video Wednesday allegedly showing the beheading of Hervé Gourdel, a French tourist it held captive and threatened to kill if French President Francois Hollande didn't withdraw from the U.S.-led coalition of airstrikes in Iraq. The jihadists reportedly released the video on Twitter, according to the SITE Intelligence Group, which monitors terrorist chatter.

The 4-minute, 46-second video, titled "A Message with Blood to the French Government," features footage of Hollande. Gourdel is shown on his knees speaking as men wrapped in headscarves and carrying guns stand behind him. SITE said the footage doesn't show the actual beheading, but another shot shows Gourdel's severed head resting on his lap before the men hold up his head.

The video is similar to the beheadings of U.S. journalists James Foley and Steven Sotloff and British aid worker David Cawthorne Haines at the hands of ISIS. SITE said Jund al-Khilafa has taken cues from the group, now known as the Islamic State.
Gourdel

Still from the video posted by Jund al-Khilafa showing the before and after of of Mr Gourdel's beheading.
"As the Islamic State has instructed its supporters all over the world to execute attacks, the beheading of this French hostage may not be the last demonstration of this nature," said SITE Director Rita Katz.

Comment: 1. The latest beheading video was again discovered by the notorious Rita Katz. If the thread of Islamist militants no longer exists, will this lady find herself without a job?

2. The blood-lusting, evil-beyond-evil terrible Islamist terrorists have surprisingly spared us in all videos the gruesomeness of the actual beheading. Could this be a sign that they might have a heart after-all?

3. The same terrible Muslim terrorists must be completely stupid since they do not seem to realize that their threats and beheadings simply DO NOT work. France, the UK, the U.S. and allies continue their bombings undeterred.

4. And most important point: Algerian militants behead a French citizen at a time that about 15% of the population of France consists of Algerian immigrants and the racism against Muslims in the country is seeing new heights.

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Light Saber

What a new concept: Russian government to protect anti-corruption whistleblowers


RT
Thu, 25 Sep 2014 04:46 UTC
Image
© RIA Novosti / Vladimir Fedorenko
Russia's State Duma plans to widen legal protection for people who help fight corruption among state officials, reporting the cases to police or the media. The bill is currently in the works, Izvestia reported.

The amendments to the existing anti-corruption law have been suggested by MP Ilya Kostunov, of United Russia, who's a member of the lower house of parliament's security and anti-corruption committee.

According to Kostunov, many people who report cases of corruption within their work environment are forced to quit their jobs by their bosses. The new bill should help protect these people, the deputy says.

"There is a presidential decree that enacts protection for those who report corruption cases. According to this decree, anti-corruption fighters can only be fired by a prosecutor's order, and they should also be guaranteed free legal assistance. But these rules are widely being flouted," Kostunov said.
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