Puppet Masters

Predictable: Israeli Minister Says Syria Used Chemical Weapons

RT.com
Thu, 22 Aug 2013 05:35 UTC

Jerusalem - A senior Israeli official says chemical weapons were used in the attack in Syria that left at least 100 people dead in the eastern suburbs of Damascus.

Yuval Steinitz, the minister for intelligence and strategic affairs, says Israel's assessment is based on "intelligence estimates." He did not elaborate.

Steinitz told Israel Radio on Thursday that the attack the previous day was not the first time such agents were used.

Steinitz appears to be blaming Syrian President Bashar Assad and calls his regime "exceptionally cruel."

Israel has accused Assad of deploying chemical weapons in the past and has repeatedly expressed concern that neighboring Syria's chemical arsenal could fall into the hands of anti-Israel militants.

The UN Security Council has called for an investigation into the latest allegation of chemical weapons use.

Water Leaks May Become New Japan Nuclear Disaster

RT.com
Thu, 22 Aug 2013 05:10 UTC

Japan's nuclear watchdog said a leak of highly radioactive water at the crippled Fukushima nuclear power plant could be the beginning of a new disaster - a series of leaks of contaminated water from storage tanks.

The plant operator has built hundreds of steel tanks to store massive amounts of radioactive water coming from three melted reactors, as well as underground water running into reactor and turbine basements.

Tokyo Electric Power Co. says about 300 tons (300,000 liters, 80,000 gallons) of contaminated water leaked from one of the tanks, possibly through a seam. The leak is the fifth, and the worst, since last year involving tanks of the same design at the wrecked Fukushima Dai-ichi plant, raising concerns that contaminated water could begin leaking from storage tanks one after another.

"That's what we fear the most. We must remain alert. We should assume that what has happened once could happen again, and prepare for more," Nuclear Regulation Authority Chairman Shunichi Tanaka told a news conference. "We are in a situation where there is no time to waste."

The watchdog also proposed at a weekly meeting Wednesday to raise the rating of the seriousness of the leak to level 3, a "serious incident," from level 1, "an anomaly," on an International Nuclear and Radiological event scale from 0 to 7.

The watchdog urged TEPCO to step up monitoring for leaks and take precautionary measures.

Germany cools talks about a possible third bailout for Greece

RT.com
Thu, 22 Aug 2013 04:49 UTC

German officials have played down their finance minister's admission that Greece needed a third bailout, saying no exact decision has been taken. In pre-election campaign Schaeuble words were unpopular, as German voters are skeptical about more tranches.

"There is no new situation. Nothing has changed," Schaeuble's spokesman Martin Kotthaus said. "Our position remains that we will assess where Greece stands in 2014 and whether additional measures may be needed," as Reuters quotes spokesmen for German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble and his boss Angela Merkel.

In the meantime, the European Central Bank came to Athens on Wednesday to check up on the country's success in meeting its international bailout obligation.

The clarification comes shortly after Schaeuble unexpectedly admitted on Tuesday that Greece would need more financial help, because the $328 billion pledged so far won't be enough to save Athens from bankruptcy.

Miranda's rights: how Europe can learn from Latin America's independence

Mark Weisbrot
The Guardian
Tue, 20 Aug 2013 23:04 UTC

© Evaristo SA/AFP
US Secretary of State John Kerry and his Brazilian counterpart, Antonio Patriota, meeting this month in Brazil. Patriota told Kerry that the NSA must 'stop practices that violate sovereignty'.

Brazil's action over the detention of Glenn Greenwald's partner shows South American nations no longer toe Washington's line

With a few exceptions, most of Europe hasn't had an independent foreign policy for the past 70 years, and the UK stands out as a prime example of this. I remember discussing British foreign policy with a UK member of Parliament a few years ago, and he said to me:

Do you want to know what the Foreign Office is going to do? Just ask the [US] State Department.

The British government proved its first loyalty once again by detaining Glenn Greenwald's Brazilian partner, David Miranda, under the UK's Terrorism Act 2000 as he passed through London's Heathrow airport on Sunday. He was interrogated for the maximum of 9 hours, and his laptop, cell phone, and other stores of digital information were seized.

It is clear that Miranda was not suspected of any connection to terrorism. To detain and rob Miranda on this pretext is no more legal than to have done so on trumped-up allegations that he was transporting cocaine. The White House has admitted that Washington had advance knowledge of the crime, and so we can infer approval - if not active collaboration.

Scotland Yard call their abuse of power and David Miranda's bullying 'legally sound'

BBC News
Tue, 20 Aug 2013 22:29 UTC

Glenn Greenwald greeted Mr Miranda when he arrived in Brazil on Monday

Using the Terrorism Act to detain the partner of a Guardian reporter who covered US and UK security services was "legally sound", Scotland Yard says.

It was responding to claims it misused its powers by holding David Miranda for nine hours at Heathrow on Sunday.

The UK's reviewer of terror laws has said the length of detention was "unusual" and will meet police later.

Meanwhile, the Guardian's editor claims leaked information it held was destroyed following government demands.

Government sources told the BBC in response to the editor, Alan Rusbridger's claims that the official approach had not been "heavy-handed".

No-one had been arrested, no injunctions sought and the newspaper still continued to print stories based on the leaked material, the sources said.

NSA gathered thousands of Americans' e-mails before court struck down program

Ellen Nakashima
Washington Post
Wed, 21 Aug 2013 22:05 UTC

Video: Barton Gellman, a senior fellow at the Century Foundation, first reported for the The Washington Post on the National Security Agency's extensive surveillance programs. Nia-Malika Henderson sat down with Gellman for On Background about reporting on the controversial activities.

For several years, the National Security Agency unlawfully gathered tens of thousands of e-mails and other electronic communications between Americans as part of a now-revised collection method, according to a 2011 secret court opinion.

The redacted 85-page opinion, which was declassified by U.S. intelligence officials on Wednesday, states that, based on NSA estimates, the spy agency may have been collecting as many as 56,000 "wholly domestic" communications each year.

Tyranny for profit

Eric Peters
Eric Peters Auto
Wed, 21 Aug 2013 22:10 UTC

Tyranny seems to be as much about getting rich as it is about getting power. There is the example of Michael Chertoff, ex-Oberstgruppenfuhrer of the Heimatsicherheitsdeinst - who made millions via the TSA porno scanners which are now part of the Submission Training every American who wishes to fly must endure. The maker of the porno scanners - Rapiscan - was a client of The Chertoff Group. At least $118 million of your dollars have gone to Rapiscan (and to Chertoff, personally) to facilitate your degradation at the airport of your choice.

But, he's a big fish.

Smaller fish are just as hungry for your money - and your liberty.

For instance, there is Allan Marx. He is an Ordnungspolizei Obersturmfuhrer (police lieutenant, pictured above) in Sebastian County, Arkansas who is pushing hard for OralTox test swabs (see here) to be used upon motorists at Fourth Amendment-free "sobriety" checkpoints. It just happens that Marx is also a distributor for the product - and thus, stands to profit handsomely at the expense of his fellow citizens' liberty.

U.S. 'planned to launch chemical weapon attack on Syria and blame it on Assad'

Louise Boyle
Daily Mail, UK
Tue, 29 Jan 2013 10:51 UTC

Terrorism: Made in the USA (see UK, Israel and France for regional offices)
Leaked emails from defense contractor refers to chemical weapons saying 'the idea is approved by Washington'
Obama issued warning to Syrian president Bashar al-Assad last month that use of chemical warfare was 'totally unacceptable'

Leaked emails have allegedly proved that the White House gave the green light to a chemical weapons attack in Syria that could be blamed on Assad's regime and in turn, spur international military action in the devastated country.

A report released on Monday contains an email exchange between two senior officials at British-based contractor Britam Defence where a scheme 'approved by Washington' is outlined explaining that Qatar would fund rebel forces in Syria to use chemical weapons.

Barack Obama made it clear to Syrian president Bashar al-Assad last month that the U.S. would not tolerate Syria using chemical weapons against its own people.

Comment: And now we see today, 21 August 2013, that they appear to have 'gone for the jugular' with this propaganda trick, claiming that over 1,300 people have been killed in a gas/chemical attack perpetrated by Assad's troops in Damascus.

In the meantime, SANA, the Syrian national news agency has refuted these ludicrous lies:

Allegations of armed forces using toxic gas in Damascus countryside untrue

An official spokesman at the Foreign and Expatriates Ministry said that the cooperation agreement between Syria and the international committee for investigating the use of weapons of mass destruction in some areas in Syria didn't please the terrorists and the countries supporting them, which is why they came up with new false allegations that the Armed Forces used toxic gas in Damascus Countryside.

The spokesman said that the Foreign and Expatriates Ministry affirms that these allegations are false and untrue, and that the Ministry would like to point out that Syria has repeatedly announced that it will never use any weapons of mass destruction against its own people, if such weapons exist.

The spokesman said that these lies and allegations have become well-known to the Syrian government and people, and that the allegations constitute an attempt to prevent the international investigation committee from carrying outs its task and to influence the committee's report.

Syria gas attack story has whiff of Saudi-U.S. war propaganda

William Engdahl
RT.com
Wed, 21 Aug 2013 15:15 UTC

© (Reuters / Ammar Dar)
A man, affected by what activists say is nerve gas, breathes through an oxygen mask in the Damascus suburbs of Jesreen August 21, 2013.

The reports of massive chemical attacks in Syria might become the "red line" for the US for active military intervention. But even rudimentary analysis of the story shows it is too early to believe its credibility.

The Middle Eastern newspaper, Al Arabiya, reports that "At least 1,300 people have been killed in a nerve gas attack on Syria's Ghouta region, leading opposition figure George Sabra said on Wednesday..." The paper went on to claim that the Government of President Bashar al Assad was responsible for the attacks. If confirmed it could be the "red line" that US President Obama previously stated would tip the US into active military intervention in Syria, using No Fly Zones and active military steps to depose Assad.

That in turn could erupt into a conflagration across the Middle East and a Super Power confrontation with Russia and China and Iran on one side, and the USA, UK, Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Qatar on the opposite side. Not a happy prospect for world peace at all.

Manning to ask Obama for pardon, will pay 'high price' if not granted

RT.com
Wed, 21 Aug 2013 13:39 UTC

© AFP Photo / Mark Wilson
US Army Private First Class Bradley Manning is escorted out of a military court facility during the sentencing phase of his trial in Fort Meade, Maryland.

Bradley Manning's defense team will file a pardon request to US president Barack Obama early next week, or will ask to commute the Private's sentence.

"Early next week I will file a request to the President for the pardon of Private Manning, or at least [ask to] commute his sentence," Manning's lead attorney, David Coombs, said during a Wednesday news conference.

Coombs read a statement from Manning, who was sentenced to 35 years in prison for leaking US intelligence to WikiLeaks.

In the letter, Manning says that he leaked the information out of love for his country, and that if the President denies him a pardon "he will serve [his] time knowing that sometimes you have to pay a high price."

In the statement voiced by the counsel, Manning quoted American historian and social activist Howard Zinn, saying, "there is not a flag large enough to cover the shame of killing innocent people."

"We did everything to make sure he got a fair trial, but I don't think the public is going to perceive it as such," added Manning's attorney.

Maybe if they'd worry more about actual illegal content and not about deleting self-deprecating content like "I am so fat," they'd have better...

Artex

I think we will all learn more when Whitney Webb's book is published.

Dwoods44

artificial intelligence would address the company's chronic problems AI will eventally realize that the problem is Zuckenberk and his ilk, and...

dom38

Here's a nice tune for a war criminal. [Link]

frankchapeau

The dude is now on his own way to Hell.

dom38

Puppet Masters

Predictable: Israeli Minister Says Syria Used Chemical Weapons

Water Leaks May Become New Japan Nuclear Disaster

Germany cools talks about a possible third bailout for Greece

Miranda's rights: how Europe can learn from Latin America's independence

Scotland Yard call their abuse of power and David Miranda's bullying 'legally sound'

NSA gathered thousands of Americans' e-mails before court struck down program

Tyranny for profit

U.S. 'planned to launch chemical weapon attack on Syria and blame it on Assad'

Syria gas attack story has whiff of Saudi-U.S. war propaganda

Manning to ask Obama for pardon, will pay 'high price' if not granted

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