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Israel ups ante over Palestine

Jason Koutsoukis
The Sydney Morning Herald
Wed, 20 Jul 2011 00:00 UTC
Ayalon
© unknown
Ayalon
The Israeli deputy Foreign Affairs Minister, Danny Ayalon, has warned that a Palestinian push for full membership of the United Nations in September would set the stage for ''confrontation and conflict'' with Israel.

In a press briefing on Monday, Mr Ayalon urged the international community to stand behind Israel and reject the Palestinian effort, instead persuading the Palestinian leadership to return to direct negotiations with Israel.

''The issue here is the basic route which the Palestinians opt for,'' Mr Ayalon said. ''Are they opting for negotiations, are they opting for co-operation, are they opting for normalisation of relations ... or do they want to go for this unilateral route of confrontation and conflict? ...''
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Mr Ayalon, who over the past six months has travelled throughout Europe and South America to weaken the Palestinian effort, said it would be another low moment for the UN if a clear majority voted to recognise a Palestinian state.
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Eye 1

US: Police to Begin iPhone Iris Scans Amid Privacy Concerns

Zach Howard
Reuters
Wed, 20 Jul 2011 01:59 UTC
Image
© Reuters/Yuriko Nakao
A customer tries out the iPhone 4 at Apple Inc's store in the Ginza district of Tokyo June 24, 2010.
Dozens of police departments nationwide are gearing up to use a tech company's already controversial iris- and facial-scanning device that slides over an iPhone and helps identify a person or track criminal suspects.

The so-called "biometric" technology, which seems to take a page from TV shows like MI-5 or CSI, could improve speed and accuracy in some routine police work in the field. However, its use has set off alarms with some who are concerned about possible civil liberties and privacy issues.

The smartphone-based scanner, named Mobile Offender Recognition and Information System, or MORIS, is made by BI2 Technologies in Plymouth, Massachusetts, and can be deployed by officers out on the beat or back at the station.

An iris scan, which detects unique patterns in a person's eyes, can reduce to seconds the time it takes to identify a suspect in custody. This technique also is significantly more accurate than results from other fingerprinting technology long in use by police, BI2 says.

When attached to an iPhone, MORIS can photograph a person's face and run the image through software that hunts for a match in a BI2-managed database of U.S. criminal records. Each unit costs about $3,000.

Some experts fret police may be randomly scanning the population, using potentially intrusive techniques to search for criminals, sex offenders, and illegal aliens, but the manufacturer says that would be a difficult task for officers to carry out.

Sean Mullin, BI2's CEO, says it is difficult, if not impossible, to covertly photograph someone and obtain a clear, usable image without that person knowing about it, because the MORIS should be used close up.

"It requires a level of cooperation that makes it very overt -- a person knows that you're taking a picture for this purpose," Mullin said.
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Document

US: Minnesota Governor Signs Budget, Ends State Shutdown

Martiga Lohn
The Associated Press
Wed, 20 Jul 2011 13:14 UTC
Image
© The Associated Press / Jim Mone
Minnesota Gov. Mark Dayton is handed one of the bills as he signs the state budget bill which ends the government shutdown, Wednesday, July 20, 2011 in St. Paul, Minn. Dayton's signature came just hours after lawmakers gave their own approval to the deal after meeting in special session that started Tuesday afternoon and lasted until early Wednesday morning. After signing the budget, Dayton said he was "not entirely happy" with it.
Minnesota Gov. Mark Dayton signed a new budget Wednesday, ending the nation's longest state government shutdown in the past decade.

Dayton's signature came just hours after lawmakers gave their own approval to the deal after meeting in special session that started Tuesday afternoon and lasted until early Wednesday morning. All sides formalized an agreement that Dayton struck with leading Republicans late last week.

The two sides argued bitterly over taxes and spending for months. When government shut down July 1, it closed state parks and rest stops, laid off 22,000 state employees, stopped road projects and much more.

The end to the shutdown began when Dayton moved last week to accept a borrowing plan offered by the GOP shortly before the stoppage began.

After signing the budget, Dayton said he was "not entirely happy" with it.

"It's not what I wanted, but it's the best option that was available and would be for any time," he said. Dayton said the budget "gets Minnesota back to work."

Details were still emerging Wednesday about how quickly state operations would restart. Dayton said he expected most state employees to be back on the job Thursday.
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Stormtrooper

The debt-ceiling & TSA: Patting down America for every last nickel and dime

Ruth Hill
The Washington Times
Sun, 17 Jul 2011 00:00 UTC
TSA
© unknown
With talks of debt-ceilings and America defaulting, it is easy for the average American to determine where dollars in the budget could be saved. Let's start with the TSA.

Donald Rumsfeld may have smiled through his TSA pat down in Chicago last week, but my friend Barb is not smiling about her recent TSA encounters. Like Rumsfeld, Barb is sporting a metal joint or two, which is not uncommon.

In the Peoria Journal Start, Dr. Tom Mulvey of Midwest Orthopedic, is quoted as saying:

"There are now more than 1 million hip and knee replacements per year in the United States," said Mulvey, a hip and knee reconstructive surgeon in Peoria.

"Unbelievable."

Comment: While the writer has made some good observations about the lack of common sense in both the TSA and the government's horrible distribution of tax-payer money, she concludes by asking, "When will the U.S. follow Israeli security models" . This is basically asking the people to give up one form of tyranny for another, which shows pathocracy at its finest.

For more information on pathocracy, read: Political Ponerology: The Scientific Study of Evil Adjusted for Political Purposes by Andrew M. Lobaczewski

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Crusader

The Terrifying Christian Right

Marc Adler
SpliceToday
Wed, 20 Jul 2011 13:09 UTC
Image
© Unknown
The gap between fundamentalist and fascist is narrowing.

The Christian Right's assault on America is frightening, and, as someone who grew up in a world of religious fanaticism, my personal experience gives me a sharp sense of where this is heading. In his 2007 book, American Fascists, the Christian Right and the War on America, Chris Hedges describes what America would look like if evangelicals, or dominionists, complete their takeover of the American political system
"America becomes, in this militant Biblicism, an agent of god, and all political and intellectual opponents of America's Christian leaders are viewed, quite simply, as agents of Satan. Under Christian dominion, America will be no longer a sinful and fallen nation but one in which the 10 Commandments form the basis of our legal system, creationism and 'Christian values' form the basis of our educational system, and the media and government proclaim the Good News to one and all. Labor unions, civil rights laws and public schools will be abolished. Women will be removed from the workforce to stay at home, and all those deemed insufficiently Christian will be denied citizenship. Aside from its proselytizing mandate, the federal government will be reduced to the protection of property rights and 'homeland security...' The only legitimate voices in this state will be Christian. All others will be silenced."
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Dollar

Phone hacking: Murdoch paid US anti-bribery law lobbyists

Ed Pilkington
Guardian.co.uk
Tue, 19 Jul 2011 11:03 UTC
eliot spitzer
© Charles Ommanney/Getty Images
Eliot Spitzer, the former New York governor, is among American political voices calling for Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation to be prosecuted in the US for bribery in the News of the World scandal.

Rupert Murdoch donated $1m to a pro-business lobby in the US months before the group launched a high-profile campaign to alter the anti-bribery law - the same law that could potentially be brought to bear against News Corporation over the phone-hacking scandal.

News Corporation contributed $1m to the US Chamber of Commerce last summer. In October the chamber put forward a six-point programme for amending the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, or FCPA, a law that punishes US-based companies for engaging in the bribery of foreign officials.

Progressive groups in the US have speculated that there is no coincidence in the contemporaneous timing of the Murdoch donation and the launch of the chamber's FCPA campaign, which they claim is designed to weaken the anti-bribery legislation. "The timing certainly raises questions about who is bankrolling this campaign - if it's not News Corporation who is it?" said Joshua Dorner of the Centre for American Progress action fund.
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Vader

Canadian Citizen Tortured in Bahrain... But Harper Government Keeps Silent

Finian Cunningham
Global Research
Sun, 17 Jul 2011 07:18 UTC
Image

Naser Al Raas
A young Canadian man suffering from a serious heart condition has been abducted and tortured by the Bahraini regime, yet the government of Prime Minister Stephen Harper has maintained a steadfast silence over his plight.

This lack of action by the Harper government is in spite of the fact that the Canadian Consuls in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia are fully aware of the case. The official silence may be due to a bilateral trade deal Canada is in the process of completing with the Bahraini regime, and also Ottawa's increasing subordinance to Washington's foreign policy and therefore unwillingness to upset an important US ally in the Persian Gulf.

Naser Al Raas (28), who resides in Ottawa, was caught up in the popular uprising in the oil-rich Gulf kingdom that erupted in mid-February while on a family holiday. He arrived in Bahrain on 6 March to visit his five sisters who live there.

But when the former Microsoft IT specialist went to exit the country on 20 March, he was stopped while boarding his flight by ministry of interior officers. Although Al Raas was travelling on a Canadian passport, he was hauled into a room at Bahrain's international airport and detained for several hours during which time he was hooded, interrogated and physically assaulted. That was just the beginning of his nightmare.
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Star of David

New Zealand protects Israel's interests, says investigation (cover-up) cleared Israelis of being Mossad agents


stuff.co.nz
Wed, 20 Jul 2011 06:54 UTC
Image
© stuff.co.nz
John Key, Isra... er, New Zealand's PM
The "unusual" behaviour of Israelis in the wake of the Christchurch earthquake sparked a top level investigation, Prime Minister John Key has confirmed.

After almost a day of stonewalling, Key confirmed the probe, which involved the spy agency SIS, concluded there was no evidence they were Israeli intelligence agents.

In a carefully worded statement, he also verified a dead Israeli van driver had two passports. Three occupants who escaped the wreckage took their passports back to Israel, he said.

It comes after the defence force confirmed elite SAS troops were in Christchurch's red zone after the disaster - but insisted they weren't dealing with an unaccredited rescue squad.

Key, currently on a visit to the US, said the investigation was triggered by the rapid departure from New Zealand of three Israelis who survived the February 22 quake.

"Security agencies conducted the investigation and found no evidence that the people were anything other than backpackers," he said.

Comment: Israelis in New Zealand with multiple passports? This can mean only one thing...

'Mossad spies' jailed over New Zealand passport fraud

Joe Quinn looks at Mossad's recent undercover history in New Zealand, Australia, the UK, Canada, the US, etc, etc:

Mossad Psychopaths Behind Murder of Hamas Official In Dubai

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Star of David

Israeli killed in New Zealand earthquake was Mossad agent

Sefi Krupsky
Haaretz
Tue, 19 Jul 2011 06:48 UTC
Image

Ofer Mizrahi, Mossad agent
New Zealand security officials suspect Israeli Mossad agents were trying to obtain sensitive information from the state's databases, reported the local Southland Times newspaper on Tuesday. Authorities suspect that one of the agents was Ofer Mizrahi, one of three Israelis killed in the earthquake in the city of Christchurch last February.

Authorities have launched an investigation into what a senior security official called "suspicious activities of several groups of Israelis during and immediately after the earthquake."

There was extensive local media coverage of the search teams that were sent from Israel after the earthquake. The two private search parties were sent without prior coordination with officials in Jerusalem, and were met with difficulties after the local authorities prevented them from searching in the area.

Comment: This is one great thing to cherish and continue to look forward to during these tumultuous times - nothing that is hidden will remain unveiled. If it takes an earthquake to bring just desserts to an agent of this nefarious organisation, let's have more please!

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Dollar

Social Security Scam: Where Did the $2.5 Trillion Surplus Go?

Dr. Allen Smith
Amped Status
Tue, 19 Jul 2011 00:00 UTC
Introduction by David DeGraw, Reports by Dr. Allen Smith

SS Theft
© Unknown
As I've been reporting for quite some time now, trillions of our tax dollars have been looted by Wall Street, wars, global corporations and the richest one-tenth of one percent of the population. The economic crisis has made this blatant fact much more evident to the average person. Now that these elaborate schemes are coming undone and major cuts to vital social programs are beginning to be implemented, the American public is going to get a harsh wake up call.

With cuts to Social Security on the way, and Obama's recent comments saying that he cannot guarantee that Social Security checks will go out if the debt ceiling doesn't get raised, it's time to take a closer look at why politicians are pushing to cut this vital program.

The Social Security Trust Fund should currently have $2.5 trillion in surplus. So how is it that these checks could stop being issued if the debt ceiling isn't raised? Economics professor Dr. Allen Smith, author of The Looting of Social Security: How The Government is Draining America's Retirement Account, has been reporting on the theft of Social Security funds for years. As he sums it up:
"The government's $2.5 trillion debt to Social Security is the real reason that so many politicians want to cut benefits. They are trying to find a way to avoid having to repay the looted money.... Given the fact that much of the surplus revenue from the 1983 payroll tax hike ended up in the pockets of the super rich in the form of income tax cuts, I propose a special tax on this group of taxpayers to recoup the missing Social Security money. The government used revenue from the Social Security payroll tax hike to fund tax cuts for the rich because that was where the money was. I think the government should recover the 'embezzled' money by taxing the rich."
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