Puppet MastersS

Bulb

Chuck Hagel cancels creation of new drone, cyber medal

Lolita C. Baldor
Associated Press
Tue, 16 Apr 2013 10:16 UTC
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In the face of withering criticism, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel has canceled the creation of a new military medal for drone and cyber warriors, instead ordering military leaders to develop a special pin or device that would be attached to already existing medals or ribbons.

Hagel's predecessor, Leon Panetta, created the Distinguished Warfare Medal to be awarded to troops such as drone operators and cyber warriors who have a major effect on a military operation but never actually set foot in the combat zone. That decision triggered broad complaints from veterans and lawmakers who said it should not be ranked higher than traditional combat medals such as the Purple Heart and Bronze Star.

On Monday Hagel said that while the department should recognize the extraordinary achievements of those troops, the award should not be a stand-alone medal.

When Panetta announced the medal would be created in mid-February, defense officials said it would be considered a bit higher in ranking than the Bronze Star and the Purple Heart, but lower than the Silver Star. But the Veterans of Foreign Wars and other groups sent a letter to President Barack Obama in March, asking him to keep the medal ranked below the Purple Heart, which is awarded for combat injuries. Critics said the ranking was an injustice to those troops who risked their lives in battle.
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Bizarro Earth

Atheist virtuoso pianist Fazil Say gets 10-month suspended sentence for tweets insulting some muslims


Raw Story
Mon, 15 Apr 2013 09:49 UTC
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An Istanbul court on Monday slapped world-renowned pianist Fazil Say with a 10-month suspended jail term for blasphemy in what the musician has said was a political case instigated by Turkey's ruling party.

The court handed down the sentence after finding Say guilty of "insulting religious values of a part of the population" in a series of tweets that critics said insulted Islam and Muslims. The pianist was not present in court during the sentencing.

Say has accused the AKP, the ruling Justice and Development Party, of being behind the case against him.

Say, an atheist, has often criticised the Islamist-rooted party, accusing it of having a secret agenda to promote conservative values in Turkey.
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Bad Guys

Flashback Best of the Web: FBI Organizes Almost All Terror Plots in the U.S.


RT.com
Thu, 23 Aug 2012 21:20 UTC
FBI sign
© n/a
The Federal Bureau of Investigation employs upwards of 15,000 undercover agents today, ten times what they had on the roster back in 1975.

If you think that's a few spies too many - spies earning as much as $100,000 per assignment - one doesn't have to go too deep into their track record to see their accomplishments. Those agents are responsible for an overwhelming amount of terrorist stings that have stopped major domestic catastrophes in the vein of 9/11 from happening on American soil.

Another thing those agents are responsible for, however, is plotting those very schemes.

The FBI has in recent years used trained informants not just to snitch on suspected terrorists, but to set them up from the get-go. A recent report put together by Mother Jones and the Investigative Reporting Program at the University of California-Berkley analyses some striking statistics about the role of FBI informants in terrorism cases that the Bureau has targeted in the decade since the September 11 attacks.
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Eye 1

Inside the FBI's 'Terror factory': Manufacturing the 'War on Terror'


RTAmerica
Wed, 30 Jan 2013 11:32 UTC
Since the attacks of September 11, the Federal Bureau of Investigation has brought approximately 500 terror cases to trail. Of these cases, 150 people have been involved in sting operations in which the FBI has supplied suspects with materials to act out plans of terror. The FBI has been heavily criticized for preying on individuals who are on the fringes of society and Trevor Aaronson, author of The Terror Factor," analyzes the FBI's devious tactics in his new book.


Comment: See also:



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MIB

Coincidence? 'Bomb-sniffing dogs and spotters on the roofs' were at start, finish lines for 'drill' at Boston Marathon bombing


local15tv.com
Mon, 15 Apr 2013 16:43 UTC
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University of Mobile's Cross Country Coach, who was near the finish line of the Boston Marathon when a series of explosions went off, said he thought it was odd there were bomb sniffing dogs at the start and finish lines.

"They kept making announcements on the loud speaker that it was just a drill and there was nothing to worry about," Coach Ali Stevenson told Local 15. "It seemed like there was some sort of threat, but they kept telling us it was just a drill."

Stevenson had just finished the marathon. His wife had been sitting in one of the seating sections where an explosion went off, but thankfully she left her seat and was walking to meet up with him.

"There was just smoke, another explosion went off," Stevenson said. "We all started running. There were people crying."

Stevenson said there was no question in his mind that this was an intentional act.
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MIB

Strategy of Tension: Government sponsored bombing in Europe


Brasscheck TV
Tue, 16 Apr 2013 06:11 UTC
Governments behind many "terror" bombings

Project Gladio in Italy attempted to use domestic terrorism on a longstanding basis to maintain the political status quo. Seems to be a strategy also discussed in the report from Iron Mountain. The tactics beat down the public disfavor with the present government with fear of a ubiquitous, and nebulous threat so that the same masses ultimately seek protection from the government, and conform to the government's political order and agenda as a quid pro quo. Sometimes the far right is infiltrated and made a scape goat; other times a leftist patsy is apprehended and held in public display.


Comment: It's probably more accurate to say that ALL 'terrorist bombings' are ultimately the work of governments - or, more accurately - "ramified networks of mutual pathological conspiracies poorly connected to the main social structure", as described by Lobaczewski in Political Ponerology.

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Attention

U.S. Black Hawk helicopter crashes near North Korea border


Sky News
Tue, 16 Apr 2013 03:50 UTC
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A US Marine CH-53 helicopter in Afghanistan
A US military helicopter taking part in a joint South Korea-US drill has crashed near the North Korean border.

A US military official identified the aircraft as a CH-53 US Marine helicopter that was carrying three crew and 13 other personnel during a training exercise.

There were no apparent casualties, officials said.

The Yonhap news agency had previously identified the helicopter as a UH-60 Black Hawk with 12 personnel on board.

The US official described the crash as a "hard landing" in Cheolwon county, which is on the border with North Korea.
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Bomb

Update: Death toll from Boston Marathon state terrorist attack revised down to 3, but many critically injured with severed limbs

John Eligon and Michael Cooper
The New York Times
Mon, 15 Apr 2013 23:20 UTC
boston explosion
© Elise Amendola/Associated PressInvestigators at one of the blast sites, on Boylston Street
Two powerful bombs exploded near the finish line of the Boston Marathon on Monday afternoon, killing three people, including an 8-year-old child, and injuring more than 100, as one of this city's most cherished rites of spring was transformed from a scene of cheers and sweaty triumph to one of screams and carnage.

Almost three-quarters of the 23,000 runners who participated in the race had already crossed the finish line when a bomb that had apparently been placed in a garbage can exploded around 2:50 p.m. in a haze of smoke amid a crowd of spectators on Boylston Street, just off Copley Square in the heart of the city. Thirteen seconds later, another bomb exploded several hundred feet away.

Pandemonium erupted as panicked runners and spectators scattered, and rescue workers rushed in to care for the dozens of maimed and injured, some of whom lost legs in the blast, witnesses said. The F.B.I. took the lead role in the investigation on Monday night, and Richard DesLauriers, the special agent in charge of the bureau's Boston office, described the inquiry at a news conference as "a criminal investigation that is a potential terrorist investigation."
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Bomb

Boston Marathon Blasts: Bomb Sniffing Dogs, Spotters on Roofs Before Explosions


Local 15
Mon, 15 Apr 2013 00:00 UTC

University of Mobile's Cross Country Coach, who was near the finish line of the Boston Marathon when a series of explosions went off, said he thought it was odd there were bomb sniffing dogs at the start and finish lines.

"They kept making announcements to the participants do not worry, it's just a training exercise," Coach Ali Stevenson told Local 15.

Stevenson said he saw law enforcement spotters on the roofs at the start of the race. He's been in plenty of marathons in Chicago, D.C., Chicago, London and other major metropolitan areas but has never seen that level of security before.

"Evidently, I don't believe they were just having a training exercise," Stevenson said. "I think they must have had some sort of threat or suspicion called in."

Stevenson had just finished the marathon before the explosions. Stevenson said his wife had been sitting in one of the seating sections where an explosion went off, but thankfully she left her seat and was walking to meet up with him.
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Bomb

Best of the Web: Update: 3 dead, 144 wounded as two explosions rock finish line of Boston Marathon

Beth Stebner and Thomas Durante
Daily Mail, UK
Mon, 15 Apr 2013 14:17 UTC
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Spectators and runners flee from what was described as twin explosions that shook the finish line of the Boston Marathon Monday afternoon
  • Bloodbath in Boston as two explosions rock finish line of famous Boston Marathon as race was winding down
  • Officials urging people at the scene to leave as secondary explosive devices have been found
  • Fox News is reporting three people killed; injuries still unknown
  • New York City stepping up anti-terror efforts in wake of attack
Up to a dozen people have been killed in a deadly explosion and up to 60 people have been injured after two large explosions went off near the finish line of the famous Boston Marathon today, leaving behind a scene of unimaginable carnage.

Law enforcement sources told the New York Post of the body count, and said that the first explosion happened at the Fairmont Hotel.

Eyewitnesses at the scene said there were two loud explosions about five seconds apart, and emergency vehicles crowded the scene.

Witness Dave Weigel said via Twitter minutes after the explosion: 'I saw people's legs blown off. Horrific. Two explosions. Runners were coming in and saw unspeakable horror.'

Police told the Boston Globe that are they still finding 'secondary devices,' and pleading with anyone still in the area to leave at once.

A controlled explosion was set for outside the city library.

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