Welcome to Sott.net
Sat, 23 Oct 2021
The World for People who Think

Puppet Masters
Map

War Whore

US, Israel plan joint strikes on Iran

Jean Shaoul
World Socialist Web Site
Wed, 10 Oct 2012 22:18 UTC
Image

Natanz nuclear facility
The US and Israel are considering a joint "surgical strike" against Iran's nuclear facilities, according to an article by David Rothkopf in Foreign Policy magazine cited in the Israeli media.

It is yet another indication that detailed planning for another criminal war of aggression is underway. Rothkopf, who served under the Democratic administration of President Bill Clinton in the 1990s, cited sources "close to the discussions" now taking place between Washington and Tel Aviv.

Rothkopf is well-placed to know. Currently Foreign Policy's CEO and editor at large, he has also headed Kissinger Associates, the international advisory firm founded and chaired by former US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger.

Making clear that the United States would play the main role in an attack, Rothkopf added that Israel did not have the resources to attack the enrichment plants at Natanz and Fordow, which are buried deep underground. Israeli planes are reportedly incapable of firing bunker-busting missiles. Consequently, such a mission had to involve the US, either operating on its own or with Israel and others.
      Read More...
Stormtrooper

End of Empire: The Discrediting of U.S. Military Power

Tom Engelhardt
Tom Dispatch
Sun, 07 Oct 2012 16:51 UTC
US empire
© Unknown
Americans lived in a "victory culture" for much of the twentieth century. You could say that we experienced an almost 75-year stretch of triumphalism -- think of it as the real "American Century" -- from World War I to the end of the Cold War, with time off for a destructive stalemate in Korea and a defeat in Vietnam too shocking to absorb or shake off.

When the Soviet Union disintegrated in 1991, it all seemed so obvious. Fate had clearly dealt Washington a royal flush. It was victory with a capital V. The United States was, after all, the last standing superpower, after centuries of unceasing great power rivalries on the planet. It had a military beyond compare and no enemy, hardly a "rogue state," on the horizon. It was almost unnerving, such clear sailing into a dominant future, but a moment for the ages nonetheless. Within a decade, pundits in Washington were hailing us as "the dominant power in the world, more dominant than any since Rome."

And here's the odd thing: in a sense, little has changed since then and yet everything seems different. Think of it as the American imperial paradox: everywhere there are now "threats" against our well-being which seem to demand action and yet nowhere are there commensurate enemies to go with them. Everywhere the U.S. military still reigns supreme by almost any measure you might care to apply; and yet -- in case the paradox has escaped you -- nowhere can it achieve its goals, however modest.

At one level, the American situation should simply take your breath away. Never before in modern history had there been an arms race of only one or a great power confrontation of only one. And at least in military terms, just as the neoconservatives imagined in those early years of the twenty-first century, the United States remains the "sole superpower" or even "hyperpower" of planet Earth.
      Read More...
Eye 1

America's moral degeneracy: Acceptance of torture is Mark of the Beast

Paul Craig Roberts
Information Clearing House
Wed, 10 Oct 2012 16:20 UTC
abu ghraib

It is not only foreign political regimes that are corrupted by Washington's evil, but also Americans themselves.
On May 31, 2010, the Israeli right-wing government sent armed military troops to illegally board in international waters Gaza aid ships of the Gaza Freedom Flotilla organized by the Free Gaza Movement and the Turkish Foundation for Human Rights and Freedoms and Humanitarian Relief. The Israelis murdered 8 Turkish citizens and one US citizen in cold blood. Many others were wounded by the forces of "the only democracy in the Middle East."

Despite the murder of its citizen, Washington immediately took the side of the crazed Israeli government. The Turks had a different response. The prime minister of Turkey, Erdogan, said that the next aid ships would be protected by the Turkish navy. But Washington got hold of its puppet and paid him to shut up. Once upon a time, the Turks were a fierce people. Today they are Washington's puppets.

We have witnessed this during the past week. The Turkish government is permitting the Islamists from outside Syria, organized by the CIA and Israel, to attack Syria from Turkish territory. On several occasions a mortar shell has, according to news reports if you believe them, fallen just inside the Turkey border. The Turkish military has used the excuse to launch artillery barrages into Syria.
      Read More...
Magic Wand

Pathocracy in Action: U.S. supreme court finalizes gift of immunity to the telecom giants

Glen Greenwald
The Guardian
Wed, 10 Oct 2012 16:02 UTC
AT&T
© Getty
The telecom giant has another big win in US courts
Yet again, the Congress, courts, executive branch and the establishment media work together to protect the nation's most powerful actors

So pervasive and reliable is the rule of elite immunity - even in the face of the most egregious crimes - that one finds extreme examples on a weekly basis. Six weeks ago, the Obama justice department forever precluded the possibility of criminal accountability for Bush torturers by refusing to bring charges in the only two remaining torture cases, ones involving the deaths of the detainee-victims by torture.

The Obama campaign is now running a new campaign ad against Mitt Romney that rails against a litany of Wall Street "criminals" and "gluttons of greed", but as David Dayen astutely notes, those examples were all imprisoned during the Bush era because the Obama administration has prosecuted no significant Wall Street executives for the 2008 financial collapse and thus have none of their own examples to highlight:
"So the Obama campaign could not fill a list of three Wall Street criminals that the Obama Justice Department actually sent to jail. Heck, they couldn't fill a list of one!
      Read More...
Eye 1

DHS to start testing drones over U.S. for 'public safety'


Russia Today
Tue, 09 Oct 2012 09:40 UTC
Global Hawk
© AFP
The Global Hawk, an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) in flight.
Don't be surprised if you catch a federal fleet of sneaky spy drones soaring over your head in the near future, but don't be too terrified - it's all in the name of public safety.

The US Department of Homeland Security is asking the makers of small unmanned aerial vehicles to submit their crafts for consideration as the agency ramps up the construction of a full-fledged surveillance state across America. The DHS plans to soon conduct drone tests over the Fort Sill, Oklahoma US Army base, and they're already soliciting spy planes from the private sector so they can select what kind of UAV to use.

According to a request for information published on the Federal Business Opportunities website recently, the DHS is determined to begin drone tests over the military base soon and is seeking submissions from drone makers that don't mind making a few bucks by having their products put into the US airspace to conduct sweeping surveillance.

The Borders and Maritime Security Division of the DHS"will conduct flight testing and evaluation of airborne sensors and small unmanned aerial systems," the request reads, and now invites vendors to submit drones to be tested "under a wide variety of simulated but realistic and relevant real-world operation scenarios."
      Read More...
Airplane

First drone strike in Pakistan since protest march kills 5

Nasir Habib
CNN
Wed, 10 Oct 2012 02:26 UTC
Image
© Agence France-Presse/Getty Images
Demonstrators marched to the border of Pakistan's tribal region over the weekend to protest drone strikes.
Islamabad, Pakistan - A suspected U.S. drone attack killed five people early Wednesday in Pakistan's tribal region that borders Afghanistan, two Pakistani intelligence officials said.

It was the first drone strike since demonstrators marched to the border of Pakistan's tribal region over the weekend to protest the attacks. Activists from the United States and Britain participated in the march, which was led by the cricket star turned politician Imran Khan.

Four missiles were fired Wednesday at a suspected militant hideout in the area of Mir Ali of North Waziristan, one of the seven districts of the volatile tribal region, the two intelligence officials said, requesting anonymity because they were not authorized to speak about the matter to the news media.
      Read More...
Star of David

In 'Dear Dad' letter in 1939, JFK called for 'independent' Jerusalem

Philip Weiss
Mondoweiss
Tue, 09 Oct 2012 23:58 UTC
Image

Early signed portrait of John F. Kennedy
As a young man, Jack Kennedy was largely sympathetic to the Arabs in Palestine but called for dividing the land between Palestinians and Jews and keeping Jerusalem independent.

This is the thrust of a "Dear Dad" letter about the Palestine problem written by Kennedy at 22 to his father Joseph, who was then the ambassador to Britain. It was 1939, and Kennedy's father had sent the Harvard undergrad to the Middle East to tell him what was going on. (Thanks to As'ad Abu Khalil for picking it up. I wonder when Chris Matthews will get to it.)

I think the letter is brilliant. The thoughts are incredibly cogent, for a 22-year-old, and reflect a desire to be the honest broker. Kennedy is mostly on the Arab side in this letter. He reflects their long history in the land and the arrogance of the Zionist immigrants, their desire to dominate. He largely describes the Jewish immigrants in colonial terms (cultural superiority, desire for economic domination), but also recognizes that they are "refugees" from the Nazis.

Kennedy saw that the heart of the conflict was two claims to land, and thought the only way to resolve them was partition. But citing Jewish desire to dominate the land he made it clear that Jerusalem should be independent.
      Read More...
Bad Guys

The Coming Age of Austerity: Capitalism's two-step survival plan

Shamus Cooke
Counterpunch
Tue, 09 Oct 2012 23:38 UTC
Image
The coast is clear, the media tells us; economic disaster has been averted. The Euro Zone is finally stable and the U.S. economy is recovering. Whew!

Why, then, are government policies internationally still pursuing extremist measures? In the U.S., a third round of excess money printing - called Quantitative Easing - began recently in which banks are directly profiting by unloading their toxic mortgages on the Federal Reserve's balance sheet (another backdoor bailout paid by taxpayers).

After the U.S. presidential election, both Democrats and Republicans are committed to different versions of historic cuts to social services, education, Medicare, unemployment benefits, and very likely Social Security. This bi-partisan plan is often referred to as a "grand bargain," the details of which both parties are still haggling over.

In Europe things are no better. After the Euro Zone central bank promised investors its full backing to bailout all Euro Zone members - by printing money - the world economy sighed a heavy relief. But still the Euro Zone - along with the U.S. - is pursuing a two-pronged solution for an extreme economic crisis: austerity measures and the less-discussed "structural reforms."
      Read More...
Binoculars

'Saudi weapons' diverted to Syrian rebel base in Aleppo


BBC News
Mon, 08 Oct 2012 15:06 UTC
Image
BBC News has uncovered evidence that appears to suggest that weapons intended for the Saudi military have been diverted to Syrian rebels.

Three crates from an arms manufacturer - addressed to Saudi Arabia - have been seen in a base being used by rebel fighters in the city of Aleppo.

How the small crates reached Aleppo is unknown, and the BBC was not allowed to film their contents.

Saudi Arabia has refused to comment on the matter.

Turkey is calling for "international action" on Syria after a sixth consecutive day of cross-border shelling.

Turkey returned fire across the border on Monday after a Syrian shell fell on its territory.

Turkey would continue to do everything necessary to protect its borders, President Abdullah Gul said on Monday, adding that the "worst-case scenarios" were now taking place in Syria.

No-one was hurt in the latest incident, near the town of Altinozu, in Hatay province, the Turkish semi-official Anatolia news agency reported.

Comment: For more information on Saudi Arabia and US interference in Syria, read:
US prepares multi-front proxy war against Syria
Syria Condemns Turkey, S. Arabia, Qatar for Exercising West's Policy in Region
Saudis will pay salaries of rebel Syria army

      Read More...
USA

Secret GOP-Dem debate contract to shut-out third parties

Michael Krieger
A Lightening War for Liberty
Fri, 05 Oct 2012 00:00 UTC
While I post a lot of videos, it is not often I say you have to 100% make sure to take the time to watch them. This is one of those times. At first, I was intimidated by the 23 minute run time considering all of the news material I try to get through every day, but I was completely blown away by the information presented by George Farah, the author of "No Debate."

While pretty much everyone reading this already understands that the elections are a joke run by the Two Party Dictatorship, this video explains exactly how the debates are rigged to ensure no Third Party candidate can ever participate and to ensure that neither of the cronies on stage ever gets hit by a difficult question. How is this achieved? A "secret debate contract." Yep, just another conspiracy FACT.

If you are pressed for time go to minute two and let it run for five minutes. I promise you will not turn it off.
      Read More...
Amazon Smile
Revolt! T-shirts