Puppet MastersS


Bug

Gruesome details exposed in CIA torture docs

Dror Ladin
ACLU
Wed, 15 Jun 2016 20:59 UTC
prison
The CIA released 50 new documents yesterday relating to its post-9/11 torture and rendition program. Despite the many disclosures that have come in the course of our decade-long fight to reveal the details of the program, the new revelations still have the capacity to shock.

The documents, released in response to an ACLU Freedom of Information Act lawsuit, vividly depict the brutality of torture, and further expose the fiction that this abuse is a scientific method for extracting information from victims. The documents also reveal how hard the CIA worked to bury the evidence of its crimes — including by seeking to silence its victims.

A few of the many new findings include:

CIA pressure to "break" detainees was deadly. A newly released CIA inspector general report about the death of detainee Gul Rahman concluded that he was singled out for especially harsh torture because of "pressure" to "break him." We learned that he was kept nude or in a diaper for most of his detention, "solely for humiliation." When they ran out of diapers, the guards would use "a handcrafted diaper secured by duct tape." CIA torturers kept Rahman naked in "cold conditions with minimal food or sleep" and kept questioning him even when he "appeared incoherent." When they decided he wasn't sufficiently "broken," CIA personnel brutalized, starved, and froze him to death — and then lied about it.

Comment: This is what happens when you let psychopaths take over.

Read More...
Blackbox

Is India really turning its back on BRICS and allying with the US? Perhaps not

Alexander Mercouris
The Duran
Mon, 13 Jun 2016 20:45 UTC
Obama Modi
© www.telegraph.co.uk
India's recent moves do not mean it is breaking with the BRICS or joining a US alliance against China. It is simply a case of India pursuing its traditional policy of positioning itself between the Great Powers to achieve greatest advantage for itself.

Indian Prime Minister Modi's just completed visit to Washington has reinforced fears that India is evolving into a full-fledged ally of the US.

The grounds for thinking this were ably discussed by my colleague Andrew Korybko in two fine pieces he has written for The Duran. For those interested in the details of the moves the US and India have been making towards each other, there is no better place to start than those two articles (here and here).

Is India however really abandoning its traditional policy of non-alignment to forge an alliance with Washington that would in effect bury the BRICS arrangement?
Read More...
Bulb

The propaganda is transparent: Omar Mateen a 'terrorist', but Thomas Mair just mentally deranged

Glenn Greenwald
The Intercept
Fri, 17 Jun 2016 20:26 UTC
cameron corbyn
© Rex Features/AP
British Labour MP Jo Cox was brutally murdered yesterday. Although the motive is not yet proven, there is mounting evidence that the detained suspect, 52-year-old white male Thomas Mair, was motivated by political ideology. Cox was an outspoken advocate for refugees. At least two witnesses say Mair, as he carried out the attack, yelled "Britain First," the name of a virulently right-wing anti-immigrant party. He has years of affiliation with neo-Nazi groups: what Southern Poverty Law Center describes as "a long history with white nationalism." The U.K. is in the midst of a bitter and virulent debate about whether to exit the EU — Cox opposed that — and much of the pro-Brexit case centers on fear-mongering over immigrants.


Comment: A bit more background on Mair from RT:
Thomas Mair told Westminster Magistrates Court his name was "death to traitors, freedom for Britain" during his first court appearance after being charged with the murder of Labour MP Jo Cox. ... Police confirmed Friday that the violent attack on the Labour MP was "isolated but targeted" and are investigating motives for the attack.

Investigators are prioritizing looking into emerging evidence that links the suspect to far-right extremist groups as well as reports that Mair had used mental health services. West Yorkshire Police also confirmed in a statement that Mair had been determined "fit for detention and fit for interview."

The Crown Prosecution Service special crimes and counter-terrorism unit engaged with police investigating the MP's murder, The Guardian reports, but no terrorism charges have been filed.
...
A number of eyewitnesses reported that the attacker shouted "Britain First" before killing Cox. The far right party of the same name has criticized media coverage of the eyewitness accounts, claiming such reports are "monstrous lies," Britain First has denied any connection to Mair and has condemned the attack.

Mair's connections with neo-Nazi groups have been highlighted by the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) in the US, who claim he was a dedicated supporter for decades of the National Alliance (NA), a neo-Nazi organization which has been calling for a "white homeland" in the United States. The SPLC says it found invoices suggesting Mair spent more than $600 on far-right literature, including a gun-making manual, published by the hate group. It's also being reported that police found "Nazi regalia" at Mair's house during their searches, and that he had subscribed to a pro-apartheid South African magazine.


Read More...
Eye 1

Putin thinks West-supported coup in Kiev meant to justify existence of NATO as West escalates conflict


Information Clearing House
Fri, 17 Jun 2016 00:00 UTC
Kiev riots
© www.knightstemplarinternational.comKiev riots, were they necessary?
Russian President Vladimir Putin thinks that the West supported the coup in Ukraine to justify the existence of NATO. "After the 'Arab Spring' they have already moved closer to our borders. Why did they need to support the coup in Ukraine? There is a complicated internal political situation there, and the opposition that is in power today would have most likely come to power by democratic means, through elections, as well. That's it, we would have worked with them just like we worked with the authorities before (former Ukrainian) President (Viktor) Yanukovych," Putin said on Friday at a plenary session at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum.

"No, they had to take it to the coup with victims, to cause bloodshed, civil war, to intimidate the Russian-speaking population in Ukraine's south-east and in Crimea. What for?" he asked adding that Moscow "just had to take measures to protect certain groups of population," he continued.

The president noted that the West continued to "spin this spiral, to escalate." The Russian leader thinks that such actions were dictated by the necessity "to justify the very existence of the North Atlantic Alliance. They need an external enemy, an external opponent - or why else would this organization be needed?" Putin wondered. "There is no Warsaw Pact anymore, no Soviet Union, whom are they (NATO) against?" Putin wondered.

"If we continue to act in the framework of this logic - escalate and build up efforts to intimidate each other - we will soon come to the Cold War," he said. "We have an absolutely different logic, it is aimed at cooperation and search for compromises," he concluded.
Read More...
Arrow Up

Federal plan for N. Syria gains ground with US-backed forces

Tom Perry
Reuters
Thu, 16 Jun 2016 12:16 UTC
Bureau members
© REUTERS/RODI SAIDBureau members discuss a 'Democratic Federal System for Rojava - Northern Syria.
As an alliance of U.S.-backed militias advance against Islamic State in northern Syria, their political allies are making progress of their own toward a new federal system of government which they hope will take root in newly captured areas. The autonomous federation being planned by Syrian Kurdish parties and their allies is taking shape fast: a constitution should be finalised in three months, and possibly sooner, to be followed quickly by elections, a Kurdish official said.

While Kurdish groups insist this is no separatist bid, it is set to redraw the map as U.N. diplomacy fails to make any progress toward ending the war that has splintered Syria into a patchwork of separately-run areas. In so doing, it is likely to deepen the concerns of NATO member Turkey about growing Kurdish influence in northern Syria, a region whose once unfamiliar Kurdish name - Rojava - has now entered the Middle East's political lexicon.

The plan had taken on even greater significance since the Syria Democratic Forces alliance, which is spearheaded by the Kurdish YPG militia, mounted a rapid new advance westwards this month into Islamic State's last foothold at the Turkish border. It holds out the prospect of more areas being included in the federation, plans for which were first unveiled in March.

Comment: Certainly the YPG has proved its loyalty to Syria and the new Kurd 'state' is honoring that by remaining within its borders. When/if this comes to actualization, it will be interesting to see whether Erdogan, Sultan of Kurdish Genocide, will focus his evil eye on it and how the international community responds.

Read More...
Vader

Hillary Clinton's foreign policy in four words: 'One bloodbath after another'

Michael Krieger
Liberty Blitzkrieg
Mon, 06 Jun 2016 13:50 UTC
bafoon hillary war helmet
Not the peace candidate
Hillary's record includes supporting the barbaric "contras" against the Nicaraguan people in the 1980s, supporting the NATO bombing of the former Yugoslavia, supporting the ongoing Bush-Iraq War, the ongoing Afghan mess, and as Secretary of State the destruction of the secular state of Libya, the military coup in Honduras, and the present attempt at "regime change" in Syria. Every one of these situations has resulted in more extremism, more chaos in the world, and more danger to our country. Next will be the borders of Russia, China, and Iran. Look at the viciousness of her recent AIPAC speech (don't say you haven't been warned). Can we really bear to watch as Clinton "takes our alliance [with Israel] to the next level"? Where is our sense of proportion? Cannot the media, at the least, call her out on this extremism? The problem, I think, is this political miasma of "correctness" that dominates American thinking (i.e. Trump is extreme, therefore Hillary is not).
- From the post: "We're Going to War" - Oliver Stone Opines on the Dangerous Extremism of Neocon Hillary Clinton

Jeffrey Sachs has been on a roll lately. His latest might be his best one yet.

Comment:



Read More...
Cell Phone

U.S. places Omar Mateen's family on no-fly list


RT
Sat, 18 Jun 2016 17:31 UTC
noor salman mateen
© FacebookNoor Salman (left) has been added to federal no-fly lists while authorities investigate if she played a role the Orlando gay club attack launched by her husband, Omar Mateen (right), early Sunday, according to reports.
Omar Mateen's father and wife were added to the US' no-fly list as investigators try to determine what role they played in the Orlando massacre in which 49 club-goers were killed and 53 injured.

Federal officials have added Omar's father, Seddique Mateen, and his wife, Noor Salman, to the government's no-fly list, according to NBC News, although a spokesman for the US Government Terrorist Screening Database would not confirm that.

"Disclosure of an individual's inclusion or non-inclusion in the TSDB or on the No Fly List would significantly impair the government's ability to investigate and counteract terrorism and protect transportation security," US Government Terrorist Screening Database spokesman Dave Joly told NBC News.

The decision comes as investigators are still trying to determine what role, if any, the pair played in the massacre.

Once on the no-fly list, people are barred from travelling on commercial airlines.

In part, what peaked the investigators' interest was that while Mateen was holed up in a bathroom with hostages at Pulse two hours after the massacre began, he texted Salman to ask if she had seen the news. She typed back, saying that she loved him, according to CNN.

Comment: If Salman had any inkling that Mateen was about to engage in violence, she surely wasn't the only one:
In an explosive revelation, a Florida gun store owner revealed on Thursday that he had contacted the FBI about Omar Mateen about a month before the Orlando nightclub shooter's bloody rampage — after the would be killer attempted to purchase body armor and a large amount of ammunition, according to The Hill. Owner of Lotus Gunworks in Jensen Beach, Robert Abell, said Mateen was turned away when he tried to purchase two types of body armor the store did not carry, as well as 1,000 rounds of ammunition.

According to the report in The Hill:
The store contacted the FBI, which was also investigating a group of Middle Eastern men buying police gear at the store. The men turned out to be security guards. The FBI asked about Mateen's visit, but the store couldn't provide any identifying details or security camera footage.

Store employees realized that the man was Mateen after his picture circulated in the media in the wake of the massacre that left 49 people dead. Mateen was killed by police when they raided the nightclub.
... The question remains as to whether the FBI simply dropped the ball, after being warned a month prior by Abell, or if there was some type of intentional negligence in allowing Mateen to not be further investigated and put under surveillance - especially considering the fact that he had previously been investigated by the FBI and was under surveillance for 10 months. The FBI had interviewed Mateen no less than 3 times, thus a call regarding his attempt to buy body armor and a large amount of ammunition should have precipitated a more proactive response.


Read More...
Magnify

The distortion of fascism to sanitize capitalism

Prof. Ismael Hossein-Zadeh
Global Reasearch
Sat, 18 Jun 2016 17:08 UTC
Hitler and Mussolini
The facile and indiscriminate use of the term fascism has led to a widespread misunderstanding and misuse of its meaning. Asked to define fascism, most people would respond in terms such as dictatorship, anti-Semitism, mass hysteria, efficient propaganda machine, mesmerizing oratory of a psychopathic leader, and the like.

Such a pervasive misconception of the meaning of the term fascism is not altogether fortuitous. It is largely because of a longstanding utilitarian misrepresentation of the term. Fascism is deliberately obfuscated in order to sanitize capitalism. Ideologues, theorists and opinion-makers of capitalism have systematically shifted the systemic sins of fascism from market/capitalist failures to individual or personal failures.

Thus, the origins, the rise and the ravages of the classic European fascism are blamed largely on Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini, not the socio-economic circumstances that gave rise to those instrumentally "useful" characters. An obvious flaw of this interpretation of fascism is that it cannot explain recent manifestations of fascism: since the archetype European fascism is attributed to Hitler and Mussolini, their demise ought to have logically meant the end of fascism. Yet, manifestations of fascism has been a recurring phenomenon characteristic of periods of capitalist crisis, as evinced by today's expressions of fascistic tendencies in most of the core capitalist countries.
Read More...
Георгиевская ленточка

Russian defense minister Shoigu inspects Khmeimim airbase, meets President Assad


RT
Sat, 18 Jun 2016 17:23 UTC
shoigu assad
© @mod_russia / TwitterRussian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu and Syrian President Bashar Assad
Russia's Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu has visited Syria where he met with President Bashar Assad and inspected the Khmeimim air base, the Russian military said on Saturday. Shoigu and Assad discussed military cooperation and fight against terrorism.

Shoigu has met with the Syrian leader upon the request of Russian President Vladimir Putin, Defense Ministry's spokesman Major-General Igor Konashenkov said in a statement.

"Topical issues concerning military cooperation between the two countries' defense ministries, as well as certain aspects of cooperation in the fight against terror groups that are active on Syrian territory, were discussed at the meeting," Konashenkov said.

The minister inspected Russian Khmeimim air base in Latakia Province and also inspected the S-400 anti-aircraft missile system deployed there.

The visit was not previously announced.

Shoigu ordered the commander of the Russian reconciliation center to further encourage local administrations and fighters to cease fire and join the peace process. "The defense minister ordered the commanders of the air base to boost comprehensive support to the locals, especially in the areas blocked by terrorists," Konashenkov added.

Comment: More pics available at Fort Russ.

Read More...
Attention

Arafat was poisoned via polonium - leaks suggest Sharon ordered the hit with Bush's 'permission'


Sputnik
Sat, 18 Jun 2016 17:06 UTC
arafat
French jurists delayed their decision on whether to reopen an investigation into the cause of Yasser Arafat's death, but mounting evidence of polonium poisoning and shocking admissions suggest an explosive assassination cover-up has been underway for over a decade.

On Friday, a French court ruled to postpone a decision on whether to resume an investigation into the death of former Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat until June 24 or July 8. This comes amid growing suspicions that Israeli agents assassinated him using polonium poisoning.

In 2012, the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) leader's widow, Suha Arafat, filed a complaint after traces of polonium, a highly toxic radioactive substance, were found on Yasser Arafat's personal effects.

Arafat drifted into a coma and passed away on November 11, 2004 at the age of 75, after suffering nausea, massive stomach problems, and other gastrointestinal related issues. His illness initially began on October 12, 2004, despite have previously been given a clean bill of health.

Comment: Polonium? That is the same way that Litvinenko was poisoned in the UK. A signature of sorts, perhaps?

Read More...