Puppet MastersS


Arrow Down

Several 'illegal foreign detention facilities' uncovered in Afghan govt probe

Image
© Reuters / Jonathon BurchA detainee holding cell is pictured at a detention centre at the U.S. Bagram Air Base, north of Kabul
Several "unlawful" prisons run by coalition forces in Afghanistan have been uncovered at Camp Bastion and Kandahar airfield in an investigation commissioned by President Hamid Karzai. The find could put a further strain on Afghan-Western relations.

"We have conducted a thorough investigation and search of Kandahar airfield and Camp Bastion and found several illegal and unlawful detention facilities run and operated by foreign military forces," the head of the committee, Abdul Shakur Dadras, told the government Saturday, The New York Times reported.

Two sites were surveyed by Dadras's team in the southern provinces of Helmand and Kandahar - Camp Bastion, operated by the British, and the Kandahar airfield, which the Americans run. In the course of the investigation the team surveyed number of prisoners and the conditions they were kept in.

Further details and evidence will be released after a full report is made to President Karzai. The issue at Camp Bastion, otherwise known as 'British Guantanamo', had not been addressed in the past when the British stood accused of transferring prisoners to facilities where they knew torture was taking place. But it was not made clear in Dadras's report whether these are the same facilities as the ones he described.

Similarly, according to the NY Times, the Kandahar case raises questions, as it's not clear whether Dadras was referring to the regulation which prohibits the detention of an Afghani for a period longer than 96 hours, before handing them over to local forces, or if the team found evidence of a facility that is illegally holding locals.

Eye 1

Whistleblower explains 'massive blackmail' potential from NSA spying on politicians

Russ Tice
© C-SPANNSA whistleblower Russ Tice.

With the astonishing number of ways the NSA can spy on Americans, one must consider the ways this trove of information could be used in the wrong hands (as if there are "right" hands). A former intelligence officer for the National Security Agency has gone on record saying that the NSA spies on persons of interest specifically for political reasons - seemingly nothing to do with national security.

These persons include congressmen, senators, important committeemen, judges, and even the man who was four years from becoming President of the United States.

"Its incredible what NSA has done," said Russell Tice, who spent 20 years as an analyst in U.S. government intelligence agencies. "They basically have turned themselves in my opinion in to a rogue agency that has J. Edgar Hoover capabilities on a monstrous scale on steroids."

Former FBI head J. Edgar Hoover was known for spying on politicians in order to obtain dirt on them that could be later used to leverage them politically. When Tice was asked about the potential for massive blackmail, he responded that it "absolutely" exists.

Tice once described his duties in the government as "black world operations" that included sophisticated dragnet spying on Americans in order to stop terrorism - or so he once believed. A few years after 9/11/2001 he became aware of the widespread abuses of the NSA and attempted to voice his concerns. In 2003, his clearance was quickly revoked and his career was ended.

Yoda

Putin warns of consequences as Ukraine steps up offensive

Image
© Kirill Kudryavtsev/AFP via Getty ImagesUkrainian special forces take position in the eastern Ukrainian city of Slavyansk on April 24, 2014.
President Vladimir Putin warned Ukraine against continuing its anti-separatist offensive after government troops killed five rebels and prompted Russia's military to begin new drills on the two nations' border.

"If it's true that the current regime in Kiev sent the army against citizens inside its country, then it is a very serious crime against its own nation," Putin said today in St. Petersburg. "It will have consequences for the people who make such decisions, including relations between our countries. We'll see how the situation develops and we'll make conclusions based on the reality on the ground."

Ukrainian Interior Ministry and army troops destroyed three road blocks as they fought pro-Russian separatists in the Donetsk region city of Slovyansk, the ministry said today on its website. Russia's latest drills are a response to events in eastern Ukraine and involve warplanes near the border, Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said, according to Interfax.

Pistol

Former Ranger breaks silence on Pat Tillman death claiming 'I may have killed him'

Image
© Washington TimesArmy Ranger Pat Tillman
Almost ten years after the friendly fire death of former NFL star turned Army Ranger Pat Tillman, a fellow ranger admits that he may have been the one who fired the fatal shot.

In his first public statements since the incident in Afghanistan on April 22, 2004, former Army Ranger Steven Elliott told ESPN's "Outside the Lines" that he has lived for 10 years with the thought that he might have killed Mr. Tillman.

"It is possible, in my mind, that I hit him," Mr. Elliott confessed. He had been engaged in his first firefight as an Army Ranger when Mr. Tillman was killed.

Mr. Tillman had left behind a $3.6 million NFL contract to fight in the war after the terrorist attacks of September 11.

V

Whoops! Three incompetent Ukraine 'elite' Alpha group agents captured in Donetsk region (including a Lieutenant Colonel!)

Image
© twitter.com @wmk2u
Three members of Ukraine's special anti-terrorist unit Alpha have been detained during a covert mission in Donetsk region, amid the buildup of Kiev's military near the cities controlled by pro-federalization forces.

Commander of the "Donetsk Republic" self-defense forces, Igor Strelkov, has confirmed reports that three members of the Alpha special tactical assault group of the Ukrainian Security Service (SBU) have been detained in the city of Gorlovka, in Donetsk region.

Their task reportedly was to abduct one of the self-defense force leaders, Igor Bezler, whose group is controlling the local police department in Gorlovka, but instead they were captured themselves. The prisoners were searched and blindfolded and brought to nearby Slavyansk, where their guns, documents and IDs as well as other belongings were demonstrated to the media during a press conference.

During questioning, the detained officers revealed that a special unit that has infiltrated the city comprised of seven men.


Comment: The Saker writes: "For days the regime in Kiev was reporting that it caught GRU (Russian military intelligence) officers here, then there, then again over there. They were never shown, of course. At the GRU HQ in Moscow they laughingly declared that by now the Ukies had caught so many GRU officers that the entire GRU personnel was now in captivity and the GRU offices empty. So imagine the pain and embarrassment in Kiev when they found out the self-organized militias of a small town near Donetsk managed to capture 3 Alpha officers alive, including a Lieutenant-Colonel."

Things aren't going quite as planned in eastern Ukraine for the Western-backed stooges in Kiev. They must be reeling!


Light Saber

It's official - Russia completely bans GMOs

Image
© RIA Novosti/Ekaterina Shtukina
Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev recently announced that Russia will no longer import GMO products, stating that the nation has enough space, and enough resources to produce organic food.
If the Americans like to eat GMO products, let them eat it then. We don't need to do that; we have enough space and opportunities to produce organic food." - Medvedev
Russia has been considering joining the long list (and continually growing) of anti-GMO countries for quite some time now. It does so after a group of Russian scientists urged the government to consider at least a 10-year moratorium on GMOs to thoroughly study their influence on human health.

No Entry

Immigrants bullied into leaving The Hague district - windows smashed and swastikas painted

Image
© Google StreetviewA general view of Duindorp.
The Hague's mayor Jozias van Aartsen and a local housing corporation have pledged to take action against a group of white residents in a working class neighbourhood who are bullying immigrants until they leave.

The Duindorp neighbourhood, a pre-war neighbourhood close to Scheveningen harbour, hit the headlines this week after locals appeared on television saying they saw nothing wrong in trying to drive out foreigners.

'My son has been waiting for a house in Duindorp for four years and then along comes a burqa with a man who has a dromedary and a camel. They get one within a week. Get lost. We don't want them here,' one man, Nico den Heijer, said on camera.

MIB

Pentagon sez Russian spy ship operating near U.S.

Image
© APRussian submarine.
A Russian intelligence-gathering ship has been operating off the U.S. East Coast and near the Gulf of Mexico for the past month, the Pentagon said Thursday.

"We are aware that the Russian ships Viktor Leonov and Nikolay Chiker are currently operating in waters that are beyond U.S. territorial seas but near Cuba," said Lt. Col. Tom Crosson, a Pentagon spokesman. "We respect the freedom of all nations, as reflected in international law, to operate military vessels beyond the territorial seas of other nations."

The Leonov is an intelligence gathering ship outfitted with high-tech electronic spying gear. The Chiker is an ocean-going naval tug that has been accompanying the spy ship on its mission.

Pentagon officials suspect the ships were part of a spying operation since March against the U.S. nuclear missile submarine base at Kings Bay, Ga. and other U.S. military facilities

Comment: If Russ Baker is right, Russia is spying on a whole lot more than U.S. subs! We wonder just what the Russians may have access to, and how much leverage that information may give them as the current conflict between the Bear and the Eagle unfolds...

See: Boston bombing report hints at hidden global intrigue and more


Map

Flashback Boko Haram, the case of a hijacked revolution

Image
Nigeria, officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a federal constitutional republic comprising 36 states. According to the CIA World Fact Book, Nigeria is slightly more than twice the size of California. The country is located in West Africa and shares land borders with the Republic of Benin in the west, Chad and Cameroon in the east, and Niger in the north. Its coast in the south lies on the Gulf of Guinea on the Atlantic Ocean. The above description paints a picture of how exposed Nigerian borders could be at any time. The three largest and most influential ethnic groups in Nigeria are the Hausa, Igbo and Yoruba. In terms of religion Nigeria is roughly split into halves between Muslims in the North and Christians in the South. However, a very small minority practice traditional religion, as often portrayed in Nigerian/African movies.

Recently, the incidences of bombings which create general insecurity in Nigeria have become frequent and much more dangerous. During the 50th independence anniversary celebrations, a powerful bomb exploded at the Eagle Square, killing at least 12 people and maiming others. A similar bomb exploded at a military cantonment in Abuja killing several people, leaving many others wounded. This was suddenly followed by a terrific multiple bomb blasts that left at least 143 people dead, 100 bodies were taken to a morgue at Murtala Muhammed Specialist Hospital in the city centre. In another instance, a powerful bomb detonated at the Nigeria's Police Headquarters killing about a dozen and injuring many. Then there was the United Nations' headquarters in Abuja where 22 people were killed and several others wounded following a suicide bomb attack. Just a few weeks later, another suicide bomb attack happened in a church killing 43 and injuring 72 of Christian worshipers. This month (8th April 2012), during the Easter ceremony, officials say at least 38 people died in a car bomb somewhere in the northern city of Kaduna. A few hours later, another bomb detonated in the central city of Jos, living tens of people wounded. The list goes on and on...

Airplane

Propaganda: Russia Sends fighter jets over Ukraine


Comment: As it turns out, this story is not true and has been denied by Russia and retracted by Ukraine. Interesting how that happens, eh? Make a claim and then retract it; but who remembers the retraction?


Image
Russia Responds to Threat of More Sanctions By Violating Ukraine's Airspace
What did Russia do after being threatened with more sanctions by the United States, the European Union, and the leaders of the G7 on Friday? It repeatedly violated Ukraine's airspace with fighter jets, of course.

According to the Pentagon, Russian military aircraft entered Ukrainian airspace several times overnight. And for the umpteenth time, Russia was called upon to "de-escalate the situation."

The sanctions, expected to be unrolled next week, are a part of a bid to goad Moscow to stop interfering with Ukraine's efforts to stabilize the eastern part of its country, where battles with pro-Russian separatists are taking places in a number of cities and towns. Just yesterday, Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk accused Russia of wanting to start World War III. And, as the crisis intensifies, the United States and Russia are reportedly no longer on speaking terms.

In addition to the threat of sanctions, the Ukrainian prime minister's recent whereabouts yesterday might have played a role in compelling Russia to breach Ukraine's airspace:
Maxim Eristavi @MaximEristavi

Ukraine PM @Yatsenyuk_AP cuts short visit to Italy & @Pontifex, says Russian jets violated airspace repeatedly overnight