Puppet MastersS


Light Saber

Best of the Web: 3 years of confronting the Western Empire and its propaganda machine

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© Andre VltchekFrench military exercises over former colony Senegal
After my two days marathon discussion with Noam Chomsky, (at MIT in 2012), a bestselling book was born. Later this year a film will hit the cinemas.

Noam and I discussed Western imperialism, and the terror it has been spreading around the world. After WWII, at least 50 million lives were lost. Lives of those whom Orwell used to call "unpeople"; lives brutally interrupted as a result of Western-led and orchestrated wars, invasions, coups and proxy-conflicts.

We discussed at length the Western propaganda, which, for centuries, worked extremely hard to justify everything from the colonialist insanity, to supremacist and exceptionalist theories.

After my encounter with Chomsky, I decided to dedicate at least two years of my life to visiting most parts of the world, where the Empire had been striking; where it was attempting to bulldoze all opposition that was standing on its way to the absolute control over the planet.

My goal was Quixotic - a monster, 1000-page book, exposing and confronting techniques and dogmas utilized by the Empire in all corners of the globe, for purposes of destabilizing "rebellious" nations, overthrowing "unruly" governments, or simply grabbing natural resources.

Megaphone

Putin: Russia facing aggressive resistance in arms trade

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© RIA Novosti / Aleksey Nikolsky
Russia is facing increasing and aggressive resistance from other countries in the arms trade, Russian President Vladimir Putin said.

He called on Russian manufacturers to deepen military and technical collaboration with the country's allies and strategic partners.

"Of course, we have to work in a complex situation," Putin said during a meeting of the Commission for Military and Technical Cooperation on Monday, according to Tass. "We're confronted ever more frequently with the attempt of direct counteraction and sometimes these attempts go beyond the framework of competitive struggle and are of an openly aggressive nature. And perhaps political instruments are also used as camouflaged means of competitive struggle."

The president urged Russian firms to consistently implement import substitution programs in the defense sector. He also called for Russia to enter new markets.

Star of David

Flashback U.S. puppet Saudi Arabia financing Israel's weapons build-up against Iran

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Over the past months, the level of intense cooperation between Israel and Saudi Arabia in targeting Iran has become clear. I've posted here about secret meetingsbetween top Israeli and Saudi intelligence figures which have allowed coordination of the campaigns involving both Syria and Iran. But Shalom Yerushalmi, writing in Maariv, dropped an even more amazing bombshell. Saudi Arabia isn't just coordinating its own intelligence efforts with Israel.

It's actually financing a good deal of Israel's very expensive campaign against Iran. As you know, this has involved massive sabotage against IRG missile bases, the assassination of five nuclear scientists, the creation of a series of computer cyberweapons like Stuxnet and Flame. It may also conceivably involve an entire class of electronic and conventional weapons that could be used in a full-scale attack on Iran. Who knows, this might even include the sorts of bunker buster bombs only the U.S. currently has access to, which could penetrate the Fordo facility.

It might include scores more super-tankers which could provide the fuel necessary for Israeli planes to make it to Iran and return. All of this is expensive. Very expensive. We can see just how expensive by examining Barry Lando's October 2012 investigative piece also based on Israeli sources which says the Saudi funding may exceed $1-billion:
A friend, with good sources in the Israeli government, claims that the head of Israel's Mossad has made several trips to deal with his counterparts in Saudi Arabia—one of the results: an agreement that the Saudis would bankroll the series of assassinations of several of Iran's top nuclear experts that have occurred over the past couple of years. The amount involved, my friend claims, was $1 billion dollars. A sum, he says, the Saudis considered cheap for the damage done to Iran's nuclear program.

Star of David

Here we go again, Israeli jets strike Gaza 'terror infrastructure' after rocket attack

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© Reuters/Baz Ratner
The Israeli military has launched airstrikes on what it called the "terror infrastructure" in Gaza, following an earlier rocket attack on Israeli territory which the IDF blames on Hamas.

Four targets identified as being part of the terror infrastructure were hit in the southern part of the Gaza strip, The Jerusalem Post reported citing an IDF spokesperson. There were no reports of any casualties or damage.


Comment: Here we go again, Israel itching for another fight.


Beaker

Two tons of IS drugs, including Captagon, seized in Western Syria, NATO connection

fearless
© tuttoilresto.altervista.org"Getting tough" is easier than we think.
General Directorate of Ports in the Syrian coastal province of Latakia seized about two tons of narcotics near the beach of Cape of Ras al-Bassit, local media reported, as cited by Prensa Latina.The confiscated drugs, which was floating in the sea in leather bags, consisted of more than 800 kilograms of hashish paste and nearly six million tablets of Captagon, the drug of choice by the members of the terrorist group Islamic State (IS).

The general director of Ports of Latakia, Maitham al-Yousuf, told reporters that the stash was spotted on Saturday by a patrol that ran along the beach, about 400 kilometers northwest of the capital. For his part, Latakia Governor Ibrahim Khader al-Salem accused the countries that sponsor terrorism against Syria of being responsible for the drug.

"It is a desperate attempt at destabilizing national security and sabotaging the minds of young people by preventing them from exercising their normal life and trying to continue their education," said the governor.

white pills
© english.farsnews.comCaptagon
According to experts, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) began production of Captagon in 2011 in a laboratory in Bulgaria and it is now [also] manufactured elsewhere in the world.

Part of the profits from the illegal trade in Captagon, experts say, is used to finance armed extremist groups that are trying to overthrow the Syrian government led by President Bashar al-Assad.

Captagon, the drug used by the jihadists with the Islamic State to get tough and fearless.

Comment: Captagon (Fenetylline hydrochloride) is an amphetamine that causes euphoria and numbs the pain. Mixed with other drugs like hashish, it constitutes the basic feed ration for the jihadists. Combatants neither feel their own suffering nor the suffering they inflict on others. Therefore, they can commit all sorts of atrocities, laughing. Manufactured in 2011 by NATO in a laboratory in Bulgaria, Captagon is now manufactured throughout the Middle East, including the Syrian territory. - Captagon is jihadists' main weapon


Network

Iran claims thwarting of US cyber attack on oil ministry

Cyber warfare
© Reuters/Kacper Pempel
Iranian security experts have thwarted an industrial espionage attempt on Islamic Republic's oil ministry, cyber police chief announced, claiming the attack originated in the US.

Speaking at a cyber crime forum in Tehran on Tuesday, the head of Iran's Cyber Police (FATA) Brigadier General Seyed Kamal Hadianfar announced that Cyber Attacks Emergency Center had defended the oil ministry against hackers. The alleged attack took place during a four-day holiday on March 21-24.

"These hackers were from the US" Hadianfar said, as cited by FARS news agency. "The IP address for these hackers was in America."

The chief of cyber police said that Tehran had already informed Washington via an official letter and issued an "international judicial order" as FATA passed the issue to the foreign ministry.

FATA discovers, identifies and solves some 90 percent of Internet crimes committed against Iran, Iran's Interior Minister Abdolreza Rahmani Fazli said speaking at the same event. "Iran has had a low number of cyber crimes as compared to other countries despite the presence of over 46 million Internet users in the country," the minister added.

The cyber standoff between Iran and the US has been widely reported over recent years. Both US and Tehran have accused each other of cybercrimes aimed at strategic sectors of the government and the economy.

Comment: Several months ago Admiral Mike Rogers, the director of the U.S. National Security Agency warned:
China and "probably one or two" other countries have the ability to invade and possibly shut down computer systems of U.S. power utilities, aviation networks and financial companies
How long until these cyber attacks really begin escalating, as geo-political maneuvering intensifies?


Info

Pentagon chief hints at shift in US policy in war with ISIS

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© M.Scott Mahaskey/POLITICO
US Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter declared in a television interview broadcast Sunday that Iraqi forces were routed at Ramadi because they lacked the "will to fight," not because they were outgunned by the Sunni-based insurgent group Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS).

In the harshest public criticism of the performance of Iraqi government troops since their collapse last summer in Mosul, Carter said, "What apparently happened was that the Iraqi forces just showed no will to fight. They were not outnumbered but in fact they vastly outnumbered the opposing force, and yet they failed to fight. They withdrew from the site."

Carter sought to deflect blame from the Obama administration for the debacle in Ramadi, which has led to mounting calls in Congress and much of the media for a more aggressive US intervention in Iraq and Syria, including the possible deployment of ground troops.

Comment: Yup, US ignores it's own rules all the time. Prepare for more Middle East confrontations.


Piggy Bank

Kiss your pension fund goodbye

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I have warned for some time that government was eyeing up pensions. There is about $19.4 trillion dollars in private pension funds. How will they justify taking over these funds to the people? This is the question debated in secrecy behind the curtain. I have warned that if government seizes pension funds, it will come after 2015.75. The Supreme Court, without any justification constitutionally, just determined how that will be accomplished.

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled last week in the unanimous 8-page decision, Tibble v Edison, stating that employers have a duty to protect workers in their 401(k) plans from mutual funds that perform poorly or are too expensive. That is simply astonishing since there is no constitutional requirement for even government to provide social benefits. The Supreme Court held in the 1980 case HARRIS v McRAE, that there is no duty imposed upon the state to provide a public program, for that would convert the constitution from a negative restrain upon government to a positive obligation to provide for everyone.

Comment: This is an interesting development but as for the author's conclusion, we will have to wait and see. Meanwhile, consider other means of protecting your investments.


Hardhat

Russia digs 100 km ditch along border with south-eastern Ukraine

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© RIA Novosti/Valeriy MelnikovIzvarino border crossing point in Lugansk Region, Ukraine.
Russia has erected 40km of fortified walls, and more than 100km of defensive trenches on its border with the rebel Ukrainian regions of Lugansk and Donetsk.

"The engineering fortification of the state border is aimed at ensuring stability in the Rostov region, and preventing the illegal circulation of firearms," Russia's border service said in a statement.

The government agency said that it intercepted over 60 illegal weapons shipments across the border since the beginning of the year. In doing so, it confiscated 40 firearms, 200 grenades, 100 shells and 40 landmines.

Comment: Lysenko is certainly delusional here but certainly isn't a surprise.


Attention

The NSA's Technotyranny: One nation under surveillance

"The ultimate goal of the NSA is total population control."—William Binney, NSA whistleblower
William Binney
© truthalerts.comWilliam Binney
We now have a fourth branch of government.

As I document in my new book Battlefield America: The War on the American People, this fourth branch came into being without any electoral mandate or constitutional referendum, and yet it possesses superpowers, above and beyond those of any other government agency save the military. It is all-knowing, all-seeing and all-powerful. It operates beyond the reach of the president, Congress and the courts, and it marches in lockstep with the corporate elite who really call the shots in Washington, DC.

You might know this branch of government as Surveillance, but I prefer "technotyranny," a term coined by investigative journalist James Bamford to refer to an age of technological tyranny made possible by government secrets, government lies, government spies and their corporate ties.

Beware of what you say, what you read, what you write, where you go, and with whom you communicate, because it will all be recorded, stored and used against you eventually, at a time and place of the government's choosing. Privacy, as we have known it, is dead.

The police state is about to pass off the baton to the surveillance state.

Having already transformed local police into extensions of the military, the Department of Homeland Security, the Justice Department and the FBI are preparing to turn the nation's soldier cops into techno-warriors, complete with iris scanners, body scanners, thermal imaging Doppler radar devices, facial recognition programs, license plate readers, cell phone Stingray devices and so much more.

This is about to be the new face of policing in America.

The National Security Agency (NSA) has been a perfect red herring, distracting us from the government's broader, technology-driven campaign to render us helpless in the face of its prying eyes. In fact, long before the NSA became the agency we loved to hate, the Justice Department, the FBI, and the Drug Enforcement Administration were carrying out their own secret mass surveillance on an unsuspecting populace.

Just about every branch of the government—from the Postal Service to the Treasury Department and every agency in between—now has its own surveillance sector, authorized to spy on the American people. Then there are the fusion and counterterrorism centers that gather all of the data from the smaller government spies—the police, public health officials, transportation, etc.—and make it accessible for all those in power. And of course that doesn't even begin to touch on the complicity of the corporate sector, which buys and sells us from cradle to grave, until we have no more data left to mine.