Puppet MastersS


Eye 2

CIA drones have already killed at least 40 since the start of the year


RT.com
Fri, 11 Jan 2013 18:59 UTC
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© AFP Photo/S.S MirzaPakistani demonstrators shout anti-US slogans during a protest in Multan on January 8, 2013, against the drone attacks in Pakistan's tribal areas.
The CIA has escalated its use of drones in Pakistan, launching seven deadly strikes during the first 10 days of 2013 and killing at least 40 people, 11 of which may have been civilians.

The flurry of strikes has raised speculation that the Obama administration is accelerating attacks in the wake of the 2014 withdrawal from Afghanistan, in fear of losing the capacity to carry them out.

In 2012, the US launched 43 drone strikes in Pakistan with an average 7 to 8 days between strikes. At the current rate, the US is set to kill far more people than last year.

This year's drone attacks have so far done little to spare civilians: the Long War Journal found that US drones have killed at least 11 civilians since Jan. 1, which exceeds the number of civilians US officials say were killed in all of 2012.

US intelligence officials claim the increase in drone strikes is an initiative to take out as many possible opponents of the Afghan government because of the looming 2014 withdrawal of 66,000 US troops.
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Red Flag

Drones over New York? NYPD chief admits he's interested in an UAV


RT.com
Fri, 11 Jan 2013 18:53 UTC
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© Reuters/AAI Corporation
The head of the New York City Police Department announced this week that the largest local law enforcement agency in the United States might soon rely on spy drones for conducting surveillance.

During an open conversation held Thursday between Reuters editor-in-chief Stephen Adler and NYPD Commissioner Ray Kelly, the chief of police confirmed that New York's boys in blue aren't entirely opposed to acquiring an unmanned aerial vehicle for the sake of security.

"We're looking into it," Kelly reportedly told an audience at the 92nd Street Y Thursday evening. "Anything that helps us."

Jill Colvin, a producer for the website DNAinfo, says Kelly told his crowd that adding an UAV to their arsenal of surveillance tools could come in handy during future mass protests in the Big Apple. For starters, she reports, Kelly said cops could begin with using basic civilian models that are available for purchase online and in stores.

"You can go to Brookstone and buy a drone," Kelly told the crowd.

Comment: It's almost certain that New York City, and other large metropolitan areas, already have drones flying over them surveilling Americans. This is just an attempt to either do it publicly or to float it to the press to gauge the response of the public. Either way, this is already happening and whether or not they publicly admit it isn't going to change the fact that Americans are spied on by their government every day.

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USA

Military punishes service members involved in Colombia prostitution scandal

Josh Hicks
Washington Post
Fri, 11 Jan 2013 18:42 UTC
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The U.S. military's Southern Command on Friday said it had handed down non-judicial punishments for three of the dozen noncommissioned officers involved in a prostitution scandal during President Obama's April trip to Cartagena, Colombia.

All three service members were reprimanded for relations with prostitutes, and one of the cases involved adultery, according to a command press release.

The command said it will dock two months base pay from two of the soldiers, both of whom also received letters of reprimand and 45 days of extra duties.
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Extinguisher

Report: Navy uniforms very flammable, top officials have known


CBS DC
Fri, 11 Jan 2013 18:18 UTC
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© Photo credit – MOHD RASFAN/AFP/GettyImagesThe Virginian-Pilot reports that the U.S. Navy’s standard uniforms are very flammable, and that the top military brass has been aware
A recent test of the U.S. Navy's standard-issue blue camouflage uniforms found they are extremely flammable and will melt onto the skin if burning - and the Navy brass allegedly were aware of this danger.

The Virginian-Pilot reports that Navy officials released findings of a December test that found their standard uniforms are not designated flame-resistant, and will burn "robustly until completely consumed" when subjected to flames.

"We knew when we designed this uniform that it wasn't flame-resistant," Rear Adm. John Kirby, the Navy's top spokesman, told the paper. "When we were making the uniform, sailors wanted a uniform that was comfortable, that didn't require maintenance and would stand up under a lot of washing, and one of the ways to get that is a nylon-cotton blend."

Kirby added that there was no requirement for a fire-resistant uniform in the Navy's working environment.
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Sheriff

Federal judge approves agreement to overhaul troubled New Orleans Police Department against City wishes

Mike Perlstein
wwltv.com
Fri, 11 Jan 2013 18:11 UTC
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A federal judge Friday approved a long-awaited consent decree to reform the New Orleans Police Department, but the far-reaching and expensive agreement is already running into objections by the city.

Buried in the "order and reasons" issued by U.S. District Judge Susie Morgan is a note that the city intends to seek relief from the 123-page agreement.

"The City has informed the court that it intends to file a motion seeking relief from the judgment entered in connection with this order under the Federal Rules of Procedure," Morgan wrote.

The parties to the consent decree gathered in Morgan's chambers today to finalize the agreement, but according to multiple sources, objections by the city were set in motion before the ink was dry on Morgan's signature.

"The judge signed the consent decree, but under very, very difficult circumstances," Mayor Mitch Landrieu said. "It's not a done deal." (See Landrieu's full statement)
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Cowboy Hat

Mississippi governor targets last abortion clinic: 'My goal of course is to shut it down'

David Edwards
Raw Story
Fri, 11 Jan 2013 16:08 UTC
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Republican Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant says that there is one abortion clinic in the state and "of course" his goal is to "shut it down."

A federal judge last year delayed enforcement of a law that abortion-rights advocates say is designed to be so restrictive that it effectively abolishes abortion in the state. Under the law, Mississippi's only abortion clinic would need toget "admission privileges" from local hospitals, which have not been willing to cooperate.

The judge's order is set to expire on Friday and state officials have said that they will make an unannounced visit to the clinic in Jackson to determine if it was able to comply.

"My goal of course is to shut it down," Bryant told a group of pastors in video captured by WJTV on Thursday.
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Crusader

Unchartered waters: Japan and China scramble fighter jets in island dispute


RT.com
Fri, 11 Jan 2013 16:02 UTC
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© AFP Photo/JIJI PressThis aerial shot taken on September 15, 2010 shows the disputed islands known as Senkaku in Japan and Diaoyu in China in the East China Sea.
The standoff between Japan and China escalated to a new level after both sides sent their jets to tail each other in airspace near the cluster of disputed islands that has created tension between the two powers.

A Chinese Y-8 transport plane flew near the vicinity of the Diaoyu or Senkaku islands (as they are known by the Chinese and the Japanese respectively) on what the Defense Ministry in Beijing described as a "routine patrol" on Thursday. It was immediately tailed by a Japanese F-15. Chinese authorities then ordered two more J-10 planes into the air, to perform "verification and monitoring" on the Japanese aircraft.

"Aircraft from Japan's Self-Defense Forces have intensified their surveillance activities against China, and expanded the area of their scope, disturbing the normal patrols and training of Chinese civilian and military aircraft," said a spokesman from China's Ministry of Defense.

A Foreign Ministry spokesman followed with another statement, accusing Tokyo of "creating tension".
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Bomb

Journalists targeted in Greece bombings


RT.com
Fri, 11 Jan 2013 15:48 UTC
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© Reuters/John KolesidisA resident stands next to the burnt entrance of a building following a series of arson attacks against journalists in Athens January 11, 2013.
Homemade bombs have exploded at the homes of five journalists from major media outlets in Athens. Police are linking the attacks to the current economic crisis in the country and the way the mainstream media have reported it.

The devices, made of gas canisters, exploded outside residences in different areas of Athens. The explosions caused minor damage to the buildings' entrances, but no one was injured.

Among the bomb targets, the editor of the state-run Athens News Agency, two journalists employed by state broadcaster NET and two presenters from the private Mega television channel.

The outlets singled out- either state-run or controlled by some of the country's leading business groups- have traditionally been seen by leftist groups as closely tied to Greece's political establishment.

"We believe the attacks are related to the latest economic developments and the way the journalists present the facts," a police official, who preferred to be unnamed, told Reuters.
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Network

United States ill-prepared for skyrocketing cyberattacks against critical infrastructure


RT.com
Fri, 11 Jan 2013 15:39 UTC
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© Reuters/Jim Urquhart)Cyber security analysts work to defend a network during a drill at a Department of Homeland Security cyber security defense lab at the Idaho National Laboratory in Idaho Falls, Idaho
Cyberattacks against the United States' critical infrastructure are increasing, but even the Department of Homeland Security is reporting that the country is ill-prepared to respond.

America's cyberdefense situation is in need of improvement, according at least to a newsletter published by the Homeland Security Department's Industrial Control Systems Cyber Emergency Response Team, the ICS-CERT Monitor [PDF].

In the late-2012 edition of the Monitor, cyber experts working for the United States government confirm that as attacks waged against America's essential sectors are on the rise, the number of qualified personnel able to respond is hardly adequate.

Between October 1, 2011 and September of last year, ICE-CERT claims to have received and responded to 198 cyber incidents as reported by asset owners and industry partners. In an analysis of the report by CNN, they report that the figure for Fiscal Year 2012 is 52 percent larger than the year before.

Elsewhere in the Monitor, ICE-CERT quotes noted security expert Alan Paller as saying that there are no more than 20 individuals in the entire country that could counter a substantial attack against the States' cyber infrastructure.
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Eye 1

Pat Robertson: "Awful-looking" women are ruining marriages

Laura Gottesdiener
Salon
Fri, 11 Jan 2013 15:30 UTC
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© Credit: APPat Robertson
In a career of offensive remarks, the radical Christian televangelist's latest may be his most stupefying yet.

It always seems to be the woman's fault. No really - check this one out.
So, a 17-year-old boy writes in to Maxim magazine, complaining that his father never pays any attention to his mother.

"I'm 17 years old and I've noticed that there has been a change in my father's behavior," he wrote. "He spends too much time at the computer playing a war game. I've noticed how alone my mom feels. I just want my father to spend more time with my mom. What should I do? How can I talk to my father? I feel shame for him. Please help."

Luckily for this perceptive 17 year old, the radical Christian conservative Pat Robertson is on the case - and his answer is, well, exactly what you'd expect from this radical Christian televangelist.

He starts off with the suggestion that the boy try to get his parents out of the house on some type of romantic weekend getaway.

"The romance is obviously going out of the marriage," he said.
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