Puppet MastersS


Bad Guys

Invasion of the foreign supercops: Minister unveils new plans to hire U.S. crimebusters to take over British police

Simon Walters
The Mail Online
Sat, 19 Jan 2013 14:28 UTC
Mr Bratton
© GettyMr Bratton (L), former head of New York City Police and the Los Angeles Police Department, was drafted in by David Cameron to advise on tackling gang warfare in Britain in 2011.
Former Army officers will be recruited as police superintendents
Changes rip up tradition of only British citizens serving in the police

Foreign crimebusters such as US supercop Bill Bratton will be given the chance to take over British police forces under radical new plans to be unveiled by Home Secretary Theresa May.

And former Army officers will be recruited as police superintendents in an attempt to end the 'closed shop' police culture blamed for bungled investigations and corruption. The changes, set to be fiercely opposed by police chiefs, rip up the centuries-old tradition of only British citizens serving in the police.

They also abolish the rule that senior policemen have to work their way up from being a bobby on the beat.
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Pistol

Bulgarian Televised 'assassination attempt' 'was stunt'

Miriam Elder
The Guardian
Sun, 20 Jan 2013 14:16 UTC
Ahmed Dogan
© AP/Getty

News
World news
Bulgaria

Bulgarian gas pistol attack 'was stunt'

Gunman reportedly wanted to show politician he was 'not untouchable', while some suggest whole incident was staged

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Miriam Elder in Moscow
The Guardian, Sunday 20 January 2013 19.00 GMT

Ahmed Dogan, the leader of the Movement for Rights and Freedoms party in Bulgaria, escapes an apparent assassination attempt
Gunman reportedly wanted to show politician he was 'not untouchable', while some suggest whole incident was staged

It was a shot almost heard around the world as millions watched a man storm a stage in Bulgaria and then point his gun at a prominent opposition politician live on television.

But many in Bulgaria are now trying to separate fact from fiction as they try to be clear about what motivated the attack.

Police took Oktai Enimehmedov, 25, into custody after he pulled the gun on Ahmed Dogan, the leader of the Movement for Rights and Freedoms (MRF), a party supported by Muslim voters including some Turks in Bulgaria.

Police now say Enimehmedov was holding a gas pistol that was loaded with pepper spray, with two other "bullets" being simply noisemakers. He pointed the gun at Dogan's head during a party congress in the capital, Sofia, but failed to shoot. He was tackled to the ground and beaten by guards and party members as TV cameras continued to roll.

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Pills

Employers challenging health law contraceptive provision

Robert Barnes
Washington Post
Mon, 21 Jan 2013 14:23 UTC
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© Joe Raedle/Getty ImagesProtesters hold signs and pray during a gathering billed as the “Stand Up for Religious Freedom Rally” in MIami in June 2012.
Enjoy the festivities, President Obama, and while you're on the grand stage Monday, it might be wise to make nice with the assembled Supreme Court justices.

The next legal challenge to the Affordable Care Act is moving quickly to the high court, and bringing potent questions about religious freedom, gender equality and corporate "personhood."

The issue is the health-care law's requirement that employers without a specific exemption must provide workers with insurance plans that cover a full range of birth-control measures and contraceptive drugs.

Inclusion of the no-cost contraceptive coverage for female workers has always been a controversial part of the legislation. It has now sparked more than 40 lawsuits around the nation involving more than 110 individuals, colleges, hospitals, church-affiliated nonprofits and private companies.
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Blackbox

Somalia, Egypt, Libya, Mali, Algeria, Eritrea: Is Africa the next Afghanistan? Eritrean troops besiege ministry after mutiny


The Extinction Protocol
Mon, 21 Jan 2013 14:15 UTC
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Eritrean army tanks besieged the information ministry in central Asmara on Monday after some 200 mutineers seized the building to call for political reform, diplomatic and diaspora sources said Monday. No shots had been fired and the rest of the city appeared calm, the diplomats added, although very few details were immediately available.

"The ministry of information is under siege," a diplomat said.

Amanuel Ghirmai, an Eritrean journalist in Paris for independent Radio Erena, said that around a 100 army mutineers stormed the hill-top ministry -- which towers over the capital of the Red Sea state -- early on Monday morning. They reportedly ordered news readers at the government-run television and radio station -- the only source of media for the authoritarian state -- to read a statement that they will implement the country's constitution.

The statement also reportedly ordered the release of prisoners of conscience.

"We do not know who is leading the situation... everybody has been put into the same room (in the ministry)," Amanuel said, adding that he had spoken to sources in Asmara. Britain's foreign office updated its travel advice Monday to say it had received reports of "unusual military movements in and around Asmara", without giving further details.
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Handcuffs

Lawyer of former Ukraine PM Yulia Tymoshenko 'faces criminal charges'


Guardian
Mon, 21 Jan 2013 14:11 UTC
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© Photograph: Sergei Chuzavkov/APSerhiy Vlasenko, lawyer of former prime minister Yulia Tymoshenko.
Serhiy Vlasenko told reporters that he had been accused of car theft, robbery and failing to obey a court ruling.

The senior lawyer acting for jailed former Ukrainian prime minister Yulia Tymoshenko says he is under criminal investigation and fears imminent arrest.

Serhiy Vlasenko told reporters on Monday that he had been accused of car theft, robbery and failing to obey a court ruling stemming from his divorce several years ago.

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Attention

Moscow begins evacuation of Russians from Syria


Guardian
Mon, 21 Jan 2013 14:09 UTC
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© Photograph: Goran Tomasevic/ReutersDamaged buildings in the Syrian capital, Damascus.
The Russian government has said it is sending two planes to Lebanon to evacuate Russians from Syria, the first such effort since the uprising against Bashar al-Assad began in March 2011.

The emergency situations ministry said two of its planes would fly to Beirut on Tuesday to bring home more than 100 Russians.

The announcement appears to reflect Moscow's increasing doubts about Assad's ability to cling to power and growing concerns about the safety of its citizens. Russia's foreign ministry has said it has contingency plans in place to evacuate thousands of Russians from Syria.
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USA

Hide the homeless: Washington, DC shelters to stay open during inauguration

Heather Manes
Opposing Views
Mon, 21 Jan 2013 14:05 UTC
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Downtown Washington, D.C. will be the center of attention on Monday for President Obama's second inauguration. The nation's capital has been preparing for the arrival of nearly 800,000 out-of-towners. One side-note to the city's preparations includes a mandate that will require the city's homeless shelters to stay open during the day on Sunday and Monday.

Homeless shelters normally open in the afternoons or early evenings to give people a place to sleep, but remain closed during the mornings and early afternoons. Currently, the only time homeless shelters are required to stay open is if the temperature drops below 32 degrees Fahrenheit to avoid hypothermia. Now, for the inauguration, many of the city's homeless population will be indoors.
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Bad Guys

'Used as human shields': Survivors of Algeria hostage crisis recall brutality and terror


RT.com
Mon, 21 Jan 2013 12:16 UTC
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© Reuters / StringerRescue workers carry the coffin of one of the hostages killed during a hostage crisis in a gas plant at the hospital in In Amenas January 21, 2013
In the wake of Algeria's In Amenas crisis, the hostage death toll rose to almost 60. The survivors have revealed tales of shocking brutality - captives were used as human shields, forced to wear explosive jackets and witness to horrific executions.

On Monday, Algerian Prime Minister Abdelmalek Sellal announced that 37 foreigners of eight nationalities were among those killed.

The four-day ordeal at the In Amenas gas plant in the Sahara Desert ended Saturday - several US, British, French, Japanese, Norwegian, Romanian and Algerian workers were reported dead or missing. Many of the survivors have spoken with the press, recounting horrific tales of the abuse and murder of hostages.

Philippine survivor Joseph Balmaceda witnessed foreign hostages being used as human shields to protect the militants. He described one Japanese hostage being draped with explosives, while he and others had their hands tied with cables.
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Target

French troops retake central Malian strongholds in push for 'total reconquest'


RT.com
Mon, 21 Jan 2013 12:13 UTC
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© AFP Photo / Issouf SanogoFrench and Malian soldiers arrive in the city of Diabaly on January 21, 2013
French troops retake the central Malian towns of Diabaly and Douentza after Defense Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian declares that France's ultimate goal is the "total reconquest" of Mali.

Early Monday morning, French and Malian troops entered the frontline towns of Diabaly and Douentza to little or no resistance. Residents said that rebels occupying the towns had abandoned them on the eve of France's advance. In Douentza the advance was preceded by air strikes.

The recent push came amid news that militants were beginning to abandon their positions to regroup in the northern mountainous region of Kidal, 1,500 kilometers from the French and African forces' arrival point in Bamako.

A French commander, identified only as 'Colonel Frederic,' warned that the conflict in Mali may continue for some time. Diabily had recently been subjected to French air strikes as it was a base for the majority of Malian rebels south of the towns of Mopti and Sevare. The "situation in the vicinity of Diabaly was confused for the moment," Colonel Frederic said, adding that more information was needed to estimate the length of time it would take to resolve the conflict.
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Eye 2

CIA's free reign on targeted killing: Pakistan exempted from agency's drone 'playbook'


RT.com
Mon, 21 Jan 2013 12:06 UTC
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© AFP Photo / US Air Force
A new CIA manual that limits the agency's ability to use drones and creates strict guidelines for targeted killings is being finalized. Pakistan was exempted from these restrictions in a compromise between the CIA, State Department and the Pentagon.

The Washington Post has revealed that John Brennan, the counter-terrorism adviser nominated by President Obama to be the next head of the CIA, has agreed to temporarily exempt the spy agency from the new manual's guidelines, which attempt to codify the use of drones to kill Al-Qaeda members, other terrorist organizations and even US citizens.

The manual sets out stricter standards and rigid rules for the use of US drones. Some of the guidelines include requirements for White House approval of drone strikes and the involvement of multiple agencies, such as the State Department, in adding new names to kill lists.

However, none of these stringent rules apply to US drone attacks in Pakistan, which started under President George W. Bush.
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