Puppet MastersS


Snakes in Suits

Time to clean house: Our decadent elites

Peggy Noonan
Wall Street Journal
Tue, 18 Feb 2014 13:15 UTC
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Rep. Kevin McCarthy delivers lines from the television show 'House of Cards’ with a portrait of Kevin Spacey’s character Frank Underwood behind him.
Watching Season 2 of "House of Cards." Not to be a scold or humorless, but do Washington politicians understand how they make themselves look when they embrace the show and become part of its promotion by spouting its famous lines? Congressmen only work three days a week. Each shot must have taken two hours or so - the setup, the crew, the rehearsal, the learning the line. How do they have time for that? Why do they think it's good for them?

"House of Cards" very famously does nothing to enhance Washington's reputation. It reinforces the idea that the capital has no room for clean people. The earnest, the diligent, the idealistic, they have no place there. Why would powerful members of Congress align themselves with this message? Why do they become part of it? I guess they think they're showing they're in on the joke and hip to the culture. I guess they think they're impressing people with their surprising groovelocity.

Or maybe they're just stupid.

But it's all vaguely decadent, no? Or maybe not vaguely. America sees Washington as the capital of vacant, empty souls, chattering among the pillars. Suggesting this perception is valid is helpful in what way?

I don't understand why members of Congress, the White House and the media become cooperators in videos that sort of show that deep down they all see themselves as . . . actors. And good ones! In a phony drama. Meant I suppose to fool the rubes.
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No Entry

Kiev announces nationwide 'anti-terror operation'


Press TV
Wed, 19 Feb 2014 12:33 UTC
Ukrainian protester
© UnknownA Ukrainian protester attacks police hiding behind their shields as rocks rain down on them in the capital Kiev on February 18, 2014.
Ukrainian government has announced a nationwide "a anti-terrorist operation" against acts of terrorism in the crisis-hit country.
Oleksandr Yakymenko, Ukraine's security service chief, made the announcement on Wednesday, saying the operation comes due to the escalating violent confrontations.

Yakymenko also said about 1,500 firearms and a hundred bullets have ended up in the hands of radical and extremist groups in recent days.

This is while local media have reported that opposition groups in western cities, including Khmelnitsky and Ternopil, have taken over public buildings.

At the border with Poland, some 200 Ukrainians have blocked a road to a crossing into the neighboring country, according to the Polish border guard service.

In Kiev, protesters have taken control of the capital's central post office at the Independence Square, also known as Maidan, after a nearby building they previously occupied was torched in clashes with police a day earlier.

The counter-terrorist operations come a day after clashes between Ukrainian police and protesters in Kiev left at least 26 people dead and 250 others injured.

Comment: How would the US react if 6 police officers were killed in a violent protest? Martial law most likely would be implemented and if the Kent State University is anything to go by, then it wouldn't look pretty at the end. So before condemning Ukraine, the US and the EU states might consider what they themselves would do if this had happened in their own countries. How would they respond and how will they respond as similar events will likely soon happen due to austerity and the robbing of the working poor.

Here is the Kent State University event: Kent State Revisited: the Wars and Repression Continue Unabated

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Dollar

Missing military-industrial-complex money

James Hall
BATR Org
Wed, 19 Feb 2014 12:05 UTC
MIC Missing Money_1
© BATR Org

When Major General Smedley Butler made his case, War is a Racket he did not pull any punches. "The normal profits of a business concern in the United States are six, eight, ten, and sometimes twelve percent. But war-time profits - ah! That is another matter - twenty, sixty, one hundred, three hundred, and even eighteen hundred per cent - the sky is the limit. All that traffic will bear. Uncle Sam has the money. Let's get it." The business of military procurement has multiplied since his fateful revelations.

Not satisfied with fair profits or feasible competition, the practices of the defense corporatists illustrate one aspect of waste, graft and systemic bribery. William D. Hartung describes the consolidation and expanse of a select group of companies in the paper, The Military-Industrial Complex Revisited: Shifting Patterns of Military Contracting in the Post-9/11 Period.
"Many of the same companies that benefited from increased Pentagon and war spending were top contractors for other security related agencies. For example, Lockheed Martin was not only the top contractor for the Pentagon, but it also ranked number one at the Department of Energy; number eight at the Department of Homeland Security (Boeing was number one); number two at the State Department; and number three at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).

Contracts let by these agencies were only a fraction of the levels awarded by the Pentagon, but they were significant nonetheless. For example, the Department of Homeland Security issued $13.4 billion in contracts in FY2008, NASA $15.9 billion, the State Department $5.5 billion, and the Department of Energy $24.6 billion."
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Eye 1

Tracking your every move: Homeland Security wants a nationwide license plate tracking system

Ellen Nakashima and Josh Hicks
Washington Post
Tue, 18 Feb 2014 10:00 UTC
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© Photon Catcher/Shutterstock
The Department of Homeland Security wants a private company to provide a national license-plate tracking system that would give the agency access to vast amounts of information from commercial and law enforcement tag readers, according to a government proposal that does not specify what privacy safeguards would be put in place.

The national license-plate recognition database, which would draw data from readers that scan the tags of every vehicle crossing their paths, would help catch fugitive illegal immigrants, according to a DHS solicitation. But the database could easily contain more than 1 billion records and could be shared with other law enforcement agencies, raising concerns that the movements of ordinary citizens who are under no criminal suspicion could be scrutinized.

A spokeswoman for DHS's Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency (ICE) stressed that the database "could only be accessed in conjunction with ongoing criminal investigations or to locate wanted individuals."

The database would enhance agents' and officers' ability to locate suspects who could pose a threat to public safety and would reduce the time required to conduct surveillance, ICE spokeswoman Gillian Christensen said.
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Newspaper

Media organizations are buying drones and sending them to 'report' on crime scenes in the U.S.


RT
Tue, 11 Feb 2014 23:02 UTC
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© Reuters/Jean-Paul Pelissier
As federal regulators work on creating rules for integrating small unmanned aerial vehicles, or drones, into US skies, some operators have chosen to get a head start. News-gathering drones are among those already testing the bounds of safe, ethical use.

The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has opened investigations into a small number of drones suspected of improper operation all while the agency works on permanent commercial guidelines that advance rules beyond the current remote-control-aircraft standard. One recent example stems from an incident earlier this month in Connecticut, where an on-call employee for a local television station was questioned by law enforcement for flying a drone over a Hartford car crash.

The wreck left a victim's body exposed amid a disfigured vehicle, police said.

"Here was a dead body still on the scene. We had covered it the best we could," said Lt. Brian Foley, a Hartford police spokesman, who also told AP the appearance of drones at crime scenes is increasing. "You don't want the family to see that."
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Phoenix

Explosion and fire at Chevron natural gas well in Pennsylvania (Video)

Ari Phillips
Think Progress
Tue, 11 Feb 2014 16:14 UTC
Image
© WXPI
At around 6:45 this morning a fire was reported at a Chevron natural gas well in Greene County, Pennsylvania, just north of the West Virginia border. As of early afternoon, one person had been injured and another was still missing, according to statements from the company.

Twenty workers were on the scene at the time of the fire. While Chevron did not initially know the cause of the blast, the fire chief on scene recently said it was caused by natural gas. According to Chevron spokeswoman Lee Ann Wainwright, the well was in the final stages of being put in production.
BREAKING: Attica Fire Chief says explosion was caused by natural gas. 2 blocks evacuated.
- Liz Gelardi (@LizGelardiFOX59) February 11, 2014
Video taken from a helicopter over the scene shows the flames engulfing drilling and processing equipment.

"State Rep. Pam Snyder, D-Jefferson, said state police have closed the roads around the well on Bald Hill Ridge Road in Dunkard Township," reported the local Observer-Reporter. "State Department of Environmental Protection spokesman John Poister said police have set up a half-mile perimeter around the well site following the explosion."
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Radar

'Hacker' viruses and DDoS attacks on websites actually come from covert cyber-intelligence unit within British GCHQ

RT/Polly Boyko
You Tube
Wed, 12 Feb 2014 00:00 UTC
Sending out viruses, hijacking social media accounts, and attacking computer networks. Those may sound like hackers' techniques, but they're also in the arsenal of Britain's spies, according to leaks from Edward Snowden. RT's Polly Boyko takes apart the tactics being used by GCHQ.
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Light Sabers

Moscow blames radicals for deadly clashes in Ukraine, EU leaders ponder sanctions against government


RT
Wed, 19 Feb 2014 07:55 UTC
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© Reuters / Sergei SupinskyAnti-government rioters clash with the police on Independence Square in Kiev early on February 19, 2014.
Moscow believes the deadly clashes in Kiev were an attempt at a coup by radicalized protesters. EU leaders have quite an opposite view, calling for sanctions against Ukrainian government officials.

In a statement issued on Wednesday, Russia's Foreign Ministry described the violence in Ukraine as an attempt at a coup d'etat and a "brown" revolution, accusing European politicians and institutions of "refusing to admit that all of the responsibility for the actions of radical forces in Ukraine rests with the opposition."

"The Russian side is demanding the leaders on the streets to stop the violence in their country, immediately resume dialogue with the lawful government without threats and ultimatums," the statement reads.

The Kremlin has also interpreted the violence in Ukraine as a coup attempt. President Putin's spokesman said that "from the point of view of the Russian leadership", all of the responsibility for the bloodshed could be laid at the door of "the extremist forces."
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Bacon

Price of meat actually rose 23% in the U.S. in 2011, not 6% as reported by government

Robert Hoffman
Dayton News
Wed, 19 Feb 2014 04:00 UTC
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© American Flavors blogspot
Consumers, have you noticed the record high prices for meat and other staple items in the grocery store? All families continue to pay more of their disposable income for food products, putting hardship and difficulty on personal budgets. A larger portion of the family budget now pays for food costs leaving less money for personal use, college savings, and vacations.

Smart shoppers, carefully observing prices and evaluating portions, noticed several changes at the markets the past few years. Many food products and beverages now come in smaller sizes as manufacturers remain reluctant to raise prices. In addition, for the past several years, restaurants have lessened portion sizes rather than raise prices.

Although the U.S. government reportedly said food prices rose 6.4 percent since 2011, ground beef rose 16.8 percent, chicken rose 18.4 percent, and bacon rose a whopping 22.4 percent. The U.S. Department of Agriculture expects that beef will continue rising another 3-4 percent in 2014. In an economy struggling with high unemployment and prolonged recession, it truly remains appalling how prices can increase so much.

The government likes to blame the weather and drought for the rising prices. In addition, world demand for American products, especially China, increases the prices of these foods. Sometimes farmers will also state that their production costs have risen, and they must pass them to the consumer.
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Extinguisher

Maintaining myth they can actually do something about extreme weather, California lawmakers drafting legislation to prevent wildfires

Erin Kelly
USA Today
Wed, 19 Feb 2014 07:31 UTC
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© Jae C. Hong, APFirefighter Jeff Newby sprays water as he battles the flare-ups from a damaging wildfire on Jan. 17 near Azusa, Calif.
With record droughts fueling fears of devastating wildfires in the West, members of Congress from the region are trying to boost chronically underfunded federal fire prevention efforts.

Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., has teamed up with Sen. Mike Crapo, R-Idaho, to offer a bill that would stop the vicious cycle of federal agencies raiding fire prevention funds to pay for emergency firefighting efforts.

The Wildfire Disaster Funding Act, which was also introduced in the House this month, would create a special disaster fund to fight huge "mega-fires", which make up about 1% of wildfires but use up 30% of fire suppression funds.

The funding change would free up as much as $412 million a year in the Forest Service and Interior Department budgets to prevent fires by thinning the overgrown tree stands and underbrush that fuel the blazes.
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