Puppet MastersS

Bizarro Earth

Pakistan stops NATO supplies after raid kills "up to 25"


Reuters
Sat, 26 Nov 2011 02:35 UTC
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© John Moore/Getty ImagesPakistan says a Nato helicopter has flown over the border from Afghanistan and killed dozens of Pakistani troops at a checkpoint.
NATO helicopters attacked a military checkpoint in northwest Pakistan on Saturday, killing up to 25 troops and prompting Pakistan to shut the vital supply route for NATO troops fighting in Afghanistan, Pakistani officials said.

The attack comes as relations between the United States and Pakistan, its ally in the war on terror, are already badly strained following the killing of al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden by U.S. special forces in a secret raid on the Pakistani garrison town of Abbottabad in May.

Pakistan called that raid a flagrant violation of its sovereignty.

A Pakistani military spokesman confirmed Saturday's pre-dawn cross-border attack in the tribal region of Mohmand and said casualties had been reported, but gave no details.

"NATO helicopters carried out an unprovoked and indiscriminate firing on a Pakistani check post in Mohmand agency, casualties have been reported and details are awaited," the spokesman told Reuters.
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Dollar

"Awful" Italy debt sale heightens euro zone stress

Valentina Za
Reuters
Fri, 25 Nov 2011 12:51 UTC
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© Reuters/Stefano RellandiniA union workers flag CGIL is seen in front of a bank during a protest downtown Milan, November 25, 2011.
Italy paid a record 6.5 percent to borrow money over six months on Friday and its longer-term funding costs soared far above levels seen as sustainable for public finances, raising the pressure on Rome's new emergency government.

The auction yield on the six-month paper almost doubled compared to a month earlier, capping a week in which a German bond auction came close to failing and the leaders of Germany, France and Italy failed to make progress on crisis resolution measures.

Though Italy managed to raise the full planned amount of 10 billion euros, weakening demand and the highest borrowing costs since it joined the euro frightened investors, pushing Italian stocks lower and bond yields to record highs on the secondary market.

Yields on two-year BTP bonds soared to more than 8 percent in response, a euro lifetime high, despite reported purchases by the European Central Bank.
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Wolf

Australia: Immunise or lose benefits, parents told


ABC
Fri, 25 Nov 2011 19:03 UTC
girl,flu shot
© Jewel Samad: AFPFamilies who refuse vaccinations face losing up to $2,100 per child in benefits

Parents who do not have their children fully immunised will be stripped of family tax benefits under a scheme announced by the Federal Government.

The Government says 11 per cent of five-year-olds are not immunised and has announced a shake-up of the system which will take effect from July 1 next year.

Under the changes, families who refuse vaccinations face losing up to $2,100 per child in benefits.

Families will need to have their children fully immunised to receive the Family Tax Benefit (FTB) Part A end-of-year supplement.

A new immunisation check will be introduced for one-year-olds to supplement the existing immunisation checks at two and five years of age.
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Bad Guys

US: Senate To Vote On Legislation That Allows U.S. Military to Detain Americans Without Charge or Trial

Mac Slavo
SHTFplan.com
Fri, 25 Nov 2011 17:11 UTC
FEMA detention camp
© n/aFEMA detention facility.
Remember that debate between Ron Paul and Newt Gingrich, where Mr. Gingrich suggested we should expand and strengthen the Patriot Act in the name of protecting US citizens from terrorists? Mr. Gingrich indicated that there exists a line between criminal law and the war on terror, and that we need not worry the government will overstep its bounds.

While Americans enjoy the Thanksgiving weekend and join the annual running of the bulls celebration at malls and retail outlets, something sinister is taking place in Congress - and it should scare the hell out of you. If the President and Senate have their way, your front lawn will soon become a battlefield, and you'll be subjected to military, not criminal, law.
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Eye 1

Firms are sending out fake iTunes updates to install spyware on behalf of your government - and it's all completely legal!

Marcel Rosenbach
Der Spiegel
Tue, 22 Nov 2011 16:32 UTC
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Homepage of the Cyberwarfare Europe conference where borgs gathered in September to discuss how better to drain the creative juices from humanity
A surveillance firm claims it can distribute its spyware via faked iTunes updates. Apple appears to have moved to eliminate the security gap, but the debate over trojans used by governments, both democratic and otherwise, continues to boil.

It was as if a far-flung secret society had gathered in Berlin at the end of September. Military officials and representatives of security authorities from around the world met in a luxury hotel to discuss threats in the digital world: cyber attacks, electronic espionage and online organized crime. But the most pressing issue on the agenda was technology that can be used to combat these perils.

The event was called "Cyberwarfare Europe," but many participants had traveled to the German capital from even further afield. The roster of participants in the event listed government employees and industry representatives from the United Arab Emirates, Malaysia and Indonesia. Each attendee had paid as much as โ‚ฌ2,700 for the privilege of listening to lectures from IT experts and military officials -- including one given by a legal expert for current operations at the United States Cyber Command.
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Pirates

Surveillance Company Gamma International Says It Sent Fake iTunes, Flash Updates

Jennifer Valentino-DeVries
The Wall Street Journal
Fri, 25 Nov 2011 17:35 UTC
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Gamma International UK Ltd. touts its ability to send a "fake iTunes update" that can infect computers with surveillance software, according to one of the company's marketing videos.

The Wall Street Journal unveiled on Saturday the "Surveillance Catalog" - an online database containing highlights from surveillance industry marketing documents. The documents show dozens of companies making and selling everything from "massive intercept" gear that can gather all Internet communications in a country to "hacking" tools that allow governments to break into people's computers.

Gamma was one of three companies marketing their skill at the kind of techniques usually used in "black hat hacking," the type of intrusion used by criminals trying to steal people's financial details.

All of the hacking companies say they sell their tools to law enforcement and governments to help them track down criminals. People in this new industry say their tools are necessary because terrorists and criminals are communicating online and hiding behind encryption and other techniques.

Comment: The only question the author should have been asked was: is it MORAL?

NO!

Mikko Hypponen: It's Not a Question of Privacy vs Security, It's a Question of freedom vs control

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Stormtrooper

Flashback British firm Gamma International offered spying software to Egyptian regime - documents

Karen McVeigh
The Guardian
Thu, 28 Apr 2011 16:07 UTC
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Gamma International's Finfisher program would have enabled government spies to monitor activists and censor websites

A British company offered to sell a program to the Egyptian security services that experts say could infect computers, hack into web-based email and communications tools such as Skype and even take control of other groups' systems remotely, according to documents seen by the Guardian.

Two Egyptian human rights activists found the documents amid hundreds of batons and torture equipment when they broke into the headquarters of the regime's State Security Investigations service (SSI) last month.

One of the papers, in English and headed Finfisher Proposal: Commercial Offer, contained an offer dated 29 June 2010 to provide "FinSpy" software, hardware, installation and training to the SSI for โ‚ฌ287,000 (ยฃ255,000). The name on the invoice, dated Tuesday 29 June 2010, was Gamma International UK Limited.

Other documents, written in Arabic and marked "ultimately confidential", state that after being offered a "free trial version" of Gamma's Finfisher software to test its ability to hack into email accounts, the SSI concluded it was "a high-level security system" that could get into email accounts of Hotmail, Gmail and Yahoo, as well as allowing "full control" of the computers of "targeted elements". It went on to describe the software's "success in breaking through personal accounts on Skype network, which is considered the most secure method of communication used by members of the elements of the harmful activity because it is encrypted".

Comment: Gamma International (uk) Ltd's address:

14 Basepoint Business &
Innovation Centre - Caxton Close
East Portway Ind. Est.
Andover
Hamsphire
SP10 3FG
United Kingdom

Tel: +44 (0)1264 326 559
Fax: +44 (0)1264 326 562

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USA

US firm's teargas used against Tahrir Square protesters

Jack Shenker & Luke Harding
The Guardian
Thu, 24 Nov 2011 15:52 UTC
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© Asmaa Waguih/ReutersA protester throws a teargas canister back at riot police during clashes near Tahrir Square on Monday. Obama the hypocrite tells other dictators to respect protestors while selling them the weapons they need to suppress them.
Egypt's military junta fired CS gas cartridges made by Combined Systems Inc of Pennsylvania, say demonstrators

The teargas used by interior ministry troops in Cairo's Tahrir Square is supplied by a US company. Demonstrators say cartridges retrieved from the scene are branded with the name and address of Combined Systems Inc (CSI).

The firm is located in Jamestown, Pennsylvania. It specialises in supplying what it calls "crowd control devices" to armies and "homeland security agencies" around the world. It also manufactures lethal military equipment.

Protesters say the CS gas seems more powerful than that used by Egyptian police during the country's last popular uprising in February. "It's stronger, it burns your face, it makes you feel like your whole body is seizing up," one witness said. He added: "It doesn't seem to be combated by Coke or vinegar."

Experts told the Guardian the gas was likely to be standard CS gas, but the effects could be exacerbated by physical exertion.

As well as the effects of the teargas, protesters have suffered grave injuries to their heads and faces from rubber bullets. There are also reports of live ammunition being used. Dozens of people have been taken to makeshift hospitals after inhaling the choking gas fired by the Central Security Forces.

Comment: Make no mistake, this 'teargas' does far more than make you 'teary' - it completely disables most people and often leads to permanent damage, sometimes even death. It is another weapon sold to fellow dictatorships in the elites' war against the people.

Here is the Combined Systems Inc website

Its address: 388 Kinsman Rd., Jamestown, PA 16134

Its phone numbers:

Tel: (724) 932-2177
Toll Free: (888) 989-7800
Fax: (724) 932-2166

And its CEO: Don Smith

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MIB

Iran and Lebanon uncover CIA terror networks


ABC News
Thu, 24 Nov 2011 15:47 UTC
In a significant failure for the United States in the Mideast, more than a dozen spies working for the CIA in Iran and Lebanon have been caught and the U.S. government fears they will be or have been executed, according to four current and former U.S. officials with connections to the intelligence community.

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Wolf

Senators Demand the Military Lock Up American Citizens in a "Battlefield" They Define as Being Right Outside Your Window

Chris Anders
ACLU
Wed, 23 Nov 2011 13:32 UTC
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While nearly all Americans head to family and friends to celebrate Thanksgiving, the Senate is gearing up for a vote on Monday or Tuesday that goes to the very heart of who we are as Americans. The Senate will be voting on a bill that will direct American military resources not at an enemy shooting at our military in a war zone, but at American citizens and other civilians far from any battlefield - even people in the United States itself.

Senators need to hear from you, on whether you think your front yard is part of a "battlefield" and if any president can send the military anywhere in the world to imprison civilians without charge or trial.

The Senate is going to vote on whether Congress will give this president - and every future president - the power to order the military to pick up and imprison without charge or trial civilians anywhere in the world. Even Rep. Ron Paul (R-Texas) raised his concerns about the NDAA detention provisions during last night's Republican debate. The power is so broad that even U.S. citizens could be swept up by the military and the military could be used far from any battlefield, even within the United States itself.
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