Puppet MastersS


War Whore

U.S. Secretary of State blackmails China over North Korea

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In meetings with Chinese leaders last weekend, US Secretary of State John Kerry engaged in a barely disguised form of blackmail to pressure Beijing to use "all options" to force its ally North Korea to dismantle its nuclear programs and destroy its nuclear weapons. Impoverished North Korea is completely dependent on China for vital imports, including oil and economic aid.

In recent weeks, Washington has aggressively ratcheted up tensions on the Korean Peninsula following North Korea's third nuclear test in February. As well as flying nuclear capable B-2 and B-52 strategic bombers to South Korea, the US has bolstered anti-missile ballistic systems in Alaska and Guam, and moved two Aegis-class destroyers, equipped with anti-missile defences, closer to Korean waters.

Beijing has in the past protested against the build-up of US anti-ballistic missile systems in the Asia-Pacific region, knowing that China is the primary target. Speaking in Seoul before arriving in Beijing, Kerry made clear that the US would continue to deploy such weapons, unless Beijing "put some teeth" into forcing North Korea to denuclearise.

After meeting with Chinese leaders, Kerry said the discussion had included "why we have taken the steps that we have taken" in missile defence. "Now obviously if the threat disappears - i.e. North Korea denuclearises - the same imperative does not exist at that point of time for us to have that kind of robust forward leaning posture of defence," he said.

Eye 1

Fighting drone wars behind our back: cheap, invisible and risk-free mass murder

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The great advantage of drones for western governments is they can be used without domestic casualties and therefore, they hope, without the risk of popular opposition or protest.

RAF Waddington will soon be the control centre for British drone warfare. It may already be, we can't be sure.

The fact we don't know testifies to the secrecy that surrounds the operation of these remote control killing machines. Drones embody the sinister shift that has been taken in the West's wars post Iraq.

They blur the distinction between war and state execution, with no chance for public scrutiny.

Britain has been using drones in Afghanistan for some years. But by developing its drone capability, the British government is now stepping up its global ability to conduct arbitrary assassinations.

Official US language shows droes are normalizing such behaviour. There has been next to no public discussion about their use in Britain, but in the US drones are actualloy justified as precision weapons of international assassination. Their supporters say they are capable of surgically removing terrorist targets, so 'cleansing' weakened states of extremist leaders.

Health

Black Monday in Iraq: 55 killed, almost 300 injured in series of attacks


A string of bombings across Iraq has claimed at least 55 lives, injuring 300 more, on Monday. The surge in violence comes barely a week ahead of Iraq hosting elections for the first time since US withdrawal from the country.

Officials said bombings hit 12 different areas, leaving 55 people dead and making Monday the country's deadliest day since March 19, AFP reported.

The capital Baghdad and the surrounding area have seen 10 casualties, while the oil-rich Kirkuk, where tensions over resources have particularly spiked, has lost nine of its residents. The western Sunni city of Fallujah, the former Al-Qaeda stronghold of Baqouba and Saddam Hussein's hometown of Tikrit, also sustained attacks.

Most of Monday's deadly explosions were car bombings, including two blasts at Baghdad airport.

"Two vehicles managed to reach the entrance of Baghdad airport and were left parked there. While we were doing routine searches, the two cars exploded seconds apart. Two passengers travelling to the airport were killed," a police source said, cited Reuters.

Witnesses blamed authorities for being unable to provide adequate security: "I blame those who call themselves politicians in government [and] the security forces... for this bad security situation. They are doing nothing to help the people, and are only looking out for their benefits," said Qassim Saad, a Baghdad teacher who witnessed one of the blasts.

Handcuffs

U.S. soldier sentenced to prison in Alaska espionage case

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© U.S. Army Alaska, File/Associated PressAlaska-based military police officer Spec. William Colton Millay of Owensboro, Ky., pleaded guilty last month to attempted espionage and other counts. is shown
A U.S. soldier was sentenced to 19 years in prison for attempted espionage and related charges after he admitted to trying to pass on classified information to someone he believed was a Russian agent, federal officials said.

Army Specialist William Colton Millay, 24, was sentenced late on Monday after a military hearing at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Anchorage, where he was stationed when he was arrested in October 2011.

Millay was detained after making what prosecutors said were overtures to a woman he believed was representing the Russian government. The woman was actually an agent for the Federal Bureau of Investigation, officials said.

The native of Owensboro, Kentucky, pleaded guilty in March to attempted espionage, failing to obey regulations, issuing a false statement, soliciting another to commit espionage and communicating national defense information.

Bulb

Chuck Hagel cancels creation of new drone, cyber medal

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In the face of withering criticism, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel has canceled the creation of a new military medal for drone and cyber warriors, instead ordering military leaders to develop a special pin or device that would be attached to already existing medals or ribbons.

Hagel's predecessor, Leon Panetta, created the Distinguished Warfare Medal to be awarded to troops such as drone operators and cyber warriors who have a major effect on a military operation but never actually set foot in the combat zone. That decision triggered broad complaints from veterans and lawmakers who said it should not be ranked higher than traditional combat medals such as the Purple Heart and Bronze Star.

On Monday Hagel said that while the department should recognize the extraordinary achievements of those troops, the award should not be a stand-alone medal.

When Panetta announced the medal would be created in mid-February, defense officials said it would be considered a bit higher in ranking than the Bronze Star and the Purple Heart, but lower than the Silver Star. But the Veterans of Foreign Wars and other groups sent a letter to President Barack Obama in March, asking him to keep the medal ranked below the Purple Heart, which is awarded for combat injuries. Critics said the ranking was an injustice to those troops who risked their lives in battle.

Bizarro Earth

Atheist virtuoso pianist Fazil Say gets 10-month suspended sentence for tweets insulting some muslims

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An Istanbul court on Monday slapped world-renowned pianist Fazil Say with a 10-month suspended jail term for blasphemy in what the musician has said was a political case instigated by Turkey's ruling party.

The court handed down the sentence after finding Say guilty of "insulting religious values of a part of the population" in a series of tweets that critics said insulted Islam and Muslims. The pianist was not present in court during the sentencing.

Say has accused the AKP, the ruling Justice and Development Party, of being behind the case against him.

Say, an atheist, has often criticised the Islamist-rooted party, accusing it of having a secret agenda to promote conservative values in Turkey.

Bad Guys

Flashback Best of the Web: FBI Organizes Almost All Terror Plots in the U.S.

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The Federal Bureau of Investigation employs upwards of 15,000 undercover agents today, ten times what they had on the roster back in 1975.

If you think that's a few spies too many - spies earning as much as $100,000 per assignment - one doesn't have to go too deep into their track record to see their accomplishments. Those agents are responsible for an overwhelming amount of terrorist stings that have stopped major domestic catastrophes in the vein of 9/11 from happening on American soil.

Another thing those agents are responsible for, however, is plotting those very schemes.

The FBI has in recent years used trained informants not just to snitch on suspected terrorists, but to set them up from the get-go. A recent report put together by Mother Jones and the Investigative Reporting Program at the University of California-Berkley analyses some striking statistics about the role of FBI informants in terrorism cases that the Bureau has targeted in the decade since the September 11 attacks.

Eye 1

Inside the FBI's 'Terror factory': Manufacturing the 'War on Terror'

Since the attacks of September 11, the Federal Bureau of Investigation has brought approximately 500 terror cases to trail. Of these cases, 150 people have been involved in sting operations in which the FBI has supplied suspects with materials to act out plans of terror. The FBI has been heavily criticized for preying on individuals who are on the fringes of society and Trevor Aaronson, author of The Terror Factor," analyzes the FBI's devious tactics in his new book.


Comment: See also:




MIB

Coincidence? 'Bomb-sniffing dogs and spotters on the roofs' were at start, finish lines for 'drill' at Boston Marathon bombing

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University of Mobile's Cross Country Coach, who was near the finish line of the Boston Marathon when a series of explosions went off, said he thought it was odd there were bomb sniffing dogs at the start and finish lines.

"They kept making announcements on the loud speaker that it was just a drill and there was nothing to worry about," Coach Ali Stevenson told Local 15. "It seemed like there was some sort of threat, but they kept telling us it was just a drill."

Stevenson had just finished the marathon. His wife had been sitting in one of the seating sections where an explosion went off, but thankfully she left her seat and was walking to meet up with him.

"There was just smoke, another explosion went off," Stevenson said. "We all started running. There were people crying."

Stevenson said there was no question in his mind that this was an intentional act.

MIB

Strategy of Tension: Government sponsored bombing in Europe

Governments behind many "terror" bombings

Project Gladio in Italy attempted to use domestic terrorism on a longstanding basis to maintain the political status quo. Seems to be a strategy also discussed in the report from Iron Mountain. The tactics beat down the public disfavor with the present government with fear of a ubiquitous, and nebulous threat so that the same masses ultimately seek protection from the government, and conform to the government's political order and agenda as a quid pro quo. Sometimes the far right is infiltrated and made a scape goat; other times a leftist patsy is apprehended and held in public display.


Comment: It's probably more accurate to say that ALL 'terrorist bombings' are ultimately the work of governments - or, more accurately - "ramified networks of mutual pathological conspiracies poorly connected to the main social structure", as described by Lobaczewski in Political Ponerology.