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Cowboy Hat

U.S. NGO uncovered in Ukraine protests

William Engdahl
Boiling Frogs Post
Fri, 07 Feb 2014 00:00 UTC
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© AFPVitali Klitschko, leader of the Ukrainian opposition Udar (Punch) party
CANVAS: The Belgrade US-Financed Training Group Behind the Carefully-Orchestrated Kiev Protests

The recent protests in Ukraine have the stench of a foreign-orchestrated attempt to destabilize the government of Viktor Yanukovych after he walked away from signing an EU Association Agreement that would have driven a deep wedge between Russia and Ukraine. Glamor-star boxer-turned political guru, Vitaly Klitschko, has been meeting with the US State Department and is close to Angela Merkel's CDU political machine in Germany. The EU association agreement with Ukraine is widely resisted by many EU member states with deep economic problems of their own. The two EU figures most pushing it - Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt and Polish Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski - are both well known in the EU as close to Washington.

The US is strongly pushing the Ukraine EU integration just as it had been behind the 2004 failed "Orange Revolution" to split Ukraine from Russia in a bid to isolate and weaken Russia. Now Ukrainians have found evidence of direct involvement of the Belgrade US-financed training group, CANVAS behind the carefully-orchestrated Kiev protests.
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Eye 1

How psychopaths changed America

Ian Hughes
Disordered World
Sun, 19 Jan 2014 00:00 UTC
I knew that I could never again raise my voice against the violence of the oppressed in the ghettos without having first spoken clearly to the greatest purveyor of violence in the world today - my own government.

Martin Luther King
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According to a recent global survey, the United States is perceived to be the greatest threat to world peace today. Its unrivalled war machine, out of control surveillance programme, decades-long record of attacking other nations, and its use of drones to carry out extrajudicial killings, lend credence to the charge that America is the world's number one war monger. It has not always been so. Before the Second World War the United States was reluctant to intervene militarily overseas, and no American troops were stationed in any foreign country.

World War Two changed all that. Within a few short years, the United States began the largest build up of arms in history and adopted a policy of armed intervention in the affairs of other nations. Psychopaths were largely responsible for these dramatic changes. This is the story of how psychopaths changed America.

Comment: While the U.S. was intervening militarily overseas as early as the mid-19th century when it conquered northern Mexico and slaughtered half a million Filippinos, it does seem to have become hyper-aggressive as a result of WW2 - Project Paperclip, the National Security Act, the Bomb, the CIA, the NSA, the Pentagon, etc. - during which psychopaths like the Dulles brothers selected the most psychopathic Nazis to bring across the Atlantic and institute 'The Beast' that America has become.

Having said that, there is reason to be suspicious of the claim that the US was forced to enter WW2. There is evidence that the attack on Pearl Harbor was foreseen and 'allowed' to happen to provide justification for a US entry into the war. The statement in the above article that "the United States had been forced, by Hitler and Hirohito, into wars in Europe and Asia in which it did not wish to be involved" runs counter to the fact that wars are very profitable for major world powers, and provide a means to secure territory and therefore resources, overseas. When looked at objectively, there is little to dissuade the ruling elite of any major world nation from entering or starting a war, and much to encourage them. The fact that millions of citizens may die, is of little concern, as the 'elite's of major world nations in modern history are, almost invariably, psychopaths, who are unable to empathise with or care about the suffering of other people.

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MIB

Best of the Web: Sochi Olympic Games and the threat of a terrorist attack: Who is behind the Caucasus terrorists?

Michel Chossudovsky
Global Research
Thu, 06 Feb 2014 05:00 UTC
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Shamil Basayev and Al Khattab
In the weeks leading up to the Sochi Winter Olympics, the Western Media has released a dribble of "trustworthy reports" examining "the likelihood" of a terrorist attack at the height of the Olympic games.

In late January, the British government warned "that more terrorist attacks in Russia (following the Volgograd attack in December) are "very likely to occur before or during the Winter Olympics in Sochi". (BBC, January 27, 2014).

As the Olympic torch reaches Sochi, CNN released, in a timely fashion, the results of an "authoritative" opinion poll (based on a meager sample of 1000 individuals): "57% of Americans think terror attack likely at Sochi Games".

Earlier news reports focussed on the mysterious menace of a so-called "Black Widow" terrorist attack emanating from Chechnya, Russia's hotspot of Islamic terrorism. According to a so-called "catastrophe expert" Dr Gordon Woo, a Black Widow attack "is almost certain to happen":
"Because of the history between the Russians and the Chechen people who splintered to form the Caucasus Emirate, Sochi is a prime target for terrorism," said Woo, who has advanced insurance modelling of catastrophes, including designing a model for terrorism risk. (International Business Times)
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Nuke

Fukushima radiation levels underestimated by five times - TEPCO


RT
Sat, 08 Feb 2014 02:25 UTC
Fukushima nuclear workers
© AFP Photo / IAEA
TEPCO has revised the readings on the radioactivity levels at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant well to 5 million becquerels of strontium per liter - both a record, and nearly five times higher than the original reading of 900,000 becquerels per liter.

Strontium-90 is a radioactive isotope of strontium produced by nuclear fission with a half-life of 28.8 years. The legal standard for strontium emissions is 30 becquerels per liter. Exposure to strontium-90 can cause bone cancer, cancer of nearby tissues, and leukemia.

Tokyo Electric Power Co. originally said that the said 900,000 becquerels of beta-ray sources per liter, including strontium - were measured in the water sampled on July 5 last year.

However, the company noted on Friday that the previous radioactivity levels had been wrong, meaning that it was also likely reading taken from the other wells at the disaster-struck plant prior to September were also likely to have been inaccurate, the Asahi Shimbum newspaper reported.

The Japanese company has already apologized for the failures, which they said were a result of the malfunctioning of measuring equipment.
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Chess

Best of the Web: US regime-change operation in Ukraine exposed in leaked diplomatic phone call

Patrick O'Connor
World Socialist Web Site
Fri, 07 Feb 2014 22:43 UTC

A leaked phone conversation between Victoria Nuland, assistant secretary of state for European and Eurasian affairs, and Geoffrey Pyatt, the US ambassador to Ukraine, has exposed the anti-democratic and colonialist character of the Obama administration's intervention in the former Soviet republic.

The discussion between the two officials includes a detailed review of which right-wing opposition figures Washington is working to install in office, and how it is using the United Nations to rubber-stamp the operation. While Germany and other European powers have worked closely with the Obama administration in promoting the violent protests against President Viktor Yanukovych, the leaked phone call reveals tensions between the imperialist powers. At one point Nuland tells Pyatt, "Fuck the EU."

The discussion, posted anonymously on YouTube, underscores the thoroughly cynical character of Washington's public diplomacy. The Obama administration's rhetoric about "democracy" and the Ukrainian people's right to determine their own future is a charade, concocted for public consumption. Behind the scenes, government officials speak frankly with one another about the real agenda - advancing Washington's geo-strategic and economic interests in Eastern Europe by installing pro-US and anti-Russian puppet figures in the Ukrainian capital.
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Bad Guys

Best of the Web: Social inequality and the war against the working class

Andre Damon
World Socialist Web Site
Fri, 07 Feb 2014 22:23 UTC
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Today, President Obama will sign a bill to cut $8.7 billion from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), also known as food stamps, slashing almost $100 per month in benefits for nearly a million households.

The attack on food stamps comes as Obama and the Democrats posture in the run-up to this year's mid-term elections as opponents of social inequality and defenders of the poor and jobless. Nowhere in the establishment media is the glaring contradiction between what the Democrats say and what they do even discussed.

Obama's action on food stamps is indicative of the state of politics and the reality of social life in America. It is the second cut in three months to a program that provides minimal assistance for the most vulnerable sections of society. The lie that there is simply no money for basic social programs is repeated even as new reports document the unprecedented rise in the wealth of the financial elite.

The levels of wealth accumulated by a tiny layer of society - in the United States and internationally - are almost unfathomable. A report commissioned by Bloomberg last month found that the world's 300 richest people (0.000004 percent of the world's population) had a net wealth of $3.7 trillion in 2013, an increase of $524 billion (13 percent) in one year alone.
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War Whore

The return of German militarism: What could possibly go wrong?

Ulrich Rippert
World Socialist Web Site
Thu, 06 Feb 2014 21:46 UTC
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The announcement by the new grand coalition government in Germany that the country's previous policy of military restraint is at an end marks a historic turning point. It heralds a new stage of aggressive imperialist foreign policy.

For the first time since the end of World War II and the monstrous crimes of the Nazi dictatorship, Berlin's leading politicians have clearly stated that Germany will in the future intervene in crisis areas and global hot spots more strongly and independently than before, including by military means. The days when Germany was obliged to practice military abstinence are finally over, they insist.

Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier (Social Democratic Party - SPD) first announced the new policy last week in the Bundestag (parliament). He said Germany was "too big and too important" to confine itself any longer "to commenting on world politics from the sidelines."

Due to its economic power and geographical location in the centre of Europe, Germany bore a special responsibility in regard to world affairs, Steinmeier declared, adding, "We recognise our responsibility." Germany would serve as a catalyst for a common European foreign and security policy, he said, and while the use of military force was only a last resort, it could not be ruled out.

Comment: This is bad news for the German people. The constraints placed on the military in Germany and Japan in the postwar period, by freeing them from the burden of an imperialistic war machine, led to a golden age of export-led economic growth. Here's a crazy idea: maybe all countries should follow the policy of Ohnemicheltum (not with me).

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Pills

Cost of generic drugs soaring due to increased demand from Obamacare

Dr. Susan Berry
Breitbart
Sat, 01 Feb 2014 00:00 UTC
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© Breitbart
The pervasive use of generic over brand-name medications was anticipated to be a money-saver, but recently prices are soaring, even up 6,000 percent for some common drugs that were once fairly low-cost.

As National Journal reports, pharmacists are perplexed about the huge price hikes in many drugs and are asking Congress to hold a hearing to look into the matter.

Generic drugs such as Pravastatin, which treats high cholesterol, and the antibiotic Doxycycline spiked upwards of 1,000 percent in 2013, according to a survey by the National Community Pharmacists Association.

According to the survey, 77 percent of pharmacists said they experienced 26 or more instances of a large increase in the acquisition price of a generic drug within the last six months of 2013.

The survey found an additional 84 percent of pharmacists said price fluctuations prevented them from providing care and remaining in business due to the fact that filling prescriptions resulted in losses when some patients refused their prescriptions because of costs.

Comment: There is also no guarantee the generic drug is safe and if Big Pharma hurts, maims or kills you, well, you can't do much about it.

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Cult

UN committee blasts Vatican on sex abuse, abortion

Nicole Winfield
breitbart.com
Fri, 07 Feb 2014 17:36 UTC
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© Reuters
Pope Francis came under new pressure Wednesday to punish bishops who covered up for pedophile priests when a U.N. human rights panel accused the Vatican of systematically protecting its reputation instead of looking out for the safety of children.

In a scathing report that thrilled victims and stunned the Vatican, the United Nations committee said the Holy See maintained a "code of silence" that enabled priests to sexually abuse tens of thousands of children worldwide over decades with impunity.

Among other things, the panel called on the Vatican to immediately remove all priests known or suspected to be child molesters, open its archives on abusers and the bishops who covered up for them, and turn the abuse cases over to law enforcement authorities for investigation and prosecution.

The committee largely brushed aside the Vatican's claims that it has already instituted new safeguards, and it accused the Roman Catholic Church of still harboring criminals.

"The committee is gravely concerned that the Holy See has not acknowledged the extent of the crimes committed, has not taken the necessary measures to address cases of child sexual abuse and to protect children, and has adopted policies and practices which have led to the continuation of the abuse by, and the impunity of, the perpetrators," the panel said.
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Binoculars

Turns out the Canadian State has also been conducting mass surveillance against its own people

Colin Freeze
The Globe and Mail
Mon, 03 Feb 2014 17:31 UTC
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© CHRIS WATTIE/REUTERSCommunications Security Establishment Canada (CSEC) chief John Forster waits to testify before the Senate national security and defence committee in Ottawa February 3, 2014.
Canada's top security and spy-agency officials have given the first detailed public defence of secret government surveillance programs that collect telecommunications "metadata."

"We wouldn't be able to find or locate our targets without it," John Forster, chief of the Communications Security Establishment Canada, told a parliamentary committee.

The head of the foreign-intelligence electronic-eavesdropping agency, Mr. Forster said snooping on metadata is fundamental for the Canadian government to pick out foreign terrorists and other targets "in a sea of billion and billions of communications traversing the globe."

For nearly a decade, Canada's surveillance sleuths at CSEC have been collecting and analyzing Internet Protocol addresses, phone logs and other metadata. Government lawyers have told them this kind of surveillance is legally sound - and not the same as illegally wiretapping phone calls or steaming open letters.

This means that standard privacy strictures - such as not intercepting Canadian material without warrants - do not necessarily apply. In the search for foreign intelligence "targets" outside Canada, CSEC analysts are allowed to use metadata regardless of whether the underlying communications originate in Canada.
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