Puppet MastersS


Stormtrooper

Drone warfare: U.S. covert actions in Pakistan, Yemen and Somalia

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© US Air Force – Sgt Brian FergusonA fully armed Reaper taxis before a mission
In Pakistan a heavy CIA drone campaign targeted both so-called 'good' and 'bad' Taliban. Three senior militants were among the dead.

Yemen was hit by the highest number of airstrikes in one month since June 2012, though none have been formally confirmed as US operations.

No US operations were reported in Somalia.

The United Nations also launched a major investigation into the legality and casualties of drone strikes by the United States, Britain and Israel.

Pakistan

January 2013 actions
Total CIA strikes in January: 6
Total killed in strikes in January: 27-54, of whom 0-2 were reportedly civilians
All actions 2004 - January 31 2013
Total Obama strikes: 310
Total US strikes since 2004: 362
Total reported killed: 2,629-3,461
Civilians reported killed: 475-891
Children reported killed: 176
Total reported injured: 1,267-1,431

For the Bureau's full Pakistan databases click here.

War Whore

Best of the Web: Hillary Clinton: Profile of imperial arrogance and lawlessness

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She was Washington's 67th Secretary of State. She served from January 21, 2009 - February 1, 2013. She's arguably America's worst.

From 2001 - 2009, she was US Senator from New York. In 2008, she challenged Obama for the Democrat party's presidential nomination.

Supporters urge her to run again in 2016. She's noncommittal. When asked, she says "I am not thinking about anything like that right now."

She also said she'll "do everything (she) can to make sure that women compete at the highest levels, not only in the United States but around the world."

Husband Bill urges her to run. Some suspect she already made her move.

USA

In Amerika, law no longer exists: The extermination of truth

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In the 21st century Americans have experienced an extraordinary collapse in the rule of law and in their constitutional protections. Today American citizens, once a free people protected by law, can be assassinated and detained in prison indefinitely without any evidence being presented to a court of their guilt, and they can be sentenced to prison on the basis of secret testimony by anonymous witnesses not subject to cross examination. The US "justice system" has been transformed by the Bush/Obama regime into the "justice system" of Gestapo Germany and Stalinist Russia. There is no difference.

In an article available here Stephen Downs, formerly Chief Attorney with the New York State Commission on Judicial Conduct and Kathy Manley, a criminal defense attorney and member of the New York Civil Liberties Union, report on how the US government destroyed a charity, the Holy Land Foundation, which provided money for feeding the poor and for building schools and hospitals in Palestine.

The charity, aware of the perils of being based in the US and doing anything for Palestinians, relied on the US State Department and the US Department of Justice (sic) for guidance on where to send humanitarian aid. The charity sent its aid to the same aid committees in Palestine that the US Agency for International Development and the UN used to distribute aid to the Palestinians.

Dollar

UK authorities probe Barclays over Qatar loan: FT

Barclays
© Reuters/Phil NobleA logo of Barclays bank is seen outside a branch in Altrincham, northern England April 26, 2012.
British authorities are looking into an allegation that Barclays (BARC.L) loaned Qatar money to invest in the bank as part of its rescue fundraising at the height of the 2008 financial crisis, the Financial Times reported.

Qatar Holding is not accused of any wrongdoing, the FT said.

The Financial Services Authority (FSA) and Serious Fraud Office (SFO) have been looking into Barclays' emergency fundraising since July.

Qatar Holding invested 5.3 billion pounds ($8.4 billion) in Barclays in June and October 2008, helping it avoid being bailed out by the government, unlike rivals Lloyds Banking Group (LLOY.L) and Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS.L).

Allegations over a loan to the Qataris is a new thread of the investigation, the FT said, citing two sources familiar with the situation.

A Barclays spokeswoman said: "Both the FSA and SFO investigations are on-going and, as such, we are unable to comment further."

The FSA and SFO both declined to comment.

New Barclays chief executive Antony Jenkins has been trying to restore the bank's reputation after a string of scandals, including a $450 million fine in June for rigging Libor interest rates that prompted the resignations of previous CEO Bob Diamond and chairman Marcus Agius.

The deal with Qatar was controversial from the outset. Shareholders were angry Qatar was offered more attractive terms to invest than existing investors, and a sale of warrants in November left Qatar sitting on a gain of 1.7 billion pounds from its investment, according to Reuters estimates.

Comment: Excerpt fro the FT : "UK authorities investigations into whether Barclays gave a loan to Qatar to fund the bank's cash call in 2008 have highlighted its desperate and ultimately successful attempt to avoid a state bailout at the height of the financial crisis. The Financial Times this week revealed that the UK's Financial Services Authority and the Serious Fraud Office are looking into such allegations, adding yet another blow to Barclays attempts to repair its tarnished image ... Qatar Holding was one of two Qatari investors that participated in Barclays' two cash calls in 2008. The other one was Challenger, an investment vehicle of Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim bin Jabr al-Thani, the prime minister of Qatar, and his family."

Conclusion: When you are a bank, you can do a bit of trafficking with your account to avoid nationalisation.


War Whore

Best of the Web: Calling out the hypocritical, war-loving left

For much of the last decade, the left participated in activism and protests condemning the Bush administration's wars of aggression, and calling for the President's impeachment. Now that it is a Democrat in the White House, however, these self-same activists are suddenly shying away from impeachment as a way to stop the American war machine. Find out more about the movement to impeach Obama -- and its opponents in the phoney "anti-war" left -- in this week's GRTV Backgrounder.


Yoda

Best of the Web: George Galloway: Drones, Palestine, 'Tony Blair belongs at the Hague'

Abby Martin speaks to George Galloway, author and politician of UK's Respect Party about Iraq, Palestine, US drone wars, and the British Parliament.


Bad Guys

We need a House of Commons rebellion - not a stupid war in Timbuktu

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Another war for Britain because we're good at it
This is why I despise almost all Members of Parliament: our Prime Minister is taking us into yet another stupid war, and most MPs do not even care. Where is the rebellion? Where is the Opposition? Where are the demands for an emergency debate in which our motives and reasons for this latest nonsense are examined, torn to pieces and flung on the floor?

There is no case at all for Britain to send soldiers to Mali, or any other part of North Africa. We have no interest there, never will have and never have had. If we truly fear terrorism so much, then this adventure is doubly moronic.

It will give terrorists a pretext to attack our country that they did not have before. Like the Afghan war, it will also allow terrorists to kill us without needing to travel here.

Comment: When your country is ruled by psychopaths, their influence gradually takes over and infects most everyone and everything. Indeed, the last available recourse at this point is rebellion.

But people need to be smart about it. The psychopaths in power are more than happy to meet violence with violence. Educating each other and talking to each other about the situation is a great place to start:

Are Psychopaths Cool? Uncovering the predators among us


Network

Hacker in chief: Obama given right to launch 'preemptive' cyberattacks

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© AFP Photo / Jewel Samad
A secret review has concluded that US President Obama has the authority to launch a preemptive cyber attack on any country on the basis that they are considered a 'cyber threat' - even if there is no concrete evidence of this threat.

It may not be long before the US conducts crippling attacks on foreign soil with little more than a mouse click, thereby sparing itself the effort of sending its military oversees or declaring war.

The Obama administration is currently drawing up a set of rules about how the US military can defend against or conduct cyberattacks, the New York Times reports. The Obama administration is also allowing intelligence agencies to declare potential threats. But even if these threats are nothing more than a suspicion without evidence, the military now has the authority to attack foreign nations, regardless of whether or not the US is involved in a conflict with them.

This would not only spare the US from sending its own troops overseas, but it would also allow the administration to make decisions without the deliberation that usually occurs before sending Americans into a conflict zone. And if the administration conducts an attack based on false premises, it would be saved the embarrassment that occurred when President George W. Bush sent thousands of US troops into a war with Iraq that lasted nearly 9 years, based on the false premise that Iraq possessed weapons of mass destruction and was a security threat.

Chalkboard

Maryland county school board to own all students' work with copyright policy

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© Shutterstock
A county school board in Maryland has proposed a copyright policy that would allow it to take ownership of all work produced by students and faculty - even work created off campus during personal time.

A Prince George's County Board of Education proposal obtained by WTOP says that "any works" created by students or employees "are properties of the Board of Education even if created on the employee's or student's time and with the use of their materials."

University of Missouri law professor David Rein told The Washington Post that some universities have "sharing agreements" with students and faculty, but he had never heard of a local school board of trying to profit from a student's work.

Sheriff

NYPD accused of violating civil rights agreement in new lawsuit

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© Shutterstock
The New York Police Department's surveillance of the local Muslim community constitutes a violation of rules governing the department's monitoring of political activity, according to a lawsuit filed Monday in U.S. District Court.

The Associated Press reported that the suit, filed by a group of civil rights lawyers, accuses the department of breaking from the Handschu guidelines (PDF), established in 1985. The agreement sets rules for how long the department can conduct an investigation, as well as for the types of records it can keep.