In this Sott Report, Joe Quinn delves into the story of Mohamed Merah, who allegedly shot 7 people in Toulouse and Montauban in mid March 2012. A little digging unveils disturbing evidence that points to Merah being a French intelligence asset who was sacrificed so that Sarkozy could have his "9/11" moment and, he hopes, win another term as President.

"The corruption of science is one of the biggest problems our world has ever faced; it may, indeed, bring about the extinction of the human race. That prospect scares me and it should scare you. But more than being scared, my heart has been broken by the realization that the best hope of the human race - Truth, beautiful Truth - has been savaged and spoiled by the very guardians of the temple: scientists themselves under the influence of a ramified network of mutual pathological conspiracies that are divorced entirely from the body of normal humanity." - Laura Knight-Jadczyk, The Dot Connector Magazine, Issue 14, P.1

As many of our regular readers will know, Sott.net's sister publication, the Dot Connector Magazine, has been taking a cold hard look at the extent of the corruption of science over the past two issues. There is corruption in the way scientific papers must run the gauntlet of the peer review process; there is corruption in the way grant money is awarded to researchers; there is corruption in the way scientific breakthroughs are used by big business; and of course, there is corruption in the way awards are selectively given for ulterior motives. The following investigative report will shine a light on several of these areas of the Corruption of Science.

Several weeks ago, on the eve of the Siege of Toulouse, theoretical/mathematical physicist Arkadiusz Jadczyk was invited to attend an awards ceremony held at Université Paul Sabatier in Toulouse. The awards were organised and funded by an organisation called the 'Telesio-Galilei Academy of Science' (TGA) which was holding its fifth awards event, hosted in conjunction with one of Toulouse University Paul Sabatier's own awards events and a pure scientific workshop.

This year, the Telesio-Galilei Academy of Science honoured the 'Center CAIROS' of Toulouse University Paul Sabatier, awarding some of the friends of the Principal Coordinator of the Center CAIROS, (as well as some other scientists) with "gold" medals in recognition of their contributions to science. In turn, Toulouse University Paul Sabatier awarded its own gold medals to the self-proclaimed 'founding father' of the 'Telesio-Galilei Academy of Science' - 'Professor' Francesco Fucilla and Professor Waldyr Alves Rodrigues Jr., the Chairman of the 'Telesio-Galilei Academy of Science'.

Past TGA awards events have been held in various locations, but this was the first time a major university had accommodated the event. Former French government minister and philosopher Luc Ferry gave a lecture during the three day event for the Philosophical Society of Toulouse. According to unconfirmed reports on the TGA website, Ferry has accepted the Telesio Galilei Academy of Science Award 2013, and will later receive the 2013 Gold Medal Award for Philosophy from the Telesio Galilei Academy. For the schedule of events of the ceremony, see this link.

The Telesio-Galilei Academy of Science, originally named the Santilli-Galilei Academy of Science, was established in 2007 with the goals of "promoting openness in all branches of scientific endeavour" and "to champion the true scientifc [sic] spirit, and encourage rational and scientific discourses for no reward other than the betterment of science". These are admirable goals, no doubt. The principal activity of Telesio-Galilei Academy of Sciences however, appears to be the selection and nomination of scientists for 'gold' medals and membership of the academy's 'hall of fame'. Scientists, some famous in their field, others less so, are listed on their website as members of the academy's board, as honorary members or members. It's quite an impressive list, and includes some high-profile names. But it also includes a lot of names whose work mainstream scientists would probably feel rather uncomfortable being associated with.

Here is TGA's President, Jeremy Dunning-Davies, speaking about TGA's origins and aims at their awards ceremony in London last year:

Cartagena, Colombia - A Secret Service agent preparing for President Obama's arrival at an international summit meeting and a single mother from Colombia who makes a living as a high-priced escort faced off in a room at the Hotel Caribe a week ago over how much he owed her for the previous night's intercourse. "I tell him, 'Baby, my cash money,' " the woman said in her first public comments on a dispute that would soon spiral into a full-blown scandal.

The disagreement over her price - he offered $30 for services she thought they had agreed were worth more than 25 times that - set off a tense early morning quarrel in the hallway of the luxury hotel involving the woman, another prostitute, Colombian police officers arguing on the women's behalf and American federal agents who tried but failed to keep the matter from escalating.

On Wednesday, in a setback to the reputation of those who protect the president, the Secret Service prepared to fire one supervisor tied to the alleged misconduct with prostitutes on the Cartagena trip, the agency said in a statement. Another supervisor has decided to retire, and a third employee will be allowed to resign, the statement said. Eight other employees remain under investigation.

"These guys have the clearest cases," said a government official briefed on the investigation, referring to the three who are being pushed out.

US defence secretary Leon Panetta has apologised for gruesome, newly revealed photographs that show US soldiers posing with the bloodied remains of dead insurgents in Afghanistan.

He said war can lead young troops to "foolish decisions" and expressed concern the photos could incite fresh violence against Americans.

The White House called the two-year-old photos "reprehensible", joining Mr Panetta and other top military officials in expressing regret for the latest in a string of embarrassing missteps by the US military in a war that is built on earning the trust and confidence of ordinary Afghans.

In recent months, American troops have been caught up in controversies over burning Muslim holy books, urinating on Afghan corpses, an alleged massacre of 17 Afghan villagers and other misdeeds.

"This is war. I know that war is ugly and it's violent, and I know that young people sometimes caught up in the moment make some very foolish decisions," Mr Panetta said. "I am not excusing that behaviour, but neither do I want these images to bring further injury to our people or to our relationship with the Afghan people.

New Delhi - India announced the successful test launch Thursday of a new nuclear-capable missile that would give it the ability to strike the major Chinese cities of Beijing and Shanghai for the first time, a significant step forward in its aspirations to become a regional and world power.

The Agni-V missile, with a range of 5,000 kilometers (3,100 miles), still requires a battery of tests and must clear other bureacratic hurdles before it can be inducted into India's arsenal. But officials hailed the launch as proof the country has taken its place among the world's most powerful and scientifically advanced nations.

"The nation stands tall today," Defense Minister A.K. Antony said, according to the Press Trust of India.

The test came just days after North Korea's failed rocket launch, but sparked none of the same global condemnation aimed at Pyongyang, an internationally isolated regime that has been banned by the U.N. from testing missile technology.

China is far ahead of India in the missile race, with intercontinental ballistic missiles capable of reaching anywhere in India. Currently, the longest-range Indian missile, the Agni-III, has a range of 3,500 kilometers (2,100 miles) and falls short of many major Chinese cities.

"At the moment there is a huge assymetry in China's favor," said C. Uday Bhaskar, the former head of the Institute of Defense Studies and Analyses. After it adds the missile to its arsenal, however, "India's deterrent profile in the region would be appropriately burnished."

Video released by the government showed the Agni-V taking off from a small launcher on what appeared to be railroad tracks at 8:07 a.m. from Wheeler Island off India's east coast. It rose on a pillar of flame, trailing billows of smoke behind, before arcing through the sky.

It's been a terrible week for King Juan Carlos of Spain and, more importantly, for elephants.

The 74-year-old potentate broke his hip trying to slaughter elephants on a hunt in Botswana.

News of his accident didn't play well back home, where high unemployment and bad loans darken Spain's economic future.

Unsurprisingly, the king soon apologized for not hanging around to render comfort to his anxious citizens and lament the rising deficit.

Astonishingly, the King is the honorary president of World Wildlife Fund Spain, a conservation group that takes a dim view of shooting animals.

The group's secretary general, Juan Carlos del Olmo, quickly wrote to the palace to "convey WWF's profound discomfort and concern at recent developments in Spain and the world, which has caused outrage from our partners and the general public against hunting elephants, even when it takes place in a legal and regulated environment."

(The Botswana hunt was technically legal, if morally repulsive).

According to del Olmo, tens of thousands of people have registered their dismay on numerous platforms.

The Spanish WWF has been flooded with calls demanding that the king resign his presidency.

The National Afro-Swedish Association has called for Lena Adelsohn Liljeroth to be sacked after she was pictured cutting the 'genital mutilation' cake

A top Swedish politician is at the centre of a race row storm after she was pictured cutting up a cake depicting a naked black woman.

Minister of Culture Lena Adelsohn Liljeroth was pictured enacting female genital mutilation on the racial stereotype cake, prompting calls for her resignation.

The self-confessed 'anti-racist' attended a party at Moderna Museet, the museum of modern art in Stockholm on World Art Day on April 15.

Liljeroth was pictured laughing and joking as she cut the macabre cake was designed by Makode Aj Linde.

The sweet treat featured a black woman's naked torso with the artist's own head, painted black, at the top.

Once cut open, the cake sponge was red, depicting blood.

It is believed the art installation was intended to highlight the issue of female circumcision, as the minister first cut a slice of cake from the 'clitoris'.

The United States Supreme Court ruled Wednesday that a law on the books since 1991 precludes organizations, both political and corporate, from sued for torture or murder outside of the U.S.

In a unanimous ruling on Mohamad v. Palestinian Authority (PDF), Justice Sonia Sotomayor said that the careful text of the Torture Victims Protection Act of 1991, the way it is written "convinces us that Congress did not extend liability to organizations, sovereign or not."

New York apartment buildings that permit smoking would be identified under a new law proposed Wednesday by Mayor Michael Bloomberg.

Landlords of buildings with three or more units would have to inform prospective tenants and purchasers whether smoking was allowed in apartments and on balconies, as well as in common outdoor areas like rooftops.

Bloomberg said this would give potential renters the chance to choose a smoke-free environment, free from wafts of cigarette smoke from other apartments.

"Smoking kills and people have the right to know if they are going to be exposed to secondhand smoke," Bloomberg said.

The out-of-control Transportation Security Administration is past patdowns at airports - now it's checkpoints and roadblocks

Ever since 2010, when the Transportation Security Administration started requiring that travelers in American airports submit to sexually intrusive gropings based on the apparent anti-terrorism principle that "If we can't feel your nipples, they must be a bomb", the agency's craven apologists have shouted down all constitutional or human rights objections with the mantra "If you don't like it, don't fly!"

This callous disregard for travelers' rights merely paraphrases the words of Homeland Security director Janet Napolitano, who shares, with the president, ultimate responsibility for all TSA travesties since 2009. In November 2010, with the groping policy only a few weeks old, Napolitano dismissed complaints by saying "people [who] want to travel by some other means" have that right. (In other words: if you don't like it, don't fly.)