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Mr. Potato

Obama stands alone on Syria: America totally discredited

Obama embarrassed
© The Telegraph
A foolish President Obama and moronic Secretary of State Kerry have handed the United States government its worst diplomatic defeat in history and destroyed the credibility of the Office of the President, the Department of State, and the entire executive branch.

Intoxicated with hubris from past successful lies and deceptions used to destroy Iraq and Libya, Obama thought the US "superpower," the "exceptional" and "indispensable" country, could pull it off again, this time in Syria.

But the rest of the world has learned to avoid Washington's rush to war when there is no evidence. A foolish Obama was pushed far out on the limb by an incompetent and untrustworthy National Security Advisor, Susan Rice, and the pack of neoconservatives that support her, and the British Parliament cut the limb off.

What kind of fool would put himself in that vulnerable position?

Dollar

40% of top-paid CEOs busted, bailed out or booted, study says

CEO's
© Associated PressRichard Fuld of Lehman Brothers was among corporate America's 25 highest-paid CEOs for eight years until his firm went belly-up in 2008. He is shown testifying before the House financial services committee in 2010.
A new report from the Institute for Policy Studies points to a weak link between performance and pay among some of the highest-paid CEOs of American companies, and urges the U.S. government to push through laws that would bring chief executive pay under closer scrutiny.

The report, titled "Executive Excess 2013," found that since the 2008 financial crisis, 40 per cent of the highest-paid CEOs in the U.S. had been either "bailed out, booted, or busted" - that is, worked for companies bailed out by taxpayers, had been fired or had been arrested for illegal activities

"We think the study really undercuts this whole idea of pay for performance," said Sarah Anderson, co-author of the Executive Excess Report, said in an interview from Washington, D.C.

"We have a corporate culture that really encourages risky behaviour that is dangerous for both shareholders and taxpayers. I think it's widely acknowledged that the executive CEO compensation structure for Wall Street bankers was a factor that got us into this crisis," she told CBC News.

The breakdown:
  • About 22 per cent of U.S. companies with the highest-paid CEOs received taxpayer bailouts after the 2008 financial crash.
  • Eight per cent of highly paid CEOs were fired for poor performance but received golden parachutes valued, on average, at $48 million US.
  • Another eight per cent of highly paid CEOs ran afoul of the law and paid fraud-related fines or settlements.

Light Sabers

Vladimir Putin says U.S. claim of 'Syria chemical attack' is "ridiculous and utter nonsense" - Poll shows 64% of French are opposed to use of force

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Russian President Vladimir Putin has challenged the US to present to the UN evidence that Syria was responsible for chemical weapons attacks.

Mr Putin said it would be "utter nonsense" for Syria's government to provoke opponents with such attacks when it was in a position of strength.

US President Barack Obama has said he is considering military action against Syria based on intelligence reports.

Mr Putin's remarks came after UN weapons inspectors had left Syria.

They crossed into neighbouring Lebanon after four days of inspections, including investigations of what happened in the Damascus suburbs on 21 August.

Hundreds of people including children were killed in the suspected chemical weapons attacks, which the US says was carried out by the Syrian government.

Syria said the US claim was "full of lies", blaming rebels for the attacks

Magnify

United Nations inspectors to leave for The Hague with samples from Syria

UN inspectors tasked to probe alleged use of chemical weapons in Syria would leave the Syrian capital of Damascus for The Hague on Saturday with samples they collected from the suspected site of Aug. 21 attacks for lab analysis, a UN spokesman said on August 30.

"They will be leaving Damascus and leaving Syria tomorrow," Martin Nesirky told a daily news briefing here. "They will be returning to The Hague."

The UN inspectors had gathered in the Dutch city before entering Syria for their mission earlier this month.

According to Nesirky, the inspectors have completed collecting samples, including medical samples from field hospitals and environmental samples from the alleged gas attack site outside Damascus, and interviewed victims for more evidence.

"The samples that they have collected will be taken to be analyzed in designated locations and the intention is, of course, to expedite the analysis of that sampling that has been taken," said the spokesman. "But we have to be very clear here that before that mission can draw any conclusions about this incident, the evaluation of all information including the analysis of all samples must be completed."

The "team is doing its utmost to expedite the process of analysis," he said.

"They will be compiling a preliminary report first on the basis of the sample analysis," said Nesirky, adding that later they will compile a final report on their investigation results.

The UN fact-finding group, created by UN Secretary-general Ban Ki-moon in March at the request of the Syrian government, will try to establish only whether chemical weapons were used, but not who used them.

"As soon as the analysis of the samples is completed, a report will be given to the secretary-general and the secretary-general will share that report result with all (UN) member states and of course the Security Council," said Nesirky.

Light Sabers

Dr. Kevin Barrett: A global front is being formed against war on Syria

Syrian War
© Press TV
A global front is being formed against Washington's potential unilateral plan to wage war against Syria, a political analyst tells Press TV.

"As the world wakes up, as the British parliament votes against a war on Syria, as people here in the US plan to turn out in a massive demonstration which will begin against war on Syria, it seems that Russia and China are also emboldened to stand up," said Kevin Barrett in a Friday interview.
"I think the world is waking up. We have been living in an era of nonstop deception and with illegal wars of aggression since the September 11 coup d'état in the US and slowly but surely the world is catching on to these deceptions," he added.
The analyst noted that the new US scenario against Syria is reminiscent of Washington's similar plot "in the run-up to the war on Iraq when lies about alleged weapons of mass destruction were being said around by the same people."

In 2003, the US and Britain invaded Iraq in blatant violation of international law and under the pretext of finding weapons of mass destruction. But no such weapons were ever discovered in Iraq.

Eye 1

NSA leaks latest: 'Black budget' revealed! U.S. spy network's successes, failures and objectives detailed in 'black budget' summary

black budget
© Washington Post

U.S. spy agencies have built an intelligence-gathering colossus since the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, but remain unable to provide critical information to the president on a range of national security threats, according to the government's top-secret budget.

The $52.6 billion "black budget" for fiscal 2013, obtained by The Washington Post from former ­intelligence contractor Edward Snowden, maps a bureaucratic and operational landscape that has never been subject to public scrutiny. Although the government has annually released its overall level of intelligence spending since 2007, it has not divulged how it uses the money or how it performs against the goals set by the president and Congress.

The 178-page budget summary for the National Intelligence Program details the successes, failures and objectives of the 16 spy agencies that make up the U.S. intelligence community, which has 107,035 employees.

The summary describes cutting-edge technologies, agent recruiting and ongoing operations. The Post is withholding some information after consultation with U.S. officials who expressed concerns about the risk to intelligence sources and methods. Sensitive details are so pervasive in the documents that The Post is publishing only summary tables and charts online.

"The United States has made a considerable investment in the Intelligence Community since the terror attacks of 9/11, a time which includes wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the Arab Spring, the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction technology, and asymmetric threats in such areas as cyber-warfare," Director of National Intelligence James R. Clapper Jr. wrote in response to inquiries from The Post.

"Our budgets are classified as they could provide insight for foreign intelligence services to discern our top national priorities, capabilities and sources and methods that allow us to obtain information to counter threats," he said.

Among the notable revelations in the budget summary:

Comment: Is it just us, or does the U.S. intelligence community come out of this article smelling like roses? These 'revelations' read like a cross between a factsheet and a roadmap that "identifies gaps". Describing the budget 'leak' as "this catalogue of technical prowess" hardly sounds like it came from the mind or keyboard of someone who is even remotely critical of the U.S. govt...

It's like this article - written and published by one of the two newspapers on the planet that are supposedly holding the US govt accountable by 'leaking NSA documents' - is trying to say, "Oh look, see here this 'top secret' sensitive information that it just positively kills us for you to see... by the way, here's a list of all the really important stuff we spend this money on to protect you, now could you please sign here, here and here so we can get started on expanding our operations."

Completely left off the list are the real things intelligence agents get up to with the money they steal from you: murder, extortion, prostitution, drug-running, subterfuge, sabotage, propaganda (foreign and domestic), spying (foreign and domestic), coups d'états, blackmail, etc.

Regarding the size of the black budget, the day before 9/11 a Pentagon audit revealed that $2.3 trillion was 'missing', suggesting that the true figure is several orders of magnitude greater than the figure hereby 'revealed'.


Monkey Wrench

SOTT Focus: Syria, Chemical Weapons and the Britam Defence emails

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A CIA/Mossad-backed Syrian rebel after snorting some potassium chlorate
In January this year, the web site of UK-based 'offense defense contractor', Britam Defense, were hacked by someone that 'authorities' claim (unsurprisingly) may have been of the Iranian persuasion (Iranians do everything bad these days don't ya know!). Part of the trove of documents that were uploaded to various websites included two emails.

One email had "Syrian Issue" in the subject field and the other has "Iranian Issue" in the subject field. Both emails appeared to be from David Goulding, the actual business development manager of Britam Defence, and appeared to have been sent to Phillip Doughty, the actual founder of Britam. Many alternative news web sites have used these emails as evidence that the recent alleged 'chemical weapon' attack in Syria was the work of the Western-backed Syrian rebels rather than the Syrian military. The problem however is that the emails appear to be have been faked.

The Iranian issue email stated:
"Please see attached details of preparatory measures concerning the Iranian issue. Participation of Britam in the operation is confirmed by the Saudis. http://mbf.cc/OTEH8″
Amongst the other documents that were hacked is a word document apparently detailing a training program for Saudi military personnel to defend against an attack by an unknown enemy.

Eye 2

Flashback SOTT Focus: Israeli brutality in broad daylight: A chemical weapon attack on Palestinian school children


Comment: In light of the alleged chemical weapons attack that may or may not have taken place in Syria this week, and the casus belli the U.S. and allies believes it gives them to launch yet another round of slaughter in the Middle East, we thought we'd remind readers of a REAL chemical weapon attack launched on Palestinians (sheltering in a school the Israelis knew was part of a U.N. compound) during 'Operation Cast Lead' in Gaza, just one of many instances in which White Phosphorous was used on Gazans in early 2009.


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© ReutersLying through their teeth: M825A1 155mm projectiles, painted light green to designate a munition containing white phosphorus, stand fused and ready with an IDF artillery unit firing into Gaza.
These photos, taken a few months ago, record in detail an Israeli attack on a Palestinian school, an attack using 'white phosphorus' as a chemical weapon:
White phosphorous is a colorless to yellow translucent wax-like substance with a pungent, garlic-like smell. The form used by the military is highly energetic (active) and ignites once it is exposed to oxygen. White phosphorus is a pyrophoric material (it is spontaneously flammable). When exposed to air, it spontaneously ignites and rapidly oxidizes to phosphorus pentoxide. Such heat is produced by this reaction that the element bursts into a yellow flame and produces a dense white smoke. This chemical reaction continues until either all the material is consumed or the element is deprived of oxygen. White phosphorus results in painful and deep chemical burn injuries. Rapid dermal penetration occurs once particles are embedded under the skin. Incandescent particles of white phosphorous may produce extensive burns. The particles continue to burn unless deprived of atmospheric oxygen. Weapons containing white phosphorous are particularly nasty because it continues to burn until it disappears, often burning right down to the bone.

The white phosphorus flame produces a hot, dense, white smoke composed of particles of phosphorus pentoxide, which are converted by moist air into phosphoric acid. This acid, depending on concentration and duration of exposure, may produce a variety of topically irritative injuries. Exposure to heavy smoke concentrations for extended periods (particularly if near the source of emission) may cause illness or even death. Its fumes can cause severe eye irritation including blepharospasm, photophobia, and lacrimation. Irritation of the eyes and irritation of the mucous membranes are the most commonly seen injuries.
The use of this lethal substance is supposedly 'permissible' under the "laws of war", ostensibly to destroy the enemy's equipment or to limit his vision. But when a whole population is designated 'the enemy', as the Israeli regime has done with Palestinians, especially those living in the open-air prison called Gaza, the results are horrifying.

At the time, the Israeli regime denied using this lethal substance during its bombardment of besieged Gaza. Roundly condemned by international observers, it now admits 'Willie Pete' was used, but says it did not fire munitions laden with the chemical weapons "inside populated areas."

These photos tell the true story.

Comment: "We could hear their bodies burning"
"The smoke was spreading so fast; we couldn't see through it. We couldn't see, but we could hear." From the windows of the burning home the cries of her children and cousins filled the streets. "The cries were not just from my home, but from the neighbors' house too."
Israelis Rain 'Phosphorous Bombs' Over Gaza
"I've been on the border for the last few days watching the Israeli artillery firing white phosphorus shells into refugee camps."

"While the international community might be horrified by the use of phosphorous, this is overlooking the issue that hundreds of half-tonne bombs are being dropped on Gaza on civilian targets on a daily basis."



Attention

Best of the Web: Syrian rebels and local residents testify that Saudi intelligence chief, Prince Bandar bin Sultan, supplied chemical weapons to 'al-Qaeda-linked group'

Syria chemcal weapons attack
© AP Photo/Shaam News NetworkThis image provided by by Shaam News Network on Thursday, Aug. 22, 2013, purports to show several bodies being buried in a suburb of Damascus, Syria during a funeral on Wednesday, Aug. 21, 2013, following allegations of a chemical weapons attack that reportedly killed 355 people.
Rebels and local residents in Ghouta accuse Saudi Prince Bandar bin Sultan of providing chemical weapons to an al-Qaida linked rebel group

Ghouta, Syria - As the machinery for a U.S.-led military intervention in Syria gathers pace following last week's chemical weapons attack, the U.S. and its allies may be targeting the wrong culprit.

Interviews with people in Damascus and Ghouta, a suburb of the Syrian capital, where the humanitarian agency Doctors Without Borders said at least 355 people had died last week from what it believed to be a neurotoxic agent, appear to indicate as much.

The U.S., Britain, and France as well as the Arab League have accused the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad for carrying out the chemical weapons attack, which mainly targeted civilians. U.S. warships are stationed in the Mediterranean Sea to launch military strikes against Syria in punishment for carrying out a massive chemical weapons attack. The U.S. and others are not interested in examining any contrary evidence, with U.S Secretary of State John Kerry saying Monday that Assad's guilt was "a judgment ... already clear to the world."

Comment: He's been a busy busy little bee, that Bandar...

Saudi snake, Prince Bandar, tried first to bribe Russia to drop its support of Syria, then threatened to unleash Chechen terrorists at 2014 Winter Olympics


Stop

The rush to judgment on Syria is a catastrophic and deadly error

David Cameron
© Getty ImagesHard sell: to gain the support of a sceptical nation, David Cameron needs to make the speech of his life
Britain and America show contempt for the lessons of the past in pressing for action


It is more than 10 years since Parliament last voted on whether or not to go to war. This was on March 18 2003, when a stirring speech by Tony Blair convinced many sceptical MPs of the case for military action against Iraq.

But Mr Blair's claim that Britain possessed "extensive, detailed and authoritative" evidence concerning Iraq's weapons of mass destruction turned out to be nonsense, and we invaded the country on the back of a false prospectus. The consequences were terrible: countless Iraqis were killed in the civil war that followed, along with 179 British soldiers.

The similarities with today's Commons vote are haunting. The Prime Minister is contemplating an attack on Iraq's near neighbour Syria, also ruled by a Baathist regime. At the heart of the issue are allegations about weapons of mass destruction. Once again, Britain finds herself in alliance with the United States, and without the authority of the United Nations.