Puppet MastersS


Brick Wall

Oppressive Sanctions! EU Fascism Condemned in Defense of Syria

Russia on Friday condemned as unacceptable a fresh round of sanctions being prepared by the European Union against the Syrian regime.
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© unknown
"Our position concerning such sanctions is well known," said foreign affairs ministry spokesman Alexander Lukashevich. "We judge them unacceptable from the point of view of international law.

Diplomats in Brussels had said earlier that the new sanctions would ban exports of luxury items and goods which can be used for internal repression.

"The sanctions are ready," said an EU diplomat who asked not to be named. The timing for their adoption however "will depend on the situation on the ground."

A decision could be made at talks in Luxembourg on Monday between foreign ministers from the 27 EU nations.

Eye 1

Monitoring the Internet: DHS Deception Exposed

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© unknown
One of the nation's leading electronic privacy groups claimed this week that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) misled members of Congress during a recent hearing on whether the Department is paying a defense contractor $11.4 million to keep tabs on protected free speech and dissent against government policies on the Internet.

The Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC), which triggered the hearing by publishing a trove of secret government documents in January, told Raw Story on Thursday that a second round of documents they've obtained directly contradicts testimony given on Feb. 16, showing that the DHS instructed their analysts to do exactly what the Department denied.

"There were several exchanges that they had with members of Congress in which they sort of distanced themselves from the idea - that they weren't engaging in this monitoring of public reaction to government proposals," McCall told Raw Story. "But that's... Well, it's not true, according to the documents we obtained."

Bad Guys

Mitt Romney, American Parasite

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© Illustration: Christoph Hitz
It was the early 1990s, and the 750 men and women at Georgetown Steel were pumping out wire rods at peak performance. They had an abiding trust in management's ability to run a smart company. That allegiance was rewarded with fat profit-sharing checks. In the basement-wage economy of Georgetown, South Carolina, Sanderson and his co-workers were blue-collar aristocracy.

"We were doing very good," says Sanderson, president of Steelworkers Local 7898. "The plant was making money, and we had good profit-sharing checks, and everything was going well."

What he didn't know was that it was about to end. Hundreds of miles to the north, in Boston, a future presidential candidate was sizing up Georgetown's books.

At the time, Mitt Romney had been running Bain Capital since 1984, minting a reputation as a prince of private investment. A future prospectus by Deutsche Bank would reveal that by the time he left in 1999, Bain had averaged a shimmering 88 percent annual return on investment. Romney would use that success to launch his political career.

Arrow Up

NDAA Detention: Virginia Passes Law Refusing to Cooperate

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© disinfo.com
On Wednesday, the Virginia legislature overwhelmingly passed a law that forbids state agencies from cooperating with any federal attempt to exercise the indefinite detention without due process provisions written into sections 1021 and 1022 of the National Defense Authorization Act.

HB1160 "Prevents any agency, political subdivision, employee, or member of the military of Virginia from assisting an agency of the armed forces of the United States in the conduct of the investigation, prosecution, or detention of a United States citizen in violation of the United States Constitution, Constitution of Virginia, or any Virginia law or regulation."

The legislature previously passed HB1160 and forwarded it to Gov. Bob McDonnell for his signature. Last week, the governor agreed to sign the bill with a minor amendment. On Wednesday, the House of Delegates passed the amended version of the legislation 89-7. Just hours later, the Senate concurred by a 36-1 vote.

MIB

By Way of Deception: Israel Increases Covert Operations, Says Military chief

Israel's military chief of staff says he has ordered his forces to step up covert operations in enemy countries.

Maj. Gen. Benny Gantz made the remarks Sunday in an interview published in Israel's Yediot Ahronot daily.

"You almost won't find a point in time where something isn't happening somewhere in the world," he said. "I am escalating all those special operations."

Gantz did not identify any of the countries or give any further details.

Monkey Wrench

Is Vermont's Governor Surrendering to Monsanto?

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© mendonews.wordpress.com
Vermont Governor Peter Shumlin has less than two weeks to either stand with the 90 percent of his constituents who support a mandatory labeling bill for genetically engineered foods - or cave in to Monsanto's threat to sue the state if legislators pass H.722.

If the Governor's words this past week are any indication, he's already surrendered to Monsanto. But Vermonters, not known for backing down from a fight, are challenging legislators to take on the biotech industry. They're even offering to raise money for the state's defense.

Last week thousands of Vermonters flooded the Governor's office with petitions, phone calls and emails, to make the case for GMO labeling of all food sold in Vermont and to demand a vote on the bill. Under Vermont's constitution, the Governor can extend the state's legislative session indefinitely, ultimately forcing a vote on the bill. If he doesn't extend the session, or urge legislators to vote on the bill, it will die in committee.

Comment: To learn more about the ongoing 'GMO labeling battle' in Vermont read the following articles:

Monsanto Threatens to Sue Vermont if Legislators Pass a Bill Requiring GMO Food to Be Labeled
Despite overwhelming public support and support from a clear majority of Vermont's Agriculture Committee, Vermont legislators are dragging their feet on a proposed GMO labeling bill. Why? Because Monsanto has threatened to sue the state if the bill passes.

The popular legislative bill requiring mandatory labels on genetically engineered food (H-722) is languishing in the Vermont House Agriculture Committee, with only four weeks left until the legislature adjourns for the year. Despite thousands of emails and calls from constituents who overwhelmingly support mandatory labeling, despite the fact that a majority (6 to 5) of Agriculture Committee members support passage of the measure, Vermont legislators are holding up the labeling bill and refusing to take a vote.
Monsanto Threatens Vermont With Legal Action if it Passes GMO Labeling Bill
But with GMO labeling comes widespread awareness about the presence of untested, unsafe ingredients throughout the food supply, which is sure to turn most people away from buying or eating them. At least 70 percent of the "inner aisle" food supply, or packaged, processed foods found in the center aisles at the grocery store, now contain GM ingredients.

Monsanto knows that if GMOs are labeled, its business would quickly crumble. So to stop this from happening, the biotechnology giant has reportedly resorted to bullying the Vermont House Agriculture Committee (VHAC), which just so happens to support GMO labeling by a 6 - 5 majority, into stonewalling until the legislature adjourns for the year at the end of April.



Light Sabers

Energy games: Russians move into East Med gas fracas

med oil drilling map
The Levantine Basin (containing the giants) is situated in this area in the eastern most region of the Mediterranean Sea between Cyprus and the Nile Delta and contains up to 10,000 m of Mesozoic and Cenozoic sedimentary sequences.
The Russians appear to be making a determined bid to secure a stake in the energy boom in the eastern Mediterranean, despite the danger of conflict.


The Russians appear to be making a determined bid to secure a stake in the energy boom in the eastern Mediterranean despite the danger of conflict.

Israel, Lebanon, Cyprus, Greece and Turkey are vying for control of the vast offshore natural gas fields in a region long-deprived of energy resources. The potential windfall adds a new dimension to the conflicts between Israel and the Arabs and between old rivals Turkey and Greece.

The scramble for the region's newfound energy riches is also pitting Israel, supported by Greece and the Greek Cypriots, against its onetime strategic ally Turkey.

Novatek, Russia's biggest independent natural gas producer, is reported to be considering exploration off the war-divided island of Cyprus, which, with nearby Israel, dominates waters where Lebanon and Turkey also claim access.

Chess

China, Russia launch first joint naval exercises in Yellow Sea

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This photo taken on April 22, 2012 shows the starting ceremony of the Russia-China joint naval exercise in Qingdao, east China's Shandong Province.
China and Russia have launched their first joint naval drill in the Yellow Sea off China's east coast amid heightened tensions between Beijing and its Asian neighbors over maritime disputes.

The six-day-long naval exercises kicked off on Sunday near Japanese waters and China's Qingdao city off the coast of Shandong province with the presence of more than 4,000 Chinese servicemen in the maneuvers.

A total of 16 vessels and two submarines from the Chinese navy together with 13 aircraft and five shipboard helicopters as well as four warships from the Russian navy's Pacific fleet and three supply ships will take part in the drills.

Comment: ...while at the same time, China is playing war games with the US. What is going on here?


Cult

Flashback Irish Judge charged with child pornography possession

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Brian Curtin Charged over child pornography
A Circuit Court Judge has been charged at the District Court in Tralee with possession of child pornography.

Judge Brian Curtin was charged under the Child Trafficking and Pornography Act. He was not present in court when his case was called.

His Solicitor handed a medical certificate into court and said he was unfit to be present.

Judge Humphrey Kelleher adjourned the case until 30 April after he was told by Garda Inspector Barry O'Rourke that the Director of Public Prosecutions had no objection to the adjournment.

Judge Curtin, who is from Kerry and sits on the Cork Circuit, was appointed a Circuit Court Judge in the autumn of 2001.

He has not heard any cases since last May.

Cult

Flashback Two Senior UK Blair Government Politicians Snared for Possession of Child Pornography as 7000 Men Arrested

Operation Ore, the police inquiry which plans to arrest a further 7000 men across the UK, in addition to Who guitarist Pete Townshend, for buying child pornography online is set to end in disaster with many suspects walking free.

Detective Chief Inspector Bob McLachlan, former head of Scotland Yard's paedophile unit, told the Sunday Herald that the lack of urgency in making arrests will lead to suspects destroying evidence of downloading child pornography before they are arrested.

The Sunday Herald has also had confirmed by a very senior source in British intelligence that at least one high-profile former Labour Cabinet minister is among Operation Ore suspects. The Sunday Herald has been given the politician's name but, for legal reasons, can not identify the person.

There are still unconfirmed rumours that another senior Labour politician is among the suspects. The intelligence officer said that a "rolling" Cabinet committee had been set up to work out how to deal with the potentially ruinous fall-out for both Tony Blair and the government if arrests occur.

Comment: But that's not what happened. Instead the police investigation was derailed by wild and unfounded accusations against innocent people which led to the whole operation shutting down and the predators being protected once more.