Puppet MastersS


Star of David

America's aircraft carrier in the Middle East - Israel

Martin Argles
Guardian
Thu, 01 Mar 2012 13:15 UTC
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© Martin Argles/GuardianJenny Tonge said Israel would ‘lose support and then they will reap what they have sown
Nick Clegg urged to act after Lib Dem peer says Israel will not last for ever

Party leader urged to condemn Lady Tonge, who said Israel would 'lose support and then they will reap what they have sown'

A Liberal Democrat peer has said Israel will not last for ever, with her remarks prompting calls for the party's leader, Nick Clegg, to take disciplinary action.

Lady Tonge, who was sacked as the Lib Dem children's spokeswoman in the Commons in 2004 when she suggested she could consider becoming a suicide bomber, made her remarks in a meeting at Middlesex University.

"Beware Israel," she said. "Israel is not going to be there for ever in its present form. One day, the United States of America will get sick of giving £70bn a year to Israel to support what I call America's aircraft carrier in the Middle East - that is Israel. One day, the American people are going to say to the Israel lobby in the USA: enough is enough."

She added: "Israel will lose support and then they will reap what they have sown."
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Dollar

Facing Sanctions, Iran to Sideline Dollar by Using Gold in Trade

Alex Newman
New American
Thu, 01 Mar 2012 12:32 UTC
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In the face of escalating sanctions imposed by the European Union and the U.S. government, supposedly related to the Iranian nuclear program, officials in Iran announced that the nation would accept gold and currencies other than the dollar in international trade. China, Russia, India, and other major economies have continued to do business with the Islamic Republic despite the growing Western pressure.

"In its trade transactions with other countries, Iran does not limit itself to the U.S. dollar, and the country can pay using its own currency," Iranian central bank governor Mahmoud Bahmani was quoted as saying in state-controlled media. "If a country should so choose, it can pay in gold and we would accept that without any reservation."

Analysts said the move, officially announced Tuesday, represents another serious attack on the status of the already-embattled American dollar. While it currently serves as the global reserve currency - due mostly to its use in paying for oil on international markets - the Federal Reserve-issued debt-based currency is facing increasing challenges on several fronts.
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Attention

Medical Journalists Call for 'After-Birth Abortions', Say Infants 'Aren't People'

Anthony Gucciardi
Natural Society
Thu, 01 Mar 2012 10:42 UTC
Baby
© Natural Society

Stating that newborn babies 'aren't people' and it is therefore acceptable to kill them, two 'ethicists' writing for the peer-reviewed Journal of Medical Ethics are now calling for after-birth abortions. The writers, who worked with Australian universities in the construction of their paper, say that newborn babies simply do not have a "moral right to life." Furthermore, the paper goes on to state that the babies have no right to live as they do not offer "at least basic value" that would represent a loss.

Study authors Alberto Giubilini and Francesca Minerva, both from the University of Melbourne, state in their paper that "after-birth abortion' (killing a newborn) should be permissible in all the cases where abortion, including cases where the newborn is not disabled." They go on to say that while it is infanticide, they prefer not to call it that. Instead, they prefer the term 'after-birth abortion' - a term that avoids the true labeling of the proposed technique.

Authors of the paper write that simply being a human isn't something that grants 'a right to life'. It appears the paper authors believe that they are the ones who are to determine whether or not a human can live or die. Under this train of thought, then these 'after-birth' abortions are not limited to infants. In fact, if being a human does not grant a 'right to life', then so-called 'ethicists' could soon state that everyone with a disability no longer has the right to live. Does this sound familiar? From 1929 to 1974, the United States began forcibly sterilizing individuals they deemed to not be 'fit to live'.
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Dollar

Fannie asks gov't for almost $4.6B after 4Q loss

Derek Kravitz
Associated Press
Wed, 29 Feb 2012 08:11 UTC
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Washington-- Mortgage giant Fannie Mae said Wednesday that it lost money in the fourth quarter and is asking the federal government for nearly $4.6 billion in aid to cover its deficit.

Washington, D.C.-based Fannie said it lost roughly $2.4 billion in the October-December quarter, stung by declining home prices. Revenue was about $4.5 billion.

The government rescued Fannie and sibling company Freddie Mac in September 2008 to cover their losses on soured mortgage loans. Since then, a federal regulator - the Federal Housing Finance Agency - has controlled their financial decisions.
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Laptop

Q&A: Google to Dig Deeper into Users' Lives

Michael Liedtke
The Associated Press
Wed, 29 Feb 2012 06:29 UTC
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© unknown
US, San Francisco - If you're amazed - and maybe even a little alarmed - about how much Google seems to know about you, brace yourself. Beginning Thursday, Google will operate under a streamlined privacy policy that enables the Internet's most powerful company to dig even deeper into the lives of its more than 1 billion users.

Google says the changes will make it easier for consumers to understand how it collects personal information, and allow the company to create more helpful and compelling services. Critics, including most of the country's state attorneys general and a top regulator in Europe, argue that Google is trampling on people's privacy rights in its relentless drive to sell more ads.

Here's a look at some of the key issues to consider as Google tries to learn about you.
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Info

Egypt Lifts Travel Ban on US Pro-Democracy Workers

Hamza Hendawi
The Associated Press
Wed, 29 Feb 2012 04:01 UTC
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© The Associated Press//Khalil HamraEgyptian policemen sit in front of Egyptian employees of several pro-democracy groups charged with using foreign funds to foment unrest during their trial in Cairo, Egypt, Sunday, Feb. 26, 2012.
Cairo - Egypt lifted a travel ban Wednesday on seven Americans charged with fomenting unrest by working for illegally funded pro-democracy groups, signaling an end to the worst crisis in Egypt-U.S. relations in 30 years.

The clash put $1.5 billion in annual American aid to Egypt at risk and sparked intense behind-the-scenes negotiations between the two countries to find a way out.

Defense lawyer Tharwat Abdel-Shaheed said the seven Americans, including the son of U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, could only leave the country if they post bail of 2 million Egyptian pounds (about $300,000). They have also signed pledges to attend their next hearing.

"The ban was lifted on humanitarian grounds, but the bail is way too high," Abdel-Shaheed, who represents some of the American defendants, told The Associated Press.

Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said the United States was encouraged by reports the ban was lifted but added she had no confirmation.
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Telephone

Elections Canada Won't Probe 'Annoying' Political Calls, Ex-MP Told

Stephen Maher and Glen McGregor
Canada.com
Wed, 29 Feb 2012 00:00 UTC
Stephen Harper
Ottawa - Elections Canada said last week it cannot investigate political calls that are "annoying, repetitive or (of) a partisan nature" unless there are signs of intimidation or "false pretence," raising questions about how far the agency will go to probe the robocalls scandal.

The office of the Commissioner of Canada Elections, which is in charge of enforcing the Elections Act, wrote to former MP Joe Volpe's lawyer, Antonio Pascale, to say it was "concluding further inquiry" into mysterious harassment calls received by Volpe supporters during the last election.

Volpe's lawyer wrote to Elections Canada on April 15, 2011, to complain that for the previous 10 days constituents in the riding were receiving calls "from persons falsely identifying themselves as calling from the Joe Volpe campaign."

The email from Elections Canada suggests such calls are not forbidden by the act.

"The act does not prohibit or regulate the use of telephone solicitations for a particular candidate or party, or the content of a call unless actual intimidation or false pretence can be shown," the email said.

The harassing calls in the Toronto riding of Eglinton-Lawrence had a call display showing a North Dakota number often blamed for credit card scams. Calls from the same number have been reported in a number of other ridings across the country.

But the elections agency said the use of "spoofed" call display numbers "is not regulated by the Act.
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Handcuffs

Economist Reporter Cuffed At Mitt Romney's Michigan Speech

Hunter Walker
Politicker
Tue, 28 Feb 2012 23:21 UTC
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© Twitter.com/ChadLivengoodNatasha Loder in handcuffs outside Mitt Romney's speech in Michigan.
Natasha Loder, the Midwest correspondent for The Economist, showed up to cover Mitt Romney's victory speech at the Diamond Center in Novi, Michigan tonight and wound up in handcuffs.

Ms. Loder told The Politicker she was briefly detained by police before being let go after getting into a dispute with a private security guard outside the room where Mr. Romney was speaking. Ms. Loder, who was only able to speak briefly because she needed to file, said she and a group of other reporters were put in a press filing room at the event, however they realized there was a delay in their video feed when they heard Mr. Romney taking the stage in another room. According to Ms. Loder she and the other reporters left the filing room and tried to listen to the speech in real-time outside the doors of the main room.

Though Ms. Loder said the doors had been open all night, she said a security guard posted outside said he would shut them once the reporters began gathering outside. Ms. Loder said she asked the guard to speak to someone with Mr. Romney's campaign, but they were quickly approached by a police officer who said he could arrest the reporters for trespassing if the guard wanted. Ms. Loder refused to leave and was placed in handcuffs by the officer.
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Eye 1

Europe to Investigate Google's New Data Collection Policy

Leila Abboud
Reuters
Wed, 29 Feb 2012 10:41 UTC
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© socialh.com
  • French regulator to lead inquiry
  • Casts doubt on legality, fairness of privacy rules
  • Google has rebuffed calls for delay to new policy
  • Due to be introduced March 1
France's data protection watchdog has cast doubt on the legality and fairness of Google's new privacy policy, which it said breached European laws.

The CNIL regulator told Google in a letter dated Feb. 27 it would lead a European-wide investigation of the web search giant's latest policy and would send it questions by mid-March.

Google said in January it was simplifying its privacy policy, consolidating 60 guidelines into a single one that will apply for all its services, including YouTube, Gmail and its social network Google+.

The U.S. Internet company also said it will pool data it collects on individual users across its services, allowing it to better tailor search results and improve service.

Users cannot opt out of the new policy if they want to continue using Google's services.
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Whistle

Flashback Vietnam Vets of America Slams CIA Stonewalling in Lawsuit on Experiments on Troops

Daniel Tencer
Veterans Today
Sat, 28 Aug 2010 00:00 UTC
CIA
An advocacy group working on behalf of Vietnam veterans has asked a federal judge in California to sanction the CIA, saying the spy agency has been blocking efforts to uncover its role in alleged experiments on US soldiers from the 1950s to 1970s.

The Vietnam Veterans of America filed a lawsuit on behalf of six Vietnam War veterans in January, 2009, claiming that the CIA had used an estimated 7,800 US service members as "guinea pigs" in experiments involving "at least 250, but as many as 400 chemical and biological agents," according to Courthouse News.

Among the chemicals the lawsuit alleges were used on the soldiers were LSD, sarin and phosgene nerve gases, cyanide, PCP and even THC, the active ingredient in marijuana.

The lawsuit described it as a "vast program of human experimentation" that was "shrouded in secrecy" and carried out without the informed consent of the experiment subjects.
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